WEBVTT 00:00:02.239 --> 00:00:05.259 Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:07.660 want to thank you for joining us today, and we 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:10.179 hope you find today's sermon impacting as you 00:00:10.179 --> 00:00:12.699 listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk. 00:00:12.939 --> 00:00:15.960 To find service times and watch messages online, 00:00:16.199 --> 00:00:20.120 see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now, 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:32.469 enjoy this week's message. Thursday and Friday 00:00:32.469 --> 00:00:36.210 just waiting on the Lord and studying and Thursday 00:00:36.210 --> 00:00:38.829 we had freedom encounter and so most of my time 00:00:38.829 --> 00:00:43.189 was for that message but Friday became a day 00:00:43.189 --> 00:00:46.170 of just coming in here early and praying and 00:00:46.170 --> 00:00:49.869 asking the Lord Lord where do we go from last 00:00:49.869 --> 00:00:53.590 weekend and fire on the altar and I felt very 00:00:53.590 --> 00:00:57.310 strongly that the Lord wanted to highlight a 00:00:57.310 --> 00:01:00.439 couple of passages that that I have not got to 00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:03.920 in the Something More Church. So I wanna just 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:07.420 go back there for a moment and review just a 00:01:07.420 --> 00:01:11.019 reminder and then bring us into what I believe 00:01:11.019 --> 00:01:13.980 the Lord is wanting to say this morning. All 00:01:13.980 --> 00:01:17.159 during prayer, in our pre -service prayer time, 00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:21.319 the theme that was being highlighted all the 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:23.180 way through as I listened to different people 00:01:23.180 --> 00:01:27.819 pray was the rain and the presence of the Lord 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:34.120 a sense of peace to saturate us because the fire 00:01:34.120 --> 00:01:39.840 is coming. That was the theme. God's bringing 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:43.000 a sense of peace, of his righteousness, of his 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:46.939 presence, of his grace, but he's preparing us 00:01:46.939 --> 00:01:50.079 that the fire of cleansing is coming. Now we 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:52.920 alluded to that a little bit just even this last 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:55.819 weekend as we talked about our time of Saturday 00:01:55.819 --> 00:01:58.840 and Sunday. on fire on the altar service, on 00:01:58.840 --> 00:02:03.200 Jesus' baptism, John said of himself, he said, 00:02:03.239 --> 00:02:06.099 I baptize you in water, but there is one coming 00:02:06.099 --> 00:02:09.840 after me who I'm not even worthy to untie his 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:13.379 sandal strap, but when he comes, he will baptize 00:02:13.379 --> 00:02:17.580 you in a baptism of fire, for he will gather 00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:21.319 his wheat into the barn, but he will burn the 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:25.990 chaff with holy fire or unquenchable fire. And 00:02:25.990 --> 00:02:29.050 the reality is that is the baptism that Jesus 00:02:29.050 --> 00:02:33.009 brings. Jesus brings, he is the great refiner. 00:02:33.030 --> 00:02:35.050 He is the one that it talks about in the book 00:02:35.050 --> 00:02:39.069 of Malachi. The one who sits over the silver. 00:02:39.250 --> 00:02:42.129 Silver always speaks of redemption. He says he 00:02:42.129 --> 00:02:44.930 cleanses silver even seven times, removing the 00:02:44.930 --> 00:02:48.389 dross. Why? Because he is the refiner. He is 00:02:48.389 --> 00:02:51.930 the purifier. He is the one that comes to actually 00:02:51.930 --> 00:02:54.830 take the impurities out of you and I. You and 00:02:54.830 --> 00:02:57.460 I. I represent the gold and the silver. Turn 00:02:57.460 --> 00:02:59.599 to somebody and say, you're worth something in 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:01.719 Jesus' name. Come on. You're worth something 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:05.979 in Jesus' name. God actually calls you the silver 00:03:05.979 --> 00:03:10.539 and the gold. You're that. Your faith is gold. 00:03:10.659 --> 00:03:14.500 What is in you, given to you from the very presence 00:03:14.500 --> 00:03:18.360 of God and your response to the Lord is he's 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:21.599 always dealing with the silver inside of us that 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:25.250 represent. the redemption process and the sanctification. 00:03:26.210 --> 00:03:29.710 And so as I listened even this morning, as I 00:03:29.710 --> 00:03:32.289 was finishing up and God was speaking to me a 00:03:32.289 --> 00:03:34.590 couple of fresh things and they're not, I'm sorry, 00:03:34.689 --> 00:03:36.810 I didn't send them on as I kind of redid these 00:03:36.810 --> 00:03:39.909 notes. You just have to follow along. As God 00:03:39.909 --> 00:03:41.949 was speaking to me this morning, even in pre 00:03:41.949 --> 00:03:46.699 -service prayer, the reality is he is Bringing 00:03:46.699 --> 00:03:50.219 a fire, and we know this from time to time. God 00:03:50.219 --> 00:03:54.680 does this. He removes the chaff. Why? Because 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:58.280 you can't bring wheat and chaff into the barn. 00:03:59.419 --> 00:04:02.900 Why? Because it won't be clean grain. It won't 00:04:02.900 --> 00:04:06.199 be actual grain to actually be stored to give 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:09.620 to people. God never wants to actually have a 00:04:09.620 --> 00:04:13.219 people filled with mixture. So his goal is to 00:04:13.219 --> 00:04:16.519 what? Always bring the wheat that gets harvested 00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:21.439 to a threshing floor. A threshing floor, we don't 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:25.800 have it in our times here. And in Western culture, 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:29.240 we've kind of, modern machinery actually threshes 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:34.379 the grain and does that for us. But in the Bible 00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:37.160 times where you see it, they brought it to a 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:40.819 place where there would be a wind current. They 00:04:40.819 --> 00:04:44.240 didn't just go in behind something, They needed 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:47.779 the wind and they would pour out the grain and 00:04:47.779 --> 00:04:50.980 the shocks of grain undo them and they would 00:04:50.980 --> 00:04:54.819 take threshing sledges. which would be kind of 00:04:54.819 --> 00:04:57.500 like hammers with little spikes on the end of 00:04:57.500 --> 00:05:00.040 it. And they would thresh that grain. And various 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:02.639 different grains took different types of threshing 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:05.500 type tools. But the whole point was to bring 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:09.560 it on a floor to gather that wheat or that grain 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:13.139 or barley or corn, gather it into a pile, then 00:05:13.139 --> 00:05:15.220 take a winnowing fork. And that's what John was 00:05:15.220 --> 00:05:17.480 talking about with Jesus. He said his winnowing 00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:23.160 fork is in his hand. Now, we see, you know, lots 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:26.240 of different things. We can picture Christ with 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:30.360 a shepherd's staff. But literally, Jesus Christ, 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:34.759 as John the Baptist said, he comes with a winnowing 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:39.000 fork. And that fork, I don't know if you've ever 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:41.540 seen the picture of kind of just the farmer standing 00:05:41.540 --> 00:05:44.379 there with his wife with a pitchfork. Just picture 00:05:44.379 --> 00:05:48.850 Jesus with a pitchfork. You would normally think 00:05:48.850 --> 00:05:50.970 the devil has a pitchfork. No, well, the devil 00:05:50.970 --> 00:05:53.189 may have a pitchfork, but Jesus has a winnowing 00:05:53.189 --> 00:05:57.189 fork. A winnowing fork is different. It doesn't 00:05:57.189 --> 00:06:01.850 have metal tines. A winnowing fork was made out 00:06:01.850 --> 00:06:06.029 of wood, and it had more of a blunt end, and 00:06:06.029 --> 00:06:09.670 its whole job was to what? Go through that grain 00:06:09.670 --> 00:06:12.790 pile of the chaff of the little pieces that look 00:06:12.790 --> 00:06:17.290 like grain itself, that were hollow. and to bring 00:06:17.290 --> 00:06:20.769 it and to throw it up and to let the wind separate 00:06:20.769 --> 00:06:24.709 that which was empty from that which had weight. 00:06:26.089 --> 00:06:30.269 The whole point of the winnowing fork and Jesus 00:06:30.269 --> 00:06:33.310 overseeing the winnowing fork and Jesus using 00:06:33.310 --> 00:06:36.470 the winnowing fork was to allow the wind of the 00:06:36.470 --> 00:06:41.990 Spirit. Only the wind separates the grain from 00:06:41.990 --> 00:06:45.959 the chaff. And the Bible says the grain, goes 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:50.920 into his barn, the chaff eventually gets swept. 00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:56.220 Because in that chaff and in those false seeds, 00:06:56.500 --> 00:07:01.819 God doesn't want anything false. And that gets 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:08.300 burnt. See, even in farming today, there are 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:13.180 kernels of grain that look like grain, but they're 00:07:13.180 --> 00:07:18.290 hollow. those get swept out with little pieces 00:07:18.290 --> 00:07:22.949 of straw. You can look like something, but the 00:07:22.949 --> 00:07:26.490 determining factor for your life is, is there 00:07:26.490 --> 00:07:32.329 weight in the kernel? The weight represents the 00:07:32.329 --> 00:07:35.810 truth of God's presence, the genuineness, and 00:07:35.810 --> 00:07:39.189 that you have given yourself to Christ. And so 00:07:39.189 --> 00:07:41.910 Jesus comes with a winnowing fork and his baptism 00:07:41.910 --> 00:07:45.879 is one of fire. That's why Dr. Munson was talking 00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:47.800 about what we dealt with last week with fire 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:51.560 on the altar. The Holy Spirit and wind, the fire 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:56.899 and wind always come together. Let me say that 00:07:56.899 --> 00:08:01.079 again. The fire and the wind of the Spirit always 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:04.920 come together. Why? Because it's not just about 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:09.339 the blowing of the chaff, separating it. It's 00:08:09.339 --> 00:08:12.620 about the removal of it and the cleansing so 00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:17.139 that there is no copycat or mixture and so when 00:08:17.139 --> 00:08:19.980 we're talking about the something more church 00:08:19.980 --> 00:08:23.379 and we're talking about Jesus and we we've kind 00:08:23.379 --> 00:08:27.399 of parked on this understanding that Jesus as 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:30.180 he represented the kingdom of God we talked about 00:08:30.180 --> 00:08:33.279 his his authority we talked about he's building 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:37.970 a church Matthew 16 18 I'll tell you the truth, 00:08:38.049 --> 00:08:40.490 Peter, on this rock I will build my church, the 00:08:40.490 --> 00:08:42.929 ecclesia, and the gates of hell shall not prevail. 00:08:43.309 --> 00:08:47.009 And I'll give you, notice, I'll give you the 00:08:47.009 --> 00:08:49.509 keys of the kingdom, and whatever you bind on 00:08:49.509 --> 00:08:51.309 earth shall be bound, and whatever you loose 00:08:51.309 --> 00:08:53.509 on earth shall be loosed. When we talk about 00:08:53.509 --> 00:08:56.669 this reality of Jesus and his church, you have 00:08:56.669 --> 00:09:01.990 to understand that what Jesus went through and 00:09:01.990 --> 00:09:08.889 what Jesus carried has to be in the church. We 00:09:08.889 --> 00:09:12.710 don't get to move through life actually saying 00:09:12.710 --> 00:09:16.090 we want more of Jesus, more of his presence, 00:09:16.269 --> 00:09:18.970 more of his anointing, more of his power, and 00:09:18.970 --> 00:09:21.590 then not be willing to embrace the things that 00:09:21.590 --> 00:09:25.389 Jesus yielded himself to and invited on his life. 00:09:26.529 --> 00:09:30.289 You cannot do and be who Jesus calls you to be 00:09:30.289 --> 00:09:34.389 without the Holy Spirit on you. You can't. In 00:09:34.389 --> 00:09:39.769 you and on you. Now, Where we left you a few 00:09:39.769 --> 00:09:42.970 weeks ago was Jesus never bypassed the little 00:09:42.970 --> 00:09:45.289 day -to -day things to minister for the Father 00:09:45.289 --> 00:09:48.230 for just the big cross experience. We talked 00:09:48.230 --> 00:09:50.789 about that. Jesus didn't just live for his big 00:09:50.789 --> 00:09:54.149 moments, kind of get shot there with Instagram 00:09:54.149 --> 00:09:59.750 and social media and Jewish Facebook. He wasn't 00:09:59.750 --> 00:10:01.490 just like, hey guys, let's grab a selfie right 00:10:01.490 --> 00:10:06.269 here at this one. It wasn't that. He was very 00:10:06.269 --> 00:10:09.710 comfortable going to the out -of -the -way places, 00:10:09.870 --> 00:10:12.950 going from village to village and town to town. 00:10:13.029 --> 00:10:16.470 He would take up a tent meeting and break down 00:10:16.470 --> 00:10:19.490 that tent meeting if it was the Father's will 00:10:19.490 --> 00:10:22.309 that he leave that moment and leave thousands 00:10:22.309 --> 00:10:25.389 of people to go to a village for less than 100. 00:10:27.370 --> 00:10:32.929 Jesus purposely chose the path of humility. Born 00:10:32.929 --> 00:10:36.080 in a manger, nowhere's ville. Okay, lived in 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:40.139 obscurity in Nazareth, nowheresville. And Jesus 00:10:40.139 --> 00:10:46.500 had no problem going to places where he was hidden. 00:10:46.539 --> 00:10:49.100 Fact is, in many times, Jesus' ministry said, 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:53.559 don't say what I've just done to you. Be quiet 00:10:53.559 --> 00:10:57.740 about it. Why? Because he wasn't about his own 00:10:57.740 --> 00:11:04.840 promotion. Jesus embraced humility. He, if anything 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:09.299 that he modeled, he modeled humility. Now listen, 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:14.340 he came as the lamb of God, but he also represents, 00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:17.120 and I don't have time to go into this this morning, 00:11:17.139 --> 00:11:20.360 but it's an incredible truth. He represents all 00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:24.399 four faces of the living creatures before the 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:30.840 throne. He is the man. He is that. eagle. He 00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:34.139 has prophetic eyes, eyes of fire that can see. 00:11:34.500 --> 00:11:38.379 He is the lion of the tribe of Judah, and he 00:11:38.379 --> 00:11:44.519 is the ox. As the ox or the calf, that represents 00:11:44.519 --> 00:11:50.120 what? His willingness to serve humanity, to bear 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:55.639 the burden of the work, to sacrifice and be used 00:11:55.639 --> 00:12:02.500 for sacrifice. that had the picture of an ox 00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:05.480 on it. And it had the picture of an ox and an 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:09.860 ox was looking at two places of its destiny. 00:12:10.440 --> 00:12:15.960 One was a plow and one was an altar. The ox knew 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:21.019 on that coin that there was only two places for 00:12:21.019 --> 00:12:24.779 his life. Either he would saddle up to the work 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:27.360 that was prepared for him or he would be a what? 00:12:27.379 --> 00:12:30.409 A sacrifice prepared. for something greater than 00:12:30.409 --> 00:12:37.549 himself. The reality is Jesus displayed that 00:12:37.549 --> 00:12:42.769 he was both. He took the yoke of the father on 00:12:42.769 --> 00:12:47.210 him and he became the one who became our sacrifice. 00:12:47.990 --> 00:12:50.490 The other thing that was incredible is that Jesus 00:12:50.490 --> 00:12:55.529 displayed, or excuse me, discipled only, really 00:12:55.529 --> 00:12:58.610 when you think about it, he discipled a very, 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:02.659 small number of people compared to the people 00:13:02.659 --> 00:13:07.320 that heard him. And for the most part, they were 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:10.740 not people of great renown or influence at first. 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:14.500 Just like Dr. Munson said, he said, I didn't 00:13:14.500 --> 00:13:16.860 have any doctorate degrees. I didn't preach at 00:13:16.860 --> 00:13:19.139 any renowned Bible college. Didn't have any of 00:13:19.139 --> 00:13:23.379 that. But God, when he calls us out of places 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:27.789 of our insignificance, His deposit inside of 00:13:27.789 --> 00:13:32.629 us. It's not really us. It's him that grows him 00:13:32.629 --> 00:13:37.029 in us. And whatever Jesus does is of significance. 00:13:38.570 --> 00:13:44.210 It's just the fact that he gets to use us. Clay 00:13:44.210 --> 00:13:47.009 vessels and fill us with his presence where he 00:13:47.009 --> 00:13:49.690 gets the glory and the honor with a life that's 00:13:49.690 --> 00:13:53.309 yielded to obedience. Jesus didn't go out. I 00:13:53.309 --> 00:13:55.529 mean, I say this carefully. He did not set out 00:13:55.529 --> 00:13:58.429 to go after celebrities. He didn't set out to 00:13:58.429 --> 00:14:01.330 go after influential people or worldly leaders. 00:14:01.870 --> 00:14:06.110 Instead, now he did encounter them, but instead 00:14:06.110 --> 00:14:08.389 the majority of his ministries, when we look 00:14:08.389 --> 00:14:11.350 at Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the majority 00:14:11.350 --> 00:14:16.090 of his ministry, Jesus cited or had affinity 00:14:16.090 --> 00:14:20.419 with those without power. and those that had 00:14:20.419 --> 00:14:26.340 status stripped from various places. Jesus constantly 00:14:26.340 --> 00:14:31.480 moved among the bottom rows of society. Matthew 00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:33.679 9, and if you have your Bibles, let's turn there 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:39.440 this morning. Matthew 9, verse 9 through 13. 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:42.519 We'll put this up on the screen. Matthew 9, 9 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:46.529 through 13. As Jesus passed, I'm going to be 00:14:46.529 --> 00:14:49.990 reading from the ESV. As Jesus passed from there, 00:14:50.149 --> 00:14:54.269 he saw a man called Matthew sitting at a tax 00:14:54.269 --> 00:15:00.429 booth. And Jesus said to him, follow me. And 00:15:00.429 --> 00:15:06.129 Matthew rose and followed him. As Jesus reclined 00:15:06.129 --> 00:15:09.070 at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors 00:15:09.070 --> 00:15:14.029 and many sinners and were reclining with Jesus 00:15:14.029 --> 00:15:17.509 and the disciples. Now just picture that room. 00:15:19.649 --> 00:15:26.409 How many have friends that work for the IRS or 00:15:26.409 --> 00:15:30.210 local tax authorities? Nobody's raising their 00:15:30.210 --> 00:15:35.029 hand that want to be identified. Jesus, Jesus 00:15:35.029 --> 00:15:41.740 not only picked the most despised Now you have 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:44.580 to understand, Matthew representing a Jewish 00:15:44.580 --> 00:15:48.299 person working for a Gentile Roman tax collecting 00:15:48.299 --> 00:15:52.240 office was considered a traitor right from the 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:56.159 beginning. Traitor to his people, traitor to 00:15:56.159 --> 00:16:00.320 his faith. Jesus invites him to follow him and 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:03.159 then in the course of that invites a whole lot 00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:05.519 of other tax collectors and then the Bible says 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:09.450 sinners. In that reality, it was everything. 00:16:09.710 --> 00:16:15.350 Sinners would be anyone that had not adhered 00:16:15.350 --> 00:16:21.070 to the principles of Moses' laws and lived a 00:16:21.070 --> 00:16:23.830 life contrary from righteousness and honoring 00:16:23.830 --> 00:16:28.110 God. So here's Jesus sitting in this room with 00:16:28.110 --> 00:16:31.789 people, his disciples in the same room, and all 00:16:31.789 --> 00:16:34.769 of the invited guests. And the Pharisees saw 00:16:34.769 --> 00:16:38.039 this. And they said to his disciples, now notice 00:16:38.039 --> 00:16:41.860 they said sometimes to Jesus directly, but this 00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:45.759 time was like, they said to his disciples, why 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:50.139 does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 00:16:50.139 --> 00:16:54.720 sinners? But when Jesus heard it, now you have 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:57.720 to just, you know, how many have ever been in 00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:00.480 a... in a conversation where somebody is talking, 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:03.799 you're in completely engaged in someone else's 00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:07.319 conversation. And then one person that you're 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:10.079 connected to, maybe your wife or your kid says 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:13.559 something. And all of a sudden you tune out of 00:17:13.559 --> 00:17:15.500 the conversation you're in and surrounded with, 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:18.980 and you pick up every word across the room. Anybody 00:17:18.980 --> 00:17:22.619 like that? Okay. It's okay. This section must 00:17:22.619 --> 00:17:27.079 be more parents over here. The reality is, you 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:29.480 can all of a sudden hear two things. It's like 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:35.440 this person just goes, and it's like, and then 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:41.200 you look over at your child. It's like Jesus 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:44.799 hears it. They were talking to his disciples. 00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:48.700 He hears it, and when Jesus heard it, verse 12, 00:17:48.819 --> 00:17:54.470 he said, those who are well, Have no need of 00:17:54.470 --> 00:17:59.769 a physician, but those who are sick. Go learn 00:17:59.769 --> 00:18:05.089 what this means. I desire mercy and not sacrifice. 00:18:05.690 --> 00:18:09.650 For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. 00:18:10.730 --> 00:18:15.849 Now, this is a pretty significant statement that 00:18:15.849 --> 00:18:18.869 Jesus says. He didn't just say. Hey guys, I heard 00:18:18.869 --> 00:18:20.849 you talking. I just wanted to come over and address 00:18:20.849 --> 00:18:23.490 this privately and kind of just correct a little 00:18:23.490 --> 00:18:26.910 theology. Jesus, you have to understand, and 00:18:26.910 --> 00:18:30.730 he heard it, he just stopped right in the middle 00:18:30.730 --> 00:18:34.450 of dinner conversation and he just blurts out 00:18:34.450 --> 00:18:42.890 this kind of proverbial truth. Those who are 00:18:42.890 --> 00:18:45.269 well have no need of a physician, but those who 00:18:45.269 --> 00:18:48.660 are sick, go. and learn what this means. I desire 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:52.579 mercy and not sacrifice for I came not to call 00:18:52.579 --> 00:18:54.859 the righteous but sinners. Now, first of all, 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:58.200 you need to understand that what Jesus was doing, 00:18:58.279 --> 00:19:03.980 he was now doing as a master teacher and a rabbi. 00:19:05.059 --> 00:19:10.839 He was now addressing the Pharisees in the room 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:18.869 as a learned scholar invoking on them to remind 00:19:18.869 --> 00:19:23.549 themselves where the passages of what he just 00:19:23.549 --> 00:19:31.529 quoted are. And he was inviting them to begin 00:19:31.529 --> 00:19:34.690 to think differently by what they were experiencing 00:19:34.690 --> 00:19:37.970 in the questioning of their hearts and in the 00:19:37.970 --> 00:19:41.589 judgments that they were beginning to have. Jesus... 00:19:42.170 --> 00:19:44.630 To this group now, let's get into the meat of 00:19:44.630 --> 00:19:47.910 it. Jesus brought them the essence of three distinct 00:19:47.910 --> 00:19:50.210 passages. Remember where the Bible says, on the 00:19:50.210 --> 00:19:52.269 mouth of two or three witnesses shall everything 00:19:52.269 --> 00:19:55.769 be established? Jesus quoted, in essence, three 00:19:55.769 --> 00:20:01.250 passages. Hebrews 6, 6, 1 Samuel 15, 22, and 00:20:01.250 --> 00:20:05.950 Micah 6, 6 through 8. Jesus was the master rabbi. 00:20:06.130 --> 00:20:11.450 And to those learned men, when he said, go. and 00:20:11.450 --> 00:20:16.390 learn, he would say, go find where those passages 00:20:16.390 --> 00:20:22.269 are and look at them in a new light in the context 00:20:22.269 --> 00:20:25.750 in which they were originally delivered. Jesus 00:20:25.750 --> 00:20:29.250 took them and told them to re -examine, examine 00:20:29.250 --> 00:20:33.170 the words, I desire mercy and not sacrifice. 00:20:33.289 --> 00:20:35.690 Let's just give you a background. Hosea 6, 6 00:20:35.690 --> 00:20:40.309 says it this way. I desire mercy and not sacrifice. 00:20:41.109 --> 00:20:44.930 and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 00:20:45.109 --> 00:20:47.990 Here's an expanded version of it. What shall 00:20:47.990 --> 00:20:50.910 I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with 00:20:50.910 --> 00:20:54.130 you, O Judah? Your love is like the morning cloud, 00:20:54.369 --> 00:20:57.950 like the dew that goes away early. Therefore, 00:20:58.089 --> 00:21:01.109 I've hewn you down by the prophets and I've slain 00:21:01.109 --> 00:21:03.170 them by the words of my mouth and my judgment 00:21:03.170 --> 00:21:05.500 goes forth as light. I don't know if you remember 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:08.140 me quoting this last week, but I said to you 00:21:08.140 --> 00:21:12.680 out of Laodicea, he says, I have sent my prophets 00:21:12.680 --> 00:21:16.839 and their words have what? I will spew you out 00:21:16.839 --> 00:21:19.619 of my mouth. Here Jesus is talking about the 00:21:19.619 --> 00:21:24.000 words that God's prophets give when you're in 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:27.940 rebellion and defiance and you're in a mindset 00:21:27.940 --> 00:21:31.140 that's different. The words actually are meant 00:21:31.140 --> 00:21:35.299 to cut the heart. That's what happened at Peter's 00:21:35.299 --> 00:21:38.519 preaching. The day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:41.619 two, they were what? When Peter preached, this 00:21:41.619 --> 00:21:45.160 is Jesus whom you crucified, who is risen from 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:46.660 the dead, the son of David. What does it say? 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:49.720 And they were. cut to the heart. That would be 00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:53.259 a prophetic statement is I hew them down with 00:21:53.259 --> 00:21:55.920 my prophets. Meaning what? I caused the pride 00:21:55.920 --> 00:21:58.359 and the arrogance of which they stood against 00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:01.099 my word and in the way they looked at it and 00:22:01.099 --> 00:22:03.880 I brought them under the light that broke forth. 00:22:04.779 --> 00:22:08.319 And now this is the context. Your love is like 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:10.240 the morning dew. What was he saying to Judah 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:15.839 and Ephraim? You are fickle. Yes, you'll declare 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:18.579 that you love, but as soon as the sun comes up, 00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:22.839 you're evaporated just like the dew. I've sent 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:26.339 my prophets, I've sent my words to you to try 00:22:26.339 --> 00:22:29.119 to cut the pride and the arrogance and to bring 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:34.400 a shaping to you. And then he says it this way, 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:38.400 for I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice 00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:41.640 and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:45.980 What about 1 Samuel? He quoted this passage, 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:49.420 1 Samuel 5, 22. Has the Lord delight in great 00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:53.299 burnt offerings and sacrifices as in the obeying 00:22:53.299 --> 00:22:56.500 of the voice of the Lord? The great phrase here, 00:22:56.579 --> 00:23:01.519 behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:04.640 to heed the voice of the Lord than the fat of 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:12.279 rams. Micah 6, 6 through 8 says this. With what 00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:15.859 shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before 00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:18.059 the Lord on high? Shall I come before him with 00:23:18.059 --> 00:23:21.220 burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will 00:23:21.220 --> 00:23:23.960 the Lord be pleased with a thousand rams or with 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:28.059 10 ,000 rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn 00:23:28.059 --> 00:23:30.480 for my transgression or the fruit of my body 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:36.420 of my soul? No, the Lord has told you, oh man, 00:23:36.460 --> 00:23:40.140 what is good and what the Lord does require of 00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:44.839 you. but to do justice, to love kindness, and 00:23:44.839 --> 00:23:49.640 to walk humbly with and before your God. You 00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:54.259 see, the Lord always puts, he always puts the 00:23:54.259 --> 00:24:00.119 focus on the heart rather than some form of outer 00:24:00.119 --> 00:24:04.630 sacrifice. The inner part of the heart. to walk 00:24:04.630 --> 00:24:08.930 in humility and surrender in our thought processes 00:24:08.930 --> 00:24:15.250 and motives. This is where Christ actually gets 00:24:15.250 --> 00:24:21.269 deepened in you and me. Listen, worshiping God 00:24:21.269 --> 00:24:26.430 is great. Coming to church is part of his purpose 00:24:26.430 --> 00:24:30.599 and plan and singing songs. that are connected 00:24:30.599 --> 00:24:33.819 to honoring, loving, and worshiping are great, 00:24:33.900 --> 00:24:38.740 but your heart better be connected. Because you 00:24:38.740 --> 00:24:42.640 could actually sing those things and sing it 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:49.180 from a place of you receiving peace and you receiving 00:24:49.180 --> 00:24:54.660 a feel good and actually not surrender to his 00:24:54.660 --> 00:25:00.480 lordship. Everything in our Christian life comes 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:06.640 down to what? The motive of the heart. Listen, 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:11.519 it is considered idolatry, scripturally speaking, 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:16.799 to disobey the expressed commands and word of 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:20.640 the Lord to try to then manipulate and compensate 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:27.690 the Lord through worship. Let me say that again. 00:25:29.349 --> 00:25:34.049 Because that's important that you get here. It 00:25:34.049 --> 00:25:42.049 is considered extremely, well, it's sin, number 00:25:42.049 --> 00:25:47.410 one, but it's hostile to God's will that when 00:25:47.410 --> 00:25:50.390 the Lord has expressed commands of what his will 00:25:50.390 --> 00:25:54.839 is, not scripture first. But now I'm going to 00:25:54.839 --> 00:25:57.859 speak to us that believe, because it is scripture, 00:25:58.099 --> 00:26:00.779 that God actually releases the word of the Lord 00:26:00.779 --> 00:26:03.380 over our life. When you know what the word of 00:26:03.380 --> 00:26:07.859 the Lord is for your life and you choose to redirect. 00:26:08.829 --> 00:26:11.250 what God's will is for your life. I'm not talking 00:26:11.250 --> 00:26:14.269 about one prophetic word or here and there. I'm 00:26:14.269 --> 00:26:17.630 talking about clear counsel, prophetic word of 00:26:17.630 --> 00:26:20.049 the Lord that comes to your life, that you bear 00:26:20.049 --> 00:26:22.609 witness on the inside of the Holy Spirit has 00:26:22.609 --> 00:26:25.789 called you, your life for this type of calling. 00:26:25.869 --> 00:26:29.529 When you choose to manipulate it, it is offensive 00:26:29.529 --> 00:26:32.529 to the Lord. Then when you kind of try to manipulate 00:26:32.529 --> 00:26:36.250 the Lord now with offerings from your heart and 00:26:36.250 --> 00:26:40.750 worship and try to put appease God with what 00:26:40.750 --> 00:26:43.089 you'll choose to do versus what he asked you 00:26:43.089 --> 00:26:48.309 to do. It actually starts you on the path of 00:26:48.309 --> 00:26:53.289 deception and blasphemy. Because you begin to 00:26:53.289 --> 00:26:59.549 actually say to the Lord, I know how my life 00:26:59.549 --> 00:27:04.829 should work better than you do. See, sometimes 00:27:04.829 --> 00:27:10.099 it's better to have not known. what the way and 00:27:10.099 --> 00:27:12.839 the will of the Lord is sometimes than to know 00:27:12.839 --> 00:27:17.240 it and not do it. Because when the word of the 00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:20.220 Lord comes to you and actually marks you for 00:27:20.220 --> 00:27:23.480 his purpose, and then you willfully say, but 00:27:23.480 --> 00:27:25.700 I don't wanna do it that way, I'll do it this 00:27:25.700 --> 00:27:31.700 way. We have a plethora of scriptures that show 00:27:31.700 --> 00:27:35.640 that that always leads to deception and always 00:27:35.640 --> 00:27:39.119 leads to a life that brings dishonor to God. 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:43.000 Right in the midst of, while saying, I'm honoring 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:47.140 him. Now I know I'm getting, we're sharpening 00:27:47.140 --> 00:27:51.059 the blade here a little bit. If you understand, 00:27:51.319 --> 00:27:54.740 and I don't have time in these next moments, 00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:57.440 let me just say, Jenny, if you'd come, or whoever's 00:27:57.440 --> 00:28:02.480 coming. I'm gonna tell you that the title that 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:06.559 Jesus had as rabbi, There's great study that's 00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:09.480 gone into this, and I'm not the one that studied 00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:14.579 it out. I'm looking to those that have. We would 00:28:14.579 --> 00:28:20.240 call a senior rabbi or a master teacher, we would 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:22.799 call it in the Hebrew, they would call it shemika 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:28.460 status. And shemika status is something that's 00:28:28.460 --> 00:28:33.700 conferred on a master teacher that... could handle 00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:39.299 the Mosaic law and in the release of the Mosaic 00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:42.220 law, in all that was written, if you will, of 00:28:42.220 --> 00:28:47.640 the Torah there, he could declare to you an interpretation. 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:52.140 Shemekah's status was given, was something that 00:28:52.140 --> 00:28:55.900 was in operation in Jesus' day. Fact is, It was 00:28:55.900 --> 00:28:59.079 a title that had been given and marked by three 00:28:59.079 --> 00:29:01.960 things, signs, wonders, and miracles. And if 00:29:01.960 --> 00:29:04.299 you go back to Jewish history and you do the 00:29:04.299 --> 00:29:08.200 study, there were several rabbis that had Shemekah 00:29:08.200 --> 00:29:10.960 status. Jesus qualified for Shemekah status. 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:15.740 And many times, by reading the scriptures, you 00:29:15.740 --> 00:29:18.279 wouldn't understand that he was actually giving 00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:23.640 the Shemekah senior status. even as he quoted 00:29:23.640 --> 00:29:25.420 the scriptures. And I'll give you some examples. 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:29.779 A Shemekah rabbi would bring clarity to the text 00:29:29.779 --> 00:29:33.880 and in this case would have the right to change 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:39.079 the view of the day. That was the title of being 00:29:39.079 --> 00:29:43.200 a master rabbi or a master teacher or a shmika 00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:46.359 rabbi. Means what? That the interpretation of 00:29:46.359 --> 00:29:49.240 what God was speaking, he had the right as a 00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:51.839 rabbi to say, but this is what the text means. 00:29:53.339 --> 00:29:55.559 So you would say, well, where is that in the 00:29:55.559 --> 00:29:58.740 scripture? Well, let me give you a few. Matthew 00:29:58.740 --> 00:30:04.720 5, 21. You've heard it said. You shall not murder, 00:30:04.839 --> 00:30:07.000 but whoever murders will be liable of the judgment. 00:30:07.339 --> 00:30:13.680 But I say to you, shmika status. Everyone who's 00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:16.759 angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. 00:30:17.099 --> 00:30:19.619 Everyone who insults his brother will be liable 00:30:19.619 --> 00:30:22.279 to the council. And whoever says you fool will 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:28.380 be liable to the hell of fire. Matthew 5 .33. 00:30:28.900 --> 00:30:32.599 Again, you've heard it said. To those of old, 00:30:32.640 --> 00:30:34.799 you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:37.420 to the Lord all that you've sworn. Now, what's 00:30:37.420 --> 00:30:40.519 he quoting? He's quoting the Torah. He's quoting 00:30:40.519 --> 00:30:44.099 the Old Testament scriptures from the law and 00:30:44.099 --> 00:30:48.220 from the word of God. But I say to you, Shemekah 00:30:48.220 --> 00:30:52.079 status, do not take an oath at all, either by 00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:55.859 heaven or for its throne or by earth or its footstool 00:30:55.859 --> 00:30:57.720 or by Jerusalem, the city of the great king. 00:30:57.880 --> 00:31:01.750 And do not let. Do not take an oath by your head, 00:31:01.809 --> 00:31:04.309 for you cannot make one hair black or white. 00:31:04.390 --> 00:31:09.109 Let what you say be yes or no. Anything else 00:31:09.109 --> 00:31:13.650 comes from evil. How about another one? You've 00:31:13.650 --> 00:31:17.349 heard it said, Matthew 5, 43, you shall love 00:31:17.349 --> 00:31:20.269 your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say 00:31:20.269 --> 00:31:24.609 to you, shminka status, you shall love your enemies 00:31:24.609 --> 00:31:27.539 and pray for those who persecute you. so that 00:31:27.539 --> 00:31:29.859 you may be sons of your father who's in heaven. 00:31:30.039 --> 00:31:32.839 For he makes his son rise on evil and good and 00:31:32.839 --> 00:31:35.140 sends the rain on the just and the unjust. For 00:31:35.140 --> 00:31:37.359 if you love those who love you, what reward do 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:40.259 you have? Do not even tax collectors do the same? 00:31:40.380 --> 00:31:43.019 And if you greet only your brothers, what more 00:31:43.019 --> 00:31:45.720 are you doing than others? Do not even Gentiles 00:31:45.720 --> 00:31:52.400 do the same? How about one more? Matthew 5, 38. 00:31:53.220 --> 00:31:55.880 You've heard it said. an eye for an eye and a 00:31:55.880 --> 00:32:00.599 tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist 00:32:00.599 --> 00:32:03.539 the one who is evil. And if anyone slaps you 00:32:03.539 --> 00:32:06.079 on the right cheek, turn him the other also. 00:32:06.940 --> 00:32:11.079 You see, Jesus, the master teacher, was in mercy 00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:17.019 giving these learned men the key to unlock themselves 00:32:17.019 --> 00:32:21.980 from wrong perspectives and values that had kept 00:32:21.980 --> 00:32:26.670 them from really knowing the Lord. You see, many 00:32:26.670 --> 00:32:30.349 times we get the idea that Jesus didn't love 00:32:30.349 --> 00:32:32.529 the Pharisees. You almost hear preaching over 00:32:32.529 --> 00:32:34.410 and over and over saying, well, the only people 00:32:34.410 --> 00:32:36.309 that Jesus got mad at was the Pharisees. Well, 00:32:36.450 --> 00:32:39.970 there is truth to that. But what we don't understand 00:32:39.970 --> 00:32:43.490 that in his righteous anger was because they 00:32:43.490 --> 00:32:47.309 were supposed to know more than the people. Way 00:32:47.309 --> 00:32:52.490 more. To whom much is given, much is... Let's 00:32:52.490 --> 00:32:55.109 try that again. To whom much is given, much is... 00:32:56.119 --> 00:32:59.980 required. His anger, his righteous anger was 00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:03.119 on those who represented God, those who claimed 00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:05.539 they knew God, and those that were supposed to 00:33:05.539 --> 00:33:09.359 operate in their understanding of God to release 00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:12.740 it properly. But I want you to understand in 00:33:12.740 --> 00:33:14.940 these passages, and especially here in Matthew 00:33:14.940 --> 00:33:20.579 9, Jesus as the master, teacher, rabbi, shmika. 00:33:21.079 --> 00:33:23.400 the one who had miracles, signs, and wonders, 00:33:23.460 --> 00:33:26.099 the one who when he would sit even at the age 00:33:26.099 --> 00:33:28.440 of 12, he was not a master teacher at that point, 00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:30.859 the one who would sit at the age of 12 and could 00:33:30.859 --> 00:33:34.359 argue with the most learned of scholars and reason 00:33:34.359 --> 00:33:37.400 through the scriptures whom God anointed in his 00:33:37.400 --> 00:33:41.220 ministry. If there's anybody that qualified for 00:33:41.220 --> 00:33:44.339 it, he qualified for it to understand the text 00:33:44.339 --> 00:33:47.259 of how it was written. Why? Because he was the 00:33:47.259 --> 00:33:50.890 living word himself. And so when Jesus says, 00:33:51.009 --> 00:33:54.349 but I say to you, he was operating both in the 00:33:54.349 --> 00:33:58.069 title of master rabbi, but he was also operating 00:33:58.069 --> 00:34:02.670 in the title of the living word made flesh. He 00:34:02.670 --> 00:34:07.509 was now giving a key to unlock the Pharisees 00:34:07.509 --> 00:34:11.849 when he said, go and learn. He was giving them 00:34:11.849 --> 00:34:17.090 the key to unlock them from their wrong perspective 00:34:17.090 --> 00:34:21.639 and values. Quoting Hosea 6, when Jesus says 00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:27.860 go, he's actually saying this. You need to depart. 00:34:28.840 --> 00:34:32.860 You need to go on a journey. You need to move. 00:34:32.940 --> 00:34:35.539 This is what this word means in the Greek. You 00:34:35.539 --> 00:34:40.760 need to move to a state of transfer. You need 00:34:40.760 --> 00:34:45.719 to prepare yourself to find something new, deeper, 00:34:45.940 --> 00:34:51.780 and richer. Because I'm going to tell you to 00:34:51.780 --> 00:34:55.219 go and learn, which means you have to depart 00:34:55.219 --> 00:34:59.219 from the thing that you think you know in order 00:34:59.219 --> 00:35:02.559 to grab on to the thing that's awaiting you. 00:35:03.400 --> 00:35:06.639 Jesus was saying, you can't find it in the state 00:35:06.639 --> 00:35:09.940 that you're in right here. The question you're 00:35:09.940 --> 00:35:12.840 asking at the table with the tax collectors, 00:35:12.880 --> 00:35:17.250 the Jerusalem IRS agents. And all of the sinners 00:35:17.250 --> 00:35:21.110 and my disciples and now you watching, you can't 00:35:21.110 --> 00:35:24.150 find the answer even though I'm sitting in front 00:35:24.150 --> 00:35:26.949 of you. You can't find it unless you go back 00:35:26.949 --> 00:35:31.110 to the text and look at what I put there for 00:35:31.110 --> 00:35:35.949 you. Jesus is saying, at the core of the heart 00:35:35.949 --> 00:35:40.530 of God, you will find the key to unlock the state 00:35:40.530 --> 00:35:42.869 that you're in. And then he said, learn. And 00:35:42.869 --> 00:35:45.650 I'm going to finish with this one. He said, learn. 00:35:46.250 --> 00:35:49.869 This means what? To increase one's understanding 00:35:49.869 --> 00:35:54.510 of knowledge. It means to develop a new habit. 00:35:54.769 --> 00:36:01.070 A habit that is based on new revelation and insight. 00:36:02.019 --> 00:36:05.559 Jesus is saying, go and learn. Why? Because the 00:36:05.559 --> 00:36:09.260 old revelation or the context in which they had 00:36:09.260 --> 00:36:12.579 bought from their teachers only had brought them 00:36:12.579 --> 00:36:15.760 so far. And now the master teacher was sitting 00:36:15.760 --> 00:36:18.079 in front of them. Just like the master teacher, 00:36:18.219 --> 00:36:21.159 and I'm going to land this plane here shortly. 00:36:22.139 --> 00:36:25.239 The master teacher is sitting in front of them 00:36:25.239 --> 00:36:32.659 and saying, go and learn. What I said, I desire 00:36:32.659 --> 00:36:39.159 mercy and not sacrifice. It was a word first 00:36:39.159 --> 00:36:43.719 to them of love. It wasn't the fact that God 00:36:43.719 --> 00:36:46.539 was looking at them and saying, where you're 00:36:46.539 --> 00:36:49.820 at now, I have no compassion for you. You've 00:36:49.820 --> 00:36:51.980 learned, you've become educated. You've become, 00:36:52.059 --> 00:36:55.880 I'm using an example. You're not this. You've 00:36:55.880 --> 00:36:59.929 become proud and arrogant. Now I'm going to condemn 00:36:59.929 --> 00:37:03.349 you in your arrogance. No, no. Jesus is actually 00:37:03.349 --> 00:37:08.190 flooding their heart and their mind with the 00:37:08.190 --> 00:37:11.170 truth of saying, you've searched the scriptures 00:37:11.170 --> 00:37:15.349 to know God, but you've only come to a certain 00:37:15.349 --> 00:37:18.329 understanding because you've waited it under 00:37:18.329 --> 00:37:22.250 certain teachers. I'm now coming to you as the 00:37:22.250 --> 00:37:25.690 Shemekah rabbi. I've had things validated. That's 00:37:25.690 --> 00:37:29.320 why Jesus could say, If you don't believe me, 00:37:29.420 --> 00:37:32.800 believe me for the works that I do. That was 00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:35.539 all Shemekah. That's what that means. It means 00:37:35.539 --> 00:37:39.239 it was validated that he had the ability to declare 00:37:39.239 --> 00:37:42.539 the word of God as the truth, as God would have 00:37:42.539 --> 00:37:45.960 you understand it. So when he said, now go and 00:37:45.960 --> 00:37:49.699 learn, he was saying, listen, Drew, everything 00:37:49.699 --> 00:37:52.679 that you've poured over and your life to know 00:37:52.679 --> 00:37:56.440 God, I want to bring fresh revelation and light 00:37:56.440 --> 00:38:01.809 to you. I have within myself a desire. You've 00:38:01.809 --> 00:38:07.210 circled around the outsides of my will, but my 00:38:07.210 --> 00:38:10.489 desire is that you know the core of my heart. 00:38:11.489 --> 00:38:14.250 This is so important for every Christian in this 00:38:14.250 --> 00:38:19.449 room. We can do all of the stuff that is for 00:38:19.449 --> 00:38:24.369 God, but the core is, do you have his heart? 00:38:26.159 --> 00:38:31.980 Do you have his heart? Am I allowing the revelation 00:38:31.980 --> 00:38:38.340 of what it means to go and learn of him? That 00:38:38.340 --> 00:38:42.199 he was meek and lowly of heart. That he was what? 00:38:42.280 --> 00:38:49.840 He desires mercy. He desires more your affection 00:38:49.840 --> 00:38:54.659 on a daily basis than any form of offering or 00:38:54.659 --> 00:38:59.039 money. or of any form of praise or adherence 00:38:59.039 --> 00:39:03.199 to any type of schedule that you have. He's after 00:39:03.199 --> 00:39:08.539 the inside of you. And this morning, let us each 00:39:08.539 --> 00:39:13.900 take that to heart. In fact, even as I pray this 00:39:13.900 --> 00:39:16.860 morning and Kayla comes to get ready to dismiss 00:39:16.860 --> 00:39:21.280 us, I'm praying that each one of us, as we heard 00:39:21.280 --> 00:39:23.579 the testimony of what is happening around the 00:39:23.579 --> 00:39:28.030 world, And Lord, we add even now, Lord, your 00:39:28.030 --> 00:39:31.710 word on top of the testimonies of your goodness 00:39:31.710 --> 00:39:34.349 and your faithfulness of calling people out of 00:39:34.349 --> 00:39:36.989 darkness and into your marvelous light. Lord, 00:39:37.250 --> 00:39:45.789 let us hear. Not be swept away by routine. Let 00:39:45.789 --> 00:39:50.630 us not be carried away by familiarity. But God, 00:39:50.690 --> 00:39:53.730 let us be the people that would say, Lord, we're. 00:39:53.980 --> 00:39:57.440 going and we're departing from just routine alone 00:39:57.440 --> 00:40:01.900 but we're going to learn that you desire mercy 00:40:01.900 --> 00:40:07.199 you desire change in the inward part you desire 00:40:07.199 --> 00:40:13.300 love and the willingness to think about you choose 00:40:13.300 --> 00:40:19.119 your purposes and decisions in the daily walk 00:40:19.119 --> 00:40:25.019 that when the other stuff comes to our mind that 00:40:25.019 --> 00:40:29.300 we're willing immediately in the doors of our 00:40:29.300 --> 00:40:33.380 heart and in the hallways of decision to let 00:40:33.380 --> 00:40:38.900 go of what is not of you and step into what is 00:40:38.900 --> 00:40:42.699 of you. Lord, I'm asking that in this congregation. 00:40:42.780 --> 00:40:46.340 You're bringing the wind and you're bringing 00:40:46.340 --> 00:40:49.739 the fire. You're cleaning now in these next seasons. 00:40:49.780 --> 00:40:53.139 We declare it. You're cleaning threshing floors 00:40:53.139 --> 00:40:56.340 because you desire wheat to come into the barn. 00:40:56.559 --> 00:41:00.480 We have to have a mindset, Lord, that sees the 00:41:00.480 --> 00:41:05.480 unsaved, that sees their, they don't know, but 00:41:05.480 --> 00:41:08.480 they have to have a people that with mercy and 00:41:08.480 --> 00:41:13.079 love would live outside of themselves. Give us 00:41:13.079 --> 00:41:17.619 a heart for the lost and the unsaved. We love 00:41:17.619 --> 00:41:22.409 you, Jesus, and we bless you. I bless this congregation 00:41:22.409 --> 00:41:29.889 in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for taking the 00:41:29.889 --> 00:41:32.730 time to listen to this week's message. We are 00:41:32.730 --> 00:41:35.530 so grateful for those who tune in each week and 00:41:35.530 --> 00:41:38.750 have given generously to this ministry. If you 00:41:38.750 --> 00:41:41.329 would like to give, click the link in the episode 00:41:41.329 --> 00:41:44.510 description below. You can also help us by subscribing 00:41:44.510 --> 00:41:47.010 to this podcast and sharing it with your friends 00:41:47.010 --> 00:41:50.389 and family. Lastly, if you are in need of prayer 00:41:50.389 --> 00:41:56.510 send us a text message at 541 -625 -1365 We would 00:41:56.510 --> 00:41:57.550 love to pray with you.