1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:02,080 Dang, you guys are singing this morning. 2 00:00:03,280 --> 00:00:06,080 That was fire helping him screwed up with the preaching. 3 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:10,640 If you got a Bible, go ahead and get that open to 2nd Kings in 4 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,160 the Old Testament, particularly chapter 5. 5 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,040 If if you can't find it, that's OK. 6 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,800 We'll have all the relevant verses on the screen for you so 7 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,920 that you don't miss anything as you're turning there. 8 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,160 Let me just kind of lay some groundwork here on my sermon 9 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,200 this morning is it's going to be unhinged. 10 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:29,280 As the kids are saying, I'm going to be a little bit 11 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:31,040 unhinged in my preaching this morning. 12 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:32,720 And I don't mean theologically or biblically. 13 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:36,280 I've labored really hard to keep this bibliocentric and solid and 14 00:00:36,480 --> 00:00:38,240 biblical. But I might just say some 15 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,920 unhinged things this morning because this week is Pentecost 16 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,800 Prep week. Because next week is Pentecost 17 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:47,400 Sunday. So this week we're preparing our 18 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:49,880 hearts and minds for Pentecost next Sunday. 19 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,200 If you don't know what Pentecost means, the word, it literally 20 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,280 just means 50. It's a celebration that 5050 21 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,080 days after Jesus's death and resurrection, he sent the Holy 22 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:05,400 Spirit to his people. And so for prep week this 23 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,960 morning, what what I want to do is I'm going to preach kind of 24 00:01:07,960 --> 00:01:11,360 1/2 sermon and I'll bring it to fruition next Sunday. 25 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,320 This is like I said this morning, this is the layup. 26 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:16,600 And then hopefully, by the grace of God, the dunk is going to 27 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,080 come next Sunday. So my big goal is painting the 28 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,120 backdrop. I What I want to do over the 29 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:29,640 next 35 minutes is I want to show you biblically how real the 30 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:35,840 spiritual realm is and how much we as Christians, to be 31 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:40,640 victorious in that realm, need to depend on the Holy Spirit. 32 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,200 OK? Specifically, I want us to see 33 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,880 how the spiritual realm is not as some modern people would 34 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:51,240 imagine it, not just me and God or you and God or us and God, 35 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:52,600 although there's an element of truth to that. 36 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,720 But biblically, what we see is that the spiritual realm is a 37 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:02,160 highly populated, even crowded realm that is populated by both 38 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:07,120 good spirits like angels and messengers and bad malevolent 39 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,320 spirits, what the Bible calls evil spirits, unclean spirits, 40 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,560 demons, Satan, and even what the Bible would call malevolent 41 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:15,960 gods. And so to paint that backdrop 42 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,960 clearly, I want to say whatever makes things stick. 43 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:22,760 I'm not afraid of saying true things, even if it makes me 44 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:26,280 sound like your crazy uncle, which at some point in the 45 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:28,920 sermon, maybe I'll wear that hat a little bit. 46 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:32,040 But here's a little bit of another preliminary point. 47 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:34,400 Sorry. I feel like right now I sound 48 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,640 like my, my preaching is starting to sound like it, like 49 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:40,880 an antidepressant commercial where they list at the end of it 50 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,960 all the possible negative outcomes that could happen when 51 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:49,160 you put this into your system. But this, this needs to be said. 52 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:51,200 I'm bringing the spiritual realm to the forefront. 53 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,280 And so I just need to remind you that this sermon is, it's not me 54 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,320 teasing out some significant shift in my theology or my 55 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:00,000 preaching. For the last 10 years of 56 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,080 pastoring, I think my preaching, our preaching has been marked by 57 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:08,880 gospel centered, Jesus centered biblical exposition dominated by 58 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,160 the themes of Jesus's death for salvation, a trinitarian 59 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:16,200 understanding of God, the gospel of faith alone in Jesus, and the 60 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,560 possibility of joy in the believers life. 61 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:23,320 So let me say this up front, OK, especially since this is like 62 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:25,240 1/2 sermon. I got to say this up front. 63 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:30,680 The most important thing you can hear from me this morning is not 64 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,160 my theology on demons, my demonology as they call it. 65 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,400 It's not any of the unhinged things I'm going to say about 66 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,000 the spiritual realm. Those are all secondary. 67 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,640 Take them, wrestle with them, reject them, whatever you do 68 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,040 you. The most important thing you can 69 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:47,720 hear from me this morning is the Gospel. 70 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:50,360 Amen. So everything I'm going to say 71 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:55,960 is on this foundation. Jesus is real, loves you, He 72 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:02,520 died for you, came in the flesh. He was crucified by faith alone 73 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,000 in Jesus. You're gonna have all your sins 74 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:07,080 forgiven. You're gonna have all his 75 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,400 righteousness given to you. By believing in the gospel, 76 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:13,920 you're made more than a conqueror in all your spiritual 77 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:16,880 warfare. So Jesus is king and there's no 78 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:17,839 other. Amen. 79 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:19,959 Amen. Let's do it. 80 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:25,880 I was in the gym the other day and somebody came over in in the 81 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,160 middle of my lift and tapped me on the shoulder. 82 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:33,640 So I took off my headphones and he he said, hey, I heard you're 83 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,840 a pastor. It's usually pretty fun when a 84 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:40,440 conversation opens that way. Usually there's a lot of 85 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,000 apologies for cuss words and stuff like that on their end. 86 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,880 Of course, he goes, hey, I heard you're a pastor. 87 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:50,960 And I was like, yeah, I'm cold. And I hold my hand out to shake 88 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:52,400 his hand. And he leans in and he says, 89 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:58,400 what do you think of aliens? I nobody. 90 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:01,400 When I planted a church, I thought people were going to ask 91 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:05,080 me what's my eschatology? You know, I thought people going 92 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:06,720 to be like, are you a Calvinist or an Armenian? 93 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:08,840 Are you going to be complimentarian or egalitarian? 94 00:05:08,840 --> 00:05:11,040 That's what I was prepared for, and I have answers to those 95 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,280 questions. What I was not prepared for was 96 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:17,320 somebody with my hand yet to be shaken, doesn't even know my 97 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:19,600 name, saying, hey, what do you think about aliens? 98 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:21,880 I'm not a current events preacher. 99 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,120 I think that preaching is best done by going as deep as you can 100 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,520 possibly go into the biblical text and allowing that to do its 101 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,160 work and then bleed itself out into the community. 102 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:33,720 There are times and there are seasons and there are moments, 103 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:36,120 and these times and seasons are moments. 104 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:40,760 What they're marked by is whenever I have more than a 105 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:45,440 handful of conversations with church people about a singular 106 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:47,560 issue, if there's, you know, one or two conversations about 107 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:49,920 something, I'll just let the pastoral ministry do the work. 108 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,840 But once starts to like this last month, come up multiple 109 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:56,880 times, and you got a guy in the gym who figures out you're a 110 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,440 pastor and he won't seem to know what you think of aliens, maybe 111 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:02,160 you should touch it. Don't worry, it's not going to 112 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:05,840 be a sermon about aliens. I might have a comment or two or 113 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:08,560 a paragraph on them. It's not about aliens. 114 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:15,840 It's about the Holy Spirit, the spiritual realm, and our need 115 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:17,840 for the Spirit. So we're going to be in this. 116 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:20,040 We're going to begin this morning with what is probably 117 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:22,640 going to appear to be like an awkward Old Testament text that 118 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,680 you don't know how fits into this conversation, and we'll 119 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:28,200 figure it out together. So if you're able, let's stand 120 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:37,420 for the reading of the word God. What a text here. 121 00:06:37,420 --> 00:06:42,260 This is Second Kings chapter 5, verse 15. 122 00:06:42,500 --> 00:06:44,780 You don't know the context yet. That's OK. 123 00:06:44,780 --> 00:06:47,180 I'll catch you up. Here's what it says. 124 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,440 Name my boy Naaman Nae Nae. I'm not going to call him that 125 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:53,840 again. Naaman returned to the man of 126 00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:56,840 God and to all of his company again. 127 00:06:56,840 --> 00:06:59,120 I'll catch you up. And he came and he stood before 128 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:03,200 him, and he said, behold, I know that there is no God in all the 129 00:07:03,280 --> 00:07:06,920 earth but in Israel. I have a present for you now, 130 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,120 except now a present from your servant. 131 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:16,600 But he said, Prophet, as the Lord lives before whom I stand, 132 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:21,000 I will receive none. He urged him to take it, but he 133 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:22,880 refused again. Don't worry, I'll catch you up. 134 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:30,360 So then Naaman said OK, if not you're not going to take my gift 135 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:35,040 then can at least we do this? Please let there be given to me 136 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:45,800 to your servant 2 mule loads. Wait for it of earth, dirt, 137 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:55,000 soil, what can I have two mule loads of dirt? 138 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:00,040 Why For from now on your servant will not offer burnt offerings 139 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,600 or sacrifice to any God but the Lord. 140 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:05,840 We're really going to 0 in on that as I won't have time to 141 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:08,960 cover all this text. But in this matter, he keeps on 142 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:10,760 talking to the prophet. May the Lord pardon your 143 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,640 servant, for when my master goes into the House of Ramon, that's 144 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:15,440 the God they worship to worship there. 145 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,600 Even if he leans on my arm and I have to bow myself in the House 146 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,320 of Ramon. When I bow myself in the House 147 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:26,880 of Ramon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter. 148 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:34,400 I'm not even I'm not even going to worship Ramon anymore, but I 149 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:37,679 will have to my master might lean on my arm and if I do that, 150 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:42,159 pardon me. And the prophet said to him, go 151 00:08:42,159 --> 00:08:48,000 in peace, Heavenly Father, where are we going to get the soil 152 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,920 from? We don't have access to that. 153 00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:00,560 And so Lord create just created us a, an openness and a 154 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:03,920 willingness to understand the biblical and specifically the 155 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:06,120 Old Testament understanding of the spiritual realm. 156 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:09,080 We have such a different cosmology than them. 157 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:13,520 And in some ways they had, I'm sure, a better cosmology than 158 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:14,960 us. And maybe in some ways we 159 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:17,680 understand the cosmos a little bit better than them. 160 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:19,200 But we have things to learn from them. 161 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,200 And so I just pray that we would open our minds and hearts to the 162 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,400 word of God. And I was praying God. 163 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,800 I was praying this morning and I was just like, Lord, if I say 164 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:32,440 anything foolish or unhelpful, just be gracious and plug the 165 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,200 ears of these people and let it just bounce off of their chest. 166 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:39,360 But if there's anything helpful, anything moving, anything that 167 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,360 creates dependence on the Holy Spirit and shows our need for 168 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,520 the Holy Spirit, just drive that into us. 169 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:48,840 And so it's in the precious name of Jesus that all God's people 170 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:50,520 prayed. Amen. 171 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:57,640 You can have seat, he's going back to Syria and he's like, 172 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:03,960 hey, I need 2 mule loads of dirt. 173 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:06,920 And of course that begs the question, what do I think about 174 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,240 aliens? A rumor circulated around the 175 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:13,920 Internet two weeks ago, and not just on the Internet, but it 176 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:16,400 actually ended up getting covered by most of the major 177 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:19,800 outlet sources. And so that's when you know that 178 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:23,720 something is worth talking about when it's not just on Reddit and 179 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:26,760 on Reddit comments, but circulating among major news 180 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:28,880 sources. And the rumor that's circulating 181 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:31,240 around right now is that the government hosted a briefing 182 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,720 where they invited several influential pastors throughout 183 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:38,920 the nation to talk about, you guessed it, the disclosure of 184 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:41,480 the governments private UFO files. 185 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,880 And this rumor has a fair amount of skeptics. 186 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:47,760 And so maybe this didn't happen, but this rumor has also been 187 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:51,560 confirmed by a few of the people who claimed to have been at that 188 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:53,720 meeting. Apparently in this supposed 189 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:55,960 meeting, which either did or didn't happen. 190 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:58,640 I just think we'll be talking about it in the months to come. 191 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,120 Apparently, these government officials didn't disclose to 192 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:05,280 these pastors what exactly was in the government's UFO files. 193 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:06,720 If you're keeping up with that at all. 194 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:09,360 They did their first file dump last week. 195 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:11,720 I'll save you the time. It was a big nothing burger. 196 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,080 It was mostly blurry pictures, blurry videos that you've 197 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,320 already seen circulating around. Apparently the juicy stuff, if 198 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:21,440 there is, is still waiting for us in the future. 199 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:23,960 And so they didn't disclose what was in the government's UFO 200 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:26,400 files, these pastors. But apparently what they did 201 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:31,480 brief these pastors on was #1 the future file releases and 202 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:33,440 disclosures are going to be brutal. 203 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:38,600 And #2 Dun, Dun, Dun, what's in these files has the capacity to 204 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,880 shake the faith of American Christians. 205 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:46,440 And so apparently they told these pastors, prepare your 206 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:49,920 people. According to American folklore, 207 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:56,000 President Jimmy Carter wept after first reading the UFO 208 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:00,600 files and was depressed for two or three weeks, allegedly. 209 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:04,640 Which all begs the question, what's what's in there? 210 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:09,040 What could it? What could that mean? 211 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:13,360 And is there room in the Bible for the existence of 212 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:15,120 extraterrestrial lives or aliens? 213 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,200 And I think the answer to that is a resounding yes. 214 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:22,440 Do I think that the current alien topic is actually fake and 215 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,400 could be a distraction? Did I get a clap for that or was 216 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:27,480 that a Boo? Was that a clap? 217 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,000 All right, cool, cool. I was wondering who was wearing 218 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:34,240 the tinfoil at do I think that the current alien topic is 219 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,200 actually fake and could be a distraction to get people not 220 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:38,960 focused on other global current events? 221 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:41,280 And yeah, I think there's a possibility that's what's going 222 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:41,760 on. Sure. 223 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:44,320 Do I think that aliens are actually what the Bible refers 224 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:46,800 to as demons Again, yeah. I think that there's a 225 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:50,040 possibility that that's true. When it comes to discerning the 226 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:53,560 nature of extraterrestrials, supposing that they're real, 227 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:57,320 which again, is a big suppose what I would do if I were you is 228 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:00,600 I wouldn't focus on appearance. I would focus on the messaging, 229 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,480 the message that they do or don't bring if there's a point 230 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:06,400 of contact, for instance, or, I don't know, a tape recording 231 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,760 that gets released in these files between aliens and humans 232 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:11,840 in the future. And these extraterrestrial 233 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:16,320 beings offer us a message that sounds eerily like a gospel, 234 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:22,520 some promise of healing or eternal life or World Peace 235 00:13:22,560 --> 00:13:26,200 under the condition that we give them our loyalty or faith or 236 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:30,000 allegiance. If that's what happens, well, 237 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,200 well, well. I feel quite confident calling 238 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:36,600 these demonic beings. And interestingly enough, if you 239 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,520 take all the people who have had claimed experiences with UFOs, 240 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:42,520 you can, you can go ahead and take all the crazy uncles who 241 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:45,320 drank too much beer that night and had some backwoods. 242 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:48,440 You can throw that out, right? But if you take the experience 243 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:52,200 of pretty, pretty intelligent, academic, literate people who 244 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,560 have supposedly had these experiences, interestingly 245 00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:59,040 enough, even you have negative experiences, which doesn't need 246 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,200 explanation. But even the positive 247 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:05,480 experiences with them, they tend to return to earth with an 248 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:11,080 almost identical message. You can have health, you can 249 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:15,320 have peace, you can have salvation if you give us your 250 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:19,200 allegiance, which is really interesting biblically because 251 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:22,160 Galatians says chapter one verse 8. 252 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:30,760 Even if we or an Angel from heaven to preach to you a gospel 253 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:35,000 contrary to the one preached to you, let him be a cursed. 254 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:36,760 Interesting. What does that mean? 255 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:39,400 What does that imply? This is what the verse implies. 256 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:44,560 It implies the possibility that a heavenly being could appear 257 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:49,240 with a false gospel. And so to tie it up with a bit 258 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:52,600 of a bow, here are my my two favorite quotes from theologians 259 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:55,840 on the subject of extraterrestrials, real or fake. 260 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,880 Who knows, maybe time will tell. But the phenomenal Catholic 261 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:03,400 theologian Carl Reiner said, quote Christianity is the 262 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:07,240 religion of the absolute future, and so if there are other 263 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:11,480 spiritual, corporeal beings in the cosmos, then they too stand 264 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:15,000 within the horizon of God's creative and gracious will. 265 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:18,840 The Christian therefore, needs not be disturbed by the 266 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,720 possibility of extraterrestrial rational beings. 267 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:24,880 Get this? Why? 268 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:28,520 Because Christianity does not need to be disturbed by the 269 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:33,760 sorry for Christianity does not teach that man is the absolute 270 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:37,920 center of creation, but rather that God is the center of 271 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:41,600 creation and that all creation exists from him and toward him. 272 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:46,600 Isn't that good? Or my buddy John Piper, who I 273 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:51,720 went to school with. No, I do like it. 274 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:55,680 I do like his writing. He says quote, no UFOs are 275 00:15:55,680 --> 00:16:02,160 showing up except by the plan of God if they are fake. 276 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:08,480 He rules over the fake. If they are real, he rules over 277 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:12,280 the real. There are no cracks in complete 278 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:14,240 sovereignty. God's in control. 279 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:17,240 Nothing squeaks through. God governs illusions. 280 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:19,680 God governs atmospheric conundrums. 281 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,680 God governs all the reaches of space and everything in it, or 282 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:25,880 everything that could be in it. Isn't that good? 283 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:29,640 And so at the end of the day, who who knows? 284 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:31,760 I've never been to a UFO conference. 285 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,080 That's Andrew Johnson's job. I'm mine. 286 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,360 I've never, I've never. I've never been to 1. 287 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:39,080 And this sermon is even about aliens. 288 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:42,440 But as I was talking to some random dude in the gym about 289 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:45,880 aliens, and as my social media blew up with articles about 290 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,520 aliens and the possibility of them from major news outlets, I 291 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:51,840 will tell you this. It hit me. 292 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,680 This realization hit me like a bag of bricks. 293 00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:02,080 I went, Oh my goodness. Right now the unbelieving world 294 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:08,800 is taking aliens more seriously then Christians take the reality 295 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:10,560 of demons in the powers of darkness. 296 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:14,760 I was like, these people are taking aliens more seriously 297 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:16,520 than I sometimes take the spiritual realm. 298 00:17:19,319 --> 00:17:24,400 The secular world's more open to aliens than the churches to the 299 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:29,040 spiritual realm. And so there you have Naman in 300 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:31,080 the Old Testament, right? Here's the context of what's 301 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,640 going on in that passage. He's a military leader in Syria. 302 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:37,000 He gets leprosy. So with the advice of a it's a 303 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,120 it's a great story. You should go reread all of 304 00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:42,800 chapter 5 S at the advice of a a little Israelite girl who's been 305 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:46,040 taken captive and held hostage in Syria, he sends a messenger 306 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:48,920 to Israel asking for help. The prophet Elijah in Israel 307 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:52,720 sends back a message and says, hey, wash yourself in, wash 308 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:54,280 yourself in the Jordan River 7 times. 309 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,680 And Naman doesn't act of faith and it works. 310 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:02,480 He's cleansed that weird. Here's where it gets weirder. 311 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,280 Naman is so psyched. And this is where we show up in 312 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:08,600 our text that he goes to Israel to meet with Elijah. 313 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:10,280 And he shows up with these gifts. 314 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:15,440 And Elijah says, no, I don't. I don't want the gifts. 315 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:21,920 And then it gets weirder because then Naman says OK, if you're 316 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:27,080 not going to receive my gifts, can can I at least have some? 317 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:31,520 Get this, get a load of this guy, get a load of soil, get 318 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:38,000 this he says, can I at least have some dirt, 2 mule loads of 319 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:42,880 dirt from Israel to take back with me to Syria. 320 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:46,000 Not strange. Look at verse. 321 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,000 Look at verse 17 really closely. This is the actual text, not the 322 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,480 cold Ike standard version. Then Naaman said OK if not, 323 00:18:54,480 --> 00:19:01,440 please let there be given to your servant. 2 mule loads of 324 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:03,040 earth. Pause right there. 325 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:13,640 Here's my main point. What I you're the preacher, what 326 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:17,600 do you say about this? Especially like how do I preach 327 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:21,440 application for this right? OK, everybody after church you 328 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:28,960 got to go to Menards, look for 2 bags of soil, read the label 329 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:33,280 closely because it's got to be from the promised land and Old 330 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:35,280 Testament promised land because the soil is not the same 331 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:36,240 anymore. But that's a different 332 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:37,760 conversation. We can unpack that later. 333 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:42,600 Get 2 loads of soil from there and then bring it, bring it 334 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:43,720 home. You're going to do that? 335 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:45,680 What do I, where do I get my soil from? 336 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:53,840 Look at the text. The text says 2 mule loads of of 337 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:55,840 earth. How how are we going to do that? 338 00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:00,000 I don't think anybody in our church owns mules, right? 339 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:07,360 I don't think so to maybe Craig had No, no, nobody owns meals. 340 00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:10,880 What are we going to do? Two mule loads of dirt. 341 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:13,400 How do you apply this? What's going on? 342 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:17,200 Why does Naman want soil from Old Testament Israel to bring 343 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,400 back with them to Syria? We see like a child on vacation 344 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:23,360 who wants to collect seashells to always remind himself of his 345 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:25,160 time in vacation. No, look at the second-half of 346 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:27,080 verse 17. Bible, Bible, Bible Bible. 347 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:29,400 We believe the Bible. Why? 348 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:37,000 For from now on your servant, he's not going to worship or in 349 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,760 this language will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice. 350 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:45,000 Ramon would be the name of the God in Syria to any God but the 351 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:48,640 Lord Yahweh, the biblical God. What Naaman is showing you right 352 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,920 here is that Naaman believes that the land of Old Testament 353 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:56,120 Israel belongs to Yahweh, the God of Israel. 354 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:02,000 And so these two loads of dirt and the power take with them to 355 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:07,000 give them the strength to resist the influence in the power of 356 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,800 the Syrian gods. Here's one of my favorite living 357 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:11,840 theologians, Peter Lightheart on this subject. 358 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:15,360 He says, quote, Naman assumes that Yahweh are the God of the 359 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:18,280 Bible, can be worshipped only on Yahweh's land. 360 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:20,160 And so he asks for soil. Why? 361 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:24,600 Because he wants to establish a little piece of Israel in Syria, 362 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:30,200 like a little holy island in Gentile territory. 363 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:36,600 For Naman, land and worship are inseparable realities. 364 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:40,600 It's called cosmic geography. If you want to go really nerdy 365 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,080 this week. So if he's to worship Yahweh 366 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:51,160 faithfully, he must stand on holy territory in the midst of a 367 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:56,840 demonized nation. He needs to form a beachhead of 368 00:21:56,840 --> 00:22:06,120 Yahweh's Kingdom within Syria. So Naaman's, Naaman's got a job, 369 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:09,240 right? He's probably got a family, He's 370 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:11,840 probably got a kids, and that job is back in Syria. 371 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:13,760 He just fell in love with Yahweh. 372 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,240 Yahweh, cleanse them, heal them. He wants to worship Yahweh. 373 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:22,240 He can't just leave Syria and live in Israel. 374 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,160 He's got a family of kids, a job. 375 00:22:25,360 --> 00:22:30,240 So he's got to go March back into what we could call enemy 376 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:36,400 territory, a land that is under the spell in the influence of 377 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:38,800 false gods. So what's he do? 378 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,320 He grabs 2 mule loads of dirt naman. 379 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:51,040 He's trying to create like a portable temple, right? 380 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:58,200 He wants where when he's got this soil in his pockets, the 381 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:02,200 clothing back then have pockets, robes, OK, when he's taken, when 382 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:06,040 he's taking his soil with him, he wants to be a little place 383 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:12,400 where heaven is invading Syria. He's taking, I'm going to say 384 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:21,480 this slowly. He's taking holy ground to the 385 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:27,280 on converted nation. If you know Acts 2 really well, 386 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:29,400 you could probably preach my next sermon. 387 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:36,160 He's taking holy ground with them to the unbelieving nations. 388 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,360 There's no easy way to say this. Naman rightly sees the world 389 00:23:39,360 --> 00:23:47,160 outside of Old Testament Holy Land as occupied by real dark, 390 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:53,000 malevolent spiritual forces. Yes that are under the 391 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,320 sovereignty of God, but yes still have real influence. 392 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,320 The Old Testament, not we think of sometimes we think of the Old 393 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:03,200 Testament as like that's the history book and then the New 394 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:07,000 Testaments, the spiritual book. No, no, no, all the Bible and 395 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,640 the Old Testament is actually surprisingly clear that the 396 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:12,800 spiritual realm is real and that the powers of darkness are real. 397 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:14,440 Take a look at Second Kings chapter 6. 398 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,800 You don't have to turn there. Second Kings chapter 6 verses 16 399 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,120 through 17. What's happening is Elijah is in 400 00:24:20,120 --> 00:24:23,640 a battle and they're outnumbered and through prayers he ends up 401 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:26,800 seeing himself surrounded by what he couldn't see before an 402 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:29,240 angelic army. Here's the actual text quote he 403 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,280 said do not be afraid for those who are with us are more than 404 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:34,720 those who are with them. It's kind of a crazy uncle 405 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,720 moment. We right like you're the you're 406 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:39,920 the bad army. I'm the good army. 407 00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:42,560 I don't mean that. I'm just saying for the sake of 408 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:46,040 the illustration right now he's looking at this and saying, oh, 409 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:47,680 we're outnumbering you right now. 410 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:49,920 What? He sounds crazy. 411 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:54,240 Then Elijah prayed and said, oh Lord, please open up his eyes so 412 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:57,080 that he may see. And the Lord opens the eyes of 413 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:01,280 the young man and he saw and behold, the mountain was full of 414 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:04,640 horses and full of Chariots of fire all around. 415 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:06,280 Elijah, what can you take from that? 416 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:11,160 Not only is the spiritual realm real, but it is sometimes an 417 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:16,200 unseen realm. Indeed, there's more going on 418 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:21,120 than you think. Daniel Chapter 10 An Angel 419 00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:24,560 appears with a message to Daniel and explains to Daniel why the 420 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,600 Angel arrived so late. You know what he says? 421 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:31,440 Read your Bible, he says. Quote Daniel 1013 to 14. 422 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:36,280 The Prince of the Kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days, but 423 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:38,640 Michael, one of their chief Princess, came to help me. 424 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:42,200 This is an Angel, for I was left there with the kings of Persia 425 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,760 and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people 426 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:48,880 in the latter days, for the vision is for days yet to come. 427 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,000 This Angel just told Daniel that he was late because in the 428 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:55,840 spiritual realm on his way to earth, another spiritual being 429 00:25:55,840 --> 00:26:00,400 wrestled with them for 21 days. The Prince of Persia, Prince of 430 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:03,440 Persia is not an earthly ruler at this point in the Scriptures. 431 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,840 He's a being in the spiritual realm who wrestled with an 432 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,760 angelic messenger and delayed that messenger for 21 days. 433 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:14,480 And he's described in the terms of cosmic geography, he's over 434 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,200 Persia. He's got a stronghold in Persia. 435 00:26:17,360 --> 00:26:20,040 He's got influence in Persia. So not only is the spiritual 436 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:24,160 realm on scene, it's also populated by good sometimes and 437 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,320 sometimes evil figures who sometimes have special power 438 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:33,040 over some areas. Yeah, there's more going on than 439 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:35,200 you think. Where? 440 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:36,760 What are you going to do about it? 441 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:43,880 Where are you going to get 2 mule loads of soil to keep you 442 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:46,920 from the powers of the enemy? There's just more going on than 443 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:50,960 you think. Or for Samuel 16, King Saul's 444 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:55,120 and rebellion against God. And the Bible says that this 445 00:26:55,120 --> 00:27:01,360 happened to him, quote Now the spirit of Yahweh, the Lord, the 446 00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:05,440 biblical God, the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. 447 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:08,600 Did it remain a vacuum? No. 448 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:13,400 And a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 449 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:16,920 And so these powers of darkness are real. 450 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:21,640 They're geographical. And what's scarier is that they 451 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:25,160 are personal. They don't just want Persia or 452 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:27,880 some geographical or political influence. 453 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:34,360 They want you. They want your soul. 454 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:38,160 Indeed, there's more going on than you think. 455 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:42,160 Where you can't find that soil at Menards. 456 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,200 What are you going to do? And then we turn to Christian 457 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:46,680 history. Again. 458 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:49,320 Same thing. The history of Christian 459 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:51,680 theology teaches us the same reality. 460 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:55,120 Arguably the most brilliant theologian of the 21st century, 461 00:27:55,120 --> 00:27:58,120 although he's got plenty to disagree with, Carl Bart says 462 00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:05,000 quote, the demons are not myths, they are the impossible 463 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:10,680 possibility of a reality opposed to God. 464 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:15,480 The brilliant Catholic The brilliant Catholic theologian 465 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:19,760 Thomas Aquinas, who has rarely been outshined, argues that 466 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:22,240 these beings are gifted even though they're deprived of 467 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:23,840 everything good, Aquinas said. Quote. 468 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:28,200 The demons retain their natural gifts insofar as these are from 469 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:33,760 God, but they're deprived of the order to the good, Aquinas is 470 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:35,680 saying. What he's saying is they're 471 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:43,360 competent, they're intelligent, they're gifted, they're probably 472 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:48,720 charming. Jacques Elul, a French Reform 473 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:51,840 theologian, argues again that they are not only deceptive, but 474 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:55,640 geographic and personal. He says, quote, Jacques Lewis 475 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,760 says the demonic powers are not imaginary. 476 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:08,320 They are the spiritual realities at work behind political, social 477 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:18,760 and ideological structures. Yeah, yeah, there's a lot more 478 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:21,760 going on than youth. Sometimes. 479 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,920 Not all the time, not all the time. 480 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:30,840 I was at a was at a baseball game yesterday and but before I 481 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:31,880 was, I was hanging out with the Newmans. 482 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:35,960 And before, before the baseball game, Sutton and I were making 483 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:38,160 some bets because sometimes we like to make some bets to 484 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:39,920 heighten our experience, the baseball game. 485 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:43,920 And so Sutton was like, not on DraftKings, just with each 486 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:46,560 other. And so we were, we were talking 487 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:53,160 to each other and, and Sutton goes, OK, if someone hits a 488 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:56,640 Grand Slam today at the game, you owe me a pack of Pokémon 489 00:29:56,640 --> 00:29:58,920 cards. And so I, I got my phone out and 490 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:00,720 I was like, OK, what's the statistical probability and 491 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:02,360 likelihood of a, of a Grand Slam at the game? 492 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:03,400 Because I've never seen one live. 493 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:04,560 I've been to a lot of baseball games. 494 00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:08,040 And essentially they broke it down and it was just under 5%. 495 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:12,440 So roughly one in 20 games you see a Grand Slam. 496 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,120 And so I was like, oh, I'm gravy, I'm good. 497 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:15,120 So I was like, yeah, I'll take that. 498 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:16,800 That's a bet I'm willing to make. 499 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:19,800 So we made that bet. And sure enough, what anything 500 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:22,880 happens in the second inning? There's a runner on 1st and 2nd. 501 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:26,800 I'm like, I'm good. And the pitcher beams the guy 502 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:29,080 batting. So all of a sudden, bases are 503 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:31,440 juiced, bases are loaded, bases are juicy. 504 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:34,000 First, second, third, three people on base. 505 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,000 I'm starting to get like a little bit nervous, but I'm 506 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,280 like, still, the statistical probability of this happens is 507 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:40,640 pretty low, right? I swear. 508 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:43,160 Like, I don't know if the Newmans know the pitcher from 509 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:46,600 Purdue and have like a relationship with him, but 510 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,120 almost like this guy was on Sutton's team. 511 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:51,840 He throws him a big meatball down the middle of the plate. 512 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:56,680 Bam, it's a Grand Slam. Like, are you kidding me, dude? 513 00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:00,200 Less than 5%, one in 20. I put my hands in my face like 514 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:01,880 this, right? I'm like, I can't believe that 515 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:03,960 just happened. I look up and Sutton, Sutton, 516 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:09,480 just look at me like this. I was like, yeah, man, you, you. 517 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:14,240 I can't believe it. One in 20, but not 0. 518 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:17,960 When you experience a struggle or temptation in your life, 519 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:22,560 there's probably a greater probability that it's because of 520 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:25,800 your own sin, stupidity, and flesh in the spiritual realm. 521 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:30,520 Read the book of Romans. Romans 16 chapters long. 522 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:33,640 The devil doesn't even show up until chapter 16. 523 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:37,560 One out of 16 chapters about everything the book the Church 524 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:40,280 of Romans is going through. It's about spiritual forces, but 525 00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:45,080 it's not 0, so I like that one in 20 number. 526 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:47,520 This is probably as close to it practical as I'm going to get 527 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:49,840 this morning. I would encourage you as your 528 00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:53,960 pastor for every thought you have about demons and the 529 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:57,600 reality of spiritual darkness. Think at least twenty thoughts 530 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:01,000 about the goodness of Jesus for everyone. 531 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:04,760 Think 20 thoughts about the goodness of Jesus. 532 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:07,080 Do not imagine that there are demons in every book. 533 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:09,800 Certainly do not imagine that every person you don't get along 534 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:12,200 with is demonic. What are the chances? 535 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:15,520 Do not stay late obsessing over YouTube videos after videos with 536 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:20,200 unbiblical charts with 1000 pins connected by bare thread string. 537 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:23,560 It's not always spiritual, it's sometimes this. 538 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:26,000 For instance, last night I was a little nervous about this 539 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,680 sermon, and so I came over up late to try and prep it, and I 540 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:30,840 couldn't prep it because I had this massive migraine. 541 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:34,160 So I was like, spiritual warfare? 542 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:37,560 Was it spiritual warfare? Maybe. 543 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:44,520 I also felt like the Holy Spirit filled the room thickly, and it 544 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:48,120 was like spiritual warfare. And in the kindness of the Holy 545 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:52,360 Spirit, he whispered to me, there's probably a greater 546 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,800 likelihood that it was the 20 sugar cookies you ate at that 547 00:32:55,800 --> 00:33:03,480 grad party, right? I was like, probably it's not 0, 548 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:09,640 it's not 0. Spiritual war, maybe not 549 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:11,800 spiritual war. Maybe. 550 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:14,920 I do know this. Ironically enough, some people 551 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:18,360 who do see demons behind everything can't see Jesus 552 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:24,760 behind anything. You guys like that one? 553 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:26,800 I'm going to read it again. That's good. 554 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:30,040 OK, some. Oh, man, I lost my spot. 555 00:33:32,280 --> 00:33:35,560 Spiritual warfare. Yeah, sometimes people who see 556 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:38,480 demons behind everything can't see Jesus behind anything. 557 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:39,880 It hit a lot harder the first time. 558 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:43,120 I should have left it at that. But that's a that's a win for 559 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:45,600 the Kingdom of darkness. I think demons would gladly 560 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:51,480 declassify all their files about themselves if that would get you 561 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:54,160 to obsess over them and forget about Jesus. 562 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,000 They probably demons probably believe in that old axiom. 563 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:06,520 No such thing as bad press. And yet I don't want you to 564 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:08,120 become hyper spiritual about everything. 565 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:12,840 And yet I don't want you to become materialistic in your 566 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:14,719 theology. That's called being a Christian 567 00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:18,199 atheist. Christianity is not just true 568 00:34:18,199 --> 00:34:20,159 information. We have to reckon with Bible 569 00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:25,560 verses that say, quote, be on guard for the devil prowls 570 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:28,239 around like a roaring lion seeking to devour you. 571 00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:32,080 We don't want that to happen. We have to reckon with Bible 572 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:34,400 verses that say, quote, this is Paul in the New Testament, 573 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:39,719 brothers, I do not want you to be unaware of the schemes of the 574 00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:44,199 devil. Somewhere between you don't want 575 00:34:44,199 --> 00:34:47,639 to be ignorant and unaware, but you don't want to be that person 576 00:34:47,639 --> 00:34:49,840 who won't take responsibility for any problems because you're 577 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:54,320 always blame shifting demons. Somewhere in there here maybe 578 00:34:54,320 --> 00:35:00,040 here's the spot in the middle. Spiritual warfare is real and 579 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:09,920 you you're not adequate for it. Not you're not strong enough to 580 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:14,120 engage in spiritual warfare. And and when I'm not trying to 581 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:16,480 be mean, we are spiritually weak. 582 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:20,360 Let's be honest, modern Christians are whiners. 583 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:25,280 Modern Christians don't come to church to worship the risen 584 00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:28,680 Jesus Christ. If it's raining, forget 585 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:31,560 spiritual attack. Daylight savings wipes out 30% 586 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:33,280 of church attendance in the western world. 587 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:37,560 We don't come worship Jesus if we only got 7 hours of sweep 588 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:40,800 instead of eight. And you think you're good 589 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:48,280 against demonic powers? The forces of darkness resist 590 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:51,280 the devil. Jesus is enthroned before us on 591 00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:53,720 worship on Sundays, and sometimes we struggle to sing 592 00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:56,480 along and we mumble the songs because we're afraid that we're 593 00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:59,040 going to sing off key. And you're going to take on 594 00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:07,000 demons. No, you think you got it in you 595 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,840 to win a spiritual war? No, we are like infants who have 596 00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:13,480 been dropped into a war without armor. 597 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:29,240 And yet the Bible says, the Bible says, all this is real and 598 00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:31,400 you don't have, you're helpless in the face of all of it. 599 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:40,640 And then it says, do not fear. Why not? 600 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:46,440 And yet the Bible says do not be afraid. 601 00:36:48,720 --> 00:36:55,520 Why not? Satan, demons, darkness, false 602 00:36:55,520 --> 00:37:01,760 gods, maybe even aliens. I mean, if the alien stuff is 603 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:04,880 real, if the government UFO files are dark and shocking as 604 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:08,200 the rumors make it sound, which is a big if, I think we'll see 605 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:13,600 three things #1 not a single true Christian will lose their 606 00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:21,680 faith #2 multitudes of fake Christians will leave the faith, 607 00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:25,920 probably by being deceived by some extraterrestrial religion 608 00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:30,280 promises or gospel. So I think we'll see that. 609 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:34,680 And I think we'll also see #3 that multitudes of spiritually 610 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:39,880 curious unbelievers will convert to Christianity because it'll 611 00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:42,760 finally get them to recognize the reality of the spiritual 612 00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:45,200 realm and see their need for Jesus. 613 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:49,920 Do not feel, don't be afraid. Why not? 614 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:55,000 Why do I think that? Because of Romans chapter 8. 615 00:37:56,760 --> 00:38:07,240 I'm sure that neither death, nor life, heights nor depth, nor 616 00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:13,960 angels nor rulers is that all there is, nor anything else in 617 00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:18,080 all of there's other stuff in creation, nor angels nor rulers, 618 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:21,560 nor anything else in all of creation will be able to 619 00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:25,040 separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 620 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:30,560 It won't separate you from Him if you're in Christ. 621 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:33,080 It won't. It's 2026. 622 00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:35,960 We've got 2000 years of discoveries that have happened 623 00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:39,640 since the death of Jesus Christ and nothing has stopped them. 624 00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:44,280 Neither evolutionary theory or the human genome or quantum 625 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:47,400 theory or black holes have stopped the gospel. 626 00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:53,120 Where does that power come from? How can we live with such 627 00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:58,320 confidence that nothing, no future filed dump, no future 628 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:01,360 discovery, nothing is the word the Bible uses. 629 00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:04,600 How can we be confident that nothing will separate us from 630 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:07,960 the love of God? You don't live in Old Testament 631 00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:10,000 Holy Land. You live here in Des Moines. 632 00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:16,080 What do you got for soil? Is there any soil to keep you 633 00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:17,680 safe that you can carry to the nation? 634 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:20,000 So you don't even own mules to take the soil home with? 635 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:22,400 Where are you going to get the soil? 636 00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:27,400 And only Pentecost answers that question next Sunday. 637 00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:34,440 Heavenly Father, I pray that you would strengthen us in your Holy 638 00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:38,160 Spirit, that you would increase our spiritual intelligence, but 639 00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:39,960 keep us from going off the rails. 640 00:39:41,720 --> 00:39:47,000 Nothing and all of creation will separate us from the love of 641 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:49,680 God. That's a God who deserves 642 00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:51,960 worship. That's a God who deserves 643 00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:53,920 praise. That's a God who should get all 644 00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:55,800 my joy. That's a God who's going to get 645 00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:59,320 my whole life, the God for whom nothing will separate me from. 646 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:03,560 And so Lord, stir us up in in your spirit, and may we just 647 00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:05,720 treasure this time that we have with you this morning. 648 00:40:05,720 --> 00:40:07,680 So it's in the precious name of Jesus that all God's people 649 00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:10,720 prayed, Amen. Let's stand together and let's 650 00:40:10,720 --> 00:40:12,720 worship this God in spirit and in truth.