1
00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:05,200
Who don't know Christ get 
excited about, I mean, you can 

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00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,360
get excited about a football 
game and that's going to go 

3
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away. 
You know, basketball, golf, I 

4
00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:11,400
mean, whatever, fill in the 
blank. 

5
00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:13,600
I mean, all of those things are 
going to go away. 

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You get excited about about 
about Christ and about what he's

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done for us. 
And you get excited about the 

8
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fact that we have a home in 
heaven someday. 

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And those are things that are 
really get excited that that'll 

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really get you excited. 
And man, that's something that 

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we see see that the problem with
with people who are living for 

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the things of this world is that
they're enjoying the best that 

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they're ever going to have. 
Now the best is yet to come for 

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us. 
And I'm looking forward to that.

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And we have a wonderful life 
living for Christ and we get all

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this and then heaven when it's 
all done and and man, what a 

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wonderful thing that is. 
Second Kings chapter 6. 

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This is a story that maybe 
you've heard, maybe you haven't 

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before, but this comes from the 
story of from the life of 

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Elijah. 
And obviously Elijah was the 

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prophet and his young protege. 
If you will, one of the sons of 

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the prophet, I guess you could 
call Elijah was there when 

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Elijah was taken up into heaven 
by the, by the whirlwind and the

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and the flaming chariot of fire.
And he watched him go into 

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heaven. 
And as he went up into heaven, 

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the mantle fell off of Elijah 
and Elijah picked it up and he 

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said, where is the Lord God of 
Elijah? 

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And he took that mantle and he 
smote the waters of the Jordan. 

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The Bible says they they parted 
and he walked across on dry 

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ground and he had asked for a 
double portion of Elijah's 

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spirit. 
And do you know that God allowed

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Elijah to perform exactly double
the number of miracles that 

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Elijah performed? 
Including one that is very 

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interesting. 
Elijah died and he was buried in

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a sepulcher like they always 
did. 

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And and this is a story that 
that most it's only a couple 

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verses. 
Long in the Bible, a lot of 

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people have probably skipped 
over and not even known that was

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in there. 
But a group of men were burying 

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one of their friends who had 
died. 

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And along came another group of 
people that they were afraid of.

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They didn't know if they were 
going to be robbed or whatever 

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was going to happen. 
And so they just they just 

44
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looked to the closest grave they
can find. 

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They didn't know it was 
Elisha's, but they rolled that 

46
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little stone. 
Back, and they threw this dead 

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guy in Elisha's tomb, and as 
soon as he hit the bones of 

48
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Elisha, he came back to life. 
It's an amazing thing. 

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Could you imagine? 
You look back down in there to 

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00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:25,480
go get your dead friend out and 
he's standing there looking at 

51
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you? 
Could you imagine what that must

52
00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,840
have been like? 
But God used Elisha in a great 

53
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way. 
And here we have a story in 

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Second Kings chapter 6 and verse
#1 The Bible says, And the sons 

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of the prophets said unto 
Elisha, Behold now the place 

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where we dwell with thee is too 
straight for us. 

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These sons of the prophets, they
would have been college 

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students, if you will, sons of 
the prophets and and the 

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dormitory that they were living 
in was too small. 

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That's what they were saying. 
This, this, this place where we 

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dwell with thee is too straight.
It's too small for us. 

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Let us go, we pray thee unto 
Jordan, and take thence every 

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man a beam, and let us make a 
place there where we may dwell. 

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And he answered, Go ye. 
And once said, Be content, I 

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pray thee, and go with thy. 
Servants. 

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And he answered, I will go. 
So we went with them, and when 

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they came to Jordan they cut 
down wood. 

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But as one was felling a beam, 
the axe head fell into the 

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water. 
And he cried and said, a last 

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master, for it was borrowed. 
And the man of God said, Where 

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fell it? 
And he showed him the place, And

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he cut down a stick, and cast it
in thither, And the iron did 

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swim. 
Therefore, said he, Take it up 

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to thee. 
And he put out his hand and took

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it. 
What an amazing story. 

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These, these, these young sons 
of the prophets, these young 

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college students, they're, 
they're chopping down trees. 

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They're going to build their own
dormitory. 

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00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:48,760
Could you imagine if they had to
do that today? 

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00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:50,880
Most kids wouldn't stay in 
college, all right? 

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00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,800
They just, they want everything 
handed to them on a platter, it 

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00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:56,360
seems like, but I digress. 
Anyway, they're, they're, 

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00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:58,080
they're chopping these trees 
down. 

84
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And next thing you know that the
head. 

85
00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,120
Flies off of that axe and it. 
Blew. 

86
00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:04,080
Right into the water. 
I mean, it's one of those 

87
00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,240
feelings. 
I was when I was in high school,

88
00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,840
we took a trip to the to the 
boundary waters all the way up 

89
00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:14,480
in northern Minnesota, right 
between the United States and 

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00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:18,000
Canada and one day when we were 
out there we. 

91
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Actually stayed in campsites. 
And the campsites were so remote

92
00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,080
that we actually had to pack 
everything we had into canoes 

93
00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,160
and take our canoes to these 
campsites. 

94
00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,920
And I think we were the canoe, 
the canoe trip was probably 

95
00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,040
about 3 hours. 
That's how remote this was where

96
00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:34,160
we were staying. 
But one day while we were out 

97
00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:36,400
there, we were going to be 
there, I think for a week or so,

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camping out in these, right, 
right along the edge of the, the

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border between the United States
and Canada. 

100
00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:44,360
They decided, all right, 
everybody in the canoes. 

101
00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:47,880
I think we had about 40 canoes 
and we're going to go and we're 

102
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going to, we're going to take a 
trip into Canada, let you step 

103
00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:52,320
off on the ground and get back 
in the boat. 

104
00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:53,800
That way you can say you've been
to Canada. 

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This is back in the day of this 
is back in the late 90s. 

106
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So, you know, no, no digital 
cameras, none of that kind of 

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stuff. 
And so I mean, I was, I love it.

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I always have loved eagles. 
I've loved that, you know, that 

109
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type of hiking and camping and 
all of that kind of stuff. 

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And so we get out there and. 
We're we're going in the canoe 

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and this eagle, I see this eagle
coming. 

112
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And he comes down, he swept 
right in front of us, grabs a 

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fish right out of the water in 
front of us, said, man, that was

114
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really cool. 
So he's, he's circling on. 

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There was a couple of them that 
were circling around us. 

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And I said, you know what I 
mean? 

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If he, if I mean the river was 
only so wide, I said, if they do

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that again, I'm going to get a 
picture. 

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So sure enough, this eagle, he 
starts coming down. 

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I picked up my camera to take a 
picture and somehow the battery 

121
00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,720
latch had come undone. 
I picked it up. 

122
00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:46,760
Bloop, bloop. 
There went both my batteries, no

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00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:49,800
camera, and the thing swooped 
down right in front of us again 

124
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and took a fish and, and and 
flew off. 

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00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:53,680
But I didn't, I couldn't take 
any pictures for the rest of the

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trip. 
I watched those batteries float 

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to the bottom, but it was so 
deep there was, I mean, 

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disappeared. 
There's nothing I can do about 

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it. 
It's a helpless feeling. 

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You know, I can imagine how this
young man must have felt. 

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The Jordan River is deep in 
places and he's he's just 

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swinging that axe and next thing
you know, the head flies off 

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that axe and bloop right into 
the water and it sinks. 

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But he had a different problem. 
He was a college student and he 

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didn't have a lot of money. 
Proof of the fact that he had 

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borrowed that axe. 
And doesn't it always go that 

137
00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:25,520
way? 
If he had owned it, the axe 

138
00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:26,920
probably would have been 
perfectly fine. 

139
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But because he borrowed it, the 
head flew off of the axe and and

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it and it sunk into the water. 
And I can imagine the look on 

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that young man's face when he 
finally realized what had 

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00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:38,480
happened. 
He was. 

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00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:39,200
He was. 
He was. 

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00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,920
Probably in a panic because that
axe was borrowed. 

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00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,520
He was a college student. 
I'm sure he didn't have a lot of

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00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:45,640
money. 
I've been there. 

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00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:46,960
Most of you have been there as 
well. 

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00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,720
In fact, I remember when I was 
in college, actually I just 

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graduated college. 
I was, I was dating my wife at 

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00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:55,760
the time and I was working on 
staff. 

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00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:58,480
But the way that they had worked
everything out, I was not 

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00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:02,160
getting much money. 
I lived there in the dormitory. 

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00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:05,800
I had my own room in the dorm 
there and, and had access to the

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00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,480
cafeteria and all this stuff. 
So they didn't pay me anything, 

155
00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,520
you know. 
So I went down to Mexico because

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00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,920
I had to do a, a missions trip. 
I went down with our teenagers, 

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00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:16,880
with the, with the teenagers 
from the school there. 

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00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:19,400
And I spent a week with them. 
And then I went over and spent 

159
00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:21,800
three weeks with the missionary,
with one of the missionaries 

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that was there in Mexico City. 
And I was in the middle. 

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00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:26,720
I was that was back when I was 
doing a lot of running. 

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00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,440
I was training for marathons and
I was actually training for an 

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00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:32,560
ultra marathon at that point. 
I didn't eat hardly anything. 

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00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:35,560
I mean I was nothing but a but a
stick with a little muscle on it

165
00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,320
is is what I was. 
And so the missionary, the whole

166
00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:42,440
time, he just kept commenting, 
you know, and, and the, the, the

167
00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:44,680
way it was, it was actually 
something that I had to do for 

168
00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:47,000
my missions degree. 
I got my degree in. 

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00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:48,920
Missions and one of the things 
that you had to do was go spend 

170
00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:52,920
a month with a missionary on a 
mission field somewhere and do 

171
00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:54,600
all the work with him and 
everything else. 

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00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:57,520
And I think depending on where 
you went, it was how much they 

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00:07:57,520 --> 00:07:59,720
said that you had to pay them 
because, you know, they're 

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00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:01,320
taking care of you for that for 
that month. 

175
00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:03,800
Well, I said, all right, well, 
number one, it's only three 

176
00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:05,600
weeks because I've already spent
a week away. 

177
00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:08,040
From them number two I'm not 
eating anything and the 

178
00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:10,680
missionary kept commenting on it
over and over I've never seen a 

179
00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,400
college student not eat anything
like you I've never seen anybody

180
00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:15,960
not have seconds and I was in my
mind I'm like all right keep 

181
00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:19,000
keep track of that because I 
don't have any money to pay you 

182
00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,840
for what you you know and so I'm
heading. 

183
00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:24,920
Back and getting, I think we 
were getting. 

184
00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:26,840
To leave. 
And he said, oh, did they tell 

185
00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:30,280
you that, that you owe us $200 
for the food and all that stuff?

186
00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,480
He might as well said $2,000,000
because I didn't have $2.00 to 

187
00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,720
my name, let alone 200. 
And so the whole truck back, I'm

188
00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:41,440
thinking, how am I going to, how
am I going to pay him $200, You 

189
00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:43,400
know, for this thing? 
I know what it's like to be a 

190
00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:44,960
college student and not have any
money. 

191
00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:47,920
And that's exactly what happened
with this young man here. 

192
00:08:48,560 --> 00:08:50,680
And, you know, as I got to 
reading the story, I think 

193
00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:52,600
something became very clear to 
me. 

194
00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:54,080
And I think it fits very well 
here. 

195
00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:56,960
Why does, why does God give us 
stories like this in the Bible? 

196
00:08:57,480 --> 00:08:59,760
It's not just so we can have a 
little laugh about it and, and, 

197
00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:02,200
you know, have a have a little 
fun at his expense and then go 

198
00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:03,760
on. 
I think every story that we see 

199
00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:06,200
in the Bible is a representation
of something that we can take 

200
00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:08,880
away from it. 
And, and I think what what the 

201
00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:13,040
axe head in this story 
represents is actually the power

202
00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:18,640
of God, because the power of God
is absolutely essential to 

203
00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:21,880
accomplishing any task that is 
worthwhile. 

204
00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:24,800
You know that we throw that term
around a lot, don't we? 

205
00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,400
The power of God. 
I want the power of God in my 

206
00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:29,280
life. 
If I would ask you to raise your

207
00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:31,920
hand, I bet you that at least 
everybody in this room has said 

208
00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,480
that at least one time. 
I want to have God's power. 

209
00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:37,560
I want God's power to, to be on 
my life. 

210
00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:40,160
I want him to be able to use me.
But what does that even mean? 

211
00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,960
How do we, how do we get it? 
Where do we begin with that? 

212
00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:47,000
And just like this young 
preacher in the story, if we 

213
00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,160
don't have the accent, if we 
don't have the power of God, we 

214
00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:52,160
are going to be very ineffective
in serving the Lord. 

215
00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,560
We have special services. 
We need the power of God. 

216
00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:00,240
We go out and we knock on doors.
We need the power of God. 

217
00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,320
We we have people that need to 
hear the gospel where we work. 

218
00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:06,760
We need the power of God. 
We have what? 

219
00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:09,080
We're trying to reach a. 
Community with the gospel. 

220
00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:12,960
We need the power of God. 
We're trying to raise another 

221
00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,080
generation of young people who 
will go on and not only be as 

222
00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,560
strong as the parents in this 
generation, but be even stronger

223
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for the Lord and carry on the 
the work that this church is is 

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is going forward with 20-30 
forty, 50 years from now. 

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We need the. 
Power of God to make that 

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happen. 
There are several things that I 

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want you to notice this morning 
concerning the power of God in 

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our lives. 
If you keep your finger there or

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put a bookmark maybe in Second 
Kings chapter 6, we're going to 

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come back and forth, but we're 
going to jump around to a few 

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different passages this morning.
But I want to talk to you about 

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this morning, simply about the 
power of God, the power of God. 

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Let's pray and then we'll look 
at a couple things here this 

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morning. 
Father, again, we thank you for 

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your goodness. 
Thank you for the opportunity we

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have to be here this morning. 
Thank you for bringing all of 

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these families and all of the 
the people that you have here 

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this morning. 
Obviously you have a purpose and

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a plan for that. 
God, you knew exactly who was 

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going to need this message way 
more than I did. 

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And God, I pray that you'd use 
it in our hearts. 

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I pray that you'd accomplish 
what you're what you've set out 

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to accomplish this morning 
through this message. 

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May you help me. 
May you help us. 

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God, I pray that you bless them.
Bless the time together around 

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your word this morning. 
Thank you again for all you do 

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for us in Jesus name, Amen. 
First thing I want you to 

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understand, this is vital to 
what we're talking about this 

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morning is the power of God for 
salvation. 

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We're talking about the power of
God. 

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Turn over to John chapter 1, 
John chapter one. 

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The first thing that we have to 
understand is that we need the 

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power of God for salvation. 
The Bible says this in John 

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chapter 1 and verse #12 John 
chapter 1 verse #12. 

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But as many as received him to 
them gave he power to become the

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sons of God, even to them that 
believe on his name. 

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It takes the power of God for us
to even have salvation. 

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There is no one else that could 
give us salvation besides God 

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and His ability to give. 
It to us, right? 

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There's a lot of other people 
who have come up with a lot of 

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different ways that they think 
that they can get to heaven. 

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Well, if I do this, if I do 
that, if, if we follow these 

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religious rules, if we do all 
these things and endure to the 

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end, then we can have salvation.
That's all on you. 

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Then that's you doing something.
That's you making things work 

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out for yourself. 
That's not what the Bible says. 

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The Bible says it's the power of
God for salvation. 

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00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:34,400
It's, it's the power of God that
brings us to salvation. 

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Romans chapter 1 and verse 16 
says for I am not ashamed of the

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gospel of Christ, for it is the 
power of God unto salvation to 

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everyone that believeth, to the 
Jew 1st and also to the Greek. 

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That's the first step if you 
want the power of God in your 

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life. 
And I don't know if there's 

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anybody in here this morning 
that would say that they don't 

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want to have God's. 
Power in their life. 

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If you want the power of God in 
your life so that you can be an 

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effective servant, then you must
accept Jesus Christ as your 

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Savior. 
You ever seen how ridiculous 

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somebody looks when they're 
trying to play an air guitar or 

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00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,000
an air trumpet? 
You know, people, people air 

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trombone. 
I mean, all these air 

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instruments that people play, 
you know, and then most time, 

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obviously, everybody's doing it 
in jest. 

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You've probably all done it at 
some point yourselves. 

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We do it when we're playing 
around. 

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But nobody would actually take 
an air guitar into a band and 

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00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:25,480
expect that it's going to do 
anything. 

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And I've never, I've never been 
to a concert where somebody 

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00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,680
said, all right, and featuring 
and our Trump trumpet soloist, 

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00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:36,000
and he comes out there and he's 
holding nothing and he picks it 

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00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:37,520
up and he's acting like he's 
playing. 

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Right. 
Nobody's done that because it, 

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it's, it's ridiculous, right? 
You can't play and air anything,

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00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,320
right? 
But somebody that has not 

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accepted Jesus Christ as their 
Savior is trying to have the 

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00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:52,840
power of God in their life. 
It's just like using an air axe,

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00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:54,920
right? 
You're swinging an axe. 

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That's not doing anything. 
It doesn't count for anything. 

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What do you think this young man
in our story would have 

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00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:02,400
accomplished by pretending to 
swing an axe? 

301
00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,720
They're out there knocking these
trees down and fell in these 

302
00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:08,440
beams and everybody else is out 
there with real axes and they're

303
00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:11,560
swinging and they're they're 
seeing the the wood chips flying

304
00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:13,680
in all the directions as they're
chopping at these trees. 

305
00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:16,240
And here he's out there with an 
air axe pretending like he's 

306
00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,680
swinging, right. 
I mean, he might fool some 

307
00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:22,000
people for a little bit because 
everybody else is busy, but 

308
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,080
eventually everybody's going to 
stop and say, what is this guy 

309
00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:26,800
doing? 
Not only is he not accomplish 

310
00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:29,640
anything, not not only is he not
accomplish anything, he looks 

311
00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:33,400
ridiculous doing it right. 
Because who swings an axe that 

312
00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,880
is not an axe, right? 
But that's exactly what happens 

313
00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,080
for people who want God's power 
on their life and they've never 

314
00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:44,080
even come to Him for salvation. 
You're swinging in the air, axe.

315
00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:45,880
Matthew Chapter 7. 
In fact, turn over to Matthew 

316
00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:48,160
Chapter 7. 
I know this is a pretty familiar

317
00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:50,520
verse to most of you because 
I've I've read this many times, 

318
00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,440
I've quoted it many times, and 
maybe a lot of you actually know

319
00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:55,800
these verses as well. 
But I think it's worth looking 

320
00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:59,440
at these things again, because 
so many people in our world 

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00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:02,400
today, so many people in 
America, so many people in our 

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00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:06,640
churches today fit exactly into 
this category that we read in 

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00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:08,760
Matthew Chapter 7 and verse #20.
2. 

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00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,640
Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not 

325
00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:17,800
prophesied in thy name, and in 
thy name have cast out devils, 

326
00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:19,520
and in thy name done many 
wonderful? 

327
00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:25,600
Works verse 23 and then I will 
profession to them. 

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00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:30,840
I never knew you depart from me 
ye that work in iniquity. 

329
00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:33,880
Who is he talking to? 
He's talking to the people that 

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00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:35,880
are. 
Up in the front that are 

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00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,480
preaching messages, that are 
leading worship. 

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00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,240
That are casting out devils in 
Jesus name that are healing in 

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00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:44,880
Jesus name. 
They're doing all of these 

334
00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:47,280
things and that's what they're 
counting on. 

335
00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:49,920
God haven't haven't we done all 
these things? 

336
00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:52,240
We did it all in your name. 
Doesn't that count for 

337
00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:53,760
something? 
And he says, I don't even, I 

338
00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:58,040
don't even know who you are and 
see that this, the sad reality 

339
00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:00,680
is that so many people think 
that they've been in church for 

340
00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:04,200
a while or they've had some 
baptism experience or they, you 

341
00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,160
know, they don't, they don't 
want to face the reality of 

342
00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:08,040
their sinful condition. 
Because what are people going to

343
00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,040
think? 
I've been in church a long time.

344
00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:13,440
What happened? 
If I come and say, I'm not sure 

345
00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,240
that I'm safe, what are people 
going to think about me? 

346
00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:17,720
They're going to think that I've
been that I've been just playing

347
00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:21,920
a game all along. 
And so many people put it out of

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00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,480
their minds. 
I'll just let everybody keep 

349
00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:26,480
thinking I'm saved. 
And maybe one day I'll stand 

350
00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,680
before God or he'll let me in 
because a lot of people thought 

351
00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:32,800
I was saved. 
Or maybe one day I'll, I'll get 

352
00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:35,240
it right and, and I'll just, 
maybe I'll just do it on my own 

353
00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:37,440
sometime and, and just make sure
that I'm saved. 

354
00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:39,920
And I don't want people to think
that I that I've been living my 

355
00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,120
life this whole way for all of 
this time and I don't even know 

356
00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:47,440
Jesus Christ as my Savior. 
But then they bury it and they 

357
00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:49,480
put it deeper and deeper and 
deeper and they don't want to 

358
00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,680
drill down deep and really get 
right with God. 

359
00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:53,880
So they go on pretending that 
they're saved. 

360
00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:59,400
I'm sorry to say that I think 
that in many good, solid 

361
00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:03,600
independent Baptist churches and
in probably many other churches 

362
00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,800
as well, there's going to be a 
lot of people that stand before 

363
00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:11,319
God someday who's he's going to 
say, I never knew you. 

364
00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:13,359
And we're going to have a lot of
our own things that we're going 

365
00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:15,560
to answer to God for. 
But I think we're going to drop 

366
00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:17,839
our mouths and say that person 
was never. 

367
00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:20,760
Saved because they convinced a 
lot of people. 

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00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,839
And they made it look good, and 
they knew how to swing an axe to

369
00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:26,440
make it look like they had God's
power in their lives, to make it

370
00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:27,920
look like they were doing 
something. 

371
00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:30,640
But they were accomplishing 
nothing for God because they 

372
00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:32,880
never even had His power for 
salvation. 

373
00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:35,360
They've never been to the foot 
of the cross. 

374
00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:39,480
Keep swinging. 
Keep swinging an air axe. 

375
00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:42,320
It counts for absolutely 
nothing, and you'll never have 

376
00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:45,320
God's power in your life until 
you have gone. 

377
00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:48,600
To the cross for salvation. 
Do you know that you're saved? 

378
00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:53,040
That's step #1 Even talking 
about any power is worthless 

379
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,640
unless you've accepted Jesus 
Christ as your Savior. 

380
00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:58,640
And this is not a a gospel 
message this morning. 

381
00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:00,440
I'm not preaching the gospel 
this morning. 

382
00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:02,120
But what I am saying is I know 
that. 

383
00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:05,520
Most, if not every person in 
here would claim to be saved. 

384
00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,600
Every person in here would claim
to know Jesus Christ as their 

385
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:10,400
Savior. 
But my question to you this 

386
00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:12,280
morning is, do you really know 
Him? 

387
00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:15,960
Maybe a better question is, does
he really know you? 

388
00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,440
Because that's what's going to 
count when we stand before Him 

389
00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:22,760
on judgment day. 
Oh, just because you got wet 

390
00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,400
somewhere and somebody told you 
that your sins were forgiven 

391
00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:26,880
does not mean that that's the 
case. 

392
00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:28,640
Have you been to the foot of the
cross? 

393
00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:32,560
Have you repented and asked for 
forgiveness for your sins? 

394
00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:36,760
Do you know Jesus Christ as your
own personal Savior? 

395
00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:41,640
I've told you the story before 
that I had a young man that that

396
00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:44,280
graduated from high school and 
was given his testimony. 

397
00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:48,280
And his testimony was well, my 
mom told me that I was saved 

398
00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:52,240
when I was four years old. 
That's not a testimony of 

399
00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:55,680
salvation. 
You have to know Jesus Christ 

400
00:18:55,840 --> 00:19:00,480
for yourself personally. 
You have to come to the foot of 

401
00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:04,000
the cross personally and accept 
Jesus Christ as your Savior. 

402
00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,400
So the first thing is that we 
need the power of God for 

403
00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:09,080
salvation. 
But if you go back into Second 

404
00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:13,840
Kings chapter 6, we have to 
understand that we need the 

405
00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:18,760
power of God for service, the 
power of God for service if you 

406
00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,040
are going to serve God. 
And you're going to be effective

407
00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:24,400
at serving God. 
Then you need God's power to do 

408
00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:26,520
it. 
I want to give you 3 things. 

409
00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:30,400
About that, and we'll be done 
this morning #1 The power of God

410
00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,240
is borrowed. 
He said that in verse #5 about 

411
00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:35,440
that axe head. 
But as one was felling a beam, 

412
00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:37,920
the axe head fell into the 
water, and he cried and said a 

413
00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:40,240
last master. 
For it was borrowed. 

414
00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:43,400
So the only power that we have 
is from God. 

415
00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:46,280
We get to. 
We get to. 

416
00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:48,480
Relying on ourselves a whole 
lot, don't we? 

417
00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:52,680
Well, I mean, I'm good looking. 
God's going to use me. 

418
00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:54,560
I'm talented. 
God's going to use me. 

419
00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:56,640
I know how to talk. 
God's going to use me. 

420
00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:59,320
I know how to do this. 
Certainly God's going to use me.

421
00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:01,640
I mean, how would he not look at
all the things that I can 

422
00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:04,120
accomplish for him? 
Why wouldn't God use me? 

423
00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:06,800
You are nothing without God's 
power. 

424
00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:12,280
You're nothing without God. 
OK, maybe you are a good looking

425
00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:14,120
person and you can. 
Accomplish things because of 

426
00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:15,440
that. 
Who gave you those looks? 

427
00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:17,440
God can take that away from you 
in a second. 

428
00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,240
The ability to get up and speak.
Who do you think gave you that 

429
00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:22,560
ability to get up there and 
speak? 

430
00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:24,800
God gave you that. 
He could take it away from you 

431
00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:26,280
in a second. 
Yeah. 

432
00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:29,440
The very breath that you are 
breathing this morning. 

433
00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,480
Who gave that to you? 
God gave you that, and he could 

434
00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:34,600
take it away in a heartbeat if 
he wanted to. 

435
00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:39,240
You are nothing without God. 
And yet we try to pretend that 

436
00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,360
we're God's gift to mankind. 
Because look what I can 

437
00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:45,920
accomplish for him. 
Not without God's power. 

438
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:50,520
It's borrowed. 
John chapter 15 and verse #5 I 

439
00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:52,680
am the vine, ye are the 
branches. 

440
00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:56,480
He that abideth in me, and I in 
him the same bringeth forth much

441
00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:00,160
fruit. 
He says this, for without me ye 

442
00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:07,000
can do nothing. 
It's like a stick that's laying 

443
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,000
on the ground that's trying to 
act like a tree. 

444
00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:13,360
How ridiculous. 
Because it's not attached to 

445
00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:16,040
anything. 
It cannot grow, it cannot live. 

446
00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:19,960
The only way that that stick can
can live and and bear. 

447
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:23,360
Fruit or grow leaves or anything
is if it's attached. 

448
00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:26,880
To the tree. 
And that's exactly what Jesus is

449
00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,240
saying. 
I'm the vine, you're the you're,

450
00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:31,960
you're the branches. 
If you're not attached to me, if

451
00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:34,920
you don't have my power, you 
can't do anything without me. 

452
00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:39,160
The only power that this young 
man had for chopping down trees 

453
00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:42,120
was in the axe head. 
Without the axe head, the axe 

454
00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,040
was useless. 
It didn't matter if it was a 

455
00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:48,640
beautifully carved handle, 
didn't matter if it was made out

456
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,880
of solid, beautiful wood. 
Didn't matter if it fit 

457
00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:57,680
perfectly into the hand. 
If it had no axe head on it, it 

458
00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:01,440
doesn't accomplish anything. 
There's a lot of people running 

459
00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:03,400
around exactly like that. 
They look great, they're 

460
00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,120
polished. 
They're they're they, they're 

461
00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:07,920
fit perfectly for that position.
But they're not accomplishing 

462
00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,920
anything for God because there's
no axe head attached to it. 

463
00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:15,640
I heat my house with wood and 
I've been doing that for a long 

464
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:17,560
time. 
In fact, we grew up heating our 

465
00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:19,320
house with wood. 
We've been chopping and 

466
00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:23,960
splitting wood for a long time, 
but never have I told my wife, 

467
00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,240
well, I'm going to go out and 
see what I can chop today. 

468
00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,680
I've got my axe handle. 
I'm going to go see how much I 

469
00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:33,080
can accomplish. 
No, never have, I said. 

470
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,400
Well, my chainsaw chain broke, 
but I'm going to take the 

471
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,600
chainsaw out there anyway and 
see what I can do, right? 

472
00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:42,600
It'll make a lot of noise. 
From somebody at a distance, it 

473
00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:44,480
might sound like you're doing a 
whole lot of work. 

474
00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:49,880
Actually, somebody that's got a 
trained ear can tell that I 

475
00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:53,040
ain't doing anything. 
Fact I, I was, this was pretty 

476
00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:55,520
funny because, and obviously 
I've been doing it a long, long 

477
00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:57,080
time. 
So I can I kind of have that, 

478
00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:01,000
that, that sense myself. 
But I was out there one time and

479
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:02,600
my neighbor came over and he 
said. 

480
00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:06,400
Is your chain dull? 
And actually it was. 

481
00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:09,720
I said, yeah, I mean, I'm just, 
I only had a few pieces left to 

482
00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:11,120
cut up. 
I'm finished, He said, man, I'm 

483
00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:12,800
over at my house and I can hear 
it. 

484
00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,280
He's like, it is hurting me 
listening to you trying to cut 

485
00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,360
that wood. 
I said, well, it is, but I was 

486
00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:19,120
just finishing up a few pieces. 
I'll. 

487
00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:21,200
Sharpen it later. 
But never have I said, well, 

488
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,600
when I go out and see how much 
wood I can split, I don't have a

489
00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:25,920
chain. 
But we'll see what I can 

490
00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:29,680
accomplish today. 
No, I go out to split and cut 

491
00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:32,720
wood. 
I get my chain sharpened right, 

492
00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:35,680
I have my own little sharpener 
and I sharpen the whole chain 

493
00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:37,840
before I go out. 
And I make sure that my axe has 

494
00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:41,480
a has a decent edge on it before
I go out there and try to split 

495
00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:43,040
anything. 
Because what's the point of 

496
00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:47,040
doing it if you know that you're
not going to accomplish 

497
00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,160
anything? 
And yet so many people do that. 

498
00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:51,480
They've got sin in their life 
that they know is there. 

499
00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:54,160
They don't have. 
They're not having, they don't 

500
00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:56,560
have a relationship with God. 
They're not reading their Bible,

501
00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:58,320
they're not praying. 
They, they know that their 

502
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:01,520
relationship with God is, is 
very empty and very shallow. 

503
00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,480
And yet I'm just going to show 
up and go to visitation and hope

504
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,960
that nobody else notices that 
I'm swinging an axe that doesn't

505
00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,600
have a head on it. 
I'm going to, I'm going to go 

506
00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,240
out and try to, to share the 
gospel with my, with my 

507
00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,080
coworkers and with my neighbors 
and, and, and with some other 

508
00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:17,160
people. 
But I've got a chainsaw that has

509
00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:19,000
no chain. 
I'm making a lot of noise but 

510
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:20,800
I'm not really accomplishing. 
Anything. 

511
00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:26,080
How foolish that is of us to try
to think that we can go out and 

512
00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:29,800
do things in our own power. 
Without me, He can't do nothing,

513
00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:34,000
Jesus says. 
The problem is that so often we 

514
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:35,880
start thinking that we're 
something and that we're worth a

515
00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:39,560
whole lot to God. 
We are only. 

516
00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:41,840
Vessels for God to show his 
power through. 

517
00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,960
This young man would never have 
been able to chop down a tree in

518
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,480
his own strength. 
He might have thought he could, 

519
00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:51,640
but he had to learn otherwise 
very quickly. 

520
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:53,640
And we'd laugh at somebody like 
that. 

521
00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:54,520
How foolish. 
What do you think? 

522
00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:56,760
You're going to go chop the tree
down with that axe handle? 

523
00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:01,440
But we do it. 
All the time God looks at us in 

524
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:03,640
the same way when we try to do 
things in our own power. 

525
00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:07,480
He looks at us and he says, 
remember what I told you? 

526
00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,560
Without me he can do nothing. 
That young man could have 

527
00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:13,600
continued to swing. 
And act like nothing was wrong. 

528
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,680
Right, the axe had fell off and.
Blew. 

529
00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:19,000
Right down into the water. 
They could have looked around 

530
00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,400
and nobody saw it, so he could 
just keep swinging and act like 

531
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:25,480
nothing happened, right? 
Could have, and probably not a 

532
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:27,400
lot of people would have noticed
it, at least right away. 

533
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:29,520
But he wouldn't have gotten 
anywhere. 

534
00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:34,480
And we are useless as vessels 
for Christ unless we are 

535
00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:38,640
connected to the power and the 
power can only come from Him. 

536
00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:43,560
Heard a story about a missionary
in Kenya and he was, somebody 

537
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:47,120
gave him a car to to help him 
out because he was he was biking

538
00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:49,760
to most of these little villages
and, and somebody found out 

539
00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:51,400
about it in the US and they 
donated. 

540
00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:54,600
A car to him so he drove that 
car for a while and everything 

541
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:56,880
was great but then all of a 
sudden the car started acting up

542
00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:00,320
a little bit and he was not 
mechanical at all he didn't 

543
00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:04,080
really know what to do so he 
figured out that if he could get

544
00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:07,600
some of these young young men to
push his car he could pop the. 

545
00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:09,560
Clutch and start it and 
everything would be great. 

546
00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,960
Either that or he could part it,
park the car in a little bit of 

547
00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:15,960
an incline and and release the 
brake and start sliding forward 

548
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:17,240
a little bit. 
He get a little bit of speed. 

549
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:19,200
He could pop the clutch in, the 
car would start. 

550
00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:23,160
So the time came and he did this
for a couple years exactly like 

551
00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:24,360
that. 
And the time finally came. 

552
00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:27,760
He was going to come back to the
US for some for for furlough. 

553
00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:29,440
He was going to go back and 
visit some of the different 

554
00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:31,480
churches and everything in a 
missionary was coming to replace

555
00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:34,400
him. 
And so he he said, hey, I have a

556
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:36,280
vehicle and you're more than 
welcome to use it. 

557
00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:38,480
But here's all the things you 
got to park it on a hill. 

558
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:39,560
You got to get somebody to push 
it. 

559
00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:43,400
You got to pop the clutch and 
and hope that it starts and the 

560
00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:45,560
the missionary that was coming 
to replace him, he said. 

561
00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:47,040
Well. 
I know a little bit about cars 

562
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:48,680
and let me look at it real quick
and see what I can do. 

563
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,040
And he opened the hood and he 
said, brother the the battery 

564
00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:55,720
cable is barely connected. 
He tightened the cable on the 

565
00:26:55,720 --> 00:27:00,520
car, started the car right up 
for two years. 

566
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,800
That missionary had been popping
the clutch, parking on hills, 

567
00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,080
making sure that he didn't get 
into a spot where he couldn't 

568
00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:12,000
back out because he had to do 
all of these things to try to 

569
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:16,120
get the power going when all it 
was is just he wasn't connected 

570
00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:18,440
to the power. 
The battery was right there all 

571
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,520
along. 
It had the power that he needed.

572
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:25,640
He just wasn't connected to it. 
And how we do the same thing. 

573
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:29,120
It's time that a lot of us Recon
reconnected to the battery and 

574
00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:31,160
recognize who the battery. 
Is. 

575
00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:35,320
Our power is not from us. 
Our power comes from God and we 

576
00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:37,360
have to be connected to His 
power. 

577
00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:39,520
It's not in your power that 
you're going to accomplish 

578
00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:41,640
anything. 
The power of God is borrowed. 

579
00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:44,320
But I want you to see this 
number 2, The power of God is 

580
00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:46,720
necessary. 
Turn over to 2nd Corinthians 

581
00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:50,360
chapter 4. 
See, having the power of God in 

582
00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:54,600
our lives is the only way to 
truly give glory to God through 

583
00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:56,840
our lives. 
I think again that everybody 

584
00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:59,720
would say, I want God to be 
glorified by my life. 

585
00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:02,680
I want, I want God to get the 
glory. 

586
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:06,440
I want God to be lifted up. 
I want Christ to be lifted up by

587
00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:08,040
my life. 
The only way that that's going 

588
00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:12,560
to happen is if you are using 
his power, if you are a vessel 

589
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:15,960
that is just allowing his. 
Power to flow through you. 

590
00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:19,200
Second Corinthians chapter 4 and
verse #15 The Bible says this 

591
00:28:19,360 --> 00:28:22,320
For all things are for your 
sakes, that the abundant grace 

592
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:27,440
might, through the Thanksgiving 
of many redound to the glory of 

593
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:31,200
God. 
See this young man in our story 

594
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:34,280
lost the axe head as he was 
swinging. 

595
00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:38,880
You notice that he wasn't just 
doing nothing and the axe head, 

596
00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:43,760
the axe handle rotted and he 
dropped the the axe, right? 

597
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:47,440
He was busy, he was working. 
He had the power of God in his 

598
00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:49,920
life and as he's swinging, he 
lost that power. 

599
00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:53,920
He lost the very thing that was 
helping him to accomplish what 

600
00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:57,800
he was trying to accomplish. 
I think sometimes we get so busy

601
00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:00,800
even doing good things. 
He was, he was building a 

602
00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:03,480
dormitory with the other 
students that were in the 

603
00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:07,640
college that were trying to 
learn how to be prophets, right?

604
00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:10,080
He wasn't doing a bad thing. 
He wasn't, he wasn't out 

605
00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:12,800
sinning. 
He didn't lose God's power 

606
00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:14,680
because he was in a place that 
he shouldn't have been. 

607
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,520
He was in a place where he was 
supposed to be doing things that

608
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,680
he was supposed to do. 
And he got so busy working that 

609
00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:22,960
he didn't notice that the axe 
head was getting loose. 

610
00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,600
And the longer it went and the 
farther the the longer he 

611
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:30,240
worked. 
The axe had finally worked its 

612
00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:34,080
way loose and it fell off. 
He could have pretended. 

613
00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,440
Everything's great. 
Keep swinging the axe. 

614
00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:37,680
I didn't lose anything. 
What? 

615
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,480
What are you talking about? 
Right. 

616
00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,600
But the next thing we know it's 
gone and we're working 

617
00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:45,520
frantically and nothing is being
accomplished. 

618
00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:47,280
You wonder why. 
Many times it feels like you're 

619
00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:49,240
spinning your wheels and I can't
get anywhere. 

620
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,520
I'm doing all this work and I 
I'm trying to lead somebody to 

621
00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:56,000
Christ and I just, I can't lead 
anybody to Christ. 

622
00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:59,120
I'm trying to do this and I'm 
trying to do that and just seems

623
00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:01,840
like I can't get anywhere. 
Have you have you gone back to 

624
00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,880
see if you? 
Actually have God's power, or 

625
00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:06,560
you just trying to do it in your
own strength. 

626
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:10,920
Look, most of us have been in 
church long enough that we know 

627
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,440
what the right thing is to do, 
right? 

628
00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:17,840
You know how to play the game. 
You know how to look like a good

629
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:19,600
Christian to everybody else 
around you. 

630
00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:25,160
You know how you how you dress 
up in a in a suit and carry your

631
00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:27,960
Bible to church and how you 
should act around everybody who 

632
00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:31,200
expects you to act a certain way
and and you can carry on for a. 

633
00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:34,200
Long time swinging that axe 
pretending that everything is 

634
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:39,760
fine with no axe head on it. 
And I wonder how many Christians

635
00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:41,360
there are in churches across the
country. 

636
00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:44,600
I wonder how many Christians are
in this church right here that 

637
00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:46,360
lost the axe had a long time 
ago. 

638
00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,120
And you're just still swinging 
so that nobody notices that 

639
00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:53,760
you're missing it. 
We need to have God's power. 

640
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:57,000
And you wonder why you're not 
accomplishing anything for God. 

641
00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,200
Maybe it's because you don't 
have it. 

642
00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:02,600
Maybe it's because you're just 
pretending to swing the axe and 

643
00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:06,960
there's no head on that axe. 
Go back to where you lost it. 

644
00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:10,120
Go back to where it fell into 
the water. 

645
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:12,240
And that's exactly what Elijah 
said. 

646
00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:14,960
Hey, point to me. 
Where you where, where, where 

647
00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:16,640
you lost it? 
Where did it go in at? 

648
00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:20,080
I mean, he was getting ready to 
do a miracle, right? 

649
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,280
I mean, you're going to make an 
axe head float. 

650
00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:24,480
Does it matter where it went in?
All right? 

651
00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:27,320
I mean, if you, if you throw 
the, the stick in the water 20 

652
00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:29,680
feet upstream, is it does that 
mean the axe heads not going to 

653
00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,440
float? 
No, but he had to go back to 

654
00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:36,520
where he lost the axe head. 
Where, where exactly did it go 

655
00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:38,120
in the water? 
And that young man said it was 

656
00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:41,200
right there. 
I, I, I dropped it right there. 

657
00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:45,560
Maybe that's what you need to 
do. 

658
00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:49,000
I'm just spinning my wheels. 
I don't feel like I'm 

659
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,960
accomplishing anything for God. 
All right, Go back and see where

660
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:55,160
you lost God's power. 
Go back and see where you 

661
00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:57,600
allowed things that that that 
should not have been in your 

662
00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,480
life to be in your life. 
Go back and see where those sins

663
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:02,000
are in your life that are 
keeping you back. 

664
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,080
Go back and see where you got so
busy serving the king that you 

665
00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:11,600
forgot who the king. 
Was and see if you can get God's

666
00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:15,840
power back. 
That young man might have looked

667
00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:17,440
busy, but nothing would have 
been getting done. 

668
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,600
And when we lose God's power in 
our lives, we can fool some 

669
00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:23,680
people for some of the time, but
eventually it's going to come 

670
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:26,080
out. 
Eventually it's going to be 

671
00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:29,280
exposed by the way, that hinders
the production of everybody else

672
00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:33,440
around you, too. 
All right, Hey, let's let's go 

673
00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,440
knock these trees down so we can
build this dormitory because 

674
00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:38,040
this place is too small. 
All right, Yeah. 

675
00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:40,160
Everybody out there together. 
Oop, oop. 

676
00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:42,040
I lost my accent. 
I'm just going to keep swinging 

677
00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:44,240
and act like everything's fine, 
man. 

678
00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,760
Why is this taking us so long? 
Why are we not accomplishing 

679
00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:51,600
anything? 
Because you got 3 or 456 guys 

680
00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:53,480
that are swinging an axe with no
axe head on it. 

681
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:55,200
What do you think's going to 
happen? 

682
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:57,280
It's going to affect everybody. 
It doesn't. 

683
00:32:57,440 --> 00:32:59,120
Many times you think it just 
effects you. 

684
00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:01,880
Well, I know I'm not exactly 
where God wants me to be, and I 

685
00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:03,960
know that I've got to. 
I've got to get some things 

686
00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:05,360
right with God. 
But it's just me. 

687
00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:07,880
It's only affecting me. 
No, it's affecting everybody. 

688
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:11,440
It's affecting the work of the 
church going forward. 

689
00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:17,320
Look what happened with Aiken at
AI. 36 men lost their lives, 36 

690
00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:21,320
women lost their husbands, 36 
kids, probably more lost their 

691
00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:27,200
father because there was sin in 
the camp and it was keeping them

692
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,120
from accomplishing what they 
could accomplish. 

693
00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:32,600
And the same thing is true when 
it comes to us in our lives 

694
00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:34,840
without God's power. 
You might think it's only 

695
00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:37,880
affecting you, but it doesn't 
only affect you, it affects all 

696
00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:39,760
of us. 
Keeps all of us from 

697
00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:41,800
accomplishing what God wants us 
to accomplish. 

698
00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:46,840
We all need to make sure that we
have God's power on our lives. 

699
00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,600
The key is that we must go back 
to the place where we lost our 

700
00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,200
power and make things right with
God. 

701
00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:54,680
That young man didn't try to 
hide the fact that he lost his 

702
00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:57,560
axe head. 
He went to the man of God and he

703
00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:00,320
told him everything. 
And I'm not saying that you've 

704
00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:02,680
got to come to me and confess 
your sins or anything like that,

705
00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:06,240
but we have to confess our sins 
if we expect God to bless us. 

706
00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:09,280
What caused us to lose our 
power? 

707
00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:13,719
God, I know it was right there. 
God and I'm, I'm, I'm not trying

708
00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:16,239
to hide that fact anymore. 
I know it was right there that I

709
00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:19,960
lost your power. 
Please, please can I have it 

710
00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:22,679
back? 
It's just, it's just borrowed 

711
00:34:22,679 --> 00:34:26,120
power anyway. 
It's not, it's not mine. 

712
00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:29,719
I I know I need it from you and 
I'm just, I'm just a poor 

713
00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:32,800
Sinner. 
I need that power back. 

714
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:36,280
God, it went in right there. 
Can you do something to give it 

715
00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:39,239
back? 
I want you to see this. 

716
00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:41,360
Lastly, the power of God is 
miraculous. 

717
00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:46,800
Notice in verse number six of 
Second Kings chapter 6 the man 

718
00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:51,239
of God said where fell it, They 
showed him the place and he cut 

719
00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:53,239
down a stick and cast it in 
thither. 

720
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:58,880
And the iron did swim Elijah. 
Elijah cut off that that that 

721
00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:00,400
stick and threw it into the 
water. 

722
00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:04,680
That piece of the tree that he 
threw into the water I think 

723
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:08,320
represents the cross. 
You know, if the axe head 

724
00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:11,000
represents the power of God, 
then certainly the stick can 

725
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:13,760
represent the cross. 
Turn over to 1st Corinthians 

726
00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:17,800
chapter 1. 
First Corinthians chapter 1 and 

727
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:22,720
verse #18 Because see, the truth
is, we must get back to the 

728
00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:25,120
cross where our sins were 
forgiven and make it right with 

729
00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:28,240
God. 
First Corinthians chapter 1 and 

730
00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:31,000
verse #18 The Bible says for the
preaching of the cross is to 

731
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:35,440
them that perish foolishness, 
but unto us which are saved it 

732
00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:40,720
is. 
The power of God when we go back

733
00:35:40,720 --> 00:35:44,800
to the cross and when we lay our
sins there at Jesus's feet the 

734
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:49,440
same way that we did however 
many years before for salvation,

735
00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:52,520
the miracle of all miracles 
takes place. 

736
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:57,160
He forgives our sins. 
He's faithful and just to 

737
00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:00,040
forgive our sins. 
The Bible says He restores our 

738
00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:04,240
fellowship with Him and He 
allows us to have the power that

739
00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:05,840
we lost. 
But an what? 

740
00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:09,720
An what a wonderful phrase. 
The iron did swim. 

741
00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:13,400
The Bible says, I can see Elijah
pointing to that axe head 

742
00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:14,720
floating on the top of the 
water. 

743
00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:19,000
He said, look, verse #7 
therefore said, he take it up to

744
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,280
thee. 
And he put out his hand and took

745
00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:23,200
it. 
That young man was probably 

746
00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:26,400
standing there awestruck. 
I mean, I thought, I thought 

747
00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:28,680
maybe you were going to make the
water clear so I could see it 

748
00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:30,000
and go down and get it or 
something. 

749
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:32,400
I didn't know that the that the 
iron was going to just. 

750
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,920
Float to the surface. 
Iron doesn't float, and Elijah 

751
00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:37,800
had to say it's right there. 
Go pick it up. 

752
00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:40,200
There's your axe head. 
Isn't that what you asked me 

753
00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:42,480
for? 
Go get it. 

754
00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:48,440
It's not some magic trick. 
It wasn't some optical illusion 

755
00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:51,600
that Elijah was performing. 
It was a genuine miracle, 

756
00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:53,520
miracle from God, George Mueller
said. 

757
00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:56,400
This faith does not operate in 
the realm of the possible. 

758
00:36:56,640 --> 00:36:59,320
There is no glory for God in 
that which is humanly possible. 

759
00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:02,280
Faith begins where man's power 
ends. 

760
00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:06,040
That's faith. 
That's, that's, that's true. 

761
00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:09,200
God can perform a miracle in 
your life to get your power 

762
00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:12,760
back. 
God, God's power is available 

763
00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:15,520
for us to use. 
We just need to be right with 

764
00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:17,320
him and we can reach out and 
take it. 

765
00:37:18,280 --> 00:37:20,400
I just think about how pointless
it would be for this young man 

766
00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:23,000
to just continue swinging that 
axe even for 5 minutes without 

767
00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,600
the axe head right? 
Even for 30. 

768
00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:28,880
Seconds. 
What's the point of swinging an 

769
00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:34,240
axe with no head on it? 
But he was smart enough to say, 

770
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:38,360
I'm not accomplishing anything. 
The head's gone. 

771
00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:41,400
Fell in right there. 
Can you do something to help me 

772
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:44,840
get it back? 
God performed a miracle through 

773
00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:47,400
Elijah. 
And when I think about how 

774
00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:51,040
pointless it is for us to 
continue working in the church, 

775
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:53,920
to continue knocking on doors, 
to continue trying to share the 

776
00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:57,160
message of the gospel, continue 
helping in ministries, continue 

777
00:37:57,160 --> 00:37:58,960
passing out tracts. 
All. 

778
00:37:58,960 --> 00:38:01,680
Without God's power. 
And yet we think we're going to 

779
00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:04,680
accomplish something. 
How pointless. 

780
00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:09,920
I read a story about a man that 
he was during the Great 

781
00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:12,880
Depression and and like most 
people he was just barely 

782
00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:16,920
scraping by, hardly had anything
and and even for for a little 

783
00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:21,720
time after the Great Depression.
His name was Yates and he had a 

784
00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:25,160
sheep ranch in Texas and the 
rolling hills in Texas and, and 

785
00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:27,120
he owned a sheep ranch and he 
was doing everything he can to 

786
00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:29,920
keep those sheep alive and just 
put some food on the table for 

787
00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:33,080
his family and. 
His business wasn't generating 

788
00:38:33,080 --> 00:38:36,040
any money to pay the principal 
on his mortgage, let alone the 

789
00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:37,480
interest. 
And so we ended up living on a 

790
00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:41,040
government subsidy and a lot of 
other things that that he had to

791
00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:42,800
borrow money for and everything 
else. 

792
00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,040
And so his days were just filled
with with stress over the 

793
00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:48,440
financial concerns and 
everything else that was was 

794
00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:49,440
happening in his life. 
How? 

795
00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:54,640
Am I going to get by? 
And one day a seismographic crew

796
00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:57,440
asked if they could explore his 
land to see if there was some 

797
00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:01,000
oil on his property. 
And once you know that at about 

798
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:04,880
1100 feet, they struck a huge 
oil reserve and the first well 

799
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:07,520
produced 80,000 barrels of oil a
day. 

800
00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:10,960
And one by one they kept. 
Hitting the oil on this man's 

801
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:15,280
property and, and, and one of 
them, several of them are 

802
00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,520
actually still producing oil 
even today and one of them is 

803
00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:24,760
producing oil at 120. 5000 
barrels a day here. 

804
00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:30,440
This man barely getting by. 
Spent years of his life worrying

805
00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:33,680
about money, worrying about how 
he was going to, how he was 

806
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:37,840
going to make ends meet and 
right under his feet was 

807
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,240
everything that he needed at his
disposal. 

808
00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:45,000
He just had to tap in to that 
oil. 

809
00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:49,320
I think many times we don't 
realize the tremendous resources

810
00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:53,880
that God's provided for us for 
Christian service and we just 

811
00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:55,800
barely getting by in our 
spiritual life. 

812
00:39:56,440 --> 00:39:58,640
Barely. 
Barely accomplishing anything. 

813
00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:01,200
Barely getting up in time to 
read our Bibles and pray. 

814
00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:03,000
Barely. 
Barely getting ourselves to 

815
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:05,440
church. 
Barely getting by. 

816
00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:08,080
Just enough to make it look like
we're still accomplishing 

817
00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:09,800
something for. 
God and we're not accomplishing 

818
00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:11,600
anything. 
And why not? 

819
00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:13,680
Because we haven't tapped into 
God's power. 

820
00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:17,960
It's there, it's available. 
It's enough for everybody in the

821
00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:20,040
entire world to have all they'll
ever need. 

822
00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:28,240
And yet Christians keep going, 
keep swinging an axe with no axe

823
00:40:28,240 --> 00:40:32,000
head on it, keep trying to 
accomplish something when you're

824
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:36,040
actually accomplishing nothing. 
See, we all have the power of 

825
00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:38,760
God available to us. 
How much power we have depends 

826
00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:41,640
on how right we are willing to 
be with God. 

827
00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:45,080
It's foolish of us to go and 
live in our lives without God's 

828
00:40:45,080 --> 00:40:48,240
power when we have the vast 
resources of heaven available to

829
00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:51,080
us. 
Doesn't he own the cattle on 

830
00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:54,160
1000 Hills? 
The wealth in every mine he 

831
00:40:54,160 --> 00:40:57,560
owns, the rivers and the rocks 
and the reels, the sun and stars

832
00:40:57,560 --> 00:40:59,560
that shine, He has all of it. 
It's all his. 

833
00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:04,040
And he can give us anything that
we need to have through his 

834
00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:07,040
power. 
And yet we're still swinging an 

835
00:41:07,040 --> 00:41:10,880
axe with no head on it. 
How ridiculous is that? 

836
00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:14,360
If we're not, If you're not as 
excited about the things of God 

837
00:41:14,360 --> 00:41:17,680
as you used to be, maybe it's 
because you're not as in touch 

838
00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:20,080
with the source of power as you 
used to be. 

839
00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:21,960
Maybe you've allowed some sin to
get in. 

840
00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:26,280
Between you and the Lord, Maybe 
you've just gotten so busy 

841
00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:29,920
working for God that you forgot 
where your power comes from. 

842
00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:33,480
Maybe you get so busy doing 
things for the. 

843
00:41:33,480 --> 00:41:35,240
Lord. 
And and and. 

844
00:41:35,240 --> 00:41:38,080
Living for the Lord that you've 
just learned how to go on. 

845
00:41:38,080 --> 00:41:40,520
Acting like everything is 
perfectly fine even though you 

846
00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:44,760
know. 
It's not you have the power of 

847
00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:47,920
God in your life. 
If not, let's get back to the 

848
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:50,200
cross. 
Number one, you need to God's 

849
00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:53,440
power for salvation. 
You need to know your Savior. 

850
00:41:53,440 --> 00:41:55,320
You'll never. 
It's like it's like trying to 

851
00:41:55,320 --> 00:42:00,240
drive a car with no battery even
in it, but you need God's power 

852
00:42:00,240 --> 00:42:02,400
for service. 
Got the battery there. 

853
00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:06,440
You just have to connect to it. 
Not going to accomplish anything

854
00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:09,840
if you don't have God's power. 
So that's my question for you 

855
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:11,520
this morning. 
Do you have God's power in your 

856
00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:14,080
life? 
Can you honestly, would you 

857
00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:16,920
honestly evaluate your life? 
Would you honestly evaluate 

858
00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:19,400
yourself and say, do I have 
God's power? 

859
00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:21,840
Am I accomplishing things in my 
life? 

860
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:25,240
Am I doing something for the 
Lord that's going to count for 

861
00:42:25,240 --> 00:42:28,440
eternity because I have God's 
power on my life? 

862
00:42:29,960 --> 00:42:33,920
It's a simple simple. 
Thought the power of God. 

863
00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:36,320
I want God's power. 
I want to have God's power in my

864
00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:37,360
life. 
But do you have it? 

865
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:41,640
Do you have it? 
Let's pray. 

866
00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:43,800
Father, again, we thank you so 
much for your goodness to us. 

867
00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:48,240
Thank you for the fact that we 
all have your power available to

868
00:42:48,240 --> 00:42:49,920
us. 
God, may you help us all to use 

869
00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:51,240
it. 
May you help us all to be in a 

870
00:42:51,240 --> 00:42:54,880
position where we're not just 
swinging an axe with no head on 

871
00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:59,240
it, but God, that we first of 
all recognize that the power 

872
00:42:59,240 --> 00:43:03,840
only comes from you, but also 
that it's pointless if we don't 

873
00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:07,000
have your power. 
May you help us all, and you 

874
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:11,800
help us all to go back to where 
we lost it if we need to and get

875
00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:14,760
things right with you so that we
can be used by you. 

876
00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:16,920
Thank you again for all that you
do for us. 

877
00:43:16,920 --> 00:43:18,280
In Jesus name, Amen.