1 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:11,760 If I haven't met you, my name is Pablo Moreno and I I served with 2 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:16,160 Reggie at Trinity, but on my full time job, I served as a as 3 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:18,400 a chaplain with the Idaho Air National Guard. 4 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,680 I'm the full time chaplain out there and been working. 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:22,840 Thank you. Thank you. 6 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,960 Been work, been with the Air Guard for 10 years and I've been 7 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:33,520 full time for 4. But I, I was on staff here my 8 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:36,320 whole 20s. I'm 40 years old now and I moved 9 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:40,440 on 10 years ago to go from ministry to military. 10 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:46,080 And it's interesting because November of 2014, I taught my 11 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,440 last Sunday here on like November 10th or something. 12 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:53,040 And some of you guys were here. I think Alyssa was here, Dan was 13 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,040 here. So it's cool. 14 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,080 It's being back here. So I taught my last service on a 15 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,480 Sunday night. And then that Wednesday, I I 16 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:05,400 went to boot camp. And if any military members 17 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,760 here, raise your hands. I love you guys. 18 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:09,720 Thanks for showing love. Yeah, give him a hand, too. 19 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,680 Always good to show love to our service members. 20 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,640 So I went to boot camp at 30 years old. 21 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:20,960 Who does that? You know who, who goes from 22 00:01:20,960 --> 00:01:24,680 ministry to military? You know, because I thought I 23 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,440 would at that time be here my whole life. 24 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,880 I thought I would still be serving with Noah and Tuck and 25 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,760 and and Tommy and then the crew. But God called me elsewhere. 26 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:40,000 So I go into to boot camp and it's like typical boot camp that 27 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,960 you see in the movies. You know, you get to Lackland 28 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:46,080 Air Force Base midnight and you're tired. 29 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:49,160 You've been traveling all day and you get there by bus. 30 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:53,800 And who comes on the bus? People of all heights, shapes, 31 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:58,320 sizes and colors with their hats brim tilted down, walking up and 32 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:02,520 down the bus aisles, giving you the stink eye and knowing 33 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:04,960 they're going to make your life miserable for the next 8 1/2 34 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,840 weeks. So, so you're quiet up and down 35 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,320 the aisles and then with all unison and all accord, they go 36 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:16,440 get off my bus. And, and we are like little kids 37 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:19,480 in kindergarten, you know, just trying to get off this, this 38 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:22,720 sergeant's bus. And, you know, during those 8 39 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,040 1/2 weeks I was there, I saw God do cool things. 40 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,280 I really did, you know, and to be honest, I wasn't trying to be 41 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:31,920 spiritual at boot camp. I was just trying to survive. 42 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,320 I'm 30. I'm just trying to play the 43 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:35,920 game. I'm not trying to argue with 44 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:37,600 these folks. I'm not trying to be something 45 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:40,440 like GI Jane or anything. I'm just, I was trying to get 46 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:44,760 through and get my GI Bill. I'm ask the truth and and so by 47 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:47,720 God is so gracious, as much as I was just trying to keep my head 48 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:52,480 down and and go through God, God will still pick you up and and 49 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:54,360 use you. So I ended up being one of the 50 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,160 three guys who were in charge of a flight of 40 people. 51 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,080 And and when you get there, I don't know if you've ever been 52 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,760 in a situation where it's so stressful that your body gets 53 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:05,320 wrecked. You know, it's, it's stressed 54 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:09,440 like you're, you're not sleeping well and your your bowel is not 55 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:10,720 the best. You know what I'm saying? 56 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:12,680 Things aren't moving properly, right? 57 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,160 And so it goes on for about two weeks. 58 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:18,960 And so I'm just, I'm just trying to grind, you know, I'm just 59 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:22,680 trying to move forward. And, and you got my people on my 60 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:24,960 flight crying at night. Like they're in their bed 61 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:26,920 crying, no joke, crying for their moms. 62 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:31,360 Like what did I do? You know, and, and, and one day, 63 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,840 one night where I buy our bunk. So it's it's go, go, go all day, 64 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:36,080 every day. It's go, go, go. 65 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,200 And one night am I my bunk? And I'm just kind of chilling, 66 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,320 just sitting down this praying and just like, Lord get me 67 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:44,880 through this. And one of my my bunk mates, 68 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,600 Smith. So Marino, what's up? 69 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:49,360 Smith? He goes, why are you always so 70 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:51,720 calm? Like we're over here stressing 71 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,320 and you always seem calm and just joyful. 72 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:56,920 And I go, bro, can I be real with you? 73 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:58,280 I'm not going to be cheesy, but can I be real? 74 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,560 He goes, yeah, I go. I follow Christ, man. 75 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,280 And God is he the Prince of Peace? 76 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,440 He's in my heart and I I'm I'm moving forward. 77 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:08,760 He was Marino. How do I get that peace because 78 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:10,040 I haven't pooped in two weeks, man. 79 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:11,160 I don't know what's wrong with me. 80 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,320 I I I I need peace because I'm stressed. 81 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,240 I go well, bro, I can't guarantee a poop, but I can 82 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:18,959 guarantee Christ. You know, like so so we pray. 83 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:21,480 I go well, let's pray right now. Let's just start with asking 84 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:23,240 Christ into your heart I go, you ever received Jesus? 85 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:24,720 He goes well, let's just start there bro. 86 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,160 I can't guarantee I'm not a doctor unite Doctor Quinn. 87 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:31,320 So we pray and and we kneel and, and someone looks over to us and 88 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:32,640 they go, what are you guys doing? 89 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:35,320 You know, we're, you don't, it's not normal to see two grown men 90 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:39,640 kneel by their bread boot camp. Well, this guy Smith tells this 91 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:42,800 guy, I'm not, I'm not doing well, you know, like I, I 92 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,640 haven't slept, I haven't pooped and I and this guy goes, why 93 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:47,280 haven't pooped either? Can I pray with you guys? 94 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:51,520 And like, come on over, bro. You know, so like, I mean, as 95 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:55,200 much as it wasn't like it wasn't like sexy ministry, it was God 96 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,640 use whatever, you know, and I was able to lead genuinely the 97 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:02,360 other guys as well to the Lord by just trying to change, keep 98 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,120 my head down and get through and just just be like Christ. 99 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,960 So I'm gone for 8 1/2 weeks boot camp, follow up with follow on 100 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:14,760 training, gone for another four months and gone six months total 101 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:19,200 and I get back by come back to a whole different world. 102 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:22,640 You know, no one, no one prepared me for what life looks 103 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:23,800 like when you're gone for six months. 104 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,160 And even those in country training, a lot can happen in 105 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,560 six months, you know, So I get back and things were different. 106 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:33,200 I mean, sincerely, things were different. 107 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,880 I, I came home and I was told originally I was going to have 108 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:39,680 about 3 months of bomb the job training. 109 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:43,760 So I was counting on that to give me some time to, to look 110 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:45,800 for a job because I wasn't working here anymore looking for 111 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:49,360 a job. And the first day I get back, 112 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:52,560 you told me Moreno, we got to say let you know something. 113 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:56,400 There's been some budget cuts because you know this, there's 114 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:58,200 always government budget cuts and stuff. 115 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:01,200 And it happened then too. You don't have three months of 116 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,280 on the job training. You actually have three weeks of 117 00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:05,080 on the job training and we got to let you go, go. 118 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:09,440 OK, how am I going to tell my spouse I'm unemployed in, in, in 119 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:12,960 three weeks. Then I get back also with what 120 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:16,800 else is different to my home? Something is different in the 121 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,560 home and I couldn't put my finger on it yet, but I knew 122 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:25,560 something was broken and that's something I would never get back 123 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:27,280 together, put back together again. 124 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:31,080 And and then apart from that, when you're apart from a church, 125 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,880 part of a church for 10 years, it's full time and engage was 126 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:35,560 thriving. We were, we were rocking and 127 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:40,560 rolling like it was fun. I come back, I'm, I'm jobless, 128 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:44,640 broken home and I feel directionless. 129 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,000 God, what are you doing? Engage was going well, like we 130 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,840 were doing cool things at boot camp and now it's like I'm 131 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:57,840 hopeless, directionless and as the Bible puts it, I was poor 132 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:00,800 and empty. And on top of all that, my body 133 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,840 was not responding well. I mean, sincerely, I, I've had 134 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:08,000 migraines and I would wake up with hives all over my body 135 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,520 because I just from the stress and, and honestly, blood was 136 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,200 coming out in places I never thought would come out of like, 137 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:18,840 it's like joke, like what is going on with my life? 138 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:23,480 God, how many of you can relate? How many of you been there where 139 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,320 what I'm saying rings true in your heart? 140 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:29,040 And maybe you're there right now. 141 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,400 Maybe you're one of the ones where doge has affected and at 142 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:34,320 50 years old, you're having to start over. 143 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,120 Maybe you're maybe you've gone through a situation where you 144 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,360 you heard words come from the mouse mouth of your spouse that 145 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:43,200 you'd never thought you'd hear, and you're picking your 146 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:47,240 shattered heart off the floor. Maybe your body is working 147 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,400 against you and you're trying to figure out what is wrong with me 148 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,440 and you're trying to bring a sense of normalcy back into your 149 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:56,360 life. Maybe you've made some mistakes 150 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:58,920 and there's so many to count. You don't know how God can ever 151 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,680 make stricken a straight what we've made crooked, or work 152 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:04,920 together for good a bad situation. 153 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:08,280 Maybe you're here, directionless, hopeless, 154 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:12,280 wondering if God even cares, if God still has a plan for you. 155 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,920 Do you know what's crazy about being in those seasons where we 156 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:22,080 feel poor, broken and needy? Jesus says, as we'll see this 157 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:27,680 morning, that this place and posture is the very key that 158 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:31,640 opens the door to unique blessings and experiences. 159 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:36,400 To understand the deeper things about God and the ways of His 160 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:40,000 Kingdom, Things that we would not have understood unless we 161 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:44,400 came to Him with an awareness of our emptiness, with an awareness 162 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:47,360 of our neediness, with an awareness of our brokenness and 163 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:49,720 poverty. And we'll see today that as we 164 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,560 impact the first of the beatitudes, the beatitude we're 165 00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:55,840 going to look at today is a foundational teaching of Christ 166 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:00,880 and, and one when applied and lived out, can reframe how we 167 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,640 live, how we think and how we grow in our walk with him. 168 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,480 It's often been called in Matthew, the Sermon on the 169 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,920 Mount, but in Luke's gospel is called the Sermon on the plain, 170 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,320 But it has the same revolutionary truths. 171 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:16,040 It's, it's, it's the manifesto of Christ. 172 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:18,600 It's not just some spiritual advice. 173 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,760 These beatitudes, not just behaviors we should put on our 174 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:24,400 fridge and think, OK, I'm going to, I'm going to aspire to be 175 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,960 like that. It's an invitation to live under 176 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:33,640 God's rule and blessing and and to learn about the Kingdom, how 177 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:36,480 it works and what it looks like when it shows up real in our 178 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:38,400 lives. So Jesus is talking to his 179 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,840 disciples. He's looking at people who have 180 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:44,640 said, yes, I have decided to to follow Jesus. 181 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:46,920 No turning back. No turning back. 182 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:51,160 Those who want to go deeper, grow deeper and live at a higher 183 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:53,840 level when it comes to really seeing the Kingdom of God work 184 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,720 through their life. These are people he's talking to 185 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:01,800 who don't want to go through the motions of religion, but they 186 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:06,120 want to see a life transformed and God use their lives to bring 187 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:09,200 transformation around them. And he starts with this in Luke 188 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:13,880 620, it says this. He lifted up his eyes on his 189 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:18,480 disciples and said, blessed are you who are poor, for yours is 190 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:22,160 the Kingdom of God. The first point of three I want 191 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:25,280 to make this morning is if you're a note taker, God's 192 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:29,560 Kingdom is upside down. In this statement, Jesus is 193 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:33,600 giving us insight into how things work in his Kingdom. 194 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:38,000 The upside down Kingdom, God's Kingdom and the world are very 195 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:42,320 much in opposition and what is considered good in the world is 196 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,600 bad in Kingdom of God, and what is considered blessed in God's 197 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,520 realm is considered cursed in the other. 198 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:51,560 Now everything about this statement that we just read 199 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:56,080 challenges what they and we have been taught about success and 200 00:10:56,080 --> 00:11:00,120 blessing the world. The world says wealthy, you 201 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,560 know, the blessed, the powerful man, they're blessed. 202 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,360 The comfortable, they're blessed. 203 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,960 The the ones who seem to have it all together, they're blessed. 204 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:16,440 But Jesus says no, no, no, blessed are you who are poor. 205 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:20,520 This word blessed comes from the Greek word macarios, which means 206 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:25,520 deeply satisfied, which means spiritually fulfilled and 207 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:29,600 approved by God. It doesn't matter how old you 208 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:34,000 are, everyone wants to feel fulfilled. 209 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:40,240 Everyone wants to feel satisfied and everyone wants to be feel 210 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:43,040 like they still matter to someone, still feel approved by 211 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:44,440 someone. Doesn't matter how old you are, 212 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:47,800 everybody longs for that. And the human heart is 213 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:51,520 constantly on the hunt looking for a sense of satisfaction, 214 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:55,520 fulfillment and approval. And if we aren't looking to 215 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:59,240 Christ to fill that void, like the old country song says, we're 216 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,440 looking for love in all the wrong places, the heart will try 217 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,720 to find it. Those things and the wells of 218 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:09,880 fame, fortune, fixation and fake relationships. 219 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,960 But like Jesus told the woman at the well in John chapter 4, 220 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:20,080 everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again as she had 221 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:23,720 a trail of broken marriages relate behind her and was living 222 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:25,360 with someone who is not her husband. 223 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:29,560 Everyone who goes to the wrong well, Jesus says if we drink 224 00:12:29,560 --> 00:12:31,320 that water, you're going to be thirsty again. 225 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:36,240 The destructive things that our flesh is drawn to at times are 226 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:39,280 like drinking ocean water. It will only leave us more 227 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:45,240 thirsty, sick and disoriented. So when Jesus says blessed are 228 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:48,880 you who are poor, he's not. He's not glorifying poverty for 229 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:52,160 its own sake. He's saying no, no, this is the 230 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:57,840 best posture and position to to put ourselves to discover true 231 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:01,400 satisfaction, true fulfillment and true purpose. 232 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:05,040 It's by allowing his spirit to bring us to a place where the 233 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:09,000 cry of our heart is God. I have nothing and I know I'm 234 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:13,040 nothing apart from you. And it's there where we discover 235 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:17,680 everything we were looking for was always an about face away 236 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,920 military. We we use this term about face 237 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:24,280 like when it's time to turn around, they say about face. 238 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,880 And and when it comes to following Christ, everything we 239 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:30,800 are looking for sincerely is is the breath away. 240 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,960 God, I need you. It's it's an about face away. 241 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:38,480 Lord, I'm turning back to you. Second point I want to look at 242 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:43,520 today is this when we say I can't, God says yeah, but I 243 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:47,520 can't. When we say I can't, God says I 244 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:49,800 can. Do you know why God is drawn to 245 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:55,440 a posture of poverty? Because it's real, it's honest, 246 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,600 and it's humble. James, 46, says God opposes the 247 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:02,520 proud, but gives grace to the humble. 248 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:05,640 Pride says I got this, I'm the man. 249 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,320 Poverty, says God, I can't do this without you. 250 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,720 I am not the man. And God replies, that's right, 251 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:17,600 only I can do this for you. You see, the last 10 years of my 252 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:21,960 life, this has been so true in in, in my life and what I've 253 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,800 experienced and what I've seen and felt, it's been filled with 254 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,120 painful and heartbreaking experiences. 255 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:33,320 Unemployment, broken relationships, temporary 256 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:36,080 homelessness. And you know what truth I've 257 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:38,760 seen played out over and over in the midst of it? 258 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:43,320 At the end of ourselves, that is the beginning of God. 259 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:46,920 At the end of ourselves is the beginning of God. 260 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:53,280 When we stop, God will start when we stop striving and 261 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:58,160 stressing, controlling and complaining, and instead call 262 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:02,960 out to God and give Him space to do His thing, space to work in 263 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:07,360 His providential ways, because He sees us when we think, He 264 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:11,200 doesn't, and He thinks about us and He hears us. 265 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:17,400 Psalm 4017 says, As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord 266 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:21,240 takes thought of me. You are my help and my 267 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,880 deliverer. Psalm 6933 says for the Lord 268 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:29,680 hears the poor. Remember how I said I came back 269 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:35,760 jobless, man, again, the truth I've seen over and over is when 270 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:41,520 I stop, God starts when I don't, when I when I simply show up, 271 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:45,000 God shows off. That's what happens when I when 272 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,720 I just show up, God shows off. So I get back and I'm 273 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:50,720 unemployed. I'm just figuring out life, man. 274 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:56,840 And I, I'm in the break room one day during drill, during, during 275 00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:59,440 work, the work day. And I, there's this guy in 276 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:00,680 there. I can't remember his name. 277 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,920 I'll call him Mike and Mike's happy and he's joyful like like 278 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:07,920 he's just glow and I go, dude, why are you such a good mood? 279 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:11,760 He goes Marino, I just found a job like you Dick, We're like, 280 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:14,120 you know, when you're on the hunt and someone's got food, 281 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:15,760 you're like, show me where I can get that bro. 282 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,480 You know, he goes there's a place on base called heroes for 283 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:19,880 hired. I go, What's that? 284 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:21,640 Well, they help military folks find a job. 285 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:23,720 Tell me where it's at. So I didn't even I didn't even 286 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:25,240 ask permission. I just left my office right 287 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:27,840 there shop and I went and I went to find that place. 288 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:32,040 See this lady, sweet older woman, she was OK Tell me about 289 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:33,680 your background. What have you done? 290 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:37,720 And I'm like youth bastard, you know, teach Bible, you know, I'm 291 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:40,760 just trying to trying to put into like resume form things 292 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:41,920 that I've done in the last 10 years. 293 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:44,600 She was OK. So you have administrative 294 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:45,160 skills. I go, yeah. 295 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:46,520 OK. So you, you public speak. 296 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:49,000 I go a little bit and she goes, OK, so I'm telling her all these 297 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:50,400 things. She goes interesting. 298 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,760 I just had a job emailed me to this morning that that they're 299 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:55,480 looking to hire someone. I go, OK, what is it? 300 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:58,920 She goes, well, it, it says it's for the child, Idaho National 301 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:01,960 Guard Child and Youth program. And it says must be willing to 302 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,240 public speak, must be willing to do outreach, must be willing to 303 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:07,440 put on camps, must be willing to teach. 304 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:09,240 Crick. I'm like, are you kidding? 305 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,160 And I knew that's my job. I, I I knew it must have a 306 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,599 bachelor's or master's degree. I go, don't have that. 307 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:15,599 She goes, well, you don't have that. 308 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:17,880 I go, no, I don't have to. Well, she doesn't have to try. 309 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:19,040 Yeah, doesn't have to try. So. 310 00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:23,599 So I applied and it was like a pool of 30 and then, you know, 311 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,440 you know the drill, then Chan and then final three and then, 312 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:27,760 and then it's the in person interview. 313 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:30,560 So I go in and I'm like, Lord, you know, I need a job, man. 314 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:35,200 You know, I got a mortgage, I got bills to pay and, and I, I 315 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:38,520 do my interview, I do my thing and, and I got the job. 316 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:42,120 And there are people who applied who had masters in an actual 317 00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:43,760 like educational world experience. 318 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:48,000 But but God hooked it up. This relational dynamic of me 319 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:53,040 coming to God with nothing and Him making a way or a way or way 320 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:56,880 out of way forward when I felt stuck and trapped is one that 321 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,360 has repeatedly played out over the last 10 years. 322 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:02,320 Repeatedly. It sounds crazy, but in God's 323 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:05,480 Kingdom I've learned that the way up is down. 324 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:09,240 The way up is down. When we need Him to lift this 325 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:12,760 out of the pit, we kneel down and pray in humility and 326 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:16,480 brokenness. And the way in God's Kingdom, 327 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,400 the way to move forward, is to stand still. 328 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:22,800 The Israelites experienced this in Exodus 14. 329 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,960 They had just fled from Egypt. They've come to their first 330 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:30,160 major obstacle in their journey. They got the Red Sea in front of 331 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:33,560 them and Pharaoh's army coming in hot behind them. 332 00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:39,000 And Exodus 4/14/13 says this. But Moses told the people, don't 333 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,960 be afraid. Just stand still and watch the 334 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:45,720 Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will 335 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:49,200 never be seen again. And the Lord himself would fight 336 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:50,400 for you. Just stay calm. 337 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:52,120 And you know the rest of the story. 338 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,760 You know, Moses goes and cries a little bit and God says, what 339 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:57,160 are you doing? Get out there and put your stick 340 00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,240 over the water. You know, and, and and the Red 341 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:02,880 Sea parts and they walk over on dry land and Pharaoh's army is 342 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:08,120 swallowed up by the water. Are are you in a season where it 343 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:10,960 feels like you can't move forward into something, but 344 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:13,120 there's something behind you putting pressure on you? 345 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:17,520 Maybe. Maybe it's an unknown future 346 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:22,080 ahead of us and a path of pain and brokenness behind us. 347 00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:26,320 We feel paralyzed. Maybe it's a cold marriage in 348 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:30,320 front of us and it's prodigal kids behind us. 349 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:32,280 My family feels like it's falling apart. 350 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:39,000 Maybe it's in a secret addiction in front of us and brokenness 351 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:41,480 behind us. Who can I talk to about what I'm 352 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:46,040 really going through If I told him this, they would all they 353 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:48,440 would all bail. Who who can I trust with my 354 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:52,040 brokenness. It's a stressful job in front of 355 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:58,280 us and buried dreams and goal behind us a blessing we get when 356 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:01,040 we come to God with the heart that says God. 357 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:05,120 I don't know what to do. I have nothing is we get to see 358 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:09,080 the King of the Kingdom in his Providence to work on our 359 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:11,600 behalf. As we as we apply his word to 360 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:15,640 our life and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit, That's what 361 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:17,360 it means that theirs is the Kingdom of God. 362 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:20,160 We have access to the King and the ways of his Kingdom. 363 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:23,400 The needle moves when we act in obedience to his ways. 364 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:28,400 Psalm 119 one O 5 says your word is a lamp to my feet and a light 365 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:32,160 to my path when we come to him. Yeah, change. 366 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:33,600 I mean, I'm just telling you from experience. 367 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,480 It ain't going to happen immediately around us, but but 368 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:41,040 there will be something that begins to happen within us where 369 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:45,360 we get the peace to move forward when everything is chaos, where 370 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:48,560 we get the the grit and the resilience to get back up when 371 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:51,560 the world is trying to kick us back down. 372 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:55,280 We, we, we discover who who God is and how he works. 373 00:20:56,400 --> 00:21:02,400 I love the story of Corey 10 Boom, long past Dutch Christian 374 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,440 who who helped hide Jews during World War 2. 375 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:09,720 She she later found herself in prison in Nazi concentration 376 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:13,440 camp and she lost everything. She lost her freedom, lost her 377 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:15,440 family, her comfort, her security. 378 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:20,000 But in that place of utter desperation in the concentration 379 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:23,760 camps, she discovered the sufficiency of Christ like she 380 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,720 never had before. And she famously coined the 381 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:31,320 phrase, you will never know that Jesus is all you need until 382 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:35,480 Jesus is all you have. You will never know that Jesus 383 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:38,720 is all you need until Jesus is all you have. 384 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:44,800 Man, that quote, it's taken on a whole new meaning in my life. 385 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:49,760 I mean, it really has. The last 10 years, there's been 386 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:52,320 separation, there's been heartbreak, There's been 387 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:56,200 starting over. I mean, I got back and it's 388 00:21:56,200 --> 00:22:02,040 like, Lord, it's, it's so hard. You know, you see people on the 389 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:06,760 stage, the worship leaders or Tuck or, or myself, and you 390 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:08,640 think that, man, they must have it all together. 391 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,360 They must have it figured out if they've reached that status. 392 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,800 No, the only thing we've figured out is that we don't have it 393 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:18,000 figured out. That's it, guys. 394 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:21,640 The only thing we have figured out is that we don't have it 395 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,280 figured out and we're just one beggar trying to show other 396 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:26,320 peggars a place where we can all go get some bread. 397 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:27,760 That's all. That's how it works. 398 00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:30,160 I'm just one beggar trying to show other beggars a place where 399 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:32,240 we can all go get some bread. Where's that job? 400 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:34,800 Where's that food? Where's, where's that strength? 401 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:39,480 So, so there's been heartbreak and starting over and, and just 402 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:42,360 like Lord, is this how it works? Like when you, when you try to 403 00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:47,280 follow you, it's like everything I try, I try to do, it just dies 404 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,920 or, or breaks or, or leads to heartbreak. 405 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:52,960 Was this how it works when we try to follow you? 406 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,000 Because we think when we come to Christ, like it's going to get 407 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,360 better. I don't know if my journey has 408 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:01,600 gotten more hard, especially I try as I try to do ministry. 409 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:06,040 It's gotten more hard. And so, so each time, though, as 410 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:09,240 I have felt at times where I've licked at the floor of hell with 411 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:12,360 my tongue, God has picked me back up and says, let's, let's 412 00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:15,200 keep going. Pablo, we, we got this, We got 413 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:17,160 this. And, and one thing I have 414 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:21,840 learned as I, as I've repeatedly come to Christ is, is he, he 415 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,440 can, he can make good from the bad. 416 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:29,280 He can make straight what's been crooked and, and what's taking 417 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:31,640 place in my journey, especially the last two years has been, 418 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:33,440 it's been really awesome to be to be honest. 419 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:35,920 I mean, it's been painful, but there's been some good. 420 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,720 So, so the door has opened up for me to become the full time 421 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:43,400 chaplain for the Idaho Air Guard. 422 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:46,000 And it's not normal, the National Guard to. 423 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:49,120 Is it normal to be a chaplain? Right. 424 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:52,400 But to be hired as a full time, it's just funding, resources, 425 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:53,720 all that kind of stuff. It's not normal. 426 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:55,120 But the point is to have a full time person. 427 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,080 And technically, I'm not even the full time. 428 00:23:58,120 --> 00:23:59,560 I'm not even a technical chaplain. 429 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:02,160 They said in the military you have to have a master of 430 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:04,200 divinity, you see, to become an official. 431 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:06,480 It's not like Calvary Chapel. Can you teach the Bible? 432 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:08,600 You love Jesus. Get up there, brother. 433 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:10,760 You know, we need a children's ministry direct there. 434 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,080 OK, OK, that's not how the military, they have a little bit 435 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,320 more restrictions. And so they said probably we 436 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:19,600 want you to be our Chapel, but you have to get your Mdiv at 437 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:21,160 that time. I don't even have my bachelor's 438 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,480 yet. I go, OK, oh, global, let's do 439 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:25,640 this. So I got my bachelor's from 440 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:29,320 Boise State in a year. And the master's program usually 441 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:33,040 takes about at least four years, you know, and I started it in 442 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:37,600 January of 23. And, and the Lord put on my 443 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:39,920 heart, it's time to grind. It's grind time Pablo, you got 444 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,200 to get this done. And so for some reason I had on 445 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:48,200 my heart and my mind October of 2024, so 20 months later to get 446 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:52,000 my master divinity. So I need 75 masters credits in 447 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,120 20 months. So I began the clock and I got 448 00:24:55,120 --> 00:24:59,520 after it and and I I did it. And every time I would check in 449 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:02,040 with one of my Co workers, he'd be like, Pablo, how's school 450 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:03,120 going? It's going great. 451 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:04,720 You know, I'm moving forward. He goes, what do you think 452 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:07,720 you're going to graduate? Oh, I'm looking for October 24. 453 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:09,840 He goes, what? That's twenty months. 454 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:11,240 Dude, you're crazy. You can't do that. 455 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:13,320 Go. And when someone tells me I 456 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:16,520 can't, God can't, right? I'm not going to say I can't. 457 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:18,280 And I'm like, and he kept saying that. 458 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,120 He kept saying that and it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. 459 00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:22,800 I'm like, hey, because he was like, it took me 6 years to get 460 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:24,200 my MD. Like you can't do it in 20 461 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:24,720 months. I go. 462 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:29,720 And so he kept saying it, you know, so, so how do you think? 463 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:33,320 So, OK, so, so the next time he said that I go, bro, out of all 464 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,440 sincerity and respect, I'm going to ask that you tell me I can't 465 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,920 do that anymore and, and just let me do it, OK? 466 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:42,640 Don't, don't put your negativity on me. 467 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:44,920 I, I said it very kindly, but I'm going to say, I'm going to 468 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:46,680 say, don't tell me I can't anymore. 469 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:50,520 And, and do you know what happened October of 2024? 470 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:56,200 Boom, baby, graduated, graduated from Liberty University with a 471 00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:04,080 3.9 GPA. In the midst of, of my life 472 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:07,440 imploding, God gave me the grace to keep, to move forward. 473 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:09,320 He's where God guides, he provides. 474 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:11,120 I mean, this is not cheesy Christianity, it's real 475 00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:14,440 spirituality where he guide and he doesn't just show up, he 476 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:16,720 shows off. How do you get a 3.9 in 20 477 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,640 months, you know, 75? How does that work? 478 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:22,280 And, and then what also happened is so my technical title is I'm 479 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:25,160 a religious affairs airman. It's kind of like a chaplain 480 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:26,120 assistant, right? The military. 481 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:29,480 And so in function, I serve as a chaplain, but that's my 482 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:31,760 technical title. And, and then that's, that's 483 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:34,400 what I do. And then I was notified last 484 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:39,880 week that for the year of 2024, I was awarded the Religious 485 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:42,680 Affairs Airman of the Year for the whole Air National Guard for 486 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:44,400 the whole country. They give me a call. 487 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,400 I'm like, what? Like, are you? 488 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:50,920 Are you kidding me? And then and then, like, it's 489 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:52,680 like where it rains, it pours, man. 490 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:54,400 And then. And then usually when you come 491 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:56,720 in as an officer in the military, you start as a second 492 00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:58,720 Lieutenant, right. And then second Lieutenant, 493 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:00,720 first captain major and so on. OK. 494 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:03,040 But if you have some experience, they let you kind of expedite 495 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,120 the process. So I get told Marino, because of 496 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:09,120 your experience and what you got going on, we're not going to let 497 00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:10,520 you come into the second Lieutenant. 498 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:12,920 You're going to come in, You're going to come in as a captain. 499 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:16,160 And so come October, I'm going to come in as a captain chaplain 500 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:18,920 in the, in the Air Force. Man, God is awesome. 501 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:23,200 God, God's awesome. And, and I'm only telling you 502 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:26,920 this because I'm, I'm a broken man who's trying to figure out 503 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:29,000 life. I wasn't trying to be the best. 504 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:30,760 I was just trying to give God my best. 505 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:34,840 Honestly, guys, and all these things, I wasn't trying to be 506 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,840 the best. I've just been trying to give 507 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:41,920 God my best in the midst of brokenness, in the midst of a 508 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:45,680 shattered life, in the midst of starting over every day. 509 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,280 So the Lord, I don't have much to give, but I got a heartbeat 510 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,160 that beats for you. I'm going to show up. 511 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:56,880 I'm going to show up. A question I have for us guys is 512 00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:01,560 when's the last time we said yes to God's prompting for our 513 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:04,320 lives? And it genuinely required us to 514 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:07,120 say, God, if you don't show up, it's not going to work out. 515 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:10,800 When's the last time we opened our hearts to God and said, 516 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:13,360 Lord, can, can you take this? Can you deal with this? 517 00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:16,680 Can you work this out? The last point I want to share 518 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:20,760 and we'll close it out is this, Let God know and let it go. 519 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:26,160 Let God know and let it go. Pretty basic, you know where, 520 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:29,640 where are we at today guys? We're have unexpected 521 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,840 circumstances. God's Providence or maybe even 522 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:36,120 poor choices brought us. How do we move forward? 523 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:41,440 Let God know and let it go. Lord, this is what's going on in 524 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:44,000 my life. This is what I feel called to. 525 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:46,560 This is the people even trusted to my care. 526 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:51,080 Can you give me the grace to to do it as you want me to do? 527 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,600 Lord, I need you. Lord, show up. 528 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:57,200 Lord, show off. Lord, please work on my behalf. 529 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:03,800 It's just, it's just praying that guys or, or we can bury our 530 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:07,280 head and act like we don't need God's help and keep trying to do 531 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:10,360 things on our own. Keep trying to put things 532 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,480 together back on our own, like with super glue and and put our 533 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:19,600 head in the sand and pretend everything is OK and not 534 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,280 acknowledge what maybe everyone else sees. 535 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:27,240 Something's not right. You need help when Jesus says 536 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,840 blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. 537 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:34,400 He's talking about awareness, the willingness to admit our 538 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,600 spiritual poverty. Blessed are you who are poor. 539 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:40,080 No, you are poor. Can you just admit to it? 540 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:43,440 Like no, you need me. Can you just acknowledge it? 541 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:46,720 And it's saying God, I have nothing and I need you. 542 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:51,320 When when we refuse to admit that we risk becoming like the 543 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:54,600 emperor's in the story of the Emperor's New clothes. 544 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:59,560 Remember the story, There's two swindlers that convince a a vain 545 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:03,120 emperor that they made him a magical outfit that's invisible 546 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:07,480 to anyone who's dumb or unworthy and, and not want to be seen as 547 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:09,840 foolish. The emperor pretends to see it 548 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:13,800 and so do all his officials. And he walks through the city 549 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:17,480 and what he thinks is royal attire, but in reality he's 550 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:21,400 naked, you know, and, and, and no one says a word until a child 551 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:23,200 says that dude is naked. Like what? 552 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:26,280 What is going on? And here's the connection. 553 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:29,040 Pride blinds us to our condition. 554 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:33,840 Poverty of spirit reveals it. The emperor thought he had 555 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:36,680 something or was something and he wasn't, and he didn't. 556 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:39,720 And that's what happens when we refuse to acknowledge our 557 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:42,760 spiritual poverty. We dress ourselves in pride and 558 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:46,920 performance and false security. We convince ourselves we're 559 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:50,560 doing fine when in truth we're just walking around spiritually 560 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,920 exposed. Jesus says you are blast when 561 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:56,480 you don't fake it. You're blessed when you admit 562 00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:58,520 your need. You're blessed when you don't 563 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:01,240 walk through life pretending you're clothed in righteousness 564 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:03,560 because you've come to me to be clothed. 565 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,720 Revelation 317 says you say I'm rich. 566 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:10,200 You say I've acquired wealth and don't need a thing, but you 567 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:14,640 don't realize that you're wretched, poor, pitiful, blind 568 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:17,560 and naked. And that's the warning and the 569 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:20,200 invitation. We can either pretend we're 570 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:23,960 strong and be like the emperor, deluded and exposed, or we can 571 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:27,760 admit we're poor and be clothed in the riches of Jesus. 572 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:31,760 Jesus is saying don't be afraid to see your emptiness because 573 00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:34,080 I'm ready to clothe you and fill you with my Kingdom. 574 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:39,520 You know, in my journey I've seen many people and the longer 575 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:43,160 you walk with the Christ, it's like you see more, less, less. 576 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:44,960 You see less people who are once running with you. 577 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:49,120 It's like, where'd they go? Well, they started to try to 578 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:52,560 fill themselves with the things of this world and and then just 579 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:54,800 like we were running together, like, where'd you go? 580 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:58,400 How does that happen? It's happened subtly. 581 00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:01,720 And you replace something with Christ, with something of the 582 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:03,920 world. And once you open that crack in 583 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:07,640 the door, game over, man, that the flood waters and the dam 584 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:09,960 will break. I've seen it where those I've 585 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:12,400 been running with, they ain't here anymore. 586 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,360 It's it's having the courage to live out this beatitude. 587 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:19,240 It, it enables us to stay in the race. 588 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:21,520 How do you stay in the race? You don't have to be afraid of 589 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:23,000 like, am I going to end up like them? 590 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:26,400 No, you can stay in the race. And the Bible says in Hebrews, 591 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:30,440 we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus. 592 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:35,440 He transforms us and he transforms the world through us. 593 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:40,800 How awesome would it be if every day we woke up as a mom, as a 594 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:44,800 dad, as a grandpa, as a boss, as a Co worker and says Lord, we're 595 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:47,040 in the parking lot or we just got home from work. 596 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:49,760 We say, Lord, I don't know what I'm doing. 597 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:52,280 You said we don't need to come to God. 598 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:56,640 We're going on these mission trips or doing these extravagant 599 00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:58,600 things for the Lord. No, it's every day in the 600 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:01,120 everything things of life when you're just trying to do your 601 00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:03,360 best. And Lord, help me to be the mom 602 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:05,000 that you've called me to beef with this kid. 603 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:08,600 I do not want to mess them up. Help me to be the dad you want 604 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:11,400 me to be for this son. I don't want, I don't want to 605 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:13,520 make it worse. I don't want to be like Edward 606 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:14,960 Scissorhands making things worse. 607 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:18,600 You know? Jonah 28 says those who cling to 608 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:22,160 worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. 609 00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:26,120 As we close out today on my question, I want to ask is, are 610 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:30,080 we clinging on to something from the past that's preventing us 611 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:33,720 from taking hold of the future? We can't give what we don't 612 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:37,440 have, and the only way to live a life that is constantly pouring 613 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:42,760 out God's love and grace is to come to him, to let go of these 614 00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:46,520 worthless idols and come to him with empty hands and an empty 615 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:48,880 heart. Says, Lord, would you fill me so 616 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:52,440 that I can be the the person you want me to be for the people 617 00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:56,840 that you've put into my life? That's my heart for us this 618 00:33:56,840 --> 00:34:00,760 morning is that we would all be beggars trying to lead other 619 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:03,200 beggars to the place where we can all go get some bread. 620 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:07,160 Blessed are the poor, blessed are you who are poor, for yours 621 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:10,920 is the Kingdom of God. Let's let's be people, guys who 622 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:14,840 acknowledge and are aware of our need for Christ, of our poverty 623 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:19,120 without him and let him do his thing to transform us and 624 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:22,239 transform the world around us. I think that's how revival 625 00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:24,639 happens. Revival doesn't happen with the 626 00:34:24,639 --> 00:34:27,000 masses. It begins with the individual. 627 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,719 And when one person begins to live this out, it spreads. 628 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:35,440 It's it just, it just spreads 1 by 1, person by person, family 629 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:39,159 by family. Thanks for joining us today. 630 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:42,199 If you would like to watch the full service, check out the link 631 00:34:42,199 --> 00:34:45,040 in the description. For next steps and to learn 632 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:47,280 more, visit calvaryboise.com.