1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,480 Now I want to refresh a little bit going back to last week in 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:07,600 Genesis chapter 4 where I talked about Cain and Abel and 3 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:11,360 emotional thinking. So the Lord said to Cain, why 4 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:14,320 are you angry and why he has your countenance fallen? 5 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:17,560 If you do well, will you not be accepted? 6 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,440 And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. 7 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,560 It's desire is for you, but you should rule over it. 8 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,080 Now King talked with Abel, his brother, and it came to pass 9 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:30,560 when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel, his 10 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:35,360 brother, and killed him. Now this is a very important 11 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,920 story and I want to repeat what I shared last week because I 12 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:44,040 want you to see that God is a God who always interferes in the 13 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,960 affairs of men. The reason we need to know that 14 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,200 is because of the Bible says that God has an eternal purpose. 15 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:53,400 And if God has a purpose, how do you know it cannot be withheld 16 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,120 from him? So he intervenes in the affairs 17 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,920 of men in order that he might course correct, if you would, 18 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,040 whenever we're getting off course. 19 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:06,640 And sometimes that seems to delay the program. 20 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,920 But as we'll share in Scriptures today, it's important for us to 21 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,800 know God's not only doing something, He's doing it right. 22 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:18,920 David Now in the story of Adam and Eve, we know that God 23 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,320 created them, put them in a garden that he had planted in 24 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:24,480 Eden. He told them they should guard 25 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,600 and protect the garden, that there was a tree of life there 26 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,200 they could eat of, that they could enjoy all the other trees 27 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:32,800 of the garden, with the exception of the tree of 28 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,800 knowledge of good and evil. He said In the day you eat 29 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:40,760 thereof you will surely die. Unfortunately they did not obey 30 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,160 God. The Bible tells us one day Eve 31 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:45,480 is standing next to the tree observing it. 32 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:48,080 If you would, how do you know if you're not supposed to eat from 33 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:49,560 a tree? Should not even stand by it. 34 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,160 Hey, man. So she was tempting herself in a 35 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,760 way, but at the same time, the Bible says the tempter came to 36 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,200 her, is said to be a serpent in the story. 37 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,400 But we know as the Scriptures unfold, it was actually the 38 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:06,240 devil who is the accuser of the brethren and also called Satan, 39 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,720 which is our adversary. And as she was looking at the 40 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,280 tree, he convinced her that she should not trust that God's 41 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:14,560 going to be doing the right thing. 42 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:17,800 Don't listen to God. He's telling you not to eat at 43 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,120 that tree because he knows when you eat there you're going to be 44 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,040 just like him. And then you're going to be able 45 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,280 to take your place as you should. 46 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:30,640 The book of Ezekiel chapter 28 defines it, that Adam looked at 47 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:33,560 the stars of heaven and the heavens, and he said, I will 48 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:35,720 ascend to heaven. In other words, he was saying, 49 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:37,680 I'm going to be up there with God. 50 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:42,800 Well, you can't cross God, Amen. Because of that, they were taken 51 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,280 out of the garden so they could no longer eat of the tree of 52 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,680 knowledge of good and evil. They had lost their stewardship. 53 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:52,760 And we've learned in that story how our minds are very important 54 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,200 in our decision making process. There's always going to be 55 00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:00,000 alternatives to God's view, but how many know we need to be 56 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,720 establishing God's word, Amen, so that we can understand what 57 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:07,280 it is that God has for us. And He not only has something 58 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:11,040 for us as Christians, generally speaking, but all of us should 59 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:14,760 know that God has a call upon our life individually, and we 60 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,400 should get to know that call. Well, the next story is the one 61 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:20,880 we shared last week. It's just the story of Cain and 62 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,560 Abel. And in this story, it's a whole 63 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:26,720 different thing that God's dealing with because rather than 64 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:30,040 dealing with the mind, it was about dealing with emotions. 65 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,560 And the Bible tells us that Cain and Abel brought sacrifices to 66 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,480 the Lord. He did not receive Cain and his 67 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:38,920 offering, but he did receive Abel's. 68 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:44,200 That made Cain very upset. And like I said last week, we 69 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,000 always want to know, well, why get didn't God accept them? 70 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,680 Well, Cain knew because he said, now Cain, let's think about 71 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:52,840 this. If you do what you're supposed 72 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:54,840 to do, you're going to be accepted, right? 73 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,040 But if you don't, what's going to happen is you're going to get 74 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:03,120 caught up in your feelings and it's going to rule over you when 75 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:06,240 you should be ruling over it. And so we were talking about the 76 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:10,920 fact that feelings, emotions can overrule our sense of 77 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,800 accountability and we can make a mistake. 78 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,279 Now, I'd like to say something here very important because in 79 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,120 the world in which we Live Today, a lot of things that are 80 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:24,560 happening, the news media will tell us it's because of the 81 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,720 political divide of our nation. Well, our nation has always been 82 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:33,320 divided politically, if you would, and sometimes intensely 83 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:35,240 so. Wendy, I was watching the news 84 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,120 and the guy says we've never been this divided in our whole 85 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,040 history. And I'm thinking, does he know 86 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,480 we had a civil war? Maybe he should go to school and 87 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:44,360 learn about the fact we've had a civil war. 88 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,960 I want to propose to you that our problem in our country is 89 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,720 not a political one, but it's a social one. 90 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,520 In our society today, we've taught the exultation of 91 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,800 personal feelings and we've told people that you can hold other 92 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:04,080 people accountable for your feelings and justice is when 93 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,440 somebody does you wrong. Now obviously the Bible says 94 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:11,240 that God gave government is for our good, and so there are times 95 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,680 when we have to make an adjustment and really expect 96 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:16,280 other people to make one as well. 97 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,560 But in a sense, we have made feelings as a right that we 98 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,520 have, and sometimes it destroys people's life, just like in the 99 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:28,920 story of Cain and Abel. So our problem is not political, 100 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:31,800 it's society. And there's only one cure for 101 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,000 our society and that's the word of God. 102 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,920 Amen, Church. That's why the apostle Paul 103 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,840 said, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the 104 00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:46,040 power of God unto salvation. The world we live in today needs 105 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:47,840 God's salvation. Amen. 106 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:50,840 That's the problem. And if we get off base and 107 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:53,400 listen to what the world's telling us, we'll think that 108 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:56,160 there's something more important than what we've learned here in 109 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,480 church. Can I hear an Amen on that one? 110 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,000 Because how many know? We have to know that God's Word 111 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:07,280 will supersede over all things and in the end, God wins. 112 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:09,520 Amen. But He has given us a 113 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,720 responsibility. And that responsibility is to 114 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:17,240 help people understand there is salvation in God. 115 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,240 And again, because of our society's thinking, often times 116 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:25,320 people get carried away with feelings and they don't accept 117 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:27,480 accountability for their actions. 118 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:31,360 Even the assassinations, the gun and that go into these 119 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:33,200 buildings. You could say they're 120 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,760 politically motivated. And sometimes in the notes they 121 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,040 write, it seems like it. But one thing that's common to 122 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:43,120 everyone, whether it's an assassin from the left or from 123 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:45,360 the right, is they're very angry. 124 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:51,000 And they use the motivation of their feelings to do terrible 125 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,520 things and also even terrible things for themselves because 126 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:57,640 it's very typical that they're going to kill themselves at the 127 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:00,040 end. No wonder the Bible says there's 128 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,160 a way that seemeth right on to men, but the end thereof is a 129 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,960 way of death, even self-inflicted, when God has 130 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,680 given us an opportunity to change those things. 131 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,320 And that has to be the message that we take as a church to the 132 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:18,000 world in which we live. Amen. 133 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:21,480 And it is a difficult thing for people to think about 134 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:25,280 accountability, but in the end we're going to be responsible 135 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,960 both for how we feel our feelings and most importantly, 136 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:34,160 the outcome of those things. That's why God said Cain. 137 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:38,600 You have a responsibility here, and that's to rule over your 138 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:43,000 feelings, because your feelings in the end are going to destroy 139 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,640 you. And This is why this particular 140 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:49,200 scripture is very important. It says whoever loves 141 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:54,200 instruction, loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is 142 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,200 what? I want to hear everybody say 143 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:57,920 that. What is that? 144 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:00,040 Now he who hates correction is what? 145 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:03,280 That's a very important word to learn. 146 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:06,320 You might feel uncomfortable saying it because if you had a 147 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:10,520 mom like me, you would have been told don't say anything unless 148 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:13,360 you can say something nice. And if you can't say something 149 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:16,440 nice, don't say anything at all. They sound familiar to anybody. 150 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:19,440 Stupid is a word you weren't supposed to use at all. 151 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,800 But it's important for us to see that word because it means more 152 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:28,000 than not being smart. That's very usually not the kind 153 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:32,360 of definition we think about it. Stupid is when you allow your 154 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:38,760 feelings, your desires, all kinds of things that are 155 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:42,440 involved in your life rather than your thinking process to 156 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,720 make your choices. And the other aspect of this, 157 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:49,760 what the Bible says about it is how that we need to understand 158 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:53,560 that sometimes we need to be what corrected and what happens 159 00:08:53,560 --> 00:08:57,040 when correction comes? The blessing of God comes to us. 160 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:00,160 And so we need to know what it means to be stupid. 161 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:03,480 So we choose not to be stupid. Can I hear an event on that? 162 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,240 I like the word because sometimes I say it to myself. 163 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:10,320 Now, Lauren, don't be stupid to give a reminder that all of us 164 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:13,640 need to understand. But again, it has to do with 165 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:16,960 people who don't want to be corrected in the situation, 166 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:20,680 whether it's by the word of God or whether it's by the logic of 167 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:23,320 life or whether it's by our society norms. 168 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:27,840 So we have to be very much engaged in the idea that we're 169 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:30,880 going to do what is right. Amen. 170 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:34,320 Now, the word stupid in the original translation, I bring 171 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:36,320 this out every once in a while because it's important for us to 172 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,520 know. Typically the Old Testament is 173 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,560 Hebrew. New Testament that we read is 174 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:43,320 typically from the Greek language. 175 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:47,000 So the word stupid is not translated stupid in every 176 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:48,520 occasion. Matter of fact, in most 177 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:52,080 occasions it's not. One of the chapters I've used a 178 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,040 lot over the years is you're my chapter 10 because it talks 179 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:59,240 about a people that are brutish and literally it's the word 180 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,800 stupid. And what it says is you got to 181 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:03,520 be careful that you're not brutish. 182 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,160 And he talks about the behaviors that the people have that are 183 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:09,600 brutish. And then he says, and in the 184 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:14,360 end, you'll hear the noise of the brewett because after a 185 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:20,040 while, what happens is stupidity becomes personalized or becomes 186 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,280 real. And in the end, we become 187 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:26,560 destroyed again by what irresponsible behavior. 188 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:29,600 There's also important to understand when it says 189 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:33,520 consumers, because that's really what the word means more than 190 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:36,400 anything. It means you got to consume 191 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:38,960 things in life, whether something that fulfills your 192 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:42,720 desire, makes you happy, whatever, And so you're oriented 193 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:46,360 to consuming things. This is important in America 194 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:48,680 because we're a very affluent nation. 195 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:53,480 And because we're a very affluent nation, literally 75% 196 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:57,000 of the spending in our country, this is something they'll talk 197 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,040 about all the time on the news, is consumer spending. 198 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:04,360 We're buying things we want just because we want them. 199 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:07,880 Now, the problem with that is because the government uses 200 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,480 that. Federal Reserve uses that to 201 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:13,480 manipulate us. Sometimes they do it through the 202 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:17,160 interest rate, sometimes they do it through the money supply. 203 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:21,520 It's important to understand that we become very easily 204 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:26,280 susceptible to being, if you would, manipulated and 205 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:28,360 controlled because of our desires. 206 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,600 And that's very important to understand because we have to be 207 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,280 a people that are standing outside of those things. 208 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:38,400 The Federal Reserve, that is a part of our money system here in 209 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:42,240 the United States, most every other country of the world has a 210 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:46,000 mandate, they say, to keep inflation low, keep unemployment 211 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:47,760 low. And those are two contrary 212 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:51,240 things from time to time. But one of the things they'll do 213 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:54,600 is they'll build on the idea that, well, we will want to 214 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,200 spend. So like, for instance, in the 215 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:01,320 Great Recession, they called it, they gave a whole lot of money 216 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:06,360 out, thereby expanding the money supply, helping businesses get 217 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:09,760 out of their distresses. And because of that, they didn't 218 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:12,240 have the correction we would have had. 219 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:14,000 It would have been more severe, they say. 220 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,400 And the head of the Federal Reserve at the time said, oh, 221 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:20,040 we've learned a lesson. The Great Depression would have 222 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,840 never happened if they were basically as smart as we are 223 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:26,440 today. Well, we're finding ourselves as 224 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:31,480 a nation, as a being manipulated in my mind by people who are 225 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:33,520 saying, well, none of us want correction. 226 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:36,080 One of the way you can look at that is in the stock market. 227 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:40,520 And So what we see is this continuing process where we're 228 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:42,680 building up something, we're building up something. 229 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:46,520 What happens is when you don't have regular corrections, you 230 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:51,600 have catastrophic corrections. The same is true in our everyday 231 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:52,840 lives. And that's why I want to use 232 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:56,000 that just simply as an example that if we don't allow 233 00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:00,560 correction from time to time, what happens is we continue in a 234 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:04,160 course that's going to eventually lead us to a severe 235 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:06,920 correction. And we should have a long term 236 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:09,920 plan for our lives where we say, I don't want a severe 237 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:12,720 correction. I want to be corrected on a 238 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:16,920 regular basis so I can walk in the wisdom of God's Word as I 239 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,000 continue to walk with him. Now having said that, it says, 240 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,760 and it came to pass as they journeyed east from, as they 241 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:26,800 journeyed from east, that they found a plane in the land of 242 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:30,760 Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to wonder, Come, 243 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:33,320 let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly. 244 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,560 They had brick for stone, they had Asheville for mortar. 245 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:41,120 And they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city, a tower 246 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,320 whose top is in the heavens, and let us make a name for 247 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:48,200 ourselves, lest we what be scattered abroad over the face 248 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,960 of the whole earth. Now put over the scripture, 249 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:56,200 corporate confidence, because sometimes it's logic that leads 250 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:59,720 to a bad outcome. Sometimes it's emotional 251 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:03,040 disposition. But we also have to be aware of 252 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:06,440 the fact that there's what we would call corporate or group 253 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,800 thought. We are made as human beings to 254 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,240 be a part of something that's bigger than ourselves. 255 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:16,120 That's why it's important for us not just to have a personal 256 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:18,240 experience with Christ and be born again. 257 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:21,280 How many know that After that we need to see ourselves as part of 258 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:25,240 the body of Christ? The Bible says that we we are 259 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:30,400 members of the body of Christ, members individually, and then 260 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,320 each and every one of us has something to give, but we also 261 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:36,400 have things that we need to receive. 262 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,520 And so it's important that we realize God actually created us 263 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:43,120 to be connected to something bigger than ourselves. 264 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:46,880 Well, with that in mind, we have to be very careful because if we 265 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:50,400 follow the natural route rather than the spiritual route, we'll 266 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:54,600 be caught up in a group thought process that's separated from 267 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:57,480 God's Word, separated from the Holy Spirit. 268 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:01,560 We have to always understand the highest level of decision making 269 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:03,440 process is through the Word of God. 270 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:06,600 Can I hear an Amen on that? We've got to be convinced of 271 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:10,080 that church, and we have to realize that because we're in 272 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:14,080 the world, we're going to be influenced by group thinking of 273 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,400 other people. And that's why it's so important 274 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:23,080 that we are conscious at all times of how susceptible we are 275 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,600 to group thought. Because if we're not careful, 276 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:31,040 then we will get caught up in the ways of the world and we'll 277 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:32,960 make choices that are not correct. 278 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:37,120 In the city of Babylon or Babel, at the point there it says they 279 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:39,960 want to build a tower. Somebody said, let's get 280 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:44,400 together who that let's was. I don't know if it was the main 281 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:47,400 leader, a group of leaders, whatever, but it became a 282 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:51,480 community effort to build something that would be a tower 283 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:53,920 that would reach out to the heavens. 284 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,360 And really that goes back to the same thing that the Bible says 285 00:15:57,360 --> 00:15:59,880 about Adam and Eve. They wanted to ascend into 286 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:03,640 heaven and take God's place. When you follow the pattern of 287 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,640 the word of God, it's not us trying to make a way to heaven. 288 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:09,720 It's about God bringing heaven down to us. 289 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:14,080 How many know Jesus was God bringing heaven down to us and 290 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:18,160 that God wants us to realize there is a reality here that He 291 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:21,160 wants us to have. That's more powerful day than 292 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:25,520 we've ever had before. Now it says that they had now 293 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:29,120 brick for stone. And that's talking about a time 294 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:33,400 in human history when inventions begin to increase. 295 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,040 And one of those was the ability to make bricks. 296 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:38,760 If you know anything about pyramids in Egypt, they 297 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:43,840 literally would cut the stone out of rock, and they would make 298 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:48,240 them into a brick if you would, but it actually was a stone or a 299 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:51,280 rock that they used. But there came a time when 300 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:54,440 people began to learn how to make bricks out of mud. 301 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:58,320 That's a much easier thing than trying to cut something out of a 302 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:04,599 mountain, a stone or that is something that God makes. 303 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:08,920 It's natural, if you would. The brick represents something 304 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:12,599 that man builds. And so with this new sense of 305 00:17:12,599 --> 00:17:16,280 invention, this new sense of advancement, they're like, hey, 306 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:18,640 we're not going to do it that way anymore. 307 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,240 We have our own plan of action. So we're going to build a tower 308 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,160 that's now going to reach up the heavens. 309 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:26,000 We're going to make a name for ourselves. 310 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:31,240 And so it was a desire to do something outside of God and 311 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:34,120 church. Any group that we join outside 312 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:38,200 of God's church is going to have some type of a group thought 313 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:41,560 process, a vision. And again, because we're in this 314 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:43,560 world, we're going to be involved in these things. 315 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:46,960 In the United States of America, we are a democracy. 316 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:50,240 So we should vote, we should participate, and all of us have 317 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,200 areas in the economic world we're part of perhaps. 318 00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:58,640 But we have to understand that above all these things is God of 319 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:02,000 all these things is the word. And so we don't want to think 320 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,200 that whatever the world thinks they have that we give us the 321 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,120 ability to ignore God and build our own tower. 322 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:11,800 We should say, wait a second, we're going to put our trust in 323 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:14,760 the living God. And this is a time like never 324 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:18,160 before church when we have to understand this challenge is 325 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:23,520 ever before us because of the social media Internet. 326 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,960 We have information coming our way all the time, the 327 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:29,920 multiplicity of channels all the time. 328 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:32,280 We can feed ourselves all kinds of different things. 329 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,280 And we always have to recognize that whatever we're listening to 330 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:39,480 or watching, we should not accept it as the truth. 331 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:42,440 Because Jesus said my word is truth, Amen. 332 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,320 That's the only truth, the word of God. 333 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:48,680 And so out there in the world, we're going to have all 334 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:51,240 different kinds of opinions, philosophies, and all kinds of 335 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:53,520 things. And there's a level by which we 336 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:57,200 participate. But always remember, in the end, 337 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:00,440 God wants us to build with stones, Amen. 338 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:05,160 And he says that we are living stones in the house that he's 339 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:08,760 building in there. Now it goes on to say that God 340 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:14,080 said, come, let us go down there and confuse their language that 341 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:17,040 they may not understand one another's speech. 342 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:20,320 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face 343 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:23,240 of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 344 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:26,320 Therefore its name is called Babel. 345 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:28,360 Why? Because they are the Lord 346 00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:30,600 confused the language of all the earth. 347 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,120 And from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the 348 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:37,800 face of all the earth. I put over this scripture 349 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,960 confusion as judgement. This is a very important thing 350 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,320 for us to understand because one of the first things that we're 351 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:51,040 seeing God uses in His judgments upon the nation's is confusion. 352 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:55,640 The word Babel means confusion, and when you carry this theme 353 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,960 throughout the Bible, it goes all the way to the last book of 354 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:01,200 the Bible. This is why I wrote about the 355 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,080 book in the descending New Jerusalem, so you'd understand. 356 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,960 When the Book of Revelation talks about Babylon, it's 357 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:11,800 talking about the system outside the Kingdom of God. 358 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:16,920 That's not built on the truth, but it's built upon human ideas. 359 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:21,040 And the end result of that is going to be deaf if that's the 360 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:24,520 only realm we live in. But we got to know that we're 361 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:26,520 planted in the Kingdom of God. Amen. 362 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:29,720 And I think it would be an obvious thing for us to look out 363 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:33,640 at the world today and say, wow, there's a whole lot of confusion 364 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:37,320 out there. But God wants us to know that 365 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:41,280 there's something he wants us to know about that confusion so 366 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:45,440 that we're not a confused people, but we're oriented by 367 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:48,720 the word of God and walking in the things that he has for us. 368 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:53,720 Now, in this particular story, it says that their languages 369 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,520 were confused, so they began to spread out because they couldn't 370 00:20:56,520 --> 00:21:00,600 communicate anymore. Now there has to be more of this 371 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:04,680 story than that, else today that would no longer be true. 372 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:09,360 That communication is messed up, but it is because we have to 373 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:12,640 understand something. Now with technology, how do you 374 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,360 know we can translate languages? Like on the spot? 375 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:19,360 I have a language translator and I can listen to somebody in 376 00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:21,840 other language and it translates immediately. 377 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:25,840 You go on YouTube and watch a site and if the language is 378 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:29,440 different than your own, you can put down where it has the 379 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:31,880 subtitles, if you would, and you can pick the language. 380 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:34,800 How many know that human language is not a problem 381 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:38,640 anymore in our modern age, So we could have the idea. 382 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:42,760 Well, that's an old fashioned story, except for it's a story 383 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:46,520 that's just as true today because there is communication 384 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:48,920 problem in the world we live in today. 385 00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:53,240 There's so many different languages going on and the lack 386 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,920 of communication is bringing great stress to the world. 387 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:01,800 It is bringing confusion. Now, as Christians, we have to 388 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,600 understand that when the world's talking about certain problems, 389 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,720 we got to look sometimes and say, well, maybe God's doing 390 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:11,960 something in the midst of this. Maybe God is sending the 391 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:16,520 confusion for a different reason than what we think, and so he's 392 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:19,800 going to use it for his purpose. That's why this Scripture is 393 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:22,960 important, because I want you to know that God uses confusion 394 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:28,200 even as a strategy. I will send my fear before you. 395 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:32,840 I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and 396 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:35,600 I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 397 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,960 And I will send Hornets before you, which shall drive out the 398 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:41,760 Hivite, the Canaanite, the Hittite from before you. 399 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:46,640 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the 400 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:49,960 land become desolate, the beasts of the field become too numerous 401 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:52,600 for you. But little by little I will 402 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:56,800 drive them out from before you until you have increased and you 403 00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:00,400 inherit the land. Now this is something that God 404 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:03,800 spoke to them as they're getting ready to go into the promised 405 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,040 Land. We should remember from the 406 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:08,960 story that they sent spies in the promised land and found out 407 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:12,440 there were giants in the land. The people were afraid to go 408 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:14,800 into the land because of the obstacles there. 409 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:17,760 Why? They did not know they served 410 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:20,000 the Almighty God. Amen, Church. 411 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,000 How many know? We don't have to be afraid of 412 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,560 anything. We have to know our God has a 413 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:27,960 strategy. God interferes in the affairs of 414 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,920 men, but what He's looking for is His people to participate in 415 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:35,080 what He's doing. So He says to the children of 416 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,800 Israel, Now, when you go into the promised land, this is what 417 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:41,040 I'm going to do. I'm going to send confusion 418 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:43,840 among them. And while they're confused, 419 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:47,240 you're not going to be confused. Just like in the first story, as 420 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,440 they came to the city of Jericho, it had these great 421 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,440 walls that you couldn't get over getting through. 422 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,120 They thought they were the safest city in the world, but 423 00:23:56,120 --> 00:23:58,560 then God made the walls fall down. 424 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,320 Do you know that caused confusion in Jericho? 425 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:03,640 And that's the reason the children of Israel were able to 426 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,840 run over those walls and go in and defeat that city, because 427 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,000 they understood God has a strategy. 428 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,760 That's why I believe we need to be listening to the voice of 429 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:13,880 God. Amen, Church. 430 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,360 God has a strategy. And sometimes we can look at our 431 00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:18,960 world and think it's out of control. 432 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:22,280 But God says, don't ever look at the world as something that's 433 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,400 out of control. Look at the world as something 434 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:28,040 I've called you to conquer, says the mighty God. 435 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,040 And when there's confusion in the land, you don't have to be 436 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,120 confused, says the Lord. You can know exactly what's 437 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:38,400 going on and you can walk in the power of that word. 438 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,200 Now, I also wanted to point out something here about God's 439 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,640 character because he said I'm going to send confusion in the 440 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,960 land and literally I'm going to send Hornets after them if you 441 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:49,840 would. So they're going to be in terror 442 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,640 all the time. But as much as I want you to 443 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,600 know I'm a powerful God and I can do all things, you have to 444 00:24:55,600 --> 00:25:01,000 understand I do move slow. Anybody have that revelation 445 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,520 yet? It's funny because when I was 24 446 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:07,120 years old, when we first started the church, I was always in a 447 00:25:07,120 --> 00:25:09,120 hurry. It's like when you're 24, you've 448 00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:11,520 got a whole life ahead of you. What are you in a hurry for? 449 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:17,080 It took me 60 years to slow down, and I don't have that much 450 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,200 time anymore. But I do still have a vision and 451 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:22,800 a confidence that my God can do all things. 452 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,960 He knows what he's doing and he always does it right. 453 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:30,440 He builds a line upon line, precept upon precept. 454 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,800 He when he's moving slow. It's a reason God had given a 455 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:38,160 man named Joseph a vision. He said there will come a time 456 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:40,600 when your whole family is going to be kneeling before you. 457 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:43,200 You're going to be in a position of great authority. 458 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:47,240 They hated him for it. They sold him into slavery. 459 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:51,320 But you know what happened? The Bible says that through that 460 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:57,440 situation, God tested him. God tried him and prepared him 461 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:00,680 so that when the day when the word would come to pass, he 462 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:05,120 would also be prepared for the purpose that God had for him. 463 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:09,760 And so we have to understand God can use all things for good. 464 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,800 God can use situations that are absolutely against us to advance 465 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,680 His purpose, because after all, he's God. 466 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,600 Amen. And when he does things, he 467 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,000 always operates according to character. 468 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:25,520 And that's why when we read the scriptures, we sometimes can 469 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:28,600 look at scriptures and say, oh, you got an idea what God's going 470 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:30,440 to do? Always measure it in 471 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:35,120 relationship to his character because he does not operate 472 00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:39,360 outside his character, but he's a God who is always going to 473 00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:41,520 fulfill his purposes in the earth. 474 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,040 Now, this Scripture here is very important and I've been bringing 475 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:48,440 it out from time to time because it's such an amazing part of 476 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:50,440 what God's doing in the church today. 477 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaking about the anointing that was upon Jesus Christ and 478 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:59,080 what I'm calling a fresh anointing to come upon us is the 479 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:02,600 Spirit of God. The Spirit of the Lord shall 480 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:04,640 rest upon him. What will it be? 481 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:08,640 It will be the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, the spirit of 482 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:11,440 counsel and might. It will be the spirit of 483 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:13,200 knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 484 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:15,480 His delight is in the fear of the Lord. 485 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:19,600 He should not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor decide by the 486 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:23,160 hearing of ears. When Jesus came into the world, 487 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:28,120 it was a very difficult time. The religious system had really 488 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,440 went a long way from God's original intent. 489 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:36,280 The country was totally under the control of a foreign 490 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:40,360 government, the Roman Empire. And there was again in his day a 491 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:44,040 whole lot of confusion, a whole lot of anger, all kinds of 492 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:46,440 upset. But the Bible says because he 493 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:50,680 had the spirit upon him of wisdom and knowledge and 494 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,720 understanding, because he had an anointing, he didn't look at the 495 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:56,960 world the way everybody else looked at the world church. 496 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,000 We shouldn't be looking at the world the same way everybody 497 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,280 else is outside the church. We should be looking at the 498 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,600 world and saying, wow, what's God going to do next? 499 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,360 You should look at your own individual life and if it feels 500 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:14,520 like you're being overcome, remember that he that walks with 501 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:18,600 God will be an overcomer and inherit all things. 502 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:21,320 Amen church. And this is the anointing that 503 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:26,200 God wants us to have today. It is a 19 and I put knowledge 504 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:30,360 comprehension application because the word understanding 505 00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:35,320 is about having a comprehension and wisdom is about how to apply 506 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:37,960 that word. Now this is a very important 507 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:42,000 thing for us to understand. The world is increasing in 508 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,880 knowledge. AI is an amazing tool. 509 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:51,360 I love AI because when we want some type of a picture that I 510 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,040 put up on the screens, maybe in the survey, maybe it's the one 511 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:57,040 you see when we first start the service of the descending New 512 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:00,840 Jerusalem, we have AI do that for us. 513 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:04,040 It's a real simple thing. Of course, once you know what to 514 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:06,880 do, I have people that know what to do. 515 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,200 But anyway. And the other day I was taught 516 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,240 my Salah Mark Garza, who works in our tech. 517 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:16,360 And he, he was sharing how that you can real quickly have AI 518 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:19,520 write songs for you. And he said, what do you mind me 519 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:21,760 write a song on? He said, well, make it about 520 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:24,840 psalms, one about trees planted by rivers of living water. 521 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,920 He gave it a few other prompts. I guess he called it in in just 522 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,920 a few minutes. It's this amazing song and you 523 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:33,880 can have any style you want. So I made it hip hop and R&B. 524 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:36,840 So I had it two different ways. I love hip hop and R&B. 525 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:40,240 Anyway, I'm listening to this song. 526 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:44,120 I'm like, that's amazing. I really like the song. 527 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:47,920 It's amazing what those kind of things can do. 528 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,040 But we have to understand something that the increase of 529 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:56,360 knowledge can be a detriment if you don't how know how to 530 00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:01,240 comprehend the knowledge and then know how to apply it. 531 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:06,080 And God says to the church, as knowledge begins to increase, 532 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:10,000 I'm going to give my people the capacity of greater 533 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:15,320 comprehension, and I'm going to give my people the ability to 534 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:18,160 apply these things. And I believe that will bless 535 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:21,040 the church and make the church become that glorious church 536 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:23,080 without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. 537 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,800 But I also believe that God can help you prosper in every area 538 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:30,360 of life because when you have knowledge with understanding the 539 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,000 Wisdom Church, there is no end to what you can do. 540 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:38,440 It's like when I was looking up the word stupid on my computer 541 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:41,920 was talking about how important it is to understand how it 542 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:43,600 works. And how many have ever heard of 543 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,560 Albert Einstein? He was considered a genius in 544 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:48,360 this time, most of you have heard about him. 545 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:51,640 He said, well, one of the things I can tell you about genius is 546 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:55,120 there's limits to it. That's the problem with genius. 547 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:58,360 He's a genius, he said, but the problem with stupid is there's 548 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:02,520 no limits to it. I thought, now that's a genius 549 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:06,760 talking there. And this is one of the things we 550 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:11,080 have to understand is what will very easily happen in the world 551 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:14,840 today is people will think that thinking is not important. 552 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:19,080 If you have access to computer information, you go to the 553 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:20,800 doctor, you tell him what's wrong with you. 554 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,320 He said, I'll be right back. And you know he's Googling it. 555 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:29,280 You could Google why he's gone, right? 556 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:34,400 So we have to understand that it becomes easy because in our 557 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:38,880 human thinking, and I read this once about the brain, because 558 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:43,400 the brain has so much work to do, it tries to minimize its 559 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:46,760 function. That's why people can do magic 560 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:49,720 tricks and make you think that it's something mystical because 561 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:53,400 they know how to work outside of how your brain operates. 562 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:56,600 So you become your brain shuts certain things out so it looks 563 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:58,960 like magic and it's just the fact that's how your brain 564 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:01,560 works. Well, all of us are like that. 565 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:04,440 We don't want to overwork our brain. 566 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:08,360 That's why we sometimes rely on other people to give us our 567 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:11,240 opinions. Again, a normal part of the 568 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:13,840 process. But what we have to understand 569 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:16,160 today is there is an increase of knowledge. 570 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,840 And that's what the Bible says will happen in the latter days 571 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:21,840 of time. Knowledge will increase, but 572 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:26,200 increase of knowledge is not a blessing if you don't have an 573 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:30,720 increase in understanding and application. 574 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:33,680 And that's what God says I'm going to give to my church. 575 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,120 Again, this is another scripture I've used from time to time. 576 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:40,040 It talks about here. Blessed is the man who does not 577 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:44,080 walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path 578 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:48,360 of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight 579 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:52,720 is where in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day 580 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,360 and night. He shall be like a tree planted 581 00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:59,120 by rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in season, whose 582 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:04,640 leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does will prosper. 583 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:08,200 I truly believe that the trees of righteousness, the plane of 584 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:10,640 the Lord, is a theme that God wants us to understand. 585 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:16,720 He's bringing every one of us to in this time, but he says, if 586 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:19,280 you're going to be those trees, you can't sit in the seat of the 587 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:22,920 scornful, You can't walk in the path of sinners, but your 588 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:24,920 delight has to be in the law of God. 589 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:27,440 That's why I'm preaching this today, how important it is for 590 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:29,880 us to understand. And then it says we should 591 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:32,840 meditate upon that word day and night. 592 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:36,520 Now, if you were to think about meditating on something, you 593 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:38,560 might assume right away that means as well. 594 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:41,480 Don't think fast and give it some time for a deep thought. 595 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:43,400 No, that's not what meditation is. 596 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:46,040 Meditation is much more than that. 597 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,920 When I was young, the hippie movement, Jesus People movement 598 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:53,280 were running simultaneously and is why those are nuts and the 599 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:56,520 Jesus people movement, we're getting more of God, the hippies 600 00:33:56,520 --> 00:34:00,320 and them are getting into gurus and things like that. 601 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:05,320 And some of the famous people at the time, The Beatles were very 602 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:08,000 world famous. If you would, they would take 603 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,719 these trips over to India and they would talk about their 604 00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:12,840 gurus and they would meditate and they go. 605 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:18,679 Now the reason I brought that out is because of the word 606 00:34:18,679 --> 00:34:22,719 meditate actually does speak about making sounds at the same 607 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:27,880 time, which is interesting because our meditation has to be 608 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:30,040 more than just making any sounds. 609 00:34:30,239 --> 00:34:34,080 Because the Bible says this precept must be upon precept, 610 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:37,239 precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line. 611 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:40,560 Here little, there little. But notice what this says. 612 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:44,280 For with a stammering lip and another tongue, he will speak to 613 00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:48,440 this people, to whom he said, this is the rest with which you 614 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:53,360 may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing, yet you 615 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:57,240 would not hear. When we think about speaking in 616 00:34:57,240 --> 00:35:00,080 tongues, we have to understand that what does it say? 617 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:04,760 It's a Ave. by which we can have God speak to us. 618 00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:07,960 And I like to talk about the history of the Christian Church 619 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:11,120 because I believe that Jesus has been building his church, and 620 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:12,920 the gates of hell will not prevail against it. 621 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:14,360 And I believe we're going somewhere. 622 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:17,760 And you can see how God has used the United States of America in 623 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:21,200 a very special way. In the 1700s, we had a great 624 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:24,800 awakening in this country. We weren't even a country yet, 625 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:28,640 but it is what made us a country because preachers were preaching 626 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,280 about the new birth. In Europe they had state 627 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:33,960 churches, but in the United States we had a country where 628 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:37,360 people were here in the gospel and understanding how to be born 629 00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:40,200 again. There was a guy named Whitfield 630 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:42,800 who preached about getting saved and going to heaven. 631 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:46,200 That was one stream, if you would, and the other stream was 632 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:49,760 John Wesley who talked about Christian perfection. 633 00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:52,440 He said you not only need to be a Christian, but you need to 634 00:35:52,440 --> 00:35:54,800 grow up and be what God has called you to be. 635 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,080 Sound like a familiar message, Church? 636 00:35:57,720 --> 00:36:02,640 Well, in the next visitation or awakening the second one, there 637 00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:05,720 was a move of God which led to what's called the Holiness 638 00:36:05,720 --> 00:36:08,200 movement. And that was a part of John 639 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:13,080 Wesley's ongoing legacy because the Holiness movement taught 640 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:16,720 there's a second work of grace going beyond just getting saved. 641 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:20,480 It eventually became the Pentecostal movement. 642 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:22,200 What was the Pentecostal movement? 643 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:24,240 If you hear about church being Pentecostal, what does that 644 00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:26,240 mean? Well, they believe that in the 645 00:36:26,240 --> 00:36:29,440 second work of grace, when you received the baptism of Holy 646 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:33,000 Spirit, the evidence would be that you speak in tongues. 647 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:36,280 Pentecostal church is going to teach you that if they're 648 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:39,840 teaching their doctrine that they believe, because we live in 649 00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:42,520 a time when not all churches follow the doctrines of which 650 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:44,320 they believe. But we need to understand how 651 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:48,040 important it is. They will tell you, you need the 652 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:50,600 baptism of the Holy Ghost, and the evidence is you're going to 653 00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:53,000 speak in tongues. Now, some of them will leave you 654 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:54,640 and say, if you don't speak in tongues, you're going to go to 655 00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:56,280 hell. I mean, that's a little 656 00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:59,920 incentive there. It's not true. 657 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:03,920 But anyway, I want you to understand how important it is 658 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:06,480 because this is a very valid experience. 659 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:09,600 Unfortunately, most Pentecostals stop there. 660 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:12,040 Hey, I got it. I used to go to Pentecostal 661 00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:14,560 church and one of my favorite songs was a song we sang. 662 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:17,400 I got it. I got it. 663 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:21,600 Something about the Holy Ghost I don't understand, but I got it. 664 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:25,480 We're just happy to got it, get it, have it, whatever. 665 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:29,880 But then the charismatic movement come and people began 666 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:32,240 to realize, hey, there's more than just saying I got it. 667 00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:34,680 There's all kinds of things available. 668 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:38,080 Fivefold ministry, gifts of the Spirit, healing power. 669 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:40,680 What a wonderful move. The charismatic movement has 670 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:44,800 been literally affecting hundreds of millions of people 671 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:47,280 in planet earth. But church, I want you 672 00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:51,200 understand in this day of the new anointing, God wants us to 673 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:54,840 understand that the Holy Spirit comes to give us wisdom, 674 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:58,520 knowledge and understanding. And the first step is when 675 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:01,600 you're praying in tongues, understand this is your 676 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:06,440 opportunity to hear from God. How many know God speaks today 677 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:09,840 and how many know Jesus said My sheep know my voice in another 678 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:12,760 they will not follow. We need to believe that God 679 00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:15,120 speaks to us. I believe everybody here needs 680 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:19,320 to know today you can hear the voice of God and it's through 681 00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:22,840 the power of the Holy Spirit that door opens more wide to 682 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:25,160 you. That's why on Saturdays I always 683 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:26,920 share. This is my prayer day. 684 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:30,800 I pray in tongues and I pray Lord speak a word to me because 685 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:33,680 when I get up there tomorrow, I want to have a word from heaven. 686 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:35,720 I don't just want to have any old sermon. 687 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,720 I want to hear a word from you Lord, because that's what your 688 00:38:38,720 --> 00:38:39,880 people need. Amen. 689 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:44,440 And that's so important for us to know and to understand, but 690 00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:48,800 it becomes an Ave. for God to speak to you and then it takes 691 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:53,800 another step because he said and this is the rest and yet they 692 00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:57,840 don't want to hear it. Church, if God has a rest for 693 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:01,840 you, you should want to hear it. You need the baptism of the Holy 694 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:03,760 Ghost. You need the fullness of God's 695 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:08,240 Spirit in your life, because we're in a world of turmoil and 696 00:39:08,240 --> 00:39:11,160 you're never going to think properly unless you're thinking 697 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:15,480 from a position of rest. See, whenever I hear the voice 698 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:19,000 of God, I'm fully confident my God is the God of all things. 699 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,040 He's the King of kings and Lord of Lords. 700 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:24,520 And I'm also convinced that everything about my life, all 701 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:27,040 things work together for good to those who love God. 702 00:39:27,720 --> 00:39:30,640 And I also know that in that place of the Spirit, sometimes I 703 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:34,400 need that assurance. And the Holy Ghost gives me 704 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:37,760 assurance. And I know I serve the God who 705 00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:40,240 gets the peace that passes all understanding. 706 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:44,320 The Hebrew writer writes there remains a rest for the people of 707 00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:46,880 God. The children of Israel went into 708 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:49,880 a promised land, but it was just a physical land. 709 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:53,840 Our land is the Kingdom of God. Church, where there is 710 00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:57,880 righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. 711 00:39:57,880 --> 00:39:59,800 How many want everything that God has for you? 712 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:03,280 Man understand the purpose of your anointing. 713 00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:06,480 And in closing, it says therefore thus says the Lord, 714 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:10,120 Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation. 715 00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:13,440 It is a Tri stone, a precious cornerstone. 716 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:18,440 It is a sure foundation. Whoever believes will not act 717 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:21,240 hastily. Also I will give. 718 00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:25,480 Make justice the measure line and righteousness the plummet. 719 00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:29,360 The hell will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters 720 00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:33,400 will overflow the hiding place. Can we all please bow our heads 721 00:40:33,400 --> 00:40:35,040 and close our eyes for just a moment? 722 00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:37,520 Because I believe with everything within me. 723 00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:42,200 This is a day for a fresh anointing from heaven for all of 724 00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:46,040 His people. It's a time to refresh that 725 00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:50,960 anointing that you have and realize it is the opportunity to 726 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:54,960 hear His voice to come to that place of rest. 727 00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:59,280 So in the world of confusion, you're not confused. 728 00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:02,600 In a world of conflict, you have peace. 729 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:07,040 In a world where people find no rest, you have rest because 730 00:41:07,040 --> 00:41:11,160 you're a child of the Most High God and there's provision for 731 00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:17,880 you if we will receive it. Father, I pray in the name of 732 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:21,560 Jesus that at Mount Zion we be a people that take the next step 733 00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:24,320 in you and say, Lord, prepare me for this day. 734 00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:27,760 I want to be a testimony. I want the world to be able to 735 00:41:27,760 --> 00:41:30,320 look at me and say why do they have rest? 736 00:41:30,320 --> 00:41:33,120 Why do they have peace? Why do they still have 737 00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:39,760 confidence? Those that know their God, we'll 738 00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:43,360 do exploits in the anointing of the Holy Spirit, says the word 739 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:46,400 of Godfather. We want to know you more today 740 00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:49,000 than we've ever known you before. 741 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:55,240 I ask it in Jesus name, Amen. This is Pastor Lauren Coverbius 742 00:41:55,240 --> 00:41:57,840 from Mount Zion church. We thank you for joining us 743 00:41:57,840 --> 00:42:00,840 today and invite you to connect with our church family by 744 00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:04,600 visiting mountzion.org and following us on social media. 745 00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:05,600 God bless you.