1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,160 I want to open with the Scripture in Isaiah 2, a little 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:07,160 familiar to us, says now so come to pass in the latter days, that 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,280 the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on top of 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:12,640 the mountains. It shall be exalted above the 5 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:15,400 hills, and all nations shall flow to it. 6 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,840 Many people will come and say Come, let us go to the mountain 7 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:20,920 of the Lord to the House of the God of Jacob. 8 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:25,240 He will teach this of his ways and we will walk in his path for 9 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:29,400 out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord 10 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,840 from Jerusalem. I've often shared this scripture 11 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,680 because our church is called Mount Zion based upon the 12 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:39,960 Scripture because as we began the church the Lord and say go 13 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:42,840 the way of spirit and you'll possess things that others have 14 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,080 not possessed. And so we prayed about 15 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,480 everything where we would build our by, I should say, and that 16 00:00:49,480 --> 00:00:52,960 what we should call the church and exactly was the vision that 17 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,720 God wanted to give to us. And this was certainly a part of 18 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:59,520 it, that we would be called Mount Zion to make a prophetic, 19 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,920 if you would, declaration to our world that we believe when God 20 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:06,000 says something, it's going to come to pass. 21 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,400 And we actually believe there are latter days. 22 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,760 In other words, there will be the consummation of the age. 23 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,600 Now, on the day of Pentecost, when Peter was preaching, he 24 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,920 actually said, and these are the last days spoken of by the 25 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:23,000 prophet Joel. So we know when the Bible uses 26 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,400 terms like that, it isn't quite like we would expect because 27 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:28,200 that was a couple thousand years ago. 28 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:32,520 But we do know that we're in the final age of God's purpose for 29 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,920 planet Earth and we need to understand that purpose so that 30 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:37,320 we can certainly be a part of it. 31 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,280 So we believe at Mount Zion and it's according to the word of 32 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:45,320 God that in the latter days of time, the mountain of the Lords 33 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:47,760 House is going to be established on top of the mountains. 34 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:49,760 It's going to be exalted above the hills. 35 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:52,480 And I used a phrase we might be familiar with. 36 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:56,000 God's going to make us the top dog anyway. 37 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:00,000 I believe it's very important for us to understand what God is 38 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,480 wanting to do in the earth through His church because that 39 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:06,800 macro picture, if you would, also paints a micro picture, 40 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,840 what it is that God wants to do in each and every one of our 41 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,600 lives individually. I believe moving into the year 42 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,720 2026 that we're moving into a very significant time. 43 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:22,600 I marked it on the calendar, March 2020, that we should begin 44 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:25,680 to see and expect God to do a great shape taking. 45 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:27,800 It certainly has proven itself to be true. 46 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:30,360 But I really believe that we're going to see a lot of things 47 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,320 happening beginning next year that's going to show us that God 48 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,440 has indeed shaken everything that can be shaken so that out 49 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:40,880 of it, it can be manifested the power of the Kingdom of God, 50 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:43,680 because the Kingdom of God cannot be shaken. 51 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:46,560 Amen. So we the people of God have to 52 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,600 have a confidence in what it is that God is speaking. 53 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,120 And I'm tying this into the Christmas story, as you note. 54 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:57,240 So I'll begin in One Direction, seemingly changing directions. 55 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,800 But what I want to do is point out this awesome picture that 56 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,840 God wants us to see concerning His plan on planet earth. 57 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:08,880 And also then, well, how does the Christmas story fit into 58 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,280 that story and what it is that we should be thinking about as 59 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:14,560 we're moving forward in the body of Christ? 60 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:20,120 Now Jesus is spoken of in the prophecy of Isaiah Chapter 9. 61 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,200 And this is our Christmas picture, if you would, going all 62 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:24,920 the way back to the Old Testament. 63 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:29,560 For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given. 64 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:31,880 The government will be upon his shoulder. 65 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:36,000 His name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, 66 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:38,880 everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. 67 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,480 Now this is very important because it says of the increase 68 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:44,920 of His government and peace there. 69 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,760 There will be no end upon the throne of David and over his 70 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:53,040 Kingdom to order it, establish it with judgement and justice 71 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,480 from that time forward. Notice from that time forward, 72 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:01,040 even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. 73 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:05,160 Now, when Jesus Christ came, He was a fulfillment of Bible 74 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:07,800 prophecy. The Jewish nation have been 75 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:11,240 looking for their Messiah to come, but when he came, they 76 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,720 didn't even know who he was. He said to them, he says, now 77 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,800 you want eternal life and you search the scriptures for 78 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:19,200 eternal life. But don't you know the 79 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:22,560 scriptures talk about me and basically here I am standing in 80 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:24,920 front of you and you don't even know who I am. 81 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,480 And unfortunately, because oftentimes we get preconceived 82 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:33,240 conceptions and mindsets that we have an expectation on 83 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:36,760 concerning God or concerning our life when things don't go the 84 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,280 way we think they should, we can sometimes get confused and 85 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,520 thrown off course if you would. But God says we need to 86 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,680 understand how important it is for us to walk by faith, but 87 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:50,960 also understand how God does what he does because that's a 88 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:55,720 very important part of our expectation because we sometimes 89 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,800 think God's told us he's going to do something, so he's going 90 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:01,760 to do it the way we think. And yet the Bible says God's 91 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:04,680 ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts as 92 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:06,120 far as the heavens are from the earth. 93 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:10,040 That's how far our ways and God's ways are separated. 94 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:14,080 And so we have to understand that with God, it's always a 95 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:18,120 simple start. So the Messiah comes as a baby. 96 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:21,880 That threw them off totally because they're like, how could 97 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:26,280 the Messiah come as a baby? And Jesus for 30 years just grew 98 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:30,520 up in a very normal circumstance and situation, certainly not in 99 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,560 a royal well house, certainly not in the family that's well 100 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,680 positioned, certainly nothing like they would expect to 101 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,560 happen. And so because of that, they've 102 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:43,320 rejected Jesus Christ and the plan of action that God had for 103 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:45,600 them. But it's always important for us 104 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,000 to understand with God, there's an end result. 105 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,800 That's always very important for us to understand. 106 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,440 And that end result is always, it should always be in our mind 107 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:57,120 that God's going to do something awesome. 108 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,840 Amen Church, because that's the God we serve. 109 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:04,080 And so Isaiah prophesied about something that would start as a 110 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:08,440 baby, but that his government from that time forward, and this 111 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:12,400 is important to understand the increase of his government. 112 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:15,040 There would be no end. So the government began with 113 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:18,640 Jesus Christ and that's why when he was here, he preached repent 114 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,400 for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand because he was speaking 115 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,960 about a present tense reality that they should understand 116 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,920 concerning the Kingdom of God. And to understand that when God 117 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:34,520 does things again, he does it in a process over time, in a 118 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:36,080 moment. I'm going to share with you a 119 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:39,960 video that I believe is very important for us to see because 120 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:42,640 it's one that we made a long time ago. 121 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,000 We cut it down to two minutes, so it'd be very quick. 122 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:48,880 But there was a time when the children of Israel, long before 123 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:53,120 Christ, about 600 years before him, the Babylonian armies came 124 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:55,840 in and destroyed the holy city in the temple. 125 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,560 And the cream of the crop, as the Babylonians, we consider, 126 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,520 were carried away into captivity in Babylon. 127 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:07,160 Unfortunately for those who are part of it, there's a very 128 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:11,160 strong indication in the Scriptures that the men, young 129 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,240 men, became eunuchs because they were going to operate or have 130 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,920 service in the King's house. And that was a typical thing to 131 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,480 do in those days. So they lost their city, they 132 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:24,920 lost their positions, they lost everything that would happen for 133 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:28,920 them in a normal situation. And yet they in maintain their 134 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:32,960 integrity to listen to the voice of God and walk fully into 135 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:36,640 things that God had for them. The leader of the group was 136 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,680 Daniel, and he was a man who because of his spiritual 137 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:44,280 insight, actually was given a great responsibility in the 138 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:46,400 Kingdom. Well, one day the king 139 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:50,480 Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and he's all upset because he 140 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:52,720 doesn't know what the dream means, but he knows there's 141 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:58,200 something significant about it. So he calls their legal experts, 142 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,720 if you would, which were people that would be astrologers and 143 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,160 people who would look at the sky, etcetera, mediums and the 144 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,240 like. Nobody could explain the 145 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,560 situation. And so they called in Daniel, 146 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:14,120 who was a man of God and he prayed. 147 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,320 God spoke to him what the dream was and what the dream would 148 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,040 mean. How you know that shows that 149 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,840 man's gods because he didn't have to be told the dream. 150 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,680 He could tell you a dream before it was even told to him because 151 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,960 what God was with him? And so I want you to see this 152 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,960 little video of what the dream spoke to Nebuchadnezzar. 153 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:36,880 And again, the significant advance for us is. 154 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:44,800 A vision came to you, King Nebuchadnezzar. 155 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:49,200 In your dreams you looked, O king, and there before you stood 156 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,320 a huge statue, awesome in appearance. 157 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,720 The head was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, 158 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:58,200 its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet 159 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,240 partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 160 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:03,960 This is what it means. You, mighty king of Babylon, 161 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,240 ruler of the world, are that head of gold. 162 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:08,320 But Babylon will not always rule. 163 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:11,000 Other kingdoms will follow yours, and they will be more and 164 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,640 more inferior. Then, while you were watching, a 165 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:15,920 rock was cut out, but not by human hands. 166 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,000 It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed 167 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,120 them. The clay, the iron, the bronze, 168 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,720 the silver and the gold were all at once broken into tiny pieces. 169 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,160 They became like chaff. The wind swept them away without 170 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:33,840 leaving a trace, but the rock that struck the statue became a 171 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,480 huge mountain and filled the whole earth. 172 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:39,360 The prophet Daniel. Interpreted the dream of 173 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,560 Nebuchadnezzar 500 years before the birth of Christ. 174 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,040 And yet, amazingly, that word did come to. 175 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:47,840 Pass. Around 100 years later, Babylon 176 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:51,080 was overthrown by Persia. Persia was soon overthrown by 177 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,480 the nation of Greece, and later Greece was overthrown by Rome. 178 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,920 Later still, the Roman Empire expanded to include all the 179 00:09:57,920 --> 00:09:59,720 nations of the known western world. 180 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:02,520 But that wasn't in the end. Shortly thereafter, during the 181 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:06,120 time of the Roman Empire, God sent Jesus Christ to be that 182 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:08,080 rock who would redefine our world. 183 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,680 From his 12 simple disciples now has grown a Church of billions 184 00:10:12,680 --> 00:10:14,120 of followers throughout the earth. 185 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,160 We, the church, have become that mountain which fills the whole 186 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:18,720 earth. And according to the prophet 187 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:22,480 Ezekiel, a river flows from that mountain that brings life, food 188 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:24,440 and healing everywhere that it flows. 189 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:28,120 Amen. I'm excited about that word 190 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:33,320 because it tells us again, God start small, but it doesn't end 191 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,040 up small. But he always works in a 192 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:37,840 process. And that's so important for us 193 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,880 to understand because in our lives when God speaks a word to 194 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:44,560 us or a hair sermon that encourages us about our specific 195 00:10:44,560 --> 00:10:48,680 situation that we're in, we have to realize it starts small, it 196 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:50,520 ends big. But that's why the Bible says 197 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:52,800 that the judge shall live by faith. 198 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,400 And we need to go from faith to faith. 199 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:58,920 Now Jesus speaking concerning the Kingdom of heaven, said 200 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:01,600 another parable he put forth to them. 201 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,360 The king of heaven is like the mustard seed which a man took 202 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:08,800 and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the 203 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,320 seeds. But when it is grown, it is 204 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:14,880 greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the 205 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:19,600 birds of the air come and nest on its branches again. 206 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:23,000 This is so important because the Kingdom of God is described in 207 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,320 this way. It all starts with a seed that 208 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,360 grows into a tree. Now this is important to 209 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:32,240 understand because Jesus Christ is that seed. 210 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,360 One day as he was getting ready to go the cross, he said to his 211 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,920 disciples, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and 212 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:43,120 dies, it divides alone. But if it does do this and go 213 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:46,440 through the process, process, it will become a tree, it will 214 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,800 become a vine and its branches shall reach the nations. 215 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:53,520 And so this is important again for us to be mindful of the 216 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:56,200 process. And Jesus declared this is the 217 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,280 purpose of the Kingdom. The process of the Kingdom is 218 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:03,560 again starts with a seed and becomes a tree. 219 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:06,040 And that's the ministry of Jesus Christ. 220 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:08,720 He said this, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the 221 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:11,320 Lord has anointed me. To preach the gospel to the 222 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:15,200 poor, to proclaim liberty, the captives, the opening of prison 223 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:18,640 to them that are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of 224 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:20,640 our God. The day of vengeance of our God. 225 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,000 To comfort those who mourn in Zion. 226 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:26,080 To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning. 227 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,000 The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they 228 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:32,520 might be called what? The trees of righteousness, The 229 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:36,040 planting of the Lord that he might be glorified. 230 00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:37,760 I'm a tree. How about you? 231 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:42,360 And I know that whatever there is in my life that's negative, 232 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:46,960 God can take it away or he can change it to use it for good. 233 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:50,960 But we always have to remember it starts with a seed and it 234 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,880 becomes very big. So a lot of people, again, they 235 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:56,280 have the wrong perception concerning what's going to 236 00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:58,880 happen on planet earth concerning the Kingdom of God. 237 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,480 And we need to understand what the prophets declared and also 238 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:04,640 what Jesus Christ himself declared. 239 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,400 Look what he says here. Another preparably spoke to 240 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:09,360 them. The Kingdom of heaven is like 241 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:13,280 11, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till 242 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:16,520 it was all leavened. Now this is a very important 243 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:20,000 concept because when you're making bread or cooking 244 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,480 something, leaven actually has the capacity to change 245 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:27,400 everything. And then as a part of that, it 246 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,800 also effects everything because it's important for us to 247 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:35,800 understand That's how it works. Now I had my son take a picture. 248 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:40,080 Can we go? Oh, there we go. 249 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:44,640 And this is from Tuesday night. I always have a pastor's 250 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:49,240 Christmas dinner where I make Mexican food for the group and 251 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:51,720 have like a buffet of different types of food. 252 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:54,000 And one of the things we have is tortillas. 253 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:57,040 Now, tortillas are really very easy to make. 254 00:13:57,040 --> 00:14:01,240 They tell me it's just a little water, a little salt and some 255 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,040 flour, and if you want to add some flavor, add some lard or 256 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:07,280 something like that to it. But I've tried many times and it 257 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,000 hasn't worked out too well for me. 258 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,600 So I go to Carnival Market and get it there. 259 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:15,680 But they're making fresh juice, so they're really good. 260 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:20,080 And when I was a kid, we used to have this roller for tortillas 261 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:23,880 that my dad had from his mom because the Mexican families mom 262 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,400 would wake up every day and mix the tortillas and beans for the 263 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:28,520 day. And so I got that because it was 264 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:32,240 a special to me, but it didn't work any magic for me to make 265 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:36,800 the tortillas anyway. Also on Tuesday, I got this loaf 266 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:40,880 of bread from Lorne White and I can't remember, I think it's 267 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:43,520 called sourdough bread, but that's not significant to my 268 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,120 story today. The reason I wanted to take it 269 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:51,240 because you can make a tortilla just out of salt and water and a 270 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:55,000 little bit of flour, and you can also do the same thing with a 271 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,080 loaf of bread that could end up turning out looking just like 272 00:14:58,080 --> 00:14:59,840 that. What's the difference? 273 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:03,080 Well, it's the difference is the leaven that you put in it, 274 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:07,040 because when you put in the leaven, it begins to have this 275 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:10,720 pervasive impact is what Jesus was talking, talking about. 276 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:15,200 And it will keep on growing. The funny thing about it is it's 277 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,800 important for us to realize that in the part of that process of 278 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:22,840 which it's growing, usually when you make bread, it rises just a 279 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:25,480 little bit. And if I say this wrong, just 280 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:28,320 play along with me. I'm not a Baker by any means. 281 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:31,720 But anyway, I do know one day I was looking up some YouTube 282 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:33,160 sites saying I want to figure this out. 283 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:34,480 I want to make that, but I never have. 284 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:38,720 But anyway, just kind of put it together, put the yeast in 285 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,800 there, you roll it up and you set it aside so that it can rise 286 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,440 a little bit. And then after it has risen a 287 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,960 little while, then you take it out and then you start smashing 288 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,240 it down again and rolling it up again. 289 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:53,120 And then you put it in the basket and wait a little while 290 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:54,600 longer. And I guess it's based on what 291 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:56,960 kind of bread, how many times you go through that process. 292 00:15:57,880 --> 00:15:59,600 God wants us to realize something. 293 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:02,120 You're not a tortilla, you're a loaf of bread. 294 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:06,680 Hallelujah. I think most Christians when 295 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:09,280 they think about things, they think the body of crisis are 296 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:11,720 tortilla. We're going to just get stomped 297 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,400 on. But God says, no, you're a loaf 298 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:16,920 of bread, something good that's going to come out of you, says 299 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:19,520 the Lord. And just like it is in the 300 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:22,560 making of the bread, sometimes you rise a little bit and all of 301 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,480 a sudden something's pushing you down and smacking you and 302 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:28,920 rolling you up all over again. Some people say that's what's 303 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:31,520 happening to me right now. Well don't worry, you're going 304 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:33,760 to rise again. That's the story of the Bible. 305 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:38,240 Amen, Amen. And I can say that process has 306 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,960 worked for us as a local church as we followed in the word of 307 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:45,320 the Lord that I have this great expectation and that expectation 308 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:47,800 is the end result is going to be glorious. 309 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,240 Can I hear an Amen church and that's what Jesus wanted to 310 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:56,360 project to his disciples that they would understand because he 311 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,200 was going to go through some problems. 312 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,200 They were going to go through some issues, but give up. 313 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,720 You're a loaf of bread and God's going to make you as bread to 314 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:07,079 the nation, says the mighty God. Amen, Church. 315 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,160 Now in Matthew chapter 5, he said this. 316 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:13,680 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its 317 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:15,640 flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 318 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,920 It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled 319 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,839 under foot by men. You are the light of the world. 320 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:24,240 The city that is sat on a hill cannot be hidden. 321 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:28,000 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a 322 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:31,160 lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 323 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:34,400 So what? Let your light so shine before 324 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:37,800 men, that they might see your good works and glorify your 325 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:41,280 Father who is in heaven. And isn't that really the same 326 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:45,840 thing that we've already said? But instead of saying yes, he's 327 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:47,640 talked about salt. Salt. 328 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:52,280 You don't see it, but you can taste it, and you can especially 329 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:56,480 taste when it's not there. I like making Mexican food 330 00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:59,360 because I like adding spices. And when I'm not making Mexican 331 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:01,760 food, I still like to add a lot of salt and pepper. 332 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:04,600 Nothing like pepper on just about everything you cook. 333 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:06,640 That makes it better as far as I'm concerned. 334 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,440 And when it comes to salt, when I got married, my wife Bonnie, 335 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:13,360 her mom never put salt and stuff because she said, oh, people 336 00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:16,160 solved it anyway, so I'm not going to bother with my side of 337 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:18,360 that. And I remember when she first 338 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:20,720 made fried chicken, she says, how's the taste? 339 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:22,760 I said, I can't taste it. Something's missing. 340 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,960 She didn't put salt in it. And when I was a kid growing up, 341 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:30,400 I never liked popcorn. My dad used to make it 342 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,120 oftentimes that night, and everybody's watching TV, and I 343 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:35,520 don't like that. Until I found out it was a good 344 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:40,840 purveyor of salt. So when we have popcorn at home, 345 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:44,560 I get my own bowl because I like to go like this. 346 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:48,240 And sometimes I don't eat it all. 347 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:52,040 So I'll say you want it, Bonnie. No way. 348 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:54,320 I'll say no, it doesn't have as much salt. 349 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:58,040 I did it less just so you could have it if I didn't eat at all. 350 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:01,280 No, no, too much salt. But anyway, we have to 351 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:03,800 understand that when salt's there, you know it, right? 352 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:06,800 And it is good. You have the right amount. 353 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:08,520 So God always has the right amount. 354 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:11,160 It's not too salty. But we have to understand 355 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:14,360 something that God says. We are the salt of the earth. 356 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:18,680 You don't always taste it, but if you don't taste it, He said 357 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:22,280 that salt's got to be thrown out if it doesn't have any flavor to 358 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:26,400 it, because you have to have flavor to the world in which you 359 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:28,720 live. And we should also see ourselves 360 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,920 as flavor, if you would, to our families, our community. 361 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:37,040 And that's why we do all we and to let our light so shine before 362 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:40,360 men that they might see our good works and glorify our Father who 363 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:43,240 is in heaven. And that again shows the next 364 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:46,400 side of that where Jesus is talking about becoming bread 365 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:50,840 because as you allow it to grow and develop, it becomes more 366 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:53,520 powerful. And Alfred shared the story how 367 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:55,560 that I was walking on this property. 368 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,240 We own 52 acres here. Next I-75. 369 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,960 I was walking along I-75 and it's like we were going uphill 370 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:03,280 and I heard the Lord speak to me. 371 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:05,960 A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 372 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:09,240 And that was the scripture to me that set the tone for me to 373 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:11,680 believe that we were to buy this property here. 374 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:14,640 We found out that it had actually been sold. 375 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:19,040 And yet God made a wave because we walked by faith. 376 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:21,280 And of course, the rest is history. 377 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:23,400 We got the. We're able to purchase the land. 378 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:27,240 I mean, no, God is faithful. And so he's looking for people 379 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:30,720 who say, okay, I'm ready. I want to be that visible image. 380 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:33,680 I want the church to be a part of that visible image. 381 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:36,640 I want to be a part of a church that's reaching out to the 382 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:40,280 community, reaching out to the world because he said let your 383 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:43,680 light so shine before men that they might see your what good 384 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,600 works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 385 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:51,680 Now I also wanted to share this particular map as I'm talking 386 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:54,320 about the pervasiveness of the Kingdom of God. 387 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,200 Just real quickly, in case you don't know, this is the 388 00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:01,440 continent of Africa and I picked out a map that would show the 389 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,680 religious divide. And if you notice, there's one 390 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:08,000 color on the bottom and that represents the Christian side of 391 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,600 things. And the top part represents the 392 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:15,200 Islam or Muslim side of things. Now, it's not a real good one 393 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:19,600 because Nigeria is in the news because the southern part is 394 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,160 Christian, the northern part is Muslim, and the same thing is 395 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:27,240 true in Sudan as well. And if you're watching the news, 396 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:30,440 you'll find out there's a whole lot of conflict going on in the 397 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,160 world today. Now, last week, I was sharing 398 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:36,640 how that sometimes we think God can only do one thing at a time 399 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:40,840 because he can multitask. And we have a tendency to just 400 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:45,120 kind of live in our own world. Now as a pastor who shares 401 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:48,880 prophetic insight and absolutely believes that we're a part of 402 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:52,240 the Kingdom of God, when I pray, I pray personal needs. 403 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,680 I pray for church needs. I pray for individual needs, but 404 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:59,880 I also like to pray concerning the Kingdom of God because Jesus 405 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:03,800 said when you pray, pray our Father who art in heaven, 406 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,360 hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done 407 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,920 on Saturday we have a prayer service just from 10:50. 408 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:13,760 All we do is open with the Lord's Prayer and then thing 409 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:16,960 closed because everybody has a equal opportunity to just spend 410 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:19,160 as much time at that hour they can in prayer. 411 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:21,120 Some say the whole time, some don't. 412 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:24,640 But it's important that we learn how to follow the pattern. 413 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,080 But I also pray because I'm very aware of what's happening in the 414 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:29,560 world. It's always been of interest to 415 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,000 me. So if you watch the news, you'll 416 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:36,120 notice there's been very bad things happening in Nigeria 417 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:37,960 where Muslims have been coming in. 418 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:42,520 And in one case, they went into a Catholic school and kidnapped 419 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,200 all the children. Girls as young as thirteen were 420 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:51,600 forced to become wives of Muslim men, forced to convert. 421 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:54,800 I don't know all the situation that was involved in it, but I 422 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,600 think to myself, Lord, I'm so glad I'm an American because I'm 423 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:00,640 blessed. And I kind of feel like a Pansy 424 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:04,000 when I read stories like this because I think, how could a 425 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,960 pastor handle being a pastor of a church and find out somebody 426 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:10,240 come and kidnaps everybody in your school? 427 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,920 That's just mind boggling to me. Or in Sudan, they're in the 428 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,800 midst of a great famine. And because of that, people are 429 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:18,680 going hungry. And at the same time, they're in 430 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,440 a civil war. And again, they're killing 431 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:25,040 hundreds and hundreds of people because that's the easiest way 432 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:26,760 in their mind to take over the countries. 433 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:29,080 And often times these are Christians. 434 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:33,440 So I pray for these people and I would encourage you to do this 435 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:36,480 the same. And I was glad last week our 436 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,320 president even stood up to the president of Nigeria and said 437 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,360 you need to do something about the Christian persecution in 438 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:44,960 your country. But more than that, I wanted you 439 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,040 also to see something very important. 440 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:52,120 As I said, that northern part, the purple part is the Muslim 441 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:55,560 section, but the Sahara Desert covers most of that. 442 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:58,360 So it's not nearly as populist as you would expect. 443 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:02,040 But what I find so intriguing is in thinking about the 444 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:04,640 advancement of the Kingdom. I like to use Africa as an 445 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:08,120 example because 100 years ago there were like 10 million 446 00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:12,240 Christians in the African continent, and today there's 447 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:16,920 375,000,000 Christians. Isn't that amazing? 448 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,040 So the Kingdom of God is advancing. 449 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:23,880 If you're on the front lines, there's a lot of turmoil that's 450 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,760 involved, but you need to know the Kingdom of God is advancing. 451 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:33,120 We're in El Salvador in our church ministry. 60 years ago, 452 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:36,760 there weren't hardly any evangelical Christians in all of 453 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:38,920 Latin America or Central America. 454 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:43,040 Now El Salvador's 50% evangelical Christian. 455 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,280 Same with Honduras and Guatemala. 456 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:50,120 It's amazing what God is doing in the nations of of the world 457 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:53,320 and we need to remind ourself of these things from time to time. 458 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:57,040 Church, because it's easy for us to be parochial in our thinking 459 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,520 and think only as an American, if you would, or as a Christian 460 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:04,040 and in the natural, I'm an American, I love America, I'm 461 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:08,360 very patriotic, but as a person who's been born again, I'm also 462 00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:12,000 a citizen of the New Jerusalem. I'm a citizen of the Kingdom of 463 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,440 God. And so I like to see what's 464 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:16,880 happening in my Kingdom that I'm a part of. 465 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:21,520 And I love to see because church, it's very encouraging. 466 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:26,600 Though there is conflict along the way, victory is inside God's 467 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:29,000 moving in the nations of the world. 468 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,840 And we need to understand how that works in our life and, and 469 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:34,720 what the Christmas story represents. 470 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,760 Because when you understand all of that and you see the 471 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:40,640 Christmas story, it takes on a little different perspective 472 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,000 concerning its prophecies. Now, in the sixth month, the 473 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:48,000 Angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth 474 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,640 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. 475 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:55,640 He was of the House of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 476 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,120 And having come in, the Angel said to her, Rejoice, highly 477 00:25:58,120 --> 00:26:00,600 favored one, the Lord is with you. 478 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:06,160 Blessed are you among women. And truly, she was a blessed 479 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:11,080 woman to certainly as we celebrate, conceive, bear and 480 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:13,600 birth the very Son of the Most High God. 481 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,600 But I want you to notice here, it all started with an amazing 482 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:20,000 encounter. It was indeed a supernatural 483 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:21,920 encounter. How many know when you're born 484 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:23,800 again, it's a supernatural encounter. 485 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,520 And it's very important for us to understand that because just 486 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:32,320 like it was for Mary, so it's for each and every one of us. 487 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:37,320 The time that God comes into our life and begins to speak to us, 488 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:42,360 it's a time of tremendous opportunity and you can have an 489 00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:45,520 amazing encounter. And you have to understand that 490 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:50,200 it's going to be a process, but that you are highly favored. 491 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:55,400 Jesus said to his disciples, you didn't choose me, I chose you. 492 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,400 You are hardly favored, Amen. If you're sending the service 493 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,640 today and you say, I know Jesus Christ, you hardly favored. 494 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,840 And if you're just beginning to explore these things, you're 495 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:07,520 here because of God's drawing you. 496 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:12,360 And he's saying, don't resist. Get on in, says the Lord, 497 00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:16,760 because you have been favored to be called into the Kingdom. 498 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:20,160 Now it's time to respond just like Mary did. 499 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:24,360 So the Angel said to her, do not be afraid Mary, for you have 500 00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:27,480 found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in 501 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:31,840 your room and bring forth the Son, and his he shall, you shall 502 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:35,200 call his name Jesus. He will be great, and you will 503 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:37,440 be called the Son of the Highest, the Lord. 504 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:41,920 God will give to him the throne of his Father David, and he will 505 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:45,720 reign over the House of Jacob Forever, and of his Kingdom 506 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,480 there will be no end. And so this is an important 507 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:53,120 thing again, for us to understand that Mary's being 508 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:59,280 called of God, that she would be a part of a divine purpose, and 509 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:04,080 what a purpose that was. Now, if you get a word from God 510 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:06,240 that God's going to do something awesome like that in your life, 511 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:10,360 there's no way you could fully conceive or understand what that 512 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:13,760 means. Over church history, oftentimes 513 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,800 Christians have tried to give more of a supernatural side to 514 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:20,160 Mary's life, thinking that they're giving her honor. 515 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:23,360 But unfortunately they actually take a little bit from the honor 516 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:29,200 because she was just an ordinary virgin, young team, possibly 517 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:33,400 team for sure, who had never known a man. 518 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:36,600 She was an average Jew, if you would. 519 00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:38,920 Nothing special. She wasn't part of a royal 520 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:44,080 family. She was just chosen of God and 521 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:49,360 had a purpose chosen of God. And that purpose was of course, 522 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:54,960 for her, that she would bear the king, King Jesus in that awesome 523 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:57,240 church. How many know if we have a king 524 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,160 in Jesus? Now, it's important for us to 525 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,760 understand that because when we think about government, we have 526 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:08,640 to understand that we are in a Kingdom where we're in God's 527 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,120 Kingdom. He's our king. 528 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:14,440 I've always loved government. Started studying it when I was a 529 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:17,640 young child. I remember when my brother Bill 530 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:19,800 was in high school, he had a government class, and I thought 531 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,480 that was the greatest thing that could happen because he used to 532 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:25,520 bring home his government book and then I could read it. 533 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:27,440 There were two good things there. 534 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,240 It made it look like he's doing homework even though he wasn't. 535 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:32,000 And I got to read his book anyway. 536 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,360 If you were to think about the best kind of government, it is 537 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,800 having a benevolent dictator. If you would, somebody who's in 538 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:43,760 charge, whose main concern is about us in history, it didn't 539 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:47,400 work having kings among people because just like if you read 540 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,760 People magazine, what happens to the Royals in Europe, you'll 541 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:53,280 find out that, well, that's why that doesn't work. 542 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:56,840 But you have to have a mindset change when you think like that 543 00:29:56,840 --> 00:30:00,080 because in the Kingdom of God, it absolutely works. 544 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:03,600 In the United States of America, we are not a democracy, and I 545 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:07,000 want to point this out because we are a republican form of 546 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:11,280 government, which means we have a constitution that we live by, 547 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:16,000 and then we elect leaders who in turn govern the country. 548 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,640 Now, that's different than a pure democracy, which means 549 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:23,920 ruled by the people and what has been good about that? 550 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,120 And that's why I say our government's been the best 551 00:30:26,120 --> 00:30:29,240 government. Next year we'll celebrate 250 552 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:34,120 years of success with this government because it gives us 553 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,360 an opportunity to participate because we elect our rulers, but 554 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:40,880 then they rule in positions of authority. 555 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:45,400 Now, what happens in a democracy is everybody has to listen to 556 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:49,360 the people all the time. Now, sometimes we want things 557 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:54,440 that are not good for us. Come on, our country is getting 558 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:57,360 in pretty dire economic straits. A lot of people aren't 559 00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:00,160 recognizing, but things aren't going so good because 560 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:02,640 everybody's wanting to smooth over things. 561 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:06,560 Just like it is in the natural, so it is in the economic world. 562 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:10,200 You have to have seasons, and some of them you don't like and 563 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:13,000 some of them you do. But it all works out good for 564 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:16,440 the process. And winter is a time of purging 565 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,840 and separating and bringing forth something new in the 566 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:22,320 springtime. Well, the same thing happens in 567 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:25,240 economics. But now the government's really 568 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:27,920 pressured to make sure that we don't go through any winter 569 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:30,840 seasons. And so they're making decisions 570 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:33,240 that are in the long term, detrimental to our country. 571 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:36,720 I just want to point that out because we have to understand 572 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:38,200 that. Well, what do you know about 573 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:41,200 economics? Usually how it affects you, but 574 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:45,800 sometimes the big picture is going to affect us in a negative 575 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:49,160 way for a while, but it works for a long term good. 576 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:53,600 That's why it's good to be in a Kingdom because God, he always 577 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:57,200 does what's good for us. He calls us to his purpose. 578 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:01,800 He works in his favor upon us and sometimes he does things 579 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:08,040 that we would rather him not do. But in the long run, we should 580 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:13,120 always have a confidence. King Jesus has a plan that's for 581 00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:14,920 our good. Can you say Amen to that church? 582 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:20,720 And so we have to be very, very glad we're in a Kingdom with an 583 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:24,320 absolute king that we can trust and have our confidence in. 584 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:28,960 Then Mary said to the Angel, How can this be, since I do not know 585 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:31,520 a man? And the Angel answered and said 586 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:33,400 to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you. 587 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:35,560 The power of the highest will over shadow you. 588 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:39,400 Therefore also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the 589 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:42,400 Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth, your 590 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:46,280 relative has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is 591 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:49,280 now the 6th month for her who was called barren. 592 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:53,040 For with God nothing will be impossible. 593 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:56,400 Amen, Church. But first of all, she has a 594 00:32:56,400 --> 00:32:57,880 dilemma. Questions. 595 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:01,560 How can this be? I don't know a man. 596 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:06,040 Now the answer is, but the power of the Holy Spirit shall over 597 00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:09,600 shadow you, and that which is conceived in you shall be called 598 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:12,560 the Son of God. Now I want you to understand 599 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:14,760 something that all sounds good, but how you know wouldn't make a 600 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:16,640 whole lot of sense to a young girl. 601 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:21,440 What? How does the Holy Spirit coming 602 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,560 upon me make me pregnant? That doesn't make any sense. 603 00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:27,800 Never heard of that before. Never happened this way. 604 00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:30,200 Now, This is why it's very important because even when, 605 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:32,960 like for instance at Mount Zion, we teach people get baptized, 606 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:35,520 get filled with the Holy Spirit. Sometimes people are 607 00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:39,240 uncomfortable in the situation, don't understand the whole 608 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:42,200 thing, and because of their discomfort, they kind of pull 609 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:44,320 back a little bit. But what you have to do is you 610 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:48,080 have to keep on persevering because God says that which is 611 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:51,760 in you is good, says the Lord and there's great potential 612 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:53,920 there and you have to put your trust in Him. 613 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:58,560 So though we have questions and we'll always have questions, God 614 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:04,160 says keep moving by faith because God has a simple answer 615 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:07,040 you don't understand. But with God all things are 616 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:08,000 possible. Amen. 617 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:09,560 Church. How many glad you just serve 618 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:12,120 that kind of a God that's important. 619 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:18,040 Now this verse is the one that came to me in prayer and that is 620 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:22,159 Mary said, behold the maidservant of the Lord, let it 621 00:34:22,159 --> 00:34:25,960 be to me according to your word. And the Angel departed from her 622 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:29,520 and talking about the awesomeness of the Kingdom, how 623 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:33,080 there's 2 billion Christians in the world today and all the 624 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:37,239 things that are happening. Again, like I said, God sent his 625 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:41,440 only begotten Son, but how you know it had to start with 626 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:46,280 somebody like Mary saying yes. This is so important to 627 00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:49,560 understand because sitting in the service today, if you say 628 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:54,239 yes to God, it could be a life changer not just for you, but 629 00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:56,239 for generations which are to come. 630 00:34:56,719 --> 00:34:59,440 You'll never have an understanding fully about what 631 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:02,960 your choices are going to have on your children and upon the 632 00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:05,400 generations even which are to come. 633 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:08,640 That's why I love the story about Stephen in the Bible. 634 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:11,200 He, he was a young man that made a Deacon. 635 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:14,880 He starts preaching a message and they stoned him to death. 636 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:18,920 What a sad funeral that must have been thinking of him dying 637 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:21,640 at a young age. But there was a man by the name 638 00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:25,400 of Saul, later called Paul, who was watching the whole event, 639 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:28,000 holding the coats of those who stoned him to death. 640 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:32,400 So what happened? Well, you didn't even see it. 641 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:35,800 His family might never have known it, but he sowed a seed 642 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:39,160 also that changed the world. And so we have to have our 643 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:43,040 confidence in God, how the God is at work, and that it all 644 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:46,760 begins with a yes. And then of course, she said, be 645 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:48,320 it on to me according to your word. 646 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:50,600 Well, there's going to be a cost to this thing. 647 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:54,280 You don't know exactly how it's going to work, but you just have 648 00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:58,080 to put your trust in God. So in closing, I want to read 649 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:01,960 what's called the Magnificat. And it's the Magnificat of Mary. 650 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:05,400 And we would call it a prophecy because after she went to see 651 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:11,160 her cousin who was old, who had a child or was pregnant six 652 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:14,600 months at the time, she was too old to have children. 653 00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:16,240 She's pregnant. And that was Mary's 654 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:18,880 encouragement. Your situation is strange too. 655 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:21,920 How you know sometimes somebody elses testimony can't help us. 656 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:26,240 But as she goes and sees her cousin, she begins to prophecy 657 00:36:26,240 --> 00:36:29,160 and declare. My soul magnifies. 658 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:32,640 The Lord of my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for 659 00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:37,200 he has regarded the lowly state of his maidservant. 660 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:43,080 Behold, henceforth all generations will call me 661 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:46,840 blessed, for He who is mighty has done great things for me, 662 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:50,320 and holy is His name. His mercy is on those who fear 663 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:52,880 Him from generation to generation. 664 00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:55,280 He has shown strength with His arm. 665 00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:58,840 He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 666 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:03,760 He has put down the mighty from their Thrones and exalted the 667 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:06,480 lowly. He has filled the hungry with 668 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:09,160 good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. 669 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:13,280 He has helped us serve in Israel in remembrance of His mercy as 670 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:18,040 He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to His seed 671 00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:20,440 forever. Can we all please bow our heads 672 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:24,680 for just a moment? I tell you that God is preparing 673 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:35,440 us in this time. God is calling in this time and 674 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:38,120 you might be involved in a situation you already have a lot 675 00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:43,280 of questions. Maybe in your understanding of 676 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:49,600 God you have a lot of questions, but the issue is, is will you 677 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:56,880 say yes? Saying yes to God means really 678 00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:59,000 waking up every day and saying, oh, it's still a yes. 679 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:03,560 God, I might not understand what's happening to my no, not 680 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:08,680 fully understand how this is turning now, but I'm highly 681 00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:12,800 favored. You have called me and you've 682 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:18,040 used my situation to bring forth your glory in the earth. 683 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:26,840 And for that I thank you. God is looking for a yes and one 684 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:29,760 that says and be it unto me according to your word. 685 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:32,920 Because when the word begins to work and we're troubled and 686 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:36,080 confused, God says, keep on saying yes. 687 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:38,680 You'll be prophesying just like Mary. 688 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:41,840 You'll be declaring that God takes the lowly. 689 00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:48,080 He lifts him up. It's time to rise in newness of 690 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:52,160 life, says the mighty God. This is Pastor Lorne Colbubius 691 00:38:52,160 --> 00:38:54,720 from Mount Zion Church. We thank you for joining us 692 00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:57,720 today and invite you to connect with our church family by 693 00:38:57,720 --> 00:39:01,480 visiting mountzion.org and following us on social media. 694 00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:02,480 God bless you.