1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,360 I want to open with the scripture that I shared for the 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:05,280 last couple weeks, actually from Genesis chapter 1. 3 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:09,080 So God created man in his own image and the image of God, he 4 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:12,320 created him male and female, he created them. 5 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,800 Thank God, bless them. God said to them, be fruitful, 6 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:20,400 multiply, fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion or 7 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,120 the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over every 8 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:26,680 living thing that moves on the earth. 9 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:29,840 It's so important for us to understand that from the 10 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:33,760 beginning of time, God has had an eternal purpose for planet 11 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:36,360 earth. God has had an eternal purpose 12 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:38,760 for mankind. And a couple of weeks ago, I 13 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:43,640 shared the scripture that says we were chosen by God even 14 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:45,720 before the foundation of the world. 15 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:48,680 And to me, that's just an incredible concept that we 16 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,800 couldn't possibly get our mind around totally because we always 17 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,040 think in terms of what already exists to think that. 18 00:00:56,240 --> 00:01:00,200 Well, in Genesis chapter 1, God set out to create the heavens 19 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,200 and the earth, but then the Bible tells us that before the 20 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,440 foundation, all these things is when He put us in the plan. 21 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:10,480 So every Christian should have this realization that we belong 22 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,320 to God, that He has chosen us. The Bible says that even when we 23 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:17,960 were in our mother's womb, He fashioned and formed us, and 24 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:21,760 even our days were fashioned for us to make us into the person 25 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:26,640 that He has called us to be. That's awesome, but we also have 26 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:31,320 to understand that mankind as a whole was created in the image 27 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:35,760 and likeness of God because God had created us for a very 28 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:38,920 specific purpose. And that is just like I have up 29 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:41,960 here, that we could be in partnership with Him. 30 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,960 So God has this great creation, the crowning glory of his 31 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:49,400 creation as he creates mankind. He says be fruitful, multiply, 32 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,840 fill up the earth and take dominion of it. 33 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,880 And so God has created us and said, you're my partners in a 34 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:57,560 work that I'm going to perform on the earth. 35 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,480 And then when you get into chapter 2, we understand as well 36 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,160 that God also wants to have a relationship with us. 37 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,920 So that's a partnership with the relationship, first of all, as 38 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:11,680 the sons of God, as we partner with him, but also as Genesis 39 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:15,280 chapter 2 says, as the bride of Christ, he wants us to have a 40 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,480 personal relationship with him as well. 41 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,760 And so there's different ways of looking at it as the sons of God 42 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,920 is the right of Christ. But basically God has children 43 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,600 for such an awesome thing to be in relationship and partnership 44 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:32,400 with him. Can you say men to that now when 45 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:36,360 God created us in Genesis chapter 2 it says this and the 46 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:39,880 Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground breathed in his 47 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:44,360 nostrils to the breath of life and man became a living being. 48 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:48,000 King James Version says a living soul, which is what most of us 49 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,960 are familiar with, but it's important for us to recognize 50 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:55,920 that God created US body, soul and spirit. 51 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:00,000 And in our understanding God class that we teach our children 52 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,240 now, it gives us very important illustration. 53 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,760 And that is God has created us as triune beings in his image 54 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:11,800 and also in his likeness body, which makes us conscious of the 55 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:18,000 world, our spirit that makes us conscious of God and our soul or 56 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,200 that living person we are, that makes us conscious of self. 57 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:24,920 So we live in this three-dimensional world where 58 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:28,400 we're self-conscious for sure, but then we relate to a natural 59 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,240 world and also we're supposed to be in contact with the spiritual 60 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,600 world as we walk in the fullness of all things that God has for 61 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,680 us as a living being. God has a plan of purpose for 62 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:45,240 us, but it requires us to be mature and to allow God to teach 63 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:49,120 us what exactly that means. How do we relate to our world? 64 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:53,120 How do we relate not just to the God part, if you would, but to 65 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,360 all the different parts? Because God has a plan, and 66 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,080 through His Word and through His Spirit, He gives us an 67 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,880 opportunity to walk in the fullness of all of His plan. 68 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:05,920 Having said that, I believe it's also important for us to 69 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:10,280 recognize this concept I shared last week in detail says do not 70 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:12,920 love the world or the things that are in the world. 71 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,160 If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in 72 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,320 him. For all that is in the world, 73 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,560 the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of 74 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:24,560 life is not of the Father, but is of the world. 75 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,120 The world is passing away in the lust of it, but he who does the 76 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:32,240 will of God abides forever. And again in the Garden of Eden, 77 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:36,120 when God first created mankind, the Bible tells us that he put 78 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:38,960 us in that garden, said you can enjoy all the fruits of the 79 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:43,400 trees of the garden, You can even eat of the tree of life 80 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:45,520 which was in the midst of the garden. 81 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:49,440 As long as you eat of that tree, you're going to stay alive, but 82 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,360 of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat that 83 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,520 tree because on the day you eat thereof, you will surely die. 84 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,040 Again, reviewing the story, the Bible says that Eid one day is 85 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:03,680 standing next to the tree and the enemy says to her, now don't 86 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:08,760 listen to God, listen to me. Basically you got to understand 87 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:10,880 something. God just wants you to be in 88 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,360 control and he wants you to submit to him. 89 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,600 You need to use that tree so you can be just like God and you can 90 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:19,760 know the difference between good and evil. 91 00:05:20,280 --> 00:05:22,280 And so the Bible says that when she looked at the tree of 92 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:25,200 knowledge of good and evil, she saw that it was good for food. 93 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:29,000 She saw that it was pleasant to the eyes and also a tree 94 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,360 desirable to make one wise, which as you note in the book or 95 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,400 Scripture I've just read that describes what the Bible also 96 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,800 calls the world. And then the day that they part 97 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:44,000 talk of that, the Bible says that they died spiritually and 98 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,040 that they were cut off from God and his purpose isn't the things 99 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,240 that God had for them. Now that's a picture that God 100 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:54,840 wants all of us to create because we live in the world or 101 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:57,600 the earth if you would. But whenever the Bible talks 102 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,680 about the world, it's not saying that everything in the natural 103 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:04,760 is bad or we can't enjoy life. Jesus said I didn't just come to 104 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:07,360 make you live, I've come to give you the abundant life. 105 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:10,320 But when he talks about the world, he's talking about that 106 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:14,120 which is in contrast to the way God wants us to live. 107 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:19,160 We're motivated simply by the pride of life, motivated by the 108 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,840 things we see and we want, we want, we want, or motivated by 109 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:26,120 our desires without any thought as to, well, how does this 110 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:28,160 affect other people? How does this affect my 111 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,280 relationship with God? And so God wants us to 112 00:06:31,280 --> 00:06:34,280 understand that we're in the world. 113 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,440 And that's what Jesus said as he's praying for the disciples. 114 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,800 You're in the world. But Father, don't let them be of 115 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,320 the world. And sometimes people carry this 116 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:45,760 wrong because we think everything of the natural is 117 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:47,120 bad. And there's been history in the 118 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,440 Christian Church when people became ascetics or lived in 119 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:53,880 monasteries and didn't eat and engage in the good things of 120 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,840 life that God has for us because they didn't understand this 121 00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:00,320 concept of how there's a duality to our world. 122 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,880 Not just there's a natural, but there's a system that's outside 123 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:07,520 the plans and purposes of God. And we need to be very careful 124 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:09,920 of this. And also the Bible talks about 125 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:15,240 the flesh, and again, we have a human body that really is flesh. 126 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,160 And whenever it uses that word, it's not talking about our 127 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:22,200 physical body alone. It's talking about a motivation 128 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:26,040 of the body that's bad. And so again, your person in the 129 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:29,400 natural is not a bad thing. Christianity is not about 130 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,520 denying yourself and denying who you are and denying yourself the 131 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,240 good things of life. It's an understanding that, 132 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:39,640 well, we have to walk with limitations, and in those 133 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:43,400 limitations we begin to understand how it is that we can 134 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,320 find that abundant life that God has for each and every one of 135 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:49,840 us. Now in the book of Colossians it 136 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:54,920 says this God has delivered us from the power of darkness and 137 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:59,480 has conveyed us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom 138 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,160 we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sin. 139 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,840 So of course we have our natural life and we have our spiritual 140 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,640 life. We have the natural world, and 141 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,200 then we have the world. That's talking about a 142 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:18,680 temptation to go the opposite way if you would, but one time 143 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:23,040 in our life we were dead in our trespasses and sins, but when we 144 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,560 turn to the Lord, he makes us alive is the way it's described 145 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:29,720 in Ephesians chapter 2. But this Scripture says it in a 146 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:31,960 better sense. We have to realize we were 147 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:37,039 literally conveyed from the world, if you would, to the 148 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:39,919 Kingdom of God. That's why when Jesus came, he 149 00:08:39,919 --> 00:08:43,360 said repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand because since 150 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:47,320 the ministry of Jesus Christ, we have this opportunity as we 151 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:51,680 respond to the gospel to can be conveyed or translated, if you 152 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:55,200 would from the world to the Kingdom of God. 153 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:57,840 How do you know God wants His Kingdom to be a reality for each 154 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:01,120 and every one of us? A man that's so important for us 155 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:05,680 to understand, and I'm covering a lot of material right here, a 156 00:09:05,680 --> 00:09:09,680 lot of information if you would. But I always like to point out 157 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:12,880 that typically when I am speaking, there's an 158 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:16,680 instructional part to set the pace for the preaching part. 159 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:20,120 The preaching part is something that should inspire us to 160 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,920 understand how we're supposed to relate to this world or how 161 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:26,640 we're supposed to relate in our natural life. 162 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:30,680 And these are very important concepts for us to understand as 163 00:09:30,680 --> 00:09:32,680 Christians. We've been delivered from 1 164 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:36,120 realm and we should understand. We've been transferred to 165 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,880 another realm and that's something that we have to learn 166 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:43,520 how to live in and something that requires some maturity and 167 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:46,080 some instruction. That's why we need to study the 168 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,720 Bible. That's why we need Bible classes 169 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:52,640 and instruction because there's a whole lot to this story, if 170 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:55,480 you would, that's very important for us to understand. 171 00:09:55,680 --> 00:09:58,840 So then we're not just baby Christians, as the Bible will 172 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,240 call it simple in our understanding. 173 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:05,200 But we can become wise. We can become aware of who we 174 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:07,200 are. We can become aware of our world 175 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,600 and we can learn how to be an overcomer in this life. 176 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:14,480 God has such a good plan. I love him and I love His plan. 177 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:18,120 Now I want to take you to a story here in the book of 178 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,720 Daniel, chapter 4, which was actually a whole sermon I had a 179 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,480 few weeks ago on a Wednesday. And I want to read these 180 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:27,640 scriptures and I'll explain it to you, the time setting and 181 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:31,040 what's actually being said. But I'll be referencing this 182 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:34,640 where there's a time when a man by the name of Nebuchadnezzar, 183 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:38,560 who is the king of a country called Babylon, had a dream. 184 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,160 No one could tell him the interpretation of that dream but 185 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:44,400 Daniel. That's why it's from the book of 186 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:46,960 Daniel. And he had the ability to 187 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,520 discern, live in the spiritual realm if you would. 188 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:55,280 And also in that interpret dreams, it says that God had 189 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:59,560 spoken to Daniel to tell Nebuchadnezzar that in his dream 190 00:10:59,560 --> 00:11:03,160 he found out that people are going to drive him from men, 191 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:06,680 that his dwelling will be with the beasts of the field, and 192 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:09,840 they will make him eat grass like oxen. 193 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:13,120 They shall wet you with the dew of heaven. 7 times shall 194 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:17,240 Passover you till you know that the most high rules in the 195 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:21,520 Kingdom of men, and it gives to whomever he chooses, and as much 196 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:24,160 as they gave the command to leave the stump the roots of the 197 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:26,960 tree, your Kingdom shall be assured to you. 198 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:30,480 After you come to know that heaven rules. 199 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:34,520 I put over this scripture heaven, God's throne room, 200 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:37,200 because in the Old Testament there's a scripture that 201 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:42,200 actually says that the heavens are his throne and the earth is 202 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:45,520 his footstool. And so we live here on planet 203 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:47,760 earth. But when we think about heaven, 204 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:49,880 it's not just a place you're going to go when you die. 205 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:53,720 That word in the Bible speaks about the place of God's throne 206 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,520 room. It speaks about God's divine 207 00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:59,840 authority. And so when the prophecy came 208 00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:03,680 forth and said heaven rules, that's simply saying that God 209 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:08,120 who sits on the throne of heaven rules in the affairs of me. 210 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,600 Can I hear an Amen on that? Now keep in mind, as I said, 211 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:13,880 Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. 212 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:18,840 It was the greatest power of that time in their world, which 213 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,160 was the Middle East, what we call the Fertile Crescent. 214 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:25,720 We think of all history as starting from there, and that 215 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,040 was the world, if you would, in those days. 216 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:31,800 He was the world power. He was the highest, in the 217 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:34,640 highest position that anybody could be in. 218 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:40,280 And the Bible tells us that Daniel was a captive in Babylon. 219 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,760 He had been taken from Israel. He'd been taken from the holy 220 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:45,920 city, and he was there in captivity. 221 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,960 Now, in that place of captivity, he did not allow his 222 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:54,400 circumstances or situations to stop him from being available to 223 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:56,960 God. Now, keep in mind, Daniel was a 224 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:01,840 man who lived in Jerusalem. He was a part of the ruling 225 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:06,000 class of the city, if you would. So the city was destroyed, the 226 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,160 temple was destroyed. And according to most of what 227 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:12,760 you read in the scriptures, when they carried the people like Kim 228 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,000 captive and they gave him jobs in the palace, typically they 229 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:17,560 were made eunuchs. How many? 230 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:21,760 You know, he went through a whole lot of pain, lot of loss, 231 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:26,920 a lot of disappointment, but he still decided that he was going 232 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:30,200 to serve the Lord and he was going to be available to God. 233 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:34,160 Can you imagine? He was taken from a place in the 234 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,880 city of Jerusalem, and that was important to him, but it wasn't 235 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,760 as important as Babylon. It wasn't important as working 236 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:44,480 in the palace of the king. He was put in a position that he 237 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,520 could have never dreamed he would come to, and he had a 238 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:49,280 choice. Are you going to let all the 239 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:51,480 tribulation, all the things you're going through hold you 240 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,560 back or you just going to keep your focus on what God has for 241 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:58,120 you to do? Or are you going to become all 242 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:02,160 encumbered by your pain and disappointment and just kind of 243 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,320 drop out of life? Well, he chose God. 244 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:08,440 So when Nebuchadnezzar had this dream and named interpretation, 245 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:09,800 he was available to give it to him. 246 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:13,640 And basic of interpretation was this, though you're a great 247 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:16,240 king, you're going to go through a period of time where you're 248 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:18,080 not going to be in control of your life at all. 249 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:21,280 As a matter of fact, you'll actually live like a beast in 250 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:23,200 the field. And the Bible says that his 251 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:25,440 fingernails grew really long, his hair. 252 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:29,080 He was just a mess, totally unconscious of the natural life, 253 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:32,680 if you would. And he was in that place for six 254 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:35,920 months. But God said after that time of 255 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:38,320 six months, I'm going to make you come back and you're going 256 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,960 to be the king again. Now, that was such an extreme 257 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:47,200 situation and story, but it would have also been strange and 258 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:49,680 hard to comprehend if you were Nebuchadnezzar. 259 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:52,880 Because in those days, if you were the king, there was always 260 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:54,920 somebody there wanting to take your place. 261 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:59,120 And even in history, it was very common for family members, even 262 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:03,080 sons or parents, whatever, if it came to it, they would kill you. 263 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:05,280 They get you out of the way because everybody wanted to be 264 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,080 the king and they were willing to pay whatever price there was. 265 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,880 So how could somebody be totally out of control of their life for 266 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:15,280 six months and then come back? Well, it can only be one way. 267 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:17,720 And if that was, if God made it possible. 268 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:22,800 So though Nebuchadnezzar was not a believer, his mind was shaken. 269 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:28,280 His experience of life made him realize, wow, heaven rules and 270 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:31,600 the Most high God, which is Daniel's God, obviously rules in 271 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:34,000 the affairs of men. Because this could never have 272 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,120 happened unless it had happened this way. 273 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:42,320 And then he said something very important, and that is that God 274 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:47,560 who sits on the throne actually rules in the affairs of men. 275 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:51,720 That was a mind boggling thought for Nebuchadnezzar. 276 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,200 It certainly would have been for Daniel prophesying it for all 277 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,720 that he had went through. But it set the stage for the New 278 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,160 Testament when Jesus would come in and do a whole new thing. 279 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,520 All that was to bring you to this place of the Scripture we 280 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:10,000 read in Romans chapter 13, where the apostle Paul under the 281 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:14,440 inspiration of the Holy Spirit says, let every soul be subject 282 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:19,120 to govern authorities. For there is no authority except 283 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:23,600 from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 284 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:27,160 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the earns of 285 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,680 God. Those who resist will bring 286 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:32,840 judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a charity. 287 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,240 Good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of 288 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:38,240 the authority? Well, do what is good and you 289 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:42,360 will have praise from the same. Now I want you to take note of 290 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:46,560 that part that says let every soul be subject to govern 291 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:51,480 authorities, for there is what? No authority except from God, 292 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:54,040 and all authorities are appointed by God. 293 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:59,000 Now, I don't know about you, but that's a hard one to quite grasp 294 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,360 and take hold of. In our country, we have a 295 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:07,040 democratic form of election where whenever that comes the 296 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:10,960 proper time, we go and vote for elected officials and whoever 297 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:15,359 gets to the majority is going to be the winner of that election. 298 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:18,480 So how do you go through that process? 299 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:22,240 And then when it's all over, say, well, God appointed them. 300 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:27,800 Well, it would be very difficult to say, especially if the one 301 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:33,000 you wanted to win lost. I've often said how I started my 302 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:37,520 interest in politics as a kid at age 10 in 1964. 303 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:41,560 And I think my politics at that time was more motivated by my 304 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,400 dad than anybody else. I heard what he had to say 305 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:47,360 because at 10 years old, I literally was reading the 306 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:50,880 newspaper at that age, which was strange, but my comprehension 307 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,360 certainly would have relied upon the information from my father. 308 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:59,560 But in 1966, I kept all of the Newsweek magazines on the news. 309 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:03,440 I watched everything thing and I with that year I was 12 years 310 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:05,840 old. I was up all night watching 311 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,840 election returns. Because back in those days, if 312 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:11,520 you wanted to know who was going to win in California, you had to 313 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:13,720 wait till the next morning because they were three hours 314 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:16,240 behind us. And I wanted to know if Ronald 315 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,280 Reagan was going to win the president or the governorship of 316 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,840 California at the time. So I was up all night and I 317 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:28,520 follow politics quite well. 1968 even became involved in the 318 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:31,040 campaign. I went around the neighborhood, 319 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:34,480 neighborhoods for Nixon. Everybody in our neighborhood in 320 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:37,360 those days, not everybody, most of them were from the South. 321 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:41,360 So most people from the South were Democrats at that time. 322 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:44,680 And also the many of them were in the UAW union. 323 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:47,840 So that meant they had a special anointing to be a Democrat. 324 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:53,720 But I was a Republican. And so I was going door to door 325 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,200 with neighborhood for Nixon, handing out brochures. 326 00:18:56,200 --> 00:19:00,360 And I was very sure that, wow, the person I wanted to win this 327 00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:04,160 election had to win in 1968. That was a pretty rough 328 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:06,200 election. Literally, there were three 329 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,080 people running for president. We had a third party candidate 330 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:12,520 by the name of George Wallace, and he was a person who was 331 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:15,400 against civil rights. And it was such a strange time 332 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,320 because not long before that, the head of the civil rights 333 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,560 movement had been assassinated. One of the candidates, her 334 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:23,240 president, had been assassinated. 335 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,840 In recent history, there was what they called the Peace 336 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:30,040 March, and policemen actually shot college students. 337 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,640 It was a horrible time, and a lot was going on. 338 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:36,720 And so there was all the more this thought in your mind, man, 339 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,480 we got to have the right leader. And of course, at that age, I 340 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:42,960 was like, my person has to win. And if they didn't win, man, I'd 341 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:47,080 be all depressed, be sure the world was going to fall apart. 342 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:50,840 The person I voted for or was for at that time, because I 343 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:52,920 actually couldn't vote till 1972. 344 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:56,280 But anyway, that's the way I was looking at things. 345 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:57,880 I was very emotionally involved in it. 346 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:01,360 It was also about that time I began to experience what was 347 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:02,840 called the Jesus People movement. 348 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:05,760 And during the Jesus People movement, people were talking 349 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:08,200 about how bad the world was. And what they were telling me is 350 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,400 surely Jesus is going to come. But before it comes, there's 351 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:13,560 going to be an Antichrist. So I was looking for who's going 352 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,520 to win politics, and I was also looking for the Antichrist. 353 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:18,840 I mean, it was hard to think about all these things. 354 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:21,480 Of course, I knew the Antichrist was going to be a Democrat, but 355 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:27,120 whatever, I was 14, what can I say? 356 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:31,400 Anyway, so that's the way I looked at elections and 357 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,040 everything that was going on. And so to read a scripture that 358 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:39,480 says in the end, who wins? God picks them. 359 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:45,280 Can't figure that one out. If I was President Trump's 360 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,360 president, and I'm just talking about news that most of you know 361 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:51,160 about, he feels that the election was stolen from him in 362 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:53,680 2020. If I was his pastor and he 363 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,040 called me and said the election was stolen, I would say, oh, 364 00:20:56,040 --> 00:21:00,320 well, God points presidents. I probably wouldn't have went 365 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:04,400 over real well, but it would be something that I would have to 366 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:07,200 say because that's what the Bible says. 367 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,040 Now, that's not to make us passive so that we say, what 368 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:13,440 difference does it make? God rules in heaven. 369 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:18,600 No, this scripture tells us that God always overseas things and 370 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,560 in the end he makes final choices because sometimes He has 371 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:26,200 a bigger plan than we do. So in the process of that 372 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:29,960 operating in the natural world, we all have a right to vote. 373 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,600 We should exercise that. We should all think about the 374 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:37,080 issues and decide those issues from the facts of the time. 375 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:40,760 And also God's word should engage our thinking somewhat. 376 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:44,800 But whatever happens as though we are involved in these things, 377 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:48,000 we shouldn't read something about God being how powerful. 378 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,560 I'll have it take the fight out because we're still involved in 379 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:53,680 this world, but it should always take the sting out. 380 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:55,040 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 381 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:59,040 Because whether it's an election or whether it's something that 382 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:02,800 happens in your life, we have to come to the end and say, you 383 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:05,880 know what? I don't know how anything good 384 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:08,960 can come out of this. And sometimes you look at life 385 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,760 that way, sometimes it defies your understanding and how it 386 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:14,680 could turn out. But we have to believe that all 387 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,440 things work together for good to those who love God and are 388 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:19,080 called upon His purpose. Amen. 389 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:23,520 Tark, Some of you are still trying to figure out what said, 390 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:24,960 how that could all work together. 391 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:28,720 But you know, the Bible also says that no weapon that's 392 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:32,880 formed against you can prosper, and every tongue that rises 393 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,720 against you, you will condemn. For this is the heritage of the 394 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:37,800 Saints. You see, I might be down, but 395 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:40,640 I'm never out because Jesus is on my side, Amen. 396 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:44,480 Or I should say, I'm with him. But the important thing to 397 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:48,000 understand is there comes a point where we walk into a realm 398 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,200 that we don't understand and can't relate to. 399 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:53,720 And there are times when we just have to, just like when we come 400 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:55,960 to church as worshippers, we have to say, you know what? 401 00:22:55,960 --> 00:23:00,440 I don't understand what's going on, but I'm sure God sits on the 402 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:03,880 throne of heaven and he knows what I perhaps don't know. 403 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:07,920 And again, if I was a president's pastor and then he 404 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,000 came back and won, I would say, hey, don't you understand? 405 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,920 God wanted you to be president for two terms, but He just 406 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:15,640 wanted you to take a few years off. 407 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:19,160 In the meantime, however, you want to look at things from a 408 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:21,800 natural perspective. The truth of the matter is we 409 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:27,000 always have to come to the point in time where we say, wow, God 410 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:31,840 does rule, and that should give us a confidence because he is 411 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:35,560 the God of gods, the King of kings and the Lord of Lords. 412 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:37,920 He is the God who knows all things. 413 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:42,320 And one thing we should all know is there are divine 414 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:43,720 appointments. But guess what? 415 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:46,200 We've all been appointed by God to be His. 416 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,600 Amen. So there is a divine purpose in 417 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:52,920 human government. The Bible says that it came from 418 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:55,160 God. No, it isn't like God came down 419 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:57,960 from heaven, said hey, I want you guys to have a government. 420 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:00,920 The truth is he put that within our human nature. 421 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:02,880 That's a part of our natural inclinations. 422 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:06,280 Going back to the earliest part of human history, you'll see 423 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:09,320 there was a gathering together people, because they found out, 424 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:12,640 well, there's power when more than one gets together to get 425 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:14,840 something done. And there always has to be a 426 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:17,120 structure that's called government. 427 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:21,800 And so God says, well, I use human government for your good 428 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:25,160 because it's necessary to have laws, it's necessary to have law 429 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:29,160 enforcement, it's necessary for people to realize it. 430 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:31,040 Well, you can't just do what you want to do. 431 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:36,240 And so God endorses the concept of human government and he uses 432 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:40,040 the concept of human government. But then again, he also 433 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:46,960 exercises his choice when he gets involved, make things work 434 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,680 together for his eternal purpose. 435 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,320 And what we have to know is that works for our purpose. 436 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,520 Now, if I just read that one scripture might say, well, I 437 00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:59,800 know that's in the Bible, but what about this or what about 438 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:01,040 that? Well, we're going to do some of 439 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:04,880 the what abouts today as we talk about this, going back into the 440 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:06,840 Old Testament to the book of Jeremiah. 441 00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:11,600 And it says here, behold, I will make you a tear to yourself and 442 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,440 to all your friends. Now this is a prophecy Jeremiah 443 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:18,080 as a prophet is making to the children of Israel. 444 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:20,560 And they shall fall by the sword of their enemies. 445 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:23,520 In your eyes shall see it. I will give all Judah into the 446 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:26,800 hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to 447 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:30,680 Babylon and slay them with the sword, where I will deliver all 448 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,800 the wealth of the city, All this produce and all this precious 449 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:37,000 things, All the treasures of the kings of Judah, I will give into 450 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:40,680 the hand of their enemies, who will plunder them, seize them, 451 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,960 and do what with them? Carry them to Babylon. 452 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:47,760 So the story I told you about Daniel being in Babylon, it was 453 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,760 prophesied ahead of time by the prophecies. 454 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,640 Now there is a scripture where another prophet says you're 455 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,280 going to be sent to Babylon, but there you're going to be 456 00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:00,280 delivered. Well, how could that work? 457 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:04,360 How could God use captivity? How could God use war? 458 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:07,520 How could God use all these things that totally are against 459 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,400 us? Well, because God is God all the 460 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:13,360 time. The name Babylon is from the 461 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:16,200 word that we take from the Tower of Babel. 462 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:18,840 It speaks about confusion, disorientation. 463 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:22,480 It means you're in a situation that seems disorienting. 464 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:26,400 Seems like how does this all work out and it seems like it's 465 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:28,800 all against you. But as a believer in and God, 466 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:32,280 you say, but even if I'm sent to Babylon, I still have to know 467 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:36,000 God is God at all times. And that's when the prophet 468 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:40,040 said, I'm going to give you into the hands of Babylon. 469 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:43,760 He was a true prophet of God. And he was telling them ahead of 470 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:46,880 time. And that wouldn't have been a 471 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:50,560 popular prophecy. And most people didn't like what 472 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:52,240 he had to say. As a matter of fact, Jeremiah 473 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:54,840 ended up in jail at one point. He certainly had a lot of 474 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:56,720 enemies at many different points. 475 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:00,840 Well, God was speaking to him and He wanted the people to know 476 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,760 time of difficulty would come. It actually was going to be in 477 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:06,800 the fulfillment of the Word because Moses had said, if you 478 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:09,760 don't do what God tells you to do, I'm going to send an army 479 00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:12,680 from outside the country, who's going to shake things up until 480 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:14,720 you begin to realize who you are. 481 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,520 And so that was a part of this process that's going to happen, 482 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:21,800 and God was going to do it. But again, if you lived in 483 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:24,520 Jerusalem, if you lived in the Holy City, if you were a Jew, 484 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:27,760 knowing that you were God's people, it'd be hard for you to 485 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:32,480 believe that God would do that, not necessarily to you, but to 486 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:34,560 the holy City. The temple was God's. 487 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:36,680 How would God ever allow that to happen? 488 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,600 Well, that's why they didn't want to believe what was being 489 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,800 said. Now in this prophecy and 490 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,200 speaking from the book of Jeremiah, it says, therefore do 491 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:50,200 not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, 492 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:53,760 saying, You shall not serve the king of you shall not serve the 493 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:56,280 king of Babylon. But they prophecy a lie to you, 494 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:58,280 for I have not sent them, says the Lord. 495 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:02,200 Yet they prophecy a lie in my name that I may drive you out 496 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,720 and then you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesied to 497 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:08,760 you. And so they were not only saying 498 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:11,880 Babylon's not going to come in and destroy this country. 499 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:15,520 And they were also saying as this process began to happen, 500 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,320 now, whatever you don't do, don't serve the king of Babylon, 501 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,600 Fight against him till the better end because we're going 502 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:24,480 to defeat him. Well, they didn't. 503 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:28,400 And that's why Daniel didn't listen to the false prophets. 504 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:31,240 He listened to people like Jeremiah because when he got 505 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:35,040 sent to Babylon, though, it didn't make any sense, though it 506 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:36,880 cost him a lot. He's like, you know, you know 507 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,800 what, I'm just going to trust that I'm where God wants me to 508 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:43,200 be. And I'm going to still do the 509 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:47,680 best of what I can do for God because I know that my job is to 510 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,080 be his partner, to be faithful to him. 511 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:52,160 And I'm just going to see what God is able to do. 512 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:56,000 And the Lord did amazing things for Daniel and for his 513 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:59,680 companions. But also Jeremiah said, now be 514 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:00,920 careful. There's going to be a lot of 515 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:02,760 people prophesying the wrong thing. 516 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:07,320 Now, when it speaks about false prophets in the Bible, it 517 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:10,160 doesn't necessarily mean they didn't have a gift of prophecy. 518 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:14,120 What it means is because they didn't know that they were 519 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:17,640 facing a lot of temptation along the way, that they had to be 520 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,760 careful and make sure that they weren't going in the wrong 521 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:24,880 direction. We in the body of Christ today, 522 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,760 as a charismatic church, we believe in prophecy. 523 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:31,040 We believe in prophets and we're living in a time when if you 524 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:34,320 watch social media, there's a whole lot of things happening. 525 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:36,880 There's a lot of people were finding out, well, they weren't 526 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,040 really prophets. They were faking other people 527 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:40,600 that weren't doing what they're supposed to do. 528 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,280 And you can throw up your hands and say, how could this happen? 529 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:45,320 Well, it happened in Jeremiah's day. 530 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:49,200 Most of the prophets back then were more concerned about what 531 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:52,480 the king thought of them or how popular they were or how many 532 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:56,600 books they sold or how many appointments they got to speak 533 00:29:56,840 --> 00:30:00,360 here and there, whatever they prophesied to people what they 534 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:03,440 wanted to hear. And you have to understand 535 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,840 something. We don't always hear what we 536 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:08,880 want to hear when we're listening to God. 537 00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:12,920 And if as a pastor, I only preach to you the things you 538 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:16,520 wanted to hear, I wouldn't be a very good pastor because 539 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:19,160 sometimes we have to hear a word this against us. 540 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:22,720 Sometimes we got to reminded, be reminded, hey, we're not in 541 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:27,720 control, we're not God, but we are the children of the most 542 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:29,920 high God. So we should be at all times 543 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:33,880 keeping our focus on him. Maybe So what the prophet 544 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:36,720 Jeremiah said to them, and that's why we have the book of 545 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:38,640 Jeremiah, because they found out he wasn't true. 546 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:41,960 Robert, he said, don't listen to the false prophets. 547 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:45,040 You see, the problem isn't whether there's false prophets. 548 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:49,800 The problem is will God's people discern the word of the Lord? 549 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:53,880 Will we allow ourselves to be mature enough to listen and say, 550 00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:56,120 well, that doesn't go along with the Bible? 551 00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:59,920 Wow, that sounds good. But I don't think that's what 552 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:01,920 God's saying. How many know God wants us to be 553 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:05,400 people of discernment. He wants to be a people with 554 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:07,840 understanding. And so as we walk in these 555 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:11,120 things, we can begin to recognize how that indeed God 556 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:13,920 can do something else like, and I believe it's so important to 557 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,040 learn these things because I believe that God saying to the 558 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,520 body of Christ, we're moving in a time of fast change. 559 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,560 The world is changing so fast. They said since COVID, there's 560 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:26,560 been such a change in the world that just that has had an 561 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:30,640 impact. And today is a day when there's 562 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,160 been a time change that there might be people in the second 563 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:35,440 service who thought they were coming to the first service. 564 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:40,400 And we, we won't tell anybody, but there's all kinds of 565 00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:44,040 evidence that since COVID, it threw up everybody's sense of 566 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:46,360 time. And they're talking about COVID 567 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:48,880 time because they said because of the shutdown, because of 568 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:52,160 things happened, a lot of people have lost their sense of time. 569 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,720 And so some people are saying time's going very fast. 570 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:56,680 Used to be just the old folks said that. 571 00:31:56,680 --> 00:31:59,040 Now everybody says that what's going on? 572 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:01,960 Well, something has happened. Things are changing. 573 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:04,080 And guess what? AI is going to change things all 574 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,120 the more, and in a natural sense, you might not be able to 575 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:09,960 keep up, but if you keep yourself focused on God, you'll 576 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:11,280 be able to keep up. Amen. 577 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:14,760 Matter of fact, if you focus on the Lord, you'll be the head and 578 00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:17,080 not the tail. You'll be above only, and you 579 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:19,840 won't be beneath. Hallelujah. 580 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:23,040 And so we got to hear these kinds of sermons because we got 581 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:26,320 to be ready for the change and know that God wants us to run 582 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:28,920 the race terrace. The world might be changing 583 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:31,720 fast, but I'm believing God's going to get to be energy I've 584 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:36,280 never had before because I'm going to trust in the living God 585 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:40,320 For behold, I will raise and cause to come against Babylon. 586 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:41,560 Wait a minute, what's going on here? 587 00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:46,240 Well, Jeremiah prophesied about the time when the Babylon would 588 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:48,600 come. He would prophecy about the time 589 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:50,440 when people had to accept the reality. 590 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:52,960 Now he's prophesying against Babylon. 591 00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:55,560 He says, For behold, I will raise and cause to come against 592 00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:59,000 Babylon and assemble the great nations from the North Country, 593 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:01,280 and they shall array themselves against her. 594 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:03,520 From there she shall be captured. 595 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,200 Their errors should be like those of an expert warrior. 596 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:10,600 None shall return in vain, and Chaldea shall be a plunder, and 597 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:13,160 all who plunder her shall be satisfied, says the Lord. 598 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:17,960 Because you were glad, because you rejoiced when you destroyed 599 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:21,160 of MyHeritage, because you have grown fat like a heifer, 600 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:24,240 threshing grain, and you bellow like bulls. 601 00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:28,280 Translation of all that God says, Well, Babylon, you might 602 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:31,880 have been the sword that I used against Israel, and you thought 603 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:34,320 you were somebody special, but I'm going to tear you down and 604 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:37,600 show you you only did that because I allowed you to do it, 605 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:40,520 says the Lord. So the prophecy eventually comes 606 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:44,080 to the enemies of God and says divine justice says that might 607 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:46,680 have been something to let you do for a while, but it's not 608 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:49,000 going to be something you're going to do forever, says the 609 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,080 Lord. And this was so important to 610 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:53,240 understand because you read other prophecies. 611 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:57,080 God actually spoke ahead of time and spoke about a king by the 612 00:33:57,080 --> 00:33:59,920 name of Cyrus who would be the head of the medial Persian 613 00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:02,120 Empire that would come in and destroy Babylon. 614 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:05,920 And God would use them, him, Cyrus, to send the children of 615 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:09,320 Israel back to rebuild the city, rebuild the temple. 616 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:14,760 Man, what a God we serve, but God says to the children of 617 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:17,159 Israel through the prophet, you're MyHeritage. 618 00:34:17,159 --> 00:34:19,880 That literally means you're my inheritance. 619 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:23,520 In other words, and all the things that God is doing in the 620 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:27,080 earth, His people are his inheritance. 621 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:31,159 And the natural people love to get an inheritance, talk about 622 00:34:31,159 --> 00:34:33,840 their inheritance. God is an inheritance too. 623 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:38,159 His inheritance is what he's invested in, his people. 624 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:42,840 I want to use the an illustration now about a person 625 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,880 that if you watch the news, you'll know about, because this 626 00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:48,440 person's a Christian. I want to share how a testimony 627 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:52,120 can work in such an amazing way, describing the very principles 628 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:56,600 that I'm talking about here. In 2016, Marco Rubio was running 629 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:58,280 for president. One of the people is running 630 00:34:58,280 --> 00:34:59,920 against, of course, was Donald Trump. 631 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:03,200 They were in a debate and he said all kinds of bad things 632 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:06,840 about Marco Rubio, calling him names and all kinds of things. 633 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:10,160 I'm not sharing this to just Trump. 634 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:13,680 I'm sharing with you so you can understand what kind of position 635 00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:17,440 he was in because, well, shortly after that debate, his campaign 636 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:20,840 began to fall apart and he kind of went into obscurity with 637 00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:23,480 center in Florida. So that's not real obscure, but 638 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:26,320 he just kind of faded from the national scene. 639 00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:29,200 President Trump certainly defeat him in the election, became 640 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:33,520 president, etcetera. Now Marco Rubio was a person who 641 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:37,800 was from a family that had escaped Cuba during the time 642 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:40,120 when the communists came and took over the country. 643 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:44,480 He was part of a diaspora. If you would, a group of people 644 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:49,440 from Cuba who flew, got away from communism, went to Miami 645 00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:53,360 and that that area had to re establish their lives. 646 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:56,160 He would have grown up from hearing from his parents and 647 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:59,440 everybody in his community. Our lands were stolen, our 648 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:02,320 houses were stolen, our country was lost. 649 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:06,040 And I remember when I was in Cuba, one of the pastors took us 650 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:10,360 to a point in the capital city of Havana where they literally 651 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:13,240 killed all the people that were against Castro. 652 00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:17,280 If you were rich, they killed you because you were an enemy of 653 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:19,480 communism. If you were in a position of 654 00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:21,960 government, they killed you because you could be opposition. 655 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:26,880 And literally thousands and thousands of people were killed. 656 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:30,000 Thousands had to leave the country. 657 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:33,760 It was a horrible time. And he would have been somebody 658 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:37,120 raised with that kind of a heritage hearing about those 659 00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:40,760 things. So when President Trump became 660 00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:44,640 president the second time, he asked Marco Rubio to be his 661 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:48,400 Secretary of State. Now, Marco Rubio actually, as a 662 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:50,520 Christian, that's why I followed him. 663 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:54,160 And truthfully, in that debate in 2016, I was on his side, man. 664 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:56,400 I knew he was raising the Catholic Church, but there came 665 00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:58,920 a time when he heard about the Gospel. 666 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:01,080 So he started going to a Bible believing church. 667 00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:03,240 And he was a man of God. He loved his family. 668 00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:04,760 He loved his nation. There are a lot of good 669 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:08,480 attributes that I knew he had, but he wasn't God's choice for 670 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:12,600 that election anyway. But when he was asked to be 671 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:14,800 Secretary of State, I don't know if he had to go. 672 00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:17,960 Wow. He called me all those names and 673 00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:19,600 I'm going to be a part of his cabinet. 674 00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:22,880 Whatever. So he became the Secretary of 675 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:28,000 State and not long into the presidency, the president's 676 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:31,680 national security advisor left his position. 677 00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:34,360 And Trump did something very, very unusual. 678 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:38,920 He made Marco Rubio Secretary of State and national affairs 679 00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:43,320 advisor, if you would. He was given a position, 2 680 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:47,360 positions actually that were not very common at all in American 681 00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:50,840 history, but he was given this very special place. 682 00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:54,400 And the reason this is important too, because as I've been 683 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:57,160 sharing since January 4th, there's a whole lot of things 684 00:37:57,160 --> 00:37:59,800 going on in the world and you can have all kinds of opinions 685 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:01,600 about it. But all know I've been praying 686 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:04,360 for Cuba because we have a church in Havana, Cuba, and I 687 00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:06,160 believe in further freedom. Amen. 688 00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:08,640 Amen. Give the Lord a praise on that. 689 00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:13,960 And there are people that just love the Lord, but they would 690 00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:18,920 love to be a free people, too. But anyway, this past week, as 691 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:21,440 President Trump was talking about something else, he said, 692 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:23,160 yeah. And this week I'm sending Marco 693 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:26,200 Rubio to Cuba because he's negotiating the transfer of that 694 00:38:26,200 --> 00:38:28,280 country. They're leaving communism, and 695 00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:31,000 he's going to be the one that's going to go through the whole 696 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:36,000 process with them. Now, I wasn't just excited about 697 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:40,520 that because I've been praying for Cuba, but I thought, what an 698 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:43,560 amazing story of a person who's a Christian. 699 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:46,800 I'm sure when he was running for president, he thought God was 700 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:48,680 going to help him. I'm sure when he was running for 701 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:50,880 president, he thought, man, if I was president, look what I can 702 00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:54,560 do for the world and for my family and for Cuba, whatever. 703 00:38:55,360 --> 00:39:00,800 But now he's Secretary of State and he's going to Cuba to be the 704 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:06,800 Moses to tell the people it's time to let my people go. 705 00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:11,640 Hallelujah, But I was thinking about this. 706 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:14,880 I I I saw social media to this other guy said, hey, Marco Rio, 707 00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:18,200 who gets his dream job and I was thinking, yeah, that must be a 708 00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:20,920 dream. Can you imagine flying to Cuba 709 00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:24,120 if you or him knowing you're going there to negotiate the 710 00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:26,400 transfer of the leadership of the country, how do you know 711 00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:29,800 he'd have to pinch yourself and go, Oh my gosh, I got is this 712 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:32,880 real? Could this be happening, having 713 00:39:33,480 --> 00:39:36,720 been raised and hearing all these stories, to know that God 714 00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:40,960 would choose me and put me in a place where I'm going to go and 715 00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:44,000 be the deliverer for the people church. 716 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:47,560 I believe that God wants to do something for all of us. 717 00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:49,880 That's a dream where we have to pinch ourselves. 718 00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:53,600 I've shared my stories about how I was healed, the muscular 719 00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:56,200 dystrophy, and I can't even begin to tell you what a 720 00:39:56,200 --> 00:40:00,800 surreal, surreal thing that is. To have all kinds of pain and 721 00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:04,760 see your body going downhill and losing your strength and then 722 00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:06,800 all of a sudden have God changed that? 723 00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:08,960 It really is. It's almost like you look at and 724 00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:13,480 say, how did that even happen? I had to pitch myself and say, 725 00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:17,720 this is real. When I had seizures and God 726 00:40:17,720 --> 00:40:19,840 delivered me. It's the same thing. 727 00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:23,680 And when I look back and hear all the stories about how God 728 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:26,480 spoke to me, and you say you hear the stories, Yeah, because 729 00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:28,240 I keep telling them over and over again. 730 00:40:29,200 --> 00:40:32,520 I hear them for myself because I have seen in my life God do 731 00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:35,560 things that were supernatural. And when he does, and I'm like, 732 00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:39,920 this is like a dream. And the Bible says when the Lord 733 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:43,320 brought back the captive ones of Zion, they'll be like those who 734 00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:47,520 dreamed in church. I believe with all my heart that 735 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:50,200 God is preparing us as a people because I keep hearing the 736 00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:52,520 scripture. I'm going to do that which is 737 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:56,480 exceedingly, abundantly above all that you can ask or think. 738 00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:59,680 Hallelujah. I believe what the Bible says. 739 00:40:59,680 --> 00:41:03,320 I have not seen nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the 740 00:41:03,320 --> 00:41:08,600 heart of man the things that God has prepared for those that love 741 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:10,120 him. So I can say it this way. 742 00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:14,640 I'm looking for another pitch and at my age there's a lot more 743 00:41:14,640 --> 00:41:17,720 to pinch. I don't know what it is about 744 00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:19,880 getting old. Your skin keeps growing long 745 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:23,960 past your body anyway. No wonder these people with 746 00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:27,200 money going get the skin cut off because it just keeps growing. 747 00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:30,240 Or they puff themselves up to fill it out. 748 00:41:30,240 --> 00:41:35,680 Whatever. God has positioned me to pinch 749 00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:38,400 myself. I believe he's pinching. 750 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:41,640 He's going to be causing all of us to get to that point because 751 00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:46,720 God wants to cause the people today to rise up and say, I'm 752 00:41:46,720 --> 00:41:51,040 going to believe that God's going to do something that's so 753 00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:54,480 big and above myself. I might have went through a 754 00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:58,040 situation I can't understand. I might have been in a situation 755 00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:00,680 that seemed like all the world was against me and nobody 756 00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:03,240 understood me. It does not matter because my 757 00:42:03,240 --> 00:42:06,600 God sits on the throne of glory. Hallelujah. 758 00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:12,480 And He's going to do something so awesome as we put our trust 759 00:42:12,480 --> 00:42:14,200 in Him. Can we all bow our heads and 760 00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:20,120 close our eyes for just a moment because we need to stop and say 761 00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:24,640 I might not understand it, I might not know how it's working, 762 00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:29,200 but my best days are yet to come. 763 00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:34,400 I'm going to find out who I really AM. 764 00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:39,920 I'm going to see a path that God has laid out before me. 765 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:46,600 How awesome is God's plan for us? 766 00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:50,080 And really the Bible says is past finding out. 767 00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:52,880 Because if you look at naturally, man, this, this stuff 768 00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:56,840 don't all make sense at all. Can't always put it together, 769 00:42:57,760 --> 00:43:02,880 but I can trust in Him. Father, I pray for Mount Zion 770 00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:06,800 today because you are saying it's time to arise into a whole 771 00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:10,640 new dimension of faith. It's time to rise above your 772 00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:15,200 ashes and your disappointment. It's time to rise and shine, for 773 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:18,800 your light has come and the glory of the Lord is going to be 774 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:22,720 seen upon you. This is Pastor Lauren Coverbius 775 00:43:22,720 --> 00:43:25,280 from Mount Zion Church. We thank you for joining us 776 00:43:25,280 --> 00:43:28,280 today and invite you to connect with our church family by 777 00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:32,040 visiting mountzion.org and following us on social media. 778 00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:33,040 God bless you.