1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,560 I want to open with the scripture I also shared last 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:04,560 week. It says to everything there is a 3 00:00:04,560 --> 00:00:07,800 season and a time for every purpose under heaven. 4 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:12,040 A time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, and a time 5 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:14,680 to pluck up what has been planted. 6 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,360 And today we're going to talk in our opening scripture about the 7 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,080 cycles of life. I've been sharing a lot of 8 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:24,320 historical information these last couple weeks, both on 9 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,600 Wednesday and also Sunday. As you know, I believe with all 10 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:30,840 my heart that the scriptures say without a vision the people 11 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:32,479 perish. So I Mount Zion. 12 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,400 We've always been a people that have followed a vision that God 13 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,200 has given to us. And yet I know with everything 14 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,760 within me, this is a transitional time. 15 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:44,080 It's not just a transitional time in the earth, it's a 16 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,200 transitional time in the body of Christ because I believe God is 17 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:51,280 doing something new, something fresh and something powerful in 18 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,000 the world. It's also a time of generational 19 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:55,440 change. And so I wanted to talk about 20 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:57,280 this, Tate. And I've been seeking the Lord 21 00:00:57,280 --> 00:00:59,880 because I'm like, OK, God, I know what you have spoken so 22 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:02,800 far. Give me an enlargement in my 23 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:07,560 understanding so that I can help prepare this next generation as 24 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,440 it's moving forward. Because I believe that we have a 25 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,920 great future as a local church. We have a great future in God 26 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,280 because we have the God who holds the future. 27 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:18,880 Amen. That's why I like this scripture 28 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:22,800 because it says with God for everything there is a season and 29 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:26,680 there is a time for every purpose under the heavens. 30 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:30,640 We have a God of purpose and He has created us as people of 31 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:32,120 purpose. That's why we should 32 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,040 contemplate, well, what exactly is our purpose? 33 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,360 You will never know a satisfied life unless it's a life of 34 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:41,280 purpose. That's one of the things I've 35 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:44,800 learned over the years of being a minister, especially when I do 36 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:46,640 funerals. Oftentimes when you talk to 37 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,560 people, when someone has passed away, you can tell as they're 38 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,480 talking, they're wanting to know, well, this person did 39 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:54,880 serve a purpose or this was their purposes. 40 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:58,160 This what's they did in our life because there's something 41 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,400 inherent in all of us that we would have purpose. 42 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:03,640 Why? Because we were created in the 43 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:07,280 image and likeness of God. If God's a God of purpose, then 44 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:09,960 we also must be people of purpose. 45 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:13,200 I love the Scripture in the book of Job where it says that 46 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,520 because God is God, no purpose of his can be withheld from him. 47 00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:20,600 So when I go into the Scriptures and I find out God has a 48 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,120 purpose, I know, hey, that's going to come to pass. 49 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,480 And just as I know in my life, if I have a purpose that's 50 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:29,680 God-given, that purpose will come to pass Why? 51 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,760 Because I know about God. But it's important for us to 52 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,120 understand how God does what he does. 53 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:38,560 At Mount Zion, as many charismatic Pentecostal 54 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,200 churches, we believe that God still speaks today. 55 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,160 We believe in the gift of prophecy. 56 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,840 But I have found out that even when God speaks to you, if you 57 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:51,440 don't understand how God thinks or understand his ways, you can 58 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,000 misinterpret what he's saying. That's why I love this story 59 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,160 about Moses because it says the children of Israel knew the acts 60 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:03,920 of God, but Moses knew his ways. And when you know the way God 61 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:07,720 works, then you can have greater understanding of what he speaks 62 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:11,720 to you or really even also what he speaks to us through his 63 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:13,440 scripture. And so it's important for us to 64 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:15,680 know that. It's important to know that God 65 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:20,600 is a God of purpose and God is a God of seasons and also times. 66 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,960 How many know we're in a winter season slapping us in the face? 67 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,400 Amen. I love the change of seasons. 68 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:31,520 Course. I have my favorite season. 69 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:36,400 My wife loves this movie that she watches at Christmas season 70 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,360 and it talks about I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. 71 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,760 I'm not dreaming of a white Christmas at any time in my 72 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:47,760 life, but I know she is. So I'm OK with a short winter 73 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:49,920 season so people can have a white Christmas. 74 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:53,080 And about January 1st, I think it's time for it to start 75 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:54,120 melting. How about you? 76 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,040 Got excited when I was a kid first hearing about global 77 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,120 warming because I'm like, Michigan's going to warm up. 78 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,760 That's all I could think of. I know people are worried about 79 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:07,840 the polar bears or whatever. When I was a little too young to 80 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,920 worry about the polar bears, I read somewhere where polar bears 81 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,360 used to be grizzly bears, but they turned into polar bears 82 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:15,200 when they went N. So I figured, hey, they can go 83 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:17,920 back to their old way of living, get new clothes, whatever. 84 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:24,920 So I decided that I wouldn't enjoy the winter season by 85 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:27,320 finding something to do because that's what people said. 86 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:30,640 Well, if you want to enjoy the winter season, you got to find 87 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:32,320 something to do in. For me, that was my Florida 88 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,920 vacation. I was shocked last week because 89 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:39,440 I was looking at contemplating by winter vacation that the 90 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:43,080 height in Orlando was 45 and the low was 25. 91 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,720 And I'm like that's not global warming, what's going on here? 92 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,200 So I was rebuking that in Jesus name and believing for something 93 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,200 to come and it seems to be working so far. 94 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,160 But anyway, the reason we have different seasons is because 95 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,000 it's a part of the natural order. 96 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:03,160 In order for nature to function well, seasons are necessary. 97 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:07,400 Now, in tropical states, they don't have the same seasons that 98 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,360 we do, or they don't at least operate the same way. 99 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,800 But you'll always find out there is a season like the winter 100 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:18,560 season, where it's time for things to die out, and then 101 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:22,080 there's the spring for things to come back to life. 102 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,360 And then there's the summer, which is the growing season. 103 00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:29,040 And then comes fall, which is, well, the world's falling apart 104 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,920 because here's winter coming. But anyway, there is this 105 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,320 process of change that we're going through, and every season 106 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:39,040 has a good part to it. So we have to understand about 107 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:42,000 seasons and we have to understand about times. 108 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:46,240 Even with life, as you grow and age in life, you find out that 109 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:50,000 every era or time of our life is a season. 110 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,040 So you have to learn what season you're in and really make the 111 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:57,040 best of that season because life is meant to be good all the way 112 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:00,360 from the beginning to the end. Damian and I believe that God 113 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:02,840 gives us the good life. And so I'm always looking for 114 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:03,960 the good life. And guess what? 115 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,680 I found it because when I found Jesus, I found the source of 116 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,120 life and I'm walking in His Word and walking in His spirit. 117 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,400 I've been able to continue to walk in the life of the covenant 118 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:18,160 and that's why I love my job of encouraging other people to find 119 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:20,840 out. There is a way of life that all 120 00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:23,560 of us need to know, appreciate and understand. 121 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,320 Now it's important again for us to know about seasons because 122 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:31,520 when you understand that life is about seasons and times, you've 123 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,680 realized that there's a good part to ever season. 124 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,360 Some you like better than others, but every season has a 125 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:42,000 part that you have to sew or prepare for the next season. 126 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,360 And so it's important for us to understand there are cycles to 127 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:47,520 life. I put up here something I wanted 128 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:52,120 to share because you can have cycles of life or circles of 129 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:53,360 life. What are you talking about, 130 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:55,640 Pastor Lauren? Well, it's important for us to 131 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,440 understand that history has cycles. 132 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:01,600 This is something I learned a few years back, and I've shared 133 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:04,040 the Scripture a couple times because I think it's so 134 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,320 important when we look at history that we see it in the 135 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,760 cyclical fashion, just like we do with the seasons. 136 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:15,320 Because history is an ongoing process of change. 137 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:19,240 And what seeds are sown at one season's going to be fruit to 138 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:21,920 the next season. Now, unfortunately, as 139 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:24,800 Christians, often times the emphasis is when is this all 140 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,760 going to end? People get saved so they can go 141 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:29,520 to heaven. They don't want to think too 142 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,600 much about what they can get in between there, but there's all 143 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:35,720 kinds of good things. And when Jesus Christ left the 144 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:39,280 earth, he said, I'm coming back. And so people have been looking 145 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,160 for him to return. And so we again, even in 146 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:44,400 history, think about when is the ending. 147 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:49,600 But God wants us to understand about cycles of time, sowing the 148 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:55,520 proper seasonal understanding so that whenever the end comes or 149 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:59,200 whenever there's a seasonal change, we will have done what's 150 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,120 necessary to bring about the best future. 151 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:07,120 And I've learned that history has cycles or seasons to it, and 152 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:09,120 that's a very important thing to understand. 153 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:11,320 You might hear this from time to time. 154 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,720 People will debate about history, if you would. 155 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:18,120 And I heard a lot recently in the last year or so, for some 156 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,320 reason people are saying, well, remember, history will repeat 157 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:23,560 itself. Then I heard, I don't know where 158 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,600 it came from, but usually on the media, they'll pick up some kind 159 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,200 of theme and everybody starts talking about it. 160 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,480 And they said, well, history doesn't repeat itself, but it 161 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:35,400 does rhyme. Well, it it kind of is the same, 162 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,840 but it's not the same. Well, when I was a kid and I 163 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:42,919 fell in love with studying history, I remember a quote from 164 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:47,720 Winston Churchill where he said if you don't learn from history, 165 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,920 you are doomed to repeat its mistakes. 166 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,800 So I always thought that the reason I want to know about 167 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:58,360 history is so that when you make a mistake, you don't make the 168 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:02,280 mistake over again. That's what civilization often 169 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:04,320 does. That's what people often do. 170 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,320 And God's saying to us as a people, you know, you need to 171 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:11,720 recognize that history does not have to repeat itself. 172 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:15,120 Now, what does repeat itself? And This is why it's good to 173 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:18,920 think about the seasons because the seasons repeat themselves. 174 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:23,040 There are good times and there are bad times. 175 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:25,840 And I'll just say there's in between times, if you would, 176 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:30,120 because that's the way life is. And we can be sure whether we're 177 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:33,560 in economics or whether we're studying politics or whatever, 178 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,800 there's going to be seasons. There are going to be times, and 179 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,120 those seasons will repeat themselves. 180 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:42,840 But again, history itself doesn't repeat because you can 181 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:45,320 make choices that will change your future. 182 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:46,840 Can I hear her name, men, on that? 183 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:50,840 When you give your life to the Lord, how many you know you've 184 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:53,400 made a choice about your eternal life. 185 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:56,840 And every time you come to church, hear the word of the 186 00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:00,480 Lord, go to the table of the Lord, you have an opportunity to 187 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:02,920 make a choice about your now life. 188 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,760 And the more you're willing to adjust your life to God, the 189 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:10,160 more you're going to experience the blessings that God has for 190 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,360 each and every one of us. Now last week I also shared this 191 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:15,320 scripture. It says, but know this, that in 192 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:17,960 the last days, perilous times will come. 193 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:21,320 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, 194 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,440 boasters, proud blasphemers, disobedient to parents, 195 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:29,640 unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanders without 196 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:34,400 self-control, brutal despisers of good traitors, headstrong 197 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:38,720 hottie, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having 198 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,360 a form of godliness be denying his power from such a people 199 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:45,040 turn away. I put over this the last days 200 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:47,000 because that's what he's talking about here. 201 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:50,880 But again, so oftentimes because think people think in terms of 202 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:53,880 the last days is right before Jesus returns. 203 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:56,920 Whenever you read a scripture like that, you think it's only 204 00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:59,520 about when Jesus is getting ready to return. 205 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:04,480 But again, if you look at history as cycles and seasons, 206 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:06,680 you'll understand the through history. 207 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:10,800 There's a lot of times what Timothy or Peter or Jesus talk 208 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:14,400 about concerning the last days. They've been true many times 209 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:18,720 through history because there's been cycles of history and 210 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:22,200 things get bad. But then calamity often times 211 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,320 will come, or judgment will come, or mad behave, bad 212 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:28,840 behaviors come to their fullness, and then it's time to 213 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,640 have an opportunity for something fresh in life. 214 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:34,400 And so This is why it's important for us to understand 215 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,240 that we should not just read a scripture like that and think in 216 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:41,760 terms of the end of time or the end of our life, but perhaps an 217 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:45,760 end of a cycle, But also to notice what it says here about 218 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:49,600 the power of godliness. That word literally means to 219 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:51,880 live a godly life. How do I live a godly life? 220 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,600 Will I study the scriptures? And I live according to the 221 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:56,960 word. If you want to have power in 222 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:58,840 your life, you got to live according to the Word. 223 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:02,640 As a charismatic Pentecostal Christian, I believe that 224 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:05,760 there's power after that. The Holy Ghost has come, and I 225 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:09,000 believe that through the many spiritual gifts that God gives 226 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:10,520 to us, there's added power to that. 227 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:12,880 But the foundation is the Scripture. 228 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:15,760 You got to start with that or none of the rest is going to 229 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:20,040 really add to anything. But as you build on the Word and 230 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:23,080 begin to walk farther in God, the more you do so, you're going 231 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:27,120 to find out you're going to lose the power of God in your life. 232 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:31,080 And that's why I love to talk about the church and our place, 233 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:34,400 because we have responsibility to change the world in which we 234 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:36,600 live. And that's why I've been talking 235 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,240 about the great awakenings in our country, because the Church 236 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:42,480 of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the history of the 237 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:47,480 United States of America has been very vital in influencing 238 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:51,440 our world, both as salt and life to produce change. 239 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:54,400 And I don't know about you, but I want to continue to be that 240 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:57,640 influence. And the reason I do is not just 241 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,440 about my country, but it's about my children, it's about my 242 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:02,560 grandchildren, it's about the future. 243 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:06,160 We need to make that proper commitment. 244 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:11,880 Now in Revelation chapter 19. This is basically the sum of the 245 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:15,440 matter for God. I heard, as it were, the voice 246 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:19,200 of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters, as the 247 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:23,360 sound of mighty Thunder, and saying Hallelujah for the Lord 248 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:27,400 God omnipotent ranked. Let us be glad and rejoice, Give 249 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,000 Him glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has 250 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,560 come. Why, well, his wife has made 251 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:36,480 herself ready, and to her it was granted be a raid. 252 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,240 And fine linen, clean and bright for the fine linen. 253 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:42,080 It is the righteous acts of the Saints. 254 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:44,760 Now the reason I put up here, the final chapter, because 255 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:48,280 people often talk about Jesus coming and they'll use the 256 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:51,400 scriptures that I mentioned earlier, ones like that. 257 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:55,840 So they're looking for the times of the end and often times 258 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:58,760 speculating about the Antichrist, the beast, many, 259 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:01,520 many different things. But these scriptures tell us 260 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:04,800 what the end is going to be like, because this is John 261 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:10,240 getting the revelation and #1 he understood that the Lord God, 262 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:13,240 omnipotent reigns. What does that mean? 263 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:15,520 It means that God is all powerful. 264 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:18,640 I mean, when you really believe that with everything within your 265 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:20,400 heart, it changes how you look at life. 266 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:23,320 It changes how you look at history. 267 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:26,280 That's why I can always go in history and I can see the God 268 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,680 part. And if I don't, I go and I pray 269 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,520 and say, Lord, I want to see the God part here. 270 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:34,400 And that's something I'll be talking about today is I have 271 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:36,120 done that. I know that God has given me 272 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,600 some understanding about some things so that I can walk with 273 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:42,160 more wisdom and understanding than the time in which I live. 274 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:46,920 But because I know that the Lord is all ruling in all powerful, I 275 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:49,800 never feel that the world is out of control. 276 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:53,800 My life is out of control. I need to just always sit back 277 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:56,320 and say, OK God, what is it that you're doing? 278 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:58,200 Because I know you're doing something. 279 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:02,680 And I know that he loves us. I know that he cares about us. 280 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:06,680 And I know that some way, somehow, all things work 281 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,520 together for good to those who love God and are called 282 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,720 according to His purpose. Now, I do preach something 283 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:16,000 that's very important, and that is, as a church, we want to 284 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:18,360 become everything that God has called us to be. 285 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:22,560 Well, that's so important because the end of the age is 286 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:24,240 when the Bride has made herself ready. 287 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:26,560 So how do you know? We need to know what that means. 288 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:29,680 Lord, we the church are your bride. 289 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:32,520 We want to get ready. What is it that you want us to 290 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:34,800 do? Now, I found out over the years 291 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,560 of ministry, all kinds of people have ideas about what we should 292 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:41,880 be doing, but we need to find out what the Word of God says we 293 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:43,400 should be doing. Amen, church. 294 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:48,480 And so the end of time comes when God says, OK, the bride has 295 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,960 made herself ready. Now this is important because I 296 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,080 mean, you know that you can only be saved because of the blood of 297 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,920 Jesus Christ. You cannot experience life 298 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,360 because of the power of the Almighty God. 299 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,400 But we also must understand that God is calling us to mature. 300 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:07,880 So there comes a point where we say, well, Lord, what can I do 301 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:10,560 to make myself ready? What can I do? 302 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:13,440 Just like when we have our baby dedications as parents, we 303 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,680 should be saying, well, what can I do so that my kids can have 304 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:18,640 the best life? What can I do? 305 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:21,600 So they they find the Lord because in the end, that's what 306 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:22,960 matters most. Amen. 307 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:27,440 And so we need to be looking at life and every aspect of it and 308 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:31,720 saying, Lord, what can I do to be ready to give glory and honor 309 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:34,480 and praise to your name? Now, having said that, I want to 310 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:39,640 make an important point here about something concerning the 311 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:43,360 Kingdom of God. It says again, the Kingdom of 312 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:46,280 heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and 313 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:50,160 gathered some of every kind, which when it was full they drew 314 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:52,920 to the shore, and they sat down and gathered the good into 315 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:56,520 vessels, but threw the bad away. So we'll be at the end of the 316 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:58,240 age. The angels will come forth, 317 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:02,640 separate the wicked from among the just, and cast out into the 318 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:05,280 furnace of fire. There will be wailing and 319 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:08,880 gnashing of tea. And so it's so important for us 320 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:10,839 to understand this very important principle. 321 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,520 And that is when God does something just like harvest, he 322 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,079 says it's just like a fisherman. And he's describing the 323 00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:20,760 fisherman of his time because they would go out into the lake, 324 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,880 go out into the sea, whatever. And the best way to get the most 325 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,319 fish is, well, they'd have what was called a dragnet that throw 326 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:32,400 the net out into the water and they would drag it and then they 327 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,160 would try to get it full as they could. 328 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:35,760 And then they were bringing another boat. 329 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:40,480 The more the merrier. But as they put the dragnet of 330 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:43,240 fish in the boat, they obviously had to go through it because, I 331 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:45,640 mean, you know, sometimes you're not going to just catch fish. 332 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:50,080 You might catch garbage. You might catch fish that you 333 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:53,200 don't want or some kind of creature that you're like, I 334 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:54,520 don't even want to touch that thing. 335 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,120 So what do you do? You go through that sorting 336 00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:00,320 process, if you would. Now Jesus said that's the way 337 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,760 the Kingdom of God is. God goes through a sorting 338 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:08,000 process in our lives. He does a sorting process 339 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:11,440 because as a part of him bringing you to maturity and 340 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:13,800 helping you in life, how many know there's some things He's 341 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:17,640 going to do from time to time to help you get better at what He 342 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,920 wants you to do. And so God works in our life, 343 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:24,920 and sometimes there's a pruning process that's involved. 344 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,000 And even as it pertains to the Kingdom of God, if you're a 345 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,960 Christian, any length of time, you know that not everybody that 346 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:34,080 starts, ends. A lot of times people will start 347 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,680 and before you know it, you don't see them anymore. 348 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:38,440 Why? Well, they didn't make the 349 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:42,720 commitment that was necessary. And God says my people need to 350 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,680 be committed. And so when we understand how 351 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:50,560 this works, there is a starting process all the time and we have 352 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:53,400 to unfortunately watch that because I hate it when somebody 353 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,000 has a good experience with the Lord, but then they give up 354 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:59,280 along the way. I remember years ago as they had 355 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:01,760 what was called the Church Growth movement, they said 356 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:05,080 churches need to understand how to close the back door because 357 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:07,480 people are coming in the front door and leaving out the back 358 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:10,400 door. Well, there is a place for 359 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:12,360 understanding. You need to help people the best 360 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:15,280 you can, but you also have to understand that not everybody's 361 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:19,040 going to stay and most of them aren't going to sneak out the 362 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:20,640 back door. They usually go out the front 363 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:22,320 door yelling and screaming or whatever. 364 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,720 There's going to be problems perhaps along the way, but you 365 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:29,120 have to understand this sorting processes all, all kind of 366 00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:34,080 necessary and often times can seem in our mind busy, messy, 367 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:37,720 But sometimes these things have to happen in order for the best 368 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,720 to come. And so this sorting process is a 369 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,480 part of God's process in order to bring forth the best of what 370 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,480 he's building. Because God is into not just 371 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:49,400 quantity. How do you know he's in 372 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,120 equality? And this is one of the things 373 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:55,400 God wants to change concerning the mindset of so many 374 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:57,880 Christians. Because God says, I want to have 375 00:19:57,880 --> 00:19:59,880 the right quality. I want a bride that's going to 376 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:02,760 make herself ready. I wanted people that say, wait a 377 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,680 minute, I'm a child of God, but I want to be a son of the most 378 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:07,960 high God. I want to be led by the Spirit. 379 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,240 And so we have to open up ourselves to do these things. 380 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:14,320 And that's our goal as a local church, to do these things that 381 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:16,360 we might fulfill the purposes of God. 382 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,320 Now having said that, I want to share this scripture again, a 383 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:23,040 part of last week's, but I'm going at a different angle with 384 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:24,440 all these. That's why it's necessary to 385 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:28,600 repeat them. Therefore he says, awake you who 386 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:32,520 sleep arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. 387 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,640 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but 388 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:40,480 as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 389 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:46,360 Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the 390 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:50,000 Lord is. Now for a few weeks now, and 391 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,240 both Wednesday and Sundays, like I said, I'm talking, talked 392 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:55,520 about the awakening. Why? 393 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:58,600 Well, because America was birthed with a great awakening 394 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:02,000 in the 1700s. Preachers came here and told 395 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:06,160 people you must be born again and formed a framework and a 396 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:08,360 spiritual foundation for our country. 397 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:11,560 That was awesome. And then from there there was a 398 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:14,320 second great awakening where people were learning about the 399 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:17,400 power of godliness. Now it's important to have a 400 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:19,280 Christian life as a part of this. 401 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:22,640 And after that came the what was called the holiness and 402 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:25,720 Pentecostal movement. That was the third awakening. 403 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:29,840 And today I want to talk about what some call the 4th awakening 404 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:32,720 and the reason I say some because there's some debate 405 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:35,360 about it and I'll explain why. And that is simply this. 406 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:39,320 As I mentioned before, awakenings are the church allows 407 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,640 something to happen in the the church that's so powerful it 408 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:46,840 impacts our society. Now it's important to understand 409 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:50,800 when it says we need to awaken ourselves because that means 410 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,960 sometimes we just get a little on the lazy side. 411 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:57,280 Sometimes we start falling asleep because that's what it 412 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:00,080 says. Wake yourself up, you who sleep, 413 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,760 because sometimes we just kind of settle into life and get into 414 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,080 our spiritual napping. If you would thus sayeth the 415 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:10,040 Lord. It's time to awaken yourself, 416 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:11,520 says the mighty God. Amen. 417 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:14,480 This is a time for a fresh awakening. 418 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:18,480 This is a time for us to open up ourselves to God as never 419 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:20,800 before. Not only do we need to awaken 420 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:24,480 ourselves, but we need to walk in the full wisdom that God has 421 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:27,480 given us for this time. And that's why I'm seeking the 422 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:30,600 Lord the way I am at this time, because I believe it's so 423 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:34,040 vitally important that we tune ourself into God. 424 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:38,160 Because these are, like the one scripture said, perilous times. 425 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:42,480 These are times when we need to be very aware what's going on. 426 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,160 Because if we don't, we'll respond emotionally. 427 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:51,120 We'll respond to how we feel about the situation, and we have 428 00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:56,080 to understand that we've got to walk in the wisdom of God in 429 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:59,480 order for us to navigate the times in which we live. 430 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:03,320 And also we need to walk with understanding. 431 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:07,640 And this is such a vital time because I believe we can walk 432 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,440 with understanding in the things that God has for us. 433 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,520 Now one of the reasons I was mentioning how this is a time of 434 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:18,680 a new awakening, but looking back, what was the other 435 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:20,720 awakening was their 4th awakening. 436 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:23,640 And what they were talking about is something that happened in 437 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:28,480 the 1960s. I was born in 1954, so the 60s 438 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:31,160 were the time when I had my growing up years going to 439 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:33,440 school. And as I shared last weekend 440 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,920 many times before, I was very involved in current events and 441 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,440 history from a very early age. So I have a lot of understanding 442 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,480 about what happened in the secular world as well as the 443 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:47,040 church, even beyond my years. And when I look back, it was an 444 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:52,000 amazing time in the Lord in the 1960s we had which was called 445 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,480 the charismatic movement. And what happened is just like 446 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,400 the Bible says that God will pour out a spirit upon all 447 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,680 flesh, and your sons and daughters will prophecy, your 448 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,520 old men will during dreams, for I will pour out my spirit upon 449 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,400 all flesh. And that was the theme of the 450 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:09,320 1960s. And Alloy was God pouring out 451 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:16,360 His Spirit in churches that were Pentecostal and charismatic, but 452 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:20,160 he also was pouring out his Spirit on churches that did not 453 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,320 believe in these things. Am I supposed to keep going or 454 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:28,000 what? Because it's so important for us 455 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,440 to understand God is the God of all the earth. 456 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,880 Amen, Church, Amen. And as we walk with God, we have 457 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,400 to understand that sometimes as God is working, he does things 458 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:40,920 that are strange to us. And when the Spirit of the Lord 459 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:43,960 began to be poured out upon all flesh, people were getting 460 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,640 filled with the Holy Spirit that in our circle, we didn't even 461 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,840 believe they were saved. We grew up and believed there 462 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,320 was a certain way to get saved. And when all of a sudden we're 463 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,640 finding out that the Lutherans are getting filled with the 464 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:57,160 Spirit and the Catholics are getting filled with the Spirit, 465 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:58,760 we're like, how can they get filled with the Spirit? 466 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:01,760 They're not even saved. How we know God had a different 467 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:05,240 mindset than we did, Amen. Thank you, Jesus, that you don't 468 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:08,200 think the way we do. But anyway, that was the times 469 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,400 in which we live. It was a great move of God. 470 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:12,760 And through the charismatic movement, they say that 471 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:17,840 literally 500 million people have been baptized in the Holy 472 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:19,240 Spirit. How we know that's an amazing 473 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:25,640 thing, Amen. Now, in 1968 or so, there was 474 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:27,560 what was called the Jesus People movement. 475 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:29,840 It was a counterculture to the counterculture. 476 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:33,040 When I was growing up in the 60s, there was a counterculture 477 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:37,040 movement which the people in it we called hippies at the time, 478 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:40,520 and they were against the culture of their parents and 479 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:43,560 they were involved in all kinds of demonstrations. 480 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:45,960 We had a war at the time. They were against the war, 481 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,000 against all the different institutions. 482 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:51,480 But God had a solution to that. He started the Jesus People 483 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:53,520 Movement. And again, it was, it's the same 484 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:57,280 kind of a thing because hippies start getting saved, hippies 485 00:25:57,280 --> 00:25:58,840 start getting filled with the Holy Spirit. 486 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:01,360 And a lot of people didn't even want to let them come to church 487 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:03,320 because they're like, you can't come to church looking like 488 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:06,680 that. They had a style all their own. 489 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,680 Sometimes that style meant don't take a bath, don't use deodorant 490 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:12,960 kind of thing. So it wasn't just how they 491 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:15,360 looked, it was how they smelled perhaps as well. 492 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:18,400 But when people were open to what God was doing, there was a 493 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,840 great move of God. And I was raised in church, so 494 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,440 it wasn't that I found the Lord and the Jesus People movement. 495 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:27,920 But it was at that time, at age 17, I received the baptism of 496 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:30,760 the Holy Spirit and began to operate in the gifts of the 497 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:34,840 Spirit and was getting ready for the move that God had for me and 498 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:38,480 being trained for the ministry. And so it was this very awesome 499 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:41,840 time that God was doing amazing things in the earth. 500 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,600 There was also a revitalization in that time when people began 501 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:48,720 to say we need to do something about our government. 502 00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:51,640 People get involved in politics. People got involved in all kinds 503 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,360 of social issues. Now, the reason that this is 504 00:26:54,360 --> 00:26:58,480 significant is, as I mentioned, in An Awakening, it isn't just 505 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:02,960 that people get made alive by the power of God, but they have 506 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,680 an impact on the world. And when I look back, I'm like, 507 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,240 Lauren, it doesn't seem like I could call this an awakening 508 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:11,200 myself because it doesn't seem like we have that much of an 509 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:14,640 impact on our world. And that's when the Lord began 510 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:18,000 to speak to me because I'm like, Lord, how should I explain this 511 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:21,560 or what should I see? Having again, grown up in the 512 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:25,520 1960s, as I mentioned last week, you go to public schools, they 513 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:29,120 enforce Christian concepts and understanding and practice 514 00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:32,800 because we were pretty much what you'd call a Christian society 515 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,320 at the time. And most people, because society 516 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,320 was Christian, everybody else was pretty much Christian as 517 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:40,760 well. So when I was growing up, if you 518 00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:43,440 asked somebody, are you a Christian, almost everybody say 519 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:45,040 yes. Do you go to church? 520 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,200 Almost everybody would say yes. Did they go to church? 521 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:52,320 Not all the time, but everybody had A tag they could wear. 522 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:55,680 And everybody talked about going to church and they had some kind 523 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:59,880 of experience that they could relate to and say, well, I'm a 524 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:03,160 Presbyterian, I'm a Methodist, I'm a Baptist, I'm a 525 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:06,400 Pentecostal. And so we could talk about these 526 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,600 things. But as I look back and I began 527 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:13,840 to realize that even though we officially had this religious 528 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,400 culture, if you would, I remember one day thinking about 529 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:20,000 when I was a kid and people were talking about, yeah, that that 530 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:21,760 was so great when you were a kid, how everybody was a 531 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:23,080 Christian. I'm like, I didn't know any 532 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,560 Christians when I was a kid. Of course, my definition of 533 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:28,880 Christian was a little more narrow than it is today. 534 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:32,560 However, it was true that most of the young people were real, 535 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:35,240 just living like everybody else, as far as I could tell. 536 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:39,760 And as I look back at that, of course, there is a process when 537 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:41,840 even people have raised in the church, they go through 538 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:44,720 different phases of their life where perhaps they're not 539 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,400 exactly practicing what they preach. 540 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,240 But it is also true that there was a whole lot of people who 541 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:55,680 had just societal Christianity, but not the real thing. 542 00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:00,440 And because of that, there was a big change that occurred in our 543 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:01,840 world. And I want to share some 544 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,960 information with you that I think is a very relevant When I 545 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:07,560 was a kid in the 60s, most people were what you call a 546 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:10,360 mainline Protestant. Mainline Protestant church 547 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,960 attendance, however, has experienced A profound long term 548 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,720 decline since the 1960s, dropping from majority of 549 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:22,080 Christian adults to only about 11 to 15% in the 19. 550 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,840 In the 2000 twenties, average weekly attendance has fallen 551 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:30,280 significantly with some denominations losing up to 50% 552 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:32,760 of the members in just two decades. 553 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:35,760 Now I want you to see this information because it's very 554 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,440 important. Some of the denominational 555 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,960 declines, and this is just since the year 2000. 556 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:46,920 If you go back to the 60s as it was reported, 50% of the people 557 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:48,720 were mainline Christians at the time. 558 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:51,720 Now it's more in the neighborhood of 11 to 12%. 559 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:57,280 So back since that time, since the 2000 year marker here, the 560 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:01,080 Presbyterian Church has declined 50% in attendance, United Church 561 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:06,880 of Christ 43 percent, Episcopal Church 32 to 36%, United 562 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:11,720 Methodist Church 24 to 31, Evangelical Lutheran Church 38 563 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:13,760 to 41. Now, the reason I wanted to 564 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,480 mention all these is because number one, a lot of people 565 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:19,960 won't even know these, the denominations were around that 566 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:23,680 much because most people do not attend these kinds of churches 567 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:25,600 anymore. But in the 60s, they were 568 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:29,120 mainline because if you were Protestant, 50% of the people 569 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:31,760 would have said they belong to one of these mainline churches. 570 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:35,880 About 35% of Americans would say they were Catholic. 571 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:39,560 And in between there were the Pentecostal full Gospel of 572 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:42,760 Baptist groups of people and other French groups as well. 573 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:46,840 But the important thing to note is since the 60s, there's been a 574 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:50,080 whole change in the church environment. 575 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:53,560 Now some secularists when they see information like this and 576 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:56,880 they will say, look at America used to be very religious and 577 00:30:57,040 --> 00:30:59,360 very Christian, but there's a great decline. 578 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:02,120 And they'll say there's a larger number of people that are non 579 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:04,000 affiliated. There's a larger number of 580 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,760 people that don't really believe in God anymore. 581 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:09,520 And so they're wanting you to think that we're becoming more 582 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:13,400 and more secular along the way. But actually something it 583 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,600 happened that they don't always take note of for sure and don't 584 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:20,760 quite understand is that when God began to pour out his Spirit 585 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:25,320 upon all flesh, what happened is people were awakened. 586 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:28,080 They were making some choices along the way. 587 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:32,040 And that was, wait a second, where can I go to be fed? 588 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:35,720 Where can I go to experience something that I've experienced 589 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,320 in the Lord and actually build upon it? 590 00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:42,680 Now, this is a very important observation because many of what 591 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:46,360 we call the main light churches, if you were to talk to their 592 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:49,720 leaders today, you would find out they're not too much in the 593 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:53,160 Bible anymore. Oftentimes social issues are 594 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:56,360 much more important than leading people the Lord. 595 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:58,560 They don't talk much about being born again. 596 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:02,600 They don't talk much about the need to live a Christian life or 597 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:06,400 that godliness I was talking about earlier where it says some 598 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,920 have a form of godliness, but they deny the power of living a 599 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:12,640 godly life. Well, unfortunately, that's what 600 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:16,280 happened to all of these particular denominations. 601 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:19,840 That's why the Bible says the Kingdom of God sometimes 602 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:23,000 involves some sorting, if you would, because sometimes an 603 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:27,440 organization can even start out very dynamic, as many of these 604 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:31,880 were in time. But in time, they also began to 605 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:36,080 move away from the things that they were originally birthed in. 606 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:41,200 And unfortunately, this change affected the fiber of American 607 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:45,440 Society and the pandemic added to that. 608 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:50,040 That's why I've shared since the time of COVID 2020 that God said 609 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:52,640 this is a marker, if you would, where there's going to be big 610 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:56,760 changes that are just from this. And the what the pandemic did is 611 00:32:56,800 --> 00:33:00,720 it actually accelerated the decline of churches that were 612 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:02,880 not flowing in the things that God had. 613 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:07,480 And the most visible losses were in the United Methodist Church, 614 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:14,000 which literally experienced total schism with 62125 615 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:18,480 conservative congregations leaving the denomination. 616 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:20,080 Why did they do that? Why? 617 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:24,400 Because many of the denominational leaders had 618 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:27,800 decided, well, we don't need to live according to the Bible. 619 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:31,400 And again, they're becoming more humanistic in their approach, 620 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:36,600 humanistic as far as secular humanist versus truly humanist, 621 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:39,240 which God is a humanist because God loves people. 622 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:43,200 Can you say Amen to that? But God also loves us enough to 623 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:46,320 tell us we should live the way he wants us to live because 624 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:48,200 that's why he created us. Amen. 625 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:51,160 And so it's vital for us to understand that. 626 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:56,160 Well, again, as I was praying and saying, now, Lord, what 627 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:59,080 about the 60s seventy? What about my generation, which 628 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:01,080 would call the baby boomer generation? 629 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:05,160 And one day I just was looking at these statistics and Lord 630 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:07,440 says this is what your generation did. 631 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:11,320 Through my generation, the baby mover generation it was called, 632 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:15,960 they were very anti institutions that were not living up to the 633 00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:18,159 purpose for which they were created. 634 00:34:18,639 --> 00:34:22,040 And in the beginning, a lot of that was being anti government 635 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:24,800 and anti against the establishment of the government, 636 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:27,280 if you would. But when the Lord began to move 637 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:30,960 upon them as well, they did the same thing in the churches that 638 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:33,719 they were part of. Because when they went to church 639 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:35,920 and they found the Lord, they're like, I'm not going to stay in 640 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:37,760 this church if you're not going to preach the Bible. 641 00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:40,360 I'm not going to stay in this church if you're not going to 642 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:43,480 teach me how to walk in the things that God has for me. 643 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:48,800 And so there was a breakdown of the former way of doing things 644 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:53,880 into a new move of God, which today the number or percentage 645 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:57,760 of people that go to church is the same as it was in the 1960s. 646 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:00,960 The only difference is there's been a whole lot of shaking 647 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:05,120 going on. There's what we have seen that 648 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,000 there. Well, it's just not the way it 649 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,960 used to be. And now something totally new is 650 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:13,600 transpiring because there was what I'll call the switcheroo 651 00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:17,800 awakening, which is people like, OK, if this isn't going to give 652 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:21,960 me what I want in God, this is what I'm going to go and look 653 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:23,920 for. And so the Lord said to me, he 654 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:27,000 said, no, Your generation were the ones who understood what it 655 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:31,000 meant to be called out. And because they were called 656 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:35,120 out, they left what was established and have started new 657 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:38,480 things, says the Lord. But this is now the time for the 658 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:42,640 generational change and to celebrate what was there and 659 00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:45,960 understand what is next. It says, and you are a what? 660 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:51,200 Chosen generation, A royal priesthood, a holy nation, his 661 00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:55,680 own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who 662 00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:59,080 called you at a darkness into his marvelous light, who once 663 00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:02,960 were not a people, but are now the people of God, who had not 664 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:07,400 obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 665 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:11,240 Now put over this the new day. And he said, you're a chosen 666 00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:14,160 generation. Every generation is chosen. 667 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:17,280 Now the word there means seed. So we, the people of God, how 668 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:18,800 many know you've been chosen of God? 669 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:22,720 But we also have to understand that every generation has been 670 00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:26,120 chosen for something. And So what my generation did 671 00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:29,840 naturally when God poured out His spirit, they did it for him 672 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:34,240 because he began, they began to demand of the institutions and 673 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:37,760 organizations, well, let's do this the way we're supposed to 674 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:39,560 do this. And that's why they brought 675 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,400 revolutionary change once they found the Lord. 676 00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:46,520 Now the Lord says that was a generation that was chosen with 677 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:50,440 a very specific purpose, says the mighty God. 678 00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:54,360 But now that you understand that you are chosen generation, you 679 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:56,840 need to understand there's an impartation to the next 680 00:36:56,840 --> 00:36:58,840 generation. But it starts with 681 00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:01,440 understanding. We are first of all a people 682 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:03,120 that have been called out of something. 683 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:07,240 Now I'm sharing this in a prophetic mode if you would, 684 00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:10,160 because I believe that God said that we may need to make the 685 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:13,520 announcement that everyone of us need to know that God has called 686 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:15,440 us out of something. Can I hear an Amen on that? 687 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:18,840 Some are here today. I've never yet committed 688 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,440 yourself to the Lord. God says it's time to come out 689 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:23,880 of the world and come after me, says the mighty God. 690 00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:27,120 For some, it's I've been living a certain way and doing a 691 00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:30,080 certain thing and now you're hearing the voice of God and God 692 00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:33,640 said it's time for you to come out, says the mighty God. 693 00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:38,600 It's time for you to come out of your way and go God's way. 694 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:41,560 And there is a generational change right now. 695 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:44,920 And so there's a special call to the younger generation to 696 00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:48,480 realize that there's something that your generation has to add 697 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:50,600 that the other generation could not add. 698 00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:54,640 But God is building line upon line and precept upon precept. 699 00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:57,400 Amen. Amen. 700 00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:01,720 So once you realize that you've been called out, you need to 701 00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:06,680 come to Him as a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but 702 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:11,760 chosen by God and precious for you also as living stones are 703 00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:15,920 being built of a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to 704 00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:19,600 OfferUp spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus 705 00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:22,640 Christ. Therefore it is a contained in 706 00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:26,040 the Scripture. Behold, I lay in Zion, a chief 707 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:31,640 cornerstone who is elect and who is precious, and he who believes 708 00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:35,360 on Him will by no means be put to shame. 709 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:39,560 Now God says, not only do I want you to come out of something, 710 00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:42,520 but it's time for you to start coming into something, says the 711 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,760 Lord, to realize that you've been chosen and you've been 712 00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:49,320 chosen for a purpose. You've been chosen to experience 713 00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:52,120 something in the Lord. You've been chosen to become 714 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:57,480 alive so that God can now begin to build this new habitation. 715 00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:00,480 So when I was looking at the past, I knew God had moved in a 716 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:03,480 powerful way, but I thought he had to do certain things in 717 00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:06,680 order for it to come under the heading of an awakening. 718 00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:10,040 Lord says no, you need to look and recognize sometimes I'm 719 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:12,880 doing what you don't expect me to do, but I'm always at work, 720 00:39:12,880 --> 00:39:15,760 says the Lord. And I did something in your 721 00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:19,240 generation to bring a people out, and now I'm looking for the 722 00:39:19,240 --> 00:39:23,880 next generation who will know who they are, the chosen ones of 723 00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:25,480 God. Can we help our heads? 724 00:39:26,720 --> 00:39:29,360 This is Pastor Lauren Coverbius from Mount Zion Church. 725 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:32,320 We thank you for joining us today and invite you to connect 726 00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:35,920 with our church family by visiting mountzion.org and 727 00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:38,560 following us on social media. God bless you.