1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,320 I want to open with the scripture I also shared last 2 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,480 week from First Timothy. It says these things I write to, 3 00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:07,400 though I hope to come to you shortly. 4 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:11,640 But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought 5 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:15,760 to conduct yourself in the House of God, which is the Church of 6 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:19,560 the living God. It is the pillar and the ground 7 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:24,440 of truth that Scripture says a whole lot, and it certainly 8 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:26,640 tells us how important the church is. 9 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,240 It is the very foundation of everything that God is doing in 10 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:32,680 the earth. We know how important truth is 11 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,880 because the Bible says you will know the truth and the truth 12 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,760 will make you free. I'm glad there's freedom in 13 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,960 Christ Jesus, but the very ground on which that truth is 14 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:46,680 planted and the pillars that support it, well, it is the 15 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:48,920 church. And also I want to point out 16 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:52,480 today how important it is for us to recognize the purpose of the 17 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:56,480 church in our lives, to help train us so that we can go on to 18 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,520 maturity in God. But also, especially in this 19 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,040 day, we need to see how important the church is in God's 20 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:07,200 divine protection and impartation of knowledge and 21 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:11,160 wisdom for us in this great day, because we need to understand 22 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,760 this is a very special time in the plans and purposes of God. 23 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,640 God has an eternal purpose to be again being revealed in the book 24 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:23,320 of Genesis and goes all the way to the Book of Revelation. 25 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:27,240 And part of that is to recognize that God's eternal purpose from 26 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,760 the very beginning was that he would have a church, meaning 27 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:35,080 also that he would have a people and whom he would dwell and 28 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:38,200 through whom he might make a blessing in the world in which 29 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:41,480 we live. That's God's eternal purpose. 30 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:44,360 Now this next verse of Scripture I want to share is from the book 31 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,240 of Acts chapter 2. It says And with many words he 32 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,440 testified and exhorted them, saying, Be saved from this 33 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,720 perverse generation. Then those who gladly received 34 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,320 His word were baptized. In that day about 3000 souls 35 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,880 were added to them, and they continued steadfastly in the 36 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,080 apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of 37 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,080 bread and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, 38 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,600 and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 39 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,560 Now, the day of Pentecost is very important because after 40 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,600 Jesus Christ died on the cross and through His blood we have 41 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:23,160 forgiveness of sin. We have the opportunity to open 42 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:27,240 up our lives that we can receive the very presence of God in us. 43 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:31,040 That's why the Bible says that we are the temples of the Holy 44 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:32,480 Spirit. How do you know that's an 45 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:35,240 awesome thing to believe that God lives inside of you? 46 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:38,680 We also want to balance that with our understanding. 47 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,000 There's both our individual expression as the temple, but 48 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,480 also, as you notice in the Scripture, it talks about the 49 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:48,360 church, which is the place of God's habitation and God's 50 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,080 dwelling. So on the day of Pentecost, 51 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:53,800 that's when the church was born, everybody looks back and says, 52 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,000 Yep, that's when it happened. Because when the Holy Spirit 53 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,560 came, the seed of God was planted. 54 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,840 Jesus said unless the corn of wheat falls into the earth and 55 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,960 dies, it abides alone. But if it dies and goes there, 56 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:10,240 when it comes up, it becomes a great tree with many branches. 57 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:14,000 And so Jesus Christ planted a seed that from that would come 58 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,440 the church. And even each and every one of 59 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,320 us must see ourselves as a branch on that tree. 60 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,480 He is the vine and we are the branches. 61 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:27,080 I also want to take note here that on the day of Pentecost, as 62 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,760 He's preaching the message, He didn't say to them. 63 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,160 And I want you to hear this message so you can get saved and 64 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,160 go to heaven when you die. And we understand, of course, 65 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:37,640 eternal life is a part of God's provision. 66 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,440 But he was speaking to them something very important that I 67 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,160 believe each and every one of us need to hear in this day. 68 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:47,080 And that is you need to hear and you need to respond to this 69 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,360 message by repentance and water baptism in order that you might 70 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,160 save yourself from this generation. 71 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,280 Now this is important for us to understand because our 72 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:02,000 generation is the greatest influence upon our lives that 73 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,440 hinders us from walking fully in the things that God has for us. 74 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:09,400 In Ephesians chapter 2, it says that we were once dead in our 75 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:13,160 sins and trespasses, but then God has made us a lot. 76 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,600 When we were dead in our sins and trespasses, the Bible says 77 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:18,880 we lived according to the course of this world. 78 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:23,040 We followed the spirit of the age and we were under influence 79 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:27,240 of the Goddess world. But when we are born again, God 80 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,640 delivers us from that, so that when we're going through the 81 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,520 waters of baptism, we see ourselves being translated into 82 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,320 the Kingdom of God. And Jesus said that when we're 83 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:42,040 born again, we can both see and enter into the Kingdom of God. 84 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:44,640 And that's important for us to understand because there's 85 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:47,400 really 2 dimensions to the world we live in today. 86 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:51,760 It is the dimension of God which is his Kingdom, and there is the 87 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:56,240 dimension of the opposing force, which is under the dominion of 88 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,120 the God of this world and the spirit of the age. 89 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:02,440 And so when we come to the Lord, we have to realize that God 90 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,560 delivers us from the power of that generation. 91 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:08,600 Peter was preaching his message. Do you understand that? 92 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:12,160 That was the generation that literally crucified Jesus 93 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,360 Christ? And Jesus in preaching shortly 94 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:19,080 before he left, taking his disciples through the temple, 95 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,880 said to them, now one stone is going to be left upon another. 96 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:25,200 In other words, this temple is going to be destroyed. 97 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:30,160 And he said this generation will see those things come to pass. 98 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:33,240 And that was literally true. 40 years later, the temple was 99 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:37,720 destroyed, completing the process from the old covenant to 100 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:42,240 the new covenant and really bringing everybody into a whole 101 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,520 new dimension, into the things that God had for them. 102 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,000 And so God deals with generations. 103 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,560 It's important for us to understand that, and we have to 104 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,480 understand that we are the generation of the righteous. 105 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:58,480 We are those that God has chosen to be his force in the world 106 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,880 today and to save us from this generation and also to give us 107 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:05,520 the power to bring salvation to our generation. 108 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,680 And I feel so emboldened in my faith today to believe God for a 109 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,760 greater dimension of understanding and greater 110 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:17,240 dimension of influence and reaching out to the world in 111 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,200 which we live. But as he began to preach this 112 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:24,080 message, he said to them that they needed to be born again. 113 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,600 And then it says, and the church continued in the apostles 114 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,720 doctrine and in fellowship and breaking in bread and prayers. 115 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,840 And that's basically the foundation of the Christian 116 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:38,440 Church today. It's so important that we would 117 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,480 understand doctrine. The Bible says if you don't have 118 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,480 the doctrine of Christ or the teaching of Christ, you don't 119 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:46,680 have Christ. You have to understand who he 120 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:48,840 is. You have to respond to him. 121 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:52,480 And so we need to understand how important it is even as a local 122 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:55,240 church to this day to have Bible classes. 123 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:59,160 As you notice in our website and we showed you a screen, we have 124 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:01,360 Bible classes here at the church. 125 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,800 We have smaller group discussion classes, I think emphasizing the 126 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,160 book of First Corinthians at our coffee house. 127 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:10,840 You can join one of these different classes that are 128 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,960 available at various times so you can have a time of 129 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:16,920 fellowship with each other and also hearing the Word of God. 130 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:20,080 For those who want the higher level of understanding, we have 131 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:22,800 our minister training classes at the Mount Zion Center on 132 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:25,760 Clintonville Rd. So we certainly are continuing 133 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:27,960 to walk in the apostles doctrine. 134 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:32,960 Breaking of bread represents to us communion that we will share 135 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,200 today. But as you'll notice in the book 136 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,560 of First Corinthians that we read today, it's talking about 137 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,080 the Lord's Supper, it's talking about the Gad in the church. 138 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,120 And they also had what was called an agape feast where they 139 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:47,200 would have dinner together. Back in those days, it was very 140 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,840 hard to fit a schedule in where you could actually get to 1 141 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,440 place at one time for a gathering of people. 142 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:57,160 And so they'd make it into a big time together where they'd have 143 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:00,720 a meal and then they would celebrate the Lord's Prayer or 144 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:05,120 the Lord's Table together. And finally, how many know the 145 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:07,760 House of God should be a House of prayer? 146 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,600 Jesus said my Father's house should be a House of prayer for 147 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,160 all nations. That's why when I preach, I talk 148 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:16,760 about what God's doing here, but also in the nations because he's 149 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:20,440 given us a mandate to go to all the world and preach the gospel. 150 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,680 Amen. And also emphasizing how we have 151 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:28,280 a prayer service on Tuesday morning where we pray, and also 152 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,360 we have opportunities for those of you who would like to turn in 153 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:33,799 prayer requests. And the group that comes on 154 00:08:33,799 --> 00:08:36,520 Tuesday morning intercedes for all of us as they pray. 155 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:40,240 So that's such an awesome thing. And we also have a prayer time 156 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,679 on Saturdays at 10, we called the Lord's Prayer because we 157 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,640 just open with the Lord's Prayer and then people just have an 158 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:49,800 opportunity to pray for one hour, then we close. 159 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:53,040 Some people come a little later, some people a little earlier 160 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,720 leave, but it's an opportunity just to get together in a group 161 00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:59,080 of people and have corporate prayer together. 162 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:04,000 So these things continue for us. But one of the words mentioned 163 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,000 was the word fellowship, and I wanted to exert on that for just 164 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,720 a little bit when I was growing up in church, when we talked 165 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,800 about having a fellowship, to us that was having some event where 166 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,760 we'd be having a meal together, some type of an activity. 167 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:19,000 But it's important when we think about fellowship that it's much 168 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,000 more than that. We should be in fellowship with 169 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,480 one another. And when we're in fellowship 170 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:28,440 with one another, the word in the original Greek is actually 171 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,200 transferred in different ways in the New Testament. 172 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:35,080 Sometimes it means partnership, sometimes it's used for 173 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:38,600 participation and also of course, social exchange. 174 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:42,520 When we are born again, we become a part of the body of 175 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:46,560 Christ and the Bible says we are members in particular and that 176 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:49,520 each and every one of us as members of the body of Christ 177 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:52,800 have something to give and we all have something that we need 178 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:56,000 to receive some somebody else. So how many know we need to be 179 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,760 in a partnership where participation just builds on 180 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:03,840 that by saying each part has to give their part in order for the 181 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,560 fullness to come. And then of course, the social 182 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:09,200 exchange is important. That's why at Mount Zion we do 183 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:11,880 offer different opportunities through our community centers, 184 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:14,960 through the different age groups to get together for fellowship 185 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,080 because our social exchange is very important. 186 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,240 We need to be around people like minded in the faith who 187 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:25,840 understand the ways that God has called us to walk in so that we 188 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:28,080 can walk together with God. Amen. 189 00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:31,200 I heard someone say you can't soar like an eagle when you're 190 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:35,680 just hanging around the turkeys. How many want to soar like an 191 00:10:35,680 --> 00:10:38,720 eagle where we are eagles together as we walk in the 192 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:41,280 fullness of all things that God has for us. 193 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:43,520 And it's important for us to recognize this. 194 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:46,640 Again, this scripture I shared last week from First Corinthians 195 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:50,360 chapter 10 says, therefore, let him who thinks he stands take 196 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:53,480 heed lest he fall. The cup of blessing which we 197 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:56,200 bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? 198 00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:00,040 The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of 199 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:02,720 Christ? For we, though many, are one 200 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:06,840 bread and one body, for we all partake of that one bread. 201 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,240 And again, the word communion, there is the same word in the 202 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,960 original Greek as fellowship. And so we have fellowship with 203 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,720 God as we are called to have fellowship with one another. 204 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:20,720 But I think it's important to hear that admonition. 205 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:24,760 Be careful if you think you're going to stand lest you fall, 206 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:27,960 because that tells us as Christians, it's very important 207 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:32,120 for us to have a cautious preparation in our Christian 208 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:36,360 experience so that we're prepared to receive and to live 209 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,200 the world in the world that God has called us to live in. 210 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:42,400 And when you think of the perverse generation and the 211 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,640 apostles, Peter's day, and you think about the perversity of 212 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,840 the generation we are living in church, we need to be cautious. 213 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:53,200 I think one way that we need to be cautious is sometimes we get 214 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:56,160 our eyes caught on big events and don't really realize it's 215 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:59,560 the smaller events that the enemy of the God of this world 216 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:02,880 is trying to rob us of our Christianity and our strength we 217 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:05,880 have in God. That's why I wrote the book Why 218 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:09,160 is the Devil in your Garden? Because Jesus had only two 219 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:11,840 encounters with the devil in his three years of ministry. 220 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:15,360 The 1st when he was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. 221 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:18,480 And there the devil tried to tempt him with the same thing 222 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:22,520 that was tempting to Adam and Eve in the garden, the lust of 223 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:26,240 the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. 224 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:30,160 Jesus Christ resisted the devil and that's what the Bible says. 225 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,000 If he resist the devil, he will flee from you. 226 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:36,520 And that's when he began again his ministry and preach, repent, 227 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:38,560 for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. 228 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:40,800 That's the door in which we go through. 229 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:43,160 Now. The only other time that it's 230 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:46,280 important for us to understand is at the time of this 231 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:48,960 crucifixion. And this is important for us to 232 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:51,720 understand because the Bible said had the rulers of this 233 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:55,720 world known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 234 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:01,240 They were motivated by the enemy himself to crucify Jesus Christ. 235 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:04,120 He thought he was winning a war and he was just falling into 236 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:06,800 God's trap. How you know, That's the lesson 237 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,840 we should all learn. Now, I want to point out 238 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,320 something because as Jesus Christ was getting ready to go 239 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,800 to the cross in which he would defeat Satan and make a spoil of 240 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,880 principalities and powers in heavenly places, you know where 241 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:23,280 his opposition came from. It came from his friends. 242 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:26,040 They said, Oh no, you don't have to do that. 243 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:27,920 You, you don't want to go to the cross. 244 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:30,320 I mean, they had a vested interest in him as his 245 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:32,400 disciples. They had walked with Jesus 246 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,720 Christ for three years. They had witnessed many miracles 247 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:38,080 that he had performed. They had heard his public 248 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:40,160 teaching. And they also has opportunity to 249 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,920 sit with him on the sidelines and get deeper, deeper insight. 250 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,280 So you can imagine they didn't want him to go, but they also 251 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:48,520 love Jesus. And they were like, you can't 252 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:51,000 die in a cross. And Jesus said to them something 253 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:55,640 very important, but for this purpose I was born. 254 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:00,840 And so his purpose was fulfilled in that going to the cross. 255 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:04,880 And I want to emphasize the caution was his friends were the 256 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:09,240 ones who were resisting him from fulfilling His eternal purpose. 257 00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:11,960 And that's why we have to be very cautious because sometimes 258 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:14,560 people are advising us not according to the Word. 259 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:17,200 We're not just thinking about our real purpose in life. 260 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,400 Well, people just want to be nice to us and give us what they 261 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:22,640 would consider advice that's for our good. 262 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:25,360 But how many know we need to know what God's advice is? 263 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:28,000 Amen. That's why the Word is so very 264 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,560 vitally important because we don't always know what's going 265 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:33,680 on. This past week, there was a 266 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:38,320 major event that happened in our country and that was when an ICE 267 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:42,120 agent shot someone. That's the big event of the 268 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:44,400 week. But I want you to understand we 269 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:46,120 have a lot of big events like that. 270 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:49,760 We are in a time of crisis in our country where there's many 271 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:52,680 political debates, many social debates. 272 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,920 But I want you to understand something as citizens of the 273 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:58,600 United States of America, that's something that we should be 274 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:01,760 aware of and know what's going on so we can vote properly and 275 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,040 be involved properly. But I want you to understand 276 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:09,320 that's sometimes robbing people have seen really what God is 277 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:13,040 doing and that's why I have my new YouTube site. 278 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,080 I'm explaining all these things because I want you to know how 279 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:18,840 we operate at Mount Zion. We operate according to the 280 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:21,880 scriptures and according to what God has spoken to us and have a 281 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:25,480 TV show called Spiritual Perception because I believe we 282 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:28,560 need to have spiritual perception in our time. 283 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,600 Last week I shared with you how excited it was because I looked 284 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:34,800 at the news and I found out that there was some international 285 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,680 events happening in Venezuela. And I was excited about it 286 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:42,320 because we have a church in Havana and I would be concerned 287 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:44,280 about, even if we didn't have a church about that. 288 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:48,840 But I want Havana, Cuba to be set free from the tyranny that 289 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:50,560 they've been under for many, many years. 290 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:53,360 So I'm excited about those events. 291 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:56,600 I'm also excited about what's happening in the Middle East 292 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,360 because I know and what I see in the Scriptures, that the 293 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,640 gospel's been travelling around the world and that's the great 294 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:06,560 fortress of the enemy and God's tearing down the walls there so 295 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:11,200 the gospel can go into the land. It's an amazing time church and 296 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:13,480 the reason I said it's important to be spiritually perceptive 297 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:16,560 because a lot of people have an eschatology, which is an 298 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:19,640 understanding of the last times that they're always looking for 299 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:23,080 the Antichrist, looking for the beast, looking for the mark of 300 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:25,120 the beast. And they see world events and 301 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,600 like, oh, the end is near, the base is arising, the Antichrist 302 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:30,520 is coming. When I look out there, I say, 303 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:34,160 wow, God said to Abraham, your seed will be a blessing in every 304 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,800 nation of the world. And right now God is tearing 305 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:38,880 down the strongholds in the Middle East. 306 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,760 God's tearing down the strongholds and countries 307 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:45,440 because I want you to understand it's time for us to rise and 308 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:49,360 shine so the glory of the Lord can be seen upon this church. 309 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,920 And so if we have the wrong thinking about what God is 310 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:55,160 doing, we'll be looking for the wrong things. 311 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:57,240 I want to look for the right things. 312 00:16:57,240 --> 00:16:59,680 How about you? And that's why I also want to be 313 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:01,840 looking for the right things. And that's something I'll be 314 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:04,079 sharing with you today. How important it is have 315 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,119 spiritual perception so that we can be aware of, well, what 316 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,960 exactly is going on in our world today. 317 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:14,319 And we need to be cautious and we need to understand there's 318 00:17:14,319 --> 00:17:17,599 something that's happening in our nation and also in the 319 00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:19,680 world. But when we look at it, we have 320 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,599 to say, well, what is it that God's doing? 321 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,880 There's a political debate. Again, there's a social debate. 322 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,119 And that will always seem like the bigger thing because that's 323 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:31,160 what we see on the news. And unfortunately, a lot of 324 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:35,360 Christians are looking at that as the spiritual issue or the 325 00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:38,120 religious debate, if you would. And we have to understand that 326 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:41,560 God's Kingdom is not a visible Kingdom. 327 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:46,640 The Bible says it arises in the hearts of men and in the hearts 328 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:49,640 of God's people. God is doing a very special work 329 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,360 right now, church. We need to give him our whole 330 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:55,840 heart and we need to recognize that the Kingdom of God is 331 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:58,800 arising in the hearts of men and God's going to raise up a people 332 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:01,720 right now. That's why I want to be cautious 333 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:06,720 and listen and be perceptive as what it is that God is doing in 334 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,720 the earth. Now, what that Scripture said is 335 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:13,760 that when we take communion, we remind ourselves of something 336 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:17,440 very important, that as we're taking the bread, we should 337 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:25,040 understand we are all eating from the same source of life and 338 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:27,840 we need to understand, and this is something I want you to see, 339 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:32,200 the undercurrent of society today is people are looking for 340 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:34,480 something. We've got to recognize it 341 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:37,680 because God is the God of the whole earth and he's working in 342 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:41,360 the earth and he's working in our society to prepare people to 343 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:44,760 receive the gospel. And, and having said that, I 344 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:49,040 want to talk to you about having a shared experience versus a 345 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:52,600 shared life. It's very possible for us to 346 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:57,560 have a shared experience, but not really experience the life 347 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:01,000 that's supposed to come to us. Now, I wanted to point out that 348 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:03,600 each and everyone of us have been created by God. 349 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:06,920 And because we were created by God, we need to understand that 350 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:10,480 God did it for a purpose. And the deepest motivation of 351 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:13,320 the human experience is something that God has given to 352 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:15,880 us for His purpose. And unfortunately, because 353 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:18,880 people don't understand that, often times they'll take it in 354 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,280 the wrong direction. I'm a part of what's called the 355 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:24,920 baby boomer generation. That's why generations are 356 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:29,560 important, because generations very much influence us and we 357 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:31,680 have to understand how that all works. 358 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,080 But it's important to think about this in context of what 359 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:37,480 we're experiencing right now, because this is a time of 360 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:41,240 generational change. They called my generation of the 361 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:45,600 baby boomer generation because after World War 2, when the war 362 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:48,240 was over, the soldiers came back, people got married, 363 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,720 started having kids, and it was indeed a baby boom. 364 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,840 Now, my father actually was too young to have served in World 365 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:57,240 War 2. And so we don't exactly fit the 366 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:00,840 description, if you would, but we're still lumped into that 367 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:02,480 era. And you can see certain things 368 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:06,640 about this generation and really over the last 80 years, some 369 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,280 influences that have been moving in a certain direction. 370 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:13,240 But I want you to understand this as a time of a new day and 371 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:15,280 a new direction. So we have to understand what 372 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,640 exactly is going on. One thing my generation loved is 373 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:22,240 having a shared experience. In the 1950s we saw the real 374 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:25,280 birth of rock'n'roll. By the 60s, one of the big 375 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:27,200 events that people loved was a concert. 376 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:31,000 When you go to a concert and you like the music, and often times 377 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:34,200 there was influences that came even from that group, if you 378 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:35,920 would. So people would all come 379 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,320 together, they would sing the songs they like and there would 380 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:42,320 be a shared experience That would be really wonderful 381 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:46,520 experience in people's minds and that's why it became so popular. 382 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,600 This, I think it was yesterday, whatever in the news I heard 383 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:54,320 that one of the Co founders of a band called the Grateful Dead 384 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,120 passed away. I don't know if he's grateful 385 00:20:57,120 --> 00:20:59,040 now that he's dead. Time will tell. 386 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:02,560 But anyway, the reason I wanted to point that out is because I 387 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,480 used to work at a grocery store at the corner of Navy Rd. 388 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:09,160 Sasha Bob worked at Food Town and up the road was Pine Knob 389 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:11,560 Music Theatre, where people have come to go to concerts. 390 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:14,320 It was a good time for us whenever there was a big concert 391 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:17,520 because people come into the grocery store and buy things, or 392 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:20,520 whether it was the tailgate party or when they stuck it into 393 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:23,320 the theater, I don't know. But there was something 394 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:27,280 different when the Grateful did. We're at Pine Dog because they 395 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:30,400 had a group of followers followed them all over. 396 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:33,040 They had vans and they dressed a certain way. 397 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:36,040 When they came in the store, everybody was on alert. 398 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:38,480 We'd stand behind the one way mirrors and watch everybody 399 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:40,600 because what they did is they didn't come in and buy, they 400 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:45,240 came in and shoplifted. So that's what I think about 401 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:46,560 when I think about the Grateful Dead. 402 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:51,160 But anyway, it's very true that people pick up something from 403 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:54,280 these shared experiences that often dive and influence them. 404 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,360 And so we have to understand how that works. 405 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,040 And we also can see how happens in sports. 406 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:03,760 A lot of people like sports and sporting events is a big deal in 407 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:06,440 our country today. And the reason for that is, you 408 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:08,920 know, people do like sports, but there's something bigger than 409 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:10,440 that and that's affiliation need. 410 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:12,960 You have your favorite team from your favorite town, your 411 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:16,280 favorite players, people come together, there's a big crowd 412 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:20,480 and people have the very strong a feeling when they're in that 413 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,240 shared experience. And because of that, it's very 414 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,120 big business, of course, and something that's very popular in 415 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:28,800 our country. Unfortunately, my generation 416 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,480 also brought that into the church experience without even 417 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,720 realizing it. Because the church growth 418 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:36,240 movement, the secret sensitive movement, part of what was 419 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,960 called the mega church movement was built on that same premise 420 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,840 is build a big buildings and give people a shared experience. 421 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:46,200 And people would come and have a shared experience. 422 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:49,000 Churches could grow. They usually set aside side 423 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,080 doctrine because that would keep people away. 424 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:53,920 They set aside serious conversations that would cause 425 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:56,720 people to not come to church. And so they wanted everybody to 426 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:01,080 have a shared experience. And there was a great sign that 427 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:02,760 wonderful things were going to happen. 428 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:05,920 But over time, and we're in this transition period where all of a 429 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:08,280 sudden people are looking for something more than just a 430 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:12,200 shared experience. Because you see, the deepest 431 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:16,320 heart need that God has given through each and every one of us 432 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:18,840 is not just that we have a shared experience. 433 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:21,480 I mean, when we come to church, we have a shared experience. 434 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:24,640 But if it's only that you're not going to get what you need 435 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:26,920 completely. You have to realize that we come 436 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:32,160 in our part of the church to have a shared life, a shared 437 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:35,480 source of life, which is the bread of life, Jesus Christ 438 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:37,200 himself. Can I hear an Amen on that? 439 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:44,000 So it goes beyond a superficial kind of affiliation to something 440 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,400 deeper than that. And we as Christians need to 441 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,600 understand in this time of transition that God is speaking 442 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:51,840 to us. OK, it's good to have a shared 443 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,720 experience, but I want you to know that we have a shared life 444 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,000 and that shared life we have comes through Jesus Christ 445 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,240 himself. That's what communion is all 446 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:02,960 about. And we need to understand how 447 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:05,800 that we relate to that. Now this takes us back to the 448 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:09,960 creation in the very beginning in this is chapter 2, that when 449 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:12,680 the Lord God created man, He said it's not good that man 450 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:15,280 should be alone. I will make him a helper 451 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:18,080 comparable to him. So out of the ground the Lord 452 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:21,000 God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, 453 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:23,600 brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. 454 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,840 Whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 455 00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:31,280 So Adam gave names to all the cattle, to the birds of the air, 456 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:35,920 and to every beast of the field, But for Adam there was not found 457 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:40,520 a helper comparable to him. Now it's important that 458 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:43,760 recognize that when God said it's not good that man should be 459 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:46,200 alone, he wasn't talking just about being lonely. 460 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:50,600 The word literally means to be a part or disconnected. 461 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,040 It's a word used in the Old Testament. 462 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:56,640 If you cut a branch off a tree and the branch is sitting there 463 00:24:56,880 --> 00:24:59,800 and it's not connected to the tree, that's the alone he's 464 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:02,320 talking about. And this is important for us to 465 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:05,360 understand because like I said, Jesus Christ is the vine and we 466 00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:08,120 are the branches in church. We can't be cut off from the 467 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:11,040 vine. We need to be a part of the Vine 468 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:16,320 Amian, and how we do that is through our affiliation and our 469 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:19,520 sharing of the life of Christ together. 470 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,240 And that's why we need to see that all the more like I 471 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,000 mentioned the Scripture last week, all the more as we see the 472 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,480 day approaching. We need to understand what it 473 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:30,520 means to be assembled together and not disconnected. 474 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:34,400 And that's why I say, I know that's a deep need because God 475 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,560 recognized it. He declared it, and He gave us a 476 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:41,280 solution for it. He said he didn't find someone 477 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,280 comparable. If you notice, the Lord brought 478 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,920 all of the beasts of the field and all the animals to him, and 479 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,160 not one was good enough to be his helper. 480 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:53,440 So that means when somebody says a dog is man's best friend, 481 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:57,160 that's not true. I'd like to say if a dog is your 482 00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:03,120 best friend, that's not good. You can have a dog that's your 483 00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:05,160 friend. You can have a dog that's a pet, 484 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:07,840 and you can love your pet completely. 485 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:12,000 But we still need people. That's something important for 486 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:13,800 us to understand. I've always joked about me and 487 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,920 my sister Pam, She didn't have kids, so of course her dogs are 488 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:19,480 especially important in her life. 489 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:22,480 And one day her dog died. She calls me on the phone and 490 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:24,280 said, Lauren, do dogs go to heaven? 491 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,040 I said, well, the only scripture I can think of is Ecclesiastes. 492 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,320 It says that when a man dies, his sphere goes to heaven. 493 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:32,720 When an animal dies, his sphere goes to the air. 494 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:36,080 She says, I forget it, I'll call mom, see what she says. 495 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:40,840 How about me? And I'm sure Mama Gene figured 496 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:42,360 out a way around that. Whatever. 497 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:46,080 But it's important for us to understand that we can have 498 00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:48,920 these things and they can be wonderful and very big part of 499 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:50,880 our life. And certainly there's all kinds 500 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,960 of psychological evidence that pets add to our life. 501 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:55,480 But how, you know, we still need people. 502 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,480 It's so important that we would understand that in the day and 503 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:01,720 hour in which we Live Today, probably something that's going 504 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,960 to be more of a temptation is the chat boxes they have these 505 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:09,960 days where literally it becomes a video and the chat box becomes 506 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:11,840 familiar with us. So you can talk to it. 507 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:15,160 And over time, it looks like the person you want to talk to says 508 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:17,160 the things that you want to hear. 509 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:18,880 And so you develop a relationship. 510 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:23,320 And unfortunately, there's a woman suing one of the major AI 511 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:27,880 companies because and her feeling her son killed himself 512 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:29,960 because of advice taken from a chat box. 513 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:35,160 Technology is very good in the world in which we live, but how 514 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:38,160 many you know that it should not be a substitute for reality. 515 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,520 That means when you're having dinner with somebody, maybe you 516 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:43,640 shouldn't be on your phone. I'll just throw that in. 517 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:48,200 Maybe you should actually talk with the people you're having 518 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:51,160 dinner with. But anyway, God said it's not 519 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,160 good that you should be alone. You need Someone Like You. 520 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:58,520 Believe it or not, God is a father of the fatherless, a 521 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,920 defender of widows. Is God in his holy habitation? 522 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,280 God says the solitary. There's that word again in 523 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:07,280 families. It brings out those who are 524 00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:11,440 bound into prosperity. But the rebellious dwell in a 525 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:14,400 dry land. So God's solution for being 526 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:19,080 alone is make us a part. Not that we're set apart, but 527 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:22,800 that we've become a part. Now, I know their initial story 528 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:26,640 is about being married, and that can be a wonderful experience. 529 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,840 And then, of course, when you have children, there's a family 530 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:31,600 and then there's extended family. 531 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:36,200 But that chapter in Psalm 68 also talks about fivefold 532 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:38,240 ministry. Because we know that not 533 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,960 everyone gets married and not everybody stays married. 534 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:44,800 And sometimes people become widowed or become a widower. 535 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:46,360 There's all kinds of things that happen. 536 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:48,800 But how many know the family got still there. 537 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:54,080 So we all should be a part of the family of God because of the 538 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:58,200 family of God transcends our human experience. 539 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:01,600 So marital relationships is a gift of God. 540 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:05,520 Family, nuclear family as they call it, is a gift from God. 541 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:09,080 That also we have to understand that transcending those things 542 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:12,520 is an opportunity that we all have, and that is to be a part 543 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,280 of a family that's bigger than our own individual life. 544 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:18,520 And so this is something that's very vital in our day because we 545 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:21,960 live in a world where people sense themselves as being alone, 546 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:25,240 set apart, disconnected and territory. 547 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:27,920 We have a message for the world in which we live and we need to 548 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:32,080 understand we have a powerful message that people connections 549 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:34,880 is very important. And that's actually what you're 550 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:37,760 looking for, which brings me to the Scripture that doesn't kind 551 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,840 of flow in one sense, but it really is a very important 552 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:42,600 scripture to what I'm saying here today. 553 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:47,400 This is from First Chronicles. This is when David is succeeding 554 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:52,080 Saul as the king. And as it happens, there's two 555 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:55,280 parts of Israel that have to come together in order for this 556 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:58,320 to happen. So it says now these were the 557 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:02,280 numbers of the divisions that were equipped for war came to 558 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:06,640 David at Hebron to turn over the Kingdom of Saul to him according 559 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:09,520 to the word of the Lord of the sons of Issachar. 560 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:13,400 This is what I emphasize here, who had understanding of the 561 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:16,520 times to know what Israel ought to do. 562 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:20,480 Their trees were 200 and all the brethren were at their command. 563 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:25,240 I put over this what's happening because God had spoken to Samuel 564 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:28,960 to anoint a man by the name of Saul is king because he was 565 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:31,520 disobedient. God had to take the Kingdom from 566 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,320 him. He anointed David to be the next 567 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:36,880 king. All kinds of things happened 568 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:39,400 between when the Lord spoke and the word was going to come to 569 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:42,280 pass. But the setting here is Saul has 570 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:45,120 died. Now David had actually been 571 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:49,280 anointed and made the king of what we call the southern part, 572 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:53,440 which was the land of Judah. But at the death of Saul, there 573 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:57,600 was a big dispute going on because Saul's mind, David was 574 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:00,440 his enemy because he was supposed to be the king. 575 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:04,480 So after Saul dies, the people are getting together and 576 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:08,800 talking, and somebody who had understanding of the time said 577 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:12,160 we got to recognize what's going on. 578 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:17,080 We have this army, we've had this battle, but now it's time 579 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:21,040 to make a big change. We got to recognize Saul was an 580 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:23,440 error. David Scott's anointed and we 581 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:27,200 have to make him king of our whole nation. 582 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:30,680 And so it was a beautiful event, but there was somebody there in 583 00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:33,480 the midst of them who said, OK, I know we've we're all ready for 584 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:35,120 war. We're all ready for conflict, 585 00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:37,560 but it's time for us to have a change now. 586 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:40,560 And we got to find out what it is that God is doing and flow 587 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:43,480 with it. I shared this from time to time 588 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:47,280 because in March of 2020, the Lord spoke to me and said it's a 589 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:50,480 chiros moment. It's an important time and this 590 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:53,200 is a time of transition. I still believe it started then, 591 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:55,480 and we're seeing it unfold since that time. 592 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:57,920 The next week, the church was shut down. 593 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:03,000 The COVID situation increase the conflict in our country, create 594 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,840 a lot of problems that we didn't have before. 595 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:08,760 While they were trying to save us from our problem, they were 596 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:11,400 creating many more problems, and we're in a time of great 597 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,840 conflict. But I believe that what God was 598 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:18,720 doing was setting the pace, setting the motion, setting for 599 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:22,240 everything for a great harvest like we've never seen before. 600 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:26,400 And we have to be careful to understand the debates that are 601 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:28,880 in the world is not what God is doing. 602 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:32,200 God saying, church, you need to understand the times. 603 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:35,640 You need to be aware of what's going on in the world. 604 00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,880 And what I want you to understand concerning the times 605 00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:44,520 is it's becoming very obvious that this next generation, this 606 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:48,600 being raised up, if you would, they want more than what my 607 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:52,240 generation had to offer. We offered an experience, but 608 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:53,760 they realize we need more than that. 609 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:57,840 We want a shared life. There's an increase in socialism 610 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:01,760 in our country. New York City, they elected a 611 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:04,560 socialist as mayor and stuff, and people see that as a 612 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:06,680 political debate. And it is. 613 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:08,880 They see it as an economic debate. 614 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:11,360 And it is. And we should have an opinion 615 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:13,120 about that as we're living in our world. 616 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:15,720 But I want, you understand, God says, I want you to see what's 617 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:18,240 really happening here. Because of the younger 618 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:21,600 generation, socialism is just a sign of something they're 619 00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:23,640 looking for. They're looking for a shared 620 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,120 life. They're looking to be a part of 621 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:29,800 other people's lives and even willing to accept responsibility 622 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:34,040 for other people's lives. They really have a need and a 623 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:36,480 desire inside of them. That's God-given. 624 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:39,000 And God says to his church, you need to understand what's going 625 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,560 on. Don't let the political day 626 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:46,440 debate deter you from what it is that God is wanting you to see 627 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:49,920 and understand because this generation is right for the 628 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,720 Kingdom of God. Give the Lord a praise on that 629 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:55,880 church. One day Jesus was with his 630 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:57,760 disciples. They were hungry, so they went 631 00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:00,880 out to get food. While he was gone, he met the 632 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:04,960 woman at the well, and he instigated A revival that would 633 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:06,960 change this whole part of Samaria. 634 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:10,440 When his disciples come back, they come back with food and 635 00:34:10,639 --> 00:34:12,000 they say we're here with the food. 636 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:14,159 Jesus and I have meat to eat, you know, not us. 637 00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:17,320 And they're thinking, did he get carried out while we were gone? 638 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:21,159 What's going on here? No, Jesus is wanting them to see 639 00:34:21,159 --> 00:34:23,800 something very important. He said you guys need to lift up 640 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:27,000 your eyes because the fields are ripe for harvest. 641 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:31,040 And thus saith the Lord to his church today the fields are ripe 642 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,639 to harvest. I'm setting in motion in the 643 00:34:33,639 --> 00:34:35,560 earth. I'm setting in motion in your 644 00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:39,080 country, in your community, and even to your family, even though 645 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:43,159 you might not quite see it yet. God says be ready, because this 646 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:48,040 is harvest time, says the mighty God, and we need to recognize 647 00:34:48,159 --> 00:34:51,760 what God is doing in the earth. Therefore whoever eats this 648 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:55,159 bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in unworthy manner will be 649 00:34:55,159 --> 00:34:57,760 guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 650 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:01,160 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread 651 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:03,600 and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an 652 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:06,680 unworthy manner, eats and drinks judgment to himself. 653 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:10,160 Now discerning the Lorde body, for this reason, many are weak 654 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:11,880 and sickly among you. Many sleep. 655 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:15,400 Again, this is a scripture that I shared last week, but again 656 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:18,520 today with a little bit different perspective because I 657 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:21,480 said, you know, when they were coming to the table of the Lord, 658 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:26,080 they were respectful that this is the Lorde table. 659 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:29,920 This is a holy moment. And because of that they were 660 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:32,520 irreverent. And Paul writes to them, says 661 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:34,400 you're not getting the blessing of the Lords Supper. 662 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:36,960 That's why many of you are dying prematurely. 663 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:39,520 Many of you are sick. You're missing out on the 664 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:42,320 blessing. You got to begin, begin to 665 00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:44,800 understand that you're approaching the table of the 666 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:48,600 Lord in an unworthy manner. And when I shared with you last 667 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:51,640 week, that doesn't mean that they were unworthy. 668 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:55,800 It means the manner by which they were approaching it because 669 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:58,920 how you know, it's the blood of Jesus Christ that makes us all 670 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:01,600 worthy, Amen. Some people are afraid of the 671 00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:04,520 Lord's Supper because they think, Oh no, I might not be 672 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:07,360 worthy. Only Jesus can make you worthy. 673 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:09,800 And if you confess your sins, he's faithful and just to 674 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:12,000 forgive you of all your sin and cleanse you from all 675 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,160 unrighteousness is what the Bible says. 676 00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:18,120 He wants you to know that his blood makes us all worthy. 677 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:21,840 But the problem is, is their manner of approach which 678 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:25,800 affected their viewpoint. And so I say that when we 679 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:30,120 understand there is a spiritual dimension to communion that is 680 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:34,120 not just a ordinance or not just something that we're doing as an 681 00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:38,200 outward show, it helps us develop spiritual discernment. 682 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,360 That's why I often emphasize when we come to church, there's 683 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:44,600 more happening than singing. Jesus is worshipping with us. 684 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:48,600 The Bible says there's something more happening in the Lord in 685 00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:51,200 the preaching of the sermon. It's not just instruction. 686 00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:52,720 It's God wanting to give us faith. 687 00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:56,160 Something happens in every aspect of what we're doing 688 00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:59,840 church, and developing that spiritual discernment helps us 689 00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:03,000 when we leave church because we realized, wow, there's something 690 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:05,600 going on in the world today and it isn't always what's 691 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:08,600 happening. That is what we are really 692 00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:12,880 needing to understand sometimes. We got to see beneath it, the 693 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:16,200 spiritual dimension. Now, in giving these 694 00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:19,240 instructions, I do not praise you since you come together not 695 00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:20,920 for the better, but for the worst. 696 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:24,840 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear 697 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:28,400 there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it, but 698 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:31,840 there must be factions among you that those who are approved may 699 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:36,320 be recognized among you. They had a problem in church. 700 00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:40,640 You have to understand people, relationships create problems. 701 00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:45,000 You have the experience of love, you get married and you have a 702 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:47,120 shared life. How you know that does create 703 00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:51,240 some problems. You have relationships with 704 00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:55,400 people, you're excited about having a shared experience, but 705 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,120 to workout any relationship, there's going to be conflict. 706 00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:00,720 And that's basically what Paul said into the Corinthian church. 707 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:04,000 He said there's factions, there's conflict here, but you 708 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:08,040 have to understand God will even use the conflict if you will let 709 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:12,560 Him to make you that person that God has called you to be. 710 00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:15,080 Because for everything there is a purpose. 711 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:18,920 And the purpose that we need to understand is God's purpose. 712 00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:23,040 And how is it that we can allow God to change us in the process? 713 00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:25,760 Therefore, when you come together in one place, you're 714 00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:27,160 not coming for the Lord's Supper. 715 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:29,200 It's not for the Lord's Supper for an eat. 716 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:31,480 And each one takes his own supper ahead of others. 717 00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:32,760 One is hunger and another's drunk. 718 00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:35,680 What, Do you have not have houses in drinking? 719 00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:38,920 Or do you despise the Church of the Lord, and share those who 720 00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:41,040 have nothing? What shall I say to you? 721 00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:44,040 Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. 722 00:38:44,480 --> 00:38:47,320 Now it's important for us to note, and I put it in quotes. 723 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:51,760 There it is, the Lord Supper. Now this is important because we 724 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:55,280 have a tendency in our own experience to be looking at 725 00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:58,360 everything from our own perspective, what we're looking 726 00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:00,760 for, what we want, what we desire. 727 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:05,560 The Lord says, take yourself out of top spot and put me there. 728 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:09,960 Make it the Lord's Supper, make it the Lord's life, make it the 729 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:13,600 Lord's relationship, make it the Lord's marriage, make it the 730 00:39:13,600 --> 00:39:18,800 Lord's children and church. That changes everything and 731 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:19,960 that's what we should understand. 732 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:24,000 God teaches us that it's not about just our individual, but 733 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:27,080 when it's collective, it's about the other people, but it's also 734 00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:29,640 about God. That's why Jesus said we should 735 00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:32,680 love the Lord our God with all of our heart, with all of our 736 00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:36,320 soul, with all of our mind, with all of our strength and our 737 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:38,920 neighbor as ourself. Isn't that powerful? 738 00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:42,640 So This is why Paul said, For I've received from the Lord that 739 00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:46,240 which I also delivered you, that the Lord Jesus on the same night 740 00:39:46,240 --> 00:39:48,080 in which he was betrayed, took bread. 741 00:39:48,560 --> 00:39:50,920 When he given thanks, he broke it and said, take, eat. 742 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:54,440 This is my body which is broken, for you do this in remembrance 743 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:56,920 of me. And the same manner also took 744 00:39:56,920 --> 00:40:00,800 the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in 745 00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:03,600 my blood. This too as often as you drink 746 00:40:03,600 --> 00:40:07,600 it in remembrance of me, as often as you eat this bread and 747 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:12,560 drink this cup, you do what you proclaim the Lord's death till 748 00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:16,520 he comes. You see when we close out our 749 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:20,240 service. By taking communion and then 750 00:40:20,240 --> 00:40:23,400 offering our self before the Lord, we're understanding that 751 00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:28,360 everything that we do ultimately comes back to Jesus, The visible 752 00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:32,560 image of the invisible God. The Holy Spirit is among us, but 753 00:40:32,560 --> 00:40:36,080 the focus is always on the person of Christ. 754 00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:41,800 He's the One who has given his life for us, and he is the bread 755 00:40:41,960 --> 00:40:45,520 that we all have in common When we've received the Holy Spirit, 756 00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:48,480 that always actually makes us a little bit different from each 757 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:51,000 other because it gives us gifts, it gives us callings. 758 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:55,080 But when we come to the table of the Lord, we all have one need, 759 00:40:55,360 --> 00:41:00,360 and that is God's strength, God's life, God's sacrifice. 760 00:41:00,720 --> 00:41:05,840 And he says it's a proclamation, and it's a proclamation we must 761 00:41:05,840 --> 00:41:09,320 make together. This is Pastor Lorne Coverbius 762 00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:11,880 from Mount Zion Church. We thank you for joining us 763 00:41:11,880 --> 00:41:14,880 today and invite you to connect with our church family by 764 00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:18,640 visiting mountzion.org and following us on social media. 765 00:41:18,920 --> 00:41:19,640 God bless you.