1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,120 I want to open with this scripture I shared last week 2 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:06,120 from Romans chapter one. It says for I am not ashamed of 3 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:09,040 the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God to 4 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,240 salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew 1st and 5 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:16,120 also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of 6 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:18,280 God is revealed from faith to faith. 7 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,760 As is written, the just shall live by faith. 8 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:26,120 It's so important that we would understand the power of the 9 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,080 salvation that God offers to us. Often times when people think 10 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:33,800 about salvation and they talk about getting saved, it's a past 11 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,800 tense experience. Offering them a future where 12 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:40,240 they go to heaven, and certainly eternal life is a part of this, 13 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:42,920 that God's salvation is so much greater than that. 14 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,560 And I've referenced it quite a bit over the last year because 15 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:49,000 God's incurring us as a people, that each and every one of us 16 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:53,280 would be challenged to walk in the full salvation that God has 17 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:55,800 for us. What is his full salvation? 18 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,720 Well, the best picture of it is in the Old Testament with the 19 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,160 children of Israel. They were slaves in Egypt and 20 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,000 the Lord sent Moses to them to deliver them with a mighty hand. 21 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:08,880 But he didn't want to just bring them out of Egypt. 22 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:13,040 He had a promised land for them and he wanted to take them 23 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,120 through a wilderness to the promised land and that they 24 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,840 would see the fulfillment of all things that God has spoken to 25 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:23,640 them through their great grandfather Abraham many years 26 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,280 earlier, who had received a promise and a covenant from God. 27 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:30,520 Now it's Christians, we're not going into the promised land as 28 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,560 they did, but the land that God has promised to us is His 29 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:35,680 Kingdom. And it's important to understand 30 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:38,640 what that Kingdom is because the Bible defines the Kingdom of God 31 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,000 is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. 32 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:45,240 Righteousness means we're able to live free from all the things 33 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:49,000 that used to have us in bondage. Peace means that whenever you're 34 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,040 going through a difficult circumstance and situation, you 35 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:54,760 can find something in God that will steal you and give you 36 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:56,760 peace. Kind of like that song today. 37 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,520 Just be still always an understand that God is there. 38 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:02,480 We just got to listen to his voice. 39 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,000 And not only does it give us righteous peace, but also joy. 40 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,720 And I love the fact that God can give to us joy. 41 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,280 Can you say Amen to that church? So we want to experience his 42 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:15,760 full salvation. The Apostle Paul wrote this 43 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,920 thing, and we know that he wrote it by the power of the Holy 44 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:21,960 Spirit, because the Bible says that all Scripture is given by 45 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,200 the Holy Spirit to men who write these things down. 46 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:28,880 But concerning the Apostle Paul, we know that not only did he 47 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,800 write these things by inspiration, but he believed 48 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,120 these things. He believed there was salvation 49 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:39,280 in the power of the gospel because he had actually 50 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:42,680 experienced it. He had been in a time of his 51 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,200 life when he literally persecuted the Christian Church, 52 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:48,680 consenting literally to the death of the first martyr 53 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:50,560 Stephen recorded in the book of Acts. 54 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,600 And yet when God came to him, he experienced not only grace for 55 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:58,120 the forgiveness of his past, but an empowerment that through 56 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,320 faith. And that's why he said that it 57 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:05,520 is by faith he believed God. And he took the gospel to most 58 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:09,640 of the world that he knew at the time, taking it from the place 59 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:12,880 it all started in Jerusalem to literally Rome, which was the 60 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,480 capital of the Roman Empire, which to them in that day was 61 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,880 considered the world. So powerful was his testimony in 62 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,960 the books that he wrote that added to our New Testament, that 63 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,760 within a few 100 years the Roman Empire that was persecuting the 64 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,320 Christian Church accepted Christianity as its official 65 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:33,320 religion. How do you know that God he can 66 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:38,000 give us faith for everything? Some things are impossible for 67 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,280 us, but the Bible says that with God nothing is impossible. 68 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:46,320 Thank you Jesus for the power and the potential you give to us 69 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:50,840 to walk in your great salvation. Now also I shared this Scripture 70 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,000 from Romans chapter 10, where it says, For with the heart one 71 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,040 believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is 72 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:00,560 made into salvation. How then shall they call on him 73 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,320 whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe, and 74 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:04,680 him and whom they have not heard? 75 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:06,800 And how shall they hear without a preacher? 76 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,840 And how they shall they preach unless they are sent as is 77 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:12,360 written? How beautiful are the feet of 78 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:16,240 those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of 79 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,279 good things. And the proclamation of the 80 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:22,360 gospel, of course, is very, very important. 81 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,360 And the Bible tells us that when we hear the gospel and we 82 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:30,080 receive it into our heart, that heartfelt, the experience we 83 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:34,360 have begins a journey where we begin to walk in all things that 84 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:37,880 God has given to us. It starts by receiving the Word 85 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,400 in our heart. And after that it should come 86 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,520 with a confession of our mouth, of speaking about what God has 87 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:48,360 already done, and also by faith confessing what he's also going 88 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:50,320 to do. And so we know that this is 89 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,400 about having a heartfelt experience, but it also talks 90 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,280 about the preacher, the preacher, somebody who shares 91 00:04:57,280 --> 00:04:59,680 the gospel. And in that sense, all of us are 92 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,400 called to share the gospel. Whatever God has done in your 93 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:06,280 life, if the confession of your mouth is there, people should be 94 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:08,960 able to hear it because they should hear what God has done in 95 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:12,040 your life. And if you have something good 96 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:15,160 that happens to you, you need to tell somebody that God can do 97 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:16,560 the same thing for them. Amen. 98 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,200 Church. That's so important for us to 99 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,000 know. And so in that sense, we all 100 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:22,720 preach. But there's the ministry of the 101 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:27,120 preacher that, like I do here on Sunday morning, stand before you 102 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,880 speaking an inspired word from heaven that will give you the 103 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:34,200 faith to believe whatever God has for you. 104 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:38,320 But then it says how can somebody preach unless they are 105 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:41,000 sent? And that's where we in the New 106 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,040 Testament get the word apostle, which means someone sent. 107 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,040 The Apostle Paul was someone who was sent. 108 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,360 He always said he was sent to the Gentiles, though he was a 109 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:52,480 Jew. He had a very specific sending 110 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:55,440 and I want to share this because I believe that God has put it 111 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:57,600 upon my heart and spirit to say Mount Zion. 112 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,400 God has prepared us for such a time as this and he says I have 113 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:03,360 worked in you. I have prepared you for this 114 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:05,720 time. And now thus saith the Lord, I 115 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:09,440 am sending you. And to expect to see a sending 116 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:13,480 forth that's going to produce results in our community and in 117 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,480 the nations of the world that God has sent us because this is 118 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:17,800 a new day in God. Amen. 119 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:21,440 It's time to believe that now. Today I'm going to talk to you a 120 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:25,120 little bit about history, specifically the history of the 121 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,560 United States. Because in my book On God's 122 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:31,320 Eternal Purpose, I made a statement that I like to repeat 123 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:36,840 because I always like to say history is His story. 124 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,920 Because I believe with all my heart that God rules in the 125 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,040 affairs of men. Because that's what the Bible 126 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:45,840 says, that God sits on the throne of heaven and God is 127 00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:49,000 working in the earth to fulfill His purposes. 128 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:51,960 And it's so important that we would understand that ultimately 129 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:56,960 that purpose means us being his emissaries, us being his 130 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,840 partners, and doing something very powerful in the world in 131 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:03,600 which we live in. So that's very important for a 132 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,000 couple Wednesdays and also on our Spiritual Insights, which is 133 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,200 our YouTube channel, through our call from the Mountain Outreach 134 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:14,280 Ministry, I've been talking about some historical things 135 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:17,720 because I believe it's important for us also to see, well, where 136 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,800 do we fit in history. And I'm emphasizing today the 137 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:24,680 history of the United States, because God has used the United 138 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:28,560 States in a very special way. We've had a very unique calling 139 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:32,920 as a nation and I believe it's important for us to see why we 140 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,760 had that calling and what that should mean to us. 141 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:39,000 And I actually have a heart for my nation and I'm praying and 142 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,840 believing that God's going to make our nation truly fulfill 143 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:46,760 all God's purpose that he has for us in a whole new dimension. 144 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:50,080 And so I'm Marie for Ewing, these things with the help of 145 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:52,640 the Holy Spirit. So I can say, God, what are you 146 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:55,040 doing next? Because I know this is a new 147 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:57,280 day. This is a new season and God 148 00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,120 says be ready for what I'm doing next. 149 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:02,200 I'm doing something awesome now. I've often shared how that when 150 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:05,960 I was just a kid, I used to be involved and are interested in 151 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:09,640 current events in history. Matter of fact, when I was in 152 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,440 4th grade, I was all excited because my brother Bill was in 153 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:15,880 8th grade and he had AUS history book and I could read that 154 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:18,080 history book, which was how far ahead. 155 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:20,200 I wasn't reading as far as history because to me, I could 156 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:24,640 take anything I could consume. And I have actually a scrapbook 157 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,080 where I cut out articles from the newspaper. 158 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,880 In 1963, I was only nine years old, but I was already reading 159 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,720 the newspaper, very interesting current events and cut out all 160 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:35,760 these articles and put them in a scrapbook. 161 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,679 They don't look too good anymore because I use a glue to put them 162 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:41,720 in the scrapbook. But anyway, I still save them to 163 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,920 remind me I've all had these interesting things. 164 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,680 And I really believe that God creates us and also makes us 165 00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:51,600 into the person he has called us to be as a part of his eternal 166 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:53,800 purpose. And so it's important for us to 167 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,080 see who we are and look at ourselves and say, well, This is 168 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:00,600 why God made me this way, so that I could fulfill his eternal 169 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,000 purpose. And part of that for me was not 170 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,080 just going in that direction, because when I was in elementary 171 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,880 school, I was sure I was going to run for president one day. 172 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,680 But then the Lord put it in my heart that, well, it's a much 173 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:16,320 higher calling to be a prophet to a king than to be a king. 174 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,040 And that's what I want to be. I want to be somebody that's 175 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,800 close to God, hearing His voice and sharing it with the people 176 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:27,400 and then being a witness to our nation in order that we might be 177 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,560 that light that will give them something to see, to become 178 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:32,480 everything that God has called them to be. 179 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,680 Well, I want to show you this map because this shows you the 180 00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:39,920 world that I was always observing when I was a kid, and 181 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:41,520 this is the world that I lived in. 182 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:45,320 If you notice over this map, it talks about the world order from 183 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:49,400 1947, which is shortly after World War 2 to 1991. 184 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,360 And if you look at this map, the reddish color over there to my 185 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:58,400 right is the Communist world. And the Soviet Union, of course, 186 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:02,200 was the major power that after World War 2 they had taken over 187 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,280 Eastern Europe. And through the influences of 188 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:09,040 what they did in China in World War 2, they actually were able 189 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:12,600 to take over China. So that was the communist world, 190 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,720 if you would. Everything in blue is what is 191 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:19,880 commonly called at the time the free world, but also called the 192 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,360 Western world. And I'll get into that concept 193 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:24,600 in just a moment. So in that sense we had a 194 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:28,360 bipolar world. The greenish color areas were 195 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:31,200 countries they called non aligned nations because they 196 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:34,360 weren't necessarily a part of each one as far as the camp 197 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:36,840 goes. But in this bipolar world it was 198 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,240 the free world against the communist world. 199 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:43,800 And it says 1991 because about that time communism began to 200 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,800 collapse. The Soviet Union became Russia 201 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,480 all over again. All the countries of Eastern 202 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:52,520 Europe were deliberated, some parts of the northern part of 203 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:54,320 the Soviet Union, the southern part. 204 00:10:54,560 --> 00:10:57,560 That's why we have the war in Ukraine right now. 205 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,200 Now, when I was a kid, we always thought, well, the communists 206 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,040 want to take over the world. And that's why Russia is so 207 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:05,160 aggressive and going after all these nations. 208 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:10,880 And what history proves is that, well, people aren't always doing 209 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,640 what they do because they believe in something. 210 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:15,520 They believe in something because it's what they want to 211 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:18,160 do. Hope you can catch that one 212 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:22,240 because after communism stopped, it didn't stop Russia from still 213 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:25,200 trying to take over the world. That's 'cause why we have a war 214 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:27,600 in the Ukraine today because they're saying we want our 215 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:31,720 empire back. But anyway, that world came a 216 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,080 separated. If you would, most people would 217 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,920 say that China is still communist, but I would say 218 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:38,800 they're not really communist now. 219 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:41,640 They follow a pattern, what we would call state sponsored 220 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,600 capitalism, because they do have a capitalist side of their 221 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,120 economy, but it's all controlled by the state. 222 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:50,720 And that's becoming more the pattern of many nations of the 223 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,320 world and something we need to be mindful of ourselves because 224 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:57,400 we've always been what you'd call limited capitalist nation. 225 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:00,400 And so it's important for us to see the trends of the world to 226 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:02,560 see what's happening in our world as well. 227 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:06,000 So anyway, after the communist world fell, it was basically 228 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,640 often still spoken of about the Eastern world, which was the 229 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,320 formerly communist world, and the Western world, which for us, 230 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,400 if you notice, it says the United States and then the blue 231 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:20,360 part of Western Europe. On Wednesday. 232 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,040 I was talking about the fact that Western culture, 233 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,600 civilization actually started in the Middle East, had a Greek 234 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:30,800 influence, had the Roman influence, the Latin influence, 235 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:34,000 if you would, ultimately with the Catholic Church taking over 236 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,280 Europe. That's why people who talk about 237 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:40,200 classical Western thinking, they will include Christianity, 238 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,520 because Christianity had a part in that. 239 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:47,360 Unfortunately, the influence of Christianity in Europe has 240 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:53,040 declined considerably and less than 3% in some of the nations. 241 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,240 Even Italy, where you think of Rome as being the seat of 242 00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:00,120 Catholicism, they have hardly any church attendance at all. 243 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:04,560 Most of Europe, they're formerly beautiful cathedrals are used 244 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:07,320 for museums, tourist attractions, etcetera. 245 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:10,960 And the countries have become totally secularized. 246 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:14,000 They're trying to promote that in our country. 247 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,840 A lot of influences, if you would, of secularization or 248 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:19,960 trying to change the United States of America. 249 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:23,240 And they'll talk about the United States that we're behind 250 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:26,200 Europe in that sense because we haven't secularized if you 251 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:29,000 would. And so many times people will 252 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,840 say we're behind them, but basically we're going to get 253 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:34,440 that way. I say no, that's not going to 254 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:37,400 happen because we're here. Amen. 255 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:41,320 We're not going to let that happen because we understand 256 00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:44,160 that God has had a special plan for our nation. 257 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:46,960 And I, I really believe with all my heart, the plan of God 258 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,400 includes all the nations of the earth. 259 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:53,080 But because I live in the United States of America, I have a 260 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:56,320 desire and also a burden to pray for my nation as well. 261 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:00,000 But the important thing to understand is in this process of 262 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,680 change, it's important for us to recognize why is the United 263 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:06,560 States still basically a believing nation? 264 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:09,600 And why is it that we still have so many people that go to 265 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:11,560 church? There's fluctuations and 266 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:14,000 changes, but people come back to church. 267 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,080 And I'm going to talk about how that has worked in history. 268 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:20,240 And I really believe it's going to happen even more in our day. 269 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:21,840 We're already seeing the first signs of it. 270 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:26,600 But why is it that America has held onto her religion, so to 271 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,040 speak, as the historians will say? 272 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:33,680 And This is why and I want to go to this scripture here in First 273 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:37,360 Peter chapter 1, where it says since you have purified your 274 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:40,640 souls and obeying the truth through the spirit and sincere 275 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,560 love of the brother and love one another fervently with the pure 276 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:48,280 heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of 277 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,400 incorruptible through the Word of God, which lives and abides 278 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:53,400 forever. Why? 279 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:56,960 Because all flesh is grass and all the glory man as the flower 280 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,640 of the grass. The grass Withers, its flower 281 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,280 falls away, but the word of God endures forever. 282 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,320 And I want to talk about the fact that in our country we had 283 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:10,800 an awakening in the early 18 or excuse the early 1700s. 284 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:15,600 We were not yet a country. And it was at that time just 285 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:19,280 people who had come over here, mostly from Europe, to settle in 286 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:23,760 our country, oftentimes leaving political persecution, religious 287 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:26,200 persecution. But they were coming here to the 288 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,840 United States for a whole new experience. 289 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:33,480 Now, what this new awakening was about is, and I'm going to give 290 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:36,440 credit because I'm kind of simplifying it to two people, 291 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:41,280 John Whitfield and John, or George Whitfield and John 292 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:43,320 Wesley. There was another man by the 293 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,720 name of Jonathan Edwards who was a pastor in New England who was 294 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,240 very influential as well. But Whitfield and Wesley were 295 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,480 friends. They went to the same college. 296 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:57,280 They were both a part of the English Anglican Church if you 297 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:01,160 would, and they had then members of what was called the Holy Club 298 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:05,200 and that's where the Methodist Church comes from because they 299 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:08,800 had a method of study in the Bible so that they could get 300 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:12,560 closer to the Lord. Now England at the time was like 301 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:14,960 most of Europe, they had a state church. 302 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:19,240 It was the Church of England, the King of England or Queen, 303 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,000 whichever 1 is actually considered the head of the 304 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,440 church. They have the Archbishop of 305 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:27,040 Canterbury, but that's the highest religious figure. 306 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:29,760 But the king and queen are considered over it all. 307 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,040 And really that was typical in Europe. 308 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:36,680 They had churches that were part of the state, intertwined 309 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:39,200 together. So when a person was born, 310 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:43,280 you're not only took on your identity from your citizenship, 311 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:45,800 but also you were considered a part of that church. 312 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,280 So most Christians were Christians by natural birth, if 313 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,760 you would. Well, what happened when America 314 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:56,760 was founded and it had no civil government per SE? 315 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:00,400 We were colonists of England at one point, but people were 316 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:02,800 living in a world that had a very limited amount of 317 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:07,960 government, no established church per SE, and they needed 318 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:10,200 somebody to rely on. And guess what? 319 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:11,800 They turn to God. I mean, you know, that's a good 320 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,599 thing. But John Wesley and George 321 00:17:14,599 --> 00:17:19,079 Whitfield, they came and had a heart for the United States. 322 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:22,920 John Wesley came here on a limited basis. 323 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:24,359 He spent most of his time in England. 324 00:17:24,839 --> 00:17:27,200 But Whitfield, he was very powerful. 325 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:31,000 He had this just amazing voice. And he would preach literally to 326 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,240 thousands of people. And back then, of course, they 327 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,720 didn't have sound systems like we do today, but God had given 328 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:40,600 this him this amazing voice where he could speak and his 329 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:43,920 voice would be heard from multitudes of people in front of 330 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:45,640 him. And it was an amazing thing. 331 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:49,920 But the most important thing is he preached and John Wesley is 332 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:54,080 that you can be born again. So it isn't just about that 333 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:56,360 you're born in a church, but you're born again. 334 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:58,640 How many know? Jesus said if you want to see 335 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,200 her enter into the Kingdom of God, you must be born again. 336 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:04,480 And so the church had kind of gotten away from that. 337 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:07,480 And there were parts of Europe that were following this as 338 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,360 well, but it mostly became a part of the United States. 339 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,440 And what happened here is they preached about the new birth 340 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,200 because these two men had a new birth experience. 341 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,320 And this great awakening came because people all over the 342 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:23,520 country were being born again as they're hearing this message. 343 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,760 This isn't just about religion. This isn't just about the state 344 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:28,480 church or the institutional church. 345 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:31,200 This is about the fact that you can be born again. 346 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:33,960 I put over they're the struggle because how many know after 347 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:37,520 you're born again, you still have your flesh, you have your 348 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:40,560 spiritual side, you have your natural side, which the Bible 349 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:43,360 calls the flesh. And when you're born again, that 350 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:47,720 spiritual side is supposed to help you discipline the natural 351 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:49,920 side. But you will find out there is a 352 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,360 struggle. But we have to understand that 353 00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:54,520 God gives us power in the struggle. 354 00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:57,600 But the most important thing we have to understand is that in 355 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:01,640 this great awakening, multitudes of people experience something 356 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:03,640 in the Lord. That was quite profound. 357 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:06,120 And I want to put this up. My son Billy gave me this 358 00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:08,600 because Ben Franklin actually had a quote. 359 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:12,360 He became friends with George Whitfield and he was talking 360 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:14,640 about the impact of this awakening. 361 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:18,160 He said it was wonderful to see the change soon made by the 362 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:21,520 preaching in the manners of the inhabitants for being 363 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:23,720 thoughtless or indifferent about religion. 364 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:27,880 Now it seemed as if all the world was growing religious, so 365 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:31,440 that one could not walk through the town in the evening without 366 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:35,240 hearing some sung in different families of every street. 367 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:38,960 Can you imagine something amazing like that happening and 368 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,520 somebody is so well known in our history who recorded this and 369 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:45,720 became very good friends with George Whitfield because he was 370 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:49,400 quite amazed how this could have happened in our country and 371 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:51,200 church. I believe it can happen all over 372 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:52,160 again. How about you? 373 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:56,560 I have seen the revivals in my life. 374 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,840 I've certainly a part of the charismatic Jesus people 375 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:01,680 movement. I've seen how God has moved in 376 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,440 very powerful ways. When it seems like the world is 377 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:06,960 falling apart and everybody's turned away from God, all of a 378 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,000 sudden God comes on the scene and he says, oh, I'm going to 379 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:10,480 show you something better than that. 380 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:13,360 And that's what I believe he's going to do in the day and hour 381 00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:15,800 in which we live. So the first Great Awakening 382 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,520 came to pass through the preaching of the concept of the 383 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,000 new birth. And it had a profound effect, 384 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,800 and many people believe that actually contributed to the 385 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,600 revolution that brought the birthing of our nation. 386 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:31,560 But I want to continue talking about what happened at the 387 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,760 beginning of the Second Great Awakening. 388 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:37,400 And I'm going to use this scripture as a description of 389 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:40,520 what happened spiritually. It says, but know this, that in 390 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:42,600 the last days perilous times will come. 391 00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:45,520 Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, 392 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,600 boasters, proud blasphemers, disobedient to parents, 393 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,720 unthankful, unholy, unloving and forgiving, slanders without 394 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:56,240 self-control, brutal despisers of good. 395 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,480 Traders had strong haughty lovers of pleasure rather than 396 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:04,600 lovers of God having a form of godliness but denying his power 397 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:07,760 from such people. Turn away now. 398 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:11,320 The Second Great Awakening emphasized that we need to have 399 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,280 a lifestyle that goes with our Christianity. 400 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:16,880 Now if you notice in the Scripture, it says in the last 401 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:20,120 days, perilous days will come. And so a lot of people take a 402 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:22,480 verse like that and they'll say, oh, is this the last days? 403 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,280 Is Jesus coming? And the emphasis is always the 404 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:28,440 last days as the last days of history. 405 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,960 But when you look at the fact that Jesus said I would go my 406 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:36,080 church and spend 2000 years, you have to understand there's been 407 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,880 a lot of different seasons in the process of Jesus Christ 408 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,480 building his church. I shared this a few months back 409 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:47,200 and talking about what some are calling the 4th turning in our 410 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:49,960 nation. That history is an 80 year and 411 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:52,800 then divided up into 20 year cycles that were in the fourth 412 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:55,400 turning. And it is obvious when you look 413 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:59,080 at history that it's not linear in fashion, but it moves in 414 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:01,440 cycles. And so we have to understand 415 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:04,880 just like it is with the season. That's why the Bible says that 416 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:07,240 for everything there is a season and there's a time. 417 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:11,120 And so because us, we always think of it going in a certain 418 00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:14,160 direction, when perilous times are here, we can only think, 419 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,480 well, it's going to get worse. And the Lord said no perilous 420 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,160 times are going to come or difficult times. 421 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:24,880 But when difficult times come, you have to get your perspective 422 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:29,040 and understand what can you do about these times. 423 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:31,960 Now what the apostle said here is he said you have to 424 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:34,720 understand something. There are people who have a form 425 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:39,240 of godliness but deny the power of godliness and basically 426 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:41,320 that's the way it was in the European church. 427 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:45,000 People had a religious form, but they didn't understand that with 428 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,760 Christianity there is a lifestyle that God calls us to 429 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,640 that literally brings power to our life. 430 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:55,720 I found out this out as a kid when I was in Sunday school. 431 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:58,760 I learned about the word of God and I was told that if you 432 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:01,120 follow the word, it's going to bring blessing to your life. 433 00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:04,400 And guess what? I found out it's true and that's 434 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:07,760 why the apostle Paul in his day was talking about perilous 435 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:10,000 times. And he said in these difficult 436 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:11,760 times we got to remember something. 437 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,840 A lot of people have a religion that doesn't have power to it, 438 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:16,840 but you need the religion that has power. 439 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:21,360 Can I hear any men on that? And he says what produces the 440 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:26,000 power is godliness because you need, excuse me, to be born 441 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:32,120 again, then you need to live a born again life to truly release 442 00:23:32,120 --> 00:23:36,360 that power of God in your life. Now, during the second Great 443 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:40,280 Awakening, there was a man by the name of Lehman Beecher and 444 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:43,040 we actually were going to was going to name our leadership 445 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,880 training program after him because of the significance of 446 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:48,800 his life. But we didn't do it that way. 447 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:52,680 But he had an amazing life because he was a person who said 448 00:23:53,120 --> 00:23:55,120 our country is not doing so well. 449 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,800 So there was a great awakening, Things go bad and all of a 450 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,000 sudden God's got to raise up another voice. 451 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,320 Don't give up. Do something about what you see. 452 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,840 Well, what had happened in the country is because of the 453 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:09,800 direction of the nation and lack of structure, there was an 454 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:14,560 overwhelming amount of alcoholism, substance abuse, and 455 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:18,640 it was a it was a bad situation. So he started what was called 456 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:22,120 the temperance movement and began to promote to people 457 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:25,280 healthy living styles. And he that was just one of the 458 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:28,080 examples. And literally you can record in 459 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:32,320 history just over a short period of time how that the amount of 460 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:38,720 alcohol consumed in the nation declined by 2/3 just by one guy 461 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,280 saying we got to do something about this church. 462 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,080 When you make a choice to do something, how many know with 463 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:45,880 God's help all things are possible. 464 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:48,560 We should never look at a role and say, oh, things are bad, 465 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,760 What are we going to do and only think to be a opportunity that 466 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:53,400 we need to look for as an escape. 467 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:56,320 We need to say, God, what am I going to do? 468 00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:58,840 Because I'm going to change this situation. 469 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,440 I believe there's power in your word and I'm going to believe 470 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:07,920 you for your word. So in this movement, and I 471 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,480 mentioned also Whitfield and Wesley, because there were 472 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:16,040 basically 2 streams of evangelicalism and that's 473 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:19,120 describing Christians who believe in the Bible as their 474 00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:21,120 guide for following their Christian life. 475 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:25,560 There are people like Whitfield who preached about getting saved 476 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:30,000 and he always had that as a part of his altar calls. 477 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,360 We need to get saved. And then if you're wavering, 478 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:36,600 there would be times when they would rededicate their lives 479 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:39,760 before the Lord. But then John Wesley, who 480 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:45,040 preached what often later became known as a second work of grace 481 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:49,280 because he believed in the active word of God and the power 482 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:52,320 of the Holy Spirit. And he actually taught something 483 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:56,480 called Christian perfection. Now, that's the scary word that 484 00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:59,000 I use from time to time. But literally, that just means 485 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,800 coming to completion. That means you can become 486 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,080 everything that God has called you to be. 487 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:08,280 You may not ever be everything people want you to be, but you 488 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:09,840 can be everything he wants you to be. 489 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:12,240 Amen, Church. That's important for us to 490 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,960 understand. And so it's important at that, 491 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,360 that we would recognize how this impacted the world in which they 492 00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:20,520 lived. And I wanted to share you with 493 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:21,520 you. This picture. 494 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:24,600 This is a picture that would have been in the history book 495 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:27,640 that I read. I was growing when I was growing 496 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:29,600 up. I lived in Clark's of my life, 497 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:32,160 started kindergarten, graduated from Clark in high school. 498 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:35,000 Back in those days, Christmas season, guess what? 499 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:37,800 We had concerts where you sang Christian songs because it was 500 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:41,320 Christmas. We had Easter songs at Easter 501 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:45,200 because, well, the society wasn't secularized the way it is 502 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:48,880 today. However, in the books, it was 503 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:51,640 still history books talking about the Great Awakenings and 504 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,600 what had happened in our nation. You think even the educators 505 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:56,560 would have said, hey, we don't want to lose this. 506 00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,520 Anyway, this was a picture of what happened during the Second 507 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:03,800 Great Awakening. And this was an altar call 508 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,520 because at the end they would have an altar call and this 509 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:08,880 would show you the altar call of that stream. 510 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:11,800 I was talking about who they would go to the altar and they 511 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:14,880 would cry out to God and there were very emotional 512 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:19,120 demonstrations of the other picture I had that was in my 513 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:22,280 book, I couldn't find it to show you here today, but it shows an 514 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,040 altar call where it looks like a Pentecostal church service. 515 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:28,120 People are falling under the power and dancing around 516 00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:30,240 whatever. But the people got really 517 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,520 connected with the Holy Spirit and presence of God and were 518 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:36,480 emotionally connected because they were meeting God at the 519 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:38,920 altar. And there was a tremendous 520 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:42,640 change that occurred through this experience. 521 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:45,920 And so I wanted to show that as well because I've been talking 522 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:47,880 about the different things we do at Mount Zion. 523 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:51,240 And one of the things we have at the close of every service is an 524 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:53,440 altar call. And I want you to understand 525 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:57,520 where this originated in the history of the Christian Church. 526 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:02,400 It actually began in our country as it pertained to people at the 527 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:06,440 close of a message having an opportunity to experience God. 528 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,480 Now this led to what was called the Third Great Awakening. 529 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:14,280 And I would say this Scripture best sums that up and says, now 530 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:19,760 may the God of peace himself what sanctify you completely and 531 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:23,240 may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at 532 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:25,360 the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 533 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:30,640 He who calls you is what? Who will what? 534 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,120 A lot of times there was a whole stream of Christianity who 535 00:28:35,120 --> 00:28:37,640 believed in being born again, tried the best they could to 536 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:40,560 live a Christian life, but they really didn't believe in the 537 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:44,120 power of sanctification, the work of the Holy Spirit that 538 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:47,120 could empower people. So to them grace is always well, 539 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:49,600 do the best you can, then let the grace make the difference. 540 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,000 But John Wesley and those who followed the work of the Holy 541 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,880 Spirit and the belief that God could do something to encourage 542 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:00,200 you but also empower you. Believe that as you came to the 543 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:03,280 Lord, you could have this second work of grace called 544 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:07,880 sanctification where God could set you apart for His purpose 545 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,680 and work His true holiness inside of you. 546 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:14,560 Now this is important and why I wanted to bring this out because 547 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:18,080 oftentimes people from the side of evangelicalism that only 548 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:21,440 emphasizes getting saved will come to a church like Mount Zion 549 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:24,880 and they'll say you never have altar calls for people to get 550 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,360 saved. Well, for us, church is the 551 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,640 place you come to be empowered and mature as a Christian. 552 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:33,640 The church isn't a place to get people saved. 553 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:36,480 Our community centers are a place to get people saved. 554 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,200 Talking to your neighbor is a good place to get people saved. 555 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:40,440 How many? You know what I'm talking about? 556 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:43,200 That's why I said earlier we should all have the word of the 557 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:46,120 Lord. And so if you think we're not 558 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:50,000 that we're hindered in our evangelism, obviously that's not 559 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,080 true because how many, You know, almost every week we get 560 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:54,480 somebody baptized. How many know that means they've 561 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:57,720 heard the gospel, somebody's talked to them, somebody's 562 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:00,160 encouraged them and made them to understand. 563 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:04,400 But for the altar calls, we have it so that we can come forward 564 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,520 and after we've heard the sermon, say, you know what? 565 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:10,800 I need that in my life. I need that in my heart. 566 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,640 And so the purpose of the altar call then becomes a place of 567 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:16,800 empowerment, place of sanctification. 568 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:20,040 And I put up here divine reliance because that Scripture 569 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,320 says he's the one that's going to do it. 570 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:27,600 So it isn't about self help as the world would offer you 571 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:31,600 because there's no God. But for us, we know God says 572 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:35,400 this is how you can live. And if I say, well Lord, I can't 573 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:41,080 do that, He will say to us, you can, with my help and with 574 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:44,680 divine reliance, if you would, We'll know that we can do all 575 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,760 things with the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 576 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,040 And that's what God wants us to understand. 577 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:52,000 And that's what I believe happens here. 578 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:55,280 Every time we have a service, something happens to change a 579 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,160 life. This is what the church is 580 00:30:57,160 --> 00:30:59,480 supposed to be. It says you are the salt of the 581 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:01,560 earth. But if the salt loses its 582 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:03,280 flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 583 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,520 It is then good for nothing but be thrown out, trampled under 584 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:08,920 foot by men. You are the light of the world. 585 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:12,040 The city that has sat on the hill cannot be hidden, nor do 586 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:15,480 they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp 587 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:18,840 stand and it gives light to all who are in the house. 588 00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:22,400 So what should we do? Let your light so shine before 589 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:26,040 men, that they might see your good works and glorify your 590 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:29,600 Father in heaven. And I've often shared the story. 591 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:33,880 The reason we bought the property here, I-75 is one day 592 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:36,040 the Lord's. I was walking this property and 593 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:37,720 the Lord reminded me of that scripture. 594 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:39,600 A city set on the hill cannot be hid. 595 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:43,360 We're not actually on a hill here, but we're at a location 596 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:47,000 where over 4000 cars an hour pass by. 597 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,560 And that was something they said 30 years ago. 598 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:53,240 So it and especially on Friday night, so there's traffic jams 599 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:55,320 where they're sitting in front of the church for a very long 600 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,280 time as well. But anyway, God has called the 601 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:01,240 church to be salt and light. Light is, well, there's 602 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:04,520 something people can see that's different than what they're 603 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:08,120 seeing in the world. And salt is for the purposes of 604 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:11,360 preservation. It can taste good, too. 605 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:17,080 And so we have to understand that God says you are the salt 606 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:19,680 of the earth. And when people look out and 607 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:22,040 say, where's, where's America going? 608 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:24,840 What's going to happen? You can say there's some salt 609 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:28,560 here if you would, There's some light here if you would. 610 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:30,160 And we're going to make a difference. 611 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:31,080 Amen. Church. 612 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:33,720 That's so important. And that's what Mount Zion's 613 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:35,920 vision is. And I believe that God's saying 614 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:38,480 it's going to happen more. We're going to see it as never 615 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:41,560 before. God made a promise to Abraham. 616 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:46,320 He said your seed will be a blessing in every nation of the 617 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:48,240 earth. And that's why we also have a 618 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:52,360 vision to reach out to Mexico and El Salvador, Havana, Cuba. 619 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:54,480 And I'm very excited. I'm in prayer every day because 620 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:56,680 there's all kinds of things happening. 621 00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:59,840 I really believe that Cuba's going to be liberated from the 622 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:02,880 tormentor. That's hell the country in 623 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:06,480 bondage for many, many years and I just thank God because I 624 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:09,280 believe that God's moving in a whole new way right now church 625 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:13,160 and we are going to see God do some awesome things. 626 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:16,320 Amen. Now Romans 12 says I beseech you 627 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:19,600 there for brethren by the mercies of God that you present 628 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:23,280 your bodies of living sacrifice, holding acceptable God, which is 629 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:26,680 your reasonable servants. Do not be conformed to this 630 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:31,520 world, but what be transformed by the renewing of your mind 631 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:36,040 that you may prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect 632 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:38,160 will of God. This is the third levels, the 633 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:41,400 perfect will and it's important for us to understand this is 634 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:45,440 where God's calling us today. When we have an altar call, we 635 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:47,480 what present ourselves and say God. 636 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:50,760 There's a word that I heard here today, and I want that word to 637 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:52,320 be life in me. Now. 638 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:55,160 We don't just present ourselves and say, I don't want to live 639 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,920 the way I used to. We believe that when we come 640 00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:01,360 before the presence of the Lord, at least we should, that we can 641 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:07,080 be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we don't 642 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:11,360 think the way we used to think. We used to think that we had 643 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:14,760 something to be ashamed of. God says, let me cleanse you of 644 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:16,760 all that shame, says the mighty God. 645 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:20,480 We used to only see ourselves as victims, as so many people in 646 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:22,400 the world today. And God says, no, I've not 647 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:25,440 called you to be a victim. I've called you to be victorious 648 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:27,880 in this life. Choose victory. 649 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:30,600 Don't choose victimhood, choose victory. 650 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:32,400 And I'll give that to you, says the Lord. 651 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:36,000 So we present ourselves knowing that we can go through a 652 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:42,000 transformation as we have this this great confidence in what it 653 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,679 is that the Lord is going to do. Which brings us to the 654 00:34:45,679 --> 00:34:48,040 Scriptures. In Ephesians chapter 5 that I 655 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:50,840 read, it says, but all things are exposed. 656 00:34:51,639 --> 00:34:54,920 They're made manifested by the light, for whatever makes 657 00:34:54,920 --> 00:35:00,600 manifest is liked. Therefore he says, awake you who 658 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:04,040 sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. 659 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,080 This is very important because the word of the Lord to us is 660 00:35:07,240 --> 00:35:09,640 thus saith the Lord. It's a day for a new awakening. 661 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:13,760 It's time for you to awaken yourself, says the Lord. 662 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:18,760 Isaiah 52 said it this way. He says it's time to arise, 663 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:24,440 shake off the dust and say I'm moving on, I'm believing what 664 00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:28,240 God has said, and I'm going to arise and shine so that the 665 00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:30,600 glory, the Lord can be seen upon me. 666 00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:34,800 Hallelujah. It's a time of an awakening 667 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:38,760 church, and this is a day when God's inviting us to be a part 668 00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:42,040 of it in a whole new dimension. See then, that you walk 669 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:47,560 circumstance spectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming 670 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:48,560 the time. Why? 671 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:51,000 Well, but the days we're living in are quite evil. 672 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:55,800 Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the 673 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:59,840 Lord is and the will of the Lord is that we should be confident 674 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:05,160 that our walk with Him can give to us the strength that we have 675 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:11,400 need of to do all things that He has asked of us and to poise 676 00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:15,200 ourselves to believe in the Word of God that says God's going to 677 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:19,320 do something that's exceedingly and abundantly above all that we 678 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,240 could ask or think. Now I really believe that one of 679 00:36:22,240 --> 00:36:25,840 the things we need that this time is a wisdom and an 680 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:29,240 understanding, the wisdom and understanding of the world. 681 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,600 It's not working and it won't work. 682 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:35,800 But guess what, Church, we have the true wisdom from heaven. 683 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,280 Amen. And if you're facing a situation 684 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:40,000 today and you're like, what can I do? 685 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:43,120 I don't know what to do. God said in his word, if anybody 686 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:46,480 needs wisdom, just ask me. I'll give you more than you need 687 00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:48,800 is basically what it says in church. 688 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:52,400 God saying to us today, He wants to give us wisdom and 689 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:56,280 understanding as never before now in the world they're trying 690 00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:59,600 to get away from the world that they're in and that's why God 691 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:03,280 says to us do not be drunk with wine and which is dissipation, 692 00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:08,120 but be what filled with the Spirit speaking to one another 693 00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:12,320 Church, we need to have a shared experience and a shared life. 694 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:15,400 We need each other at this time, speaking to one another in 695 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:20,920 psalms and spiritual songs, singing, making melody in your 696 00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:25,600 heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the 697 00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:29,840 Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 698 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:31,840 Can we just bow our heads for just a moment? 699 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:36,000 Church, I'll tell you, this is such an exciting time in God. 700 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:45,360 History is happening, but you need to have the spiritual 701 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:52,040 perspective, spiritual insight. What is it that God's doing in 702 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:55,360 the world? What is it that God's doing in 703 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:58,360 your life? He'll show you. 704 00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:02,360 He'll give you understanding, and you'll be able to walk in 705 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:04,880 the fullness of all things he has for you. 706 00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:08,880 This is Pastor Lauren Coverbius from Mount Zion Church. 707 00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:11,840 We thank you for joining us today and invite you to connect 708 00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:15,480 with our church family by visiting mountzion.org and 709 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:18,080 following us on social media. God bless you.