1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,560 Well, I want to open with the scripture that I shared with you 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,000 last week, and that's from Hebrews chapter 12. 3 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:09,520 Now this week I put verse 18 over it as the heading because 4 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:13,240 in this the apostle Paul writing this letter is letting the 5 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:18,160 people know you have not come to the mountain you can touch. 6 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:20,520 Because in the Old Testament everything was literal. 7 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,320 There was a literal Mount Zion, there was a literal temple. 8 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:28,000 There was a literal Jerusalem. But in the New Testament, it is 9 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,480 a spiritual reality that we must walk in. 10 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,920 And that's why we put this display on that's always here as 11 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,920 we open our services, just to remind us why we call our church 12 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:41,800 Mount Zion and what it is that we should be endeavoring to 13 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:44,880 experience as we come here. You should know that you have 14 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,840 come to Mount Zion to the city of the living God. 15 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:52,720 It is the heavenly Jerusalem to innumerable company of angels, 16 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,680 to the General Assembly Church of the first born who are 17 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,160 registered in heaven, to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits 18 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,960 of just men made perfect, to Jesus, the Mediator of the new 19 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:05,319 Covenant, to the blood of sprinkling. 20 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,880 That speaks better things than that of able. 21 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:11,280 Now it's very important for us to understand. 22 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:14,920 He said you have come because he's talking about the reality. 23 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:17,760 When we come to church today, we have come to Mount Zion. 24 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,200 Now this verse isn't speaking just about our local church, but 25 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,680 our church is called Mount Zion because we absolutely believe 26 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,120 what the Bible says concerning the term Mount Zion in the Old 27 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:29,840 Testament. It says in the latter days of 28 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,160 time, the mountain of the Lord's house would be established on 29 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:35,600 top of the mountains. It will be exalted above the 30 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,600 hills and people are going to say, come and let us go to the 31 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,920 mountain of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob. 32 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,200 He will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his path. 33 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,240 For out of Mount Zion shall go the law and the word of the Lord 34 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:49,560 from Jerusalem. Those are the scriptures the 35 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:54,600 Lord gave to me way back in 1977 as we're preparing to have a 36 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:58,320 local church and seeking the direction of God and everything 37 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,920 that we did both in the building, we should buy the name 38 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:03,520 that we should have and that's when the Lord inspired this to 39 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:05,440 me. Be prepared for the latter days 40 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:09,440 of time because I'm I'm going to do something awesome in the air. 41 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,480 Now going into the book of Hebrews chapter 12, we 42 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:15,880 understand there's not just a natural, but there's also a 43 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,760 spiritual dimension. And that's why he talks about 44 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:22,560 Mountain Zion in its spiritual reality that when we have come 45 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,560 to the House of God, how many know this is a meeting place 46 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:29,000 with God, that as we gather in the name of Jesus, that the 47 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,040 Bible says he's here in the midst of us literally 48 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,640 worshipping with us. I think that's just an awesome 49 00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:38,680 thing that I should know and understand, but also recognizing 50 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:40,600 that he is here through the Word. 51 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:42,080 He's here through the altar calls. 52 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:46,280 God's presence is with us and we have a connection with heaven. 53 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:50,200 We have to understand that the heavens have been opened to us. 54 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:52,880 And I really believe there's a new reality that God wants to 55 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,280 show us in this time where we really understand and see 56 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:59,920 ourselves as being representatives of God here on 57 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:02,440 earth. The Kingdom of God, Jesus said, 58 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,960 is before you. And we have to understand there 59 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:10,520 is a present tense reality that God wants us to have concerning 60 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,320 heaven and also concerning His church. 61 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,960 And again, it is a spiritual reality. 62 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,160 When something's a spiritual reality, we have to fully 63 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:23,200 embrace it and we have to understand that it's not 64 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,600 something that you're just going to experience unless you 65 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:31,080 understand how important it is that you prepare yourself to 66 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,320 understand what's going to happen spiritually in this 67 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,000 particular case when you come to the House of God. 68 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:40,800 I don't know about you, but I came today to experience Jesus. 69 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:42,920 How about you, Church? Give Him a praise on that. 70 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:48,280 He is here and we are here to experience that spiritual 71 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:50,320 reality. Now, in order for us to have a 72 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,880 spiritual reality, we have to walk in the faith dimension. 73 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:56,920 That's why this Scripture again, what I shared last week. 74 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,880 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way. 75 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,360 Do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven, that is 76 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,720 to bring Christ down from above, or who will descend into the 77 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:09,600 abyss, that is to bring Christ from the dead. 78 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,640 But what does it say? The Word is near you. 79 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:16,920 It is in your mouth and in your heart. 80 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:20,640 That is what the Word of Faith which we preach. 81 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,320 And at Mount Zion we certainly preach the Word of Faith because 82 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:26,320 faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word. 83 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:29,800 And what happens is we can enter into a faith dimension. 84 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,080 Our father of the faith, Abraham, the Bible says, 85 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:35,880 believed in the God who called the things that were not as 86 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,400 though they were. In other words, even though he 87 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:42,360 was 100 years old, he received strength to have a child with 88 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:46,480 his wife who is 90 years of age. They had to understand there was 89 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:48,480 a spiritual dimension they could live in. 90 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:50,760 Amen. And when they grabbed hold of 91 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,280 that spiritual dimension, being strengthened in faith, she 92 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:56,920 conceived and ultimately bore a child. 93 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,360 And the Bible says that God had spoken to Abraham and said 94 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:02,840 through your seed, all the nations of the earth is going to 95 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:05,320 be blessed. It's going to be more multitude 96 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:08,520 than the sands of the sea. And we can all give testimony 97 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:12,120 that because now 4000 years later, if you can believe that, 98 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,560 we can look out there and see in our world today, literally 99 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,400 billions of people, whether it's through the Christian faith, did 100 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:22,640 the Jewish faith or even Muslims say Abraham is our father. 101 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,720 So however we want to look at it, when God says he's going to 102 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:29,080 make you famous or make your name great, he is faithful to 103 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:30,120 his promise. Amen. 104 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:34,000 And so it's important that we would recognize that requires a 105 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:38,240 faith dimension to enter into the fullness of what God has for 106 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:40,600 us. And I put here heart to mouth 107 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:44,160 because of the Bible says if you believe in your heart and 108 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,920 confess with your mouth because it's very important that our 109 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:52,520 conversation is reflective. The Bible says the power of life 110 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,840 and death is in the tongue. So through our communication on 111 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:59,520 a regular basis, we keep alive our spiritual reality. 112 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:01,840 That should be our spiritual, spiritual reality and being born 113 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:05,040 again, our spiritual reality of what God wants us to experience 114 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:09,520 in his house and certainly in an ongoing basis in the reality he 115 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:11,920 wants each and every one of us to experience. 116 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:15,000 Now Mount Zion here represents the church. 117 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:18,160 It represents the gathering together of the people of God 118 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,920 because we collectively are the body of Christ. 119 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:24,920 And one of the reasons I know the Lord spoke that to me to 120 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,760 share it again with you last week is as darkness is covering 121 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:31,880 the earth and gross darkness, the people, God says to His 122 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,680 church, we need to arise and shine so that His glory can be 123 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:37,920 seen upon us. We're never going to be able to 124 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,600 arise and shine by faith unless we understand the reality of the 125 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,160 collective gathering and what we glean from one another. 126 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:48,400 So that when we leave the House of God, we leave with an 127 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,040 impartation that we can take with us. 128 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,560 But also there is an individual aspect to this that's important. 129 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,040 And that's why I often teach we are the bride of Christ, but we 130 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,760 are also the sons of God. There's our collective part and 131 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,720 there is our individual relationship that we can have 132 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,160 with God. So with that in mind, I want to 133 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:10,480 go to this next verse of scripture that I shared here 134 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,600 from Hebrews chapter 4. It says, For if Joshua had given 135 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:19,360 them rest, then he would not afterward have spoken of another 136 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,840 day. There remains there for a rest 137 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:26,080 for the people of God. For he who has entered his rest 138 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:31,600 has himself also ceased from his works, as God did from him. 139 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,840 That's why I put up there the personal place, because God 140 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:37,720 wants us all to come to a place of rest. 141 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:40,320 We're living in a time of conflict. 142 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:44,600 We're living in a time of anxiety, depression and upset. 143 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:48,040 Everywhere you turn, not only is that out there, but there's 144 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:51,760 somebody in every means of communication trying to rally 145 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,680 you to get excited and get into the conflict. 146 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:58,920 That's so much a part of our everyday life, and all of us 147 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,320 have a certain level of activity and involvement we do in this 148 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:04,480 world. But we should all remember that 149 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:09,680 no matter what our place in the world, we also need to operate 150 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:14,880 from a place of rest. God wants us to know His peace 151 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:18,520 that passes all understanding and enter into that place of 152 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:23,160 rest where we're not upset and in turmoil, but we're at peace 153 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,000 with ourselves. We're at peace with God and 154 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,200 truly church. We're at peace with the world in 155 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:30,600 which we live. And that's something that does 156 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:35,360 take a place of rest and it's what the Bible calls a Sabbath 157 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:38,919 rest. Now it uses the illustration of 158 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:41,880 God how that in the very beginning when he created the 159 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:45,840 heavens and the earth, after six days, the Bible says that he set 160 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:49,320 apart the 7th day and he ceased from his. 161 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,320 Now in this particular reference of Scripture in Hebrews, it's 162 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:56,600 reminding us he didn't just take a day off. 163 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,080 That's the way we would think of it because that's how our world 164 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,080 operates. Though the Bible says that on 165 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,280 the 7th they got seized from his labor. 166 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:08,080 And so whenever God asks his people to observe Sabbath, it's 167 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:12,000 not just to think about one day, but to do it in the 168 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:15,440 understanding that God in the very beginning not only created 169 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:18,480 the heavens and the earth, but the Bible says God has literally 170 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:23,160 said in motion solution history, which I love to call his story. 171 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,280 And that we who are called of God, the Bible says by grace we 172 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,000 have been saved through faith, that none of ourselves, it is 173 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,240 the gift of God, something God has given to us. 174 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:36,520 And that each and everyone of us were created for good works that 175 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:40,960 God has prepared ahead of time. And so it's so important that we 176 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:43,640 understand that we live a prepared life. 177 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:47,400 And so as we pursue God, we have to always be saying to him, 178 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:50,560 Lord, I want to come to that place to rest where I know that, 179 00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:54,680 well, it's settled, you have spoken it, you are going to do 180 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:56,720 it. I just need to find that place 181 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:00,280 of rest that you have for me. Joshua's the leader of the 182 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,480 children of Israel. And his name means God is our 183 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:06,480 salvation. And it is the Hebrew name for 184 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:10,600 Jesus of the New covenant. So Jesus is our Joshua. 185 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:13,680 And he doesn't just want to take us into a physical land. 186 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,040 I mean, he wants to take us to that spiritual land which he 187 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:20,040 calls the Kingdom of God. The Bible says concerning the 188 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:23,880 Kingdom of God, it is righteousness, it is peace and 189 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:26,640 joy in the Holy Ghost. How many want to enter into the 190 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:27,880 Kingdom of God? Amen. 191 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:31,640 We got to do that now. It says they had the gospel in 192 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:33,640 the Old Testament. They knew who reigned in the 193 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:37,720 heavens and the earth, but they never entered into the rest. 194 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:42,320 And God says today, today, hear his voice. 195 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:44,680 This is a today day in God Church. 196 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,880 Say it to yourself today I'm going to enter into that rest 197 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:50,480 because that's what the Bible says. 198 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:55,560 He designates a certain day and that's a today day that we must 199 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,080 recognize and enter into. Having said that, it goes on to 200 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:03,080 say, and again in this place, they shall not enter my rest. 201 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:08,840 Since therefore it remains that some must enter and those to 202 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:10,720 whom it was first preached did not enter. 203 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:12,720 Why? Because of disobedience. 204 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:18,160 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says today, if you will, what, 205 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:22,040 sit with me, hear his voice. So we have to understand, of 206 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:25,720 course, that not everybody will enter into this place God has. 207 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:30,160 But the key for all of us is to hear the voice of God. 208 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:32,840 And sometimes people think, well, I'm not one of those 209 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:35,720 people that's super spiritual. I don't hear the voice of God 210 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:37,640 And you might think just other people do. 211 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:40,400 If you're a Christian, you have heard the voice of God. 212 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:44,240 And I like to remind people that because Jesus, my sheep know my 213 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,440 voice and another, they will not follow. 214 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:49,520 He doesn't say some, He doesn't say now and then. 215 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:52,400 You're a Christian because God called your name. 216 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:57,680 He chose you now it might not have happened like out of 217 00:11:57,680 --> 00:11:59,360 heaven. A voice said hey, it's time to 218 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:02,240 get saved. But the circumstances that 219 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:06,480 worked in your life made you aware of something and really 220 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:09,680 hearing the voice of God is just as simple as that is when you 221 00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:12,560 come to the House of God, when you hear servants when you hear 222 00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:14,360 teaching. Hopefully when you have a 223 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,040 personal time of prayer, you just let yourself listen to God 224 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:22,040 so that you can be aware that there's something He wants you 225 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:27,360 to know both in the world but also in your individual life, 226 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:29,720 that we would hear the voice of God. 227 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:31,920 Now look what this next verse of Scripture says. 228 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:36,840 Now do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, the day of 229 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,440 trial in the wilderness, where your father's tested me, tried 230 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:44,160 me, and saw my works. 40 years. Therefore I was angry that 231 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,800 generation and said they always go astray in their heart and 232 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:52,320 they have not known my ways. So I swore in my wrath they 233 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:56,880 shall not enter my rest. Well, what's the problem they 234 00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:58,640 had? Now the Bible tells us that when 235 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,840 we read the Old Testament, it was written for our example. 236 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:04,680 So we should be able to look back there sometimes and see 237 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:07,760 what people did right and unfortunately sometimes what 238 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:09,880 they did wrong. Now, what happened to the 239 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:13,720 children of Israel that says that they refused to hear the 240 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:17,360 voice of God in the time they were in the wilderness? 241 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,520 They rebelled. Now, when I was growing up in 242 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,240 church, I learned from and read in the King James Version of the 243 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:29,040 Bible and the Word there is provocation and actually in some 244 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:31,800 ways it's a better word. Most of us know that when the 245 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:34,480 Bible is written, obviously it wasn't written in English. 246 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:37,840 So sometimes we can go back to both Hebrew and also Greek, 247 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:41,000 depend if we're talking Old Testament New, and get a little 248 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,480 bit of amplification upon what it is that God is speaking. 249 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:48,640 And the Bible also wants us to understand there's something 250 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:50,880 deeper that we go when we do that. 251 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:55,200 But the word in the original here speaks about something that 252 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:59,960 has become bitter along the road or alongside of us. 253 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,520 In other words, the day of provocation means you got 254 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:05,920 irritated. Anybody out there get irritated? 255 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:08,600 How do you know in life you get irritated? 256 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:12,160 Come on here and Amen. Yes, because I should hear 257 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:15,240 Amens, because we all get irritated from time to time, 258 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:17,480 right? Well, that's what happened to 259 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:21,560 the children of Israel. Rebellion was the outward 260 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:24,800 expression of that, but that came from the fact that they 261 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:29,200 became bitter along the way in their walk with God. 262 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:31,880 And I believe it's very important for us when we read 263 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:34,280 the Bible, just like the children of Israel, not to be 264 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,080 high minded, the Bible says and think that couldn't happen to 265 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:38,960 us. Because when I look back there, 266 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:41,600 I don't think how could they not do that? 267 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:45,320 Because I look back and I say, well, they can do that because 268 00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:49,720 they're just like us. Because of their irritation, 269 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:53,520 they had heart estrangement. And I used the word estrangement 270 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:54,760 just so you'd say, well, what's that? 271 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:57,680 Think for a minute. It means that when your heart is 272 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:01,560 separated from your actions that you're involved in. 273 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:05,080 And sometimes our heart gets disconnected in our relationship 274 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:07,360 with God. Sometimes our heart gets 275 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:10,480 disconnected in our relationships with people. 276 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,840 And we have to understand that one of the ways that happens is 277 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:17,480 we get irritated along the way. Now, when you read the Bible, 278 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:19,840 just like in reading this particular reference, you think, 279 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:25,840 how could the children of Israel have seen all the miracles that 280 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:29,080 they saw and still rebell against God? 281 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:33,280 They were slaves in Egypt and the Lord sent Moses to deliver 282 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:35,280 them. Now, the Pharaoh didn't want to 283 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:37,800 let go of his slaves because they were building his pyramids 284 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:39,840 and whatever else he wanted them to build. 285 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,920 And so he wasn't just going to let go easily. 286 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:45,840 And so the Bible says that through Moses, God put 10 287 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,760 plagues upon the country so that finally the Pharaoh would say, 288 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:52,120 get out of here, I want to let you go. 289 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:55,760 But those plagues were miraculous things that happened 290 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:58,240 as they began to leave the country. 291 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:02,160 The Bible says that they look back behind them and all of a 292 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,000 sudden they realize, hey, the pharaoh and his armies are 293 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,680 chasing us. How many know that would be a 294 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:11,240 terrible thought to think about. And so the Bible tells us that 295 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:14,000 they were in distress. Moses was in distress. 296 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,600 But not only that, they come to a stopping point because in 297 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,200 front of them is the Red Sea. Now what are we going to do? 298 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:23,720 Pharaoh's after us with an army, the Red Seas in front of us. 299 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:27,280 We're goners now. But Moses listened to God and 300 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,760 God said, now take that rod that you have in your hands, stretch 301 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:33,800 it over the Red Sea. And when he did it, it parted 302 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,720 and they crossed over on dry land. 303 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,080 That's amazing. How many of you think that if 304 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,040 you were there and you saw the Red Sea part like that, you'd 305 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:47,960 never complain again. I'm news for you, you probably 306 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:50,960 would. Just like they did when they 307 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:54,040 went over the Red Sea and they went through the wilderness. 308 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,560 There were times when they didn't have food and God sent 309 00:16:57,560 --> 00:16:59,480 them food. There were times when they 310 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:02,040 wanted bread. God made a supernatural 311 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,760 provision for them to have bread and he also made a supernatural 312 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:08,640 provision for them to have meat to eat because that was their 313 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:11,079 second complaint. We don't just want to eat meat. 314 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:16,119 Now all of these miracles are happening and the Bible says 315 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:19,599 they didn't have faith to enter into the promised land because 316 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:22,160 when they got there, they were, they saw giants in the land and 317 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:24,240 said we can't fight against those giants. 318 00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:28,079 And because of that, they didn't get to go into the promised 319 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:31,360 land. Now eventually Joshua LED them 320 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:35,320 into the promised land, but even in the promised land they were 321 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:38,720 never happy. They were never satisfied. 322 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,800 And because of that they were always in rebellion and 323 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:44,280 ultimately they lost the promised land. 324 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:48,200 So the Lord says to his people, now don't be like that. 325 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:52,080 Don't think that if you take possession of something that's 326 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:55,000 going to make you happy, because what's going to make you happy 327 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:58,280 is not what's happening on the outside, it's what's going to 328 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:01,480 happen on the inside. And this week as I was 329 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:04,760 contemplating, as the Lord was speaking to me, he he made me 330 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:07,360 think about the story of the children of Israel. 331 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:11,560 And I thought specifically about how that they were caught 332 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:14,520 between the Pharaoh and the Red Sea and what they were going to 333 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,640 do. Now, yes, there was a miraculous 334 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:21,600 event that occurred, but if you were to ask one of the people 335 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:26,000 that were in the situation because of the outcome, how they 336 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,360 became rebellious, they would probably say, it's easy for you 337 00:18:29,360 --> 00:18:31,800 to say we should be happy because of that miracle. 338 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,520 But do you know what I went through? 339 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:40,880 Even as it pertained to the plagues that came upon the 340 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:43,160 Egyptians when God delivered them? 341 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:46,400 Do you know that the children of Israel went through three of the 342 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:49,640 plagues directly? The rest, they only saw what 343 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:51,480 happened. But the first plague that 344 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:55,960 happened was the Red Sea, or, excuse me, the Nile River became 345 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,800 blood, and so their water became blood too. 346 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:01,880 How do you know that? Would he give them something to 347 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:06,120 complain about? And then the Bible says that God 348 00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:09,880 sent a plague of frogs. The plague of frogs hit them as 349 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:12,120 well. And so they wake up one day and 350 00:19:12,120 --> 00:19:13,560 their house is filled with frogs. 351 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:15,560 How many ladies would get excited about that? 352 00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:19,560 I know I wouldn't be. I often told the story how when 353 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,840 I was a kid, one of our neighbors were from Kentucky and 354 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,080 they actually went to a church where they handled snakes. 355 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:27,600 And I said I wouldn't even go to church that handled frogs 356 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:29,440 because reptiles are yookie to me. 357 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,680 So you wake up in the morning, you see all these frogs. 358 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:35,080 I'd have to call somebody to come take them out of my house. 359 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:36,760 I wouldn't be just throwing them on myself. 360 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,080 I'm sure there were a few people that said, oh, good frog legs, 361 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:44,800 but most of them didn't. The third thing was lice. 362 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,520 Who wants to get lice? It hit everybody in the land. 363 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:52,960 Now the fourth one was flies, and they were spared the flies. 364 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,600 Thank God we were delivered from the flies. 365 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:58,480 I learned about flies the hard way because when we went to 366 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:02,120 Cuba, the first time we went, I think it was the month where the 367 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:06,160 flies are king, because there were flies everywhere. 368 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:09,160 You'd be sitting there and look up at the ceiling and it would 369 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:13,280 be all kinds of flies covering it, and sometimes they'd fall in 370 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:17,120 your hair and you go. Isn't that a weird feeling? 371 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:20,320 Has that ever happened to you? Even at the old church we used 372 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:22,520 to get in the certain time of the year, what they called 373 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,720 Custer flies, and we had that same problem for a few weeks of 374 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:27,960 the year. But anyway, that was something 375 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,480 that was always happening. And it wasn't just them falling 376 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:32,720 your hair. Of course, I would watch them 377 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:38,040 cooking as he flies, landing on the food as they were preparing 378 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:42,720 dinner for me. And I'm like, oh, God, please 379 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:47,320 help me. Anytime I ate it, I always took 380 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:50,560 things from the bottom hoping they would be safer. 381 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:53,120 I could kind of pretend, well, the flies didn't land on this. 382 00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:55,440 Well, they probably did when they were on the bottom, when 383 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:57,360 they were not having something over them. 384 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:01,200 And the passer down there, he recognized that we were being 385 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:03,360 bothered by the flies. He said, oh, we have a joke 386 00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:05,720 about that. He says, you know, we always say 387 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:09,200 in America, if you had a family land on your cake you just 388 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:12,000 bought at the bakery and a guy caught in the cake, you just 389 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,360 throw the cake away and buy a new one because you're rich 390 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:16,800 there. And then she said, but in 391 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:19,880 Russia, they wouldn't be like that because the Russians had 392 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,040 taken care of Cuba. So they saw them as kind of 393 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:24,440 mediocre wealthy. And they said what they would do 394 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:27,720 is they would just slice a part of the cake where the fly was 395 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:29,880 caught and they'd just throw away the peas. 396 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:33,720 He said, now, as Cubans, if we saw a family land on our cake, 397 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:36,160 we'd go, oh, good, we get meat today. 398 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:41,520 Sounded funny at the time, but it wasn't funny as I was 399 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:45,200 thinking about the food. So I'd be glad if I was the Jews 400 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:48,200 and I could at least say, oh, thank God, we don't have to do 401 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:51,480 the fly thing. But all these kinds of things 402 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:54,120 that happened would have been an irritation to them. 403 00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:56,960 You know what I'm talking about. And even though a miracle 404 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:59,400 happened through the process, you still have to go through 405 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:01,960 this event. When they wanted me to eat, the 406 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:05,640 Lord sent quails from heaven. They were cared with the wind. 407 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:09,480 Now I know I would be there thinking, why didn't God send 408 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:11,680 chickens? He could have sent any kind of 409 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:14,680 food. I eat chicken almost every day. 410 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,200 Some days it's Margarita chicken, Fiesta lime chicken, 411 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,960 popeye's chicken, Hallelujah rotisserie chicken. 412 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:26,600 I wouldn't want to eat quail. I know it's a bird, but I've 413 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:28,880 tried duck before and it don't taste like chicken. 414 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,760 How we know life can be irritating. 415 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:38,200 Now in the case of the children of Israel, a miracle would come 416 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:41,320 to lift them out of the circumstance, and that was 417 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:44,680 always a marvelous thing. But what the Bible says is what 418 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,840 happened to them is slow but sure. 419 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:51,920 Every time something happened, it irritated their heart and 420 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:55,040 what it would do is kind of like build up some scar tissue along 421 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:57,960 the way. And so after a while, their 422 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:01,720 hearts were hardened and they could not hear the voice of God 423 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,960 because you have to have a soft heart to hear the voice of God. 424 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:08,320 The same thing could happen our human relationships. 425 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,200 We can go through things and we can say, well, I'm married, I'm 426 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:15,280 going to just keep on going. And we keep on keeping on. 427 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:19,280 But sometimes over time, our heart becomes hardened and we're 428 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:23,480 going through the motions, but we don't have the emotional 429 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:27,080 connection where the Bible talks about us having love. 430 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:30,720 It's kind of like the story I remember reading once about a 431 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:34,360 man went to a wedding anniversary for a couple. 432 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:36,400 They're 50 years old. So he's like, well, I'm going to 433 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,720 find out this 50 year anniversary and, and he said, 434 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:43,760 I'm going to look for the the great key to this happy 435 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,960 marriage. They've been married for 50 436 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:47,800 years. And he said to the woman, now 437 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:51,960 how have you stayed 50 years married to the same man? 438 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:56,440 Well, we just ignore each other basically he said I didn't get 439 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:58,320 the key to understanding that day. 440 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:02,680 But you see that's what happens sometimes as we do that in our 441 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:06,040 relationships and God says he wants us to love the Lord our 442 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:09,960 God with all of our heart and also he wants us to love our 443 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:12,680 neighbor as ourselves or of course any people. 444 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:16,520 That's why this scripture says keep your heart with all 445 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:21,520 diligent for out of its spring. What the issues of life. 446 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,840 Now the word keep there is literally the same commandment 447 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:28,960 was given when God plays Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. 448 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,240 He said you can enjoy the garden, but you got to garden, 449 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:34,920 cultivate it. You have to work with your 450 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,800 garden if you want to get what you need to get out of it. 451 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:40,560 And if you really want to experience love, which is what 452 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:45,520 we all want to experience, we have to understand how important 453 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:49,880 it is that we've recognized well, it's a heartfelt 454 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:52,800 experience. And so we have to look at us, 455 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,320 our heart, as a stewardship God has given to us. 456 00:24:56,520 --> 00:25:00,960 And how are we going to manage our heart so that we're not just 457 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,520 building up scar tissue, if you would, emotionally, so that we 458 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:08,680 become hardened and insensitive in our relationships with each 459 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,520 other or insensitive with our relationship with God. 460 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,440 It works the same. I put up your harvest time 461 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:18,080 because sooner or later, if you allow something to happen, 462 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:21,560 you're going to have to pay the price for the seeds that you 463 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,040 have sown. And I also believe that's very 464 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:26,760 important for us to note that from another perspective here at 465 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:30,960 the church, because God wants us to know this is harvest time, 466 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,200 says the Lord. And so we have to be very 467 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:36,400 careful because the world is being very, very divided. 468 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:39,280 And they want us all to be filled with animosity. 469 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:42,040 But you have to know some of those people that even 470 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:45,200 Christians will try to get you to have animosity toward. 471 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:47,880 God says be careful because that's going to be the harvest. 472 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:50,880 And when they come in the House of God, how many know you got to 473 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,120 be ready to receive them? I said, how many know you got to 474 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:56,840 be ready to receive them in harvest time? 475 00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,680 So we got to keep our heart and be prepared. 476 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:03,080 Now this is a key factor here and that is it. 477 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:09,960 God made known his ways to Moses, His acts to the children 478 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:12,840 of Israel. Now church, that's a big 479 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:16,640 difference, actions versus what I'll call motivations. 480 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:19,160 The children of Israel saw what God did. 481 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:22,000 They saw part of that miracle signs and wonders. 482 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:26,000 It was amazing what they saw, but they never were real 483 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:30,320 familiar with God himself, and so they didn't understand his 484 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:34,320 motivations, and with that they didn't understand his ways. 485 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:38,800 Now, Moses was different. He had a very close connection 486 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:40,840 to God. So when the children of Israel 487 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:43,600 would get all upset and complain, he would go to God. 488 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,880 And because his heart was sensitive, God would speak to 489 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:50,520 him and through his faith there would be a miraculous provision 490 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:53,720 for the children of Israel. Now, sometimes he got provoked 491 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:55,960 with the children of Israel and he's like God, I know they're 492 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:57,880 complaining again, but what are we going to do? 493 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,560 Because they understood his responsibility in the situation. 494 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,680 But it's important for us to recognize that when you get to 495 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:10,240 know God in a personal sense, which is why we're talking about 496 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:14,320 the heart, while we're talking about that personal connection 497 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:18,480 with him, you begin to know not just the acts of God, but you 498 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:24,040 begin to see God's ways again. In Proverbs 23, it says, My son, 499 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:31,080 give me what your heart, because then let your eyes what observe 500 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:33,280 my ways. Now I'm not just talking about 501 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:37,840 his activity or his actions. He's talking about having a 502 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:43,000 prepared heart so you can perceive not just the what's, 503 00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:47,960 but the whys of God's behavior in our life and church. 504 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:50,480 I truly believe that we can do that. 505 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:54,680 I remember several years ago the Lord spoke the story to me about 506 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,160 Moses and preaching about it from time to time. 507 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:00,200 But Numbers Chapter 11, there was a time when his brother and 508 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:03,920 his sister were complaining about him and literally God 509 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:06,320 stuck up for him from heaven said, hey, what are you doing 510 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,240 talking about my friend Moses? He said there's a lot of 511 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,680 prophets and they get dreams and they get visions and they kind 512 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:16,840 of know what I'm doing. But Moses knows me, and because 513 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,560 he knows me, he knows what I'm doing. 514 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:22,320 He knew the ways of God. Why? 515 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:26,120 Because he knew God. And if we're confused about 516 00:28:26,120 --> 00:28:30,320 what's happening in our life, don't try to figure it out from 517 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:35,960 your human perception, but go to God, in your heart of love 518 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:41,040 towards him, and say, God, let me observe your way in this, 519 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:44,840 because Lord, there's a whole lot more going on than just 520 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:47,960 meets the eye. Lord, I want to know your way, 521 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:51,400 the psalmist said. And the psalmist David, he had a 522 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:55,040 heart for God like Moses, he said, I'm going to meditate on 523 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:59,600 your precepts and I'm going to contemplate your ways. 524 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:02,920 I will delight myself in your statutes. 525 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:07,880 I will not forget your word. Now that would be the Scripture, 526 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,640 but it also be something that God is speaking. 527 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:13,960 But whether you're going by the Scriptures or going by something 528 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,640 you feel God has spoken to you, it's a very important that you 529 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,280 spend time in contemplation or meditation. 530 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:24,640 Few weeks back I was talking about how we need to meditate 531 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:28,000 and using the illustration of why God has given us the Holy 532 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,320 Spirit. Because the Bible says that when 533 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:34,440 even we pray in tongues, that that's God's provision for us to 534 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:38,200 hear His voice. And when we pray in the Spirit 535 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:40,800 that we build ourselves up in the most holy faith. 536 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:43,400 That's why we have our new beginner class, because we want 537 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,040 you to get every part of what God has for you. 538 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:49,480 Because church, it's not just one thing and it's not just 539 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:51,720 about being safe because some people will get saved. 540 00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:56,080 Obviously that's step one. But then you don't give God your 541 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:59,680 heart fully and you kind of become hardened in your heart. 542 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:03,320 You stay faithful, perhaps to what you believe you're supposed 543 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:07,720 to be faithful to, but you miss the dynamic of that personal, 544 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:12,440 loving relationship with God. And I love the Lord with all my 545 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,360 heart, and I know that God loves me. 546 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,040 And because of that, when I go through things that I don't 547 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:20,840 understand, I know there is a secret place in the Most High 548 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:24,360 that I can get into where I can listen to His voice. 549 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:28,000 But again, as with all of us, we have to be very careful along 550 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:32,520 the way, lest we also harden our hearts and miss the thing that 551 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:36,520 God has for us. He said in Isaiah 55, For my 552 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:40,000 thoughts or not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says 553 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,200 the Lord. For as the heavens are higher 554 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:46,680 than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my 555 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:49,400 thoughts than your thoughts, says the Lord. 556 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:53,400 It's so important for us to know, hey, God doesn't think the 557 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:57,160 way we think and God's ways are higher. 558 00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:00,520 And I think that's important to say because I believe God's 559 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:02,200 calling this higher in the mountain. 560 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:05,040 If you would, I believe that God's saying to every single one 561 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:07,680 of us, if you feel like things are a little hard right now, 562 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:11,600 that's because I'm taking you up the mountain says the Lord keep 563 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:15,920 your destiny before you. Because in that Mount Zion 564 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:19,320 scripture of Isaiah chapter 2, he says, and he will not only 565 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:22,720 teach us of his word, but he will teach us of his ways. 566 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:25,920 And I believe that we're living in a very critical time where we 567 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:29,600 need to know God's ways. Can you say men to that church? 568 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:34,160 It is so important that we know that with God there is indeed a 569 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:38,000 higher way, and He's calling us to that higher way even now. 570 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:40,640 Now this is important to understand here in Exodus 571 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:44,840 chapter 13, it says that it came to pass when Pharaoh had let the 572 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,520 people go, that God did not lead them by the way of the land of 573 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:51,200 the Philistines, although it was near. 574 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:55,640 For God said, lest perhaps the people change their minds when 575 00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:57,800 they see war and return to Egypt. 576 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:01,440 So God led the people around by the Wilder wilderness of the Red 577 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:05,800 Sea and the children, Israel went up in orderly ranks out of 578 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:09,080 the land of Egypt. Now God is your father, and 579 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:13,600 that's why the Bible says, you know you have a father. 580 00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:16,680 And if you have a father, he's going to chasten you. 581 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:20,120 And if you're without chastisement, you're not a true 582 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:22,040 son. Now, when it uses the word 583 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:25,640 chasten, it doesn't mean discipline necessarily. 584 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:28,880 There can be an aspect to that, but it really has to do with 585 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:31,160 disciplined training or learning. 586 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,160 And in order for that to happen, you have to have confidence your 587 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,920 father loves you. So here's the children of 588 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:39,080 Israel. They had no map to get to the 589 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:40,760 promised land. They didn't know what it was all 590 00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:43,640 about. They didn't know when God took 591 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:47,440 them the longer way, and they didn't know why even then. 592 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:50,040 So it wasn't like he told them all of this because they 593 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:54,520 wouldn't have comprehended it, but because God loved them. 594 00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:57,960 God had a path for them that was for their good. 595 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:01,360 Now, in this particular case, it was longer than they would have 596 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:03,200 thought that it needed to be. How many know? 597 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:07,200 God takes a lot longer than you think it should be, and we don't 598 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:08,840 understand. It's because God has a bigger 599 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:13,360 purpose, because we have to understand with God you can't be 600 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:16,040 in a hurry because God's not in a hurry. 601 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:20,240 He takes his time. And the Bible says that God 602 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:25,040 builds line upon line, precept upon precept, what here little 603 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:28,480 and there little. And God does a little bit of a 604 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:30,480 time. And it isn't just because he 605 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:35,160 wants to rub our nerves the wrong way is because he knows 606 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:38,920 that in order to do it right, it has to be done in a certain way 607 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:43,680 and then by a certain procedure. And it's always about us. 608 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:48,560 When the Lord performed the 10 plagues upon Egypt, it wasn't 609 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:52,160 just to shake them up so that the children of Israel go. 610 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:55,720 Every one of the 10 plagues represented 1 of the gods of 611 00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:58,000 Egypt. So he was making a mockery of 612 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:02,080 the gods of Egypt so that when his people came out, not only 613 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:06,360 would they be get delivered, but they you would know Egypt's gods 614 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:09,880 aren't going to protect you. Unfortunately, one of those gods 615 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:13,239 which God had sent a plague upon the cattle was the golden calf. 616 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:15,719 They didn't learn that lesson because there came a time when 617 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:20,600 they built a golden calf and when God took him to the Red 618 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:22,960 Sea, it wasn't just to irritate them. 619 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:26,600 Don't you understand that when they look back there and saw the 620 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:30,120 Pharaoh over their shoulder, if you would, that God knew that 621 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:31,840 would bother them. So what did he do? 622 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:35,480 He had a plan to open up the Red Sea so he could swallow the 623 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:38,719 Pharaoh in his armies. See, God had this bigger plan 624 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:41,120 because in the long run, he didn't want them looking over 625 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:43,159 their shoulder. Maybe they were for a while 626 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:45,679 because they're like, wow, look what's happening to us now, But 627 00:34:45,679 --> 00:34:48,199 God was going to get rid of the Pharaoh. 628 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:51,440 And that's what's God's pattern throughout all of the things 629 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:55,120 that happened in church. We have to understand if God is 630 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,840 for us, who can be against us, Amen. 631 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:00,720 And so line upon line, give the Lord a praise on that. 632 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:04,640 God was faithful to all that He had promised that he would do. 633 00:35:05,240 --> 00:35:09,520 He said be careful. Heed the commandment and the 634 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:13,160 law, which Moses, the servant of God commands you to what? 635 00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:16,320 Love the Lord your God to walk in all of his ways. 636 00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:19,120 We think about commandments. Oh, this is, I'm not supposed to 637 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:20,480 do this. I'm not supposed to do that. 638 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:22,520 Yes, that's the part of it. But do you see the bigger 639 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:25,840 picture? That we would love God and also 640 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:28,680 walk in His ways? Because that's not just 641 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:33,160 something that's easy to see, but it's something He has for us 642 00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:36,840 that's so far above us to keep His commandments told, fasting 643 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:39,040 Him, and to serve him. With what? 644 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:42,040 All your heart, with all your soul. 645 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:46,760 So Joshua blessed them, sent them away, and they went to 646 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:48,880 their tents. I'm going to ask everyone to 647 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:51,920 just bow your heads, close your eyes for just a moment. 648 00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:54,960 Because I believe with everything within me that God is 649 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:59,480 here in a very special way and that God is saying it's time to 650 00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:01,880 prepare for the days which are to come. 651 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:07,000 Know about the open heaven and know about the rest that I have 652 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,280 for you, says the Lord. My ways are not your ways. 653 00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:12,720 My thoughts are not your thoughts, But I can bring you to 654 00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:15,080 a place of spiritual understanding. 655 00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:20,040 I can give you spiritual wisdom, but it means you have to take 656 00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:24,920 this journey beyond yourself. And if you're willing, God is 657 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:31,400 able to do that, which he says he would do today if you will 658 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:35,840 hear his voice and deal with the hardness of your heart. 659 00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:40,240 Maybe you've been in a time where you have hardened your 660 00:36:40,240 --> 00:36:43,320 heart and so it's making you kind of callous towards people, 661 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:45,840 making you kind of callous towards God. 662 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:50,320 Maybe there's something missing because your heart has become 663 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:53,720 hardened. Today if you will hear his 664 00:36:53,720 --> 00:36:56,080 voice, say, God, I'm going to give you my heart all over 665 00:36:56,080 --> 00:36:59,600 again. Soften my heart, let me have a 666 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:04,520 sensitive heart towards you and towards the people that are in 667 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:07,400 my life. Lord, give me a sensitive heart 668 00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:10,080 for the harvest. The multitudes of people out 669 00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:11,640 there that they're going their own way. 670 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:16,400 But Lord, now you're calling us to receive them and to bless 671 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:19,840 them as never before. Father, I ask that would be upon 672 00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:24,960 each and everyone of us in Jesus mighty name, Amen. 673 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,360 This is Pastor Lorne Coverbius from Mount Zion Church. 674 00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:31,360 We thank you for joining us today and invite you to connect 675 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:34,960 with our church family by visiting mountzion.org and 676 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:37,600 following us on social media. God bless you.