1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,360 Well, again, I want to open with a couple scriptures I've been 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:04,440 sharing recently because they're so powerful. 3 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:08,520 What God is speaking to us today, Hebrews 7 says, but he's 4 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:13,160 Speaking of Jesus Christ because he continues forever, has an 5 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:16,800 unchangeable priesthood. Therefore he is also able to 6 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,720 save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since 7 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,320 He always lives to make intercession for them. 8 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,960 This is such an important concept for us to understand, 9 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:32,240 and that is understanding the ministry of resurrection that 10 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:34,600 Jesus Christ has even in this day. 11 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:40,000 Now, most churches give a great deal of honor to the cross. 12 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:42,560 Often times there's crosses in the building. 13 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:44,520 Often times there's crosses by the road. 14 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:48,360 Crosses have become so powerful that, well, you can watch on TV 15 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,640 some people that live pretty wicked lives, but they wear 16 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:55,120 their cross because it's become a symbol that's quite well known 17 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,200 in Christian circles, but in all the Western world. 18 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,240 However, it's very important for us to understand that the cross 19 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:06,560 only is significant because when Jesus Christ died on the cross, 20 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,600 he also rose from the dead. A lot of people died on the 21 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:13,680 cross, especially in those days. It was the Romans form of 22 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:16,480 crucifixion. But Jesus Christ didn't stay in 23 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,040 the grave. The Bible says he rose again 24 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:19,960 from the dead. How many? 25 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:21,920 Glad we serve a resurrected Christ. 26 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:25,600 Amen. So sometimes we focus so much on 27 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,160 the cross, we fail to recognize how important the resurrection 28 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,240 was. And so the Bible says that when 29 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:35,240 Jesus Christ went into heaven, he did not retire, which is what 30 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:39,080 I was talking about last week. He just changed his ministry and 31 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,600 his perspective. You see, when he was for 30 32 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:45,720 years growing up, a lot of people suppose that, well, he 33 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:49,120 was kind of hiding his divinity and doing miracles here and 34 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:51,840 there and keeping it quiet, whatever, even picturing the 35 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:55,120 little boy Jesus doing that. But that isn't what the Bible 36 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,560 says. The Bible says that for 30 years 37 00:01:57,560 --> 00:01:59,760 he was prepared for his ministry. 38 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:03,960 He had no form or comeliness or beauty that we would desire him. 39 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,400 The prophet Isaiah said he grew up as a root out of a dry 40 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:09,759 ground. Why did he go through that kind 41 00:02:09,759 --> 00:02:13,720 of a life for 30 years and all the normal life experiences that 42 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:16,920 you and I might experience? Well, number one, for three 43 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:20,560 years of ministry he ministered to many, many people. 44 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,840 Thousands followed him because he was moved by compassion. 45 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:29,160 He could feel what other people felt because he had been there. 46 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:33,000 Now again, when he rose from the dead, the Bible says now he acts 47 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,200 as our high priest ever make an intercession for us. 48 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,520 But again, it's important to understand that He knows what 49 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,040 the human experience is all about. 50 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:43,520 How many know? That should be an awesome 51 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:47,680 revelation for us to have and to recognize how powerful it is to 52 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,880 know that Jesus Christ ever lives to make intercession for 53 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:53,880 us. And so it's important for us to 54 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,800 recognize that and also to recognize He wants to save us to 55 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,680 the uttermost. Well, what does that mean? 56 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,120 Well, last week I was talking about how God's salvation is not 57 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:08,280 just a ticket to heaven. God's salvation is a deliverance 58 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:11,920 from one life and God's capacity through the power of the Holy 59 00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:16,080 Spirit to bring us into a whole new life again. 60 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,000 A lot of times we have our stopping points and we think, 61 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,520 well, I got it now, I got it now. 62 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:23,800 Well, I've been serving the Lord all my life and I find out 63 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:26,440 there's more to get from Him every single day. 64 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,880 Amen, Church. He is alive and as long as we're 65 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:34,240 alive, we need to let Him impart in our life to prepare us for 66 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,400 this life that we're living, but according to the Bible, also to 67 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:39,320 prepare us for that which is to come. 68 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,400 So I want the salvation of the uttermost. 69 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,640 That's why we have a foundations course here in the other classes 70 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:47,520 that we have and we preach the Word. 71 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,320 We don't believe it's just enough to have instruction. 72 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,360 We need the inspiration of the Word of God that can literally 73 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:58,200 change us and take us to that uttermost place that God has for 74 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,640 each and every one of us. And sharing that, Hebrews 2 75 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:06,280 says, for it was fitting for him Speaking of Jesus Christ, for 76 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:11,160 whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing what 77 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:15,040 many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation 78 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:19,040 perfect through sufferings. For both he who sanctifies and 79 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,760 those who are being sanctified are all of one that's talking 80 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,440 about us. For which reason he's not 81 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:29,160 ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare your name 82 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,240 to my brother in the midst of the assembly. 83 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:35,560 I will sing praise to you. And again, I will put my trust 84 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,040 in him. That's an awesome thing to know 85 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:40,400 that Jesus Christ is still alive, Amen. 86 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,320 And he's at work in our life. He joins us here in the worship 87 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:46,680 service through the power of the Holy Spirit. 88 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:51,200 And we are his brethren. And he wants us to bring glory 89 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,200 to the name of the Father, just like he did. 90 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:57,560 And again, I often quote the Scripture and I'll never get 91 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,360 tired saying that darkness will cover the earth and gross 92 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,200 darkness the people. But God has called us to arise 93 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,760 and shine so that the glory of the Lord can be seen upon us. 94 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,800 We'll only arise and shine when we begin to see the value of the 95 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,760 resurrected power that God has for us. 96 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,720 And when I used to share that scripture in the beginning about 97 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,800 darkness covering the earth, I never had an idea how much 98 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:23,200 darker it could get. Amen. 99 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:28,240 It's getting very dark, but that doesn't matter to us because God 100 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:32,560 has called us to live above what we see happening in our world so 101 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:37,920 that we can bring glory and allow God to use us to manifest 102 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:42,240 His glory to our generation. And I put up here, confidence is 103 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:46,120 our song because that ended up saying I will put my trust in 104 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:47,960 him. Now that's very important to 105 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,680 understand that we have this ongoing work of God in our life. 106 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:54,360 And it's also important that we understand how important it is 107 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:59,120 to trust him because as we go through life and just as we go 108 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:03,440 through history, we'll always find out we can trust in the 109 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:08,280 Lord because God is at work. We just have to take the time to 110 00:06:08,280 --> 00:06:13,040 let him open our eyes to cause us to see what he wants us to 111 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:15,040 see. And this is a very important 112 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:18,840 concept to have because again, often times we have in our mind 113 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:22,360 what we want to see. And God's like, no, let let me 114 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:26,240 show you what you need to see because when you let me open 115 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:30,000 your eyes, says the Lord, you'll see the opportunities that I 116 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,400 have for you. And you can understand that I'm 117 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:34,880 at work in your life, says the mighty God. 118 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:38,760 Now, having said that, I want to go to Matthew chapter 24, which 119 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:42,800 leads us to Matthew chapter 25, which is where we're going. 120 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:46,200 Ultimately it says, then Jesus went out and departed from the 121 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,840 temple, and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of 122 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:54,280 the temple, and Jesus said that them Do you not see all these 123 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:56,400 things? Surely, I say to you, not one 124 00:06:56,400 --> 00:07:00,080 stone will be left up here upon another that shall not be thrown 125 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,640 down. Now as he sat on the Mount of 126 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:06,560 Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, Tell us, 127 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,440 when will these things be question number one. 128 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:12,920 Question #2 And what will be the sign of your coming? 129 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:17,440 And also the end of the age? It's important to understand 130 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:20,200 that there were two questions that they were asking. 131 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:22,520 The first question had to do with the temple. 132 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:26,720 Jesus and the disciples didn't spend a whole lot of time in 133 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:28,800 Jerusalem. Actually, Jerusalem was the 134 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:31,080 capital city. It was where the temple was. 135 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:33,920 Three times of the year. All the Jews had to go to the 136 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:37,360 temple because that was the center and focus of their 137 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,800 relationship with God because of travel in those days. 138 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,640 And the responsibilities I had was something some people could 139 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,640 only do the three times of the year when they had specific 140 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:50,240 festivals for doing that. So in this particular reference 141 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:52,480 of Scripture, they're looking at the temple and they're just 142 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:56,960 amazed about what they see. And Jesus said, well, not one 143 00:07:56,960 --> 00:07:59,360 stone is going to be left upon another. 144 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,560 And he was speaking about the judgement that yet was going to 145 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:04,840 come. And Speaking of that first 146 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:07,520 question, when they're asking, well, when, what? 147 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:10,320 When will these things be? He's first of all talking about 148 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:12,800 the temple. And he said this generation 149 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:15,680 shall not pass until you see these things come to pass 150 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:19,160 because within 40 years the Romans would come in and they 151 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:21,680 would literally destroy the temple. 152 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:24,960 And so he was speaking about that, first of all. 153 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,000 And this is important for us to understand. 154 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:30,840 In my YouTube site, Hall from the Mountain, I've been talking 155 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:34,360 about eschatology, which is the study of the end times. 156 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,440 Now, primarily what I'm doing is dealing with mindsets people 157 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:41,960 have that will hear them from freely walking in what God has 158 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:43,960 for them. That's the whole point of that 159 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,280 particular website. Because I believe we're moving 160 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,680 into a new time and a new era. And with that, we have to 161 00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:52,640 receive the Word in our hearts and spirits and begin to walk 162 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,800 with the right understanding. Now the church has been 163 00:08:55,800 --> 00:09:00,120 motivated as a pertains to eschatology study of the last 164 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:05,160 times, as in the basically the kind of church that we're a part 165 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,680 of charismatic Pentecostal evangelical in what is called 166 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:11,240 pre millennial dispensationalism. 167 00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:13,840 Now, if you know what that term means, I'm really going to 168 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:17,000 challenge you today because I want you to think about some 169 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,200 very important principles and mindset changes you have to 170 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:23,400 challenge yourself in. There was a man by the name of 171 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,120 Tim Lehay, and he wrote a book, Left Behind. 172 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:29,400 It became a series and it was built on that theology. 173 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:31,560 But in that case, there were fictions. 174 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:36,160 They sold 80 million copies. People are very interested in 175 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:37,720 some of the things they had to say. 176 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:42,200 He was literally taken in $20 million a year in royalties from 177 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,480 talking about these concepts. Now, I'm not speaking 178 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:48,680 disparaging of him because for his day, he was a great man of 179 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:52,560 God and accomplished mighty things, passed away at age 90, 180 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:55,560 about 10 years ago. So he has a great legacy. 181 00:09:55,560 --> 00:10:00,680 However, as the church is moving forward, it's always important 182 00:10:00,680 --> 00:10:05,080 that we stop and look at what we believe and, well, what do we 183 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,600 have? That's a tradition versus what 184 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:09,760 is actually what God is speaking. 185 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:14,000 And so the guy who actually starred in those films, he no 186 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,600 longer believes those things and he tells people about it because 187 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,000 he wants people to understand God speaking something fresh and 188 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:23,480 new. And if you look at the websites 189 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:26,440 that I do or the YouTube channels have to do a 190 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:29,480 theological discussions, you'll know that there's a whole lot of 191 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:32,160 change going on. And so I want to explain those 192 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,920 things to you first of all. Now, one of the things that's 193 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,360 often been spoken about is before Jesus can come, there has 194 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:40,560 to be the rebuilding of the temple. 195 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:44,680 Now, the Bible never says that, but they base it upon some other 196 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:46,920 thoughts, which I'll talk about in just a moment. 197 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:51,920 But it's important for us to realize that modern Judaism has 198 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,520 nothing in common really with the Jewish religion that we 199 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:57,400 would study in the Old Testament. 200 00:10:57,400 --> 00:10:59,960 With Moses, it's changed quite a bit. 201 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:02,760 They have what they call the Torah as a part of their 202 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:07,040 teaching, but they follow the Talmud, which has many, many, 203 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,920 many other volumes to it that has to do with the rabbi's or 204 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:12,840 teachers who interpret these things. 205 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,680 And so when you think about what God's doing, and sometimes 206 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:19,000 people look at what he's going to do in Jerusalem, they think 207 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:23,080 in terms of an Old Testament Judaism that is no longer 208 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,720 believed or practiced by them. And so the Jews are not looking 209 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:28,560 for the rebuilding of the temple. 210 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:33,880 I'm sure there are some Orthodox Jews who are more strong in 211 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:38,960 their traditions than the newer Jewish people, but they 212 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,160 actually, when the temple was destroyed 2000 years ago, how 213 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:44,400 many know 2000 years is a very long time. 214 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:47,960 They come up with the understanding that, well, we 215 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:52,200 don't need a temple because God doesn't dwell in a temple made 216 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,880 by hands. The Jews actually believed. 217 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,640 Why? Well, when the Babylonians came 218 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:00,560 in and destroyed the temple, the prophets told them, now 219 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:03,560 remember, God's still with you. Matter of fact, when you go to 220 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:06,800 Babylon, he'll be with you. And later on, when you're 221 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:10,040 scattered among the nations of the world, God will be with you. 222 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:14,880 They no longer had the idea that they had to go to the temple to 223 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:18,200 experience the presence of God. And even when they rebuilt the 224 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:22,520 temple, they never had a mercy seat where God's presence dwelt 225 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:25,680 among them because of that was actually destroyed. 226 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,760 So again, it isn't just saying, oh, they just went off off in 227 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:33,400 the wrong direction. It is true that they actually 228 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:36,720 were looking at the Scriptures that said I don't dwell in 229 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,400 temples anymore. I dwell where my people are. 230 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:41,720 And so that's their philosophy and why they're not really 231 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,240 looking for that. So whereas a lot of Christians 232 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:48,680 would literally risk World War Three because that's what it 233 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:51,440 would take to tear down the Dome of the Rock that the Muslims 234 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:55,360 hold as a holy site and to rebuild the temple where it once 235 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:57,160 was. So this is a very important 236 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:01,520 consideration that we would understand Why would there be a 237 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,120 rebuilding of the temple, especially when the only 238 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:07,320 scriptures that talk about a rebuilding of a temple are in 239 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,160 the Old Testament speaking about the rebuilding of the temple 240 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:12,560 that will be destroyed by the Babylonians. 241 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,960 And again with that, a lot of people say, yes, they have to 242 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,600 rebuild the temple because there has to be the restoration of the 243 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:22,720 animal sacrifices. And so you can see it on 244 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:24,760 YouTube. I know one of the latest crazes 245 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:26,640 as well. They have to have a red heifer 246 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,480 and it has to be an unblemished 1. 247 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:32,280 And so they're all talking about, oh, it's been born. 248 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:34,360 So the temple can be rebuild or it's happened. 249 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:38,320 So now that they can reinstitute sacrifices because the first 250 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:42,640 sacrifice was the red heifer that made it possible for the 251 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:46,120 priests to himself to be sanctified for service, but then 252 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:49,800 there would be the sacrifice of other animals because everything 253 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:55,320 had to be covered with blood. Now think of that in a modern 254 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:57,800 text of time. Some people say, well, you 255 00:13:57,800 --> 00:13:59,960 shouldn't be looking at the contemporary text of time. 256 00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:03,680 Well, I do, because I believe my God sits on the throne, and 257 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:06,040 whatever's happening in the world, he has something to do 258 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:08,400 with it. Now the world's gonna take it 259 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:12,320 the wrong way, but God says to his people, look at what I'm 260 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:14,880 doing and do it the right way, says the Lord. 261 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:19,240 Now, do you really believe that people would want to see the 262 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,760 reinstitution of animal sacrifice? 263 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:24,440 When I was a kid, I've often shared this. 264 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:28,280 This used to be the country. I've lived in this area since 265 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,680 1958, which is a long time. First of all, live with my 266 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,400 grandma and grandpa, and then my dad built a house a couple doors 267 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:37,000 down. And so that's how long I've been 268 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:38,520 here. Now, this used to be really 269 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:41,960 country back then. So we had a lot of neighbors who 270 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:45,960 had animals. I loved animals, as you've heard 271 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:47,960 with my testimonial of the years. 272 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:51,200 They don't love me so much because they didn't always know 273 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:53,560 how to show my love the right way. 274 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:55,520 That's why I was always asking for pets. 275 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:59,280 And my mom would say, no, you're not good for pets, mom, please 276 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:02,520 give me a pet. And it didn't usually end well 277 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:05,440 with them, but I love pets. I loved animals. 278 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:08,480 And I remember one of our neighbors, they had rabbits and 279 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:10,920 to me they were not rabbits, they were bunnies because they 280 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,920 were so cute and cuddly. And I remember the owners show 281 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:17,240 me one day the rabbits and I pick up the babies and I hug 282 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,040 them and they were so cute and so wonderful in my mind. 283 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,400 And then one day I saw them pick up one of the rabbits like this. 284 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:24,960 It's kicking his feet and everything. 285 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:28,480 They hit over the head with a club, take it in the house and 286 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:30,120 guess what? It became dinner. 287 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:33,080 I'm like, oh, that's gross. That's awful. 288 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,400 How could that happen? How could you do that to animal? 289 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,600 I like to sit my office and even watch the deer go by. 290 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:43,480 And there's one Mama deer that has a baby every year and I get 291 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:46,880 to watch him go by the office. And I was raised on the movie 292 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:49,520 Bambi, so I love those Bambis out there. 293 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:54,880 I could never kill one of those Bambis because they're so cute. 294 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:58,760 My grandma that we lived in for a while, they had chickens and I 295 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:01,760 remember one day in particular, my grandpa going outside and 296 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:06,160 bringing the head of the chicken, then taking it in to 297 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,400 grandma and her putting in a hot water and pulling all those 298 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:11,760 feathers out. I remember the whole thing. 299 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:18,480 Now I don't remember dinner, but I can tell you I would have ate 300 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,160 dinner. But anyway, in psychology they 301 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:26,280 call that disassociation and if it's bad enough, it's called 302 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:32,960 disassociation disorder. So back in the day when I would 303 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,200 see those kind of things, I wouldn't have certainly didn't 304 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:36,600 want to think about those things. 305 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,040 Some people say when I talk about how much I love animals 306 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:41,600 and I want to kill my Bambis, they say, well, don't you eat 307 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:43,400 meat? And I'm like, of course I eat 308 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,200 meat. I just don't eat animals. 309 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:52,200 You get meat at the grocery store or at a restaurant and I 310 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,560 don't ask any questions. I just eat it. 311 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:00,720 So that's how I walk in my dissociative disorder, if you 312 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:04,880 would. Bonnie used to work in the meat 313 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:09,319 department when we first were going together and I used to go 314 00:17:09,319 --> 00:17:12,040 in the meat department and it's pretty nasty place. 315 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:15,280 I remember when I was getting a biopsy once I they cut me open, 316 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:17,280 I looked and I said that looks just like beef. 317 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,319 The lady said that's why I'm a vegetarian, She says, because I 318 00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:25,800 have to do this every day. So anyway, you think about the 319 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:29,840 way it is with pets these days, and people had pets back then. 320 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:32,080 But sometimes you'd have a pet until it grew up, and then you 321 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:35,600 ate it for dinner. And if you had a pet and 322 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,880 something was wrong with it, chances are you would put it to 323 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,200 sleep. How many know that sounds so 324 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:43,160 much better than what we actually did? 325 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:46,600 People don't think that way about their pets. 326 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:48,360 Now. They think, well, I got to take 327 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:50,000 to the vet. And if they tell them how much 328 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,040 it is, they usually will dish out the money. 329 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,280 How many know people think differently about pets? 330 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:56,920 Christy Noem, who grew up on a farm. 331 00:17:56,920 --> 00:17:59,040 She works in the cabinet of Donald Trump. 332 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,240 And she wrote a book about her life. 333 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:03,560 And she happened to mention how that she had a dog that was her 334 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:06,520 pet and they had to shoot it on Fox News. 335 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:08,760 They were talking about her book and they said, I hope she never 336 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:10,800 thinks she's going to run for president because she'd never be 337 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:12,600 a president now that she put in a book. 338 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,840 She killed her pet. Well, that's because it's a 339 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:18,200 different world up there in the farm. 340 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:20,640 It's a different world as time progresses. 341 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:24,360 And the truth of the matter is, get rid of your dissociative 342 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:26,920 disorder and think about it. Do you really think there's 343 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:30,480 going to be thousands of Jews or anybody else who are going to 344 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:35,760 gather around as they slice the throat of an animal and take his 345 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:38,480 blood? That's just something that would 346 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:40,240 be an R rated movie. Amen. 347 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:43,720 It's important that we think about that because sometimes we 348 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:48,720 don't think through things, and we do that by disassociation, if 349 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:50,840 you would. And because of that, we can even 350 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:54,000 hear Christian doctrine that we don't apply to our everyday 351 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:55,720 life. And I think it's important that 352 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:59,960 we learn how to walk in the fullness of the Word and also 353 00:18:59,960 --> 00:19:02,080 apply it to the reality of everyday life. 354 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:03,760 Can I hear an Amen on that church? 355 00:19:04,360 --> 00:19:06,120 Now? Next of all, they were asking 356 00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:09,960 about the end of the age because Jesus Christ told them I'm going 357 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:14,360 to be going up to heaven, but I'm going to be coming back. 358 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:17,600 And of course they were very interested in that. 359 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:20,960 Even though He told them that He would be crucified and raised 360 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:24,640 from the dead when it actually happened, they were very fearful 361 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,120 and ran and hid for their lives because it was very hard to 362 00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:30,280 actually go through the situation. 363 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:32,920 Sometimes you go through a situation and your emotions get 364 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:34,240 control of you. Amen. 365 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:35,960 And that's the way it was for them. 366 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:38,920 But they did want to know when are you coming back? 367 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:42,000 And of course, that's what Christians have been asking for 368 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:45,400 2000 years as well. But I want to present to you a 369 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:48,160 very important concept that Jesus wanted to present to his 370 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,160 disciples and show you how it would work best for us. 371 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:54,840 This is His answer. Well, of the day and hour no one 372 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:58,320 knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 373 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,120 But as the days of Noah were, so also will be the coming of the 374 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:04,640 Son of Man. For as in the days before the 375 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:07,160 flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and given to 376 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:11,120 marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and what 377 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:16,200 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so 378 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,080 also will be the coming of the Son of Man. 379 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:23,760 Now, the answer wasn't somebody or something that they wanted to 380 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,400 hear, when are you returning? I don't know. 381 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:28,960 But who does know what's going to be the size? 382 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,400 How can we get ready? And really, a lot of that was 383 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,640 they wanted him to come back and get this all over with because 384 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:37,520 they were thinking, wow, we're going to go to heaven. 385 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:40,320 And when we get in heaven, we're going to be ruling over cities 386 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:41,800 and we're going to do all these awesome things. 387 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:45,040 So we just want to get all of this little stuff out of the way 388 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:50,000 so we can get to the real stuff. And no one wants to listen to 389 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,520 Jesus when he says, well, nobody knows the day or the hour, only 390 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,280 my Father. So Jesus, who is God in the 391 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:01,880 flesh, was saying, I don't know, only the Father knows. 392 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,560 And certainly that's a confusion for most people to understand 393 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:08,080 because he is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 394 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:12,280 But that's just what Jesus said. And so all I want to say is if 395 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:14,600 that's what he said, that must be true. 396 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,520 Can I hear an Amen on that? What he wanted them understand 397 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:23,000 is it would be an unexpected time, and there's a reason for 398 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:24,920 that. And it's so important for us to 399 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:28,040 understand why God would want it that way. 400 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:30,840 Now He says it's just like Noah in the days of the flood. 401 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:34,560 Now the Lord had come to Noah and he had said to him, no, I 402 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:37,200 want you to build an ark because I'm going to send a flood to the 403 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:39,280 earth. And as I do, it's going to 404 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:42,160 destroy all the earth. But you and your children and 405 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:44,400 the animals that you're going to protect through all this, 406 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,200 they're going to be preserved because you're going to build an 407 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,080 ark. And you, when you are done with 408 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:52,360 that ark, that's when the flood's going to come. 409 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,760 Now that was a whole lot of work he had to do. 410 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:58,560 And we read in the New Testament that he didn't just have to 411 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:01,600 build the ark. God was using that as a witness. 412 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:04,240 And he became a preacher of righteousness because he was 413 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:07,800 telling everybody, if you guys don't do what God wants you to 414 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:09,720 do, you're going to be destroyed. 415 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:11,160 That's why I'm building this ark. 416 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:13,760 And so you can imagine they laughed at him, mocked him. 417 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,120 There's evidence that there hadn't been rain on the earth up 418 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:19,680 to that point in time. So it was kind of a relatively 419 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:24,080 new context of understanding because they used to say that 420 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:27,360 the Bible speaks about this, the earth being watered by the dew, 421 00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:30,600 etcetera. But all that aside, he went 422 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:32,320 through a very difficult situation. 423 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:36,320 If you read the text of Noah in the ark, the Bible says that 424 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:39,640 when he was done with the ark, he didn't go in the ark until 425 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,040 God said it's time to go into the ark. 426 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:44,600 I know there are certain things that are going to happen before 427 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:47,320 the Lord comes. For one thing, the Bible says in 428 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:51,520 Revelation chapter 19, the bride will have made herself ready for 429 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,360 the Scriptures say that he's going to come for a glorious 430 00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:57,160 church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. 431 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,040 I believe that's true because that's what God's Word says, 432 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:02,080 Amen, church. And so I know that's going to 433 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,040 happen, but it would be just like a husband Noah. 434 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:06,960 Not only do you have to get ready by doing what you're 435 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:10,680 supposed to do, then you have to let God do his work and his 436 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,000 timing. And that's when he, Noah 437 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,880 understood you got to hear the voice of God. 438 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:20,760 You have to do what he says, but then you have to keep on 439 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:23,280 listening. Church harmony, glad that God 440 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:26,480 still speaks today. That's why the Bible says let 441 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:30,520 him who have an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is 442 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:35,720 speaking to the church. And then the kind your ear in 443 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:40,600 here, because it takes effort for us to lay aside our 444 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:44,880 emotions, lay aside our sauce, lay aside our traditions and 445 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:48,240 say, well, what is God saying to me? 446 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:51,480 And that's what brings me to the story here in Matthew chapter 447 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:53,720 25. It's called the parable of the 448 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:57,640 10 virgins and it really is about a wedding. 449 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,800 It says then the Kingdom of heaven shall be likened to 10 450 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:04,240 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 451 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:07,120 Now five of them were wise and five were foolish. 452 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,080 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with 453 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:11,960 them. But what the wise do? 454 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:15,160 The wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 455 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,040 While the bridegroom was delayed. 456 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:22,840 They all slumbered and slept. This is why it's important not 457 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:24,760 to think you're going to know the exact time. 458 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,520 And that's why he's telling this and talking about the foolish 459 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:30,240 versus the wise. Now, it's important for us to 460 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,960 understand weddings in those days versus the weddings we have 461 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:35,880 today because it was a whole different process. 462 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:38,680 And you have to understand it to know what Jesus was actually 463 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:41,880 saying. They were called virgins, not 464 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,320 speaking about their sex life. In reality, it would be also 465 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:49,880 easy to translate that it is maidens or young girls or women 466 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:54,040 because in those days a woman was under the protective care of 467 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,760 her father until the day she was actually married. 468 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:01,880 And it was be during that time that she would transfer her 469 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,080 protective care from her father to her husband. 470 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:08,600 So the way it would work is when it was time for the wedding, the 471 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:11,720 bride, we get herself ready. Now, believe it or not, she 472 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:13,920 wouldn't know. And that's why I said the bride, 473 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:16,360 he needs to get ready. But that still doesn't tell you 474 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:18,640 that he's coming just because you're ready. 475 00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:23,280 It says she makes herself ready and she waits till the groom to 476 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:27,240 come because of the groom would come to her house, knock on the 477 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,160 door, she would open the door and then she would go with him. 478 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:35,560 And then what he would do is take her back to his house and 479 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:39,360 most of the time it was to his parents house because they lived 480 00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:43,160 as clans in those days. And so there was this jury that 481 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,560 was required. Well, the ten maidens that are 482 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,840 referenced here have lights because it would happen in the 483 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:53,600 darkest time of the day. And so it would be necessary to 484 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:57,240 have a light so that you could see the groom and he's coming in 485 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,760 and going the door, and also so that it could be a lighted path 486 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:03,000 to get back to where he was going. 487 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,600 Obviously, it wasn't all necessary, but it was a part of 488 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:09,360 their tradition. And that's what Jesus is talking 489 00:26:09,360 --> 00:26:10,600 here. And he's talking about how 490 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:13,880 important it was that if you're going to be one of the maidens 491 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,840 that are going to be what we would call a bridesmaid, and 492 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:21,520 your job is to make sure there's light for the journey, then you 493 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:23,160 got to make sure you have the light. 494 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:25,760 Now he talks about the foolish virgins. 495 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:29,800 And the word foolish there means somebody that's not thinking nor 496 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:32,320 perceptive. And I throw out the word stupid 497 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,680 from time to time because that's actually in the original context 498 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,680 of what it means. Stupid, meaning not that you 499 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,880 have a lack of intelligence, but because of your emotions, or it 500 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:45,800 can also be because of your traditions mindsets, cause you 501 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:50,400 not to react in the proper way with a plan of action, but 502 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,000 you're simply responding to the moment. 503 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:56,760 And it's important for us to understand because when you 504 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,120 think about stupid, sometimes people tell people they're 505 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:00,720 stupid. Well, what makes a person 506 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:03,160 stupid? Well, watch the movie Forrest 507 00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:04,600 Gump. Who's seen that movie? 508 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,920 It's a real old one. So I know people watch movies 509 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:09,680 enough where they watch even the old ones. 510 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:13,720 The Forest Gump was a guy that people thought was simple and 511 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:16,840 wouldn't do anything in life. But his mom was always concerned 512 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:18,520 about him. So she's just given him some 513 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:20,240 sayings that he could hold on to. 514 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:25,080 And one is he would always say, well, Mama said stupid is as 515 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:27,600 stupid does. And the reason he said that is 516 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:31,720 because the real results of stupidity are what actually 517 00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,960 happens from the action. It's kind of like what Jesus 518 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:37,760 said. Wisdom is justified by her. 519 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:42,760 Children look at the outcomes and then and back and say, well, 520 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:46,800 what could I do differently or what plan of action could I 521 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:48,920 have? Well, the foolish didn't have a 522 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:51,600 plan of action. They were probably very excited 523 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,640 about what was happening. They had their Lance, but they 524 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:58,400 didn't have extra oil. Now the why's were different. 525 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:02,040 And again, words in the Bible sometimes have different 526 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:03,880 meanings. The word wise has three 527 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:06,800 different meanings. And in this particular context, 528 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:11,400 it's talking about wisdom that is cautious in character. 529 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,680 In other words, you're restraining yourself from an 530 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:18,160 immediate action. You're not just impulsively 531 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:21,560 doing something, but you're stopping and you're thinking it 532 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:24,600 through. So the five virgins said, well, 533 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:27,360 you know, the truth is we don't know exactly when he's going to 534 00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:29,480 come. We do know he's going to come at 535 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:32,720 night time, so we don't know how long our lamps have to be 536 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:34,920 burning. So let's make sure we have some 537 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:39,000 extra along the way. Now it says in speaking about 538 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:43,200 the five and the five whys and the five foolish that they all 539 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:47,200 slumbered and slept. Now there's nothing wrong with 540 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:50,120 sleeping. They all slept. 541 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,640 The five whys. It was not a problem for them to 542 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:58,480 sleep because they had made a preparation for the foolish 543 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,320 falling asleep. Not a good idea because they 544 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:04,640 weren't ready for the time when it actually came. 545 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:08,600 The difference being the preparation and thinking through 546 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:11,240 the situation. I wanted to point out that they 547 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:14,640 all slept and you can sleep because sometimes we think, 548 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:18,280 well, if we worry, it's kind of a good sign of how much we're 549 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:22,000 concerned about something the Bible says in the Psalms, what 550 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:23,360 are you doing? Stand up late? 551 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:26,880 Why are you getting up early? Worrying, don't you know the 552 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:31,080 Lord gives his beloved sleep. It is vain for you to these 553 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,560 things things because it's the Lord that keeps the city. 554 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,120 And if you none understand that you're going to be a watchman 555 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:40,320 that's going to always have confidence because you're going 556 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:42,440 to know guess what it's going to work out. 557 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:46,000 So God says, I want you to know this is a time of rest. 558 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:49,640 This is a time of peace. Don't let the world get you all 559 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:51,920 hyped up. Don't think you're doing God a 560 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:54,840 favor anybody else a favor. You need to have the peace that 561 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:57,400 passes all understanding. You need to walk in joy 562 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:00,520 unspeakable and full of glory. You need self-control. 563 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:02,840 You need the furthest spirit. Give the Lord a praise on that 564 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:08,960 church and yes, you can sleep, and God gives his beloved sleep. 565 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:12,400 As the story goes on, it says then all those virgins arose 566 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:14,720 trim their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, 567 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:17,520 give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going up. 568 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:21,800 But the wise answered and saying no, lest there should not be 569 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:26,560 enough for us and you, but go rather to those who sell and buy 570 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:30,440 for yourselves. I wanted to talk about how 571 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:34,440 important it is to be prepared versus what it is to be 572 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:37,160 spontaneous. Now I know what being prepared 573 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:40,200 is because my wife is the master of being prepared. 574 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:44,200 And when I talk about changes over time, that's one of the 575 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:47,280 things about ladies that has changed because in our day and 576 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:50,400 age, you know, it was very important for a woman how she 577 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:53,080 looked and dressed according to the situation. 578 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:56,120 It's not so much like that today, but certainly was when we 579 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:58,360 were younger. And I can tell you my wife 580 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:02,640 always thinks about being prepared for whatever day is 581 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:05,120 offering her. So in the morning when she gets 582 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,680 ready for the day, she spends a whole lot of time getting 583 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:12,120 prepared and she always wants to know ahead of time if something 584 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:14,720 different is going to happen in the day so that she can make 585 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,320 sure she gets home and gets prepared for whatever that 586 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,160 activity is. I've remember the last couple 587 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:23,160 weeks ago, as I said, such and such is happening in a week. 588 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:25,800 She's like, what? What Didn't you tell me? 589 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:31,440 I'm like, I'm giving you a week. What are you talking about? 590 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:36,920 I need to be prepared. She spends as much time getting 591 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:40,920 prepared to go to bed as she gets prepared getting up when we 592 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:44,800 go on family vacations. She was been a couple months 593 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:48,400 getting ready, if not several weeks because when she goes on 594 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:50,560 vacation, she wants to be prepared. 595 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:54,200 Now our favorite place in all the world is Ziwataneo, Mexico. 596 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,560 And if I one day said, Bonnie, I have a big surprise for you 597 00:31:57,760 --> 00:31:59,880 Tomorrow we're getting on a plane. 598 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:02,280 I bought tickets. We're going to Ziwataneo. 599 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:04,640 She wouldn't go. Yeah, she'd go. 600 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:07,960 I got a surprise for you too. You're going by yourself because 601 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:11,880 I'm not going anywhere. Let's have an opportunity to be 602 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:13,680 prepared. Anybody out there like that 603 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:15,840 today? You like that sense of being 604 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:19,600 prepared? Well, in reality, I much like 605 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:22,560 her as well, just in a different way about it. 606 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:26,240 But being prepared is a very good thing. 607 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:30,280 But you have to be prepared and spontaneous. 608 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:33,720 That's why I put over the scripture that we read today, 609 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:38,000 prepared spontaneity, because that's what God wants us to 610 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:39,800 have. Now, some people love to be 611 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:42,400 spontaneous. They love a surprise. 612 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:45,640 One person, if they got a surprise birthday party, they 613 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:48,200 go, Oh my God, what is happening to me? 614 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:50,680 Another person, if you open the door and everybody says 615 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:55,360 surprise, they go turn on the music, let's have fun. 616 00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:58,760 You might be one of those kind of people. 617 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:02,760 You love to just be surprised and the surprise adds to the 618 00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:05,040 fun. Well, there's a place for being 619 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:08,280 spontaneous because the Bible says we should be instant in 620 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:12,360 season and out. And so God says he wants us to 621 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:16,280 walk in prepared spontaneity. Well, when I use a term like 622 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:18,360 that, everybody might think we're not going to make it. 623 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:22,240 None of us come qualify. But when you read the Bible and 624 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,160 realize God has a plan of action that would make that possible, 625 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:29,360 we can all have something to contribute, whether you're the 626 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:32,000 more the spontaneous or more the prepared. 627 00:33:32,280 --> 00:33:35,440 That's why God put us together in different means through 628 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:38,280 marriage and our connections that we have in the body of 629 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:41,720 Christ and our greater family. How many know you have a big 630 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:43,480 family? You have a lot of differences in 631 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:45,320 your family. That's just the way it works 632 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:48,320 because no two people are going to be exactly the same. 633 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:53,480 And so we have to let God guide us in this, because contrary to 634 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:57,760 our human experience, where we like it to fit nicely into the 635 00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:02,360 world, what we feel comfortable with, God says, let me take you 636 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:05,760 into my world. And while they went to buy, the 637 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:09,080 bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to 638 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:11,840 the wedding, and the door was shut. 639 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:15,320 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open 640 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:18,040 to us. But he answered and said, Surely 641 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:22,360 I say to you, I do not know you, and I'll talk about that in 642 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:25,120 another verse. But watch therefore, for you 643 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:30,960 know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is 644 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,920 coming. And that's why he says we need 645 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:39,199 prepare spontaneity because we have to say, I want to be ready, 646 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:41,760 but then I have to be tuned in to hear. 647 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:45,600 But the Spirit is speaking to the church and God says with 648 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:49,360 that we have the best of all worlds and we can flow in what 649 00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:52,719 is happening in our world today. And that's why I mentioned how 650 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:56,120 that God knew about the change in civilizations and he's 651 00:34:56,360 --> 00:35:00,920 figured it in the plan of action and purpose he has for planet 652 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:03,560 Earth Church. Nothing in the world is taking 653 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:06,360 God by surprise. Don't look at your world and 654 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:08,800 think, Oh no, the world's not like it used to be. 655 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:11,680 It's always changing, it always will. 656 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:15,480 The key is that the Kingdom of God is planted in planet earth 657 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:17,400 as well, and that Kingdom is growing. 658 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:19,840 Amen Church. And we can have confidence to 659 00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:25,520 know that as we put our trust holy in Him and always watching 660 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:29,640 and aware of what's going on in our world because of the wise 661 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:34,160 person takes as much time as they can to be aware of what's 662 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:36,560 happening in the world in which they live. 663 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:39,960 Jesus said not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord Shalander, the 664 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:43,040 Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in 665 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,200 heaven. Many will say to me in that day, 666 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:47,680 Lord, Lord, have you not prophesied in your name, cast 667 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:50,200 out demons, your name done many wonders in your name. 668 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:54,000 Then I will declare to them, I never knew you. 669 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,480 There it is again. Why depart from me? 670 00:35:56,480 --> 00:36:01,560 You who practice lawlessness now you know we have to be a people 671 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:04,520 that understand our preparation comes through following the 672 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:06,520 Word. That would be the Scriptures and 673 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:08,280 also what we know God is speaking. 674 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:11,160 That's why I love the fact that God's been speaking because I've 675 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:13,800 been able to follow Him for all these years and have a 676 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:17,480 confidence and just see how God has been able to bless and every 677 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:21,000 time and in every generation because He is the faithful God. 678 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,840 Amen. Now always remember when we talk 679 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:27,320 about Jesus Christ, in the beginning was the Word, The word 680 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:29,600 was with God. The word was God. 681 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:31,160 How do you know Jesus is the Word? 682 00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:36,200 So you can't say you love Jesus if you don't love his Word, 683 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:39,560 because he is his Word, right? And that's very important for us 684 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,360 to understand because some people practice lawlessness. 685 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:45,080 They don't want to have the word in their life, don't want to 686 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:48,720 spend time with the Word. But we have to know the Word 687 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:52,800 because it's by keeping that Word that God is able to prepare 688 00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:56,600 us for the next step in which He wants to walk us in. 689 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:00,320 That's why I've noticed a term used from time to time where 690 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:03,680 people talk about worship nights, Worship night, They said 691 00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:07,640 as well, you just sing and worship the Lord and don't spend 692 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:09,560 that time with the sermon or teaching. 693 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:12,600 We just can kind of get together and have a worship night. 694 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:16,400 Well, that's what you would call a praise night, no question. 695 00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:20,840 But the word worship literally means to bow down and prostate 696 00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:22,760 yourself. And that doesn't mean because 697 00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:26,200 you're so emotional in a song, that means because the Word of 698 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:29,160 God has come. And when you hear the word, you 699 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:32,480 open up your heart, your mind and spirit and say, OK, Father, 700 00:37:32,720 --> 00:37:35,680 the entrance of your word is going to bring light to me. 701 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:39,680 And if that means I have to bow down and surrender my life to 702 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:42,800 you, I'm going to do it. Because that's how church we 703 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:45,760 really get to know him. And that's why we have to 704 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:50,240 understand Jesus wants us to know Him, and we know Him 705 00:37:50,240 --> 00:37:53,720 through His word. Therefore, whoever hears these 706 00:37:53,720 --> 00:37:56,720 sayings of mind and does them, I will like him into a wise man 707 00:37:56,720 --> 00:37:58,000 who build this house on the rock. 708 00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:01,920 The rains descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on 709 00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:05,760 that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 710 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:08,640 But everyone who hears these sayings of mind that does not do 711 00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:11,960 them would be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 712 00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:15,800 The rains descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on 713 00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:19,720 that house and it fell and great was its fall. 714 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:22,760 There will always be times of trouble. 715 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:28,960 The storms will come, and oftentimes people are surprised 716 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:31,320 by the storms. Well, storms come. 717 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:34,520 That's what life is all about. Winter's coming. 718 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:37,640 Anybody excited? I'm not. 719 00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:43,320 As I always say, fall just means you're falling because the worst 720 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:48,000 is yet to come. Winter's coming and they're 721 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,560 going to say it's going to be a warmer than normal or colder 722 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:55,280 than normal. It's going to be winter and 723 00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:56,800 there's no way of looking at it. Now. 724 00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:59,120 Some people say, well, I love the outdoor things. 725 00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:02,240 And that's somebody told me years ago, find something you 726 00:39:02,240 --> 00:39:04,400 like to do in the winter. And that's where my Florida 727 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:07,080 vacations start coming in because that's what I like to do 728 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:10,200 in the winter. But anyway, winter will come and 729 00:39:10,240 --> 00:39:15,960 storms will come and we have to be prepared for the storms and 730 00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:22,640 always know we will survive darkness. 731 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:26,920 Oh, the crying is in the morning, is in the night time, 732 00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:30,160 but joy comes in the morning of the day. 733 00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:32,520 Amen, Church. So we have to understand that 734 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:35,800 God has a plan of action for us and we don't have to be afraid 735 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:37,960 or try to contemplate all the bad things. 736 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,360 We don't have to wonder if so and so is the end of Christ or 737 00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:43,880 is this going to be the war that's going to end it all. 738 00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:47,640 We just need to keep our focus on Him and this is the one. 739 00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:49,280 Give Him a praise on that if you would. 740 00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:53,720 And this is the Scripture I feel God's been speaking to me. 741 00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:58,160 And the Lord said, who then is that faithful and wise to it? 742 00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:02,800 Because a faithful person keeps on keeping on whom his master 743 00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:05,760 will make ruler over his household to give them their 744 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:09,720 portion of food into season. Blessed is that servant whom his 745 00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:12,080 Master will find so doing when he comes. 746 00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:17,920 Truly, I say to you that He will make him what ruler over all he 747 00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:20,200 has. And I can't quit saying this 748 00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,040 enough. I believe there's a new level of 749 00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:25,760 authority coming to the church and I know the Lord spoke to me 750 00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:29,360 to teach the class I just taught in ending this past Thursday 751 00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:32,920 night, 11 weeks. And every day I know that I 752 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:36,520 taught the class that God was laying another line upon my 753 00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:40,200 heart to prepare me because he said, Lauren, it is a day of new 754 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:43,080 authority. It is a day of new beginnings 755 00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:45,840 for my people. And I'm preparing you and I'm 756 00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:48,320 preparing them. Let him who have the near to 757 00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:50,440 hear. Let him hear what the Spirit is 758 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:53,760 speaking to the church. So that's bow our heads for just 759 00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:56,960 a moment, church, because before we take communion, we need to 760 00:40:56,960 --> 00:41:01,960 remind ourselves we're the children of the most high God 761 00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:07,920 and we have a father who's making us into his fully mature 762 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:17,040 sons and he's coming in a whole new way to his church. 763 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:23,360 And that's why I'm saying be prepared, be ready. 764 00:41:25,720 --> 00:41:30,400 Like the Apostle Paul told Timothy, be instant in season 765 00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:34,600 and out of season because sometimes God isn't in your 766 00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:37,520 season, but His season's always good. 767 00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:45,040 He is preparing us as never before, that we would worship 768 00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:48,320 Him by giving Him our whole heart. 769 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:52,280 Father, I pray for everyone here, Mount Zion, because I know 770 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:57,040 that you are calling us to a whole new dimension in you and 771 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:00,440 you're declaring to us the former things have come to pass 772 00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:02,560 and new things do. I declare, says the Lord. 773 00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:07,920 It's the time. Let us receive it in Jesus name. 774 00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:11,720 This is Pastor Lauren Coverbius from Mount Zion church. 775 00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:14,680 We thank you for joining us today and invite you to connect 776 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:18,320 with our church family by visiting mountzion.org and 777 00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:20,920 following us on social media. God bless you.