1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,160 I want to open with this scripture from Romans chapter 1 2 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,800 where it says for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:10,760 for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who 4 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:14,440 believes, for the Jew 1st and also for the Greek. 5 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,800 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed. 6 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:23,320 From faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by 7 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:25,960 faith. How many know we need to live by 8 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:26,920 faith? Amen. 9 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,040 And he talks here about God's salvation. 10 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:34,680 It's so good to know that we have a God of a great salvation. 11 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:36,920 Amen. Church, it's important for us to 12 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:39,640 understand that that's the message of the Scriptures. 13 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,280 It is part of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ that 14 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:48,560 God has made a way for us that we would experience his great 15 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:51,640 salvation. And it's a very important part 16 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,520 of our walk with him that we would understand our salvation 17 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:59,360 and also understand what the the Scripture says when it says that 18 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:03,720 the just shall live by faith because we need to understand 19 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,920 I'm hitting the button. But it's got going forward, if 20 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:10,200 we could help from the backroom, that we would understand how 21 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:15,240 important it is to walk fully in the faith dimension that God has 22 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:19,400 for us, because it's only possible when we understand that 23 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:23,240 it comes through faith. Now, I believe that we live in 24 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:27,320 what I'll call ominous times because there are some 25 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:30,600 difficulties that we're going to be facing in the days which are 26 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:32,640 hit. I believe with all my heart that 27 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,920 God himself is shaking everything that can be shaken. 28 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:40,280 And so we're living in what we would call tumultuous times, 29 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:42,520 which means there's a lot of change. 30 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:47,480 It's happening very fast and in many ways unexpected. 31 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,400 And yet we have to understand that God is involved in all 32 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,000 those things. I use the word ominous because 33 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,840 it speaks about some darkness that's involved in it because we 34 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:00,800 know that darkness will cover the earth and gross darkness the 35 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:02,840 people. But in the midst of that, we 36 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:06,000 need to understand they got us saying to us, it's important 37 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,880 that we would arise and shine so that our light can come. 38 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:14,160 Now, typically, if someone's talking about the future in a 39 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:18,040 prophetic sense, especially biblical prophecy, people 40 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,840 usually think that's talking about something bad that's going 41 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,600 to happen in the sense of an economic collapse, a war 42 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,520 perhaps, or some type of social event that's going to cause a 43 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:30,520 great crisis. And we certainly have enough of 44 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,520 that going around. However, what I want you to 45 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,560 understand is there's something more ominous than those things, 46 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:41,480 and that is that we are living in a time when we are facing a 47 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:45,160 crisis of faith. This is very important. 48 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:47,880 On Wednesday night, I was talking a little bit about the 49 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,480 cradle of American civilization, which is what we call Western 50 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:55,400 civilization, and I'll be continuing to talk about that 51 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:59,000 because it's so vital that we have spiritual perception of 52 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,840 what exactly is going on in these days. 53 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,080 Now, the cradle of Western civilization actually started in 54 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:08,680 the Middle East, was developed in Greece, and became a part of 55 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,480 Latin culture. And so when we think about 56 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,720 Western culture, we think about those different civilizations 57 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:16,640 and the contributions that they have made. 58 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,960 Of course, the European continent is most important as 59 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:24,720 the cradle of our acclamation, or being a part of Western 60 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,640 culture, if you would. And often through our history, 61 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:30,680 we've been tied in some way or another with Europe. 62 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,360 Now, that's a good thing for us to observe, because if you were 63 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:38,000 to go to Europe today and do an examination of the spiritual 64 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,840 condition of the continent, you would find out that only 3% of 65 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:47,400 the people go to church, have any active faith in their lives. 66 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:52,040 They are secular society, by and large, secular people. 67 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,440 And since we share a cultural heritage, in one sense, it's 68 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,240 important for us to realize, well, if they could lose their 69 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:04,560 religion, if you would, or lose their spiritual walk, should 70 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,240 there be some things we need to be mindful of? 71 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,760 There's actually some crisis in our relationships with Europe 72 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:12,480 today. And I don't think they're all 73 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,600 that bad because we got to realize who we are because God 74 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,519 has done something special in the United States of America as 75 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:23,400 it pertains to His move upon us. Even secular history will tell 76 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,720 you that we've had three major religious awakenings that have 77 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,680 impacted our nation and impacted our culture. 78 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:33,960 And I believe that God's wanting to do that all over again. 79 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,480 How many want to be a part of that awakening in the land 80 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:37,320 today? Amen. 81 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,080 But it's very important for us to understand how ominous the 82 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:47,560 horizon offers to us a time that would be 1 without faith if 83 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,160 we're not careful. To understand that, we have to 84 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:54,400 see faith as something that we live by, not something that 85 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:58,720 we've exercised just in the past or something that we exercise 86 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:01,760 when we're facing a crisis and we need God to do something 87 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:04,920 special for us. What does that Scripture say? 88 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:10,600 The just shall live by faith. Hebrews Chapter 11 says that 89 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:13,680 faith is the substance of things hoped for. 90 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:16,680 It is the evidence of things not seen. 91 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:21,720 If I fell faith, the elders have obtained a good testimony and 92 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:25,440 from Hebrews Chapter 11, it'll talk about all the patriarchs 93 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:29,320 that we know of the major names throughout the Old Testament and 94 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,680 history of God working among the people, how that they were 95 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,680 always people of faith and how important it is for us to 96 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,960 realize we need to be people of faith and we need to have a good 97 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:43,320 testimony because in the world we live in today, the world 98 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,960 needs to lead, see a light that they can look to. 99 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,880 They need salt that helps preserve them if you would. 100 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,000 And so that's the call of God that's upon each and every one 101 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,120 of us. Faith is something that we 102 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:59,560 believe is that which God gives to us. 103 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,440 It is a gift that enables us to believe when things don't look 104 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,840 like they're possible. That's why faith becomes our 105 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:10,000 substance and our hope and our evidence. 106 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:13,120 As I've often shared throughout our history of Mount Zion, we 107 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,040 have certainly been a people who live by faith and facing 108 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:20,040 circumstances and situations and accomplishment in all the things 109 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:22,400 that God has had for us as a local church. 110 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,600 And I share that so that we can all know how important faith is. 111 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:28,880 But it takes it a step further when it says that all of us need 112 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,000 to live by faith. That means faith must be a part 113 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,240 of our full experience every single day. 114 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:38,600 Now I'm speaking about those who have obtained a good testimony. 115 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:42,760 I wanted to share with you some story about Moses, some stories 116 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,600 I should say. And Moses's relationship with 117 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:48,280 God is recorded also in Hebrews Chapter 11. 118 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:53,640 It says that by faith Moses, when he became of age, refused 119 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,440 to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, assuming the 120 00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:00,440 reproach of Christ greater than riches and treasures in Egypt, 121 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:04,760 for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not 122 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,240 fearing the wrath of the king, for endured has seen him who is 123 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,560 invisible. By faith he kept the Passover 124 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:15,840 and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the first 125 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,560 born should touch them. By faith they passed through the 126 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:24,080 Red Sea as by dry land, whereas when the Egyptians were 127 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,320 attempting to do so, they were drowned. 128 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,280 Now, Moses was certainly a man of faith, and because he was a 129 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:35,000 man of faith, he did some very powerful supernatural things 130 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,440 that benefited his life and benefited the life of others, 131 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:41,600 namely the children of Israel. Now, it's important to remember 132 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,200 his story, one that most people are familiar with. 133 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:49,960 There was a time in Israelite history when the Egyptian rulers 134 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,240 over them thought they were becoming a threat. 135 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:55,200 And so they decided that they were going to start killing off 136 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:57,840 their children because they were afraid that they would populate 137 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,800 and become more numerous than the Egyptians of themselves. 138 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:03,360 And so they were killing the children. 139 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,560 But Moses's mother had faith, the Bible says. 140 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:10,720 And because of that, she wasn't going to just let the same fate 141 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,520 come upon her son, that was going to come upon all the other 142 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:15,800 children. So the Bible says that she made 143 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:19,600 a little ark, putting him in a basket and set him up the now 144 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:23,200 river by faith, believing that some way he'd be found and would 145 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:25,520 be preserved. I don't know if it was her 146 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,680 intentional thought, but just so happened that the Pharaoh's 147 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:30,880 daughter was out bathing in the Nile River. 148 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:35,559 She saw the child, had them fetch him, and she took him into 149 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:38,880 her house, and he became a part of the House of Pharaoh. 150 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:40,600 I mean, oh, that's an amazing thing. 151 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:43,400 And so he was raised in the House of Pharaoh. 152 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,760 But what this Scripture says is when he came to the age of 153 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:52,360 choice, he made a decision. I'm not an Egyptian, I'm a Jew, 154 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,680 I'm a Hebrew. I'm of the seed of Abraham who 155 00:08:55,680 --> 00:08:59,400 is the father of our faith. And so the Bible says he made 156 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:02,880 the choice that he wasn't going to be an Egyptian, even though 157 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,320 he was in the highest family of the land. 158 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:08,640 He was going to accept his true identity now. 159 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,360 His family, the Hebrew family, had always been a part of his 160 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:14,720 life. So he, in a sense lived a double 161 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,880 life, always knowing his true family but understanding that he 162 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:20,880 was living in his adopted family. 163 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,080 But the Bible says when he came of age, he decided, wait a 164 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,640 second, I'm going to be who I really am supposed to be. 165 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:32,600 And so he chose to reject the life he had to follow the new 166 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:34,280 life. Now how we know that's what 167 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:38,080 happens to us when we're born again, when we hear the gospel 168 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,960 message and we make a choice to follow God. 169 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:43,960 The Bible says that we become born again. 170 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:48,280 The old things have passed away. God says all things have become 171 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:50,880 new. Now some people only see that as 172 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:53,960 getting save. So I'm saved now, and one of 173 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,960 these days I'm going to go to heaven and I'm going to have a 174 00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:58,520 pass. I'm not going to go to hell 175 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:02,520 because I've been saved. But we need to expand our 176 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:05,880 understanding of this salvation that we're talking about here 177 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:09,800 today to understand that the first step of our salvation 178 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:12,600 isn't just making a choice to go to heaven. 179 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:17,240 It's a choice for a new identity, and that identity is 180 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:20,000 that you're not just a son of your family. 181 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:23,720 Your heritage isn't just in the natural, but you've made a 182 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:27,200 choice and now you recognize God is my father. 183 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:29,160 I'm a child of the most high God. 184 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:30,920 I mean, you know, that's a good thing, Church. 185 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,320 Give him a praise on it if you're glad today you're a child 186 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,680 of the Most High God. And of course, just like any 187 00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:40,920 child, we should understand that our Father wants us to grow, 188 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:45,000 develop and become mature. But that was the first step and 189 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,960 it was a step of faith. If you can think about it, 190 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:50,280 you're living in the Pharaoh's house. 191 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:53,560 The Pharaoh was probably the most powerful person on planet 192 00:10:53,560 --> 00:10:57,120 Earth at the time, certainly had all the wealth one could 193 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:02,120 experience. His true family were slaves and 194 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,360 did not have any freedom. And he made a choice. 195 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:09,560 I'm going to find out who I am. I'm going to follow my true 196 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:12,840 identity. Now the Bible then says having 197 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:18,240 made that choice, he first took the life of the Pharaoh's family 198 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:21,080 and he chose to follow the reproach. 199 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:25,040 In this case, it says a following after Christ by faith, 200 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:27,600 he said. I see that there's so much that 201 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:31,920 this life has to offer, but I really have chosen by faith that 202 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:33,960 this is the life. And I'm going to believe that 203 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:37,200 although there's going to be some disappointments, and 204 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,600 although it's going to cost me something by faith, I know this 205 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:43,080 is going to be the best choice I can have. 206 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:46,400 Now, as Christians, we have to understand that that 207 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:49,920 sanctification is something that the church has learned in church 208 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:52,200 history and something that should be a part of all of our 209 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,760 understanding. That once we make a choice to 210 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:59,040 follow God, we have to make a choice to not follow the ways of 211 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:01,720 the world, but to make the choice that we're going to 212 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:05,840 reject that life and say, I'm going to go the way God has 213 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:09,520 called me to go. Sanctification means I've been 214 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:13,080 set apart from my old life. I've been set apart from the 215 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,120 world and I'm going to be a follower of God. 216 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:21,800 Now the Bible says also that by faith Moses observed the 217 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,200 Passover. And so I want to call this the 218 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,000 faith of observation or observing faith. 219 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:32,080 What happened then is Moses was called to go and confront the 220 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:35,400 Pharaoh so that he would let the children of Israel go. 221 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,440 In order for God to do that, he had to send plagues upon the 222 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:43,560 House of the Egyptians because certainly they didn't want to 223 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:46,480 let their slaves go. And so the Lord sent these 224 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,200 different plagues. And the final plague would be, 225 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,720 and the Lord had spoken this to Moses and said there's going to 226 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:56,040 be a death Angel that's going to pass through the land, the first 227 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:58,840 born of every family, even of the animals. 228 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:00,960 It's going to be killed by the death Angel. 229 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:06,280 But if your people will take a lamb offered as a sacrifice, 230 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:10,800 then have a dinner together, take the blood from that 231 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,320 sacrificial lamb and put it on the doorposts of their house. 232 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:18,600 When the death Angel comes, it's going to Passover, the house, 233 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:22,320 hence the term Passover. The Bible says that having 234 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:25,120 observed the Passover, they experience something 235 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:28,480 supernatural and that was that the death Angel passed over 236 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:30,320 them. Now this is important for us to 237 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:35,240 understand as Christians because there's a very important aspect 238 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:39,640 of obtaining our full salvation in this, not simply being an 239 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:42,960 observing Christian. What does it mean to observe the 240 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:44,800 well? That means that you understand 241 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:47,880 that the Bible says forsake not the assembling of yourself 242 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:49,960 together as is the matter of some. 243 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:52,200 In other words, you realize you need to go to church. 244 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:55,040 When you come to church, you need to realize that as we 245 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:58,040 observe the things that we experience here, there's 246 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,960 something that we can have as we experience them by faith. 247 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:05,240 So we're not just singing, we're praising the Lord and knowing 248 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,680 Jesus is among us. And as we're hearing the sermon, 249 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:11,880 we understand there's a word going forth to give us faith and 250 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:15,400 impartation. As we take of the sacrament of 251 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:18,840 communion and as we observe the sacrament of water Raptors, as 252 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:22,080 we're part of all these things, we should realize there's a 253 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:25,080 power that's it's released in an observing faith. 254 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:27,880 And so we need to understand how important that was. 255 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:30,280 It certainly was essential for the children of Israel. 256 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,880 And that's why after that Passover, they would receive the 257 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:37,640 instructions to follow that order time and time again. 258 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,720 And for us as Christians, we should remember that it was at 259 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:44,880 the Last Supper where Jesus was actually celebrating A Passover. 260 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,320 He said, now do this in remembrance of me. 261 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:52,160 And so we also understand there's something very powerful 262 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:56,560 when we have faith that observes the things that God says are 263 00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:59,240 necessary for us. Now, the last thing that 264 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:05,880 happened was Moses experienced the incredible miracle of the 265 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,880 crossing over of the Red Sea after the death Angel had passed 266 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:11,680 through the land. The Pharaoh said, get out of 267 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:13,840 here. I want you guys to go away. 268 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,640 You're nothing but trouble. They're taking off and they're 269 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:20,000 going to worship the Lord in the desert, the Bible says. 270 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:23,360 And all of a sudden they come up to a spot where they can't 271 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:26,160 crossover because they're facing a sea, the Red Sea. 272 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:29,160 And then they happen to look behind them and realize that the 273 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,200 pharaoh's armies are coming after them. 274 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:34,040 And so they were caught between what we would call a hard place, 275 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,480 a rock, and a hard place. And they didn't know, well, what 276 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:39,280 are we going to do? But how many go? 277 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:43,200 God speaks, So Moses said. God, what are we going to do? 278 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:46,680 He said, we'll take the staff that's in your hand, lift it up, 279 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,760 and the waters will part and your people will go over on dry 280 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:52,600 land. They did just that when Pharaoh 281 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:54,640 and his armies sought to pursue them. 282 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:58,840 The Bible says that the waters close up and destroyed the power 283 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,640 that Pharaoh and his armies could have usurped over them. 284 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:06,360 Now, this was the faith of full deliverance. 285 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:09,680 And I really believe this is where God wants the church to 286 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:11,800 understand. He's called us at this day 287 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:16,000 because with all the pressures of the times, God says to his 288 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,240 church, you need to know this is a time when I want you to 289 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,120 experience the complete deliverance. 290 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:24,760 There is no weapon that's formed against you. 291 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:28,280 Give the Lord a praise. There's no weapon that's formed 292 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:31,360 against you. The Bible says that can prosper. 293 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,880 And even every tongue that rises up against you in judgment, you 294 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:38,240 will condemn it because that's the heritage of the Saints. 295 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,800 Their righteousness is of me, says the Lord. 296 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:46,080 But for Moses, each and every step was a step that he had to 297 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:50,520 take by faith, seeking the voice of God and walking into 298 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,960 agreement with God's word. In Hebrews chapter 2 it says 299 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:56,480 this. Therefore we must give the more 300 00:16:56,480 --> 00:17:00,760 earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest we drift 301 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:03,240 away. For if the Word spoken through 302 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:06,760 angels prove steadfast in every transgression, and disobedience 303 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:11,280 received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so 304 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:15,160 greatest salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the 305 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,079 Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him? 306 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,359 You see, we have to have a maintenance program is what I 307 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:23,760 put over that. And he said we have to be 308 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:26,680 careful because if not, we can drift away. 309 00:17:27,079 --> 00:17:29,600 That's why I can talk about Europe, which used to be a 310 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,720 Christian continent. They're the ones that exported 311 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:36,720 Christianity to the New World, both North and South America, 312 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:40,920 and then to Asia and Africa. They were spreading Christianity 313 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,680 and now what's happened to their continent that doesn't even 314 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,480 believe in God anymore and even the established churches, 315 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:50,080 they're taking stands. They're literally anti 316 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:51,960 Christian. What happened? 317 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:55,520 Well, they drifted away. Now in American history, again, 318 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:58,960 there's times when we've drifted away, but that's when God raises 319 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:03,560 up a voice among his people. And they began to stir revival. 320 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:06,640 They began to stir the people and began to 'cause this great 321 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:11,120 awakening that God is saying to us, it's time for even today. 322 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:15,400 Not only are we called to hold on, but we're called to believe 323 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:18,560 that God has something for us that can change the world in 324 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:20,680 which we live. Can you say Amen to that church? 325 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:25,400 Such an amazing time and opportunity, although it doesn't 326 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:28,240 look like it. That's why he said, how will we 327 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:32,240 escape if we neglect such a great salvation? 328 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:36,720 We have to be very careful not to neglect our salvation because 329 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,760 salvation is God's full deliverance for our life. 330 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:42,720 It's the freedom that He has for each and every one of us. 331 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:47,560 But if we're not careful, we can drift away, we can lose our 332 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:50,760 power, we can lose the thing that we used to have in God. 333 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:54,200 And unfortunately, that's why I love history because when you 334 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:56,960 love history and learn from history, you're not going to 335 00:18:56,960 --> 00:18:59,600 make histories mistakes. And that's what's happened. 336 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:03,800 So oftentimes in church history with moves of God, hold 337 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:08,080 denominations of God who after a while they become careless and 338 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:10,680 before you know it, they're drifting away from their true 339 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:13,760 identity. And that's why we have to always 340 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:17,760 recognize how important it is that we are people who know what 341 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:21,120 it means to walk by faith. For the message of the cross is 342 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:23,520 foolishness to those who are perishing. 343 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:28,400 But to us who are, notice it says being saved. 344 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,640 It is the power of God. For it is written out will 345 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:34,560 destroy the wisdom and the wise and bring to nothing the 346 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:37,720 understanding of the prudent. That's why I have over the 347 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,440 Scripture. It is a salvation process 348 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,600 because we shouldn't be speaking about being saved in the sense 349 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:48,440 of only a past tense and we shouldn't think about it only 350 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:52,720 having an opportunity of benefit in the future, which is so often 351 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:55,240 times true. If you ask Christians, are you 352 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,400 saved? Yeah, I'm saved. 353 00:19:57,520 --> 00:19:58,680 That's what makes me a Christian. 354 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:02,200 Well, what are you saved from? Well that would be a hard 355 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,280 question for people to ask answer, but truth of the matter 356 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:09,080 is most people think of it only as being saved from hell. 357 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:13,400 And having eternal life now, that's a part of it. 358 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:18,160 But we should not have a walk in our salvation that talks about a 359 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:21,360 past tense experience with only a future hope. 360 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,040 We should have a now salvation in God. 361 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:26,440 Can I hear you say Amen on that, church? 362 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:31,600 Because the message of the cross is that we pick up our cross and 363 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:34,760 follow Him. And as we follow him, that cross 364 00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:37,640 ever works life in each and every one of us. 365 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:40,880 And through this process we are being saved. 366 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:43,920 And that word save, there means to be delivered. 367 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:47,760 It means to be set free. It means to become everything 368 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:52,160 that God has called us to be and everything in life that we were 369 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:54,520 meant to be. You see, there's something in 370 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,000 each and every one of us that wants to be who we are called to 371 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,720 be. And that's why we have such a 372 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,720 difficult time in this world today because of the world says, 373 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:06,000 well, who are you? Just be who you are. 374 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:10,040 And we understand that God says, no, don't just be who you are in 375 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:12,480 the natural. Understand that when you were 376 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:16,080 born again, you accepted a new identity. 377 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,600 And so to know who you are, you have to know who you are in God. 378 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,720 Amen. And so that salvation process is 379 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:27,840 this process of making that natural person walk in the full 380 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:31,320 reality of the spiritual life that God has given to us so that 381 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:35,840 we can become the person that God himself has called us to be. 382 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:41,080 In Matthew chapter 1, speaking about Jesus Christ, it says, but 383 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:44,440 while he thought this is speaking about Joseph, about 384 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,640 these things, which is when he found out his wife was pregnant. 385 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:50,280 Behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, 386 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:54,920 saying, Joseph, son of David, Do not be afraid to take your wife 387 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:58,480 Mary, for your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of 388 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,680 the Holy Spirit, and she will bring forth the Son. 389 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,080 You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from 390 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,120 their sins. Now, this scripture and the next 391 00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:11,400 two are scriptures that I spoke on last year. 392 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,040 And throughout the year the Lord has talked, had me talk about 393 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,040 the church because I believe that in the world in which we 394 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:21,800 Live Today, God wants his full salvation to work in US. 395 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:25,360 And it's only possible when we are connected to the church, 396 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:29,560 connected to the House of God. And that's a part of our refuge 397 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:33,400 that we need to understand. Now at Christmas time is when I 398 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:38,680 told this particular story about Jesus, because when Mary became 399 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,480 pregnant and Joseph found out, he's like, oh, no, what am I 400 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:43,920 going to do? Well, he was a just man, so he's 401 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,280 going to put her away privately. And that's when the word of the 402 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,640 Lord came to him. And I'm, you know, it's the word 403 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:53,720 of the Lord that's going to produce faith that child in her 404 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,160 has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. 405 00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:01,160 You will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from 406 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:04,440 their sin. Now, the New Testament name 407 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:08,480 Jesus is actually a translation of the Old Testament word 408 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:12,200 Joshua, which means Jehovah is our salvation. 409 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:17,080 So Joseph would have known right away what he was implying here 410 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:21,560 when he says you will call his name Joshua in his hearing 411 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,000 because he will deliver his people from their sin. 412 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:29,200 Because Joshua was the one who in the Old Testament followed up 413 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:34,000 on Moses responsibility and took the children of Israel into the 414 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:38,040 promised land. He was the commander of the 415 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:42,400 people of God, and Jesus Christ is our commander. 416 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:46,120 The Bible pictures him as one sitting on a White Horse 417 00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:49,840 marching forth in victory. And God says you need to 418 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,920 understand something. He didn't just die for the 419 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:56,320 forgiveness of your sin. He died so that you can be 420 00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:00,160 delivered from your sin. Most people when they think 421 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:03,960 about the cross, think about the blood of Jesus Christ and about 422 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:06,520 it being for forgiveness, and that's certainly a very 423 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:10,280 important part of what it is. But you have to understand that 424 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,360 blood from the cross was much more than that. 425 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:16,360 That's why Isaiah the prophet said he was wounded for our 426 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:20,240 transgressions, yes, but he's also bruised for our iniquities 427 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:23,120 or our weaknesses, chastised for our peace. 428 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:25,680 Because God wants us to have the peace of the past is all 429 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,080 understanding. And by his stripes we are 430 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:29,520 healed. How many know we serve a God, a 431 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:34,160 healing church, so we have to understand that when He died to 432 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:39,040 save us from our sin, He came to deliver us from the consequences 433 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:43,360 of sin and all the things that that brings to us in the world. 434 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,200 Another scripture that I shared this year as I was talking about 435 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,000 this just a few weeks ago was in Acts chapter 2. 436 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:55,120 And with many words he testified the exert and saying be saved 437 00:24:55,120 --> 00:24:58,800 from this perverse generation. This of course is taken out of 438 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,520 the book of Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost. 439 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,120 Peter is preaching to the people and he's letting them know you 440 00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:09,400 have crucified the Christ. But he didn't just die and get 441 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:11,760 buried. He rose again from the dead. 442 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:15,760 And that day the Holy Spirit had come to confirm that fact. 443 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:19,040 And people are looking at this amazing things of people being 444 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,440 baptized in the Holy Ghost. They're like, what in the 445 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:25,840 world's going on here? And that's when he said to them, 446 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,840 you need to be saved from this generation because that's the 447 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:32,600 generation that rejected Christ. And how do you know God wants to 448 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,760 save us from our generation, the world we're living in today? 449 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:39,520 It's a generation, and there's a lot of things in it that could 450 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:42,280 take us down. So we need to be understanding 451 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:46,160 of the fact that God's salvation gives us power over the present 452 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:50,440 world so that we don't just live in the world in which we live, 453 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:54,480 listening to the voices of the land, but we're listening to God 454 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:58,200 and walking in agreement with his power in our life. 455 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,360 Now this next verse of Scripture I shared in part of last year as 456 00:26:02,360 --> 00:26:05,560 well. And from time to time, this is 457 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:09,720 such a very important scripture. It says, And you be made alive, 458 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,320 who were dead in trespasses and sins, which He once walked 459 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:15,920 according to the course of the world, according to the Prince 460 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:19,800 of the power of the air, the Spirit who now works in the sons 461 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:24,040 of disobedience, Among whom also we all once conducted ourselves 462 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,000 and the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the 463 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:30,720 flesh and of the mind. And we're by nature children of 464 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:34,800 wrath, just as others. How many know He came to save us 465 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:37,800 from our past? Now this is amazing to 466 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:40,880 understand because before we come to the Lord, the Bible says 467 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:43,920 that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. 468 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:47,200 In other words, we're not conscious of God and the life He 469 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:50,840 has for us, but when He resurrects us from that dead 470 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:53,920 place, now we're alive and we're aware of God. 471 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:56,040 And God, He says, you got to build on that. 472 00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:59,640 But it also tells us we experience a deliverance. 473 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,480 And this is important to understand because when we were 474 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,400 dead in our trespasses and sins, we were literally under the 475 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:09,600 influence of the God of this world and the spirit of the age. 476 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:13,120 It's not just culture from human behavior. 477 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:15,640 That's the power that holds people back. 478 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:19,840 It's the power of the enemy. It's the God of this world. 479 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:22,560 It is the spirit of darkness that's upon the earth. 480 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:25,800 Now what you see in that verse is what it says is when you were 481 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:27,760 under that influence, what did you do? 482 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:31,680 Well, you lived according to your natural inclinations, the 483 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:36,080 lust of your flesh, the desires of your mind, and you were by 484 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:40,200 anger, children of wrath. We live in a very angry world 485 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:42,440 today, and you can see it on the news all the time. 486 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:45,320 People are responding in anger, and then there was their 487 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,320 surprise when other people respond by anger. 488 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:49,960 How many do we live in an angry world? 489 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:53,280 We got to understand there's no only one way out of it, and 490 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,080 that's getting out of that world and getting into his world. 491 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:57,800 Amen. Because Jesus is the Prince of 492 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:01,200 Peace and that's the real solution for the world in which 493 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:03,000 we live. So as people are getting caught 494 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,080 up in their angry debates, they need to recognize something. 495 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,960 You need to get out of your world, not just try to get the 496 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:13,160 upper hand in your debate. Because of the Prince of the 497 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:17,200 power of the air is at work. And God says, I've delivered you 498 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:19,240 from that. And that's why I wrote my book, 499 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:21,840 Why Is the Devil in Your Garden? Which I encourage everyone to 500 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:25,160 learn because a lot of people have this idea and it's even 501 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:29,280 promoted in popular culture that the devil's trying to get us on 502 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:31,520 his side. And they've been talking about 503 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,440 selling your soul, the devil, and he'll give you this or that. 504 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:37,360 The devil's not trying to get you on his side. 505 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:41,480 He wants you on your side because when you're on your 506 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:46,280 side, you're not on God's side and you're not any help to the 507 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:48,960 world in which you live. And so we have to understand 508 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:52,280 what it means to be delivered and how that can impact our 509 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:54,640 life. That's why the salvation we have 510 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:58,040 is so great, because it gives us power over our flesh. 511 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:01,200 Now it says here in Romans 10, which was our opening 512 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,240 scriptures. But what does the Scripture say? 513 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:05,960 Well, this is what the Bible says. 514 00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:09,640 It says the word is near you. It's in your mouth and in your 515 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:12,640 heart. That is what the Word of Faith 516 00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:17,440 which we preach that if you confess with your mouth the Lord 517 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:22,080 Jesus, and this is a key, believe in your heart that God 518 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,560 has raised him from the dead, you will be saved that they have 519 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,320 not all obeyed the gospel for Isaiah says Lord, who has 520 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:31,840 believed our report. So faith comes by hearing, 521 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:36,440 hearing by the word of God. And so in order for us to walk 522 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:39,920 by faith, we have to hear a Word of Faith. 523 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:42,920 And this is so important to understand because where does 524 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:45,960 the Word of Faith have to come to our heart? 525 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:50,120 With the heart. Man believes Christianity is not 526 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:54,000 a religion of the head, is a religion of the heart. 527 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:57,880 It means opening up the innermost part of your person, 528 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,720 your desires, your motivation, the source of all your life to 529 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:04,120 God. Because when you do that, God is 530 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:06,160 able to put his word inside of you. 531 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,520 And as you begin to confess that word and make it a part of your 532 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:11,720 conversation, guess what happens? 533 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:15,040 You become a new person. That's why he says, now don't 534 00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:17,640 say we've got to go up here and bring God down or go down there 535 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:19,840 and bring him up. He's inside of you. 536 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:23,720 How many glad gods inside of you today, Church, Amen. 537 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:28,240 You got to trust and believe that by faith, and it comes by 538 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:33,200 receiving the Word into our heart and also in our spirit. 539 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:36,320 Now having said that, I want to emphasize this part of that 540 00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:38,760 chapter. It says, How then shall they 541 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:41,800 call on Him and whom they have not believed? 542 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:45,520 And how shall they believe in Him in whom they have not heard? 543 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,520 And how shall they hear without a preacher? 544 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:53,520 And how shall they preach unless they are sent as this is 545 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:55,120 written? How beautiful are the feet of 546 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:59,840 those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of 547 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:02,720 good things. Now, this is such a very 548 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:05,680 important thing because the world needs some preachers. 549 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:08,840 They need preachers from the platform, and they need 550 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:11,600 preachers wherever they go. Because how many know we have 551 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:15,840 all been called to preach the gospel in the sense that if it's 552 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:18,040 in your heart, it should be in your mouth. 553 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:22,200 You should be able to tell other people and that helps advance 554 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:25,560 your own development as you share what God has done in your 555 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:29,040 life to other people. Now the word preacher in the 556 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:32,720 original tense, you'll see it means to herald or proclaim 557 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:35,880 something. Then the example often used is a 558 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:39,880 town crier. In the old days, before anybody 559 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:42,760 could read or write, there was only one way you could really 560 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:46,000 communicate news and that was by having a town crier. 561 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,360 The town crier would typically wear certain clothes. 562 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,240 Often times they would make an announcement by saying hear ye, 563 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:56,520 hear ye. Other times they would ring a 564 00:31:56,520 --> 00:32:00,040 bell, blow a trumpet, whatever. But they tried to get attention 565 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:04,360 to what they had to say and then they would make an announcement 566 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:09,240 proclaiming what is the news? Now we live in a time, of 567 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,680 course, today where people get all kinds of news and you don't 568 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:15,520 even have to read. You can just watch it online, 569 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:21,200 but in the day where there was no media and no printing presses 570 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:25,640 to speak of, and most people couldn't read and write anyway, 571 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,320 this was. The only way you could do it is 572 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:32,080 to have someone make a proclamation and say this is 573 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:35,480 exactly what's going on in American history. 574 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:38,520 There was a guy named Paul Revere who went through the 575 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:40,200 towns and the British are coming. 576 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:43,640 The British are coming and it alerted the town to be aware 577 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:46,040 what's going on. So they will to raise up a 578 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:48,680 defense. And so the town crier was very 579 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:53,240 essential for their protection, very important for them to know 580 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:56,040 what's going on. And that's what God says. 581 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,320 We need a preacher. Now, when I was in prayer the 582 00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:02,640 other day, the Lord spoke this to me about the preacher. 583 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,960 And as he did, I've often shared these scriptures that we need a 584 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:09,920 preacher, a teacher, someone who's instruct. 585 00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:12,840 A preacher is somebody who inspires. 586 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:15,760 Sometimes people think, well, the difference between a 587 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:18,320 preacher and a teacher is how excited they get. 588 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:21,560 So if somebody's real excited and maybe spitting a little bit, 589 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:25,120 wow, that's a preacher. They're kind of just slow and 590 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:27,080 talking like this. Maybe point to the board. 591 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:30,240 Well, that's just a teacher. I know that because I used to 592 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:33,000 attend a Pentecostal church and sometimes people would say to 593 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,880 me, you know, you're more a teacher than a preacher. 594 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:38,360 And I know what they're actually saying is you're kind of boring, 595 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:40,720 but I understand you're got something to say. 596 00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:46,080 But the truth of the matter is it can seem very instructional 597 00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:48,040 and always should have some instruction to it. 598 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:51,240 But it also should inspire you in order that you might have 599 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:53,440 faith. And so that's where the preacher 600 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:57,600 comes in as one speaking the word of the Lord. 601 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:00,800 But this is the key that God was speaking to me about because it 602 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:04,360 says how can you preach unless you are somebody who sent? 603 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:07,600 See in the old days that have town criers that had the 604 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:10,639 specific responsibility of working for the king. 605 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,920 And so when they came through the town, people know, hey, 606 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:17,960 that's the King's messenger and they're sharing and telling what 607 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:21,320 the king wants us to hear. Now, this is important to 608 00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:24,480 understand because we live in a day when a lot of people are 609 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:30,040 mixing up the message and not hearing just a word that they've 610 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:34,239 been sent to share. You see, this is so important 611 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:38,040 for us to understand because the preacher is called to hear from 612 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:42,120 the king and then share what the king is saying to you. 613 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:46,639 I've often seen it these days, and unfortunately it's true that 614 00:34:46,639 --> 00:34:49,239 a lot of preachers are not going first to the king. 615 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:52,920 They're first of all looking at what's going around them, 616 00:34:53,159 --> 00:34:56,480 watching the news, hearing what people have to say, and maybe 617 00:34:56,480 --> 00:34:59,000 from there going to the king if you would. 618 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:02,880 But they're going with their opinion and bias based on what's 619 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:05,720 down here rather than starting what's up there. 620 00:35:06,240 --> 00:35:08,400 That's why the Lord has been sharing and I've been 621 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:10,920 prophesying it, preaching, teaching. 622 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:14,760 God is the one who sits on the throne. 623 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:17,560 He's the Lord of all the earth. Amen. 624 00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:21,400 And the Bible says he rod only rules in heaven, but he rules in 625 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:24,160 the affairs of men. So if you're not careful, you'll 626 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:25,400 see what's happening in the world. 627 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:26,960 Do you think, well, that's what's happening? 628 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,080 God says, no, that's not what's happening. 629 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:31,680 That's what you see happening. If you want to know what's 630 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:33,960 happening, you got to go to Heaven's throne. 631 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:36,680 If you would, you got to hear from the King of Kings and 632 00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:39,120 recognize it starts first with him. 633 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:41,760 And so that's what it means when it says they have to be somebody 634 00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:44,600 who's sent because they're not looking at the world and trying 635 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:47,360 to apply God to the world. They're going to God and hearing 636 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:50,960 what he has to say in church. That's so important for all of 637 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:53,920 us to understand, not just the preacher up on the platform. 638 00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:57,400 Every single one of you need to spend time in the presence of 639 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:01,320 the Lord and say, well God, what is it that you are doing in the 640 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:03,760 world? You see, when I read the news 641 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:07,640 and I hear what's happening and what's going on, I always filter 642 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:09,960 it from what I feel. God has spoken to me first. 643 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:13,040 And sometimes in services, you'll hear me talk about 644 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:16,040 current events, but I don't share it from a political 645 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:19,520 perspective, even though some people will think I do. 646 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:23,720 But I look at, well, God, what are you saying to me and what 647 00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:26,120 are you doing and how we're using people and how are you 648 00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:28,080 using this? Because I believe that God can 649 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:31,440 use everybody and all things for his purpose because, because 650 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:34,240 what does the Bible say? All things work together for 651 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:37,200 good to those who love God and are called according to his 652 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:38,600 purpose. So I don't want to look at 653 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:40,840 what's happening because that could confuse me. 654 00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:43,400 But if I hear what's happening, it's going to give me faith. 655 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:46,080 Amen. Church, how many say it's 656 00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:47,600 important to be a people of faith? 657 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:49,760 Amen. And to hear a message that's 658 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:54,160 sent from heaven first, so that can define the circumstances and 659 00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:57,760 situations of our life. Going back to the very beginning 660 00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:00,280 of time when God created mankind, He put him in the 661 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:04,160 Garden of Eden, and there the Lord planted a garden, and he 662 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:06,080 put man in there whom he had formed. 663 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:09,640 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is 664 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:11,800 pleasant to the sight, good for food. 665 00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:14,680 The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden. 666 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,640 And the tree of what? Knowledge of good and evil. 667 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:21,680 I said that so that we could see this picture over here. 668 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:25,680 God speaking. That's the tree of life and what 669 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:28,080 comes off of history. I mean, oh, it's good fruit. 670 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:32,480 But then the tree of the world, which is what that represents, 671 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,800 it has some good things. And sometimes people will eat 672 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:38,360 off of that tree with a good motivation. 673 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:42,200 Eve went to that tree and the devil convinced her that if she 674 00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:45,840 did that tree, she'd actually be helping her husband out the 675 00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:48,080 church. That's the tree of mixture. 676 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:52,160 God says don't eat from that tree no matter how good it is or 677 00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:56,120 how good it sounds. Now I often sure this is part of 678 00:37:56,120 --> 00:38:00,520 our class on discipleship. The Bible says in Isaiah chapter 679 00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:04,800 52, how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of them 680 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:08,200 who preach good news and know what the good news is. 681 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:13,240 Our God reigns. When you think about good news, 682 00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:16,720 you think in a natural sense, oh that must be something good. 683 00:38:16,720 --> 00:38:20,240 What's in it for me? Or I don't want to watch the 684 00:38:20,240 --> 00:38:21,920 news on TV? There's all these bad things 685 00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:23,680 happen. Why don't somebody just share 686 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:26,640 some good news? No, that isn't what it means 687 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:32,200 when you watch news these days. It's certainly true that, well, 688 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:35,680 there's a lot of bias in the news these days and sometimes 689 00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:39,480 it's commentary and we don't even know it's commentary, but 690 00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:42,120 they're talking as if it's news, but it's commentary. 691 00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:46,120 The other day I was looking at a Christian website where they 692 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:49,280 have Christian news, and there was an article there about Bruce 693 00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:53,920 Willis, who I had read before he had some kind of dimension, was 694 00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:56,760 losing his ability to function. So it mentioned something about 695 00:38:56,760 --> 00:38:59,760 him and how he was recovering. So I thought, oh, I got to find 696 00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:03,240 out about. So in this video that pops up, 697 00:39:03,240 --> 00:39:08,800 there's famous news people, the doctor from CNN who was talking 698 00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:12,800 about this miracle of how he was cured by this great thing. 699 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:14,720 And all of a sudden I'm looking at this doctor. 700 00:39:14,720 --> 00:39:17,240 I'm like, for some reason that doesn't look like a real person. 701 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:24,000 By the end, I realized it was an AI generated video and nothing 702 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:26,120 out of his roads. I was like, said a fellator. 703 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:29,640 I Googled it. Hey, did Doctor Gupta say this 704 00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:31,920 is a miracle drug? And he said, yeah, I have a 705 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:33,720 problem. I'm suing those people basically 706 00:39:33,720 --> 00:39:35,440 because they're acting like it's me and it's not me. 707 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:37,320 How many know there's a lot of fake news these days. 708 00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:42,160 There's fake news, there's vice news, but God has some good 709 00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:44,160 news. What's the good news? 710 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:48,840 Our God reign search Hallelujah. And that's what makes it 711 00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:53,400 absolutely wonderful good news. No mixture, just truth. 712 00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:58,080 And in closing, in Philippians, it says this finally, brother, 713 00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:01,960 whatever things are true. Whatever things are noble, 714 00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:05,000 whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, 715 00:40:05,240 --> 00:40:09,200 whatever things are holy, whatever things are of a what a 716 00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:12,360 good report. My mom's favorite verse of the 717 00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:14,880 Bible. If there's any virtue or if 718 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:18,280 there's anything praiseworthy, what should we do? 719 00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:22,000 Meditate on these things. Can we all bow our heads for 720 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,800 just a moment? Because I believe this is such a 721 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:29,240 pivotal time, if you would, in both the plans and purposes of 722 00:40:29,240 --> 00:40:34,960 God and also in human history. And it's such an important time 723 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:42,880 to incline our ears so that we can hear and say, I have a ear 724 00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:49,480 to hear, so I'm going to hear what is God speaking so we can 725 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:54,640 tune into the best news, which is the good news of God. 726 00:40:57,080 --> 00:40:59,400 Now, you have to know that the God of this world, the spirit of 727 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:05,720 the age, is always trying to bring confusion, try to get you 728 00:41:05,720 --> 00:41:09,600 to drift away. And sometimes it just happens in 729 00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:14,600 a very small and subtle way. God says, remember who you are. 730 00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:22,120 Remember what you came out of. Make sure you're observing your 731 00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:28,520 Christian faith and know that whatever enemies behind you, I 732 00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:33,640 can drown it in the waters that I have for you, says the Lord. 733 00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:43,400 If you'll put your trust in me. This word is very apropos 734 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:45,880 because there's people here today you've just been going 735 00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:50,400 through that process of confusion and God says, I'm not 736 00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:55,920 the author of confusion, I'm the author of peace. 737 00:41:56,520 --> 00:42:01,960 And I will give you clarity as you put your trust in me and 738 00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:03,680 give me your heart, says the Lord. 739 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:07,480 I just know about the Spirit. There's somebody here today 740 00:42:07,480 --> 00:42:09,560 you've just been wrestling, wrestling with a choice. 741 00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:10,840 What am I do? What I'm going to do? 742 00:42:11,200 --> 00:42:16,880 Ask God, He will direct you. The Bible says if we'll trust in 743 00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:24,000 Him, He will direct our path. It's a heart thing. 744 00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:28,040 You might say, well, it's hard for me to trust. 745 00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:32,640 Well, you can trust God. Don't let the excuses of human 746 00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:35,000 failure, 'cause you're not to trust God. 747 00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:41,120 Good news, you can trust Him. Good news, you can rely on Him. 748 00:42:42,800 --> 00:42:47,760 Good news, somebody in just you've been so nervous and upset 749 00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:49,720 and anxious, What's going on? What's going on? 750 00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:54,880 God says get yourself focused, Get yourself focused. 751 00:42:56,000 --> 00:43:00,760 Get yourself on the rock. I'm here, I'm here. 752 00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:05,760 Be careful who you're listening to. 753 00:43:07,720 --> 00:43:14,280 Meditate upon me. My word and a good report. 754 00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:20,960 Whose report will you believe? I read the Scripture. 755 00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:23,880 Even Isaiah said, Lord, who's believing my report? 756 00:43:23,880 --> 00:43:27,720 Who's believing this report? Well, there's only one way they 757 00:43:27,720 --> 00:43:33,000 can believe it, Isaiah. If they have faith, they can 758 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:36,800 believe it. Father, I pray for our house 759 00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:41,560 today because we are living in those times where we need faith 760 00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:43,840 as never before. And so I'm believing that every 761 00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:47,600 person that's here and watching online because of the weather 762 00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:52,120 that you will touch them right where they at that they would 763 00:43:52,120 --> 00:43:56,480 know, Father, that you have them in your hands. 764 00:43:57,520 --> 00:44:04,160 They can relax, they can trust, they can believe if they'll just 765 00:44:04,160 --> 00:44:07,040 meditate on you right now. Father, I just thank you because 766 00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:09,440 you can give us what we have need of. 767 00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:13,240 In Jesus name I pray and I thank you. 768 00:44:14,040 --> 00:44:17,520 Amen. This is Pastor Lauren Coverbius 769 00:44:17,520 --> 00:44:20,080 from Mount Zion Church. We thank you for joining us 770 00:44:20,080 --> 00:44:23,120 today and invite you to connect with our church family by 771 00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:26,840 visiting mountzion.org and following us on social media. 772 00:44:27,120 --> 00:44:27,840 God bless you.