1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,040 Hebrews chapter 4 scripture I've been sharing for a few weeks 2 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:05,480 now. I added one verse to this from 3 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:08,840 last week. It says For if Joshua had given 4 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:12,720 them rest, then he would not afterward has spoken of another 5 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,600 day. There remains therefore rest for 6 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:19,560 the people of God, For he who has entered his rest has himself 7 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,040 also ceased from his works, as God did from his. 8 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:28,120 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone 9 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,920 fall according to the same example of disobedience. 10 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:34,960 I've been talking about how important it is to come to a 11 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,840 place of rest in the Lord. In the Old Testament, Joshua was 12 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:40,280 the leader of the children of Israel. 13 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,920 After Moses had brought them out of Egypt and they came to the 14 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:48,080 Promised Land, Joshua was commissioned to take them into 15 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:50,480 the land and make it a land of their possession. 16 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,240 Now the name Joshua in the New Testament is translated to the 17 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,160 word Jesus. And so the name Jesus and Joshua 18 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,160 really are synonymous words. And it's important to understand 19 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,440 that because just like Joshua of the Old Testament took them 20 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:07,440 literally into a land, the Bible tells us that when we are born 21 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,560 again and we receive Christ in our life, we become conveyed 22 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,080 from the world to the Kingdom of God. 23 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,680 So there's literally a taking us into a new land. 24 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,800 And when we get into that new land called the Kingdom of God, 25 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:24,680 we have to learn how to live in that land. 26 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,160 And we also have to know how to tackle any problems that are in 27 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:30,360 that land. Because the truth is, it's just 28 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:32,960 like when the children of Israel went and took possession of the 29 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:36,160 promised land, it took them a while to take full possession of 30 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:37,960 the land. There were some conflicts they 31 00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:41,080 had to learn how to deal with. And as Christians, how, you 32 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:43,480 know, we experience the new birth. 33 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:45,720 God does something awesome in our life, but we have to 34 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,400 understand also there's experiences we need to go 35 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,960 through. And also we have to learn how to 36 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,920 have those experiences according to the word of God, if we want 37 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:56,760 to experience the Kingdom of God. 38 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,440 And the Bible says the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace 39 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:03,760 and joy in the Holy Spirit. And so those are wonderful 40 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:05,520 things that God says we can have. 41 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,919 And so we want to fully enter into the Kingdom of God. 42 00:02:09,479 --> 00:02:11,800 And in these particular references of Scripture, it 43 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,640 talks about how Joshua did not give them rest. 44 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,000 They took possession of the promised land. 45 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:20,280 But because they didn't have internal rest, the Bible tells 46 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,720 us that in the end they literally lost the promised 47 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:23,760 land. Why? 48 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,480 Because of the conflicts that were on the inside. 49 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:29,400 Not because of the conflicts they faced on the outside, but 50 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:31,240 because of the conflicts they had in the inside. 51 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:33,200 They eventually lost possession of the land. 52 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,560 And so God wants us all to understand how to come to that 53 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,840 place of rest. It's where we have peace on the 54 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,160 inside. And so we're dealing with the 55 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:47,320 conflicts on the outside from a perspective of peace, or in this 56 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:51,280 case, we're using the term rest. Now, if you'll notice, and This 57 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:54,880 is why I've talked about this a few times, the verse I added in 58 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:59,640 that chapter, verse 17, says that we should be diligent, that 59 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:03,800 we would enter into that rest. I learned that in the King James 60 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,240 Version, which says we should labor to enter into that rest, 61 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,680 which seems like an oxymoron. Why do you labor to enter into 62 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:12,040 rest? Doesn't make any sense. 63 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:14,920 Well, the Bible teaches us we have to understand, of course, 64 00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:18,080 the difference between labor and what I call toil. 65 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,560 Labor's when we're active, involved in our purpose in life, 66 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:23,960 active in the things that we do in this life. 67 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,320 And that could be seen as a labor because we have 68 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,240 responsibility to go to work. We have responsibility for our 69 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,240 children, for our house, all kinds of responsibilities in 70 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,840 life. And so we certainly don't pull 71 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,160 out of Labor if you would. But what God wants to do is 72 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:42,120 remove the sense of toil where we get all wore out because of 73 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:44,600 what we're doing. It's funny, in our human nature, 74 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,400 we always think I need to get out of this situation so I can 75 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:49,800 have some rest. So then people go on vacation 76 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,480 and they make so many plans for themselves that they're working 77 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:54,360 harder on vacation than they were at home. 78 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,080 You might know what I'm talking about because you're chuckling 79 00:03:58,080 --> 00:03:59,640 when I say that, because it's true. 80 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,760 We like to stay busy, in fact, and we're always thinking about 81 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:06,920 more things to make us busy, whether we realize it or not. 82 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:09,600 And So what God says to us is, I'm not trying to make you 83 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,680 inactive, but I want you to enjoy life and have the energy 84 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:16,320 to do whatever life offers to you. 85 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,160 But you can only do that when you're diligent, when you make a 86 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,720 choice that you're going to enter into the rest of God so 87 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,040 that life is not a labor in the sense that you're toiling 88 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,720 through life, but you find it from a position of rest. 89 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,600 In the curse of the Garden, God spoke to Adam after they were 90 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,160 kicked out of the garden. He's basically said, now you're 91 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,960 going to have toil in your life. You always had something to do 92 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:43,000 because when they were put in the garden, they were told they 93 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,320 were supposed to guard and cultivate the garden, but now 94 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,280 their life would be dreadful because there would be a toil 95 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:52,560 involved. And God says, I want to bring 96 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:55,920 you to a place of rest. Now in order for that to happen, 97 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:58,840 we have to understand some very important biblical principles. 98 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,200 And this is 1 Again, we need to repay because it says for by 99 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,440 grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of 100 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,360 yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of 101 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:10,200 works. At least anyone should boast. 102 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:14,400 For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good 103 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:18,040 works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk 104 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:20,120 in them. Now, this is a very important 105 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:24,040 observation to make because when we come to the Lord is through 106 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,800 grace and we know that we're not saved through works, we're saved 107 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:29,880 through faith. But then it goes on to talk 108 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:33,280 about the fact that we do have works, we do have things that we 109 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:37,120 do as a part of our purpose for the Lord, as we do for all the 110 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:39,560 different purposes that we have in our life. 111 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:44,120 But it all starts with God's choice, or what the Bible terms 112 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,680 the word God's election. You were chosen of God. 113 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,360 There was an election held. Only God voted and he voted in 114 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:52,120 your favor. How many? 115 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:53,800 Glad God chose you. Amen. 116 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:58,800 And that's literally what grace means is God gives his favor to 117 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,280 you. And grace is not just unmerited 118 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:04,320 favor in the sense that, well, doesn't matter. 119 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,480 Now what you do, it says by grace you have been saved 120 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,320 through faith. So God gives you a gift of faith 121 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:13,440 that's not of yourself. So it's still about God. 122 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:17,360 But when you receive the gift of faith, you have the capacity to 123 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,600 live in the God realm. The Bible says the just shall 124 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,560 live by faith in another place. That says we go from faith to 125 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,640 faith. By faith we believe that God is 126 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:29,960 God, and that's a good place to start. 127 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,760 But we also need to know it says he's the rewarder of those who 128 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,160 diligently seek Him. I have found out that serving 129 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:41,040 the Lord has many rewards to it. It's a blessing. 130 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:43,360 Being a Christian, can you say Amen to that church? 131 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,360 And that's why at the end of every service, we sing the 132 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:49,560 blessing song, which is what the Bible tells us in the book of 133 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:51,800 Numbers we should do when we gather together. 134 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:55,400 We should end with the blessing because we need to know we are a 135 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:58,440 blessed people. And the Bible says that blessing 136 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:02,200 not is only just for us, it's for our children and for our 137 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:04,960 children's children. And so we have to appreciate 138 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:08,800 God's blessing, and then we have to know that God has prepared 139 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:12,720 the works for us. Now again, sometimes we read a 140 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,560 scripture like this and we think it's only pertaining to our 141 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,400 Christian life or our church life if you would, but that's 142 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:23,600 not what it's talking about. We have to understand that God 143 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,960 knows everything about us intimately. 144 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:29,880 And as Christians, just like it was with Adam and Eve again in 145 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,000 the garden, God put him there and it gave them an area of 146 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:36,720 stewardship or responsibility. And in this life we have a lot 147 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:40,120 of different responsibilities. And God says, I want to be a 148 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:42,280 part of every single one of them. 149 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:46,280 And again, you may look at it and think, well, I know that 150 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:48,840 God's aware of so and so, but who? 151 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,320 Who is a little old me? Well, Jesus used it this way 152 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,360 when he was talking to the disciples and to the multitudes 153 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:58,000 who are following him. He said, do you realize that God 154 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,560 even has the hairs on your head numbered? 155 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:03,880 I mean, you know, with God that takes a lot of work for some of 156 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:05,880 us because he has to keep that count going. 157 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:10,440 Amen. Subtracting whatever, he knows 158 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:13,960 us all personally, Amen. And he's very aware of what's 159 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,840 going on in our lives. And we need to sit here today 160 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:20,640 and say, wow, the God who is the God of all things, the God who's 161 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:24,840 the God of the universe notices me here today in church. 162 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:28,600 He's aware of my life. And he wants me to know that 163 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:32,400 there is a prepared walk that I can walk in. 164 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:35,760 Now when you know that it's a prepared walk, that means you 165 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:39,240 don't have to struggle to make things happen. 166 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,440 It means means you just have to be aware of what it is that God 167 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:48,000 has provided for you for there is a divine provision that God 168 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,840 says is available for each and every one of us. 169 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:53,800 That's why we have to keep reminding ourselves of these 170 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,400 things and be very diligent to say, you know what, I want to 171 00:08:57,400 --> 00:08:59,800 have that peace. I want to have that place of 172 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:03,960 rest that God says I can have in every area of my life so I'm not 173 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,080 overwhelmed with the issues of life. 174 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:09,400 That brings me to the opening scriptures I read from the book 175 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:13,760 of Isaiah chapter 59. He saw that there was no man in 176 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:15,600 wonder, that there was no intercessor. 177 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,320 Therefore his own arm brought salvation for him, and his own 178 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:24,840 righteousness it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a 179 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:28,920 breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head, and he 180 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:32,920 put on the garments of vengeance for clothing and was clad with 181 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:36,680 the zeal as a cloak. If you can remember the opening 182 00:09:36,680 --> 00:09:40,280 scriptures from chapter 59, it's tell the story. 183 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:43,680 There's this time in the history of the children of Israel when 184 00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:47,040 Isaiah the prophet is observing what's going on and things are 185 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,200 pretty bad. There's a lot of conflict going 186 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:53,360 on and people are even saying, wow, good people are suffering 187 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,760 unjustly. There's a lot of injustice going 188 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:58,600 on. There's a lot of problems we're 189 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,080 all facing. And in the midst of all that, 190 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:05,880 the Bible says God wondered while there was no intercessor. 191 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,000 Now I love the word wonder. For me, it's kind of like a 192 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:12,640 special word because I'm a person that wonders a lot. 193 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,160 What does the word wonder mean? Well, the word wonder doesn't 194 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,040 just mean to think about something. 195 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:22,520 It means to think about it with a sense of awe or even a sense 196 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:26,200 of astonishment. There is indeed emotional 197 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:29,760 connection to it. And in that sense, it's a visual 198 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:32,040 kind of thing. So when you're looking at it, 199 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,720 you're looking at the whole thing and you're wondering 200 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,200 what's going on. The reason why I said it is 201 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,720 special to me because I use that word wonder a lot when I'm in 202 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:45,000 conversation, especially when I'm talking to myself. 203 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:46,360 How many out there talk to yourself? 204 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,560 Sometimes I have to talk to myself because I'm the only one 205 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:52,040 that can understand what I'm thinking. 206 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:57,280 Anybody else relate to that? And so I often say, well, I 207 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:00,320 wonder what's going on here because I'm always thinking 208 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:03,280 about this broader pitch here. I'm always thinking about 209 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:05,240 things. And I really do think about God, 210 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,880 the Kingdom in the world in which we live with a awesome 211 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:11,320 perspective about what's going on. 212 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,240 My sister Gina used to say, well, when you're talking to 213 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,320 Lauren, sometimes you have to say Earth the Lauren, Earth, the 214 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:20,560 Lauren. Well, it seems like I'm 215 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:23,920 wandering away, but I'm not wandering. 216 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:30,320 I'm wondering, does that help? It helps me because I know I'm 217 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:33,120 focused on what's going on. And sometimes I got to have a 218 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:35,920 lot of room for all this going on in my head. 219 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:40,600 And I like the fact that God was looking at these things in the 220 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:44,560 world and he's wondering about what's happening. 221 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:48,360 And first of all, he's wondering, why isn't there an 222 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:50,640 intercessor? Why isn't there somebody in this 223 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:54,680 situation that's doing something about what's happening here? 224 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:58,000 Sometimes an intercessor is someone who just takes that 225 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:02,280 burden and carries it in prayer. Sometimes that intercessor is 226 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:05,360 like Jesus Christ. He came and made intercession 227 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:10,040 for us, but he also got involved in world history for the 228 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:13,600 purposes of his father. And so indeed there was an 229 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,520 intercessor, but then it says after God wondered about these 230 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,920 things, His arm brought salvation. 231 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:25,040 So I wanted to point out how God took the initiative here and how 232 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:28,080 his arm brought salvation. Now it's important to look at 233 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:31,000 the details of this and wonder about the Scripture even, 234 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:34,000 because when you see how it flows, there's a lot more to it 235 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:38,960 than sees evident. At first when God said I'm going 236 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:42,560 to do something about this, then it says His arm brought 237 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:46,320 salvation and deliverance. The right arm of God is none 238 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:49,960 other than His word, whom we call Jesus Christ. 239 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:52,840 In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the 240 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:55,480 Word was God. So God speaks. 241 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:57,320 And guess what happens when God speaks? 242 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:01,560 His word comes to pass. In the beginning God said, let 243 00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:04,520 there be light, and guess what, there was light. 244 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:08,320 And so God spoke into the situation. 245 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:12,320 In that sense, His arm brought salvation. 246 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:16,040 I want to point out how God's initiative was involved in this 247 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,400 because we have to understand, and this is so important in the 248 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:24,880 hour in which we presently live, that God is God all the time. 249 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:29,160 And the Bible says that on the 7th day God seized from his 250 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:31,280 labor. And that's just saying that he 251 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:34,560 set everything in motion. It doesn't mean he's detached 252 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:37,920 from creation. He's watching, he's wondering, 253 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:41,600 and he's involved and he has to speak from time to time. 254 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:46,000 But you need to know that God is never an absent father. 255 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,040 He's an ever present Father. Amen, Church. 256 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:52,880 Now, that's important to understand because a lot of 257 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,440 people don't understand that, even though they think they do, 258 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,080 because you can even hear it from preachers who throughout 259 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,160 the week, they watch the news, get all upset, and then on 260 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:05,600 Sunday they're preaching about what they saw in the news. 261 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:09,200 Well, they'll package it with the Bible in the Scriptures, but 262 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,000 they're taking the upset they got during the week, and then 263 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,080 they bring it to church and get everybody else upset. 264 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,160 Now that's the truth. And then afterward, they'll go 265 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:22,560 on social media and they'll say to people, if your pastor's not 266 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:25,480 talking about the Charlie Kirk funeral, you should change 267 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:27,840 churches. Or from the other perspective, 268 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:31,520 if your pastor's not talking about George Lloyd, you should 269 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,680 change churches. Because they're trying to get 270 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,720 everybody to think that the church is the place for 271 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:41,880 addressing conflict. The church is the place to hear 272 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:44,920 from God. Can I hear that? 273 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:49,680 Amen again, church. My job is not to watch the news 274 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:54,040 and preach on it on Sunday. My news, my need is on Saturday 275 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:56,960 to wait in the presence of God and say, Lord, what are you 276 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,800 speaking? Because the truth is, there's 277 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:02,000 always going to be conflict in the world. 278 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:04,800 There's always going to be sin in the world. 279 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,760 There's always going to be injustice in the world. 280 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,760 Darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness of the 281 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:13,640 people. That's nothing new, but what God 282 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:17,400 says to us is we're supposed to arise and shine and the glory of 283 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:20,800 the Lord will be seen upon us. So what happens with that is 284 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:25,600 when we hear the voice of God and we are equipped with His 285 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,560 Word, that's when we can begin to operate in the faith realm 286 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:30,440 where we can be like Father Abraham. 287 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:33,560 He believed in the God who called the things that were not 288 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:36,080 as though they were. It's kind of like the faith 289 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:40,560 realm that God is wanting each and everyone of us to walk in so 290 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:42,640 that when we're facing the conflicts of what's happening in 291 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:45,280 the world or our own individual life, church, we have to 292 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:49,240 understand at all times God is wondering what's going on. 293 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,280 Amen. He's thinking about it, but more 294 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:54,840 than that, he has an awesome plan. 295 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:59,240 He has something that's very marvelous that he wants to do, 296 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:01,680 and I'm prophesying. He's going to do something 297 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,440 that's exceedingly and abundantly above all that we 298 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:08,920 could ask or think, Amen. Church because God is going to 299 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:12,920 release his arm and He's always going to take the initiative. 300 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,920 He never just releases everything. 301 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:17,760 Why? Because God has an eternal 302 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:20,680 purpose, and the Bible says because of that His purpose 303 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:24,120 cannot be withheld from it. And because it can't be withheld 304 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:26,400 from Him, it can't be withheld from us. 305 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:30,480 And so we have to take those same principles and then apply 306 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:34,080 them to our individual life and say, wait a second, God is at 307 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,880 work in my life. Look what it goes on to say 308 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:41,160 according to their needs. Accordingly, He will repay fury 309 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:44,080 to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies. 310 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:47,760 The coastlines he will fully repray, so shall they fear. 311 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:50,680 The name of the Lord from the West is glory from the rising of 312 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:54,200 the sun. When the enemy comes in like a 313 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:59,080 flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against 314 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:01,040 him. You need to know that when 315 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:04,040 necessary, God is on the offense. 316 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:06,319 Amen. He is indeed the God of 317 00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:08,599 judgement. And this goes back to what I was 318 00:17:08,599 --> 00:17:11,359 sharing a few weeks back when I said we got to know what Mount 319 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:14,599 Zion is in Hebrews chapter 12. When you come to Mount Zion, you 320 00:17:14,599 --> 00:17:18,880 come to God who is the judge, and then you also come to Jesus 321 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,160 Christ, who's the mediator of the New Covenant. 322 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:25,839 God, who is the judge, will always deal with unrighteousness 323 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:29,680 and evil in the world. That's one of the reasons why I 324 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:31,800 love that. I've studied history because I 325 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,640 could look at back at history and there's been some pretty 326 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,200 wicked people in the world, but guess what? 327 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:41,560 Their judgement always comes. And even a system like 328 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:45,040 communism, for instance, that existed for 70 years in the 329 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:49,280 Soviet Union, it looked like they had a desire to take that 330 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,360 to the nations of the world and take over the world, really. 331 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:54,880 And I remember when I was a kid studying these things and 332 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:59,160 thinking the basic philosophy of the times was once a country 333 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,400 becomes a communist, it's never going to change. 334 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:04,000 That's why they called it in Europe the Iron Curtain. 335 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:07,080 There was never the idea that one day it would all come 336 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,080 tumbling down. I'm so glad I saw that church 337 00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:15,720 because I can report in history false systems will fail. 338 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,960 Can you say Amen to that? There's only one thing that can 339 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:21,560 stand forever and that's the Kingdom of God. 340 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:24,760 And in your life you need to know something. 341 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:27,040 God is a God of justice all the time. 342 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:29,560 The day of judgement will come. But there's something very 343 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:32,200 important in the second part of the Scripture because it says 344 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,760 when the enemy comes in like a flood, and I'm sure we could see 345 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:40,160 that happening in our day, God is going to raise up a standard 346 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,080 against him in church. We need to know where that 347 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,880 standard. I feel such a renewed power and 348 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,920 anointing in my life to say we're not giving up on our 349 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,720 community, we're not giving up on our world. 350 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:56,760 I'm not giving up on any person that I know because it doesn't 351 00:18:56,760 --> 00:19:01,200 matter how dark or how great the bondage seems, I know that my 352 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:04,840 God can do what all things Hallelujah. 353 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:08,960 And so I'm ready to be that standard that when the enemy 354 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:12,440 comes in like a flood, I can lift up my hands and say, not 355 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:16,360 here, devil, you're gone. Did you hear what I said? 356 00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:19,440 Church and your family? Sometimes you just need to lift 357 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:22,520 up your hands and say, not here devil, Hallelujah. 358 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:26,960 My God is God at all times, Amen. 359 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,880 And he will raise up that standard. 360 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:35,040 And we have to be prepared and understand how we're to do those 361 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:36,480 things. And that's why I'm sharing these 362 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,720 scriptures today. Now notice here in Ephesians 363 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:44,120 chapter 6 we talked about God's arm, and we have to understand 364 00:19:44,120 --> 00:19:46,360 Jesus was the first born among many brethren. 365 00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:48,280 So the same thing that's true of Him. 366 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:51,840 Ultimately we become that standard when we fulfill that 367 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:55,400 same position. Finally, brethren, be strong in 368 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:57,640 the Lord and in the power of His might. 369 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:01,440 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand 370 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:04,280 against the Wiles of the devil. Why? 371 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:08,160 Well, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but we wrestle 372 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,440 against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of 373 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:15,400 wickedness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in 374 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,520 heavenly places. And so we, who are the arm of 375 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:23,560 God, need to be armed, Amen. And we have to know, first of 376 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:27,320 all, that we should be cold with His might, Amen. 377 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:30,040 How many know? If you have His might, nothing 378 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:33,800 can stop you. Is there anything too difficult 379 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,600 for your God? The Bible says I can do all 380 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,120 things through Christ who strengthens me, is what the 381 00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:41,680 apostle Paul said. And it's in the word of God. 382 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:43,920 So I know it's true for every single one of us. 383 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:48,280 Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. 384 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:52,920 We need a strong people in the House of God these days, church. 385 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:56,880 We need a people who say, I know there's a lot of things going on 386 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,920 in the world, but God's called us to be a standard and we're 387 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:03,000 going to stop it. We're going to put a halt to 388 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,480 those things because we're going to be strong in the Lord and in 389 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:10,600 the power of his mind. And you have to understand it is 390 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:14,800 a spiritual battle. Now, when you're not in the 391 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:18,400 spiritual realm, it's very easy to understand because the Bible 392 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,120 talks about the works of the flesh. 393 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:25,000 You know the works of the flesh are anger, conflict, fighting, 394 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:28,840 being upset, being jealous, being on defensive. 395 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:34,680 When you're spiritually motivated, you have Lovejoy, 396 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:39,120 peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, kindness, 397 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:42,440 self-control. A lot of people say they're in 398 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:45,760 spiritual warfare, but they just take, again, spiritual 399 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,640 principles, but they apply them from a carnal perspective. 400 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,120 I know people who get involved in intercession and they're 401 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:56,080 always upset and angry. Church, if you're an 402 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,760 intercession, you got to keep praying till you get the word, 403 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,040 Amen. When I pray on Saturday, I'm 404 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:05,040 praying for a word from God. But often times I'll think about 405 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:07,520 things that are happening in the world, things that are happening 406 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:09,360 in the church. People in our church are facing 407 00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:12,920 conflict and I'm praying and I'm always saying, God, I don't want 408 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,360 to just carry the burden. I want to get the word because 409 00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:19,040 when the word comes, I know that we are bigger than the problem, 410 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:21,520 Amen. And I know that when the word 411 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,840 comes, I'm not going to be operating in the flesh. 412 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:29,560 I'm going to be operating in the peace that passes all under 413 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:32,040 understanding. He goes on to say, stand, 414 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:36,920 therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on 415 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,120 what the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod 416 00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:44,880 your feet with the preparation of the gospel of what above all, 417 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:50,360 taking what I'm going to make you work today, I'll do it twice 418 00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:53,120 if I have to get to you, get to work and Amen. 419 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:58,280 With which you were able to quench what all all the fiery 420 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:03,640 darts of the wicked. 1 So our armor is an essential thing, 421 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:09,000 which tells me, just like in Isaiah 59 when it uses the same 422 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:12,440 term analogy, speaking about Jesus Christ, who's the arm of 423 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:14,880 God, the same thing is true about us. 424 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:20,280 Jesus came with salvation, he came with truth, he came with 425 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:23,960 peace, and God says you got to carry those same things. 426 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:26,920 Amen. It isn't about your enemy, it's 427 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,520 about you. It's about you letting God do 428 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,960 what he wants to do in you. That's why I love the one song 429 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,760 we sang today because sometimes God uses situations to refine 430 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:39,320 us. Sometimes they use the 431 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:43,360 situations to train us. But at all times, the end result 432 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:46,640 is that we would know when God is done with us. 433 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,600 Lookout world, we're coming. Amen, church. 434 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:53,080 And that's why God says, if you're in the process or you've 435 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,600 been through a process and God has been working in your life, 436 00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:00,640 don't get caught up in that. Even your failures in that. 437 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:04,280 Look at it, that God, when he's done with this work, it's going 438 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:08,120 to be powerful in your life. Now, this is a very common 439 00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:10,320 phrase you'll hear out there in the world. 440 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:14,800 George Washington said it, a good offense is the best 441 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:17,000 defense. And I know I've heard a lot. 442 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,360 So I kind of Googled it to see, well, who all said that? 443 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:22,320 Well, all kinds of sports people did, but I cannot remember any 444 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:24,560 of their names because they're not too familiar with me, as you 445 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,840 know. But it is very common thinking 446 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:32,720 in the world to say a good offense is the best defense. 447 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:35,920 But did you notice in the Skechers it's just the opposite. 448 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:39,720 God says a good defense is the best offense. 449 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:45,040 Wow, that's so different. That's why we often times start 450 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:46,960 in the spirit and end up in the flesh. 451 00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:51,560 That's why we're all excited and then it drains out of us because 452 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:54,120 God's ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our 453 00:24:54,120 --> 00:24:55,440 thoughts. That's what I said a couple 454 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:56,440 weeks ago. Amen. 455 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,200 And I put up here 911 on speed dial because most of us go 456 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,240 through life with 9911-ON speed dial. 457 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:05,560 If you would, there's only three letter numbers there. 458 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:07,480 So it shouldn't be even need to be on your speed dial. 459 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:11,360 But the point of that is you have to understand something. 460 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:16,240 Most people operate in life in crisis mode rather than in 461 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:19,680 prepared mode. God says get in prepared mode 462 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:22,440 and I do want to throw in a little bit about our church, 463 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:26,080 Mount Zion, because Mount Zion is a church that operates 464 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,680 according to the Scriptures. Everything about my life I try 465 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,280 to line up with the Word and that's the way it is in our 466 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,280 church. Now, it's very common for 467 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:38,720 churches to follow a corporate structure or a business plan, 468 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:40,880 whatever. And often times people are even 469 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:43,200 telling people like that, wow, you got to hire the marketing, 470 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:44,440 you got to do this, you got to do that. 471 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:46,440 No, that's not what God said to do. 472 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:49,680 He said follow my word. Now, one of the burdens I've had 473 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:53,440 since we first started the church is that we as the people 474 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:55,200 of God need to know how important it is to have a 475 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:57,200 pastor. One day Jesus was looking at the 476 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:01,040 multitudes of people and it says he was moved by compassion 477 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:05,000 because he looked and he saw they were a people without 478 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,400 having their true pastor. Or he said they're sheep having 479 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,040 no shepherd. And so it's always been my 480 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,600 desire. Number one, when we started to 481 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:16,840 be a good pastor. But as the church grew, we've 482 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,120 always had a staff of pastors in a structural sense. 483 00:26:20,120 --> 00:26:23,880 I'm now the Bishop of the pastors of the church because I 484 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:25,600 oversee and I meet with them everywhere. 485 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:29,040 But we've almost always had, as far back as I can remember, many 486 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:31,360 years. We've always had like a dozen 487 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:33,200 pastors. That's very unusual for 488 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,360 churches. Sometimes they'll hire directors 489 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:38,680 over the youth, the children's mess or whatever. 490 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:40,040 But I want you to understand something. 491 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:43,760 We have pastors here at Mount Zion to help with the children, 492 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:47,120 help with the teenagers, to help with the young adults, to help 493 00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:50,120 with the pillars, which is our senior program, everything in 494 00:26:50,120 --> 00:26:53,200 between. And we have pastors that work in 495 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:56,760 our life enrichment program to teach and to train and to deal. 496 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,880 We have a class for marriage. We have all these things that 497 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:02,880 are available. And I would encourage you to get 498 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:06,520 connected in such a way. Don't wait till the problem 499 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:09,200 comes and you have to call 911 if you would. 500 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:12,640 We're not like the fire department where your house is 501 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:14,600 on fire and that's when you dial for us. 502 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:15,960 Amen. It shouldn't be. 503 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,880 Or somebody broke into my home. Get here as soon as you can. 504 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:24,960 Now, we know that sometimes life takes people by surprise, so 505 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:29,520 obviously we are there in emergencies and always will be. 506 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:33,440 But my encouragement to you is to get connected and get to meet 507 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:36,920 one of our pastors, whether it's in volunteer work with them or 508 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:40,600 just set up a meeting. Let people know who you are so 509 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:44,400 that you have somebody you can call and talk to when you have a 510 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:47,480 problem, so you have someone that you can reach out to 511 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:50,360 because that's the way the church is supposed to be. 512 00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:53,800 Can I hear any men on that? And we want to be a church that 513 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:58,320 has pastoral oversight and care. And that's exactly what we are. 514 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:01,200 But you have to be willing to take advantage of it. 515 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:05,800 Let yourself be known and get to know someone so that you can 516 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:07,960 have that connection that's going to help you. 517 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:12,080 And if you face a crisis situation that you'll know it's 518 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,480 not just a person who's doing it professionally, but someone who 519 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:17,640 has a concern for your life. Amen. 520 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:20,680 Now this is where Ephesians 6 comes in. 521 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:24,920 It says and take the helmet of salvation, continuing that first 522 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:27,480 part. But then what does it say? 523 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,440 The sword of the Spirit, which is what? 524 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:34,920 So what is the sword of the Spirit? 525 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:37,560 The word of God. Now I want to point out how 526 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:41,280 important it is for us to understand there's only one 527 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:45,800 offensive aspect of our armor, if you would. 528 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:48,480 And of course, they're using the analogies that would have been 529 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:51,120 common in those days where a soldier would be like good 530 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:55,520 picture in a movie about a Roman who has all this armor on, but 531 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:58,640 they also have a sword, maybe sometimes a spear. 532 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:02,960 And the Lord says defensive weapon that you have is the 533 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:07,560 sword of the spirit. Now when it talks about the 534 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:11,760 sword of the Spirit and it be it's being the word of God, it's 535 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:15,080 important to at that point look at the original translation of 536 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:18,400 Scripture because the word word there as Rhema. 537 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:22,440 There is a word called Logos, which is talking about the 538 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:24,920 Bible. And I love the Bible. 539 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:28,200 It's a big part of my life and I'm spending more time in the 540 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,240 Bible now than I ever have my whole life. 541 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:33,760 It's just amazing how much God has been speaking to me in this 542 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:35,960 Word these days. I love the Bible, but that's not 543 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:39,120 what it's talking about here. Because you can take the Bible 544 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,560 and you can find a scripture to back up your own thinking. 545 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,280 But when you hear from God, which is the Rhema side, when 546 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:51,560 you let God speak to you and he will don't say, well, I don't 547 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:55,560 hear the voice of God, He'll let you know inside your spirit 548 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:58,200 right from wrong. The Bible says you'll hear a 549 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,760 voice behind you say this is the way walk you in it. 550 00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:04,040 You can get comfortable with that. 551 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:07,400 But it's important for us to understand God wants us to get 552 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:11,600 personally engaged with people and personally engaged with him 553 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:16,720 so that we can walk in the power of the sword of the spear, which 554 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:20,000 is the word of God. And once we have that in our 555 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,080 mind, we can have this twofold aspect to our life. 556 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:27,120 We can have this confidence. Number one, God is the God of 557 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,240 justice. Number 2, when it's time to bear 558 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:33,200 the sword, He'll speak a word which will be the sword. 559 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:38,680 But also in the process of that we can maintain our rest and 560 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:42,040 also our peace. That's why, and I have over this 561 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:45,920 our role. It says repay no one evil for 562 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:49,080 evil. Have regard for good things in 563 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:53,760 the sight of all men if it is possible, and it's not always 564 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:57,400 possible, but if it is possible, as much as it depends on you, 565 00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,320 and that's the part you have to understand. 566 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:03,960 Live peaceably with all men. Beloved, Do not avenge 567 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,800 yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. 568 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,680 For it is written, vengeance is mine. 569 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:13,960 I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy is 570 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:18,680 hungry, feed him. Yeah, because you don't have to 571 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:20,160 worry about fighting. Amen. 572 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:23,240 So therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. 573 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:25,640 If he is thirsty, give him a drink. 574 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:31,880 Now I think that scriptures are apropos for our time because the 575 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,600 truth is there's a lot of people don't want you to dwell 576 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:36,840 peaceably with them. You know, we're living in a very 577 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:39,680 angry time. And so people say you're my 578 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:41,480 friend or my enemy, no in between. 579 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:46,040 But as much as peaceable for us, we should walk in that and not 580 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:49,720 be what reactionary, not responding in our reaction of 581 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:52,000 our emotions. But being a child of the most 582 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,640 high God who says, wait a second, God's going to take care 583 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:57,320 of any problem. And if I need to, he'll give me 584 00:31:57,320 --> 00:31:59,760 a word and it'll slay the wickman right before me. 585 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:03,360 But in the meantime, I'm going to show as much love as I 586 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:06,200 possibly can to the world in which I live. 587 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:09,720 That's the proactive aspect of our faith. 588 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,600 And this is so beautiful because in Jesus speaking here, he says, 589 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:17,360 if then you being evil, of course, he's not talking to any 590 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:19,880 of us right here. Know how to give good gifts to 591 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:22,920 your children. How much more will your Father 592 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:26,600 who is in heaven good, give good, Give good things to those 593 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:29,880 who ask him. Therefore, whatever you want men 594 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:34,840 to do to you, do also to them, because this is the sum of the 595 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,400 love of the prophets. That's why this is called the 596 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,840 Golden Rule. The Golden Rule is love the Lord 597 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:43,720 your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all 598 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:47,360 your mind and your strength and your neighbor as yourself. 599 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:52,320 And what Jesus is saying there is that you become a prototype, 600 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:56,440 like He was in this world, even all the way to the cross. 601 00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:00,000 He didn't have to fight back because when the time came, the 602 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:02,520 Father fought back for him, Amen. 603 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:06,640 But he just had to walk it out and be faithful to the end. 604 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:12,160 And then he experienced the most powerful work of God in his life 605 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,320 because though he was dead, he lived again. 606 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:19,600 He rose from the dead church. That's resurrection power is 607 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:23,360 what God's wanting to release in our day as never before. 608 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:28,800 In Isaiah 59, it goes on to say the Redeemer will come to Zion 609 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:32,560 to those who turn from transgression in Jacob says the 610 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:35,760 Lord. As for me, says the Lord, now 611 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:39,200 this is my covenant, that's a contract, this is his agreement 612 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:41,680 with us, this is my covenant with them. 613 00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:47,120 My Spirit, who is upon you, and my words which I have put in 614 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:50,320 your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, Isn't that 615 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:54,520 powerful, Church, nor from the mouth of your what? 616 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:58,760 Descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants. 617 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:05,040 Descendants, says the Lord from this time and forevermore the 618 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:08,639 Redeemer will come to Zion. And I won't point this out even 619 00:34:08,639 --> 00:34:11,280 though this is the last verse. It's so important to know what a 620 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:14,400 Redeemer is and the Old Testament, they have what was 621 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:18,840 called the near Redeemer or the near kinsman Redeemer. 622 00:34:19,199 --> 00:34:23,159 And that was the designated person in the family that if 623 00:34:23,159 --> 00:34:26,360 anybody in the family, through what the Bible calls riotous 624 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:30,400 living, lost their inheritance or whatever, the near kinsman 625 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:33,600 Redeemer always had the authority from the law to go 626 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:38,120 back and buy it back. Now this is such a beautiful 627 00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:41,360 story for us because Jesus Christ is in our our near 628 00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:45,120 kinsman Redeemer. So that means even when we make 629 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:47,400 mistakes, he can turn it around for good. 630 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:50,679 Isn't that amazing Church? That's what the Redeemer does 631 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:54,520 and he says, I want you to understand something that spirit 632 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:57,040 that I put upon you in that word that I put in your mouth. 633 00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:00,040 You see the Bible says with a heart man believes, but with the 634 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:02,240 mouth confession is made unto salvation. 635 00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:06,600 Keep that in your conversation church, because if it's in your 636 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:09,240 mouth, it's going to be in your kids mouth, it's going to be in 637 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:11,240 your grandkids, your great grandkids. 638 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:15,160 Wow, isn't God a good God generational blessing? 639 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:18,480 You can look at the world today and say, oh God, what's going to 640 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:21,120 happen to my children? Well, I'm a God of covenant. 641 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:24,440 There might be some things that are going to happen you're not 642 00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:28,160 going to like because I work in people's lives, says the Lord. 643 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:29,840 But in the end, you'll know something. 644 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:35,400 God is the Redeemer for you, for your children, your children's 645 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:37,920 children, says the Lord. Can we all please bow our heads 646 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:40,440 for just a moment? Because I believe with all my 647 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:46,760 heart that everybody needs to have a revelation concerning our 648 00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:50,600 near kinsman Redeemer, Jesus Christ. 649 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:56,000 Because the Bible says that if we confess our sin, He is 650 00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:59,880 faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and to cleanse us 651 00:35:59,880 --> 00:36:04,400 from all unrighteousness. He could even buy back our 652 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:06,720 mistakes. That's the most incredible part. 653 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:10,320 He doesn't want us living in the past. 654 00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:15,560 He don't want anybody throwing up the past in our face, and he 655 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:17,840 don't want us doing it for ourselves because sometimes 656 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:20,080 we're just as good at it as anybody else. 657 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:26,400 God says, I have a covenant I want to make with you. 658 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:31,240 When you hear that word and you let it come to your mouth and 659 00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:33,840 you follow on to know the Lord and covenant with him. 660 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:39,280 Church, you lose the very power of the living Godfather. 661 00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:44,240 I just thank you today and pray that each and everyone of us 662 00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:46,240 would see you as our near kinsman. 663 00:36:46,240 --> 00:36:50,080 Redeemer. The Redeemer lives in Zion. 664 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:53,680 Thank you Father, in Jesus name, Amen. 665 00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:57,360 This is Pastor Lorne Coverbius from Mount Zion Church. 666 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:00,360 We thank you for joining us today and invite you to connect 667 00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:03,960 with our church family by visiting mountzion.org and 668 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:06,600 following us on social media. God bless you.