1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,960 You know, I often say church is good to be in the House of the 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:08,640 Lord, but man, I, I don't know today, I just, it's just special 3 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:12,000 today to be able to gather in the House of the Lord. 4 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:20,160 My mind is full, my heart is full, my emotions are high. 5 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:27,440 I have so many things to say in 36 minutes and 15 seconds to say 6 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:33,200 it. I want to What do you? 7 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:36,120 What do you do? What do Christians do? 8 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:39,840 Are you confused today? Your mind a little. 9 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:41,800 What am I? What am I feeling? 10 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:44,320 Are you? Are you? 11 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:48,200 Are you between emotions? Are you wondering what's 12 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:51,000 happening? Are you asking the Lord? 13 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:52,920 Why? Why Charlie Kirk? 14 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:59,400 How does this impact me? I don't even know the guy what I 15 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,160 feel this way. Why does this impact me but 16 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:05,280 other events don't impact me so much? 17 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:09,480 Why are churches in America fuller today than they were last 18 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,640 week? Why did Charlie Kirk social 19 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:16,280 media go from 1.6 million followers to almost 12 million 20 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:23,880 followers in 48 hours? Christianity is under attack. 21 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,880 That's why Satan continues to play the game. 22 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:35,080 And pastors all across America today are standing in pulpits. 23 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:40,120 What do we, what do we say? I was in this very space 24 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,760 yesterday with a group full of women. 25 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,080 Get that blessing and honor to the lead. 26 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,000 And that's ministry that I love so deeply. 27 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,760 I was asked to share something kind of on the spot and I didn't 28 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:58,160 know where to go. So I go, Lord, where do you 29 00:01:58,160 --> 00:01:59,720 where do you go in a time like this? 30 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,120 And they just convicted me the Sermon on the Mount. 31 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:08,840 It never fails us. Jesus message. 32 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,800 He's teaching to people. I want to read it to you today. 33 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:16,040 I'm in Matthew chapter 5. This is now when Jesus saw the 34 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:17,160 crowd. So he went up on the 35 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,120 mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him and he 36 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:22,360 began to teach them and I stopped right there. 37 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,960 It's like, oh, look, when Jesus saw the crowd, it's like he 38 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,240 wasn't expecting either. I mean, he knows, but he 39 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,040 doesn't, right? He's like, oh, there's some, 40 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,000 there's some movement. People are responding to 41 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:38,080 something and Jesus goes and it says he's a, he's a teacher. 42 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:41,080 You know, there's a difference in preaching and teaching. 43 00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:48,280 Why are you here today? I like, why do you come to 44 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:49,440 church? Why do I come to church? 45 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:54,280 Why do we build this thing? Why do we fight this insane 46 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:59,680 parking lot to come sit here? I hope it's because you're 47 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,440 hungry for the truth of the gospel and you want to hear a 48 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:04,520 word from the Lord and you want to be different. 49 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:09,440 And Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is 50 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:14,440 the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn. 51 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:15,640 That doesn't make sense, does it? 52 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:18,520 This is for they shall be comforted. 53 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,840 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Kingdom. 54 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:26,840 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 55 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:30,280 They will be filled. Are you hungry for the righteous 56 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:33,240 word of God? Are you hungry for the truth? 57 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:39,600 Are you parched and thirsty and saying, Lord teach me, show me. 58 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:43,520 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 59 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:45,760 Blessed are the pure and heart, for they will see God. 60 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,800 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of 61 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,400 God. Blessed are those who are 62 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:58,160 persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the 63 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,720 Kingdom of heaven. Are you willing to stand up 64 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:06,080 against The Dark World? Blessed are you when people 65 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,120 insult you, persecuted you falsely, and say all kinds of 66 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:12,760 evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because 67 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:16,880 great is your reward in heaven. For the same way they persecuted 68 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:18,800 the prophets who were before you. 69 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:24,480 Jesus is teaching. Do you have opposition? 70 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,040 Are people coming against you because of your faith? 71 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:34,240 Do they unfriend you on social medias because you share the 72 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:39,000 gospel message and just the presence of your scripture share 73 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,760 on social media convicts somebody so hard. 74 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:45,960 They're like, I can't be friends with this person, Or do you not 75 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:47,800 even do that? That's the easy piece. 76 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:53,400 I mean, look, this, this just these page it goes on talks 77 00:04:53,400 --> 00:05:00,560 about murder, eye for an eye, prayer like salt and light. 78 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:02,040 The answers are all here, Church. 79 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:05,280 Look what it says about murder. You, you have heard that it was 80 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:07,400 said to the people long ago you shall not murder. 81 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,400 And anyone who murders is subject to judgment. 82 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,680 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or 83 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,080 sister will be subject to judgment. 84 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,680 Are you angry today? I believe in the scriptures. 85 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:23,640 We can read elsewhere that it's OK to be angry, but it's what 86 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,520 you do in your anger that will create sin. 87 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:29,240 Again. Anyone who says to a brother or 88 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:33,520 sister Raqqa, Raqqa is a term for senselessness. 89 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,240 Anyone who speaks to a brother without thought, with 90 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:42,360 senselessness in response, knee jerk reaction and says is 91 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:46,800 answerable to the courts. And anyone who says you fool 92 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:48,800 will be in danger of the fire of hell. 93 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,640 I we could go on and on and on in the book of Matthew. 94 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:53,600 There's so much guidance and wisdom there. 95 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:59,880 The church can ioffer you this, this is our time to shine. 96 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:05,240 This is your time to stand out in your workplace, in your 97 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:11,400 community, in your home and stand for Christ and say As for 98 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,200 me and my house, As for me and my workplace, As for me and my 99 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:18,640 vehicle, As for me and my wherever your environment is, my 100 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,280 HOA organization, whatever it is, we will serve the Lord. 101 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:29,800 Are you doing this? I want to challenge your thought 102 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:35,120 right here. You know, heaven is a place for 103 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:37,400 the murderer and the victim to embrace. 104 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:47,760 If the murderer, whoever it is, we all have one in mind today. 105 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:52,600 If the murderer accepts, believes and confesses in the 106 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:56,480 name of Jesus Christ, the Bible says that his sin will be 107 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,880 received, relieved, just like yours will be relieved. 108 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:06,600 But here's the great thing in heaven, you won't know it 109 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:09,440 anymore. Brothers and sisters will 110 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:15,680 embrace We can't see heaven from here, but in heaven you won't 111 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,800 see earth either. Honestly, it's one of the 112 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,400 problems I have with the doctrine of oh, my deceased is 113 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:27,240 looking down on me. I hate to bust your bubble. 114 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:31,440 They're not looking down on you. You know why? 115 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:36,160 Because you're still sinful. And if you are in heaven, you 116 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:44,440 cannot see sin. May they rest in peace. 117 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:52,040 One day that trumpet will sound. Christ will return on a stallion 118 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:58,200 coming for us, the Church. The dead in Christ will rise 119 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,000 first, ascend with him into heaven, and then those who are 120 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:02,920 living will ascend to meet him in the sky. 121 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:09,800 The Bible says can imagine when Jesus Christ died on the cross. 122 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,640 The Bible says that the curtain between the in the temple 123 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:16,960 between the holy place and the most holy place, it was rent, it 124 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:20,720 was ripped, it was, it was, it was gone, eviscerated, allowing 125 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:25,320 us to see into the most holy place, Jesus Christ, the Holy 126 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:30,280 Spirit. And then it says the dead in 127 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:33,720 Christ rose, those who were dead came alive. 128 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,919 And then it says they they were noticed in town. 129 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:45,080 Dead people walking were recognized. 130 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,200 Read the read your Bible. It'll blow your mind. 131 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:52,000 It's not what you think. Like it's crazy like like just 132 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,040 start reading it and see what happens. 133 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:57,600 Oh, but they'll be a reunion one day. 134 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:01,840 Church, a gathering of the Saints, sins forgiven. 135 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,440 No crying, no weeping, no gnashing of teeth, no sorrow. 136 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:08,640 There won't be a bad day. You have a new body. 137 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:17,680 Hallelujah. But we pray and we live our 138 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:24,000 lives differently. Church, I have a message for 139 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,280 you. It's in our last hours sermon 140 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:33,720 series and I was writing this sermon been building it, but I 141 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:38,640 was I was focusing on it and I was in the office when I got the 142 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:42,520 news. My phone flashed like yours. 143 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:49,920 Social media is just a blaze. It's instantaneous. 144 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:54,200 We all we all see in an instant what happens. 145 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:55,920 You don't even have to have social media anymore. 146 00:09:56,560 --> 00:10:01,600 Just have a phone in the flashing of news, I heard one 147 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:06,640 theologians say that when Christ returns, the medium in which the 148 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:10,800 news will be spread will be the technologies of our phones. 149 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:18,960 Could you imagine for a moment hearing in a instant, what do we 150 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,320 do? What do you do? 151 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:25,360 God has a word for us today. He showed up last week in a big 152 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:27,800 way. And it's just, it's just 153 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:34,000 interesting that this sermon and this series is right where we 154 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:35,800 are ministering to us in our time. 155 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:37,960 But I'm in my office in the news breaks. 156 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:41,040 And I think it was just Lancing me in the building. 157 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:44,480 And I I come down here, he's sitting here on these stairs and 158 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:46,960 he's got his phone. I'm like, he already heard it. 159 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:49,800 And I'm like, Charlie Kirk was just murdered. 160 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:50,720 What? What? 161 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:54,280 I was dumbfounded. I sit in my office for three 162 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:56,640 hours looking at a sermon, not knowing what to write. 163 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,560 I was in my office till almost 1:00 in the morning before I 164 00:11:00,560 --> 00:11:03,480 went home because I had to get the sermon done because that 165 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:10,400 other things happening. This is a fresh word for you. 166 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:16,480 We all will have a last hour. We all will will have a last 167 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:18,440 hour of life. We'll have a last hour of 168 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:20,480 something that we're dealing with. 169 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:24,720 And so I want to dive into this sermon and try and, and, and 170 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:28,440 pick up the, the, the mood a little bit and allow Lord to 171 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:32,160 speak to me at, at which in turn will speak to you. 172 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:35,200 Let me ask you this. How many of you I've been on a 173 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:37,840 road trip greater than 8 hours before? 174 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:41,320 Yeah. The rest of y'all man, you need 175 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:43,560 to, you need to get out, you need to get out of town. 176 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,000 You need to, you need to, you need to roll. 177 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:49,600 You know, it's the last hour. Come on, you know, it's the last 178 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:51,880 hour. That's the toughest you can go 179 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,320 on a 14 hour road trip. Thirteen of those are amazing. 180 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:58,400 But that last hour you're like, why did we do this? 181 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:01,320 Like you're second guessing all of your decisions. 182 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:04,320 You're like, I don't understand. Stacy and I were bringing our 183 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,920 family back home to Houston. I was assigned to Coast Guard 184 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:11,280 headquarters in Washington, DC. And we said, let's road trip 185 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:13,200 with the kids. It'll be fun, right? 186 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:16,560 And instead, because I'm a planner, I'm like, let's just 187 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:18,920 plan everything out. Where my planners at, right? 188 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:20,840 You got to know where you going to stop, what time you going to 189 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:21,680 stop? How you going to do? 190 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:23,840 I plan everything. And not only do I plan a 191 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:26,400 contingency plan too. So if something happens, I'm 192 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,480 ready for the extra thing, OK? It's just in my nature. 193 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:31,440 It's in my DNA. So. 194 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:34,560 But we said, let's just be spontaneous. 195 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:39,640 Let's just be spontaneous, OK? I said, I want to drive until I 196 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:43,720 get tired. And then Stacy's the internet's 197 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:45,160 kind of fresh at the time, right? 198 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:47,480 It's available, but it's sketchy, OK. 199 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:51,400 And, and we said, let's just, you can use this thing called 200 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,720 the Internet and we'll find a place on the way. 201 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:59,960 And about our, our 14. I, I, I hit, I we're in 202 00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:04,160 Tennessee or somewhere around here and I go, I can't drive 203 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:09,680 anymore and she finds a hotel an hour away and I said I can do 204 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:11,960 it. And we started, we started 205 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:15,120 driving this last hour and we got to this. 206 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,120 I don't even know is motel the right word? 207 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:23,320 Sketchy motel. It was a go tell like just go 208 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:25,880 right by it and tell somebody not to go there right. 209 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:28,560 It was bad news. Matter of fact, we checked into 210 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:32,000 this place and we told the kids that the floor was lava, right 211 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,720 like don't touch the floor. It's lava jumped from bed to bed 212 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,480 with shoes on right. It was it was we we slept we 213 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:42,760 didn't sleep. We rolled for a few hours and 214 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:47,040 were like let's get up and get out of here and then we made our 215 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:48,680 way to Houston and we were off it. 216 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:51,360 We were just exhausted by the time we arrived. 217 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:57,520 Look, we suffered through, we suffered through the last hour 218 00:13:58,560 --> 00:14:00,640 and there's going to be suffering. 219 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:07,560 I've titled the sermon today, Jesus's final hours and that odd 220 00:14:07,560 --> 00:14:09,600 that today's the day we're going to look at this. 221 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:13,800 But yet this was planned almost a year ago in November. 222 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,880 You know, the Last Supper and betrayal. 223 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:23,720 Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, the institute of 224 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:28,640 communion here that we have access to today, symbolizing His 225 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:31,920 upcoming sacrifice. My body broken for you, My 226 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,400 bloodshed for you, but yet He was still alive. 227 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,080 There was no sacrifice body yet. There was no bloodshed yet. 228 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:42,760 He's foretelling what's coming. He's giving them communion as an 229 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:46,880 opportunity to remember Him. Let me tell you, your friends 230 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:52,360 are going to talk about you. If you're a Christ follower, you 231 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:55,160 should have some friends talking bad about you. 232 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:58,960 You have you should have some friends that don't get you. 233 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,600 You should have some naysayers coming up against you. 234 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:06,800 It's just the nature of the beast. 235 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,400 Let's look what it what it says in the scripture here in Matthew 236 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:16,640 2614 to 16. It says the one of the 12, the 237 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:20,640 one called Judas, this Iscariot, you might know this. 238 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,520 He went to the chief priest and he asked, what are you willing 239 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:28,600 to give me if I deliver him over to you, Jesus? 240 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:32,080 Because we know at the Last Supper he betrayed. 241 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,880 He knew betrayal was coming. He knew Judas was going to 242 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:42,640 betray him. So they continued, and they 243 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:44,880 counted out for him 30 pieces of silver. 244 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:50,200 From then on, Judas watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus 245 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:52,360 over. Betrayal. 246 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:57,560 People will betray you in your last hour. 247 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:01,000 Come on. Some of you are like, I thought 248 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:05,880 you were my friend. I thought we were like, I 249 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:10,080 thought we were like this. And you often realize that she 250 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:14,640 bite, but it's the closest sheep that bite the hardest. 251 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,720 What do we do in these moments? Look, Jesus had challenges, 252 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,480 therefore, so will you. We will have challenges. 253 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:28,120 We will have betrayal, but we won't have it like Jesus had it. 254 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,080 I'm hoping today you walk away from this place. 255 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:37,360 Prepare to handle conflict that comes your way because of the 256 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:41,240 faith that you stand for. So he was arrested and tried. 257 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,640 Remember, he was actually innocent. 258 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:46,760 We all know people in the jailhouse like to claim 259 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:49,480 innocence, right? I didn't do it. 260 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,720 Come on, marriages, it's not my fault you did it. 261 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:02,080 Jesus betrayal led to his arrest and he knew it was coming. 262 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:10,839 Jesus was tried not just by one, but by Jewish leaders, by Pilot, 263 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:15,079 by Herod. He was tried, he faced mockery, 264 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:22,720 he was beaten, he was abused, all for unjust accusations so 265 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:30,240 that you can find freedom. His last hours were torturous 266 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:33,640 for you. Church. 267 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:37,160 Our problems pale in comparison to the consequences of sin. 268 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:39,920 What? What we deserve as sinners, 269 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:46,920 Jesus took for us the power in the name of Jesus as we sing. 270 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:51,760 But do you believe it? See, he bore our our sin 271 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:56,560 penalty. He he took it for us, knowing we 272 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:02,320 would betray him, knowing today in 2025, we would claim to be 273 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:04,800 Christians, but we wouldn't live like it. 274 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:08,480 We wouldn't express it much. We won't display the fruit of 275 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:11,080 the Spirit. We don't live in love. 276 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,280 We're we're enamored by the world and we're influenced by 277 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,880 culture and we often draw away from the truth of the gospel and 278 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:22,520 we don't understand it. Are we willing to learn? 279 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:25,280 Are we willing to see what God has? 280 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:29,320 I have a feeling we are here at Refuge Church. 281 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:34,280 I've just come to accept that. You know what we could add to 282 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,160 our parking? Give us six months. 283 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:39,680 It's going to be not enough. We could add chairs in here. 284 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:42,160 Give us six months it and not going to be enough. 285 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:45,760 Can we just remain hungry like that? 286 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,480 Just wear deodorant, sit next to each other, right? 287 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:52,560 Just love each other and just say, come on, have a have a 288 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:54,080 seat. You can sit right here. 289 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,280 Why? Because we're hungry thousands. 290 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:02,000 I came to listen to Jesus. I want you to look at this 291 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,520 scripture with me probably familiar with it. 292 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:09,960 I I've read it multiple times this week and I'm like, Lord, 293 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:11,400 this is a lot of scripture to read. 294 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:15,240 This is a long passage. How can I take some out right? 295 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:19,320 Maybe I can paraphrase some parts and pieces and I literally 296 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:22,320 even yesterday and last night I shortened another passage, the 297 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,080 one I just read and I'm like, because I'm stuck on time. 298 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:28,680 We got some things to say, he said, Steve, read them my words 299 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:32,040 as they're going to know this story. 300 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:36,480 He said, read them my words. Now I want you to know I was 301 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:40,320 looking for a way, shame on me to get out and read in the 302 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:44,360 scripture because it's long, but I think the Lord has a word for 303 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:48,760 us today. And the governor's soldiers took 304 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:53,800 Jesus to the praetorium, and he gathered the whole company of 305 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,000 soldiers around him. They stripped him, put a scarlet 306 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,040 robe on him, and twisted together a crown of thorns and 307 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:04,720 set it on his head. They put a staff in his right 308 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:06,640 hand. Then they knelt in front of him 309 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:12,280 and mocked him. Oh, hail King Jesus, they said. 310 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:14,400 They spit on him. They took the staff and they 311 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:18,840 struck him on the head again and again. 312 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:23,520 After they mocked him, they took off the robe, put his clothes on 313 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:25,960 him. And they led him away to crucify 314 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:31,280 him as they were going about, and met a man from Cyrene named 315 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:34,000 Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 316 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:36,800 They came to a place called Golgotha, which means the place 317 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:41,800 of the skull. They offered Jesus wine to drink 318 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:46,320 mixed with gall, but after tasting it he refused to drink 319 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:48,960 it. When they had crucified him, 320 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:53,480 they divided up the clothes by casting lots and sitting down. 321 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:58,240 They kept watch on Him. There above his head, they 322 00:20:58,240 --> 00:20:59,840 placed the written charge against him. 323 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:07,120 This is Jesus, king of the Jews. 2 rebels were crucified Him, one 324 00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:12,080 on his right, one on his left. Those who passed by hurled 325 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:15,040 insults and at him, shaking, shaking their heads and saying, 326 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:18,640 you who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three 327 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,040 days, save yourselves. Come down from the cross. 328 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,920 If you're the Son of God, they're testing him. 329 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:26,360 You're the Son of God. You can come down. 330 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,120 Don't you have the power and authority? 331 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:30,800 You see the mockery here? And the same way the chief 332 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:34,040 priests, the teachers of the law and the elders, the religious 333 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:40,440 people mocked him. He saved others, they said, but 334 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:44,120 he can't save himself. He's the king of Israel. 335 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:47,480 Let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in 336 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,520 him. Jesus knew it was better for him 337 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:54,600 to die, and it was to prove at that moment that he was God. 338 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:57,000 Why? Because our sins rested on his 339 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,160 shoulders. He trusts in God. 340 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,800 Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, I'm the 341 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,200 Son of God. In the same way, the rebels who 342 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:10,480 were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. 343 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,120 From noon until 3:00 in the afternoon, darkness came over 344 00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:19,680 all the land, and about 3:00 in the afternoon Jesus cried out in 345 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:26,040 a loud voice. Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani, 346 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:33,840 which means my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 347 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:40,200 Jesus feels what you feel. He was fully man and fully God. 348 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:43,280 And some of those standing there heard this. 349 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:47,400 They said he's calling Elijah. Immediately one of them ran out 350 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:49,520 and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, 351 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:51,960 put it on his staff and offered it to Jesus to drink. 352 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:55,440 The rest said now leave him alone, let's see if Elijah comes 353 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:59,120 to save him. When Jesus has cried out again 354 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:02,160 in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 355 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:10,800 At that very moment Carton of the temple was torn and two from 356 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,280 top to bottom the earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs 357 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:17,600 broke open. The bodies of many holy people 358 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:19,720 who had died were raised to life. 359 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:24,920 They came out of the tombs after Jesus resurrection and went into 360 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,280 the holy city and appeared to many people. 361 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:36,240 This is the word of the Lord. Where do we go from here? 362 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:40,120 Why do we complain about the sufferings that we have? 363 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:48,000 Church, we can do better. So I want you to, I want you to 364 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:52,240 see some things from the Savior. When you first serve with 365 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:56,320 humility, you can't think of anything more humbling than 366 00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:00,040 washing feet? Like these were dirty feet. 367 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:02,960 Not like our feet. We wear shoes and socks, right? 368 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:05,840 Like these were sandals and nasty feet. 369 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:09,400 Dirt roads, no plumbing, do the math. 370 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,640 The road animals, dirty, nasty feet. 371 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:15,840 He even watched Judas's feet, knowing he would betray him. 372 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:19,720 Those who are coming against you, will you serve them? 373 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:22,840 Will you honor them? Will you bless them? 374 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:29,080 Like Mark 10th, 43 through 45. And it says instead whoever 375 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:31,880 wants to become great among you must be your servant, and 376 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:34,200 whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 377 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:38,800 For even the Son of Man look did not come to be served, but to 378 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:42,440 serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. 379 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:47,160 Humility. Do you walk with humility? 380 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:54,040 Do people see a softened spirit? People see a listening ear. 381 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:56,800 So it made Charlie Kirk so good at what he did. 382 00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,880 He listened. He put the microphone down. 383 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,800 He allowed people to speak, and they spoke different. 384 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:09,440 It's OK. Look, if you're in this place 385 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:15,200 and you don't subscribe, maybe you're far off from this. 386 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:21,440 I want to say, welcome home. Can we have a conversation and 387 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:24,880 we engage in our differences? Can we talk about it? 388 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,960 But it takes a humble spirit. So what is humility? 389 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:33,000 What is it to be humble? I mean, the definition in the 390 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,120 dictionary says a modest or low view of 1's own importance. 391 00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:38,000 Humbleness. It's not about me, it's about 392 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,880 Him. It's not about me getting my 393 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:43,640 way, it's about the Lord working in and through me. 394 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:50,120 See everything has an expiration date, even your body, but your 395 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:55,960 soul locked in tight with Jesus Christ, accepting and believing 396 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,640 and confessing that He is Lord and Savior and that is how you 397 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:02,400 get access to heaven, to the Father is through the Savior. 398 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,640 Those of us, those of us will live forever. 399 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:15,440 Time to wake up. God designed us to serve. 400 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:20,480 Can you start in your houses? Can you start in your home or 401 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:23,160 you live with your family? Can you start in your House of 402 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:25,920 worship? Can you serve other people? 403 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:29,640 Can you pick things up? Can you put, you know, just can 404 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,880 you can, can you do some tasks? Can you do something for 405 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,800 somebody else and expect nothing in return? 406 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:38,680 We pull in a neighbor's trash can. 407 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:41,680 Can we just start by being nice to people? 408 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:49,040 Can you over tip the server this afternoon who treats you badly? 409 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:53,320 You're like, oh they didn't bring my Doctor Pepper refill. 410 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:55,840 They're getting 12% instead of 20. 411 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,360 What if you changed your mind and said they didn't bring my 412 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:02,360 Doctor Pepper refill? I want to bless them with the 413 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:06,440 40% tip and write God bless you on the receipt and see what 414 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:12,680 happens inside of you when you bless people that do you wrong. 415 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,720 Philippians 2, five through 7 says in your relationships with 416 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:22,160 one another have the same mindset as Christ, who, being in 417 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:24,840 the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God 418 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,600 something to be used to his own advantage. 419 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,800 Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a 420 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:35,000 servant being made in human likeness and being found in 421 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:38,880 appearance as of man. He humbled himself by becoming 422 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:42,000 obedient to death, even death on a cross. 423 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:46,880 For you and for me. Charlie Kurt carried the message 424 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:49,760 unlike any other I've ever seen. Do it. 425 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:53,320 The smartest mind I've ever seen. 426 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:57,520 A spokesperson for Gen. Gen. 427 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:03,360 Z. Oh, but I, I think as he was 428 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:07,160 martyred for his faith, he'll receive a crown. 429 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:14,520 Will you? Maybe you'll, maybe you'll not 430 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:19,440 physically die carrying the message, but you need to die to 431 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:23,240 something. You need to die to your pride, 432 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:26,720 your selfishness, to your arrogance. 433 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:35,280 Christians we're nothing. We're nothing absent of Christ. 434 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:40,520 We have 0 value. I'll prove it to you 100 years 435 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:43,520 after you die. People aren't going to know who 436 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:48,160 you are unless you're like in some family that has this giant 437 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:51,840 family tree right. You'll be a, you'll be a name on 438 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:57,240 a piece of paper at best, like we are. 439 00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:02,600 We are just feel free. I'm nothing absent of Christ. 440 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:06,160 A Christ. Will you use me to influence 441 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:09,360 others to find you #2 will you stay committed to God's will? 442 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,680 Like even in Gethsemane at the cross, Jesus prayed. 443 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:15,920 He said, not my will, but yours be done. 444 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:22,760 It's in our prayer that he taught us on earth as in heaven, 445 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:26,960 may your will be done. What is God calling you to 446 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:30,520 that's scary. What is God calling you to 447 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:33,160 that's going to make a difference someplace. 448 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,960 The psalmist writes in 37 five commit your way to the Lord, 449 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:43,920 trust him and he will act makes me think about this week our 13 450 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:46,600 year old daughter. We're out in the backyard. 451 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:51,760 We saw some loose dogs and these dogs were running around and 452 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:54,680 next thing we know there's somebody in the front yard and 453 00:29:54,760 --> 00:30:00,600 Lizzie goes out and she tries to help get these dogs into this 454 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:03,240 vehicle. They find out that it's a rest. 455 00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:07,120 A lady does rescues for animals. They don't have any markings or 456 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:09,800 anything like this. And Lizzie comes back in to get 457 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:16,560 her shoes and, and she goes back out and they get these dogs all 458 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:18,520 wrapped up and everything's taken care of. 459 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:21,600 And she comes back in and I don't know, I'll come out of the 460 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:23,160 office probably 30 minutes after. 461 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:25,040 I was like, hey, how'd everything work out with those 462 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:29,040 dogs? And she goes, well, I don't know 463 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:34,120 if she'll come to church or not. And I'm like, that's kind of a 464 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,840 weird answer. I was just like, yeah, she got 465 00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:37,920 them. Everything worked fine. 466 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,080 They're not in the backyard yard anymore. 467 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:43,760 But see, what had happened and I didn't know had happened was 468 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:45,840 when she came in to get the shoes, she went and talked with 469 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:49,840 her mother and she says would it be OK if I invited her to 470 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:54,800 church? They said of course, and now I'm 471 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:56,600 intrigued. I said, well, how'd that go? 472 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,680 And she says I was a little bit nervous, but I sure felt good 473 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:03,040 doing what the Lord called me to do. 474 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:08,160 Do you have a story like this? Do you have a story that makes 475 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:11,000 you nervous but will make a difference? 476 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:13,880 And will you stay steadfast to the call that God has for you? 477 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:17,760 The Bible says trust in the Lord with all your heart. 478 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:20,000 Lean not on your own understanding and all your ways. 479 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,960 Submit to Him and He'll make your path straight. 480 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:30,000 He'll make a way. He'll make a way for you and for 481 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:33,640 me and for our church. So surrender is the way to 482 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:35,680 commitment. It's not about me or to humble 483 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:37,840 myself. What do you want me to do? 484 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:41,000 I'll do that. I'll be courageous. 485 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:43,560 Sat here this morning in Washington. 486 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:48,200 Introvert give a public word in our prayer circle this morning, 487 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,000 taking a step of faith, following the Lord. 488 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:54,720 And I couldn't be more proud of her and her family. 489 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:58,960 What's God calling you to be uncomfortable about? 490 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:04,960 Because look, you got to know #3 you got to remain focused amid 491 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:07,640 the suffering. When you're uncomfortable, you 492 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:09,800 got to, you got to maintain course and speed. 493 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,560 You got to maintain your focus. One of Satan's effective tools 494 00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:16,480 is distraction. He'll pull you off course. 495 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:19,920 Man, I had this great idea. I think the Lord was talking to 496 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:25,000 me, but not anymore. Maybe it was that bad chili or 497 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:28,320 something, right? And you're looking for something 498 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:30,000 to give it to. Well, hey, which makes me think, 499 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:32,240 man, get ready. We got, we got chili cook off 500 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:36,040 coming up right. We're going to have good chili, 501 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:41,000 not bad chili. Not one of us are exempt from 502 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:45,560 suffer and not one of us are exempt from losing focus in our 503 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,360 suffering. See, Jesus did not let betrayal 504 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:51,480 or pain or abandonment draw him away from going to that cross. 505 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:54,560 He knew the assignment. He knew the cost. 506 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:58,920 He knew betrayal was coming. And Christian, look, it's not 507 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:01,120 easy. It's not easy to live a life of 508 00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:03,000 Christ. Read the book and start seeing. 509 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:08,160 You'll go through some junk. What insurance company is it 510 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:10,800 that says we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or 511 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,480 two? Rise of farmers, maybe, I don't 512 00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:16,920 know, Maybe they can give us a plug, help us build our parking 513 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:18,280 lot for that, right? I don't know. 514 00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:20,400 I don't know, right? But come on. 515 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:23,440 It's like Christians, come on, I know a thing or two. 516 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:26,080 We've seen a thing or two. You're going to go through some 517 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:29,040 stuff, parents. That's why you can encourage 518 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:32,360 your children and their moments of heartbreak because you've had 519 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,800 your heart broken before and you've been through it and so 520 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:38,240 you know what it feels like and you can help them even while 521 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:40,600 suffering. Stay focused on your purpose and 522 00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:44,240 trust the Lord that He's growing you and He's walking with you as 523 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:45,880 you go through something hard. Paul. 524 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,120 Paul is speaking to us in Philippians. 525 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:50,720 He's searching, speaking to the church in Philippi and he says 526 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:51,960 this. He says forgetting what is 527 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:53,840 behind and straining towards what is ahead. 528 00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:57,400 Don't let your past define what God is calling you to do in the 529 00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,920 future. I press on towards the goal to 530 00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:04,720 win the prize for which God has called me Heaven Word in Christ 531 00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:10,400 Jesus, if you can put it in His name, he'll see it through. 532 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,520 I don't know how we're going to fund all this stuff that's 533 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:15,679 happening. I don't know how we're going to 534 00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:18,040 do it. I'll tell you right now, the 535 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:22,320 math don't math, OK? The math, don't math. 536 00:34:22,679 --> 00:34:25,040 I've never been good at it, but I'm good enough to look at the 537 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:27,120 numbers and go. That doesn't equal that. 538 00:34:30,159 --> 00:34:33,000 But I know that the Lord has called us to it. 539 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:38,440 So He will see us through it. He'll allow us to be 540 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:41,199 uncomfortable. He'll allow us to suffer 541 00:34:41,199 --> 00:34:43,639 through. Good luck getting out of here, 542 00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:45,080 right? Just take your time, be patient. 543 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:47,920 We're just giving you an opportunity to be Christ like on 544 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:56,040 your way to lunch. However, you know that as you 545 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:58,560 keep going, the pain will subside. 546 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:03,320 I think of the workout group some, some of y'all are in 547 00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:07,040 workout groups. And I remember Stacey coming 548 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:11,960 home from her workout group first one on Monday and she's 549 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:19,080 like, that's tough, right? Day three, never fun. 550 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:24,640 Those of you that work out, you know what we're talking about. 551 00:35:26,040 --> 00:35:30,480 The muscles fatigue and they're painful and it hurts. 552 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:37,640 But after resistance comes perseverance comes strengthening 553 00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:45,920 and then the same weight that you used to lift it doesn't hurt 554 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:49,800 you anymore. You built up resiliency. 555 00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:54,520 In fact, there's some people that have worked out enough that 556 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:58,480 they long for the pain. They long for an indicator that 557 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:03,120 they are being strengthened. Can you be that Christ follower 558 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:10,240 that you're so routinely being uncomfortable and being 559 00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:16,720 stretched that the stretching is what is familiar and you feel 560 00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:19,920 different now because of the stretching? 561 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:29,960 That's what God wants us to do. Promise you're more capable than 562 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:34,240 you think you are. You're able to handle more than 563 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:38,880 you think you can. Your last hour is coming. 564 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:45,200 Jesus gives us an example of what we ought to do and how we 565 00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:49,240 ought to live. Can you live like him? 566 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:55,480 Can you be more like Christ? Our world is waiting to hear 567 00:36:55,480 --> 00:37:00,000 good news here in Montgomery County, in Conroe, in our 568 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:04,560 context and our location. Oh, the harvest is split. 569 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:10,320 Can you live like Christ? Can you love people that aren't 570 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:13,760 like you? Can you serve inside and 571 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:16,920 outside? The walls of your environments 572 00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:23,920 must be a bright light. Let's bring joy, the peace to a 573 00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:27,720 dark and hurting world. You never know when it will be 574 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,600 your last stop. Lord, we come to you today. 575 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:36,320 We ask that you be with us and give us guidance and direction 576 00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:40,960 on how we ought to live our hour today because we know the last 577 00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:43,800 is coming. The Bible tells us that no 578 00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:47,640 person knows the hour in which we'll breathe our last breath. 579 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:52,520 And so I ask that we Live Today as if it's our last. 580 00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:55,040 Will you embolden us and encourage us? 581 00:37:55,720 --> 00:37:58,880 Will you allow us to leverage the darkness, the anniversary of 582 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:02,440 September 11th, the death of Charlie Kirk and so many other 583 00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:07,080 things that we didn't even hear in the news, The evil and the 584 00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:10,920 hatred that is around us. Give us the fortitude, the 585 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:14,400 mental fortitude to persevere, build our character and bring us 586 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:18,680 hope. We worship you, we love you, we 587 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:21,840 trust you. In Jesus mighty name we pray. 588 00:38:23,040 --> 00:38:23,200 Amen.