1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,560 Hi, this is Dave Olson. I'm the senior leader of 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:04,600 Heartland Church located in Ankeny, IA. 3 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,039 I hope the following message challenges, encourages and 4 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,160 ultimately changes you. Thanks for joining us. 5 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,120 I want to pick up where we left off last week. 6 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:18,760 Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 4. 7 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,920 Ephesians chapter four. Last week we talked about, boy, 8 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:25,280 this doesn't sound like a Hallelujah moment, but we talked 9 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:27,520 about the darkening of the understanding. 10 00:00:28,090 --> 00:00:31,450 I think that's that that's a sobering subject. 11 00:00:31,450 --> 00:00:34,210 And the darkening of the understanding in Scripture is 12 00:00:34,210 --> 00:00:37,970 not an event. It is a process that is 13 00:00:38,090 --> 00:00:42,690 initiated by human decision. We can make decisions that 14 00:00:42,690 --> 00:00:45,930 actually close us off from revelation. 15 00:00:45,930 --> 00:00:48,690 So I want to talk about the opposite of that this morning. 16 00:00:48,930 --> 00:00:52,690 How do we position ourselves for revelation? 17 00:00:52,690 --> 00:00:55,330 There are there are things that you can do. 18 00:00:55,550 --> 00:00:58,550 You can position yourself in your relationship with God. 19 00:00:58,830 --> 00:01:02,790 There is a heart posture that will actually open you up to 20 00:01:02,790 --> 00:01:09,230 inside in Scripture. There's the the darkening of the 21 00:01:09,230 --> 00:01:16,750 Understanding Proverbs 2814. It's one of Solomon's Proverbs. 22 00:01:16,990 --> 00:01:20,470 Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived. 23 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,000 And one of the proverbs that he wrote was chapter 28 and verse 24 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,560 14. It says this He who fears the 25 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,640 Lord. Essentially, it's juxtaposing 26 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:33,360 the fear of the Lord. Let's look at it. 27 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:35,040 I I can't. I won't be able to quote it. 28 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:42,640 Proverbs 2814 Let's read that. Listen to what he says here. 29 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,560 This is sobering. 2814. Blessed is the one who fears the 30 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,560 Lord always. But whoever hardens his heart 31 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,840 will fall into calamity. That that's an interesting 32 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:54,880 passage when you think of the author. 33 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:01,880 Solomon was through an encounter made the most wise man that ever 34 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,400 lived. I got with some young guys this 35 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,840 week on Friday and we were discussing some some things 36 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:09,840 scripture. I call them the young bucks. 37 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,720 So we got together for a theological discussion and one 38 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:18,960 of them was asking about Solomon and and what matter of fact, my 39 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,680 17 year old son was the one who asked the question. 40 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,680 He said, Dad, last week you said that God will not give you 41 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:29,600 wisdom that you can't handle. He won't give you understanding 42 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:31,280 or insight that you're not ready for. 43 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:34,000 And he said the what do you do with Solomon? 44 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:36,520 And he just sat there and looked at me and they all. 45 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:40,200 Kind of looked at me. Now we got him, you know, we got 46 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,280 the old man and and so good question. 47 00:02:44,140 --> 00:02:47,420 What's the deal with Solomon if God will not give us wisdom that 48 00:02:47,420 --> 00:02:49,180 we can't handle? Insight that we can't handle? 49 00:02:49,380 --> 00:02:54,060 Because like we talked last week, one of the primary ways in 50 00:02:54,060 --> 00:02:57,740 which God administrates his Kingdom, one of the primary ways 51 00:02:57,740 --> 00:03:03,620 in which God governs his people, is through revealing and 52 00:03:03,620 --> 00:03:07,460 concealing mysteries and revelation. 53 00:03:07,460 --> 00:03:09,820 We see these themes come up in the New Testament. 54 00:03:11,010 --> 00:03:12,530 So what? What is that all about? 55 00:03:12,530 --> 00:03:17,170 God will actually hide things from us and for us. 56 00:03:18,010 --> 00:03:21,210 He will hide them from us until we're ready to handle them. 57 00:03:22,970 --> 00:03:26,050 And what He wants to do is awaken a hunger in our heart. 58 00:03:26,370 --> 00:03:30,410 And the seeking, the desire, the hunger that he ignites in your 59 00:03:30,410 --> 00:03:33,690 heart, if you will cooperate with that, will actually work to 60 00:03:33,690 --> 00:03:37,770 prepare you. It will qualify you to steward 61 00:03:37,770 --> 00:03:41,420 what you're longing for. But if we're satisfied with not 62 00:03:41,420 --> 00:03:42,580 knowing, you know what you'll get. 63 00:03:43,140 --> 00:03:45,740 You'll just stay this. You'll not know if you are 64 00:03:45,740 --> 00:03:50,300 satisfied to stay ignorant about the things of God, you will stay 65 00:03:50,300 --> 00:03:52,220 ignorant about the things of God. 66 00:03:52,420 --> 00:03:55,700 One of the Revelation requires hunger. 67 00:03:55,940 --> 00:03:59,860 God will release to those who hunger and thirst. 68 00:04:00,060 --> 00:04:02,860 He will give you revelation if you ask for it. 69 00:04:03,100 --> 00:04:06,300 But you've got to ask, and you've got to seek and keep on 70 00:04:06,300 --> 00:04:08,620 seeking. You've got to knock and keep on 71 00:04:08,620 --> 00:04:12,690 knocking. And so we need to understand 72 00:04:12,690 --> 00:04:14,810 that there are things that we can actually do. 73 00:04:14,970 --> 00:04:18,410 Revelation is not, oh some people are, that's their 74 00:04:18,410 --> 00:04:20,610 inheritance. And I'm over here just I'm not 75 00:04:20,610 --> 00:04:23,450 going to be a word person. I'll be a, you know, I'll be a 76 00:04:24,090 --> 00:04:26,850 spirit person. That that is not a category 77 00:04:26,850 --> 00:04:30,330 within God's mind, OK? There's not the non word people. 78 00:04:31,150 --> 00:04:33,710 God wants you to understand the word of God. 79 00:04:33,830 --> 00:04:36,030 He wants to give you wisdom and revelation. 80 00:04:36,230 --> 00:04:38,990 But there are things that we need to do to qualify, and it's 81 00:04:38,990 --> 00:04:44,870 very clear in Scripture. There are several criterion, and 82 00:04:44,870 --> 00:04:46,550 perhaps we'll get into this this morning. 83 00:04:46,710 --> 00:04:48,670 But I'm telling you, hunger is one of them. 84 00:04:49,470 --> 00:04:52,710 There's there's this fascinating dynamic, you see in Jesus 85 00:04:52,710 --> 00:04:55,270 teaching ministry. He teaches you remember the 86 00:04:55,270 --> 00:04:57,110 sermon on the soils of the heart. 87 00:04:57,110 --> 00:04:58,590 And he says there's four types of soil. 88 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:03,680 There's the the trodden path. The yeah, the trodden path that 89 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:07,160 the the the seed of the word just skidders across the top. 90 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,560 It can't penetrate because it's been walked on so much. 91 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,400 It's too hard. The word, the seed cannot 92 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:16,720 penetrate the soil, which and thank God that Jesus interprets 93 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:20,320 this for us himself. This is Matthew 13 that when the 94 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:24,960 seed of the word hits the top of your heart, if it doesn't 95 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,520 penetrate your heart, you have no understanding. 96 00:05:29,650 --> 00:05:31,530 And he's not talking about unbelievers. 97 00:05:32,490 --> 00:05:36,610 He's talking about those who sit under the teaching of the word 98 00:05:36,690 --> 00:05:40,490 week in and week out. Now that alone needs to make us 99 00:05:40,490 --> 00:05:44,050 tremble a little bit, that we can actually sit under the word 100 00:05:44,050 --> 00:05:48,610 of God and not understand anything that's being said and 101 00:05:48,610 --> 00:05:53,260 actually be content with that. And that's exactly what happened 102 00:05:53,260 --> 00:05:55,980 in Matthew 13. There was a crowd pressing in on 103 00:05:56,100 --> 00:05:58,820 Jesus. So Jesus rolls out this teaching 104 00:05:58,820 --> 00:06:01,260 on the parable of the soils and he tells him, he said there's 105 00:06:01,260 --> 00:06:04,100 four types of human heart. There's the farmer went out to 106 00:06:04,100 --> 00:06:07,580 sow and he sowed it on the trodden path and he said the the 107 00:06:07,620 --> 00:06:10,820 the seed could not penetrate. Therefore they did not 108 00:06:10,820 --> 00:06:13,820 understand. Then the second type of soil was 109 00:06:13,820 --> 00:06:18,340 that the soil, That it was the Stony ground. 110 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,320 And So what happened is there were stones underneath the 111 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:25,080 surface. There's very good soil on this, 112 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,480 on the the the evidence surface, but underneath it there's 113 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:32,920 stones, unyielding things that will not allow the root system 114 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,960 to dig down deep. And so it looks real good. 115 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:39,440 When the seed hits it, the word hits that heart, all of a sudden 116 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:41,880 it springs up and everybody thinks, Oh my goodness, this 117 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,760 this guy's growing like a weed. This woman's going to be an 118 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:46,280 evangelist by the end of the week. 119 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:48,240 This is amazing. Look at this growth. 120 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:51,320 But then the trials of life come and the sun. 121 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:56,680 When the sun begins to bake that soil the the the moisture in 122 00:06:56,680 --> 00:06:59,240 that top surface soil is dried up. 123 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:04,040 And so the root system begins to dig down to get find more 124 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,040 nourishment and it can't penetrate the stones. 125 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:11,760 So it goes out and all the energy that would have gone down 126 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:16,240 creating roots goes up, creating appearances and then it dies. 127 00:07:17,850 --> 00:07:20,650 And most of us have seen believers like that man. 128 00:07:20,650 --> 00:07:23,050 They get radically saved, seem like they're going to follow 129 00:07:23,050 --> 00:07:25,930 after Jesus. They're on fire, and then 130 00:07:25,930 --> 00:07:31,130 they're no more because the trials came and exposed the 131 00:07:31,170 --> 00:07:34,490 unyielded places in their heart. Then the third type of soil was 132 00:07:34,490 --> 00:07:38,210 the the weed, the the thorny ground here. 133 00:07:38,410 --> 00:07:41,810 And so it says the seed went in and it grew up, but there were 134 00:07:41,810 --> 00:07:44,810 thorns that grew up with the plant. 135 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:49,960 So simultaneously, along with this plant are these thorns that 136 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,440 begin to choke out the word. And he defines it like this. 137 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:55,400 He said it's and you got to take several of the passages 138 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:57,440 together. There's, I want to say it's Luke 139 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:02,520 4 or Luke 8 and Mark four. It's Mark 8 and Luke 4 and it's 140 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:04,200 Matthew 13. I know that one's right. 141 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:05,760 OK, so check it out for yourself. 142 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,520 The synoptic gosels, you lay them against each other and you 143 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:11,640 get the full picture. And he says that the the thorns 144 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:16,660 are the cares of this life. The deceitfulness of riches and 145 00:08:16,660 --> 00:08:19,780 the worries are are are the pleasures of this life. 146 00:08:20,020 --> 00:08:23,260 So there's cares, and then there's the deceitfulness of 147 00:08:23,260 --> 00:08:25,620 riches. The deceitfulness of riches is 148 00:08:25,620 --> 00:08:28,660 that it will actually solve your worries. 149 00:08:31,420 --> 00:08:33,659 And if you've lived any time at all, you realize that ain't 150 00:08:33,659 --> 00:08:37,220 true. More money comes, more concerns 151 00:08:37,299 --> 00:08:39,620 because you buy more stuff and more stuff breaks. 152 00:08:40,100 --> 00:08:42,380 Kathy and I went into our laundry room this morning. 153 00:08:42,610 --> 00:08:43,929 And there's a leak in the ceiling. 154 00:08:44,890 --> 00:08:47,130 I'm like, oh, nuts. You know, I'm going to have to 155 00:08:47,130 --> 00:08:49,650 go look at that. I'm thank God for my home. 156 00:08:49,650 --> 00:08:51,530 But now I got this concerned back. 157 00:08:51,530 --> 00:08:53,770 We worked at Teen Challenge. I would have called you Roger. 158 00:08:53,970 --> 00:08:56,650 Roger was the maintenance guy. Roger fixed my ceiling. 159 00:08:57,330 --> 00:08:59,370 It was awesome. Now I got cares. 160 00:08:59,730 --> 00:09:03,090 And so that's, you know, it's the cares of this life begin to 161 00:09:03,090 --> 00:09:06,930 choke out, though. And then there's the good soil 162 00:09:06,930 --> 00:09:10,650 that brings forth 60 or 3060 and 100 fold. 163 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:14,680 And again, he's talking about believers here, people who sit 164 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:18,920 under the word. So we see even in that parable, 165 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:21,880 there are some who are able to receive and some who are not. 166 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,640 Some people who will receive and they do great until the trial 167 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:29,520 comes, some people who will pass the test of the trial but will 168 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:34,000 fail in the blessing stage. There are people that will 169 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:36,080 endure a trial and fall away in a blessing. 170 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:41,600 And then there's those who bring forth much fruit. 171 00:09:42,390 --> 00:09:45,550 We need to strive to be that that last company. 172 00:09:45,750 --> 00:09:49,750 Now when Jesus told this parable, he didn't at first tell 173 00:09:49,750 --> 00:09:52,150 him what it meant. And so I've heard people preach 174 00:09:52,150 --> 00:09:55,430 from this passage because you look at Matthew and it he says 175 00:09:55,430 --> 00:09:58,630 to his disciples the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom 176 00:09:58,630 --> 00:10:01,270 have been given to you to not to them, and that he tells them 177 00:10:01,270 --> 00:10:03,870 what this means. And they asked him in there. 178 00:10:03,870 --> 00:10:06,550 They said, Jesus, why do you preach in parables? 179 00:10:07,110 --> 00:10:10,310 And he said I do it so that they will hear and not understand. 180 00:10:11,940 --> 00:10:15,260 Now, I don't know about you, but that troubles me about my Jesus. 181 00:10:16,500 --> 00:10:21,180 When I first read that, I was deeply troubled that Jesus would 182 00:10:21,180 --> 00:10:25,340 intentionally teach in such a way that his audience would not 183 00:10:25,340 --> 00:10:28,340 understand. But you know why he did it? 184 00:10:28,980 --> 00:10:32,620 Because what he was teaching was too valuable to be given to 185 00:10:32,620 --> 00:10:37,860 those who wouldn't treasure it. So some people read Matthew 13 186 00:10:37,860 --> 00:10:40,230 and they say, well, see. There there are those who are 187 00:10:40,230 --> 00:10:42,790 appointed for Revelation and those who aren't the disciples. 188 00:10:42,790 --> 00:10:45,070 They were chosen and so therefore they were appointed to 189 00:10:45,070 --> 00:10:46,590 Revelation. But that's not the whole 190 00:10:46,590 --> 00:10:47,790 picture. You got to look at the other 191 00:10:47,790 --> 00:10:50,590 gospels and you find out they were just as clueless as the 192 00:10:50,590 --> 00:10:55,670 rest because they and the other Gospels, they say to Jesus, we 193 00:10:55,670 --> 00:10:57,430 don't understand what you're talking about. 194 00:10:57,870 --> 00:11:02,270 What is this stuff about soil and and hearts and all that? 195 00:11:02,510 --> 00:11:07,390 And Jesus then begins to unpack to them what he was talking 196 00:11:07,390 --> 00:11:10,330 about. So you need to understand the 197 00:11:10,330 --> 00:11:13,570 knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom weren't just sovereignly 198 00:11:13,570 --> 00:11:16,530 given to some who are the elected some and then withheld 199 00:11:16,530 --> 00:11:19,410 from the others. No, nobody understood what he 200 00:11:19,410 --> 00:11:21,010 said. He taught that way 201 00:11:21,010 --> 00:11:24,010 intentionally. He awakened their hunger by 202 00:11:24,010 --> 00:11:27,530 teaching something they didn't fully understand and the the 203 00:11:27,530 --> 00:11:30,970 understanding of it was only given to those who stuck around 204 00:11:30,970 --> 00:11:34,050 after the meeting and said, Jesus, don't leave us hanging, 205 00:11:34,810 --> 00:11:37,250 we've got to understand what this means. 206 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,240 We want to understand the Kingdom, and Jesus looks at him 207 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:44,160 and said the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom have been 208 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:46,320 given to you. And then he explained it. 209 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,080 He was about to give them the knowledge of the secrets. 210 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:54,320 And we need to understand that happens every Sunday morning all 211 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:57,360 over the world. The teaching of the word goes 212 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:01,920 out and it lands on different types of soil and you get to 213 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:04,000 choose what kind of soil you are. 214 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:07,400 You get to choose if you're going to be a Stony ground here. 215 00:12:08,010 --> 00:12:10,450 Hey, let's let's face it, we've had a lot of traffic on our 216 00:12:10,450 --> 00:12:12,850 heart this week. Are you going to allow your 217 00:12:12,850 --> 00:12:16,130 heart to be hard and not not understand and be content 218 00:12:16,130 --> 00:12:18,570 without understanding? You see, none of them 219 00:12:18,570 --> 00:12:20,330 understood. You could have made the case 220 00:12:20,490 --> 00:12:25,090 that all of them were trodden path hearers initially, but the 221 00:12:25,090 --> 00:12:28,930 disciples took a tiller to their soil and came up to Jesus after 222 00:12:28,930 --> 00:12:31,890 the meeting and said, Lord, we're not content to sit and 223 00:12:31,890 --> 00:12:33,930 listen to you and not understand. 224 00:12:34,090 --> 00:12:38,560 We want to know. So one of the primary criteria 225 00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:41,520 for revelation is that we've got to press in for more. 226 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:44,040 We've got to ask and keep on asking. 227 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:47,400 If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask. 228 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,680 There are a lot of people who lack wisdom, but they don't ask. 229 00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:55,240 The Lord spoke to me about probably 12 years ago. 230 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:57,120 Joel Budd was preaching that morning. 231 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,800 I was sitting on the front row and the Lord began to speak to 232 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:02,840 me. And he said, many of my children 233 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:05,960 live. And ignorance of my principles. 234 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:10,960 And then get frustrated with me about not how how their life is 235 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:15,440 not working, but rather than press in for insight, they get 236 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:19,840 offended. We need to press in and say, 237 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:23,000 God, this thing's not working. And the problems on my end, 238 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:26,480 there's something I don't understand and if we'll press in 239 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:28,320 for insight, God will give it to us. 240 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,600 But the first criteria is hunger. 241 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:33,320 We've got to ask and keep on asking. 242 00:13:33,970 --> 00:13:37,810 And what Solomon gives us here is he gives us a picture of two 243 00:13:37,810 --> 00:13:40,610 types of people. The fact is, every time God 244 00:13:40,610 --> 00:13:43,810 speaks to us, we are at a fork in the road and we have a 245 00:13:43,810 --> 00:13:45,810 decision. We can go this way, which is 246 00:13:45,810 --> 00:13:48,530 called the hardening of the heart, or we can go this way, 247 00:13:48,570 --> 00:13:54,090 which is what the fear of the Lord He juxtaposes these two 248 00:13:54,090 --> 00:13:55,930 dynamics over against each other. 249 00:13:55,930 --> 00:13:58,250 Let me read it again. Blessed is the one who fears the 250 00:13:58,250 --> 00:14:00,610 Lord always. That's the key. 251 00:14:01,620 --> 00:14:04,220 Solomon should have abided by his own preaching. 252 00:14:06,940 --> 00:14:09,460 When my son asked me. And all those young guys leaned 253 00:14:09,460 --> 00:14:11,900 in with a grin on their face when he said, what about 254 00:14:11,900 --> 00:14:13,260 Solomon? What do you do with that one? 255 00:14:14,380 --> 00:14:17,580 This is what I told him, and this is a scary reality. 256 00:14:18,420 --> 00:14:22,540 Solomon broke into supernatural wisdom. 257 00:14:23,580 --> 00:14:25,380 One of the guys was asking about dreams. 258 00:14:25,380 --> 00:14:27,420 This is how we kind of got on this subject. 259 00:14:27,420 --> 00:14:29,420 He was saying what what's the deal with dreams, Pastor? 260 00:14:29,420 --> 00:14:31,930 Is that, you know, he he has a dream. 261 00:14:32,250 --> 00:14:34,490 And this thing, it's like a reality in his life. 262 00:14:34,490 --> 00:14:36,850 What is that? We need to realize that we can 263 00:14:36,850 --> 00:14:40,090 have encounters with God in the night, watch in a dream and wake 264 00:14:40,090 --> 00:14:42,450 up a different person. That's what happened to Solomon. 265 00:14:43,290 --> 00:14:45,250 God can encounter you in a real way. 266 00:14:45,450 --> 00:14:48,810 And there was an impartation that made him a different man. 267 00:14:48,810 --> 00:14:51,210 He woke up the wisest man, whoever lived. 268 00:14:51,890 --> 00:14:54,770 But here's the scary reality, and the answer to that question 269 00:14:56,290 --> 00:14:58,970 that wisdom is not necessarily permanent. 270 00:15:00,970 --> 00:15:04,690 You can step into revelation, but if you don't steward it 271 00:15:04,690 --> 00:15:07,770 well, you can actually lose the insight that you received. 272 00:15:08,770 --> 00:15:11,490 The revelation that once inflamed the passion of your 273 00:15:11,490 --> 00:15:14,810 heart and caused you to fall more in love with Jesus can 274 00:15:14,810 --> 00:15:21,330 become just cynical insight that actually mocks you with its 275 00:15:21,330 --> 00:15:25,370 emptiness. Solomon, the wisest man whoever 276 00:15:25,370 --> 00:15:28,490 lived, wrote his first book, The Song of Songs. 277 00:15:28,980 --> 00:15:33,020 It was a song of a passionate love affair, and it's a picture 278 00:15:33,020 --> 00:15:35,940 of that, that love affair between King Jesus and his 279 00:15:35,940 --> 00:15:37,580 church. It's been preached all down 280 00:15:37,580 --> 00:15:39,540 through church history in that manner, and it's a valid 281 00:15:39,540 --> 00:15:42,620 interpretation. It's about the the heart that is 282 00:15:42,620 --> 00:15:45,500 captured by him. Solomon started out well. 283 00:15:45,660 --> 00:15:48,820 Then he went on to write his much of his books of proverbs 284 00:15:48,820 --> 00:15:52,500 about great wisdom and great insight, including this verse, 285 00:15:52,500 --> 00:15:55,020 telling us that if we will always fear the Lord, we'll be 286 00:15:55,020 --> 00:15:58,420 blessed, but if we harden our heart, we'll be tormented. 287 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:05,000 And Solomon didn't heed his own words because he hardened his 288 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:09,360 heart against some dictates that God had given to the kings said, 289 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:11,040 you're not to amass a bunch of wives. 290 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:15,240 Solomon had 300 wives, 300 motherinlaws. 291 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:17,560 I'm sorry. I got outside the text. 292 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:22,520 I'm sorry. I'm sorry. 303 hundred wives and 293 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:28,340 700 concubines. He said not to amass a lot of 294 00:16:28,340 --> 00:16:30,580 gold and not to amass many horses. 295 00:16:30,860 --> 00:16:33,500 And Solomon hardened his heart on all three of those spots. 296 00:16:34,380 --> 00:16:37,140 And Solomon ended up to drifting away from the Lord. 297 00:16:37,460 --> 00:16:40,980 And he closed his life out writing this depressing book 298 00:16:40,980 --> 00:16:43,980 that many people read and think. I bet people ask me, what is the 299 00:16:43,980 --> 00:16:46,860 deal with the Ecclesiastes? Why did God put that in the 300 00:16:46,860 --> 00:16:48,460 book? You ever wondered that? 301 00:16:48,980 --> 00:16:50,580 If you haven't, you haven't read it yet. 302 00:16:51,940 --> 00:16:54,180 Everything is meaningless under the sun. 303 00:16:54,780 --> 00:16:57,220 You work hard, amass great wealth, and then your kids 304 00:16:57,220 --> 00:16:59,740 squandered at your funeral. I mean, that's pretty much what 305 00:16:59,740 --> 00:17:03,060 it says. It's like, It's like, this is a 306 00:17:03,060 --> 00:17:07,220 bummer book. But the operative phrase, the 307 00:17:07,220 --> 00:17:10,300 key phrase to understanding the book of Ecclesiastes is that 308 00:17:10,300 --> 00:17:14,380 phrase under the sun. It's what philosophers call a 309 00:17:14,380 --> 00:17:17,589 closed system. In other words, you're not going 310 00:17:17,589 --> 00:17:20,109 to look above the sun. You're not going to look outside 311 00:17:20,109 --> 00:17:22,589 of creation for meaning. You're going to try to find 312 00:17:22,589 --> 00:17:25,710 meaning within life itself. And this was written by a man 313 00:17:25,829 --> 00:17:30,310 who had the most beautiful women to be his his partner. 314 00:17:30,310 --> 00:17:34,470 He had more money than any of us can fathom and all the academic 315 00:17:34,470 --> 00:17:37,230 learning that anybody he's was the smartest man that ever 316 00:17:37,230 --> 00:17:38,830 lived. And at the end of his life, he 317 00:17:38,830 --> 00:17:42,350 said everything is meaningless under the sun. 318 00:17:42,700 --> 00:17:45,340 And the revelation that once ministered to his heart 319 00:17:45,340 --> 00:17:49,300 tormented him, because he cut himself off from the life of 320 00:17:49,300 --> 00:17:52,620 God, because he hardened his heart. 321 00:17:55,180 --> 00:17:58,740 Now those of you that weren't here last week, go back and 322 00:17:58,740 --> 00:18:00,420 listen to the podcast from last week. 323 00:18:00,420 --> 00:18:02,980 But let me just I'm going to do about 3 minutes, review 324 00:18:03,500 --> 00:18:07,020 Ephesians Chapter 4. Paul says this in Ephesians 325 00:18:07,020 --> 00:18:10,230 chapter four, he says. You must no longer live, as the 326 00:18:10,230 --> 00:18:13,750 Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 327 00:18:14,470 --> 00:18:20,470 He also uses that phrase in Romans 1, The Futile Thinking. 328 00:18:20,750 --> 00:18:25,190 Both of those passages Ephesians 4 is talking about the 329 00:18:25,190 --> 00:18:28,590 digression and the hardening of the heart and an individual 330 00:18:28,590 --> 00:18:31,510 scale. Romans One is talking about it 331 00:18:31,550 --> 00:18:34,950 on a corporate or national scale, the darkening of the 332 00:18:34,950 --> 00:18:38,690 understanding. And we need to understand we are 333 00:18:38,690 --> 00:18:42,290 living in an hour where the darkening of the understanding 334 00:18:42,530 --> 00:18:47,370 is, is rapidly increasing in our nation where people cannot 335 00:18:47,370 --> 00:18:53,650 connect the moral dots. And the first defense against 336 00:18:53,650 --> 00:18:56,210 that is to make sure it doesn't happen in our own heart as an 337 00:18:56,210 --> 00:19:00,370 individual. So, and Paul says you must no 338 00:19:00,370 --> 00:19:02,770 longer live as the Gentiles doing the futility of their 339 00:19:02,770 --> 00:19:06,020 thinking. Paul wouldn't warn us about 340 00:19:06,020 --> 00:19:07,820 that. He wouldn't tell us we must not 341 00:19:07,820 --> 00:19:11,620 do something that wasn't a possibility of us doing so. 342 00:19:11,620 --> 00:19:14,460 We need to realize this is a possibility for the believer to 343 00:19:14,460 --> 00:19:16,580 slide into this lifestyle, he said. 344 00:19:16,580 --> 00:19:18,860 You must no longer live in the futility of the thinking. 345 00:19:19,020 --> 00:19:22,660 And then he he reverse engineers as he talks about the end result 346 00:19:22,660 --> 00:19:26,340 of this mindset and works his way to the root, the fruit down 347 00:19:26,340 --> 00:19:28,920 to the root, he said. They are darkened in their 348 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:33,000 understanding and separated from the life of God because of or 349 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:37,480 the cause of which is the hardening of their heart do or 350 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,520 or the ignorance that is in them because of the ignorance that is 351 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:43,520 in them due. To the hardening of their heart. 352 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:47,000 And so the root of this thing is the hardening of the heart that 353 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,600 Solomon talks about, that we harden our heart and we put our 354 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:52,680 hand up and say God. I don't want to hear that 355 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:56,440 uncomfortable truth because it will cost me something. 356 00:19:58,090 --> 00:20:02,210 And what we need to realize is ignoring the voice of God will 357 00:20:02,210 --> 00:20:06,410 cost us much more because we can't compartmentalize that 358 00:20:06,410 --> 00:20:09,170 process when we harden our heart in one area. 359 00:20:09,410 --> 00:20:14,290 There is a process that sets in and we not only lose the one 360 00:20:14,290 --> 00:20:18,130 truth we were ignoring ignorant sets in and we begin to lose 361 00:20:18,130 --> 00:20:22,120 touch with the truths we once. And then finally, we're darkened 362 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:25,360 in our understanding. We lose the faculty, the moral 363 00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:27,560 faculty to receive more revelation. 364 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,120 We can't receive instruction from the Lord. 365 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:33,840 It's like we're closed off and people can preach. 366 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:35,880 And it's like, it doesn't make sense to us. 367 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,400 We can't connect the dots and Paul's warning us. 368 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:43,280 It's exactly what Solomon is talking about here. 369 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:45,800 So what is the opposite? The fear of the Lord. 370 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:48,880 The fear of the Lord is when we hear something from the Lord, 371 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:54,080 even though it's costly, we understand that God is weighing. 372 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,240 God is the judge of all the earth. 373 00:20:56,240 --> 00:21:00,120 Remember when Abraham prayed for Sodom and he said will not the 374 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:02,160 judge of all the earth do justly? 375 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,400 It was a rhetorical question. What Abraham was insinuating is 376 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,160 God is intimately involved in the human affairs, and he's 377 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:14,480 evaluating our lives and we there is a reaping and a sewing. 378 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:17,840 The law of the harvest is enforced by the God of the 379 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:22,560 harvest, and that is the basis of the fear of the Lord. 380 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,640 We realize that God is intimately involved, and there 381 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:29,920 is. It's impossible to please God 382 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:32,760 without faith, and faith means that you believe he is the 383 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:35,800 rewarder of those who diligently seek him. 384 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:41,400 There are rewards in the Kingdom that will motivate you. 385 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,320 And if we don't have that concept, I'm telling you this 386 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:49,600 thing. Let me get a little little 387 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:54,960 rabbit trail here, OK? The grace message, the grace of 388 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:59,480 God that gives us salvation is a very real thing. 389 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:03,720 But that same grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness. 390 00:22:04,970 --> 00:22:09,610 And if your revelation, your vision, your understanding of 391 00:22:09,610 --> 00:22:14,330 grace is simply that God allows you to skate by and make it into 392 00:22:14,330 --> 00:22:17,290 the Kingdom, then your revelation of grace is 393 00:22:17,290 --> 00:22:20,210 insufficient. That is, there's an element of 394 00:22:20,210 --> 00:22:22,370 grace. Part of the definition of grace 395 00:22:22,570 --> 00:22:26,450 is that God invites you. He makes provision for you to 396 00:22:26,450 --> 00:22:29,170 come in, that you don't earn your salvation. 397 00:22:30,730 --> 00:22:35,010 But that same grace is to teach us to say no to ungodliness. 398 00:22:35,770 --> 00:22:39,690 And when we lose this idea that there are that God is balancing 399 00:22:39,690 --> 00:22:42,930 the scales, there is discipline from the Lord and there are 400 00:22:42,930 --> 00:22:45,730 rewards from the Lord. And some people, when you talk 401 00:22:45,730 --> 00:22:48,290 to them, they have no frame of reference for this kind of 402 00:22:48,290 --> 00:22:51,890 thing. Rewards Boy, you that sounds 403 00:22:51,890 --> 00:22:54,570 like works. It's right there in the word. 404 00:22:55,850 --> 00:22:57,970 The parables of Jesus are very clear. 405 00:23:00,380 --> 00:23:02,900 The master called his servants. He gave them talents. 406 00:23:03,060 --> 00:23:04,580 Then he went off on a long journey. 407 00:23:04,820 --> 00:23:06,420 They put it to work. One buried it. 408 00:23:06,420 --> 00:23:08,620 He comes back and he wants to settle accounts. 409 00:23:09,460 --> 00:23:12,300 This is not merely talking about the end of the age. 410 00:23:12,500 --> 00:23:15,820 This is talking about a dynamic in the Kingdom that is 411 00:23:15,820 --> 00:23:18,500 continually happening. Jesus would not have told a 412 00:23:18,500 --> 00:23:20,740 parable that was irrelevant to his hearers. 413 00:23:22,140 --> 00:23:24,740 He's talking about this is how God operates. 414 00:23:24,740 --> 00:23:27,870 God will impart to you in a very real sense. 415 00:23:27,870 --> 00:23:30,430 He'll impart and depart. He'll give you something in His 416 00:23:30,430 --> 00:23:32,430 presence. He'll withdraw, and then he'll 417 00:23:32,430 --> 00:23:35,470 see what you're going to do with it and what you do with in His 418 00:23:35,470 --> 00:23:38,070 absence. What He gave you in His presence 419 00:23:38,070 --> 00:23:41,070 will qualify you or disqualify you for the next wave. 420 00:23:41,950 --> 00:23:45,790 And so God will come. And when we invest what He gives 421 00:23:45,790 --> 00:23:47,950 us and steward it well, we get more. 422 00:23:48,110 --> 00:23:49,750 God will give us more revelation. 423 00:23:49,750 --> 00:23:53,360 God will give us more the the resources of the Kingdom. 424 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:55,960 But if we bury those things and we don't treasure them and we 425 00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:00,200 have this mindset, well it's all by grace, then at best we stay 426 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:04,440 immature. And God wants to grow us up in 427 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:08,000 the things of Him. He wants us to understand that 428 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,160 there are rewards in the Kingdom. 429 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:14,000 That's why Hebrews 11, when it defines faith, it says we need, 430 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:19,360 we must understand He is the rewarder of those who diligently 431 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:21,750 seek Him. Is that a part of your frame of 432 00:24:21,750 --> 00:24:25,310 reference when you think of him, that there is a reward at the 433 00:24:25,310 --> 00:24:28,870 end of this seeking? If it's not if your idea as 434 00:24:28,870 --> 00:24:32,310 well, that's kind of arbitrary. God gives blessing to some and 435 00:24:32,310 --> 00:24:34,310 not to others, and that's a sovereign choice. 436 00:24:34,310 --> 00:24:36,150 And we're just down here and life happens to us. 437 00:24:36,270 --> 00:24:39,750 No, there's an engagement of the human heart that we cooperate 438 00:24:39,750 --> 00:24:43,790 with him, that we can posture ourselves for blessing, for 439 00:24:43,790 --> 00:24:46,230 breakthrough, and for wisdom and revelation. 440 00:24:47,270 --> 00:24:51,040 And God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and 441 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:54,520 those who don't are left without the breakthrough they could have 442 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,400 had. Because God, there's an effort 443 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:00,200 that is expressed that actually changes us. 444 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,000 God, God uses that to grow us up. 445 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,920 And we need to understand that this is not a lack of grace. 446 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:09,800 That is actually great cooperating with grace. 447 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,960 Grace working in us, creating a hunger and teaching us to seek 448 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,400 Him. And when we do that, we begin to 449 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:21,420 grow with Him, and so this thing of revelation it. 450 00:25:21,420 --> 00:25:23,100 Starts with the fear of the Lord. 451 00:25:23,620 --> 00:25:28,340 We we yield to His dealings. The fear of the Lord is it. 452 00:25:28,340 --> 00:25:32,020 It lives. It makes decisions today based 453 00:25:32,020 --> 00:25:36,420 on the consequences tomorrow. We weigh everything in light of 454 00:25:36,420 --> 00:25:38,020 the consequences of our decision. 455 00:25:38,740 --> 00:25:41,660 The opposite of the fear of the Lord is the hardening of the 456 00:25:41,660 --> 00:25:44,940 heart. But the the the the mindset is 457 00:25:44,940 --> 00:25:47,020 foolishness. The fool. 458 00:25:47,390 --> 00:25:49,710 He says in his heart, tomorrow we made, you know, eat, drink 459 00:25:49,710 --> 00:25:50,990 and be merry, for tomorrow we die. 460 00:25:51,190 --> 00:25:56,030 Don't worry about how your irresponsible behavior affects 461 00:25:56,030 --> 00:25:58,870 you, because you might not even be alive tomorrow to reap the 462 00:25:58,870 --> 00:26:00,750 consequence. Just live it up for the moment. 463 00:26:01,670 --> 00:26:04,390 Whereas wisdom looks at the long term and it says I'm going to 464 00:26:04,390 --> 00:26:08,310 make the right decisions now, I'm going to make my decisions 465 00:26:08,310 --> 00:26:12,070 now based on the long term results and people who live like 466 00:26:12,070 --> 00:26:14,750 that. There is a slow accrument of 467 00:26:14,750 --> 00:26:17,360 blessing. That begins to snowball in their 468 00:26:17,360 --> 00:26:20,040 life in every area, including your finances. 469 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:26,520 I used to, I used to be in the drug culture and as I got saved, 470 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:28,680 some of my friends, they came out of that. 471 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:31,600 And I remember one guy saying it's just amazing. 472 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:33,920 Now that I'm not doing drugs, I don't know what to do with my 473 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:35,960 money. I actually have more money to 474 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:38,280 spare. The guy had a great job, made 475 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:40,880 really good money, but he blew it all on drugs and alcohol. 476 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:42,880 When he got sober, all of a sudden he had money. 477 00:26:44,070 --> 00:26:49,110 He wasn't even living for the Lord, but he was living wiser 478 00:26:49,110 --> 00:26:52,030 than before, and he was reaping the benefits of that. 479 00:26:52,030 --> 00:26:53,990 God invites us into those things. 480 00:26:54,750 --> 00:27:00,030 So, okay, here's how we posture our heart for revelation, 481 00:27:00,390 --> 00:27:02,910 because revelation is a very real thing. 482 00:27:03,070 --> 00:27:06,150 Not everybody has the same insight into the Word. 483 00:27:06,630 --> 00:27:07,590 Do you? Recognize that? 484 00:27:08,670 --> 00:27:10,150 And that's not some sovereign thing. 485 00:27:10,150 --> 00:27:11,550 Well, well, they're graced for it. 486 00:27:12,500 --> 00:27:16,540 It's an invitation to you. Ask, seek, and knock. 487 00:27:17,140 --> 00:27:19,420 If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask. 488 00:27:20,940 --> 00:27:24,900 Search for wisdom. Cry aloud for understanding. 489 00:27:25,100 --> 00:27:26,820 Search for it as hidden treasure. 490 00:27:26,820 --> 00:27:30,100 Why? Because it is because with 491 00:27:30,100 --> 00:27:33,180 wisdom comes all the other things you long for. 492 00:27:35,460 --> 00:27:39,020 And so God invites us into it. So what do we need to do #1? 493 00:27:39,020 --> 00:27:41,580 We need to have hunger. We need to ask. 494 00:27:42,020 --> 00:27:45,340 If you are content to not have wisdom, you'll live in your 495 00:27:45,340 --> 00:27:48,020 present state. But if we begin to ask, God will 496 00:27:48,020 --> 00:27:51,540 begin to give it to us. The other thing is the purity of 497 00:27:51,540 --> 00:27:53,300 heart. It's interesting when you look 498 00:27:53,300 --> 00:27:57,260 at Solomon, he has this encounter with the Lord in a 499 00:27:57,260 --> 00:28:00,900 dream. And the Lord said ask of me 500 00:28:00,900 --> 00:28:04,460 anything you want. What an opportunity. 501 00:28:04,940 --> 00:28:07,700 What an amazing thing to be told by God. 502 00:28:09,060 --> 00:28:11,620 He's in this dream And the Lord said ask of me anything you 503 00:28:11,620 --> 00:28:14,380 want. And Solomon says, Lord, your 504 00:28:14,380 --> 00:28:19,500 your favor was on my dad and I've inherited his position and 505 00:28:19,500 --> 00:28:22,100 I don't have what it takes. I I'm like a child. 506 00:28:22,100 --> 00:28:25,060 I don't need to know. I don't know how to go in and go 507 00:28:25,060 --> 00:28:27,300 out. I need wisdom to lead your 508 00:28:27,300 --> 00:28:29,380 people. And the Lord was pleased, and he 509 00:28:29,380 --> 00:28:32,780 said, Solomon, because you did not ask for wisdom or fame, or 510 00:28:32,780 --> 00:28:35,520 the death of your enemies. I'm going to give you wisdom. 511 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:37,560 You will be the wisest man that ever lived. 512 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:41,320 None, none will be like you in the on earth or in to come. 513 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:46,080 And then he went on to say, and I will also give you riches and 514 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:48,600 fame. I'm going to give you what you 515 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:50,440 didn't ask for. You know, it's interesting. 516 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,560 Later on, Solomon would write with the fear of the Lord, the 517 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:55,240 fear of the. Lord is the beginning of wisdom 518 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:57,320 and with it comes riches and honor. 519 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:01,560 That wasn't an anomaly. It wasn't a one time thing that 520 00:29:01,810 --> 00:29:05,090 that God tells Solomon well, because you feared the Lord and 521 00:29:05,090 --> 00:29:07,130 because you made the right decision, because your heart was 522 00:29:07,130 --> 00:29:09,370 pure and you didn't ask for things for yourself. 523 00:29:09,370 --> 00:29:12,090 You were really thinking of my Kingdom, that I'm going to do a 524 00:29:12,090 --> 00:29:13,690 special. Thing I'm not doing for anybody 525 00:29:13,690 --> 00:29:16,210 else, I'm going to give you wisdom and honor and riches. 526 00:29:16,930 --> 00:29:22,050 Solomon later on realizes that the very way he answered that 527 00:29:22,050 --> 00:29:26,090 question was a Kingdom principle open to all of us. 528 00:29:29,790 --> 00:29:34,510 That with wisdom comes rich is an honor, and the secret of 529 00:29:34,510 --> 00:29:40,270 wisdom is the purity of heart. If you go to the book of James, 530 00:29:40,550 --> 00:29:44,790 the book of James is one of the primary books of wisdom. 531 00:29:44,790 --> 00:29:48,350 We don't think of it as a wisdom book, but it most definitely is, 532 00:29:49,430 --> 00:29:53,870 he says in chapter one. If any man lacks wisdom, let him 533 00:29:53,870 --> 00:29:57,110 ask. But if he's going to spend it on 534 00:29:57,110 --> 00:30:00,860 himself, he shouldn't expect to receive anything from God. 535 00:30:01,620 --> 00:30:04,980 You see how? Solomon postured himself to pass 536 00:30:04,980 --> 00:30:10,100 that test through his answer later on in the book we see in 537 00:30:10,100 --> 00:30:16,980 chapter 4 It's like verse 1314. He says the wisdom that comes 538 00:30:16,980 --> 00:30:22,300 from heaven is first of all pure, then peace. 539 00:30:22,300 --> 00:30:26,220 Loving, sincere, he goes to this list. 540 00:30:26,510 --> 00:30:33,710 But he is very careful to say the first manifestation of that 541 00:30:33,710 --> 00:30:39,150 wisdom is heart Purity. He says it's first of all pure, 542 00:30:39,150 --> 00:30:41,670 then peace loving. You look in the Beatitudes, it's 543 00:30:41,670 --> 00:30:44,310 in the same order. Blessed is the pure and heart, 544 00:30:44,310 --> 00:30:48,150 for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers. 545 00:30:49,510 --> 00:30:54,470 Same idea, because those two things always come together. 546 00:30:55,330 --> 00:30:59,290 But the wisdom, the the wisdom that comes from heaven is first 547 00:30:59,290 --> 00:31:01,210 of all pure. Blessed are the peacemakers. 548 00:31:01,210 --> 00:31:04,010 They will see God, and you'll see God in every page of the 549 00:31:04,010 --> 00:31:05,930 book. If you can really get your heart 550 00:31:05,930 --> 00:31:10,090 where it's pure before the Lord. That's why James says later on 551 00:31:10,090 --> 00:31:13,370 in that passage, he says purify your hearts. 552 00:31:13,570 --> 00:31:18,130 You doubleminded, weep, mourn and wail, turn your laughter, 553 00:31:18,130 --> 00:31:21,010 mourning and your joy to gloom. And in due season the Lord will 554 00:31:21,010 --> 00:31:22,730 lift you up. What he's talking about is go to 555 00:31:22,730 --> 00:31:26,370 work, really dig down deep and say, God, uproot this stuff in 556 00:31:26,370 --> 00:31:31,530 my life that is keeping you from giving me what I need because 557 00:31:31,530 --> 00:31:33,210 you can't trust me to steward it. 558 00:31:33,210 --> 00:31:36,490 Well, I have a double. There's a double mindedness. 559 00:31:36,650 --> 00:31:39,130 I want your glory. I want you to be glorified, but 560 00:31:39,130 --> 00:31:43,650 I also want some for myself. And so he says, let's go to work 561 00:31:43,650 --> 00:31:45,690 on this. Purify your hearts. 562 00:31:46,410 --> 00:31:49,970 Because the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all 563 00:31:50,090 --> 00:31:51,650 pure. That's what that whole passage 564 00:31:51,650 --> 00:31:55,570 is about. It's about qualifying our heart 565 00:31:55,570 --> 00:31:59,490 for Revelation. John chapter seven. 566 00:31:59,490 --> 00:32:01,410 We see Jesus answer this question. 567 00:32:01,770 --> 00:32:05,170 The Pharisees asked him, John. Or they asked Jesus, Jesus, 568 00:32:05,170 --> 00:32:08,130 Where did you get such insight? Where did you get such wisdom? 569 00:32:08,930 --> 00:32:13,770 And true to form, Jesus answers his question in such a way that 570 00:32:13,770 --> 00:32:15,730 they don't really think he's answering the question. 571 00:32:17,460 --> 00:32:19,180 They said, Where did you get such insight? 572 00:32:19,180 --> 00:32:22,980 He said. I came not to glorify myself, 573 00:32:22,980 --> 00:32:27,540 but the one who sent me, and I guarantee you all the people 574 00:32:27,540 --> 00:32:30,780 that were asking that question are thinking, Jesus, We're not 575 00:32:30,780 --> 00:32:33,980 interested in your motive for learning. 576 00:32:34,260 --> 00:32:39,220 We want to know your source. Where did you get this insight? 577 00:32:39,830 --> 00:32:42,110 And Jesus was giving them the answer. 578 00:32:42,270 --> 00:32:44,950 The secret of my source is my motive. 579 00:32:45,190 --> 00:32:48,270 I'm not here to please myself, but the one who sent me. 580 00:32:48,710 --> 00:32:50,670 That is the essence of heart purity. 581 00:32:51,630 --> 00:32:55,110 If we can get to the place where our heart burns for his glory, 582 00:32:55,990 --> 00:32:59,790 if we can get to the place where we say God, I just want what you 583 00:32:59,790 --> 00:33:02,830 want. There is a dynamic that opens up 584 00:33:02,830 --> 00:33:05,870 that God will begin to give us wisdom and revelation. 585 00:33:06,830 --> 00:33:09,070 But James already warned us in chapter one. 586 00:33:09,310 --> 00:33:14,070 If we ask for wisdom so that we can indulge ourselves, the 587 00:33:14,070 --> 00:33:18,270 heavens are closed over us. But if we can deal with that, if 588 00:33:18,270 --> 00:33:20,910 we can, if we can deal with that impurity of heart, that 589 00:33:20,910 --> 00:33:25,230 doublemindedness, then God will begin to open up to us and give 590 00:33:25,230 --> 00:33:28,910 us revelation. And the foundation of that is 591 00:33:28,910 --> 00:33:34,470 the fear of the Lord. So we can posture ourselves for 592 00:33:34,470 --> 00:33:40,130 wisdom and revelation. We we really need to understand 593 00:33:40,130 --> 00:33:43,050 there there are people who are gifted to teach the word of God 594 00:33:43,050 --> 00:33:46,410 and and I'm grateful for those people that and I've received a 595 00:33:46,410 --> 00:33:48,730 lot from people but John is very clear. 596 00:33:48,730 --> 00:33:51,930 You are not dependent upon teachers. 597 00:33:51,930 --> 00:33:54,970 You don't have he. He actually says you have you 598 00:33:54,970 --> 00:33:57,450 don't have a need of a teacher. You have an anointing that 599 00:33:57,450 --> 00:34:01,170 teaches you. Now we got to balance scripture 600 00:34:01,170 --> 00:34:03,130 with scripture. God gave us teachers so we can 601 00:34:03,130 --> 00:34:06,920 benefit from them and we and it we do well to, you know, avail 602 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:10,639 ourselves to their their gift. But we're not dependent on that. 603 00:34:10,639 --> 00:34:13,400 It's not like, well, there's a people that are anointed for 604 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:14,159 insight. None. 605 00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:17,800 There's the rest of us. It's available to all of us. 606 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,360 The invitation is open. Do you want wisdom and 607 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,000 revelation? Do you want to understand the 608 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,520 word of God? Do you want the the dots to 609 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:30,679 connect Then hunger and thirst after righteousness. 610 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,139 Ask him. If any man lacks wisdom, let him 611 00:34:34,139 --> 00:34:37,780 ask. Begin to ask the Lord, and God 612 00:34:37,780 --> 00:34:39,780 will begin to give to you what you need. 613 00:34:40,060 --> 00:34:43,260 He'll begin to give you that wisdom and that revelation and 614 00:34:43,260 --> 00:34:44,900 some of it. We talked about it last week. 615 00:34:44,900 --> 00:34:47,699 There is asking level and there's seeking level wisdom. 616 00:34:48,300 --> 00:34:50,139 There's some that you're just asking to receive. 617 00:34:50,260 --> 00:34:52,980 There's other, there's the seeking, and it's a process, but 618 00:34:52,980 --> 00:34:56,739 that process will actually build the character in you to qualify 619 00:34:56,739 --> 00:35:00,860 you to steward it. But there's this process that we 620 00:35:00,860 --> 00:35:05,600 enter into this life, this lifelong student. 621 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:09,040 You know, being studious the rest of our life, saying God, I 622 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:18,140 want to understand your Kingdom. I don't know what you I I feel 623 00:35:18,140 --> 00:35:21,500 that this morning there is an invitation from God. 624 00:35:21,700 --> 00:35:25,180 Some of you you there are things you're longing to look into. 625 00:35:25,180 --> 00:35:27,500 Let let me see if I can find this document. 626 00:35:27,500 --> 00:35:30,140 I just told you what the Lord spoke to me a number of years 627 00:35:30,140 --> 00:35:31,020 ago. I. 628 00:35:31,020 --> 00:35:33,180 Doubt if I'll be able to find it, but I'm going to try. 629 00:35:33,980 --> 00:35:39,950 Because essentially what he was telling me is that too many of 630 00:35:39,950 --> 00:35:45,150 us live frustrated when actually the frustration from our 631 00:35:45,150 --> 00:35:49,350 circumstances needs to provoke us to press in for greater 632 00:35:49,350 --> 00:35:51,710 answers. If your life ain't working, I 633 00:35:51,710 --> 00:35:53,510 know that's not good grammar, but it's good preaching. 634 00:35:53,670 --> 00:35:57,830 If your life ain't working, it's because you need greater 635 00:35:57,830 --> 00:36:01,530 revelation and God longs to give it to you. 636 00:36:01,530 --> 00:36:04,690 He's not a bad father that's just down there tormenting you 637 00:36:04,690 --> 00:36:07,050 with your frustration. And you'll, you know it'll lift. 638 00:36:07,050 --> 00:36:11,370 When you get to heaven, God is wanting you to press in for 639 00:36:11,370 --> 00:36:16,850 Revelation and ask him for that what you need, and God will give 640 00:36:16,850 --> 00:36:18,890 it to you. But often what He does is He 641 00:36:18,890 --> 00:36:22,890 withholds it from us because we're not yet ready to hear what 642 00:36:22,890 --> 00:36:26,560 He needs to say. And that pursuit there, there is 643 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:29,760 a there is a hunger and a pursuit of God that will cause 644 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:31,520 us to begin to throw things overboard. 645 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:32,840 Okay. I'll get rid of this, and I'll 646 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,320 get rid of that. Lord, I just want more of you. 647 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:39,200 And that process purifies us so we can qualify that for that 648 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:43,120 greater revelation. But God is God is too great. 649 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:44,280 See, someone's crying out back there. 650 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:45,200 They're already getting the message. 651 00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:49,320 There's there's greater revelation that's available to 652 00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:55,230 us if we will ask for it. But God is too good a steward to 653 00:36:55,230 --> 00:36:57,310 just give it to people. Who won't value it? 654 00:36:58,550 --> 00:37:01,950 And in that sense, he will not give it to us. 655 00:37:01,950 --> 00:37:05,670 Before our time, Solomon had qualified for wisdom. 656 00:37:06,230 --> 00:37:10,190 But here's the scary part. You can receive wisdom and not 657 00:37:10,270 --> 00:37:14,980 maintain it. Let's land it with this Solomon 658 00:37:15,180 --> 00:37:18,380 in in Proverbs chapter. I want to say it's six and 659 00:37:18,380 --> 00:37:20,540 seven. He's got that little scenario 660 00:37:20,540 --> 00:37:22,940 where he's talking about. He looked out his window and 661 00:37:22,940 --> 00:37:27,900 there was a a fool, a foolish youth and he went down by the 662 00:37:27,900 --> 00:37:32,820 way of the immoral woman's house and he he went by her house and 663 00:37:32,820 --> 00:37:35,740 she was standing on the street corner and she seduced him in. 664 00:37:36,620 --> 00:37:39,500 And she said my husband is on a long business trip. 665 00:37:39,660 --> 00:37:42,460 He won't be. He won't be around for a a while 666 00:37:42,460 --> 00:37:44,220 here. And what she was doing is she 667 00:37:44,220 --> 00:37:45,860 was attacking the fear of the Lord. 668 00:37:45,860 --> 00:37:48,020 This thing in him, there's going to be consequences. 669 00:37:48,020 --> 00:37:50,580 What if I get caught and she's trying to seduce and we'll get 670 00:37:50,580 --> 00:37:53,820 away with it. She's trying to remove that 671 00:37:53,820 --> 00:37:56,460 barrier of the fear of the Lord, which was a safeguard in his 672 00:37:56,460 --> 00:37:59,060 heart. And here he was seduced and it 673 00:37:59,060 --> 00:38:03,460 said her mouth is the opening to the grave and many are been 674 00:38:03,460 --> 00:38:07,980 destroyed by going in her door. It's a terrifying picture. 675 00:38:08,220 --> 00:38:12,220 And he says he gives that as the picture of foolishness. 676 00:38:12,740 --> 00:38:16,540 Standing in the high point of the city advertising. 677 00:38:16,540 --> 00:38:21,940 It swears there is a seduction to sin that is bold and brazen 678 00:38:21,940 --> 00:38:25,780 and tries to lure a sin. And then he gives this picture 679 00:38:25,780 --> 00:38:28,740 of wisdom being a female. I find it really interesting 680 00:38:28,740 --> 00:38:31,900 that there's these two females. One is foolishness, this is 681 00:38:31,900 --> 00:38:36,220 Solomon, one is foolishness, and one is wisdom, and wisdom is 682 00:38:36,220 --> 00:38:40,340 more. Discreet wisdom is like a lady. 683 00:38:41,140 --> 00:38:44,960 You have to win her. Years ago, when I was single, I 684 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:47,400 I have the works of Shakespeare. I've never read it, but it 685 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:49,640 looked good on my shelf and so I pulled it down. 686 00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:52,360 One day I opened it up. I'm a single guy and this is the 687 00:38:52,360 --> 00:38:55,520 one line I know. From Shakespeare, it says she is 688 00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:57,160 beautiful, so she is to be wooed. 689 00:38:57,480 --> 00:38:59,320 She is a woman, so she is to be won. 690 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:02,200 I put it back and I thought that guy knows women. 691 00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:09,080 It's an amazing quote. There is when, when there is 692 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:12,450 something about. The feminine that needs to be 693 00:39:12,450 --> 00:39:18,570 pursued even at this the smallest expression the sperm 694 00:39:18,570 --> 00:39:22,330 and the egg. The sperm goes to the egg, not 695 00:39:22,330 --> 00:39:26,010 the other way around. The sperm pursues the egg. 696 00:39:26,010 --> 00:39:27,570 The egg just sits in the waiting room, waiting. 697 00:39:27,730 --> 00:39:30,290 Hi boys. You know she's got her fixing 698 00:39:30,290 --> 00:39:31,570 her hair, you know, looking pretty. 699 00:39:33,730 --> 00:39:36,010 And it's a picture of righteousness. 700 00:39:36,930 --> 00:39:41,890 Righteousness has to be won. Wisdom has to be one. 701 00:39:41,890 --> 00:39:46,930 You have to pursue wisdom, but foolishness will pursue you and 702 00:39:46,930 --> 00:39:50,450 promise you the world and leave you empty and destroyed. 703 00:39:51,650 --> 00:39:54,130 And here's the scary thing. I've been married to this 704 00:39:54,130 --> 00:39:56,730 beautiful woman on the front row for 34 years. 705 00:39:57,410 --> 00:40:01,410 I'm looking for a conga 34 years, 34 years, a week and a 706 00:40:01,410 --> 00:40:03,650 day ago. And you know what? 707 00:40:04,490 --> 00:40:09,090 I still have to pursue her. I didn't just win her 30-4 years 708 00:40:09,090 --> 00:40:11,450 ago. You know, I'm Norwegian and 709 00:40:11,450 --> 00:40:14,090 Norwegians are usually known for not being real expressive. 710 00:40:14,330 --> 00:40:16,610 I heard about this Norwegian or this lady. 711 00:40:16,610 --> 00:40:19,290 She was married for 35 years and she told her husband, She said 712 00:40:19,290 --> 00:40:21,690 you never say you love me. The only time you ever told me 713 00:40:21,690 --> 00:40:22,770 you love me was on our wedding day. 714 00:40:22,770 --> 00:40:25,930 And he said, well, woman, I told you that day and if I ever 715 00:40:25,930 --> 00:40:27,330 change my mind, I'll let you know. 716 00:40:28,090 --> 00:40:30,050 Thought that was okay. That ain't going to work. 717 00:40:31,410 --> 00:40:34,050 Wisdom has to continually be pursued. 718 00:40:34,290 --> 00:40:37,330 Solomon courted wisdom and broke into wisdom. 719 00:40:37,450 --> 00:40:39,370 But he didn't maintain the marriage. 720 00:40:39,810 --> 00:40:42,210 He didn't keep the relationship with wisdom. 721 00:40:42,330 --> 00:40:44,690 Wisdom is precious. It's to be guarded. 722 00:40:45,010 --> 00:40:48,130 Proverbs chapter 2 says search for it as hidden treasure. 723 00:40:48,370 --> 00:40:51,650 If it really is treasure, you will treasure it, You will guard 724 00:40:51,650 --> 00:40:53,610 it. You will continue to pursue 725 00:40:53,610 --> 00:40:56,010 those things and you won't. Let it out of your sight. 726 00:40:57,290 --> 00:41:01,170 The things of God. We can break into wisdom, or we 727 00:41:01,170 --> 00:41:04,290 and but we can harden our heart and actually lose what we once 728 00:41:04,290 --> 00:41:07,090 had. It's called ignorance setting 729 00:41:07,090 --> 00:41:13,360 in, according to Ephesians 4. So we need to pursue wisdom and 730 00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:17,480 we never outgrow the courtship. We still we need to value 731 00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:19,320 wisdom. I was talking to you guys. 732 00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:22,120 Remember Dean Briggs? I was talking to Dean Briggs a 733 00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:25,080 while back and we were talking about this dynamic and I found 734 00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:28,200 it interesting, He said we were talking about how the Lord, it 735 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:30,360 seems like the Lord will bring you back to a truth. 736 00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:33,620 You ever notice that you'll be studying something and then you 737 00:41:33,620 --> 00:41:36,140 find yourself three years later and you're studying that same 738 00:41:36,140 --> 00:41:38,140 thing, but it's deeper this time. 739 00:41:38,300 --> 00:41:40,060 It's like he's speaking to you, got it again. 740 00:41:40,220 --> 00:41:42,980 Then three years later, it's like, wow, there's more here. 741 00:41:43,540 --> 00:41:45,940 And he was talking. He said, I I think it's like 742 00:41:45,940 --> 00:41:47,860 going up a mountain. You're ascending up the 743 00:41:47,860 --> 00:41:50,900 mountain, You're you're in the same spot, but you got a higher 744 00:41:50,900 --> 00:41:52,820 vantage point. I thought, man, that is so good. 745 00:41:53,300 --> 00:41:56,460 Then this week I was listening to Dutch Sheets and he was 746 00:41:56,460 --> 00:41:59,340 talking about how the Lord recently told him, I I've 747 00:41:59,340 --> 00:42:02,520 brought you full circle. But then in this picture the 748 00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:04,200 Lord gave him, he said full circle. 749 00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:06,600 He's on the same place. But then the Lord gave him the 750 00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:10,280 three, the 3D vision. And he realized, yeah, he'd gone 751 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:12,400 all the way around the circle, but he'd gone higher. 752 00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:15,320 And that is how the Lord operates. 753 00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:19,280 The Lord will revisit those truths and he will build on the 754 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:21,920 truths you once had. But you've got to maintain and 755 00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:24,960 guard those truths so you don't have to keep learning the same 756 00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:27,600 old lessons again and again and again. 757 00:42:28,500 --> 00:42:31,140 The writer of Hebrew says, I don't want to have to lay again 758 00:42:31,140 --> 00:42:34,260 the foundation. That's immaturity. 759 00:42:34,260 --> 00:42:38,220 We should be beyond this. He says, let us move on to 760 00:42:38,220 --> 00:42:41,980 maturity. There is so much more the Lord 761 00:42:41,980 --> 00:42:43,660 has for us. Let me land it. 762 00:42:43,660 --> 00:42:45,140 Go ahead and stand. So, you know I'm going to quit. 763 00:42:45,380 --> 00:42:49,260 Let me land it with this, what I felt this morning. 764 00:42:49,260 --> 00:42:53,020 And and I was just really. Groping about, trying to figure 765 00:42:53,020 --> 00:42:56,340 out where to jump into this. But there is such a thing as 766 00:42:56,340 --> 00:43:00,100 individual wisdom and revelation, and there is 767 00:43:00,260 --> 00:43:03,660 deposits of wisdom and revelation that God will give to 768 00:43:03,660 --> 00:43:07,620 a corporate group of people, to a tribe of people, to a local 769 00:43:07,620 --> 00:43:10,420 church, because it fits with their assignment. 770 00:43:10,660 --> 00:43:13,940 And only in stewarding those truths can they move into what 771 00:43:13,940 --> 00:43:17,620 God has for them. And there is more the Lord has 772 00:43:17,620 --> 00:43:20,620 for us as a church. There are things he wants to 773 00:43:20,620 --> 00:43:25,150 teach us, but we've got to have our heart positioned because he 774 00:43:25,150 --> 00:43:29,150 will withhold from us unless we have the hunger enough to really 775 00:43:29,150 --> 00:43:32,150 begin to pull on that. There are there's some of you. 776 00:43:32,350 --> 00:43:35,910 You are so hungry. It's like the Lord has you on a 777 00:43:35,910 --> 00:43:38,870 new track there. It's like there's all kinds of 778 00:43:38,870 --> 00:43:40,550 new things are popping in your head. 779 00:43:40,790 --> 00:43:42,950 There's there's new things you're bumping into, and you're 780 00:43:42,950 --> 00:43:45,510 saying I didn't know this even existed. 781 00:43:46,630 --> 00:43:50,590 And if you will just begin to ask him, then there is so much 782 00:43:50,590 --> 00:43:55,510 more that hunger itself is a sign God's already working. 783 00:43:56,310 --> 00:44:01,030 It is the invitation Jesus said in Matthew 13. 784 00:44:01,870 --> 00:44:05,190 He said when he told the disciples, I hide it from them 785 00:44:05,190 --> 00:44:08,510 so they don't understand. He said because if they see it, 786 00:44:08,710 --> 00:44:12,110 they can have it. Think about that. 787 00:44:13,470 --> 00:44:16,830 As you begin to see certain things, it's because God is 788 00:44:16,830 --> 00:44:20,570 wanting you to step. Into a new reality and you step 789 00:44:20,570 --> 00:44:23,050 into and there's a new reality in the Kingdom. 790 00:44:23,050 --> 00:44:26,290 That was a game changer. But you've got to go after that. 791 00:44:26,290 --> 00:44:30,130 And too often we are satisfied with little crumbs. 792 00:44:30,530 --> 00:44:32,650 God gives us a little truth and we're like, oh man, that's 793 00:44:32,650 --> 00:44:34,570 amazing. And we get distracted by the 794 00:44:34,570 --> 00:44:37,250 thorns of this life and we don't go deeper. 795 00:44:37,250 --> 00:44:39,530 And there's so much more he wants to give us. 796 00:44:40,410 --> 00:44:43,610 And I believe there's things that God wants to roll out to us 797 00:44:43,610 --> 00:44:48,170 as a congregation that become part of the the working fabric 798 00:44:48,170 --> 00:44:50,900 of this church. Because there's things he wants 799 00:44:50,900 --> 00:44:54,140 us to move into, but we're going to have to come up to a higher 800 00:44:54,140 --> 00:44:56,740 level in the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom. 801 00:44:58,820 --> 00:45:03,580 So, Father, we just pray right now, God, that you'd awaken our 802 00:45:03,580 --> 00:45:09,060 hearts. God, we ask you to forgive us. 803 00:45:09,860 --> 00:45:12,060 Lord, we confess before your throne. 804 00:45:12,380 --> 00:45:18,510 We are so easily distracted. Like little children, a squirrel 805 00:45:18,510 --> 00:45:21,990 runs by the window, and we're off looking at that. 806 00:45:22,270 --> 00:45:24,190 We're distracted from what you're doing. 807 00:45:25,230 --> 00:45:28,710 Lord, we're asking that you would create in us such a hunger 808 00:45:29,590 --> 00:45:35,950 that the whirlwinds around us cannot take our gaze off of you, 809 00:45:36,670 --> 00:45:46,270 your Kingdom and your word. I just feel it very. 810 00:45:46,270 --> 00:45:48,110 Strongly there's some of you and Elliot. 811 00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:52,200 There there are things that God has begun to deal with you 812 00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:54,880 about. There there's things that you're 813 00:45:55,360 --> 00:45:58,200 it's like lately there you, you begun to realize, man, there's 814 00:45:58,200 --> 00:46:00,640 more in the Kingdom than I realized. 815 00:46:01,120 --> 00:46:04,120 And it's God's doing. And there's an invitation to 816 00:46:04,120 --> 00:46:05,880 you. There's you. 817 00:46:05,880 --> 00:46:07,760 Just go after. I'm telling you, God's going to 818 00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:11,240 open some things up to you. There are questions you have, 819 00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:15,840 and those questions are given to you by the Lord that quest. 820 00:46:16,410 --> 00:46:18,570 There, there's a quest. He's taking you on through the 821 00:46:18,570 --> 00:46:21,890 questions that he's going to begin to fill out some things 822 00:46:21,890 --> 00:46:26,130 that you've longed to know. And that fascination is not a 823 00:46:26,130 --> 00:46:28,250 side issue. It's not you're not getting 824 00:46:28,250 --> 00:46:30,690 distracted by minor things. It is the thing. 825 00:46:30,810 --> 00:46:33,290 Okay. It is the quest in the Kingdom. 826 00:46:33,570 --> 00:46:36,250 And I believe that's for. But I believe there's others of 827 00:46:36,250 --> 00:46:38,410 you in this room. There are things. 828 00:46:38,410 --> 00:46:40,050 There's an awakening in your heart. 829 00:46:40,050 --> 00:46:42,770 There's just this hunger, and sometimes it's like an 830 00:46:42,770 --> 00:46:44,530 excitement. You just want to burst. 831 00:46:44,530 --> 00:46:45,810 You want it. You want more. 832 00:46:45,970 --> 00:46:48,850 I'm telling you that is the invitation from heaven. 833 00:46:51,130 --> 00:46:55,250 Seek for understanding. Cry aloud for Revelation. 834 00:46:55,930 --> 00:46:59,250 I believe that me, that means what it says. 835 00:46:59,650 --> 00:47:02,930 Cry aloud. There's something about the 836 00:47:02,930 --> 00:47:06,290 passionate ignition of your heart saying, God, I've got to 837 00:47:06,290 --> 00:47:13,710 know, sometimes we just need to lose our decorum and just go 838 00:47:13,710 --> 00:47:17,030 after this thing. And the Lord will reward that 839 00:47:17,230 --> 00:47:21,510 because he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. 840 00:47:25,870 --> 00:47:29,710 If there's been a a growing hunger this this isn't for 841 00:47:29,710 --> 00:47:33,790 everyone I don't think. But if there's been this growing 842 00:47:33,790 --> 00:47:37,190 hunger of late, just this fascination, this hunger there, 843 00:47:37,190 --> 00:47:40,070 it's like there's things that have been been gripping you, 844 00:47:40,150 --> 00:47:42,710 ideas and concepts and things and you've been asking, Lord, 845 00:47:42,710 --> 00:47:45,590 how does this fit together? And I feel like for some of you 846 00:47:45,590 --> 00:47:47,830 that it's even been this question, man, I don't know am I 847 00:47:47,830 --> 00:47:49,910 getting off. And now I'm telling you that is 848 00:47:49,910 --> 00:47:52,550 how the Kingdom works. God will lead you along through 849 00:47:52,550 --> 00:47:55,670 truth. He takes you on a quest and if 850 00:47:55,670 --> 00:47:58,310 that's you it it's been, there's been this ravenous hunger that's 851 00:47:58,310 --> 00:48:00,110 awakened. I even feel like there's some of 852 00:48:00,110 --> 00:48:03,780 you about six months ago that happened and it began to die 853 00:48:03,780 --> 00:48:06,380 down through the busyness, and the Lord wants to reignite that. 854 00:48:06,380 --> 00:48:08,900 This morning, there's a fresh invitation to you. 855 00:48:09,220 --> 00:48:11,620 If that's you this morning, I'm going to ask you to come up in 856 00:48:11,620 --> 00:48:12,580 the altar. We just want to. 857 00:48:12,740 --> 00:48:14,140 I want to pray over you right now. 858 00:48:14,140 --> 00:48:16,220 If that's you there. You know that there's this 859 00:48:16,220 --> 00:48:17,780 hunger that's been stirring in you. 860 00:48:17,780 --> 00:48:22,340 And I want to tell you that that hunger itself is a gift from 861 00:48:22,340 --> 00:48:24,060 God. It's at. 862 00:48:24,060 --> 00:48:25,860 The fact is that we even want him. 863 00:48:25,980 --> 00:48:27,500 Martin Luther, the great reformer. 864 00:48:27,500 --> 00:48:29,500 He said it takes God to love God. 865 00:48:29,980 --> 00:48:33,300 The fact that we even hunger him and want him at all is an work 866 00:48:33,300 --> 00:48:36,620 of His grace. He is so gracious to make us 867 00:48:36,620 --> 00:48:39,020 hungry. Thanks for listening to our 868 00:48:39,020 --> 00:48:40,740 podcast. If you'd like to help more 869 00:48:40,740 --> 00:48:43,380 people hear this message, you can get the word out by 870 00:48:43,380 --> 00:48:45,660 subscribing and sharing it on social media. 871 00:48:46,180 --> 00:48:48,540 If you'd like to support the ministries of Heartland Church, 872 00:48:48,740 --> 00:48:52,300 you can do so at Heartland Church, online.com/give.