1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:03,240 Hey, Port City family and friends. 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:05,840 It's Isaac here with Pastor Tanner. 3 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:08,560 We're going to be talking a little bit about this new 4 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:10,720 serving series that our church is going to be starting in the 5 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,520 spring called Turn Back My People, which is going to be 6 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:16,400 walking through the minor profits. 7 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,040 So, Pastor T, how are you doing? I'm doing great, man. 8 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:22,440 I'm here with you. We got a Bible open. 9 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:24,920 We got coffee. We're talking Word of God, Minor 10 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,160 prophets, poor city, family and friends. 11 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,240 City of Norfolk. What could be better? 12 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:31,560 Let's get it. All right, so to kind of kick 13 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:35,120 off the conversation, why don't you just tell us what the minor 14 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:36,680 prophets are? Yeah. 15 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,480 I got you. So they refer to 12 books in the 16 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:43,080 Old Testament that are shorter. They used to go all together 17 00:00:43,160 --> 00:00:46,160 called the Book of the 12 and they're not called the minor 18 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:47,720 prophets because they're less important. 19 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:49,480 They're not minor in significance. 20 00:00:49,480 --> 00:00:52,440 They're minor in length in comparison to the major 21 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,720 prophets, which are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, which are 22 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:59,400 very long, Daniel, those guys. So they're they're super 23 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:01,680 important in the life of Israel and they're contemporaries of 24 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,160 those major prophets. They just are straight up 25 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:05,600 shorter. And it covers the time period of 26 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,560 like 850 to 400 BC, give or take. 27 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:10,720 That's super helpful, super helpful. 28 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,800 So I don't know about you, but when I reflect on the minor 29 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:18,040 prophets and just my Bible reading in general, I realized 30 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,240 that I haven't read them a lot. And do you think that's a common 31 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,760 thing for most Christians? And if so, why don't we read the 32 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,680 minor Prophets a lot? Yeah, I definitely agree. 33 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:29,360 That was my experience for a long time. 34 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:33,720 I think the two big reasons I'll see in myself and others, You 35 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,720 know, maybe you relate to our ignorance and intimidation. 36 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,240 And by ignorance, I just mean just straight up, we don't 37 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,200 really get what's going on in them. 38 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,840 Like the typical Bible in a year, kind of reading 39 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:48,880 experiences. Like we come out hot, we're 40 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:50,680 reading Genesis, we're reading Exodus. 41 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:52,560 We, you know, we're getting through those stories. 42 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:54,640 Maybe we're struggling and Leviticus or Numbers or 43 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:56,960 whatever. We kind of get Joshua. 44 00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:58,200 We struggle at the end of Joshua. 45 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:02,040 We like Samuel and after David and Samuel, they're sort of just 46 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,520 a, a Cliff we fall off, you know, like we don't understand 47 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:08,160 the books of Kings and Chronicles. 48 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:13,560 And in a lot of ways, those prophetic books are like next to 49 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,400 parallel with the Kings and Chronicles timeline. 50 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,680 And so because there's such a, a gap in our understanding of the 51 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,680 history and the story and where it fits in the Bible, we're just 52 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:25,480 intimidated. So there's some dope one liners 53 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,200 from the prophets that we know, but we don't really get what's 54 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:30,720 going on. We're just kind of we're just 55 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:32,880 ignorant. And that ignorance does lead to 56 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,320 secondly, intimidation. I think anytime something's 57 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:39,120 written more poetically, we're, we're intimidated by that. 58 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,640 You know, in our, in our culture, we're just very linear. 59 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:46,520 We're very, you know, we want quick, fast, easy to understand 60 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:48,680 things. And poetry just kind of by 61 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:50,920 design hits you at an angle, not straight up. 62 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:53,560 And it just makes you think, it makes you ponder, it gives you 63 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,560 images. And so, and then God's just 64 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:58,440 intensity in it. And we're like, whoa. 65 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:00,160 And like, how does that apply to me today? 66 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:01,520 Like does this apply to me today? 67 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,000 So you Add all that together and it's just sort of, I'm just 68 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:06,160 going to read Exodus, you know what I mean? 69 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,320 So yeah. So true. 70 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:13,000 So kind of set the stage for us a little bit as as we begin to 71 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:16,720 think about this series and the minor prophets, what do we need 72 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,360 to go to know to kind of grasp what is happening in these 73 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:21,760 books? Yeah, for sure. 74 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,040 I would say three things. First, a story. 75 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,280 Second, a timeline. Third, a lens. 76 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,440 A story, a timeline, a lens. Let's start with a story. 77 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,840 I think the Old Testament story, the more we can just really 78 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:34,520 articulate that to ourselves and be able to say it out loud, like 79 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,520 what is the Old Testament story in 60 seconds or less, the 80 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,280 better. So here it is. 81 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,760 God created humanity, fell into sin. 82 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,320 God wanted everybody back to himself. 83 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:51,240 So to get everybody back, he chooses one family through whom 84 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:54,000 he will showcase His goodness through. 85 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:59,200 He buys them out of slavery in Egypt to be His people, in His 86 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,720 place with His law. His goal was to get to the 87 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:07,400 nations, for them to come to Him through His people. 88 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,200 So nations come to him through them, but they blew it. 89 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:14,240 They did not showcase His goodness to the nations. 90 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:18,800 Instead, they conformed to the nations, became like them. 91 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:23,440 And so the result of that is for God's people to go into exile, 92 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,120 to be scattered amongst the nations. 93 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:29,320 And the Old Testament ends with some fragments of good things, 94 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:33,240 some hope, but just just a broken picture of what God 95 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,960 envisioned his people being. And we are left waiting for a 96 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:39,680 better Redeemer. And that story I just shared, 97 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,320 many of us understand that, that we fell on the sin, the exodus, 98 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:45,800 you know, God bought his people. We get the the law of the 99 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:49,120 templates, all that, but we just struggle from there. 100 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:51,640 And I think what we've got to understand is like the whole 101 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,360 point of the Exodus was to bring his people out. 102 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,080 And once they're free, they get the law, right? 103 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,080 Like now that you're mine and I own you, you're my possession. 104 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,120 I bought you with my blood, with the blood of a lamb. 105 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:07,080 Hey, Passover. And here's the law, Sinai, 106 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:08,800 right? So now that you've got the law, 107 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:12,120 I'm a put you in my place. I'm going to drive the nation's 108 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,200 out, put you in my land. And with my law, you will 109 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:19,640 showcase who I am, the freedom in me, the the value I have, the 110 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:22,800 value of human life, sanctity, all these things, dignity. 111 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,840 And you're going to do it so well that the nations will flock 112 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:29,480 to you. They will come to get in on the 113 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,240 action of Yahweh being their God through you. 114 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:37,080 But all the while God is dripping warnings. 115 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,160 And warnings are so kind. That's part of what we have to 116 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:41,200 understand about the prophetic genres. 117 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,640 Every good parent warrants their kids don't run in the road. 118 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:45,480 You know, like that's loving, right? 119 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:50,960 And all along think Leviticus 18, go read Deuteronomy 2728. 120 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:55,440 God is just dripping. If you fail in this vocation of 121 00:05:55,440 --> 00:06:00,280 being my people in my place, if you become like the nation's, 122 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:04,440 the land is going to spit you out. 123 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:06,920 Like the idea is like I'm driving the nation's out so you 124 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,440 can be distinct and different. So the nation's will come to you 125 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:11,560 there. But if you become the nation's 126 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,200 there, you got to go. You know, that's sort of the, 127 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:18,120 the, the tone of it all. And over time, that's exactly 128 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:20,800 what happened. Obviously there were people in 129 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,680 Israel who loved the Lord, but by and large, as represented by 130 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,200 the kings on down, the people of God were just corrupt. 131 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:30,320 They forgot God's law. I mean, there's just so many 132 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:33,480 instances by the time you get to Josiah, they found a book like 133 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:35,720 the priests find the, the, the Bible, right? 134 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,480 They find the law and they go, we found this book and they're 135 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:39,760 like, they don't even know what it is. 136 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:42,280 You know, like that's how far things have fallen. 137 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:45,400 So that's the story we need. Second, we need a timeline. 138 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:48,560 So timeline wise, there's some big anchors. 139 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:50,160 So I'll talk around it and then give you the anchors. 140 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:54,560 The end you know, post David Solomon reigns over United 141 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:57,840 Kingdom and he's he's coming off the scene. 142 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:01,200 He's on the scene around 950, OK, when his son takes over 143 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:03,400 Rehoboam. He does a terrible job. 144 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,320 He's a harsh ruler. He tries to flex his strength 145 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:10,840 and the Kingdom splits, OK, it splits around 9:30 and it splits 146 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,840 into Israel and Judah. I always remember I comes before 147 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:15,720 J. So Israel's up north, Judah's 148 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:20,040 down South, OK, it splits. And from there, that is, by the 149 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:24,080 way, why first Kings and second Kings is structured different 150 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:26,400 than one of two Chronicles. The kings are following both. 151 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:28,080 They're following Israel and Judah. 152 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:29,840 OK. That's why there's so many kings 153 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:31,840 and there's so many during the reign of, during the reign of, 154 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:33,960 during the reign of. But then in Chronicles, it's 155 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:36,160 just following Judah. It's just highlighting the 156 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:40,480 Davidic line which goes through Judah and the Book of Kings is, 157 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:43,760 is following both like the, the whole story of all the people of 158 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:46,280 God. And So what you got to remember 159 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:50,480 is that it splits around 9:30 in 722 BC. 160 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:53,760 The Assyrians take over Israel in the north, OK. 161 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:59,280 And then Judah falls about 140 years later in 586 BC to the 162 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,720 Babylonians. OK, Then you've got around 400. 163 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,040 There's some slight renewal revival type stuff when the 164 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:07,680 Persians are raining. And that's where you've got to 165 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:11,120 think books like Ezra, Nehemiah, that kind of stuff, temple 166 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,280 rebuilding. And then after 400, it's just 167 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,520 silence till Jesus. OK, so let me recap United 168 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:22,560 Kingdom 930 from Solomon Falls. OK, we split Israel, Judah. 169 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,440 Then you've got Israel in the north falls and 7:22 to the 170 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:29,200 Assyrians. Then you've got Judah falls to 171 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:33,679 the Babylonians at 586, slight revival stuff around 400 in the 172 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,159 Persians. And then it's ghost silence for 173 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:37,760 400 years. So that's the timeline. 174 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:39,520 We got the story, we got the timeline. 175 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:42,840 Third, we need a lens. Now that you know the story in 176 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,760 the timeline, the the prophetic books take on a whole different 177 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,360 shape. OK, what happens is they're all 178 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,640 written at different times. So some of them are pre Assyrian 179 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:54,760 fall. So it's basically they're 180 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,440 written to both the north and the South begging them to 181 00:08:57,440 --> 00:08:59,440 change. Some are written in between 182 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:01,320 Assyrian takeover and Babylonian. 183 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:02,720 Some are written post Babylonian. 184 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:07,240 But the point of all of them God is just begging them to turn 185 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,960 back to him, if you will. Just remember that I delivered 186 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,480 you from slavery if you will. Just be my possession. 187 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:16,800 Be my people. And what you'll find in the 188 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:21,760 prophetic books is that there being His people like belonging 189 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:25,000 to him, loving him is so synonymous with them. 190 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:28,240 Imaging him like you will be full of good works. 191 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:31,160 You will be justice will roll down from the hills like Martin 192 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:33,480 Luther King got that from you know, got that from the 193 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:34,360 prophetic books. Amen. 194 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,880 Somebody justice will roll down like there's this, this idea 195 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:41,480 that love, kindness, serving your neighbor, love of neighbor, 196 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,080 like giving your life away. The whole point of the law, 197 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:45,960 right? Love the Lord your God and your 198 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:48,920 neighbor as yourself. All of that will flow when your 199 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:52,200 heart belongs to Yahweh. So God can do both in those 200 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:56,480 books and he's going to warn in some of the books he's talking 201 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:58,440 to the bad guys. Because what God's going to do 202 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,360 is he's going to use bad guys to get his people out of his own 203 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,040 land. But then he's going to look at 204 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:05,840 the bad guys doing it and say, y'all are arrogant. 205 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:07,360 Y'all treat my people with flippancy. 206 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:09,680 Like don't think your day ain't coming like you. 207 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:11,560 You are my vessel in this instance. 208 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:14,320 But don't get it twisted, you know what I mean. 209 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:16,760 And so each of the books is written from a slightly 210 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:18,880 different angle. Some of them are more warning, 211 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:21,480 some of them are more comfort directly. 212 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:26,440 But it's this two sided coin of hope warning comfort that that 213 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:29,280 you see all throughout. But what God is doing is he is 214 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:30,920 begging his people to turn back to them. 215 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:34,440 And through it all, we see this already not yet lens of like 216 00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:37,520 much of this had to do with actual land. 217 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:40,760 It had to do with actual time, but even when they're coming 218 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,760 back to the land around 400 and rebuild the temple, the people 219 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:47,240 on the spot are like, yo, this is wack compared to the first 220 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:49,520 temple. So they knew this can't be it. 221 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,240 It's pointing forward to some. This has got to happen again 222 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:54,760 somehow. And it points to Jesus in a lot 223 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:56,720 of ways. It points to even like his 224 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,400 second return where he's going to make all things new. 225 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:03,040 So there's a sense in which all the prophetic books have had 226 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:06,440 partial fulfillment, but they haven't had their full 227 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:09,960 fulfillment in Christ and in the the renewal of all things. 228 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:14,520 So they still very much have a lot to say to the New Testament 229 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:16,080 church. That's amazing. 230 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,880 So as we kind of wrap up our time together, what are some 231 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,640 practical application points that our listeners can take from 232 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:25,560 this just in general when it comes to the minor prophets? 233 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:29,280 Yeah, first to the non followers of Jesus, you know, whether 234 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:31,440 you're listening to this podcast or as we're we're inviting 235 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:32,760 friends. Here's what I what I hope 236 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:35,880 they're hearing. I hope they hear an intensity of 237 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:40,280 passion from God to know them and love them and for them to 238 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:44,280 belong to him and for him to showcase his goodness through 239 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:48,960 you like that's why God made you like our culture in a good way 240 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:52,760 is really into like justice and love and like all these concepts 241 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:56,720 being full of good works. Love of neighbor, y'all, all of 242 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,120 that flows from the God who made us, the God of the minor 243 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:03,680 prophets, the God who is warning us, reminding us that we are not 244 00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:05,560 God. Like it is loving of God to tell 245 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:08,320 us we ain't God, you know, and to tell us one day we are going 246 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:10,400 to die and like all things will be made new. 247 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:13,200 And like, that's comforting in one sense. 248 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,640 It's also like sobering, you know? 249 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:19,400 So like the prophetic books are bringing reality in. 250 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:21,640 It's the future being pulled into the present, right? 251 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:25,320 And so God is the ultimate everything. 252 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:27,040 He's the ultimate judge. He's the ultimate king. 253 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:31,520 He is more loving than us. You know, like we crave a judge 254 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,560 with authority who is kind and good, and that's who God is. 255 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:38,040 So yeah, there's an intensity in these books and there's warnings 256 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:40,920 like any good father would do. But I pray that non followers of 257 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:45,480 Jesus would know that, like, you want this to be true and you 258 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:48,480 want the God with this kind of power, this kind of like 259 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:51,560 intensity and passionate zeal to be good. 260 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:52,920 And you can trust him and you can. 261 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:54,120 And I pray that you will turn to him. 262 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:58,040 So the followers of Jesus. Here's what I'd say think the 263 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:03,240 intention of the books is that the people of God would become, 264 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:06,400 as Jesus would say, salt and light, right that we would be 265 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,600 the city on a hill. Christ is the ultimate one who 266 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:14,240 is the son of God, right? He is the the corporate son. 267 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:16,040 He is he is the truer and greater Israel. 268 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:20,560 He has accomplished all things. It is finished, but in his life 269 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:22,800 death, burial, resurrection, ascension and sending of the 270 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,520 Spirit. Hello is to fill the church so 271 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:29,800 that we might be those full of good works like God purchased a 272 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:32,240 people for himself who are zealous for good works. 273 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:35,120 Amen. Titus 2 and the idea is that the 274 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:38,120 more we love Christ, give our lives over to him. 275 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:40,840 Romans 12/1 and two, put our lives on the altar. 276 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:44,520 We're going to bear fruit. We're going to see people come 277 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:45,680 to Christ. We're going to give our lives 278 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:46,640 away. We're going to give money away. 279 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:48,840 We're going to see the Kingdom come on earth as it is in 280 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,080 heaven. So I think in a lot of ways the 281 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:53,720 goal of the series for the believer is just to do some 282 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:57,680 serious self reflection, you know, like we don't have to 283 00:13:57,680 --> 00:13:59,800 wonder what God would say to the church today. 284 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:02,040 Like a lot of times people are like, what would God, you know, 285 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:03,840 if Paul wrote a letter today? I'm like, just read Paul's 286 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:06,320 letters, right, Exactly. Just read the amount of problems 287 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:10,360 like God's heart, his passion for for justice and love of 288 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:11,760 neighbors. The same it's always been. 289 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:16,280 I think in a lot of ways what we're going to find is like the 290 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:19,440 major audience of these books is the people of God. 291 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,120 You know, like he's going to have some hard things to say to 292 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,480 lostness and you know, about judgment, all that stuff. 293 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:28,800 But it starts with the people of God, man. 294 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,520 Like it starts with us looking in the mirror and realizing like 295 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:34,720 we have become so worldly, like just like them, we're not 296 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:38,040 ministering to the nations, we're kind of conforming to 297 00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:41,280 them, right? So it's like for us, as a Hosea 298 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,640 would say, is break up the fallow ground, like go to your 299 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:48,400 hearts, which is rock hard clay, where we've just conformed and 300 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:52,560 conformed and conformed where our screen time, our dollars, 301 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:56,840 our calendar, our everything is the exact same as every 302 00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:59,440 American. And we just got to do some, some 303 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:03,640 self reflection where it's like, OK, where is God calling me not 304 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,000 to earn his love? We got to avoid legalism. 305 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,200 Amen. But I think we're quick to play 306 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:10,920 the like, I don't want to be a legalist card. 307 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:14,720 And in so doing, we actually kind of avoid like good passion 308 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:19,200 and intensity and zeal. So we want to pursue zeal, but 309 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:22,320 not in a like look at me, look at what I can do. 310 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:24,160 I think this is about giving our hearts to the Lord. 311 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:27,560 Think this about repentance. It's about fasting morning. 312 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:30,440 You know, kind of that James Ford spirit of like tear your 313 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:31,400 hearts. You know what I mean. 314 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:35,920 And from that I will flow God love for our neighbor through US 315 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:38,280 and God will own our hearts more. 316 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:40,640 That's what I'm hoping. That's so good. 317 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,720 And so just practically speaking, I know even when I 318 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,480 listen to things like this or start thinking about a sermon 319 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:49,160 series, the next thing that goes through my mind is what are some 320 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:52,320 helpful tools is I'm trying to engage these books of the Bible 321 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:54,080 on my own. That might be helpful. 322 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,560 So do you have any anything you would suggest to our listeners? 323 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:58,920 Yeah, no doubt I resonate with that a lot. 324 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:01,720 I'm using my study Bibles on the series more than ever, and I've 325 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:05,160 got several like study Bibles do different things, you know, But 326 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,280 man, it's OK to read a translation that poetically 327 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:09,800 makes a little more sense to you. 328 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,760 You know, like I'm, I'm digging my NLT study Bible. 329 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:16,120 It's got great charts of timeline and themes and the 330 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:17,440 language pops for me a little bit. 331 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:21,000 So try different translations, try study Bibles are great. 332 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:22,680 They kind of give you your bearings quickly. 333 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:25,760 Bible Project is awesome. They're book overviews. 334 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,720 Just go watch like and that's what the book of Hosea is all 335 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:30,240 about. Like that's what they do. 336 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:31,400 You know what I mean? It's so good. 337 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:33,360 You're like, I get it now. And then you go to read it and I 338 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:35,200 don't get it. Tim, can you explain it again? 339 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,760 That is OK. And and then Streetlights is 340 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,040 great. They've got their own app or you 341 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:43,720 can listen to them on Spotify. It's just hearing it, you know, 342 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:48,520 hearing this genre is unique because the language is intense. 343 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:51,360 They, you know, with their tone, I think they do a good job and 344 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:52,520 there's a beat in the background. 345 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:54,400 I just listen to them. I'll repeat honestly. 346 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,680 But in general, it's just permission that you're going to 347 00:16:57,680 --> 00:16:59,800 be a little intimidated even after listening to this. 348 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:01,360 And that's OK. I'm still intimidated. 349 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:03,640 I'm like, when was this one written again? 350 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,280 Like what did that mean? What does he mean by, you know, 351 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:09,480 they'll say things you're like, what is, what is, who is Edom or 352 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:12,119 what is the, you know, Ephraim, like who is that? 353 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:15,640 And it's OK to like look down at your Bible or look something up, 354 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:19,560 like that's totally fine. So just feel permission to need 355 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:22,280 to keep learning and and you know, keep the training wheels 356 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:23,680 on at times and that's totally OK. 357 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:26,760 And every time you read it and come back to it and hear the 358 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:28,359 preaching, the word and that, you're going to get more and 359 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:30,720 more confident. So good, so good. 360 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,600 Well, Pastor T, thank you so much for your time and church 361 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:35,840 family and friends. We hope this conversation has 362 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:38,400 been helpful. We look forward to get to 363 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:41,560 getting into the Minor Prophets with you starting January 25th. 364 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:42,920 Can't wait, see y'all soon.