1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,720 This morning church, how you guys doing this morning? 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:06,800 You know, I'm always encouraged when I come back here 'cause I 3 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:09,120 see new faces. And then I get a little 4 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:12,640 discouraged 'cause I see the Braves fan. 5 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:17,000 And then I'm even more a little discouraged today 'cause I see 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,800 some, I don't know what team they're representing because I, 7 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,320 I don't know anything about a Redskin anymore, right? 8 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:28,000 I know about commanders. I know about commanders. 9 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,440 I don't know what a Redskin is, huh? 10 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:36,480 I'm just, I'm just kidding. I would, I wouldn't, I wouldn't 11 00:00:36,480 --> 00:00:40,040 be a good I wouldn't be a good as John Michael would call me a 12 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:42,280 good Yankee if I didn't give you guys a hard time, right? 13 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,120 So, yeah, of course. I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm a native 14 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:50,720 New Yorker, so of course I, I would be hard pressed to be here 15 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,400 if I didn't give you guys a little, you know, hard time 16 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:55,120 about it. But congratulations, you guys 17 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:58,400 with a great game, by the way. All right, so that being said, 18 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:00,440 let's come in prayer before we get started. 19 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:02,960 All right, Dear God, we come before your president. 20 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:05,160 We just thank you, Lord, for this opportunity, Lord, we thank 21 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,280 you for this day, Lord, We thank you for the fellowship that's 22 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:09,480 here today. Lord, we thank you for the 23 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:11,160 brothers and sisters that made it here today. 24 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,520 I'm thankful for my salt family that it's just always been so 25 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,680 kind and gracious, not only to me but to my family, Lord. 26 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:20,480 And I ask that you just open up their hearts and their minds 27 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,760 today, Lord, as we go to the word, Lord, let your words flow 28 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:26,560 through me to them. Lord, let us just be focused on 29 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:28,000 the word that you have for us today. 30 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,000 Let it penetrate our hearts and our minds, Lord, and just stay 31 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:32,680 there. Not only the church and the 32 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,080 people that are sitting here today, but as me as well, Lord, 33 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,120 that you just be speak to me as well Lord and anyone who is 34 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:42,800 listening Lord today that they just be impacted not only by 35 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:45,720 this word, but the the word itself, Lord, that you just 36 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,440 penetrate to them. And let us just be mindful Lord 37 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:51,200 that this is what you have for us today Lord. 38 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,840 And let us not fight against the word that you have given us 39 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,800 today, but let be accepting of whatever word is given today. 40 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:00,080 Lord, we ask you all this in the name of Jesus, we pray, Amen. 41 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:05,120 Praise God. So I know you guys know this, 42 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,520 but maybe some of you aren't aware of this, but John Michael 43 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,160 can say some things sometimes and push the envelope a little. 44 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,840 I'm not sure if you guys are aware of this, but a couple 45 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,480 weeks ago he posted something on Facebook and it got people riled 46 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:22,320 up, right? And I, I, I jumped on it and I 47 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:24,520 saw and I, and I, I've known John Michael for some years, 48 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:26,720 right? So I, that's one thing we share 49 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:30,720 in common is that we, we can be a bit of a not intentionally, 50 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,720 but we can rile people up a little bit and he gets a kick 51 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:35,840 out of it. I get a kick out of it. 52 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,000 But sometimes there's, there's always a, a, a reason why he's 53 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:40,760 doing it. And I know that about him, 54 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,160 right? But sometimes people can't see 55 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:47,520 the forest for the trees, right? So he said he posted something 56 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,640 and I was like, you know, obviously he was like, he wasn't 57 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:55,480 like ultra clear on what his message was, but you know, and, 58 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:57,920 and he's trying to get people to listen to the message, right? 59 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:01,280 Ultimately his goal was find out my this is what I'm talking 60 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:03,000 about on Sunday. And if you want to know more, 61 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:05,800 tune into the message, right? So I know that's where he was 62 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:07,600 going. I listened to the message and of 63 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:09,680 course it was very Bible centered message. 64 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,840 And you know, me and him don't always see eye to eye on 65 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:16,040 everything. And that's OK because let me ask 66 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,640 you a question for those of you that are married, right? 67 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:22,360 What's for dinner, right? Have you ever had that question? 68 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:24,520 He's laughing. He knows what I'm talking about. 69 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,600 And that goes both ways. My wife will be like, what do 70 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:29,440 you want for dinner? And my answer is I don't care. 71 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:31,760 And then she's upset because I said I don't care. 72 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:36,360 So, you know, it goes both ways. So if we can't even agree in our 73 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:39,280 house, what we're having it for dinner, of course, we're not 74 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,600 always going to agree and see eye to eye on the application on 75 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:44,960 some of the scripture. Of course, there's primary 76 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:46,800 issues that we all agree upon, right? 77 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,040 That makes us a Christian. And of course, me and John 78 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:52,040 Michael agree on those things, right? 79 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,760 But there's always going to be things that, you know, maybe we 80 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,000 see a little differently. We don't know, applications a 81 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,280 little slightly different. And that might even be between 82 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,960 me and you and me and my wife. We might not apply everything 83 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,240 the same way and might not see it the same exact way. 84 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:08,240 And that's fine. I see beauty in that. 85 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,480 I see beauty in that, you know, brothers and sisters, we you 86 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,040 might see it and be like, hey, here's my explanation of how I 87 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,040 see that. That's perfectly fine and 88 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,079 beautiful. But one thing that me and John 89 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:22,560 Michael always unites us and, and where I see eye to eye with 90 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,360 him always, it's his passion for the word of God. 91 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:27,800 And I think that's something that we share. 92 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,440 So when he's sharing that thing on Facebook, right, he's like, 93 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:35,360 come learn more because the Bible's going to explain it more 94 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:38,200 and he's trying to, you know, unravel that through the 95 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:40,960 scripture. And that's one thing that I 96 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:42,800 wholeheartedly agree with him on. 97 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,720 And that's one thing we share is our passion for the word of God. 98 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,800 And so I just want to reinvigorate you guys today on 99 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,480 why we go to the Scriptures for these things. 100 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:57,440 Why is it so important to always run back to the Scripture? 101 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,560 So the title of the message today is Foundations of Faith, 102 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:05,320 Why we can trust in God's Word. So we're going to have basically 103 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:08,040 three points today on, on what I'm I'm teaching on and we'll go 104 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:10,560 through them as we're going. But that's the main, the title 105 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:12,720 of the message, why we can trust in God's Word. 106 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,960 So why is that important that we trust in God's Word and how can 107 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:19,600 we trust in God's word? So our first point is what does 108 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:23,000 the word say about God? So before we can jump into any 109 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,120 of the other points, we need to understand who God is and what 110 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,320 he says about himself. Recently in in our church I gave 111 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,840 a study about the attributes of God and there are two distinct 112 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:36,560 sections. There are communicable and non 113 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:40,160 communicable attributes and those are just fancy words to 114 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:44,760 just illustrate attributes that humans share with God like love, 115 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,960 goodness, mercy, and non communicable attributes like 116 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:53,240 eternity, omniscience, omnipotent things that humans do 117 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:57,120 not share with God that make him distinct from all other beings, 118 00:05:57,440 --> 00:05:59,800 right? So all that to say, what are 119 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,560 some things that we can share with God that we can see in God? 120 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:04,960 So of course you know, love, God is love, right? 121 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:11,320 And humans can love, right? Goodness, God is good. 122 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:13,800 Amen. Amen. 123 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:16,480 All right, I was waiting. Come on man, you let me down. 124 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:19,240 So God is good and man can be good, right? 125 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:24,480 But can humans love perfectly? No. 126 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:29,320 Are humans always good, right? So that's what's distinctive. 127 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:31,600 Even though we share those attributes, God is still 128 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,600 distinct and that he does those things perfectly. 129 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:36,520 But we have to have an understanding. 130 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:38,040 There's things that we can share with him. 131 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:42,680 Now, are we eternal in a sense? But God has always existed from 132 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:46,920 all time, right? And is he, are we omniscient? 133 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:49,240 Absolutely not. We don't know everything. 134 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:53,440 And my wife would argue that I think I'm omniscient, but I'm 135 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:57,280 not omnipotent. Are we all powerful? 136 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:01,720 No, he's not. He is infinite beyond time and 137 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:03,560 space. And so we're going to go through 138 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:07,240 some verses to show that for whenever our heart condemns us, 139 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:10,040 God is greater than our heart and He knows everything. 140 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:12,520 First to John, chapter 3, verse 20. 141 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:15,640 Great is our Lord and abundant in power. 142 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,240 His understanding is beyond measure. 143 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:20,520 Psalm 147. Five. 144 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,560 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and 145 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,880 exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. 146 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:33,360 Hebrews chapter 4, verse 13. The eyes of the Lord are in 147 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,600 every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. 148 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:41,280 Proverbs chapter 15, verse 3. Before I formed you in the womb, 149 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,880 I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. 150 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:47,200 I appointed you a prophet to the nations. 151 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:49,080 And that, that last one, he's talking to Jeremiah. 152 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:52,680 So what can we see here? That God knows our heart right 153 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:55,480 now think about it. Who can know your heart besides 154 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:58,240 you? Your wife, I guess, can know 155 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:02,120 bits and pieces of you, but does she know the dark sides of your 156 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:04,760 heart? No, right, because you wouldn't 157 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:07,480 expose that necessarily to your wife or your significant other. 158 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,280 Your parents may know you, they may know how you think and what 159 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:12,760 you do, but they're not going to know the deeper secrets of your 160 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:14,640 heart. But God knows them. 161 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,320 That's what the Bible says, that God knows our hearts. 162 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,040 He's abundant in power. His understanding is beyond 163 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,760 measure. So when man starts to think, how 164 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:26,520 can I measure God's his, his thought process? 165 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,160 And we, we always fail when we try to put ourselves in that 166 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:31,720 position to understand why God does what he does. 167 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,080 We always fall short. But yet in all, we're always 168 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:37,280 trying to figure out why God is doing what He's doing. 169 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,520 No creature is hidden from his sight, not a single one. 170 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,440 So nothing you do is not going to be in the eyes of the Lord, 171 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,840 right? He's in every place and he knows 172 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:54,280 the evil and the good. In the beginning, the Word 173 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:56,680 already existed. The Word was with God and the 174 00:08:56,680 --> 00:08:59,080 Word was God. He existed in the beginning with 175 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,240 God. God created everything through 176 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:03,640 Him and nothing was created except through Him. 177 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,120 The Word gave life to everything that was created and His life 178 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,600 brought light to everyone. John chapter 1 verses one 179 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:12,400 through 4. And who's he speaking about 180 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:15,720 there? Jesus, God, man, everything was 181 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,560 created that ever existed was created through Jesus. 182 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:20,960 This is what the Word says about God. 183 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:23,600 That's not me making this up. It's not me saying this. 184 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,280 This is what the Word defines as who He is. 185 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:31,240 Everything was created through Him, and nothing was created 186 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:35,760 except through Jesus Christ. He is the radiance of the glory 187 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:40,040 of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the 188 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:41,760 universe by the word of His power. 189 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:45,440 After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right 190 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:48,520 hand of the majesty on high. Who are we talking about again? 191 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,440 Jesus, right? God, man, God himself. 192 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:55,600 He says nature is imprinted. So when you're looking at 193 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:57,760 nature, when you're seeing the trees, when you're looking at 194 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:02,200 the stars, when you're seeing the sun, you see God in that He 195 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:07,200 imprinted his nature there. Nature bows down to God and he 196 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:09,680 upholds the universe by the word of his power. 197 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:11,840 His word holds the universe together. 198 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:16,040 Now, why am I saying all this? Why am I giving you all this? 199 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:19,080 You guys are like, I know this, I know this, I know this stuff 200 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:21,440 already. It's because we really, truly 201 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:24,920 have to know who God is. We have to understand who He is. 202 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,680 God's Word reveals His character and His faithfulness. 203 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:31,840 The Bible reveals who God is, His love, His Holiness, His 204 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,640 faithfulness, and His promises. As we meditate on His Word, we 205 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:38,760 can we come to understand that God is trustworthy because He 206 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:41,360 has always been faithful to His people throughout history. 207 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:45,200 Why is this important? Do you just trust anyone because 208 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:48,800 they say something? No, you trust someone because 209 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:52,360 they have earned your trust. You know them, you've gone 210 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:55,080 through things with them. You can't have a proper trust in 211 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:56,960 God if you don't know who God is. 212 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,200 You can't learn who God is apart from what he says about himself 213 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:03,760 and his word through the word. So how can you have an 214 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,320 understanding of who God is and a relationship with God if you 215 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:09,720 don't know what God says about himself and his own word? 216 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:13,240 How can you have it developed that type of relationship? 217 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:16,280 Imagine having a significant other that you never talk to. 218 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:18,680 You're like, I love her. Why? 219 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:21,640 I just know I do. And that's the explanation you 220 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,120 get from people nowadays that are professing Christians. 221 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:26,560 Well, why are you a Christian? Well, I love Jesus. 222 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,160 Well, why? Because I I just do. 223 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:32,040 What explanation do you have for loving through Jesus? 224 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:35,920 What can you show me other than it's just always been good to 225 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:37,720 me? That's not sufficient. 226 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,280 You don't have a proper understanding of who God is 227 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:42,000 because you're apart from the word of God. 228 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,120 And if you don't know who he is, how can you have a relationship 229 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:46,680 with God? How can you? 230 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:52,400 Now I know what some someone might say. 231 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:54,240 And this brings us to our second point. 232 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:57,040 As Christians, why should I trust the Word? 233 00:11:57,760 --> 00:11:59,680 So who God is? This is the first rite you have 234 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:02,120 to know who God is. Now why should I trust His word? 235 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:06,120 God's word is infallible and unchanging. 236 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:11,000 Isaiah 48 says the grass wither, the flower fades, but the word 237 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:15,040 of our God will stand forever. God's word is not like human 238 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:17,160 words that fade with time or lose relevance. 239 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:21,200 It is eternal and unchanging. The Bible tells us that God's 240 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:25,320 promises endure forever, and says it in Psalm 119, verse 89. 241 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:29,600 Unlike the shifting sands of our culture or human opinion, God's 242 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:32,960 Word is a firm foundation upon which we can stand. 243 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:35,520 And that's important to remember. 244 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:40,400 Cultures change, things shift, things go by the wayside, but 245 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,200 God's Word is eternal. You know, we've been having 246 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:47,640 conversation about churches that have closed or no longer there. 247 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:50,320 And you know, one thing that you know, we have a common 248 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:54,080 understanding is that they were shifting towards the culture, 249 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:55,800 right? They were appealing towards what 250 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:59,720 was relevant at the time. And then if you don't constantly 251 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,800 shift with the culture and you're constantly shifting, 252 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:05,400 you're not going to become relevant because you're teaching 253 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:06,720 something outside of the word of God. 254 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,280 But you know what is what is stood the test of time? 255 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:11,800 You know what is still bringing people to the faith? 256 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:13,760 You know, we're still reaching the lost. 257 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:15,240 You know, we're still saving souls. 258 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:19,240 The word of God, the gospel, the message of the gospel. 259 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:21,840 And how can you give the message of the gospel if you don't know 260 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:24,360 the word of God, If you don't know what he says about himself, 261 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:25,600 How can you, how can you give it? 262 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,840 We trust in the Word because God tells us to trust in his word. 263 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,840 Jesus trusted in the word of God when he was tempted by saying he 264 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:36,440 didn't call down an army of angels. 265 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:40,920 He battled singing with word quote for quote, even saying 266 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:42,760 understood how powerful the word of God is. 267 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,280 So when he was tempted, right, Jesus didn't call down an army 268 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:48,520 which he could have. You know, if I wrote that story 269 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:50,160 might have been a little different, right? 270 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:54,680 I would have been like lightning bolts and, you know, white 271 00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:59,520 horses and people jumping off and and Satan demons everywhere 272 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:01,240 attacking him, right? That's how I would have wrote 273 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:02,960 the story. But that's not what happened. 274 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,640 What happened was he quoted Deuteronomy, right? 275 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:10,000 He quoted Deuteronomy to Satan. And interesting enough, which I 276 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,240 always find the, the most powerful part of the story, 277 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:15,960 Satan quotes the Scripture right back to him. 278 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,520 And, and at that point again, if I wrote that story, I would have 279 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,080 been like, oh man, that's when Jesus pierces him through the 280 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:23,480 heart, right? Like, get out of here. 281 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:27,080 But no, what does he do again? He quotes the scripture again 282 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:29,240 and he, he quotes scripture back to him. 283 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:30,760 So they have this, think about it. 284 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:35,880 God, man, Jesus himself, and Satan are having this battle and 285 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:40,320 it's with the Word of God. Think about that for just a 286 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:42,600 second. How powerful the Word of God is 287 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:46,560 that you have Jesus and Satan going back and forth with the 288 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,000 Word of God. Yet when we go through our 289 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:53,000 struggles, when we go through our temptations, we want to name 290 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,160 it and claim it right and grab it and blab it, but we don't 291 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:57,760 want to claim the word. We don't want to speak the Word 292 00:14:57,760 --> 00:14:59,200 of God. We don't go to the Word of God. 293 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:01,320 We don't see what the word of God says about that. 294 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,840 We want to declare and decree, but we don't want to see what 295 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:05,320 the word of God says in that instance. 296 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:07,960 We don't go and say, well, what did God say about this 297 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:10,200 situation? Let me pray and see the word of 298 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:11,320 God. Maybe there's something in 299 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:13,080 there. Maybe there's something in there 300 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:14,840 that I can that could be relevant to me. 301 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:20,640 You know, before we had the baby, we had a, a stillborn, 302 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:22,000 right? We lost a daughter. 303 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,120 I lost one of our we lost one of our daughters. 304 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:28,000 And I struggled for a long time. And I was, I was wondering, man, 305 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:30,520 I'm so heartbroken. How can I get over this? 306 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:32,920 And I'm praying and I'm like, this is the, this is the worst 307 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,200 day of my entire life, right? And I knew my wife was 308 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:38,840 struggling spiritually and mentally. 309 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:40,440 She was going through a hard time. 310 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:42,840 And I was like, I don't know how I'm going to get through this. 311 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:46,000 And I'm praying and I'm praying. And then I turn to the word of 312 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,920 God and I see the word where David lost his child, right? 313 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:54,400 And he's crying and praying for to God and saying, how can you 314 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:56,240 help me? And then when they tell him that 315 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:59,840 the child has passed, he gets up, he washes his face and says, 316 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:02,560 bring me some food. And they're like, wait a minute, 317 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,560 how are you OK. And he said to them, he said, I 318 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:10,000 cannot, the the child cannot come to me, but one day I'm 319 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,400 going to go and be with that child. 320 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,480 And that just lifted my spirits so high because I said, praise 321 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:20,080 God, because that word, even though happened thousands of 322 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:22,800 years ago, right? That word at that very moment 323 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:26,120 met me in my heart. And I, I was encouraged and I 324 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:28,480 gave that word to my wife. And I've always stood on that 325 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:31,320 because I know that one day I will see my children that we 326 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:33,520 lost, we actually lost three children. 327 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:37,560 So and I know that those three children are waiting for me one 328 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:39,840 day in heaven. And so I'm encouraged by that, 329 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:41,600 right? The word of God met me right 330 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:43,480 there. I didn't just lean on the 331 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,160 hardships and say, I don't know what I'm going to go on from 332 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:47,800 here. I went to the word of God and 333 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:49,920 and he spoke and I just grabbed that. 334 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,680 And that's not to say every situation is going to be clear 335 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:55,240 in the Scripture, right? Like, you know, you're getting 336 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,120 arrested for taxes, you know, like there, there might not be a 337 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,000 scripture for you there, but there's still some some word of 338 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,119 encouragement that you can lean on, right, you can glean from. 339 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:09,640 So let's run to the word of God. Before we run to everything 340 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:11,160 else, we want to look for everything else. 341 00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:12,839 And I understand we're human beings. 342 00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:15,480 That's our natural nature. It's to try to fix things on our 343 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,000 own, especially us men, right? We just want to fix everything 344 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,560 on our own. But the word of God is there and 345 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:25,680 it's sufficient for you. The Bible is just not a book of 346 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:27,440 ancient stories or moral guideline. 347 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,960 It is alive and powerful. When we trust it, we experience 348 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:34,640 this ability to transform us. God's Word speaks into our lives 349 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:37,800 and changes our hearts, our minds and actions. 350 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:39,600 Can you think of anything else? I can do that? 351 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,200 No. Through the Word of God, God 352 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:45,160 reaches us and we understand the things that we should and 353 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:47,840 shouldn't be doing right, and He changes us. 354 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:51,440 It reveals God's will and enables us to live according to 355 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:54,520 His purpose. One other book has that power. 356 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:59,600 It's not just the books, it's God's very own words for the 357 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:03,160 word of God is living inactive, sharper than any 2 edged sword. 358 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:05,280 Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12, right? 359 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:10,160 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, 360 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:14,080 for reproof, for correction and for training and righteousness. 361 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,440 That has always struck a chord for me because when you look up 362 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:20,960 the Greek, right, So some, some translations will say inspired, 363 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,400 right? But no, that's if you look at 364 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:25,320 the Greek word, it's the honestas, right? 365 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,600 Which means what you exhale, right? 366 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:32,600 So what he's saying is the word of God is actually the exhale 367 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:35,720 breath of God. And that's such, so much more 368 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,400 deeper than inspired. No, it means that the words that 369 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:42,840 you see on the page were breathed out by God into 370 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:45,680 somebody's hand to write down for us that we still have today. 371 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:51,280 Praise God, praise God that he has enough mercy on us to give 372 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:57,280 us something and say, here is my word, learn it, live it, love 373 00:18:57,280 --> 00:18:58,680 it. Here it is for you. 374 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:01,120 And we're so apprehensive about it. 375 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:04,600 And you know, I get it. It's, it's sometimes it could be 376 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:08,640 a lot, but so can those volumes of Harry Potter books that 377 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:10,800 everybody loves to read or Game of Thrones, right? 378 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,120 Like if we, if we've gone through those stuff, we should 379 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:15,800 be able to sit down and read our scriptures and say, well, if I'm 380 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:19,880 a Christian, if I'm, if I define myself as this Christian, I 381 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:21,600 should be able to give an explanation, right? 382 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:23,400 That's what the word tells us. Give a defense. 383 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:24,960 We should. And you can't do that if you 384 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:27,080 don't know the word of God, if you're apart from it. 385 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:31,920 But he answered, it is written, man shall not live by bread 386 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,280 alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. 387 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:39,000 Matthew chapter 4, verse 4. How are you a living, breathing 388 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,960 Christian? If you're not eating right? 389 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:44,840 You're, you're, you're going to be thin. 390 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:48,480 You're going to be a open to attack because you're weak, 391 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,640 because the Bible tells us what you should not live by bread 392 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:54,920 alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. 393 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:59,480 And the only word that we know for sure 100% that is breathed 394 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,880 out by the by the, by God himself is this word that we 395 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:04,840 have right here. That's the only word that we 396 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,880 know. Your word is a lamp to my feet 397 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,760 and a light to my path. Psalm chapter 119, verse 105. 398 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:16,320 Sanctify them in in the truth. Your word is truth. 399 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:19,840 John chapter 17, verse 17. The word is truth. 400 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,600 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 401 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:27,520 Matthew chapter 24, verse 35. So what is the scripture saying 402 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:30,200 about itself? Why should we trust it? 403 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,960 Why should I trust the Word? I should trust the word because 404 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,960 the word says it's trustworthy. It comes from God and trust me 405 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:41,400 if man was able to disprove the word of God they would have done 406 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:45,560 it centuries ago. But guess what they still trying 407 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:49,040 and they still can't do it. In fact, as they go along and 408 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:52,000 try to disprove the word of God it's just showing to be more 409 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,160 true and more true and more true and more true. 410 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:59,600 They were saying there is no the bath of best Sade, I think it 411 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:02,600 was, and they found it and they were like they were saying there 412 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:05,160 was no pilot. There was no pilot for a long 413 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:06,320 time. They were like, we don't have 414 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:09,360 any records of a pilot anywhere in history. 415 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:12,760 That's not true. Then they find this giant stone 416 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:17,760 and engraved in it in giant letters, it says pilot of 417 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:21,400 punches. And they're like, I guess it was 418 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,640 true. So as as they as they're digging 419 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:28,200 stuff up, as they're finding stuff, they're like, no, that's 420 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:29,400 not true. We don't have any record of 421 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:30,760 that. They're like, oh, actually we 422 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,120 do. Luke was, was a doctor, right? 423 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,800 And he, he was so detailed on what he did that a lot of time 424 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,600 archaeologists just use what he said to find stuff. 425 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:44,680 That's how detailed he was. And so the more and more they 426 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:48,560 try to disprove, the more and more we find ourselves to be in 427 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:50,440 the right. The theory of evolution is 428 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:53,200 falling apart. It's falling apart. 429 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,360 And so now they're like, you have leading atheists that are 430 00:21:56,360 --> 00:21:58,800 like, well, yeah, there there has to be a creative. 431 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:00,680 The universe is expanding, right? 432 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:03,240 It's getting bigger. So if something gets bigger, it 433 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:05,280 has to have a starting point, right? 434 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,320 If it had a starting point and it's growing, well, where's if 435 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:11,760 it had a starting point, that means somebody made it, right? 436 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,160 And so the more and more they try to fight, the more and more 437 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,360 they're like, you know what, there must be a creator, but 438 00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:20,600 they're not going to concede it was the God of the Bible. 439 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,640 They'll give it to aliens, they'll give it to witchcraft, 440 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:26,680 they'll give it to whatever, but they won't give it to the God of 441 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:29,400 the Bible. But we can stand firm because 442 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,400 the Word of God is true, not only because it's said, it's 443 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:34,280 true because we can see it, right? 444 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:36,240 We can see it in nature, we can see it outside. 445 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:37,560 We know that these things are true. 446 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:41,200 So hopefully, so hopefully I've been able to establish through 447 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,840 the word of God's power and His faithfulness of the Word. 448 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:47,800 So this leads to our 3rd and final point today. 449 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,400 And it's a little more this, a couple points of this. 450 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:53,480 Why should this matter to me? Why should this matter? 451 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:56,600 I hope I didn't knock it out. Why should this matter to you? 452 00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,080 Well, it should matter for two main reasons. 453 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:01,880 So we'll call this 3A and 3B, right? 454 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,520 3A we can believe with all our hearts and His promises and His 455 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,600 blessings such as His gift of eternal life, right? 456 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,520 Which is the greatest gift He can give us right for God so 457 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:15,600 loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes 458 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:17,640 in him should not perish but have eternal life. 459 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,480 John 316 right OK OK, a little test gotcha. 460 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:25,600 All right good. So we know that his if if we've 461 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:29,160 established who God is right and we've established that he's the 462 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,560 creator is he's done all these things. 463 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:35,200 We established that his word is all we have from him That is 464 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,800 true. And in his word he promised us 465 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:41,000 what he promised us eternal life through the Son through Jesus 466 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:42,800 Christ. We should to be able to stand 467 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:45,560 firm like the young people say. Now, what is it? 468 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:47,960 10 toes deep. Did I get that right? 469 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:49,000 Yeah. Look, I'm getting blood. 470 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:51,360 I got it. 10 toes in or whatever. 471 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:55,640 I don't know what it's teasing. 10 toes, 10 toes deep doesn't 472 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:56,680 hurt. No, I'm wrong. 473 00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:58,480 OK? I'm sorry, guys, I messed that 474 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:02,000 up. But we can stand firm. 475 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,840 We can stand firm that the word of God is true, right? 476 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:08,840 Our salvation is true, right? We should be able to have 477 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:12,560 confidence in what he says by which He has granted to us His 478 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,640 precious and very great promises, so that through them 479 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:19,760 you, you may become partakers of the divine nature, having 480 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:22,640 escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of 481 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:24,920 sinful desire. Second of Peter chapter one, 482 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:26,840 verse 4. I don't think you guys quite 483 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:28,640 understand the grasp of what he's saying. 484 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:33,800 That we can partake in the divine nature of who God is, 485 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:40,160 despite the fact that we come from corruption, that we have 486 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:43,640 sinful desire. So even though we have a sinful 487 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:46,680 nature through Adam, right, and through the sinful ways of, of 488 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,200 Adam and, and human beings that we are, we can partake in his 489 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:55,160 sinful desire. That is a promise of God for 490 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:57,920 those of us that are saved, for those of us that are Christians, 491 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:04,600 we can partake in that, in that divine nature that he has. 492 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:09,160 Praise God, I don't deserve that, I don't deserve that. 493 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:11,960 I don't deserve to be able to partake in His divine nature, 494 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:16,840 but I can hold true to the promise that He's given me, that 495 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:18,560 I will partake in his divine nature. 496 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:24,040 Praise God, The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white 497 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:28,520 garments, and I will never, never blot His name out of the 498 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,040 Book of Life. I will confess His name before 499 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,880 my Father and before his angels. I'm going to read that again. 500 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:37,600 I will never blot His name out of the Book of Life. 501 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,760 Praise God. Praise God that my God is so 502 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,720 gracious and so merciful that He looked upon me, a sinful man, 503 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:49,760 and He extends His grace to me. I don't deserve it. 504 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:55,320 I still fall short, a wretched man that I am, but I lean on 505 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:57,800 Jesus. I lean on his promises, and he 506 00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:01,680 died on the cross of Calvary to wash me, like he said, like wash 507 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,080 me and take those blocks out of my life. 508 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:08,000 When He looks at me, he doesn't see the blocks, He sees His Son. 509 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:11,560 And I'm grateful for that and I don't deserve it, but thank God 510 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:16,200 He done that for me. So we can see that He has given 511 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,560 us the promise of salvation. He has given us what? 512 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:24,360 The promise of His mercy. Let us stand with confidence, 513 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:28,160 drawing near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy 514 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:31,160 and find grace to help in our time of need. 515 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:35,760 Where should we be going in our time of me to God? 516 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:38,760 And what should we be able to know that we're going to receive 517 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:43,080 His mercy and His grace? Amen. 518 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,480 And praise God that we can receive His mercy and His grace 519 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,600 in our time of me. Even though we fall short, we 520 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:52,320 can run to Him and He will give us His grace and mercy. 521 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,480 That's a promise, Hallelujah. That's a promise in the 522 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:57,040 Scripture. That is something that He has 523 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:01,840 given us, His forgiveness. If we confess our sins, He is 524 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:05,560 faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us 525 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:08,440 from all unrighteousness. First to John, chapter one, 526 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:10,640 verse 9. He's faithful to us. 527 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:13,120 Even though at the time of us being serious, we're not being 528 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:16,320 faithful to Him, He is faithful to us. 529 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:19,840 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the 530 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:23,600 forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His 531 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,560 grace. Ephesians chapter one, verse 7. 532 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:31,200 We can run to Him and He will help us in our time of need. 533 00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:34,880 Redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our 534 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,680 trespasses through His abundant grace. 535 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:39,000 Amen. Amen. 536 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:44,120 These are the promises and the word we need to cling on to. 537 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:46,200 We need to know that they are true. 538 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:49,960 Brothers and sisters we have. We can have total joy because it 539 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:51,760 is true. The words are true. 540 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:54,680 They are breathed out and eternal because they come from 541 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:58,280 God. He can't lie according to the 542 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:00,760 Scriptures. He can't lie and you're like, 543 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:02,120 oh, OK, whatever. Of course he's a guy. 544 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:03,960 He can't, he can't lie. Don't believe me. 545 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:08,080 What does the word say about it? Numbers chapter 23 verse 19 says 546 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:12,200 God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he 547 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:15,320 should repent. Has he said and he will he not 548 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,200 do or has he spoken and will he not make it good? 549 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:23,040 Titus 1-2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, 550 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:26,680 promised before time began. These are prom. 551 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,480 These are things that he's saying about himself Old 552 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:33,880 Testament and New Testament, that by two immutable things in 553 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:37,440 which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong 554 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:41,080 consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope 555 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:44,240 set before us. Hebrews chapter 6, verse 18. 556 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:49,560 And why am I saying why am I showing this? 557 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:51,240 You guys like, of course God is not a liar. 558 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:55,920 We need to know that God is not a liar and we know that God is 559 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:59,080 not a liar because he said he's not a liar and we need to hold 560 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:00,840 true to that. So if he's not a liar, his 561 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:04,120 promises are true and we need to run and hold on to those 562 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:05,680 promises. Those things that God has told 563 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:08,720 us in the Scripture. What why should it matter to us? 564 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:13,000 It B3B, right? It should matter to us B because 565 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:16,200 we have to believe in the warnings that he gave us. 566 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:18,960 So not only the promises, but also the warnings. 567 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,960 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 568 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:25,280 First to John chapter 3, verse 13. 569 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:28,600 I didn't say that, right? That's not me. 570 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,360 I just quoted scripture, just to be clear. 571 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,600 So if we believe in the promises of God, we hold true to the 572 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:37,520 promises of God. We also have to hold true to the 573 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:40,080 warnings of God. We have to hold true to the 574 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:42,400 prophecies of God. We have to hold true to the 575 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:47,240 things that he's telling us to do because he's not a liar and 576 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:48,920 he's never been proven to be a liar. 577 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:51,040 So his word has always come back faithful. 578 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:56,400 So if he tells us the world is going to hate you, we have to be 579 00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:00,640 wise about that and understand that that is true and be 580 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:04,480 prepared for that and, and ultimately be OK with that. 581 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:07,280 And I think that's where we struggle as Christians, right? 582 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:10,400 Because ultimately human beings want to be loved. 583 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,400 We seek love, right? We are created in the image of 584 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:15,280 God. And one of those attributes of 585 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:18,200 God is love, right? We want to be loved too, right? 586 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:21,080 And we desire that. But we have to be aware that as 587 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:25,200 Christians, as people of of God, as people of the world, we're 588 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:29,120 not always going to be loved. And we have to be OK with that. 589 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:32,320 Jesus wasn't always loved everywhere he went, right? 590 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:34,720 And guess what, He was OK with that. 591 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:36,400 And so do we. We have to be OK with that. 592 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:39,920 If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before. 593 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:42,480 It hated you. If you were of the world, the 594 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:45,520 world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the 595 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:48,880 world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world 596 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:51,520 hates you. John chapter 15, verse 18 597 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:53,800 through 19. So again, he's getting 598 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:58,680 reinforcing what reinforcing this, this, this knowledge that 599 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:03,320 the world is going to hate you. And we talk about persecution. 600 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:06,640 And of course, you know, we don't see persecution like other 601 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:08,840 places in the world. And that's not to say it 602 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:12,680 couldn't happen, but clearly, you know, we have to be aware 603 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,000 that your persecution might be different. 604 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:18,120 You might be persecuted at work because you're a Christian, you 605 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:22,080 know, and my job now they're making some people use the whole 606 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:24,560 pronouns they them and all that stuff. 607 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,040 It's like a requirement for some people. 608 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:30,280 And So what happens when I'm required to this person says, 609 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:35,680 refer to me as John, even though I know they're Jill, You know, 610 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:39,040 what do I do with that? So there's going to come a time 611 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:42,600 where that's going to be reality for some of us, not maybe not 612 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:43,840 everyone, but that's going to be reality. 613 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:46,360 What do we do with that? Do we lie to them? 614 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:48,760 And do we lie to ourselves? Do we lie before God? 615 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,920 Or do we say, I trust in God that he's going to take care of 616 00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:53,840 me? That's that's between you and 617 00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:55,520 God. You know, ultimately I'm not 618 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:58,960 here to judge anyone on how they do that, but you know, that's 619 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:00,760 the reality. We have to be prepared for that. 620 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,440 And what happens? What happens when you decide, 621 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:06,400 no, I'm not going to do that? And now everybody at your job 622 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:10,680 hates you, right? All all your friends and 623 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:14,560 coworkers are now like, ah, you see, I always knew that guy was 624 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:17,000 he says he's a Christian, but what kind of love is he showing, 625 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:19,200 right? Because you're standing firm on 626 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:21,280 the word of God. What do you do then? 627 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:24,880 Like again, this is not for me to tell you guys what to do in 628 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:27,520 those instances or to judge anyone, but that's the reality 629 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:29,920 of where we are in the world. So what do we do with that? 630 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,440 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will 631 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,000 be persecuted. Second Timothy chapter 3, verse 632 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:39,080 12. Again, that's the word of God. 633 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:41,240 I didn't say that. That's comes from the Scripture, 634 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,800 beloved, be do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes 635 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:49,000 upon you to test you as though something strange were happening 636 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,280 to you. But rejoice in so far as you 637 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:54,720 share Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad 638 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:57,960 when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name 639 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:01,240 of Christ, you are blessed because the Spirit of glory and 640 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:05,000 of God rests upon you. So a couple of things to point 641 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:08,120 out there. Now we've heard from John, 642 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:12,560 Timothy and Peter all saying what, be prepared to be 643 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:17,600 persecuted and hated, right? All three saying the same thing 644 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:21,160 now interesting. Interestingly enough, yesterday 645 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,880 we were doing a Bible study with the men's men's study and we 646 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:26,800 were in first of Peter chapter 4. 647 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:30,760 And one of the, the brother who was giving the lesson said that 648 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:36,880 it is believed that Peter wrote this at the time of Nero when 649 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,200 they were actually burning Christians at the stakes to 650 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:41,920 light the roads. They were using them as 651 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:44,400 lampposts. So when you hear the words, 652 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:46,720 don't be surprised at the fiery trial. 653 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:50,360 This is not metaphorical. It's it's probably literal, like 654 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:52,520 he's telling them be prepared to be burned. 655 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:56,760 And so, you know, for us, it's like, well, you know, we don't 656 00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:58,800 really go through fiery trials. It's not like they're lighting 657 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:00,280 us on fire. But what is he telling us? 658 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:03,200 Be prepared that that that might be a reality for some of us that 659 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:05,160 are Christians, that might be true. 660 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:10,920 So imagine you're getting this letter from Peter and you're in 661 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:13,320 Rome at the time and you're getting this letter and you're 662 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,199 like, oh man, he's going to give us some advice. 663 00:34:16,199 --> 00:34:19,400 God is going to give us some word and let's see what he gives 664 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:21,600 us in this situation. You know, they're burning people 665 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:24,760 at the stake. And the word is be prepared. 666 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:30,560 Take courage, right? This is you thought this was 667 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:32,760 strange, but this is what's going to happen to Christians 668 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:37,159 and rejoice. So imagine you're, you're, 669 00:34:37,159 --> 00:34:40,280 you're, you're a 1st century Christian and you're like, oh, 670 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:43,280 wait a minute. And that's why you see, if you 671 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:48,080 ever study early Christian history, they were so you read 672 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:51,040 it and you're like, man, the type of Christians those people 673 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:54,000 were because they were just ready, because they knew they 674 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:55,480 were going to die for their faith. 675 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:58,760 And I think it was Ignatius who was taught, who was fed to 676 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:02,240 lions. And he was like, praise God, let 677 00:35:02,240 --> 00:35:07,760 every morsel of my of my body that's in those lion's teeth be 678 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:11,360 a testament to the glory of God. Let it glorify God. 679 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:14,080 Imagine that. Imagine being able to say, let 680 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:17,680 every piece of me that's being eaten by this lion glorify the 681 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:18,840 Lord. And guess what? 682 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:21,480 2000 years later we're talking about and we're glorifying the 683 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:24,040 Lord as we talk about it. So praise God for that. 684 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:28,360 But that type of encouragement is reality for us. 685 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,160 For some of us, this is the reality of what we're going to 686 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:33,920 be going through and we're going to experience maybe not even us 687 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:36,720 in our generation, but maybe our children, maybe our children's 688 00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:38,640 children. And we have to prepare them and 689 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:41,640 teach them that this is what the Word of God says, that this is 690 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:43,520 reality. And we have to be prepared for 691 00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:46,680 that. God rests upon us so that when 692 00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:49,520 we are going through these trials, tribulations, we can 693 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:52,000 rest and know that it will all work out according to His will 694 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:55,160 for those who love him. It's palpable, the hate that the 695 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:57,360 world is beginning to have for professing Christians. 696 00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:00,080 And I just talked about an example a second ago. 697 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:03,120 You're going to begin to hear, if you haven't already, about 698 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:06,880 Christian nationalism and incorrectly things being applied 699 00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:10,880 to Christians and blamed on Christians that are not about 700 00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:13,080 them. So, you know, there's this 701 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:17,400 uptick of anything that's even conservative being, oh, that's 702 00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:19,880 because they're Christian nationalists and just lumping 703 00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:22,760 everybody together. And we have to be prepared that 704 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:25,280 that's reality. It's happening now where people 705 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:28,840 are like that happened because they're not talking about the, 706 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:31,440 the Republicans anymore or the conservatives. 707 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:34,240 They say the Christian nationalists did it, all the 708 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:35,760 white Christian nationalists did it. 709 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:38,160 And that's what they're, that's what we have to be prepared 710 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:39,800 because that's the reality of what's going on. 711 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:43,480 It's no longer the Republicans are doing, it's the Christians, 712 00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:45,520 it's the Christians are doing it. 713 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:47,040 They're the ones influencing people. 714 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:50,040 They're the ones that the reason why we're in this situation now. 715 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:53,240 So just be prepared for that, that this is a reality of where 716 00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:58,000 we're at now. That's why the early Christians 717 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:01,360 were so eager and ready to March to their death, because they 718 00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:03,800 believed in what God said. And we have to be prepared for 719 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:07,600 that also. So what I'm trying to 720 00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:13,920 communicate today is number one, we should trust in God #2 we 721 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:17,360 should trust in his Word and #3 we have to be prepared. 722 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:22,960 We have to, we have to trust in his promises as well as the 723 00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:24,800 things, the warnings that he has given us. 724 00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:28,200 And we have to be rest assured in the Word of God so that when 725 00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:31,480 we go out into the world, we're at peace with whatever situation 726 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:33,360 is happening. We can rely and trust on the 727 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:37,360 Word of God. So I'm going to share my final 728 00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:40,560 verses for today. We're going to be in Luke 729 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:44,040 chapter 21, verse 25 through 28, and I'm going to start with 25 730 00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:47,240 and 26. There will be signs in the sun 731 00:37:47,240 --> 00:37:50,600 and the moon and the stars and on earth, dismay among the 732 00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:53,840 nations and perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the 733 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:57,800 waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of things 734 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:00,800 which are coming upon the world for the powers of the heavens 735 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:04,360 will be shaken. Does that sound familiar to you 736 00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:06,320 guys? That's the word of God. 737 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:09,680 He's saying that right now, no matter what your eschatological 738 00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:11,880 views or your views of end times, whether you're pre 739 00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:16,240 millennial, dispensational, post millennial, doesn't matter. 740 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:20,680 This is something that will happen or is happening. 741 00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:24,160 So what are we talking about? It says signs in the sun and the 742 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:26,400 moons and the stars. Does that sound familiar? 743 00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:30,200 People looking up to the skies, seeing things in the skies, 744 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:34,440 people, men fainting from fear and expectations of the things 745 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:36,600 which are coming upon the world. Does that sound familiar? 746 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:41,760 This would and should strike fear in the hearts of man, 747 00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:43,320 right? It should, right? 748 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:45,280 If you see things up in the sky, you should be like, what is 749 00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:48,360 that, right? But the Bible says it's going to 750 00:38:48,360 --> 00:38:52,480 happen if people are so panicked and they're all, oh, it's end of 751 00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:56,040 the world. It should strike fear when 752 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:59,320 people are like, oh, China's got nukes and they've got this and 753 00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:00,960 all that. And and this is going on. 754 00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:02,720 It should strike fear in the hearts of men. 755 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:05,400 But we're just not regular men, right? 756 00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:08,080 We're not regular men and women. We're we're people of the, of 757 00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:09,760 the faith. We're people of the word. 758 00:39:11,080 --> 00:39:14,080 But it's not over. Look at what he what he says in 759 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:17,440 the next few verses. Then they will see the Son of 760 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:21,560 Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 761 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:26,200 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and 762 00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:29,280 lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. 763 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:33,000 Amen. So we're not like those people. 764 00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:36,560 As these things begin to happen, what are we supposed to do? 765 00:39:37,240 --> 00:39:40,440 Look to the One. How can we get assurance? 766 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:42,440 How can we know that we can do that? 767 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:47,280 We run to the Word of God. He will strengthen us right when 768 00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:51,160 these things begin to happen. So as we close today, let us 769 00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:54,320 remember that we can trust in God's Word because it is 770 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:59,800 steadfast, unchanging and true. His promises are sure and His 771 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:02,840 guidance is perfect. The Bible is not merely a book 772 00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:05,400 of good advice or ancient history. 773 00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:09,600 It is the living Word of God, sharper than any 2 edged shorts, 774 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:11,680 speaking directly into our lives. 775 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:14,320 Just not in the past, but today as well. 776 00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:18,920 In times of uncertainty, we can stand firm on His promises. 777 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:23,520 In times of confusion, His Word offers clarity, and in times of 778 00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:26,440 the trial, His Word offers comfort and hope. 779 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:30,360 The Scriptures reveal to us the heart of God, the truth of 780 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:34,040 salvation, and the power to live transformed lives. 781 00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:38,120 So let us hold fast to God's Word, trusting that it is our 782 00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:42,280 firm foundation, the light to our path, and the anchor of our 783 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:45,000 souls. When we lean on it, we will not 784 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:46,760 be shaken. Amen. 785 00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:49,840 Amen. Praise God, that's all. 786 00:40:49,840 --> 00:40:54,600 Bow our heads as we pray. Does anybody else have anything? 787 00:40:54,600 --> 00:40:58,560 I don't know. Father God, we come before your 788 00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:00,280 presence, Lord, and we just thank you, Lord. 789 00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:02,320 We thank you for this congregation. 790 00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:03,560 Lord. We thank you for this men and 791 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:06,600 women who have taken this time to fellowship today with their 792 00:41:06,600 --> 00:41:10,520 brothers and sisters, Lord, and here to receive the word of God. 793 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:14,160 Lord, I thank you for your word. Lord, I thank you for your word 794 00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:17,880 that it is true, that it is faithful and it is a light to 795 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:20,600 our path. Lord, I thank you, Lord, for who 796 00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:24,680 you are, Your mercy and your promises and your and your and 797 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:28,120 your faithfulness and your and your just everything that you're 798 00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:30,680 in your word, that you say, that you are, that you have lived it. 799 00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:34,000 Lord, I thank you for you giving us mercy and you have given us 800 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:36,160 grace. Lord, in these times that we 801 00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:38,680 need it. Lord, I ask for endurance, Lord, 802 00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:40,600 for us to continue to run the race. 803 00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:43,480 Lord, I ask that you just strengthen us as we look ahead 804 00:41:43,480 --> 00:41:45,200 in these times. Lord, I ask that you just 805 00:41:45,200 --> 00:41:48,760 prepare the hearts, souls, and minds of the men and women of 806 00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:51,680 this church as well as me, Lord, for the road ahead, Lord, that 807 00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:54,920 you just give us strength, Lord, and that you guide us as we go 808 00:41:54,920 --> 00:41:57,920 along in this path, Lord. Lord, I ask that we pray over 809 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:01,080 this country, Lord, right now, Lord, that tomorrow we have a 810 00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:04,640 change of, of leadership. Lord, we pray over our 811 00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:07,440 president, our incoming President Trump, just as we 812 00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:10,440 prayed as our outgoing for our outgoing President Biden. 813 00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:13,680 Lord, that you would bless him, and that you would guide him and 814 00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:16,640 his cabinet and your will. Lord, that there your will be 815 00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:19,760 done in their lives and through them, Lord, And that no matter 816 00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:23,120 what happens, you be glorified, no matter what this looks like 817 00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:26,480 in four years, or that you just be glorified in whatever way you 818 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:29,560 deem fit. Lord, all kings will bow before 819 00:42:29,560 --> 00:42:31,000 you. Lord, all presidents will bow 820 00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:33,520 before you. All Congress and senators and 821 00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:37,440 leaders and every man and every woman shall bow the knee and 822 00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:39,440 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. 823 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,840 And we thank you, Lord, because your, your word says that, Lord, 824 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:46,480 and it is true, Lord. I pray, Lord, that you keep us 825 00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:50,360 in those times of need that we run to Your word and those times 826 00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:53,480 of hardships that we trust in your word, Lord, and that when 827 00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:56,080 things start to go South, Lord, that we can just trust that your 828 00:42:56,080 --> 00:42:59,160 word is true and that you will help us in our time of need. 829 00:42:59,360 --> 00:43:02,080 Your word is faithful just as you are faithful, Lord. 830 00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:04,960 I pray for John Michael and his family and his wife, Lord, 831 00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:07,680 wherever they are that you just would just be with them and 832 00:43:07,680 --> 00:43:09,400 guide them and protect them and help them. 833 00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:12,120 Lord, I pray for my church family back at home, Lord, that 834 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:14,920 you just be with them as well and help them as they go through 835 00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:17,400 their service today. Lord, I ask that you continue to 836 00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:20,960 grow this church, Lord, and as they reflect the community that 837 00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:23,000 they just be a blessing to the community as well. 838 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:24,960 Lord, we ask you all these things. 839 00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:27,760 Lord, in the name of Jesus we pray Amen and Amen.