1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,520 We'll be in James 1 still starting in verse 2:00. 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:08,800 We, we started there last week, but I think especially with the 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,960 events this last week, going back through and just kind of 4 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,600 stepping through it. Count it all joy, brother, my 5 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:19,760 brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds for, you know, 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:23,600 the testing of your face. Fate produces steadfastness, and 7 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,800 let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect 8 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,240 and complete, lacking nothing. If you lack wisdom. 9 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:34,640 Let him ask God, who gives generously to all without 10 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:36,520 reproach, and it will be given him. 11 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:38,960 But let him ask in faith with no dialing. 12 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:43,240 For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven 13 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:47,040 and tossed by the wind. For the person, that person must 14 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:49,960 not suppose that he received anything from the Lord. 15 00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:52,760 He's a double minded man, unstable in all his ways. 16 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:57,360 And you can also put your look up Act 6. 17 00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:58,760 We'll be in We'll be there later. 18 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:06,080 And so this is one of those one of those moments in the world to 19 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:08,760 what is counted all joy look like, right. 20 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:14,120 If you look at Charlie and I I don't want to as I go through 21 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,960 this there, there's an end to my study, but I I don't want you 22 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:20,120 guys to make it. I don't want to sound like I am 23 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,480 making light of of what what happened to Charlie. 24 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,360 What if you guys don't? If does everybody know? 25 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,200 What I'm talking about? Anybody not know what I'm 26 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,080 talking about? Charlie Kirk, the founder of 27 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:36,800 Turning Point, debated on college campuses and he was shot 28 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:43,960 and killed this week. His wife is going through this 29 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:46,400 right now, right? Charlie's, Charlie's with the 30 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:51,560 Lord, but his wife and his children are going to go through 31 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:53,200 this. And the thing and I was I was 32 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:58,440 sharing with Aunt Sherry last night was there there's going to 33 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:02,480 come a point where life gets quiet in her life, right? 34 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:08,199 Right now, it is it is out in in light and everybody sees it. 35 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:10,440 But it's going to get quiet and she's going to get alone. 36 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,000 And those are the times that she's going to need need our 37 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,600 prayers. So don't stop praying for her, 38 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:18,800 right? Don't start praying for those 39 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:23,560 that go through this now around the world, everyday tragedy 40 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,480 happens, right? This one happened on T on on 41 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:30,800 YouTube and it's filmed, but it happens everywhere, right? 42 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,480 The question is, how do we respond, right? 43 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:40,520 And are we steadfast, steadfast in our faith because we have 44 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:45,080 allowed the maker to make right? And that's the that's when it's 45 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:47,800 counted all joy when you fall into various trials, right? 46 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:51,080 Because he's making you steadfast through that, through 47 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:58,800 your faith and you've been tested and tried. 48 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,760 And, and I would tell you that that Charlie's wife didn't wake 49 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:08,400 up and suddenly have the ability to stand up and share the way 50 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:10,680 she did. That was, that was something God 51 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,120 built into her over over the time they've been together, 52 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,640 right? This is a, this has not been a, 53 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:21,840 this was a sudden end to his life, but not a sudden battle in 54 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,560 their lives, right? They've been, they've been out 55 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:29,720 sharing what the Lord's putting on his heart and on their heart 56 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:37,560 for their entire marriage. And, and what she's laying back 57 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:39,640 in right now. And what we lay back in in those 58 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,440 moments is knowing he has a plan, right? 59 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,640 Not knowing he has a plan today. Like I talked about last week, 60 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,840 the tools that we're being made into that, that he has a plan 61 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:55,840 for that, that all things that we trust him, that he's in 62 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:59,720 control of it. Steadfast, which is the, the 63 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,160 title of the, the study today is steadfastness in full effect. 64 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:07,480 And steadfast just means immovable or loyal. 65 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:12,000 It's firm or fixed in place. It's, it's determination, right? 66 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:19,680 And you don't, so you don't coast through life ignoring the 67 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:22,480 Lord and doing what you want to do. 68 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:27,800 And, and then when the trial comes, have steadfastness. 69 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:30,080 It doesn't work like that, right? 70 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:36,440 You, you, you get what? When, when the struggle comes, 71 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:41,080 you need to have that steadfastness which is built 72 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,480 over time. And it's, it's not built because 73 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:45,200 you work hard. It's built because you've 74 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:52,080 surrendered those things to him, you know, and there are, we have 75 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:57,800 shared in the past, Joe and Jenny Cotta are and, and one day 76 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:02,120 Joe will come and they probably around Christmas, he'll probably 77 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,160 come up and share with you guys about about his son. 78 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:14,520 But when they lost Jacob, that is So that isn't the day that 79 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:16,480 they applied their steadfastness, right? 80 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:18,960 That isn't the day that they went, oh, we need to, we need to 81 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:23,160 act like Christians, right? They were already there. 82 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,240 They were prepared. They didn't want to be prepared, 83 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:27,640 right? That wasn't. 84 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:35,360 But then at that moment they had an opportunity to use the trial, 85 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:39,800 the the awful to share and and people got saved. 86 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:42,280 Right, I, I wish you could have seen. 87 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:48,800 Jacobs Jacobs celebration of life and I've I had a had a kid 88 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,600 at a man I graduated high school would have graduated high school 89 00:05:52,600 --> 00:06:00,080 with died at young and his funeral was at 16 years old. 90 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,320 Zach's funeral was to this day like it just sad. 91 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:06,840 It was it was it was sad. It was heartbreaking, right? 92 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:11,120 And I was not a believer and neither was he and his fit. 93 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,600 You know, there was crying and it was it was a hard thing to 94 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:18,560 bury a classmate. And then I go to Jacob's funeral 95 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:23,120 that lasted and I am not kidding, 3 hours of people up 96 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:25,680 front singing and talking about Jacob. 97 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:30,520 And there were, there was a joke about a yellow suit and there 98 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:34,720 were probably 1520 kids that it went out and bought these, I 99 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:41,600 mean, like Minion yellow suits. And it was a day of celebration 100 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,960 of Jacob's life because we absolutely knew where he was at. 101 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:51,000 Absolutely. And and that was not a not a 102 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,800 guess. And, and but that wasn't 103 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:55,800 something that they applied for that day, right? 104 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:58,520 That was something that was built in that, that Joe and 105 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:01,480 Jenny had done, that they had, they had went through the 106 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:03,320 battles that got him to that point. 107 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,000 And like I said, I'll let him tell one day. 108 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,600 He'll come and and share with you a he's he's an awesome 109 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:17,440 teacher but Hebrews Hebrews 12/2 kind of looks into this looking 110 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:20,880 to Jesus, the founder perfector and in the new King James. 111 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:24,360 It's the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that 112 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:28,440 was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and 113 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:30,240 he sitted. He's seated at the right. 114 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:35,520 He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God and do we 115 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:40,120 in all things, even this right when when she got the phone call 116 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:42,640 or or saw the video, I don't know how she was informed or she 117 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,320 might have been there. Did she trust the maker? 118 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:51,560 Did she trust the author right? Do we trust the author when 119 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:54,520 things suck? They will tell you that my my 120 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:58,960 most annoying dad statement that my kids ever hear is if it's 121 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:03,520 funny later, it's funny now. And and that works for 122 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:06,920 everything up to death, right? I mean it. 123 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:09,040 It let broken bones, wrecked cars. 124 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:13,200 We all tell the story later. Laughing about it. 125 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,560 Whatever it is, even if it's the stupidest thing I've ever done 126 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:18,920 right or the most horrific moment. 127 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,240 But it's funny later because now I can tell a story about it. 128 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:24,080 And so if it's funny later, it's funny now. 129 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,000 But part of that is perspective. Do you know who our God is? 130 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:30,960 Do you know how big he is? Do you know how much he's in 131 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,840 charge? And the, we're going to talk 132 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:40,400 about martyrs today. And I don't know that 133 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:43,440 everybody's calling Charlie a martyr, and I don't know if he 134 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:44,840 would have called himself a martyr. 135 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:49,320 So I don't want to put that on that, but I do want to do some 136 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:56,400 comparisons. And Nate St. and Jim Elliott and 137 00:08:56,400 --> 00:09:01,000 two other guys back in the, I think it was in the early 50s, 138 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:04,600 died on a beach in Ecuador. And they died on a beach trying 139 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:09,920 to reach a try, a tribe that hadn't been reached, that was 140 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:18,880 known to be known to be killers. And they thought they had, they 141 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,520 had an open door, they had had breakfast, they had, they had 142 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:24,240 had a meeting the day before and everything was good. 143 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:27,800 And somewhere there there was a miscommunication with the tribe. 144 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,920 And the tribe came and killed them all the next day on the 145 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:36,920 beach. And their story is, if you guys 146 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:39,360 ever want to read a the it's into the spear. 147 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:45,600 And it is four guys that absolutely knew what they were, 148 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:48,800 they were being asked to do and what they were willing to do for 149 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:49,680 it. And I've got some. 150 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,040 I don't know what no it no, this this this went dead. 151 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:26,630 So yeah, just a second, guys. All right, so so there's Jim 152 00:10:26,630 --> 00:10:30,830 Elliott, Elizabeth Elliott. These are people that you get to 153 00:10:30,830 --> 00:10:37,350 hear fake quote Elizabeth a lot, but Nate St. was the pilot and 154 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:47,520 it I read so they all have they all have biographies and Nate 155 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:50,760 Saints biography. If you if you want to read it's 156 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:54,600 like now and then's they're like 8th grade level reading books. 157 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:58,960 They are amazing to read about great Christians that have lived 158 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:03,320 over the years and Nate St. has one of those that just explains 159 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,240 how how much God had built into him. 160 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:10,400 It wasn't like wasn't that he graduated from high school and 161 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:12,560 said, hey, I'm willing to go to Ecuador. 162 00:11:12,560 --> 00:11:17,480 And die on a beach. Right there was a process of 163 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:22,560 learning and, and how that happened in his life that that 164 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:29,880 God built him to be that man. And then his son, his son has 165 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:31,920 started a lot of nonprofits over the years. 166 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:36,800 He he does ministry in that country and his quote, his name, 167 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:39,280 Steve St. and he has a quote that says, I have come to 168 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:42,880 understand that life is too complex and much too short to 169 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,720 let an amateur direct the story. I would rather let the master 170 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:49,840 storyteller do the writing and do we do that? 171 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:54,320 Do we trust that? I don't know, do I do I trust 172 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:57,800 that do when I when I'm reading my Bible or when things come at 173 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:01,480 me, do I trust that the way he says I'm supposed to deal with 174 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:02,880 it is the right way to deal with it? 175 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:12,120 Or do I apply my logic and do I trust his story to eternity over 176 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:15,680 my plan for next week? And that was, I'm sure you guys 177 00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:19,200 have all over the years with, with different things, but mine 178 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:23,680 was a money thing way back when. And it was one of those days 179 00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:26,320 that I had a calculator and I could enter the numbers and I'm 180 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:30,120 like, it ain't going to work. And I know what he's saying, but 181 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:32,160 we're not going to do that because that won't work. 182 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:35,320 I've done the math. If I worked, if I worked 60 183 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:37,720 hours of overtime a week, we still lose the house in three 184 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:38,880 months. It's a horrible plan. 185 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:43,240 We can't do it. And Fast forward to we actually 186 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:49,800 by the rest decided to do it and had no idea how it was going to 187 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:53,400 work. And then it worked beyond my 188 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:55,360 ability to cover it because he knew. 189 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:58,440 He knew what the he knew the numbers didn't enter in the 190 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:00,360 calculator. I didn't, right. 191 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:04,160 I had numbers that I thought, yeah, but you don't know what 192 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:05,760 you don't. You have no idea what the 193 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:08,680 numbers are. And that's the part with the 194 00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:12,280 storyteller versus he has a plan for eternity, and I have a plan 195 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:13,680 for as far as I can see. Right. 196 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:18,560 And if they was talking about that this morning with being in 197 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:20,600 the moment, right. Don't worry about tomorrow. 198 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:27,160 When we look at the big picture, Elizabeth Elliott, which is one 199 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:30,840 of the guys on the beach, his wife, and she talks about faith 200 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:35,280 like this. And faith is not an instinct. 201 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:39,440 It is certainly not a feeling. Feelings don't help when you're 202 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:41,800 in the lion's den or hanging on a wooden cross. 203 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:46,120 Faith is not infirm inferred from the happy way things work. 204 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:51,600 It's an act of will, a choice based on an on the unbreakable 205 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:56,240 word of God who cannot lie and who shows us what love and 206 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:00,040 obedience and sacrifice means in the person of Jesus Christ 207 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,960 right. So and and her story guys, is 208 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:07,920 ever just want to live your life in conviction Read one of her 209 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:12,240 books because when, when Elizabeth said when Elizabeth 210 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:18,640 Elliott says embrace the suck, she she has reference right? 211 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,200 That is, you know, her, her husband died when her when her 212 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,880 daughter was just born. Her next husband died of cancer. 213 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:30,440 I mean she's she's got and and never lost her joy, right? 214 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:38,360 She has she has a a story that is inspirational, but it wasn't 215 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:39,880 because. She was out trying to make that 216 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:43,000 story. Right, she really just went 217 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,920 where God want She has a thing about just do the next thing 218 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:52,520 right And that is that's how Elizabeth Elliott walked walked 219 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:55,880 with Christ and that's what I would tell you Jessica or not 220 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:59,920 Jessica Charlie's wife is doing. I just forgot her name. 221 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:05,520 What is it, Erica? That is what she's doing the 222 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:13,360 next thing, right? And we can count it all joy when 223 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:15,480 we have faith that's beyond our understanding. 224 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:27,280 And when when we have that base, we are able to be used to 225 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:32,760 perform steadfastly the job God intended us for, right? 226 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:37,040 And that is, you know, the guys on the beach, they had a gun. 227 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:44,680 And the story is that they didn't, I mean that nobody was 228 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:48,120 there with them, but they didn't use the gun because the, the 229 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:54,480 natives, the, the reason those four guys were on the beach was 230 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:59,400 that those guys got to hear about Christ and have a chance 231 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:02,760 for eternal life and shooting them. 232 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:08,680 The four guys that they got to go to be in glory, but if they 233 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:12,240 were to shoot any of the their attackers, their attackers 234 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:15,400 weren't going to glory. Now, I'm not saying that I'm 235 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:19,080 not, I'm not adding a theological statement there, but 236 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,000 that's the facts, right? They had a gun that they didn't 237 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,120 use and had the ability to use it. 238 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:33,720 And Jim Elliott said one of his quotes is he is no fool who 239 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:38,120 gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose, 240 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:42,280 Right. And and that's that, do we trust 241 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:45,720 the Lord? And there's nothing that's 242 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,000 that's this week as I was. As I was. 243 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,320 Pondering this and me and the Lord were talking like, Lord, is 244 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:53,040 there anything I'm holding between me and you? 245 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,640 Is there something, Is there anything I'm not willing to give 246 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:59,440 up if you asked? You know, I mean, guys, come in 247 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:01,200 here. One of the things I had to give 248 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:05,079 up was Africa, right? That's that's one of those 249 00:17:05,079 --> 00:17:06,200 right. That's a that's a ministry. 250 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,520 God gave me a a heart. God gave me. 251 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:11,599 Now I still get to go, but it's not my focus. 252 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:17,079 And it was something that I mean, that was a like, I think 253 00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:21,680 Mark shared that, you know, that was one of his concerns was I 254 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:24,160 was going to come and be a African missionary with the 255 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:28,760 church and God in no one certain term said that can't be. 256 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:35,680 You know, that was part of our my my walk with him through it 257 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:40,520 was Lord, you've given me, you've given me a a burden. 258 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:44,360 And he says, and, and he was, and I carry that burden egg. 259 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:48,320 That's for me to carry. You got to give it you, you, you 260 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:53,280 take the burden I give you and and you know, it's, it's that's 261 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:55,400 who I've been for. I mean, that's who I've, I've 262 00:17:55,400 --> 00:18:01,120 been for the last almost 20 years is the guy that goes to 263 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:03,840 Africa, the, the guy that, you know, if you want to know about 264 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:06,000 mission work in Africa, I'm the guy to talk to. 265 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,400 You know, for years they called me a missionary and they used to 266 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:11,880 laugh at him and go, no, I, I go to Africa every, I go to Africa 267 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,040 every every year. But that doesn't make me a 268 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:16,680 missionary when I lived there. We can talk about that. 269 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:22,760 But and so, but being willing, no matter what, God's asking you 270 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:28,840 to lay it down, right is, is to be flexible with that. 271 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:34,440 And, and he does change what he's doing with you, right? 272 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:38,080 So being willing to never hold something and think this is 273 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:42,320 mine, letting him tell the story. 274 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:46,240 So when we look at James and John and this is another one of, 275 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:50,080 of the guys that This Is Us. I, I always look at James and 276 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:55,000 John and think I would do this James and John. 277 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:59,280 So this is Matt Mark 1035 and 37, James and John's the son of 278 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:03,680 deputy came to him and said, teacher, we, we want you to do 279 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:13,360 whatever we ask, ask of you. It's a new mic up here. 280 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:17,920 And he said to them, what do you want me to do for you? 281 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,720 And they said to him, grant us to sit one on your right hand 282 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,520 and the other on your left in glory, in your glory. 283 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,840 And what they thought they wanted was power and comfort in 284 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:29,600 this world. You know anybody like that? 285 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,960 And in the end, they do get to sit on Thrones, right? 286 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,640 Jesus promised in Matthew 19 verse 28. 287 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:42,800 It says truly, I say to you in the new world, when the Son of 288 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:46,560 Man will sit on his glory, on glorious on his glorious throne, 289 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:51,400 you who have followed me will also sit on 12 Thrones judging 290 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:55,920 the 12 tribes. And and this is picking on James 291 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:57,480 and John. But all of the apostles were 292 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:01,760 looking at Jesus and the power that they witnessed him used. 293 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:04,240 And they believed that they would have Thrones and they were 294 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:06,360 planning for their next week, right? 295 00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:09,240 Or their or the next month. And they could see that they 296 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:11,360 were on the winning team. They were with the guy that was 297 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:14,640 going to that was going to come in and kick Rome out. 298 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:20,320 Well, his story to use them did change the world, right? 299 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,280 And he built the but, but in the process, he built them into the 300 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:29,280 tools that he needed for the task in his story. 301 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:34,080 They all did get Thrones. They there, there was just more 302 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:36,880 of a cost than they thought there was going to be when they 303 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:41,000 asked that question. So if you look down through the 304 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,480 group of them, Peter was crucified upside down. 305 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:47,280 James the greater was beheaded. James the less stoned and beaten 306 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:51,080 to death. Jude beaten to death with clubs 307 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:54,440 and hacked with an axe. Philip crucified by soldiers. 308 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:59,760 Thomas blows of a spear, Simon stabbed with a sword Bartholomew 309 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:04,280 was crucified. Andrew nailed to the to an XX 310 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:07,720 shaped cross. Matthew was crucified and John 311 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,480 did die, but he was he was first. 312 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:17,280 There's, there's a tradition that said he was boiled an oil 313 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:20,800 and didn't die and that's why he ended up on a on the island of 314 00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:26,720 Patmos in exile, but he ended up dying of natural causes. 315 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,480 They don't have. There's, there's a rumor out 316 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:32,360 there that he never died, but that is kind of funny when that 317 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:37,000 rumor comes up because he in in John points out that that isn't 318 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:39,960 what that means because Peter asked, well, what about him? 319 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:44,200 And Jesus said, what if it what if he stays until I come? 320 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:49,560 And John says, some people say that's because I never died, but 321 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:52,280 that's not true. I'm going to die. 322 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,920 So just kind of a a funny to side. 323 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:01,120 But when I heard about Charlie getting shot this week, I 324 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,600 instantly, like I said, started thinking about where I was in 325 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:09,640 this as far as am I ready for that? 326 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:12,920 You know, I mean, I don't, I don't have people shooting at 327 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:22,520 me, but there's a guy in in the tri-cities, Rick Thursby died 328 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:25,800 suddenly. He was walking across the 329 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,120 parking lot and talking to guys about Jesus. 330 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:30,360 If you, if you knew him, that's his life in general. 331 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:34,880 He was a salesman, but he was he was always sharing and massive 332 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:41,160 heart attack died in the parking lot and Rick left a hole right. 333 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:45,320 There was a where Rick filled filled the filled the church 334 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:49,000 with people from all over the community for his for his 335 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:50,680 service. But he left a hole. 336 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:52,680 He left a hole at work. He left a hole in his church. 337 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:55,080 He left a hole in ministry. He left a hole in his house. 338 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:59,520 He left a hole. And what that means is there was 339 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:01,080 there was a reason for him, right? 340 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:04,120 And God had been using him in all these people's lives. 341 00:23:04,120 --> 00:23:07,520 And and when he passed, suddenly he left a hole. 342 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:14,440 But he was ready, right? And and I would tell you when 343 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:18,400 you, when you watch Charlie and you watch his, his life, he was 344 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:24,640 ready, not he wasn't. I want to go, you know, I'm sure 345 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:28,960 just like any daddy wants to, he wants to watch his kids grow up. 346 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:33,480 And but he was ready. And when you listen to the way 347 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:39,000 he could share that I was, he's 30 years old now. 348 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,840 He has kids or was 30 years old has kids. 349 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:48,760 And if you watch him six years ago, seven years ago, he his, 350 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:53,800 his, he was more abrasive on the political side. 351 00:23:54,400 --> 00:24:02,280 And the longer, the more, the more time he got, the more 352 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:05,120 maturity he got, the more he just kept pointing him to 353 00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:08,360 Christ, right? And, and you can, I mean, he's 354 00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:15,440 got an ability or had an ability to just explain it in a non 355 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:19,000 argumentative way that shut down their arguments. 356 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:22,280 Not and and not because arguing with people never works. 357 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:23,800 I always tell people it's really simple. 358 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:26,640 You just have to go back to being a kid. 359 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:31,320 And have you ever been arguing with your parents and halfway 360 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:34,160 through the argument figured out you were dead wrong at that 361 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:37,000 moment? Did you say I'm sorry, I'm wrong 362 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:39,680 or did you dig your heels in and go, I'm winning this argument? 363 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:42,280 That's what that's what happens to an argument, right? 364 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:47,720 Arguments don't work. Now conversations, sharing, 365 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,640 sharing truth being will list the other person, right? 366 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:53,760 That works because it makes the other person think. 367 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:59,400 I always think about Jesus and the Pharisees in in the temple. 368 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,000 They came to him and said, by what power do you do these 369 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,720 things? And he goes, I will answer that 370 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:07,560 question if you answer mine. Who sent John? 371 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,280 Was he, was he from God or from man? 372 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:12,920 And they got over by themselves and they're like, well, if we 373 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,040 say it was from God, then they'll ask why we're not 374 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:17,360 following him. And if we would say it was from 375 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:20,080 man, they're going to stone us. So they came back and said, 376 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,680 we're not answering. Well, all those Pharisees had to 377 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:28,200 go home alone and decide why they couldn't answer that 378 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:31,800 question. Why, if they were, if they were 379 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:35,280 the, you know, that Jesus asked him a question they couldn't 380 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:40,160 answer and they had to sit not in the they don't get it. 381 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,440 They don't go home in a mob. They go home alone. 382 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,320 And when you're talking to somebody, when you're sharing 383 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:47,960 with somebody, what you want to share with them is what Jesus 384 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:51,400 said, right? Because you want them going home 385 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:54,160 arguing with Christ. That's you don't want them 386 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:56,520 arguing with me, right? You don't want them arguing with 387 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:57,760 you because they can win that argument. 388 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:00,160 If you've ever done that, you know, you walk away from an 389 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:02,600 argument that you were losing, but you walk away and you think 390 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,800 of all the ways you could have won if I did just said this or I 391 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:08,760 just said that. If you leave them with what the 392 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:11,760 Bible says it it takes all the wiggle room out. 393 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:15,240 That's just what it says. You know, if somebody tells you 394 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:18,960 they're not a Sinner, but they believe the Bible, you can take 395 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:22,240 them to Romans 323 and says all, all of sin and fall short of the 396 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:27,600 glory of God, right. And I didn't say that God did 397 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,400 right. And it's that kind of that kind 398 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:36,080 of conversation, but being willing and stepping into that 399 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:41,440 and then remembering something I'm sure Charlie knew we're not 400 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,000 wrestling against flesh and blood, right? 401 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:48,120 Ephesians 612 says, For we do not wrestle against flesh and 402 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:51,240 blood, blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, 403 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:54,840 against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against 404 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:57,920 the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 405 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:00,760 And then I want to. I want to flavor that with And 406 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:02,720 no, there is not a. Demon under every rock. 407 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:06,840 Right, That is not, that is not what what's being said there, 408 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,720 but what is being said there is that the enemy wants to drag as 409 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:17,440 many souls to hell with him as he can take because the only way 410 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:22,560 he can hurt God is by hurting us. 411 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:26,280 That's it. He, he doesn't have any more he, 412 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:31,680 he is not at God's level. If anybody doesn't know that he 413 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:37,720 is, he is a created being and has zero power to affect God 414 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:42,160 except where he gets to hurt God's people. 415 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:44,600 Right. And if you ever want to read a a 416 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:49,880 book about how manipulative and how easily manipulated we are, 417 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,080 read Screw Tape Letters by CS Lewis. 418 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:58,840 It's it's a great picture of how quickly we can overcompensate to 419 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:07,520 the left or to the right. But to remember that people you 420 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:11,200 meet on the street are not our enemies, right? 421 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:17,480 They no matter their actions. Now, sin is sin and call it what 422 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:24,400 it is, right? But but remember that without 423 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:28,800 Jesus, we're all lost, dying blind, right? 424 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:35,920 We we have to remember our position without him, right? 425 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:40,440 Romans 58 says but show but God showed his love for us that 426 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:43,040 while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 427 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:53,360 And this is something that so I've been saved for 24 years now 428 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:58,440 and I, I truly remember the first 30 years of my life. 429 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:01,520 I can tell you I need you, I need Jesus. 430 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,360 I can remember the last 24 years of life, my life, and I can tell 431 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:10,160 you I need Jesus every day, all day long. 432 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:15,000 And there's never a point where I think that I have arrived and 433 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,240 I don't need as much Jesus today as I needed the day I got saved. 434 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:24,000 He died for me, not because I was worthy, not because I was 435 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,560 good. He died for me because I needed 436 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:32,280 a savior. And everybody that isn't a 437 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:37,080 believer today needs a savior, needs him. 438 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,440 And what he did on the cross and he did it. 439 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,800 He did it for me while I was still his enemy. 440 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:46,720 And he's done it for them while they are still his enemy, right? 441 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:53,480 Because when we are when we're battling for souls, Satan wants 442 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:55,840 as many to be lost as can be, right. 443 00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:58,400 So Job 17 is, is one of these scenes. 444 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:00,640 Lord said to Satan, from where have you come? 445 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:04,320 And Satan answered the Lord and said from going to and fro on 446 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:07,000 the earth and walking up and down and seeing who I can 447 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:15,480 devour, right? That's his goal now it's Job's 448 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:23,200 response to that is is because of the work he put in, right? 449 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:29,320 Because as Joel went, as Job went through trials, Job was 450 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:33,000 able to stand when the time came. 451 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:43,400 So God cannot touch us, right? That was wrong because Satan 452 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:46,600 cannot touch God. He can hurt those God loves, but 453 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:50,360 if we pray if we're prayed up and trust in the Lord, all the 454 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:52,360 enemy can do is add to our faith. 455 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:57,880 That's all he can do to us right because as you rest in in 456 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:05,800 Jesus's strength, you get to see his power right Job 121 is this 457 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:09,080 is Job says naked I come come from my mother's room and naked 458 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,600 I shall return the Lord gave the Lord is taken away. 459 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:15,160 Blessed be the name of the Lord and that is just understanding 460 00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:20,760 and Job understood who God was in his life right? 461 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:25,200 Because not because Job once again, not because Job didn't 462 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:28,880 know who God was and didn't didn't trust in him for his 463 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:34,880 entire he trusted him and went through the process and when and 464 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:38,080 when the suck happened, God had prepared him for it. 465 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:47,360 Last week I talked about James being the first of the apostles 466 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:54,440 to die. And so here in Acts 12, James, 467 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:58,880 the brother of John was killed with the sword, but the first 468 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:03,040 martyr was a man named Stephen. And I, I think the, the 469 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:08,760 correlations between Stephen and Charlie in just their, the way 470 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:12,600 they, they went out. And I've been thinking about how 471 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:14,800 they went out together and they, they would have been brothers. 472 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:20,040 I, I imagine Charlie at this point would be telling me that I 473 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:22,000 need to shut up and not compare him with Steven. 474 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:25,760 But there, there's a lot of similarities. 475 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:33,200 Steven was a was full of faith in the Holy Spirit And and if 476 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:40,240 you watch Charlie's life, he the way he shared his faith, there 477 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:44,160 was a Holy Spirit clarity, a gift that he was given by God to 478 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:47,040 do that. There was a Rolodex. 479 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:52,040 And if you watch him rapid fire scriptures and be able to and 480 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:54,880 that isn't just because he is smart, right? 481 00:32:55,680 --> 00:33:00,640 It's when you have the the book memorized to the point that you 482 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,280 can do that. You still have to be able to. 483 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:08,920 Organize it and there's a. It it's a gift that the Holy 484 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:11,400 Spirit gives some people to be able to do that. 485 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:15,120 And he had that, but he had it in such a way that it didn't 486 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:17,640 come off. Condescending, right? 487 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:19,440 He. Can he can truly share with 488 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:26,920 people and I, I believe Stephen in in Acts 6 is when he gets 489 00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:33,360 chosen and they say and and they chose Stephen, a man full of 490 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:37,640 faith and the Holy Spirit. So Stephen was loved by all 491 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:39,640 those he knew. If you read that if you read 492 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:44,760 chapter 6 you'll see it and and Charlie was loved by as by many. 493 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:48,640 He reflected Christ and if you listen to all of the and I don't 494 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:50,800 listen to all of it I I avoid a lot of it. 495 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:58,320 But if you listen to everybody talking right now, the there is 496 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:02,000 a bunch of people that love him and have no and not because 497 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:04,320 they're believers. I mean, we'll pick on Joe Rogan. 498 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:06,640 Joe Rogan is not a believer, right? 499 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:11,600 He wouldn't claim he is. And he loves Charlie because of 500 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:15,480 his just straightforward honesty, right, of sharing his 501 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:20,000 faith and doesn't, I mean, he doesn't know what that power is 502 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:24,880 that Charlie had, but he does know that it was respectable. 503 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:30,400 I have a a guy in the tri-cities Bruno. 504 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:33,600 I'm sure you've heard about him because I I only have so many 505 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:36,320 guys that impressed me. Bruno. 506 00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:39,040 I have AI want to make him a shirt that says we don't 507 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:42,840 disappoint Bruno. He's our he's the safety guy and 508 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:49,760 Bruno loves people and Bruno loves the Lord and and his 509 00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:57,760 ability to combine those two in in his role as the safety guy is 510 00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:02,200 phenomenal. Because when you insight support 511 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:05,440 and it used to be our specific safety guy, insight support. 512 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:08,760 Like I have 20 people when we're online and you can make a 513 00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:10,560 relationship with 20 people pretty easy. 514 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:16,800 But when we go into outage that grows to 400 people and Bruno 515 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:21,640 could get buy in from all of them. 16 years we went without 516 00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:25,600 an OSHA recordable, which is on a phenomenal thing when you're 517 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:28,160 bringing in that many people every two years and doing that 518 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,000 kind of work. But everybody asked would ask 519 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:35,160 him what what his secret was. And this is Bruno in corporate 520 00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:37,880 offices and everywhere. They would be like, how have you 521 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:43,600 done it, Jesus? Like, let me be clear, Jesus. 522 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:47,920 And they were like, yeah, but no, it's Jesus. 523 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:50,760 And he would get he would get frustrated with with us because 524 00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:53,240 we would give him credit. And I said, Bruno, we're not 525 00:35:53,240 --> 00:35:55,040 giving. I mean, you know, me and him 526 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:58,440 have a have a relationship with these guys are not giving. 527 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:02,600 They're giving you credit because you reflect Christ to 528 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:04,360 them. They don't know that. 529 00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:07,680 I mean, you tell them all the time, but they don't they're 530 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:11,760 they're blind to their why does it work? 531 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:17,040 But the reason it works is because you truly care about 532 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:21,160 them. You truly do not want one of 533 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:23,240 them to get hurt. And not because there's 534 00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:25,800 paperwork and not because it costs money and not because 535 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:30,120 there's a there, there is a there's, there's a streak, but 536 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:35,760 because when you cut your finger and go to Bruno, he hurts for 537 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:39,280 you. I mean, it's and I I not in AI 538 00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:41,160 could not pull it off like I was joking. 539 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:42,360 Tell Faye I shouldn't be a pastor. 540 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:48,000 I don't love people enough. Bruno really cares and and he 541 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,280 can share that with people and that's something that's a gift 542 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:54,920 that he has in reflecting Christ. 543 00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:58,000 And I believe Charlie had that gift when you watched him talk 544 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:03,720 to people that would come up and be very combative and he would 545 00:37:03,720 --> 00:37:06,880 have a way of sharing with him and sharing truth and being 546 00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:09,760 direct. And there were some that were 547 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:12,640 just purely there to have the fight, though that he, they 548 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:18,240 couldn't have, but some of them got to nodding along because of 549 00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:24,680 how he was sharing. And and that's just loving 550 00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:26,920 people in truth, right? You don't win. 551 00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:33,000 We, we cannot win the battle that we're, we're in with hate, 552 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:39,360 right? If, if Christians are saved, if 553 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:45,040 you picture us being in lifeboats, those that are not 554 00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:49,400 saved are in the water. And very often what we do is 555 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:54,840 scold them for being wet, right? And we're not wet. 556 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:56,480 We're dry. We're up in the we're up in the 557 00:37:56,480 --> 00:37:57,680 boat. Why are you so wet? 558 00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:00,320 Get off my boat. You're getting it wet, right? 559 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:03,680 I mean, that's that's the thing. But then if you, if you take 560 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:09,080 that a step further, when I go in after them, anybody, ever, 561 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:11,960 anybody ever done lifeguard class? 562 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:16,920 If you if you try to rescue a drowning victim, what is the 563 00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:19,800 drowning victim going to try to do, right? 564 00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:22,160 Is that because they don't need to be saved? 565 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:24,960 No, right. That's their reaction. 566 00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:31,400 And so we as believers need to need to know our position, 567 00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:37,240 right, That we are supposed to be out there saving those people 568 00:38:37,240 --> 00:38:40,040 that are drowned, not, not adding water to them, not, not, 569 00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:45,960 not scolding them for being wet, but actually getting wet 570 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:50,640 ourselves in it, not, not sinning, right? 571 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:53,000 Everybody goes, well, Jesus, Jesus always hung out with 572 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:55,200 sinners and he did. And then they quit sinning, 573 00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:57,480 right? He didn't go and he didn't go, 574 00:38:57,560 --> 00:38:59,040 he didn't go drink and cuss with him. 575 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:04,320 He went and retrieved him and said, you know, be saved and sin 576 00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:06,040 no more, right? That's so. 577 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:11,600 But we need to be out in our community sharing with people. 578 00:39:11,720 --> 00:39:14,240 I mean, that's Charlie going into going on to college 579 00:39:14,240 --> 00:39:18,520 campuses, that's going into the community, right and being 580 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:20,040 willing to have those conversations. 581 00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:26,040 But if we try to do it without God's grace, it's like a toddler 582 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:30,160 trying to fight a 30 year old. That's the part with the enemy 583 00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:33,640 that we have to understand that the only way we win a battle is 584 00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:35,480 if the, if the Holy Spirit does it right. 585 00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:38,920 If, if a toddler runs in here and wants to wants to fight me, 586 00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:46,720 he loses. But if his dad walks in, right, 587 00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:50,800 the toddler, the toddler wins that fight because dad's got it, 588 00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:53,040 right? And that's, that's us to 589 00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:56,680 remember that we are not, we're not, you know, we don't defy 590 00:39:56,680 --> 00:39:59,840 Satan. Jesus takes him off out of the 591 00:39:59,840 --> 00:40:03,280 way, right? We need to be in Christ having 592 00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:06,200 that battle. We need to be prayed up, right? 593 00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:10,440 And this is, this is Steven, right? 594 00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:12,640 Steven, picture Steven at an open mic. 595 00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:17,040 This is Steven at an open mic. Acts 68 and if you don't know 596 00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:20,920 what the open mic thing is, that's that is Charlie Kirk went 597 00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:24,280 to college campuses and put an open mic up and let him ask him 598 00:40:24,280 --> 00:40:29,240 questions and they talked right. So verse 8 it says and Steven 599 00:40:29,240 --> 00:40:32,000 full of grace and power was going was was doing great 600 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:34,520 wonders and signs among the people and some of those 601 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:37,720 belonging to the synagogue of the freedmen, as it was called, 602 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:41,640 and the sirens and of the Alexandrians and of those from 603 00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:46,160 Sicily, Sicily and Asia rose up and disputed with Stephen. 604 00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:51,800 But they could not withstand the wisdom, this and the spirit with 605 00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:56,760 which he was speaking. Then they secretly incited men 606 00:40:56,760 --> 00:41:01,080 who said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against 607 00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:03,080 Moses. And they stirred up the people 608 00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:05,480 and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and 609 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:08,520 seized him and brought him before them and the council. 610 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:15,960 And it goes on. Has Charlie ever been misquoted? 611 00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:18,960 Have you ever been, you know, ran through the mud? 612 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:22,840 Has the culture tried all the same tools as the freedmen did 613 00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:23,800 to Stephen? Right. 614 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:30,200 What we know is the enemy is using things that work, and are 615 00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:34,960 we ready for those things? And how we get ready And how 616 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:38,800 Stephen was ready is he was prayed up and prepared. 617 00:41:39,680 --> 00:41:41,720 We don't, we don't argue with the freed men. 618 00:41:42,280 --> 00:41:44,320 We, we, we share truth with them. 619 00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:50,360 Are we ready in our steadfastness? 620 00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:53,760 Is is it in full effect? Right? 621 00:41:53,760 --> 00:42:00,440 Are we have we have we embraced the trials to build us into what 622 00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:05,520 he want us, wants us to be? Charlie or Steven? 623 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:07,320 Neither one of them are out looking for a fight. 624 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:11,360 They share truth and love by grace that God had given them. 625 00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:14,640 They could and they could not withstand their wisdom. 626 00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:20,200 So that wisdom wasn't because Stephen was ultra smart or 627 00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:23,280 Charlie was ultra smart. And if you, I encourage you, if 628 00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:28,960 you have not read all of all of the the story of Stephen, I 629 00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:33,120 encourage you to get into Chapter 7 because Stephen, a 630 00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:39,800 young man went in front of the council and explain to them who 631 00:42:39,800 --> 00:42:47,040 Jesus was from Genesis to Malachi, right? 632 00:42:47,240 --> 00:42:50,840 And explain to them that they should believe in Jesus because 633 00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:55,000 he's all over here. Let me give you your history 634 00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:57,880 lesson. This was a young man teaching 635 00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:00,320 the smartest religious people in the country. 636 00:43:01,720 --> 00:43:05,680 Sound like anybody you know, right? 637 00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:12,400 And but we're going to close with this and I think this is 638 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:16,760 more important and I think it's really what turning point is 639 00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:24,520 about what our church should be about is, is truly sharing the 640 00:43:24,520 --> 00:43:28,840 Lord's heart with people and his ability to save those that are 641 00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:30,640 lost. That's the thing. 642 00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:33,120 Do we believe that he can save those that are lost? 643 00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:40,720 So the people we could blame for Charlie, right? 644 00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:45,040 The the ones that post stupid things and and worse, the 645 00:43:45,240 --> 00:43:47,200 possibly encouraging the murderer. 646 00:43:49,600 --> 00:43:52,840 Our flesh wants wants like judgement on that guy. 647 00:43:52,840 --> 00:43:57,320 We want we want vengeance. We want, we want those 648 00:43:57,320 --> 00:44:07,080 responsible to be judged. And I, I want you guys to read 649 00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:11,520 Acts 7. It says then they this is, this 650 00:44:11,520 --> 00:44:14,280 is Stephen dying. And then they cast him out of 651 00:44:14,280 --> 00:44:18,560 the city and stoned him. And the witness laid down, the 652 00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:21,560 witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young 653 00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:27,920 man named Saul. Anybody know who that is in 654 00:44:27,920 --> 00:44:31,280 Acts? Saul goes on in Acts 8. 655 00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:34,040 And Saul approved of his execution. 656 00:44:34,840 --> 00:44:38,040 And there arose on that day a great persecution against the 657 00:44:38,040 --> 00:44:41,400 Church of Jerusalem. And there were all they were all 658 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:45,040 scattered throughout the regions of Judea, Samaria, except the 659 00:44:45,240 --> 00:44:48,240 except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and 660 00:44:48,240 --> 00:44:54,320 made great lamentations. But Saul ravaged the church and 661 00:44:54,320 --> 00:44:58,040 the entire house after and and entered house after house. 662 00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:01,680 He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. 663 00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:07,320 Now in today's world, if I see a Saul, am I praying for him? 664 00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:14,080 Do I trust that God has a plan? Now doesn't mean we don't get to 665 00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:17,400 stand up for we don't get to stand in right places and defend 666 00:45:17,400 --> 00:45:23,280 against appal or a Saul. But am I concerned about his 667 00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:27,320 eternity? Saul was full of zeal and 668 00:45:27,320 --> 00:45:30,640 passion and Jesus allowed it in his story. 669 00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:35,600 How and why I'm not I, I don't go into that, but I do know 670 00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:41,200 because of Paul's beginning. Paul was a crazily intelligent 671 00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:45,600 man who had all the reasons in the world to be prideful and 672 00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:48,360 because of his beginning as he talks about himself. 673 00:45:48,680 --> 00:45:53,240 First Corinthians 15/9, it says he is his his words unworthy to 674 00:45:53,240 --> 00:45:56,360 be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God. 675 00:45:57,080 --> 00:46:00,360 Ephesians 3/8 I am the very least of the Saints. 676 00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:07,560 First Timothy 112 through 15 in different spots. 677 00:46:07,560 --> 00:46:11,160 It says I'm a blasphemer, A persecutor and an insolent 678 00:46:11,160 --> 00:46:14,520 opponent, but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly 679 00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:18,880 and unbelief. Do we do we trust that they 680 00:46:18,880 --> 00:46:29,640 don't know what they don't know? And then his last line is that 681 00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:33,840 Christ came into the world to save sinners of who I am the 682 00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:36,280 foremost. I am the I am the the biggest 683 00:46:36,280 --> 00:46:39,800 Sinner. Do we today, when you look at 684 00:46:39,800 --> 00:46:42,480 your life can, can you apply some of that to you? 685 00:46:42,480 --> 00:46:46,760 Do you recognize what God was willing to do to save you the 686 00:46:46,760 --> 00:46:50,000 sins he paid for for you? And then when you look at the 687 00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:55,240 world and can we can we trust that he has a use for everybody? 688 00:46:55,240 --> 00:47:01,960 The the most colorful rainbow person out there, the most 689 00:47:01,960 --> 00:47:05,360 ridiculous, right. There's a story of a guy that 690 00:47:06,520 --> 00:47:08,600 goes to Calvary tri-cities. I don't know who it is. 691 00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:14,840 He he came in for counseling and when he was in his 20s of one of 692 00:47:14,840 --> 00:47:19,440 the, one of the pastors shared this when he was in his 20s, he, 693 00:47:19,480 --> 00:47:23,800 he had an operation because he thought he was a girl. 694 00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:27,560 You can't fix that. You don't there. 695 00:47:27,560 --> 00:47:34,640 There's not a backup button, but God got he, he got forgiveness 696 00:47:35,560 --> 00:47:39,680 and he got forgiveness and he gets to live his life in Christ 697 00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:43,560 today There he still has all of that garbage, right? 698 00:47:43,560 --> 00:47:48,920 But that, I mean, he was as extreme as you get and but he 699 00:47:48,920 --> 00:47:53,200 was lost and blind and dying and God saved him, right? 700 00:47:54,120 --> 00:47:56,160 Do we trust God to be able to do that? 701 00:47:56,320 --> 00:48:00,600 I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm second, second Timothy 310. 702 00:48:00,600 --> 00:48:03,600 In the end, it all burns, right? If they don't know Christ, there 703 00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:08,920 is judgment coming and it's awful, but the day of the Lord 704 00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:13,200 will come like a thief, and the heavens will pass away with a 705 00:48:13,200 --> 00:48:17,200 roar in the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolve in the 706 00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:20,720 earth, and the works that are done in it will be exposed. 707 00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:23,880 So nobody gets away with it, right? 708 00:48:24,200 --> 00:48:27,800 Hitler didn't get away with it, right? 709 00:48:28,440 --> 00:48:37,880 It's it's eternity. He calls us to love our enemies 710 00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:42,320 in Matthew and those those are our enemies and those who 711 00:48:42,320 --> 00:48:48,280 persecute us and and this is a time in our life in our in our 712 00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:51,400 country. I was sharing with with Luke and 713 00:48:51,400 --> 00:48:55,080 Jessica before the service that that is Americans, we we have a 714 00:48:55,080 --> 00:49:00,800 burden because we live in a free country in China. 715 00:49:01,480 --> 00:49:05,800 When persecution happens, they know how to respond because 716 00:49:06,080 --> 00:49:08,800 they're not free. They're not free, they're not 717 00:49:08,800 --> 00:49:12,400 armed. They don't have liberty and, and 718 00:49:12,400 --> 00:49:14,160 we very often want to stand on that. 719 00:49:14,160 --> 00:49:19,400 And what we need to stand on is Lord, how do we reach them? 720 00:49:21,160 --> 00:49:23,320 Because in the end, guys, it all burns. 721 00:49:23,960 --> 00:49:27,840 And if we, if, if the whole time we're just scolding them for 722 00:49:27,840 --> 00:49:32,800 being wet, We've, we've missed the point of our purpose, right? 723 00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:37,880 The day I got saved, if my purpose was not to witness for 724 00:49:37,880 --> 00:49:41,600 Him and share with others about Him and what He's done in my 725 00:49:41,600 --> 00:49:43,640 life, the day I got saved, I'd have been out of here, right? 726 00:49:45,040 --> 00:49:48,080 Because I can worship the Lord way better in heaven than I can 727 00:49:48,080 --> 00:49:51,000 down here. I will know more about the Lord 728 00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:54,680 and His Word. I will know way more up in 729 00:49:54,680 --> 00:49:57,200 heaven than I will down here. I'll be able to speak to the 730 00:49:57,200 --> 00:50:01,920 Lord way more clearly in heaven than I will here, but tell 731 00:50:01,920 --> 00:50:04,440 others about Him. I won't be able to tell anybody 732 00:50:04,440 --> 00:50:08,400 about the Lord in heaven because they'll already know right? 733 00:50:08,880 --> 00:50:10,400 And we don't want to be that group right. 734 00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:14,680 We want to be out there sharing and accepting the trials that 735 00:50:14,680 --> 00:50:18,560 we've got. And Elizabeth Elliott, my my 736 00:50:18,560 --> 00:50:22,840 last little tidbit on on what this kind what I'm talking about 737 00:50:22,840 --> 00:50:25,280 as far as not doing it in our strength. 738 00:50:25,280 --> 00:50:28,320 They don't go out of here thinking that I'm saying, you 739 00:50:28,320 --> 00:50:33,360 know, go do be in prayer and ask the Lord what does he want you 740 00:50:33,360 --> 00:50:36,400 to do? Because that's what we can do in 741 00:50:36,400 --> 00:50:41,160 his, in his power. Elizabeth Elliott with her 742 00:50:41,160 --> 00:50:48,200 three-year old, went to that village in the jungle that 743 00:50:48,200 --> 00:50:52,960 killed her, her, her husband and her daughter's father and live 744 00:50:52,960 --> 00:50:57,360 with those people. And she didn't, it wasn't she 745 00:50:57,360 --> 00:51:00,200 didn't go and live with those people after another group had 746 00:51:00,200 --> 00:51:06,200 went in and witnessed to them. No, she went in and ministered 747 00:51:06,600 --> 00:51:08,960 to the men who killed her husband. 748 00:51:11,920 --> 00:51:14,160 Like I said, if you want conviction, she's got it. 749 00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:19,400 But she didn't do that because she was a good Christian person, 750 00:51:20,880 --> 00:51:22,680 right? That wasn't Elizabeth Elliott 751 00:51:22,680 --> 00:51:24,920 didn't wake up and go, you know what I should do? 752 00:51:24,920 --> 00:51:26,520 And it would look really good on my resume. 753 00:51:26,520 --> 00:51:28,200 I should go and visit these people. 754 00:51:31,320 --> 00:51:34,080 God told her to go, and she obeyed. 755 00:51:35,280 --> 00:51:37,240 And was it easy? No. 756 00:51:40,480 --> 00:51:42,520 But it's a supernatural thing, right? 757 00:51:42,520 --> 00:51:44,240 It's not something we do in our own strength. 758 00:51:44,240 --> 00:51:47,120 It's not because we're picking. I I'm supposed to go to church 759 00:51:47,120 --> 00:51:50,240 on Sunday. You know, God, God doesn't have 760 00:51:50,240 --> 00:51:54,480 a star book up there. He wants to use us in in 761 00:51:54,480 --> 00:52:00,160 magnificent ways. And that takes embracing those 762 00:52:00,160 --> 00:52:02,080 trials. That's when I say when we count 763 00:52:02,080 --> 00:52:03,920 it all joy and we fall into various trials. 764 00:52:03,920 --> 00:52:07,640 It's because he's building us into what he needs for those 765 00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:10,240 moments. So we're prepared for the 766 00:52:10,240 --> 00:52:21,440 battles ahead. I was close with Corey Tenboom, 767 00:52:21,720 --> 00:52:24,160 which is another one of those people. 768 00:52:25,240 --> 00:52:28,520 Jesus did not promise to change the circumstances around us. 769 00:52:28,840 --> 00:52:34,280 He promised great peace and pure joy to those who would learn to 770 00:52:34,280 --> 00:52:36,760 believe that God actually controls it all. 771 00:52:38,600 --> 00:52:44,920 And how we get to have steadfastness in full effect is 772 00:52:45,200 --> 00:52:49,600 testing and trials. Give us faith when we when we 773 00:52:49,600 --> 00:52:56,320 rely on Him and faith builds our steadfastness, our firmness, and 774 00:52:56,320 --> 00:53:00,520 gives us the ability for complete surrender to his plan 775 00:53:00,520 --> 00:53:05,080 into eternity. So we should count it all joy 776 00:53:05,080 --> 00:53:08,400 when we fall into various trials because it's what's going to 777 00:53:08,400 --> 00:53:12,160 prepare us for what he has for us to do. 778 00:53:13,240 --> 00:53:15,640 And Lord, I just thank you for everybody here and I thank you 779 00:53:15,640 --> 00:53:20,560 for this time. And Lord, a thank you for the, 780 00:53:20,720 --> 00:53:24,200 the ministry of Charlie Kirk and what you're going to do with 781 00:53:24,200 --> 00:53:26,000 that. Lord, in advance, I'll thank you 782 00:53:26,000 --> 00:53:32,360 for that. 18,000 new charters is is an amazing number that that 783 00:53:32,360 --> 00:53:38,560 there would be people that would do it in you Lord, that you 784 00:53:38,560 --> 00:53:42,400 would speak through them or that it would light a fire in our 785 00:53:42,400 --> 00:53:45,680 country that that couldn't be put out. 786 00:53:45,720 --> 00:53:50,160 Or that it would change our young people that they would 787 00:53:51,080 --> 00:53:56,920 take the take this country and turn it into the light that it 788 00:53:56,920 --> 00:54:01,040 could be in this world. That we would affect the world 789 00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:04,760 in a positive way with your light Lord. 790 00:54:05,280 --> 00:54:07,040 But that only happens through you. 791 00:54:09,520 --> 00:54:11,760 Fill us with your Spirit in Jesus name, Amen.