1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:02,960 Welcome to the Illuminate Church podcast. 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:05,520 We hope today's message is encouraging to you. 3 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:10,360 Well, today is Vision Sunday. Everyone say vision. 4 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:13,240 Yeah, Vision Sunday. What I hope to do today, the 5 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:16,120 goal of today is to show you what I believe the Lord has 6 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:20,960 given to us to give to you and really beyond you to give to you 7 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:22,280 so that you would give it to the region. 8 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:26,520 It doesn't end with us. The purpose of those people 9 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:30,760 around us, we just happen to be God's useful servants. 10 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:34,920 And not only just to tell you what the vision is, but also 11 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:39,040 tell you why vision matters and how to get it today so that you 12 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,560 don't just hear vision for my mouth for you. 13 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:46,960 You hear vision for yourself and for your relationships. 14 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:49,880 As I do every year, I went away in August for a week, a week 15 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:54,200 away, and I got a chance to pray with the Lord, worship the Lord, 16 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,200 speak to the Lord, mostly listening to the Lord, and I 17 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,000 repeatedly ask questions like God, what is it that you want 18 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,040 for the people? What is it that you want us to 19 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:04,319 grow? And what is it that you want us 20 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:06,760 to know so that our knowing becomes doing? 21 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,440 The most important question and the most often question I ask 22 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,880 is. God, what's the desire of your 23 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:16,200 heart like? Just reveal your heart to us so 24 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:18,080 that we can go and reveal your heart to others. 25 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:19,960 Like what is on your heart and mind? 26 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:22,960 Put it in my heart and mind so that I can put it on other 27 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:26,960 people's hearts and minds. And so he spoke. 28 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:30,800 He always does. He's never not speaking. 29 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:32,200 The problem is we're not listening. 30 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,320 Even in the 400 years of silence, do you think that God 31 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:37,920 was silent or the people were deaf? 32 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,840 Just wondering. So why does vision matter? 33 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,720 Well, this is the. Season turn to the calendar. 34 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,600 Everyone's thinking it's time to it's time to start something 35 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:54,840 new. We make these resolutions. 36 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,000 You know what resolutions are? They're vision. 37 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:01,760 Resolutions are vision. You say I want to see this in my 38 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:05,000 life, so I make this resolution so I can see this happen in my 39 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:06,400 life. It's vision. 40 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,720 But I want to tell you, and I say this gingerly to you, I 41 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:12,320 don't mean this to hurt. Anybody's feelings are hard. 42 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,560 But there's only one kind of vision that actually produces 43 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,120 that's actually effectual. You can find this in the 44 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:20,360 scripture. I'm going to show it to you in a 45 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:22,400 second. But it's a famous scripture, so 46 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,400 famous that people quote it not even knowing that it's 47 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,040 scripture. It's said in like CEO 48 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:30,560 boardrooms, you know, like the director, the whoever's the 49 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:32,960 leading the organization. They say these words. 50 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,800 People say it over themselves. But the familiar phrase is this 51 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:39,640 where there is no vision, the people perish. 52 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:43,680 You ever heard this before? Have you ever heard this before? 53 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:49,080 Yeah, so people say it. They look in the mirror like, 54 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:51,040 man, if I don't get a vision for my life, I'm just going, it's 55 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,400 not going to go well. If we have a vision for this 56 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:54,840 organization, it's going to go off the rails. 57 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:56,120 And we need vision, vision, vision. 58 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:58,440 And so organizations make vision statements. 59 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,800 You make vision statements, we call them resolutions or vows or 60 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,640 whatever you want to call them. We make them all the time. 61 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,640 But where the vision is, where there's no vision, the people 62 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:09,880 perish. That's from the King James 63 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,120 Version, and I don't think that they got it right. 64 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,600 Can I say that? I think they're missing an 65 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:18,520 incredibly important word that the English standard version, 66 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,960 the translation of the Bible called the ESV gets exactly 67 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,960 right because they add 1 adjective 1 adjective. 68 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,200 I want you to see it. Proverbs chapter 29 verse 18. 69 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:35,040 Look at this where there is no prophetic vision ever. 70 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:40,840 Go the people. Cast off restraint, but blessed 71 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,760 is he who keeps the laws. Did you see the adjective? 72 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:52,200 Come talk back to me church where there is no prophetic 73 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:57,800 vision, Prophecy, meaning from the Lord's mouth to us, the Lord 74 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,560 speaking to us through his word, through his Spirit, through 75 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:02,600 other believers full of the Spirit. 76 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,880 This prophetic word coming to us, it is from the Lord and from 77 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,400 the Lord only. It's not from a self help book 78 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:16,040 or a self help podcast or from any social media influencer out 79 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:23,720 there who's trying to disciple you with the rubbish vision that 80 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,520 is Spirit aided. And able to be accomplished with 81 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,320 the God of the impossible is vision that comes from the Lord. 82 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,520 All other visions you wonder why your resolution sometimes don't 83 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:39,640 work as because maybe they're not from the Lord and maybe 84 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,240 they're not spirit aided. And so even before you begin, 85 00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:46,600 it's not going to work out. In the first service they told 86 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,960 me resolutions last usually till January 6th. 87 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:56,840 That's Tuesday. What's up with that? 88 00:04:57,880 --> 00:04:59,840 It says that without prophetic vision. 89 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,720 So even if you have just earthly vision, that's without prophetic 90 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,360 vision. Without prophetic vision, people 91 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:09,000 cast off restraint. The old King James Version says 92 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,840 that where there is no vision, the people perish. 93 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:15,040 And it doesn't mean physical death, although it can be that. 94 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:20,200 It's more spiritual death, mental health death going 95 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,120 downhill. The people lose their minds. 96 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:27,520 To cast off restraint is to have no self-control. 97 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:31,160 It's what happened way back in the book of Exodus. 98 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:34,720 Moses, who's the leader of God's people, if you're not familiar 99 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,640 with the name, he's leading 2 million people. 100 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:43,480 They've been in slavery for 400 years and God empowers Moses to 101 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:46,120 lead them out of slavery. He leads them out and then they 102 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:48,680 come to the Red Sea. They got the army of Pharaoh 103 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,360 coming to chase him down and kill him and the the Red Sea 104 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:54,840 here and Moses through God's power parts the Red Sea. 105 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,000 They walk through the Red Sea, then the water, the Red Sea 106 00:05:58,000 --> 00:05:59,720 crushes Pharaoh. You remember the story, the 107 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,880 Prince of Egypt. And then they get to the other 108 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,520 side and then Moses goes to Mount Sinai. 109 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:08,880 It's covered in cloud and Thunder and lightning. 110 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:15,360 God says Moses come up here and Moses goes up Mount Sinai to do 111 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:21,840 what? To receive vision, to hear from 112 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:25,360 the Lord, to inquire of him in his his temple. 113 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,680 This holy Mount Sinai. The rest of everybody else is 114 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:31,360 down in the valley, and as of yet they don't have vision. 115 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:33,640 So what happens down in the valley? 116 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,560 They cast off restraint. They go bonkers. 117 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:42,520 The reveling and the partying and Moses comes back down and 118 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:46,160 boom, the people have. Taken their gold, melted it down 119 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,080 and make a baby golden calf. A baby golden calf? 120 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:54,280 Is that redundant? Aren't all calves babies and 121 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:58,960 they're worshipping it? Can you imagine Moses, or even 122 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:03,760 more so the Lord God? Like, didn't I just get you out 123 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:09,320 of slavery and part the sea and now you're worshipping this cow? 124 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:13,680 You know the cows name Chick-fil-A. 125 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:19,480 That's not in the notes, clearly. 126 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,440 Yeah. They cast off restraint. 127 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:28,240 They lost their minds. They lost their self-control. 128 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,760 The people were perishing in that way. 129 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,400 Now, On the contrary, look at the rest of the scripture says. 130 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:37,240 But blessed is he or she who keeps the law. 131 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:43,560 Blessed Order and life come from the law. 132 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:48,280 Order and life come from the words that proceed from God's 133 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,040 mouth. This word right here, which has 134 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:54,000 been given to us so that we could live rightly. 135 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:56,160 Let me, let me say it to you this way. 136 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:00,080 Any anybody drive in here like a vehicle, a car. 137 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:02,960 Remember, we're, we're talking back today. 138 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:04,720 Yeah. OK. 139 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:08,640 Praise God, we're talking back every Sunday. 140 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,800 By the way. Can I count on you? 141 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:17,760 Can I count on y'all? How about y'all students? 142 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:26,200 Can I count on you? Hey, that was pretty, pretty 143 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,480 energized, you know. Can I count on the mezzanine 144 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:36,200 students? You want a second chance, huh? 145 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:40,520 Are there people in overflow? Overflow. 146 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:50,560 Can I count on you? Was that a sheep? 147 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:54,280 What was that? We are so lost. 148 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:57,800 OK, back to driving. Imagine with me. 149 00:08:57,800 --> 00:08:59,920 You're driving. But it is a night, OK? 150 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:02,600 And at night you're driving and there you're going down the road 151 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:04,360 and another car comes in this direction. 152 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:05,720 This happened to you if you're a driver. 153 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,640 And suddenly their headlights, whether or high beam or not, you 154 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:11,160 come around a curve, whatever happens, at one point they're 155 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:12,920 pointed directly in your eyeballs. 156 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:16,760 Your pupils are huge, or they go shrink, dilate or whatever 157 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:18,240 happens. And you're like, I can't see. 158 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:20,440 And you're moving at a rapid speed. 159 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:22,520 You're thinking I'm in a car that's going to crash. 160 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,480 So when I was in driver's Ed class, I learned something way 161 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:29,520 back in 1990 if you want to do the math. 162 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:36,800 They said, hey, anytime you get blinded and you can't see, just 163 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,960 look for the stripe. You know what I'm talking about, 164 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:43,720 the stripe on the right. And if you follow the stripe on 165 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:45,840 the right, it will guide you to safety. 166 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:50,640 You already know what I'm trying to say. 167 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,040 Can I get kind of cheesy preachy with you? 168 00:09:56,160 --> 00:10:04,240 We're talking back when life tries to blind you, when the 169 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,760 distractions come, when the defeats come, they're in the 170 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,960 fullness of the view of your scope and they're blinding you 171 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:14,640 right here. The Lord has given us a stripe 172 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:20,120 on the right that if you will look to the stripe on the right, 173 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:25,080 it will guide you to safety. Without the stripe on the right, 174 00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:28,360 you're going to lose your bearings, lose your ability to 175 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:32,600 know which way is which, and the car you cast off your strength 176 00:10:34,560 --> 00:10:37,600 be crashing, your life can be crashing. 177 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:42,760 The stripe on the right is God's word, and God's word is vision. 178 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:47,720 I'll say to you another way. And in our lives, we often do 179 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:51,320 look for vision. And we say, God, what do you 180 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:54,480 have for me? What do you want me to do in 181 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:56,360 this situation? What do you want to do with my 182 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:57,440 life? How do you want me to spend 183 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:01,240 2026? And he says, I'm glad you asked. 184 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:06,080 Here's the answer. No, no, God, I know you have the 185 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,440 Bible, and the guy on Sunday will teach me the Bible. 186 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:14,600 But I'm asking you, what's your vision for my life? 187 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:23,160 I've given it to you, you, you want a new word and you're 188 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:31,420 forsaking the always word. Thank you brother. 189 00:11:37,060 --> 00:11:41,340 It wouldn't shouldn't surprise us that when we seek vision and 190 00:11:41,340 --> 00:11:48,580 often just sound like scripture, it will often just be scripture 191 00:11:48,700 --> 00:11:52,220 and use the word just feels like it's demeaning to the word of 192 00:11:52,220 --> 00:11:54,640 God. In a world full of self help 193 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:57,880 visions. This proverb, proverb 2918 194 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:02,040 redirects us that true life, true order, true blessing and 195 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:05,480 happiness comes from the word of God. 196 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:10,800 Not our own dreams, not our determination to change what we 197 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:14,240 see in the mirror, but straight from the lips of God. 198 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:21,400 Keep the law in 2026 and you will live holy, Holy New Year. 199 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:24,800 Now back to the vision that God has given to illuminate church. 200 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:27,440 What I heard when I went away in August that he's been kind of 201 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:30,800 speaking over and over again from that day till this day 202 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,200 here. And it shouldn't surprise you 203 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,600 that the vision is Scripture. There. 204 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:38,120 If you would turn with me in your Bibles to Philippians 205 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:39,760 chapter 3 is where we're going to be. 206 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,040 If you need a Bible, just raise your hand and one will appear in 207 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:45,840 your hands out of heaven from one of the ushers. 208 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,760 You can keep that Bible. Philippians chapter 3. 209 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:51,680 It's one of the letters that Paul wrote to the churches. 210 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:55,240 Corinthians then you get Galatians, Ephesians, 211 00:12:55,240 --> 00:13:00,720 Philippians, Colossians. I memorize that by saying go eat 212 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:04,960 popcorn. Just helping you out so you can 213 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:06,960 know your Bible. Galatians, Philippians, 214 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:12,000 Philippians, Philippians. Chapter 3, we're going to read 215 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:16,280 what Jesus was speaking through Paul to the church in Philippi, 216 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:20,080 verse 17. Are you ready to say yes, join 217 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:23,760 together and following my example, Paul says, brothers and 218 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:27,720 sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on 219 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:31,640 those who live as we do. In other words, he's saying this 220 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:35,360 is the vision. You see how we live, live like 221 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,200 us according to the law. For as I've often told you 222 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:42,200 before and now tell you again, even with tears, many live as 223 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:47,920 enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, 224 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:50,880 their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. 225 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:53,120 Their mind is set on earthly fangs. 226 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,840 Paul is echoing a sentiment of Proverbs chapter 2918. 227 00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:59,200 Where there is no vision, the people will perish. 228 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,160 Their destiny is destruction. Do you see the similarities? 229 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:10,800 We're talking back. Paul is doing some reverse 230 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:13,080 engineering here. He tells us the end and then he 231 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,200 tells us how it happens. The end is destruction, 232 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:20,760 destruction of your peace, your relationships, your mental 233 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:25,120 health, all of it. And how did it happen? 234 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,920 He says three ways and they're kind of all the same, just 235 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:30,560 different so that we get the full picture. 236 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:33,720 He says first, their God is their stomach. 237 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,040 The Israelites built a golden calf. 238 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:40,960 He's saying that most people in the world and the time of 239 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,440 Philippi, and I would dare say today, their God is not the 240 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:45,840 golden calf, that God is a stomach. 241 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:51,520 For some people, literally the stomach, but in general what he 242 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:53,360 means is the desires of the flesh. 243 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,400 I have made the desires of the flesh my God, and whatever's my 244 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:01,280 God orders my life. So whatever my flesh is crying 245 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,320 out for is going to order me, help me make my decisions, help 246 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:06,440 me tell me where to spend my money, help me tell me where to 247 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:09,040 spend my time based on who my God is. 248 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,560 And so if my God is my flesh, then my flesh is telling me what 249 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:16,840 to do. This is the instant 250 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:23,880 gratification culture. This is where flesh overcomes 251 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:26,640 spirit. And can I just do a side note 252 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:29,640 here until you come back next week, because next week we're 253 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:32,760 going to talk about fasting. And fasting is this incredible 254 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:37,280 tool that God has given us to help us learn that our Spirit, 255 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,840 His Spirit can overcome our flesh and He's given us a tool 256 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:42,280 to do it. So if you're struggling with the 257 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:44,680 flesh. You're constantly sinning and 258 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:46,080 you don't, you know you don't want to be. 259 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:47,920 You keep going back and back and back again. 260 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,800 It's because your flesh is telling your spirit what to do 261 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,280 and fasting will the Spirit will tell your flesh what to do. 262 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:56,560 We'll come back next week. You hear more? 263 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,720 He goes on to say their glories and their shame, meaning that 264 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,440 they were boasting in the disgusting practices as if they 265 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,080 were good. Look at these terrible things 266 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:12,080 we're doing as an affront to God. 267 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:14,200 Check us out. Aren't we awesome? 268 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,960 Let me blast it so the whole world can see my debauchery. 269 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,560 I'm proud of it. Their glories and their shame. 270 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:27,040 What we boast about often reveals our true identity, not 271 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:29,880 our true identity. Because your true identity is 272 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:31,920 Christ. Followers is in Christ. 273 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:35,320 But the enemy wants to confuse your identity and make you 274 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:38,040 believe a lie. What are you boasting about? 275 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:39,600 The things of heaven or the things of earth. 276 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,240 And then he finally says their mind is set on earthly things. 277 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:46,320 Very similar to the last two. I have this obsession, this 278 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,640 fixation with the things of the earth. 279 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,440 They drive me. Money, power, lust, ego, greed, 280 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:59,880 comfort, they drive me. Just want to do a little litmus 281 00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:01,520 test today. How can you know what your life 282 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,160 boasts about and what your mind is set on? 283 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:07,720 What could you? How can you tell? 284 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:10,319 I mean, certainly you could ask somebody, but you could just 285 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:12,520 find out for yourself by looking at two things. 286 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:17,000 Number one, your checking account, see where your money 287 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:18,680 goes. That's what's important to you. 288 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:25,440 And #2 y'all love me? Will you still love me in 20 289 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,520 seconds? Look at your social media feed. 290 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:35,000 What are you boasting about? Because that's where we boast. 291 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:36,320 That's modern day boasting, right? 292 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:39,000 Social media. Show the best, hide the rest. 293 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:44,000 You heard it before. And so it's not a problem to use 294 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,360 social media to share what's happening in your life. 295 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:50,600 Here's where we went. Here's my fitness journey. 296 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:53,000 Here's what I'm changing to my outfit. 297 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:54,760 My fit check. Is that. 298 00:17:57,120 --> 00:17:58,640 Is that a thing? My daughter was looking at me 299 00:17:58,640 --> 00:17:59,920 like, shut up, dad. Shut up, dad. 300 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:03,760 Is that if it's fit check a thing? 301 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:11,040 OK, Bless you. But isn't Jesus part of your 302 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:15,520 life? Hope you said no, Jesus is not 303 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:19,600 part of your life. Jesus is the essence and the 304 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,600 fullness and the all-encompassing thing in your 305 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,560 life and yet your social media says nothing about him. 306 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:31,760 Are we ashamed of him? Are we boasting about him? 307 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:37,600 Do you still love me? Your social media feed will tell 308 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:41,440 you what you're boasting about. Does it say that you boast about 309 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:42,880 heaven or do you boast about earth? 310 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:46,200 Do you boast about God's Kingdom or do you boast about yours? 311 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,160 Now look at the juxtaposition. Paul goes on and he gives us 312 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,920 verse 20. This is the verse for the vision 313 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:57,000 of illuminate church. But our citizenship, say our 314 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,760 that's us, is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior 315 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,120 from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that 316 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:07,560 enables him to bring everything under his control, will 317 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:11,120 transform our lowly bodies, Hallelujah, so that they will be 318 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:16,280 like his glorious body. We're looking for physical 319 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:18,440 transformation. And Jesus says, follow me and I 320 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:20,640 will make the transformation that you really need. 321 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:24,320 He also says this. There's one place where the 322 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:26,680 Savior comes from, the Kingdom of heaven. 323 00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:29,160 And we eagerly await the Savior from there. 324 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:32,920 The Savior. Is not the person looking at you 325 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:35,720 in the mirror? The savior Is not the person 326 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:38,440 sitting in the White House? The savior is not your favorite 327 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:41,840 football team, your Hollywood idol, your social media 328 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:43,640 influencer. There's only one savior, and he 329 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:49,480 does not come from earth. He comes from another Kingdom, a 330 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:53,080 glorious, holy Kingdom. And Paul says when you believe 331 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,600 in him, you become citizens of that Kingdom. 332 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,760 Do you know, maybe you got tripled dual membership or 333 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:03,280 citizenship, but if you only have one country that you're a 334 00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:05,520 citizen, you actually have dual citizenship. 335 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,360 Your country of origin, USA for me. 336 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,800 And now I'm also a citizen of heaven, OK? 337 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:19,640 More about that in a minute, but I got to tell you this what Paul 338 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:23,120 is saying in this letter to the specific locale of people, it 339 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:25,400 matters intensely. It's no small thing. 340 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:29,640 Philippi was this Greek city that was led by ruled by two 341 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:33,000 guys named Brutus and Cassius. Anyone remember these names? 342 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:37,320 Yeah, in history, Brutus and Cassius at Tubutte remember this 343 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,720 line. These are the guys that stabbed 344 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:44,240 Julius Caesar in the back. A friend of theirs, but they 345 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:47,240 took him down and now they're leading Greece and they're 346 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:51,720 leading the city of Philippi. And along comes a Roman emperor 347 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:54,280 named Octavian, whose name eventually becomes Augustus 348 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:56,800 himself. And he defeats them and takes 349 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:00,560 over this Greek city called Philippi, a very important trade 350 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:04,960 city along the Via Ignatius, this important Rd. trade Rd. in 351 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:10,800 the old way, back when days. And he makes this proclamation. 352 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:14,600 I have to read it because it's not in English, but he says of 353 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:19,160 this area of land, he granted the area of land the title of 354 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:22,680 Eus Italicum. It's in Latin, the highest 355 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:27,280 status for a provincial colony, making this colony equivalent to 356 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:32,280 Italian soil, so that the people that live there now have become 357 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,880 Romans, which doesn't matter very much to us, but to them 358 00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:41,240 it's like one in the jackpot. Rome was the jam. 359 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:44,680 Rome had everything that all the other countries didn't. 360 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:46,600 The best education, the best armies, the best 361 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,000 infrastructures. You all heard about the roads 362 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:53,480 that Rome built, the best wealth, the best buildings and 363 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:55,280 architecture, the best entertainment. 364 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:57,840 According to them, the best of the best of the best. 365 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,280 Everybody shouldn't say everybody. 366 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:04,120 A lot of people wanted to be Romans, just like a lot of 367 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:06,040 people want to come into the United States of America. 368 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:08,960 Do you understand? Do you understand? 369 00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:13,760 And so these people were delighted to be Romans. 370 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,680 But the interesting thing is they're 1000 miles from Rome. 371 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:21,480 It's not like Rome just took over a little part of their 372 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:23,800 country and just added another little part to the what was 373 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:25,880 already here. There's 1000 miles away. 374 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:28,320 That's the distance between here and New York City, roughly. 375 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:31,840 We getting back and forth to New York City in 2 1/2 hours on a 376 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:33,520 plane ride. We go up there, eat Magnolia 377 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:35,960 Bakery. Chocolate cake, anybody? 378 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:43,320 Glory to God, you'll try and you'll you'll see heaven and if 379 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:53,000 you get a lot of it you'll see heaven quickly. 1000 miles away. 380 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:57,840 2 1/2 hours for us by planes, 8 weeks for them by foot, donkey 381 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:01,760 and boat. So it's worlds apart. 382 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:04,720 Didn't have any telecommunications. 383 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:09,680 The only way that a letter gets there is by 8 weeks foot, donkey 384 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:13,160 and boat. But yet in this little section 385 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:17,600 of Greece that's now Roman, these people are Romans. 386 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:22,120 The laws, the customs, the practices, the protection, the 387 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:25,000 affluence, all of it is given to them. 388 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:27,840 All rights and privileges, all the way where they lived as 389 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,080 Romans even though they were far away from their homeland. 390 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:36,160 And Paul says, I'm glad you like your Roman citizenry, but I have 391 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,600 something better for you. That same mindset that you have 392 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:44,080 as being Romans here now transfer it to the Kingdom of 393 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:46,760 heaven. And they're like, but we love 394 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:47,440 being Romans. We. 395 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:51,360 Proudly stand up next to you and Defenders Still Day. 396 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,040 Now listen, I'm not making a political statement here. 397 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:02,200 I love our country. My dad was in the Army 26 years, 398 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:05,520 my grandfather in the Air Force for 20 plus years. 399 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:09,440 I'm as patriotic as they come. This isn't really about the 400 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,520 United States at all. It's about earth and about 401 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,720 heaven. And we have been indoctrinated 402 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:21,440 with earthly citizenship as if it's paramount when Jesus has 403 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:25,600 given us heavenly citizenship. And here's what Here's why that 404 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:27,760 matters. Earthly citizenship is binding. 405 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:33,480 Heavenly citizenship is free. Earthly citizenship looks like 406 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,400 walking in darkness. Heavenly citizenship looks like 407 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:38,720 walking in light. Earthly citizenship looks like 408 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:42,560 walking in limited power. Heavenly citizenship looks like 409 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:49,200 walking in unlimited power. Riches of heaven, Presence of 410 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,560 God. Where am I at? 411 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,200 Here's the vision for 2026 for Illuminate Church based on 412 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,160 Philippians chapter 3. We're going to eject our earthly 413 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:05,080 citizenship and embody our heavenly citizenship by knowing, 414 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:07,680 living and exalting the Word of God. 415 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:18,600 That's what we're doing. Paul contrasted earthly Roman 416 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:21,400 citizenship with heavenly citizenship so that he would 417 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,520 reorient the believers identity and allegiance. 418 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:28,000 And I believe God wants to do the same for us, that we would 419 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,240 reorient our identity and allegiance from being earthlings 420 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:32,960 to being my friend. In Texas. 421 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,240 He calls it Heva Kins. Pastor Juan Martinez, you 422 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,440 remember him, Doctor Love? He's got a whole shirt brand of 423 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:41,920 things. Like all Heva kins, we're Heva 424 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:46,600 kins members, citizens of heaven. 425 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:49,120 What I'm going to do this year is I'm going to open the Word of 426 00:25:49,120 --> 00:25:54,480 God and ask you to BYOB, bring your own Bible. 427 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,800 To church with you every Sunday. Then when you're walking in, 428 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:04,360 everyone's got a Bible. Like this everyone like I got my 429 00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:07,560 phone, like, you know, actually get a Bible, right. 430 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:09,160 The Bible's for convene. I mean, the phone's for 431 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:10,280 convenience. I use it sometimes. 432 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,000 I get it. I'm not anti phone on the Bible, 433 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,600 Bible on the phone, but have this and walk in with it. 434 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,400 And together we're going to open the word of God and we're going 435 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,640 to look inside and we're going to see what does it look like? 436 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,000 What are the rights and the privileges of a citizen of 437 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,320 heaven? That's what we're doing this 438 00:26:26,360 --> 00:26:27,960 year. We're going to open the Word of 439 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:29,800 God together. You're going to open your word 440 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:32,960 and read it of it yourself and learn from it yourself. 441 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:36,800 What are the duties and obligations of a citizen of 442 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:41,440 heaven? What power rests on and moves 443 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:45,720 through a citizen of heaven? What should a city of heaven be 444 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:50,200 doing on a daily basis here on earth, not awaiting some grand 445 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:52,640 departure? What does that look like? 446 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,400 And we're going to be studying that in 2026. 447 00:26:57,520 --> 00:26:59,360 The goal at the end of the year is that you understand God's 448 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:01,760 Kingdom even more and that you would reveal His Kingdom to the 449 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:05,160 earth because it's here and it's growing. 450 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:09,520 And it's our job to do that. How are we going to do that here 451 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:12,000 at Illuminate Church? For essential things that I want 452 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:15,200 to give to you today that will help us understand and embody 453 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:19,720 our identity as citizens of heaven #1 the local church is an 454 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:23,640 embassy of the heavenly Commonwealth, The Commonwealth. 455 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:26,560 That's not the name we use very word we use here in the United 456 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,560 States, so that it was used a lot in like Britain, those kind 457 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:32,040 of places. But it's commonly together. 458 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:35,880 We are wealthy together, specifically as citizens of 459 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:37,160 heaven. We are wealthy because of our 460 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,640 king, for he shares everything from his throne to us. 461 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,200 We share in this Commonwealth. The Bible teaches us in first 462 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,360 Peter that we are foreigners, that we are exiles on earth. 463 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:54,760 Some Bibles use the word aliens. You are ET as citizens of 464 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:57,120 heaven. The earth is no longer our home. 465 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:01,920 We are foreigners here. Yeah. 466 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:07,400 So what does that mean? That we are the Bible teaches. 467 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,600 I'm about to read to you that we are ambassadors from a foreign 468 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:14,560 land living here in Florida on mission. 469 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:20,160 Listen to the heavenly mindset here in Second Corinthians 470 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:24,320 chapter 5 S from now on, we no longer regard anyone from a 471 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:28,280 worldly point of view, I've. Transferred my citizens to 472 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:29,720 heaven. I'm looking to the eyes of 473 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:31,840 heaven. Though we once regarded Christ 474 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:35,200 in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in 475 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:39,680 Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the 476 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:42,720 earthly has gone, the new is here, the heavenly is here. 477 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:46,360 All of this is from God who reconciled us to Himself through 478 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,400 Christ and gave us all the ministry of reconciliation, that 479 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:53,280 God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting 480 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:54,920 people sins against them. Hallelujah. 481 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:58,720 And He committed to us the message of reconciliation. 482 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:03,760 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were 483 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:06,880 making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's 484 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:09,520 behalf. Be reconciled to God. 485 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:19,720 Jesus reconciles us by his ultimate sacrifice on the cross. 486 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:23,280 We put our faith in Jesus and he forgives our sins. 487 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:25,440 The debt is paid, we are reconciled. 488 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:28,440 And then he says, now that that's happened for you and me, 489 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:31,240 go and make it apparent to others that they too can be 490 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:33,040 reconciled. And that's why we're called 491 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:36,120 ambassadors. He's given us a mission to 492 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:38,200 accomplish. Every ambassador has a home in a 493 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:42,360 foreign land, like in the Japan. There's the American embassy in 494 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:44,640 Israel and Jerusalem. I've seen it with my own eyes. 495 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:49,920 The American embassy sitting there, the home of the 496 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:51,760 ambassador, I just said the word 600 times. 497 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:54,840 Isn't is embassy? Embassies are places where two 498 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:56,960 things happen. Number one, in an embassy, even 499 00:29:56,960 --> 00:29:59,320 if you're in another country, within the walls of the embassy, 500 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:02,760 the laws, the practices, the customs of that of your 501 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:04,920 originating nation are practice there. 502 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,280 So in Japan in November, the Americans are celebrating 503 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:13,120 Thanksgiving in the embassy. They're speaking English. 504 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:19,640 They're practicing American customs, and from that embassy 505 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:24,360 the ambassador fulfills the desires of the one who appointed 506 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:28,760 them. Translate that easily to us. 507 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,200 Here we are as foreigners in this land, and your embassy, 508 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:34,600 your local church, is Illuminate Church. 509 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:38,080 And in this place we will speak the laws, the language and the 510 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:41,880 customs. Of our homeland of heaven. 511 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:47,280 In this place we will together learn our mandate and mission, 512 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,160 the desire of the One who is sent us. 513 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:53,240 His name is King Jesus, or call him President Jesus. 514 00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:54,920 You ever thought of him that way? 515 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:56,720 Because we don't understand kingship. 516 00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:02,280 How about General Jesus? It's easy for me to understand 517 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:04,560 because my dad was in the Army. But when the general said move, 518 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:11,240 you moved and we moved. North Carolina, Alabama, Alaska, 519 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:15,520 Alabama, Kansas, Germany, another Germany, Texas, Alabama, 520 00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:19,800 Florida. By the time I was 14, we haven't 521 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:26,480 left 1987, the general has assigned you to Central Florida. 522 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:32,440 Do you not see that? Do you not recognize that God 523 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:35,080 himself has said, I want you in Central Florida as my 524 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:36,880 ambassador? I picked you. 525 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:39,320 There's other people in other parts of the world and that's 526 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:41,520 their job. But Central Florida, the people 527 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:45,600 here that are perishing outside of the gospel are your 528 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:48,200 assignment. I'm entrusting it to you. 529 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:57,840 The general has spoken #2 corporate worship, rehearses the 530 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:01,200 values and languages, language of our homeland. 531 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:04,600 Just going to summarize this again. 532 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:08,600 In Philippians chapter 3 verse 20, the Apostle Paul reminds us 533 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:13,040 that believers, their true citizenship is in heaven, and he 534 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:16,440 does it in Philippi, which is a Roman colony where residents 535 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:20,800 adopted Roman customs, language, values, despite being far from 536 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:24,360 Rome itself. Similarly, as citizens of heaven 537 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:28,560 living here, as colonists on earth, Christians, followers of 538 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:33,720 Jesus, are called to embody and practice the priorities, the 539 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:35,960 values of their eternal homeland. 540 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:40,080 Corporate worship. What we're doing right here and 541 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:44,720 right now serves as the key arena for our rehearsal, 542 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:48,080 practicing our values and our customs. 543 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:50,960 Corporate worship, gathering as a congregation to sing, to pray, 544 00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:52,440 to rear. Read God's. 545 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:56,200 Word and participate in stuff like not stuff, ordinances, 546 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:03,800 communion, baptism. All of this acts as a foretaste, 547 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:07,560 a dress rehearsal for the eternal worship in heaven. 548 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:11,640 We're praise to God as the central activity of all 549 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:14,960 believers. Corporate worship is training us 550 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:18,360 to align with heaven's values. I'm going to give you 3 of 551 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:21,280 heaven's values that we're training for every time we come 552 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:24,000 together on Sunday mornings #1 is unity and diversity. 553 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,720 You say it. Unity and diversity. 554 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:31,880 Yeah, in heaven. Our homeland, what they do and 555 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:35,560 what we should be doing here is they worship involves a vast 556 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:39,600 multitude from every tribe, tongue, every people, every 557 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:41,440 nation. They're all joined together in 558 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,160 perfect harmony surrounding God's throne. 559 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:49,480 So earthly worship rehearses this by bringing together 560 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:54,040 diverse believers in one singular pursuit, one body, 561 00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:57,760 fostering communal bonds, fostering mutual edification of 562 00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:02,200 one another, which is completely countercultural to what's going 563 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:08,520 on in the world. Hey blacks, you stay over here 564 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:17,239 and be black. Hey Browns, Latinos, y'all over 565 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:25,600 here, stay to yourself. Hey whities y'all, keep inside 566 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:29,080 your boundaries. Do not intermingle. 567 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:34,080 In fact, if you do intermingle, the rest of your tribe is going 568 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:37,080 to be like, what are you doing? They're not us. 569 00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:56,159 Now look around this room man. 570 00:34:56,159 --> 00:35:00,760 May the silos that us humans put on ourselves be broken down in 571 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:06,920 the name of Jesus. One body, 1 Lord of all, every 572 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:09,760 tribe, every tongue, every nation. 573 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:13,720 And when we gather like this on a Sunday, we gather with people 574 00:35:13,720 --> 00:35:19,080 that you might not normally gather with, and maybe that 575 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:24,200 changes for you and your normals change and you're gathering with 576 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:31,240 people, not colors. We rehearse that in here because 577 00:35:31,240 --> 00:35:36,520 that's what heaven looks like, Holiness and worthiness focused 578 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:39,400 on Christ. This is the other value, another 579 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:42,800 value that we practice every time that we gather on a Sunday. 580 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:47,320 Heavenly values Center on the exclusive worthiness of the Lamb 581 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:55,200 of God, who receives all power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, 582 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:58,360 glory, and blessing. Because of His sacrificial 583 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:03,040 redemption, He deserves it all. Corporate worship like this 584 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:07,480 rehearses by directing all attention to God's glory, to 585 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:09,800 Christ's work in the power of Holy Spirit. 586 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:14,880 We do this by confession of sin, by the proclamation of the 587 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:17,960 gospel, by the expression of gratitude, all of this 588 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:22,440 cultivating a heart posture, and all of us of reverence, a heart 589 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:27,080 posture of dependence that mirrors eternity's unceasing 590 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:35,240 adoration of the King. Can I just say this? 591 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:47,520 None of this is for us. We come here thinking that 592 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:53,320 church is something for me and all of this is for Him. 593 00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:58,480 We're coming here to become better, not for ourselves. 594 00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:01,440 It's a byproduct. God's goodness that He blesses 595 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:05,480 us and does things in our lives. But the purpose of all of this 596 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:09,000 is to give Him glory. That His name will be known, 597 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:12,440 that His name will be heard, That His name will be called 598 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:17,640 upon holiness and worthiness focused on Christ. 599 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:18,920 That's what we're doing when we come here. 600 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:24,880 When we come here, we also learn about the enthusiasm and longing 601 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:27,720 for God. Enthusiasm means in pheos, in 602 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:30,960 God. Unlike apathetic or 603 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,720 self-centered earthly pursuits, Heaven's worship is marked by 604 00:37:34,720 --> 00:37:39,400 genuine, loud, go read your scriptures and eternal praise. 605 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:44,320 There's no mixture of boredom and no mixture of distraction 606 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:48,120 when we are at our on our knees in front of the Lord. 607 00:37:52,480 --> 00:37:58,000 In corporate settings like this, believers together practice this 608 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:02,440 by passionately singing, by reading together the Word of 609 00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:08,760 God, by collective amens. All of this builds a deep 610 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:13,680 satisfaction and all of us of God and his goodness as he 611 00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:16,680 prepares us for that moment that we're with him face to face. 612 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:19,320 And when you're with him face to face, you can't help but 613 00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:22,440 worship. You'll say holy, holy, holy, or 614 00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:24,640 look away because he's too holy. Then you look back again. 615 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:27,600 You're like a holy, holy, holy over and over. 616 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,760 You'll be stunned by his glory the same way you feel every time 617 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:32,480 you see a sunset. You ever get bored like seen it 618 00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:35,280 before? You're like, whoa, look at the 619 00:38:35,280 --> 00:38:39,480 sunset. Imagine seeing God face to face. 620 00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:46,520 I told you there's four things that are essential to us 621 00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:52,680 becoming citizens are living out our citizenry is heaven #1 your 622 00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:56,120 local church is the embassy #2 corporate worship we rehearse #3 623 00:38:56,360 --> 00:39:00,160 Church discipleship mirrors Kingdom standards. 624 00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:03,120 Write it down, you'll forget it by January 6th. 625 00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:10,200 Church discipleship. Church discipline mirrors 626 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:13,600 Kingdom standards. Discipline is an undervalued 627 00:39:13,600 --> 00:39:15,400 word in our generation. Would you agree? 628 00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:19,920 Discipline, according to the deceiver, is going to cramp your 629 00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:25,040 style, hem you in, bind you up. Discipline, according to the 630 00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:28,920 deceiver, goes against the prevailing notion that you just 631 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:30,520 need to do what feels good for you. 632 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:35,440 Do it because it feels good. Consequences. 633 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:42,960 But discipline is a hallmark of the Kingdom of heaven. 634 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:47,720 It's why Jesus's followers are called disciples, because they 635 00:39:47,720 --> 00:39:50,480 are disciplined to follow the rabbi. 636 00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:57,280 It's why we exist at the church. We help people find abundant 637 00:39:57,280 --> 00:39:58,680 life in Jesus. Yes, but how? 638 00:39:59,720 --> 00:40:04,080 Make disciples not Christians, not church country clubbers, 639 00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:08,160 people who follow Jesus. How? 640 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:10,840 Meet God. Discover who you are in Christ. 641 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:15,440 Become like Jesus and lead others to do the same. 642 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:23,840 Meet, discover, become, lead. You say it now. 643 00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:25,640 Say it like you actually care about it. 644 00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:33,440 Praise God. Matthew chapter 28, Some of 645 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:35,800 Jesus's last words. Therefore, go and make 646 00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:45,760 believers, Christians, churchgoers, disciples of all 647 00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:48,000 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son of the 648 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:51,840 Holy Spirit, and teaching them, disciplining them to obey 649 00:40:51,840 --> 00:40:53,280 everything that I have commanded you. 650 00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:57,120 And surely I'm with you always to the very end of the age. 651 00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:00,280 Jesus says that our job on the earth, my job as a pastor, 652 00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:03,520 certainly everybody's job together out in whatever place 653 00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:07,400 you working or live in, is to teach people to obey this word, 654 00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:12,200 to obey His commands, to follow Him with discipline. 655 00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:16,320 The world reviles it. We will live by it. 656 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:23,400 I want to show you very briefly the series that God put on my 657 00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:27,680 heart back in August for this coming year so you can get a 658 00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:30,040 picture where we're going and how all of this ties together 659 00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:32,480 with the citizenry of heaven. Amen. 660 00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:35,840 The first one, which is the first thing and the massive 661 00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:38,360 thing that we would be doing in heaven, is a series based on 662 00:41:38,360 --> 00:41:44,040 worship called Abandoned. What would it look like if this 663 00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:48,880 church was a worshiping church? And worship, yes, is singing, 664 00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:53,080 but worship also, according to Romans chapter 12, is to offer 665 00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:55,520 your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to him. 666 00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:57,240 This is your spiritual act of worship. 667 00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:01,520 What does it look like? Sometimes I'm back behind the 668 00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:04,640 platform here watching the TV screen of all the cameras 669 00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:06,440 because I can't see you all because there's a curtain there. 670 00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:08,600 You know what I'm talking about. And I watched the crowd. 671 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:14,000 And I think, man, I wonder if this congregation cares as much 672 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:19,040 about Jesus as they do about the Gators or the other teams that I 673 00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:21,800 cannot mention. Not that team is especially not 674 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:25,280 that team. Yes. 675 00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:26,960 Yep. Were you that loud for Jesus? 676 00:42:27,680 --> 00:42:28,720 I'm OK. I believe you. 677 00:42:31,080 --> 00:42:37,680 I believe you and you. It's an overstated point, but it 678 00:42:38,160 --> 00:42:42,320 it's just so true. We show so much passion for so 679 00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:43,840 many things. And we come in for the House of 680 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:45,880 the God and we stand like statues. 681 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:49,240 We're no different than the chair. 682 00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:58,200 What if we, with great fervor, came to Sunday morning ready to 683 00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:02,160 pour out our offering of praise to the Lord, and you couldn't 684 00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:05,000 keep me quiet. You couldn't get me to stand 685 00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:08,200 still because I have so much gratitude in my heart for the 686 00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:09,920 Lord. What would that look like? 687 00:43:10,240 --> 00:43:11,400 That's what that series is about. 688 00:43:12,240 --> 00:43:13,680 I didn't mean to talk that much about it. 689 00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:17,280 The second series is called Community, because guess what? 690 00:43:17,280 --> 00:43:19,200 In heaven, you don't live by yourself. 691 00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:24,600 You have brothers and sisters in this room, brothers and sisters 692 00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:27,560 that you're still treating, I'm still treating like strangers. 693 00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:31,080 That person sitting behind you never met, that's your brother, 694 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:35,840 that's your sister, actual family. 695 00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:38,360 And the reason it says restoring original design is because you 696 00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:41,360 were always built to live in community. 697 00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:44,160 So if you're living outside community, you're not operating 698 00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:46,920 in your original design. You're flapping in the wind. 699 00:43:48,240 --> 00:43:50,920 We're going to we're going to talk about that Citizens of 700 00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:53,200 Heaven together. Then we're going to jump into a 701 00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:55,400 massively long series, maybe the longest 1. 702 00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:56,960 You thought Weeds in my Garden was long? 703 00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:02,760 Thank God for that series. Was that a great series or what? 704 00:44:03,720 --> 00:44:08,720 Hallelujah. It's a series called Meta, and 705 00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:11,880 it's not that meta. It's the meta narrative. 706 00:44:12,840 --> 00:44:17,040 It's the singular story from Genesis to Revelation that God 707 00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:21,680 has put together for our sake and for his glory that we might 708 00:44:21,680 --> 00:44:25,200 understand what he's doing. It's a three-part series that's 709 00:44:25,200 --> 00:44:27,200 broken down into miniseries, I guess you would call them. 710 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:32,360 The first one is called Faith Begins the Genesis Story. 711 00:44:33,360 --> 00:44:37,280 The book of Genesis is so profoundly important to our 712 00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:40,480 faith and our heritage. How did it all begin? 713 00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:43,360 Why did it all begin? And what's been set in motion 714 00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:45,680 from the very beginning? That's being fulfilled in our 715 00:44:45,680 --> 00:44:49,120 time and will be fulfilled certainly at the end of times. 716 00:44:50,560 --> 00:44:51,800 We need to understand these things. 717 00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:54,320 Citizens of heaven should understand these things. 718 00:44:54,320 --> 00:44:57,000 Then we'll move on to a series called The Kingdom Unveiled, 719 00:44:57,360 --> 00:44:58,880 which is a study for the parables. 720 00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:02,560 When Jesus speaks the parables, these are teaching stories. 721 00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:05,520 That's what a parable is. He begins them the same way he 722 00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:07,360 says the Kingdom of heaven is like. 723 00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:12,320 The Kingdom of Heaven is like, and so as citizens of the 724 00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:14,560 Kingdom of Heaven, we ought to know what the Kingdom of Heaven 725 00:45:14,560 --> 00:45:16,640 is like. So we're going to study the 726 00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:20,200 parables and understand this great Kingdom that we're a part 727 00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:22,160 of. And then we get to the last part 728 00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:25,440 of this long series, many series called The King is Coming, 729 00:45:25,720 --> 00:45:29,400 Living in Light. Of the Book of Revelation. 730 00:45:33,840 --> 00:45:35,720 There's a lady in one of our life step two groups. 731 00:45:35,720 --> 00:45:38,000 She said, man, when churches start speaking about Revelation, 732 00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:41,520 I get like hooky, spooky, weird, terrified. 733 00:45:41,520 --> 00:45:44,800 A lot of people are terrified and confused by the Book of 734 00:45:44,800 --> 00:45:52,240 Revelation and God said that all scripture is useful and we know 735 00:45:52,240 --> 00:45:55,240 like 90% of the Bible, we get the Book of Revelation like I'm 736 00:45:55,240 --> 00:45:58,440 out right. We're going to do a deep dive 737 00:45:58,440 --> 00:46:02,680 into the Book of Revelation. Be praying for me in Jesus name 738 00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:05,720 and then we have one final series after this called answer 739 00:46:05,720 --> 00:46:08,080 the question because the citizens in heaven. 740 00:46:08,080 --> 00:46:10,120 You ought to be able to tell people that you're king and 741 00:46:10,120 --> 00:46:11,840 people are asking you whether you know it or not. 742 00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:15,760 They ask in all sorts of different ways, Why'd you do 743 00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:19,920 that? Why do you feel great? 744 00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:22,960 Why are you able to keep your head up when things are so 745 00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:25,080 negative? Why is your household so 746 00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:28,720 peaceful? Why your kids turn out decent? 747 00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:32,360 They're. Asking. 748 00:46:32,360 --> 00:46:34,880 You the question and we don't know how to answer it. 749 00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:37,640 We're an unequipped church. So we're going to equip 750 00:46:37,640 --> 00:46:40,920 ourselves, let the Lord equip us through his word and be able to 751 00:46:40,920 --> 00:46:43,920 answer the question. And then, then we'll have a 752 00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:47,320 Christmas series, but only God knows what that is at this 753 00:46:47,320 --> 00:46:48,360 point. In Jesus name. 754 00:46:49,080 --> 00:46:51,680 I told you there was 4 things. This is your embassy, the local 755 00:46:51,680 --> 00:46:53,440 church. This is the place that we 756 00:46:53,440 --> 00:46:57,800 rehearse the Kingdom values, the Kingdom ideals of of heaven. 757 00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:00,720 This is the place of church discipleship where we're going 758 00:47:00,720 --> 00:47:02,480 to discipline ourselves in the Lord. 759 00:47:02,480 --> 00:47:06,760 And then finally there's this. The Lord's Supper reinforces the 760 00:47:06,760 --> 00:47:10,600 interim status of all of us as pilgrims until the day of his 761 00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:13,280 return. First Corinthians Chapter 11 762 00:47:13,280 --> 00:47:17,200 verse 26 says For whenever you eat this bread and drink this 763 00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:21,840 cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 764 00:47:22,400 --> 00:47:26,560 Meaning that from crucifixion to final victory that this is our 765 00:47:26,560 --> 00:47:32,080 story, this is our Savior, this is our singular focus, our 766 00:47:32,080 --> 00:47:35,920 crucified yet risen King who will one day return. 767 00:47:36,680 --> 00:47:40,560 We're just in the middle. Community can mean a lot of 768 00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:44,080 things to a lot of people, but one thing it certainly should 769 00:47:44,080 --> 00:47:48,680 mean is that it reminds you that the King is not done yet. 770 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:55,000 The story's not over. He shed his blood, He bought 771 00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:58,720 victory over sin and death, and one day he will conquer it 772 00:47:58,720 --> 00:48:06,080 forever. So many things that come along 773 00:48:06,080 --> 00:48:09,840 with this that are just blessing after blessing after blessing 774 00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:14,040 his return. If you need communion elements, 775 00:48:14,040 --> 00:48:15,640 just raise your hand and we'll bring them to you. 776 00:48:16,400 --> 00:48:18,200 Might have missed you at the door in the mezzanine. 777 00:48:18,200 --> 00:48:20,160 We'll get you as well. We're coming to you, Bella 778 00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:23,320 Varis. If you need gluten free 779 00:48:23,320 --> 00:48:26,040 elements, just wash the window like this and we'll bring you 780 00:48:26,040 --> 00:48:31,520 those. I want you to know, and I don't 781 00:48:31,520 --> 00:48:36,080 mean this in any other way except biblically, that 782 00:48:37,120 --> 00:48:40,800 communion is a privilege of the citizens of heaven. 783 00:48:42,800 --> 00:48:44,960 The Bible makes it clear that it's for believers. 784 00:48:46,160 --> 00:48:48,760 We have an open table, which means if you believe in Jesus, 785 00:48:49,520 --> 00:48:51,680 there's no other rituals or rites or anything you need to go 786 00:48:51,680 --> 00:48:57,400 through to celebrate communion. However, it's reserved for set 787 00:48:57,400 --> 00:49:00,600 aside for believers. Now what kind of rude church 788 00:49:00,600 --> 00:49:04,840 will we be to have communion and talk about the citizenry, the 789 00:49:04,840 --> 00:49:08,760 Kingdom of heaven, and not give you an opportunity to believe 790 00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:14,080 yourself, to join the family, to become a citizen of heaven, to 791 00:49:14,080 --> 00:49:18,200 place your faith and trust in the one who paid the price so 792 00:49:18,200 --> 00:49:20,600 that you and I can live forever more. 793 00:49:20,840 --> 00:49:22,760 So if you would bow your heads and close your eyes, I'm. 794 00:49:23,800 --> 00:49:26,400 Just going to have the whole church pray this out loud and 795 00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:29,000 maybe you're praying this prayer for the first time to receive 796 00:49:29,040 --> 00:49:32,320 Jesus as Savior. Church, say with me, Father, in 797 00:49:32,320 --> 00:49:38,080 the name of Jesus, I recognize that I'm a Sinner in need of a 798 00:49:38,080 --> 00:49:42,600 Savior. And today I confess and I 799 00:49:42,600 --> 00:49:47,680 believe that Jesus is Lord. I receive him into my heart. 800 00:49:48,400 --> 00:49:53,800 And I ask you, Jesus, to live your life through my life, all 801 00:49:53,800 --> 00:50:01,000 the days of my life. Hallelujah, just with your heads 802 00:50:01,000 --> 00:50:04,240 bowed, your eyes closed. Somebody here today is making 803 00:50:04,240 --> 00:50:06,880 that prayer for the first time. You're like, yes, I'm crossing 804 00:50:06,880 --> 00:50:11,040 the line of faith. I'm all in Jesus, I believe. 805 00:50:11,040 --> 00:50:14,400 And if that's you today, I have something I need to give you, 806 00:50:14,440 --> 00:50:15,680 and I need to give it to you now. 807 00:50:15,680 --> 00:50:17,520 So I'm going to ask you to do 1 bold thing. 808 00:50:18,720 --> 00:50:20,560 I'm going to count the three. And if you prayed that for the 809 00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:22,400 first time, you're going to raise your hand as high as it 810 00:50:22,400 --> 00:50:25,120 can go so that one of these ushers can give you something 811 00:50:25,120 --> 00:50:27,800 that's crucial to get to you right here, right now, today. 812 00:50:27,800 --> 00:50:30,240 Don't be ashamed. You just made the best decision 813 00:50:30,240 --> 00:50:35,320 of your entire life. 123, anyone believing on Jesus for the first 814 00:50:35,320 --> 00:50:37,880 time today, we're going to bring that to you right here, right 815 00:50:37,880 --> 00:50:39,280 now. And even the balcony, the 816 00:50:39,280 --> 00:50:46,640 mezzanine, come on. Excellent. 817 00:50:48,320 --> 00:50:51,920 Bless you, God, if everyone now would stand with me as we 818 00:50:51,920 --> 00:50:56,240 receive community together. If you want to go ahead and 819 00:50:56,240 --> 00:50:59,440 prepare the elements, opening the top layer and the the juice 820 00:50:59,440 --> 00:51:11,750 layer, be careful. Take the bread and hold it up. 821 00:51:14,590 --> 00:51:18,550 Let's pray with our eyes open. Father, we bless you and thank 822 00:51:18,550 --> 00:51:21,830 you for the bread. We believe that you're a broken 823 00:51:21,830 --> 00:51:27,160 body healed ours, and we know that it was no easy sacrifice 824 00:51:27,160 --> 00:51:29,400 for you. We remember that you were 825 00:51:29,400 --> 00:51:32,800 crucified, but we also remember you're coming again. 826 00:51:33,880 --> 00:51:45,640 To you be the glory we remember, and we thank you for the cup, 827 00:51:46,800 --> 00:51:50,880 the cup of the New Covenant, for the remission of sins, for the 828 00:51:50,880 --> 00:51:54,720 wiping clean of our slates. That our sins you remember no 829 00:51:54,720 --> 00:51:59,200 more by the shedding of your Son's blood, we remember with 830 00:51:59,200 --> 00:52:03,240 gratitude. Thanks for joining us today. 831 00:52:03,720 --> 00:52:06,320 We hope God is speaking to your heart through this message. 832 00:52:06,640 --> 00:52:09,280 If you'd like to connect with us, you can text connect to 833 00:52:09,280 --> 00:52:15,840 407-588-0115 or visit Illuminate dot church. 834 00:52:16,280 --> 00:52:17,520 Have a great week.