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00:00:00I'll read verse 1. You guys know the routine. If you'll pick it up in verse 2 and we'll get
00:00:05back
00:00:05into the way of wisdom and here we are being called to be an influencer. What does all that
00:00:10mean? He says, my son do not forget my law but let your heart keep my commands. Let not mercy
00:00:22and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of
00:00:27your heart. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
00:00:37understanding. Father, we pray today that you would be our strength both in giving
00:00:47the word of God out in this gathering and receiving it as students. We pray, Father,
00:00:54that we would leave this building today when the actual church leaves this physical
00:01:01building today. We thank you that this building is not the church. We are the
00:01:07church. And when you turn us loose today, may we be a people that go out and affect
00:01:15and influence the world for Christ in such a way, Lord God, that it is worthy of
00:01:22these last days. Worthy of your gospel. Worthy of your near return. Worthy, Father,
00:01:28in the sense also that we've got the greatest message that this nation could ever
00:01:33hear within our hearts. And Lord, may we no longer be shy about it. Father, we pray
00:01:39that you'd make us influencers filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by the
00:01:43Holy Spirit. And speaking by the Holy Spirit, the word of God, we ask you, Lord,
00:01:49to do this, please, to your glory. In Jesus' name and all of God's people said,
00:01:53Amen. You may be seated, church. And as we look to this, call to be an influencer. And
00:02:00you know by now, as this is our third week in this particular message series, that we're
00:02:06talking about being witnesses. Influencer, witness, you guys know by now, it's all
00:02:11rooted in the word, the original Greek word martyr. To be a martyr is to be a witness
00:02:16or an influencer for the things of the kingdom of God. And you might say, well, Jack, I don't
00:02:21know if I like that word martyr because wasn't Charlie Kirk recently martyred? Yes, he was.
00:02:27But the word martyr means we do not live to display ourselves. We are dead to us and we are
00:02:35alive to God. In that case, we are a perpetual martyr for the kingdom because it's all about
00:02:43Christ, not about us. Just as exactly as John the Baptist said, I must decrease as Christ
00:02:50increases. And that is the ministry of all of us in the church and in Christian service.
00:02:58By the way, let me just add this right now. Lisa and I were discussing something this morning
00:03:02about, it was about a topic going on and this person was saying this, the, you know, the
00:03:09church, the parking is, it's too difficult. We understand it's difficult. That's why we're
00:03:15building this big parking structure next door. Be patient. Well, you know what? The church
00:03:20and, you know, Jack only wears a robe every so often. He should wear it more often. Or, you
00:03:28know, or what about, I'd like church only when there's a choir. And it sounded like, well,
00:03:36Goldilocks thing, you know, the first church of Goldilocks. My, I want this. And it was all
00:03:45of this stuff. And, and each of the, listen, in each of the situations, the people that were
00:03:50critiquing the church when asked, so where's your community within the church? It's a big
00:03:57church. We get that. But where's your community? What do you mean by that? Well, where do you
00:04:02serve where you are with a group of people that you know and love and you guys have potlucks
00:04:06together and you go out and have fun? Where do you serve? Oh, oh, I don't serve. Note that
00:04:13in each of the conditions, they had tremendous critique about the church and the carpet is
00:04:19still brown because it was the cheapest carpet we could find, to be honest with you.
00:04:28But notice that when questioned, they're not serving. The church is built by people who
00:04:37serve. But why do we serve? Each other, exactly, each other's a blessing, okay? But we do this
00:04:47for the Lord Jesus, just as Lee shouted out a moment ago. It's all for Jesus. It's not about
00:04:54us. And what Paul, well, not Paul, I'm going to talk about Paul in a second, but being an
00:05:02influencer and being that martyr, it's not about what I can get out of it. It's about what
00:05:07as I am as a believer give to the body of Christ. What did John F. Kennedy say as president?
00:05:15Don't
00:05:15ask, and I'm going to flub it up. Don't ask what your country can do for you, but ask what
00:05:19you can
00:05:20do for your country. If that's a good, and that is great, by the way, that's that, that is how
00:05:25a
00:05:25nation ought to function. How much more the church. And in first Corinthians chapter one, listen to what
00:05:31Paul the Apostle wrote to the church at Corinth. In first Corinthians chapter one, verse 22,
00:05:37there he says, the Jews request a sign. The Jews, this is, the word Jews here refers to not the
00:05:44Jewish people. It refers to the Jewish religious leadership of the nation of Israel. For the Jews
00:05:50request a sign. We want to see a miracle, and then we'll believe in Jesus. Do you remember when you
00:05:55read
00:05:55the gospels, how often they came to Jesus and said, show us a sign? And Jesus would do a miracle,
00:06:01and they would walk away still in unbelief. Which, by the way, means, think about it. If you're here
00:06:07today, and you're saying, just show me a miracle, and then I'll believe. Apparently, that's not going
00:06:10to make you a believer. Somebody has wisely said, seeing is not believing. Believing is seeing.
00:06:21Believing opens up your eyes to understand. Apparently, a miracle can be done
00:06:25right in front of you, and it will not change a thing. The Jews request a sign. The Jewish
00:06:29leadership, they wanted a sign from Jesus. They wanted a sign from the apostles. Miracles were
00:06:34done, they still didn't believe. The Greeks, or the Gentiles, they seek after wisdom. We want
00:06:40intellect. You can leave all that religious mambo-jumbo to yourself. We want intellect.
00:06:45We want philosophy. We want amazing words. We want the enlightenment, 365, seven days,
00:06:54we want more revelation. Give us more knowledge. Watch this. Paul says, but we, that's the church,
00:07:03preach Christ, crucified. Wow, wait a minute. Crucified to the Jews, a stumbling block,
00:07:09and to the Greeks, foolishness. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ, be honest, is a massive, awesome,
00:07:18but massive display of a life being given up. Jesus didn't defend himself. He goes to the cross,
00:07:27doesn't open his mouth, lays himself down upon the cross, which, by the way, he said in advance.
00:07:32He said, no one takes my life from me. I'm going to lay it down, and I'm going to raise
00:07:35it up.
00:07:37He was in control, but he didn't publicly defend himself, and for that, some people have come to
00:07:43the conclusion that Jesus was weak. He was never weak. Jesus willed himself to be the atoning sacrifice
00:07:51for your sins and mine, and to be crucified. If you don't believe that, then Christ is a stumbling
00:07:59block. We want strength to deliver us, and Christ dies on the cross, and to that, the Jews were ashamed,
00:08:08the leadership, that is. And the Greeks, it makes no sense, because their leaders come in
00:08:14on mounted steeds with a grand army. Think of the Roman Empire, and that's how you establish something,
00:08:22and Christ comes along, and not only fulfills Bible prophecy, but he comes, and he lays himself down,
00:08:29and you say, what does this have to do with the book of Proverbs? Well, watch what he says here.
00:08:34Verse 24, but to those who are called, excuse me, called, excuse me, to those who are called,
00:08:42that's all who believe, both Jews and Greeks, born-again believers, here it is, Christ is the
00:08:48power of God and the wisdom of God. Can you say amen to that? Wow. You want power? We want
00:08:55power.
00:08:56Jesus is the power. Jesus is the power. You want wisdom? We want wisdom. Jesus is the answer. He is
00:09:04the wisdom. He's the absolute answer. And of course, Jesus Christ, I love it to this day. To this day,
00:09:12you know this, there's no greater influencer in the history of mankind than Jesus Christ and every
00:09:19culture of the world. Remarkable. And yet, there are still today people. I just heard the other day,
00:09:26Bill Maher. Somebody mentioned Jesus Christ to Bill Maher, and he said, well, you know, we're not
00:09:32even sure if he ever lived. Bill Maher's not dumb. He's not a dumb guy. But boy, is he lacking
00:09:39wisdom.
00:09:40He missed that one. Now, in fact, I think Jesus Christ, his life is probably the most documented life
00:09:48in all of human history. What do you know about George Washington? We've got eyewitness accounts,
00:09:53and we've got writings, but you've never met him. George Washington's never changed your life.
00:10:00But Jesus Christ, recorded by those who walked with him, recorded by those who hated him,
00:10:07recorded by those who could care less, the Roman Empire. Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth,
00:10:12is recorded in the secular annals of Roman history.
00:10:18And so you want to challenge yourself as to what it is that you believe in. Are you
00:10:21walking in the wisdom of God? And so, very quick, verses one and two, regarding the wisdom of God,
00:10:29and you and I walking as influencers, we saw, remember that we are to look back at what God has
00:10:36done in our lives, verses one and two. We start looking back at the good things that God has done
00:10:41in and for our lives. And during that first and second installment, and today as well,
00:10:46we remember that God's law, God's instruction is given to us that we might live life. God loves you,
00:10:54and he tells you what to do and what not to do, not because he's an ogre or he somehow
00:10:59wants to
00:11:00quench your life. He's telling you, this is how you live. Turn left up there, turn right there,
00:11:06and then back up over here, because he wants you to live. He's not trying to quench your party.
00:11:12He's trying to bless your life. And when we obey him and the instruction he gives us, it's a great,
00:11:18great blessing, and it leads to, ultimately in our lives, being influencers. And then we saw in our
00:11:24last study last week, we are to recognize what God's great plan is, and that's vitally important.
00:11:29We saw that when he says here in verse three, let not mercy and truth forsake you and bind them.
00:11:37I love the intensity of this. Don't let mercy and truth get away from you. Bind them. Lay hold.
00:11:45Take a firm, strong grip. Bind them around your neck. Write them. Etch them. Emboss them on the tablet
00:11:53of your heart. And the blessing comes, and so you'll find favor and high esteem in the sight of God
00:12:00and
00:12:00man. We left off right there at that very thing. When we decide today, I'm going to follow,
00:12:06not my will, but thy will be done, then you can expect God to live out his will in your
00:12:12life,
00:12:13a yielded vessel. In some of our homes or garages, or maybe, do you guys have like a drawer like
00:12:21we
00:12:21have? Lisa's probably going to say, don't say that. But you know, in your garage, you have toolboxes and
00:12:26stuff like that. But I don't know about you, but our home had this, and then so when Lisa and
00:12:31I got
00:12:31married, I made sure that our home had one. And that is a drawer that has stuff in it. It's
00:12:36always a
00:12:36mystery, by the way. You open it up, and there is, you name it. You could find anything in there.
00:12:41When you're bored, go to that drawer and look around. You'd be surprised what you might find.
00:12:47But in there is always seemingly some type of tool to get something done. Even if it's bubble gum,
00:12:53you can chew it and get that thing to stick in the wall. It's quite remarkable. But what's amazing
00:13:00about all of this is the fact that God wants to use your life like any particular tool that can
00:13:07be
00:13:07used for anything. Even if today you think, well, I'm nothing in the kingdom of God. First of all,
00:13:12I hope by the end of this message, you'll rethink that. Because maybe today you'll see that when you
00:13:19look at yourself and you see, and please hear me clearly, I'm not trying to puff you up to make
00:13:24you
00:13:24feel good. I'm trying to have you see yourself as Christ sees you. And here it is, a tool that
00:13:31can
00:13:31be used even from that drawer. Well, I'm nothing but a paperclip. Have you seen what we can do with
00:13:39a paperclip when we need to? I mean, we all become MacGyvers. We can pick the lock. We can make
00:13:47this
00:13:47thing happen. We can hold the world together with duct tape. And you look at yourself and you say,
00:13:53well, I'm a Christian and I'm going to go to heaven. But what about now? I'm just kind of
00:13:58waiting around. My thumbs are like this because I'm waiting to get to heaven. No, no, no. Don't sit
00:14:03around with your thumbs like that waiting to get to heaven. You need to realize that in that drawer,
00:14:07you reside and God is saying, I want to use you as an influencer in the kingdom of God.
00:14:14And when you do that, your life is blessed because God's instructions lead to blessing and the blessing
00:14:20leads to you being an influencer in the lives of people that you meet, those that you live with,
00:14:25family members. You know, they're the hardest to win to Christ. And they should be the hardest
00:14:30because they know us. That's why it takes your family members so long to come to Christ if you're
00:14:36the only witness. It's not that your witness is failing. It's that they're waiting to see,
00:14:41is this really going to work in his life? I've seen this before. Jesus says, imagine this.
00:14:48Jesus said this. A prophet has honor everywhere he goes, except in his own home. And Jesus said
00:14:54that of himself. Remarkable. And we also know that that obedience leads to that instruction,
00:15:05which leads to God's good influence upon our lives. Psalm 139 verse 17. Psalm 139 verse 17 says,
00:15:13How precious also are your thoughts. Think about that, church. To me.
00:15:20How precious are your thoughts to me, O God. How great is the sum of them. If I should count
00:15:27them,
00:15:28they would be more in number than the sand. And when I awake, I am still with you. We read
00:15:33that
00:15:33verse last week, and this is where we kick off from here. God's thoughts toward you, according to his word,
00:15:39is a precious thing, an encouraging thing. Romans chapter 8 verse 31. And you want to seize upon
00:15:47this for your life. You want to memorize this. What then shall we say to these things? Paul made this
00:15:53great list of the great things of life and adversity and challenges and blessings and difficulties and
00:15:59good moments of life. What then shall we say to these things? The word if there is in the English
00:16:07Bible, but in some of your margins of your notes, you'll see the Greek word, it's translated since.
00:16:13I like since. Watch this. Since God is for us. That's the reality. Since God is for us, who can
00:16:21be
00:16:21against us? Everybody listen up. God has called you and he's instructing you so that you might
00:16:33enjoy his good hand to be a blessing to others, but in a world that is hostile toward you and
00:16:38I, in the midst
00:16:39of all of these things, if God is for us, since God is for us, who can be against us?
00:16:45And the first time I
00:16:46ever read that, I'll never forget it. I read that as a young believer, and this is how I read
00:16:50it. What then
00:16:52shall we say to these things? If or since God is for us, who can be against us? Get in
00:16:59line. Who? There's a lot
00:17:02of people against us. It doesn't mean that no one's going to be against us. It means who can be
00:17:07against
00:17:07us with a fact. If you stand for Jesus, people are going to be against you. It's okay. It's completely
00:17:17fine. Why? Because Christ is for us. Since God is for us, who can be against us? In other words,
00:17:24it
00:17:24doesn't matter if that line is a thousand miles long, or maybe it's that one husband or that one
00:17:29wife that's just eating you alive for being a Christian. Wednesday night, I met a family that
00:17:35made their journey here from Oregon, and the husband gave up on the family. I can't take this
00:17:45Christianity anymore. I don't want anything to do with it. Left the family. Left the kids. Left the
00:17:50wife. And what did they do? They doubled down on Jesus. He took off. She's raising the kids. And
00:17:58they came down here during their summer break, and they came to church on Wednesday night. Listen,
00:18:03that's how you handle adversity. If God is for them, who could be against them? It doesn't matter who's
00:18:09against us. Right now, the rise of Islam wants you and I dead. Wake up to the realities. Stop acting
00:18:17like it's not for real. It's for real, folks. It's for real. Just stop pulling the sheet over
00:18:22your head. It's a global jihad. It has begun, and Christians are in the way. If God is for
00:18:30us, who can be against us? It's absolutely thrilling. And so, with all of these things,
00:18:37remember this. The scripture tells us, now granted, it's promised first to the Jew in
00:18:43the book of Jeremiah, but all the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. Amen? You
00:18:49guys awake? Okay. You know this one. For I know the thoughts that I thank toward you. Make
00:18:55this your own, says the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a
00:19:00hope.
00:19:02Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. This is
00:19:07the word of God.
00:19:08And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all of your heart. If you
00:19:14make these
00:19:15few verses your life's marching orders, you'll do just fine. Pursue him. Seek after him. This is all
00:19:22the binding. And this is all the writing of the neck and of the heart of the word of God
00:19:28upon us,
00:19:29is that it will transform your life. And if your life is seen by others as a life that is
00:19:34touched
00:19:34by God, graced by God, what a wonderful witness that is. And people will have to ask, which I think
00:19:43is the best question of all for us to be asked, is who's your God anyway? Why is your life
00:19:50like this?
00:19:51All these things are happening to all of us, but you are not succumbing. You're not rolled up in
00:19:57the corner, balled up in the corner in a fetal position, freaking out. What's with you? And that's
00:20:02your moment. That's my moment to tell them it's Jesus Christ, the word of God that causes me to
00:20:08stand. It's glorious. It's awesome. And so we saw in verse three, touched on it last time, about
00:20:17binding around your neck and writing them on the tablet of your heart. Look at Proverbs chapter
00:20:21four. Proverbs chapter four tells us this. Proverbs chapter four, verse 23 to 27. Keep your heart.
00:20:33So you bind these things around your neck. You write them on the tablet of your heart. How do you
00:20:38do
00:20:38this? You do that to do this? Keep your heart. Guard it. Watch over it. Listen, young people,
00:20:45guard your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a
00:20:53deceitful mouth and put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead and your eyelids
00:21:06look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet and let all your ways be established. Do not
00:21:14turn to the right or to the left. Remove your foot from evil. What a statement. These, by the way,
00:21:23these are the words of a father to a son. How much more should all of us in this day
00:21:27and age? We are
00:21:283,000 years removed from Solomon's day. This wisdom today, if it could be wiser, which it can't be,
00:21:34it's eternal. But if it's more needed today than ever before, I would say yes to that. Look at that
00:21:41marching instructions to your son, to your daughter. This is what we need to do. This is, this is applying.
00:21:48This is the writing. This is the binding of this great truths of God around us. And then verse 4
00:21:55teaches us that we need to be going on into being that new person that God has created us
00:22:01to be. And I think that's enough in the recap. Number 3, we ended here. Verses 5 and 6,
00:22:07and it is this. Rest in what his good or his goodness is. Verses 5 and 6. And the first
00:22:16thing
00:22:16we see here is that we are lived by his understanding. And he tells us, trust in the Lord
00:22:23with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. So here comes the instruction.
00:22:28And instruction, obedience to this instruction, equals life to us. In James chapter 1, verse 22.
00:22:34Watch this. But be doers of the word. Now listen. Should you memorize Bible? Yes.
00:22:44Should we read the Bible? Yes, should we study the Bible? All these are, you know this, this is yes.
00:22:54But if we are just consumers of the Bible, if I say I've been going to church for years,
00:23:10maybe so much so that I could recite sermons. Maybe you and I remember sermons
00:23:18that were delivered by this person or that person. Or you might be, you might know so much.
00:23:23Maybe collectively we might know so much. But as a church, what are we affecting?
00:23:30Maybe you know, maybe I know so much. Listen, this is personal. But does my life affect
00:23:39the world that is around me?
00:23:42Do not raise your hand, please, friend. But if you say today, if I say today, I'm a Christian.
00:23:48How I live my life, how you live your life,
00:23:53is it provable? Remember, I ended last week's message by saying,
00:23:58do we really believe the Lord?
00:24:01Lord. And we all, you know, yes. But then we worry about daily issues as though God's not faithful.
00:24:10But we're going to trust him for the big, remember I said this about the big day when we go
00:24:14lay our head down on the pillow to die. We're going to trust him to get our soul into eternity.
00:24:18But we
00:24:18can't trust him to get us through this health thing or this financial thing or this relationship
00:24:23thing. We'll trust him on our deathbed, but we can't trust him to rescue our marriage.
00:24:28Church, then my question is, do we really trust him? We've gone to church every Sunday,
00:24:35but is that the reality that's coming out of us? Is there evidence and proof?
00:24:43But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer
00:24:50of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his face in a mirror, a natural
00:24:55face,
00:24:56his natural face in a mirror. He sees himself. Verse 24, for he observes himself and goes away
00:25:01and he immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of
00:25:07liberty, the Bible, and continues in it is not a forgetful ear and is not a forgetful ear. That's
00:25:13key. But a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. And when you're blessed
00:25:19in what you do, it will cause others to be influenced for the glory of God. It's very
00:25:25encouraging. Very encouraging. I want to give you some verses. And in my notes, I have this written
00:25:31down here in the scripture in this verse five, when it says, trust in the Lord with all your heart
00:25:37and lean not on your own understanding. That is that teaching by contrast, trust in the Lord. Just
00:25:43make sure you don't lean on your own understanding. So the word lean, look at the meaning of this word
00:25:50lean. It's awesome. Self-assurance, to trust in your own abilities, self-supportive, self-centered.
00:25:59Folks, is it, can I say, I'm just going to talk about myself. My dad, my mom worked hard to
00:26:07make sure
00:26:08that that was happening in my life as parents. Meaning this, your mom and dad probably taught
00:26:15you, and I'm not knocking it by the way, hear me out. Your mom and dad should have taught you
00:26:19to be
00:26:20self-assured, to trust in what you're doing, to be self-supportive and self-centered in the sense of
00:26:27if something's going to happen, you're going to have to make it happen. We've all heard this kind of talk
00:26:31before. It works in the world. Look, if you're going to hire somebody, you want somebody who's
00:26:37self-motivated. And they're going to have reason for why they want to do a good job. Maybe it's
00:26:42money. Maybe it's a promotion. Maybe it's, it doesn't matter. They are driven. Are you hearing
00:26:48me, everybody? Why are you so quiet? Okay, are you hearing me? They are, they have their reasons. Some
00:26:52of you, look, some of you don't want to hear a word from the boss. Not a word. Just give
00:26:58me more money.
00:26:59No, seriously. If I'm doing a good job, I don't care if you tell me if I'm doing a good
00:27:04job or not.
00:27:05I know I'm doing a good job by my output. Just give me more money. I'm, that's why, I'm not
00:27:11here to be
00:27:12your friend. I'm here to pay my bills. And so you work at your job. Some people don't care about
00:27:20the
00:27:20money. Some people thrive on getting the good report on the, on the review. When I worked in,
00:27:29I've, I've only had two career jobs, construction, and then 13 years at Baxter Healthcare in Newport
00:27:39Beach. That, I, I didn't care what, I didn't care if somebody said, you did a great job on that
00:27:45project last week. I don't care what you think about that. I just don't care. I've never been
00:27:51wired that way. I want to see, I want to see the words you just told me, Mr. Manager. I
00:27:57want to see
00:27:58it reflected in my raise when my review comes up. I'm sorry, but that's me practical. In the world,
00:28:06that's how we function. In the church, with Christ, we are not to be self-centered. We are not to
00:28:13be
00:28:14self-motivated. Please understand that. The best description is this. Regarding our trust in God and
00:28:22our relationship with one another, from my eyes, out from my eyes, from this head, my eyeballs should
00:28:29see you, and you should be the target of my affection, of my Christian love, compassion, and care.
00:28:39Because I believe God will take care of me. Does this make sense? It should make sense to you.
00:28:43The world doesn't teach us to think like this. It can't. When Christ comes in, his kingdom is
00:28:50uppermost, and you are those within his kingdom, and I'm to serve you. But look, your eyes look out
00:29:01just like mine to others as well. In other words, each and every one of us live for the interest
00:29:07and
00:29:07the welfare of the other one around us, and we're all super blessed and influenced by one another's
00:29:14walk. This is Christianity. Somebody said, I forget who it was, but they were critiquing. It was a Roman
00:29:20emperor, and he was critiquing Christianity, and he said, they're all about others. He was shocked.
00:29:27They are all about others. Because all the gods of the Roman Empire were all about self.
00:29:34Isn't it amazing? It's truly amazing. They will know us, Jesus said, by our love, one for another.
00:29:43And so in my notes, I wrote down, to lean or not to lean? That is the question.
00:29:48Numbers chapter 23, verse 19. Numbers 23, 19 says, God is not a man that he should lie, nor the
00:29:54son of
00:29:55man that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do? Or has he spoken, and will he
00:30:04not make it
00:30:06good? What God says, God will do. Do you believe that? What God says, he's going to do it. We
00:30:11don't
00:30:11understand it. Sometimes we don't see it happening, but he will keep his word. Next verse. There'll be
00:30:16three verses in total, passages in total. Matthew 5, verse 17 and 18. Do not think that I came to,
00:30:23Jesus is speaking. Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I should stop
00:30:28right here. Jesus said this. Do not think I came to destroy the law or the prophets. Translation,
00:30:40Jesus said, don't think I've come to contradict or not fulfill the entire Old Testament.
00:30:47Why do I say this? I hope most of you are beautifully ignorant about this, but there might
00:30:52be one person here that is not. Where there's a group that call themselves Christians. They
00:30:58will not read the Old Testament because they said it has no bearing. It's worthless. You don't
00:31:04need to read it. All you need to do, listen, only read the words of Jesus. You don't even need
00:31:10to read Paul. You don't need to read anybody but the words of Jesus. Really. In fact, they
00:31:17use that, by the way, as Christians to justify particular sins that they practice. And they
00:31:23say, Jesus never said anything about it. Now you know who I'm talking about. Jesus said,
00:31:30I didn't come to destroy the prophets or the law. Are you kidding me? I came to fulfill it.
00:31:36Wow. So the next time somebody in this modern age tells you, well, you know, Jesus didn't
00:31:41talk about that. Oh, yes, he did. He said, everything about the law and everything about
00:31:49the prophets, I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till
00:31:55heaven and earth pass away, one yacht, one tittle, one comma, one hyphen of the Hebrew
00:32:04language will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. He's saying, not only
00:32:09will every word be fulfilled, but I'm going to fulfill even the little commas. Wow. The
00:32:14exactness of God's word. It's no wonder why I don't want to now lean on my own understanding.
00:32:22I have none compared to him. And what understanding I have, it's dim, as we saw last week, dark
00:32:29at best. And then 2 Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 12 says, Paul the apostle says, I know
00:32:35whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to
00:32:42him until that day. Understanding this, that in all of life and your life, my life, right
00:32:51here, right now, I know this. Though I may not understand everything God does, and I
00:32:56lean in upon him. I do not trust in my own heart. I lean upon him because I have been
00:33:02persuaded. And here's the beautiful thing, Christian. Have you been persuaded? Or are
00:33:08you being persuaded? You want to be able to come to that place to be able to say, like
00:33:12Paul, I've been persuaded in whom I've believed. He has come through for me time and time again.
00:33:18He'll never abandon me. He'll never let me go. He'll never forsake me. He's consistent.
00:33:24He's constant. He's not a man that he should lie. What he says, he will fulfill. Amazing.
00:33:32And then look at the latter end of verse, or I should say the front end of verse 6. We
00:33:36want to seek him for everything. We want to seek him for everything. It says in verse 6,
00:33:43in all your ways, acknowledge him. And so here's the call to obedience. This is the
00:33:51instruction. Follow me, God is saying, in this. Acknowledge me. Acknowledge me in all
00:33:59of your ways. Consult me first. So I wrote there in my notes, you can see that if you have
00:34:07them on page 7, it says in everything of life, in every way of life, in all ways. So does
00:34:16that mean that God is concerned in the little tiny things? Absolutely. By the way, we say
00:34:26they're little tiny things. I think some of the tiniest things are the most important
00:34:29things. I mean, let's be honest, the most important stuff going in and around our lives
00:34:34is the stuff we cannot see. And we're not talking about spiritual stuff. That's Wednesday
00:34:39night. We embarked, last Wednesday night, we started on a series on entering into the
00:34:46dark realm, unveiling Satan's tricks and tactics against us. And I told Matt this morning, I
00:34:54said, I don't know if I should have started that series last week, because ever since I
00:34:57started it, the wheels are coming off the chariot, so to speak. You know, you wake up sick,
00:35:02you wake up blind, you wake up, so I don't know, it's like, wait a minute. But then, it's
00:35:07like, whoa, what's going on? It's good news. I said last Wednesday night, when we study the
00:35:15tactics of the enemy and reveal his secrets, Satan doesn't want that stuff known. And if
00:35:20he attacks, that's a good day. Number one, he's confirming the word of God with his backhanded
00:35:27way. Isn't that weird? But also this, greater is the power of God that lives within us than
00:35:33the power of the demonic world that is out there, that without God's hand upon us, has
00:35:39no strength over us. God's power leads us. But I love the fact that we are to experience
00:35:47his leading, his guiding in our lives this way. When he invites us, it is the God of the
00:35:52Bible who is saying to you today, friend, right now, you, grab this and go with it. In all of
00:35:57your ways, acknowledge me. So watch this. Do you have decisions that are before you? Do you have
00:36:04to, is a date coming down the calendar, like a train? That date keeps arriving. Like, I talked to
00:36:14some high schooler kids the other day, and because I haven't had enough coffee, what's the test?
00:36:22The tests are coming tomorrow. SATs come tomorrow. Yes, all of this. And they're nervous.
00:36:31What is it in your life? Is it a job thing? Is it a, is it a decision that you
00:36:37have to make?
00:36:39Here's the danger. I'm going to sample the wind. I'm going to lick my finger and hold it up into
00:36:45the
00:36:46sky nice and high and figure out which way the wind is blowing. No, no, no, no, don't do that.
00:36:51Well, I'm going to consult with all of my friends, even Christian friends. I'll talk to all of my
00:36:56Christian friends. Listen, it's nice. There's wisdom in a multitude of counselors, but it doesn't mean
00:37:02that what they say is what you do. Listen, Galatians chapter one, read it for yourself, started about
00:37:08verse 13. Paul, the apostle said that when he was called by God, he did not confirm it with flesh
00:37:16and
00:37:16blood, but he immediately went into the wilderness of Arabia and sought the Lord.
00:37:23Friend, don't do anything without confirmation from God.
00:37:28Let him guide you in all your ways. Acknowledge him. Let's look at the word ways and the words
00:37:38acknowledge in all of your ways to aim with your foot. Is that not true? Come on. That is so
00:37:45simple.
00:37:46But here's the point. Is not our great and infinite God involved in your minute little step? Totally.
00:37:58And note this. I forget who said this. Lao? Lao Tzu? Who's the guy that said?
00:38:07Sun Tzu. Did Sun Tzu say this? The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step? Or was it?
00:38:18Whatever. Doesn't matter what his name is. Some Chinese guy said.
00:38:29A thousand mile journey begins with one step. But here's the thing. You're not on the journey
00:38:35unless your foot's in the right direction.
00:38:39If you're supposed to go that way and your foot is facing this way,
00:38:44you're not going to make it. You have not started the journey. Watch, listen.
00:38:48You can go all this way, but your journey's supposed to go this way. How many people come to Christ,
00:38:54they get saved, but they dilly-dally around. And they're like the children of Israel wandering in
00:39:00the wilderness. They've been a Christian for 40 years, but they don't have 40 years experience.
00:39:05They're 40 years as a Christian with one year experience. They're little, old, and wrinkly
00:39:13with no experience. They're 40 years old with one year experience because they just chased their tail
00:39:19in the wilderness because they're still leaning upon their own understanding. And in all their ways,
00:39:24they did not acknowledge him. Better yet, listen, acknowledge him in all of your ways, starting
00:39:30today. No matter who you are today, young believer, middle, old. I say old. I'm talking time, not age.
00:39:39Start now today. Every single one of us as a church, we determine this. I'm going to acknowledge
00:39:44him in all my ways. I'm going to start going in that direction right here, right now. And let me
00:39:48tell
00:39:48you, I've seen this. I know you've seen this. We've watched predominantly women say,
00:39:53I wish my husband would come to Christ. That's usually by far how it goes. My husband needs the
00:39:59Lord. I wish he would come to Christ. And then, you know, she's done all the Bible studies. She's
00:40:05got books. She's piled up. She's got lexicons. She's doing the Greek and the Hebrew meaning of the
00:40:11words. She's, are you hearing what I'm saying? And then her husband gets saved. And that dude blows by
00:40:19her at about a thousand miles an hour. And in five years or in five months, the guy has consumed
00:40:26so
00:40:26much Bible that she's standing like this feeling like she didn't even learn a thing. And you know
00:40:33what? They love it. You want to know why? Because finally, this guy got his act together, came to
00:40:39Christ, and his feet were pointed in the right direction. And God honors the leadership of a man.
00:40:44Amen. I'm not being sexist here in this. I'm being biblical. In Christ, we're all equal. But
00:40:51listen, according to the Bible, God has called the man to lead the home. But listen, when a man
00:40:57doesn't lead the home, the home's going to be a disaster. And the wife's got to pick up the parts
00:41:01that she shouldn't have to carry. She's trying to walk directly on that journey with her foot
00:41:07pointing straight toward it. And the man's goofing off. He's doing circles in the backyard and
00:41:15a bunch of question marks appearing over his head. But when he gets his life right with God,
00:41:21God seems to take a man and put rocket fuel on him when they get right. And I think that's
00:41:27the
00:41:27mercy of God, by the way, for the poor woman. I mean, the man wakes up and steps up and
00:41:34gets going.
00:41:36What a beautiful thing that is. And so that word, let's go back to the word,
00:41:40because I got all excited and I left off with it. Just to aim with your foot, to walk toward
00:41:45the
00:41:45desired end. Oh, I like that. Hey, look, I want to go to heaven. That's the direction my feet are
00:41:53pointing. To walk directly to or towards the finish or end point. Heaven to finish the journey or journeys
00:42:02of life. To finish well. Where are you going? Don't answer. But where are you going?
00:42:11What direction are you heading? Where will you be in 10 years? If Christ doesn't come back,
00:42:16where will you be in five years? Where are you going? In the world, we have no problem answering
00:42:22that question. The world demands it of us. It could be a corporation that demands it. It could be a
00:42:29university that demands it. It could be a high school. You're in the ninth grade now. And we have
00:42:34a pretty good idea that you're going to be in the 12th grade four years from now. At least that,
00:42:38I think that's how California math still works.
00:42:43You'll be the same person, but you'll be much more equipped for life.
00:42:48The world does that.
00:42:51Why not we as believers? In fact, honestly, we're going to heaven. It's going to be our forever
00:42:56home. I think we should talk about heaven more. I think we should imagine more about heaven. I think
00:43:03we should dream about it more. I think we should just absolutely encourage one another more about
00:43:07heaven. It's where we're going. You ever been on a trip? You ever get a brochure? You ever get a
00:43:12brochure? Oh, you want to go on a vacation next year? Where do you want to go? Let's get a
00:43:16brochure.
00:43:17And you go to AAA and you get a little map or you go online and you have a Viking
00:43:22river cruise send
00:43:23you a brochure to find out that you can't even afford the brochure. Why do you do that? Because
00:43:34you want to know about the trip. And if you sign up to go, you start getting, you know, what
00:43:38kind of
00:43:39weather at that time of the year? And what should I wear? And we need to start packing. We're six
00:43:43months away. We need to start packing now. If we're like that in life, why can't we be like that
00:43:48as Christians about heaven? Start packing. Get dressed. Heaven's coming. We're going there. Are
00:43:57your feet pointing in the direction of heaven? What a thrilling thought. And then acknowledge. What an
00:44:03amazing word to acknowledge. Get a load of this. I love this word. We're going to read a verse or
00:44:08two
00:44:08on this one. It's the Hebrew word Yadah. Just the word Yadah is beautiful. Doesn't it sound great? Yadah.
00:44:16Yadah. Hey, what are you doing over there? Yadah. Isn't it great? It's a great word. Listen,
00:44:26it means to know or to find God by discovery. To find God wherever you're at. The word Yadah means
00:44:35to discover the presence of God in the very place where you are. Wow. Really? Oh, yeah. In fact,
00:44:44that's one of the great themes of the Bible, isn't it? From Genesis to Revelation, you read about men and
00:44:50women of God thinking that they're all alone finding God right in the middle of their situation.
00:44:57In sitting, in working, in leisure, in walking, in being or existing. Yadah.
00:45:03Yadah. This is going to matter to you here in a moment. It's precious. Psalm 46, verse 10.
00:45:10Be still and Yadah that I am God. Be still and discover that I am God right in the middle
00:45:23of the
00:45:23situation you're in. Be still and discover that I'm here wherever you go.
00:45:33You know, wherever you go, God's there before you get there and he's with you as you're going there.
00:45:38He's God.
00:45:41You can't be somewhere that he's not.
00:45:44Didn't Jonah have that dumb idea?
00:45:46Didn't Jonah say, that's it. I'd rather die than obey God.
00:45:51Whatever. God said to go east, I'm going to go west.
00:45:55And he goes down, he gets a ticket and gets on a boat, sails to Tarshish.
00:46:03God knows this.
00:46:05This big, great storm comes sent from God. God sends the storm.
00:46:10Jonas tells the guys, listen, oh, this big storm is because of me.
00:46:14I, I'm not obeying God.
00:46:17And they're like, what God do you, what God do you worship?
00:46:20He's the one and only God. You guys, don't worry about it.
00:46:23Your God just can't do anything.
00:46:25My God's so powerful.
00:46:27He's, he's handling this storm.
00:46:29And they got, they're like freaking out.
00:46:33And he says, just throw me over.
00:46:35Jonah, I'd rather commit suicide than obey God.
00:46:37This is a prophet of God in the Bible.
00:46:40I'd rather commit suicide.
00:46:42Just throw me over.
00:46:43It'd be, it'd be fine.
00:46:45So they said, all right.
00:46:48Look, you want to kill yourself, that's your business.
00:46:50But we have family to sail back home to.
00:46:52And, you know, may the, may the luck of the Lord be with you.
00:46:57Because they throw him overboard.
00:47:00And the Bible says, because yada.
00:47:04Can you imagine Jonah?
00:47:06All right, that's it.
00:47:06I'm just going to sink down to the bottom.
00:47:10And he might, look, he hit that water.
00:47:12It couldn't have been long.
00:47:13We're talking seconds.
00:47:15The Bible says, God prepared a great fish.
00:47:18Sorry, Sunday school class.
00:47:20It wasn't a whale.
00:47:21The Hebrew word for whale, it's not the word that's used there.
00:47:24It's fish.
00:47:26What kind of fish?
00:47:27I don't know.
00:47:28And you can't catch it.
00:47:33God prepared a great fish.
00:47:35And it swallowed him.
00:47:37Which, by the way, it's happened in history before.
00:47:40There are people who have been swallowed by fish and spit up.
00:47:43Go look it up.
00:47:45In fact, there was a guy back in the 1890s, I think it was, that was paraded around.
00:47:49And the bill of, the billing in the circus was the modern day Jonah.
00:47:54Listen, the fish swallowed Jonah.
00:47:57Jonah's like, this good, this good.
00:47:59Okay, so I'm not going to drown.
00:48:00I'm going to eat my fish.
00:48:01Anything but obey God.
00:48:03The problem was, God was in the storm.
00:48:07God was on the boat.
00:48:09God was in the water.
00:48:11God was inside the fish.
00:48:13Jonah's in the fish.
00:48:15And God speaks to him.
00:48:19That's amazing.
00:48:20Where are you?
00:48:21Where are you?
00:48:22Think about it.
00:48:22Where are you?
00:48:25Are you in jail?
00:48:26God's in jail.
00:48:28Are you lost at sea?
00:48:30God's there.
00:48:31Except he's not lost.
00:48:34Where are you?
00:48:35He's there.
00:48:37And the Bible says,
00:48:41To not only be aware that he's in every way that we invite him into being there.
00:48:46Look, God is so good.
00:48:47When you do not acknowledge him, he'll get your attention, which means he's still there too.
00:48:52My lack of acknowledging God doesn't remove him from his sovereignty.
00:48:57God's omniscience.
00:48:59He's all present God.
00:49:02I may be disobeying him, but if I'm a child of God, the road might be rough.
00:49:07That journey that starts with a thousand, that journey of a thousand steps begins with one step.
00:49:12It may be a rough road.
00:49:13Friends, the path may have a lot of stones and briars on it.
00:49:18It doesn't mean that God's not in it.
00:49:22But things get much smoother when I follow him.
00:49:25It didn't have to be the way it was for Jonah, but he made it that way.
00:49:30Here's another one.
00:49:31Are you guys still okay with this?
00:49:34First Kings chapter 19.
00:49:36First Kings 19.
00:49:38Elijah.
00:49:39You ought to read about him.
00:49:41He's amazing.
00:49:44In fact, the Bible says that he has desires and thoughts and feelings just like you and I.
00:49:52Sometimes we have a tendency to elevate God's saints to the point where we can't relate to them.
00:50:25Then he, God said,
00:50:26The Lord was not in the fire.
00:50:28And after the fire, a still, small voice.
00:50:34So it was when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood
00:50:41in the entrance of the cave because he was hiding from Jezebel, remember?
00:50:45The great man of God.
00:50:46He's terrified because a woman was going to kill him.
00:50:52He stood in the entrance of the cave and suddenly a voice came.
00:50:55Well, what do we know about the voice?
00:50:57It's still, it's still, and it's small.
00:50:59It doesn't sound like fire.
00:51:01It doesn't sound like the wind.
00:51:02The voice doesn't sound like an earthquake.
00:51:04It's a still, small voice.
00:51:06A still, a voice came to him and said,
00:51:09What are you doing here?
00:51:11Elijah, I love how God talks.
00:51:15Earthquake, fire, wind, rocks breaking open.
00:51:20Elijah's standing there in the door of the cave and like he's terrified because the woman might kill him.
00:51:28And this voice, the voice of God says,
00:51:32What are you doing?
00:51:34What are you doing here?
00:51:36Here's the amazing thing about that.
00:51:37God was there.
00:51:41God was there.
00:51:44Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways.
00:51:49And he will direct your paths.
00:51:52Verse 6 ends this way.
00:51:55Follow him as he leads the way.
00:51:59He shall direct your paths.
00:52:01Here comes the blessing.
00:52:05To direct.
00:52:07The Hebrew word here in Proverbs is this.
00:52:10To be made smooth.
00:52:13Straight.
00:52:15Right.
00:52:16Agreeable.
00:52:17Level.
00:52:18Balanced.
00:52:19To be in alignment with God being your director.
00:52:24Think about it.
00:52:27Smooth.
00:52:27By that, I'm sure that the word doesn't mean an easy life.
00:52:33Life's tough, period.
00:52:35But it's my, it's been my experience and this is just one reporter reporting.
00:52:40Take this with a grain of salt.
00:52:42This is just my experience.
00:52:46I wouldn't argue so much about how smooth the path has been over life since accepting Christ.
00:52:51But I will argue to the death as to how certain and sure the direction of that path is.
00:52:59I don't understand some things.
00:53:02I don't understand.
00:53:03You know what I don't understand?
00:53:04I don't understand why the construction site here right now going on disrupted a little family of possum.
00:53:12And one little possum.
00:53:15Terrified.
00:53:18On such a hot day.
00:53:20And he gets scooped up.
00:53:21And I told the guy, bring him to my house.
00:53:25Bring him to my house.
00:53:28He gets to my house.
00:53:29He's in the bushes.
00:53:31He's all happy.
00:53:32It's all wonderful.
00:53:33And I go back to studying.
00:53:36And he's hiding in a bush somewhere doing what little baby possums do.
00:53:41And then later that night, he comes out.
00:53:44And he's eating some cat food that's out there because they love cat food.
00:53:48And then the skunks came.
00:53:50And they tried to beat him up.
00:53:51And so he was kind of hiding over there.
00:53:53And he's just so cute, little tiny possum.
00:53:57And he was, got all excited and was making like all kind of little jumpy moves.
00:54:01And he's like happy.
00:54:05And in the morning I wake up and that little possum had drowned in our pool.
00:54:12That's a, hear the sound you just made?
00:54:14That's exactly the sound of my heart.
00:54:19When I said, God, what's up with this?
00:54:22Now, I'm telling you right now.
00:54:24You guys, look, for those of you who are visiting, when I shared these things, now you know this is
00:54:27not the church for you to come back to.
00:54:29You know, this guy's crazy.
00:54:31I said, Lord, what?
00:54:36He loses his home at a church.
00:54:40I mean, I'm really laying it on the Lord.
00:54:46He loses his family at church.
00:54:50He comes to the pastor's house.
00:54:57And I'm doing everything I can to cater to this little guy.
00:55:00In our backyard, no stranger to crazy animals all the time.
00:55:05I know what I'm doing.
00:55:07God, I know what I'm doing.
00:55:08I've done this before.
00:55:10Now, Lord, listen, I'm leaning on my own understanding now.
00:55:14I know how to do this.
00:55:18But, Lord, you let him fall in the pool.
00:55:24How does this work?
00:55:26Think about it in your life.
00:55:28Why is it that a precious young woman in our life, she's very much a daughter of mine?
00:55:39Why, I didn't say it was my daughter, so don't start writing and posting things.
00:55:43This family and this young woman, since her birth, she's been a daughter to us.
00:55:53Why did she miscarry yesterday her first child?
00:55:59We don't know these things.
00:56:02We would say it doesn't make sense.
00:56:05I understand that.
00:56:08God understands that.
00:56:10I don't see how this works out for good.
00:56:12But God says it will.
00:56:14How does the little possum, how does that work out for good?
00:56:17I don't know.
00:56:18But did you know that stuff like that, yada, yada, somehow it does.
00:56:25A sparrow falling to the ground does not escape his notice.
00:56:29That's what he said.
00:56:30Do we believe him?
00:56:31See, all of a sudden, do we believe him or do we not believe him?
00:56:34Does he care when a little bird falls from the second story of this children's ministry building
00:56:40and falls to the ground and we see this little thing?
00:56:43What is going on here?
00:56:45See, our lives, we want it all as it should be.
00:56:51You know why?
00:56:52That is evidence.
00:56:53Atheists, listen up.
00:56:54It's proof that you've been created in the image of God because you know what beautiful is.
00:57:00You know how things ought to be.
00:57:02And when you see things like that, you go, what's with that?
00:57:05And God says right back to us, if you're listening to this still, small voice,
00:57:10this is the fallen world that I came and entered into to rescue it from.
00:57:17If I wouldn't have come, this is how it would continue to plunge into forever without any hope of being
00:57:25rescued.
00:57:30I don't know why your child died.
00:57:32I don't know why you lost your job at this moment.
00:57:35I don't know.
00:57:36Only God knows.
00:57:37But I can tell you this.
00:57:40One of the great indicators of you and I living in the last days,
00:57:45it's intensifying.
00:57:46Every single one of us who name the name of Jesus are being tested.
00:57:55What decisions will you make?
00:57:57What actions will you take?
00:58:01I want to finish this off with the time that I have going very quickly now,
00:58:04and I hope that this speaks to you.
00:58:06Let this wash over you.
00:58:08That we need to follow him as he leads the way.
00:58:12Hosea chapter 4, verse 6.
00:58:14I'm going to read this in several versions.
00:58:16Listen to it carefully.
00:58:17Hosea chapter 4, verse 6.
00:58:19Notice the New King James Version says this.
00:58:22My people are destroyed, he gives you the reason, for a lack of knowledge.
00:58:27That's New King James, Hosea chapter 4, verse 6.
00:58:31My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.
00:58:34The New Living Translation says my people are being destroyed.
00:58:38That's actually very accurate.
00:58:40My people are actually in the process of being destroyed
00:58:43because they don't have any vision or reason.
00:58:46They don't have any knowledge because they don't know me.
00:58:53Next, I think we have a King James Version, Proverbs 29, verse 18.
00:59:01King James.
00:59:03Where there is no vision, the people perish.
00:59:06Notice the correlation from Hosea.
00:59:08Proverbs 29, verse 18, New King James Version.
00:59:11Where there is no revelation.
00:59:13It's the same difference.
00:59:15No vision, no revelation.
00:59:17Where there's no word guiding, the people cast off restraint.
00:59:24English Standard Version.
00:59:26Where there is no prophetic vision, the people cast off restraint.
00:59:31In other words, where there's no vision, where there's no purpose,
00:59:34you have a tendency to get lazy, sleepy, lackadaisical, apathetic.
00:59:39I submit, we'll keep going through this in a second.
00:59:42I submit that the church in America, if not the world,
00:59:45is predominantly without vision, without purpose, because it is apathetic.
00:59:50It doesn't know where to go and what to do,
00:59:52and the book is right in front of them.
00:59:54And they refuse to open it.
00:59:56They do what Charles Spurgeon said.
00:59:58They've gotten away from the Bible,
01:00:00and they teach sermonettes for Christianettes.
01:00:04Proverbs 29, verse 18, New Living Translation.
01:00:07When people do not accept divine guidance,
01:00:10they run wild.
01:00:13It describes our age.
01:00:15And it doesn't have to be that way.
01:00:19And so I'm going to ask you this.
01:00:20Just answer in your own mind.
01:00:22Do you have a purpose?
01:00:25Do you know the purpose for your life?
01:00:28Let me help.
01:00:30Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8.
01:00:32Make this your purpose.
01:00:34For by grace you have been saved through faith,
01:00:36and that not of yourselves.
01:00:37It is the gift of God, not of works,
01:00:39lest any man should boast.
01:00:40For we are his workmanship.
01:00:42His, the word is poem.
01:00:44He wrote us.
01:00:45He's writing the story, folks.
01:00:48Created in Christ Jesus for good works,
01:00:50which God prepared beforehand,
01:00:52that we should walk in them.
01:00:56Do you have a prophetic word in your life?
01:00:58These are things that are meaningful to me,
01:00:59and I'm sharing them with you.
01:01:00Do you have a purpose?
01:01:01Christian, you should be able to write down
01:01:03what is your purpose.
01:01:04Given to you by God.
01:01:06Number two,
01:01:07what's the prophetic word in your life?
01:01:11The prophetic word meaning,
01:01:13what is it that is this,
01:01:15it's the standard.
01:01:17It's the bar.
01:01:19For me, it's this.
01:01:21It's Jeremiah chapter 1,
01:01:24verses 4 through 9.
01:01:26Then the word of the Lord came to me saying,
01:01:29by the way, I didn't make this up myself.
01:01:31Some men at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa,
01:01:33back in the,
01:01:36I think 1980 it was,
01:01:40I didn't even know they were gonna do this.
01:01:41They got up,
01:01:42they walked over in the prayer meeting,
01:01:43and they laid hands on me.
01:01:45It startled me.
01:01:46It actually scared me.
01:01:47I was,
01:01:48I was the youngest guy in the room.
01:01:50Everybody in there is 70, 80, 90 years old,
01:01:52and there's only 15 guys in there.
01:01:55And they,
01:01:55they got up.
01:01:57And I never prayed out loud in those prayer meetings
01:01:59because I stuttered so bad.
01:02:02But I went to those Saturday night prayer meetings.
01:02:06And this is what happened.
01:02:08One guy by the name of Phil Anderson
01:02:11got up and he put his hands on me,
01:02:12and then the rest of the guys followed him.
01:02:14And he quotes this.
01:02:16Let me tell you,
01:02:16listen,
01:02:18he quotes this.
01:02:19From that moment on,
01:02:20this passage became
01:02:23a prophetic vision in my own life.
01:02:25I didn't understand.
01:02:26I stuttered so bad.
01:02:28I said to God,
01:02:30what does this mean?
01:02:31This is crazy.
01:02:33But it's your word.
01:02:36Here it is.
01:02:38With their hands laid on me,
01:02:39they said,
01:02:40the word of the Lord came to me saying,
01:02:41before I formed you in the womb,
01:02:43I knew you.
01:02:44Before you were born,
01:02:45I sanctified you.
01:02:46I ordained you a prophet to the nations.
01:02:49Then said I,
01:02:50ah,
01:02:51Lord God,
01:02:51behold,
01:02:52I cannot speak for I am a youth.
01:02:55But the Lord said to me,
01:02:56do not say that I am a youth,
01:02:57for you shall go to all
01:02:59to whom I send you,
01:03:01and whatever I command you,
01:03:02you shall speak.
01:03:04Listen,
01:03:05do not,
01:03:06this is important.
01:03:08And you have to,
01:03:08I have to ask myself,
01:03:10and I hope I am giving you this
01:03:13influence.
01:03:16Do not be afraid of their faces.
01:03:18I'm telling you,
01:03:19oh my gosh,
01:03:21I have to hold myself together right now.
01:03:23to be in school
01:03:25and all your life
01:03:26stuttering
01:03:28and being made fun of,
01:03:30I feared everything and everyone.
01:03:33Are you hearing me?
01:03:34Which by the way,
01:03:35side note,
01:03:36that's why I was a very violent person.
01:03:38Because I had no power
01:03:40except to hurt.
01:03:41Does that make,
01:03:42I couldn't articulate.
01:03:44So I was a violent person.
01:03:50Watch this.
01:03:51Do not be afraid of their faces.
01:03:54When God says to you,
01:03:57I have a plan for your life,
01:03:58I have a prophetic
01:04:01revelation,
01:04:01a prophetic word for your life.
01:04:06Don't tell,
01:04:07don't tell me
01:04:08your excuses.
01:04:09I will not listen to your excuses.
01:04:12You're going to waste your time
01:04:13talking to me, Jack,
01:04:14about your excuses.
01:04:15Moses tried it,
01:04:16it didn't work.
01:04:20I made the mouth.
01:04:22I know what I'm doing.
01:04:25I'm going to tell you
01:04:26what to say
01:04:28and do not be afraid
01:04:29of their faces.
01:04:30I am here to tell you
01:04:31by God's great grace
01:04:33and his mercy.
01:04:35As long as I'm
01:04:36in the word of God,
01:04:38I don't care
01:04:39if somebody says,
01:04:40we're going to skin you
01:04:41alive,
01:04:41burn you at the stake
01:04:43or call you names
01:04:44or worst of all,
01:04:46we're going to,
01:04:46we're going to post
01:04:48something about you.
01:04:51You guys need to understand,
01:04:53I literally
01:04:55do not care
01:04:56because I have been commanded
01:04:58not to be afraid
01:05:00of their faces
01:05:01and God has been
01:05:03so,
01:05:04so good.
01:05:06Why?
01:05:07For I am with you
01:05:08to deliver you,
01:05:09says the Lord.
01:05:10Then the Lord
01:05:10put forth his hand
01:05:12and touched my mouth
01:05:13and the Lord said to me,
01:05:14behold,
01:05:15I have put my words
01:05:16in your mouth.
01:05:18Listen,
01:05:20you,
01:05:20friend,
01:05:21don't rest day or night
01:05:22until you have
01:05:23that word from God
01:05:25and then we end
01:05:26right here.
01:05:27God's divine guidance.
01:05:29God
01:05:30delights
01:05:31and desires
01:05:32right now
01:05:33to guide
01:05:34each and every one of us
01:05:35no matter where
01:05:36our station is
01:05:37in life.
01:05:38Let's all stand.
01:05:40He is the guidance system.
01:05:43He's the one
01:05:44who knows everything.
01:05:45He's saying like this,
01:05:47hey,
01:05:49point your foot
01:05:50in this direction.
01:05:51Do you hear my voice?
01:05:53Listen to me.
01:05:55Face me.
01:05:56Put your feet.
01:05:58Now start walking.
01:06:00So many of you
01:06:01precious saints
01:06:02are missing out
01:06:03on great exploits
01:06:05that God wants to do
01:06:06in your life
01:06:07because you've been
01:06:08fearful of failing.
01:06:10You can't fail
01:06:11when your feet
01:06:12are pointing
01:06:12in his direction.
01:06:14You may learn this
01:06:15or learn that.
01:06:16You may learn
01:06:17not to do this
01:06:18or not to do the other
01:06:19on that journey.
01:06:21But let me tell you something.
01:06:23Don't play it safe
01:06:24and stay in the corner
01:06:26while he's calling you
01:06:27to come.
01:06:29Obey him
01:06:30and live.
01:06:31It is his desire
01:06:33and if it's his desire,
01:06:35why mess it?
01:06:37Why goof it up?
01:06:39Let him lead you
01:06:40and guide you.
01:06:40Father God,
01:06:41we pray right now
01:06:42that you would not only
01:06:43fill us afresh
01:06:44for today
01:06:44in the baptism power
01:06:46of your Holy Spirit
01:06:47but God,
01:06:48that you would guide us
01:06:49the very same Holy Spirit
01:06:50that gives us
01:06:51the salvation
01:06:52and gives us
01:06:53the power
01:06:54is the same Holy Spirit
01:06:56that gives us
01:06:56the guidance.
01:06:58Lord,
01:06:58will you lead us
01:06:59and guide us today?
01:07:00And Father,
01:07:01we pray that as we
01:07:02leave this building
01:07:03we would be ready
01:07:05to go out there
01:07:05and so to speak
01:07:06catch the world
01:07:07on fire for Jesus
01:07:09that people would see
01:07:10our hearts
01:07:11hot for Jesus.
01:07:15God,
01:07:16give us discernment
01:07:16to see young people,
01:07:18old people,
01:07:19anyone in between
01:07:20who just seem to be
01:07:21bouncing off the rails.
01:07:23They're just kind of like,
01:07:24their life is like
01:07:25in a pinball machine.
01:07:28And like what happened
01:07:29in my life
01:07:30so long ago,
01:07:34maybe you would have us
01:07:35say to somebody,
01:07:37hey,
01:07:38God's got a plan
01:07:39for your life.
01:07:39You ever thought
01:07:40about that?
01:07:41God has established
01:07:43a course,
01:07:45a path,
01:07:46works for you
01:07:47to walk in
01:07:47to make your life
01:07:49beautiful,
01:07:50meaningful,
01:07:50powerful,
01:07:51saved,
01:07:52Christ-honoring,
01:07:54God-glorifying.
01:07:55And when you come
01:07:56to the end,
01:07:57heaven.
01:08:01May God baptize us now
01:08:03in zeal
01:08:04and knowledge.
01:08:07May it be not
01:08:08by our own strength,
01:08:09not by our own power,
01:08:11but by the power
01:08:12of the Spirit of God
01:08:13and all of God's people
01:08:14said,
01:08:14Amen.
01:08:15God bless you, church.
01:08:16Amen.
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