1 00:00:04,904 --> 00:00:05,338 I want to 2 00:00:05,338 --> 00:00:08,341 talk a little bit from my heart this morning. 3 00:00:09,242 --> 00:00:11,644 About recent events, 4 00:00:11,644 --> 00:00:15,215 about our life and our legacy as a church and individuals 5 00:00:15,982 --> 00:00:18,985 and about some next steps. 6 00:00:19,419 --> 00:00:22,422 There's no doubt that our world 7 00:00:22,856 --> 00:00:25,525 is in turmoil 8 00:00:25,525 --> 00:00:28,528 for many different reasons, on many different fronts. 9 00:00:29,929 --> 00:00:33,266 And that turmoil was heightened 10 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,470 and exacerbated by the events of a week ago on the 10th. 11 00:00:37,470 --> 00:00:39,639 Certainly. 12 00:00:39,639 --> 00:00:42,642 And it's interesting in the week that has gone on, 13 00:00:43,443 --> 00:00:46,446 after Charlie Kirk's assassination, 14 00:00:47,313 --> 00:00:51,151 I've noticed some shifts and some change that are somewhat concerning. 15 00:00:52,018 --> 00:00:55,021 I got a call from a friend of mine, 16 00:00:56,056 --> 00:00:56,856 sometime this last. 17 00:00:56,856 --> 00:01:00,693 I forgot what day it was in the evening time, and he said. 18 00:01:00,827 --> 00:01:06,566 He said, pastor, is part of another church or another church that we helped plant. 19 00:01:07,767 --> 00:01:08,368 And he said, 20 00:01:08,368 --> 00:01:11,638 pastor, I respect your biblical view, 21 00:01:11,638 --> 00:01:16,142 your theological view of reality and earth and eternity. 22 00:01:16,409 --> 00:01:19,913 Help me understand how I should view and talk 23 00:01:19,913 --> 00:01:22,916 to people about Charlie's assassination, he said. 24 00:01:22,916 --> 00:01:24,951 I don't know anything about Charlie Kirk. 25 00:01:24,951 --> 00:01:28,054 Never heard him, and he doesn't come up on any of my algorithms. 26 00:01:28,755 --> 00:01:31,758 He said he's is not one in my culture 27 00:01:31,891 --> 00:01:34,861 that is listened to or respected. 28 00:01:34,928 --> 00:01:37,297 He said, so I want to be able to respond 29 00:01:37,297 --> 00:01:40,834 with intelligence and integrity and biblically. 30 00:01:41,668 --> 00:01:45,271 And so we had quite a long conversation, and I think it was fruitful. 31 00:01:46,439 --> 00:01:49,442 But he had listened to sound bites 32 00:01:50,009 --> 00:01:52,679 and sound bites are dangerous, 33 00:01:52,679 --> 00:01:55,682 that were not favorable and is looking through the lens 34 00:01:56,249 --> 00:02:00,420 from his culture through political, completely political lenses. 35 00:02:02,188 --> 00:02:04,891 And so it was it was it was a 36 00:02:04,891 --> 00:02:08,294 difficult conversation, but I think it was I think it was beneficial. 37 00:02:08,294 --> 00:02:12,065 But what I've noticed in the last 11 days or so 38 00:02:13,333 --> 00:02:15,502 is the current has shifted 39 00:02:15,502 --> 00:02:18,505 from shock and outrage, 40 00:02:19,506 --> 00:02:22,509 to anger, not just about the event, 41 00:02:23,576 --> 00:02:24,811 but people are angry. 42 00:02:24,811 --> 00:02:30,183 Some are angry at Charlie Kirk and Turning Point, and some are angry 43 00:02:30,183 --> 00:02:33,153 at those who are angry at Charlie Kirk and Turning Point. 44 00:02:34,587 --> 00:02:37,590 The reality that we've got to keep in mind 45 00:02:37,991 --> 00:02:41,995 is that we don't wrestle and fight against flesh and blood, 46 00:02:42,595 --> 00:02:45,231 but against rulers and authorities and principalities 47 00:02:45,231 --> 00:02:48,234 of this very dark and evil world. 48 00:02:48,535 --> 00:02:51,437 That has always been the case, and it still is, 49 00:02:51,437 --> 00:02:55,141 and will continue to be until Christ returns, 50 00:02:56,509 --> 00:02:58,878 until he completely does away 51 00:02:58,878 --> 00:03:01,881 with even the presence of evil, 52 00:03:02,749 --> 00:03:05,852 and he establishes his kingdom on earth as it exists in heaven. 53 00:03:06,319 --> 00:03:08,321 But until then, 54 00:03:08,321 --> 00:03:11,591 there is this struggle in the unseen world that sometimes shows its 55 00:03:11,791 --> 00:03:13,092 face in the seen world. 56 00:03:13,092 --> 00:03:16,095 And that's what we're seeing. 57 00:03:17,363 --> 00:03:20,867 The one of the things that I hold on to, 58 00:03:22,235 --> 00:03:25,772 especially in light of Charlie's assassination, is this 59 00:03:26,472 --> 00:03:28,975 is this truth from Psalm 116. 60 00:03:28,975 --> 00:03:31,711 Precious in the sight of the Lord 61 00:03:31,711 --> 00:03:34,681 is the death of his saints. 62 00:03:35,315 --> 00:03:37,083 God is present. 63 00:03:37,083 --> 00:03:39,352 He's near. 64 00:03:39,352 --> 00:03:42,355 Things don't haphazardly happen. 65 00:03:44,924 --> 00:03:47,927 And he's still good. 66 00:03:49,295 --> 00:03:52,832 And what I'm realizing over and over and over, and especially 67 00:03:52,832 --> 00:03:59,305 in light of what happened last week when truth is viewed as hate, 68 00:04:00,540 --> 00:04:05,311 it's a clear sign that the culture has absolutely lost its moral compass. 69 00:04:09,415 --> 00:04:10,016 And when 70 00:04:10,016 --> 00:04:13,486 some in our culture are more outraged 71 00:04:13,987 --> 00:04:16,489 that Kimmel got canceled, more 72 00:04:16,489 --> 00:04:19,492 than that, Charlie got killed. 73 00:04:19,726 --> 00:04:22,729 It's a sign that things are terribly wrong. 74 00:04:23,696 --> 00:04:26,432 And what I've convinced more and more and more and more 75 00:04:26,432 --> 00:04:29,836 and more is that Christ is the only hope 76 00:04:29,836 --> 00:04:32,839 for humanity. 77 00:04:32,905 --> 00:04:34,574 And our response? 78 00:04:34,574 --> 00:04:37,577 The Christ followers or his followers response 79 00:04:38,011 --> 00:04:41,614 rather than getting more angry at others. 80 00:04:41,948 --> 00:04:44,951 We must become more passionate about the Kingdom. 81 00:04:46,119 --> 00:04:49,122 It's the only hope of salvation. 82 00:04:49,622 --> 00:04:51,958 I'm not saying don't post or I'm saying don't be concerned. 83 00:04:51,958 --> 00:04:54,961 I'm not saying don't honor. 84 00:04:55,261 --> 00:04:58,264 Charlie's assassination is no doubt 85 00:04:58,431 --> 00:05:02,168 was politically and morally motivated. 86 00:05:04,270 --> 00:05:07,273 By an evil man. 87 00:05:08,675 --> 00:05:11,678 With political and moral motivations. 88 00:05:13,513 --> 00:05:16,516 But I want us to be very careful that we don't 89 00:05:16,582 --> 00:05:19,485 make a bigger deal out a turning point than we do the kingdom of God. 90 00:05:20,553 --> 00:05:20,987 And I think 91 00:05:20,987 --> 00:05:23,990 that's exactly what Charlie would say. 92 00:05:24,891 --> 00:05:26,793 Christ was more important than him, and he. 93 00:05:26,793 --> 00:05:29,796 Christ is more important to us. 94 00:05:31,964 --> 00:05:34,967 When I look at what happened, I have to realize 95 00:05:35,068 --> 00:05:37,870 the reality of who I am, 96 00:05:37,870 --> 00:05:38,571 that it was me. 97 00:05:38,571 --> 00:05:42,342 And this is what gets difficult because we want to rage against others. 98 00:05:44,043 --> 00:05:46,379 But I have to realize first that was my sin 99 00:05:46,379 --> 00:05:49,382 that put Jesus on the cross, 100 00:05:49,549 --> 00:05:52,218 and it's the sin of humanity 101 00:05:52,218 --> 00:05:55,221 that both drove the nails and pulled the trigger. 102 00:05:56,689 --> 00:05:59,092 And the only hope for the sin of humanity 103 00:05:59,092 --> 00:06:02,095 is Christ him crucified and resurrected. 104 00:06:04,964 --> 00:06:07,967 He is the only hope for this world. 105 00:06:09,135 --> 00:06:12,271 And so we will continue to pray. 106 00:06:13,506 --> 00:06:16,509 One for the witness of this church 107 00:06:17,276 --> 00:06:18,211 in a dark world. 108 00:06:20,313 --> 00:06:23,282 And we will pray 109 00:06:23,583 --> 00:06:26,586 for Erica and the kids. 110 00:06:29,989 --> 00:06:32,992 And we will be very focused 111 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,763 on the Kingdom of God. 112 00:06:38,965 --> 00:06:41,968 Father, I thank you. 113 00:06:44,437 --> 00:06:44,904 I thank you 114 00:06:44,904 --> 00:06:47,907 that we can remember the truth that your sovereign 115 00:06:48,941 --> 00:06:51,944 and that you're a good God 116 00:06:51,944 --> 00:06:54,947 and you are close to your kids. 117 00:06:56,249 --> 00:06:57,817 And I pray in the name of Jesus 118 00:06:57,817 --> 00:07:00,820 that this world will draw close to you. 119 00:07:03,222 --> 00:07:06,225 I pray you help us be mindful. 120 00:07:09,295 --> 00:07:11,564 Of your mercy and your grace, that you would help us 121 00:07:11,564 --> 00:07:14,567 be mindful of your righteousness. 122 00:07:17,203 --> 00:07:17,737 That you'd help us 123 00:07:17,737 --> 00:07:20,740 to trust you in difficulty, 124 00:07:21,207 --> 00:07:24,210 honor you in tragedy. 125 00:07:25,878 --> 00:07:27,713 And pray for the salvation 126 00:07:27,713 --> 00:07:30,716 and the blessing of even our enemies. 127 00:07:33,019 --> 00:07:35,288 And father, I pray over this moment right now 128 00:07:35,288 --> 00:07:39,692 with the honoring of the service in Arizona of Charlie. 129 00:07:39,692 --> 00:07:41,494 I pray over Erica and the kids, 130 00:07:41,494 --> 00:07:45,565 your peace that passes, understanding, a comfort that cannot be explained 131 00:07:47,333 --> 00:07:50,336 and that somehow. 132 00:07:51,304 --> 00:07:52,238 That you reach. 133 00:07:52,238 --> 00:07:54,974 And this is what you do. 134 00:07:54,974 --> 00:07:56,676 More people, 135 00:07:56,676 --> 00:07:59,679 even in death than you have in life. 136 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:03,483 We trust you. 137 00:08:03,483 --> 00:08:04,984 And that's in your name, Jesus, we pray. 138 00:08:04,984 --> 00:08:07,987 Amen. 139 00:08:10,323 --> 00:08:14,527 It don't have a lot of notes and a lot of scripture to put on the screen behind me. 140 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,563 I want to talk to you from my heart a little bit, 141 00:08:17,730 --> 00:08:20,466 not just about the temperature 142 00:08:20,466 --> 00:08:23,469 of the culture that we're in, the climate of our culture. 143 00:08:24,403 --> 00:08:27,006 But I want to talk to you about our church 144 00:08:27,006 --> 00:08:31,511 as we closed the first chapter in the first two decades 145 00:08:32,144 --> 00:08:35,147 and open a new chapter over the next two decades 146 00:08:35,781 --> 00:08:38,784 about what we will live for, 147 00:08:39,752 --> 00:08:41,888 what's worth bleeding over, 148 00:08:41,888 --> 00:08:44,891 where our legacy will be. 149 00:08:45,324 --> 00:08:47,860 And what we want God to say about us when we meet him. 150 00:08:51,230 --> 00:08:52,632 Through God's 151 00:08:52,632 --> 00:08:57,603 purpose in sending Jesus to the earth is that people who are far from 152 00:08:57,603 --> 00:09:00,606 him will be made right with him 153 00:09:01,340 --> 00:09:04,343 through faith in Jesus, 154 00:09:04,410 --> 00:09:07,413 the cross, his death and resurrection. 155 00:09:08,014 --> 00:09:11,017 The best way to do that 156 00:09:11,417 --> 00:09:15,154 to help people come to Christ is by planting churches. 157 00:09:15,688 --> 00:09:19,525 It's the best way under heaven to reach people for Christ. 158 00:09:21,327 --> 00:09:22,895 And so to that end, 159 00:09:22,895 --> 00:09:25,898 we have always been about planting churches. 160 00:09:26,666 --> 00:09:29,302 And to that end, we will continue 161 00:09:29,302 --> 00:09:32,605 to double down on that purpose through this church. 162 00:09:34,106 --> 00:09:35,608 I've never been concerned 163 00:09:35,608 --> 00:09:38,611 about a big footprint. 164 00:09:38,611 --> 00:09:41,013 I've always been motivated and passionate 165 00:09:41,013 --> 00:09:44,016 about a big impact. 166 00:09:45,017 --> 00:09:46,352 His kingdom come. 167 00:09:46,352 --> 00:09:49,055 His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 168 00:09:49,055 --> 00:09:53,092 And the best way to do that is to plant churches, not to build a bigger campus. 169 00:09:55,161 --> 00:09:57,163 And so in part of that, we 170 00:09:57,163 --> 00:10:00,166 start this next chapter in Ukraine. 171 00:10:01,701 --> 00:10:03,336 God's opened up a door 172 00:10:03,336 --> 00:10:06,339 that we never saw coming. 173 00:10:07,740 --> 00:10:10,943 To plant churches in Ukraine in profound numbers. 174 00:10:10,977 --> 00:10:11,978 Here's the thing. 175 00:10:11,978 --> 00:10:15,147 When you get close to your own mortality, you start asking questions. 176 00:10:15,147 --> 00:10:18,150 You should be asking before you realize you were close to your mortality. 177 00:10:18,184 --> 00:10:21,187 And that's what's happening in Ukraine. 178 00:10:22,121 --> 00:10:25,491 And so the door to plant churches is wide open there. 179 00:10:25,891 --> 00:10:30,262 And I have the opportunity to go train and set up a system there 180 00:10:31,130 --> 00:10:34,500 to call, affirm and train church planters 181 00:10:34,500 --> 00:10:38,671 to plant churches all over that country, as we've done in Cuba, 182 00:10:38,738 --> 00:10:42,808 as we've done in Guatemala, as we're doing in America. 183 00:10:45,077 --> 00:10:47,880 Because God has asked that. 184 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:49,982 We don't have the option to tell him no. 185 00:10:52,652 --> 00:10:53,886 So that's one of the things, 186 00:10:53,886 --> 00:10:56,922 as we go into this next chapter, that it's going to continue to be a focus, 187 00:10:56,922 --> 00:11:01,827 but because God's heart is to reach those who are far from him, 188 00:11:02,862 --> 00:11:06,399 the way we will do that locally, rather than planting 189 00:11:06,399 --> 00:11:09,402 a bigger campus, is to start another service. 190 00:11:10,503 --> 00:11:13,172 And so we'll move to three services 191 00:11:13,172 --> 00:11:16,175 on November 2nd, 192 00:11:16,409 --> 00:11:19,879 and those services will be at 8:00 193 00:11:20,513 --> 00:11:23,516 and 930 and 11. 194 00:11:24,450 --> 00:11:26,519 And so I'm gonna talk more about that in a little bit. 195 00:11:26,519 --> 00:11:29,522 But I just want you to know upfront that's where we're headed. 196 00:11:29,622 --> 00:11:32,992 We will continue to plant churches wherever God gives us an opportunity, 197 00:11:33,459 --> 00:11:37,496 and we're going to expand what we do here by starting another service, 198 00:11:37,830 --> 00:11:42,535 three services eight, nine, 30 and 11 starting November 2nd. 199 00:11:42,735 --> 00:11:44,270 Now let me unpack it. 200 00:11:47,973 --> 00:11:50,743 Why Ukraine? 201 00:11:50,743 --> 00:11:53,546 Whenever we talk about reaching people with the gospel, we talk about 202 00:11:53,546 --> 00:11:57,349 looking for people in two scenarios people under tension and people in transition. 203 00:11:59,085 --> 00:12:01,654 And you talk about a war torn country. 204 00:12:01,654 --> 00:12:04,657 Everybody is under tension and in transition. 205 00:12:05,891 --> 00:12:08,894 And so God oftentimes works. 206 00:12:08,894 --> 00:12:11,397 He always works, 207 00:12:11,397 --> 00:12:12,865 all the time. 208 00:12:12,865 --> 00:12:15,868 But people are more attuned to his work 209 00:12:16,535 --> 00:12:19,572 when their intention and transition. 210 00:12:20,139 --> 00:12:23,142 And so the door is wide open in Ukraine. 211 00:12:23,309 --> 00:12:27,813 On Tuesday, I'll fly from here to Krakow, 212 00:12:28,347 --> 00:12:31,350 arrive in Krakow on Wednesday, 213 00:12:31,717 --> 00:12:33,519 and I'll go to Auschwitz. 214 00:12:33,519 --> 00:12:36,522 And then on Thursday, travel to Ukraine. 215 00:12:37,256 --> 00:12:41,127 And in Ukraine we will run a couple day 216 00:12:41,327 --> 00:12:45,131 discovery center for people who feel like they're called to plant churches. 217 00:12:45,131 --> 00:12:48,134 And we'll do a lot of training and calling and affirming and 218 00:12:48,167 --> 00:12:51,871 and just assessing what God is doing and helping them learn how to do it. 219 00:12:51,871 --> 00:12:52,438 Well. 220 00:12:53,506 --> 00:12:56,509 And then we'll take about a three day break 221 00:12:56,742 --> 00:12:58,177 and I will drive. 222 00:12:58,177 --> 00:13:02,148 So they'll get a driver for me, to what they say right now 223 00:13:02,148 --> 00:13:06,051 is about ten miles from the Russian troops on the frontline. 224 00:13:07,253 --> 00:13:11,056 And I will get to minister to the Ukrainian army 225 00:13:11,791 --> 00:13:14,593 and to their chaplains and to some people 226 00:13:14,593 --> 00:13:17,596 who are just now coming to faith. 227 00:13:17,730 --> 00:13:20,733 And I'll spend two of spend two days in the night there, 228 00:13:21,267 --> 00:13:24,703 and then we'll drive back just south of Kiev 229 00:13:25,471 --> 00:13:28,574 and do another discovery center for people who are planting churches. 230 00:13:29,775 --> 00:13:32,812 And then the following Sunday, which would be, 231 00:13:32,812 --> 00:13:35,815 I think, the first or somewhere around there, whenever that Sunday is, 232 00:13:36,248 --> 00:13:39,251 I'll get to be in another church in Ukraine ministering as well. 233 00:13:39,885 --> 00:13:42,888 So the church has my full itinerary 234 00:13:43,122 --> 00:13:44,423 and they know when 235 00:13:44,423 --> 00:13:47,993 that when I'll be on the front lines, they know when things are happening, 236 00:13:48,494 --> 00:13:51,730 and I'll get information as I'm available to, 237 00:13:53,332 --> 00:13:54,834 so you'll know 238 00:13:54,834 --> 00:13:59,004 more firsthand what's going on, and what's happening. 239 00:13:59,038 --> 00:14:01,140 So thank you for your prayers. 240 00:14:01,140 --> 00:14:05,978 I've given Brenda and Scott a list of of almost all 14 couples 241 00:14:05,978 --> 00:14:08,981 who will be trained to plant churches and their kids 242 00:14:09,148 --> 00:14:11,584 so you can be praying for them. Here's what I'm asking for. 243 00:14:11,584 --> 00:14:14,320 Your prayers. 244 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:15,754 Real simple. 245 00:14:15,754 --> 00:14:18,757 Pray that the kingdom of God advances. 246 00:14:20,426 --> 00:14:21,894 Is that clear? 247 00:14:21,894 --> 00:14:24,697 Your tendency is going to be to pray for my safety. 248 00:14:24,697 --> 00:14:28,334 I'm asking you to pray that the kingdom advances regardless. 249 00:14:28,367 --> 00:14:29,668 Is that clear? 250 00:14:29,668 --> 00:14:32,671 Is his kingdom overall? 251 00:14:33,939 --> 00:14:37,142 And so I've just told you more than a lot more than I told the first service, 252 00:14:37,142 --> 00:14:40,913 because as some who were in the first service and I want to be sensitive. 253 00:14:41,714 --> 00:14:43,849 And so I trust that you'll be sensitive as well. 254 00:14:43,849 --> 00:14:46,051 Do you hear what I'm saying? Yes. 255 00:14:51,757 --> 00:14:53,592 We do this because of who God is, 256 00:14:53,592 --> 00:14:56,595 and I think we've lost sight of who God is. 257 00:14:58,230 --> 00:15:00,532 I think the church in general has become too familiar 258 00:15:00,532 --> 00:15:03,535 and too comfortable with who God is. 259 00:15:04,503 --> 00:15:07,473 And I want to remind us this morning on who God is. 260 00:15:08,941 --> 00:15:10,743 We have a Bible and brought one with you. 261 00:15:10,743 --> 00:15:13,913 I want you to go to Isaiah chapter six. 262 00:15:13,946 --> 00:15:17,149 It's in the Old Testament just past 263 00:15:18,384 --> 00:15:21,387 Psalms and Proverbs and 264 00:15:21,587 --> 00:15:25,291 the first of the three great prophets, Isaiah and Isaiah. 265 00:15:25,291 --> 00:15:27,993 Chapter six says this 266 00:15:27,993 --> 00:15:32,531 in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high 267 00:15:32,531 --> 00:15:35,868 and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 268 00:15:35,868 --> 00:15:38,437 Above him stood the seraphim. 269 00:15:38,437 --> 00:15:40,973 Each had six wings, with two he covered his face. 270 00:15:40,973 --> 00:15:43,976 With two he covered his feet, and with two he flew, 271 00:15:44,276 --> 00:15:49,949 and one called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. 272 00:15:49,949 --> 00:15:52,952 The whole earth is full of his glory, 273 00:15:53,018 --> 00:15:56,655 and the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called. 274 00:15:56,855 --> 00:15:58,791 And the house was filled with smoke. 275 00:15:58,791 --> 00:16:02,361 And I said, woe is me, for I am lost. 276 00:16:02,561 --> 00:16:06,231 I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. 277 00:16:06,332 --> 00:16:10,269 For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 278 00:16:11,236 --> 00:16:13,605 Chapter six starts with this statement. 279 00:16:13,605 --> 00:16:16,742 In the year King Uzziah died, that's important. 280 00:16:16,742 --> 00:16:20,746 UJA became King over God's people. 281 00:16:20,779 --> 00:16:24,783 When he was 16 years old and ruled for over 50 years. 282 00:16:25,384 --> 00:16:26,952 It was a prolific reign. 283 00:16:26,952 --> 00:16:28,554 It was a beautiful reign. 284 00:16:28,554 --> 00:16:32,124 He I wouldn't say that he's the the lead or the second 285 00:16:32,491 --> 00:16:35,494 top king in Israel, but he's certainly in the top five. 286 00:16:35,761 --> 00:16:38,263 He was the last of the reformer kings 287 00:16:38,263 --> 00:16:41,567 that brought real reformation and revival to the people of God. 288 00:16:42,901 --> 00:16:45,571 And it was in that year that he died. 289 00:16:45,571 --> 00:16:49,541 The year that he died, that Isaiah the prophet says 290 00:16:49,541 --> 00:16:53,212 he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne. 291 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:57,349 That word, Lord, if you look in your Bible, it's 292 00:16:57,349 --> 00:17:00,452 probably capital L, little o, little r, little d. 293 00:17:00,719 --> 00:17:03,622 That's the Hebrew word Adonai. 294 00:17:03,622 --> 00:17:08,260 The word Adonai is the supreme title of God. 295 00:17:09,395 --> 00:17:10,763 This is the master. 296 00:17:10,763 --> 00:17:12,231 This is the Supreme. 297 00:17:12,231 --> 00:17:16,135 This is the sovereign God over all things life 298 00:17:16,135 --> 00:17:20,506 and death, creation, heaven, hell, the God over all. 299 00:17:20,606 --> 00:17:24,777 He saw that God sitting upon a throne high and lifted up. 300 00:17:25,411 --> 00:17:28,213 That word Adonai has been reserved 301 00:17:28,213 --> 00:17:31,216 for what we would consider God the Father. 302 00:17:31,550 --> 00:17:36,255 In this instance, I believe it's attributed to God the Son, 303 00:17:36,255 --> 00:17:39,258 a pre incarnate Jesus, 304 00:17:39,591 --> 00:17:42,594 the second person of the Trinity. 305 00:17:42,928 --> 00:17:45,631 And what Isaiah sees here 306 00:17:45,631 --> 00:17:48,634 is the in the enthronement 307 00:17:48,634 --> 00:17:53,972 of Christ on his throne, the supreme God. 308 00:17:55,874 --> 00:17:58,277 This reminds us of the most often 309 00:17:58,277 --> 00:18:01,447 uttered and referred to Psalm in the New Testament. 310 00:18:01,447 --> 00:18:03,682 Psalm eight, verse one. 311 00:18:03,682 --> 00:18:06,885 In Psalm eight one it says, O Lord, 312 00:18:06,885 --> 00:18:10,522 our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. 313 00:18:10,856 --> 00:18:13,659 When the Bible says in Psalm eight one, and that's 314 00:18:13,659 --> 00:18:17,329 what this verse reminds us of in Isaiah, O Lord, our Lord. 315 00:18:17,830 --> 00:18:21,533 It uses two different words for Lord, O Lord, 316 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:26,872 capital L, little o, little r, little d, o Adonai, O sovereign one, 317 00:18:26,872 --> 00:18:29,942 O master, O Supreme one, O Lord, 318 00:18:29,942 --> 00:18:32,911 our Lord, Jehovah, the personal God, 319 00:18:33,378 --> 00:18:36,548 O Supreme one, you are the personal one. 320 00:18:37,182 --> 00:18:42,421 That's what that's what Psalm eight one says, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic 321 00:18:42,421 --> 00:18:48,360 is your name, O sovereign master, ruler of heaven and earth, how majestic are you? 322 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:50,262 The personal one to me. 323 00:18:50,262 --> 00:18:51,563 Do you understand that? 324 00:18:51,563 --> 00:18:54,500 And what Isaiah sees here in Isaiah chapter 325 00:18:54,500 --> 00:18:59,438 six is the sovereign master, ruler of the universe, 326 00:18:59,605 --> 00:19:02,608 the Most High and Exalted, one 327 00:19:02,641 --> 00:19:05,477 God above all gods. 328 00:19:05,477 --> 00:19:08,013 That's who he sees attributed to 329 00:19:08,013 --> 00:19:11,416 Jesus on the throne, the enthronement of Jesus. 330 00:19:12,351 --> 00:19:13,218 And we don't know. 331 00:19:13,218 --> 00:19:17,189 The text isn't clear if Isaiah is actually in the temple, 332 00:19:17,189 --> 00:19:23,128 having this vision or somehow, as God did with the Apostle John 333 00:19:23,128 --> 00:19:26,498 on the island of Patmos, pull back the curtain to heaven 334 00:19:26,765 --> 00:19:29,701 as John penned the words of the revelation. 335 00:19:29,701 --> 00:19:33,405 Perhaps what Isaiah is seen here has God pulling back the curtain 336 00:19:33,505 --> 00:19:38,877 and peering into heaven and seeing Christ, the sovereign Supreme, 337 00:19:39,845 --> 00:19:42,848 enthroned in heaven above. 338 00:19:43,182 --> 00:19:47,920 And it's this that he sees high and lifted up the train of his robe, 339 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,490 filled the temple, and above him stood your Bible, says Seraphim. 340 00:19:51,990 --> 00:19:53,825 That's a plural word in the Hebrew. 341 00:19:53,825 --> 00:19:56,461 Any time of the Hebrew it word ends in I'm. 342 00:19:56,461 --> 00:19:59,097 That's the plural of that word. 343 00:19:59,097 --> 00:20:03,969 So these are seraph, which is an angel, and there's multiple of them. 344 00:20:03,969 --> 00:20:05,437 Seraphim. 345 00:20:05,437 --> 00:20:07,439 We don't know much about these angels. 346 00:20:07,439 --> 00:20:09,474 This is the only place are listed in Scripture. 347 00:20:09,474 --> 00:20:13,378 It appears that these are created angelic beings with the sole purpose 348 00:20:13,579 --> 00:20:17,282 of worshiping the Supreme, Almighty God. 349 00:20:17,349 --> 00:20:19,651 Day and night, night and day. 350 00:20:19,651 --> 00:20:23,322 Now it's important to realize what these angels are like. 351 00:20:23,689 --> 00:20:27,226 God's creation is the creation of economy. 352 00:20:27,426 --> 00:20:31,396 What that means is that he doesn't waste creation. 353 00:20:31,630 --> 00:20:35,534 Everything created is created with a purpose for a purpose. 354 00:20:35,667 --> 00:20:38,503 These angels, it tells us what they're like. 355 00:20:38,503 --> 00:20:39,471 What are they like? 356 00:20:39,471 --> 00:20:41,440 They have how many wings? 357 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:46,511 Six. It's not that God just got super excited about wings and made six. 358 00:20:46,578 --> 00:20:48,480 They have a purpose with two. 359 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:50,716 They flew with two. They covered their feet. 360 00:20:50,716 --> 00:20:52,551 And with two, they covered their eyes. 361 00:20:52,551 --> 00:20:56,121 Let me explain one aspect of these six wings. 362 00:20:56,355 --> 00:20:59,024 With the two, they cover their eyes. Why? 363 00:20:59,024 --> 00:21:04,196 They're created to worship the Almighty, supreme, majestic God. 364 00:21:04,363 --> 00:21:06,331 Day and night, night and day. 365 00:21:06,331 --> 00:21:08,233 And so holy is him. 366 00:21:08,233 --> 00:21:12,904 So righteous is God that these angels were created to worship him day and night. 367 00:21:12,904 --> 00:21:16,775 And I can't even bear to look at him because he's so holy. 368 00:21:18,210 --> 00:21:20,746 They have to cover their eyes. 369 00:21:20,746 --> 00:21:23,115 This God that we become 370 00:21:23,115 --> 00:21:28,186 so comfortable with and so familiar with is so holy 371 00:21:28,287 --> 00:21:32,557 that these otherworldly angelic beings created to worship him 372 00:21:32,557 --> 00:21:36,795 day and night, night and day, cannot even bear to look at him, 373 00:21:36,795 --> 00:21:40,399 but through veiled eyes, because he is so holy. 374 00:21:41,199 --> 00:21:44,202 Do you understand? 375 00:21:44,870 --> 00:21:47,606 And we come to him with such familiarity 376 00:21:47,606 --> 00:21:50,242 that breeds contempt, 377 00:21:50,242 --> 00:21:53,011 as if we have the right 378 00:21:53,011 --> 00:21:56,214 to stand before him with unveiled faces 379 00:21:56,281 --> 00:21:59,284 and unveiled souls. 380 00:22:01,853 --> 00:22:02,821 And what do they say? 381 00:22:02,821 --> 00:22:07,559 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. 382 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:09,961 There's no other characteristic. 383 00:22:09,961 --> 00:22:14,866 There's no other quality of God that is mentioned in thrice form. 384 00:22:15,067 --> 00:22:18,270 The Bible doesn't say God is love, love, love. 385 00:22:18,437 --> 00:22:20,372 It doesn't say God is peace. 386 00:22:20,372 --> 00:22:21,673 Peace. Peace. 387 00:22:21,673 --> 00:22:23,909 The Bible doesn't say God is grace. 388 00:22:23,909 --> 00:22:25,210 Grace. Grace. 389 00:22:25,210 --> 00:22:28,246 The only character of God that's mentioned three times. 390 00:22:28,246 --> 00:22:29,481 Like this for emphasis. 391 00:22:29,481 --> 00:22:32,751 Purpose is holy, holy, holy. 392 00:22:36,655 --> 00:22:39,658 How dare we come before him? 393 00:22:40,892 --> 00:22:43,895 With such familiarity. 394 00:22:44,896 --> 00:22:47,899 That we would have the audacity. 395 00:22:49,701 --> 00:22:51,370 To be bored, disinterested, 396 00:22:51,370 --> 00:22:54,373 or God forbid, tell him no. 397 00:22:55,574 --> 00:22:58,577 So holy is God. 398 00:22:58,777 --> 00:23:01,780 Angels can't even look upon him. 399 00:23:02,948 --> 00:23:06,585 It reminds me of Exodus chapter 33 400 00:23:07,319 --> 00:23:11,223 when Moses is on the mountain with God receiving 401 00:23:11,423 --> 00:23:14,726 the commandments, that would become what we call the Mosaic Law. 402 00:23:15,026 --> 00:23:17,562 The Ten Commandments, 403 00:23:17,562 --> 00:23:21,466 chapter 33 and verse 17, the Lord said to Moses, this very thing 404 00:23:21,466 --> 00:23:24,636 that you have spoken, I will do, for you have found favor in my sight. 405 00:23:24,636 --> 00:23:25,971 And I know you by name. 406 00:23:25,971 --> 00:23:27,906 Can you imagine God saying, I know you by name? 407 00:23:27,906 --> 00:23:30,542 Guess what he does? 408 00:23:30,542 --> 00:23:32,811 Moses said, please show me your glory. 409 00:23:32,811 --> 00:23:35,213 And God said, I will make all my goodness pass 410 00:23:35,213 --> 00:23:38,283 before you, and will proclaim before you my name of the Lord. 411 00:23:38,450 --> 00:23:41,319 And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, 412 00:23:41,319 --> 00:23:43,655 and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 413 00:23:43,655 --> 00:23:47,058 But you, Moses, cannot see my face. 414 00:23:47,192 --> 00:23:49,294 For man shall not see me and live. 415 00:23:49,294 --> 00:23:52,297 And the Lord said, behold, there is a place by me 416 00:23:52,297 --> 00:23:54,299 where you shall stand on the rock. 417 00:23:54,299 --> 00:23:57,869 And while my glory passes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock, 418 00:23:58,003 --> 00:24:01,173 and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 419 00:24:01,273 --> 00:24:03,241 Then I will take away my hand, 420 00:24:03,241 --> 00:24:06,378 and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. 421 00:24:06,411 --> 00:24:07,112 Here's what's happening. 422 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,283 God is saying, I am so holy. 423 00:24:11,817 --> 00:24:14,820 You can't see 424 00:24:14,853 --> 00:24:17,823 my holiness because it would destroy you. 425 00:24:18,123 --> 00:24:20,992 And so the Bible says, God carved out a hole in the rock 426 00:24:20,992 --> 00:24:25,730 and stuck Moses in a hole, and then covered his face. 427 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:29,000 And as God 428 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,571 passed by, he said, then I will let you see. 429 00:24:32,571 --> 00:24:35,574 The Hebrew word is the hind parts. 430 00:24:38,610 --> 00:24:39,945 God is so holy. 431 00:24:39,945 --> 00:24:45,784 Moses had to be covered by a rock, and then the hand of God to see very dimly 432 00:24:45,784 --> 00:24:49,588 a muted, a muted view of the back 433 00:24:49,588 --> 00:24:52,591 part of God's passive glory. 434 00:24:53,692 --> 00:24:56,695 And the result of that. 435 00:24:57,762 --> 00:25:00,065 Exodus 34 436 00:25:00,065 --> 00:25:02,801 and verse 29, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai 437 00:25:02,801 --> 00:25:05,036 with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand 438 00:25:05,036 --> 00:25:07,939 as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know 439 00:25:07,939 --> 00:25:12,744 that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 440 00:25:12,911 --> 00:25:16,214 The implication shone as bright as the sun. 441 00:25:17,115 --> 00:25:20,218 Merrin, Aaron, and all the people of Israel saw Moses, 442 00:25:20,352 --> 00:25:24,422 and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid. 443 00:25:24,422 --> 00:25:26,191 They were terrified to be near him. 444 00:25:26,191 --> 00:25:30,161 So powerful is the glory of as the holiness of God, 445 00:25:31,696 --> 00:25:32,430 that a man 446 00:25:32,430 --> 00:25:36,468 hidden, covered by a rock, and the hand of God that got a passing, 447 00:25:36,468 --> 00:25:40,205 muted glimpse of the backside of his glory, 448 00:25:40,338 --> 00:25:43,341 so changed him 449 00:25:43,475 --> 00:25:46,478 that others were terrified of him. 450 00:25:50,215 --> 00:25:51,383 Do you understand? 451 00:25:51,383 --> 00:25:54,386 Are you getting a glimpse of the holiness of this God? 452 00:25:55,954 --> 00:25:58,957 He's not to be trifled with. 453 00:26:00,926 --> 00:26:03,929 He's not to be approached with familiarity. 454 00:26:06,331 --> 00:26:09,334 This is a holy God. 455 00:26:19,044 --> 00:26:21,246 I know during the late 456 00:26:21,246 --> 00:26:24,249 1990s and 2000, there was 457 00:26:24,649 --> 00:26:26,284 there was this thing on the coast. 458 00:26:26,284 --> 00:26:31,356 It was kind of like a a Christian Woodstock called Spirit West Coast. 459 00:26:31,356 --> 00:26:32,591 It was it was pretty cool. 460 00:26:32,591 --> 00:26:35,327 It's pretty cool. 461 00:26:35,327 --> 00:26:38,463 But I remember those days 462 00:26:39,664 --> 00:26:42,834 when people came to supposedly worship 463 00:26:44,302 --> 00:26:47,572 this move that tried to make God so common 464 00:26:48,907 --> 00:26:50,375 and so familiar. 465 00:26:53,011 --> 00:26:55,413 There was a deep and profound 466 00:26:55,413 --> 00:27:00,652 loss of his holiness, so much so that I remember T-shirts being printed 467 00:27:00,652 --> 00:27:03,655 by people just trying to make a buck off of ignorant Christians. 468 00:27:05,323 --> 00:27:08,326 That said, Jesus is my homeboy. 469 00:27:13,331 --> 00:27:16,334 The contempt. 470 00:27:18,003 --> 00:27:18,470 We would say, 471 00:27:18,470 --> 00:27:21,473 yeah, God's my blood, just my blood. The. 472 00:27:23,274 --> 00:27:25,176 I understand the heart behind it. 473 00:27:25,176 --> 00:27:28,179 I do. 474 00:27:28,980 --> 00:27:31,182 But we've got to be very careful about this 475 00:27:31,182 --> 00:27:34,185 God that we treat. 476 00:27:36,087 --> 00:27:39,090 With such familiarity 477 00:27:39,357 --> 00:27:42,360 and far too much comfort from. 478 00:27:45,830 --> 00:27:48,833 Holy, holy, holy. 479 00:27:48,833 --> 00:27:50,301 That indicates two things. 480 00:27:50,301 --> 00:27:52,637 One, the Trinity. 481 00:27:52,637 --> 00:27:54,506 God the father. God the son, God the spirit. 482 00:27:54,506 --> 00:27:57,642 Holy, holy, holy, but also indicates emphasis 483 00:27:59,177 --> 00:28:00,812 in our world. 484 00:28:00,812 --> 00:28:03,481 We would put exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation 485 00:28:03,481 --> 00:28:06,451 mark. 486 00:28:07,652 --> 00:28:10,655 This emphasizes emphasis. 487 00:28:12,057 --> 00:28:15,026 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. 488 00:28:15,026 --> 00:28:16,795 The whole earth is full of his glory. 489 00:28:19,164 --> 00:28:22,133 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him 490 00:28:22,133 --> 00:28:25,437 who called that which is inanimate and has no 491 00:28:25,437 --> 00:28:28,440 life moves 492 00:28:28,473 --> 00:28:31,443 at the holiness of God. 493 00:28:32,844 --> 00:28:35,847 And the response is, I'm a man of unclean lips. 494 00:28:36,648 --> 00:28:39,150 I am undone 495 00:28:39,150 --> 00:28:42,787 because of this dirty man has seen the glory 496 00:28:42,787 --> 00:28:45,790 and holiness of God. 497 00:28:47,392 --> 00:28:50,395 We've become too familiar. 498 00:28:51,062 --> 00:28:54,065 And too comfortable. 499 00:28:54,232 --> 00:28:55,567 He is the sovereign. 500 00:28:55,567 --> 00:28:57,435 He is the ruler. 501 00:28:57,435 --> 00:29:00,271 And as a sovereign, a sovereign is not a sovereign. 502 00:29:00,271 --> 00:29:03,441 A Lord is not a Lord without subjects and slaves. 503 00:29:06,644 --> 00:29:07,812 He is sovereign. 504 00:29:07,812 --> 00:29:08,780 He is mighty. 505 00:29:08,780 --> 00:29:13,418 He is majesty, and we are but slaves, 506 00:29:14,786 --> 00:29:17,789 not duty bound. 507 00:29:18,289 --> 00:29:21,292 Because we know in John 15 508 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:24,562 that though a slave and subject to of Christ, 509 00:29:24,562 --> 00:29:27,565 now I am his friend. 510 00:29:27,665 --> 00:29:30,301 And we know from Romans eight 511 00:29:31,603 --> 00:29:34,906 that not duty bound as a mere subject or slave, 512 00:29:34,906 --> 00:29:39,210 I am not only a friend of the master, I am also a co heir of him. 513 00:29:42,180 --> 00:29:45,183 But yet still his slave. 514 00:29:46,117 --> 00:29:49,120 And because God is holy, holy, holy 515 00:29:50,455 --> 00:29:53,458 I, we must be about his business. 516 00:29:55,026 --> 00:29:57,095 See, here's how I say it. 517 00:29:57,095 --> 00:30:00,098 God's holiness demands my allegiance. 518 00:30:03,301 --> 00:30:06,304 You follow me. 519 00:30:07,872 --> 00:30:10,875 Are you okay? Yes. 520 00:30:16,748 --> 00:30:19,751 His holiness demands my allegiance. 521 00:30:21,119 --> 00:30:24,122 We can do no other. 522 00:30:27,659 --> 00:30:29,127 I want you to understand something 523 00:30:29,127 --> 00:30:32,130 that Christianity at its heart, 524 00:30:32,730 --> 00:30:36,000 at some level, is treasonous and subversive. 525 00:30:38,069 --> 00:30:41,339 Christianity, at the heart of it, is treasonous and subversive. 526 00:30:41,973 --> 00:30:44,943 We get our name flip side from act 17 six, 527 00:30:45,376 --> 00:30:48,146 and then at 17 six, it's the Jewish leaders 528 00:30:48,146 --> 00:30:51,249 that are making a charge against new Christ followers 529 00:30:51,749 --> 00:30:56,421 and their charge against them is this they've turned the world upside down. 530 00:30:57,121 --> 00:30:59,724 That was a Jewish idiom 531 00:30:59,724 --> 00:31:02,961 for their subversive, their treason us. 532 00:31:03,294 --> 00:31:06,731 And they are counter to the prevailing 533 00:31:06,731 --> 00:31:10,168 rulers and authority and culture by which we live. 534 00:31:11,035 --> 00:31:13,071 That's what Christianity is. 535 00:31:13,071 --> 00:31:15,006 That's what Jesus was. 536 00:31:15,006 --> 00:31:16,841 That's what all of his followers were. 537 00:31:16,841 --> 00:31:18,476 And that's what got him killed. 538 00:31:19,944 --> 00:31:22,280 John John the Baptist was beheaded. 539 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:25,250 Not because he told people they could be saved, 540 00:31:25,250 --> 00:31:28,786 not because he said, Jesus can be your forgiver. 541 00:31:29,220 --> 00:31:34,025 He was beheaded because he was treasonous and subversive to the king, 542 00:31:34,025 --> 00:31:37,028 and called the king out for his immorality. 543 00:31:39,597 --> 00:31:39,998 He says, 544 00:31:39,998 --> 00:31:44,802 you say that reality is this, God's reality is this, and you are in error. 545 00:31:46,304 --> 00:31:49,307 And they took his head. 546 00:31:51,242 --> 00:31:51,976 In acts 547 00:31:51,976 --> 00:31:54,979 one eight, if you know what acts one eight says, 548 00:31:55,980 --> 00:31:56,648 some of you do. 549 00:31:56,648 --> 00:31:57,749 You just realize the address. 550 00:31:57,749 --> 00:31:59,784 You don't know where it lives. 551 00:31:59,784 --> 00:32:01,753 Let's say, David, be my witness. 552 00:32:01,753 --> 00:32:02,787 That's it. 553 00:32:02,787 --> 00:32:05,890 You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth. 554 00:32:05,924 --> 00:32:07,759 I want you to understand something. 555 00:32:07,759 --> 00:32:10,895 That Greek word witness is Marta's. 556 00:32:12,063 --> 00:32:14,432 Guess what word we get from Marta's 557 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:18,336 martyr. 558 00:32:18,336 --> 00:32:21,339 You understand what Jesus is saying? 559 00:32:22,173 --> 00:32:23,908 Sometimes that word is translated. 560 00:32:23,908 --> 00:32:26,244 A witness. 561 00:32:26,244 --> 00:32:29,247 But we get our word martyr from that word. 562 00:32:30,915 --> 00:32:31,683 Jesus is it. 563 00:32:31,683 --> 00:32:34,686 You will be my martyr 564 00:32:35,987 --> 00:32:39,257 in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, 565 00:32:39,257 --> 00:32:42,260 and to the ends of the earth. 566 00:32:43,995 --> 00:32:46,998 That's the call of Christ. 567 00:32:48,967 --> 00:32:49,534 And lo, 568 00:32:49,534 --> 00:32:52,537 I am with you to the very end of the age. 569 00:32:57,241 --> 00:32:57,508 We've 570 00:32:57,508 --> 00:33:01,279 become so familiar with this God that we say, yeah, I'm going to follow you. 571 00:33:01,279 --> 00:33:04,082 I will sometimes I want sometimes some things I will. 572 00:33:04,082 --> 00:33:04,882 Some things are wrong. 573 00:33:04,882 --> 00:33:08,886 Jesus has said, you, O follower of me, 574 00:33:09,487 --> 00:33:12,490 will follow me. 575 00:33:15,226 --> 00:33:16,260 To the cross. 576 00:33:16,260 --> 00:33:18,763 If you have to, 577 00:33:18,763 --> 00:33:22,867 and you will be my martyrs, right here 578 00:33:23,101 --> 00:33:28,639 in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 579 00:33:28,740 --> 00:33:31,576 And I am with you always. 580 00:33:36,447 --> 00:33:40,418 And he is so holy and so supreme, 581 00:33:41,452 --> 00:33:44,589 that the follower of Christ says, here I am. 582 00:33:44,622 --> 00:33:46,858 Send me. 583 00:33:46,858 --> 00:33:49,861 Yes, Lord. 584 00:33:56,501 --> 00:33:57,535 Do you know the moment 585 00:33:57,535 --> 00:34:00,671 Paul gave his life to Jesus, his life got worse? 586 00:34:03,408 --> 00:34:06,411 Think about it for a minute. 587 00:34:07,779 --> 00:34:09,313 The moment Paul said yes 588 00:34:09,313 --> 00:34:13,351 to Jesus, saying yes to Jesus was detrimental 589 00:34:13,351 --> 00:34:17,522 to Paul's health and to Paul's longevity and to ball's very life. 590 00:34:17,755 --> 00:34:20,758 Saying yes, Jesus was detrimental to that. 591 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:25,897 When I when I look at Scripture and people who follow Christ, 592 00:34:26,597 --> 00:34:29,600 they look so different than me. 593 00:34:30,101 --> 00:34:31,969 And it's probably different for you. 594 00:34:31,969 --> 00:34:32,870 All I know is me. 595 00:34:32,870 --> 00:34:37,241 Like you're probably a lot more holy and righteous and sacrificial than I am. 596 00:34:37,241 --> 00:34:39,777 I just know me. 597 00:34:39,777 --> 00:34:41,612 And there's so much of me 598 00:34:41,612 --> 00:34:44,882 that wants to add Jesus to something in my life to make it better. 599 00:34:46,350 --> 00:34:47,552 Stuff gets haywire. 600 00:34:47,552 --> 00:34:49,120 Jesus. Come on, I need you now. 601 00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:51,022 Make this better. 602 00:34:51,022 --> 00:34:54,225 And what I see in Scripture, when people added Jesus to their life, 603 00:34:54,225 --> 00:34:57,228 it got worse. 604 00:34:57,662 --> 00:35:00,364 So I did some study this week and I want to share this with you. 605 00:35:00,364 --> 00:35:04,168 When Paul said yes to Jesus, this is an outline of Paul's life. 606 00:35:04,168 --> 00:35:05,103 Is difficulty. 607 00:35:05,103 --> 00:35:08,106 Once he didn't have any of these problems before Jesus. 608 00:35:09,540 --> 00:35:10,808 Once he said yes to Jesus. 609 00:35:10,808 --> 00:35:13,811 Here it is in the first three years of saying yes to Jesus. 610 00:35:14,612 --> 00:35:16,914 He faced a plot to kill him. 611 00:35:16,914 --> 00:35:19,817 He was forced to escape the city under the cover of darkness. 612 00:35:19,817 --> 00:35:22,453 He was lowered in a basket from an opening in the city. 613 00:35:22,453 --> 00:35:26,491 Walton's run for his life at that point. 614 00:35:26,491 --> 00:35:29,460 Would we have said, okay, hold on. Jesus, I think you got something wrong. 615 00:35:32,263 --> 00:35:32,930 He had to 616 00:35:32,930 --> 00:35:36,000 run to Tarsus while he was in Jerusalem. 617 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,603 A plot was made against his life, forcing him to leave 618 00:35:38,603 --> 00:35:41,606 and go to his hometown, where people wouldn't try to kill him. 619 00:35:42,907 --> 00:35:45,910 In the first three years of accepting Jesus. 620 00:35:46,277 --> 00:35:49,213 And then he took this missionary journey. 621 00:35:49,213 --> 00:35:52,183 Within ten years, this missionary journey. 622 00:35:52,183 --> 00:35:54,585 And when he was in position, Antioch, they stirred up 623 00:35:54,585 --> 00:35:57,722 a persecution against Paula Barnabas and kicked him out of the city. 624 00:35:57,722 --> 00:36:00,992 And then they stoned him, and they left him for dead. 625 00:36:01,893 --> 00:36:06,364 They pelted his head with rocks, so much so that it busted everything in. 626 00:36:06,597 --> 00:36:09,600 And they checked him and they pronounced him dead. 627 00:36:10,902 --> 00:36:13,905 And miraculously, he was revived. 628 00:36:14,839 --> 00:36:16,174 And we would say, well, wait a minute. 629 00:36:16,174 --> 00:36:18,509 Like God can't be in that county. 630 00:36:20,611 --> 00:36:22,914 Do you see how it Paul added Jesus to his life. 631 00:36:22,914 --> 00:36:25,917 It got worse, 632 00:36:27,718 --> 00:36:28,519 And then in his second 633 00:36:28,519 --> 00:36:31,522 missionary journey, Paul and Silas were flogged 634 00:36:31,689 --> 00:36:35,493 as Jesus was before being crucified and thrown in prison. 635 00:36:35,793 --> 00:36:38,796 And then the Jews stirred up a mob against Paul and Silas, 636 00:36:38,930 --> 00:36:42,333 and they were forced again to run for their lives on the cover of 637 00:36:43,134 --> 00:36:44,435 darkness, to get out of the city. 638 00:36:44,435 --> 00:36:47,438 And then they were dragged before the pro council on other charges. 639 00:36:48,973 --> 00:36:51,976 Did Paul's life ever get better? 640 00:36:55,346 --> 00:37:00,218 No. Don't be spiritual and say, well, you know, he's in the will of the Lord, 641 00:37:00,218 --> 00:37:04,555 so it's all better because that's not how we respond to ourselves 642 00:37:04,555 --> 00:37:07,558 when stuff goes wrong, right? 643 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:12,597 And in his third missionary journey in Ephesus, 644 00:37:12,930 --> 00:37:16,801 they instigated a citywide riot, forcing Paul to leave. 645 00:37:17,401 --> 00:37:21,105 And at his home in Ephesus, they were in a state of that he was. 646 00:37:21,272 --> 00:37:24,542 He said that he was afflicted and he was despaired of. 647 00:37:24,542 --> 00:37:25,843 Life itself, 648 00:37:27,345 --> 00:37:30,348 like he thought he was going to die again. 649 00:37:31,382 --> 00:37:35,453 And then Paul learned of a Jewish plot to kill him and had to change his plans. 650 00:37:35,453 --> 00:37:37,622 Like, over and over and over. 651 00:37:37,622 --> 00:37:40,591 They're taking shots at him. 652 00:37:45,896 --> 00:37:46,797 20 years 653 00:37:46,797 --> 00:37:50,501 after he accepted Jesus, 25 years after year after Christ, 654 00:37:50,901 --> 00:37:53,604 he was arrested in the temple courts in Jerusalem after 655 00:37:53,604 --> 00:37:56,607 being falsely accused. 656 00:37:56,774 --> 00:37:58,442 And then he was saved from me, killed 657 00:37:58,442 --> 00:38:01,445 by a Jewish mob, by Roman soldiers. 658 00:38:01,712 --> 00:38:04,715 And for two years, he was thrown in prison in Syria. 659 00:38:05,283 --> 00:38:06,851 And then he was sent to Rome. 660 00:38:06,851 --> 00:38:07,518 And the ship 661 00:38:07,518 --> 00:38:11,989 he was on shipwrecked on the storm, and he was stuck on the island of Malta. 662 00:38:12,390 --> 00:38:15,526 And then he spent the last two years under house arrest in Rome. 663 00:38:15,526 --> 00:38:16,394 After that, 664 00:38:18,329 --> 00:38:21,332 and after brief reprieves, 665 00:38:22,166 --> 00:38:25,770 he was again arrested under Emperor Nero 666 00:38:26,871 --> 00:38:30,141 and then martyred by beheading. 667 00:38:31,375 --> 00:38:34,378 30 years after giving his life to Jesus. 668 00:38:35,646 --> 00:38:37,114 Did his life get better 669 00:38:37,114 --> 00:38:40,117 because he put Jesus in the middle of it? 670 00:38:40,885 --> 00:38:43,087 Accepting Jesus as his Savior 671 00:38:43,087 --> 00:38:46,090 was a detriment to his health 672 00:38:46,657 --> 00:38:50,361 and his livelihood and his earthly future. 673 00:38:51,495 --> 00:38:54,498 And look at what Paul said about himself. 674 00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:02,340 I do not account my life of any value, nor as precious to myself. 675 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:06,811 If only I may finish my course and the ministry that I've received 676 00:39:06,811 --> 00:39:10,748 from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 677 00:39:11,048 --> 00:39:16,020 He says, my life is not precious to me at all, 678 00:39:16,754 --> 00:39:19,757 except that I may testify about the grace of God. 679 00:39:22,526 --> 00:39:23,594 For I'm already 680 00:39:23,594 --> 00:39:27,932 being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 681 00:39:28,132 --> 00:39:30,868 Paul never said death. He never talked about it. 682 00:39:30,868 --> 00:39:32,169 He always talked about departure. 683 00:39:32,169 --> 00:39:35,539 Because for him, it was like getting on a plane and taking a trip 684 00:39:36,674 --> 00:39:38,609 to a new home, 685 00:39:38,609 --> 00:39:41,612 a better home. 686 00:39:43,681 --> 00:39:45,783 For whoever would save his life. 687 00:39:45,783 --> 00:39:48,753 Well, what? Lose it. 688 00:39:49,153 --> 00:39:52,156 But whoever loses his life for my sake 689 00:39:52,390 --> 00:39:54,992 will find it. 690 00:39:54,992 --> 00:39:57,128 So is what it means to follow Christ, 691 00:39:57,128 --> 00:40:00,798 to serve a holy, holy, holy God. 692 00:40:04,101 --> 00:40:07,204 Indeed, I count everything as lost 693 00:40:07,204 --> 00:40:10,574 because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. 694 00:40:11,776 --> 00:40:15,212 For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them 695 00:40:15,212 --> 00:40:20,785 as rubbish trash, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, 696 00:40:20,785 --> 00:40:24,288 not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, 697 00:40:24,989 --> 00:40:29,627 but that that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God 698 00:40:29,627 --> 00:40:33,531 that depends on faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection. 699 00:40:33,531 --> 00:40:34,298 Absolutely. 700 00:40:34,298 --> 00:40:37,201 But resurrection only comes through suffering and death. 701 00:40:37,201 --> 00:40:39,403 That I may know the power of his resurrection 702 00:40:39,403 --> 00:40:42,339 and share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 703 00:40:42,339 --> 00:40:46,110 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection of the dead. 704 00:40:46,243 --> 00:40:48,846 This was the focus of Paul's earthly life. 705 00:40:48,846 --> 00:40:50,314 It was live for one purpose, 706 00:40:52,216 --> 00:40:54,151 and it was counted as loss, 707 00:40:54,151 --> 00:40:57,755 because Paul understood what he'd been told about the words of Christ. 708 00:40:57,988 --> 00:41:03,894 You will be my martyr in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, 709 00:41:03,894 --> 00:41:08,332 and to the ends of this earth, and I am with you always. 710 00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:12,570 And because God is holy, holy, holy, 711 00:41:13,003 --> 00:41:17,508 the slave has no right to say no. 712 00:41:17,942 --> 00:41:20,945 Lord. 713 00:41:22,713 --> 00:41:25,683 So be it. 714 00:41:31,021 --> 00:41:33,390 God's business 715 00:41:33,390 --> 00:41:36,494 is about seeking and saving those who are far from him. 716 00:41:38,195 --> 00:41:41,198 And God has no other business in this world. 717 00:41:42,566 --> 00:41:45,302 And God has a plan for reaching people. 718 00:41:45,302 --> 00:41:46,937 And that plan is me and you. 719 00:41:46,937 --> 00:41:49,940 And he has no plan B, 720 00:41:50,007 --> 00:41:53,010 and that's why we will plant churches, 721 00:41:53,444 --> 00:41:56,947 and that's why we will give and lead and serve and invite, 722 00:41:58,215 --> 00:42:00,784 because a holy God 723 00:42:00,784 --> 00:42:05,055 has said, I am your sovereign, I am your master, and this is my business. 724 00:42:11,762 --> 00:42:12,596 And that's why we're 725 00:42:12,596 --> 00:42:15,599 going to start three services 726 00:42:15,699 --> 00:42:17,935 on November 2nd, 727 00:42:17,935 --> 00:42:20,704 because there are people in the ranchos, there are people in Riverstone, 728 00:42:20,704 --> 00:42:21,906 there are people in Tesoro. 729 00:42:21,906 --> 00:42:25,609 And God knows there's people in Tula that do not know him. 730 00:42:30,614 --> 00:42:32,850 I have to give you a chance to breathe in this. 731 00:42:32,850 --> 00:42:35,853 That's your chance to breathe. 732 00:42:37,721 --> 00:42:40,724 You understand? Yes. 733 00:42:42,560 --> 00:42:45,563 We will not build a bigger campus. 734 00:42:46,096 --> 00:42:47,197 We'll start another service. 735 00:42:47,197 --> 00:42:49,099 I've never had the desire. 736 00:42:49,099 --> 00:42:52,336 I've never been about a big campus. 737 00:42:52,336 --> 00:42:54,538 I've been about 738 00:42:54,538 --> 00:42:56,807 a big impact. 739 00:42:56,807 --> 00:42:59,810 Because that's biblical. 740 00:43:01,545 --> 00:43:02,313 And so we'll start 741 00:43:02,313 --> 00:43:05,282 churches and start campuses 742 00:43:05,549 --> 00:43:08,552 and start services. 743 00:43:10,321 --> 00:43:10,888 And here's why. 744 00:43:10,888 --> 00:43:12,690 Let me read this just real quick. Let me read this to you. 745 00:43:12,690 --> 00:43:14,825 This came from our birthday celebrations. 746 00:43:14,825 --> 00:43:15,926 What someone said about 747 00:43:17,061 --> 00:43:18,329 these past 20 years. 748 00:43:18,329 --> 00:43:21,098 I first came to a flip side back in 2018. 749 00:43:21,098 --> 00:43:21,865 I still remember 750 00:43:21,865 --> 00:43:25,235 walking through the doors, feeling so scared and unsure of what I was doing. 751 00:43:25,536 --> 00:43:27,237 Faith wasn't something I grew up with. 752 00:43:27,237 --> 00:43:29,239 In fact, it was pretty. It was. 753 00:43:29,239 --> 00:43:31,308 It was pretty discouraging in my home. 754 00:43:31,308 --> 00:43:33,744 And to be honest, I was embarrassed. 755 00:43:33,744 --> 00:43:38,215 I knew a lot of people from school who went to flip side, and I was so aware 756 00:43:38,215 --> 00:43:41,819 of my reputation, the life I was living and how others saw me. 757 00:43:43,020 --> 00:43:46,890 That first Sunday Carl preached, and for the very first time 758 00:43:46,890 --> 00:43:49,893 in my 17 years of life, I heard the good news. 759 00:43:50,227 --> 00:43:52,563 I realized I wasn't too far gone. 760 00:43:52,563 --> 00:43:57,001 Slowly but surely, God began lifting the shame I had carried for so long. 761 00:43:57,601 --> 00:44:00,270 After that day, I gave my life to Jesus. 762 00:44:00,270 --> 00:44:03,440 Fast forward a bit, and in 2020, I was baptized 763 00:44:03,741 --> 00:44:06,744 right alongside the man who would later become my husband. 764 00:44:07,277 --> 00:44:09,213 Things at home didn't magically change, 765 00:44:09,213 --> 00:44:13,117 but something in me had the light of Jesus began to shine in me. 766 00:44:13,117 --> 00:44:16,120 And even in that darkness, my family started to notice. 767 00:44:16,220 --> 00:44:19,223 My mom and siblings began asking questions about Jesus. 768 00:44:19,923 --> 00:44:22,893 Now years later, not only do they come to flipside, 769 00:44:22,893 --> 00:44:23,994 but they've come to know 770 00:44:23,994 --> 00:44:27,031 what it means to have a real personal relationship with Jesus. 771 00:44:27,331 --> 00:44:29,833 That's something I never thought I'd get to see. 772 00:44:30,901 --> 00:44:32,102 My husband and I have grown 773 00:44:32,102 --> 00:44:35,072 so much together, both as a couple and in our faith. 774 00:44:35,205 --> 00:44:35,906 On September 775 00:44:35,906 --> 00:44:39,543 15th, we'll celebrate one year of marriage and seven years of being together. 776 00:44:39,810 --> 00:44:42,813 And this October, we're expecting our first baby boy. 777 00:44:43,947 --> 00:44:46,950 God has been so incredibly faithful. 778 00:44:47,117 --> 00:44:50,087 I grew up with every card stacked against me. 779 00:44:50,087 --> 00:44:52,489 The environment I came from was heavy and hard. 780 00:44:52,489 --> 00:44:55,492 But Jesus met me right where I was 781 00:44:55,526 --> 00:44:58,529 and flip side. 782 00:45:01,565 --> 00:45:02,332 Was a place 783 00:45:02,332 --> 00:45:05,335 where the seed of faith was first planted in me. 784 00:45:05,803 --> 00:45:08,806 And I'll never stop being thankful for that. 785 00:45:10,574 --> 00:45:12,976 Yeah. 786 00:45:12,976 --> 00:45:15,345 And that's why I will add services. 787 00:45:15,345 --> 00:45:18,348 And that's why I will start churches. 788 00:45:21,251 --> 00:45:24,254 And it will require sacrifice. 789 00:45:24,722 --> 00:45:28,726 And you will sacrifice right along with me and right along with each other. 790 00:45:29,993 --> 00:45:32,996 And so while I am in Ukraine, you will pray 791 00:45:33,731 --> 00:45:36,834 that the kingdom of God advances throughout that country. 792 00:45:37,701 --> 00:45:40,704 And you will pray over yourselves in this place. 793 00:45:41,972 --> 00:45:44,374 What is your part? 794 00:45:44,374 --> 00:45:47,377 Decide what your sacrifice is 795 00:45:47,377 --> 00:45:49,680 for some of you, as a martyr. 796 00:45:49,680 --> 00:45:52,683 Your sacrifice will be showing up at 8:00. 797 00:45:57,020 --> 00:45:58,322 And some of your sacrifice 798 00:45:58,322 --> 00:46:01,291 will be coming to the late one at 11. 799 00:46:06,430 --> 00:46:09,433 And some of you will sacrifice 800 00:46:09,533 --> 00:46:12,536 your time and your energy. 801 00:46:12,603 --> 00:46:14,338 You pray about what your role is 802 00:46:14,338 --> 00:46:17,341 in leading, not just helping, 803 00:46:17,641 --> 00:46:20,444 but also in helping 804 00:46:20,444 --> 00:46:23,447 what your role is in giving 805 00:46:23,914 --> 00:46:26,917 and what your responsibility is in inviting. 806 00:46:28,519 --> 00:46:31,522 Because we serve a holy God. 807 00:46:33,357 --> 00:46:35,692 And because of his holiness, 808 00:46:35,692 --> 00:46:39,830 it will always be kingdom over party and because of God's holiness, 809 00:46:39,830 --> 00:46:43,300 it will always be kingdom over politic and because of God's holiness 810 00:46:43,500 --> 00:46:48,205 it will always be kingdom over personality and because of God's holiness. 811 00:46:48,405 --> 00:46:52,509 It will always be the expansion of his Kingdom, regardless of the cost. 812 00:46:52,509 --> 00:46:53,911 And because of his holiness. 813 00:46:55,112 --> 00:46:59,283 We will respond with, here am I, send me. 814 00:47:05,489 --> 00:47:08,492 Because of the holiness of God, 815 00:47:08,826 --> 00:47:12,729 give him your life and don't take it back. 816 00:47:16,466 --> 00:47:19,269 This is the God we serve, 817 00:47:19,269 --> 00:47:22,272 and this is why we do what we do. 818 00:47:25,943 --> 00:47:28,946 You understand? 819 00:47:29,246 --> 00:47:29,613 Father. 820 00:47:29,613 --> 00:47:31,248 Thank you 821 00:47:31,248 --> 00:47:33,650 that you love us, 822 00:47:33,650 --> 00:47:36,653 that you've loved us with an everlasting love. 823 00:47:37,654 --> 00:47:39,122 That we could never separate us 824 00:47:39,122 --> 00:47:42,092 from your love. 825 00:47:42,593 --> 00:47:45,596 And I thank you that you are the Holy God. 826 00:47:47,464 --> 00:47:50,467 Who has stepped into our existence 827 00:47:50,901 --> 00:47:55,439 and drawn near to us so we could draw near to you. 828 00:47:56,240 --> 00:47:59,243 Thank you that you took the initiative. 829 00:47:59,643 --> 00:48:02,613 I pray that we respond 830 00:48:02,613 --> 00:48:05,616 with unwavering commitment, 831 00:48:06,250 --> 00:48:09,119 with steadfast love, 832 00:48:09,119 --> 00:48:11,655 and with a heart that says, here am I. 833 00:48:11,655 --> 00:48:14,224 Send me, 834 00:48:14,224 --> 00:48:18,395 oh God, that your kingdom would come on this earth as it is in heaven, 835 00:48:18,762 --> 00:48:22,532 that your will would be done on this earth as it is in heaven. 836 00:48:23,433 --> 00:48:25,702 Friends, I want to invite you in this moment. 837 00:48:28,705 --> 00:48:31,074 To come before a holy 838 00:48:31,074 --> 00:48:34,077 God, not a familiar one. 839 00:48:35,145 --> 00:48:38,949 But a holy, holy, holy God. 840 00:48:41,685 --> 00:48:44,254 And before that, Holy God, 841 00:48:44,254 --> 00:48:47,257 admit who you are. 842 00:48:49,092 --> 00:48:51,061 God, you are holy. 843 00:48:51,061 --> 00:48:54,031 I am not. 844 00:48:55,032 --> 00:48:57,668 Tell him I cannot make myself 845 00:48:57,668 --> 00:49:00,671 right with you. 846 00:49:02,306 --> 00:49:04,908 Say, Jesus, thank you 847 00:49:04,908 --> 00:49:07,911 that you made it possible. 848 00:49:10,013 --> 00:49:13,016 For a sinful person like me. 849 00:49:14,518 --> 00:49:17,521 To be accepted by a holy God. 850 00:49:19,656 --> 00:49:20,390 And Jesus, 851 00:49:20,390 --> 00:49:24,561 I accept the work you did on the cross for my forgiveness. 852 00:49:24,561 --> 00:49:27,564 Thank you. 853 00:49:29,333 --> 00:49:32,336 And now make this commitment. 854 00:49:33,003 --> 00:49:36,006 God, because you are holy. 855 00:49:36,573 --> 00:49:39,543 I will stop telling you no. 856 00:49:41,378 --> 00:49:43,146 I realize Your Holiness 857 00:49:43,146 --> 00:49:46,149 demands my allegiance. 858 00:49:47,250 --> 00:49:50,253 And so today, I'm giving you all of it. 859 00:49:54,691 --> 00:49:56,259 We love you, Jesus. 860 00:49:56,259 --> 00:49:58,328 Thank you 861 00:49:58,328 --> 00:50:01,698 for the opportunity you've given us to be made right with you. 862 00:50:02,566 --> 00:50:03,834 Do what only you can do. 863 00:50:05,335 --> 00:50:08,205 Grow your kingdom through this church. 864 00:50:08,205 --> 00:50:11,141 I pray that we would reach the ranchos, that we would reach Riverstone, that we 865 00:50:11,141 --> 00:50:14,911 reach to soil, that we would reach beyond our own borders, beyond our country, 866 00:50:15,912 --> 00:50:19,683 that we'd get to be a small part of your groundwork, of the redemption of humanity. 867 00:50:19,683 --> 00:50:21,218 You're the only hope of salvation. 868 00:50:21,218 --> 00:50:22,686 You're the only hope for this world. 869 00:50:22,686 --> 00:50:27,224 Thank you that we get to be your torchbearers, your image in this world. 870 00:50:28,458 --> 00:50:31,228 I pray we carry it well 871 00:50:31,228 --> 00:50:32,863 and that whatever it costs us, God, 872 00:50:32,863 --> 00:50:35,866 we willingly 873 00:50:35,999 --> 00:50:37,300 as your slaves, martyrs, 874 00:50:37,300 --> 00:50:40,303 friends and co-heirs, 875 00:50:40,370 --> 00:50:42,873 give and sacrifice 876 00:50:42,873 --> 00:50:45,876 because you're holy. 877 00:50:46,710 --> 00:50:47,611 In your name I pray. 878 00:50:47,611 --> 00:50:50,580 Amen. Church, I love you. 879 00:50:51,281 --> 00:50:53,850 I'm proud of you. 880 00:50:53,850 --> 00:50:56,586 Let's storm the gates of hell with a water pistol, 881 00:50:59,356 --> 00:51:02,092 Cause we already won. 882 00:51:02,092 --> 00:51:02,592 Let's sing.