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Allen Jackson Ministries

Allen Jackson - The Essential Family (Part 2)

October 22, 2025 | 28:35

Allen Jackson - The Essential Family (Part 2)
Pastor Allen Jackson's mission is to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
#Family #Culture #Children #God'sWill #Plan #Marriage #Husband #Wife #Father #Mother #HandofGod #Creation #Kids

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Allen Jackson Ministries | Allen Jackson - The Essential Family (Part 2) | October 22, 2025
  • ...
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Allen jackson: you know, we're witnessing something of a crisis
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  • In our nation, something i never thought i would see: expressions
  • 00:00:09.125 --> 00:00:10.226
  • Of antisemitism, hatred for the jewish people, coming from
  • 00:00:12.262 --> 00:00:15.932
  • America, coming from the christian community, the
  • 00:00:15.932 --> 00:00:19.035
  • Conservative side of the ideological spectrum,
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  • To a degree and scope i've never seen before.
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  • Well, it was important enough that i stopped and put together
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  • A book.
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  • The title of it is "supporting israel: how far is too far?"
  • 00:00:28.111 --> 00:00:31.648
  • It's an important concept that isn't political.
  • 00:00:31.648 --> 00:00:34.517
  • It's grounded in a biblical worldview.
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  • I think we need to understand our responsibilities to the
  • 00:00:36.486 --> 00:00:39.255
  • Jewish people, to the modern-day state of israel, not from
  • 00:00:39.255 --> 00:00:42.325
  • An ideological perspective, not from the perspective of nation
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  • States, but as people of god.
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  • It's important.
  • 00:00:47.697 --> 00:00:49.065
  • It's an important season, a lot of voices.
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  • And i know there's some fatigue with the conflict in the middle
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  • East, but we can't afford to be fatigued with our assignments to
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  • Honor god and the responsibilities that come
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  • With that.
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  • I believe the book will be a help to you.
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  • I believe it'll help you navigate the conversation with
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  • Your family and your friends.
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  • Enjoy the read.
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Allen: you know, i poke fun sometimes at institutions that
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  • We expect to be trustworthy that aren't, but what i'm really most
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  • Concerned about is being trustworthy before the lord in
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  • My life.
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  • It's what i'm inviting you to.
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  • There's things i can't answer.
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  • There's questions i don't know, but i want to do the best i can
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  • To walk in obedience to the truth that i know.
  • 00:01:44.888 --> 00:01:48.858
  • Have those conversations.
  • 00:01:48.858 --> 00:01:51.561
  • You say, "i'm afraid i'll lose power."
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  • Folks, if god is with us, we've accepted a false definition of
  • 00:01:53.630 --> 00:01:59.469
  • How to gain power and authority.
  • 00:01:59.469 --> 00:02:06.042
  • God designed family.
  • 00:02:06.042 --> 00:02:08.411
  • There's a third component of this family discussion, and
  • 00:02:08.411 --> 00:02:11.014
  • That's that children are a sacred trust.
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  • I know we talk about them as if they're ours, like we own them.
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  • And the reality is god knows them first.
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  • He's the author and the completer of their story we're
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  • Told in hebrews.
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  • And parents, if you're not conscious of this, god has
  • 00:02:25.028 --> 00:02:27.163
  • A plan for your children.
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  • I'm not trying to add to your burden in parenting.
  • 00:02:29.566 --> 00:02:31.935
  • I'm not telling you you have to discern that, but i would
  • 00:02:31.935 --> 00:02:34.504
  • Encourage as you shepherd them and do your best to nurture them
  • 00:02:34.504 --> 00:02:37.974
  • And help them grow and to know that god has written a plan
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  • For them.
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  • Children are intended to be a part of the family, a part of
  • 00:02:44.113 --> 00:02:46.716
  • The home, not the center.
  • 00:02:46.716 --> 00:02:50.553
  • Again, i know there's a cultural shift on this one, but the
  • 00:02:50.553 --> 00:02:53.923
  • Marriage covenant is the center of the home.
  • 00:02:53.923 --> 00:02:55.725
  • The relationship between mom and dad is the center of the home.
  • 00:02:55.725 --> 00:03:00.230
  • We've lost our balance a bit.
  • 00:03:00.230 --> 00:03:04.200
  • The children aren't intended, again, to complete us.
  • 00:03:04.200 --> 00:03:06.236
  • They're not to fulfill our reason for existence.
  • 00:03:06.236 --> 00:03:09.505
  • They're the ultimate train and release program.
  • 00:03:09.505 --> 00:03:14.477
  • And we can't release them early.
  • 00:03:14.477 --> 00:03:16.846
  • But at some point you gotta set them free.
  • 00:03:16.846 --> 00:03:20.450
  • Again, it's a biblical paradigm.
  • 00:03:20.450 --> 00:03:22.352
  • I brought you a couple of passages, psalm 139:13: "you
  • 00:03:22.352 --> 00:03:25.822
  • Created me--my inmost being: you knit me together in my
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  • Mother's womb."
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  • Long before you see the children, god knows them.
  • 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:34.063
  • Isaiah 44: "this is what the lord says--your redeemer, who
  • 00:03:34.063 --> 00:03:37.100
  • Formed you in the womb."
  • 00:03:37.100 --> 00:03:39.569
  • If you have any question about the significance of children,
  • 00:03:39.569 --> 00:03:41.671
  • Read the gospels and jesus's attitude toward the children.
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  • He said, "don't keep them from coming to me.
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  • Let the children come to me."
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  • The disciples were trying to keep 'em away.
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  • He was busy, there were crowds, and he said, "no, no, no, let
  • 00:03:48.911 --> 00:03:50.847
  • The children come."
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  • And if that wasn't enough, he looked at his closest friends
  • 00:03:52.615 --> 00:03:54.617
  • And he said, "if one of you causes a little one to stumble,
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  • It would be better for you to find a millstone."
  • 00:03:57.620 --> 00:03:59.322
  • That's a huge piece of rock.
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  • "tie a rope around it.
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  • Tie the other end to yourself and throw the rock in the sea."
  • 00:04:04.193 --> 00:04:08.331
  • That's harsh.
  • 00:04:08.331 --> 00:04:10.133
  • What would elicit that kind of a response from jesus?
  • 00:04:10.133 --> 00:04:12.302
  • "if you cause one of these little ones to stumble."
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  • Folks, i'm concerned.
  • 00:04:14.704 --> 00:04:16.039
  • Why do i say some books are inappropriate for a library?
  • 00:04:16.039 --> 00:04:18.541
  • I'm not for banning books.
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  • I'm for age appropriate learning.
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  • It shouldn't be confusing.
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  • You don't want the children to be sexualized outside the
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  • Authority of their parents too early in their lives.
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  • That's not good.
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  • That's not just about your children.
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  • That's about our oversight for the children.
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  • Do not release predators on the children or we will be
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  • Held accountable.
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  • That's a biblical principle.
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  • So what do we do?
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  • I brought you--you know, the practical expressions of faith
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  • Are my favorite: let's pray, let's talk, all those things
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  • Where we take our faith outside the church.
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  • I wanna give you an invitation.
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  • And we've wrestled with this a bit because we--i know your
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  • Lives are busy and crowded and i don't wanna add to your to do
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  • List, but i'm going to.
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  • I wanna invite you to return to the kitchen table.
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  • Here's the big picture idea: one meal a week as a family at the
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  • Table, no devices. [congregation applauding]
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  • And i'll be honest with you, i wrestled with--i was a little
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  • Embarrassed that we started with just one meal a week.
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  • But i think it's a beginning point.
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  • I think we'll see the value in it and then we'll begin to work
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  • At how we can expand that.
  • 00:05:33.916 --> 00:05:36.085
  • But one meal a week at the kitchen table, shaping culture
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  • Begins at the kitchen table.
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  • Share a meal with your family at the kitchen table once a week.
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  • It's more important than a ballgame.
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  • It's more important than another somebody else's birthday party.
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  • There's no end to those things.
  • 00:05:51.667 --> 00:05:53.035
  • I'm not saying they don't have value.
  • 00:05:53.035 --> 00:05:54.370
  • I'm not saying they're not significant.
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  • I'm telling you it's more important at least once a week
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  • To sit together as a family at the table.
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  • There's a table set up out there in case you missed it.
  • 00:06:02.512 --> 00:06:06.449
  • And on the wall, if you'll read, there are some questions, there
  • 00:06:06.449 --> 00:06:08.217
  • Are some kind of dialogue starters to think about how to
  • 00:06:08.217 --> 00:06:10.420
  • Shape that.
  • 00:06:10.420 --> 00:06:11.788
  • It's a lot of work.
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  • Somebody's gotta prepare a meal.
  • 00:06:13.122 --> 00:06:14.490
  • Somebody's gotta lay down the rules that we have to be there.
  • 00:06:14.490 --> 00:06:16.159
  • Somebody has to manage the schedules and calendars
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  • Of everybody.
  • 00:06:17.727 --> 00:06:19.061
  • When the kids are little, getting them to sit still for
  • 00:06:19.061 --> 00:06:20.830
  • A few minutes takes an act of god.
  • 00:06:20.830 --> 00:06:22.265
  • When the kids get older, getting in the building at the same time
  • 00:06:22.265 --> 00:06:24.600
  • Takes a greater act of god.
  • 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:26.969
  • There's acts of god all around the table.
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  • But if you don't have the intent, it will never happen.
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  • It will not happen accidentally.
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  • Not everybody will come joyfully.
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  • Some will look at what's on the table and go, "i'm not
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  • Eating that."
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  • That's a part of the lesson.
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  • There's a purpose to the kitchen table.
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  • It's a wellness check.
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  • You wanna see everybody, you wanna listen to everybody.
  • 00:06:55.298 --> 00:06:57.733
  • It forces you to stop and to look at the people around
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  • The table.
  • 00:07:01.137 --> 00:07:02.472
  • It's an update in your mind, since we were last together
  • 00:07:02.472 --> 00:07:07.176
  • Where have you been?
  • 00:07:07.176 --> 00:07:08.511
  • What have you done?
  • 00:07:08.511 --> 00:07:09.879
  • What have you experienced?
  • 00:07:09.879 --> 00:07:11.848
  • What have you celebrated?
  • 00:07:11.848 --> 00:07:13.216
  • What have you cried about?
  • 00:07:13.216 --> 00:07:15.852
  • It's not just about nutrition.
  • 00:07:15.852 --> 00:07:18.721
  • It's a gathering.
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  • It's a time of influence.
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  • It's an acknowledgement collectively of god's blessing
  • 00:07:23.192 --> 00:07:26.496
  • And his faithfulness.
  • 00:07:26.496 --> 00:07:27.830
  • You could even begin the meal with like a prayer.
  • 00:07:27.830 --> 00:07:35.938
  • But it's equally about focused attention and effort.
  • 00:07:35.938 --> 00:07:40.543
  • Gathering as a family in the presence of god to receive
  • 00:07:40.543 --> 00:07:45.047
  • Nourishment both physically and spiritually is a value we will
  • 00:07:45.047 --> 00:07:48.985
  • Celebrate under this roof.
  • 00:07:48.985 --> 00:07:52.555
  • Not a sermon to deliver.
  • 00:07:52.555 --> 00:07:54.724
  • It's a message that's caught.
  • 00:07:54.724 --> 00:07:58.861
  • I understand it's countercultural.
  • 00:07:58.861 --> 00:08:00.496
  • I understand it's counterintuitive.
  • 00:08:00.496 --> 00:08:02.031
  • I understand the measure of your faithfulness as a parent is you
  • 00:08:02.031 --> 00:08:04.567
  • Never miss a game.
  • 00:08:04.567 --> 00:08:05.935
  • I'm suggesting an alternative.
  • 00:08:05.935 --> 00:08:09.805
  • I understand the measure of your faithfulness as a parent is
  • 00:08:09.805 --> 00:08:12.375
  • Rooted in some other things, that the culture's driving
  • 00:08:12.375 --> 00:08:14.577
  • The message.
  • 00:08:14.577 --> 00:08:16.379
  • I don't accept the idea that some sports coach at some
  • 00:08:16.379 --> 00:08:21.117
  • Whatever team has been pulled together recently should have
  • 00:08:21.117 --> 00:08:24.120
  • More authority over the scheduling of your children than
  • 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:26.756
  • Your family or the youth pastor at church.
  • 00:08:26.756 --> 00:08:29.258
  • I won't accept that notion. [congregation applauding]
  • 00:08:29.258 --> 00:08:35.998
  • That kitchen table is an opportunity for lessons, for
  • 00:08:35.998 --> 00:08:40.236
  • Learning, on manners, how we engage with one another in a
  • 00:08:40.236 --> 00:08:44.974
  • Social setting.
  • 00:08:44.974 --> 00:08:47.076
  • It's a very important part of how we go into the world.
  • 00:08:47.076 --> 00:08:55.217
  • They're watching.
  • 00:08:55.217 --> 00:08:56.986
  • They're learning from us.
  • 00:08:56.986 --> 00:08:59.121
  • That kitchen table is a wonderful time of preparation
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  • For what's next.
  • 00:09:01.824 --> 00:09:04.393
  • This isn't just my imagination.
  • 00:09:04.393 --> 00:09:06.329
  • It's biblical.
  • 00:09:06.329 --> 00:09:07.697
  • Who knew?
  • 00:09:07.697 --> 00:09:09.031
  • I gave you a passage.
  • 00:09:09.031 --> 00:09:10.399
  • It's deuteronomy 6: "love the lord your god with all of your
  • 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:13.002
  • Heart and with all of your soul and with all of your strength.
  • 00:09:13.002 --> 00:09:16.072
  • These commandments that i give you today are to be upon
  • 00:09:16.072 --> 00:09:18.274
  • Your hearts.
  • 00:09:18.274 --> 00:09:20.276
  • Impress them on your children.
  • 00:09:20.276 --> 00:09:23.279
  • Talk about them with your children when you sit at home
  • 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:26.949
  • And when you walk along the road, with your children, and
  • 00:09:26.949 --> 00:09:29.719
  • When you lie down and when you get up."
  • 00:09:29.719 --> 00:09:32.321
  • Integrate these into your family life.
  • 00:09:32.321 --> 00:09:37.827
  • Just one meal a week at the kitchen table.
  • 00:09:37.827 --> 00:09:40.496
  • Will you at least pray about it?
  • 00:09:40.496 --> 00:09:43.566
  • Thank you for that overwhelming response.
  • 00:09:43.566 --> 00:09:46.969
  • I'll be back with this.
  • 00:09:46.969 --> 00:09:48.304
  • There's some more i wanna say, but i got a few short minutes,
  • 00:09:48.304 --> 00:09:51.140
  • And i wanna give you a bit of a case study that highlights the
  • 00:09:51.140 --> 00:09:55.177
  • Significance of shaping culture, folks.
  • 00:09:55.177 --> 00:09:57.179
  • This isn't new.
  • 00:09:57.179 --> 00:09:58.514
  • This isn't a 21st century thing.
  • 00:09:58.514 --> 00:09:59.882
  • This isn't about the end of the age and the impending return
  • 00:09:59.882 --> 00:10:02.451
  • Of jesus.
  • 00:10:02.451 --> 00:10:03.786
  • The people of faith have had to stand for a biblical perspective
  • 00:10:03.786 --> 00:10:07.556
  • Against godless culture for as long as there has been a people
  • 00:10:07.556 --> 00:10:10.192
  • Of faith.
  • 00:10:10.192 --> 00:10:12.261
  • The reading we're doing right now, we're just completing
  • 00:10:12.261 --> 00:10:14.730
  • 2 chronicles.
  • 00:10:14.730 --> 00:10:16.065
  • I hope you do the daily bible reading with us.
  • 00:10:16.065 --> 00:10:17.466
  • I know of very few things more impactful or significant to your
  • 00:10:17.466 --> 00:10:20.836
  • Spiritual formation than the consistent systematic reading of
  • 00:10:20.836 --> 00:10:24.774
  • Your bible.
  • 00:10:24.774 --> 00:10:26.676
  • There's just an innumerable number of things that come from
  • 00:10:26.676 --> 00:10:29.345
  • That that are beneficial, but we're just working our way
  • 00:10:29.345 --> 00:10:31.747
  • Through the book of 2 chronicles and the reading this past week,
  • 00:10:31.747 --> 00:10:34.016
  • We read about king hezekiah.
  • 00:10:34.016 --> 00:10:35.985
  • Do you remember him?
  • 00:10:35.985 --> 00:10:37.453
  • Hezekiah became king in jerusalem when he was 25.
  • 00:10:37.453 --> 00:10:41.323
  • Twenty-five, a young person.
  • 00:10:41.323 --> 00:10:44.827
  • And in the first month after he's established as king,
  • 00:10:44.827 --> 00:10:49.165
  • He ordered a complete cultural remake.
  • 00:10:49.165 --> 00:10:54.203
  • The temple has been shuttered.
  • 00:10:54.203 --> 00:10:57.106
  • The doors are closed.
  • 00:10:57.106 --> 00:10:59.341
  • It's filled with ungodly filth.
  • 00:10:59.341 --> 00:11:03.245
  • That there's not--we don't know how long it's been closed.
  • 00:11:03.245 --> 00:11:05.648
  • The priests aren't prepared to serve.
  • 00:11:05.648 --> 00:11:08.284
  • The whole culture around the temple and the public worship
  • 00:11:08.284 --> 00:11:11.520
  • Of god is gone.
  • 00:11:11.520 --> 00:11:12.988
  • Do you think we're the first generation to face
  • 00:11:12.988 --> 00:11:15.191
  • Declining participation in worship?
  • 00:11:15.191 --> 00:11:19.829
  • I will not accept the opinion of somebody that doesn't intend to
  • 00:11:19.829 --> 00:11:23.899
  • Serve god, that we're in a post-christian whatever.
  • 00:11:23.899 --> 00:11:27.703
  • You wear that t-shirt if you want to.
  • 00:11:27.703 --> 00:11:29.605
  • I'm gonna wear one that says, "god is moving in the earth and
  • 00:11:29.605 --> 00:11:31.974
  • I intend to be a part."
  • 00:11:31.974 --> 00:11:36.812
  • So hezekiah makes an order: repair the doors on the temple.
  • 00:11:36.812 --> 00:11:41.083
  • Open the building.
  • 00:11:41.083 --> 00:11:42.451
  • The temple was in such disrepair you couldn't open it.
  • 00:11:42.451 --> 00:11:44.553
  • He said, repair the building.
  • 00:11:44.553 --> 00:11:45.888
  • He got the priests together and he said, now we're gonna clean
  • 00:11:45.888 --> 00:11:47.690
  • This mess up.
  • 00:11:47.690 --> 00:11:49.225
  • Get the idols out, get the filth out, get the trash out.
  • 00:11:49.225 --> 00:11:53.329
  • It took him 16 days and the temple wasn't that big.
  • 00:11:53.329 --> 00:11:57.233
  • Sixteen days.
  • 00:11:57.233 --> 00:12:00.169
  • And then he got the priests together and the leaders of the
  • 00:12:00.169 --> 00:12:02.271
  • People and he said, consecrate yourselves.
  • 00:12:02.271 --> 00:12:05.541
  • Consecrate's a fancy word.
  • 00:12:05.541 --> 00:12:06.876
  • It says, "set yourselves apart."
  • 00:12:06.876 --> 00:12:08.244
  • You would think that the priests would have already had the idea
  • 00:12:08.244 --> 00:12:10.746
  • They should have set themselves apart for the purposes of god,
  • 00:12:10.746 --> 00:12:13.549
  • But they'd completely lost it.
  • 00:12:13.549 --> 00:12:17.086
  • Stop being mad at churches that aren't churches.
  • 00:12:17.086 --> 00:12:20.956
  • Stop being mad at christian schools that aren't
  • 00:12:20.956 --> 00:12:22.825
  • Christian schools.
  • 00:12:22.825 --> 00:12:25.227
  • Find the people that are honoring the lord, stand next
  • 00:12:25.227 --> 00:12:27.596
  • To them.
  • 00:12:27.596 --> 00:12:30.733
  • Hezekiah said, you will consecrate yourselves.
  • 00:12:30.733 --> 00:12:34.870
  • You get ready because we're gonna begin to worship the lord
  • 00:12:34.870 --> 00:12:37.506
  • Again as a people.
  • 00:12:37.506 --> 00:12:40.109
  • And then he purchased the sacrifices that were needed.
  • 00:12:40.109 --> 00:12:42.812
  • It's an agricultural society.
  • 00:12:42.812 --> 00:12:44.246
  • They needed bulls and all that-- he invested in that and then he
  • 00:12:44.246 --> 00:12:48.184
  • Went and got the leaders of the city and he said, "early in the
  • 00:12:48.184 --> 00:12:50.653
  • Morning, tomorrow morning early, we're going to the temple to
  • 00:12:50.653 --> 00:12:53.856
  • Worship god."
  • 00:12:53.856 --> 00:12:55.224
  • He leads this national shift.
  • 00:12:55.224 --> 00:12:58.494
  • I promise you, all the idols, all the people that worshiped
  • 00:12:58.494 --> 00:13:01.063
  • The idols, they had support systems, infrastructure,
  • 00:13:01.063 --> 00:13:03.799
  • Deep state.
  • 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:06.168
  • They hated hezekiah.
  • 00:13:06.168 --> 00:13:07.503
  • He's breaking their economic flow.
  • 00:13:07.503 --> 00:13:10.139
  • He's challenging their immorality.
  • 00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:11.907
  • He's saying you're living wrong.
  • 00:13:11.907 --> 00:13:13.275
  • He says--it's written in there.
  • 00:13:13.275 --> 00:13:14.610
  • It's 2 chronicles 29.
  • 00:13:14.610 --> 00:13:16.045
  • It's the previous session, if you wanna hear it.
  • 00:13:16.045 --> 00:13:18.247
  • We talked about it in detail.
  • 00:13:18.247 --> 00:13:20.416
  • He said, "your fathers were wrong and their fathers before
  • 00:13:20.416 --> 00:13:22.785
  • Them were wrong, but we're gonna change."
  • 00:13:22.785 --> 00:13:25.688
  • Do we have the courage to say we've been walking the
  • 00:13:25.688 --> 00:13:27.756
  • Wrong way?
  • 00:13:27.756 --> 00:13:29.625
  • We've lived too far in the world, too influenced by ungodly
  • 00:13:29.625 --> 00:13:32.728
  • Things and ungodly values.
  • 00:13:32.728 --> 00:13:35.364
  • Do we act like pagans?
  • 00:13:35.364 --> 00:13:37.933
  • Then we slip into church and say, "oh i identify as
  • 00:13:37.933 --> 00:13:40.236
  • A christian," as foolish as all the other trans initiatives.
  • 00:13:40.236 --> 00:13:47.509
  • Allen: now how should we respond to the nation of israel and the
  • 00:13:51.747 --> 00:13:54.583
  • Jewish people?
  • 00:13:54.583 --> 00:13:55.951
  • It's a complex question in today's world.
  • 00:13:55.951 --> 00:13:58.153
  • Well, i've written a book, "supporting israel: how far is
  • 00:13:58.153 --> 00:14:00.923
  • Too far?"
  • 00:14:00.923 --> 00:14:02.258
  • To help us establish a biblical perspective on what has become
  • 00:14:02.258 --> 00:14:06.161
  • A complex question in contemporary culture.
  • 00:14:06.161 --> 00:14:09.164
  • We don't wanna follow the guidance and the counsel of some
  • 00:14:09.164 --> 00:14:12.034
  • Of the elite universities in this nation.
  • 00:14:12.034 --> 00:14:14.703
  • We wanna form a perspective that's built from god's word.
  • 00:14:14.703 --> 00:14:17.273
  • If we'll do that, it'll bring his blessings to our lives.
  • 00:14:17.273 --> 00:14:20.476
  • Enjoy the book.
  • 00:14:20.476 --> 00:14:21.810
  • Female announcer: from the pages of scripture to the frontlines
  • 00:14:21.810 --> 00:14:23.979
  • Of today's news, israel stands at the center of god's purposes.
  • 00:14:23.979 --> 00:14:28.417
  • Pastor allen's new booklet, "supporting israel: how far is
  • 00:14:28.417 --> 00:14:31.954
  • Too far?" offers a quick
  • 00:14:31.954 --> 00:14:33.289
  • Way to gain a biblical perspective on israel,
  • 00:14:33.289 --> 00:14:36.258
  • Why israel matters to god, and why it should matter to us.
  • 00:14:36.258 --> 00:14:40.596
  • Request your copy with your gift of any amount today at
  • 00:14:40.596 --> 00:14:43.666
  • Allenjackson.com or by calling...
  • 00:14:43.666 --> 00:14:50.839
  • Allen: well, the rest of the story's in your notes, and i'm
  • 00:14:52.141 --> 00:14:55.044
  • Not gonna get through it all.
  • 00:14:55.044 --> 00:14:56.979
  • Well, i got 5 minutes.
  • 00:14:56.979 --> 00:14:58.347
  • We're gonna speed read 2 chronicles 30, so buckle up.
  • 00:14:58.347 --> 00:15:04.019
  • This is kind of the rest of the story.
  • 00:15:04.019 --> 00:15:05.921
  • "hezekiah sent word to all israel and judah and he wrote
  • 00:15:05.921 --> 00:15:09.124
  • Letters to ephraim and manasseh."
  • 00:15:09.124 --> 00:15:11.226
  • After king solomon, david's son, after solomon's death, there's a
  • 00:15:11.226 --> 00:15:16.298
  • Civil war in israel.
  • 00:15:16.298 --> 00:15:18.734
  • And the nation is divided.
  • 00:15:18.734 --> 00:15:20.202
  • Two nations.
  • 00:15:20.202 --> 00:15:21.537
  • Imagine our civil war, but not reconciled, two
  • 00:15:21.537 --> 00:15:23.672
  • Separate nations.
  • 00:15:23.672 --> 00:15:25.040
  • The northern nation was israel, the southern nation was judah.
  • 00:15:25.040 --> 00:15:29.945
  • The temple's in the southern part, jerusalem is in judah.
  • 00:15:29.945 --> 00:15:33.682
  • So you can imagine that the king of the northern country, he
  • 00:15:33.682 --> 00:15:35.985
  • Didn't want his people going to the adjoining nation that they'd
  • 00:15:35.985 --> 00:15:39.655
  • Just split with to worship in the temple.
  • 00:15:39.655 --> 00:15:42.291
  • Make sense?
  • 00:15:42.291 --> 00:15:43.726
  • It wasn't politically expedient.
  • 00:15:43.726 --> 00:15:45.594
  • It wasn't politically correct.
  • 00:15:45.594 --> 00:15:47.596
  • It wasn't good--it wasn't good business sense.
  • 00:15:47.596 --> 00:15:50.432
  • So what would you do if you're gonna be a wise leader and a
  • 00:15:50.432 --> 00:15:53.002
  • Good business model, what would you do?
  • 00:15:53.002 --> 00:15:55.838
  • Well, you would duplicate the essential part of the temple in
  • 00:15:55.838 --> 00:15:58.374
  • Jerusalem and you'd put it in your kingdom so people wouldn't
  • 00:15:58.374 --> 00:16:00.976
  • Go to jerusalem anymore.
  • 00:16:00.976 --> 00:16:03.645
  • Know what the biblical word for that is?
  • 00:16:03.645 --> 00:16:06.081
  • Idolatry.
  • 00:16:06.081 --> 00:16:08.450
  • So every leader in the nation of israel, the northern kingdom,
  • 00:16:08.450 --> 00:16:12.321
  • Every leader from jeroboam, from the first king on, led the
  • 00:16:12.321 --> 00:16:16.358
  • People in idolatry.
  • 00:16:16.358 --> 00:16:22.564
  • "hezekiah sent word to all israel and all judah.
  • 00:16:22.564 --> 00:16:29.204
  • He wrote letters to the tribes inviting them to come to the
  • 00:16:29.204 --> 00:16:31.840
  • Temple of the lord in jerusalem and celebrate the passover of
  • 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:34.710
  • The lord."
  • 00:16:34.710 --> 00:16:36.045
  • They haven't done this for decades and decades and decades.
  • 00:16:36.045 --> 00:16:40.115
  • It's wrapped in hate and tribalism and all sorts of
  • 00:16:40.115 --> 00:16:44.853
  • Things and hezekiah says, "i don't care.
  • 00:16:44.853 --> 00:16:46.922
  • We're gonna do the right thing."
  • 00:16:46.922 --> 00:16:50.125
  • Look at the last verse in that passage.
  • 00:16:50.125 --> 00:16:51.660
  • It says: "it hadn't been celebrated in large numbers
  • 00:16:51.660 --> 00:16:54.530
  • According to what was written."
  • 00:16:54.530 --> 00:16:56.532
  • He sent a proclamation to israel from the north to the south.
  • 00:16:56.532 --> 00:16:59.668
  • He said, it's time to come back to the temple and worship.
  • 00:16:59.668 --> 00:17:04.106
  • Well, i believe we should be proclaiming a message wherever
  • 00:17:04.106 --> 00:17:06.575
  • We go.
  • 00:17:06.575 --> 00:17:07.910
  • It's time to go back to church.
  • 00:17:07.910 --> 00:17:09.945
  • We need one another.
  • 00:17:09.945 --> 00:17:13.382
  • Judah and israel are included.
  • 00:17:13.382 --> 00:17:14.850
  • 2 chronicles 36, look at verse 6: "at the king commands,
  • 00:17:14.850 --> 00:17:18.087
  • Couriers went throughout israel and judah with letters from the
  • 00:17:18.087 --> 00:17:20.355
  • King and from his officials: 'people of israel, return to the
  • 00:17:20.355 --> 00:17:23.625
  • Lord, the god of abraham, isaac, and israel, that he may return
  • 00:17:23.625 --> 00:17:27.362
  • To you who are left and escaped from the hand of the kings
  • 00:17:27.362 --> 00:17:29.698
  • Of assyria.'"
  • 00:17:29.698 --> 00:17:31.033
  • The northern kingdom's already been conquered by assyria.
  • 00:17:31.033 --> 00:17:32.501
  • They've been humiliated.
  • 00:17:32.501 --> 00:17:35.704
  • They're impoverished.
  • 00:17:35.704 --> 00:17:38.073
  • And hezekiah extends to them, not an "i told you so," not
  • 00:17:38.073 --> 00:17:42.010
  • A message of condemnation.
  • 00:17:42.010 --> 00:17:43.579
  • He gives them a message of hope.
  • 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:46.014
  • He said, let's return to the lord, he'll return to us.
  • 00:17:46.014 --> 00:17:48.650
  • Look at verse 7: "don't be like your fathers and brothers, who
  • 00:17:48.650 --> 00:17:51.820
  • Were unfaithful to the lord, the god of their fathers, so that he
  • 00:17:51.820 --> 00:17:55.591
  • Made them an object of horror.
  • 00:17:55.591 --> 00:17:58.026
  • Don't be stiff-necked, as your fathers were; submit to
  • 00:17:58.026 --> 00:18:00.762
  • The lord.
  • 00:18:00.762 --> 00:18:02.097
  • Come to the sanctuary, which he's consecrated.
  • 00:18:02.097 --> 00:18:04.166
  • Serve the lord your god, so that his fierce anger will turn away
  • 00:18:04.166 --> 00:18:07.136
  • From you."
  • 00:18:07.136 --> 00:18:09.004
  • Look at the last line: "he will not turn his face from you if
  • 00:18:09.004 --> 00:18:12.107
  • You return to him."
  • 00:18:12.107 --> 00:18:14.176
  • It's not the last line, but it's the last sentence in verse 9.
  • 00:18:14.176 --> 00:18:17.713
  • I'm telling that's harsh language.
  • 00:18:17.713 --> 00:18:19.314
  • Don't act like your fathers acted.
  • 00:18:19.314 --> 00:18:22.518
  • Oh.
  • 00:18:22.518 --> 00:18:25.454
  • Don't be wicked like they were wicked.
  • 00:18:25.454 --> 00:18:28.757
  • I wonder if we have the courage to say.
  • 00:18:28.757 --> 00:18:31.793
  • This fine mess we're in isn't political.
  • 00:18:31.793 --> 00:18:35.764
  • Because it isn't.
  • 00:18:35.764 --> 00:18:38.233
  • It's not ideological.
  • 00:18:38.233 --> 00:18:39.601
  • It's not about parties, folks, it's not about administrations.
  • 00:18:39.601 --> 00:18:44.406
  • It's about a spiritual fail.
  • 00:18:44.406 --> 00:18:46.975
  • We've turned our backs on god.
  • 00:18:46.975 --> 00:18:50.112
  • We've stopped honoring him at our kitchen tables.
  • 00:18:50.112 --> 00:18:54.049
  • We've stopped honoring him and worshiping him in our churches.
  • 00:18:54.049 --> 00:18:57.553
  • We stopped engaging the world in which we live with the truth of
  • 00:18:57.553 --> 00:19:00.155
  • Scripture because it's awkward and uncomfortable.
  • 00:19:00.155 --> 00:19:01.957
  • It feels like hard work.
  • 00:19:01.957 --> 00:19:03.692
  • I don't wanna do that.
  • 00:19:03.692 --> 00:19:05.027
  • Couldn't we just talk about something simple, like, let's
  • 00:19:05.027 --> 00:19:06.528
  • Talk about heaven.
  • 00:19:06.528 --> 00:19:09.031
  • Couldn't we talk about paul and that wicked world paul lived in?
  • 00:19:09.031 --> 00:19:12.801
  • Couldn't we talk about the corruption and the witchcraft
  • 00:19:12.801 --> 00:19:14.536
  • In ephesus?
  • 00:19:14.536 --> 00:19:15.871
  • That feels so much safer than talking about the witchcraft in
  • 00:19:15.871 --> 00:19:17.539
  • Nashville and murfreesboro.
  • 00:19:17.539 --> 00:19:22.411
  • And we've fallen victim to that.
  • 00:19:22.411 --> 00:19:25.614
  • And we've left our children and grandchildren vulnerable.
  • 00:19:25.614 --> 00:19:30.586
  • "the couriers--" look at verse 10.
  • 00:19:30.586 --> 00:19:31.920
  • "the couriers went from town to town, but the people scorned and
  • 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:36.091
  • Ridiculed them.
  • 00:19:36.091 --> 00:19:39.094
  • Nevertheless, some men from asher and manasseh and zebulun,"
  • 00:19:39.094 --> 00:19:42.998
  • Those are tribes, they're regions of the country, "humbled
  • 00:19:42.998 --> 00:19:47.236
  • Themselves and went to jerusalem.
  • 00:19:47.236 --> 00:19:49.671
  • Also in judah the hand of god was on the people to give them
  • 00:19:49.671 --> 00:19:52.207
  • Unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had
  • 00:19:52.207 --> 00:19:54.710
  • Ordered, following the word of the lord."
  • 00:19:54.710 --> 00:19:58.146
  • The majority of the people who heard the invitation, i wanna be
  • 00:19:58.146 --> 00:20:00.949
  • Sure we don't miss this, scorned and ridiculed the messengers.
  • 00:20:00.949 --> 00:20:08.056
  • The people who went to jerusalem to worship were as a minority.
  • 00:20:08.056 --> 00:20:12.427
  • It says, "some men, some people" humbled themselves and went
  • 00:20:12.427 --> 00:20:16.331
  • To jerusalem.
  • 00:20:16.331 --> 00:20:17.666
  • Awakenings are not typically majority events.
  • 00:20:17.666 --> 00:20:21.503
  • They aren't.
  • 00:20:21.503 --> 00:20:23.772
  • Never have been.
  • 00:20:23.772 --> 00:20:26.541
  • Which means we'll have to be willing to stand for the
  • 00:20:26.541 --> 00:20:28.443
  • Biblical principles and the biblical worldview,
  • 00:20:28.443 --> 00:20:31.079
  • Understanding it may put us on the outside of some discussions
  • 00:20:31.079 --> 00:20:33.949
  • In some circles.
  • 00:20:33.949 --> 00:20:36.018
  • What i would submit is let's be willing to humble ourselves,
  • 00:20:36.018 --> 00:20:38.387
  • Acknowledge our failures and the failures of our families, and
  • 00:20:38.387 --> 00:20:41.290
  • Turn our faces to god.
  • 00:20:41.290 --> 00:20:44.326
  • The outcomes are amazing.
  • 00:20:44.326 --> 00:20:45.694
  • 2 chronicles 30:26: "there was great joy in jerusalem, for
  • 00:20:45.694 --> 00:20:49.031
  • Since the days of solomon, the son of david, king of israel,
  • 00:20:49.031 --> 00:20:51.566
  • There had been nothing like this in jerusalem."
  • 00:20:51.566 --> 00:20:54.503
  • Watch this, the priests and the levites stood to bless the
  • 00:20:54.503 --> 00:20:56.772
  • People, and god heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his
  • 00:20:56.772 --> 00:21:00.609
  • Holy dwelling place.
  • 00:21:00.609 --> 00:21:03.145
  • How do they know that? i don't know.
  • 00:21:03.145 --> 00:21:05.847
  • Did they get an angelic visit?
  • 00:21:05.847 --> 00:21:07.215
  • I don't know.
  • 00:21:07.215 --> 00:21:08.550
  • Prayer is a part of worship in the temple.
  • 00:21:08.550 --> 00:21:09.918
  • They had prayers to pray the psalms.
  • 00:21:09.918 --> 00:21:11.253
  • I mean, it was a--it was liturgical, it was ordered.
  • 00:21:11.253 --> 00:21:13.555
  • But they recorded that when this group of people gathered at the
  • 00:21:13.555 --> 00:21:16.591
  • Invitation of hezekiah and the temple had been cleansed and the
  • 00:21:16.591 --> 00:21:19.995
  • Priests had consecrated themselves, it says that their
  • 00:21:19.995 --> 00:21:22.831
  • Prayers were heard in heaven.
  • 00:21:22.831 --> 00:21:29.271
  • The bible says that god is the rewarder of those who diligently
  • 00:21:29.271 --> 00:21:32.174
  • Seek him.
  • 00:21:32.174 --> 00:21:33.542
  • It's hebrews 13.
  • 00:21:33.542 --> 00:21:35.644
  • I wanna be amongst that group of people.
  • 00:21:35.644 --> 00:21:38.980
  • I'm not gonna focus on the theater of the absurd.
  • 00:21:38.980 --> 00:21:42.851
  • I'll bring you reviews of their new openings, but that's not
  • 00:21:42.851 --> 00:21:45.020
  • Where my attention stays focused.
  • 00:21:45.020 --> 00:21:47.923
  • I'm focused on what god is doing in the earth.
  • 00:21:47.923 --> 00:21:51.193
  • I'll close with that next passage.
  • 00:21:51.193 --> 00:21:52.527
  • I--when i read that from 2 chronicles 30, i thought of
  • 00:21:52.527 --> 00:21:55.330
  • The verse in revelation 5.
  • 00:21:55.330 --> 00:21:57.733
  • It's a view of the throne room of god that john sees,
  • 00:21:57.733 --> 00:22:00.502
  • And he said, "the twenty-four elders fell
  • 00:22:00.502 --> 00:22:01.870
  • Down before the lamb.
  • 00:22:01.870 --> 00:22:03.305
  • Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full
  • 00:22:03.305 --> 00:22:06.808
  • Of incense."
  • 00:22:06.808 --> 00:22:09.010
  • What were those bowls filled with?
  • 00:22:09.010 --> 00:22:11.546
  • The prayers of the saints.
  • 00:22:11.546 --> 00:22:14.750
  • In the book of hebrews, you and i are invited to come boldly
  • 00:22:14.750 --> 00:22:17.352
  • Before the throne of grace.
  • 00:22:17.352 --> 00:22:19.454
  • Folks, we need god's help.
  • 00:22:19.454 --> 00:22:22.724
  • Lawlessness is spiraling, deception is spiraling, but god
  • 00:22:22.724 --> 00:22:26.628
  • Is calling people.
  • 00:22:26.628 --> 00:22:28.830
  • I've watched video after video lately of young people telling
  • 00:22:28.830 --> 00:22:33.435
  • The truth, choosing god, with tears running down my cheeks.
  • 00:22:33.435 --> 00:22:40.409
  • I watched a collection of powerful people last week and
  • 00:22:40.409 --> 00:22:43.245
  • Stand up and tell about the power of the redemptive work
  • 00:22:43.245 --> 00:22:45.814
  • Of jesus.
  • 00:22:45.814 --> 00:22:47.816
  • And they weren't pastors.
  • 00:22:47.816 --> 00:22:51.787
  • They didn't get seminary professors and deans of theology
  • 00:22:51.787 --> 00:22:55.190
  • Schools because the messages far too frequently from those places
  • 00:22:55.190 --> 00:22:58.326
  • Has been about things like tolerance and inclusivity.
  • 00:22:58.326 --> 00:23:03.765
  • We haven't been messengers of truth.
  • 00:23:03.765 --> 00:23:05.267
  • We've wanted to be loved by a secular culture.
  • 00:23:05.267 --> 00:23:09.137
  • God is moving.
  • 00:23:09.137 --> 00:23:11.339
  • But i wanna close with a prayer.
  • 00:23:11.339 --> 00:23:12.674
  • Let's--could we just say to the lord, we wanna go with you.
  • 00:23:12.674 --> 00:23:16.778
  • We want to invite you back to our kitchen table.
  • 00:23:16.778 --> 00:23:20.048
  • Forgive us for being distracted.
  • 00:23:20.048 --> 00:23:23.018
  • I don't imagine you can do it in a week, folks, it's gonna take
  • 00:23:23.018 --> 00:23:24.920
  • A little work.
  • 00:23:24.920 --> 00:23:26.254
  • You'll have to adjust your calendars, focus some energy.
  • 00:23:26.254 --> 00:23:28.490
  • You'll have to have some conversations around it.
  • 00:23:28.490 --> 00:23:29.958
  • You have some explaining to do.
  • 00:23:29.958 --> 00:23:32.627
  • People won't like it.
  • 00:23:32.627 --> 00:23:33.995
  • Nothing, you know, if you haven't worked out in 6 months
  • 00:23:33.995 --> 00:23:35.530
  • And you go to the gym, it's not a blessing.
  • 00:23:35.530 --> 00:23:40.702
  • And 2 days later, you will know the devil's in that place.
  • 00:23:40.702 --> 00:23:44.940
  • Because you will hurt and ache, you think, "well, i'm not going
  • 00:23:44.940 --> 00:23:48.477
  • Back there.
  • 00:23:48.477 --> 00:23:49.845
  • I tried that once and it was awful."
  • 00:23:49.845 --> 00:23:52.314
  • And i have a feeling that first gathering around the table could
  • 00:23:52.314 --> 00:23:55.150
  • Be somewhat of a challenge to the blessing of the lord.
  • 00:23:55.150 --> 00:24:00.055
  • But it's a routine worth establishing.
  • 00:24:00.055 --> 00:24:03.859
  • It's a routine worth establishing.
  • 00:24:03.859 --> 00:24:06.428
  • Let's stand for that prayer.
  • 00:24:06.428 --> 00:24:15.003
  • Maybe we join hands for this.
  • 00:24:15.003 --> 00:24:16.338
  • We need one another.
  • 00:24:16.338 --> 00:24:17.706
  • We don't have to make a circle.
  • 00:24:17.706 --> 00:24:19.040
  • I just don't want anybody alone.
  • 00:24:19.040 --> 00:24:22.244
  • Okay, if you don't know the person next to you, tell them
  • 00:24:22.244 --> 00:24:24.145
  • Your name.
  • 00:24:24.145 --> 00:24:28.917
  • Just your name, you southerners.
  • 00:24:28.917 --> 00:24:33.722
  • And if they won't talk to you, turn loose of them.
  • 00:24:33.722 --> 00:24:38.026
  • Well, i mean, god's not gonna listen to the prayer of
  • 00:24:38.026 --> 00:24:40.195
  • Rebellious people, so it's okay.
  • 00:24:40.195 --> 00:24:43.265
  • Father, i thank you that you're moving in the earth.
  • 00:24:43.265 --> 00:24:47.302
  • I thank you that you're causing the name of jesus to be lifted
  • 00:24:47.302 --> 00:24:50.438
  • Up, that you're stirring the hearts of people young and old.
  • 00:24:50.438 --> 00:24:54.175
  • That the truth is being proclaimed in the public in ways
  • 00:24:54.175 --> 00:24:57.579
  • We have not seen in a long, long time.
  • 00:24:57.579 --> 00:24:59.514
  • We thank you for it, father.
  • 00:24:59.514 --> 00:25:02.350
  • There's much we don't understand and there's much we don't see,
  • 00:25:02.350 --> 00:25:05.253
  • But we turn our faces to you today to offer ourselves to you
  • 00:25:05.253 --> 00:25:09.024
  • As living sacrifices.
  • 00:25:09.024 --> 00:25:11.092
  • We want to welcome you into our homes or we want to cleanse our
  • 00:25:11.092 --> 00:25:13.595
  • Homes the same way hezekiah cleansed the temple.
  • 00:25:13.595 --> 00:25:16.965
  • We wanna bring godliness into our homes.
  • 00:25:16.965 --> 00:25:20.368
  • We want to introduce you to our children and those that gather
  • 00:25:20.368 --> 00:25:22.637
  • With us at our tables.
  • 00:25:22.637 --> 00:25:24.806
  • We want to honor you when we sit down for nourishment.
  • 00:25:24.806 --> 00:25:27.375
  • We want to be fed spiritually as well as physically.
  • 00:25:27.375 --> 00:25:30.745
  • Holy spirit, help us, give us wisdom.
  • 00:25:30.745 --> 00:25:34.082
  • Give us the strength that will be needed, the wisdom to be
  • 00:25:34.082 --> 00:25:36.484
  • Needed, a spirit of cooperation in our homes.
  • 00:25:36.484 --> 00:25:40.288
  • Lord, none of our lives are hidden for you.
  • 00:25:40.288 --> 00:25:42.324
  • For those where this presents a great challenge, i pray for
  • 00:25:42.324 --> 00:25:45.727
  • Special grace.
  • 00:25:45.727 --> 00:25:48.029
  • I thank you for your faithfulness.
  • 00:25:48.029 --> 00:25:50.332
  • And for your goodness, i thank you that you're moving
  • 00:25:50.332 --> 00:25:52.233
  • In the earth.
  • 00:25:52.233 --> 00:25:53.735
  • And father, we stand in your presence today to say we would
  • 00:25:53.735 --> 00:25:56.338
  • Move with you.
  • 00:25:56.338 --> 00:25:58.506
  • May we be included.
  • 00:25:58.506 --> 00:26:00.342
  • In jesus's name, amen, hallelujah.
  • 00:26:00.342 --> 00:26:04.145
  • God bless you.
  • 00:26:04.145 --> 00:26:10.352
  • Allen: you know, we don't read our bibles just for exercise or
  • 00:26:14.556 --> 00:26:17.459
  • Just to be dutiful christians.
  • 00:26:17.459 --> 00:26:19.461
  • We read our bibles to understand how to navigate a complex world,
  • 00:26:19.461 --> 00:26:22.597
  • How to understand what's unfolding around us.
  • 00:26:22.597 --> 00:26:25.834
  • We're living in a season where there's a lot of emotion
  • 00:26:25.834 --> 00:26:28.269
  • Expressed about the jewish people in the nation of israel.
  • 00:26:28.269 --> 00:26:31.006
  • From some very well-established elite places, there are voices
  • 00:26:31.006 --> 00:26:34.809
  • Saying they don't deserve our support.
  • 00:26:34.809 --> 00:26:37.012
  • Well, i wrote a book, "supporting israel: how far is
  • 00:26:37.012 --> 00:26:39.547
  • Too far?" so that we can
  • 00:26:39.547 --> 00:26:40.882
  • Have a biblical perspective on our response to current events.
  • 00:26:40.882 --> 00:26:44.419
  • At the end of the day, i want to align myself with the purposes
  • 00:26:44.419 --> 00:26:46.988
  • Of god, not the thought leaders at elite ivy league schools or
  • 00:26:46.988 --> 00:26:51.493
  • The talking heads in the media.
  • 00:26:51.493 --> 00:26:53.294
  • I intend to stand with the purposes of god.
  • 00:26:53.294 --> 00:26:55.930
  • This book will help you unpack the current events and
  • 00:26:55.930 --> 00:26:59.601
  • Understand the perspective from the viewpoint of scripture on
  • 00:26:59.601 --> 00:27:02.637
  • How you and i can respond in a way that i believe will bring
  • 00:27:02.637 --> 00:27:05.306
  • The blessings of god to our lives and help us accomplish his
  • 00:27:05.306 --> 00:27:08.610
  • Purposes in our generation.
  • 00:27:08.610 --> 00:27:10.945
  • It's worth the read.
  • 00:27:10.945 --> 00:27:12.681
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:27:12.681 --> 00:27:27.395