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Allen Jackson Ministries

Allen Jackson - To Forgive Or Not Forgive

October 11, 2025 | 28:35

Allen Jackson - To Forgive Or Not Forgive
Pastor Allen Jackson's mission is to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
#Faith #Pastors #WalkwithGod #Forgiveness #Redemption #Overcoming #Salvation #Choices #Actions

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Allen Jackson Ministries | Allen Jackson - To Forgive Or Not Forgive | October 11, 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
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  • Of antisemitism, hatred for the jewish people, coming from
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  • America, coming from the christian community, the
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  • Conservative side of the ideological spectrum, to a
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  • 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?"
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  • It's an important concept that isn't political.
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  • It's grounded in a biblical worldview.
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  • I think we need to understand our responsibilities to the
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  • Jewish people, to the modern state of israel, not from an
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  • 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.
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  • 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: we're walking through a study, series of talks, under
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  • The general theme of "a change of heart."
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  • The motivation for that being i don't truly believe elections
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  • Will fix us.
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  • I think elections are symptomatic of what's happening
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  • In the hearts of the nation.
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  • And i believe if we're gonna get to a place where we can hold the
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  • Victories that we may gain, it will require of us a change
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  • Of heart.
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  • And so, i wanna take that in this session and talk a bit
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  • About the role of forgiveness in that.
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  • What i'm really want--in the next two or three talks, god
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  • Willing, is to bring some things that will help us to grow,
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  • Facilitate that change of heart, catalyze it, if you will.
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  • But i wanna start with a bit of a bigger picture, maybe just
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  • Step back a moment.
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  • There's a number of places and i really just brought you a
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  • Sample set.
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  • It's a much larger topic and we may step in and out of it a bit
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  • As we walk through this, but the way god responds to generations.
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  • You know this if you're just a casual reader of the scripture,
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  • There was a generation where god said that the hearts of everyone
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  • Was corrupt.
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  • And so he recruited a man by the name of noah and said, "you're
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  • Gonna need a boat."
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  • There was a generation where god said, "i've heard the cries of
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  • My people and i've come down to completely reorder their lives.
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  • They're leaving egypt."
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  • And he recruited a guy by the name of moses.
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  • There was a generation where god said, "the hearts of these
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  • People are so hard and they're so far away from me that even if
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  • Noah and moses were to intercede for them, i wouldn't listen."
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  • There was a generation where god said, "in the fullness of time,
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  • I'm gonna send my son."
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  • And that was a highly orchestrated season because it
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  • Required zechariah and elizabeth and a son by the name of john
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  • And it required peter and james and john and, i mean, there
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  • Was--it was a very intricate-- there was a time when god
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  • Interrupted a pharisee on the road to damascus and said, "i
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  • Have an assignment for you."
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  • So the idea, the bigger picture principle, is in different
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  • Generations god has different messages for
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  • Different generations.
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  • I want you to be aware of that because i don't believe it's
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  • Nearly as much about god dictating to those generations
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  • As it is god's response to the hearts of the people in
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  • Those generations.
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  • God didn't just get mad one day and say to noah, "build a boat."
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  • He was responding to the wickedness in the hearts of
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  • The people.
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  • I don't think god finally just got annoyed with pharaoh and
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  • Said, "i'm gonna do something about this."
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  • What he said to moses is, "i have heard the cries of
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  • My people."
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  • Somebody in that group learned how to pray in a way that
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  • Touched the heart of god.
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  • So my question to you is about our generation.
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  • What are we gonna be known for?
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  • Great advances in technology?
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  • An explosion in communication?
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  • An increase of travel?
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  • The advent of social media?
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  • What will we be known for?
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  • Widespread apostasy?
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  • Less interest in the church?
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  • What will we be known for?
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  • I brought you some samples.
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  • I think it's worth--it isn't just an imagination.
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  • This really is a principle.
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  • It's not one i hear talked about a great deal.
  • 00:05:11.594 --> 00:05:14.497
  • In zechariah chapter 12, god said, "i'll pour out on the
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  • House of david and the inhabitants of jerusalem a
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  • Spirit of grace and supplication.
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  • And they will look on me, the one they've pierced, and they
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  • Will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve
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  • Bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son."
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  • God said, "there's a generation coming where i will pour out on
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  • Them a spirit of grace and supplication."
  • 00:05:34.584 --> 00:05:36.919
  • That would be a good generation to be a part of.
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  • In romans chapter 11, paul is quoting from one of the hebrew
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  • Prophets, but he says, "god gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so
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  • That they couldn't see and ears so that they couldn't hear, to
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  • This very day."
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  • That would not be such a great generation to be in.
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  • God said, "i'll see to it that they won't understand."
  • 00:05:58.441 --> 00:06:03.212
  • In romans 15, he says, "may the god who gives endurance and
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  • Encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you
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  • Follow christ jesus."
  • 00:06:10.119 --> 00:06:12.488
  • That would be a wonderful thing to see: god to give us a spirit
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  • Of unity.
  • 00:06:16.826 --> 00:06:18.294
  • So i think we take too much upon ourselves sometimes.
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  • You know, i--you've heard the story of the two flies that were
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  • Riding along on a chariot.
  • 00:06:25.768 --> 00:06:28.504
  • And they looked back and they saw all the dust that was
  • 00:06:28.504 --> 00:06:30.440
  • Churned up, and they said, "look at all the dust that
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  • We've moved."
  • 00:06:32.608 --> 00:06:35.445
  • And i think sometimes as--we imagine that we are the ones and
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  • The reality is, i think god responds to our hearts.
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  • The best you and i can do is the bible says to guard your heart
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  • Above all else.
  • 00:06:46.889 --> 00:06:49.459
  • The condition of your heart, guard it more than you guard
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  • Your money or your retirement or your inheritance or your kids or
  • 00:06:51.561 --> 00:06:54.530
  • Your car or your house.
  • 00:06:54.530 --> 00:06:56.432
  • Guard your heart.
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  • It's the wellspring of life, it says, and i believe the hearts
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  • Of the people of god determine a great deal of god's response to
  • 00:07:02.205 --> 00:07:06.509
  • Those generations.
  • 00:07:06.509 --> 00:07:10.446
  • It's a word--it's an idea worth thinking about and praying about
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  • And reflecting upon.
  • 00:07:13.683 --> 00:07:15.017
  • 2 timothy 1, it says: "god didn't give us a spirit of
  • 00:07:15.017 --> 00:07:16.919
  • Timidity, but a spirit of power, and of love and
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  • Of self-discipline."
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  • That'd be a wonderful thing for this generation, a spirit of
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  • Power and of love and of self-discipline.
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  • Not timidity.
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  • Some of the older english translations say he didn't give
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  • Us a spirit of fear, not of reluctance or hesitation.
  • 00:07:32.835 --> 00:07:39.308
  • Now we read something and talk about that and there's all--
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  • There's gonna be a group of people because some of them will
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  • Come see me after service and they'll accuse god of injustice
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  • And dishonesty and being unfair.
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  • Why would god do that?
  • 00:07:50.853 --> 00:07:55.191
  • I would like to suggest a different response.
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  • Let's imagine that we begin with the premise of scripture that
  • 00:07:59.195 --> 00:08:02.298
  • God is,
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  • That god exists.
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  • And in the--in his choice, his initiative, he has revealed
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  • Himself to us.
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  • And at that point, he's given to us the word of god so that we
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  • Can learn something of his character and how he interacts
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  • With humanity.
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  • He is the creator of all.
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  • He wasn't obligated to do that.
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  • It was an expression of kindness and mercy.
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  • He's given us a revelation of himself so that we might
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  • Know him,
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  • And amazingly, that we might participate with him for
  • 00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:40.369
  • All eternity.
  • 00:08:40.369 --> 00:08:44.073
  • So, rather than imagine that we're going to judge god because
  • 00:08:44.073 --> 00:08:47.977
  • He doesn't meet our standards, may i suggest that we learn
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  • His character
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  • And we make it our life goal to please him.
  • 00:08:56.652 --> 00:09:03.059
  • Now, some will chafe at that and say, "well, i don't know if
  • 00:09:03.059 --> 00:09:05.428
  • That's just or fair."
  • 00:09:05.428 --> 00:09:06.963
  • Okay, i'm not suggesting something that is so bizarre.
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  • Let me give you an example.
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  • Fire exists.
  • 00:09:13.970 --> 00:09:15.304
  • You didn't create it.
  • 00:09:15.304 --> 00:09:16.672
  • Wasn't your idea.
  • 00:09:16.672 --> 00:09:18.774
  • So it's not really left to you and me to judge fire.
  • 00:09:18.774 --> 00:09:23.913
  • We have to learn its nature, and how we can benefit from it.
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  • It's not unjust when we're burned by fire because we get
  • 00:09:28.751 --> 00:09:32.888
  • Too close.
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  • Nor would it be appropriate to imagine that we've earned it in
  • 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:40.463
  • Some measure when we're warmed by the heat of a fire.
  • 00:09:40.463 --> 00:09:45.201
  • We simply learn its nature and how to gain the benefit and
  • 00:09:45.201 --> 00:09:51.073
  • Diminish the threat.
  • 00:09:51.073 --> 00:09:54.110
  • There is a god, and it would be in our best interest to know how
  • 00:09:54.110 --> 00:09:59.315
  • To please him, because it doesn't go well for those who
  • 00:09:59.315 --> 00:10:04.553
  • Displease him.
  • 00:10:04.553 --> 00:10:07.356
  • "well, i don't like that."
  • 00:10:07.356 --> 00:10:09.425
  • Okay, but that's a much better position than not knowing.
  • 00:10:09.425 --> 00:10:18.134
  • Now here's the rub.
  • 00:10:18.134 --> 00:10:20.169
  • We're a race of rebels.
  • 00:10:20.169 --> 00:10:23.105
  • God planted us a garden, put us in the middle of it, said, "it's
  • 00:10:23.105 --> 00:10:25.675
  • All for you.
  • 00:10:25.675 --> 00:10:27.009
  • You can have anything you want, enjoy it all.
  • 00:10:27.009 --> 00:10:28.344
  • One thing, don't do that."
  • 00:10:28.344 --> 00:10:30.646
  • And we did the one thing.
  • 00:10:30.646 --> 00:10:36.852
  • So we are descended from a rebel.
  • 00:10:36.852 --> 00:10:39.455
  • We're a race of rebels and one of the challenges we have is
  • 00:10:39.455 --> 00:10:43.392
  • Overcoming that hardwired tendency in all of us to say,
  • 00:10:43.392 --> 00:10:48.731
  • "i'll do it my way."
  • 00:10:48.731 --> 00:10:53.436
  • Allen: now, how should we respond to the nation of israel
  • 00:10:57.573 --> 00:11:00.209
  • And the jewish people?
  • 00:11:00.209 --> 00:11:01.577
  • It's a complex question in today's world.
  • 00:11:01.577 --> 00:11:04.013
  • Well, i've written a book, "supporting israel: how far is
  • 00:11:04.013 --> 00:11:06.782
  • Too far?"
  • 00:11:06.782 --> 00:11:08.150
  • To help us establish a biblical perspective on what has become a
  • 00:11:08.150 --> 00:11:12.021
  • Complex question in contemporary culture.
  • 00:11:12.021 --> 00:11:15.024
  • We don't wanna follow the guidance and the counsel of some
  • 00:11:15.024 --> 00:11:17.893
  • Of the elite universities in this nation.
  • 00:11:17.893 --> 00:11:20.563
  • We wanna form a perspective that's built from god's word.
  • 00:11:20.563 --> 00:11:23.132
  • If we'll do that, it'll bring his blessings to our lives.
  • 00:11:23.132 --> 00:11:26.502
  • Enjoy the book.
  • 00:11:26.502 --> 00:11:27.837
  • Female announcer: from the pages of scripture to the frontlines
  • 00:11:27.837 --> 00:11:29.839
  • Of today's news, israel stands at the center of god's purposes.
  • 00:11:29.839 --> 00:11:34.276
  • Pastor allen's new booklet, "supporting israel: how far is
  • 00:11:34.276 --> 00:11:37.813
  • Too far?"
  • 00:11:37.813 --> 00:11:39.148
  • Offers a quick way to gain a biblical perspective on israel,
  • 00:11:39.148 --> 00:11:42.118
  • Why israel matters to god, and why it should matter to us.
  • 00:11:42.118 --> 00:11:46.455
  • Request your copy with your gift of any amount today at
  • 00:11:46.455 --> 00:11:49.525
  • Allenjackson.com or by calling...
  • 00:11:49.525 --> 00:11:55.231
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  • 00:12:47.817 --> 00:12:54.423
  • Allen: well, we are at an inflection point.
  • 00:12:58.394 --> 00:13:01.630
  • I don't know what the next decade holds.
  • 00:13:01.630 --> 00:13:04.633
  • But i assure you it will not be like the last one.
  • 00:13:04.633 --> 00:13:09.538
  • If it's filled with increasing peace and tranquility and
  • 00:13:09.538 --> 00:13:13.742
  • Opportunity, it will only be because the people of god had a
  • 00:13:13.742 --> 00:13:16.979
  • Change of heart.
  • 00:13:16.979 --> 00:13:19.882
  • If it's filled with increasing chaos and destruction and
  • 00:13:19.882 --> 00:13:23.752
  • Confusion, it will be the judgment of god upon us, because
  • 00:13:23.752 --> 00:13:28.424
  • We hardened our hearts in the midst of his great abundance.
  • 00:13:28.424 --> 00:13:34.096
  • With that, i brought a very simple biblical principle, but
  • 00:13:34.096 --> 00:13:37.600
  • It's one of the most profound tools i know for
  • 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:41.904
  • Initiating change.
  • 00:13:41.904 --> 00:13:45.374
  • The question that emerges when we start to talk about a change
  • 00:13:45.374 --> 00:13:47.576
  • Of heart, "well, what's that mean and what do i do?
  • 00:13:47.576 --> 00:13:49.578
  • And you know, do i stand on my right foot more often or do i
  • 00:13:49.578 --> 00:13:52.781
  • Need to eat something different or wear a different color?
  • 00:13:52.781 --> 00:13:55.918
  • Are you trying to get me to go to church more or do you want
  • 00:13:55.918 --> 00:13:58.220
  • More of my money and--" maybe, but not necessarily.
  • 00:13:58.220 --> 00:14:05.661
  • We're talking about spiritual health and vitality and it's as
  • 00:14:05.661 --> 00:14:08.597
  • Individualized as your personal health.
  • 00:14:08.597 --> 00:14:10.699
  • There's some things we can say that are universal, but there
  • 00:14:10.699 --> 00:14:13.769
  • Are adjustments that have to be made on a very personal level
  • 00:14:13.769 --> 00:14:17.006
  • And that's true spiritually.
  • 00:14:17.006 --> 00:14:18.374
  • So what we really need is the help of the holy spirit.
  • 00:14:18.374 --> 00:14:22.144
  • But in the same way, you can maintain some general physical
  • 00:14:22.144 --> 00:14:25.848
  • Health if you understand just personal hygiene, wash your
  • 00:14:25.848 --> 00:14:30.119
  • Hands, there are spiritual hygiene.
  • 00:14:30.119 --> 00:14:35.291
  • And one of the most powerful tools and often overlooked
  • 00:14:35.291 --> 00:14:39.161
  • Is forgiveness.
  • 00:14:39.161 --> 00:14:40.629
  • It's a catalyst.
  • 00:14:40.629 --> 00:14:43.332
  • Forgiveness is a spiritual catalyst which simply means it
  • 00:14:43.332 --> 00:14:47.369
  • Accelerates outcomes.
  • 00:14:47.369 --> 00:14:51.040
  • Now, i say all of that to say to you, in my opinion, and it's an
  • 00:14:51.040 --> 00:14:54.944
  • Informed opinion.
  • 00:14:54.944 --> 00:14:56.278
  • It's not something random or something i just picked up on
  • 00:14:56.278 --> 00:14:58.580
  • The way to the sanctuary but after working in the church for
  • 00:14:58.580 --> 00:15:01.083
  • Decades, cheap grace, sin without consequence, and casual
  • 00:15:01.083 --> 00:15:07.323
  • Forgiveness are the common road signs along our current
  • 00:15:07.323 --> 00:15:10.893
  • Spiritual highway.
  • 00:15:10.893 --> 00:15:13.929
  • They are the most frequent signs you pass.
  • 00:15:13.929 --> 00:15:16.865
  • They're the most celebrated topics.
  • 00:15:16.865 --> 00:15:20.035
  • Go google the top 10 bestselling christian books.
  • 00:15:20.035 --> 00:15:23.439
  • You'll find titles related to those things.
  • 00:15:23.439 --> 00:15:27.076
  • I would submit to you that they're dangerous because
  • 00:15:27.076 --> 00:15:29.979
  • They're not accurate descriptions of the road that is
  • 00:15:29.979 --> 00:15:32.147
  • In front of us.
  • 00:15:32.147 --> 00:15:34.984
  • We should all understand grace is not cheap.
  • 00:15:34.984 --> 00:15:39.455
  • Grace emerges from tremendous sacrifice.
  • 00:15:39.455 --> 00:15:43.959
  • And if you benefit from grace, someone else has made a
  • 00:15:43.959 --> 00:15:47.129
  • Tremendous sacrifice for you to have that privilege.
  • 00:15:47.129 --> 00:15:51.767
  • The working definition for grace is the unmerited favor.
  • 00:15:51.767 --> 00:15:56.138
  • It's blessings, outcomes you didn't earn, you don't deserve--
  • 00:15:56.138 --> 00:16:00.476
  • They come to you.
  • 00:16:00.476 --> 00:16:01.810
  • There's no such thing as cheap grace.
  • 00:16:01.810 --> 00:16:05.748
  • It's equally important to recognize that sin has a
  • 00:16:05.748 --> 00:16:08.150
  • Consequence, always.
  • 00:16:08.150 --> 00:16:11.620
  • Always.
  • 00:16:11.620 --> 00:16:14.256
  • Never doubt that eternal reality.
  • 00:16:14.256 --> 00:16:17.760
  • And when you find sin has touched your life, encroached on
  • 00:16:17.760 --> 00:16:20.662
  • Your behavior, engaged your thoughts, you need a plan for
  • 00:16:20.662 --> 00:16:26.268
  • The reconciliation of that because there is always
  • 00:16:26.268 --> 00:16:29.438
  • A consequence.
  • 00:16:29.438 --> 00:16:31.807
  • That is an eternal reality.
  • 00:16:31.807 --> 00:16:35.577
  • Now, with that background, i'm gonna submit to you that
  • 00:16:35.577 --> 00:16:37.646
  • Forgiveness should never be sought in a casual manner.
  • 00:16:37.646 --> 00:16:41.750
  • To receive forgiveness is life changing.
  • 00:16:41.750 --> 00:16:46.021
  • And in my experience, gifts which alter the course of your
  • 00:16:46.021 --> 00:16:48.824
  • Life should not be sought or received with indifference.
  • 00:16:48.824 --> 00:16:54.196
  • They are monumental.
  • 00:16:54.196 --> 00:16:58.667
  • If you're not forgiven, the full weight of your guilt must be
  • 00:16:58.667 --> 00:17:02.371
  • Borne alone.
  • 00:17:02.371 --> 00:17:06.241
  • It's a staggering thought.
  • 00:17:06.241 --> 00:17:09.578
  • If you don't have forgiveness extended to you, the full weight
  • 00:17:09.578 --> 00:17:14.016
  • Of your total guilt is yours alone.
  • 00:17:14.016 --> 00:17:19.721
  • I'd like to know more about how to be forgiven.
  • 00:17:19.721 --> 00:17:25.594
  • We have some instructions from jesus.
  • 00:17:25.594 --> 00:17:28.063
  • Matthew chapter 6, very familiar passage.
  • 00:17:28.063 --> 00:17:31.300
  • Jesus's disciples have asked for some instructions on prayer:
  • 00:17:31.300 --> 00:17:35.404
  • "john taught his disciples to pray.
  • 00:17:35.404 --> 00:17:36.872
  • Can't you teach us?"
  • 00:17:36.872 --> 00:17:39.942
  • "this is how you should pray: 'our father in heaven, hallowed
  • 00:17:39.942 --> 00:17:42.444
  • Be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it
  • 00:17:42.444 --> 00:17:44.913
  • Is in heaven.
  • 00:17:44.913 --> 00:17:46.281
  • Give us today our daily bread.
  • 00:17:46.281 --> 00:17:47.716
  • Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors.'"
  • 00:17:47.716 --> 00:17:53.555
  • Depends on translations: "forgive us our trespasses, as
  • 00:17:53.555 --> 00:17:56.992
  • We forgive those who trespass against us."
  • 00:17:56.992 --> 00:17:59.061
  • Jesus said there's a two-pronged approach.
  • 00:17:59.061 --> 00:18:02.231
  • We need forgiveness and we are required to extend forgiveness.
  • 00:18:02.231 --> 00:18:07.436
  • It's important enough that when jesus began to teach prayer,
  • 00:18:07.436 --> 00:18:10.772
  • That's a part of the training protocol.
  • 00:18:10.772 --> 00:18:15.077
  • Before we talk about delivering us from evil, before we talk
  • 00:18:15.077 --> 00:18:19.982
  • About insider understanding or revelation: forgive us.
  • 00:18:19.982 --> 00:18:26.855
  • And help me to be a forgiving person.
  • 00:18:26.855 --> 00:18:30.859
  • "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the
  • 00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:33.061
  • Evil one."
  • 00:18:33.061 --> 00:18:34.429
  • But then jesus expands it a bit.
  • 00:18:34.429 --> 00:18:35.764
  • "if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly
  • 00:18:35.764 --> 00:18:37.933
  • Father will also forgive you.
  • 00:18:37.933 --> 00:18:40.402
  • But if you don't forgive men their sins, your father will not
  • 00:18:40.402 --> 00:18:43.138
  • Forgive your sins."
  • 00:18:43.138 --> 00:18:46.275
  • Now we're in a quandary.
  • 00:18:46.275 --> 00:18:47.643
  • It's a paradox.
  • 00:18:47.643 --> 00:18:50.145
  • We all need to be forgiven.
  • 00:18:50.145 --> 00:18:51.547
  • The bible says we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory
  • 00:18:51.547 --> 00:18:54.316
  • Of god.
  • 00:18:54.316 --> 00:18:55.651
  • No one is innocent before god.
  • 00:18:55.651 --> 00:18:59.188
  • So we all have a need to be forgiven.
  • 00:18:59.188 --> 00:19:03.225
  • But god said the only way we can be the recipient of his grace,
  • 00:19:03.225 --> 00:19:06.895
  • His forgiveness, is if we choose to forgive.
  • 00:19:06.895 --> 00:19:10.499
  • So it's a conditional promise.
  • 00:19:10.499 --> 00:19:13.802
  • You can't receive the benefit of the redemptive work of jesus
  • 00:19:13.802 --> 00:19:18.574
  • Unless we meet the conditions.
  • 00:19:18.574 --> 00:19:21.743
  • And there are people who will say to you, "that's not fair."
  • 00:19:21.743 --> 00:19:27.216
  • My suggestion is don't argue.
  • 00:19:27.216 --> 00:19:33.555
  • My response is very simple: "god has not been fair with me.
  • 00:19:33.555 --> 00:19:38.894
  • He has been gracious to me."
  • 00:19:38.894 --> 00:19:42.631
  • I don't want what i deserve.
  • 00:19:42.631 --> 00:19:46.802
  • I don't want to be on the same block with what i deserve.
  • 00:19:46.802 --> 00:19:51.673
  • I am delighted, thrilled, ecstatic.
  • 00:19:51.673 --> 00:19:55.377
  • In fact, i raise my hand and volunteer to give my life in
  • 00:19:55.377 --> 00:19:58.780
  • Service to the king who said, "i will be certain that you don't
  • 00:19:58.780 --> 00:20:01.783
  • Get what you deserve."
  • 00:20:01.783 --> 00:20:06.188
  • But a part of your assignment is to forgive.
  • 00:20:06.188 --> 00:20:12.494
  • There is great freedom in forgiveness.
  • 00:20:12.494 --> 00:20:15.631
  • It is not intrusive.
  • 00:20:15.631 --> 00:20:17.833
  • It is not limiting.
  • 00:20:17.833 --> 00:20:20.836
  • It is a point of freedom.
  • 00:20:20.836 --> 00:20:25.040
  • That's not always easy to believe.
  • 00:20:25.040 --> 00:20:27.209
  • If you have made room in your routine for anger and resentment
  • 00:20:27.209 --> 00:20:32.381
  • And bitterness and hatred, it's hard to believe that forgiveness
  • 00:20:32.381 --> 00:20:37.986
  • Brings freedom because you have learned, you imagine that your
  • 00:20:37.986 --> 00:20:41.223
  • Future is secured by anger and resentment.
  • 00:20:41.223 --> 00:20:44.726
  • You're afraid something will be forfeited if you forgive.
  • 00:20:44.726 --> 00:20:50.232
  • And yet jesus said the pathway to be forgiven is to be a
  • 00:20:50.232 --> 00:20:53.635
  • Forgiving person.
  • 00:20:53.635 --> 00:20:54.970
  • See, one of the reasons we're in such desperate need as a nation
  • 00:20:54.970 --> 00:20:57.773
  • Is for decades now we've had powerful voices all throughout
  • 00:20:57.773 --> 00:21:02.044
  • Our nation teaching us, telling us, instructing us in our
  • 00:21:02.044 --> 00:21:05.981
  • Schools, our universities, our businesses, in our churches
  • 00:21:05.981 --> 00:21:11.553
  • That we have been aggrieved.
  • 00:21:11.553 --> 00:21:15.324
  • That we should be angry,
  • 00:21:15.324 --> 00:21:17.726
  • That we're right in being embittered.
  • 00:21:17.726 --> 00:21:21.596
  • I don't believe you will ever make a case before god that is
  • 00:21:21.596 --> 00:21:24.266
  • So compelling he will agree with you in standing
  • 00:21:24.266 --> 00:21:27.703
  • In unforgiveness.
  • 00:21:27.703 --> 00:21:32.007
  • The awkward truth is that hatred, lawlessness, and
  • 00:21:32.007 --> 00:21:34.776
  • Division are being fostered among us.
  • 00:21:34.776 --> 00:21:39.081
  • Powerful spiritual forces tearing at the fabric of
  • 00:21:39.081 --> 00:21:43.985
  • Our civilization.
  • 00:21:43.985 --> 00:21:45.354
  • Our cities are less safe, our schools are less safe, we're
  • 00:21:45.354 --> 00:21:49.157
  • More discontented.
  • 00:21:49.157 --> 00:21:52.260
  • Our failures are not fatal unless we succumb to hatred
  • 00:21:52.260 --> 00:21:56.031
  • And bitterness.
  • 00:21:56.031 --> 00:21:57.733
  • There's a path forward that brings personal freedom and
  • 00:21:57.733 --> 00:22:00.769
  • Ultimately justice for all.
  • 00:22:00.769 --> 00:22:04.406
  • The ending of the book of genesis is focused on joseph and
  • 00:22:04.406 --> 00:22:08.744
  • His extended family.
  • 00:22:08.744 --> 00:22:11.413
  • His father's a lousy parent, plays favorites.
  • 00:22:11.413 --> 00:22:15.617
  • Joseph is an arrogant young man.
  • 00:22:15.617 --> 00:22:17.219
  • He's the pet, father's favorite.
  • 00:22:17.219 --> 00:22:21.089
  • And he rubs his brothers' noses in it.
  • 00:22:21.089 --> 00:22:23.225
  • I mean, it's a toxic collection.
  • 00:22:23.225 --> 00:22:25.494
  • Did you know that god uses families with some toxic
  • 00:22:25.494 --> 00:22:28.230
  • Circumstances, yeah?
  • 00:22:28.230 --> 00:22:32.601
  • But you see, the devil will tell you,"you're ruled out because
  • 00:22:32.601 --> 00:22:35.303
  • Your family's broken."
  • 00:22:35.303 --> 00:22:38.373
  • Look, my group put the "fun" in dysfunction.
  • 00:22:38.373 --> 00:22:42.978
  • I mean, joseph comes from a messed-up group of people.
  • 00:22:42.978 --> 00:22:47.115
  • His brothers sold him as a slave and went back and told his dad
  • 00:22:47.115 --> 00:22:52.754
  • That he'd been killed.
  • 00:22:52.754 --> 00:22:54.089
  • I mean, that's a pretty messed-up group of--i've got
  • 00:22:54.089 --> 00:22:55.757
  • Brothers, but we never thought of that.
  • 00:22:55.757 --> 00:22:59.094
  • I mean, we threw horse manure at one another but we didn't think
  • 00:22:59.094 --> 00:23:01.396
  • Of that.
  • 00:23:01.396 --> 00:23:06.034
  • Well, near the end of his life, joseph has survived all of that.
  • 00:23:06.034 --> 00:23:09.137
  • He's become a very important official in egypt, you know the
  • 00:23:09.137 --> 00:23:12.307
  • Story, and his brothers have come because they're starving
  • 00:23:12.307 --> 00:23:14.743
  • And they're trying to buy food and joseph's been messing with
  • 00:23:14.743 --> 00:23:18.447
  • Them a little bit and he says, "come close to me."
  • 00:23:18.447 --> 00:23:20.048
  • You've got it.
  • 00:23:20.048 --> 00:23:21.383
  • "when they'd done so, he said, 'i'm your brother joseph, the
  • 00:23:21.383 --> 00:23:23.452
  • One you sold into egypt!
  • 00:23:23.452 --> 00:23:24.786
  • And now, don't be distressed and don't be angry with yourselves
  • 00:23:24.786 --> 00:23:28.156
  • For selling me here.'"
  • 00:23:28.156 --> 00:23:30.125
  • Well, i don't think they're angry with themselves at all.
  • 00:23:30.125 --> 00:23:31.660
  • I think they're terrified.
  • 00:23:31.660 --> 00:23:34.863
  • "'because it was to save lives that god sent me ahead of you.'"
  • 00:23:34.863 --> 00:23:38.333
  • Something's happened in joseph.
  • 00:23:38.333 --> 00:23:41.570
  • By contemporary standards, if we use the metrics that we use in
  • 00:23:41.570 --> 00:23:44.573
  • Our current conversations and culture, joseph should be angry,
  • 00:23:44.573 --> 00:23:49.744
  • Embittered, filled with hate, retribution, and his response
  • 00:23:49.744 --> 00:23:56.585
  • Is, "god sent me here."
  • 00:23:56.585 --> 00:23:59.988
  • Well, i'm pretty sure they sold you to ishmaelite slavers.
  • 00:23:59.988 --> 00:24:05.293
  • And joseph, somehow--we don't have the backstory on this--but
  • 00:24:05.293 --> 00:24:09.531
  • Somehow joseph, by the spirit of god's assistance, found a way to
  • 00:24:09.531 --> 00:24:14.169
  • Forgive and say, "god sent me ahead of you."
  • 00:24:14.169 --> 00:24:19.341
  • Now, if he can do it for joseph, he could do it for you and me.
  • 00:24:19.341 --> 00:24:22.277
  • I'm not suggesting it's easy.
  • 00:24:22.277 --> 00:24:25.514
  • It required a great deal of suffering on joseph's part.
  • 00:24:25.514 --> 00:24:28.917
  • You see, following god is not going to remove you from the
  • 00:24:28.917 --> 00:24:31.686
  • Arena of suffering.
  • 00:24:31.686 --> 00:24:33.421
  • Some of you are mad at god.
  • 00:24:33.421 --> 00:24:34.756
  • You need to forgive god because you think the path he put you on
  • 00:24:34.756 --> 00:24:37.659
  • Is too hard.
  • 00:24:37.659 --> 00:24:39.861
  • And you're a little torqued with him.
  • 00:24:39.861 --> 00:24:42.297
  • Or he hasn't fulfilled your dreams in the way that you
  • 00:24:42.297 --> 00:24:44.766
  • Wanted him to, you've suffered loss.
  • 00:24:44.766 --> 00:24:48.103
  • Or your family chart hadn't been filled out the way you wanted to
  • 00:24:48.103 --> 00:24:50.805
  • With the timeline that you wanted and you had a dream and
  • 00:24:50.805 --> 00:24:53.041
  • You had 2.5 children and a dog and a white picket fence.
  • 00:24:53.041 --> 00:24:58.113
  • And you don't have the dog yet.
  • 00:24:58.113 --> 00:25:01.316
  • "well, i'm just not going to serve the lord until he delivers
  • 00:25:01.316 --> 00:25:03.485
  • A dog.
  • 00:25:03.485 --> 00:25:05.921
  • Well, i got a puppy.
  • 00:25:05.921 --> 00:25:08.089
  • And he got sick.
  • 00:25:08.089 --> 00:25:10.759
  • Why would god give me a sick puppy?"
  • 00:25:10.759 --> 00:25:16.464
  • Now, i--the experience and the disappointment and the pain
  • 00:25:16.464 --> 00:25:20.201
  • Are real.
  • 00:25:20.201 --> 00:25:21.536
  • What you choose to do with it is what determines your future.
  • 00:25:21.536 --> 00:25:25.607
  • Joseph came from a pretty broken family.
  • 00:25:25.607 --> 00:25:27.475
  • I suspect you did too.
  • 00:25:27.475 --> 00:25:30.612
  • Allen: unforgiveness is a burden we just can't afford
  • 00:25:30.679 --> 00:25:32.647
  • To carry.
  • 00:25:32.647 --> 00:25:33.982
  • It's a choice we make.
  • 00:25:33.982 --> 00:25:35.350
  • It begins in our will.
  • 00:25:35.350 --> 00:25:36.685
  • It doesn't begin in our emotions.
  • 00:25:36.685 --> 00:25:38.286
  • So before we go, let's make the decision to forgive anyone
  • 00:25:38.286 --> 00:25:41.590
  • Of anything.
  • 00:25:41.590 --> 00:25:42.958
  • We simply can't afford the burdens of anger and resentment
  • 00:25:42.958 --> 00:25:45.660
  • And bitterness or hatred, it's too heavy a price to pay.
  • 00:25:45.660 --> 00:25:50.031
  • Let's pray.
  • 00:25:50.031 --> 00:25:51.366
  • Father, i thank you that you have said you would forgive us
  • 00:25:51.366 --> 00:25:54.536
  • If we'll acknowledge our sin and as we're willing to
  • 00:25:54.536 --> 00:25:57.439
  • Forgive others.
  • 00:25:57.439 --> 00:25:58.807
  • So we come today in humility to acknowledge, father, our own
  • 00:25:58.807 --> 00:26:01.276
  • Need for forgiveness and to release those who have offended
  • 00:26:01.276 --> 00:26:04.112
  • Us, who have mistreated us, who have brought harm to us and
  • 00:26:04.112 --> 00:26:08.650
  • Brought pain to our lives.
  • 00:26:08.650 --> 00:26:09.985
  • We release them today in jesus's name.
  • 00:26:09.985 --> 00:26:12.253
  • And i thank you now for your forgiveness in our lives--that
  • 00:26:12.253 --> 00:26:15.090
  • We are free and clean before almighty god.
  • 00:26:15.090 --> 00:26:18.059
  • In jesus's name, amen.
  • 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:22.163
  • Allen: you know, we don't read our bibles just for exercise or
  • 00:26:26.368 --> 00:26:29.204
  • Just to be dutiful christians.
  • 00:26:29.204 --> 00:26:31.272
  • We read our bibles to understand how to navigate a complex world,
  • 00:26:31.272 --> 00:26:34.342
  • How to understand what's unfolding around us.
  • 00:26:34.342 --> 00:26:37.612
  • We're living in a season where there's a lot of emotion
  • 00:26:37.612 --> 00:26:40.048
  • Expressed about the jewish people and the nation of israel.
  • 00:26:40.048 --> 00:26:42.784
  • From some very well-established elite places, there are voices
  • 00:26:42.784 --> 00:26:46.588
  • Saying, "they don't deserve our support."
  • 00:26:46.588 --> 00:26:48.823
  • Well, i wrote a book, "supporting israel: how far is
  • 00:26:48.823 --> 00:26:51.326
  • Too far?"
  • 00:26:51.326 --> 00:26:52.694
  • So that we can have a biblical perspective on our response to
  • 00:26:52.694 --> 00:26:55.163
  • Current events.
  • 00:26:55.163 --> 00:26:56.498
  • At the end of the day, i want to align myself with the purposes
  • 00:26:56.498 --> 00:26:58.800
  • Of god, not the thought leaders at elite ivy league schools or
  • 00:26:58.800 --> 00:27:03.238
  • The talking heads in the media.
  • 00:27:03.238 --> 00:27:05.073
  • I intend to stand with the purposes of god.
  • 00:27:05.073 --> 00:27:07.676
  • This book will help you unpack the current events and
  • 00:27:07.676 --> 00:27:11.346
  • Understand the perspective from the viewpoint of scripture on
  • 00:27:11.346 --> 00:27:14.416
  • How you and i can respond in a way that i believe will bring
  • 00:27:14.416 --> 00:27:17.118
  • The blessings of god to our lives and help us accomplish his
  • 00:27:17.118 --> 00:27:20.388
  • Purposes in our generation.
  • 00:27:20.388 --> 00:27:22.724
  • It's worth the read.
  • 00:27:22.724 --> 00:27:22.724