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Allen Jackson Ministries

Allen Jackson - God's Provision Is Necessary (Part 1)

January 23, 2025 | 27:29

Allen Jackson - God's Provision Is Necessary (Part 1)
Pastor Allen Jackson's mission is to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
#Peace #Help #Provision #LoveofGod #Freedom #Religion #PromisesofGod #AllenJacksonMinistries #AllenJackson #Need #HandofGod

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Allen Jackson Ministries | Allen Jackson - God's Provision Is Necessary (Part 1) | January 23, 2025
  • ...
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Allen jackson: it's an honor to be with you today.
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  • Our topic is the necessity of god's provision.
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  • You know, i wanna submit to you that without god's provision,
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  • You and i will not be able to complete what he's called us
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  • To be.
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  • It's not enough in my strength or my wisdom or my resources or
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  • My contacts, god has given me an assignment that's bigger than
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  • Allen, and he's given you an assignment that's bigger than
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  • Your resources.
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  • We need his provision.
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  • Well, that's our topic today.
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  • Grab your bible and get a notepad, but most importantly,
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  • Open your heart.
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  • Allen: we've been walking through a series, really focused
  • 00:00:37.287 --> 00:00:39.355
  • On the promises of god, and the concept is really simple: that
  • 00:00:39.355 --> 00:00:44.227
  • God's provision for our life is in his promises.
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  • The title of this session is "god's provision is necessary."
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  • And, honestly, i don't think that's been that plain to us in
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  • The american church, but i would suggest to you that we will not
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  • Be able to accomplish god's assignment for our lives unless
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  • We understand how to utilize god's provisions.
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  • Perhaps that seems straightforward and simple to
  • 00:01:07.650 --> 00:01:09.552
  • You, but as an observer of the american church, and i have been
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  • For a while, as much as a participant, i have come to the
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  • Conclusion that his vision and his assignments are larger than
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  • My ability or your ability or my resources or your resources.
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  • That god will consistently invite you and me to serve him
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  • In ways that, without his provision, we cannot accomplish.
  • 00:01:30.874 --> 00:01:35.778
  • Now that's a very biblical premise, but that is not
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  • Typically the way we embrace our faith.
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  • We embrace our faith in terms of what we have time for or what we
  • 00:01:42.018 --> 00:01:44.821
  • Have resources to do.
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  • And we're gonna have to learn a new response to the lord.
  • 00:01:47.590 --> 00:01:50.593
  • The seasons have changed, the curtains have been pulled back.
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  • However you wanna describe what's happening, folks,
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  • We're not in the same place we were as the people of god before
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  • 2020, and it has very little to do with a virus, but what is
  • 00:01:58.501 --> 00:02:04.107
  • Happening in the world is different.
  • 00:02:04.107 --> 00:02:06.809
  • The spiritual conflict is far more in the open.
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  • Things that had been hidden in the darkness, things that still
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  • Had shame attached to them, no longer do.
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  • And god's people are going to have to find a bolder, more
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  • Courageous, more spirit-directed response to the
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  • Invitations of god.
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  • We have been trained to be content sitting in church and
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  • Not being blatantly immoral.
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  • And if we could attend church a preponderance of the times and
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  • Just not be engaged in gross immorality or blatant sin, you
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  • Were golden.
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  • That's a tragic presentation of our faith.
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  • It's deceitful, it's dishonest, it's incomplete,
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  • It's destructive.
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  • And candidly, if it's all you hear, it's highly probable
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  • You'll miss the kingdom of god entirely.
  • 00:02:58.027 --> 00:03:01.698
  • We're called to be children of the king, to have a relationship
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  • With him, to serve him, to lay our lives down for him, to offer
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  • Ourselves as living sacrifices for him.
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  • And somehow, that message has been diminished.
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  • So we're looking at the promises of god.
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  • 2 peter chapter 1 and verse 3 is perhaps the most succinct
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  • Declaration of god's plan and intent: "his divine power has
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  • Given us everything we need for life and godliness through our
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  • Knowledge of him," jesus, "who called us by his own glory
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  • And goodness."
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  • He's given us everything we need for life and godliness.
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  • We cannot fulfill our life purpose, nor can we lead a godly
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  • Life, without god's provision.
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  • We cannot do it on our own.
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  • We just can't.
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  • We've got to humble ourselves.
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  • We're not that smart, we're not that talented,
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  • We're not that creative.
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  • And if you think you're amazingly creative, if you put
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  • It on a bell curve and you're on the extreme edges of talent and
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  • Ability and resources, then god gave you a purpose that exceeds
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  • Those things.
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  • Stop comparing yourself and say, "god, i wanna fulfill what you
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  • Created me for."
  • 00:04:12.802 --> 00:04:15.371
  • He has given us everything we need.
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  • There's nothing deficient in your life.
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  • There is no lack that god hasn't made provision for.
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  • Verse 4: "through these he's given us his very great and
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  • Precious promises, so that through them we may participate
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  • In the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world
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  • Caused by evil desires."
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  • I've told you repeatedly there's two statements made in that
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  • Passage that are in the perfect tense, which means they've
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  • Already been accomplished.
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  • They are not happening, they're not going to continue to happen,
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  • They're a completed fact.
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  • He has given us everything we need for life and godliness, and
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  • Secondly, he's given us his very great and precious promises.
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  • The premise is very simple and straightforward, but
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  • It's profound.
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  • Don't let the simplicity cause you to think it's childish.
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  • God's provision for your life and mine is in his promises, and
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  • The promises are our inheritance.
  • 00:05:04.854 --> 00:05:08.091
  • In the old testament, we're introduced to a concept that
  • 00:05:08.091 --> 00:05:10.159
  • Dominates the landscape of the old testament, the hebrew bible,
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  • That under a leader named joshua, god helped his people
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  • Occupy and inherit a promised land.
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  • In the new testament, under a leader named jesus, god has made
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  • Provision for us in the land of his promises.
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  • Now, just as certainly as god made total provision for the
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  • Slaves of egypt, as they made a journey through the negev and
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  • Occupied the promised land, god has made complete provision for
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  • His people in the 21st century, not to occupy a place on the
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  • Planet earth but to live in the midst of his promises.
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  • So what we've begun is a little bit of an exploration of some of
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  • The more common challenges that we face in our journeys through
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  • Time and to try to understand how we can apply the promises of
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  • God to that.
  • 00:05:58.408 --> 00:06:00.443
  • Again, in the old testament, they were given a promised land.
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  • In the new testament, we are promised a kingdom, very
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  • Different things.
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  • When jesus was interviewed by pilate, pilate said, "you're
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  • A king."
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  • And he said, "you're right, i am, but my kingdom
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  • Is not of this world.
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  • If it were, there'd be people defending me against you."
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  • We have a promised kingdom.
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  • Now, the old testament, the hebrew people could not have
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  • Their inheritance unless they were willing to drive out the
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  • Inhabitants of the land.
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  • It required armed conflict.
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  • It wasn't just something god gave to them.
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  • He delivered them from egypt "through his mighty hand," the
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  • Bible says.
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  • With his plagues, the israelites didn't work their way out of
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  • Egypt, they didn't fight their way out of egypt.
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  • God delivered them from that.
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  • And the concluding of that was when the red sea parted, and
  • 00:06:50.827 --> 00:06:53.563
  • They walked through on dry ground, and the egyptian army
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  • Was drowned when the water collapsed upon them.
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  • On the opposite side of the red sea, they were beyond the grasp
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  • Of pharaoh.
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  • God made provision for them while they journeyed through the
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  • Wilderness, but when they crossed the jordan river, the
  • 00:07:07.210 --> 00:07:09.479
  • Provision stopped, and they had to take by conquest
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  • Their inheritance.
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  • Well, in a similar way, god calls us out of darkness.
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  • We don't earn our way out of that.
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  • We don't work our way out of bondage.
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  • Through the supernatural sovereign intervention of god,
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  • He calls us out of darkness.
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  • We receive it by faith.
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  • He's made complete and total provision for us.
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  • But in the same way, for them to occupy their inheritance it
  • 00:07:36.239 --> 00:07:39.775
  • Required a conquest.
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  • The new testament requires a conquest of us.
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  • Not of physical territory, but of a spiritual kingdom.
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  • Amen, pastor.
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  • And we just have not thought about that.
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  • We've majored on how to be born again, and perhaps if we needed
  • 00:07:56.158 --> 00:07:59.028
  • To be baptized, and perhaps you would be entertaining the
  • 00:07:59.028 --> 00:08:02.231
  • Conversation around spirit baptism; but beyond that, you're
  • 00:08:02.231 --> 00:08:05.101
  • Kind of like, "you know, i'm okay.
  • 00:08:05.101 --> 00:08:08.471
  • Que sera, sera."
  • 00:08:08.471 --> 00:08:10.673
  • That is not what we're invited to.
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  • We've lived with such stability, such prosperity, where the
  • 00:08:12.141 --> 00:08:15.077
  • Culture was so significantly grounded, biblical worldview,
  • 00:08:15.077 --> 00:08:19.582
  • That we really haven't had to rely upon god.
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  • Unless there was some personal crisis, some health crisis, some
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  • Family crisis, or a, you know, maybe in a traumatic moment we
  • 00:08:26.122 --> 00:08:29.258
  • Would cry out to god, but in general we can imagine that our
  • 00:08:29.258 --> 00:08:32.495
  • Children could have a future, whether we had a relationship
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  • With god or not.
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  • That's very unique on planet earth.
  • 00:08:39.702 --> 00:08:43.306
  • And the only reason it could be said of us is for several
  • 00:08:43.306 --> 00:08:45.141
  • Decades, many decades, we have had that biblical worldview.
  • 00:08:45.141 --> 00:08:48.978
  • Now, tragically, we're abandoning it.
  • 00:08:48.978 --> 00:08:52.081
  • We have abandoned it.
  • 00:08:52.081 --> 00:08:54.216
  • And our world is rapidly changing.
  • 00:08:54.216 --> 00:08:57.653
  • And the purpose for this little series is to help us grow up in
  • 00:08:57.653 --> 00:09:02.058
  • Our faith and our responses to god so that we can flourish with
  • 00:09:02.058 --> 00:09:05.561
  • Whatever is before us.
  • 00:09:05.561 --> 00:09:08.531
  • These promises are no longer optional.
  • 00:09:08.531 --> 00:09:11.233
  • They're not for hyper christians, they're not for
  • 00:09:11.233 --> 00:09:13.102
  • Fanatical christians.
  • 00:09:13.102 --> 00:09:14.503
  • If you are going to flourish and survive and understand
  • 00:09:14.503 --> 00:09:17.340
  • Stability, body, soul, and spirit, i do not believe apart
  • 00:09:17.340 --> 00:09:21.077
  • From understanding the promises of god and how to apply them,
  • 00:09:21.077 --> 00:09:24.246
  • You'll be able to do that in what's before us.
  • 00:09:24.246 --> 00:09:29.085
  • I brought you one passage.
  • 00:09:29.085 --> 00:09:30.419
  • You know, we often say that the old testament is a little harsh
  • 00:09:30.419 --> 00:09:32.922
  • And violent and combative, but the new testament is all
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  • About love.
  • 00:09:35.992 --> 00:09:38.094
  • Just a big group hug.
  • 00:09:38.094 --> 00:09:40.630
  • They all got together and broke bread, ate at one another's
  • 00:09:40.630 --> 00:09:42.465
  • Houses, and sang worship songs, and had miracles.
  • 00:09:42.465 --> 00:09:46.168
  • We like to say that.
  • 00:09:46.168 --> 00:09:47.570
  • It's just very unscriptural.
  • 00:09:47.570 --> 00:09:49.839
  • And i brought you one passage from paul.
  • 00:09:49.839 --> 00:09:52.408
  • The church in corinth which he helped to shepherd into
  • 00:09:52.408 --> 00:09:56.779
  • Existence, when he continued with his travels, people came in
  • 00:09:56.779 --> 00:10:00.049
  • Behind him and said that they were more spiritual than paul,
  • 00:10:00.049 --> 00:10:03.119
  • And they were leading the believers in a
  • 00:10:03.119 --> 00:10:05.488
  • Destructive pattern.
  • 00:10:05.488 --> 00:10:07.390
  • Not a lot's changed in 2000 years of the church's history.
  • 00:10:07.390 --> 00:10:10.926
  • So paul writes a letter to them, kind of calling them out.
  • 00:10:10.926 --> 00:10:14.296
  • And i put it in your notes. it's a familiar passage.
  • 00:10:14.296 --> 00:10:16.365
  • He says: "are they hebrews?"
  • 00:10:16.365 --> 00:10:17.767
  • Those people who are challenging me.
  • 00:10:17.767 --> 00:10:19.669
  • He said, "so am i.
  • 00:10:19.669 --> 00:10:21.537
  • Are they israelites? so am i.
  • 00:10:21.537 --> 00:10:23.906
  • Are they abraham's descendants?
  • 00:10:23.906 --> 00:10:25.241
  • So am i.
  • 00:10:25.241 --> 00:10:27.510
  • Are they servants of christ?"
  • 00:10:27.510 --> 00:10:29.245
  • And his conscience kicks in.
  • 00:10:29.245 --> 00:10:31.247
  • He says, "i'm out of my mind to talk like this.
  • 00:10:31.247 --> 00:10:33.816
  • I am more."
  • 00:10:33.816 --> 00:10:36.652
  • And then he tells you why he said that.
  • 00:10:36.652 --> 00:10:39.555
  • He said, "i've worked much harder, i've been in
  • 00:10:39.555 --> 00:10:42.491
  • Prison more frequently."
  • 00:10:42.491 --> 00:10:43.826
  • Can you imagine putting on your résumé and applying for a job in
  • 00:10:43.826 --> 00:10:47.263
  • A church, "i've been in prison more than anybody else you're
  • 00:10:47.263 --> 00:10:50.366
  • Gonna interview."
  • 00:10:50.366 --> 00:10:54.537
  • "i've been in prison more frequently, i've been flogged
  • 00:10:54.537 --> 00:10:56.739
  • More severely, i've been exposed to death again and again.
  • 00:10:56.739 --> 00:11:01.977
  • Five times i received from the jews forty lashes minus one."
  • 00:11:01.977 --> 00:11:06.282
  • Forty lashes minus one because forty lashes was supposed to
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  • Kill a man.
  • 00:11:08.517 --> 00:11:10.219
  • He said, "five times i was beaten almost to death."
  • 00:11:10.219 --> 00:11:14.657
  • Five times.
  • 00:11:14.657 --> 00:11:17.059
  • "three times i was beaten with rods, once i was stoned, three
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  • Times i was shipwrecked, i spent a night and a day in the open
  • 00:11:21.397 --> 00:11:23.733
  • Sea, i've been constantly on the move.
  • 00:11:23.733 --> 00:11:26.302
  • I've been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in
  • 00:11:26.302 --> 00:11:28.771
  • Danger from my own countrymen, in danger from gentiles; in
  • 00:11:28.771 --> 00:11:31.741
  • Danger in the city, in danger in the country."
  • 00:11:31.741 --> 00:11:34.310
  • The boy's been in danger.
  • 00:11:34.310 --> 00:11:39.315
  • "in danger from false brothers.
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  • I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep;
  • 00:11:40.950 --> 00:11:44.086
  • I've known hunger and thirst, i've often gone without food;
  • 00:11:44.086 --> 00:11:47.656
  • I've been cold and naked."
  • 00:11:47.656 --> 00:11:51.527
  • Yes, the new testament is a book of love and peace.
  • 00:11:51.527 --> 00:11:57.633
  • The primary advocate for the jesus narrative in the new
  • 00:11:57.633 --> 00:12:01.771
  • Testament after we get past acts chapter 10, is paul.
  • 00:12:01.771 --> 00:12:07.510
  • And he's describing his experiences.
  • 00:12:07.510 --> 00:12:11.714
  • And he said, "i've been in prison for this story more than
  • 00:12:11.714 --> 00:12:14.550
  • Anybody you know.
  • 00:12:14.550 --> 00:12:17.253
  • They've beaten me to death."
  • 00:12:17.253 --> 00:12:18.621
  • He said, "they've tried so many times."
  • 00:12:18.621 --> 00:12:22.792
  • So is it possible, is it just possible, that our faith will
  • 00:12:26.095 --> 00:12:31.100
  • Demand of us a more intentional response than we have
  • 00:12:31.100 --> 00:12:34.804
  • Ever thought?
  • 00:12:34.804 --> 00:12:37.840
  • Is it possible that suffering for the sake of the gospel might
  • 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:41.243
  • Include more than an inconvenient parking place that
  • 00:12:41.243 --> 00:12:45.080
  • Permits you to park on the islands?
  • 00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:48.117
  • We were in a parking lot outside the old city of jerusalem
  • 00:12:51.353 --> 00:12:54.623
  • 2 weeks ago, and there was a car parked up on an island.
  • 00:12:54.623 --> 00:13:00.429
  • Parking in jerusalem really is an issue.
  • 00:13:00.429 --> 00:13:03.065
  • And somebody in the group came and got me and said, "look,
  • 00:13:03.065 --> 00:13:04.834
  • Pastor, someone from the church lives here."
  • 00:13:04.834 --> 00:13:07.336
  • And they started taking pictures of the car.
  • 00:13:10.272 --> 00:13:14.643
  • That's not the testimony we wanna export to the global
  • 00:13:14.643 --> 00:13:17.213
  • Community of believers.
  • 00:13:17.213 --> 00:13:20.883
  • But i think it's safe to say we have not paid attention to--we
  • 00:13:20.883 --> 00:13:25.554
  • Have peeled out of the letters that paul wrote to those
  • 00:13:25.554 --> 00:13:28.257
  • Churches the verses that promise us an upgrade in our clothing
  • 00:13:28.257 --> 00:13:33.395
  • Label or the car we drive.
  • 00:13:33.395 --> 00:13:36.031
  • And we've ignored the context from which they emerged.
  • 00:13:36.031 --> 00:13:41.070
  • We've lived by the mantra that we don't wanna offend anybody.
  • 00:13:41.070 --> 00:13:44.273
  • Tolerance and inclusivity have been values held in far higher
  • 00:13:44.273 --> 00:13:47.509
  • Esteem than the truth of our faith.
  • 00:13:47.509 --> 00:13:52.882
  • And i believe god is asking us to grow up a bit.
  • 00:13:52.882 --> 00:13:55.818
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:13:55.818 --> 00:13:59.855
  • Female announcer: if you look, you'll find
  • 00:14:02.958 --> 00:14:04.293
  • Good news everywhere.
  • 00:14:04.293 --> 00:14:06.495
  • Female: our baby was born healthy and strong.
  • 00:14:06.495 --> 00:14:10.366
  • Female: we have the groceries we need.
  • 00:14:10.366 --> 00:14:12.935
  • Male: another year, cancer-free.
  • 00:14:12.935 --> 00:14:16.238
  • Female: we bought our first house, this year!
  • 00:14:16.238 --> 00:14:20.242
  • Female: the rays came through, when i needed it most.
  • 00:14:20.242 --> 00:14:23.913
  • Male: i have a working car.
  • 00:14:23.913 --> 00:14:27.449
  • Female: my husband came home, safe.
  • 00:14:27.449 --> 00:14:31.353
  • Female announcer: philippians 4 tells us to "think about
  • 00:14:31.353 --> 00:14:33.188
  • Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable,
  • 00:14:33.188 --> 00:14:38.761
  • Excellent, and praiseworthy."
  • 00:14:38.761 --> 00:14:41.096
  • All of these things honor god and when we take time to notice
  • 00:14:41.096 --> 00:14:44.366
  • Them, we welcome god's presence and experience his peace.
  • 00:14:44.366 --> 00:14:49.939
  • Allen: you know, the two most critical junctures of any
  • 00:14:50.005 --> 00:14:52.541
  • Enterprise are how we begin and how we conclude.
  • 00:14:52.541 --> 00:14:55.978
  • So the beginning of a new year is a tremendous opportunity.
  • 00:14:55.978 --> 00:14:59.915
  • We've prepared a tool we want to share with you.
  • 00:14:59.915 --> 00:15:01.684
  • It's a "good news journal."
  • 00:15:01.684 --> 00:15:03.585
  • We wanna help you set a habit, this year, to do something with
  • 00:15:03.585 --> 00:15:07.456
  • A bit more intention than, perhaps, has been our pattern in
  • 00:15:07.456 --> 00:15:10.559
  • The past.
  • 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:11.894
  • We want to start our year with an attitude of appreciation and
  • 00:15:11.894 --> 00:15:14.964
  • Gratitude for the blessings of god, in our lives.
  • 00:15:14.964 --> 00:15:18.200
  • So we've designed this journal so that you can use it as a part
  • 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:21.203
  • Of your devotional, it's something you could include the
  • 00:15:21.203 --> 00:15:23.138
  • Children, the grandchildren.
  • 00:15:23.138 --> 00:15:24.773
  • You could take it to work and create a "good news journal" for
  • 00:15:24.773 --> 00:15:27.242
  • The people you work with, wherever that may be.
  • 00:15:27.242 --> 00:15:29.778
  • Let's start our year out, purposefully, intentionally
  • 00:15:29.778 --> 00:15:33.849
  • Saying "thank you" to the lord for his goodness to us.
  • 00:15:33.849 --> 00:15:37.052
  • I know there's challenges and we have places where we need god's
  • 00:15:37.052 --> 00:15:39.788
  • Help, but we're gonna begin with gratitude and walk into the
  • 00:15:39.788 --> 00:15:43.692
  • Blessings of god, in this year.
  • 00:15:43.692 --> 00:15:46.061
  • I think you'll enjoy the journal, god bless.
  • 00:15:46.061 --> 00:15:48.864
  • Female announcer: when you keep a "good news list," you'll
  • 00:15:48.864 --> 00:15:50.899
  • Notice how god is constantly at work, all around you.
  • 00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:54.470
  • Our new, 52-week "good news notebook" gives you a place to
  • 00:15:54.470 --> 00:15:58.440
  • Record your good news, prayers you saw god answer, and your
  • 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:02.011
  • Current prayer requests.
  • 00:16:02.011 --> 00:16:03.812
  • As you look back on your lists over the weeks, and months to
  • 00:16:03.812 --> 00:16:06.682
  • Come, you'll find a personal record of god's faithfulness
  • 00:16:06.682 --> 00:16:09.585
  • To you.
  • 00:16:09.585 --> 00:16:10.953
  • Allen: we are trusting god for a year like no other, for his
  • 00:16:10.953 --> 00:16:13.389
  • Breakthroughs, this year.
  • 00:16:13.389 --> 00:16:14.757
  • I believe the "good news journal" can be a part of our
  • 00:16:14.757 --> 00:16:16.825
  • Journey, in each of our lives.
  • 00:16:16.825 --> 00:16:18.894
  • Female announcer: request your "good news notebook" when you
  • 00:16:18.894 --> 00:16:20.629
  • Donate $20 or more, today at allenjackson.com, or by
  • 00:16:20.629 --> 00:16:24.733
  • Calling...
  • 00:16:24.733 --> 00:16:30.639
  • Allen: so we've looked at some promises.
  • 00:16:31.640 --> 00:16:32.975
  • We looked at how to become a child of god.
  • 00:16:32.975 --> 00:16:36.078
  • It's not in your notes tonight.
  • 00:16:36.078 --> 00:16:37.413
  • You can have to--you'll have to go back to saturday and sunday.
  • 00:16:37.413 --> 00:16:40.949
  • But in john 1 he said, "to all who received him, to those who
  • 00:16:40.949 --> 00:16:43.519
  • Believed in his name, he gave the right to
  • 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:45.354
  • Become children of god."
  • 00:16:45.354 --> 00:16:46.688
  • Can you imagine?
  • 00:16:46.688 --> 00:16:48.023
  • The right to become children of the creator of all things.
  • 00:16:48.023 --> 00:16:52.261
  • You wanna know how to claim that promise.
  • 00:16:52.261 --> 00:16:55.297
  • That's better than church membership.
  • 00:16:55.297 --> 00:16:58.300
  • Then we looked at the promise of freedom from mental torment.
  • 00:16:58.300 --> 00:17:02.938
  • You know, in a world where anti-depressants are one of the
  • 00:17:02.938 --> 00:17:04.873
  • Most described--prescribed classes of drugs, when suicide
  • 00:17:04.873 --> 00:17:09.244
  • Rates are growing by double digits amongst the most
  • 00:17:09.244 --> 00:17:13.582
  • Affluent--not amongst the most poverty stricken--things and
  • 00:17:13.582 --> 00:17:19.388
  • Opportunities don't make us more content.
  • 00:17:19.388 --> 00:17:22.157
  • There's more in play.
  • 00:17:22.157 --> 00:17:23.492
  • We need to know how to live free from mental torment.
  • 00:17:23.492 --> 00:17:26.228
  • In john 14, jesus gave us a promise.
  • 00:17:26.228 --> 00:17:28.497
  • He said, "peace i leave with you; my peace i give you.
  • 00:17:28.497 --> 00:17:32.134
  • I don't give to you as the world gives.
  • 00:17:32.134 --> 00:17:35.104
  • Don't let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
  • 00:17:35.104 --> 00:17:38.340
  • Jesus gave us his peace.
  • 00:17:38.340 --> 00:17:40.809
  • He says, "it's not the peace of the world.
  • 00:17:40.809 --> 00:17:42.744
  • The world can be at peace when everything's going their way:
  • 00:17:42.744 --> 00:17:45.380
  • An absence of conflict, when they're triumphant, when their
  • 00:17:45.380 --> 00:17:47.816
  • Lottery tickets are winning, when their kids are cooperating,
  • 00:17:47.816 --> 00:17:51.553
  • When their spouses are agreeing with them.
  • 00:17:51.553 --> 00:17:54.690
  • That's not the life jesus led.
  • 00:17:54.690 --> 00:17:56.058
  • He led a life plagued by conflict.
  • 00:17:56.058 --> 00:17:58.861
  • From his birth when they tried to kill--they did kill all the
  • 00:17:58.861 --> 00:18:00.863
  • Baby boys in bethlehem, to when he began his public ministry.
  • 00:18:00.863 --> 00:18:05.067
  • The town he grew up in, nazareth, they tried to kill him
  • 00:18:05.067 --> 00:18:07.002
  • In his home town--not because he was stealing or embezzling or
  • 00:18:07.002 --> 00:18:10.572
  • Lying--but because he told them the truth.
  • 00:18:10.572 --> 00:18:14.510
  • And ultimately, he's betrayed, and he's tortured to death, and
  • 00:18:14.510 --> 00:18:18.280
  • He looks at his friends, and he said, "i give you my peace."
  • 00:18:18.280 --> 00:18:21.049
  • Ha, thanks a lot.
  • 00:18:21.049 --> 00:18:24.153
  • What he had was a calm assurance of god's unlimited power.
  • 00:18:24.153 --> 00:18:28.790
  • He says to pilate, who's about to condemn him to death: "you
  • 00:18:28.790 --> 00:18:31.460
  • Don't have the--any authority over me.
  • 00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:34.596
  • If my dad hadn't given you a little bit of authority, this
  • 00:18:34.596 --> 00:18:37.666
  • Would be a one-sided conversation."
  • 00:18:37.666 --> 00:18:41.270
  • He said, "no one takes my life from me.
  • 00:18:41.270 --> 00:18:42.905
  • I lay my life down; and if i lay it down, i'm gonna take it
  • 00:18:42.905 --> 00:18:45.007
  • Up again."
  • 00:18:45.007 --> 00:18:47.242
  • He tells his closest friends, "oh yeah, they're gonna torture
  • 00:18:47.242 --> 00:18:49.011
  • Me to death, but i'll see you later."
  • 00:18:49.011 --> 00:18:52.748
  • There's no panic in him.
  • 00:18:52.748 --> 00:18:54.449
  • You see, we're gonna need to know how to trust almighty god.
  • 00:18:54.449 --> 00:18:59.221
  • It's a very different portrait, but it's the same demonstration
  • 00:18:59.221 --> 00:19:02.691
  • Of the power of god that cared for the hebrew slaves all the
  • 00:19:02.691 --> 00:19:05.227
  • Way through the brutal negev wilderness.
  • 00:19:05.227 --> 00:19:08.263
  • They had food to eat, and water to drink, their clothing didn't
  • 00:19:08.263 --> 00:19:10.499
  • Wear out, there were no sick people amongst 'em.
  • 00:19:10.499 --> 00:19:12.434
  • There was no need to panic.
  • 00:19:12.434 --> 00:19:13.869
  • God said, "i got this."
  • 00:19:13.869 --> 00:19:16.905
  • Well, the portrayal of the redemptive work of jesus is
  • 00:19:16.905 --> 00:19:19.741
  • God's complete and total provision for our lives.
  • 00:19:19.741 --> 00:19:22.444
  • We don't have to lead lives of mental torment.
  • 00:19:22.444 --> 00:19:25.747
  • That is a very, very important promise, and we need to learn
  • 00:19:25.747 --> 00:19:29.952
  • How to live in that.
  • 00:19:29.952 --> 00:19:33.322
  • Now, i wanna begin this session by looking in a little more
  • 00:19:33.322 --> 00:19:37.159
  • Detail at kind of the other side of that coin.
  • 00:19:37.159 --> 00:19:39.661
  • How do we enjoy true peace of mind?
  • 00:19:39.661 --> 00:19:43.198
  • How do we do that?
  • 00:19:43.198 --> 00:19:45.033
  • And i think i need to start with the observation that the goal is
  • 00:19:45.033 --> 00:19:47.869
  • Not a mental vacuum, because there's a whole eastern
  • 00:19:47.869 --> 00:19:53.809
  • Mysticism, the occult has infiltrated christianity very,
  • 00:19:53.809 --> 00:19:58.447
  • Very significantly.
  • 00:19:58.447 --> 00:20:01.583
  • So we borrow things like meditation and yoga and all
  • 00:20:01.583 --> 00:20:04.353
  • Sorts of things in pursuit of inner peace.
  • 00:20:04.353 --> 00:20:09.891
  • But the absence of thought, a mental vacuum, is a very, very
  • 00:20:09.891 --> 00:20:14.663
  • Vulnerable place, a dangerous place.
  • 00:20:14.663 --> 00:20:19.668
  • The bible describes a demon leaving a place and going into
  • 00:20:19.668 --> 00:20:24.406
  • The wilderness and coming back and it says if it finds the
  • 00:20:24.406 --> 00:20:26.708
  • Place it vacated empty and clean, it doesn't say empty and
  • 00:20:26.708 --> 00:20:30.679
  • Unclean, if it's just unoccupied, it'll go find seven
  • 00:20:30.679 --> 00:20:33.615
  • Spirits worse than itself and occupy that space.
  • 00:20:33.615 --> 00:20:40.489
  • You need a biblical perspective.
  • 00:20:40.489 --> 00:20:42.424
  • You need to know the word of god.
  • 00:20:42.424 --> 00:20:44.192
  • One essential part of our protection is to have our minds
  • 00:20:44.192 --> 00:20:46.528
  • Directed towards god.
  • 00:20:46.528 --> 00:20:49.164
  • See, if it's inconvenient to think about god, then we need to
  • 00:20:49.164 --> 00:20:52.501
  • Make changes.
  • 00:20:52.501 --> 00:20:55.170
  • If you're tolerating enough ungodliness in your practice and
  • 00:20:55.170 --> 00:20:57.539
  • Your habits, that it's inconvenient to think in a godly
  • 00:20:57.539 --> 00:21:00.676
  • Way, if it's embarrassing, if it's awkward, if you don't wanna
  • 00:21:00.676 --> 00:21:03.879
  • Have godly conversations, if you don't wanna hang around godly
  • 00:21:03.879 --> 00:21:06.415
  • People, you need to start to clean that up, to bring it to
  • 00:21:06.415 --> 00:21:09.718
  • Light, to address it, because the safest way to truly enjoy
  • 00:21:09.718 --> 00:21:14.256
  • Peace of mind is to begin to cultivate a mind directed
  • 00:21:14.256 --> 00:21:18.193
  • Towards god.
  • 00:21:18.193 --> 00:21:20.796
  • So i would submit that the first step in this is we have to know
  • 00:21:20.796 --> 00:21:23.065
  • How to have peace with god.
  • 00:21:23.065 --> 00:21:24.700
  • Isaiah 57 and verse 18, you should have this.
  • 00:21:24.700 --> 00:21:27.769
  • The prophet said, "i have seen his ways, but i will heal him; i
  • 00:21:27.769 --> 00:21:32.007
  • Will guide him and restore comfort to him."
  • 00:21:32.007 --> 00:21:34.009
  • We used that verse on our prayer cards for many years.
  • 00:21:34.009 --> 00:21:36.378
  • God said, "i've seen your ways, but--"
  • 00:21:36.378 --> 00:21:40.349
  • It's a negative conjunction.
  • 00:21:40.349 --> 00:21:43.118
  • A positive conjunction would be, "he said, 'i've seen your ways,
  • 00:21:43.118 --> 00:21:45.721
  • And i will heal him.'"
  • 00:21:45.721 --> 00:21:48.290
  • That's not what the prophet said.
  • 00:21:48.290 --> 00:21:50.192
  • "god said, 'i have seen your ways, and in spite of your ways,
  • 00:21:50.192 --> 00:21:54.396
  • I will heal you.'"
  • 00:21:54.396 --> 00:21:57.032
  • You see, the goal is not to hustle god.
  • 00:21:57.032 --> 00:22:00.502
  • It's tragic.
  • 00:22:00.502 --> 00:22:02.104
  • We've got this notion that we can hustle--you know, if you go
  • 00:22:02.104 --> 00:22:03.872
  • To church for 60 minutes and hold it together,
  • 00:22:03.872 --> 00:22:05.207
  • You can fool them all.
  • 00:22:05.207 --> 00:22:07.142
  • That's not the goal.
  • 00:22:07.142 --> 00:22:08.677
  • "god said, 'i've seen his ways, but i will heal him; i will
  • 00:22:08.677 --> 00:22:10.846
  • Guide him and restore comfort to him, creating praise on the lips
  • 00:22:10.846 --> 00:22:13.915
  • Of the mourners in israel.
  • 00:22:13.915 --> 00:22:15.484
  • Peace, peace, to those who are far and near,' says the lord.
  • 00:22:15.484 --> 00:22:17.819
  • 'i will heal them.'
  • 00:22:17.819 --> 00:22:19.888
  • But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest,
  • 00:22:19.888 --> 00:22:23.125
  • Whose waves cast up mire and mud.
  • 00:22:23.125 --> 00:22:25.060
  • 'there is no peace,' says my god, 'for the wicked.'"
  • 00:22:25.060 --> 00:22:28.830
  • The promise to the people of god is peace.
  • 00:22:28.830 --> 00:22:33.435
  • You need to hear that.
  • 00:22:33.435 --> 00:22:34.803
  • You need to meditate on that because life is going to come
  • 00:22:34.803 --> 00:22:36.938
  • Filled with challenges.
  • 00:22:36.938 --> 00:22:40.409
  • I interact with people on a regular basis throughout the
  • 00:22:40.409 --> 00:22:42.844
  • Day, powerful people sometimes, influential people sometimes,
  • 00:22:42.844 --> 00:22:47.816
  • Sometimes not, and i can tell you the struggles of life come
  • 00:22:47.816 --> 00:22:50.952
  • To everybody.
  • 00:22:50.952 --> 00:22:52.687
  • And power and wealth will not bring you peace of mind.
  • 00:22:52.687 --> 00:22:57.359
  • In fact, they may make it harder to hold.
  • 00:22:57.359 --> 00:23:00.862
  • But the promise of god is peace.
  • 00:23:00.862 --> 00:23:03.832
  • It's worth understanding.
  • 00:23:03.832 --> 00:23:05.167
  • Romans chapter 5 and verse 1: "therefore, since we've been
  • 00:23:05.167 --> 00:23:07.369
  • Justified through faith, we have peace with god through our lord
  • 00:23:07.369 --> 00:23:12.107
  • Jesus christ."
  • 00:23:12.107 --> 00:23:15.210
  • The foundation of peace that we have with almighty god is
  • 00:23:15.210 --> 00:23:19.080
  • Through jesus.
  • 00:23:19.080 --> 00:23:21.149
  • What did we read in 1 peter?
  • 00:23:21.149 --> 00:23:23.618
  • That god's provision for us is in his promises, and in christ
  • 00:23:23.618 --> 00:23:28.857
  • All those promises are yes to us.
  • 00:23:28.857 --> 00:23:31.526
  • Peace with god, not because of who we are or the church we
  • 00:23:31.526 --> 00:23:35.864
  • Attend or because we've memorized the right verse of
  • 00:23:35.864 --> 00:23:38.600
  • Scripture, but through our faith in jesus christ, the uniqueness
  • 00:23:38.600 --> 00:23:42.504
  • Of jesus.
  • 00:23:42.504 --> 00:23:45.240
  • I grieve--well, honestly, first i get angry.
  • 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:50.679
  • And then after i repent of my anger, i grieve over the casual
  • 00:23:50.679 --> 00:23:56.218
  • Way in which the church will step away from the uniqueness of
  • 00:23:56.218 --> 00:24:00.288
  • Jesus in an attempt to find approval from a broader culture
  • 00:24:00.288 --> 00:24:05.660
  • That is reluctant to say jesus is the only way.
  • 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:10.765
  • Jesus himself said, "no man comes to the father except
  • 00:24:10.765 --> 00:24:12.501
  • Through me."
  • 00:24:12.501 --> 00:24:14.703
  • So when you expand that formula to include whatever else you're
  • 00:24:14.703 --> 00:24:18.840
  • Expanding it to, you're making jesus a liar.
  • 00:24:18.840 --> 00:24:22.878
  • You're putting--it is so disrespectful.
  • 00:24:22.878 --> 00:24:28.416
  • Folks, the pathway to peace is a relationship with jesus.
  • 00:24:28.416 --> 00:24:31.887
  • We have to have the courage to tell our friends and our
  • 00:24:31.887 --> 00:24:34.422
  • Families that.
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  • If they're leading ungodly lives, and you don't have the
  • 00:24:36.992 --> 00:24:39.027
  • Courage to say that was going to steal your peace--it will rob
  • 00:24:39.027 --> 00:24:42.697
  • You of your health, it will diminish your well-being,
  • 00:24:42.697 --> 00:24:45.500
  • It will put your feet on a path that will end in destruction
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  • Every time.
  • 00:24:48.570 --> 00:24:49.938
  • I love you, but please don't do that.
  • 00:24:49.938 --> 00:24:53.341
  • I know it's not an easy conversation to have.
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  • It is an absolutely necessary conversation to have.
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  • They won't wanna hear it.
  • 00:25:01.783 --> 00:25:04.085
  • And you don't have to say it in anger.
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  • You don't have to say it with belligerence.
  • 00:25:06.321 --> 00:25:07.722
  • You can say it with love, but you have to say it, and you have
  • 00:25:07.722 --> 00:25:10.125
  • To have consequences attached to it.
  • 00:25:10.125 --> 00:25:12.727
  • Because if you participate in ungodliness, even if you do it
  • 00:25:12.727 --> 00:25:16.498
  • Passively, the responsibility comes to you, too.
  • 00:25:16.498 --> 00:25:24.706
  • Romans 5:11: "not only is this so, but we also rejoice in god
  • 00:25:24.706 --> 00:25:28.710
  • Through our lord jesus christ, through whom we have now
  • 00:25:28.710 --> 00:25:31.613
  • Received reconciliation," to be reconciled, to recognize our
  • 00:25:31.613 --> 00:25:36.952
  • Need for reconciliation.
  • 00:25:36.952 --> 00:25:38.787
  • We can't reconcile ourselves to the creator of all things,
  • 00:25:38.787 --> 00:25:41.756
  • Not through our kindness, or our goodness, or our generosity, or
  • 00:25:41.756 --> 00:25:43.925
  • Our acts of service.
  • 00:25:43.925 --> 00:25:45.860
  • We needed help.
  • 00:25:45.860 --> 00:25:47.963
  • We were not living in a way to enable us to be at peace
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  • With god.
  • 00:25:50.365 --> 00:25:51.800
  • We were reconciled by jesus' redemptive work and
  • 00:25:51.800 --> 00:25:54.035
  • Nothing else.
  • 00:25:54.035 --> 00:25:55.403
  • No one finds peace with god other than through that pathway.
  • 00:25:55.403 --> 00:25:59.674
  • But through jesus, the--we just read it in romans 5:1.
  • 00:25:59.674 --> 00:26:02.711
  • We've been justified.
  • 00:26:02.711 --> 00:26:05.146
  • It's an interesting word.
  • 00:26:05.146 --> 00:26:06.481
  • It has multiple meanings or layers of meanings.
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  • It's to be acquitted, to no longer be held guilty,
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  • To be rendered righteous.
  • 00:26:11.019 --> 00:26:13.755
  • The most straightforward definition is to be just as if
  • 00:26:13.755 --> 00:26:16.157
  • I'd never sinned.
  • 00:26:16.157 --> 00:26:17.626
  • Imagine.
  • 00:26:17.626 --> 00:26:19.327
  • Imagine the opportunity to stand in front of almighty god as if
  • 00:26:19.327 --> 00:26:25.033
  • You are clean.
  • 00:26:25.033 --> 00:26:29.704
  • Show me that line.
  • 00:26:29.704 --> 00:26:33.041
  • I intend to be in it.
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  • To be justified.
  • 00:26:36.411 --> 00:26:38.613
  • Begin to think in terms of being justified.
  • 00:26:38.613 --> 00:26:40.749
  • We have god on our side.
  • 00:26:40.749 --> 00:26:43.151
  • He wants to be at peace with you.
  • 00:26:43.151 --> 00:26:46.621
  • Allen: i think the first step and maybe the most important in
  • 00:26:46.688 --> 00:26:48.823
  • Receiving god's provision is acknowledging we need help.
  • 00:26:48.823 --> 00:26:52.427
  • No shame in that.
  • 00:26:52.427 --> 00:26:53.762
  • In fact, i think it's a sign of wisdom.
  • 00:26:53.762 --> 00:26:55.430
  • Let's pray.
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  • Father, i thank you for your great love for us and your
  • 00:26:56.831 --> 00:26:59.034
  • Wonderful provision in our lives.
  • 00:26:59.034 --> 00:27:01.503
  • We wanna pause to say we recognize we need your help.
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  • In ourselves, we are inadequate and incomplete.
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  • Give us your wisdom, your strength, your understanding.
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  • Holy spirit, help us, in jesus's name, amen.
  • 00:27:10.979 --> 00:27:14.616
  • ♪♪♪
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