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Allen Jackson Ministries

Allen Jackson - Power For The Impossible (Part 2)

September 24, 2025 | 28:35

Allen Jackson - Power For The Impossible (Part 2)
Pastor Allen Jackson's mission is to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
#Devil #Temptation #Overcoming #Evil #Worship #Trials-HardTimes #HandofGod #Deliverance #Discouragement #Doubt

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Allen Jackson Ministries | Allen Jackson - Power For The Impossible (Part 2) | September 24, 2025
  • ...
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Allen jackson: you know, as a pastor, my job is to
  • 00:00:06.923 --> 00:00:08.425
  • Help people get to know the lord.
  • 00:00:08.558 --> 00:00:09.759
  • That's really the goal of what i engage in most days.
  • 00:00:09.893 --> 00:00:10.860
  • Well, i've got a concept i wanna suggest to you.
  • 00:00:13.863 --> 00:00:16.466
  • Begin to think about jesus as your friend.
  • 00:00:16.466 --> 00:00:18.334
  • I don't mean that in an overly casual way, in a presumptive
  • 00:00:18.334 --> 00:00:21.971
  • Way, but in my life, most of my best memories, most of the
  • 00:00:21.971 --> 00:00:25.475
  • Highlights in my life involve friends,
  • 00:00:25.475 --> 00:00:27.944
  • People i enjoy being with.
  • 00:00:27.944 --> 00:00:29.279
  • They make places and opportunities and seasons and
  • 00:00:29.279 --> 00:00:32.348
  • Holidays a lot more pleasant, something you look forward to.
  • 00:00:32.348 --> 00:00:36.486
  • Well, rather than think about our faith in terms of something
  • 00:00:36.486 --> 00:00:38.755
  • That's austere and judgmental and rules based and critical,
  • 00:00:38.755 --> 00:00:43.093
  • What if we imagined jesus is our friend?
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  • I wanna be his friend.
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  • I wanna do the things that please him.
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  • I want to engage in activities that he cares about.
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  • I wanna stay out of the things that he's warned me against.
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  • I wanna live my life as his friend.
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  • That was his designation, not mine.
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  • Well, i've written a book to help you imagine that.
  • 00:01:00.677 --> 00:01:02.745
  • It'll change your faith.
  • 00:01:02.745 --> 00:01:04.080
  • It'll bring a new joy to your faith.
  • 00:01:04.080 --> 00:01:05.815
  • I think it'll be a blessing.
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  • Cc by aberdeen captioning 1-800-688-6621 www.aberdeen.io
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  • Allen: you see, one of the challenges when problems present
  • 00:01:13.823 --> 00:01:15.992
  • Themselves is there's a great temptation just to yield and go,
  • 00:01:15.992 --> 00:01:19.062
  • "well, it's just more than i can bear.
  • 00:01:19.062 --> 00:01:20.396
  • It's more than i want to deal with."
  • 00:01:20.396 --> 00:01:23.566
  • And we yield to that, because we don't have the strength or we
  • 00:01:23.566 --> 00:01:27.904
  • Don't have the emotional fortitude or--and i'm not
  • 00:01:27.904 --> 00:01:31.307
  • Saying that's not real.
  • 00:01:31.307 --> 00:01:32.642
  • There are times i think our strength is too small to face
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  • The challenges that are before us, but at that point we have to
  • 00:01:34.344 --> 00:01:37.780
  • Understand there is a god in heaven and there are other
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  • Resources available to us, and it isn't completely limited to
  • 00:01:39.782 --> 00:01:42.619
  • My ability and my strength and my resiliency and
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  • My determination.
  • 00:01:45.388 --> 00:01:46.723
  • We're not gonna outthink evil, we're not gonna outwork evil.
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  • The best we're called to do is to resist that roaring lion.
  • 00:01:50.793 --> 00:01:55.598
  • You see, if we will worship the lion of judah, we'll have the
  • 00:01:55.598 --> 00:01:58.268
  • Strength to overcome the roar of satan.
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  • It's an important principle and we're gonna begin there.
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  • We're gonna unpack some other ones, but it's a very important
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  • Beginning point to acknowledge the needs of our lives so we can
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  • Get on with the solutions.
  • 00:02:11.748 --> 00:02:14.484
  • And the second component i would give you from our little
  • 00:02:14.484 --> 00:02:16.452
  • Narrative, our little case study, is that the solution is
  • 00:02:16.452 --> 00:02:19.289
  • Dependent upon god's timing.
  • 00:02:19.289 --> 00:02:20.790
  • Now, that bugs me a lot because god is very seldom
  • 00:02:20.790 --> 00:02:24.327
  • Paying attention to allen's calendar.
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  • You know, when i recognize i have a need, i mean i would
  • 00:02:28.831 --> 00:02:31.734
  • Like a solution now.
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  • And if there's a solution that is in the future, i'd just like
  • 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:38.641
  • To see a picture of it and how far it is in the future, and i'd
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  • Like to understand the nature of the deliverance and what the
  • 00:02:41.644 --> 00:02:43.746
  • After is gonna look like.
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  • I want the full picture now, please.
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  • And i'll throw in some fits.
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  • You've been present in a public place where a little child
  • 00:02:51.087 --> 00:02:53.122
  • Throws a fit?
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  • Hopefully it's not yours.
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  • You know, and usually when that's happening and the parent
  • 00:02:59.629 --> 00:03:01.965
  • Is paying no attention, i try to take the high ground and assume
  • 00:03:01.965 --> 00:03:05.201
  • That there's some parental objective involved in that and
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  • It's not just negligence.
  • 00:03:08.104 --> 00:03:09.939
  • But if it's not your child and that child is persisting,
  • 00:03:09.939 --> 00:03:13.209
  • It's uncomfortable.
  • 00:03:13.209 --> 00:03:14.978
  • Even though they just want their mother's attention and mom's not
  • 00:03:14.978 --> 00:03:17.080
  • Answering, "mom, mother, mom, mom, mom.
  • 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:19.616
  • Hey, mom, mom, mom, look at this.
  • 00:03:19.616 --> 00:03:21.284
  • Hey, mom, mom," after all that you're like, "will you please
  • 00:03:21.284 --> 00:03:23.820
  • Answer your child?"
  • 00:03:23.820 --> 00:03:29.259
  • You know, i'll buy the child whatever it is.
  • 00:03:29.259 --> 00:03:31.160
  • Can you just ask him to be quiet?
  • 00:03:31.160 --> 00:03:32.829
  • We're all losing our minds here.
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  • Well, i've done that with the lord.
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  • I mean, i've just swelled up and go, "you know, if you're not
  • 00:03:41.304 --> 00:03:43.406
  • Gonna answer me, i'm not gonna serve you."
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  • [grumbling]
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  • Years ago now, i was in college.
  • 00:03:49.345 --> 00:03:50.680
  • I was getting ready to graduate and we had a big snow and i
  • 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:54.183
  • Appropriated some trays from the cafeteria to go sledding.
  • 00:03:54.183 --> 00:04:03.393
  • Skipped class, i did--i checked all the boxes, right?
  • 00:04:03.393 --> 00:04:06.996
  • And i crushed half my face, with the help of a friend.
  • 00:04:06.996 --> 00:04:12.802
  • And i went to the doctor and they said, yes, you know, the
  • 00:04:12.802 --> 00:04:14.837
  • Cheek was broken in multiple places and i needed immediate
  • 00:04:14.837 --> 00:04:17.507
  • Surgery and all this stuff.
  • 00:04:17.507 --> 00:04:18.875
  • Well, i just reoriented my life, changed my professional plans,
  • 00:04:18.875 --> 00:04:22.578
  • And i was gonna do my best to honor the lord with it and i
  • 00:04:22.578 --> 00:04:25.915
  • Thought, "no, i think the lord will heal me," so i checked
  • 00:04:25.915 --> 00:04:27.917
  • Myself out of the hospital.
  • 00:04:27.917 --> 00:04:33.356
  • Didn't go back to campus.
  • 00:04:33.356 --> 00:04:34.691
  • It was too--so i got a hotel room and thought i would just,
  • 00:04:34.691 --> 00:04:37.760
  • You know, i spent the weekend and i called home and said, you
  • 00:04:37.760 --> 00:04:39.996
  • Know, "i had a little accident.
  • 00:04:39.996 --> 00:04:43.232
  • My face looks like an ashtray, but--" then i spent the weekend
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  • And by the end of the weekend, with some wise counsel from my
  • 00:04:48.604 --> 00:04:51.341
  • Parents and--it occurred to me that there was a god and it
  • 00:04:51.341 --> 00:04:54.344
  • Really wasn't my privilege of telling him how he would bring
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  • Health to me.
  • 00:04:57.246 --> 00:05:00.083
  • I mean, i believe in healing.
  • 00:05:00.083 --> 00:05:01.884
  • When i was a boy, my mom was given a devastating diagnosis
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  • And god healed her and she lived to be well into her 80s.
  • 00:05:05.421 --> 00:05:09.625
  • He only missed his diagnosis by about 50 years,
  • 00:05:09.625 --> 00:05:11.561
  • But it's not his fault.
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  • God got involved.
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  • And i wanted god involved in my life and i was telling him how i
  • 00:05:14.697 --> 00:05:17.367
  • Wanted to do it.
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  • I didn't want to have to go through the medical procedures.
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  • I wanted god to do it.
  • 00:05:20.203 --> 00:05:22.472
  • And by monday morning i understood how arrogant i was,
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  • That there was a god and it wasn't me, so i called the
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  • Doctor's office and with a great deal more humility said, "if i
  • 00:05:30.313 --> 00:05:32.949
  • Were to come back to the hospital, could you put me back
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  • In the queue?"
  • 00:05:35.084 --> 00:05:38.287
  • And he was a very kind person, and he did.
  • 00:05:38.287 --> 00:05:41.357
  • And i had surgery and there was multiple options, and some of
  • 00:05:41.357 --> 00:05:43.659
  • Them were pretty scary, but they were able to repair my face with
  • 00:05:43.659 --> 00:05:47.263
  • The simplest possible procedure.
  • 00:05:47.263 --> 00:05:50.266
  • I still didn't have any feeling.
  • 00:05:50.266 --> 00:05:53.069
  • And he said, "we don't know."
  • 00:05:53.069 --> 00:05:54.404
  • He said, "it could be months, it may never come back, we just
  • 00:05:54.404 --> 00:05:56.939
  • Don't know."
  • 00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:58.841
  • And the first class i went to the day after that, the
  • 00:05:58.841 --> 00:06:01.144
  • Professor that was in that class said, "i had a similar accident
  • 00:06:01.144 --> 00:06:06.516
  • A few years ago," and he said, "it was more than a year before
  • 00:06:06.516 --> 00:06:09.519
  • I had any feeling in my face."
  • 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:14.657
  • I had a couple of little stitches that had to go out.
  • 00:06:14.657 --> 00:06:16.325
  • By the time i went back to the doctor ten days later, the
  • 00:06:16.325 --> 00:06:18.494
  • Feeling was back in my face.
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  • Yay, god, and i'm happily paid the bill to the doctor in
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  • The hospital.
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  • See, it's not an either/or proposition to me.
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  • I had a timeline and i wanted god to pay attention to
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  • My timeline.
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  • I like the opportunity for the testimony.
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  • And i've had many discussions with god through the years about
  • 00:06:39.081 --> 00:06:42.118
  • His timing.
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  • When i read this story, there's a famine that is so desperate
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  • That people are starving to death.
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  • People have starved to death.
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  • They're eating their children.
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  • People have lost their lives, and god didn't intervene.
  • 00:06:52.728 --> 00:06:56.466
  • He does intervene, but the timing of when he intervenes
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  • Is inscrutable.
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  • It's really beyond my understanding.
  • 00:07:01.704 --> 00:07:03.072
  • It'd be arrogant on my part to offer you a solution to that.
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  • I don't know.
  • 00:07:06.476 --> 00:07:11.848
  • I did bring you a couple of passages of scripture that i
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  • Think speak to it.
  • 00:07:13.950 --> 00:07:15.284
  • Hebrews 6 and verse 12: "we don't want you to become lazy,
  • 00:07:15.284 --> 00:07:17.720
  • But imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what
  • 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:20.823
  • Has been promised."
  • 00:07:20.823 --> 00:07:23.025
  • You know, clearly there are times in scripture where god
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  • Says wait.
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  • I don't like that.
  • 00:07:27.463 --> 00:07:29.398
  • "abraham, i'm gonna make you the father of a multitude.
  • 00:07:29.398 --> 00:07:32.134
  • Now wait a while.
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  • Wait until you're so old it's biologically impossible."
  • 00:07:35.905 --> 00:07:40.710
  • I mean, it's kind of fun to have a miracle when you've passed the
  • 00:07:40.710 --> 00:07:43.446
  • Window of opportunity and god enables you to conceive, but now
  • 00:07:43.446 --> 00:07:47.350
  • You gotta raise a child and you don't have the energy that you
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  • Had decades ago.
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  • I mean, you're the only one using social security checks to
  • 00:07:53.656 --> 00:07:56.225
  • Buy nursery furniture.
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  • You're out of sync with all your friends.
  • 00:08:00.096 --> 00:08:02.098
  • They think you're weird.
  • 00:08:02.098 --> 00:08:04.767
  • I mean, i understand there's a miracle in that, but it's not a
  • 00:08:04.767 --> 00:08:07.370
  • Convenient one.
  • 00:08:07.370 --> 00:08:08.738
  • Zechariah and elizabeth, similar story.
  • 00:08:08.738 --> 00:08:11.474
  • Gabriel, the archangel, shows up to zechariah and says, you know,
  • 00:08:11.474 --> 00:08:14.544
  • "you're gonna have a child.
  • 00:08:14.544 --> 00:08:15.912
  • You prayed for a child, you're gonna have a child," and
  • 00:08:15.912 --> 00:08:17.713
  • Zechariah goes, "wait a minute, i prayed that prayer 35
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  • Years ago.
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  • And i'm old, but my wife, she's very old.
  • 00:08:24.620 --> 00:08:29.659
  • You know, i never--" the gabriel said, "because you questioned
  • 00:08:29.659 --> 00:08:32.395
  • The lord, you're gonna be silent for a while."
  • 00:08:32.395 --> 00:08:34.230
  • I figured out why he made him silent.
  • 00:08:34.230 --> 00:08:36.766
  • He's afraid he'd go home and tell elizabeth she was very old
  • 00:08:36.766 --> 00:08:39.335
  • And he wouldn't live to father the child.
  • 00:08:39.335 --> 00:08:41.237
  • [congregation laughing]
  • 00:08:41.237 --> 00:08:46.108
  • It was for zechariah's survival that he was struck mute.
  • 00:08:46.108 --> 00:08:53.382
  • You know, my most honest answer is that deliverance arrives in
  • 00:08:53.382 --> 00:08:56.419
  • Our lives and we're capable of receiving it.
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  • God cares more about our well-being than he does our
  • 00:08:59.422 --> 00:09:02.158
  • Momentary exemption from discomfort.
  • 00:09:02.158 --> 00:09:07.363
  • You know, there are awkward times for deliverance all
  • 00:09:07.363 --> 00:09:09.699
  • Through the bible.
  • 00:09:09.699 --> 00:09:11.067
  • This one is awkward to me, but it's not by any means unique.
  • 00:09:11.067 --> 00:09:13.669
  • Most of us learn as children in sunday school the stories of
  • 00:09:13.669 --> 00:09:16.205
  • Some of these, like daniel and the lions' den.
  • 00:09:16.205 --> 00:09:19.875
  • Daniel is given a death sentence.
  • 00:09:19.875 --> 00:09:21.744
  • He's condemned to capital punishment, to be thrown to the
  • 00:09:21.744 --> 00:09:24.413
  • Lions because of his prayer habits.
  • 00:09:24.413 --> 00:09:27.683
  • And he won't change his prayer habits, so he finds himself
  • 00:09:27.683 --> 00:09:30.386
  • Condemned to death.
  • 00:09:30.386 --> 00:09:31.754
  • The means of execution happens to be a den filled with lions,
  • 00:09:31.754 --> 00:09:34.657
  • And it goes all the way to daniel being thrown into the
  • 00:09:34.657 --> 00:09:37.093
  • Lion's den.
  • 00:09:37.093 --> 00:09:38.427
  • Now, it just happens he's thrown into the den on a day when the
  • 00:09:38.427 --> 00:09:40.296
  • Lions aren't hungry.
  • 00:09:40.296 --> 00:09:43.399
  • But you know, if i'm daniel, i'm thinking, no, there would have
  • 00:09:43.399 --> 00:09:45.701
  • Been a lot of places for god's sovereign intervention before i
  • 00:09:45.701 --> 00:09:48.838
  • Got to the pit with the lions in it.
  • 00:09:48.838 --> 00:09:52.208
  • How about a change of heart of somebody, my adversaries, i
  • 00:09:52.208 --> 00:09:55.878
  • Mean, somebody, the sultan, somebody?
  • 00:09:55.878 --> 00:10:00.650
  • Or shadrach, meshach, and abednego, those three hebrew
  • 00:10:00.650 --> 00:10:02.985
  • Young men who were thrown into a furnace because they won't bow
  • 00:10:02.985 --> 00:10:06.656
  • Down to a statue of nebuchadnezzar.
  • 00:10:06.656 --> 00:10:08.290
  • They won't commit idolatry.
  • 00:10:08.290 --> 00:10:09.625
  • They won't break the first commandment.
  • 00:10:09.625 --> 00:10:10.993
  • They say, "we won't do that.
  • 00:10:10.993 --> 00:10:12.328
  • We may be slaves and you may have power over us, but we won't
  • 00:10:12.328 --> 00:10:14.697
  • Do that."
  • 00:10:14.697 --> 00:10:17.166
  • And god delivers them.
  • 00:10:17.166 --> 00:10:19.769
  • I mean, they're condemned to death.
  • 00:10:19.769 --> 00:10:21.137
  • They're thrown into the furnace, heated higher than normal, throw
  • 00:10:21.137 --> 00:10:23.339
  • Them into the furnace, and it says that the heat didn't
  • 00:10:23.339 --> 00:10:25.875
  • Bother them.
  • 00:10:25.875 --> 00:10:27.576
  • Well, that's a wonderful story and we teach it to our kids, but
  • 00:10:27.576 --> 00:10:30.780
  • To be completely honest, if i'm living that out, i would much
  • 00:10:30.780 --> 00:10:33.315
  • Rather the king have a change of heart when we're having the
  • 00:10:33.315 --> 00:10:35.418
  • Interview, right?
  • 00:10:35.418 --> 00:10:38.621
  • I don't wanna go all the way to the furnace.
  • 00:10:38.621 --> 00:10:44.093
  • So they're not just bible stories, we're learning
  • 00:10:44.093 --> 00:10:46.228
  • Something of the nature of what it means to be the people
  • 00:10:46.228 --> 00:10:48.798
  • Of god.
  • 00:10:48.798 --> 00:10:51.400
  • And they're not just old testament stories.
  • 00:10:51.400 --> 00:10:53.235
  • They fill the new testament as well.
  • 00:10:53.235 --> 00:10:54.937
  • Paul and silas are in prison at midnight and god shakes the
  • 00:10:54.937 --> 00:10:58.874
  • Jail, the cells swing open, they're gonna be free, they're
  • 00:10:58.874 --> 00:11:02.278
  • Gonna get to leave.
  • 00:11:02.278 --> 00:11:05.014
  • But they're in prison at midnight and their backs have
  • 00:11:05.014 --> 00:11:07.483
  • Been ripped open by the roman scourge.
  • 00:11:07.483 --> 00:11:10.653
  • I'd have been just as happy if we could have gotten out of town
  • 00:11:10.653 --> 00:11:12.855
  • Before all the drama.
  • 00:11:12.855 --> 00:11:16.859
  • Or paul on board a ship that's been driven before a storm for
  • 00:11:16.859 --> 00:11:20.396
  • Days and days, and then the angel appears to him and said
  • 00:11:20.396 --> 00:11:23.766
  • It's gonna be okay.
  • 00:11:23.766 --> 00:11:26.435
  • Well, where you been for the last few days?
  • 00:11:26.435 --> 00:11:30.005
  • I mean, the timing of god.
  • 00:11:30.005 --> 00:11:33.642
  • I put a passage, it's daniel 3, it's those three young men
  • 00:11:33.642 --> 00:11:36.112
  • I mentioned.
  • 00:11:36.112 --> 00:11:37.546
  • They say, "if we're thrown into your furnace, god we serve is
  • 00:11:37.546 --> 00:11:39.849
  • Able to save us from it, but he'll rescue us from
  • 00:11:39.849 --> 00:11:41.951
  • Your hand, o king.
  • 00:11:41.951 --> 00:11:43.285
  • And even if he doesn't," even if he doesn't, "we want you
  • 00:11:43.285 --> 00:11:47.356
  • To know we'll not serve your gods."
  • 00:11:47.356 --> 00:11:50.693
  • If i were looking for a response point through all the narratives
  • 00:11:50.693 --> 00:11:53.529
  • That would be the most helpful, i think it's that decision that
  • 00:11:53.529 --> 00:11:56.031
  • "god, i know you're able to deliver me and i believe you
  • 00:11:56.031 --> 00:11:59.635
  • Will deliver me.
  • 00:11:59.635 --> 00:12:02.705
  • But whether i see the deliverance in the way i want it
  • 00:12:02.705 --> 00:12:04.507
  • Or not, i will not stop worshiping you."
  • 00:12:04.507 --> 00:12:07.309
  • [congregation applause]
  • 00:12:07.309 --> 00:12:12.782
  • I wouldn't abandon you to one of those wishy-washy timid,
  • 00:12:12.782 --> 00:12:15.951
  • Lukewarm prayers, "god, if it's your will."
  • 00:12:15.951 --> 00:12:17.920
  • Find out what god's will is.
  • 00:12:17.920 --> 00:12:19.255
  • It's in the scripture.
  • 00:12:19.255 --> 00:12:21.223
  • But i'm telling you, god, my choice to serve you is not
  • 00:12:21.223 --> 00:12:24.160
  • Because you give me everything i want.
  • 00:12:24.160 --> 00:12:26.996
  • My determination to follow you is not because it's always easy.
  • 00:12:26.996 --> 00:12:30.666
  • I believe you're real.
  • 00:12:30.666 --> 00:12:33.335
  • And i know that i don't always understand.
  • 00:12:33.335 --> 00:12:36.372
  • Folks, there are many things in my life i don't understand and i
  • 00:12:36.372 --> 00:12:38.674
  • Benefit from.
  • 00:12:38.674 --> 00:12:40.009
  • There's a lot of technology in my life i don't even pretend to
  • 00:12:40.009 --> 00:12:42.545
  • Understand, but i'm grateful for it.
  • 00:12:42.545 --> 00:12:44.780
  • Do you ever get mad at your technology?
  • 00:12:44.780 --> 00:12:47.850
  • You're convinced that your phone is somehow faulty.
  • 00:12:47.850 --> 00:12:52.855
  • And then some random 5-year-old picks it up and fixes it.
  • 00:12:52.855 --> 00:12:57.626
  • I want to send them to heaven.
  • 00:12:57.626 --> 00:13:06.669
  • Allen: hey, i've written a new book.
  • 00:13:10.506 --> 00:13:11.874
  • It's called "my friend jesus."
  • 00:13:11.874 --> 00:13:13.709
  • You know, i'm a pastor--a lot of ritual, tradition, a lot of
  • 00:13:13.709 --> 00:13:17.079
  • Formality in the way we know god.
  • 00:13:17.079 --> 00:13:19.315
  • It's not bad.
  • 00:13:19.315 --> 00:13:20.649
  • There's some good things in that, but when i'm in real
  • 00:13:20.649 --> 00:13:22.484
  • Trouble or i have something i wanna celebrate,
  • 00:13:22.484 --> 00:13:24.286
  • I call a friend.
  • 00:13:24.286 --> 00:13:25.855
  • Well, i wanna live my life with jesus of nazareth as my friend.
  • 00:13:25.855 --> 00:13:29.425
  • It changes everything in both celebration and
  • 00:13:29.425 --> 00:13:32.161
  • When there's a problem.
  • 00:13:32.161 --> 00:13:33.529
  • Wrote the book to help.
  • 00:13:33.529 --> 00:13:34.864
  • I think it'll open your life to god in a more personal
  • 00:13:34.864 --> 00:13:37.533
  • Transformational way than ever before.
  • 00:13:37.533 --> 00:13:40.069
  • Enjoy the book.
  • 00:13:40.069 --> 00:13:41.403
  • Female announcer: in his book,
  • 00:13:41.403 --> 00:13:42.738
  • "my friend jesus," pastor allen shares how friendship with jesus
  • 00:13:42.738 --> 00:13:45.274
  • Brings clarity, strength, and peace in every part of life.
  • 00:13:45.274 --> 00:13:49.211
  • This isn't about following a religion or religious rules.
  • 00:13:49.211 --> 00:13:52.514
  • It's about cultivating a cherished relationship that will
  • 00:13:52.514 --> 00:13:55.284
  • Help your faith become more personal,
  • 00:13:55.284 --> 00:13:57.353
  • More joyful, and more powerful each day.
  • 00:13:57.353 --> 00:14:00.389
  • Request "my friend jesus" with your donation of $25 or more
  • 00:14:00.389 --> 00:14:04.059
  • Today at allenjackson.com or by calling...
  • 00:14:04.059 --> 00:14:10.132
  • Allen: there's a third lesson from this little case study, and
  • 00:14:11.667 --> 00:14:14.270
  • That's that there's always voices ready
  • 00:14:14.270 --> 00:14:15.771
  • With discouragement.
  • 00:14:15.771 --> 00:14:17.439
  • There's always gonna be people around who say it can't be done.
  • 00:14:17.439 --> 00:14:19.975
  • "you shouldn't trust god.
  • 00:14:19.975 --> 00:14:21.343
  • You know, i tried trusting god.
  • 00:14:21.343 --> 00:14:22.878
  • I did that church thing.
  • 00:14:22.878 --> 00:14:25.014
  • I did that for a little while and the buildings are filled
  • 00:14:25.014 --> 00:14:27.149
  • With hypocrites."
  • 00:14:27.149 --> 00:14:28.817
  • There's some truth to that, but i'll tell you what, we'll move
  • 00:14:28.817 --> 00:14:30.452
  • Over, we squeeze one more in, come on.
  • 00:14:30.452 --> 00:14:34.723
  • In 2 kings 7 and verse 1, it's-- this is the--these are just the
  • 00:14:34.723 --> 00:14:38.294
  • Verses preceding where we started.
  • 00:14:38.294 --> 00:14:39.795
  • "elisha said, 'hear the word of the lord.
  • 00:14:39.795 --> 00:14:42.364
  • This is what the lord says: about this time tomorrow, a bit
  • 00:14:42.364 --> 00:14:44.900
  • Of flour will sell for a shekel and two of barley for a shekel
  • 00:14:44.900 --> 00:14:49.405
  • At the gate of samaria.'
  • 00:14:49.405 --> 00:14:51.507
  • And the officer on whom the king was leaning," his personal
  • 00:14:51.507 --> 00:14:55.044
  • Guard, "said to the man of god, 'even if the lord should open
  • 00:14:55.044 --> 00:14:59.214
  • The floodgates of heaven, could this happen?'
  • 00:14:59.214 --> 00:15:02.151
  • So elisha answers him, 'you'll see it with your eyes, but you
  • 00:15:02.151 --> 00:15:04.820
  • Won't eat any of it!'"
  • 00:15:04.820 --> 00:15:07.489
  • The most revered messenger of god amongst the people says,
  • 00:15:07.489 --> 00:15:10.326
  • "the famine's over.
  • 00:15:10.326 --> 00:15:11.694
  • Tomorrow we eat."
  • 00:15:11.694 --> 00:15:14.396
  • And the most imposing military character under the service of
  • 00:15:14.396 --> 00:15:17.666
  • The king says, "that's impossible."
  • 00:15:17.666 --> 00:15:20.936
  • And my experience would support that, that there's always people
  • 00:15:20.936 --> 00:15:23.973
  • Around who say it can't be done.
  • 00:15:23.973 --> 00:15:26.475
  • And usually the message will emanate from some place that
  • 00:15:26.475 --> 00:15:29.445
  • Carries some authority in your life, someone who it would be
  • 00:15:29.445 --> 00:15:31.680
  • Easier if they would affirm.
  • 00:15:31.680 --> 00:15:34.850
  • And you and i will have to decide if we're gonna choose
  • 00:15:34.850 --> 00:15:37.086
  • The lord.
  • 00:15:37.086 --> 00:15:39.722
  • Don't let discouraging voices keep you from saying, "god, i'll
  • 00:15:39.722 --> 00:15:42.458
  • Follow you.
  • 00:15:42.458 --> 00:15:43.826
  • Even if i end up in the furnace."
  • 00:15:43.826 --> 00:15:45.461
  • Don't be stubborn and don't be foolish.
  • 00:15:45.461 --> 00:15:47.997
  • You know, we talk about this a lot, and this is a single
  • 00:15:47.997 --> 00:15:50.065
  • Message and we can't do it all, but being weird does not make
  • 00:15:50.065 --> 00:15:53.002
  • You spiritual, right?
  • 00:15:53.002 --> 00:15:55.904
  • We've established that principle.
  • 00:15:55.904 --> 00:15:58.540
  • I need to put that on something.
  • 00:15:58.540 --> 00:16:01.510
  • I meet too many people who think because they're weird they're--
  • 00:16:01.510 --> 00:16:03.545
  • You're not spiritual, you're just weird.
  • 00:16:03.545 --> 00:16:07.383
  • You know, if you live in america and you're out of gas, you don't
  • 00:16:07.383 --> 00:16:11.453
  • Need a miracle, you need cash and a filling station.
  • 00:16:11.453 --> 00:16:15.758
  • Or a charging station.
  • 00:16:15.758 --> 00:16:19.261
  • I mean, but in this particular case, the discouragement, it
  • 00:16:19.261 --> 00:16:22.831
  • Seems to be prolific.
  • 00:16:22.831 --> 00:16:25.868
  • In our culture right now we are so divided, there are so many
  • 00:16:25.868 --> 00:16:28.570
  • Voices for ungodliness.
  • 00:16:28.570 --> 00:16:31.006
  • And you know, discouragement oftentimes comes in a
  • 00:16:31.006 --> 00:16:33.742
  • Permissive note.
  • 00:16:33.742 --> 00:16:35.377
  • It's permission to be ungodly.
  • 00:16:35.377 --> 00:16:38.814
  • Please understand all the discouraging voices that come to
  • 00:16:38.814 --> 00:16:41.316
  • You aren't framed in "god won't do that."
  • 00:16:41.316 --> 00:16:45.020
  • Many times the voices of discouragement come in the sense
  • 00:16:45.020 --> 00:16:48.524
  • Of questioning god: "you don't really believe that, do you?
  • 00:16:48.524 --> 00:16:51.026
  • Why would you adhere to that behavior?
  • 00:16:51.026 --> 00:16:54.063
  • Take off the shackles that you're holding in trying to
  • 00:16:54.063 --> 00:16:56.732
  • Honor god."
  • 00:16:56.732 --> 00:16:58.834
  • You may think it's a voice of release, but it's a very
  • 00:16:58.834 --> 00:17:01.637
  • Discouraging voice trying to discourage you from honoring the
  • 00:17:01.637 --> 00:17:04.440
  • Lord with your life.
  • 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:06.675
  • In a culture as divided as ours, those messages cascade over us
  • 00:17:06.675 --> 00:17:10.112
  • Every day.
  • 00:17:10.112 --> 00:17:15.217
  • There's a fourth component in this little narrative, and
  • 00:17:15.217 --> 00:17:17.653
  • That's that help comes from the most unlikely candidates.
  • 00:17:17.653 --> 00:17:21.523
  • My experience is god often uses underdogs, unlikely
  • 00:17:21.523 --> 00:17:24.326
  • Circumstances, things i didn't expect.
  • 00:17:24.326 --> 00:17:26.795
  • I've learned i can't anticipate how god will bring deliverance,
  • 00:17:26.795 --> 00:17:29.364
  • But i can anticipate he's the deliverer.
  • 00:17:29.364 --> 00:17:32.367
  • I see it over and over and over again.
  • 00:17:32.367 --> 00:17:36.004
  • It's remarkable to me.
  • 00:17:36.004 --> 00:17:38.040
  • Sometimes he does it through the processes of science and medical
  • 00:17:38.040 --> 00:17:40.843
  • Science and all those systems, and he brings outcomes.
  • 00:17:40.843 --> 00:17:43.745
  • I had an interview with somebody recently and they had a
  • 00:17:43.745 --> 00:17:47.282
  • Diagnosis that was very intimidating and god
  • 00:17:47.282 --> 00:17:49.952
  • Supernaturally intervened and the oncologist said,
  • 00:17:49.952 --> 00:17:53.122
  • "spontaneous remission."
  • 00:17:53.122 --> 00:17:55.591
  • Works for me.
  • 00:17:55.591 --> 00:17:57.459
  • And yet they had another family member who had to walk through
  • 00:17:57.459 --> 00:17:59.428
  • The whole process, but god delivered them and brought them
  • 00:17:59.428 --> 00:18:01.864
  • Through as well and, you know, it's not under our control.
  • 00:18:01.864 --> 00:18:04.633
  • What we can decide is we believe god is a deliverer.
  • 00:18:04.633 --> 00:18:08.537
  • But i can tell you that god frequently uses
  • 00:18:08.537 --> 00:18:10.606
  • Unlikely candidates.
  • 00:18:10.606 --> 00:18:11.974
  • In this particular narrative, he uses four gaunt leprous men, and
  • 00:18:11.974 --> 00:18:15.544
  • They decide to lead the march.
  • 00:18:15.544 --> 00:18:17.012
  • They're gonna be the advance unit.
  • 00:18:17.012 --> 00:18:19.148
  • They're the blitzkrieg on the enemy.
  • 00:18:19.148 --> 00:18:23.552
  • It wasn't pretty.
  • 00:18:23.552 --> 00:18:24.887
  • I'm quite confident they're so weak with hunger, the people are
  • 00:18:24.887 --> 00:18:27.523
  • Starving to death.
  • 00:18:27.523 --> 00:18:28.891
  • I'm quite sure that those with uncurable diseases are in a more
  • 00:18:28.891 --> 00:18:31.860
  • Heightened weakened condition, so it isn't hard for me to
  • 00:18:31.860 --> 00:18:34.763
  • Imagine that they're stumbling towards that camp, one painful
  • 00:18:34.763 --> 00:18:39.268
  • Step at a time.
  • 00:18:39.268 --> 00:18:40.602
  • They fall.
  • 00:18:40.602 --> 00:18:42.271
  • You know, some people imagine that following god is pretty and
  • 00:18:42.271 --> 00:18:45.007
  • It's neat and it's pristine.
  • 00:18:45.007 --> 00:18:47.910
  • You know, we have a little prayer gathering and we say a
  • 00:18:47.910 --> 00:18:50.445
  • Few words and all the problems melt away and i'm filled with
  • 00:18:50.445 --> 00:18:53.715
  • Joy and i go skipping down the path to victory.
  • 00:18:53.715 --> 00:18:58.320
  • That is not my experience.
  • 00:18:58.320 --> 00:19:00.989
  • And i don't believe it's an accurate portrayal of
  • 00:19:00.989 --> 00:19:02.991
  • Following god.
  • 00:19:02.991 --> 00:19:04.326
  • It's not a portrayal derived from scripture.
  • 00:19:04.326 --> 00:19:10.065
  • God uses unlikely candidates.
  • 00:19:10.065 --> 00:19:11.633
  • Look at 1 corinthians 1, it's in your notes.
  • 00:19:11.633 --> 00:19:13.602
  • "god chose the foolish things of the world."
  • 00:19:13.602 --> 00:19:17.206
  • You know god chose you?
  • 00:19:17.206 --> 00:19:24.146
  • I'm just saying, it's all in there together.
  • 00:19:24.146 --> 00:19:26.148
  • You need the whole counsel.
  • 00:19:26.148 --> 00:19:28.417
  • "to shame the wise; god chose the weak things of the world to
  • 00:19:28.417 --> 00:19:31.486
  • Shame the strong.
  • 00:19:31.486 --> 00:19:32.854
  • And he chose the lowly things of this world and the despised
  • 00:19:32.854 --> 00:19:35.224
  • Things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things
  • 00:19:35.224 --> 00:19:37.459
  • That are."
  • 00:19:37.459 --> 00:19:39.528
  • God will use the most unusual vessels, the most
  • 00:19:39.528 --> 00:19:42.264
  • Unlikely people.
  • 00:19:42.264 --> 00:19:44.466
  • I've had the lord deliver a message of encouragement to me
  • 00:19:44.466 --> 00:19:47.302
  • In the most unlikely, unusual ways.
  • 00:19:47.302 --> 00:19:52.241
  • The next piece from our little case study is the significance
  • 00:19:52.241 --> 00:19:55.477
  • Of movement.
  • 00:19:55.477 --> 00:19:57.145
  • There's a lot of ways to frame this and more than we have time
  • 00:19:57.145 --> 00:20:00.048
  • For, but the simplest idea i know is that if you're expecting
  • 00:20:00.048 --> 00:20:03.619
  • God to bring freedom and deliverance and you want to do
  • 00:20:03.619 --> 00:20:05.420
  • Things the way you've always done them and get a different
  • 00:20:05.420 --> 00:20:07.222
  • Outcome, you've missed the point.
  • 00:20:07.222 --> 00:20:10.225
  • I believe god invites us to change, to grow, to learn about
  • 00:20:10.225 --> 00:20:14.496
  • Him in new ways.
  • 00:20:14.496 --> 00:20:16.732
  • In this particular story, the progress was very halting.
  • 00:20:16.732 --> 00:20:19.401
  • I'm sure they had to help one another up.
  • 00:20:19.401 --> 00:20:21.003
  • They would fall and climb back to their feet and give one
  • 00:20:21.003 --> 00:20:23.939
  • Another a hand, and there was great fear.
  • 00:20:23.939 --> 00:20:25.574
  • They're not sure what awaits them, but they're going
  • 00:20:25.574 --> 00:20:27.643
  • Forward nonetheless.
  • 00:20:27.643 --> 00:20:29.645
  • They didn't have faith for a complete victory.
  • 00:20:29.645 --> 00:20:31.413
  • That's nowhere described in there.
  • 00:20:31.413 --> 00:20:32.781
  • They didn't say, "if we'll walk towards the camp, god will rout
  • 00:20:32.781 --> 00:20:35.917
  • The enemy and we can feast until we're stuffed or we can
  • 00:20:35.917 --> 00:20:39.388
  • Plunder them," that's not there.
  • 00:20:39.388 --> 00:20:40.922
  • They didn't have faith for that.
  • 00:20:40.922 --> 00:20:42.424
  • They simply said, "if we walk, we might survive.
  • 00:20:42.424 --> 00:20:46.662
  • We might find a way through this," just enough faith to
  • 00:20:46.662 --> 00:20:50.032
  • Stumble forward.
  • 00:20:50.032 --> 00:20:51.366
  • And i believe every one of us today, god has given us enough
  • 00:20:51.366 --> 00:20:53.935
  • Faith to begin.
  • 00:20:53.935 --> 00:20:55.304
  • God will help you finish.
  • 00:20:55.304 --> 00:20:57.172
  • Say, "pastor, i can't see the finish.
  • 00:20:57.172 --> 00:20:58.774
  • I can't imagine an outcome.
  • 00:20:58.774 --> 00:21:00.208
  • I don't know what it would look like."
  • 00:21:00.208 --> 00:21:01.576
  • I understand, but let's go.
  • 00:21:01.576 --> 00:21:04.479
  • Let's go.
  • 00:21:04.479 --> 00:21:06.948
  • Sometimes, movement in your thinking is as important as your
  • 00:21:06.948 --> 00:21:09.918
  • Physical activity.
  • 00:21:09.918 --> 00:21:12.387
  • We get locked into patterns of thought and habits of thought
  • 00:21:12.387 --> 00:21:15.157
  • And routines of thought and ideas that hold us captive and
  • 00:21:15.157 --> 00:21:18.860
  • They become strongholds in our lives and god loves us enough to
  • 00:21:18.860 --> 00:21:22.764
  • Break us out of those and we find ourselves in desperate
  • 00:21:22.764 --> 00:21:25.267
  • Places and we're mad at god and most of the people around us.
  • 00:21:25.267 --> 00:21:29.104
  • Look in 2 corinthians 10: "though we live in the world, we
  • 00:21:29.104 --> 00:21:31.306
  • Don't wage war as the world does."
  • 00:21:31.306 --> 00:21:32.908
  • We don't have missiles and rockets.
  • 00:21:32.908 --> 00:21:35.210
  • "the weapons we fight with aren't the weapons of the world.
  • 00:21:35.210 --> 00:21:37.546
  • On the contrary, they have divine power to
  • 00:21:37.546 --> 00:21:39.548
  • Demolish strongholds."
  • 00:21:39.548 --> 00:21:42.184
  • Strongholds in kind of a spiritual stronghold, a fortress
  • 00:21:42.184 --> 00:21:45.654
  • Of resistance to the purposes of god.
  • 00:21:45.654 --> 00:21:48.590
  • "we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
  • 00:21:48.590 --> 00:21:51.626
  • Against the knowledge of god, and we take captive every
  • 00:21:51.626 --> 00:21:54.963
  • Thought to make it obedient to christ."
  • 00:21:54.963 --> 00:21:59.267
  • Sometimes the movement is in how we think.
  • 00:21:59.267 --> 00:22:02.070
  • I will not forgive.
  • 00:22:02.070 --> 00:22:05.640
  • I will not excuse that behavior.
  • 00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:07.676
  • I am owed something.
  • 00:22:07.676 --> 00:22:10.545
  • I am due something.
  • 00:22:10.545 --> 00:22:14.216
  • We all have our own forms.
  • 00:22:14.216 --> 00:22:16.785
  • But an idea can hold you prisoner.
  • 00:22:16.785 --> 00:22:22.257
  • You know, years ago i used to train young horses.
  • 00:22:22.257 --> 00:22:27.662
  • And they're much stronger than you are.
  • 00:22:27.662 --> 00:22:29.598
  • You're not gonna out-muscle them.
  • 00:22:29.598 --> 00:22:33.201
  • And one of the first lessons in learning discipline was that
  • 00:22:33.201 --> 00:22:36.738
  • They couldn't move every object so you had to tie them to
  • 00:22:36.738 --> 00:22:39.374
  • Something that was--a pole that was--or something that they
  • 00:22:39.374 --> 00:22:43.445
  • Couldn't pull out of the ground.
  • 00:22:43.445 --> 00:22:45.547
  • And they would inevitably pull back until they realized they
  • 00:22:45.547 --> 00:22:48.083
  • Couldn't get away, and they learned to stand still.
  • 00:22:48.083 --> 00:22:53.655
  • And you and i get ideas that chain us to a place.
  • 00:22:53.655 --> 00:22:56.558
  • After they learned that lesson, i could drop the lead line and
  • 00:22:56.558 --> 00:22:59.127
  • They would stand there.
  • 00:22:59.127 --> 00:23:01.730
  • Well, they were quicker than i was and strong enough to pull
  • 00:23:01.730 --> 00:23:03.899
  • Away from any grip i could exert, but they came to the
  • 00:23:03.899 --> 00:23:07.235
  • Conclusion that they couldn't break that force that was
  • 00:23:07.235 --> 00:23:11.406
  • Holding them, and you and i come to those conclusions,
  • 00:23:11.406 --> 00:23:14.576
  • And we fail to invite god into our lives.
  • 00:23:14.576 --> 00:23:16.511
  • You're not a victim of your circumstances unless you
  • 00:23:16.511 --> 00:23:18.480
  • Surrender to them.
  • 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:19.815
  • We can overcome.
  • 00:23:19.815 --> 00:23:25.554
  • I give you one other verse, 1 peter 5: "humble yourselves,
  • 00:23:25.554 --> 00:23:28.056
  • Therefore, under god's mighty hand," we gotta go,
  • 00:23:28.056 --> 00:23:30.792
  • "that he may lift you up in due time.
  • 00:23:30.792 --> 00:23:32.260
  • Cast all your anxiety on him, he cares for you."
  • 00:23:32.260 --> 00:23:35.764
  • One of the places we have to change our thinking is we give
  • 00:23:35.764 --> 00:23:38.366
  • Fear and worry and anxiety such a place it immobilizes us.
  • 00:23:38.366 --> 00:23:44.706
  • And then finally, the last piece of this case study is god's
  • 00:23:44.706 --> 00:23:47.108
  • Inexplicable help.
  • 00:23:47.108 --> 00:23:48.910
  • There's no way to explain what god did.
  • 00:23:48.910 --> 00:23:51.346
  • I mean, the scripture simply says that he caused the enemy to
  • 00:23:51.346 --> 00:23:53.715
  • Hear the sound of an approaching army, and they all ran for
  • 00:23:53.715 --> 00:23:56.852
  • Their lives.
  • 00:23:56.852 --> 00:23:58.286
  • They didn't even finish their meals.
  • 00:23:58.286 --> 00:23:59.754
  • They didn't take any of their weapons.
  • 00:23:59.754 --> 00:24:01.122
  • They didn't take any--they didn't take anything.
  • 00:24:01.122 --> 00:24:02.457
  • They just ran for their lives.
  • 00:24:02.457 --> 00:24:03.825
  • They left their phones.
  • 00:24:03.825 --> 00:24:05.460
  • They ran for their lives.
  • 00:24:05.460 --> 00:24:10.165
  • You know, i don't believe we can--i don't think we have any
  • 00:24:10.165 --> 00:24:12.300
  • Imagination of what faith in god in the heart of a human being
  • 00:24:12.300 --> 00:24:15.303
  • Sounds like to the devil.
  • 00:24:15.303 --> 00:24:17.873
  • I believe it's a far more powerful force than we imagine.
  • 00:24:17.873 --> 00:24:20.775
  • In this particular narrative, four leprous men started forward
  • 00:24:20.775 --> 00:24:24.012
  • And god stepped in and unleashed the host of heaven.
  • 00:24:24.012 --> 00:24:27.682
  • The earth shook with force.
  • 00:24:27.682 --> 00:24:29.084
  • The air was thick with the sounds of the battle.
  • 00:24:29.084 --> 00:24:31.887
  • The four leprous men, they had no idea what was happening.
  • 00:24:31.887 --> 00:24:34.856
  • They were simply trying to take one more step and
  • 00:24:34.856 --> 00:24:38.093
  • God intervened.
  • 00:24:38.093 --> 00:24:40.095
  • God is a deliverer.
  • 00:24:40.095 --> 00:24:42.097
  • If we will choose him, he'll bring deliverance to our lives.
  • 00:24:42.097 --> 00:24:45.901
  • We are not victims of our circumstances or victims of
  • 00:24:45.901 --> 00:24:48.703
  • Our culture.
  • 00:24:48.703 --> 00:24:50.105
  • Let's decide to be the church.
  • 00:24:50.105 --> 00:24:51.706
  • There's a god in heaven.
  • 00:24:51.706 --> 00:24:53.074
  • He deserves our honor and our glory.
  • 00:24:53.074 --> 00:24:54.743
  • He's worthy of our worship.
  • 00:24:54.743 --> 00:24:56.678
  • It's time to change.
  • 00:24:56.678 --> 00:24:59.014
  • I brought you a prayer.
  • 00:24:59.014 --> 00:25:00.882
  • Why don't we stand together?
  • 00:25:00.882 --> 00:25:06.021
  • You know that little quaker prayer we started our day with?
  • 00:25:06.021 --> 00:25:10.058
  • Is if we've had this message together, there may be something
  • 00:25:10.058 --> 00:25:14.296
  • In your life you want to go back and revisit that prayer, things
  • 00:25:14.296 --> 00:25:16.398
  • You need to give to the lord and then you're gonna give thanks
  • 00:25:16.398 --> 00:25:18.400
  • To him.
  • 00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:19.868
  • All right, don't be passive.
  • 00:25:19.868 --> 00:25:22.938
  • Patient doesn't mean we're passive.
  • 00:25:22.938 --> 00:25:25.941
  • There are time god's asked us to be still.
  • 00:25:25.941 --> 00:25:28.743
  • It's not time to move.
  • 00:25:28.743 --> 00:25:30.645
  • Usually when i'm being still, he's completely rerouting how
  • 00:25:30.645 --> 00:25:33.315
  • I've been thinking, changing my attitudes and my patterns of
  • 00:25:33.315 --> 00:25:37.786
  • Thought so that when it's time to move i'm ready with the
  • 00:25:37.786 --> 00:25:40.689
  • Right heart.
  • 00:25:40.689 --> 00:25:43.291
  • You found your prayer?
  • 00:25:43.291 --> 00:25:45.026
  • Let's read it together.
  • 00:25:45.026 --> 00:25:46.861
  • "i am a child of almighty god.
  • 00:25:46.861 --> 00:25:49.564
  • Jesus is lord of my life and the holy spirit is my helper.
  • 00:25:49.564 --> 00:25:54.569
  • God himself has called me for his purposes.
  • 00:25:54.569 --> 00:25:57.839
  • He designed me to make a difference in my generation for
  • 00:25:57.839 --> 00:26:01.409
  • His kingdom.
  • 00:26:01.409 --> 00:26:02.844
  • I choose god's path with my entire being.
  • 00:26:02.844 --> 00:26:06.448
  • May god give me the strength i need to complete
  • 00:26:06.448 --> 00:26:09.451
  • The course he has chosen.
  • 00:26:09.451 --> 00:26:11.586
  • Amen."
  • 00:26:11.586 --> 00:26:13.221
  • God bless you.
  • 00:26:13.221 --> 00:26:18.293
  • Allen: thank you for spending a few minutes with us today.
  • 00:26:22.430 --> 00:26:24.466
  • You know, our goal in doing this is to add momentum to your
  • 00:26:24.466 --> 00:26:27.802
  • Spiritual life to help open the kingdom of god to you in a more
  • 00:26:27.802 --> 00:26:31.406
  • Practical way that you could engage in a relationship with
  • 00:26:31.406 --> 00:26:33.942
  • The lord, not be a more faithful church sitter or a bible reader,
  • 00:26:33.942 --> 00:26:37.712
  • But a person who actually knows a living god.
  • 00:26:37.712 --> 00:26:40.482
  • Well, i've written a new book.
  • 00:26:40.482 --> 00:26:41.816
  • It's called, "my friend jesus."
  • 00:26:41.816 --> 00:26:43.184
  • To be candid, it's the culmination of years of my own
  • 00:26:43.184 --> 00:26:46.821
  • Spiritual journey.
  • 00:26:46.821 --> 00:26:48.156
  • I wanted to peel away all the formality of language and
  • 00:26:48.156 --> 00:26:51.593
  • Routine and ritual, and i really wanted to focus on what it means
  • 00:26:51.593 --> 00:26:55.163
  • To be a friend of the lord.
  • 00:26:55.163 --> 00:26:57.132
  • And that book is intended to give you a pathway to imagine
  • 00:26:57.132 --> 00:27:00.301
  • Your faith in a way that enables it to be more personal,
  • 00:27:00.301 --> 00:27:03.138
  • More transformational.
  • 00:27:03.138 --> 00:27:04.506
  • When i need help, i call my friends, but when i need real
  • 00:27:04.506 --> 00:27:07.308
  • Help, i call my friend jesus.
  • 00:27:07.308 --> 00:27:09.444
  • He changes everything.
  • 00:27:09.444 --> 00:27:10.779
  • He's done it many times in my life.
  • 00:27:10.779 --> 00:27:12.681
  • He'll do it in your life.
  • 00:27:12.681 --> 00:27:14.416
  • Read the book, open your heart, there'll be a whole new power
  • 00:27:14.416 --> 00:27:17.686
  • Available to help shape your future.
  • 00:27:17.686 --> 00:27:19.821
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:27:21.623 --> 00:27:30.001