1. TBN
  2. Programs
  3. Allen Jackson Ministries
  4. Episodes
  5. Allen Jackson - Power, Politics, and the Church (Part 1)
Allen Jackson Ministries

Allen Jackson - Power, Politics, and the Church (Part 1)

September 16, 2025 | 28:35

Allen Jackson - Power, Politics, and the Church (Part 1)
Pastor Allen Jackson's mission is to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
#Politics #Church #BodyofChrist #Satan #Jesus #War #SpiritualWarfare #Culture #Truth

Closed captions

Show Timecode
Allen Jackson Ministries | Allen Jackson - Power, Politics, and the Church (Part 1) | September 16, 2025
  • ...
  • 00:00:00.633 --> 00:00:01.316
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:00:01.784 --> 00:00:02.718
  • Allen jackson: i'm of the opinion that professional
  • 00:00:06.822 --> 00:00:08.791
  • Christians like myself, we tend to make christianity
  • 00:00:08.791 --> 00:00:11.460
  • Too difficult.
  • 00:00:11.460 --> 00:00:12.828
  • We use big words and big concepts, you know, we'll talk
  • 00:00:12.828 --> 00:00:15.397
  • About hermeneutics and homiletics and exegetical
  • 00:00:15.397 --> 00:00:19.068
  • Specificity and reading the koine greek and the masoretic
  • 00:00:19.068 --> 00:00:22.337
  • Hebrew and, you know, i've studied a lot and i understand
  • 00:00:22.337 --> 00:00:25.474
  • The words and i could probably even come up with some
  • 00:00:25.474 --> 00:00:27.042
  • Definitions, but in reality i don't think our faith is
  • 00:00:27.042 --> 00:00:29.878
  • That complicated.
  • 00:00:29.878 --> 00:00:31.313
  • Well, i've written a new book that's, really, at the heart,
  • 00:00:31.313 --> 00:00:33.215
  • It's a concept that changed my life and it's changed my
  • 00:00:33.215 --> 00:00:36.151
  • Relationship with the lord.
  • 00:00:36.151 --> 00:00:37.519
  • It's "my friend jesus."
  • 00:00:37.519 --> 00:00:39.421
  • See, i think you and i know how to be a friend.
  • 00:00:39.421 --> 00:00:41.690
  • We know what we want from a friend, we know what our friends
  • 00:00:41.690 --> 00:00:44.226
  • Imagine is appropriate for us.
  • 00:00:44.226 --> 00:00:46.361
  • Well, i wanna be jesus's friend.
  • 00:00:46.361 --> 00:00:48.764
  • I wanna do things that make him smile.
  • 00:00:48.764 --> 00:00:50.365
  • I don't wanna be involved with things that make him angry.
  • 00:00:50.365 --> 00:00:53.268
  • When he sees me, i want it to be a pleasant interaction.
  • 00:00:53.268 --> 00:00:56.238
  • I wanna be jesus's friend.
  • 00:00:56.238 --> 00:00:57.873
  • It'll change your faith.
  • 00:00:57.873 --> 00:00:59.475
  • I believe this book will help open a whole new door in your
  • 00:00:59.475 --> 00:01:02.611
  • Relationship with the lord.
  • 00:01:02.611 --> 00:01:03.946
  • It'll be a blessing to you.
  • 00:01:03.946 --> 00:01:05.547
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:01:05.547 --> 00:01:11.220
  • Allen: i've begun a new study under the general title of
  • 00:01:11.220 --> 00:01:14.123
  • "lambs & lions."
  • 00:01:14.123 --> 00:01:17.726
  • Or "lions & lambs," it works either way.
  • 00:01:17.726 --> 00:01:21.096
  • This particular session, i want to talk about "power, politics
  • 00:01:21.096 --> 00:01:23.966
  • And the church."
  • 00:01:23.966 --> 00:01:26.001
  • Yes, i believe all those things have to go together, or the
  • 00:01:26.001 --> 00:01:29.872
  • Authority over our lives absence the presence of the spirit of
  • 00:01:29.872 --> 00:01:32.908
  • God will become increasingly authoritarian and deprive us of
  • 00:01:32.908 --> 00:01:36.211
  • Our freedoms.
  • 00:01:36.211 --> 00:01:37.946
  • I'm not advocating for candidates or parties, but i am
  • 00:01:37.946 --> 00:01:41.150
  • Very much advocating for policies and positions that
  • 00:01:41.150 --> 00:01:43.886
  • Reflect the biblical worldview.
  • 00:01:43.886 --> 00:01:45.821
  • And i believe the church has to do that.
  • 00:01:45.821 --> 00:01:49.024
  • I believe the only thing that will restrain evil in the world
  • 00:01:49.024 --> 00:01:51.393
  • Is the spirit of god and, to the degree that governments will
  • 00:01:51.393 --> 00:01:53.829
  • Cooperate with the biblical worldview and the spirit of god,
  • 00:01:53.829 --> 00:01:56.899
  • They can be effective in restraining evil.
  • 00:01:56.899 --> 00:02:00.235
  • If the church stays silent and stays out of the discussion, we
  • 00:02:00.235 --> 00:02:03.238
  • Abandon the places we live to the destructive influences of
  • 00:02:03.238 --> 00:02:07.709
  • Demonic force.
  • 00:02:07.709 --> 00:02:09.545
  • And that is not what we've been called to do.
  • 00:02:09.545 --> 00:02:12.981
  • So again, it isn't about parties or politicians, but i'll start
  • 00:02:12.981 --> 00:02:16.151
  • With a couple of passages.
  • 00:02:16.151 --> 00:02:17.719
  • 1 peter chapter 5 and verse 8.
  • 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:20.422
  • Peter, the fisherman that jesus recruited.
  • 00:02:20.422 --> 00:02:23.392
  • You know, after jesus invited him to follow him and become a
  • 00:02:23.392 --> 00:02:25.761
  • Fisher of men, peter's life was never the same again.
  • 00:02:25.761 --> 00:02:29.331
  • From time to time he went fishing again, but it was never
  • 00:02:29.331 --> 00:02:31.800
  • The center of his life again.
  • 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:34.503
  • He had a completely new orientation.
  • 00:02:34.503 --> 00:02:36.271
  • I believe jesus has intended to bring a new orientation to
  • 00:02:36.271 --> 00:02:38.840
  • Our lives.
  • 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:40.275
  • For most of us, he doesn't change our professional
  • 00:02:40.275 --> 00:02:42.344
  • Trajectory, but he changes the way we imagined we spend our
  • 00:02:42.344 --> 00:02:46.215
  • Days under the sun.
  • 00:02:46.215 --> 00:02:48.584
  • And this is nearing the end of peter's life.
  • 00:02:48.584 --> 00:02:50.219
  • He said, "be self-controlled and alert.
  • 00:02:50.219 --> 00:02:52.454
  • Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion,
  • 00:02:52.454 --> 00:02:56.291
  • Looking for someone to devour.
  • 00:02:56.291 --> 00:02:59.094
  • Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that
  • 00:02:59.094 --> 00:03:02.364
  • Your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same
  • 00:03:02.364 --> 00:03:04.900
  • Kind of sufferings."
  • 00:03:04.900 --> 00:03:06.535
  • Peter makes a statement.
  • 00:03:06.535 --> 00:03:07.903
  • He acknowledges his conviction and the existence of satan.
  • 00:03:07.903 --> 00:03:11.206
  • And he says, "satan prowls about like a roaring lion, searching
  • 00:03:11.206 --> 00:03:16.044
  • For someone to devour."
  • 00:03:16.044 --> 00:03:18.547
  • That's just a statement of fact.
  • 00:03:18.547 --> 00:03:19.915
  • It's like a given in a geometric proof, but then he gives us a
  • 00:03:19.915 --> 00:03:23.652
  • Response to help us survive that.
  • 00:03:23.652 --> 00:03:26.421
  • He said we can resist him, standing firm in the faith,
  • 00:03:26.421 --> 00:03:30.459
  • Understanding that the challenges we face are not
  • 00:03:30.459 --> 00:03:32.461
  • Unique, that they are universal.
  • 00:03:32.461 --> 00:03:35.831
  • So he acknowledges the existence of satan and he draws
  • 00:03:35.831 --> 00:03:39.935
  • A parallel.
  • 00:03:39.935 --> 00:03:41.303
  • He doesn't say he is a roaring lion, he says he's like a
  • 00:03:41.303 --> 00:03:43.672
  • Roaring lion, that's not lost on me.
  • 00:03:43.672 --> 00:03:46.508
  • But hold that thought and then look at revelation chapter 5.
  • 00:03:46.508 --> 00:03:49.845
  • The apostle john has a vision of the throne room of god, and he's
  • 00:03:49.845 --> 00:03:54.516
  • Told that he's gonna be given a presentation of the end of
  • 00:03:54.516 --> 00:03:56.852
  • The age.
  • 00:03:56.852 --> 00:03:58.587
  • And when he sees the throne room of god, he's shown a scroll, the
  • 00:03:58.587 --> 00:04:01.690
  • Equivalent of a book, that has the unfolding story.
  • 00:04:01.690 --> 00:04:06.328
  • But then the message comes that there's no one worthy to open
  • 00:04:06.328 --> 00:04:08.930
  • The scroll or to open the book, and john begins to weep.
  • 00:04:08.930 --> 00:04:11.733
  • He thinks he's not going to get the revelation.
  • 00:04:11.733 --> 00:04:15.437
  • And then there's a voice that says there is someone worthy to
  • 00:04:15.437 --> 00:04:19.107
  • Open that scroll.
  • 00:04:19.107 --> 00:04:20.909
  • And that's where your passage is, revelation 5 and verse 4: "i
  • 00:04:20.909 --> 00:04:24.012
  • Wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the
  • 00:04:24.012 --> 00:04:27.015
  • Scroll or to look inside.
  • 00:04:27.015 --> 00:04:28.984
  • Then one of the elders said to me, 'do not weep!
  • 00:04:28.984 --> 00:04:31.453
  • See, the lion of the tribe of judah, the root of david,
  • 00:04:31.453 --> 00:04:35.290
  • Has triumphed.
  • 00:04:35.290 --> 00:04:36.758
  • And he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.'"
  • 00:04:36.758 --> 00:04:40.429
  • The lion of the tribe of judah, the root of david, if we had the
  • 00:04:40.429 --> 00:04:43.498
  • Extended passage, it would tell you who that is.
  • 00:04:43.498 --> 00:04:45.667
  • Do you know who the lion of the tribe of judah is?
  • 00:04:45.667 --> 00:04:48.603
  • It's jesus.
  • 00:04:48.603 --> 00:04:50.505
  • I think it's noteworthy, at least in passing, that in the
  • 00:04:50.505 --> 00:04:52.908
  • Last book of the new testament, jesus of nazareth, our lord and
  • 00:04:52.908 --> 00:04:57.145
  • Savior, is still identified with the jewish tribe of judah.
  • 00:04:57.145 --> 00:05:03.251
  • In fact, when the new jerusalem arrives on this planet, and we
  • 00:05:03.251 --> 00:05:08.090
  • Go to visit that city, and the scripture says we will, you'll
  • 00:05:08.090 --> 00:05:11.526
  • Pass through one of the gates into the city and inscribed over
  • 00:05:11.526 --> 00:05:13.729
  • The gate will be the name of a hebrew man.
  • 00:05:13.729 --> 00:05:16.832
  • And seated at the throne in the center of the new jerusalem will
  • 00:05:16.832 --> 00:05:19.368
  • Be an observant jewish rabbi, one jesus of nazareth.
  • 00:05:19.368 --> 00:05:23.705
  • It's popular today to say that god is finished with the
  • 00:05:23.705 --> 00:05:28.343
  • Jewish people.
  • 00:05:28.343 --> 00:05:29.711
  • I don't believe that is biblical, and i don't believe
  • 00:05:29.711 --> 00:05:32.147
  • It's helpful.
  • 00:05:32.147 --> 00:05:33.615
  • But in these two passages, we have parallel presentations
  • 00:05:33.615 --> 00:05:36.585
  • Of lions.
  • 00:05:36.585 --> 00:05:38.019
  • Now, peter likens satan to someone who is like a
  • 00:05:38.019 --> 00:05:40.956
  • Roaring lion.
  • 00:05:40.956 --> 00:05:42.290
  • I get the language, but bear with me for a moment.
  • 00:05:42.290 --> 00:05:44.526
  • Two lions, satan prowling about looking for whom he may devour,
  • 00:05:44.526 --> 00:05:48.830
  • And jesus is the lion of the tribe of judah, presented at the
  • 00:05:48.830 --> 00:05:52.734
  • End of the bible coming to, as an instrument of god's judgment,
  • 00:05:52.734 --> 00:05:56.571
  • He came to bethlehem as a vulnerable baby, the lamb of
  • 00:05:56.571 --> 00:05:59.775
  • God, to take away the sin of the world, and he returns to the
  • 00:05:59.775 --> 00:06:02.344
  • Earth as a conquering king, the lion of the tribe of judah.
  • 00:06:02.344 --> 00:06:07.949
  • Now, there's a tension that exists between the portrayal of
  • 00:06:07.949 --> 00:06:10.752
  • These two lions.
  • 00:06:10.752 --> 00:06:12.654
  • Lions are the--they have no natural predators.
  • 00:06:12.654 --> 00:06:16.992
  • They're fearless.
  • 00:06:16.992 --> 00:06:19.728
  • I've been to the serengeti.
  • 00:06:19.728 --> 00:06:21.096
  • I've stood on those plains.
  • 00:06:21.096 --> 00:06:22.431
  • They are unparalleled, unprecedented in the authority
  • 00:06:22.431 --> 00:06:25.867
  • And the strength they bring.
  • 00:06:25.867 --> 00:06:29.504
  • So often i think we want to oversimplify the message of
  • 00:06:29.504 --> 00:06:31.673
  • Scripture and i understand the temptation.
  • 00:06:31.673 --> 00:06:33.508
  • We want to reduce it into a sermon, a little package or a
  • 00:06:33.508 --> 00:06:35.911
  • Little bible study kit or a programmatic something, and
  • 00:06:35.911 --> 00:06:39.881
  • That's not wicked, but sometimes in our desire to make it simple,
  • 00:06:39.881 --> 00:06:42.717
  • We avoid the tension that exists.
  • 00:06:42.717 --> 00:06:44.686
  • We live in the tension between these two lions that exist and
  • 00:06:44.686 --> 00:06:47.722
  • Are patrolling the earth.
  • 00:06:47.722 --> 00:06:50.125
  • So i have a question for you today.
  • 00:06:50.125 --> 00:06:52.694
  • With which lion are you aligned?
  • 00:06:52.694 --> 00:06:56.998
  • Now, i know you're in church or you're watching a
  • 00:06:56.998 --> 00:06:59.634
  • Church service.
  • 00:06:59.634 --> 00:07:00.969
  • I get that, so there's a bit of the answer
  • 00:07:00.969 --> 00:07:02.904
  • Perhaps already beginning to peek out at us, but in reality,
  • 00:07:02.904 --> 00:07:07.342
  • Not when somebody else is watching, with which lion have
  • 00:07:07.342 --> 00:07:09.544
  • You aligned your dreams, your aspirations, your behaviors?
  • 00:07:09.544 --> 00:07:15.050
  • You see, you can't serve both.
  • 00:07:15.050 --> 00:07:17.752
  • Because one's intent is to devour you, and the other's is
  • 00:07:17.752 --> 00:07:22.357
  • To transform you.
  • 00:07:22.357 --> 00:07:24.559
  • So we're either being transformed into the image of
  • 00:07:24.559 --> 00:07:26.862
  • Our lord, or we're being devoured by satan and his host.
  • 00:07:26.862 --> 00:07:32.133
  • There's no third option.
  • 00:07:32.133 --> 00:07:33.902
  • There's no broad middle, there's no gray area.
  • 00:07:33.902 --> 00:07:35.904
  • There's no fence you can straddle
  • 00:07:35.904 --> 00:07:37.239
  • And say, "well, i do a little bit of both."
  • 00:07:37.239 --> 00:07:38.573
  • No, you don't.
  • 00:07:38.573 --> 00:07:40.609
  • With which lion are you aligned?
  • 00:07:40.609 --> 00:07:41.977
  • We're gonna look at that in some--a bit of detail today, at
  • 00:07:41.977 --> 00:07:45.447
  • Least as we walk through this series on "lions & lambs."
  • 00:07:45.447 --> 00:07:48.183
  • I think it's important.
  • 00:07:48.183 --> 00:07:50.418
  • You know, there's abundant evidence that god is working in
  • 00:07:50.418 --> 00:07:53.054
  • The earth.
  • 00:07:53.054 --> 00:07:54.990
  • As ukraine is being bombed and their cities being destroyed,
  • 00:07:54.990 --> 00:07:57.993
  • Their expressions of god's compassion and mercy, people
  • 00:07:57.993 --> 00:08:00.495
  • Showing up, saying, "let me take you to a safe place."
  • 00:08:00.495 --> 00:08:03.465
  • That's amazing to me.
  • 00:08:03.465 --> 00:08:05.400
  • It's really beyond my understanding that people would
  • 00:08:05.400 --> 00:08:07.435
  • Go and do that.
  • 00:08:07.435 --> 00:08:09.538
  • It's beyond--i mean, we have difficulty volunteering for
  • 00:08:09.538 --> 00:08:13.208
  • Afternoon projects.
  • 00:08:13.208 --> 00:08:14.943
  • It's beyond my imagination what it would mean to take a couple
  • 00:08:14.943 --> 00:08:17.546
  • Of bags and load them into a van with strangers and to drive
  • 00:08:17.546 --> 00:08:20.815
  • Towards a new future that i have no imagination of.
  • 00:08:20.815 --> 00:08:24.719
  • I don't live in that world.
  • 00:08:24.719 --> 00:08:26.988
  • But god is moving in the earth.
  • 00:08:26.988 --> 00:08:28.356
  • I wanna be a part of that.
  • 00:08:28.356 --> 00:08:29.691
  • We see him moving in our own nation, closer to home.
  • 00:08:29.691 --> 00:08:33.061
  • I don't believe it's any less dramatic.
  • 00:08:33.061 --> 00:08:34.729
  • Some of it, it's equally uncomfortable.
  • 00:08:34.729 --> 00:08:37.065
  • The war in ukraine, i've mentioned, it was a preventable
  • 00:08:37.065 --> 00:08:39.367
  • War from all the people who are experts that i talked to, and
  • 00:08:39.367 --> 00:08:42.504
  • Yet that war has cost more than a million lives.
  • 00:08:42.504 --> 00:08:46.708
  • Both the civilians and the civilian populations in ukraine
  • 00:08:46.708 --> 00:08:49.611
  • Have been targeted.
  • 00:08:49.611 --> 00:08:50.946
  • They've been consistently attacked.
  • 00:08:50.946 --> 00:08:53.081
  • Our current administration gratefully is searching for
  • 00:08:53.081 --> 00:08:55.317
  • A conclusion.
  • 00:08:55.317 --> 00:08:57.786
  • But the legacy media and the political opponents are
  • 00:08:57.786 --> 00:09:00.055
  • Feverishly seeking to discredit any attempt to bring a
  • 00:09:00.055 --> 00:09:02.824
  • Resolution to that conflict.
  • 00:09:02.824 --> 00:09:04.726
  • That's wrong.
  • 00:09:04.726 --> 00:09:06.628
  • The suffering of those people needs the attention so that it
  • 00:09:06.628 --> 00:09:09.965
  • Can be resolved.
  • 00:09:09.965 --> 00:09:12.400
  • You know, for many years in our nation we've endured an open
  • 00:09:12.400 --> 00:09:14.603
  • Border policy.
  • 00:09:14.603 --> 00:09:15.937
  • We were told it was an expression of compassion largely
  • 00:09:15.937 --> 00:09:18.406
  • By people in pulpits.
  • 00:09:18.406 --> 00:09:21.042
  • Millions, multiplied millions, of people have flooded our
  • 00:09:21.042 --> 00:09:23.878
  • Country illegally while those in authority have repeatedly said
  • 00:09:23.878 --> 00:09:26.748
  • To us our border's secure, don't believe your lying eyes.
  • 00:09:26.748 --> 00:09:33.221
  • Now attempts to remove people who are here illegally, not just
  • 00:09:33.221 --> 00:09:36.625
  • Here illegally, but people who have behaved criminally, not
  • 00:09:36.625 --> 00:09:40.228
  • Just by crossing the border but in their behavior since being
  • 00:09:40.228 --> 00:09:42.964
  • Here, criminal activity, they're seeking to remove them from our
  • 00:09:42.964 --> 00:09:46.368
  • Cities and our communities, and it's being resisted widely,
  • 00:09:46.368 --> 00:09:50.505
  • Which places both our communities and our law
  • 00:09:50.505 --> 00:09:52.674
  • Enforcement personnel at great risk.
  • 00:09:52.674 --> 00:10:00.215
  • Washington, dc, i didn't check this morning, but when i checked
  • 00:10:00.215 --> 00:10:03.351
  • Yesterday, washington, dc, has gone seven days
  • 00:10:03.351 --> 00:10:05.286
  • Without a murder.
  • 00:10:05.286 --> 00:10:07.622
  • [congregation applauding]
  • 00:10:07.622 --> 00:10:12.661
  • Allen: that really doesn't seem like a high bar for the
  • 00:10:12.661 --> 00:10:14.629
  • Nation's capital.
  • 00:10:14.629 --> 00:10:15.964
  • Nevertheless, we are grateful that we could celebrate such a
  • 00:10:15.964 --> 00:10:18.099
  • Victory, but rather than celebrate the restoration of
  • 00:10:18.099 --> 00:10:20.335
  • Order, there are many voices complaining that the president
  • 00:10:20.335 --> 00:10:22.837
  • Is trying to take over.
  • 00:10:22.837 --> 00:10:25.674
  • I've been to dc many times.
  • 00:10:25.674 --> 00:10:27.175
  • It's a city that's been steeped in chaos and violence.
  • 00:10:27.175 --> 00:10:31.346
  • They've acknowledged it, they reclassified crimes to make them
  • 00:10:31.346 --> 00:10:34.382
  • Seem less violent or that they've underreported violent
  • 00:10:34.382 --> 00:10:36.785
  • Crimes to pretend the city was safe.
  • 00:10:36.785 --> 00:10:40.121
  • And when some sense of order and safety returns, rather than say
  • 00:10:40.121 --> 00:10:43.391
  • Thank you, they prefer political rhetoric and personal attacks.
  • 00:10:43.391 --> 00:10:47.462
  • It's unfortunate.
  • 00:10:47.462 --> 00:10:50.365
  • We're facing a challenge these days, those of us in the church.
  • 00:10:50.365 --> 00:10:53.134
  • You know, under the guise of christianity, a false gospel
  • 00:10:53.134 --> 00:10:56.204
  • Has flourished.
  • 00:10:56.204 --> 00:10:57.539
  • It's not new, it happened in the first century.
  • 00:10:57.539 --> 00:10:58.873
  • The new testament is filled with narratives.
  • 00:10:58.873 --> 00:11:00.442
  • We looked at them in some detail in an earlier session, but what
  • 00:11:00.442 --> 00:11:04.112
  • We are witnessing is murky messages of compassion and
  • 00:11:04.112 --> 00:11:07.082
  • Inclusivity emerging from pulpits and christian schools
  • 00:11:07.082 --> 00:11:10.418
  • And universities, theological centers.
  • 00:11:10.418 --> 00:11:13.488
  • We find the same sort of murky messaging coming from corporate
  • 00:11:13.488 --> 00:11:16.124
  • Boardrooms, our own government, professional sports leagues.
  • 00:11:16.124 --> 00:11:20.128
  • It's a cultural tsunami.
  • 00:11:20.128 --> 00:11:23.198
  • But tragically, absent the truth of scripture, many have fallen
  • 00:11:23.198 --> 00:11:28.336
  • Under the spell of this cultural good.
  • 00:11:28.336 --> 00:11:30.872
  • It isn't biblical truth.
  • 00:11:30.872 --> 00:11:34.242
  • We're not free to define moral and immoral.
  • 00:11:34.242 --> 00:11:37.145
  • We're not free to define marriage.
  • 00:11:37.145 --> 00:11:38.580
  • Those things come to us from god.
  • 00:11:38.580 --> 00:11:41.549
  • And we'll either embrace god's perspective or we will face his
  • 00:11:41.549 --> 00:11:44.886
  • Judgment, the moral authority for the best part of the
  • 00:11:44.886 --> 00:11:48.022
  • Human experience.
  • 00:11:48.022 --> 00:11:50.291
  • Things like equality before the law, truthfulness, orderly
  • 00:11:50.291 --> 00:11:53.428
  • Behavior, justice, liberty, these are all derived from god.
  • 00:11:53.428 --> 00:11:58.333
  • They don't come to us from politicians or
  • 00:11:58.333 --> 00:12:01.669
  • Political parties.
  • 00:12:01.669 --> 00:12:03.838
  • They are available to us through a biblical worldview.
  • 00:12:03.838 --> 00:12:06.875
  • An absent god, separate from biblical truth, human beings
  • 00:12:06.875 --> 00:12:11.179
  • Consistently across human history, across great spans of
  • 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:15.817
  • Time, absent god, separate from biblical truth, human beings
  • 00:12:15.817 --> 00:12:19.821
  • Descend into demonic violence, destruction, and chaos.
  • 00:12:19.821 --> 00:12:23.758
  • Over and over again.
  • 00:12:23.758 --> 00:12:27.128
  • It shouldn't be lost on us that when marxism has been
  • 00:12:27.128 --> 00:12:29.931
  • Implemented, one of the first things they've done is to close,
  • 00:12:29.931 --> 00:12:33.835
  • Silence, the voices of christianity.
  • 00:12:33.835 --> 00:12:36.938
  • And they've been responsible for the deaths of tens of millions
  • 00:12:36.938 --> 00:12:40.074
  • Of people in the last century.
  • 00:12:40.074 --> 00:12:42.677
  • Politicians cannot resolve our problems.
  • 00:12:42.677 --> 00:12:45.146
  • They can reflect the will of the people.
  • 00:12:45.146 --> 00:12:48.249
  • And the moral certainty of the american people is necessary for
  • 00:12:48.249 --> 00:12:51.653
  • Us to live in freedom and to have the opportunity for the
  • 00:12:51.653 --> 00:12:54.389
  • Pursuit of righteousness, and from that, happiness.
  • 00:12:54.389 --> 00:12:58.893
  • You see, we the people must have the courage to stand against
  • 00:12:58.893 --> 00:13:02.363
  • Lawlessness, sexual immorality, and perversion, against rampant
  • 00:13:02.363 --> 00:13:07.168
  • Greed and corruption.
  • 00:13:07.168 --> 00:13:09.771
  • We must use our voices to support those who are working
  • 00:13:09.771 --> 00:13:12.774
  • For a biblical view of things like marriage, of the great
  • 00:13:12.774 --> 00:13:16.744
  • Value of the nuclear family, of equality before the law,
  • 00:13:16.744 --> 00:13:20.114
  • Not equity.
  • 00:13:20.114 --> 00:13:22.483
  • To protect our children from mutilation, even if it is
  • 00:13:22.483 --> 00:13:25.720
  • Profitable for some segments of the healthcare community.
  • 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:30.124
  • To ensure that parental authority is not co-opted by
  • 00:13:30.124 --> 00:13:32.961
  • State or school.
  • 00:13:32.961 --> 00:13:35.396
  • To expect that our leaders would protect our citizens before they
  • 00:13:35.396 --> 00:13:38.833
  • Engage global needs.
  • 00:13:38.833 --> 00:13:41.536
  • We are witnessing expressions of these things, reversing decades
  • 00:13:41.536 --> 00:13:45.740
  • Of moral, economic, and civil decay.
  • 00:13:45.740 --> 00:13:49.744
  • However, any movement forward is unsustainable, and this
  • 00:13:49.744 --> 00:13:52.814
  • Is important.
  • 00:13:52.814 --> 00:13:54.315
  • Any movement forward is unsustainable without the
  • 00:13:54.315 --> 00:13:57.252
  • Determined voice of the people of god.
  • 00:13:57.252 --> 00:14:00.822
  • Please don't imagine that any movement forward towards family
  • 00:14:00.822 --> 00:14:05.193
  • Or biblical views of marriage or parental authority in our home
  • 00:14:05.193 --> 00:14:09.197
  • Can be established and protected by politicians or politics or
  • 00:14:09.197 --> 00:14:12.867
  • Political parties.
  • 00:14:12.867 --> 00:14:14.235
  • It will require the moral courage of the people who
  • 00:14:14.235 --> 00:14:16.638
  • Are governed.
  • 00:14:16.638 --> 00:14:18.306
  • And that is us.
  • 00:14:18.306 --> 00:14:20.275
  • Our perspective must transcend politics and emerge with a
  • 00:14:20.275 --> 00:14:24.245
  • Biblical worldview.
  • 00:14:24.245 --> 00:14:26.314
  • The church is essential if we're to remain a free people, a
  • 00:14:26.314 --> 00:14:29.717
  • People of plenty, and for our children and grandchildren to
  • 00:14:29.717 --> 00:14:33.354
  • Enjoy the opportunities of the future.
  • 00:14:33.354 --> 00:14:36.557
  • I tell you that because i believe as much as there is
  • 00:14:36.557 --> 00:14:39.060
  • Change afoot, there has to be fundamental change in those of
  • 00:14:39.060 --> 00:14:42.263
  • Us who gather in churches.
  • 00:14:42.263 --> 00:14:45.066
  • A change of our attitude, a change of our heart.
  • 00:14:45.066 --> 00:14:47.902
  • I'm grateful for those on whose shoulders we stand, but every
  • 00:14:47.902 --> 00:14:52.407
  • Generation must make a decision for themselves.
  • 00:14:52.407 --> 00:14:57.478
  • Allen: hey, i've written a new book.
  • 00:15:01.316 --> 00:15:02.684
  • It's called, "my friend jesus."
  • 00:15:02.684 --> 00:15:04.519
  • You know, i'm a pastor, a lot of ritual, tradition, a lot of
  • 00:15:04.519 --> 00:15:07.889
  • Formality in the way we know god.
  • 00:15:07.889 --> 00:15:10.124
  • It's not bad.
  • 00:15:10.124 --> 00:15:11.459
  • There's some good things in that, but when i'm in real
  • 00:15:11.459 --> 00:15:13.294
  • Trouble or i have something i wanna celebrate, i call
  • 00:15:13.294 --> 00:15:15.596
  • A friend.
  • 00:15:15.596 --> 00:15:16.965
  • Well, i wanna live my life with jesus of nazareth as my friend.
  • 00:15:16.965 --> 00:15:20.234
  • It changes everything in both celebration and when there's
  • 00:15:20.234 --> 00:15:23.304
  • A problem.
  • 00:15:23.304 --> 00:15:24.672
  • Wrote the book to help.
  • 00:15:24.672 --> 00:15:26.007
  • I think it'll open your life to god in a more personal
  • 00:15:26.007 --> 00:15:28.343
  • Transformational way than ever before.
  • 00:15:28.343 --> 00:15:30.845
  • Enjoy the book.
  • 00:15:30.845 --> 00:15:32.213
  • Female announcer: in his book, "my friend jesus," pastor allen
  • 00:15:32.213 --> 00:15:34.716
  • Shares how friendship with jesus brings clarity, strength, and
  • 00:15:34.716 --> 00:15:38.152
  • Peace in every part of life.
  • 00:15:38.152 --> 00:15:40.088
  • This isn't about following a religion or religious rules.
  • 00:15:40.088 --> 00:15:43.391
  • It's about cultivating a cherished relationship that will
  • 00:15:43.391 --> 00:15:46.094
  • Help your faith become more personal, more joyful, and more
  • 00:15:46.094 --> 00:15:49.664
  • Powerful each day.
  • 00:15:49.664 --> 00:15:51.265
  • Request "my friend jesus" with your donation of $25 or more
  • 00:15:51.265 --> 00:15:55.169
  • Today at allenjackson.com, or by calling...
  • 00:15:55.169 --> 00:16:01.709
  • Allen: so i--we're talking today about this choice between
  • 00:16:01.776 --> 00:16:04.545
  • The lions and the lamb.
  • 00:16:04.545 --> 00:16:07.181
  • And we're talking specifically about our view of power, both
  • 00:16:07.181 --> 00:16:11.285
  • Political and from the church, the power of god.
  • 00:16:11.285 --> 00:16:14.655
  • And one of the reasons i believe that we have abandoned the
  • 00:16:14.655 --> 00:16:20.161
  • Public square is we lost the imagination that there was any
  • 00:16:20.161 --> 00:16:23.164
  • Power in our faith.
  • 00:16:23.164 --> 00:16:26.067
  • We accepted the deceptive ideas that we were principally
  • 00:16:26.067 --> 00:16:30.204
  • Study societies.
  • 00:16:30.204 --> 00:16:32.607
  • We even deemed civic organizations more suitable to
  • 00:16:32.607 --> 00:16:36.511
  • Serve amongst us.
  • 00:16:36.511 --> 00:16:38.946
  • We gave up our moral authority when we remained silent in the
  • 00:16:38.946 --> 00:16:42.350
  • Face of lawlessness and ungodliness.
  • 00:16:42.350 --> 00:16:45.520
  • And we're not the first generation to do so.
  • 00:16:45.520 --> 00:16:48.056
  • It's happened repeatedly throughout the history of the
  • 00:16:48.056 --> 00:16:50.091
  • People of god, through the scriptures and through the
  • 00:16:50.091 --> 00:16:52.860
  • History of the church.
  • 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:54.929
  • But we can rectify that.
  • 00:16:54.929 --> 00:16:57.198
  • It will require change.
  • 00:16:57.198 --> 00:16:58.533
  • It will require change from both men and women.
  • 00:16:58.533 --> 00:17:01.736
  • We have been deeply influenced by the ideas of a godless
  • 00:17:01.736 --> 00:17:05.606
  • Secular culture.
  • 00:17:05.606 --> 00:17:07.975
  • We have set aside the values of scripture.
  • 00:17:07.975 --> 00:17:11.446
  • And until we repent and until we change, any steps towards
  • 00:17:11.446 --> 00:17:15.283
  • Freedom are no more lasting than an executive order.
  • 00:17:15.283 --> 00:17:19.387
  • And as we have learned, those can be signed with an autopen by
  • 00:17:19.387 --> 00:17:22.523
  • People who aren't even present.
  • 00:17:22.523 --> 00:17:25.626
  • If we are to persist in freedom, it will be because the people of
  • 00:17:25.626 --> 00:17:29.163
  • Faith return to god with the clarity about the values that we
  • 00:17:29.163 --> 00:17:33.935
  • Believe have shaped our lives and will shape the future of the
  • 00:17:33.935 --> 00:17:37.038
  • Generations who follow.
  • 00:17:37.038 --> 00:17:38.973
  • In luke chapter 4--in luke chapter 4 and verse 14, it says:
  • 00:17:38.973 --> 00:17:45.480
  • "jesus returned to galilee in the power of the spirit, and the
  • 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:49.750
  • News about him spread throughout the whole countryside."
  • 00:17:49.750 --> 00:17:51.752
  • It's the beginning of jesus's public ministry.
  • 00:17:51.752 --> 00:17:54.422
  • Prior to this time, he's been anonymous.
  • 00:17:54.422 --> 00:17:56.991
  • He's lived in a sleepy little village of nazareth, tucked away
  • 00:17:56.991 --> 00:17:59.627
  • In the hills of galilee, maybe a community of 1500 people, not on
  • 00:17:59.627 --> 00:18:03.331
  • A major road, not on a major water source, no reason for
  • 00:18:03.331 --> 00:18:06.334
  • Anybody to visit.
  • 00:18:06.334 --> 00:18:07.802
  • And at the age of 30, he goes for baptism and then after that
  • 00:18:07.802 --> 00:18:10.872
  • Into the wilderness for a time of temptation by satan himself.
  • 00:18:10.872 --> 00:18:14.642
  • Jesus believed in the devil, so should you.
  • 00:18:14.642 --> 00:18:17.812
  • And he returns to galilee.
  • 00:18:17.812 --> 00:18:19.213
  • Luke tells us--luke's a physician, and he writes with
  • 00:18:19.213 --> 00:18:21.215
  • That eye of a diagnostician from time to time.
  • 00:18:21.215 --> 00:18:23.851
  • He said jesus came back differently.
  • 00:18:23.851 --> 00:18:25.419
  • He came back in the power of the spirit.
  • 00:18:25.419 --> 00:18:28.422
  • And very quickly, his reputation spread throughout the region.
  • 00:18:28.422 --> 00:18:33.528
  • I believe god is spreading the reputation of jesus once again
  • 00:18:33.528 --> 00:18:36.430
  • In the earth.
  • 00:18:36.430 --> 00:18:37.965
  • I want to be a part of that.
  • 00:18:37.965 --> 00:18:39.734
  • I'm very content to be a part of that in the community where he's
  • 00:18:39.734 --> 00:18:42.236
  • Planted us, but i believe if we will do that with faithfulness
  • 00:18:42.236 --> 00:18:45.206
  • And intentionality, that there will be such an outcome that it
  • 00:18:45.206 --> 00:18:48.042
  • Will spread beyond us.
  • 00:18:48.042 --> 00:18:50.511
  • There's a parallel passage in the book of zechariah, the word
  • 00:18:50.511 --> 00:18:54.148
  • Of the lord to zerubbabel.
  • 00:18:54.148 --> 00:18:57.018
  • I bet he was 15 before he could spell his name.
  • 00:18:57.018 --> 00:19:02.123
  • Zerubbabel was given the assignment of rebuilding the
  • 00:19:02.123 --> 00:19:04.759
  • Second--rebuilding the temple.
  • 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:06.194
  • It was the second temple.
  • 00:19:06.194 --> 00:19:08.062
  • The first one was built by whom?
  • 00:19:08.062 --> 00:19:10.965
  • Solomon, it's not a trick question.
  • 00:19:10.965 --> 00:19:12.733
  • It's good, you go to the head of the class.
  • 00:19:12.733 --> 00:19:15.269
  • Zerubbabel rebuilds the second temple, but there's great
  • 00:19:15.269 --> 00:19:17.572
  • Opposition and there's persecution, there's problems.
  • 00:19:17.572 --> 00:19:20.708
  • They're still an occupied country, and "this is the word
  • 00:19:20.708 --> 00:19:22.643
  • Of the lord to zerubbabel: 'not by might nor by power, but by my
  • 00:19:22.643 --> 00:19:27.081
  • Spirit,' says the lord almighty."
  • 00:19:27.081 --> 00:19:29.383
  • I think that's the essence of the message for the
  • 00:19:29.383 --> 00:19:31.552
  • Contemporary church.
  • 00:19:31.552 --> 00:19:33.521
  • We've got to return in the power of the spirit.
  • 00:19:33.521 --> 00:19:36.657
  • Not by my--not by power.
  • 00:19:36.657 --> 00:19:38.125
  • We may see expressions of godliness, we may see biblical
  • 00:19:38.125 --> 00:19:40.895
  • Values expressed through political personalities or even
  • 00:19:40.895 --> 00:19:44.765
  • Political parties.
  • 00:19:44.765 --> 00:19:46.133
  • It would be wonderful to have choices between political
  • 00:19:46.133 --> 00:19:48.703
  • Parties who all embraced biblical worldview issues.
  • 00:19:48.703 --> 00:19:51.973
  • I look forward to that day and that opportunity, but we have to
  • 00:19:51.973 --> 00:19:56.777
  • Understand that those opportunities will emerge
  • 00:19:56.777 --> 00:19:58.879
  • Because of the people of god who understand the power of god that
  • 00:19:58.879 --> 00:20:02.516
  • Is expressed in the earth.
  • 00:20:02.516 --> 00:20:04.585
  • The greatest power available to human beings is not economic,
  • 00:20:04.585 --> 00:20:07.722
  • Military, or political.
  • 00:20:07.722 --> 00:20:09.924
  • I'm not denying the reality of those things.
  • 00:20:09.924 --> 00:20:12.560
  • They are very real and they can be very powerful.
  • 00:20:12.560 --> 00:20:15.663
  • We have such a small imagination of god, we have such a limited
  • 00:20:15.663 --> 00:20:19.200
  • Understanding of god, such a limited relationship with god
  • 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:22.236
  • That we've imagined somehow that the creator of heaven and earth
  • 00:20:22.236 --> 00:20:25.339
  • And all that's--that is in them and the sustainer of all life
  • 00:20:25.339 --> 00:20:28.776
  • And the one who holds our future is somehow less significant or
  • 00:20:28.776 --> 00:20:32.546
  • Less powerful than an economic idea.
  • 00:20:32.546 --> 00:20:38.119
  • May god help us.
  • 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:39.920
  • So i'm inviting you--and it'll take more than a session or a
  • 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:42.423
  • Day or a week--i'm inviting
  • 00:20:42.423 --> 00:20:43.791
  • You towards a new imagination, towards a new
  • 00:20:43.791 --> 00:20:45.993
  • Position in your faith, to believe that obedience to god,
  • 00:20:45.993 --> 00:20:49.730
  • That yielding to god, that serving god, can empower you not
  • 00:20:49.730 --> 00:20:53.367
  • Only for the transformation of your heart, but impact our world
  • 00:20:53.367 --> 00:20:56.904
  • In a way that it can change the destiny of nations.
  • 00:20:56.904 --> 00:21:01.008
  • I wonder if the church has the courage to believe that or if
  • 00:21:01.008 --> 00:21:05.079
  • We'll continue to cower in the shadows and say,
  • 00:21:05.079 --> 00:21:07.381
  • "we shouldn't be political."
  • 00:21:07.381 --> 00:21:08.716
  • I'm not interested in being political.
  • 00:21:08.716 --> 00:21:10.851
  • I'm very interested in engaging our current culture with the
  • 00:21:10.851 --> 00:21:13.154
  • Truth of scripture.
  • 00:21:13.154 --> 00:21:16.557
  • In revelation chapter 12 and verse 7, there's a
  • 00:21:16.557 --> 00:21:19.627
  • War described.
  • 00:21:19.627 --> 00:21:21.696
  • A war.
  • 00:21:21.696 --> 00:21:23.531
  • Says: "there was war in heaven, and michael," one of the
  • 00:21:23.531 --> 00:21:28.703
  • Archangels, "and his angels fought against the dragon," that
  • 00:21:28.703 --> 00:21:31.672
  • Would be satan.
  • 00:21:31.672 --> 00:21:33.274
  • "and the dragon and his angels fought back.
  • 00:21:33.274 --> 00:21:35.409
  • But he wasn't strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.
  • 00:21:35.409 --> 00:21:38.946
  • And the great dragon was hurled down--the ancient serpent
  • 00:21:38.946 --> 00:21:41.849
  • Called the devil, or satan, who leads the whole world astray."
  • 00:21:41.849 --> 00:21:45.619
  • What did peter say?
  • 00:21:45.619 --> 00:21:48.656
  • "he ranges throughout the earth like a roaring lion looking for
  • 00:21:48.656 --> 00:21:51.826
  • Someone to devour."
  • 00:21:51.826 --> 00:21:54.028
  • "he was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him."
  • 00:21:54.028 --> 00:21:56.230
  • A third of the angels rebelled with satan.
  • 00:21:56.230 --> 00:21:58.966
  • A third of the angels.
  • 00:21:58.966 --> 00:22:01.268
  • Satan was an archangel, and he and a third of the angels
  • 00:22:01.268 --> 00:22:04.438
  • Forfeited their place in the eternal purposes of god.
  • 00:22:04.438 --> 00:22:09.210
  • And because humanity is at the center of the--of god's intent,
  • 00:22:09.210 --> 00:22:14.215
  • The centerpiece of his creation in this present age, satan has
  • 00:22:14.215 --> 00:22:18.152
  • Found a way to vent his hatred and his rebellion against god by
  • 00:22:18.152 --> 00:22:21.989
  • Trying to destroy that which is at the center of god's purposes.
  • 00:22:21.989 --> 00:22:26.460
  • The question again: with which lion are you aligned?
  • 00:22:26.460 --> 00:22:30.965
  • Not in word; in behavior.
  • 00:22:30.965 --> 00:22:34.769
  • In luke 10, jesus amplifies that passage.
  • 00:22:34.769 --> 00:22:37.805
  • He said, "i saw satan fall like lightning from heaven.
  • 00:22:37.805 --> 00:22:40.341
  • I've given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpion
  • 00:22:40.341 --> 00:22:43.844
  • And to overcome all the power of the enemy."
  • 00:22:43.844 --> 00:22:47.415
  • That's our lord.
  • 00:22:47.415 --> 00:22:48.783
  • He said to us, he's given us what we need to overcome all
  • 00:22:48.783 --> 00:22:51.986
  • Expressions of the power of the enemy.
  • 00:22:51.986 --> 00:22:55.156
  • That's a phenomenal statement.
  • 00:22:55.156 --> 00:22:58.726
  • Now, that may be, you know, that power can be expressed through
  • 00:22:58.726 --> 00:23:01.695
  • All of the things available to us.
  • 00:23:01.695 --> 00:23:03.130
  • We were praying our way through covid.
  • 00:23:03.130 --> 00:23:04.832
  • We said the deliverance would most likely be expressed through
  • 00:23:04.832 --> 00:23:07.501
  • Healthcare communities and scientific communities, but it
  • 00:23:07.501 --> 00:23:09.804
  • Would be god who brought the breakthroughs.
  • 00:23:09.804 --> 00:23:12.606
  • He didn't bring them in the timing i would have preferred,
  • 00:23:12.606 --> 00:23:14.575
  • But he's brought a great deal of truth about that season into the
  • 00:23:14.575 --> 00:23:17.511
  • Public square.
  • 00:23:17.511 --> 00:23:19.547
  • God is moving in the earth.
  • 00:23:19.547 --> 00:23:22.583
  • We've seen the protection for our children.
  • 00:23:22.583 --> 00:23:25.152
  • We've seen abortion restrained.
  • 00:23:25.152 --> 00:23:27.555
  • It hasn't been eliminated because it's more a condition of
  • 00:23:27.555 --> 00:23:29.723
  • The human heart than it is a legal arena.
  • 00:23:29.723 --> 00:23:33.828
  • But we're seeing god move in the most remarkable ways.
  • 00:23:33.828 --> 00:23:36.697
  • Are we willing to move with him?
  • 00:23:36.697 --> 00:23:38.833
  • Let me take a moment.
  • 00:23:38.833 --> 00:23:40.201
  • I just wanna walk you through the presentation of scripture.
  • 00:23:40.201 --> 00:23:42.436
  • We're so far separate from it.
  • 00:23:42.436 --> 00:23:45.105
  • We've been invited to say the sinner's prayer to be born again
  • 00:23:45.105 --> 00:23:47.708
  • And to think about heaven, and i'm grateful for that.
  • 00:23:47.708 --> 00:23:50.144
  • I don't want to diminish that, but i want you to think about
  • 00:23:50.144 --> 00:23:52.146
  • Your journey through time and the power that's available
  • 00:23:52.146 --> 00:23:55.416
  • To you.
  • 00:23:55.416 --> 00:23:57.685
  • Men need to engage the word of god.
  • 00:23:57.685 --> 00:23:59.620
  • We need the strength of men combined with the reality of
  • 00:23:59.620 --> 00:24:02.456
  • Scripture so that we can stand in the place we need to in our
  • 00:24:02.456 --> 00:24:06.126
  • Families and in our culture.
  • 00:24:06.126 --> 00:24:08.662
  • We've sent generation upon generation of young men to the
  • 00:24:08.662 --> 00:24:11.665
  • Battlefields around the world.
  • 00:24:11.665 --> 00:24:13.501
  • How can we do that and not prepare them with the truth of
  • 00:24:13.501 --> 00:24:16.303
  • Almighty god?
  • 00:24:16.303 --> 00:24:18.506
  • What has happened to us?
  • 00:24:18.506 --> 00:24:19.840
  • How did we turn our military into some social experiment?
  • 00:24:19.840 --> 00:24:23.511
  • We said biological sex was confusing.
  • 00:24:23.511 --> 00:24:25.946
  • What a lie.
  • 00:24:25.946 --> 00:24:33.454
  • I have notes. i promise i have notes.
  • 00:24:33.454 --> 00:24:36.624
  • 2 thessalonians 1: "god is just: he will pay back trouble to
  • 00:24:36.624 --> 00:24:41.529
  • Those who trouble you."
  • 00:24:41.529 --> 00:24:43.297
  • This is written to a church, the church in thessaloniki.
  • 00:24:43.297 --> 00:24:47.668
  • The apostle paul is writing, he said, "god is just: he'll pay
  • 00:24:47.668 --> 00:24:50.404
  • Back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to
  • 00:24:50.404 --> 00:24:53.407
  • You who are troubled, and to us as well.
  • 00:24:53.407 --> 00:24:55.075
  • This will happen when the lord jesus is revealed from heaven in
  • 00:24:55.075 --> 00:24:59.179
  • Blazing fire with his powerful angels.
  • 00:24:59.179 --> 00:25:04.051
  • And he'll punish those who don't know god and do not obey the
  • 00:25:04.051 --> 00:25:07.888
  • Gospel of our lord jesus."
  • 00:25:07.888 --> 00:25:10.558
  • "well, wait--i thought jesus was all about love.
  • 00:25:10.558 --> 00:25:14.862
  • I thought jesus was like an eternal group hug."
  • 00:25:14.862 --> 00:25:20.668
  • Well, he certainly brought a message of love, it's changed
  • 00:25:20.668 --> 00:25:23.037
  • Our world and changed our lives, but it's not the total
  • 00:25:23.037 --> 00:25:26.840
  • Presentation of jesus and his character.
  • 00:25:26.840 --> 00:25:29.443
  • The line that fascinates me in that passage is that he's
  • 00:25:29.443 --> 00:25:32.112
  • Returning to the earth in blazing fire "with his
  • 00:25:32.112 --> 00:25:35.849
  • Powerful angels."
  • 00:25:35.849 --> 00:25:37.851
  • That the angels serve under the authority of jesus.
  • 00:25:37.851 --> 00:25:44.091
  • Our lord has an entire contingent, in one scene in the
  • 00:25:44.091 --> 00:25:47.394
  • Book of revelation, 100 million in one scene.
  • 00:25:47.394 --> 00:25:50.965
  • An entire contingent of angels, powerful angels.
  • 00:25:50.965 --> 00:25:57.137
  • So please don't fall into the secular cultural trap that's
  • 00:25:57.137 --> 00:26:01.375
  • Absent any understanding of god or his spirit or his workings in
  • 00:26:01.375 --> 00:26:05.846
  • The earth to imagine that the greatest expressions of power
  • 00:26:05.846 --> 00:26:08.382
  • Are things that we can produce.
  • 00:26:08.382 --> 00:26:10.451
  • Again, i'm not denying their power.
  • 00:26:10.451 --> 00:26:12.019
  • I'm telling you there's a greater power.
  • 00:26:12.019 --> 00:26:16.991
  • Allen: i'm so grateful i've had a few minutes with you today.
  • 00:26:21.195 --> 00:26:23.998
  • These opportunities to open the word of god and open our lives
  • 00:26:23.998 --> 00:26:26.734
  • And invite god into the midst of it, they're transformational.
  • 00:26:26.734 --> 00:26:30.070
  • I've learned to never take them for granted.
  • 00:26:30.070 --> 00:26:31.839
  • I used to imagine that they were unlimited, that we could do
  • 00:26:31.839 --> 00:26:34.241
  • It forever.
  • 00:26:34.241 --> 00:26:35.576
  • Every time i have an opportunity to talk with a friend and make a
  • 00:26:35.576 --> 00:26:38.412
  • Journey through the word of god for a bit, i think it's
  • 00:26:38.412 --> 00:26:41.382
  • Something precious.
  • 00:26:41.382 --> 00:26:42.716
  • It's a gift from god.
  • 00:26:42.716 --> 00:26:44.084
  • I'm grateful we had this time together.
  • 00:26:44.084 --> 00:26:45.419
  • I've got a new book.
  • 00:26:45.419 --> 00:26:46.754
  • It's called, "my friend jesus."
  • 00:26:46.754 --> 00:26:48.455
  • It's the culmination of years of my own spiritual journey, kind
  • 00:26:48.455 --> 00:26:51.425
  • Of peeling away the formality of theology and ritual and routine
  • 00:26:51.425 --> 00:26:55.129
  • And opening the heart of what it means to be a christ follower.
  • 00:26:55.129 --> 00:26:57.965
  • I wanna live as jesus's friend.
  • 00:26:57.965 --> 00:27:00.134
  • When i'm in trouble, i call my friends.
  • 00:27:00.134 --> 00:27:02.269
  • When they're in trouble and i can help, it's the delight of
  • 00:27:02.269 --> 00:27:04.438
  • My life.
  • 00:27:04.438 --> 00:27:05.773
  • I wanna pray with you.
  • 00:27:05.773 --> 00:27:07.141
  • Let's invite my friend jesus into the midst of our world.
  • 00:27:07.141 --> 00:27:09.510
  • He changes everything.
  • 00:27:09.510 --> 00:27:11.311
  • Heavenly father, i thank you that you love us, that you sent
  • 00:27:11.311 --> 00:27:13.547
  • Your son.
  • 00:27:13.547 --> 00:27:14.915
  • We need his help, his strength, his wisdom.
  • 00:27:14.915 --> 00:27:16.917
  • Open our hearts to know him as we've never known him before.
  • 00:27:16.917 --> 00:27:20.020
  • In jesus's name, amen.
  • 00:27:20.020 --> 00:27:21.955
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:27:21.955 --> 00:27:21.955