Allen Jackson - Prayer and Fasting (Part 1)

November 25, 2025 | 28:35

Pastor Allen Jackson's mission is to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

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Allen Jackson Ministries | Allen Jackson - Prayer and Fasting (Part 1) | November 25, 2025
  • ...
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  • Allen jackson: god is moving in the earth.
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  • We established allen jackson ministries to strengthen
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  • The church.
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  • Jesus said he would build his church, and hell wouldn't
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  • Stop it.
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  • We intend to be a part of that in this nation and beyond with
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  • Your help, we have done a lot of things in the media with
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  • Television and radio we have created small group curriculum
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  • We've hosted a culture in christianity conference.
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  • We have crisscrossed this nation, in more than two dozen
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  • Cities doing pastor's conferences with pastors, and
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  • Church leaders, now we have strategic partners in israel,
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  • And the ukraine, asking for that same kind of help and resources,
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  • As we look at the year ahead.
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  • I want to ask you to prayerfully consider making an investment in
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  • This ministry.
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  • As we look towards this new year, we intend to strengthen
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  • The church in this nation, and beyond as never before.
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  • God is moving we want to be a part of that.
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  • I thank you for your partnership, for your
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  • Generosity, and for your faithfulness in standing with
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  • Us, together we'll make a difference for the kingdom
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  • Of god.
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Allen: we began a new study talking about our destiny, a new
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  • Destiny as christ followers.
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  • I think it's unfortunate that our faith is often presented in
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  • Terms of eternity.
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  • Heaven to be gained, hell to be avoided.
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  • I'm okay with that.
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  • I believe in heaven and hell, but i believe that the heart of
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  • Being a christ follower is that god writes for you a whole new
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  • Story, gives you a brand new destiny.
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  • And i believe that that exceeds anything we would do on our own.
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  • I think it exceeds any plan i could conjure up, or any dream
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  • I could hold.
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  • And i think it takes great courage to say to the lord, "not
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  • My will be done, but yours."
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  • It took great anguish in jesus's life for him to be able to make
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  • That statement, and i think it is nonsensical for you and i to
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  • Say it in a cavalier way.
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  • I don't think that begins all at once at the point of conversion.
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  • I think it emerges through the course of our lives, as we
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  • Continue to yield to the lord, and that is an ongoing thing.
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  • But i wanna highlight, i wanna reiterate, i wanna shout from
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  • The rooftops that serving god is the best possible existence you
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  • Can have.
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  • That there's nothing that god needs from me.
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  • God's not dependent upon my intellect.
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  • Aren't you relieved?
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  • You know, my iq is not the difference maker in the great
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  • Battle in the heavenlies.
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  • He doesn't need my strength or my resources.
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  • That i'm the beneficiary in this relationship with almighty god.
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  • There's a god in heaven, a creator of heaven and earth, and
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  • The presentation of this book, the most remarkable
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  • Presentation, the inexplicable, there's really no, there's no
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  • Reason offered for it is that god loved humanity.
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  • He created us as the pinnacle, the epitome of his creation, and
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  • Then he said he wanted to have a relationship with us.
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  • It's amazing to me, and if you're willing to enter into
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  • A relationship with god, it brings a whole new destiny to
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  • Your life.
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  • It separates you from the people that are not pursuing
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  • That agenda.
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  • It it's the most remarkable existence you can have.
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  • It's a new purpose.
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  • It's a meaning in the midst of the routine and the
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  • Responsibilities of our lives because all of us have routines
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  • And responsibilities that can feel mundane and monotonous
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  • And exhausting.
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  • But in the midst of that as a christ follower, there's
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  • A purpose for your existence.
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  • And the part that's been remarkable to me is, as i have
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  • Continued to have birthdays.
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  • Is that passion for the lord doesn't grow stale.
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  • It doesn't become something that's outdated.
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  • It doesn't fade.
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  • I've had interest in hobbies and pursuits, and was it wicked or
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  • Wrong, but they tend to pass with the varying seasons of your
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  • Life, and the opportunity to be in a relationship with almighty
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  • God gains momentum.
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  • It's remarkable to me.
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  • So i wanna talk about that destiny with you.
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  • We started in the previous session with seeking the lord,
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  • And it's really the foundation of this whole thing.
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  • How how do you live that out?
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  • Well, you have to determine to seek the lord to turn your face
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  • To god, not just to be saved or born again.
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  • I believe in that, but seeking the lord is an orientation of
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  • Your life towards the lord.
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  • That i'm gonna be face forward towards the things of god.
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  • If you're not, you have turned your back on the lord.
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  • It's a biblical concept.
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  • I'm not calling into question your salvation.
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  • I'm telling you, you're either seeking the lord or you're
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  • Turning your back on the things of the lord.
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  • The bible says that your iniquity becomes a barrier
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  • Between us and god.
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  • So the grand invitation is seek the lord, and find a new destiny
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  • For your life.
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  • That's not linked to economic cycles or global trends
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  • Or fashion.
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  • That it transcends all of the things that can limit our lives.
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  • Seek the lord.
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  • Well, in this session, i want to give you some tools to do that,
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  • Some practical application.
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  • What's it mean to seek the lord?
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  • You know, christians are wonderful.
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  • I get to talk to lots of pastors, and interview
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  • Church leaders.
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  • We have a whole vocabulary of nonsense words.
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  • They mean nothing.
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  • Come on, you know, we can talk in religious gobbledygook
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  • Language, and i'm like, huh?
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  • I mean, i grew up in a barn.
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  • You either fed the horse or you didn't.
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  • I wasn't led by the spirit to ascertain the needs of
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  • The equine.
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  • Occupants of the habitation where they're dwelling.
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  • Say what?
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  • And in seeking the lord, we, we need some tangible.
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  • How do we lean into that?
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  • If i ask you for the last couple of weeks, what does it mean?
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  • Have you been seeking the lord?
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  • See, we've distilled the devil.
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  • I went to church.
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  • Folks, attending church in relation to seeking the lord is
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  • Like going and watching a sporting event, and say you had
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  • A workout.
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  • Well man, i knew you had to walk from the parking lot and you sat
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  • And stood enough, that maybe you could consider that with squats,
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  • But it's not really a workout.
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  • It wasn't momentum towards your, your fitness.
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  • And attending church is a part of what it means to seek
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  • The lord.
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  • But to imagine you have discharged that fully.
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  • It's really a pretty minimally informed perspective.
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  • So i want to spend our time in this session talking about
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  • Prayer and fasting.
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  • As a routine practice in your life.
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  • We're more familiar with prayer.
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  • It's another one of those words that has very little meaning
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  • Because we use prayer as a transitionary thing, you know,
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  • We pray at the beginning of an event we pray when we transition
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  • From one part of a worship service to another, so whether
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  • It's stated or it's just implied, prayer becomes almost
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  • An expression of religious behavior, but we have very
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  • Little meaning attached to it.
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  • That's very unfortunate.
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  • Because at the most critical junctures of jesus's life, his
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  • Response was to pray.
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  • And i believe we have misunderstood prayer, and we've
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  • Been working on that as a congregation for quite some
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  • Time, but i wanna add to prayer fasting.
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  • Abstaining from food for spiritual purposes.
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  • We're gonna unpack that a little bit.
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  • I'm gonna start with the principle of sacrifice.
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  • In 2 samuel 24, it's an event in the life of david.
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  • David has made a mistake, committed a sin.
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  • And judgment has come on the nation where he lives.
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  • Do you think, do you have the imagination that things that
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  • Happen in the cultures in which we live have a relationship to
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  • Our spiritual choices?
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  • You know, christians are so confused on that point that if
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  • You talk about current events, they say you're being political.
  • 00:07:53.555 --> 00:07:57.192
  • You know, which is a great deviation from the scripture.
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  • Our spiritual choices have an impact on the world in which
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  • We live.
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  • For both the godly and the ungodly, you're the salt of the
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  • Earth, you're the light of the world.
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  • If the light is hidden under a basket, everybody stumbles in
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  • The dark.
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  • It's not just a personal choice to have a private faith, if you
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  • Cover the light, you promote the darkness in the arena of
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  • Influence that you're entrusted with.
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  • So david has made a mistake.
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  • He's committed a sin, and judgment has come on the nation
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  • That he's leading.
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  • And he needs to offer a sacrifice so he identifies the
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  • Typically they offered sacrifices on the highest points
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  • Available to them, the tops of the hills, and he goes to the
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  • The pinnacle of the city of jerusalem.
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  • There's a hill there.
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  • And he wants to purchase the property to offer a sacrifice.
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  • It's a threshing floor for a man named araunah.
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  • It's in your notes.
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  • Araunah said to david, "let my lord the king take whatever
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  • Pleases him."
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  • David's reputation precedes him.
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  • If you make him mad, he'll cut your head off.
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  • I mean you've read your bible, right?
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  • How many of you don't take bad news to david?
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  • Not me.
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  • I'm thinking, oh, it's all good.
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  • And david approaches this guy and he said, i need
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  • Your property.
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  • And the man says, by all means.
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  • You know, david wasn't standing apart.
  • 00:09:15.971 --> 00:09:18.306
  • The authority of an ancient near eastern monarch was absolute.
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  • There was no court of appeals.
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  • There was no due process.
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  • So david wasn't unique in that.
  • 00:09:25.246 --> 00:09:28.383
  • But david's response was in verse 24, david replied to
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  • Araunah, "i insist on paying you for it.
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  • I'll not sacrifice to the lord, my god, burnt offerings that
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  • Cost me nothing."
  • 00:09:37.292 --> 00:09:39.060
  • So he bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid 50 shekels
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  • Of silver for them.
  • 00:09:42.864 --> 00:09:44.199
  • He bought the threshing floor of araunah.
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  • It becomes the site where the temple would be built by david's
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  • Son solomon.
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  • At least by tradition it's the same location where abraham took
  • 00:09:50.438 --> 00:09:53.174
  • His son isaac to offer him as a sacrifice.
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  • It's the same ridge that would become golgotha.
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  • Where god would offer his son as a sacrifice.
  • 00:10:02.550 --> 00:10:05.620
  • But david introduces us to a biblical principle.
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  • It's the principle of sacrifice.
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  • Methods change consistently through time, how we
  • 00:10:10.458 --> 00:10:13.695
  • Communicate changes.
  • 00:10:13.695 --> 00:10:15.063
  • I remember when we communicated on these black things that had
  • 00:10:15.063 --> 00:10:17.332
  • Dials on them.
  • 00:10:17.332 --> 00:10:19.467
  • They were hardwired to the wall.
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  • And you paid a fee for long distance service.
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  • Anybody old enough to remember that?
  • 00:10:25.907 --> 00:10:27.375
  • There were dinosaurs roaming the face of the earth.
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  • We communicate differently now.
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  • We have these little mini computers in our hands that.
  • 00:10:31.680 --> 00:10:35.784
  • You can shop with and buy airline tickets with, and, oh,
  • 00:10:35.784 --> 00:10:38.586
  • By the way, make a phone call.
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  • It's remarkable.
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  • Methods change constantly.
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  • Principles never do.
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  • David understood the principle of sacrifice.
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  • I will not offer to the lord something that isn't a value
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  • To me.
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  • I'm not gonna try to hustle god.
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  • I'm not gonna try to con god.
  • 00:10:55.470 --> 00:10:58.406
  • Well, it seems to me contemporary christendom is
  • 00:10:58.406 --> 00:11:01.509
  • Working a pretty big con.
  • 00:11:01.509 --> 00:11:05.580
  • We want god's best, and we want to give him our margins.
  • 00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:10.018
  • The time that doesn't matter, the resources that don't matter,
  • 00:11:10.018 --> 00:11:12.754
  • The attention that we don't need elsewhere.
  • 00:11:12.754 --> 00:11:15.824
  • I know there's exceptions to that, but the general coaching,
  • 00:11:15.824 --> 00:11:19.394
  • The trend is, you don't want to be fanatical, you don't want to
  • 00:11:19.394 --> 00:11:22.430
  • Be a zealot.
  • 00:11:22.430 --> 00:11:24.899
  • I mean you need a little bit of faith.
  • 00:11:24.899 --> 00:11:26.534
  • It kind of tempers your life it's kind of
  • 00:11:26.534 --> 00:11:28.636
  • A character adjustment.
  • 00:11:28.636 --> 00:11:30.004
  • You want your kids to have some engagement, but we spend a lot
  • 00:11:30.004 --> 00:11:33.675
  • More time on the ball fields.
  • 00:11:33.675 --> 00:11:35.977
  • The coaches in our kids' lives tend to have a lot more
  • 00:11:35.977 --> 00:11:38.713
  • Influence, a lot more authority in our homes, and the youth
  • 00:11:38.713 --> 00:11:41.883
  • Leaders in our churches.
  • 00:11:41.883 --> 00:11:47.155
  • Allen: god is moving in the earth.
  • 00:11:50.959 --> 00:11:52.694
  • A few years ago we understood god inviting us beyond just the
  • 00:11:52.694 --> 00:11:55.396
  • Local congregation that i serve.
  • 00:11:55.396 --> 00:11:57.332
  • We began allen jackson ministry so we could serve the church
  • 00:11:57.332 --> 00:12:00.535
  • Across our nation and beyond.
  • 00:12:00.535 --> 00:12:02.737
  • With pastor's conferences with print material with small group
  • 00:12:02.737 --> 00:12:05.573
  • Curriculum, god has opened remarkable doors in radio
  • 00:12:05.573 --> 00:12:08.510
  • And television.
  • 00:12:08.510 --> 00:12:09.844
  • Your partnership, your generosity, your faithfulness
  • 00:12:09.844 --> 00:12:12.213
  • Has made that possible.
  • 00:12:12.213 --> 00:12:13.715
  • Now we have strategic partners asking for help in israel and
  • 00:12:13.715 --> 00:12:16.284
  • The ukraine, those war torn countries, together we're
  • 00:12:16.284 --> 00:12:19.187
  • Strengthening the church in this nation and beyond.
  • 00:12:19.187 --> 00:12:21.823
  • Thank you for your generosity.
  • 00:12:21.823 --> 00:12:23.658
  • Female announcer: in a culture filled with deception, our
  • 00:12:23.658 --> 00:12:26.127
  • Strongest defense is god's word.
  • 00:12:26.127 --> 00:12:28.263
  • "our lead with faith" journaling bible gives you space to capture
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  • Those lessons and carry them forward.
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  • It's an esv bible that's custom embossed and designed to help
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  • You engage with scripture.
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  • Or by calling...
  • 00:12:45.847 --> 00:12:49.584
  • Allen: well, i'm gonna suggest to you that fasting,
  • 00:12:51.419 --> 00:12:53.154
  • This biblical idea of abstaining from food in pursuit of god
  • 00:12:53.154 --> 00:12:58.193
  • To seek the lord is an expression of sacrifice.
  • 00:12:58.193 --> 00:13:02.664
  • I know we may not know a great deal about it.
  • 00:13:02.664 --> 00:13:05.133
  • We're gonna start our study by looking at daniel.
  • 00:13:05.133 --> 00:13:08.236
  • A young man born in israel, who spends his life, his adult life
  • 00:13:08.236 --> 00:13:14.008
  • As a slave in babylon because the babylonians
  • 00:13:14.008 --> 00:13:16.678
  • Conquered jerusalem.
  • 00:13:16.678 --> 00:13:18.046
  • They conquered the nation of judah.
  • 00:13:18.046 --> 00:13:20.114
  • It was about 587 bc when that happened.
  • 00:13:20.114 --> 00:13:23.418
  • And they took some of the brightest, and most promising
  • 00:13:23.418 --> 00:13:25.453
  • Young people back to babylon as slaves to serve in the
  • 00:13:25.453 --> 00:13:28.523
  • Royal court.
  • 00:13:28.523 --> 00:13:30.725
  • And daniel and some of his friends were selected for that
  • 00:13:30.725 --> 00:13:35.330
  • Privileged role we're told.
  • 00:13:35.330 --> 00:13:38.099
  • You should know that daniel as a courtier in the babylonian
  • 00:13:38.099 --> 00:13:42.136
  • Court, a general condition for young men to serve in such
  • 00:13:42.136 --> 00:13:45.139
  • Capacity was that they must be a eunuch.
  • 00:13:45.139 --> 00:13:50.812
  • That's probably not mentioned on the recruiting poster.
  • 00:13:50.812 --> 00:13:54.782
  • I think we should note, at least in passing, that gender
  • 00:13:54.782 --> 00:13:57.552
  • Alteration, sexual mutilation is not new.
  • 00:13:57.552 --> 00:14:01.422
  • Throughout history, it has been understood as a punishment,
  • 00:14:01.422 --> 00:14:05.693
  • As a form of mutilation.
  • 00:14:05.693 --> 00:14:08.396
  • Sometimes with very specific purposes.
  • 00:14:08.396 --> 00:14:11.532
  • My father was a veterinarian.
  • 00:14:11.532 --> 00:14:12.901
  • I can tell you this animals are neutered for two general
  • 00:14:12.901 --> 00:14:15.503
  • Reasons, to prohibit reproduction or to
  • 00:14:15.503 --> 00:14:19.340
  • Reduce aggression.
  • 00:14:19.340 --> 00:14:21.776
  • Same is true in humans.
  • 00:14:21.776 --> 00:14:24.112
  • Men and women are created with unique abilities, and designed
  • 00:14:24.112 --> 00:14:26.581
  • For unique contributions.
  • 00:14:26.581 --> 00:14:29.250
  • It's no secret to us that for quite some season now our
  • 00:14:29.250 --> 00:14:32.020
  • Children are being subjected to propaganda, which leads them to
  • 00:14:32.020 --> 00:14:35.056
  • Confusion and frustration, and there are some powerful public
  • 00:14:35.056 --> 00:14:38.293
  • Educators that have the arrogance to declare that
  • 00:14:38.293 --> 00:14:40.461
  • Parents need not be notified as their children are making
  • 00:14:40.461 --> 00:14:43.631
  • These decisions.
  • 00:14:43.631 --> 00:14:46.301
  • I think it fits right into the narrative of daniel and
  • 00:14:46.301 --> 00:14:48.736
  • His life.
  • 00:14:48.736 --> 00:14:50.104
  • Daniel's going to overcome that.
  • 00:14:50.104 --> 00:14:53.141
  • But at least i want to take a moment.
  • 00:14:53.141 --> 00:14:55.076
  • There are some expressions of demonic influence that are so
  • 00:14:55.076 --> 00:14:58.579
  • Prevalent in our culture.
  • 00:14:58.579 --> 00:15:00.315
  • They become so integrated into mainstream thought and
  • 00:15:00.315 --> 00:15:03.251
  • Discussion and life, that i don't believe they will be
  • 00:15:03.251 --> 00:15:06.354
  • Uprooted and turned back, unless the church finds our voice from
  • 00:15:06.354 --> 00:15:10.091
  • Biblical authority to stand against them.
  • 00:15:10.091 --> 00:15:15.930
  • I'm gonna tag a couple just very quickly because i truly want to
  • 00:15:15.930 --> 00:15:18.833
  • Get to the focus of this, but i give you three trends
  • 00:15:18.833 --> 00:15:21.302
  • Really quickly.
  • 00:15:21.302 --> 00:15:22.637
  • One is the mutilation and murder of our children.
  • 00:15:22.637 --> 00:15:25.273
  • Well, there it's the whole transgender confusion discussion
  • 00:15:25.273 --> 00:15:29.811
  • Or it's abortion.
  • 00:15:29.811 --> 00:15:32.113
  • We've lost more than 60 million children.
  • 00:15:32.113 --> 00:15:35.783
  • Or it's child trafficking.
  • 00:15:35.783 --> 00:15:38.186
  • It's patently absurd to me that we have the audacity to say
  • 00:15:38.186 --> 00:15:42.423
  • That, an open border and welcoming people to enter our
  • 00:15:42.423 --> 00:15:48.096
  • Country illegally is an expression of compassion.
  • 00:15:48.096 --> 00:15:52.867
  • When we know as a matter of fact that that's happening, tens of
  • 00:15:52.867 --> 00:15:57.171
  • Thousands of innocent children are being trafficked.
  • 00:15:57.171 --> 00:16:01.175
  • What has happened to us, church?
  • 00:16:04.846 --> 00:16:09.250
  • At the moment there's a bit of, the political wind that has
  • 00:16:09.250 --> 00:16:12.854
  • Opposed that, that's closed the border that has managed to at
  • 00:16:12.854 --> 00:16:16.958
  • Least slow down the movement towards the mutilation of
  • 00:16:16.958 --> 00:16:20.862
  • Our children.
  • 00:16:20.862 --> 00:16:23.131
  • But it's a very temporary political stopgap with the
  • 00:16:23.131 --> 00:16:26.567
  • Change of administration, and a new batch of executive orders.
  • 00:16:26.567 --> 00:16:29.871
  • Those prohibitions will be swept aside as quickly as the sunrise.
  • 00:16:29.871 --> 00:16:35.543
  • That's the truth.
  • 00:16:35.543 --> 00:16:37.345
  • We have to have a fundamental hard change amongst the people
  • 00:16:37.345 --> 00:16:40.314
  • Of god.
  • 00:16:40.314 --> 00:16:41.682
  • They will say, not on our watch.
  • 00:16:41.682 --> 00:16:43.384
  • Not in our generation.
  • 00:16:43.384 --> 00:16:44.852
  • This isn't a political discussion.
  • 00:16:44.852 --> 00:16:48.856
  • We have to use our voices.
  • 00:16:48.856 --> 00:16:50.191
  • There's consequences for that, as we will see in daniel's life,
  • 00:16:50.191 --> 00:16:53.327
  • But we have to stand for the truth.
  • 00:16:53.327 --> 00:16:56.697
  • I believe another expression of demonic activity is the
  • 00:16:56.697 --> 00:16:59.667
  • Widespread, the increasingly widespread diminishment of the
  • 00:16:59.667 --> 00:17:02.804
  • Jewish people in the nation of israel.
  • 00:17:02.804 --> 00:17:05.339
  • It's fashionable even amongst evangelicals these days.
  • 00:17:05.339 --> 00:17:09.477
  • To the point that many of us are quiet.
  • 00:17:09.477 --> 00:17:12.146
  • Retreating into the shadows.
  • 00:17:12.146 --> 00:17:13.514
  • It's a spiritual conflict.
  • 00:17:13.514 --> 00:17:16.417
  • God chose the jewish people.
  • 00:17:16.417 --> 00:17:18.853
  • We had no vote in that.
  • 00:17:18.853 --> 00:17:20.221
  • It's an expression of the sovereignty of god, and the new
  • 00:17:20.221 --> 00:17:22.757
  • Testament says repeatedly with great clarity, that he has not
  • 00:17:22.757 --> 00:17:26.360
  • Rejected them, that you and i have been grafted into the
  • 00:17:26.360 --> 00:17:29.964
  • Inheritance that he promised to them.
  • 00:17:29.964 --> 00:17:31.699
  • Their covenant, becomes our covenant through our faith
  • 00:17:31.699 --> 00:17:34.769
  • In jesus of nazareth.
  • 00:17:34.769 --> 00:17:38.005
  • The hatred for the jewish people is unrelenting.
  • 00:17:38.005 --> 00:17:41.676
  • And the third trend of demonic activity, i think you see these,
  • 00:17:41.676 --> 00:17:45.046
  • And hear these, is lawlessness, in unprecedented ways.
  • 00:17:45.046 --> 00:17:50.985
  • We have major cities, and the governors of those states who
  • 00:17:50.985 --> 00:17:53.888
  • Protect them, in rejecting federal law, in opposing federal
  • 00:17:53.888 --> 00:17:59.694
  • Officers enforcing federal laws, not subtle things while they
  • 00:17:59.694 --> 00:18:04.932
  • Demand federal funding.
  • 00:18:04.932 --> 00:18:07.902
  • That's a very small step away from secession.
  • 00:18:07.902 --> 00:18:12.406
  • Are you watching?
  • 00:18:12.406 --> 00:18:15.977
  • These are not political battles.
  • 00:18:15.977 --> 00:18:19.013
  • We've seen a political response, and i'm grateful for some of it,
  • 00:18:19.013 --> 00:18:22.450
  • But it will be short-lived without a true spiritual change.
  • 00:18:22.450 --> 00:18:27.054
  • If you'll allow me, there's more angst in tennessee today over
  • 00:18:27.054 --> 00:18:30.691
  • A loss to oklahoma than these trends.
  • 00:18:30.691 --> 00:18:35.496
  • I mean, if we get really honest today, we regret that we ever
  • 00:18:35.496 --> 00:18:38.633
  • Extended an invitation to texas or oklahoma to enter the sec.
  • 00:18:38.633 --> 00:18:44.205
  • Because tennessee team suffered yesterday for that expression
  • 00:18:44.205 --> 00:18:47.375
  • Of kindness.
  • 00:18:47.375 --> 00:18:50.645
  • But if we talk about these larger trends that will shape
  • 00:18:50.645 --> 00:18:52.980
  • The lives of our children and our grandchildren, it's most
  • 00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:56.284
  • Common in church settings that we don't have those
  • 00:18:56.284 --> 00:18:58.553
  • Conversations here.
  • 00:18:58.553 --> 00:18:59.921
  • Well, you can't talk about your faith in a vacuum.
  • 00:18:59.921 --> 00:19:04.825
  • We're not theoretical christians.
  • 00:19:04.825 --> 00:19:08.262
  • That would make us historians, not christ's followers.
  • 00:19:08.262 --> 00:19:13.868
  • Fasting and prayer are presented to us in scripture as having the
  • 00:19:13.868 --> 00:19:18.172
  • Potential to change the destiny of a life, a family, and even
  • 00:19:18.172 --> 00:19:23.811
  • A nation.
  • 00:19:23.811 --> 00:19:26.981
  • I think they are worth incorporating into your
  • 00:19:26.981 --> 00:19:29.417
  • Spiritual disciplines.
  • 00:19:29.417 --> 00:19:31.986
  • I'm gonna take just a few minutes and kind of introduce
  • 00:19:31.986 --> 00:19:34.288
  • The topic.
  • 00:19:34.288 --> 00:19:35.623
  • Before we go, i'm gonna ask you to consider making them a part
  • 00:19:35.623 --> 00:19:37.425
  • Of your routine.
  • 00:19:37.425 --> 00:19:39.327
  • On a weekly basis.
  • 00:19:39.327 --> 00:19:41.996
  • The scope of that and the breadth of that, you
  • 00:19:41.996 --> 00:19:43.864
  • Can determine.
  • 00:19:43.864 --> 00:19:45.433
  • If it's something that's brand new to you, you have to grow
  • 00:19:45.433 --> 00:19:47.835
  • Into that.
  • 00:19:47.835 --> 00:19:49.170
  • You have to develop those abilities.
  • 00:19:49.170 --> 00:19:50.805
  • Any behavior that requires self-discipline has to
  • 00:19:50.805 --> 00:19:56.410
  • Be cultivated.
  • 00:19:56.410 --> 00:19:58.279
  • If you're not a runner, i wouldn't suggest that for your
  • 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:00.448
  • First run you try a marathon.
  • 00:20:00.448 --> 00:20:03.417
  • If you're not a weightlifter, i wouldn't suggest for your first
  • 00:20:03.417 --> 00:20:06.854
  • Bench press that you rack up 300 pounds.
  • 00:20:06.854 --> 00:20:10.725
  • It will not end well.
  • 00:20:10.725 --> 00:20:13.694
  • And if your spiritual disciplines are not exercises
  • 00:20:13.694 --> 00:20:17.131
  • That have been a part of your routine, don't start with
  • 00:20:17.131 --> 00:20:20.234
  • A 40 day fast.
  • 00:20:20.234 --> 00:20:22.570
  • You might start with a 40 minute one.
  • 00:20:22.570 --> 00:20:27.041
  • Now i don't say that to be funny.
  • 00:20:27.041 --> 00:20:28.476
  • You have to develop the self-discipline to seek
  • 00:20:28.476 --> 00:20:31.612
  • The lord.
  • 00:20:31.612 --> 00:20:33.214
  • If you've never read your bible, though your first reading
  • 00:20:33.214 --> 00:20:35.916
  • Probably will not feel overly beneficial.
  • 00:20:35.916 --> 00:20:40.521
  • We learn to seek the lord like we learn every other expression
  • 00:20:40.521 --> 00:20:44.091
  • Of discipline in our lives.
  • 00:20:44.091 --> 00:20:46.127
  • Let's start with daniel.
  • 00:20:48.663 --> 00:20:50.331
  • Daniel chapter 1. just make the observation.
  • 00:20:50.331 --> 00:20:53.634
  • It's in your notes that honor and obedience, and i think all
  • 00:20:53.634 --> 00:20:56.504
  • Of us have some desire to honor god and to be obedient to him.
  • 00:20:56.504 --> 00:21:00.174
  • I know there's a scale of that depending on your maturity.
  • 00:21:00.174 --> 00:21:03.911
  • But the objective should be to honor god and be obedient
  • 00:21:03.911 --> 00:21:07.048
  • To him.
  • 00:21:07.048 --> 00:21:08.416
  • If you don't intend to honor him, and you don't intend to
  • 00:21:08.416 --> 00:21:10.084
  • Be obedient, you're not a christ follower.
  • 00:21:10.084 --> 00:21:13.954
  • We serve god.
  • 00:21:13.954 --> 00:21:15.723
  • God does not serve us.
  • 00:21:15.723 --> 00:21:17.825
  • We call jesus lord.
  • 00:21:17.825 --> 00:21:20.895
  • He called us friends, but we serve him as lord.
  • 00:21:20.895 --> 00:21:24.298
  • I serve at the pleasure of the king.
  • 00:21:24.298 --> 00:21:28.002
  • As do you.
  • 00:21:28.002 --> 00:21:30.504
  • Our days are in his hands.
  • 00:21:30.504 --> 00:21:31.972
  • So the objective should be to honor him and be obedient
  • 00:21:31.972 --> 00:21:35.976
  • To him.
  • 00:21:35.976 --> 00:21:37.345
  • And the reality of that is in order to do that, it will
  • 00:21:37.345 --> 00:21:39.613
  • Require a sacrifice of our self-will.
  • 00:21:39.613 --> 00:21:44.452
  • Isn't that good news?
  • 00:21:44.452 --> 00:21:46.554
  • "well, wait a minute.
  • 00:21:46.554 --> 00:21:47.888
  • I thought being a christ follower meant god would do
  • 00:21:47.888 --> 00:21:49.256
  • What i want him to do."
  • 00:21:49.256 --> 00:21:50.591
  • Well, that's not the whole story.
  • 00:21:50.591 --> 00:21:52.326
  • In daniel chapter 1, daniel finds himself a slave.
  • 00:21:52.326 --> 00:21:56.764
  • His nation has been conquered.
  • 00:21:56.764 --> 00:21:58.399
  • The jerusalem has been destroyed, very humiliating.
  • 00:21:58.399 --> 00:22:03.938
  • Very humiliating.
  • 00:22:03.938 --> 00:22:05.272
  • He's a young man, most likely a teenager when we meet him.
  • 00:22:05.272 --> 00:22:08.876
  • And in verse 8, he said, "he resolved not to defile himself
  • 00:22:08.876 --> 00:22:11.412
  • With the royal food and the wine.
  • 00:22:11.412 --> 00:22:13.881
  • And he asked for permission not to defile himself in this way."
  • 00:22:13.881 --> 00:22:17.952
  • Now god caused the official to show favor and sympathy
  • 00:22:17.952 --> 00:22:20.554
  • To daniel.
  • 00:22:20.554 --> 00:22:22.423
  • See, the jewish people have a set of dietary restrictions,
  • 00:22:22.423 --> 00:22:25.326
  • Kosher rules, there's things they can't eat, and it strikes
  • 00:22:25.326 --> 00:22:29.296
  • Me as truly remarkable that as a slave in a foreign country and
  • 00:22:29.296 --> 00:22:34.335
  • A teenager, his life dreams have been put in the shredder.
  • 00:22:34.335 --> 00:22:38.706
  • He's not going to the prom.
  • 00:22:38.706 --> 00:22:41.542
  • He's not gonna get to play his senior year at whatever he was
  • 00:22:41.542 --> 00:22:45.012
  • Interested in.
  • 00:22:45.012 --> 00:22:46.647
  • He's not gonna do holidays like his family has done holidays
  • 00:22:46.647 --> 00:22:49.984
  • For generations.
  • 00:22:49.984 --> 00:22:52.319
  • I mean, his future has been completely destroyed.
  • 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:57.558
  • Most of us at that point would be angry and resentful
  • 00:22:57.558 --> 00:23:00.194
  • And embittered.
  • 00:23:00.194 --> 00:23:01.529
  • We're not gonna be obedient.
  • 00:23:01.529 --> 00:23:02.897
  • It's a license to be ungodly.
  • 00:23:02.897 --> 00:23:04.498
  • Have you ever been really disappointed with god?
  • 00:23:04.498 --> 00:23:06.901
  • I'm sure you have. i have.
  • 00:23:06.901 --> 00:23:09.603
  • Well, one of the voices that shows up in your head when you
  • 00:23:09.603 --> 00:23:11.639
  • Have that kind of severe disappointment with god is why
  • 00:23:11.639 --> 00:23:14.375
  • Be obedient?
  • 00:23:14.375 --> 00:23:16.477
  • Be indulgent.
  • 00:23:16.477 --> 00:23:20.047
  • Have you ever heard that voice?
  • 00:23:20.047 --> 00:23:23.417
  • And daniel makes the opposite choice.
  • 00:23:23.417 --> 00:23:26.053
  • He's asking for permission.
  • 00:23:26.053 --> 00:23:27.822
  • He's putting himself at risk.
  • 00:23:27.822 --> 00:23:30.257
  • He said, "if it's all right with you, i would rather honor my
  • 00:23:30.257 --> 00:23:34.462
  • Dietary commitments than eat the food that you're serving."
  • 00:23:34.462 --> 00:23:39.900
  • He's gonna to honor god.
  • 00:23:39.900 --> 00:23:42.970
  • It's amazing to me.
  • 00:23:42.970 --> 00:23:45.973
  • And the official verse 10, the official said, "well, i'm afraid
  • 00:23:45.973 --> 00:23:48.542
  • Of my lord, the king.
  • 00:23:48.542 --> 00:23:50.344
  • He's assigned you food and drink.
  • 00:23:50.344 --> 00:23:51.812
  • Why should he see you looking worse?"
  • 00:23:51.812 --> 00:23:53.247
  • If you don't eat the good food, you're not gonna look good, and
  • 00:23:53.247 --> 00:23:55.216
  • He'll take my head.
  • 00:23:55.216 --> 00:23:58.285
  • So daniel says in verse 12, just test your servants for 10 days.
  • 00:23:58.285 --> 00:24:02.022
  • Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.
  • 00:24:02.022 --> 00:24:05.426
  • And then compare our appearance with that of the others, and
  • 00:24:05.426 --> 00:24:08.062
  • He agreed.
  • 00:24:08.062 --> 00:24:09.430
  • Verse 15, "at the end of 10 days they looked healthier, and
  • 00:24:09.430 --> 00:24:11.866
  • Better nourished than any of the young men who ate the
  • 00:24:11.866 --> 00:24:13.667
  • Royal food.
  • 00:24:13.667 --> 00:24:16.270
  • So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they
  • 00:24:16.270 --> 00:24:18.572
  • Were to drink and he gave them vegetables instead."
  • 00:24:18.572 --> 00:24:21.675
  • Verse 17 is the punch line.
  • 00:24:21.675 --> 00:24:24.278
  • "to these four young men, god gave knowledge and understanding
  • 00:24:24.278 --> 00:24:27.915
  • Of all kinds of literature and learning.
  • 00:24:27.915 --> 00:24:30.784
  • And daniel could understand visions and dreams of
  • 00:24:30.784 --> 00:24:33.320
  • All kinds."
  • 00:24:33.320 --> 00:24:35.155
  • Daniel and his friends chose to eat a limited diet.
  • 00:24:35.155 --> 00:24:39.860
  • They voluntarily did this.
  • 00:24:39.860 --> 00:24:41.328
  • They made a sacrifice.
  • 00:24:41.328 --> 00:24:43.297
  • And god honored their sacrifice in ways that they had not
  • 00:24:43.297 --> 00:24:47.034
  • Asked for.
  • 00:24:47.034 --> 00:24:48.369
  • They didn't strike a bargain with god.
  • 00:24:48.369 --> 00:24:49.737
  • I'll fast if you'll give me what i want.
  • 00:24:49.737 --> 00:24:51.739
  • They simply said that our choice is to honor god, and be obedient
  • 00:24:51.739 --> 00:24:55.276
  • To the principles that we know.
  • 00:24:55.276 --> 00:24:58.012
  • And god responded to their sacrifice and their desire to
  • 00:24:58.012 --> 00:25:01.649
  • Honor him and their obedience, by bestowing upon them this
  • 00:25:01.649 --> 00:25:05.986
  • Insight and understanding.
  • 00:25:05.986 --> 00:25:07.354
  • Their willingness to sacrifice in seeking the lord proved to be
  • 00:25:07.354 --> 00:25:12.693
  • Preparatory for what was next.
  • 00:25:12.693 --> 00:25:16.263
  • And that's what i want to suggest to you.
  • 00:25:16.263 --> 00:25:17.831
  • We see these great cultural clashes that are around us, and
  • 00:25:17.831 --> 00:25:21.068
  • I don't know about you, but i feel powerless.
  • 00:25:21.068 --> 00:25:24.305
  • I don't have the influence of the platforms.
  • 00:25:24.305 --> 00:25:26.307
  • Nobody cares that much about my opinion.
  • 00:25:26.307 --> 00:25:27.775
  • I got to jerusalem the same day, the day before we got there, the
  • 00:25:27.775 --> 00:25:30.411
  • Vice president arrived.
  • 00:25:30.411 --> 00:25:33.147
  • We had appointments with the ambassador.
  • 00:25:33.147 --> 00:25:36.617
  • We had private tours set up in the newest excavations.
  • 00:25:36.617 --> 00:25:41.055
  • We had all sorts of remarkable plans put together, and the vice
  • 00:25:41.055 --> 00:25:44.658
  • President of the united states showed up and guess
  • 00:25:44.658 --> 00:25:46.293
  • What happened?
  • 00:25:46.293 --> 00:25:49.964
  • I got canceled.
  • 00:25:49.964 --> 00:25:53.434
  • Are you as shocked about that as i was?
  • 00:25:53.434 --> 00:25:57.037
  • Surely it's a misunderstanding.
  • 00:25:57.037 --> 00:25:58.505
  • I'm here.
  • 00:25:58.505 --> 00:26:01.542
  • And nobody cared.
  • 00:26:04.445 --> 00:26:07.514
  • The lord had other things for us to do.
  • 00:26:07.514 --> 00:26:13.153
  • Allen: god is moving in the earth and i gave my professional
  • 00:26:17.324 --> 00:26:20.861
  • Life to strengthening the local church.
  • 00:26:20.861 --> 00:26:22.863
  • It's been the most remarkable journey, and then god led us to
  • 00:26:22.863 --> 00:26:26.200
  • Begin allen jackson ministries to strengthen the church beyond
  • 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:29.236
  • The local community where i've served, across our nation and
  • 00:26:29.236 --> 00:26:31.805
  • Around the earth, and your partnership has written a whole
  • 00:26:31.805 --> 00:26:34.675
  • New future for what we see god doing.
  • 00:26:34.675 --> 00:26:37.411
  • We have been able to broadcast messages on television
  • 00:26:37.411 --> 00:26:40.914
  • And radio.
  • 00:26:40.914 --> 00:26:42.282
  • We have created print materials.
  • 00:26:42.282 --> 00:26:43.684
  • We published books, small group curriculum.
  • 00:26:43.684 --> 00:26:46.053
  • We're hosting a "culture & christianity" conference from
  • 00:26:46.053 --> 00:26:48.355
  • People across the nation.
  • 00:26:48.355 --> 00:26:50.224
  • Now god's giving us strategic partners in israel and ukraine
  • 00:26:50.224 --> 00:26:53.494
  • To help strengthen the church in those war-torn nations.
  • 00:26:53.494 --> 00:26:56.797
  • There's a tremendous opportunity, you know, all of
  • 00:26:56.797 --> 00:26:59.400
  • That is birthed out of what god put in my heart decades ago when
  • 00:26:59.400 --> 00:27:02.870
  • Jesus said, "i'll build my church and hell won't be to
  • 00:27:02.870 --> 00:27:05.506
  • Stop it."
  • 00:27:05.506 --> 00:27:06.874
  • And then he said, "those who will gather with me, if you
  • 00:27:06.874 --> 00:27:08.609
  • Don't gather you're scattering."
  • 00:27:08.609 --> 00:27:09.977
  • Well, we wanna join the lord in what he's doing in the earth in
  • 00:27:09.977 --> 00:27:12.546
  • This strategic time.
  • 00:27:12.546 --> 00:27:13.981
  • It's driven my life, and i wanna invite you to be a partner with
  • 00:27:13.981 --> 00:27:16.650
  • Allen jackson ministries.
  • 00:27:16.650 --> 00:27:17.985
  • Together we'll fulfill the purposes of god.
  • 00:27:17.985 --> 00:27:20.354
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:27:20.354 --> 00:27:27.895