Allen Jackson - The Sovereignty of God (Part 2)

October 15, 2025 | 28:35

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

#Culture #Christianity #Sovereignty #Calling #Purpose #Sin #FearoftheLord #Reverence #Perseverance #WalkwithGod #Jesus #Respect #Honor #GlorifyGod

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Allen Jackson Ministries | Allen Jackson - The Sovereignty of God (Part 2) | October 15, 2025

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Allen jackson: you know, we're witnessing something of a crisis
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In our nation, something i never thought i would see: expressions
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Of antisemitism, hatred for the jewish people, coming from
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America, coming from the christian community, the
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Conservative side of the ideological spectrum, to a
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Degree and scope i've never seen before.
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Well, it was important enough that i stopped and put together
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A book.
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The title of it is "supporting israel: how far is too far?"
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It's an important concept that isn't political.
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It's grounded in a biblical worldview.
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I think we need to understand our responsibilities to the
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Jewish people, to the modern-day state of israel, not from an
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Ideological perspective, not from the perspective of nation
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States, but as people of god.
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It's important.
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It's an important season, a lot of voices.
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I know there's some fatigue with the conflict in the middle east,
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But we can't afford to be fatigued with our assignments to
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Honor god and the responsibilities that come
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With that.
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I believe the book will be a help to you.
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I believe it'll help you navigate the conversation with
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Your family and your friends.
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Enjoy the read.
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♪♪♪
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Allen: well, in genesis 4, there's two brothers, cain
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And abel.
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And god has required of them sacrifices, and he's told them
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The sacrifices he wants, and abel cooperated and cain didn't.
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It's in your notes.
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"abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of
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His flock.
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And the lord looked with favor on abel and his offering, but on
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Cain and his offering he didn't look with favor.
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So cain was angry, and his face was downcast.
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And god said to cain, 'why are you angry?
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If you do what's right, won't you be accepted?
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But if you don't do what's right, sin is crouching at your
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Door; and it--you must master it."
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You have to master sin, 'kay?
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Your response is wrong.
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You're angry and you shouldn't be angry.
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Gee, that sounds a lot like contemporary culture.
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Don't tell us there's a god with an opinion and expressed will,
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And that we should yield to it and offer ourselves.
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Folks, the church's assignment is to say to our culture,
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"there's a god."
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And we have to choose to honor him.
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No, we don't always do it perfectly.
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We're a bunch of cracked pots.
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It's how we got recruited.
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We're so messed up and so inept and we've failed so frequently
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And often so publicly that god said, "if i do something
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Remarkable in your life, everybody will know it had to
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Be me."
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Like, look at the person on your right.
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Say, "you look like a mess god could use."
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Unless they live with you and then just don't say that
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To them.
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Say, you look--you look lovely today, dear," be better but--
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Cain could have changed his sacrifice.
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He could have changed his--he knew what the request was, he
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Knew what the direction was, but he chose anger.
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That's a very frequent response.
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It's an ungodly response.
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God said, "sin desires to have you."
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That's a very interesting phrase and i--we'll explore it in
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Another time, but i'm gonna suggest you think about sin as
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Having a willful expression of intent.
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That'll change your imagination.
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Sin is not something you're invited towards that is neutral
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And may be harmful or hurtful or diminishment.
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Think of sin as something that has a personal intent.
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Think of it as a person.
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God said, "sin is crouching at your door and it desires to
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Have you."
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Sin is a person who desires your complete destruction.
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But absent that opportunity, sin will accept any limit that it
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Can force onto your life.
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So don't dabble with it, don't entertain it.
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Don't excuse it, don't justify it.
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You know, we ask some silly questions sometimes.
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You know, like, "well, pastor, how far is too far?"
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That's a crazy question.
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Years ago it's been a long time.
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I was young and, well, i'm still old and crazy, but i was young
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And crazy, but i mean, i brought a gallon of clorox bleach
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To church.
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And i poured a little bit in a shot glass and i said, "anybody
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Want a drink?"
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I mean, it's poison, it's harmful, but, "anybody
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Want some?"
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Then i counted out 10 $100 bills.
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"i got $1000 if you'll drink a half an ounce."
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I forget how far i had to go before somebody raised
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Their hand.
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You know, if it's destructive, i wanna stay as far away from it
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As i can.
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But as christians, sometimes we think, "well, you know, god's
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Forgiving, he's kind, he's gracious.
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Looks kind of fun.
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I know people that do it and they've survived."
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Sin is crouching at your door.
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Think of it in a more personal way.
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Ephesians 5, jesus is our model.
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We call him lord.
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He said, "be imitators of god, as dearly loved children.
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Live a life of love, just as christ loved us and gave himself
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Up for us."
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That's the nature of this relationship we entered into.
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The one who we call lord offered his life so that we might have
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A life.
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And to be an expression of christ's love in our world
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Requires of us to be willing to offer our lives as a living
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Sacrifices so that others might understand the nature of
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That relationship.
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It's worth the effort.
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It's worth consideration.
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I want to add a couple more lessons i learned.
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How do you live in the midst of hatred and threats?
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Almost all the speakers we had this weekend called last week.
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They reached out and they said we wanna understand
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Security protocols.
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Most of them do enough of this and travel enough that they
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Understand the nature of threats.
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You understand we live in a culture right now where there
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Are physical threats if you stand up and say weird things
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Like i believe marriage is between a man and a woman.
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I believe parental authority should trump the authority of
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Teachers' unions.
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I believe we should be judged by the content of our character and
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Not the color of our skin.
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I mean, really radical stuff.
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So one of the questions i posed to them had to do with how do we
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Move forward in the face of hatred and threats?
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And eric metaxas.
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Do you know eric metaxas?
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I need--you need like a warning label on eric.
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You know, on the label you're gonna put, "he lives in new
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York city."
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And he boasts about it.
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And then you should know he went to yale.
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Yale.
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You know, i don't think of ivy league schools as elite
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Any longer.
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I think of them in a much less flattering way.
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But from this new york city boy that went to yale, when i posed
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That question, he was the first one to answer and he answered
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Immediately and somewhat authoritatively.
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He said, "well, allen, you have to fear god."
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Oh, i wanted to slap him.
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I was never tempted to slap john amanchukwu or brandon tatum.
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I extended them a hand of fellowship.
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But eric, i thought i could slap him.
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It was uncomfortable for me.
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The respect for god causes you to persevere in the face of
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Those who don't respect him.
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That's what the fear of god means.
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That your reverence for god is such that even when god is being
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Denigrated, you'll be his advocate.
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That even when there's those that say, "if you follow god, we
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Will oppose you," we'll follow god anyway.
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If you'll allow me, at least as an observation, it's mine.
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You could disagree, but my observation seems to be we have
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A greatly diminished respect for god in the midst of the people
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Of god.
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And i think one of the things we will have to recapture in order
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To be salt and light in this present generation and our young
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People desperately need that.
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The reason they rallied around charlie, i believe, by the
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Thousands and the tens of thousands is they saw his
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Respect for god.
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Without embarrassment, he'd come on to their college campuses and
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He would challenge the--so much of the garbage and the
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Propaganda that's being pumped out through college campuses,
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And he would give them simple biblical principles and say, "i
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Believe these."
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And then he had the facts and the ability to back it up in a
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Free conversation, and the young people found freedom in that and
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Deliverance in that and hope in that.
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I've been with him, i've seen it.
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I've listened to their responses to it.
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The fear of god, a respect for god, a reverence for god.
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See, we have a greater reverence for other things.
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Who do we revere the most?
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Who are your--who are your heroes?
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If i interviewed your children, who would they tell me your
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Heroes are?
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Who would they tell me are the people that you want to emulate,
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The people that you'd like them to become like, the people whose
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Lives' achievement and life accomplishments you would like
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To see replicated in their lives.
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I mean, i know we're in church and the answer is jesus, but if
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I could talk to your kids.
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You know, one of the tragedies and it's very damaging what we
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Do in our homes to our children in the development of
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Their faith.
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You go home and you talk about all the things you don't like
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About the places where you worship and the people you
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Worship with.
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And your kids learn far more by what you do than what you tell
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Them to do.
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And they absorb all of that and they know you don't really
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Respect those places or those people.
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"do we have to go?"
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"how long do we have to stay?"
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"it went so long."
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"parking was awful."
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"sermon was boring."
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"but you should go."
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They're pretty clever.
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We have to respect god.
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We've got to bring a reverence.
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It will bring something to the younger generation that will
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Transform them.
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It really is a biblical notion.
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In acts chapter 5, verse 29.
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Peter and the apostles are standing before the group that
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Arranged jesus's execution, the sanhedrin in jerusalem.
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So it's not an idle threat.
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They've got the juice to have the disciples killed.
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"and peter and the apostles said, 'we must obey god rather
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Than men!
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The god of our fathers raised jesus from the dead--whom you
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Killed by hanging him on a tree.'"
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They're not only saying we're not going to stop, they are
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Pushing in the face of the people that ordered
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Jesus's execution.
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"you killed him and we are witnesses to it, and we will
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Tell it."
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If you're plotting this on a graph, that is not conciliatory
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Embracing inclusive language.
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But there are pattern.
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Proverbs 1:7 said: "the fear of the lord is the beginning of
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Knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."
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I'm willing to be called a fool by people who don't know god,
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But i do not intend to be called a fool by god.
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And if it's foolish to not respect god, then i'm gonna work
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On cultivating a respect and a reverence for god.
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You know, i grew up in the south and so i was subject to
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Some things.
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And my parents reinforced it, like, if a woman--i have
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Two brothers.
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We used to get coached on this, like, formally with punishment.
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It was abuse but there weren't numbers you could call.
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Things like if a woman came in the room, you should stand.
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You know, that's not intuitive.
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Because i'm comfortable, i'll just stay here.
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They taught me--i was at--i earned a degree at vanderbilt in
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Their--in the--well, it was, yeah.
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Earned a graduate degree there, in a place with great
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Diverse thought.
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And a young woman in front of me one day dropped her umbrella.
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We were leaving the classroom and i bent down and picked
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It up.
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Now, this has been a day or two.
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Don't be disrespectful, and i picked up the umbrella and
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Handed it to her and she said, "you must have grown up
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In the south."
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I promise you i wanted to hit her with it.
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Learning to fear the lord, to respect god, it's learned.
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It's not intuitive.
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Allen: now, how should we respond to the nation of israel
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And the jewish people?
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It's a complex question in today's world.
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Well, i've written a book, "supporting israel: how far is
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Too far?"
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To help us establish a biblical perspective on what has become a
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Complex question in contemporary culture.
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We don't wanna follow the guidance and the counsel of some
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Of the elite universities in this nation.
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We wanna form a perspective that's built from god's word.
00:13:05.710 --> 00:13:08.279
If we'll do that, it'll bring his blessings to our lives.
00:13:08.279 --> 00:13:11.649
Enjoy the book.
00:13:11.649 --> 00:13:12.984
Female announcer: from the pages of scripture to the front lines
00:13:12.984 --> 00:13:14.986
Of today's news, israel stands at the center of god's purposes.
00:13:14.986 --> 00:13:19.424
Pastor allen's new booklet, "supporting israel: how far is
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Too far?"
00:13:22.994 --> 00:13:24.329
Offers a quick way to gain a biblical perspective on israel,
00:13:24.329 --> 00:13:27.298
Why israel matters to god, and why it should matter to us.
00:13:27.298 --> 00:13:31.603
Request your copy with your gift of any amount today at
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Allenjackson.com or by calling...
00:13:34.672 --> 00:13:40.545
Allen: so, one of my questions to you is, what is it that you
00:13:43.248 --> 00:13:46.651
Give respect to?
00:13:46.651 --> 00:13:49.420
Again, the younger people in your life will be the best
00:13:49.420 --> 00:13:52.757
Representation of that because they watch.
00:13:52.757 --> 00:13:55.860
Where is our respect directed?
00:13:55.860 --> 00:13:59.297
It's very important.
00:13:59.297 --> 00:14:01.799
Hebrews chapter 12, it's an interesting perspective.
00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:05.470
Do you remember jacob and esau, two brothers?
00:14:05.470 --> 00:14:08.706
The bible says god loved one and hated the other.
00:14:08.706 --> 00:14:11.009
It's really harsh language.
00:14:11.009 --> 00:14:13.444
It's leading us towards something.
00:14:13.444 --> 00:14:14.913
It says: "see to it that no one is sexually immoral, or is
00:14:14.913 --> 00:14:17.715
Godless like esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance
00:14:17.715 --> 00:14:22.053
Rights as the oldest son."
00:14:22.053 --> 00:14:24.322
Remember the story?
00:14:24.322 --> 00:14:25.657
Esau is the oldest brother in a time of--the fancy word is
00:14:25.657 --> 00:14:27.959
Primogeniture, the oldest inherited.
00:14:27.959 --> 00:14:30.361
In an agricultural society, if you've got 12 kids, you can't
00:14:30.361 --> 00:14:33.898
Give an equal inheritance to all the kids or they'll all starve
00:14:33.898 --> 00:14:36.367
To death.
00:14:36.367 --> 00:14:37.735
You can't divide the farm into 12 pieces because by the 3rd
00:14:37.735 --> 00:14:39.904
Generation, everybody will have a quarter of an acre and you'll
00:14:39.904 --> 00:14:41.706
All starve.
00:14:41.706 --> 00:14:43.708
So the inheritance tended to go to the oldest, and in this case,
00:14:43.708 --> 00:14:46.411
It's esau.
00:14:46.411 --> 00:14:48.012
He's gone hunting one day and he comes in from hunting and he's
00:14:48.012 --> 00:14:50.248
Hungry and he wants some food that his brother's got and his
00:14:50.248 --> 00:14:53.451
Brother says, "well, i'll give you a bowl of soup if you will
00:14:53.451 --> 00:14:55.920
Give me your birthright."
00:14:55.920 --> 00:14:59.524
And esau said, "okay," and he took a bowl of soup.
00:14:59.524 --> 00:15:04.862
And the bible says--it's a fascinating commentary.
00:15:04.862 --> 00:15:07.465
It's a biblical perspective.
00:15:07.465 --> 00:15:08.833
If i just gave it to you, it wouldn't mean anything.
00:15:08.833 --> 00:15:10.401
You'd think i was exaggerating.
00:15:10.401 --> 00:15:12.837
But the author of hebrew says: "see to it that you're not
00:15:12.837 --> 00:15:15.173
Sexually immoral or godless like esau."
00:15:15.173 --> 00:15:21.012
Esau is not being accused of gross immorality or perversion
00:15:21.012 --> 00:15:25.016
Or some explicit something or other.
00:15:25.016 --> 00:15:27.285
He just treated casually god's blessing in his life.
00:15:27.285 --> 00:15:34.726
Because the point of that birthright was really more about
00:15:34.726 --> 00:15:36.661
A prayer, a blessing from his father.
00:15:36.661 --> 00:15:39.497
I mean, the author of hebrews goes on to say he tried to
00:15:39.497 --> 00:15:41.466
Reverse that later.
00:15:41.466 --> 00:15:42.800
He's very emotional about it, very intentional about trying to
00:15:42.800 --> 00:15:45.303
Reverse it, but he couldn't change it.
00:15:45.303 --> 00:15:47.672
And the bible's counsel is, "don't treat the blessings of
00:15:47.672 --> 00:15:50.475
God casually."
00:15:50.475 --> 00:15:52.844
Puts it in the same category of sexual immorality.
00:15:52.844 --> 00:15:56.581
Seems to me we're kind of casual sometimes.
00:15:56.581 --> 00:16:00.018
And now, if we read that we're a little offended by that.
00:16:00.018 --> 00:16:01.652
We think, "that's not fair of god.
00:16:01.652 --> 00:16:02.987
How could he love jacob and hate esau?"
00:16:02.987 --> 00:16:06.791
It leads me to another takeaway i had from the week and it's the
00:16:06.791 --> 00:16:09.827
Sovereignty of god.
00:16:09.827 --> 00:16:11.963
Because he's god, he made the place.
00:16:11.963 --> 00:16:14.866
Rather than be mad at god, which i would submit as you find out,
00:16:14.866 --> 00:16:18.369
Why did god love jacob and could i get in that line?
00:16:18.369 --> 00:16:23.674
Right?
00:16:23.674 --> 00:16:25.043
I'm not clever.
00:16:25.043 --> 00:16:26.377
I grew up in a barn in tennessee.
00:16:26.377 --> 00:16:28.613
And if you tell me that god's blessing is on a group of people
00:16:28.613 --> 00:16:31.516
Over here, i'm gonna study that group of people until i figure
00:16:31.516 --> 00:16:33.951
Out why they're being blessed.
00:16:33.951 --> 00:16:36.087
And if you tell me that god's curse is on this group of
00:16:36.087 --> 00:16:38.022
People, i'm gonna, "what's happening over here?"
00:16:38.022 --> 00:16:41.492
Because i may not be clever, but i'd rather be blessed
00:16:41.492 --> 00:16:43.394
Than cursed.
00:16:43.394 --> 00:16:46.397
You say, "well, i don't even believe there's a god."
00:16:46.397 --> 00:16:47.932
Well, on the outside chance there is one.
00:16:47.932 --> 00:16:49.734
I'd still rather be in the blessed line.
00:16:49.734 --> 00:16:53.805
I mean, my entry into faith really came from something
00:16:53.805 --> 00:16:56.340
That rational.
00:16:56.340 --> 00:16:57.675
I thought, you know, if there is a god and i decide to serve him,
00:16:57.675 --> 00:17:01.079
I might as well go all in, because if there is a god and i
00:17:01.079 --> 00:17:03.514
Get to the end of the run and he's there and i was all the
00:17:03.514 --> 00:17:05.583
Chips on the center of the table, that'll be a good day.
00:17:05.583 --> 00:17:11.255
And if i decide to serve god and push everything into the center
00:17:11.255 --> 00:17:13.858
Of the table with my whole heart and i get there and he's not
00:17:13.858 --> 00:17:15.993
There, well, didn't lose anything.
00:17:15.993 --> 00:17:21.599
I mean, it just made sense to me to serve the lord.
00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:26.437
I grew beyond that, but i started with something just
00:17:26.437 --> 00:17:28.906
About that pragmatic, the sovereignty of god.
00:17:28.906 --> 00:17:32.443
Eric metaxas, that little new york guy from yale.
00:17:32.443 --> 00:17:35.346
He brought up the sovereignty of god.
00:17:38.416 --> 00:17:42.186
And he said in the sovereignty of god, he saved donald trump
00:17:42.186 --> 00:17:45.123
From an assassin's bullet.
00:17:45.123 --> 00:17:47.959
I don't know any other way to understand that, a very slight
00:17:47.959 --> 00:17:51.462
Turn of the head.
00:17:51.462 --> 00:17:52.797
He got shot in the face, folks.
00:17:52.797 --> 00:17:55.166
But god didn't intervene in charlie kirk's case.
00:17:59.203 --> 00:18:04.509
And eric said it's the sovereignty of god.
00:18:04.509 --> 00:18:06.544
I want to slap him again.
00:18:06.544 --> 00:18:07.912
But the more i thought about it i knew he'd told us the truth.
00:18:11.616 --> 00:18:13.985
I wanna go back to that verse.
00:18:17.255 --> 00:18:18.589
We've already read it, but i put it back in your notes.
00:18:18.589 --> 00:18:20.925
It's romans 12:1, remember i started by saying that we're
00:18:20.925 --> 00:18:23.227
Encouraged to offer ourselves as living sacrifices?
00:18:23.227 --> 00:18:27.298
Look at the last sentence in that passage.
00:18:27.298 --> 00:18:28.866
"you'll be able to test and approve what god's will is--
00:18:28.866 --> 00:18:32.537
God's good, pleasing and perfect will."
00:18:32.537 --> 00:18:36.007
How much time do you spend thinking about the will of god?
00:18:36.007 --> 00:18:40.244
Probably not a lot.
00:18:40.244 --> 00:18:41.712
I mean, we may be aware of some rules like don't do this, you
00:18:41.712 --> 00:18:43.881
Know, don't steal, and that's really a pretty good life rule:
00:18:43.881 --> 00:18:46.384
Don't steal.
00:18:46.384 --> 00:18:48.586
Don't commit murder.
00:18:48.586 --> 00:18:49.954
That's a pretty good life rule too.
00:18:49.954 --> 00:18:51.289
Don't commit adultery.
00:18:51.289 --> 00:18:52.657
That'd be good for you too.
00:18:52.657 --> 00:18:54.325
But the--that's not really the will of god for our lives.
00:18:54.325 --> 00:18:57.461
Those are just like the boundaries.
00:18:57.461 --> 00:18:59.063
Like, you can't fly, so don't jump off high things.
00:18:59.063 --> 00:19:01.332
The will of god.
00:19:04.635 --> 00:19:06.404
What's god's intent?
00:19:06.404 --> 00:19:08.539
Well, any discussion about the will of god is gonna be centered
00:19:08.539 --> 00:19:11.542
In the sovereignty of god and the best working definition of
00:19:11.542 --> 00:19:14.946
That i know is that god can do what he wants when he wants.
00:19:14.946 --> 00:19:19.317
The way he wants and he doesn't need anyone's permission.
00:19:19.317 --> 00:19:23.354
He's god.
00:19:23.354 --> 00:19:25.089
You say, "i don't like that."
00:19:25.089 --> 00:19:26.457
Well, you're not god.
00:19:26.457 --> 00:19:28.526
And there is a god.
00:19:28.526 --> 00:19:30.294
And so the best possible decision you can make is to find
00:19:30.294 --> 00:19:32.797
Out what god's will is and say, "hey, i'd like to help."
00:19:32.797 --> 00:19:36.234
You know, i work with a team of people.
00:19:39.604 --> 00:19:44.342
And there's a lot of changes in the workplace these days.
00:19:44.342 --> 00:19:48.179
You know, once upon a time you thought if you went to work
00:19:48.179 --> 00:19:49.914
Someplace, the question would be, what do they want me to do?
00:19:49.914 --> 00:19:54.051
That's not really the question anymore.
00:19:54.051 --> 00:19:56.921
Now people come to work and they go, "this is what i would like
00:19:56.921 --> 00:19:59.023
To do."
00:19:59.023 --> 00:20:00.391
I say, "well, i don't really have a job like that."
00:20:03.694 --> 00:20:05.997
"oh well, then.
00:20:05.997 --> 00:20:07.331
I mean, i wanna stay, but you need to make a job to do what i
00:20:07.331 --> 00:20:10.901
Wanna do."
00:20:10.901 --> 00:20:13.004
And i--it used to kind of annoy me and then i thought, "well,
00:20:13.004 --> 00:20:15.006
I've been telling god that for a long time: 'i will, serve, i'll
00:20:15.006 --> 00:20:19.577
Do whatever you want me to do as long as it's this.
00:20:19.577 --> 00:20:23.347
And i would like big blessings for that.'"
00:20:23.347 --> 00:20:25.416
And you're probably better to him than i've been.
00:20:28.586 --> 00:20:31.055
I've been a problem child.
00:20:31.055 --> 00:20:34.792
God ever put you like in time out?
00:20:34.792 --> 00:20:38.729
We didn't have time out when i was a kid.
00:20:38.729 --> 00:20:40.097
We had passed out, but we didn't have time out.
00:20:40.097 --> 00:20:43.701
I'm kidding.
00:20:43.701 --> 00:20:50.508
My father's here and i'll get put in time out so it'd be--not
00:20:47.638 --> 00:20:53.644
Be good.
00:20:53.644 --> 00:20:56.914
The sovereignty of god.
00:20:56.914 --> 00:20:58.316
John chapter 19.
00:20:58.316 --> 00:21:01.118
There's a little window into this.
00:21:01.118 --> 00:21:02.453
Jesus is on trial.
00:21:02.453 --> 00:21:03.821
He's standing before a roman governor.
00:21:03.821 --> 00:21:05.156
My time is up, wow.
00:21:05.156 --> 00:21:07.958
It's pilate, you know the story.
00:21:07.958 --> 00:21:10.094
Pilate knows jesus is innocent.
00:21:10.094 --> 00:21:11.429
He didn't want to kill him, but there's a lot of political
00:21:11.429 --> 00:21:13.597
Pressure, tremendous political pressure, and pilate doesn't
00:21:13.597 --> 00:21:16.600
Fear god enough.
00:21:16.600 --> 00:21:17.935
He doesn't have enough respect for god to do
00:21:17.935 --> 00:21:19.303
What he knows right.
00:21:19.303 --> 00:21:21.038
Because his career is in the balance, there's a lot of money
00:21:21.038 --> 00:21:23.140
To be made if he gets this right, he'll maintain his
00:21:23.140 --> 00:21:25.209
Political support.
00:21:25.209 --> 00:21:26.544
It's gonna secure his future and his retirement, but he's got
00:21:26.544 --> 00:21:28.045
A lot of reasons to excuse his lack of respect for god, but the
00:21:28.045 --> 00:21:31.282
Real essence of this is he doesn't fear god enough.
00:21:31.282 --> 00:21:34.118
So he's got jesus in front of him and he knows he's an
00:21:34.118 --> 00:21:35.920
Innocent man; the god part, he's not so clear about.
00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:40.825
And he's looking for a reason to release jesus, and he's not
00:21:40.825 --> 00:21:44.662
Getting any help from jesus, so he's agitated.
00:21:44.662 --> 00:21:47.765
Help me do the right thing here is the essence of the discussion
00:21:47.765 --> 00:21:50.534
And pilate in frustration finally says to jesus--you've
00:21:50.534 --> 00:21:53.504
Got it.
00:21:53.504 --> 00:21:54.872
It's john 19.
00:21:54.872 --> 00:21:56.207
He said, "do you refuse to speak to me?
00:21:56.207 --> 00:21:58.509
Do you know who i am?
00:21:58.509 --> 00:22:01.812
I'm the governor of this province, and i can have you
00:22:01.812 --> 00:22:04.949
Crucified today for chuckles," living bible.
00:22:04.949 --> 00:22:10.755
"or i can release you."
00:22:10.755 --> 00:22:14.024
And jesus's response is life changing, if you can hear it.
00:22:14.024 --> 00:22:18.295
He said, "you have no power over me, if it weren't given to you
00:22:18.295 --> 00:22:22.633
By my dad.
00:22:22.633 --> 00:22:26.036
I know who's sovereign.
00:22:26.036 --> 00:22:28.806
It's not you."
00:22:28.806 --> 00:22:31.308
What would happen if we started to live that way?
00:22:31.308 --> 00:22:34.879
Jesus has a very real threat.
00:22:34.879 --> 00:22:36.414
Pilate truthfully has the power.
00:22:36.414 --> 00:22:38.949
He had the political power, he had the juice to order the
00:22:38.949 --> 00:22:41.519
Soldiers to beat him beyond recognition and ultimately to
00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:44.255
Nail him to a cross.
00:22:44.255 --> 00:22:46.123
Now jesus has already told his friends, "listen, if i want out
00:22:46.123 --> 00:22:48.526
Of this, i can call legions of angels and they'll get me out of
00:22:48.526 --> 00:22:50.761
This, but i need to do this."
00:22:50.761 --> 00:22:52.930
And you and i will be asked to do things by the lord that
00:22:52.930 --> 00:22:55.199
Are uncomfortable.
00:22:55.199 --> 00:22:56.967
That's why i made the snarky comments about happiness a few
00:22:56.967 --> 00:22:59.336
Minutes ago.
00:22:59.336 --> 00:23:01.172
God will ask you and i to do things that aren't fulfilling in
00:23:01.172 --> 00:23:04.375
The moment, that are unpleasant, that look like sacrificial.
00:23:04.375 --> 00:23:07.077
And you'll have friends, you'll have people in your sphere that
00:23:07.077 --> 00:23:10.347
Don't know the lord or aren't willing to follow the lord like
00:23:10.347 --> 00:23:12.349
You are, and they'll say, "don't do that.
00:23:12.349 --> 00:23:13.684
You look foolish.
00:23:13.684 --> 00:23:15.052
Why would you do that?"
00:23:15.052 --> 00:23:16.387
I'm encouraging you to choose to honor the lord anyway.
00:23:16.387 --> 00:23:20.458
In fact, i wanna do more than that in closing.
00:23:20.458 --> 00:23:22.092
I wanna ask you if you'd be willing to say to the lord, "i'm
00:23:22.092 --> 00:23:24.028
Sorry because i really haven't taken that seriously."
00:23:24.028 --> 00:23:28.632
I label it in your notes as a proclamation, but really it's a
00:23:28.632 --> 00:23:32.470
Summary of a couple of passages of scripture and i gave you the
00:23:32.470 --> 00:23:35.139
References for the scripture you can check me later to see if i
00:23:35.139 --> 00:23:37.741
Did it appropriately.
00:23:37.741 --> 00:23:39.109
But the first two-thirds of this prayer, it's a little longer
00:23:39.109 --> 00:23:42.913
Than we normally pray, is an acknowledgement of our own
00:23:42.913 --> 00:23:46.283
Indifference to god.
00:23:46.283 --> 00:23:48.185
I'm not saying we've rejected god.
00:23:48.185 --> 00:23:49.587
You come to church.
00:23:49.587 --> 00:23:50.955
I understand.
00:23:50.955 --> 00:23:52.289
I'm preaching to the choir, but once in a while
00:23:52.289 --> 00:23:53.657
The choir needs a good sermon.
00:23:53.657 --> 00:23:55.092
They've been preaching to me all week.
00:23:55.092 --> 00:23:56.427
I've told you, little yalie from new york's been straightening
00:23:56.427 --> 00:24:00.865
Me out.
00:24:00.865 --> 00:24:02.666
God sent sports writers.
00:24:02.666 --> 00:24:06.003
I wanted to say, "i've preached 10,000 sermons.
00:24:06.003 --> 00:24:08.172
Why would i listen to a sports--" because he was telling
00:24:08.172 --> 00:24:13.143
More truth than most of the churches i listen in on.
00:24:13.143 --> 00:24:17.047
See, i need eyes to see, folks.
00:24:17.047 --> 00:24:18.649
God is moving in the earth.
00:24:18.649 --> 00:24:19.984
I don't wanna miss it.
00:24:19.984 --> 00:24:21.418
And i don't want you to miss it.
00:24:21.418 --> 00:24:22.786
So this morning i'm gonna ask you to say a little prayer.
00:24:22.786 --> 00:24:24.388
We're gonna start by saying to the lord, "lord, our hearts have
00:24:24.388 --> 00:24:27.224
Been pretty distracted.
00:24:27.224 --> 00:24:30.094
We've accepted a lot of things that weren't truth from you and
00:24:30.094 --> 00:24:33.430
We're sorry."
00:24:33.430 --> 00:24:35.499
And then we're gonna ask god to look at our lives and the world
00:24:35.499 --> 00:24:38.168
Around us and to intervene.
00:24:38.168 --> 00:24:40.170
Does that feel appropriate today?
00:24:40.170 --> 00:24:43.240
It did to me, so i brought you that prayer.
00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:44.842
Why don't you stand with me?
00:24:44.842 --> 00:24:46.176
We'll read it together.
00:24:46.176 --> 00:24:48.245
If you're at home, put down your ax and read this prayer.
00:24:48.245 --> 00:24:57.421
You ready?
00:25:00.758 --> 00:25:03.294
"almighty god, our offenses are many in your sight and our sins
00:25:03.294 --> 00:25:08.632
Testify against us.
00:25:08.632 --> 00:25:10.634
We acknowledge our iniquities-- rebellion and treachery against
00:25:10.634 --> 00:25:14.638
The lord, turning our backs on god.
00:25:14.638 --> 00:25:18.275
Justice has been driven back, and righteousness stands at a
00:25:18.275 --> 00:25:21.812
Distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty has been
00:25:21.812 --> 00:25:26.317
Far from us.
00:25:26.317 --> 00:25:27.751
Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes
00:25:27.751 --> 00:25:31.922
A prey.
00:25:31.922 --> 00:25:33.257
We humbly ask lord, that you would look.
00:25:33.257 --> 00:25:36.627
Restore righteousness and establish our hearts in your
00:25:36.627 --> 00:25:40.464
Truth once again.
00:25:40.464 --> 00:25:42.266
May a respect for god grow in the hearts of your people.
00:25:42.266 --> 00:25:46.303
May those who oppose you, fomenting deceit and lies,
00:25:46.303 --> 00:25:50.374
Be silenced.
00:25:50.374 --> 00:25:51.742
May their schemes unravel and be exposed.
00:25:51.742 --> 00:25:55.379
May the glory of the lord be evident, let us speak your truth
00:25:55.379 --> 00:25:59.516
With all confidence.
00:25:59.516 --> 00:26:01.251
Stretch forth your hand that your power will be evident to
00:26:01.251 --> 00:26:05.055
All willing to see.
00:26:05.055 --> 00:26:07.224
Let the purposes of god break forth in this generation,
00:26:07.224 --> 00:26:11.528
Amen," hallelujah.
00:26:11.528 --> 00:26:13.731
God bless you.
00:26:13.731 --> 00:26:16.867
Allen: you know, we don't read our bibles just for exercise or
00:26:21.071 --> 00:26:23.941
Just to be dutiful christians.
00:26:23.941 --> 00:26:25.976
We read our bibles to understand how to navigate a complex world,
00:26:25.976 --> 00:26:29.046
How to understand what's unfolding around us.
00:26:29.046 --> 00:26:32.282
We're living in a season where there's a lot of emotion
00:26:32.282 --> 00:26:34.752
Expressed about the jewish people and the nation of israel.
00:26:34.752 --> 00:26:37.488
From some very well-established elite places, there are voices
00:26:37.488 --> 00:26:41.291
Saying they don't deserve our support.
00:26:41.291 --> 00:26:43.527
Well, i wrote a book, "supporting israel: how far is
00:26:43.527 --> 00:26:46.030
Too far?"
00:26:46.030 --> 00:26:47.364
So that we can have a biblical perspective on our response to
00:26:47.364 --> 00:26:49.867
Current events.
00:26:49.867 --> 00:26:51.201
At the end of the day, i want to align myself with the purposes
00:26:51.201 --> 00:26:53.470
Of god, not the thought leaders at elite ivy league schools or
00:26:53.470 --> 00:26:57.941
The talking heads in the media.
00:26:57.941 --> 00:26:59.777
I intend to stand with the purposes of god.
00:26:59.777 --> 00:27:02.379
This book will help you unpack the current events and
00:27:02.379 --> 00:27:06.083
Understand the perspective from the viewpoint of scripture on
00:27:06.083 --> 00:27:09.153
How you and i can respond in a way that i believe will bring
00:27:09.153 --> 00:27:11.822
The blessings of god to our lives and help us accomplish his
00:27:11.822 --> 00:27:15.092
Purposes in our generation.
00:27:15.092 --> 00:27:17.428
It's worth the read.
00:27:17.428 --> 00:27:18.796
♪♪♪
00:27:20.330 --> 00:27:29.373

Allen Jackson - The Sovereignty of God (Part 2)

October 15, 2025 | 28:35

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