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 - Thoughts, Words, and Reality (Part 1) | September 6, 2025
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- Allen jackson: i'm of the opinion that professional
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- Christians like myself, we tend to make christianity
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- Too difficult.
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- We use big words and big concepts.
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- You know, we'll talk about hermeneutics and homiletics and
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- Exegetical specificity and reading the koine greek and the
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- Masoretic hebrew.
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- And i've studied a lot, and i understand the words,
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- And i could probably even come up with some definitions.
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- But in reality, i don't think our faith is that complicated.
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- Well, i've written a new book that's really at the heart.
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- It's a concept that changed my life,
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- And it's changed my relationship with the lord.
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- It's my friend jesus.
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- See, i think you and i know how to be a friend.
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- We know what we want from a friend.
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- We know what our friends imagine is appropriate from us.
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- Well, i wanna be jesus's friend.
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- I wanna do things that make him smile.
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- I don't wanna be involved with things that make him angry.
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- When he sees me, i want it to be a pleasant interaction.
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- I wanna be jesus's friend. it'll change your faith.
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- I believe this book will help open a whole new door in your
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- Relationship with the lord.
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- It'll be a blessing to you.
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- Cc by aberdeen captioning 1-800-688-6621 www.aberdeen.io
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- Allen: my title for the session, which my titles are usually
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- Underwhelming, but "thoughts, words and reality."
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- And there is a progression there that i wanna unpack with you
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- Because i believe truthfully your thoughts lead to your words
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- And those will ultimately define your reality.
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- That's more than a myth and it's more than some
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- Leadership mantra.
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- But i wanna start really my--this little study for me has
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- Come out of a meeting that i have had multiple times,
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- Different people, different settings, but it feels like the
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- Messaging in the meeting has been so similar, or the concerns
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- In the meeting, that it's just become a bible study for me.
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- And so i'm just gonna share a little bit with you from the
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- Overflow of that.
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- And i put a passage in your notes from galatians 5.
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- It's the fruit of the spirit passage.
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- I suspect you know it pretty well.
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- But the issue that's been on the table multiple times is the
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- Challenge we face in initiating and sustaining either spiritual
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- Growth or momentum or even having the awareness that
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- That's important.
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- And so we lose our zeal, we lose a lot.
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- You know, in revelation it says you lost your first love to one
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- Of the churches.
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- And i've had this--some version of this discussion repeatedly in
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- The last few weeks and over a variety of settings, people from
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- Different places.
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- And, you know, what do you do when you find that?
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- And there really seems to be a great deal of if not
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- Ambivalence, a lack of a response.
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- And i'm not a particularly complicated person.
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- And the image that is so real to me, the reason i put the fruit
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- Of the spirit, i love summer vegetables in tennessee.
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- You know, if you don't, you know, if you're still eating
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- Pizza and chicken fingers, i'm happy for you, but you're
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- Missing out.
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- Kathy made something today with some little new potatoes that
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- Were fresh and, you know, the green beans and the new potatoes
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- And the fresh tomatoes.
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- And i mean, it's just, it's amazing.
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- And, you know, most of us probably get those things from
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- The farmers' market or the grocery store or--
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- But it wasn't too long ago that if you were gonna have summer
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- Vegetables, you had to have a garden.
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- And i didn't do that a great deal, but i did it enough to
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- Know that i didn't wanna do it a great deal.
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- And i remember the process: if you're gonna have a garden in
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- One fashion or another, you have to break up the soil whether you
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- Plow it and disk it or you till it or you've got a shovel or
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- Some way or another, you have to break up the soil.
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- And then you prepare the soil and you plant the seeds and then
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- You have to nurture those.
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- You have to water them and protect them from the weeds and
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- The bugs and all the stuff.
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- And oversee that growth period and if you're reasonably
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- Successful with that and there's enough moisture available, you
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- Get to the harvest time.
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- And then, again, we're kind of spoiled, you know, we have
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- Freezers and all sorts of things, but there was a time
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- That if you wanted to maintain the produce from the harvest,
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- You not only collected the harvest, then you had to have a
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- Provision to sustain it, whether you canned it or you transformed
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- It into something else that was more sustainable or you only got
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- The benefit for a very few short days or weeks.
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- And here's the challenge, if you wanted a garden next summer, you
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- Couldn't just get out the pictures of last summer.
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- You couldn't invite your neighbors over and say, "tell me
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- About your garden last year."
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- "oh, i would love to.
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- I have pictures.
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- We had an amazing tomato crop.
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- The vines were breaking.
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- There were so many tomatoes.
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- Do you still look at the pictures that were made?"
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- No, if you wanted that, you had to do it all over again.
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- That i would submit to you that if you and i are going to have
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- The fruit of the spirit in our lives,
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- If we're gonna maintain an edge of spiritual momentum, of
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- Spiritual growth, disciples, we have all kinds of words and
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- Programs and vocabularies, but what i find is we're really
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- Short on intent.
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- If you're gonna have the garden again, you gotta break up
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- The soil.
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- You gotta plant the seeds.
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- You gotta care for 'em.
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- You gotta weed it and spray it and harvest it and then deal
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- With the harvest 'cause the harvest, you know,
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- It's overwhelming.
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- You get tired of tomatoes.
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- It's like i don't want any more green beans.
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- We had strawberries for a while.
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- And, you know, for the first week fresh strawberries
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- Were great.
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- By week four i'm like, god, if you want a strawberry, go
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- Get it.
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- You know, then, you know, my parents would know that we were
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- Tired of the strawberry juice, "don't you want to pick some
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- Strawberries for your friends?"
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- No.
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- If my friends want strawberry that's their problem.
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- I picked all the strawberries, you know, harvest time can
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- Get overwhelming.
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- And i think, if you and i, you know, we have all these things
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- We say we want to happen and that we want the lord to do and
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- The real question on the table is, are we willing to engage in
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- The behaviors that will allow god to bring new growth?
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- And what i find is we're far more comfortable getting at our
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- Pictures from the gardens of years past and telling stories
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- Of what god has done and what we have experienced with the,
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- Really, with the--the message that's being conveyed is we've
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- Done the heavy lifting.
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- We've made the big changes.
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- We've turned away from the things that needed turned away
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- From and we found freedom where there was freedom to be had and
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- There's really nothing much left for us to experience, so let us
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- Show you our pictures of our wonderful gardening experience.
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- And that does not align itself with what i find in my bible.
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- Apostle paul went to ephesus,
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- Spent a couple of years there ministering.
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- The whole region was impacted.
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- God did extraordinary miracles, it says, through his hands.
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- You know what most of us would call an ephesus experience?
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- As a professional christian, do you know what we call that?
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- A career.
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- We would, we'd have gone back home, we'd have written a book
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- About what god did in ephesus.
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- We'd have done a video series today.
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- We'd have written a small group curriculum, a list of prayers,
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- Prayers from ephesus that will change your city.
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- We'd have gotten on the banquet circuit and we would have taken
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- Some ephesians with us.
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- Tell us about what you burned in the big fire at ephesus.
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- You know the drill.
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- But that wasn't paul's attitude at all.
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- He picked up and went to the next city and to the next city
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- And to the next city and oftentimes there was a riot or
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- A physical threat or violence against him or things to
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- Be overcome.
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- Church, we gotta be growing.
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- Oh, i'm just talking, i mean, yeah, i think the community
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- Where we serve should be growing, but i think far more
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- Importantly, in our hearts, we've gotta have
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- That same desire.
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- We want somebody else to grow the vegetables and bring us
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- A basket.
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- We'll sell them, but we'll tell them they're great farmers.
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- Bring me a picture of your garden.
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- I'd like to see it.
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- But i believe god is calling us to a season where the only way
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- To secure what is gonna be needed for ahead of us is if
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- We're bearing fruit.
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- And so that's really the--i'm just gonna take one slice of
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- That as we walk through this, but it has to do with our
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- Thoughts and our words and our reality.
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- And it's really simple.
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- It's a little bit of a tag to what we started on sunday.
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- But i'll begin this session with the benefits of thanksgiving
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- And praise.
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- And again, i think we kind of stretch and yawn and go, "pastor
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- Couldn't you, you know, couldn't we talk about prophecy?"
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- Well, i can, but you won't survive it if you don't
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- Understand the link between your thoughts and your words and
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- Your future.
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- It's through praise that we acknowledge the greatness of god
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- And we're reluctant to praise the lord.
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- We truly are.
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- I heard a videotape this week.
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- It touched my heart.
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- It was some of the young people who had been caught in some of
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- The flood.
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- And as they had been rescued or gathered, they were in a van of
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- Some sort and they were singing a little chorus.
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- And i just heard the video and there was such a freedom in
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- Their words.
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- I thought, oh, we missed that.
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- We withdraw from worship if it's not the chorus we like or the
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- Leader we like or the tone we like or whatever.
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- We worship god not because he needs to be reminded of who
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- He is.
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- We worship god and give thanks to god and we give praise to god
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- Because there's a continual battle in our hearts and our
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- Minds and our thoughts about who god is.
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- And by a decision of my will, i will raise my voice in praise
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- And thanksgiving to god.
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- [congregation applauding]
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- It is very seldom driven by the condition of my emotions.
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- Just to be completely--there's some days, yes, you feel like
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- It, but at night, the majority of the time, i make that--that
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- Expression that comes out of me is by a decision of my will and
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- My emotions have to find it.
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- Psalm 33, "sing joyfully to the lord, you righteous: it is
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- Fitting for the upright to praise him."
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- That's enough.
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- If you imagine yourself to be upright before the lord, if you
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- Desire to, what's a behavior that will help you sustain
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- That place?
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- Praise him.
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- Praise him.
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- And don't think about praise just when the band plays or the
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- Vocalist walks out and they, you know, it's a music that's
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- Emotive to you.
- 00:11:05.113 --> 00:11:06.581
- Praise the lord when you're with your friends.
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- Praise your lord when you go to work.
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- Praise the lord when you have a good conversation.
- 00:11:09.751 --> 00:11:11.152
- "how are you doing?"
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- "i'm doing really well today 'cause god has blessed me."
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- Just drag the goodness of the lord into all
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- Your conversations.
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- "well, people will think i'm crazy."
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- They already do.
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- You might as well think they're crazy for jesus.
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- You think people don't talk about you already?
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- Let's give them a good reason.
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- Allen: hey, i've written a new book.
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- It's called "my friend jesus."
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- You know, i'm a pastor--a lot of ritual,
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- Tradition, a lot of formality in the way we know god.
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- It's not bad.
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- There's some good things in that,
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- But when i'm in real trouble or i have something i wanna
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- Celebrate, i call a friend.
- 00:11:54.763 --> 00:11:56.898
- Well, i wanna live my life with jesus of nazareth as my friend.
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- It changes everything in both celebration
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- And when there's a problem.
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- Wrote the book to help.
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- I think it'll open your life to god in a more personal,
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- Transformational way than ever before.
- 00:12:08.243 --> 00:12:11.012
- Enjoy the book.
- 00:12:11.012 --> 00:12:12.347
- Female announcer: in his book,
- 00:12:12.347 --> 00:12:13.681
- "my friend jesus," pastor allen shares how friendship with jesus
- 00:12:13.681 --> 00:12:16.217
- Brings clarity, strength, and peace in every part of life.
- 00:12:16.217 --> 00:12:20.088
- This isn't about following a religion or religious rules.
- 00:12:20.088 --> 00:12:23.458
- It's about cultivating a cherished relationship that will
- 00:12:23.458 --> 00:12:25.960
- Help your faith become more personal,
- 00:12:25.960 --> 00:12:28.296
- More joyful, and more powerful each day.
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- Request "my friend jesus" with your donation of $25 or more
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- Today at allenjackson.com or by calling...
- 00:12:35.003 --> 00:12:41.676
- Allen: there's a second benefit of praise and thanksgiving.
- 00:12:41.743 --> 00:12:44.078
- It dislodges, it breaks up, it dispels despair.
- 00:12:44.078 --> 00:12:50.418
- In isaiah 61, "to proclaim the year of the lord's favor and the
- 00:12:50.418 --> 00:12:53.521
- Day of the vengeance of our god, to comfort all who mourn, and
- 00:12:53.521 --> 00:12:57.358
- Provide for those who grieve in zion--to bestow on them a crown
- 00:12:57.358 --> 00:13:00.428
- Of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead
- 00:13:00.428 --> 00:13:03.198
- Of mourning."
- 00:13:03.198 --> 00:13:04.532
- There's an exchange taking place.
- 00:13:04.532 --> 00:13:07.535
- "a crown of beauty instead of ashes."
- 00:13:07.535 --> 00:13:09.404
- You put ashes on your head as a sign of grief or great mourning.
- 00:13:09.404 --> 00:13:13.842
- "a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness
- 00:13:13.842 --> 00:13:16.878
- Instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a
- 00:13:16.878 --> 00:13:21.416
- Spirit of despair."
- 00:13:21.416 --> 00:13:24.352
- If you do those things, there's a label that comes.
- 00:13:24.352 --> 00:13:26.454
- "you'll be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the
- 00:13:26.454 --> 00:13:30.458
- Lord for the display of his splendor."
- 00:13:30.458 --> 00:13:33.061
- But there's a change of attitude, a change of posture.
- 00:13:33.061 --> 00:13:37.832
- A change of spirit that's described there.
- 00:13:37.832 --> 00:13:41.736
- Instead of ashes on your head, there's a crown of beauty and
- 00:13:41.736 --> 00:13:45.340
- Instead of mourning, there's the oil of gladness.
- 00:13:45.340 --> 00:13:47.508
- Oil was a, really, means of monetary exchange.
- 00:13:47.508 --> 00:13:52.513
- So i mean, there's a sense of opportunity about you instead of
- 00:13:52.513 --> 00:13:57.986
- A sense of despair that you put on a garment of praise and not
- 00:13:57.986 --> 00:14:02.257
- That spirit of heaviness.
- 00:14:02.257 --> 00:14:05.226
- I meet people all the time, frequently, on a route, "you
- 00:14:05.226 --> 00:14:07.629
- Know, pastor, i just don't watch the news.
- 00:14:07.629 --> 00:14:09.297
- It's too heavy."
- 00:14:09.297 --> 00:14:10.665
- No, watch the news to see what god is doing.
- 00:14:10.665 --> 00:14:15.103
- I have to step into that world a bit more than i once did, and i
- 00:14:15.103 --> 00:14:18.006
- Can tell you, every day there are things for which i can--only
- 00:14:18.006 --> 00:14:20.775
- God could have done that.
- 00:14:20.775 --> 00:14:22.477
- Oh my god, yes, every day you can find something the
- 00:14:22.477 --> 00:14:24.646
- Devil's doing.
- 00:14:24.646 --> 00:14:26.581
- You find that in the opening chapters of genesis.
- 00:14:26.581 --> 00:14:30.184
- God created the heavens and the earth and everything that's in
- 00:14:30.184 --> 00:14:32.520
- Them, and he said it's very good, and here comes the devil.
- 00:14:32.520 --> 00:14:36.391
- And that theme is gonna follow you all the way through to the
- 00:14:36.391 --> 00:14:38.426
- End of the book of revelation.
- 00:14:38.426 --> 00:14:41.029
- So you and i have to decide that, every day, which of those
- 00:14:41.029 --> 00:14:44.399
- Things we're going to put on?
- 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:45.733
- Are we gonna put ashes on our head?
- 00:14:45.733 --> 00:14:47.969
- We gonna take on an attitude of mourning or are we gonna put
- 00:14:47.969 --> 00:14:50.538
- On a garment of praise?
- 00:14:50.538 --> 00:14:55.343
- I'm not trying to bring some quick fix, some facade.
- 00:14:55.343 --> 00:15:02.850
- I'm telling you there's a fundamental change in the
- 00:15:02.850 --> 00:15:05.286
- Thoughts that you welcome into your life, how you view the
- 00:15:05.286 --> 00:15:08.856
- World around you.
- 00:15:08.856 --> 00:15:11.893
- And that'll be reflected in the words that you use, not just
- 00:15:11.893 --> 00:15:14.829
- Your church words.
- 00:15:14.829 --> 00:15:19.634
- Thanksgiving and praise prepare a way for god's involvement in
- 00:15:19.634 --> 00:15:22.236
- Our lives.
- 00:15:22.236 --> 00:15:23.638
- Then we could spend multiple sessions unpacking this.
- 00:15:23.638 --> 00:15:26.975
- I brought you a couple of familiar stories because i
- 00:15:26.975 --> 00:15:28.943
- Didn't think it would take much time.
- 00:15:28.943 --> 00:15:30.278
- One is jonah.
- 00:15:30.278 --> 00:15:31.612
- We all know jonah.
- 00:15:31.612 --> 00:15:33.581
- He's a rebel of the first class and he's a prophet of god.
- 00:15:33.581 --> 00:15:38.086
- Can you balance those two things?
- 00:15:38.086 --> 00:15:40.188
- I want to disrupt your smugness.
- 00:15:40.188 --> 00:15:44.125
- So many of the people who were introduced in scripture are very
- 00:15:44.125 --> 00:15:46.461
- Deeply rooted in a life with god and very uncooperative.
- 00:15:46.461 --> 00:15:51.933
- Jesus told a parable about a pharisee and a very
- 00:15:51.933 --> 00:15:55.003
- Public sinner.
- 00:15:55.003 --> 00:15:56.471
- And the public sinner had a better god attitude than the
- 00:15:56.471 --> 00:15:58.740
- Very religious person.
- 00:15:58.740 --> 00:16:01.109
- Should give us pause, we're in church frequently.
- 00:16:01.109 --> 00:16:04.679
- And jonah's a prophet, somebody god trusts with a message.
- 00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:09.150
- Somebody that god has designed an assignment that he thinks is
- 00:16:09.150 --> 00:16:11.652
- Unique enough that he's pretty persistent with jonah.
- 00:16:11.652 --> 00:16:14.722
- And yet jonah says, no, i don't wanna do that.
- 00:16:14.722 --> 00:16:18.993
- And i really think the root of it was he didn't like the
- 00:16:18.993 --> 00:16:21.496
- Political implications of it.
- 00:16:21.496 --> 00:16:24.932
- He understood assyria was the rising empire, the greatest
- 00:16:24.932 --> 00:16:27.769
- Threat to the liberties and the freedoms of the people of israel
- 00:16:27.769 --> 00:16:31.572
- And he would have much rather seen god's judgment poured out
- 00:16:31.572 --> 00:16:33.941
- Upon them than god's blessings.
- 00:16:33.941 --> 00:16:35.476
- And when god said, "i want you to go give them a message to
- 00:16:35.476 --> 00:16:37.545
- Repent," he said, "no, i don't want to."
- 00:16:37.545 --> 00:16:41.182
- In fact, when they did repent and judgment didn't come,
- 00:16:41.182 --> 00:16:43.851
- Remember what jonah said?
- 00:16:43.851 --> 00:16:45.920
- "i'm so mad i wanna die."
- 00:16:45.920 --> 00:16:51.059
- And god said, "what's wrong with you?"
- 00:16:51.059 --> 00:16:53.127
- Living bible.
- 00:16:53.127 --> 00:16:55.663
- "what's wrong with you?
- 00:16:55.663 --> 00:16:57.799
- You're more upset about your shade drying up than you are the
- 00:16:57.799 --> 00:17:01.702
- People of this city."
- 00:17:01.702 --> 00:17:05.273
- And the real answer was, "well, i perceived them as a threat."
- 00:17:05.273 --> 00:17:11.679
- But in the middle of the belly of the whale, jonah realizes
- 00:17:11.679 --> 00:17:17.285
- He's desperate.
- 00:17:17.285 --> 00:17:19.620
- It's in your notes.
- 00:17:19.620 --> 00:17:22.156
- "from inside the fish jonah prayed," no kidding.
- 00:17:22.156 --> 00:17:28.463
- "and he said, 'in my distress i called to the lord, and he
- 00:17:28.463 --> 00:17:30.998
- Answered me.
- 00:17:30.998 --> 00:17:32.333
- From the depths of the grave i called for help, and you
- 00:17:32.333 --> 00:17:33.935
- Listened to my cry.'"
- 00:17:33.935 --> 00:17:35.736
- And then we're given just a little bit of the prayer.
- 00:17:35.736 --> 00:17:38.973
- "with a song of thanksgiving, i will sacrifice to you.
- 00:17:38.973 --> 00:17:44.245
- What i have vowed i will make good."
- 00:17:44.245 --> 00:17:46.581
- With the song of thanksgiving in a dark, frightening,
- 00:17:46.581 --> 00:17:51.052
- Uncomfortable, terrifying, miserable place, jonah said, "i
- 00:17:51.052 --> 00:17:56.090
- Will give thanks to the lord."
- 00:17:56.090 --> 00:17:59.193
- That's just not easily done, folks.
- 00:17:59.193 --> 00:18:00.695
- That's not an emotional response.
- 00:18:00.695 --> 00:18:02.697
- That's not feeling-based prayers.
- 00:18:02.697 --> 00:18:06.601
- Well, our christianity is way too squishy.
- 00:18:06.601 --> 00:18:09.537
- If you're gonna have a garden, you don't just tend it on the
- 00:18:09.537 --> 00:18:11.405
- Days where it's comfortable and cool.
- 00:18:11.405 --> 00:18:14.976
- If you're gonna get a good harvest from your efforts,
- 00:18:14.976 --> 00:18:18.146
- You're gonna work it when it's inconvenient, you're
- 00:18:18.146 --> 00:18:19.981
- Gonna--you'll have to put in effort that most people won't
- 00:18:19.981 --> 00:18:22.016
- Put in.
- 00:18:22.016 --> 00:18:24.018
- You gotta have a vision for what you want weeks and months before
- 00:18:24.018 --> 00:18:27.755
- You're actually going to attain it.
- 00:18:27.755 --> 00:18:29.123
- There's some delayed gratification in that.
- 00:18:29.123 --> 00:18:30.791
- There's an investment that's somewhat faith based 'cause
- 00:18:30.791 --> 00:18:33.594
- Without the part that you can't do, without the moisture and the
- 00:18:33.594 --> 00:18:35.997
- Sunshine and all the intangibles, you could invest
- 00:18:35.997 --> 00:18:39.200
- All that effort and not get very much for it.
- 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:43.471
- Are we willing to give thanks to the lord?
- 00:18:43.471 --> 00:18:46.674
- It starts in our thoughts.
- 00:18:46.674 --> 00:18:49.677
- And it'll find its way to our words and if we will stay
- 00:18:49.677 --> 00:18:53.014
- Focused and determined and persistent, it will end up
- 00:18:53.014 --> 00:18:56.717
- Defining our reality.
- 00:18:56.717 --> 00:18:59.187
- I brought you another example.
- 00:18:59.187 --> 00:19:00.555
- Again, it's a very familiar story.
- 00:19:00.555 --> 00:19:02.723
- It's paul, and at this point, his traveling team is silas.
- 00:19:02.723 --> 00:19:07.862
- And they've been stripped and beaten.
- 00:19:07.862 --> 00:19:09.931
- That's humiliating in any generation.
- 00:19:09.931 --> 00:19:13.668
- Arrested in public, stripped and beaten.
- 00:19:13.668 --> 00:19:15.903
- That is not the way to launch your ministry.
- 00:19:15.903 --> 00:19:21.509
- See, if we start a small group initiative and you invite four
- 00:19:21.509 --> 00:19:24.912
- People and three of them say no, you're like, oh, i tried.
- 00:19:24.912 --> 00:19:28.683
- I invited four people and three of them said no.
- 00:19:28.683 --> 00:19:32.386
- And one of them was my wife and the other was my brother and--
- 00:19:32.386 --> 00:19:38.759
- I mean, i read this and we read it like it's normal, but there's
- 00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:42.263
- Nothing about this scenario that fits into our
- 00:19:42.263 --> 00:19:45.032
- Experience profile.
- 00:19:45.032 --> 00:19:46.534
- "and after they've been severely beaten, they were thrown into
- 00:19:46.534 --> 00:19:49.103
- Prison, and the jailer commanded the guard to guard them.
- 00:19:49.103 --> 00:19:52.907
- And he put them in the inner cell, and he fastened their feet
- 00:19:52.907 --> 00:19:55.543
- In the stocks."
- 00:19:55.543 --> 00:19:56.877
- I mean, everything about this is uncomfortable.
- 00:19:56.877 --> 00:19:59.113
- "at about midnight paul and silas," were complaining about
- 00:19:59.113 --> 00:20:02.883
- Who had planned this missions trip.
- 00:20:02.883 --> 00:20:04.752
- How many of you know the story, we've all heard it a 100 times
- 00:20:04.752 --> 00:20:09.156
- In a message of one kind or another, they're praying and
- 00:20:09.156 --> 00:20:11.392
- Singing hymns to god.
- 00:20:11.392 --> 00:20:14.295
- And we read that like, oh, isn't that sweet?
- 00:20:14.295 --> 00:20:16.163
- No, it's not. that's hard.
- 00:20:16.163 --> 00:20:18.599
- It's difficult, it's uncomfortable.
- 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:20.468
- It goes against every emotion they had, it's illogical.
- 00:20:20.468 --> 00:20:24.538
- They didn't feel like it.
- 00:20:24.538 --> 00:20:28.209
- Paul, we got here 'cause of that stinking vision you had.
- 00:20:28.209 --> 00:20:30.511
- It wasn't a vision, it was indigestion.
- 00:20:30.511 --> 00:20:33.748
- What were you thinking?
- 00:20:33.748 --> 00:20:36.550
- I mean, i read that and i think, how did they have the awareness
- 00:20:36.550 --> 00:20:38.919
- And understanding to recognize there was a spiritual conflict
- 00:20:38.919 --> 00:20:41.922
- Raging that had left marks on their physical body and yet they
- 00:20:41.922 --> 00:20:48.362
- Didn't disengage?
- 00:20:48.362 --> 00:20:51.532
- They didn't say, "this is too difficult.
- 00:20:51.532 --> 00:20:56.737
- We have contusions.
- 00:20:56.737 --> 00:20:58.072
- We are bleeding.
- 00:20:58.072 --> 00:21:00.341
- We've been humiliated.
- 00:21:00.341 --> 00:21:01.709
- We have lost all of our momentum."
- 00:21:01.709 --> 00:21:04.945
- But rather than seeing it from that vantage point, they said,
- 00:21:04.945 --> 00:21:08.316
- "god is doing something.
- 00:21:08.316 --> 00:21:09.650
- There's tremendous opposition so there has to be something
- 00:21:09.650 --> 00:21:11.919
- Tremendous god has for us."
- 00:21:11.919 --> 00:21:16.023
- There was something in their thoughts that is too deficient
- 00:21:16.023 --> 00:21:19.894
- Amongst us.
- 00:21:19.894 --> 00:21:21.228
- I live in the midst of the people of god and i'm grateful
- 00:21:21.228 --> 00:21:24.031
- For that, but i'm telling you there's a great opportunity in
- 00:21:24.031 --> 00:21:27.668
- Front of us.
- 00:21:27.668 --> 00:21:29.036
- If we can transform our thoughts and then our words, we will have
- 00:21:29.036 --> 00:21:32.006
- A different kind of a future.
- 00:21:32.006 --> 00:21:35.476
- The devil will be so concerned when you roll up in a new job or
- 00:21:35.476 --> 00:21:39.280
- A new community or a new season of opportunity that he'll start
- 00:21:39.280 --> 00:21:44.251
- Disruptions ahead of any logical reason to do it.
- 00:21:44.251 --> 00:21:50.624
- You know the end of it.
- 00:21:50.624 --> 00:21:51.992
- There's an earthquake and the chains fall off and the jails
- 00:21:51.992 --> 00:21:55.262
- Opened and the jailer and his family accept the lord and
- 00:21:55.262 --> 00:21:59.066
- They're baptized and they care for paul.
- 00:21:59.066 --> 00:22:00.801
- He makes the magistrates of the city come down and apologize.
- 00:22:00.801 --> 00:22:05.373
- Not sneaking out of town.
- 00:22:05.373 --> 00:22:08.609
- But the bigger principle is important--that thanksgiving and
- 00:22:08.609 --> 00:22:11.712
- Praise, they prepare a way for the involvement of god in
- 00:22:11.712 --> 00:22:14.782
- Your life.
- 00:22:14.782 --> 00:22:16.150
- If you would like god more involved in your life, if there
- 00:22:16.150 --> 00:22:18.552
- Are circumstances where the only imaginable outcome, acceptable
- 00:22:18.552 --> 00:22:21.956
- Outcome is that, you begin to thank god.
- 00:22:21.956 --> 00:22:26.060
- God, i thank you that you'll make a way,
- 00:22:26.060 --> 00:22:28.496
- That you'll open a door,
- 00:22:28.496 --> 00:22:29.864
- That you'll bring life to our bodies or peace to our minds or
- 00:22:29.864 --> 00:22:32.600
- Hope to this circumstance.
- 00:22:32.600 --> 00:22:34.802
- Whatever it may be, lord, there's an immovable wall or an
- 00:22:34.802 --> 00:22:38.105
- Impassable barrier and you're the--you can make a way through
- 00:22:38.105 --> 00:22:41.242
- That or around that or over that or under that or whatever you
- 00:22:41.242 --> 00:22:44.545
- Need to do, god, i wanna give you thanks for that.
- 00:22:44.545 --> 00:22:47.948
- Or, god, i'm discouraged and i'm tired and i'm weary, but i'm
- 00:22:47.948 --> 00:22:51.719
- Gonna choose to say thank you.
- 00:22:51.719 --> 00:22:53.154
- I'm gonna give glory to you.
- 00:22:53.154 --> 00:22:55.256
- Whether you move the rock or not, you are worthy of all glory
- 00:22:55.256 --> 00:22:58.192
- And honor and praise and thanksgiving and i will
- 00:22:58.192 --> 00:23:00.928
- Not relent.
- 00:23:00.928 --> 00:23:02.797
- [congregation applauding]
- 00:23:02.797 --> 00:23:05.933
- You see, there's something fundamental that we've got to
- 00:23:05.933 --> 00:23:08.135
- Bring to it.
- 00:23:08.135 --> 00:23:09.503
- It doesn't matter if anybody else joins you.
- 00:23:09.503 --> 00:23:12.640
- People say to me, "well, pastor just nobody worships."
- 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:14.708
- Why don't you?
- 00:23:14.708 --> 00:23:21.415
- When everybody else is worshiping, adding one more--
- 00:23:21.415 --> 00:23:23.384
- That's not difficult.
- 00:23:23.384 --> 00:23:24.718
- That's groupthink.
- 00:23:24.718 --> 00:23:26.086
- That's not too hard to build on.
- 00:23:26.086 --> 00:23:27.788
- And there's times and places, there's a momentum in that and
- 00:23:27.788 --> 00:23:30.024
- We may use it to help extend something, but the reality is
- 00:23:30.024 --> 00:23:33.561
- It's an individual decision.
- 00:23:33.561 --> 00:23:36.063
- I'm really not talking to you about something corporate.
- 00:23:36.063 --> 00:23:38.032
- I'm talking about if you want a crop of godliness in your life,
- 00:23:38.032 --> 00:23:42.470
- It's gonna have a great deal to do with the thoughts that you
- 00:23:42.470 --> 00:23:45.272
- Intentionally cultivate and the words that give expression
- 00:23:45.272 --> 00:23:48.576
- To that.
- 00:23:48.576 --> 00:23:51.812
- Every bit is intentional, if you wanna lose a bit of weight.
- 00:23:51.812 --> 00:23:57.985
- If you're past about 25, that's not random.
- 00:23:57.985 --> 00:24:02.356
- If you're 19, i don't wanna hear about your diet.
- 00:24:02.356 --> 00:24:06.227
- Your metabolism's disgusting.
- 00:24:06.227 --> 00:24:12.199
- And we're jealous.
- 00:24:12.199 --> 00:24:15.269
- Praise will silence the enemy, which is a very, very, very
- 00:24:15.269 --> 00:24:19.240
- Powerful tool.
- 00:24:19.240 --> 00:24:22.009
- If you can silence your enemy,
- 00:24:22.009 --> 00:24:25.613
- You know how powerful that is, to shut down the opposition?
- 00:24:25.613 --> 00:24:31.585
- Psalm 8 and verse 2 says, "from the lips of children and infants
- 00:24:31.585 --> 00:24:34.388
- You have ordained praise because of your enemies,
- 00:24:34.388 --> 00:24:38.559
- To silence the foe and the avenger."
- 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:43.464
- Wow.
- 00:24:43.464 --> 00:24:45.599
- We have underestimated this.
- 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:49.470
- In revelation 12, it says, "the accuser of our brothers, who
- 00:24:49.470 --> 00:24:54.074
- Accuses them before our god day and night has been hurled down."
- 00:24:54.074 --> 00:24:58.812
- It's a scene in revelation of the throne of god, and satan is
- 00:24:58.812 --> 00:25:02.182
- Portrayed, presented to us--one of the titles given to him is
- 00:25:02.182 --> 00:25:05.352
- The accuser of the brethren.
- 00:25:05.352 --> 00:25:09.757
- In the book of job, you get a little snapshot of that.
- 00:25:09.757 --> 00:25:11.892
- Satan presents himself with the angels of light, critical
- 00:25:11.892 --> 00:25:15.029
- Of job.
- 00:25:15.029 --> 00:25:17.298
- Attacking job, diminishing job.
- 00:25:17.298 --> 00:25:20.568
- You know that battle.
- 00:25:20.568 --> 00:25:22.903
- Forget how satan got to heaven with the, you know, sometimes
- 00:25:22.903 --> 00:25:26.307
- I'm fascinated at how we process this stuff.
- 00:25:26.307 --> 00:25:28.442
- I've been in multiple bible studies.
- 00:25:28.442 --> 00:25:30.544
- We spend the whole time discussing how satan managed to
- 00:25:30.544 --> 00:25:33.047
- Appear with the angels of light.
- 00:25:33.047 --> 00:25:35.249
- Does he have access to the throne of god?
- 00:25:35.249 --> 00:25:38.352
- I mean i'm okay with the questions, but here's
- 00:25:38.352 --> 00:25:40.187
- The reality.
- 00:25:40.187 --> 00:25:42.256
- Satan puts all kinds of thoughts in your head on a very
- 00:25:42.256 --> 00:25:44.858
- Regular basis.
- 00:25:44.858 --> 00:25:46.660
- And i would submit to you it's far more important to know what
- 00:25:46.660 --> 00:25:48.829
- To do with the ungodly thoughts that will cripple our momentum
- 00:25:48.829 --> 00:25:52.399
- And our growth than it is to answer every theological nuance
- 00:25:52.399 --> 00:25:56.203
- And subtlety that you can find with the persistent study
- 00:25:56.203 --> 00:25:59.139
- Of scripture.
- 00:25:59.139 --> 00:26:00.841
- And i'm an advocate for the persistent study of scripture.
- 00:26:00.841 --> 00:26:03.444
- ♪♪♪
- 00:26:04.511 --> 00:26:11.118
- Allen: you know, i'm so grateful to have had a few minutes
- 00:26:11.185 --> 00:26:13.320
- With you today.
- 00:26:13.320 --> 00:26:14.655
- These opportunities to open the word of god and open our lives
- 00:26:14.655 --> 00:26:17.224
- And invite god into the midst of it,
- 00:26:17.224 --> 00:26:18.626
- They're transformational.
- 00:26:18.626 --> 00:26:20.594
- I've learned to never take them for granted.
- 00:26:20.594 --> 00:26:22.262
- I used to imagine that they were unlimited,
- 00:26:22.262 --> 00:26:24.064
- That we could do it forever.
- 00:26:24.064 --> 00:26:25.766
- Every time i have an opportunity to talk with a friend and make a
- 00:26:25.766 --> 00:26:28.869
- Journey through the word of god for a bit,
- 00:26:28.869 --> 00:26:31.205
- I think it's something precious.
- 00:26:31.205 --> 00:26:32.673
- It's a gift from god.
- 00:26:32.673 --> 00:26:34.008
- I'm grateful we had this time together.
- 00:26:34.008 --> 00:26:35.809
- I've got a new book.
- 00:26:35.809 --> 00:26:37.244
- It's called "my friend jesus."
- 00:26:37.244 --> 00:26:38.946
- It's the culmination of years of my own spiritual journey,
- 00:26:38.946 --> 00:26:41.682
- Kind of peeling away the formality of theology and ritual
- 00:26:41.682 --> 00:26:45.085
- And routine, and opening the heart of what it means to be a
- 00:26:45.085 --> 00:26:47.521
- Christ follower.
- 00:26:47.521 --> 00:26:48.856
- I wanna live as jesus's friend.
- 00:26:48.856 --> 00:26:50.624
- When i'm in trouble, i call my friends.
- 00:26:50.624 --> 00:26:52.826
- When they're in trouble and i can help,
- 00:26:52.826 --> 00:26:54.294
- It's the delight of my life.
- 00:26:54.294 --> 00:26:55.863
- Well, i wanna pray with you.
- 00:26:55.863 --> 00:26:57.197
- Let's invite my friend jesus into the midst of our world.
- 00:26:57.197 --> 00:27:00.000
- He changes everything.
- 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:01.635
- Heavenly father, i thank you that you love us,
- 00:27:01.635 --> 00:27:03.537
- That you sent your son.
- 00:27:03.537 --> 00:27:04.972
- We need his help, his strength, his wisdom.
- 00:27:04.972 --> 00:27:07.307
- Open our hearts to know him as we've never known him before.
- 00:27:07.307 --> 00:27:10.344
- In jesus's name, amen.
- 00:27:10.344 --> 00:27:27.327