Are You Prepared for Jesus’ Return [Don’t Be Left Out]

well hello church hallelujah it's a holiday weekend but you're not like depressed because you're left here with me are you all right we're still alive grateful we can be together amen i'm telling you the privilege of being with god's people with the freedom to honor jesus is a tremendous gift we used to take that for granted but never again all right it's true the lord has been very very good to us and you know the reality this is we're not finished yet um i would i wish what they had told us initially was true go home for two weeks and we'll go back to normal either they didn't know they misrepresented at something because that wasn't enough and we're not i don't think we're going back there but we're going to someplace better and i'm excited about that god chose you and me to be a part of this season of realignment we were content we were muddling along and didn't know how desperate we were for god's help and he's begun to awaken us what an honor to be with god's people we're going to pray offertory prayer we're not passing baskets and buckets yet but we are praying god is our sustainer folks the the economy is um how shall we say the economy is as messed up as the exit from afghanistan and the same people that are telling you that they did that well are telling you they're managing the economy well i promise and so we need to understand where our source is and what the point of stability in our lives is and who it is we're trusting for our future we the reason we are generous is generosity is an exercise that helps us put our trust in the lord it's really not about church budgets or the needs of other people in practicing generosity something is built in us the confidence that the lord will sustain us it's a bit like humility you don't acquire humility directly you don't have a humble muscle you acquire humility in serving others in valuing others in doing things when nobody's watching that are the right thing to do you if you'll practice those behaviors humility will grow with you and it's one of the most potent forces in your life pride is one of the most destructive forces in your life humility is on the other end of the spectrum it's one of the most potent forces for good in your life and you cultivate it indirectly i hope you practice things that let humility grow in you but generosity is like that in the practice of generosity that our trust in the lord is strengthened that no matter what comes no matter what shaking comes or or what things the knuckleheads do knucklehead is a greek word those for those whom god have not blessed that's not true but hey now with google you can check out all my greek words that's not fair but we we we've taken time to pray at each service through this whole season because we're more aware than i believe we've ever been that we need god's help and it seems like tonight it's appropriate to pray for those that have been impacted either by the hurricane by ida from the gulf coast all the way to the east coast what a storm i mean what a remarkable impact it has had and there are thousands of people suffering and we get annoyed if our electricity goes out for 30 seconds and we have to reset the clock on the microwave and there are hundreds of thousands of people that have no expectation of electricity for weeks and if we go to the other coast they have wildfires and so we we need god's help is that fair you know we're not capable of protecting ourselves we need to understand we live under god's protection isn't that good to know hallelujah he watches over us why don't you stand with me if you don't know the people who are standing right there around you say i'm really glad i can pray with you don't touch them lord have mercy we're not shaking hands we're not greeting anyone with a holy kiss don't get crazy hallelujah but we are praying together hallelujah lord thank you thank you that we can be together i thank you that you have kept us and watched over us that you have delivered us we praise you for it tonight the lord we're aware of the suffering around us and we ask for your mercy tonight send the angels to help or those whose lives have been disrupted by the storm or wherever they may be and whatever those details we ask you to to mitigate the suffering lord intervene whatever those needs may be whatever the fear is i pray that you'll intervene bring courage and confidence lord let the people that are serving and helping renew their strength give them wisdom may they be cooperative may there be nothing that would disrupt or diminish or bring division may we truly stand together would we pray the same for those that are battling the fires and those who have been impacted by that oh father be merciful to them lord and for those who are sick that are still struggling against this virus and those who are serving them i pray that you'll intervene there as well lord you're our deliverer and we pause tonight to cry out to you we're a people in need of mercy and grace and health lord we don't have the strength to deliver ourselves or to secure our futures only you can do that but we thank you that you not only can that you will we praise you for it in jesus name amen you give the lord a hand like you expect him to do something huh amen you can have a seat but now now listen for the lord's involvement all right you know when some when we pray for somebody who's sick and they're going to the doctor i say it's not fair to ask to expect the doctor or the nurse to look at you and say god healed you they don't have that box on their sheet they can't put that into the computer and code it for a billable event it's not a fair expectation and the the people who are going to report the events in front of us for these next few days they don't have a miracle box so what you'll hear them say is the supply lines for the resources that were needed for the people that were devastated by the hurricane have been unimpeded and we've been able to deliver things more quickly than we've ever done before or the winds changed the prevailing winds changed and the firefighters were able to contain a fire they hadn't been able to contain for days or the colvin numbers seem to have peaked and they've begun to decline or even though there's maybe more people who have been infected the the severity of the infections are less you listen and when you hear a god component and you stop wherever you are whatever god thank you i thank you that you hear the prayers of your people that you watch over us you don't want to have to get so deep into the weeds that the only way to come out of the furnace is an angel comes and stands with you that anybody can see so start looking for what god is doing and give him credit will you do that with me hallelujah it'll change your perspective day over day i hope you got an outline when you came in the font's larger but i don't have fewer words don't get excited if you're joining us on one of the digital platforms you can download that same outline from the app or the website most of the scriptures we will use are included there we're going to pick up a new topic for a couple of sessions and it really has to do with this notion that jesus is returning to the earth it's one of the fundamental principles of scripture the messiah came once he came as our savior a suffering servant the lamb of god that took away the sin of the world but he's coming back as a conquering king and the judge of all the living and the dead it's a major it's a major theme of scripture particularly the new testament but not uniquely the new testament but but most of the instructions we're giving have to do with readiness that we're prepared now there's a disruptive idea that's found its way into evangelicalism that if you've said the sinner's prayer and you've been baptized you just don't need to think about that anymore i assure you that's his mistake in the notion is thinking that if you delivered a healthy baby at the hospital that you don't have to think about them anymore and after all they got everything they need 10 fingers 10 toes they make noise they create byproducts i just don't have to think about that anymore we all we can laugh because we understand that's absurd well the bible describes your entry into the kingdom of god as a birth it's absurd to think that once you're birthed into the kingdom of god there's nothing left so the question on the table is preparedness for jesus return and my concern is that no one's left out those that choose not to participate that's one thing those that have made a conscious decision that to to not participate with the lord i grieve that but that's a that's a different circumstance in a different discussion i'm concerned about those who imagine that they're okay that some last minute course correction will be adequate or they know the words or the rules or they know the the routine of a worship service or they're familiar with what a bible is or they've endured a sermon or they volunteered some time or given some money i don't want anybody left out we're living in a season that it seems to me suggest we're approaching the end of the age that that's a point that we could debate that's my opinion but there are there are some things happening right now around us that i think have biblical significance what's happened in afghanistan in these last few days to me is significant the abandonment of our citizens on the level that we have done it and our allies was troubling it was more than troubling it was humiliating it reflects a lack of character that goes to the heart of who we are as a people but if you combine that with the refusal of our leaders at the highest levels and i'm not talking about a single politician or a party because this reaches much deeper than that this affects the state department the highest levels of the department of defense our intelligence gathering agencies there are this is a reflection of a corrupt character that is more than an isolated part of your individual so please don't be mad at somebody that's the wrong response it's of greater concern to me than anything i have watched through this entire culvert season because it speaks to a vacuum within us as a people and in fact i think there's something broader happening on the scale we're going to do begin a series on the middle east in the next couple of weeks but you know the previous um the obama administration from a from an um international relations standpoint was the most pro-islamic administration we've had in our history and you can have a perspective up or down on that i'm not really voting but when president obama went to cairo and made his speech at a university that was the seat of the muslim brotherhood there was it was an acknowledgement it was really the the event that led to what became known as the arab spring and it was rather euphemistically celebrated initially that it was going to bring liberty and freedom to those who had been oppressed by islam those places in the world where islam is the dominant religion it is not a force for equality and freedom and liberty for all there are places in the world where it exists with with another structure around it where it is not as oppressive but in those places where it's the dominant sociological political force and islam is a political force more than it's a religion it doesn't bring liberty and freedom but with that visit to egypt and to the speech at the university it really led to the to the arab spring to those revolts across the muslim world around the middle the middle east and north africa and very much an emboldening of iran and their influence over that part of the world and their influence over all the world really through their sponsorship of terrorism the culmination of that was the billions of dollars of cash that were deposited with them on the airstrip at the end of that administration we saw a change in those policies with the last administration and again whether you like it or not there was a shift about power in the middle east iran was limited in the international community they were isolated a bit there were historic accords made with israel and some of their muslim neighbors and the tone of the middle east had changed terrorism had been put back in a box for the most part well i think the events that we've watched unfolding in afghanistan have been a realignment with those previous agendas it's very much an emboldening of iran the declaration that terrorism not only is being recognized now as in control of the state we've given them billions of dollars of weapons and armaments again the most distressing partial portion of that to me is not the behavior on the ground it's the responses at home a total lack of willingness to acknowledge what you've done an unwillingness to accept responsibility there's no decision to be questioned they were wonderful decisions they should be celebrated we should be commended for it a deviation from the truth of that magnitude that goes unchallenged unquestioned and as celebrated as broadly as this half makes all of us vulnerable again this is not about a political party or a political leader it's about the state of our country of our moral compass so the degree to which we're awake as a people or asleep whether we can be distracted with billions of dollars multiplied billions of dollars that are being printed and distributed as if it's monopoly money we're watching some things happen on a scale and a magnitude we haven't seen before i know you're a church and there's a question about the topic but i would submit to you that current events are relevant because the condition of our culture is directly related to the health and the influence of the church if we're displaying a failed character at some of the highest levels of our nation it's because the church has failed in our assignment you see if we gather and study our bibles without awareness of the world around us we are blind guides it's what jesus challenged the religious leaders of his generation for he said your blind guides your white-washed tombs you look great on the outside but he said on the inside you're full of corruption and you're of no use to these people you keep your rules and your regulations and you'll point to your adherence but you have no compassion for the people you'll help your ox out of the ditch on the sabbath because he has a monetary value to you but you won't help a person who's sick on the sabbath you'll hide behind your rules blind guides and those of us in the church those of us that imagine ourselves to be christ followers have been called to be salt and light we cannot content ourselves with just staring at our bibles and being blind guides we have to have the courage to take god's truth and try to understand it in the context of the world we live in not easy i believe there are many evidences that we're approaching the end of the age we may look at a few of those but they're really secondary to my objective i want you to be prepared i don't want you to imagine that some previous transaction is sufficient deuteronomy 6 and verse 4 it's one of the most famous prayers in the hebrew bible the shema it says hero israel the lord our god the lord is one love the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength really plain language you don't need a knowledge of hebrew you don't really need verb tenses love the lord your god with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength with the casual observer the people who live next door to you whose your kids play sports with your buddies that you hang out with when you have some discretionary time is the description of you in those places that you love the lord your god with all your strength if not why not it's the assignment i'm not recruiting you for something tonight there's not commitment cards taped under your chairs i'm not above that we just didn't do it tonight next week maybe deuteronomy 7 next chapter again the the audience in this in these chapters are the the hebrew slaves these people that have been delivered from from generation upon generation of slavery and because of god's intervention through the life of this character moses they've been delivered from that tragedy and they've been set free and they're being led to an inheritance that is something they haven't earned they couldn't have purchased that god has chosen for them a promised land that theirs is their inheritance forever until today the world's still grumbling about this we talked about a momentous shift in in recent years when the the the united states embassy was moved to jerusalem to acknowledge jerusalem as the sovereign capital of the state of israel it was an event of not only historic but biblical significance the bible talks about jerusalem being trampled on by the gentiles until the time of the gentiles is fulfilled and from 70 a.d until 1967 jerusalem was ruled over by a whole succession of different empires gentile non-jewish nations and empires but in recent years just within the last handful of years the movement of that embassy to jerusalem and the united states recognizing jerusalem in that way was the declaration in the face of an enormous amount of hatred and anti-semitism that exists in our world so moses is getting the people ready for the promised land i'm sorry i'm wondering deuteronomy 7 you may say to yourselves these nations are stronger than we are how can we drive them out but don't be afraid of them remember well what the lord your god did to pharaoh into all egypt you saw with your own eyes the great trials the miraculous signs and wonders the mighty hand and the outstretched arm with which the lord your god brought you out the lord your god will do the same to all the peoples you now fear see they have a problem they're terrified they're not warriors they don't have a standing military they haven't been in training they don't have a history of victories they don't have generational stories of war heroes they're not empire builders their stories are all about being enslaved they have no memory because they have no story of an independent nation through god's intervention they've been delivered and just vomited out into the desert and god goes about begin forming them into a people he gives them dietary rules he establishes a tabernacle and shows them how to worship he selects a priesthood he gives them social laws how to live together so they'll flourish and there's such remarkable laws that our lives are influenced by them today but now they have a problem they're looking at the promised land and they're going this scares the daylights out of us and god said your focus is wrong he said you may say these nations are stronger than we are and in reality they probably are but don't be afraid of them remember what the lord has done for you you're god's people he said and the same god that delivered you from the power of egypt the most powerful nation on the planet of the earth will deliver the canaanites into your hands know who the authority over you is and don't be afraid i think it's a relevant message for us i think we feel small and absent from the center of power and we imagine that it's about ballots or elections or political influence or monetary significance folks god delivered us from the kingdom of darkness we were destined for an eternity of torment and he did it through his grace and mercy not because of our wisdom or our holiness or our resources he chose us and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves he's forgiven our sins he's made us righteous which has changed our eternal destiny i assure you he can deal with any cultural challenge we face it's time for us to understand jesus needs to be in the public schools he needs to be on the college campuses he needs to be engaged in the military he needs to fill the halls of congress that's why we're here we need to hear what moses was saying what the spirit of god was saying to those people he said you may be tempted to say they're stronger than we are because in reality they are but for god but he said don't forget what god has done for you and i would ask you not to forget what god has done for you apart from the shed blood of jesus christ you were held out and could do nothing about it amen we were destined for self-destruction and most of us have some scars to show along that path but god intervened on our behalf and he will deliver us in this season i'm having more fun than you you know the awkward reality of this narrative from deuteronomy is in spite of all that god did all the miracles all the plagues the parting of the red sea the man of the pillar of cloud the pillar of fire the ten all the things that god did in spite of that even with all of moses instruction and his personal encouragement the exodus generation didn't complete their story they didn't they wandered in a circle until they died because they didn't want to believe god i want to come back to the topic are you prepared for jesus return don't talk to me about your prayer event are you living as a matter of preparation for jesus return now here's the reality and oddly i think there's some comfort in it god's people turning aside and compromising their faithfulness to god is a consistent part of the dialogue of scripture did you process that with me it's important the narrative of god's people turning aside and compromising their faithfulness to god that's kind of a fancy way of saying they walked into ungodliness and sin is a very consistent part of the dialogue of scripture from the old testament right through the new right into the book of revelation in those seven churches when he says to some of them you know you've lost your zeal or you've become lukewarm i'm about to spit you out of my mouth be careful you're going to lose your place he says just as persistent in the biblical narrative though of that wandering or that drifting is god intervening in judgment and judgment in this context is kind of the religious word for discipline just as certainly as god's people have the tendency to veer off course over and over and over again through the biblical narrative god intervenes in judgment he brings discipline when his people turn aside so so the the pattern kind of comes out like this that compromise on behalf of god's people results in judgment or discipline and then restoration begins when god's people begin to have some awareness they begin to wake up but the awareness has to be coupled with repentance you can't just be aware that our country's in put in trouble see you can't just be angry at washington or the president or the congress or the party that you don't like you can't be angry at the people that are on the side of the coven discussion that you're not we have to have enough honesty and integrity to say god this was my watch you see if you hold that attitude you're abandoning your assignment as certainly as we abandon our assignment in afghanistan we have to be willing to say god this was my watch and we've abandoned the schools and the children and the college campuses restoration begins with an awareness coupled with repentance that typically neither judgment or restoration is immediate and herein it lies the rub you see neither the judgment or the restoration is experienced with the first awareness all of us i suspect could give testimony that we chose a course away from god's best at some point in our lives and you took that first step i suspect with some trepidation some anxiety some uncertainty would god immediately light me up and you took that step and there didn't seem to be a consequence and so it emboldened you for a second step and before long you're sprinting along a path away from god thinking well the path back is not dissimilar when you begin to realize how far you've drifted how far off center you are and you begin to to have that awareness grow and you begin to say god i'm sorry restoration isn't just immediate it's not all-encompassing in one moment now there are some notable exceptions to that premise ananias and sapphira do you remember them in the book of acts they lied to peter about an offering about an offering and they dropped dead in separate events like highlighting it let me think that changed the giving pattern in the church in jerusalem i promise you everybody check their math after that um the same thing cora is rebellion in the old testament there are some times and places when the god story is so fragile that the circumstances the costs are so significant that god intervenes in the most dramatic of ways the earth opens up and swallows a few thousand people it didn't stop the complaining there was a complaint line the next day if you know the story well ananias if i were the church was fragile it was just barely getting its legs under it and the integrity of the system was in play but the interplay between grace and mercy that's when judgment is delayed god in his grace and mercy aren't you grateful he doesn't strike you the first time you you say something that's not true y'all should've been more enthusiastic with that amen the interplay between grace and mercy when judgment is delayed and faith faith is that path of restoration is a tension in the lives of god's people well judgment doesn't seem imminent immediate maybe god didn't mean it when he said fornication is bad maybe he didn't mean it when he talked about adultery or any of the other places where he put boundaries around our sexual activity if judgment you know if there wasn't a lightning bolt from heaven or the earth didn't maybe he didn't mean it maybe that's just preachers making that stuff up that's god's grace on the other side when we recognize we're in a bad place and we need restoration it takes faith to continue to walk towards the lord when your circumstances aren't beginning to change the moment you recognize you need to change because we're childish enough that we want god to change the moment we decide things should be changed but we're also childish enough to think we deserve the grace and mercy when we're on the wrong side of the equation it'd be unfair if god judged us like in the moment right so the the the those two places create the tension of our lives and it takes wisdom and discernment and the help of the holy spirit and the an awareness of the word of god again our topic is jesus return and our preparedness i want to start with with just a statement and this really came out of a handful of comments i've had over the last couple of weeks people have said things to me well i hope jesus comes back you know somebody's upset about afghanistan well i hope jesus comes back the economy is kind of mad i hope jesus comes back look we need one thing established jesus return is not a get out of jail free card if if that's the way you're thinking of it you're thinking of it wrong that's really not the way it's presented in scripture second peter chapter three this is the big fisherman he's near the end of his life lots of experience gray hair his amazing strength is diminished a bit his brashness has been tempered first of all he says you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come scoffing and following their own evil desires now peter's writing this to the church he's writing this to believers so these scoffers are going to be amongst us they're not he's not talking about the pagans and the people that you think are evil they'll follow their own evil desires they'll say where is this coming he promised ever since our father's died everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation well the lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness he's patient with you not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance so god's hesitancy if you think he's delaying there's a purpose in his delay he doesn't want anybody to miss the invitation he said it may seem slow to you but god doesn't want anybody to miss the opportunity to come to repentance repentance is the doorway to belief but the day of the lord will come verse 10 like a thief the heavens will disappear with a roar and the elements will be destroyed and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare there's three statements there the heavens will disappear the elements will be destroyed and the earth will be laid bare the summary of that is since everything will be destroyed in this way it sounds a lot like the book of revelation doesn't it god's judgment jesus is coming back as the judge of all the earth since everything will be destroyed in this way there's a very important question posed what kind of people want you to be he's got my attention you ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of god and speed it's coming that's the assignment live holy and godly lives that will accelerate the coming of the lord that day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire and the elements will melt in the heat see i think what's important to begin to program into our hearts and our imaginations is that there's a finality in jesus return there's a closing of opportunity peter says the lord he isn't negligent concerning his promises he doesn't want anybody to miss the opportunity to come to repentance because there's a point in jesus return where there's there's a finality there is no more opportunity it's very similar to the ceiling of the door in the ark that noah built nolan was a preacher of righteousness and the whole time he's building the ark he's telling everybody you better get ready you need to be prepared but it says that once he went in the ark god sealed that door and then it didn't matter how desperate it didn't matter how earnest it didn't matter how sincere i wonder if we are prepared for that imagination of god see everybody in the church libraries filled the books everybody has an opinion regarding the sequence of events surrounding jesus return we love that seminar we can build attendance 20 25 if i tell you i'm going to talk about when the rapture is going to occur when's the rapture going to occur when will the tribulation take place here's my suggestion regardless of your preferred timeline because it really is about opinion i can make some pretty convincing cases about multiple positions from scripture the basic facts don't change jesus return ushers in the end of this present age jesus return ushers in the end of this present age and at that point in time the opportunity for humanity to participate in the kingdom of god is closing rapidly so if we have any sense any imagination if we think there's any credibility to the notion that that we have entered the end of the age that we were closer to it than we used to be we need to have a heart for people that don't know the lord we need to have an awareness of our own selves the casualness of our faith the sloppiness on the periphery see i don't think we have rightly understood again we thought of jesus return as kind of this get out of jail free card jesus return will be necessary when he comes back we're going oh we're really god yo i got tickets for the ball game next saturday could maybe a week you see when jesus comes back his return will be so necessary that without his return his church wouldn't survive i promise you'll be glad to see him the biblical message and i'm not going to take you time to walk you through multiple examples but i'll give you one this was jesus teaching matthew 24 and matthew 25 is jesus most lengthy prophetic discourse in matthew 24 the question is what will be the sign of the end of the age and your return and he lists all these signs and then in matthew 25 he tells teaches multiple parables helping us to think about how we need to live when we're approaching that season then i pulled just one it's in your notes it's matthew 25 and verse 1 at that time the kingdom of heaven at that time being when jesus is about to return the end of the age at that time the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom five were foolish and five wise not wicked doesn't say they were immoral foolish and wise if you want a little fun personal study do a little work on what the bible says about being foolish you don't ever want to go stand in the line where god said that's the fool's line you want to understand the behaviors that allow god's wisdom to come to your life and you want to engage in those five foolish five wise the foolish ones took their lamps but they didn't take any oil with them the wise however took oil in jars along with their lamps the bridegroom was a long time in coming they became drowsy and fell asleep at midnight the cry rang out here's the bridegroom come out to meet him and all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps the foolish ones said to the wise give us some of your oil our lamps are going out and they said well absolutely we've been taught to share i mean this was jesus teaching no there may not be enough for both of us and you go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves there's a cost involved not necessarily a monetary cost looks there's a cost in following the lord we've been selling easy believeism too long you can't live your life any way you want to live your life and think jesus is pleased amen you can't live in the gray areas you just can't i love you it matters too much to me i'm afraid of the boss i'm not trying to raise the bar on you i'm telling you for decades now i've lived in the american church predominantly we've had a pretty casual sloppy faith but we're not in that season anymore we had a pretty casual sloppy attitude towards infectious diseases until a couple years ago now we wash our hands like we get rewards for it but while they were on their way to buy the oil the bridegroom arrived and the virgins who were ready went out with him to the wedding banquet and the door was shut later the others also came sir they said open the door for us they weren't invited they had invitations just like the five who are participating sir open the door for us jesus replied i tell you the truth remember when you see that phrase something startling shocking surprising is coming so jesus has to say before he delivers the punch line i'm telling you the truth i'll give you an example the highway is going to be completed by the end of september i'm telling you the truth it's unbelievable not an orange barrel to be seen i'm telling you the truth you don't believe me either he replied i tell you the truth i don't know you and there's jesus instruction to us therefore keep watch because you don't know the day or the hour he goes on to tell a parable about the talents and the one who is doing the will of his master even though his master doesn't seem to be imminent in his evaluation are you prepared for the return of the lord i want to take that one step further it may seem like i'm changing topics but i'm really not they're related if you'll bear with me for a moment i think the connection will be apparent the high holy days have begun for the jewish people for many years we had the privilege of being in jerusalem during a significant portion of the high holy days it's about a three-week window we were never there that long but it's a series of holidays but it's the most celebratory time in the year for the jewish people they come from all over the world to jerusalem into the land of israel and in fact one of the most fun things to do is just sit in the lobby of the hotel and watch the jewish communities gather from all over the world they come with their finest clothes it's often a gathering for the families it's a time where the young people are making the connections they're going to change their lives a lot of drama and it's very clear that we're not jewish we were sitting in the lobby one night and a couple of the furniture grouping next to us began to ask us questions and we said they said why are you here and you know we said well we're christians and they said no it's like we were in the zoo they pulled their chairs around and began to ask us questions about christianity because they didn't know any and another jewish family came in that knew that family and they pulled they came up and started asking us questions and the man that was kind of leading this family in their question he turned to this his friends and said you go find your own christians these are ours [Applause] we're far more isolated than we understand but they're the high holy days in israel it's a time for the jewish people to recognize what god has done for them it's a very significant part of their annual calendar there's as much diversity in the jewish community as there is in the christian some of us celebrate christmas because we like gifts or holiday food and some of us celebrate christmas because we leave this we believe that the son of god was born in bethlehem there's as much diversity in the ways the jewish community celebrates but it the the repetition of it the habit of it is because it's very easy to overlook what god has done to imagine that we've made ourselves that we've achieved or accomplished you see god's interventions in our lives typically don't eliminate all the challenges it's one of the things we're learning about how to stand and how to hold the place and we're a little tired and a little weary and the the goofiness and the knuckleheads just keep rolling out with their stuff when you think ah i'd rather not think about this anymore but the reality of following that that's what happened to the the the hebrew slaves that came out of egypt they got to the point and they said no we're just too tired of this i'm not doing this anymore i'm not standing up for anything we're going to get our manna we're not fighting any more battles we're done you have to guard your heart courage and faithfulness are required even after god's intervention on our behalf courage and faithfulness are required even after god's intervention on our behalf now i put this long passage in your notes from nehemiah because nehemiah is going to take some steps to to reintroduce to the to the jewish people a portion of their holy days i gave you a list of the the high holy days it starts with the jewish new year rosh hashanah and the next is yom kippur the day of atonement a very somber day everybody in israel fasts i was there one time with a group a tour for rosh hashanah and i had been there by myself for with a small group of people but i'd never been there during rosh hashanah we were staying in a nice hotel i just assumed the hotel would feed their guests i assume wrongly not everybody traveling with me was anxious to celebrate yom kippur but i mean there wasn't a cracker available in the hotel they took the food away day of atonement that's followed by sukkot the feast of tabernacles it's a commemoration of their time through the wilderness where they actually build they'll take palm fronds and actually build a little shelter on their patio or in their backyard and they'll eat their meals under the the sukkah the children oftentimes will sleep in it they'll decorate them with things that we might think of holiday decorations here and it concludes with simchat torah they do a portion of reading from the torah in synagogue every week and that the last day of these high holy days is simchat torah and that evening they gather in their synagogues and they'll take this torah scrolls and they'll literally dance in the streets with them it's an amazing time the book of nehemiah if you'll remember comes to us from a time when god is disciplining his people nehemiah is the cup bearer for the persian king he's jewish but he's not living in jerusalem he's the cupbearer for the persian king because because they have drifted so far off course god said to them you can't stay in the promised land you cannot live in the benefit of your inheritance and be this dark i'm going to discipline you and there was a slaughter in jerusalem and the city's destroyed and the temple's torn down and for 70 years they live as exiled slaves in a foreign country and that's nehemiah's story so he's lived under the discipline of god and the word comes to him some of you remember the book because he's in the king's palace and he has access to those who were traveling he hears that jerusalem is in disarray that their walls are torn down they're defenseless the people are defenseless and he can't get peace with it he tries he's got a good job he eats well he's a friend of the king poisoning was a common way of eliminating a leader in antiquity so whoever your cup bearer is whoever your taste tester is needs to be somebody you trust it's like he's the head of personal security and he goes to the king and said may i have permission i want to go back i'm going to leave the comfort and the convenience i have to help my people nehemiah is a hero in israel today today you want to serve the lord in such a way the generations from now people will look at your story and go with all of their strength they love the lord with all of their strength they love the lord folks we've been sold to build the goods we've treated god as if he were about as important as the maintenance plan on our car do those people call you all the time right i mean there are people answer phones for me but nobody can stop the car warranty people i talk to them two or three times a week my car is old i think we've treated the lord about like that that's not a problem let's see we won't read it all but let's start nehemiah is back in jerusalem the walls are rebuilt and now he's trying to bring some semblance of order to the people again they've lost their bible again it happens more than once in the history of their people once they lost it in the wall of the temple and forgot there was a this time they've been slaves and they've lost contact with their history and their story in the law of moses so all the people assembled as one man i like that phrase there's a unity amongst them not easily achieved what would happen if the church in our nation got together in one accord wow there's one man in the square before the watergate and they told ezra the scribe to bring out the book of the law of moses which the lord had commanded for israel so on the first day of the seventh month ezra the priest brought the law before this assembly it's made up of men and women they were all everybody that could understand was invited he read it aloud from daybreak until noon wow our services are short he read it in the presence of the men and the women and others who could understand that all the people listened attentively to the book of the law and ezra stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion he opened the book and all the people could see him because he was standing above them he opened it and the people stood out of respect for the word of god ezra praised the lord the great god and all the people lifted their hands and responded amen amen and they bowed down and worshiped the lord with their faces to the ground we've got some ways to go yet don't we all the people raised their hands they were all pentecostals the levites instructed the people in the law while the people were standing there they read the book of the law of god making it clear and giving meaning so that the people could understand what was being ready ezra got tired they had tagged in levites take over then nehemiah the governor ezra the priest and the levites who were instructing the people said to them this day is sacred to the lord your god don't mourn or weep this is what i wanted us to see together the day is sacred to the lord your god don't mourn or weep for all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the law they understood why judgment had come they understood why devastation had come they understood why their bondage had come why their children had grown up without freedoms they're not angry about the the hearts of the previous generation that brought the destruction they're weeping because they recognize their own culpability we're not there yet we're still mad at somebody and the message from nehemiah and ezra is this day is sacred to the lord don't mourn or weep nehemiah said verse 10 go and enjoy choice foods and sweet drinks send some to those who have nothing prepared the day is sacred to our lord do not grieve for the joy of the lord is your strength your strength comes from recognizing what god is doing for you it's not by being aware of what you don't have or how the splendor of solomon's temple has been destroyed it's not from weeping because of the way things used to be and this is where we are it says the strength of the lord in your midst should bring joy to you and the levites calmed all the people saying be still this is a sacred day do not grieve it's not easy to change the people's attitude their grief at their condition and their plight and what they have forfeited because of the hardness of their hearts and the hardness of their parents and grandparents and the generations before them has brought such a grief to them that it's not easily removed verse 12 all the people went away to eat and drink to send portions of food to celebrate with great joy because they now understood the words that had been made known to them on the second day of the month the heads of all the families along with the priests and levites gathered around ezra to give attention to the words of the law they came back for more they found written in the law which the lord had commanded through moses the israelites were to live in booths in hebrew asuka it's the feast of tabernacles during the feast of the seventh month and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns in jerusalem they forgot their history they stopped celebrating they were too busy they had other things to do go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees for myrtles and palms and shade trees to make booths if you're in jerusalem in this season up and down all the streets you'll see men carrying plastic bags with the branches from the trees that are described there you see they lost their place in the land for almost two millennia and god brought them back in may of 1948 and they're a little more dialed in we've been a little arrogant we've been busy pointing fingers at who the problems are the people went out brought back the branches and built themselves booths on their own roots in their courtyards in the courts of the house of god and in the square by the watergate the whole company that had returned from exile built booths and lived in them from the days of joshua until that day they hadn't celebrated it like this after they finished the conquest they thought we've got our land we've got our inheritance we can secure our futures economically and so they turned their attention away until god's discipline came and now they're back in the land and they're they're weeping for the hardness of their hearts and they're regaining the momentum are we prepared for the return of the lord are we serving him do we have room to celebrate what we see god doing in this season he's awakening his church we have people participating in ways i haven't seen in all the years i've served the church there's a hunger for the things of the lord unlike any i have ever seen before and i've been a part of the church in some pretty wonderful ways but nothing like we're watching in this season we're baptizing people every week every weekend we're baptizing people from other states that are coming to murfreesboro to be baptized now the majority of them are not from other states i'm grateful to report that the folks in our community are being baptized as well but two or three weeks ago i met a family together a couple and they had two children they introduced them they were their grandchildren and the man said to me they were from long island new york and he said we drove to murfreesboro i wanted my grandson to see me be baptized you imagine a holiday for seven days they got to get together and that's the narrative we just read to read the scripture imagine taking a holiday a week's vacation and the highlight is every day you're going to spend half the day reading the scripture together we've got a ways to go yet we've got a ways to go but this week we are witnesses to a victory of biblical proportion in the midst of hurricanes and wildfires and failures on the international front and the abandonment of our citizens texas posted a new law regarding abortion and it limited abortion to the first six weeks of pregnancy abortion is still an option for birth control but not after the sixth week and the remarkable part of that narrative was that the supreme court voted not to block the law that's amazing thousands and thousands and thousands of children's lives were spared in that decision here's my concern just a casual glance i don't watch very much news i don't look at a lot of the media it's not overly helpful a few minutes will give you the story the people who don't agree with that decision are losing their minds suggesting that the apocalypse is upon us that we have to change how the supreme court is structured how laws are made and how unfair it is and how unjust it is that such a thing could happen that we have a right to make all the choices for our own body until we don't but they're not talking about that but what's absent in the dialogue what i haven't seen is the christian celebrating i haven't seen or heard that the christians were weeping that for decade upon decade we lost 3 000 children a day and we just didn't care enough to do something folks we've had a victory and the the enthusiasm for that the joy for that the recognition of that needs to be so widespread so enthusiastic so vocal on your part for the protection of our children that you celebrate with your friends that you have a prayer of thanksgiving with whomever you work with that will tolerate the prayer let your opinion be known engage the conversation we can't just watch that goal is not enough are you kidding me i agree we're not finished yet but in the same way we're grateful god didn't judge us when he could have we need to acknowledge when he begins a process of restoration we're talking about jesus being welcomed in our schools and our campuses and our congress and our supreme court and in our courtrooms well a part of that restoration is our children being protected and we see a step towards that the joy of the lord should bring strength to us we have something to celebrate god is moving in the most improbable of ways and i appreciate the fact that you'll applaud when you're here together but i want to send you on an assignment this week that needs to bubble out of you have you heard you know what's happened there's hope that the children in our nation would be protected like they haven't been protected in a long long time i didn't know better what are you talking about well there's been a little legal shuffle there's an opportunity there's some hope aren't you grateful i can hardly believe it it's unimaginable to me they told us it was impossible i've been so excited i can hardly stop saying lord thank you for your goodness to our children amen don't leave it here look at the people around you what are you so you know aren't you excited there was one horrible time in the peak of culver last summer when the daily death rate touched 3 000 people for a couple of days fear grabbed our nation by the throat we've been doing that to children every day for decades but we've had a breakthrough we have something to celebrate how many of you be willing to celebrate that with two or three people this week well what if you tell somebody and they're not excited well just smile i bet if you're a ut fan you told somebody about the victory yesterday that suggests you're going to win the national championship this year it's okay vanderbilt doesn't have to bear that burden i brought you a prayer i brought you a prayer why don't you stand with me get ready get ready we're not finished yet we have some road to travel the opposition is real but greater are those who are for us then everything arrayed against us and if you'll open your eyes and ask the holy spirit to help you see there are reasons to celebrate the joy the lord will bring strength to you amen he hasn't abolished your adversaries he hasn't eliminated the challenges it will require your best but the lord will strengthen us and we will see the victory of our god in the land of the living hallelujah much to the consternation of his opponents what an exciting time to serve the lord amen hallelujah all right i got a prayer let's read it together heavenly father we rejoice in your watchful care over our lives we stand in your strength your wisdom illumines our path thank you for delivering our children from destruction forgive us for our casual attitudes towards those whose voice is small grant us boldness to speak the truth raise up a generation who will honor you may each of us be prepared for jesus return let the praises of god rise up from our community that words of praise fill the earth you are worthy to receive all glory all honor and all praise both now and forevermore amen hallelujah god bless you

Channel: World Outreach Church

Views: 7,508

Rating: 4.9183674 out of 5

Keywords: Are You Prepared for Jesus’ Return: Don’t Be Left Out!, world outreach church, murfreesboro tennessee, pastor allen jackson, christian, Jesus Christ, Live Worship services, Church online, the end of times, the return of Jesus, Jesus is coming, Jesus return, end days, end times, pre-trib, post-trib, tribulation, repentance, restoration, Muslim, Islam, Jewish High Holy Days, High Holy Days, abortion, Arab Spring, how does God restore, will God restore, humility, humble

Id: YIIykBwPFk0

Length: 63min 8sec (3788 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 04 2021