Be Ready for the Lord's Arrival: A New Kingdom (What Do We Believe?)

[Music] [Music] [Music] amen one of the men on our team built that video he has a computer and i have a computer but we get very different outcomes so it's humbling what a treat to have the katinas back amen huh i'm telling you that cold air outside like that was hard on my samoan brothers now that was a but we are privileged to be together inside outside uh we have four sanctuaries in the building open and one outside with screens and audio on so people can distance appropriately and find a place where they're comfortable it's important for god's people to be together i'm grateful for your life i've never been more thankful for the church that i have been this year we've taken much for granted but god in his mercy is awakening us a bit to recognize his blessings and his goodness to us and so many many things that we had just imagined were rights and privileges god has helped us understand in new ways and i'm one of those for me is you to be with god's people there's there's such hope in that that no matter what's happening in the world if we can find god's people and stand together in prayer and call on the name of the lord and take our bibles and open them together we've found strength in that and it's important no matter what's ahead of us that you find a way to be with god's people you know the label on the sign the the location those things are secondary you want to be with a group of people that you would trust to pray with you if you got news you never wanted to get that's the truth we've made idols out of other things architecture and styles and and i you know we all have taste and preferences that's not a bad thing but they're not the determining factors you want people that have acknowledged jesus as lord and know how to call on him trust him believe in him i'm honored to be with you a couple of things this is the first sunday of advent hallelujah we're celebrating christmas together you know actually i was here for an easter sermon i don't know where you were but i was here for an easter sermon but i am very happy to be with you to celebrate advent the four sundays that precede christmas day have been celebrated by the church for centuries around the world across cultures over many periods of time and we're honored to stand in that tradition and it's a privilege this year to celebrate christmas in a very unique way to help everybody be as safe as possible we're doing it in some new ways four sanctuaries outside we've changed our normal christmas programming usually that includes rooms filled with lots of people over and over and over again and that didn't seem so prudent this year so next sunday afternoon a week from today we're doing the first installation we're having a christmas festival for the next two sunday afternoons from four to six outside we're going to use our outdoor stage for a portion of that next week the teenagers will be doing an abbreviated representation of the polar express um yes you can clap for that that's okay there'll be activities from that four to six window they'll do that presentation at five o'clock there's a living nativity scene that we'll we'll share with you throughout that period there's some other things for the kids to do the ice rink's going to open later this week we are back with ice it felt like an important time we needed a bridge into a new year and outdoors together we've changed all the protocol around the ice everybody's spread out more fewer people on the ice but we'll make it as safe as possible but it's outdoors uh laughter is a good thing the bible says the merry heart does good like a medicine and so we wanted to give that to the community as well you dude if you if you are under 18 or you have family members under 18 we need the parents signature for them to be on the ice we've changed that protocol this year to try to make it a little simpler you can actually do that online but parents we need you to do it we need you to do it with integrity and with honesty we had a little problem with that last year church folk on campus forgetting who their children were it concerned us on many levels all right so our ability to do this depends upon your integrity we can laugh a bit but will you help us with that i appreciate the four of you that said yes all right you go out online the information is there you know by now we're not passing offering plates yet i would never imagine we would go nine months without passing an offering plate i've been to seminary they teach you but we have learned a lot of new things this year i thank you for your generosity and your faithfulness and learning new ways to give because that has made it possible for us to continue to serve but every week every service we have said an offertory prayer because god is our sustainer and we cannot give that up we cannot lose sight of that it's not the government or the economy or the politician of your preference god is our sustainer and so i want you to stand with me for an offertory prayer last night that was a sacrifice i stood on that platform watched everybody get you know they got nestled in with their blankets and their coach and their hoods up and i said now stand up i can tell you the joy of the lord was not on their faces but they were willing to honor the lord with that you know we stand to show honor i was taught as a boy that when a woman entered the room you stood as a matter of respect and i know that we don't always stand to pray but i love to honor god that way he deserves our honor amen he deserves respect i know we're a more casual culture and i'm okay with that in most respects got me out of a tie this morning but i don't want to be casual with god i thought we ought to pray for our nation today we're a nation in need of healing folks politicians aren't going to fix us they're political parties we need a move of the spirit of god and for that to happen it means the church has to be different it's not someone else it's us and i i mean that most literally it's us not uniquely us but it has to begin with us father we come this morning to say thank you thank you that we can celebrate christmas together thank you that you've kept us in a year of turmoil and change and confusion we praise you for it today that you're a god who sustains and delivers and restores and heals we pray for those today who need that healing or give health to their bodies supernaturally lord may they respond to the treatments that are offered restore them we thank you for it and we praise you for a week to give thanks or as a nation father we stopped our calendars and changed our schedules to acknowledge you as the one who has opened the windows of heaven and poured blessings upon us we thank you for it lord today we humbly ask that you would look upon our nation with mercy we're a nation in need of healing we have received your blessings and your abundance and your goodness and your mercy and we've imagined somehow in the perverted way that we've caused those things lord we're sorry you've been good to us forgive our sins forgive the hardness of our hearts forgive the indifference that we've shown towards you father we're sorry thank you for awakening us thank you for calling us back thank you for redirecting us lord we're listening teach us to walk in integrity and uprightness before you may we be pleasing in your sight may you once again delight in showing us mercy and showering us with your grace i thank you for it in jesus name amen hallelujah you may have a seed [Applause] for those of you that are long-timers around here this is our 40th anniversary this was not amen the lord deserves a hand not quite the way we planned on celebrating that but i'm more excited than i was at the beginning because i feel like god's letting us plant a whole new church new habits new routines new patterns we routinely ask about how church used to be and how church is going to be i'm excited about it same two of you that said you wouldn't cheat on the ice rinks like that it's going to be that kind of day is it okay i'm glad for those of you online i know you're supportive and encouraging me i just can't hear you but it truly has been a different year but i want to remind you that in 2020 for all the confusion and all the upheaval god is moving in the midst of this storm you know the appropriate response i would submit is not about fear or panic or anxiety there's something else we need to see with different eyes it's time to decide what you believe and for whom you stand i mean with great clarity not not a decision you made in the past it's a decision of the day each day what values are going to determine the trajectory of your life they no longer can be subtle or undercover if they're unknown they're not your values if you don't care enough about them to make them public they're not your values the fence is just no longer a comfortable option you know we used to have all kinds of fences around here so you can sit on the fence until you decide which side you want to get off on but the fence is just not a great option any longer in fact i would submit four words to you as a pretty good little equation for interpreting our world they're important and you need to use them every day every day you need to watch you need to pay attention you need to look you need to listen you need to listen to what's being said i don't want you to overdose on the news that'll make you nuts but look at what's happening in the world listen to what's being said and then act don't be passive and in between there think use your mind god has given it to you you want to watch you want to listen you want to think and then you got to move that's our pathway forward now the the stressful part in this is what we see often doesn't coincide with what we hear and when that happens there's a dissonance it's confusing it's disorienting it's disorienting enough that the fundamentals are important we're going to look at our bible a great deal in just a moment but you know we're still a nation under the rule of law that's a bit in question it's a bit in play to be completely honest but we have survived to this point by being a people under the rule of law and i believe if we're to flourish going forward that will have to continue so i thought it might be important just to remind you of the first amendment of our constitution because it's under a bit of question these days it's not long it's not complicated it says congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or of the right of the people peaceably to a symbol or to petition the government for a redress of grievances again very plain language congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion you can't prohibit it that's our law it also says they shall make no law abridging or reducing the freedom of speech we have that privilege don't have to agree with it all you may not like it you may it may deeply offend you but we have survived to this point by allowing the freedom of speech we have new rules now things are labeled hate speech and they're shut down and we watch that like that's normal or acceptable folk it's a violation of the fundamental fundamental organizing principle that has brought us to this point and thirdly that amendment says that congress shall not prohibit the right of the people to assemble peaceably we've got the right to get together now we need to do with wisdom and prudence and respect but we have those freedoms in my lifetime i have never seen a greater diversity in the expressions of freedom across our nation i don't mean individually i mean by the governing bodies of our states it varies widely how that first amendment is recognized and is embraced right now in america from state to state and city to city it's unimaginable to me please don't assume that the freedoms if you're in tennessee that you're enjoying right now are being shared across our nation because i assure you they're not it's not widely discussed it's not shown to you a great deal we are witnesses to something to a struggle that is titanic epic in its nature and it's fundamentally spiritual it's getting played out in these other arenas the medical arena and the the health arena and the political arena but fundamentally it's a spiritual conflict and you're watching things that are bizarre it's why you need to watch and listen and think you're watching bizarre things we're told on a broad basis for many many months now that churches should be limited in their attendance and the same people that say that well casinos not so much we have struggled for months and for years with an epi opioid epidemic we recognized it as a national crisis and there was a great deal of angst directed towards big pharmaceutical companies big pharma was a problem got a lot of blame lawsuits a lot of money but in the same current window we're watching a major attempt to broaden the legalization of marijuana heroin methamphetamine cocaine and those decisions are being approved and celebrated as enlightened across our nation this last week our leaders invited neighbors to report neighbors who gathered with inappropriate numbers of people and we called it community care we're witnesses to open censorship of ideas and communication and we're told it's necessary to sustain progress they're tracking our movements without permission and we're told it's helpful there's massive data gathering around your daily habits and they tell us is to make your shopping and research more efficient truth these days is often labeled as hate told it's xenophobic or misogynistic or some other word i can't spell we're told truth is subjective it's unknowable and it requires personal perspective no one should define truth well that collection of practices if you begin to lump them together and many more that we're watching it's very disorienting and yet they're common and widespread right now so it isn't surprising that many are confused or frightened and then you hear this right growing chorus of voices that say we want to return to normal let's just all get along be a bit more civilized in our behaviors well the battle for the heart and soul of our nation is underway the question that's on the table is what will the church do what will our response be in our new testament where the advocates for jesus showed up in city after city after city there was increased turmoil and riots because they threatened the status quo i'm not encouraging violence or civil disobedience but i don't want you to forfeit your faith under the imagined promise of peace see the battle that we're watching reaches beyond politics and elections it's going to include things that are far closer to you and me it's going to include what's happening in our schools in our local communities it's going to be about how teachers understand their roles and the willingness of parents to be engaged in the curriculum their children are learning it's going to require all of us to pay attention in our communities to what our children are learning it's going to involve how we define our families and how we understand them it's going to be about the role of parents and who we understand parents to be it'll have a lot to do with churches what we think churches should be and do and if you allow me to repeat god is moving in the midst of this storm it's not evil or wickedness god is moving it's not a time for fear or panic or great anxiety it's time to decide what you believe and for whom you will stand and it's time to stand what values are going to determine the trajectory of your life the fence not a great place watch listen think act decide but don't stay on the fence we don't have to fear the mob or the ungodly or the threats of those who don't choose faith in the god of abraham isaac and jacob i would submit we should fear god we should learn to cooperate with him he's our salvation our deliverer and the judge of all the earth 2020 is going to yield to 2021 but the assignment of the church doesn't change we're going into all the world to make disciples of all people with the authority of jesus name and the abiding presence of his spirit with an authority and a power beyond our person our organization it's a kingdom assignment that hasn't changed since jesus issued it in jerusalem over two millennia ago i'm grateful to be on the journey with you our advent series is being ready for the lord's arrival because folks he's coming and he's not coming to institute a new holiday or to eat your favorite holiday recipe he's coming to establish a new kingdom jesus returned to the earth amen jesus return to the earth is about new things it's about a new birth in john 3 he told nicodemus that you cannot enter the kingdom of god unless you're born again you don't join the church to become a christian you don't find the right denomination you don't find the preacher that's satisfactory you don't find the right people to lead you in worship your entrance into the kingdom of god is predicated upon one thing and it's not theology or the translation of the bible you read or the day of the week or the time at which you worship it has to do with your relationship with a person and his name is jesus of nazareth if you'll acknowledge him as the son of god and choose him as lord of your life and forgive those that have sinned against you you can be forgiven and be welcomed into the kingdom there's a new birth it's the greatest miracle that will ever touch your life in time [Applause] the purpose of the new birth is that we might participate in a new kingdom a kingdom with new potential with new boundaries with new gifts with the new future in the kingdom everything is new come on 2020 that you've seen a lot of new but it pales in comparison to the kingdom in revelation 21 and verse 5 it says he who sits on the throne said behold i'm making all things new not some things or most things or quite a few things the kingdom is new the return of the king in the new testament has a word uniquely to designate it it's perocya it's the second coming the return of the king and when he comes there'll be a new heaven and a new earth and a new world order and he tells us specifically about some things that will pass away he says there'll be no more pain or crying or death because those things are from a former order i'm looking forward to that a new king and a new kingdom and the only way in is with a new birth you need to have absolute clarity on that in your heart certainly for yourself but for the people you care about for the people you work with for our communities we've apologized for too long for too long ago well there may be many paths or many ways no if jesus is not unique in his role in his place and his authority he wasn't a good man he was a liar and a deceiver the church needs clarity on this it's what makes the celebration of his birth so valuable the circumstances surrounding his birth are unique and if you'll choose jesus of nazareth as lord of your life you gain entrance into a new kingdom it's good news in fact you know normally we do that at the end of a service an invitation an altar call every head bow every eye closed just as i am until you move but i checked that's not written anywhere is the only way it didn't come down the mountain with mo so we can actually say that prayer right now you could have a new birth right now you can have it no matter which sanctuary you're in this morning you can say if you're outside god bless you move closer to the fire pit it will remind you of why you want to say this prayer i like a good fire but i don't want to spend a long time in a big fire pit i do not if you're online you can say this prayer with me i'm going to invite everybody to say just a simple you need to know how to help somebody else say this prayer just close your eyes forget the people around you for a moment repeat this prayer with me almighty god i'm a sinner and i need a savior i believe jesus is your son that he died on a cross for my sin and that you raised him to life again that i might be justified forgive me of my sin i forgive everyone who sinned against me jesus be lord of my life all that i am all that i have all that i'll ever be i want to honor you and i thank you now that i'm a part of the family of god in jesus name amen hallelujah welcome to the kingdom that's an awesome thing you know jesus came to the earth to show us the father he was a living revelation of almighty god he was a king displaying the authority of his kingdom it's why the gospels are so remarkable we didn't meet a teacher or just a rabbi or a cleric or a religious figure we meant something entirely different in the gospels whatever you were expecting jesus is not that he's a water walking storm calming he's an individual who confronted and expelled demons he healed the sick he raised the dead he lived with an awareness of an authority and a power that extended far beyond the practice of first century judaism he understood something that we'd never understood before and he put it on display so that whoever would believe in him in his words we could do the kind of things he did and we've settled for sitting in church for being polite or tame god forgive us jesus does not want to make you polite he wants to make you radical christ followers are a point of discomfort they're unsettling jesus said my kingdom it's not of this world when he was being interviewed by the roman governor of judea in hebrews 1 and verse 1 it says in the past god spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways but in these last days he's spoken to us by his son whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe in the past god spoke through the prophets and through the storms and in many ways he even used a donkey one time but in these last days he's spoken to us through his son the exact representation of his being now i want to ask a question after the new birth after your conversion your salvation your initiation whatever label you prefer for that miraculous event what's the most necessary component to participate in god's kingdom after the new birth what's the most necessary component what do you imagine it's change isn't that a happy word what's most annoying about 2020 all the changes can i just hand out an outline for pete's sake all right church is better if you've got a little paper copy right there in front of you god knows you're reading i imagine you're reading everything is better in the world 2020 has been filled with change you see we've mistakenly pitched this notion that if you repeat that prayer maybe you walk the aisle maybe you kneel at an altar maybe you get dipped in a pool that you're done you're good to go put your hands in your pockets now god's going to bless your way right into eternity upgrade your car put your kids in a better school you'll lose weight when you eat fat god is good and the truth is the new birth is an invitation to change to bring increasing alignment between yourself and jesus of nazareth because now he's lord he's lord of your calendar and he's lord of your resources and he's lord of your to-do list he's either lord of all or he's not lord at all and we haven't lived with that imagine forget the pagans forget the ungodly for people forget the people beyond the church folks it's like we got a vaccine in the new birth we've been it's been pitched to us this way if you'll say this prayer you don't need to think about it anymore you don't need to worry about it anymore your future is secure it's eternally secure it all sweat it you're good to go [Music] it's deception the new birth is an invitation to change matthew 18 and verse 3 jesus said i tell you the truth he's talking to his disciples i tell you the truth unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven he's talking to observant jewish men men walking in all the light that was available to them unless you change you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven ephesians 4 this is to the gentile audience you were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self it's being corrupted by deceitful desires and to put on to be made new in the attitude of your minds what's it mean to follow jesus it's to put off an old way and to be made new in how you think we haven't talked about this enough we've talked about all those other people that need to change why the world will be a better place if they'd all change have you seen what they're doing have you heard what they're saying i watch the news i get so mad i know through the coffee table i ate three remotes i was so agitated folks it's not their problem we got to change we've had this wrong matthew 15 jesus again he called the crowd to him and he said listen and understand listen and understand what goes into a man's mouth doesn't make him unclean but what comes out of his mouth that's what makes him unclean did his audience understand no see for a first century jewish person that statement that jesus made is an unbelievably radical idea their entire diet was built on what they were allowed to eat how they prepared the food when they ate it one of the things that distinguished them from the people who were not the covenant people of god was what they ate and in a simple sentence jesus said listen and understand you can almost get kind of that e.f hutton moment for those of you that are old enough to remember that ad campaign they all lean forward and he says what's on your fork is not your problem what's in your heart is your problem sorry rabbi my fork is what makes me godly and they believed it with their whole heart 20 20 folks god has sent us to school he's changing us he's giving these invitations to change jesus said listen and understand can i can we have just a moment with the importance of listening we've been almost oblivious to this the word which describes this change in our bibles this mandatory adjustment to the benefits of the kingdom of god the benefits that accrue to you and me from the privileges and authority of god's kingdom what's the word that lets that become a part of our life experience it's repent you know what repent means it means to change it it means to change how you think and how you act the greek is about how you think in hebrew it's literally the direction you're traveling in reverse directions so repent is a change of thought and behavior you see we have errantly thought that repentance was just about confessing your sin you got caught stealing i should repent i was engaged in some form of immorality i should repent but short of that we we've thought repentance is kind of unknown repentance is the problem of the pagan the wicked the immoral the the blatantly ungodly folks repentance is the tool by which you and i find greater compliance with god's purposes to become more and more like our lord jesus of nazareth it's a repentance issue see repent is about alignment it's about listening if you're not listening you'll never repent because you have no clue you're out of alignment there's a second word that describes an essential component of listening and it's related to repent it's meditate now we think of meditation in regards to eastern things in reality meditate just means to think about to ponder to reflect upon if we get really honest we haven't spent a great deal of time thinking about god's kingdom we just really haven't now when we want something we get pretty focused if we get pushed back in a corner if life pushes us through disappointment or heartache or unexpected things we get backed into a corner maybe we get a little focused for a season we want a miracle a healing we want deliverance from some sort of problem or some need resolution maybe more money or justice from the world system something but we don't really spend a lot of time thinking about the kingdom of god reading our gospels following jesus through those pages going huh that was an odd reaction joshua 1 8. joshua is moses successor one of the toughest job descriptions in the bible how'd you like to follow moses in case you don't remember moses spent so much time hanging out with god that he glowed in the dark had to wear a veil because he freaked people out anybody here have that problem anybody live with somebody that's so godly it's hard to get sleep at night honey i love you but the glow is keeping me awake and i didn't think so joshua's got a tough job this is god's preparation don't let this book of the law depart from your mouth meditate on it day and night so that you can be careful to do everything written in it and you'll be prosperous and successful that's in your bible it's so easy to read you know the words you could give the definitions for most of them i suspect but we don't live like that's true we think prosperous and successful comes with what we do how hard we work the degrees we earn who our family is the right opportunities who you know something that's not what it said it said that if we will think about what god has said to us day and night and be careful to to bring compliance alignment with it that the best journey under the sun will come to us that way we've ignored it completely oh i mean i know what it says but it couldn't mean that really what do we need to do we need to repent god i'm so sorry i've treated your word like it was some child's game i was too busy to read it i certainly was too busy to think about it i study other things i study markets i study global economics i study things that i care about i study the patterns of deer or fish i know 6 000 recipes well cook but i know lots of recipes but i've been too busy it's kind of an intrusion we've got to improve our listening skills i want to give you just some helpful ideas we've been too limited even how we imagine this you see the things you really care about you have better listening skills than the person who doesn't care about them take a walk through the woods with somebody that's an avid outdoorsman they will hear and see things you know nothing about i had a conversation yesterday with a man friend of mine he said he was walking through the woods with some guy that is a as an outdoor polite word zealot knows every tree in the forest man owns hundreds of acres and the man said could i come label all the trees in your forest oh could i he said he's walking with him through the woods and the guy dives doesn't say anything just dives onto the ground he comes up with a mouse he looked at me said i don't know there was a mouse within 100 miles probably better off see what you're attuned to you see and you hear and we just haven't cared that much we wanted to go to heaven we didn't want to go to the fire pit no marshmallows [Music] our listening skills to begin with you listen with your heart it's a biblical idea what you want to have is a listening heart i thought i listened with my ears not exclusively first kings 3 this is solomon's prayer he's been selected as king and he's trying to work all that out and this is his prayer give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people to discern between good and evil in english it's not quite as clear but in hebrew where he says an understanding heart the hebrew word is shama know what it means listen or hear give your servant a hearing heart that i could know good and evil see if you're going to improve your listening skills it starts with the condition of your heart do you really want to honor god is that about what you know it's not about what you remember it's not about what the preacher said it's about the orientation of your heart it's my objective really to cooperate with god if it is i'll hear much better i'll give you the alternative zechariah chapter 7 verse 12 says of god's people they made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the words that the lord almighty had sent by his spirit through his prophets you want to cultivate a heart that says i want to cooperate now the alternative to that is going you know how much do i have to do how long do i have to stay how often do i have to attend how much do i have to give do i really have to serve i have to read what how often can i just is there are the cliff notes available i have to be nice to whom say i'm sorry for what see all of those are messages that i don't want to change i don't intend to change i have no desire to change i'm good the way i am well if we're going to let the fruit of the kingdom of god the evidence of our new birth become increasingly evident in our lives folks the most grizzled veteran among us gets to change you also listen with your eyes who knew you want eyes which see luke chapter 9 jesus is speaking he said listen carefully to what i'm about to tell you when jesus says listen carefully however you think you might ought to lean forward listen carefully to what i'm about to tell you the son of man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men he's talking to his friends and he says listen carefully i'm going to be betrayed but they didn't understand what this meant the words aren't hard they're not the third grader understands those words they didn't understand what this meant it was hidden from them so that they didn't grasp it and they were afraid to ask him about it it was hidden they couldn't see it so they couldn't take hold of it you listen with your eyes too we need vision beyond just our physical eyes we need to be able to look at our world and see something other than what the news reports when you look at our nation when you look at our communities when you look at our families we need to see with eyes other than just the eyes that the ungodly have because we're part of a new kingdom when jesus looked at the world around him he saw something different when he saw a storm he didn't see a threat he saw a nuisance which could be redirected we haven't been good listeners we haven't had hearts and eyes in the right places the outcome of listening is understanding but after you have the understanding then you've got to choose obedience because the understanding alone isn't enough most of us understand how to lose 10 pounds isn't that a mean thing to say after thanksgiving we do we just don't have the intent the obedience isaiah chapter 6. this is isaiah's commissioning he said i heard the voice of the lord saying whom will i sin then who'll go for us and i said well here i am send me and here's the message go and tell this people keep on listening but do not perceive keep on looking but do not understand you see looking isn't enough seeing you have to have an understanding heart render the hearts of this people insensitive their ears dull and their eyes dim otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears understand with their hearts and return and be healed english is a is an interesting language it's an ancient language it had to be revived from modern israel from modern israel it had gone out of use but because it's an ancient language there's a simplicity to it the hebrew words in that verse 10 are fun to me intriguing it says render the hearts of this people insensitive in english the hebrew word means fat render the hearts of the people fat and their ears dull literally may their ears be heavy flop over and their eyes be dim literally in hebrew may they just be smudged may your vision be opaque indistinct unclear otherwise they might see and hear and understand and if they would do that they could turn what's the word you've learned for turning repent and be healed we've got to be better listeners folks and it's not about hearing voices it's about a heart it's about what we see and how we understand it it's the pathway forward for us this present world order is passing away your future is in a new kingdom first corinthians 7 says this world in its present form is passing away there's a new world order coming you want to be heavily invested in the rapidly approaching kingdom of god you want to be divesting yourself from this very temporary world order that is rapidly passing away you want new thoughts you want new habits you want new patterns is it easy hello 20 20. i want to suggest you 2020 is a gift from god it has been in my life as difficult as it's been and as frustrating as it's been we've been shaken loose from our routines and our familiar patterns we have an unprecedented excuse to an opportunity to align ourselves with god's purposes as never before why are you sitting outside and having church it's 20 20. it's cold it's 20 20. why were you out there in july it's 20 20. didn't know you worshipped there it's 20 20. we got to get out of jail free card we don't even have to go acknowledge everybody you know look i was so far from god i'd sat in the same seat in the same place at the same time for so long i hadn't changed since moses came off the ark i know 2020 is a gift could you begin to thank god for it i know it's not easy we're smiling about it it's not funny it's challenged the health of many it's challenged the businesses of most and folks the impacts of this year we haven't even begun to understand them they're not telling us about them yet but in the midst of that god is moving he's deploying his church in new ways you're being asked to accept new assignments to lay down things which have encumbered us limited us i'll give you one example it'll take just a moment i need to introduce you to a couple more words can you stand it one is nomenclature you don't have to spell it nomenclature it's how we name things i want to talk a little bit about categories and how we classify things because that determines how we see the world nomenclature that's how we name things if we add to that taxonomy that's how we classify things now i learned the words in the scientific arena first but they applaud more apply more broadly than that it relates to how we see and how we understand our world and and you may think oh bother it doesn't matter it does matter it is essential to the world you live in because there are folks right now monkeying with this stuff in fact you need to be aware there is a concerted very well orchestrated almost frenetic attempt to alter how we see and understand our world i don't know if the those motivated by this or driving this understand that what they're doing is separating us from our faith but i assure you if you're not paying attention the outcome will be that you'll be separated from your faith nomenclature how we name things taxonomy how we classify things let me give you some examples recent years recent years you don't need to be old we have redefined family it's no longer accepted that the foundation of the family is a man and a woman but we set that aside old news out of date nobody bothered to tell us that had served our world well for millennia long long time that notion of a male and a female is the building block of what's to come it's not just a part of human civilization in human order it is spread across our whole world in many ways there's a very focused attempt right now to divide us by how we look to define us by how we look there's something perverse in that it wasn't too long ago we used to use phrases like beauty's only skin deep some of our great leaders would stand in public and say they dreamt of days we were judged more on the content of our character than our physical appearance see those are unifying ideas that our external appearance is temporary and secondary if you're defined by how you look that becomes a very divisive way to see the world because we all look differently tall and short than in fat big ears little ears long feet short feet it's also very prevalent right now prominent it's an idea being pushed at you in so many many ways it's like an avalanche to reject the idea that we're born male and female we're told that's no longer a good idea new way to understand new boxes to check on forms still confuses me it's a blatant assertion of south i'll determine everything about myself nobody could determine such a thing as that well maybe god could there's evidence there's an equal and equally forceful and equally destructive attempt to deny the difference between men and women powerful voices say we're just the same [Music] uh how about different and complementary not lesser or greater if i read my bible correctly in creation after god had created adam he said it's not good he'd be alone he needs to help me different complimentary folks those fundamental ideas that have shaped us are being challenged and they have a great deal to do with nomenclature with how we name things and how we classify things you need to be paying attention if i can borrow a line that's been overused this year i'm a little tired of it let's follow the science for just a minute scientific classifications they go from general to specific you start with the big picture and you move to the specific they never go from the specific to the general genus and then species and if you're writing that the genus is always capitalized so you know it precedes the species even if you don't know the latin phrases and you certainly don't know the the organisms being referenced you know the order of identification there's a process they're disrupting our processes it's no wonder we're disoriented it's no wonder there's confusion and fear and anxiety see in science classification always begins with which kingdom that's the top rung of this thing in science is it a part of the animal kingdom or the plant kingdom is so they're part of the fungi good old fungus kingdom whole kingdom of them see how we categorize things or persons has an enormous impact on how we respond to our world and we haven't been paying attention we haven't been watching we haven't been listening we haven't been thinking and so we haven't been acting well we can define ourselves in political ways you can be republican or democrat if we used a capitalist i'm sorry if we used a communistic attitude you could be a worker or a capitalist we identify as ourselves in religious categories we're protestant or we're catholic we identify ourselves by race we're black or white or brown we're jew or we're gentile then we choose from the menu and we begin to identify ourselves and identify other people i could describe myself not accurately but i could describe myself as a white catholic democrat and i can tell you i met a black man who was a protestant republican and if that's all you knew it might be hard to imagine that we could have a friendly conversation because there's so many points of distinction so many points of divergence you see the way we categorize people or things determines how we react towards them it's the science well i want to submit to you that if you're going to walk with god if you're going to be a christ follower if you're going to walk into the kingdom of god that we're going to have to walk with god and learn how he categorizes people and things i'll give you a hint it's different than the way the secular world does in fact my opinion the basic spiritual category in scripture for categorizing people for identifying people falls into one of two categories you're either a person of faith or a person of unbelief that's the starting point that's the kingdom determination you either believe that jesus is the son of god and you participate in his kingdom or you stand in unbelief and you don't that's the kingdom designation that's the highest wrong on the ladder that's the first point of identification and classification it's the first point of standing together of unity of unifying us most people most of us in the church we have not thought in these terms we describe one another in other ways we say he's a nice man a clever man a sincere person successful person a pretty person an outgoing person we're not speaking in spiritual terms you can be all of those things and be way apart from the kingdom of god but in the church we've been unaware so it's been pretty easy for them to move the goalposts to change the discussion and we've been a bit we've stammered a bit and we've stuttered a bit because we didn't understand what we we haven't thought enough or meditated enough we haven't brought enough alignment to ourselves in the lord to understand that the the rules of the game were being changed it's not just my idea john chapter 3 and verse 18 it says whoever believes in him is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he's not believed in the name of god's one and only son believing is what sets us free from condemnation not joining the right church or the right denomination or wearing the right clothes it's not our skin color or our net worth god does not categorize us by race or color or denomination or our iq he looks at it at first first based on what we choose to believe john 3 and verse 36 whoever believes in the son has eternal life but whoever rejects the son will not see life for god's wrath remains on him there's two simple categories it's not complicated the one who believes has eternal life and the one who doesn't is the recipient of god's wrath you see we should have a fundamental motivation to not want anybody that we care about to be in line for the wrath of god it's not a good place so we would talk to them about jesus how he's changed our lives how he's changing how we see our world how we treat one another he's changing the alignment of how we make our journey under the sun we're not recruiting them to a worship service or to a particular group of people we're recruiting them to a relationship with the person and his name is jesus we haven't had clarity we haven't been urgent in fact quite the opposite we say you know i don't know if i like a big church or not somebody will sit in my seat park in my space there's very many people come they're going to ask me to help rock their babies i don't want to rock babies i rock my babies let somebody else rock the babies not my problem well aren't you a happy clappy christian mark chapter 16 jesus said go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation who whoever believes and is baptized will be saved whoever doesn't believe is condemned again there's this classification you either believe or you don't what you believe matters it's in many contexts in our new testament our marriage how we do business second corinthians 6 do not be yoked together with unbelievers it's a good principle for marriage it's a good principle for business what do righteousness and wickedness have in common what fellowship can light have with darkness what harmony is there between christ and belial it's one of the names for satan again it's not a subtle principle of scripture we haven't thought about it enough we haven't paid enough attention we've gotten in line to look at the world just like the pagans do we haven't brought a god perspective the church has not been a solid voice for salt and light hebrews 10. don't throw away your confidence it'll be richly rewarded you need to persevere so that when you've done the will of god you'll receive what he's promised isn't that what we want i do in just a very little while he who is coming will come and he will not delay the king is coming my righteous one will live by faith and if he shrinks back i'll not be pleased with him we are not of those who shrink back on are destroyed but of those who believe and are saved there's only two possibilities in that warning the king is coming we'll either be moving towards him embracing him in faith or we'll be withdrawing we've got to choose if you face the issues in your life upon this basis you're going to make much better choices and decisions we've got to learn to think in god's basic categories of believing and not believing we have we have been deceived we've embraced other categories as if that's going to bring peace and harmony and cooperation it won't it will not there's no evidence that it will we need the transformation of the human heart that what is within us is more important than anything else the skeptics want more evidence i'm about done i promise galatians 3 it says you're all sons of god through faith in christ jesus all it's an inclusive word for all of you who were baptized into christ have clothed yourselves with christ there's neither jew nor greek those are the two racial categories of the new testament you're either jewish or everybody else everybody neither slave nor free male nor female you're all one in christ colossians 3 here there's no greek or jew uncircumcised or circumcised barbarian scythian slaver free christ is all and is in all therefore as god's chosen people what describes us as god's chosen people the one in whom we've placed our faith god forgive us we've spent so much time arguing about our musical style as god's chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe yourselves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience the fruit of the spirit the only way those things will come from the life of a human being is by being yielded to the authority of jesus nazareth of nazareth and giving his spirit freedom in us are you listening not to me to the lord categories create barriers and bonds how you categorize people determines how you'll respond to them how we categorize persons as decisive and how we relate with one another how god categorizes people is important to understand every other category is secondary in fact i would submit to you to elevate any other category above that one of your relationship to god is idolatry because you're putting something in front of the most defining characteristic of your person don't do that it's a lie it will not bring better things to you it will not bring us to a better outcome so here's my suggestion let's repent of our carnal view of the world you and me let's say god i'm so sorry i've looked at the world like everybody else i let ungodly people coach me on how to see the world i let people that couldn't spell god if you gave him a g in an o try to teach me on how to understand my world god i'm sorry i haven't thought about you i haven't meditated i haven't spent any time in your word i i'm sorry god help me to see the world like you see it we haven't looked at the world from the god perspective it's no wonder god is shaking us truth be told we've been worldly well maybe not sexually immoral immoral maybe not thieves but we've lived like the world we've thought like the world we've walked like the world god we're sorry we've been trying to accumulate stuff like folks you can't keep it the systems are going to melt use it for the kingdom of god don't let it don't imagine it secures you it won't it's a lie i brought you a prayer i thought we might pray it together i know i'm long this is good news you'll get out of here if you pray this prayer with me there's hope why don't you stand with me i think they can put this on the screens [Music] yes they can can we read this together you can download it for yourself if you want to pray it throughout the week share it with somebody else it's okay let's read it together heavenly father thank you for loving me and calling me out of darkness into your kingdom of light grant me an understanding heart eyes to see and ears to hear that i may walk uprightly before you forgive me for seeing the world through eyes of unbelief for looking but not understanding i repent i choose to walk in a new way seeing each person as your creation each life is valuable my relationship with you brings status more than my color my wealth or any other affiliation give me a boldness to share the truth so that those around me might know your kingdom may your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven amen hallelujah god bless you [Applause] [Music] hey this is pastor allen thank you for watching this video if you enjoyed it like it and most importantly share it with your friends if you want to be notified when there's new content when we post new material if you'll just subscribe to my channel and hit the bell you'll get the notification most of all i pray god blesses you as you continue on your spiritual journey and open your heart to the lord god bless you

Channel: Allen Jackson Ministries

Views: 6,509

Rating: 4.9103141 out of 5

Keywords: Pastor Allen Jackson, allen jackson ministries, world outreach church, alan jackson, sermons, preachers, how to be saved, Finding Jesus, pastor allen jackson sermons, Be Ready for the Lord's Arrival, Be Ready, Be Prepared, New, A New Kingdom

Id: 9Ao17JO3TcQ

Length: 62min 17sec (3737 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 21 2020