Kingdoms in Conflict - Return of the King [Standing for the Spirit of God]

[Music] it's good to be with you again our topic in this session is kingdoms and conflict uh it's just a reality of the world we're in right now there's a spiritual battle raging in the earth it's not primarily a political battle or an ideological battle it's not a battle between nation states all of those things are happening i'm not denying that but underlying all of those is a spiritual conflict the reason it's intensifying is important the adversary to the kingdom of god and the coming of the kingdom of god satan and his entire array of forces are frantic because their time is coming to a conclusion the reason for that is they know the king is coming in fact i think they're more aware of it than the church is well we want to become more aware of the season we're in in god's purposes so we can take our place except our assignment grab your bible open your heart ask the spirit of god to give you listening ears and then let's go follow the king [Music] our topic for this session is kingdoms in conflict spiritual kingdoms not earthly kingdoms most of us believe in the kingdom of god or we wouldn't be in church but we find ourselves a bit more reluctant to believe in the kingdom of darkness or a satanic kingdom folks it's illogical one of the fundamental principles of physics is that for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction and those kingdoms are in conflict and by identifying with jesus of nazareth you're engaged in the conflict you don't have to choose to do so there are no conscientious objectors you may not believe in the devil but he believes in you and for this particular session we're going to talk about the return of the king but i want to start with psalm 116 it was a part of our reading for the day i hope you do that daily bible reading it will change your life psalm 116 and verse 12 says how can i repay the lord for all his goodness to me i'll lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the lord i'll fulfill my vows to the lord in the presence of all his people i really just couldn't get it out of my head i read it early this morning i needed to finish in my notes and i got a little sidetracked how can i repay the lord for all his goodness to me and the answer there's is there's no way there's no way i can repay the lord for his goodness to me nor can you and if you're unhappy today if you're grumpy about your circumstances if you think life has been unfair to you your perspective is too limited i'm not saying your pain isn't real god has been good to us i have lived places in the world where there were no grocery stores to this day walking in the grocery store to me feels like a gift from the lord i can worship the lord in the cookie aisle i mean there's 80 different kinds you can get seasonal oreos thank you jesus i have been in south america on tributaries of the amazon and gone down those remote places and met people that lived in villages that more than likely never travel more than 30 miles or so from where they were born that have no glimpse of the world in which we live in and the only difference in their life in my life was the grace of god in the circumstances of my birth about 8 billion people in the world 5 billion of them live in poverty with an average daily income of less than ten dollars how can i repay the lord for his goodness to me i can't but i will serve him with my whole heart this is not part of my sermon don't take it off my time this week is an anniversary of sorts for us i don't know there's one we want to celebrate but it's the anniversary of when a virus from wuhan china became an instrument in our lives of un unprecedented tremendous change beyond anything we imagined it was certainly more than two weeks to flatten the curve now i don't intend today to take the time to identify all the changes which have emerged we may do some things with that in the weeks ahead i don't know but suffice it to say that we live in a different world than we did in march of does that feel right to you we just live in a different world and after a year a year of struggle and sacrifice and effort and adjustment you know i would prefer and i suspect you would prefer to be in a place that we could proclaim as definitively better after all the disruption and change and work and effort but that analysis seems incomplete to me it's not just incorrect in fact my sense is that the tsunami of change has not stopped now i know we're tired of the howling winds that demand new responses week after week and the pelting rains that seem to keep sweeping away familiar routines but the truth is the ark hadn't landed yet we're not done god's still shaking i continue to believe and will continue to believe that god is moving there are two amazing initiatives that are moving forward in the earth at an unprecedented rate they're gaining momentum in fact god is gathering the jewish people and establishing them and the land that he's given them that little strip of land at the eastern end of the mediterranean to the consternation of the world god is accomplishing that and at the same time that that's happening he is purifying and preparing his church are you conscious you're being purified if you're not you better step forward because god is moving and if you're not conscious of that in your life you're being left behind this is not a time for the status quo now these things aren't happening separately they are very much intertwined after all the head of the church is a jewish messiah we sometimes forget that and we stand together as we complete god's purposes for this age now simultaneously with those remarkable expressions of the power and the purposes of god in this season in the most of unique ways evil is more apparent it is more emboldened it's more prevalent i've never seen anything like it the desire to crush dissent to silence opposing voices the demands for unthinking obedience it threatens our freedoms to gather to speak to grow in ways we've never seen before we are witnesses in fact we are participants in this most unique time in history spiritual conflict is broken into the open it's visible with anyone that has eyes to see you don't have to be particularly discerning events surrounding our daily lives are no longer grounded in logic they're no longer based in reason or even law something else is happening it's disorienting we're told the defenses that our nation's borders are bad but fences at our nation's capital are essential in the midst of a pandemic when thousands of children are being encouraged to cross our borders adding to the health crisis we're told that it's really not safe for our children to go to school in many places it's disorienting it's confusing well we tolerate encourage and promote pornography in some of the most divisive music and destructive video games we cancel dr seuss [Music] but god's not unaware he hasn't withdrawn from the arena his purposes haven't changed his commitment to his people in the earth is absolute you need to know that and those who oppose god's people misunderstand they imagine it's about places of worship or evangelic i don't know what they imagine it's about but the truth is they're resisting almighty god it's not a new thing god's people have always looked uniquely vulnerable when goliath stood in the ela valley challenged an army he wasn't mocking an army he defied the god of israel and it didn't work out real well it's not a new thing now we would all prefer a safer gentler world i know we would but for now we're on assignment so i want to encourage you in a very purposeful intentional specific way yield your life to god i'm not talking about attending church or reciting the sinner's prayer yield your life to god accept the role in the advance of his kingdom and stand your ground do it in the marketplace do it in the schools not angry not aggressive not condemning be an advocate for jesus repent of your indifference turn away from your commitment to selfish indulgence that thinks it's about your comfort and convenience and for cert for heaven's sakes lay down any willful sin stop it give god your best i assure you i'm confident you will rejoice if you choose to do that you will rejoice when his kingdom is fully known but i would submit you that a life apart from faith a life apart from belief is a life that is tremendously diminished i know there's many voices that mock or would poke fun or be derisive but a life apart from faith is a very diminished life never apologize for your belief in god you will see his kingdom one day and you will be very glad that you've chosen to serve him you know hebrews 12 14 says make every effort to live in peace with all men it's a good thing to live in peace with all men don't deny your faith don't deny your commitments don't surrender the field tolerance doesn't mean you concede appropriate definition of tolerance means you'll respect someone else's opinion even if it's different from yours tolerance doesn't mean we have to concede every opinion is equal they're not you may not believe in gravity but that's not really a great opinion make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy because without holiness no one will see the lord holiness is the target and if your objective in your life is not to be holy before the lord you're misguided we have set the bar too long we've had a gospel of convenience and comfort dietrich bonhoeffer called it men without chests cheap grace it's dangerous holiness is the target there's two ideas that are prevalent in contemporary life and i think they're both biblically inaccurate one we typically hear more on a secular side of the discussion it goes something like this that there's that what i do in the privacy of my own home is my own business and if i'm not hurting anyone else it cannot be wrong it's my private life and after all it's no one else's business well that idea completely rejects the notion that there is a god and that there's nothing hidden from him and if you imagine the privacy of your home doesn't affect who you are in public you're confused you want to honor god especially when no one's watching you want your life to have integrity across all of its components but the theological equivalent of that then i hear it frequently amongst christians goes something like this once i'm a christian i have no fear of judgment it would be nice if i did the right thing but it's not mission critical i am after all saved by faith not by works i can just repent that's as misguided and as delusional and as biblically inaccurate as the previous statement psalm 111 verse 10 says the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom and all who follow his precepts have good understanding to him who belong to him belongs eternal praise i want to take just a minute with the nature of god you see the more you understand god's character and his nature the more effective you'll be in serving him and following him the better you understand the nature of water the more effective you'll be if you're trying to swim if you don't understand that water will impede your breathing you're going to have a hard time and you know what you think about god is not the same as knowing god what you want to believe about god is not the same as is what you know about god the reason we have this book is that we might know him don't read this book and judge it let it judge you you know someone said to me one time that they had broken god's laws and as i've reflected on that i don't really think it's accurate god's law breaks us he's eternal we need to know his character hebrews 12 and verse 22 says you have come to mount zion to the heavenly jerusalem the city of the living god you've come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly i love that image do you know there's thousands upon thousands of angels ten thousand times ten thousand angels further than you can see we discount them many of you believe there are demons many of you believe in a devil many of you believe that those demons and the the spiritual hierarchy of evil has great power and influence there's great deal of evidence in that throughout human history and yet we seem to discount the power and authority of the angels why would you believe in the the power of the unclean evil spirits and not believe in the power of those ministering spirits sent forth on our behalf i believe there's angels all over this space today thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly to the church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven you've come to god the judge of all men to the spirits of righteous men made perfect and to jesus the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of abel do you have to remember who abel is two brothers we meet them in the book of genesis chapter four cain and abel cain's offerings pleased i mean abel's offerings pleased the lord and cain's did not it made cain angry he murdered his brother he murdered his brother we didn't get to chapter 6 of genesis before those behaviors were happening it's not new folks the story of this book is there's a brokenness in us that needs redemption we're not going to fix ourselves apart from god it's a lie we can't separate our faith from the world we live in and think the world will get better only a moving of the spirit of god an awakening of god's people will bring resolution to the problems that are bringing division and anger and hatred and destruction and murder to our lives the church has to wake up to that truth not to be angry or belligerent but to the truth the sprinkled blood that speaks of a better word than abel the blood of abel in genesis chapter 4 and verse 9 it says the lord said to cain where is your brother abel and he said i don't know am i my brother's keeper he lied the lord said what have you done do you live with that awareness that god knows what's going on you know sometimes you think if you can fool the preacher you fooled god i have an announcement god is smarter than the preacher because most days the preacher feels like he's dumb as a stick but we don't fool god you don't have to live in dread of him but you want to live in a holy respect of him i like horses i grew up around them i've always i'm amazed at their great strength and thanks to some very good coaching and training they don't frighten me big ones little ones mean ones angry ones relax they just don't frighten me but when i'm close to them i'm very conscious of them aware of them because i know if there's an unexpected sound or something unanticipated absent all that strength and and you're close to it it can have a negative outcome it has nothing to do with courage i respect them i respect god what have you done listen your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground abel's blood was shed without his consent it was sprinkled upon the earth and it cried out to god for vengeance upon his murderer now the author of hebrews is contrasting that with the blood of jesus in matthew 26 jesus said of his own life this is the blood my my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins jesus blood was freely given with his own consent it was sprinkled upon the mercy seat in heaven and jesus blood pleads for mercy and forgiveness there's a great difference we bear the name of jesus we serve him as lord and king because he shed his blood that we could be free from the consequences of our own sin that is the good news we have for the world that we live in you don't have to pay the freight for your sin if you will humble yourself and repent if you will acknowledge jesus is lord we're not about conforming to a rule set we're not a moral society we're not about business ethics do those things come under they may be in play but that's not the essence of our deal god is revealed in scripture as the ultimate judge of all you better be prepared and if you work with people or live near people or care about people and you don't help them know that the creator of heaven and earth is the judge of all the living and they will stand before him you're a lousy friend well i don't want to offend them how do you think they'll feel when they stand before the judge and you didn't speak up genesis 18 25 will not the judge of all the earth do right isaiah 33 the lord is our judge god's the judge of all of us now there's one more thing you need to know about his character he is very reluctant to punish god doesn't get excited about that and we'll look at it in a minute in a couple of places he's very patient but but god does not enjoy punishing broken humanity in fact the whole story of this book is that when when sin entered the scene when adam and eve when they forfeited their place in the garden the rest of the story is how god would redeem us from that failure when the angels rebelled against him a third of the angels rebelled they are forever going to suffer god's judgment god did not leave us in that place he made a way for us to be redeemed wow john 3 17 god didn't send his son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him don't tell the jesus story in a condemning way god didn't don't you ii peter 3 9 the lord is not slow in keeping his promises some understand slowness he's patient with you not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance now i want to take the time that i have left and unpack some survival essentials we're walking through this season of conflict and it will intensify let me be frightened by that god will give us whatever we need but i believe what we're watching will intensify it's intensified over where it was a year ago and i i believe that pattern will continue so i want to give you a couple of survival essentials we're not going to unpack the whole thing but the first one i would submit is that we want to cultivate endurance i'll take that as an amen matthew 24 and verse 13. it's it's jesus the most lengthy prophetic discourse he's talking about the end of the age and he's listing all of these characteristics at the end of the age then he says this the one who endures to the end will be saved this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and then the end will come well in order for the gospel to be preached in all the world and to get to the end it says we have to endure to the end matthew 10 22 says you'll be hated by all because of my name not hated because you're mean or a thief or greedy or selfish or immoral you'll be hated because you're affiliated with jesus but it's the one who's endured to the end who will be saved the english is not quite as specific or as intense as it is in the greek in greek it says he was endured to the end this is the one who will be saved you don't just do endure until you get tired of enduring you have to endure until the end so you and i aren't the ones that determine how long we'll endure if we don't endure to the end it won't matter i'm going to unpack that a little more with you luke 21 and verse 17. jesus again said it's a parallel luke 21 and matthew 24 are parallel passages it says you'll be hated by all because of my name yet not a hair of your head will perish but by your endurance you will gain your lives you'll be hated by all in that good news at the same times that the gospel is going to be preached in the whole world there's going to be a growing chorus of antagonism to the gospel we've been told we shouldn't be shocked if you're a football fan and your child decides they're going to play football and they come home after their first game and they say well i didn't enjoy it at all that other team kept trying to stop me you'd have to have a conversation because that's the nature of that interaction and we've been told in the plainest of language that as we approach the end of this age and we're preparing for eternity that there's going to be a global proclamation of the gospel empowered by the spirit of god with great signs and wonders and an unprecedented resistance to it and for those that are engaged we're going to be required to endure in luke 21 jesus said by your endurance you will gain your lives you see we've stopped thinking we said well i said the sinner's prayer there's nothing left for me that's not what the bible says by your endurance you will gain your lives there are things you and i have to buy not with money we don't earn our way to heaven we certainly can't purchase our salvation remember the parable jesus taught of the wise and the foolish virgins awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom and when the call came that the bridegroom was coming half of them were prepared they had oil in their lamps and half didn't and the message was go and buy oil for your lamps remember that story well oil is a type of the holy spirit you can't buy the holy spirit with money how do you fill your life with the spirit of god we say when i make a profession of faith the holy spirit comes to live with me well you're right obi-wan but it's equally true that you have to take time in prayer and spend time in the word of god you have to desire his presence or some of you remember the laodicean church in revelation chapter 3 the book of revelation starts with these seven churches and and the one that seems most closely aligned with contemporary american church would be the laodicean they're wealthy and affluent but spiritually very unaware and jesus gives them some very specific counsel in revelation 3 18. he said i advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire to buy gold refined for fire you're not going to buy it with a monetary exchange by endurance we will gain our lives see there are aspects of our faith that aren't easy that aren't simple that aren't convenient that aren't comfortable jesus said if anybody would be my disciple he has to take up his cross daily and follow me we haven't really lived in that world or meditated on that very much james chapter 1 and verse 2 says consider it pure joy my brothers when you face trials of many kinds excuse me you know if i had white out i'd just wipe that out that's one of those verses you read past really quickly i don't know what it means but it surely doesn't mean what it says consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds the presupposition is we're going to face many different kinds of trials and we're given the the appropriate emotional response consider it joyfully there's only one way to do that one of the fruit of the spirit in galatians is joy only the abiding presence of the spirit of god can enable you to face challenges and trials joyfully but folks we won't survive in the season ahead without the abiding presence of the spirit of god but james doesn't stop there he said because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance well that's okay i really wasn't interested in any of that anyway oh tell the truth i may have been on your prayer list last week god i would love to learn some world-class perseverance i didn't think so perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything perseverance work has to be completed in us it's why we have to persevere to the end how many of us want to be mature and complete in the lord lacking nothing whoo me too well perseverance is an essential ingredient in fact throughout scripture endurance is very closely associated with the coming of the lord those that are going to be engaged in that season shouldn't be shocked if you were a first century disciple and a part of the jesus initiative it was going to require endurance of you i won't walk you through that this morning just trust me but there's three words that we use that are related but some somewhat different that really speak to this it's patience perseverance and endurance and they have slightly different meanings and if you'll allow me just a moment i think it's helpful patience has a latin root and it means primarily something's passive patience is basically doing nothing and once again it's one of the fruit of the spirit in first peter 3 and verse 20 it says long ago god waited patiently in the days of noah while the ark was being built in fact for hundreds of years god tolerated the world becoming more and more wicked until finally every thought of men's hearts was evil he was patient and i think god is being very patient with our world today but his patience isn't infinite people misunderstand you and i have misunderstood everybody in here has made an ungodly decision and given expression to it with behavior and wondered if god was going to grab you and when he didn't we often mistakenly conclude he doesn't care folks god is sovereign and he is just but he's also patient the second word is perseverance now you understand perseverance i think perseverance is doing something and persistently doing it you just keep you persist in it that's perseverance endurance has a slightly different meaning in fact the greek word for endurance literally means remaining under it's as if you're under something you're holding out against it but you're not really trying to escape you're enduring it you're staying in that place you're not looking for the escape route you're saying i'll hold my ground having done everything to stand i'll stand here what was the message a moment ago he who endures to the end so three aspects of christian conduct that are essential for this kingdom conflict that we find as we approach the end of the age and the return to the king are patience perseverance and endurance if we stay in the book of james and we go to chapter 5 verse 7 says be patient then brothers until the lord's coming you're going to see the wickedness increasing be patient until the lord's coming the lord is coming see how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the ottoman spring reigns you to be patient and stand firm persevere because the lord's coming is near don't grumble against each other brothers or you'll be judged the judge is standing at the door brothers and his example of patience in the face of suffering take the prophets who spoke in the name of the lord it's an interesting sentence to me as an example of patience in the face of suffering take the prophets i want to take just a minute it's worth a minor detour to have a little adjustment on our expectation of serving the lord because i suspect we imagine if you were a prophet or you were an apostle that's an entitled position in serving the lord that's a celebrated position that's a position of elevation well the biblical presentation of ministry to be completely candid with you is not very glamorous and in my opinion at least there's way too much talk these days about ministry and gifts which is centered more in carnal satisfaction than it is in fulfilling god's purposes and it's not going to help us in the season that we've begun we're going to have to adjust our attitudes in first corinthians chapter 4 and verse 8 we get the new testament description of an apostle are you ready must be on the second sheep thank god that's called the home stretch keep praying we're going to get there first corinthians 4 and verse 8. it says already you have all you want paul's writing to the corinthians they helped bring this church into existence they served them as the church was born and now super apostles have come in amongst them and said you can ignore paul we're going to put you in a better place and so paul is contrasting their newly arrived at decisions with what he lived in front of them already you have all you want already you have become rich you have become kings and that without us how i wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you for it seems to me that god has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession like men condemned to die in the arena we are fools for christ but you are so wise in christ we are weak but you are strong you are honored we are dishonored to this very hour we go hungry and thirsty we're in rags we are brutally treated we are homeless we work hard with our own hands when we are cursed we bless when we are persecuted we we endure it when we are slandered we answer kindly and up to this moment we have become the scom of the earth the refuse of the world that's the definition we've perverted that a little bit i'll take just a minute while we're working on the realignment you want the new testament definition of a prophet it's equally clear hebrews chapter 11 that hall of fame of faith and it concludes with the description of the prophets it says they were stoned they were sawed in two that was isaiah they were put to death by the sword they went about in sheepskins and goatskins destitute persecuted and mistreated the world was not worthy of them they wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground may i humbly submit to you that a holy calling from the lord is not intended to be an example of glamour or privilege but of suffering and patience and before you spend your time scanning the horizon to be sure everybody that you think is serving the lord is suffering adequately may i remind you that you've been called to serve the lord and don't apply a standard to someone else that you have rejected for yourself patience perseverance and endurance that's the pattern for the people of god who are preparing for his return the king is coming not for the exalted ones the kings of the earth are going to have a problem when the king shows up and there is way too much irresponsible language in talking about ministry and gifts ministries serving in the body of christ i have a public service announcement it's difficult i'm not complaining no whining in there it's just an adequate explanation and if you're not prepared for the conflict and the difficulty resign your assignment [Music] if you think serving the lord is when it's convenient when you're in the mood you don't understand the king now the rewards are eternal it's the best investment of your ability your thought your intellect your resources your physical energy if i knew something better i promise you i'd be about it this isn't selfless i think it's the best expression of a human life that i'm conscious of first corinthians 9 and verse 25 says everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training he's referencing the olympics if you're going to train as an olympian you understand you're going to change your diet your sleep schedule your your habits everything about your life is going to be directed at the best possible outcome when you step into the arena they do it to get a crown that will not last they get a gold medal but we do it to get a crown that will last forever now that's a worthwhile investment it can't be diminished the scripture says it can't be stolen it can't be taken away from you it can't be devalued hallelujah this is more than about attending church we have undersold this we have not over promised we have undersold it because we haven't believed we've looked for the minimal daily requirement what's the least we could do and still make it under the wire i understand how offensive that is to the lord i believe if he sacrificed his son that we might be a part of his eternal kingdom and our attitude is you know how often do i have to go to church does livestream count forgive me just type it in i forgive you i know everybody can't be here one more survival essential and it's another exciting one you'll be glad you got to church for this nugget but it's essential if we're going to survive the season before the lord returns it's waiting waiting the importance of waiting in the contemporary church is almost totally overlooked hebrews chapter 9 and verse 28 says christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people and he'll appear a second time not to bear sin but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him and when the lord comes back we talked about the the darkness increasing the wickedness increasing and the the spirit of god moving in these ways when the lord comes back i assure you our response will be oh nice to see you we will find ourselves in a place where only the return of the lord can give us an acceptable exit strategy we'll be desperate we'll be waiting for him lord we have been enduring we've been persevering we've been waiting hallelujah the king is back he's not an interruption he's not an intrusion and to the degree that you still imagine his return is an intrusion you're still entrenched in this present world order first thessalonians 1 and verse 9 they themselves report what kind of reputation you gave us the people that have watched the church emerge in thessaloniki are talking about that interaction they've observed in the lives of the people they tell us how you turn to god from idols to serve the living and true god and to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead jesus who rescues us from the coming wrath to wait for his son how did they turn to god it says they did two things they turned to serve him and to wait for his son and you and i are called to those two things to serve and to wait i believe it takes more faith to wait than it does to serve most of us are hardwired more towards doing something remember quarantining sheltering in place that's great for about 15 minutes right now what are we going to do we're called to wait isaiah 64 and verse 4 since ancient times no one has heard no ear is perceived no i have seen any god besides you who acts on behalf of those who wait for him isaiah is describing a unique aspect of the true god he acts on behalf of those who wait for him john chapter 9 and verse 4 this time it's jesus as long as it's a day we must do the work of him who sent me night is coming when no one can work there is coming a time in the earth when night will descend and we will not be able to work and it will be a frustrating season if you have postponed your service of the lord because you won't be able to pursue it at that point the only response left then is to wait now here's the challenge we don't know how long we'll have to wait god hardly ever tells us the length of the trial what he does tell us is don't give up don't give up there's just no precedent in the bible for giving up it's not an accident that we repeat a proclamation around here we will not stop waiting is one of the tests to which god subjects his most valuable servants and if you're being asked to wait know this god attaches enormous value to you he hasn't forgotten you he hasn't abandoned you abraham the father of our faith was promised that god would bring from him a son from whom a nation would emerge he waited 25 years patiently the bible says in fact it was greatest abraham's greatest achievement he waited he didn't build cities he didn't build temples he didn't build tabernacles he didn't orchestrate great deliverances he waited he waited while he watched his wife pass the age where it was biologically imaginable that she could conceive and yet he waited for god's promise are you willing to allow the seasons of your life to change and still believe god will be faithful to you joseph had a dream as a young man as a boy the promise of god's call upon his life but before that defined his reality he was sold as a slave by his brothers falsely accused of immorality placed in a prison he waited psalm 105 describes it it's 105 in verse 17. it says he set a man before them joseph who was sold as a slave they afflicted his feet with fetters he himself was laid in irons until the time that his word came to pass the word of the lord tested him i think the interim between when he had those dreams and when he provided leadership to egypt he wasn't held with iron shackles god put iron in him and if he's asking you to wait he's preparing you for something to which i typically well i really didn't ask to be prepared for anything we are servants of the king moses waited david waited waiting causes us to realize our dependence upon god there's just no shortcut i can't do anything what can you have to wait i don't know when the answer is coming i understand if you have brothers and sisters fellow church travelers on the journey and they're being asked to wait just stand quietly with them don't hand them platitudes god has not abandoned us my last scripture there's hope galatians 6 the one who sows to please his sinful nature from that nature will reap destruction please know this is written to christians it's written to a church that you and i have a decision that we can spend our time and our energy and our resources and our dreams and we can spend our lives under the sun as people have made a profession of faith in jesus counting on an attorney in the kingdom of god sowing to please our sinful nature and if you do the outcome of that is everything you sow will be destroyed it won't stand the test of god's judgment you won't take it with you into eternity but the one who sows to please the spirit from the spirit will reap eternal life now i won't go back but we just read a verse that when it talked about us enduring it referenced the farmer who plants the seeds before we lived in tennessee we lived in miami florida and one of the places we lived was a neighborhood that was predominantly jewish and i remember across the street there was a jewish family and they had a daughter that was about my age i was just a little kid and we were from missouri so we were used to gardens and crops and i don't know how it came up but the little girl got interested in gardening a bit and i just remember that somehow my mom got involved and helped her plant some potatoes didn't happen a lot in urban miami but the part that stuck in my head was the little girl kept digging them up she wanted to see if they were growing every day and if you've had any agricultural experience at all in the most limited way you know there's a lag time between planting and an outcome and it's precisely the image that's being used here that if we sow to please the spirit it doesn't mean every day we go wow look at that outcome in fact if you're growing oak trees you're really making a sacrifice for a generation who's coming behind you if you ask me to evaluate the the intent of a lot of our behavior we've been growing dandelions he who sows to please the spirit from the spirit will reap eternal life now here's the punchline let us not become weary in doing god it's an acknowledgement that we will you're going to get tired of doing good i get tired of it do you play monopoly get those little cards get out of jail free i think we should print some of those this is my day to not act like a christian you pull in front of me i'm going to hit you i'm going to walk around the front of my car hand you my card give you jesus is lord magnet sorry this just happened to be my day tomorrow i'll yield today call bart durham how fun that but you're in the grocery store you're hurry you're trying to get home you're late there was traffic you got to go down highway 99. it's going to be marvelous when it's done you're in the express lane 10 items or less and the person in front of you got two buggies you walk up you hand them your card turn their buggy over or just walk past we can make fun of it because it lives within us the part that's not funny are the places that you've prayed about every day for as long as you can remember and you still don't have the answers let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest you need to circle that next little word as a preposition if because if you skip what's coming after that you don't get your harvest if we do not give up if you give up you forfeit everything you know i learned that with physical training the the great benefits are how you finish that workout how you do after you're tired and after your muscles are screaming and your lungs are complaining what are you going to do now that's where that benefit lies if we don't give up don't you give up don't you give up don't you give up and if you see somebody that you're concerned is in danger of giving up you go quietly stand next to them you don't have to have an answer you have to have some smug response you don't need some formula just stay and say i'm honored to stand next to somebody that believes in god it's my privilege let them gain a little strength from your strength if you see somebody teetering they're about to they you think they're going to invest too much in their carnal selves don't get angry at them don't get gleeful thinking oh god's going to get them and i'm going to get the watch see i think we've watched people waiting for god's judgment because in our hearts we wanted to be wicked with them we better humble ourselves go stand next to those people that you know are weary don't you give up folks we're going to walk through some stuff i don't doubt it but we're going to see some things too we're going to see the spirit of the lord move we're going to see an outpouring of his spirit we need one another you see the devil wants to separate us and isolate us and push us into a corner there's no perfect people stop that it's not an excuse for sloppiness you know me better than that don't you give up i brought you a proclamation i want to make an easter proclamation with you i want to make a declaration you know your words have spiritual authority and i want you to say a proclamation with me we want to declare something over easter this year not just for ourselves and our little campus that's but but over what god will do in the earth i don't know how he'll make easter prominent but i believe he will i believe he will i want you to stand with me it's on your outline if you're joining us online say it with us wherever you are you stand up with us they'll put it on the screens if you didn't get an outline this is our declaration for ourselves and our homes and our lives and where we have influence are you ready easter reminds us that life is greater than death that faith triumphed over fear suffering must give way to rewards and restoration this easter is a declaration that jesus is lord in our world jesus is lord over every pandemic jesus is lord over every government and government official jesus is lord over the media and big tack and all those who imagine they can control information jesus is lord in our homes jesus is lord over our future jesus is the head of the church he is the image of the invisible god the firstborn of all creation by him all things were created both in heavens and on earth visible and invisible he is before all things and in him all things hold together those who are with him are the called and chosen and faithful jesus is the faithful witness he is the firstborn from the dead he is the ruler of the kings of the earth he loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood he has made us to be a kingdom of priests and to serve his god and father to him be glory and power forever and ever amen hallelujah [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 [Music] you

Channel: Allen Jackson Ministries

Views: 16,748

Keywords: Pastor Allen Jackson, allen jackson ministries, world outreach church, alan jackson, sermons, preachers, how to be saved, Finding Jesus, pastor allen jackson sermons, Kingdoms in Conflict, Return of the King, Standing for the Spirit of God, Spiritual Conflict, Heavenly Battles

Id: pMsrBS6fCd4

Length: 53min 6sec (3186 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 14 2021