Read the Signs [Understanding the Prophesy of Jesus]

[Music] [Music] well this week we will have a new president a new congress new choices new faces new responses from the media and folks can't decide whether they're happy or sad about all that and we're pretty much all over the spectrum but i think it's very important that you remember irrespective of inauguration day we have the same king the same holy spirit the same heavenly father come on the same promise of securing our lives and our future the same dependence upon our helper the same need to know god's word the same responsibility for each of us to say yes to godliness and no to ungodliness we are living in some most exciting times don't wring your hands lift up your head we are watching the scriptures come to life on a daily basis in fact it's happening so quickly it is very difficult to assimilate everything that's happening around us the rate of change and the scope of what is changing strains at the limit of what's believable it's just hard to watch from day to day and and keep pace january of 2020 i think it's safe to say it was very different than january of 2021. does your perspective look like that i'm not attaching a value to it i'm just saying it's dramatically different the foundations of what we see today were in place for the most part for a long time we just weren't very aware of them being awakened and as we wipe the sleep from our eyes we can hardly comprehend what's all around us it helps me to think in terms of two buckets one is a historical bucket i try to watch what i'm seeing in the context of what i know of history and the other is a biblical or a theological bucket i try to understand it in the light of god's word and those two perspectives for me are very stabilizing you know the events surrounding covet 19 by now are really familiar to all of us you know the terms and the language a whole new set of vocabulary words that a year ago we didn't know about we're up close and personal with sickness and the tremendous fear that it brought we have lived through quarantines in all sorts of ways we've watched close schools be closed and small businesses be closed and churches be closed in short widely disrupted lives sound right not new and we're not finished yet and in fact in some ways it's probably more disruptive today than it has been through the whole run in the i didn't see this coming category and to an extent far beyond anything i would have imagined has been the rather rapid dismissal of the first amendment i didn't anticipate that freedom of speech freedom of worship the right to peaceful assembly a free parish for the exchange of ideas those things don't seem to be protected so much right now the bill of rights seems to have been overruled there are new procedures being established there's great boldness on the part of those that are making these new rules freed from the encumbrance of the constitution there's a whole new world of possibilities emerging before us on a daily basis i hope you're watching you need to be paying attention and not presuming that the world in which we have been is the world that we're walking into it's changing and as shocking as our current events are they have some connections to previous times in history the steady drum beat of limiting christian influence is escalating rapidly now much more rapidly than it has any time in my lifetime for many years decades really if you look back across the process the messaging was centered in not establishing a government-sponsored religion most of you if you paid hardly any attention over the last few decades you've heard about that the establishment clause the government didn't want to be accountable for establishing a preference of religion and therefore christian expressions in public we were told had to be dismantled they were inappropriate and we were a bit reluctant about that and a bit guarded about that and it took decades to gradually dismantle those ideas and those expressions but once that got normalized these ideas about separation were systematically expanded and it no longer took decades to achieve compliance things like christian influence in general prayers the ten commandments the reading of bible verses these were identified as threatening and inappropriate in any government sponsored activity and we watched them be taken down in community after community and event after event and place after place warnings regarding the threat of christianity went beyond the government and things began to move far more quickly then the corporate world got on board in bible studies and bibles and biblic biblical morality overt expressions of christianity were no longer welcome in the workplace our faith we were told was to be private and our belief system was from another time and far too restrictive for our more enlightened world our children were told that if they wanted to pray at school it needed to be outside around a flagpole we were so well trained by that point in time we said thank you it's embarrassing now we find ourselves identified as conspirators in an insurrection an article was published in the major newspaper the last few days with the headlines symbols brought to the capitol raised questions about the role of christian belief in riot the headline wasn't people who identify as christians behaved badly we do we have that's a part of our story but the headline was that christian belief should be considered suspicious they've raised the stakes i quote from the article messages messages like jesus saves raised questions about what role christian belief played in the riot the beliefs of our faith are now called into question not the character of individuals the fundamental beliefs of who we are and what we adhere to [Music] the isolation the demonization and the targeting of christian belief is escalating and it's doing at a rather dizzying pace i spent a good bit of time in israel i have many jewish friends the jewish community understands they have far more experience with this pattern if you know history at all you'll know the sad truth that far too often it was christians who treated the jewish people this way in country after country across many centuries the jews were blamed for droughts for outbreaks of disease for crop failures for plagues things they had absolutely nothing to do with and then with the blame they weren't just criticized they often had their properties confiscated they were driven into ghettos they were brutalized arrested and too frequently murdered because of their faith now some of our elected leaders are saying that those with christian perspectives need to be reprogrammed folks like us those awake enough to see and hear are shocked disbelief is the common response well i assure you it's real it's not your imagination you didn't mishear or misunderstand you need to talk to one another help one another listen to what's being said pay attention gently awaken those who are willing to be awakened and biblically we shouldn't be surprised there is overwhelming evidence much of it provided by jesus himself that before he would return there would be increasing intolerance of his story of his people and of his name unfortunately we haven't taken our bible all that seriously we've accepted church attendance and embraced the idea of salvation but we didn't accept fully the notion of laying down our lives in service of the king we have preferred for the most part more convenient presentations of faith ones that don't encroach upon our more selfish tendencies you know encroach with ideas like perseverance and self-denial their sacrifice so the christian church in our nation finds ourselves at a crossroads what is it we will be as we walk forward what will we be willing to stand for to what degree will we be bullied by the court of public opinion while we watch censorship and limits imposed and angry labels attached it's an exciting time i'm not sure i've ever been more excited about our faith and the opportunities of standing for jesus in this session we're going to focus on the challenge of seeing and understanding when you're walking through a season that's biblically informed but filled with change and god willing tomorrow we'll focus upon some of the evidence for the current season we're in and understanding it so i entitled this session reading the signs reading the signs god signs of what's going on around us and i don't remember exactly how old i was i was five or six and my dad asked me to go on a road trip with him the family lived in missouri at the time we were coming to tennessee i don't remember much about the trip except that the trip was filled with him teaching me to read the road signs i'm sure he was trying to keep me from driving him nuts with questions while we traveled it must have worked to some extent because i remember the lesson scrolled forward a few years i was studying at hebrew university in jerusalem philip and i were there to attend the university you have to go to language school six days a week eight hours a day it's immersion no english all hebrew i didn't even know the hebrew alphabet and if you didn't know the hebrew language is an ancient language they have a different alphabet and it reads from right to left so the back of your book is the front of your book it's sufficient to say it was a bit confusing well a small breakthrough for me in that process was when i began to learn the alphabet and the language well enough that i could just read the signs on the roadways it made me feel much less like a stranger and a bit more at home in some very unfamiliar surroundings well interpreting the signs of our times is essential and if you've limited your faith to a con a knowledge of conversion and a baptismal experience i want to commend you for those things they're both very important but beyond that initiation into the kingdom of god is the life of a christ follower and to live effectively to travel the path we're on we've got to be able to read the signs not a new idea it's jesus idea we're going to follow matthew's presentation actually i'm just going to take three chapters it's an unfolding narrative between jesus and his closest friends i believe the holy spirit through matthew is helping us learn something that will provide direction in our lives right now i'm not an advocate for studying our bible just to collect facts when i open my bible i do it because i recognize i have a need to understand god in my life today i want to start in matthew 16 with verse one the pharisees and the sadducees came to jesus and they tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven and his answer was when evening comes you say it'll be fair weather for the sky is red and in the morning today it'll be stormy for the sky is red and overcast you know how to interpret the appearance of the sky but you cannot interpret the signs of the times it's not a compliment jesus is handing them he says you're the religious leaders for the nation of israel and you can anticipate weather patterns by discerning what's happening in the sky but you are clueless about spiritual events now the word he uses i think is helpful he said you can't interpret the signs of the times interpret suggests something less than exact and when you interpret language not every not every word in a language interprets directly and then there's a bit of a there is a there's a margin for error and getting the right meaning when you interpret language and so when jesus talks about us interpreting the signs it's not something that's going to always be obvious to everyone there's an awareness required a local knowledge is important now it's popular in american christianity to say we won't have to suffer we'll be rescued we've got some other fancy theological constructions for that but it's a wonderful idea it brings a sense of peace and security to us unfortunately i think it brings a casualness to our faith that often is not helpful but you know for much of the global christian community that's a rather naive response to the scripture it would be a very difficult message to say to believers in iran or egypt or china or indonesia or india or pakistan or several dozen other places on our map that is a christ follower where you won't have to suffer they wouldn't even understand what you were saying so i would submit to you we need a little help in interpreting the signs of the times now it's very difficult to process change gradual change incremental change perhaps but rapid widespread change is disorienting there are so many breaks with your past habits and routines it's unsettling in fact once you get that movement started it's much easier to keep it going i think we can understand this matthew chapter 20. now we're going to step in with jesus and his disciples beginning in verse 17 as jesus was going to jerusalem he took the 12 disciples aside and he said to them we're going up to jerusalem and the son of man will be betrayed by the chief priest and the teachers of the law they'll condemn him to death and will turn him over to the gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified on the third day he'll be raised to life now this is a private meeting jesus has taken his closest friends aside it's not a public presentation at this point they've had three years with jesus they're very very near the end of his earthly life so they have a great deal of experience they've seen many miracles they've had many private lessons they've had the privilege of asking jesus many questions at this point they know him and they trust him implicitly and jesus is speaking to them very plainly in this private conversation about what is ahead of them is it safe to say they don't understand i mean i think the disciples had absolute clarity on what jesus was saying to them i mean we know the story well enough we know they absolutely don't and yet the words aren't confusing there's not something linguistically hidden he's not speaking in some parable they're confused and there's really no explanation offered i'll give you my opinion i think in the disciples imagination they think what jesus is telling them about is something in the far distance jesus is only 33. this is still a relatively new adventure to them he said follow me and i'll make you fishers of men and this particular group has walked away from everything businesses relationships routines habits they've established a new way of life they are all in both publicly and privately with support of this itinerant rabbi jesus of nazareth they've seen the most extraordinary things he can dance on the waves he can make wine at a wedding he commands the wind and the waves he casts out demons he confounds his enemies he can raise the dead or heal the blind betrayal and crucifixion seem most improbable and maybe it's some distant point in the future but we've been to jerusalem with him before and we've seen his enemies arrayed against him and he's defeated them either with logic or with cunning they've just posed no real threat so they cannot process what's happening is that fair jesus could not have been more plain the words could not be more simple he gave it to them as a road map and it's gone completely past them again i think in their heart and their imagination they think they have i don't know 20 or 30 or whatever many more years with jesus they like this maybe at some distant point in the future it'll have to be interrupted but not now it's not what we signed on for in fact you know that because in john's gospel when jesus says i'm going away and where i'm going you can't come they say well wait a minute we'll go anywhere you go we'll follow anywhere you lead we'll die with you there's no going and not it's not a following they have no expectation i think we're a little guilty of living like that we read things in our bible oh not now not me some other generation some point in the future i have plans and i have dreams and i have things i want to do and i like some things that are happening i'd like a little bit more of that and there's things i would like to do and i'm working towards that can't be interrupted with something that i didn't write in my plan and so we turn the volume down on what god is saying to us we turn the volume up on what we want not evil the disciples are doing it same chapter matthew 20. there's some rather immaculate immature questions posed to jesus in fact they make you smile if you don't put yourself into the circumstance the mother of zebedee's sons came to jesus who are zebedee's sons james and john so their mom comes and to jesus kneels down and asks a favor of him jesus said what is it you want well grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom awkward i mean the rest of the crew is sitting there watching this where's my mom helicopter parents aren't new my boys need an advantage and jesus answer is stunning to me he said you don't know what you're asking you have no idea what you're asking so jesus said to the men can you drink the cup i'm going to drink let me think they had any idea what that was going to be he's told them plainly we just read it it's recently been told to them can you drink the cup i'm going to drink i promise you they're not thinking about it they're not processing it it hasn't broken through their consciousness yet because their answer is we can and jesus without any debate or argument he said to them you will indeed drink from my cup you don't think your words have spiritual authority i would suggest to you they do you'll indeed drink from my cop but to sit at my right hand or left is not for me to grant these places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my father when the ten heard about this they were indignant with the two brothers you think you think maybe there's a little internal discussion amongst the twelve that afternoon you had to bring your mom in didn't you we know your mom she always i mean but jesus i'm intrigued by jesus response he didn't try to disrupt or distract he didn't shrug it off he didn't say you know he didn't deflect he turned to him and said are you prepared to drink from the cup i'm going to i've told you what's coming and their answer was yes we're ready he said game on it's not in the gospel of john but in acts chapter 12 we're told that king herod arrested some who belong to the church intending to persecute them it's kind of a casual way of stating it the next verse said he had james john's brother put to death with the sword we meet john on the isle of patmos near the end of his life in the book of revelation he's in exile he's imprisoned for his faith so immature questions are a part of this learning we're going to ask some things without fully understanding it's a part of the journey jesus best friends the best trained people around him did and there's times we're going to hear and we're not going to all have equal understanding in matthew 24 you know hearing the word of god does not mean we always have complete understanding of what we're walking through again seasons of significant change unprecedented change unparalleled change it's too much to assimilate it's why we have to give attention it's why we have to pay attention it's why we need one another matthew 24 jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings now you may or may not know herod the great remodeled the second temple the one that zerubbabel built herod was an incredible builder he had a whole team of architects and stone cutters and the the temple in jerusalem was one of the wonders of the ancient world it was the building in all the nation of israel in which they had the greatest national pride it's the national bank people come from all over the roman empire to see the temple in jerusalem and the disciples apparently think jesus isn't paying adequate attention so they call his attention to it you have to smile at the relationship have you noticed the building pretty spectacular stuff huh and jesus answers do you see all these things i tell you the truth what do you know about that phrase now when you read that phrase you need to buckle up because he's about to say something that's unbelievable so he says before he says it i'm telling you the truth i tell you the truth not one stone here will be left on another every one will be thrown down if you just use your imagination a little bit you can see the shock on the face of the disciples you can see them looking at one another wide-eyed what's he mean it took 46 years to build the place well as jesus was sitting on the mount of olives they just crossed the kidron valley and go up the mount of olives is he's sitting on the mount of olives the disciples come to him privately tell us they said when will this happen and what will be the sign of your coming in the end of the age jesus makes a statement he said not one stone of this temple is going to be left standing it's going to be destroyed the disciples added an interpretation to it that jesus didn't give them their assumption is when that happens it'll be the end of the age and time for jesus return so their question they ask him those two questions when is this going to happen and what will be the sign of your return it's very clear from the context that they don't understand what jesus meant and he doesn't correct them he doesn't say those events aren't linked together he didn't say your timeline's messed up in fact matthew 24 is jesus most lengthy prophetic discussion and he answers their questions he tells them the timeline of when the temple will be destroyed and when the end of the age will be and what the signs of his coming will be and from their vantage point that day i suspect they thought it was all one and the same but they're learning and you and i are learning we're learning to follow god in new ways we're learning to get over ourselves a little bit and the smugness and the certainty that we had everything lined up just right and then we have it all figured out we've got to stop being offended when god doesn't answer our prayers the way we want him to [Music] we've got to be determined to follow him even when everything isn't exactly clear the temple is going to be destroyed in 70 a.d about 40 years after jesus has that conversation with them his return in the end of the age was much further away but in his discourse in matthew 24 and luke 21 they're parallel passages he answered all the questions of the above but he didn't hand it to the disciples in such a simple way again hearing does not always equal understanding well why would god do it that why won't he just give it you'll have to ask him hebrews 11 6 says god is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him why do you imagine you'd have to spend more time at your favorite video game than you do seeking god we're a little offensive in the way we've treated our faith we spend more time learning how to do business effectively than we do getting to know the things of the kingdom of god we spend more energy watching our favorite sports whatever they are and i'm not against opposed to business or sports we want to treat god as if it's something to be mastered and then set aside the creator of all things the provider for our lives the one who oversees our well-being will give us insight and understanding into what he's doing in the earth and how to position ourselves to participate fully every time the season changes if we'll pay attention but it doesn't mean it's simple matthew 26 the disciples are going to get repetition from the most trusted source in their lives a lot of questions these days about who do you trust they're going to get repetitive information from their most trusted source but they're still struggling to grasp what he's saying matthew 26 and verse 1 when jesus had finished saying all these things he said to his disciples as you know the passover is two days away and the son of man will be handed over to be crucified and the chief priest and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest whose name was caiaphas and they plotted to arrest jesus in some sly way and to kill him but not during the feast they said or there'll be a riot among the people two days before the passover meal this is two days in front of gethsemane this is two days in front of jesus arrest his crucifixion jesus is reminding his disciples he's already told them multiple times he's reminding them they hear the words but they are wrestling with the message it just doesn't seem right the triumphal entry all the people in the streets hosanna to the king they're processing contradictory information they're on sensory overload there are large crowds a triumphal entry there are miracles that feels like momentum more momentum than they've had in jesus entire ministry he's finally broken the code in jerusalem even in jerusalem now the crowds are gathering they've been at bethany with lazarus and martha and mary lazarus was that was raised from the dead that would bolster your confidence in jesus having dinner with somebody that you'd seen buried until he was stinky you might think you were hanging out with the right power broker same chapter matthew 26 verse 20 when evening came jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve and while they were eating he said i tell you the truth one of you will betray me and they were very sad and began to say to him one after the other surely not i now the time is urgent jesus is getting a bit more intense he forces the issue with everybody present he says to them again there's a traitor present at the table the disciples are still pretty self-focused they can't really think beyond is it me there's no really help they're not processing the information they know the one amongst them that's a thief same chapter matthew 26 and verse 31 then jesus said to them this very night you will all fall away on account of me for it is written i'll strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered but after i have risen i'll go ahead of you into galilee and peter replied even if all fall away on account of you [Music] i never will i'm with you lord the rest of these guys look a little weak to me but i am a steadfast motor scooter that's the living bible think of what we just read within a 24-hour window one of the twelve is going to betray jesus not the scribes of the pharisees not pilate not the high priest one of the twelve the inner circle one of the team is going to betray jesus for a handful of money and with the same within that same 24-hour block the other 11 will abandon him that's a devastating turn of events these are jesus closest friends this is the best of the best these are the ones that are going to be entrusted with the story what's happening well there's a lot of they've got plain information nothing is a surprise jesus has told them in advance let me ask you a question do you think it might be in our best interest to know what the bible tells us will be the characteristics of the season before jesus comes back do you think it might be in our best interest do you think it might help us i don't suspect our reactions will be spot on perfect i suspect we'll miss some stuff but without that information without that insight without that awareness i would submit to you we don't have a hope we don't even care enough to participate personal stress adds to the challenge matthew 26 same chapter after a little while this is peter those standing around there went up to peter and said surely you're one of them your accent gives you away and peter began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them i don't know the man and immediately a rooster crowed and peter remembered the word that jesus had spoken before the rooster crows you'll deny me disown me three times and he went outside and he wept bitterly now if you're reading this for the first time just following the narrative along it seems plausible that after becoming aware of the accuracy with which jesus anticipated that denial that peter would be awakened to the larger unfolding story right if a few hours earlier jesus said listen before the sun comes up you'll deny you know me three times and peter said never and it happens to him and he's conscious of what's happening conscious enough that he's broken emotionally he's weeping bitterly as you're getting you're reading it you think well then surely he knows what's next he's going to go camp outside the tomb but that's not how it unfolds is it too much change it's coming too fast he's never seen it before the betrayal the arrest the condemnation the crucifixion the burial the resurrection it's beyond his imagination and he's looking for the messiah see it doesn't surprise me that we're a little off balance the events we've watched in the last 10 months were beyond imagination week after week after week i have participated in church and in things in a way that i had said i never would much of what is happening we were told was coming but we pushed it down the calendar oh not me not mine i have a plan i've got vacations scheduled i know what i wanted to do over the summer i had a i know how i wanted the next few months to unfold and we've been more agitated about the disruption than we have been focused on what god is saying to us but there's the beginning of an awakening it's a little unsettling because we realized while we slept there have been some some strong things happening but they discount our boss i'm excited failures don't disqualify us those 11 men that had so much trouble following what jesus was said were entrusted with the assignment and you'd have to say they did pretty well they did pretty well in fact you and i are fruit of their faithfulness matthew 28 my last passage from matthew the 11 disciples went to galilee it's where they'd been told to go by now they're paying a little more attention to the mountain where jesus had told them to go and when they saw him they worshipped him but some doubted and then jesus came to them and said all authority in heaven and earth's been given to me therefore you go and you make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit and teaching them to obey everything i've commanded you and surely i'm with you always to the very end of the age no more leaving i'll be with you to the very end of the age if you'll accept the assignment make disciples of all nations go now they may have fumbled some of the earlier assignments they may had a little bit of trouble with the the unfolding events around jesus betrayal and arrest to his crucifixion and his resurrection but you'd have to say from this point forward their focus began to get much much better they don't always get it right there'll be squabbles amongst themselves they're not over that yet they'll have to have some councils in jerusalem and to work out their differences they'll have some internal fights about who's going to travel with whom peter will have a little trouble holding the boundaries against whether he's going to keep the rabbinic rules or whether he's not and paul's going to call him out a time or two because paul just likes calling folks out but they took that assignment very literally they may have fished again but they never went back to the fishing business they may have returned to some familiar places but they had a totally new assignment a totally new perspective a totally new hope a totally new purpose you know what my prayer for the church is is that we come through this season with a new perspective and a new purpose and a new commitment folks i don't think you're weak or worldly or wrong because what's happening to us is disorienting we're not accustomed to seeing media reports that say what we believe is corrosive we're not familiar with seeing that and with the boldness that we're watching it where they will censor in broad ways the vantage points that we hold and say they're dangerous but it's not a surprise it's not a frightening time it's an exciting time god is calling us we were content to get our ticket to heaven punched and then go live our lives on our terms and for some reason god called our names for this pivotal season you must be pretty spectacular god put you here on purpose i said well i didn't ask i was good with the way it was he loved you enough to give you the assignment and i have no doubt he'll say to us a few times like he did the disciples are you really that doll and our answer would be yeah probably i think he's saying this a lot these days i'm telling you the truth so what do we do well it starts with our profession of faith that's the beginning point for all of us i think we ought to just say that little prayer together because you need to know how to help somebody else i'm not done you can't run after this prayer i'm about done but you need this prayer tucked in your portfolio you need to be as comfortable as helping somebody do this as anything in your life because there are people in your sphere of influence that don't know the lord they're not ready to see him that can't be okay with you it cannot be okay with you we have to care about them more than that they may have a form of godliness they may attend church occasionally they may know about they may not be declared an atheist they may not be declared a buddhist they may not be declared something else but you know that they have no intent of honoring jesus as lord folks passing through church occasionally does not make you a christ follower any more than passing through the parking lot makes you an automobile and many of us have been there and pretended that we've played that game it had to be awakened to the truth but it begins with a birth an amazing event a supernatural event made possible through the redemptive work of jesus on the cross on the cross he exhausted the curse of my sin and my ungodliness that i might have the full benefits of his perfect obedience and if i'm willing to forgive others i can ask for his forgiveness and the bible says something supernatural happens there's a new birth not a physical birth but a spiritual birth and the part of us that was dead to god is made alive and we become a totally new creation your future is no longer dominated just by your dna it's dominated by the power of the creator of heaven and earth because you belong to him that's why we call jesus lord it's not about joining a church it's not about putting your name on a roll or getting your doctrine just right or reading the right translation or the clothing you wear to church for worship it begins with a birth just pray 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 sins and i forgive everyone of anything they've done i release them and i thank you now that i'm a child of god washed by the blood of jesus redeemed cleansed delivered set free i belong to god in jesus name amen hallelujah but then you have to add to that your intent to grow up you can't stop there you don't want to have a be spiritually stillborn that's the beginning it gives you the tools all that you need to grow up now you're going to need the word of god you need a hunger for it if you don't have a hunger for it start to tell the lord lord i could care less help me i know i need to read it but he'll help you stop pretending there's nothing to be gained by pretending tell that there is a god folks we're going to see him sooner than later tell him the truth he will help you so i know you sold a lot of copies but i think it's a little dry could you help me he will begin listening practicing spiritual hygiene now we treat repentance so casually oh i prayed i prayed i pray i got it i'd be like saying you know i showered i showered lately repentance needs to probably be a part of your routine you cannot practice ungodliness and think you can participate in the kingdom of god you can make a mistake you can make a misstep you can i'm not we're not perfect we're a broken people in process but you can't choose to live in sin and think god will welcome you we've been way too casual with him spiritual hygiene lord i'm sorry that's a daily thing we've been a little offended this year we got the second chronicles verse out if my people called by my name will humble themselves and repent i'll heal their life we got a little torqued up we didn't see as much healing as we wanted violence in our cities violence in our capital we were a little indignant well i prayed twice well excuse me we have to serve we have to allow god to rearrange our priorities we have to let him continue to do that the disciples we left everything to follow you and jesus said yeah like aha but unless you take up your cross every day [Music] god is moving we don't want to miss this be strong and courageous there's some unsettling things happen be strong and courageous you're going to hear things you don't like be strong and courageous the one who calls you is faithful 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

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Keywords: Pastor Allen Jackson, allen jackson ministries, world outreach church, alan jackson, sermons, preachers, how to be saved, Finding Jesus, pastor allen jackson sermons, prophesy, 2021 prophesy, Read the Signs, Sign of the Times, how can we be prepared for the arrival of the King, Jesus return, the return of Jesus, understanding the prophesy of Jesus, Jesus fulfilling prophesy, road signs

Id: AUfrnE7iXsU

Length: 45min 16sec (2716 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 08 2021