The Ending of Everything | Pastor Jeff Vines

[Applause] fantastic man we've got some talent around this place I'm telling you actually scholar Rae Rose I went on to Spotify and I he listened to her music she's got a whole album so she's quite talented now this is a great way to start our time together because we've been in this series called gospel in life and here's what we've been saying all along that if the gospel truly penetrates your heart it's gonna impact the way you live it can't help it comes from the inside out so I want to take you to two passages of Scripture revelation 21 and revelation 22 one of my favorite books in the Bible the very last book in the Bible and remind us together that depending on what happens to us on the inside as Christ penetrates our lives it is gonna change the way we look at our community our neighborhoods each other the things that we chase after are gonna change the things that we pursue the things that we go so hard after and we learned last week that the beauty of it is is the more God gets into you and this intimate relationship is formed and the more your heart is going to become like his heart which makes sense then you would have a heart for the poor the less fortunate you would spend your life fighting for those who can't fight for themselves and that's what Skylar's basically done she wanted her parents to move past pity and emotion into action and actually do something to do for one what you wish you could do forever when all they did it for - and continue and continue to still do it now there's one more area that we've got to get right now obviously there's a lot of areas but there's one area as we in the series that if we can come to terms with it then the gospel would have truly penetrated our lives to the nth degree and then we're gonna go out and change the world because of it and it's this one area here it's making up your mind about what you believe about how this is all going to end how is it all going to end I read an article in a journal this past week the Journal of American Medical Association the title the article said test helps you predict chances of dying I don't need to read that it's a hundred percent you are going to die the ratio has always been always will be one death per person and it's not only that you and I are going to die right the whole planet is going to go up in smoke it's a scientific fact you don't need the Bible to tell you that interfere increases we are running out of energy sooner or later the Sun is not going to shine any more and you are not going to shine any more will be no more everything including you and me we are moving toward death not life right you look in the mirror you know that you're not getting younger you're getting older you said well Jeff do we have to talk about this absolutely Larry King was once asked by another reporter if you could interview anybody in history who would it be he said Jesus Christ the reporter said why would you interview Jesus he said I would want to ask him the one question I've always wanted to ask were you indeed virgin born and he said because the answer to that question would define history for me my friend dr. Ravi Zacharias wrote the people associated with Larry King and asked permission to use that quote in his messages Larry King said yes but tell Ravi I was not being facetious in other words I'm serious I would want to ask Jesus that question in order that I could have world history defined for me well how would that define world history because it would tell you that what Jesus came to teach was actually real that God is restoring all things the one day the king will return and will undo the damage and the tainted and the sin has caused in our universe and this is where the gospel truly impacts you what do you believe about eternity because the way you answer that question will determine how you live right now two men I tell this story often that were interviewed for a job both got it one told was told they're gonna pay twenty thousand be paid twenty thousand dollars at the end of the year the others told he's gonna be paid two million at the end of the year they both work 80 hours a week same job boring no vacation time working with difficult people a boss that is controlling a culture of fear and intimidation in other words the that you have after three weeks how will the person who's gonna be paid 20 grand at the end of the year gonna be responding he's gonna be divisive complaining and exhausted but what if you're the one who's gonna be paid two million dollars at the end of the year you're gonna think this job is a breeze why reactions to the same conditions are different based on what the belief and the outcome what is going to happen next Christopher Reeves the guy who played Superman was an American icon a man's man and then was involved in an equestrian accident and paralyzed from neck down and people wondered how he was gonna respond from going to Superman to confined to a wheelchair and Christopher Reeves responded by saying the only way I could ever go on as if I'm certain that one day I'm gonna walk again that's the only way I could survive so the question is if the gospel gets into you and me then what does it tell you about what is yet to come because that's gonna determine really how you live now if you don't really believe that man you're gonna live differently but if you truly believe that the kingdom of God is coming then everything's gonna be restored it's gonna change how you live in the here and now so let me walk you through this what does the Bible teach about eternity it is described in the book of Revelation starting with chapter 21 verse 2 I saw a holy city the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband so we have a city that's wearing a dress but what kind of dress is it guys you'll know what this was like remember when you got married and all of a sudden you turned with your best man in the wedding party and the bride started coming down the aisle remember what you thought well some of it you can't say but your first thought should have been what this is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my entire life your second thought was probably wild earth is she marrying me and the third thought was probably I've been waiting for this all my life this is what I've been waiting for so the Bible says that when it comes to the Kingdom that will come eternity that we're gonna be standing like the like the groom waiting for the bride and we're gonna say here comes the kingdom in full dress finally the day I've been waiting for all of my life so we have a city an address then we have a city that's has interesting measurements verse 12 it had a great high wall with 12 gates with 12 angels at the gates on the gates were written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel there were three gates on the east three on the North three on the South three on the west the wall of the city had twelve foundations and on them were the names of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb then skipping down to verse 16 he measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length and as wide and as high as it is long the angel measured the wall using human measurement and it was 144 cubits thick did anybody notice any pattern in those passages the number 12 that's because this is apocalyptic literature it means that you look for the sign and a symbol not so much the reality so the point is not giving us actual measurements of any city it's trying to show us a very basic truth the number seven in Scripture refers to perfection the number ten refers to completion and the number twelve always refers to the people of God 12 apostles twelve disciples twelve tribes of Israel so the writers trying to show you that this is a city not of these exact measurements but it's a city conducive for the people of God it's built for the people of God twelve gates twelve angels twelve foundations can a city have trouble foundations no it's not the point twelve thousand stadia long wide and high 144 is a multiple of twelve cubits thick the message is simple this city that is coming this kingdom that is coming is built for the people of God conducive to the people of God in celebration of the people of God no aspect of it is outside the realm of the people of God so when my wife 10 years ago when we moved to Los Angeles said Jeff get in the car let's go find a house I knew what she really meant you keep your mouth shut and if I want your opinion I'll give it to you and let's go find a house and she found her perfect house out in upland God is building the perfect place for his people the people of God it will be conducive for the people of God we're the creation the Bible tells us has been subjected to frustration we're right now the creation doesn't fully cooperate with us one day in the New Kingdom it will fully cooperate with us and it will be the way God originally intended it to be before sin entered the world revelation 21 a powerful burt verse of scripture says then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and first earth had passed away and there's no longer any sea and if you recall our revelation series I explained to you how there are two different Greek words for new one coyote nos and one Neos one means brand new the other means renewed refurbished and the word that is used to describe this new kingdom is always the word for not something that is brand new but something that is renovated not brand spankin new but the refurbishing restoration of all that has been lost and if you think about our world right now there's so much good in it so much wonder so much beauty Victoria Falls mosi-oa-tunya the smoke that thunders a beautiful place on a beautiful planet Australia's outback peace and serenity it's like you've left planet Earth and you stepped into another world the mountains of New Zealand I lived ten years in New Zealand I can tell you yes it rains a lot but it's filled with breathtaking scenery I lived in Africa for ten years and it's lands where the animals roam make you feel like almost that you've returned to the Garden of Eden and then there are animals of the great deep the wells and the Dolphins that when you see them you think to yourself only God can make this creature and then there are other creatures that are quite mysterious as if God just took a day and had some fun you've heard me say that Hawaii is where God vacations Southern California is where God lives in Tennessee is where God eats CS Lewis said life on Earth is a few moments of happy loved landscapes a symphony merry meetings with friends a bath or a football match our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant ends but will not encourage us to mistake them for home everything we see in the here and now is a great deposit it's a positive deposit of what will one day come there's so much good in the world but it's been tainted by sin and that's why these very things I just mentioned if you're not careful can kill you you can get killed in the mountains and on the ocean and in the outback and then Africa but there's so much good the world teaches us though that even though there's so much good there's an evil prince on the loose first John 5:19 says we know that we're the children of God and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one the world would never admit allegiance to this prince but we continue to follow his lead love is the the love of money rather is the root of all evil so we step on each other 99.9% of the pain and suffering in this world is what we do to each other revenge is the theme of the day what kind of culture has selfies as the most common word selfies and what rules our world India's caste system where you're born into a specific caste or family and you're automatically relegated to a lower rung on the ladder in the India they even have the what I call the Untouchables you're not even allowed to be around them to touch them Africa has its tribal superiority where the tribes fight for position still today America has its racism Asia has its economic prejudices and the Bible says that there's a king but right now there's a prince that is the ruler of the air in fact the best way to explain this is the story of Robin Hood do you remember it it's just hang with me here King Richard is away and he's fighting for the safety and freedom of his people while he's away Prince John Richards brother takes the throne he usurps it and he's a bad King if you know the story he bruises the throne he oppresses the people he makes false promises he creates insatiable lust he rules with such an iron fist that most people give up hope that any other Kingdom ever existed but it's not really his kingdom its King Richard's Kingdom and he's fighting to protect it so a band of people get together those who love and are faithful to King Richard and they go about their everyday lives shouting to the people on the streets this Prince John who has assumed is not the real king this is not the way the land is supposed to be this is not the way things are supposed to be don't fall for this it's temporary there is hope one day all this will change when the King returns and claims what is rightfully is and so this band of outlaws remember the story they live in the forest the kind of weird people they assist other people to free them from the shackles of Prince John they're kind of a type of people that live away from the real homes and the real comforts and their real identity they're they're aliens because they're loyal that would look anything like Prince John's Kingdom because they're loyal to King Richard the true king now if you know the story what happens in the climactic point of Robin Hood King Richard sends them a message these loyal followers who have remained loyal to the real true king and he says to them I'm going to return and I'm gonna take you to a new place and we will escape this hell hold that John is created we will abandon this horrible land and we'll all live together somewhere else in peace and harmony is that the Robin Hood story nah everything but the last part the story is not the King Richard takes them all away to a totally brand-new place the real Robin Hood stories that King Richard comes back and reclaims his land what is rightfully his it's his kingdom he reclaims what truly belongs to him he cashed out his enemies he gathers those who have continued to live under his rule those who refuse to give their allegiance to the Prince they honored the true king with their words and their actions and King Richard returns and reestablishes his kingdom it's the same geographical location it's just renewed and restored for the old order of things Prince John's kingdom has passed away and now King Richard is going to live with his people those who are loyal and harmony and love and peace and justice does that sound familiar the Christian story is not that God is going to return and take us away from this place to some IRIAF eerie place between Venus and Mars that's not the language of the Bible the early church followers knew they they were they were not banking on going to heaven when they died now they knew absent from the body was to be present with the Lord in spirit but the real heaven is not Erie ferry place it's the restored kingdom it's a return to the garden the way things were originally supposed to be that's why sometimes we Christians are laughed at when we when we say that heaven is somewhere way out there I can't remember who was said I've been to outer space and there is no God and there is no heaven well you're looking in the wrong place it's not there can I remind you that when God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning he looked at it and he said it is good before sin tainted the creation what did God say this is good in the words of Bruce Almighty good food the creation is good it's just been tainted there's so much good you know what tainted is right tainted is win you've been training for a marathon and you've lived in New Zealand and you really want to run this marathon and so you run 22 miles the last week before the event occurs and it's hot outside and you're thirsty and you're sweating and you run into your refrigerator in the kitchen and you open it and you see your favorite drink a tall tall whole chocolate milk and before you think you just take it and you swig it and it's going down it feels so cold and good at first and then after you've what's the past tense of swigs well after you've gotten the whole thing down and you take your first breath you realize that this milk has tainted and suddenly as fast as it went down it comes back up only it comes through your nose in your ears and your eyes it catapults out chocolate milk is a beautiful wonderful thing until he gets tainted the world is a beautiful place but it's been tainted by sin but the Bible teaches that when the King returns he's going to restore all that has been lost revelation 21:4 says there will be no more death mourning crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away the old order that's what's going to pass away and move the sin that's tainted all things somebody's hijacked the world system devastated the world order but the real king is the last move and he's going to remove the effects of sin and death and will bring ultimate restoration look at what revelation 22 says it's pretty clear he says then the angel of the Lord showed me the river of the water of life as clear as crystal flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb down the middle of the great street of the city and on each side of the river stood the Tree of Life Tree of Life buried 12 crops of fruit yielding its fruit every month and the leaves of the tree or for the healing of the nation's no longer will there be any curse same planet same heavens and earth restored renewed curses removed the early Christians understood this they'd already begun to think in those terms so what does that mean then here are the questions we have to ask if eternity is coming okay if it's coming if the kingdom of God is gonna come in full force what is it gonna look like and second how can you and I as the gospel penetrates our lives convince the rest of the world that it's real how can we convince them that this is coming it's real hold your head up high let your allegiance be for the king that is to come not the Prince of the power of the air well the first thing you got to do is how is the kingdom that has come how is it going to change anything what's gonna be different when the kingdom of God comes in full force and we read in Scripture three things number one the sphere of economic and human need will change right now we have people who are starving people who are hunger poverty but Revelation says says they will neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore for the lamb who's in the midst of the throne will Shepherd them and lead them to the living fountains of water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes o the Prophet Amos said something similar all the way back in the Old Testament he said the days are coming when the one who plows will be overtaken by the one who reaps where new wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills in other words there'll be such a bounty that it will take so long to reap and gather up that before the end of reaping comes it will be time to plow again and then he says new wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills I'm not saying that Chardonnay is gonna drip from Mount Baldy I'm simply saying this is an image of God's abundance now here's what I started thinking though wait a minute does that mean there's gonna be more food in the kingdom to come there's a man by the name of Lee Strobel who used to write for the Chicago Tribune he was a he was an atheist and he came to Christ we call all of his questions were answered it the only that only the Christian worldview was coherent in his mind only it made sense and he writes people look at famine and wonder where God is but the world produces enough food for each person to have 3000 calories a day it is our only responsibility and self-centeredness that prevents people from getting fed God has provided more than we need on planet Earth it's the abuse of government and people remember what God said to Israel when Israel said give us a king God said you sure you want a king to govern you what will change then in the kingdom that is to come what will change is that God will be the king and he will rule and he will be a king of his staggering generosity incredible provisioned having demonstrated that and be given up his own son so that he wouldn't lose you imagine him being in charge of everything and the first church knew however that they could give people a glimpse of that kingdom by the way they live now and so in Acts chapter 2 we read all the believers were together and had everything in common they sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need they knew that their property and possessions was all given by God anyway and one day everything they need is going to be provided so the sphere of economics and human need would be transformed in the kingdom second the sphere of politics will be altered can you say Amen in human history the sphere of politics has been the story of human conflict we just don't govern ourselves very well before you start blaming God for the condition of the world just look around man at the decisions that we make but where the kingdom of God is involved in Isaiah 2:4 it says they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks no more fighting screaming yelling bombing hating killing and death one man writes this way humorously ballistic missile silos will be converted into training tanks for inner-city kids to learn scuba diving not that there's going to be inner-city kids in the kingdom that is to come it's imagery it's metaphor I say 11 says the wolf shall dwell with the lamb the leopard shall lie down with the young goat and the little child shall lead them what's it mean it means there's gonna be peace in the world peace with man and man and man and god man and animals now I have my own version of this it goes like this the lion will lay down with the lamb the snake will not bite the dog the dog will make peace with the rabbit and the cat shall be no more that's my little little philosophy there I've got a second one I had some time this week the Dodgers will win every World Series the Giants will never make the playoffs the angel fans will make peace with the Dodger fans and the Raiders will be no more so the point is this the point is it will be a world of peace and selflessness there will be no selfies in heaven and the kingdom that has to come will call them selfless Leigh's we're all your photos will be about other people Facebook Facebook will be called praise book because rather than telling me what you did all day which I frankly don't care will be about what God did in you and through you which I do care about the Bible says that the political world will be impacted to such a degree in eternity in Revelation 21 25 on no day will its gates be shut for there will be no more night there now does that mean there's gonna be no more night or darkness no it's again it's imagery you're an apocalyptic literature night is a symbol in Jesus day for vulnerability and fear you don't go out at night but fears gone and the kingdom that is to come because the tainted us of sin is gone I remember you know traveling to Zimbabwe a few years ago and I had to stop in at Johannesburg I believe it's called yawn Smuts Airport I arrived late and I had to go out the next morning on a flight I had about 8 hours to kill so I had this great idea that I was just gonna store my luggage and walk downtown Johannesburg some friends of mine said if you do that you won't come back the crime rate at that point was so high there's carjackings break-ins rape and torture and I thought about that but I had to sleep in the airport and wait till the next day to take the fly it out I couldn't even go outside and then I thought of the article I read later that said South Africans both black and white left homes immigrated to New Zealand and Australia because their fears surpassed their love for Africa now if you've ever been to Africa you know that he gets into your blood often talk about when the day comes at our retire I know what I'll do I'll be in Africa teaching leaders and training leaders to finish the third tier of evangelism someday that will happen once Africa gets in your blood it doesn't get out he just calls you so for people to have grown up there and loved it so much that they're willing to leave it because fear overrides their love speaks volumes but in the kingdom of God think about your most favorite place without fear because on no day well its gates be shut for there will be no more night there no reason to fear no more security systems just love peace and harmony with God and security that someone's about it watching over you it's a world where Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter will get closer and closer to dangerous venomous animals and will live to talk about it it's a world where you don't have to lock your doors and neighborhoods are governed by love and peace where Brotherhood reigns in that there are more brothers than hoods where I can swim with the sharks and the whales hang out with the Lions and the Tigers and never have to fear again the kingdom that is to come impacts economic and human need in politics but it also number-3 impacts the sphere of relationships Luke 1:17 says and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the kingdom of God fathers will be real men they will recognize their responsibilities to their children they will love and care and nurture their sons and daughters they will love God and they will love like God loves unconditionally and there will be no more separations or divorce or Affairs or abuse or neglect no more unloved unwanted children and members of a household will stay up late at night thinking about how they can better serve each other and an older sister will insist that our younger brother gets the larger piece of cake and mothers will love their sons and fathers will love their daughters and God will be loved by all and there still be reality television but it will be episodes entitled my spouse secretly loves me twice as much as I thought he did husbands will hold their lives in the highest regard wives will love respect and honor their husbands families will stay together children will feel safe and because all of this is happening in our world the Bible says that even the trees of the field will clap their hands now here's the second question if that's what's gonna happen at a rapid-fire pace when the King returns to restore all things that have been lost how do we get people to believe in this again and the answer is very simple we live in such a way as to give people a glimpse of what is yet to come if you've been to Disneyland and you want to convince me you're gonna have to be wearing some paraphernalia bring back a Donald Duck Mickey Mouse or something that relates to Disneyland the Bible says that there's something that's happened to you that is a deposit guaranteeing what is to come Ephesians 1:14 when you believed you were marked in him with the seal the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of his glory in other words something's happened to you and that's supposed to remind you that if it's possible that you can be transformed here and now just 10% a little deposit that's supposed to show you that one day in the future when the kingdom comes not only will your spill it be spirit be willing but your flesh will be able you know a couple of months ago I received a message from a friend an old basketball buddy of mine that I hadn't seen in 25 years evidently he is in Los Angeles doing business and he looked up found my name and found that I was a pastor of a church and he wanted to come to one of the services I gotta tell you about this guy one of the most self-centered narcissistic womanizing foul-mouthed crude rude and barbaric guys and that's on a good day that you would ever meet I thought wow this is gonna be interesting but he wanted to meet so I met him out after the ten o'clock at the cafe as soon as I saw him I know I you just notice an immediate difference it's that humble look of gentleness you could tell he loved his wife he's a one-woman man gracious kind put his hand on my shoulder he said Jeff I'm so proud of you man give him Jesus I thought wow I'm in the twilight zone this God this is the same guy I could tell you some stories but then I was reminded that transformation in people is a deposit guaranteeing what is one day gonna come now in the same way transformation by Christ followers in the community in which they've been called is a deposit guaranteeing to everybody in this valley that there's a kingdom and it's coming and the king is gonna return and I start to believe it because they see deposits of the kingdom and you right now we convince people of the renewal that is to come by showing them the renewal that is possible now by revealing what can happen when Christians get involved in relationships and economics even the political world isn't interesting when Jesus spoke to the kingdom of God did he not use the present tense in mark 1 now after John was arrested Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe in the gospel Jesus says the kingdom of God is at hand he's saying that's available right now up there can come down here it's possible now that you can give people a glimpse of what one day is coming where there's no poverty there's no fear where relationships are healed the kingdom of God is right here right now it's upon you jesus said when you pray to the disciples pray what your kingdom come your will be done on earth now as it is in heaven and the early church got it and they got it to such a degree that they devoted their hearts to it they sacrificed their possessions for it their careers their homes they gave it all up they lived and died for it and they did it with extreme joy they did it laughing and weeping and dancing unable to fathom their good fortune that they could be part of the kingdom of God coming to earth John Ortberg says in human history one life has already been lived on this earth in the flesh in which God's will had unhindered sway Jesus bore in his own person in his own flesh and blood the reality of the kingdom of God and everybody saw a life lived in the reality of God a life in which whatever God does is what was chosen and so here's the question how do we this is the end so I'm not gonna preach for eternity this is the end how then do we convince people this kingdom and eternity is real by doing now what the Bible tells us will one day be completed so first we impact the sphere of economics in human need to reduce hunger and poverty there should be no child going to bed hungry in this valley on our watch there should be no more mothers trying to find food to feed her baby from one more night on our watch see Jeff that's big I know it we're feeding hundreds in bumper bag but I'm not so interested right now and what we do as a church I'm interested in what you do as an individual because we have a lot of power as individuals so that means that you've got to be more aware of people in need around you and then you got to make yourself available you got to move past pity into mercy I'm so proud of a few people this week after last week's message on Monday morning I was getting coffee and there was a young attractive girl andrea was her name and andrea had seen this lady in the parking lot that evidently frequents klatch coffee parking lot in the mornings to try to go to Target buy some candy and then she sells it for 50 cents more to try to feed her daughter and mother with her stand in this cheap hotel she's trying to make ends meet I don't know the full story but Andrea heard the message last week and she decided wait a minute I'm not just gonna buy some candy I'm gonna go in and buy some food I'm gonna take it to her then I'm gonna engage her in conversation and then I'm gonna try to see if I could help in some way and I was so proud of her as I walked out to my car saw her talking one-on-one to this woman and the smile that was brought to her face see if everybody did that oh my you say why didn't you Jeff well I have to be careful when it's a guy and a girl usually I try to find me God that I can help it gets tricky for me and you as well so you got to be smart at the same time my friend Anthony who's one of our elders here said that you know after last week's sermon Jeff I realized there's is God that's homeless that usually stands at our place of business downtown Los Angeles asking for help and I haven't seen him for six months so on the way to work I told God God if he's there today I'm gonna help him and Jeff he wasn't there well what are the chances I said that well the odds are great because God is not a bad investor he knew that if he sent that guy to you your heart is ready to help I said did you help yeah I gave him 20 bucks I said ante I told you not to give cash he goes well next time Andrea and Anthony are showing glimpses of eternity we impact the sphere ii of politics to reduce fear and bring peace people are always after me why aren't you more involved in politics and let me just say again it's not my call my call is not to get involved in the political world if it's your call as a Christian fine go do it but it's not my call I'll tell you I'll tell you something though I'd have to hear a pretty loud call because it's it's not effective if you want to change a community give them Jesus you know you're gonna try to legislate morality good luck you said would you have any proof yes you're not gonna believe this I found this in the Huffington Post and then you're the huffington post right it's so far left it's almost right again I mean this is not a Christian Journal I read this article listen it says violent crime decreases as greater numbers of people were religiously active in their community in the big picture religious presence seems to matter to the amount of violence and crime in a community says Jeffrey all more professor of sociology and crime law and justice at Pennsylvania State he said he does give a warning in the article he says now hold on just don't expect young men and women to be among the growing numbers of people who consider themselves spiritual not religious to have the same moral inhibitions here what he's saying there are a lot of people claim to be spiritual and those who just claim to be spiritual but are separated from church and from community are as likely to engage in both types of criminal activity faith he says maybe one of the most personal areas in the lives of individuals but he can also collectively exert moral influence over an entire community scholars say well I got a scholar by the name of Jesus saying that 2,000 years ago he says what they found was not only evidence that religion may exert a protective influence discouraging violent crime but that there are also racial ethnic differences in the role of faith communities in other words there's far less racism he said consider these findings black and white violence decreased significantly as the percentage Rose of County residents who belong to congregations or were regular attenders black and Latino violence was lower in communities where residents belong to similar types of religious institutions indicating faith groups from similar traditions were able to exert greater influence on community values when they had a significant presence he goes on to say further breakdown showed communities with larger percentage of evangelicals had lower rates of violence wow I can't believe that even admit that the findings suggest that religious groups have the ability to cultivate moral attitudes that counteract the code on the streets communities he says lose out when they marginalize or trivialize the potential pro-social influences of the evangelical world I love it so the reason I don't get involved in politics and trying to legislate morality because I'm too busy giving people Jesus if you really want our community to change give them Jesus then you don't have to legislate morality God does something in their heart they'll be better citizens now commit less crimes and they'll have a heart and passion for the less fortunate and only Jesus is big enough to change their hearts that way and finally this is the end the end end we impact the sphere of relationships to reduce the breakup of the family in the breakdown of society people don't like to hear this but if you know anything about history at all you know societies break down as soon as the family starts to break down we don't want to admit that because we don't want to suggest for a moment that there's something bad about the breakdown of the family because we want to do what we want to do all I'm saying is go do what you want to do but the breakdown of society begins when the family begins to crumble so it has been my heart since eight years ago to establish this program in every Middle School in our Valley and I know it's not gonna happen overnight this thing called kaleidoscope where we go in we're doing this now and from 3 to 5 o'clock in the afternoon so that mom can know the single mom or single dad who's trying to make ends meet who works a nine-to-five job what do they do with the kids for the two hours after school we take them we coached them we mentor we teach them values in hopes that we can save the lives of these at-risk children and give them a perspective on the world that is to come and the world they're in now it's it's what we do we give a little glimpse of the kingdom that is to come when we love the least of these and we try to break the cycle so how do we get people to see eternity again we just give them a glimpse of it now in your life remember what we said last week people I told about the interview between when Michael Jordan scored 61 points and Scottie Pippen was interviewed he had scored two points remember these illustration and the interviewer said hey Scottie how was your game he said well me and Michael Jordan scored 63 points be careful that you don't get called in the in the the habit of saying will me in CCV feed 10,000 people what are you doing let me end this way Mary Chapin's book a book entitled the world was not worthy a great read tells the story of what happened in Yugoslavia now if you know anything about your Yugoslavia in history you'll know that the church perpetrated awful atrocities in the name of God in Yugoslavia and sometimes when I read stories like this I have to remind myself of something Billy Graham once said that thousands and thousands of plane take off and land every day that you never hear about but when one crashes you hear everything about that there are plenty of priests and pastors and churches all over the world faith-based organizations doing so much good in the name of Christ but you still have those who abuse and so there was a man by the name of simmerman she writes about whose family had been abused by the church and a young missionary by the name of Yakov came to give this Yugoslavian village the name of Jesus to bring restoration to it one of the first persons he talked to the leader of the village simmerman and as soon as Yakov brought up Jesus name simmerman said don't talk to me about those Christians and he said they wear those elaborate coats and caps and crosses signified a heavenly commission but their evil designs and lives I cannot ignore so Yakov changed the topic but he continued to come back and serve the children of simmerman village and the community day after day after day refusing to give up one day he got a great idea he would tell a story to simmerman so he said simmerman let's say that I steal your coat and your hat and I go into the city and I rob a bank and then I run back home the police aren't going to come to me they're gonna come to you and they're gonna knock on the door and say simmerman you just robbed the bank and you're gonna say no I didn't and they're gonna say but I saw your coat in your hand Yakov was trying to say that there were imposters of Jesus everywhere just because somebody looks the part doesn't mean that they are the part but there are some who live it out every day the gospel has penetrated their lives still simmerman wasn't very happy with the example he knew the analogy and the ramifications of it and so he was quiet for a few more months but Yakov continued to serve and love meet the needs of the kids in his community and finally one day Yakov was sitting just outside of the hostel where they lived and Zimmermann looked at Yakov and said Jakov how does one become a Christian she writes in her book Zimmerman bent his knee under the soil with his head bowed and surrendered his life to Christ and he rose from his feet wiping his tears and as he did he embrace Yakov and said thank you for being in my life and then he pointed to the heavens and whispered Yakov you wear his coat very well how are you wearing his coat are you giving people a glimpse of eternity that is to come by the way in which he live your life or when they look at you do they see another person in the stream of life living as if no Kingdom is ever gonna come and the king is never gonna return I pray as we're told in Matthew 5 you are the light of the world a town built on a hill that cannot be hidden that you and I would wear as the gospel penetrates our lives we would wear his coat well father thank you for the power in your Scripture thank you for a reminder that you are gonna return you're the king this is your kingdom and all the damage that sin has caused that will be removed and the earth and the creation will be able to fulfill its ultimate objective it will be released in the glorious freedom of the children of God the shackles will be taken away and it will serve mankind as it was meant to in the Garden of Eden that paradise may have been lost but it will be found it will be regained when the King returns and honors though who've been loyal and I pray that in our lives every day that we would wear your coat well in Christ's name

Channel: ONE&ALL

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Id: 1JsUmP2o89M

Length: 44min 48sec (2688 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 02 2017