"The Puppet Master" | Pastor Debleaire Snell

today we're excited uh to just go ahead and put a button on this series we've been in daniel chapter 2 for the last four weeks in fact the last time i was with you live we talked to you under the subject throwing shade won't make you shine and one of the things that we learned from daniel in this interaction with the astrologers is number one you don't always have to kill the competition when daniel had a chance to eliminate the competition he actually spared the competition because he realized that throwing shade on them would not make him shine and then we learned that his goal was to see them saved because daniel recognized that all people are god's people even the astrologers the wise men those that practiced and dabbled in the occult they were loved by god and they had value to god and then one of the things that god wanted to do is god wanted to expose for the wise men uh where they were placing uh inappropriate loyalty they learned that the king did not really love them as soon as he could they could not do what the king wanted them to do the king ordered them to be gone and so one of the things we learned is our loyalty should not be to any man person or institution but our loyalty has to be to our lord and savior jesus christ and so today i'm going to go ahead and just put a bow on this series i want to invite you once again to go to the book of daniel chapter 2. daniel chapter 2 and we will begin together here at verse number 29 daniel chapter 2 and we'll begin at verse number 29 we'll give you a few moments to get there daniel chapter 2 and verse 29 when you get there just say amen in the chat daniel chapter 2 and we'll look together at verse number 29. the word of the lord says this actually i'll just skip back to verse 27 daniel chapter 2 and verse 27. the bible says daniel answered in the presence of the king and said the secret which the wise king which the king has demanded the wise men the astrologers the magicians the soothsayers cannot declare to the king but there is a god in heaven who reveals secrets and he has made known to king nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed were these as for you o king thoughts came to your mind while on your bed about what would come to pass after this and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be but as for me this secret has not been revealed to me because i have more wisdom than anyone living but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king and that you may know the thoughts of your heart you o king were watching and behold a great image this great image whose splendor was excellent stood before you and its form was awesome the image's head was a fine gold its chest and arms of silver its belly and thighs of bronze its legs of iron and its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay and you watched while a stone was cut out without hands and struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them into pieces then the iron and clay and the bronze and the silver and gold were crushed together and became like chaff from a summer threshing floor and the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and it filled up the whole earth this is the dream now we will tell you the interpretation of it before the king you o king are the king of kings for the god of heaven has given you a kingdom power strength and glory and wherever the children of men dwell or beasts of the field or birds of heaven he has given them into your hands and he has made you ruler over them all you are the head of gold but after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours then another a third kingdom of bronze which shall rule over all of the earth and the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron and as much as iron breaks into pieces and shatters everything like iron that crushes that kingdom will break into pieces and crush all others whereas you saw the feet and toes partly of potter's clay and partly of iron that kingdom shall yet be divided yet the strength of the iron shall be in it just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay and the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay so that the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile and you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay and they will mingle with the seed of men and they will not adhere to one another just as iron does not mix with clay and in these days the king of the god of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed and the kingdom shall not be left to other people and it shall break into pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever in as much as you saw the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it broke into pieces the iron the bronze the clay the silver and the gold the great god has made known to king nebuchadnezzar what will come to pass after this the dream is certain and the interpretation is sure today saints i want to talk to you for a little while under the subject the puppet master the puppet master let's pray together father i pray once again that in this little while that you would say much i pray for permission to join my human weakness to your divine strength so lord as i preach my prayers that faith once again will be multiplied exponentially in the hearing of the word so once again would you please hide me in the shadows of the cross that jesus alone might be seen that christ alone would be heard and at the end of our time together may jesus alone be praised we ask this in the matchless name of him who is all together lovely it is in the name of jesus that we pray let god's people say together amen and amen again today talking to you under the subject the puppet master as a child there were a myriad of cartoons or animations that i loved to watch if you were about my age you probably like shows like the smurfs if you're a boy you like he-man or thundercats or an occasional afternoon episode of woody the woodpest woodpecker but one show that span generations is the institution known to us as sesame street several generations have been taught arithmetic by can't count van count we learn lessons on friendship by bert and ernie we learn the need for kindness from oscar the grouch but one day pbs as a kid did a behind the scenes special on how sesame street was made and my childlike self was mortified to realize that the show was simply a demonstration in puppetry where puppet masters communicated their will through the characters that we came to love so that bert ernie and oscar were simply older avatars that were used to relay the will of puppet masters so that bert couldn't stand up he had to be propped up by somebody's hand that big bird had no counsel he could only share what was given to him ernie could not speak somebody just spoke through him oscar could not sing he opened his mouth but it was somebody's voice that gave him power and what became clear is that the characters were not the star of the show the writers and the puppet masters were you see it was the puppet masters that were pulling the string it was the masters that gave them their form it was the masters that gave them their voice it was the masters that gave them their platform in other words they didn't do anything of their own they got all of their power and strength from the puppet master and can i suggest saints that the reason we don't live with greater assurance and confidence is because we don't realize who pulls the strings in this light in fact there are times we look at certain people in church or in the culture or in politics with all because of their gifts and productivity but what i've learned saints is that you are not ever be in all of people you ought to stand in awe of the one who pulls the strings because the truth is that in a lesser way all of us are simply puppets beholden to the will of our masters now to be clear we don't all have the same master come on and say amen you see some of us are being used by the enemy we are moved by his will and we are slave to his strings but saints i want you to know that i don't mind being a puppet as long as jesus is pulling my strings in fact it is the puppet master who uses us and this is a reminder to those who are in the body of christ that even when we do well we are to praise our master for it is him that causes us to do i need us to understand that we have no form if his hand is not upon us you may open your mouth to sing but it is god that gives it is god that gives you the voice you may use your hands to work but it is god that gives you the strength you may open up your mouth to teach but it's god that gives you the instruction your mind can diagnose disease but it is the wisdom that comes from god you sit down at the computer to write but it is god that gives you the words you might have the skill to invest or trade but good judgment comes from god but even in this moment you may see my lips moving but know that the words don't come from snail but the words come from god who made heaven and earth in other words i don't mind being a puppet as long as god is pulling the strings and do i have a witness out there today that understands that every good and perfect gift comes from above do you realize that we are puppets in his hand for it is in christ that we live and move and have our being we need to learn to say as the old song to god be the glory great things he has done so that whenever things go well you ought to be able to look to god and say all that i am and ever hope to be i owe it all to thee and so the aim of every believer is to make sure number one that god is pulling the strings and number two to give god the glory for the great things he has done can the church say amen and so go back with me if you don't mind to daniel chapter 2 and i want us to look at verse 30 and just notice something important daniel chapter 2 and verse 30 daniel speaking here says this daniel chapter 2 and verse 30 when you get there say amen the bible says daniel speaking but as for me this secret notice what he says has not been revealed to me because i have more wisdom than anyone living notice what he says this secret has not been revealed because i'm better than everybody else now again saints there are a few short lessons that i want to teach to us today and the first thing i want to share saints is that when you walk with god god will make you noticeable in other words i need y'all to get this saints that that the book of daniel in many ways is a case study in character growth see the last time we were with you we talked about the fact that when daniel was given the dream and the interpretation he did not seek to kill the competition he actually went to save the competition because he realized that throwing shade was not going to help him shine and see understand that his goal beloved is not just to absolve the astrologers see he uses this extraordinary revelation he uses this extraordinary gift to create an introduction in other words his goal in communicating the vision was to make known jehovah to this pagan king nebuchadnezzar and i need you to know saints that there is temptation in this moment because temptation for daniel is to use the gift to leverage his position in the kingdom see if daniel was not committed to god he could have just rolled up into the king's court and began to pontificate and eloquent and act like the dream came from him but see daniel understands that he is not an owner of the dream he is a broker of the vision see as a broker his job is to connect interested parties he is to connect the god god that wants to know nebuchadnezzar with the nebuchadnezzar that needs to know who god is and the thing i love about daniel is he is not worried about them thinking highly of him he wants them to think highly of god in other words he says in verse 30 he says don't blame the astrologers they could not do it there is a god in heaven that's able to reveal the secret and i have the secret not because i have more wisdom than anyone living in other words king i'm just the vessel in other words king i'm just the avatar in other words king i'm just a middleman in other words i'm just a conduit but jehovah is the source and he creates an introduction by giving god open praise are you hearing these things and see one of the things i want to say to the church is that our job as believers is to function as spiritual brokers between the god who loves mankind and mankind that needs to know who god is and i need somebody to get this that your gifts your platform your influence your relationship the resources that god has given you god has not given that just to facilitate your comfort god opens up doors for you that he might be made known in circles of influence where the gospel would not normally be welcomed in other words i need you to know that god makes you noticeable for a reason i see i need you to know that sometimes god makes you noticeable through your gifts but other times god makes you noticeable through your character sometimes folk have a way of noticing that you just have a way of staying calm under pressure sometimes folk in the world notice that you don't curse when you get upset and mad sometimes they will notice that you're productive even though you take the seventh day off from work they'll begin to notice that you don't need to drink to unwind or even to turn up they'll notice the love in your marriage they'll notice the discipline in your kids they'll notice how good you look at 62. they'll notice how everything under your hand prospers and when god makes you noticeable when god makes you stand out you've got an obligation to stand up and make his praises known to those who don't believe are you hearing me saints i see beloved this is really important because he there in babylon daniel cannot just insert god or force god into the conversation and see the truth is that there are some of us that work and function in environments where it is not lawful for you to walk around with a bible or pass out tracts or praise god openly but what you've got to do is just wait for a situation for god to let you get noticed see i need you to notice something in the scripture that sometimes you ain't got to always preach you just got to be still until god lets you get noticed do you realize that in daniel chapter 1 daniel didn't preach they just noticed that he had an excellent spirit on the inside of him you realize that in genesis joseph didn't preach potiphar just noticed that everything under his hand began to prosper you realize that in daniel 3 the hebrew boys didn't protest the image or the song they just noticed that these dudes wasn't going to bow down or worship the image that the king set up do you realize that before solomon explained the queen of sheba just noticed the excellence and the order that was demonstrated in the kingdom do you notice that even in samson before he gave delilah the secret they noticed that he had a strength that was not of this world they noticed that they would walk toward him but they were limp back to where they came from they noticed something about the apostles they were not persuaded by their words they were like these dudes is ignorant but they noticed that they had been with jesus and see the thing i want to say is the problem with some is that we're only noticeable by what we say see i need you to understand see what we say is our only witness but i need you to know that what you say won't matter until people notice who you are okay let me say it again in other words what you have to say won't matter unless they notice something distinct about your character and who you are on a day-to-day basis i see the problem with some of us is we don't realize that it is the character of jesus that makes you noticeable see i need you to know that jesus says by this will men know that you are my disciples by your love one for another i need somebody to know that on your job excellence will make you noticeable good customer service will make you noticeable kindness will make you noticeable i need you to know that patience will make you noticeable but the reason our words have no impact is because our character don't distinguish us from anybody else that's on the job or in our circle of influence see i need you to know that god wants to set you in a place to be salt and to be light to stand out and to make his praise known to them that don't believe are y'all hearing the word of god today i say i need somebody to understand beloved that you got to come away from trying to make yourself known see i need somebody to understand that if you just learn how to be still you don't have to make yourself stand out but if you just let god guide you god will cause you to stand out see the problem is we think that if i wear more makeup that'll make me noticeable more makeup just makes you blend in if i wear more bling that'll make you noticeable but paul says it's the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit that makes you stand out we think that if i curry favor with men i'll be noticeable but god says if you humble yourself he'll exalt you in due season and what i'm saying to somebody is you've got to stop trying to stand out stop trying to grasp stop trying to make it happen just learn how to be still and god will make you stand out and he'll bring what you need to you okay let me say it this way i remember saying it to the pastors that uh just a couple of years ago i remember one day i was out as a little boy with my grandmother going fishing and i remember i had a little toy boat that i was playing with there in the water and what happened is the little boat began to kind of drift a little bit beyond my reach and it was crazy how the more i began to reach for it whenever my hands hit the water it would create waves and push the boat a little further away and the more i reach for it the further away it got from me and i remember my grandma saying just back up baby real fast in the water and that didn't make sense to back up if i wanted to get what i needed but she says maybe just back up and i just did it by faith now those who know whenever you're in the water and you begin to back up what happens is it creates a vacuum and whatever you're looking for will just be drawn by the vacuum where you are do i have a witness that knows that you ain't got to chase after stuff you can just back up and god will send it where you are in other words you don't have to chase promotion just be still and god will bring it where you are you don't have to chase a spouse back up while they sweating him and god will bring him where you are you don't have to chase favor just back away from it and it'll come where you are the more you push the more you grasp the further away it will get but if you learn to just back up into providence god will bring what you need where you are can the church say amen today the second reason there in daniel chapter 30 and this is important second reason daniel is intentional to make sure that the king knows that god is the one that does it is that daniel understands this that whatever is not used for praise is gonna be used by satan to make you proud let me say it again see whatever you don't use for praise is gonna automatically turn into pride in fact mark batterson in his book double blessing makes this statement that whatever a man does not use to praise god satan is going to use it to force that man to become proud and i need somebody to understand that open doors gifts recognition uh uh uh a position authority it is simply a venue that god gives for you to glorify him the maker and see let me just say this about phrase see if i mean sometimes we make praise too mythical and too esoteric i need you to understand that praise ain't nothing but telling the truth let me say to somebody again praise all it is is just telling the truth see praise is just telling your truth and acknowledging who holds the strings in other words praise should never have to be forced it should never have to be coerced it should never have to be guilted in other words praise is simply when you come to the place of clarity where you realize that all i am is because of jehovah are y'all hearing me saints and seeing this amazing because i need y'all to get that in this moment daniel ain't got no tambourines daniel ain't got no drums daniel ain't got no instruments daniel is simply aware of his human limitations he is aware of his human lack he is aware of what would happen if god was not on his side and say i need somebody to understand that like i remember as a young person i would hear folks say how i that i would hear older people say how i can't help but praise god and i didn't really get what it meant i thought that they had some kind of compulsion that just makes them break out in praise in involuntary fashion no that's not what it means but it means that after you've lived long enough and you've seen god open so many doors and you've seen god make so many ways and you've seen him do it time and time again and you recognize your own limitation and you're aware of your own lack and you realize that if god does not do it then it just cannot be done praise is the admonition that it's not me but it's jesus praise is just me telling the truth that my help does not come from my gifts my intellect my talent my family mind but my help comes from the lord who makes heaven and earth are y'all hearing me today saints i see let me just say this real quick because the praise is acknowledging your help comes from god then pride is either ignorance or deception about where your help comes from that needs to know all pride is it's not even something that is intentional pride is simply the incidental byproduct of not recognizing where your help comes from are y'all hearing me today saints say i need y'all to understand this about about praise that unused praise mutates into pride that missed opportunity to praise it decays into prideful indifference every opportunity that i do not use to glorify god it is going to settle in an unhealthy residue in the soul and create a pride that makes it hard for me to maintain my hold on jehovah are y'all hearing me saints i see pride is simply a misunderstanding about who holds the strings see pride is ignorance about who holds you up pride is ignorance about who gave you form pride is ignorance about who opened the door pride is an unwillingness to recognize that all you are is because of jesus christ and that's why the bible says pride goes before a fall now watch this saints because i need you to know that the reason pride goes before fall is that the fall is not punishment the fall is designed to give you clarity about who is holding you up in the first place see i need you to know that lucifer failed because of pride the bible says that he became pride proud because of his beauty he became corrupted by reason of his brightness and because he didn't praise god for it it mutated into pride y'all hear me today thanks do you realize beloved that samson was captured not because of his lusts but because of his pride because when they asked what's the secret of your strength he was so stupid he said the strength is in my hair but the hair was just a covenant a symbol of the covenant that he made with god in other words god had to let him get captured to let him know that his strength was in his hair or in his locks that his strength came from god do you realize beloved that judas failed not because of greed but because of pride because he felt like he could dictate and manipulate all the outcomes of his life and i need somebody to be mindful that whatever you don't use for praise is gonna automatically mutate into pride so i tell all the time that sometimes phrase is like an avocado see some of y'all know that avocados if you're not careful they'll go bad real quick so i remember one night we had haystacks and so we had some guacamole and i remember i was supposed to put the stuff away in the kitchen but i accidentally left the guacamole out all night long and when i came out the next day it did get green guacamole cup had turned black as it began to rotten because one of the things about avocados is that if you don't use them right away it's going to mutate in something that cannot be used and i need you to know that praise is the same way you've got a season and a self-life to give god the glory but if you wait too long to praise it's going to turn into pride which leads to a fall so that you realize who was holding you up come on and say amen third thing that this vision was designed to teach us and this is where i'm gonna settle today it's designed to teach us this vision is to not focus on the metals focus on the stone daniel recounts the dream that has been literally snatched from the memory of the king and he says listen king this is the vision that you saw on your bed a few nights ago he says in your vision you saw an image but it was an image of a man and in that image it was constructed of many different metals it had a head of gold that had chests and arms of silver it had belly and thighs of bronze it had legs of iron and it had feet constructed of clay and then you also saw in the vision a rock hewn out of the mountain without hands and it struck the feet of the image and smashed it into beats but the problem with that of your vision is that the stone did not just dissipate it began to grow into the size of a mountain and it filled up the entire earth with its glory and the interpretation of the dream is fourfold number one nebuchadnezzar the image represents the primary kingdoms of the earth starting with you in the present the second meaning was that god sets up kings and kingdoms and in his own season god is the one that takes them down each medal would become inferior number three as it went down to the end of time starting with gold ending with a mixture of iron and clay symbolizing the shift from monarchies and dictatorships to democracies at the end of time and then he let them know that each medal represented a different king or kingdom so he lets them know that babylon represents the head of the goal that you're going to be the greatest kingdom that there's never going to be another one like you but at some point in time when god chooses you're going to be taken over by the medo persians which represent the chest and arms of silver but after them there's going to come a greek kingdom that represents the belly and thighs of bronze but then after them there's gonna come a strange kingdom like iron in the form of rome and even when rome is destroyed it doesn't go completely away it's gonna have influence to the end of time as it seeps down into the feet of the image it's going to mix with partly iron and clay but the two will not adhere one to another and it's going to represent are the ten slavic unions of rome that form the emergable tribes of europe out of which the united states of america would ultimately be birthed but notice king that the star of the vision is not the meadows in other words you saw hewn out of the mountain excavated without human hands or human agency you gonna see a rock that's gonna be thrown with unflinching force at the images or the kingdoms of this world and it's gonna break the images of the kingdoms of this world into tiny bits and they're gonna be blown away like wheat on a summer threshing room floor and that rock is gonna grow larger and larger and it's gonna fill up the whole earth and it's never ever gonna be replaced and it represents the second coming of jesus when jesus comes to establish his never-ending kingdom as beloved i pray that you get this your take away from daniel chapter 2 should not be about babylon medo-persia greece or rome your takeaway ought to be that one day the stone is going to appear in other words beloved what you ought to learn is that my trust shouldn't be in the middle my trust ought to be in the rock my confidence shouldn't be in the medals but my confidence ought to be in the rock my assurance is not in the meadows but my assurance is in the rock what are you talking about pastor i believe this is relevant especially for this season where we are in a season of transition where in a certain way the medals are beginning to change as we look forward to a new president see i think it is a reminder to us that our focus should not be on a king or kingdom or the metal but our focus has to constantly be on the rock are y'all hear me saints because one of the things the vision teaches us is that nothing changes while the medals are in charge things won't change for the good until the rock strikes what what do you mean pastor so he's saying this to daniel and the hebrew people which represent god's people but notice that they are under the head of gold but they are under babylonian exile and oppression under babylon but even when it goes from gold to silver and darius and the medo persians come into place guess what it does not make their lives better they are still under oppression under darius and the medo persians so nebuchadnezzar puts them in the fiery furnace but darius puts daniel down in the lion's den they get a law reprieve during the season of greece but by the time rome shows up and jesus comes they are under roman yolk and oppression and by the time the church gives birth then the church is going to be persecuted by papal rome and then subjugated by by pagan rome then it's going to be subjugated by papal rome even down to the toes of the image and god is saying to the church that when the medals are in charge your life ain't going to change but when the rock comes then things are gonna change and so what god is saying to oppressed people is that oppressed people should never put confidence in the changing of the metals because the metals are changing one leader is on the way out and another leader is coming in and he is promising a better day but i want to warn the people of god that we should not help the holy spirit we should not move away from a posture of prayer in other words i need us to understand that that it's okay if we look to 2021 with some hopefulness it's okay if we look to a new administration with the expectation of something better and i need you to know what i'm saying is not a knock against joe biden it's a recognition that they're just certain things that are out of their control because if you believe matthew chapter 24 i need you to understand that after corona there's going to be something else because a new president can't make pestilence stop coming a new president can't make famine cease a new president won't stop nation from rising against nation a new president won't stop ruthless brutality a new president won't stop inhumanity against humanity a new president won't stop the aggression of cancer a new president won't slow global warming a new president can't satisfy the greed of corporation a new president can't defeat the powerful gun lobby a new president won't cure mental illness a change in the medal is not going to create a change in the life and that's what the bible says in psalm 146 put not your trust in princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no hope but happy is he that has the god of jacob as his help who has his help in the lord are y'all hearing me saints and i guess what i'm saying is beloved is that in this time we ought to be uniquely prayerful what do you say pass because remember ellen white and the great controversy said that there's gonna come a time where that beast that rose up out of the sea the one that had the deadly wound that was healed he was gonna reach across the gulf and he was gonna shake hands and form a union with the beast that rose up out of the earth the one that looked like a lamb but he began to talk and behave like a dragon in other words that one that has a deadly wound is going to use and exert religious authority over the one that's going to have military military or might uh to help our create and dictate the uh the movements of the last days and i think we see it happening even in our time so that even in a protestant land where catholics are only 20 of the population you notice our president-elect is catholic that six of the nine supreme court justices are catholic that 31 of the 115 congressional seats are run by catholics and even though in a protestant land where catholics are only 20 they are in control of the judiciary and legislative bodies of the church in other words we see those two beasts beginning to form a union they are beginning to shake hands and it is not necessarily a sign that it's going to happen tomorrow but it ought to wake somebody up to let us know that what the bible said is true and those things are coming to pass and i guess what i'm saying above all things is that as a black man i'm not putting my trust in pennsylvania avenue as an adventist i'm not putting my trust in the supreme court my permanent hope is in the stone that is cut out of the mountains without hands my hope is in the belief that one day jesus is going to crack the sky my hope is that because of the work done on the cross that one day our great god is gonna come and harvest us from this sin cursed earth see the reason we focus on the rock and not the metals is because as long as the metals are running things life ain't gonna get no better it's just gonna move from one trauma to the next and one one tragedy to the next but the change is not gonna come until the rock comes and strikes the kingdom of this earth so i need you to know that when the rock strikes things are gonna change forever when the rock strikes he's gonna put an end to suffering when the rock strikes he's gonna put an end to sorrow when the rock strikes your weeping will be temporary when the rock strikes he's going to take captivity captive and when the rock strikes he's going to defeat death in other words division saints is to remind the people of the most high god that there is something being prepared that is better than anything that this world is able to offer it is because of the rock that one day you gonna cry your last tear it's because of the rock that one day you're gonna have your last bad day it's because of the rock that one day you gonna pay your last bill it's because of the rock that one day you'll go to work for the last time it's because of the rock that one day you'll go to dialysis for the last time when the rock comes you won't need no more chemotherapy when the rock comes you'll need no more radiation when the rock comes you'll take glasses off for the last time when the rock comes you'll remove hearing aids for the last time when the rock comes you won't get your nasal suave because they'll need no more covet tests when the rock comes you'll throw away your asthma inhaler when the rock comes you'll put down your wheelchair and your walker when the rock comes police brutality is gonna end when the rock comes racism is gonna end when the rock comes you'll need no more insulin shots when the rock comes you won't go to the hospital no more it is because of jesus the rock that he can stand and say let not your heart be troubled if you believe in god believe also in me in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so i would have told you he says i go to prepare a place for you that where i am there you may be also it's because of the rock that paul can say eyes have not seen ears have not heard neither has entered into the heart of any man that which god has prepared for his people it is why the long writer said hosanna blessed be the rock blessed be the rock of our salvation it is why we sing rock of ages cleft for me let me hide my soul in thee it is why we say on christ the solid rock i stand all over ground is sinking sand it is why we say jesus is a rock in a weary land a shelter in the time of storm can anybody give god a praise that the medals won't last the medals won't always be in charge but one day the rock is gonna put an end to the curses of this world and usher in the eternal promises that have been prepared and established by god for those who love him and see my prayer today is that there's somebody hearing god's word and making it up in your mind as i'm closing this message to understand that that what god is trying to help us to get is that everything in this world is temporary god wants you to understand that all of the stuff see notice what he did gold silver bronze iron all of these precious stones guess what god does when the rock comes he smashes the joint into bits to let us know that that by the time we get to earth to the end of earth's history we ought not be putting any confidence in things that will not transfer uh be transported with us from earth to glory god's word to somebody is today is to be mindful that this world its investments the things that we spend so much time trying to hold on to to achieve possess and get attainment to those things have no eternal value we've got to put all of our trust we've got to put all of our hope we got to put all our confidence in the rock and there's somebody today that god is saying to you i've given you position i've given you resources i've given you influence but i need to know i've made you noticeable for a reason see god is calling this this last day church back to a sense of mission back to a sense of evangelistic third floor where we realize that every open door every gift every recognition every circle of influence god has put us there so that the gospel can go into places that it would not normally be welcome it is your job to make jesus known to them that have not heard to them that do not believe god's word to somebody today is you better learn how to praise it see see there come with us we say all pastors always tell my praise you realize that the message of the third angel is a message of praise it is fear god and give glory to him and god is saying you better learn how to praise him because the only thing that keeps you from becoming so proud that you might be lost is that you learn how to praise him because whatever is not used for phrase is going to be used by the enemy to make you proud and then god's word to somebody is you got to get to that place saint saint saints of the most high as we look to the transition listen i wish i could tell you that 2021 is about to be this year where everything goes back to normal but if i read my bible matthew 24 says there's going to be famines and earthquakes and pestilence and he says these are the beginning of sorrows all the birth pains all the contractions that's what it means the word sorrows odin is the greek word that means contractions and i need you to know that contractions don't go away contractions just get closer together and they happen with more power to let us know that the delivery is about to come and see i need us to know that we ought not get discouraged because of contractions because it means that our deliverance is drawing now and god is saying to somebody that we can't put our trust in the supreme court we can't put our trust on capitol hill we can't put our trust in the white house we've got to put our trust in god the stone that's going to put an end to the kingdoms of this world we have somebody today you're sitting at home maybe you're here in huntsville maybe you're another city or state but to those specifically in huntsville you've been watching this word you need to make it up in your mind and say okay i got to stop living for the gold the silver the bronze i got to stop living for the iron and the medals and trying to be established in this world i need to start living for the rock and you maybe you've never made it up in your mind and say i want to go all the way with jesus i you've never said i need to make a full surrender to the point where i am baptized into the lord jesus christ and you need to say man as much as i hate 2020. see you know what 2020 did the one bonus is that it taught us that tomorrow is not promised as as thousands of people are dying each day from from this deadly airborne disease it is a reminder that you have today you have this hour you have this moment to be able to receive the lord jesus christ and so today if you're hearing god's word and you want to make it up in your mind and say i want to be in one of the next baptisms of this church i want you to email us at prayer first sda church dot com or if you're right there in the comments on facebook facebook or youtube there is a a link coming up called type form where you can make known your decision for bible studies or baptism to go all the way with the lord jesus christ and i want to encourage you don't wait till tomorrow don't say next week don't say next month today if you hear his voice do not harden your heart email us at prayer at first schertz.com or maybe you're in a place where you don't you've never heard of an adventist church that's nearby or close to where you live just email us just the same and just like we've done for dozens more we'll get you connected with the church in your city or in your state or in your country that can help you continue in your walk with the lord jesus christ and there's just somebody today as you close i'm praying that you're gathering around the television with your family with your friends with your loved one and what you're doing is simply saying we're going to make a covenant to say we're not going to put our trust in medals that change we're going to put our hope and our confidence in the coming and the establishment of the rock because we know that when he comes that nothing else will ever be the same he'll put an end to all this world's sorrows so right now you're gathering around your screen your device your television and i'm just going to be silent for a moment so that you can have some time to pray and recommit yourself to a life that is founded on the rock jesus christ because understand john saw it in revelation 7 he says i saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth they've been given a command to hurt not the earth of the sea until god's people have been sealed so they have been fortified and i need you to know that if you are not established on the rock if you if you try to build your life on the gold the silver the bronze the iron and the clay you're not gonna make it because all of that's gonna be uh smashed to bits but you got to make it up in your mind that you're going to stand and be firmly established on the rock so that's you right now you're praying personally you're praying collectively you're talking to jesus and saying i'm going to be established on the rock i'm going to pray in just a moment and close out this service i want you to have that moment with you and god where you can make that personal commitment [Music] father in heaven our prayer as we close is very simple lord we want to be a people we don't mind being puppets we just want you to pull our strings we want to be your avatar we want you to use us to communicate your message of of hope to the world and so lord we we take on a posture of submission and recognition that just like a puppet has no form apart from its master that we have no help no strength no real direction apart from you father we ask in the name of jesus that you would help us to live lives that are beholden to you our master beholden to you our great god and so lord we want to live a life of just committed praise of constant phrase because we realize that whatever is not going to be used for phrase is going to be turned around and used to make us prideful and it's going to cause us to experience variance and alienation from you the most high god and then lord as we close i'm asking lord that you would help us as the people of god to recognize that our trust has to be on the rock and not on the metals that change see we've seen metals change and oppression continue and sickness continue and hatred continue but it's not until the rock comes that the calamities and the pathologies of this life meet their end and so lord i'm praying that you would help us to realize that we are simply pilgrims passing through to function with an awareness that this world is not our home but that we have a home beyond the sky whose builder and maker is god and so lord my prayer is that somebody that needs to make a decision to be baptized that they would not hesitate that they would not delay that they would not say tomorrow recognizing that tomorrow is not promised and so lord i ask in the name of jesus that you would help us to focus on you to put our trust in you to put our loyalty and tie our loyalty to the rock that is the lord so lord we realize all of the ground is sinking sand so lord for each family for each individual that is committing to a life that is established on the rock help them to be so firmly planted that when the rain comes and the winds blow and the floods rise the house is not destroyed because it is built on the rock and so we prayed it more than perhaps in any year we prayed this a lot in 2020 we prayed again even so come lord jesus but help us to be remain in readiness and in watchfulness realizing that the rock is headed our way we pray this oh god in the matchless name of jesus let god's people stay together amen and amen

Channel: First Seventh-day Adventist Church

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Id: 7k4XlvMPFfA

Length: 52min 21sec (3141 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 05 2020