"Living With the End in Mind" RESCUE RADIO with Marjorie Cole

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Rescue Radio, because there's a war for your soul. Yes, indeed. Hallelujah.

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Welcome to the war. Father God, we thank you for this very beautiful day.

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We thank you that we are yours and that your will be done, O God, in and through us.

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Thy kingdom come on earth in us, even as it's being done and declared in heaven.

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We thank you for the purposes to which you have appointed us, Lord.

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We thank you for the purposes to which you appointed Jesus Christ,

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and that you, Lord Jesus, fulfilled your purpose.

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By dying on the cross, taking our sins upon yourself, our iniquities.

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And releasing us from the grip of the terrible one who had gripped mankind over

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the course of time since the beginning.

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And we thank you for giving us not only salvation, but also authority to tread

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on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy,

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and nothing shall by any means hurt us.

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This has not changed over the last millenniums.

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Lord God, it's the same yesterday, today, and forever, because you do not change.

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And so we thank you, Lord Jesus, for authorizing us, yes, authorizing us to

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do these things on your behalf.

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And we thank you, Lord, for the grace, the purpose, the love,

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the focus that you've given us to understand what life is, its purposes,

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what are the purposes of life.

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And that you will now give us protection in this battle, Lord God.

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You said no weapon formed against you will prosper. We pray that no word said,

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deed done, action taken,

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any kind of incantations, lies, rumors, gossip, backbiting, any words spoken

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against us or your servants will prevail not because they will be covered with

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your blood and fall to the ground, and the enemy will not be able to use them against us.

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So govern and keep and protect, and those who are in the balance,

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hanging in the balance right now, not knowing their life purpose,

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that they will wake up, wake up the woke, wake them up, Father God,

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for the glory of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Well, interesting. I have a question. Okay. What is the question?

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What will you be caught doing when Jesus comes? Oh.

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Yeah. Oh, Jesus, you know, he himself said he's going to come when you don't expect him.

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We anticipate his appearing. We anticipate his return.

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But we can say we know exactly when he's coming because it's when we don't expect him to come.

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Well, you know, and this is part of the problem because we don't know all of these things.

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We get caught up as we almost are like rats living a life on a treadmill of

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pointless events and mundane duties.

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So many people are just so worried about today and they're caught up when Jesus

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very clearly tells us to be purposeful in our living.

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I want to just share an illustration from years ago.

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I worked at a hardwood lumber mill, and OSHA, the regulatory agency,

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would come by once in a while and inspect what we were doing,

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make sure everything was, you

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know, we had our hard hats on and the safety stuff was in order and stuff.

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And sometimes we heard OSHA's here, and people weren't ready.

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They didn't have their hard hats on. So everybody's scrambling around trying

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to look. For a hard hat. Look for a hard hat.

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Probably one that didn't fit them. One that didn't fit them.

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Some of these guys had hard hats.

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They put them on and they obviously weren't fitting the size of their head and everything like that.

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But God doesn't want us to be in that place. Now, if we were just ready and

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abiding by the regulations, OSHA comes, no problem.

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No problem. But the same thing for us, if we're living right,

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living ready, whenever he comes, it's going to be okay.

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Well, you know, that's exactly right. And life has a purpose.

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But many of us do not know that. We've never been taught that concept.

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We just kind of dive in and start working like little worker bees,

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never thinking about preparing for the end or knowing how to live with that end in mind.

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And it's important to live with the end in mind. And that's what Jesus is talking

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about in the Gospels, especially we're going to look at Luke chapter 12 today,

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preparing for the end, knowing what the end is.

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Part of the problem is that we...

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We don't know how to prepare because we don't know what's going on.

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And part of the problem is that we are in the middle of a lot of waiting.

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And the issue is, are we waiting faithfully and what are we waiting for?

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And in that waiting, we need to have discernment.

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And if we need to repent of going in the wrong direction, obviously we need to repent.

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And we need to be willing to choose. The bottom line here is whose report do

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you believe? Do you believe what the gospel says, what Jesus says,

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what God says, then the truth?

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Or have you chosen another version of the meaning of life and are working diligently

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to solve the wrong problem?

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So God is, what are we doing when we're waiting? You know, it's not waiting.

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It's just sitting around twiddling our thumbs.

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Waiting is, what are we doing while we're waiting? There's a song,

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popular song that's from a while back. It says, I will worship while I'm waiting.

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So everything that we are and everything we do is worship unto the Lord.

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We don't think of it that way. We think worship is, okay, we sing four or five

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choruses on Sunday mornings, but worship with our hands lifted or not lifted.

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But worship is everything that we are and everything we do as unto the Lord.

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So everything we do, whether it's doing dishes or cleaning toilets or preaching

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or singing or playing an instrument, is worship unto the Lord.

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Then everything we do, if we're doing it as unto the Lord, is meaningful.

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It's purposeful. It is part of that life purpose. But the other thing is...

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We have to understand there's also involved in that in our lives is suffering,

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loyalty and suffering and following the truth.

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And that might include what we see today, confusion, division,

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resistance, suffering for the wrong causes. We see all kinds of chaos and confusion

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deliberately imposed upon us by the enemy to confuse us.

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It's almost like you're in the middle of a battle and a big sandstorm has come

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up into our eyes and we cannot even see which direction we need to be shooting in.

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Well, Jesus said, you know, his coming is going to be as it was in the days

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of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.

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So in the days of Noah, they were eating and drinking and marrying and giving

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in marriage. Everything just seemed to be very cool.

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Building, building and planting. Not concerned, even though Noah had warned

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them for 120 years about what was about to happen.

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In the days of Noah, the Bible says in Genesis chapter 6, I think it's verse 11, that,

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Their thoughts were only evil continually. Continually. So their minds were

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just basically deranged with evil.

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And we see a lot of that going on in our day, of course. Yes, so sad.

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And all of these elements are still with us.

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This evil world is still with us. We see that massive separation, contention, division.

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We see all of these painful things, even in families.

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But the two sides are becoming more distinct. I think the dividing line,

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you know, Noah's boat was the dividing line in that day.

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You know, you're either on the boat or not on the boat. And we're going to have

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something like that coming again very soon.

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And so it's not a fight over ideologies or socialism versus capitalism or political.

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The real division is regarding good versus evil.

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Good, God versus evil, the devil. some of

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us don't want to put the devil in the equation and cannot understand why God

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is so mean all the time but put the devil in the equation and it starts to help

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you make sense of what's going on you know you you know here's the thing Jerry

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you think everybody would make an obvious choice to follow the good wouldn't

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you but you know but nothing is that easy or that simple.

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Yeah, we have that tendency to follow that, which is evil. Or easy.

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Evil and easy. Yeah. And whatever we're thinking.

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Our minds have been formed by our life experiences. And we tend to think,

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you know, we think according to our life experiences.

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We come to conclusions we've been exposed to various lies, whether it's fairy

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tales when we've been kids or families are miserable because mom and dad were

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so evil and abusive emotionally and physically and stuff like that.

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So we come to develop this whole worldview of how we see the world, how we see ourselves.

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And we get into a real bondage with that.

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And we don't get to really see oftentimes what our primary focus and calling

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is to be that the Lord has ordained for us. In Luke chapter 12,

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Jesus talks about, do not worry about your life.

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You know, like you said, the fear and anxiety and the push for using our energy

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to survive and focus on survival, that becomes our main thrust.

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But Jesus said, don't worry about your life. What you will eat or put on,

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life is more than food and clothing.

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And what good will worrying do? It seems like some of us were very,

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very good at worrying, but worrying does not change or make things get better. it only wears you out.

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And some of us are caught up trying to scare all these temporary goods.

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But, you know, what's the real meaning of life? What's the real.

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Condition of our souls. In Romans chapter 8, it says that not even life can

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separate us from the love of God. What do you mean life?

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I mean, well, what's going on in our lives?

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You know, we get so overwhelmed. And people are basically, you know,

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we're so fixed and focused on trying to survive. We're so broken.

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Just to take care of the daily task, you know, work and the kids and school and all that stuff.

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And all that stuff's important, but what happens is we get unduly focused on,

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we get overwhelmed on it by it. And it says in Luke 21, 34.

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He says, but take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down, that you be depressed.

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Weighed down with what? Carousing, right?

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Fear. Drunkenness, the cares of this life and that day, the day of the Lord's

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coming, comes upon you unexpectedly.

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He says, for it will come as a snare unexpectedly on those who dwell on the face of the earth.

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Watch, therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all

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these things. that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man.

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So there's a lot of evil stuff coming to pass, but cares, riches, and pleasures of life.

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Jesus talked about the thorny ground, right, where the seed of the Word of God

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gets choked out by cares, riches, and pleasures of life.

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Now, we're in the midst of all this, the responsibilities that we have every

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day, plus this world that is just filled with violence and perversion and everything like that.

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But this is our atmosphere in which we live in the kingdom of God. Yes, it's the snake pit.

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And in this snake pit, we're attempting to survive. I think survival and safety

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are two of the main goals that people go after.

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But they're working, we're working to, many of us work to secure these temporary goals.

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But actually what you're doing on the outside what you're saying is revealing

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what's going on on the inside in your heart and your true beliefs so are we

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overwhelmed and angry or striving and fearful to get the basic needs met just

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to live what comfortably in the snake pit hmm.

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Until, you know, there are many hostile elements in this world that are out

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there to try to kill us. Did you know that?

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But our divine, we're protected.

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What is our divine destiny? Is it to survive down here or to know God and to know who we are?

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So, or is it to try to beat the system, you know, beat this system?

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This system is already beaten by the Lord himself. It's going back to looking

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in our text today for Luke chapter 12.

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Are we struggling? I think Jesus did this whole chapter to just correct us on

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what we might be struggling to fix the wrong problems.

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You know, if you ever worked in your math assignment and you worked so hard

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in the algebra problem, just didn't work, didn't work, you couldn't figure it

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out, and you found out later when you got your test handed in,

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you were working on the wrong problem. Oh, ouch.

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So what will we be caught doing when the angels who are recording our our activities.

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If you're struggling to accomplish what you haven't accomplished or to answer

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the first question, what will we be caught doing when the angels who are recording

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it come back with the Lord?

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So we're going to be caught in the act. Yeah.

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The thing is, too, it's just kind of like even when the time comes,

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if we die before the Lord comes, we're going to be caught in the act because

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we don't know the hour in which we're going to pass.

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Maybe God will show us, you know, that our time is short or something like that.

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But, you know, we're going to get caught in the act of what are we doing?

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What are we doing? I know we're not saved by our doing.

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We're saved by grace through faith, but faith without works is dead.

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And if we love the Lord, we're going to be actively serving him.

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Jesus said, he said this, occupy till I come.

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That's a King James word for do business till I come. And what's our business?

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Our business in Matthew 28, 18 through 20 is to go into all the world and make

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disciples of all nations.

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And so whether you're a janitor or a farmer or an evangelist or an IT guy,

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stay-at-home mom, single parent, single guy, old, young.

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Teenagers, wherever you are on the spectrum of life experiences,

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our business, our business is this. The kingdom of God. It is the kingdom of God.

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Seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all these things

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that we stew and fret and strive about and get worried about will be added unto us.

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Well, let's look for a second at Luke chapter 12. in the beginning.

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The innumerable multitudes of people gathered together to talk to Jesus.

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They were almost trampling one another. They were so eager to get up close to him.

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And he said, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

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Then verse 2 is very interesting. He says, for there is nothing covered that

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will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.

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For therefore whatever you have spoken in

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the dark will be heard in the light and what you

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have spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be

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proclaimed on the housetop how many mic drops

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how many you know reveals are coming it's

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almost like a flood of information is

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coming now to expose the lies the

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hypocrisy the hidden agendas in every arena

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i mean 10 years ago this was not happening 10 years

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ago we were all happily la la la you know you know

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catching butterflies and and and smelling the roses but here we are every day

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every day in every arena whether it's the medications or the political arenas

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or the people you thought you listened to and in your podcast everybody everything

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and that's exactly what jesus said why is this happening anyway.

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Because I believe God wants us to have a clear choice as to whose report are you going to believe.

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So this has to happen before the end. Because otherwise people say, well, I didn't know.

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But now we're going to say, oh, yeah, you showed us right there,

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right there, right there.

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Here it was, and we refuse the love of the truth. That's what we talked about last week.

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When we refuse the love of the truth, then God has to send us a strong delusion

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that we believe a lie. Because Satan insists they're mine. They're believing my lie.

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Therefore, I get to send them the delusion. And so this is our dilemma right now.

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Yeah, and the question is when things are exposed as false or as true, will we respond to that?

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Some people, you know, they see evil exposed, but they say, well,

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so what? You know, they just keep living the way they were living.

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Yeah, they think it doesn't pertain to me. Right. And so, but what happens in

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this exposure is we have to come clean of our misdeeds.

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If we don't do that, whether we've lied in public or in private,

00:17:23.029 --> 00:17:26.969
whether we've lied to ourselves, we have got to come clean with the truth.

00:17:27.089 --> 00:17:33.869
The truth is the only thing that will set you free and be revealed or be accepted in the end.

00:17:33.969 --> 00:17:37.869
God is not going to believe or accept your excuse or your lie.

00:17:38.329 --> 00:17:43.349
He's going to believe and accept the report of his son. So we need to come clean.

00:17:44.069 --> 00:17:47.989
And then the second thing he says is, do not be afraid of those who kill the

00:17:47.989 --> 00:17:52.189
body, verse four, and cannot do anything after that. They can't kill your soul.

00:17:52.369 --> 00:17:56.469
He says, but this is the one you should fear, verse five, fear him who after

00:17:56.469 --> 00:18:01.069
he has killed has the power to cast you into hell. Yes, I say to fear him and that would be God.

00:18:01.249 --> 00:18:04.929
So we have no fear of God. We have so much fear of man.

00:18:05.089 --> 00:18:09.849
We have so much fear of trying to comply and go along with and be submitted

00:18:09.849 --> 00:18:15.269
to and be afraid. so we don't stand up for the truth we stand up for,

00:18:15.830 --> 00:18:19.690
you know, survival, I guess, is what it is. But he says here,

00:18:19.990 --> 00:18:23.590
he says, clean up, be honest, get rid of your sins.

00:18:24.030 --> 00:18:29.050
We are going to have to give an account to God. And so our life really is going

00:18:29.050 --> 00:18:35.490
to become healthy when we reverse, when we reverence and fear God.

00:18:36.030 --> 00:18:39.630
God is the one, fear the Lord. He is the one who can throw into hell.

00:18:39.830 --> 00:18:43.710
And then he, with that same admonition, Jesus says in verse 6.

00:18:44.450 --> 00:18:48.490
Hey, isn't God, you know, five sparrows sold for two copper coins,

00:18:48.650 --> 00:18:52.450
none of them fall to the ground without God or being forgotten by God,

00:18:52.650 --> 00:18:53.610
the hairs of your head are numbered.

00:18:53.710 --> 00:18:56.730
He's saying, you don't fear God, but God is good.

00:18:56.910 --> 00:19:00.270
God is for you. God is, if he's for the birds and he's for you,

00:19:00.390 --> 00:19:02.750
and if he knows more about you than you know about yourself,

00:19:03.230 --> 00:19:05.890
then isn't he worthy of being trusted?

00:19:06.170 --> 00:19:08.590
And so this becomes the dilemma.

00:19:09.330 --> 00:19:15.250
Do we trust God? Because God has been framed and redefined by this world as

00:19:15.250 --> 00:19:20.590
God is bipolar, he's fickle, he's angry, you have to be perfect to please him.

00:19:20.970 --> 00:19:26.350
These are the chief institutions of this snake pit that have taught us the wrong

00:19:26.350 --> 00:19:28.270
concepts of God. Now, God is just.

00:19:28.610 --> 00:19:34.130
God is gonna deal with all this mess, but God, at the same time,

00:19:34.290 --> 00:19:38.370
does not wanna have to deal with us as with enemies. He wants to deal with us

00:19:38.370 --> 00:19:40.090
as you would deal with your children.

00:19:40.210 --> 00:19:45.090
With your children, you chasten them, you discipline them, because you want

00:19:45.090 --> 00:19:47.630
to raise them in godly and righteous character.

00:19:47.830 --> 00:19:54.350
So God is not here to kill us, but he says, you know, fear, fear God.

00:19:54.570 --> 00:19:57.050
But we don't. That's where this is going to have to all turn around,

00:19:57.110 --> 00:19:58.650
to fear the Lord more than men.

00:19:59.110 --> 00:20:03.210
Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One,

00:20:03.870 --> 00:20:05.630
excuse me, as understanding.

00:20:06.370 --> 00:20:08.550
And by the fear of the Lord...

00:20:08.935 --> 00:20:11.795
The Proverbs say, men depart from evil.

00:20:12.055 --> 00:20:18.155
So the fear of the Lord means there's a holy reverence for God and recognizing

00:20:18.155 --> 00:20:21.215
that we are accountable to him, okay?

00:20:21.555 --> 00:20:25.415
Exactly. He's just said every idle word, every empty, meaningless word that

00:20:25.415 --> 00:20:27.815
we speak will give account of on the day of judgment.

00:20:28.055 --> 00:20:32.695
Yeah. So we're at the place of— Being accepted or rejected.

00:20:32.975 --> 00:20:37.495
Yeah. I mean, it's a fearful thing, Jesus said, to fall into the hands of the

00:20:37.495 --> 00:20:42.655
living God. Yeah, well, in verse 8, he says it this way, and this is exactly what you're saying.

00:20:43.275 --> 00:20:49.955
Also, I say to you, whoever confesses me before men, him, the Son of Man,

00:20:50.055 --> 00:20:52.475
will also confess before the angels of God.

00:20:52.735 --> 00:20:56.895
But he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

00:20:57.195 --> 00:21:00.795
So the Son of Man, he says, everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man,

00:21:01.295 --> 00:21:03.655
calling himself the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him.

00:21:03.755 --> 00:21:06.995
But him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.

00:21:07.595 --> 00:21:12.915
Then he says, so these choices that we're making to believe God,

00:21:13.195 --> 00:21:21.155
to reverence the Son of Man so that we can be accepted before the angels when the time comes for that.

00:21:21.395 --> 00:21:26.415
He says, now when they bring you into the synagogues or the magistrates or the

00:21:26.415 --> 00:21:30.175
authorities, do not worry about what you will answer, what you shall say.

00:21:30.835 --> 00:21:36.535
So he's saying the Son of Man will accept us or reject us based on our acceptance

00:21:36.535 --> 00:21:40.035
or rejection of him. I would say that's pretty fair.

00:21:40.623 --> 00:21:45.403
He will also defend us when we get in trouble with, what did he say,

00:21:45.883 --> 00:21:51.483
the self-appointed authorities, religions, court systems, leaders, hostile world system.

00:21:51.923 --> 00:21:56.763
God is for us and he's always with us. So he will defend us.

00:21:56.903 --> 00:22:00.683
We're not alone. I think that's the big thing that the devil tries to push to

00:22:00.683 --> 00:22:02.843
with his agenda is that we're alone and on our own.

00:22:03.043 --> 00:22:08.583
Yeah, and Jesus said in Luke 19, 11, he said, do business till I come or occupy till I come.

00:22:09.763 --> 00:22:15.803
The setting for that is the parable of the minus, or we could say it's the talents.

00:22:16.103 --> 00:22:21.963
So God has given us things. He's given us stuff. He's given us giftings.

00:22:22.403 --> 00:22:28.643
The thing is, you look at all our giftings, all our life, every breath we take,

00:22:28.783 --> 00:22:33.583
every heartbeat is from the goodness and graciousness and mercy of God.

00:22:35.323 --> 00:22:38.383
He's merciful. He's patient. We have to ask ourselves a question.

00:22:38.503 --> 00:22:41.123
What are we doing with how God has gifted us?

00:22:41.503 --> 00:22:44.503
A lot of with what God has gifted us,

00:22:45.377 --> 00:22:49.177
And some people don't believe they've got really any gifts.

00:22:49.437 --> 00:22:52.077
You know, who am I? I don't have much ability. I can't do this.

00:22:52.177 --> 00:22:57.157
I can't do that. Well, what can you do? What has He called you to do?

00:22:57.437 --> 00:23:04.217
And this is an important ministry of the church, too, is to help people discover

00:23:04.217 --> 00:23:09.917
and deploy their spiritual gifts for the kingdom of God's sake.

00:23:10.077 --> 00:23:13.777
Well, Jesus goes on to talk about, you know, things, gifts, and talents.

00:23:14.437 --> 00:23:18.717
He tells a story in verse 13, the parable of the rich fool.

00:23:18.857 --> 00:23:24.197
Now, this man evidently was occupying, was making money, was doing well.

00:23:24.357 --> 00:23:31.357
He was building more barns, but he had accumulated all of this riches under the wrong directive.

00:23:31.717 --> 00:23:36.657
He was trying to secure his life so he could eat, drink, and relax,

00:23:36.737 --> 00:23:38.337
because he had many possessions.

00:23:38.517 --> 00:23:41.557
So Jesus is talking about those who have done that.

00:23:41.697 --> 00:23:46.577
They've made their little nest egg. But how many of us have not gotten a memo

00:23:46.577 --> 00:23:52.157
of this life-transforming truth that he was saying,

00:23:52.417 --> 00:23:56.957
your life does not, he says, take heed, beware, of covetousness,

00:23:57.077 --> 00:24:01.017
for your life does not consist in the abundance of the things you have or possess.

00:24:01.197 --> 00:24:05.837
So we can, like Jerry's saying, we have talents and gifts, but these things

00:24:05.837 --> 00:24:10.217
are to be used for the kingdom of God, to be invested in the kingdom of God

00:24:10.217 --> 00:24:16.117
in the lives of other people, not to build a little, you know. A little safe, secure.

00:24:16.517 --> 00:24:20.517
Yeah, yeah, of your own. Of our own, yeah. Yeah, and then Jesus turns around

00:24:20.517 --> 00:24:23.677
and flips the other side. Now he's talking to people who don't have enough.

00:24:23.997 --> 00:24:27.237
And he says in 22, Luke 12, 22.

00:24:27.867 --> 00:24:31.227
He says, therefore, I say, do not worry about your life, about what you will

00:24:31.227 --> 00:24:32.727
eat or drink or what you will put on.

00:24:33.087 --> 00:24:36.047
Life is more than food in the body, more than clothing. So he doesn't want us

00:24:36.047 --> 00:24:40.967
to be covetous and, you know, thinking our life consists of the abundance of

00:24:40.967 --> 00:24:44.347
the things that we have, which many people are mistakenly doing.

00:24:44.807 --> 00:24:48.667
But on the other hand, you know, you don't have to worry about lack because

00:24:48.667 --> 00:24:51.947
if we're following the Lord, he says, he's taking care of the lilies.

00:24:52.087 --> 00:24:53.627
He's taking care of the birds or ravens.

00:24:53.787 --> 00:24:56.867
He says, will he not take care of you? He says, do.

00:24:57.287 --> 00:25:00.547
If you then are, you know, he says, you can't even, you know.

00:25:01.247 --> 00:25:04.367
Change your stature, you know, grow yourself an inch taller.

00:25:04.707 --> 00:25:08.347
If you are not able to do what is least, why are you anxious about the rest?

00:25:08.647 --> 00:25:11.907
And then he says, God takes care of them.

00:25:11.967 --> 00:25:17.047
And he says, he says, oh, you of little faith, God clothes the grass, the fields.

00:25:17.547 --> 00:25:22.907
He says, and you worry about it. He says, all these things, the nations of the world seek after.

00:25:23.207 --> 00:25:25.987
But your father knows that you have need of these things. So he says,

00:25:26.107 --> 00:25:29.787
seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.

00:25:29.887 --> 00:25:31.467
Do not fear. Here it is, 32.

00:25:32.247 --> 00:25:36.027
Little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

00:25:36.187 --> 00:25:40.907
So God is more aware of what you need right now in your wallet,

00:25:41.167 --> 00:25:43.127
in your house, in your heart.

00:25:43.367 --> 00:25:48.447
He's more aware, more attentive to the hairs on your head than you are.

00:25:48.447 --> 00:25:52.567
He's more aware of your situation, the strife, the injustice,

00:25:53.267 --> 00:25:56.847
the impending doom that you're going after.

00:25:57.147 --> 00:26:02.607
He is aware, and he says in verse 33, sell what you have, give alms to the poor,

00:26:02.807 --> 00:26:07.447
provide for yourselves money bags that do not grow old, where the thief and the moth do not destroy.

00:26:07.707 --> 00:26:09.887
Where your treasure is there, your heart will be sweet. He's saying,

00:26:10.047 --> 00:26:12.607
invest in heaven, in the things of God.

00:26:12.767 --> 00:26:17.407
Invest, put your money, put your mind, put your attention, your assets,

00:26:17.407 --> 00:26:21.487
your talents, your minas, whatever God has given you, put that,

00:26:21.747 --> 00:26:24.087
focus that towards the kingdom of God.

00:26:24.207 --> 00:26:27.147
What is the greatest investment we can make? Because, you know,

00:26:27.287 --> 00:26:29.687
there are financial advisors and,

00:26:30.172 --> 00:26:33.532
you know, stockbrokers and everything that say, well, you need to invest in

00:26:33.532 --> 00:26:38.572
this stock, this and that, and this is going to have the best return over time,

00:26:38.572 --> 00:26:41.832
or it's a hot one right now, or it's a steady one right now.

00:26:42.192 --> 00:26:48.852
We need to look at even what we're investing in as far as our material things,

00:26:49.432 --> 00:26:51.412
finances that we have and so forth.

00:26:51.652 --> 00:26:58.052
But all of that is secondary and related to investing in people.

00:26:58.812 --> 00:27:03.252
We're looking, we're putting our, Jesus said, don't put your treasures on earth,

00:27:03.412 --> 00:27:05.152
but put your treasures in heaven.

00:27:05.372 --> 00:27:12.512
The treasures around us are people, investing in people, sharing the gospel,

00:27:13.392 --> 00:27:15.992
sharing the love of Christ with them. Their souls are priceless.

00:27:16.112 --> 00:27:17.252
Their souls are priceless.

00:27:18.392 --> 00:27:23.672
They're eternal souls. And so this is the treasure in heaven.

00:27:23.772 --> 00:27:25.652
We are to invest in people.

00:27:25.792 --> 00:27:33.412
And even people that sometimes we don't really like, I tell people just love

00:27:33.412 --> 00:27:35.012
them until you like them.

00:27:35.637 --> 00:27:39.517
But love them with the love of Christ. Well, a lot of people don't like themselves,

00:27:39.577 --> 00:27:40.937
and that's part of the big problem.

00:27:41.117 --> 00:27:45.057
But talking about investing, you know, there's always the truth is a coin.

00:27:45.217 --> 00:27:47.437
So he's not saying, okay, don't

00:27:47.437 --> 00:27:50.457
be wise with your money, don't have any money, get rid of your money.

00:27:50.737 --> 00:27:55.497
You know, what we're saying is use your money, use your other assets as well

00:27:55.497 --> 00:27:59.977
to reap precious souls, to bring in, whether it's, you know,

00:28:00.477 --> 00:28:05.217
using your money to build some facility or feed the hungry or whatever it is.

00:28:06.157 --> 00:28:11.217
Whatever God's Holy Spirit is telling you to do with your money, invest it to make more.

00:28:11.297 --> 00:28:16.057
I believe that there's nothing wrong with having a lot of money if you're using it well.

00:28:16.277 --> 00:28:19.597
Abraham was very wealthy. His sons were very wealthy.

00:28:20.217 --> 00:28:25.997
A lot of people, David, Solomon, these are some of the more obviously wealthy

00:28:25.997 --> 00:28:27.217
people, Joseph in Egypt.

00:28:27.517 --> 00:28:31.237
But the thing is, there's nothing against wealth. It's what you do with the

00:28:31.237 --> 00:28:36.177
wealth, how you see it, how you think of it. And it is not your security. It is your opportunity.

00:28:36.577 --> 00:28:42.857
Your wealth is your ability to do more for the kingdom of God in that particular arena.

00:28:43.037 --> 00:28:46.177
Because the God of this world is, by the way, mammon.

00:28:46.691 --> 00:28:50.631
And mammon so many times says, mammon, which means money, love of money,

00:28:51.171 --> 00:28:53.651
mammon so many times says, I can't afford it.

00:28:53.891 --> 00:28:56.351
I can't afford to, you know, give.

00:28:56.611 --> 00:29:00.031
I can't afford to tithe. I can't afford to do this mission strip.

00:29:00.151 --> 00:29:05.891
I can't afford to, you know, leave my job and go follow Jesus in the particular way he's leading.

00:29:06.471 --> 00:29:11.291
So mammon writes, signs off on what God's will is for many people's life by

00:29:11.291 --> 00:29:12.291
saying, I can't afford it.

00:29:12.371 --> 00:29:18.071
I can't do it. So money is kind of, Ecclesiastes says, money answers everything.

00:29:18.351 --> 00:29:23.311
So we're not trying to say, don't be, you know, seek the Lord in those things,

00:29:23.391 --> 00:29:27.811
but invest, invest your abilities, your money, your talent, your wisdom.

00:29:28.431 --> 00:29:31.471
Your creativity in the work of God.

00:29:31.831 --> 00:29:35.071
So that's what we're admonishing you to do today.

00:29:35.491 --> 00:29:40.451
Next time, we're going to talk about getting to the good part about being servants

00:29:40.451 --> 00:29:42.391
of the Most High God and what that looks like.

00:29:43.051 --> 00:29:44.911
And I'm thinking, honey, we're

00:29:44.911 --> 00:29:52.951
going to go into Ephesians chapter 5 is really a whole lifestyle plan.

00:29:53.551 --> 00:29:57.851
It shows us specifically how to live ready, how to be ready.

00:29:58.151 --> 00:30:03.671
Ephesians chapter 5, I believe that that's going to be helpful.

00:30:03.671 --> 00:30:07.951
It really covers the basis of how we are to live in these days.

00:30:07.951 --> 00:30:12.891
What we are not to do and what we are to do in light of the Lord's coming.

00:30:13.131 --> 00:30:19.051
And he's coming soon. We really all sense that, but we don't really put a date or a time on that.

00:30:19.151 --> 00:30:23.191
But you know what? Nonetheless, every day I live on this planet,

00:30:23.391 --> 00:30:28.891
I live one day closer to Jesus Christ coming back for me, whether he's coming

00:30:28.891 --> 00:30:32.611
back for all of us at the same time or just me or just you.

00:30:33.224 --> 00:30:38.584
Every single day is a gift where we can invest our time, our joy,

00:30:38.824 --> 00:30:43.044
our peace, our finances in the lives of other people.

00:30:43.144 --> 00:30:46.104
And this is where it becomes a treasure.

00:30:46.364 --> 00:30:50.704
They are the treasure we invest in their lives. And God loves that.

00:30:50.924 --> 00:30:53.204
He's for that. He wants us to help one another.

00:30:53.464 --> 00:30:55.544
Someone said, every day is a gift.

00:30:56.124 --> 00:30:58.464
That's why it's called the present.

00:30:59.169 --> 00:31:04.409
Yeah. Here we are. Here we are in the present, in the gift of the present.

00:31:04.589 --> 00:31:10.049
And Father, we thank you for this gift of time and breath and life and health opportunities.

00:31:10.309 --> 00:31:14.709
Some are getting very, very close to the end of their stay down here on this earth.

00:31:15.029 --> 00:31:20.409
Their days are, so to speak, numbered because of health issues or because of other things.

00:31:20.529 --> 00:31:23.729
There's things they don't even yet know are in their immediate future.

00:31:23.729 --> 00:31:27.989
So, Father God, may everyone, those who are going to be taken home today,

00:31:28.169 --> 00:31:32.189
tomorrow, two weeks from today, 20 years from now, may all of us,

00:31:32.289 --> 00:31:36.389
Lord, not grow weary in well-doing, but in due season we will reap if we do

00:31:36.389 --> 00:31:38.649
not faint. Let us not fear.

00:31:38.909 --> 00:31:42.909
Let us walk forward with great hope and joy that we can be soon.

00:31:43.309 --> 00:31:48.289
Whatever that soon looks like, in the presence of the Lord God and without fear.

00:31:48.289 --> 00:31:53.089
And hear the words said, well done, good and faithful servant,

00:31:53.249 --> 00:31:55.049
enter thou into the joys of your Lord.

00:31:55.289 --> 00:31:59.309
So Father, we thank you for giving us that encouragement today and giving us

00:31:59.309 --> 00:32:02.529
the grace and strength to do the right thing, to choose the right thing,

00:32:02.829 --> 00:32:06.669
to believe the right thing, and to reject the lies in Jesus' name.

00:32:06.829 --> 00:32:11.889
And we need to understand, Marjorie, how to live in these days in this,

00:32:12.049 --> 00:32:17.249
what we call the snake pit, this present evil world system, to live godly and

00:32:17.249 --> 00:32:22.569
righteously and powerfully and with joy and purpose and freedom in the midst of this.

00:32:22.649 --> 00:32:28.109
And you have a book called Spiritual Warfare and How Deliverance Can Change Your Life.

00:32:28.229 --> 00:32:31.389
Tell us a little bit about that as we wrap it up today.

00:32:31.549 --> 00:32:34.349
If we're in a war, we need to understand the war. We need to have the rules.

00:32:34.489 --> 00:32:38.409
We need to understand their weapons, our enemy, his objectives, the agenda.

00:32:38.769 --> 00:32:43.429
And so this is basically what this book does, Spiritual Warfare and How Deliverance

00:32:43.429 --> 00:32:47.569
Can Change Your Life. It's how to use the tools, how to understand the game,

00:32:47.749 --> 00:32:52.329
the plan, the rules, and to win, to walk in the place of winning.

00:32:53.029 --> 00:32:59.069
And so, again, that can be gotten at Amazon.com or LifeRecovery.com.

00:32:59.209 --> 00:33:02.749
So God bless you, and we'll talk to you again soon.