Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20230115 - Moving Forward in The Strength of His Spirit - Zechariah 4:1-7

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#20230115 - Moving Forward in The Strength of His Spirit - Zechariah 4:1-7 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's word with pastor and author.
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Ed, Taylor recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora,
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Colorado to learn more about the many resources available,
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through abounding Grace, Media, or to tune into our live stream
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Services. Visit us online at Calvary,
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co.'s Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now, here's Pastor Ed to take us
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into our study. Amen.
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Amen, take your Bibles, open them to the book of Zechariah
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Zechariah Chapter for zechariah's, at the end of the
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Old Testament. So, if you get to Malachi the
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last book zechariah's right before Malachi, and just after
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haggai. So if you're in that area at the
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end of the Old Testament, I want you to open a Zechariah, Chapter
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4 in a Bible, study that I've entitled moving forward in the
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strength of his Spirit moving forward, it is God's will for
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you and I to move forward in the strength of the Holy Spirit.
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You aren't going to be able to make it on your own.
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And I was just thinking as we were looking at a new year and
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all that we bring into this new year that was just thinking.
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Listen, you got to hear me out on this.
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Unless you make substantive changes, things will not change
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in your life, like it's just not going to happen.
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Like if you don't make the changes of spirit of God has
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been leading you to, you don't make the changes of Since of
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humility a Brokenness. If you don't turn a corner in
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your life, then you're going to continue to experience the same
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thing you have every other year and so you know you think about
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it, you didn't make the change in 2020, you didn't make it a 20
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21, you didn't make it in 2022. And now, here we have a new New
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Year upon us and you're still in this kind of phase where, you
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know, I don't know if I really want to do it or not, I don't
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know. I think religion is good enough
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for me or come in and out of church is good enough for me or
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or, you know, I'm doing just fine.
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Listen, if you don't make substance, Changes.
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Then things are going to be worse than they have in previous
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years. It's not going to get better.
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If you continue in the way that you're going, whether it be
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compromised, whether it be apathy, whether it be just kind
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of going through the motions, whatever it is.
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The Lord has been speaking to you about, you could even been
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been grieving him. You could even have been
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resisting him in the Lord's opening your eyes.
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Again, you've got to make substantive changes.
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It's not going to happen by itself, except that the Change
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is or only in cooperation with God.
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It's going to be his power and his strength which brings us to
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verse 6 and Zechariah Chapter 4. It's a very familiar passage.
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It's a familiar passage because it's one of those fundamental
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verses that we have in the philosophy of Ministry of
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Calvary Chapel, a family of churches, by which this church
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was bird. And so it's one of those verses,
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it's on our website, it's on our app.
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It's in our welcome packet, like, it's one of those verses
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that so common that we repeated. So That we may forget the
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significance of the truth that it conveys to us.
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And I just show you in verse 6. There's a word from the Lord to
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a man by the name of zerubbabel. And this was the word, it's not
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by might nor by power, but by my spirit says, the Lord of hosts
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and hear my Bible. It's highlighted green.
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You know, our highlight some verses in Orange, they remind me
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of the deity. The Holy Spirit, some verses in
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my Bible are highlighted pink. The deity of Oranges, the deity
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of Christ. Pink is the deity of the Holy
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Spirit, and when I highlight something green, it is a
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reminder, it's one of those foundational versus for me of
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how to go forward in Ministry. I can't forget this one.
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It is foundational. Fundamental of how I serve God.
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It is the outworking of how I love God with all my heart, soul
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and mind and love my neighbor as myself.
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It can't be by my power, it can't be by my might, it can't
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be by anything that I have to offer to God, it Has to be by
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his Spirit or it won't last, or it could very well not be from
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him. If we would just learn this.
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And live it in our lives. Our lives would be so much
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easier and so much more filled with joy.
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I didn't say lives would be easy.
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I just mean easier. If we just learn to trust in the
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Lord, with all our heart, lean, not on our own understanding but
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acknowledge God, in all our ways and what he'll direct our paths.
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He'll Empower us, he will help us.
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He will open doors before his the no man can close and he'll
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closed doors before is that no man can open.
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And you don't have to work a game with God, you don't have
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to, you don't have to manipulate things.
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You don't have to be a wheeler-dealer with God's.
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Matter of fact, God doesn't bless that behavior.
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He blesses the surrendered life, recognizing that all God has for
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you is yours by faith and it's not just for when things are
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bad. It's also for, when things are
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good, it's not just for when things seemed to be going well,
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but especially when we feel trapped, When we feel
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discouraged when we feel defeated or even more, when
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we're disillusioned with everything that we see in the
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world or in the church or on the news, just disillusioned, you
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know, it's good to learn this when our life is upside down.
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But it's also good. Like some of you just starting
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out when your life is being turned, right side up and God's
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doing a good work in your life. Well, we drop in now, in
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Zechariah, Chapter 4 in a time in the nation of Israel and the
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people of Jerusalem of great difficulty.
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At this time, there's been 16 years of idleness and desolation
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since the rebel has come You remember, you Bible students,
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you remember that there was a time when the temple and the
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walls of Jerusalem were destroyed and God sent Nehemiah
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back. And he helped rebuild the walls
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sent haggai, and Zechariah his Messengers and a man by the name
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of zerubbabel to help rebuild the Temple and they started the
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work, but very quickly Let It Go, not only that but greed and
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apathy invaded their hearts. So the very materials that they
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had to rebuild the Temple. The people started rebuilding
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their own houses and doing a little remodeling job.
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HGTV, you know, and taking care of things and making sure all,
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you know, the temple can. Wait.
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We're going to take care of ourselves and zerubbabel this
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man is discouraged. There was progress with the
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wall, but nothing else and the people just said, odds doesn't
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matter, and they learn how to live with the weeds and the
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Brokenness, and they just accommodating themselves, they
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didn't really care about the temple, the place of worship.
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A penny more, they began to care more about themselves.
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And zerubbabel is God's man to help.
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But now, he's overwhelmed, he's overwhelmed with the task at
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hand. It was more than he could handle
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when he was dispatched. And now that he's been there for
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years, it's more than you can handle.
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Now, you'll see in verse 7, he is actually described as a
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mountain. It's like it's overwhelming.
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So with that in mind, let's read and beginning in verse 1 of
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Zechariah 4 says now, the angel who talked with me, came back
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and awakened me as a man who has awakened out of his sleep.
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Let's just pause there for a second because I don't think
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that's there by mistake this particular.
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A vision that God gave to Zechariah because that's how God
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spoke to Zechariah as a prophet. A spokesperson for God that he's
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going to now. Bring this message.
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So this particular Vision came, as he felt like he was being
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waking out of sleep. And I think it's important that
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you realize that God is calling the church to wake up to wake up
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out of our sleep, but not wake up.
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Some of you are like, yes, amen. That's wake up, but not
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necessarily the way that you think.
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So all of a sudden, now we got to wake up and fight some kind
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of fight because not calling you to do that.
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He's calling you to wake up to repentance.
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To examine your life, to ask the Lord, to do the Deep work in you
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and then respond to it. He's not asking you to fight
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battles. In this world with the solutions
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that the world offers. Well, if you know, we just do
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this and the world says well you know this is how we're going to
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do it is go well we can do it better.
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No, you can't do anything, you need to let the Lord do the work
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in, you surrender to him Church, you know, to wake up.
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And I daresay some of you that hit really close to home and
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you're like all, you know, I don't need to wake up.
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Up. No, actually that kind of
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response you probably do. God is waking you up out of
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sleep or you can keep doing the same thing, your whole life.
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Keep coming in and out of this church, come in the door, sit
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down seeing, maybe not seeing come late.
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Skip the music come for the music, skip the message,
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whatever you do. I mean, we haven't even people
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drop their kids off and go shopping.
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I guess that's the way it is, these days.
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So you keep doing that, keep doing that, and then then you
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wonder why. You're so disillusioned, you
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have no connection with God. It's just a religion for you as
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I go. Well you know what, this is the
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last time we're coming to this church will then go do it
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somewhere else. Like what do you think is going
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to change? What do you think is going to
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change if it's this church or that church, where you're just
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in that place? Where you're not in a position
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of worship? Everything has to be your way.
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Everything has to go the way you want it.
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And really all the while you're resisting, the work that God
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wants to do by his power and his strength.
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And as you mentioned, as we mentioned in previous studies,
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what the responses, surrender and obedience, surrender and
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obedience, you can even read your Bible religiously.
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You can even say, you know, repetitious prayers religiously.
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But are they truly out of relationship?
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Because you want to be in relationship with God and love
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others in our community. I mean, you can think Of how
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many times this world has made you go against people for a
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reason, you have a reason, you know, they're this category of
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people and their this, the category of people and I don't
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like those people and I don't like those people and how
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convenient it is for us to create categories where we can
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put somebody in and then now no longer are we see people?
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As our neighbor instead, we see people in the category and now
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we don't have to love them. And what kind of church makes a
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difference like that, that doesn't care about the social
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ills of this world doesn't care about the spiritual.
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Ills of this world doesn't care about the Brokenness of this
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world. Doesn't care.
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Even about our own next door. Neighbor's, what kind of child?
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How does God use a church like that?
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And so yeah, it's time to wake up church, God wants to use you.
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There's exciting things ahead. We don't always have to be on
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our heels and always concern about ourselves.
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But God has put us in the world to reach the world anymore went
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to a man that or just three. I'll take the three I'll take
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the three that's fine. I'll take it but I'm telling you
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God wants to use your life and if you're like me, And you're
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being awakened to the reality that more years are behind me
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than ahead of me. Then, I just want to run all the
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more and I want to depend all the more because truly I think
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in the heart of hearts of anyone listening to me here or there in
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the room downstairs online on a radio station, somewhere in the
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forest of Georgia, God has put in our hearts the desire to be
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in unity with him. Him and that our lives might
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make a difference for eternity. I mean, that's just amazing that
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God would use us in such a way but it's not going to happen
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apart from the holy spirit, it's not going to happen in our own
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strength. So here they are.
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And here's the vision verse 2. He said to me, what do you see?
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And so I said, I'm looking in. There is a lampstand of solid
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gold if you'd like to write in your Bibles, you can right next
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to that Menorah. This is a menorah.
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What you would commonly see today?
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But a large one, not a little one, for your desk, but a large
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one. Some of you guys going to Israel
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with us will show you one when we get to Jerusalem.
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So he sees this Glam Stan of solid gold with a bow on top of
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it. And on the stand were seven
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lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.
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Two olive trees, are buy it at one the right of the bowl and
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the other editor at its left. And so I answered and spoke to
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the angel who talked and he saying, what are these, my Lord.
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And the angel who talked with me answered and said, do you not
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know what these are? And I said no my Lord.
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And so he answered and said to me, this is the word to
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zerubbabel from the picture from the vision.
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This is the word. Not by might, nor by power.
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But by my spirit, says, the Lord of hosts who were you, oh, great
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Mountain before zerubbabel you become a plane and he shall
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bring forth the Capstone with shouts of Grace Grace to it.
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Moreover verse 8, the word of the Lord came to me saying the
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hands of zerubbabel have laid, the foundation of this Temple,
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his hands to also finish it. Then you will know that the Lord
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of hosts has sent me to you. So Zechariah has a series of
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Visions, but this particular vision is a vision of God's
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power to complete his power to finish.
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And we're reminded today that God what he has started in your
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life. He is faithful to completed.
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He will not. He has Pastor Chuck Smith has
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taught us. He will not bring you this far
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just to abandoned you. He didn't bring you this far to
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say okay this is far as it goes. He is going to do it until the
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day of Jesus Christ. Consider these truths Psalm 50 7
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verse 25. I will cry out to God, most high
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to God. Who performs all things for me.
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Psalm 138 verse 8. The Lord will perfect that which
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concerns me your mercy. O Lord endures forever, do not
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forsake. The works of your hands.
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Isaiah 26:12, Lord. You establish peace for us for
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you also have done all our works in US.
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Philippians 1 verse 6. This is the one we're most
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familiar with being confident of this very thing.
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He who has begun a good work in, you will complete it until the
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day of Jesus Christ. Well, you know what?
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So rubber bone needed that word to.
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It's been 16 years and there isn't any progress. 16 years is
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a long time, isn't it? Be a long time to wait for
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something just to start up again.
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To wait for something to see a next Stone, because he's already
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laid the Cornerstone. He's already started.
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But now, God says, I'm going to in verse 8, you're going to,
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you're going to have the Capstone, the capstone's come,
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you're going to finish, you're going to complete it but it's a
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hard thing to wait and so is that her I was given this vision
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of the menorah you know there was a menorah lampstand in the
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Tabernacle which was the temporary place of worship in
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the Old Testament with Moses. There were also 10 lampstands a
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gold within the temple. I'm bringing light on either
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side of the altar of incense and it was a lamp stand that had
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these, these killers coming out of them with lights on top and
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the priest would come in the responsibility, we poured the
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oil. And when the oil came out, they
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pour the more the oil was anointed specifically for this
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so that the lampstand would stay burning bright.
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But that's not this Vision. You notice this Vision.
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There are no priests involved in lighting of the of this lamp
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stand. There are two trees That have
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pipes, if you all branches coming into the bowl.
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So that from there, there will be a continual supply of oil
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that has nothing to do with man, that God is going to provide
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this. There's no need for the priests,
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no need for their help because God is going to give this
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constant reliable supply of oil, and this would have been
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encouraging to zerubbabel. And as its translated to him in,
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something he could receive He's not just he's it's not just
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about the lampstand in the oil but for zerubbabel, listen, you
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don't need to worry about how this is going to be taking
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place, how it's going to, how the temple is going to re be
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rebuilt. It's almost like all the 16
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years you've been concerned, you don't need to worry about it.
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I'm going to do it. I'm going to do a durable Bell
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and it's not going to be by might, you know, whether that be
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military, my or hundreds of guys are going to come and build it,
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that is not the way the temple is going to be built.
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Although, I'll use the hands of men.
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Neither, will it be by powers or of about?
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It's not going to be your own intellect and your own power and
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your own plan. And you need to figure this out,
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it's going to be by my spirit. That's the key.
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God's continual supply of resources and strength.
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And you Bible students, you know that oil is often symbolic of
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the holy spirit. This is speak directly to
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reserve about. He knew this oil is very
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important, a picture and a type of the holy spirit in the Bible.
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So a constant Supply is an encouragement that the work will
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be done by God in his strength. Oil was important in the
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anointing for power in service oil is important to bring about
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a reminder a reminder that when God anoints what he starts, he's
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faithful to complete. If you're a note taker, there's
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some other things we learn about oil, that will help us in our
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present day understanding number one oil, like the spirit.
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Lubricates oil is a lubricant and lubricants remove.
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And Mais friction. So when the Holy Spirit is
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poured out over a group of people, there is a sweetness of
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peace between them. There's a lot of friction in
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this room right now. You realize that you may not
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feel it, but there's a lot of friction in this room in a
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group, this size. And wherever, you might be,
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whenever you get people together, there will be
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friction, you want to know why. There are a lot of opinions in
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this room. A lot of different opinions that
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if we gave opportunity to share them all.
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There might even be some fist fights in here.
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People get upset, you all fist fights.
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Have you seen Facebook lately? That is the fist fight of today.
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You go. Well, you know, everybody wants
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to know, my opinion, nobody wants to know your opinion,
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except you're like, well, you know, I just had this big fight
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on Facebook and I One Pastor. I got my point across and I won.
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You won nothing. Nobody got saved.
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You got blocked by 10 people and now you're all prideful.
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Is that what you want? Like if there's anything
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Christians or good on, is arguing about things that don't
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matter, secondary things, things that will not be taken from here
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into eternity. They're just wasting our time on
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Earth. We just get caught up in things
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because let me tell you something, it's so much easier
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to get caught up in something where you get to make the rules,
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then to submit yourself to God where he makes them lose.
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And you might have just forgotten that when you were
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born again, you signed over, if you will the rights to your
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life, all of it. And so there is friction.
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There's always friction, there's friction in churches, friction
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and family. Friction, that's why the
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solution to the friction. You're feeling is to submit to
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the Holy Spirit. Not to take things into your own
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hands. We don't fight with human
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weapons. Ride the weapons of our Warfare
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are not carnal. They're not human, you're not
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going to win it with some big argument and I'm going to prove
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your point. It's just better to get on your
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knees in the closet and start praying.
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And ask the Holy Spirit to smooth this out, because you
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haven't been able to thus far oil.
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Not just like, not, not just like the spirit lubricates.
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But, secondly, oil, like the spirit, cleanses, and heels.
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Jesus taught us. This, remember, when he gave us
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the parable of the man, that was on his way to Jericho, he got
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really beat up and who showed up to help a Samaritan.
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We often refer to him as a Good Samaritan and he came to help
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and what did he do? He took all the oil and Twine
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and poured it over the wounds of this man.
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Before he got him in, to somewhere, he could help them.
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He took old oil and wine because oil brings healing.
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It helps to move the process of healing of wounds and I think
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that is significant where we learn that the Holy Spirit can
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really help help heal all of the wounds that we carry.
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Of course, not physically but spiritually and emotionally and
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mentally God wants to give you a sound mind.
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He's given it to you by faith. He wants to help some of the
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friction that you have with your daughter, with your son, with
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your in-laws, with the difficulties of the prodigals
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and maybe a previous divorce and the X and thank God, the spirit,
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you got to get out of the way and let the spirit of God, bring
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healing and cleansing in that situation.
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And then thirdly oil like the spirit, warms, and fuels.
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So Rebel would have this in mind.
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He would understand the picture Zechariah would understand, you
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know, oil was a chief commodity in Israel.
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It's what they use to cook with. It's what they use to light
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their homes with it's what they use to bring warmth into their
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home. It was very important.
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No oil, no food, no warmth, no light.
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And haven't you found that to be true in your own life?
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No, Holy Spirit, you're not understanding the scriptures.
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You're not feasting on the word. There's no light in the
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situation. You feel like you're in the
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dark, there's no warmth. You feel cold and isolated where
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the holy spirit is ready to minister to you.
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The spirit of God, warms Our Hearts, by Illuminating the
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scriptures to help us know the truth.
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So that's the word given to zerubbabel.
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He's in a place of an impossibility.
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We know that because it says, here in verse 7, he says, who
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are you? Oh, great mountain and which one
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of us Today have not faced some great mountain and we happen to
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live in an area where we can understand the Majesty of
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mountains. You know, before we add it onto
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this building, this wall was all there was and in this wall,
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there weren't doors over there. You know what the whole wall was
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filled with Windows and so I always wanted this side to be
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roped off because everybody would be looking out the window.
22:49
Looking at the Majesty of the view that we have upstairs here
22:53
and I like, hello, guys. I'm teaching you all but the
22:55
mountains are so beautiful. They are so wonderful.
22:58
And they are, they are, you know, yesterday is I was coming
23:01
into the office coming to church last night.
23:03
I drove the long way and I came up all the way Hampton almost,
23:07
by the dump up there. There's a, there's a road.
23:09
I forget the name of it, but as you're driving in to make a left
23:11
on Hampton, people even park there, the view is so amazing.
23:15
And there were people parked there to see.
23:17
The view is clear. Yesterday, little bit of Cloudy
23:19
snow on there. You could see the whole front
23:21
range from Pikes Peak all the way north of Denver all the way.
23:24
And it was like unbelievable. And of course the Majestic from
23:28
here on top of the hill where we are but as you get closer they
23:32
become more Majestic and huge. They're huge and enormous.
23:38
They're not like the planes right now.
23:40
We're on the planes. Did you know that we are on the
23:42
plains all the way to Kansas from here.
23:45
Get over the dump and you are on your way to Kansas.
23:48
This is what it's like we are the Flatlands, you get out to
23:51
walk ins and Bennett little bit of wind out there all the The
23:54
way through until Kansas where the planes.
23:58
But, you know, if we go west will hit the mountains.
24:01
And isn't that like life? You know, a lot of Our Lives
24:04
lived in the plains, we have a little bit of things here and
24:07
there, but eventually you're going to hit a mountain.
24:11
You're going to hit a big mountain, so what's our
24:12
response? Although, you know, I know how
24:13
to deal with mountains. I'm going to spend the rest of
24:15
my life chipping away at Mount Evans.
24:18
All right, well, tell me how that goes, you can spend your
24:21
whole life chip. You can over.
24:22
Go buy yourself one of those digital where they call those
24:25
jackhammers. You can buy one yourself and
24:27
Jackhammer that mount until your whole life.
24:30
You're not going to make much progress.
24:31
You have no power or strength to move that mountain.
24:35
It's only by the spirit of God. Mountains.
24:39
They those insurmountable and possibilities like zerubbabel's
24:42
facing for him. It was rebuilding the temple
24:45
with a bunch of apathetic greedy people.
24:49
For 16 years, he did nothing except serve themselves and so
24:53
he's bumped and he's discouraged and God knows that.
24:58
And since him a messenger and says they look, bro, it's not
25:01
going to be by your strength. It's not going to be by your
25:03
power. Don't worry about it.
25:04
It's going to be by my spirit and you're going to speak to
25:07
that mountain. And I think some of you just by
25:09
activating your faith and trusting God, you just got to
25:12
start speaking. As those mountains is like God,
25:15
you're not going to have my kids, God, you're not gonna have
25:17
my marriage God, you're not going to Have this in my life.
25:20
I want to break free of this addiction.
25:21
I want to break free of this, this thought pattern.
25:24
I and you just got to speak to your Mounds that they would
25:26
become planes, too. Many of you have, just let the
25:30
mountain sit there. And Jesus said, if you have a
25:33
faith of even a little Mustard Seed, got to move mountains for
25:38
you and that's what's a rubber bone needed to hear.
25:42
He needed to hear, it's time to get up and get back in the games
25:46
or above. All, I want you to walk in my
25:48
Springs power. I, it's not going to be by might
25:50
nor by power, but by my spirit God says, you can have Victory
25:55
Church in those areas where you experience the weakness of your
25:59
own flesh. There is where you've
26:02
experienced your own in abilities and the helplessness
26:05
of your own efforts. It's in those very areas that
26:08
you can experience the power of God's spirit doing for you, what
26:13
you can't do for yourself. And admitting that.
26:17
And at the end, it cries. Always the same like, verse 7,
26:20
Grace, Grace. We're reminded of the grace of
26:24
God and the work that he does in our lives through our lives.
26:29
And we just realized it's all God's grace.
26:31
It's God's power. We're here by the grace of God.
26:34
We can't take credit for what's been done.
26:37
We can't take credit for the progress in our lives.
26:40
We look at him, he's like, look what God has done.
26:43
Look what he wants to do and we just Go at it.
26:46
But I mean, the more you stare at that mountain, the more it
26:50
discourages you it might be and you have to consider this.
26:55
It might be not just the mountain, the mountain is what
26:58
it is, the difficulty is what it is.
27:01
But what I want you to consider this, maybe pray about it this
27:04
week. What you may be discouraged
27:06
about is not just the mountain, but the fact that you can't do
27:11
anything about it, because you've learned that you can't do
27:15
anything about it because you tried And you tried.
27:22
And failed. And you tried and failed and
27:27
made things worse. That's cause for discouragement.
27:32
Disillusionment, you know, people do it all the time, and
27:35
then, you know what they do, they start blaming God for it.
27:37
Well, you know, it's God's fault.
27:38
No, no step back for a second. God's ready to empower you to
27:42
handle anything that comes into your life.
27:44
How is that God's fault? And so then people start moving
27:48
away from God. Like it's like he doesn't care
27:51
like he's abandoned you and he hasn't he's promised to finish
27:54
what he started in your life. He promised that you can you can
27:56
take that all the way to Eternity.
27:58
God is going to finish the work. But be careful.
28:04
That you don't blame God for the activity of your own flesh.
28:08
As we come to that, we try as hard as we can, we've tried by
28:12
our power. We've listened to everyone's
28:13
opinion. How did you found it?
28:15
If you learn this yet? You know, when crisis comes all
28:18
sorts of people come with their opinions on how you should
28:21
handle your life. Anybody recognize anybody have
28:23
that a man? Yes, everybody's got an opinion
28:26
do this, do this, do this. It makes you more confused than
28:28
last time but some of those people you respect very well.
28:31
So I think a wall that was his opinion.
28:33
I'll do it failed. Well, but she said this failed
28:37
and then it's just like, what am I?
28:38
Supposed to do trust in the Lord and I'm learning as I continue
28:43
on as people have opinions for me, and when I should do and how
28:46
I've learned this, everybody has an opinion but only God's
28:50
opinion matters. And I need to learn how to
28:53
follow him and listen to him and Obey him and let everything else
28:58
gets sorted out, allow him to sort things out in my life.
29:01
I don't need to defend myself. I don't need to put up a fight.
29:05
I just need to trust in the Lord that he'll give Revelation and
29:07
understanding. Tending to anyone.
29:09
That might have an opinion. You don't want to try things, I
29:13
your efforts, because man following opinions and whatever
29:16
the new thing on Tick Tock is and whatever new life coach on
29:19
Instagrams. Telling you all of that like
29:21
you, it's like what am I supposed to do?
29:23
Sit down, read and pray and trust the Lord.
29:27
He'll he'll lead you and guide you, if you will follow him, I
29:32
remember being in this state as a newer believer, you know,
29:37
because God wants to do a great work.
29:39
I kill move the mountain. They, I remember when I was born
29:42
again by immediately alcohol and drugs taken out of my life
29:46
immediately, you know, what wasn't taken out of my life, Ed,
29:52
And so I needed a face now. Life sober.
29:55
And I was a very bad person. I was a bad person in my wife
29:58
Maria. I was a bad person to my son and
30:01
now I got to deal with all this soberly and I've got a deal with
30:05
the full weight of it. I can't just go on drunk all the
30:08
time and partying all the time and never home anymore.
30:11
And I got a deal with reality in my responsibilities and God was
30:15
helping with that and I was doing my best.
30:17
But man, I kept hitting a wall kept in a wall kept hitting the
30:19
wall, you know, that I've shared this before, but for somebody
30:22
who bright be brand new, let me give you a picture of the old
30:24
Ed. So the old ad wasn't very nice
30:26
to Marine the old Ed was very cruel to her, very mean, not a
30:30
good husband at all. And I got saved on my My Eyes
30:34
Are Open. I want to be a good husband.
30:36
I want to be great. And so, this is the things I
30:38
would do. I'd read the Bible.
30:38
I want to learn how to be a husband.
30:40
And I remember the first time I read Ephesians, one of the most
30:43
liberating versus this. Is it, honey?
30:45
This is it. We and I called her, I called
30:47
her work. As I was a school to lunch.
30:48
I want to show you something. I found in the Bible, I just
30:50
think it's going to help. It's going to help us in our
30:52
marriage. All right, let's go to lunch.
30:54
I would go to lunch. Why pick her up at work?
30:56
We go to lunch and I opened up the Bible and I say, look what
30:58
it says here, wives submit to your husband's.
31:03
As to the Lord. I've been right all along and I
31:10
believed it. And I don't remember her
31:12
response that day. Although I've seen many
31:15
responses. I'm sure I could re I could
31:19
really think it. You know, I could probably read.
31:21
What's the word I want to use? Yeah, whatever.
31:26
It still shakes me to this day thinking about that.
31:29
There was a few episodes like that.
31:31
However, but here I was I was, I was moving forward.
31:34
I was I was genuine, but I was so so misguided and how to use
31:41
the Bible. And that was my life for the
31:44
first year, you know, Marie was ready to divorce me before we
31:47
got saved. Do you know, not even eight or
31:50
nine months after we got safe she's ready to leave me again
31:53
because all that really changed is, I'm sober that's a good
31:56
thing. But now I'm using the Bible like
31:58
a weapon to try to get my own way and so somehow I don't
32:03
remember the brother and I don't remember the exact timing but
32:07
somehow this must have been on all my face.
32:09
You know, I'm just I just don't know what I'm doing, I'm not
32:12
doing this thing right on. Following God, right?
32:14
I don't know. Everything is collapsing.
32:15
And some brother saw me in the hallway and children's ministry.
32:18
I'm dropping off my kid and he says, what's up, bro?
32:21
And I'm giving him the story goes.
32:22
Ah, this is what you need. You need to memorize this first
32:26
and I'm like, well, I already memorized Proverbs 3.
32:28
So, no, I want you to memorize this verse.
32:30
I want you to see it in your Bibles.
32:31
You turn over to Galatians Chapter 2 because this is the
32:35
key. This is like a new testament
32:37
equivalent of Zechariah 4:6. He doesn't want me.
32:43
He didn't want me in that season moaning and complaining and I'm
32:46
not getting it right and poor me at know, this is what he wanted.
32:50
He wanted me to memorize this and I have although I'm going to
32:54
read it for you from the Bible. Want you to see it and wouldn't
32:58
you know when you open the Galatians, 2:20 in my Bible,
33:03
guess what color? It's highlighted green.
33:06
This is foundational. You can't get any, you know,
33:11
make any progress. Without this truth, verse 20 of
33:15
Galatians 2. I have been crucified with
33:18
Christ. It is no longer I who live, but
33:22
Christ lives in me and the life, which I now live in the flesh,
33:27
just pause there, that's not sinful flesh.
33:29
That's just Humanity, the life, I live in the body, that's what
33:32
that word is. I live by faith in the Son of
33:35
God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
33:38
I don't set aside the grace of God.
33:42
That is the New Testament equivalent of what we're
33:45
studying you and I we need to die to ourselves.
33:49
We've been crucified with Christ.
33:52
So, our plans, our methods, our schemes, none of them going to
33:55
work because we've been we're dead.
33:58
They're we're though that's the old man.
34:01
And the old woman we live in the newness of life.
34:05
We live by faith, we trust God with our lives.
34:09
We don't trust him with our schemes.
34:11
Trying to figure it out and work a deal.
34:13
We don't work. But there are methods through
34:16
our manipulations and working. That not know, we don't do it
34:19
with our Five-Year Plan, our ten-year.
34:22
An our 15-year plan now, right away.
34:24
Some people are like, what my Five-Year Plan?
34:28
No, it's not your Five-Year Plan.
34:31
It's a matter of fact, those of you that are more organized.
34:33
I love plans myself. I don't have five year plans,
34:36
but I love plans. If you're one of those people
34:39
that are more organized, that's how God Made You just write your
34:41
Five-Year Plan with a pencil. Be open to the work of the Holy
34:46
Spirit. I mean obviously is going to be
34:49
a direction in your life but you don't depend on that you don't
34:52
work in ago where we are in year 2 and this is what we must do.
34:56
What have got said know what do you say?
34:58
I want you to stop that, I want you to close that.
35:01
I want you to turn left when you thought you were going to go,
35:03
right? I want you to go down when I
35:04
thought you would go. You wanted to go up.
35:06
What will you do? Because that's a challenge.
35:09
Will you trust in yourself or we trust in the Lord?
35:13
Even when it seems like you should be going another
35:15
Direction. Don't try to figure it out,
35:19
don't try to figure the Christian thing out, just follow
35:21
the lord. Don't try to learn the system,
35:25
learn the vocabulary. Give me the list.
35:28
A lot of people love lists, give me the list.
35:30
Give me five things, I must do. I could give you five things
35:34
that will greatly help you, for sure.
35:36
And I even write like that on my blog for sure.
35:38
But I'm not going to give you a list.
35:39
Anybody asked me like that, I'm not going to give you the list,
35:41
you want to know why? Because that's all you will
35:43
follow, is the list. What if a your life you're
35:46
looking for five things but God has ten things for you.
35:49
Well, if you're just working the five, you'll never look for the
35:51
next five. How about this?
35:53
You want ten things but God says know, your list is one.
35:56
Well, that's not the one I want to do.
35:58
I know. And really, if you think about
36:02
it, there is just one right seek first, the kingdom of God, and
36:05
his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
36:09
Look, I don't know what you're facing.
36:11
I don't know what's happening in your life.
36:13
I know God is doing a new thing in our church.
36:15
He's doing a new thing for us in this city.
36:17
I'm very excited about it. It's going to be wonderful.
36:20
It's going to be great, but it's not going to be by our strength,
36:23
or our wisdom, or some church planning seminar, or some new
36:27
book, or some new gimmick or some new whatever.
36:32
We have to get on our knees and seek the Lord.
36:34
You want to see Revival. Here I go.
36:36
All revivals already happen. Not it hasn't get on your knees
36:39
and pray for it. Get on your knees and pray for
36:42
it. You know, what you, you know
36:44
what? You'll know when you'll know
36:46
when you know, when you'll know when there is a Revival, when
36:49
there is Brokenness and humility among God's people, That's when,
36:56
you know, not this, arrogant yelling loud.
36:59
We're going to fight fight fight.
37:01
Yeah, go ahead and fight on your knees.
37:05
And is One Pastor said on a. Remember many years ago, he says
37:07
you want to see Revival. You want to experience Revival.
37:11
Let's go into your prayer closet.
37:12
Draw a circle around yourself and pray for Revival in that
37:16
Circle. That's how it starts every
37:20
single Revival of all of church history has started with
37:24
Brokenness and prayer. And so let's submit ourselves to
37:29
God. It could be that the mountain in
37:32
your life is designed to break you.
37:35
Well, I don't want to be broken. You need to be remember what
37:39
David said. In his Psalm of repentance,
37:40
these are what you sacrifice Brokenness contrite - you can't
37:45
keep going the same way, you're going and expect different
37:48
results. Especially following Jesus.
37:52
Substantive change needs to happen, and it needs to happen
37:56
from Heaven heading into a new year heading into a new day.
38:00
New week, new month requires us to trust in the Lord.
38:04
Listen. Pressures church.
38:05
I want to end here. Turn over to Acts chapter 1.
38:09
Acts chapter 1 were studying the book of Acts as a church.
38:13
God's teaching us. So many new folks.
38:15
Welcome, we're glad you're here. So many new people online on the
38:18
radio. We're grateful that God has
38:20
trusted us with you. We're going to love you and
38:23
serve you. We're going to teach you the
38:24
Bible. We're going to feed you.
38:25
Well, we're going to Shepherd you, well unto Jesus.
38:28
Wonderful. Wonderful.
38:29
Wonderful, it's great and we need to learn what the church
38:32
is. Like, we need to know what God's
38:34
heart. Is what we need to understand
38:36
how he started at how he continues in, what he wants to
38:38
do in the future. And we learn here in Acts 1:8,
38:42
it's been many weeks, many months since we studied it, but
38:45
by way of review, notice what Jesus says, and say this word
38:48
out loud, when I get there, but you shall receive.
38:51
What does your Bible say? Let's say it again.
38:53
You shall receive power. You want Power.
38:56
Here's the answer. You want power for the mountain,
38:59
for your family, for your son, for your daughter, your
39:02
grandson, your granddaughter for your ministry.
39:04
Mystery for your home, for your job, for your business, whatever
39:09
you want. Power, Jesus says, you will
39:12
receive it when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.
39:15
And you will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea Samaria and
39:18
to the ends of the Earth chapter 2.
39:21
Now, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all
39:24
with one Accord in one place. Check this out.
39:27
And I want you to, when I get there, I want you to stay with
39:29
me. And suddenly there came a sound.
39:31
What does it say? Okay, you're not with me.
39:34
We're almost done. Stay with me.
39:36
Suddenly. There came a sound from Heaven.
39:39
I help you out with that one. The sound Came From Heaven.
39:44
And here's my final word, the blessing the power.
39:49
The fulfilled promises the manifestations.
39:52
They all came from heaven. All from above, it was
39:57
Supernatural church, not natural.
40:00
The church was born, not by human effort, not by man's
40:04
talents, not by well design plans.
40:06
Not by Seminary not Bible College.
40:09
Not by intellect, not by some man's Charisma or personality,
40:13
or a bunch of gimmicks. The church was born of God.
40:18
You were born again of God. Many of you your marriage
40:24
rescued by God. Your kids raised in a Godly
40:29
home. Your faith comes from God.
40:32
As the old King James says, that we must be endued with power
40:36
from above. That's the place it has to come
40:40
from Heaven. Not even some sermon, you're
40:43
going to forget this sermon promise.
40:44
I promise you many of you going to forget it, you're going to
40:47
forget the point some of you already forgot what I said, 10
40:50
minutes ago, I get it. We got a lot going on, a lot of
40:54
information, but this is what you have to remember.
40:58
You need power of God. It has to come from him.
41:03
I can't give it to you some sermon.
41:05
Can't give it to you. The church can't give it to you
41:09
some guy on YouTube. Can't give it to you.
41:13
Only God can give you what you're looking for. and if you
41:16
don't change, And you settle for something less.
41:22
When things aren't going to go, as you would want them, we need
41:26
something from heaven. Church precious Saints.
41:32
There's not one promise we can claim as one person put it.
41:37
There's not one promise we can claim until we refuse to accept
41:40
what is and reach out and repentance.
41:45
Humility and Faith for what could be We have to admit Where
41:50
We Are. And then submit ourselves in
41:53
Repentance to the holy spirit's burning among us.
41:56
We need power from on high and you can't just accept the way.
42:01
It's always been anymore. Things are changing.
42:06
People were changing your family's changing.
42:09
The world is changing. I know we talked a lot about our
42:12
culture, but the whole world is under the sway of the wicked
42:15
one, the whole world. And in the great freedoms that
42:20
we've been given to whom much is, given much is required.
42:25
Sure the Lord is going to open doors, that are amazing.
42:28
Wonderful. We're going to go right through
42:29
them and yes, God's going to close some doors.
42:32
They're going to be painful and hard but we're going to accept
42:34
it and we're going to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us why he
42:37
closed the door later on. But either way, we're going to
42:40
look to the Lord. Just like, in your life, any
42:43
power from Heaven Church, you're not going to get it any other
42:45
way. Amen.
42:47
Father we pray for your spirit to take the truth today.
42:51
Make them come alive in our lives.
42:53
And even if we don't remember a word of this sermon, we remember
42:56
that you're ready to empower us, that we've been crucified with
42:59
you and just like your word burning us.
43:04
See what you started. Your complete your perfect that
43:07
which concerns us you work on. On us.
43:09
You work through us, you work for us and I would just say if
43:12
you're here today, is we're praying.
43:14
You never given your life to Jesus Christ.
43:15
I want to invite you to do that right now.
43:18
Turn away from your sins and receive the Lord Jesus for the
43:21
Forgiveness of your sins, the cleansing of your life and a
43:24
brand-new person. God will do a brand new work in
43:27
you and if that's you I'm going to invite you, right where you
43:30
are. Would you just stand to your
43:31
feet? I'd like to pray with you.
43:33
That today would be Today. God has brought you, God bless
43:36
you in the back right here. Who else would say?
43:39
That's me today's, the day that's the power in the workout
43:44
starts today, right now, you guys downstairs.
43:49
I know the Overflow rooms been getting full lately, you guys
43:51
down in the cafe, you're not forgotten.
43:54
Even if I don't see you on the radio right now or online, we
43:59
had a sister GAO become sister in the Lord last night.
44:03
Online. And so we know that the Lord
44:06
would use that. Who else would say?
44:09
Right here? We want to give the holy moment.
44:11
God bless you. A holy moment right now got
44:14
inviting you bless you as well. Lessee right here.
44:23
And it's a public. You know, I'm today I just
44:26
really feel like you guys need to have a public like just feel
44:30
the warmth of love in this room of how happy we are for you and
44:34
you're not alone. God has put you in a family's,
44:37
taking the solitary and put us in a family.
44:41
This love for God, gets to be expressed now.
44:46
Is there anyone else? I don't want to specially right
44:48
here in the room. I don't want to delay.
44:50
You might be listening in a prison cell right now.
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Or hospital room. Your car.
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Your little iPod walk in the park, the Lord knows.
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And just stop come to the Lord. So pastors.
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Go ahead and connect as you guys see them because we want you to
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sense the reality of the presence.
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Of men and women here that help serve you and encourage you.
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You're not alone. To help you.
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So just know that there are men and women here to serve you in
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the body of Christ. And I want to help you fulfill
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what the Bible says that if you confess with your mouth, the
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Lord Jesus. And you believe in your heart,
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that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved and so
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you can talk to God right now. I'll use some words, you can
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repeat but you can change them to your circumstances but
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they're simple. You could say something, like
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God, I admit that I've sinned against you.
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And I ask you to forgive me of my sins.
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I believe you sent Jesus. To live for me.
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To die for me. And I believe, Jesus rose again
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from the dead to save my soul. And I turn I turn my life away
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from my sins and I choose to follow you.
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God all the days of my life. Jesus name amen.
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Amen. God bless you guys.
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Bless you. Sometimes people question why we
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would clap like that but the Bible says that even just one
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person repenting the angels in heaven Rejoice.
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So we're just joining the Heavenly crowd of being happy
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for the work of God, and every time someone responds, you get
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to experience it. That's it reminds you that God
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isn't done with the person, you've been praying for, they
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can happen in an instant. It just, it's just God working
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in his own timing. So the mom, you're praying for
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the dad, you're praying for God, is ready to work.
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Don't give up. Don't go weary in well-doing.
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For in due season. We shall reap.
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What if you don't lose heart. So one more thing before we
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leave and I appreciate you guys staying sitting seated.
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I really believe, if in response to the Bible study today, some
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of you need to acknowledge you need a fresh work of the holy
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spirit in your life. Some of you need to be baptized
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and enveloped by the Holy Spirit.
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But the Bible also says to be, ye filled don't be drunk with
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wine, which isn't dissipation, but be filled by the Holy
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Spirit. There's a ongoing Filling and so
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today, if you just send that place where you need to, you
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need power for your family, you need power for your life, you
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need power for your singleness, you power for your
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relationships, you need power for at work and he power in your
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finances, all the mountains that we face, you've been doing it on
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some of you. And we're not going to ask you.
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You just know you just get your going to stand out.
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Empower me with your spirit and I Repent, what have I been
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doing? What have I been doing?
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Lord, I don't want to waste my life.
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I want to use it for your glory and so, if you need a fresh
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outpouring of the Holy Spirit, I want to just invite you to
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standing because that's that's the ones I want standing right
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now, you just need those spirit of God, to come upon you to fill
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you. To wash you to cleanse you to
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warm you, to fill you, to feel you to help some of the friction
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that's been going on. And just like, oh, Lord, father,
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I Pray you pour out your Holy Spirit On Us near and far that
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we receive the power from on high, our hearts are broken.
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Our minds are filled and our desire is for you.
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God And we're so imperfect and like will blow it today.
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I'm sure tomorrow but we'll lean on your grace Lorex.
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We don't want to blow it. We want to blow it less and so
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fill us with your spirit Lord. I've been crucified with Christ,
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it's no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the
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life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the
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Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
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And I just pray that over our church God, that we would live
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the Crucified Life. In Jesus name, amen.
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Amen. We pray that you've been
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encouraged by this Bible. Study delivered live from the
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sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
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Call us at 877, 30 Grace. That's eight 77304, 703 to
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listen to this message in its entirety or to join us for our
49:38
lives dream Services. Visit us online at Calvary Co
49:43
dot church or download our Calvary Church app be blessed as
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you worship Jesus this week. Calvary Church app be blessed as
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you worship Jesus this week.