Let's Go John 14:31

[" niegozo3opersusse不是ileen学和 behavioral preached by others instead of teaching".

Don

I'm gonna be with you

I'm gonna be with you

Jesus Christ is gonna be

with you

I'm gonna be with you

Hello, Water Spirit

Our story starts inside of me

Good morning, good morning, good morning.

My goodness, what a great day yesterday at the Grand Prix.

Had some folks join us, had a lot of fun.

The look in the eyes of the kids, they saw their hard work racing down the track and

occasionally over the padding and into the wreck zone and as cars, you know, you think

it's going to run the same way every time you put it down the track, but it's like,

you're really fast, you put it down the track, and then that time it's a little slower.

But anyway, that was really fun and we had a lot of fun doing that and that's cool.

Continue to pray for our sick, our wounded.

That's good buddy, thank you.

And got that going on today, pray for Tyler especially because now he's got strep throat,

which was a horrible gift from his dad probably, unintentionally, but yeah that happens.

I probably got it from school or I couldn't got it from school because he's virtual.

And you actually cannot get viruses through the computer, that's not how that works.

But you can get a virus on your computer.

Anyway, so Tyler is very sick.

Is he better this morning at all?

Not really.

How many hours has he done the antibiotics?

Like 24 hours now?

He started yesterday.

He started yesterday evening, so really, yeah, it really kicked in.

So I then pray for Amalia.

Amalia has an unknown, a virus of unknown origin and she's been sick for a couple days

and she acts like the flu, yeah, it acts like a bad case of the flu.

But it seems like it is.

And so she's not here with us today, we've caused them to have to do some adjusting,

I understand.

So praise God, Amalia is a great asset to our worship team and a great servant in our

body and we're grateful.

And one of her great works on this world is she created Tyler, whose sixth birthday is

today.

You can believe Tyler is six.

Dude, you were running around here in diapers just yesterday.

You're so big.

Growing up, man, I'm so proud of you.

Thank you.

So much for being sick today.

Yet another reason to celebrate the Lord.

All right, so we're going to pray together.

Do remind that we do have other mission opportunities, other outreach activities, things going on

already going on through the pantry, through the life station, crosswalk upcoming.

So keep your ears healed.

Lots of cool stuff to do for Jesus as we reach new heights in Jesus.

Let's pray together.

Father, you are our awesome God.

You are our amazing creator God.

What name could there be for the God of all except I am.

We call you God.

You sent your son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.

The sins of every man and every woman and every young person.

In fact, the word says that he who you know, saying you made him to be sin for us that we might

become the righteousness of God.

That's what we want.

We want to walk a little bit more each day in the way we are.

We want to do the things that we should do.

I guess we got to learn sometimes because sometimes we don't know the things that we should do.

Sometimes we know what they are, but we do not do them.

So some of our worship, some of our time together will be about that today.

We want to learn and grow and reach new heights in Jesus.

But especially God, we want to give you your proper place as the king of all, the maker of all,

the ruler of all, holy, righteous, just God, also merciful, gracious, for getting you alone.

Are you we want to hear you the recognition you deserve?

Except we realize our best efforts are feeble in comparison to that.

And now we're asking you for the miracle of multiplication.

Would you make us greatly able to honor you today?

I'm going to pray this in Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

All right.

So if you would please stand with us and we're going to sing what we believe.

These are the days for children of faith to stand up and be counted.

Now is the time for the diamonds to shine on whoever's around it

What life can be without proof of the hope that is you?

I'm gonna live what I believe, gonna walk that line, gonna cross the empty

I stand for what is right, and when everyone can see, it's Jesus that we need

I'm gonna live what I believe

The world would sing our praise, the world can we pray

When the love life would mean it

Instead of a man and dream to give time away

What life can be without it?

What life can be without it?

What life can be without it?

When the love life could mean it

The hope that is you

that memorized the verse for today and we've been passing out candy and getting tickets and

I was encouraged yesterday we gave away the prizes and that was kind of cool and so just so you

understand how it's working there's a board in the office in the outer office and I'll sometimes

bring it out I'm gonna make it look nicer than it does right now right now it just has pictures of

the prizes on it I'm gonna fix that up a little bit but anyway and then when you say the verses

which the number of verses for today was Matthew 22, 37 through 40 is the challenge verse it's the

whole thing but it's really not all that hard it flows together and each little section is not

that hard so 22, 37 is a classic verse so that's pretty straightforward verse most people get that

that was the candy verse for today and so you can see kids come up and grab a couple pieces of

the candy that means that they said their memory verses and then the ticket verse was 37 through

40 all the way to the end and the hardest part was that last part where it says on these two

commandments depend the law and the prophets but that's interesting when you think about it

because that says that those first three verses that we're trying to memorize all the bible up

into Jesus's day pretty much hang on those two verses are those two commands if you don't know

the command love the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul with all your mind

and love your neighbor as yourself you don't know those two commands then you're missing the sum of

the whole old testament which is pretty interesting because some of us probably went oh you know I

didn't make that connection so I just memorized those verses this time around to encourage you

to go ahead if you haven't finished that memorize matthew 22, 37 through 40 and if you're in if

you're involved in and you're not getting I've been trying to text or send out my messenger to

the verses to everybody midweek if you're not getting that for some reason or if you want to

get it you're not getting it then make sure that you let me know that and I'll make sure you get

it we have plenty of time if you get it by Tuesday you can pick little pieces of you a little bit

little bit and by Sunday you have the whole thing okay so just make sure I know if I'm not getting

it to you oh we do not announce the verse for next Sunday now for an outset on Tuesday so if

you're not getting it make sure that I know so you can get that okay after those verses by the way

I'm gonna try to do this like that beginning in verse 41 it says now when the Pharisees were gathered

Jesus asked them a question

what do you think of the christ whose son is he

they said to him the son of david he said to them how then is david in the spirit call him lord

saying and then this is a quote from the old testament the lord said to my lord come and sit

at my right at my right hand until I put your enemies beneath your feet right and he said

and then he said no one dared to answer him dared to answer him a word and from that time on they

asked him no more questions that and that goes to the end of the chapter so encourage you work on

violent memorization think of what's in those verses and what you can carry with you wherever

you go you take your bible you can do that but the truth is even if you take your bible like your

phone like I can't tell you I'm just being transparent how many times I was going to open

my bible my phone out and somebody texts me oh the phone's ringing oh or oh look I'll tell you I'm

actually spoken count I gotta look at that real quick and that's how it stands the way you know

the bible or you have your bible you're carrying it around I wonder where that verse was about

where Jesus said david wasn't that um Jesus wasn't the son of david the christ wasn't the son of

david but the lord of david I wonder what that was well if you have that verse memorized after

26 look at the ability you have and you don't even need this at that moment you can just go

right to your head right to your heart and there it is don't encourage you by what's my memorization

is our focus for this six months through may 22nd and then we'll take on a new discipline but we will

not put away bible memorization just the same as we were not supposed to be putting away prayer

when we emphasize that and you're definitely not supposed to be putting away worship these are all

disciplines that are given to us that you use every day you could make a growth plan for yourself

where you take the top 10 disciplines and plan to use them every single day and you will be

walking with the lord the way the lord walked with his father right don't encourage me to do that

how about you have you seen something this week did you hear something you got a testimony you

want to share okay what do you got I have a I'm not going to play the phone but I have it I wanted

to share a little bit of the layers because it's not a christian song it's not a christian

man or anything like that it goes to show that I think you said it last week or two weeks ago

where even in secular things you can hear god's message and that may be 180 degrees different

than what the person writing the song was thinking but you can hear the message of god in that there's

a song it's called waking the lion waking the lion by poppy and that's the song

the good thing is there's no cuss words in it so well thank you for that yeah all right but it says

is it is this better tell me there's a better way I'm not afraid I'm not going to hide from the

virtues above serpents below they want to lie me to rest but I won't go is it better to die than

live another day I'm not afraid I'm not going to run from the scars and within burning your skin

they want to lie me lay me to rest but I won't go I want to stand up 100 feet tall because fear

will never lead the way I'm ready to run 100 miles strong I will never be the same that it would

say says burning the ash I'll die until I rise again I am not afraid I am not going to stop

till break till I break down this cage escape from this chase you'll never silence my voice

no I won't go and it repeats the I will not I won't stand up 100 feet tall because fear will

never lead the way I'm ready to run 100 miles strong I will never be the same so when I heard

that song I heard it a while long while ago but I was listening to it yesterday while I was working

on actually Artemis Carter and it struck me that that's how our relationship with this guy

I you're not supposed to be afraid of what people say you're not supposed to be afraid of the serpents

nipping at your feet you're not you're supposed to be able to stand 100 feet tall you're supposed

to be able to run that 100 miles strong but we have to realize that the only way we're going to

do that is with God we can't we can't run that race we can't stand that call if we don't have God

with us because we will fail and we will crumble under our own pressures so it's okay I guess

so it's okay to be to have the pressures of what you want to do it's okay to have the worries the

doubts and everything as long as you understand that with God you can run and you can keep going

because he'll give you the strength he'll he'll make that lion that's in you so you can continue

to do what he has for you to do

very good anyone else

I was just thinking about today yesterday the first scripture I ever memorized I was

25 years old I was in the older Bible said like older men and women they're my age today though

that's what they're doing in their 40s 50s but so I always say encourage and re-encourage you might

already know this I'm just reminding you but um I'm just reminding you that you're going to be

a father 356 we were just going I just wanted to learn the scriptures but I don't really

memorize anything because I was I was just being fed all the time it's awesome learning about

who God was how much he loved us his son and just the word just kept just wanting to get more and

more and then he was talking all of a sudden he said you know trust the Lord and follow your heart

and you're not going to understand it all the ways acknowledge it and you would direct your path

and that I was like I because that because I usually listen I wouldn't say nothing but I was

like wait what did you say and it was like a big deal to me like it was like that at that moment

I wanted to know that verse it meant a lot to me I was like but who would say something like that

and so um I always say a truth the truth and truth it was the truth I mean everybody's been

somebody wrong they're going to say they're sorry you know because they messed up but God's never

apologized to anyone God's word is always true it's the truth that you can trust the Lord follow

your heart lean not on your understanding and always acknowledge him and he will direct your

path it's not like an exception to this word this is who he is and so I was just thinking about it

you know because everybody makes a mistake and everybody has an apology but nowhere in the Bible

does God apologize and nowhere today is going to say I'm sorry if any apologize happens is that

Jesus went to the cross for us that was his apology that we could not ourselves apologize for the

punishment that we deserve that brought us peace was at the cross God's wrath that day was on the

son Jesus and so it's like that was our apology so we can come close to him so we can live for him

so that we can be reunited with him so we can be with him eternally so the reason I share that

stuff is um that scripture when I memorized that and that's everything I call it foundational

scripture from that verse all the other verses that I remember I just kind of just set off from that

and I mean it's just to me it's like it's just a joy like I've always said before you know like

I love life I love everything but life doesn't always love you back you know it's but that's not

the idea if you get it back it's just that we have this love that we have this hope even look at this

screen it's like just for a moment you can see that waterfall and after seeing water on that

screen it's like this is God's creation and when we're going through stuff and we're going through

a lot of stuff I mean sometimes you just have to look at what's not been tainted you know what's

not ever going to take it away and it is God's creation and God's work everything else

you know in this life you just never know what you never know what's going to happen

but those things are always going to stay forever eternally the same okay we're going to pray this

time and then we'll have tithing offerings and we'll have a little more worship and soon the

children will be released to go to their lessons and we'll look into the word and we pray that God

will move in us I'm going to ask brother Tim Mitchell would you pray for us lead us in this prayer as we

do

When you're strong, when you're strong

When the sun is shining on your eyes

You are the reason to be proud

You are the reason to be proud

You are the reason to be proud

You are the reason to be proud

You are the reason to be proud

You are the reason to be proud

Yeah!

I love you, I love you so

I'll love you forever and ever

Everything you satisfy me

With your love

If faith can move the mountain

Let the mountains move

We come with expectation

Waiting here for you

Waiting here for you

You're the Lord of all creation

And still you know my heart

You're the author of salvation

You promised from the start

We're waiting here for you

With our hands lifted high

In praise

And it's you we adore

Singing hallelujah

Hallelujah

You are everything you promised

Your faithfulness is true

And we're desperate for your proudness

All we need is you

We're waiting here for you

With our hands lifted high

In praise

And it's you we adore

Singing hallelujah

A couple things real quick.

First of all, I want to remind you

that we are working through the book of Deuteronomy.

But for the next month or so,

we're going to step aside from that task.

And we're in chapter 20 in the middle there, verse 10.

And we will come back to it.

But for the next month or so,

we're going to step aside from that task

as we approach Easter Sunday,

which is, believe it or not,

right around the corner.

And we're going to look at some of the texts

leading up to the arrest, the crucifixion,

the death, the burial,

and of course, the resurrection

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Okay?

And so we're going to do that

beginning today with one of what I think

is the simplest sermon titles

and topics that I have ever approached.

So you have heard a lot of times

probably watching TV, watching sports,

that kind of thing,

where somebody will get really excited,

somebody did well, and they'll go,

let's go!

Right?

And they'll hop around a little bit.

Let's go!

Good job!

Let's go!

In sports.

And so I'm going to be honest,

that irritates me.

I really don't like that.

I think I don't understand what it means.

Like they're shouting up and down,

we're going to let's go.

But I do understand it in a way,

because they're just excited

and trying to express their emotions.

Then I thought, well, where did it come from?

What's that all about?

And so I try to look up,

and you know where it came from?

You don't.

You know why?

Because nobody knows.

Like you can search and scour the internet.

Nobody knows exactly where that saying came from.

Now it did get a lot of momentum

from actually baseball, football,

stadiums, and somewhere they would go,

like let's go Yankees, let's go.

When I was a kid,

I remember being like five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

We go every year pretty much

to go out to the Mud Hens baseball games.

It would be let's go Mud Hens, let's go.

And the chant of the crowd, let's go Mud Hens, let's go.

And then that boiled down to just let's go, let's go.

And we're super excited and let's go.

And sometimes you don't know what else to say

other than let's go.

But the whole idea of let's go is that was good.

That's getting us where we want to go, right?

You made a score, you made a play, you made a tackle,

you made a sack, you made an interception, whatever.

That was good.

Let's do more of that.

Let's do that.

Let's go.

And that's what it means.

And to be able to boil down so much energy and excitement,

I have a new found love of the phrase let's go.

And it's biblical.

So if you'll grab your Bibles, if you would,

and maybe a little who to holler, amen, something,

as we go to John 14, 31.

Amen.

Let's go.

Yes, very good.

All right, that'll work.

So the text for the sermon is just John 14, 31,

but we will use several other texts by the time we're through.

So once we've read it, don't go, oh, we're done with the Bible for today

because that certainly is not the case.

So John 14, 31, and I'll read 30, but our emphasis is in 31.

I will not speak much more with you for the ruler of the world is coming

and he has nothing in me.

So this sets the context because this is in the day,

this is like leading up to Jesus' arrest.

He's still speaking with them, but then shortly he'll be arrested

and the ruler of the world is not Judas.

It is not the priest, but it is sort of the one that they were responding to.

In fact, the devil himself may have taken over Judas,

and you can get into the theology of that.

I'm not going to do that today, but the bottom line is he said the ruler

of the world is coming and he has nothing in me.

And because of that, he said I will not speak much more with you.

He's not quite done yet, but soon he will be speaking with them before his arrest.

Then verse 31 says, but that the world may know that I love the Father.

Let's stop right there for one second.

He said I'm going to stop speaking with you shortly

because the one who rules the world is coming and he has no part with me.

And now you kind of can maybe think of like that would be casting pearls before swine.

I submit to you that you should be sharing Jesus with everybody in your life.

You should be witnessing about Christ and God's goodness all the time.

And anybody you possibly will listen to, you should be doing that.

But if the devil himself ever would show up, and it's kind of unlikely,

but if he ever would show up face to face with you, if that ever would happen,

that ain't the moment to go to your witness.

You can shut him down, you can tell him that he's virtually nothing

compared to the one who is in you, but that ain't the time to try to win somebody to Jesus.

He's not going to be one to Jesus.

He knows enough about what God's plan is, and I don't think he knows everything,

but he knows enough about what God's plan is to know he doesn't want anything to do

with the Christ.

And so Jesus is saying, I'm going to cast my pearls before swine.

When that guy comes, that ruler of the world comes, I'll be done speaking with you.

That time is coming soon.

But then he says, but that the world may know so that everyone may not realize.

So the ruler of the world is coming, got no part with him,

but the world, the ruler of the world is coming, got no part with him,

but the world must know.

See the difference there?

The world must know, because the world must know so that the world may know,

so that the world may know that I love the Father.

The world must know that Jesus was doing the work of God the Father

when he came to hang on the cross.

Jesus could have, he said, could I not call an army of angels even now to stop this?

And the answer is he could have.

I was reading that text the other day, and I was just like, man, that's so amazing

that he could have stopped it, but he chose not to stop it.

I want to get ahead of myself, but the bottom line is Jesus is choosing to lay down his life.

He's choosing to surrender himself into the control of the one who would rule the world.

But even as he surrenders himself into the control of the one who would rule the world,

the world must know that Jesus loves the Father.

And because of that, he says, but that the world may know that I love my Father,

something is going to happen.

But the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.

So the world might know that Jesus loved the Father because Jesus did the will of the Father.

See, this is the problem we have in the world today.

We have a lot of folks walking around saying they love God, calling themselves Christians,

or maybe by some other name.

There are people in other religions who also claim that their God is the God.

They say that they love God, but there's no love in it because there's no following the direction

of the one who gave it.

So God the Father has set some parameters by which a man or a woman might live a good life,

might live a productive life, an abundant life,

chief of which of course is to believe in the one whom he has sent.

But having believed in the one whom he has sent, you ought to be following the commands of God.

And Jesus said, so that the world may know that I love the Father,

and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.

Even the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Now you and I are hoping, probably living our lives,

pretty much hoping we'll never be crucified or whipped within an inch of our life.

And you say that can't happen, but Paul was whipped 40 lashes.

In fact, they even stoned him once and left him for dead outside the city.

By the way, you stoned somebody leaving for dead, they're dead.

And then he got back up and walked into the city and preached the gospel some more.

So we're hoping that none of that ever happens to us.

But Jesus had a command to die on the cross to pay for sin, to bring new life.

And he did that willingly, the world must know, he said.

And I will follow the command of my Father because the world must know.

Listen to me, there's going to come a time in your life, I guarantee, without a doubt,

there will come a time in your life when the only thing you can do in that situation

is to ensure that others will know that God is who he says he is

and that you are a follower of God, follower of God, is to do the thing that God has given you to do,

whatever that thing is. Sometimes, let's be realistic, it sucks.

You may have to stand there and take somebody else's mess.

You may have to pile in and lift something that you don't want anything to do with.

You may have to clean it up or overcome it, even though it was not your creation in the first place.

You may have to suffer through it, straying to draw breath through it,

because it is the path that God has marked out for you.

And in the midst of that, here's what you can do when it gets right down to it, the bottom line,

the only thing you can do is do what you know God has given you to do.

The truth is in the strength that God has given us, and did Jesus have strength?

Oh yes. In the strength that God has given us, it seems like on any given day

that there are so many choices in what we can do.

So many choices in how we can overcome a problem or how we can dig into something.

We're intellectual, so we solve the problem, we think about it.

Here are seven possible things. Here's the pros and cons.

I can go this way, I can go that way. This makes perfect sense to me because I'll come out financially ahead,

or because my family will be better taken care of, or whatever.

Every day we look at all these verbs, we think of all these things.

But listen, there's really only one absolute necessary thing,

and that is whatever it is that God has told you to do.

While you're adding on TV, video games, car repairs, car ownership, transportation, jobs,

clocking in, clocking out, cashing paychecks, where you're doing all the things in this world,

just remember that there is a soil in which the growth of God,

the thousand-fold growth of the Kingdom of God is choked out by the cares and the riches of this world.

And Jesus said, not me, not in my day, not in front of a look-on world,

a world looking to see what I will do. No. I know that all people, all time,

all the people ever before I was ever born, and all the people long after I'm dead, buried, resurrected,

gone to be with my Heavenly Father, all people are going to be looking at this moment in time,

and so that the world may know, I'm going to do the one thing that we can know for sure,

and that is I'm going to follow the commands of my Father.

Now for Him, that included crucifixion. And He knew that.

He knew a horrible death awaited Him. Earlier on in His ministry,

He was able to walk away from those who tried to kill Him because it wasn't time yet.

But now He knows the time is approaching.

And He said, with the time approaching, listen, right now,

you're awful worried about all these things in your life you've got to take care of.

When you're laying on your deathbed and the doctor says,

we've turned the ventilator up as far as possible, she can barely stay awake,

he can barely stay awake, in that moment you're going to go, this is only one thing.

There is only one thing. I want to go out trusting God.

I want to go out trusting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

I want to go out of here and go into there where He has prepared for me,

that place He's been prepared for me from the moment I trusted Jesus.

I want to leave here and go there. So there's going to be a moment in time.

I submit to you, you ought to reach forward to that moment in time

and bring that level of devotion, that level of care, that level of priority

out of what God has said you must do and put it today.

Stop trying to collect. Stop trying to be distracted.

Say, I'm not trying to be distracted, I'm just so distracted,

that's all I can do about it. You ain't trying real hard not to be distracted

or you wouldn't be distracted.

Because you've got the willpower, you've got the discipline.

You are a creator, you are a person made in the image of God

and you are able, He who is in you, if you're a Father of the Lord Jesus Christ,

He who is in you is greater than He is in the world.

You don't need anything and He has it all. Don't kid yourself.

God has allowed Him to rule.

Subjected Him to God's rule, but allowed Him to rule. He has it all.

And so everything you're going after that you think makes you feel a little bit better,

if it ain't of Jesus specifically, then all it is is stuff that belongs to Him.

Who do you think is on the other end of the fishing line,

the hook that you're tugging on trying to get off the little thing

that's going to make you feel a little bit better about the way your day is going to go

or your family is going or your relationship or somebody did what you wanted them to do?

The person on the other end of that fishing line is the ruler of the world.

And when you're tugging on the hook of Satan, what you really need to be doing is saying,

I'm going to follow the commands of my Father.

And Jesus set that example for us.

Now He's not ready to be crucified just yet.

Quite a bit happens between this text and there.

But what He does say here at the end of this text, He then says,

As the Father gave me command, even so I do, He said, arise, let us go from here.

There it is, let's go.

Let's go, packed in that little let's go in the middle of that statement, arise, get up, here we go.

Let's go from here.

Jesus was saying, number one in this text, so that the world may know that I love the Father.

This is not just enduring His Lordship.

God tells me what to do and I do it.

Oh boy, check a box.

My to-do list is follow Jesus today.

And I look at the end of the day, I'm like, yeah, I followed Jesus today.

I did it.

I prayed some, I sang some, worshiped some, gave some, served some, suffered some.

I made it through another day following Jesus.

This is not about enduring Lordship.

This is not about the continuation of His Lordship.

Jesus Christ will be Lord whether you are subject or not.

He will be Lord whether I am subject, whether the church remains,

which the true church will remain according to the scripture,

the gates of hell shall not prevail against us,

but He will be Lord whether we recognize Him or not.

He will be Lord even when getting the money, getting the stuff,

appreciating the things of life are your greatest priority.

Jesus will still be Lord.

The contradiction lies in if He is your Lord, why are you not behaving accordingly?

That's the contradiction.

He's going to be Lord whether you endure His Lordship or not.

In fact, we ought to reverse our attitudes and be so grateful

that He is enduring, standing next to God, making intercession for us.

He is continually smoothing over the bumps.

He is continually erasing our unrighteous behavior

if we have indeed received the grace that Jesus gives.

This is not about getting by.

He did not come so that they may have life and endure it better.

He came so that we may have life and life abundantly,

not just eternal life, so it lasts forever.

That's abundant.

You know how many days I have left with Jesus?

Limitless.

Because when my physical body stops working, I'll be in heaven for an eternity.

And if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you are the same way.

So that's abundance. I get that.

But He's not talking about only abundance unending.

He's talking about abundance today.

That you can have abundance today.

Jesus used the phrase a couple of times.

He said, those who give up, blah, blah, blah, I will return it to them when?

Well, someday in heaven.

No, in this lifetime, He says.

Following Jesus is about the choices we make today.

And listen, if you should, and I hope you don't have to endure it,

but I think the truth is we probably will,

if you should truly have to suffer in this lifetime, James says,

consider it pure joy.

When they came home after they were beaten and told, don't talk about Jesus anymore,

in Acts 4, they came back praising God

because they were allowed to suffer as Jesus had suffered.

How does that compare with you sitting down with your paycheck

thinking about whether you have enough to buy a little something that you've been dreaming about?

Do you praise Jesus that you have enough to buy a little something you've been dreaming about?

I hope you do.

Will you praise Jesus when you don't have enough to buy a little something you've been dreaming about?

Or worse than that, when you don't have enough food to eat?

Which can happen to anybody.

It doesn't matter your walk of life.

As soon as your health goes or your job goes or something critical happens,

floods destroy property, fires happen, diseases set in,

everything that you have could go away in the blink of a minute.

Just gone, boom, gone, just like that.

Everything I thought I had, my love, my family, my kids, my house, my cars, my job, my health.

You could be in hospital for the next two and a half months and come home

and find people living in your house which you can't get out without eviction by the time they're gone.

True story, this happened to a guy that we've searched the Life Station.

I just met him two weeks ago.

Now he's got nothing.

After retiring, after 25 years on the job, living well, alone in his own house, now he's got nothing.

Going back to work at a minimum wage job to try to put food on the table so he doesn't go hungry.

Now he doesn't have a wife or kids.

Which by the way, when I almost had nothing myself,

the fact that I would have my wife or kids was huge sustenance to me because I said to my wife,

at least we'll be together. We'll have nothing but we'll be together.

But he didn't even have that.

And that could happen to any one of us at any moment in time.

And so God is the one, if you will, He is Lord.

He is the one protecting us, providing us.

Look at what you have and even the suffering you have and realize that is the abundance.

All of it is being done so that the world may know that I love the Father, Jesus said.

What they were about to go through, what Jesus was about to do, what He was about to experience,

what they were going to let the world do, was all so that people could know that God is real.

He deserves glory. He's still on the throne.

He's still saving souls.

He has no greater desire than to have a relationship with you and me through whatever you go through.

That's God. And He's not done. Let's go.

Let's do what it is that He's called us to do.

Let's recognize who He is and what He stands for.

If you're following along in your Bibles, go with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

2 Corinthians chapter 4.

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

To the right, a little ways, about 20 pages in my Bible, 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

First we're going to read verse 2 out of there.

It says, In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

I apologize. That's verse Corinthians.

That's a good verse 2. That's a good verse 2.

We're going to go to 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 2. There we go.

2 Corinthians 4:2

But we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the Word of God,

but by the manifestation of truth, commending ourselves to everyone, every man's conscience in the sight of God.

But we've got to break that down because there are some big words in there, so let's look at it.

But we have renounced the things hidden.

That thing that you're doing that you ain't supposed to be doing.

That thing that you're into that you ain't supposed to be into.

That thing that you're failing to do and you're letting everybody else think you're doing it.

We've renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness.

You need to stop figuring out how and trust God that He knows how.

Not walking in craftiness or adulterating the Word of God.

Stop twisting the Bible to support your personal opinions or your cultural background or your feelings about the way things are going.

Just it is what it is.

Not walking in craftiness or adulterating the Word of God, but by the manifestation, that means the making known.

So everything is shown, the manifestation of truth, commending ourselves so we can be recognized by others to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

See, God wants people to know that He's available for a right relationship with Him.

God wants people to know that all the necessary work that has to be done in order for people to come into a right relationship with Him

has already been done.

And if you know those two things, then you ought to be living with the realization that God's number one goal in all the universe

is for people to come into a right relationship with Him.

This must be made manifest. This must be known.

Our choice of actions must be so that they may know that I love the Father.

Jesus' motivation, and if you are a Christian, the word Christian means little Christ, then it ought to be your motivation.

Jesus' motivation was that He would endure all things, whatever the Father desired He should be subject to through the ruler of the world.

He would endure it, and He would do so so that all people may know that He loves the Father.

A little further on, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, so you're going just a little further to the right, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, beginning in verse 5.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention 2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

Now, He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

Therefore, being always of good courage and knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.

This is a little aside in there, for we walk by faith, not by sight. That's how we know that.

We walk by faith, not by sight, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.

Then verse 8, we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

So your dream of having a bigger thing, a prettier thing, a tastier thing, a better relationship, you're aiming so low.

If this was Archer, you're firing your bow in the dirt, wanting him to do or her to do what you want them to do.

You're aiming in the dirt. You'll never hit the target, because the target that we aim for is absent from the body, present with the Lord.

Therefore, also, we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, so wherever we are, to be pleasing to Him.

We want to be pleasing to God, and I get it. You know, we're screw ups. We make mistakes.

But in the making of mistakes or in the making of bad decisions, there ought to still be the desire to be pleasing to God.

Right in the midst of it, you're like, oh, I did it again.

Lord, I'm sorry. Forgive me. I mean no offense. Help me move past this. Help me put it away once and for all.

I want to please you, God.

And teaching the world that we want to please God, even though we may be screwing up because we are still in the flesh, or wherever we may be, is the most important thing.

10 says, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

I want to please God, because one day God is going to judge me.

That each one may be recompensed. He's going to pay me back. He's going to pay me back.

That each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, what?

Let's go.

Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, because one day we will stand before him and say, what did you do with your voice?

What did you do with your breath? How did you apply your mind?

What about whatever charisma you possessed? What about whatever physical strength you have?

What about the fact that you're tall and intimidating, or short and charming?

What about the fact that I made you something awesome? What did you do with that?

Well, let me pay you back for all the expense that you incurred on my account.

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men.

But we are made manifest, that means we are made known to God.

And I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.

It was Paul's desire that the Corinthians would recognize who they were working for, who they loved, and who was at work in them.

Verse 12, we are not again commending ourselves to you, but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,

that you may have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.

You got a job to do. You do, to show up, to shine a light, to make a difference,

to teach people that you are doing what you are doing because you love God.

There are a lot of people out there trying to convince the world, and I get it, because there is a lot of suffering and darkness in the world.

There are a lot of people out there trying to convince the world that God loves the world.

And that is true. But the world does not love itself, not in a healthy way,

but in a destructive way, filled with passions and erotica, desiring one thing after another, covetous nature,

led along by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life.

And that pathway puts them into opposition with God.

They are going after what is not good for them, and they are in opposition with God.

So yes, God loves them, but here is what is going to fail you every time.

You go into someone's life and they are doing what it is they want to do after what they want to be after,

and you try to tell them, God loves you, God loves you, God loves you just the way you are.

And while that is all true, the real message of Jesus is, I love God. I love God.

Now let us talk about what it looks like to love God.

Is what you are doing expressing love to God?

You are following the lust of your eyes, the lust of your flesh, the pride of life.

You are following those things.

The bottom line is, every moment of time the Lord says do something,

you do what it is you are given to do so that you may be commended to the world,

and especially committed to God. It is like living for an audience of one.

I am living for God. But when I am living for God, where does it put me?

It puts me showing up, manifest, demonstrating to people that I love God.

That is what it is all about. And you cannot do that while you are throwing a fit.

You cannot do that while you are destroying the people around you with your words or with your physical actions.

You cannot.

Live your life so that the world may know that you love the Father, just like Jesus did.

But let us be realistic, humans get into that place and then start thinking,

well I want them to know that I love God so I cannot let them know what I am actually like.

If you have to play that game, you have already lost.

You have already lost.

Because you are covering up what you are actually like instead of allowing what you are actually like to be what Jesus would have you to be.

You may or may not recognize the name Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he was the author of Sherlock Holmes.

As an experiment he sent out a letter to twelve friends and relatively good circle of wealthy men across London, England.

And he said, the jig is up, they know, run.

That is what the letter said.

To a man, he sent twelve letters to a man, all twelve men fled the country within twenty four hours.

Now he did not tell them what they were in trouble for.

But the truth is, all men have sinned and all men have fallen short of the glory of God.

And if I said to you, I know what you did and you believed me, a chill would go down your spine.

If I said I was there and I witnessed, I saw it, I know and I am going to tell everyone.

You think about moving out of state.

Maybe because that is a stupid thing for me to do.

But also maybe because you do not want your secrets exposed.

And it is the same way with me. We all have our secret things.

But according to what we just read, we ought to repent of those things and turn back to God and begin to live in the light.

That the world may know we love God.

The second thing to see in here is Jesus was teaching.

And again, I say when Jesus models a behavior, when he says this is what I do, our job is to do what he set the course.

He has broken the path. He has pushed back the foliage.

He has smoothed the ground. He has done it the hardest possible way.

Now it is our turn to do what it is that he showed us how to do.

And he said, I do exactly as the Father commands.

Well you can break this down. Number one, you are going to have to learn what God expects.

We have His Word. We have His Holy Spirit.

We have prayer you can ask and He will tell you.

We know that does not always work.

Especially depending on where we are walking at the time.

But we do have prayer.

And we have examples of His character.

Examples of His character through the worst times that humans can expect.

Examples of His character through long historical track record.

God has always been the same and He will always be the same.

And you can learn what it is that He would have you to do day in, day out.

Romans 12 verses 1 and 2, which I am ashamed to say I no longer have memorized.

Romans 12:1

I thought I did but it fell out of my mind somewhere.

Romans 12, 1 and 2.

I urge you therefore brethren by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God.

Which is your spiritual service of worship.

And verse 2, do not forget this.

And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is.

See that phrase right there? You may test, you may understand, you may figure out, you may prove what the will of God is.

It does not matter if you approve of the will of God.

But you may prove, you may test, you may figure out, you may see and understand what the will of God is.

That which is good and acceptable and perfect.

You see God's got a plan. God's got a set of commands. God's got a direction. He's got an oriented path.

He has a highway of holiness and He knows how to put you on it and keep you on it.

And if you would not be conformed to this world but be transformed presenting your body as a spiritual sacrifice.

Living according to the way God has laid it out.

You can test and approve. You can figure out exactly what it is the will of God is.

So we make it out to be like the will of God is a mystery.

I can't figure out what God wants for my life. According to this you can do what it is that God would have you to do.

And so doing, learn to know what the will of God is.

That good and acceptable and perfect will.

Now if that wasn't enough for you, look at Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

One of Tony Tate's favorite chapters in the entire Bible. Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

Beginning in verse 9.

For this reason also since the day we heard of it.

We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that ye may be filled with the knowledge of His will.

In all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.

To please Him in all respects bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Strengthened with all power according to His glorious might for the attaining of all steadfastness.

That means you won't quit. Let's go.

And patience joyously giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in life.

Go back real quick and look at that phrase in the middle.

We prayed, we prayed, we prayed and asked that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Oh my goodness, it's a shame He didn't get His prayer.

But the fact is we can be exactly what is listed there.

We can know what it is, what His will is.

We can do so in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

So that we may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects.

And then the last one. Ephesians 5.

Ephesians 5.

So from there you're going back just two books to the left. Ephesians 5.

And I'll start in verse 7.

Therefore do not be partakers with them.

For you were formerly in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

Walk as children of light.

For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth.

See, if you walk as children of light, basically you could break your life down this way.

It's going to be goodness and righteousness and truth that you are producing through the power of God working through you.

Not other people are doing good and right and true around me.

But we are walking in goodness and righteousness and truth.

Verse 10 says, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

That's our daily pursuit.

We're learning what it is that God wants from us.

What pleases Him.

And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness.

But instead even expose them.

For it is disgraceful even to think of the things which are done by them in secret.

But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light.

For everything that becomes visible is light.

God has told us that we can know His will and we can put away those secret wicked deeds.

Verse 17, to end this part, says,

So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

You can figure out what it is that God wants you to do.

It is not outside your reach of simple comprehension to say.

Now much of it is laid out in Scripture.

While I'm waiting for God to tell me specifically to tell somebody about Jesus.

How many verses do you need exactly before you begin to do what it is that God has told you to do?

See it's going to come to a point in time in your life when all the excuses and all the distractions and all those things are going to fade away.

In that moment all you're going to have left to do is whatever God has commanded you to do.

You won't be running for the TV remote, picking up the controllers, grabbing the car keys or grocery shopping anymore.

It will just be what has God commanded me to do.

I submit to you that Jesus is showing us very clearly in this verse that we ought to draw back from that time.

When it comes down to just what has God told me to do.

And that's what we're going to do.

We should move that to today.

We should have that attitude.

Because everything that's stopping you from doing what it is that you're supposed to do today.

Is all the stuff of the world which is under the reign of the world's king.

The devil.

I do exactly as the Father commands.

Learn what he expects through his word, through his spirit, through prayer.

By observing his character.

We can be filled with the knowledge of the will of God.

To please him in all respects.

And then the third thing in here.

And it's the title point for the sermon.

Get up, let's go from here.

That's what Jesus said.

See we come in here, we listen to the word, we pray, we worship, we gather as a church and we represent.

The truth is we do a pretty stinking good job.

Ariana and I like to go on Alexa and we'll say, Alexa play this song.

And then the song will play.

I like that. It's cool.

Don't have to push no buttons or whatever.

A lot of times when I have to push buttons, I push the wrong buttons.

This way I just say, now if she gets it wrong, I can blame her.

I have nothing at stake.

And then she plays the song.

She plays the worship songs that we play in church.

Ariana and I were listening.

I listen to a worship song we play in church.

I'm like, yeah, that's good.

It's not as good as when we do it in church.

And I go to the next one. It's good.

It's not as good.

Ariana says to me, you know dad, yeah.

She said, I haven't heard a worship song that I like as much as when my sisters sing it.

I'm like, wow, that's pretty cool.

But they would love to hear that.

She goes, yeah, maybe.

I said, but it's true.

I said, we represent.

Are we perfect? No.

Alicia, do you occasionally strum a wrong note?

Yeah, she says occasionally.

So the point is, we're representing.

Do you worship in here?

If you don't worship in here, you ain't going to worship nowhere.

Do you develop a heart to serve?

If you're not going to have a heart to serve in here, you're not going to develop a heart to serve anywhere.

Does the Word of God motivate you to want to live for Jesus?

To show people that you love God?

If that doesn't do it, ain't nothing going to.

No hikes into wilderness.

No sex out of marriage.

No drugs.

Nothing.

Nothing in this creation is ever going to motivate you to love God and to demonstrate that you love God like God himself through his Word and the preaching and the teaching and the servant and the worship and the witness.

And then what we do in here, what we do as a church gathered, we're never stronger except when a whole bunch of us are doing what it is we're supposed to be doing.

And then you're going to go out there, you're going to live like that?

On the job, in school, in your family, with your kids?

Are you losing your temper?

You're saying words that should never come out of the mouth of an encourager?

Are you doing things that should never be done by a child of the light?

Jesus was saying, get up, let's go.

And the problem is, Jesus said, let us get up, let us get up and go from here.

And he said, let's go where we are now.

That's the problem.

He wanted the disciples to get up and go from there to where we are now.

So that doesn't make no sense, right?

They couldn't do that.

They can't come to the fountain.

I get that.

I understand.

But look at where he told them they would go.

Look at John 14.

We're back into John 14 now.

On the third and final point, and the conclusion is relatively small, so you're hanging in there, you're doing great.

John 14.

And he was explaining to them, when he says, let's get up and let's go, he's already explained to them what that means.

I'll go back as far as 16 so you can see the context.

And it says in John 14, 16, it says, I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper, that he may be with you forever.

That is the spirit of truth.

That's a capital S there.

It's a reference to the Holy Spirit of God.

Whom the world cannot receive because it does not behold him or know him, but you know him because he abides with you and will be in you.

I will not leave you as orphans.

Now, here the subtext.

I will leave you, but I will not leave you as orphans.

I will come to you.

After a little while, the world will behold me no more, but you will behold me because I live.

You shall live also.

In that day, you shall know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you.

He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.

And he who loves me shall be loved by my Father and I will love him and will disclose myself to him.

So this is describing the place at which he was essentially asking them to go.

Now, Judas, not Ascariot, the other Judas, said to him, Lord, what then has happened that you are going to disclose yourself to us and not to the world?

Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our abode with him.

He who does not love me does not keep my words and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me.

These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.

So I'm explaining all of this to you now where you're going to go, where we're going to go.

I'm explaining all of this to you now while I'm with you.

But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring you remembrance.

All that I said to you, peace I leave with you, my peace I give you, not as the world gives do I give to you.

Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

You heard what I said to you, I go away and I will come to you.

If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

And now I have told you before it comes to pass that when it comes to pass you may believe.

See, Jesus was declaring the era of the Holy Spirit.

He was declaring the era of the church as we know it.

He was saying a time is going to come after my death, burial and resurrection, which I will return to you in the presence of my Holy Spirit.

I will return to you and I will be with you and I will abide in you and you will abide in me and you will know that I abide in my Father.

And we're going to have us a party all up inside you.

That's what's going to happen.

And you're going to live for me and you're going to do the will of my Father as you live for me.

And all the world will be able to see that I did what my Father wanted me to do and you're now doing what my Father wants you to do.

We're doing it together.

The church will be the church because I will go to the Father and I will petition him and he will send the Holy Spirit and the church age will begin.

A thing is going to happen.

He says, I will not speak much more with you for the ruler of the world is coming and he has nothing in me, but that the world may know that I love the Father.

And as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do arise.

Let us go from here where I am with you, abiding with you, talking with you, teaching with you.

That time is about to end to there where the church will be the people of God, the body of Christ representing his Holy Spirit in them.

And we will do what it is that God wants us to do.

And the world will look at us doing what it is and they'll say, you weirdo.

You're doing all kinds of you give when you don't have to give you serve when you don't have to serve you bleed when you don't have to bleed.

But we know better because the things that we do for the Lord, we do so that the world may see that we love God just as our leader, our Lord, our example, Jesus Christ did.

He was saying, let's get up from here and go to there.

And you and I, if you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and you're living accordingly, you and I are there where he was saying, let's go to.

We are there.

Unless, of course, you came in here today and you would not claim the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

You do not have a personal relationship with God, in which case I would say, let's go.

Move from where you are now to where Jesus said it'll get done.

To where Jesus said it'll be real, where Jesus said heaven will be our eternal destination.

See, they were to move to a place of keeping a place of keeping his word, which is his father's word to a place of togetherness, where the church would be together, united, overcoming the gates of hell and forever serving Jesus Christ.

Until we leave this frail human body, doesn't matter how strong you think you are, until we leave this frail human body and enter into our new perfected body in his presence.

He was saying, let's go to a place of peace.

I don't give you peace like the world gives you peace.

Okay, I'm sorry you banged your forehead.

It's okay.

I'm sorry you ran out of money.

It's okay.

It's all going to be okay.

We'll send you a check.

It's all going to be okay.

We're going to walk away now, but you're going to be okay.

We don't give peace like Jesus doesn't give peace like that.

Jesus gives peace that endures into eternity.

Your world, your world ain't right right now.

Well, face it, the world ain't right right now.

We are living in a lost and dying world full of unfaithfulness, even in the church.

The world ain't right.

But he doesn't give us peace like the world gives peace.

He gives us peace like only Jesus could give us peace.

Let's go from here where you have no lasting peace because I always am going to have to go.

At some point I'm going to have to go be crucified and die and buried and resurrected.

I'm going to have to go through that.

That peace, this peace, the peace you have now would always end.

That's a world, right?

If you're happy with your wife or you're happy with your husband, you're happy with your kids, you're happy with your job,

that's a peace like the world gives.

It will end, right?

It's not going to last eternally, but the peace that God gives will not end.

That's what he was saying.

And finally, to a place of rejoicing because God is greater and to a place of knowledge

because you can know what it is that's asked.

Have you ever noticed how in the world the target is always changing?

Like in the world right now, you can't even own the car that you own anymore because cars are changing.

And pretty soon, and in certain states it's already this way, the cars that we own right now,

they won't even be allowed to be sold anymore.

I've been cooking on a gas stove for 45 years and an attempt was recently made to outlaw gas stoves

because the target is always changing.

I don't care if they outlaw gas stoves.

That's what the government wants to do.

I'll submit because the Lord says submit to the governance over top of you.

So I'll do that. That's fine.

But what I'm saying is the target is always changing.

The truth is even being denied.

Gender roles are switching.

Everything is changing in the world.

How young a child has to learn about sex, and by sex I mean an intimate act between a boy and a girl.

I would say a man and a woman, but they're learning about it so young.

Let's be realistic, shall we?

The target is always changing in the world, but in the Kingdom of God the target can be known.

The target is the will of that which pleases the Lord.

We do His will and we please Him, and that's a target that can be known.

I want to be part of a kingdom that has a target that can be known.

And Jesus said, let's go.

Let's get up from where they were right then to go where we are right now and know what can be known,

the will of God, and live it out.

All the stuff that's upsetting you, all the stuff that makes you fuss, all the stuff that makes you need encouragement.

It has nothing to do with the standard of the Kingdom of God, which is to live for God the way God gave you to live for Him.

To take all that He has put on your proverbial table and put it to task living for Jesus.

All the stuff that's upsetting you, if you get right down to it, it has nothing to do with that.

It's about money, it's about time, it's about somebody else doing what you want them to do.

It's about something somebody said or the way somebody behaves or the way it looks or the way it tastes or the way you see it.

It's about all that kind of stuff and ain't none of that going to do you any good when it's all good.

Because these chairs are going to be gone, this building is going to be gone, your friends are going to be gone.

Nobody, nobody, nobody will stand up with you at the judgment seat of Christ.

Except Jesus, if He does. And He will, if you trust Him and love Him and accept the relationship that He paid for you.

Now they would do their part, being transported, if you will, to this place of keeping, understanding God's Word and His will.

This place of togetherness, this place of peace, to a place of rejoicing.

Because God is greater, to a place of knowledge.

When they would get in there, they would be given a great commission to become His witnesses throughout all the world.

They would be asked to represent. Jesus was saying, let's go!

The Kingdom of God is on the march. The Kingdom of God will expand and touch every life.

And we will do our part.

And then that brings us to our conclusion.

We have a job to do, it's a lifelong job, and we're not alone.

But the sad truth is this. Noah's message from the steps going up to the ark was not,

something good is going to happen to you.

Amos was not confronted by the high priest of Israel for proclaiming, confession is possession.

Jeremiah was not put into the pit for preaching, I'm okay, you're okay, whatever you want to do is fine.

Daniel was not put into the lion's den for telling people, possibility thinking will move mountains.

John the Baptist was not forced to preach in the wilderness and eventually beheaded because he preached, smile, God loves you.

The two prophets of the tribulation, which is yet to come, will not be killed for preaching,

God is in His heaven and all is right with the world.

Instead, what was the message of these men of God and what will be the message of these men of God is simple, it is one word,

Repent.

It's time we repented and turned to the God of the universe through His Son Jesus Christ and stepped up and followed His commands

and stopped worrying about the cares and the riches of this world and became the kind of people that God has made us to be.

And when God unleashes you like that in your circle, your family, your friends, the people you work with,

the people that go to your school, the people you bump into when you go out to eat or go to the grocery store,

you won't pass a stranger who doesn't say, there's something odd about that man, there's something strange about that woman,

why did he or she stop and take the time of day, why are we even talking right now, what's this thing he's saying about how the word teaches

we all have failures, we all have sins and how God wants to save us through His Son Jesus, they'll all be saying that

because you'll be living the proved, tested, assured, certain will of the Lord,

which is that He would come into relationship with every one of us and everyone you encounter

and you'll be doing that which pleases the Lord, which will be loving and serving others,

especially through that cherished message, the gospel.

So that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commands.

Get up, let's go from here. Let's go.