Thrones & Dominions | Remember - Pastor Rusty Nelson

Welcome to the Rock Family Sermon of the Week.

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Now join us for a message from Pastor Rusty Nelson.

I want to give you one of the key weapons of how to fight a spiritual battle.

One that has been the very fabric of this house from the beginning.

It wasn't because it was it was the planning of a church.

No, it's because it's the very fabric of what it means to be a believer.

What it means to know him.

What it means to make him known, what it means to worship who we are.

What it means to let the spirit of prophecy be on your life.

I'm not talking about somebody that you've got to foresee the future.

There's some people who say they're foreseeing the future.

I just wish they'd shut up.

You know, there are just some people that need to shh for a while.

Because they keep saying and seeing things, and you're going, okay, I get it, but what about the reality of today?

You can go get so consumed with tomorrow, you forget how to live today.

And I'm going to reshape tomorrow by what I do today.

And so my prayer over these next few minutes is that you will just hear the heartbeat of what it means to remember.

I'm going to pull back in time a little bit.

You know, to me, in these days that we're living, the greatest danger for the church in a season of spiritual warfare isn't simply the darkness that surrounds us, but it's the deception we allow to take root within us.

These are not only very prophetic days, they're also very deceptive days.

Who do you believe?

Where do you go?

How do you know what's happening?

I do know this.

God knows drama.

And the very score of the drama of God is always laced with the worship of his people.

Always.

John 4, one of my favorite passages, Jesus goes to the woman at the well.

The woman, he interrupted his entire trip and went and met her, sent them to get food, sent the disciples away, and she's waiting.

He's waiting on her at the well, at Jacob's well, she's there.

And he looks at her and he says, Do you have any?

Can you give me something to drink?

And she knew the well was deep, and because he had said, I have I have water to drink, you don't know anything about.

She said, How are you gonna get that?

You you don't even have anything to draw from.

He said, No, the water I have is gonna change your life.

She said, Well, wait a minute.

I heard we're supposed to worship.

He said, No, listen, let me tell you about worship.

You're not just gonna worship here or there.

There's coming a day where they that worship the Father will worship him in spirit and in truth, in truth and authenticity, in simplicity in the whole positioning, because I would I was just with Paul Wilbur, the messianic worship leader who God has used him for so many years.

And we were sitting, he said, Rusty, if you could define worship as one word, what would you say?

And I said, Well, you know what?

The first word that comes to me is surrender.

I said, the second word that I can come up with is just obedience.

It's what taunts the enemy because it's what he rejected when he rebelled against the one who created him.

He can no longer become the one whose covers, the one who covers in worship.

There's something he lost, but in through that, God came and redeemed us that we were able to gain.

It's called worship, and it's a weapon.

But there's an art that's found in worship.

It's not found in the lyrical content that we could hook and sing.

It's not just wrapped up in some harmony that makes it beautiful.

It's wrapped up in two things.

It's wrapped up in surrender, it's wrapped up in obedience.

There's a passage in Nehemiah chapter 9, verse 15.

Nehemiah 9:15

I want to read this to you very quickly.

In verse 20.

Through verse 20, and here's what it says: In their hunger, you gave them bread from heaven, and in their thirst, you brought them water from the rock, speaking of the wilderness wandering.

You told them to go in and to take possession of the land.

You had sworn with uplifted hand to give them, but they, our forefathers, became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey your commandments.

They refused to listen and they failed to remember the miracles you performed among them.

They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery.

But you are forgiving God.

You're gracious, you're compassionate, you're slow to anger and abounding in love.

Therefore, you did not desert them.

Is anyone thankful that in the middle of your rebellion he did not desert you?

Even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt.

Or when they committed awful blasphemies because of your great compassion, you did not abandon them in the desert.

By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way that they were to take.

You gave your good spirit to instruct them.

You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst.

Let's pray.

Father, thank you for your word.

I just ask you in these next few moments, would you allow my tongue once again to be the pen of a writer?

Somehow I could write your heart to your people.

And I ask it in the name of Jesus.

And everybody said, There's a passage in Isaiah 49 that says this.

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hand.

Let me try this out over here.

He said, I have engraved you.

I've etched you on the palms of my hand.

The greatest spiritual danger is often not just open rebellion, but it's quiet forgetfulness.

Israel didn't nearly lose God's promises because God forgot them.

They nearly lost them because they forgot God.

C.S.

Lewis says this: he says, people need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.

As I was standing here worshiping early, I looked over the tops of these, all of these doors that pastors Scott and Britt have reminded us by keeping them there.

I was reminded of the people of the dream.

And that's you.

But I was also reminded of the God of the dream.

Because without the God of the dream, you will never reach the people of the dream.

Because it's not our dream, it's his.

And sometimes people need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed.

We have many instructors, but yet few fathers.

We have many instructors, but few mothers.

Those that have gone the way.

I look on this front row.

I see my father.

I see Brother Curtis.

I see Sister Paula.

I see these men and women of God.

I see the ones who have who are ahead of us in a journey, and they have paved such a way that you can't help but see the footprints that they've left.

Because there's a weightiness about them.

There's something about the life that they've lived that it was never perfect, but it was about the one who had perfected them.

And it was a praise for the glorious grace.

And they lived their life in such a way.

And by the time we all get there, we're going to look something like him.

Hear me today.

We need to be reminded.

We need to have our memories jogged.

There was a man who went to a memory improvement seminar, and he was out after he'd gotten back, he was trying to practice it, and one of his best friends said, Hey man, what was the name of that seminar you went?

He said, All right, all right, go in there.

He said, All right, which what's that?

It's got a long stem.

It's a flower.

It's got some, it's got stickers on it.

He said, What is that?

You know, it's what is that called?

And the guy said, You mean a rose?

He said, Yes, exactly.

And he called out to his wife.

He said, Hey Rose, what's the name of that seminar?

See, one historian said, the true art of memory is the art of attention.

It's giving your attention.

It's giving your unbridled attention.

It's giving your time.

It's giving your talent.

It's giving your treasure.

It's coming to a realization that I there's nothing I have that's mine.

It's all his.

I have to remember where I've come from.

Because if you forget where you came from, you will never praise him for where you're going, because you will lose sight of how good he has been.

You will lose sight, and the enemy cannot handle someone who thanks him for where they have been.

Because if he finds someone who is thankful for where they've been, he realizes they're going to praise him for where they're going.

And he cannot stop someone who praises.

He can't stop them.

There's a danger of forgetting.

This passage I've given you, they refused to listen.

It was something that Israel willfully did.

They refused to listen to God.

It was disobedience.

In James 1, it says, don't just listen to the word, do what it says.

It's not just having faith, but it's having action that stretches your faith.

Provision waits.

You've heard me say through the years, provision waits on obedience.

Hearing without duty, doing will lead to deception.

It is that deception that goes deeper in the life of a believer than any darkness that tries to invade him.

Because if you're the light of the world, then God gives you the ability to shine in moments if you will just remember his greatness.

They also failed to remember.

They had ingratitude.

They forgot his miracles.

They forgot his compassion.

They forgot his covenant.

See, an ungrateful heart produces ultimately a spoiled spirit.

It gives an entitlement that we deserve this.

Last time I woke up, which was very early this morning, I'm living.

If I fall asleep on myself, would you just wake me up because I had two hours sleep last night?

But here's the thing: an ungrateful heart will put you in a place that you feel like you deserve what God has done.

But gratitude remembers correctly, but entitlement remembers selectively.

It only wants to selectively bring and recall something.

That's entitlement.

And a forgotten miracle soon becomes an expected blessing.

And an expected blessing becomes that entitlement.

But God gives you the power of recall.

Are y'all getting anything out of this today?

Come on, hang with me.

It's the power of remembering.

It says in Psalm 105, give thanks to the Lord.

Remember his marvelous works.

Why?

Because he remembers his covenant forever.

As I was sitting on the front row and I'm saying, God, please show me the message to go with.

And Pastor Scott just kept going, remember, remember, remember, remember.

And I'm sitting there going, okay.

Remember means to recall, to rehearse, to be mindful, to return your heart to the covenant.

Memory produces, it reproduces an emotion of the moment.

It fuels faith.

This memory that shapes perspective.

This memory, when we do that, what we continually rehearse.

Charles Spurgeon said it this way: memory is often the believer's best companion.

You have to rehearse to remember.

I said a while ago, it's about the spirit of prophecy.

What is the spirit of prophecy?

It is your testimony.

Can't nobody tell it the way you tell it.

Pastor just gave an illustration of a young man that got saved last week.

That became a prophetic encounter and an engagement with you today.

Why?

Because he was declaring look what God has done.

If he did it in him, he's gonna show up in some of you today.

He is the same yesterday, today, he's the same forever.

You gotta rehearse to remember.

What happens though when we forget?

The men of Ephraim, it says in Psalm 78, a passage through the years that has meant it has cut me so deeply.

But they were armed, though armed with bows, turned back in the day of battle.

They did not keep God's covenant and they refused to live by his law.

They forgot what he had done, the wonders that he had shown them.

They just forgot it.

I'll remind you what battle it was that they turned from.

They turned from the battle.

That had to do, and I was just in Shiloh or Shiloh.

A few I didn't get to go this time, but a few months ago I was in Shiloh.

It is where the ark was 350 something years.

It was the first capital of Israel.

It's where Hannah would come and cry, give me children lest I die.

It's where Samuel would be presented.

It was the same place he would hear God.

It was the place where Eli, the high priest, had two sons, Hopni and Phineas, and they were constantly doing wickedness there at the tent of meeting that was established.

They had completely rebelled against God, and their father refused to correct them.

And one day God took his hand off of Israel.

And from that, the Philistines rose up and started conquering and winning a fight.

And from that, Hapni and Phineas trying to manipulate the hand of God while still living out the rebellion of their heart.

They took the ark of the presence and they marched the ark into the battle.

And for the first time, God allowed his presence to be captured by the enemy.

And Hapni and Phineas were killed.

It's in that battle that Ephraim, though armed with bows, Ephraim that meant double blessed, the son of Joseph.

He had two sons.

One was Manasseh.

Manasseh's name meant God has caused me to forget my family.

That was happening while he was in Egypt.

And the second son was Ephraim.

He has double blessed me here in this land.

It's the two boys that when Joseph, when Joseph is now coming before Jacob to be blessed, he crosses his arms.

The firstborn was to receive the blessing of Jacob.

But he crossed his arms.

And Joseph said, hey dad, that's not, don't cross your arms.

But when he did, he never stopped and he blessed Ephraim instead of Manasseh.

He gave Ephraim the double blessing.

Why?

Because God never sanctions forgetfulness.

Because the very reason Joseph was there was to be the link of the chain of covenant, to care for his brothers.

And specifically Judah.

That the link of covenant would go through, that one day Messiah would step in that lineage.

He would not bless forgetfulness.

But Israel forgot three things.

They forgot the cup God's covenant.

In other words, they rejected his commitment.

They forgot God's covenant and eventually they started trusting themselves.

They also forgot God's law.

They rebelled against his nature, his commandments.

They rebelled against who God was.

And in doing that, the protection of God came off of their life.

And they also forgot God's works.

They rejected his expressions of love.

See, when God works on our behalf, it's nothing more than God just wrapping his arms around us.

Everything he does, he says, You know, I love you.

See, God's a giver.

Never forget, if you did, if you took Genesis to Revelation, the subject matter is always God, but the verb is give.

God gives.

God gave.

From that point of the beginning to the point of the end, from Alpha to Omega, He is the God who loves, He is the God who gives.

He's the God who forgives.

He is the God who's worthy.

Anybody with me today?

Hebrews 2 says, How shall we escape if we ignore a great salvation?

The word ignore means to neglect or disregard.

It means something that I want you to, I want this to preek in your heart.

It means to leave it unattended.

How can we escape if we do not give attention and we leave it without attention?

This great salvation he's given us.

Johnny, if you'd come.

D.O.

Moody said the Bible was given for transformation, not merely just given for information.

Jesus said, concerning remembering.

He said, I want you to remember a few things.

I want you to remember offenses.

He said, I'm trying to forget offenses.

Why do I need to remember an offense?

You remember something you've not dealt with.

See, if we don't deal with offenses, we give a weapon in the and in the arms and the in the hands of the enemy to combat us in ways God did not want us to be captive by.

Listen, there are some things we've picked our own fight.

Listen, I want I watched some of this stuff going on on the mafia media.

I call it social media many times.

It's the social, it's the mafia monetizing slander and gossip.

And how can I just make my face look a certain way?

How can I put the right tag on it so it becomes clickbait?

Somebody will kick the algorithm in so that I can get people to my feed so that I can make a little money off of the slander I'm about to release about somebody.

I threw that in.

That wasn't in my notes.

I thought I'd just give it.

But here's what he said remember offenses.

Jesus said, if any, if you remember that your brother has something against you, first go be reconciled to your brother.

Leave your gift at the altar.

If you're coming to present a gift and you realize someone has something against you, leave it and go make it right.

Then he said, if someone offended you, if you offended someone, but if someone offended you, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault privately.

Whether you offended them or they offended you, I want you to remember today, don't hold it in.

You don't have to just endure it.

I'm not saying it's going to restore the friendship that used to be there, but God wants to break the hold that has been on your life because praise is bound when offense is embraced.

And if you're going, if we're going to have a weapon of war of praise, we got to learn to let it go.

Kingdom principle.

Listen to this.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

I used to say, man, I'm going to love somebody so many times, so many ways they gotta like one of them.

My problem is I've met a number of people through the years, they didn't like any of them.

I am reminded every day, that's why I have white hair.

But Romans said, live at peace.

Paul said in Galatians, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.

So whether you are the offender or the one who is offended, Jesus said, Go.

Worship never replaces reconciliation.

Healing begins with humility.

The goal of restoration is not some vindication.

So it's your responsibility for your obedience that becomes this expression of worship, surrender and obedience that says this.

God, I'm not holding on to this.

When God appeared to Cain, he said, Cain, where's your brother?

And he said, Am I my brother's keeper?

He said, Son, the blood of your brother cries out to me from the dirt.

It's in the plural form.

The blood of your brother cries out to me.

In the Hebrew, it's speaking not only the blood of Cain, but his entire lineage, because it was severed, it was cut off, everything that would have come from his life is now crying out to God for justice.

And God appears to Cain and says, Where's your brother, Cain?

Yes, you are your brother's keeper.

Hang with me.

See, bitterness remembers the injury, but love remembers the relationship.

You say, What does this have to do with praise?

It has everything to do with praise because forgiveness, forgiveness doesn't erase the memory, it removes the power of the incident, takes it away, and it sets you up to where you become a praise of the glorious grace.

The very thing the enemy wanted to secretly take you out with, with a spiritual cancer.

You know how to have a spiritual warfare.

You want to know what it is to be able to breach the camp of the enemy.

It is when you bring forgiveness and you say, I will not be bound by this thing.

I lift it up and say, For the praise of your glorious grace, I forgive.

Removes his power.

I want you to see this.

Remember your focus.

Jesus is saying this.

Remember your focus.

He gives three words in Luke chapter 17.

Luke 17 · chapter mention

It's the only time we see it recorded.

And Jesus said this: remember Lot's wife.

I'm gonna be finished in about an hour, so please hang with me.

No, no, I'm not.

Almost done.

She looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.

It's like a little boy was in a Sunday school class and he heard the story and he raised up his hand and he said, Well, my mommy looked back and turned into a she turned into a fence post right there.

She just, that was a joke.

Are y'all awake?

I may have picked the wrong message here.

Chris, I'm gonna tag it and let you finish this, alright?

Are y'all getting anything out of this today?

Watch this.

Watch this.

Second Timothy.

All throughout Timothy, Paul is teaching a son and he's training a soldier.

And he says this, he said, people will accumulate teachers to suit their own desires.

Jude 7 talks about Sodom serves as a warning.

What is he talking about?

When you remember Lot's wife, your feet may leave Egypt before your heart does.

Whatever captures your attention will ultimately shape your affection, and your focus will determine your future.

What God was what Jesus said, remember Lot's wife.

I delivered her and brought her out of bondage.

I brought her out of the perversion that the city of Sodom represented, but yet it was so deep inside of her, she turned back and she wanted what she was leaving.

My friend, when our life becomes a praise and we we it becomes a tool and a weapon in our hand is when we look and say, as for me and my house, I will serve the Lord.

God, I thank you.

You can not only deliver me from, but you're gonna take care of delivering me from within.

Everything that's enticing me, God, I thank you.

I surrender it to you.

And it becomes worship to you.

Becomes worship.

Remember his promises.

Says in John 14, the Holy Spirit will remind you everything he has said.

He said, In John, remember what I've told you.

Remember, remember.

Do this in remembrance of me.

Communion is heaven's memorial.

So the enemy reminds you of his failure.

But when you remember, the spirit reminds us of his grace.

When you hold the elements, you hold the bread, you hold the wine, you are saying, God, this is the elements of the greatest love story that has ever been told.

It is the grace of God that has been poured out in my heart by the Holy Spirit.

It is this place that becomes my praise.

I didn't deserve it, I don't, I didn't earn it, but Lord, I lift it up and I thank you.

And I remember your promises.

Return to your first love, return to your altar, return to your surrender.

Sometimes God calls us back before He calls us forward.

He gets us into a place so that we will remember.

Rehearse.

There have been so many times in my life I got so distracted by stuff that I was just distracted.

I couldn't see my way forward.

It's like everything was foggy.

You ever felt spiritually numb?

Come on, is anybody with me?

Am I talking to anybody today?

You ever felt like you, man, you just come into church out of routine and just trying to God feel a thing.

I'm just coming out of discipline.

If you're here out of discipline, hear me.

Thank you for coming out of discipline.

Thank you for coming when you don't feel it.

Thank you for coming when you just think, is this even worth it?

Thank you for still showing up because if you're gonna grow up, you gotta show up.

If you're gonna come to a place where God starts developing in you because what the enemy is trying to destroy, Holy Spirit is developing, it's changing it.

Why don't why don't we sing corporately so that you'll sing privately?

But try this side over here.

You can't take them with you.

You can't wake up in the morning and say, Johnny, would you come?

He ain't coming.

I used to call him up here, and he wasn't coming.

The band's not coming into your bedroom.

They have their own bedrooms to be in.

And sometimes you can't even hit a YouTube and say, okay, I just gotta find peace.

You try to find the closest, it's autumn.

So let me find the YouTube Autumn channel with peaceful melodies of worship.

Maybe if I could just see some cool, beautiful leaves falling.

Maybe it'll bring some shalom.

If not, I'm not going there work anyway.

How many know what I'm talking about?

Listen, I was up early this morning.

I just barely slept, and I I'm trying to find one on YouTube.

Lisa walks in and says, Are you having trouble?

I said, I can't find the right one.

I don't want that one.

I can't find that one.

I've seen those leaves, those AI leaves fall too many times.

I've memorized them.

I need something fresh.

Don't get holy on me.

How many know what I'm saying?

I can just pull it up.

I'm just trying to find a little peace.

And then I'm reminded, well, why don't you remember?

Why don't you remember what I've done for you?

We hope and pray this message was encouraging and impactful.

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Have a Jesus filled week.