WEBVTT 00:00:00.522 --> 00:00:04.062 Pick our bibles up, wave them around, make Jesus glad, the devil mad. 00:00:04.062 --> 00:00:19.088 Let's get in this back to school Sunday the children in the service with us today and we're gonna have prayer over them and our teachers, administrators everybody has anything to do with kids and I mean you believe it's valuable to pray. 00:00:19.088 --> 00:00:22.408 Let's get this year started off right, amen. 00:00:22.408 --> 00:00:25.562 Let's wave our bibles around, make Jesus glad, the devil mad. 00:00:25.562 --> 00:00:32.145 Let's say this together say heavenly Father, I'm here on back to school Sunday because I'm still learning. 00:00:32.145 --> 00:00:35.106 I am a student of the Word of God. 00:00:35.106 --> 00:00:38.186 I'm in the school of the Holy Ghost. 00:00:38.186 --> 00:00:44.710 I don't know it all, but I stay in contact with the one who does. 00:00:44.710 --> 00:00:55.109 Today, this Word is gonna go forth and I'm receiving revelation, knowledge that will grow my faith and develop my spirit. 00:00:55.109 --> 00:00:59.686 In Jesus' name, amen, you can be seated. 00:00:59.820 --> 00:01:13.225 Let's turn in our bibles to the book of Ephesians, chapter five, one of the most important chapter, one of the most important books of the Bible and, of course, a chapter that's. 00:01:13.225 --> 00:01:24.549 You know it's hard to just say what chapter is most important, but this is an important chapter, the whole chapter, ephesians, chapter five and verse one. 00:01:24.549 --> 00:01:29.167 I want you to get the message Bible. 00:01:29.167 --> 00:01:32.286 I forgot to get my iPhone up here to read the message Bible. 00:01:32.286 --> 00:01:39.427 I'm gonna read it out of the King James first and then be ready to flip over to the message, and I'll read the message out loud. 00:01:39.427 --> 00:01:44.430 And the King James says be therefore followers of God as dear children. 00:01:44.430 --> 00:02:03.483 The word followers means imitators and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us for an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet, smelling, savor or fragrance. 00:02:03.483 --> 00:02:11.010 So now the let's put up on the screen the message Bible, ephesians five, one and two. 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:20.099 All right, watch what God does, and then you do it Like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. 00:02:20.099 --> 00:02:22.629 Mostly, what God does is love. 00:02:22.629 --> 00:02:26.737 You Keep company with him, don't you like that? 00:02:26.737 --> 00:02:31.794 Keep company with him and learn a life of love. 00:02:31.794 --> 00:02:36.479 Observe how Christ loved us. 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:40.033 His love was not cautious but extravagant. 00:02:40.033 --> 00:02:45.770 His love was not cautious but extravagant. 00:02:45.770 --> 00:02:54.109 He didn't love in order to get something from us, but to give everything of himself to us. 00:02:54.109 --> 00:02:57.908 Love like that isn't that powerful. 00:02:59.340 --> 00:03:06.379 And so today, on this back to school Sunday, I wanna share a message for our children, but for everybody really, it's. 00:03:06.379 --> 00:03:07.945 All of us need to be reminded. 00:03:07.945 --> 00:03:15.471 Remember who you are, I mean, in this world, it's easy to be attacked. 00:03:15.471 --> 00:03:20.064 We're feeling the attacks of people who are trying to define us. 00:03:20.064 --> 00:03:22.425 They're calling us names. 00:03:22.425 --> 00:03:31.044 I mean, I don't know if you know it, but the church has got a big target on its back, and the other group that's got a big target on their back are the Jews. 00:03:31.044 --> 00:03:46.506 And so we're seeing a rise in anti-Semitism, we're seeing a rise in anti-Christian rhetoric, and we cannot allow ourselves to allow other people, especially lost people, to identify who we are. 00:03:46.506 --> 00:03:47.484 We know who we are. 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:57.324 You know, brother Osteen used to say this a lot of times and after sitting under his ministry all these years, I've never forgotten it. 00:03:57.324 --> 00:04:06.973 But God is love, but he has power, and I'd rather be who he is than have what he has. 00:04:06.973 --> 00:04:19.826 God is love and he has power, but I would rather be who he is than what he has, than have what he has. 00:04:19.826 --> 00:04:24.406 And so, yeah, power, god's giving us power, but let's focus on who is. 00:04:24.406 --> 00:04:24.827 What is it? 00:04:24.827 --> 00:04:29.079 He's love, and God lives on the inside of us. 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:34.524 And the person of the Holy Spirit, every child that's born again. 00:04:34.524 --> 00:04:36.511 In fact, I believe this. 00:04:36.511 --> 00:04:39.389 You might not believe it, I believe it. 00:04:39.389 --> 00:04:42.548 Babies are born with the knowledge of God in them. 00:04:42.548 --> 00:04:45.725 They get to a certain age. 00:04:45.725 --> 00:04:51.685 For children it's always different, different ages, but they come to an age. 00:04:51.704 --> 00:04:54.384 When I was four years old, god called me to the ministry. 00:04:54.384 --> 00:05:00.930 I knew God as a child because I could identify his calling. 00:05:00.930 --> 00:05:09.624 He didn't call again words, he just let me know I had a knowing four years old that I was called into the ministry. 00:05:09.624 --> 00:05:12.225 So I'm Catholic and I'm thinking, oh, I'm gonna be a priest. 00:05:12.225 --> 00:05:23.206 And, of course, when I got to the age of accountability that was later I got to the age of around nine, eight or nine I started saying there's no way. 00:05:23.206 --> 00:05:26.297 I began to see turn away. 00:05:26.297 --> 00:05:28.394 That was the time I needed to get saved. 00:05:28.394 --> 00:05:30.673 If I'd had proper guidance, I could have gotten saved. 00:05:30.673 --> 00:05:35.779 Giving my heart to the Lord, I could have discovered his plan for my life, but I went my own way on purpose. 00:05:35.779 --> 00:05:37.744 I remember that. 00:05:41.052 --> 00:05:43.119 And so, as children, we're innocent. 00:05:43.119 --> 00:05:48.440 As children, we're like God, we're moldable, we're shapeable. 00:05:48.440 --> 00:05:54.535 That's why it's so critical to take care of our children and to watch over them. 00:05:54.535 --> 00:06:08.016 If, whether your child is in public school or private school or home school, you know you still have an obligation to watch over their education, which includes the educating of their mind. 00:06:08.016 --> 00:06:17.937 You have to watch over their bodies and make sure they're healthy, but you've got to watch over their spiritual development and make sure that they're not led astray. 00:06:17.937 --> 00:06:23.660 And so God is on the inside of you. 00:06:23.660 --> 00:06:28.615 The greater one lives inside Everybody say the greater one lives in me. 00:06:28.615 --> 00:06:33.420 See, he's able to put you over in all the affairs of life. 00:06:33.949 --> 00:06:43.278 I just think about all of the white knuckle exams that I took, especially after I got to A&M studied mechanical engineering. 00:06:43.278 --> 00:06:48.437 Well, I didn't even have a course in mechanical engineering until my junior year. 00:06:48.437 --> 00:06:53.572 All I had my freshman and sophomore year was math, math, chemistry. 00:06:53.572 --> 00:06:56.331 Oh, I hated chemistry, physics I got a D. 00:06:56.331 --> 00:07:00.637 So only D of my entire life was in physics. 00:07:00.637 --> 00:07:02.774 You know that, pure science. 00:07:02.774 --> 00:07:03.778 I couldn't relate to it. 00:07:03.778 --> 00:07:04.211 I couldn't. 00:07:04.211 --> 00:07:07.000 They didn't have any practical application. 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:14.596 But when I got into engineering classes, then they started teaching me how to apply physics in everyday life and all of that. 00:07:14.596 --> 00:07:24.798 But I remember those quizzes, oh man, calculus and integral calculus, differential calculus oh man, I sweat drops of blood trying to pass. 00:07:24.798 --> 00:07:26.596 See, I was lost in those days. 00:07:26.730 --> 00:07:30.254 I didn't know that if I'd have been saved, I would have had the Holy Ghost. 00:07:30.254 --> 00:07:33.576 He could have helped me, he could have put me over in every circumstance. 00:07:33.576 --> 00:07:36.416 Children learn to lean on the Holy Ghost. 00:07:36.416 --> 00:07:40.192 He knows the answer, Amen. 00:07:40.192 --> 00:07:51.754 And not only is he living in there, but he has placed within you his own character, his own character. 00:07:51.754 --> 00:07:55.956 You need to remember that you have what he has. 00:07:55.956 --> 00:08:00.673 It's not just power, god is love. 00:08:00.673 --> 00:08:04.252 The love of God has been shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost. 00:08:04.252 --> 00:08:06.035 So you have love in there. 00:08:06.035 --> 00:08:07.857 It's up to you to let it come out. 00:08:07.857 --> 00:08:14.452 And no matter how young or old you are, you'll always have a challenge loving people who differ with you. 00:08:14.452 --> 00:08:19.156 You'll always have a challenge loving people who have it in for you. 00:08:19.156 --> 00:08:20.915 You know you're gonna run across bullies. 00:08:20.915 --> 00:08:23.398 You're gonna run across people that just don't like you. 00:08:23.398 --> 00:08:25.737 The devil in them hates the Jesus in you. 00:08:25.737 --> 00:08:27.194 You just might as well understand that. 00:08:27.194 --> 00:08:29.894 And you have to love them anyhow. 00:08:29.894 --> 00:08:31.973 What does it mean? 00:08:31.973 --> 00:08:34.096 I have to be their best friend? 00:08:34.096 --> 00:08:35.529 No, you don't have to be their best friend. 00:08:35.529 --> 00:08:36.504 You don't try to answer them. 00:08:36.504 --> 00:08:41.041 You don't try to join that conflict. 00:08:41.041 --> 00:08:44.570 You can whisper a little prayer for them, lord. 00:08:44.570 --> 00:08:48.811 They're not treating me very nice, but I forgive them, lord, amen. 00:08:48.811 --> 00:08:54.140 So his own character it says that we're to imitate. 00:08:54.140 --> 00:08:58.336 You watch our heavenly father and do what he does. 00:08:58.336 --> 00:09:00.614 I've told this recently. 00:09:00.614 --> 00:09:04.394 But you know we had I used to mow the backyard, glad I smowed the front yard. 00:09:04.889 --> 00:09:06.196 You know she was very particular. 00:09:06.196 --> 00:09:10.293 I never could please her with my treatment of the front yard. 00:09:10.293 --> 00:09:12.798 She wanted every blade cut. 00:09:12.798 --> 00:09:24.240 I mean there was no such thing as one blade sticking up, and I don't know if she carried scissors around with her or not, but I mean it snipped, snipped, you know. 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:30.438 But I was, the backyard was bigger and I was my job mowing the backyard. 00:09:30.649 --> 00:09:37.375 So but when Jay was little, three, four years old, he had a little plastic lawn mower. 00:09:37.375 --> 00:09:38.796 I was back there mowing the grass. 00:09:38.796 --> 00:09:39.432 I looked around. 00:09:39.432 --> 00:09:42.015 There he is following me with this little plastic lawn mower. 00:09:42.015 --> 00:09:43.097 He wanted to do what I did. 00:09:43.097 --> 00:09:47.318 He wanted to go with dad on the job site. 00:09:47.318 --> 00:09:53.932 I bought him some rubber boots and he'd go out there and wade in the wet concrete on a slab and act. 00:09:53.932 --> 00:10:02.292 Real important, those guys, they just got the biggest kick out of this little kid wading around in the concrete and he had to watch it because he'd get in one of those beams. 00:10:02.292 --> 00:10:06.496 And you know you can get a concrete, a boot full of mud if you're not real careful. 00:10:08.451 --> 00:10:15.292 But we're to imitate, follow after our heavenly Father and Jesus. 00:10:15.292 --> 00:10:16.517 How do we do that? 00:10:16.517 --> 00:10:22.977 Smith Wigglesworth said you know, I can't know God by my feelings. 00:10:22.977 --> 00:10:28.182 I can't know God by my sight, by my five senses. 00:10:28.182 --> 00:10:31.918 I can only know God by His Word. 00:10:31.918 --> 00:10:38.193 The way to know God is to know His Word, to be acquainted with His Word. 00:10:38.193 --> 00:10:39.681 And I don't care how young you are. 00:10:40.429 --> 00:10:42.136 They've got Bibles for young children. 00:10:42.136 --> 00:10:44.817 Get them, have them read their Bible. 00:10:44.817 --> 00:10:47.897 It's worth so much more than fairy tales. 00:10:47.897 --> 00:10:55.979 It's worth so much more than a bunch of the stuff that passes for children's books. 00:10:55.979 --> 00:11:05.597 Make sure your child gets into the Word of God early and then, when they get to that age where they need to get saved, it's just seamless. 00:11:05.597 --> 00:11:13.918 I mean, they just go from knowing the Lord to, all of a sudden, they just get saved and there's no gap in between. 00:11:14.889 --> 00:11:15.894 Are you with me this morning? 00:11:15.894 --> 00:11:19.197 So today, I wanted to share a message. 00:11:19.197 --> 00:11:23.538 Remember who you are, and I wanted to give you some examples out of the Bible. 00:11:23.538 --> 00:11:30.419 Because I can't understand God by my feelings, I can't understand God by my five senses. 00:11:30.419 --> 00:11:31.774 I have to find out. 00:11:31.774 --> 00:11:33.419 What is he like in the Bible. 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:35.452 What are people like that? 00:11:35.452 --> 00:11:36.234 Love God? 00:11:36.234 --> 00:11:41.355 What are the characteristics of God in people who lived in the Bible? 00:11:41.355 --> 00:11:47.059 I've got three, three young people, two boys and a girl, to share with you. 00:11:47.059 --> 00:11:53.929 Each had Implanted in them, even though they they're old, cast at Old Testament. 00:11:53.929 --> 00:12:01.740 They had a, they were Jewish, they were old covenant people, so they didn't have the spirit of God living inside of them like you and I do. 00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:18.307 But yet God had implanted his own character inside of each of these young people, and so I wanted to share with you these characteristics that they inherited from their Heavenly Father, from God. 00:12:18.869 --> 00:12:23.423 The first one is David and First Samuel, chapter 17. 00:12:23.423 --> 00:12:32.967 You probably know the story of David and Goliath and I'm not going to share every little detail of that story, but just to give you the meat of it. 00:12:32.967 --> 00:12:49.508 And but David was the youngest of eight Brothers and it was obvious from reading his story, if you read all of their first Samuel 16, 17 he was not the favorite, he wasn't even his father's favorite, but he was God's favorite. 00:12:49.508 --> 00:12:53.793 God rejected all of his brothers to be king, but chose David. 00:12:53.793 --> 00:13:02.927 And and David was tasked with watching the sheep and While his brothers were at home sleeping bed. 00:13:02.927 --> 00:13:04.110 He's sleepless all night. 00:13:04.110 --> 00:13:05.696 You know, when you're a shepherd, you don't sleep. 00:13:05.696 --> 00:13:10.865 You have to stay awake and guard the sheep, and they're not even his or his father's sheep. 00:13:10.865 --> 00:13:18.585 And being the eighth child, the inheritance is much smaller for him than it is this firstborn. 00:13:18.585 --> 00:13:24.965 The firstborn get a double portion and the rest of everything's have divided up among six brothers and him. 00:13:24.965 --> 00:13:34.715 So so, really, his stake, his stake, in other words, what he was doing, yeah, somebody could say, well, he's gonna inherit everything one of these days. 00:13:34.715 --> 00:13:36.863 Yeah, he's gonna hair part of it, but not all of it. 00:13:36.863 --> 00:13:45.602 So he's doing everybody a favor, back there watching the sheep and delivering them from the paw of the bear, from the mouth of the lion. 00:13:45.602 --> 00:13:46.889 How did he do that? 00:13:46.889 --> 00:13:47.793 He had to stay awake. 00:13:47.793 --> 00:13:50.158 I Mean sleepless nights. 00:13:50.158 --> 00:13:53.466 He had to grab a 40 Winx, ever great once in a while. 00:13:54.268 --> 00:14:06.575 And so it came that the Philistines it was on one mountain and the armies of Israel want were on another mountain, and the Philistines attacked Israel. 00:14:06.575 --> 00:14:21.988 And so the army was called up, including three of the brothers, his older brothers, david's older brothers were sent to the front lines, and After a while his daddy was concerned and he said David, I want you to go and check on your brothers. 00:14:21.988 --> 00:14:24.158 Hey, take some bread. 00:14:24.158 --> 00:14:26.443 Say, take some cheese, fix them a grilled cheese. 00:14:26.443 --> 00:14:34.225 Sam, no, he didn't say that, but anyway, he took bread and cheese and and bring me a report back, tell me how it's going. 00:14:34.556 --> 00:14:47.727 So David arrives at the camp and he sees the armies of Israel, including King Saul, afraid of the Philistines, and they had a man who was a giant. 00:14:47.727 --> 00:14:50.519 He was a dread champion. 00:14:50.519 --> 00:14:55.469 That's what his word, what his name means goliath means dread champion. 00:14:55.469 --> 00:15:10.495 And he was down in the valley all by himself, big old guy, big old, huge sword, big old, huge Helmet and shield and he was threatening all the armies of Israel and he was blaspheming God. 00:15:10.495 --> 00:15:14.542 And when David got there, he was mad. 00:15:14.542 --> 00:15:16.684 He said what in the world? 00:15:16.684 --> 00:15:17.105 Who is? 00:15:17.105 --> 00:15:19.450 Who's gonna shut this mouth up? 00:15:19.450 --> 00:15:23.342 Another words in modern vernacular. 00:15:23.342 --> 00:15:24.647 He was talking trash. 00:15:24.647 --> 00:15:31.568 You know what I mean by talking trash somebody that's just talking and trying to intimidate you with words. 00:15:31.568 --> 00:15:34.500 But he could back his words up. 00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:41.302 I mean he was huge, and so they're all hide behind rocks way up on the mountain sides, nobody's down there in the valley with him. 00:15:42.275 --> 00:15:46.330 But David gets there and he starts what, who's gonna do something about this? 00:15:46.330 --> 00:15:47.614 Is there not a cause? 00:15:47.614 --> 00:15:50.485 And His older brother, you know, he started. 00:15:50.485 --> 00:15:52.273 He said what are you doing here? 00:15:52.273 --> 00:15:53.035 Shrimp, I'm. 00:15:53.035 --> 00:15:55.264 He didn't say shrimp, but that's, that's the import. 00:15:55.264 --> 00:15:58.785 Why don't you, why did you leave those few sheep out there? 00:15:58.785 --> 00:16:02.645 What do you make sure such an expert come in and here telling us what to do? 00:16:02.645 --> 00:16:08.327 Let's go back home and watch those few sheep so you can tell that he's not the favorite. 00:16:08.327 --> 00:16:11.522 You know, when you serve God, you're not always gonna be everybody's favorite. 00:16:11.522 --> 00:16:12.123 You're not. 00:16:12.123 --> 00:16:20.323 You're not always gonna be well liked, even by your own family, sometimes, even by your own family, sometimes. 00:16:20.323 --> 00:16:27.514 Sometimes we serve God and our older brothers and sisters don't, and sometimes it drives a wedge. 00:16:27.514 --> 00:16:29.019 I hate to see that. 00:16:29.019 --> 00:16:34.187 Well, be part of the love, part of that, be part of the love equation. 00:16:34.187 --> 00:16:39.860 And so, finally, david Just had enough. 00:16:40.442 --> 00:16:41.827 Saul tried to give him his arm. 00:16:41.827 --> 00:16:45.041 He said no, I can't go in that, I've got to go with what I have. 00:16:45.041 --> 00:16:47.998 And what he had was Was a slingshot. 00:16:47.998 --> 00:16:51.187 Now I'm not talking about one of these with a rubber band on it. 00:16:51.187 --> 00:16:55.556 I'm talking about something that you whirl around your head and Physics. 00:16:55.556 --> 00:17:02.335 The physics of it is that that strap that holds the rock is an extension of your arm. 00:17:02.335 --> 00:17:17.930 So if you've got a three-foot, a six-foot strap that you put in two and put the stone in the corner of it, swing it around your head, you've got three feet longer arms so that when you let that thing grow it's like your arm is three foot longer. 00:17:17.930 --> 00:17:21.621 So it, the velocity of that stone is something. 00:17:21.701 --> 00:17:31.898 I saw a young man do that and he threw a stone with a slingshot across the Sabanel River and you could hear that thing whistling through the, through the air. 00:17:31.898 --> 00:17:33.986 He had killed deer with it. 00:17:33.986 --> 00:17:38.445 Could kill a deer with that, with a rock and a sling. 00:17:38.445 --> 00:17:42.607 So he whirled that thing and what I want you to see? 00:17:42.607 --> 00:17:44.375 That he ran to the battle. 00:17:44.375 --> 00:17:46.320 He told Goliath. 00:17:46.320 --> 00:17:49.391 He said this day the Lord will give you into my hand. 00:17:49.391 --> 00:17:52.526 He didn't talk trash, he talked about what God was gonna do. 00:17:52.526 --> 00:17:58.823 He said this day my God is gonna hand you in the Philistine army into our hands. 00:17:58.823 --> 00:18:02.509 I'm gonna take your head off and give your body to the birds. 00:18:02.509 --> 00:18:09.463 Whoo, and he ran toward him and of course Goliath was insulted. 00:18:09.463 --> 00:18:16.615 Here's this freckle face, redheaded Shrimp of a kid, you know, didn't even have enough hair on his face for a beard. 00:18:16.615 --> 00:18:22.431 Well, who are you come out out here with a slingshot? 00:18:22.431 --> 00:18:23.713 Who in the world are you? 00:18:23.713 --> 00:18:23.794 And? 00:18:23.794 --> 00:18:31.163 And he found out real quick when that stone buried right in his head and he fell over and David cut his head off. 00:18:31.163 --> 00:18:39.184 And then the Philistines were afraid, they all began to flee and the armies of Israel wrought a great victory. 00:18:39.184 --> 00:18:43.032 God, god took over. 00:18:43.032 --> 00:18:46.019 When the man of God took over, are y'all with me now? 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:48.444 Yeah, and so what was David? 00:18:48.444 --> 00:18:50.373 David was fearless. 00:18:50.645 --> 00:18:53.944 Everybody say I'm fearless, see, because God is fearless. 00:18:53.944 --> 00:18:56.734 God is never afraid and he's living on the inside. 00:18:56.734 --> 00:19:00.256 His characteristics are imparted with you. 00:19:00.256 --> 00:19:02.472 Learn to tap into who God is. 00:19:02.472 --> 00:19:06.934 Oh man, don't try to tackle problems in your own strength. 00:19:06.934 --> 00:19:11.351 Everybody say I'm fearless Because my God is fearless. 00:19:11.351 --> 00:19:20.830 See, it's not pride to say what you have, it's not proud, it's not pride to say that you're fearless because you're fearless because God lives on the inside. 00:19:20.830 --> 00:19:25.087 Everybody say I am fearless, see, notice, it's not. 00:19:25.087 --> 00:19:27.209 It's something you have, it's something you are. 00:19:27.209 --> 00:19:31.006 You are fearless, all right. 00:19:32.045 --> 00:19:35.055 And so then the second Bible story. 00:19:35.055 --> 00:19:37.353 And these are not stories, these are testimonies. 00:19:37.353 --> 00:19:53.030 There are people out there today, masquerading as teachers that are false teachers and false ministers, that are saying that the Bible is made up of fables that were passed on from father to son, generation to generation. 00:19:53.030 --> 00:19:54.651 But that's not what the Bible is. 00:19:54.651 --> 00:19:55.849 It's not a bunch of fables. 00:19:55.849 --> 00:20:02.974 These are testimonies that were written down by holy men of God inspired by the Holy Spirit. 00:20:02.974 --> 00:20:07.488 These happened, these are facts. 00:20:07.488 --> 00:20:12.032 And so the second example, daniel. 00:20:13.704 --> 00:20:19.090 And Daniel came along as a young Jewish boy and some friends of his, and they were under captivity. 00:20:19.090 --> 00:20:30.609 Babylon had come and defeated Israel because Israel had departed from God and worshiping the God of different of the world, much like it is today. 00:20:30.609 --> 00:20:36.753 I mean there's more people, just more and more people are just worshiping other gods. 00:20:36.753 --> 00:20:43.013 They have other idols, they worship personalities, they worship other entities. 00:20:43.013 --> 00:20:50.952 Let's always keep in mind there is a God, and he's our heavenly father, and there is a Jesus. 00:20:50.952 --> 00:20:53.412 He lives on the inside and the person of the Holy Ghost. 00:20:54.525 --> 00:21:15.374 So Bible says that he was called in to be in the court of the king's astrologers and wizards and all of his smart people, and they found them to be 10 times smarter than all of the adults that they had. 00:21:15.374 --> 00:21:25.914 These were young people and because they knew God, they knew the God of Abraham, isaac and Jacob, because they were children that knew the Bible. 00:21:25.914 --> 00:21:27.809 What Bible did they have? 00:21:27.809 --> 00:21:37.871 Well, they had the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, the first five books that Moses wrote in the wilderness, and so that's all they had. 00:21:37.871 --> 00:21:43.377 And so they clung to that, and it let them be pure. 00:21:43.377 --> 00:21:46.251 You know, they wouldn't eat the king's meat. 00:21:46.251 --> 00:21:47.851 The king's meat wasn't kosher. 00:21:47.851 --> 00:21:52.615 They clung to kosher food. 00:21:52.615 --> 00:22:03.695 And it says that the king and all of his wizards and scientists found Daniel and the Shadrach a bishak and a bed-n-a-go. 00:22:03.695 --> 00:22:05.160 That's the other three friends. 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:06.304 How many of you heard of them? 00:22:06.304 --> 00:22:09.547 And he had others besides them. 00:22:09.547 --> 00:22:11.666 They were 10 times smarter. 00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:13.585 Everybody say 10 times smarter. 00:22:13.585 --> 00:22:20.779 You know, every day when we'd send Claire and Jay off to school, we'd glad us would lay hands on them. 00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:23.307 I would too, but sometimes I was already gone. 00:22:23.307 --> 00:22:25.606 One time we forgot to pray. 00:22:25.606 --> 00:22:29.150 We were in a hurry, running late, and they hung around. 00:22:29.150 --> 00:22:30.903 Oh, we got a hurry, well, you haven't prayed yet. 00:22:30.903 --> 00:22:35.049 We didn't realize that they cared that much. 00:22:35.049 --> 00:22:39.531 But you know, they might roll their eyes, they might look out the window, they might look down at their shoes. 00:22:39.531 --> 00:22:46.088 But let me tell you something, they're listening to you, and I mean we laid hands on them and over them. 00:22:46.088 --> 00:22:52.383 We spoke there, 10 times smarter than all the heathen kids, amen. 00:22:52.383 --> 00:22:54.986 Well, my kids struggling to go. 00:22:54.986 --> 00:22:57.729 Well, start calling things, but be not as though they were. 00:22:57.729 --> 00:23:01.001 They say he's 10 times smarter, it works. 00:23:01.001 --> 00:23:05.909 And so it didn't make him popular. 00:23:07.220 --> 00:23:23.940 You know, in fact, over a process of time, the Persians conquered the Babylonians, they moved kings and these kids were shuffled off to another kingdom and Daniel's custom he would pray three times a day. 00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:30.348 He would kneel down and praise and adore God and he would offer us prayer. 00:23:30.348 --> 00:23:32.846 He would petition God for things. 00:23:32.846 --> 00:23:38.160 And so they, his enemies, saw that it was going on. 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:42.826 They devised a plot let's get the king to make this illegal. 00:23:42.826 --> 00:23:46.140 See, what's going on right now is nothing new. 00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:47.826 It's right here in the Bible. 00:23:47.826 --> 00:23:50.587 They're trying to make what we do illegal. 00:23:50.587 --> 00:23:53.866 They tried to make church illegal last year. 00:23:53.866 --> 00:23:58.306 Don't ever forget what they tried to do. 00:23:58.306 --> 00:24:02.766 We're not putting up with it, not even a little bit. 00:24:02.766 --> 00:24:07.794 And so they may. 00:24:07.794 --> 00:24:08.859 They tricked the king. 00:24:08.859 --> 00:24:13.160 So, the king, we want you to sign this edict for the next 30 days. 00:24:13.339 --> 00:24:19.385 Anybody found worshiping, anybody but beside the king is going to be thrown into the den of lines. 00:24:19.385 --> 00:24:28.766 And so he just dumped, you know, stupidly, signed this petition, didn't ask any questions. 00:24:28.766 --> 00:24:31.067 And they did it in order to catch Daniel. 00:24:31.067 --> 00:24:33.949 They knew they couldn't catch him in any misbehavior. 00:24:33.949 --> 00:24:36.747 He was pure, he was, he was straight as an arrow. 00:24:36.747 --> 00:24:40.328 And yet they knew he worshiped God. 00:24:40.328 --> 00:24:44.463 And so as soon as he worshiped God, they saw, they heard him, they saw him. 00:24:44.463 --> 00:24:49.986 They turned him in and the king had no choice but to put him in the lines. 00:24:49.986 --> 00:24:57.630 Then he didn't want to, but because of his words, see, he's king, and he had made this law, that was that he couldn't take back. 00:24:57.630 --> 00:25:00.406 And so Daniel had to go into the lines then. 00:25:02.181 --> 00:25:08.695 And all that night the king couldn't sleep and he couldn't wait till daylight he went, he went over to the lines. 00:25:08.695 --> 00:25:13.579 Then he says oh Daniel, greatly beloved, was your God able to deliver you? 00:25:13.579 --> 00:25:18.564 From the mouth of the line who glory to God, I feel the Holy Ghost. 00:25:18.564 --> 00:25:21.205 Oh Daniel, greatly beloved. 00:25:21.205 --> 00:25:26.444 I mean, sometimes we're loved, but it doesn't matter, they're going to do us wrong anyhow. 00:25:26.444 --> 00:25:30.942 Sometimes we think we have favor with somebody, but you know what? 00:25:30.942 --> 00:25:33.045 They let you down right at the right, at the. 00:25:33.045 --> 00:25:38.789 You know when it's time to fish or cut bait, all right. 00:25:38.789 --> 00:25:42.048 So he said oh King, live forever. 00:25:42.048 --> 00:25:43.441 Don't. 00:25:43.441 --> 00:25:44.685 Don't you love Daniel? 00:25:44.685 --> 00:25:46.384 Oh King, live forever. 00:25:46.384 --> 00:25:53.728 God has sent his angels and they have shut the mouths of the lines and they have not harmed me. 00:25:53.728 --> 00:25:55.926 Oh, glory to God. 00:25:55.926 --> 00:26:03.263 I'll tell you, god is able to deliver you, no matter what the law says. 00:26:03.263 --> 00:26:09.508 And so what we see here was Daniel was faithful. 00:26:09.508 --> 00:26:11.250 Was he fearless? 00:26:11.250 --> 00:26:13.335 Yeah, he was fearless and faithful. 00:26:13.335 --> 00:26:15.279 And so was so was David. 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:21.827 David was was fearless and faithful the two characteristics. 00:26:22.974 --> 00:26:24.903 Faithfulness is one of the fruit of the spirits. 00:26:24.903 --> 00:26:31.909 When you develop as a Christian, from a child all the way into adulthood, that faithfulness is something we can grow into. 00:26:31.909 --> 00:26:33.767 We can grow and grow and grow. 00:26:33.767 --> 00:26:38.165 And you know, last year's faithfulness might not be enough for this year's faithfulness. 00:26:38.165 --> 00:26:42.411 We need to be growing in our commitment to God. 00:26:42.411 --> 00:26:47.105 I believe we're living at a time when God is gonna require us to show up. 00:26:47.105 --> 00:26:54.607 We've been sitting on the backside, maybe up on the side of the hill out of the battle, looking down on it. 00:26:54.607 --> 00:26:57.868 He might want us down there, right in the middle of it. 00:26:57.868 --> 00:27:07.026 I think about how many wonderful teachers we have and administrators that are working in public school and they've seen the decline. 00:27:07.026 --> 00:27:12.107 They've seen the curriculum turn, they've seen all kinds of, and God has sown them into this battle. 00:27:12.107 --> 00:27:16.349 They're still there, they're influencing as much as they can. 00:27:16.349 --> 00:27:18.566 So proud of each one of you. 00:27:18.566 --> 00:27:27.564 And so so David was fearless and faithful, daniel was fearless and faithful. 00:27:28.980 --> 00:27:31.788 And then the last one I wanna talk about is Esther. 00:27:31.788 --> 00:27:35.289 I had to find a girl lots of girls in the Bible. 00:27:35.289 --> 00:27:55.445 So, esther, you know, you can read it for yourself but she was a young Jewish girl raised by her uncle, mordecai, and she caught the eye of the king as a teenager, probably 18, 17. 00:27:55.445 --> 00:27:57.242 I mean Jewish girls. 00:27:57.242 --> 00:28:01.788 They didn't wait till they're 25, 30, 35 years old to get married. 00:28:01.788 --> 00:28:04.249 They got married early 16, 15. 00:28:04.249 --> 00:28:16.417 And so she caught the eye of the king and he invited her into his palace to be there. 00:28:16.417 --> 00:28:21.911 And then the former queen, vashti, was a diva. 00:28:21.911 --> 00:28:27.667 I mean, the Bible is amazing, it's got all these wonderful testimonies. 00:28:27.667 --> 00:28:30.067 And Vashti was a diva. 00:28:30.067 --> 00:28:35.048 She had a lot of followers on social media. 00:28:35.048 --> 00:28:51.007 She posed like this I don't know what that's about, but anyway, she was a legend in her own mind. 00:28:51.007 --> 00:29:01.183 And she got to smarten off to the king and the king said you know what woman get on the backside of the palace, I don't wanna see you. 00:29:01.183 --> 00:29:06.467 He removed her from being queen and he looked around and saw Esther. 00:29:06.467 --> 00:29:24.924 He made Esther the queen of this huge 127 different provinces this is the Persian empire and a little Jewish girl now that King didn't know she was Jewish, but she was beautiful and she had attendance and all that. 00:29:25.405 --> 00:29:34.949 Oh yeah, now Mornichai, her uncle, you know he didn't get invited in the palace but there was this wicked Heyman who was one of the chiefs of staff. 00:29:34.949 --> 00:29:37.336 Maybe he was the press secretary, maybe he was. 00:29:37.336 --> 00:29:40.205 We don't know what Heyman was. 00:29:40.205 --> 00:29:44.368 He was a self-promoting, wicked person. 00:29:44.368 --> 00:29:54.065 And and when he walked through you know the street, mornichai, you know supposed to kind of bow, you're supposed to give obeisance, you're supposed to. 00:29:54.065 --> 00:30:02.067 You know, notice Heyman, and he wouldn't even look his way, he just acted like he was nobody and it made him mad. 00:30:02.067 --> 00:30:05.679 He hated Mornichai and he hated Jews. 00:30:05.679 --> 00:30:06.119 He was a. 00:30:06.119 --> 00:30:06.941 You know this. 00:30:06.941 --> 00:30:14.229 This whole Heyman spirit is the spirit of anti-Semitism, it's the devil, it's the anti-Christ spirit. 00:30:14.249 --> 00:30:17.137 And so Heyman started again. 00:30:17.137 --> 00:30:19.122 You know, he devised a plan. 00:30:19.122 --> 00:30:22.627 He said here King, sign this edict such and such a time. 00:30:22.627 --> 00:30:24.999 These Jews are, they're they're they're. 00:30:24.999 --> 00:30:26.182 They're not good. 00:30:26.182 --> 00:30:27.227 You need to get rid of them. 00:30:27.227 --> 00:30:28.431 They're any. 00:30:28.431 --> 00:30:29.515 Lied about the Jews. 00:30:29.515 --> 00:30:33.878 They've been lying about the Jews for forever Lied about what they were doing. 00:30:33.878 --> 00:30:35.423 There they're fomenting rebellion. 00:30:35.423 --> 00:30:37.086 They they're looking for another king. 00:30:37.086 --> 00:30:38.898 They worship different gods, and we do. 00:30:38.898 --> 00:30:39.980 You need to kill all of them. 00:30:39.980 --> 00:30:52.925 They wanted to eradicate spirit of Heyman, which is a spirit of anti-Christ, wanted to eradicate Israel, and he signed it not knowing that Esther is Jewish. 00:30:52.925 --> 00:30:57.643 So Mornichai gets word to an estrus as Esther. 00:30:57.643 --> 00:30:59.267 This is terrible. 00:30:59.267 --> 00:31:00.429 Our people are at risk. 00:31:02.198 --> 00:31:05.095 It could be that God, for such a time as this, has called you. 00:31:05.095 --> 00:31:11.989 Don't think, if you refuse to go to the king and intercede for your people, don't think that God is limited by you. 00:31:11.989 --> 00:31:13.898 He'll find deliverance some other way. 00:31:13.898 --> 00:31:18.008 But as for you, now this the ball is in your court. 00:31:18.008 --> 00:31:21.097 In other words, was she fearless? 00:31:21.097 --> 00:31:22.060 Yeah, she was fearless. 00:31:22.060 --> 00:31:22.883 Was she faithful? 00:31:22.883 --> 00:31:24.527 Yeah, she was faithful, both of those. 00:31:26.076 --> 00:31:27.858 Now, it had weird rules. 00:31:27.858 --> 00:31:28.520 You know. 00:31:28.520 --> 00:31:30.505 You weren't supposed to approach the king. 00:31:30.505 --> 00:31:35.402 The king had to approach you, and so she had that. 00:31:35.402 --> 00:31:37.426 She said, no, look, I'm gonna do it. 00:31:37.426 --> 00:31:42.987 I'm gonna approach the king if I have to, but you get everybody that you know to fast and pray three days. 00:31:42.987 --> 00:31:52.761 I'm gonna get me and my Associates and we're gonna fast and pray for three days, and then I'll let you know what happens, and God's gonna give me wisdom how to handle this. 00:31:52.781 --> 00:31:59.273 And God put in her heart to throw a banquet for her king and invite Heyman to the banquet. 00:31:59.273 --> 00:32:15.877 And so After three days she kind of put herself in position and when I mean, when the king saw her, he held out his scepter and called her, so she didn't have to call herself what do you want? 00:32:15.877 --> 00:32:18.185 What do you want, esther? 00:32:18.185 --> 00:32:23.126 It will be granted unto thee, even up to the half of my kingdom. 00:32:23.126 --> 00:32:25.618 What do you want? 00:32:25.618 --> 00:32:30.166 You can have anything, anything you want, up to half of my king. 00:32:30.166 --> 00:32:31.208 Boy, talk about favor. 00:32:31.208 --> 00:32:37.246 God gave her favor and she said oh, king, I just want to, I'll tell you to banquet. 00:32:37.246 --> 00:32:41.262 I want to pitch a banquet for you and Heyman here at the palace. 00:32:41.262 --> 00:32:49.454 Oh and boy, he was so impressed with the banquet, you know, and they had this banquet and Heyman, oh, his chest was out, his head was held high. 00:32:49.454 --> 00:32:53.242