SPEAKER_01: This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God.
SPEAKER_01: For more information about Grand Parkway, visit GrandProquay.org.
SPEAKER_02: Father, when we sing great songs like that, we're reminding ourselves that this doesn't depend on us.
SPEAKER_02: It didn't start with us, it won't go forward because of us, and it never depended on us.
SPEAKER_02: It depends on you.
SPEAKER_02: The Bible says that Hugh began a good work in you.
SPEAKER_02: We'll continue it to the day of Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: If this is just our idea, it'll get as far as we have energy for, which is about three days.
SPEAKER_02: But because God began this good work in us, we come to faith because of God, reveals himself to us, draws us to him.
SPEAKER_02: Despite all the circumstances that challenge our conversion, you see to it that it happens.
SPEAKER_02: So, Holy Spirit, God, teach us today from your word and by your spirit, enlighten and illumin, illuminate, bring light to bear on the truth so we can speak truth to people tomorrow.
SPEAKER_02: Not condemnation, not guilt, not shame.
SPEAKER_02: There's enough of that in the world.
SPEAKER_02: But we want to speak truth because the truth is what sets us free.
SPEAKER_02: And so it gives us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
SPEAKER_02: So help us, God, we pray in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_02: And everyone said, Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: You could have a seat.
SPEAKER_02: If you've got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open it up to Daniel chapter 7.
SPEAKER_02: If you're our guest, we've preached through books of the Bible here.
SPEAKER_02: We're preaching through the Old Testament book of Daniel right now.
SPEAKER_02: We're in chapter 7.
SPEAKER_02: I'll start reading verse 15.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, and if you're joining us online, I want to encourage you to grab your Bible.
SPEAKER_02: Whether you're Cheryl up in Minnesota, or you're my golf buddy in North Carolina, or you're our friends out in Montana that watch our podcast, uh, you're welcome to grab a Bible and dig in.
SPEAKER_02: If you're one of our people that's not yet comfortable worshiping in person, want you to know that we've not forgotten about you.
SPEAKER_02: You are an integral, vital part of our congregation.
SPEAKER_02: We love you.
SPEAKER_02: We're praying for you, uh, and we look forward to welcoming you back when you're comfortable to worship in person.
SPEAKER_02: In the meantime, get your Bible, open it up, and I want to talk to you this morning about the power of perspective.
SPEAKER_02: The power of perspective.
SPEAKER_02: Or if you don't like that title, here's another one.
SPEAKER_02: And it's this How do you believe the world will end?
SPEAKER_02: How do you believe the world will end?
SPEAKER_02: Because we have a lot of people nowadays, they're a little dysregulated, they're a little concerned about things.
SPEAKER_02: And when I'm in a grocery store or a restaurant, if people find out I'm a preacher or people know that I'm a preacher, like I was in Rudy's other day, and the guy was serving me, he went, You're a you're a pastor, aren't you?
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, Yeah, why?
SPEAKER_02: He goes, Because I've been to your church before.
SPEAKER_02: I said, Oh, well, thanks for coming.
SPEAKER_02: He goes, Yeah, I enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_02: Uh uh, and so when I say the power of perspective, what I mean is this perspective doesn't mean we sit around and do nothing.
SPEAKER_02: It does mean that we live lives that convey to everyone around us that we trust somebody.
SPEAKER_02: Perspective is not uh fatalism, uh this passive sense of fatalism.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, but no, it is that we see the world through a different lens because of our faith.
SPEAKER_02: And what we see in Daniel chapter 7, like if you have an iPhone and you picked up your pulled up your camera, you could take photo, you could, you could, you, you, you could kind of enhance the photo, but also they have a little button on there, a little thing you can push for a panoramic photo.
SPEAKER_02: A panoramic is a picture that takes kind of a sweep and you kind of hold the camera and it just kind of takes a big, wide, uh, all I mean long, skinny view of everything.
SPEAKER_02: Daniel chapter 7 is the the ultimate in panoramic pictures.
SPEAKER_02: It is the guy named Daniel has a dream, and in the dream, catch this, okay?
SPEAKER_02: Because he's basically gonna say, I kind of freaked out when I woke up from this dream.
SPEAKER_02: In the dream, God reveals to Daniel everything from the time he's living right now to all the way to the end of the world.
SPEAKER_02: Talk about pressure, okay?
SPEAKER_02: And so it's this ultimate panoramic view of everything.
SPEAKER_02: So if you're a guest today and you're kind of like, Are you gonna tell me how the world's gonna end?
SPEAKER_02: Not at all.
SPEAKER_02: God stopped me in a restaurant the other day, some news show was on the little waiting area on the TV, and it was, you know, gloom and doom and stock markets down and blah, blah, blah.
SPEAKER_02: And he goes, Hey, preacher, is the world ending?
SPEAKER_02: And I said, No, not yet.
SPEAKER_02: And he goes, What do you mean?
SPEAKER_02: I said, Oh, it's gonna get much worse.
SPEAKER_02: And he said, What do you mean?
SPEAKER_02: And I said, The Bible says it's gonna get so bad that people are gonna ask the rocks to fall on them and kill them, and God's not gonna let it happen because they're gonna be punished for their di for their unbelief.
SPEAKER_02: And so it's gonna get a lot worse before this all ends, but it is going to end.
SPEAKER_02: And about that time the hostess said, on that happy note, I got your table ready.
SPEAKER_02: And we walked over there, we sat down, and I said, I'm not trying to be Debbie Downer, I'm just trying to be honest because we're prepared for everything except what is coming.
SPEAKER_02: And she's like, uh, I don't want to think about that.
SPEAKER_02: I said, Yeah, you don't have to live in fear of it, but also don't live in ignorance.
SPEAKER_02: See, here's my concern about us as a culture.
SPEAKER_02: What we lack in knowledge, we try to make up for in authenticity.
SPEAKER_02: I'm just keeping it real.
SPEAKER_02: I'm just being off.
SPEAKER_02: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_02: You you you you can know.
SPEAKER_02: So there's this panoramic that gives us a power of perspective.
SPEAKER_02: I want to start reading in Daniel chapter 7, verse 15.
SPEAKER_02: Daniel says, As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me.
SPEAKER_02: I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all of this.
SPEAKER_02: So he told me and he made known to me the interpretation of the things.
SPEAKER_02: These four great beasts are four kings who shall rise out of the earth.
SPEAKER_02: But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.
SPEAKER_02: And then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, which devoured and broken pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up, and before which three of them fell.
SPEAKER_02: The horn that had eyes and a mouth, and spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions, as I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: Thus he said, As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which shall be different from all the other kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down and break it in pieces.
SPEAKER_02: As for the ten horns, out of the kingdom, ten kings shall rise arise, and another shall arise after them.
SPEAKER_02: He shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings.
SPEAKER_02: He shall speak words against the most high, and shall wear out the saints of the most high, and shall think no and shall think to change the times and the law, and they shall be given into his hands for a time, times, and a half a time.
SPEAKER_02: But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.
SPEAKER_02: And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.
SPEAKER_02: His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
SPEAKER_02: Here is the end of the matter.
SPEAKER_02: As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.
SPEAKER_02: Which that last part is what I find really fascinating.
SPEAKER_02: He says, This was a little disturbing.
SPEAKER_02: My color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.
SPEAKER_02: Can you imagine having a dream like this and keeping it all to yourself?
SPEAKER_02: I mean, your wife wakes up and you're screaming and sweating.
SPEAKER_02: You sweated through your pajamas and she goes, Everything okay?
SPEAKER_02: And you're like, I'm good.
SPEAKER_02: Is the coffee ready?
SPEAKER_02: This is what happens in Daniel chapter 7.
SPEAKER_02: I mean, he says right there in verse 28, hey, this this my thoughts greatly alarmed me.
SPEAKER_02: My color changed.
SPEAKER_02: I was ashen white, basically, but I kept the matter in my heart, which is what he did.
SPEAKER_02: Because God reveals things to people that he can entrust with that.
SPEAKER_02: Now, let me acknowledge something.
SPEAKER_02: This is one of those parts of the Bible, it's called apocalyptic literature.
SPEAKER_02: It's kind of telling you about the future, and it can sound crazy.
SPEAKER_02: It's kind of like, see, I don't understand things when I go to church.
SPEAKER_02: Just relax.
SPEAKER_02: It's my responsibility.
SPEAKER_02: And I'm gonna go back and explain to you what we just read.
SPEAKER_02: It's like eating an orange.
SPEAKER_02: You peel it and then you section it out.
SPEAKER_02: There's like four sections of what happens here.
SPEAKER_02: And then I give you three things to take away to say, hey, this is what this should mean to us in 2021, okay?
SPEAKER_02: The power of perspective, four things that we see.
SPEAKER_02: Number one, we see concern.
SPEAKER_02: When we see concern, it's in verse 13, verse 15.
SPEAKER_02: Look at it.
SPEAKER_02: As for me, Daniel, uh, with my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me.
SPEAKER_02: Understatement of the year, okay?
SPEAKER_02: Let me ask you a question.
SPEAKER_02: If you looked over the past year, global pandemic, political unrest, very volatile election, people storming the Capitol, people looting and burning this summer.
SPEAKER_02: If any point this over the past 12 months, you've gotten a little concerned about our country.
SPEAKER_02: Say amen.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, now the reason I say that is because some people are like, man, I'm kind of concerned.
SPEAKER_02: Should I have more faith?
SPEAKER_02: No, I think because you have faith, you are concerned.
SPEAKER_02: Now, that doesn't mean we're fearful.
SPEAKER_02: When I say concern, well, let me just say this: our concern has to be tempered, tempered with perspective.
SPEAKER_02: Otherwise, we misrepresent ourselves and the gospel.
SPEAKER_02: So if you're here today and you're concerned or you're watching at home and you're concerned, uh, don't beat yourself up and think, man, if I had more faith.
SPEAKER_02: No, no, it's people of faith that we should see things more clearly than anybody around us.
SPEAKER_02: And so we carry just a little bit of this weight of concern.
SPEAKER_02: Don't let that weight of concern, though, kind of dip down into depression or hopelessness, because then we lose sight of the gospel, all right?
SPEAKER_02: And so what we see, first of all, is concern in the Bible and in us.
SPEAKER_02: Second thing I want to point to is what I call clarity.
SPEAKER_02: Clarity.
SPEAKER_02: It's verse 19 to 22.
SPEAKER_02: He says, and I desire to know the truth about the fourth beast.
SPEAKER_02: Now, if you're if you're just jumping in today, you're kind of like, what is he talking about?
SPEAKER_02: Well, in the first part, a couple weeks ago, there was a guy here named Brent.
SPEAKER_02: He wore these hip hugger skinny jeans.
SPEAKER_02: Did you notice those things he was wearing?
SPEAKER_02: I was like, dude, are those women's pants?
SPEAKER_02: Where'd you get those?
SPEAKER_02: Uh but he he doesn't care.
SPEAKER_02: By the way, he's our new teaching pastor.
SPEAKER_02: We hired him, and this past week they bought a home in Pecan Grove.
SPEAKER_02: So if you live in Pecan Grove, uh, again, and the plan is they're trying to get here by March the 1st, and they got to finish things up in Florida and get here, they're very excited.
SPEAKER_02: He said, We got a house with a pool.
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, we ain't paying you that much, bro.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you must have some equity on that last house.
SPEAKER_02: But anyway, I digress.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, and so they got a beautiful home in Pecan Grove, and we're excited about that.
SPEAKER_02: But he said, Hey, I took the first part of the chapter, I left you the hard part with the 10 horns and the one horn and the time and times and a half time.
SPEAKER_02: I said, Yeah, I'll get you for that.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, well, it's fine.
SPEAKER_02: But the Bible speaks in apocalyptic literature in a way it because it wants to kind of not just to capture our imagination, but harness our attention and say, hey, do not miss this.
SPEAKER_02: But in the first, the reason I bring up Brent is because in the first part of the chapter, uh, he explains the dream that Daniel had.
SPEAKER_02: Now, back in chapter two, he had a vision of this statue made out of these different kinds of precious metals, representing the four kingdoms that were going to conquer the earth.
SPEAKER_02: They're Babylon, they're Greece, the Medes and Persians, and then the Romans.
SPEAKER_02: In that order, I believe I got the order right.
SPEAKER_02: Now, in this in chapter 7, which this happened back at the same time as chapter 2 is written, uh, in this chapter, it's not a statue.
SPEAKER_02: It's it's these kingdoms uh are symbolized by beasts.
SPEAKER_02: One of them is like a leopard that has wings, it's all this animated stuff.
SPEAKER_02: So he talks about beasts.
SPEAKER_02: That's what he's talking about.
SPEAKER_02: And he says right there in verse 19 that I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with his teeth of iron, its claws of bronze, which devoured and broke in pieces, and all this stuff.
SPEAKER_02: Daniel asks an angel to explain these things to him.
SPEAKER_02: He goes, Hey, bro, what is up with this?
SPEAKER_02: This is what he's talking about up there in about verse 16.
SPEAKER_02: He said, I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all of this.
SPEAKER_02: Can you imagine having an angel explaining to you the future of the world?
SPEAKER_02: This is what happens here.
SPEAKER_02: And Daniel's just asking him, said, Hey, can you kind of clarify what I'm seeing here?
SPEAKER_02: Now, this is two things that should mark the life of a Christian: concern, not fear, but concern and clarity.
SPEAKER_02: Okay?
SPEAKER_02: Now, here's the third thing we see, and this is where I want to kind of put the shovel in the ground and dig a little bit.
SPEAKER_02: It's severity.
SPEAKER_02: Severity starts in verse 23.
SPEAKER_02: And because then the angel kind of really sharpens the focus and says, Let me tell you what all is going to happen.
SPEAKER_02: He says, As for the fourth beast, this fourth kingdom that's gonna rule the earth, talking about the Roman Empire.
SPEAKER_02: He says, As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down and break it in pieces.
SPEAKER_02: As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them.
SPEAKER_02: He shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings.
SPEAKER_02: He shall speak words against the most high, he shall wear out the saints of the most high, and shall think to change the times and the law, and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.
SPEAKER_02: Now, when I talk about severity, let me just back up and say, let me just establish this as a baseline understanding.
SPEAKER_02: When what you see, these four kingdoms or these beasts, this is the manifestation of evil, okay?
SPEAKER_02: When I say evil, evil is not some cosmic force out there that just exists like the boogeyman.
SPEAKER_02: Evil exists because of sin, and none of us has escaped the reality of sin.
SPEAKER_02: Let me say that again.
SPEAKER_02: This is the manifestation of evil, not just as a uh of an individual, but but but of a group of individuals, okay, who are ruled by sin, who get together and say, you know what, we're we're going to agree to do this.
SPEAKER_02: And when you get people, you see it all over the history of humanity.
SPEAKER_02: Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, people are capable of this incredible evil.
SPEAKER_02: Why?
SPEAKER_02: Because they're ruled by sin.
SPEAKER_02: Now, by the way, everybody, let before we get all self-righteous and point the finger at those people and go, yeah, those are bad people.
SPEAKER_02: You and I were born just as sinful as all those people I just mentioned.
SPEAKER_02: Did you know that?
SPEAKER_02: 12 of you.
SPEAKER_02: The rest of you are like, I am not that bad.
SPEAKER_02: The Bible talks about it's universal guilt or human depravity, is another phrase you may hear for it, but it talks about a lot of different places.
SPEAKER_02: Here's one in the book of Romans, chapter three.
SPEAKER_02: I'll start reading in verse nine, it'll come up on the screen.
SPEAKER_02: Listen to what the Bible says about everybody.
SPEAKER_02: He says, What then?
SPEAKER_02: Are we Jews any better off?
SPEAKER_02: No, not at all.
SPEAKER_02: For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks are under sin.
SPEAKER_02: Jews were religious people, Greeks were very smart people.
SPEAKER_02: They prided themselves on their intellect, logic, reason, philosophy.
SPEAKER_02: And so this guy named Paul, that's recording the book of Romans, he says, Hey, we Jews, we religious people, okay?
SPEAKER_02: And these smart people, we're all under sin, okay?
SPEAKER_02: As it is written, none is righteous, no, not one.
SPEAKER_02: No one understands, no one seeks for God.
SPEAKER_02: All have turned aside together, they have become worthless.
SPEAKER_02: No one does good, not even one.
SPEAKER_02: Their throat is an open grave.
SPEAKER_02: They use their tongues to deceive.
SPEAKER_02: The venom of asp is under their lips.
SPEAKER_02: Have you been on Facebook lately?
SPEAKER_02: Because I know sometimes it's possible to read the Bible and go, what is that talking about?
SPEAKER_02: The people just torch each other.
SPEAKER_02: This is what it's talking about.
SPEAKER_02: Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood.
SPEAKER_02: In their path are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.
SPEAKER_02: There is no fear of God before their eyes.
SPEAKER_02: Now we know that whatever the law sp law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
SPEAKER_02: Hear that again.
SPEAKER_02: Basically, what he's saying is the Bible builds a case against all of us because we're all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: He says, Where the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
SPEAKER_02: Why?
SPEAKER_02: For by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight.
SPEAKER_02: In other words, by trying to do more good than bad, that's works of the law.
SPEAKER_02: No one will be justified in God's sight.
SPEAKER_02: Since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
SPEAKER_02: Now hear that last phrase again.
SPEAKER_02: Since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
SPEAKER_02: It's the reason every time you see a policeman when you're driving, you get off the gas and hit the brake instinctively.
SPEAKER_02: Because since through the law, the first thing you do is, am I sinning?
SPEAKER_02: Am I speeding?
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I'm good.
SPEAKER_02: And then you're kind of you're kind of like, Whew, all right.
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
SPEAKER_02: Got a little tense there for a minute.
SPEAKER_02: Why?
SPEAKER_02: Because through through the law comes knowledge of sin.
SPEAKER_02: Now you say, what's this got to do with the uh of severity?
SPEAKER_02: Let me get there, okay?
SPEAKER_02: Uh this is talking about when he talks about, I mean, Romans 3 is talking about individuals and how we all build a case so we're all under sin.
SPEAKER_02: Now just imagine what happens when a bunch of sinners get together and combine their efforts into corporate rebellion.
SPEAKER_02: You know what happens?
SPEAKER_02: The price of GameStop goes through the roof.
SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_02: I thought it was hilarious when a bunch of guys on Reddit stuck it to hedge fund people and the hedge fund people wouldn't cry, oh, this isn't fair, they're doing what we do.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Isn't that awesome?
SPEAKER_02: The little man getting over on you.
SPEAKER_02: And then guess what?
SPEAKER_02: Sinners banded together and said, you know what?
SPEAKER_02: You heard this phrase big tech?
SPEAKER_02: We're talking about big tech, like big tech is this force out there.
SPEAKER_02: There's evil and and the truth fairy and big tech.
SPEAKER_02: No, big tech is just a phrase they use on whatever show you, on whatever news channel you watch, uh just to describe the manifestation of sin that permeates our culture.
SPEAKER_02: Jack Dorsey, the pot-smoking guy that started Twitter, who's a gazillionaire, he's just a sinner.
SPEAKER_02: And I'm not mad at the guy, it's just like, oh, he's gonna get us and take us off Twitter.
SPEAKER_02: So what?
SPEAKER_02: Most people on there have nothing to say anyway.
SPEAKER_02: You all act like, oh, if I get kicked off social media, it might be mercy.
SPEAKER_02: Take a box of puppies to a nursing home, do something positive in your life before you die.
SPEAKER_02: Stop just weighing in your opinion on everything.
SPEAKER_02: Why?
SPEAKER_02: Because no one cares.
SPEAKER_02: Except you and your grandkids, but I digress.
SPEAKER_02: Here, just imagine what happens when a bunch of sinners get together, they combine their efforts into corporate rebellion or political movements, which they have the power to make decisions.
SPEAKER_02: See, this is when evil begins to manifest.
SPEAKER_02: Evil is not this cosmic force, it's a bunch of people who are ruled by sin, and they all get together and say, Let's do this.
SPEAKER_02: I love what Tremper Longwin says.
SPEAKER_02: He says individual sinners are harmful, sometimes deeply, but sinners bound together behind a group cause can cause great devastation.
SPEAKER_02: Nationalism, racism, sexism, denominationalism, factionalism, great evil can arise when sinners come together with a common purpose against someone outside the group, the other.
SPEAKER_02: We can depersonalize the other.
SPEAKER_02: They aren't quite human.
SPEAKER_02: And so to harm the other is not quite the same as hurting one of our own.
SPEAKER_02: This is why when you turn on the TV, you see people that want to pass laws that make it illegal to disagree with them.
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to prison any day now.
SPEAKER_02: I mean, because I don't want to turn on the TV, I'm just like, these people are allowed to talk?
SPEAKER_02: Are you kidding me?
SPEAKER_02: This is the most vapid opinion on anything.
SPEAKER_02: By the way, evil can never make enough glue to keep itself together.
SPEAKER_02: This is why evil by nature implodes upon itself.
SPEAKER_02: And all these kings and kingdoms that have pranced across the stage of history.
SPEAKER_02: Hitler ended his life in a bunker by committing suicide.
SPEAKER_02: Because evil can never make enough glue to keep itself together.
SPEAKER_02: Now, when I talk about severity, what do I mean?
SPEAKER_02: It's what I said in the restaurant.
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, the world is ending, but not anytime soon, because it's not near as bad as it's going to be, okay?
SPEAKER_02: Now, I'm not saying, oh, it's gonna get bad tomorrow.
SPEAKER_02: Uh no, I think in the West we have a lot of religious liberty, a lot of religious freedom we take for granted.
SPEAKER_02: Other countries presently experience persecution that we don't.
SPEAKER_02: That doesn't mean that we're not going to.
SPEAKER_02: Matter of fact, uh, there's a couple things I want to point to in verses 23, 24, and verse 25.
SPEAKER_02: And the first one is this when he says in verse 23, as for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which shall be different from all the other kingdoms, shall devour the whole thing.
SPEAKER_02: He's talking about Rome.
SPEAKER_02: Now, now, what's the big deal there?
SPEAKER_02: The fourth kingdom is the last kingdom before the kingdom of God replaces all human kingdoms.
SPEAKER_02: You're like, wait a minute, man, you said kingdom a lot.
SPEAKER_02: I lost you.
SPEAKER_02: Hang on.
SPEAKER_02: The fourth kingdom is the last kingdom before the kingdom of God replaces all kingdoms.
SPEAKER_02: Now let me explain that to you.
SPEAKER_02: When Jesus comes on the scene, he's born, okay, in the gospels and he and he grows up and he has an earthly ministry.
SPEAKER_02: Who is ruling the earth at that time?
SPEAKER_02: What country ruled the earth?
SPEAKER_02: Rome.
SPEAKER_02: That's exactly right.
SPEAKER_02: Rome.
SPEAKER_02: And so the kingdom of God was inaugurated when Jesus was born, and when Jesus comes, it'll be consummated when he comes again.
SPEAKER_02: And so it started when Jesus first is incarnated, first comes to the earth.
SPEAKER_02: And so when I say the fourth kingdom is the last kingdom, before the kingdom of God replaces all kingdoms, it's inaugurated by Jesus when he comes, and it'll be consummated when he comes again.
SPEAKER_02: So he's talking about this fourth kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: This is what he's talking about.
SPEAKER_02: Here's the second thing I want you to understand.
SPEAKER_02: Look at the next verse, verse 24.
SPEAKER_02: As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them.
SPEAKER_02: Here, verse 24 again.
SPEAKER_02: As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom, ten kings shall arise.
SPEAKER_02: Now, a lot of preachers try to figure out who these ten kings are.
SPEAKER_02: Look at me.
SPEAKER_02: I have no idea.
SPEAKER_02: But I do know this in the Bible, 10 is the number of completion.
SPEAKER_02: And the Bible doesn't tell us, and here's who these ten people are, look for them to show up on your CNN live feed any day now.
SPEAKER_02: Uh no, no, no.
SPEAKER_02: What the Bible is saying to us is that when all the kings, these out of this kingdom, ten kings will arise.
SPEAKER_02: In other words, it's the number of completion.
SPEAKER_02: When all the people that are going to rule the world or different parts of the world are being political power, uh, when they've kind of run their course, and they all do, they all do.
SPEAKER_02: Okay?
SPEAKER_02: And so I just want to say 10 is the number of completion.
SPEAKER_02: So instead of trying to figure out who these people are, just realize that there's gonna come a day when they're gonna go away.
SPEAKER_02: And then the Bible says this.
SPEAKER_02: And another shall arise after them, and he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings, he shall speak words against the most high, and shall wear out the saints of the most high, and shall think to change the times and the law.
SPEAKER_02: And they, the people of God, shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and a halftime.
SPEAKER_02: Now, this is a reference to what you've heard this phrase before if you went to church.
SPEAKER_02: This is a reference to what's known as the Antichrist.
SPEAKER_02: The little horn is the leader of the earth's final kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: He's the person that the Apostle Paul refers to as the man of lawlessness.
SPEAKER_02: In 1 John chapter 2, the Apostle John refers to him as the Antichrist.
SPEAKER_02: He is the last ruler of the earth that's going to oppress the thing, the people of God, and it's going to speak blasphemies against the person of God.
SPEAKER_02: And so I remember back when I would visit church every once in a while, back in the 80s when I was a little kid, and it scared me to death because everyone's trying to figure out who the Antichrist was.
SPEAKER_02: And oh my gosh, when's the world going to end?
SPEAKER_02: The Bible says that there's a lot that has to transpire between now and then, but it does spell out, hey, this is how it's all going to go down.
SPEAKER_02: Now, here's the last thing I want to point to in the last part of verse 25.
SPEAKER_02: He says, They shall be given into his hand.
SPEAKER_02: Now you got to ask yourself, why would God allow that to happen?
SPEAKER_02: Two reasons sin and purification.
SPEAKER_02: One of the reasons that we experience persecution is because of sin in our life.
SPEAKER_02: It's the way God gets our attention.
SPEAKER_02: But also, these people are going to ultimately receive the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_02: And you cannot live in sin.
SPEAKER_02: Just consistently live in sin and experience everything God has for you.
SPEAKER_02: And so, God, this is the way God purifies his people and gets them ready to receive this kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: But I want you to know that next sentence, he says, for a time, times, and a half a time.
SPEAKER_02: Now, that you're like, well, what in the world?
SPEAKER_02: What is he talking about?
SPEAKER_02: It's very simple.
SPEAKER_02: In the Bible, time, that just the word time is not referring to time itself.
SPEAKER_02: He says, a time is a year.
SPEAKER_02: Times is two years.
SPEAKER_02: And a half a time is half a year.
SPEAKER_02: Add that together, you got three and a half years.
SPEAKER_02: If you've studied much of Bible prophecy, you realize there's going to be a seven-year period referred to as the Great Tribulation.
SPEAKER_02: It's the last half of that.
SPEAKER_02: The last three and a half years is when it really, really gets difficult.
SPEAKER_02: And it's hard for me to communicate to a waitress in a restaurant or the guy I'm having lunch with, he's like, I think you scared her.
SPEAKER_02: You want to go back and kind of clarify?
SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, hey, man, live your life.
SPEAKER_02: Don't live in fear.
SPEAKER_02: Again, be concerned, but have the perspective and the power of perspective that says, hey, by the way, God controls all of this.
SPEAKER_02: God is sovereignly in control of this.
SPEAKER_02: It's not like the world's just willy-nilly out of control and things are flying everywhere.
SPEAKER_02: Here's the last thing the Bible teaches us this morning: certainty.
SPEAKER_02: Certainty.
SPEAKER_02: Look at verse 26.
SPEAKER_02: But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away.
SPEAKER_02: The Antichrist, his dominion, his power to influence people and things shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.
SPEAKER_02: Now he says in verse 26, but the court shall sit in judgment.
SPEAKER_02: What's he talking about?
SPEAKER_02: Look over if you would.
SPEAKER_02: Same chapter.
SPEAKER_02: Look at verse 9, chapter 7.
SPEAKER_02: He says, Daniel in this dream, he says, And I look, and thrones were placed in the ancient of days.
SPEAKER_02: This is God took his seat.
SPEAKER_02: His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool.
SPEAKER_02: His throne was what was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire, and a stream of fire issued and came out from before him.
SPEAKER_02: A thousand thousand served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
SPEAKER_02: The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
SPEAKER_02: I looked in because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking, and as I looked, the beasts were killed, and its body destroyed, and given over to be burned with fire.
SPEAKER_02: As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, and their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
SPEAKER_02: So he says in verse 26, the courts are set in judgment.
SPEAKER_02: Here's one thing I want us to understand.
SPEAKER_02: There was, is, and will always be an ultimate authority at work in the world.
SPEAKER_02: There was, there is.
SPEAKER_02: No one stands in judgment of God.
SPEAKER_02: We live in a culture now where whether it's the trans community, the LGBTQ, the left, the right, everyone thinks that they're in charge.
SPEAKER_02: No, no one's in charge but God.
SPEAKER_02: Now you may be thinking, well, if God's in charge, why is the world feel like it's just kind of spinning out of control?
SPEAKER_02: Because God is weaning us off of all the things we trust in besides God.
SPEAKER_02: He's allowing you to see the insufficiency of everything around you.
SPEAKER_02: Certainty.
SPEAKER_02: Basically, what he's saying here is that the key truth that's being communicated here is that different kings, rulers, presidents are going to march across the pages of history.
SPEAKER_02: They're going to make rulings that are adverse to Christians and Christ in the Christian faith.
SPEAKER_02: However, the court of God will sit in judgment of each and every one of them.
SPEAKER_02: Just notice from verse 26 to verse 20, verse 26 and 27, five times he uses the word shall.
SPEAKER_02: But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away.
SPEAKER_02: And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.
SPEAKER_02: And his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
SPEAKER_02: Five different times.
SPEAKER_02: Now, I don't know if you which way you came in this morning, but if you pulled in over here, you saw that we're on the part of the new sanctuary, they poured new parking spaces running along 1464 out here on both sides.
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
SPEAKER_02: Now that happened yesterday morning at 7 o'clock.
SPEAKER_02: And the reason I know that is because I was here Friday talking to our superintendent, and they were tied up the rebar, and it was like 3:30 in the afternoon, and they had a long way to go.
SPEAKER_02: And I said, now, hey, are we still pouring in the morning?
SPEAKER_02: He said, That's the plan.
SPEAKER_02: I said, that doesn't give me any hope.
SPEAKER_02: He said, Well, that that's what that that's what the schedule says.
SPEAKER_02: I said, Are we pouring in the morning?
SPEAKER_02: He said, We're shooting for in the morning.
SPEAKER_02: You shoot at a lot of things.
SPEAKER_02: Are we pouring in the morning?
SPEAKER_02: I want certainty.
SPEAKER_02: He said, Yes, we're pouring in the morning.
SPEAKER_02: I said, Okay, what's your name again?
SPEAKER_02: Why do you want to know my name?
SPEAKER_02: Because if you don't pour in the morning, I'm coming looking for you.
SPEAKER_02: He goes, You're gonna be here?
SPEAKER_02: I'll be here.
SPEAKER_02: Nothing like the smell of concrete in the morning.
SPEAKER_02: It's better than napalm.
SPEAKER_02: I'll be here in the morning.
SPEAKER_02: Drove down here.
SPEAKER_02: By the way, those men are such honorable men, such hard-working men that keep their word.
SPEAKER_02: They worked into the night with headlamps, getting all that stuff, the rebar tied together, and they poured that yesterday morning.
SPEAKER_02: My wife's like, You gotta go look at it, aren't you?
SPEAKER_02: Of course I am.
SPEAKER_02: I got that, because that's all you need on the construction side is a preacher, and you know that, right?
SPEAKER_02: They're like, everybody wearing real men wearing hard hats.
SPEAKER_02: Here comes a sissy that couldn't get a real job.
SPEAKER_02: What do you want now, loser?
SPEAKER_02: I'm just walking around like I'm a foreman on the job.
SPEAKER_02: That looks good, whatever that is.
SPEAKER_02: But here's what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_02: That man saying to me, Well, uh, that that we're shooting for in the morning.
SPEAKER_02: That's what the schedule said.
SPEAKER_02: We're scheduled for in the morning.
SPEAKER_02: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_02: I want certainty.
SPEAKER_02: Are we pouring in the morning?
SPEAKER_02: Because I won't be here in the morning.
SPEAKER_02: We're pouring in the morning.
SPEAKER_02: Look at me.
SPEAKER_02: God is the God of certainty.
SPEAKER_02: He doesn't make half-backed promises.
SPEAKER_02: He doesn't say, Well, I'm gonna try.
SPEAKER_02: Well, that's on the schedule.
SPEAKER_02: And go see if unless something, of course, something goes wrong.
SPEAKER_02: No, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_02: Shall, shall, shall, shall, shall.
SPEAKER_02: Certainty.
SPEAKER_02: There's two things that our culture hates clarity and certainty.
SPEAKER_02: And yet these are two things that should mark the life of every Christian.
SPEAKER_02: Clarity.
SPEAKER_02: You should see clearly the world around you, and you should occupy it with some certainty.
SPEAKER_02: This is what Clyde read earlier from Luke 12.
SPEAKER_02: The people, God's people are worried, and Jesus says, Hey, don't worry.
SPEAKER_02: And he gets to verse 32 of Luke 12, and he says, Fear not, little flock, for it's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: This is what you see in Daniel chapter 7.
SPEAKER_02: Daniel has this panoramic dream about the way the world is going to end from where he is then, all the way to the end.
SPEAKER_02: Look at verse 27.
SPEAKER_02: And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.
SPEAKER_02: His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominion shall serve and obey him.
SPEAKER_02: This is how the world ends is that the people of God inherit the kingdom and they live in it forever.
SPEAKER_02: Now, what what do we take away from this?
SPEAKER_02: Three things and I'll be done this morning.
SPEAKER_02: You still with me?
SPEAKER_02: Three things I want you to take away.
SPEAKER_02: Number one, people of faith still feel deep concern.
SPEAKER_02: Just because you have faith doesn't mean you can't feel what it feels like to live in this world, okay?
SPEAKER_02: Here's the second thing I want you to take away.
SPEAKER_02: Regardless of how things sometimes look, God is always in control.
SPEAKER_02: Regardless of how things look, I don't care what they say on the TV.
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I was watching the news yesterday, and they're like, well, there's winter weather coming to the northeast, and I'm talking to my TV.
SPEAKER_02: It's because it's January.
SPEAKER_02: It happens every January.
SPEAKER_02: But listen, folks, the media never misses an opportunity to stir up fear.
SPEAKER_02: There's blizzards and snow and lake effect snow coming to Buffalo, New York.
SPEAKER_02: It happens every January.
SPEAKER_02: But it's like this is yet another thing that you should be afraid of and hunker down in your house and let us tell you what to do next.
SPEAKER_02: No, keep living your life.
SPEAKER_02: It drives people crazy.
SPEAKER_02: Here's the third one.
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna get at you a little bit here.
SPEAKER_02: You okay?
SPEAKER_02: You know I love you, right?
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna put that to the test.
SPEAKER_02: Uh you need to know how this all ends.
SPEAKER_02: You need to know how this all ends.
SPEAKER_02: You say, What do you mean?
SPEAKER_02: The theological word for it is eschatology.
SPEAKER_02: Like when the world ends.
SPEAKER_02: I'm not saying you've got to know every jot and tittle, and I got this person here.
SPEAKER_02: I get to ask all the time, who's the antichrist?
SPEAKER_02: That depends on who you ask.
SPEAKER_02: Uh I have Democratic friends that told me Donald Trump was the Antichrist.
SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah, well, I've I've got Republican friends that say, no, I think it's Joe Biden.
SPEAKER_02: Uh somebody told me years ago it was Juan Carlos, the King of Spain.
SPEAKER_02: I was like, I don't know.
SPEAKER_02: I just know that the Bible is very clear.
SPEAKER_02: See, see, when the Bible's quiet, you should be quiet too.
SPEAKER_02: Because you sound like a know-it-all, but you end up looking like not very smart.
SPEAKER_02: But just know how this all ends.
SPEAKER_02: You say, well, what do you mean?
SPEAKER_02: Uh in my neighborhood over here, one time I was talking to a couple of Mormons.
SPEAKER_02: They were riding their bikes, and I was like, What's up, elders?
SPEAKER_02: And they're like, Oh, are you a brother?
SPEAKER_02: Not in the sense like you might think.
SPEAKER_02: But anyway, uh we got in a conversation, and I just said, Hey, because I've talked to many of them.
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, hey, I know you got the great pearl, and they got all these different books.
SPEAKER_02: I said, tell me in y'all's way of thinking, how's this all going to end?
SPEAKER_02: I mean, what do you get for believing what you believe?
SPEAKER_02: He said, Well, ultimately, I said, Yeah, ultimately, spool it out to the very end.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if you knew this or not, but in the Mormon's belief tradition, you get to go basically live on another planet if you're a man and populate that planet by having sex with all these women.
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, shut up.
SPEAKER_02: And the guy's like, Well, I mean, yeah, that because he was being all religious.
SPEAKER_02: And I said, So basically, you get to go sleep with a bunch of women, have a bunch of kids, and repopulate and be the god of your own planet.
SPEAKER_02: He goes, Yeah, I guess that's one way you could say it.
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you gotta talk to all these women, or you just hook up with them, or what?
SPEAKER_02: And he's like, Well, I've never thought about that.
SPEAKER_02: You better look into that.
SPEAKER_02: Because all of a sudden heaven could feel like hell real quick.
SPEAKER_02: And he's like, uh, uh, well, uh, uh, uh, uh, and he goes, So, so, so, so you agree with us?
SPEAKER_02: And I said, Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_02: That is the kookiest unbiblical thing I've ever heard.
SPEAKER_02: No, that is crazy.
SPEAKER_02: A, God doesn't devalue women like that.
SPEAKER_02: Let's just start there.
SPEAKER_02: But B, the Bible never says this.
SPEAKER_02: You guys pulled this out of somewhere else.
SPEAKER_02: But see, here's the thing I walked away, and it wasn't conflictual.
SPEAKER_02: I said, Hey, y'all want to come to my house, get a home cooked meal?
SPEAKER_02: My wife's a great cook.
SPEAKER_02: And they're like, Are you serious?
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you just told us we're crazy.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you're crazy, but you can come to my house.
SPEAKER_02: And they're like, Okay.
SPEAKER_02: And they did.
SPEAKER_02: We had them over for dinner.
SPEAKER_02: It was wonderful.
SPEAKER_02: The evening did not end well for them.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, but but hey, it was all in love.
SPEAKER_02: But here's the thing I walked away from.
SPEAKER_02: Look at me.
SPEAKER_02: They are more absolutely certain about the wrong thing than you are about the right thing.
SPEAKER_02: And you know why?
SPEAKER_02: Because we have in America what I call this myopic eschatology.
SPEAKER_02: Myopic means short-sighted.
SPEAKER_02: Eschatology end times.
SPEAKER_02: Our eschatology is, I mean, this is the this is the how the world's going to end.
SPEAKER_02: My kids are gonna, my last one's gonna leave the nest, and then we're gonna be free to do everything we wanted to do.
SPEAKER_02: And we're gonna say things like, oh, we served in the nursery a long time ago.
SPEAKER_02: It's somebody else's time to step up.
SPEAKER_02: It's our time.
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna travel and get an RV and see the world.
SPEAKER_02: Uh-oh.
SPEAKER_02: Oh, you feel me?
SPEAKER_02: I told you I loved you.
SPEAKER_02: Now, I ain't got nothing against having an RV.
SPEAKER_02: If you're visiting today, that's lazy right there, okay?
SPEAKER_02: I don't care if you got a 60-foot RV and it launches rockets.
SPEAKER_02: I don't care.
SPEAKER_02: Okay?
SPEAKER_02: Don't be short-sighted.
SPEAKER_02: Here's here's my concern is our eschatology is what happens when our last kid leaves home or gets married or gets a job, and our responsibility reduces, so our pre our sense of entitlement and privilege can increase.
SPEAKER_02: That's a myopic eschatology.
SPEAKER_02: Well, you know, we like to travel.
SPEAKER_02: Travel all you want.
SPEAKER_02: Wonderful.
SPEAKER_02: But this this is, if you're not careful, you spend the last 20 years of your life as a tourist, not a resident of the kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: And that's a myopic eschatology.
SPEAKER_02: I'm not telling you how how to spend it.
SPEAKER_02: I mean, my wife and I, we were alone this weekend.
SPEAKER_02: She's like, this is kind of like because our our oldest is out, she's on her own.
SPEAKER_02: Our 17-year-old's leading worship at the bridge retreat.
SPEAKER_02: She's like, this is kind of like emptiness.
SPEAKER_02: I was like, don't tease me.
SPEAKER_02: Come August, she's going off to college.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, and I'm like, glory to God.
SPEAKER_02: Love her.
SPEAKER_02: Time to launch and get it.
SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, hey, by the way, we're not we're not moving out and buying this and checking.
SPEAKER_02: No, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_02: I want to be more.
SPEAKER_02: Somebody said, What are you gonna do when you're when your youngest leaves?
SPEAKER_02: I want to be more engaged in the life and ministry of my church.
SPEAKER_02: And they looked at me like, I guess you have to say it because you're the preacher.
SPEAKER_02: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_02: I say that because I'm a believer, I'm a Christian.
SPEAKER_02: See, a myopic eschatology, when my responsibility lessens, then I think I'm entitled now to some privilege.
SPEAKER_02: But here's here's a biblical eschatology.
SPEAKER_02: My responsibility never lessens.
SPEAKER_02: I am responsible to the gospel, and I'm responsible for the gospel.
SPEAKER_02: That doesn't mean I don't get an RV, go on great vacations.
SPEAKER_02: That doesn't mean I didn't fly and see different parts of the world.
SPEAKER_02: Do all of that.
SPEAKER_02: But do all of that as a citizen of the kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: Somebody that's already a part of the kingdom, and when this all goes down, you're gonna receive the kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: This is why Jesus said to people when they were freaking out, oh, fear not, oh little children.
SPEAKER_02: It's your father's pleasure to give you the kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: You're getting the kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: Stop apologizing for what you believe.
SPEAKER_02: And so again, I just ask you, do you understand how this is all gonna end?
SPEAKER_02: Walking out of the restaurant, and the lady, the little hostess, she's like, I say, hey, don't live in fear.
SPEAKER_02: God is good and he's sovereign and he's in control, and everybody that knows him gets to live in the kingdom now, and then you get to possess the kingdom when this all goes down in the end.
SPEAKER_02: And she said, I hope that's true.
SPEAKER_02: And I said, This ain't about hoping.
SPEAKER_02: This is about knowing.
SPEAKER_02: And I just wondered, do you know that?
SPEAKER_02: Does that bring you comfort?
SPEAKER_02: Or is there like a big blob of vagueness out there that you're just like, I haven't really looked into that.
SPEAKER_02: I'll get on the internet.
SPEAKER_02: Don't get into this.
SPEAKER_02: This is where the truth comes from.
SPEAKER_02: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_02: If you're our guest today, just relax.
SPEAKER_02: We like to teach the Bible and give you some soul space to think about what it says.
SPEAKER_02: So just ask yourself the simple question.
SPEAKER_02: What really kind of turned my mind today?
SPEAKER_02: What made me think about how I want to live my life?
SPEAKER_02: If you're 34, you should be thinking right now, what's my plan for the last chapter of my life?
SPEAKER_02: Otherwise, you just get everything paid for and sit on your front porch.
SPEAKER_02: Or you worship your grandkids and you order and ordain your life around them, and then you wonder why they're so self-centered.
SPEAKER_02: Because every adult in their life bows down to them and their t ball schedule.
SPEAKER_02: Are you kidding me?
SPEAKER_02: But you can be a grandparent in such a way, so occupy your space in the kingdom that your grandkids are curious about both king and kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: Let's think about these things for a moment.
SPEAKER_02: Father, I pray that we would have a plan for the last chapter of our life that reflects our understanding, not just our appetites.
SPEAKER_02: That doesn't mean we can't have enjoyable experiences.
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely we can.
SPEAKER_02: But I pray that the last 20 years of our life reflect our understanding.
SPEAKER_02: That we don't live in fear or uncertainty.
SPEAKER_02: We understand because we have this perspective, and this perspective of the kingdom brings us power, brings us this powerful peace, this powerful perspective, and we become this powerful presence of certainty in a world that is so uncertain.
SPEAKER_02: That doesn't mean we're a bunch of religious know-it-alls.
SPEAKER_02: That's so cheap and trinkety.
SPEAKER_02: No, because we've taken the time to understand the ways and the words of Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: Concern is on the rise in America.
SPEAKER_02: Let us bring clarity and certainty to bear on that.
SPEAKER_02: We pray in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_02: And everyone said, Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: If you're our guest, we're so glad you chose to be here today.
SPEAKER_02: Look at me.
SPEAKER_02: You're always welcome.
SPEAKER_02: If you have questions, your questions are welcome.
SPEAKER_02: We'll be available down front.
SPEAKER_02: Some of our pastors will, if you have any questions.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, all we ask of you, if you haven't yet, would you take one of those guest cards in the sink pocket in your row, fill it out, and then drop it in one of these wooden boxes by the door so we can have a record of your visit.
SPEAKER_02: We're not gonna show up uninvited at your house.
SPEAKER_02: We'll shoot you an email or something.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, we know that finding the right church for you and your family is a big deal.
SPEAKER_02: So we let you move at your own pace, okay?
SPEAKER_02: Uh also if you're a part of this church and today's the day you worship God through obedience or generosity when it comes to stewardship and giving, that's where you take care of that as well.
SPEAKER_02: All right.
SPEAKER_02: I want to make you aware of one thing happening tonight in the life of our church.
SPEAKER_02: So let's check out this video together.
SPEAKER_00: The past couple of years, I've been closing up my grandmother's homestead.
SPEAKER_00: It was built by my great-grandfather over 150 years ago.
SPEAKER_00: Last year, I was crawling under the house and found the original handmade table that used to sit in their dining room.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I found myself staring at it and imagining all the meals and arguments, laughter and prayer that must have happened around that table as they navigated seasons of death and war, the Great Depression, births, and bounty.
SPEAKER_00: Well, when Jesus was on earth, he gathered around tables over and over, teaching, laughing, eating with the ones who never dared to hope that a Messiah would look their way, much less eat with them.
SPEAKER_00: God has always been one to come to his people in their times of wilderness to set a table where he can feed us, nourish us, and be to us more than enough.
SPEAKER_00: I want us women to gather in the sanctuary to feast on the Bible and sing songs to God that remind us of his table overflowing nature.
SPEAKER_00: I'll be teaching from the best bread, God's word, and Lindsay Fraleck will be leading us in worship.
SPEAKER_00: I hope you'll come to the table and bring friends.
SPEAKER_02: That is tonight, right here in the sanctuary.
SPEAKER_02: Ladies, you're all welcome.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you could be visiting for the first time today.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you're welcome as well, okay?
SPEAKER_02: Uh, and by the way, that is the in the in the video, that's the literal table.
SPEAKER_02: Uh my wife found it under the the house, and then someone she's married to got under there and dug it out.
SPEAKER_02: Uh and my wife refinished it because she likes refinish furniture.
SPEAKER_02: We have some furniture in our garage right now that when Jesus comes back, he's gonna help her refinish.
SPEAKER_02: Uh so uh, I don't know if you know that he likes to refinish things.
SPEAKER_02: Uh so, but that table, it's over 100 years old.
SPEAKER_02: It'll be here on the stage tonight.
SPEAKER_02: People are like, how old is that?
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, we know it's over a hundred, but we don't have any exact dating on it.
SPEAKER_02: But you'll be able to look at it and kind of go, Yeah, it's old.
SPEAKER_02: Anyway, we'd like to conclude our service with a smoking blessing.
SPEAKER_02: So stand to your feet.
SPEAKER_02: Hold your hands out if you would.
SPEAKER_02: Fear not.
SPEAKER_02: Don't give in to fear.
SPEAKER_02: Don't be afraid.
SPEAKER_02: Fear not, oh little flock.
SPEAKER_02: You cared for.
SPEAKER_02: Sheep, children, beloved of God.
SPEAKER_02: Fear not, oh little flock.
SPEAKER_02: And here's why.
SPEAKER_02: It's your father's good pleasure.
SPEAKER_02: There's nothing you could say or do that's gonna increase his desire to do it more.
SPEAKER_02: It's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: So depart now and live in this reality, and let everybody else watch.
SPEAKER_02: In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Bless you.