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Speaker#1:
00:00:00.0 – 00:00:06.76
So I’ll just go ahead and invite Trey to come on up Let’s give him a hand really excited for what the Lord is going to speak to us
Speaker#2:
00:00:08.439 – 00:00:20.1
Thank you Pastor I appreciate that Yes So I’m very excited about Tuesday nights coming up Uh God put something on my heart uh dearly and deeply and uh Tuesday is kind of be a little bit of that And uh
Speaker#2:
00:00:21.42 – 00:00:46.45
I think that uh the college age especially is is underserved um here and I I think it’s one way that they can feel served and I’ve already got a huge response from a lot of uh college age individuals who are very excited to have an outlet And like we like you said I mean we’re this is gonna be a rock show where our goal is to to be loud and to draw people in in a different way And
Speaker#2:
00:00:46.58 – 00:00:57.409
uh you know I believe that God has so many different types of teachers I say I tell Pastor Bill all the time I one of my favorite things is how many different individuals get up here and speak here
Speaker#2:
00:00:57.74 – 00:01:17.309
It shows the diversity that God has in his people It shows the different types of teaching and we all learn differently And so to me it’s amazing to have another way for us to give back to the community So there’ll be a lot more about Tuesday night coming up Um but I also wanted to talk a little bit about Friday Last Friday We have our youth connect every Friday
Speaker#2:
00:01:17.72 – 00:01:33.44
And uh we actually we didn’t I didn’t get the pictures up here but uh we did have a bonfire um out uh some of the youth house or ranch It it was really an incredible time and honestly like I I just kind of you know didn’t plan too much and and God did some things
Speaker#2:
00:01:33.449 – 00:01:49.18
There was one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen in a very long time that God gave to us that day It was raining in the morning It was wet and muddy And the the mom of of the family that that kind of gave their house that I was like oh I don’t know if if we can do this tonight And
Speaker#2:
00:01:49.43 – 00:02:10.294
then I said well let’s keep praying let’s keep praying And I’ve been praying all week the weather be beautiful and the the clouds parted and it was clear as a bell you could see uh Venus and Saturn and Mel was out there actually telling everybody ok this is this star and this is this star and it was such an incredible time of worship and pray
Speaker#2:
00:02:10.304 – 00:02:38.979
prayer and God heard the youth cry out but he also saw the joy and love they gave to one another So I just wanna let you know we appreciate everything you’re doing for them because it is actually making connections in their lives and it’s making changes in their lives And truly God is moving in the youth here Uh not just today but I mean honestly going forward I am excited about what he’s about to do so and continuing to do
Speaker#2:
00:02:39.3 – 00:02:47.839
Um So to the word today we’re gonna be in Matthew I put it up there for you Uh Matthew chapter five Now if you know Matthew chapter five
Speaker#2:
00:02:48.539 – 00:02:50.429
you know it’s what
Speaker#2:
00:02:51.509 – 00:03:05.899
the be attitudes Yes Yes Sermon on the mount beginning to be attitudes I’m not gonna really focus that much If you see we’re starting in verse 10 it’s kind of the end of the be attitudes but I wanna pray and then we’re gonna enter the time in the word
Speaker#2:
00:03:06.229 – 00:03:32.49
Lord Thank you so much for just allowing us to have this space to be able to worship you to have this space to talk about you to have this space to share what you’ve done in our lives Lord where others are being persecuted all over the world and tortured and terrible things happening We can freely worship you This is to be blessed Lord by you
Speaker#2:
00:03:32.619 – 00:03:38.33
And I just thank you for that and I just pray that your spirit would move in this time in Jesus name Amen
Speaker#2:
00:03:39.71 – 00:04:03.449
So in Matthew chapter five Jesus is starting to deliver the sermon on the mound and I love this as he’s going through all these blessings And uh one of my favorite pastor teachers I I grew up with always would read it and he would say oh how happy are the poor in spirit Oh How happy are those who mourn Oh how happy are those that are meek
Speaker#2:
00:04:04.369 – 00:04:11.1
And I love this this oh how happy which is like the literal translation of blessed
Speaker#2:
00:04:11.82 – 00:04:23.47
You know we think of blessed as this thing that happens to us But a lot of ways it’s our mind and who we are and how we relate to the situation Oh How happy
Speaker#2:
00:04:25.88 – 00:04:37.179
I have this uh gentleman that’s working for me right now and he’s gone through a lot in his life Uh He drug abuse was a huge part of his life and and he’s overcome that
Speaker#2:
00:04:39.39 – 00:04:44.51
he’s overcome so many bad situations in his life
Speaker#2:
00:04:45.04 – 00:04:57.339
And he said to me you know I I I just know I just gotta I gotta keep my eyes on God and I gotta keep my eyes on the right situation because it’s God giving me the right mental space
Speaker#2:
00:04:58.17 – 00:05:17.69
It’s God pointing me to happiness And I said man you’re blessed And he said well I don’t know if I’m blessed is the word And I said but you’re I said are you happy He’s like I have to be It’s like if I’m not happy with my every day and I look at all the bad things I won’t be blessed I said that that is happiness
Speaker#2:
00:05:17.7 – 00:05:37.23
It’s realizing what God has brought us through and focusing on the amazing blessings the happiness that He’s providing our life Happiness isn’t about just everything being I’m rich and I got everything I want It’s about realizing where we’ve come from and where we are
Speaker#2:
00:05:37.5 – 00:05:51.339
And so as we look at verse 10 I want you to think about that and it says blessed or oh how happy are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Speaker#2:
00:05:54.929 – 00:05:58.609
A lot of times we go if you’re persecuted you’re going to be blessed
Speaker#2:
00:06:00.7 – 00:06:10.51
not in the way you think about it I mean it’s not going to be comfortable it’s going to be uncomfortable It’s going to be distressing It’s going to be hard
Speaker#2:
00:06:11.709 – 00:06:20.79
Being persecuted is not easy No one likes being told they’re wrong No one likes being told You’re a fool You’re crazy
Speaker#2:
00:06:21.369 – 00:06:36.76
You believe that religious stuff That’s crazy No one likes hearing that No one wants their Bible taken from them and put into prison because they read a Bible because they had a Bible because they spoke the name of the Jesus on the street
Speaker#2:
00:06:39.39 – 00:06:44.279
The context of being blessed is important here
Speaker#2:
00:06:46.089 – 00:06:52.119
Oh how happy are those that are per persecuted for righteousness sake
Speaker#2:
00:06:53.13 – 00:07:06.69
God’s not promising that our life is going to be joyful in in this physical realm He’s promising us forever He’s promising us something greater righteousness sake
Speaker#2:
00:07:07.309 – 00:07:19.149
It’s about those around you Bill’s talking about connections creating those these connection points Persecution brings righteousness
Speaker#2:
00:07:21.459 – 00:07:38.54
not to you This is for believers You’ve already had that You’ve already believed in Jesus You’ve already accepted Jesus That’s why you’re being persecuted You’re being persecuted for the kingdom When Jesus is giving this to the disciples this be attitudes it’s to them
Speaker#2:
00:07:40.5 – 00:07:55.119
He’s speaking directly to disciples If you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus If you consider yourself an apostle someone that goes forward to spread his word this is for you
Speaker#2:
00:07:55.7 – 00:08:14.97
Oh How happy you are If you’re persecuted blessed truly blessed to be persecuted in verse 11 He says blessed are those when they revive and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things falsely against you for my sake rejoice and be exceedingly glad
Speaker#2:
00:08:17.04 – 00:08:22.91
when they persecute you when they spit on you when they tell you you’re a fool
Speaker#2:
00:08:25.7 – 00:08:36.39
be happy This is what God intends in our lives He wants us to rejoice in the hardship
Speaker#2:
00:08:37.408 – 00:09:01.109
He wants us to rejoice David rejoiced as saul sook to kill him He came after him and we read Psalm after P so David saying Lord save me but I still praise you and you’re still the Lord of all And I love you It’s like man I I I don’t know if I was being hunted to be murdered I don’t know how happy I could be
Speaker#2:
00:09:02.429 – 00:09:06.039
I’d probably be pretty paranoid Like whoa
Speaker#2:
00:09:06.83 – 00:09:33.33
You know I I don’t know if I could be comfortable in any one place or at any time I don’t know if I could have a pillow to lay on to feel comfort You’d lay on rocks just so you’d be ready to jump at any time But he was happy why Because He knew that God was doing something great in the persecution He knew God was doing something incredible Didn’t mean he didn’t have a sorrowful spirit at times didn’t mean that he didn’t mourn what was going on
Speaker#2:
00:09:33.76 – 00:09:58.469
But he recognized that God had so much more and he did he became king he was able to to instrument you know what his son would end up doing and building the temple God used his suffering and his persecution for something so much greater so much greater than anything that he could think
Speaker#2:
00:09:58.989 – 00:10:08.7
I wanna share a story with you I know that you probably look at the message notes and you’re like don’t widen the plate What does that mean Well
Speaker#2:
00:10:09.799 – 00:10:12.27
I heard this teaching by this gentleman
Speaker#2:
00:10:13.049 – 00:10:27.609
and he wasn’t he’s not a pastor not a teacher a believer Absolutely He was a baseball professional And I say that because he was a hitting coach he was a pitching coach He was one of the best Uh he’s passed unfortunately
Speaker#2:
00:10:27.809 – 00:10:55.219
And he was giving a speech in 1996 and and I got to hear this on recording and it was an incredible speech Uh a friend of mine played it to me and I wrote it I I I got a um a synopsis of it and I’ve always kept it on me in some way with phone Of course that’s really easy I had it in my Bible before because I thought it was a really good reminder to us about our job in this world and who we are ought to be
Speaker#2:
00:10:55.919 – 00:11:17.109
and how we ought to kind of walk And so he gives this message and then he did this in Nashville Tennessee There’s about 4000 people that heard this speech when he gave it and I’m not gonna read the whole thing because it’s crazy He went on for like an hour but I I kind of made some like footnotes for you so that we not gonna just do that the whole time But I think some of the really important things
Speaker#2:
00:11:18.0 – 00:11:37.309
that he did in this speech and his name was John Scolio And he was an incredible incredible recognizer of talent And so these coaches and these professionals were there to hear from him They wanted to hear what this professional man had to say about baseball How many baseball fans we have
Speaker#2:
00:11:38.03 – 00:11:50.159
Ok we got a few Ok So here’s my question to you gentlemen that raise their hands or anybody that might know the answer to this question How many inches is the home plate in Little League
Speaker#2:
00:11:51.03 – 00:11:52.229
Does anybody know
Speaker#2:
00:11:53.479 – 00:11:56.4
it’s 17 17 inches
Speaker#2:
00:11:57.299 – 00:12:05.179
Ok When you go into high school baseball how many inches is the home plate Does anybody know
Speaker#2:
00:12:06.75 – 00:12:08.039
17
Speaker#2:
00:12:09.239 – 00:12:12.619
When you go into college How many inches is the home plate
Speaker#2:
00:12:14.159 – 00:12:20.5
17 when you go into AAA baseball How many inches is the home plate
Speaker#2:
00:12:21.89 – 00:12:24.58
Yeah you all know the answer Now 17
Speaker#2:
00:12:25.469 – 00:12:28.84
when you’re a major league baseball player
Speaker#2:
00:12:30.059 – 00:12:34.84
how many inches the professionals is the home plate
Speaker#2:
00:12:36.63 – 00:12:38.51
It’s 17 inches
Speaker#2:
00:12:40.77 – 00:12:43.729
You get me right It never changes
Speaker#2:
00:12:44.289 – 00:12:55.26
There is a standard that is set by this and he goes on a little bit about this but where I wanted to to kind of go is he he he he talks about the plate being 17 inches
Speaker#2:
00:12:56.289 – 00:13:02.25
and he says to his him that 17 inches he confirmed with a bellowing voice
Speaker#2:
00:13:04.45 – 00:13:10.159
and what do they do when a big league pitcher who can’t throw over that 17 inches
Speaker#2:
00:13:11.2 – 00:13:32.89
and everybody starts shouting in the audience and you can hear it on the tape They send them to Ella which is the minor leagues they send them down if they can’t throw over the pitch If they can’t throw that baseball over the plate they send them down If they cannot throw a strike over the plate they they’re not good enough they can’t be in the major leagues they can’t do it
Speaker#2:
00:13:36.63 – 00:13:41.039
What they don’t do is say let’s widen the plate
Speaker#2:
00:13:42.7 – 00:13:51.01
Let’s change the standard for Jimmy He is the one that deserves a 24 inch plate
Speaker#2:
00:13:52.369 – 00:13:58.919
Oh Tommy can’t hit the baseball over the plate Let’s make it 25 inches for him That’ll let him hit
Speaker#2:
00:14:01.359 – 00:14:06.83
He goes on to say when your best player shows up late for the game for practice
Speaker#2:
00:14:07.559 – 00:14:17.34
Do you let him play Well it’s ok You know because John is our best pitcher and if he doesn’t pitch tonight
Speaker#2:
00:14:18.08 – 00:14:19.299
we can’t win
Speaker#2:
00:14:23.13 – 00:14:38.099
They don’t major league baseball teams can’t do that Why Because the standards get lowered and with lower standards they’re no longer professionals when we lower the standards of what is the requirement
Speaker#2:
00:14:39.119 – 00:14:43.609
to be a professional athlete There are no professionals
Speaker#2:
00:14:45.469 – 00:14:53.46
in the world right now They’re telling us you know oh you know uh trans athletes can be a part of women’s sports
Speaker#2:
00:14:55.01 – 00:15:18.099
They’re widening the plate in such an unfair way Why Because they wanna be inclusive because they want everybody to feel fit in But when you go to a major league park or you go to an NBA they don’t lower the hoop for them You have to get to this particular pinnacle You have to be exactly that And because of that we love to watch and
Speaker#2:
00:15:18.109 – 00:15:38.75
football because the guy can throw a spiral that’s perfect into a guy’s arms from 70 yards down the field we love it because there’s greatness in there There’s greatness in standards there’s greatness in perfection There’s greatness in
Speaker#2:
00:15:40.32 – 00:15:45.25
not diluting and saying things are ok
Speaker#2:
00:15:46.229 – 00:15:59.059
I want you to understand something very important We are persecuted as Christians because we see the standard of God
Speaker#2:
00:16:02.739 – 00:16:30.619
I was talking to someone the other day and they were talking about the commandments and they’re like well you know the commandments have passed you know Jesus has has freed us from them and they’re no longer a burden on us And I’m like yeah that’s that’s true But I mean you know we we should still probably follow them though I think that that’s a good thing I think God said we shouldn’t murder for a reason I mean we shouldn’t just pretend like that didn’t exist You know God said
Speaker#2:
00:16:30.979 – 00:16:43.89
you know don’t commit adultery for a reason I mean it is important that we still look at the commandments and go There’s a standard there there’s a recognition that God set up a standard
Speaker#2:
00:16:45.359 – 00:17:04.76
But I see these churches that just want you to feel good They want you to come in and they tell you everything’s great I I remember me and my wife went to this church and they were serving in and out and this is in California So I know all the water burger fans are here like in and out But in California in and out is like the water burger of
Speaker#2:
00:17:05.078 – 00:17:26.14
Texas So we’ll just say that And I remember all these people lining up to go get in and out at the the church and the church was packed free in and out What I can’t believe this This is amazing Right And then the pastor gets up there and then basically just tells everybody they’re wonderful that he loves them That they’re great Christians go have in and out
Speaker#2:
00:17:27.708 – 00:17:42.949
and everybody’s like yay good worship good message And I’m like that wasn’t a good message There was no standard set There was nothing about pursuit of holiness there was nothing about anything that had to do with the Christian life
Speaker#2:
00:17:44.15 – 00:17:51.4
It was a lie We are lying to our people to fill a church
Speaker#2:
00:17:54.15 – 00:18:19.06
I stayed at Live Springs the first time I was here because Pastor Bill spoke the truth even if it hurt even if it singes my heart my frail ego it hurt and that was good and I stayed because I know that is what God does with us When we’re at the bonfire
Speaker#2:
00:18:19.589 – 00:18:28.079
I read Malachi to the the youth in Malachi It talks about how God is a refining fire in our lives
Speaker#2:
00:18:30.329 – 00:18:53.869
Gold is pure because it has been burned down over and over and over and over again And every time it’s burned God or the refiner in this case takes the impurities off the top and he gets them and you think it’d be pure after that first burn But it’s not
Speaker#2:
00:18:54.52 – 00:18:59.589
right There’s a huge difference between you know two K gold and 24 carat Right
Speaker#2:
00:19:00.349 – 00:19:05.91
It’s how many times it’s been refined It’s how many times those impurities have been stripped away
Speaker#2:
00:19:10.64 – 00:19:15.18
Our lives are like God’s refining fire
Speaker#2:
00:19:16.819 – 00:19:24.4
But if there’s no standard if there’s no commandments if there’s no speaking the truth to one another
Speaker#2:
00:19:25.0 – 00:19:40.18
we will never hit those standards and we will never be refined in the spirit of God A church that just says the things that people want to hear is not a church that is truly being refined for God’s work
Speaker#2:
00:19:41.329 – 00:19:44.25
There’s not true labors coming from that
Speaker#2:
00:19:46.27 – 00:19:56.469
The real message of Christ is not being said oh happy are the or oh happy are you when they revile and persecute you
Speaker#2:
00:19:59.329 – 00:20:04.449
Well I can’t say that because if I say that then they’ll hate me
Speaker#2:
00:20:05.969 – 00:20:11.25
Jesus was hated hated to death They hated him
Speaker#2:
00:20:11.869 – 00:20:14.069
because of the words he spoke
Speaker#2:
00:20:14.64 – 00:20:16.26
and they killed him because of it
Speaker#2:
00:20:17.109 – 00:20:33.5
Stephen was hated because he shared of Jesus they hated him to death and stoned him because he said the name of Jesus and called him the son of God called him the messiah and they killed him for it
Speaker#2:
00:20:36.54 – 00:20:39.43
As Stephen was dying He looked up and saw God
Speaker#2:
00:20:41.719 – 00:20:46.79
why Because that was what God wanted for his life That
Speaker#2:
00:20:47.449 – 00:20:49.479
was a happy moment for Stephen
Speaker#2:
00:20:50.04 – 00:20:57.579
can only imagine what God pain he delivered of him in in that moment and what God did for him as he stared up to heaven
Speaker#2:
00:20:59.5 – 00:21:02.91
Persecution is important
Speaker#2:
00:21:05.359 – 00:21:25.939
Why did I share the story of the plate Because we cannot lower the standards of the church for any reason We can’t lower the standards of God’s calling for any reason And why Well he goes on in verse 13 here and he says you are the salt of the earth
Speaker#2:
00:21:27.67 – 00:21:31.27
I love salt Who loves salt Salt is the best
Speaker#2:
00:21:32.03 – 00:21:39.949
Claire My daughter is obsessed with salt almost too much We joke all the time She’s gonna burn out her kidneys because she uses so much salt on everything
Speaker#2:
00:21:41.66 – 00:21:46.219
Salt is amazing Salt does so much for us as people
Speaker#2:
00:21:46.88 – 00:22:03.67
there was a period of time I know this is gonna shock a lot of you that haven’t don’t know anything about this We used to not have refrigerators and the only way they could preserve food was with salt That’s it They they just salt it a lot
Speaker#2:
00:22:04.489 – 00:22:10.02
because it takes the oxygen out and it preserves that meat so it can be eaten later
Speaker#2:
00:22:12.41 – 00:22:17.819
Salt cleans water How many people have a salt water filtration system in their house I know I do
Speaker#2:
00:22:18.369 – 00:22:35.13
It’s amazing Right And the water is clean and you feel really good There’s you know we get a we get a little bit of notice It’s like hey you should be boiling your water right now and we’re like cool We got this awesome salt filtration system that’s supposed to take all these condemns out Awesome I load up the salt like every quarter get like three bit
Speaker#2:
00:22:35.14 – 00:22:51.91
£40 bags in there It’s it’s good to go It smells like strong salt Right It’s it’s kind of oppressive and abrasive Right When salt gets in a wound it cleans But it also does what it hurts It’s painful
Speaker#2:
00:22:54.329 – 00:23:24.199
I love one of the definitions a lot of definitions of for salt Um but one particular one that I really like is uh as a as a thing that salt does salt is required And this is uh from a scientific journal The salt in the human body is required to conduct nerve impulses and contract and reflect muscles and maintain the proper balance of water and minerals in the body
Speaker#2:
00:23:28.04 – 00:23:30.439
proper balance
Speaker#2:
00:23:31.64 – 00:23:51.329
So Jesus says you are the salt of the earth If the salt loses its flavor how shall it be seasoned It is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot if we the salt have no standards and we have lost and we’ve widened that plate and we don’t
Speaker#2:
00:23:52.41 – 00:23:58.92
give the truth to one another and we don’t rub the salt in the wound
Speaker#2:
00:24:00.0 – 00:24:09.75
We’ve lost our seasoning and we fail to maintain the proper balance And what am I talking about Well let’s look at America right now
Speaker#2:
00:24:12.41 – 00:24:16.459
We were a nation that was built on God
Speaker#2:
00:24:17.27 – 00:24:24.66
and now we’re feeling like we’re a nation built on Satan more and more and more and that is what they’re pushing to
Speaker#2:
00:24:27.199 – 00:24:47.88
It’s because we are not being the salt of the earth in this country We are not getting out there and properly a balance We are ok to be pushed away when someone doesn’t like what we’re saying We’re ok That oh well I don’t offend anybody We’re ok with that
Speaker#2:
00:24:48.53 – 00:24:50.869
That is not how soul works
Speaker#2:
00:24:51.54 – 00:24:55.689
It gets in there it hurts it’s abrasive
Speaker#2:
00:24:57.06 – 00:25:02.27
but it balances it preserves life
Speaker#2:
00:25:04.939 – 00:25:09.66
that is who we ought to be That is our job
Speaker#2:
00:25:12.609 – 00:25:34.13
It’s better to have a church that is constantly in that place of salt and light than a church that has lost its seasoning That is no longer in that place It doesn’t matter how many people a few people can make the difference A few well equipped
Speaker#2:
00:25:34.77 – 00:25:36.829
believers in Christ
Speaker#2:
00:25:37.859 – 00:25:44.969
make all the difference How many of you went out and I hope you did and saw the Jesus revolution
Speaker#2:
00:25:46.119 – 00:25:58.06
OK So we have a few out here I just wanna say like one you should go see it one because you should support when amazing movies about Jesus are made And it’s an incredible movie
Speaker#2:
00:25:59.459 – 00:26:12.069
because it’s all about a relationship with Jesus Christ They say Jesus is name like 70 plus time in the movie I mean it’s just all over and it depicts true relationship in Christ
Speaker#2:
00:26:12.699 – 00:26:33.949
My pastor I grew up with is one of the three leading figures in it that are that are that are part of the movie and it was a joy to me to see such a beautiful walk that they started But it was a couple individuals that exploded absolutely exploded A movement out of California
Speaker#2:
00:26:34.18 – 00:26:55.209
that absolutely changed that entire area I don’t know if I would be standing before you in the way that I am had that movement not happened My dad was affected by that movement My mom was affected by that movement I was affected by that movement because a couple men because a couple individuals said you know what
Speaker#2:
00:26:56.349 – 00:27:02.78
let’s love the hippies who who cares what they’re doing Let’s bring the message to them
Speaker#2:
00:27:04.459 – 00:27:33.41
My favorite scene in the movie is that everybody the parishioners at the church start getting mad at him because they all have muddy feet because they’re walking in barefoot And I remember he always told this story when I was in college He told this story to us and he said yeah I I uh they were complaining about the carpet getting dirty So I decided that I would wash the feet of all the hippies when they were coming in the building And so he stood at the entrance of the chapel and it wasn’t a very big chapel
Speaker#2:
00:27:33.849 – 00:27:38.939
but he stood at the entrance and every person that was in bare feet he washed their feet
Speaker#2:
00:27:43.56 – 00:27:52.099
because he it didn’t matter how they got in there it was a matter of getting the salt to them it was a matter of getting the message to them
Speaker#2:
00:27:56.39 – 00:28:06.959
It is important that we recognize that we have the power as individuals to influence the entire nation
Speaker#2:
00:28:09.199 – 00:28:12.67
I know for me I can’t wait
Speaker#2:
00:28:13.51 – 00:28:24.4
I have to move God is putting it in my heart and soul and it hurts if I am not moving and I am not pursuing him and I am not telling people about Jesus
Speaker#2:
00:28:25.17 – 00:28:26.68
it hurts me
Speaker#2:
00:28:27.739 – 00:28:45.939
I can’t I go even like a week without sharing the word and it starts to just cripple me because I just have to talk and so I just find random people to talk to Christ about because I just have to get it out And I’m like this feels good I’m gonna keep doing this and it feels good And I got to because God
Speaker#2:
00:28:45.949 – 00:29:04.16
put it in my heart it’s who I am because of him because of his refinement because I’m allowing him to dig deep and to take out all the gross and sick things that are of me and put him in there He’s getting that out He’s erasing it and I praise him for the changes he’s made in me
Speaker#2:
00:29:05.17 – 00:29:10.699
I can’t wait to see what it looks like in 10 years I can’t wait to see what I look like in 20 years
Speaker#2:
00:29:11.599 – 00:29:18.959
I look forward to getting older in Christ because I am getting closer and closer to him
Speaker#2:
00:29:19.719 – 00:29:30.689
But in the meantime it’s my job because I’m one of his soldiers It is my job to go out and to tell everyone about Him
Speaker#2:
00:29:31.589 – 00:29:41.319
It’s my job to be the salt of the earth if you believe And I believe everyone in here does believe in Christ It is your job
Speaker#2:
00:29:41.979 – 00:29:44.91
is your good and faithful service
Speaker#2:
00:29:46.839 – 00:29:51.02
because you love Him because he already forgave you
Speaker#2:
00:29:51.709 – 00:29:59.449
None of what you’re doing is doing anything to prevent that You don’t have to do anything if you don’t do anything your salvation not affected
Speaker#2:
00:30:01.739 – 00:30:04.709
But are you being effective to the calling of God
Speaker#2:
00:30:05.359 – 00:30:11.8
Are you tackling the things God puts before you
Speaker#2:
00:30:15.39 – 00:30:17.959
When I think about standards that we set for our life
Speaker#2:
00:30:18.569 – 00:30:20.219
It was funny when I when I grew up
Speaker#2:
00:30:20.829 – 00:30:23.439
they know my mom’s watching so she’ll get a kick out of this
Speaker#2:
00:30:24.14 – 00:30:30.479
My mom is an incredible shoot like in basketball she can shoot so well
Speaker#2:
00:30:32.189 – 00:30:36.05
So she liked playing this game called around the world ever played around the world
Speaker#2:
00:30:36.56 – 00:30:47.01
And she was so good at all the shots and you kind of go around the outside of the key and you make a shot at a time and a shot at a time And I remember being like I don’t know like seven or eight and she’d whoop me
Speaker#2:
00:30:47.4 – 00:31:07.099
she’d whoop me like she’d whoop me and my brother and years and years and years went by I remember my brothers in high school and she’s still beating him She’s still beating him But I was taking basketball serious and I started beating my mom here and there She’s still an incredible shooter and still even at 18 she could still get out there and she just was so consistent
Speaker#2:
00:31:08.5 – 00:31:29.069
and I remember my mom telling me and and someone said you just you just always beat them It didn’t matter what age And she said yeah they gotta know what standard they gotta raise to they got to know that I’m gonna beat them and they got to know how good they got to be to actually be able to beat me And they’re not gonna do that If I’m not making shots they’re not gonna do that If I let easy on them
Speaker#2:
00:31:31.16 – 00:31:32.329
I’m going to beat them
Speaker#2:
00:31:33.319 – 00:31:44.38
And I remember when my nephews were growing up a a couple of people was like why you always beat them so bad I’m like actually it could be worse but I do do that because I’m teaching them My mom taught me this I’m teaching them that
Speaker#2:
00:31:46.199 – 00:32:04.349
you you you go and you run to win the race You don’t let up because people are falling behind You show what how fast you have to run You show how hard you have to run how hard you have to work the things you have to do to get it accomplished
Speaker#2:
00:32:06.01 – 00:32:12.729
Um Someone said to me the other night like wait you already did everything And I said yeah and they go why don’t you wait for everybody else
Speaker#2:
00:32:13.609 – 00:32:15.739
I can’t wait for everybody else
Speaker#2:
00:32:17.18 – 00:32:21.81
If I wait for everybody else to catch up God’s work isn’t being done
Speaker#2:
00:32:24.989 – 00:32:26.51
Stop waiting
Speaker#2:
00:32:27.589 – 00:32:36.16
God will do amazing things with you If you stop waiting whatever it is whatever God’s put in your heart to do do it
Speaker#2:
00:32:36.839 – 00:32:40.069
Stop waiting I don’t know what you’re waiting for
Speaker#2:
00:32:40.67 – 00:32:42.9
There’s not gonna be some ray of light and God’s like oh
Speaker#2:
00:32:43.979 – 00:32:48.25
and he’s gonna like you’re gonna be like oh now I know it’s the right thing to do Stop waiting
Speaker#2:
00:32:49.869 – 00:32:51.28
Who knows
Speaker#2:
00:32:53.76 – 00:32:57.989
Pastor Billy says if God’s in it it’s gonna succeed I agree
Speaker#2:
00:32:59.25 – 00:33:16.689
Stop waiting for others to catch up God has a calling for you Run Do the thing This life is about us being sold in light in us moving forward It’s not about us waiting for everyone to catch up
Speaker#2:
00:33:17.29 – 00:33:20.28
and I’ll tell you this If you run
Speaker#2:
00:33:22.13 – 00:33:29.329
those around you will be inspired by you running and they will start to run not everyone
Speaker#2:
00:33:30.619 – 00:33:37.4
But when you start to work hard for God when you start putting everything into it
Speaker#2:
00:33:38.189 – 00:33:45.13
others around you they’ll get better They’ll start being able to make the baskets and and beat your mother at basketball
Speaker#2:
00:33:46.28 – 00:33:50.0
You will get better because you’re running
Speaker#2:
00:33:51.89 – 00:34:18.31
I don’t know what I’m doing half the time with the youth I really don’t I just go Lord what are we doing And and God’s like I don’t know what you wanna do and I’m like well you know I got these thoughts and then is like oh let’s do this this and this like oh that sounds good Actually That’s that’s good We can make it work and we go do it where we just we just go do things and then we pray for God’s blessing upon and we pray for his anointing and things happen and the ministry goes forward
Speaker#2:
00:34:18.6 – 00:34:37.729
Trust me If I had to wait for God to tell me what to do the youth ministry would still be sitting with like five or six of us in a room And and God’s brought all this youth We had like 25 youth over at a barbecue or sorry sorry a bonfire on Friday because God is bringing such blessings because me and are just running
Speaker#2:
00:34:41.898 – 00:34:53.168
It’s not about what you know how to do God just wants you to move He wants you to stop pretending like you can’t because the truth is none of us can without Him
Speaker#2:
00:34:54.55 – 00:35:00.629
We can’t I can’t I need Jesus I need his presence I need his spirit I can’t
Speaker#2:
00:35:01.649 – 00:35:09.469
the other side of that He says you in verse 14 you are the light of the world a city that is set on a hill and it cannot be hidden
Speaker#2:
00:35:11.6 – 00:35:37.31
I was looking up I had this really interesting I thought about lighthouses Um I don’t know if there’s any lighthouse experts in the audience but um currently active in the United States which actually blew my mind There are over 779 active lighthouses that registered in the US database right now And on average these lighthouses save over 100 and 50,000 lives a year
Speaker#2:
00:35:38.689 – 00:35:46.12
And they think that’s an underestimate but based on reporting how many people didn’t even report that the lighthouse saved them that are not on there
Speaker#2:
00:35:47.29 – 00:36:11.85
The lighthouse is this beacon and now they’re all automated nowadays there’s really not really any you know you see all the movies where there’s the old man that’s flipping on the light That really doesn’t happen anymore But that of course did happen at some point But we’re in this automated age but the lighthouse is still needed all the technology We have all these things that we’ve gone on We have these amazing flood lights on these boats They still need the lighthouse
Speaker#2:
00:36:12.419 – 00:36:28.8
They need to see the light The world needs to see the light of Christ You that believe in Christ are that light And if you hide yourself in your house I’m not good enough I can’t get out there and do that
Speaker#2:
00:36:29.459 – 00:36:31.25
Lives will be lost
Speaker#2:
00:36:33.8 – 00:36:40.12
Why Because we’re not going out there and we’re getting the word of God out there
Speaker#2:
00:36:42.29 – 00:36:53.419
This nation needs us as salt and light whatever issues you have with the government you are the salt and the light
Speaker#2:
00:36:54.1 – 00:36:59.11
It starts with your ability to get out there and do something
Speaker#2:
00:37:02.449 – 00:37:09.32
we need people everywhere and even in government but we need Christians everywhere in schools
Speaker#2:
00:37:10.179 – 00:37:14.34
We need Christians at the grocery store managing influencing
Speaker#2:
00:37:15.949 – 00:37:16.939
I just uh
Speaker#2:
00:37:18.239 – 00:37:25.129
this uh woman that works for me I do Uh I do I’m a district manager for a trash company Just plain and simple
Speaker#2:
00:37:26.709 – 00:37:30.489
And uh I have this woman that works for me and she quit the other day
Speaker#2:
00:37:31.399 – 00:37:32.04
just
Speaker#2:
00:37:32.669 – 00:37:33.439
she just quit
Speaker#2:
00:37:34.409 – 00:37:35.01
and
Speaker#2:
00:37:36.159 – 00:37:49.08
it was it was upsetting But for me it wasn’t upsetting because she quit because I can I can find other people It’s not like I I can hire other people You know the the the work will go on She wasn’t essential to the business
Speaker#2:
00:37:52.229 – 00:38:00.1
But I messaged her back because she text messaged me She quit the day before she’s got to work And I said you know what I said
Speaker#2:
00:38:02.729 – 00:38:10.06
I want you to really think about what you’re doing right now I know that this job is important to you And I know that this is helping pay for your life
Speaker#2:
00:38:11.3 – 00:38:14.08
and you don’t mean what you’re saying right now
Speaker#2:
00:38:15.29 – 00:38:28.919
and God just put it in my heart And I said you’re pushing people away that want to help you They’re they’re bringing out a hand to you And even if you don’t like the message you’re still pushing people away that want to help you
Speaker#2:
00:38:30.209 – 00:38:36.03
Let me help you Stop pushing me away I said if you call me tomorrow
Speaker#2:
00:38:36.689 – 00:38:37.679
oh no
Speaker#2:
00:38:38.199 – 00:38:49.459
And she calls me in the morning and she’s like the first thing I hear her voice and it’s like cracking and she’s like weeping and she’s like I’m sorry And I was like no no no no I was like stop You called me It’s done like
Speaker#2:
00:38:50.12 – 00:38:52.469
it’s ok And she said
Speaker#2:
00:38:54.0 – 00:38:57.34
she’s in her fifties and she’s said no man
Speaker#2:
00:38:58.34 – 00:39:27.27
has shown this kind of love and grace to me in my life And I don’t trust men And I just thought you were just like all the other ones And I said I was I said but Jesus Christ came in my life and he changed who I am and you are a child of God and you were important to Him And I want you to continue to work because you are important to Him and your life is important to him And she said I don’t know a lot about what you’re saying but she’s like but I want to hear more
Speaker#2:
00:39:29.83 – 00:39:39.909
God has put me in a position in the world to be an influence I could oh I don’t wanna bring up God right now You know that would be really bad
Speaker#2:
00:39:43.51 – 00:39:48.8
Why Because I’m gonna be what is she gonna say I’m foolish She’s gonna say oh you don’t know what you’re talking about
Speaker#2:
00:39:49.379 – 00:39:55.3
or am I gonna be able to have an opportunity to share Christ in someone’s life
Speaker#2:
00:39:58.239 – 00:40:00.0
The message is simple
Speaker#2:
00:40:00.909 – 00:40:03.489
but the gift is immeasurable
Speaker#2:
00:40:06.389 – 00:40:11.229
You are the salt and the light of this earth
Speaker#2:
00:40:14.199 – 00:40:15.5
In verse 17
Speaker#2:
00:40:17.02 – 00:40:22.61
it says do not think that I came Jesus still speaking to destroy the law or the prophets
Speaker#2:
00:40:24.6 – 00:40:27.699
I did not come to destroy but to fulfill them
Speaker#2:
00:40:28.389 – 00:40:57.429
He was the fulfillment of everything For surely I say to you till heaven and earth pass away Not one shot one tittle which is like the little exclamation points and in in the in the writing uh not one jot or tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled all till the end of time Not any of it Whoever shall be called in the least of the kingdom I’m sorry I skipped to verse 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teachers teaches men So
Speaker#2:
00:40:57.77 – 00:41:03.679
teaches me so and this is really wanna point on this shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven
Speaker#2:
00:41:05.459 – 00:41:23.57
He is saying that we are the salt and the light And then the next passage he’s saying you need to teach them the commandments It is important that they understand just because I fulfilled It does not mean it’s not important does not mean these standards We are the salt and light for a reason
Speaker#2:
00:41:25.33 – 00:41:36.719
we help purify God wants to use you to help purify and it’s not your message It’s his fulfillment But we are his body
Speaker#2:
00:41:37.78 – 00:41:43.09
the proper balance of water and minerals We are the balance
Speaker#2:
00:41:45.77 – 00:42:02.719
I believe a an absolute coming to Christ revolution revival is on this way It’s something that me and pastor Bill both believe mildly I don’t think this nation is even close to done If
Speaker#2:
00:42:03.55 – 00:42:08.29
if we seek God and we put him first in everything
Speaker#2:
00:42:09.159 – 00:42:31.179
If we get back to being salt and light and we stop diluting the word of God we stop downplaying the things God has for us and we embrace His message and we we stop saying it’s OK Oh there’s more than two genders No it’s not Ok God made us man and woman
Speaker#2:
00:42:33.84 – 00:42:43.3
It is not ok to abort A child God said go forth and multiply be fruitful One of the first things they told us to do
Speaker#2:
00:42:44.239 – 00:42:46.11
It’s not OK
Speaker#2:
00:42:47.34 – 00:43:01.139
It’s not stop giving them that stop allowing it to be OK Stand up and say it’s not OK Stand up and be the light and the salt of this earth
Speaker#2:
00:43:04.899 – 00:43:06.929
Oh How happy
Speaker#2:
00:43:08.3 – 00:43:12.409
are you when they revile and persecute you blessed
Speaker#2:
00:43:17.689 – 00:43:20.179
two things I want to encourage you today One
Speaker#2:
00:43:21.159 – 00:43:22.04
one
Speaker#2:
00:43:24.02 – 00:43:37.79
give thanks to God When someone comes against you when you share about Jesus when you bring up the spiritual world When you talk about Jesus when you talk about the spirit and someone is offended by it
Speaker#2:
00:43:40.06 – 00:43:41.02
It’s a good moment
Speaker#2:
00:43:41.989 – 00:43:44.34
Oh How happy you are to be
Speaker#2:
00:43:45.27 – 00:43:47.729
when you’re persecuted or reviled
Speaker#2:
00:43:48.86 – 00:44:00.239
And it’s really probably not even that bad Honestly it’s probably just like I disagree with you Awesome Let’s go let’s talk I wanna talk to you Let’s debate Let’s have some good discourse
Speaker#2:
00:44:01.84 – 00:44:03.889
Let’s get that salt in the wound
Speaker#2:
00:44:06.61 – 00:44:08.06
It’s important
Speaker#2:
00:44:08.58 – 00:44:09.979
Have that
Speaker#2:
00:44:10.629 – 00:44:16.61
have that discord have it in your life make it something meaningful
Speaker#2:
00:44:18.739 – 00:44:34.85
to raise the standards and try to look at God’s standards We’re not perfect You’re never gonna be perfect I’m not saying that you need to be perfect I believe the pursuit of perfection is what God wants for us But it’s impossible
Speaker#2:
00:44:35.379 – 00:44:38.54
And God knows that He knows you He knows your heart
Speaker#2:
00:44:39.37 – 00:44:42.679
How about we just take it one refining fire at a time
Speaker#2:
00:44:46.61 – 00:44:52.229
Let’s take it one fire at a time One cleansing one impurity
Speaker#2:
00:44:53.12 – 00:45:07.929
I think we’re so quick in our lives to be like OK I gotta get everything out right now and then I’m gonna be ready for God like everything like OK OK And this is a sin this is a sin this is a sin this is a sin and and then we overload ourselves and then people just give up because they’re like oh I’m not gonna I’m not gonna do it
Speaker#2:
00:45:08.6 – 00:45:27.959
Let God refine you one fire at a time let the thing whatever God has in you just just let him take it whatever He’s like hey this is the thing let him take it from you Let him refine that He’ll get to everything trust me He’ll get to it as you walk with Christ in your life
Speaker#2:
00:45:28.389 – 00:45:40.61
It is not yours to take away It’s his He just ask that you have the desire for it He asked that you have the desire to just say Lord come take these things from me
Speaker#2:
00:45:41.87 – 00:46:03.77
Lord use me And I I tell you this and you start being used by God in the world because you move because you move because you choose to walk with your feet and you move towards servicing God When you start to do that he’ll refine you He’ll he’ll take it Honestly you stop even really realizing that he’s doing it because you’re moving It was too busy
Speaker#2:
00:46:06.159 – 00:46:26.01
Marathon runners when they’re like at the end of the race don’t even realize what has happened to their body like they are decimated their entire body Uh One of my bosses is a marathon runner and he said the last marathon he ran He was like man on my like 22nd mile I was like dead But I don’t remember that you know he goes because you’re in the rhythm
Speaker#2:
00:46:26.59 – 00:46:34.85
like my body was dying but I was still running things you know and not until you stop running do you realize what has happened
Speaker#2:
00:46:38.25 – 00:46:52.729
Our lives are a lot like that in a good way But we run and you’ll look back at some point and go man God you did so much I didn’t even realize you were doing it It was because we were running because we were active because we were pursuing
Speaker#2:
00:46:55.469 – 00:47:04.85
be active don’t just sit and listen be active It doesn’t matter if you’re in high school
Speaker#2:
00:47:05.36 – 00:47:08.889
or you’re like I’m almost dead I don’t want to do this
Speaker#2:
00:47:10.0 – 00:47:31.239
I remember my pastor Pastor Chuck Smith saying he was like 91 it was his last message and then he died the following week and he said I will not stop teaching I will not stop giving the word of God until God has taken the very last breath from me And I pray God gives me the ability to do the same in my life Let’s pray
Speaker#2:
00:47:32.199 – 00:47:53.476
Lord I pray that you make us people of movement you make us people that are going to be salt and light that you make us people that will not widen the plate for others but we will keep God’s standards and we will pursue these things in our lives that our schools that our government that the the the places we work around us anything that
Speaker#2:
00:47:53.486 – 00:48:14.761
affected by the world the highest schools the colleges they will be affected by us in such a mighty way Lord that you you alone would make great great revolution in us that a revival would spur out and that Liberty Hill would would be known as a focal place where revolution began Lord
Speaker#2:
00:48:14.771 – 00:48:38.85
I pray that your touching and anointing of your spirit would pass through here and that every single person that heard today would be inspired by you Lord and you alone and that you would have them move Father Thank you and keep us today and just thank you for all your blessings Oh happy Oh how happy we are Lord that we were able to hear from you today in Jesus name Amen Thank you so much
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