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Howdy Mars Hill Church.

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Pastor Sutton Turner here
and I'm in Ethiopia.

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And I just want to thank Jesus

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for continuing to use
Mars Hill Church

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to make disciples 
and plant churches.

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Mars Hill Global
is the arm of Mars Hill Church

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that makes disciples

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and plant churches 
all over the world.

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We not only do church planting,

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but we help better equip 
church planters.

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Most recently we shipped 
and now distributed

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1,000 bibles into Amharic,

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which is the language 
here in Ethiopia.

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And we launched a project

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to translate Pastor Mark Driscoll's 
doctrine book into Spanish.

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We have people 
from over 29 different countries

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that are giving on a monthly basis
to Mars Hill Global.

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So whether you're a member

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of one of our Mars Hill 
church locations

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in the United States,

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or you're 1 of 100,000 podcasters
every single week,

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we encourage you to pray

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about giving above 
and beyond your tithe

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to Mars Hill Global.

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Thank you and let's see
more materials translated,

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more pastors sent out,
more churches planted,

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and more people 
saved by Jesus Christ.

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God always gets
the last word.

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God alone gets the last word.

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The way that the Old Testament
ends is the way

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that history ends
and in the Book of Malachi,

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which is the last book
of the Old Testament,

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they have had
a long list of questions for

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and objections to God.

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Here's a few of them,
"How have you loved us?

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"How have we despised your name?
How have we polluted you?

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"How have we wearied him?
Where is the God of justice?

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How have we robbed you?
How have we spoken against you?"

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Lots of questions for God,
lots of conversations with God,

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lots of accusations and lots
of arguments toward God.

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And the book ends, Malachi
ends, the Old Testament ends,

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God's final word for 400 years
is that God gets the last word.

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God gets the final say.

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And this shows us how
history ultimately will end.

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In the meantime, we will live in
the midst of a culture that has

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objections to and quarrels
with God, but in the end,

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God always gets the last word.

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God gets the final say.

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And if you'd find this
place in your Bibles,

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we could study it together.

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It's Malachi chapter 4,
verses 1 through 6.

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We're gonna hear God's
final word for 400 years.

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This is the closing
of the Old Testament,

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anticipating the coming of Jesus
and God's got four things

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on his mind, heaven and hell,
the Bible, repentance and men.

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So I'm pretty fired up.

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These are my four favorite
things that are not foods.

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I'm really excited to talk about
these things, heaven and hell,

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the Bible, repentance
of sin and men.

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That's what's God's final
word to all of human history,

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it's God speaking to us
as well in our own day.

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So he starts by talking
about heaven and hell.

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Malachi 4:1-3,
"For behold"--

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And that's God's way of getting
our attention so,

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hey, pay attention.

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"For behold, the day is
coming, burning like an oven"--

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you're gonna hear
this language of hell--

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"when all the arrogant and
all evildoers will be stubble.

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"The day that is coming
shall set them ablaze,

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"says the Lord of hosts,

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"so that it will leave them
neither root nor branch.

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But for you who fear my name"--

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so here's another category
of people--

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"But for you who fear my name"--
these are God's people--

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"the sun of righteousness
shall rise

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"with healing in its wings.

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"You shall go out leaping
like calves from the stall.

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"And you shall tread
down the wicked,

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"for they will be ashes under
the soles of your feet,

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on the day when I act,
says the Lord of hosts."

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He's speaking here about
the day, the Day of the Lord.

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This is one of the big themes
of the prophets

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in the Old Testament.

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They're leaning forward into
something called

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the Day of the Lord,

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and the Day of the Lord is
a succession of days and events

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through history that all
culminate in the Last Day.

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The Last Day is
the day of judgment.

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It's ultimately regarding
the second coming

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of the Lord Jesus Christ,

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the resurrection
of the dead,

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the judgment of all people
into their eternal fate,

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reward in God's presence
or punishment

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in the presence of Jesus.

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Everyone will give an account
to the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Everyone will bow their head
and bend their knee

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to the Lord Jesus Christ,
some for eternal salvation,

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others for eternal damnation and
that's what the Old Testament

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means speaking of
the Day of the Lord.

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And so the Day of the Lord is
the best day for the believer

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and the worst day
for the unbeliever.

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It's two sides of
the same proverbial coin.

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If you are here
and you are not a Christian,

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I need you to know this,
you are going to hell.

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You're going to hell.

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You might say, "That's not
a very loving thing to say."

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Here's the good news,
you don't have to go to hell.

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The bad news is right
now if you don't know

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the Lord Jesus Christ,

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if you've not turned
from sin and trusted in him,

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your eternal fate is
now destined for hell,

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the conscious painful,
torments of hell.

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And the reason that God is so
emphatic about this throughout

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Scripture but particularly
here in Malachi is we get

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so preoccupied with the present
that we forget to anticipate

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the eternal.

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God here is gonna have
his final word for 400 years,

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and what he wants people to
know is that sin won't continue

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forever, that life as we know
it doesn't continue forever,

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that there's a day coming when
everything changes and life

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as we know it comes to an end
and the eternal life that is set

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before us comes, comes for us.

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And so he likens hell
to a fire, to burning.

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He using this language, "Burning
like an oven and also ablaze."

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He's talking here about
conscious torment.

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Now, some of you
will say,

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"Well, this is
the God of the Old Testament,

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"and God of the Old Testament
is pretty intense.

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Then Jesus comes, Jesus is
really sweet, really nice."

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Jesus talks of hell more than
anyone else in the whole Bible.

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More than anyone
in the whole Bible,

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Jesus talks about hell and
he uses this same language,

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burning like an oven, ablaze,
fiery flame, painful torment.

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Jesus uses this same language
to capture our imaginations

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and to create a sense
of urgency in us

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that we want to avoid that kind
of eternal punishment

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that awaits us if we do not
come to know him.

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And some will use this
language to speak of something

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called annihilationism and that
is that after you die,

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you cease to exist, that your
suffering goes for a while,

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and then it comes to an end.

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Well, the burning that is spoken
of here is not like the burning

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that you and I would experience.

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If you and I put
a log on a fire,

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we put a fire in our hearth,
eventually it burns out.

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The burning in hell
is not like that.

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The burning in hell is
a supernatural hell.

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It's something that is
inexplicable

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because it's something
that's eternal.

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So speaking of this same thing
at the end of Isaiah--and it's

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interesting that Malachi
closes by talking about hell,

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and Isaiah closes talking about
hell because God always wants us

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to be thinking about the eternal
and whether or not we're going

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to be with him or against him.

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But Isaiah 66:24
says it this way,

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"Their fire
shall not quenched,"

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that the fires of hell
never go out,

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that the burning and
the suffering it is eternal,

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it is unyielding,
it is unending.

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Now we live in a day when
I'm not supposed to say that,

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but because I love you,
I have to say that.

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And I want to warn you
to consider your eternal fate,

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whether or not you have turned
from sin and trusted in Jesus

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or if you were destined for
that kind of eternity.

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Because we love you,
we don't want that for you.

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But you need to know this that
no one is getting away

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with anything.

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He says that they
will burn like stubble.

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It's almost like all of human
history is getting stacked up

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like cordwood
for an eternal burning.

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I was thinking
about this recently.

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I was out on my woodpile
swinging my ax because my son

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Gideon and I love to make fires
in the hearth

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during the course of the winter.

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It warms up the house.

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We love to hang
out there together.

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And as I'm chopping wood
and stacking it with my son

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I thought, this is
an interesting metaphor

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that the Bible uses
for humanity,

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that people who are sinning

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are not getting away
with anything.

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And they feel like they are.

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"I'm not on fire.
I'm not burning.

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Nothing's happening to me.
I'm getting away with it."

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No, you're not.

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You're being stacked up like
cordwood with your mom

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and your dad and your brother
and your sister and your aunt

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and your uncle and your cousin
and your boyfriend

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and your girlfriend,

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all getting stacked up like
cordwood getting away with

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nothing, just waiting for
the day when God's patience

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comes to an end.

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He's got a long wick
but it doesn't endure forever.

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There's a day when his
patience comes to an end.

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There's a day when he sets
humanity on fire

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for sinning against him
and rebelling against him,

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and the time between today
and that time is

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a season of patience.

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And here's the truth, we don't
know how long that season is.

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So I would encourage you with
a sense of urgency

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to consider your own fate.

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We live in a day when you're
not supposed to hear that.

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We're to say that
you're basically good.

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All religions are basically
the same and the only thing

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you need to do to go to heaven
is die.

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And then what we say
is things like "Well,

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we know they're in a better
place because they died."

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It takes more than your death
to go to a better place.

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It takes the death
of Jesus in your place to go

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to a better place.

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So he starts with hell.

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Does he have your attention?

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He should.

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And then he talks about heaven.

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See, for the non-Christian,
this life is as close to heaven

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as they ever get.

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For the Christian,

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this is as close to hell
as we ever get.

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Upon dying it gets worse
for the non-Christian.

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It gets better
for the Christian.

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So he not only speaks of hell,
he also speaks of heaven

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and what I find curious is this,
most Americans don't believe

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in hell, but they do
believe in heaven.

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We don't want to think that
there will be judgment,

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but we do want to think
that there will be mercy.

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Well, there is judgment from
Jesus Christ and there's mercy

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in Jesus Christ and here
as he's leaning 400 years

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into the future regarding
the coming of Jesus Christ,

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he's talking about whether
or not we will eternally be

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with him in mercy
or with him in justice.

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And I love the language
he uses of heaven.

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Let me say this, we have done
a terrible job as Christians

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talking about heaven to
the degree where it's not even

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exciting or interesting.

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Like you would never market
a vacation destination the way

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we have marketed heaven.

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You'd never do it because
nobody would ever buy a ticket.

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So I've said it
before but, you know,

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the picture that most people
have is you die and become like

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a fat baby wearing a diaper,
sitting on a cloud with

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small wings that really aren't
good for any long journey.

242
00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:07,333
And, you know, maybe curly
hair playing what instrument?

243
00:12:07,375 --> 00:12:09,125
A harp.

244
00:12:09,167 --> 00:12:11,875
Like who's in--like what
13-year-old boy right now

245
00:12:11,958 --> 00:12:14,333
is like "I want to rock
the harp, you know,

246
00:12:14,375 --> 00:12:17,333
and I want to rock it
forever in a diaper"?

247
00:12:17,375 --> 00:12:20,333
I mean you could see why
it's a real hard sales pitch

248
00:12:20,375 --> 00:12:22,833
to get men really fired up
for this eternal vision.

249
00:12:22,875 --> 00:12:24,208
You're like, "Really?

250
00:12:24,292 --> 00:12:27,417
"Are you sure it's not hell I'm
wearing a diaper playing a harp?

251
00:12:27,500 --> 00:12:30,167
You sure it's heaven because
that sounds like hell to me."

252
00:12:30,208 --> 00:12:33,167
How many of you men you go,
"Yeah, it sounds like hell"?

253
00:12:33,208 --> 00:12:34,875
Hell to me would be
eternal diaper-wearing

254
00:12:34,958 --> 00:12:36,292
harp playing me, okay?

255
00:12:36,333 --> 00:12:38,500
That's not the biblical
picture of heaven.

256
00:12:38,542 --> 00:12:41,958
And some of you think that
heaven is just an eternal

257
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,167
ethereal state where our body
goes into the ground

258
00:12:44,208 --> 00:12:46,583
and our soul goes to be
with the Lord.

259
00:12:46,667 --> 00:12:49,000
Well, that's an intermediate
state but the eternal state

260
00:12:49,042 --> 00:12:51,292
is where the soul comes
back into the body,

261
00:12:51,333 --> 00:12:53,167
and the body is
risen from death.

262
00:12:53,208 --> 00:12:55,917
Jesus was risen from death
and our bodies will be risen

263
00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:00,042
from death like that,
and the curse will be lifted.

264
00:13:00,125 --> 00:13:02,375
There'll be a new heaven,
new earth, New Jerusalem.

265
00:13:02,458 --> 00:13:05,042
We talk about this and my kids
ask me questions like,

266
00:13:05,125 --> 00:13:06,792
"Dad, can we go swimming
in heaven?"

267
00:13:06,833 --> 00:13:08,167
Sure.

268
00:13:08,250 --> 00:13:10,167
"Can we throw
the ball around in heaven?

269
00:13:10,250 --> 00:13:12,917
Can we climb trees in heaven?
Can we wrestle in heaven?"

270
00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,417
Yes, you can do everything
in heaven except for sin

271
00:13:15,500 --> 00:13:17,417
and experiencing
the consequences of sin

272
00:13:17,500 --> 00:13:20,875
with things like disease
and death, yeah.

273
00:13:20,958 --> 00:13:24,208
Our picture of heaven should be
what this earth was intended

274
00:13:24,292 --> 00:13:28,917
to be before sin invaded
it and corrupted it.

275
00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,333
We need a bigger grander
more biblical understanding

276
00:13:32,417 --> 00:13:35,667
of the kingdom of God,
the eternal kingdom of God.

277
00:13:35,708 --> 00:13:38,250
And he uses two analogies
that are, I think,

278
00:13:38,333 --> 00:13:40,208
very beautiful sunshine.

279
00:13:40,292 --> 00:13:41,625
Because I live in Seattle,

280
00:13:41,667 --> 00:13:44,083
I find this one particularly
appealing.

281
00:13:44,167 --> 00:13:48,333
This is the time of the year
where it's dark all day,

282
00:13:48,417 --> 00:13:51,500
every day for months.

283
00:13:51,542 --> 00:13:56,042
You couldn't tell when the sun
came up or when it came down

284
00:13:56,125 --> 00:13:57,750
unless you check your phone.

285
00:13:57,833 --> 00:14:01,000
That's the only way you can
know when sun up and sun down

286
00:14:01,042 --> 00:14:04,000
is because if you look out your
window it's all the same.

287
00:14:04,042 --> 00:14:05,375
It's dark all day.

288
00:14:05,458 --> 00:14:08,333
We're so far north,
it's dark all day.

289
00:14:08,417 --> 00:14:12,000
And even if there is a bit of
sun, the clouds obscure it.

290
00:14:12,083 --> 00:14:13,833
It's dark.

291
00:14:13,917 --> 00:14:16,958
Some who will hear this live
in places that are not Seattle,

292
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:18,958
the last shall be first.

293
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,667
You'll live in Seattle in heaven
and the first shall be last.

294
00:14:22,750 --> 00:14:24,500
And I'll live in
southern California.

295
00:14:24,583 --> 00:14:26,667
Until then,
I live in Seattle.

296
00:14:26,750 --> 00:14:29,250
And I'll be honest with you,
about every February, March,

297
00:14:29,333 --> 00:14:31,333
I start getting
really depressed.

298
00:14:31,417 --> 00:14:34,000
I can't go outside.
It's always dark.

299
00:14:34,083 --> 00:14:35,750
It's always raining.
The days are short.

300
00:14:35,833 --> 00:14:37,500
The kids
are starting to go nuts.

301
00:14:37,583 --> 00:14:40,333
My boys are getting
cabin fever, it's hard.

302
00:14:40,417 --> 00:14:43,750
What he says is that heaven
will be like the sunshine

303
00:14:43,833 --> 00:14:45,833
of a new day.

304
00:14:45,917 --> 00:14:50,583
Think after a long,
cold, hard, dark winter,

305
00:14:50,667 --> 00:14:55,042
you get that first day,
the sun comes out.

306
00:14:55,125 --> 00:14:56,667
It's warm.

307
00:14:56,708 --> 00:14:58,667
And if you're living
in southern California

308
00:14:58,708 --> 00:15:02,333
and hearing this, imagine, okay?

309
00:15:02,375 --> 00:15:06,167
You live in a place like this.

310
00:15:06,208 --> 00:15:11,250
There's a reason why people take
their vacations in sunny places.

311
00:15:11,333 --> 00:15:13,167
There's a reason why
during the winter,

312
00:15:13,250 --> 00:15:18,125
people go to places like Phoenix
and Orange County, the sunshine.

313
00:15:18,167 --> 00:15:19,833
It's hopeful.

314
00:15:19,917 --> 00:15:21,625
It's life giving.

315
00:15:21,667 --> 00:15:23,792
It's healing.

316
00:15:23,833 --> 00:15:28,750
I could still remember many
times after a long, cold, hard,

317
00:15:28,833 --> 00:15:31,958
dark winter, when you
get one exceptional day.

318
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:33,458
It's warm out.
The sun's out.

319
00:15:33,500 --> 00:15:38,583
What I like to do is just go
outside and just stand there.

320
00:15:38,667 --> 00:15:40,708
"Thank you, Lord."

321
00:15:40,792 --> 00:15:42,667
And I always quote
Ecclesiastes which says,

322
00:15:42,750 --> 00:15:48,500
"Light is sweet and it pleases
the eye to see the sun."

323
00:15:48,542 --> 00:15:52,125
He says that heaven will be
like that and our glorified,

324
00:15:52,167 --> 00:15:54,833
resurrected, perfected bodies,

325
00:15:54,917 --> 00:15:57,333
it will be like the sunshine
of a new day.

326
00:15:57,417 --> 00:16:00,625
And if you read Revelation it
says that we won't have the sun,

327
00:16:00,667 --> 00:16:02,625
that actually all the light
that will emanate

328
00:16:02,667 --> 00:16:04,000
through the new creation

329
00:16:04,083 --> 00:16:06,333
will be the unveiled glory
of Jesus Christ.

330
00:16:06,375 --> 00:16:09,333
So we won't even need the sun

331
00:16:09,375 --> 00:16:11,250
because we'll have
the Son of God.

332
00:16:11,333 --> 00:16:14,333
I mean it's mind bending,
it's breathtaking.

333
00:16:14,417 --> 00:16:19,958
He also says that that day will
come with healing, with healing.

334
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:24,958
Doesn't that sound great?

335
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:29,042
No more doctors.

336
00:16:29,125 --> 00:16:31,500
No more hospitals.

337
00:16:31,583 --> 00:16:33,583
No more surgeons.

338
00:16:33,667 --> 00:16:36,083
No more chemotherapy.

339
00:16:36,167 --> 00:16:38,333
No more hospice.

340
00:16:38,375 --> 00:16:40,500
No more physical therapy.

341
00:16:40,583 --> 00:16:42,333
No more wheelchairs.

342
00:16:42,417 --> 00:16:44,208
No more canes.

343
00:16:44,292 --> 00:16:46,042
No more walkers.

344
00:16:46,125 --> 00:16:48,167
No more prescriptions.

345
00:16:48,208 --> 00:16:52,000
It's almost hard
to conceive of that world.

346
00:16:52,042 --> 00:16:53,667
Sin brings death.

347
00:16:53,750 --> 00:16:58,208
And because Jesus conquers
death, he brings life.

348
00:16:58,292 --> 00:17:03,417
Healing, healing,
spiritual healing,

349
00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:06,000
emotional healing,
physical healing

350
00:17:06,083 --> 00:17:09,875
in totality
for all of God's people forever.

351
00:17:09,958 --> 00:17:12,625
You know, this January
it will be a year

352
00:17:12,667 --> 00:17:15,500
since Gracie's dad died.

353
00:17:15,583 --> 00:17:19,167
This will be the first Christmas
for us without Grandpa Gibb.

354
00:17:19,250 --> 00:17:20,833
He loved Jesus.

355
00:17:20,875 --> 00:17:23,167
He was a pastor
for 40 some years.

356
00:17:23,208 --> 00:17:25,208
We rejoice that he
knew the Lord Jesus

357
00:17:25,292 --> 00:17:27,208
and we'll have a reunion
with him.

358
00:17:27,292 --> 00:17:29,792
He lived into his 80s
but as he got older,

359
00:17:29,833 --> 00:17:32,208
his health was waning.

360
00:17:32,292 --> 00:17:33,917
I remember when
the kids were little,

361
00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,333
he'd jump in the pool
and play ball and swim

362
00:17:36,417 --> 00:17:37,750
and go bike riding.

363
00:17:37,833 --> 00:17:40,958
As he got older, he'd watch them
do those things but he himself

364
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:42,458
would not do those things.

365
00:17:42,500 --> 00:17:46,333
It came down to where he would
have a hard time even walking

366
00:17:46,417 --> 00:17:49,500
from his car to my son's
baseball games because he

367
00:17:49,583 --> 00:17:52,500
would have shortness of
breath and be winded.

368
00:17:52,542 --> 00:17:55,000
And then the final Christmas
as his life energy

369
00:17:55,042 --> 00:17:56,375
was winding down,

370
00:17:56,458 --> 00:17:59,583
he pretty much sat in the chair,
didn't say or do a lot,

371
00:17:59,667 --> 00:18:01,667
and we could tell he
was very fatigued

372
00:18:01,708 --> 00:18:06,875
and he died shortly thereafter.

373
00:18:06,958 --> 00:18:11,458
The Bible says in the kingdom
of God there will be healing,

374
00:18:11,500 --> 00:18:16,000
no more sickness, no more
suffering, no more death.

375
00:18:16,042 --> 00:18:22,542
And then he says that
it will be like calves

376
00:18:22,625 --> 00:18:25,583
leaping from a stall.

377
00:18:25,667 --> 00:18:28,875
Kind of get that picture after
a long, cold, hard, winter,

378
00:18:28,958 --> 00:18:31,958
springtime comes,
an animal is born.

379
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,917
It's young and alive
and vibrant and excited,

380
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,125
but it's been
pent up in a stall.

381
00:18:37,167 --> 00:18:39,333
And finally the stall is open
and the animal

382
00:18:39,375 --> 00:18:42,708
is allowed to run free,
how excited they are.

383
00:18:42,792 --> 00:18:44,917
I didn't understand
this till we got a dog.

384
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:48,500
We did get a dog so.

385
00:18:48,583 --> 00:18:51,500
We got a German shepherd,
a nice dog.

386
00:18:51,583 --> 00:18:54,708
A family got rid of the dog,
we got the dog, nice dog.

387
00:18:54,792 --> 00:18:58,458
I notice when we're gone during
the day if the dog has to go in

388
00:18:58,500 --> 00:19:02,500
a crate or a kennel, we come
home, guess what the dog does.

389
00:19:02,583 --> 00:19:05,250
The dog still got quite
a bit of puppy in her.

390
00:19:05,333 --> 00:19:06,667
She freaks out.

391
00:19:06,708 --> 00:19:09,042
First thing I can
tell is she stretches.

392
00:19:09,125 --> 00:19:11,542
As soon as we start driving
up, she starts stretching.

393
00:19:11,625 --> 00:19:13,750
I won't stretch for you
because I can't stretch.

394
00:19:13,833 --> 00:19:15,750
This is about as
flexible as I am,

395
00:19:15,833 --> 00:19:17,500
but the dog really
stretches out,

396
00:19:17,542 --> 00:19:20,500
and you can just tell the
dog's getting ready to be free.

397
00:19:20,542 --> 00:19:24,500
Then the tail starting wagging
and as soon as we come up,

398
00:19:24,542 --> 00:19:27,333
the dog starts jumping and I
won't jump because I can't.

399
00:19:27,417 --> 00:19:29,500
But the dog starts jumping.

400
00:19:29,583 --> 00:19:32,333
We open the door,
what does the dog do?

401
00:19:32,375 --> 00:19:34,083
Leaps, runs.

402
00:19:34,167 --> 00:19:36,708
Last time literally,
I'm not even kidding,

403
00:19:36,792 --> 00:19:39,333
17 circles around me.

404
00:19:39,417 --> 00:19:40,833
You know why?

405
00:19:40,875 --> 00:19:46,208
The dog was so happy to be free,
tail wagging, super excited.

406
00:19:46,292 --> 00:19:50,292
God says that we'll be like that
at the resurrection of the dead.

407
00:19:50,333 --> 00:19:53,833
Finally out of the tomb,
finally out of the coffin,

408
00:19:53,875 --> 00:19:56,792
finally out
of the cursed, fallen body.

409
00:19:56,833 --> 00:20:00,042
Finally into the state that God
intended when he made all things

410
00:20:00,125 --> 00:20:04,333
very good before sin
made everything very bad.

411
00:20:04,417 --> 00:20:09,583
What amazing imagery.

412
00:20:09,667 --> 00:20:12,250
It's the Day of the Lord.

413
00:20:12,333 --> 00:20:17,667
Every day that you live between
now and then is in preparation

414
00:20:17,750 --> 00:20:19,750
for that day.

415
00:20:19,833 --> 00:20:22,708
What will that day be like
for you when the Lord Jesus

416
00:20:22,792 --> 00:20:25,250
comes back, when he calls
you out of his grave

417
00:20:25,333 --> 00:20:27,333
as he came out of his grave?

418
00:20:27,375 --> 00:20:28,833
Are you going to hell?

419
00:20:28,875 --> 00:20:30,667
Are you going to heaven?

420
00:20:30,708 --> 00:20:33,708
Are you going to suffer
forever or be blessed forever?

421
00:20:33,792 --> 00:20:35,792
Will you be like one
who is living

422
00:20:35,833 --> 00:20:38,125
in a never-ending
blazing furnace

423
00:20:38,167 --> 00:20:42,333
or like one who is healed
with sunshine on their face

424
00:20:42,375 --> 00:20:47,500
and joy in their heart
and a sweetness in their step?

425
00:20:47,583 --> 00:20:51,000
If you've not turned from sin
and trusted in Jesus Christ

426
00:20:51,083 --> 00:20:55,000
who is God become a man,
lived without sin,

427
00:20:55,042 --> 00:20:58,667
died on the cross in your place
for your sins and rose as your

428
00:20:58,750 --> 00:21:04,833
Savior, then you are destined
for hell instead of heaven.

429
00:21:04,875 --> 00:21:06,875
And it's interesting
because a lot of people

430
00:21:06,958 --> 00:21:08,583
don't even think
about these things,

431
00:21:08,667 --> 00:21:10,167
particularly young people say
things like,

432
00:21:10,250 --> 00:21:12,667
"That's a long ways away,
I'll get to it later."

433
00:21:12,750 --> 00:21:15,500
You do not know when your
day of death is coming,

434
00:21:15,583 --> 00:21:18,375
and you should not
presume upon God's grace.

435
00:21:18,458 --> 00:21:21,583
There should be a sense of
urgency but if God is laying out

436
00:21:21,667 --> 00:21:26,917
this opportunity, hell or
heaven, damnation or salvation,

437
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,458
you should turn from sin
and trust in Jesus right now

438
00:21:30,500 --> 00:21:34,500
and the rest of your days
live in light of that day,

439
00:21:34,583 --> 00:21:36,917
the great day,
the Day of the Lord.

440
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:39,458
He starts with heaven and hell
and then he proceeds

441
00:21:39,500 --> 00:21:41,833
to the law and the prophets.

442
00:21:41,875 --> 00:21:44,250
Again, this is God's
final word for 400 years.

443
00:21:44,333 --> 00:21:47,750
Malachi 4:4-5, "Remember
the law of my service Moses."

444
00:21:47,833 --> 00:21:50,250
Okay, we just dealt with
this in the Ten Commandments.

445
00:21:50,333 --> 00:21:53,000
That's what he's going back
to is the writings of Moses,

446
00:21:53,042 --> 00:21:55,708
which are the first five books
of the Old Testament.

447
00:21:55,792 --> 00:21:58,333
The statutes and rules,
there's 614 of them in

448
00:21:58,417 --> 00:22:00,583
the first five books
of the Old Testament.

449
00:22:00,667 --> 00:22:03,167
"I commanded him at
Horeb for all Israel.

450
00:22:03,208 --> 00:22:05,333
"Behold, I will send
you Elijah the prophet

451
00:22:05,375 --> 00:22:07,708
before the great and awesome
day of the Lord."

452
00:22:07,792 --> 00:22:09,500
So here he's talking
about the law,

453
00:22:09,542 --> 00:22:13,208
Moses and the prophets,
Elijah.

454
00:22:13,292 --> 00:22:15,292
The law is Moses
and the prophets

455
00:22:15,333 --> 00:22:18,292
is typified by Elijah.

456
00:22:18,333 --> 00:22:21,667
So what the law does is
the law is God's Word,

457
00:22:21,708 --> 00:22:24,875
and it is God giving
us his standard.

458
00:22:24,958 --> 00:22:27,333
God is holy, God is
righteous, God is good.

459
00:22:27,375 --> 00:22:31,167
God writes down, "This is why
I made you and this is how you

460
00:22:31,208 --> 00:22:32,958
"were supposed to live

461
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:34,792
"and if you
disobey my law,

462
00:22:34,833 --> 00:22:37,667
my rules, then you're in sin."

463
00:22:37,750 --> 00:22:42,292
1 John says it this way that
the breaking of the law is sin.

464
00:22:42,333 --> 00:22:44,417
So the law sets the standard.

465
00:22:44,500 --> 00:22:46,917
We judge ourselves
by his standard.

466
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:50,542
At any point that we fall short
of his standard, it's sin.

467
00:22:50,625 --> 00:22:51,958
Okay this leads to condemnation.

468
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,458
This leads to judgment.

469
00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:54,833
This leads to death.

470
00:22:54,917 --> 00:22:56,250
What do we do?

471
00:22:56,333 --> 00:23:00,125
Well, then the prophets come
and they tell us to turn from

472
00:23:00,167 --> 00:23:02,333
our sin and trust in the Lord.

473
00:23:02,417 --> 00:23:04,583
They tell us that we
have disobeyed the Lord,

474
00:23:04,667 --> 00:23:09,000
but the Lord is coming as
Jesus Christ to save us.

475
00:23:09,042 --> 00:23:13,250
So we should trust in him
and give our sin to him so that

476
00:23:13,333 --> 00:23:16,750
he will pay the penalty that we
should have instead paid

477
00:23:16,833 --> 00:23:20,875
and that'll be God's mercy
and grace and then his justice

478
00:23:20,958 --> 00:23:23,500
and his love will kiss
at the cross

479
00:23:23,583 --> 00:23:25,458
where Jesus dies in our place

480
00:23:25,500 --> 00:23:28,333
because Jesus fulfills the law,
never sins at all,

481
00:23:28,375 --> 00:23:32,500
goes to the cross for all of us
lawbreakers so that he might die

482
00:23:32,542 --> 00:23:36,583
in our place that we might
live with his righteousness.

483
00:23:36,667 --> 00:23:39,417
And so the prophets are
always preaching repentance.

484
00:23:39,500 --> 00:23:42,000
Turn from sin, trust in Jesus.

485
00:23:42,042 --> 00:23:44,000
You're headed toward hell.

486
00:23:44,083 --> 00:23:46,167
You're living
in the path of God's wrath.

487
00:23:46,250 --> 00:23:48,750
So turn around
and run to Jesus.

488
00:23:48,833 --> 00:23:51,625
That's the point
and the message of the prophets.

489
00:23:51,667 --> 00:23:54,958
So he mentions Moses
and he mentions Elijah.

490
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,292
Elijah's one of the towering
prophetic figures

491
00:23:57,333 --> 00:23:58,750
of the Old Testament.

492
00:23:58,833 --> 00:24:00,208
He's an amazing guy.

493
00:24:00,292 --> 00:24:02,042
He's a guy who
actually didn't die.

494
00:24:02,125 --> 00:24:04,042
There's only two guys
in the Old Testament

495
00:24:04,125 --> 00:24:05,500
that didn't die,
Enoch and Elijah.

496
00:24:05,583 --> 00:24:07,500
Elijah's a--he
preaches publicly,

497
00:24:07,583 --> 00:24:09,333
he's up against
the prophets of Baal.

498
00:24:09,417 --> 00:24:11,250
He's actually got
a sense of humor.

499
00:24:11,333 --> 00:24:16,375
He holds his ground under
intense scrutiny and opposition.

500
00:24:16,458 --> 00:24:20,042
And unlike most prophets that
were killed, he doesn't die.

501
00:24:20,125 --> 00:24:25,125
God sends a limo
for him, a chariot,

502
00:24:25,167 --> 00:24:29,750
and takes him up to heaven
and there goes Elijah.

503
00:24:29,833 --> 00:24:35,042
So today Elijah's apparently
in the presence of the Lord.

504
00:24:35,125 --> 00:24:39,083
And what God says here
at the end of Malachi is,

505
00:24:39,167 --> 00:24:43,333
"I'm sending Elijah."

506
00:24:43,375 --> 00:24:50,083
So it's gonna be 400 years
and the next thing God says is,

507
00:24:50,167 --> 00:24:55,792
"Wait for Elijah.
Wait for Elijah."

508
00:24:55,833 --> 00:24:58,625
So even to this day devout
Jewish people when they

509
00:24:58,667 --> 00:25:03,375
celebrate certain festivals,
they will include Elijah.

510
00:25:03,458 --> 00:25:06,042
They'll go check the door
to see if Elijah's here.

511
00:25:06,125 --> 00:25:07,458
It's part of their routine,

512
00:25:07,500 --> 00:25:09,583
they're still waiting
for Elijah.

513
00:25:09,667 --> 00:25:12,083
God says, "I'm sending Elijah."

514
00:25:12,167 --> 00:25:14,083
So let's talk a little bit
about Elijah.

515
00:25:14,167 --> 00:25:15,750
You want to talk
about Elijah?

516
00:25:15,833 --> 00:25:17,500
Yeah, we got nothing else
to do.

517
00:25:17,542 --> 00:25:19,000
You drove all the way here.

518
00:25:19,042 --> 00:25:20,458
All right, we'll
talk about Elijah.

519
00:25:20,500 --> 00:25:21,833
Elijah's an amazing guy.

520
00:25:21,917 --> 00:25:25,042
Now let me say this, how many
of you have heard that Elijah

521
00:25:25,125 --> 00:25:27,208
was reincarnated
in John the Baptizer,

522
00:25:27,292 --> 00:25:28,875
John the Baptist?

523
00:25:28,958 --> 00:25:33,958
Okay, what happens is it's
promised that Elijah will come.

524
00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:35,958
Four hundred years later,
John the Baptizer comes

525
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:37,667
and I'll show you in a minute

526
00:25:37,750 --> 00:25:39,833
how there's connection between
Elijah and John the Baptizer

527
00:25:39,917 --> 00:25:42,208
and those who believe
in reincarnation.

528
00:25:42,292 --> 00:25:43,875
We don't, the Bible doesn't.

529
00:25:43,958 --> 00:25:46,792
The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27,
"It's appointed once for a man

530
00:25:46,833 --> 00:25:48,167
to die then judgment."

531
00:25:48,250 --> 00:25:49,667
You die once and get judged.

532
00:25:49,750 --> 00:25:51,875
You don't die and reincarnate
and die and reincarnate.

533
00:25:51,958 --> 00:25:54,708
But those who want to try and
stuff unbiblical reincarnation

534
00:25:54,792 --> 00:25:58,792
teaching in the Bible, their
favorite spot to go is Elijah

535
00:25:58,833 --> 00:26:00,667
and John the Baptizer.

536
00:26:00,750 --> 00:26:02,792
So we'll unpack that.

537
00:26:02,833 --> 00:26:04,583
So 400 years go by.

538
00:26:04,667 --> 00:26:07,583
John the Baptizer shows up and
he's preaching repentance of sin

539
00:26:07,667 --> 00:26:10,083
and preparing the way for
the coming of the Lord

540
00:26:10,167 --> 00:26:13,083
just like Malachi 3 and 4
promised.

541
00:26:13,167 --> 00:26:16,458
So then Jesus says this
in Matthew 11:13 and 14,

542
00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:18,250
"For all the prophets
and the law"--

543
00:26:18,333 --> 00:26:20,667
all right, so prophets,
that includes Elijah.

544
00:26:20,708 --> 00:26:22,042
Law, there's Moses.

545
00:26:22,125 --> 00:26:24,917
We're back to Malachi 4,
"prophesied until John,"

546
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:26,583
that's John the Baptizer.

547
00:26:26,667 --> 00:26:28,542
"And if you are willing
to accept it,

548
00:26:28,625 --> 00:26:31,333
he is Elijah who is to come."

549
00:26:31,417 --> 00:26:37,000
So the promise was made, Jesus
is coming but before he comes,

550
00:26:37,083 --> 00:26:39,750
look for Elijah.

551
00:26:39,833 --> 00:26:45,292
John the Baptizer shows up
and then Jesus shows up and

552
00:26:45,333 --> 00:26:50,083
everybody's like, "Okay, Jesus
is here, but where's Elijah?"

553
00:26:50,167 --> 00:26:55,375
Jesus' answer is,
"Elijah is John."

554
00:26:55,458 --> 00:26:57,542
Was that reincarnation?

555
00:26:57,625 --> 00:26:58,958
What is that?

556
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,833
You see where they get
the concept of reincarnation?

557
00:27:01,875 --> 00:27:06,083
John 1:21, the Gospel of John,
"And they asked John,

558
00:27:06,167 --> 00:27:08,083
"John the Baptizer,
what then?

559
00:27:08,167 --> 00:27:09,500
Are you Elijah?"

560
00:27:09,542 --> 00:27:12,417
He says, "I am not."

561
00:27:12,500 --> 00:27:15,167
Anyone else confused yet?

562
00:27:15,208 --> 00:27:18,167
See, my goal is to make you
confused and then resolve it

563
00:27:18,208 --> 00:27:20,667
so you feel like it was
really worth your time.

564
00:27:20,708 --> 00:27:22,042
So how am I doing?

565
00:27:22,125 --> 00:27:23,458
Are you confused yet?

566
00:27:23,500 --> 00:27:24,833
Jesus says he's Elijah.

567
00:27:24,917 --> 00:27:26,583
They go to John,
"Are you Elijah?"

568
00:27:26,667 --> 00:27:28,083
He's like,
"I'm not Elijah."

569
00:27:28,167 --> 00:27:29,833
Well, is he Elijah
or not Elijah?

570
00:27:29,875 --> 00:27:32,583
We're gonna need more Bible
to untangle this knot.

571
00:27:32,667 --> 00:27:34,083
Here we go.

572
00:27:34,167 --> 00:27:36,833
Luke chapter 1, verse 17,
he, John the Baptizer,

573
00:27:36,917 --> 00:27:39,125
"will go before him, Jesus,

574
00:27:39,167 --> 00:27:42,333
in the spirit
and power of"--who?

575
00:27:42,417 --> 00:27:44,333
"Elijah.

576
00:27:44,417 --> 00:27:47,000
To turn the hearts
of the fathers to the children."

577
00:27:47,042 --> 00:27:48,583
Right there he's
quoting Malachi,

578
00:27:48,667 --> 00:27:51,500
the very text that
we're in today.

579
00:27:51,542 --> 00:27:57,833
So here's how it worked, Elijah
was a prophet filled with

580
00:27:57,875 --> 00:27:59,875
the Holy Spirit.

581
00:27:59,958 --> 00:28:03,500
He had a successor,
a guy named Elisha.

582
00:28:03,542 --> 00:28:06,042
You remember what
Elisha asked for?

583
00:28:06,125 --> 00:28:08,875
"Let me have your spirit."

584
00:28:08,958 --> 00:28:13,042
So Elisha received
the Holy Spirit,

585
00:28:13,125 --> 00:28:14,500
God the Holy Spirit,

586
00:28:14,583 --> 00:28:19,833
and his empowering for life
in ministry like Elijah did.

587
00:28:19,917 --> 00:28:22,333
So the Holy Spirit worked
through Elijah and then he

588
00:28:22,417 --> 00:28:26,125
works through Elisha like he
worked through Elijah,

589
00:28:26,167 --> 00:28:29,333
and then the Holy Spirit shows
up and works through John

590
00:28:29,375 --> 00:28:32,500
the way he worked
through Elijah.

591
00:28:32,542 --> 00:28:34,542
It's different men,

592
00:28:34,625 --> 00:28:36,958
but it's the same power
of the Holy Spirit

593
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:40,417
working through them anointing
and appointing them for

594
00:28:40,500 --> 00:28:44,083
similar prophetic ministry
to preach and to call people

595
00:28:44,167 --> 00:28:48,250
to repentance of sin
and receiving of Jesus.

596
00:28:48,333 --> 00:28:49,917
You get that?

597
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:51,542
So that's why he says,

598
00:28:51,625 --> 00:28:55,167
"In the spirit
and power of Elijah."

599
00:28:55,250 --> 00:28:58,667
So Elijah's one guy,
John's another guy.

600
00:28:58,750 --> 00:29:01,333
They're two different guys,
but the Holy Spirit is working

601
00:29:01,375 --> 00:29:04,125
through them quite similarly.

602
00:29:04,167 --> 00:29:06,792
So ultimately John dies.

603
00:29:06,833 --> 00:29:08,667
They behead him.

604
00:29:08,750 --> 00:29:10,917
And here's what
happens, Luke 9:30,

605
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,917
Jesus goes up on a mountain,
and who shows up?

606
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,042
Right, I told you
Elijah didn't die.

607
00:29:16,125 --> 00:29:17,458
He went up to heaven.

608
00:29:17,500 --> 00:29:19,958
Luke 9:30, "And behold,
two men were talking with him,

609
00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:21,333
Moses and Elijah."

610
00:29:21,417 --> 00:29:22,750
What a day that was.

611
00:29:22,833 --> 00:29:24,917
Jesus takes a couple disciples
up on a mountain.

612
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:26,333
They're all hanging out.

613
00:29:26,375 --> 00:29:27,833
"What are you doing
today, Jesus?"

614
00:29:27,875 --> 00:29:29,208
"We got a meeting."

615
00:29:29,292 --> 00:29:30,708
"Okay, cool, who's
gonna join us?"

616
00:29:30,792 --> 00:29:33,625
"Moses and Elijah,
the law and the prophets."

617
00:29:33,667 --> 00:29:36,792
So apparently then Elijah
comes down from heaven

618
00:29:36,833 --> 00:29:42,667
for a little meeting
because he didn't die.

619
00:29:42,750 --> 00:29:47,000
He went to heaven, he came
down for a little trip,

620
00:29:47,042 --> 00:29:48,958
apparently went
back up to heaven.

621
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,208
Is Elijah coming back?

622
00:29:52,292 --> 00:29:53,833
I think he might be.

623
00:29:53,917 --> 00:29:55,458
It's in Revelation 11.

624
00:29:55,500 --> 00:29:57,500
I think it's verse 3
through--

625
00:29:57,583 --> 00:29:59,250
got it in my notes here, 14.

626
00:29:59,333 --> 00:30:02,250
I won't read the whole thing
but the story is that

627
00:30:02,333 --> 00:30:04,750
at the end of time--see, Malachi
is the last book

628
00:30:04,833 --> 00:30:07,375
of the Old Testament
and prepares us

629
00:30:07,458 --> 00:30:08,833
for the coming of Jesus.

630
00:30:08,917 --> 00:30:11,583
Revelation is the last book of
the New Testament preparing us

631
00:30:11,667 --> 00:30:13,750
for the second coming of Jesus.

632
00:30:13,833 --> 00:30:16,667
And what it says in
Revelation 11 is that two guys

633
00:30:16,750 --> 00:30:19,542
are gonna show up and preach.

634
00:30:19,625 --> 00:30:21,542
And it doesn't tell
us it's Elijah,

635
00:30:21,625 --> 00:30:24,667
but it says it's a guy
who can shut the heavens

636
00:30:24,750 --> 00:30:27,167
so that it doesn't rain.

637
00:30:27,208 --> 00:30:29,167
There's only one guy
in the whole Bible

638
00:30:29,208 --> 00:30:31,000
who's got that
on his resume.

639
00:30:31,083 --> 00:30:35,708
"I can make it
not rain," Elijah.

640
00:30:35,792 --> 00:30:37,375
He actually did that.

641
00:30:37,458 --> 00:30:40,125
It tells us in James 5:17
that he prayed

642
00:30:40,167 --> 00:30:42,375
and it didn't rain for 6 months.

643
00:30:42,458 --> 00:30:45,708
And when he prayed again,
it started raining again.

644
00:30:45,792 --> 00:30:49,958
So many commentators think
that before Jesus comes

645
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:54,167
a second time, Elijah
will actually come.

646
00:30:54,250 --> 00:30:56,458
So before Jesus
came the first time,

647
00:30:56,500 --> 00:30:59,125
the Holy Spirit empowered
John the Baptizer

648
00:30:59,167 --> 00:31:01,542
to continue the ministry
of Elijah.

649
00:31:01,625 --> 00:31:03,833
Elijah has not died yet.

650
00:31:03,917 --> 00:31:08,167
It seems to me most likely
that before Jesus comes

651
00:31:08,208 --> 00:31:09,667
a second time,

652
00:31:09,750 --> 00:31:12,208
what we're waiting for,
Elijah's gonna come back

653
00:31:12,292 --> 00:31:17,292
and preach and then
they're gonna kill him.

654
00:31:17,333 --> 00:31:21,875
The reason he hasn't died yet
is it's not his time to die.

655
00:31:21,958 --> 00:31:24,333
It says that he'll
come back and preach

656
00:31:24,375 --> 00:31:26,833
and they're gonna kill him,
Revelation 11.

657
00:31:26,875 --> 00:31:29,000
And then it says they're
gonna throw a party.

658
00:31:29,042 --> 00:31:33,000
It's gonna be like a holiday,
and then he's gonna rise from

659
00:31:33,083 --> 00:31:39,208
the dead, and then the end
will come

660
00:31:39,292 --> 00:31:42,500
and judgment and justice
will come.

661
00:31:42,542 --> 00:31:46,667
But Elijah is typified as one
of the great prophets because he

662
00:31:46,708 --> 00:31:49,708
preached repentance, even though
his life was in danger

663
00:31:49,792 --> 00:31:51,417
and he God spared his life.

664
00:31:51,500 --> 00:31:53,250
And apparently
this guy, perhaps,

665
00:31:53,333 --> 00:31:56,250
I don't want to go out
to the end of the limb,

666
00:31:56,333 --> 00:31:58,417
but it seems like he
loves the Lord enough,

667
00:31:58,500 --> 00:32:00,917
according to Revelation 11,
that he's gonna come back again,

668
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,125
that right now
Elijah's in heaven.

669
00:32:03,167 --> 00:32:06,167
Kind of like think about
the most fearless guy

670
00:32:06,208 --> 00:32:08,167
on a football team, all right,

671
00:32:08,208 --> 00:32:10,333
and he's on the sidelines
next to the coach

672
00:32:10,375 --> 00:32:14,958
and he knows his job is
to go in and die.

673
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,167
"Coach, is it time yet?
Is it time yet?"

674
00:32:17,250 --> 00:32:18,583
"It's not time."

675
00:32:18,667 --> 00:32:20,083
"Put me in, coach."

676
00:32:20,167 --> 00:32:21,500
"Not yet."

677
00:32:21,542 --> 00:32:23,625
That's Elijah.

678
00:32:23,667 --> 00:32:25,125
"Hey, the earth
is getting darker,

679
00:32:25,167 --> 00:32:27,500
"is it time for you
to come back, Jesus?

680
00:32:27,583 --> 00:32:29,500
"When it's time,
send me in.

681
00:32:29,583 --> 00:32:32,292
"I'm gonna go preach
and they're gonna murder me

682
00:32:32,333 --> 00:32:34,875
and I'm gonna tell them
about you."

683
00:32:34,958 --> 00:32:36,375
Elijah's a fearless man.

684
00:32:36,458 --> 00:32:38,875
The only way you become
a fearless man is when

685
00:32:38,958 --> 00:32:41,542
you're filled with
the Holy Spirit.

686
00:32:44,583 --> 00:32:48,875
This man Elijah's amazing

687
00:32:48,958 --> 00:32:51,833
and what God is wanting
is for all of his men

688
00:32:51,917 --> 00:32:53,583
to be filled with
the Holy Spirit

689
00:32:53,667 --> 00:32:56,292
and to have a courage
like Elijah.

690
00:32:56,333 --> 00:33:00,375
And it takes a lot of courage
to speak out against sin.

691
00:33:00,458 --> 00:33:03,042
And let me say this,
this is what the prophets do

692
00:33:03,125 --> 00:33:04,750
and this is what Elijah did

693
00:33:04,833 --> 00:33:07,917
and this is what I think Elijah
will be doing in the end,

694
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:12,083
preaching
the repentance of sin.

695
00:33:12,167 --> 00:33:15,625
You and I, we are
to practice repentance.

696
00:33:15,667 --> 00:33:20,458
We are to see the sin in our own
life and then we are to preach

697
00:33:20,500 --> 00:33:24,875
repentance inviting others
to repent of their sin.

698
00:33:24,958 --> 00:33:28,542
If we preach repentance
but don't practice it,

699
00:33:28,625 --> 00:33:31,000
we're hypocrites.

700
00:33:31,042 --> 00:33:37,167
If we don't preach or practice
repentance, we're heretics.

701
00:33:37,208 --> 00:33:41,583
We are to be honest about
the sin in our own life

702
00:33:41,667 --> 00:33:44,583
and be honest with others
about the sin in their life.

703
00:33:44,667 --> 00:33:48,167
We are to turn from our
sin and to implore others

704
00:33:48,208 --> 00:33:50,167
to turn from their sin.

705
00:33:50,208 --> 00:33:53,542
But what happens when we do that
is we're met with the same kind

706
00:33:53,625 --> 00:33:58,000
of reaction that Elijah
and John experienced.

707
00:33:58,042 --> 00:34:04,667
The call to repentance is always
met with resistance, okay?

708
00:34:04,750 --> 00:34:08,125
The call to repentance is
always met with resistance,

709
00:34:08,167 --> 00:34:11,500
that's why most of
the prophets died young.

710
00:34:11,542 --> 00:34:15,583
That's why a guy like Elijah
had to be taken off the scene

711
00:34:15,667 --> 00:34:20,625
of history and then sent again.

712
00:34:20,667 --> 00:34:24,958
And when it comes to repentance,
we need to repent of our

713
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:28,458
rebellion and our religion.

714
00:34:28,500 --> 00:34:31,167
For some of you, the sin
that God wants to deal

715
00:34:31,250 --> 00:34:32,667
with is rebellion.

716
00:34:32,750 --> 00:34:35,333
You're just living
an open, defiant life.

717
00:34:35,417 --> 00:34:38,333
You call it tolerance,
diversity, pluralism,

718
00:34:38,417 --> 00:34:42,458
enlightenment, spirituality,
being true to yourself.

719
00:34:42,500 --> 00:34:47,042
You've got all kinds of
bumper sticker justifications,

720
00:34:47,125 --> 00:34:49,667
but your real issue
is rebellion.

721
00:34:49,708 --> 00:34:52,167
You're not doing what
the law of God says.

722
00:34:52,250 --> 00:34:55,000
You're doing what you
say you should do.

723
00:34:55,042 --> 00:34:57,875
You've become
a law unto yourself.

724
00:34:57,958 --> 00:35:02,833
As well, we need to
repent of our religion.

725
00:35:02,917 --> 00:35:07,167
Religion is where we don't see
our sin, we only see their sin.

726
00:35:07,208 --> 00:35:09,333
It's where we want
people to change,

727
00:35:09,375 --> 00:35:10,833
but we don't want to change,

728
00:35:10,875 --> 00:35:13,833
where we don't want to be
humble, we want to be proud.

729
00:35:13,875 --> 00:35:15,833
We don't want to be
under God's authority,

730
00:35:15,875 --> 00:35:18,000
we want to exercise authority
like we're God telling

731
00:35:18,042 --> 00:35:20,500
everyone else what to do
and making and enforcing rules

732
00:35:20,542 --> 00:35:23,833
that God never made.

733
00:35:23,875 --> 00:35:27,333
When Jesus came, he certainly
met resistance from

734
00:35:27,375 --> 00:35:28,792
rebellious people,

735
00:35:28,833 --> 00:35:30,958
but some of the strongest
resistance that he met

736
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,958
was from religious people.

737
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,375
And the prophets stand up
and they preach against

738
00:35:36,458 --> 00:35:38,333
rebellion and religion.

739
00:35:38,375 --> 00:35:39,833
To say it in our terms,

740
00:35:39,875 --> 00:35:43,167
they preach against
the left and the right.

741
00:35:43,250 --> 00:35:45,333
Usually what happens
is the left preaches

742
00:35:45,375 --> 00:35:46,708
against the right,

743
00:35:46,792 --> 00:35:48,333
the right preaches
against the left

744
00:35:48,417 --> 00:35:50,333
and the prophet preaches
against them both.

745
00:35:50,417 --> 00:35:52,583
What do you think that
means for the prophet?

746
00:35:52,667 --> 00:35:56,333
They get shot by
the left and the right,

747
00:35:56,417 --> 00:35:58,875
that's why rebellious
people and religious people

748
00:35:58,958 --> 00:36:01,625
came together to murder Jesus.

749
00:36:01,667 --> 00:36:03,167
They don't come
together for anything,

750
00:36:03,208 --> 00:36:06,042
but they come together
to murder Jesus.

751
00:36:06,125 --> 00:36:09,583
And Elijah's a man who
preaches repentance

752
00:36:09,667 --> 00:36:12,208
and it's met with resistance.

753
00:36:12,292 --> 00:36:15,208
And today let me say that the
headwind that we're up against

754
00:36:15,292 --> 00:36:17,708
culture that I get into
this a little bit in

755
00:36:17,792 --> 00:36:19,125
"A Call To Resurgence"

756
00:36:19,167 --> 00:36:21,208
is that today repentance
is not a virtue,

757
00:36:21,292 --> 00:36:24,750
tolerance is.

758
00:36:24,833 --> 00:36:28,333
And in our culture, tolerance
is the highest virtue.

759
00:36:28,375 --> 00:36:32,167
I'm working on a series
and book for next fall,

760
00:36:32,250 --> 00:36:36,917
but a research firm was hired,
900,000 phone calls were made,

761
00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:40,708
72ish thousand people
were spoken to,

762
00:36:40,792 --> 00:36:43,542
a sample size of 1,000 people
were interviewed.

763
00:36:43,625 --> 00:36:47,000
What's your primary
objection to Christianity?

764
00:36:47,042 --> 00:36:49,708
This is all research
that we're working on.

765
00:36:49,792 --> 00:36:52,333
And they said, "Our primary
objection to Christianity

766
00:36:52,417 --> 00:36:55,250
is intolerance,"

767
00:36:55,333 --> 00:36:57,500
that God's not okay
with everyone,

768
00:36:57,542 --> 00:37:01,125
that God's not okay
with everything.

769
00:37:01,167 --> 00:37:04,958
The highest virtue
in the Bible is not tolerance,

770
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:08,667
but repentance, and the truth is
that God starts with tolerance

771
00:37:08,708 --> 00:37:10,750
and he works toward repentance.

772
00:37:10,833 --> 00:37:14,958
You come to Jesus just
as you are and change.

773
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:21,958
You come to Jesus as you are,
but you don't stay as you were.

774
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:25,833
So God is tolerant in that he
welcomes us to his Son

775
00:37:25,875 --> 00:37:31,208
as we are, but he expects
repentance

776
00:37:31,292 --> 00:37:35,875
so that we change by his grace,

777
00:37:35,958 --> 00:37:40,333
and repentance is always
met with resistance.

778
00:37:40,417 --> 00:37:41,833
That's the story
of the prophets.

779
00:37:41,917 --> 00:37:43,292
That's the story of Elijah.

780
00:37:43,333 --> 00:37:48,375
That's the story
of John the Baptizer.

781
00:37:48,458 --> 00:37:52,875
Heaven and hell, the Bible,
repentance and God's final Word

782
00:37:52,958 --> 00:37:59,667
for 400 years is for the men,
and he knows that the legacy

783
00:37:59,708 --> 00:38:02,458
rises or falls with the men.

784
00:38:02,500 --> 00:38:03,833
Will they love the Lord?

785
00:38:03,917 --> 00:38:05,250
Will they love their wives?

786
00:38:05,333 --> 00:38:06,667
Will they love their kids?

787
00:38:06,708 --> 00:38:09,667
Will their raise their kids to
marry women who love the Lord?

788
00:38:09,708 --> 00:38:11,667
Will they raise their
grandchildren to know

789
00:38:11,750 --> 00:38:14,583
and love and serve the Lord?

790
00:38:14,667 --> 00:38:17,833
Now when I preach about men,
immediately there are some women

791
00:38:17,917 --> 00:38:19,500
who get offended.

792
00:38:19,583 --> 00:38:20,917
Don't.

793
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:22,333
Don't infer anything.

794
00:38:22,375 --> 00:38:24,833
If I'm talking to
the men and about the men,

795
00:38:24,875 --> 00:38:26,542
it doesn't mean
that I don't love

796
00:38:26,625 --> 00:38:28,042
or want to exclude the women.

797
00:38:28,125 --> 00:38:30,792
It just means in this particular
verse, it's talking about men,

798
00:38:30,833 --> 00:38:35,833
not just men, but fathers,
fathers,

799
00:38:35,917 --> 00:38:38,625
fathers and children.

800
00:38:38,667 --> 00:38:44,000
Malachi 4:6, the last
Word of the Old Testament,

801
00:38:44,083 --> 00:38:47,250
God's final Word for 400 years.

802
00:38:47,333 --> 00:38:50,292
It's like he's grabbing
the men by the shirt,

803
00:38:50,333 --> 00:38:52,875
"Guys, listen to me.
Pay attention to this.

804
00:38:52,958 --> 00:38:56,417
Don't forget."

805
00:38:56,500 --> 00:39:01,000
"And he will turn the hearts
of fathers to their children

806
00:39:01,083 --> 00:39:04,000
"and the hearts of children
to their fathers,

807
00:39:04,083 --> 00:39:06,958
"lest I come and strike
the land with a decree

808
00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:08,333
of utter destruction."

809
00:39:08,417 --> 00:39:10,208
Some of your translations
will say, "curse."

810
00:39:10,292 --> 00:39:13,500
I think they translated
it best there.

811
00:39:13,542 --> 00:39:16,125
It says a culture is
ruined, a people is ruined,

812
00:39:16,167 --> 00:39:18,667
a legacy is ruined,
a heritage is ruined.

813
00:39:18,708 --> 00:39:23,542
It's all destruction if
the dad's don't love their kids

814
00:39:23,625 --> 00:39:27,875
and the kids don't love
their dads.

815
00:39:27,958 --> 00:39:32,292
This is incredibly timely,
amen?

816
00:39:32,333 --> 00:39:34,792
You look at all
the social problems,

817
00:39:34,833 --> 00:39:41,417
the ails and the evils, God
says, "I got an answer, dad."

818
00:39:41,500 --> 00:39:44,167
Dad can do what institutions
and governments

819
00:39:44,250 --> 00:39:47,250
and organizations cannot do.

820
00:39:47,333 --> 00:39:50,167
The family is
the first government.

821
00:39:50,250 --> 00:39:51,958
The father is the first leader.

822
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:57,500
God holds the men responsible
for their family

823
00:39:57,542 --> 00:40:01,667
for their legacy.

824
00:40:01,750 --> 00:40:06,792
The number-one thing that is
needed for social change is men

825
00:40:06,833 --> 00:40:11,667
to love their own children to be
good fathers and for children

826
00:40:11,750 --> 00:40:17,917
to honor, listen to,
obey, love their dad.

827
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:22,583
Is this still an issue,
issue in your life?

828
00:40:22,667 --> 00:40:25,542
How many of you would have
been nice to have a dad,

829
00:40:25,625 --> 00:40:30,042
let alone a dad whose
heart was for you?

830
00:40:30,125 --> 00:40:31,625
When he's talking about heart,

831
00:40:31,667 --> 00:40:33,250
he's talking about
the control center,

832
00:40:33,333 --> 00:40:35,875
the seat, the sum,
the center of who we are.

833
00:40:35,958 --> 00:40:38,667
The Bible speaks of the heart
more than 900 times.

834
00:40:38,750 --> 00:40:41,500
"Out of the overflow of
the heart comes life,"

835
00:40:41,542 --> 00:40:44,667
Proverbs says in
a variety of ways.

836
00:40:44,750 --> 00:40:50,625
Well, let's unpack this, how
will a father's heart change

837
00:40:50,667 --> 00:40:52,958
by the power
of the Holy Spirit?

838
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:56,333
How will a child's heart toward
their father change by the power

839
00:40:56,375 --> 00:40:58,333
of the Holy Spirit?

840
00:40:58,375 --> 00:41:01,125
How do you know that
the Holy Spirit is at work?

841
00:41:01,167 --> 00:41:04,125
Here's the big idea,
look at the men.

842
00:41:04,167 --> 00:41:08,667
If you see different kinds of
men in the church than you see

843
00:41:08,750 --> 00:41:11,792
in the culture, you know that
the Holy Spirit is at work

844
00:41:11,833 --> 00:41:15,667
in the men and the men are
yielding to the Holy Spirit.

845
00:41:15,708 --> 00:41:17,958
How do you know that
the Holy Spirit is

846
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:19,458
at work in children?

847
00:41:19,500 --> 00:41:23,625
See how they respond
and react to their father.

848
00:41:23,667 --> 00:41:26,333
One of the evidences of
the work of the Holy Spirit

849
00:41:26,375 --> 00:41:28,833
is the condition and nature
of the family,

850
00:41:28,917 --> 00:41:30,792
particularly the relationship
between the father

851
00:41:30,833 --> 00:41:33,333
and the children.

852
00:41:33,417 --> 00:41:35,958
So let me unpack this, okay?

853
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:38,667
This is the big idea of legacy.

854
00:41:38,708 --> 00:41:41,250
It starts with fathers and faith
flows through generations

855
00:41:41,333 --> 00:41:43,292
of the family.

856
00:41:43,333 --> 00:41:48,250
Well, it starts with
the fact that God is a father.

857
00:41:48,333 --> 00:41:52,250
He's already told us this
in Malachi 1, "I'm a Father."

858
00:41:52,333 --> 00:41:55,667
Told us this in
Malachi 2, "I'm your Father."

859
00:41:55,750 --> 00:41:59,083
God is a Father.

860
00:41:59,167 --> 00:42:01,167
God is the Father.

861
00:42:01,208 --> 00:42:03,875
And even when it says that
the Lord Jesus Christ is

862
00:42:03,958 --> 00:42:08,917
the Son of God, it's using
this familial language.

863
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:13,000
When Jesus teaches us
to pray "Our Father,"

864
00:42:13,042 --> 00:42:15,917
he's teaching us that God is
our Father and we approach him

865
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,750
like sons and daughters,
his children.

866
00:42:18,833 --> 00:42:23,542
So for you and I, it all starts
with not looking at our

867
00:42:23,625 --> 00:42:26,958
earthly father and then making
a determination if fathers

868
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:30,000
are good or bad or necessary
or not necessary or helpful

869
00:42:30,042 --> 00:42:32,000
or harmful but looking up
and saying,

870
00:42:32,042 --> 00:42:34,625
"Okay, let's start
with God the Father,

871
00:42:34,667 --> 00:42:36,667
"the first member
of the Trinity,

872
00:42:36,708 --> 00:42:39,375
what's he like, what's
he say, what's he do?"

873
00:42:39,458 --> 00:42:41,750
And then to look at
earthly fathers and ask,

874
00:42:41,833 --> 00:42:44,500
"How can they by the power of
the Holy Spirit become

875
00:42:44,583 --> 00:42:48,167
more like their
Heavenly Father?"

876
00:42:48,250 --> 00:42:50,458
And some of you didn't
even have a father

877
00:42:50,500 --> 00:42:52,667
and the God in the Bible
in Psalms says

878
00:42:52,708 --> 00:42:54,708
that he's even a Father
to the fatherless.

879
00:42:54,792 --> 00:42:58,208
There's good news for you.

880
00:42:58,292 --> 00:43:03,125
Now, one of my goals at
Mars Hill is that the men

881
00:43:03,167 --> 00:43:07,833
would all have a father's heart,
the Father's heart.

882
00:43:07,917 --> 00:43:10,625
I've got a little free e-book
you can find, "Pastor Dad."

883
00:43:10,667 --> 00:43:12,458
It gets into some
of the particulars,

884
00:43:12,500 --> 00:43:15,167
but let me just speak to you
men along the continuum

885
00:43:15,250 --> 00:43:17,167
of life stages.

886
00:43:17,208 --> 00:43:22,625
Developing a father's heart
starts by knowing God as Father.

887
00:43:22,667 --> 00:43:27,000
You can't become
a father, like the Father,

888
00:43:27,042 --> 00:43:29,417
unless you know the Father.

889
00:43:29,500 --> 00:43:32,417
So it starts with coming
to know God as Father.

890
00:43:32,500 --> 00:43:35,625
Yes, we know the Holy Spirit
and want to be filled with

891
00:43:35,667 --> 00:43:37,083
the Holy Spirit.

892
00:43:37,167 --> 00:43:38,583
Yes, we love the Lord Jesus

893
00:43:38,667 --> 00:43:40,792
and we want to become
like the Lord Jesus,

894
00:43:40,833 --> 00:43:43,583
but sometimes the member
of the Trinity who is overlooked

895
00:43:43,667 --> 00:43:47,667
is God the Father, one God,
three persons,

896
00:43:47,708 --> 00:43:50,292
Father, Son, Spirit.

897
00:43:50,333 --> 00:43:52,708
It's coming to know God
as Father,

898
00:43:52,792 --> 00:43:55,667
talking to God as Father,
relying on God as Father

899
00:43:55,708 --> 00:43:58,667
as early as possible
in your life.

900
00:43:58,708 --> 00:44:00,958
And then as you
grow as a young man,

901
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:03,333
it's allowing
the Father to cultivate

902
00:44:03,417 --> 00:44:05,000
the father's heart in you.

903
00:44:05,083 --> 00:44:07,667
And you don't just
get a father's heart

904
00:44:07,750 --> 00:44:09,125
when you get a child.

905
00:44:09,167 --> 00:44:15,500
You get a father's heart when
you become the Father's child.

906
00:44:15,542 --> 00:44:18,292
Practically what
this means is,

907
00:44:18,333 --> 00:44:22,833
you grow up to honor
your Heavenly Father,

908
00:44:22,917 --> 00:44:25,542
to honor your earthly father,

909
00:44:25,625 --> 00:44:29,333
to obey your earthly father and
to forgive your earthly father

910
00:44:29,417 --> 00:44:33,333
because your earthly father
is sinful and will err.

911
00:44:33,417 --> 00:44:36,833
Some of you are bitter against
your father and the father wound

912
00:44:36,917 --> 00:44:38,833
is a deep one.

913
00:44:38,917 --> 00:44:40,500
And let me say this,

914
00:44:40,542 --> 00:44:42,500
that the sin that
lived in your father

915
00:44:42,542 --> 00:44:45,375
will live in you
through bitterness.

916
00:44:45,458 --> 00:44:48,250
The things that you're most
frustrated about regarding

917
00:44:48,333 --> 00:44:50,208
your father, if you
don't forgive him,

918
00:44:50,292 --> 00:44:54,125
those things will live in you.

919
00:44:54,167 --> 00:44:56,000
And so when you
forgive your father,

920
00:44:56,042 --> 00:44:58,000
you're not letting him
get away with anything.

921
00:44:58,042 --> 00:45:02,083
You're releasing yourself from
becoming like him so that you

922
00:45:02,167 --> 00:45:05,417
can become more like
your Heavenly Father.

923
00:45:05,500 --> 00:45:08,833
Some of you have a lot that you
need to forgive your father for,

924
00:45:08,875 --> 00:45:11,500
and some of you just need
to give your dad grace.

925
00:45:11,542 --> 00:45:17,625
He wasn't perfect, but
neither were you as the child.

926
00:45:17,667 --> 00:45:20,833
It's learning to
honor your father.

927
00:45:20,917 --> 00:45:23,333
It's learning to forgive your
father and it's learning

928
00:45:23,375 --> 00:45:25,833
to lean on God as Father.

929
00:45:25,875 --> 00:45:30,250
As you proceed, I would say all
of you but particularly you men,

930
00:45:30,333 --> 00:45:37,250
always seek older, godly men
for wisdom, for counsel.

931
00:45:37,333 --> 00:45:39,000
Sometimes this is
their instruction,

932
00:45:39,083 --> 00:45:41,958
oftentimes it's their example.

933
00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:44,583
What this means is if
you're a 10-year-old boy,

934
00:45:44,667 --> 00:45:47,042
look for a godly
16-year-old boy.

935
00:45:47,125 --> 00:45:49,042
If you're a godly kid
in high school,

936
00:45:49,125 --> 00:45:51,708
get to know some guys
in college who love the Lord.

937
00:45:51,792 --> 00:45:54,917
If you're a guy in college,
get to know some guys who are

938
00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:56,667
in the marketplace
and love the Lord.

939
00:45:56,708 --> 00:45:59,167
If you're a single guy,
get to know a young,

940
00:45:59,208 --> 00:46:01,417
married guy who loves the Lord
and shadow them

941
00:46:01,500 --> 00:46:03,333
and learn from them.

942
00:46:03,375 --> 00:46:06,042
And always be leaning into
the next season of life

943
00:46:06,125 --> 00:46:08,708
learning as much as you can.

944
00:46:08,792 --> 00:46:13,000
That's how you cultivate
and develop a father's heart.

945
00:46:13,042 --> 00:46:15,792
What this means as well,
I'll give you something else

946
00:46:15,833 --> 00:46:21,000
very practically, serve
younger people, children.

947
00:46:21,083 --> 00:46:23,958
If you're the big brother,
don't pick on the little one,

948
00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:25,458
protect the little one.

949
00:46:25,500 --> 00:46:27,667
That's the father's heart.

950
00:46:27,708 --> 00:46:30,625
All right, if you're the kid
at school, don't be the bully,

951
00:46:30,667 --> 00:46:32,833
be the kid who stands
up to the bully.

952
00:46:32,875 --> 00:46:37,500
That's the father's heart.

953
00:46:37,583 --> 00:46:40,000
I even tell guys, man,
work in the nursery

954
00:46:40,083 --> 00:46:41,833
with the little kids.

955
00:46:41,917 --> 00:46:44,917
It's the best place
for college guys.

956
00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:49,000
Develop, cultivate
a father's heart.

957
00:46:49,083 --> 00:46:52,500
Be seeking those who are in life
stages ahead of you to learn

958
00:46:52,542 --> 00:46:57,167
from and those who are in life
stages behind you to invest in.

959
00:46:57,208 --> 00:47:00,625
One of the first things I did as
a new Christian is I volunteered

960
00:47:00,667 --> 00:47:02,083
in the nursery at the church.

961
00:47:02,167 --> 00:47:03,500
Some of you know this story.

962
00:47:03,542 --> 00:47:05,208
I worked with all
the little kids.

963
00:47:05,292 --> 00:47:06,958
I wanted to have
a father's heart,

964
00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:09,167
and I wanted to practice on
somebody else's kids

965
00:47:09,208 --> 00:47:12,042
before I got my own,
all right?

966
00:47:14,958 --> 00:47:18,000
Today we've got a situation
where you can be a young man

967
00:47:18,083 --> 00:47:23,500
who is never around a child
until your wife births one.

968
00:47:23,583 --> 00:47:27,167
It's good to have involvement
with children before you get one

969
00:47:27,250 --> 00:47:29,833
by serving and loving and
investing and getting to know

970
00:47:29,875 --> 00:47:33,875
families and participating in
the stages of life and what

971
00:47:33,958 --> 00:47:36,875
we've done is we've really
segmented the stages of life

972
00:47:36,958 --> 00:47:39,292
so that children don't
know teenagers,

973
00:47:39,333 --> 00:47:40,917
and teenagers don't
know college students,

974
00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:42,417
and college students
don't know singles,

975
00:47:42,500 --> 00:47:44,000
and singles don't
know young marrieds,

976
00:47:44,042 --> 00:47:45,667
and young marrieds don't
know older marrieds.

977
00:47:45,750 --> 00:47:48,875
And all of that in the family of
God can be obliterated through

978
00:47:48,958 --> 00:47:53,500
community and relationship.

979
00:47:53,542 --> 00:47:56,500
Some of the most influential
people in my children's lives

980
00:47:56,542 --> 00:47:58,583
are older people
who love the Lord,

981
00:47:58,667 --> 00:48:02,083
that are in seasons ahead of
them that they've learned from.

982
00:48:02,167 --> 00:48:05,083
And some of the biggest deposits
my children have made are in

983
00:48:05,167 --> 00:48:07,917
the lives of younger children
seeking to be loving

984
00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:09,583
toward them.

985
00:48:09,667 --> 00:48:11,833
They may not yet be fathers,
but they're cultivating

986
00:48:11,917 --> 00:48:13,375
the father's heart.

987
00:48:13,458 --> 00:48:15,375
Does that make sense?

988
00:48:15,458 --> 00:48:18,792
I would tell you young men
as well, I say it all the time,

989
00:48:18,833 --> 00:48:20,792
but don't waste your
time on adolescence.

990
00:48:20,833 --> 00:48:24,458
It used to be that you were
a boy and then you were a man

991
00:48:24,500 --> 00:48:27,292
and now you're an adolescent
until you're about 30,

992
00:48:27,333 --> 00:48:30,667
and those are wasted years,
not invested years.

993
00:48:30,750 --> 00:48:35,333
Those are shameful years,
not joyful years.

994
00:48:35,417 --> 00:48:39,375
Don't be like the fool's parade,
trying to work as little

995
00:48:39,458 --> 00:48:42,125
as you can, get away with
as much as you can,

996
00:48:42,167 --> 00:48:44,625
date as often as you can,
drink what you can,

997
00:48:44,667 --> 00:48:46,667
smoke what you can,
sleep where you can.

998
00:48:46,708 --> 00:48:48,083
All of that is folly.

999
00:48:48,167 --> 00:48:49,500
All of that is rebellion.

1000
00:48:49,542 --> 00:48:51,833
That's not the Father's
heart for his sons.

1001
00:48:51,917 --> 00:48:55,500
Don't waste those years,
invest those years.

1002
00:48:55,583 --> 00:48:58,542
If you invest those years,
you'll be out ahead of the rest

1003
00:48:58,625 --> 00:49:02,208
of the fool's parade that's
drunk at the starting line

1004
00:49:02,292 --> 00:49:06,667
not paying any attention that
the race is well underway.

1005
00:49:06,750 --> 00:49:12,083
In addition for you men, you
don't want to just marry a woman

1006
00:49:12,167 --> 00:49:16,250
who's a good time but with whom
you can make a good legacy.

1007
00:49:16,333 --> 00:49:18,250
It means if you have
a father's heart,

1008
00:49:18,333 --> 00:49:20,917
when you're going to court
a woman or marry a woman,

1009
00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:24,667
you're not just thinking,
"Oh, she's a good time."

1010
00:49:24,708 --> 00:49:28,083
You're thinking, "With her
I can make a good legacy."

1011
00:49:28,167 --> 00:49:30,208
You have to factor into
your consideration,

1012
00:49:30,292 --> 00:49:34,083
will she be not only a good wife
and friend and love Jesus

1013
00:49:34,167 --> 00:49:37,833
and worship God, will she
also be a good mother?

1014
00:49:37,917 --> 00:49:41,958
I cannot tell you how grateful
I am, now that I have five kids,

1015
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:44,458
that Grace is their mother.

1016
00:49:44,500 --> 00:49:46,958
I praise God.

1017
00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:48,458
She is devoted.

1018
00:49:48,500 --> 00:49:49,833
She is focused.

1019
00:49:49,917 --> 00:49:51,250
She is hard working.

1020
00:49:51,333 --> 00:49:52,667
She is faithful.

1021
00:49:52,708 --> 00:49:54,042
She loves the Lord.

1022
00:49:54,125 --> 00:49:55,458
She loves the kids.

1023
00:49:55,500 --> 00:49:59,875
I could not fathom what life
would look like had she not been

1024
00:49:59,958 --> 00:50:03,458
the one that God chose for me.

1025
00:50:03,500 --> 00:50:06,125
Men, the most important decision
you make is who's your God.

1026
00:50:06,167 --> 00:50:08,333
The second most important
decision is who you marry,

1027
00:50:08,375 --> 00:50:11,333
and that decision has
generations of implication,

1028
00:50:11,375 --> 00:50:13,333
it just does, for good or bad.

1029
00:50:13,375 --> 00:50:16,583
And I always say, but some of
you guys are like, "She's hot."

1030
00:50:16,667 --> 00:50:18,667
So's hell, rethink your plan.

1031
00:50:18,750 --> 00:50:20,958
Right, rethink your plan.

1032
00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:22,333
Rethink your plan.

1033
00:50:22,417 --> 00:50:26,708
So you're looking not
just for a girlfriend,

1034
00:50:26,792 --> 00:50:30,625
but a grandmother eventually.

1035
00:50:30,667 --> 00:50:33,833
And then look forward
to being a dad.

1036
00:50:33,917 --> 00:50:36,500
Look forward to being a dad.

1037
00:50:36,542 --> 00:50:37,875
Yes, it's complicating.

1038
00:50:37,958 --> 00:50:39,292
Yes, it's expensive.

1039
00:50:39,333 --> 00:50:40,667
Yes, it's exhausting.

1040
00:50:40,750 --> 00:50:43,458
So's everything that matters.

1041
00:50:43,500 --> 00:50:48,250
I can remember as a little boy,
I looked forward to being a dad,

1042
00:50:48,333 --> 00:50:50,708
I really did.

1043
00:50:50,792 --> 00:50:53,167
Every time Grace got pregnant,
I was so excited.

1044
00:50:53,250 --> 00:50:55,292
Yay, baby's on the way.

1045
00:50:55,333 --> 00:50:58,500
There's a joyful enthusiasm.

1046
00:50:58,542 --> 00:51:01,292
I love--one of the things I
love at Mars Hill--and it's

1047
00:51:01,333 --> 00:51:03,917
been happening now for 17 years.

1048
00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:07,083
A guy's wife gets pregnant and
he runs up to me, "Pastor Mark,

1049
00:51:07,167 --> 00:51:10,083
I want to tell you something,"
I always know what it is.

1050
00:51:10,167 --> 00:51:11,625
They're smiling,
they're excited.

1051
00:51:11,667 --> 00:51:13,000
"We're pregnant."

1052
00:51:13,083 --> 00:51:14,750
They always say,
"We're pregnant."

1053
00:51:14,833 --> 00:51:16,250
I'm like,
"No, she's pregnant."

1054
00:51:16,333 --> 00:51:21,042
But I love the fact that the men
are excited that a baby

1055
00:51:21,125 --> 00:51:23,792
is on the way because
in a lot of places

1056
00:51:23,833 --> 00:51:25,833
they walk up to their buddies

1057
00:51:25,917 --> 00:51:29,750
and they're like, "Oh, my gosh,
my girlfriend's pregnant."

1058
00:51:29,833 --> 00:51:33,583
I love it when a husband runs up
and says, "My wife is pregnant!"

1059
00:51:33,667 --> 00:51:36,167
Yes, because children are
a blessing

1060
00:51:36,208 --> 00:51:38,875
and they're a blessing
to be celebrated.

1061
00:51:38,958 --> 00:51:41,917
Whether this is through birth
or adoption or foster care

1062
00:51:42,000 --> 00:51:43,917
or whatever the Father
would have for you,

1063
00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:45,917
I want you to look
forward to that.

1064
00:51:46,000 --> 00:51:47,917
I want you to be
excited about that.

1065
00:51:48,000 --> 00:51:49,667
I want you to rejoice in that.

1066
00:51:49,708 --> 00:51:53,167
If we want to be a place where
mothers and fathers are honored

1067
00:51:53,208 --> 00:51:55,875
and where children are
considered a blessing,

1068
00:51:55,958 --> 00:51:58,083
it's a big part of what
the Bible teaches

1069
00:51:58,167 --> 00:52:00,667
and it's a big way that we live
countercultural lives

1070
00:52:00,708 --> 00:52:02,333
to the culture of death

1071
00:52:02,375 --> 00:52:04,417
and folly and selfishness
and rebellion.

1072
00:52:04,500 --> 00:52:07,167
We honor marriage
and men and children

1073
00:52:07,208 --> 00:52:09,000
and that's the way God wants it.

1074
00:52:09,042 --> 00:52:12,000
That's the Father's heart.

1075
00:52:12,083 --> 00:52:14,292
In addition, I would then
say if God

1076
00:52:14,333 --> 00:52:18,333
should give you an opportunity,

1077
00:52:18,375 --> 00:52:23,333
don't ever quit
being the father.

1078
00:52:23,375 --> 00:52:26,292
One of the great lies the enemy
has told our culture is,

1079
00:52:26,333 --> 00:52:28,750
"Well, when they're 18, they're
adults, they're on their own."

1080
00:52:28,833 --> 00:52:31,500
No, they're not.
They need you more than ever.

1081
00:52:31,542 --> 00:52:33,208
Where are they
gonna go to college?

1082
00:52:33,292 --> 00:52:35,708
Who are they gonna date?
Who are they gonna marry?

1083
00:52:35,792 --> 00:52:37,708
What are they gonna
choose for a career?

1084
00:52:37,792 --> 00:52:39,708
What are they gonna do
with their finances?

1085
00:52:39,792 --> 00:52:41,208
So many massive
decisions are made.

1086
00:52:41,292 --> 00:52:42,625
They need their parents.

1087
00:52:42,667 --> 00:52:44,208
They need their father.

1088
00:52:44,292 --> 00:52:45,875
You never stop being a father.

1089
00:52:45,958 --> 00:52:48,792
When your kids are little, they
need you differently than when

1090
00:52:48,833 --> 00:52:51,125
they're in the teen years
and when they're grown,

1091
00:52:51,167 --> 00:52:53,292
they need you still
in an entirely different way.

1092
00:52:53,333 --> 00:52:56,417
But you never stop needing
your father and so fathers,

1093
00:52:56,500 --> 00:52:58,667
don't quit.

1094
00:52:58,750 --> 00:53:02,917
Perseverance is
a big theme in the Bible.

1095
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:06,833
Even if it's a hard season,
continue to be the father.

1096
00:53:06,917 --> 00:53:09,375
Continue to love, continue
to pursue, continue to pray,

1097
00:53:09,458 --> 00:53:11,667
continue to invest.

1098
00:53:11,750 --> 00:53:14,875
See, our fathers like that and
let's just be honest and say,

1099
00:53:14,958 --> 00:53:16,792
we've all sent our
Heavenly Father

1100
00:53:16,833 --> 00:53:19,542
through some pretty rough
seasons.

1101
00:53:19,625 --> 00:53:21,167
We've not been the best kids.

1102
00:53:21,250 --> 00:53:24,167
We've really made certain
seasons very difficult

1103
00:53:24,250 --> 00:53:27,375
and complicated for him,
and he never stops loving.

1104
00:53:27,458 --> 00:53:29,083
He never stops caring.

1105
00:53:29,167 --> 00:53:30,833
He never stops pursuing.

1106
00:53:30,917 --> 00:53:34,333
He never stops forgiving because
that's the Father heart of God.

1107
00:53:34,417 --> 00:53:37,250
And if the Father heart
of God lives in you men,

1108
00:53:37,333 --> 00:53:38,708
you will persevere.

1109
00:53:38,792 --> 00:53:43,167
You will overcome, you will
endure by the power of

1110
00:53:43,250 --> 00:53:46,500
the Holy Spirit because that's
the Father's heart.

1111
00:53:46,583 --> 00:53:49,500
And one of the ways that kids
know that they have their

1112
00:53:49,542 --> 00:53:52,833
father's heart is whether or not
their father hangs in there

1113
00:53:52,875 --> 00:53:55,417
on the worst days.

1114
00:53:55,500 --> 00:53:58,167
It's easy to have a father's
heart on the best days.

1115
00:53:58,208 --> 00:54:00,875
"Oh, my son hit a grand slam
to win the tournament

1116
00:54:00,958 --> 00:54:02,292
"in the little league.

1117
00:54:02,333 --> 00:54:04,292
"Oh, my daughter got
most likely to succeed.

1118
00:54:04,333 --> 00:54:05,792
"Yes, I have a father's heart.

1119
00:54:05,833 --> 00:54:07,500
"Oh, my kid struck
out and flunked.

1120
00:54:07,583 --> 00:54:12,500
Well, I still have
a father's heart."

1121
00:54:12,542 --> 00:54:16,292
And see, the Father's heart
toward us is not predicated

1122
00:54:16,333 --> 00:54:20,292
on our performance, and our
father's heart toward our

1123
00:54:20,333 --> 00:54:24,042
children cannot be predicated
on their performance.

1124
00:54:24,125 --> 00:54:29,625
We don't labor for his heart,
we labor from his heart.

1125
00:54:29,667 --> 00:54:32,125
And his heart loves us,
and his heart receives us,

1126
00:54:32,167 --> 00:54:36,125
and his heart encourages us, and
his heart is inclined toward us.

1127
00:54:36,167 --> 00:54:39,292
And to have the father's heart
is to parent out of the way

1128
00:54:39,333 --> 00:54:42,917
that the Father parents us.

1129
00:54:43,000 --> 00:54:46,625
And a father's heart really
shows up oftentimes

1130
00:54:46,667 --> 00:54:52,292
in simple things,
in unplanned ways.

1131
00:54:52,333 --> 00:54:54,625
I mean I think about it.

1132
00:54:54,667 --> 00:54:56,083
I'll share a couple stories,

1133
00:54:56,167 --> 00:54:57,958
my Grandpa George
had a father's heart.

1134
00:54:58,000 --> 00:54:59,458
I talked about him for years.

1135
00:54:59,500 --> 00:55:01,000
He died when I was 10.

1136
00:55:01,083 --> 00:55:04,000
I really loved him, but all
my memories of him were good.

1137
00:55:04,083 --> 00:55:06,500
He was a loving man.
He was a kind man.

1138
00:55:06,583 --> 00:55:09,000
He was a generous man.
He was a joyful man.

1139
00:55:09,083 --> 00:55:10,750
He rode in his old, brown Buick,

1140
00:55:10,833 --> 00:55:14,125
all grandpas are supposed
to have one.

1141
00:55:14,167 --> 00:55:17,000
He kept a bag of Tootsie Roll
lollipops in the glove box,

1142
00:55:17,083 --> 00:55:19,000
the ones with
the chocolate center,

1143
00:55:19,083 --> 00:55:21,667
and he'd take you to go run
errands and go to

1144
00:55:21,750 --> 00:55:23,417
the hardware store
and go do stuff.

1145
00:55:23,500 --> 00:55:25,958
And I'll never forget
one day he says,

1146
00:55:26,000 --> 00:55:29,375
"Mark, I just like having you
with me," and he smiled.

1147
00:55:29,458 --> 00:55:32,417
Great.

1148
00:55:32,500 --> 00:55:35,875
"And here's a sucker, I keep
a whole bag in the glove box."

1149
00:55:35,958 --> 00:55:38,542
Great.

1150
00:55:38,625 --> 00:55:40,292
That's the father's heart.

1151
00:55:40,333 --> 00:55:42,542
He just liked being
with his grandkids,

1152
00:55:42,625 --> 00:55:44,542
and he liked giving them gifts.

1153
00:55:44,625 --> 00:55:47,750
My grandpa had a rule, he lived
on a cul-de-sac and that is

1154
00:55:47,833 --> 00:55:49,167
"If the ice-cream man comes,

1155
00:55:49,208 --> 00:55:51,167
"all the kids
in the neighborhood run out

1156
00:55:51,208 --> 00:55:53,667
and get what they want
and I'll pay for it."

1157
00:55:53,708 --> 00:55:55,167
That's the father's heart.

1158
00:55:55,208 --> 00:55:57,833
I remember one time I was one of
the first kids

1159
00:55:57,875 --> 00:55:59,208
at the ice-cream truck

1160
00:55:59,292 --> 00:56:01,792
and all the other kids
in the neighborhood run around.

1161
00:56:01,833 --> 00:56:03,792
And I got mine
and I turned around,

1162
00:56:03,833 --> 00:56:06,292
my grandpa's walking with
this huge smile on his face,

1163
00:56:06,333 --> 00:56:09,292
and he was gonna pick up
ice cream for all the kids

1164
00:56:09,333 --> 00:56:10,667
in the neighborhood.

1165
00:56:10,750 --> 00:56:12,083
That's the father's heart.

1166
00:56:12,167 --> 00:56:14,958
He liked seeing the kids happy,
having fun, making memories.

1167
00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:17,250
I grew up in a neighborhood
where there were

1168
00:56:17,333 --> 00:56:21,000
very few fathers, right down
in Sea-Tac by the airport,

1169
00:56:21,083 --> 00:56:22,500
very few fathers.

1170
00:56:22,583 --> 00:56:24,333
In fact, I was
thinking about it,

1171
00:56:24,375 --> 00:56:27,708
I can't think of any friends
of mine that I hung out with or

1172
00:56:27,792 --> 00:56:31,583
played ball with in my immediate
neighborhood that had a father.

1173
00:56:31,667 --> 00:56:34,167
I'm the only kid
I remember who had a father.

1174
00:56:34,250 --> 00:56:35,917
I'm sure there was
a father somewhere,

1175
00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:37,625
but I don't remember them.

1176
00:56:37,667 --> 00:56:40,708
They were an endangered
species where I grew up.

1177
00:56:40,792 --> 00:56:42,833
My mom stayed home
to raise five kids.

1178
00:56:42,917 --> 00:56:46,250
My dad would go to work hanging
sheetrock as a union dry waller

1179
00:56:46,333 --> 00:56:50,000
until he broke his back
feeding his family.

1180
00:56:50,083 --> 00:56:53,208
I remember I played some sports.

1181
00:56:53,292 --> 00:56:55,625
I played a little soccer,
played a little basketball,

1182
00:56:55,667 --> 00:56:57,000
played a little football,

1183
00:56:57,083 --> 00:56:58,958
but what I really liked
was baseball.

1184
00:56:59,000 --> 00:57:02,125
And so I told my dad,
"I'm gonna play baseball."

1185
00:57:02,167 --> 00:57:04,542
Well, the problem was they
didn't have a coach

1186
00:57:04,625 --> 00:57:06,542
because there were no fathers.

1187
00:57:06,625 --> 00:57:09,208
And all the kids that were
trying out for this team,

1188
00:57:09,292 --> 00:57:10,667
none of them had a dad.

1189
00:57:10,750 --> 00:57:13,875
I remember they asked, "Okay,
do any of you guys have a dad

1190
00:57:13,958 --> 00:57:15,292
who can coach this team?"

1191
00:57:15,333 --> 00:57:16,667
Nobody had a dad.

1192
00:57:16,750 --> 00:57:19,875
I was like, "Well, I got a dad,
but he's never played baseball."

1193
00:57:19,958 --> 00:57:23,542
At least I got a dad so I go
home, "Dad, we need a coach.

1194
00:57:23,625 --> 00:57:25,083
There's no dads."

1195
00:57:25,167 --> 00:57:26,542
My dad's like,
"I'll coach.

1196
00:57:26,625 --> 00:57:28,542
What's baseball?"

1197
00:57:28,625 --> 00:57:31,292
My dad never played--I don't
think he ever had a glove

1198
00:57:31,333 --> 00:57:32,667
on his hand.

1199
00:57:32,750 --> 00:57:34,667
So my dad tries to figure out
baseball

1200
00:57:34,750 --> 00:57:36,167
so he can coach my team.

1201
00:57:36,250 --> 00:57:37,583
That's the father's heart.

1202
00:57:37,667 --> 00:57:41,333
My team was almost exclusively
our little league team,

1203
00:57:41,375 --> 00:57:46,000
we're like the Bad News Bears,
fatherless kids, no dad.

1204
00:57:46,042 --> 00:57:50,042
They showed up for
practice with no glove.

1205
00:57:50,125 --> 00:57:54,792
There's no dad around to
buy them a glove, no cleats.

1206
00:57:54,833 --> 00:57:57,458
Next thing I know my dad's
going to secondhand stores

1207
00:57:57,500 --> 00:57:58,958
and Goodwills.

1208
00:57:59,000 --> 00:58:00,667
We're a poor family,
working-class family,

1209
00:58:00,750 --> 00:58:03,667
and next thing I know my dad's
bringing home lots of different

1210
00:58:03,750 --> 00:58:06,417
baseball gloves and there was
a big pile of them somewhere

1211
00:58:06,500 --> 00:58:07,833
in the house.

1212
00:58:07,875 --> 00:58:09,333
I was like, "What's that, dad?"

1213
00:58:09,375 --> 00:58:12,042
He said, "Well, I'm buying
a lot of gloves because those

1214
00:58:12,125 --> 00:58:15,042
"kids don't have gloves and they
want to be on the team,

1215
00:58:15,125 --> 00:58:18,042
and nobody's gonna buy them
a glove and they need a glove."

1216
00:58:18,125 --> 00:58:19,458
That's the father's heart.

1217
00:58:19,500 --> 00:58:22,167
I remember feeling so proud
of my dad in that moment.

1218
00:58:22,250 --> 00:58:23,583
Man, I got a dad.

1219
00:58:23,667 --> 00:58:26,083
And the kids come over
to my house to eat.

1220
00:58:26,167 --> 00:58:28,250
There were kids in my
neighborhood who were hungry

1221
00:58:28,333 --> 00:58:31,458
and they knew, you go to Mark's
house and his dad's got food.

1222
00:58:31,500 --> 00:58:32,833
He'll feed ya.

1223
00:58:32,917 --> 00:58:35,833
And my mom took care of all
the kids in the neighborhood.

1224
00:58:35,917 --> 00:58:38,500
I'll never forget winter would
come, we were a poor family.

1225
00:58:38,583 --> 00:58:41,917
My mom and dad would buy a bunch
of extra coats for the kids.

1226
00:58:42,000 --> 00:58:44,583
I remember one year I was like,
why do--we'd buy them

1227
00:58:44,667 --> 00:58:46,000
at the Sears Surplus.

1228
00:58:46,042 --> 00:58:47,500
"Why are we getting more coats?"

1229
00:58:47,542 --> 00:58:51,500
"Because a lot of the kids don't
have a dad and a lot of the kids

1230
00:58:51,542 --> 00:58:52,875
"don't have a coat.

1231
00:58:52,958 --> 00:58:55,625
"So when they come over if
they don't have a coat,

1232
00:58:55,667 --> 00:58:58,625
"we're gonna give them a coat,
and we're gonna give them food

1233
00:58:58,667 --> 00:59:00,667
and we're gonna give
them a baseball glove,"

1234
00:59:00,750 --> 00:59:02,083
because that's
the father's heart.

1235
00:59:02,167 --> 00:59:04,292
Men, I need you
to have a father's heart.

1236
00:59:04,333 --> 00:59:06,958
Mars Hill doesn't work if you
don't have a father's heart,

1237
00:59:07,000 --> 00:59:09,667
a father's heart for your own
children saying, "You know what?

1238
00:59:09,750 --> 00:59:12,458
"I don't need the police.
I don't need the legal system.

1239
00:59:12,500 --> 00:59:15,667
"I don't need the judges
to take care of my kids.

1240
00:59:15,708 --> 00:59:17,833
I'll take care of that."

1241
00:59:17,875 --> 00:59:22,667
And I need you men
to have the father's heart,

1242
00:59:22,708 --> 00:59:25,667
not only for your family,
but our church family.

1243
00:59:25,708 --> 00:59:29,000
The only way what we're doing
succeeds is if the men

1244
00:59:29,042 --> 00:59:31,542
have the father's heart.

1245
00:59:31,625 --> 00:59:34,583
Usually in a church, it's
primarily women and children,

1246
00:59:34,667 --> 00:59:37,333
and they've already
got the Father's heart,

1247
00:59:37,417 --> 00:59:40,708
what's missing is
all the fathers.

1248
00:59:40,792 --> 00:59:43,958
And one of the things that
captivated me in Bible study in

1249
00:59:44,000 --> 00:59:49,000
this past year is the fact that
a father's heart is

1250
00:59:49,042 --> 00:59:51,667
for the family
and the church family.

1251
00:59:51,708 --> 00:59:55,042
That's why we call Abraham
our father in the faith.

1252
00:59:55,125 --> 00:59:57,542
You see this fatherly language
in Proverbs where he says,

1253
00:59:57,625 --> 01:00:00,458
"My son, my son, my son,
listen to me, hear me,"

1254
01:00:00,500 --> 01:00:03,083
and he's teaching
very practically.

1255
01:00:03,167 --> 01:00:06,333
You see this as well
with Paul who says,

1256
01:00:06,375 --> 01:00:11,125
"Timothy is my son and Titus is
my son and Manasseh is my son."

1257
01:00:11,167 --> 01:00:12,708
They weren't his
biological children,

1258
01:00:12,792 --> 01:00:14,333
but they were his
spiritual offspring.

1259
01:00:14,375 --> 01:00:17,292
He says in 1 Corinthians 4:15, he
says, "You have many teachers,

1260
01:00:17,333 --> 01:00:19,292
but don't have many fathers."

1261
01:00:19,333 --> 01:00:22,500
You can get a lot of podcasts,
but hard to have a dad,

1262
01:00:22,542 --> 01:00:27,625
a spiritual father to teach
you and train you and help you.

1263
01:00:27,667 --> 01:00:30,000
John is an old man.

1264
01:00:30,083 --> 01:00:33,250
He writes 1, 2, and 3 John
to the church and he says,

1265
01:00:33,333 --> 01:00:37,667
"You're my dear children,"
very fatherly language.

1266
01:00:37,708 --> 01:00:43,500
In the early church they would
talk about the church fathers.

1267
01:00:43,583 --> 01:00:47,167
The qualifications of an elder,
1 Timothy 3, Titus 1,

1268
01:00:47,250 --> 01:00:51,042
include the fact that
he's a good father

1269
01:00:51,125 --> 01:00:53,458
because a lot of what you learn
about spiritual leadership

1270
01:00:53,500 --> 01:00:55,292
in the church is learned

1271
01:00:55,333 --> 01:00:58,375
through parental leadership
in the home.

1272
01:00:58,458 --> 01:01:02,000
Raising your kids, you learn
some stuff to spiritually invest

1273
01:01:02,083 --> 01:01:05,333
in others, particularly those
who didn't have fathers.

1274
01:01:05,375 --> 01:01:08,500
And let me just say this,
I think--well, I know,

1275
01:01:08,583 --> 01:01:12,875
I know for a fact that Malachi
ends perfectly

1276
01:01:12,958 --> 01:01:17,292
because it's God's word
and God's final word,

1277
01:01:17,333 --> 01:01:20,125
and God's final
word to the men

1278
01:01:20,167 --> 01:01:22,833
is you're very important.

1279
01:01:22,917 --> 01:01:24,292
You're very needed.

1280
01:01:24,333 --> 01:01:27,417
The Father is calling
forth fathers,

1281
01:01:27,500 --> 01:01:30,417
that the Father
is calling forth fathers.

1282
01:01:30,500 --> 01:01:32,167
And friends, what
we're dealing with is

1283
01:01:32,250 --> 01:01:34,875
an unfathered generation.

1284
01:01:34,958 --> 01:01:38,375
Women have no idea what to look
for in a man because they didn't

1285
01:01:38,458 --> 01:01:41,375
have a man in their life
who is worth anything.

1286
01:01:41,458 --> 01:01:44,583
We're dealing with a bunch of
young men who have no clue what

1287
01:01:44,667 --> 01:01:47,792
it means to be a grown man
and so they take their cues

1288
01:01:47,833 --> 01:01:49,167
from violence.

1289
01:01:49,250 --> 01:01:50,667
They take their cues
from pornography.

1290
01:01:50,708 --> 01:01:53,625
They take their cues from
advertising and marketing,

1291
01:01:53,667 --> 01:01:57,625
and it's all foolishness and
leads to generations of abortion

1292
01:01:57,667 --> 01:02:02,833
and death and folly and rape
and addiction and consumption.

1293
01:02:02,917 --> 01:02:07,625
And the Father's
heart is no, no more.

1294
01:02:07,667 --> 01:02:11,333
And the answer is the Father's
heart living in men that they

1295
01:02:11,417 --> 01:02:14,125
would have the Father's heart
and that they would be fathers

1296
01:02:14,167 --> 01:02:17,750
at home, and they would
be fathers at church,

1297
01:02:17,833 --> 01:02:21,167
and that they would father,
not only their children,

1298
01:02:21,208 --> 01:02:24,792
but their spiritual children,
and that they would father well

1299
01:02:24,833 --> 01:02:26,833
so that they would leave
a different legacy

1300
01:02:26,917 --> 01:02:28,333
by the grace of God,

1301
01:02:28,375 --> 01:02:30,667
a legacy that reflects the love
and the affection

1302
01:02:30,708 --> 01:02:32,417
and the investment
of God the Father

1303
01:02:32,500 --> 01:02:34,750
in them and through them.

1304
01:02:34,833 --> 01:02:39,583
And so God's final word
and God's answer is more men

1305
01:02:39,667 --> 01:02:44,292
with a father's heart.

1306
01:02:44,333 --> 01:02:51,125
You men are very needed for
what God is calling us to.

1307
01:02:51,167 --> 01:02:56,833
You need to have
the Father's heart.

1308
01:02:56,917 --> 01:02:58,708
What's gonna happen
to the women?

1309
01:02:58,792 --> 01:03:01,333
What's gonna happen to
the children if you don't have

1310
01:03:01,417 --> 01:03:05,333
the Father's heart is
devastating.

1311
01:03:05,375 --> 01:03:07,000
We've had enough of it.

1312
01:03:07,083 --> 01:03:10,917
And by the grace of God, we need
a new kind of man to create

1313
01:03:11,000 --> 01:03:13,833
a new kind of legacy.

1314
01:03:13,917 --> 01:03:19,167
I'll leave it at that.

1315
01:03:26,167 --> 01:03:30,500
This one is deep in
the roots for me.

1316
01:03:30,542 --> 01:03:33,875
When I was 19 God said, "Marry
Grace, preach the Bible,

1317
01:03:33,958 --> 01:03:37,792
train men, plant churches."

1318
01:03:37,833 --> 01:03:40,167
Thank you men for
being a part of that.

1319
01:03:40,208 --> 01:03:42,167
I know you will rise
to the challenge

1320
01:03:42,208 --> 01:03:43,542
by the grace of God.

1321
01:03:43,625 --> 01:03:46,750
Some of you already have and we
want to honor you as fathers,

1322
01:03:46,833 --> 01:03:48,167
and some of you will

1323
01:03:48,208 --> 01:03:50,417
and we look forward to honoring
you as fathers.

1324
01:03:50,500 --> 01:03:52,583
This is an opportunity
for you to respond,

1325
01:03:52,667 --> 01:03:55,958
to turn from sin
and to trust in Jesus,

1326
01:03:56,000 --> 01:03:58,667
to escape hell
and to enjoy heaven.

1327
01:03:58,750 --> 01:04:02,000
We respond by taking our
tithes and offerings.

1328
01:04:02,042 --> 01:04:06,167
We respond as well by
partaking of Communion.

1329
01:04:06,250 --> 01:04:08,458
And as they're
collecting the offering,

1330
01:04:08,500 --> 01:04:11,708
I'll explain that Communion is
really an act of repentance.

1331
01:04:11,792 --> 01:04:14,292
It's obeying the prophetic call
that comes through men

1332
01:04:14,333 --> 01:04:18,750
like Elijah saying, "I am
a sinner and I need a Savior.

1333
01:04:18,833 --> 01:04:22,000
"I am estranged from my
father and I need a mediator,

1334
01:04:22,083 --> 01:04:23,792
"and his name is Jesus.

1335
01:04:23,833 --> 01:04:26,792
"He's obeyed all of Moses'
demands in the law and he

1336
01:04:26,833 --> 01:04:30,167
"has died in my place for my
sins, and so I turn from sin,

1337
01:04:30,250 --> 01:04:33,417
"trust in him and I receive
this gift of eternal life,

1338
01:04:33,500 --> 01:04:36,250
adoption into the family
of my Heavenly Father."

1339
01:04:36,333 --> 01:04:38,250
We show all of
that in Communion.

1340
01:04:38,333 --> 01:04:41,333
I want you to take Communion
together if you're a family with

1341
01:04:41,375 --> 01:04:45,333
your children, with your spouse,
and I want you men to lead.

1342
01:04:45,417 --> 01:04:47,833
And I want you to men
to set an example.

1343
01:04:47,875 --> 01:04:49,500
And lastly,
I would encourage you

1344
01:04:49,542 --> 01:04:51,000
to be reading ahead and praying.

1345
01:04:51,042 --> 01:04:53,000
Here's where we're going
next, this concludes Malachi,

1346
01:04:53,083 --> 01:04:55,208
now we're getting into
the Book of James.

1347
01:04:55,292 --> 01:04:57,167
The Book of James
kicks off next week.

1348
01:04:57,208 --> 01:04:58,958
I'm super fired up about it.

1349
01:04:59,000 --> 01:05:01,583
It's a book of the Bible
I've never preached,

1350
01:05:01,667 --> 01:05:04,167
and it's written by
Jesus' little brother,

1351
01:05:04,208 --> 01:05:06,875
Jesus' bold little brother.

1352
01:05:06,958 --> 01:05:11,583
No one would have insights
regarding Jesus like the guy

1353
01:05:11,667 --> 01:05:17,292
who grew up probably sharing
a bedroom with him.

1354
01:05:17,333 --> 01:05:20,708
Any of you have a sibling you
shared a bedroom with as a kid?

1355
01:05:20,792 --> 01:05:22,958
I have two brothers,
two sisters.

1356
01:05:23,000 --> 01:05:25,167
When I was little
for the first years,

1357
01:05:25,250 --> 01:05:28,167
us three boys lived
in a very small little room,

1358
01:05:28,250 --> 01:05:31,458
and there was bunk beds and
beds and they were close enough

1359
01:05:31,500 --> 01:05:34,167
together that I could reach
over and punch my brother.

1360
01:05:34,208 --> 01:05:35,833
How do I know?

1361
01:05:35,875 --> 01:05:37,292
Because I punched
my brother, okay?

1362
01:05:37,333 --> 01:05:40,542
We were that close.
It was a very small room.

1363
01:05:40,625 --> 01:05:43,000
Jesus grew up
in a poor family.

1364
01:05:43,083 --> 01:05:45,500
Jesus had brothers and sisters,

1365
01:05:45,583 --> 01:05:48,958
and they grew up
to worship him as God.

1366
01:05:49,000 --> 01:05:52,625
James thought he was crazy when
Jesus was saying he was God

1367
01:05:52,667 --> 01:05:54,833
and then when we saw Jesus
risen from death,

1368
01:05:54,875 --> 01:05:57,792
he started worshiping
his own brother as God,

1369
01:05:57,833 --> 01:06:01,042
and became a pastor, and wrote
a book of the Bible about his

1370
01:06:01,125 --> 01:06:04,917
big brother Jesus who happened
to be Lord God Savior, Creator,

1371
01:06:05,000 --> 01:06:07,875
Messiah, King, and Christ.

1372
01:06:07,958 --> 01:06:13,250
Nobody knows Jesus in the ways
that James would have known him.

1373
01:06:13,333 --> 01:06:17,750
All right, nobody knows someone
as well as their little brother.

1374
01:06:17,833 --> 01:06:20,583
And so I'm really excited next
week and would encourage you

1375
01:06:20,667 --> 01:06:24,167
to be in prayer as we get ready
to study the Book of James,

1376
01:06:24,250 --> 01:06:26,042
Jesus' bold little brother.

1377
01:06:26,125 --> 01:06:28,500
You fired up about
that or is it just me?

1378
01:06:28,542 --> 01:06:30,000
I'm super fired up.

1379
01:06:30,042 --> 01:06:32,833
So if you want to read ahead,
that's where we're going.

1380
01:06:32,917 --> 01:06:35,042
All right, let me pray
so we can respond.

1381
01:06:35,125 --> 01:06:38,042
Father God, I thank you that
we get to call you Father.

1382
01:06:38,125 --> 01:06:42,708
God, I thank you that you're
not a force, you're a Father.

1383
01:06:42,792 --> 01:06:45,667
Lord God, I thank you
that of all the names you

1384
01:06:45,708 --> 01:06:49,208
could have chosen by
which to reveal yourself,

1385
01:06:49,292 --> 01:06:53,125
Father was the name on
the lips of the Lord Jesus,

1386
01:06:53,167 --> 01:06:55,333
our Father who art in heaven.

1387
01:06:55,417 --> 01:06:59,250
Lord God, I thank you that
you are our Father by grace.

1388
01:06:59,333 --> 01:07:02,500
I thank you for the opportunity
you've given us through our

1389
01:07:02,542 --> 01:07:04,667
big brother Jesus to be adopted
into the family

1390
01:07:04,708 --> 01:07:06,875
as your sons and daughters.

1391
01:07:06,958 --> 01:07:10,500
Lord God, I thank you that when
you close the Old Testament,

1392
01:07:10,542 --> 01:07:14,750
your final word was to men and
that you were calling them by

1393
01:07:14,833 --> 01:07:17,917
the power of the Holy Spirit
to have the Father's heart.

1394
01:07:18,000 --> 01:07:20,417
Lord God, I pray for
the men at Mars Hill.

1395
01:07:20,500 --> 01:07:23,417
I thank you for the men who
do have the Father's heart.

1396
01:07:23,500 --> 01:07:26,417
I thank you for the many men
who have the Father's heart.

1397
01:07:26,500 --> 01:07:28,125
They're not perfect
and neither am I.

1398
01:07:28,167 --> 01:07:30,333
They've got stuff to
learn and so do I,

1399
01:07:30,417 --> 01:07:34,000
but they have
the Father's heart.

1400
01:07:34,083 --> 01:07:37,000
Lord God, I pray for those men
who do not yet have

1401
01:07:37,083 --> 01:07:38,667
the Father's heart.

1402
01:07:38,750 --> 01:07:41,833
I pray that right now through
the presence and the power and

1403
01:07:41,917 --> 01:07:44,833
the person of the Holy Spirit
that the Father's heart would be

1404
01:07:44,917 --> 01:07:47,333
awakened in their heart, that
his desires would be their

1405
01:07:47,417 --> 01:07:50,833
desires, that his affection
would be their affection,

1406
01:07:50,875 --> 01:07:52,958
that his devotion
would be their devotion.

1407
01:07:53,000 --> 01:07:56,958
God, I pray for the women at
Mars Hill Church that if

1408
01:07:57,000 --> 01:07:59,458
and when they marry, they
would marry a man with

1409
01:07:59,500 --> 01:08:01,167
a father's heart.

1410
01:08:01,250 --> 01:08:03,333
I pray for the children
at Mars Hill Church

1411
01:08:03,417 --> 01:08:04,750
that as they are raised,

1412
01:08:04,833 --> 01:08:07,500
that they be raised by men
with a father's heart.

1413
01:08:07,583 --> 01:08:10,917
And I pray, Lord God, that you
would allow us to father our

1414
01:08:11,000 --> 01:08:15,083
physical and spiritual children,
those who are born into our

1415
01:08:15,167 --> 01:08:19,167
family and those are born
again into our church family.

1416
01:08:19,208 --> 01:08:21,958
And God, we have no plan B.

1417
01:08:22,000 --> 01:08:26,167
The Holy Spirit working through
the men with a father's heart,

1418
01:08:26,250 --> 01:08:28,750
that's the only plan we've got.

1419
01:08:28,833 --> 01:08:32,333
And so please give us the grace
to lean into that vision

1420
01:08:32,417 --> 01:08:35,833
for the rest of our lives
together as your men.

1421
01:08:35,917 --> 01:08:38,583
In Jesus good name, amen.

1422
01:08:39,042 --> 01:08:40,417
Pastor Sutton here,

1423
01:08:40,500 --> 01:08:43,458
we've just finished our services
here in the Bellevue church

1424
01:08:43,500 --> 01:08:49,292
and really excited today to tell
the extended family of Mars Hill Global

1425
01:08:49,333 --> 01:08:50,958
about Text to Give.

1426
01:08:51,000 --> 01:08:53,667
Just came out
and many of you know my story:

1427
01:08:53,750 --> 01:08:57,833
2007 heard Pastor Mark
at a pastor's conference

1428
01:08:57,917 --> 01:09:00,208
went there, started podcasting.

1429
01:09:00,292 --> 01:09:03,167
I still gave my tithe
to my local church,

1430
01:09:03,208 --> 01:09:06,542
however, gave a contribution amount
to Mars Hill Church.

1431
01:09:06,625 --> 01:09:11,208
So this Text to Give, the video
that we have produced for you,

1432
01:09:11,292 --> 01:09:13,458
you're going to love,
so check this out.

1433
01:09:15,625 --> 01:09:18,333
Hey Mars Hill, my name is Rene
and I work here

1434
01:09:18,375 --> 01:09:20,833
at the Media and Communications
team at Mars Hill Church.

1435
01:09:20,917 --> 01:09:22,625
If you're a mobile user like me,

1436
01:09:22,667 --> 01:09:24,792
I've got some exciting news
to share with you.

1437
01:09:24,833 --> 01:09:27,250
There's a new way to give
at Mars Hill Church

1438
01:09:27,333 --> 01:09:29,500
and it's just as easy
as sending a text.

1439
01:09:29,583 --> 01:09:32,292
Now, many of you take advantage
of our online giving options,

1440
01:09:32,333 --> 01:09:35,000
which is a great way
to set up recurring gifts,

1441
01:09:35,083 --> 01:09:38,250
but until now, we haven't had a way
to set up mobile,

1442
01:09:38,333 --> 01:09:41,167
where you can give on the spot
during our services.

1443
01:09:41,208 --> 01:09:43,167
If you're like me,
you don't carry cash

1444
01:09:43,250 --> 01:09:46,792
you don't carry a checkbook,
so Text to Give is the way to go.

1445
01:09:46,833 --> 01:09:51,208
It's fun, it's simple,
and best of all, it's secure.

1446
01:09:51,292 --> 01:09:53,167
I want you
to do something with me.

1447
01:09:53,250 --> 01:09:55,125
Take out
your smart phone right now;

1448
01:09:55,167 --> 01:09:56,958
we're going to do
something together.

1449
01:09:57,000 --> 01:09:58,875
Don't worry,
you're not obligated to give,

1450
01:09:58,958 --> 01:10:00,875
but try this out.

1451
01:10:00,958 --> 01:10:03,750
Simply send the amount
you want to give

1452
01:10:03,833 --> 01:10:09,792
and the word "Mars Hill" at the end
to the following number: 45777.

1453
01:10:11,000 --> 01:10:12,667
The first time
you give via text,

1454
01:10:12,708 --> 01:10:15,333
you will be asked to fill out
a one-time form,

1455
01:10:15,375 --> 01:10:18,417
which will safely link your card
to your smart phone.

1456
01:10:18,500 --> 01:10:21,833
Now, this new way of giving
doesn't go into your phone bill,

1457
01:10:21,917 --> 01:10:23,750
and in case you make a mistake,

1458
01:10:23,833 --> 01:10:27,500
you can always get a refund
for the gift that you've given.

1459
01:10:27,542 --> 01:10:29,500
And that's it;
you're done.

1460
01:10:29,583 --> 01:10:31,667
You'll receive a text back
confirming your gift

1461
01:10:31,750 --> 01:10:34,208
and from this moment forward,
you'll be able to give

1462
01:10:34,292 --> 01:10:36,958
anywhere, anytime
with just a single text.

1463
01:10:37,000 --> 01:10:39,708
Don't forget to save the number
in your contact list.

1464
01:10:39,792 --> 01:10:42,833
I've saved it
as "Mars Hill Text to Give."

1465
01:10:42,917 --> 01:10:44,708
For more information
about our giving options

1466
01:10:44,792 --> 01:10:48,000
you can visit marshill.com/give.

1467
01:10:52,250 --> 01:10:55,167
Each year, over 10 million
Mars Hill church sermons

1468
01:10:55,250 --> 01:10:58,292
are downloaded
worldwide for free.

1469
01:10:58,333 --> 01:11:00,958
This ministry is generously supported

1470
01:11:01,000 --> 01:11:03,583
by Mars Hill church members
and listeners like you.

1471
01:11:03,667 --> 01:11:07,167
If you'd like to support our efforts
to preach Jesus to the world,

1472
01:11:07,208 --> 01:11:10,167
Please consider making
a tax-deductible donation

1473
01:11:10,208 --> 01:11:13,042
by visiting marshill.com/give.