March 1, 2025

The Temple and Water

The Temple and Water

I review a sermon about water rising out of the temple

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I review a sermon about water rising out of the temple

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective.

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This is the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good

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afternoon everyone.

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It is Saturday, March the first, twenty twenty five. It

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is currently twelve thirty eight pm Central Time, and I

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am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio

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located right here in Abilene, Texas. I'm stressing March the

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first because it's just hard to believe we're already in

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a new month here in twenty twenty five. It's like,

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before we know it, twenty twenty five is going to

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be over. It's just I know, I know the days

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move at the same speed that they've always had. Twenty

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four hours in every day, seven days in a week.

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I understand that. But sometimes you'll look around You're like, wait,

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we're already in March. How did we get here? But

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here we are. And what I can say about February

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is in some ways good because man alive. The last

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part of last month was was kind of rough. I've

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had a rough few weeks, it feels, especially in the

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broadcasting department right. I feel like that a lot of

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the episodes I just I've not had one of those

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that I've been very pleased with. There have been some

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let me take that back, There have been a few

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that I can go, okay, I think that went really well.

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That was a good discussion. I think that was beneficial.

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And there have been.

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Others that have been a disaster, And especially over the

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last week, we had that sermon on John chapter two.

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Remember that, I think a lot of it has been

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due to sermon reviews, if you really think about it,

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sermon reviews have really been disastrous.

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If you think about it.

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The sermon review on that sermon on John chapter two,

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where I guess three plus three equals six unless you

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don't count that whole mathematical thing that in John there's

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supposedly three days even there clearly there's at least at

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a minimum four referenced, but you only count three, and

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then you go to John chapter two, and then you

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count that as three days later, even though the text

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doesn't really say that, and then you say three plus

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three is six, and then oh man, and that thing

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was a total train wreck. That thing was a disaster

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of epic proportions. And remember there was a second part

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to that. I remember what AI artificial intelligence told me,

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don't review it. Just don't these things are horrible. I mean,

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that's bad when artificial intelligence is like, don't even review

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these sermons there. It is filled with hermeneutical, logical, factual errors.

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Do not review it. I mean that that's pretty bad.

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And then we had the whole what was that the

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Dangers of AI but not artificial intelligence. It's referring to

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the city of Ai. But this sermon wasn't about how

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the city was dangerous. It's the dangers of AI. So

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in some ways it wasn't about artificial intelligence. But then

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it was about artificial intelligence, but it wasn't about the

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technology of artificial intelligence. It was about our artificial intelligence,

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even though it was typed out as the dangers of

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Capital a small I, which would then be a reference

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to the city, but it never said how the city

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was dangerous. It talked about how our artificial intelligence was dangerous.

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But then it never can considered that our artificial intelligence

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is not really artificial, because it's a natural part of

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who we are, because we.

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Are born centers.

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The whole thing was a disaster of epic proportions. So

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we had the John two disaster, we had the Dangers

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of AI disaster. It's been just a mess and then

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what in the world happened yesterday here in the United

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States of America. The whole thing that happened with President

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Trump and Zelensky.

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Was I mean, I'm still so upset about that. I

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don't even want to I don't even want to talk

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about that anymore. Like I should, right, I feel like

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I should just turn.

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On the microphone and just let's spend the next six

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months trying to figure out what has happened in the

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minds of Republicans, MAGA, Conservatives, and Christians who have now

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become pro Putin and pro Russia.

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Like what has happened now?

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I talked a little bit about that yesterday, but I

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can't do that. See, that's one of the things I said,

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I have to not allow myself to do to turn

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this into a just news commentary.

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I just can't do that.

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Even if you try to look at news commentary from

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a biblical and philological perspective, it just basically becomes a

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news program. And I don't know that that's the life.

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I don't need to pull people more into that. We

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need to try to keep people focused on something else.

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So I've been struggling all morning.

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Like what do I do what do I do? I mean,

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everything has gone so bad, what do I do?

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I wanted to kind of return to our discussion about

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encouragement and discouragement, because well, the last two weeks of

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February have been discouraging.

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So but I'm like, I don't want to do that.

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But I did do a little bit of work on

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how to interpret the passage in Hebrews ten about us

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encouraging one another and then contrasting at that with the

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fact that the Bible itself demonstrates that people, people, even

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fellow Christians, that's the source of discouragement. It's going to

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be people. It's going to be fellow believers that discourage you,

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that anger you, that hurt you, that betray you, that

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deceive you, that gossip about you, the slander about you.

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So then it was like, wait a minute.

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If the Bible clearly demonstrates that people are the source

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of discouragement, yet then when in Hebrews we're called to encourage,

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how do we understand this? And so I was going

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to try to do a little bit of work on that.

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I mean, I did a lot of work on it,

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but I decided, no, I'm not going to do that.

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So I'm like, what do I do?

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What do I do?

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What do I do? What do I do? What do

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I do? What do I do?

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And then I mean there was a part like, you

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know what, who cares about doing anything? Just not doing

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any I'm like, but then if I don't do anything,

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I'll be frustrated that and do anything. Ah madness, Right,

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Sometimes that's the way life works. So I was looking

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at the sermons two point h it's no longer the

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Sermon's two point oh app. It's not the Sermon's three

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point oh app. It's sermons by Sermon Audio App. That's

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that's an interesting.

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Title for an app.

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It's the Sermon Audio App whatever we call it today.

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I don't know whatever their correct name is. But I

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was looking at that, and I saw a sermon entitled

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waters Rising out of the Temple, Waters Rising out of

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the Temple. And this is a message of part of

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some special meeting that they're having. I don't know they've

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done like four or five messages. I don't know if

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the Conference Revival Service whatever they're calling it special meetings,

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I don't know if it's continuing. But I saw it,

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and whenever I see that, there's like a special conference,

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special meetings, or revival service. I always like to see

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what they're talking about, what they're emphasizing. So I think

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this was the very first message in this special meetings

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whatever you would refer to it as, and I thought

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it was interesting. Waters rising out of the temple and

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my mind started thinking, well, I bet you.

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They're going to Ezekiel.

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I mean, they could be going to revelation, right.

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I wonder which way they're going to go. And I'm like, well,

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you know what, this gets me away from.

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The whole Trump situation.

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That's good.

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It keeps me from going back trying to do another

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message on the encouraging, encouragement and discouragement since I felt

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those messages went so bad.

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All right, it removes me from that.

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Okay, I probably could do another sermon review on a

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sermon on Isaiah forty one, since we're supposed to start

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that tomorrow, but we know how discouraging and frustrating those

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messages have gone. I don't know if I want to

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do another one, so I'm like, now, let's not do that.

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I'm like, okay, this at least gives me something different

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to focus on. But at the same time, I'm greatly

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concern on what direction this is.

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Going to go.

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So I asked Ai.

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I basically told Ai, I'm about to listen to a

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sermon entitled waters Rising out of the Temple. Give me

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your predictions. Well, Ai was more than happy to give

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me some predictions, all right, and he gave me a lot.

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Here here's what it first gives me predicted text of scripture.

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The title waters Rising out of the Temple strongly suggests

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that the primary text will be Ezekiel forty seven one

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through twelve, which describes the vision of a river flowing

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from the temple. Other possible passages that could be referenced

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include Revelation twenty two, the River of Life proceeding from

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the Throne of God in the lamb Zechariah fourteen eight

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living waters flowing out from Jerusalem, or John chapter seven

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thirty seven through thirty nine, Jesus speaking of rivers of

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living water, rivers of living water referring to the Holy Spirit. Right,

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So Ai gave me all of the predicted scriptures.

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That may be referenced.

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Then Ai gave me predicted interpretation and main point of

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the sermon. This is what Ai says. It will possibly

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be a symbolic interpretation. The river will likely be interpreted

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as a symbol of God's presence, the Holy Spirit, or

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the Gospel bringing life and restoration. So we're gonna get

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symbolic interpretation. According to AI, we may get a focus

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on spiritual growth and revival. Many sermons on this passage

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treat the increasing depth of the water as a metaphor

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for deeper spiritual experiences, revival or Christian maturity. Or number three,

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we may get some kind of end times application. The

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preacher may connect the vision to eschatology, suggesting it represents

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a future literal fulfillment and a millennial temple or the

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new Creation. Or number four, we may get some type

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of a prosperity or dominion theology influenced interpretation. If it

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is influenced by certain theological perspectives, the message might suggest

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that church or believers will bring increasing transformation to the

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world before Christ returns. So, according to AI, the main

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passage will probably be Ezekiel forty seven. It will reference

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Revelation twenty two, possibly Zechariah fourteen eight, and possibly John

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seven thirty seven through thirty nine. The possible the predicted

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interpretation is going to be symbolic. It's going to talk

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about possibly spiritual growth and revival. It may give some

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kind of end times application dealing with eschatology, or it

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may have some kind of idea that the church and

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believers are we're going to transform the world in some

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kind of way, and this would be more in line

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with prosperity or dominion theology. Now, it does give me

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all the possible hermeneutical errors that AI is predicting will be,

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and the sermon.

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Will get to those soon. So there's a little bit.

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Of the predictions now AI gives me, I mean a

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lot of predictions here, but those are just some of them,

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and we'll just see what happens, all right. I learned

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last time when I saw that when we did the

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sermon review and the Dangers of AI. Remember I had

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that whole long introduction about artificial intelligence and then what

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was that? That was a disaster of epic proportion. And

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to be fair, even AI thought the sermon was about

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artificial intelligence to technology and even artificial intelligence after reviewing

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the transcript, still to this day, it doesn't really know

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how he was defining AI. Because if it's the Dangers

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of AI, it would be the dangers of the city

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he never talked about the dangers of the city. He

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referenced artificial intelligence, but he didn't he referenced the technology.

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Yeah, I won't even go through it all again. That

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thing was a mess.

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So I have to sometimes learn to just not say

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anything and just jump into the review. But I like

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to set it up, and you know, offer in broadcasting,

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you offer a tease, you offer something to try to

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pull people in. But sometimes with a sermon review, all

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I can say is it's time for a sermon review,

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I guess.

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And that's not all I mean. I like to I

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like to use some form of creativity.

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But all right, here we go. It's been crazy. February

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is over. It's March, new month. Let's hope this month

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starts better than the last month ended.

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Right, Our sermon reviews were.

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Trash, My episodes were trash, My sermons were trashy. February

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is a good times, like just retire and give up

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your your garbage.

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Okay, I understand, I understand, But what do you do?

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What do you do?

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You get back up? So it's March the first. Let's

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try to see if we can start this month with

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something positive. Here is a sermon entitled waters rising out

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the temple. Let's see if AI's predictions are right.

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Here we go.

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We've been looking forward to this, and I really appreciate

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everything being here. And I said last night, and I'll

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say again today, I have a friend who got hit

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by a truck. And when a person is run over.

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By a truck, it takes a while to recover.

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And I know that nothing will ever be exactly the

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same here. I shed a tear just sitting down in

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Sunday school and not seeing that girl over at the

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keyboard on that side. I've never been here when she

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wasn't at that keyboard. And you know someday, you know,

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the seat will be empty, and thou shalt be missed.

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Every one of us, we know this life is only temporary.

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Whenever somebody has taken out a little early like this,

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I always give the Lord.

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A piece of paper.

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And I said, look, if you want to take out

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somebody early, start with Nancy Pelosi.

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What all right, ladies and gentlemen.

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I was just about to interrupt that and go, wow,

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this starts off somber, this starts off powerful. Then it

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has to to go into some total trash. Lord, if

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you want to take out someone early take out Nancy Pelosi.

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So, hey, if you're going to kill someone, if you

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want someone to die, have her die.

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Why because she's your political enemy? I thought, where love

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your enemy?

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Well, it's just a joke. It's just a joke.

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Okay.

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Well then if we can just joke about people dying

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and mock and because they're your political enemy, and we

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find that to be here are the people laughing in

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the background, Well, then why can't you just get up

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and behind the pulpit out, no, tell a dirty joke.

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Why don't we drop a couple of f BOMs? I mean,

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why don't we I mean, if you can do that,

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then why don't we just tell? You know, you blink

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and die, and you blink and die.

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Here we go.

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Let's listen to this again.

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Seeing that girl over at the keyboard on that side.

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I've never been here when she wasn't at that keyboard.

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And you know someday, you know, the seat will be empty,

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and thou shalt be missed, every one of us.

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We know this life is only temporary.

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I see that's so well said, so articulate, so poetic,

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so beautiful, so powerful, so somber. What a great reminder

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one day our seat will be empty. One day we're

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going to be missed. Life is not permanent. We're all

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going to die. What a somber, powerful, well, beautiful everything there,

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the tone, Everything is beautiful. And then look what.

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Happens whenever somebody has taken out a little early like this,

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I always give the Lord a piece of paper, and

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I said, look, if you want to take out somebody early,

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start with Nancy Pelosi.

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I got suggestions here.

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And everyone's laughing.

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If you want to take out someone early, take out

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Nancy Pelosi, because you know she doesn't have any family,

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she doesn't have a husband, she's not a human being.

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No, it's just all it's just all a joke. It's

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all funny.

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You have heard that.

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It hath been said, thou show love thy neighbor and

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hate thine enemy. But I say, anti, you love your enemy.

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Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that

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hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you

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and persecute you, that you may be the children of

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your father, which is in heaven, For he maketh his

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son to rise on the evil and on the good,

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and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. For

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if you love them which love you, what reward have you? Do?

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Not?

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Even Republicans the same? If you salute your brother only,

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what do you more than others?

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Do?

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Not? Even the Publicans do? Be there for perfect Father,

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which is in heaven.

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It's imperfect.

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Now what does this demonstrate that once again that even

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as Christians, sometimes, even in our joking behind a pulpit,

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we don't even try to come close to fulfilling that command,

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meaning nobody ever does. We're all in a perpetual stat

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of sin, which this is just a proof of that.

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Now people are going to say, you're just making a

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big deal out of it's a joke.

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Well again, if you're gonna.

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Say you can joke about, hey God, if you're going

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to take someone out kill Nancy Pelosi, if you find

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that to be funny, well then ladies and gentlemen, then

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at this hole.

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Then then if someone gets up behind.

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The pulpit and says other things, I mean, okay, let's

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do this, lord, let's say that you Now watch how

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this flips around, because see most of the people listening like,

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I hate Nancy Pelosi too, She's a piece of trash. Yeah,

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it would be funny if she died, like many of

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you will be all supportive of that. But let's flip

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it around. Let's flip it around, right, Okay, Let's say

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someone doesn't like John MacArthur's you know, theology, they hate

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his theology. Hey, lord, if you're gonna take some people out,

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how about Jahn MacArthur. How about and you start how

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about Albert Mohler? How about and you just start naming?

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How about you know, you just start naming different people.

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Oh no, no, no, no, no no no no, no, no

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no no. That is not funny.

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Now, how dare you say that? Well, well, I'm just

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joking around. I'm just joking around. How about this person?

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How about Donald Trump? Lord, if you're gonna take anyone out,

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take out Donald Trump. Oh no, now, it wouldn't be funny. Now,

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nobody would be laughing. Yeah, it's all funny because it's

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someone you don't like politically. Oh but if I went

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after Donald Trump, Oh, all the mag people would have

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their red hats and their torches and they would be,

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you know, storming the capitol.

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How about we don't make that joke.

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I mean, okay, even if you think the joke is appropriate,

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is that appropriate?

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Behind the pulpit. I mean maybe or maybe not.

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And again, if it's if the joke is acceptable behind

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the pope, I won't even argue with you.

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Let's say the joke is acceptable.

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Well, then the same kind of joke can be made

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about Donald Trump, jd Vance, Elon Musk, anybody on the right, right,

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Glenn Beck. It could be anybody, anybody on the right.

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So then then then then and if you say, well

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then that's fine, Okay, Well then okay, Well how much further?

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What if we can make jokes about people dying or

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about God taking people.

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We don't like?

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Well, then how how about if we throw in a

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little colorful, colorful language.

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And I said, where is the line, Schumer?

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But when we get to heaven, nobody, nobody is going

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to say, God, you messed up. Every one of us

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is going to say, you are the God that does

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all things? Well, shall not the God of all the

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earth do right? I was talking to a fellow. He said,

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I'll tell you God's got some things to.

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Answer to me.

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I said, really, He said, why did he make mosquitoes?

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And I said, you know, he's not exactly up there

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trembling at the thought of you asking him big, complex

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questions like that he's going to say, because the swallows

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needed something to eat, and none of us, none of us,

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We don't live by explanations. We live by faith, and

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none of us. He doesn't owe any of us an explanation.

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I yearned for explanations, But boy, we're not in charge

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of very much.

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I want too.

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Uh Right, I can do one of two things. I

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can spend our time looking at the past and reflecting

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on all the blessings. Or I can say, hey, we're

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here now and there's still a job to be done

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and let's look forward. And it's not that I'm unmindful,

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but you've spent a couple of weeks reminiscing, recalling, paying

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tributes and all of that, and appropriately so. And I

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talked to Brother Bevins Welder, and he told me what

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a huge blessing this church was to him while he

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was here.

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And I know that it means a lot.

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To just see Christians that have a steady hand on

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the tiller. Hey, this is a direction we're going, and

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this is what we do, and.

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The work of God.

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Is more important than any one of us. And I

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love that about being here. But today and tonight in

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the next few services, I'm going to be talking about

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having a vision for the future. And that's not to

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be unmindful. I mean, my wife and I married fifty

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two years and we're excited about what the future has

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for us. Now things are different than they were forty

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years ago.

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Okay, so it seems like, hey, I may have got

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its prediction wrong here. Maybe it's some idea about a

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vision for the future.

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I did have AI.

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I did have AI analyze and critique the joke. So

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because I may maybe I got to I have human emotions,

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So maybe I got to emotional, especially after everything that

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happened yesterday in politics, and then here some pastor makes

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some horrible jokes.

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So maybe some of you.

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Thinking I'm way too sensitive, So I had AI analyze it.

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This is what AI says.

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The sermon begins with a joke that references a friend

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getting hit by a truck and then transitions into a

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comment about missing someone in the congregation. This quickly shifts

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into a controversial joke about suggesting that God should take

434
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out political figures, specifically Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.

435
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The structure and intent of the joke.

436
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The first part of the setup about a friend getting

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hit by a truck appears to be a metaphor for

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a difficult or traumatic event. It creates an expectation of

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a story about suffering or recovery. Now, I think AI

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00:24:51.160 --> 00:24:53.720
mis understands it's not a metaphor. I think someone actually

441
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got hit by a truck and something tragic occurred. The

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transition into missing someone in the congregation and sets a

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somber tone, applying loss and grief. The punchline, however, shifts

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dramatically to a political joke, suggesting that if God is

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going to take someone early, he should start with politicians.

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The speaker disapproves of the problem with the joke. The

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joke shifts from what seems to be a reflection on

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loss to a punchline about wanting political figures to die early.

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This is an abrupt tonal change that might alienate listeners

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who were engaged emotionally with the previous sentiment. If the

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audience is grieving, introducing humor in a way could be

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seen as insensitive or even cress. The implication that a

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preacher is offering suggestions to God on who should die

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raises theological concerns with humors. While humor is often exaggerated.

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Joking about praying for someone's early death, even in Jess,

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seems at odds with biblical teaching in Matthew five point

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forty four, love your enemy and pray for those who

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persecute you. The joke presents God as someone who takes

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requests for judgment in a way that it trivilizes divine

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sovereignty and justice. Injecting political humor, especially one that applies

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the desire for death, risk alienating members of the congregation

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who may have different political views.

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We'll see.

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The thing is that Christian Church doesn't think anyone can

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have different political views because if you vote Democrat or

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you're not a Trump supporter, then you're going to hell

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because you're not a Christian. That's what AI doesn't seem

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to understand about the modern church. But okay, I'm getting mad.

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Churches often strive to focus on unity in Christ rather

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than political division, and the joke could create unnecessary tension.

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The joke, well, then it goes on to say, it

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goes on to do a lot more. It says, well, well,

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humor may have its place in sermons. This particular joke

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suffers from several issues. It abruptly shifts from serious reflection

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on loss to politically charged statement. It presents theological ethical

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concerns about joking or advising God on whom to judge,

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and at risks dividing the congregation rather than uniting. Ultimately,

478
00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:55.400
the joke weakens the sermon's credibility and distracts from the

479
00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:59.079
intended spiritual message. Now, ladies and gentlemen, let's make it

480
00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:03.359
very clear. I've been guilty of similar things, right, because

481
00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:07.960
I tend to use very dark humor and my messages,

482
00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:10.759
even in my podcast episodes. Now, typically my dark humor

483
00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:15.400
refers and centers around my death, me dying, right, it

484
00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:18.920
may center around how cynical and that, well, we're all

485
00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:21.000
going to die, or that kind of thing.

486
00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:22.640
I hope and if I.

487
00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:26.079
Ever have, and you know, I've got what four thousand

488
00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:29.960
hours just for this podcast alone circle, you know.

489
00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:31.440
Floating around the internet.

490
00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:36.079
If I've ever made a joke about someone dying, all right, well,

491
00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:39.880
then you know, I apologize and I was wrong.

492
00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:42.359
But I mean, I don't think I have. But I mean,

493
00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:44.119
I'm a human being, I'm a sinner.

494
00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:46.519
I think the point of all of this is, even

495
00:27:46.599 --> 00:27:48.799
as Christians, we don't even obey the sermon on them

496
00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:51.480
out behind the pulpit, much less in our hearts and

497
00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:54.119
in our lives, which demonstrates what I always say, we're

498
00:27:54.160 --> 00:27:55.480
all in a perpetual state of sin.

499
00:27:55.839 --> 00:27:57.240
But again, it's just amazing.

500
00:27:57.279 --> 00:28:00.599
You can stand behind a pulpit joke about human being

501
00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:03.359
dying and it's all wondering.

502
00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:05.400
It's great.

503
00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:09.480
But if a pastor does another thing, oh that's it.

504
00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:13.480
Remove them from the pulpit the end. And it's just

505
00:28:13.559 --> 00:28:19.599
amazing our subjective, very you know, relativistic way in which

506
00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:21.359
we determined what's right or not right.

507
00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:23.519
But I guarantee if that joke was that after.

508
00:28:23.359 --> 00:28:32.319
Trump or Vance oh Man or Elon musk oh liberal woke, progressive, Satanist,

509
00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:36.480
anti christ oh, but if we go after that and

510
00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:39.240
that and what just happened right there is not really

511
00:28:39.240 --> 00:28:42.359
that much difficult different than what I here on Christian

512
00:28:42.440 --> 00:28:47.240
radio many times, specifically when I say Christian radio American

513
00:28:47.319 --> 00:28:50.920
Family radio, and I've talked about it so many times,

514
00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:54.359
how politically, how it demonstrates what a politically hijacked Christianity

515
00:28:54.400 --> 00:28:59.200
looks like. So all right, so now we transition from that.

516
00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:02.200
You see you talk about distracting from the entire sermon. Yeah,

517
00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:04.559
that completely like ruins everything. But I'm going to set

518
00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:07.559
that aside because all people are making mistakes, all people

519
00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:12.279
are human, we're all sinners. All right, Fine, we move

520
00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:15.319
past it. Now he wants to talk something about having

521
00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:18.039
a vision for the future. Now, if it's going to

522
00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:20.240
be a Now this is where you see where this

523
00:29:20.279 --> 00:29:22.640
is going to get ready hermoneutically to get all weird.

524
00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:27.039
If this is about waters rising out of the temple

525
00:29:28.119 --> 00:29:30.240
and it's going to go to Ezekiel or any of

526
00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:32.720
the passages we've already that Ai predicts we're going to

527
00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:35.119
be covering. What does that have to do with you

528
00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:38.759
or I having a vision for the future. Unless he's

529
00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:40.799
going to take the water's rising out of the temple

530
00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:43.480
and he's going to connect it to eschatology, and then

531
00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:45.359
we're going to have a vision for the future that

532
00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:49.000
the Bible lays out or what is about to happen

533
00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:49.480
right here?

534
00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:55.720
And I can beat her in hopscotch.

535
00:29:55.839 --> 00:30:03.519
Now she's had two any replacements, the second one they

536
00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:08.559
put in backwards. Now she can't walk very well, but

537
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:14.799
she can beat anybody in a circle. Okay, I lied

538
00:30:14.880 --> 00:30:20.759
about that. It's not actually even true, but I'm just saying,

539
00:30:20.839 --> 00:30:27.039
right life as life goes by, Wow, things are different

540
00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:30.400
than they used to was. But that doesn't mean we

541
00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:35.319
can't be happy, successful, fulfilled, and joyful and all of that.

542
00:30:35.559 --> 00:30:41.319
And I want to just encourage as I travel the country.

543
00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:46.920
There are churches that are battling through some things. And

544
00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:51.279
there are some who've had a pastor.

545
00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:53.240
Fail and now they've got to get a new.

546
00:30:53.119 --> 00:30:57.279
Pastor or there are those that have had their biggest

547
00:30:57.319 --> 00:31:01.559
givers all died and now they're struggling financially. And there

548
00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:05.480
are churches that I get to that the pastor thought

549
00:31:05.480 --> 00:31:08.240
it would be a good idea to change the music

550
00:31:08.400 --> 00:31:12.160
and now there's a drum set and electric guitar.

551
00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:16.039
And there was a church I was in.

552
00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:20.839
They built a new building and they got a new pastor,

553
00:31:22.440 --> 00:31:29.960
and he doesn't like old people. And to send a

554
00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:37.720
not so subtle message by the new building and by

555
00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:46.279
the entrance they don't have any elderly parking or handicap parking,

556
00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:49.599
he left them all on the other side of the

557
00:31:49.640 --> 00:31:57.079
parking lot, by the other building. I think that sent

558
00:31:57.119 --> 00:31:58.599
a message to the old people.

559
00:32:01.480 --> 00:32:04.359
Wow, are you gonna tell me churches where everyone inside

560
00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:06.920
those churches are supposed to be new creatures in Christ,

561
00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:08.920
all things have passed away, all things have become new,

562
00:32:08.920 --> 00:32:11.720
and we basically can be perfect. It's always it's always

563
00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:13.480
the weird thing I hear in Christianity.

564
00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:16.079
On one hand, I constantly hear this, we've been changed,

565
00:32:16.119 --> 00:32:17.319
we've been transformed.

566
00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:19.480
We now have the power to say yes to God

567
00:32:19.519 --> 00:32:21.400
and notice it and we can do this, we can

568
00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:23.559
do that. And then every story is about this church

569
00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:25.799
and this church and this problem and this problem, and

570
00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:28.200
this and this and this and division and this and

571
00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:31.079
this and this and compromising this because and then when

572
00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:33.640
you and I used to preach that way and then

573
00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:36.599
but by my way of thinking, because of lordship suf it, Well,

574
00:32:36.640 --> 00:32:38.839
none of those people are saved. None of those people

575
00:32:38.839 --> 00:32:41.599
are saved. None of those churches are saved. They're all

576
00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:43.960
fraugile and they're all false. They're all going to hell.

577
00:32:44.119 --> 00:32:47.400
But of course a me, I I was okay because

578
00:32:47.400 --> 00:32:51.079
I would downplay my sin and overemphasize my strong points. Okay, well,

579
00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:52.720
we can get into that all day. But yeah, the

580
00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:54.440
church has been a mess. It's always been a mess.

581
00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:56.920
It will always be a mess. And it's funny though,

582
00:32:57.599 --> 00:32:59.400
he can go after. Now he's gonna go after what

583
00:32:59.480 --> 00:33:01.680
other pasts do. I guess he doesn't see that he

584
00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:04.480
just made a joke about people dying. But okay, that's okay,

585
00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:08.599
that's okay, that's okay. And again, whenever these pastors tell

586
00:33:08.680 --> 00:33:12.680
these stories about other pastors, they never named the pastors

587
00:33:12.680 --> 00:33:17.119
and they never named the church. That's always the difficulty.

588
00:33:17.240 --> 00:33:17.440
Right.

589
00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:19.880
On one hand, you want to tell the stories because

590
00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:22.319
maybe it will be beneficial or serve as a warning.

591
00:33:22.480 --> 00:33:24.759
But if you don't give the information, can I go

592
00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:27.960
verify if the story is even true. I've heard lots

593
00:33:27.960 --> 00:33:32.000
of people say things about churches, and sometimes you may

594
00:33:32.039 --> 00:33:34.240
go do a little research and find out and when

595
00:33:34.279 --> 00:33:36.359
you talk to the pastor, well that's not quite the

596
00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:38.599
way that went down. And then I found out that

597
00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:40.480
the people who tell me those stories who come to

598
00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:43.160
my church, when they leave my church, then they're telling

599
00:33:43.240 --> 00:33:46.319
stories about me. And you're like, well, that's not exactly

600
00:33:46.359 --> 00:33:50.160
the way that went down. So it's like, on one hand,

601
00:33:50.240 --> 00:33:52.519
I think we do have to explain how things go

602
00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:54.319
wrong in churches, and I don't think we always need

603
00:33:54.359 --> 00:33:57.000
to give the name. I think that's sometimes wrong, right,

604
00:33:57.400 --> 00:34:00.400
But at the same time. I guess that's the good

605
00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:02.599
thing is if you don't give the name, then then

606
00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:05.240
the other churches are not hurt, right, But by not

607
00:34:05.279 --> 00:34:07.160
giving the name, then I'm just supposed to take that

608
00:34:07.240 --> 00:34:10.320
you're what you're saying is accurate. Is there a church

609
00:34:10.360 --> 00:34:14.559
out there who took away all handicap parking and or

610
00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:16.440
didn't didn't take it all away, it just left it

611
00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:19.320
at the other building and not at the new building.

612
00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:22.320
So the new building has no handicap parking, no parking

613
00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:25.840
quote unquote for elderly people with some type of physical

614
00:34:26.360 --> 00:34:29.039
you know, problems. Is that even legal.

615
00:34:32.559 --> 00:34:32.719
Now?

616
00:34:32.719 --> 00:34:35.519
It depends on probably the city or this or the state.

617
00:34:36.039 --> 00:34:38.639
Are there some zoning and coding or codes and things

618
00:34:38.719 --> 00:34:40.360
you have to I don't even know how that would

619
00:34:40.400 --> 00:34:41.000
even work.

620
00:34:41.079 --> 00:34:44.320
Okay, so you know, I don't even know.

621
00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:49.760
So but okay, all right, So I don't know what

622
00:34:49.800 --> 00:34:51.280
any of this has to do with water coming out

623
00:34:51.280 --> 00:34:53.639
of a temple. But we're just gonna wait and see.

624
00:35:00.239 --> 00:35:07.360
You're the past, these are the future. Get off the scene.

625
00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:11.800
We want to focus on these. Get out of the way.

626
00:35:12.360 --> 00:35:13.400
We're going to do this.

627
00:35:15.239 --> 00:35:16.199
Listen, listen.

628
00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:21.480
I wonder why that happens in churches. I wonder why

629
00:35:21.559 --> 00:35:25.360
there's a tendency in some churches to say, all right, guys, look.

630
00:35:25.760 --> 00:35:27.639
We got to move. We got to focus on the future.

631
00:35:27.679 --> 00:35:29.840
We got to focus on the young couples, we got

632
00:35:29.840 --> 00:35:31.760
to focus on the singles, we got to focus on

633
00:35:32.079 --> 00:35:32.880
that age green.

634
00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:36.679
I wonder why that happens in churches. Let me see, Oh.

635
00:35:36.599 --> 00:35:41.920
Because churches is a business and they need money and

636
00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:45.239
they have to secure their future. If you've got a

637
00:35:45.280 --> 00:35:49.639
congregation that's sixty or seventy, what's going to happen over

638
00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:53.159
the next five to ten years, slowly but surely, they're

639
00:35:53.159 --> 00:35:56.599
going to pass away. Well, as they pass away, you

640
00:35:56.800 --> 00:36:01.199
lose their giving, you lose them. And not only that,

641
00:36:01.239 --> 00:36:05.440
when people become sixty or seventy, guess what happens, right,

642
00:36:05.519 --> 00:36:07.199
I mean, this is just the truth of a church.

643
00:36:07.519 --> 00:36:10.400
There goes your volunteers. They're not going to be helping

644
00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:13.519
with anything because they're getting older. Right, they're not going

645
00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:16.840
to be possibly supporting your you know, podcast or your

646
00:36:17.119 --> 00:36:19.119
or your apps, or they're not going to be involved

647
00:36:19.119 --> 00:36:19.960
in any of that.

648
00:36:20.239 --> 00:36:20.440
Right.

649
00:36:20.719 --> 00:36:24.039
They may then start attending less services because as they

650
00:36:24.039 --> 00:36:25.760
get older, they're not going to be there for maybe

651
00:36:25.840 --> 00:36:29.079
Sunday school Sunday morning. So they're not as present, they're

652
00:36:29.119 --> 00:36:33.800
not involved, they're not being able. Maybe even their income

653
00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:35.920
has changed and they're not even able to give much.

654
00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:39.400
And you know that the time is coming. You know,

655
00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:42.000
at least within ten years they're probably gone.

656
00:36:42.119 --> 00:36:42.559
All right.

657
00:36:42.599 --> 00:36:43.960
Well, as a business, he.

658
00:36:43.960 --> 00:36:46.039
Said, well, a church shouldn't think as a business. It's

659
00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:48.320
easy for you to say, it's easy for you to

660
00:36:48.360 --> 00:36:50.679
sit there on your couch with your Bible your handgoing.

661
00:36:51.400 --> 00:36:54.519
Churches should not think there's a business. They are a ministry.

662
00:36:54.679 --> 00:36:57.039
Oh dare they easy for you to say?

663
00:36:57.159 --> 00:37:02.400
The people who work there like, hmm, my entire paycheck

664
00:37:02.440 --> 00:37:04.760
is depended on what happens to church. Oh we gotta

665
00:37:04.800 --> 00:37:07.880
pay the Maybe we're still paying a mortgage on this building.

666
00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:10.079
Oh we got this, and we got this to support

667
00:37:10.159 --> 00:37:11.960
and we got this, and we got this and we

668
00:37:11.960 --> 00:37:13.360
get and if we don't find.

669
00:37:13.159 --> 00:37:15.639
A way, then we're gonna be broke.

670
00:37:15.920 --> 00:37:17.559
So we got to find a way to bring in

671
00:37:17.920 --> 00:37:21.360
new people, young couples, those who are moving up in

672
00:37:21.440 --> 00:37:24.239
their careers that may want they have energy, they're young,

673
00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:27.400
they'll maybe they'll show up to all the services. Maybe

674
00:37:27.440 --> 00:37:30.480
they will be involved in what we're doing online. Maybe

675
00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:32.639
they'll be much more likely to bring more people in

676
00:37:32.719 --> 00:37:35.320
because they're active among their peer group and that work

677
00:37:35.519 --> 00:37:38.039
where they're not retired sitting at home, so they may

678
00:37:38.039 --> 00:37:38.920
bring in more people.

679
00:37:38.920 --> 00:37:41.599
Okay, and so you start thinking that way. I'm not

680
00:37:41.719 --> 00:37:42.519
saying it's right.

681
00:37:42.679 --> 00:37:45.440
I'm just saying I can understand it, because, whether we

682
00:37:45.599 --> 00:37:48.760
like it or not, the church is a business. Do

683
00:37:48.840 --> 00:37:50.800
I need to go back and show you how much

684
00:37:50.840 --> 00:37:54.599
it takes to run an average sized church, the budget,

685
00:37:54.599 --> 00:38:02.480
We went through all of the numbers. It's sad when

686
00:38:02.480 --> 00:38:03.000
that happens.

687
00:38:03.079 --> 00:38:04.039
Let me make it very clear.

688
00:38:04.119 --> 00:38:07.280
I'm not seeing it's you got a ministry, would not

689
00:38:07.320 --> 00:38:10.360
worry about the money ministry. But yet so much of

690
00:38:10.360 --> 00:38:12.679
the church, as much as we want to see it's ministry.

691
00:38:14.519 --> 00:38:17.280
I mean, it's an industry. It's money. It's like, we

692
00:38:17.400 --> 00:38:19.239
got to bring in this much, this much goes on.

693
00:38:19.599 --> 00:38:20.519
How much does it?

694
00:38:20.639 --> 00:38:20.880
Again?

695
00:38:21.320 --> 00:38:23.159
I keep telling you guys to do this.

696
00:38:23.480 --> 00:38:26.960
Find out how much it costs yearly just to keep

697
00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:28.039
your church open.

698
00:38:29.079 --> 00:38:30.519
And then what are you getting from that?

699
00:38:30.559 --> 00:38:31.039
Well, guess what.

700
00:38:31.480 --> 00:38:33.920
Once you see how much it takes, then look at

701
00:38:33.920 --> 00:38:37.480
the average age of your congregation. How many of those

702
00:38:37.519 --> 00:38:39.800
are going to be present in ten years, Well, then

703
00:38:39.840 --> 00:38:44.639
what happens to your money? As they've gotten older? Do

704
00:38:44.679 --> 00:38:48.719
they show up as many services? Are they volunteering? In

705
00:38:48.719 --> 00:38:53.760
many cases their involvement engagement has dropped only because of

706
00:38:53.800 --> 00:38:56.480
their health and because of their age. It makes perfect sense.

707
00:38:56.639 --> 00:38:59.280
So then what do you do. You've got to then

708
00:38:59.360 --> 00:39:00.159
bring in that.

709
00:39:00.280 --> 00:39:00.480
I know.

710
00:39:00.719 --> 00:39:02.199
I'm not saying it's right.

711
00:39:02.400 --> 00:39:08.159
I'm saying it's the reality of having buildings and programs

712
00:39:08.480 --> 00:39:12.119
and staff that cost a certain amount of money per year,

713
00:39:12.760 --> 00:39:14.920
or something's going to be in trouble.

714
00:39:19.320 --> 00:39:22.679
That only works until the next new guy in town

715
00:39:24.440 --> 00:39:31.519
has bigger balloons, bigger kites, bigger bicycles, bigger giveaways, bigger

716
00:39:31.599 --> 00:39:35.480
smoke machines, more flashing lights, a better band and a

717
00:39:35.519 --> 00:39:43.159
better drummer. You cannot build a church on social issues.

718
00:39:43.239 --> 00:39:47.039
It's got to be on the Bible, staying true to

719
00:39:47.119 --> 00:39:50.559
the things you know that are right, having respect for

720
00:39:50.719 --> 00:39:52.400
all that's brought us here.

721
00:39:52.719 --> 00:39:54.079
And so it's with that in mind.

722
00:39:56.960 --> 00:40:01.480
And uh, I want to read just one verse of

723
00:40:01.519 --> 00:40:04.760
Ezekiel forty seven and then we'll get into this today.

724
00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:08.559
Okay, Ezequel forty seven.

725
00:40:08.599 --> 00:40:12.400
Okay, remember what AI had predicted that the text will

726
00:40:12.400 --> 00:40:15.199
be primarily the text will be Ezequel forty seven one

727
00:40:15.280 --> 00:40:19.039
through twelve. He's only gonna read one verse. He's only

728
00:40:19.039 --> 00:40:23.719
gonna read one verse. Oh I, oh boy, okay, this

729
00:40:23.800 --> 00:40:25.360
is already all right.

730
00:40:25.480 --> 00:40:26.559
Let's go to Ezekiel.

731
00:40:26.719 --> 00:40:29.000
Oh, here we go. Oh man.

732
00:40:29.400 --> 00:40:31.719
That when when someone's gonna go to a passage like

733
00:40:31.880 --> 00:40:35.280
Isaiah or Ezekiel, pretty much anywhere in the Old teven,

734
00:40:35.280 --> 00:40:40.519
we're like, I'm only gonna read one verse. I have

735
00:40:40.599 --> 00:40:44.519
a hermeneutical disaster is fast approaching at that At that point,

736
00:40:44.760 --> 00:40:47.400
like if I'm sitting in the congregation, what I want

737
00:40:47.400 --> 00:40:49.039
to do is if I had one of those like

738
00:40:49.119 --> 00:40:51.559
you know, tornado warning sirens.

739
00:40:51.639 --> 00:40:54.880
I mean, dad, I don't even know what that is.

740
00:40:54.920 --> 00:40:55.840
I can't make the right sound.

741
00:40:55.840 --> 00:40:58.960
Okay, but start making an alarm sound, because it's to

742
00:40:59.000 --> 00:41:03.000
me that's telling me we have a hermoneutical disaster, fast

743
00:41:03.039 --> 00:41:05.559
approaching hermoneutical disaster fast.

744
00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:06.280
I could be.

745
00:41:06.320 --> 00:41:08.280
Wrong, but that's what I feel when I'm like, we're

746
00:41:08.280 --> 00:41:12.039
gonna go to Ezekiel and read one verse, okay, all right,

747
00:41:12.199 --> 00:41:13.679
and then we're gonna have a sermon.

748
00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:16.280
All right, all right, here we go. What was that sound.

749
00:41:16.960 --> 00:41:19.880
I don't even sound like a wolf dying. I don't

750
00:41:19.880 --> 00:41:20.480
know what that was.

751
00:41:20.519 --> 00:41:25.800
Okay, I should not note to sell five load sounds.

752
00:41:27.039 --> 00:41:30.400
Load sounds into my studio software so that I can

753
00:41:30.440 --> 00:41:34.000
play an actual air warnings, an air raid siren or

754
00:41:34.000 --> 00:41:35.280
a tornado warning siren.

755
00:41:35.440 --> 00:41:37.280
Right, okay, here we go.

756
00:41:39.679 --> 00:41:43.159
I'll let you stay seated, Ezekiel forty seven to one. Afterward,

757
00:41:43.840 --> 00:41:46.320
he brought me again under the door of the house,

758
00:41:46.400 --> 00:41:49.199
and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of

759
00:41:49.239 --> 00:41:52.440
the door eastward. For the forefront of the house stood

760
00:41:52.519 --> 00:41:55.239
toward the east, and the waters came down from under

761
00:41:55.280 --> 00:41:58.320
the right side of the house at the south side

762
00:41:58.559 --> 00:42:01.280
of the altar. Lord bless her time in the scriptures,

763
00:42:02.199 --> 00:42:04.599
bless our day to day in Jesus' name.

764
00:42:04.800 --> 00:42:08.360
Amen, So what's actually going on?

765
00:42:08.480 --> 00:42:14.800
The children of Israel, God's chosen people, blessed and supernaturally blessed.

766
00:42:15.519 --> 00:42:19.039
But Boy, God brings them in to the land of Canaan.

767
00:42:19.199 --> 00:42:21.760
He says, I'm gonna give you seed and land.

768
00:42:21.960 --> 00:42:22.800
Seed and land.

769
00:42:23.199 --> 00:42:26.440
You're gonna have a perpetual seed, a king on the throne.

770
00:42:26.880 --> 00:42:30.360
I'm gonna give you houses you didn't build, and vineyards

771
00:42:30.360 --> 00:42:33.679
you didn't plant, and houses that you didn't make, and

772
00:42:33.719 --> 00:42:36.159
I'm gonna let you live in the land of can

773
00:42:36.239 --> 00:42:39.039
And I'm gonna kick out the Gurgoshites and the high

774
00:42:39.079 --> 00:42:41.440
Fights and the Jypuzites and all the eight Boys.

775
00:42:41.480 --> 00:42:42.679
I'm kicking them out.

776
00:42:42.800 --> 00:42:47.760
Because they're pagan, because they're worshiping idols, because they're sacrificing

777
00:42:47.800 --> 00:42:53.199
their babies to Molach, because they're abject pagans. And I'm

778
00:42:53.239 --> 00:42:56.239
gonna get them out, and I'm gonna give you an inheritance.

779
00:42:57.159 --> 00:43:01.360
And they says, but I'm no respect to a person's If.

780
00:43:01.159 --> 00:43:06.079
You sin the way they sinned, then I'm gonna kick

781
00:43:06.159 --> 00:43:08.960
you out too. I'm not gonna put up with that.

782
00:43:08.960 --> 00:43:12.519
That's brought my judgment once, it'll bring my judgment again.

783
00:43:12.599 --> 00:43:13.480
Don't think you're.

784
00:43:13.320 --> 00:43:15.000
Any special anything.

785
00:43:16.599 --> 00:43:21.480
And so sure enough, the children of Issuel, they're lusting

786
00:43:21.559 --> 00:43:24.719
after why can't we have the leaks and garlics of Egypt?

787
00:43:25.039 --> 00:43:28.639
And they complain, how come we have to just eat manna?

788
00:43:28.960 --> 00:43:31.679
And so it gives them coil to come out their nostrils,

789
00:43:31.679 --> 00:43:34.039
and then hey, you probably brought us out here to

790
00:43:34.920 --> 00:43:37.440
die in the wilderness. And God brings them into the

791
00:43:37.480 --> 00:43:40.559
Promised Land and sure enough they're in there. And he said,

792
00:43:40.599 --> 00:43:45.559
now listen, don't number to yourself horses, and trust in

793
00:43:45.599 --> 00:43:49.559
your own strength, or I'm not gonna put up with it.

794
00:43:50.079 --> 00:43:53.039
And whatever you do, don't marry outlandish women. You're the

795
00:43:53.159 --> 00:43:56.119
chosen seed and the bloodline of the future Messiah, and

796
00:43:56.679 --> 00:44:00.000
you can't. Don't you go marrying all those pagan women,

797
00:44:00.199 --> 00:44:04.079
because they'll lean your hearts away and you'll start offering

798
00:44:04.159 --> 00:44:10.519
sacrifices to Bail. And whatever you do, don't.

799
00:44:09.960 --> 00:44:12.639
Don't don't sin the way they sin.

800
00:44:14.159 --> 00:44:17.000
Well, of course, by the time you get they're in

801
00:44:17.079 --> 00:44:22.440
there for a while, and now they're lusting after evil things,

802
00:44:22.559 --> 00:44:27.639
and they're worshiping Bail and their sacrificing their babies to Molech,

803
00:44:27.760 --> 00:44:32.079
and they've married all these pagan women, and they're building

804
00:44:32.119 --> 00:44:37.719
idols for their gods, and God says, okay, Bank, Bank, Bank, Bank.

805
00:44:38.719 --> 00:44:41.760
The Assyrians are gonna come, The Babylonians are gonna come,

806
00:44:41.800 --> 00:44:43.239
the Keldians are gonna come.

807
00:44:43.559 --> 00:44:46.000
And when the King of Babylon comes.

808
00:44:46.000 --> 00:44:50.119
You may as well surrender to resist his feudal I've

809
00:44:50.159 --> 00:44:55.119
already pronounced judgment. You're going into bondage. And so they

810
00:44:55.599 --> 00:45:00.280
got mad at Ezekiel and Jeremiah. Hey, hey, you didn't

811
00:45:00.320 --> 00:45:03.719
tell us not to resist, And they said, look, the

812
00:45:03.800 --> 00:45:06.480
time has passed. You guys did what you did? You

813
00:45:06.599 --> 00:45:08.440
got this coming, You're getting spanked.

814
00:45:09.039 --> 00:45:09.559
It's over.

815
00:45:12.119 --> 00:45:15.159
Hey, I got I got nothing but respect here, right,

816
00:45:15.280 --> 00:45:17.159
I mean, the beginning of this has been a disaster.

817
00:45:17.320 --> 00:45:20.480
But this is he's giving at least the overview, the

818
00:45:20.760 --> 00:45:21.800
historical overview.

819
00:45:21.840 --> 00:45:23.719
He's providing some context.

820
00:45:23.800 --> 00:45:26.119
So I look, that's better than some of the pastors

821
00:45:26.159 --> 00:45:29.719
have done in Isaiah forty to fifty five. Right, they

822
00:45:29.719 --> 00:45:33.360
may their little historical overview is about three seconds and

823
00:45:33.400 --> 00:45:36.840
immediately it's us us. He read the text and immediately

824
00:45:36.840 --> 00:45:40.039
went to about Israel, So I got he didn't. He

825
00:45:40.039 --> 00:45:42.239
hasn't even mentioned us yet, and all of this he's

826
00:45:42.280 --> 00:45:45.199
been talking about them. Now, I would just once again

827
00:45:45.280 --> 00:45:48.719
point out, just for theological consistency and to make this

828
00:45:48.760 --> 00:45:50.800
point over and over and over, since others don't.

829
00:45:51.280 --> 00:45:55.360
This entire story of Israel's failure, failure, failure, failure, failure.

830
00:45:55.239 --> 00:45:57.719
Is not there to demonstrate that we need to do better,

831
00:45:57.920 --> 00:46:00.639
because the issue is why did they fail well? Because

832
00:46:00.639 --> 00:46:03.960
they were still sinners. Guess what, we still fail because

833
00:46:04.000 --> 00:46:07.199
whether we're Israel. Whether we're the Church, it doesn't matter.

834
00:46:07.400 --> 00:46:10.000
We cannot keep God's law. We will always be in

835
00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:12.480
a perpetual state of failure. So what is the solution

836
00:46:12.760 --> 00:46:15.480
to do better, try harder? Well, nobody's ever going to

837
00:46:15.519 --> 00:46:17.840
do it. Israel didn't do it in all of their time.

838
00:46:18.000 --> 00:46:20.119
The Church hasn't done it in two thousand years. He's

839
00:46:20.119 --> 00:46:23.559
already talked about all the problems in churches. Nobody obeys.

840
00:46:23.760 --> 00:46:24.679
So what's the solution?

841
00:46:25.079 --> 00:46:30.440
Faith in Christ's imputed righteousness, imputed righteousness to declare us

842
00:46:30.440 --> 00:46:32.480
to be that which we are not in practice.

843
00:46:32.480 --> 00:46:35.800
Okay, But so I love the fact that he's at

844
00:46:35.880 --> 00:46:36.840
least giving the history.

845
00:46:37.719 --> 00:46:40.599
Now what is he gonna do then with Isaiah? With

846
00:46:40.679 --> 00:46:42.079
Ezekul forty seven to one?

847
00:46:42.320 --> 00:46:44.840
If he's only gonna read one verse, I'm a little nervous.

848
00:46:44.880 --> 00:46:45.480
Let's find out.

849
00:46:48.880 --> 00:46:52.199
If you resist, they're gonna lay siege to Jerusalem, and

850
00:46:52.280 --> 00:46:56.039
you're gonna be eating your children, and you're gonna.

851
00:46:55.800 --> 00:46:58.920
Be eating dune, and you're gonna regret this.

852
00:47:01.199 --> 00:47:04.280
You may as well just surrender. So they put Jeremiah

853
00:47:04.320 --> 00:47:08.280
in prison. Hey, why would you talk like that? The

854
00:47:08.280 --> 00:47:14.039
boy got tough, and pretty soon they're eating their children,

855
00:47:16.039 --> 00:47:17.760
and I'm saying it's a warning.

856
00:47:18.039 --> 00:47:19.840
God still judges sin.

857
00:47:21.199 --> 00:47:30.800
But during Ezekiel's time of prophesying in chapter three, he says, hey, hey, look,

858
00:47:31.119 --> 00:47:34.360
son of man, I've set you as a watchman, and

859
00:47:34.480 --> 00:47:40.960
if if you don't warn them, they're gonna die in

860
00:47:41.039 --> 00:47:43.440
their sin. But I'm going to require their blood at

861
00:47:43.440 --> 00:47:46.119
your hand. You were set as a watchman.

862
00:47:46.519 --> 00:47:47.119
To warn them.

863
00:47:47.159 --> 00:47:50.159
You get to chapter thirty three and he says, son

864
00:47:50.239 --> 00:47:52.920
a man, look, I've set you a watchman to the

865
00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:57.159
house of Israel, and I want you to preach it

866
00:47:57.239 --> 00:48:01.920
straight to them. And if you don't, hey, they're still

867
00:48:01.960 --> 00:48:04.760
going to pay for their sin, but I'm going to

868
00:48:04.840 --> 00:48:09.480
require their blood at your hands. And it kind of

869
00:48:09.559 --> 00:48:15.480
sends a message. God still judges sin, but he still

870
00:48:15.559 --> 00:48:19.920
has his remnant to stand for the truth. And whether

871
00:48:19.960 --> 00:48:24.880
it's popular or not, whether it's received or not, doesn't matter.

872
00:48:25.480 --> 00:48:28.599
We have a responsibility to be a watchman.

873
00:48:29.840 --> 00:48:34.639
And so when you get to chapter forty seven, what's

874
00:48:34.679 --> 00:48:38.599
actually happened in the Book of Ezekiel is this has been.

875
00:48:38.559 --> 00:48:50.000
Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad and bad.

876
00:48:53.480 --> 00:48:58.440
And here's a ribbon of hope. It doesn't have to

877
00:48:58.519 --> 00:49:02.920
be this way. It's not forever going to be this way.

878
00:49:04.599 --> 00:49:11.239
This is regrettable. This is the future God. Still, God,

879
00:49:11.599 --> 00:49:14.280
there's still some wonderful things that are going to happen.

880
00:49:14.880 --> 00:49:18.320
And then we have what's actually happening here is the

881
00:49:18.320 --> 00:49:22.360
prophecy of the Millennial Kingdom and how God's going to

882
00:49:22.440 --> 00:49:23.320
restore Israel.

883
00:49:25.960 --> 00:49:29.360
Oh wait, now he's acknowledging this is dealing with the

884
00:49:29.400 --> 00:49:32.800
Millennial Kingdom and that God's going to restore Israel. Now

885
00:49:33.000 --> 00:49:36.599
I got no problem accepting that, right, Like, when how

886
00:49:36.760 --> 00:49:39.800
is Israel going to stop being doing all of these things? Well,

887
00:49:39.800 --> 00:49:41.920
then you go to the promise of the New Covenant

888
00:49:42.000 --> 00:49:44.880
where God promises them He's going to give Israel a

889
00:49:44.920 --> 00:49:46.599
new heart. And what's going to be the result of

890
00:49:46.639 --> 00:49:49.159
their new heart. They are no longer going to walk

891
00:49:49.159 --> 00:49:52.639
in idolatry. They are going to obey. Well, that's never occurred,

892
00:49:52.840 --> 00:49:55.920
never has occurred, It's going to occur. And then, because

893
00:49:55.920 --> 00:49:57.599
then what happens when they get the new heart, then

894
00:49:57.639 --> 00:49:59.360
they get the land, So that all has to be

895
00:49:59.400 --> 00:50:00.320
future unless.

896
00:50:00.159 --> 00:50:01.159
Spiritualize all of it.

897
00:50:02.119 --> 00:50:04.719
So I love the fact that he's omitting this, but

898
00:50:04.800 --> 00:50:07.719
I have a strong feeling that this is getting ready

899
00:50:07.760 --> 00:50:09.119
to radically change.

900
00:50:08.840 --> 00:50:10.000
And become about us.

901
00:50:10.199 --> 00:50:13.079
I have a strong even though he's acknowledging what it's

902
00:50:13.239 --> 00:50:16.559
actually about, he's gonna then make it about something that

903
00:50:16.639 --> 00:50:20.159
he's already acknowledged it's not about. Which is the height

904
00:50:20.440 --> 00:50:23.320
that even makes the hermeneutical error even worse. If you

905
00:50:23.400 --> 00:50:26.760
say this passage is actually about this, but I'm gonna

906
00:50:26.760 --> 00:50:29.039
make it about this, I have no textual basis for

907
00:50:29.159 --> 00:50:31.360
doing so, but it will make for a good sermon.

908
00:50:31.679 --> 00:50:33.760
That's a problem. I think that's where this is about

909
00:50:33.760 --> 00:50:36.000
to go, and.

910
00:50:36.039 --> 00:50:40.480
How God still has a place for his chosen people.

911
00:50:41.159 --> 00:50:44.239
And I'm just kind of remarking here today when we

912
00:50:44.360 --> 00:50:47.719
waltz into chapter forty seven or one chapter away from

913
00:50:47.760 --> 00:50:51.480
the end of Ezekiel, and I just feel kind of like,

914
00:50:52.519 --> 00:50:54.599
sorry for Ezekiel.

915
00:50:54.639 --> 00:50:55.880
What kind of a message.

916
00:50:56.079 --> 00:50:59.519
You guys are getting spanked and you had it coming,

917
00:50:59.599 --> 00:51:01.639
And if you do you think it's bad now, it's

918
00:51:01.639 --> 00:51:03.079
gonna get worse tomorrow.

919
00:51:03.360 --> 00:51:04.920
And boy, don't cry. Now.

920
00:51:05.079 --> 00:51:07.679
You guys were warned, you were told, you were told,

921
00:51:07.920 --> 00:51:08.800
and now luck.

922
00:51:08.719 --> 00:51:10.679
This is what happens. This is what happened.

923
00:51:11.039 --> 00:51:14.280
And I'm saying that's pretty tough plowing when you got

924
00:51:14.280 --> 00:51:18.840
that kind of message to preach, But what a blessing

925
00:51:18.920 --> 00:51:21.480
to get to the end and say, now, God still

926
00:51:21.519 --> 00:51:25.199
got a plan, and Israel's gonna flourish like a vine,

927
00:51:25.320 --> 00:51:29.039
and God's gonna bless the nation again and still use you.

928
00:51:29.599 --> 00:51:32.760
And so all through the Bible there are.

929
00:51:32.679 --> 00:51:38.199
These stern warnings, stern warnings, stern warnings, proclamations of judgment

930
00:51:38.280 --> 00:51:41.760
on sin and all of that, But all through it

931
00:51:41.800 --> 00:51:51.320
there's these ribbons of blessings. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. It

932
00:51:51.519 --> 00:51:55.400
never just leaves you high and dry, it never leaves

933
00:51:55.440 --> 00:52:00.239
you hopeless and despairing. It's always, hey, God still on

934
00:52:00.280 --> 00:52:05.000
the throne. God's still on the throne. And so I

935
00:52:05.079 --> 00:52:09.800
love that part of the Bible that kind of bolsters us.

936
00:52:10.239 --> 00:52:14.400
It's stern warnings, but it's hey, let's keep our eyes

937
00:52:14.440 --> 00:52:17.199
on the Lord. Let's not lose hope or lose sight

938
00:52:17.280 --> 00:52:20.760
of what's actually going on in the big picture. God's

939
00:52:20.800 --> 00:52:23.800
still on the throne. He still got his shingle out,

940
00:52:24.039 --> 00:52:28.639
He's still in the God business, and we can come

941
00:52:28.679 --> 00:52:30.119
to him as a living stone.

942
00:52:31.039 --> 00:52:32.960
He's still doing what God does.

943
00:52:34.119 --> 00:52:37.039
And so it's with that in mind we get to

944
00:52:37.119 --> 00:52:44.679
this Ezekiel forty seven passage, and just the first ten verses,

945
00:52:44.760 --> 00:52:48.239
and it says verse one, afterward, he brought me again

946
00:52:48.360 --> 00:52:51.239
under the door of the house. So this is after

947
00:52:51.360 --> 00:52:56.360
all the prophesying, And behold, waters issue off from under

948
00:52:56.400 --> 00:52:59.360
the threshold of the house eastwards. This is this is

949
00:52:59.400 --> 00:53:04.159
the temple that God's showing him toward the east. And

950
00:53:04.199 --> 00:53:06.239
the waters came down from under the right side of

951
00:53:06.280 --> 00:53:08.719
the house, at the south side of the altar. Then

952
00:53:08.800 --> 00:53:11.559
brought me out of the way of the gate northward

953
00:53:12.039 --> 00:53:16.039
and led me about the way without under the utter gate,

954
00:53:16.119 --> 00:53:19.280
by the way that looketh eastward. And behold, there ran

955
00:53:19.360 --> 00:53:22.880
out waters on the right side. So he's showing him,

956
00:53:22.920 --> 00:53:25.519
takes them around the house, and then says, look at

957
00:53:25.559 --> 00:53:28.280
what's coming out from under that door. So here comes

958
00:53:28.280 --> 00:53:30.719
this water out from under the door of the temple.

959
00:53:31.480 --> 00:53:35.400
Now watch, And when the man that had the line

960
00:53:35.440 --> 00:53:39.320
in his hand Verse three went forth eastward, he measured

961
00:53:39.320 --> 00:53:42.159
a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters,

962
00:53:42.199 --> 00:53:47.760
and the waters were to the ankles. Again, he measured

963
00:53:47.800 --> 00:53:51.239
a thousand and brought me through the waters. The waters

964
00:53:51.280 --> 00:53:55.320
were to the knees. Again, he measured a thousand and

965
00:53:55.400 --> 00:53:59.800
brought me through. The waters were to the loins. Afterward

966
00:53:59.880 --> 00:54:02.639
he measured a thousand, and it was a river that

967
00:54:02.760 --> 00:54:07.280
I could not pass over, for the waters worth risen

968
00:54:07.719 --> 00:54:10.480
waters to swim in a river that could not be

969
00:54:10.559 --> 00:54:13.519
passed over. And he said, unto me, son a man,

970
00:54:13.880 --> 00:54:17.360
hast thou seen this. Then he brought me and caused

971
00:54:17.400 --> 00:54:19.599
me to return to the brink of the river. Now,

972
00:54:19.599 --> 00:54:23.039
when I had returned, behold at the bank of the river,

973
00:54:23.199 --> 00:54:26.480
where very many trees on one side and on the other.

974
00:54:27.239 --> 00:54:30.400
Then said he under me, These waters issue out of

975
00:54:30.440 --> 00:54:35.480
the east, outward out toward the east country, and go

976
00:54:35.599 --> 00:54:38.159
down into the desert, and go into the sea, which

977
00:54:38.280 --> 00:54:42.079
being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed,

978
00:54:42.119 --> 00:54:45.199
and it shall come to pass that everything that liveth

979
00:54:45.280 --> 00:54:47.239
which moveth whithershoever.

980
00:54:46.719 --> 00:54:48.639
The river shall come, shall live.

981
00:54:48.960 --> 00:54:51.639
And there shall be a very great multitude of fish,

982
00:54:52.079 --> 00:54:55.639
because these waters shall come thither, for they shall be healed,

983
00:54:56.000 --> 00:55:01.320
and everything shall live whither the river cometh. This is

984
00:55:01.360 --> 00:55:08.000
an amazing prophecy, and this is obviously God's doing big things,

985
00:55:08.039 --> 00:55:11.480
big things, big things a lot bigger than what Ezekiel

986
00:55:11.559 --> 00:55:14.519
could see. And God shows him he says, look, I

987
00:55:14.519 --> 00:55:18.599
want you to see something. This is going to start

988
00:55:18.639 --> 00:55:21.119
out a trickle, and then it's gonna be to the

989
00:55:21.159 --> 00:55:23.639
shoe tops, and then it's gonna be the ankles. Then

990
00:55:23.679 --> 00:55:26.239
it's gonna be up to the knees. Then it's gonna

991
00:55:26.239 --> 00:55:28.400
be up to the loins. Then there's gonna be a

992
00:55:28.480 --> 00:55:33.280
river so big that nobody can walk over it. He's said,

993
00:55:33.360 --> 00:55:37.320
God's got a plan. There's something big, and that river

994
00:55:37.800 --> 00:55:41.280
everywhere goes everything that's by it. It's gonna give life

995
00:55:41.320 --> 00:55:45.280
to it. And it's a prophecy of what God's gonna

996
00:55:45.320 --> 00:55:49.119
do in the millennial kingdom, in an eternity. It's a wonderful,

997
00:55:49.159 --> 00:55:57.960
wonderful promise. The Mississippi River starts up in Minnesota. There's

998
00:55:58.000 --> 00:56:01.920
a little pond. They went up up up up the Mississippi,

999
00:56:01.960 --> 00:56:05.519
and they explored and explored, and here's a little tributary,

1000
00:56:05.559 --> 00:56:07.280
here's a creek, here's a tributary.

1001
00:56:07.679 --> 00:56:12.599
But what crick what tributary? What town could claim? This

1002
00:56:12.920 --> 00:56:13.760
is the headwaters?

1003
00:56:13.800 --> 00:56:17.239
And finally they came to what they call Lake Atasca,

1004
00:56:17.280 --> 00:56:21.679
which is about its size of this building. And there's

1005
00:56:21.719 --> 00:56:24.199
a couple of little creeks that lead into it. But

1006
00:56:24.360 --> 00:56:28.280
that Lake Itasca has a little stream that comes out

1007
00:56:28.280 --> 00:56:32.280
of it, and that's the headwaters of the Mississippi. I

1008
00:56:32.480 --> 00:56:38.719
have walked across the Mississippi River. Now, it was only

1009
00:56:38.760 --> 00:56:44.800
twenty feet wide and it was only ankle deep, but

1010
00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:49.679
I walked across me personally, somebody you know walked across

1011
00:56:50.280 --> 00:56:59.880
the Mississippi River. But just shortly the Saint Croix comes in,

1012
00:57:02.119 --> 00:57:05.599
and then the Wisconsin River comes in.

1013
00:57:08.000 --> 00:57:13.519
Well, I'm okay, obviously, now this is all I mean,

1014
00:57:13.559 --> 00:57:17.039
he's at least acknowledged the millennial aspects of this, the

1015
00:57:18.199 --> 00:57:21.559
how it's connected to eschatology. Great, now all of this

1016
00:57:21.599 --> 00:57:24.079
about the Mississippi River. Okay, he's obviously going to make

1017
00:57:24.119 --> 00:57:27.119
a point. Where is this going? Where is this going?

1018
00:57:27.400 --> 00:57:27.639
Again?

1019
00:57:27.679 --> 00:57:31.159
I'm not going to make my warning sirens sound, but

1020
00:57:31.599 --> 00:57:36.639
hermeneutical errors are. I feel like the storm clouds are building.

1021
00:57:38.039 --> 00:57:41.800
And the Black River comes in, and the Lacrosse River

1022
00:57:42.280 --> 00:57:47.639
comes in, and it cos two thousand, three hundred and

1023
00:57:47.800 --> 00:57:52.719
fifty miles. It drains water from thirty two of our

1024
00:57:52.840 --> 00:57:59.639
fifty states. The Missouri comes in there by Saint Louis,

1025
00:58:00.119 --> 00:58:02.840
and it doubles in size. All the water from the

1026
00:58:02.920 --> 00:58:09.800
Rocky Mountains. A little later, it's southern Illinois down toward Memphis.

1027
00:58:10.039 --> 00:58:13.480
Here comes the Tennessee River, the Cumberland River, the Ohio

1028
00:58:13.599 --> 00:58:16.000
River flow together, and they add.

1029
00:58:16.000 --> 00:58:16.960
You get down to the.

1030
00:58:16.880 --> 00:58:20.920
Lower Mississippi, and here comes the Arkansas River starts up

1031
00:58:20.920 --> 00:58:22.119
in Pueblo, Colorado.

1032
00:58:22.159 --> 00:58:24.519
When it comes to and it comes flooding in.

1033
00:58:24.599 --> 00:58:27.079
And then there's another Red River that comes in down

1034
00:58:27.119 --> 00:58:27.880
out of Texas.

1035
00:58:28.320 --> 00:58:30.880
And by the time you get.

1036
00:58:30.679 --> 00:58:35.400
To Saint Louis, it's a mile across, and by the

1037
00:58:35.440 --> 00:58:39.079
time you get down to the Delta, it's two miles across.

1038
00:58:40.519 --> 00:58:45.280
By the time it spills into the Gulf of Mexico,

1039
00:58:46.320 --> 00:58:51.400
why it's putting millions of gallons of water out into

1040
00:58:51.440 --> 00:58:55.199
the gulf. But it started up there in Lake Itasca.

1041
00:58:56.199 --> 00:59:01.639
And I'm saying all that because God has a way.

1042
00:59:01.719 --> 00:59:02.800
Well, he's saying all of that.

1043
00:59:02.880 --> 00:59:06.639
I will say, that's impressive. He knows the names of

1044
00:59:06.679 --> 00:59:08.840
all of that and the locations of all of that.

1045
00:59:09.519 --> 00:59:11.679
I mean, come on, I'd have to be reading that

1046
00:59:11.719 --> 00:59:14.079
from a piece of paper, so I got nothing.

1047
00:59:14.119 --> 00:59:15.960
But that's great.

1048
00:59:16.000 --> 00:59:19.239
Now he's saying all of that because God has right

1049
00:59:19.280 --> 00:59:21.039
now he's going to connect us to God somehow here

1050
00:59:21.079 --> 00:59:21.519
we go.

1051
00:59:23.679 --> 00:59:27.920
Of taking meager beginnings and making something pretty mighty out

1052
00:59:28.000 --> 00:59:30.559
of them.

1053
00:59:30.639 --> 00:59:32.960
So he's going to connect us to God has a

1054
00:59:32.960 --> 00:59:37.559
way of taking meager beginnings and making something mighty out

1055
00:59:37.599 --> 00:59:40.719
of them.

1056
00:59:40.960 --> 00:59:48.119
Okay, So I got saved and Pastor Nelson led me

1057
00:59:48.199 --> 00:59:53.280
to Christ. And our church had thirty people at the time,

1058
00:59:53.960 --> 00:59:57.760
and I think one set of teeth in the congregation,

1059
01:00:04.800 --> 01:00:08.440
and boy, we're just a handful of people. There were

1060
01:00:08.480 --> 01:00:12.719
two widow ladies, Missus Moore and Missus Wolt, and they

1061
01:00:12.719 --> 01:00:17.400
were praying that God would give a Baptist church on

1062
01:00:17.440 --> 01:00:20.280
the south side of Oshgarsh, the town of fifty thousand,

1063
01:00:21.639 --> 01:00:27.159
and so here comes Doug Caston and Howard Nelson. They

1064
01:00:27.320 --> 01:00:31.079
graduated from BBC and they're going to start a church

1065
01:00:31.159 --> 01:00:39.199
with these two ladies. After just a couple years, Doug

1066
01:00:39.280 --> 01:00:44.320
Caston's wife left him and Pastor Nelson got the church

1067
01:00:44.400 --> 01:00:48.840
and he's pastoring in nineteen sixty nine is when I

1068
01:00:48.920 --> 01:00:53.960
got saved. And there's a handful of people. But Pastor

1069
01:00:54.039 --> 01:00:58.440
Nelson is one of these unusual people.

1070
01:01:00.079 --> 01:01:02.360
So he would stand up and preach.

1071
01:01:03.960 --> 01:01:07.960
You know, I believe God wants us to reach the world.

1072
01:01:08.039 --> 01:01:10.719
Going you therefore and preach the Gospel to the whole world.

1073
01:01:11.239 --> 01:01:13.599
And so I think, right here from ours Gosh, we

1074
01:01:13.639 --> 01:01:20.599
need to be reaching the world.

1075
01:01:21.159 --> 01:01:23.320
The text was Ezekiel forty seven to one.

1076
01:01:24.119 --> 01:01:26.280
I don't know why we're talking about a church all

1077
01:01:26.320 --> 01:01:28.079
of a sudden, and if we're going to talk about

1078
01:01:28.400 --> 01:01:31.840
this started in a meager way but turning into something mighty.

1079
01:01:33.480 --> 01:01:35.599
I can think of churches that you would probably consider

1080
01:01:35.719 --> 01:01:40.280
completely fraudulent and false. Did in Mars Hill with Mark

1081
01:01:40.360 --> 01:01:44.199
Driscoll begin with like a Bible study? I remember correctly,

1082
01:01:44.239 --> 01:01:47.800
there's a lot of churches that you would be considered

1083
01:01:47.840 --> 01:01:51.679
absolutely heretical. Just because something starts small and turns big

1084
01:01:51.840 --> 01:01:55.000
does not necessarily mean it's God. Could something be big

1085
01:01:55.039 --> 01:01:57.760
and go small and actually be a work of God?

1086
01:01:58.039 --> 01:01:59.800
Is the work of God always.

1087
01:01:59.400 --> 01:02:02.119
Determined by the size, by how big it gets and

1088
01:02:02.159 --> 01:02:04.519
how many people show up? I thought we said we

1089
01:02:04.559 --> 01:02:07.320
don't judge things by numbers or okay, And what does

1090
01:02:07.360 --> 01:02:09.000
this have to do with Ezequl forty seven.

1091
01:02:09.079 --> 01:02:15.119
I have no clue, and I'm looking and that person

1092
01:02:15.239 --> 01:02:19.360
doesn't have two nickels to rub together, and that person's

1093
01:02:19.400 --> 01:02:24.000
a refugee from the salvage yard, and that person was

1094
01:02:24.159 --> 01:02:29.199
broke ten years ago. They don't have nothing. They don't

1095
01:02:29.239 --> 01:02:32.920
have nothing, they don't have nothing. This is pretty poetry

1096
01:02:32.960 --> 01:02:37.320
to start reaching the world with us. And he'd say,

1097
01:02:37.599 --> 01:02:40.360
I could see the day that we're printing bibles and

1098
01:02:40.400 --> 01:02:42.360
sending them all over the world. I could see the

1099
01:02:42.440 --> 01:02:45.039
day we're sending mysteries off the world.

1100
01:02:45.239 --> 01:02:48.760
I could see the day where we have our own airplane.

1101
01:02:50.519 --> 01:02:53.639
And I'm going I I wish we could even have

1102
01:02:53.719 --> 01:02:58.199
toilet paper in the bathroom.

1103
01:02:58.480 --> 01:03:01.280
It's the truth. It's the truth.

1104
01:03:01.760 --> 01:03:04.960
He'd lived next door in the parsonage, and if there's

1105
01:03:04.960 --> 01:03:07.800
no toilet paper in the church bathroom, they go over

1106
01:03:07.800 --> 01:03:09.760
to his house and get a roll of toilet paper

1107
01:03:09.800 --> 01:03:10.519
and bring it over.

1108
01:03:13.000 --> 01:03:16.119
So if God's gonna step in and turn this little

1109
01:03:16.199 --> 01:03:21.679
small RinkyDink thing, I'm using the word rinky d meager thaying,

1110
01:03:21.760 --> 01:03:24.360
small thing, and turns that into something mighty, because if

1111
01:03:24.360 --> 01:03:27.519
God's power, God's working, wouldn't it have been great if

1112
01:03:27.519 --> 01:03:29.719
God would have stepped in and done some mighty work

1113
01:03:29.760 --> 01:03:31.880
to save the marriage of the one of the pastors

1114
01:03:31.920 --> 01:03:37.159
whose wife left him.

1115
01:03:37.239 --> 01:03:38.519
I mean just a thought.

1116
01:03:41.559 --> 01:03:43.920
We were so poor we couldn't pay attention.

1117
01:03:45.719 --> 01:03:54.639
A pit pocket got around us and got nothing but practice.

1118
01:03:55.360 --> 01:03:59.719
And Pastor Nelson has a plaque behind his desk. Here's

1119
01:03:59.760 --> 01:04:05.360
his cares, his wall, and here's a plaque. Attend something

1120
01:04:05.639 --> 01:04:11.280
so big that unless God intervenes, it's bound to fail.

1121
01:04:14.639 --> 01:04:17.760
Every time I go in his office. That's his model.

1122
01:04:18.039 --> 01:04:20.320
Attempt something so big, then as.

1123
01:04:20.239 --> 01:04:22.280
God intervenes, it's bound to fail.

1124
01:04:24.559 --> 01:04:32.000
Like he had somehow trapped God or something. I can't

1125
01:04:32.119 --> 01:04:36.360
tell you the dozens of things he tried that failed.

1126
01:04:38.440 --> 01:04:39.280
And he was.

1127
01:04:39.280 --> 01:04:46.280
One of those inveterate optimists, and he now, we know

1128
01:04:46.400 --> 01:04:48.840
what doesn't work. We're not going to try that again.

1129
01:04:50.719 --> 01:04:54.119
Then he tried something else, and tried something else, and

1130
01:04:54.280 --> 01:04:58.320
anybody that seemed to have a good idea, hey let's

1131
01:04:58.320 --> 01:05:02.679
try that. Maybe that'll work. But well, that went up

1132
01:05:02.679 --> 01:05:08.039
in flames, that died. That didn't work, And I'm saying

1133
01:05:09.000 --> 01:05:13.199
there's something about a man that refuses to be defeated.

1134
01:05:16.079 --> 01:05:20.280
We had an exceptionally cold day Sunday coming up, and

1135
01:05:20.800 --> 01:05:26.920
Pastor Nelson says, Randy, the bus, we called it. It

1136
01:05:26.960 --> 01:05:30.119
was painted brown and white. He's called it the chocolate bus.

1137
01:05:30.599 --> 01:05:33.800
Plugged the chocolate bus into that outlet in back of

1138
01:05:33.840 --> 01:05:38.400
the church, and uh, it's got a heater block in

1139
01:05:38.440 --> 01:05:41.239
the block, and we'll be able to start it as

1140
01:05:41.239 --> 01:05:45.440
supposed to be twenty below zero one Sunday Stars just

1141
01:05:45.639 --> 01:05:46.360
plugged that in.

1142
01:05:47.039 --> 01:05:48.280
Well, little did I know.

1143
01:05:49.679 --> 01:05:56.880
That the circuit that fed that outlet was also the

1144
01:05:56.920 --> 01:05:59.840
circuit that fed the baptistry heater, just like if you

1145
01:06:00.079 --> 01:06:03.599
an outlet over on this wall. And they had turned

1146
01:06:03.639 --> 01:06:07.280
the breaker off to the baptistry heater so it didn't

1147
01:06:07.280 --> 01:06:09.440
burnt out when there was no water in the baptistry,

1148
01:06:10.119 --> 01:06:14.599
and so consequently the outlet had no electricity. So we

1149
01:06:14.679 --> 01:06:19.960
got there and it is cold. It is cold, the

1150
01:06:20.000 --> 01:06:24.599
bus is cold. You turn the key, aren't nothing. I

1151
01:06:24.679 --> 01:06:27.519
go in his office. He's in this in his study,

1152
01:06:27.599 --> 01:06:30.960
trying to find a sermon, and I say, hey, the

1153
01:06:31.000 --> 01:06:35.599
bus don't start. It's there was no electricity to the breaker. Huh, well,

1154
01:06:35.599 --> 01:06:38.280
we'll have to figure out what happened there. He looks,

1155
01:06:38.360 --> 01:06:42.800
Oh the breaker was off. Well, good time to find out.

1156
01:06:42.880 --> 01:06:47.519
Now, Oh, don't worry.

1157
01:06:47.480 --> 01:06:51.400
I'm from northern Minnesota. We know how to handle these things.

1158
01:06:52.360 --> 01:06:55.400
You run out to the bus garage and get the

1159
01:06:55.559 --> 01:07:00.199
jug of gasoline. I go out, I get at the

1160
01:07:00.239 --> 01:07:04.000
jugg of gasoline he's got out of the kitchen nine

1161
01:07:04.039 --> 01:07:09.440
by eleven, cakepan nine by thirteen whatever, And he says,

1162
01:07:09.480 --> 01:07:12.599
we do this all the time up in northern Minnesota.

1163
01:07:13.079 --> 01:07:16.360
We just put some gas in a cakepan and we

1164
01:07:16.519 --> 01:07:19.599
set a match to it and we slide it under

1165
01:07:19.639 --> 01:07:23.920
the pan and that that'll warm up that oil in

1166
01:07:24.000 --> 01:07:33.039
the pan and then we can start it.

1167
01:07:34.480 --> 01:07:37.519
I'm trying to follow how this fits to Ezekiel forty

1168
01:07:37.519 --> 01:07:49.000
seven or Israel and their history, or I don't know

1169
01:07:49.039 --> 01:07:55.880
what to say here, ladies. Okay, let's just continue.

1170
01:07:56.239 --> 01:08:05.000
Sounded like a good idea at the time. We slide

1171
01:08:05.039 --> 01:08:10.559
that under. This thing is but this is a splash

1172
01:08:10.639 --> 01:08:14.880
and splatter six cylinder engine that was covered with grease

1173
01:08:14.960 --> 01:08:19.600
from the factory, and the oil on the outside of

1174
01:08:19.640 --> 01:08:24.279
the engine starts to catch fire. And now that engine

1175
01:08:24.319 --> 01:08:30.359
block is on fire, and now all the wiring harnesses

1176
01:08:30.479 --> 01:08:34.159
on fire, and the distributor cap is on fire, the

1177
01:08:34.199 --> 01:08:37.920
hoses that go to the radiator are on fire, and

1178
01:08:37.960 --> 01:08:42.359
the heater core is on fire. Now the two front

1179
01:08:42.479 --> 01:08:45.159
tires start on fire, and the whole front end of

1180
01:08:45.199 --> 01:08:47.760
the boss is going up in a sheet of flames.

1181
01:08:48.079 --> 01:08:56.319
And is this fire from the church building and he

1182
01:08:56.560 --> 01:08:59.680
incinerates the chocolate boss.

1183
01:09:05.640 --> 01:09:07.000
And he looks at me with a grin.

1184
01:09:07.039 --> 01:09:15.560
He says, Wow, we won't be using that today.

1185
01:09:17.720 --> 01:09:21.439
I mean, the story is hilarious, right, I mean I'm laughing,

1186
01:09:21.520 --> 01:09:25.279
I'm smiling, right, I mean, I mean it's hilarious. He burns.

1187
01:09:25.560 --> 01:09:27.520
I mean that's a funny story. Right.

1188
01:09:27.760 --> 01:09:30.520
I just so on one ad it's like, oh, that's great,

1189
01:09:30.760 --> 01:09:33.159
this is fine. Like I'm laughing, so like, okay, that's good.

1190
01:09:33.199 --> 01:09:35.640
That gives me a good sense because I was. But

1191
01:09:35.800 --> 01:09:38.720
at the same time, I'm just thinking, why did.

1192
01:09:38.520 --> 01:09:39.359
We review this?

1193
01:09:40.000 --> 01:09:43.920
What I say, I thought water's rising out of the temple,

1194
01:09:44.000 --> 01:09:46.520
all this will be, this will be you know, we'll

1195
01:09:46.520 --> 01:09:50.439
get into a hermoneutical discussion about how to handle Ezeqil

1196
01:09:50.560 --> 01:09:52.880
forty seven, because that's where I figured we would go, right.

1197
01:09:55.720 --> 01:09:59.159
I can't offer any hermoneutical discussion here. I can't even

1198
01:09:59.199 --> 01:10:02.520
offer a theological discussion here. I can't offer any interpretive

1199
01:10:02.520 --> 01:10:05.760
discussion here because I don't know what is even happening

1200
01:10:05.840 --> 01:10:08.359
right now.

1201
01:10:10.479 --> 01:10:14.520
And never again, they won't even told this stinking thing

1202
01:10:14.640 --> 01:10:17.680
off of here, this carcass. Well, maybe you'll call some

1203
01:10:17.720 --> 01:10:19.880
people have him picked up the kids in their cars,

1204
01:10:21.279 --> 01:10:26.319
which I did. And I'm saying, it wasn't that we

1205
01:10:26.399 --> 01:10:31.159
didn't have problems. Do you understand It isn't like everything.

1206
01:10:32.800 --> 01:10:33.880
But don't you know.

1207
01:10:35.600 --> 01:10:40.439
God had a way of people would get saved and

1208
01:10:40.600 --> 01:10:44.399
people would surrender to the ministry, and hey, why.

1209
01:10:44.119 --> 01:10:45.600
Don't we start.

1210
01:10:46.039 --> 01:10:51.039
Supporting this missionary. So he says, any man of God

1211
01:10:51.079 --> 01:10:52.920
that comes through here, we're going to give him two

1212
01:10:53.039 --> 01:10:57.479
hundred dollars. If they don't preach, we at least want

1213
01:10:57.479 --> 01:10:59.039
to get him out of town so they can get

1214
01:10:59.079 --> 01:10:59.920
to the next place.

1215
01:11:00.720 --> 01:11:02.479
So, if a man of God comes through here, will

1216
01:11:02.520 --> 01:11:03.760
you give them two hundred dollars.

1217
01:11:04.840 --> 01:11:07.800
Then he says, hey, there has to be a premium

1218
01:11:07.800 --> 01:11:08.760
on a man of God.

1219
01:11:09.720 --> 01:11:11.960
God will bless us if we bless preachers.

1220
01:11:11.960 --> 01:11:14.760
So let's and so they set a minimum of what

1221
01:11:14.800 --> 01:11:18.399
they'd give to any guest preacher. And then it was hey,

1222
01:11:18.600 --> 01:11:24.079
let's support missionaries. And a missionary come through and hey, well,

1223
01:11:24.479 --> 01:11:27.359
well change oil in your van.

1224
01:11:27.560 --> 01:11:31.520
Hey we'll help you with this and that. But there's

1225
01:11:31.600 --> 01:11:34.680
something about you get what you honor.

1226
01:11:36.039 --> 01:11:39.159
When you honor men of God, when you honor the ministry.

1227
01:11:40.520 --> 01:11:43.560
All of a sudden, the young people say Hey, it'd

1228
01:11:43.560 --> 01:11:46.119
be wonderful to be in the ministry. It'd be wonderful

1229
01:11:46.159 --> 01:11:48.279
to walk by faith. It'd be wonderful to see the

1230
01:11:48.319 --> 01:11:52.960
God of all the universe provide for me too. And

1231
01:11:53.039 --> 01:11:56.279
one by one, different ones surrendered to the ministry. One

1232
01:11:56.319 --> 01:12:01.680
by one, different ones launched into ministries. Can you imagine.

1233
01:12:01.840 --> 01:12:05.920
I can see the day that we have our own

1234
01:12:06.000 --> 01:12:10.319
print shop and print the bibles. And now this last

1235
01:12:10.399 --> 01:12:14.399
year we printed Bibles in twenty eight different languages.

1236
01:12:16.800 --> 01:12:19.600
I can see the day that the building's paid for.

1237
01:12:20.399 --> 01:12:24.640
We build a building and burn the mortgage, and Pastor

1238
01:12:24.680 --> 01:12:28.079
Nelson used to see it. I can see the day

1239
01:12:28.479 --> 01:12:31.600
that our elderly all come in and put bibles together.

1240
01:12:31.840 --> 01:12:34.720
Why should they sit in a nursing home and knit

1241
01:12:34.920 --> 01:12:38.960
Macromee necklaces and all that stuff and potholders. Why don't

1242
01:12:38.960 --> 01:12:43.720
they come do something for God in their latter years.

1243
01:12:44.199 --> 01:12:52.760
I'm saying he had vision for what could be done.

1244
01:12:52.920 --> 01:12:54.720
I have no idea what this has to do with

1245
01:12:54.760 --> 01:13:01.960
Ezekiel forty seven. I I mean, at some point I

1246
01:13:01.960 --> 01:13:15.640
got to wrap this up, but I I don't know

1247
01:13:15.680 --> 01:13:16.439
what to say.

1248
01:13:17.960 --> 01:13:24.319
And he was not distracted by the facts. We didn't

1249
01:13:24.319 --> 01:13:27.920
have the capacity to do this stuff. But now we

1250
01:13:28.000 --> 01:13:32.359
have an airplane hangar, and now we have several airplanes,

1251
01:13:32.399 --> 01:13:35.960
and now we have repair crews going out and fixing

1252
01:13:36.279 --> 01:13:41.119
airplanes in Cameroon and Alaska and Peru. And now we

1253
01:13:41.199 --> 01:13:44.920
have young guys surrendering to mission aviation training.

1254
01:13:45.000 --> 01:13:46.840
And all of this, all of this.

1255
01:13:48.359 --> 01:13:51.239
From a pastor that says, attempt something so big that

1256
01:13:51.319 --> 01:13:55.880
the list God intervenes, it's bound to fail. And me,

1257
01:13:56.159 --> 01:13:59.920
I have to admit I'm the ultimate cynic. He was

1258
01:14:00.159 --> 01:14:03.159
the vision guy. I was the detailed guy. Well, what

1259
01:14:03.319 --> 01:14:08.319
are we gonna We're at camp. We're playing a game

1260
01:14:08.359 --> 01:14:10.960
at camp. We got this great big ball. We're gonna

1261
01:14:10.960 --> 01:14:14.159
have capture the flag or whatever it is. And boy,

1262
01:14:14.640 --> 01:14:17.680
we have five guys from this team and five guys

1263
01:14:17.720 --> 01:14:20.239
from that team run at the six foot ball. And

1264
01:14:20.840 --> 01:14:23.439
these guys get there early, and these guys are caught

1265
01:14:23.520 --> 01:14:30.720
mid stride and they go flying broken arms, broken, classical,

1266
01:14:30.880 --> 01:14:35.279
broken jaw. And then he says, Randy, did you get

1267
01:14:35.319 --> 01:14:41.279
insurance for this week of camp or not? Well, actually no, no,

1268
01:14:41.279 --> 01:14:45.960
nobody got insurance. Well, then we're probably the doctors won't

1269
01:14:46.000 --> 01:14:48.800
treat these kids here at the clinic. We're gonna do

1270
01:14:49.720 --> 01:14:52.800
you have records of their parents' phone number? There was

1271
01:14:52.840 --> 01:14:56.520
no cell phones, And I'm saying a lot of times

1272
01:14:56.680 --> 01:14:59.840
vision guys, there aren't detailed guys.

1273
01:15:01.479 --> 01:15:06.680
But I'm saying to you, I believe this. Last year.

1274
01:15:08.039 --> 01:15:12.199
Last year, we went through three and a half million

1275
01:15:12.359 --> 01:15:18.800
dollars for missions from that group of people that couldn't

1276
01:15:18.800 --> 01:15:23.399
afford to go to the dentist. And I'm saying God

1277
01:15:23.520 --> 01:15:27.960
has a way. When I read this, Hey, hey God,

1278
01:15:28.199 --> 01:15:29.800
what starts out is a trickle.

1279
01:15:29.920 --> 01:15:32.079
God can bless, God can multiply.

1280
01:15:34.319 --> 01:15:37.079
Literally, ezequal forty seven has nothing to do with what

1281
01:15:37.119 --> 01:15:41.239
he's talking about. Literally has nothing to do with what

1282
01:15:41.279 --> 01:15:43.640
he's talking is zero to what he's talking about. We're

1283
01:15:43.640 --> 01:15:45.279
going to wrap this up here in a second.

1284
01:15:46.399 --> 01:15:49.000
And then it can give life to wherever it goes,

1285
01:15:49.680 --> 01:15:51.840
and it won't have to be on that scale or

1286
01:15:51.880 --> 01:15:56.439
the same things. But God will honor your faithful preaching,

1287
01:15:57.359 --> 01:16:02.880
your support of missionaries, encouraging young people to go toward ministry.

1288
01:16:03.399 --> 01:16:09.800
You watch how God blesses and multiplies and increases your faith.

1289
01:16:10.239 --> 01:16:14.319
I've watched it my whole Christian life. It's like, can

1290
01:16:14.359 --> 01:16:18.000
you believe that God lets us do this? Can you

1291
01:16:18.159 --> 01:16:23.840
imagine what God's done in our midst There's something about

1292
01:16:25.119 --> 01:16:30.960
letting God be God, and instead of hindering, instead of doubting,

1293
01:16:31.439 --> 01:16:35.000
just saying, Lord, hey, the future could be as bright

1294
01:16:35.159 --> 01:16:38.319
as the promises of God. I believe you can bless

1295
01:16:38.439 --> 01:16:44.560
and multiply. I know we're facing challenges in the culture.

1296
01:16:45.239 --> 01:16:47.399
I'm not trusting the Republicans.

1297
01:16:47.880 --> 01:16:51.039
I know. Look, I'm glad Donald Trump got elected. I'm

1298
01:16:51.079 --> 01:16:55.560
glad more people voted conservative. But don't you ever forget.

1299
01:16:55.239 --> 01:16:59.960
The pendulum in this country goes conservative for a little bit,

1300
01:17:00.439 --> 01:17:02.640
then it goes liberal for a little bit, and it

1301
01:17:02.680 --> 01:17:05.840
goes conservative for a little bit. But every time it

1302
01:17:05.880 --> 01:17:10.479
goes conservative, it's a little less conservative, and every time

1303
01:17:10.520 --> 01:17:15.279
it goes liberal, it goes more liberal. And we have

1304
01:17:15.359 --> 01:17:21.239
the inauguration, and we have the Village People, a well

1305
01:17:21.680 --> 01:17:29.159
known homosexual band, and the YMCA is us gay guys

1306
01:17:29.239 --> 01:17:33.800
going after young men, and that's the song.

1307
01:17:35.359 --> 01:17:36.720
Oh we got a broader tent.

1308
01:17:39.000 --> 01:17:43.159
But don't think for a minute that it didn't take

1309
01:17:43.279 --> 01:17:45.399
compromise to get everybody in.

1310
01:17:47.600 --> 01:17:47.840
Wait?

1311
01:17:47.960 --> 01:17:51.600
Is he claiming that the YMCA is about grooming young

1312
01:17:51.640 --> 01:17:58.319
men for homosexuality? Now I had AI immediately looked this

1313
01:17:58.479 --> 01:18:01.000
up and Ai said, the claim about the song is

1314
01:18:01.000 --> 01:18:06.000
about grooming young men for homosexuality is factually incorrect. It

1315
01:18:06.039 --> 01:18:09.520
was originally about a social club, and later interpretations are

1316
01:18:09.560 --> 01:18:16.600
not relevant to biblical exegesus. It wasn't there a big

1317
01:18:16.640 --> 01:18:20.560
controversy about the song and then what didn't the I

1318
01:18:20.560 --> 01:18:22.760
think maybe the leader of the YMCA said that's not

1319
01:18:22.800 --> 01:18:25.560
what the song is about. It's been misinterpreted that way forever,

1320
01:18:25.640 --> 01:18:28.359
and people have interpreted it that way. So is he

1321
01:18:28.479 --> 01:18:32.560
now just giving completely fat factual error here, a completely

1322
01:18:33.119 --> 01:18:35.479
wrong information from the pullpuit. I mean that never happens

1323
01:18:35.479 --> 01:18:39.560
in Christianity, never, And I don't even know what's going

1324
01:18:39.560 --> 01:18:41.760
on in Ezequel forty seven. So ladies and gentlemen, we're

1325
01:18:41.800 --> 01:18:47.680
just going to stop right there. Oh man, I could

1326
01:18:47.720 --> 01:18:50.359
take this all apart, I could rip this all apart hermoneutically,

1327
01:18:50.399 --> 01:18:52.520
but there's no point in ripping it apart hermoneutically because

1328
01:18:52.560 --> 01:18:55.000
we didn't get anything to even talk about hermonutically. I mean,

1329
01:18:55.039 --> 01:18:57.600
this is not what Ezequel forty seven is about in

1330
01:18:57.640 --> 01:18:57.920
any way.

1331
01:18:57.960 --> 01:18:58.159
Ship.

1332
01:18:58.520 --> 01:19:08.439
It's not about you, it's not about the church. It sermons,

1333
01:19:09.159 --> 01:19:12.720
all right, I don't know what to say. Another sermon

1334
01:19:12.760 --> 01:19:17.560
review that turns into a total and complete look, you

1335
01:19:17.640 --> 01:19:19.399
draw your own conclusion of what you think it. I

1336
01:19:19.399 --> 01:19:21.720
don't know what to say. Thanks for listening. Everyone, have

1337
01:19:21.800 --> 01:19:28.359
a better Saturday than this. Man, So March is not

1338
01:19:28.520 --> 01:19:31.800
starting off any better than February ended when it comes

1339
01:19:31.800 --> 01:19:40.039
to sermon reviews, Man, I I don't, I don't, I

1340
01:19:40.079 --> 01:19:40.720
don't I do it.

1341
01:19:41.279 --> 01:19:44.079
I God bless