I’m going to ask you to stand tonight and open your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter six, um long time in this chapter, but it’s so incredibly powerful theology.
Hebrew chapter six, we move on though into this section that uh for me, I’ve titled it Wheels Up, Wheels Up.
It means, OK, we just went through all of that what the author of the book of Hebrews was saying regarding moving on from those basic elements of the understanding, which by the way, when you look at the opening throes of chapter five and six, the word is said that we’re going to now move on from those basic things of Christianity.
And he mentions the basic things of Christianity.
And if you look at them, things like becoming judgment, things like the lay on of hands, things like baptisms, things like, and he announces key doctrines of God that there’s so many of those things today that are basics in the Bible, they would be top shelf things that some churches might never get to.
That’s how far I think the church has drifted from its orthodoxy and its origins.
So when we talk about wills up right now in this portion of scripture, we’re talking about getting off the ground, taking off, getting off the ground and getting into the heavens where we belong.
By the way, somebody might say, well, you know, pastor, be careful, we can become so heavenly minded, you know that we’re no earthly good.
Oh, I wish that was our problem. That would be a great problem to have.
So I’ll begin if you would in verse seven, if you’ll pick it up in verse eight, together, we read for the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.
Yes. Being first you but beloved.
Listen to this. Now, by the way, with all that we’ve gone through over the course of these last four or five weeks in Hebrews.
Now look at verse nine but beloved. We are confident of better things concerning you. Yes.
Things that accompany salvation though we speak in this manner, right?
Uh Show, yes and you wonderful verse 11.
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end.
Yes.
And so father tonight, we pray right now tonight, somebody might say in this gathering, I don’t have an inheritance.
Well, maybe in this world we don’t but in heaven in the world to come, what has been promised to us, what you have purchased for us at the cross.
Hallelujah. That there’s no market swing that can change it. There’s no thief that can steal it.
There’s no rust that could rot it. There’s nothing that can consume it.
It’s safe in, in your heaven, in your kingdom before you’re throne.
Our salvation is secure in Christ and we will be saved only as long as Jesus lives and hallelujah, that will be forever.
So thank you Father God in Jesus name and all God’s people said, amen.
You may be seated and that’s not a risky prayer to pray.
Is there a limit to us being saved?
Well, I guess if you connect it to the fact that you’re only safe and saved so long as your great high priest lives and glory be to God that our great high priest is no one that originated on earth.
He came from heaven and he became as the book of Hebrews tells us our great high priest.
So as we get into this church wheels up, we start with this right here.
And that is that you and I, we are on our way to greater glory. Please write that down.
We are on our way as believers, followers of the Lord Jesus Christ to greater glory heaven.
We should talk about heaven more often. I don’t know why.
I don’t, I don’t know why we don’t but think about it if you have scheduled a trip.
Do you have any trips planned do you have a vacation scheduled? You, you thought about it?
You, you, you saved or you’re saving for it, or? You’re getting excited. You look and, oh, my goodness.
Two more months, oh, one more month, two more days. And you, what?
It’s a vacation and you look forward to that. Listen, as Christians, we should be talking about heaven like that.
We’re going to be there forever.
It’s going to answer everything we’ve ever needed and wanted and yearned for it and we won’t listen, we won’t be praying to Jesus in heaven.
Did you know that? Oh, by the way, there’ll be no Bible studies in heaven.
You’re gonna know it all, you know it all, you’re gonna know it all and you won’t be praying to Jesus.
You’ll be talking to Jesus. If you have a question, just go and ask him and that in between talking to Noah.
I wanna talk to Adam, what were you thinking?
Go over to even say I forgive you, you know, whatever it might be.
It’s just heaven. We don’t, we don’t think about it enough.
It’s been often said that those who have had heaven in the forefront of their thinking have done the most for those here on earth.
I think that’s a good word and heaven how to drive so much of what you and I do.
If not everything that you and I do.
So there’s no doubt about it that when we talk about wheels up as a believer.
Of course, we look forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus.
But even if we were all to die of old age, do you know how soon that will be?
Think about? Think about right now. I’m pastor. I’m only 20 years old. Yeah. Good for you.
Here’s the thing. Have you noticed by the way?
But do you remember when you were young and time seemed to drag? It was very, very demonic though.
Listen, summers, summers went by and it felt like two weeks, summer was over now back in those days when, when there was reason and logic on earth, everybody in the nation had three months off in public school at the same time and it was awesome and dub.
But those summers went by so fast and then school started and then you’re thinking, oh Lord, please me.
The school year go by as fast as summer. Did, did that happen?
No, it’s like Satan’s up there playing with some clock someplace and the whole school year seemed like it lasted four years.
One year, nine months is horrible.
And, um, you think about how timing works and where we are in this, in the age of our lives and you may be just really feeling it.
You know, I’m just young and I’m gonna take on the world and yeah, you go, that’s great.
But just know this, you’re gonna, uh, it seems to be about 21 I, I got married at 20 I think I was 21 maybe 2020 something like that.
21. I, and, um, and then, uh, time started wine and then several years later we had some babies and then, then, uh, a, a whole 12 months felt like six months.
And now at the age that I’m at right now I’m feeling like we’re in February, maybe February, but we’re almost halfway through the year.
You can, someone say amen to what I’m talking about.
It’s so weird that as you get older, time just goes by so much faster when you’re young.
I had a general a US army general.
Tell me, he said one of the policies of warfare is as old as the earth and he said it’s this, you never see a general except Washington did this, but you generals do not go out to battle out to the front lines.
They’re back, they did that before they survived.
They’re back in the command center, sipping coffee and watching the battle unfold while you send 19 year olds out to the front line.
Do you want to know why? For a lot of reasons?
But one of them is a 19 year old doesn’t believe that he’s gonna die.
Did you know that they don’t think they’re gonna die?
You have a sense that you’re invincible. Yes.
And, um, it’s an amazing thing as a believer, no matter what your age is.
Know this, that it maybe wheels up for us to fly into the heavens theologically.
But when we do land, it’s gonna be in heaven. That’s where we’re going to go down.
We’re not going to go down in the Amazon. We’re not going to go down in the Atlantic.
We’re gonna, we’re gonna land in heaven and God will see to it.
The first thing that we see you guys is in verses seven and eight and it’s this, that this glory that we’re talking about.
It’s a very practical glory. And he says here in verse seven, for the earth which drinks in the rain, we know a little bit about that.
Thank God in California. Now that often comes upon it and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, the rain comes down, the earth produces the nutrients, the rain, the soil get together and produces a crop and the person or those who cultivate it benefit from that they receive blessings from God.
We take that for granted, do we not?
I think that’s, I think we’re going to be very thankful in the future for whatever we have to eat, the way things are going.
But verse eight says, but if it bears thorns and briars, it’s rejected, can’t eat, that can enjoy that uh for two reasons.
Number one, uh there, this, this rejection of a failed crop, so to speak is near to being cursed.
And the second thing is uh its end is being burned.
So he’s issuing this, that as a believer, how should our lives be, um, marked?
How should we be graded if we’re going to do that?
Now, don’t take it the wrong way when it comes to salvation.
There’s no grade either saved or you’re not. You’re not, I’m almost saved.
Um, give me a few more weeks. That’s not how it works.
You’re, you’re either born again and your name is written down in the lamb’s book of Life and you’re going to heaven because you believe Jesus died for your sins and that he rose again from the dead for your justification.
That those two realities start in your life. A real thing called sanctification.
Sanctification is when the Holy Spirit goes to work inside the life of a real believer.
And the book of Hebrews has been teaching us and he starts a work that he will never stop until the day you meet Jesus.
And that is called sanctification. Well, sanctification, what is that?
Simply this, that he works every day in your day to day life to get you to be reflecting more of the image of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
That’s what the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can do that.
You cannot do that. A five step program to being righteous cannot do that.
It’s got to be you. And I understanding that what awaits us is glory.
We’re going to heaven. And it’s gonna be absolutely awesome in the process of that time.
Until we get there, the Holy Spirit rolls up his sleeves, so to speak. And yours too.
And as it were lives out through you, it’s called, it’s called Christianity.
The reason why I avoid using the term Christianity so often is because you see so much that it’s called Christianity.
That’s not Christianity, but I like to think of it this way.
Um Some of you are aware, some of you have seen this if not look it up later, not now.
But uh the US military has developed the exoskeleton soldier. It’s pretty awesome.
And that is where a soldier just uh steps inside of this, um coating it kind of wraps around most of it’s on his, on the back end of, of his body and covers him and there’s like a little bit of a shield.
So he kind of goes into this half, you know, like this halfway shell, so to speak, right?
Uh gets strapped in and um he can run for hours at 30 35 miles an hour.
He can uh pick up a £200 concrete block and stand and hold it like this and set it right back down.
Um He can move, he can punch or he can throw and just break things in half the skeleton.
This machine is on the outside of your human body.
Think of that in reverse where that exoskeleton.
So to speak is actually internally inside of you.
Take all of that power and all of that strength and imagine that inside of you, you look normal.
There’s no external things attached to you.
True Christianity is the Holy Spirit as it were inside of you by his power, living his life out through you.
In fact, the more that I know this sounds crazy, but the more that you and I relax, the more he’s in control, the better it is, the more that you and I stop trying to do it our way, the more he gets to do it his way.
Um Listen, when we give up worrying about stuff, then he’s free to take over those things.
And we think, no, I can’t do that. I can’t do that.
You know, like you get to the edge of the cliff or whatever it is and you’re supposed to jump, all your friends have jumped.
So you have, you have, you know, you’re going to jump because your friends have jumped and you have enough pride where, you know, you’re gonna jump but you don’t want to jump and you have a debate with yourself and you’re arguing with yourself, just jump because any pause is torture.
You ever see people go to the beach and the water is cold.
If you ever see me go to the beach, uh You will think is he, is there something wrong with him?
You wanna know why? Because if if I’m at the beach and I want to go in the water, there’s no doubt about it.
I am going to go into the water and I already know it’s gonna hurt.
This is the Pacific, not the Atlantic.
I mean, our water is cold but I want to go in the water.
So when I get, I just go, there’s no, you know, that’s torture.
Are you gonna go in the water? Yes. Then go, the clock’s ticking.
And as a Christian time is like that, are you gonna go for it? Yes.
Then go because far too many Christians are going like this.
Do you want God to use you? I do. I do, then get out there.
I, I will, I will go watch what happens.
It’s crazy because the world jumps out of an airplane, they’ll, they’ll strap a giant rubber band to their ankle and jump off a bridge and a Christian goes, I don’t, I don’t know if I, I don’t know if I can be an usher and, and you know, and then Saturday you were jumping off of a bridge with a rubber band tie to your foot, right?
Let the spirit of God young people today. Listen, learn this quick. Don’t do Christianity.
Let the Holy Spirit do it to you. He’ll do it. He’ll go to work in your life.
It’s a practical glory. We don’t have to wait to get to heaven to see and to experience God God’s power in our lives, the more yielded you are, the more he takes over.
It’s amazing none of us have.
You know, a friend of ours went into surgery, emergency surgery today and, um, listen, I guarantee you this, it just happened, you know that she was on vacation in Boston and she wound up going to one of the most renowned, which you would think by accident, we would say she wound up going into the one most renowned hospitals in the world and had some of the best surgeons in the world and all.
She was on vacation and she had a gall bladder attack or something. But, but here’s the thing she had.
She told us I got the best. I guarantee you no part along that surgery.
Did she get up and say, excuse me, are you guys really agreed?
Where did you go to school?
She didn’t turn to the surgeon and asked him to show his grades.
God does it or in this case, the surgeons do it, but he’s in you.
He’s working within you. And so it announces to us that this is what God wants from our lives.
He wants as it were the rain to fall down upon us into a soiled heart, not soiled as bad heart of soil that is ready to receive what He gives so that it might produce beautiful viable life, giving nutrients.
That’s what God wants from our lives.
He wants that for you and we should want that for ourselves. Very practical.
God wants your Christianity, usable, practical, powerful and he’ll do that.
And if you’re, if you’re today saying, well, I just don’t see that happening, don’t say that too loud because you’re confessing something about your own personal life.
It’s not that God’s weak. What is it?
Find out friend and no one’s judging you and I’m not judging you saying it, it’s this, find out what it is and get that cleared up because boy does God have a great plan for you.
People want to apologize. You know, God’s got a wonderful plan for your life.
People have made fun of that statement because it’s like sounds too soft.
I’m not gonna ever apologize for that. Never gonna apologize for that. It’s absolutely true.
Give your sins to him. He gives you his righteousness, give your weakness to him.
Paul the apostle taught us and he gives us his strength the moment you and I come to something that’s impossible.
I can never so to speak. Climb that mountain. God might just say to you.
Well, that’s why I’m sending a helicopter to take you up.
There are God’s big people and he is awesome and he’s practical Lisa and I went to the movies the other night and I encourage everybody to see, um I think it’s called his only son.
Have you seen it? Please go see it, please go see it.
Pay the money, it goes to a pay while it’s in the theater and it encourages those guys to keep making great movies.
It’s a great movie. I wouldn’t have named it that I think they blew a marketing opportunity personally because Christians would go see it anyway.
I sat in the theater like this and Lisa said, would you just be quiet because I kept saying there’s, they blew the marketing moment.
It’s super well done and very, very powerful, very, very biblically accurate.
I’m very proud of whoever that kid was that made it.
But um I said it should be, it should have been called Abraham.
And she goes, oh, why, what, what’s wrong with his only son?
Because only because Christians know the only son line, we know that already.
What I want is Jewish people to go see it.
If you’re Jewish, you’re not gonna go see it. His only son. I don’t believe what those guys believe.
But if it was Abraham, every Jew in the nation would have gone to see it.
Did I get that right? Don’t you see if it’s Abraham, the Jews are gonna say, I’m gonna go see it.
That’s our guy and it’s so good.
But it’s all about Abraham and his love for his son, his only son that is to be offered up on Mount Mariah.
And at the end of the motion, I won’t say go see it and you’ll walk out saying you’re right, you’re right.
It should have been called Abraham because it’s, it’s the gospel message and they don’t even mention the word gospel.
They don’t have to. It’s played out. Listen.
Imagine if God in his practicality because he moved. So practically he moved that way in the life of Abraham.
The drama, we open up our Bible and it sounds like God’s talking to Abraham every five minutes but decades went by.
Remember God spoke to Abraham and then he didn’t talk to him so long.
Sarah says, look, I don’t know what’s up. He’s not talking to you. It’s been forever.
There’s Hagar, right?
But that’s how God is now for us.
He’s given us, look, we live in the 21st century. We have his word printed.
He’s always speaking, it’s powerful. Practical God.
I don’t like this, but it’s true.
And then sometimes I love it, but he moves and says and acts his way, not the way I want him to.
He’s not a Santa Claus, he’s not a puppet.
He’s not a, he’s not a rabbit’s foot, right?
Well, I prayed to God, I pray, I, I’ve been praying for like three days and nothing happens.
What if God were to say to you?
I’m not going to answer your prayer for about seven years because what you’re asking for either a you’re not ready for it or that person or that moment is not ready for you.
Can you handle that? You know, the family member that you’ve been praying for forever and you’re afraid the rapture will take place because you’re afraid they’re lost.
And you, you, you, you say, oh, I want the Lord to come back.
But my, my, my dad or my wife, they’re not saved yet.
Did you know God knows that he’s not like sweating that one out, but he’s gonna move in his time.
We’ve got a rest in the fact that he’s practical.
Secondly, church mark this down if you would. It’s this possessive glory, possessive.
It’s not a word you hear often, but there’s a posses possessive glory where in verse nine, it says, but beloved, he’s talking to believers.
We are confident of better things concerning you. This is so encouraging. Yes. Things that accompany salvation.
Hey, you guys are saved. You guys are followers of Christ.
You should expect something great to be happening in and through you throughout your entire life in God’s timing.
And so he says, we’re confident of better things.
What was he drawing the contrast to you?
Remember the previous verses of this chapter was those who start out believing and wind up saying, I don’t think Jesus is really it.
After all, I’m gonna go back to animal sacrifices.
He says, I basically, he’s announcing, thank God.
We’re more confident concerning these things that accompany you and your salvation.
Though we speak in this manner verse 10, for God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which you have shown toward his name.
Watch in that you have minister to the saints and do minister number one, who is he talking to?
Remember he’s talking to the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who came out of Judaism.
He’s talking to the Hebrew believers. Ok. You with me.
So if you’re Jewish here tonight, that’s exactly who he’s talking to.
And of course, all of us as well.
But at that moment, those of the Jewish community that came out of Judaism into a relationship with the Lord were starting to be persecuted.
And so they began to wonder, gosh, it was a lot easier just being a Jew in the sense of Judaism following men’s rules.
Rabbi tell me when to stand up, rabbi, tell me when to sit down, just tell me what to do.
Friends. Listen. There’s no faith in that.
It is easier if you sign up for some religion or system that you pull out and you check the box or you do.
This is what we do on Mondays. This is what we do on Tuesdays. Are you hearing me?
There’s no faith in that. But think about how you bless the heart of God.
And I know you don’t think you do.
But when you get up in the morning or tonight, when you lay down whatever your regimen is, you know, we all have our routine whereby when you meet God by you doing that, no one’s putting a gun to your head.
No one is, no one has asked.
No one’s going to ask you, did you do this today for 20 minutes or half an hour or two days or whatever?
It’s gotta be a love thing with God.
And that’s the foundation to this incredible life that we live. I know it’s tough.
I know it’s difficult. But you gotta remember.
We’ve got to live in such a way that it honors God because he has written our names in heaven.
He has situated us in heaven.
And in a moment, we’re gonna come to a, a verse in Ephesians that tells us that our identity is actually perched.
It’s actually secured in the heavenly, but he says something here.
That’s absolutely amazing. Look at this when he says in verse 10 for God is not unjust to forget your work.
Listen, what you want to do, friends, all of us as a church.
Now this, you guys are Wednesday nighters. You can take this, the Sunday group.
They’d get up and walk out verse 10. There’s uh there’s something that is implied.
He’s not even, he’s not even questioning it.
You see it verse 10 for God is not unjust to forget your work and your labor of love which you have shown toward his name.
He is announcing that you guys are followers of Jesus.
You guys listen, wheels up, you’re moving on, you’re not stuck back in the past and you’ve, you’ve, you’ve laid the foundation, you’ve put the principles into place.
And the fact of the matter is cheer up my friends.
He would say God is not forgotten the work that you have been working and the labor that you’ve been laboring to honor and glorify his name.
I think that’s incredible.
So when you study that, the first thing that comes shouting back at you is Lord.
I have to apply verse 10 in my own life. Don’t raise your hand.
But if I were to ask you, are you a believer? Your hand would pop up.
But then if I went on to say, well, OK, great. Your hand is up.
You right there, you know, in the blue shirt, so to speak, uh speak to us a moment about the work and the labor that God has worked through you to glorify his name.
What’s your testimony? You see, you see Jack, I mean, that’s kind of, that’s a little personal. Exactly.
He’s a personal God. So the challenge to us is, and that’s why we’re here right now is the Lord is saying to you and I, Jack, I want you to be able to write down on a piece of paper when you go home and get a loan.
What are the works that I do through you?
And what is the labor that you put forth to honor my name?
This has nothing to do with salvation that’s been settled now that you’re saved.
How about this, the rain comes down, it hits the soil and the seeds pop up.
He’s saying to us now, my holy spirit is in, you take an inventory as to how you’re progressing.
This is not one of those things where oh sorry, you’re out of the kingdom. A door opens up.
You go straight to hell, you’re out.
It’s not that this is like uh you know, a tune up, you take your car to get a tune up.
So how you go to the doctor? Doc? How am I doing?
Right. Pulls on things, squeezes things, pushes things, pokes, stabs and then charges you.
We we are to be examined spiritually.
And the Lord is saying, all right, wheels up, let’s go.
So here’s the thing and it’s implied that we be encouraged by this.
The pendulum swings to this area and listen, I am not speaking from some ivory tower.
I know exactly this challenge. Pastor.
Do you know what it takes for me to get here on a Wednesday night?
I gotta put up with that traffic.
I actually get out of work a little early to get here and I’ll be back at it again tomorrow morning at six o’clock.
And yes, I do know that and I live that as well.
You’re honoring God by being here, applying yourself to the study of His word that your faith might grow.
Here’s the point though, if your faith grows, God’s gonna want to do something with it with it right now.
My daughter is watching this live cam. It’s a, uh, it’s a hummingbird live cam.
I don’t know where the hummingbirds are at but somebody set up a 24 hour live cam.
And the little two baby hummingbirds are in there and she’s watched them from an egg to now.
She goes, dad check this out and they’re, they’re little guys but they’re in the nest together, just stuck in their little tiny things.
And, uh, it’s funny because each one tries out their wings, but it’s so much like church.
It’s very cute. They’re all packed in together, two of them in a little tiny nest when one tries its wings out, it’s slapping the other one in the face and he’s gone and the other one’s gone and then the other one does it and the other one’s getting hit.
But you think about what’s going on and they’re, they’re changing the feathers now are there and they’re, it’s amazing.
A hummingbird when it’s, when it’s, uh, hatched, it’s got a little tiny, little speck of a beak, like, like sand, like the size of a grain of sand.
And it’s grown like every day. It’s like, like Pinocchio. It’s like, oh, I mean, it’s out there now.
Why? What’s happening? Get pretty soon. Wheels up.
They’ll be out on their own but they’re getting ready and God has been getting you ready.
God wants you to be a servant.
Of his, a minister of his everywhere you go say, isn’t that for professional people like you?
No, it’s not. It’s for all of us. It’s remarkable.
And then he says to us in that verse 10, he says in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister.
So this is the huge thing. This is what you and I must answer that for you.
And I, we’ve got to find out what it is that God would have us to do and then do it with all of our heart.
We cannot friends listen, we cannot pass into glory. Have never known or discovered.
What ministry purpose did God put us on this earth for. Did you hear that?
You guys all need to write that one down or so? Or have it tattooed on some?
You gotta have this don’t live your life to its end, never knowing why you were born or brought into this world.
God is the one who knows the reason why you were given life you, I mean this, I’ve lived this and there’s times when I go back and relive it to where you, you can’t settle for anything less than to plead with God with as it were the imminent tears and crying.
Oh God, what’s my purpose? Don’t think for a moment when U C L A gave you that degree that, that’s the purpose of your life right now.
That’s great. But that’s built into the purpose of your life.
That’s not the purpose of your life.
Well, you know, I arrived, I did this and I did the other and I got a boat in an airplane in the, the house on the hill or the, the, and I’ve arrived.
What’s your purpose for living? What is your purpose? Well, I just got a platinum album.
But what’s your purpose? What will last forever?
Every believer and listen, that should cause all of us on this Wednesday night to spiritually catch fire.
I am not going to stop pursuing you God until I find out from you.
What the purpose of my life is for.
And you listen, you stay on them in my mind.
I’m hearing a guy who told me this three decades ago, he was from Louisiana and he said I want you to because that’s I want to know why he saved me.
That was my thing. I, I wouldn’t leave the pastors at Carver Chapel Costa Mesa alone.
Oh, I wanna know, I wanna know, I drive them nuts.
And one guy Justin Alfred, if you remember who he was, he just said, you’re like white on rice.
That was, you’re like white on rice for you’re like a dog and a bone.
And you said that pleases the heart of God.
Didn’t Jesus say knock, keep on knocking. Ask, keep on asking.
Seek, keep on seeking. But for how long it doesn’t matter how long because you’re not gonna stop asking, seeking and knocking.
Are you desperate? I pray that every one of us become very desperate before God.
Yeah, Jacob was des desperate when he was wrestling with the Lord.
Remember that he’s wrestling with the angel Lord.
And there the Bible tells us he’s, he tells the angel Lord which is none other than the, the preexisting appearance of Christ.
Jacob says, I’m not gonna let you go until you bless me. That’s exactly what I’m talking about. God.
I’m not gonna shut up until you bless me.
I want to know the reason why I’ve been brought into this world.
There’s a greater glory that God has for you for every one of us.
And here’s the fun part about that challenge is that not one of us has arrived at that glory.
He’s doing it, but we haven’t finished it. Oh Hey, how are you? I’m good.
I finished. I’m I just totally filled up all the glory.
No, it’s possessive.
You have to have him and notice here that it involves serving this flies in the face of the world.
It will always fly in the face of the world. The world says serve me.
Jesus says, serve one another.
When the world serves us, our heads go like this and we get entitled and we whine and gripe about everything.
You know, people like that. Do you remember? Have you ever been to a hotel?
And you got room service for the first time? In your life. You ever experienced that?
You should experience it once in your life where you go, you don’t, you check into the room and you actually, it’s like, wait, what or you go on a cruise ship for the first time in your life and they just go, we’re here to serve and it’s like, yeah, sure.
I’m sure you’re supposed to say that and then like, you’re in your room and you can pick up the phone and you say, uh can, can we have some ice cream?
Absolutely. Would you like anything else? What kind of ice cream? Uh, seriously, this happened to us.
Um, he’s asking what kind of ice cream you want and the, and the guy in the other, the, the guy, the guy in the ice cream department, he goes, don’t worry about it.
I’ll bring, I’ll bring a little bit of butt of it all. Well, but I didn’t.
Um, but I wanted popcorn to popcorn coming. How much is that, sir?
You that you, when you got your ticket, that it’s all in you want. We’re here for you 24 7.
It’s like, and you set the phone down.
Seriously, you gotta do this once in your life. Why?
It’s like a little bit of heaven and you feel bad.
The guy brings it. I didn’t know this either.
The guy brings it and I’m fumbling around to tip the guy and he goes, you already tipped me what?
You tipped me when you bought this ticket. It’s all built in.
So I’m my gosh, you’ve got, I need a counselor.
I need someone to tell me what else is available to me that I, I don’t wanna miss anything.
I’m not, listen, sir, I’m not gonna let you go until you tell me everything. That’s for me.
We need to grab God and say, Lord, what is it? What is it?
What is it that you have for me in this life?
I don’t wanna miss anything if I could have had ice cream and popcorn.
At the same time, I wanna know which leads us to this.
Look at verses 11 and 12. It’s a persevering glory because that glory of the Holy Spirit.
He’s yearning within us heaven. He speaks overtures of heaven that God is taking us to heaven.
Heaven is real. Heaven’s an actual place.
Listen, heaven was in existence before this dirt bulb earth was ever created.
Heaven has always been the dwelling presence of God.
Awesome verse 11 says, and we desire that each one of you.
The desire is for every one of God’s kids to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
First Timothy. One verse six tells us.
Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of hands.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Is that an awesome verse? Think about that.
Look at that number one, God’s got a gift for you. It’s gotta get stirred up.
We got to draw that out. This is important stuff. Paul tells Timothy.
I want to remind you about this gift needs to be stirred up and by the way, oh, it has always been even in ancient times and in New Testament Times this laying on of hands where you pray for one another.
It’s like it’s not, it’s not magic, but there’s something about communion and fellowship among brothers and sisters.
When you pray, there’s, there’ll be maybe some people together and they’ll pray for one another.
They’ll see a uh maybe a group of older men here at church or older women together.
And I think this is awesome.
I highly encourage this where maybe a couple of young ladies would, would say, um excuse me.
But we, we see that you guys, you know, are older and you’ve walked with Jesus longer and we would you pray for us.
Would you lay hands on us and pray for us?
Listen, we, we go through life so often not having because we don’t ask.
And what’s amazing here about this is that in that verse of first Timothy 16, we’re not supposed to have as verse seven.
It says that we’re not supposed to have a spirit of fear. God didn’t give us a spirit of fear.
People, please. We’re almost done a spirit of fear is frankly, it’s just the, it’s, it’s the demonic powers playing with you.
There’s nothing good that ever comes out of fear ever.
And notice how connected this is the countermeasures to that is to know the power and the love of God so that you have a sound mind.
Isn’t it amazing that Jesus when he went to God?
So those of you who have been there, remember Galilee?
Uh if North is 12 o’clock at about one o’clock is the village of Gara or the Gaines.
Well, there’s no village there anymore. Nobody. It’s, it’s abandoned because it’s got all this ancient pagan stuff.
It’s, there’s tombs that are there. Uh For thousands of years, those tombs have been there.
Well, do you remember when Jesus got in a boat and he goes over there?
It’s a very amazing portion of New Testament scripture. He gets in a boat.
He goes over to the Gaines or steps out of the boat.
And two demoniac come rushing him from the tombs.
And one of them says, Jesus, have you come to torment us before the time we know who you are.
And the gospels single out one man where Jesus ministers to him.
And the Bible says that he was loosed from the demon.
Remember the famous Jesus says, tell me, what’s your name? Isn’t that weird?
Jesus says, I mean, not, I mean weird does not to Jesus.
Jesus looks at this guy and says, what’s your name? And Jesus isn’t even talking to the guy.
He’s talking to the guy, but he’s not talking to the guy. What’s your name?
And he says Legion because we are many and what’s bizarre to me.
But Jesus knows all things and he knows the end. They asked him from that man’s mouth.
They said, will you allow us to go into the pigs? Don’t cast us. Basically.
They were saying, don’t throw us into hell.
Don’t, don’t put us in prison yet allow us to possess the pigs.
And in some, did Jesus Point, did he give the thumbs up that some, some and they went and the Bible tells us that 2000 pigs got possessed and ran down the cliff by the way, in the entire sea of Galilee.
God is the only place that has a cliff.
They ran right off into the sea and those kinds of pigs, by the way, in the Middle East, it’s very bizarre when they try to swim.
They’re their hooves in such a way when they swim, then they can’t swim.
But when they try to swim, they actually, they slip their throats wide open when they swim, they go like this.
That’s very bizarre. Very sick.
And the Bible tells us that that man was completely in his right state of mind and made whole and you know what he said, you know what he said, you read the Bible.
He said to Jesus, I’ll follow you. I’m, I’m coming, I’m coming with you.
Wherever you go, wherever you go, I’m following you. I’m going with you. And Jesus said, no, you’re not.
Isn’t that amazing? I mean, that’s called negative church growth tactics.
Jesus said, no, you’re not.
He said, go home and tell your family what great things God has done for you today.
Guess what happened? Boy, we don’t have the time to get into this. Guess what happened?
He went back, he went back home.
We later find out in the book of acts that that man went home to you don’t know that name Chlo in Hebrew is the town of Beth.
Many of us have been to Beth.
It’s one of the Decca, the 10 cities, 10 capitalist Decca, 10 cities. So who cares?
There was a huge, huge revival that started in Oppo, which was one of the 10 cities of the Decca.
But in Hebrew is known as Beth and it happened from that one former demoniac is God.
Great God is awesome. So verse 11 says, show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end.
I wanna just give you this blast of scripture and we’ll wrap this up. Luke chapter 16 verse 10.
Luke 16 10, he who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous man and, or in the, the using the money of this world if you can’t be trusted in that, how, who will commit to your trust?
Uh True riches if you’re faithful in it a little bit, God says, I’ll make you faithful in more.
If you can’t handle money, why should you have more money?
Money is an interesting thing because it’s either a great, great tool.
In fact, it’s the greatest tool on earth or it’s the worst master that you could have in the same token.
If you are faithful in a little bit. God says, I’ll make you faithful and more.
It depends on how you use it. Money is not evil. Remember that everybody, what is exactly?
It’s the love of money that’s powerful and important.
Verse 12 will end that you do not become sluggish but imitate those who through faith and patience, inherit the promises that word imitate means that we need to have people listen up.
We need to have people in our lives. This is your homework.
Find someone ask God to give you someone in your life for you to imitate them.
That means you need to get to know people. So don’t do that. I’m a pretty private person.
We knock it off. That’s why by the way, people need to get back to church.
I do church at home. No, you don’t. You, you, you watch bible studies at home.
It’s not church unless you have to deal with the parking lot and find a seat and it’s not church.
You got to get together. You can’t, you can’t do that. You’ve got to come together. Why?
Because you’re gonna meet somebody whose faith you want to mimic.
Every single one of us need a mentor.
But I wanna, I wanna leave you with this.
This is awesome. Jonathan Edwards, the great American intellect and Puritan theologian, President of both Princeton University and Union College.
Listen to this. It becomes, it becomes, it becomes us to spend this life only as a journey toward heaven.
Wow, to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life, really all other concerns of life.
I agree with him. I’m just being sarcastic in front of you because some people will say, well, I don’t, I don’t, you know, I don’t wanna be a Jesus freak or anything, but we don’t want to mix religion and politics nor do I, everything belongs to God.
There’s no separation.
Why should we labor for or set our hearts on anything else?
But that, which is our proper end and true happiness.
Edwards went on to say I resolve to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world as I possibly can.
This is the great puritan preacher. What is he saying?
I live every day to ensure that when I’m judged by my Jesus in heaven, that I was faithful, that I did what he told me to do.
I figured out what he wanted me to do and I did that to the fullest because why?
Because when I get to heaven, I wanna make sure that I have the best time ever.
You see? That sounds weird. It sounds amazing.
We think like that in the world on other things.
Make sure we do this, make sure we do that, get the car filled up.
We gotta make sure we got the right campsite.
Make sure you get the right stuff we do all this for life. Did you get the right sun screen?
Right? We got all these things.
We got all the plans, we plan everything and then we lolly gag around about heaven.
And God said, hey, how about, how about planning like that for heaven?
So let’s stand.
I’m gonna ask you to allow me to pray over you over us.
I would love to be able to say them.
I just part of the illustration is I’d love to be able to say it to you. Ok.
All of you guys that are here this Wednesday night tomorrow at four o’clock in the afternoon, meet me down at L A Harbor.
We’re gonna get on this big cruise ship.
All of you have got balconies, popcorn and ice cream.
I’ll be, we’re going to sail five days to Hawaii.
We’re going to go to all of the islands and five days back.
We’re going to have an amazing time together and we’re all gonna get gain anywhere from 10 to £15 and have a blast.
And if I, if I were to say, um, you know, all you need to do is see me after service and I’ve, I’ve got the, I’ve got your key to your room, the card to get on board the ship.
Listen, some of you would say I’m on that.
Some of you would say, I don’t think it’s true, right?
I don’t know if that’s true.
Well, I want you to know God wants you to receive this prayer. How’s that?
Father, I pray right now for these precious precious saints. Heavenly Father in Jesus name.
You have promised us the Holy Spirit’s empowerment.
You already end dwell every believer, but you’ve promised to come upon your Children us for ministry service.
You’ve made it clear in the word that we will really not really know ourselves nor be happy until we are loving others just like you.
But lord, we confessed tonight that’s foreign to us. We don’t even know where to begin.
So lord, we ask you tonight to baptize us af fresh tonight or fill us or in end us with power from on high.
We don’t care. Lord, you know what we need Holy Spirit take over in our lives that we might be a people that serve you in righteousness and in honor.
And lord that you would take from me, those things that have kept me from moving on further with you.
Take from me, these things that have beset me kids or parents or worry or money or health, whatever it is that’s distracted me from seeing you bigger.
Lord, I give that to you tonight.
And Lord you said in Luke’s gospel chapter 11 that even earthly dads know that when their kids ask for bread, they won’t give them a scorpion.
When they asked for an egg.
a loving dad is not gonna give them a stone.
You said Jesus, how much more then will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to you?
Who ask? So father, I pray that right now every one of us would ask dear Lord fill me af fresh with the power of your precious, precious holy spirit.
And Lord live your life through me. Dear God do what you want.
I yield completely to you from this moment forward and I ask it in Jesus name and all of God’s Children said, amen.
Let’s close and worship God bless you guys.