i'm pastor stephen brooks welcome today
to our
online internet around the world church
service
i am so happy that you are here today
and i believe that god's word
which is anointed by the holy spirit
will
bring the answers and the solutions that
you need in life
to produce the victory and the joy
and the peace that god has promised for
you
praise god now today let's begin in the
book of
philippians chapter four we're going to
receive the holy tithes and offerings
we're going to bring them into the
storehouse of god
with a thankful and joyful heart and
let's look at something
i think that's very helpful concerning
our finances
philippians chapter 4 verse 11
the apostle paul said not that i speak
in regard to need
for i have learned in whatever state
i am to be content now i'd like to speak
just for a moment
about the blessing of understanding
that you can reach a place where you're
content now that doesn't mean that if
you're living somewhere
and you're starving and you have no food
and you're in a
financial mess that you're supposed to
somehow be
content with that that's not what he's
referring to
but i do believe there's a place
particularly in our western culture
where where we have to realize that
contentedness is something where
financial blessing can play a part in
that
it's not a you know a solve it all
problem through money you can actually
be a billionaire
and not be content now it may sound a
little unusual
but it's true uh you could burn through
a billion dollars pretty
pretty quickly if you want it to and you
know there are yachts out there
there are planes out there for instance
you can go buy your own yacht
well that's you know you get a real big
one uh because you've got a lot of money
it's 200 million dollars well that's
about one-fifth
you know if you're a billionaire that's
one-fifth of your of your money
then maybe you want your own airplane
you know you could easily spend 50 or
100 million
if you want to get not just maybe a
private jet maybe you want to get a
commercial jet
and then have it turned into your own
flying palace
well you know you're just going to go
higher and higher and they'll
have they're happy to make it for you if
you have the 200 million dollars for
that
there is a way to spend it so
you realize in life that contentedness
comes not so much with getting more and
more stuff
although having stuff and having things
is a blessing
but i think we need to realize that you
don't always
need the biggest because the moment
you do get the biggest you know what's
going to happen somebody else is going
to come out with another one that's
bigger
praise the lord i don't know why some
men get caught up in the thing with
pickup trucks and uh you know i have a
nice pickup truck
but some guys they have to have the
biggest pickup truck
so you know it's got to be the highest
level model
and then it can't just be something off
the lot then you have to get the
lift package on it and then not only do
you have to get the lift package
now you've got to get the biggest tires
and then you've got to lift it higher
than anybody else and on and on it goes
and then if you see somebody with a
bigger one
oh yeah you got to go out lift it higher
and higher and on it goes before
you need a ladder to get up into the
thing and i'm not
knocking that i think so that's cool
some of the
things you can do aftermarket can make
your vehicle quite exciting whether it's
a stereo or
you know tires and rims and all that
stuff that's cool but
there's a place where that can just go
on endlessly and eventually
you have to reach a place where you say
my heart's happy here
somebody's always going to get something
bigger or faster
and you know you don't need to compete
with that
faster same thing with vehicles there's
something about
faster faster faster and now you have
electric cars like the tesla
that uh is quiet it doesn't make all the
earth shaking noise like a big v8 that's
got a supercharger on it
but in many ways the electric car is a
lot faster
and the new one that mr musk is
developing the roadster they have will
i believe go zero to 60 under two
seconds
well that's faster than most of the
amusement park rides that
shoot you off real fast and take you
through a loop and then make you
lose your lunch my friends there's
always something bigger
there's always something faster and this
can just keep going on forever
there's a place where you're reaching
contentedness and you just say look i
know there's other things out there but
the lord has blessed me and i'm thankful
for what i have and i'm content
with what i have i don't need to get
caught up in this endless pursuit
of always having to have the biggest the
fastest the newest or whatever the case
might be
speaking of newest the moment the moment
that you buy it
and wear it or drive off the lot with it
it's no longer new it's now used
it's very interesting how these things
work and maybe you want to go through
that experience of
having that new sensation that's totally
cool i can understand that
there's a place for that but there's
also a place where you realize
i don't always need that to be content
or
to be happy i think also as you go along
understanding what paul was meaning
about uh
contentment you don't always have to
pay the highest amount to always have
the best
i've got to have the best pastor stephen
i want i've got to represent the lord
how many times have we heard that but
really it's the person
just wanting to make themselves look
good
the lord's not much of an equation and
they're factoring for what it is of
what they do we need to think about
these types of things because i i have
found i'm sure you have too
that oftentimes what costs the most
is not always the best you can get a
pair of shoes
that cost you know two thousand dollars
but you know you may you may put them on
and
think how can anybody walk in these
these things can tear your feet up
but you know you get a pair of shoes
maybe for two hundred dollars or a
hundred dollars
they still look maybe exactly the same
but maybe they'll they don't have that
little symbol
or that little uh trademark logo or
something like that
but yet they're more comfortable they're
actually better made
and so you'll find out sometimes that
just because
it cost more doesn't mean it's actually
better now there are
many times where the price is justified
and you can see it
in the quality the the workmanship the
uh the way it's has precision built into
it and things like that so you can see
that and you can
realize yes you often get what you pay
for but so many other times
just because it costs more doesn't mean
it's better
so i think that when we reach a place of
being content
then you'll really find a peace
and a happiness in your heart and you'll
be thankful
praise the lord now we're just
transitioning
as pilgrims through this life we have
all
eternity to live you understand the
sinners don't think like that did they
realize they're here
for a few decades and they're going to
grab all they can grab they can get
all they can get and they're going to do
whatever it takes to get it
but as a child of god we don't have to
go through life
uh reaching and grasping and straining
and and lusting and
you know thinking we've only got a few
decades to enjoy this
it's totally different for the believer
we're going to live all eternity with
the lord
and really there's nothing out of reach
for you
praise the lord even if you can't reach
it in this life trust me
you'll still have all eternity
to experience and try perhaps some of
the things
that maybe it just didn't come your way
during this lifetime
praise god paul said not that i speak in
regard
to need for i have learned in whatever
state i am to be content
he said i know how to be a based and i
know how to abound
and let me say that too i i've
ministered many different countries many
different places around the world
and i've stayed in very primitive
situations i'm not over exaggerating
when i say that i
have been in very primitive places
where there is no toilet where there is
no running water
and i've stayed there slept there i've
eaten there and places like that
and i know what it is to be a based but
i also know what it is to
to abound where you go to check in
somewhere and they
uh or you know you arrive and they say
pastor stephen you're going to be
staying over here
at this hotel and you know and wow
you know it's something that's like hey
this is pretty nice
i'm certainly going to enjoy my time
here but you know what
as long as the lord is with you and
you're you're in the will of the lord
it's just good to know that
contentedness
praise god thank you jesus let me say
this
some of the more unusual experiences
i've had have been in very difficult
places
and difficult times now i've had some
supernatural encounters
when i was in maybe we could call it
nice places
but i've had more of them in places
that were either maybe we could call it
rough around the edges
or places like hey that was nice to
visit
but um let's try not to loop back
through here again
praise the lord but you know the lord's
always with you
and you just need to learn that
contentedness
praise god hmm i once
saw a christian man served
his steak at the restaurant i was
sitting at the table with him
the pastor was sitting there and uh he
was one of the leaders in the church and
uh the the waitress comes up and takes
his uh
his steak and you know it just came out
it was just cooked
and puts it before him and you know
presents it to him very nice
and he cuts it and looks at it gets real
angry this is not cooked right it
explodes
because the steak is not right
not not realizing that most people in
the world aren't eating steak
i know in america you can get it at
almost any restaurant but there's a lot
of places in the world where
uh you know they have a really nice
steak hey that's maybe once or twice a
year
and he's just you know ranting and
raving because his steak is not cooked
right
and um uh it's just
you know it is what it is it's just just
a piece of meat
you know it's not that big of a deal hey
hey if it is cooked wrong just ask her
to
ask her take it back and you know have
them throw it back in the oven or on the
grill
you know for a little bit longer uh life
goes on
life goes on these things should not be
earth shaking
moments where you totally fall apart
because
something is not always at the top level
of excellence
and you know the premium best praise the
lord i know how to be a beast
and i know how to abound everywhere and
in all things
i have learned both to be full and to be
hungry
both to abound and to suffer need now
he's not saying that he
uh is happy being hungry who is right
you know hunger pangs uh that's not fun
particularly if it's been going on for
quite some time
but there's also a place where when the
lord is with you
you can still get through that without
grumbling but still praising the lord
knowing that the lord can work
through all the different situations of
your life
and paul says i can do all things
through christ who strengthens me
then of course he does get into his
appreciation for
their partnering and supporting his
ministry verse 14
nevertheless you have done well that you
shared in my distress
now you philippians know also that in
the beginning of the gospel
when i departed from macedonia no church
shared with me concerning giving and
receiving
but you only praise god
and the apostle paul did teach giving
and receiving and it works both ways
it's
seed time and harvest this is not like
hey just support my apostolic
missionary uh work uh please support me
and uh one day when you get to heaven
there'll be a reward no it's giving
and receiving so as they're giving
there's also
blessing coming back as the lord is
involved in this whoo praise the lord
it's amazing but my friends through the
good times
even through challenging times you can
find a contentedness
in the lord where you say lord i praise
you
maybe i don't have as much as i would
prefer
at the moment but lord i thank you that
i have what i have hallelujah praise god
and you'll find
you'll find with a thankful heart like
that you'll always
always get through you'll always get
through praise god
pastor stephen paul starved no he didn't
starve
he obviously had a few times where he
missed a meal and that was recorded
but uh he never starved never starve
praise god
truth is there are some christians they
probably need to
skip a meal or two praise the lord would
be good they haven't done any
fasting uh from a voluntary perspective
maybe something could be introduced
every now and then for a little uh
we wouldn't want to call it a forced
fast
praise the lord but paul he knew what it
was like when um
you know there's we don't have any food
right now and for whatever the situation
is let's just
let's just keep on going maybe we can
get to the next village and
uh maybe we can get something to eat
praise god but through it all
the lord is with you praise the lord so
my friends
be mindful of that as you're bringing
the tithe and offering into
the house of the lord be mindful that
you don't always need the most lavish
extravagant thing
now maybe there can be that moment in
your life when you want to
splurge but you don't need to do that
all the time
where it's just everything's going to be
always over the top all the time
and you know
understand the blessing of contentment
praise the lord and i believe i believe
you'll be a much
happier person hallelujah let me say
this
i would rather have a home
that cost five hundred thousand dollars
and have five hundred thousand dollars
cash
in the bank then have a
million dollar home and no money in the
bank
now some people they'd rather have the
million dollar home and just
hope they can clear that next mortgage
payment or whatever it might be and
no savings no nothing i don't like
living
like that i'd rather live in a contented
state i'd rather live
below my means and have savings
and uh you know maybe i didn't get the
next big fancy whatever it was
but hey you know we're moving right
along we're nobody's sweating it out
over here
we're doing good praise the lord so
contentedness
will bring i'm telling you it'll bring a
lot of peace into your life
the reason why some christians have
money problems
it's not because they don't earn a good
income
it's because they're always living at
the very maximum edge
of their income spending all of their
money on the latest the greatest the
biggest the fastest the shiniest or
whatever it is or the newest
and they feel they have to have that and
when they live like that
they never really have those extra
reserves that the lord would like for
them to have and they don't know the
blessing
of contentedness praise god so be be
willing to step back a little
and just say lord i praise you for all
you've done and for what i have
lord your good to me praise the lord
pastor stephen i'm short on my rent why
did you take the rent money and spend it
on something else and
hope that maybe you could make it all
juggle at the end and pull it out
well yeah yeah pastor team that's what i
did well
then those things need to be fixed and
you need to be content but i want the
newest and the latest and the greatest
well if you have the cash and you can go
out and pay for
cash just go right ahead and enjoy
yourself
but as long as you live on the edge and
spend every last penny
that you have it's a very dangerous way
of living
praise god i have learned
it's a learning experience it's an
amazing learning experience
i have learned in whatever state i am to
be content
may the lord's grace be flowing towards
you
to also have that same knowledge that
paul came into
father we thank you today that as we
bring the tithes and the offerings into
the storehouse
we thank you for contentment father we
thank you that we can certainly
appreciate
new things nice things really good stuff
and at the same time father we thank you
that
that's not always necessary that's not
always even what's needed
father we give you praise let there be
wisdom to walk in contentment
thank you thank you father in jesus name
we all rejoice and say
amen now as you're bringing the tithes
and offerings in today to the storehouse
if you prefer to mail them in
please send them to stephen brooks
international
p.o box 717 moravian falls
north carolina the zip code here is
28654
if you want to go online and bring the
tizen offerings in
you can do so it's very safe highly
encrypted and secure please visit the
ministry
website stevenbrooks.org there is a link
on the home page that uh that is uh
on a little red banner that says give
and it has a heart on it and if you
click that
you can bring the tithes and offerings
directly into the storehouse
through the blessing of the internet
praise god
if you would like to sow some seed we do
have two projects
that we are continually developing one
is
that for television airtime and the
second is for
and aviation hanger praise the lord
if you are interested in that you can
click on the header that's called
projects and you can see those two
projects that we are working
on at this moment praise the lord so
father bless your people
thank you thank you thank you in jesus
name
amen praise the lord now today
i want to talk about surviving
and thriving through the wisdom and
knowledge of god
praise the lord we live in very
interesting times
times that maybe you could say have a
lot of instability
in them and you know the markets right
now
are very volatile why because the
investors don't know what's going on
they they're having a hard time reading
which direction is the nation going in
what's going on
uh here and that creates a lot of
turmoil
um if you dig deeper it actually creates
a lot of
opportunities for prosperity and i
believe that
the lord not only wants you to survive
of course he actually wants you to
thrive
and these are opportunity uh times in
which we're living in
to see the lord do special things in
your life even in your finances praise
god
so let's talk about this today beginning
with our key scripture
which is found in the book of the
prophet isaiah
chapter 33 and let's go down to verse
six today and let's open up
our bible study today with prayer
heavenly father
heavenly father as we go into your word
we're asking that your word would have
great entrance into our hearts
that we can be established and be made
stable
through your wisdom and knowledge and
thank you father that even though
there would be shakings and uh reports
of
things that could be very unsettling we
thank you that
you will hold us together you will hold
the church together
you will hold your covenant people
together in a stable
way we thank you father god that no evil
shall befall us
no plague is going to come near our
dwelling we thank you that you've given
your angels charge over us
now father let your wisdom and your
knowledge be
distilled into our spirit today as we
study your word
in jesus name we pray let's all agree
and say
amen praise god isaiah chapter 33
verse 6 wisdom
and knowledge will be the stability of
your times these are the two things you
need
right now with all of the uncertainty
going on in our nation
with all of the fears and worries that
are
out there this is what you need right
now
wisdom and knowledge will be the
stability see it's going to hold you
together
you're going to be just fine just fine
now i cannot speak
for others who don't have a covenant
with the lord but i can speak to the
people of the lord
that if you walk in the wisdom and
knowledge of the lord
then you're going to be stable and
you're going to come through everything
that would be out there you're going to
come through it okay praise god
wisdom and knowledge will be the
stability of
your times and the strength of salvation
the fear of the lord is his treasure
let me just say this i don't mean to be
blunt or i don't want to try to be rude
when i say this
but right now in the times in which
we're living
please don't do stupid stuff praise the
lord
pastor stephen what do you mean by that
that's just the general statement
well you can get caught up in
certain things that maybe others do
and you think yeah we need to jump on
that bandwagon and then
you jump on it and then you get bit why
because
it wasn't god's wisdom for you you
really
need to ask yourself is this the wisdom
of god for my life
because there's something about those
that
don't really serve the lord it's like
the devil's not really that interested
in them
but if you serve the lord it's different
for you
those that are just out there doing
their own thing sometimes it seems like
they can get away with anything
but the moment you step out of bounds
why do you uh get called for it why why
do you
uh receive some type of uh repercussion
that's not
that's not enjoyable because you're
different your covenant child
so you must it's imperative you must
walk in the wisdom and knowledge of god
and if you do
you will be stabilized and you will be
just fine
praise god regardless regardless if
world war three
breaks out you'll be fine praise the
lord
as long as you walk in the wisdom and
knowledge of god
and i have great confidence
my friends that you will praise the lord
now let's go over to the book today of
acts
acts chapter 22
and here we have the apostle paul
retelling
his conversion experience
from judaism to faith
in christ the messiah and we're in acts
chapter 22
and let's go to verse 17.
here we see paul saying now it happened
when i returned to jerusalem and was
praying in the temple
that i was in a trance a trance
is a vision it's one of the three types
of visions
and it's a vision in which your physical
senses are suspended
and you are seen looking into
the realm of the spirit praise god well
he has a trance he has a vision
verse 18 and saw him that would be jesus
saying to me make haste
and get out of jerusalem quickly
for they will not receive your testimony
concerning
me well if we try to
identify the moment of when this took
place
in paul's life it would appear
that this probably happened right around
acts chapter 9
right around that time frame let's take
a look at it just for a moment acts
chapter 9
i'll turn back just a few pages
acts 9 verse 26
this is very shortly after
paul's conversion experience
praise the lord verse 26 and when saul
had come to jerusalem
he tried to join the disciples but they
were all afraid of him
and did not believe that he was a
disciple but barnabas took him and
brought him to the apostles now
when it says they will not receive your
testimony
some theologians have said that this is
not only referring to
the religious jews this is referring to
the early first century christian jews
primarily those who before saul was
converted
were hunted literally hunted by him
caught persecuted thrown in the prison
beaten and had all these things done
under the command and the
authority that was given to uh paul
so there were those that could have said
hey
uh we don't trust this guy this is a set
up and if we come out to hear him he's
going to have us arrested
but you know i think it's more being
referred to
the jewish leaders nevertheless even the
christians
were very hesitant especially initially
to accept paul because
he had a reputation he was a killer he
was a killer you could
you could call him a terrorist in a
sense because he was after the
christians
showing them no mercy but barnabas took
him and brought him to the apostles
and he declared to them how he had seen
the lord on the road
and then of course verse 29 referring to
paul
and he spoke boldly in the name of the
lord jesus this was in jerusalem
and disputed among the hellenists but
they attempted to kill him
so the hellenists were jews but they
were greek-speaking jews and what they
tried to do they tried to kill paul
all right so let's jump back over very
quickly to
acts 22 again and jesus said to him make
haste and get out of jerusalem quickly
for they will not receive your testimony
concerning
me most likely i believe the ones that
were never going to receive it
were the religious authorities
the jewish uh authorities now there were
some
that worked there at the temple the
priests
the levites that did receive christ as
their lord and savior
but there were others that were that
were just like no way
we're not going to receive no matter
what and so here's here's wisdom
get out oh but pastor stephen i'm
willing to die
i'm willing to die that that's good but
stop and think about paul just for a
moment
what if he would have stayed there and
he would have gotten killed
see god had a destiny for him
to write what was known as the epistles
or
letters to various churches and he's
going to end up writing
two-thirds of the new testament so it's
very important
that paul doesn't do something silly
maybe we could even say stupid
uh of getting himself killed prematurely
i know he has a lot of zeal and because
of what he has done
he wants you know having persecuted
christians and
you know even overseeing the killing of
christians
there's a part of his heart he wants to
show them that hey
i have changed i belong to jesus and i'm
willing to die myself now
so i can understand that but still but
still
you have to do what you have to walk in
wisdom you have to walk in wisdom and
knowledge of the lord
what is wisdom the ability to discern
difference the difference between good
and evil that's the number one element
of wisdom the ability to discern the
difference between
good and evil right
and wrong and that's not based upon your
own opinion or
like it says in the book of judges every
man did well did what was right in his
own eyes well
we can make up all kinds of things in
what we think is right what we think is
wrong
uh but you have to have a standard so
that standard is god's
word and that wisdom from the word of
god will help you to discern between
good and evil right and wrong
thank you jesus knowledge is information
but you could have knowledge you could
have information
but if you don't make application of it
through wisdom it just sits there
and you can't do anything with it you
can't you can't make any gains out of it
you can't work any good out of it
praise the lord so knowledge by itself
it's it's very good but you're gonna
have to have wisdom
going first remember wisdom and
knowledge you have to have wisdom which
is
it's such a supreme blessing you have to
have that because
with that now you can make all of that
knowledge that you have work
praise god so you're going to have to
ask yourself at times like
like paul did well i'm i'm here at
jerusalem and the lord told me to leave
told me they're not going to accept my
testimony of the lord
well you know what i think i'm going to
pack up my suitcases and go
oh that's retreating pastor stephen he's
a coward
no that's wisdom he never denied the
faith
he that that this is not about uh you
know apostasy or anything like that this
is about wisdom
this is about keeping uh yourself alive
and not having your head cut off or
getting stoned to death praise the lord
the church and america is going to have
to get smarter
real quick praise god let's go over to
first corinthians
chapter nine praise the lord today
first corinthians chapter nine lord is
good
first corinthians chapter 9
and let's go to verse 19
thank you lord jesus
for though i am free from all men i have
made myself a servant all that i might
win the more
again this is paul speaking and to the
jews i became as a jew
that i might win jews to those who are
under the law
as under the law that i might win those
who are under the law
to those who are without law is without
law not being without law toward god but
under law toward christ that i might win
those who are
who are without law to the weak i became
this week that i might win the week
i have become all things to all men
why that i might by all means
save some pastor stephen he's going to
save them all
no and he doesn't expect that to be the
case
but he does expect to save some praise
the lord
see it doesn't surprise me
when sinners do the things
they do do you know why that's just what
they do sinners
sin they cheat they lie
they steal they they take bribes
they do all kinds of things like that so
it doesn't surprise me
that they do that and we're going to
endeavor to preach the gospel
continue to preach that expanded the
ministry of reaching the lost
and we're going to win some are we going
to win them all
no but we're going to win a lot praise
the lord
and my friends we have to understand
that there will be some
that will not change there is going to
be sinners
still in america there are going to be
people that are going to fight what's
right what's good
they're going they want wrong and it
would nothing would make them happier
to see all the christians locked up to
see the nation
go on the total uh meltdown actually
there are people that would be happy
americans would be happy if if the whole
nation just got
nuked and destroyed even if it met them
even if it meant them also going out
pastor stephen that sounds like insanity
well yeah because they're under
the thought processes and the influence
of satan and satan's a fruitcake um
you think well pastor stephen it doesn't
make any sense the devil doesn't make
any sense
here's a good here's a good uh little
analogy
you have the turtle and the scorpion
on the deserted island but there has
been a volcano
and the island is beginning to sink and
it's going to go underneath the water
so uh the last two on the island are the
turtle
and the scorpion well the turtle's not
too concerned about it because he can
swim
and there's another island a couple
miles away he thinks he can make it
uh but as he's getting ready to leave
the island the scorpion says hey
please give me a ride help me get off
this uh perishing island
and the turtle says oh no i'm not going
to give you a ride on my back he said
you have a reputation
you have a bad reputation mr scorpion
and you're not coming with me
and the scorpion says oh no trust me
promise i promise i won't sting you i
won't hurt you
i will not do anything wrong to you and
the turtle says well
i've heard really bad things about you
but you've made a lot of promises now to
me and
you know what i'm just going to take you
at your word i'm going to trust you so
i'll go ahead and climb up on my back
and i'm going to go out here to the
ocean i'll start swimming
well scorpion gets on the turtles back
the turtle starts swimming
gets way out in the middle of the ocean
long way off from the island that's
going underwater but he's still a long
ways away from the other island
he's way out in the middle of the water
and suddenly the scorpion stings the
turtle
right on the back of the neck and the
it's the poison begins to go in
and the turtle begins to black out the
cheryl's gonna die
and the turtle with his last gasping
words
turns his head around and said why did
you do that
now you're gonna kill both of us and the
scorpion said i know it
i know it but i just can't help it it's
just who i
am um does that make any sense
uh that's just the way the devil is okay
and so when you have people
that are under that influence that would
like to see destruction
that would like to see uh lawlessness
and iniquity flourish and abound
um yeah it's crazy it's crazy stuff and
here's the thing
they're not they're not going away
they're still in america they're still
on the planet
pastor stephen if we had revival we
could get them all saved
well even paul realized that he can save
some
there will be those that respond but
there's going to be others that are
going to harden their heart
and they're not going to want to change
praise the lord and so we have to be
aware of that
and that's why paul shared these things
that he might win
some well what about the others pastor
stephen
well what did jesus say about them
revelation chapter 22
verse 11.
this is john speaking here praise the
lord
praise god actually excuse me this is
the angel
verse 11. it says he who is unjust
let him be unjust still
he who is filthy let him be filthy
still he who is righteous
let him be righteous still that's you
he who is holy that you let him
be holy still
praise the lord guard your heart walk in
the wisdom and the knowledge of the lord
and even with crazy stuff even with
crazy people you'll
you'll be just fine praise the lord and
you're going to get through it
and you'll be just fine so continue to
stay righteous
stay in christ and continue to live holy
and those that don't want to change that
want to
just stay filthy and uh you know just
let them
continue on their course and they will
reach for sure
their destination eventually of where
they're going
now let's go over to matthew chapter 13.
praise god hallelujah
well pastor stephen i just want all this
chaos and i want all of this
you know tension i want it to be over
i think because of the days in which
we're living
there are certain things that are not
going to be over and they're not going
to go away
now for many of you that have visited
jerusalem
one of the first things you notice is
when you're in jerusalem particularly uh
you know like around the older the old
city part
you know the temple mount area and stuff
like that you start
feeling this atmosphere what is this
what is this in the atmosphere and you
know exactly what it is it's called
tension
and it's it's wild you can feel it it's
invisible
it's what we would call intangible but
is it ever there
there is tension all throughout
jerusalem
oh pastor stephen we just need to pray
that that comes to an end
no you can pray day and night it's not
going to come to an
end until the lord jesus comes back
oh praise god and makes things right so
some things we have to just
embrace and know that this is the way it
is and we need to walk in the wisdom and
knowledge of the lord
and we'll be just fine even though it's
a dangerous
world we will be just fine and we will
not only
survive but we will actually thrive
praise god now matthew chapter 13
let's go to verse 24. another parable he
put forth to them
saying the kingdom of heaven is like a
man who sowed
good seed in his field but while men
slept his enemy came and sowed tares
among the wheat
and went his way
now what happened later is you have you
have the tares and the wheat both coming
up at the same time
verse 28 and he said to them an enemy
has done this the servant said to him
do you want us then to go and gather
them up but he said no
lest while you gather up the tares you
also uproot the wheat
with them let both grow together
the wheat and the tares have you noticed
that's what's going on right now
the wheat that's the church and the
tares that would be the wicked
sinners that have no intention of
changing
but they want to stay filthy maybe even
become more filthy
and they want to pollute everything they
possibly can so
the wheat and the tares are growing side
by side that both grow together jesus
said until the harvest
and at that time of harvest i will say
to the reapers
first gather together the tares and bind
them in bundles to burn them
but gather the wheat into my barn
and he goes on to translate this parable
by saying
the field is the world the good seeds
are the sons of the kingdom
but the tares are the sons of the wicked
one
the enemy who sowed them is the devil
the harvest is the end of the
age and the reapers are the angels
therefore as the tares are gathered and
burned in the fire so it will be at the
end of this age
so until the lord wraps everything up
the sinners
and all the uh lawlessness
that they would enjoy those things will
still be
uh you'll you'll have waves of it at
times
waves of it at times sometimes it can be
pretty crazy
other times maybe a little bit calmed
down but it doesn't mean it can't rise
back up
real quick again we're going to have
this until the end of time
the son of man will send out his angels
and they will gather out of his kingdom
all things that offend and those who
practice
lawlessness so those who practice
lawlessness
here is where their
destination will be and will cast
them those who practice lawlessness will
cast
them into the furnace of fire
there will be wailing and gnashing of
teeth
then the righteous praise the lord see
stay righteous stay holy
then the righteous will shine forth as
the son in the kingdom of their father
he who has ears to hear let him
hear praise god so it doesn't surprise
me
when i see uh you know
certain people cheating uh cheating in a
political party
cheating uh on all these things that
happen cheating in sports
cheating in academia you know on tests
or
falsifying data or information whether
it's
uh involved in science or you have so
many scientists now that are just bought
out
they don't care what the data says
they're gonna they're gonna they're
gonna
they're gonna line up with the money
with the money flow
because there are universities that if
they don't
uh take a certain stance all their
funding will get cut off by
rich wealthy donors so that the these uh
universities and their faculty they are
obligated to teach
certain so-called
forms of science even if it's total junk
it doesn't matter
it doesn't matter they're going to do
that and why
because that's what terrors do that's
what
sinners do it shouldn't surprise us it's
just like what they do
so we have to be like daniel where
they knew those persecuting daniel they
knew they were corrupt
they knew that they were a group that
would you know
they just wanted to be in power they
love being around the king
and nobody's going to touch them no
matter what they do but they don't
they don't like daniel because he has
integrity he has biblical morals and
values and principles
and they're like well let's get let's
get rid of him because we don't like
what he stands for or the laws
the good laws that he would like to
implement and you know his
influence upon the king and so forth so
they thought let's just get rid of him
and they looked for what we would call
dirty laundry on him and you know what
they couldn't
find anything here's the focus
we know that sinners have a lot of dirty
lawn
laundry that's what sin is right but as
a believer
if for some reason your phone and your
emails
were checked or your laptop or your
computer
would you you know if you found out that
they're coming would you start deleting
everything would you start
asset washing and bleach washing and
destroying with a hammer or sledgehammer
or all your stuff oh no they're going to
find out
you have to live your life transparent
even if even when you have secret areas
of your life because
we all do i mean you you know you have
your own home you have your privacy and
things like that
but there has to be an element of
transparency in the day
in which we live why because if they can
find something to hang their hat
on then they've got you so you have to
walk in wisdom and knowledge it will
keep you stable
safe and secure now it doesn't surprise
me if they cheat that's just what they
do
for them it's not cheating unless they
get caught and if they get caught
well then you know they acknowledge that
it's not right
and that you know off the jail they go
but
you have to you have to get smart see
the chinese church
has been under persecution now for
decades
and you learn to get
smart see the
the communist government of china
they're very afraid of the christians
why
because there are more
chinese christians than there are
members of the chinese communist party
isn't that incredible so they're very
afraid they think
the chinese government and their natural
mind thinks well the christians will
take over
well christians are sweet they're
they're not going to start you know
rolling out tanks and trying to over do
a coup and overthrow the government
that's
christians they don't even think like
that but chinese authorities view that
as a threat being outnumbered or
whatever it is
so they what do they do they persecute
severely
the christians and you have what is
called the underground church movement
doesn't necessarily mean that they're
meeting you know down below the ground
somewhere
although in some cases that's exactly uh
where they do have to meet
in secret so they don't get caught and
you just have to get smart a lot kind of
like one missionary who
when taking bibles into a certain
communist country
went to a checkpoint and the guard said
what's in those suitcases
and you know in moments like that you
know you have to have the help of the
holy spirit you don't want to lie
because christians don't lie but at the
same time you don't want to say oh those
are holy bibles we're here to get the
people saved
because you know you're going to
disappear
so you know you just let the holy spirit
help you and he said
soap we have soap in those in the
suitcases and
one of the guards opened up one of the
suitcases and saw all the bibles
and uh he just closed the suitcase back
up zipped it up
told the other guards nothing in there
but a bunch of soap
and off the missionary went with several
suitcases loaded of these real small
bibles hundreds of them
to give to those in the underground
church so
uh it's not a lie because it's the word
of god that cleans and washes
so you know just you have to get smart
you have to get smart in america
and uh i'm not saying break the law
but i'm saying you have to mainly
not break god's laws not break god's
commandments so when society begins to
break down then you're going to have to
allow the holy spirit to help you with
wisdom and knowledge to stabilize you
in times that would put pressure on you
to compromise
your faith praise the lord
something very interesting that happened
in the early church you have to
understand that the first 300 years
of the early church um it was just
fierce persecution against the
christians now
it wasn't constant it wasn't like every
day every year
there were some interim periods
sometimes you'd have a decade
rare times you might have a 40-year
period where there was a little pause in
between
but most of the time the christians were
just
treated horribly and you had emperors
and caesars that would rise up the
rulers of rome and remember the roman
empire was vast
it covered all of the territory that we
know today as modern-day israel
it was a huge empire and
they were brutal uh nero ad64
blaming the fire of rome uh you know
some uh you know back then they
built with the wood or stone and if it
was wood and it caught on fire not much
you can do to stop it they didn't have
fire trucks back then so
a lot of rome burnt down and nero blamed
the fires on the christians he was
actually responsible for the fires
himself he had some people start them
uh because he was a psycho but he blamed
it all on the christians and that
created a lot of animosity
amongst the the unsaved against the
christians and
so nero used that as leverage to take
out his hatred on the christians
and so he uh you know fed them to the
lions
you know you start to have the
gladiators and the entertainment uh
the barbaric forms of entertainment and
he
had his own private garden and he had
many of them impaled on sticks
covered with tar and then lit on fire
and that would be the illumination for
his night parties
there at his garden and he would walk
around and talk while they're burning
their people burning on steaks he was
a total mental fruitcake he was
demon-possessed basically
so you have to understand that um
fierce persecution culminating in the
year 300 a.d
under the emperor diocletian with what
was called the great persecution
um you've already had some emperors
before him that just built
up to it but he pulled out all the stops
there were a few emperors before him one
particular
uh in the year i believe it was year 202
who made a rule in the roman empire that
all emperors must now be considered
viewed regarded and addressed as god and
one of the emperors actually took the
title
god the lord
and so now you have christians living
under that what are you going to do what
are you going to do
so it got really bad in the year 300
when the great persecution broke out um
and christians were martyred by
the uh you know the numbers we don't
even know the numbers it just
it was extremely high but here
here was something that became a
quandary later
for the early church let me explain to
you what happened
um those
who survived the persecution because it
ended
right around what was it 324 a.d when
constantine
became the emperor the new emperor and
he moved the roman empire to
constantinople modern-day istanbul
just north of israel of course and so
the brutality stopped constantine's
mother
was a very devout christian very devout
woman now he did get baptized and so
forth but he never was really what we
would call born again he kept
worshiping all these other gods but he
really liked the god of the christians
and so jesus was this top god
among the pantheon of gods that he
actually still kept
now there are historians who say he
actually did
later have a true conversion experience
and i hope that's true
nevertheless he made christianity
the state religion and so all the
persecution
suddenly ended across the vast
roman empire well now that you've got
some christians that made it through the
great persecution of the year 300
uh what do you do this became the
question in the church
what do you do with those who were
apostates
who basically gave in under pressure
and compromised their faith and
denounced christ
in order to save their lives so they
wouldn't get martyred like so many
others who did
because even with those who denounced it
you had many that said i will never
denounce christ
and many were put in prison many were of
course killed but others lived through
it they although maybe they were mangled
and torn the pieces
they lived through it so once it's now
the persecution is over with constantine
now
reigning what do you do with all of the
apostates it was a very interesting
question
because the roman emperors
they had decided that because they are
now
quote god and they deserve to be
worshipped
they they made it they made an out
for christians that if you
were to burn a candle if you were a
christian
and you were to renounce christ through
the act of burning a candle
at one of the pagan altars and you
burned the candle to one of their gods
then you were given a certificate now
the certificate
in the roman name was called the lobeli
and if you denounce christ
just by this is all you have to do you
all you have to do is go to the pagan
temple
take a candle light that candle and give
an instance that was considered an
instance offering to a roman god you
were given
la belle and as long as you had that
label that piece of paperwork
or sometimes it was stamped or imprinted
on something that meant
you were exempt from persecution you
could still
kind of keep your faith but it means
that caesar is your god
the emperor is your lord not jesus
anymore
also also if you maybe you were a
christian and you knew that was wrong
you knew that's direct apostasy i'm
renouncing god i'm renouncing my faith
to save my skin
they there were some that knew hey
that's an outright
denial of christ my savior uh there was
still another option
which is you could bribe a roman
official
and he could give you one of the lebelli
and you could do that in secret so that
you wouldn't have to go down to the
temple
and you know now all the other
christians are seeing you sell out and
compromise your faith
so you wouldn't have to maybe do it like
that you would go to one of these roman
officials if you were wealthy
and you could give them a bribe and give
them some secret money
and they would give you the belly and
that basically meant
in secret you have denounced christ but
most of the christians won't know about
it
but at least the roman officials won't
persecute you
because why you've said that caesar is
god the emperor is god
not not jesus anymore
but just because it was done in secret
doesn't mean
that the lord of course didn't see
didn't
see it now what took place is that now
that
constantine's emperor and the wave of
persecution is over
you've got those that stayed faithful
many were martyred but you've got the
others that stayed faithful
that never denounced christ that are
still in church they're still meeting as
a church now the apostates want to come
back
hey we didn't really mean it we were
just under a lot of pressure
we had a bad day i mean they said
they're going to kill all of our kids
well the ones that stayed faithful their
children were killed they were beaten
they were brutalized they were
they had their possessions taken from
them houses taken from them
everything they're like well you have
renounced the lord
and so in many cases they would not let
them back because they didn't trust them
and you could understand why
now this became quite a quite a
concern amongst the uh early church
fathers what do we do with these
apostates there are some that
do appear to have truly repented and the
ones that
were just like hey you know i i i blew
it i i
had a chance to get out and i sold out
jesus to save my skin
and i knew it was wrong and my
conscience has convicted me every day
and it was wrong and i repent and
usually the ones that repent it
they look for a way not only of course
you know the blood of christ will
forgive you
but they were looking for a way the ones
that truly repented for a way to
give me another chance god give me
another chance to make it right
and so sometimes they did have another
opportunity because something you know
there's still other violent areas out
there
and uh so there was an opportunity maybe
we could say for them to redeem
themselves
but for the most part those that were
faithful didn't want
anything to do with those that renounced
when
the going got tough
what does the word of god say about this
well we see in matthew chapter 10
matthew chapter 10
verse 28 jesus said and do not fear
those who killed the body
but cannot kill the soul but rather fear
him who was able to destroy both soul
and body and hell verse 32
therefore listen to this now therefore
whoever confesses me before men
him i will also confess before my father
who is in heaven
but whoever denies me before men
him i will also deny before my father
who is in heaven i do believe there's a
place of the mercy of god where
if you're under the stress and
you know you you know you're just a weak
christian
and you got caught up in this thing and
they're they're putting the sword to
your throat
renounce christ or except caesar is your
god
you know there were those who denounced
jesus
uh maybe they put the sword up to the
neck or the throat of their kids and
said denounce jesus or we're gonna we're
gonna cut their throats right now
and there were those parents that said
oh we can't we can't take this and they
were just under so much dress
that they that they in that moment
greatly dishonored the lord and then
maybe later
they realized what they had done i
believe there can be forgiveness
but those that did that were always
carried
shame with them in the early church
because
because of what they have done i believe
i believe the lord can
give forget forgiveness for that but it
doesn't mean
that you have not greatly dishonored the
lord
praise the lord but whoever denies me
before men
him i will also deny before my father
who is in heaven
so that denial is a full denial
knowing as as more of what we would call
maybe like a mature believer
and you know you know hey this is wrong
and then you just do it anyhow to save
your skin
you're in hot water you're you're you're
in trouble
it's time for the church to mature and
you have to that this is very important
about wisdom
wisdom the ability to discern difference
right and wrong how about this
between what's truly spiritual and
what's just hype and pump
and the christian circus that's really
the area the church
today in america needs the most
illumination
it reminds me of the true story of the
pastor in texas
some years back when a gunman came in
with a gun of course unannounced and
came in real quick
went right to the front of the church
grabbed a lady
an older lady that was sitting at the
front grabbed her put the gun to her
head so now he's got a hostage
and uh and so now now the church is you
know like
what do you do because if you try to do
anything he's going to shoot her and
kill her
so he's just using her as a hostage to
get closer to the pastor
and he took his gun and
pointed it at the pastor and unloaded
the entire magazine on the pastor
and not one bullet hit the pastor at
that point
there were men there that could wrestle
him down now this was maybe 20 years ago
that would turn out different today
because you have a lot of
uh concealed carry uh men and women who
are in church
you can't tell they have a weapon but
they are they're carrying concealed
just in case something like that would
happen but you know what i thought it
was very fascinating when the pastor
later when he was asked about the
situation the pastor thought you know he
said out of all the people in the church
that were there that day
he said the ladies the moment that man
who was demon possessed came down with
that
the ladies immediately began to pray
because he came in very quick but when
they realized what was going on
he's got the gun to the head of this
lady the women the intercessors
immediately began the praying in tongues
and he said the big bodybuilder with the
big muscles who would always come to
church with a tank top to show off his
muscles
got up instantly and ran out of the
church building terrified
now the modern church wants people like
that on the front they want
do you look cool oh get up on the front
we got to get you on camera
do you look educated and smart we need
to make sure the camera's on
you because it's all about looks
no it's all about walking in the wisdom
and knowledge of god
hallelujah because times are very very
different today
very very different today praise the
lord and you if you have a
church full of people that are just
in the flesh in the flesh
in the flesh they're not going to be
exempt from difficulties
just because they're christians because
a lot of that
form of christianity would melt
instantly under any form of persecution
or heat it would melt
it would melt like a snow cone on a hot
sunny summer's day
so my friends you have to get dialed in
right now pastor stephen how do i know
if i would actually compromise or not
if it came down to something like that
oh i could i can tell you you can you
can find out right now
well how pastor stephen are you
compromising now
is there any area in your life that you
compromise
because you want people to like you do
your workers even know
that you are a person of faith do
do you live a life that glorifies the
lord
or is there areas of major compromise in
your life because trust me
if you compromise now when really
there's very little persecution i mean
there's social media and maybe
people that say i don't like you on a on
a tweet or you know on a youtube comment
or something like that
uh but you know
the stuff that some of these other
countries are going through no america's
never had anything like that
and i'm not saying saying we're even
appointed unto that
but i am saying that if you compromise
now
you would absolutely compromise when
there were manifestations of real
persecution
so you got to get you got to get
straight you got to get the slack out
right now praise god
praise the lord second timothy chapter 2
praise god pastor stephen i'd just like
to take one of those labelies
one of those certificates go hide out in
my house
you know i've read many of the
testimonies of the early martyrs
and i'm not just talking about fox's
book of martyrs which is more of a
coverage of church history you know i'm
talking about mainly in the first three
centuries
i found it very interesting in the great
persecution that happened
in 177 the year 177 a.d
in gaul gaul which is modern-day france
in the city of lyons lyons
the the amphitheater is still there
today
but there were four
christians that were rock solid
they were they they were tortured so
severely
they had atrocities done to them to try
to break their spirit
hot iron plates put to the delicate
parts of their body
and roast it on fire
they had they had the most awful things
done to them and they never renounced
christ
they said we will never renounce the
lord
one of the one of them was a slave girl
who had come to christ
um one of them was a very polished
respected leader in the town
and there were two others that were i
believe they were very devout men
so all four of them just were rock solid
but you know what there were a lot of
nominal christians that flaked out when
the persecution hit
they said oh no we don't know those four
while just weeks before they were all in
church together
but there were those that renounced the
lord and said oh no oh no we don't know
anything about
this person jesus caesar is our god
do you know what when the authorities
found out
that these what we would call apostates
were actually a few weeks earlier
behaving as christians going to church
the officials said get them also round
them they had such hatred for any
association with christianity
that they found out those who had
previous associations even if they had
renounced it
they said we don't care get them also
get the ones that have renounced it
get them also we're going to slaughter
all of them
and they took them all into the
amphitheater
and the ones that were faithful were
illuminated with glory
the ones that said we will never
renounce christ go and kill us kill our
families take everything we will
never renounce christ and they didn't
and when they were tortured severely and
saw most awful things done to their
loved ones
they stayed faithful but those who were
apostates who renounced christ because
of their cowardness
when they went into the amphitheater
because they're going to get killed too
now
they went in with such shame you could
see nothing but shame on them and the
and and the people the spectators mocked
most of all
the cowards said you cowards and you
know
they really let them have it they all
got killed they got killed
but the ones that were faithful
they went out and with a with an
incredible impact
hallelujah i would highly encourage you
to stay with the lord all the way
second timothy chapter 2 verse 11 this
is a faithful saying for if we died with
him
we shall also live with him if we endure
we shall also reign with him
if we deny him he will also
deny us um praise the lord
hallelujah praise god if you're living
as a nominal christian
just goofing around you're on real
dangerous ground
you could be a person that if there were
persecution
you would actually deny the lord oh i
would never do that pastor stephen
but when persecution comes guns are
pulled out
knives are pulled out or political
pressure to bow to the system
or we're we're going to we're going to
confiscate your house
or we're going to we're going to take
your kids off
kids away we're going to educate them
the right way because you're
you're filling them with this you know
hate philosophy of you know
right and wrong sin and evil and all
that so we're going to take them from
you or
you know you have to really be walking
with the lord
praise god one more verse one more
romans chapter 1
this is very powerful here romans 1
verse 16
paul said for i am not ashamed of the
gospel of christ
there are some preachers they'll preach
it but there's a shame
that if they get persecuted they're
ashamed of the gospel of what it
actually says
wonderful pastor man of god in russia
preaching using social media
to preach the gospel and spread it far
and wide and a high-ranking
russian politician an atheist a
communist
heard the preacher heard the pastor say
that if you are not saved
if you do not long belong to christ you
are dead in your sins
you are spiritually dead and that
atheist
high-ranking official said who does this
man think he is
he is saying that we are spiritually
dead that we cannot be
uh good people because we are spiritual
we're in spiritual death and i thought
that pastor is exactly right that's what
the gospel is yes
you're a sinner and you need to be saved
yes it sounds like you're under
conviction
oh but no you know what they did they
took the pastor and put him in prison
paul said for i am not ashamed of the
gospel see its power
the gospel of christ and and here's the
thing about the gospel
that's so different from any other
religion in the world
the moment the gospel enters into
a city let's take rome for example let's
go back in time a couple thousand years
and christianity first begins to be
preached in rome
well what's the big deal with that
pastor stephen i mean after all
rome has a whole plethora of gods
and the romans were greatly influenced
by the greeks
they loved greek culture they didn't
like the greeks but they loved their
culture
and so the romans now they have their
own pantheon of gods
and so what's the big deal if you just
add another god i mean
you've got all these other religions and
what's the big deal they're all just a
bunch of different gods
uh no the god of the bible is very very
different here's an example
the moment you start preaching the
gospel
in a city in a village or a town here's
the difference
it's so confrontational
it's so powerful because only the gospel
has the ability to change
society and the moment you preach it
what happens
there's going to be a clash example
the gospel preached in a certain city
back in the new testament days and you
had a silversmith
this man makes his business oh
the whole city has their prosperity
hinged upon the making of these silver
statues
why because everybody is worshiping this
god is called
diana and so in order to worship this
goddess
you had all of these little marketplaces
all of these shops
that are getting wealthy and rich off
the making of these
silver statues that are in the image
that would supposedly portray this
female deity
okay so paul comes and does what he
preaches the gospel
what happens uh something very different
than presenting
any other religion they don't care about
any other religion we'll just make you
another statue over here oh this is
different paul comes and says
hey all these are dead idols they can't
talk
they can't breathe they can't see you're
worshiping
a piece of brick you're worshiping a
stone or a piece of wood
and so so do you see do you see the
difference no what happens with that
message oh
you're threatening our finances yes that
that's why
the gospel is so different it has the
ability to dramatically alter
society in a way where if
if the gospel is received they realize
let's take christ let's take christ and
if you do what do you do
oh let's throw away all these stupid
idols let's
get rid of we don't need them let's melt
them all down
do something different with the silver
wow
what if they don't accept that though
what if they reject the gospel oh
you've got you've got a confrontation on
your hands now
and now now that creates tension tension
so tense sometimes they have to get paul
out
over the city wall by night in a basket
why
because it's not being received but
still you can have christians that get
saved there
you can have people that heard it they
got maybe the city rejected it but there
are a few
that received what do you do you're
going to have to walk in wisdom and
knowledge
you're going to have to walk in wisdom
and knowledge
praise the lord thank you father god
praise the lord so even here in our
nation
you have those that delight in
biblical values who love god
love his word and love the commandments
of god
and you have others that hate it that
want to overthrow it
and want uh their own form of how they
want
their world to be and their country to
be so what happens you have a clash
and both sides aren't going away so you
have to walk in
wisdom and knowledge and it will
stabilize you
even if you're living in ephesus in the
middle of a riot
[Laughter]
woo glory to god i mean the whole city
was in an uproar
oh hallelujah glory glory to god
but whatever you do even if you have to
go in a sense go underground
use the wisdom of god to do that and if
you go underground doesn't mean you're
it doesn't mean that you've denied the
faith it just means that you're carrying
your faith in a covert way
why so you can keep on living and keep
on serving the lord and keep on
spreading the gospel
um praise god
praise god glory to god glory to the
lord
pastor stephen what do i need right now
you need two things
wisdom and knowledge to stabilize you
anytime you're going into something
going into something
ask yourself is the wisdom of god in
this
is this a wise decision praise the lord
well maybe for somebody else is this is
it a wise decision for you
could depend it could depend praise the
lord
hallelujah glory to god i had a man one
time say pastor steven come
come minister with me in this country i
said well
i said if i go all i'm going to need is
a one-way ticket oh why pastor stephen
because i'm never going to come back
i'll never get out of there alive oh no
pastor steven trust me you'll be okay oh
no no no i won't be okay
you'll be okay because that's where you
came from that
you look just like them i look i look
like an american i'll never get out
alive i've turned down quite a few of
those invitations
not that i don't want to go i but i just
want to fulfill
my purpose and i can go over the
airwaves
i can go other ways praise lord now he
can go there back and forth all the time
but i can't i can't i actually really
thought about it one time
in one of these very dangerous countries
and i just you know i kind of thought
well lord you know
you'll do great things and i i should go
and uh i
but i felt in my side on the inside a
great disturbance of peace
but i thought well you know they need
the gospel uh and this when i was my
ministry was just starting off and i
just thought well i'm gonna go
i'm going to go and a prophet called me
and he said stephen you're about to take
a trip
i said yeah i'm planning out this trip
he said this is very dangerous he said
the lord doesn't want you to do this he
said where are you going i said well i'm
planning on going here and they've
promised me a
an escort you know armed guards and he
said he said stephen
it's a one-way ticket if you go and it's
out of god's will
so i just called the whole thing off oh
but pastor stephen
you'd have had 200 000 people in the
meeting yeah
yeah but you also under understand that
um there there can be
if you ever get out of bounds
the enemy can get you how do you get out
of bounds
doing stupid stuff even even if you
didn't
mean to even if you didn't know it but
you're out of bounds
you're out of bounds and he can touch
you now so you have to be really smart
about these things praise god
and when jesus told paul get out of
jerusalem
that wasn't like hey you know if you
want if you think you know more than i
do go ahead and stay no no that's like
get out or they're going to kill you
and he got out he got out now later he
was able to come back but even later
years later when he came back what
happened another riot
[Laughter]
woo praise the lord praise the lord
glory to god glory to god i believe the
holy spirit's going to give you wisdom
of how to talk
knowing when to fly beneath the radar
and also knowing when
take your stand now you need to give
your testimony
oh but i might lose it doesn't matter
take your stand right now let them know
who you are
what you believe don't be a coward take
your stand
and should that moment come the holy
spirit will help you
praise god praise god
the main thing you want is you want god
with you you want to be in the will of
the lord
all of the time and that comes back
again to walk in in the wisdom of god
let me pray for you heavenly father i
pray for your people that wisdom and
knowledge
be theirs we thank you that it will
bring stability
father i thank you that i speak over the
life
of the person watching that you will not
only survive
but god has plans for you to thrive
father let them come into the thriving
right now in every facet of their life
thank you father let them shine bright
in the darkness
thank you father god in jesus
name amen
and amen praise the lord
praise the lord you know i think about
saint francis of a [ __ ] uh of course a
[ __ ] being in italy
and he had a he had a heart for the
arabs
and he went all the way one time uh
you know it took him months and months
he took a couple of his uh
disciples his proteges with him and he
went on this long
trip i think it took over a year and he
actually ended up getting a meeting with
one of the sultans
one of the sheiks that was um a
governing authority over a large
area and he was
able to have a one-on-one talk with him
and actually was able to lead him to the
lord
and the sheik told him the sultan said
look
he said i do believe that christ is the
savior of the world
and he's in my heart but he said i can't
make this public
he said or my life will be over in just
a few minutes because there's no way in
in this culture that i'm going to
survive if i ever make this public
but he said in my heart
god is the only true god that i serve
the god of the bible
and so he was saved now saint francis
found that his tactics and when i say
tactics i i mean
his method of of ministry did not work
uh except on a like when ministering to
that
high-ranking official it did not work in
other scenarios
uh like it did in other places in other
places where he would go
uh he would just go directly into a
showdown he'd say let's find out
if he went to a you know like a a wild
uh
you know pagan tribe he'd say well let's
find out who god really is
you obviously worship this god i worship
the god of the bible
and you know father son holy spirit so
let's just not let's not beat around the
bush
let's just you know let's just light a
fire you get your high priest
of your pagan god and uh he and i will
just both walk into the fire together
whoever comes out let that be the god
that's the true god
so he could do that in other places but
when he went
into the area of islam and so forth it
wouldn't work
because even even there their religious
leaders said no
no we don't want to test like that
and so you know they were very smart in
a very evil way of how
they wanted to keep the people
barred from hearing the gospel now
here's what i'm trying to get to
saint francis had an encounter with the
lord and the lord told him to go back
go back to italy he said you're not
going to hardly have any fruit here
he said you need to leave he said this
is not your this is not your area
you're going to have you're going to
have some seed this uh harvest is going
to come out of this but it'll be
very very small so he said you're not
going to be fruitful here so
get out of here and he did praise the
lord
and i also know of one uh well-known
minister
that uh he's from africa he went to
japan one time
and the people were so touched by his
ministry that they wept when he taught
the word of god
and they said please you must come and
establish a ministry base here also
and uh on the way back he was making
plans and for about nine hours on the
plane he was making plans of how they
could begin to
minister and evangelize the japanese
people and the lord spoke to him on the
plane and said that is not your harvest
field
that area is is assigned to somebody
else
and he just said closed all of his plans
put it all away and just said
lord thank you it's not my
responsibility so that is
part of walking in the wisdom and the
knowledge of the lord
hallelujah glory to god glory to god now
father we thank you
we thank you in jesus name amen
hallelujah if you're watching today and
you have not made christ your lord and
savior
all true wisdom all true knowledge
begins
by knowing christ if you would like to
receive him into your heart now have
forgiveness of your sins and receive
his life into your heart pray this
prayer after me
say lord jesus i'm a sinner
jesus come into my heart
wash my sins away i turn from my sins
wash them all away jesus
write my name in your book of life
from this day forward come into my life
lead me and guide me and strengthen me
thank you jesus i receive you now as my
lord
and savior in your name i pray amen
and amen praise god my friends if you
have prayed that prayer
for the first time your sins are gone
you now belong to the lord
live for him and serve him all the days
of your life praise god
i want to pray for the christians that i
would call the weak
need christians and you know that you're
not
the next apostle paul you know that uh
you are ashamed of the lord in many ways
you don't want your friends to know it
you don't want your family to know it
you don't what you don't want them to
know how you vote you don't want them to
know anything
you're living this whole thing in secret
and if persecution ever came
uh you would just go right along you you
would take that certificate that labelly
and say uh give me two i don't i want to
make sure that
i don't ever have anything wrong done to
me
i want to pray for you if that's you
lift your hands
father in the name of jesus i pray you
give that person a spiritual
backbone i pray that you make them
strong
father god we give you praise father
your son jesus died for us in the most
humiliating agonizing
and inhumane way but he did it out of
love
so father i ask that you would
strengthen your people that they would
never
be ashamed of the name of christ of
being
identified as a christian father we give
you
praise we give you praise
father should the whole world begin to
crumble
but yet oh god let us continually hold
to you
i ask you to just release strength and
boldness into that person
right now in the name of jesus
and if you have any time previously
how can i say thrown the lord underneath
the bus
and you were embarrassed of him
i know that you have asked the lord to
forgive you but i'm asking
that the lord will give you another
opportunity for redemption
so that the next time you can stand
strong stand strong
so father let that let that moment where
they can just
have an opportunity to make it right let
that happen to them father we thank you
that that has been forgiven
but i ask that you would give them an
opportunity to stand strong
hallelujah father we give you praise and
father we just break the spirit of fear
i break that spirit of fear off of them
in the name of jesus
amen and amen there were many in the
early
church the first century second third
centuries and
of course many other times throughout
church history they lost everything
they wandered from mountain to
desert to caves to just looking for a
place
to lay their heads and this still takes
place
today in certain parts of the world
praise the lord so rise up rise up and
be strong
praise the lord and you're going to see
that the lord will deliver you and
strengthen you
praise god hallelujah thank you father
now let's take communion today grab some
unleavened bread if you don't have one
of these little wafers or
saltine cracker would work just fine
grab some grape juice
praise the lord let's pray over it
father we thank you for the bread
the juice thank you father god thank you
father god
that we set this apart now and we
consecrate this as being holy this is
now the body in the blood of christ our
savior
father as we receive the body of christ
we lift up the persecuted church
that many are in prison right now
father many of our arab brothers and
sisters are being tortured
in places like iran
or north korea they're being tortured
brutally for their faith
strengthen them be with them encourage
them
bless them o god help their families
thank you father god
help the pastors especially that they're
in prison
because father's the same tactic of the
enemy hit the shepherd the sheep will
scatter
so father the they've gone after many of
the pastors
and it has shaken the faith of many of
the of the church members
but father strengthen these pastors in
prison
and strengthen the christians that they
will not walk away
but they will still come together as
believers and they will
build each other up in the faith thank
you father let us be willing to give all
even of our lives even as you said in
the book of revelation
they love not their lives unto the death
may the spirit
of a living martyr be on the inside of
us
in jesus name amen let's receive
father thank you for the blood of jesus
that cleanses and washes away
all sins thank you father god
thank you father god hallelujah
hallelujah praise the lord father we
thank you for the cleansing blood of
jesus
glory glory glory washington all sent
away
the father washed the sins away of paul
the of
saul who was involved in the direct
murder
and the persecution of christians
simply because they were christians
father we thank you
the blood of christ washed his sins away
and the blood of christ
washes all of our sins away and father
we ask that you would forgive us of our
sins
and we forgive anyone who sinned against
us father we ask that you lead us away
from temptation
and that you would deliver us from the
evil one for yours is the kingdom and
the power
and the glory forever and ever and
evermore
thank you father god we give you praise
in jesus name amen let's receive
praise god hallelujah glory to god
amen i see a new strength a new boldness
and a new wisdom on the inside of you
praise the lord
i believe you're going to walk with such
wisdom and such knowledge to navigate
any challenging situations the holy
spirit will be there with you
every time to give you the words to say
or perhaps
sometimes just to be quiet so father we
thank you for the holy spirit helping us
bless your people in jesus name amen
thank you for watching today
i'll see you back next time bye-bye