There Is A Throne (Priscilla Shirer)

0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:06.200 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:06.240 --> 0:00:09.280 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:11.600 Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:21.279 new sermons every week. I hope you're blessed today. First 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:23.560 of all, I want to thank you for being the absolute, 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:28.280 in my correct, humble opinion, a most amazing church on 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:32.600 the planet. And it's so good to see you today. 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:37.040 Because I believe that you are the greatest church on 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:37.600 the planet. 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:40.600 I feel it's my job to bring you the greatest 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:41.760 preachers on the planet. 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:46.000 So any given Sunday you might. 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:49.200 Get to hear a word from Holly Ferdick on Mother's Day. 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:51.159 That might happen. 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:55.960 You might come one Sunday and you might get stuck 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:56.280 with me. 0:00:56.600 --> 0:01:00.920 But today you get to hear from prison Illa Shire. 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:06.480 And I'm telling you this because you must have done 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:10.119 something right. Touch her neighbor and say you must have 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:15.720 lived right to get to hear Priscilla. She and Jerry 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:18.720 are two of the greatest generals for the Kingdom of God. 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:21.960 We are so thankful to have them here with us today. 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:24.119 We are ready to preach you down. 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:25.000 Woman of God. 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:28.560 Thank you for your ministry touching millions around the world 0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:30.800 elevation for the first time. 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:34.080 Help me. Welcome Priscilla, SI. 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:53.360 Welcome morning, family. I don't even know what to say. 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:57.840 Like God has up in here, y'all are my people. 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:01.960 Y'all came to have church Jesus did, where I am 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:02.600 lifted up. 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:05.720 I will just start drawing people to myself. 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:10.799 I love being in this house. I'm so grateful. 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:13.600 I'm gonna tell you before you sit down that you 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:15.200 need to know that the Lord. 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:15.880 Must love you. 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:19.880 Listen to me, that He has entrusted the state of 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:25.400 your spiritual growth and your soul to leaders who actually 0:02:25.520 --> 0:02:26.560 have integrity. 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:31.400 Listen to me. I wish I could tell you that 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:33.440 at every church it is that way. 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:35.720 It is not so. 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:40.400 God must have a thing for y'all, that. 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:44.000 He has allowed your spiritual development this side of Heaven 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:47.240 to be attached to people who actually love Jesus. 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:51.200 Would you celebrate Stephen and Holly Furdit. 0:02:53.160 --> 0:02:59.880 Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for loving 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:02.239 each other, thank you for loving your kids, and thank 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:03.600 you for loving the House of God. 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:05.160 We're so grateful. 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:10.280 Okay, y'all, I'm so grateful to be with you. I 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:12.040 don't want you to stand up too long. But you're 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:14.120 gonna have to stand up while I read this scripture. 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:16.239 You gonna want to stand up while I read this 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:19.720 scripture because the presence of God is so thick in 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:22.120 this room, and I believe He's gonna put an exclamation 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:26.840 point on his presence in these moments we're gonna read together. 0:03:27.360 --> 0:03:31.440 From Revelation chapter four. I go to the kind of 0:03:31.520 --> 0:03:33.840 church where sometimes we just stand up. 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:35.520 For the reading of God's word, just. 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:39.000 To remind ourselves that every single time we come to 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:42.720 the pages of the book, God is speaking, that we 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:46.200 should expect to feel the warm breath of God brushing 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:48.680 across our cheeks as he speaks a. 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:50.400 Present word over our lives. 0:03:51.280 --> 0:03:57.520 Revelation chapter four, John says, after these things, I looked, 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:01.320 and behold there was a door stay open in the heavens. 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:04.320 And there was like the first voice which I had 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:08.160 heard before, the sound of a trumpet speaking. And the 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:12.200 voice said, come up here, and I'm gonna show you 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:13.920 some things which are to take place. 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:14.800 And verse two. 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:18.479 Immediately I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:22.719 was standing in the heavens, and one sitting on the throne. 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:25.159 And he who was sitting on the throne was like 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:29.080 a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance, and there 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:32.480 was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:37.440 And around the throne there were twenty four smaller thrones, and. 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:38.880 On those thrones I saw. 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:42.320 Twenty four elders, and they were clothed in white garments, 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:44.839 golden crowns on their head Verse five. 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:45.960 And from the. 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:47.760 Throne that preceded flashes of. 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:51.279 Lightning and sounds and peels of thunder. There were seven 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.880 lamps of fire burning around the throne, which are the 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:56.239 seven spirits of God. 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:56.919 Verse six. 0:04:57.560 --> 0:04:59.880 And before the throne there was something like a seal 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:03.960 glass like crystal. And in the center and around the 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:06.960 throne there were four living creatures full. 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:08.680 Of eyes in front and behind. 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:11.880 The first creature was like a lion, the second creature 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:14.840 like a calf. The third creature had a face like 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:18.160 a man. The fourth creature was like a flying eagle. 0:05:18.720 --> 0:05:22.640 And the four living creatures, each one of them having 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:25.200 six wings full of eyes around and. 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:29.120 Within all day and all night long, they. 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:34.359 Did not cease to say, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:36.719 Lord God Almighty, who. 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:38.599 Was and is and. 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:39.359 Is to come. 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.880 And when the living creatures gave glory and honor, and 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:46.480 thanks to him who sits on the throne, to him 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:50.320 who lives forever. The twenty four elders just started taking 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:53.560 off their crowns and setting them at the feet of Jesus, 0:05:53.839 --> 0:05:57.800 casting them before the throne. And they said, worthy are 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:03.640 you God, to receive goods and honor and power and authority. 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:05.760 For thou didst create all. 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:08.040 Things, and for you. 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:10.680 They exist and were created. 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:11.600 Lord. 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:16.600 The church says, worthy, you alone. 0:06:16.320 --> 0:06:19.599 Are worthy of the praise and Father. 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:22.800 We will not let the rocks cry out in our place. 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:30.080 We will voluntarily say, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord, 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:33.680 God Almighty. We are your sons and your daughters. We 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:37.119 are in your presence to hear from you speak. Lord, 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:44.160 we are listening in Jesus' name. Everybody agreed and said, amen, Amen, 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:52.839 you may take your seats. I would say it was 0:06:52.920 --> 0:06:56.720 three decades ago that I was in a little small 0:06:56.760 --> 0:06:59.520 women's retreat, can't even call it a conference. They were 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.080 probably about thirty eight of us in that little room. 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:04.800 There was a woman that stood up to give her testimony. 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:06.760 I will never forget. I was in my twenties at 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:09.920 the time. She probably was in her sixties. Her name 0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:14.880 was Dory van Stone. We called her Miss Dory. Everybody 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:17.320 was hanging on every word that Miss Dorry shared with us, 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:19.960 because as she gave her testimony, it was so riveting 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:23.280 and disturbing that it was hard to wrap your mind around. 0:07:23.920 --> 0:07:25.280 She and her sister were. 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:28.680 Neglected and basically abused at the hands of their mother, 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:30.720 the one who was supposed to love them and take 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:33.920 care of them. She would leave for days on end, 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:36.520 leaving her at five years old, to take care of 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:39.960 her two year old sister. When mom did return, most 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:42.400 of the time, she was frustrated and just angry that 0:07:42.440 --> 0:07:44.640 she had kids to begin with. She would tell them 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:47.920 that to their face, they knew they were not loved, 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:51.680 they knew they were not valued, and because of her 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:54.880 anger and frustration, she would often just close the door 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:57.640 of a closet, put them inside, and leave them there 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:00.520 for hours that would oftentimes turn in days. 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:02.720 Dorry was recounting how she. 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:04.280 Was trying to figure out how she was gonna eat, 0:08:04.320 --> 0:08:06.920 how she was gonna feed her little sister. The bumps 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:09.440 in the night would terrify them because they didn't feel 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:13.480 protected and covered. She remembers one day her mom coming 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:15.720 home and saying, hey, we're gonna take a little drive. 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:18.720 They got in the car, thinking that finally, this is 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:21.320 a day when Mom's doing something with us to just 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:23.000 enjoy some time. 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:24.760 Together as mother and daughters. 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:27.520 They took a drive, a long drive that ended up 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:30.560 at a driveway that was long and windy, and that 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:32.920 long driveway ended up at a front door where there 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:36.680 were stone steps that went up to two huge doors, 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:41.000 pillars on either side. Mom rang the doorbell, and then Dorry, 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:44.280 at seven years old, can remember that before anybody had 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:47.680 even answered the door, she turned around and noticed that 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:50.679 her mother had already gone back down the stairs, had 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:53.720 gotten in the car and was driving away. And that 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:56.160 was the day they were dropped off at an orphanage. 0:08:57.240 --> 0:09:01.480 Those two girls suffered more abuse in the orphanage than 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:04.520 they had at home. From there, they were transferred from 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:07.040 one foster home to the next foster home, and their 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:10.440 lives really didn't get any better along the way. She 0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:13.840 described the fact that there were some missionaries, some college 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:17.360 students really from a university neighboring, who came by to 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:20.080 share Jesus with the kids in the orphanage, and she 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:23.559 remembers giving her life to Jesus, and as she described 0:09:23.559 --> 0:09:26.120 to us on that day, her life from that point forward. 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:30.160 She said, the truth is, my circumstances didn't really change any. 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:31.559 Time time soon. 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:34.200 After I met the Lord, she said, still to this day, 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:35.280 she's in her sixties. 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:37.240 Still, to this day, I don't. 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:40.480 Know why the Lord let those circumstances, those difficulties go 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:43.560 on as long as they did. But he said, now, 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:46.600 she said, now, in hindsight, looking back, there is something 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:49.800 I recall that I couldn't put a finger on then, 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:52.559 But now I know what God was doing. 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:53.840 She said. 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:56.000 There were often times where I'd be in the dark, 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:58.880 dark corners of those closets that I had been locked in, 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:01.800 And she said, the way I can describe it is 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:04.600 that there was something of a window that seemed to 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:08.240 open up, a little veil that was torn down between 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:09.240 Earth and Heaven. 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:11.560 She said, I couldn't describe it when I. 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:14.440 Was six, But now I know that the Lord was 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:17.520 giving me opportunity to know that his presence was with me. 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:21.960 She said, I would feel a peace that passes all understanding. 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:25.120 I would know that I was not alone, even though 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:29.400 physically I was. Somehow at six, and at seven, and 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:33.720 at eight, and nine years old in devastating circumstances. The 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:36.840 Lord let this window allow me to know that his 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:42.200 presence was with me. Knowing he was near changed everything. 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:47.400 I took a break during the lunchtime at that conference. 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:50.800 I'm twenty four years old, maybe twenty five. I grabbed 0:10:50.840 --> 0:10:52.440 one of her books she had written, I don't even 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:55.600 know if it's in print anymore, called The Girl Nobody Loved. 0:10:56.320 --> 0:10:58.360 I sat in the corner with my little box lunch, 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:02.120 reading through that book and never forget watching a shadow 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:05.559 come towards me and realizing as I looked up that 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:09.600 Miss Dorry was watching me read her book. She walked 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:12.000 over to me. She put her hand on my shoulder, 0:11:12.520 --> 0:11:14.560 and then she took the other hand and wiped a 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:17.320 tear that she saw falling down my face. As I 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:19.760 read the details that she hadn't been able to share 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:22.520 with us in the spoken word, but on the page, 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:24.679 what this woman had gone through in her childhood, I 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:27.720 could not believe. She saw me crying, walked over to 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:30.240 me wipe the tear. She put her hand on my 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:33.920 shoulder and she said, sweet girl, don't you cry for me. 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:40.480 God was with me the whole time, knowing He's with 0:11:40.559 --> 0:11:49.280 you makes all the difference in the world. John is 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:53.560 in a dark closet, it's called the island of Patnas. 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:55.640 He is in the middle of. 0:11:55.600 --> 0:12:01.120 Devastating and difficult circumstances. And this is John, jesus disciple 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:04.000 we're talking about. This is the one who had walked 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:06.600 with Jesus, who had talked with Jesus. This is the 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:08.760 one who had been in the presence of Jesus. This 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:10.880 is the one who said about his own self in 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:14.480 his gospel, I'm the one who Jesus loves. This is 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:17.160 the one who had seen Jesus perform miracles. I mean, 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:20.520 John was right there when lame folks started walking, and 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:22.400 blind people started seeing, and the. 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:23.520 Death started hearing. 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:27.520 He heard Jesus preach and teach words coming out of 0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:30.360 the mouth of the Sun of the Living God, right 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:31.240 in his presence. 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:33.480 They had heard preaching and teaching. 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:36.559 Before from the religious leaders, the Pharisees. 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:36.960 And the Sadducees. 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:39.720 But when Jesus opened up his mouth, something was different. 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:41.360 They ain't never heard nothing like this. 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:44.720 Think about how you'd feel if Jesus were your Bible 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:49.240 study teacher. John was there. He had walked with Jesus 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:49.800 in the flesh. 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:50.840 But by the time we. 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:54.480 Meet John in the Book of Revelation, his circumstance has 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:57.760 completely changed. He is now and what would call what 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:01.320 some would call the dark night of the soul. He 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:06.040 has been exiled to Patness for his allegiance to Jesus Christ, 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:07.640 for his refusal to. 0:13:07.640 --> 0:13:08.760 Bend the knee and to. 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:11.679 Go in opposition of Christ in his kingdom. 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:12.960 He has been sent. 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:16.199 To basically what was a place that had been relegated 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:19.360 by the Roman government to be for criminals and enemies 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:22.679 of the state. And there he sits on Patness in 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:26.079 the midst of difficulty, discouragement. 0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:27.040 And complete devastation. 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:31.040 And in Revelation chapter four he says, something happened. 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:32.280 To me on this particular day. 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:36.000 The Lord opened up something of a window, a door 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:39.000 between earth and Heaven. So even though I was in 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:44.440 the midst of difficulty, hardship, devastation, and darkness, I had 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:47.880 opportunity to see what was happening in the heavenlyes, to 0:13:47.960 --> 0:13:50.920 catch a glimpse of God's presence, and to sense his 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:54.400 peace and his power and his joy. And knowing that 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:57.679 God was there, John says that makes all the difference. 0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:03.800 Patness was a rock quarry. They would send people there 0:14:03.880 --> 0:14:06.439 that were a threat to the Roman government. They perceived 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:09.960 to be a rock quarry, meaning all day all they 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:13.640 did was hammer at those rocks to basically do work 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:16.880 in hard toil. It would have been devastating for their 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:20.920 physical bodies, devastating for their souls. Not being able to 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:24.120 get off of this island, which was ten miles off 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:27.040 of the coast of the mainland. In the agenc there 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:30.440 was no escape, no means of reprieve. 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:32.040 The rock Cory would have. 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:36.680 Been like think Nelson Mandela on Robin Island. You saw 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:41.320 or could see the deterioration to Nelson Mandela's body after 0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:43.440 he was there for those twenty seven years. 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:45.800 How the sun reflecting off of the. 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:48.200 Rocks that were all around caused there to be a 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:51.680 glare in their eyes that would deteriorate their eyesight. How 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:54.640 breathing in all of the dust that was gathering off 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:57.440 of those rocks would cause there to be a deterioration 0:14:57.560 --> 0:15:01.840 in their long capacity. In other words, John was deteriorating 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:06.840 from the inside out. His circumstances were completely devastating and 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.760 there was no escape, and he was not in that 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:11.880 situation for doing something wrong. 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:14.800 He was there for doing something right. 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:18.040 I suspected in a room this size, with this many 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:19.920 people in this room, and on the other side of 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:22.520 the screen, there are so many of you who are 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:25.240 amongst hard things on a rock quarry. 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:26.760 There's hard things. 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:30.600 Everywhere you look, difficulties everywhere you step, and no matter 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:33.480 where you look, it seems like there is absolutely no 0:15:33.600 --> 0:15:37.560 means of escape. And what makes it hard relationally or financially, 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:40.240 or in your health, or in the raising of kids, 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:43.240 or in the business or in the ministry. This year 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:46.800 on pactness in your life. What makes it more difficult 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:49.960 for you to swallow is not that you have been perfect, 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:53.280 but you have been purposeful. You've been on these streets 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:56.160 trying to follow God, trying to honor Him as a 0:15:56.280 --> 0:15:58.720 husband or as a wife, or as a single person, 0:15:58.880 --> 0:16:02.200 or a parent, or a teenager or a university student 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:03.920 or a business builder. 0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:04.880 Or a ministry leader. 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:08.000 Yeahn't been perfect, but you've been trying to follow God 0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:12.360 and you've ended up on pat miss Anyway, John knows 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:15.960 exactly how it feels to be out here honoring God 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:23.440 and life be hard. John says, look up, He says, 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:26.760 when I looked up Revelation chapter four, verse one, there 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:30.080 was a door standing open in the heavens, which means 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:34.840 there is access always to God's power, to God's presence, 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:38.720 to God's peace, to God's perspective in the midst. 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:39.920 Of difficult circumstances. 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:43.200 He says, there was a door, and the door was 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:47.760 standing open. It was set in the open position, which 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:51.440 means there is always opportunity for you and I to 0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:55.200 lean on the throes of heaven, even while we're standing 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:56.720 in the difficult things of earth. 0:16:58.400 --> 0:16:59.720 The door was standing open. 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:02.760 The reason why this principle, this little principle of the 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:06.159 door standing open, y'all, is so important for believers like 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:08.399 you and me to get a grasp on. The reason 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:11.120 why it is so weighty right here in this verse 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:15.200 is because just several verses earlier, the end of chapter three, 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:20.399 verse twenty, Jesus is describing a church at Laodicea, the 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:24.320 lukewarm in different apathetic church, and here's how he describes them. 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:28.840 He says, I'm standing on the outside of their door, knocking. 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:32.920 I'm hoping somebody's gonna open up this door that has 0:17:32.960 --> 0:17:37.399 been closed. He is writing about the church, and he says, 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:40.080 the door of the church has been caught. How Jesus 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:42.480 standing on the outside of the door of his own church. 0:17:43.160 --> 0:17:46.560 Jesus says, the Church has closed the door to me, 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:50.920 which means it is possible for us to be in here. 0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:57.399 And him to be out there. It means it is possible, y'all, 0:17:57.560 --> 0:17:58.280 for us to be. 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:03.120 So consumed with person and with programs and with platitudes, 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:05.880 and we don't even realize that the presence of God. 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:06.960 Is not even in the room. 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:14.440 Because we close the door through our indifference. We close 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:17.120 the door through our apathy, We close the door through 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:20.600 our rebellion, We close the door through our stubbornness. And 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:23.439 Jesus and his grace and in his mercy and his 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:26.879 goodness and his kindness to us, even when we close 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:30.719 the door, he's so merciful that he stands on the 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:35.560 outside of it, still knocking to have relationship with us. 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:39.560 So the reason why chapter four, verse one is so 0:18:39.640 --> 0:18:42.920 important is because where we close the door in chapter three, 0:18:43.040 --> 0:18:45.760 he opens it back up in chapter four, verse one. 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:49.240 Even when you've closed it, you need to know that 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:52.840 the door of Heaven is still open. It remains in 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:56.240 the open position for you and me standing on earth 0:18:56.480 --> 0:18:57.639 with access to heaven. 0:18:58.240 --> 0:19:00.760 Then John says I heard a voice. 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:04.000 The voice was loud and clear like a trumpet, and 0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:11.840 the voice said, come up here, the invitation of a lifetime. 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:14.879 That if you and I can grab hold of this invitation, 0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:17.280 it changes the way we relate to all the hard 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:20.360 stuff of earth, because there you are stepping on all 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:23.800 the rocks of Patnos, all the difficult conversations and the 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:27.840 difficult people, the difficult problems, the difficult realities, the things 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:31.119 that jolt us and stagger us and disappoint us, the 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:34.399 betrayals that hurt us and break our hearts, the different 0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:36.080 things that we face in life that we. 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:38.880 Cannot believe that life holds. 0:19:38.520 --> 0:19:40.679 Because I don't know if y'all noticed or not, but 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:46.600 life is out here lifing. Me and my girlfriends get 0:19:46.640 --> 0:19:48.560 on the phone and we be like life is ghetto. 0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:54.400 Earth is kind of ghetto. Can I get one witness? 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:00.360 You're gonna need to hear the voice of the. 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:03.480 Holy Spirit saying to you, come up. 0:20:03.920 --> 0:20:06.680 Here, which means it is possible. 0:20:06.880 --> 0:20:10.879 It is important and necessary for believers in Jesus Christ 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:14.080 to live in two places at the exact same time, 0:20:14.880 --> 0:20:17.760 with your feet firmly planted on the realities of art, 0:20:17.840 --> 0:20:20.520 but your mind fixed on things eternal. 0:20:25.800 --> 0:20:27.000 It's gonna be imperative. 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:30.320 It's gonna be necessary for. 0:20:30.320 --> 0:20:32.440 You and I to make it, to accept this invitation 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:34.919 that we're always coming up here, Like we're in the argument, 0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:37.199 we're about to say that, but first we're gonna come 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:40.800 up here. We're about to comment that, we're about to 0:20:40.840 --> 0:20:42.399 post that, but first let. 0:20:42.280 --> 0:20:43.560 Me pause and come up here. 0:20:45.640 --> 0:20:48.240 We're about to make a decision about our finances, about 0:20:48.280 --> 0:20:51.000 our parenting, about our marriage, about whether to stay, about 0:20:51.000 --> 0:20:51.600 whether to go. 0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:53.680 But first before I choose. 0:20:53.600 --> 0:20:56.840 Before I walk, before I decide, before I make that 0:20:57.119 --> 0:20:59.720 choice and decision, I'm accepting the invitation to. 0:20:59.640 --> 0:21:00.320 Come up, Pierre. 0:21:03.680 --> 0:21:04.679 I'm coming up. 0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:10.280 Through prayer, through. 0:21:09.960 --> 0:21:13.320 Worship, through the reading of God's word. Lord, What is 0:21:13.359 --> 0:21:16.760 your perspective? How do I reflect your character? How do 0:21:16.880 --> 0:21:19.040 I say what you would say and act, how you 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:21.960 would act and respond, how you would respond, So that 0:21:22.040 --> 0:21:24.879 I don't just wait to get to Heaven to experience heaven, 0:21:25.240 --> 0:21:28.359 but I bring Heaven to Earth right now, so that 0:21:28.480 --> 0:21:31.919 I'm experiencing it and offering it to everybody that's around me. 0:21:32.040 --> 0:21:36.119 John says, I heard the invitation, and the invitation. 0:21:35.840 --> 0:21:41.480 Changed my life. Okay, access invitation. 0:21:43.240 --> 0:21:47.919 John says, just in case life's been so hard, the rocks, 0:21:48.000 --> 0:21:51.879 the hard stuff of Patnus have so overwhelmed you recently 0:21:52.480 --> 0:21:55.680 that you're going to have a hard time picturing this door. 0:21:55.720 --> 0:21:58.840 You're gonna have a hard time setting your eyes, fixing 0:21:58.880 --> 0:22:01.080 your eyes on gays. You're gonna have a little bit 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:03.480 of a hard time, you admit it doing what Paul 0:22:03.520 --> 0:22:06.119 says in Colossians chapter three, verse one. If then you 0:22:06.280 --> 0:22:09.240 have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things 0:22:09.240 --> 0:22:12.040 above where Christ is seated at the right hand of 0:22:12.119 --> 0:22:14.840 the Father. Sets your mind on things above, not on 0:22:14.960 --> 0:22:17.280 things that are on the earth, For you have died 0:22:17.359 --> 0:22:18.680 and your life is hidden in. 0:22:18.680 --> 0:22:21.200 Christ with God. He says, Just in case you. 0:22:21.240 --> 0:22:24.200 Know that right now, because life is out here doing 0:22:24.240 --> 0:22:26.320 the most, you're gonna have a little bit of a 0:22:26.359 --> 0:22:31.200 hard time capturing what it is that I'm describing, He says, elevation, 0:22:31.359 --> 0:22:33.960 would you just for this Sunday morning, come grab my 0:22:34.119 --> 0:22:37.600 hand and let me take you to this door, even 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:39.520 if you can't make it on your own, he says, 0:22:39.560 --> 0:22:40.800 just sit with me for a moment. 0:22:40.880 --> 0:22:43.360 Let me take you to the door, because. 0:22:43.080 --> 0:22:45.800 If I can show you what's on the other side 0:22:45.800 --> 0:22:46.240 of this. 0:22:46.200 --> 0:22:50.119 Door, it's gonna shift the way you relate to everything 0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:51.320 happening here on earth. 0:22:52.359 --> 0:22:55.760 He says, Grab my hand and let me show you 0:22:55.920 --> 0:22:59.280 verse two that immediately when I was in the spirit, 0:23:00.080 --> 0:23:02.359 he says, behold. Now, can I just I didn't even 0:23:02.400 --> 0:23:03.760 get to the thing behind the door yet, but I 0:23:03.840 --> 0:23:06.879 just gotta tell y'all. Anytime you see the word behold 0:23:07.000 --> 0:23:11.360 in scripture, it means get ready. It was the best 0:23:11.720 --> 0:23:14.879 word that the English translators could come up with for 0:23:14.960 --> 0:23:17.480 what the original writers were trying to describe. It means 0:23:17.840 --> 0:23:20.560 sit on the edge of your seat. This is the time, 0:23:20.640 --> 0:23:24.040 with your chin in your hands, your eyes peeled, your 0:23:24.160 --> 0:23:27.200 mind fresh, get ready to look and. 0:23:27.160 --> 0:23:29.600 See what is on the other side of this door. 0:23:30.280 --> 0:23:32.639 John says, take my hand and let me take you 0:23:32.680 --> 0:23:36.760 to the door and behold. The very first thing I 0:23:36.840 --> 0:23:37.800 saw Verse. 0:23:37.640 --> 0:23:43.560 Two was a throne. He says. 0:23:43.560 --> 0:23:46.120 If you don't see anything else on the other side 0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:49.119 of this door, I'm gonna need you to know that 0:23:49.240 --> 0:23:52.040 the very first thing that captured my attention when I 0:23:52.080 --> 0:23:55.280 look through this open window into Heaven that the Lord 0:23:55.320 --> 0:23:57.960 gave me access to is that I saw there was 0:23:58.000 --> 0:24:01.600 a throne and it was set in the heavens. With 0:24:01.760 --> 0:24:06.040 everything else being so unshakable and so unreasonable, and so 0:24:06.640 --> 0:24:10.280 it's unstable, he says, I was so relieved to see 0:24:10.359 --> 0:24:10.800 there was. 0:24:10.840 --> 0:24:13.400 One thing that had not changed, and. 0:24:13.359 --> 0:24:15.600 That is that there was a throne and it was 0:24:15.720 --> 0:24:20.200 set in the heavens. It is unmovable, It is unchangeable, 0:24:20.520 --> 0:24:25.400 It is untouched, it is unbothered. It is unaffected by 0:24:25.400 --> 0:24:28.399 the things of Earth. There is no coup that is 0:24:28.480 --> 0:24:32.400 powerful enough to overthrow it. There is no person influential 0:24:32.560 --> 0:24:36.040 enough to usurpent. There is no dictator that is forceful 0:24:36.160 --> 0:24:40.159 enough to seize it. He says, Look, behold, there is 0:24:40.240 --> 0:24:41.400 a throne and it. 0:24:41.359 --> 0:24:43.160 Is still set in the heavens. 0:24:45.359 --> 0:24:48.399 This changes everything because what it means is Earth doesn't 0:24:48.440 --> 0:24:52.160 have the final say. This changes everything because it means 0:24:52.160 --> 0:24:55.840 that the stuff that is happening here that seems so unreasonable, 0:24:55.880 --> 0:24:59.320 And we wonder whether we're tethered to anybody's sovereign, whether 0:24:59.320 --> 0:25:03.840 there's over whether somebody's presiding. Does anybody know Have they 0:25:03.960 --> 0:25:07.199 seen the tears that are falling from my eyes, the 0:25:07.400 --> 0:25:10.320 unrest that keeps me up at night, the things that 0:25:10.440 --> 0:25:12.520 give me anxiety and concern. 0:25:12.119 --> 0:25:14.600 Over my children, or my marriage, or. 0:25:14.480 --> 0:25:17.800 My finances, or my health. I feel like nobody's watching 0:25:17.920 --> 0:25:21.160 over me. John says, if you'll just look through this door, 0:25:21.240 --> 0:25:26.160 you will see there is a sovereign ruler who is seated, unmoved, 0:25:26.240 --> 0:25:34.960 and unchanged, and he's on the throne. Revelation is a 0:25:35.040 --> 0:25:37.000 overwhelming book for all of us. 0:25:38.000 --> 0:25:38.719 John canny. 0:25:38.880 --> 0:25:41.240 He don't even know what he's talking about. Half the time. 0:25:41.960 --> 0:25:44.720 He's trying to describe creatures. He can't find the words 0:25:44.760 --> 0:25:47.440 to describe. He's doing the best he can to pull 0:25:47.520 --> 0:25:50.000 images from that which he knows folks can at least 0:25:50.400 --> 0:25:53.400 kind of try to relate to to describe what he's see. 0:25:53.440 --> 0:25:54.840 It's completely overwhelming. 0:25:55.240 --> 0:25:57.760 So there's a lot there that is intimidating to us 0:25:57.760 --> 0:25:59.760 when we read through the Book of Revelation. We sometimes 0:25:59.840 --> 0:26:03.080 just de'er clear of it. But there's one thing you 0:26:03.160 --> 0:26:08.200 can miss dozens of times throughout the book. Thirteen times 0:26:08.240 --> 0:26:12.040 in this chapter alone, John keeps saying, there's a throne. 0:26:13.800 --> 0:26:15.440 He says, you may not get all this other stuff, 0:26:15.480 --> 0:26:22.240 but don't miss this. There's a throne. There is a throne. 0:26:23.040 --> 0:26:27.320 There is a seat of authority. A seat of ultimate sovereignty, 0:26:27.680 --> 0:26:31.040 a seat of ultimate power. He says, don't miss the 0:26:31.080 --> 0:26:35.000 fact that the central future of our future as the 0:26:35.119 --> 0:26:39.680 Church and the central feature of our day today. 0:26:39.280 --> 0:26:41.360 Life for believers, not. 0:26:41.320 --> 0:26:44.240 Just Christians that go to church on Sunday or you know, 0:26:44.359 --> 0:26:46.600 read a verse the day to keep the devil away. 0:26:46.680 --> 0:26:47.040 Not that. 0:26:47.240 --> 0:26:51.080 No, I'm talking about disciples. I'm talking about kingdom minded 0:26:51.520 --> 0:26:54.040 on mission believers for Jesus Christ. 0:26:54.480 --> 0:26:57.840 John says, the central feature of all of our lives 0:26:57.880 --> 0:26:59.720 has to be there is a throne. 0:27:00.040 --> 0:27:02.240 Everything we do orbits around the fact that we are 0:27:02.320 --> 0:27:03.959 pledged allegiance to the throne. 0:27:04.240 --> 0:27:05.560 That we understand we. 0:27:05.440 --> 0:27:07.960 Have a king, and he has a kingdom. He is 0:27:08.080 --> 0:27:11.160 seated on a throne, and he has sovereign rule. He 0:27:11.240 --> 0:27:16.320 has either orchestrated or allowed every single thing that has 0:27:16.400 --> 0:27:18.080 happened in our experiences. 0:27:18.400 --> 0:27:20.080 Nothing has escaped. 0:27:19.720 --> 0:27:24.000 His notice, nothing is beyond his grasp. Our lives are 0:27:24.040 --> 0:27:29.160 in the palm of his hand. The reason why this 0:27:29.200 --> 0:27:32.280 would have mattered so much to the first century believers 0:27:32.280 --> 0:27:35.240 that this letter was originally going to is because the 0:27:35.280 --> 0:27:41.919 throne of the Emperor in Rome was so influential, so powerful, 0:27:42.280 --> 0:27:46.440 and it was Antichrist. To be a Christian in this 0:27:46.520 --> 0:27:50.080 time period was almost unthinking. It would cost you your life. 0:27:50.200 --> 0:27:52.720 It was the whole reason why John was exiled to Patnas. 0:27:52.920 --> 0:27:55.080 Because if you were going to pledge allegiance, if you 0:27:55.119 --> 0:27:57.080 were going to start living in the way that aligned 0:27:57.080 --> 0:28:00.480 with this new king, Dame Jesus and the church that 0:28:00.520 --> 0:28:03.080 he had set up, and if you believed in the death, 0:28:03.160 --> 0:28:06.120 burial and resurrection, if you were gonna reorient the way 0:28:06.160 --> 0:28:09.080 you did everything, the way you did politics, the way 0:28:09.080 --> 0:28:11.280 you did business, the way you did ministry, the way 0:28:11.320 --> 0:28:13.680 you steered your kids, the way you steered your education. 0:28:14.160 --> 0:28:16.720 If you were gonna orient your life around the king 0:28:16.840 --> 0:28:19.800 and his kingdom, you had to go up against the 0:28:19.840 --> 0:28:23.520 government of the day and all of its systems. It 0:28:23.640 --> 0:28:37.200 was Antichrist. I don't know if you've noticed everything around 0:28:37.320 --> 0:28:43.480 us is anti Christ. If we're gonna be deced, listen, 0:28:43.480 --> 0:28:45.040 we're are the young believers in the room. 0:28:45.440 --> 0:28:46.800 Listen to your anti Priscilla. 0:28:46.840 --> 0:28:49.160 Where are you You're eighteen to twenty five years old? 0:28:49.160 --> 0:28:50.400 Listen to your anti Priscilla. 0:28:50.720 --> 0:28:55.960 You gonna have to have some backbone, and you can 0:28:56.240 --> 0:28:59.360 and you will. You're gonna have to have some spiritual. 0:28:58.880 --> 0:28:59.840 Meat on your bones. 0:29:00.000 --> 0:29:02.960 You're gonna have to have some spiritual fiber to be 0:29:03.000 --> 0:29:10.680 able to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy, because, y'all, 0:29:10.880 --> 0:29:12.720 I mean, I'm not that old, but I'm saying to 0:29:12.760 --> 0:29:15.520 you a few decades ago, it used to be that 0:29:15.640 --> 0:29:19.440 people at least respected the moral compass of the scriptures, 0:29:19.960 --> 0:29:22.720 even if they weren't Christians, even if they wasn't coming 0:29:22.760 --> 0:29:24.880 all the way with this Jesus stuff, they knew that 0:29:25.080 --> 0:29:27.600 at least this was the way to be a good citizen. 0:29:28.960 --> 0:29:29.600 Not anymore. 0:29:31.200 --> 0:29:33.800 If you make a decision to stand for Christ, you're 0:29:33.840 --> 0:29:38.000 gonna have to stand alone, flat footed, by yourself, on 0:29:38.040 --> 0:29:41.480 your social media page, on your platform, on your job 0:29:41.840 --> 0:29:45.160 and say there is a standard of truth that is 0:29:45.240 --> 0:29:50.040 non negotiable and has not changed. You're gonna have to 0:29:50.120 --> 0:30:00.520 have backbone for that. The first century believers know exactly 0:30:00.600 --> 0:30:03.560 how it feels to have to stand firm in an 0:30:03.720 --> 0:30:09.080 anti christ culture, and John says to them, there's a throne. 0:30:10.200 --> 0:30:12.320 They're not in charge, he is. 0:30:13.680 --> 0:30:16.680 John says, I looked up and I saw a throne. 0:30:16.720 --> 0:30:19.560 And not only did I see a throne that was situated, 0:30:19.600 --> 0:30:22.720 but I saw somebody sitting on the throne, a throne 0:30:22.720 --> 0:30:26.520 that is above every earthly throne, above all powers, above 0:30:26.520 --> 0:30:30.720 all human authorities, above all seats of influence, above all presidents, 0:30:30.880 --> 0:30:35.400 above all administrations, above all monarchs, above all kings, above 0:30:35.440 --> 0:30:39.680 all governmental systems, above all institutions, above all establishments. 0:30:39.960 --> 0:30:41.080 There is a throne. 0:30:41.200 --> 0:30:44.160 It has not been replaced, it has not been moved, 0:30:44.360 --> 0:30:47.200 it has not been diminished in power. And John says 0:30:47.480 --> 0:30:51.840 it is also not unoccupied, because I saw the throne. 0:30:51.800 --> 0:30:53.480 And somebody was sitting on it. 0:30:57.360 --> 0:30:59.320 Because what good is a throne? 0:30:59.560 --> 0:31:02.240 Ain't nobody worthy sitting on the throne? 0:31:04.320 --> 0:31:06.960 John said, Can we find somebody worthy? 0:31:07.120 --> 0:31:09.200 Can we find somebody righteous? 0:31:09.400 --> 0:31:11.000 Can we find somebody who. 0:31:10.880 --> 0:31:14.680 Should be seated in this position of influence? He said, 0:31:14.720 --> 0:31:18.560 I looked up and I saw Jesus Christ, the Son 0:31:18.640 --> 0:31:22.160 of the Living God, who was, and is and is 0:31:22.200 --> 0:31:22.640 to come. 0:31:26.600 --> 0:31:32.000 All right, amen, thank you Jesus. 0:31:40.280 --> 0:31:51.000 I'm so grateful that he's on the throne. I do 0:31:51.120 --> 0:31:55.000 not know how people are making it that, do not know. 0:31:55.160 --> 0:31:59.560 There is a king and he's on the throne. In 0:31:59.600 --> 0:32:04.360 the Middle East, the ancient Near East, when there was 0:32:04.400 --> 0:32:10.200 a war or a battle raging, kings didn't sit when 0:32:10.240 --> 0:32:13.240 there was a battle that was in full swing. Kings stood, 0:32:13.680 --> 0:32:18.479 they paced, they watched, they wanted oversight, They did not rest. 0:32:19.560 --> 0:32:22.320 The only time a king sat down is once the 0:32:22.360 --> 0:32:27.520 battle had already been won, to demonstrate to everybody in 0:32:27.560 --> 0:32:29.400 the sphere of influence that. 0:32:29.320 --> 0:32:31.560 The victory had already been secured. 0:32:34.080 --> 0:32:36.080 John says, look through the door. 0:32:36.800 --> 0:32:38.880 If you look through the door, you're gonna see that. 0:32:38.840 --> 0:32:41.680 There's not just a throne, but there is a king 0:32:41.760 --> 0:32:43.080 who's sitting down on. 0:32:43.160 --> 0:32:45.040 The throne to. 0:32:45.120 --> 0:32:48.480 Let you know that the battle has already. 0:32:48.080 --> 0:32:48.720 Had been won. 0:32:50.800 --> 0:32:56.280 Amen, I'm saying. 0:32:56.040 --> 0:32:59.400 You and I are not fighting for victory. We're fighting 0:32:59.520 --> 0:33:09.520 from victory. There's a throne. Since you win, Brother, you win, 0:33:10.240 --> 0:33:13.120 the enemy can try to form a weapon against you, 0:33:13.200 --> 0:33:17.160 but the weapon has no hope of prospering. There is 0:33:17.280 --> 0:33:20.600 no scheme of the enemy that can prosper about your life. 0:33:20.640 --> 0:33:25.320 Why because the king is sitting down on the throne. 0:33:26.080 --> 0:33:30.200 And in the presence of the sitting king every single 0:33:30.400 --> 0:33:34.560 creature that can't even fully be described. John said, I 0:33:34.640 --> 0:33:38.000 can't even give language to what I saw, but I 0:33:38.120 --> 0:33:48.840 know what I heard. They said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is 0:33:49.000 --> 0:34:04.920 the Lord God Almighty, who. 0:34:04.960 --> 0:34:10.040 Was and is and is to come. And then anybody 0:34:10.080 --> 0:34:11.560 in the vicinity that had. 0:34:11.440 --> 0:34:14.799 A crown on their head, they took it off as 0:34:14.880 --> 0:34:18.600 quick as they could. They laid it at the feet 0:34:18.600 --> 0:34:23.040 of the only one worthy and said, worthy are you 0:34:23.200 --> 0:34:29.600 God to receive glory and honor and power and authority. 0:34:29.719 --> 0:34:36.439 Why, because you're sitting on the throat, would you bow 0:34:36.440 --> 0:34:37.440 your heads with me? Please? 0:34:49.040 --> 0:34:51.319 If you were in this room and you have not 0:34:51.600 --> 0:34:53.600 seen the throat, you do not have. 0:34:53.520 --> 0:34:55.279 A relationship with Jesus. 0:34:56.120 --> 0:35:00.240 Life has been difficult, and you are doing it un 0:35:00.320 --> 0:35:05.080 attached to the realities of heaven. Life's too hard for that, brother, 0:35:05.560 --> 0:35:06.960 Life's too hard for that sister. 0:35:06.960 --> 0:35:07.960 You're gonna need an anchor. 0:35:08.000 --> 0:35:12.080 You're gonna need relationship with this throne, relationship with the. 0:35:12.000 --> 0:35:15.080 One who is seated on the throne. 0:35:15.160 --> 0:35:17.320 If you do not know, beyond a shadow of a 0:35:17.360 --> 0:35:20.400 doubt that like John, you can look through this doorway 0:35:20.440 --> 0:35:23.120 and know that Jesus is here, that he is real, 0:35:23.440 --> 0:35:26.120 that he's got your back, I offer you Jesus today. 0:35:26.280 --> 0:35:29.239 Do not leave without knowing that you have a relationship 0:35:29.320 --> 0:35:32.799 with Jesus Christ. He is the only thing that is 0:35:32.960 --> 0:35:40.000 unshakable in this very unstable, unshakable world. While every head 0:35:40.080 --> 0:35:42.480 is bowed and eyes are closed and believers are praying. 0:35:42.480 --> 0:35:45.640 If you have never made that decision, but you want 0:35:45.680 --> 0:35:47.759 to today, would you just raise your hand and lift 0:35:47.800 --> 0:35:49.719 your eyes so that mine meet yours. And I know 0:35:49.800 --> 0:35:52.640 that's a decision you need to make today. You want 0:35:52.640 --> 0:35:56.400 to get it fixed. Anybody just wave at me if 0:35:56.440 --> 0:35:58.200 that's a decision you need to make. Yes, ma'am, I 0:35:58.239 --> 0:36:00.360 see you, sweet girl. Yes, I see you there in 0:36:00.360 --> 0:36:03.319 the awah. Anybody else just wave at me. Come on, yes, 0:36:03.360 --> 0:36:05.600 I see y'all. Don't be embarrassed, don't be ashamed. Ain't 0:36:05.600 --> 0:36:13.840 nobody got time for that. Anybody else. Listen. Jesus is 0:36:13.880 --> 0:36:17.640 coming back soon. I see y'all. Time is short. Come on, y'all, 0:36:17.680 --> 0:36:18.000 we can't. 0:36:18.080 --> 0:36:23.279 We gotta stop playing games. Life's too hard. I see you, 0:36:23.520 --> 0:36:26.680 I see you, young man. Amen. Anybody else just wave 0:36:26.760 --> 0:36:29.320 at me. Yeah, I see you up there. Dozens of 0:36:29.360 --> 0:36:30.640 hands are up all over the room. 0:36:30.840 --> 0:36:36.960 I see you, says, Yeah, I see y'all, Hey see you. Okay, 0:36:37.200 --> 0:36:40.920 see you brother, Okay. The Bible says, you confess with 0:36:41.000 --> 0:36:43.120 your mouth, and you believe in your heart that Jesus 0:36:43.239 --> 0:36:48.239 Christ is Lord, you shall be saved. He already did 0:36:48.239 --> 0:36:49.759 all the hard work. All you have to do is 0:36:49.800 --> 0:36:53.680 receive the gift. So I'm gonna pray this prayer. You 0:36:53.800 --> 0:36:56.600 repeat the prayer after me, Okay out loud. In fact, 0:36:57.160 --> 0:36:59.800 the entire church. Can we all pray this prayer together. 0:37:00.320 --> 0:37:02.360 That way we can build an atmosphere of faith for 0:37:02.400 --> 0:37:04.359 those who are praying it for the very first time. 0:37:04.400 --> 0:37:07.040 Okay, let's pray together, Lord Jesus. 0:37:08.239 --> 0:37:12.640 I am a sinner in need of a savior, and 0:37:12.760 --> 0:37:15.800 I believe that you are that savior. 0:37:17.239 --> 0:37:20.719 So today I place faith. 0:37:20.520 --> 0:37:28.080 Alone in Christ alone to remove my sins. Take up 0:37:28.160 --> 0:37:32.360 residence in me, in the person of the Holy Spirit, 0:37:33.880 --> 0:37:38.360 right now, in Jesus' name, In Jesus' name. 0:37:38.680 --> 0:37:40.360 Come on everybody shouting that. 0:37:47.160 --> 0:37:49.719 Hey, I hope you enjoyed the podcast, and if you did, 0:37:50.280 --> 0:37:52.879 make sure to share it and subscribe so we can 0:37:52.920 --> 0:37:55.520 get you all of these new messages as soon as 0:37:55.520 --> 0:37:58.319 they're available. I also want to take a moment and 0:37:58.400 --> 0:38:00.200 thank all of you who are a part of Elevation. 0:38:00.680 --> 0:38:04.040 Whether you support us financially, or serve with us, or 0:38:04.440 --> 0:38:07.120 just share these messages, it's because of you that we're 0:38:07.160 --> 0:38:10.120 able to reach people all around the world. And if 0:38:10.120 --> 0:38:12.600 you want more information on how to be a part 0:38:12.640 --> 0:38:16.520 of Elevation, click the link in the description. Thanks again 0:38:16.600 --> 0:38:19.040 for listening. Make sure to leave a review, share the 0:38:19.080 --> 0:38:21.320 message and subscribe. God bless you.