WEBVTT 00:00.860 --> 00:05.940 Obviously, I'm leading prayer today, and I was talking to the Lord, and I was asking Him, 00:06.740 --> 00:11.340 just in passing, what He wanted me to talk about. And this phrase ran through me. 00:11.460 --> 00:17.080 It said, Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. And it scared me. 00:18.860 --> 00:23.500 Because obviously, that means something. I got to repent about something I'm not doing right. 00:24.500 --> 00:29.540 And sometimes, I know when I looked at pastors or men or women of God, 00:30.880 --> 00:33.540 ever since I was younger, I thought, oh, they've reached. 00:33.980 --> 00:37.400 You know, like, they're not struggling with some of the things I'm struggling with. 00:37.680 --> 00:40.280 Or, you know, they've overcome some things. 00:41.440 --> 00:47.620 And the interesting thing about the heart is it can trick us into believing something, 00:49.020 --> 00:52.540 to deceive us into believing something that is not right. 00:53.340 --> 00:58.540 And so, as I'm growing in the Lord, and as God gives me opportunities 00:58.540 --> 01:04.760 and puts me in positions and places, I realize, wow, I did not make it 01:04.760 --> 01:07.440 like I thought these men and women of God made it. 01:07.900 --> 01:10.560 There's things in my heart that I still need to repent of. 01:10.680 --> 01:13.300 There's things in my heart that I still need to get rid of. 01:14.560 --> 01:20.580 And so, when that thought ran through me, my thought was like, oh, man, Lord, 01:20.720 --> 01:23.920 what is hidden that you see that I need repenting of? 01:25.580 --> 01:30.380 So then when I looked up that phrase in the Bible, it's only written a couple of times. 01:30.860 --> 01:36.340 There are some of them that are written in different ways, but it's the same context. 01:36.880 --> 01:41.560 But there's only two times, if I'm not mistaken, there's two times it's actually 01:41.560 --> 01:44.040 repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. 01:44.620 --> 01:48.180 Once it's by John the Baptist, and once it's by Jesus. 01:49.640 --> 01:54.720 And so I started digging and started reading what the Lord was trying to ask me to 01:54.720 --> 01:57.380 to say and to do and to repent of. 01:57.860 --> 02:00.360 And it brought me to Matthew chapter three. 02:01.400 --> 02:06.520 So let's read Matthew chapter three verses one through three. 02:06.640 --> 02:12.340 It says, in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea 02:12.340 --> 02:16.700 and saying, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 02:17.640 --> 02:22.700 For this is he who says, who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, 02:23.440 --> 02:26.100 saying the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 02:26.720 --> 02:31.320 prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 02:32.980 --> 02:38.560 So it's interesting because this is such a powerful message, a very short message. 02:39.400 --> 02:42.180 Just a couple of words, not a big sermon. 02:42.180 --> 02:48.760 But this powerful message started a revolution that is still continuing to this day. 02:49.440 --> 02:51.140 And I think that's so powerful. 02:51.980 --> 02:56.700 And I think that's one of the reasons why Jesus says that he is the greatest prophet. 02:58.120 --> 03:03.900 And this message not only did people repent, but there was deeper things happening. 03:04.640 --> 03:09.580 It prepared everything, everyone for Jesus and what he was going to do 03:09.580 --> 03:11.100 and what he was going to fulfill. 03:12.440 --> 03:17.440 Because before, if we've noticed in our lives, before we take the next step, 03:17.940 --> 03:22.040 there's certain things that we need to get rid of in ourselves in order to take that next step. 03:22.440 --> 03:27.300 Or else that seed won't go into the ground, it'll be stuck by all the thorns and the garbage 03:27.300 --> 03:30.480 and all the birds, it'll be eaten up. 03:30.960 --> 03:33.800 So there's certain things that we need to get rid of first 03:34.400 --> 03:37.060 before we can step into what the next step is. 03:37.060 --> 03:40.680 So John the Baptist was preaching this to everyone to say, 03:40.800 --> 03:45.000 hey, repent for the kingdom of heaven, I think he says, is at hand. 03:45.900 --> 03:49.080 Where he was already starting to clean them out. 03:49.240 --> 03:52.160 Hey, come and repent. These things that the Lord has placed in you, 03:52.200 --> 03:55.680 these sins that you have willingly done, come and repent of them 03:55.680 --> 03:58.720 because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 03:59.320 --> 04:01.300 And we're going to break down some of those words, 04:01.300 --> 04:07.060 but it's a clean slate for Jesus to work with to pour into and to plant seeds 04:07.060 --> 04:10.760 in order for this next phase to be fulfilled. 04:11.620 --> 04:14.180 So it's interesting as we are reading it says, 04:14.660 --> 04:22.200 in those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. 04:22.760 --> 04:25.760 And I think we've heard the word wilderness 04:26.300 --> 04:29.760 maybe the last probably five years more consistently. 04:30.560 --> 04:32.400 You know, we talk about the wilderness. 04:32.520 --> 04:34.780 Oh, the Lord has me in a place of wilderness. 04:36.960 --> 04:42.160 But as humans, we tend to take something and devalue it 04:42.160 --> 04:45.480 because we say it often or we take it out of context 04:45.480 --> 04:48.820 or we apply it to something that actually is not it, right? 04:49.840 --> 04:54.160 And so in strong wilderness, some words I'm just going to take out of strong. 04:54.520 --> 04:58.780 It's lonesome waste, which means unused, uncultivated, 04:58.780 --> 05:03.080 unproductive. It is a desert. It is desolate and it's solitary. 05:04.140 --> 05:08.800 And I think we've all been in that kind of place where it's lonesome. 05:09.440 --> 05:12.800 We may be surrounded by people, but we're lonesome. 05:13.500 --> 05:16.760 We feel desolate. We feel robbed. We feel empty. 05:19.200 --> 05:23.860 There's waste. We have a bunch of, we have things that are uncultivated 05:23.860 --> 05:26.200 in our lives, unproductive. 05:28.080 --> 05:34.120 And lonesome means depressed, sad, or lack of friends, companionship, lonely. 05:35.900 --> 05:38.940 And you know, sometimes in my walk with the Lord, not sometimes, 05:39.100 --> 05:43.320 most of the time when I'm in this wilderness, I feel so lonely. 05:55.260 --> 06:00.060 But the beauty is the Lord is with me. 06:11.780 --> 06:14.320 In these wildernesses, we feel desolate. 06:15.600 --> 06:20.380 We feel deprived, deserted, inhabited. 06:22.940 --> 06:26.060 We feel like, I don't, we don't feel like we feel the Lord. 06:26.460 --> 06:28.820 We feel like everyone in the room is feeling the Lord. 06:29.420 --> 06:32.560 Except to me, why do I feel so desolate? 06:33.600 --> 06:38.380 Why do I feel deprived, Lord? Your presence is here, but I feel deprived. 06:40.300 --> 06:42.340 Or solitary, where you're alone. 06:43.180 --> 06:46.540 You're going through something that most people don't understand. 06:48.100 --> 06:51.480 And you're alone, you're without companions, you're unattended. 06:52.880 --> 06:53.980 That's the wilderness. 06:55.440 --> 06:58.600 And I think we all have experienced this in our lives, 06:58.680 --> 07:01.200 and we will continue to experience this in our lives. 07:01.300 --> 07:05.160 It's because in those wilderness moments, when we're the lowest, 07:05.160 --> 07:08.080 the weakest, he comes in and he makes us strong. 07:08.700 --> 07:11.160 He replaces our strength with his strength. 07:11.980 --> 07:15.480 And in order to go closer and to know him more and more, 07:15.880 --> 07:19.500 we're going to go through these wildernesses that for our human flesh 07:19.500 --> 07:21.980 and for our soul are so draining. 07:24.080 --> 07:27.320 But it's needed in order if we want to get closer to him. 07:28.200 --> 07:31.780 It's these hardships that bring us the draws closer to him. 07:33.000 --> 07:37.140 So it's interesting that John was preaching in the wilderness. 07:38.180 --> 07:41.680 But the beauty of the Scripture that I love is that it's alive. 07:41.860 --> 07:46.760 There's depth upon depth to every dot, to every punctuation, to every word. 07:47.420 --> 07:49.660 I think he was preaching to the wilderness, 07:50.420 --> 07:52.680 to those people who were in the wilderness. 07:53.500 --> 07:56.900 That's why they were drawing out into the wilderness physically. 07:57.420 --> 08:00.700 Because these people were lonesome. They were deprived. 08:00.700 --> 08:05.240 They were desolate. They were alone. They were in solitary. 08:06.600 --> 08:11.460 And so they came out to John the Baptist who was preaching this message. 08:12.280 --> 08:14.900 And it's not a message of encouragement of, 08:15.060 --> 08:18.840 oh, hey, you're doing great. You know, the Lord is with you. Praise God. 08:19.040 --> 08:19.920 No, he said, repent. 08:21.220 --> 08:25.000 And us as humans, that's not, you know, 08:25.020 --> 08:28.640 let me speak for myself as myself as human. 08:28.640 --> 08:31.500 When I hear repent, I feel the opposite of encouraged. 08:32.340 --> 08:34.500 Because my flesh wants to be pampered. 08:34.620 --> 08:36.840 My flesh wants to be enjoyed. 08:37.060 --> 08:40.480 My flesh wants someone to be like, oh, you're doing a great job. 08:41.680 --> 08:43.540 But the Lord's like, no, you need to repent. 08:46.400 --> 08:47.640 Repent and strong. 08:48.000 --> 08:51.720 So as we were going, he was preaching in the wilderness to the wilderness. 08:52.720 --> 08:56.820 And he said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 08:56.820 --> 08:59.700 Repent is to think differently, to reconsider. 09:00.340 --> 09:02.740 And I love this word. It's a new word I learned yesterday. 09:03.560 --> 09:07.880 To feel compunction. I think that's correct, saying compunction. 09:08.560 --> 09:10.460 And we've all felt this. 09:11.200 --> 09:17.380 It's the uneasiness or anxiety of conscious caused by regret of doing wrong. 09:19.000 --> 09:20.440 That's happened to us. 09:21.360 --> 09:25.520 It's happened to me with more blatant sins that I've chosen to do 09:26.120 --> 09:29.020 where I did and I'm like, oh, why did I do that? 09:29.580 --> 09:32.620 I start to get anxiety. I start to feel so uneasy. 09:34.640 --> 09:38.100 And then also for other things that are technically not considered sin, 09:38.200 --> 09:40.100 but the Lord said, hey, I don't want you to do that. 09:40.600 --> 09:42.740 And because I'm disobeying him, it's sin. 09:43.560 --> 09:47.560 And it could be something very small, but he said, hey, I told you not to. 09:47.700 --> 09:49.080 And it's, oh, this anxiety. 09:50.020 --> 09:51.420 And it overwhelms us. 09:52.900 --> 09:56.580 Repent is being sorry. It's sorrowful, grieved or sad. 09:57.420 --> 09:59.260 Repent is contrite. 09:59.600 --> 10:01.320 Pastor Igor is going to preach this today. 10:01.940 --> 10:02.520 Contrite. 10:03.260 --> 10:08.740 And what that means is filled with a sense of guilt and a desire for atonement. 10:09.460 --> 10:11.580 And I love that because it's twofold. 10:12.020 --> 10:14.620 It's first, oh, I have this anxiety and guilt. 10:15.220 --> 10:17.300 I have this uneasiness for what I did. 10:17.880 --> 10:20.660 However, I want atonement for it. 10:20.660 --> 10:22.740 I want to be reconciled. 10:24.960 --> 10:31.120 It also means to be, to have regret, to think with a sense of loss. 10:32.740 --> 10:36.940 And repent, there's certain, there's so many definitions to every word out there. 10:37.780 --> 10:40.160 And repentance had a couple that were above this, 10:40.280 --> 10:44.800 but I love this because I don't think we talk about this when we regret something. 10:45.560 --> 10:49.180 We feel the loss of what happened. 10:50.300 --> 10:54.020 We did a decision that will never get back. 10:54.880 --> 10:58.760 And we now have to grieve the loss of our decision. 10:59.800 --> 11:04.020 And I think that right there is covered up by the enemy. 11:04.460 --> 11:06.420 He wants us to not think about the loss. 11:06.600 --> 11:08.420 Oh, but that's okay. Keep going forward. 11:09.280 --> 11:13.720 But sometimes we can't go forward until we grieve the loss that we caused. 11:14.780 --> 11:18.840 The loss that we caused to our Lord, the loss that we caused to ourselves, 11:19.200 --> 11:22.060 the opportunity, the mistakes. 11:23.100 --> 11:24.660 And we have to grieve that. 11:26.100 --> 11:27.880 So to repent is a 180. 11:28.580 --> 11:32.740 It's going this direction, stopping and turning the other way and going the other direction. 11:34.540 --> 11:36.180 It's to stop and turn away. 11:36.460 --> 11:37.420 So he said repent. 11:39.080 --> 11:44.780 For the kingdom of heaven, kingdom, means rule or realm. 11:46.200 --> 11:50.160 So if we think about the kingdom of heaven, it's the rule. 11:51.000 --> 11:53.160 It's the realm of this kingdom. 11:54.340 --> 12:00.200 And actually the word king in Strong's means foundation of power. 12:00.200 --> 12:07.160 So if we're thinking of kingdom, the Lord is the foundation of this power of this kingdom. 12:09.500 --> 12:14.080 And heaven means an extension of heaven. 12:14.380 --> 12:18.820 In other words, an extension of the dwelling place of the Lord. 12:20.640 --> 12:28.180 And the beauty of the kingdom of heaven is it's coming from heaven and he's extending it out now to us. 12:29.460 --> 12:37.000 So this king who is the source of power, this king who is the foundation of power, 12:37.540 --> 12:43.440 that John the Baptist was preaching, that even Jesus preached, he said, hey, the kingdom of heaven, 12:43.960 --> 12:49.300 this God who is the foundation of power, he's extending it now to us and it's here. 12:50.080 --> 13:01.920 And now when we look at hand and Strong's, it means to make near or approach, to come and draw, to be near. 13:02.480 --> 13:06.680 So when we're looking at this message, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, 13:07.820 --> 13:11.560 we kind of now have a little of understanding of what it actually meant. 13:13.020 --> 13:17.100 The kingdom of heaven, when we think of a kingdom, 13:17.100 --> 13:21.200 if we think of the Roman kingdom, the first person that comes into our mind is Caesar. 13:22.500 --> 13:25.120 There's a foundation of power for that kingdom. 13:26.200 --> 13:33.180 So the kingdom of heaven is the Lord, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 13:33.680 --> 13:36.080 It is their kingdom that we are to walk out. 13:37.220 --> 13:43.100 And he's saying repent because this kingdom is here for you to take, for you to live out, 13:43.220 --> 13:44.860 but you can't do it unless you repent. 13:45.600 --> 13:50.340 You cannot walk this, you cannot walk the rules and the regulations, 13:51.000 --> 13:54.840 not that we're walking in rules and regulations, there's commands that we have to fulfill. 13:55.840 --> 13:58.900 But there's, there, you can't fulfill them until you repent. 14:01.860 --> 14:08.460 And then later it says, for this was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah saying, 14:08.700 --> 14:14.400 the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. 14:14.400 --> 14:17.700 And that's actually out of Isaiah chapter 40. 14:19.240 --> 14:24.460 And I'm going to read it, it's verse three and four and five. 14:24.640 --> 14:30.960 And it says, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, 14:32.080 --> 14:36.480 make straight in the desert a highway for our God, 14:37.560 --> 14:42.000 every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low, 14:42.000 --> 14:48.060 the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth, 14:49.040 --> 14:55.040 the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together, 14:55.980 --> 14:58.020 for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 15:03.050 --> 15:06.390 Sometimes I haven't been doing this much public speaking, 15:06.870 --> 15:11.870 but so far this year, every single time I'm asked to speak. 15:12.850 --> 15:15.110 And I go into the Word and I start reading the Word. 15:15.230 --> 15:17.830 I'm like, do I need to speak? Can I just read the Bible? 15:18.050 --> 15:23.930 Because that on itself is a message that like, let me just read it and let it sink. 15:27.070 --> 15:31.570 But the beauty of this really touched me because it gave me an understanding 15:33.290 --> 15:34.850 of this way of the Lord. 15:38.970 --> 15:43.470 So to prepare means to provide or to make ready. 15:44.670 --> 15:47.550 And this way is a progress or journey. 15:48.270 --> 15:52.190 So it's not instance, not okay, you're done, you're graduated, you're good to go. 15:52.930 --> 15:54.990 It's a progress and it's a journey. 15:55.350 --> 15:58.790 It's tilling the ground every year, year after year. 16:00.710 --> 16:03.730 Reassessing your life every year, year after year. 16:05.910 --> 16:08.830 So it says the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 16:09.290 --> 16:11.110 prepare the way of the Lord. 16:11.110 --> 16:13.430 So how does this look like? 16:14.390 --> 16:14.810 Let's read. 16:15.050 --> 16:20.290 Make straight in the desert wilderness a highway for the Lord. 16:21.750 --> 16:23.770 So how do we prepare the way of the Lord? 16:24.210 --> 16:26.250 We make straight in the desert wilderness, 16:27.470 --> 16:31.410 or in the desert, which I labeled wilderness, that's what it is. 16:32.230 --> 16:35.110 Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 16:37.530 --> 16:40.630 So how do we make a straight, how do we make it straight? 16:41.770 --> 16:49.000 Number one, every valley shall be exalted, 16:49.740 --> 16:52.420 and every mountain and hill brought low. 16:53.040 --> 16:55.720 That's one we can make the road straight. 16:56.840 --> 16:58.120 Now, what is valley? 16:59.100 --> 17:02.100 When I think of valley, I think of lowliness. 17:03.400 --> 17:06.380 When you look at a valley, you see all these mountains, 17:06.380 --> 17:08.560 or these hills, or these cliffs around it. 17:09.100 --> 17:10.620 But the valley is so low. 17:12.080 --> 17:15.540 Everything that happens at the top always goes down low. 17:16.520 --> 17:19.240 So the valley is lowliness. It's humbleness. 17:19.820 --> 17:20.420 It's weakness. 17:21.740 --> 17:23.860 It's things that we did not get on our own. 17:23.960 --> 17:25.640 It's Jesus in us. 17:26.860 --> 17:29.760 So every valley, what's supposed to happen to those valleys? 17:30.300 --> 17:30.880 Be exalted. 17:33.640 --> 17:36.280 That humbleness, be exalted. 17:37.120 --> 17:39.760 Now that doesn't mean the Lord gave me a vision, 17:40.460 --> 17:43.300 and then all of a sudden, oh, I'm exalted now 17:43.300 --> 17:45.480 before men and women for this vision, 17:46.280 --> 17:48.460 and doing, fulfilling this vision. 17:49.120 --> 17:51.740 No, that means those character traits that the Lord gave you 17:51.740 --> 17:56.720 of integrity, of patience, kindness, long-suffering, 17:58.660 --> 18:01.800 all of those qualities exalt them up. 18:03.080 --> 18:04.020 That's what it means. 18:04.700 --> 18:08.340 Those things that you can't attain on your own, bring them up. 18:08.460 --> 18:09.520 That's what we need more of. 18:09.680 --> 18:13.500 We need to make them high so that the Lord can have a straight path to walk. 18:15.640 --> 18:19.500 And then it says in every mountain, which is big, 18:20.000 --> 18:22.340 mountains are big, and hills, which are smaller, 18:22.580 --> 18:24.000 but they're still elevated, 18:25.620 --> 18:32.580 it says every mountain and hill brought low. 18:33.240 --> 18:39.300 So it's interesting, mountain in Strong's says promotion. 18:40.980 --> 18:45.040 And I found that interesting, because when there's this promotion, 18:46.160 --> 18:51.420 we as humans get a certain persona where I got elevated. 18:52.800 --> 18:54.320 I got a promotion. 18:54.800 --> 18:56.340 People are looking at me now. 18:56.740 --> 18:59.640 And it's an air of arrogance and pride. 19:00.900 --> 19:04.140 And so it says the mountains, those big things in your life, 19:04.260 --> 19:05.080 your accomplishments. 19:06.060 --> 19:09.220 It's the big things of our flesh. 19:10.760 --> 19:13.400 It's the big things of myself. 19:14.080 --> 19:15.640 It's me. I got this. 19:16.260 --> 19:17.520 I grew the church. 19:18.260 --> 19:19.940 I healed that person. 19:20.680 --> 19:22.240 I preach in this place. 19:22.800 --> 19:25.180 These millions of people knew Jesus because of me. 19:25.940 --> 19:28.120 The Lord says, no, no, no, let's bring them low. 19:28.460 --> 19:29.220 We don't need that. 19:30.100 --> 19:33.380 If you want me to walk, if you want to walk in the kingdom of heaven, 19:34.300 --> 19:37.620 you need to bring that low, because you're not going to get far. 19:40.960 --> 19:42.300 So what's the next thing? 19:42.400 --> 19:45.300 What's another way we can make straight in the desert 19:45.300 --> 19:47.360 or in the wilderness, a highway to God? 19:47.360 --> 19:51.880 It says, the crooked places shall be made straight 19:51.880 --> 19:55.100 and the rough places smooth. 19:56.240 --> 19:58.700 So not only are we bringing up valleys 19:58.700 --> 20:00.520 and tearing down mountains and hills, 20:01.320 --> 20:03.180 now we're taking the crooked roads 20:03.180 --> 20:04.600 and we're making them straight 20:04.600 --> 20:06.380 and we're making the rough roads 20:06.380 --> 20:07.920 and we're making them smooth. 20:10.860 --> 20:13.360 And so crooked means swelling, 20:14.300 --> 20:15.280 swelled up, 20:16.720 --> 20:17.920 fraudulent, deceitful. 20:20.040 --> 20:21.820 These places which are flesh, 20:22.500 --> 20:24.920 these places is resulting in our flesh. 20:25.300 --> 20:29.960 These crooked places, this crookedness in our flesh 20:29.960 --> 20:31.220 it needs to be made straight. 20:31.960 --> 20:37.200 It can be the actions that we take. 20:38.020 --> 20:40.000 Because when you're building a road, 20:40.300 --> 20:42.440 it's not already made it, you're building it 20:42.440 --> 20:44.020 as you're building it. 20:44.020 --> 20:45.600 And then when we look at Minnesota, 20:46.140 --> 20:48.840 because we have roads redone all the time, 20:50.320 --> 20:53.180 they don't just, sometimes they just put a layer on top 20:53.180 --> 20:54.520 but that doesn't do anything, right? 20:54.960 --> 20:56.800 Covering the potholes doesn't do anything. 20:57.880 --> 20:59.800 That's why we have so much construction now 20:59.800 --> 21:01.280 because they realize that doesn't do anything. 21:02.020 --> 21:03.060 So what do you have to do? 21:03.760 --> 21:05.080 You gotta bring it all up. 21:06.560 --> 21:07.980 It's hard work. 21:08.680 --> 21:09.380 It's painful. 21:10.460 --> 21:11.840 You're trying to pick it up 21:11.840 --> 21:13.100 and then you fall. 21:13.820 --> 21:15.940 You're trying to bring up that rock, 21:16.080 --> 21:17.400 that piece of road 21:18.280 --> 21:19.840 and you're like, ah, I'm just... 21:19.840 --> 21:21.280 I'm gonna come tomorrow. I can't do this. 21:22.000 --> 21:23.420 Why does it take all summer? 21:23.600 --> 21:24.520 Because it's hard. 21:25.580 --> 21:27.480 And then there's people flying past you. 21:27.720 --> 21:28.680 Your life is endangered. 21:30.940 --> 21:33.580 So these crooked roads, we need to make them straight 21:34.240 --> 21:35.560 and it's not easy. 21:36.140 --> 21:38.760 So much easier for me to speak this out into your life 21:38.760 --> 21:40.600 and be like, hey, make your crooked road straight 21:40.600 --> 21:42.320 and then I can go home. 21:43.760 --> 21:45.380 But it's so much harder 21:45.380 --> 21:47.680 to be like, oh, the Lord wants me to redo this. 21:48.200 --> 21:50.960 And it may take weeks, months, 21:51.660 --> 21:52.860 even sometimes years 21:52.860 --> 21:54.200 if we're really stubborn, 21:54.980 --> 21:56.840 if we really don't want to work on ourselves 21:56.840 --> 21:57.440 and we're lazy. 21:58.160 --> 21:59.700 It reminds me of the Scripture. 22:00.040 --> 22:03.400 It says, don't look at your... 22:03.400 --> 22:04.920 the speck in your brother's eyes 22:04.920 --> 22:06.900 in your brother's eye. 22:07.920 --> 22:09.540 Look at the log at your own 22:09.540 --> 22:11.420 and I'm rephrasing that into my own words. 22:11.940 --> 22:13.280 But I find that interesting because 22:13.280 --> 22:15.020 if I look over there to Abby, 22:15.960 --> 22:18.060 whatever she has in her eye is a speck. 22:18.740 --> 22:19.740 I can't see it. 22:20.280 --> 22:22.800 But the log in my eye, the speck that's in my eye 22:22.800 --> 22:24.340 looks like a log to me 22:24.340 --> 22:25.580 because I can see it. 22:26.660 --> 22:28.480 And the beauty of that Scripture is, 22:28.560 --> 22:30.100 hey, don't focus on them 22:30.100 --> 22:32.020 because they probably have a log in their eye too. 22:32.800 --> 22:35.080 Focus at the log that you have in your eye. 22:35.600 --> 22:37.680 Start working on yourself with the Lord. 22:37.680 --> 22:39.560 Ask in the Lord to humble you, 22:39.980 --> 22:41.660 to bring you into that wilderness 22:41.660 --> 22:43.100 as hard as it is. 22:44.960 --> 22:47.400 So it says, make those places 22:47.400 --> 22:48.380 straight. 22:48.960 --> 22:50.440 Straight means aligned, 22:51.140 --> 22:53.580 disciplined, broken down 22:53.580 --> 22:54.880 and built back up. 22:56.360 --> 22:57.660 And then the rough places. 22:58.580 --> 23:00.440 The rough places in your life, 23:00.940 --> 23:01.840 your personality, 23:02.740 --> 23:03.400 your character, 23:04.080 --> 23:05.920 that word that keeps slipping up. 23:08.580 --> 23:11.140 The gossip that keeps seeping in. 23:12.920 --> 23:14.760 Those habits in your life 23:14.760 --> 23:17.340 that are specifically, not assigned, 23:17.560 --> 23:19.100 specifically that you do, 23:19.360 --> 23:20.420 that you walk out. 23:22.640 --> 23:25.160 Those are the things the Lord says 23:25.160 --> 23:27.360 that we're supposed to make smooth. 23:28.960 --> 23:29.920 And there's something... 23:30.600 --> 23:32.340 I don't remember where this came from. 23:32.800 --> 23:34.440 Igor probably know. He's like my memory. 23:35.080 --> 23:37.500 But there's, I remember someone telling me, 23:37.640 --> 23:39.340 or we were talking in a discussion 23:39.340 --> 23:40.480 about marriage. 23:41.400 --> 23:43.580 And I saw it in my parents' life, 23:44.160 --> 23:48.280 that the spouses will cover each other. 23:49.560 --> 23:51.420 So for an example, I'm going to give you 23:51.420 --> 23:53.220 an example from my parents, 23:53.340 --> 23:54.980 because that was like, whoa, for me. 23:55.900 --> 23:58.600 My dad was a humble man. 23:59.040 --> 24:00.100 He loved the Lord. 24:00.840 --> 24:03.020 He was so patient and so kind. 24:06.180 --> 24:08.500 And my mom, she's feisty. 24:10.840 --> 24:11.880 She's feisty. 24:12.800 --> 24:14.620 And after my dad died, 24:15.420 --> 24:17.340 I remember seeing qualities in my mom 24:17.340 --> 24:19.440 come up that I've never seen before. 24:20.700 --> 24:22.800 My mom will share her opinion. 24:23.300 --> 24:24.780 She'll be bold about it. 24:25.040 --> 24:26.720 She'll be sometimes forceful. 24:27.500 --> 24:29.100 And I remember talking to Igor. 24:29.260 --> 24:32.420 I'm like, I did not grow up with this mother. 24:32.420 --> 24:33.840 I don't know who she is. 24:35.500 --> 24:38.200 But my father roughed out her edges. 24:39.100 --> 24:40.460 He made her smooth. 24:41.880 --> 24:44.000 And that's what the Lord wants to do with us. 24:44.080 --> 24:45.560 There's certain things where he's like, 24:46.000 --> 24:47.100 someone else can do it. 24:47.380 --> 24:48.760 It doesn't bother me, but you, 24:49.040 --> 24:50.520 I don't want you doing that. 24:50.960 --> 24:52.520 Let me rough out your edges. 24:53.960 --> 24:55.120 And I love that. 25:00.240 --> 25:02.900 So the result, we talked about 25:02.900 --> 25:04.500 how to make the straight 25:05.880 --> 25:08.320 highway for the Lord in our wilderness. 25:09.480 --> 25:11.660 It's making valleys high 25:11.660 --> 25:13.580 and mountains and hills low. 25:14.180 --> 25:16.320 It's making crooked places 25:16.900 --> 25:19.300 straight and rough places smooth. 25:19.620 --> 25:20.780 And what is the result? 25:21.380 --> 25:25.260 The glory of God shall be revealed. 25:28.010 --> 25:29.830 We always talk about, 25:30.010 --> 25:32.510 Lord, show me your glory. 25:33.050 --> 25:34.930 But I don't really think we understand 25:34.930 --> 25:36.110 what that word means. 25:39.680 --> 25:41.480 We've heard this saying before. 25:41.680 --> 25:42.660 I know I've heard it. 25:43.640 --> 25:45.400 Where we're not ready to experience 25:45.400 --> 25:46.340 the glory of God. 25:47.000 --> 25:48.280 Why? Because if he came down, 25:48.500 --> 25:49.060 we'd be toast. 25:49.940 --> 25:51.340 We have things that we have not 25:51.340 --> 25:52.200 repented of. 25:55.420 --> 25:57.540 But the glory of the Lord 25:57.540 --> 25:58.520 shall be revealed. 25:59.420 --> 25:59.920 And then what? 26:00.340 --> 26:02.540 And all flesh shall see it 26:03.080 --> 26:03.560 together. 26:06.790 --> 26:07.910 How beautiful 26:11.300 --> 26:13.480 that we get to see the glory 26:13.480 --> 26:15.060 of the Lord together, 26:15.940 --> 26:16.600 His bride. 26:17.660 --> 26:19.200 It reminds me of 26:19.840 --> 26:21.180 children when they see their 26:21.180 --> 26:21.700 parents. 26:23.040 --> 26:25.140 They get to experience the love 26:25.140 --> 26:26.240 that the mother and the father 26:26.240 --> 26:27.520 or the husband and the wife 26:27.520 --> 26:28.620 have towards each other. 26:29.400 --> 26:31.040 Our children get to experience 26:31.040 --> 26:31.420 that. 26:32.000 --> 26:33.900 And that will set their waves 26:33.900 --> 26:35.960 for them in the future 26:35.960 --> 26:36.760 with their spouse. 26:39.520 --> 26:41.580 And we as parents 26:41.580 --> 26:43.280 are so focused on making our 26:43.280 --> 26:45.240 children so much better than 26:45.240 --> 26:45.520 us. 26:45.780 --> 26:46.900 Making our children to be 26:46.900 --> 26:48.940 that our ceiling would be their 26:49.600 --> 26:50.080 floor. 26:51.040 --> 26:52.660 And we're trying to pour into 26:52.660 --> 26:53.920 them and we're trying to love 26:53.920 --> 26:55.280 them and to teach them and we 26:55.280 --> 26:56.480 want them to go higher. 26:57.960 --> 26:59.740 But we don't realize that 26:59.740 --> 27:01.000 they're looking at us for that. 27:01.980 --> 27:03.400 If we don't walk that out, 27:03.400 --> 27:04.640 trust me, they're not going to 27:04.640 --> 27:05.100 walk that out. 27:05.160 --> 27:05.600 I've tried. 27:07.200 --> 27:08.340 Especially with James. 27:09.920 --> 27:11.620 The Lord humbled me really 27:11.620 --> 27:12.120 low there. 27:12.560 --> 27:13.700 That was my valley for sure. 27:16.760 --> 27:18.440 So we get to see it together. 27:18.620 --> 27:21.260 We get to see the love of the 27:21.260 --> 27:23.060 father, the love of the son, 27:23.200 --> 27:24.380 the love of the Holy Spirit 27:24.380 --> 27:26.760 together in unity. 27:27.020 --> 27:28.360 And we as their children 27:28.360 --> 27:29.400 and their bride, 27:29.680 --> 27:31.640 we get to see that love. 27:33.400 --> 27:35.080 But we get to see it together. 27:35.300 --> 27:36.120 What a unity. 27:37.920 --> 27:39.700 But we won't get there unless 27:39.700 --> 27:40.400 we repent. 27:41.540 --> 27:43.120 This series that Pastor 27:43.120 --> 27:43.960 Yegor is doing, 27:45.140 --> 27:46.520 I think for all of us we 27:46.520 --> 27:47.900 realize it's way more 27:48.520 --> 27:49.940 important than we thought it 27:49.940 --> 27:50.820 was going to be. 27:53.100 --> 27:55.300 It's some serious, serious 27:55.300 --> 27:56.560 stuff that we're going through. 27:58.720 --> 28:00.660 It says, for the mouth of the 28:00.660 --> 28:01.920 Lord has spoken. 28:03.320 --> 28:04.660 What a beautiful thing 28:05.260 --> 28:06.580 to see the mouth of the Lord. 28:07.540 --> 28:09.080 To hear the words 28:09.080 --> 28:10.240 that are like honey. 28:11.180 --> 28:13.100 But are also bittersweet. 28:17.180 --> 28:18.860 So we're going to go into prayer. 28:20.860 --> 28:21.940 We're going to come before 28:21.940 --> 28:23.240 the Lord and we're going to repent. 28:24.340 --> 28:25.520 We're going to repent 28:25.520 --> 28:27.260 of sins of attitude. 28:28.360 --> 28:30.000 Sins of attitude include 28:30.000 --> 28:31.940 false pride, unjust anger, 28:31.940 --> 28:33.740 bitter envy, malicious hatred. 28:34.680 --> 28:36.000 For example, there's that one 28:36.000 --> 28:37.860 person that you just don't like. 28:39.360 --> 28:40.260 Let me tell you, 28:40.340 --> 28:41.280 that's a sin of attitude. 28:45.560 --> 28:46.440 Feeling jealous 28:46.440 --> 28:47.420 towards somebody else. 28:47.620 --> 28:49.420 Oh man, I wish I could be like that person. 28:50.240 --> 28:51.640 I wish I could be as skinny 28:51.640 --> 28:52.240 as her. 28:53.140 --> 28:54.340 I wish I had as much 28:54.340 --> 28:55.380 style as her. 28:55.500 --> 28:56.880 I wish I had this like her. 28:57.340 --> 28:58.020 Sorry, guys. 28:58.760 --> 28:59.680 I wish I had 28:59.680 --> 29:00.640 muscles like him. 29:01.340 --> 29:02.360 I don't know what you guys think. 29:02.360 --> 29:02.880 Thank God. 29:04.180 --> 29:06.580 But those are sins of attitude. 29:07.420 --> 29:08.480 You got to check your heart. 29:09.120 --> 29:10.320 Sins of action. 29:12.600 --> 29:14.040 It's like getting drunk. 29:14.560 --> 29:15.820 Committing adultery. 29:17.740 --> 29:19.380 It's stealing line. 29:19.780 --> 29:20.600 It's insults. 29:20.980 --> 29:22.860 It's actually a reacting sin. 29:23.700 --> 29:25.020 When something happens 29:25.020 --> 29:27.400 in my life, like let's say 29:27.400 --> 29:28.940 my children are not obeying me, 29:29.580 --> 29:31.340 I'm reacting and yelling. 29:33.420 --> 29:35.100 And every single time, guys, 29:35.260 --> 29:37.520 every single time I'm cut 29:37.520 --> 29:38.080 to the core. 29:38.300 --> 29:40.300 Why did I yell at my children? 29:41.840 --> 29:42.940 Every single time. 29:43.580 --> 29:44.860 And sometimes I try to teach 29:44.860 --> 29:45.940 my boys to do something, 29:46.000 --> 29:47.220 and it feels like I'm telling them 29:47.220 --> 29:48.320 years and years and years, 29:48.420 --> 29:49.060 and I say, Lord, 29:49.500 --> 29:51.500 why aren't they doing what I asked them? 29:51.580 --> 29:53.020 It's been years that they hear 29:53.020 --> 29:53.980 every single day, 29:54.080 --> 29:55.200 at least 10 times a day, 29:55.420 --> 29:56.220 for years, 29:56.540 --> 29:57.880 and they're still not doing it. 29:58.860 --> 30:00.120 He's like, look at yourself. 30:02.360 --> 30:03.360 And I've been on the earth 30:03.360 --> 30:04.800 so much longer than them. 30:06.720 --> 30:08.700 And there's still things that I go to. 30:10.040 --> 30:10.980 And it's true. 30:11.080 --> 30:12.160 I'm like, Lord, why? 30:12.980 --> 30:14.760 I can't wait to be with you 30:14.760 --> 30:16.220 so that I don't have to be 30:16.220 --> 30:17.940 drugged down by this wretched flesh. 30:20.200 --> 30:21.780 So the sins of action, 30:23.220 --> 30:24.560 a reacting sin, 30:24.720 --> 30:25.700 sins of neglect, 30:26.620 --> 30:28.860 and it comes out of James 4.17. 30:29.300 --> 30:30.500 So whoever knows 30:30.500 --> 30:32.060 the right thing to do 30:32.060 --> 30:34.340 and fails to do it, 30:34.680 --> 30:36.420 for him it is sin. 30:38.320 --> 30:39.540 Now that can be 30:39.540 --> 30:40.620 the Lord saying, 30:40.840 --> 30:41.420 do not lie. 30:42.860 --> 30:44.520 And you told a little white lie, 30:45.080 --> 30:46.560 or you didn't tell the whole truth, 30:50.440 --> 30:52.580 that is the sin of neglect. 30:54.460 --> 30:55.500 Or it can be, 30:55.640 --> 30:56.140 the Lord said, 30:56.260 --> 30:58.380 hey, I want you to stop, 30:59.120 --> 30:59.780 turn around, 31:00.040 --> 31:01.520 drive back to that gas station, 31:01.520 --> 31:02.740 and tell the attendant 31:02.740 --> 31:04.720 that Jesus loves them, 31:05.060 --> 31:06.460 and you failed to do that? 31:07.680 --> 31:08.620 The sin of neglect. 31:10.120 --> 31:11.640 You're neglecting what God 31:11.640 --> 31:12.620 is asking you to do. 31:15.020 --> 31:16.400 That one kind of hits hard. 31:17.340 --> 31:18.300 The sin of intent, 31:19.820 --> 31:21.820 it's simply a sin committed 31:21.820 --> 31:23.800 in wish, but not reality. 31:25.820 --> 31:27.820 A good example that is brought up 31:27.820 --> 31:30.140 of that is when Jesus talks about 31:30.140 --> 31:32.320 how it's adultery, 31:32.740 --> 31:33.360 where he says, 31:33.820 --> 31:34.840 even if you think, 31:35.460 --> 31:36.620 if you have lustful thoughts 31:37.140 --> 31:37.940 in your mind, 31:38.080 --> 31:39.260 you've already committed sin. 31:40.020 --> 31:42.280 You haven't physically acted on it. 31:42.700 --> 31:44.040 It's not the sin of action, 31:45.320 --> 31:46.720 but it's the intent. 31:46.960 --> 31:48.300 I wanted to do that. 31:49.920 --> 31:50.640 And that, 31:50.780 --> 31:52.060 I think for all of us, 31:52.180 --> 31:53.320 happens a lot in our minds. 31:53.960 --> 31:55.880 More often than we want to admit to. 31:58.260 --> 31:59.460 Somebody cut us off. 31:59.460 --> 32:00.360 Oh, Lord. 32:01.220 --> 32:02.100 I hope they get a ticket. 32:03.320 --> 32:03.800 Right? 32:04.760 --> 32:05.680 Just share my thoughts. 32:05.800 --> 32:06.120 I'm sorry. 32:06.680 --> 32:06.980 Forgive me. 32:07.180 --> 32:08.160 I've asked multiple times 32:08.160 --> 32:10.240 as soon as those words escaped my head. 32:12.420 --> 32:13.860 But it's the sin of intent 32:13.860 --> 32:16.160 wanting those things to happen. 32:17.620 --> 32:19.540 The sin against brethren. 32:21.600 --> 32:24.060 There are brothers and sisters in Christ. 32:25.400 --> 32:26.700 These are flesh. 32:28.220 --> 32:29.260 And blood. 32:29.440 --> 32:31.620 And I'm not talking about the biological. 32:32.060 --> 32:33.320 I'm talking about us. 32:34.040 --> 32:35.720 We're brothers and sisters in Christ. 32:36.900 --> 32:39.520 Now, you can remember back when you were younger 32:39.520 --> 32:41.080 and you were living at home with your parents 32:41.080 --> 32:42.240 and your sisters and brothers 32:42.240 --> 32:43.940 or whoever was living with you. 32:44.840 --> 32:46.760 You know, it's not easy to live with a sibling. 32:48.820 --> 32:50.220 More often than not, 32:50.420 --> 32:51.480 you're getting into fights. 32:52.240 --> 32:53.540 You're causing harm. 32:53.660 --> 32:55.620 You're trying to provoke them into anger. 32:58.060 --> 32:59.220 And that's one of the things 32:59.220 --> 33:00.900 I've been trying to teach my boys for years 33:00.900 --> 33:01.940 and it still doesn't click. 33:03.020 --> 33:04.720 The Lord showed me and I'm like, 33:04.780 --> 33:05.140 oh man. 33:07.520 --> 33:08.920 Sin against brethren. 33:11.200 --> 33:12.440 Sin against God. 33:15.620 --> 33:17.580 I think that one's pretty self-explanatory. 33:17.820 --> 33:19.080 Sin against our body. 33:20.760 --> 33:21.960 That one's a hard one. 33:25.040 --> 33:26.920 Obviously, there's sexual sin. 33:26.920 --> 33:29.160 And there's sin of like, 33:30.340 --> 33:32.820 smoking and causing harm to your body 33:32.820 --> 33:33.740 is what I'm trying to say. 33:36.400 --> 33:38.800 But there's also other sin of like, gluttony. 33:40.080 --> 33:40.540 Right? 33:43.530 --> 33:45.430 And there's also a sin of starving. 33:48.070 --> 33:50.090 There's a temple that God gave us 33:50.090 --> 33:52.690 and it's our responsibility to take care of it. 33:53.750 --> 33:55.830 That's something I learned with my walk 33:55.830 --> 33:57.370 with the Lord right in the beginning. 33:59.950 --> 34:01.610 I remember a pastor preaching 34:02.190 --> 34:02.970 and he said, 34:03.330 --> 34:06.170 I can tell you your relationship with the Lord 34:06.170 --> 34:09.150 by going into your room and seeing how your room is. 34:10.230 --> 34:11.390 I'm like, what? 34:12.350 --> 34:13.830 That doesn't define me. 34:14.410 --> 34:14.670 Uh-huh. 34:15.370 --> 34:16.970 Once I started living, I realized 34:17.950 --> 34:19.210 my house is a mess. 34:19.610 --> 34:21.250 When was the last time I spent time with the Lord? 34:22.230 --> 34:22.490 Huh. 34:24.310 --> 34:25.650 My car isn't clean. 34:26.810 --> 34:29.230 When was the last time I spent time with the Lord? 34:30.690 --> 34:32.570 Am I over scheduling myself 34:32.570 --> 34:34.370 that I can't even spend time with the Lord 34:34.370 --> 34:37.190 and that's why my car is a mess and my house is a mess? 34:39.130 --> 34:40.530 Sins against the body. 34:41.230 --> 34:42.170 And then sins of omission, 34:42.310 --> 34:44.130 which kind of goes back to sins of neglect. 34:45.450 --> 34:47.050 So these are some of the things 34:47.630 --> 34:49.770 that we're going to be praying and repenting for. 34:50.490 --> 34:52.670 That I will be praying and repenting for. 34:54.490 --> 34:55.670 I will be inter- 34:55.670 --> 34:58.190 I will be an intercession for myself 34:58.670 --> 35:00.330 and for you guys as I pray. 35:01.170 --> 35:02.970 And even if some of these sins, 35:03.330 --> 35:05.330 which I'm sure I have already committed all of them, 35:06.010 --> 35:08.550 even if some of these sins I have not done, 35:09.190 --> 35:11.090 I'm going to take it as if I have done 35:11.090 --> 35:13.730 because I know someone out here has done it. 35:13.750 --> 35:15.010 That's what intercession is. 35:15.330 --> 35:17.790 Taking what you have and putting it on me 35:17.790 --> 35:20.250 and I'm speaking to the Lord on behalf of you. 35:22.050 --> 35:23.350 That's why some of the prophets, 35:23.510 --> 35:25.690 they asked God for repentance. 35:25.870 --> 35:27.470 Even though they were the prophets of the Lord. 35:27.570 --> 35:28.510 They heard the Lord. 35:28.850 --> 35:30.590 They were walking righteously with the Lord. 35:31.050 --> 35:32.170 But why did they repent? 35:32.450 --> 35:34.150 Because they took on the sins. 35:35.930 --> 35:37.530 Maybe they didn't take on the sins. 35:37.710 --> 35:40.730 But they were on behalf of Israel 35:40.730 --> 35:42.330 going before the Lord. 35:42.850 --> 35:44.850 As if they were the ones that did it. 35:45.510 --> 35:46.950 That's what intercession is.