0:00 [Music] Before I speak on uh what I was planning to share, I felt that some of us may be coming 0:18 into these meetings kind of without any hope or faith that anything's going to change. And for that reason, I wanted to turn us to John chapter 5. John chapter 5:5. The man w was there 0:36 who had been ill for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there, he knew that he had already been there a long time in that condition. He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" The sick man answered, "Sir, I have no man to put me 0:53 in the pool when the water is stirred up. But while I'm coming, another steps down before me. Verse eight. Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet, and walk." For 38 years, he was hoping that something would change. He would come to 1:13 the pool hoping that there would be a stirring and he would go back disappointed. And when Jesus asked him the question, "Do you wish to get well?" He couldn't even reply and say yes or no. He gave an explanation of why it 1:30 wasn't possible. And for each one of us here, there might be some who's here who's been battling sin, failing over and over again. And in this place when God says, "Do you want to be well? Do you want to be set free from your sin?" 1:50 There's just an explanation of why it's not possible. And I believe that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The one who asked that man to get up from that hopeless condition is the same one who's here today as well. We must believe that 2:09 God will do something in our lives. If we believe another person as well who probably came to meetings day week after week, turn with me to Luke chapter 2:25 13. Luke 13. That was a man and this was a woman. Luke 13:10. And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who had for 18 years 2:43 had a sickness caused by a spirit and she was bent down and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your sickness." And Jesus says later down if you read 3:05 with me verse 15. And the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from this stall and lead him away to the to water him?" Verse 16. And this woman, a daughter of 3:24 Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for 18 long years, should she not have been released from this bond on this Sabbath day. And today, that day might be for you as well. 18 years, week after week, coming for the meetings. 3:43 And I've seen animals as they walk their dogs and things like that, they just carry it and they have that leash. And that's how Jesus is comparing. Satan has some people like that on a leash, bound, tied up, but it wasn't God's will for that person 4:02 to be tied up. But she would have continued to be tied up week after week if not Jesus coming and meeting with her. And I believe Jesus wants to meet with each one of us in that same way. The reason I shared these two incidences 4:20 is people who have been in a situation for years without hope, God met with them and changed their life completely in a single meeting. And I believe the Lord wants to do that as well. No matter how it has been till 4:38 today, God has hope. And in the church also we proclaim the hope that God wants to bring to each of our hearts. Faith that even though it has never been this way in the past, it doesn't have to be that way from 4:56 today. But I did want to talk about two warnings for us from the future. Sometimes we are warned by things in the present. But these two warnings come to us ringing from the future. You might be able to recognize two of 5:16 those. Um, anyone want to take a guess at what those warnings who those two people might be from? You see a whale there? Jonah. Yep, that's one of them. Then you see the temple. Anyone? 5:37 out loud. >> Solomon. >> Solomon. Yes. Jonah and Solomon. Jesus gave these warnings. He said that there's going to be a day where there these two warnings are going to happen much later in in the future. But he tells about it now. And the first 5:55 warning was the warning from the men of Nineveh. Turn with me to Matthew 12. Matthew 12 verse 41. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn 6:14 it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, someone greater than Jonah is here. I believe all of you believe that Jesus is alive, that he's here in our midst. One of the evidence 6:33 if Jesus is alive and here is in in our midst. He says that a greater than Jonah is here. And the people of Nineveh, this is going to happen exactly as Jesus said, one day in eternity we will see this. The people 6:51 of Nineveh, you might remember how many of them, 120,000 of them will rise up. And you will see this and I will see this. And he will raise, they will say this. They will condemn 7:10 a certain group of people who did not repent. And they'll say, "Why didn't you repent? We heard from a man named Jonah and we repented, but you heard from Jesus and you didn't 7:28 repent. When we think of, if you turn with me to Jonah, Jonah, after Amos is Jonah, the people of Nineveh didn't get many 7:48 chances. We've been hearing week after week God's word. We have midweek Bible studies. We have the Bible. We have all of these things. each one of us. What did the people of Nineveh have? Turn with me to Jonah chapter 3 verse 4. 8:11 Jonah 3:4. And Jonah began to go through the city one day's walk. And he cried out and said, "Yet 40 days and and Nineveh will be overthrown." Eight words. Eight words was all Nineveh got. And 8:30 with those eight words, they repented. It wasn't a long sermon. And even the one who was preaching to them didn't want them to be saved. He wanted them to be judged. He didn't want them to repent. He didn't want God to 8:49 have mercy on them. He wanted to see them suffer the punishment for their sins. That was the preacher who preached to Nineveh. Eight words and they repented. If they pre repented at eight words 9:11 and Jesus is in our midst, what should be the difference in our lives? If Jesus is speaking to us, he's putting his finger on things in our life. And we've got much more than eight words. What should be our response to Christ 9:31 when he speaks to us? They only had one opportunity. And you see this in verse 9 after they had put on sackcloth from the king to the they even put it on the animals and they said, "Nobody is going to 9:47 um do not let them eat or drink water." and they put a fast. Verse 9, who knows God may turn and relent and withdraw his burning anger so that we will not perish. So for those 40 days, they were 10:07 repenting a sincere repentance because they knew that their life depended on it. They knew that God's word was true. it. They were going to be judged and they saying hopefully maybe perhaps God will have mercy on us and change his 10:22 mind. And so for 40 days repenting, repenting and I can imagine day 39 because Jonah told them 40 days, day 39 as they're going to bed thinking, is this our last day? 10:40 Are we going to have a second chance? God in his mercy. Read with me chapter 3:10. And when God saw saw their deeds that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which he had declared he would 10:57 bring upon them and he did not do it. I see that for each one of us, God has spoken to us, each one of us about sin in our lives. 11:16 Do we have a grudge against anybody, in-law or co-orker, someone in the home, someone in the workplace, someone at school, someone that you haven't forgiven. The Ninevites only had eight words and 11:35 they took it seriously. Jesus has been speaking to us over and over again. Is there anything that's you haven't set right in your life? Anybody you haven't forgiven, please do it today. go and forgive every 11:55 single one because there is a day coming when we will see the men of Nineveh rise up and speak to us and one of them it's going to say it's either going to say you listened to the warning and you repented 12:14 at at Jesus's words to you the Holy Spirit convicting you or they will say like they said to these Then we repented at eight words that were spoken to us. Why didn't you? But you see that when we repent, there's 12:35 a false sense of repentance. Some people when they repent, they think that beating themselves up is repentance. So turn with me to Jonah 1 verse 10. Then the men became extremely frightened because of the sea being uh tossed and the storm. How could you 12:54 do this? For the men knew that he was fleeing the presence of the Lord because he had told them. Verse 11. So they said to him, "What should we do that the sea may become calm for us? For the sea was becoming increasingly stormy." Verse 12. 13:10 He said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you. And some people when they get in a place 13:29 where God is convicting them, they beat themselves up. They condemn themselves. They say, "Woe is me." Self-pity on themselves. I want people to feel sorry for them. thinking that by doing that that is true repentance. 13:48 But that's not true repentance. What was Jonah supposed to do when God told him to go to Nineveh? Go to Nineveh? Was the answer to go and throw him out into the waters? No, that wasn't the 14:07 answer. He was stubborn. He said, "No, I'm going to have my own way. God told me to do something. I'm going to do my own and I'm going to be stubborn. Yes, throw me in the water. It'll be good for me and it'll be good for you. You won't 14:22 have the storm." But that's not true repentance. Many people, they beat themselves up. And that's what we see. If you remember, if you turn with me to first kings, the false prophets, 14:41 you might remember false prophets. That's what they did. First Kings chapter 18 verse 28. This is the prophets, the false 15:00 prophets. So they cried out with a loud voice, cut themselves according to their custom with the swords and lances until blood gushed out on them. Verse 29. When midday was passed, they raved until the time of offering of the 15:14 evening sacrifice. But there was no voice, no answer, and no one paid attention. They were thinking God was going to pay attention because they were taking the swords and cutting themselves with blood gushing out. But there was no answer because that was 15:33 not true repentance. So just beating us ourselves up is not repentance. What Jonah should have done. What should a Jonah have done? Said, you know what? I'm running away from God. The right thing to do is not throw me out of into the ocean. That's 15:52 not going to solve the problem. The right thing to do is turn back, go back to Japa, and then I'm going to obey God. I'm sorry, God. What I did was wrong. Please forgive me. For each one of us, we also have that same choice in the situations of life. 16:10 Lord, I'm wrong. I'm not going to beat myself up. I'm not going to self condemn myself. I'm going to say, "I'm sorry, Lord. Turn around and go back and do what you told me to do." That is repentance. And it's beautiful that we can learn 16:26 repentance from the people of Nineveh. Turn with me again to Jonah chapter 3. When Jonah preached to them to repent, this is what it says. Verse 5, Jonah 3:5. Then the people of Nineveh believed in God. And this is what faith 16:46 does. And they called a fast, put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. When the word reached the king of Nineveh, listen to what the king did. And this is what we must to do. He arose from his throne and laid his robe from 17:05 him and covered himself with sacco. He rose from the throne. He was sitting on the throne, king of his life, king of the And from that day onwards, he said, "No, I'm getting off the throne of my life. I'm going to sit on ashes. 17:23 I'm going to repent. Something I can learn from the king of Nineveh. We also, each one of us, true repentance, getting off the throne of our hearts. It's no longer us deciding what we're going to do and living a self-centered life, but getting 17:42 off of that throne and giving it to the Lord. And for each one of us, true repentance will involve us getting off that throne. From the youngest, some of you are young people here. For you also, you have a throne in your 17:56 heart where you're sitting on that throne deciding what I'll do, when I'll obey parents, when I won't obey parents, when I'll obey my teachers, when I won't. And one day when you truly repent, you'll get off that throne and say, 18:11 "Lord, you're going to be on that throne from now on. I'm going to learn from this king of Nineveh what repentance is to get off that throne. And so I see that Jesus sometimes when I see this is one a 18:29 warning but it also shows us God's heart, God's longing in his heart. Because see what Jesus says. If you turn back to Matthew chapter 12 verse 41 and Jesus is saying this that the people 18:54 the men of Nino rise up in judgment and condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And this is Jesus saying, "Behold, one greater than Jonah is here." Who was that one greater than Jonah? It was Jesus. Jesus was there. One 19:14 greater. And I can see Jesus thinking, "These people of Nineveh repented at a preacher who did not even care for their soul, who didn't want them to repent." a short message of condemnation with eight 19:31 words and they repented. And here I gave my life for them. I died on the cross, suffered, gave my precious blood for them. And I call them to repent out of love and kindness. The kindness of God 19:49 leads us to repentance. There was no kindness in Jonah's message, but they repented. And I can see Jesus said thinking, I'm preaching with kindness and love, sacrifice, 20:06 with a great concern for them, and they're not repenting. Yet Jonah with anger and bitterness preached and they repented. Can you see that yearning that Jesus has in his heart for us? 20:24 I've done so much for them, yet I'm loved so little in return. I say, Lord, I don't want you to feel that way about me. Lord, I don't want the Ninevites to come and say on that day, we repented at eight 20:43 words of condemnation. AJ, you heard so much for decades. You heard over and over again. Yet, you did not repent. You didn't set these matters right. You didn't live with a clear conscience. You had so much more opportunity than we 20:59 did. We didn't have conferences. We didn't have the Bible. You had so much more. Yet, you didn't value what we valued in Jonah. I don't want the Lord to say that to any one of us. that we had received so much, gave so 21:18 much little back in responsiveness to him. There's a beautiful passage in in Acts chapter 16 where it speaks of a lady called Lydia. It says that she responded to the things that were spoken to her by Paul. Paul was speaking to her 21:37 and a number of other ladies, but she responded to it. She repented and her family was saved. We read of Zakius as well, a man who had made so many mistakes and in the midst of so many people who heard Jesus, 21:55 his repentance was true. He was willing to pay any price, half to the poor. Why? Because he wanted a clear conscience. He wanted to set every matter right. It didn't matter what price he had to pay. Kind of like the Ninoites. 22:12 We'll be in sackcloth. We'll do whatever we need to do. Lord have mercy on us that on the 40th day we're still alive. And for Zakius also, he saw the seriousness of his sin, I'll go set matters right. And I see that if Jesus, who is greater 22:29 than Jonah, is in our midst, that God would move in our hearts, the Holy Spirit will be able to convict us of sin. that there would be a deep repentance that does not come from the outside but comes from within through the Holy Spirit convicting us a deep 22:46 lasting repentance that we would go set matters right every matter that we need to set right to have a clear conscience any restitution anything that we have to pay back because we want to have a clear conscience then as I think about this I think about 23:06 Jesus Jesus. Many of us, I don't know how many times Jesus has prayed for us. The reason we may be still here in this church and walking with the Lord is possibly because Jesus has prayed for us. And we don't even recognize that. We 23:26 don't. And I wouldn't know that unless it says here Luke 22:32. We can read from verse 31. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat. Verse 32, but I have prayed for you that your faith may 23:45 not fail. And once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Peter did not fail. His faith did not fail because Jesus prayed for him. I would have not known that unless Jesus 24:03 had it has been recorded here and I don't know how many times Jesus has prayed for me. Lord I pray for AJ that his faith may not fail or he's going through this circumstance and I pray that he does not lose heart. 24:20 I don't know how many times but if he prayed for Jes if he prayed for Peter I'm sure he prayed for me as well. And I believe it's not because of what we've done that we're here today. I believe for me at least, I believe the 24:35 reason I'm here today. It's because the Lord prayed for me in different circumstances and had mercy on me and kept me from falling. And I believe that Jesus could see in the heavenly places that the devil was 24:53 after Peter to sift him. And so he prayed for him. And I believe for each one of us as well. I don't know. But I believe that the devil is the same as well. Peter who Jesus prayed for says 25:10 in 1 Peter 5, the devil is like a roaring lying seeking who he may devour. He saw his own coworker Judas being devoured by the devil and he's saying, "Let's pray for one another. Just like Jesus prayed for me, now is my time to 25:29 pray for all of you. And so he had a burden to pray because he was a recipient of Jesus's prayer who kept him from falling, who kept him from that devil who was seeking to devour him and who has devoured many lives. And so we also ought to pray for one 25:49 another. And that's what Peter says, be sober for the purpose of prayer because the devil is roaring to see who he can devour. And no one is too strong. Even a man like Peter who had left all and followed Jesus. Jesus knew that he 26:06 needed prayer. I believe each one of us needs prayer. No one is immune to the attacks of this devil. I had a question. Where is the ends of the earth? 26:26 Where is the ends of the earth? Is it a Ai, B, Hebrron, C, Sheba, D Kaa? So if you think it's A, raise your hand. If you think it's B, raise your hand. If you think it's C, raise your hand. 26:45 If you think it's D, raise your hand. Okay, it's C. According to Jesus, Jesus said it's uh turn with me to Matthew 12. Matthew 12:42. 27:06 The queen of the south in we know that's the queen of Sheba. she was from Sheba will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it. We heard that the Nivites condemned people because they did not repent. 27:25 The Queen of Sheba is also going to raise up and I believe we'll all see her stand up and condemn it because why? because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, someone greater than Solomon is 27:43 here. And so that's why Jesus took the time to appreciate the Queen of Sheba. She didn't he didn't say that she came from Sheba all the way to sea salt. He knew that she came from Sheba. But he 28:02 decided to say he purposely highlighted the distance from which she came, the cost that she paid to come and see Solomon. So she he said it she came from the ends of the earth to see Solomon. And if you 28:21 turn with me to First Kings chapter 10, first Kings 10. First Kings 10. Now when the verse one now when the Queen of Sheba heard about the fame of 28:40 Solomon concerning the name of the Lord concerning the name of the Lord. So it was not just that Solomon was a famous king but that he knew the Lord. Among all the people in this world, there was a man 28:58 who knew the Lord. And at this time, he was the one who built the temple. God had asked to ask of anything, and I'll give it to you. He was a man who was walking faithfully with God. And she had recognized it that this was a man in 29:10 touch with God. And there was no price that I would not pay to go and meet with him. And so this is what she does. She came out to test him with difficult questions. Verse two, when she came to Jerusalem with a very long large 29:26 entourage with camels carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones, when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. And I believed that God put circumstances in Queen of Sheba's life 29:44 that despite all that she had, the all the wealth she had, all the servants she had, the gold, spices, there was something missing in her heart. And so she said, you know what? I need the answers to these questions in my 30:00 heart. I need to know this man who's in touch with God. Maybe he'll have the answers to what's going in my heart. And I believe the Lord's has put circumstances in each of our lives as well. Questions in our heart that only one will have the answer to 30:20 and that will cause us to draw near to him. Lord, I don't know what the answer to this is. Why? And all of those circumstances for one reason so that he'll draw us to the Lord. And so she went all all the way there 30:41 earnestly seeking for her. We don't know where well it we don't know whether Sheba was Ethiopia or Yemen but it was a long distance and she had to come there with all these camels. She brought gold and it says later on how 30:58 much gold she gave to Solomon. It was 120 talons of gold, which is four tons of gold. Four tons of gold is a lot of gold. Uh the amount of gold if you were to how much it would be to how much that amount 31:17 of gold was worth was approximately $500 million. That's how much gold she gave as a gift to Solomon. $500 million. That's almost half a billion. And she had that was just the amount she 31:34 gave to Solomon in gold. She gave precious jewels, spices. She had a palace probably back home. She was very, very wealthy. Yet there was something missing in her life that all her wealth and all those camels, all those things could not give 31:52 her. And so she would pay any price. And so it would take I think about two months or so going with those camels with all the gold and all those precious jewels. She wasn't going to come empty to see this king. She was going to give 32:07 him the best of what she could give. Probably took two months or so to come all through that desert with those camels. But she was willing to pay any price to see King Solomon. And I think about that, you know what? 32:26 What price she paid leaving all her palace, everything to go and see this king because she knew that this man was in touch with God and she had he had the answers for the things that she was going through. And so goes on and it says that 32:46 verse three, Solomon answered all her questions. Nothing was hidden from the king which she did not explain to her. When she had when the queen of Sheba perceived all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his 33:01 table, the way his servants sat, the attendance of his waiters, all their clothing, his cupbears, and the stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord. It says there was no small spirit in her. or in the expression we use, it 33:19 took her breath away. When she saw all of that, it took her breath away. And I think about this, she saw an earthly king, an earthly kingdom, an earthly temple, and that took her breath away. 33:37 How much more if we make truly get to meet with the Lord, how it should take my breath away. And I say, Lord, there's something more that I need to experience of you like Queen of Sheba experienced. And the reason you mentioned about Queen of 33:56 Sheba is because many, I believe, are settling in Sheba and not taking the time to meet with you like she did. And it says verse 7, "Nevertheless, I did not believe the reports until I came and my eyes have seen it. And behold, the half 34:15 was not told to me." This is more spectacular than I ever imagined. And see this verse eight. How blessed are your men. How blessed are these servants of yours who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 34:35 She appreciated something of Solomon. And I think those who were there who stood in his court all day hearing him probably never appreciated it. They got to hear the wisdom every day. It was something that was ordinary. Oh yeah. If 34:53 I need to hear Solomon's wisdom, I can just go there, hear it. And that's what Jesus was telling them. The queen of Shu Sheba is going to condemn you on that day because she took all these pain to go and meet this earthly kingdom. 35:10 And here is wisdom. Yet here greater than Solomon is here. How much do you appreciate me? I can see the longing in Jesus' heart. You did so much for Solomon, an earthly 35:26 king. See this how much you lavished on on this earthly king and showed him his your your appreciation for him. But for me, how much do you care about me who done so much? I gave you my life. How much have you done in return for me? 35:46 And I say, Lord, there's so much more. I want to satisfy that longing that you have that you saw in Queen Sheba. I believe the Lord's looking for that even on our midst more than anything 36:05 else. I believe he's looking, his longing is for people who will receive him, respond to him, his words, who long for him, that will pay any price to go and meet with him. And today, I think he finds it in people 36:25 like Mary and Martha, Mary especially. Turn with me to Luke chapter Luke chapter 10 verse 38. Now as they were verse 38 as they 36:43 traveled along he entered a village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home and she had a sister called Mary who was seated at the Lord's feet listening to his word. Verse 40. But Martha was distracted with all her 36:59 preparations. And she came up to him and said to him, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and 37:19 bothered about so many things." Verse 42, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good part which shall not be taken away from her. And so I see they have both had a choice to make that 37:38 day because Jesus said but only one thing is necessary for Mary has chosen the good part. It was a choice that Mary had to make that day. She also saw the kitchen. She saw 37:57 everything going around. But for her, Jesus was precious. And she said, "Yes, the things in the kitchen can wait. All the other things can wait. I need to go and find the feet of Jesus and listen to what he has to say to me." 38:15 And for the one who went and found the feet of Jesus, she was not disappointed. And this is a beautiful promise for those who find the feet of Jesus. God made this promise. 38:30 It shall never be taken away from her. And I said, 'Lord, I want that. Lord, I want to find your feet. I want to hear your voice. I want to find what Queen of Sheba was truly meant to experience in you, 38:48 Lord. I want to find it, Lord. And I want to claim this promise that once I find it, it'll never be taken away from me. It'll always be there for me. Your presence and your voice. You and I might have faced times where you've heard the Lord speaking to you. 39:05 Maybe when it was when you were first born again, you heard the Lord. The verses from the Bible just would jump up and hear you speak speak to your heart. But as time goes on, it's become silent. You don't hear him. Are you satisfied that you don't hear 39:25 his voice? Are you willing to go like the Queen of Sheba did, not resting until you find him? I believe the Lord is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him even today. And I believe there is a longing 39:42 of the Lord. How many people? He didn't say that. But if you read through what he was saying, there's one greater than here. And you appreciated Solomon so much. But what about me? Why don't you appreciate me? And I say, 40:00 Lord, I do want I will not offer to the Lord that which cost me nothing. For Sheba, it cost her something. For Mary, it cost her something. She said, "I'm going to put away this thing." So, I want to find that one thing that matters. I choose that. And 40:19 for each one of us as well, we have that choice. Martha had a complaint about her sister. She had a complaint about the Lord. She was anxious. She was troubled by many things. She was distracted. And if I see all of these things in my life 40:37 from morning to evening, I'm complaining about somebody, I have a complaint against the Lord, I'm distracted, I'm anxious, all of those things, it's very possible that I missed the one thing that was ne necessary and I chose 40:51 something else. And God's looking each one and I my hope for myself and for each one of us God is looking for those who will love him more than anything else. He'll find people like the Queen of Shea 41:09 who will give up everything to go and seek after him to find his feet listen to his voice hear him respond to him. God is still yearning for those. I hope you'll find it in our midst in each one of us. Each one of us, each 41:28 of us have that choice. Am I going to be satisfied in staying in Sheba or am I going to seek out for him whom my soul loves? When we get a new job, we say praise the Lord. Some people when they get married, some people when they get a get selected 41:47 on the team, everything they praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. And I see that there was one thing that Jesus praised the father for. If you turn with me to Matthew 11 verse 25, Matthew 11 25. 42:12 Only God can do this to make Jesus precious to us where we will give up everything for him. Only God didn't do that. And it says here verse 25, at that time Jesus said, I praise you father. What did he praise the Lord for? Praise 42:31 the father for you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent. All these wise and intelligent people you've hidden these spiritual truths for they can read the Bible over and over again and 42:48 they'll get zero out of it. But then there's going to be those like babies and there's no limit to how much you're going to reveal to them. And I praise you Lord for that. That's what Jesus praised the father 43:05 for. I believe God gets such great excitement when he sees people who are humble receiving revelation that thrills Jesus's heart and he says praise the father today also I say Lord that's for everybody 43:25 especially the young people you're going to hide these from people who are older who have been so intelligent and wise in their own eyes but these young children you're going to reveal the greatest truths to them. And God has been gracious to us so that 43:42 even in our midst, we have children who are like 2, three weeks old in our midst. And I say, Lord, why will you reveal it to these little children? Why do you praise the father for that? And as I look at these two week old 44:02 babies, I look at their eyes. Such purity of eyes. The way they look at any person is with such purity. It's not corrupted with such lust and anger, pride, such purity. And I say, Lord, cleanse me with your precious blood and 44:19 give me eyes that are pure like that. Lord, let me keep those eyes pure like those little baby's eyes. Then there will be no limit to the revelation you can give me. Keep my thoughts pure, Lord. Like that baby, it's not thinking about how great 44:38 it is and how wonderful it is. No, it's not comparing itself with the other baby and stroller. It It's just so happy, just content. Whatever it has, not boastful, no evil thoughts, no anxious thoughts, 44:57 no bitter thoughts. Oh, that person harmed me. Nothing. such purity of thought. I say Lord give me thoughts like that. Give me the mind of Christ like that. There will be no re no limit to the revelation God can give a person 45:11 like that. A pure heart, a clear conscience ready to ask for forgiveness to anybody has nothing in its heart for anything anyone else. Give me that heart Lord. Let my heart be pure. Nothing else in this. Yes, I use the things of this 45:27 world like everybody else. But those I don't want them to attract me. I want a heart that's for you, Lord. No limit to the revelation. And this is for every single one of us. God can reveal himself and his word to every single one 45:47 of us where you open up the Bible and it starts speaking to you to your heart. And if I see it, it's not speaking to me and I'm not seeing Jesus clearly. Lord, show me in the pride that's closing my eyes to see you. And 46:06 Jesus says, there's going to be a day which is coming in the future in the book of Amos where there's going to be a famine for the word word of the Lord, not for bread, for the word of the Lord. And people are going to go from one 46:21 place to the other seeking for it, saying, "I want to hear from the Lord." And it says they will not find it. Yet in the midst of that, there are going to be people like it says here in if you turn with me to Genesis. 46:38 Genesis chapter 41. Genesis chapter 41 verse 47. Actually, let's read from 47. 46:58 Genesis 41:47. During the seven years of plenty, the the land brought forth abundantly. Verse 48. So he gathered the food these seven years which had occurred in the land of and placed the food in the cities and he placed the 47:14 city food from every from the surrounding fields. Verse 49. Thus, Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand on the sea until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure. There are going to be people, like it 47:33 says in Amos, who have a famine of God's word and his revelation of his word. And at the same time, there's going to be people like Joseph that there's so much plenty that he doesn't know. there's too much to count. And I say, Lord, give us lives like 47:51 this, an abundant life where in days of famine where people are seeking for the word of the Lord, that we have hearts like those little children where there's abundance of revelation of 48:09 yourself and your word speaking to us. abundance where they can't even keep track. And as we close, I just wanted to mention about one more thing. In the last days, Jesus said that 48:27 there's going to be those virgins who ran out of oil. They're going to have they're not going to have oil in the flask. They're going to be in need in the last day. But God's desire is not for any one of us to be like that. Having a lack of 48:46 oil, the lack of the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And this beautiful promise, if you turn with me to First Kings chapter 17, take this promise for each one of us in the days when there's going to be famine all around that we will live in abundance. 49:06 that God would give abundance of his revelation of himself and of his Holy Spirit in days of famine and drought all around us. Turn with me to First Kings. First Kings chapter 17. 49:27 First Kings chapter 17 verse14. First Kings chapter 17:14. Thus says the Lord God of Israel, the bowl of flour will not be exhausted, nor should the jar of oil empty until the day of the Lord sends 49:46 rain on the earth. That means till the Lord's coming, we will never lack God's word coming with revelation, a knowledge of the Lord and his holy spirit, the anointing of his holy spirit, the oil till the very end. I say Lord that 50:05 promise I pray it's fulfilled in each of our lives that we will know you as precious, more precious than anything else. will be responsive, Lord, when you speak to us. And that the oil and the flower will not end till your coming. 50:20 That we will live in days of plenty and flourishing in abundance when there's a famine all around. May the Lord do that. Will you pray with me? Heavenly Father, you said flesh and blood cannot reveal things to us, Lord. 50:37 But you said, Lord, to those who are like babies, there's no limit to the revelation you can give of yourself and of your word. Lord, I pray in these days, Lord, when famine is going to be all around us for the word of the Lord and of you, Lord, when 50:54 people are seeking frantically to search you out, Lord, I pray, Lord, that we would find your feet and we'll hear your voice. We'll make the choice to find that one thing that's needful, Lord. I pray Lord I pray for every single person who's hearing Lord 51:10 that these words Lord will make a difference in our lives that we will not hear from the men of Nineveh or the Queen of Sheba that we did not heed what they said. Pray that we'd take that to heart Lord and that you would make a change in 51:29 our lives in Jesus name. Amen. [Music]
