WEBVTT

00:00.000 --> 00:27.200
Let's stand for the reading of the word of God.

00:27.200 --> 00:33.520
Isaiah 30 verse 41 said this,

00:33.520 --> 00:38.240
but they that wait upon the Lord,

00:38.240 --> 00:44.200
they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

00:44.200 --> 00:49.960
They shall mount up with wings as eagles,

00:49.960 --> 00:53.280
they shall run and not be weary,

00:53.280 --> 00:58.680
they shall walk and not grow faint.

00:58.680 --> 01:02.680
Gracious Father, we thank you for this opportunity

01:02.680 --> 01:06.320
to think upon this ancient and wonderful scripture,

01:06.320 --> 01:09.040
a favorite of so many of us.

01:09.040 --> 01:13.600
And we thank you, Father, that we can do those things,

01:13.600 --> 01:16.960
that we can be renewed in our strength,

01:16.960 --> 01:20.240
that we can mount up to the high places,

01:20.240 --> 01:24.320
that we can run and we can walk and grow neither weary

01:24.320 --> 01:26.280
nor faint of heart.

01:26.280 --> 01:31.920
We thank you for the sweet memories of a lifetime

01:31.920 --> 01:34.480
that's been lived before us.

01:34.480 --> 01:37.280
And Father, I just thank you for the precious family

01:37.280 --> 01:39.680
that's here that is hurting.

01:39.680 --> 01:44.800
And I do thank you for their love of you and for the honor.

01:44.800 --> 01:48.720
They give their mother, they give their wife,

01:48.720 --> 01:50.760
they give their grandmother.

01:50.760 --> 01:53.960
I thank you for Jesus, and I thank you

01:53.960 --> 01:58.880
that in spite of low times, Father, we can be lifted up.

01:58.880 --> 02:03.560
In Jesus' most precious name I pray, amen.

02:03.560 --> 02:06.760
Would you be seated, please?

02:06.760 --> 02:10.720
But they that wait upon the Lord, and I like that, don't you?

02:10.720 --> 02:14.560
We've had so many examples of they who have waited upon,

02:14.560 --> 02:16.600
they've served the Lord, they've loved the Lord,

02:16.600 --> 02:18.560
they have honored Him.

02:18.560 --> 02:23.400
This in general is not an age of innocence, is it?

02:23.400 --> 02:26.800
It is not a time where we look and see very many opportunities

02:26.800 --> 02:31.520
to see someone besides ourselves or our own needs exalted

02:31.520 --> 02:33.480
or lifted up.

02:33.480 --> 02:37.400
We see people live among us who put the church first,

02:37.400 --> 02:39.960
who put the kingdom of God first,

02:39.960 --> 02:44.280
who put obligation to family, see, and loved ones first.

02:44.280 --> 02:48.880
And that exalts us, and that lifts us up too, doesn't it?

02:48.880 --> 02:51.040
I was just thinking of the demented judge.

02:51.040 --> 02:55.800
Well, his name was Dr. Dementis, I call him demented.

02:55.800 --> 02:59.160
But, you know, he looked in there in Alabama,

02:59.160 --> 03:03.520
and he said, you folks are having some sneaky prayer services,

03:03.520 --> 03:05.560
and you're reading scriptures in a sneaky way.

03:05.560 --> 03:08.840
We're going to put monitors in your classroom.

03:08.840 --> 03:10.440
It's not an age of innocent anymore.

03:10.440 --> 03:14.040
There was a time in America when God's word was honored,

03:14.040 --> 03:17.480
and we were expected to pray and read the Bible publicly.

03:17.480 --> 03:21.000
It's not an age of innocence, not anymore, is it?

03:21.000 --> 03:25.120
And, you know, when four little kids of a group of 20 or so

03:25.120 --> 03:29.160
are gathered around a flagpole, and they're shot down.

03:29.160 --> 03:30.760
By the way, if any of you kids want

03:30.760 --> 03:33.480
to have a prayer service at your school,

03:33.480 --> 03:37.840
I'll volunteer my big, fat body to stand around you

03:37.840 --> 03:40.520
so that you won't have to worry about being hit by a bullet.

03:40.520 --> 03:42.360
And I'll bet you there's 100 people here

03:42.400 --> 03:45.240
who would do the same thing, kids.

03:45.240 --> 03:46.080
That's kind of sad.

03:46.080 --> 03:49.600
That's not an age of innocence anymore, is it?

03:49.600 --> 03:52.280
And it would seem like what a dastardly deed

03:52.280 --> 03:56.680
from such an innocent and pure and wonderful purpose.

03:56.680 --> 04:02.040
In 2 Corinthians 5, 17, we've had one old familiar

04:02.040 --> 04:05.120
and lovely scripture, but here's another one.

04:05.120 --> 04:10.960
If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation, a new creature.

04:10.960 --> 04:12.440
Old things have passed away.

04:12.440 --> 04:17.480
Behold, all things are new.

04:17.480 --> 04:19.480
I really like that, don't you?

04:19.480 --> 04:23.560
We started out with renewed and man alive.

04:23.560 --> 04:28.360
Those of us who are sinners, those of us who have made mistakes

04:28.360 --> 04:31.880
have a new beginning, have a new start, have a new life.

04:31.880 --> 04:36.600
And so we don't have to live the old things that put us down,

04:36.600 --> 04:40.320
whether it was drugs or alcohol or lust or hatred

04:41.080 --> 04:45.680
or dishonoring the relationships that we have around us.

04:45.680 --> 04:50.680
Oh, we can be clean again and new again and innocent again.

04:51.440 --> 04:54.200
We can truly be that new creation, can't we?

04:54.200 --> 04:57.920
And I think that's so very important.

04:57.920 --> 05:02.320
In 2 Corinthians 5, 17, that born again

05:02.320 --> 05:04.760
is literally the word born again,

05:04.760 --> 05:09.760
which Jesus said, you must be born again.

05:09.800 --> 05:13.800
And the world doesn't know it, but it needs to be born again.

05:13.800 --> 05:15.800
It needs to be rebirthed.

05:15.800 --> 05:20.800
It needs to be washed and regenerated one more time.

05:20.800 --> 05:24.320
Listen to what, to go on in Corinthians says this,

05:24.320 --> 05:27.440
therefore we don't lose heart,

05:27.440 --> 05:30.880
though outwardly we are wasting away,

05:30.880 --> 05:35.960
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

05:35.960 --> 05:39.480
Now, do we have any old folks in the crowd?

05:39.520 --> 05:40.960
Not really do.

05:40.960 --> 05:44.120
We really don't have very many old folks, do we?

05:44.120 --> 05:47.400
And I see some awfully thin heads

05:47.400 --> 05:50.680
and I see some awfully silver-haired heads.

05:50.680 --> 05:53.280
I don't even think of them as that old.

05:53.280 --> 05:54.120
Why?

05:54.960 --> 05:57.400
They weighed upon the Lord.

05:57.400 --> 05:59.760
They wouldn't be here this morning, believe you me,

05:59.760 --> 06:02.720
unless they weighed it upon the Lord.

06:02.720 --> 06:06.280
This is not a house of pleasure, a house of entertainment,

06:06.280 --> 06:10.680
a house of bombastic, high-sounding things.

06:10.680 --> 06:13.360
This is a house of simple people,

06:13.360 --> 06:16.080
saying their prayers and breaking breads together

06:16.080 --> 06:19.560
and honoring the word of God this day.

06:19.560 --> 06:21.920
All that probably will never be very popular

06:21.920 --> 06:24.800
for a servant's church was never intended

06:24.800 --> 06:27.000
to be very popular.

06:27.000 --> 06:30.000
For being a servant is doing hard things

06:30.000 --> 06:31.840
and uncomfortable things

06:31.840 --> 06:35.760
and sometimes even unpleasant things.

06:35.760 --> 06:37.960
And I know that there are old folks here.

06:37.960 --> 06:41.480
I have a comb, I've got it in the other pocket,

06:41.480 --> 06:44.280
but every time that I comb my hair,

06:44.280 --> 06:48.800
I am reminded that the old man passes away.

06:49.800 --> 06:54.720
But we older folks have a wonderful promise, don't we?

06:54.720 --> 06:59.480
That though the outer man may deteriorate to some degree,

06:59.480 --> 07:01.480
and by the way, you young people,

07:01.480 --> 07:04.400
in my textbook in physiology, they say

07:04.400 --> 07:07.800
that past the age of 29, it is all downhill.

07:07.800 --> 07:09.360
Now that's what the physiologists say,

07:09.360 --> 07:12.080
so you know, I've gone a little further down the trail

07:12.080 --> 07:13.640
than you have, see?

07:13.640 --> 07:14.920
But it happens to us all.

07:14.920 --> 07:16.440
But see the comforting thing,

07:16.440 --> 07:17.920
we are renewed on the inside.

07:17.920 --> 07:19.760
Doesn't matter what's happening up here,

07:19.760 --> 07:23.380
the balding head and the gray hairs, lack of them.

07:23.380 --> 07:28.380
But what is really important is that as I experience life,

07:28.720 --> 07:32.920
and God teaches me through Christ to walk in His pattern,

07:33.800 --> 07:37.600
I'm refurbished and I'm renewed in the part

07:37.600 --> 07:40.080
that will last forever,

07:40.080 --> 07:41.720
because we are of the persuasion,

07:41.720 --> 07:43.760
are we not here today?

07:43.760 --> 07:47.360
That we are eternal created,

07:47.360 --> 07:52.120
that we are a lasting thing, that the death is not,

07:52.120 --> 07:54.480
the grave is not the end.

07:55.440 --> 07:58.560
We believe it's the beginning of our lifetime

07:58.560 --> 08:01.960
and experience with the Lord Jesus Christ

08:01.960 --> 08:06.960
up close at last, praise God, up close at last.

08:07.280 --> 08:10.160
And it's nothing that we fear, we don't want it.

08:10.160 --> 08:13.680
But it is something that is a precious promise

08:13.680 --> 08:15.920
that outwardly we may decay,

08:15.920 --> 08:20.200
but inwardly we go strong like great athletes,

08:20.200 --> 08:23.080
exercising their prerogative.

08:23.080 --> 08:26.040
Colossians 3-10 says this,

08:26.040 --> 08:31.040
you have taken off your old self with its practices

08:31.320 --> 08:34.280
and if you put on the new self,

08:34.280 --> 08:36.600
which is being renewed in knowledge

08:36.600 --> 08:40.120
in the image of the creator,

08:40.120 --> 08:43.240
I might also ask another question.

08:43.240 --> 08:45.920
Are there any sinners in the house?

08:45.920 --> 08:49.140
Well, I know there's one for sure.

08:49.140 --> 08:51.720
I know him pretty well.

08:51.720 --> 08:56.720
And I know there's at least one sinner in this house today.

08:56.840 --> 08:58.960
And I suspect that there are many,

08:58.960 --> 09:01.680
but they are forgiven sinners.

09:01.680 --> 09:06.120
They are sinners whose sins have been justified,

09:06.120 --> 09:11.120
sanctified, emanciated,

09:11.120 --> 09:15.680
made victorious in spite of those sins.

09:15.680 --> 09:19.120
Can I be renewed in my strength?

09:19.120 --> 09:23.040
God says, I really believe that Matthew 3,

09:23.040 --> 09:24.840
that as he lived the picture

09:24.840 --> 09:27.040
of death and burial and resurrection,

09:27.040 --> 09:29.720
and he talked about being born again,

09:29.720 --> 09:31.680
that's renewal, isn't it?

09:31.680 --> 09:35.880
And change and revivify and like a phoenix

09:35.880 --> 09:39.860
out of the ugly ashes of a dead cold fire

09:39.860 --> 09:44.860
comes a new life, a new life, a new creation.

09:45.040 --> 09:46.240
Look what he says there.

09:46.240 --> 09:49.880
You have taken off your old self.

09:49.880 --> 09:54.880
Now we're all to many degrees successful in such a thing.

09:55.880 --> 09:58.240
And that's the struggle of the church.

09:58.240 --> 10:00.640
That's the struggle of our very life, isn't it?

10:00.640 --> 10:05.640
That from day to day, I'm going to try to become more pure,

10:05.640 --> 10:07.840
more holy, more like God.

10:07.840 --> 10:10.400
It is said by the theologians,

10:10.400 --> 10:15.400
which is always suspect that justification can only come once.

10:15.560 --> 10:18.320
And that was in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

10:18.320 --> 10:22.760
But sanctification is a slow process of growing

10:22.960 --> 10:25.600
and being nurtured, see, as he says,

10:25.600 --> 10:29.960
growing on the inside, that our heart might be cleansed

10:29.960 --> 10:33.840
and it's rarely that it's perfectly clean like that.

10:33.840 --> 10:35.600
And so you be tolerant of me.

10:35.600 --> 10:38.720
I'm still in the making and I must be tolerant of you

10:38.720 --> 10:41.800
because I suspect that some of you are not perfected yet,

10:41.800 --> 10:43.680
but you're on your way.

10:43.680 --> 10:45.680
And that's the inspiration, I believe,

10:45.680 --> 10:47.640
with all of my heart of the church.

10:47.640 --> 10:50.440
This is 4.23 says this.

10:50.440 --> 10:51.960
Now you put off your old self.

10:51.960 --> 10:54.280
Now that's twice he said that.

10:54.280 --> 10:56.760
I actually found seven verses it had to do

10:56.760 --> 10:58.840
with putting off the old self.

10:58.840 --> 11:00.760
Remember we have that picture of a little chair

11:00.760 --> 11:02.900
on the inside of our mind.

11:02.900 --> 11:05.160
You can put self in that chair,

11:05.160 --> 11:08.640
or you can put the Lord Jesus Christ in that little chair,

11:08.640 --> 11:12.500
the throne of your mind, which shall it be?

11:12.500 --> 11:15.560
Well, I really believe it's my choice

11:15.560 --> 11:20.320
to put whoever I want on that throne of my mind or heart.

11:20.320 --> 11:22.160
Don't you really believe that?

11:22.160 --> 11:24.360
And I don't think that God's just gonna come in

11:24.360 --> 11:26.800
and say, I don't care what you want, Al,

11:26.800 --> 11:29.080
you're gonna be a good boy.

11:29.080 --> 11:31.640
It never seems to have worked out that way.

11:31.640 --> 11:34.280
And I don't know that I would want it that way.

11:34.280 --> 11:35.200
How about you?

11:36.460 --> 11:38.220
I have the prerogative saying,

11:38.220 --> 11:42.440
Lord Jesus, take over my life.

11:42.440 --> 11:46.940
Lord Jesus, sanctify me by your presence.

11:46.940 --> 11:50.300
And then you see, I go with God.

11:50.380 --> 11:54.540
I am cleansed because I was justified

11:54.540 --> 11:58.180
by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.

11:58.180 --> 12:02.300
And now I may take up that justification,

12:02.300 --> 12:04.420
or I may leave it alone.

12:04.420 --> 12:09.420
It is up to me to go on to sanctifying sanctification.

12:09.680 --> 12:12.820
And final perfection, you see, in the Lord Jesus Christ,

12:12.820 --> 12:14.300
you put off your old self,

12:14.300 --> 12:17.600
which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.

12:17.600 --> 12:19.900
I'd like to say I have no desire left in me

12:19.900 --> 12:23.260
to get 67, but what a, you don't believe that?

12:24.420 --> 12:26.380
You know that as long as I live,

12:26.380 --> 12:29.580
there will be some desire that I'll be wrestling with

12:29.580 --> 12:32.260
and that you will be wrestling with.

12:32.260 --> 12:35.420
Oh, it does get easier, believe me.

12:35.420 --> 12:38.520
But it's never easy to be like God,

12:38.520 --> 12:41.740
to be holy as He is holy.

12:41.740 --> 12:43.260
Then he goes on to say,

12:43.260 --> 12:47.020
to be made new in the attitude of your minds

12:47.020 --> 12:50.020
and to put on the new self,

12:50.020 --> 12:55.020
created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

12:56.740 --> 12:58.380
I would pray that every one of you,

12:58.380 --> 13:00.300
sometime this past week,

13:00.300 --> 13:03.500
between the times of breaking of bread,

13:03.500 --> 13:06.460
that you've taken a child aside.

13:06.460 --> 13:11.460
He said, look here, honey, there's God almighty.

13:12.060 --> 13:15.300
And what is he like, honey?

13:15.300 --> 13:20.300
He is righteousness and He is holiness.

13:20.900 --> 13:24.700
You must be like Him as best you can.

13:24.700 --> 13:26.820
And you see, that's what keeps us

13:26.820 --> 13:29.980
from having burnout in the church.

13:29.980 --> 13:31.740
Hey, if you have burnout in the church,

13:31.740 --> 13:35.700
just go find another job that someone doesn't want to do.

13:35.700 --> 13:38.940
There's plenty of those, plenty of them,

13:38.940 --> 13:40.700
plenty to go around, you see.

13:40.740 --> 13:43.740
And you need an exercise burnout

13:43.740 --> 13:45.620
because if you'll spend your time

13:45.620 --> 13:50.120
showing that He is holy, He is righteous.

13:50.120 --> 13:53.580
And we'll make this again an age of innocence,

13:53.580 --> 13:57.700
an age of purity, an age of renewal.

13:57.700 --> 14:01.180
And all you all, there are so many little guys here,

14:01.180 --> 14:06.180
how many opportunities to show that God is holy.

14:06.220 --> 14:10.180
God is righteous, be like Him.

14:10.300 --> 14:14.180
And put on the new self, created to be like God

14:14.180 --> 14:19.020
in true righteousness and in true holiness.

14:19.020 --> 14:23.180
Not to say I'm holy because I just announced that I was,

14:23.180 --> 14:28.180
but because my God, my master is holy.

14:29.140 --> 14:32.420
There is, you know, an argument.

14:32.420 --> 14:34.340
What does God look like?

14:34.340 --> 14:38.960
Is he a Chinaman, is he black, is he red, is he white?

14:38.960 --> 14:41.680
That's not the importance of God,

14:41.680 --> 14:43.800
what He looks like in that sense.

14:43.800 --> 14:46.240
Show them His holiness.

14:46.240 --> 14:48.280
That's what God's like.

14:48.280 --> 14:50.880
And if I'm made in the image of His righteousness

14:50.880 --> 14:54.700
and in His holiness, that's good enough for me.

14:54.700 --> 14:56.780
Maybe He's a multicolored God.

14:56.780 --> 15:00.840
I don't know, but He is holy and He is righteous.

15:00.840 --> 15:03.760
There is a transforming power in that.

15:03.760 --> 15:08.760
Romans 12, two, and be not conformed to this world,

15:10.440 --> 15:14.360
but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind

15:14.360 --> 15:17.500
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable

15:17.500 --> 15:20.720
and perfect will of God.

15:20.720 --> 15:24.680
There's too much conformation in the world today.

15:24.680 --> 15:26.840
We conform ourselves.

15:26.840 --> 15:29.120
Somebody has said the big problem with the church is

15:29.120 --> 15:32.720
it doesn't look a whole lot different than the world.

15:32.720 --> 15:35.240
That can make a pretty popular church, can it?

15:36.400 --> 15:39.680
But that isn't transformation,

15:39.680 --> 15:42.840
mean to be different, to be set aside,

15:44.080 --> 15:48.320
to be not like everybody else.

15:48.320 --> 15:53.320
Now, by the way, that's against physical nature, isn't it?

15:53.460 --> 15:58.460
Cause we are like a bunch of bananas, all in a bunch.

15:58.600 --> 16:01.360
And the one who is not like everyone on the bunch

16:01.400 --> 16:03.960
is usually castigated a little bit, isn't it?

16:03.960 --> 16:07.640
Teeny boppers, you can't just do some of the things

16:07.640 --> 16:09.520
that the other teeny boppers do.

16:09.520 --> 16:13.840
And middle-aged folks, you can't just be like everybody else

16:13.840 --> 16:16.720
in the jet set, young couple crowd.

16:16.720 --> 16:18.600
You cannot do that.

16:18.600 --> 16:22.120
And old folks, you can't just sit there and whine.

16:22.120 --> 16:26.320
You have to still teach the young

16:26.320 --> 16:30.400
and show the exalted life and the righteousness

16:30.440 --> 16:34.600
and the holiness of our Father who is in heaven.

16:34.600 --> 16:37.240
How long shall this go on?

16:37.240 --> 16:40.000
I have a feeling that God said

16:40.000 --> 16:41.960
that our strength would be renewed

16:41.960 --> 16:45.040
as long as we were growing

16:45.040 --> 16:47.160
and as long as we needed it.

16:47.160 --> 16:49.120
And I really think that's important.

16:49.960 --> 16:52.680
You'll always have the courage and the strength to do

16:52.680 --> 16:55.480
what God has placed you in the world to do.

16:56.760 --> 16:59.120
Do it with a vengeance.

16:59.960 --> 17:01.840
And then remember the second aspect

17:01.840 --> 17:03.920
of that precious passage of scriptures.

17:04.840 --> 17:09.840
And they shall lift up their wings as eagles.

17:11.520 --> 17:14.080
You know, it's a joy to me.

17:14.080 --> 17:17.480
And I know that many of your outdoor people,

17:17.480 --> 17:20.320
I'm not a sportsman, I'm a lousy sportsman,

17:20.320 --> 17:22.720
but I like to be out.

17:22.720 --> 17:27.720
And I have seen as many as 155 great golden eagles

17:27.720 --> 17:30.240
in one day's time.

17:30.240 --> 17:32.400
I don't think there's anything more satisfying

17:32.400 --> 17:36.760
to think of that great lifting wingspan

17:36.760 --> 17:40.680
as he arches across the sky so noble and so perfect.

17:40.680 --> 17:44.760
By the way, this is the ultimate sermon illustration.

17:44.760 --> 17:48.160
There's an example for a Christmas tie

17:48.160 --> 17:50.560
of the wings of an eagle.

17:50.560 --> 17:52.240
And that's pretty cool, isn't it?

17:53.600 --> 17:56.480
It matches my Frank Nitty suit.

17:56.560 --> 17:59.520
And that's really good when you can do that

17:59.520 --> 18:02.640
and coordinate it in a sermon, ain't you?

18:02.640 --> 18:05.440
But you know, there's nothing more beautiful.

18:05.440 --> 18:08.800
There's a song about, you are the wind,

18:08.800 --> 18:10.120
you are saying, what is it?

18:10.120 --> 18:12.760
You are the wind beneath my wings.

18:12.760 --> 18:14.320
Can anyone do it better than I?

18:14.320 --> 18:16.320
Well, anybody can do it better than I can do.

18:16.320 --> 18:17.160
But you're stopping the thing,

18:17.160 --> 18:20.080
but what is that wind beneath our wings?

18:20.080 --> 18:22.480
Well, it's God's spirit within us, isn't it?

18:22.480 --> 18:23.320
The Numa.

18:24.720 --> 18:26.320
Remember 1st Thessalonians 520?

18:27.280 --> 18:29.640
That we would be made of three parts.

18:31.040 --> 18:35.840
The spirit and soul and body

18:35.840 --> 18:39.640
would be preserved brimless in its entirety now,

18:39.640 --> 18:44.640
altogether until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

18:47.160 --> 18:49.320
We are whole.

18:49.320 --> 18:51.120
We do have the Holy Spirit.

18:51.120 --> 18:54.760
That wind beneath our wings is the lift

18:54.760 --> 18:58.000
that He gives us as He exalts us,

18:58.000 --> 19:01.800
as He allows us to soar with wings as eagles.

19:03.280 --> 19:04.720
And I think if you've ever seen that,

19:04.720 --> 19:06.480
you would be inspired.

19:06.480 --> 19:08.880
By the way, this is something

19:08.880 --> 19:11.160
that would really tickle a lot of you.

19:11.160 --> 19:16.160
This is a, well, it's a pseudo eagle wing, you know?

19:18.560 --> 19:23.560
That there are literally in a 15 inch feather like this,

19:24.160 --> 19:28.400
that there are one million plus barbules and pinules

19:28.400 --> 19:30.720
which are microscopic little hooks.

19:30.720 --> 19:32.360
And you know when I do that,

19:32.360 --> 19:35.200
some of you could actually hear it tick, didn't it?

19:35.200 --> 19:39.120
Each one of those tiny things has invisible hooks,

19:39.120 --> 19:40.520
and they reach out and interlock

19:40.520 --> 19:42.040
with the one in front of it.

19:42.040 --> 19:43.600
Well, you know, I like to think

19:43.600 --> 19:47.160
that God's design is shown in a feather.

19:47.160 --> 19:48.640
The psalmist cried out this,

19:48.640 --> 19:51.040
and boy, this is true too, isn't it?

19:51.040 --> 19:56.040
Oh ye birds of the field, praise God.

19:56.680 --> 19:58.880
All ye birds of the field.

19:58.880 --> 20:02.120
And I believe that this feather shows a praise of God.

20:02.120 --> 20:05.840
It's designed aerodynamically to do something wondrous.

20:05.840 --> 20:07.840
I don't have feathers and I can't fly.

20:09.120 --> 20:12.240
And a lot of 747s can't fly either.

20:12.240 --> 20:15.560
They just give up a lot of times and hit the ground.

20:16.600 --> 20:18.280
But we're not so snooty.

20:18.280 --> 20:22.920
God's been designing things that fly for a long, long time.

20:22.920 --> 20:25.040
This is designed, the pinules and barbules,

20:25.040 --> 20:26.560
those one million of them,

20:26.560 --> 20:31.480
as the air is pushed forward, he opens up the pinules.

20:31.480 --> 20:34.920
But when he wants to thrust hard this way,

20:34.920 --> 20:38.540
the pinules interlock and there's a solid surface.

20:38.540 --> 20:42.600
Now you tell me how that happened by chance.

20:42.600 --> 20:45.440
Think how many spastic pseudo birds

20:45.440 --> 20:47.520
must have died flying out of trees

20:47.520 --> 20:51.200
and plow because they didn't have

20:51.200 --> 20:55.160
one million pinules nor barbules, you see?

20:55.160 --> 20:58.480
So I'll tell you this, the great mind of God

20:58.480 --> 21:02.560
is demonstrated in the wings of an eagle.

21:02.560 --> 21:06.000
And they're smart birds and they're smart

21:06.000 --> 21:08.920
because God made them that way.

21:08.920 --> 21:12.600
Psalms 25 verse one says this,

21:12.600 --> 21:17.600
unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul?

21:18.960 --> 21:20.840
My brother's a pilot.

21:20.840 --> 21:24.120
He's always concerned about lift.

21:24.120 --> 21:25.800
What happens to an airplane kids

21:25.800 --> 21:27.560
if you don't have enough lift?

21:30.160 --> 21:32.080
That's what happens, isn't it?

21:32.080 --> 21:34.840
When there's not enough air beneath the wings,

21:35.680 --> 21:37.480
you have to have more air under the wings

21:37.480 --> 21:38.560
and you do over the wings.

21:38.560 --> 21:40.880
That's just Bernoulli's principle.

21:40.920 --> 21:42.320
Anybody knows that?

21:43.480 --> 21:47.440
And I'll tell you, if there's no lift in the wings,

21:47.440 --> 21:49.360
nothing flies.

21:49.360 --> 21:51.120
And who does he attribute that?

21:51.120 --> 21:55.840
You are the lift of my soul.

21:55.840 --> 22:00.160
You are the one that's the wind beneath my wings

22:00.160 --> 22:05.160
that keeps me sustained, see, and keeps me renewed.

22:05.600 --> 22:07.540
And so there is a new perspective.

22:07.540 --> 22:10.320
I tell you what, when you're up on the rim rock,

22:10.320 --> 22:13.320
it's really wonderful to look down, isn't it?

22:13.320 --> 22:15.760
And when you see an eagle fly below you,

22:15.760 --> 22:18.560
that's really neat, isn't it?

22:18.560 --> 22:21.920
Because eagles are made to mount up

22:21.920 --> 22:25.160
and lift up their wings, see, and fly high.

22:25.160 --> 22:27.840
And there's a new perspective in flying high.

22:27.840 --> 22:31.920
There's a new perspective in being born again

22:31.920 --> 22:34.520
that you might be renewed.

22:34.520 --> 22:37.320
I'll tell you what, sin doesn't look the same

22:38.320 --> 22:40.520
when you're viewing it from God's view.

22:41.800 --> 22:44.200
Hatred and lust.

22:44.200 --> 22:46.640
And sometimes those things are actually honored,

22:46.640 --> 22:48.800
aren't they, by the world around us, see?

22:50.200 --> 22:53.440
Bigotry, wickedness all over the face of it

22:53.440 --> 22:57.240
does not look the same once you've been renewed.

22:57.240 --> 23:00.280
Once you've been exalted and lifted up by God's Spirit,

23:00.280 --> 23:04.640
you can never be content in continuous sin.

23:04.760 --> 23:07.800
It's an unhappy relationship to walk with one foot

23:07.800 --> 23:11.440
on the high part of the curb and the other foot in the gully,

23:11.440 --> 23:14.480
and you don't walk very far, very efficiently,

23:14.480 --> 23:16.320
playing the high and low side.

23:16.320 --> 23:20.360
Go with God, go with the renewing, go with the exaltation.

23:20.360 --> 23:23.800
It is a better place to see the world in the view

23:23.800 --> 23:27.320
which God has provided as we mount up

23:27.320 --> 23:30.400
with wings as eagles.

23:30.400 --> 23:33.840
And you know what, I pity a world

23:33.880 --> 23:38.120
which doesn't really have an exalted view of things.

23:38.120 --> 23:42.720
Have you ever been around people who just think dirty,

23:42.720 --> 23:45.560
who have a wicked mind,

23:45.560 --> 23:49.160
whose every other word is some foul expletive

23:49.160 --> 23:51.200
that is not pleasant,

23:51.200 --> 23:54.120
that is not a thing that most of us naturally enjoy,

23:54.120 --> 23:58.000
may even at time giggle nervously,

23:58.000 --> 24:01.080
but that's not for us, is it?

24:01.080 --> 24:03.440
Let our speech be pure.

24:03.440 --> 24:04.920
Let it be good.

24:04.920 --> 24:08.600
Let it be innocent if we're to restore the world

24:08.600 --> 24:11.640
into a new age of innocence.

24:11.640 --> 24:16.640
I look and I pity the world at God's overall view

24:16.640 --> 24:19.560
from above, and if you want that,

24:19.560 --> 24:22.080
you know that this book right here,

24:22.080 --> 24:25.840
the Holy Bible, is everything that you need

24:25.840 --> 24:28.880
for you to be exalted, and number two,

24:28.880 --> 24:32.160
for your nation which you properly should be concerned with

24:32.160 --> 24:34.360
to be exalted again, to be restored

24:34.360 --> 24:36.240
to its age of innocence.

24:36.240 --> 24:40.080
There was a time when we were innocent

24:41.080 --> 24:44.560
and it no longer abides with us.

24:44.560 --> 24:49.560
You read Mark 13, Matthew 21, Matthew 24,

24:50.640 --> 24:53.400
and Luke 21 and 22, and then first and second,

24:53.400 --> 24:55.560
Thessalonians does a good job on top of it,

24:55.560 --> 24:58.120
and then read all the book of Revelation

24:58.120 --> 25:01.800
that should cover between the Denver game

25:01.800 --> 25:03.680
and the men's meeting.

25:03.680 --> 25:05.200
That should cover it very nicely,

25:05.200 --> 25:08.960
give you something worthwhile to do.

25:08.960 --> 25:12.200
But you see, that's God's plan for his people

25:12.200 --> 25:15.080
from the beginning of time to the very end of time,

25:15.080 --> 25:17.980
and you and I are part of his program.

25:17.980 --> 25:20.680
I don't know how long we have,

25:20.680 --> 25:22.280
but I do know that every one of us

25:22.280 --> 25:25.080
is one heart beat away from meeting

25:25.080 --> 25:27.560
the Lord Jesus Christ up close.

25:27.560 --> 25:32.040
Let me conclude with this thought in Titus 3.5.

25:32.040 --> 25:34.960
This is a fascinating passage of scripture,

25:34.960 --> 25:38.560
and again, much poo-pooed by the reverence.

25:38.560 --> 25:40.240
Here's what he says.

25:40.240 --> 25:43.840
He served us through the washing of rebirth

25:43.840 --> 25:45.040
and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

25:45.040 --> 25:48.480
Now, that's NIV, but King James says

25:48.480 --> 25:51.680
that washing of regeneration.

25:51.680 --> 25:53.920
Now, this is interesting, isn't it?

25:53.920 --> 25:56.640
Generation, that's mean we were all generated,

25:56.800 --> 25:58.560
we wouldn't be here.

25:58.560 --> 26:00.960
Regeneration means born again.

26:00.960 --> 26:04.960
We're created anew in a spiritual walk of life.

26:04.960 --> 26:07.680
Something different than the flesh,

26:07.680 --> 26:09.920
and far more important than the flesh.

26:09.920 --> 26:12.880
He served us then through the washing of rebirth

26:12.880 --> 26:14.800
and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

26:14.800 --> 26:17.120
whom he poured on us generously

26:17.120 --> 26:19.520
through Jesus Christ our Savior,

26:19.520 --> 26:24.520
so that having then been justified by grace,

26:24.680 --> 26:29.680
we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

26:32.560 --> 26:34.320
You know how you can say that the washing

26:34.320 --> 26:35.920
of regeneration is unimportant?

26:35.920 --> 26:39.080
Remember, I quoted about a month ago,

26:39.080 --> 26:43.080
Ted Turner saying, I have no need to be born again.

26:44.120 --> 26:47.280
Teddy, teddy, teddy, you do too, too.

26:47.280 --> 26:52.280
You do have a need to be born again, to be washed.

26:52.880 --> 26:54.800
And so, isn't that the nature of life?

26:56.600 --> 27:01.240
I'm generated, but I need to be regeneration.

27:01.240 --> 27:03.160
I need to be born again.

27:03.160 --> 27:07.760
If I'm not born again, I will not see eternal life.

27:07.760 --> 27:12.760
If I am only born once of the flesh of my mama and my papa,

27:13.680 --> 27:16.120
I shall die eternally.

27:16.120 --> 27:19.360
But if I'm born twice of my father and mother,

27:19.360 --> 27:21.680
and of the Holy Father,

27:21.680 --> 27:26.680
then I shall dwell with him forever.

27:27.360 --> 27:29.480
And I see that there's hope in that,

27:29.480 --> 27:32.040
and extreme love of God.

27:32.040 --> 27:34.960
Yes, they shall run and not be weary,

27:34.960 --> 27:37.160
and they shall walk and not fade.

27:37.160 --> 27:39.320
I ran out of time.

27:39.320 --> 27:41.360
Well, I'll tell you this.

27:41.360 --> 27:43.600
While you're going, keep your momentum up.

27:44.880 --> 27:48.240
You may have two speeds, running and walking.

27:48.240 --> 27:51.200
I find it isn't the joy to run that it used to be.

27:51.200 --> 27:53.120
Has anyone found that out?

27:53.120 --> 27:57.440
But you know, don't get faint walking, Fat Albert.

27:57.440 --> 27:59.200
It's okay.

27:59.200 --> 28:01.720
There is still something good

28:01.720 --> 28:03.920
that will come of your progress,

28:03.920 --> 28:06.240
and you will go forward.

28:06.240 --> 28:08.040
You're not talking about backwards.

28:08.040 --> 28:09.680
Have you ever seen an eagle fly backwards?

28:09.680 --> 28:10.520
Not really.

28:11.880 --> 28:14.360
Oh, he has a purpose in his mind.

28:14.360 --> 28:16.480
He has a purpose in his mind.

28:16.480 --> 28:19.840
I was just thinking of that lovely lady

28:21.120 --> 28:24.040
who we bereave this week.

28:25.120 --> 28:28.200
Maryam gave her every thought and soul

28:28.200 --> 28:29.960
to the body of Christ, didn't she?

28:31.320 --> 28:33.320
And she loved the Lord,

28:33.320 --> 28:37.120
and there is no doubt that she was sustained

28:37.120 --> 28:40.920
by a very wonderful gift,

28:40.920 --> 28:42.640
the gift of the God's Spirit,

28:42.640 --> 28:45.760
and allowing the Spirit to use her.

28:45.760 --> 28:48.720
And I bless her memory.

28:48.720 --> 28:50.520
I know that you do too.

28:50.520 --> 28:55.520
And tomorrow we'll have better definition of that.

28:55.520 --> 28:59.360
And please come and be here and see a noble woman.

29:02.080 --> 29:04.520
Prayed attention to,

29:04.520 --> 29:07.960
didn't have much of it during this life, I'm sure.

29:07.960 --> 29:09.360
But you know what?

29:09.360 --> 29:14.360
A servant of God is a mighty saint of God.

29:15.840 --> 29:17.880
And should be honored,

29:17.880 --> 29:20.480
and is already being honored in the place

29:20.480 --> 29:25.480
most important at her father's right hand.

29:26.480 --> 29:29.920
And so I conclude this sermon on eagles,

29:29.920 --> 29:32.840
but just reiterating the simple truths.

29:33.760 --> 29:36.800
There are some of you here who are bogged down in sin.

29:37.720 --> 29:41.240
You know that probably more than I do.

29:41.240 --> 29:45.320
Now I don't wanna know it all, not my business,

29:45.360 --> 29:47.560
but there's one cure for living in sin,

29:47.560 --> 29:50.520
and that is to be made new.

29:51.440 --> 29:56.440
To be born again of the water and of the Spirit,

29:58.080 --> 30:01.600
and you shall live forever.

30:01.600 --> 30:03.120
And more importantly,

30:03.120 --> 30:06.840
you'll have the sustenance to get through the day.

30:06.840 --> 30:09.280
There are people here who work endless hours

30:09.280 --> 30:11.520
and work so hard, and you're worn out.

30:12.400 --> 30:15.280
But it does say, don't be discouraged.

30:15.320 --> 30:19.520
If you'll just stick with me, and abide in me,

30:19.520 --> 30:22.080
and read of me, and pray to me,

30:22.080 --> 30:25.160
and be holy and righteous like me,

30:25.160 --> 30:28.720
I shall lift you up.

30:28.720 --> 30:31.240
As we sing our hymn of invitation,

30:31.240 --> 30:33.360
if you need a church home,

30:33.360 --> 30:37.560
if you need to be born again of the water and of the Spirit,

30:37.560 --> 30:40.880
now is that opportune time to do it.

30:40.880 --> 30:43.360
I believe it's number 329.

30:44.320 --> 30:46.920
Yes, would you stand, please,

30:46.920 --> 30:48.920
as we offer our hymn of invitation.

30:56.920 --> 31:00.800
The Savior is waiting

31:00.800 --> 31:04.320
with her upon.

31:04.320 --> 31:10.160
Why don't you let him run in?

31:10.440 --> 31:17.440
There's nothing in this world to give him upon.

31:17.440 --> 31:24.440
What is around him to give him?

31:24.440 --> 31:31.440
My God, God is waiting for you.

31:31.440 --> 31:37.920
And now he's waiting again.

31:37.920 --> 31:45.920
We sing our hymn to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

31:45.920 --> 31:51.920
Oh, how we must share the hymn.

31:51.920 --> 31:53.920
Would you be seated, please?

31:55.280 --> 31:58.480
We would like to welcome this little family way back,

32:00.320 --> 32:01.760
and it is so good to have them,

32:01.760 --> 32:06.080
and I just would like to give you a moment, Todd.

32:06.080 --> 32:08.960
I know that you wish to be part of this fellowship,

32:08.960 --> 32:12.160
and everyone knows that you've been born again

32:12.160 --> 32:14.560
of the water and of the Spirit.

32:14.560 --> 32:17.920
And little family, besides placing your fellowship with us,

32:17.920 --> 32:20.320
is there anything you'd like to say?

32:20.320 --> 32:22.880
I was just sitting there thinking, Al said,

32:22.880 --> 32:25.280
you know, if anybody needs a church home,

32:25.280 --> 32:32.160
and although we've never felt like this wasn't ever our home.

32:32.160 --> 32:33.760
I mean, no matter where we were,

32:33.760 --> 32:35.840
this has always been our church home,

32:35.840 --> 32:37.120
and we've always felt like that.

32:37.120 --> 32:39.280
And I debated whether to come forward.

32:39.280 --> 32:41.360
I mean, you know, this is our home,

32:41.360 --> 32:42.960
and we've always felt like members.

32:42.960 --> 32:46.800
But we just wanted to say that, you know,

32:46.800 --> 32:49.600
our lives are kind of in a turmoil right now,

32:49.600 --> 32:52.480
or we're not sure what the Lord has planned for us.

32:52.480 --> 32:56.240
But we thought we're better than to be at home

32:56.240 --> 32:59.760
to await His answer.

32:59.760 --> 33:01.200
I would say things are going very well.

33:01.520 --> 33:04.960
They have this big house, a new car.

33:04.960 --> 33:06.160
They don't have hot water,

33:06.160 --> 33:08.000
and they don't have a stove or refrigerator,

33:08.000 --> 33:11.920
but other than that, they have it made in this bale of tear.

33:11.920 --> 33:13.360
And we do.

33:13.360 --> 33:17.120
I know that all of you will be teaching somebody

33:17.120 --> 33:19.680
something about the Lord's will.

33:19.680 --> 33:22.960
And so we welcome you and our fellowship, little family,

33:22.960 --> 33:27.840
and just find something that needs to be done and do it.

33:27.840 --> 33:29.120
God bless you for that.

33:29.120 --> 33:31.120
May we see you.

33:57.840 --> 33:59.840
You

