[SPEAKER_00]: And it says Matthew chapter 6 verse 22, the light of the body is the eye.
[SPEAKER_00]: Therefore, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
[SPEAKER_00]: God bless and honor the reading of his word, you may be seated.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why death?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why disease?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why suffering?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why such difficulty?
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't see always, and I can't always see or understand, and I can't understand why these things happen.
[SPEAKER_00]: We know the death is in the world because of sin.
[SPEAKER_00]: We know that, but disease doesn't always happen in this world to each person because of sin.
[SPEAKER_00]: We know that some diseases happen on the different people because of sins that they have committed, but that's not always the case.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we have to ask why we know that our eyes can't always see or understand and I for certain can't see.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why did Charlie Kirk have to die so young when we have to ask this question, why so young?
[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, is I don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't see why.
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't see what God's eyes.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just can't.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I know that he knows.
[SPEAKER_00]: The title today's sermon is, I can't see like God.
[SPEAKER_00]: I being built like an eye, E, Y, E, I can't see like God.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the first question is, why death?
[SPEAKER_00]: For some die of Marta's death, I heard a woman this week.
[SPEAKER_00]: She gave a ceremony to be in my son dad, I don't know, but I saw this week a young woman, very young woman, got up and was preaching and saying that Charlie did die of Marta's death, well, that was real stupid.
[SPEAKER_00]: He did die of Marta's death.
[SPEAKER_00]: She said he didn't live a dead die of ours death.
[SPEAKER_00]: He lived a Christian life.
[SPEAKER_00]: I said, yeah, you see in order to live a marked die of ours death is a Christian.
[SPEAKER_00]: You have to live a Christian life.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, Kankos out saying he did die of ours death, though.
[SPEAKER_00]: She just didn't know what she's talking about.
[SPEAKER_00]: But that being said, I mean, she meant well, but she's ignorant.
[SPEAKER_00]: But either way, she did die of ours death.
[SPEAKER_00]: Some die of ours death, some are murdered, some die young, some don't.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we can't understand why?
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't know why.
[SPEAKER_00]: We just don't.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're not God.
[SPEAKER_00]: We can't see through God's eyes.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we can't understand why.
[SPEAKER_00]: We just don't know why.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why did my father have to die when he did?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why did my grandfather?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why did your grandfather?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why did your mom die when she did?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why?
[SPEAKER_00]: Don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just don't.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's now turn to Acts chapter six.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to read a little bit.
[SPEAKER_00]: Acts chapter 6 verse 8, excuse me.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, Acts chapter 6 verse 8 through 15.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right before we get to that, we see that the disciples, and I'm talking about the 11 that still exists, there was another one that they'd added to it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But they were talking about needing new disciples to help.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so they had added another few into there.
[SPEAKER_00]: But there were 12 now, but no, Jesus wasn't one of them.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was not dead.
[SPEAKER_00]: He killed himself, who's in hell.
[SPEAKER_00]: But they were decided to add.
[SPEAKER_00]: seven new men for one of those men this is in chapter six the very beginning they added a new fill-up a different fill-up.
[SPEAKER_00]: They also added a Procurs, some of them, I'm assuming that's how you say it, Nick and Nore, a few to mone and a few others and then one of them being Steven, Steven was one of them, they added Steven.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so by the time we get to chapter six verse eight, it says now Steven,
[SPEAKER_00]: And we start to hear about Stephen.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, Acts chapter 6 verse 8 through 15 says this.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it in and ends at 15, but it says this.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, Stephen, full of faith and power did great wonders and miracles among the people.
[SPEAKER_00]: When some people are assuming, when some men rose up from what is called a synagogue of the Friedman,
[SPEAKER_00]: Syringians and out of Zandrians and those from Celicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen, never were as the Philistines in such.
[SPEAKER_00]: They were not able to withstand the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, just earlier in Sunday's school, we were talking about, he's not always in that speaks, he's the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, the wisdom of God.
[SPEAKER_00]: So they weren't able to withstand the wisdom, which was coming from this man's Stephen, because it wasn't the miracles the Stephen was performing.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was the miracles of God that were coming from him.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because he knew Jesus Christ, his first older Savior, the Holy Spirit was working through him.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it goes on to say this, but they were not able to withstand his first time, by the way.
[SPEAKER_00]: But they were not able to withstand the wisdom and spirit, which he spoke, verse 11.
[SPEAKER_00]: with then they secretly instigated men, they instigated them.
[SPEAKER_00]: They're getting riled up and picking them out.
[SPEAKER_00]: They instigated men who said, we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God, and that's the same thing that did the Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's the same thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Lied.
[SPEAKER_00]: The boy I see that today in the news, they lie, they to pry, they get things riled up, verse 12.
[SPEAKER_00]: So they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes and came upon them and seized him, meaning Stephen, and led him to the Sanhedrin and set up false witnesses who said, this is what the false witness is.
[SPEAKER_00]: The liars said, they said,
[SPEAKER_00]: This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law.
[SPEAKER_00]: For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs which Moses handed down to us, all who setness of Sanhedrin, gazing at him, saw his face, listen to this now, you're going to love this, you're going to love this.
[SPEAKER_00]: They sat and looked at his face.
[SPEAKER_00]: They saw his face as the face of an angel.
[SPEAKER_00]: Folks, just so you know, when you're living for the Lord, when the Holy Spirit is upon you, no, no, no, no, that's old Christmas stuff now.
[SPEAKER_00]: All that's in the past, it's not upon you.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's in you, the Holy Spirit is in you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Once you have Jesus in your heart, the Holy Spirit is in you, it is in you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And they feel it.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know why they can't stand your guts and liver?
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, I don't know how they feel about your labor, but they can't stand your guts.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I don't think they like your labor much either.
[SPEAKER_00]: The reason why they don't like you at all has nothing to do with you.
[SPEAKER_00]: They say, oh, they don't like what I like, they don't like how I dress up.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't care about that stuff.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not what's on the outward appearance.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not because they don't like how you look.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's because of what they see coming out of you.
[SPEAKER_00]: They can't stand Jesus Christ.
[SPEAKER_00]: They hate us, guys, why?
[SPEAKER_00]: Because Jesus is telling the Holy Spirit's telling them that you're wrong.
[SPEAKER_00]: what you're doing is wrong, and you need to change.
[SPEAKER_00]: Folks, Jesus Christ tells me every day if I do something I should do.
[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus, don't do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: You need to stop that, you need to change.
[SPEAKER_00]: That people don't like to be told the wrong?
[SPEAKER_00]: Nobody likes to be told the wrong.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now folks, I'm not talking about opinions.
[SPEAKER_00]: Opinions don't matter.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, liver is bad.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, folks, liver is not bad.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's good for you, and it tastes pretty good, too.
[SPEAKER_00]: Am I opinion?
[SPEAKER_00]: But when it ended, some people are crazy right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, those onions, no, no, no, no, we're not talking about opinions right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're talking about biblical facts.
[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, the life and the light you want to shine through.
[SPEAKER_00]: You, amen, amen, and nobody can stop him.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, death couldn't stop Jesus and won't stop Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he still lives now.
[SPEAKER_00]: He lives right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: and guess what, they saw that face.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now we're going to go into chapter seven here.
[SPEAKER_00]: But here's the thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Chapter seven of the book of Acts.
[SPEAKER_00]: Chapter seven, they start to talk.
[SPEAKER_00]: It says this in verse one, then the high priest said, are these things so?
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, they asked the question.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's Steve and got the talk and Steve and got the talk and and boy was he brave.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know he didn't, he let the Holy Spirit get the talk him.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the Holy Spirit spoke and Steven took the Pharisees through a little trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he started talking about the Old Testament, the Jewish Old Testament history from Abraham to Solomon.
[SPEAKER_00]: He went through this long trip.
[SPEAKER_00]: So all the way from chapter 7, verse 2 to 47, he's speaking, and I'm not gonna read all that to you.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can say thank you, but we're gonna, he went all the way through the Old Testament and he took them through what they knew so well.
[SPEAKER_00]: Folks, they knew the Old Testament.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like the back of their hand and they said, oh yeah, there's that mold.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, they knew all of that.
[SPEAKER_00]: But here's the thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: They knew it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But they didn't live it.
[SPEAKER_00]: They knew it.
[SPEAKER_00]: They knew that law.
[SPEAKER_00]: So they can slap you with it and work against you.
[SPEAKER_00]: But they didn't know it in the heart.
[SPEAKER_00]: They didn't know what it really meant.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you ever have people do that to you, that they throw a scripture.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's those scripture.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, that's the beginning.
[SPEAKER_00]: But they don't know what that means.
[SPEAKER_00]: You ever heard that?
[SPEAKER_00]: I bet you 255 loss people have thrown that scripture at you, but they don't know what it means.
[SPEAKER_00]: They don't know what does not let TV just means.
[SPEAKER_00]: They have no idea.
[SPEAKER_00]: They don't know what love your neighbor means.
[SPEAKER_00]: They don't know all that because they're just using it to make you feel guilty.
[SPEAKER_00]: And who does that?
[SPEAKER_00]: Who tries to use scripture and change a meaning of it?
[SPEAKER_00]: Who did that?
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, the way back.
[SPEAKER_00]: And Genesis, chapter three to get Adam and Eve to sin.
[SPEAKER_00]: Can you say, say, be Satan.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's right.
[SPEAKER_00]: By the way, I'm not saying those people are willfully being used of the devil.
[SPEAKER_00]: They don't know that.
[SPEAKER_00]: But they might be being used in the devil to make you feel guilty.
[SPEAKER_00]: So that you can't see the truth.
[SPEAKER_00]: but they didn't stop Stephen.
[SPEAKER_00]: Stephen would all the way through the Old Testament and told him the historical facts of what God was doing.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then he got to chapter 7, verse 48, 48 through 60, which I will read.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's see what it says here.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, I'm, yeah, yeah, okay, I'll do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, however, this way says the verse 48, however he says,
[SPEAKER_00]: The most high does not dwell in the house is made with hands as a prophecies.
[SPEAKER_00]: Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.
[SPEAKER_00]: What house will you build for me, says the Lord?
[SPEAKER_00]: or what is the place of my rest?
[SPEAKER_00]: Has not my hand made all these things.
[SPEAKER_00]: You stiff neck people uncircumstised in the heart and ears.
[SPEAKER_00]: You always resist the Holy Spirit.
[SPEAKER_00]: As your fathers did, so do you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Which of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted?
[SPEAKER_00]: They have even killed those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, meaning Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: of whom you have now become the betrayers and murderers, you have received the law by that a disposition of angels but have not kept it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, listen to this, verse 54, when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, boy it got to them.
[SPEAKER_00]: It were cut to the heart and they smashed their teeth.
[SPEAKER_00]: You, you, you, every people see people do that when they get so mad, ah, ah, they nashed their teeth.
[SPEAKER_00]: But verse 55, but being full of the Holy Spirit, I love this.
[SPEAKER_00]: They nashed their teeth at him.
[SPEAKER_00]: I could see them going at Steve and poor Steve and sitting there, being filled with the Holy Spirit
[SPEAKER_00]: But listen to him, verse 55, but being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God in Jesus standing at the right hand of God and said, I love this, the old Stephen.
[SPEAKER_00]: He said, look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.
[SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever had so much coming down on you?
[SPEAKER_00]: You feel like your world is coming
[SPEAKER_00]: but you're praying to God, the Holy Spirit comes on, you get goosebumps from head to toe, from toe to head to the head, and you get goosebumps going up and down your own boy.
[SPEAKER_00]: This last night when I was praying and I was going through this, I had goosebumps all over me.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then one of them cool where I was, but you know why?
[SPEAKER_00]: Cause it's not a physical, it's a spiritual thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: And man, oh man, I was stinking a Stephen.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was stinking what he was feeling.
[SPEAKER_00]: He had goosebumps all over him
[SPEAKER_00]: Going all over him, and when he saw the Lord God calling him home, folks, he knew where he was going.
[SPEAKER_00]: He won a parade!
[SPEAKER_00]: Does that mean he didn't feel what he, this stuff?
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what he felt.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know he went afraid though, and he kept talking.
[SPEAKER_00]: Listen what they did to him.
[SPEAKER_00]: Listen what they did.
[SPEAKER_00]: He said, I saw, he said, look, I see the heavens opened and the son of man staying at the right hand of God.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then they cried out with a loud voice close their ears.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now see, they may hear things.
[SPEAKER_00]: But sometimes people don't want to hear the word of God and they shut their ears.
[SPEAKER_00]: They would not listen.
[SPEAKER_00]: and rushed to him in unison.
[SPEAKER_00]: And through, they threw him out of the city and stoned him.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now can you imagine that every single one of them attacking him, stoning him, he's stoned him.
[SPEAKER_00]: The witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
[SPEAKER_00]: Saul held their cloaks even.
[SPEAKER_00]: Saul was in on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Some people said, well, he won guilty.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm not saying they said this about him, but have you ever had people who done something or they were there and they were in on it?
[SPEAKER_00]: They said, well, well, I didn't technically smack the person, but they were in on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: And they were going, rah rah rah rah rah rah rah rah rah rah rah rah rah rah rah do go go go go go go go go go.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I didn't technically, now you were in on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: You were in on the party.
[SPEAKER_00]: You knew what you was doing.
[SPEAKER_00]: You knew but it says this.
[SPEAKER_00]: In verse 59, they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God, praying.
[SPEAKER_00]: Listen, when he said now, Lord Jesus received my spirit, then he knelt down and cried with the loud voice, Lord, now this is the thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Listen, he said, Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
[SPEAKER_00]: Having said this, he fell asleep.
[SPEAKER_00]: and verse one of chapter eight says this, and Saul was consenting to his death.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's hard in it, that's hard.
[SPEAKER_00]: Saul of Tarsus was there.
[SPEAKER_00]: Helled the cloaks, either at his feet or in his arms, but either way, we saw that he was stoned and he was murdered.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why the martyrs?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why was Peter murdered?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why was Paul later on?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why were the missionaries murdered like they've been?
[SPEAKER_00]: So many missionaries have been killed murdered.
[SPEAKER_00]: How about all these girls who've been abused and used and murdered throughout the world?
[SPEAKER_00]: Use for sexual horrible things, you've seen it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Horrible!
[SPEAKER_00]: This is where I have a hard time in a Christian.
[SPEAKER_00]: because there's times that I'd love to be here, I'll jump down and help them save them.
[SPEAKER_00]: But that's not what God's called me to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I've not been able to do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why was Charlie Kirk killed the way he was?
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I love him.
[SPEAKER_00]: I loved him before he was killed.
[SPEAKER_00]: I loved very much, but here's the thing about Charlie Kirk.
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't tell you what happened, but I can't tell you this.
[SPEAKER_00]: Charlie Kirk's ministry is three times bigger, maybe bigger.
[SPEAKER_00]: Three times bigger now, a better known and reaching out to more and more since his death than it was before, come on now, don't do that to me, stay with me now.
[SPEAKER_00]: If it helps wake you up on the praise of the Lord, but either way, either way, it has been used again and again.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now that he's gone and this has happened, it's got more and more people's attention.
[SPEAKER_00]: And sadly, it's even gotten the tension of those who don't love the Lord and to mock the Lord.
[SPEAKER_00]: But that shows our person's heart is, Charlie Kirk is his ministry still going strong with his wife when we pray for her and for the children.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the point is this that we don't understand why we can't see through the eyes of God.
[SPEAKER_00]: But God knows why.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we asked these questions, but here's a scripture for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Romans 828.
[SPEAKER_00]: And this is going to be hard to hear.
[SPEAKER_00]: It gets misused a lot, but listen to the scripture, Romans 828, we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose, to God's purpose.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I don't know, it lots has what people hear that scripture.
[SPEAKER_00]: They mean, oh, that means God's gonna bless me.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna have goods.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna have autism.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna have, not so what it says.
[SPEAKER_00]: It says to God's purpose.
[SPEAKER_00]: So for whatever reason, God is using and has used the whole contingency to use what happened at Charlie.
[SPEAKER_00]: For many other people, he did this same for Stephen.
[SPEAKER_00]: Stephen continued to minister long after his death.
[SPEAKER_00]: Many other martyrs, I'm going to go into a lot of names right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're not going to do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: That would be a depressing sermon.
[SPEAKER_00]: So here's another question.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why illnesses?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why for some?
[SPEAKER_00]: Some have lifelong illnesses.
[SPEAKER_00]: Children, we see them all the time.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not just on Facebook, you see them on the news you've seen them in commercials.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why do these children have cancer?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why do children get born with cancer and diseases and disabilities?
[SPEAKER_00]: I have no idea.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not all babies do, but some do.
[SPEAKER_00]: You've seen it, Brazil, and now, that ways of seeing what may happen before they're born.
[SPEAKER_00]: They didn't always have this.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then there are others who seem to be healthy forever.
[SPEAKER_00]: others, and I'll talk about people, not just children here, but others, people seem to be blessed in your sin.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we don't understand why.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why God?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why is it this some people seem to be blessed in sinning?
[SPEAKER_00]: And we want no why?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why can't we see this?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, we can't see why.
[SPEAKER_00]: Or we can't see everything.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, here's the thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know some people who seem to be healthy and wonderful and wealthy and blessed and everything and then all of a sudden one day, bam, suddenly they're not so healthy, suddenly they're not so blessed.
[SPEAKER_00]: It just seems that way because we can't see how God sees now.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not saying at all that we should ever want people to not be blessed or to be unhealthy or anything like that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm saying that we can't see what God sees, just because you can't see what's going on
[SPEAKER_00]: You have a choice to live following God or not.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's see what it says in 2 Corinthians 416.
[SPEAKER_00]: 2 Corinthians 416 says, for this reason, we do not lose heart.
[SPEAKER_00]: Even though our outward man is perishing, yet our inward man is being renewed day by day.
[SPEAKER_00]: And here's something I can tell you with a lot of experience.
[SPEAKER_00]: Even this week, physically you'll be careful of the peanut butter you eat.
[SPEAKER_00]: I had so sort of, I don't know if I was food poisoning or what, but I was very food sick this had food poisoning this week, very sick.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I've been sick a little bit the week for and I've been sick many times.
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel sick a lot.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, either way, when I'm feeling the worst physically, that's when spiritually the
[SPEAKER_00]: Just because on the outside, you may feel bad on the inside, God can pick you up the best.
[SPEAKER_00]: Through all I've been through, and I've been through a lot physically and so of you, maybe have it, but you know someone who has, that's when they'll over help you the most.
[SPEAKER_00]: When we call in the God, you might not feel like having, we get that from going, but you know that's when God will help you the most.
[SPEAKER_00]: You may feel weak, but that's when God will help you the most.
[SPEAKER_00]: You say, God, I can't do it on my own,
[SPEAKER_00]: God will help you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Second Peter 39, second Peter 39.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is a scripture that gets misused or misunderstood.
[SPEAKER_00]: Second Peter 39 is says, the Lord is not slow concerning His promise as self-counts holdeness, but He is patient with us because He does not want any to perish.
[SPEAKER_00]: but all to come to repentance and this scripture has been used.
[SPEAKER_00]: They tell us that we're never gonna be physically sick.
[SPEAKER_00]: Some ministers will tell you that if you're sick, it's because you don't have faith.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, folks, that's not what he's talking about.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's talking about spiritual life, everlasting life.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can live forever, spiritually speaking.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're ill today,
[SPEAKER_00]: And I don't know what you may have wrong with you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what you'll have wrong with you in the future.
[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, maybe you don't feel good right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: They may not be that you're sick at all.
[SPEAKER_00]: It might just be that, like I said, well, go, you may be eating something.
[SPEAKER_00]: It might be that you just dizzy.
[SPEAKER_00]: It happens sometimes.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I do know this.
[SPEAKER_00]: Call upon the Lord to help you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And you might be in the middle of being healed and you don't even know it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But that doesn't mean there's something wrong with you spiritually.
[SPEAKER_00]: because Lord Jesus is in you and He's helping you.
[SPEAKER_00]: But don't listen those measures and say that if you have something physically wrong with you that you're a bad Christian or a bad person, because they're lying to you.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's easy when you're on the outside, look at someone who has an illness and you've never felt that before.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's easy to say to someone, well, you need to do spray.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you could spray through it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then God will help you with it, that's true.
[SPEAKER_00]: But if you've never had what that person has, how dare you tell them how to live through it?
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't know what's like to have heart problems.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you've never had a heart problem or to suffer from cancer, if you've never had cancer, or if you've had cancer, if you haven't had that type of cancer, you don't know what it's like.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you've never had migraines, how dare you tell someone what a migraine feels like?
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: we all we can really do is pray for them and be with them at heart and say I'm so sorry you're hurting.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes all they want to do is have a little compassion.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's have some compassion.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's all you can do.
[SPEAKER_00]: It says in Romans chapter 5 verse 3 through 5, not only so, but we also boast and tribulation.
[SPEAKER_00]: Knowing that tribulation produces patience, patience produces character and character produces hope.
[SPEAKER_00]: And hope does not disappoint because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts and by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
[SPEAKER_00]: And in other words, even in the hardest times, character is produced.
[SPEAKER_00]: Character is produced.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do know this.
[SPEAKER_00]: If I hadn't gone through all the things I've gone through, all the surgeries and everything else, I wouldn't be who I am right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: One of the most difficult things about going through all the brain surgeries and everything else I've gone through, each time I went through it, I came out a little different.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not always for the better.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was always coming out this as the same man, but let me just tell you something else.
[SPEAKER_00]: Even though I didn't come out as come out thinking the
[SPEAKER_00]: You might think, yeah, but I always want to be better physically.
[SPEAKER_00]: I always want to be better this way.
[SPEAKER_00]: I understand that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I really do.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I know one thing, I always say to our guys, make me better today than I was yesterday, better tomorrow than I am today.
[SPEAKER_00]: When we pray that we have to really believe that God's making us better, not better physically, but spiritually, here's the next question.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why?
[SPEAKER_00]: Why do some have great big ministries?
[SPEAKER_00]: This is why I've had to ask many times.
[SPEAKER_00]: My father asked the same, almost every pastor has asked it, almost every teacher, almost everyone has asked it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why do some had great big ministries and missions?
[SPEAKER_00]: And some great big blessings and great big wealth?
[SPEAKER_00]: And for some, others are barely known.
[SPEAKER_00]: If known at all, and some barely make it through life, we've all thought this whenever the bills come in.
[SPEAKER_00]: How come, for some, they seem to sneeze out well, and they can bear in a new eat it, they grow.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, dollar truck can barely sneeze, they said, but it becomes a billion.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's got blessings that way.
[SPEAKER_00]: But then again, there's others of us that call on the Lord and he gives us great spiritual wealth.
[SPEAKER_00]: So think about that, think about that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Ephesians chapter two, Ephesians chapter two, verse 10.
[SPEAKER_00]: Feature chapter 2 verse 10 says, for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works was God prepared beforehand so that we should walk in them.
[SPEAKER_00]: God created this.
[SPEAKER_00]: So as we ask why why this and why that we need to know that God created us and what we should be
[SPEAKER_00]: Does that mean that we are everything that we should be?
[SPEAKER_00]: No, not necessarily.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes we do make mistakes and every day as I said before, we should pray that God will lead us in guidance.
[SPEAKER_00]: Make us better today than we're yesterday.
[SPEAKER_00]: Better tomorrow than we are today.
[SPEAKER_00]: Modus and make us, well, you know, just a few weeks ago, we had a servant about being clay and God is the potter.
[SPEAKER_00]: God should modus and make us, make us better.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then we should always pray that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's turn to Acts 26.
[SPEAKER_00]: I told you about Paul while ago.
[SPEAKER_00]: He wasn't Paul or it's when he was Saul.
[SPEAKER_00]: And Saul stood by and watched even be killed.
[SPEAKER_00]: But right after that, shortly after I don't mean right after but shortly after Saul went away, went down the road of Tarsas.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, listen what it says as he retails the telling of it,
[SPEAKER_00]: He had to retell that story a few times about what happened to him.
[SPEAKER_00]: So in Acts 26, I'll only tell you verse 12 through 18, Saul says this.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he's telling this to other people.
[SPEAKER_00]: He says, so I went to Damascus without authority, or excuse me, I went to Damascus with authority and a commission from the chief priest at Midday O'King,
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, he's talking to King.
[SPEAKER_00]: At midday, O King, I saw along the way, a life from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me, and those who journeyed with me, when he had all fallen, excuse me, when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard of what was saying to me in the Hebrew language,
[SPEAKER_00]: It is hard for you to kick against the goads.
[SPEAKER_00]: I said, who are you Lord?
[SPEAKER_00]: So he knew who it was.
[SPEAKER_00]: He knew it was God.
[SPEAKER_00]: He said, who are you Lord?
[SPEAKER_00]: He said, I am Jesus who you are persecuting.
[SPEAKER_00]: But rise and stand on your feet.
[SPEAKER_00]: For I have appeared to you for this purpose to appoint you as a servant and a witness, both of what you have seen and what I will yet reveal to you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I will deliver you from your people
[SPEAKER_00]: and from the Gentiles to whom I now sin you, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
[SPEAKER_00]: took this man who, by the way, you already know this.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've told him many times, hated the Gentiles.
[SPEAKER_00]: He hated their guts.
[SPEAKER_00]: He couldn't stand them.
[SPEAKER_00]: He thought he was something better than everyone else.
[SPEAKER_00]: He knew the Hebrews.
[SPEAKER_00]: He knew their language.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was a Hebrew.
[SPEAKER_00]: He thought he was something better.
[SPEAKER_00]: He knew everything about the Hebrew law.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he didn't want to have anything to do with the Gentiles, but yet got chosen to accept Christ as Lord of Savior.
[SPEAKER_00]: And because he was so well known, everybody feared him.
[SPEAKER_00]: All the Christians feared Saul of Tarsis.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so he had to change his name to Paul.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he did.
[SPEAKER_00]: And Paul became so well known and went around.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he spoke to all the Gentiles that he hated so much.
[SPEAKER_00]: And now love them.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let me now read to you.
[SPEAKER_00]: from back to Acts for this time, chapter 9, verse 18.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because here's the thing, one of the people that God uses Ananias, Ananias was used.
[SPEAKER_00]: Ananias was a good man who loved the Lord a good Christian man.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he was now said, to pray for Saul.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, he really didn't want to.
[SPEAKER_00]: He didn't want to go there because he was concerned.
[SPEAKER_00]: He said, this, he said, I have heard about Saul.
[SPEAKER_00]: He said, I don't know what he does.
[SPEAKER_00]: He knew he was a murderer.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was terrified of Saul.
[SPEAKER_00]: But he went anyway because God called him and let's see what happened.
[SPEAKER_00]: When he prayed over Saul, let's see what happens here in Acts 9, 18, immediately, Acts 9, 18, immediately, something like scales fell from his eyes and he could see again, and he rose up and was baptized.
[SPEAKER_00]: You see, God revealed things to Saul.
[SPEAKER_00]: Saul was sad and was changed, he could now physically see again because Saul was blind for a time.
[SPEAKER_00]: The other men were not.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was physically blind, but now he could see it's amazing when he could see he was blind spiritually.
[SPEAKER_00]: But now when he became physically blind, he could see.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then the scales were written up and he went around spoke to people so that they could see.
[SPEAKER_00]: Some people choose a mission of their own.
[SPEAKER_00]: They choose a mission of flesh of their desires over gods.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because they'd rather see with their eyes.
[SPEAKER_00]: And this is not what we're supposed to do, but people do it all the time.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know what it says in Isaiah 521,
[SPEAKER_00]: and I say if I couldn't want to say as well to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight, we're not to be that way.
[SPEAKER_00]: But some people do that, they think that they're so wise, they don't want to see through God's eyes, they don't want to see through God's eyes, they think they're smarter than God, they think they can see more than God, and you've heard of it, people who are scientists, people who think they know more than God, they think, oh well, there is no God,
[SPEAKER_00]: They think they're smarter than the Creator.
[SPEAKER_00]: And first, John 216, for all that is in this world, the lust of flesh, the lust of the eyes, the in the prior life, is not of the father, but is of the world.
[SPEAKER_00]: And there is so much more I could read to that, but I won't.
[SPEAKER_00]: because we need not to be concerned about those things, the things of the world.
[SPEAKER_00]: We need to choose to follow God, follow His eyes, pray that God will allow us to see with His vision.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've always speaking about that throughout this month, seeing through God's eyes, not just, not saying every sermon is gonna be about that, it won't.
[SPEAKER_00]: but we'll be speaking about quite a few things in which we need God's eyes.
[SPEAKER_00]: You see, God's eyes, he sees all things.
[SPEAKER_00]: God sees the big picture.
[SPEAKER_00]: He sees the future.
[SPEAKER_00]: He sees what is best for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: He sees for your blessings and for his glory.
[SPEAKER_00]: Many of times, I was young, I prayed Lord, I wanna be this, and I wanna be that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mentioned this before.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's times I would see a girl and I'd say, oh, boy, I'd like to date her, blah, blah, blah, blah, and God didn't let that happen.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I didn't understand why, till later, I'd find out that she was an atheist or whatever.
[SPEAKER_00]: She seemed pretty on the outside, but right now on the inside, or a girl who was, and I didn't know this would be make a fun of him.
[SPEAKER_00]: She was nice to me on the outside, but me on the inside.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I didn't know that.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I mentioned you water though that I got food sick this week.
[SPEAKER_00]: It looked nice on the outside, but it's right on the inside.
[SPEAKER_00]: How many times are like, do we see something that looks so good on the outside for the packaging?
[SPEAKER_00]: Looks wonderful.
[SPEAKER_00]: You go, boy, that looks good.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're at the grocery store.
[SPEAKER_00]: And you see that packaging in a shiny, the art is wonderful.
[SPEAKER_00]: the date looks wonderful on it and everything and you get home and you open up with it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I remember one day this one was working at nights and I got up and my mother had bought some chocolate milk and I don't know what to tell you except that it looks so good.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'd never had anything looks so good my whole life and okay so I decided I was going to have me a great big cup of chocolate milk.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean I and Nestle money could have done any better but I decided to get me a great
[SPEAKER_00]: and I went down to drink it and everything and here's the thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Two things happened.
[SPEAKER_00]: I did not realize my mother had already tried it, put it back in the fridge.
[SPEAKER_00]: And two, I didn't know that it was rotten.
[SPEAKER_00]: It hit gone bad.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now what I did not know was that she had tried and decided to take it back.
[SPEAKER_00]: But
[SPEAKER_00]: I had tried it, and I pertained through that.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was so gross, it was bad.
[SPEAKER_00]: It looks so good, but just because I look good doesn't mean it is.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's so many things in this world that look good to us, but our eyes can't see what's really going on inside.
[SPEAKER_00]: God's eyes, see it all.
[SPEAKER_00]: They see it all.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we'll talk about that this month.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's see what it says in Proverbs 53.
[SPEAKER_00]: Proverbs 15 3 says, the eyes of the Lord are at every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
[SPEAKER_00]: He sees it all.
[SPEAKER_00]: He can see it all.
[SPEAKER_00]: In the book of Job chapter 34, 21 says, Job 34, 21, for his eyes are upon the ways of man and he sees all his goings.
[SPEAKER_00]: Anyways, he sees everything we're doing.
[SPEAKER_00]: He sees it all.
[SPEAKER_00]: back to Peter again, first Peter 312, for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers, but the face of the Lord are against those who do evil.
[SPEAKER_00]: And there are many things I can say about the eyes of the Lord.
[SPEAKER_00]: I won't say much to it, but I will say this.
[SPEAKER_00]: It says, and Psalm will go back to Psalms for a minute there.
[SPEAKER_00]: Psalm,
[SPEAKER_00]: 33 verse 18.
[SPEAKER_00]: The eyes of the Lord is on those who fear him.
[SPEAKER_00]: That doesn't mean being afraid.
[SPEAKER_00]: By the way, we'll talk about that more this month.
[SPEAKER_00]: It means those who put respect to the Lord who follow him.
[SPEAKER_00]: It says eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him on those who hope in his loving kindness.
[SPEAKER_00]: Psalm 11 19 verse
[SPEAKER_00]: We need to follow God, open my eyes Lord that I may see.
[SPEAKER_00]: Open my eyes Lord that I may see.
[SPEAKER_00]: Christians, you're never gonna see everything that God sees.
[SPEAKER_00]: You won't.
[SPEAKER_00]: Until we're with Him.
[SPEAKER_00]: And even then, I don't know what He's gonna reveal to us.
[SPEAKER_00]: We mean, I understand why God allows certain people to die the way they do.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just know this.
[SPEAKER_00]: God's will will be done.
[SPEAKER_00]: And let's we go against it.
[SPEAKER_00]: God's will will be done.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we need to follow Him and know that He knows.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's all we need to know is that God understands and we don't.
[SPEAKER_00]: But if we follow Him, He may reveal that to us.
[SPEAKER_00]: He may not, until we're there.
[SPEAKER_00]: But if we follow Him, we will know.
[SPEAKER_00]: Two things.
[SPEAKER_00]: First of all, if you don't know Jesus Christ or your first Lord Savior,
[SPEAKER_00]: You will never know his will and you will never know his vision.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you've never said the prayer of salvation and by the way, there is no specific prayer.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just simply to pray and ask Jesus to save you of your sins.
[SPEAKER_00]: For all have sent a false order of the glory of God.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's no way into heaven but through faith by the grace of God.
[SPEAKER_00]: today's the day and you can come forward here in a moment and pray that prayer, perhaps you have prayed that prayer, but you've made mistakes and you feel as if your eyes have been covered with scales in this world.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I'm going to tell you something that when I was 16 years old, I got my first pair of glasses.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I was seeing so bizarrely my eyes were big and round because I was seeing so weird new glasses.
[SPEAKER_00]: Since then I've had so many glasses and every time I go, my eyes get re-adjusted, you know?
[SPEAKER_00]: And the truth is, maybe when you pray to the Lord, everyone's so all your eyes have to get re-adjusted again because we're in the world again.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's okay.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe today your eyes are gonna be re-adjusted and that's all right.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's okay to have your eyes re-adjusted today.
[SPEAKER_00]: perhaps you need new classes, and that's all right.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let your eyes be registered to the Lord.
[SPEAKER_00]: Roman's eight, eight, he says, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us, God will reveal it to us, and his time, not ours.
[SPEAKER_00]: But when that reveal comes,
[SPEAKER_00]: you're going to see the big picture and God's timing not ours and when that happens you're going to say now I see sometimes we can't see the force because we're too close to the one tree you know what I mean and when you see it you're going to say thank you Lord thank you for letting me see and thank you for not letting me see what I wanted to see because I wasn't ready
[SPEAKER_00]: You ever had those moments when you used a child, you wanted to see things, you begged your parents, you begged the Lord, you begged the others to let me have this, let me see this now.
[SPEAKER_00]: They later on, you realized, oh, I wasn't as mature as I thought I was.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's happened to me many a time.
[SPEAKER_00]: Matthew 514, Matthew chapter 514, Jesus says, you are the light of the world, a city that is set on the hill
[SPEAKER_00]: cannot be hidden.
[SPEAKER_00]: The light of Jesus is inside of you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the people of this world are supposed to see Jesus shining in you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let him shine.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'll say this before I read the last verse here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keep your eyes on God.
[SPEAKER_00]: See as he will have you to see.
[SPEAKER_00]: And let Jesus shine.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the others can
[SPEAKER_00]: What are my favorite songs?
[SPEAKER_00]: Let others see Jesus in you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let them see Jesus shining in you so that their vision can be reformed in yours too.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let others see Jesus in you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I will close with Luke 1134.
[SPEAKER_00]: Luke 1134 is another version of the opening scripture, which is Matthew 622.
[SPEAKER_00]: Matthew 622 and 23 go together, but it's all said in this one verse of Luke 1134.
[SPEAKER_00]: Luke 1134 says, the eye is the lamp of the body.
[SPEAKER_00]: Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.
[SPEAKER_00]: But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.
[SPEAKER_00]: Dear precious Heavenly Father, I pray that you open our eyes Lord, that we shall not see with our own vision, Lord God, but with yours, you'll help us to see as you have us to.
[SPEAKER_00]: Lord, I know that we will never see the world the way you do, but I pray that slowly, but surely you'll allow us to see more and more.
[SPEAKER_00]: Lord, I pray that you'll help us to see more through your vision than the ways of the world.
[SPEAKER_00]: I pray Lord God that you help us to continue to focus on your word and one by one, there will be more and more things more clearly to us through the Holy Spirit and not by our own wisdom.
[SPEAKER_00]: I pray this Lord God, if they're being here today, Lord.
[SPEAKER_00]: The news needs to make things clear with you today.
[SPEAKER_00]: I pray they'll come forward and do so.
[SPEAKER_00]: If there's anyone who wants to join today, the word, I pray that they will do so, join this church.
[SPEAKER_00]: I pray if there is anyone who needs to come up and pray to make themselves feel is that they are grown closer to you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I pray this will be the time they do.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I pray this in your holy and precious name, Lord Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.