Turning on the Lights! – Tuesday, February 25, 2025. Psalm 145!
Good Morning, Good Morning my brothers and my sisters and welcome to Turning On the Lights! for Tuesday February 25, 2025.
Today we begin our journey to the cross with Psalm 145. We will be looking at a variety of scriptures that compliment Luke chapters 13-24 as we preach and teach our way to and through Resurrection Sunday!
Enjoy! I pray that this time together strengthens and encourages you.
See you Thursday and, as always, KEEP LOOKING UP!
This is a video recorded copy of the FaceBook Live event of Turning on the Lights! – Tuesday, February 25, 2025. Watch here via the YouTube link!
This is an audio recorded copy of the FaceBook Live event of Turning on the Lights! – Tuesday, February 25, 2025. Listen here or through your favorite podcast app!
This is a transcript from the audio of this episode of Turning on the Lights! – Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Good morning, good morning, my brothers and my sisters. It is Tuesday morning. It is the end of February. Are you like me? Every time you say February, then you also have to go Wednesday, Wednesday, February. It’s weird. We talk a lot about language and turning on the lights. We talk about the power of language, controlling language, controlling the narratives. We talk about translations and all kinds of things. There’s two really strange words, February, Wednesday, and we use them quite often. Welcome to the Church Town Church of God where I am Pastor Brian Warner. I am babbling away. You’re looking at my very elaborate technological setup there. A $9 tripod and a chair and a Bible. Gotta have a Bible, am I right? Zero people watching. Nobody loves me. Oh, well. Do thy friends despise, forsake thee as the song goes? Evidently so. That is the case. There’s the sanctuary of the Church Town Church of God. It was quite full on Sunday. It was wonderful. Wonderful. I think that we had a very, very good day on Sunday. We went, “Whoops, all G Willikers, G Willikers, G Willikers.” Just trying to hit that button. That’s the button I was trying to hit. Swipe left to reveal comments and reactions. This is something new. Swipe left. Comments will appear here. Okay. Hi, Rosie. There you go. Anyway, yeah, we went deep into scripture like we did on Turning on the Lights last Tuesday and Thursday. We explored three different concepts, biblical concepts, holiness, salvation, and the second coming. And we looked at Old Testament, gospel, epistle. And the big point was that the Bible is one unified story. These things are not random. They don’t just pop up every now and then, and they don’t refer to different things when they do. It’s all about the story of God and man. We talk about holiness, salvation. In particular, it’s the story of God and man. It’s how we relate. It’s the way that God provides for man to be in relationship with him. And then of course the second coming is the promise that is told from days of old, from Joel and Daniel and Isaiah and then Jesus and then in Revelation. So we have all of these things that I hope people saw. And I know that one person texted me and said, “I reread all of those scriptures.” And I just find it very profound that the Bible is like this. So if you’re, we want, March 29th, we’re going to do our first Theological Study Day. And part of that is going to be the meta-narrative of scripture dealing primarily with salvation. So in large measure, it’s God and his relationship with his created humans. And we’re also going to take a look at the Bible itself and how it has been constructed and when and what types of literature are in it and all kinds of things. But now we’re heading into the advent of the resurrection, if you will, right? We’re entering into that season of Lent that we’re going to push into Resurrection Sunday. And at Churchtown, we’re going to begin the preaching for Resurrection Sunday, this Sunday, March 2. And we’re going to go for the next nine weeks. And we’re going to, and usually when I do this, I’ve done it before, I choose a gospel and then we measure back and then we lead into the death, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Right? That’s what you do in Resurrection Sunday. That’s what you’re celebrating. Good morning. I hope the weather is nice down there. It’s nice up here for this week. Looking forward to staying inside today and getting everything done. I worked my tail off yesterday to try to get ahead of things. I’ve got council meeting this week. We’ve got applications for leadership going out. We’ve got all kinds of things happening. Theological Study Day, the service for this week, planned out the preaching until the very end of April. All of that stuff. Planning out music. And then today I’m going to do all of that again, the weekly and all of that. And then I’m hoping that as the week progresses and the weather continues to be nice, maybe get outside a little bit, do a little bit of work, that sort of thing. That’ll be wonderful to get that natural vitamin D. So we’re beginning this week in Luke 13 and we will be ending, of course, Luke 24 on the road to Emmaus. And that will be the Sunday after Easter. And in between, we’re going to touch all of the ideas and all of the journey and all of the message between 13 and 24 over the next eight weeks. And it’s going to match up with Resurrection Sunday. Sometimes it’ll be all Luke. Sometimes it’ll be Luke, but we will also then, as we often do, refer to prophecy or a Psalm, something of that nature that ties in with what Jesus is teaching at that time. So I’m very much looking forward to it. I like, we’re in the planning stages of all of that. And yeah, so that’s what we’re doing. This week we’re going to take a look at Psalm 145. Morning Kelly. Good morning Sandy. Good morning Rick. Good morning Barry. Good morning Taylor. Oh yes. Welcome to Turning on the Lights, looking forward to this coming week and being able to walk around like this instead of in a big, gigantic Michelin tire man coat or whatever the case may be. Oh Father, we pray that your word will go out today, just as you intended to wherever you would like it to go to whomever you would like it to go. We pray that this Psalm that we read today would touch the hearts and minds of so many. Repentance will occur and your kingdom will grow in Jesus name. Amen. Wonderful, wonderful stuff. And Psalm 145 is wonderful, wonderful stuff. It’s a Psalm of praise, thanksgiving, exaltation. It is a Psalm of God’s sovereignty and human worship. It’s a wonderful Psalm and it’s, it leads, you’ll hear in it some of the things that we’ll be talking about this week from Luke 13. Maybe we’ll touch upon them on Thursday. Good morning or good evening to our friends at Round Knob. I assume that you’re still doing the Bible study along with Turning on the Lights, so I hope you have all of your Bibles open to 145 and I hope that you enjoy this journey together into Easter. If any of you would like to befriend me on Facebook so you can get the notifications when we do go live, just look up Brian D. Warner. That’s right there. Should be right there and we will become friends. Just let me know you’re from Round Knob. I will exalt you my God and King. There you go. I will exalt you my God and King. Capital G, capital K. That’s how you can always say because we have small g gods, the spirits in the spiritual realm, the Elohim, the spirits of the spiritual realm. We have small k kings and those are the earthly rulers. We have small l lords, lord of the manor, people that own property, people that have a prestige, all that stuff. Good morning, mama D. When I write, and not everybody does, and it used to be convention, but it’s not anymore because we’ve lost a lot of respect for scripture, if not for God himself, that we would capitalize. Like I said, when we studied holiness on Sunday, in my mind it is holy, holy, holy, three capital H’s, the Lord God Almighty capitalized. That’s a different, as we said on Sunday, he’s one of one, right? He is unique. He is holy. And then we have our relationship with him in which he desires us by the power of his Holy Spirit to live a life worthy of a relationship with him, worthy of our calling, worthy of our salvation. And that makes us holy, small h, because we’re not God. He is purely who he is and he is completely different, capital H. So that’s just a little thing. Like I try to use the correct language to keep my thinking correct. You’ve heard me say before that, you know, you’ll hear me say the Holy Spirit, but I realized two years ago that the Holy Spirit, Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, it was coming out in my thinking as if we have Father, Son, and then this power that they wield. Not a Godhead, right? Christ and co-equal, all of those things, but a power that they wield. And I know that scripture is full of the Holy Spirit, but it’s just for me. I will try to say the Holy Spirit of God or God’s Holy Spirit to keep my thinking correct. It’s not, you know, the Holy Spirit is not, okay, now I’ve been saved by God. Now I have this tool like a Leatherman in my pocket that I can pull out and use. And I don’t want to think of Him, Him that way. So there you go. There’s your language lesson of the day from Brian D. Good morning, Kim. Guys had a good time last night. I got to say, I want to share something with you, Kim. Give me a thumbs up if you’re there because there’s something that I want to share with you. On Sunday, on Sunday, it was just on pressed on my heart. We had a big fire in Carlisle and all the first responders. It was just overwhelming me that professionals and volunteers alike, they rush into the fire, they evacuate buildings. The first responders rush toward danger while others are fleeing. And again, professionals and volunteers are like, there are volunteers who are my neighbors here in Monroe Township that volunteer for the fire company that if, God forbid, the parsonage caught on fire, they would throw themselves in there to try to save me, my wife. And that just, it was just so on me on Sunday, but I didn’t even know about the UPMC shooting and a police officer was killed. And I just, I think that’s why it was there and why I referenced who I referenced, who was with us in the congregation. It was so big on my heart. And I think that’s why. Honestly, I didn’t do any media, anything on Saturday. I didn’t know. And then we sat down Saturday night, it was all about that fire. And I just thought, man, God bless them. You like to think as a man, you would be able to go and protect and serve and save and all of that. But there are actually people, you would do that for your children, grandchildren, spouse, et cetera. Would you do that for somebody you have no, you don’t even know. And then you saw the whole county come together, which was amazing. Nearly every fire company, every EMS, is that right? Emergency medical services, every, every service, social service to take people in to feed people and clothe people was either active or on standby. And we argue about all kinds of ridiculous things politically and all of that stuff. But there it is right there. That’s what it’s all about. You want to spend my tax money? Don’t spend it on idiotic things. Let’s spend it on the companies and make sure that they have what they need to actually serve the population. I’d like to see that. But your, you know, your son is just amazing to me running in, you know, so there, I wanted to share that with you because I found that out Sunday and I was like, Oh, you know, I started reading about it and see, learning what happened and it was like, Whoa, you know, Holy Spirit, God with us. That is true. It is. He is not it. And that’s why I don’t like the article, the Holy Spirit, the noun like the bench, the pew, the pulpit, the phone. I’m going to try to change that in my own mind. That’s just me. That’s just me. If it helps you great, but that’s just me. Oh, we’ve got two lines in. That’s pretty good. But I’m still, you know, spiritually high from Sunday and from coming together the way we did and the people that we had. It’s just amazing. I will exalt you my God and King and praise your name forever. I will praise you every day. Yes, I will praise you forever. Forever means forever. I think we’re talking about salvation here. You can’t praise God forever if you just die and there’s nothing else. So these are again language. I don’t think it’s hyperbole. You know, where you can say to somebody, you say to your pet, I will love you forever. You know, and you’re making light because we have generations of pets and we love them, but that pet’s going to die. You know, so it’s not hyperbole. God’s Holy Spirit is leading David to say these things. I will love you forever. I will exalt you forever because there is life after death. Little things. They’ll love you forever. I will exalt you forever. Great is the Lord. He is most worthy of praise. No one can measure his greatness. We’re singing great is the Lord this weekend. I love that song. Great is the Lord and worthy. Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts. Let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. Your awe inspiring deeds will be on every tongue. I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness. They will sing with joy about your righteousness. Woo! David is just generation to generation. All of humankind eventually will know of you. And those who love you will exalt you. Sing of your praises. Dance by the power of your Holy Spirit. Right? God is with you. Emmanuel is Emmanuel as he was fully human and fully divine. Emmanuel as God’s Holy Spirit dwells within you. And it makes us want to exalt him. The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. Say what? Yes. Those human beings who do not know the name of the Lord, those human beings are outside of the kingdom of God. All of the resources of the earth are still there for them. We human beings don’t necessarily always do a great job of handling those resources and manifesting those resources so that all human beings can be cared for. But that’s a human problem. That’s not a God problem. He has provided for all human beings because he wants all human beings to come unto him. So as we have partnered with him, are we sharing the gospel? Talk a lot about that on Sunday. Is the kingdom of God growing because of us in any way, shape or form? And as far as stewarding the resources of the earth, I’m all for stewarding well the resources of the earth and humankind is notorious for not doing that. But he has provided for all. If all are not provided for, that’s a human, that’s an us problem, not a God problem. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you. So that narrows it down a little bit. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom. They will give examples of your power. They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign for your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout the generations. Just talk about all of creation and how all of humankind is provided for. Now we’re talking about those who follow the Lord. Will you tell all of those who he provides for? Do you love them? Do you care about them as much as he does? He may provide, and Paul would argue that God is in all of creation, right? General revelation, a single celled organism has more moving interconnected parts than the most complex machine, right? General revelation of God. Paul argues that, but he also argues in Romans 10 who will go, who will share about the spiritual rebirth that is capable through Jesus Christ, right? So he can provide for the physical. He shows his glory in creation, but can we be the, as we say in the church, hands and feet of Jesus and help save people spiritually? And we’re just helping. All we’re doing is helping. God is doing it. We share the word. We share the reality of rebirth, regeneration, renewal. Good stuff. The Lord always keeps his promises. He is gracious in all he does. The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. The eyes of all look to you and hope you give them their food as they need it. Talked about that before. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. We talked about that before. The Lord is righteous in everything he does. He is filled with kindness. The Lord is close to all who call on him. He’s here. The spiritual regeneration, repent. We pray every day on here, soften hearts, right? Make stiff necks looser. Help people, Lord, when they hear your word, warm their hearts. Turn around. Turn around and repent. That’s what we’re talking about. He’s close to all who call on him. Repent and know the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Know the power of salvation. Profess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. Believe in your heart that he was raised from the dead and you will be saved. Again, when you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in everything he does. He is filled with kindness. The Lord is close to all who call on him. Yes, to all who call on him in truth. He grants the desires of those who fear him. He hears their cries for help and rescues them. The Lord protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked. Let me read that again. He’s close to all who call on him. Repent, call upon the name of the Lord. To all who call upon him in truth. You’ve heard the word, you know the truth and you call upon the Lord. I believe. I believe. He grants the desires of those who fear him. And my desire is to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He hears their cries for help and rescues them. Salvation is yours. Rescue from earthly circumstances. If it is in accordance with his will, yes. Rescue from sin and death. Yes. We know that that is his will because that is the meta narrative of all of scripture. The Lord protects all those who love him. Spiritual warfare. You’re protected from the demonic. You are protected from that influence that will separate you from God and make you wicked. And you don’t want to be wicked because he destroys the wicked. I will praise the Lord and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever. That’s the goal. People often say, they often argue, well, what about those souls in communist China and the church can’t get there? Or what about the guy that lives in a tribe in central Africa and he’s a good dude and he takes care of his family, but he has not heard the word of God. What about them? They have not repented. They have not turned. Are they damned? Well, yeah, but that’s not God’s fault. Two thousand years ago, he created his church to reach those people and we have it. It’s not a God problem. It’s an us problem. I’m just saying, now we know that the church is active, the real church, the real church universal, the real church seen and unseen is active, penetrating as best it possibly can into the jungles of Africa and South America, penetrating the best that it can into Muslim countries, into communist China, into Russia. But Satan in conjunction with wicked human nature is always fighting against. That’s what we’re engaged in. And that’s why I know, I know, and I give great thanks. I mean, I’m here in the middle of church town, not the middle of Syria. And I give thanks for that, but I’m also like, Lord, what can we do? We’re always asking that. What can we do here in the middle of church town? Well, we can begin by caring for one another and then our community, then our larger community, and then we continue to expand whatever influence we may have. Maybe this electronic means of communication goes where the, you know, I believe it will go wherever the Lord wants it to go. And maybe through this, somebody hears the first reading of scripture that they’ve ever heard and says, whoa, I didn’t know that was in there. I didn’t know, you know, I don’t know. All I know is that we can be faithful to our calling as Christians. And if you are a Christian today, if you are filled with God’s Holy Spirit, rejoice. I tell you again, rejoice, rejoice in all suffering, rejoice in all circumstances. Rejoice. Ever since. Exactly, exactly. And that’s why when you do, I mean, one of the easiest, easiest, I don’t know what the terminology is, but Barbara just indicated what I was talking about when Paul speaks of general revelation. One of the ways that you can speak of that is just one of the examples that I gave. A single-celled organism has many more integrated living operational parts than the most complex machine that human beings ever came up with. Let’s begin there and talk about how it takes way more faith because there is no evidence of evolution. None. Way more faith to believe that something came from absolutely nothing. And not only did something come from nothing, it became everything living thing that you see today, male and female, whether it is in the plant kingdom or the animal kingdom. Takes way more faith to try to believe that than to know that creator God, Yahweh, eternal, which is a concept that we don’t get. We’re not meant to get it. We’re not eternal. We are born at a certain point in time and we say eternal life, but that means on forever with God. But we have a starting point when true eternality, God was not born. He always has been. How can that be? Well, I don’t know because I’m not wired that way. I’m not God. Good stuff. Getting off in the weeds now. But what Psalm 145 read it and exalt with me in our salvation. Father, thank you so much for who you are, what you did and what you do every single day by the power of your Holy Spirit. May your church absolutely be inspired, which means in the spirit of God, may your church be inspired and reach every human being that can possibly be reached with the good news that Christ lived. Christ died. Christ rose again. Thus for the human being, being that sacrifice for the human being, destroying sin and death and the power of sin and death in our lives. In Jesus name. Amen. Oh, good Lord willing in the river don’t rise. And I don’t think it is going to this week. Looking forward to getting out and doing some work, doing some landscaping, maybe get the bikes out. How about if I get my set my goal, if I get my computer work done today, I get the bikes out tomorrow or Thursday. Oh yeah. Amen. And Amen. So you guys go on and have fantastic days, have fantastic weeks and we will see you again Thursday morning for turning on the lights.
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