1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,580 (upbeat music) 2 00:00:02,580 --> 00:00:08,080 - Good morning, Springhouse. 3 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:13,620 It's a chilly day, just a little bit, 4 00:00:13,620 --> 00:00:18,220 but it's also Tennessee, so that shouldn't surprise you. 5 00:00:18,220 --> 00:00:20,380 But it's a good day to be in the house of the Lord. 6 00:00:20,380 --> 00:00:22,520 Are you glad you're here today? 7 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:23,960 I sure am glad you're here as well. 8 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:25,520 If you're joining us on live stream, 9 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:27,360 thank you for joining us too. 10 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,160 I got one announcement for us today 11 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:31,640 before we get kicking and rolling. 12 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:33,160 Next Sunday, next Sunday, 13 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:37,800 we are gonna have a newcomers luncheon here in the foyer, 14 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:39,440 or in the fellowship, is it in fellowship hall? 15 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:40,920 Fellowship hall. 16 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:43,320 And we would like to invite you to come 17 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:47,040 if you are one of the newer families to the church. 18 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:48,800 Our pastoral team will be there. 19 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:49,920 We'd like to meet you, 20 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,980 wanna tell you a little bit about our different ministries 21 00:00:52,980 --> 00:00:54,840 here at the church and introduce ourselves 22 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:56,740 and just get to know you a little bit. 23 00:00:56,740 --> 00:01:00,740 And also just explain to you how our communication processes 24 00:01:00,740 --> 00:01:02,980 work and answer any questions you might have 25 00:01:02,980 --> 00:01:04,140 about the church. 26 00:01:04,140 --> 00:01:06,780 Now, if you're somebody and you've brought a new person 27 00:01:06,780 --> 00:01:08,900 and maybe you've been coming with them or whatnot, 28 00:01:08,900 --> 00:01:10,520 you can sign up as well and come with them 29 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:11,420 so they don't have to come alone. 30 00:01:11,420 --> 00:01:12,260 That's totally fine. 31 00:01:12,260 --> 00:01:14,380 But we do want you to register 32 00:01:14,380 --> 00:01:17,100 so I don't have to share my sandwich with you, okay? 33 00:01:17,100 --> 00:01:20,320 So if you'll register on the church app, 34 00:01:20,320 --> 00:01:21,700 the way you do that out in the foyer, 35 00:01:21,700 --> 00:01:24,420 there are placards with a QR code. 36 00:01:24,420 --> 00:01:25,980 You can register there. 37 00:01:25,980 --> 00:01:28,740 Sign up for the church center and sign up through that 38 00:01:28,740 --> 00:01:30,900 and register, but that will be next week 39 00:01:30,900 --> 00:01:32,980 immediately following this gathering, okay? 40 00:01:32,980 --> 00:01:35,380 So I want you to be a part of that. 41 00:01:35,380 --> 00:01:40,380 All right, we're actually now officially starting 42 00:01:40,380 --> 00:01:43,920 the third part of a three-part series for the year. 43 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,080 We have unofficially started it for the last two weeks. 44 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,820 We're officially starting it now. 45 00:01:49,820 --> 00:01:52,520 But we're going to go into the section 46 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,360 that talks about his church. 47 00:01:55,360 --> 00:02:00,000 And I'm very excited about what the rest of this year holds, 48 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,300 mainly because he's in control of it. 49 00:02:02,300 --> 00:02:04,360 The Holy Spirit wants to speak to our hearts 50 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:05,500 and speak to our lives. 51 00:02:05,500 --> 00:02:08,700 And so, and any time the Holy Spirit gets involved, 52 00:02:08,700 --> 00:02:11,520 we ought to be excited about what he's doing. 53 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:13,060 So if you'll stand with me, 54 00:02:13,060 --> 00:02:16,240 we're gonna read from the book of Colossians this morning. 55 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:20,660 And I would like you to read this like you're yelling 56 00:02:20,660 --> 00:02:24,340 for your favorite sports team this morning, okay? 57 00:02:24,340 --> 00:02:25,940 All right, here we go. 58 00:02:25,940 --> 00:02:29,760 He is the image of the invisible God, 59 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:32,820 the firstborn of all creation. 60 00:02:32,820 --> 00:02:36,180 For by him all things were created, 61 00:02:36,180 --> 00:02:39,060 both in the heavens and on earth, 62 00:02:39,060 --> 00:02:41,420 visible and invisible, 63 00:02:41,420 --> 00:02:46,220 whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. 64 00:02:46,220 --> 00:02:51,060 All things have been created through him and for him. 65 00:02:51,060 --> 00:02:56,060 He is before all things and in him all things hold together. 66 00:02:56,060 --> 00:03:01,140 He is also the head of the body, the church. 67 00:03:01,140 --> 00:03:05,420 And he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, 68 00:03:05,420 --> 00:03:09,460 so that he himself will come to have first place 69 00:03:09,460 --> 00:03:11,060 in everything. 70 00:03:11,060 --> 00:03:13,700 For it was the Father's good pleasure 71 00:03:13,700 --> 00:03:17,100 for all the fullness to dwell in him 72 00:03:17,100 --> 00:03:21,660 and through him to reconcile all things to himself, 73 00:03:21,660 --> 00:03:25,100 whether things on earth or things in heaven, 74 00:03:25,100 --> 00:03:28,580 having made peace through the blood of his cross. 75 00:03:28,580 --> 00:03:31,700 Father, I thank you for such loud readers this morning. 76 00:03:31,700 --> 00:03:34,500 I thank you for the gift of your salvation, 77 00:03:34,500 --> 00:03:35,780 God, the gift of your son. 78 00:03:35,780 --> 00:03:38,660 I pray, Lord, that you would help your word this morning 79 00:03:38,660 --> 00:03:40,540 just transform our hearts, God. 80 00:03:40,540 --> 00:03:43,060 I pray for any of my nonsense to fall to the ground, 81 00:03:43,060 --> 00:03:44,940 but anything, Lord, that you have for us 82 00:03:44,940 --> 00:03:46,620 to stick and remain and change us. 83 00:03:46,620 --> 00:03:48,740 In Jesus' name, amen. 84 00:03:48,740 --> 00:03:50,060 Amen, amen, amen. 85 00:03:50,060 --> 00:03:55,940 Well, we started this year out talking about his word, 86 00:03:55,940 --> 00:03:57,220 talking about his word. 87 00:03:57,220 --> 00:03:59,580 Now, I pray and hope, it would be my hope, 88 00:03:59,580 --> 00:04:03,780 that you are in the word of God every single day, 89 00:04:03,780 --> 00:04:07,240 that you have an active relationship with the word of God. 90 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,980 Is anybody still following the five by five by five 91 00:04:10,980 --> 00:04:11,860 Bible reading plan? 92 00:04:11,860 --> 00:04:12,680 Raise your hand. 93 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:13,940 Okay, good, across the church. 94 00:04:13,940 --> 00:04:15,580 Now, some of you may say, you know, 95 00:04:15,580 --> 00:04:16,620 I'm not following that plan, 96 00:04:16,620 --> 00:04:18,180 but I'm following my own plan. 97 00:04:18,180 --> 00:04:21,320 Good, I'm glad that you are reading the word daily. 98 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:23,620 Some of you may say, well, I missed it, 99 00:04:23,620 --> 00:04:27,780 and I'm not reading, and I guess I need to wait till 2025. 100 00:04:27,780 --> 00:04:31,060 No, you can start today. 101 00:04:31,060 --> 00:04:33,140 You haven't been promised 2025, 102 00:04:33,140 --> 00:04:36,540 so start now, start today. 103 00:04:36,540 --> 00:04:41,540 We unearthed and unpackaged about Jesus being the way, 104 00:04:41,540 --> 00:04:44,160 the truth, and the life. 105 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:47,080 We find the truth in his word, 106 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:49,220 and so an active relationship with the word 107 00:04:49,220 --> 00:04:51,200 is essential to the believer's walk. 108 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:53,780 And so I pray that you have an active relationship 109 00:04:53,780 --> 00:04:54,820 with the word of God. 110 00:04:54,820 --> 00:04:57,860 After we talked about his word, we talked about his life. 111 00:04:57,860 --> 00:04:59,620 And who are we talking about when we say his? 112 00:04:59,620 --> 00:05:01,160 We're talking about Jesus. 113 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:02,740 We're not talking about a random guy. 114 00:05:02,740 --> 00:05:04,160 We're talking about Jesus. 115 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,480 So Jesus' word and Jesus' life, 116 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:10,760 and we examined how Jesus treated people. 117 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:15,340 We examined how Jesus listened and obeyed his Father. 118 00:05:15,340 --> 00:05:17,880 We looked at Jesus' emotional state 119 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:21,980 whenever he was travailing in the garden 120 00:05:21,980 --> 00:05:24,820 before having to go to the cross. 121 00:05:24,820 --> 00:05:27,820 We looked at Jesus die on the cross, 122 00:05:27,820 --> 00:05:30,680 and we celebrated a resurrected Savior, 123 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,620 and we celebrate that same resurrected Savior today. 124 00:05:33,620 --> 00:05:37,460 He is sitting at the right hand of God, hallelujah, amen. 125 00:05:37,460 --> 00:05:39,900 And we have access to this God. 126 00:05:39,900 --> 00:05:42,820 And so now we're going to talk about Jesus' church, 127 00:05:42,820 --> 00:05:45,280 the church of Jesus Christ. 128 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:50,060 And he has a lot to say about his church. 129 00:05:50,060 --> 00:05:53,100 And one of the first things that we need to understand 130 00:05:53,100 --> 00:05:55,600 about his church is that when we talk about his church, 131 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:57,580 we're not talking about this facility, 132 00:05:57,580 --> 00:06:00,120 this building, this structure. 133 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:02,080 You're the church. 134 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:03,020 You are the church. 135 00:06:03,020 --> 00:06:05,260 The church is not the building. 136 00:06:05,260 --> 00:06:06,220 It's the people. 137 00:06:06,220 --> 00:06:07,820 So when I went to the Lord, and I was like, 138 00:06:07,820 --> 00:06:09,500 okay, Lord, we're gonna be doing this series. 139 00:06:09,500 --> 00:06:10,740 You told me to do this series, 140 00:06:10,740 --> 00:06:14,020 and we're here on this part about your church, God. 141 00:06:14,020 --> 00:06:15,780 Where do you want me to start? 142 00:06:15,780 --> 00:06:18,540 Where do you want us to begin? 143 00:06:18,540 --> 00:06:21,140 'Cause there's a lot we could say about his church. 144 00:06:21,140 --> 00:06:23,020 It could start with the history of the church. 145 00:06:23,020 --> 00:06:24,960 We could talk about his encounter with Peter 146 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:26,700 and how he said he was gonna build his church 147 00:06:26,700 --> 00:06:28,020 upon this rock. 148 00:06:28,020 --> 00:06:31,180 We could talk a lot about how church functions. 149 00:06:31,180 --> 00:06:32,660 We talk about Ephesians 4. 150 00:06:32,660 --> 00:06:33,500 There's a lot we can talk about. 151 00:06:33,500 --> 00:06:35,260 There's a lot we're going to talk about. 152 00:06:35,260 --> 00:06:38,380 Do you know where you start is real important? 153 00:06:38,380 --> 00:06:41,940 Where you begin is really important. 154 00:06:41,940 --> 00:06:43,400 Anybody here like to cook? 155 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:47,460 Yeah, I'm not very good at it, but I like to cook. 156 00:06:47,460 --> 00:06:49,800 I'll tell you what, when I cook macaroni and cheese, 157 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:52,760 I don't put non-boiled noodles on the plate 158 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,180 and then put the cheese in the pan. 159 00:06:55,180 --> 00:07:00,100 There's an order to cooking a dish and making it right. 160 00:07:00,100 --> 00:07:02,280 You start somewhere. 161 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:04,860 Anybody like building puzzles? 162 00:07:04,860 --> 00:07:06,500 Any puzzle builders here? 163 00:07:06,500 --> 00:07:08,780 Okay, when you build a puzzle, 164 00:07:08,780 --> 00:07:12,500 I personally like to start with those outer pieces, 165 00:07:12,500 --> 00:07:15,040 the pieces that kind of hug the edges 166 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:17,540 because they're easy for me to find. 167 00:07:17,540 --> 00:07:21,980 So you start there and you build upon where you started. 168 00:07:21,980 --> 00:07:24,740 It's hard for me to start with that thousand piece puzzle 169 00:07:24,740 --> 00:07:26,940 with the puzzle piece that's completely one color, 170 00:07:26,940 --> 00:07:27,780 one solid color. 171 00:07:27,780 --> 00:07:29,000 It goes in the middle somewhere. 172 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,340 I need to start somewhere where it makes sense. 173 00:07:31,340 --> 00:07:33,420 And so where I start is important. 174 00:07:33,420 --> 00:07:37,040 One of the things that I have done in the past 175 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:39,020 that really bothers me is, 176 00:07:39,020 --> 00:07:41,240 have you ever been driving somewhere 177 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:44,140 and you're at your starting point, 178 00:07:44,140 --> 00:07:46,860 but you've got maybe a lot on your mind or whatever 179 00:07:46,860 --> 00:07:49,260 and you end up driving in the wrong direction? 180 00:07:49,260 --> 00:07:51,180 I used to work at Hickory Hollow Mall 181 00:07:51,180 --> 00:07:52,780 when it was a mall at Chick-fil-A 182 00:07:52,780 --> 00:07:54,140 and then I worked for four years 183 00:07:54,140 --> 00:07:56,100 at Murfreesboro's Chick-fil-A. 184 00:07:56,100 --> 00:07:58,100 And for a good six months, 185 00:07:58,100 --> 00:08:00,300 when I would get on Sam Ridley and go to work, 186 00:08:00,300 --> 00:08:04,200 I would go toward Nashville 187 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:05,820 as opposed to getting off the interstate 188 00:08:05,820 --> 00:08:07,500 and going toward Murfreesboro 189 00:08:07,500 --> 00:08:11,820 because I was in the habit of going toward Nashville. 190 00:08:11,820 --> 00:08:13,500 I hated that because I had to go 191 00:08:13,500 --> 00:08:15,640 all the way down to Walden Road, 192 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:18,820 get off the interstate and turn around. 193 00:08:18,820 --> 00:08:21,860 You know that whenever you go the wrong direction, 194 00:08:21,860 --> 00:08:23,020 what's interesting about that 195 00:08:23,020 --> 00:08:25,620 is when you go the wrong direction and you turn around, 196 00:08:25,620 --> 00:08:29,780 you gotta go back the direction from which you came. 197 00:08:29,780 --> 00:08:32,160 All of that stuff, I get to see the same trees 198 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:35,340 and the same things I pass, I get to see them again. 199 00:08:35,340 --> 00:08:37,200 And sometimes that's what the Lord does with us. 200 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:39,380 When we start going down the wrong direction, 201 00:08:39,380 --> 00:08:40,220 when we turn around, 202 00:08:40,220 --> 00:08:42,980 He'll have us kind of walk through that stuff going back 203 00:08:42,980 --> 00:08:44,140 because He wants to train us 204 00:08:44,140 --> 00:08:46,420 and teach us some things in that. 205 00:08:46,420 --> 00:08:48,160 But the starting point is important. 206 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:50,580 Had I started getting on the interstate at the right place, 207 00:08:50,580 --> 00:08:53,180 I would get to my destination a lot quicker, right? 208 00:08:53,180 --> 00:08:54,700 And so where do we start? 209 00:08:54,700 --> 00:08:55,780 When we're talking about His church, 210 00:08:55,780 --> 00:08:57,600 it's the Lord, where should Springhouse Church, 211 00:08:57,600 --> 00:08:59,640 we're talking about this, where should we start? 212 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:00,860 And He gave me something, 213 00:09:00,860 --> 00:09:03,460 and I believe this is where we need to start this series 214 00:09:03,460 --> 00:09:04,500 for the rest of this year. 215 00:09:04,500 --> 00:09:06,620 We need to know it's not about you. 216 00:09:06,620 --> 00:09:09,960 It's not about you. 217 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:14,020 It's not about me, and it's not about you. 218 00:09:14,020 --> 00:09:15,660 This is my daughter, Nora. 219 00:09:15,660 --> 00:09:20,560 Nora is my fourth daughter, and she, 220 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:22,900 we have four daughters, 221 00:09:22,900 --> 00:09:25,620 and when we have birthday parties in our house, 222 00:09:25,620 --> 00:09:27,040 we do a birthday dinner. 223 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:28,420 And at the birthday dinner, 224 00:09:28,420 --> 00:09:30,460 the kids all bring a small gift 225 00:09:30,460 --> 00:09:33,200 for the birthday girl at the time. 226 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:37,980 And then we speak over, we speak blessings over our children 227 00:09:37,980 --> 00:09:39,100 when it's their birthday. 228 00:09:39,100 --> 00:09:40,520 And so we have a whole routine, 229 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:43,940 and every single birthday that is not Nora's birthday, 230 00:09:43,940 --> 00:09:47,740 Nora says, "Well, Daddy, I wish I had a cake. 231 00:09:47,740 --> 00:09:53,800 "Daddy, I sure do wish I had a present today. 232 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,740 "Daddy, I sure do wish that you would speak nice words 233 00:09:57,740 --> 00:10:00,740 "over me today," right? 234 00:10:00,740 --> 00:10:05,660 It's because Nora has made that day about her. 235 00:10:05,660 --> 00:10:09,060 And children, immature children especially, 236 00:10:09,060 --> 00:10:11,540 tend to make things about themselves. 237 00:10:11,540 --> 00:10:17,400 Immature Christians make the church about themselves. 238 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:23,700 Immature Christians will jump from church to church 239 00:10:23,700 --> 00:10:26,360 to church to church until they find something 240 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:28,380 that suits them until it doesn't suit them anymore, 241 00:10:28,380 --> 00:10:30,300 and then they will jump some more. 242 00:10:30,300 --> 00:10:35,980 Immature Christians, immature believers, 243 00:10:35,980 --> 00:10:40,980 will not lean in to anything more or less than themselves. 244 00:10:40,980 --> 00:10:45,780 And church, the Lord has called us to move and graduate 245 00:10:45,780 --> 00:10:48,700 from drinkers of milk to eaters of meat. 246 00:10:48,700 --> 00:10:53,140 And so as mature believers, 247 00:10:53,140 --> 00:10:56,520 there's an understanding that it is countercultural, 248 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:59,980 but the church is not about us. 249 00:10:59,980 --> 00:11:01,840 It's not about us. 250 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,060 And so we have to start here 251 00:11:04,060 --> 00:11:06,260 in order for us to build the foundation, 252 00:11:06,260 --> 00:11:09,280 because if I put any ingredient of myself 253 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:11,380 in the foundation of the church, 254 00:11:11,380 --> 00:11:14,920 then that lessens the focus on Christ. 255 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:16,360 And we don't want to, 256 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:20,260 I do not want to lessen the focus of Christ. 257 00:11:20,260 --> 00:11:22,280 I don't wanna lessen the focus of Christ. 258 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,080 His church and the observations that we make 259 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:27,840 about his church around the world, 260 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:32,840 it is just staggering how many places we see 261 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:38,020 that program is elevated above presence. 262 00:11:38,020 --> 00:11:43,740 Anytime program is elevated above presence, 263 00:11:43,740 --> 00:11:46,440 God doesn't want anything to do with it. 264 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:48,280 He won't have anything to do with it. 265 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:52,780 But when you elevate his presence above all else, 266 00:11:52,780 --> 00:11:57,040 he will infiltrate all things, all lives, 267 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,880 and you will start to see God move 268 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:03,560 in supernatural, extraordinary ways. 269 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:08,560 The world centers on self, the church centers on Christ. 270 00:12:08,560 --> 00:12:13,300 The world centers on itself, the church centers on Christ. 271 00:12:13,300 --> 00:12:15,560 You know, one of the things, and I've said this before, 272 00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:17,760 and I hope that I'm able to give this back 273 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:22,200 to whomever's next in even a more abundant form, 274 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:23,880 though I don't know how much more I could do 275 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:24,720 than he has done, 276 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,600 but one of the greatest gifts Pastor Ronnie has given me 277 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,240 in the transition of me being lead pastor here 278 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:33,720 is the fact that he shows up and he supports me. 279 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:35,480 He's there, I see him. 280 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,280 He is very present, 281 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,360 and I appreciate his presence and his support. 282 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:42,440 And we were at lunch this past week, 283 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:44,440 and I don't think he reminds me of sharing this, 284 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:45,440 but we were at lunch this past week, 285 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:48,480 and he said, "You know, I'm in Springhouse. 286 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:49,880 "There'd virtually be two reasons 287 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:52,600 "why you probably wouldn't see me there anymore." 288 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:54,320 And the first reason would be 289 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:55,960 if the church became about money. 290 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:59,320 And the second reason is if the church 291 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:01,360 would elevate the pastor above Christ. 292 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:06,040 And thankfully, we are close to neither extreme, 293 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,880 but when I drove away from that lunch, 294 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:10,720 you know, I thought, 295 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:13,320 I wouldn't wanna pastor that church. 296 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:15,380 I would not wanna pastor a church 297 00:13:15,380 --> 00:13:17,080 that was catering to money 298 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:21,480 or catering to elevating the pastor. 299 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,620 The church is about elevating Christ Jesus. 300 00:13:24,620 --> 00:13:28,160 The church is about elevating Christ Jesus. 301 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:32,040 And so when we look over at Exodus chapter 33, 302 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,320 Moses has gone up the mountain, 303 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,700 and he's gone to get the 10 commandments. 304 00:13:36,700 --> 00:13:38,300 He's gone to meet with God. 305 00:13:38,300 --> 00:13:40,440 And the people are down below, the Israelites, 306 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,100 and they are worshiping Almighty God. 307 00:13:43,100 --> 00:13:44,360 They're worshiping Almighty God, 308 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:46,260 and he's left Aaron in charge. 309 00:13:46,260 --> 00:13:48,720 And they are doing all of the programs. 310 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:50,480 They're doing all of the things. 311 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:52,260 They've got the guitar instruments, the lights. 312 00:13:52,260 --> 00:13:53,100 They got the music. 313 00:13:53,100 --> 00:13:54,860 They've got everything that would make 314 00:13:54,860 --> 00:13:56,320 an excellent worship service. 315 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:57,160 They got community. 316 00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:58,120 They got a church. 317 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:02,160 And all of a sudden, the presence of God is not enough. 318 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:05,280 And so they began to collect their gold, 319 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,680 and they fashioned out of that gold a calf. 320 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:12,620 And they started to worship this idol, this calf. 321 00:14:12,620 --> 00:14:14,580 In Exodus 33, we read, why? 322 00:14:14,580 --> 00:14:16,660 Moses is meeting with God. 323 00:14:16,660 --> 00:14:18,260 So Moses comes down the mountain, 324 00:14:18,260 --> 00:14:20,340 and he says, what is going on here? 325 00:14:20,340 --> 00:14:21,560 Here's the thing. 326 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:24,460 They had every indication, 327 00:14:24,460 --> 00:14:29,260 and every single indicator of being a church, 328 00:14:29,260 --> 00:14:32,620 but they were not worshiping the true God. 329 00:14:32,620 --> 00:14:36,920 And when we put our vices, and we put our idols in front, 330 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:38,100 we can show up to church. 331 00:14:38,100 --> 00:14:38,940 We can be in a building. 332 00:14:38,940 --> 00:14:40,040 We can have a worship set. 333 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:41,220 We can have lyrics on a string. 334 00:14:41,220 --> 00:14:42,140 We can have great lights. 335 00:14:42,140 --> 00:14:42,980 We can have programming. 336 00:14:42,980 --> 00:14:43,800 We have ministries. 337 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:44,640 We can have baptisms. 338 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:45,840 We have all those things. 339 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:47,740 But if God's not in the middle of it, 340 00:14:47,740 --> 00:14:48,860 then it means nothing. 341 00:14:48,860 --> 00:14:53,060 Then it means absolutely nothing. 342 00:14:53,060 --> 00:14:54,700 It's like wearing a shirt that says, 343 00:14:54,700 --> 00:14:56,300 I'm a believer, and I'm a follower, 344 00:14:56,300 --> 00:14:59,300 but living a life that looks something completely different. 345 00:14:59,300 --> 00:15:03,220 The church elevates Christ. 346 00:15:03,220 --> 00:15:04,800 It's not about us. 347 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:08,140 So the scripture we read in Colossians says this. 348 00:15:08,140 --> 00:15:10,220 All things, not some things, 349 00:15:10,220 --> 00:15:15,220 but all things have been created through him and for him. 350 00:15:15,220 --> 00:15:18,020 This includes his church. 351 00:15:18,020 --> 00:15:20,040 Now, I said this a couple of weeks ago, 352 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:23,260 and I'm gonna say it again because you probably forgot. 353 00:15:23,260 --> 00:15:28,260 The only celebrity here is and should be Jesus Christ. 354 00:15:28,260 --> 00:15:31,500 The only celebrity here is and should be Jesus Christ, 355 00:15:31,500 --> 00:15:35,500 and that should be the same for the church globally, 356 00:15:35,500 --> 00:15:38,800 that Jesus Christ is the center, 357 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:41,580 the sufficiency of the blood of Jesus Christ 358 00:15:41,580 --> 00:15:43,880 needs nothing added to it. 359 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:47,500 The sufficiency of Jesus Christ's blood 360 00:15:47,500 --> 00:15:50,860 is sufficient for anyone who would believe 361 00:15:50,860 --> 00:15:53,380 and say, Lord, save me, save my life. 362 00:15:53,380 --> 00:15:56,380 The blood of Jesus is sufficient to cleanse sin, 363 00:15:56,380 --> 00:15:59,480 and he is the center of his church. 364 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:01,400 The church doesn't elevate people. 365 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,100 We don't elevate people. 366 00:16:03,100 --> 00:16:05,060 The church elevates Christ. 367 00:16:05,060 --> 00:16:09,260 God is not impressed with programs, with personalities, 368 00:16:09,260 --> 00:16:11,280 with platforms. 369 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:13,840 God is seeking worshipers. 370 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,600 He's seeking people who will worship him 371 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,540 in spirit and in truth, spirit and truth. 372 00:16:20,540 --> 00:16:23,180 This is what John chapter four says. 373 00:16:23,180 --> 00:16:25,720 Jesus is speaking to a Samaritan woman. 374 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:27,480 I want you to understand context here. 375 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:31,240 Jews were not supposed to speak to Samaritans, 376 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:33,160 and he's speaking to the Samaritan woman. 377 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,260 Guys, I tell you what, the church tends to be the place 378 00:16:36,260 --> 00:16:40,100 where some of the most gross division happens, 379 00:16:40,100 --> 00:16:44,400 but can I tell you, people divide, but the gospel unites. 380 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,120 People divide, but the gospel unites. 381 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:50,580 Jesus came so that all may be saved, not some, 382 00:16:50,580 --> 00:16:52,760 not the ones that look like you or sound like you 383 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:56,640 or you can get along with, but salvation is for everybody. 384 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:58,060 The salvation is for everybody. 385 00:16:58,060 --> 00:16:58,900 This is what he says. 386 00:16:58,900 --> 00:17:00,800 Yet a time is coming and has now come 387 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:04,380 when true worshipers will worship the Father 388 00:17:04,380 --> 00:17:08,320 in spirit and in truth, for they are the kinds of worshiper 389 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:11,000 the Father seeks, the Father seeks. 390 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,160 So the Father is seeking worshipers 391 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:15,800 who worship him in spirit and truth. 392 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,120 Now, that word worship there in Greek is a big word 393 00:17:19,120 --> 00:17:21,800 that I can't pronounce, and I'm not gonna try, 394 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:25,800 but defined, it is likened to a dog 395 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:27,600 licking a master's hand. 396 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,520 So the inference there when it comes to worshipers 397 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:34,560 is that worship, listen to this, 398 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,700 worship doesn't have anything to do with how you feel. 399 00:17:37,700 --> 00:17:42,480 Worship has to do with obedience. 400 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:48,080 Worship is connected, it's directly connected to obedience, 401 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:53,080 and your Father in heaven is looking and seeking worshipers, 402 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:57,840 those who will obey in spirit and in truth. 403 00:17:57,840 --> 00:17:59,280 Worship is connected to obedience. 404 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:01,220 Let's see what our brother Paul wrote 405 00:18:01,220 --> 00:18:03,480 in Romans chapter four, he says this. 406 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:05,980 Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, 407 00:18:05,980 --> 00:18:10,980 there's an urgent plea here, in view of God's mercy, 408 00:18:10,980 --> 00:18:15,440 offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, 409 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:17,960 holy and pleasing to God. 410 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:22,240 This is your true and proper worship. 411 00:18:23,620 --> 00:18:28,620 So the context here is worship out of a life of obedience 412 00:18:28,620 --> 00:18:34,100 is offering your body and your life as a living sacrifice. 413 00:18:34,100 --> 00:18:38,040 In other words, I'm gonna bow down to what my flesh wants 414 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:41,380 and I'm going to do what the Spirit wants me to do. 415 00:18:41,380 --> 00:18:43,100 That's worship. 416 00:18:43,100 --> 00:18:46,360 Some of us have reduced worship to the 30 minute period 417 00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:50,180 before Kevin speaks or Justin speaks or Ronnie speaks 418 00:18:50,180 --> 00:18:51,400 or Barbie speaks. 419 00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:55,140 Worship in that context, praise and worship, 420 00:18:55,140 --> 00:18:59,900 is a time for us to enthrone the king on our praises. 421 00:18:59,900 --> 00:19:03,900 It is a time for us to utilize gifts and talents 422 00:19:03,900 --> 00:19:06,660 and instruments to enthrone him, 423 00:19:06,660 --> 00:19:10,400 but our worship is a posture of obedience 424 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:12,460 and it is a daily choice. 425 00:19:12,460 --> 00:19:15,760 It's a moment by moment choice. 426 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:22,160 Are you worshiping the Lord or are you worshiping yourself? 427 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:24,540 (congregation murmurs) 428 00:19:24,540 --> 00:19:29,540 Are you worshiping the Lord or are you worshiping yourself? 429 00:19:29,540 --> 00:19:33,700 A few weeks ago I talked about one of the hardest things 430 00:19:33,700 --> 00:19:38,700 that we are asked to do is to just show up. 431 00:19:38,700 --> 00:19:41,600 God wants us to just show up. 432 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:44,620 It's so easy to show up and I had given the story 433 00:19:44,620 --> 00:19:46,660 about Joshua, I talked about Joshua going 434 00:19:46,660 --> 00:19:49,080 into the Promised Land and God had said, 435 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:50,880 hey, you can have all of these cities 436 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:52,440 and I'm gonna give them into your hand 437 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:55,300 and Joshua is a commander of an army. 438 00:19:55,300 --> 00:19:58,640 And he looked at his army and he would have had every, 439 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:00,540 it would have made so much sense to the people, 440 00:20:00,540 --> 00:20:02,100 they were there ready to fight, 441 00:20:02,100 --> 00:20:06,100 to go to Jericho and to bust down those walls. 442 00:20:06,100 --> 00:20:08,680 But God said, no, I want you to shut your mouth 443 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,800 and I want you to walk around the walls seven times. 444 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:13,660 I'm talking like crazy, what? 445 00:20:13,660 --> 00:20:16,980 And so the Lord convicted my heart a few weeks ago 446 00:20:16,980 --> 00:20:19,300 after I left here because yes, 447 00:20:19,300 --> 00:20:21,900 half of the battle is showing up 448 00:20:21,900 --> 00:20:25,800 but the other half is doing what he tells you to do. 449 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:30,060 The other half is walking in obedience 450 00:20:30,060 --> 00:20:32,380 to what he tells you to do. 451 00:20:32,380 --> 00:20:34,820 You see, God could have told Joshua all day long, 452 00:20:34,820 --> 00:20:36,020 I want you to walk around the walls 453 00:20:36,020 --> 00:20:37,180 but he could have disobeyed. 454 00:20:37,180 --> 00:20:40,140 Showing up was just part of the battle. 455 00:20:40,140 --> 00:20:42,580 Doing what he tells you to do is the other half. 456 00:20:42,580 --> 00:20:48,460 Are you worshiping God through your obedience to him? 457 00:20:49,460 --> 00:20:53,940 So how you feel plays no significant role 458 00:20:53,940 --> 00:20:55,940 in your decision to obey. 459 00:20:55,940 --> 00:21:00,680 Ergo, your feelings are irrelevant when it comes to worship. 460 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:04,260 Do you know how many times I've asked my children 461 00:21:04,260 --> 00:21:05,940 to go clean their room 462 00:21:05,940 --> 00:21:08,300 and they did not feel like cleaning their room? 463 00:21:08,300 --> 00:21:12,860 And do you know, had they acted upon how they felt, 464 00:21:12,860 --> 00:21:15,520 I would have given them another feeling real fast? 465 00:21:18,140 --> 00:21:21,840 Your feelings are not a prerequisite to your choice to obey. 466 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,620 They shouldn't be a prerequisite for your choice to obey. 467 00:21:24,620 --> 00:21:27,660 Now I'll tell you, obedience sometimes doesn't feel good. 468 00:21:27,660 --> 00:21:31,580 It doesn't feel good and whoever made up this idea 469 00:21:31,580 --> 00:21:33,800 that God never wants you to feel bad, 470 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:37,580 God never wants you to feel anything bad 471 00:21:37,580 --> 00:21:39,900 or hurt or anything like that, 472 00:21:39,900 --> 00:21:42,020 God is not trying to make you hurt 473 00:21:42,020 --> 00:21:43,700 but we live in a fallen world 474 00:21:43,700 --> 00:21:45,940 and we're contending with our broken flesh 475 00:21:45,940 --> 00:21:48,760 and there are gonna be times because he sees something better 476 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:52,100 on the other side that he's gonna ask you to do something 477 00:21:52,100 --> 00:21:54,200 that you do not wanna do, that you don't feel like doing 478 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,540 but if you will obey, if you will obey, 479 00:21:57,540 --> 00:22:00,320 his promises are always yes and amen 480 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:01,800 and on the other side of that thing, 481 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:05,800 you will see exactly why he asked you to do it. 482 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:07,420 Do you trust him? 483 00:22:07,420 --> 00:22:09,860 Do you have the faith to believe what he says? 484 00:22:09,860 --> 00:22:13,820 Will you step out in obedience to him? 485 00:22:13,820 --> 00:22:16,380 So church, we have to pay attention. 486 00:22:16,380 --> 00:22:20,260 We have to pay attention because we can get in circles, 487 00:22:20,260 --> 00:22:23,420 we can get in community with people 488 00:22:23,420 --> 00:22:27,940 who look like everything the church is supposed to look like 489 00:22:27,940 --> 00:22:32,220 but not serve and worship the God we say we believe in. 490 00:22:32,220 --> 00:22:35,420 We've got to pay attention to what's going on. 491 00:22:35,420 --> 00:22:36,900 We've got to pay attention 492 00:22:36,900 --> 00:22:39,060 to what's going on inside of our heart. 493 00:22:39,060 --> 00:22:40,380 Who are we listening to? 494 00:22:40,380 --> 00:22:41,700 Who are we obeying? 495 00:22:41,700 --> 00:22:45,840 Is what's coming out to me lining up with his truth? 496 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:48,580 Because anything God asks us to do 497 00:22:48,580 --> 00:22:51,860 is not going to go against what he's written in his word. 498 00:22:51,860 --> 00:22:54,400 This is why we started with his word. 499 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,500 His word, his life, his church. 500 00:22:57,500 --> 00:23:02,060 Active relationship with his word 501 00:23:02,060 --> 00:23:04,380 but when we focus in on ourselves, 502 00:23:04,380 --> 00:23:06,340 which man, so many times, 503 00:23:06,340 --> 00:23:08,820 I have the propensity to do this myself, 504 00:23:08,820 --> 00:23:11,360 we focus in on ourselves, 505 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:13,880 we find ourselves in a place where we'd rather find fault 506 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,800 in others than forgive. 507 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:20,940 We want to be catered to rather than be consecrated. 508 00:23:20,940 --> 00:23:22,620 We want to settle for the limited 509 00:23:22,620 --> 00:23:25,100 when we've got access to being liberated. 510 00:23:25,100 --> 00:23:27,900 We'll work so hard to be so big 511 00:23:27,900 --> 00:23:30,760 instead of humble ourselves enough to bow down. 512 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:35,300 We would rather be honored than to be humbled. 513 00:23:35,300 --> 00:23:37,820 It's more important for us to look right 514 00:23:37,820 --> 00:23:40,180 than it is for us to be righteous. 515 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:44,200 We look to get before we give. 516 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:48,360 We want to be served rather than to serve 517 00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:51,940 and we want to be happy rather than be holy. 518 00:23:51,940 --> 00:23:56,880 And if we choose to live lives 519 00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:59,120 where happiness is at the forefront, 520 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:01,280 what I get is at the forefront, 521 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:03,560 me being big, my platform being huge, 522 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:05,260 all those things are on the forefront, 523 00:24:05,260 --> 00:24:08,440 Christ will not be a part of it 524 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:11,100 and it will be destroyed. 525 00:24:11,100 --> 00:24:13,880 It will be destroyed. 526 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,340 This is why you want to attend a local church 527 00:24:17,340 --> 00:24:20,700 that's preaching the truth of God's word. 528 00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:23,480 Not an idea, not an opinion, 529 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:25,720 not something that caters to culture, 530 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,700 but you want to find a church, 531 00:24:27,700 --> 00:24:30,980 you want to be under teaching that lines up with God's word. 532 00:24:30,980 --> 00:24:34,140 Now how do you know that it lines up with God's word? 533 00:24:34,140 --> 00:24:36,320 You gotta read it for yourself. 534 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:38,320 I've had so many times I've wanted to come up here 535 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:39,520 as an object lesson and say, 536 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,880 we're gonna read from 3rd Corinthians today, chapter nine, 537 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:44,600 and I was just gonna quote a bunch of stuff 538 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:46,980 and make it real close to truth 539 00:24:46,980 --> 00:24:48,860 just to see how many amens I get. 540 00:24:48,860 --> 00:24:55,400 You should be reading the word to know what it says 541 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:56,840 so that you can be thriving, 542 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,040 not just to test what you've been taught, 543 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:02,280 but so that you can find freedom for yourself. 544 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:05,080 How many of you, you're just in situations 545 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:07,080 and God has such answers in his word, 546 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:09,640 but you're looking everywhere else except for his word 547 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,460 for the answer that he has for you. 548 00:25:11,460 --> 00:25:14,800 His word brings life. 549 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,000 His word brings life. 550 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:19,260 And so what's the culprit here? 551 00:25:19,260 --> 00:25:23,200 Like, you know, what causes us to have the propensity 552 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,920 to lean into our flesh, lean into the cultural norms? 553 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:29,340 How does a church who on one Sunday 554 00:25:29,340 --> 00:25:30,920 may be just thriving and going, 555 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:33,880 but the next week, man, it just seems like what's going on? 556 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:35,380 Is God even here? 557 00:25:35,380 --> 00:25:36,640 What is the culprit here? 558 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:38,800 And you know, I don't really just wanna say, 559 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,520 you know, it really could be that some of these things 560 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:43,680 that are happening here, you know, is, 561 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,140 you know, the Bible says since then 562 00:25:46,140 --> 00:25:47,800 you've been raised with Christ, you know, 563 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:51,160 set your hearts on things above and not below 564 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:54,480 and set your minds on things above, not on earthly things 565 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:57,960 for you died and he raised, 566 00:25:57,960 --> 00:25:59,800 he's not, our life is not a human being, Christ. 567 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,280 Now, when Christ is in you, your life, 568 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:06,280 your life appears, you will also appear with him in glory. 569 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:09,240 It's a glorious thing, it's a glorious truth 570 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:11,160 and if you just change your life, 571 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:12,840 may God will have something for you 572 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:17,000 and it's so wonderful, it's so rich and so powerful, 573 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,280 you know, and God is so good and he's so big 574 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:22,240 and he's so wonderful and so grand. 575 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:26,120 And now I would like to invite you 576 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:28,500 to the altar space to change your life. 577 00:26:28,500 --> 00:26:33,200 Those who administer will come and pray. 578 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,220 We are so distracted. 579 00:26:37,220 --> 00:26:42,280 We are so distracted and distractions cause you 580 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:45,580 to miss what is meant to be seen. 581 00:26:45,580 --> 00:26:50,400 And even at church with well-meaning people, 582 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,680 with Christians, with people who are saved by the blood, 583 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:55,980 you can be distracted. 584 00:26:55,980 --> 00:26:59,340 You can be distracted because we all are human 585 00:26:59,340 --> 00:27:01,640 and we all have flesh and let me tell you something, 586 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:03,800 we all like to have a good time. 587 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:05,320 Let me tell you something, the Lord, 588 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:07,760 I believe the Lord, I believe we are gonna have 589 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,160 the best time when we get there with him 590 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:13,040 and I believe that he wants us to have abundant life now 591 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:15,120 and I believe that coming to church on Sundays, 592 00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:18,400 we should be having a good time but here's the thing, 593 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:23,280 I don't want to be at a party that he's not hosting. 594 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:25,520 I don't wanna be a part of a celebration 595 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:27,680 where he's not the focus and he's not the one 596 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:31,120 that we're celebrating and when we're at that type of party, 597 00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:32,840 everything else is gonna be taken care of. 598 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:36,400 We're talking about the finest, most wonderful things 599 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:39,180 happening when he's at the center. 600 00:27:39,180 --> 00:27:43,240 Distractions cause you to miss what's meant to be seen. 601 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:45,460 We've got a few graphic designers in the church 602 00:27:45,460 --> 00:27:48,560 but I was looking at some logos for different companies 603 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:51,600 this past week and do you know that graphic designers, 604 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,120 whenever they design things, most of the time, 605 00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:57,840 they're not trying to like fool you or hide stuff for you. 606 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,420 In fact, they're trying to actually make it overt. 607 00:28:00,420 --> 00:28:02,040 They want you to see whatever it is 608 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:04,800 they're trying to brand but I came across some logos 609 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:07,320 that I was like, I didn't ever see that before. 610 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:08,480 Let's look at a few of them, okay. 611 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:11,520 This is the Bronx Zoo and I put this up there 612 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:15,060 'cause I like giraffes but if you look at the legs 613 00:28:15,060 --> 00:28:18,320 of the giraffes, you might see that there's some buildings 614 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:19,340 carved in there. 615 00:28:19,340 --> 00:28:23,040 This is the Pittsburgh Zoo. 616 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:26,960 That's a great tree, some birds but if you look 617 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,040 at the trunk of the tree, you might see two animals 618 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:30,120 facing each other. 619 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:32,640 (audience member whoops) 620 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:34,660 Right, that's what I said. 621 00:28:34,660 --> 00:28:38,900 Milwaukee. 622 00:28:38,900 --> 00:28:40,040 Brewers. 623 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:43,760 There's an M and a B in that glove. 624 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:45,260 Wonder if that was intentional. 625 00:28:45,260 --> 00:28:49,400 FedEx, anybody use FedEx for your packages? 626 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:51,020 They're going places. 627 00:28:51,020 --> 00:28:52,800 Apparently to the right because if you look 628 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:55,480 between the E and the X, there's an arrow. 629 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:56,880 Ever see that? 630 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:58,920 Oh, yeah. 631 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:00,920 (audience laughs) 632 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,100 Tostitos, anybody eat Tostitos? 633 00:29:03,100 --> 00:29:07,720 I thought that that was just a little like plop of color 634 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:09,800 but that's two people eating chips and salsa 635 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:12,080 in the middle of that Tostitos logo. 636 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:13,080 Did you ever see that? 637 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:14,120 Who never saw that before? 638 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:15,780 Come on, all right. 639 00:29:15,780 --> 00:29:16,800 Yeah, crazy. 640 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:22,040 Goodwill. 641 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:24,040 Goodwill, well, look at that smile up there. 642 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:25,400 You think it's just to make you happy 643 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:27,160 because you dropped off all of your stuff 644 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:28,240 you didn't want at Goodwill? 645 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,760 That's actually an enlarged G from the bottom. 646 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:32,600 See that? 647 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:34,620 It's just the G. 648 00:29:34,620 --> 00:29:38,440 Amazon. 649 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:41,000 Makes me smile because it looks like 650 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:45,040 they're trying to smile at me with that orange arrow 651 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:47,080 but no, that's there because Amazon has things 652 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:50,040 from A to Z, A to Z. 653 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:52,000 Oh, yeah. 654 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:57,200 When you are distracted, 655 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,620 you will not see the thing that was always there. 656 00:30:01,620 --> 00:30:06,160 Some of you come into this place every week 657 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:11,160 carrying burdens, weight, problems, addictions, pain 658 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:16,660 and Jesus has been here every single time 659 00:30:16,660 --> 00:30:19,700 but because of your distraction, 660 00:30:19,700 --> 00:30:24,020 you don't see that healing is available for you right now. 661 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:30,720 If we would just take the time to remove the distractions 662 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:35,840 and open our eyes and our heart to see him, 663 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:39,320 I believe God would do supernatural, 664 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:41,680 extraordinary things among us 665 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:47,400 in his church where he is glorified. 666 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:52,600 Guys, when I come here, when I engage the church, 667 00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:56,520 as much as I love you, I don't wanna see you. 668 00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:57,820 I wanna see the Lord. 669 00:30:57,820 --> 00:31:01,280 I wanna see the Lord. 670 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:02,280 Is anybody with me? 671 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:05,480 Do we wanna see the Lord? 672 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:07,600 Like do you wanna see the Lord move? 673 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:09,020 Like I'm gonna tell you something. 674 00:31:09,020 --> 00:31:11,320 I love my wife so much. 675 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:15,680 She is my bride and it brings me great joy 676 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:19,040 to do things for my wife. 677 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:22,880 Can you imagine Jesus calling the church his bride? 678 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:26,780 I'm talking about the son of the God who breathes stars. 679 00:31:26,780 --> 00:31:29,040 Like this is the bride of Christ. 680 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:32,840 Can you imagine what Jesus Christ wants to do for his bride? 681 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:37,840 Can you imagine the way he wants to love on his bride? 682 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:42,240 We just have to open our eyes to see him 683 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:48,740 and when it comes to distractions, 684 00:31:48,740 --> 00:31:53,380 it renders us incapable and capable of seeing 685 00:31:53,380 --> 00:31:56,380 everything he wants us to see. 686 00:31:56,380 --> 00:32:01,260 So this morning, friends, are you distracted? 687 00:32:01,260 --> 00:32:05,220 I'm talking about you individually 688 00:32:05,220 --> 00:32:08,500 and your coming and your going 689 00:32:08,500 --> 00:32:13,220 and your work life and your relationships, 690 00:32:13,220 --> 00:32:17,820 your phone, your bank account, 691 00:32:18,820 --> 00:32:21,820 your trials, your trip, are you distracted this morning? 692 00:32:21,820 --> 00:32:26,340 Because while we come in here with the purpose 693 00:32:26,340 --> 00:32:29,180 of not being distracted collectively, 694 00:32:29,180 --> 00:32:31,980 it doesn't help when we come in here 695 00:32:31,980 --> 00:32:33,720 distracted individually. 696 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:39,620 In fact, I would say it's somewhat impossible 697 00:32:39,620 --> 00:32:43,820 for us to collectively not be distracted 698 00:32:43,820 --> 00:32:46,580 if so many of us are distracted individually. 699 00:32:46,580 --> 00:32:48,820 Are you distracted right now in life? 700 00:32:48,820 --> 00:32:53,820 2024, April, this has been crazy year for Kevin O'Day. 701 00:32:53,820 --> 00:32:58,020 Almost lost my life, crazy. 702 00:32:58,020 --> 00:33:00,820 And you might be just soaring up there with eagles right now, 703 00:33:00,820 --> 00:33:02,140 seasons for everything, 704 00:33:02,140 --> 00:33:06,820 but I have every reason to be distracted right now 705 00:33:06,820 --> 00:33:08,700 in my life. 706 00:33:08,700 --> 00:33:14,020 But my Lord and Savior just says, keep looking at me. 707 00:33:15,220 --> 00:33:16,460 Keep looking at me. 708 00:33:16,460 --> 00:33:21,460 And it's so easy in the church to do. 709 00:33:21,460 --> 00:33:23,180 I was talking, I don't think he'll mind me sharing this, 710 00:33:23,180 --> 00:33:24,740 I was talking to Pastor Justin a few weeks ago 711 00:33:24,740 --> 00:33:25,900 and he was telling me, 712 00:33:25,900 --> 00:33:29,100 man, there's like, I don't remember the number, 713 00:33:29,100 --> 00:33:31,260 thousands of comments on the group thread 714 00:33:31,260 --> 00:33:33,780 and our men's ministry has so many more men 715 00:33:33,780 --> 00:33:35,780 than ever before and it's just great. 716 00:33:35,780 --> 00:33:37,100 We're just thriving all this stuff. 717 00:33:37,100 --> 00:33:40,180 And I had that conversation and I walked away from it. 718 00:33:40,180 --> 00:33:42,980 You know what the thought I had is, look what we've built. 719 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:45,480 Look what we've built. 720 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:50,220 And the Holy Spirit said, oh really? 721 00:33:50,220 --> 00:33:56,380 So easy in an instant. 722 00:33:56,380 --> 00:34:02,460 When I became youth pastor the first time, 723 00:34:02,460 --> 00:34:04,240 I was in there the last service 724 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:06,240 before I became youth pastor. 725 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:09,000 65 kids walked in the next day, we have 15. 726 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,420 (soft music) 727 00:34:11,420 --> 00:34:15,300 Where's your heart? 728 00:34:15,300 --> 00:34:19,760 It's not about how many people come. 729 00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:22,440 It's about Jesus Christ. 730 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:26,600 Do you wanna talk about your ministry? 731 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:28,900 Talk about the fruit of how the Holy Spirit 732 00:34:28,900 --> 00:34:30,660 changed somebody's life. 733 00:34:30,660 --> 00:34:32,860 Not I had this many show up, this, 734 00:34:32,860 --> 00:34:34,900 all of these things, this grand theater, 735 00:34:35,900 --> 00:34:39,060 I believe impacting so many thousands of people 736 00:34:39,060 --> 00:34:40,320 in the community. 737 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:42,260 Why? 738 00:34:42,260 --> 00:34:45,380 Look what we built. 739 00:34:45,380 --> 00:34:46,220 No. 740 00:34:46,220 --> 00:34:49,840 It's so that we can stand up here 741 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:51,880 and pray for Craig this morning. 742 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:54,940 So Libby could be baptized. 743 00:34:54,940 --> 00:35:02,540 Are you distracted? 744 00:35:02,540 --> 00:35:05,000 I wanna see the Lord. 745 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:07,480 And so this morning we're gonna do something 746 00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:08,520 a little unusual. 747 00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:10,720 Go figure, yeah? 748 00:35:10,720 --> 00:35:14,600 I've asked Vonna and Garner to come 749 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:19,100 and Vonda's gonna minister to us through song. 750 00:35:19,100 --> 00:35:23,460 But what I would ask you to do this morning, 751 00:35:23,460 --> 00:35:25,800 we have those cushy chairs, everybody's bottom okay? 752 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:26,680 Got those cushy chairs? 753 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:27,940 Some churches don't have cushy chairs. 754 00:35:27,940 --> 00:35:29,480 We got cushy chairs here, okay? 755 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:32,440 I would like you to make that cushy chair 756 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:33,900 your altar this morning. 757 00:35:33,900 --> 00:35:36,660 (gentle music) 758 00:35:36,660 --> 00:35:38,580 And what we're gonna do is we're gonna ask the Lord. 759 00:35:38,580 --> 00:35:41,140 We're gonna go into months of this series. 760 00:35:41,140 --> 00:35:42,420 We're gonna be talking about his church. 761 00:35:42,420 --> 00:35:43,500 We are gonna talk about history. 762 00:35:43,500 --> 00:35:45,640 We're gonna talk about the Lord in Ephesians four, 763 00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:46,480 all these things. 764 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:48,660 We're gonna be talking about those things. 765 00:35:48,660 --> 00:35:51,400 But as we start on this journey together 766 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:53,980 throughout the rest of 2024, 767 00:35:53,980 --> 00:35:56,460 I wanna do so not distracted. 768 00:35:56,460 --> 00:36:00,380 I want us to see the Lord. 769 00:36:00,380 --> 00:36:03,340 But it starts individually. 770 00:36:03,340 --> 00:36:06,660 So I'm gonna ask you to make your chair your altar space. 771 00:36:06,660 --> 00:36:08,340 And the prayer this morning, 772 00:36:08,340 --> 00:36:12,980 Lord, would you open the eyes of our hearts 773 00:36:12,980 --> 00:36:15,500 so that we actually would see you. 774 00:36:15,500 --> 00:36:19,340 We actually would see you. 775 00:36:19,340 --> 00:36:21,460 And guys, I'm telling you, 776 00:36:21,460 --> 00:36:25,220 if we individually can get a hold of that prayer, 777 00:36:25,220 --> 00:36:27,620 the Lord will begin to answer it. 778 00:36:27,620 --> 00:36:30,460 And you think we've been having church? 779 00:36:30,460 --> 00:36:32,220 We will begin to have church. 780 00:36:33,220 --> 00:36:35,620 Because he's gonna be right in the middle of it. 781 00:36:35,620 --> 00:36:38,220 So make your chair your altar 782 00:36:38,220 --> 00:36:40,620 and let's worship just for a few moments together. 783 00:36:40,620 --> 00:37:00,140 If your distraction is worry, anxiety, pain, 784 00:37:02,140 --> 00:37:07,140 work, finances, you fill in the blank, 785 00:37:07,140 --> 00:37:09,700 whatever that distraction is, 786 00:37:09,700 --> 00:37:11,420 I want you to know this morning 787 00:37:11,420 --> 00:37:16,420 that Jesus holds all things together 788 00:37:16,420 --> 00:37:18,880 and his way is better. 789 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:24,820 His way is always better. 790 00:37:24,820 --> 00:37:29,220 So as we go into this series this year, 791 00:37:29,220 --> 00:37:32,540 his church is about him, 792 00:37:32,540 --> 00:37:35,820 holding it all together 793 00:37:35,820 --> 00:37:39,540 so that he himself can be glorified. 794 00:37:39,540 --> 00:37:46,340 I'd like to close this morning with a quote from C.S. Lewis 795 00:37:46,340 --> 00:37:47,900 from "Mere Christianity." 796 00:37:47,900 --> 00:37:49,020 He says this. 797 00:37:49,020 --> 00:37:53,580 "It is easy to think that the church 798 00:37:53,580 --> 00:37:56,200 "has a lot of different objects, 799 00:37:56,200 --> 00:38:00,820 "education, building, missions, holding services, 800 00:38:00,820 --> 00:38:02,980 "just as it is easy to think that the state 801 00:38:02,980 --> 00:38:04,780 "has a lot of different objects, 802 00:38:04,780 --> 00:38:08,140 "military, political, economical, and whatnot. 803 00:38:08,140 --> 00:38:12,940 "But in a way, things are much simpler than that. 804 00:38:12,940 --> 00:38:15,920 "The state exists simply to promote and protect 805 00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:19,520 "the ordinary happiness of human beings in life. 806 00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:21,600 "A husband and a wife chatting over a fire, 807 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:24,060 "a couple of friends having a game of darts, 808 00:38:24,060 --> 00:38:26,500 "a man reading a book in his own room 809 00:38:26,500 --> 00:38:28,420 "or digging his own garden. 810 00:38:28,420 --> 00:38:31,340 "That's what the state is there for. 811 00:38:31,340 --> 00:38:34,460 "And unless they are helping to increase and prolong 812 00:38:34,460 --> 00:38:38,040 "and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, 813 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:41,280 "armies, courts, police, economics, et cetera, 814 00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:45,420 "are simply a waste of time in the same way. 815 00:38:45,420 --> 00:38:50,240 "The church exists for nothing else 816 00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:55,240 "but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. 817 00:38:55,240 --> 00:39:00,420 "And if the church is not doing that, 818 00:39:00,420 --> 00:39:05,120 "all cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, 819 00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:09,780 "even the Bible itself is simply a waste of time." 820 00:39:09,780 --> 00:39:18,520 It's not a waste of time because Jesus' bride is the church. 821 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:23,520 And the church is going to prevail 822 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:28,040 because it belongs to him, not to us. 823 00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:31,720 You get the privilege of being a part of it. 824 00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:32,920 How are you treating it? 825 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:38,560 So as we end today, we've got a few moments left. 826 00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:42,160 Just like Joshua stood before the people and said, 827 00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:44,520 you know, I don't know what you're gonna do, 828 00:39:44,520 --> 00:39:46,880 but me and my house, we're gonna serve the Lord. 829 00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:51,960 I'd like to invite the head of the household, 830 00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:54,160 married couples, you could come, that's fine. 831 00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:57,960 But if you are a household represented at Springhouse, 832 00:39:57,960 --> 00:39:59,920 you would say Springhouse is our church. 833 00:39:59,920 --> 00:40:02,380 This is I'm representing my family. 834 00:40:02,380 --> 00:40:05,960 I wanna invite you to come to the altar space 835 00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:08,420 to make a declaration this morning 836 00:40:08,420 --> 00:40:12,920 that you are going to make room for him, 837 00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:16,280 that you're gonna ask him to tear down traditions, 838 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:19,680 ideologies, religion, and that you are gonna surrender 839 00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:22,360 your heart posture for you and your family 840 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:25,840 to make room for him to be seen and him alone. 841 00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:26,760 Would you stand with me? 842 00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:29,480 And if that's you, come forward this morning 843 00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:30,960 and let's make that declaration 844 00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:32,880 as we sing this song together. 845 00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:35,460 (gentle music) 846 00:40:40,620 --> 00:40:42,620 You