1 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:07,760 I got a haircut. 2 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:14,240 Looks good, doesn't it? I call 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,520 it a reverse mohawk. Yeah. 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,080 Some of you got that too. Yeah. 5 00:00:25,690 --> 00:00:28,970 Well, good morning. Yeah, welcome to 6 00:00:30,090 --> 00:00:33,210 fake spring that we're having right now. 7 00:00:34,410 --> 00:00:37,930 I mean, we've got some beautiful weather out there, but if you haven't lived here 8 00:00:37,930 --> 00:00:40,810 very long, let me just say one word to you, 9 00:00:41,290 --> 00:00:44,970 psych. Yeah, but that's all 10 00:00:44,970 --> 00:00:48,570 right. Yeah, let's jump right in. Stand up. We're going to read 11 00:00:48,890 --> 00:00:50,730 a passage from the book of Mark. 12 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:57,200 He also said, this is what the kingdom of 13 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,800 God is like. A man scatters seed on the 14 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,480 ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or 15 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:08,200 gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though 16 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:12,000 he does not know how. All by itself, 17 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,840 the soil produces grain, first the stalk, 18 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,680 then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 19 00:01:20,370 --> 00:01:24,170 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to 20 00:01:24,170 --> 00:01:27,730 it because the harvest has come. Father, I 21 00:01:27,730 --> 00:01:31,410 thank you for life. I thank you for 22 00:01:32,450 --> 00:01:35,330 your Word. I pray for 23 00:01:36,290 --> 00:01:39,650 the life of the Word to be born in us today 24 00:01:40,450 --> 00:01:43,810 through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, 25 00:01:44,050 --> 00:01:44,690 amen. 26 00:01:49,230 --> 00:01:52,870 In the early, well, actually early 1988, I know 27 00:01:52,870 --> 00:01:54,110 exactly what year it was. 28 00:01:56,510 --> 00:02:00,190 I was the acting director of the Africa 29 00:02:00,350 --> 00:02:03,790 Multination for Christ Institute in Harare, Zimbabwe. 30 00:02:04,430 --> 00:02:08,230 And yeah, acting director, they let me do that 31 00:02:08,230 --> 00:02:11,750 for a couple months and then they, yeah, that's why they say 32 00:02:11,750 --> 00:02:15,370 acting director. And it must have been 33 00:02:15,370 --> 00:02:18,810 January, and I had a student come to me and he said, 34 00:02:20,170 --> 00:02:23,890 "Pastor, I need to tell you that I'm going 35 00:02:23,890 --> 00:02:27,610 to leave the school." And I said, "Oh, well, I'm 36 00:02:27,610 --> 00:02:31,450 sorry to hear that. Why?" And 37 00:02:31,690 --> 00:02:35,290 he explained the reason why. And I— 38 00:02:37,610 --> 00:02:41,130 it sounded strangely American, quite frankly, but 39 00:02:42,260 --> 00:02:45,180 I said, This was the reason they gave me. He said, "Yeah, Pastor, you know, 40 00:02:45,180 --> 00:02:48,580 the first year that I was here, oh, the 41 00:02:48,580 --> 00:02:52,300 Spirit was moving. It was so rich. It 42 00:02:52,300 --> 00:02:56,140 was so strong. I could feel his presence every 43 00:02:56,140 --> 00:02:59,940 day. This year, it 44 00:02:59,940 --> 00:03:03,380 ain't happening," was basically what he had to say. 45 00:03:03,620 --> 00:03:06,740 He didn't say, "It ain't happening," but 46 00:03:07,140 --> 00:03:10,800 that's what he said. And I said, oh, 47 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,960 that's a very bad idea. And I 48 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,720 went into explaining to him seasons and the 49 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:23,520 importance of seasons. So because you just went through a season 50 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:27,120 where you saw this fruitfulness and you saw this growth 51 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,400 and everything, but now there needs to be a season of 52 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:34,200 dormancy when it's not, oh, look 53 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,880 at this, but where the roots are growing and where you're being 54 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,260 established. That's what happens. During those seasons of 55 00:03:41,260 --> 00:03:45,060 dormancy. And if you don't have that, if a tree doesn't have 56 00:03:45,060 --> 00:03:48,820 that, then it won't be too long before maybe 57 00:03:48,820 --> 00:03:52,420 an ice storm will come along or maybe even just a puff of wind and 58 00:03:52,420 --> 00:03:55,860 the tree is gonna fall 'cause it's not 59 00:03:55,860 --> 00:03:58,460 established. See, you gotta have that season. 60 00:04:00,060 --> 00:04:03,820 Last week, Pastor Kevin brought an excellent 61 00:04:03,820 --> 00:04:07,340 sermon. He didn't use the word seasons, but he said 62 00:04:07,500 --> 00:04:11,350 times. And he talked about there being 3 times 63 00:04:13,190 --> 00:04:16,550 that we experience in our life. And he mainly 64 00:04:16,550 --> 00:04:20,350 focused on tough times. And I feel like, you 65 00:04:20,350 --> 00:04:24,150 know, that was— it was a timely message for sure. And it 66 00:04:24,150 --> 00:04:25,590 resonated with a lot of people. 67 00:04:27,830 --> 00:04:30,470 But the tough times are actually 68 00:04:32,390 --> 00:04:34,950 the easiest times to get close to God. 69 00:04:36,530 --> 00:04:40,090 Whenever something comes along and just, you know, cuts us off at the 70 00:04:40,090 --> 00:04:43,450 knees, so to speak, you know, 71 00:04:43,970 --> 00:04:47,490 that's when we seek God. In fact, 72 00:04:47,890 --> 00:04:51,690 you know, that's often, for casual churchgoers, that's often 73 00:04:51,690 --> 00:04:55,370 the only time they come is when something's going on that's 74 00:04:55,370 --> 00:04:58,850 hard. And so, oh, I need to be there. 75 00:05:02,940 --> 00:05:06,740 Tough times tend to either take us in one of two directions. They 76 00:05:06,740 --> 00:05:10,580 either drive us to our knees, or they tend 77 00:05:10,580 --> 00:05:14,340 to cause us to raise our fist to God. And he's okay with 78 00:05:14,340 --> 00:05:17,620 both. He's certainly okay with 79 00:05:18,700 --> 00:05:21,820 us being driven to our knees and going, help me. 80 00:05:22,540 --> 00:05:26,140 You know, I'm at the end of my rope. And you know, and God's going, 81 00:05:26,140 --> 00:05:29,440 good. 'Cause now maybe I can do something. 82 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:33,280 My strength is made perfect in weakness. But even if 83 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:36,960 we're shaking our fist at God, he doesn't mind that because 84 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:42,000 a relationship, I've learned over the years that a 85 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,280 relationship, and usually this is a marriage 86 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:48,880 relationship, it's only really 87 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,560 over when you don't care anymore. 88 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:57,680 We don't care, you know. If you care enough to be mad, 89 00:05:57,840 --> 00:06:01,440 if you care enough to be angry, there's a chance, you 90 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:05,160 know, that fire can be rekindled 91 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:08,240 there. But it's not just in marriage, it's all 92 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:12,000 relationships. If you get to where you don't care anymore, 93 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:15,720 the relationship is over. And if you're shaking your fist 94 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:19,350 at God, at least He knows you care. And you 95 00:06:19,350 --> 00:06:21,510 know that you care. 96 00:06:23,270 --> 00:06:26,390 He also touched on, though he didn't spend a lot of time talking about it, 97 00:06:26,390 --> 00:06:30,110 he touched on the good times. These are 98 00:06:30,110 --> 00:06:33,670 dangerous times. The good times are. 99 00:06:33,990 --> 00:06:37,830 They're very dangerous times. Often in good times, we 100 00:06:37,830 --> 00:06:41,110 tend to forget God because, hey, 101 00:06:41,830 --> 00:06:44,790 what we need God for? You know, things are 102 00:06:45,470 --> 00:06:48,090 good. Things are going well. 103 00:06:50,330 --> 00:06:54,010 Moses told the children of Israel over in Deuteronomy, he said this, 104 00:06:54,090 --> 00:06:57,690 "When you have eaten and are satisfied," I've been 105 00:06:57,690 --> 00:07:01,290 well satisfied lately, "praise the 106 00:07:01,290 --> 00:07:05,010 Lord your God. Be careful that you 107 00:07:05,010 --> 00:07:08,770 do not forget the Lord your God. Otherwise, when you eat 108 00:07:08,770 --> 00:07:12,170 and are satisfied, your heart will become proud and you will 109 00:07:12,170 --> 00:07:15,870 forget." the Lord your God. My 110 00:07:15,870 --> 00:07:19,470 dad used to bemoan people 111 00:07:19,470 --> 00:07:23,230 becoming successful, so successful, 112 00:07:23,310 --> 00:07:27,110 as he put it, they started making money hand over fist, and 113 00:07:27,110 --> 00:07:30,950 then they drift away from the Lord. You never see them again. Did 114 00:07:30,950 --> 00:07:34,790 that ever happen in Coalfield? Yeah, happened in 115 00:07:34,790 --> 00:07:38,510 Millersville too. And it kind of happens in Smyrna. 116 00:07:38,740 --> 00:07:42,540 As well because we become satisfied. Oh, I got 117 00:07:42,540 --> 00:07:46,380 this now. Well, 118 00:07:46,380 --> 00:07:49,780 that's an Old Testament quote. Over 119 00:07:50,380 --> 00:07:52,660 in Revelation, in the New Testament, 120 00:07:53,780 --> 00:07:57,300 Revelation chapter 2 and 3, there are letters written to churches. 121 00:07:58,180 --> 00:08:01,820 And in chapter 3, the last letter 122 00:08:01,820 --> 00:08:05,660 that is written is to the church of Laodicea. And that's generally 123 00:08:05,660 --> 00:08:09,090 the one that we consider to be the worst one. 'Cause 124 00:08:09,490 --> 00:08:12,770 Jesus didn't have anything good to say about them and 125 00:08:13,570 --> 00:08:16,770 kind of blasted them. But here's why. 126 00:08:17,730 --> 00:08:21,570 You say, I am rich, I have acquired wealth and do not need 127 00:08:21,570 --> 00:08:25,330 a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, 128 00:08:25,490 --> 00:08:28,930 pitiful, poor, blind, naked. 129 00:08:29,570 --> 00:08:31,650 Whoo, yeah. 130 00:08:33,250 --> 00:08:37,040 There's an important sermon here. But I'm not going to preach 131 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:40,800 that this week. I'll let somebody else 132 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:43,720 preach it at some other point in time. And if you needed to hear it, 133 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,920 the Holy Spirit has already preached it to you. So there. 134 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:52,920 I've only got time for one sermon today, and I want to focus on 135 00:08:53,560 --> 00:08:57,000 the third time that Pastor Kevin talked about 136 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:00,840 the other times, the 137 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:04,600 90 to 99% of the time. Of our 138 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:07,880 lives? Where's God then? 139 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:11,960 What's going on? What's going on there? What's he doing? 140 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:16,360 You know, we sometimes read the Bible and it 141 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:20,120 seems that these characters, these people in the Bible, stuff was happening 142 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:21,240 to them all the time. 143 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,600 But if we look a little bit closer, I mean, take Abraham. We 144 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,490 know a good bit about Abraham. Important 145 00:09:31,650 --> 00:09:32,130 guy. 146 00:09:35,250 --> 00:09:38,090 But consider this, he lived to be 147 00:09:38,090 --> 00:09:41,930 175. And if you take all of the 148 00:09:41,930 --> 00:09:45,569 events in his life that we know about and you put them all 149 00:09:45,569 --> 00:09:49,330 together, we got maybe about 5 or 6 months there. 150 00:09:50,530 --> 00:09:54,130 What was happening the other 174 and a half years 151 00:09:54,930 --> 00:09:58,690 of his life? He was having 152 00:09:58,690 --> 00:10:02,530 days like us. Not every day, not 153 00:10:02,530 --> 00:10:06,090 every year, not every decade brought the 154 00:10:06,090 --> 00:10:07,970 command to sacrifice Isaac, 155 00:10:09,970 --> 00:10:13,410 brought the war with invaders or 156 00:10:13,730 --> 00:10:17,290 disturbance in his household or the 157 00:10:17,290 --> 00:10:19,330 opportunity to entertain the Trinity. 158 00:10:22,300 --> 00:10:25,980 Moses, we know a lot about Moses. And 159 00:10:25,980 --> 00:10:29,660 there was a whole bunch of stuff that happened before he left Egypt. 160 00:10:31,100 --> 00:10:34,700 He was raised in Pharaoh's palace and 161 00:10:34,780 --> 00:10:37,819 trained in all the ways of Egypt, murdered a guy, 162 00:10:38,380 --> 00:10:42,140 took off as a fugitive. Between then and when 163 00:10:42,140 --> 00:10:44,780 he was sent back to Egypt, it was 40 years. 164 00:10:46,380 --> 00:10:48,870 What was he doing? Working, 165 00:10:51,350 --> 00:10:54,870 tending sheep, got married, had kids. 166 00:10:57,660 --> 00:11:01,430 Just regular ordinary stuff. And the day 167 00:11:01,430 --> 00:11:05,110 that he saw that burning bush, you know, he was at work 168 00:11:05,510 --> 00:11:08,950 and he was kind of, 169 00:11:09,190 --> 00:11:12,550 I don't know, ambling. I don't know, what do shepherds do? I mean, when it's 170 00:11:12,550 --> 00:11:15,810 not sharing sheep, sharing time, I mean, They 171 00:11:16,450 --> 00:11:17,810 flea dip or something? 172 00:11:20,050 --> 00:11:23,770 No, really. And so he was doing 173 00:11:23,770 --> 00:11:27,250 what shepherds do, I guess, you know, writing songs and looking at the stars. But 174 00:11:29,570 --> 00:11:33,250 he saw this bush that was on fire. And apparently that's not 175 00:11:34,610 --> 00:11:38,450 a highly unusual thing in dry, arid 176 00:11:38,530 --> 00:11:42,370 desert-like conditions. But he looked at it 177 00:11:42,730 --> 00:11:46,170 long enough to realize, wait a minute, that bush is 178 00:11:46,410 --> 00:11:49,610 on fire. That bush was on fire. It's gone. 179 00:11:50,170 --> 00:11:53,850 And I remember yesterday that one's not burning up. 180 00:11:56,970 --> 00:11:59,930 He's paying attention. It's what he was doing. 181 00:12:00,730 --> 00:12:04,130 And who do we know the most about in scripture? Well, we know the most 182 00:12:04,130 --> 00:12:07,930 about Jesus. And we 183 00:12:07,930 --> 00:12:11,550 know more about him than anyone else. Yet, We have 184 00:12:11,950 --> 00:12:14,670 a partial record of less than 185 00:12:15,470 --> 00:12:18,350 10% of Jesus' life, less than 186 00:12:18,990 --> 00:12:22,670 3 of the 33 years He's here. And if 187 00:12:22,670 --> 00:12:26,190 we have these records, 188 00:12:26,829 --> 00:12:30,670 you know, some may think, well, you know what, that's— I hear that you're saying 189 00:12:30,670 --> 00:12:34,510 that there was other part going on, but you know, they got it 190 00:12:34,510 --> 00:12:37,710 done in 3 years. I mean, God just, wow. Oh, 191 00:12:39,100 --> 00:12:42,780 no. You see, God's work that Jesus did 192 00:12:42,940 --> 00:12:45,740 actually started about 6,000 years before that. 193 00:12:47,740 --> 00:12:50,780 And it's still going on, as a matter of fact. 194 00:12:51,980 --> 00:12:55,780 And today, Peter says a 195 00:12:55,780 --> 00:12:59,500 time will come when unbelievers are going to be saying this. Where 196 00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:03,140 is this coming he promised? Ever since our ancestors 197 00:13:03,140 --> 00:13:06,660 died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of 198 00:13:06,660 --> 00:13:10,440 creation. Ain't no Jesus going to come down from the sky and He can 199 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:12,280 save you. Well, you're an unbeliever 200 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,680 because he sure is. And I believe that he sure is. And I 201 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:20,840 don't have that kind of attitude except sometimes 202 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:24,760 maybe, maybe I'm going, 203 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:27,720 where is this job that God promised me? 204 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:32,200 Where is this future husband, this future wife that's 205 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,440 out there somewhere that I've been looking for for all these years? 206 00:13:36,130 --> 00:13:39,170 Where's this ministry that God was going to open up for me? 207 00:13:40,210 --> 00:13:43,890 We have a tendency to go there for 208 00:13:43,890 --> 00:13:47,410 sure. But our lives aren't all highs and lows. 209 00:13:47,650 --> 00:13:51,010 Our lives are mostly comprised of 210 00:13:51,010 --> 00:13:54,530 ordinary days. Can we accept that? 211 00:13:58,370 --> 00:14:01,890 This is what the kingdom of God is like. 212 00:14:02,830 --> 00:14:05,790 There's planting, there's harvesting, there's events, there's 213 00:14:06,350 --> 00:14:09,950 fruitfulness and stuff going on. All the rest is God 214 00:14:10,030 --> 00:14:12,670 doing His slow work 215 00:14:13,710 --> 00:14:17,310 that we don't really see and we can't really 216 00:14:17,310 --> 00:14:20,990 understand. We 217 00:14:20,990 --> 00:14:24,830 can sing about it. Even when 218 00:14:24,830 --> 00:14:28,590 I don't see it, He's working. And even when I don't 219 00:14:28,590 --> 00:14:32,430 feel it, He's working. Because He never stops. He never 220 00:14:32,430 --> 00:14:35,530 stops. He never stops working. God is working. Yeah. 221 00:14:37,130 --> 00:14:40,690 And that's true. And we see it and we believe it and we're 222 00:14:40,690 --> 00:14:44,010 singing it. And then we stop singing and we forget it 223 00:14:46,730 --> 00:14:49,450 because this day is just a regular day. 224 00:14:50,730 --> 00:14:54,250 Romans 8:28, in everything God is at work for the good. And we 225 00:14:54,250 --> 00:14:57,970 know that in everything God is at work for the good of 226 00:14:57,970 --> 00:15:01,370 those who love him and have been called according to his purpose. 227 00:15:03,540 --> 00:15:04,740 Except when we don't know it. 228 00:15:07,460 --> 00:15:11,260 Eugene Peterson wrote a book, written 229 00:15:11,260 --> 00:15:14,980 several. He's the guy who translated The Message Bible. But he 230 00:15:14,980 --> 00:15:18,260 wrote a book called "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction." 231 00:15:20,420 --> 00:15:21,540 I haven't read it. 232 00:15:25,140 --> 00:15:27,140 Sorry, sorry, Wayne. 233 00:15:29,180 --> 00:15:32,900 I've read several of his books though, and they're really good. 234 00:15:32,900 --> 00:15:34,780 I'm sure this one is too, but 235 00:15:40,740 --> 00:15:41,820 I've read the title 236 00:15:45,260 --> 00:15:47,100 and I think I'm preaching the sermon. 237 00:15:51,180 --> 00:15:53,980 He didn't coin that phrase though. 238 00:15:55,420 --> 00:15:58,820 Ah, it was first said by the 239 00:15:58,820 --> 00:16:02,380 philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. And 240 00:16:03,180 --> 00:16:06,780 yeah, he's a philosopher. We don't do that anymore. But he wasn't a 241 00:16:06,780 --> 00:16:10,060 believer. But he used that phrase 242 00:16:10,380 --> 00:16:13,820 to describe the process that results 243 00:16:14,060 --> 00:16:17,660 and has always resulted in the long run in something 244 00:16:18,860 --> 00:16:21,580 which has made life worth living. 245 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,000 That's pretty good. There you go. 246 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:30,960 And Nietzsche's problem was that he did not know what ultimately makes life 247 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,640 worth living. Now, Peterson did, 248 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:38,239 and so he wrote this book and he titled it this because 249 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:42,360 what it is, is it's about a steady lifelong journey 250 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:43,200 with God. 251 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:50,060 It's the pinnacle. Of what Nietzsche was 252 00:16:50,060 --> 00:16:53,340 trying to describe. It's what makes life worth living. 253 00:16:55,900 --> 00:16:59,100 I don't know if you caught it when I put the book's 254 00:16:59,660 --> 00:17:03,180 cover up, but he subtitled it, "Discipleship 255 00:17:03,260 --> 00:17:06,380 in an Instant Society." Oh, 256 00:17:06,380 --> 00:17:10,100 hallelujah. In the 257 00:17:10,100 --> 00:17:13,660 early '80s, I led a young adult Bible 258 00:17:13,660 --> 00:17:17,500 study. In our house and, excuse 259 00:17:17,500 --> 00:17:21,300 me, we, there were probably around 20 260 00:17:21,300 --> 00:17:25,020 or so regulars that came. But one night 261 00:17:25,500 --> 00:17:28,460 there was this young man who, it was his first time to be there. I 262 00:17:28,460 --> 00:17:32,220 mean, you know, when you're only talking about 20 people, you know if somebody's 263 00:17:32,220 --> 00:17:35,820 new who hasn't been there before. And he came with this girl who 264 00:17:36,380 --> 00:17:38,140 came all the time to it. 265 00:17:40,630 --> 00:17:44,310 He seemed to enjoy it. Wade, were you there that night or was it— I 266 00:17:44,310 --> 00:17:45,830 think it was Todd who was there. 267 00:17:48,710 --> 00:17:52,230 He seemed to enjoy it and he left and took the girl home. And 268 00:17:53,030 --> 00:17:56,830 some people always would hang out and talk. And Todd, Wade's brother, 269 00:17:56,830 --> 00:18:00,030 I was talking with him. He was the last one out the door. And the 270 00:18:00,030 --> 00:18:03,830 young man came back. And he came 271 00:18:03,910 --> 00:18:05,670 back to say, 272 00:18:08,010 --> 00:18:11,810 How can I do this real quick? How can I get where you guys 273 00:18:11,810 --> 00:18:15,530 are? I mean, really quick. And 274 00:18:15,530 --> 00:18:19,130 I could tell it was all about this girl. 'Cause you see, 275 00:18:19,690 --> 00:18:23,210 she really was into what was going on and 276 00:18:23,770 --> 00:18:27,050 he could see that, you know, we were, you know, 277 00:18:27,450 --> 00:18:30,410 not on the same plane he was and stuff. And he wanted to get there 278 00:18:30,410 --> 00:18:32,650 'cause that'd help her to be more into him. 279 00:18:35,610 --> 00:18:38,090 And you know, Todd and I just looked at him 280 00:18:40,250 --> 00:18:44,010 and said, there is no quick way. I mean, you know, 281 00:18:46,010 --> 00:18:49,290 there is no— oh, there's got to be. No, there's not a quick way. 282 00:18:49,610 --> 00:18:52,650 We never saw him again, so I'm going to assume that 283 00:18:54,130 --> 00:18:57,930 he did not begin along obedience in the same direction. 284 00:18:59,060 --> 00:19:01,540 But that was 40 years ago. 285 00:19:02,580 --> 00:19:04,260 It's gotten worse since. 286 00:19:06,500 --> 00:19:10,180 And there is no quick way to do it. And you know, you have to 287 00:19:10,180 --> 00:19:13,940 kind of be careful because there are those who have packaged it and who 288 00:19:13,940 --> 00:19:17,540 have, will sell it to you. And 289 00:19:17,700 --> 00:19:21,540 all you gotta do is just buy this, listen to this, watch 290 00:19:21,540 --> 00:19:25,060 this, and wham, next thing you know, 291 00:19:25,060 --> 00:19:26,500 you're going to be a disciple. 292 00:19:29,430 --> 00:19:31,950 Well, you may or may not be a disciple, but it won't be because of 293 00:19:31,950 --> 00:19:33,510 that. You see, 294 00:19:36,150 --> 00:19:37,350 I was brought up 295 00:19:39,830 --> 00:19:43,030 in a rural Southern Pentecostal environment. 296 00:19:43,590 --> 00:19:47,230 That is my dad in Slater's Creek in 297 00:19:47,230 --> 00:19:49,590 Millersville baptizing 298 00:19:50,550 --> 00:19:51,190 somebody. 299 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:57,120 Lovely tractor tire up on the 300 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:02,000 bank there. But I recognize that 301 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:05,800 spot. I think I was baptized in it a couple of times, come 302 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:06,560 to think of it. 303 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:13,760 Now, I want to say before I go any further into this, 304 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,640 how much I greatly appreciate my heritage. 305 00:20:19,430 --> 00:20:23,230 I mean, seriously. It was— Michelle and 306 00:20:23,230 --> 00:20:26,950 I were talking this last week because she married 307 00:20:27,110 --> 00:20:30,630 the guy who has led a 308 00:20:30,630 --> 00:20:34,310 charmed, blessed life. You know, and 309 00:20:34,310 --> 00:20:37,630 I don't know why. I mean, I— well, I don't know why she married me, 310 00:20:37,630 --> 00:20:41,350 but I also don't know why I've had this charmed, blessed life. 311 00:20:41,510 --> 00:20:45,310 The only thing I— 'cause it's not, you know, it's not because 312 00:20:45,310 --> 00:20:48,990 I deserve it or anything that I did. I know me better 313 00:20:48,990 --> 00:20:52,840 than you. And you ain't going to find 314 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:54,400 out the rest of it. But 315 00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:00,720 I think it's the heritage that got passed down generation to 316 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,920 generation to generation. And it's just, 317 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,720 wow, that's good. And 318 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:12,080 it's not just the blessings that have been passed down, the 319 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:15,520 material blessings, but the spiritual blessings of 320 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:19,840 peace and joy and contentment 321 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:24,780 and the spiritual blessings. The spiritual blessings of being introduced to God at 322 00:21:24,780 --> 00:21:28,540 a tender age and being able to spend— well, anyway, 323 00:21:29,100 --> 00:21:32,700 I greatly appreciate it. There was a time in my life when I was 324 00:21:32,700 --> 00:21:36,140 younger when I was ashamed of it. And to be very honest, 325 00:21:37,420 --> 00:21:41,020 I see some heads nodding who had similar 326 00:21:41,100 --> 00:21:44,180 environments to me, but I'm at a place for sure and have been for a 327 00:21:44,180 --> 00:21:47,740 long time where I really appreciate it. I really do. It 328 00:21:47,820 --> 00:21:51,480 wasn't the only way. We kind of thought we were, We didn't 329 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:54,160 claim to be outright, but we just knew. 330 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:59,440 Can't be the Baptists. I 331 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,800 mean, you know, those guys after church, they come out and smoke in the 332 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:07,120 front of the church. They throw those cigarette butts down. 333 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:11,840 Can't be— well, I'm going to stop right there. 334 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:18,080 But while I do appreciate it, we were taught several things that 335 00:22:18,530 --> 00:22:22,290 that seemed obvious at the time, I've had 336 00:22:22,290 --> 00:22:26,050 to kind of reevaluate. 'Cause one of the 337 00:22:26,050 --> 00:22:28,450 things we were taught was come to church expecting. 338 00:22:29,810 --> 00:22:33,650 You need to come expecting. You need to come expecting God to do something. 339 00:22:33,650 --> 00:22:37,370 And you need to come to see a move of God. And my 340 00:22:37,370 --> 00:22:41,170 dad used to say, my dad was a great man. I'm proud to be his 341 00:22:41,170 --> 00:22:43,250 son, but not everything he said, 342 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:48,280 necessarily made sense. He used to 343 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,800 say, "You only can get out what you put in." 344 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,720 No, that's not true. We always get out more than 345 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:02,480 we put in. And we can't possibly begin 346 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:06,120 to get out what God gives back to us. But he'd say, you know, come 347 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:09,960 expecting and come to put it in. He'd say, 348 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:13,580 "Get in, get out, or get run over." And I was going, "Well, 349 00:23:13,580 --> 00:23:14,380 hallelujah." 350 00:23:20,940 --> 00:23:24,780 See, we weren't just going through the motions like some of these people out there. 351 00:23:24,780 --> 00:23:27,750 Oh no. Oh no. We weren't just going through. We 352 00:23:28,460 --> 00:23:31,860 came to get— to do business with 353 00:23:31,860 --> 00:23:34,620 God. And we did. 354 00:23:36,220 --> 00:23:38,620 And we claimed to 355 00:23:40,140 --> 00:23:42,780 We claimed to reject dead ritual. 356 00:23:43,740 --> 00:23:47,500 Yeah. However, we certainly had our own rituals. 357 00:23:49,260 --> 00:23:51,740 They just weren't dead 'cause they were moving. 358 00:23:55,340 --> 00:23:58,780 We expected, and when we saw it, 359 00:23:59,900 --> 00:24:01,980 we called it the move of the Spirit. 360 00:24:05,940 --> 00:24:08,020 When the music hits the sweet spot, 361 00:24:10,420 --> 00:24:14,260 move of the Spirit comes. Now, I'm certainly 362 00:24:14,260 --> 00:24:18,100 not— I'm very thankful for what the Lord's given us music-wise. 363 00:24:18,380 --> 00:24:21,860 And let me just say this, ever since we brought drums and 364 00:24:21,860 --> 00:24:25,540 guitars and stuff into the church, it's gotten a whole lot better 365 00:24:25,540 --> 00:24:28,980 than when I was growing up. But, 366 00:24:29,380 --> 00:24:33,170 you know, we— You come to that place, oh yeah, this is it. This 367 00:24:33,170 --> 00:24:36,210 is where the Spirit is moving. And for millenniums, 368 00:24:37,010 --> 00:24:40,770 people and God has used music to set an environment. 369 00:24:41,890 --> 00:24:44,610 That's not necessarily the same thing as the move of the Spirit. 370 00:24:45,810 --> 00:24:49,170 But in my day, when I was growing up, 371 00:24:49,490 --> 00:24:53,250 it was pretty close because see, we didn't— the music 372 00:24:53,250 --> 00:24:57,050 didn't necessarily take us there. But if we got in the service and there 373 00:24:57,050 --> 00:25:00,130 were a lot of people crying and there was a lot of shouting going on 374 00:25:00,130 --> 00:25:03,311 and people were falling out on the floor and something, And then some 375 00:25:04,510 --> 00:25:07,950 blessed old soul back in the congregation without 376 00:25:07,950 --> 00:25:11,550 anybody saying a word would break into, 377 00:25:12,190 --> 00:25:15,710 "Give me that old-time religion. Give me that 378 00:25:15,710 --> 00:25:18,910 old-time religion. Give me that old-time 379 00:25:19,630 --> 00:25:23,390 religion. Woo! It's good enough for me." And boy, 380 00:25:23,390 --> 00:25:27,070 it was. You don't get much closer to heaven in a worship service than that. 381 00:25:27,230 --> 00:25:31,040 You really— it was good for Paul and Silas. It's good 382 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:34,760 enough for me. It was good for my fathers. It's good 383 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:37,880 enough for me. And I'm not making fun of it. 384 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,640 It was great. It was great. That 385 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:43,560 was fabulous. 386 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:54,120 Crying at the altar? Oh my Lord. The Holy 387 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:57,910 Spirit is here. Michelle and I were talking this week. She was telling 388 00:25:57,910 --> 00:25:59,910 me she went to this church that 389 00:26:02,710 --> 00:26:05,110 there was this lady who was weeping in the service. 390 00:26:06,310 --> 00:26:09,990 And after a while, she wouldn't stop weeping and they 391 00:26:09,990 --> 00:26:13,830 escorted her out. And I said, "Was she wailing?" She 392 00:26:13,830 --> 00:26:17,270 said, "No, she was just crying. She was just 393 00:26:17,270 --> 00:26:19,590 weeping." Wow. 394 00:26:21,430 --> 00:26:25,120 So in your church, If they were weeping, they'd 395 00:26:25,120 --> 00:26:28,400 lead them out of the service. In my church, if they weren't weeping, 396 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,600 they would escort the pastor out of the church. 397 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:36,880 Wouldn't take long. 398 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:43,680 Caught up in some form of ecstasy. And if none of those 399 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:47,400 things happened, we often felt let 400 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:51,050 down. And too often, if they 401 00:26:51,210 --> 00:26:54,250 didn't happen, we made them happen. 402 00:26:58,730 --> 00:27:02,130 When I first heard— I preached a couple of times when I was a 403 00:27:02,570 --> 00:27:06,250 teenager. I don't recommend it. 404 00:27:07,930 --> 00:27:11,730 But, and it certainly wasn't all that good when 405 00:27:11,730 --> 00:27:15,140 I did it. But I felt pressure. 406 00:27:17,540 --> 00:27:21,060 Felt pressure when I started preaching to make something 407 00:27:21,060 --> 00:27:24,740 happen at the altar call. And boy, 408 00:27:24,740 --> 00:27:28,300 have I heard some altar calls over the years. I've heard 409 00:27:28,300 --> 00:27:31,900 altar calls that were longer than the sermon. You know, and there were 410 00:27:31,900 --> 00:27:35,660 times, and I'm serious, there were times when I 411 00:27:35,660 --> 00:27:39,260 was sitting there, and I'm sure Barbie felt the same way, and 412 00:27:39,260 --> 00:27:42,700 probably Allen and some of the rest of you who grew up in similar 413 00:27:42,700 --> 00:27:45,660 environments. There were times when I went, I've got to go down there and get 414 00:27:45,660 --> 00:27:48,480 somebody. Get saved or this service is never going to end. 415 00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:53,680 Because he's not going to stop till somebody does. 416 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:00,880 And I felt pressure because if I preached and 417 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,760 nobody came forward and nobody got saved and nobody got healed 418 00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:08,160 and nobody started crying, then I didn't have the anointing. 419 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,830 At least that's what I thought. But I also noticed 420 00:28:14,230 --> 00:28:18,070 that it was often the same people each week doing the 421 00:28:18,230 --> 00:28:22,030 same things with the same results, which was nothing 422 00:28:22,030 --> 00:28:24,950 changed. Nothing changed in their life. 423 00:28:25,430 --> 00:28:29,070 Nothing, nothing. The way they lived their lives didn't 424 00:28:29,070 --> 00:28:32,790 change. So anyway, that's what, that's what I was brought up in. And then a 425 00:28:32,790 --> 00:28:34,470 strange thing happened. 426 00:28:36,390 --> 00:28:37,990 I married a Presbyterian. 427 00:28:40,450 --> 00:28:44,130 And I don't know how much you know about Presbyterians. 428 00:28:46,130 --> 00:28:49,490 We called them the frozen chosen back in the day. 429 00:28:49,810 --> 00:28:53,650 And Michelle told me not to say that because there might be 430 00:28:53,650 --> 00:28:56,850 some Presbyterians here who might be offended by it. 431 00:28:57,250 --> 00:29:01,050 But first of all, Presbyterians tend to have a real 432 00:29:01,050 --> 00:29:04,810 good sense of humor. And second of all, even if they don't, they know I 433 00:29:04,810 --> 00:29:07,490 was predestined to say that before they— 434 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:19,200 If you say you believe it, you know, you got to put 435 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:22,440 it into practice. Married a 436 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:26,120 Presbyterian. She passed away 437 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:29,040 and I married a Roman Catholic. 438 00:29:34,150 --> 00:29:36,470 I could just see my 439 00:29:38,310 --> 00:29:40,230 ancestors in heaven going, "Oh, 440 00:29:42,150 --> 00:29:44,711 come on." That great cloud of witnesses shaking their head. 441 00:29:45,510 --> 00:29:49,350 Anyway, but I discovered 442 00:29:49,430 --> 00:29:53,270 that walking with the Lord is not necessarily about coming 443 00:29:53,430 --> 00:29:55,350 expecting to see something. 444 00:29:57,750 --> 00:30:01,410 My Presbyterian wife, I had a father, Jack 445 00:30:01,410 --> 00:30:04,770 Haley, and he rocked my world. 446 00:30:07,730 --> 00:30:11,250 He actually believed that infant 447 00:30:11,250 --> 00:30:15,010 baptism was a real thing. I mean, he believed it. Serious. 448 00:30:16,050 --> 00:30:19,490 You know, his daughter got 449 00:30:20,370 --> 00:30:23,970 into the charismatic movement and felt like, you know, I'm a believer 450 00:30:23,970 --> 00:30:27,730 now. I am a believer and I wanna be baptized. "Come 451 00:30:27,730 --> 00:30:30,240 on, you've been baptized. You don't need to be baptized." 452 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:34,160 He never shouted, "Amen!" 453 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:40,960 I, one of my favorite moments ever in 454 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,720 church was the last time we went to Glenleven 455 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:48,240 Presbyterian with Papa and Granny, and 456 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,160 they would sit on the back row. And this particular Sunday, 457 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:56,180 they had a, a supply preacher. In other 458 00:30:56,180 --> 00:30:59,820 words, he'd never preached there 459 00:30:59,820 --> 00:31:02,340 before, but he was preaching that Sunday. And 460 00:31:03,540 --> 00:31:07,140 we were on the back row, we could see everybody in the church. And there 461 00:31:07,140 --> 00:31:10,820 were a couple of African American ladies who came to the church 462 00:31:11,380 --> 00:31:14,460 and they were visitors. And I knew they were visitors because that's the only time 463 00:31:14,460 --> 00:31:17,540 I'd ever seen an African American in the church. 464 00:31:18,100 --> 00:31:21,950 But The pastor, as he was preaching, he said 465 00:31:22,030 --> 00:31:25,150 something. I don't remember what it was. I mean, it wasn't— he didn't 466 00:31:25,710 --> 00:31:28,190 get it going, but he said something pretty good. 467 00:31:29,630 --> 00:31:33,230 And one of the ladies went, "Amen, 468 00:31:33,230 --> 00:31:33,710 brother." 469 00:31:39,150 --> 00:31:42,870 I mean, that church, you could 470 00:31:42,870 --> 00:31:46,670 feel the silence. And from the back, we could see 471 00:31:46,670 --> 00:31:48,310 every head in the church go, 472 00:31:51,580 --> 00:31:55,020 What just happened? I loved it. It was great. 473 00:31:58,860 --> 00:32:02,500 He has never spoken in tongues. And from where I was 474 00:32:02,500 --> 00:32:06,100 brought up, obviously he could not be filled with the 475 00:32:06,100 --> 00:32:09,940 Spirit. I said 476 00:32:09,940 --> 00:32:13,740 he rocked my world. He 477 00:32:13,740 --> 00:32:17,510 was faithful. In worship. It mattered to him, 478 00:32:18,630 --> 00:32:20,310 even though nothing ever happened 479 00:32:22,470 --> 00:32:25,950 except that week. He was 480 00:32:25,950 --> 00:32:29,510 consistently in the Word. I don't remember him necessarily ever 481 00:32:29,590 --> 00:32:33,190 taking a class or, you know, doing 482 00:32:33,190 --> 00:32:36,550 anything like that, but he was— he just read the Word every 483 00:32:36,790 --> 00:32:38,470 day of his life. 484 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,560 And he was to this day the singular man 485 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:49,280 I knew who most demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit. 486 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:54,240 Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 487 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:58,480 faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 488 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:02,480 How could this be? 489 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:05,840 How could this be? 490 00:33:09,930 --> 00:33:12,090 And then when 491 00:33:14,170 --> 00:33:17,050 Michelle and I got married and she began to teach me things, 492 00:33:18,170 --> 00:33:21,770 and it would have been— a lot of those things have been things that have 493 00:33:21,770 --> 00:33:25,290 been good things for me to have known quite a bit earlier, but, you know, 494 00:33:25,290 --> 00:33:27,130 know them now, better late than never. 495 00:33:29,050 --> 00:33:32,330 I ain't an old dog. I can learn new tricks. 496 00:33:33,610 --> 00:33:37,210 But one of the things that Michelle has taught 497 00:33:37,210 --> 00:33:40,570 me has been 498 00:33:40,810 --> 00:33:43,850 to truly not be afraid of silence 499 00:33:44,730 --> 00:33:48,090 in worship, because that's often 500 00:33:48,490 --> 00:33:51,930 when God is speaking the loudest to people. 501 00:33:54,810 --> 00:33:57,930 In high school, my best friend was Hank Abbott. 502 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,240 And he had a lot of good friends, and I had a lot of good 503 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:04,960 friends. I think we were best friends. And I remember 504 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:09,600 one evening we were driving into Nashville, and I knew Hank and I were 505 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:13,440 deep friends when I discovered, when it dawned 506 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:17,080 on me that we were sitting there in silence. 507 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:20,760 Neither one of us had anything to say, but we didn't feel the least 508 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:24,210 bit awkward. We felt 509 00:34:24,210 --> 00:34:27,370 comfortable in each other's company. 510 00:34:29,610 --> 00:34:31,210 The move of the Spirit, 511 00:34:33,610 --> 00:34:36,970 sometimes it's observable, but Jesus said 512 00:34:37,130 --> 00:34:40,950 when He was asked, said 513 00:34:40,950 --> 00:34:44,530 the coming of the kingdom is not something that's going to be observed with the 514 00:34:44,530 --> 00:34:48,370 eyes. It's not something that somebody could say, "Here 515 00:34:48,370 --> 00:34:51,799 it is." Because the kingdom of 516 00:34:51,799 --> 00:34:54,079 heaven is within you. 517 00:35:01,039 --> 00:35:04,879 It's where deep calls to deep. 518 00:35:09,119 --> 00:35:12,719 I certainly enjoy a move of the Spirit in the service. 519 00:35:12,799 --> 00:35:16,559 I mean, you know, obviously there's only 3 or 4 of you guys 520 00:35:16,559 --> 00:35:20,280 who've ever been in a service where they broke out singing "Give Me That 521 00:35:20,280 --> 00:35:24,080 Old-Time Religion," or you would know it's sweet. 522 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:31,040 I enjoy the move of the Spirit in a congregational setting when it's 523 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:33,840 genuine, when it's genuine. 524 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:39,800 If you come to worship and nothing ever happens, 525 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:43,640 that's probably a bad thing. But if you come to worship and 526 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:47,210 something has to happen, That's 527 00:35:47,210 --> 00:35:50,770 equally not a good thing because the flesh can only 528 00:35:50,770 --> 00:35:54,130 give birth to flesh, not to 529 00:35:54,130 --> 00:35:57,770 spirit. And more importantly is to 530 00:35:57,770 --> 00:36:01,610 realize that our faith is not about practicing 531 00:36:01,610 --> 00:36:05,330 religion. It's about a relationship. It's about a 532 00:36:05,330 --> 00:36:09,090 lifelong relationship with your Creator who has 533 00:36:09,090 --> 00:36:12,570 redeemed you to Himself. That's what it's about. 534 00:36:15,370 --> 00:36:19,170 Corporate worship can help because I 535 00:36:19,170 --> 00:36:22,450 believe it was Don Finto who 536 00:36:22,450 --> 00:36:26,090 described the church service as this is like an ocean-going 537 00:36:26,410 --> 00:36:30,130 vessel. And we're all out there in our little canoes and 538 00:36:30,130 --> 00:36:33,850 our little dinghies and our kayaks, and a little wave comes along and 539 00:36:34,170 --> 00:36:37,130 we tend to get tipped over. But the ocean-going 540 00:36:37,450 --> 00:36:41,300 vessel, is essentially unmoved by it. And it 541 00:36:41,620 --> 00:36:44,980 brings us back to center. It establishes us. 542 00:36:45,220 --> 00:36:48,980 That's why it's important to be in worship. Can you believe in Jesus 543 00:36:48,980 --> 00:36:52,700 and not go to church? Well, absolutely. But why would you not 544 00:36:52,700 --> 00:36:53,060 go? 545 00:36:56,340 --> 00:36:59,940 It's where you get conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Does a lot of 546 00:36:59,940 --> 00:37:03,620 the— see, if I'm just— it's a lot easier for me to 547 00:37:03,620 --> 00:37:06,420 believe in Jesus and not mess with any of you. 548 00:37:09,550 --> 00:37:11,390 Because then it's never tested. 549 00:37:14,430 --> 00:37:18,110 But to believe in Jesus and hang out with Him, you know, the 550 00:37:18,110 --> 00:37:21,390 cross, the cross was a terrible thing, 551 00:37:22,190 --> 00:37:25,910 a massive ordeal, and rightly so. We tend to focus 552 00:37:25,910 --> 00:37:28,350 in on it. But that 24-hour period 553 00:37:29,710 --> 00:37:33,510 really wasn't even 24 hours, was not the hardest part 554 00:37:33,510 --> 00:37:36,660 of Jesus' assignment. The hardest part of Jesus' assignment 555 00:37:37,420 --> 00:37:38,700 was putting up with us. 556 00:37:41,180 --> 00:37:44,460 Really. You can do anything for 557 00:37:44,700 --> 00:37:48,420 18 hours, but for 558 00:37:48,420 --> 00:37:52,220 years putting up with a bunch of knuckleheads. And if we're going to 559 00:37:52,220 --> 00:37:55,980 be conformed to his image, then God's probably going to bring some knuckleheads into 560 00:37:55,980 --> 00:37:58,700 our lives. Probably 561 00:37:59,580 --> 00:38:03,420 going to bring some people who don't understand us and treat us treat 562 00:38:03,420 --> 00:38:04,060 us wrong. 563 00:38:07,500 --> 00:38:11,140 Some come to— oh, and let me, yeah, I'm kind of running out of time, 564 00:38:11,140 --> 00:38:14,740 but I'm gonna finish and I'm gonna do quickly, but you need to 565 00:38:14,740 --> 00:38:18,500 listen fast 'cause this is all good. Some come to 566 00:38:18,500 --> 00:38:22,180 church these days, and I think this is really like a 567 00:38:22,180 --> 00:38:25,900 last 10 or 15-year thing, come to church and say, tell me 568 00:38:25,900 --> 00:38:29,580 how I'm supposed to handle these things that are going on in the world. 569 00:38:30,140 --> 00:38:33,740 Tell me how I'm supposed to handle these wars and how I'm supposed to handle 570 00:38:33,980 --> 00:38:37,640 these politics I'm supposed to handle these tragedies and 571 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:41,160 this economy? How am I supposed to— tell me how to— 572 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:44,120 How about this? How about I don't tell you, 573 00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:49,400 but I point you toward the Holy Spirit and let Him tell you 574 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:51,240 how to handle it? 575 00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:57,480 Because if I tell you, A, there's a 576 00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:00,680 real strong possibility I could be wrong, 577 00:39:02,270 --> 00:39:05,550 And B, you're going to need me to tell you next time too. 578 00:39:07,230 --> 00:39:08,990 But if the Holy Spirit tells you, 579 00:39:11,390 --> 00:39:15,230 that's a whole different thing. Ritual can help 580 00:39:15,230 --> 00:39:16,510 us keep our focus, 581 00:39:19,070 --> 00:39:22,670 but this relationship is more than these things. It is a long, 582 00:39:23,470 --> 00:39:26,030 often slow process. 583 00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:31,080 By which Philippians 1:6 is 584 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:34,880 accomplished. He who began a good work in you will carry it on 585 00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:37,840 to completion till the day of Christ Jesus. 586 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:41,440 How long is that? Rest of your life. 587 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:47,000 And not just during the good times or the bad 588 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:50,800 times or the challenging times, also 589 00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:52,720 in the, eh, times. 590 00:39:57,040 --> 00:40:00,240 The rest of our lives on this plane. This is a verse that we 591 00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:05,200 often hear and would like quoted: Be still and know that I am 592 00:40:05,200 --> 00:40:08,959 God. I will be exalted among the nations. I 593 00:40:08,959 --> 00:40:12,560 will be exalted in the earth. This doesn't just mean take a break. 594 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:18,760 It doesn't just mean, well, you've been, you've been doing all this work 595 00:40:18,760 --> 00:40:22,240 and everything. Now it's time to take a rest. And know that I'm 596 00:40:22,240 --> 00:40:25,920 God. No, no, this 597 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:29,440 is all the time. Be still, 598 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:34,360 cease striving, a lot of translations say, and 599 00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:37,920 know that I am 600 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:41,360 God. Trust that he is working. 601 00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:45,680 This is where we understand that he will be. 602 00:40:48,730 --> 00:40:52,410 Regardless of what's going on out there, really regardless of what's going on 603 00:40:52,410 --> 00:40:56,130 here, he will be. And it's 604 00:40:56,130 --> 00:40:59,610 also where we truly come to know him. 605 00:41:01,930 --> 00:41:05,570 It isn't until you spend ordinary 606 00:41:05,570 --> 00:41:08,250 days with someone that you get to know them. 607 00:41:10,410 --> 00:41:13,830 You can have experiences with them. You can You can have 608 00:41:13,830 --> 00:41:17,550 events with them. You can share tragedies with them and share 609 00:41:17,550 --> 00:41:21,030 joys with them, but— and you'll learn about them. 610 00:41:22,950 --> 00:41:26,630 But it's not until you spend day after 611 00:41:26,630 --> 00:41:30,230 day after day after day after 612 00:41:30,230 --> 00:41:34,070 day after day that you really get to know 613 00:41:34,070 --> 00:41:37,590 them, that you really get to know who they are. 614 00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:46,160 Jesus said, this is eternal life, 615 00:41:47,040 --> 00:41:50,800 they may know you, Jesus 616 00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:54,480 Christ, whom you have sent. This is what 617 00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:56,320 makes life worth living. 618 00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:03,040 You guys, come on. Yeah, you come on down here. 619 00:42:06,170 --> 00:42:10,010 I didn't hurt y'all's feelings or anything about that? Okay, good. I'm glad. 620 00:42:13,130 --> 00:42:15,370 Maybe I did hurt Robert's feelings. I don't know. 621 00:42:19,130 --> 00:42:22,930 I don't necessarily expect anybody to come weeping into the altar. You 622 00:42:23,210 --> 00:42:26,330 can if you need to. It doesn't really, 623 00:42:28,570 --> 00:42:31,220 you know, Yeah, 624 00:42:34,260 --> 00:42:35,220 email Kevin. 625 00:42:38,820 --> 00:42:42,220 But we're going to give you an opportunity to come if you need prayer, 626 00:42:42,980 --> 00:42:46,499 because this is that ocean-going vessel. And sometimes you just need 627 00:42:47,860 --> 00:42:51,380 a place, a harbor. So with those who are going to 628 00:42:52,100 --> 00:42:55,220 pray with people, come down and the rest of you stand. 629 00:42:56,130 --> 00:42:56,930 And let's 630 00:42:59,810 --> 00:43:00,850 think about God. 631 00:43:05,970 --> 00:43:06,370 I, 632 00:43:12,530 --> 00:43:16,050 uh, one other thing that Michelle has taught me— I don't want to 633 00:43:16,050 --> 00:43:19,570 embarrass her by talking about her too much, but I grew up 634 00:43:19,650 --> 00:43:23,330 in, uh, in a church situation where 635 00:43:23,330 --> 00:43:26,890 we usually left talking about what 636 00:43:26,890 --> 00:43:28,050 happened at church. 637 00:43:31,890 --> 00:43:35,410 We don't discuss that very much anymore. When we 638 00:43:35,410 --> 00:43:38,770 leave, she wants to talk about 639 00:43:39,650 --> 00:43:43,410 what happened in me. And 640 00:43:43,970 --> 00:43:47,170 that's just something to ponder, something to think about. 641 00:43:48,220 --> 00:43:52,020 Raise your hand. Let me give you a blessing. May the 642 00:43:52,020 --> 00:43:54,860 God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 643 00:43:55,580 --> 00:43:59,420 who sent his Son into the world that we might have life and 644 00:43:59,420 --> 00:44:02,940 have it to the full, life worth living, 645 00:44:04,940 --> 00:44:07,660 through the grace and presence of the Holy Spirit, 646 00:44:08,700 --> 00:44:10,620 may he give you the eyes to see 647 00:44:13,430 --> 00:44:16,990 and to understand what life worth living really 648 00:44:16,990 --> 00:44:19,990 is. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 649 00:44:20,390 --> 00:44:20,950 Amen.