1 00:00:07,387 --> 00:00:11,136 And that's the bottom line. Amen. It's about him. 2 00:00:11,489 --> 00:00:15,014 Yeah. It's about this God that we serve and that we 3 00:00:15,014 --> 00:00:18,652 love. And when all is said and done, 4 00:00:19,742 --> 00:00:23,555 when all is said and done, he is 5 00:00:23,732 --> 00:00:27,041 faithful and he is good. And he 6 00:00:27,349 --> 00:00:29,925 is worthy. He is worthy. 7 00:00:32,474 --> 00:00:36,155 A couple of things. Guys, next week we have about 17 8 00:00:36,155 --> 00:00:39,925 or 18 baptisms. So next week we will have a baptismal 9 00:00:39,925 --> 00:00:43,694 service, and it starts at 10:30. Only one gathering 10 00:00:43,694 --> 00:00:47,374 next week, and I'm excited about that. Something, 11 00:00:47,374 --> 00:00:51,055 if you are one of the people That are being baptized 12 00:00:51,055 --> 00:00:54,562 and you came with your family today, at the end of 13 00:00:54,562 --> 00:00:58,156 this gathering, if you would make your way over to 14 00:00:58,156 --> 00:01:01,047 the Fellowship Hall, we are gonna do the 15 00:01:01,047 --> 00:01:04,816 prebaptismal videos. And so, I would like to invite 16 00:01:04,816 --> 00:01:08,060 you to come and have a slice of pizza with your 17 00:01:08,060 --> 00:01:11,827 family. And we have an order we'll go in. We're gonna 18 00:01:11,827 --> 00:01:15,598 start with the littles first. And we'll get you in and do your 19 00:01:15,598 --> 00:01:18,930 video and get you out of here as quickly as we can. But we will 20 00:01:18,962 --> 00:01:22,583 feed you and be kind to you in the process. So, if you'll just make 21 00:01:22,631 --> 00:01:26,219 your way over there. The only other announcement that I have, guys, 22 00:01:27,278 --> 00:01:30,311 Hunchback of Notre Dame is today, and it's the last 23 00:01:30,423 --> 00:01:34,066 performance. And I can tell you, if you miss 24 00:01:34,194 --> 00:01:37,227 this, guys, you are missing something extremely special. 25 00:01:37,966 --> 00:01:41,464 There is something wonderful. Half of the choir is 26 00:01:41,881 --> 00:01:45,059 in the room, or in the— it is a beautiful 27 00:01:45,444 --> 00:01:48,766 story, and it is a strong, strong, strong 28 00:01:48,878 --> 00:01:52,408 performance. So I encourage you, if there are tickets left, I'm not sure, it's been 29 00:01:52,408 --> 00:01:55,570 pretty sold out. If there are tickets left, I encourage you to come do that. 30 00:01:56,244 --> 00:01:59,775 Okay. We are in the middle of the— or actually, we're at the 31 00:01:59,856 --> 00:02:03,660 end of the Discerning the Voice of the Lord. So obviously, y'all have learned to 32 00:02:03,724 --> 00:02:07,256 do that in the last few weeks. So, Discerning the 33 00:02:07,256 --> 00:02:10,884 Voice of the Lord. And we had Pastor Jonathan shared about how 34 00:02:11,029 --> 00:02:14,849 we discern his voice, how we find his voice in hard places 35 00:02:14,946 --> 00:02:18,220 or difficult seasons, and in the wilderness, learning to 36 00:02:18,814 --> 00:02:21,993 listen for his voice. And then last week, Pastor Ronnie 37 00:02:22,025 --> 00:02:25,282 shared about— Listening for his voice. Oh, my goodness. 38 00:02:25,715 --> 00:02:29,466 Listening to his voice in the whisper, not in the earthquake, not in the 39 00:02:29,482 --> 00:02:33,169 thunder, but in the whisper and that still small voice that he 40 00:02:33,233 --> 00:02:36,808 brings. And what I have for you that I believe the Lord has 41 00:02:36,856 --> 00:02:40,190 given me is discerning his 42 00:02:40,366 --> 00:02:43,829 voice in the roar. Because some of us don't listen to 43 00:02:43,893 --> 00:02:47,371 whispers. Some of us, it takes a roar. And 44 00:02:47,660 --> 00:02:51,315 I'm excited about what he has been sharing with me in this, and I 45 00:02:51,363 --> 00:02:55,098 hope that you can grab hold of it as well. The Lion Has 46 00:02:55,194 --> 00:02:59,041 Roared. For since the beginning, for since 47 00:02:59,041 --> 00:03:02,552 the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his 48 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,918 eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly 49 00:03:05,950 --> 00:03:09,766 seen, being understood from what has been 50 00:03:10,118 --> 00:03:13,613 made. From what has been made. Father, I thank you so much for your Word, 51 00:03:13,789 --> 00:03:17,524 your truth. Father, we have nothing else to stand on. Father, the Word, the 52 00:03:17,572 --> 00:03:21,019 truth, the blood of Jesus Christ, that is where we are standing. And so, 53 00:03:21,099 --> 00:03:24,834 Father, I thank you for your Word today. I pray, Lord, that it would 54 00:03:24,866 --> 00:03:27,881 fall in fertile soil. Father, I pray our hearts would receive your truth. I speak 55 00:03:27,881 --> 00:03:31,611 your Word, your truth today, that my stuff would fall and yours would 56 00:03:31,627 --> 00:03:35,146 stand, in Jesus' name. My 57 00:03:35,260 --> 00:03:37,442 Papaw was 58 00:03:39,478 --> 00:03:42,999 something. He was one of the kindest, most— I said Papaw 59 00:03:43,128 --> 00:03:46,445 really Southern, didn't I? Just went right back over there. My Papaw, 60 00:03:47,416 --> 00:03:50,603 to my knowledge, he never stepped foot in a church, not one 61 00:03:50,620 --> 00:03:54,407 time. He was— he had his Bible, 62 00:03:55,236 --> 00:03:58,827 And he had the farm. And the Lord spoke to him through both. 63 00:03:59,581 --> 00:04:03,203 And one of the greatest lessons that he would always teach me was to see 64 00:04:03,252 --> 00:04:06,971 God in the everyday. I remember standing 65 00:04:07,019 --> 00:04:10,225 with him, actually sitting, because it was like 2:00 AM in the morning and we're 66 00:04:10,225 --> 00:04:13,815 out in the barn and he's helping a pig deliver about 21 67 00:04:13,928 --> 00:04:17,759 babies, which I thought was impossible, you know. And he's talking to me 68 00:04:17,759 --> 00:04:21,269 the whole time about, you know, God did this and then, you know, this will 69 00:04:21,301 --> 00:04:25,004 grow in this creation and this. And I just remember learning at 70 00:04:25,053 --> 00:04:28,728 his feet the beauty of God in creation. whether it was the stars above 71 00:04:29,146 --> 00:04:32,745 and the skies. And he would stand out and he would explain, or he would 72 00:04:32,777 --> 00:04:36,536 walk with me over to a blackberry bush and he would talk about, you know, 73 00:04:36,552 --> 00:04:40,119 how things grow and how they are. And I don't know how God does this, 74 00:04:40,248 --> 00:04:44,071 but, you know, and he would— I would see God in those 75 00:04:44,168 --> 00:04:47,895 weathered and worn hands as he would display portions of nature 76 00:04:48,281 --> 00:04:51,976 to me. You know, grab the blackberry, but watch for the snake behind it. You 77 00:04:51,976 --> 00:04:55,638 know, on all of those things. That's so good. And so he was a very— 78 00:04:58,343 --> 00:05:01,518 he was a country scholar 79 00:05:02,771 --> 00:05:06,322 who loved the Lord, who loved his Word, but 80 00:05:06,322 --> 00:05:09,519 didn't care a whole lot for church. And you know what? There's a lot of 81 00:05:09,519 --> 00:05:12,594 those out there. And that's okay, as long as the Lord has their heart and 82 00:05:12,594 --> 00:05:16,324 has their— and they have the Word and they're growing, that's wonderful. God does 83 00:05:16,340 --> 00:05:20,117 what God does. But I wanna talk to you today about 84 00:05:20,165 --> 00:05:23,209 how God can speak to you through the everyday ordinary that you're in. 85 00:05:25,210 --> 00:05:28,576 you wouldn't think about if you just pay attention. 86 00:05:28,704 --> 00:05:32,183 According to the scripture, creation carries the fingerprints of God. 87 00:05:33,096 --> 00:05:36,912 Creation carries God's fingerprints. It says that the heavens 88 00:05:37,024 --> 00:05:40,631 declare, the heavens declare his glory. Some 89 00:05:40,631 --> 00:05:43,548 translations say the heavens sing 90 00:05:44,478 --> 00:05:47,812 of his glory. Some translations say the heavens 91 00:05:47,988 --> 00:05:51,595 shout of his glory. And when you step out on your porch at 92 00:05:51,595 --> 00:05:55,170 night and the sky isn't filled with every other kind of 93 00:05:55,218 --> 00:05:58,745 light, and you look up and you see Yes. And you see how small we 94 00:05:58,889 --> 00:06:02,336 really are, and how big and 95 00:06:02,512 --> 00:06:05,910 vast. And you're going, there is no way that this 96 00:06:06,119 --> 00:06:09,966 just happened. There's no way. There is a 97 00:06:09,966 --> 00:06:12,932 Creator God behind this. And it 98 00:06:12,932 --> 00:06:16,747 testifies. And if you will step out and look at something 99 00:06:16,859 --> 00:06:20,194 bigger, you begin to see the bigness and the goodness of God. 100 00:06:20,610 --> 00:06:24,453 Scripture says that the mountains testify. The mountains 101 00:06:24,485 --> 00:06:28,238 testify. They testify of time. They testify 102 00:06:28,352 --> 00:06:31,971 of His faithfulness. They testify of unchanging 103 00:06:32,390 --> 00:06:36,178 God. Says the 104 00:06:36,178 --> 00:06:39,804 rocks cry out if we don't. If we don't. 105 00:06:39,885 --> 00:06:43,423 There's testimony in them. And Scripture says that all creation 106 00:06:43,536 --> 00:06:47,361 groans in anticipation. All creation 107 00:06:47,361 --> 00:06:50,815 groans in anticipation. So if the 108 00:06:50,815 --> 00:06:53,220 Lord in His Word is speaking to us about how creation 109 00:06:55,813 --> 00:06:59,531 can speak to us, I wanna pay attention to that because we're learning 110 00:06:59,579 --> 00:07:03,265 to discern God's voice, right? And most of us have not heard 111 00:07:03,265 --> 00:07:06,999 the audible voice of God, but we have stood outside 112 00:07:07,272 --> 00:07:10,685 and we have heard the wind through the trees. We have heard the cry of 113 00:07:10,717 --> 00:07:14,163 the birds. We have heard his voice in the 114 00:07:14,227 --> 00:07:17,577 thunder. We have seen his strength in the lightning. 115 00:07:17,849 --> 00:07:21,535 We've seen his provision in the rains that cover the land. 116 00:07:21,856 --> 00:07:25,446 And if we will pay attention, you will find that God is speaking He's 117 00:07:25,446 --> 00:07:28,989 speaking. And in all of those things, you know what else? He 118 00:07:29,053 --> 00:07:32,275 also speaks as lions roar. 119 00:07:33,702 --> 00:07:36,892 As lions roar. Amos tells us this, 120 00:07:37,966 --> 00:07:41,461 the lion has roared, who will not fear? The Sovereign Lord has 121 00:07:41,493 --> 00:07:44,747 spoken, who can but prophesy? 122 00:07:45,885 --> 00:07:48,659 And as I was getting into this Word, I was like, Lord, you know, there 123 00:07:48,851 --> 00:07:52,541 are sometimes in my life that I can respond 124 00:07:52,541 --> 00:07:56,381 to a whisper, you know, and sometimes a whisper is 125 00:07:56,478 --> 00:07:59,949 wonderful. And as parents, sometimes our children might 126 00:07:59,949 --> 00:08:03,368 respond to a whisper, but the chances of that are very 127 00:08:03,368 --> 00:08:06,406 slim. Sometimes 128 00:08:06,985 --> 00:08:10,562 we raise our voice to get attention, and sometimes we 129 00:08:10,562 --> 00:08:14,283 need them to focus on— Rowan loves to 130 00:08:14,380 --> 00:08:18,178 go, what are the words coming out of my mouth? You know, 131 00:08:18,194 --> 00:08:21,846 sometimes we need to pay attention to the words coming out of his mouth, And 132 00:08:21,862 --> 00:08:25,440 because there are so many words coming out of everybody else's mouth, 133 00:08:25,857 --> 00:08:29,564 that if we aren't focused on what he's saying, we 134 00:08:29,644 --> 00:08:33,318 will lose track of what's important in this. That's right. What's 135 00:08:33,318 --> 00:08:36,944 important. And so, he speaks in the roar. And so, I 136 00:08:36,944 --> 00:08:40,794 felt like one of the things the Lord was gonna help share with us today 137 00:08:41,035 --> 00:08:44,115 was begin to discern his roar. 138 00:08:45,030 --> 00:08:48,786 Because listen, guys, I am not an expert 139 00:08:48,786 --> 00:08:52,355 on lions, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express. 140 00:08:54,502 --> 00:08:58,167 No, I didn't. I did study. I began to study. I don't 141 00:08:58,167 --> 00:09:01,361 know anything about lions, but I know one, 142 00:09:02,100 --> 00:09:05,031 the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And so I began to pray, and I 143 00:09:05,031 --> 00:09:08,558 began to study some texts and some things like that. So I said, Lord, I 144 00:09:08,558 --> 00:09:11,818 want to know about this roar. I want to know that the— 145 00:09:12,275 --> 00:09:15,915 when you speak to get my attention, What is the purpose 146 00:09:15,915 --> 00:09:19,540 behind it? How can I discern if this is you speaking to me, 147 00:09:20,102 --> 00:09:23,904 if this is my flesh speaking to me, or if this is the people around 148 00:09:24,016 --> 00:09:27,337 me speaking to me? Because, God, I need to discern 149 00:09:27,690 --> 00:09:31,364 your roar. And what I found out is that lions roar for 3 very 150 00:09:31,460 --> 00:09:34,845 distinct reasons. How they know this, I don't know. 151 00:09:35,487 --> 00:09:38,375 You can't really ask a lion, well, why did you do that? But what you 152 00:09:38,375 --> 00:09:41,921 can do is pick up on the patterns of the roar and how 153 00:09:42,209 --> 00:09:45,674 they do it. And that's what we're gonna go with, lions roar. for 3 very 154 00:09:45,674 --> 00:09:49,409 distinct reasons. Now, before we do that, let me tell you, a lion 155 00:09:49,761 --> 00:09:53,561 can roar. It says that a family, a pride of lions, can 156 00:09:53,609 --> 00:09:57,087 hear the king of their tribe, they can hear his roar 157 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:01,447 up to 5 miles away. So that would be the equivalent of me 158 00:10:01,447 --> 00:10:04,830 standing here with the door open and calling out, 159 00:10:05,214 --> 00:10:08,725 and somebody over at Smyrna High School being able to hear it. 160 00:10:09,799 --> 00:10:13,406 That would be the equivalent of, as the crow flies, me 161 00:10:13,406 --> 00:10:16,355 speaking and yelling from here, and over in Antioch, they can hear me. That's right. 162 00:10:17,452 --> 00:10:21,247 But see, the pride of lions is so attuned to the roar of 163 00:10:21,247 --> 00:10:24,717 the lion, they can pick up on the timbre. It's almost as if 164 00:10:25,138 --> 00:10:28,515 there is this vibration in the air when the lion 165 00:10:28,547 --> 00:10:32,069 roars that the pride picks up on. And let me tell you something, that is 166 00:10:32,101 --> 00:10:35,738 consistent with what the Holy Spirit does. When he speaks, 167 00:10:36,141 --> 00:10:38,733 if we are attuned to his voice— 168 00:10:40,504 --> 00:10:44,160 if we are attuned to his voice, we pick up on the nuances. And the 169 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:46,366 very first thing we find out is the roar, the day-to-day, day-to-day, day-to-day, 170 00:10:48,432 --> 00:10:51,638 business roar of the lion is geared toward family 171 00:10:51,638 --> 00:10:55,164 communication. Family communication. This is him 172 00:10:55,164 --> 00:10:58,851 speaking to you day in and day out. The Word tells us that we 173 00:10:58,915 --> 00:11:02,683 can have our senses trained through practice, according to 174 00:11:02,683 --> 00:11:06,385 the Amplified, having our senses trained through practice to 175 00:11:06,385 --> 00:11:09,848 discern what is good and what is evil. This 176 00:11:10,072 --> 00:11:13,888 particular passage of scripture is talking about those who are satisfied 177 00:11:13,904 --> 00:11:16,484 with the milk of the Word, or those who are going to move on to 178 00:11:16,484 --> 00:11:19,835 the meat of the Word. And those that are able to move on to the 179 00:11:19,835 --> 00:11:23,685 meat, appropriate when talking about lions. If you're gonna move 180 00:11:23,685 --> 00:11:27,135 on to the meat of the Word, you have to be able to discern what 181 00:11:27,135 --> 00:11:30,585 is good and evil over time through practice. And so, 182 00:11:30,665 --> 00:11:34,500 as his tribe, as his people, learning to discern his 183 00:11:34,677 --> 00:11:38,223 roar is important. It says, there is a roar that 184 00:11:38,223 --> 00:11:41,721 orients the family. The lion may not be visible, but the 185 00:11:41,833 --> 00:11:45,652 roar reveals his proximity to the family. And see, 186 00:11:45,684 --> 00:11:49,167 we're kind of in that situation right now. We don't know Yes. See him 187 00:11:49,376 --> 00:11:53,134 physically with us. The Lion of the 188 00:11:53,134 --> 00:11:56,652 tribe of Judah is not physically with us in 189 00:11:56,748 --> 00:12:00,426 this moment, but we can discern his roar. We can discern 190 00:12:00,844 --> 00:12:04,473 his voice if we will pay attention and learn it. 191 00:12:04,698 --> 00:12:08,232 Scripture tells us this, they shall walk after the 192 00:12:08,232 --> 00:12:11,894 Lord. He shall roar like a lion. When he shall 193 00:12:11,926 --> 00:12:15,578 roar, then the children shall tremble, From the west. 194 00:12:16,030 --> 00:12:19,387 Now let me tell you, when there is a roar, kids tremble. 195 00:12:19,759 --> 00:12:23,213 My husband does not have a— well, there is a roar, but it's a different 196 00:12:23,213 --> 00:12:26,923 kind of roar. But my husband, there's this thing that he does that gets 197 00:12:26,923 --> 00:12:30,584 everybody's attention in the family. Can you, can you 198 00:12:30,874 --> 00:12:33,434 do that for me, please? Okay. All right. 199 00:12:34,897 --> 00:12:36,031 Oh, that's just a little one. 200 00:12:38,692 --> 00:12:42,490 When he does that, the kids, Growing up, it 201 00:12:42,490 --> 00:12:46,280 didn't matter where they were in the neighborhood, it didn't matter what they were doing, 202 00:12:46,376 --> 00:12:48,849 when they heard that, they knew that that was their father, and they knew it 203 00:12:48,849 --> 00:12:52,323 was time to get home. And if it was stronger than that, or 204 00:12:52,323 --> 00:12:55,976 harder than that, or God forbid if he did it twice back to back, 205 00:12:55,976 --> 00:12:59,704 they were like, oh, we're hiding now. But they knew that sound, 206 00:12:59,704 --> 00:13:03,502 and they responded to that sound. And there is a resonance in the 207 00:13:03,502 --> 00:13:07,013 voice of the Lion that when he's speaking to you, there's an 208 00:13:07,013 --> 00:13:10,594 awareness. The Word tells us that eternity is written on the 209 00:13:10,594 --> 00:13:14,248 hearts of men. When he roars, when he begins to speak in family 210 00:13:14,248 --> 00:13:17,973 communication, it is to orient you. You know, in Genesis, when 211 00:13:17,973 --> 00:13:21,628 he walked into the garden and Adam and Eve had sinned, and they 212 00:13:21,628 --> 00:13:25,425 had hidden, they had made clothes for themselves, which I think 213 00:13:25,425 --> 00:13:28,792 that would be really interesting to see it sometime. But 214 00:13:28,792 --> 00:13:32,374 anyway, when he walked into the garden and he said, where are 215 00:13:32,374 --> 00:13:35,671 you? He went to walk with them in the cool of the day and he 216 00:13:35,671 --> 00:13:39,468 said, where are you? Where are you? Of course, he knew where they 217 00:13:39,468 --> 00:13:43,194 were. They said they've sinned and they had hidden themselves 218 00:13:43,194 --> 00:13:46,930 from him. But the question wasn't, where are you? It was more, where 219 00:13:46,978 --> 00:13:50,675 are you in proximity to where I am? Are 220 00:13:50,788 --> 00:13:54,402 you paying attention? It's like there's this thing that the Holy Spirit does 221 00:13:54,757 --> 00:13:58,210 that brings his voice into your situation and 222 00:13:58,452 --> 00:14:02,042 orients us as a family to go, how far off track 223 00:14:02,107 --> 00:14:05,913 am I? How far away from this voice have I 224 00:14:05,913 --> 00:14:09,484 gotten? And he will roar to do that. Sometimes 225 00:14:09,549 --> 00:14:12,988 God's greatest mercy is not found in explanation, but in positional 226 00:14:13,100 --> 00:14:16,925 orientation. You know, he doesn't have to explain 227 00:14:16,957 --> 00:14:20,536 why he's done what he's done. Right. He doesn't have to give you an 228 00:14:20,584 --> 00:14:24,265 explanation, or me an explanation, why you're walking through 229 00:14:24,297 --> 00:14:27,509 the things that you're walking through, or going through the things that you're going through. 230 00:14:27,848 --> 00:14:31,204 But in his grace, and in his goodness, and in his mercy, 231 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:35,351 he will sound, he will speak to you. It might sound 232 00:14:35,351 --> 00:14:37,769 like a scripture that someone gives to you. It might sound like a prayer that 233 00:14:37,769 --> 00:14:41,490 someone is praying for you. over you. It might 234 00:14:41,490 --> 00:14:44,834 sound like you sitting in your room just talking to Him 235 00:14:45,351 --> 00:14:48,598 and allowing Him to speak. But this specific 236 00:14:49,693 --> 00:14:53,123 roar does a few things. This roar brings you into positional 237 00:14:53,252 --> 00:14:55,796 alignment with the King. 238 00:14:57,784 --> 00:15:00,855 And sometimes we need that. We need to go, God, I just need 239 00:15:01,744 --> 00:15:05,188 to be in alignment with the King. I just need to be in 240 00:15:05,285 --> 00:15:08,440 alignment with You, Father. Line me up in this. Comfort. 241 00:15:09,348 --> 00:15:12,863 and reassures when you're not in his presence. Does 242 00:15:12,959 --> 00:15:16,506 anybody ever need him to just comfort you for a 243 00:15:16,506 --> 00:15:19,555 while? To just reassure you of his presence? 244 00:15:20,357 --> 00:15:23,888 That regardless of what you're going through, knowing that they're there. When my 245 00:15:23,888 --> 00:15:27,708 kids were little, and when your kids— as your kids are little, do you 246 00:15:27,724 --> 00:15:31,479 ever notice how everything can be fine and 247 00:15:31,752 --> 00:15:34,833 the world is going on as it should until you walk out of the room? 248 00:15:36,169 --> 00:15:39,780 And then you walk out of the room and it's like, wait a minute, I 249 00:15:39,893 --> 00:15:43,499 am no longer the center of attention. Wait a minute. Mom, 250 00:15:43,580 --> 00:15:47,413 Mom, Mommy, Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mommy, Mommy. And all of a sudden they're wrapped 251 00:15:47,413 --> 00:15:50,438 around your ankle because you've left. I remember one of my kids going, 252 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:55,312 oh, I lost you! No, you didn't. I was hiding 253 00:15:55,312 --> 00:15:58,715 anyway. No. I'm like, I know. Thank you for finding me, 254 00:15:58,715 --> 00:16:02,499 honey. And Lord forbid that you try to take a bath. It's like, 255 00:16:02,499 --> 00:16:06,205 Are you still in there? Well, the door's still shut. Are you 256 00:16:06,205 --> 00:16:09,761 still in there? What are you doing? You have to splash and 257 00:16:09,761 --> 00:16:13,468 make noise, you know, just so they can orient themselves to 258 00:16:13,468 --> 00:16:17,248 know, hey, she's still in the room. It's still okay. And then 259 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:20,362 they would get to where they would slide their fingers under the bathroom door. 260 00:16:21,878 --> 00:16:25,716 Are you still in there, Mom? Yes, those tears you 261 00:16:25,716 --> 00:16:29,002 hear are mine. But 262 00:16:29,050 --> 00:16:32,475 orienting themselves, because sometimes when you 263 00:16:32,475 --> 00:16:36,118 need to just line up and go, okay, He's still here. I'm still 264 00:16:36,246 --> 00:16:39,086 reassured of his presence. And then instruction. 265 00:16:39,519 --> 00:16:43,032 Instruction, guys, this lion, when it roars, 266 00:16:43,385 --> 00:16:47,107 they say that the pride understands just from that roar, 267 00:16:47,556 --> 00:16:51,213 which is amazing to me. From that roar, whether they need to 268 00:16:51,310 --> 00:16:55,015 run, whether they need to hide the family, whether they need to 269 00:16:55,015 --> 00:16:58,785 sit still positionally, that he can hear that, that roar, and 270 00:16:58,785 --> 00:17:02,154 he can do those things. And I love I love that. That that is the 271 00:17:02,154 --> 00:17:05,395 kind of God the Lion roars. 272 00:17:05,619 --> 00:17:09,245 It says, whether you turn to the right or to the 273 00:17:09,293 --> 00:17:13,111 left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, this is 274 00:17:13,224 --> 00:17:16,272 the way, walk in it. This is the way, 275 00:17:16,817 --> 00:17:20,571 walk in it. I trust that. I trust 276 00:17:20,844 --> 00:17:24,165 that if I will listen and if I will pay attention, he will tell us 277 00:17:24,438 --> 00:17:27,909 how to move and how to walk as family. The 278 00:17:27,909 --> 00:17:31,666 second thing that he does is this: a lion will cry out in dominion 279 00:17:32,185 --> 00:17:35,812 and in warning. Dominion and in warning. It says 280 00:17:35,925 --> 00:17:39,129 this: the lion roars to 281 00:17:39,162 --> 00:17:42,706 establish presence and testimony— or territory. The 282 00:17:42,706 --> 00:17:46,479 roar announces, someone rules here. You are in 283 00:17:46,672 --> 00:17:49,978 my house now. You are in my house now. 284 00:17:51,733 --> 00:17:55,294 I grew up in the country in In case you didn't 285 00:17:55,310 --> 00:17:59,117 know, well, like, my Uncle Tommy, 286 00:17:59,197 --> 00:18:02,506 my Uncle Paul, my Uncle Junior all lived on the farm with my Papaw. 287 00:18:03,100 --> 00:18:06,858 And they just basically, they were a compound 288 00:18:06,890 --> 00:18:10,713 before compounds were popular and trendy. But I mean, 289 00:18:11,468 --> 00:18:15,242 those boys could shoot. And I mean, they'd take the 290 00:18:15,467 --> 00:18:19,193 wings off a gnat. And it wasn't so much that my Papaw taught them, my 291 00:18:19,257 --> 00:18:23,085 Granny did. And which leads me to 292 00:18:23,133 --> 00:18:26,775 just tell you that The Beverly Hillbillies was not a sitcom. That was a 293 00:18:26,775 --> 00:18:27,309 documentary. 294 00:18:30,507 --> 00:18:34,305 And it adequately and accurately depicts the life 295 00:18:34,305 --> 00:18:37,998 I grew up in. And my granny could shoot. I said that to 296 00:18:38,048 --> 00:18:40,646 say this: where I came from, 297 00:18:42,832 --> 00:18:46,161 guns spoke and trespassers 298 00:18:46,260 --> 00:18:49,770 didn't. you 299 00:18:49,834 --> 00:18:53,207 kinda knew that you let somebody know if you were getting ready to go on 300 00:18:53,207 --> 00:18:57,047 their property, 'cause they were protective. I mean, they were protective 301 00:18:57,047 --> 00:19:00,484 of their families and obviously had a lot of 302 00:19:00,581 --> 00:19:04,340 enemies, but we're not gonna get into that. You know, they just— you 303 00:19:04,356 --> 00:19:07,617 just didn't do it. And I think about this lion, and I think about him 304 00:19:08,066 --> 00:19:11,745 being off in the distance and still watching over his family, and 305 00:19:11,761 --> 00:19:15,552 caring for his family, and sending out the cry that he needs 306 00:19:15,617 --> 00:19:19,166 to in that time to go, Listen, you're on my land 307 00:19:19,166 --> 00:19:22,730 now. And some of us need to remember that this is his 308 00:19:22,923 --> 00:19:25,941 land. This is his church. This is his 309 00:19:26,118 --> 00:19:29,795 house. And he has dominion in it. He has 310 00:19:29,827 --> 00:19:33,520 sovereignty. He is sovereign in it. Listen to this, 311 00:19:33,584 --> 00:19:37,310 guys. It says, a lion will often roar before he pounces. He 312 00:19:37,310 --> 00:19:40,762 isn't afraid of giving away his position because he knows nothing can touch him 313 00:19:40,810 --> 00:19:42,271 anyway. That's right. 314 00:19:44,087 --> 00:19:47,805 What? What? Okay, I'm a visual 315 00:19:47,903 --> 00:19:51,377 person, but I kind of have this image of the lion going, 316 00:19:52,741 --> 00:19:56,267 hmm, okay, if you think so. 317 00:19:57,410 --> 00:20:00,888 If you think so, we're gonna go. That a lion will often roar before he 318 00:20:00,888 --> 00:20:04,162 pounces. He isn't afraid of giving away his position because he knows 319 00:20:04,517 --> 00:20:08,196 nothing can touch him anyway. Oh, that's a lion. But it says, 320 00:20:08,616 --> 00:20:12,437 a lion mighty among beasts who retreats at nothing. That's 321 00:20:12,437 --> 00:20:16,122 the Word. Our God retreats before nothing. 322 00:20:16,236 --> 00:20:19,840 Nations rage and kings rise, rulers plot, and the One 323 00:20:19,937 --> 00:20:21,821 enthroned in heaven laughs. 324 00:20:25,534 --> 00:20:27,857 You ever just feel like the Lord's going, is that the best you got? 325 00:20:30,217 --> 00:20:33,712 Is that the best you got? And that's what I think with this lion, to 326 00:20:33,712 --> 00:20:37,353 go, I'm gonna roar. I'm gonna 327 00:20:37,353 --> 00:20:41,146 give away— I'm gonna even give away my position. And I'm 328 00:20:41,146 --> 00:20:44,858 gonna give you a choice in how you deal with that. How 329 00:20:44,973 --> 00:20:48,522 you deal with that. It says this, a 330 00:20:48,522 --> 00:20:52,154 warning roar means there is still time to respond. 331 00:20:53,204 --> 00:20:56,907 You've still got time to move. You've still got 332 00:20:56,907 --> 00:21:00,691 time to act. There's a warning roar. There is a place, and it's 333 00:21:00,691 --> 00:21:04,254 gonna come to you. When that warning roar comes, it's gonna come to your 334 00:21:04,254 --> 00:21:07,821 spirit, and it's— I had somebody ask me today, they said, what is the difference? 335 00:21:07,934 --> 00:21:11,381 Oh, not today, this week. What is the difference between conviction 336 00:21:11,814 --> 00:21:15,507 and condemnation? And I will tell you, for me, that conviction is a 337 00:21:15,523 --> 00:21:18,992 word from the Lord that pierces that place of 338 00:21:19,682 --> 00:21:23,375 truth and eternity in your spirit. And for me, the difference 339 00:21:23,375 --> 00:21:27,052 between the two is there's not accusation in it. There is warning 340 00:21:27,309 --> 00:21:31,034 in it. There is a promise at the end of it to go, okay, 341 00:21:31,403 --> 00:21:34,599 okay, Smitty, you know what you're doing. 342 00:21:35,593 --> 00:21:39,072 And I want you to stop. Because if you will 343 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:42,951 stop, here's what's on the other side of this for you. There's 344 00:21:42,967 --> 00:21:46,734 conviction that leads to repentance. Conviction will cause you to go, 345 00:21:46,799 --> 00:21:50,598 God, I am so sorry. I am so sorry. 346 00:21:50,646 --> 00:21:54,429 But not sorry like the world is sorry, because there is 347 00:21:54,493 --> 00:21:57,860 a worldly sorrow that leads to death, according to 348 00:21:57,860 --> 00:22:01,707 scripture. In other words, I'm so sorry I did that. Okay, but there's no 349 00:22:01,787 --> 00:22:05,233 repentance behind it. And there's a godly sorrow that leads to 350 00:22:05,249 --> 00:22:08,518 repentance, and repentance will lead to life. Yeah. 351 00:22:09,335 --> 00:22:13,037 That's the warning roar. The warning roar. And 352 00:22:13,101 --> 00:22:16,851 one of the other differences, guys, is condemnation, when it comes at 353 00:22:16,851 --> 00:22:19,591 you, listen for the voice of the accuser in it. 354 00:22:20,617 --> 00:22:24,302 Because he accuses. He tells you how bad you are, how wrong you are, 355 00:22:24,543 --> 00:22:28,182 how horrible you are. And there's no promise of hope, of 356 00:22:28,182 --> 00:22:31,806 redemption behind it. Learning one will lead you 357 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:35,513 to life, and one will allow you to stay in your mess. 358 00:22:36,183 --> 00:22:39,437 That's what it will do. You'll feel bad about the mess, but you'll stay in 359 00:22:39,470 --> 00:22:43,308 it. The warning 360 00:22:43,388 --> 00:22:46,982 protects. It says, if you are coming for them, you are coming 361 00:22:47,095 --> 00:22:50,545 through me. I like that a lot. 362 00:22:51,423 --> 00:22:54,994 Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have 363 00:22:54,994 --> 00:22:58,565 summoned you by name. You are mine. You are 364 00:22:58,565 --> 00:23:01,524 his. You are his. And he is fiercely 365 00:23:01,524 --> 00:23:04,993 protective of you. He will speak to you in 366 00:23:04,993 --> 00:23:08,666 family, in communication. He will speak to 367 00:23:08,666 --> 00:23:12,444 you in warning. He will speak to you to let you know that 368 00:23:12,444 --> 00:23:15,561 he is still in charge of this situation. 369 00:23:16,155 --> 00:23:19,899 He is still speaking. And if I get the worship team to come 370 00:23:19,996 --> 00:23:23,587 out, there is one more roar. If he's speaking in victory, 371 00:23:24,116 --> 00:23:27,723 Or is he speaking in communication? He speaks in dominion to 372 00:23:27,723 --> 00:23:31,522 establish, I am still in charge. I am still over you 373 00:23:31,971 --> 00:23:35,594 and over this situation. And the final one that we 374 00:23:35,594 --> 00:23:38,769 find in the roar is a roar of final victory. 375 00:23:39,923 --> 00:23:43,626 There's a roar that a lion has that sounds like no other roar, 376 00:23:44,251 --> 00:23:47,650 but it's a roar of final victory. I wanna pull up 377 00:23:47,650 --> 00:23:49,349 some scripture for you. 378 00:23:52,228 --> 00:23:56,039 Amen. If you are in the middle of a hard place, 379 00:23:56,055 --> 00:23:59,826 if you are in the middle of a place, know this: God always 380 00:23:59,858 --> 00:24:03,366 finishes what he starts. He always finishes the work, 381 00:24:03,641 --> 00:24:06,632 whatever that looks like. And it may not look like you think it's going to. 382 00:24:06,971 --> 00:24:09,705 It may not look like I think it's going to. But he will finish the 383 00:24:09,705 --> 00:24:13,508 work in such a way that beauty will come from ashes. He will 384 00:24:13,524 --> 00:24:17,164 finish it in such a way That His Bride is covered 385 00:24:17,505 --> 00:24:18,221 and blessed. 386 00:24:22,502 --> 00:24:25,048 It says this, after the battle, 387 00:24:26,690 --> 00:24:30,462 the lion roars to announce to family that the threat has been 388 00:24:30,575 --> 00:24:33,267 overcome and the battle is finished, 389 00:24:33,944 --> 00:24:36,318 inviting them to come and eat. 390 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,313 Inviting them to To come and eat. 391 00:24:43,432 --> 00:24:47,211 Doesn't that sound familiar? To 392 00:24:47,211 --> 00:24:50,615 know what He has done, the battle 393 00:24:51,213 --> 00:24:54,698 that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has waged, to 394 00:24:54,924 --> 00:24:58,596 understand that there is a final victory 395 00:24:59,109 --> 00:25:02,587 roar. This is what the scripture says in 396 00:25:02,587 --> 00:25:03,686 Revelation 5. 397 00:25:07,939 --> 00:25:11,703 Beginning with verse 1. Then I saw 398 00:25:11,832 --> 00:25:15,419 in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing 399 00:25:15,532 --> 00:25:19,035 on both sides and sealed with 7 seals. And I saw a 400 00:25:19,035 --> 00:25:22,697 mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, who is 401 00:25:22,874 --> 00:25:26,650 worthy to break the seals and open the scroll? But no one 402 00:25:26,666 --> 00:25:30,367 in heaven or on earth or under the earth 403 00:25:31,111 --> 00:25:34,489 could open the scroll or even look inside it. And I wept 404 00:25:35,198 --> 00:25:38,642 And I wept because no one was found. 405 00:25:39,401 --> 00:25:43,233 No one was found who was worthy to open the scroll 406 00:25:44,025 --> 00:25:47,686 or to look inside. Then one of the elders said to 407 00:25:47,718 --> 00:25:51,264 me, do not weep. Do 408 00:25:51,264 --> 00:25:54,352 not weep. The Lion 409 00:25:55,356 --> 00:25:59,144 of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, 410 00:25:59,419 --> 00:26:02,967 has triumphed. He is able to open The scroll 411 00:26:03,830 --> 00:26:05,100 and its 7 seals. 412 00:26:08,403 --> 00:26:09,508 And you know, you would think, 413 00:26:12,378 --> 00:26:15,886 you would think when somebody says, behold the Lion 414 00:26:16,646 --> 00:26:20,268 of the tribe of Judah, you would have thought that, that, that 415 00:26:20,268 --> 00:26:24,086 John would have turned around and seen this magnificent 416 00:26:24,086 --> 00:26:26,968 lion, but that's not what it says. 417 00:26:29,228 --> 00:26:33,023 He is able to open the scroll and its 7 seals. And then 418 00:26:33,023 --> 00:26:36,834 when he turned, it says, then I saw a Lamb 419 00:26:37,992 --> 00:26:41,743 looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, 420 00:26:42,515 --> 00:26:46,267 encircled by the 4 living creatures and the elders. 421 00:26:51,145 --> 00:26:54,949 See, the Lion becomes the Lamb. The 422 00:26:54,949 --> 00:26:58,430 lion roars and he sends his message to us. He communicates 423 00:26:58,814 --> 00:27:02,632 to his family day in and day out. He is 424 00:27:02,664 --> 00:27:06,417 speaking. He is instructing. He is allowing us to orient 425 00:27:06,417 --> 00:27:09,929 ourselves to his truth, to his Word. He is 426 00:27:09,961 --> 00:27:13,778 speaking to us if we will listen to him. He is speaking 427 00:27:13,891 --> 00:27:17,628 to us about just the communication and 428 00:27:17,724 --> 00:27:21,477 drawing us in. He's letting us know that, hey, listen, 429 00:27:21,493 --> 00:27:24,658 I know this is hard. I know that this is a 430 00:27:25,081 --> 00:27:28,659 painful season. I know what you're going through, but you know what? I'm 431 00:27:28,659 --> 00:27:32,270 still here. I am still over you. 432 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:36,131 I'm still sovereign, and I am still strong enough to 433 00:27:36,131 --> 00:27:39,393 take on all comers. He is faithful, 434 00:27:40,088 --> 00:27:43,833 and He is good, and He has not changed. He has not 435 00:27:44,124 --> 00:27:47,709 changed. The lion 436 00:27:47,890 --> 00:27:51,422 roars in communication and dominion, and Amen! Guys, He 437 00:27:51,422 --> 00:27:54,957 has roared in victory! He has 438 00:27:55,070 --> 00:27:58,477 roared in victory! And the roar sounded like, 439 00:28:00,176 --> 00:28:03,741 it is finished! 440 00:28:05,338 --> 00:28:08,661 It is finished! The 441 00:28:08,661 --> 00:28:11,332 roar of the Lion of the 442 00:28:11,332 --> 00:28:15,035 tribe of Judah! We'll hear it again. 443 00:28:15,620 --> 00:28:18,890 We'll hear it again. Amen. But we're listening for it now. 444 00:28:19,516 --> 00:28:23,227 Listening for it now. I have asked Jonathan and them, we're going to go back 445 00:28:24,174 --> 00:28:27,788 to the beginning. We are going to— you know, 446 00:28:27,869 --> 00:28:31,659 it just seems appropriate that deserts and lions and Egypt 447 00:28:31,659 --> 00:28:35,305 would go together. And the way that he draws, it's 448 00:28:35,354 --> 00:28:39,064 still in my spirit for us to worship through. It's still in my 449 00:28:39,112 --> 00:28:42,918 spirit to end in worship and to worship To worship 450 00:28:42,966 --> 00:28:46,671 anyway. To worship anyway as we are navigating our 451 00:28:46,735 --> 00:28:50,455 way through waters. And guys, I do remind you that when this is 452 00:28:50,455 --> 00:28:54,270 said and done, we're gonna worship. If you wanna join us down here, 453 00:28:54,270 --> 00:28:57,947 we're gonna worship. And then those who are gonna be baptized or 454 00:28:57,947 --> 00:29:01,762 get filled for baptism, if you'll go through those doors and join. 455 00:29:01,762 --> 00:29:05,576 Father, I thank you so much. Thank you so much for your Word. I thank 456 00:29:05,576 --> 00:29:08,903 you for your truth. I thank you, Father, that you are still 457 00:29:08,903 --> 00:29:12,647 speaking, that you are still roaring. Father, and we long for the 458 00:29:12,647 --> 00:29:16,115 roar of the Lion of Judah to direct us, to orient us, to draw us 459 00:29:16,115 --> 00:29:19,452 back toward you. We bless you and we thank you in Jesus' 460 00:29:19,565 --> 00:29:23,405 name. Bless your name. Would you stand? And those who wanna 461 00:29:23,405 --> 00:29:26,329 worship, if you would just come down, we're gonna worship for a minute.