1 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,320 I was telling them in first gathering, in first service, 2 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:14,480 I could just sit and listen to Michael and just 3 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,680 go exactly where you need to go in your spirit to worship because 4 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:22,440 of what he carries. So I'm just going to ask you to play 5 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:25,440 for just a second while I share that with him. 6 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,910 I will exalt you, my God, the King. 7 00:00:32,860 --> 00:00:36,700 I will praise your name forever and ever. Every 8 00:00:36,700 --> 00:00:40,420 day I will praise you and extol 9 00:00:40,420 --> 00:00:43,940 your name. Great is the Lord and most worthy of 10 00:00:43,940 --> 00:00:47,180 praise. His greatness. No one can fathom. One 11 00:00:47,180 --> 00:00:50,940 generation will commend your works to another. They will tell 12 00:00:50,940 --> 00:00:54,540 of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious 13 00:00:54,540 --> 00:00:58,300 splendor of your majesty. And I 14 00:00:58,620 --> 00:01:02,380 will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell 15 00:01:02,380 --> 00:01:05,640 of the power of your awesome. And I will proclaim 16 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:09,720 your great deeds. They will celebrate your 17 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,400 abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. 18 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,360 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, 19 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:20,600 slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all. 20 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,200 He has compassion on all he has made. 21 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,760 All you have made will 22 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:32,560 praise you, O Lord. Your saints will extol you. They will tell of 23 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,710 the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might 24 00:01:36,420 --> 00:01:39,780 so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the 25 00:01:39,780 --> 00:01:42,740 glorious splendor of your kingdom. 26 00:01:43,460 --> 00:01:46,820 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and your 27 00:01:46,820 --> 00:01:49,620 dominion endures through all generations. 28 00:01:50,420 --> 00:01:54,180 His kingdom. His kingdom. The Lord is 29 00:01:54,180 --> 00:01:58,020 faithful to all his promises and loving toward all 30 00:01:58,020 --> 00:02:01,700 he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall 31 00:02:02,020 --> 00:02:05,820 and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of 32 00:02:05,820 --> 00:02:09,480 all look to you and you give them their food 33 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:12,960 at the proper time. You open your hand 34 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,120 and satisfy the desires of every living creature. 35 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:21,440 The Lord is righteous in all his ways 36 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,960 and loving toward all that he has made. 37 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:29,440 The Lord is near to all who call on 38 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:33,080 him. To all who call on Him. In truth, he fulfills the 39 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,680 desires of those who fear him. He hears their cries and 40 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,380 saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him. 41 00:02:40,380 --> 00:02:44,140 And all the wicked he will destroy. But my mouth. 42 00:02:44,780 --> 00:02:47,660 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. 43 00:02:48,300 --> 00:02:51,900 Let every creature praise his holy name 44 00:02:52,220 --> 00:02:55,940 forever and ever and ever and 45 00:02:55,940 --> 00:02:59,660 ever and ever. And that is why we are 46 00:02:59,660 --> 00:03:03,100 here this morning. We have come to worship 47 00:03:03,180 --> 00:03:06,540 a holy God. That's why I'm here. 48 00:03:06,780 --> 00:03:10,380 Thank you, Michael. Father. God, I thank you so much. 49 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,800 You know how to recenter us. You know how 50 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,680 to bring us back to what is important. You etched it through the 51 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:23,320 pages of eternity, Lord. And you released it to us. 52 00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:27,320 This is about you, Father. May it always be 53 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,440 about you. We love you, God. And 54 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:34,960 we Will sing of your great love and your greatness and your 55 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,720 goodness and the way that you open your hands. We will speak 56 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:42,340 of your kingdom, God, because it all belongs to 57 00:03:42,570 --> 00:03:46,330 to you. Thank you Lord for letting us be in your field for a 58 00:03:46,330 --> 00:03:50,130 while. We will bless you and give you all of the glory. Let my stuff 59 00:03:50,130 --> 00:03:53,810 fall and your stand in Jesus name. And 60 00:03:53,810 --> 00:03:57,490 the people said, amen. God 61 00:03:57,490 --> 00:04:00,770 is so faithful. God is so 62 00:04:00,770 --> 00:04:04,610 faithful. You know, I don't think any of us plan to 63 00:04:04,610 --> 00:04:08,130 be here like this. The last two weeks have been very 64 00:04:08,130 --> 00:04:09,800 interesting and 65 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,560 I've had my own struggles, I'll be honest. But this is 66 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:19,360 what I know. This is what I know. God is 67 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:23,080 good. God is good and he is faithful. 68 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:26,960 They just said he opens his hand and satisfies the 69 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,600 desires of every living creature. God is good. And 70 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,240 nothing changes that. Nothing changes that. Ro and 71 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,240 Kai, our five year old grandson, walked into the. 72 00:04:38,210 --> 00:04:41,890 Hal and I were sitting on the porch and Rowan walks in. He and 73 00:04:41,890 --> 00:04:45,330 Nora are playing in the grass and Hal and I are talking 74 00:04:45,570 --> 00:04:48,770 and Rowan walks up on the step up on the porch and he goes, 75 00:04:49,010 --> 00:04:52,850 hey, good news. The bees 76 00:04:52,850 --> 00:04:54,690 have pollinated your front yard. 77 00:04:58,530 --> 00:05:02,370 And he said, that's always a good thing. Listen, 78 00:05:02,530 --> 00:05:05,830 good news is anything that comes through his hand. Amen. 79 00:05:06,390 --> 00:05:10,230 Anything that comes through his hand is good news. So good 80 00:05:10,230 --> 00:05:13,910 news, the bees are pollinating your front yard right now as 81 00:05:13,910 --> 00:05:17,510 you speak. Because you know what? The work of God continues. 82 00:05:17,910 --> 00:05:21,350 It's his kingdom, it's his field. And I'm so 83 00:05:21,350 --> 00:05:24,870 grateful for that. Do you know how much pressure that takes off? 84 00:05:24,950 --> 00:05:26,070 You have no idea. 85 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,200 You know, when I took this job about 86 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:37,120 25 years ago, however long, and 87 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,760 God, yours is kind of like dogs. I think I've been here two centuries. 88 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,320 But anyway, I knew 89 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,520 what the Lord had assigned me to do. Hal and I both felt that the 90 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:52,080 Lord had called us to hold up Pastor Ronnie's arms and support 91 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:55,680 him as he carried out the ministry that the Lord had given him. And 92 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:59,400 I was 110% certain that I 93 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:03,020 was going to leave when past Ronnie retired. And I told 94 00:06:03,020 --> 00:06:06,220 Pastor Ronnie that for the last 10 years that I served with him. 95 00:06:06,620 --> 00:06:10,380 And when Pastor Kevin came into this position, 96 00:06:12,780 --> 00:06:16,140 I actually started to pray 97 00:06:16,620 --> 00:06:19,740 and felt like the Lord told me to stay. 98 00:06:20,220 --> 00:06:23,260 And Hal felt that too, that we were to stay and we were to support 99 00:06:23,260 --> 00:06:27,020 Pastor Kevin. And I went to Pastor Ronnie and I said, pastor 100 00:06:27,020 --> 00:06:30,060 Ronnie, I've lied to you the last 10 years. And 101 00:06:30,780 --> 00:06:34,600 because I told you I was go when you left. And 102 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,720 that was my heart's desire in all honesty, And I said, but 103 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,440 I believe the Lord's told me to stay. And he went. I 104 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:46,200 knew that. He said, the first 105 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,480 time you told me you were leaving, I knew you hadn't prayed about it. 106 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:56,760 Oh, that gift of discernment can come back to bite you from time to time. 107 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:01,400 And. And, you know, so it didn't end with Pastor Ronnie the way 108 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:04,800 that I expected. And when I began to serve with Pastor 109 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:08,080 Kevin, I thought I knew how that would end. And this was not it, 110 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:12,880 because I'm 61 years old, and 111 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:17,240 I know. I just made the 112 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,960 assumption. Boy, you get in trouble when you assume anything with God, isn't it? Except 113 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:24,760 for his goodness. And so my assumption and, you know, to share with Kevin, 114 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:28,590 you know, my heart's desire is to pour 115 00:07:28,590 --> 00:07:31,670 into this house. As long as you have me, pour into this house. And then 116 00:07:31,750 --> 00:07:34,670 when it's time for me to go, my prayer would be that the Lord would 117 00:07:34,670 --> 00:07:38,350 raise up somebody behind me to serve and lift your hands and all of 118 00:07:38,350 --> 00:07:42,070 those things. But see, that was my plan. 119 00:07:42,870 --> 00:07:46,310 And at some point, God has to giggle, you know, 120 00:07:46,550 --> 00:07:50,230 don't you think? God has to go, I so trust him, guys. 121 00:07:50,230 --> 00:07:53,790 I just trust him. I just trust him. And it 122 00:07:53,790 --> 00:07:57,270 didn't seem like I trusted him as I was weeping and wailing in my car 123 00:07:57,270 --> 00:08:00,950 driving home the other night. And the Lord just began to minister 124 00:08:01,030 --> 00:08:03,830 to me. God is still present, 125 00:08:04,710 --> 00:08:08,230 and he is still worthy. God is present, 126 00:08:08,390 --> 00:08:12,150 and he is worthy. He hasn't changed his mind. 127 00:08:12,630 --> 00:08:16,470 And I said, lord, what do I do? God, 128 00:08:16,470 --> 00:08:20,270 what do I do there? I've got about 100 voices coming at me 129 00:08:20,270 --> 00:08:23,790 right now, things I should do or shouldn't do or should be or, this is 130 00:08:23,790 --> 00:08:27,010 a good idea. And why did you ever do that? And I'm like, lord, what 131 00:08:27,010 --> 00:08:30,610 do I do here? And he took me back. See, the Lord taught me to 132 00:08:30,610 --> 00:08:34,450 dig wells a long time ago in the Spirit. And 133 00:08:34,450 --> 00:08:37,650 so he took me back to my first well. And my first well that he 134 00:08:37,650 --> 00:08:41,369 taught me to cultivate in my life was this. Seek 135 00:08:41,369 --> 00:08:44,450 the Lord, trust the Lord, obey the Lord, 136 00:08:45,490 --> 00:08:49,130 seek the Lord, trust the Lord, obey the 137 00:08:49,130 --> 00:08:52,210 Lord. And I wasn't in any of those categories. In my car that day, 138 00:08:54,370 --> 00:08:56,770 I was in Lamentations. And 139 00:08:59,490 --> 00:09:01,170 he said, pick another book. 140 00:09:04,770 --> 00:09:07,650 Seek the Lord, trust the Lord, 141 00:09:08,290 --> 00:09:11,970 obey the. Is that not the most simple thing you've ever heard? 142 00:09:12,290 --> 00:09:16,090 It's easy to read, it's hard to do, but it is 143 00:09:16,090 --> 00:09:19,800 the truth. And that's the first well he allowed 144 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,360 me, even as a child, to learn. Okay, Lord, if I will seek you 145 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,280 If I will find you in your truth and dig 146 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:31,360 myself into that place in you, I will come to a 147 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,040 place that I can trust you. No matter what. No matter what. 148 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:39,160 And when I can trust you, Lord, I can be set free to 149 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:42,480 obey you. And see, that's my heart for this body, 150 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:46,330 always has been. That we would seek him, 151 00:09:47,050 --> 00:09:50,770 that we would trust him, and that we would obey him. Because 152 00:09:50,770 --> 00:09:54,610 it's about Him. It's not about who's standing on the 153 00:09:54,610 --> 00:09:58,410 platform. It's not about me. It was never about Pastor Ronnie, and it wasn't 154 00:09:58,410 --> 00:10:02,050 about Pastor Kevin. It's not about the elders. It's not about any of it. 155 00:10:02,050 --> 00:10:05,770 It's about him. It is about him. And you know 156 00:10:05,770 --> 00:10:08,930 what gave me great comfort? I'm like, lord, this was an un. You did not 157 00:10:08,930 --> 00:10:12,620 tell me this was coming. All the days 158 00:10:12,620 --> 00:10:16,180 ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 159 00:10:16,180 --> 00:10:19,900 Even the unexpected ones. All of the days ordained for 160 00:10:19,900 --> 00:10:22,420 you were written in his book 161 00:10:25,700 --> 00:10:29,020 before they happened. Here's the thing. God is never surprised, 162 00:10:29,020 --> 00:10:32,100 confounded, caught off guard, or taken aback by our circumstances. 163 00:10:33,380 --> 00:10:37,220 I do not see anywhere in the Word, or would it be consistent 164 00:10:37,220 --> 00:10:40,940 with the Lord's character for him to go? Man, I did not see that coming. 165 00:10:42,780 --> 00:10:46,540 Uh, we might not have seen it, but not only 166 00:10:46,540 --> 00:10:50,340 did he see it, he prepared us for it. Do 167 00:10:50,340 --> 00:10:52,940 you know how many amazing pastors you have in this house? 168 00:10:54,140 --> 00:10:57,900 Let's see. Pastor Will. I'm so scared to do this because I'll miss 169 00:10:57,900 --> 00:11:01,660 somebody, and there'll be somebody new standing up here 170 00:11:01,660 --> 00:11:02,220 next week. 171 00:11:09,250 --> 00:11:12,610 Seriously, man, there's, like, nine of us. You are 172 00:11:12,610 --> 00:11:16,410 surrounded. If God didn't have you surrounded. Well, if God didn't have you surrounded, 173 00:11:16,410 --> 00:11:19,970 there would be no need for the nine. He's got you. 174 00:11:20,450 --> 00:11:23,410 Pastor Will. Pastor Jonathan, Pastor Allen, Pastor 175 00:11:23,650 --> 00:11:27,410 Justin, Pastor Carol, Pastor Doug, 176 00:11:27,810 --> 00:11:31,490 Pastor Robert. I mean, all of them. If I missed 177 00:11:31,490 --> 00:11:34,530 you, please just stand up and shout. Do it now in front of everybody. Go 178 00:11:34,530 --> 00:11:34,810 ahead, 179 00:11:46,730 --> 00:11:48,010 Pastor kurt. 180 00:11:52,970 --> 00:11:54,410 Oh, Lord, help us. 181 00:11:56,980 --> 00:12:00,620 I appreciate your boldness, my brother. I 182 00:12:00,620 --> 00:12:04,100 love that, though all the days ordained for us were written in his 183 00:12:04,100 --> 00:12:07,780 book. And so, as I decided to start moving out of 184 00:12:07,780 --> 00:12:11,220 Lamentations, I was like, lord, what do I do? 185 00:12:11,700 --> 00:12:15,260 God, what do I do? Because I don't have answers on all of this. The 186 00:12:15,260 --> 00:12:18,940 Lord has given me great vision for about three weeks going 187 00:12:18,940 --> 00:12:22,700 forward, and then I'm trusting him for the next one. Okay, but he's good. But 188 00:12:22,700 --> 00:12:26,480 you know what he said about this? This next, like, two to three weeks 189 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,320 is this worship anyway. 190 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,640 Worship Anyway, when he gave that to me in the car, 191 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:37,280 my first thought was, I gotta get a T shirt. 192 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:43,320 Did you know that this is a thing? Did y' all know this? I went 193 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:47,000 to look for a T shirt. And it's a whole webpage. I can buy a 194 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,120 30 by 60 flag if I want to 195 00:12:51,190 --> 00:12:54,710 that says worship anyway. And that is my heart, 196 00:12:54,870 --> 00:12:58,390 guys. It should never be about a human. It's about 197 00:12:58,390 --> 00:13:02,070 him. And he is worthy. He is 198 00:13:02,150 --> 00:13:05,870 worthy for us to anchor ourselves in worship and get to 199 00:13:05,870 --> 00:13:09,030 the other side of this, whatever that looks like. Worship 200 00:13:09,270 --> 00:13:12,750 anyway. And you know what else? And guys, I'm just taking you down this path 201 00:13:12,750 --> 00:13:15,590 and trying to be as transparent as I know to be. Cause that's all I've 202 00:13:15,590 --> 00:13:19,320 ever known to do with you all. And. And I just want 203 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:23,120 to be honest. And so as I was, you know, struggling my way through it, 204 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,440 Lord, you know. Cause what are you going to do about this? How are you 205 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:28,960 going to fix this? What are you going to do about this? And you know 206 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:32,000 what he said? I love when the Holy Spirit speaks. So 207 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:36,040 shepherds do not own the field. They merely tended under the direction 208 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:36,880 of the owner. 209 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:44,000 We don't own it. I'm basically working a 7 11. 210 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,760 And if you've got problems, I'm going to refer 211 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:48,880 you to the owner. 212 00:13:51,870 --> 00:13:54,590 I'm like, you're gonna need to see the owner about that. 213 00:13:57,230 --> 00:14:00,270 I have such peace in that, because I know the owner, 214 00:14:00,910 --> 00:14:04,350 and he is good, he is faithful, 215 00:14:04,670 --> 00:14:08,510 and he has never, ever, one time in 61 years 216 00:14:08,510 --> 00:14:11,950 let me down. Not one time. And I don't expect him to. 217 00:14:12,430 --> 00:14:16,270 That's just who he is. He's that good. And not only is he good, 218 00:14:16,270 --> 00:14:19,970 he knows how to humble you, too. If the field's. If this was not 219 00:14:19,970 --> 00:14:23,610 enough, I said, lord, you know, what if I need to do 220 00:14:23,610 --> 00:14:27,330 this? Or, lord, what if I need to do that? Oh, my gosh, 221 00:14:27,570 --> 00:14:31,370 guys, the word cracks me up in the way 222 00:14:31,370 --> 00:14:35,010 that it just pierces straight to the heart. And I said, lord, you know, 223 00:14:35,650 --> 00:14:39,330 what do you need of me? And here's his answer. I have no 224 00:14:39,330 --> 00:14:43,170 need of a bull from your stall or goats 225 00:14:43,170 --> 00:14:47,010 from your pens. For every animal of the forest is mine. And the 226 00:14:47,010 --> 00:14:50,800 cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains. 227 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:54,000 And everything that moves in the field is mine. For the world is mine and 228 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:57,640 everything in it. I am going to use that so 229 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,200 often. I have no need 230 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:04,320 of a cow from your stalls. 231 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:10,440 We don't have anything to offer him that he 232 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:13,800 doesn't already have. But he gives us the Privilege of 233 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:17,400 bringing our worship, of participating in what he is 234 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:21,000 doing in the earth. That's what I want. I want a 235 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,480 sovereign God who needs nothing from me, but 236 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:28,200 allows me to be able to work in his field. Allows me 237 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:31,680 to walk with his sheep in the pasture. And if that isn't enough, 238 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:36,400 know that the Lord himself is God. It is 239 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,920 he who has made us, and not we ourselves. We are his 240 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:43,200 people and the sheep of whose pasture 241 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:47,790 His. It's all His. It's all his that 242 00:15:47,790 --> 00:15:51,470 should bring us great peace. Actually, I was real peaceful about 243 00:15:51,470 --> 00:15:54,710 that until Pastor Jonathan shared last week that sheep are flammable. 244 00:15:59,270 --> 00:16:02,790 And I'm having to ponder that one a little bit. But you know what? 245 00:16:02,950 --> 00:16:06,470 We are. And I've seen a few fires in the last two weeks. 246 00:16:07,510 --> 00:16:11,230 Cause sheep are flammable, but the 247 00:16:11,230 --> 00:16:14,000 owner of the field isn't. He is fire. 248 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,920 He is. He is sovereign and he is good. So 249 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,000 here, say this with me. His field, 250 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:26,080 his sheep. Isn't that peace inducing? 251 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:30,720 His field, his sheep. And let me tell you 252 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,560 something. He is not an absentee owner. He just 253 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:38,200 isn't. He isn't an absentee owner. His word 254 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:41,570 tells me this. I will never leave you 255 00:16:41,890 --> 00:16:45,490 or forsake you. He will never leave us 256 00:16:45,810 --> 00:16:48,610 or forsake us. Elvis has not left the building. 257 00:16:50,210 --> 00:16:54,010 I mean, seriously, we sometimes. It's 258 00:16:54,010 --> 00:16:57,170 just one of the things the Lord told me many years ago 259 00:16:57,570 --> 00:17:00,930 was if it ever becomes about you, I will remove you. 260 00:17:02,130 --> 00:17:05,370 And I pray that he does. I pray that 261 00:17:05,370 --> 00:17:08,720 anybody, if it ever becomes about anybody or 262 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,680 anything other than him, that the Lord would just 263 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:15,200 watch over his church, cover his church, 264 00:17:16,320 --> 00:17:20,040 minister to his church, regardless. Because it 265 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,840 can never be about anything but that. Now I had a couple people 266 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:27,560 going. I'm really struggling to, you know, sense God's 267 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,320 presence. Doesn't matter if you sense his presence. 268 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:35,300 Presence is not about a feeling. It is a promise. I will 269 00:17:35,300 --> 00:17:38,820 never leave you or forsake you. And he took me to the best passage of 270 00:17:38,820 --> 00:17:42,300 scripture. After the last one, are you looking forward to the next one? 271 00:17:43,340 --> 00:17:47,020 The sheep and pins and bulls and things. I love that. The 272 00:17:47,020 --> 00:17:50,860 Lord took me to this passage and I know it's familiar. The King Nebuchadnezzar 273 00:17:50,860 --> 00:17:54,500 leapt to his feet. Did we not cast three men bound into the 274 00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:57,660 midst of the fire? I see four men loose 275 00:17:57,900 --> 00:18:01,500 walking in the midst of the fire and they are not hurt. And the form 276 00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:05,100 of the fourth is like the Son of God. We have read that passage. We 277 00:18:05,100 --> 00:18:08,800 know that story. Ch. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they were told that 278 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:12,640 they would bow to the king, and they refused to bow to 279 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:16,440 the king. And so the king had the furnace heated up 280 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,720 just all so powerfully that even the men that were 281 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:24,560 taking them up there were killed. You know, died because of the heat 282 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:28,280 of the flames. And so they throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 283 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:32,080 into that fire. And this is what happens after a 284 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:35,400 period of time. King Nebuchadnezzar, he looks in and he 285 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,000 sees four men walking in that 286 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,640 fire. They are loose and walking in the midst of it. 287 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:47,640 And for some reason, it just struck 288 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,800 me, nowhere in scripture, 289 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:54,880 nowhere does it tell us that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 290 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,480 saw him. Nowhere does it. They. 291 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:03,420 I'm making some suppositions here, but like if you were thrown in a fire and 292 00:19:03,420 --> 00:19:07,260 there was a fourth man in there who loosed you and looked like the Son 293 00:19:07,260 --> 00:19:10,700 of God, don't you think that might be the first thing you said when you 294 00:19:10,700 --> 00:19:14,260 came out? Did any of you see what I saw? 295 00:19:15,060 --> 00:19:18,859 Now, they might have, but that wasn't what they came out with. Or it wasn't 296 00:19:18,859 --> 00:19:22,700 important enough for God to have it put in the Word. Because sometimes you're 297 00:19:22,700 --> 00:19:26,460 not gonna see him. Sometimes you still gotta carry the 298 00:19:26,460 --> 00:19:30,140 testimony of God's goodness and his faithfulness. When you don't 299 00:19:30,140 --> 00:19:32,020 even know he's been walking through it with you, 300 00:19:35,390 --> 00:19:39,030 it doesn't say, I would have told somebody, did you see 301 00:19:39,030 --> 00:19:42,750 him? Did you see him? But God doesn't give 302 00:19:42,750 --> 00:19:46,230 that portion to us. Because sometimes we're called to walk by 303 00:19:46,230 --> 00:19:49,830 faith. Because God's presence is not determined by our 304 00:19:49,830 --> 00:19:53,470 awareness of him, but by his promise to never leave 305 00:19:53,470 --> 00:19:56,990 us. It's his 306 00:19:57,070 --> 00:20:00,200 promise. It all goes back to him. 307 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:04,320 Whether you feel him, whether you see him, whether you're sensing 308 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:08,160 his presence or not, he is here and he is 309 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,800 with you, and he will not leave you. Whether you are at 310 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,440 Springhouse or Lifepoint or wherever it is that 311 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:19,160 God has for you, your assignment is to seek the Lord, 312 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:22,600 to trust the Lord and obey the Lord. That's all. 313 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,680 I believe that would be all that any pastor would ask of you. 314 00:20:27,300 --> 00:20:31,060 Seek the Lord, trust Him and obey Him. That's what we do. 315 00:20:31,780 --> 00:20:34,660 His presence is not a feeling, it is a promise. 316 00:20:35,380 --> 00:20:39,100 And here's something that I think if we can 317 00:20:39,100 --> 00:20:42,500 grab hold of, it is super important. Because sometimes 318 00:20:42,740 --> 00:20:46,180 we so expect the woo hoo moments and, you know, 319 00:20:46,180 --> 00:20:49,740 deliverance from fire moments. But you know what one of the greatest gifts in the 320 00:20:49,740 --> 00:20:52,860 fire was? Sometimes our deliverance looks like 321 00:20:52,860 --> 00:20:56,600 companionship. We want out of our mess, but he wants to 322 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:00,200 walk into the middle of it. God deliver me. 323 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:03,840 This is not what I wanted to do, Lord. This is not where I wanted 324 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:07,560 to be. This is not my decision. Aren't you so glad it wasn't? 325 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:12,160 Aren't you so glad it wasn't? We went out and he could have 326 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:15,680 just delivered the guys out of the fire, but he walked in it with 327 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:19,360 them. He walked in it with them. And I'm so grateful that 328 00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:22,970 we have a God who does that. A famous 329 00:21:22,970 --> 00:21:26,490 philosopher once said, Barbara Jean Price, my 330 00:21:26,490 --> 00:21:29,250 mother. God ain't scared. 331 00:21:32,930 --> 00:21:36,650 God ain't scared of this. He knew it 332 00:21:36,650 --> 00:21:40,450 was coming before we did. He planted our 333 00:21:40,450 --> 00:21:43,170 feet deep in faithful soil. 334 00:21:44,130 --> 00:21:47,890 And he is sovereign and he is good, and God ain't scared 335 00:21:49,410 --> 00:21:52,850 when life shifts and God's presence remains. The 336 00:21:52,850 --> 00:21:56,490 faithfulness of God is not subject to the fluctuations of our 337 00:21:56,490 --> 00:22:00,130 circumstances. It just doesn't. And this is going to. I mean, 338 00:22:00,130 --> 00:22:02,770 I know this is going a little bit quick. I'm just trying to share with 339 00:22:02,770 --> 00:22:06,570 you what he shared with me. Okay? Though the 340 00:22:06,570 --> 00:22:10,410 clouds obscure the view, the sun is still right where it 341 00:22:10,410 --> 00:22:13,860 is supposed to be. He hasn't changed. 342 00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:16,500 Now let me give you the paraphrase of yet another 343 00:22:17,780 --> 00:22:21,620 philosopher, my papaw. It don't matter 344 00:22:21,620 --> 00:22:24,580 what the clouds are doing. The sun's still exactly where it's supposed to be. 345 00:22:29,700 --> 00:22:33,540 It doesn't matter what's going on around us. It does 346 00:22:33,540 --> 00:22:37,340 not matter how distracted we are and how many things that the 347 00:22:37,340 --> 00:22:40,020 enemy would love to get our eyes on instead of what's important. 348 00:22:41,750 --> 00:22:44,390 The sun's still exactly where he's supposed to be. 349 00:22:45,270 --> 00:22:49,030 God is still sovereign and he hadn't changed. 350 00:22:50,070 --> 00:22:53,830 And you know what one of the things about clouds is? They change from day 351 00:22:53,830 --> 00:22:57,190 to day. The sun remains stable. And 352 00:22:57,590 --> 00:23:01,350 he is still worthy. He is still worthy 353 00:23:01,350 --> 00:23:05,150 of worship. He's worthy of praise. And my heart's 354 00:23:05,150 --> 00:23:08,870 desire would be that when we come together, that would be the focus. 355 00:23:09,270 --> 00:23:12,850 To worship him, to exalt him, proclaim 356 00:23:12,850 --> 00:23:16,570 him, to magnify his name, and then to go out and do 357 00:23:16,570 --> 00:23:20,290 it outside the doors, tell people about the goodness of 358 00:23:20,290 --> 00:23:21,810 the Lord and what he's done. 359 00:23:24,610 --> 00:23:28,249 This is the God we serve. For the Lord, your God is the 360 00:23:28,249 --> 00:23:31,970 God of Gods and the Lord of Lords, the great God, mighty 361 00:23:31,970 --> 00:23:35,770 and awesome, who shows no partiality. He defends the cause of 362 00:23:35,770 --> 00:23:39,420 the fatherless and the widow. He is he. He 363 00:23:39,740 --> 00:23:43,500 is your praise. He is your God. Now 364 00:23:43,500 --> 00:23:47,020 to the King, Eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God. 365 00:23:47,180 --> 00:23:50,860 The only God. Be honor and glory forever 366 00:23:51,020 --> 00:23:54,740 and ever. Amen. Then I Heard 367 00:23:54,740 --> 00:23:58,540 every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the 368 00:23:58,540 --> 00:24:02,060 sea and all that is in them, saying to him who 369 00:24:02,060 --> 00:24:05,820 sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be praise and 370 00:24:05,820 --> 00:24:09,230 honor and glory and. And power forever 371 00:24:09,550 --> 00:24:13,390 and ever and ever. We don't worship because our lives 372 00:24:13,390 --> 00:24:15,230 are consistent, but because our God is. 373 00:24:19,390 --> 00:24:23,230 If we're waiting for our lives to have no change, there to be 374 00:24:23,389 --> 00:24:27,030 nothing that's inconsistent in our lives. We gonna be waiting a while. That 375 00:24:27,030 --> 00:24:30,710 sounds like another philosopher. I know we're gonna be waiting 376 00:24:30,710 --> 00:24:34,510 a while. We do not worship because our lives are consistent, but because God 377 00:24:34,510 --> 00:24:38,310 is. And he is worthy. And you 378 00:24:38,310 --> 00:24:42,070 know what else he reminded me of? We're just going down this path. Worship that 379 00:24:42,070 --> 00:24:45,550 depends on blessing is worship that has not yet dropped its anchor into 380 00:24:45,550 --> 00:24:48,990 trust. If you can only worship 381 00:24:49,070 --> 00:24:52,670 when things are good, then there's an issue. Do you know 382 00:24:52,670 --> 00:24:56,270 how much in the last two weeks I have drugged the anchor behind 383 00:24:56,270 --> 00:25:00,030 me? But we're not designed for that weight. 384 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:05,480 Drop that anchor into a place of trust. That 385 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:09,320 says the God that I just read to you about. That's the God 386 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:13,160 we're going after. That is the God who is worthy of worship and 387 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:16,280 praise. That is why we are here. Worship 388 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,520 anchored. Worship says the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. 389 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:24,440 Blessed be the name of the Lord. That's not about Kevin, 390 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:28,440 that's not about me. That's not about Ronnie, and it's not about 391 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,800 you. Whatever comes into your life is a blessing of the lor, 392 00:25:32,420 --> 00:25:36,220 whether you have it or you don't have it. Blessed be the 393 00:25:36,220 --> 00:25:40,020 name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord. 394 00:25:40,020 --> 00:25:43,860 That is the call in my heart. That is what the Lord 395 00:25:45,620 --> 00:25:49,340 has worship just planted in me because that was the 396 00:25:49,340 --> 00:25:52,940 first place I met him as a child. That was the 397 00:25:52,940 --> 00:25:56,780 second well, the second well he allowed me to dig in my 398 00:25:56,780 --> 00:26:00,420 life was to learn to worship him in spite of what was going 399 00:26:00,420 --> 00:26:04,180 on in the world. To go. God, you are good. I don't understand any of. 400 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:07,760 I don't even like any of this. But God, I love you and I know 401 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:10,680 you are good and know that you're going to work this out. I know that 402 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:14,040 you are going to give us beauty for ashes. I know, God, that you are 403 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,440 sovereign and you are faithful and this is your field. 404 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:22,320 May I hear your voice so that I can work it well. 405 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,320 And that's not just for me, guys. That's you. We're all in this field. 406 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:30,400 We are all in this field. Worship team. 407 00:26:31,310 --> 00:26:34,110 Here's another thing I might want to mention to you, we're probably not going to 408 00:26:34,110 --> 00:26:37,830 last until 1230 most of the time. Because I feel like God is 409 00:26:37,830 --> 00:26:40,830 pretty concise. One of the things that I feel like he has birthed in my 410 00:26:40,830 --> 00:26:44,550 spirit is for the next three weeks, I want us to 411 00:26:44,550 --> 00:26:48,390 press in worship. I really do. He allowed me to write a song 412 00:26:48,390 --> 00:26:51,950 this week, and the line in the song that is pivotal for me was, let 413 00:26:51,950 --> 00:26:55,670 worship start its healing. Let worship start its 414 00:26:55,670 --> 00:26:59,380 healing. It worked for David. When David lost his son, and he 415 00:26:59,380 --> 00:27:03,220 mourned, and he threw ashes on his head and he mourned 416 00:27:03,220 --> 00:27:06,740 for a season. But the day came when he had to get up and 417 00:27:06,740 --> 00:27:10,460 wash his face. And his first act was what? Go worship. 418 00:27:11,020 --> 00:27:14,740 Go and worship. And that's what I believe the Lord would have 419 00:27:14,740 --> 00:27:17,980 us plant in for the next three weeks. That's as much as I got, guys. 420 00:27:18,780 --> 00:27:22,620 And we're going to trust him beyond that. But fortunately for you, I 421 00:27:22,620 --> 00:27:23,960 need no bull from your pen. 422 00:27:36,990 --> 00:27:40,030 I have a feeling I'm going to hear that back at me many times. 423 00:27:42,670 --> 00:27:45,870 I told him, I said, that's going to be my quote this week on social 424 00:27:45,950 --> 00:27:49,430 media. It's not unless 425 00:27:49,430 --> 00:27:53,240 Courtney overrides me. But anyway, here's 426 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,960 the thing, guys. True worship remains 427 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,720 anchored in who God is. Who God is. 428 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:05,600 Not on how we feel. Not on how we feel. 429 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:09,040 It's about him because he is present 430 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,360 and he is worthy. He is present 431 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:17,810 and he is worthy. So here's 432 00:28:17,810 --> 00:28:21,610 the thing. Yet another transparent moment. Just 433 00:28:21,610 --> 00:28:25,290 because this is how I work things out with the 434 00:28:25,290 --> 00:28:29,090 Lord, I just said God, I'd really like 435 00:28:29,090 --> 00:28:32,890 to do a fast song at the end of service, but 436 00:28:32,890 --> 00:28:36,090 some people might not be in a fast song kind of place. 437 00:28:37,370 --> 00:28:38,650 And you know what he said? 438 00:28:41,050 --> 00:28:42,250 Worship. Anyway. 439 00:28:48,410 --> 00:28:52,130 Worship. Anyway, so I'm 440 00:28:52,130 --> 00:28:55,810 gonna read you one more passage. And as I'm reading this 441 00:28:55,810 --> 00:28:59,610 passage, I want you to grab it in your spirit 442 00:29:00,650 --> 00:29:03,930 as you make your way toward the altar space. 443 00:29:05,130 --> 00:29:08,930 Cause you know what we're gonna worship through? We're gonna worship 444 00:29:08,930 --> 00:29:10,010 because he's worthy. 445 00:29:13,690 --> 00:29:17,130 The hundred and third Psalm. 446 00:29:21,450 --> 00:29:23,450 Guys, here's your weapon right here. 447 00:29:26,410 --> 00:29:30,130 Praise the Lord. O my soul, all my inmost 448 00:29:30,130 --> 00:29:33,610 being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul. And 449 00:29:33,610 --> 00:29:37,350 forget not all of his benefits, who forgives all your 450 00:29:37,350 --> 00:29:41,190 sins, heals all your diseases, redeems your life from 451 00:29:41,190 --> 00:29:44,990 the pit, crowns you with love and compassion, satisfies 452 00:29:44,990 --> 00:29:48,750 your desires with good things. So. And I need this one so that your 453 00:29:48,750 --> 00:29:52,270 youth is renewed like the eagles. The Lord is 454 00:29:52,510 --> 00:29:56,030 compassionate and gracious, slow to 455 00:29:56,030 --> 00:29:59,670 anger, abounding in love, and he will not always accuse nor will 456 00:29:59,670 --> 00:30:03,470 he harbor his anger forever. He does not treat us as our sin 457 00:30:03,860 --> 00:30:05,460 deserve. Can we hear an amen 458 00:30:07,380 --> 00:30:11,140 or repay us according to our iniquities? For as high as 459 00:30:11,140 --> 00:30:14,820 the heavens are above the earth, so great is 460 00:30:14,820 --> 00:30:18,420 his love for those who fear Him. As far as the east from the 461 00:30:18,420 --> 00:30:22,260 west, so far has he removed our transgressions 462 00:30:22,260 --> 00:30:25,780 from us. As the Father has compassion on his 463 00:30:25,780 --> 00:30:29,220 children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. 464 00:30:29,870 --> 00:30:33,710 Jump down to verse 17. From everlasting to 465 00:30:33,710 --> 00:30:37,470 everlasting. The Lord's love is with those who fear him 466 00:30:37,470 --> 00:30:40,990 and his righteousness with their children's children. 467 00:30:41,150 --> 00:30:44,910 A little further. And his kingdom, his 468 00:30:45,390 --> 00:30:49,030 kingdom. His kingdom rules 469 00:30:49,030 --> 00:30:52,750 over all his kingdom. And so would you join me 470 00:30:52,750 --> 00:30:56,240 and. Can we just worship him for a minute? Because the thing is, is we 471 00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:00,080 got a thousand reasons to worship him and we need to 472 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:03,720 draw from those wells just a little bit and. All right, 473 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:06,360 you, let's go. Let's go.