1 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:09,920 Well, good evening, Springhouse. Can we show our 2 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,360 appreciation for, uh, the cafe tonight for 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,320 preparing a meal for us? And we're glad that you're here to kick 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,960 off Abide 2026, our Springhouse Conference. I'm 5 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,520 so, so delighted to see you guys here. You know, one of the things about 6 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,000 these, um, uh, missions and outreach opportunities 7 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,440 that I love is not only do we support— these are not 8 00:00:31,980 --> 00:00:35,740 These are not just random outreaches that we selected. We 9 00:00:35,740 --> 00:00:39,460 actually trust the men and women behind the mission, but more than that, we trust 10 00:00:39,460 --> 00:00:42,940 the Jesus inside the men and women behind the 11 00:00:42,940 --> 00:00:45,580 outreaches and missions. Now, Sherri and I, we're gonna sow into 12 00:00:46,700 --> 00:00:50,540 every one of the outreaches that are here, gonna be speaking through the conference. 13 00:00:50,700 --> 00:00:54,100 Hal, could you real quick, and I didn't ask you this, I want to instruct 14 00:00:54,100 --> 00:00:57,660 people, how can people give if they wanna sow into this? How can they give? 15 00:00:57,660 --> 00:00:59,140 Can they go on the app and do that? 16 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:11,240 Denote at the bottom? Okay, on the check, or is there a 17 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,080 way on there in the app to denote that? Okay, all right, we'll make 18 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,480 sure to have that cleaned up for sure tomorrow, but if you feel 19 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,440 led to give specifically to these different missions and outreaches 20 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:25,680 as they're sharing, we want to make sure that you have an opportunity 21 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,680 to do that, okay? Praise the Lord! Are you ready for tonight? 22 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,820 Man, the Holy Spirit is He's been doing some things. 23 00:01:33,980 --> 00:01:37,380 And one of the things last night that we had the privilege to do is 24 00:01:37,380 --> 00:01:40,260 we gathered all of our leaders and we were at a table, and the question 25 00:01:40,260 --> 00:01:43,180 was, "What was one of the things that you appreciate about SpringHouse?" 26 00:01:44,860 --> 00:01:48,300 And one of the things that Rhonda actually had mentioned 27 00:01:49,260 --> 00:01:52,780 that she appreciates about SpringHouse is the variety of speakers. Not 28 00:01:52,780 --> 00:01:56,420 variety, just variety of speakers, but that we have multiple gifted and 29 00:01:56,420 --> 00:01:59,780 anointed speakers here at this house that are able to 30 00:01:59,780 --> 00:02:03,490 handle the Word of Truth in the right way. And guys, 31 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:07,560 You guys, we are in for a treat tonight, because Pastor Jonathan doesn't only 32 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,520 carry an anointing for leading worship, but he carries an anointing 33 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,280 in teaching the Word. It's not his favorite thing to do, and 34 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:19,120 it's what makes it more powerful though, because he's going to bring what he 35 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,480 believes he's convicted to bring. Would you guys welcome my— one of my 36 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,720 closest friends, Jonathan Grisham. 37 00:02:33,010 --> 00:02:36,650 One day we'll get one of those tables that lifts 38 00:02:36,650 --> 00:02:40,330 up out of the stage and goes back in when you've 39 00:02:40,330 --> 00:02:41,330 talked for too long. 40 00:02:47,490 --> 00:02:50,930 Good evening. Welcome to night one of 41 00:02:50,930 --> 00:02:54,610 Springhouse Abide Conference. I'll be your host for the evening. 42 00:02:55,090 --> 00:02:58,530 I am grateful for the opportunity to teach. I'm super 43 00:02:58,530 --> 00:03:02,140 thankful that I don't have to follow any of the other 44 00:03:02,300 --> 00:03:05,820 sessions that we have planned. Um, so we'll see. 45 00:03:05,980 --> 00:03:09,500 I think the greatest place to start is reading the word together and 46 00:03:09,500 --> 00:03:13,260 praying together. So if you would please stand with me as we read, 47 00:03:14,380 --> 00:03:17,900 get ready for it. Here we go. I am the 48 00:03:17,900 --> 00:03:21,580 true vine and my Father is the gardener. He 49 00:03:21,580 --> 00:03:24,780 cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit. 50 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,880 While every branch that does bear fruit he prunes 51 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,640 so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already 52 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:36,080 clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 53 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,760 Remain in me, and I also remain in you. 54 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,080 No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must 55 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,920 remain in the vine. Neither can you bear 56 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,450 fruit unless you remain in me. I am the 57 00:03:51,450 --> 00:03:55,210 vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me 58 00:03:55,450 --> 00:03:59,170 and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart 59 00:03:59,170 --> 00:04:02,650 from me you can do nothing. If you do not 60 00:04:02,650 --> 00:04:06,409 remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away 61 00:04:06,409 --> 00:04:09,850 and withers. Such branches are picked up, 62 00:04:10,010 --> 00:04:13,810 thrown into the fire, and burned. If you remain 63 00:04:13,810 --> 00:04:17,660 in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever 64 00:04:17,660 --> 00:04:21,380 you wish, and it will be done for you. This is 65 00:04:21,380 --> 00:04:25,060 to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, 66 00:04:25,380 --> 00:04:29,020 showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the 67 00:04:29,020 --> 00:04:32,500 Father has loved me, so have I loved you. 68 00:04:32,900 --> 00:04:36,660 Now remain in my love. Keep going, come on. If you keep 69 00:04:36,660 --> 00:04:40,420 my commands, you will remain in my love, just 70 00:04:40,420 --> 00:04:44,000 as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in 71 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,800 his love. I have told you this so that my joy may 72 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:51,160 be in you and that your joy may be complete. 73 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,520 My command is this: Love each other as I 74 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,080 have loved you. Greater love has no one than 75 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:02,920 this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. 76 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:06,760 If you are my friends, if you do what I command, 77 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:10,590 I no longer call you servants, because a 78 00:05:10,590 --> 00:05:14,390 servant does not know his master's business. Instead, 79 00:05:14,710 --> 00:05:18,510 I have called you friends, for everything I learned 80 00:05:18,510 --> 00:05:22,190 from my Father I have made known to you. You 81 00:05:22,190 --> 00:05:25,590 did not choose me, but I chose you and 82 00:05:25,669 --> 00:05:29,190 appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, 83 00:05:29,430 --> 00:05:33,030 fruit that will last. Come on! And so that whatever you 84 00:05:33,030 --> 00:05:36,230 ask in my name, the Father will give you. 85 00:05:36,790 --> 00:05:40,430 This is my command: Love each other. If the 86 00:05:40,430 --> 00:05:44,070 world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me 87 00:05:44,070 --> 00:05:47,910 first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you 88 00:05:47,910 --> 00:05:51,550 as its own. As it is, you do not belong 89 00:05:51,550 --> 00:05:55,270 to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. 90 00:05:55,590 --> 00:05:58,790 That is why the world hates you. Almost there. 91 00:05:59,110 --> 00:06:02,910 Remember what I told you: A servant is not greater 92 00:06:02,910 --> 00:06:06,490 than his master. If they persecuted me, they 93 00:06:06,490 --> 00:06:10,010 will persecute you also. If they obeyed my 94 00:06:10,010 --> 00:06:13,730 teaching, they will obey yours also. They will 95 00:06:13,730 --> 00:06:17,490 treat you this way because of my name, for they do 96 00:06:17,490 --> 00:06:21,170 not know the one who sent me. If I had not come 97 00:06:21,170 --> 00:06:24,930 and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin, 98 00:06:25,170 --> 00:06:28,450 but now they have no excuse for their sin. 99 00:06:28,770 --> 00:06:32,290 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 100 00:06:32,860 --> 00:06:36,500 'If I had not done among them the works no one else 101 00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:40,220 did, they would not be guilty of sin. As 102 00:06:40,220 --> 00:06:43,660 it is, they have seen and yet they have hated 103 00:06:43,820 --> 00:06:47,660 both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill 104 00:06:47,660 --> 00:06:51,340 what is written in their law: They hated me without 105 00:06:51,500 --> 00:06:55,300 reason.' Can you do one more? 'When the Advocate 106 00:06:55,300 --> 00:06:58,940 comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—' 107 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:03,160 The Spirit of Truth who goes out from the Father, He 108 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,840 will testify about Me, and you also must 109 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:10,320 testify, for you have been with Me from the 110 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,960 beginning. Father, we thank You for Your Word. 111 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,920 Holy Spirit, I pray that You would help us to 112 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:23,240 calm and quiet the worries we have brought into this place. 113 00:07:25,250 --> 00:07:28,370 Holy Spirit, I pray that you would help me teach with clarity. 114 00:07:29,810 --> 00:07:31,970 Help us all to receive with humility. 115 00:07:35,010 --> 00:07:38,690 Help the greatest, the deepest treasure of our heart be 116 00:07:39,170 --> 00:07:42,570 to glorify you, Jesus. In your name we pray, 117 00:07:42,570 --> 00:07:44,930 amen. Church, you may be seated. 118 00:07:46,530 --> 00:07:50,250 Okay, first thing I want to say, congratulations to all 119 00:07:50,250 --> 00:07:54,000 of you you have completed your Bible reading for 120 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,840 the day. You don't have to worry about it. You've been 121 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:01,320 given a launch pad to continue on with us through the 122 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:04,720 conference and through the rest of the year. And if you've already 123 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:08,560 completed your Bible reading for the day, I guess I'm sorry I 124 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:10,400 made you read more scripture. 125 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:16,520 So I'd like to ask you some questions. I want you to be honest, and 126 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:20,250 I want you to be honest quietly to yourselves if you can. Handle it. 127 00:08:20,810 --> 00:08:24,650 Have you ever wondered why we stand together and 128 00:08:24,650 --> 00:08:28,330 read scripture? At any point 129 00:08:28,330 --> 00:08:32,090 when we were standing and read— reading that, did you think, man, 130 00:08:32,090 --> 00:08:34,650 he's got us reading a lot of verses tonight? 131 00:08:37,130 --> 00:08:39,770 At any point when we were reading that, did you think, 132 00:08:40,730 --> 00:08:44,010 I'd rather be sitting down while we read all these verses tonight? 133 00:08:45,460 --> 00:08:48,900 At any point while we were reading that, did you zone out? 134 00:08:50,980 --> 00:08:54,780 You have no idea what was in the middle there. And, um, if your 135 00:08:54,780 --> 00:08:58,620 answer, uh, was no to all those questions, that's amazing. So let 136 00:08:58,620 --> 00:09:02,020 me expand the parameters a little bit. Have you ever had those 137 00:09:02,020 --> 00:09:05,780 thoughts ever during a service here, or 138 00:09:05,780 --> 00:09:09,580 even while reading scripture at home by yourself? Have you gone from point A 139 00:09:09,580 --> 00:09:13,040 to point B of a passage and just gone, what in the world 140 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,560 did I just read? And I wanted to 141 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:20,360 expand those parameters as far as possible because I think if we're going to 142 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:23,680 feel some conviction about something, let's do it together 143 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,800 in unity. Amen. I will 144 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,480 be the first to answer yes to all those questions. 145 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:35,440 And when I was studying for this message, I spent a whole lot of time 146 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:39,280 in 2 Chronicles and Ezra, Nehemiah, and I, I saw something 147 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,730 familiar to our services and relevant to those 148 00:09:42,730 --> 00:09:46,450 questions. And it caused a new question to stir in me 149 00:09:46,450 --> 00:09:49,410 that I'm kind of hoping stirs in all of you tonight as well. 150 00:09:50,130 --> 00:09:53,490 And before we read it, the context leading up to this is that 151 00:09:53,570 --> 00:09:57,290 God's people had been in exile for over 70 years at this 152 00:09:57,290 --> 00:10:01,090 point. And that time of feeling separated from 153 00:10:01,090 --> 00:10:04,930 God's presence and their homeland created desperation 154 00:10:05,090 --> 00:10:08,850 in them, a desperation to return to a 155 00:10:08,850 --> 00:10:12,570 place of abiding with their Father. And it says when they 156 00:10:12,570 --> 00:10:16,370 came back home, they worked to rebuild themselves as worshipers, worked 157 00:10:16,370 --> 00:10:19,730 to rebuild the temple, which functioned as their 158 00:10:20,050 --> 00:10:23,690 center of worship in hopes that God might come 159 00:10:23,690 --> 00:10:27,250 and abide with them again. And during this process, they 160 00:10:27,250 --> 00:10:30,930 gathered together as an assembly, and they asked Ezra, who 161 00:10:30,930 --> 00:10:34,370 was a scribe and a priest, if he would read the book of the Law 162 00:10:34,370 --> 00:10:37,930 of Moses. And it says that he did this from 163 00:10:37,930 --> 00:10:41,490 early morning until midday for several 164 00:10:41,490 --> 00:10:44,610 days. Talk about a lot of verses. 165 00:10:45,810 --> 00:10:48,450 And here I am struggling to figure out how I'm going to, 166 00:10:49,490 --> 00:10:53,130 uh, find time to do Psalm 119 every time it comes up in our Bible 167 00:10:53,130 --> 00:10:55,890 reading plan. As I read, 168 00:10:56,450 --> 00:10:59,970 uh, read Nehemiah 8:5-6, try to play this out in your mind 169 00:11:00,130 --> 00:11:01,810 like a movie, and I'll put it up here. 170 00:11:03,730 --> 00:11:07,550 Ezra opened the book All 171 00:11:07,550 --> 00:11:10,910 the people could see him because he was standing above them. 172 00:11:11,150 --> 00:11:14,710 Sounds familiar. And as he opened it, the people all 173 00:11:14,710 --> 00:11:18,310 stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great 174 00:11:18,310 --> 00:11:21,550 God, and all the people lifted their hands and responded, 175 00:11:22,030 --> 00:11:25,670 Amen, amen. Then they bowed down and 176 00:11:25,670 --> 00:11:28,430 worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 177 00:11:31,150 --> 00:11:34,900 So that moment in Nehemiah comes after centuries of 178 00:11:35,290 --> 00:11:39,090 Israel drifting from God, engaging in idol 179 00:11:39,090 --> 00:11:42,810 worship and compromise and cultural conformity from being 180 00:11:42,810 --> 00:11:46,610 in exile, as detailed through 2 Chronicles. And but 181 00:11:46,610 --> 00:11:50,170 I imagine it's hard for me not to imagine that at this 182 00:11:50,170 --> 00:11:54,010 moment when they come to the word of God, that 183 00:11:54,010 --> 00:11:57,370 surely they knew it was going to challenge and 184 00:11:57,370 --> 00:12:00,330 uproot their lives as they knew it before. 185 00:12:02,020 --> 00:12:05,620 Yet out of their desperation to abide with God again, 186 00:12:06,340 --> 00:12:10,180 opening the scriptures became a holy moment. 187 00:12:12,100 --> 00:12:15,700 It became something worth standing at attention for 188 00:12:17,300 --> 00:12:21,060 and leaning into and remaining 189 00:12:21,140 --> 00:12:22,340 in for a while 190 00:12:24,660 --> 00:12:28,270 and worth responding in 191 00:12:28,270 --> 00:12:32,070 worship. It was worth bringing their lives into 192 00:12:32,070 --> 00:12:35,870 full submission to the Word of God. Now that I know 193 00:12:35,870 --> 00:12:39,470 that this story exists in Scripture, my question is not, 194 00:12:39,630 --> 00:12:43,070 what can we do in our church services to replicate what they're doing? 195 00:12:43,630 --> 00:12:47,070 My question is not, can we incorporate more and 196 00:12:47,070 --> 00:12:50,270 longer Scripture readings to stretch that muscle a bit? 197 00:12:50,990 --> 00:12:52,590 My question has become, 198 00:12:54,820 --> 00:12:58,660 God, can you help me be 199 00:12:58,660 --> 00:13:01,860 more desperate for your word 200 00:13:02,900 --> 00:13:06,340 and for your presence, more desperate for your 201 00:13:06,420 --> 00:13:10,220 love, and to remain there so 202 00:13:10,220 --> 00:13:13,620 that I will be more capable of responding in worship 203 00:13:14,340 --> 00:13:16,100 in a way that brings you glory? 204 00:13:18,020 --> 00:13:21,860 Romans 12:1-2 says, therefore I urge you, 205 00:13:21,860 --> 00:13:25,480 brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies 206 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:29,320 as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is 207 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,880 your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this 208 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:36,600 world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then 209 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:40,160 you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, 210 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:44,080 pleasing, and perfect will. So Pastor Wayne Berry's 211 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,040 definition of worship is obedient service 212 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:51,200 manifesting through self-sacrifice. I like that definition. 213 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:55,880 It holds up for me over time. And so when I say worship 214 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:59,360 during this teaching, you can think of something like that. Worship is 215 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,880 obedient service manifesting through self-sacrifice. And in 216 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:06,440 Romans 12, I believe Paul is showing us that it's a 217 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:10,160 response of worship. Our response of worship is a response in 218 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,800 obedience to the revelation of God's mercy 219 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:17,800 in our lives. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view 220 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:21,300 of God's mercy Worship. It's a 221 00:14:21,300 --> 00:14:25,100 response. And also likewise in Nehemiah, our 222 00:14:25,100 --> 00:14:28,340 worship is a response, an obedient response to the 223 00:14:28,340 --> 00:14:31,980 revelation of who God has called and 224 00:14:32,060 --> 00:14:35,340 created us to be according to his word. 225 00:14:36,300 --> 00:14:39,980 What they're saying in there is, so be it unto me according 226 00:14:40,060 --> 00:14:43,820 to your word. He has 227 00:14:43,820 --> 00:14:47,240 created us to be transformed vessels with 228 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:50,520 renewed minds and regenerated hearts on a mission 229 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:53,160 to bring Him glory. 230 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:58,680 And what I find fascinating about this story in Nehemiah is we 231 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,360 don't see a people who know the whole book and 232 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:06,160 already have it together and all right. We see a 233 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,360 people working through the book and being 234 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:11,800 diligent to apply what they're learning 235 00:15:13,890 --> 00:15:17,010 Becoming the worshipers God has called us to be 236 00:15:17,490 --> 00:15:21,330 is a process that requires patience, but 237 00:15:21,330 --> 00:15:25,010 it's also a process that demands diligence 238 00:15:25,330 --> 00:15:26,770 and intentionality. 239 00:15:28,850 --> 00:15:32,210 Our primary objective as worshipers is to bring 240 00:15:32,210 --> 00:15:35,890 glory to God. Our primary objective as 241 00:15:35,890 --> 00:15:38,530 worshipers is to bring glory to God. So anytime 242 00:15:39,650 --> 00:15:43,410 we see, or I see, language in scripture that looks like bringing glory 243 00:15:43,410 --> 00:15:46,770 to God, my antennas go up. I want to know about it. 244 00:15:47,170 --> 00:15:49,090 John 15:8 says this: 245 00:15:50,530 --> 00:15:54,130 Abide. This is to my Father's glory, 246 00:15:54,130 --> 00:15:57,450 that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my 247 00:15:57,450 --> 00:16:00,970 disciples. So according to that, the way we bring 248 00:16:00,970 --> 00:16:04,770 glory to God as worshipers is through bearing fruit. And 249 00:16:04,770 --> 00:16:08,570 the way we bear fruit is through abiding, which means remaining. You'll 250 00:16:08,570 --> 00:16:12,250 probably hear this a bunch this weekend— remaining, dwelling 251 00:16:12,250 --> 00:16:16,010 in Jesus, in his word, and in his love. 252 00:16:17,130 --> 00:16:20,649 And I think of fruit as something external. It's something you can 253 00:16:20,649 --> 00:16:24,330 taste and see. Certainly the world around us can 254 00:16:24,330 --> 00:16:27,930 taste and see. And if we aren't remaining in 255 00:16:27,930 --> 00:16:31,530 Jesus, if we aren't remaining in his word, and we aren't remaining in his 256 00:16:31,530 --> 00:16:35,300 love, then the fruit being produced through us won't look 257 00:16:35,300 --> 00:16:39,060 like Jesus. It won't sound like Jesus, and it 258 00:16:39,060 --> 00:16:42,900 won't feel like Jesus. And ultimately, it will not 259 00:16:42,900 --> 00:16:46,700 bring him glory. And I see this as 260 00:16:46,700 --> 00:16:49,700 a problem that exists today in the modern church 261 00:16:51,060 --> 00:16:54,900 in two ways. On both sides here, we have a lot of people, 262 00:16:54,900 --> 00:16:58,420 I feel like, who are in Jesus attempting to 263 00:16:58,420 --> 00:17:02,170 reflect his love to the world. Without the use of biblical 264 00:17:02,170 --> 00:17:05,890 principles found in his word. And on 265 00:17:05,890 --> 00:17:09,450 the other side of that, we have a whole lot of people who are 266 00:17:09,450 --> 00:17:13,170 in Jesus attempting to share the treasure of his 267 00:17:13,170 --> 00:17:15,690 word with the world without love. 268 00:17:17,050 --> 00:17:20,890 So instead of piercing hearts, it looks like getting 269 00:17:20,890 --> 00:17:24,730 beat over the head. Has anyone been on social 270 00:17:24,730 --> 00:17:26,900 media lately? Good. 271 00:17:28,740 --> 00:17:32,340 When our abiding is unbalanced, our worship, 272 00:17:32,420 --> 00:17:35,980 our fruitful output is unbalanced and doesn't 273 00:17:35,980 --> 00:17:39,780 look or function like it should. I heard this story 274 00:17:39,780 --> 00:17:43,300 recently of Charles Spurgeon, the famous preacher, 275 00:17:43,540 --> 00:17:47,220 and he was walking down the street one day and there was a drunk man 276 00:17:47,220 --> 00:17:50,820 across the street who yelled out to him, "Hey, Mr. Spurgeon!" 277 00:17:50,980 --> 00:17:54,460 And he said, 'Who are you?' And 278 00:17:54,700 --> 00:17:58,460 the guy said, 'I'm one of your converts.' And he 279 00:17:58,460 --> 00:18:01,500 says, 'Well, you must be one of mine because you're certainly not one of the 280 00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:02,060 Lord's.' 281 00:18:06,140 --> 00:18:09,340 I didn't say it, Spurgeon did. What? What? What? 282 00:18:11,420 --> 00:18:15,100 Although this man claimed to be in Jesus, the fruit of his 283 00:18:15,100 --> 00:18:18,860 life seemed off. His speech slurred, 284 00:18:18,860 --> 00:18:22,100 his walk stumbled. John 15, 285 00:18:22,500 --> 00:18:25,460 Jesus says, hearing the word has made us clean. 286 00:18:26,980 --> 00:18:30,780 He calls us friends because all that he has heard from his Father he has 287 00:18:30,780 --> 00:18:34,420 made known to us. That tells me that turning and 288 00:18:34,500 --> 00:18:38,100 tuning our ear to the words of our Father 289 00:18:38,740 --> 00:18:40,820 is critical for our worship. 290 00:18:42,980 --> 00:18:46,260 I'm going to put 2 Chronicles 36 up here. 291 00:18:47,620 --> 00:18:51,460 In 2 Chronicles, it says God's people had been turning away from 292 00:18:51,460 --> 00:18:54,740 him and his voice for so long 293 00:18:55,220 --> 00:18:58,420 that it caused this deep suffering in them 294 00:18:59,220 --> 00:19:02,780 and their dwelling place with God at the 295 00:19:02,780 --> 00:19:06,340 temple. And the temple to me represents their center of 296 00:19:06,340 --> 00:19:09,460 worship. And chapter 36 says that out of 297 00:19:09,540 --> 00:19:12,980 compassion that God had— and compassion is not the same 298 00:19:14,020 --> 00:19:17,620 is love. Compassion is being stirred from the deepest place of your 299 00:19:17,620 --> 00:19:21,380 being because you're seeing suffering. So he's seeing suffering in 300 00:19:21,380 --> 00:19:25,220 his people and in his dwelling place that they can't see. And 301 00:19:25,220 --> 00:19:28,780 out of that compassion, he sent messengers 302 00:19:28,780 --> 00:19:32,420 carrying his word over and over to try and restore their 303 00:19:32,420 --> 00:19:36,100 abiding and repair their center of worship. But his messengers 304 00:19:36,100 --> 00:19:36,980 were mocked. 305 00:19:39,870 --> 00:19:43,230 And his word was despised. So the Lord allowed them to be taken 306 00:19:43,550 --> 00:19:47,390 over by the Babylonians, and their temple, their center of 307 00:19:47,390 --> 00:19:50,670 worship, was left in ruins. So their 308 00:19:50,670 --> 00:19:53,230 refusal to remain in God's presence, 309 00:19:54,270 --> 00:19:58,030 their resistance to his word, and their insistence 310 00:19:58,270 --> 00:20:01,070 that they knew better than his word 311 00:20:01,950 --> 00:20:05,630 cost them their entire center of worship. 312 00:20:08,220 --> 00:20:10,380 Sorry, guys. I don't know. 313 00:20:12,700 --> 00:20:16,500 I believe God still speaks today. He 314 00:20:16,500 --> 00:20:20,220 still speaks through His word, and He certainly still speaks 315 00:20:20,220 --> 00:20:23,900 through people who carry deep reservoirs of His 316 00:20:23,900 --> 00:20:27,620 word. Sometimes it looks like encouragement. Sometimes 317 00:20:27,620 --> 00:20:31,220 it looks like correction. And I want to get better 318 00:20:31,220 --> 00:20:34,860 at turning and tuning my ear to His voice 319 00:20:35,100 --> 00:20:38,480 because He may be trying to repair my center of 320 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:42,280 worship and fix a suffering in me that 321 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:46,080 I'm unable to see. There was 322 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:49,400 a time very recently I was going through something very difficult 323 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:53,320 mentally and spiritually, and all I'll say about it is I 324 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:56,840 was going through what I call an intense moment of 325 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:00,680 fellowship with people that I love and respect very much. And I got that 326 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,690 from Mario and Mel Gallione, so you'll know this. A 327 00:21:04,690 --> 00:21:08,410 decade ago, they taught at a marriage conference here, and they said they never 328 00:21:08,410 --> 00:21:12,170 got any fights. They've never been in any arguments, but they've 329 00:21:12,170 --> 00:21:15,770 been in a lot of intense moments of fellowship. And I 330 00:21:15,770 --> 00:21:19,410 thought, I love that lie, and I'm going to take 331 00:21:19,410 --> 00:21:23,170 that. That's amazing. So 332 00:21:23,170 --> 00:21:26,970 during this, these intense moments of fellowship, I would come 333 00:21:26,970 --> 00:21:30,690 home every night and over dinner I would share with my 334 00:21:30,690 --> 00:21:34,250 wife Brittney about my day, what I was going through, what I was struggling 335 00:21:34,250 --> 00:21:37,730 with, uh, the right and wrong of things, all that stuff. And she was very 336 00:21:37,730 --> 00:21:41,370 patient. She was very understanding. Day after day 337 00:21:41,370 --> 00:21:44,810 after day, she was listening to me until eventually 338 00:21:46,730 --> 00:21:50,450 she could see I was starting to shift a little bit. And she said to 339 00:21:50,450 --> 00:21:54,290 me, you know, I think all of this worry and all 340 00:21:54,290 --> 00:21:57,670 of this heaviness that you're carrying is 341 00:21:57,670 --> 00:22:01,270 affecting your peace, and it's 342 00:22:01,270 --> 00:22:05,070 starting to make you critical, and I'm 343 00:22:05,070 --> 00:22:08,750 worried that your worship is going to be affected 344 00:22:08,750 --> 00:22:12,510 from that. And I remember not 345 00:22:12,510 --> 00:22:15,950 caring for that at all when she said that, and 346 00:22:15,950 --> 00:22:19,390 intensely, intensely I said, 347 00:22:19,550 --> 00:22:23,310 what do you mean I don't have peace? I've tried everything I know to be 348 00:22:23,310 --> 00:22:25,870 peaceful. I am peaceful. 349 00:22:27,150 --> 00:22:30,510 I said it like that. I, yeah. On an 350 00:22:30,510 --> 00:22:34,350 unrelated note, a couple nights later, coming 351 00:22:34,350 --> 00:22:37,870 to my wife, this is totally unrelated, and I'm frustrated. 352 00:22:37,950 --> 00:22:41,710 I'm telling her I gotta buy a new pair of shoes because in the last 353 00:22:41,790 --> 00:22:45,470 6 months I've gone through 3 pairs of shoes and 354 00:22:45,470 --> 00:22:49,270 every pair of shoes, the sole had become detached on one of the 355 00:22:49,270 --> 00:22:53,050 pairs of shoes. And I'm just, I'm peacefully 356 00:22:53,050 --> 00:22:56,730 telling her, I want to burn the shoe industry 357 00:22:56,810 --> 00:23:00,610 to the ground because they've got it out for me. I just 358 00:23:00,610 --> 00:23:04,330 know it. And I see this smirk on her face and 359 00:23:04,330 --> 00:23:07,810 I know she's thinking about something. I'm like, and I, you know, what are you 360 00:23:07,810 --> 00:23:11,050 thinking about? And she says to me something that I imagine 361 00:23:11,450 --> 00:23:14,730 every man in here can only dream that his wife would say to him. 362 00:23:14,970 --> 00:23:17,300 She said, You walk funny. 363 00:23:21,060 --> 00:23:24,540 Okay. I was not prepared for that kind of 364 00:23:24,540 --> 00:23:28,180 negativity, I'll tell you that. But it caught me so 365 00:23:28,180 --> 00:23:31,940 off guard, I couldn't even be mad at it. I had to just be 366 00:23:31,940 --> 00:23:35,780 like, what do you mean I walk funny? And she said, 367 00:23:36,020 --> 00:23:39,700 on all 3 of the pairs of shoes, it's your right 368 00:23:40,180 --> 00:23:42,980 shoe that the sole is becoming detached on. 369 00:23:43,970 --> 00:23:46,530 You walk heavy on your right foot, 370 00:23:47,810 --> 00:23:51,330 and I couldn't see it. Then she told me the 371 00:23:51,410 --> 00:23:55,050 reason she can see it is because over a decade ago we were in a 372 00:23:55,050 --> 00:23:58,650 really bad car accident together where she sustained a pretty 373 00:23:58,650 --> 00:24:02,490 bad foot injury that required physical therapy. So she 374 00:24:02,490 --> 00:24:06,050 walked funny at one time, and one of the ways in which they 375 00:24:06,050 --> 00:24:09,870 helped her was as she was walking there, they would push on her 376 00:24:09,870 --> 00:24:13,430 back and they would add pressure in the direction that needed to be 377 00:24:13,430 --> 00:24:16,950 corrected. And absolutely 378 00:24:16,950 --> 00:24:19,990 nothing about what she's saying is registering to me 379 00:24:20,630 --> 00:24:24,310 spiritually at this point. I'm still going through all the 380 00:24:24,310 --> 00:24:28,070 same stuff. So the next day, you know, just 381 00:24:28,070 --> 00:24:30,870 lost in my thoughts, I'm like, well, I need to go on a funny little 382 00:24:30,870 --> 00:24:34,550 walk with God, I guess, and, and just 383 00:24:34,550 --> 00:24:36,070 get alone and get in prayer. 384 00:24:38,370 --> 00:24:42,050 And I get out there and I start praying, and her words, "You walk funny," 385 00:24:42,690 --> 00:24:46,210 just start piercing my heart 386 00:24:46,610 --> 00:24:49,810 and softening it up. And I went, you know, 387 00:24:50,850 --> 00:24:54,330 I feel like I might have been fighting for the right things but in the 388 00:24:54,330 --> 00:24:57,930 wrong way. And I 389 00:24:57,930 --> 00:24:58,770 couldn't see it, 390 00:25:01,570 --> 00:25:05,360 but God sent me a person abiding in Jesus, 391 00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:09,120 abiding in the word, abiding in his love, to be able 392 00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:12,280 to pierce my heart and help me get my heart back on track 393 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:16,120 into that abiding place with Christ and repair 394 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:20,200 my center of worship. And after that, after I 395 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,920 was kind of doing all right, I made the mistake of looking up. I 396 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:27,680 thought, you know, I wonder what shoes and feet represent in the armor of 397 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:31,400 God. And I went to Ephesians 6:15 and it says, 398 00:25:31,980 --> 00:25:35,740 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the 399 00:25:35,740 --> 00:25:38,140 gospel of peace. 400 00:25:39,580 --> 00:25:41,660 I am peaceful, he says. 401 00:25:43,820 --> 00:25:47,220 So spiritually, after that, I started to take 402 00:25:47,220 --> 00:25:49,900 steps to correct my walk. Okay, 403 00:25:50,620 --> 00:25:54,420 physically, I still walk funny. I just do it with 404 00:25:54,420 --> 00:25:58,100 a better pair of shoes. And I was really nervous about sharing this 405 00:25:58,100 --> 00:26:00,420 story because I'm like, people are going to be like, yeah, he does kind of, 406 00:26:00,420 --> 00:26:02,540 you know, or whatever. Don't do that. 407 00:26:03,770 --> 00:26:07,570 Emotionally, I still wonder if there may have been a better way she could 408 00:26:07,570 --> 00:26:11,170 have said that to me. But the deal 409 00:26:11,170 --> 00:26:15,010 is, guys, let me take that 410 00:26:15,010 --> 00:26:18,490 off. The deal is pruning doesn't feel good. 411 00:26:20,650 --> 00:26:24,290 It involves getting cut. It involves getting 412 00:26:24,290 --> 00:26:28,050 cut back and getting rid of what needs to be gotten 413 00:26:28,050 --> 00:26:31,570 rid of. And John 15 guarantees 414 00:26:31,650 --> 00:26:35,370 that fruit-bearing branches will be cut back so 415 00:26:35,370 --> 00:26:38,210 that they can continue on in fruitfulness. 416 00:26:39,250 --> 00:26:42,890 As I was reading through 2 Chronicles, I saw a 417 00:26:42,890 --> 00:26:46,730 pattern over and over again of some kings that would 418 00:26:46,730 --> 00:26:49,530 turn from God, and this was most of the kings. They would turn from God 419 00:26:49,530 --> 00:26:53,330 and they would totally miss it. Then there were some kings who 420 00:26:53,810 --> 00:26:57,610 would be following the Lord for a long time, but like when it mattered most, 421 00:26:57,610 --> 00:27:00,130 like at the end of their life, they would turn away and they would totally 422 00:27:00,130 --> 00:27:03,650 miss. And then there was a small amount of kings who stayed 423 00:27:03,650 --> 00:27:07,370 connected to God and they got it right, or they 424 00:27:07,370 --> 00:27:11,050 stayed faithful. And if I'm honest, I can see myself in all 425 00:27:11,050 --> 00:27:14,890 three of those patterns. But I do think it's easy 426 00:27:14,890 --> 00:27:18,650 to read scripture sometimes. And, you know, I'm all these thousands 427 00:27:18,650 --> 00:27:22,410 of years ahead and I see something, somebody doing something stupid, 428 00:27:22,410 --> 00:27:26,140 and I'm like, look at that dummy. And I forget all 429 00:27:26,140 --> 00:27:29,940 the time, I'm the dummy in scripture. I am 430 00:27:29,940 --> 00:27:32,620 not the hero. Jesus is. 431 00:27:34,700 --> 00:27:38,340 And the common thread in all those stories in Chronicles, 2 432 00:27:38,340 --> 00:27:42,100 Chronicles, is that the kings that missed it stopped depending on 433 00:27:42,100 --> 00:27:45,420 God, and the kings that got it right always 434 00:27:45,580 --> 00:27:48,460 remained careful to depend on God. 435 00:27:49,670 --> 00:27:53,350 Abiding in worship requires total dependence 436 00:27:53,430 --> 00:27:57,230 on God. We are unable to bear fruit that brings 437 00:27:57,230 --> 00:28:00,950 him glory without total dependence on Jesus. 438 00:28:02,390 --> 00:28:06,150 There was a string of services we had here, I want to say 439 00:28:06,150 --> 00:28:09,670 2 years ago. The series was all Holy Spirit 440 00:28:10,230 --> 00:28:13,910 theme, and we did the Fruit of the Spirit, the Gifts of the 441 00:28:13,910 --> 00:28:17,730 Spirit, and it was just really incredible. And I felt like it seemed like 442 00:28:17,730 --> 00:28:21,410 every single week there were just these incredible altar 443 00:28:21,410 --> 00:28:24,970 call moments and move of God in our church, like in 444 00:28:24,970 --> 00:28:28,730 worship and at the end of service. It was incredible week 445 00:28:28,730 --> 00:28:32,490 after week after week. And there was one week in particular, so 446 00:28:32,490 --> 00:28:36,170 many people came up that we didn't have enough people prepared to 447 00:28:36,170 --> 00:28:39,930 pray. And there were so many people that it was hard to see 448 00:28:39,930 --> 00:28:43,770 who needed prayer. But I'm up here in this position and I kind of have 449 00:28:43,770 --> 00:28:47,530 this view. And I see a guy come down that I have never seen before, 450 00:28:47,930 --> 00:28:51,210 and I've never seen since, just look so 451 00:28:51,290 --> 00:28:55,050 desperate to hear from the Lord, so desperate. And 452 00:28:55,050 --> 00:28:58,650 I'm sitting here going, okay, how can I keep facilitating this 453 00:28:58,650 --> 00:29:02,370 moment but get this man prayed for? And I'm looking around for leaders, 454 00:29:02,370 --> 00:29:06,210 but everybody's kind of already praying with somebody. And 455 00:29:06,210 --> 00:29:09,690 I see a guy who's kind of new to our church, but he's raising up 456 00:29:09,690 --> 00:29:13,370 into leadership. But his eyes are closed like this, and he's in worship. 457 00:29:13,830 --> 00:29:16,910 And it takes me a minute to get his attention, but I finally do. And 458 00:29:16,910 --> 00:29:19,670 I point to him to go pray for that guy. And he does. And he 459 00:29:19,670 --> 00:29:23,270 comes up to me after the service and he says, 460 00:29:23,430 --> 00:29:27,190 I want you to know that the Holy Spirit spoke straight 461 00:29:27,190 --> 00:29:30,990 through you today because I saw that man come into the 462 00:29:30,990 --> 00:29:34,390 altar space and God told me to go pray for him. 463 00:29:34,630 --> 00:29:38,230 And I said no. And I closed my eyes. 464 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:41,440 And I went back into worship. 465 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:48,000 I want to be better at opening my eyes and 466 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,040 responding when an opportunity for true worship 467 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:54,960 comes walking into our lives. 468 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:59,080 That's crazy stuff. It's so exciting when somebody 469 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,080 tells you something like that and you got to be a part of it. 470 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,740 Yeah, I mean, it's just like, what? I mean, I was riding 471 00:30:06,740 --> 00:30:10,260 that wave for a couple weeks after that, riding that 472 00:30:10,260 --> 00:30:13,980 wave, and I thought, man, that's an awesome testimony. I can use that 473 00:30:13,980 --> 00:30:17,660 in a sermon someday. I feel like there's a lot of content that, 474 00:30:17,740 --> 00:30:20,460 you know, you could just think through that and sit on that for a while. 475 00:30:20,620 --> 00:30:24,380 Not even 2 weeks later, I find myself over here 476 00:30:24,460 --> 00:30:28,060 at Kroger. I'm walking in to just get a few things, 477 00:30:28,380 --> 00:30:32,120 and the Lord illuminates to me a man who's walking with his 478 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:35,280 daughter and says, I want you to buy his groceries. 479 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:41,160 And I wish I could say that I was still riding that 480 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:44,320 wave and had the faith that I had that day. 481 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:48,320 But instead, I closed my eyes and I 482 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:52,161 thought, God, is that, is that really your voice? What if, what if I don't 483 00:30:52,161 --> 00:30:55,920 have enough money to pay for what he's wanting to get? What 484 00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:59,150 if he gets too many things and I, I played that little game with the 485 00:30:59,150 --> 00:31:02,830 Lord until the opportunity to be obedient walked out the 486 00:31:02,830 --> 00:31:06,510 door. And I thought 487 00:31:07,350 --> 00:31:10,990 to myself, I guess that'll make a pretty good sermon 488 00:31:10,990 --> 00:31:11,670 story too. 489 00:31:16,630 --> 00:31:20,350 I'm learning to be comfortable with the fact that I'm going to be 490 00:31:20,350 --> 00:31:22,710 teaching from my failures for quite a while. 491 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,200 I do not enjoy the feeling of missing God. 492 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,560 Even though 2 Chronicles 36 shows that God's people 493 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:37,120 were ultimately sent into exile because they turned away— 494 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:41,200 there are consequences to our disobedience, they were sent into 495 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:45,000 exile— verse 21 says something so 496 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,480 incredible that when I read it, it 497 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:52,060 absolutely filled me with hope and wrecked my 498 00:31:52,060 --> 00:31:55,340 heart in the best way. And I pray it does the same for you. 499 00:31:57,660 --> 00:32:01,500 It says, during this time of exile, the land enjoyed its 500 00:32:01,500 --> 00:32:05,340 Sabbath rest. All the time of its desolation, it 501 00:32:05,340 --> 00:32:08,980 rested until the 70 years were completed in 502 00:32:08,980 --> 00:32:12,460 fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. 503 00:32:13,260 --> 00:32:17,020 So during their exile, during this time of consequence, 504 00:32:17,630 --> 00:32:19,710 God was causing the land to rest. 505 00:32:21,550 --> 00:32:25,150 In other words, God was already preparing a place 506 00:32:25,550 --> 00:32:28,510 for His people to be fruitful again 507 00:32:29,390 --> 00:32:32,350 if and when they returned and remained in Him. 508 00:32:34,910 --> 00:32:38,670 He already began healing and redeeming and 509 00:32:38,750 --> 00:32:42,430 reconciling the land before they ever accepted it, 510 00:32:42,750 --> 00:32:45,780 repented, or enter back into it. 511 00:32:48,020 --> 00:32:51,700 God is patient. God is kind, 512 00:32:53,700 --> 00:32:56,500 more merciful than we can possibly imagine. 513 00:32:57,780 --> 00:33:01,460 As worshipers, we should be concerned with how scripture teaches us to bear 514 00:33:01,460 --> 00:33:05,140 fruit and concerned with how scripture teaches us to 515 00:33:05,140 --> 00:33:08,740 access fruitfulness again. 2 516 00:33:08,740 --> 00:33:12,580 Chronicles 7:14. If my people who are 517 00:33:12,580 --> 00:33:16,380 called by my name will humble themselves and pray and 518 00:33:16,380 --> 00:33:19,820 seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from 519 00:33:19,820 --> 00:33:23,420 heaven. I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 520 00:33:24,140 --> 00:33:27,740 Matthew 3:8 is an echo of that. Bear fruit in 521 00:33:27,740 --> 00:33:31,540 keeping with repentance. Repentance keeps us 522 00:33:31,540 --> 00:33:34,940 fruitful because it keeps us in 523 00:33:35,420 --> 00:33:39,000 Christ. I 524 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,720 repented of that moment several years ago, and 525 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:45,880 I try to remain more intentional about 526 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,840 implementing disciplines of humility, 527 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:52,840 seeking God, remembering to stay dependent on him. 528 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:57,000 The thing is, like, if we don't get intentional about 529 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:00,680 that, I mean, we'll— it's so easy to miss 530 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:03,321 it. It'll just, it'll just slip right by. 531 00:34:04,750 --> 00:34:08,350 And about 2 weeks ago, I'm preparing for this message, preparing 532 00:34:08,510 --> 00:34:12,230 that I'm going to share these stories, preparing to talk about fruitfulness 533 00:34:12,230 --> 00:34:15,790 again. And my wife comes to me one night and she says that she's got 534 00:34:15,790 --> 00:34:18,510 someone on her heart that she would like to give to. 535 00:34:19,470 --> 00:34:23,310 And I say, that's great, how much? And she says, I don't want to tell 536 00:34:23,310 --> 00:34:27,070 you because we 537 00:34:27,070 --> 00:34:30,640 don't have the amount we need to do it. In our giving account, 538 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:35,000 but I want God to tell you how much, because then 539 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,840 I'll know that it's right and there'll be confirmation. Talking 540 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:42,400 about dependency, talk about no pressure. 541 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:47,040 So I pray, God gives me an amount, I go to Brittney, trembling, 542 00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:50,880 go to Brittney, tell her the amount. She says, that's exactly 543 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:54,680 the number he gave me. So we found a 544 00:34:54,680 --> 00:34:57,379 way to get the money. And I'm just going, God, 545 00:34:58,179 --> 00:35:01,979 thank you for forgiveness. Thank you for the 546 00:35:01,979 --> 00:35:03,859 opportunity to bear fruit again. 547 00:35:06,979 --> 00:35:10,739 And in all those situations, all the highs and 548 00:35:10,739 --> 00:35:14,259 lows, all the rights and wrongs, I want to get better 549 00:35:14,499 --> 00:35:17,539 at being brought down to the same place 550 00:35:18,259 --> 00:35:22,070 of dependency on him. The 551 00:35:22,070 --> 00:35:25,270 story in Ezra and 552 00:35:25,270 --> 00:35:28,950 Nehemiah of God's people returning to him and abiding in 553 00:35:28,950 --> 00:35:32,350 him is nearly a perfect redemption story 554 00:35:33,230 --> 00:35:37,070 until it's not. They rebuild the temple. 555 00:35:37,310 --> 00:35:40,870 They submit to the counsel of his word. They have praise 556 00:35:40,870 --> 00:35:44,670 services. They, they're intentional about confession. They're intentional 557 00:35:44,670 --> 00:35:48,340 about repentance. They consecrate themselves. They're reading the 558 00:35:48,340 --> 00:35:52,100 law and applying it in real time, and they try really, 559 00:35:52,100 --> 00:35:55,300 really hard to be set apart as the people of God. 560 00:35:55,700 --> 00:35:59,380 Yet as soon as Nehemiah leaves, the people begin 561 00:35:59,380 --> 00:36:02,820 to fall apart. They stop taking care of the 562 00:36:02,820 --> 00:36:06,580 Levites. They stop taking care of the temple. They start to backslide. 563 00:36:07,220 --> 00:36:09,700 They did not bear fruit that lasted. 564 00:36:11,860 --> 00:36:15,500 And even though they got it right in so many of the details, the 565 00:36:15,500 --> 00:36:19,330 story shows how easy it is for God's people to lose 566 00:36:19,330 --> 00:36:21,170 focus on what matters most—true 567 00:36:22,530 --> 00:36:24,210 relationship with Him. 568 00:36:30,290 --> 00:36:33,650 When my wife and I first started dating, I remember her telling me 569 00:36:34,209 --> 00:36:37,490 one of her dreams was to be on a boat 570 00:36:38,130 --> 00:36:41,970 at night playing a piano. When I heard that, 571 00:36:42,370 --> 00:36:45,810 I thought, I need to remember that. I need to tune my ear to that. 572 00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:49,840 And remember that detail. So I stored that. Fast forward a 573 00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:53,520 little while later, she said she always wanted her engagement 574 00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:57,000 ring, like the primary stones in it, to be pearls instead of 575 00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:00,840 diamonds. And I thought, I need to remember that. That's 576 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:04,080 an important detail. Fast forward 577 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:08,240 and I'm ready to propose to Brittney. I've saved the money. I've 578 00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:11,920 bought this custom ring, and I'm thinking, how am I going to do it? 579 00:37:12,900 --> 00:37:16,500 And I think, and that memory comes to me on a boat 580 00:37:16,660 --> 00:37:20,100 at night with a piano. And I'm like, okay, 581 00:37:20,340 --> 00:37:24,100 I just have to get Brittney and this ring on a boat with a piano 582 00:37:24,100 --> 00:37:27,860 at night, and this will be the most perfect 583 00:37:27,939 --> 00:37:31,420 proposal story of all time. I found out really 584 00:37:31,420 --> 00:37:35,060 quickly that's very difficult to do. There are no 585 00:37:35,060 --> 00:37:38,710 nighttime piano boat rental places. In the 586 00:37:38,710 --> 00:37:42,470 greater Nashville, Smyrna, Murfreesboro area. I don't— 587 00:37:42,470 --> 00:37:46,217 there used to not be. I don't know. So I, I, 588 00:37:46,217 --> 00:37:49,910 I began thinking like, how can I make this easier on myself? Shift this 589 00:37:49,910 --> 00:37:52,790 up a little bit, but still let her know that I've paid attention to the 590 00:37:52,790 --> 00:37:56,030 details. And that's when I thought, you know, like getting a 591 00:37:56,030 --> 00:37:59,870 piano is hard. Getting a keyboard's 592 00:37:59,870 --> 00:38:03,430 a little easier. I can get that somewhere. And we were youth 593 00:38:03,430 --> 00:38:06,880 worship leaders at the time. And, you know, I was thinking like, 594 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:10,880 the keyboard's really good. If I buy her a keyboard, it serves two 595 00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:14,640 functions. One, it's kind of an investment in our future together. 596 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:18,160 Two, it's really going to sweeten the pot of this 597 00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:21,880 proposal that I'm about to do. She could— there's a chance she says 598 00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:25,440 no to the ring. She says no to a ring and a keyboard. 599 00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:29,880 Can't help her. You know what I mean? So now 600 00:38:29,880 --> 00:38:33,070 I'm just like, okay, I get the keyboard and I'm like, Now I just got 601 00:38:33,070 --> 00:38:36,770 to get Brittney, the ring, and the keyboard on a 602 00:38:36,770 --> 00:38:40,370 boat at night, and it'll be 603 00:38:40,370 --> 00:38:44,210 nearly the most perfect proposal story of all time. So I 604 00:38:44,210 --> 00:38:47,490 start looking for boats, and what I find out, I used all my money on 605 00:38:47,490 --> 00:38:51,170 the other stuff, so my budget's pretty skim. I don't have the money to rent 606 00:38:51,170 --> 00:38:54,810 out the General Jackson. So I'm like, what, what kind of boat exists 607 00:38:54,810 --> 00:38:58,410 that has enough floor space where I can put a 608 00:38:58,410 --> 00:39:02,090 keyboard on it, plug it in, and kind of walk around and propose? And 609 00:39:02,890 --> 00:39:05,530 My budget only could afford a pontoon, 610 00:39:06,730 --> 00:39:09,850 and I was like, you know what? That floats. That counts. That's a boat. 611 00:39:10,730 --> 00:39:14,130 It's getting redneck really quick. Okay, I'm from 612 00:39:14,130 --> 00:39:17,810 Woodbine, but that is a boat. This is nearly the 613 00:39:17,810 --> 00:39:21,450 most perfect proposal story of all 614 00:39:21,530 --> 00:39:24,970 time. So I rent the 615 00:39:24,970 --> 00:39:28,810 pontoon, and the only— and I couldn't rent it at night. That was a 616 00:39:28,810 --> 00:39:31,890 whole nother thing. I'm like, oh, whatever. You know, the details are getting crazy at 617 00:39:31,890 --> 00:39:35,470 this point. It counts. I go to rent the pontoon and 618 00:39:35,470 --> 00:39:38,830 I just pick the— they don't have the date I want and they give me 619 00:39:38,830 --> 00:39:42,590 like, I want the— I get the next available date. When I sign on the 620 00:39:42,590 --> 00:39:46,150 dotted line, I walk away. I find out that's the same day as the 621 00:39:46,150 --> 00:39:49,790 Smyrna Air Show. Do you know how 622 00:39:49,790 --> 00:39:53,150 crazy it gets out there on the water? So I'm going, okay, 623 00:39:53,710 --> 00:39:57,350 I'm going to have Brittney and a ring and a piano, a keyboard 624 00:39:57,350 --> 00:40:01,200 actually. On this floating floor, not under 625 00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:04,480 a peaceful night sky, but kind of like 626 00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:08,240 probably like with Lynyrd Skynyrd blaring in the background or 627 00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:11,680 something from all these other boats. I'm just going, this is 628 00:40:11,680 --> 00:40:15,240 crazy, but it's going to work. It's going to be 629 00:40:15,240 --> 00:40:18,840 fine. She'll understand the details enough to know that I 630 00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:22,680 cared. So I invite her on this date. I 631 00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:25,360 say, hey, I'm going to take you on a date. It's a surprise. I can't 632 00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:28,950 tell you where it is. She says, what should I wear? This is a big 633 00:40:28,950 --> 00:40:32,350 deal. Okay? And I know there's going to be pictures. I know there's going to 634 00:40:32,350 --> 00:40:36,030 be videos. So I say, wear a nice dress. That's all I say. 635 00:40:38,510 --> 00:40:42,310 Everybody already knows. This is crazy. I mean, that's— I 636 00:40:42,310 --> 00:40:46,110 didn't know. Okay, so I pick her up. I pick her up and she goes, 637 00:40:46,110 --> 00:40:49,590 I need you to tell me right now. We're going to go to the lake. 638 00:40:49,590 --> 00:40:52,870 I need you to tell me right now where we're going, because I feel like 639 00:40:52,870 --> 00:40:56,070 I don't know if I'm overdressed or underdressed. And I'm like, I can tell her 640 00:40:56,070 --> 00:40:59,640 we're going to the lake. Without ruining it. So I tell her we're going to 641 00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:03,240 the lake to meet some friends on a boat. Turns out a nice 642 00:41:03,240 --> 00:41:06,680 dress is not optimal for that scenario. 643 00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:11,240 There may have been an intense moment of fellowship 644 00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:15,280 that happened on the way to the lake, but 645 00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:18,960 it kind of— it was a nice juxtaposition against the moment that was about to 646 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:19,240 happen. 647 00:41:23,490 --> 00:41:27,090 So we get to the lake, we get on the floating boat thing, 648 00:41:27,810 --> 00:41:31,490 and, you know, way off on this side, there's all the other boats that are 649 00:41:31,490 --> 00:41:35,250 there to see the Smyrna Air Show. But out on the right over here, 650 00:41:35,650 --> 00:41:39,450 it's totally empty, like this big cove or 651 00:41:39,450 --> 00:41:43,210 something, just totally peaceful. So we drive over there, and the keyboard 652 00:41:43,210 --> 00:41:45,930 is covered up. She has no idea what it is. It looks like it's a 653 00:41:45,930 --> 00:41:49,700 part of the boat. We drive over there, We get settled, 654 00:41:49,700 --> 00:41:53,460 and with a shaky voice, I start to remind 655 00:41:53,460 --> 00:41:57,300 her of what she told me when we first started dating. All 656 00:41:57,300 --> 00:42:00,740 the details about the ring and how I 657 00:42:00,740 --> 00:42:04,579 remembered that and filed that away, and about the details of wanting to be 658 00:42:04,579 --> 00:42:07,180 on a boat with a piano and blah, blah, blah, blah. 659 00:42:08,060 --> 00:42:11,420 And as I'm doing that, I just wanted her to know that I cared that 660 00:42:11,420 --> 00:42:15,140 much. I cared about the details. And I, I uncover the 661 00:42:15,140 --> 00:42:18,140 keyboard, which, by the way, don't put a keyboard on a boat. 662 00:42:18,770 --> 00:42:22,370 That's crazy. Love will make you do some stuff, man. I'll tell you. 663 00:42:23,410 --> 00:42:27,210 I uncover the keyboard. I pick up the ring. I 664 00:42:27,210 --> 00:42:30,930 open the box. And as I go to get down on my knee, 665 00:42:33,650 --> 00:42:36,450 and I'm not going to do it because I haven't tested it in these pants, 666 00:42:36,450 --> 00:42:40,170 okay? I haven't tested it. Um, I kind 667 00:42:40,170 --> 00:42:43,970 of fall over a little bit. Not totally, but it's 668 00:42:43,970 --> 00:42:47,560 super not graceful. And 669 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:51,800 I remember, I realized in that moment all of the effort that I put into 670 00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:55,680 all of the details surrounding the moment, I forgot 671 00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:59,080 to focus my intention on the most important 672 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:02,880 moment of the whole thing, when I would be 673 00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:06,680 face to face with the one person that I love most. 674 00:43:09,480 --> 00:43:13,110 And I had forgotten to practice the posture of 675 00:43:13,110 --> 00:43:15,110 getting down on my knee. 676 00:43:18,390 --> 00:43:22,150 There's a young man that was getting, uh, that was going to propose 677 00:43:22,150 --> 00:43:25,750 to his girlfriend 6 months ago that attends here, and I told him, I was 678 00:43:25,750 --> 00:43:29,590 like, practice getting down on a knee and put 679 00:43:29,590 --> 00:43:33,270 on the pants that you plan to do it in. Okay, this is very important. 680 00:43:33,270 --> 00:43:37,071 This is wisdom. But here's how, here's how God's grace 681 00:43:37,071 --> 00:43:40,880 works. Brittney said yes to me. Praise the 682 00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:44,520 Lord. Thank you, Jesus. And a few moments later, the 683 00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:47,800 first planes of the Smyrna Air Show fly over in formation. 684 00:43:48,760 --> 00:43:51,880 To this day, I have never told Brittney how I was able to make that 685 00:43:51,880 --> 00:43:52,680 detail happen. 686 00:43:58,040 --> 00:44:01,720 And the funny thing is, is although she loved all of the details, 687 00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:05,150 she never played the keyboard. On the boat. 688 00:44:06,510 --> 00:44:09,950 She assured me that she would have said yes regardless. 689 00:44:12,670 --> 00:44:15,110 2 Chronicles 7:17-18. 690 00:44:16,510 --> 00:44:20,149 God honors all the work that Solomon and the people had put 691 00:44:20,149 --> 00:44:23,910 into this beautifully ornate temple. He agrees 692 00:44:23,910 --> 00:44:27,510 to make that a place of abiding. However, this is what he 693 00:44:27,510 --> 00:44:31,320 tells Solomon privately. 'As for you, 694 00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:35,560 if you walk before me faithfully,' and that means walk in my 695 00:44:35,560 --> 00:44:39,400 presence, with my presence, 'as David your father did, 696 00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:43,120 and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I 697 00:44:43,120 --> 00:44:46,880 will establish your royal throne as I covenanted 698 00:44:46,880 --> 00:44:50,520 with David your father when I said, "You shall never 699 00:44:50,520 --> 00:44:53,760 fail to have a successor to rule over 700 00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:57,250 Israel."' That to me shows 701 00:44:57,410 --> 00:45:01,130 that God cares deeply about us doing all that 702 00:45:01,130 --> 00:45:04,930 he commands, but the priority of his heart is 703 00:45:04,930 --> 00:45:08,490 that all of it flows from a true relationship with 704 00:45:08,490 --> 00:45:12,250 him. And when we do that, true 705 00:45:12,250 --> 00:45:14,770 and lasting fruitfulness comes. 706 00:45:17,090 --> 00:45:20,810 The details do not give meaning to our relationship 707 00:45:20,810 --> 00:45:24,500 with God. Our relationship with God gives meaning to 708 00:45:24,500 --> 00:45:28,300 the details. Worship does not 709 00:45:28,300 --> 00:45:31,020 give power to our relationship with Jesus. 710 00:45:31,900 --> 00:45:35,740 Our relationship with Jesus gives power to our worship. 711 00:45:37,660 --> 00:45:41,500 So let's endeavor to stay in that abiding place. Worship team, you 712 00:45:41,500 --> 00:45:44,700 can go ahead and come out. If you guys are out there, back there, 713 00:45:45,100 --> 00:45:46,780 please stand with me tonight, church. 714 00:45:50,550 --> 00:45:53,830 Hmm. We have just a few more minutes. We have a little bit of time 715 00:45:53,830 --> 00:45:57,470 this evening, and, and if we can, I would love to spend it with you 716 00:45:57,470 --> 00:45:58,550 all in worship. 717 00:46:01,510 --> 00:46:04,310 There are still places in my life where God is 718 00:46:05,190 --> 00:46:07,590 correcting my funny little walk 719 00:46:09,270 --> 00:46:11,910 and calling me into deeper relationship. 720 00:46:13,600 --> 00:46:17,440 And maybe that's something the Lord is speaking to you about tonight or 721 00:46:17,440 --> 00:46:20,960 this weekend. And maybe your walk feels a little off 722 00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:24,440 balance. Maybe the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit is, is bringing 723 00:46:24,440 --> 00:46:27,680 gentle correction or just leading you to a place of rest. 724 00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:38,960 If that's you, the altar is open. I'm not going to ask 725 00:46:39,120 --> 00:46:42,720 anybody to come down for, uh, to pray with anybody, 726 00:46:42,960 --> 00:46:46,400 but I felt like it would be a good moment as we lead this together 727 00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:50,200 just to reorient ourselves at the feet 728 00:46:50,200 --> 00:46:50,960 of the Father 729 00:46:54,800 --> 00:46:58,400 to say, God, I am ready to hear what you have to 730 00:46:58,400 --> 00:47:02,200 say for me, and I'm ready 731 00:47:02,200 --> 00:47:04,800 to respond in worship. 732 00:47:09,290 --> 00:47:10,010 Let's wish.