1 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:09,840 Good morning, Springhouse. Oh, you can do better than that. Good morning. 2 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,880 It's good to see you. And it is good to be in. The house of 3 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,560 the Lord this morning. Are you grateful for heat today? 4 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,600 Amen. Amen. It looks like winter has peeked its 5 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,280 nose out. We'll see what happens. But we do live in Tennessee. 6 00:00:28,460 --> 00:00:32,020 Tennessee is about as fickle as people are in the kingdom of God. 7 00:00:32,020 --> 00:00:35,900 Okay, so let's welcome this 8 00:00:35,900 --> 00:00:39,820 morning you awake? We are 9 00:00:39,820 --> 00:00:43,539 continuing our series Abide. And you guys came 10 00:00:43,539 --> 00:00:47,380 back this week. Thank you for coming back this week. I've got 11 00:00:47,380 --> 00:00:51,380 some more offensive things to say today, and so I pray that you 12 00:00:51,380 --> 00:00:55,380 will continue to lean in and to be here in 13 00:00:55,380 --> 00:00:58,540 the presence of the Lord. If you weren't here last week, we started our new 14 00:00:58,540 --> 00:01:01,720 series, and I encourage. You to go back and catch that. 15 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:06,080 Because we are going to be this. Year nudging along moment by moment, 16 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,880 taking. Each step together, not forgetting where we were. We're going 17 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,560 to join our steps together. Because that's what happens when you're headed. Toward a 18 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:17,440 destination, right? You remember the steps you've taken and. You look forward to the 19 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:21,360 steps that you will take. And so we're going to do that together. And I 20 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,280 pray that you are ready. To go this morning in the word 21 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:29,090 of God. So today we are 22 00:01:29,090 --> 00:01:33,010 still going to. Be. In 23 00:01:33,010 --> 00:01:36,730 the area of like, a prologue or an introduction. 24 00:01:36,890 --> 00:01:40,810 And so this year's series, Abide, we're. Looking at John 25 00:01:40,810 --> 00:01:44,490 15, and we're not. Today gonna go and unpackage all of 26 00:01:44,490 --> 00:01:48,090 John 15 specifically. That's coming. Don't worry. That's coming. 27 00:01:49,130 --> 00:01:53,010 But what the Lord has given me. And where 28 00:01:53,010 --> 00:01:56,890 I believe he's taking us as a body is before we can actually 29 00:01:57,130 --> 00:02:00,950 get into the of abide and what 30 00:02:00,950 --> 00:02:04,790 is being conveyed in John 15, there 31 00:02:04,790 --> 00:02:08,350 is some work that we need. To do, some exposure and some 32 00:02:08,350 --> 00:02:12,110 illuminating and some laying a foundation that we need to do. 33 00:02:12,110 --> 00:02:16,110 Not necessarily laying foundation of the word as much as 34 00:02:16,110 --> 00:02:19,990 it is, as laying. Foundation in understanding the context 35 00:02:19,990 --> 00:02:23,790 of the. World we live in and how we're approaching the word that 36 00:02:23,790 --> 00:02:27,790 we're receiving. So I want to start today by asking you the same question I 37 00:02:27,790 --> 00:02:31,170 asked last week, and most likely I'm going to ask it again next week. 38 00:02:31,410 --> 00:02:34,210 Why are you here today? 39 00:02:37,650 --> 00:02:40,690 Crickets. Why are you here today? 40 00:02:43,570 --> 00:02:47,170 That's not a critique to say that you shouldn't be here today, 41 00:02:48,290 --> 00:02:51,770 but the. Question is, did you wake up this morning because the 42 00:02:51,770 --> 00:02:55,370 calendar said Sunday and you rolled out of bed? And this is just what we 43 00:02:55,370 --> 00:02:58,930 do on Sunday mornings. And so we're here. And what you really are thinking about. 44 00:02:58,930 --> 00:03:02,630 Right now is the fried chicken or the hamburger you're gonna have for L. By 45 00:03:02,630 --> 00:03:06,550 the way, is it the second Sunday today? Open tables is today. Hope 46 00:03:06,550 --> 00:03:10,030 you signed up for that fellowship time. Don't be thinking about lunch, though, right now, 47 00:03:10,270 --> 00:03:13,870 though. I planted that seed. But why are you here today? 48 00:03:14,590 --> 00:03:17,950 Let me ask it a different way. Do you believe the God of the universe 49 00:03:17,950 --> 00:03:21,750 can meet you today? Do you believe that the God of the 50 00:03:21,750 --> 00:03:25,750 universe cares about what you brought into this place today? Do you believe 51 00:03:25,750 --> 00:03:29,550 about the hearts in this room, lost or otherwise? Do you believe 52 00:03:29,710 --> 00:03:33,670 that the God of the universe, the God who breathes stars, knows your name, 53 00:03:33,670 --> 00:03:37,530 knows the number, and cares about your life? This God 54 00:03:37,530 --> 00:03:41,410 can change and transform your life today if you don't allow today just 55 00:03:41,410 --> 00:03:45,330 to be ancillary or a throwaway. If you lean in and you look 56 00:03:45,330 --> 00:03:48,810 for him, he'll meet you where you are. He will meet you where you are. 57 00:03:48,810 --> 00:03:52,210 And so my question is really something of an 58 00:03:52,210 --> 00:03:56,090 urgency because I believe that we're living in a time and a place where 59 00:03:56,090 --> 00:04:00,050 God wants to do something among his people, but he's wanting his face 60 00:04:00,050 --> 00:04:03,810 to be seen. He's wanting to shake the 61 00:04:03,810 --> 00:04:07,190 heavens and do some things within his people because of the lost and dying world 62 00:04:07,190 --> 00:04:10,270 out there. And let me tell you something. I believe his coming is imminent. I 63 00:04:10,270 --> 00:04:13,750 believe he's coming back for his bride. I believe he's gonna split the sky soon. 64 00:04:13,750 --> 00:04:17,750 But there are people, probably even some in the midst of my. Under the 65 00:04:17,750 --> 00:04:21,630 sound of my voice, who still do not know this God that I'm talking 66 00:04:21,630 --> 00:04:25,630 about. And so I believe that the God of the universe wants to shake 67 00:04:25,630 --> 00:04:29,190 some things up and to say, hey, guys, listen up. Wake up. 68 00:04:29,270 --> 00:04:32,950 You, although you're in this world, you are not of the world. You belong to 69 00:04:32,950 --> 00:04:36,500 my kingdom. And he says, I am a king. I am a king and I 70 00:04:36,500 --> 00:04:39,900 am sovereign. You don't elect me. You don't put me into the place of my 71 00:04:39,900 --> 00:04:42,860 position. I am king and I am sovereign, and I want to rule and reign 72 00:04:42,860 --> 00:04:46,060 over your life? Are you going to let me. Are you going to let me 73 00:04:46,060 --> 00:04:49,940 rule and reign over your decisions, even when 74 00:04:49,940 --> 00:04:53,660 it hurts? Are you going to allow me to be sovereign 75 00:04:53,900 --> 00:04:56,940 in situations in your life where you want to 76 00:04:57,180 --> 00:05:01,020 abandon ship, where you want to jump ship, Are you going to allow me, 77 00:05:01,020 --> 00:05:04,860 says God, are you going to allow me to meet you where you are and 78 00:05:04,860 --> 00:05:08,720 actually mature you in your faith, Mature you in your 79 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:12,680 faith in the season of pain, in the season of hurt, in the season 80 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,480 of devastation, in the season of opportunity. Are you going to 81 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:20,160 allow me to be God and sovereign in your life? I believe that God Almighty 82 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,960 would have that question for us this morning. Are you glad you came today? 83 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:29,400 So why are you here? 84 00:05:32,530 --> 00:05:36,290 We're standing in the doorway of what. Jesus means when he says, remain 85 00:05:36,770 --> 00:05:40,450 in me. And so we're going to read from. John chapter 15 today, the first 86 00:05:40,450 --> 00:05:44,410 five verses. If you'll stand with me and man, I 87 00:05:44,410 --> 00:05:48,210 just. If we could just bolster this 88 00:05:48,290 --> 00:05:52,290 word and really just with gusto. Here we go. 89 00:05:52,930 --> 00:05:56,690 I am the true vine, and my father is the 90 00:05:56,690 --> 00:06:00,610 gardener. He cuts every branch in me that bears 91 00:06:00,690 --> 00:06:04,200 no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, 92 00:06:04,430 --> 00:06:08,350 fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 93 00:06:08,990 --> 00:06:12,710 You are already clean because of the word I have 94 00:06:12,710 --> 00:06:16,510 spoken to you. Remain in me as I also 95 00:06:16,830 --> 00:06:20,630 remain in you. No branch can bear 96 00:06:20,630 --> 00:06:24,590 fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. 97 00:06:25,070 --> 00:06:28,790 Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in 98 00:06:28,790 --> 00:06:32,480 me. I am the vine, you are the 99 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:36,360 branches. If you remain in me and I in you, 100 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,480 you will bear much fruit apart from me. You 101 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:44,200 can do nothing. Father, I am so grateful for your 102 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,960 word today. I'm grateful for its transformative power. 103 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:52,000 I'm also grateful for the gift and the reality of 104 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,760 the person of the Holy Spirit that resides in this place. And I'm 105 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,100 asking God that your Holy. Spirit would convict our hearts 106 00:06:59,650 --> 00:07:03,490 and that as we leave and depart this place, this concrete place today, 107 00:07:04,050 --> 00:07:07,890 that there would be spiritual things, Lord, going on on the inside of us 108 00:07:07,890 --> 00:07:11,330 that would transform us and that we would look more like the image of Christ 109 00:07:11,410 --> 00:07:15,090 today more than we have before. We love you today. Let everything 110 00:07:15,090 --> 00:07:19,090 that's frivolous and of me fall to the ground, but let your words 111 00:07:19,090 --> 00:07:21,970 stick and stand and change us. In Jesus name. And everybody said. 112 00:07:23,730 --> 00:07:27,340 Amen. You belong to a kingdom 113 00:07:27,340 --> 00:07:31,180 and you have a king. And what this means is that my 114 00:07:31,180 --> 00:07:34,460 life is not primarily about my comfort. 115 00:07:35,020 --> 00:07:38,420 It's not about my timeline and it's not about my 116 00:07:38,420 --> 00:07:42,380 advancement. It's about his reign. It's about 117 00:07:42,380 --> 00:07:46,220 his rule and his reign in my life. 118 00:07:46,380 --> 00:07:50,260 When Jesus speaks In John chapter 15, he does not 119 00:07:50,260 --> 00:07:54,140 come at it as a consultant hoping that you will take his advice. 120 00:07:55,450 --> 00:07:59,410 He's not a God who's coming to give you just some slight suggestions and hope. 121 00:07:59,410 --> 00:08:03,170 Maybe you might think this would be. A good suggestion for you to pull on. 122 00:08:03,170 --> 00:08:06,970 No, he's not coming. He speaks like a king explaining how. Life works under 123 00:08:06,970 --> 00:08:10,569 his rule. And we have the choice whether or. Not to obey 124 00:08:10,650 --> 00:08:14,650 or to disobey and. He is constantly calling us 125 00:08:14,650 --> 00:08:18,530 back to center. I don't know about you, but I find myself from time to 126 00:08:18,530 --> 00:08:22,410 time drifting off to the left or drifting off to the right. And 127 00:08:22,730 --> 00:08:26,080 the Lord brings me back to center. And when he brings me back to center, 128 00:08:26,390 --> 00:08:29,510 what I'm looking at is when I come back to center, I see a throne. 129 00:08:29,830 --> 00:08:33,070 And the question that's before me is, Kevin, do you want to sit in this 130 00:08:33,070 --> 00:08:35,990 throne or do you want the. King of the universe to sit in the throne? 131 00:08:35,990 --> 00:08:39,830 And guys, I'm telling you, there is nobody else to be 132 00:08:39,830 --> 00:08:43,830 better to be on the throne of your life than the God who breathe stars. 133 00:08:44,390 --> 00:08:47,910 This great glorious God who knows you. Better 134 00:08:48,630 --> 00:08:52,510 than you know yourself. He's always calling us back to 135 00:08:52,510 --> 00:08:56,390 center. He calls us to a place where. It'S all about him. And 136 00:08:56,390 --> 00:09:00,130 last week we talked about Babylon. We went back to the Old 137 00:09:00,450 --> 00:09:04,130 Testament. Do you know that God can use. All of scripture to minister 138 00:09:04,210 --> 00:09:07,250 to us? Do you know that? Do you know that the Word is alive and 139 00:09:07,250 --> 00:09:11,210 active today? It's like a double edged sword. It pierces in 140 00:09:11,210 --> 00:09:14,169 our lives if we allow it to. If we allow it. By the way, we 141 00:09:14,169 --> 00:09:17,410 have a Bible reading plan. I believe that the most important thing you can do 142 00:09:17,410 --> 00:09:20,890 as a believer is to get to know the Lord through the word of. Through 143 00:09:20,890 --> 00:09:24,650 the Word of God. And so if you don't have a. Bible reading plan, I 144 00:09:24,650 --> 00:09:28,250 encourage you on our app you can download the Bible reading plan. And if you 145 00:09:28,250 --> 00:09:31,830 have been following us, guess what? You're going to find some parallels to. What I'm 146 00:09:31,830 --> 00:09:35,790 going to be talking about today. Go figure how that works. Okay, so listen, 147 00:09:35,790 --> 00:09:39,750 the Holy Spirit wants to minister to you every day. Get in the 148 00:09:39,750 --> 00:09:43,230 word of God. Build a hunger and 149 00:09:43,230 --> 00:09:46,510 relationship with the Word of God. Get in the word. So last week we talked 150 00:09:46,510 --> 00:09:50,510 about the exile of Israel, the exile of Israel in 151 00:09:50,510 --> 00:09:53,870 Babylon. And we talked about Jeremiah arriving on the scene. And 152 00:09:54,510 --> 00:09:58,120 the Israelites were just, man, they just were. They were worshiping 153 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:02,040 false gods. They were engrossed in sin. And so God exiled 154 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:05,920 them. And I say God exiled. And God was with them in the exile. 155 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,200 And what he says to them. The word from Jeremiah says, I want you to 156 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,680 build houses, I want you to plant gardens, I want you to get married and 157 00:10:12,680 --> 00:10:16,360 I want you to increase there. And what this 158 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,960 tells me is that God does not automatically 159 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:23,920 uproot us from situations that we do not like or 160 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:27,880 find favorable. He doesn't just automatically come in when you 161 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:31,840 start to experience areas of discomfort, hurt, 162 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:35,400 pain, all of those things. He doesn't just come in and say, oh, this is 163 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:39,320 not me. Let me just rip you out of this. No. He will sometimes allow 164 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:42,960 us to sit in that situation because he's wanting to. Be sovereign 165 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:46,960 in that moment. He's wanting to be recognized. In other words, do you 166 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,680 really believe this God you say you believe in? It 167 00:10:50,680 --> 00:10:54,390 gets tested when the rubber hits the road, it gets 168 00:10:54,390 --> 00:10:58,390 tested when things really take off, it gets tested. In 169 00:10:58,390 --> 00:11:02,350 other words, God is saying to the Israelites, I want you to live like people 170 00:11:02,510 --> 00:11:06,310 who still believe I'm sovereign. God doesn't say, just 171 00:11:06,310 --> 00:11:10,230 endure Babylon. He says, I want you to plant in 172 00:11:10,230 --> 00:11:14,030 it. And so what it was about, it was about learning how to live 173 00:11:14,030 --> 00:11:17,790 as God's people inside a culture that did not share their faith. 174 00:11:17,870 --> 00:11:21,710 Are you living in a culture that. Does not share your faith? Absolutely, 175 00:11:21,710 --> 00:11:25,570 you are. And so can we learn how to live as God's people inside this 176 00:11:25,570 --> 00:11:29,370 culture? And that's what this entire year is about, is about 177 00:11:29,370 --> 00:11:33,250 us learning how to live in this culture that wants nothing 178 00:11:33,250 --> 00:11:37,250 to do with God, but entices us with the vices and its symptoms and 179 00:11:37,250 --> 00:11:40,290 all these things that it wants to dangle in front of us, to woo us 180 00:11:40,290 --> 00:11:44,050 away, to dilute the power of. The word of the 181 00:11:44,050 --> 00:11:47,890 living God. But we belong to a kingdom and have a king. And he's 182 00:11:47,890 --> 00:11:51,290 not going anywhere. He's not going anywhere. 183 00:11:52,100 --> 00:11:54,980 He is as powerful today as he was back then. 184 00:11:56,180 --> 00:11:59,780 And so God exposed them to how. Full their lives have become 185 00:12:00,180 --> 00:12:04,140 of everything else except for him. And when everything is 186 00:12:04,140 --> 00:12:07,460 full, Listen to me. When everything in your life is full, 187 00:12:07,940 --> 00:12:10,340 nothing has room to grow. 188 00:12:14,980 --> 00:12:17,540 Have you ever lived with someone who's always right, 189 00:12:22,060 --> 00:12:24,460 That wasn't a loud laugh because you're probably sitting next to them? 190 00:12:26,860 --> 00:12:30,220 I've been in situations and guys, if I'm honest with myself, I've been one of 191 00:12:30,220 --> 00:12:34,220 those people. I've been one of those people where a situation. Guys, 192 00:12:34,220 --> 00:12:36,300 we rarely believe that we are the issue. 193 00:12:38,060 --> 00:12:41,980 A situation comes up a circuit. We are never the. We never go first 194 00:12:41,980 --> 00:12:45,860 place to. Is there something I'm not seeing right? Is there something that I need 195 00:12:45,860 --> 00:12:49,330 to shift and change? It's always them. It's always on them. 196 00:12:49,970 --> 00:12:53,730 It's always something else. But it's rarely us, right? It's rarely 197 00:12:54,210 --> 00:12:58,130 us being the issue or the situation. 198 00:12:58,370 --> 00:13:02,250 So God often starts by addressing our. Pace in 199 00:13:02,250 --> 00:13:05,010 life so that we can slow down and realize, hey, 200 00:13:05,730 --> 00:13:08,290 Kevin, you don't look like Jesus yet. 201 00:13:09,490 --> 00:13:13,330 And there's some layers. There's some things you need to chip off 202 00:13:13,330 --> 00:13:17,090 of your life so that you can become more like me in 203 00:13:17,090 --> 00:13:20,910 that relationship, in that friendship, in that job situation, in that 204 00:13:20,910 --> 00:13:24,910 circumstance. There's some things I'm trying, some layers I'm trying to pull off of 205 00:13:24,910 --> 00:13:28,790 you. Because every time something pops up, Kevin, it's not about 206 00:13:28,790 --> 00:13:32,750 them or what they've done wrong or what they said, or. It'S sometimes it's you, 207 00:13:33,950 --> 00:13:37,710 sometimes it's you. And if I can get you, 208 00:13:37,710 --> 00:13:41,470 Kevin, to a place to realize that you need to look more like Jesus, 209 00:13:41,470 --> 00:13:45,230 just maybe, maybe, just maybe when you approach that situation, 210 00:13:45,390 --> 00:13:49,350 you'll bring a certain level of grace to it that transforms their life as 211 00:13:49,350 --> 00:13:49,580 well. 212 00:13:56,530 --> 00:14:00,330 And so they. And we are faced with the same question. And the question 213 00:14:00,330 --> 00:14:04,210 was this. Will we be formed by the world we 214 00:14:04,210 --> 00:14:07,850 live in? Or will we remain rooted in the. Kingdom to which we 215 00:14:07,850 --> 00:14:11,170 belong? Which are we going to do? 216 00:14:12,370 --> 00:14:16,290 Are you being formed by the world we live in? 217 00:14:17,340 --> 00:14:21,220 When you turn on the TV and you turn on Fox or CNN and 218 00:14:21,220 --> 00:14:24,900 you listen to political debates, is your whole life rocked 219 00:14:24,900 --> 00:14:28,540 upside down by an instable, an unstable 220 00:14:29,020 --> 00:14:32,780 political system? A world that's going to be destroyed? Is that the world 221 00:14:32,780 --> 00:14:36,740 that's forming your thoughts and forming your direction and forming where you 222 00:14:36,740 --> 00:14:39,820 go? Or are you going to be formed as you are being, 223 00:14:40,380 --> 00:14:44,250 remaining and being rooted into a kingdom, Kingdom that has 224 00:14:44,250 --> 00:14:47,810 a king that is faithful and strong and sure. Which one are you going to 225 00:14:47,810 --> 00:14:50,450 do? Which one are you going to be rooted in? 226 00:14:51,810 --> 00:14:55,250 Because the world's got a whole lot of lies to offer us 227 00:14:55,730 --> 00:14:59,170 and it only takes us buying into one little lie to get off kilter. 228 00:14:59,890 --> 00:15:03,090 Jesus says, I am the way, the. Truth and the life. 229 00:15:04,450 --> 00:15:08,210 He's got the answer. It's in His Word. Please 230 00:15:08,210 --> 00:15:12,160 get a relationship with, with the world. So he tells 231 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:16,000 them to stay. They're living in captivity. Captivity is like prison. 232 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:21,840 And God will allow us, he will. Sanction hard places in our lives 233 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,920 while. We are screaming, God, get me out of here. 234 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,600 And God is saying, no, stay right where you are and trust that I am 235 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,960 still the God that you say you believe in. And then along the way, as 236 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,700 we're. In that hard place, he will show up with some incredible 237 00:15:37,700 --> 00:15:41,100 promises. See, this is the wonderful thing about this great glorious God, 238 00:15:41,260 --> 00:15:44,860 Barbie. He cares about us, Mary Sue. He cares about you. 239 00:15:45,980 --> 00:15:49,700 He cares about you, April. He see in the midst. I'm talking about when 240 00:15:49,700 --> 00:15:52,860 you're, when everything inside is 241 00:15:52,860 --> 00:15:56,660 screaming because you don't understand why 242 00:15:56,660 --> 00:16:00,540 you're having to walk through the situation you're in right now 243 00:16:00,700 --> 00:16:04,540 when everything is breaking down. This same great glorious 244 00:16:04,540 --> 00:16:08,400 God cares about you and sees you and knows your name. And he 245 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,720 gives promises just like he did to the Israelites. Like this. He says, for I 246 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:15,640 know the plans. I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to 247 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:18,080 harm you and give you a hope and a future. Let me ask you this 248 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:22,080 question. Do you believe that God Almighty has plans for your life? Yes or no? 249 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:26,440 Do you believe he has the ability to prosper you? Does he have the 250 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:30,160 ability to not harm you and to give you a hope in the future? Here's 251 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:34,120 the problem. We take this scripture here and we apply it under the 252 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:38,020 banner of 2026. And what that tells me is I to define 253 00:16:38,020 --> 00:16:41,900 what prosper means. I try to define what not to harm you 254 00:16:41,900 --> 00:16:44,820 means. I try to define what hope and future looks like for my life. And 255 00:16:44,820 --> 00:16:48,500 he's saying, no, it's not your definition. It's my definition. Says the 256 00:16:48,500 --> 00:16:52,300 Lord. He's got plans and he knows what those 257 00:16:52,300 --> 00:16:55,260 plans are. He doesn't need you to tell him. What his plans are supposed to 258 00:16:55,260 --> 00:16:59,180 be. And so we live in this world. 259 00:16:59,980 --> 00:17:03,780 We live in this disgusting. Guys, I'm telling you, it's a disgusting 260 00:17:03,780 --> 00:17:07,160 world out there. It's a horrible, sin 261 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:10,960 saturated world that wants nothing to do with the living God. 262 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,880 That's the world you live in? That's the world I live in. It is 263 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:18,600 horrible. And guys, as much as it might try to promise you life, I promise 264 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:22,600 you all it's offering you is death. All it's offering you 265 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:26,440 is death. But we belong to this kingdom and here we are. You had no 266 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,240 choice to be born in the timeframe that you were born. Here you are. Here 267 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:33,170 we are. God knew. God knew exactly the time and 268 00:17:33,170 --> 00:17:34,330 place where he was putting you. 269 00:17:37,130 --> 00:17:41,010 So your circumstances may change, but God's promises 270 00:17:41,010 --> 00:17:44,890 do not. His character, his love, his grace, 271 00:17:45,370 --> 00:17:49,250 his sovereignty are never compromised because our situation and 272 00:17:49,250 --> 00:17:53,050 our circumstances. We sing a song here sometimes that says 273 00:17:53,210 --> 00:17:57,210 his goodness is running after me. Has anybody seen that, sang that song? I 274 00:17:57,210 --> 00:18:01,170 love that song, Fred. His goodness is running after me. I wondered one 275 00:18:01,170 --> 00:18:04,910 time when I was singing that song. Song. If his goodness is 276 00:18:04,910 --> 00:18:08,870 running after me. It must mean that I am running from his goodness. 277 00:18:09,350 --> 00:18:13,110 So what does it look like if I stop running from his goodness, maybe his 278 00:18:13,110 --> 00:18:16,150 goodness would catch up with me and I would recognize that if I would just 279 00:18:16,150 --> 00:18:20,070 stay rooted and planted, I'll. Know this sovereign God better than I've 280 00:18:20,070 --> 00:18:21,110 ever known Him. 281 00:18:23,750 --> 00:18:27,270 We spend our lives running away from this God. 282 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:33,600 Stop and be planted, be rooted, stop running, be 283 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,280 still and know that he. Is 284 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:41,680 God in the midst of the. Exile was a guy by 285 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:45,200 the name of Daniel. Everybody know the story of Daniel in the lion's den? 286 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,040 I've got a story. I don't have time. About a lion in Africa. 287 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:55,190 It'd make you laugh. Because I fell down. Because 288 00:18:55,190 --> 00:18:55,990 he sneezed. 289 00:18:58,950 --> 00:19:02,550 Lions are scary animals, okay? They're scary animals. 290 00:19:03,590 --> 00:19:07,590 Daniel's in the middle of this exile, and there are 291 00:19:07,590 --> 00:19:11,110 some people who are. Jealous of Daniel's 292 00:19:11,190 --> 00:19:14,830 supernatural ability to do what he does. Have you ever had 293 00:19:14,830 --> 00:19:18,590 anybody jealous of you and your ability to do 294 00:19:18,590 --> 00:19:22,480 things? Let me flip the coin. Have you ever been jealous of somebody else's 295 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:26,080 ability to do things? So in their 296 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:29,280 jealousy, they go to. The king and they say, hey, listen, King Darius, 297 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,200 they know Daniel prays to the true living God. And they say, 298 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:38,040 hey, listen, you need to issue a decree that says no one is to 299 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:41,880 worship or bow down or pray to any other God. They're 300 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:44,770 supposed to only do that to you. And the king signs this decree. 301 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:49,480 So here's Daniel. What is Daniel supposed to do? Daniel has been 302 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:53,400 faithfully, three times a day, going before the Lord, praying, offering. Incense to the 303 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:56,680 Lord, praying to the. Lord every single day, faithful. And so this 304 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,360 proclamation comes out, and let's look at what Daniel's response is. 305 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,760 Now, when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, 306 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,360 this is what he did. He went home 307 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,110 to his upstairs room where the windows 308 00:20:13,110 --> 00:20:16,830 opened toward Jerusalem. And three 309 00:20:16,830 --> 00:20:20,630 times that day, he got down on his knees and he 310 00:20:20,630 --> 00:20:23,710 prayed, giving thanks to his God, 311 00:20:24,270 --> 00:20:27,230 just as he had done before. 312 00:20:29,230 --> 00:20:32,990 If that's not a slap in the. King'S face, I don't know what 313 00:20:32,990 --> 00:20:36,870 is. If that's not a slap into the. Law'S face, I don't know 314 00:20:36,870 --> 00:20:40,580 what it is. But here's the point. Daniel 315 00:20:40,580 --> 00:20:44,500 decided that what God Almighty said. Was 316 00:20:44,500 --> 00:20:48,220 superior to what the king said. And I'm 317 00:20:48,220 --> 00:20:51,900 telling you, we are given a bunch of things right in here 318 00:20:51,980 --> 00:20:55,940 that are all superior to anything that this world is telling you 319 00:20:55,940 --> 00:20:59,940 to do. Now here's where the rubber hits the 320 00:20:59,940 --> 00:21:03,350 road. There was a consequence for that action. Action. 321 00:21:04,390 --> 00:21:08,230 There was a consequence for that action. See, here's the thing. Please 322 00:21:08,230 --> 00:21:11,110 understand this. We are at war. 323 00:21:13,030 --> 00:21:15,550 I'm going to be talking about this war a little bit next week, but. We 324 00:21:15,550 --> 00:21:18,790 are at war. There is a spiritual war out there. 325 00:21:19,430 --> 00:21:23,390 A war for souls, a spiritual war that's happening, and you're 326 00:21:23,390 --> 00:21:27,350 involved with it. But what the world does is numb. You and blind you to 327 00:21:27,350 --> 00:21:30,100 around you. So you get so distracted that you have no idea what's going on. 328 00:21:31,370 --> 00:21:34,850 And so, because we don't know what's going on. What happens is we get. In 329 00:21:34,850 --> 00:21:38,770 situations, we do what Daniel did. But here's the thing. Understand, when 330 00:21:38,770 --> 00:21:42,770 he violated that rule, it was actually a cause for him to say, I'm 331 00:21:42,770 --> 00:21:46,650 willing to die for this king. Are 332 00:21:46,650 --> 00:21:48,490 you willing to die for this king? 333 00:21:52,810 --> 00:21:54,490 Aren't you glad you came this morning? 334 00:21:57,220 --> 00:22:00,100 Are you willing to die for this God you say you believe in. 335 00:22:01,860 --> 00:22:05,300 Man? I'm willing to travail at night for the window of heaven to open and 336 00:22:05,300 --> 00:22:08,940 pour out its blessing. I'm willing to go before the Lord to ask for that 337 00:22:08,940 --> 00:22:12,420 house mortgage and that new car and all of this new. Are you willing to 338 00:22:12,420 --> 00:22:14,340 lay your life down for this king? 339 00:22:17,860 --> 00:22:20,660 Because we are called daily to pick. Up our cross and follow him. 340 00:22:22,270 --> 00:22:25,230 We are called daily to pick up. Our cross and follow him. 341 00:22:25,870 --> 00:22:29,710 Faithfulness is often proven not by where you go, 342 00:22:29,710 --> 00:22:33,630 but where you stay. By where 343 00:22:33,630 --> 00:22:37,310 you stay. Faithfulness is often proved 344 00:22:37,630 --> 00:22:40,470 not by where you go, where you stay. But here's the thing. You see this 345 00:22:40,470 --> 00:22:44,230 plant I've got right here? This is a green plant. It's a real 346 00:22:44,230 --> 00:22:48,030 plant. It's a green plant. We picked this up yesterday. Now, I don't know about 347 00:22:48,030 --> 00:22:50,310 you. How. Raise your hand. Have you ever gone to the store to pick out 348 00:22:50,310 --> 00:22:53,750 a flower or a plant or anything like that? Raise your hand. Anybody? Okay, some 349 00:22:53,750 --> 00:22:56,750 of you in this room. Now, when I go and buy a plant, 350 00:22:57,630 --> 00:23:01,070 I'm not looking to pay my money for something that's wilty. 351 00:23:01,710 --> 00:23:05,390 Something that's dying, right? I want something that's thriving and 352 00:23:05,390 --> 00:23:09,230 alive. Anybody with me? I want something that's thriving and alive. In fact, I tell 353 00:23:09,390 --> 00:23:12,670 I will go. We will have a whole agenda for a meeting. And I'll go 354 00:23:12,670 --> 00:23:16,300 up to Pastor Barbie and say, hey, Barbie, we got some plants out here in 355 00:23:16,300 --> 00:23:18,900 the foyer that are dying. It's the first thing I say. I'm like, we have 356 00:23:18,900 --> 00:23:22,660 got to get those revived, right? We don't want dead things come to 357 00:23:22,660 --> 00:23:26,580 Springhouse. We want you to live. We want 358 00:23:26,580 --> 00:23:30,219 you to live right? And so Barbie will work real hard. I just so 359 00:23:30,219 --> 00:23:33,420 appreciate. Who appreciates our executive Pastor Barbie, man. 360 00:23:35,420 --> 00:23:39,300 She's like, let me finish this last. Shenanigan you gave me. And then I'll go 361 00:23:39,300 --> 00:23:43,300 and help get. The plants replaced so that we can listen. I want something that's 362 00:23:43,300 --> 00:23:46,300 living, living. And so this is living. But here's the thing. 363 00:23:46,940 --> 00:23:50,700 There's something that's happening that we do not see in order to 364 00:23:50,700 --> 00:23:54,420 see this living thing. There's something that's happening 365 00:23:54,420 --> 00:23:58,420 underneath the Surface. That does not look as pretty 366 00:23:58,420 --> 00:24:02,340 as this looks. In order for this to look the way 367 00:24:02,340 --> 00:24:06,340 it looks. Are you with me? So if we were to pull this. 368 00:24:06,340 --> 00:24:10,150 Up and out, we would see that. The bottom 369 00:24:10,150 --> 00:24:13,350 of this does not look. As pretty as the top of this. 370 00:24:14,310 --> 00:24:14,710 Right? 371 00:24:18,550 --> 00:24:21,990 The bottom of this looks so messy. And dirty and 372 00:24:22,550 --> 00:24:26,550 nasty. But might I suggest that this is. 373 00:24:26,550 --> 00:24:30,510 Where the life happens. This is 374 00:24:30,510 --> 00:24:34,470 where the life happens. And there are roots coming out of this 375 00:24:34,470 --> 00:24:37,910 tree that if I don't. If I don't replant this into some. Soil, 376 00:24:38,150 --> 00:24:41,710 what's going to happen? It's not going to keep looking like this, I can tell 377 00:24:41,710 --> 00:24:45,630 you that much. It does not matter. Listen to 378 00:24:45,630 --> 00:24:49,590 me. It does not matter how much you filter your life on Instagram. If 379 00:24:49,590 --> 00:24:53,430 you don't have real life happening at the surface. Everything else is 380 00:24:53,430 --> 00:24:55,910 fake. Everything else is fake. 381 00:24:57,990 --> 00:25:00,970 God does his best work in the. Midst of 382 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:05,200 messy, dirty, dark situations. 383 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,760 He does his best work underneath the surface. 384 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:14,360 He does his best work in the places where there are no. 385 00:25:14,360 --> 00:25:18,360 There's no applause. It doesn't feel good. It 386 00:25:18,360 --> 00:25:21,080 doesn't look good. You know how bad right now? I want to go wash my 387 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:24,960 hands. This is 388 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:29,290 messy, but it yields something so 389 00:25:29,290 --> 00:25:33,210 beautiful. And what I'm trying to convey to you today 390 00:25:33,210 --> 00:25:36,330 is that so many of us find ourselves 391 00:25:36,730 --> 00:25:37,690 uprooting. 392 00:25:43,050 --> 00:25:44,890 We will replant that and let it live. 393 00:25:48,490 --> 00:25:52,410 We find ourselves uprooting ourselves 394 00:25:52,490 --> 00:25:56,080 just like this. I'd use this again. I didn't intend to do this. 395 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:01,920 What happens if I continue to do this? I believe that this truly will be. 396 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:05,920 This can be salvaged. But imagine for a moment, Imagine for a moment 397 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:09,360 if every Sunday I got up here and did the same thing. What's going to 398 00:26:09,360 --> 00:26:13,320 happen? This is going to die. This is 399 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:16,720 going to die. And so many of us, 400 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:21,360 so many of us, the moment something gets hard or something rocks our 401 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:24,250 world, we want to uproot. Uproot and go somewhere else. 402 00:26:25,690 --> 00:26:29,650 Want to uproot and go somewhere else. Remember last week I talked about, we 403 00:26:29,650 --> 00:26:33,650 are not. God does not want our lives to be filled to capacity. And 404 00:26:33,650 --> 00:26:36,930 he also doesn't want the version of your life that you think you're. All put 405 00:26:36,930 --> 00:26:40,130 together, that you're saying, hey, I fit everything in. No, what he wants is an 406 00:26:40,130 --> 00:26:44,130 empty. Vessel to use every single day. But here's the 407 00:26:44,130 --> 00:26:48,050 thing. We wake up in the morning and I put these on red balls, because 408 00:26:48,050 --> 00:26:52,050 these are red ball things. Some of us will 409 00:26:52,050 --> 00:26:55,770 uproot because an. Opportunity has presented 410 00:26:55,770 --> 00:26:59,770 itself. Some of us will uproot 411 00:26:59,770 --> 00:27:02,610 from everything we've Known because we're frustrated. 412 00:27:05,170 --> 00:27:08,970 Some of us will uproot from a lifetime of 413 00:27:08,970 --> 00:27:12,370 people and things because we. Were offended by something. 414 00:27:14,370 --> 00:27:18,250 Some of us will uproot because. Because of being impatient. 415 00:27:19,050 --> 00:27:22,170 I thought I would be advanced. I thought I would get a promotion by now. 416 00:27:22,170 --> 00:27:25,450 I thought I'd be making this by now. I thought I'd see my life like, 417 00:27:25,690 --> 00:27:29,690 we're impatient. Some of us will uproot because 418 00:27:29,930 --> 00:27:33,210 of fatigue. Anybody tired today? Raise your hand if you're tired. 419 00:27:36,010 --> 00:27:39,930 Some of us will uproot our lives because we're tired. We've 420 00:27:39,930 --> 00:27:43,900 got fatigue. Raise your hand 421 00:27:43,900 --> 00:27:47,900 if you've dealt with pain. Some of us will uproot 422 00:27:47,900 --> 00:27:51,860 a relationship in three seconds flat the minute we experience any pain. Why 423 00:27:51,860 --> 00:27:55,740 do I have you raise your hand on these? Because there's somebody in this 424 00:27:55,740 --> 00:27:59,220 room that walked into this place and said, I am the only one. 425 00:27:59,780 --> 00:28:03,300 And when you raise your hand, when I ask these questions, it 426 00:28:03,300 --> 00:28:07,260 obliterates the. Lie that I am the only one dealing with 427 00:28:07,260 --> 00:28:10,480 this. And it allows a pathway for the. Holy Spirit of God to work. 428 00:28:11,510 --> 00:28:14,030 So if you were dealing with any of these at some point in your. Life, 429 00:28:14,030 --> 00:28:17,830 would you raise your hand? Everybody look around the room. Now, I did these 430 00:28:17,830 --> 00:28:21,750 on red balls because nobody goes into 431 00:28:21,830 --> 00:28:25,790 a work situation. I don't interview for a work situation hoping 432 00:28:25,790 --> 00:28:29,670 that I land upon frustration. Nobody says, I want to 433 00:28:29,670 --> 00:28:33,430 be in relationship with you. I'm hoping that you'll cause me pain and 434 00:28:33,430 --> 00:28:36,700 hurt. These things come out of the blue. 435 00:28:37,890 --> 00:28:41,850 They come out of the blue. But if we've got our life all filled 436 00:28:41,850 --> 00:28:45,850 up and there's no margin to deal with these things when they come in, then 437 00:28:45,850 --> 00:28:48,890 all we do is in our own strength try to handle them. And what we 438 00:28:48,890 --> 00:28:52,050 find ourselves doing is uprooting when we were supposed to stay. 439 00:28:53,810 --> 00:28:57,330 Some of God's best lessons are found in these places. 440 00:29:00,610 --> 00:29:04,370 The exile of Israel was allowed by God. God's going to 441 00:29:04,370 --> 00:29:08,330 allow pain and frustration and suffering and all these things 442 00:29:08,330 --> 00:29:12,250 to come your way. He wants to utilize them. Why? Because he doesn't like 443 00:29:12,250 --> 00:29:15,930 you? Because he enjoys seeing you walk through that? No, because he 444 00:29:15,930 --> 00:29:19,610 wants you to lean on Him. He wants you to understand 445 00:29:20,090 --> 00:29:24,050 that when you stay rooted and planted, hurricane force 446 00:29:24,050 --> 00:29:27,890 winds can come at your life. But if you are rooted and planted. In 447 00:29:27,890 --> 00:29:31,770 him, nothing can destroy you. Nothing can can destroy 448 00:29:31,770 --> 00:29:34,690 you. And so we come to him 449 00:29:35,570 --> 00:29:39,410 in this way with these obstacles 450 00:29:39,410 --> 00:29:43,410 that come because we're human and they happen. I went 451 00:29:43,410 --> 00:29:46,330 home yesterday after we had a seminar here. In the morning, I went home and 452 00:29:46,330 --> 00:29:49,890 ate a sandwich. And on The TV was the movie the Notebook. Somebody seen the 453 00:29:49,890 --> 00:29:53,810 Notebook? There's a scene in the Notebook where Noah and Allie 454 00:29:53,810 --> 00:29:57,460 are there at the car, and he says to her, I'm. Not 455 00:29:57,460 --> 00:30:01,460 afraid to hurt your feelings. I'm 456 00:30:01,460 --> 00:30:04,900 not afraid to hurt your feelings. This is going to be hard. 457 00:30:05,380 --> 00:30:09,140 This is going to be tough, but I want to be together and I'm not 458 00:30:09,140 --> 00:30:12,820 going anywhere. What, Allie, do you want to. Which she 459 00:30:12,820 --> 00:30:16,820 responds, but somebody is going to get hurt no matter which 460 00:30:16,820 --> 00:30:20,780 way I go, and it's not fair. And, guys, if there's ever a parallel 461 00:30:20,780 --> 00:30:24,620 of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God is saying, listen, I know this 462 00:30:24,620 --> 00:30:28,490 is going to be messy sometimes, I know this is going to be hard sometimes, 463 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:31,680 but I'm not going anywhere because, April, I want you. 464 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:36,920 Jamie, I want you. Wade, I want you, says the 465 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:40,920 Holy Spirit. And then he says, what do you want to do? And so many 466 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:44,799 times we will make our decisions based on what he said or 467 00:30:44,799 --> 00:30:48,680 she said or how he feels or she feels, instead of walking in obedience and 468 00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:52,440 giving our lives to this holy God. He's not 469 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:56,200 going anywhere. If someone leaves this relationship, 470 00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:59,980 it's you. Oh, 471 00:30:59,980 --> 00:31:03,900 thank you. That is so kind of you. Thank you. You are such a kind 472 00:31:03,900 --> 00:31:05,940 give. Isn't Ken a kind person? 473 00:31:08,660 --> 00:31:12,180 I now feel clean. Praise the Lord. 474 00:31:12,900 --> 00:31:16,660 Hallelujah. I just hope I don't get be afraid to get 475 00:31:16,660 --> 00:31:17,300 messy again. 476 00:31:21,460 --> 00:31:24,900 Sometimes uprooting happens because things are hard. And sometimes 477 00:31:24,900 --> 00:31:28,860 uprooting happens because something shiny is dangling out in front of 478 00:31:28,860 --> 00:31:32,820 us. I want to tell you this this morning. God 479 00:31:32,820 --> 00:31:36,820 is not nearly as. He is not nearly as concerned 480 00:31:36,820 --> 00:31:39,580 about your advancement and your promotion as you are. 481 00:31:42,620 --> 00:31:46,540 He is not nearly as concerned about your bank account as you are. 482 00:31:48,300 --> 00:31:51,740 He's not nearly as concerned about you. Climbing the ladder of success 483 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:56,040 as you are. God is not trying to better the world's 484 00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:58,960 economic system with you and your talent. 485 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:03,800 He's trying to build a kingdom. And in the same way, he'd like to 486 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:07,760 use you to do it, he'd like to use you to do it. There's a 487 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:11,520 story about the rich young ruler in the Old Testament. You know that story? 488 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:15,760 He comes and he's got everything, and he's come to Jesus and he's like, 489 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:18,840 listen, I've obeyed all the rules. I've done all this. And Jesus says, yes, you 490 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:22,640 have. He says, so what do I need to have eternal life? And 491 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:26,280 Jesus says to him, go and sell all your possessions. Give everything away, and then 492 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:30,200 follow me. And the Word tells us that he turns away and 493 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:34,000 he's Sad. You know what that tells me it 494 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,639 means that it means this. When we are 495 00:32:37,639 --> 00:32:41,480 asking God to move in our lives, it doesn't always come in the 496 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:43,640 form of advancement, promotion and increase 497 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:47,640 in the least in the way that we think it does. 498 00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:53,240 Sometimes we must decrease. The Word tells us in John says 499 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:57,120 I must decrease. So why? He can, he can 500 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:00,920 increase. I don't believe that scripture ever treats movement 501 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:04,680 casually. If you look throughout scripture when, when. There'S a 502 00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:07,800 movement of God, it's not a casual thing. It's not, oh yeah, by the way, 503 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:11,600 let's just, let's just do this. There's significance if God 504 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:15,370 moves you. If God has you uproot, there's significance 505 00:33:15,610 --> 00:33:18,890 in that move that impacts the kingdom. 506 00:33:19,450 --> 00:33:23,330 But if you uproot and move too early when you're not supposed to, 507 00:33:23,330 --> 00:33:26,810 outside of God's grace and outside of God's will, if you do that too early 508 00:33:26,810 --> 00:33:30,010 and you do that without them, then you are headed toward destruction. And you're probably 509 00:33:30,010 --> 00:33:33,890 going to take some. People down with you. You're probably going to take some people 510 00:33:33,890 --> 00:33:37,690 down with you. And so 511 00:33:37,690 --> 00:33:41,130 because of this very important. Truth and where we are with abiding. 512 00:33:41,580 --> 00:33:45,580 And because in a room this size, I believe that there are people who. 513 00:33:45,580 --> 00:33:48,860 Are tempted to uproot emotionally, 514 00:33:48,940 --> 00:33:52,380 relationally, vocationally and spiritually. 515 00:33:52,780 --> 00:33:55,580 I want to shift from preaching at. You this morning 516 00:33:56,540 --> 00:33:59,540 and I want to put my shepherd hat on. And I'm going to invite you, 517 00:33:59,540 --> 00:34:02,820 if you have an ink pen, these. I don't ever do this, but this would 518 00:34:02,820 --> 00:34:06,300 be a good idea to write some of these things down. Because here's the deal. 519 00:34:06,460 --> 00:34:10,440 If you're not walking through a season. Right now where you come across a 520 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:14,200 temptation to uproot, you will. You inevitably 521 00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:18,200 will because everybody succumbs to. Some type of frustration, opportunity, 522 00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:21,640 pain, hurt, all those things. So I'm gonna give us seven questions that we need 523 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:25,480 to ask. And these are the questions. I forgot 524 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:29,120 this point. That which is messy may be what's maturing you. Okay, 525 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:33,360 so what does God ask us to consider before 526 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:37,520 we move? And this is what I invite you to write down. This 527 00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:41,390 is a. Let's filter this decision, okay? With 528 00:34:41,390 --> 00:34:45,390 some biblical wisdom, some God given wisdom here. Okay, so 529 00:34:45,470 --> 00:34:48,990 what does God ask us to consider? Everybody say the word before, 530 00:34:50,110 --> 00:34:53,790 not after. It doesn't help us 531 00:34:54,110 --> 00:34:57,630 after right now. It might 532 00:34:57,630 --> 00:35:01,430 illuminate the mistake we made, but it doesn't help us after before we 533 00:35:01,430 --> 00:35:04,990 move. Number one, am I moving from emotion or from 534 00:35:04,990 --> 00:35:08,720 discernment? Am I moving out of emotion or 535 00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:12,040 discernment? One of the clearest patterns I see. In Scripture is this. 536 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:16,360 God does not give major direction in. Moments of emotional 537 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:20,200 escalation. God does not give 538 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:24,000 major direction when. You are emotionally heightened. 539 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:27,920 There was a situation a while back. Where a person who had worked 540 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,840 for me for a while came to the table to ask if they could meet 541 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:34,520 with me. And I walked in there and I sat down. I thought we were 542 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:37,820 going to meet. With something about something else. And they said to me, hey, Mr. 543 00:35:37,820 --> 00:35:40,460 O', Day, I need to give you my resignation. This person had been with us 544 00:35:40,460 --> 00:35:44,260 for a very, very, very long time, more than a decade. And I 545 00:35:44,260 --> 00:35:47,860 looked at this person, I was like, okay. Wow. They're like, yeah, I feel like 546 00:35:47,860 --> 00:35:51,700 the. Lord's telling me to transition out and X, Y, and Z. And 547 00:35:52,180 --> 00:35:55,500 I was like, okay. And, you know, anyone that says to me, the Lord has 548 00:35:55,500 --> 00:35:58,620 said, you know, it gives me pause before I respond. Because if the Lord said, 549 00:35:58,620 --> 00:36:02,620 who am I? Right. Okay. The Lord said, but I didn't have a piece about 550 00:36:02,620 --> 00:36:05,310 it. And so I'm driving, I get in my car and I drive in and. 551 00:36:06,180 --> 00:36:10,180 And I felt like the Lord said, this is not from me. And 552 00:36:10,180 --> 00:36:14,100 so, upon further investigation, after talking to this. 553 00:36:15,460 --> 00:36:19,220 Talking to this young man, he had been carrying anger 554 00:36:19,700 --> 00:36:23,620 towards someone. He'd been carrying anger towards someone. 555 00:36:24,980 --> 00:36:28,900 And whenever the anger was addressed, when the anger was addressed 556 00:36:28,980 --> 00:36:32,960 with the person that they were carrying the anger with, we 557 00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:36,320 found out something that is all too common amongst people. 558 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:40,960 There was a misunderstanding, and this young 559 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:44,960 man was willing. To uproot 560 00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:49,800 everything they. Had known off of an assumption that 561 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:53,800 caused anger in their life. Am I moving 562 00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:57,720 out of emotion or out of discernment? Am 563 00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:01,440 I making this move out of emotion or. Emotion is real, 564 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:04,220 but emotion is not a reliable compass. 565 00:37:07,020 --> 00:37:10,580 I invite you to ask this question before you uproot. If 566 00:37:10,580 --> 00:37:14,460 nothing changes about my situation in. Six months, is it still 567 00:37:14,460 --> 00:37:14,860 God? 568 00:37:18,460 --> 00:37:22,460 Because our emotions will have us taking flight in three seconds flat. 569 00:37:26,380 --> 00:37:29,800 It is not the time to make earth chattering decisions and uproot 570 00:37:30,350 --> 00:37:34,350 when you are an emotional mess. Many times we call 571 00:37:34,830 --> 00:37:38,710 God is leading me. What we're actually saying is, I 572 00:37:38,710 --> 00:37:42,150 need this discomfort to end. Colossians 573 00:37:42,150 --> 00:37:45,950 3:15 says this. Let the peace of Christ rule your hearts. The operative rule. 574 00:37:45,950 --> 00:37:49,790 The word there is rule. Let the peace rule your hearts. 575 00:37:50,030 --> 00:37:53,830 In situations where there's movement, you ought. To have peace, not 576 00:37:53,830 --> 00:37:57,770 emotional turmoil. You ought to have peace. You ought 577 00:37:57,770 --> 00:38:01,610 to have peace. God leads with peace, not panic. 578 00:38:02,410 --> 00:38:05,690 Next question. Have I slowed down enough 579 00:38:06,330 --> 00:38:10,170 to actually hear from God? This is why 580 00:38:10,170 --> 00:38:12,650 our evaluation of capacity is super important. 581 00:38:14,090 --> 00:38:17,770 We are a hot pocket generation. Anybody ever had a hot 582 00:38:17,770 --> 00:38:21,730 pocket before? 2 minutes flat. That thing's piping hot. 583 00:38:21,730 --> 00:38:23,450 Put it in your mouth right away, you'll burn yourself. 584 00:38:26,450 --> 00:38:30,290 You cannot put the filter of a hot pocket generation on 585 00:38:30,290 --> 00:38:33,010 a great glorious God who knows what he's doing. 586 00:38:34,290 --> 00:38:38,090 He does not move like that. The fastest move in 587 00:38:38,090 --> 00:38:41,970 scripture that I see God do is he makes Saul a king. 588 00:38:43,090 --> 00:38:46,890 And we all know how that turned out. It wasn't that God made a mistake. 589 00:38:46,890 --> 00:38:50,130 God anointed Saul. He appointed, he chose him because the people said, we want a 590 00:38:50,130 --> 00:38:53,610 king. But Saul himself was more concerned about his 591 00:38:53,610 --> 00:38:56,690 promotion than he was obeying the. Word of the Lord. 592 00:38:59,170 --> 00:39:02,970 God does not move at the pace that we move that the world. He does 593 00:39:02,970 --> 00:39:05,730 not. He does not succumb to the world's timeline. 594 00:39:06,850 --> 00:39:10,530 And unfortunately, because we live in a world that's inconvenient sometimes to us. 595 00:39:11,490 --> 00:39:15,490 But God's not about making it convenient for us. He's 596 00:39:15,490 --> 00:39:18,130 about his will and his plan. 597 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:24,760 Am I honoring a commitment I have already made? 598 00:39:27,240 --> 00:39:30,560 Am I honoring a commitment I've already made? One of the most 599 00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:34,039 overlooked spiritual disciplines. In modern 600 00:39:34,039 --> 00:39:36,600 Christianity is faithfulness. 601 00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:41,800 Scripture places enormous weight on honoring our. Commitments, 602 00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:46,240 even when they become inconvenient. Ecclesiastes says this. When you make a 603 00:39:46,240 --> 00:39:50,030 vow to God. Do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure. 604 00:39:51,220 --> 00:39:54,860 Fulfill your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one 605 00:39:54,860 --> 00:39:58,660 and not fulfill it over. In Matthew, chapter five, it says, let your 606 00:39:58,660 --> 00:40:01,140 yes be yes and your no be no. 607 00:40:02,500 --> 00:40:05,140 Margaret Meek used to be our children's pastor here 608 00:40:06,180 --> 00:40:10,180 before her passing and going to be with Jesus. And one of the things 609 00:40:10,180 --> 00:40:13,540 that I learned under her discipleship was 610 00:40:15,380 --> 00:40:17,720 running kids ministry. You should try it sometimes. 611 00:40:19,550 --> 00:40:23,470 I have a wife who's doing it right now with a wonderful group of ladies 612 00:40:23,470 --> 00:40:27,030 out there. And children's ministry is one of the hardest 613 00:40:27,030 --> 00:40:30,270 ministries to staff to find volunteers for. 614 00:40:30,750 --> 00:40:34,510 But Margaret, every single year, she would go to 615 00:40:34,590 --> 00:40:38,270 every volunteer, no matter how dire the situation 616 00:40:38,350 --> 00:40:42,350 was with volunteers. And she would look them eyeball to eyeball and say, will 617 00:40:42,350 --> 00:40:46,210 you pray about committing to this ministry for another 618 00:40:46,290 --> 00:40:49,970 year? Because Margaret did not want people there. Because 619 00:40:50,210 --> 00:40:53,810 they felt bad for Margaret. She didn't want people there because 620 00:40:53,890 --> 00:40:57,490 they felt a need or even the fact. That they loved kids. She wanted people 621 00:40:58,130 --> 00:41:01,410 who were walking obedience to a call God placed on their life. 622 00:41:02,690 --> 00:41:06,610 Because if you're working for the Lord under something he's asked you to do, he 623 00:41:06,610 --> 00:41:10,410 will give you the grace you need to do it. He'll give you the 624 00:41:10,410 --> 00:41:14,250 grace. And so here. And I beseech all of our leaders, all of our. If 625 00:41:14,250 --> 00:41:18,070 it's youth or kids or young adults or men's whoever, whatever ministries 626 00:41:18,070 --> 00:41:22,070 we. Have here, I'm always saying, guys, make. 627 00:41:22,070 --> 00:41:25,070 A commitment term for a year for. Some 628 00:41:25,630 --> 00:41:28,950 predetermined amount of time where a. Person can go before the Lord and say, lord, 629 00:41:28,950 --> 00:41:32,190 do you want me to. Commit from here to here? And then when they get 630 00:41:32,190 --> 00:41:35,070 here, you can go before Lord, Lord, is my season up? Or do you want 631 00:41:35,070 --> 00:41:38,350 me to commit from here to here? Do you want me to commit from here 632 00:41:38,350 --> 00:41:42,310 to here? And guys, in the middle of that commitment, we commit 633 00:41:42,310 --> 00:41:46,100 and serve with faithfulness and excellence. Even if it's hard. 634 00:41:47,540 --> 00:41:51,300 Even if it's hard, we continue to serve. 635 00:41:52,900 --> 00:41:56,540 And so let's address for a moment the issue here. I 636 00:41:56,540 --> 00:41:59,860 misheard God. I told you. 637 00:42:00,099 --> 00:42:03,980 Yes, but I misheard God. Has anybody ever done that or 638 00:42:03,980 --> 00:42:07,700 heard that? I've told them yes, but I misheard God. 639 00:42:08,260 --> 00:42:12,120 Let me tell you what to do in that situation. If you've told somebody yes, 640 00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:15,600 and you've. Given them your word and you misheard God, 641 00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:20,880 serve anyway. Because here's the thing. 642 00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:24,040 The first thing we want to do. When we feel like we misheard God is 643 00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:27,960 to do something. But might I suggest that it was your doing that got 644 00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:31,840 you in the place in the first place, in the situation in the first 645 00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:35,720 place? I believe that if you will acknowledge. To the 646 00:42:35,720 --> 00:42:39,620 Lord, lord, I made a mistake. I missed your voice. I wasn't supposed to 647 00:42:39,620 --> 00:42:42,180 serve for that time that I said that I was going to serve. I think 648 00:42:42,180 --> 00:42:45,060 the Lord will meet you right where you are and give you a grace covering 649 00:42:45,060 --> 00:42:49,020 for that season. Now, will it be hard? Probably. But 650 00:42:49,020 --> 00:42:52,620 you're learning something. You're learning something as you work through 651 00:42:53,180 --> 00:42:57,060 committing to your word and allowing the Lord to allow 652 00:42:57,060 --> 00:43:01,020 you the opportunity and the ability to be faithful. There 653 00:43:01,020 --> 00:43:04,870 will be blessing at the end of it. Next question. Is 654 00:43:04,870 --> 00:43:08,310 this. Is this just a season or am I just 655 00:43:08,310 --> 00:43:12,230 uncomfortable? Is this the season or am I just. 656 00:43:12,550 --> 00:43:16,230 Guys, nothing is forever. But not everything 657 00:43:16,310 --> 00:43:17,510 ends when it gets hard. 658 00:43:20,230 --> 00:43:24,150 There are seasons. But seasons are determined by using 659 00:43:24,390 --> 00:43:28,270 wisdom and discernment, not dictated by our emotions and how 660 00:43:28,270 --> 00:43:32,240 we feel. Nobody has 661 00:43:32,240 --> 00:43:35,840 a forever assignment, but everyone has a responsibility 662 00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:37,600 to finish what they've started. 663 00:43:40,480 --> 00:43:44,280 Next. Have I invited wise counsel or just 664 00:43:44,280 --> 00:43:46,320 those in agreement with me? 665 00:43:48,640 --> 00:43:52,240 I think one of the fastest ways to deceive ourselves is to only 666 00:43:52,240 --> 00:43:55,040 listen to the voices that affirm what we already want. 667 00:43:57,120 --> 00:44:00,840 We know how to gravitate to those. Who will say yes. Or say no or 668 00:44:00,840 --> 00:44:04,800 agree with us. And, you know, one of the things, if you're 669 00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:08,560 in a place where you want to get counsel and your opening line to the 670 00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:12,000 person you're talking to. Is this, can you believe that they 671 00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:14,800 ellipses. You're talking to the wrong person. 672 00:44:16,640 --> 00:44:20,600 You're talking to the wrong person. When the conversation becomes 673 00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:24,400 more about them and the situation than what the Lord's. Doing in your life, you're 674 00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:27,740 probably talking to the wrong. You need somebody who's going to slow. Slow you down, 675 00:44:28,380 --> 00:44:32,020 who's going to. Who knows you, who can offer you biblical 676 00:44:32,020 --> 00:44:35,860 counsel and who can point you into the direction and is not afraid to point 677 00:44:35,860 --> 00:44:37,820 you in a direction that you don't want to go. 678 00:44:46,140 --> 00:44:50,020 When I was 18 years old, I knew that the Lord had placed a call 679 00:44:50,020 --> 00:44:52,820 of ministry in my life. Didn't know what it was for. I thought, honestly, guys, 680 00:44:52,820 --> 00:44:54,700 I thought there. Was such a long time I thought I was going to be 681 00:44:54,700 --> 00:44:57,420 the next children's pastor in this church. There was so long, I thought I was 682 00:44:57,420 --> 00:45:00,960 going to be the next youth pastor. Like forever youth pastor of this church. Like, 683 00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:04,800 when the Lord's placed me somewhere, I'm just. I'm serving like it's my forever thing 684 00:45:04,800 --> 00:45:08,520 until the Lord does it. So being here in this 685 00:45:08,520 --> 00:45:12,400 particular position. Was not on the radar. But when I was 18, I was. 686 00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:16,360 Serving under Margaret and kids ministry, and I went to a conference with Pastor Wayne, 687 00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:20,200 and it was in Atlanta. And this. And this young pastor there comes up to 688 00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:23,480 me and he says, I've seen. You dancing down front. You're going to come to 689 00:45:23,480 --> 00:45:27,290 my church and be my youth pastor pastor. And I said, amen, let's go. 690 00:45:28,090 --> 00:45:31,250 I knew I had a call for ministry. I went to a conference and I. 691 00:45:31,250 --> 00:45:34,730 Found out I'm going to be a. Youth pastor at this church. And so I 692 00:45:34,730 --> 00:45:38,570 got in a car. And I drove to South Carolina. And somewhere 693 00:45:38,650 --> 00:45:42,650 in the library of videos, VHS videos that I have, there 694 00:45:42,650 --> 00:45:46,330 is a video of me preaching in this predominantly African American 695 00:45:46,410 --> 00:45:50,370 church where everybody is shouting Amen and I am not 696 00:45:50,370 --> 00:45:52,550 making one lick of Satan sense. 697 00:45:54,150 --> 00:45:57,750 I watched that video a decade later and I was 698 00:45:57,830 --> 00:46:01,710 mortified. The things coming out of my mouth. Were not even true, not even 699 00:46:01,710 --> 00:46:04,910 biblical. And the church was saying Amen. But I was going to be their youth 700 00:46:04,910 --> 00:46:08,750 pastor. I was going to be their youth pastor. They invited me to a dinner 701 00:46:08,750 --> 00:46:11,950 downstairs. It was good. I drove back, so happy. And I went right up to 702 00:46:11,950 --> 00:46:15,630 Pastor. Ronnie and I said, guess what? I'm moving to South 703 00:46:15,630 --> 00:46:19,430 Carolina to be a youth pastor. At this church. And you know what he did? 704 00:46:19,430 --> 00:46:22,220 Because he loved me so much, he laughed in my face. 705 00:46:25,100 --> 00:46:28,140 He literally laughed in my face and said, no, you're not. 706 00:46:30,300 --> 00:46:34,140 Now, I had a lot of options at that moment, offense being one of them, 707 00:46:36,780 --> 00:46:40,660 but I knew in that moment, Ronnie loves me. I 708 00:46:40,660 --> 00:46:44,460 was disappointed that he wasn't championing what I thought I was supposed to do. 709 00:46:45,740 --> 00:46:49,700 But the value and wisdom and the counsel that was before me made me pause 710 00:46:49,700 --> 00:46:52,010 and go, wait a second. Maybe this is not what I was supposed to do 711 00:46:52,240 --> 00:46:56,240 do. My life would have been in shambles had I 712 00:46:56,240 --> 00:46:59,680 gone to be the youth pastor of aren't you? 713 00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:03,440 You need somebody in your life who loves you enough to say, no, 714 00:47:04,880 --> 00:47:08,399 no. This doesn't sound like. Look like the Lord in your life. 715 00:47:09,520 --> 00:47:13,400 You don't need somebody to manipulate you and nobody can control you. I could 716 00:47:13,400 --> 00:47:16,440 have still gotten in my car and went to go do that and learned the 717 00:47:16,440 --> 00:47:19,890 lesson the hard way. Thank you, Lord, for the 718 00:47:19,890 --> 00:47:21,050 guardrails in my life. 719 00:47:25,210 --> 00:47:29,050 Where there's no counsel, the people fall. But in the multitude of 720 00:47:29,050 --> 00:47:32,410 counselors, there's safety. Go to 721 00:47:32,410 --> 00:47:36,330 counselors. Find somebody that you trust that knows you, that knows 722 00:47:36,330 --> 00:47:38,890 the Lord and will give you counsel. The next one is this. 723 00:47:40,250 --> 00:47:42,410 Am I being sent or am I running? 724 00:47:44,180 --> 00:47:47,780 Am I being sent or am I running? This question matters because 725 00:47:47,780 --> 00:47:51,660 movement can look. Spiritual on the surface while it's 726 00:47:51,660 --> 00:47:55,540 being fear driven on the inside. Running really 727 00:47:55,540 --> 00:47:58,820 is a reactive response. It's emotionally charged. 728 00:47:59,700 --> 00:48:02,100 It's motivated by escape. 729 00:48:03,300 --> 00:48:07,300 Remember Jonah? Jonah's response wasn't because he 730 00:48:07,300 --> 00:48:10,140 didn't hear what the Lord said. He heard loud and clear what the Lord wanted 731 00:48:10,140 --> 00:48:13,860 him to do. And he ran and he disobeyed. 732 00:48:14,580 --> 00:48:17,940 And we saw what happened. Smelly, stinky situation 733 00:48:21,300 --> 00:48:25,060 calling sends us fear, causes us to run. And 734 00:48:25,060 --> 00:48:28,820 lastly, this. Write this down. Will this produce greater 735 00:48:28,820 --> 00:48:31,300 fruit or just greater relief? 736 00:48:32,580 --> 00:48:36,380 Before you uproot and move, will this. Produce greater fruit or just greater 737 00:48:36,380 --> 00:48:39,440 relief? Jesus does not measure our lives by comfort. 738 00:48:40,550 --> 00:48:44,510 He measures our life by fruit. And relief feels good in 739 00:48:44,510 --> 00:48:48,150 the moment. It feels great in the moment. But 740 00:48:48,230 --> 00:48:52,150 fruit is what will last. When Jesus 741 00:48:52,150 --> 00:48:55,750 talks about, remain in me, abide in me, he's not talking about 742 00:48:55,830 --> 00:48:59,670 staying forever in whatever place you're in. He's saying, be faithful 743 00:48:59,670 --> 00:49:02,550 until God clearly moves you to the next thing. 744 00:49:03,910 --> 00:49:07,530 There are some gentlemen who really have meant 745 00:49:07,930 --> 00:49:11,650 a significant amount to my life, have spoken to my life. These guys 746 00:49:11,650 --> 00:49:15,450 here are really important to me. 747 00:49:15,530 --> 00:49:19,290 And it's not even necessarily the words that come out of their 748 00:49:19,290 --> 00:49:23,250 mouth. It's how I'VE watched them live their life. The 749 00:49:23,250 --> 00:49:27,210 first one is Ronnie Meek. Ronnie served faithfully 750 00:49:27,210 --> 00:49:31,210 for 33 years as this pastor. And let me tell you, 751 00:49:31,210 --> 00:49:32,180 now that I'm a pastor. 752 00:49:35,450 --> 00:49:39,450 Ronnie served for 33. Years as pastor 753 00:49:39,450 --> 00:49:43,290 of this church faithfully. Hal 754 00:49:43,290 --> 00:49:47,210 Laughlin sitting down here in front. He was the golf pro 755 00:49:47,370 --> 00:49:50,570 at Smyrna golf course for 31 years. 756 00:49:52,570 --> 00:49:56,250 It was an easy breeze the whole time, right, Hal? No problems, no issues. Just 757 00:49:56,250 --> 00:49:56,810 sit back. 758 00:50:01,540 --> 00:50:05,260 The man on the end there, some of you have seen him. That's my stepdad, 759 00:50:05,260 --> 00:50:09,180 David, and that's my mom with him. David's going 760 00:50:09,180 --> 00:50:12,700 to retire soon after 40 years working at Tridon here in 761 00:50:12,700 --> 00:50:16,580 Smyrna. That type 762 00:50:16,580 --> 00:50:20,580 of faithfulness, where is it in this generation? Not 763 00:50:20,580 --> 00:50:24,500 to mention that all three of these men have been married to the. Same 764 00:50:24,500 --> 00:50:28,450 spouse for three decades. Not to mention that all 765 00:50:28,450 --> 00:50:32,330 three of these men have served the Lord Jesus Christ for over three 766 00:50:32,330 --> 00:50:32,930 decades. 767 00:50:36,210 --> 00:50:38,210 Remarkable admiration, 768 00:50:40,929 --> 00:50:44,290 leverage in the kingdom, in the spiritual 769 00:50:45,170 --> 00:50:49,050 being used by God. All come and derive from 770 00:50:49,050 --> 00:50:53,010 a posture of faithful. I know lots of guys who 771 00:50:53,010 --> 00:50:56,090 can come up to my life and say. A lot of wonderful quotes and a 772 00:50:56,090 --> 00:50:59,970 lot of things. But let me follow someone who stays in the 773 00:50:59,970 --> 00:51:03,890 trenches when it's hard, that I can count on, that's stable, that has 774 00:51:03,890 --> 00:51:07,450 a foundation and says, it's not me, it's this God that I 775 00:51:07,450 --> 00:51:11,410 serve. You see what they understand, these three men? A 776 00:51:11,410 --> 00:51:15,250 faithful believer will finish what they start. A 777 00:51:15,250 --> 00:51:19,190 faithful believer will finish what they start. Start. Let me tell you something. When 778 00:51:19,190 --> 00:51:22,910 you come to the end of a race, that thing 779 00:51:23,150 --> 00:51:27,110 that you're doing. How you finish should be better than how you 780 00:51:27,110 --> 00:51:30,870 started. We work 781 00:51:30,870 --> 00:51:34,430 harder, we press in. At the end of the race, when. Racers are running that 782 00:51:34,430 --> 00:51:38,310 relay, they don't ease up and back off. On that last leg, what do they 783 00:51:38,310 --> 00:51:42,230 do? They sprint. They give it all they got. So 784 00:51:42,230 --> 00:51:46,030 even if God's moving you out of a season, you 785 00:51:46,030 --> 00:51:49,710 give everything you've got. Because how you in that season is. How God's going to 786 00:51:49,710 --> 00:51:53,670 let you begin that next thing. And 787 00:51:53,670 --> 00:51:56,630 the God that I serve, at least how he does, Kevin, if I don't learn 788 00:51:56,630 --> 00:52:00,550 the lesson on that lap, you think you're going somewhere where the grass is 789 00:52:00,550 --> 00:52:03,990 greener on that other side. Guess what? That same lesson is waiting right there for 790 00:52:03,990 --> 00:52:06,990 you. Just different faces, different voices. 791 00:52:08,350 --> 00:52:11,240 But you get to run that lap. Again because God's not finished 792 00:52:12,030 --> 00:52:15,070 maturing you. Jesus says, 793 00:52:15,550 --> 00:52:19,550 remain in me. Remain in me. 794 00:52:20,190 --> 00:52:23,310 Brittany Grisham sent this picture to me last night. 795 00:52:24,350 --> 00:52:28,070 If you look in the middle, there's a tree there. And it's literally planted. It 796 00:52:28,070 --> 00:52:31,830 looks. It's like literally on that rock, and it's 797 00:52:31,830 --> 00:52:35,790 flourishing. It's green. I mean, it's literally flourishing. And it's planted on 798 00:52:35,790 --> 00:52:38,940 a hard surface. It's planted in what does seem 799 00:52:39,980 --> 00:52:43,820 should bring life. But if you look at a different perspective, you'll notice 800 00:52:45,740 --> 00:52:49,700 that the tree's roots are connected to a source around 801 00:52:49,700 --> 00:52:53,620 the way. You know what this tells me? You may be planted 802 00:52:53,620 --> 00:52:57,460 in a hard place. You may be standing in somewhere that's 803 00:52:57,460 --> 00:53:01,420 rough and hard and rigid and doesn't give life. But if your roots are 804 00:53:01,420 --> 00:53:04,410 connected to the source, you will thrive in the middle the. Of. Of that hard 805 00:53:04,410 --> 00:53:08,210 situation. In that hard place. You will thrive in the middle of that 806 00:53:08,210 --> 00:53:12,130 circumstance, and God will be your source and he will sustain you if 807 00:53:12,130 --> 00:53:15,770 you will just stay planted. Would you stand with me this morning? 808 00:53:17,050 --> 00:53:20,930 So I'm going to bridge these two. Messages last week, capacity 809 00:53:20,930 --> 00:53:24,690 and margin. That still is relevant 810 00:53:24,690 --> 00:53:28,410 today. What'd you do with last week's message? I found 811 00:53:28,410 --> 00:53:32,350 myself finding myself, Lord. I don't have the grace for this 812 00:53:32,350 --> 00:53:36,230 particular conversation, Lord. I don't know that I'm supposed to be doing this 813 00:53:36,230 --> 00:53:40,150 particular thing. God. Oh, I'm. Lord, I didn't. I was supposed to pick that up, 814 00:53:40,150 --> 00:53:42,990 and I didn't pick it up. Lord, would you forgive me? Would you help me? 815 00:53:43,070 --> 00:53:46,110 What are you doing with this, guys? And what are you doing with this today? 816 00:53:48,110 --> 00:53:52,110 Because there's at least one person in this room. You came in here 817 00:53:52,110 --> 00:53:55,870 knowing that you. Were about to jump ship. I don't necessarily mean from the church, 818 00:53:55,870 --> 00:53:59,420 from whatever it is, relationally vocational, whatever it is. 819 00:53:59,820 --> 00:54:03,660 And the Lord said, no, I drew. You in today just like I 820 00:54:03,660 --> 00:54:07,580 sent Jeremiah did. I talk about Jeremiah 17 821 00:54:07,660 --> 00:54:10,860 here? I'm going to say it again if I did Jeremiah 17. You read it. 822 00:54:10,860 --> 00:54:14,620 If you're in the Bible plan, Israel. Is in 823 00:54:14,620 --> 00:54:18,580 the thick of sin. And he sends Jeremiah to stand by the 824 00:54:18,580 --> 00:54:22,500 gates, and they're coming in on the Sabbath, and the Israelites are pumping 825 00:54:22,500 --> 00:54:26,490 out the work. And Jeremiah is saying to the Israelites as they're coming through 826 00:54:26,490 --> 00:54:29,770 the gate, he's. Saying to them, keep the Sabbath holy. 827 00:54:30,170 --> 00:54:34,050 Stop. Stop. Keep the Sabbath holy. And as I was reading that this 828 00:54:34,050 --> 00:54:37,970 week, I went, lord, why were you not going after them 829 00:54:37,970 --> 00:54:41,730 for. For worshiping another God? Why were you not going? Why is 830 00:54:41,730 --> 00:54:45,370 this? Why is it the Sabbath? And, you know, he said to me, he said, 831 00:54:46,090 --> 00:54:49,840 it doesn't matter what I say if you don't have the capacity. To hear my 832 00:54:49,840 --> 00:54:53,520 voice. So why Is he addressing the 833 00:54:53,520 --> 00:54:57,520 Sabbath? Why are we starting with capacity? Guys, it doesn't matter. I'm 834 00:54:57,520 --> 00:55:01,280 just a talking head. If you don't have the margin to allow the Holy 835 00:55:01,280 --> 00:55:05,000 Spirit to speak to your heart and make change, real change in your life, 836 00:55:05,160 --> 00:55:08,880 so all of this is connected. So 837 00:55:08,880 --> 00:55:12,760 maybe God is saying, is that relationship frustrated? Stay. 838 00:55:14,200 --> 00:55:17,110 Is that job hard right now? Stay. 839 00:55:19,270 --> 00:55:21,910 Are you sick of hearing Kevin's voice? Stay. 840 00:55:27,350 --> 00:55:31,110 Is that opportunity looking so good that you're willing to walk out on 841 00:55:31,110 --> 00:55:32,470 everything you've ever known? 842 00:55:34,790 --> 00:55:38,230 Stay. So this morning we're going to do something a little different. 843 00:55:39,190 --> 00:55:42,510 We're going to center our hearts. Have you ever been. Kailyn, have you ever been 844 00:55:42,510 --> 00:55:44,550 in a. Situation where you're singing a song and you have no idea what you 845 00:55:44,550 --> 00:55:47,720 just said you're singing it? You know, I've done that. I've read books, too. I'll 846 00:55:47,720 --> 00:55:51,240 be in the Bible. My brain's going a miles an hour. So. So here's what 847 00:55:51,240 --> 00:55:55,120 we're going to do. Pastor Will and Pastor Jonathan and Brittany. I would like you 848 00:55:55,120 --> 00:55:58,160 to lead us in this song. And I'm going to invite you not to sing. 849 00:55:58,160 --> 00:56:01,960 As beautiful as your voices are. Yes, Justin, your voice 850 00:56:01,960 --> 00:56:05,640 too. So beautiful. I'm going to ask you to turn it off today. 851 00:56:07,480 --> 00:56:11,090 And in the midst of the song. Being sang over us, I want you to 852 00:56:11,090 --> 00:56:14,970 quiet your heart and your spirit. And connect 853 00:56:14,970 --> 00:56:18,850 with this king of our. Life and allow 854 00:56:18,850 --> 00:56:22,730 him to literally speak. To you about where 855 00:56:22,810 --> 00:56:25,210 you are right now. 856 00:56:26,570 --> 00:56:30,570 Do you have margin in your life? Are you planted? Are you rooted? 857 00:56:30,570 --> 00:56:34,330 Some of you today need to make a decision to root. It's not that you're 858 00:56:34,330 --> 00:56:37,740 being uprooted. It's like you haven't landed. You. You need to say, you look like 859 00:56:37,740 --> 00:56:41,380 this right here. And you need to look like 860 00:56:41,460 --> 00:56:45,420 this right here. Okay? So let's 861 00:56:45,420 --> 00:56:49,060 worship today by literally just 862 00:56:49,780 --> 00:56:53,380 getting vertical. You know, there's an old fashioned thing 863 00:56:53,620 --> 00:56:57,260 about getting on your knees and making your chariot altar. That might be something you 864 00:56:57,260 --> 00:57:00,540 want to do or you lay out in the floor here. You can do whatever 865 00:57:00,540 --> 00:57:04,210 you. You can posture yourself, whatever. Whatever way helps you 866 00:57:04,210 --> 00:57:07,330 connect with God. Do that. Let's worship.