Well, good morning Spring House, and good morning to those joining

us online. We're glad that you're joining us. You know I was saying in

the early gathering, I'm so grateful for a church who

does, consider those in need. It's so wonderful

and supernatural really to see how the Lord blesses and uses

the dollars for a need, people in need and how he stretches

those funds for people who really are indeed in

need. And so I just wanna thank you guys for your generosity, your

intentionality in remembering that. The word

tells us that when we give to the poor, we lend

to the Lord, and I believe God

is, He just so knows how to use

the resources coming in in such a powerful way, in a way better than we

could even imagine. And so thank you guys for, being

intentional with that. Before we get going here, just

a couple of things. We are in summer, believe it or

not. It's here. And, and so we are not going

to have midweek gatherings in the summer. We typically take

the summer off in our traditional, scheduling on

Thursday night, so in the month of June and July we will not have our

traditional midweek gathering, but I do encourage you to continue to be

plugged in to the ministries at the church. Pursuit's got

a homeroom derby coming up, Bloom is gonna continue to meet,

the youth and the young adult groups are also meeting throughout the

summer, Evergreen, Everlast. So get on the, app and

find out their regimen schedule and plug in that way, but

we will not have our regular Thursday night gatherings until

August. Okay? And so, no midweek, gatherings, and that starts this

week. Okay? So welcome, Summer, and, we're still

gonna be plugged into the family, amen? Alright, today we

are going to talk about the story where Samuel anoints

David in First Samuel chapter 16, and we are gonna

read the entire story. So would you

stand with me this morning?

And we're gonna read it with some gusto. Are we are we ready?

Kelsey, you ready to read? Alright. Here we go. I'm glad

you're here today. The Lord said to

Samuel, how long will you mourn for Saul

since I have rejected him as king over Israel?

Fill your horn with oil and be on your way. I

am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have

chosen one of his sons to be king. But

Samuel said, how can I go? If Saul hears

about it, he will kill me. The Lord said, take a

heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice

to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice

and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint

for me the one I indicate. Samuel did

what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the

elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked,

do you come in peace? Samuel replied, yes

in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.

Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.

Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to

the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw

Eliab and thought, surely the Lord's anointed stands

here before the Lord. But the Lord said to Samuel,

do not consider his appearance or his height, for I

have rejected him.

Heart. Then Jesse called the Benedab and had him

pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, the Lord

has not chosen this one either. Jesse had

Shema pass by and Samuel said, nor has the Lord

chosen this one. Jesse had seven of his sons

pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, the Lord

has not chosen these. So he asked Jesse, are

these all the sons you have? There is still the youngest,

Jesse answered. He is tending the sheep. Samuel

said, send for him, we will not sit down until he

arrives. So he sent for them and had him brought

in. He was glowing with health and had fine appearance

and handsome features. Then the Lord said, rise

and anoint him. This is the one. So Samuel took

the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his

brothers. And from that day, the spirit of the Lord

came powerfully upon David. Father, I thank you for your word and it's

transformed to truth. I pray Lord that you would anoint us today to

be recipients of your truth and transform us for eternity

today. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated.

Have you ever purchased something online on the

internet and what you thought you were getting

on the screen didn't quite pan out or look like

what arrived on your porch? Has that ever

angered anybody? Anybody suffered any frustration?

I get sucked in sometimes to these schemes, especially when I'm scrolling

through social media, Justin, that say, hey, buy this for $9. And

it comes in and it's a medium, you know, and I thought it was a

large or extra large and, you know, and you know,

sometimes when we're we're looking at things on the outside, it doesn't

necessarily match what's on the inside. You know, sometimes you might go to the store

and buy a can of Pringles hoping to pop till you can't stop

and, you open them up looking to enjoy a Pringle,

but whenever you dig in, all of a sudden you got a lucky charms.

And you're like, what is this? Lucky charms? Lucky charm. Now

Ruby would be very excited about this.

Sometimes what's happening on the outside

isn't indicative of what reality is on the inside.

And we blindly go through life often

making sacrifices, purchases, giving ourselves

to people, things, entities, what be it, that has

an

marketed or cracked up to be. Is that true? Is that

true? We're talking about the greatest

stories ever told. And part of the part of the the

greatest story ever told as we are a part of the greatest story ever told

is that we have this human element in us, within

us that says, hey we are growing from the

inside out. But also often especially for

those who struggle with any type of pride or anything like that we

like to try to manifest on the outside things that don't really

aren't really happening on the inside. See here's the thing, what we see on

the outside should match what's on the inside. What

we see on the outside should match what's on the inside and if we're honest

with ourselves sometimes what we portray on the outside isn't

what's really happening on the inside. Perhaps you've met met

someone, gotten in connection or relationship with someone and

if you're really close to someone you get a chance to really see

who they are. Today, this morning, we're gonna talk about something real

important. It's we're gonna talk about character this morning. Character.

I like to portray different characters

from the stage. Anybody ever been in a show before?

Okay. Been in a theater or a show or a play? You know one of

the neat things about that is you get to take on the persona of a

character that's not you And you get to display

attributes, you get to study the character, you get to pretend

as if you are somebody that you're not. But here's the problem,

many times we take up characters and we use those characters

and manifest those characters in our everyday life. And we

think that we're fooling the people around us, but we ain't really

fooling anybody. I love that the

Lord gives us examples of figures in scripture who

are human. Can you imagine if scripture was full of

perfection? It was here is one person after the other

doing the right thing all of the time. Boy, I think

a lot of us would probably run, wouldn't want anything to do with Jesus because

we just couldn't measure up. Well the truth of the matter is we can't measure

up. We can't measure up nor could any of these predominant figures

in scripture. They couldn't measure up either. They needed a

sovereign God. We need a Jesus in his blood. We need a

Jesus in his blood. We're gonna work with this simple definition of character. Character

is who you really are.

Character is who you really

really are. The closer you get to people, the more you

see who they really are. The people people closest

to you should be able to defend your

character. I think probably for most of us in the room the

closest relationship we have is that one with our spouse. And

maybe, maybe, just maybe, the person that walked down the aisle and

gave you their vows, you found out some things about them in the first few

weeks. Like they left their their cap off of the toothpaste or they

weren't as clean as you thought they were gonna be or they handle situations

because it's different whenever you're spending chosen time with somebody as opposed

to spending all your time with somebody. They get to see the good,

bad, and the ugly. When you're in that courtship relationship, you're bringing out the best.

You're putting on the best labels, you're putting on the best things and all of

that stuff, but boy when you start living with somebody you really really

get to get to know them. But character

should be something in our life that could be easily defended

in the in the in in the right circles. You see, sometimes we

get in circles of people and people get to talking and all of

a sudden you start to hear some things about somebody who's not present in the

circle, but you've got the insight and the data

to the care as to the character of that person. And might I suggest

that God has placed you in that environment to open your

mouth and defend the character of the person that you know.

We have often said here that love is my name protected in

your mouth. Well, love is being able to recognize somebody's character and

speak to it and defend it. Not that people are perfect.

Not that people are perfect, but being able to stand up and say, I

don't know that what you're saying or trying to say here is absolutely true. Let's

get that person involved. Let's get that person

involved in in the mix. I want to have a reputable

character that can be defended and that should be a desire of all of ours.

That we would have a character not a perfection but man, I sure do believe

that when he makes a mistake he admits it and he apologizes or he asks

for forgiveness or I have seen consistency and change in

his life. Whenever somebody accuses him of something he

actually leans in and says I want to try to dig in and figure out

whether or not this is true or not true or how I can grow from

that. That should be the story of every growing Christian

in the room. And I believe that this is the number one

reason people in leadership don't get close to people.

One of the things that was told of me when I was getting into this

role as pastor is somebody said to me you're not allowed to have any close

friends. And I kind of scratched my head about that

and getting being in it now for a while I understand why people

would think that, why people would get in that, that mindset

as as leaders because if you're a leader of any sort you sometimes,

especially if you're on the platform, you live in a glass house. You live where

everybody gets to see everything and they get to form opinions about what you're saying,

what you're doing, how you're living, all of the different things. But my

hope and my prayer for my life and for the leaders here at this church

and the leaders that you follow out in the world is that their character, what's

happening on the inside matches what's happening on the inside

and the outside. We we tend to judge character or what's on the

inside based on the packaging.

Or what's protected on the outside. Sometimes we'll even judge

the character of a person based on someone's description of the

outside as opposed to really getting to

know the person at all, inside or out. And

so this guy named Samuel, he didn't just

arrive on the scene. Pastor Ronnie talked about Samuel last week and Saul,

And this is the part of the story where Saul's kingdom has been taken from

him. Because of choices that Saul made, because of

his character, the Lord had to

remove the kingdom from Saul and

Samuel, we're introduced to Samuel and how we're introduced in this chapter it

says that Samuel is mourning. He is grieving

over the loss of the kingdom out of Saul's hands. He's grieving. He's

mourning Saul. Now this tells me something very

interesting. This tells me that if Samuel is mourning or

grieving Saul, it tells me how it ended with Saul was not how it began

with Saul. How it ended with Saul is not how it

began with Saul. God did choose Saul to be king.

Samuel recognized Saul as the king

of the Israelites, but Saul

began to make some other choices. You see here's the thing,

sometimes position and title is the genesis of a

downfall. Sometimes position and

title is the genesis of a downfall. I've seen a

number of people change and evolve

with their position and end up somebody totally different by the end

of their tenure. This is why it

is paramount in any position of leadership or anything God has given

you to do that you hold it like this.

Sometimes our fingers start to coral in just a little bit, just a little bit.

We start to we start to form an identity

around the positions and the things that we have. And all of

a sudden what happens, the reason our character

is called into question is because our identity is coming from

a position and a title as opposed to the one who created

us. And when that becomes the case, the Lord begins to say

it's time for you to move on. Saul, you no longer can have the kingdom.

You can no longer have the kingdom because what I say, says the

Lord, is of less importance than what you think and what you're

doing. And so Saul had to render

render the kingdom. Even when something is taken away from

you, have you ever been in a situation where you felt like a position or

a title or something you've been given was unjustly

taken from you? It was removed from you. Have Have you ever been

in a situation where you thought this situation is not just, it's

not right, and it makes you feel a certain sort of way.

Can I tell you? Even in those circumstances your

actions and your reactions are your responsibility.

Your actions and your reactions in those unjust

moments are your responsibility and have everything to

do with your character. Because see here's the thing

while some of us wreak havoc in the midst of

an unjust situation all you're doing is really

illuminating the fact that you shouldn't be in the position in the first place.

We had a situation a little while back at our school

where we discovered something about someone, that wasn't in

keeping with our values at the school and that person had to be terminated.

And so in that termination, which is never

an easy thing, that termination, but that termination happened and

months later months later the leader who terminated that

person received this text message.

Good morning. I Just want to let you know that I really appreciate you

for sitting me down and talking to me. I have quit

smoking and it's forced me to deal with things that I've been avoiding for

years. I honestly didn't think that I would ever could

never not depend on marijuana, but I've recently decided that

I've got to give it to the most high and heal one day at a

time. I love you so much for your kindness. This

is to the person who fired her. Thank you for

your kindness. I pray that the creator blesses you so much. Thank you

again for not condemning me but helping me realize I had

a problem. I love you.

I love you. Can I tell you how you leave a

thing is probably more important than the way that you started the

thing? You can redefine

your entire whatever it is, organization, ministry,

timeline in the last few months by what you say and what you do. You

can redefine and overshadow any of the good things you do based

on how you leave, how you exit.

You want to leave the seasons God's placed you in better than

you started. It is a test of character.

It is a test of your pride. It is your test of laying down

the things that you want, your selfishness because the enemy wants

to cause division, the enemy wants to cause confusion, the enemy

wants you to react out of your flesh. Can I tell you the world cares

less about character? The world is a dog eat dog world

and wants you to climb a ladder and it doesn't matter who you hit on

the way up as long as you get there.

But in the kingdom, the kingdom will say I want you to sacrifice the

position that the world is dangling in front of you and operate with

integrity and character and then God comes in and he does something

supernatural, exceptional, extraordinary beyond your wildest dreams with

you.

Samuel could have lived in the state of grief. He could have

stayed there. He actually could have operated out of insecurity. Why is that?

Samuel was the mouthpiece in the face of in the face of the Lord. He

was the one that went to all of Israel and said Saul is your

king. And then Saul did what he

did and now he's not. Why do you think that made Samuel feel?

Man, what are they thinking about me? What is Israel thinking about?

What what are the what are the people I've gotta go back and Lord you

wanna use me? He could have lived in the place of grief but

he chose to listen to the Lord instead. Can I tell

you this? God's plan is bigger than our disappointments.

God's plan is always bigger than our greatest

disappointments. I remember I have been a part

of three youth transitions here at the church. And I'm one of

them, and I'm not gonna go into the story, but I'm one of the youth

transitions in this church. It was one of the greatest joys for

me to step into the youth and it also launched my deepest

pain because overnight I lost my best friend.

Have you ever lost a best friend? Ever suffered a

hurt, a deep hurt of somebody one day being there

and the next day it's like they're gone? There's

very few pains especially if you're actually heart connected to a person

than to lose a relationship.

And as I look back on that season many many years ago, as I look

back on that season and I evaluate my choices and the

decisions and why I chose, it emphatically 100%

was the Lord. But it would have been so easy

in that moment for me to lean into how I felt. It would have been

so easy for me to look at what I was losing and not pay any

attention to the God in the moment even though I couldn't see what was going

to be down the pike that I would gain. There was an

authority in my life, somebody that I looked at and I said to them I

trust the God inside you. Can I tell you if you are

in a confusing season, God is not the author of confusion?

He will bring along people in your life who hold authority in your life and

they may say something to you that you don't like,

But as they render that truth it will give you direction,

sound direction and I remember that moment telling the person in my

life that said I want you to do this transition saying I trust the

God inside you. And it meant me

sacrificing my best friend. Didn't know it at the moment, but it's what

happened.

God's plan is bigger than our disappointments. Saul goes out

and meets with Jesse and invites he and his sons

to this sacrifice and they're all there and he invites the

sons and here comes Eliab. Now,

Eliab's got that thousand watt smile. He's

tall, he's handsome, he's rugged, and he's I mean he's the deal. He's

the person that he walks in the room and goes, I'm a follow that person.

I don't even know their name. I'm following that guy. Right? He is I mean

he is all that and a bag of potato chips. He has got it going

on, and he walks up and he struts in there and Samuel

even, the the one who is hearing from the Lord, he even says

this surely the Lord's anointed stands here

before the Lord. Surely the Lord's anointed

stands here before the Lord. Can I tell you just because you look like

a king on the outside doesn't mean you carry the heart of a king on

the inside? And if you read the

story later about Eliab, you'll find out that he is arrogant

and does not trust the Lord. He might look the part but his

heart wasn't in it. It's not the one God chose.

See we send this We tend to see Eliabs in our life

and we make rushed and rash decisions based on what we see on the

surface. We sometimes vote this way.

We will follow leaders and celebrities this way. We

sometimes will even marry this way.

This must be the obvious choice. Look

at all the external reasons. This must be the obvious

choice. When the elders were gathering together to select the

pastor after Ronnie whenever I was in the queue or whatnot, you know, the eldership,

they were looking for a strong, mighty,

warrior, valiant person that could come in and

just really lead with strength and and so

I sent them my resume and my picture and they saw this and said

surely the Lord's anointed stands

before the Lord.

The minute they saw that photo, it was a shoo in yes. This is

our next pastor.

Mighty, warrior, strong. I mean, just look at that. We

don't need to see anything else. He's strong and mighty.

You don't wanna really see what's under here. The

Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward

appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

The Lord looks at the heart. The heart.

I wish I could stand before you and say my heart's so pure.

I wish I could stand before you and say my heart is just, it's great.

That's what Jeremiah tells us. The heart is deceitful

above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind to reward each person according

to their conduct according to what their deeds deserve.

My goodness. I wish I

could say I have a heart as your pastor who's totally pure,

but even in my best days I'm fearful,

judgmental, unkind, selfish,

unforgiving, willing to bend the rules to get out of a

jam.

The heart is deceitful above all things. And this is

why we need the blood of Jesus Christ.

Because every single morning when we wake up, we are

nothing more than a filthy rag. Even

in our best days, a filthy rag. But

here's the thing, the blood of Jesus Christ

covers every single misstep.

Every single sin, every single thing that we do that's not in

keeping with the will of God, the blood of Jesus covers.

And we keep coming back over and over and over

and over again. And can I tell you don't let anybody fool you

that they're not coming back over and over and over again? The minute somebody

says I've been there enough, I don't gotta do that anymore is the moment that

they feel like the blood is not sufficient enough for them.

The blood of Christ is sufficient and you can go

daily. You must go daily. You must go daily.

His his blood must cover us

so that we can take the next step of righteousness, so that we can

take the next step of faith, so that we can be in good standing with

the Lord and so that our character is not compromised to a

dying world who needs to see a Jesus, who needs to see authentic

real Jesus living out in our life. You see here's the

thing, it doesn't always feel good.

It doesn't always feel good.

A heart that's being transformed is a heart that's

in constant connection with God. In other words, God prioritizes

relationship over resume. He

prioritizes the relationship over

resume. Are you connected to this king? What is your

relationship with the God of the universe? Let me tell you

some of you don't have an active relationship with God because you

feel like you've messed up and fouled up so much that the God of the

universe you can't get close to him. And so you come in here on

Sunday to get your temporary fix and praise on feeling worse than

you did when you came in because you own, you're walking in shame and guilt

and then you leave here and you just keep doing the same things over and

over and over again. Can I tell you the grace of God can meet you

this morning and change everything? Can I tell you that there are

testimonies in this house where last week I was a druggie, but this

week the Lord set me free? There's testimonies in this house where

this week we were not reconciled, but this week supernatural divine

forgiveness walked into the picture. The God of the universe will step

right into your situation and change everything. That's why he's not split the sky

yet. The blood of Christ is sufficient. He wants

to reconcile first us to him, but then us to each other. There are

things in our lives that we need to get cleaned up because our

character is at stake. Why is our character important? Because a dying

world's looking at us and they need to see Jesus.

They need to see Jesus and guys can I tell you the outpouring of Kevin

is not Jesus? If I can give you, I can give you about

this much of me and it will be kind and it will be loving, it

will be all this, but there comes a point where that line and it's got

to default into the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in my life

or you're just gonna get filthy rags. And it's gonna smell like filthy rags.

I can parade it. I can put a slap of Christian on my shirt. I

can look like it all day long, but it's not gonna be anything of Him.

I need the Holy Spirit. He prioritizes relationship.

How do I how am I able to render forgiveness in a

situation where I don't feel like they should be forgiven? How do I render these

types of things? I've got to be in relationship, daily constant relationship

with the Lord. With the Lord.

Yesterday's yesterday's covering isn't enough. I need a new one

today. Yesterday's drink, you know sometimes I wake up in the morning I'm

parched and I'm thirsty and I've got yesterday's cup of water sitting on my on

my thing and I take a drink. It just doesn't taste the same. It's not

fresh. I need a fresh touch from the Lord every day.

Well, I wait until 9PM at night to do my devotional reading. Well, I hate

to see what's going on from eight in the morning to 9PM with you. I

gotta wake up in the morning because I'm stubbing my toe on the way to

the bathroom and there are things that fly out of my mouth.

And I want it to be thank you Jesus.

And so Samuel asked this question. He goes through all Eliab comes,

all the other kids all the other kids come and they walk through and none

of them are chosen and Samuel asked this question, are these

all the sons you have? Are these all this I I think

this is a this is a funny question to me, but first before I go

to the funny, let me tell you what's happening here. Characters being

tested in Samuel and in Jesse.

Number one, Samuel. He has seven sons in front of him.

He's been tasked to identify the one who's gonna be king

and the op the options are the seven in front of him. It would have

been so easy for Samuel to say well, I guess I've missed it. I've gotta

pick one of these. Eliab, you must be the one. But

can I tell you, Samuel had a relationship

with the God of the universe? He knew what his voice

sounded like and knew that none of these seven, even though he said

it's gonna be a son of Jesse, none of these were it. And it caused

him to ask the question, are you sure all of the sons are here?

Jesse, proud dad, marches his kids, Eliab's

right out of the gate. He just said, no, I don't got

any other sons. These these are the ones you

need to choose from. But he said, yes. There is

one more. He's out in the field tending

sheep. I find this question to be funny

because Samuel then says, alright. You didn't bring him here the first

time. We're gonna stand until he comes. I think that that's

funny. A few weeks ago, we had a service and I don't know if you

noticed, it was like the aerobic service with everybody stand and sit and stand and

sit and stand and sit. Have you ever been a part of a service like

that? Yes, pastor. It happens quite frequently here. Yes, I understand.

They're standing. He said we're not gonna sit until he comes.

In other words, hasten. Let's go. Let's bring

him on.

And so David comes and he is anointed.

He is anointed to be king. He is told you are

the next king of Israel. He knows it. It's not something

that has to be mystically discerned. He knows.

You are it. You are God's chosen man.

And then the story stops.

They grabbed David and put a crown on him and row him and put him

on the seat and just start worshiping. No. The story stops. You are the

king. Now get back to the field. You are

the king. Now continue doing what you've been doing.

Can I tell you anointing is like the

seed, character is the soil?

If the seeds not nurtured in good soil, it does not produce good

fruit. Let me give you another analogy. Anointing is your wedding

day. Character is your marriage.

Character is your marriage.

I want you to understand that what happens

next is everything. The story

stops at verse 13 but life doesn't stop.

This extraordinary moment is met following

fifteen years of a lot of ordinary moments.

Lots of ordinary days. Character development is

happening. Character development is happening

in David before he gets the position for fifteen

years. Guys, we can't wait thirty seconds on a cup of coffee.

And some of you are willing to throw in the towel because you feel you

you you feel you deserve a position, you feel like you deserve the title, you

feel like you're supposed to be moving in there, somebody has usurped it and you

go God I've been waiting for I've been waiting for three days God, I don't

understand why you're doing that. I've been waiting for three years God. I've been waiting

for thirteen years God.

Can I tell you the most important season that you will be in is

in that waiting room season? Because

when you get into the position and you have to start putting that into action

it needs to be the outflow of the Holy Spirit not you at all anyway.

You are wrestling with the Lord. I've I've gone to recently have had to

go to doctor's appointments. Can I tell you? I don't understand why they schedule you

at the doctor's office for 11:30, make you come in at 09:00 and sit

there two and a half hours in the waiting room looking at magazines.

It's a test of my character. I'm a tell you right now.

Patience. Patience. And then when somebody else comes in after you and they get

seen before you. Oh, Jesus.

The word says that the spirit of the Lord fell on David. Who else did

the spirit of the Lord fall on in the new testament? It fell on Jesus

and what happens immediately following? He gets tested in the

wilderness. He gets tested

Landon, you're starting a new thing. Is that what I understand? Start a new business?

Is that what you said today? Okay, guess what? You're you're being tested.

And guess what? Here's here's the thing. You said I know I was supposed to

do it. Well guess what? If God chooses not to give you the check,

chooses not to bless you in the next season, chooses not to do that, do

you know that you're still called? That's the test. That's the real truth.

And guess what? He's putting you all through this. Why? Because he you are

not a doubter. You call yourself a doubter. That's not what he calls you. And

the more you keep confessing that out of your life, you're gonna get to get

tested in over and over and over again. That's not who you

are. I know that's not who you are. You begin to own that truth as

as well. He's testing you. He's testing you. You're

in the waiting room. Get ready. And he's gonna bust the doors open. He's

gonna bust the doors open.

When Margaret Meek passed away many years ago,

Arwen Jones got up and she did a speech, and one of the things she

said that always stuck with me was enjoy the gift of ordinary days. And within

that week, I was mourning, I was grieving, and I went to a store and

I saw this planter here, and I had to pick it up. I thought the

Holy Spirit led me right to it, and I had it for a while in

my face every day. Enjoy the gift of ordinary days. Guys,

God rarely, rarely is looking to

curb your character in those extraordinary moments. It is in

that ordinary, mundane, stubbing

your toe moment, getting cut off the road moment of

your life, going into work, going to bed, eating, all of

these relationship, he is cultivating your character

in these ordinary moments. And in these

ordinary moments, and this is a misperception when it comes to Christianity,

in those ordinary moments there is going to be suffering.

There is going to be suffering in these ordinary moments.

For those who I'm so sorry that you were introduced to a Christ that

you thought went to the cross so that you can have the best life here

on earth. Guess what? He gives us the most important things

such as peace, passing, understanding. He does some things to

it for us that are excellent, but let me tell you he did not die

on the cross so that you could climb the corporate ladder and become the big

CEO.

We suffer for him. We rejoice in our suffering, Paul says, because we know that

suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character,

hope. I hate this phrase or

this quote that I learned from AW Tozer this week because it's so true,

but I just can't stand it. When God wants

to use someone greatly, he first hurts them deeply.

God, break me. Because in order for you to use me, I

gotta look like you and I don't look like you right now.

Can I tell you that what we cultivate in private will eventually manifest

itself in public? Come on out worship

team. What we cultivate in private will eventually manifest

itself in public. And this is why

character is so important. I went to Alabama this

week with my family. My kids love the beach. I don't really like the beach,

but I went. And, have you ever been in a car ride with your

kids and your kids are telling you how to drive?

Have you ever been in a car ride and your spouse is telling you how

to drive? Have you ever been frustrated

by these comments of back seat and side seat drivers?

Well, this happens, you know, I'm the I'm the world's greatest driver and this

happens quite frequently

in in my car where my people

are sharing their opinions about

my driving. Well,

on the way back from Alabama, I was ready to get home.

And I had a little blue light

special. I got pulled over and, I got a

ticket on the way home. And,

the police officer, you know, puts his head in the window and we talked for

a minute and he says, man, I would hate for something to happen to those

four precious girls back there. I go,

Yeah. I drive to the gas station right after

that, and we get to the gas station and I

look in the rear view mirror and I see see Adasa, and she is just

weeping. And so I say, Come here,

Adasa. And I pull her up in the front seat,

and I look at her, she's weeping, and she looks at me with her glass

eyes, and she looks at me, and I say, What's wrong? And she

says, I just don't understand why you don't have to follow the

rules.

And I just broke.

I don't want my kids to see something different

than what I want to manifest on the outside to everybody

else. You see, she heard loud

and clear the police officer say, I would hate for you to lose one of

these precious girls. And I looked at Edessa and I

said, I am so sorry.

Please forgive me for not listening to you, when you were telling me I

needed to slow down. All the times you're telling me to slow down.

And in that moment with humility, I believe that my child was

able to see me chip away at my pride, my

arrogance, my need to be right, and to

say, I hear you.

Because what we cultivate in private is gonna manifest itself

in public.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, gentleness

and self control. These are some benchmarks of what

our life with Christ looks like if we're walking with the

Spirit. These are indicators of what our

character truly looks like. But it's not just for

the grandiose population. It's in those one

on one moments with your closest friends, with your spouse, with your

family. What

you're projecting on the outside isn't happening on the inside.

Jesus, can I tell you, we would have not chosen Jesus to be our King?

This is what the word says in Isaiah about Jesus. Who has

believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He grew up before Him like a tender shoot and like a root out of

dry ground. He had no root out of dry

ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. Nothing in

his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and

rejected by mankind. A man of suffering and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised and we held

him in low esteem. We would have not chosen Jesus to be

our king. But despite that

truth, he

believed. Guys we want to be like

Jesus. We wanna be like Jesus, our character

needs to emulate Jesus, but in order for us to look like Jesus,

you see that hand there with that nail? That's what we're supposed to look

like. Dying to our selves every single

day. Looking at people who have wronged us and saying I'm

gonna give you the upper hand. I'm gonna love you so much more

even though you're unlovable right now, I'm gonna love you so far high, much higher

above that. I'm gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna lay down my

life. That is looking like the Lord Jesus Christ, the one whom

we say, we love. Do you look like Christ?

If you'll stand with me and we're gonna end with this poem,

and I'm gonna release you this morning.

In fields unseen where sheep once grazed, a heart was

shaped through simple ways. Not crowned with gold nor

clothed in quiet

night. The world may chase the grand and bright, the

dazzling stage, the fleeting light, but God, he looks

beneath the praise to hearts refined in hidden

ways. Character whispers when no one

sees. It holds the line with humble ease.

It stands in truth, it loves through pain. It

bears the cross and shuns the game. Oh Lord, may

I in every place enjoy the gift of ordinary

days. For there you mold and there you

mend. In simple tasks, your truth

descends. A heart that waits and walks by grace

that trust your hand through every space. For crowns will fade and

fain depart, but character remains the heart. So

build me strong in quiet ways through

unseen nights and waiting days. Let Christ

be formed in every part. A life that beats

with your own heart. May we be a

people who look like Christ, not in our

shirts and what we manifest on the outside. But may our

hearts and our presence and our character

be reflective of Jesus Christ in those intimate

moments when nobody else is looking. So that when the

dying world is looking at us, they get a true picture

of Jesus, the hope of the world. Raise

your hand, let me give you a blessing. May the God of

the universe, the God who breathes stars continue

to help us grow in character that is becoming

of the kingdom. Whether we are serving in a

season we're serving in or we're in that waiting room.

And may it all be to glorify him and that we would look

more like Jesus. In Christ's name we

pray, Amen. Be blessed Spring House. I love you today.