WEBVTT 00:00:00.460 --> 00:00:03.680 Yeah, look around. Tell somebody you missed them 00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:07.639 this week. Let them know that you are praying 00:00:07.639 --> 00:00:11.320 for them and their sickness, right? And so you 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:14.279 may hear it in my voice. We just came off of 00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:18.000 prayer and fasting, and every year by the time 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:22.379 the Christmas feasting is done, my flesh... is 00:00:22.379 --> 00:00:25.980 never looking forward to it, but my spirit is 00:00:25.980 --> 00:00:28.899 always in anticipation for the week of prayer 00:00:28.899 --> 00:00:33.759 and fasting, and I was not at all feeling spiritual 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:38.380 during prayer and fasting. I was down with COVID. 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:42.619 I missed the prayer nights. I was so bummed, 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:46.119 and I wasn't feeling like, God, I got to preach 00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:48.500 in a couple weeks. I need to hear from you, and 00:00:48.500 --> 00:00:52.289 all I can do is shiver under the covers. And 00:00:52.289 --> 00:00:56.289 so I was, though, reading as I've been beginning 00:00:56.289 --> 00:00:59.890 my new Bible reading program for this year. I 00:00:59.890 --> 00:01:02.689 was in the book of Job. There's nothing like 00:01:02.689 --> 00:01:05.250 starting out your Bible reading program in the 00:01:05.250 --> 00:01:08.530 book of Job. But when you do the chronological 00:01:08.530 --> 00:01:11.170 study, right, Connie, that's where you really 00:01:11.170 --> 00:01:14.849 are beginning. And so I was in the middle of 00:01:14.849 --> 00:01:17.329 Job, and I came across a verse, and immediately 00:01:17.329 --> 00:01:22.840 my spirit was quickened. And so I want us for 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:26.719 a few moments today, it's very simple, and I'm 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:29.739 reading this out of the Christian standard here, 00:01:29.900 --> 00:01:35.540 but in Job 22, 22, it says, receive instruction 00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:42.959 from his mouth and place his sayings in your 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:49.019 heart. And I was struck by that, especially considering 00:01:49.019 --> 00:01:53.250 that the context of this verse was the book of 00:01:53.250 --> 00:01:59.109 Job. This was a man in suffering, right? Everything 00:01:59.109 --> 00:02:02.989 had been taken from him. He was a man in suffering. 00:02:04.069 --> 00:02:09.050 And here in the middle, we have this verse, receive 00:02:09.050 --> 00:02:14.210 instruction from his mouth and place his sayings 00:02:14.210 --> 00:02:20.240 in your heart. Last Sunday in Petersburg, Derek, 00:02:20.340 --> 00:02:22.539 we all love Derek. You all have to say yes because 00:02:22.539 --> 00:02:25.740 his sister Izzy is over there. Derek, who's at 00:02:25.740 --> 00:02:28.620 College, I had him preach for us in Petersburg. 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:32.860 And so he did a great job. It was 18 minutes, 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:36.080 which was one minute faster than the last time 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:41.000 he had preached it. But it was so full. Wasn't 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:43.439 it, Vanessa? So full of good things. I said, 00:02:43.460 --> 00:02:45.500 Derek, you've got to slow down just so we can 00:02:45.500 --> 00:02:49.229 digest what you've brought to the table. And 00:02:49.229 --> 00:02:52.449 I was just, as we were worshiping and those words 00:02:52.449 --> 00:02:54.550 were coming forth today, there was one thing 00:02:54.550 --> 00:02:58.550 that Derek said. He said, when we worship in 00:02:58.550 --> 00:03:04.650 suffering, it is not denial. Right? We're not 00:03:04.650 --> 00:03:07.389 denying that everything is going wrong in life 00:03:07.389 --> 00:03:10.930 when I worship. So when we worship in suffering, 00:03:11.110 --> 00:03:15.270 it is not denial. But worship in suffering is 00:03:15.270 --> 00:03:20.229 defiance. I was like, oh yeah, that was my big 00:03:20.229 --> 00:03:22.710 takeaway. I only needed 18 minutes to hear that. 00:03:22.909 --> 00:03:25.490 Because I thought of the number of times that 00:03:25.490 --> 00:03:28.930 I stood in that front row. All my life I've been 00:03:28.930 --> 00:03:31.569 a front row worshiper. It's the best place to 00:03:31.569 --> 00:03:35.629 be. And there's room for others. But I remember 00:03:35.629 --> 00:03:38.969 in moments standing, God, my husband thinks he's 00:03:38.969 --> 00:03:41.830 dying. God, I don't know if this child in me 00:03:41.830 --> 00:03:44.229 is going to come out with a heart that is healthy. 00:03:44.780 --> 00:03:48.259 And I remember those, and I say it to you often, 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:50.659 my most significant moments of worship, because 00:03:50.659 --> 00:03:53.900 it's in those moments that I did feel defiance. 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:58.360 Satan, I don't care what you're doing. I don't 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:01.520 care what the circumstance is. I'm going to worship, 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:04.039 right? And there's that defiance that kind of 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:07.240 arises out of that. I was like, man, Derek, that 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:10.599 is so good. I'm going to worship in defiance. 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:13.780 And there's some of that that has to kind of, 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:15.699 You know, you kind of got to get a little bit 00:04:15.699 --> 00:04:18.980 of a backbone for that in a way, spiritual backbone 00:04:18.980 --> 00:04:24.379 to say, I am not subject to this life. I am not 00:04:24.379 --> 00:04:27.300 subject to the enemy and his opposition. I'm 00:04:27.300 --> 00:04:33.180 not subject to situations. I will worship. I 00:04:33.180 --> 00:04:38.319 will worship. And so Job is a great lesson in 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:42.779 this. And so I want us, for a few moments today, 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:45.860 there's two parts to this verse, right? So we're 00:04:45.860 --> 00:04:49.120 going to spend a few moments in the first part. 00:04:49.980 --> 00:04:57.019 Receive instruction from his mouth. I hope you 00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:59.199 have a notebook today. Should I be taking notes? 00:05:03.300 --> 00:05:08.959 If not, I can find you one. Pull out your notebook. 00:05:09.939 --> 00:05:14.680 Receive instruction from his mouth. We just came 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:17.720 off prayer and fasting, and we often talk about 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:22.879 prayer, don't we? We often talk about intercession 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:27.560 and making requests before the Lord. And we quote 00:05:27.560 --> 00:05:31.240 the verse, you have not because you what? Ask 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:37.220 not. And so when we think about our prayer lives, 00:05:37.660 --> 00:05:42.620 we are often thinking of that. I better start 00:05:42.620 --> 00:05:44.920 asking. I better start requesting. I better come 00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:47.860 boldly into throne room to make my request known. 00:05:50.920 --> 00:05:54.060 And that's good, and that's proper, and that's 00:05:54.060 --> 00:05:59.920 right. However, how many of you have a friend 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:06.009 or a family member that is a talker? How many 00:06:06.009 --> 00:06:14.410 of you, that is you? And in those conversations, 00:06:14.610 --> 00:06:19.910 you can't hardly get a word in, right? They're 00:06:19.910 --> 00:06:22.829 just talking, talking, talking. It's a, Todd. 00:06:24.069 --> 00:06:26.069 Catherine and Todd will need marriage counseling 00:06:26.069 --> 00:06:30.110 following this. I'm pretty sure Todd's not the 00:06:30.110 --> 00:06:41.220 talker. She forgives him. When you are talking, 00:06:41.339 --> 00:06:44.519 talking, talking, at what point are you able 00:06:44.519 --> 00:06:50.860 to stop and listen? And so my question for us 00:06:50.860 --> 00:06:54.899 today is, what does your prayer life look like? 00:06:56.480 --> 00:07:00.240 What does your prayer life, Monday, Tuesday, 00:07:00.420 --> 00:07:02.620 Wednesday, Thursday, da -da -da -da -da, what 00:07:02.620 --> 00:07:09.639 does it look like? Are you a talker? Are you 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:14.139 a listener? Do you ever stop to listen? Or do 00:07:14.139 --> 00:07:16.379 you just talk, talk, talk, talk, God's ear off? 00:07:17.339 --> 00:07:20.899 Right? What does your prayer life look like? 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:28.800 One of the most famous men in the realm of spiritual 00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:34.220 formation is Dallas Willard. He's got the classic 00:07:34.220 --> 00:07:37.279 book, The Celebration of Discipline. It's an 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:43.339 awesome book. But he says this, it is much more 00:07:43.339 --> 00:07:49.339 important to cultivate the quiet inward space 00:07:49.339 --> 00:07:56.579 of a constant listening than to always be approaching 00:07:56.579 --> 00:08:00.959 God for specific direction. Now, I'm going to 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:04.839 say that again. It is much more important to, 00:08:04.899 --> 00:08:07.860 and this word cultivate is a key word there. 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:12.839 To cultivate means we have to do something to 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:17.459 make this space. To cultivate the quiet, inward 00:08:17.459 --> 00:08:22.259 space of a constant listening than to always 00:08:22.259 --> 00:08:25.939 be approaching God for specific direction. When 00:08:25.939 --> 00:08:28.879 I read this, what I immediately thought was, 00:08:28.980 --> 00:08:34.700 this is the difference between striving and abiding. 00:08:36.590 --> 00:08:39.809 The difference between striving and abiding. 00:08:41.309 --> 00:08:45.269 When I am constantly coming to God for, God, 00:08:45.269 --> 00:08:47.210 I need direction. God, I need answer. God, I 00:08:47.210 --> 00:08:48.950 need this. God, I need this. There's sometimes 00:08:48.950 --> 00:08:52.409 a striving in that because we're contending for 00:08:52.409 --> 00:08:56.269 something. But I feel like what he's talking 00:08:56.269 --> 00:08:59.509 about is more the place of abiding with God. 00:09:01.289 --> 00:09:05.360 And when you're in a place of abiding, I cannot 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:10.120 live in my household with my family and not hear 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:17.340 what they say. They talk, right? And so abiding 00:09:17.340 --> 00:09:21.279 means I'm not just always talking to God. I need, 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:23.379 I need, I need, I need, I need help. I'm desperate. 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:27.629 Ah! That can be what sometimes that feels like 00:09:27.629 --> 00:09:30.909 because we're so worried and concerned. What 00:09:30.909 --> 00:09:33.789 he is saying here is, listen, there's a space, 00:09:33.809 --> 00:09:38.850 an inward space in our spiritual lives where 00:09:38.850 --> 00:09:46.889 there is a quiet place of hearing God, of listening 00:09:46.889 --> 00:09:51.769 to God. And it's impossible to be a listener 00:09:51.769 --> 00:09:57.539 if you are a talker. We think we can do multiple, 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:01.240 we can multitask, but you cannot multitask talking 00:10:01.240 --> 00:10:05.139 and listening if you're really going to hear 00:10:05.139 --> 00:10:10.019 what is being said. And so I believe that there 00:10:10.019 --> 00:10:13.500 is, we should contend for the victory. We sang 00:10:13.500 --> 00:10:17.860 it today. There is that place of contending for 00:10:17.860 --> 00:10:21.659 something, of believing for something. But I 00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:27.190 believe there's also this place. That is a quiet, 00:10:27.230 --> 00:10:34.309 just, God, what are you saying? And this is the 00:10:34.309 --> 00:10:36.909 place that I want us to spend a few moments talking 00:10:36.909 --> 00:10:40.269 about today because it's not an easy place for 00:10:40.269 --> 00:10:43.929 us in our Western culture. And so in 1 Samuel 00:10:43.929 --> 00:10:48.730 19, verse 11, this is the account of Elijah. 00:10:49.889 --> 00:10:54.409 Now, we are a Pentecostal people. And previous 00:10:54.409 --> 00:10:58.490 to this encounter with God, Elijah has the encounter 00:10:58.490 --> 00:11:01.690 with the 400 prophets of Baal, or if you remember 00:11:01.690 --> 00:11:04.350 that. If you don't know that account, you should 00:11:04.350 --> 00:11:07.169 look it up in 1 Samuel and read it. It's amazing. 00:11:07.789 --> 00:11:10.669 He's the one prophet of God and all these other 00:11:10.669 --> 00:11:14.870 Baal gods that he's up against in competition. 00:11:14.990 --> 00:11:18.149 We're going to call down fire from God, and we're 00:11:18.149 --> 00:11:22.250 going to see whose God is alive. And so they... 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:25.580 call on their God, and nothing happens. And so 00:11:25.580 --> 00:11:30.700 Elijah steps up to the plate, and he says, bring 00:11:30.700 --> 00:11:33.779 on the water. Anybody try to start a fire with 00:11:33.779 --> 00:11:37.720 wet wood? He's like, pour on the water, on the 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:40.860 fire. I'm not going to make this easy for God. 00:11:43.659 --> 00:11:48.460 And he calls down fire, right? And then all of 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:51.639 the prophets of Baal are killed. And then, so 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:55.440 he just has this experience. Oh, yeah, that would 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:58.220 be a great Pentecostal experience, wouldn't it? 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:01.059 Us Pentecostals would be like dancing around 00:12:01.059 --> 00:12:06.840 the fire with Elijah. Yeah! Where we find Elijah 00:12:06.840 --> 00:12:12.860 next, though, is facing Jezebel and running out 00:12:12.860 --> 00:12:16.120 of fear for his life because he's afraid she'll 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:22.399 kill him. And I love that God, what he does for 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:25.799 Elijah is he says, Elijah, it's time to take 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:28.919 a nap. I'm going to give you some food, too. 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:32.759 Here's some food, and here, take some sleep. 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:37.240 I love that. And out of that place, then, Elijah 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:43.919 gets up and runs for 40 days to a cave. And it's 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:48.509 in the cave. I mean, a cave doesn't sound like 00:12:48.509 --> 00:12:51.169 a great place to be, right? After this great 00:12:51.169 --> 00:12:55.190 mountaintop God experience of calling down fire 00:12:55.190 --> 00:13:00.690 from heaven, he's alone in a cave. And it's in 00:13:00.690 --> 00:13:03.669 this place that God begins to speak to Elijah. 00:13:04.250 --> 00:13:08.669 And it sets Elijah up for some of his final assignments 00:13:08.669 --> 00:13:12.590 from heaven of anointing a new king and anointing 00:13:12.590 --> 00:13:17.120 a new prophet. And so it's in this place that 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:20.639 God meets with Elijah and says to Elijah, go 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:24.860 out and stand on the mountain in the presence 00:13:24.860 --> 00:13:29.320 of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:36.440 Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains 00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:41.019 apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord. 00:13:43.370 --> 00:13:48.429 But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, 00:13:48.429 --> 00:13:51.950 there was an earthquake. But the Lord was not 00:13:51.950 --> 00:13:56.210 in the earthquake. After the earthquake came 00:13:56.210 --> 00:14:01.870 a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And 00:14:01.870 --> 00:14:07.070 after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah 00:14:07.070 --> 00:14:10.309 heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face. 00:14:11.100 --> 00:14:14.500 and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. 00:14:17.940 --> 00:14:20.840 We think that God speaking to us is going to 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:24.179 look and sound a certain way, and sometimes we 00:14:24.179 --> 00:14:27.519 miss it, because the truth is that God's voice 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:32.860 is not always an obvious thing. It is a voice 00:14:32.860 --> 00:14:39.409 that we have to learn to know in our life. And 00:14:39.409 --> 00:14:44.850 that comes with intentionally listening for the 00:14:44.850 --> 00:14:50.309 voice. But if we're so busy always talking, talking, 00:14:50.370 --> 00:14:54.450 talking to God, that we're never exercising our 00:14:54.450 --> 00:15:00.129 ears to hear. This voice that is powerful enough 00:15:00.129 --> 00:15:08.289 to create the universe. His voice. His breath 00:15:08.289 --> 00:15:15.350 created the universe. Yet it's a voice that we 00:15:15.350 --> 00:15:20.169 have to tune ourselves to. It's a voice that 00:15:20.169 --> 00:15:25.070 we have to learn. Jesus said it, didn't he? He 00:15:25.070 --> 00:15:34.590 said, my sheep know my voice. Have we made room 00:15:34.590 --> 00:15:38.840 in our prayer life? to know the voice of our 00:15:38.840 --> 00:15:44.519 shepherd. I want you to think about your prayer 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:47.639 life in terms of a pie chart. How many of you 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:50.700 like pie charts? Pie charts are nice because 00:15:50.700 --> 00:15:52.659 they give you a quick overview of something, 00:15:52.779 --> 00:15:56.350 right? And so if you have your notebook, you 00:15:56.350 --> 00:15:58.870 can make yourself a pie chart. Otherwise, I want 00:15:58.870 --> 00:16:01.570 you in just the palm of your hand to make yourself 00:16:01.570 --> 00:16:04.950 a little pie chart. And I want you in that pie 00:16:04.950 --> 00:16:10.230 chart to divide it, to divide it into two, the 00:16:10.230 --> 00:16:12.929 ratio of your prayer life that you would say, 00:16:13.070 --> 00:16:17.309 I spend this much time talking, I spend this 00:16:17.309 --> 00:16:21.700 much time listening. I just want you off the 00:16:21.700 --> 00:16:24.379 top of your head, 10 seconds. I want you just 00:16:24.379 --> 00:16:28.820 to, hmm, I spend a quarter of the time listening 00:16:28.820 --> 00:16:31.620 and three quarters of the time talking, whatever 00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:35.059 it is. If you're really honest, maybe you would 00:16:35.059 --> 00:16:41.639 say, I spend 99 .9 % of the time talking. And 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:44.179 I might listen a little bit, but the truth is 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:46.759 that when I'm listening for God, it's, oh, I 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:50.580 want an elder to pray over me and give me a prophetic 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:54.639 word. You know what I'm saying? I'm not talking 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:56.879 about that kind of a voice. I'm talking about 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:03.679 you, your spirit knowing, Abba, Father. Your 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:08.240 spirit knowing the voice. of your father. You 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:12.019 don't need any other man to speak for him, you 00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:18.539 knowing the voice of God. And so how, that sounds 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:23.819 so good, but how do I practically do this? I 00:17:23.819 --> 00:17:27.220 feel a little passionate about this because we 00:17:27.220 --> 00:17:32.769 live in a world that is pushing in on you. We 00:17:32.769 --> 00:17:35.930 live in a world where you are constantly hearing 00:17:35.930 --> 00:17:41.130 the world. You have it on your phone. You have 00:17:41.130 --> 00:17:44.890 it on your TV. You have it on your devices. It's 00:17:44.890 --> 00:17:50.170 unending noise of this world pushing in on you. 00:17:51.990 --> 00:17:56.049 And so there is in us, what word did we hear? 00:17:56.609 --> 00:18:02.000 Cultivate. It is in us to develop space. to hear 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:08.799 the voice of our God. It is in us to say, I'm 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:16.700 making room to hear from you. This is why we 00:18:16.700 --> 00:18:19.740 talk about families making room around a dinner 00:18:19.740 --> 00:18:23.140 table. Why? So they could actually, in the busyness 00:18:23.140 --> 00:18:25.960 of life, hear one another talk to each other. 00:18:26.700 --> 00:18:29.019 What do we do as families in that moment? We're 00:18:29.019 --> 00:18:34.140 making space for one another. And so today when 00:18:34.140 --> 00:18:38.019 we are talking about how can I cultivate a space 00:18:38.019 --> 00:18:42.359 in my life, in my prayer life, to hear from God, 00:18:42.420 --> 00:18:48.660 it's really not that hard. We do it by giving 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:53.740 ourself to the Word of God, your Bible. We do 00:18:53.740 --> 00:19:00.670 it through stillness. This is hard. This is hard 00:19:00.670 --> 00:19:05.329 for a lot of people to be still, to stop being 00:19:05.329 --> 00:19:09.009 busy, to stop, oh, I'm so busy, I'm so busy, 00:19:09.109 --> 00:19:13.789 I'm so busy. That is the world's voice speaking, 00:19:14.069 --> 00:19:18.069 that this is the expectation of successful people 00:19:18.069 --> 00:19:25.589 to be busy. When the word says to be still, and 00:19:25.589 --> 00:19:31.369 what? No, I'm God. Be still. How do I be still? 00:19:33.089 --> 00:19:36.809 When do I stop? Even in my prayer time, I'm not 00:19:36.809 --> 00:19:39.990 being still. I'm asking, I'm asking, I'm asking. 00:19:40.190 --> 00:19:42.369 And God is just saying, would you just be still 00:19:42.369 --> 00:19:46.250 for a minute? Just stop for a minute. Quiet. 00:19:51.609 --> 00:19:58.750 Many of us don't like to be quiet. To turn off 00:19:58.750 --> 00:20:08.630 the noise. To turn off our phones. You can turn 00:20:08.630 --> 00:20:12.190 off your notifications. I don't tell that to 00:20:12.190 --> 00:20:14.309 Darren. I tell Darren to turn on his notifications. 00:20:18.569 --> 00:20:25.890 But most of us are so attached. We're at the 00:20:25.890 --> 00:20:30.529 beck and call of every outside voice that we 00:20:30.529 --> 00:20:33.750 cannot stop and be quiet. Even in our prayer 00:20:33.750 --> 00:20:37.849 time, I've got to play worship music. I love 00:20:37.849 --> 00:20:40.710 worship music as much as the next person, but 00:20:40.710 --> 00:20:43.910 there is a place in my prayer life where it has 00:20:43.910 --> 00:20:48.410 to be silent. I don't need another worship leader 00:20:48.410 --> 00:20:51.910 worshiping for me. Do you know, I'm not a worship 00:20:51.910 --> 00:20:55.099 leader. I'm not gifted musically. But when I'm 00:20:55.099 --> 00:20:58.160 walking and I don't have any other noise going, 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:00.460 do you know what often starts coming out of me? 00:21:01.500 --> 00:21:06.420 Songs. Songs, I'm like, wow, this could be kind 00:21:06.420 --> 00:21:09.680 of a good worship song. I'm not gifted in music. 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:12.059 The worship team would probably laugh at me. 00:21:14.900 --> 00:21:18.640 But if I have worship music playing, is that 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:23.460 going to happen? No. But in that moment of quietness, 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:27.819 There arises out of me a song that nobody else 00:21:27.819 --> 00:21:31.880 on earth is singing to the Lord. It is my own. 00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:35.779 It doesn't belong to anybody else. This is my 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:39.680 worship and my worship alone. But if there's 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:44.259 noise, if there's not quietness, that can't happen. 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:53.579 And so it's not difficult. but it does require 00:21:53.579 --> 00:22:00.579 us pushing back. It does. I love Peter Drucker 00:22:00.579 --> 00:22:05.420 is a leadership guru, and I love it. He maybe 00:22:05.420 --> 00:22:09.880 oversimplifies it, but he says this, listening, 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:13.480 which is the first competence of leadership, 00:22:13.700 --> 00:22:20.309 is not a skill. It is a discipline. All you have 00:22:20.309 --> 00:22:26.250 to do is keep your mouth shut. It's very simple. 00:22:27.309 --> 00:22:29.690 Sometimes we just need to keep our mouths shut 00:22:29.690 --> 00:22:32.950 so that God can open his and begin to release 00:22:32.950 --> 00:22:36.869 words to you and begin to release his instructions 00:22:36.869 --> 00:22:42.250 to you. All we have to do is keep our mouths 00:22:42.250 --> 00:22:44.750 shut. I think it's interesting in the book of 00:22:44.750 --> 00:22:47.839 Job because if you read through the book, We 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:52.539 were in chapter 22 when we read our text. And 00:22:52.539 --> 00:22:56.380 all through the middle of Job, he has his friends 00:22:56.380 --> 00:23:00.579 talking, right? His friends have input. They're 00:23:00.579 --> 00:23:04.259 all going back and forth trying to figure out 00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:08.240 why Job has everything going wrong in his life. 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:16.109 And finally, finally, we get to chapter 40. Because 00:23:16.109 --> 00:23:20.390 in like 38, I think 38, finally God steps up 00:23:20.390 --> 00:23:25.150 and starts to speak. And when God starts to speak 00:23:25.150 --> 00:23:27.730 in the book of Job, I mean, what else is man 00:23:27.730 --> 00:23:30.910 going to say? And Job finally gets this as well. 00:23:31.009 --> 00:23:35.269 And he says in verse 3 of chapter 40, Job answered 00:23:35.269 --> 00:23:39.630 the Lord, I am unworthy. How can I reply to you? 00:23:40.190 --> 00:23:46.700 I put my hand over my mouth. Maybe that's just 00:23:46.700 --> 00:23:50.180 what we need to do sometimes, put our hand over 00:23:50.180 --> 00:23:54.900 our mouth. He said, I spoke once, but I have 00:23:54.900 --> 00:23:58.420 no answer twice, but now I will say no more. 00:24:02.220 --> 00:24:08.539 And then over in chapter 42, God says, you said, 00:24:08.579 --> 00:24:11.200 listen now, and I will speak, I will question 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:13.839 you, and you shall answer me. And then Job says, 00:24:15.480 --> 00:24:18.380 ears have heard of you, but now my eyes have 00:24:18.380 --> 00:24:22.279 seen you. When did Job receive the revelation 00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:27.299 of God? When he finally closed his mouth and 00:24:27.299 --> 00:24:31.920 just listened. Suddenly he had a revelation. 00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:36.720 I had heard of you, God, now I see you. There's 00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:40.259 something that happens when we hear the voice 00:24:40.259 --> 00:24:44.119 of God that cannot happen outside of his voice. 00:24:44.359 --> 00:24:48.960 His voice is creative. His voice is life -giving. 00:24:49.059 --> 00:24:53.539 Faith comes by hearing his voice. And until we 00:24:53.539 --> 00:25:00.650 hear it, it's secondhand. Well, I know he's spoken 00:25:00.650 --> 00:25:03.430 to Candace. I've heard what he's told Candace. 00:25:03.529 --> 00:25:07.410 I've heard what he's told Linda. But then you 00:25:07.410 --> 00:25:12.670 hear God for yourself, and suddenly I have heard 00:25:12.670 --> 00:25:17.289 of this God. Now I have seen God. Why? Because 00:25:17.289 --> 00:25:22.089 you've heard the voice of God. We've got to stop 00:25:22.089 --> 00:25:27.319 talking and listen. Just stop talking for a while 00:25:27.319 --> 00:25:30.359 because the truth is he knows what you're going 00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:34.900 through. He knows your situation. He knows details 00:25:34.900 --> 00:25:40.380 you don't know about your situation. And so we 00:25:40.380 --> 00:25:42.980 don't need to inform him, so maybe we should 00:25:42.980 --> 00:25:47.680 just stop for a while and listen to what he has 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:56.490 to say. That's hard. It's hard. But it's easier 00:25:56.490 --> 00:26:01.349 when you hear the voice. The hard gives way then 00:26:01.349 --> 00:26:06.829 for the easy. And so we want to hear God. And 00:26:06.829 --> 00:26:10.509 then the second part of that passage, it said 00:26:10.509 --> 00:26:13.869 receive the instruction. So we've got to listen 00:26:13.869 --> 00:26:17.410 for the instruction, right, from his mouth. And 00:26:17.410 --> 00:26:21.130 then it says, and place his sayings in your heart. 00:26:23.660 --> 00:26:27.220 You then are responsible for the instruction 00:26:27.220 --> 00:26:32.440 that was given, right? And so I think of this 00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:40.380 when, okay, we've moved now into the middle of 00:26:40.380 --> 00:26:42.960 January. I don't know about you other gardeners, 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:45.920 but I've gotten my seed catalog. I've ordered 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:49.509 a second seed catalog. Although I'm determined 00:26:49.509 --> 00:26:52.230 to just go through all the current seeds because 00:26:52.230 --> 00:26:54.509 I have enough seeds that could feed the whole 00:26:54.509 --> 00:26:58.730 church all summer probably. But, you know, I 00:26:58.730 --> 00:27:01.849 can't help it. I get lured in by all these seeds. 00:27:02.630 --> 00:27:06.809 And so those days a couple of weeks ago when 00:27:06.809 --> 00:27:10.009 it was like spring, right, I was like, I know 00:27:10.009 --> 00:27:13.289 my goal was to organize inside, but I got to 00:27:13.289 --> 00:27:16.400 get out there. I got to get in the garden. I 00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:19.279 still have a chance to plant garlic. I thought 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:22.099 I had missed my window, but I can plant garlic. 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:26.380 I can't even tell you the weeds that had become 00:27:26.380 --> 00:27:31.500 trees in my garden. Listen, I could not, as much 00:27:31.500 --> 00:27:34.140 as I loved the garlic seed and when it planted, 00:27:34.420 --> 00:27:37.460 I couldn't just go out and put it in the garden. 00:27:38.259 --> 00:27:44.299 I had to violently remove with a shovel, a literal 00:27:44.299 --> 00:27:51.369 shovel, tree weeds. What was I doing? I was making 00:27:51.369 --> 00:28:03.349 space for the garden to receive the seed. This 00:28:03.349 --> 00:28:08.250 is the pushback that I'm talking about. There 00:28:08.250 --> 00:28:11.250 are sometimes things in our life that we need 00:28:11.250 --> 00:28:14.509 to get rid of if we're going to make room to 00:28:14.509 --> 00:28:19.529 hear his voice and receive his instruction. And 00:28:19.529 --> 00:28:23.150 I was thinking about this this week because I 00:28:23.150 --> 00:28:26.650 had a customer come through my shop, and she 00:28:26.650 --> 00:28:30.549 came through super early one morning. And I said, 00:28:30.569 --> 00:28:33.069 oh, you're here really early today. She said, 00:28:33.130 --> 00:28:38.950 yeah, band. an eighth grader and a freshman in 00:28:38.950 --> 00:28:41.950 band, and they have to be at school at 6 .50 00:28:41.950 --> 00:28:45.809 every morning. David, you're sitting there smiling 00:28:45.809 --> 00:28:47.650 like you know what we're talking about here. 00:28:48.690 --> 00:28:51.970 And I start thinking about this, and I think 00:28:51.970 --> 00:28:55.130 about sports, because sports is no different, 00:28:55.289 --> 00:28:59.349 right? Kids are out there practicing a lot of 00:28:59.349 --> 00:29:03.119 times hours that you're all still in bed. And 00:29:03.119 --> 00:29:06.119 what are they doing when they're out there practicing 00:29:06.119 --> 00:29:09.680 band, practicing their football or basketball? 00:29:10.259 --> 00:29:16.000 They are being coached. And so there's this voice 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:20.920 that they have attuned themselves to who is the 00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:26.119 coach or the director. And so I thought yesterday, 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:33.700 the world has no problem. Calling for sacrifice. 00:29:35.619 --> 00:29:40.119 Sports has no problem calling for your kids' 00:29:40.259 --> 00:29:50.299 time and your money. Band, same way. No problem 00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:53.599 asking for their time. You don't need to sleep, 00:29:53.779 --> 00:29:59.299 growing kids. Yes, parents, $90 today. There's 00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:02.220 no problem that they have in asking for that. 00:30:04.400 --> 00:30:07.740 And what are they doing? They are forcing the 00:30:07.740 --> 00:30:11.559 kids to make space to hear from their coaches 00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:16.339 and directors. There is something in us that 00:30:16.339 --> 00:30:20.359 needs that kind of tenacity. If the world has 00:30:20.359 --> 00:30:23.839 no problem asking for us to make space for them, 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:27.180 why do we have problems calling for us to make 00:30:27.180 --> 00:30:30.180 space to hear the voice of our God? There's that 00:30:30.180 --> 00:30:32.880 kind of ruthlessness that says, you know what, 00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:37.000 that's all so temporal, and there's a place for 00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:40.099 it, and I get it, but it is not the most important 00:30:40.099 --> 00:30:46.539 thing, right? So we unapologetically, I even 00:30:46.539 --> 00:30:51.440 today unapologetically call for you to make space 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:54.980 to put yourself under the voice of your coach, 00:30:55.200 --> 00:30:58.579 the voice of your director, and hear what he 00:30:58.579 --> 00:31:04.660 has to say about your life. Make the space. And 00:31:04.660 --> 00:31:09.799 so in Deuteronomy chapter 30, verse 11, we're 00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:11.880 going to spend just a couple of moments in these. 00:31:12.250 --> 00:31:15.069 passages that are going to move us to the New 00:31:15.069 --> 00:31:19.470 Testament. But it says, now what I am commanding 00:31:19.470 --> 00:31:25.109 you today is not too difficult for you or beyond 00:31:25.109 --> 00:31:29.609 your reach. It is not up in heaven so that you 00:31:29.609 --> 00:31:32.670 have to ask who will ascend into heaven to get 00:31:32.670 --> 00:31:38.039 it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it. Nor 00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:40.700 is it beyond the sea so that you have to ask 00:31:40.700 --> 00:31:43.440 who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim 00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:48.599 it to us so we may obey it. No, the word is very 00:31:48.599 --> 00:31:55.799 near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart 00:31:55.799 --> 00:32:02.799 so you may obey it. I have this verse written 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:07.490 in my kitchen. See, I set before you today life 00:32:07.490 --> 00:32:10.630 and prosperity, death and destruction. For I 00:32:10.630 --> 00:32:12.890 command you today to love the Lord your God, 00:32:12.990 --> 00:32:16.269 to walk in obedience to him, and keep his commands, 00:32:16.369 --> 00:32:19.849 decrees, and laws, that you will live and increase, 00:32:20.230 --> 00:32:22.990 and the Lord your God will bless you in the land 00:32:22.990 --> 00:32:27.470 you are entering to possess. This is an amazing 00:32:27.470 --> 00:32:31.349 verse because the context of it is the law. right? 00:32:31.589 --> 00:32:35.009 And we know that what the law does, it shows 00:32:35.009 --> 00:32:39.230 us how much we cannot obey it, how much we cannot 00:32:39.230 --> 00:32:44.089 keep it. But yet, in a way, this verse is foreshadowing 00:32:44.089 --> 00:32:48.930 the new covenant. It is saying the reality is 00:32:48.930 --> 00:32:52.670 God is wanting his word to be near to you. He's 00:32:52.670 --> 00:32:55.029 wanting it in your mouth. He's wanting it in 00:32:55.029 --> 00:32:59.430 your heart so that you can obey it. In fact, 00:33:00.039 --> 00:33:04.259 If we go to Romans 10, we see him quoting it 00:33:04.259 --> 00:33:09.859 in this passage. So he's going back and saying, 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:13.059 okay, here's what it said back in Deuteronomy. 00:33:13.460 --> 00:33:16.980 Now here's the fulfillment of what he wrote about 00:33:16.980 --> 00:33:21.400 in Deuteronomy. And so in Romans 10, 4, he's 00:33:21.400 --> 00:33:24.079 talking about Christ being the culmination of 00:33:24.079 --> 00:33:27.160 the fulfillment of the law. And he says, so that 00:33:27.160 --> 00:33:32.099 there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. 00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:36.900 Moses writes this about the righteousness that 00:33:36.900 --> 00:33:39.940 is by the law. The person who does these things 00:33:39.940 --> 00:33:44.079 will live by them. But the righteous that is 00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:47.809 by faith says, do not say in your heart who will 00:33:47.809 --> 00:33:51.369 ascend to heaven, that is who is to bring Christ 00:33:51.369 --> 00:33:55.289 down, or who will ascend into the deep, that 00:33:55.289 --> 00:33:58.170 is to bring Christ up from the dead, but what 00:33:58.170 --> 00:34:01.470 does it say? The word is near you, is in your 00:34:01.470 --> 00:34:05.670 mouth and in your heart, that is the message 00:34:05.670 --> 00:34:10.070 concerning faith that we proclaim is this, if 00:34:10.070 --> 00:34:14.610 you declare Right? If you declare with your mouth, 00:34:14.710 --> 00:34:18.769 Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that 00:34:18.769 --> 00:34:21.489 God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 00:34:22.829 --> 00:34:25.809 Okay, so he's saying, what are they saying? Listen, 00:34:26.030 --> 00:34:31.590 this is not beyond us. The ways of the Lord, 00:34:31.710 --> 00:34:34.730 the word of the Lord is not so far off that we 00:34:34.730 --> 00:34:37.489 have to go up into heaven to find it or down 00:34:37.489 --> 00:34:43.349 into the deep to find it. No. It is near to you. 00:34:43.969 --> 00:34:47.250 It is in your mouth, and it is in your heart. 00:34:47.369 --> 00:34:51.429 And so this is why we declare with our mouth, 00:34:51.550 --> 00:34:55.570 Jesus is Lord, and it's also in our heart. So 00:34:55.570 --> 00:34:59.150 we what? We believe in our heart that Jesus is 00:34:59.150 --> 00:35:04.130 Lord. This is so powerful because the truth is 00:35:04.130 --> 00:35:09.070 that it says, It is with your heart that you 00:35:09.070 --> 00:35:11.929 believe and are justified, and your mouth that 00:35:11.929 --> 00:35:17.010 you profess your faith and are saved. So we see 00:35:17.010 --> 00:35:20.349 the connection. Deuteronomy is the context of 00:35:20.349 --> 00:35:24.590 following the law, which is impossible, but the 00:35:24.590 --> 00:35:30.050 foreshadow of what is to come. Emmanuel, God 00:35:30.050 --> 00:35:37.139 is with us. John chapter 1, Jesus became the 00:35:37.139 --> 00:35:43.320 Word, and the Word dwells among men. The Word 00:35:43.320 --> 00:35:48.760 has drawn near to you and I. It is in our mouth. 00:35:48.780 --> 00:35:53.420 It is in our heart. Jesus, the living Word, is 00:35:53.420 --> 00:35:58.320 near to us. This is not a God that's trying to 00:35:58.320 --> 00:36:01.119 make it difficult for us to obey and follow him. 00:36:02.119 --> 00:36:07.039 He's tried to make it as easy as he can to obey. 00:36:09.380 --> 00:36:15.780 And so now Jesus said this. In Luke, he said, 00:36:15.960 --> 00:36:19.760 when he was talking to the Pharisees, who like 00:36:19.760 --> 00:36:24.239 to overcomplicate it and make it hard, the Pharisees 00:36:24.239 --> 00:36:29.130 asked when the kingdom of God would come. And 00:36:29.130 --> 00:36:31.989 Jesus said it doesn't come with observation. 00:36:33.510 --> 00:36:36.750 They won't say see here or see there. It's not 00:36:36.750 --> 00:36:40.710 a kingdom on this earth. For indeed the kingdom 00:36:40.710 --> 00:36:50.849 is within you. The kingdom is within you. His 00:36:50.849 --> 00:36:55.489 word is in our mouth and it's in our heart. It 00:36:55.489 --> 00:37:00.659 is in us. And the heart of God is always, you 00:37:00.659 --> 00:37:04.820 can read it in Isaiah 59. He says, I'm going 00:37:04.820 --> 00:37:07.860 to put it in your mouth, my words in your mouth, 00:37:07.860 --> 00:37:10.559 on your lips, on the lips of your children and 00:37:10.559 --> 00:37:14.099 their descendants. In Jeremiah, he says, I put 00:37:14.099 --> 00:37:17.099 the law in their minds and on their hearts, and 00:37:17.099 --> 00:37:21.539 they will be my people and I their God. This 00:37:21.539 --> 00:37:25.159 is a God that has always longed to be in close, 00:37:25.280 --> 00:37:30.400 abiding relationship. He has words that he wants 00:37:30.400 --> 00:37:34.900 to speak to us, but we have to begin to listen. 00:37:35.920 --> 00:37:39.159 We have to change the dynamic of our prayer life, 00:37:39.300 --> 00:37:41.920 and maybe what would it look like if we spent 00:37:41.920 --> 00:37:47.239 a little more time listening? And so the question 00:37:47.239 --> 00:37:51.079 today is, what fills our heart? And what fills 00:37:51.079 --> 00:37:54.760 our mouth. Because maybe we need to make some 00:37:54.760 --> 00:37:59.119 space for God. Maybe we've got some attitudes 00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:03.380 that we need to deal with. Maybe we're so busy 00:38:03.380 --> 00:38:06.260 listening to the world that we have no space 00:38:06.260 --> 00:38:12.860 to listen to God. Receive instruction from his 00:38:12.860 --> 00:38:17.239 mouth and then place his sayings in your heart. 00:38:19.679 --> 00:38:23.480 Place his sayings in your heart. I'm going to 00:38:23.480 --> 00:38:25.840 ask if the team will come back up this morning. 00:38:28.780 --> 00:38:32.699 God will answer your prayers. God will do extraordinary 00:38:32.699 --> 00:38:35.760 things. How many of you have had God touch you 00:38:35.760 --> 00:38:42.079 in a miraculous way, right? In one of those only 00:38:42.079 --> 00:38:45.760 God can do moments that I love for, I believe 00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:52.820 for, I pray for, I expect. But that's only one 00:38:52.820 --> 00:38:57.719 aspect of our God. Our God wants to live and 00:38:57.719 --> 00:39:03.900 to dwell with us. I believe that he wants us 00:39:03.900 --> 00:39:09.300 to draw our ears close, anticipating his direction. 00:39:09.480 --> 00:39:12.699 God, what do you have today? God, what do you 00:39:12.699 --> 00:39:21.960 want to do this week? I was listening to a podcast 00:39:21.960 --> 00:39:27.179 this morning and this quote that said, Jesus 00:39:27.179 --> 00:39:30.280 is in our hearts, but grandpa is still in my 00:39:30.280 --> 00:39:37.079 bones. Jesus is in our hearts, but grandpa is 00:39:37.079 --> 00:39:43.159 still in our bones. We've been justified and 00:39:43.159 --> 00:39:49.170 redeemed, right? But sometimes we've still got 00:39:49.170 --> 00:39:52.030 a bit of that generational stuff in us, right? 00:39:52.789 --> 00:39:55.530 Sometimes there are generational curses that 00:39:55.530 --> 00:39:58.909 Jesus has to break. And sometimes we've not had 00:39:58.909 --> 00:40:01.889 an example in our family line of a good father, 00:40:01.909 --> 00:40:06.909 of a good mother. We've not learned how to be 00:40:06.909 --> 00:40:10.690 good parents. We've still got grandpa's stuff 00:40:10.690 --> 00:40:17.019 going on in our bones. And I believe that God, 00:40:17.280 --> 00:40:23.880 his desire is for us to choose to lean in and 00:40:23.880 --> 00:40:28.320 to hear from him on how to be a better parent, 00:40:28.380 --> 00:40:33.139 how to be a better husband, how to be a better 00:40:33.139 --> 00:40:36.639 wife, how to be a better son and a daughter, 00:40:36.800 --> 00:40:40.760 how to be a better friend, how to be a better 00:40:40.760 --> 00:40:45.599 worker, how to be a better steward. That isn't 00:40:45.599 --> 00:40:48.820 always a supernatural changed in the moment kind 00:40:48.820 --> 00:40:53.960 of a thing. That's the discipleship of being 00:40:53.960 --> 00:41:00.699 a follower of Jesus. And when I come across great 00:41:00.699 --> 00:41:05.739 people that I think are doing great things, and 00:41:05.739 --> 00:41:09.000 I want to learn from them, when I get around 00:41:09.000 --> 00:41:11.619 them, I don't spend all my time talking, do I? 00:41:12.639 --> 00:41:16.380 I listen. I need to hear how you've done life. 00:41:16.480 --> 00:41:22.400 I need to hear how you've walked with God. What 00:41:22.400 --> 00:41:24.820 would that look like if we do that to God himself? 00:41:26.599 --> 00:41:30.179 God, you created all this. You knit me together. 00:41:30.280 --> 00:41:33.659 You have a plan and a purpose for my life. I 00:41:33.659 --> 00:41:37.639 want to hear what you have to say about it. I 00:41:37.639 --> 00:41:39.380 want to hear what you have to say about this 00:41:39.380 --> 00:41:45.789 situation. My kid. This problem in my family, 00:41:45.949 --> 00:41:53.250 my business, my finances, my health. God, I want 00:41:53.250 --> 00:41:56.670 to hear what you have to say about it. And so 00:41:56.670 --> 00:42:00.590 this week, your assignment, you ready? You have 00:42:00.590 --> 00:42:05.389 an assignment. I want you this week to change 00:42:05.389 --> 00:42:10.980 your pie chart. I want you this week to move 00:42:10.980 --> 00:42:15.159 the needle on your pie chart. And I want you 00:42:15.159 --> 00:42:20.480 to spend more time listening than talking. Just 00:42:20.480 --> 00:42:24.739 for a week, give it a try. Just for a week, trust 00:42:24.739 --> 00:42:28.039 that God knows what you're going through, and 00:42:28.039 --> 00:42:31.199 so you don't have to inform him. And so just 00:42:31.199 --> 00:42:34.500 for this week, just be quiet, put your hand over 00:42:34.500 --> 00:42:39.420 your mouth, and listen. And just see what God 00:42:39.420 --> 00:42:42.659 says. See how he tells you to pray for that situation. 00:42:43.679 --> 00:42:49.260 See what instruction he gives. And so here's 00:42:49.260 --> 00:42:52.159 what we're going to do this morning. It's a quarter 00:42:52.159 --> 00:42:55.360 till, but see, we aren't governed by this world, 00:42:55.500 --> 00:42:59.179 right? And so you can prolong your lunch a little 00:42:59.179 --> 00:43:02.300 bit. And the team's going to lead us in a moment 00:43:02.300 --> 00:43:06.469 of worship. And I want you to just create an 00:43:06.469 --> 00:43:10.010 altar space. Maybe in your seat, maybe you need 00:43:10.010 --> 00:43:15.269 to come forward to the altar. And I want you 00:43:15.269 --> 00:43:19.130 to spend a few moments making space. I want you 00:43:19.130 --> 00:43:21.550 to spend a few moments just saying, God, I've 00:43:21.550 --> 00:43:24.510 had this attitude. God, I've been doing this 00:43:24.510 --> 00:43:27.469 behavior that's not been good. But what we want 00:43:27.469 --> 00:43:30.369 to do in these final moments is we want to create 00:43:30.369 --> 00:43:34.110 space so that this week we can spend our time 00:43:34.110 --> 00:43:37.429 listening. So that this week we can just give 00:43:37.429 --> 00:43:40.489 ourselves to abiding with the Father and saying, 00:43:40.510 --> 00:43:42.449 God, I've been speaking to you for 20 years. 00:43:42.570 --> 00:43:45.750 I'm just going to listen now to what you have 00:43:45.750 --> 00:43:50.420 to say. But first, we're going to deal with anything 00:43:50.420 --> 00:43:54.460 that might be clogging up that inward life. You 00:43:54.460 --> 00:43:57.380 might need to put some worship music away this 00:43:57.380 --> 00:44:07.900 week and say, yeah, I love Brandon Lake, whoever 00:44:07.900 --> 00:44:10.980 your favorite is. I love Stephanie Gretzinger, 00:44:11.039 --> 00:44:16.250 if you want a good cry. But I'm going to even 00:44:16.250 --> 00:44:20.030 silence that this week. And so I want you in 00:44:20.030 --> 00:44:23.449 this moment just to ask Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, 00:44:23.590 --> 00:44:31.190 how do I make space this week to hear you? What 00:44:31.190 --> 00:44:33.650 do you want to put your finger on that's been 00:44:33.650 --> 00:44:38.329 occupying space that belongs to you, that belongs 00:44:38.329 --> 00:44:42.179 to your instruction? that belongs to your sayings. 00:44:42.179 --> 00:44:45.420 I want to just clear out closet space to make 00:44:45.420 --> 00:44:49.079 room for your voice, to make room for your direction 00:44:49.079 --> 00:44:52.079 this week, to say, God, I just don't know, so 00:44:52.079 --> 00:44:54.000 I'm just going to listen. I'm just going to hear 00:44:54.000 --> 00:44:59.860 what you might want to say to me this week. And 00:44:59.860 --> 00:45:03.179 so let's just begin to turn our eyes, just kind 00:45:03.179 --> 00:45:05.320 of forget right now about everything that you're 00:45:05.320 --> 00:45:09.590 going home to today. Begin to put your gaze on 00:45:09.590 --> 00:45:15.150 Jesus, the living word, Emmanuel, God with us. 00:45:15.550 --> 00:45:17.849 I want you just to put your eyes on him right 00:45:17.849 --> 00:45:21.110 now. And I want you just to open up your spirit, 00:45:21.190 --> 00:45:25.510 open up your heart, open up your life, and say, 00:45:25.550 --> 00:45:29.429 Holy Spirit, come in and begin to speak. Come 00:45:29.429 --> 00:45:32.969 in and begin to speak. Come in and begin to speak. 00:45:33.639 --> 00:45:36.079 And some of you, I feel like you do, you need 00:45:36.079 --> 00:45:38.699 to make a move to the altar to present it before 00:45:38.699 --> 00:45:42.239 the Lord, to release it before the Lord, a physical 00:45:42.239 --> 00:45:45.739 act of releasing it before the Lord as we worship. 00:45:46.139 --> 00:45:48.340 Just for a few moments, we're going to worship 00:45:48.340 --> 00:45:52.280 and give space for him to come in and begin to 00:45:52.280 --> 00:45:52.579 speak.