1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,000 Thank you for listening to this message from LifeHouse Church. 2 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:18,000 Good morning, good morning. 3 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:21,000 Turn to somebody beside you, get my high five, tell them, good to see you. 4 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:22,000 Tell them it's good to see you. 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,000 Good to see you, good to see you. 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:29,000 Hey, listen, before we start with the message, I wanted to take a moment and apologize to 7 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:35,000 the LifeHouse family for my poor communication last Sunday with cancelling services. 8 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:40,000 As most of you know, we had a storm last Saturday night and into Sunday and they were expecting 9 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,000 the roads to be fully plowed and clear. 10 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,000 And as the storm was unfolding, we kind of had several additional problems arise. 11 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,000 Dixie and I came down with the stomach flu. 12 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:53,000 We were both horribly sick, which, you know, there's lots of that going around. 13 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:58,000 And then we had a failure with the snow blower here at the church for the sidewalks. 14 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:04,000 And, but in the course of all that, I had the staff send out several communications and that was all on me. 15 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,000 And it caused some confusion. 16 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:07,000 So I want to apologize for that. 17 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:11,000 We did get together on Monday with the staff meeting and said, hey, we don't want this to happen again. 18 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:15,000 So we set down some very clear protocols in the future. 19 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:20,000 If there is a snow emergency of some kind, which just really was and it did get cleared. 20 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:26,000 But if there is some kind of weather emergency, we'll let everybody know by noon on Saturday, 21 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:32,000 we'll send out a very clear, concise, all right, informational kind of communication. 22 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,000 So everybody knows what's happening. 23 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,000 So if you would please forgive me for the poor communication. 24 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:37,000 We do that. 25 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,000 Thank you. 26 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:39,000 You're in church. 27 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:40,000 You kind of got it. 28 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,000 But if you would thank you for that. 29 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,000 And I appreciate your patience with us on that. 30 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,000 Well, hey, we're back though. 31 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:49,000 We're here. 32 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,000 And yes, and it's a good, hey, thank you. 33 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:52,000 Yes. 34 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:53,000 And it's good to be in God's house. 35 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:58,000 And we just came off a week of fasting, a time of setting aside a time getting with God, 36 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:04,000 hopefully a time where you were curing with the master speaking to you and a week of devotions 37 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,000 we had out and prayer time and all those kind of things. 38 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,000 And tonight we've got a revive worship night. 39 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,000 If you've never been to one, if you can, please come. 40 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,000 Yes, I like it. 41 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:16,000 It's a great time. 42 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,000 It's completely different than Sunday mornings. 43 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,000 It's just an atmosphere of worship and honestly testimony. 44 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,000 We want to talk about what Jesus has done, right? 45 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:25,000 It doesn't matter what I did. 46 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,000 It just matters what Jesus did. 47 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:28,000 And that's tonight. 48 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,000 So we're excited about that taking place. 49 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,000 And then we're going to continue on with loud and clear for the next few weeks. 50 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:41,000 And I believe that the greatest thing we can do going into 2024 is to hear God, to hear his voice. 51 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:42,000 Amen. 52 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,000 I think it'll set the stage for your year. 53 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,000 It'll set the stage for your future, where you're going. 54 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:48,000 And I think it's incredibly important. 55 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:49,000 Amen. 56 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,000 If you believe that, turn to somebody and tell them, I want to hear God this year. 57 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,000 I want to tell God, I want to hear him. 58 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:54,000 I want to hear him this year. 59 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Amen. 60 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:56,000 God testifies sometimes. 61 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:01,000 Well, listen, some of you may or may not be aware of, I grew up in a small town in Western PA. 62 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,000 And if you've been coming here for a while, you've probably heard me talk about it. 63 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,000 And where I grew up, it was coal and steel country. 64 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:11,000 So there were deep mines and my dad worked at Bethlehem Steel. 65 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,000 He worked in the steel mills. 66 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:19,000 And in our particular little town, because of the coal mines and of the steel mills, 67 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:25,000 when we talked about things, we talked about it in a little bit of different vernacular. 68 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:30,000 And most of my dad, friends, their dad worked at the steel mills or the coal mines. 69 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:34,000 So when somebody asked you where you live, it wasn't like here. 70 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:40,000 Like when somebody asked you where you live here, you're like, oh, I live on Oak Road or Hickory Road or Hickory Estates or Oka Estates. 71 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,000 So we're out in some bourbon development of some kind. 72 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,000 But where I came from, you lived by what mine number you lived by. 73 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,000 So they'd be like, oh, I'm from 37. 74 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,000 Oh, where do you live? I'm from 23. 75 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,000 And most people are like, what? 23 what? 76 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:01,000 But there was this vernacular that took place because of where we lived. 77 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:07,000 And in any small community, and sometimes even in a big community, there's this common conversation. 78 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:12,000 Stout words, words that are used, references that are the same. 79 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:17,000 And there can be common words, there can be common foods, there can be common traditions. 80 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,000 How many of you know the food sometimes is common to an area? 81 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,000 We ate God Cake and Hulushki. 82 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,000 Most people don't even know what that is, right? 83 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,000 That's a different thing. Go to Western PA, you'll find out, right? 84 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:32,000 And along with those common words and common traditions, sometimes they had common problems. 85 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:39,000 And one of the problems that was very common in our area with the adult males is that there was hearing loss. 86 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:48,000 And the reason was that they worked in the mills and they worked in the mines around heavy, loud equipment and didn't use a lot of ear protection. 87 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:53,000 So sooner or later in your family, you were having a conversation with the parent and it went something like this. 88 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,000 Hey, Dad, I think you need a hearing aid. 89 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:56,000 And he'd go, huh? 90 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,000 I think you maybe need some hearing aids. 91 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,000 What? Did you say hearing aids? 92 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,000 I don't need any hearing aids, right? 93 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:11,000 You would have a conversation along those lines that went and a lot of people, even Christians, 94 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,000 they kind of think that there's this spiritual common problem in the body of Christ, 95 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:20,000 that it really is hard to hear God, that it's difficult. 96 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:23,000 Sometimes, or most of the time, we can't hear God. 97 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:25,000 We can't hear Him in a clear way. 98 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,000 We don't really know. 99 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:33,000 And without some specialized, right, spiritual hearing aids, we're probably not going to hear God all that well. 100 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,000 And you're just kind of out of luck, right? 101 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:36,000 Stinks to be you. 102 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:37,000 God's not speaking to you. 103 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:38,000 Not today. 104 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:39,000 All right? 105 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:40,000 Somehow you missed it. 106 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,000 You're on the outs. 107 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:43,000 You know, something. 108 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:45,000 And other than the Bible, right? 109 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,000 We feel like we can't hear from God. 110 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:53,000 And other than the Bible, we're just not going to hear God until we die one day and meet Him face to face. 111 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,000 And they're really kind of that mindset. 112 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,000 And honestly, it's one of the top 10 questions I get asked as a minister. 113 00:05:58,000 --> 00:05:59,000 Can I hear God? 114 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:00,000 Right? 115 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:01,000 How do I hear from God? 116 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:07,000 Do I have to be a pastor, evangelist, pastor, a teacher, an apostle to hear from God? 117 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:08,000 What's that look like? 118 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:09,000 Do I got to earn it somehow? 119 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,000 Right? 120 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:11,000 Do I got to take three classes? 121 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:12,000 What's that look like? 122 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:22,000 And the fact is, is if you're a believer, if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, if you are redeemed, if you've confessed, repented, surrendered to Jesus, you're following Him. 123 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,000 If you're saved, God wants to speak to you. 124 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,000 And He wants to speak to you personally. 125 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:29,000 He really does. 126 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,000 But here's the thing. 127 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:32,000 I can talk about God. 128 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:33,000 I can talk scripture. 129 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:37,000 I can try to attempt to preach the house down, you know, about being loud and clear. 130 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:39,000 And I'll give that my best shot. 131 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:45,000 But if I hope to build your faith in this, it's about you experiencing hearing from God. 132 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:46,000 Right? 133 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:53,000 We want you to participate in some principles from scripture that will position you to hear from God. 134 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:59,000 If you hear from God personally, here's what happens, your faith skyrockets. 135 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:00,000 It really does. 136 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:06,000 Probably a great message might inspire you for a little bit, but I don't know if your faith will definitely skyrocket from it. 137 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,000 But if you hear from God personally, your faith will skyrocket. 138 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:14,000 Nothing builds faith quicker, deeper than experiencing God personally. 139 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:21,000 Nothing is more convincing than actually hearing the voice of God in your own spirit and in your own heart and in your own life. 140 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:25,000 I love it when somebody comes up to me and they start telling me about how they've heard from God. 141 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:26,000 Right? 142 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,000 And, you know, they'll start talking about it. 143 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,000 And as I listen, I realize, okay, this lines up with scripture, what they're saying. 144 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:32,000 This is like legit. 145 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,000 And they get super excited about it. 146 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:36,000 They almost don't even know how to put it in words, right? 147 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:37,000 Because how do you describe God? 148 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:39,000 I mean, how many of God's great communicator? 149 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,000 Yeah, he uses more than words. 150 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:43,000 And they almost can't communicate. 151 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:49,000 And I watch as their faith goes from here to here, especially like first time they hear from God personally. 152 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:52,000 And it's just this thing where it leaps. 153 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:58,000 And nobody needs to convince him, you don't got to spend three hours in a theological discussion of some kind. 154 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,000 They've heard from God himself. 155 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:01,000 And they know. 156 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:02,000 Amen? 157 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:11,000 So my purpose is to take the next few weeks and show you that you don't need some specialized, spiritual kind of hearing aid to hear God a lot and clear. 158 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,000 You just got to position ourselves. 159 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,000 We just got to position ourselves. 160 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:20,000 It would just need to get in the right posture, the right position. 161 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:28,000 So if you got your Bibles this morning and your no pads ready, turn to John chapter 10 verse 25, John 10 25. 162 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,000 And I'm going to pray while you're turning there. 163 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,000 Lord, we thank you for this day. 164 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:34,000 God, for your blessing. 165 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,000 God, for your peace and your presence. 166 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:44,000 God, I ask, Lord, that this word would come into our hearts and God that it would move on us and it would speak to us and God that we would glean and draw from it. 167 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:46,000 And God that it would position us. 168 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:52,000 Lord, to hear from you this morning, to hear from you tomorrow, to hear from you the next week and then the next year. 169 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,000 And God, we give you glory and praise in Jesus' name. 170 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:55,000 Everybody said together? 171 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:56,000 Amen. 172 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:57,000 Amen. 173 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:04,000 John 10 25 and it says this, Jesus answered them, I told you and you do not believe. 174 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,000 The works that I do in my father's name, they bear witness of me. 175 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:12,000 But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep. 176 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:17,000 As I said to you, my sheep hear my voice. 177 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,000 Now I'm going to stop right there and I want you to read that with me. 178 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,000 My sheep hear my voice. 179 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:23,000 You want to say it with me? 180 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:25,000 My sheep hear my voice. 181 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:26,000 Let's say it one more time. 182 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:32,000 My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. 183 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:35,000 And I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. 184 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:38,000 Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. 185 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:45,000 My father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand. 186 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:49,000 I and my father are one. 187 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:56,000 How do we position ourselves to hear God's voice according to what Jesus told us in these few scriptures? 188 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:01,000 How do we keep from having spiritual hearing loss? 189 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:03,000 How do we ensure that we always hear from Him? 190 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:10,000 What is the Jesus analogy in this verse that helps us to see and hear God clearly? 191 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:11,000 It's simple. 192 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:16,000 He's our shepherd and we follow Him as His sheep. 193 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:18,000 Super simple, right? 194 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,000 Let me know that's so appropriate on Farm Week. 195 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:21,000 All right. 196 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:22,000 Harrisburg P.A. is having farm, right? 197 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,000 Farm Show is taking place right now. 198 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:28,000 He's our shepherd and we follow Him as His sheep. 199 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:32,000 And I want you to get this word picture because we are sheep. 200 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:33,000 Look at your neighbor right now. 201 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:34,000 Go ahead and look at him. 202 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:35,000 I want you to picture them as a sheep. 203 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:36,000 All right. 204 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:38,000 Point to him if you have to and go, bye. 205 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:39,000 All right. 206 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:40,000 Point to him. 207 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:41,000 Go ahead. 208 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:42,000 All right. 209 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:43,000 I thought I would get you. 210 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:44,000 I thought about getting you to get your cell phone out. 211 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:45,000 Get one of those. 212 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,000 You know how you can get those filters on your phone, right? 213 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,000 Get a sheep filter and put it on there so you can see yourself. 214 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:51,000 I don't know if they have one. 215 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:52,000 I didn't look it up, right? 216 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:57,000 But you know, you're a sheep and we should be sheep that are following Jesus. 217 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,000 He's our shepherd and we got to see ourselves in this light. 218 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,000 And let me read just a little more on this idea. 219 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:09,000 John 10.1 says this, most assuredly I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold 220 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:14,000 by the door but climbs up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber. 221 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,000 But he who enters the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 222 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:22,000 To him the doorkeeper opens and the sheep hear his what? 223 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:23,000 Voice. 224 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:27,000 And he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 225 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:34,000 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, the sheep follow him for they 226 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:36,000 know his voice. 227 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:41,000 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger but will flee from him for they do not know 228 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,000 the voice of strangers. 229 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,000 What is the condition? 230 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,000 What is the position to hear God? 231 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:53,000 All right. 232 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:55,000 That's what it is. 233 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:56,000 It's sheep. 234 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:02,000 I need to closely follow Jesus in a sheep-like manner. 235 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:03,000 All right. 236 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:09,000 The position and the condition to hear God is to follow Jesus in a sheep-like manner. 237 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:13,000 Not just follow him, not just get in line behind him, right. 238 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,000 Not just bozy along with Jesus. 239 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,000 You know, I don't know if they put that on t-shirts anywhere, right. 240 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,000 But to follow Jesus in a sheep-like manner. 241 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,000 And there's a couple things you've got to understand about a sheep-like manner of following 242 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,000 Jesus and this idea and this picture of this. 243 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:33,000 First is this, that hearing and following closely go together. 244 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:34,000 Now I know this is kind of obvious. 245 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,000 Sometimes I've got to point out the obvious to myself, right. 246 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:41,000 But hearing and following closely go closely together. 247 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:46,000 If you're going to follow and follow closely, hearing goes along with that. 248 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,000 They're connected. 249 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,000 They're dependent upon one another. 250 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:54,000 If I want to hear the shepherd, I have to be close enough to hear from him, right. 251 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:55,000 It's not a theoretical thing. 252 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,000 It's not a metaphorical thing. 253 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,000 It's a practical thing. 254 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,000 It's something, it's a tangible thing that I have to do. 255 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,000 It's tangibly sticking close to the shepherd. 256 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:11,000 It's a perpetual movement, a perpetual action of coming in behind the shepherd. 257 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:15,000 And don't minimize this or underestimate this or gloss over this idea. 258 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:19,000 Because we miss God's voice if we do. 259 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,000 If we don't get this. 260 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,000 And if we practice it, it looks something like this. 261 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,000 Now I asked Pastor Andrew to help me this morning. 262 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:29,000 I'm going to play a little game that kids play all the time. 263 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:30,000 It's called Follow the Leader. 264 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,000 He's a youth pastor and he knows all about this, right. 265 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:36,000 So if you follow the leader, alright now I want, I'm the leader today. 266 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,000 Alright, I want you to follow, okay. 267 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:42,000 So if I'm leading, he's following, right. 268 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,000 He's even doing what I'm doing. 269 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,000 Alright, okay, he's following. 270 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:50,000 And as long as he's following closely to me, how many of you can hear me? 271 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,000 Now I know I got a mic on, right. 272 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,000 And you all can hear me. 273 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:54,000 But he can hear me. 274 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:58,000 And as long as he's close by me, you know, we can hear one another. 275 00:13:58,000 --> 00:13:59,000 He can hear what I'm saying. 276 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:05,000 And what happens is, right, as a matter of fact, he can't even ignore me if he stays close enough to me. 277 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,000 As much as he wants to. 278 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:11,000 Even if you all begin to make a bunch of noise and I could get you to do, 279 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:15,000 I was going to try to get you to do that, but I thought, if that doesn't work, it's just going to be awkward. 280 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:22,000 So, but if I got you all to make a bunch of noise and he was close enough, he could still hear me talk. 281 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,000 He can still hear me in the noise, right. 282 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:30,000 But what happens, what happens if we get 10 paces apart from one another and I don't have a microphone on? 283 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:32,000 It gets harder to hear, right. 284 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,000 What if it's 20 feet apart? 285 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,000 What if he's at the back of the church at 60, 70 feet? 286 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:41,000 What if it's 50 yards, 100 yards, a mile away? 287 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,000 Are you going to hear me? 288 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:44,000 No. 289 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:45,000 Thank you. 290 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:46,000 Thank you. 291 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,000 He's not going to hear me. 292 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:58,000 If God seems distant to us, quiet to us, muffled to us, we might want to check our following distance. 293 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,000 We might want to see how close we are. 294 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,000 I got this thing in my car. 295 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,000 It's called adaptive cruise. 296 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:06,000 I love it. 297 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,000 It's the coolest thing ever. 298 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,000 They're going to throw a picture up of this, but it's adaptive cruise. 299 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:16,000 What I can do is I can set my cruise control and it monitors the car in front of me. 300 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:20,000 What's cool about that is I can set it on three different settings. 301 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:22,000 It's represented by three bars. 302 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,000 Each of those three bars represents a distance. 303 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:31,000 So, I can put the cruise control on and the car in front of me, if it's on three bars, it's pretty far away, right. 304 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:35,000 If it's on two bars, my car will come up closer and just ride that distance. 305 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:38,000 If it's one bar, I can get right up on top of them. 306 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,000 Guess what one I use? 307 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:42,000 I use one. 308 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:43,000 All right? 309 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,000 I like to know what's going on in front of me. 310 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,000 I like to see what's happening in front of me. 311 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:48,000 I don't know why. 312 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:51,000 Call it curiosity, but I'm almost never on three. 313 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,000 I'm always on one. 314 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:54,000 And I don't know. 315 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:57,000 Maybe I want to hear if they yell something out the window, right? 316 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:01,000 You know, I want to hear what they're playing on the radio if we stop at a red light. 317 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:02,000 I don't know. 318 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:08,000 You know, and how many of you know if you're up that close, you can see if they're off scrolling on their phone or social media, right. 319 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:12,000 You get to the red light and they sit there, or the green light, and you sit there for two minutes, you can hit the horn. 320 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:13,000 I'm on. 321 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:14,000 You have social media. 322 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:15,000 But I'm on one. 323 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:21,000 If it's sheep, if we want to hear him, we got to get close. 324 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,000 Check your following distance. 325 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:25,000 You got to know how close you are. 326 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,000 Are you a one-bar follower? 327 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:28,000 Two bars? 328 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:29,000 Or three bars? 329 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,000 Are you way back there? 330 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,000 Just, I'm following Jesus. 331 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,000 But I'm way back here. 332 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,000 And I'm not hearing a thing. 333 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:40,000 Amen? 334 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,000 It's true. 335 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:46,000 I have found this to be personally true in my own life. 336 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:58,000 If I get busy, if I get ignoring God, if I step away, if I'm 50 yards behind, I'm 100 yards behind, I'm a mile away from Him, I suffer hearing loss big time with Jesus. 337 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:09,000 It happened to Israel, and Scripture, Israel would wander away from God in the Old Testament, and they would forget to listen for the Lord, and they would go their own way. 338 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:14,000 And ultimately, what would take place when they would get away from God is the enemy would begin to come in. 339 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:17,000 The enemy would begin to come in and terrorize them. 340 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:23,000 And if they stayed close to God, and they stayed close to His Word, God was always right in front of Him, fighting their battle for Him. 341 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,000 But they would lose it. 342 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:26,000 They would completely lose it. 343 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:30,000 It happened, what if we want to hear God? 344 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,000 What's your following distance? 345 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,000 One, two, or three bars. 346 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,000 Amen? 347 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:45,000 What's another important factor of Jesus' Word picture of the sheep and the shepherd analogy that causes me to hear him loud and clear, right? 348 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:49,000 We must be sheep-like in the follow of Jesus. 349 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,000 We have to be sheep-like in the follow of Jesus. 350 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,000 Now, what's that mean, right? 351 00:17:55,000 --> 00:18:03,000 About two weeks ago, two or three weeks ago, I talked with somebody who worked with sheep, and I got into a conversation with them. 352 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:10,000 They were a farmer, and they had worked with cows and different critters that are raised on a farm, and sheep were one of them. 353 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,000 And I was talking to her, and she was telling me about sheep. 354 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:20,000 And in conversation, she looked at me, she said, she's the stupidest animal I've ever worked with. 355 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,000 I was like, okay, right? 356 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,000 And she said, they're just stupid. 357 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:29,000 And I started seeing these verses in a whole new light, you know? 358 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:31,000 They're just stupid. 359 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:36,000 And I had heard that once before, but I wasn't sure I believed it, and she confirmed it, right? 360 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:41,000 She said, they're just stupid. This new revelation began to come as I was looking at these verses. 361 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:45,000 And you might say, well, Pastor, are you saying I'm stupid, or I should stupidly follow Jesus? 362 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,000 No, I'm not saying that at all. 363 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:50,000 But I did realize something in this conversation. 364 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:53,000 And something came to light in this conversation as I was looking at it. 365 00:18:53,000 --> 00:19:04,000 If I measure the competence and the intellect of the sheep, and I compare that to the competence and the intellect of the shepherd, the sheep's stupid. 366 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:14,000 Come on. If I match my intellect and my competence and my ability to God's, right, to Jesus' ability and His competence and His intellect, 367 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,000 I kind of rank Him stupid. 368 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:18,000 I don't know about you. You can put yourself wherever you want. 369 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,000 But I see myself kind of in a stupid category. 370 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,000 For a person, listen, I know you're like, well, I don't want to call myself stupid. 371 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,000 I don't either. That's not what I'm saying. 372 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:27,000 You get where I'm going. 373 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:31,000 Following Jesus in a sheep-like manner means I got to crush my pride. 374 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:32,000 It really does. 375 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:38,000 Following Jesus in a sheep-like manner means I got to make sure that I know my place in this relationship. 376 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:42,000 That He's the leader, and that I am the follower, right? 377 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,000 That self-reliance goes out the window. 378 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,000 That I fall in line behind the master, right? 379 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,000 And He doesn't fall in line behind me. 380 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,000 I could think in my ideas better than His idea. 381 00:19:52,000 --> 00:20:00,000 I realize that His ways are above my ways, far above my ways, way above my ways. 382 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:01,000 Amen? 383 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:02,000 Amen. 384 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:03,000 Amen. It's true. 385 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:09,000 Have you ever got around somebody who was leading and they had no idea what they were doing? 386 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:10,000 Anybody ever do that before? 387 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:11,000 Right? 388 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:15,000 How many of you ever got put in a position where you had to lead and you had no idea what you were doing? 389 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,000 Yeah. Right? 390 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,000 And you see that person get each other. 391 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,000 How many know that doesn't end well, typically, right? 392 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:25,000 If you're following somebody and they got no clue what they're doing, and they got no idea where they're going, 393 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:29,000 they haven't trained and haven't consulted and they don't do any of those kind of things, right? 394 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:32,000 And sometimes that's what sheep do. 395 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:36,000 We get out, you know, and we start trying to fake it until we make it. 396 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:37,000 Amen? 397 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:38,000 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 398 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,000 You know, I got this all figured out. 399 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:41,000 I got what's going on. 400 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,000 I'm just going to keep faking it until I make it kind of thing. 401 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:48,000 Bad direction to go in. 402 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:53,000 Man, in a spiritual context, we need to follow Jesus and we need to do it in a sheep-like manner. 403 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,000 We need to know where we are in this relationship. 404 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:00,000 And without a doubt, no, who's leading and who's following, right? 405 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:07,000 If I want to hear God loud and clear, no spiritual hearing aids required, right? 406 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,000 Follow Jesus in a sheep-like manner. 407 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:13,000 Drop the pride, drop the self-reliance, right? 408 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,000 Yeah, the quiet, hidden air against it. 409 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,000 Sometimes we all carry, right? 410 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,000 Our hidden agenda. 411 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,000 Man, I get hidden agendas. 412 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:25,000 God's pretty good at revealing those, by the way, right? 413 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,000 I don't just determine I'm not going anywhere. 414 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,000 God isn't going. 415 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:35,000 James 4.10 says this, humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, for He will lift you up. 416 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,000 He lifts us up when we're close, when we're listening. 417 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:44,000 1 Peter 5.5 says, likewise, you young people submit yourselves to your elders. 418 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,000 Yes, all of you be submissive to one another. 419 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:48,000 Come on, all the elders should be saying amen. 420 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,000 And be clothed with humility. 421 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:53,000 For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 422 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,000 He gives favor, right, to the humble. 423 00:21:55,000 --> 00:22:01,000 Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 424 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,000 casting your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 425 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:10,000 Micah 6.8 says, He has shown you, oh man, what is good. 426 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:15,000 And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, 427 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:19,000 and to walk humbly with your God? 428 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:20,000 That's clear. 429 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,000 That's clear. 430 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:27,000 Follow close, and follow sheep-like to hear Him. 431 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:28,000 He speaks to the humble. 432 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,000 He resists the proud, the word of God says that, right? 433 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:36,000 I want to leave you with one last thing that we need to hear God well. 434 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:43,000 Sometimes we need living proof that God wants to speak to us as Jesus' followers. 435 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,000 Sometimes we need living proof, right? 436 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,000 Sometimes we need living, breathing. 437 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,000 I can touch it, it can touch me. 438 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,000 Proof that alleviates doubt in my life. 439 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,000 I need that kind of proof in my life. 440 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,000 Proof that leaves me in faith, right? 441 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:02,000 And there's this guy in Scripture that his name is Thomas, 442 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,000 and he needed living proof. 443 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,000 How many of you know who doubting Thomas is? 444 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,000 If you don't, you will in a few minutes. 445 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:12,000 He needed living, breathing proof that Jesus was alive. 446 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,000 Jesus dies on the cross. 447 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:20,000 He witnesses it, he was there, he saw it, and Jesus raises from the grave, 448 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:24,000 and he appears to some of his other disciples. 449 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:30,000 And the man that he was training, but Thomas isn't with them. 450 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,000 When Jesus appears, Thomas isn't there. 451 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,000 And when he gets back, the other disciples say, 452 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,000 Thomas, Jesus is alive. 453 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,000 He showed up. 454 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:39,000 He's here. 455 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,000 And Thomas says, I doubt it, all right? 456 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:43,000 I don't believe it. 457 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,000 And it says this in John 20-24. 458 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,000 Now, Thomas called the twin, one of the twelve, 459 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,000 was not with them when Jesus came, 460 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,000 and the other disciples therefore said to him, 461 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,000 we have seen the Lord. 462 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:59,000 So he said to them, unless I see in his hands the print of the nails 463 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,000 and put my finger into the print of the nails 464 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,000 and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. 465 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,000 He wanted living, breathing proof. 466 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,000 And after eight days, his disciples were again inside, 467 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:12,000 and Thomas with them. 468 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,000 And Jesus came, and the door was being shut, 469 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,000 and stood in the midst and said, peace to you. 470 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,000 Then he said to Thomas, reach your finger here, 471 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:22,000 and look at my hands, and reach your hand here, 472 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:25,000 and put it in my side, and do not be unbelieving, 473 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:27,000 but believing. 474 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:31,000 And Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. 475 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,000 And Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, 476 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:35,000 you have believed. 477 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,000 Blessed are those who have not seen yet believed. 478 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:43,000 Now, I like Thomas because he's honest, right? 479 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,000 He's honest. 480 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:47,000 Sometimes we feel like we need living proof. 481 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:48,000 We need living, breathing proof. 482 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:51,000 Sometimes, I call Thomas a late adopter. 483 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:53,000 I don't know if you've ever heard that term before, 484 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,000 but in life, people fall into three categories. 485 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,000 They're either an early adopter, 486 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,000 a mid adopter, or a late adopter. 487 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,000 And what that means is something new comes up. 488 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,000 Some people are like, soon as a new thing comes up, 489 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,000 they're like, yeah, woo, you don't even get it 490 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:07,000 off the whole way, right? 491 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:08,000 They're just like, I'm in, right? 492 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,000 It's new, let's do it. 493 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,000 And they're early adopters, right? 494 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,000 Sometimes you present something that's brand new, 495 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,000 and you'll get a mid adopter, and they're like, well, 496 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:16,000 let me just watch this for a little bit. 497 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,000 Let me see how this is gonna work out a little bit, right? 498 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:19,000 That's a mid adopter. 499 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,000 And then you get late adopters like, man, 500 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,000 unless you give me living proof, forget it, I'm out. 501 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,000 And Thomas is kind of a late adopter. 502 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,000 He's like, I don't know if I'm buying it, guys. 503 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:29,000 I trust you all. 504 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,000 I've been walking with you all for three years with Jesus, 505 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,000 but I don't know if I'm buying what you're saying. 506 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,000 I don't know if I'm picking up what you're putting down, right? 507 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,000 I don't know if I'm going with what you're selling. 508 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:40,000 But Jesus knew that all of us sometimes 509 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:41,000 would need living proof. 510 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,000 We would need something on a daily basis, 511 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,000 and it couldn't just be head knowledge. 512 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,000 It couldn't be just the reading of the Scripture. 513 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,000 It couldn't even just be a Sunday gathering, 514 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,000 where we come together in a worship service, 515 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:53,000 and even a revive night. 516 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:54,000 It had to be more. 517 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,000 He knew that we would need living proof on a constant basis 518 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,000 to hear him, to know that he's there, 519 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,000 and to walk in power in presence of God. 520 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,000 And he said, I'm gonna send the Holy Spirit. 521 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,000 1 Corinthians 3.16 says, 522 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,000 do you not know that you are the temple? 523 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:11,000 Say the temple. 524 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,000 The temple of God, and that the spirit of God 525 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,000 dwells in you. 526 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,000 If anyone defiles the temple of God, 527 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,000 God will destroy him for the temple of God is holy. 528 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,000 Which temple are you? 529 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,000 When you got saved, a whole bunch of things happened. 530 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:27,000 A whole bunch of things changed. 531 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,000 One, you got sanctified. 532 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:30,000 The blood of Jesus Christ, 533 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,000 when you accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, 534 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,000 the blood of Christ washed you clean. 535 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,000 It took away your sin. 536 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,000 It washed away what you could not take away. 537 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:42,000 The guilt, the shame, all of that was gone. 538 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:44,000 Not only that, you were justified. 539 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,000 In the halls of heaven, if you're in sin, 540 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,000 you are guilty before God, and the sentence is death. 541 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,000 And when you get saved, the word of God says 542 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,000 that you are justified. 543 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,000 In other words, you are considered innocent 544 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:56,000 in God's eyes. 545 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,000 You were justified. 546 00:26:58,000 --> 00:26:59,000 You were redeemed. 547 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:00,000 God bought you back, right? 548 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:01,000 You bought with a price. 549 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,000 Jesus brought you back. 550 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:04,000 He bought you with a price. 551 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,000 You were adopted into the family of God, 552 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,000 into the body of Christ. 553 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,000 And in one day into heaven, and one day, 554 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:11,000 you're gonna have a glorified body. 555 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,000 He's gonna give you a body that is gonna be changed, 556 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,000 it's gonna be perfect. Hallelujah, right? 557 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,000 You ain't gonna get the stomach flu anymore. 558 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,000 It's gonna be awesome, right? 559 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,000 But one of the other things that happened is, 560 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:24,000 you turned into a temple. 561 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,000 You turned into a place where the Holy Spirit comes 562 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,000 and resides. 563 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:30,000 He doesn't just live out there. 564 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:33,000 He's not just this mist or this ideology 565 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:35,000 or this thing out in the atmosphere somewhere. 566 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:37,000 He comes and resides within you. 567 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:41,000 He said, you're gonna have living, breathing, proof. 568 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,000 God will come and dwell within you. 569 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,000 The Numa of God, the breath of God, 570 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:51,000 will come and reside in you. 571 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:53,000 The Holy Spirit takes up residence, 572 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,000 and he is not there to be a silent partner. 573 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,000 He's not there to be a silent partner. 574 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,000 John 16, 13 says, however, when he, the spirit of truth, 575 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,000 has come, I use the scripture in the very first message 576 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:05,000 we did in this series. 577 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,000 He will guide you in all truth, 578 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,000 for he will not speak on his own authority, right? 579 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,000 But whatever he hears, he will speak, 580 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,000 and he will tell you things to come. 581 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,000 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine 582 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:18,000 and declare it to you. 583 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,000 All things that the Father has his mind, 584 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,000 therefore I said that he will take a mind 585 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,000 and declare it to you. 586 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,000 This is how divine communication works. 587 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,000 Though this scripture, the Father speaks to the Son, 588 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,000 the Son speaks to the Spirit, 589 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,000 and the Holy Spirit speaks to us. 590 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,000 It's right there in scripture. 591 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,000 It's how it works. 592 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:42,000 It is living, breathing, proof. 593 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,000 It is holy, eternal proof. 594 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:51,000 It is completely God dwelling in the temple, which is you. 595 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,000 Amen? 596 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:57,000 How close are you traveling, right? 597 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,000 How close are you traveling to Jesus? 598 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,000 Do you understand that you're a temple of Holy Spirit? 599 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:06,000 I'm gonna ask you to stand. 600 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:10,000 And as you stand here at the Cardinal campus, 601 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:14,000 I really want you to prepare your heart to hear from God. 602 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:17,000 If you're saved, I want you to get ready 603 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:21,000 to hear the Lord speak into your spirit this morning. 604 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,000 If you're not saved, we're gonna give you an opportunity 605 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:26,000 at the end so that you can know Jesus 606 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:27,000 and you can hear God. 607 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:30,000 If you're standing at our East Shore campus, Pastor Eric 608 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:32,000 and his team, they're coming right now. 609 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:33,000 They're also gonna pray with you. 610 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:34,000 They're gonna give you a time. 611 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,000 If you're online listening this morning, 612 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,000 this might be a great time for you to find a comfortable place. 613 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,000 Maybe you need to go to another room. 614 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,000 Maybe you need to pull the car over somewhere 615 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,000 and get in a place where you can respond properly. 616 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,000 Please don't do this while you're driving, right? 617 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:49,000 Get in a safe place. 618 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,000 But our heart is for you to hear God today. 619 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,000 We want you to hear what God's speaking. 620 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,000 We want you to know what he's saying. 621 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,000 We really do. 622 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,000 Thank you.