Thank you for listening to this message from
Lifehouse Church. to come before the King. Amen?
Because that's why we come together, is to praise
Jesus and to experience God. But we have something
special taking place this morning, and it's a
child dedication. And we are blessed at LifeHouse.
in so many ways, but we have an abundance of
children here at Lifehouse. Actually, we have
a great span the whole way across the age board.
I don't know if you know that or not, but we've
got young people, we've got kids, we've got teenagers,
we've got young parents, we've got parents of
teenagers, we've got older people, and we've
got some people that are even a little older
than older, okay? It's true. That's probably
me, honestly. I probably fall into that category.
But we are blessed, and we have this child dedication
this morning with the host settlers, and we're
super excited. But we want you first to turn
your attention to the screens so you can watch
a little video and really kind of really get
to know this family just a little bit more and
this little guy named Leland. Everybody say it
together. I know. Every time. Every time. Well,
I'm going to ask if Lucas and Nikki would bring
Leland and they would come to the stage. And
we really just want to take this time in this
ceremony as we get ready to dedicate this child
back to the Lord. And we do believe in child
dedication here at LifeHouse. Child dedication
is really all about the parents taking the time
to say, God, you've given us this amazing gift.
We want to give this gift. Back to you. It's
the parents recognizing, really, the infinite
and the eternal value. Come on, they want to
see you all. You all get out of front here. All
right. It's the parents recognizing, really,
the infinite value and this eternal idea of following
Jesus and raising your child to do that. And
I thank you both today for making that commitment,
coming up together, and saying we're going to
do this in front of others and in front of the
church and in front of family. Love all the support
you got here. Come on, give this family a hand
right here. Yeah, lots of support here. Yeah.
And it really is a joint effort. It's the parents
primarily that are dedicating this job back,
but it is the family in support, and it is the
church family coming together and say, we're
backing you up in this. We believe in what you're
doing. And I grew up in the church. I remember
a community of believers around me. I remember
them praying over me. I remember family praying
over me, and I remember how important that was.
in concert with the parents, right? My parents
in raising a child up. So, little Leland, he
is looking sharp today, all right? Leland Trejo
Sellers, I love it. We want to take time. And
listen, there's no better story in all of Scripture
than that which is of Hannah, and it gives a
really a picture in 1 Samuel chapter 1 of really
what dedication is. And the story really kind
of goes like this. For years, Hannah experiences
She's childless. She's unable to have children.
And it's only in this barrenness that she becomes
so frustrated. And she literally is harassed
by her family and people in the community of
that day because she was unable to have children.
And in an effort, in a state of so brokenheartedness,
she goes to the temple. She goes to a place of
worship. And there she begins to weep and pray
uncontrollably. And almost to the point that...
You know, those who were in charge of the temple
thought that she was drunk and thought that she
was a little bit out of her mind. But it's in
this place of frustration that God answers her
prayer of having a child. And it really comes
to God to move in her life. And 1 Samuel 1 .11
says this, Then she, Hannah, made a vow and said
to the Lord of hosts, If you indeed look on my
affliction of your maidservant and remember me
and not forget your maidservant, but will give
your maidservant a male child, then I will give
him to the Lord all the days of his life. Hannah
vows a vow and God honors that vow and gives
her a son and staying true to what she spoke.
She brings her son Samuel back into the house
of the Lord to dedicate him back to God and literally
leave him there. That was common in that day.
And she stays true to this. And as I was thinking
about that, you know, it's something that she
actually took the child back and the child grew
up in the church. How many of you would like
to leave your children at the church today? I
know. Some of the parents here are like, well,
there's days we would just leave them. We do
not have that policy here. So we just want to
let you know that ahead of time. But in 1 Samuel
1 20, it says, therefore, I also have lent him
to the Lord. As long as he lives, he shall be
lent to the Lord. And that word lent means to
give back unconditionally in dedication to God.
And that's what Lucas and Nikki are doing today.
They're symbolically saying, Lord, you have blessed
us with Leland, and now we place him just back
into your hands. We want Leland to experience
salvation and the grace and sacrifice that Jesus
made. We want the Holy Spirit to be active and
engaged in Leland's life. We want the Father's
plans of promise to unfold in his future. So
we place him in your hands. So Jesus' parents
did something very similar to this as well. They
brought Jesus, even Jesus, into the temple. In
Luke 22, it says, when the days of our purification
according to the law of Moses were completed,
they brought him, Jesus, to Jerusalem to present
him to the Lord. Even Jesus' parents gave their
son back to God in this very same kind of way.
So Lucas and Nikki, this seems like a simple
act, a simple ceremony, but comes with great
responsibility and great promise on your son.
It's in this action that you are not only affirming
God's prior claim on your child's life, but committing
yourselves to raise Leland in God's way. He's
getting a little upset about all this. And in
God's path, according to God's plan. So today
we're committing to pray over Leland. And really
to pray over Leland, not just today, but daily.
And I know they do this as parents. This is a
wonderful couple in the church. They've been
an integral part of LifeHouse. And now we're
going to pray over Leland and really just look
for God's hand in his life. And I'm a grandfather
now. And as my children grew and are now adults,
I used to pray on the regular daily, you know,
God get their hearts. Because I knew if God got
their hearts, right? that he would have all of
them. So you too, pray a similar prayer. You
may have a prayer that you pray over your children
currently, but pray that God captures their heart
and his heart in particular today, all right?
So Lucas and Nikki, pray something, that kind
of prayer. And if you would, and I don't know
if I've ever done this in dedication, I don't
know why I feel this way with you two, but find
that phrase between the two of you. Find that
one common thing that you're going to pray over
your children and do it. You might already do
this. Maybe it's just a confirmation of what
you're already doing. But I feel strongly about
this. It has something to do with Leland's future
and what you're going to pray. So today, we're
going to pray over Leland. We're going to pray
a prayer of dedication. I am going to lightly
lay my hand on his back so he does not get upset.
I think I've already made him upset. Oh, you
just need to stage. That's all he needs. Yeah.
But we're just going to pray, and I want you
just to come together. Father. I thank you for
this couple, Lord. I thank you for their dedication
to you, God, their heart to follow after God,
to follow Jesus, your son, for the Holy Spirit
being active in their life. And I thank you for
this son that you gave them that they're now
dedicating back to you. God, I pray, God, for
your hand upon his future. I pray, God, that
this family gives... has wisdom and direction
as he grows. And God, as both their children
grow, and Lord, as they raise Graceland as well,
Lord, I pray, God, that you would touch them,
and Lord, be with them. And Lord, I pray your
hand on Leland as he becomes a man of God before
you. And we just give you praise and glory in
Jesus' name. And amen. Amen. I know, I know,
buddy, this is tough, huh? It's scary up here.
But with this, we want to do several things.
Just to mark the day. We like to do a couple
things, and one is to give some roses. And I
don't know if you can see this from there, but
these roses are different colors, and they each
represent something. The white rose really represents
the love of Jesus Christ. And the red rose represents
the bloodline and really the love of the parents.
And the pink represents the child. And it's the
love of Jesus and it is the love of the parents
coming together that really is going to show
Leland the way in life. He's going to grow and
know how and where to go because of that love.
So I'm going to set that here because you all
have your hands full. With that as well, we'd
like to give him a Bible, a beginner's Bible.
And this is the Word of God. We believe this
is the lamp, right? The Word of God says that
to our feet and a light to our path. And we want
that for Leland, so we're going to give you the
Bible. And also a certificate to commemorate
the day. and to mark the day of this dedication.
This is incredible that you're doing this. This
is an amazing thing. Church, if you would, would
you lay your hand this way? I feel led to do
this today. I don't know why, but I just want
you just to pray over Leland. I believe there's
something in his future that God's got marked
out. God's speaking that into my spirit, and
I don't want to be disobedient in that. So as
you two parents, just lay hands on him. Father,
we thank you. God, as Leland goes forward, God,
I pray, God, the word says that the steps of
a righteous man are ordered by God. I pray that
you walk out his steps. Lord God, that you have
your hand upon him, and Lord, we just give you
praise and glory and honor. honor in Jesus' name.
And amen. Amen. Church, are you willing to back
this family up? Yes. All right. I know they're
willing to walk through. God bless you. Thank
you. Would you give them another hand as they
go down this morning? Hey, listen, if you're
a parent, you need six hands and a wheelbarrow
to get everything where you need to go. Amen?
It's true. I watch all these young parents here
at LifeHouse, and man, I remember the days when
our three children were little. And man, you
just about need a pickup truck to go anywhere
to get everything where you're going. But it
is so good, and we are blessed. And thank you
to the Hosteller family. Thank you. for trusting
us to do this dedication today. And we love doing
that. We love spending the time to do it. But
I'm going to start off this message this morning
asking you a question. How many of you have ever
walked into a room somewhere and you got into
the room in the middle of the room somewhere
and completely forgot why you were there? Come
on. How many did it this week? Yeah. Wow. Okay.
Maybe I should say this again, short memory term
problem here. We've done that, right? All of
us, we've walked into a room, got in the center
of the room, stood still and thought, why in
the world am I here? And here's what you do.
You stand still for a second, and in your mind,
right, you replay. How many of you rewind? You
go back. You're thinking, what did I do in the
last 30 seconds of my life? And you start to
replay it, and you stand particularly still just
so that nothing gets in the way of all that.
And when you can't recall it, you'll get really
crazy, and you'll go back into the room you just
came from, and you'll stand still there for a
second just to reboot. Amen? Hoping that if you
step through again, you might remember. And if
you get extremely desperate, you will ask a family
member, why in the world did I come in here?
And it's the last resort because you know they're
going to make fun of you. Right? They're going
to say, what, you're losing it, man. Right? They're
going to say things that, some kind of pull it
together kind of statement is going to come out
of their mouth towards you. And it's easy. You
know, in a heartbeat, we can forget what we're
doing. You know, it can be this minute, and one
minute later, and you're in a different room,
and you forget why you were even there. Turn
to somebody sitting beside you right now, say,
why'd you come in here? Come on. Maybe say, why
did I come in here? Why am I here? All right?
How many know it can happen quick? Sometimes
it's just a minute, right? Sometimes we forget.
And here's the thing. Sometimes we forget Jesus
that quickly. Sometimes. Sometimes he's the furthest
thing from our mind. In the very next minute,
and previously we were thinking about it. And
I know you're thinking about them right now because
you're in church, right? We've worshiped the
Lord this morning. We've heard about his name.
We've prayed this morning. And right now it's
easy. We're remembering and we're thinking. And
if you come back to Revive tonight, which is
amazing, you can come back and pray. We spent
an hour singing and we're praying. And it's going
to be easy to remember. You're probably not going
to forget in that kind of setting of any kind.
But how many know Monday comes around? with amazing
regularity, right? Monday morning is going to
come back around. And Monday morning, you're
going to step into some kind of routine. You're
going to go back to work, whatever it is. And
sometimes it can be completely, you can go from
Monday to Wednesday and you realize, I never
even really thought about Jesus. It's Wednesday
sometime. It's Tuesday. You haven't paid attention
to Jesus. You haven't paid attention to the Holy
Spirit. You forgot why you were in the room.
You forgot that he owns the room, right? And
it can happen. And if that happens to you, honestly,
you're in good company. Because I don't know
if you know this or not, but in God's word, Jesus'
parents actually lost him for a bit of time when
he was a kid, right? Luke chapter 2 verse 43
tells us that Jesus' parents and their family
used to take a trip yearly. They would go to
Jerusalem. And when they would get to Jerusalem,
they would celebrate Passover. And then that
whole tribe of people, whether it was relatives
or friends, they would go back to their homes.
They'd go back to their own towns. And one time
when that took place, they forgot Jesus. They
left him in Jerusalem. He was just a kid. And
they started down the road. They got about a
day down the road, and they realized Jesus was
nowhere to be found. So they turned around and
went back. And when he got back to Jerusalem,
they found him in the temple, teaching in the
temple. They forgot Jesus in the next minute.
His parents did. And if I'm being completely
transparent, it happened in our family once.
I left my son at church one time. Dixie and I,
true story. When my son was little, you know,
when he was young, Dixie and I both drove separate
vehicles to church, and I took one vehicle and
went home, and she took the other, and we got
home, and we started out with three children
and only had two when we got back. And just about
the time we figured it out, the phone rang, and
it was the pastor who says, uh, I got one of
your children here. How many know that's an awkward
moment? Right? We left him there. But it is that
quick. It is that quick that we can get caught
up in doing whatever we're doing in life, and
we can forget about Jesus. And sometimes it's
days, sometimes it's minutes, sometimes it's
weeks. For some people, it's even years. And
God's people, Israel, had this problem big time.
Big time. They got lost. and they would forget
Jesus, and they lost it. They lost it spiritually.
They lost it physically. They forgot God so much
that actually they ended up in exile. They forgot
about God completely, and they ended up being
exiled into different countries, and literally
the nation of Israel broke up and went to other
places, literally standing in a room and completely
forgetting God, all because they were not engaged
in the things they constantly um, keep us, uh,
keeping God in mind, keeping God at the forefront
of our lives. So if you got your Bible this morning,
I want you to turn to Exodus chapter 19. We're
going to start off in Exodus chapter 19. We're
going to take a look at the nation of Israel
and their forgetfulness. And then we're going
to flip back on over to Exodus 32, one through
eight. And I'm going to pray while you're turning,
and then I'm going to give you a little lead
up to that scripture. Father, we thank you for
this day. We thank you for the opportunity to
be in your house. I thank you, Lord, God, that
you go before us. I thank you, Lord, for children
that you have blessed us with, and Lord, that
we can dedicate and give back to you. I thank
you, Lord, God, for your word, Lord, that shows
us, and Lord, is truly a light to us. And we
ask, God, that you would write it on our hearts,
write it on our minds, God, that we might walk
worthy and righteously before you. In Jesus'
name, and everybody say it together. Amen. Amen.
Well, just to give you a little lead up to where
we're going to start, the nation of Israel is
enslaved by Egypt for 400 years. And it's all
they've known for 400 years. And God sends a
man named Moses out of the backside of the desert.
And he meets with Moses and he tells him, I want
you to go to Egypt and I want you to confront
Pharaoh and tell Pharaoh to let my people go.
He says, instruct them. If Pharaoh asks who's
asking this, what God is asking this, tell him,
I am. How many of you know that's a name for
God? I am. So Moses does this. He's obedient,
and he goes to Pharaoh, and he says, I want you
to release the Israelites. I want you to release
them from slavery. They need to be free. They
need to go and worship in the wilderness, and
you need to let them go. And Pharaoh refuses.
Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, refuses. And from
that point on, Moses says, well, God's going
to do a little convincing. He's going to convince
you to do this. So the Lord sends 10 plagues.
Say 10. 10 plagues. On Pharaoh and all of Egypt.
Israel's living right next door in Goshen. And
none of these plagues touch the Israelites. But
all of these plagues fall on Egypt. First one
was he turned the water into blood. The water
became undrinkable in the Nile River. It became
undrinkable in the ponds that surrounded that
area. They could not drink. Secondly, he sent
frogs. How many of you like frogs? I know, they're
cute. Unless there's a hundred of them in your
kitchen, right? Jumping on top of you. There
was this one, frogs came. I don't know if it's
a herd of frogs. What do you call frogs when
they're a whole big bunch? I'm not sure. I didn't
look that one up. All right. But he sent a lot
of frogs, right? And then he sent gnats. And
then he sent flies. And then there was livestock
pestilence where the livestock began to die off.
Boils, the people of Egypt began to suffer boils.
And Pharaoh would just keep hardening his heart
and he wouldn't let them go. And God sent hail.
He sent locusts to eat every green thing that
was in Egypt. Never touched. Goshen, where the
Israelites were living. And darkness fell on
Egypt at one point. This was the ninth plague
that God sends. It falls on Egypt for three days.
And for three days, it's dark in Egypt, right?
And Goshen, right next to where the Israelites
are, it's light. And Pharaoh still won't bend.
So God sends the death angel as the tenth plague.
And all the firstborn in Egypt die, including
Pharaoh's son. And finally, Pharaoh breaks. He
releases them. No war, right? No battle. God
walks the Israelites out of Egypt. Not only do
they walk out free, but the Egyptians literally
pay them to go. They give them money. They give
them gold. They give them whatever they need.
They basically pay them to leave. And once they
leave, they go into the wilderness. They come
to the Red Sea. And all of a sudden, Pharaoh
has what I would call decision remorse. He decides
this was a bad idea. So he gathers the army.
He goes in an effort to retrieve all these Israelites,
a million plus people, and bring them back and
enslave them again. And Israel's back is against
the Red Sea. And here comes Pharaoh and the army.
God splits the Red Sea. opens it. The Israelites
walk across on dry land, get to the other side,
right? If you've ever seen it in the movies,
it's awesome, right? And Pharaoh and his armies
charge into the sea that's opened up by God himself.
And as they get into the center of that, God
collapses the water. Israel's safe on the other
side and wipes out Pharaoh and the entire army.
Now, if you were an Israelite and you witnessed
all this stuff happening firsthand. How many
think it would be hard to forget God? It would
be hard. I'd be like, that's incredible. That's
amazing. And it doesn't even stop there. They
go into the wilderness. God gives them food every
single morning. Manna on the ground. They don't
even have to work for food. It's laying on the
ground. They can pick it up and eat it. They
get thirsty at one point in Rahitim, the place
called Rahitim, and God instructs Moses, just
smack the rock with your stick, right, with your
rod that I've given you, the staff that I've
given you. Smack the rock, and water gushes out
of a rock for a million plus people. They witness
all of this, all of Israel. Amalek comes to fight
against them. and war against Israel as they're
traveling through. And God has Moses stand with
that same rod in the air. And as long as Moses
had the rod in the air, they would win over Amalek.
They would come out on top with the battle. And
when Moses' arms started getting tired, Aaron
and Hur came, and they held up his arm, and they
won over Amalek. And even at another point in
this journey, everybody in this country, everybody
amongst these people are witnessing this. At
another point, they find water again, and it's
bitter, and God makes it sweet to drink. It was
poisonous, and he purifies it in an instant.
Everything they touch is miracles, blessings,
God's hand, abundance. It's crazy. God even calls
them his own special people. In Exodus 19, it
says this, Say treasure. treasure to me above
all people, for all the earth is mine, and you
shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation. These are the words which you shall speak
to the children of Israel. At this particular
time, Israel is the golden child of all the people
on the earth. How many of you are the golden
child in your family? Come on. Be proud. Nobody
wants to admit their siblings are sitting here.
All right. How many know it's good to be the
golden child, right? How many of you are like,
I'm the complete opposite of the golden child,
right? Some of you are like, that's not me. But
it's good to be the golden child. It's good to
be in a place of favor. This was Israel. Favor
is good when it comes to God. It is good. Israel
is crazy blessed, highly favored. And you would
think at this point in the relationship, it would
be literally impossible for them to forget God.
You would think it was completely unthinkable,
unimaginable, that in a minute they could forget
God. But it's in their travels into the promised
land that Moses ends up going into a mountain,
up to Mount Sinai, to hear from God. and get
the laws that God wants to give him to govern
this group of people. And they, he's gone. Moses
is gone for 40 days. And honestly, in the grand
scheme of things, it's a minute. He's gone for
a minute and the people of Israel lose their
minds. Exodus 32, one says this, when the people
saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain.
He's up there meeting with God for them, right?
The people gathered together to Aaron and said
to him, come make us gods that shall go before
us. Are you kidding me? For as for Moses, this
man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
we do not know what has become of him. Moses
is speaking to God on their behalf. He's only
been gone for 40 days at a seminar with the Lord
himself, right? Getting these laws. And they
forget God. They want to make other gods, right?
They forget that the ocean split for them. They
forget that God's provided the food. They're
still picking up manna every single day in the
morning. And they literally forget God. And verse
2, Aaron, who is one of the leaders, one of Moses'
right -hand men, right? And Aaron said to them,
Break off the golden earring, which is in the
ears of your wives, your sons, your daughters,
and bring them to me. So all the people broke
off the golden earrings, which were in the ears,
and brought them to Aram. And he received the
gold from their hand, and he fashioned it. And
with an engraving tool, he made a molded calf.
And then he said, this is your God, O Israel,
that brought you. out of the land of Egypt. Not
only do they forget God, they make an idol, and
they attribute their success of getting free
from freedom from this golden cow, a cow. So
when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before the
Lord. And Aaron made a proclamation and said,
tomorrow is the feast of the Lord. Then they
rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings,
brought peace offerings, and the people sat down
to eat and drink and rose up to play. And the
Lord, now listen, Moses is still up in the mountain
with the Lord. The Lord said to Moses, go get
down for your people whom you brought out of
the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.
They have turned aside quickly out of the way
which I commanded them. It's only been a minute,
right? And they've made themselves a molded calf
and worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said,
this is your God, O Israel, that brought you
out of the land of Egypt. Now, when I first read
this, I thought, what's wrong with these people?
I mean, are they crazy? You know, was there a
problem with the water that their memories were
that short? Moses is gone for 40 days, and the
God who walks them through all this, they completely
forget. Not only that, they take off their earrings
and build a calf to worship. But here's the thing.
Honestly, honestly, if we're not careful, it
can be a minute just for us. and we'll forget
God. I read in another place in scripture this
week, it was part of my devotions this week,
you know, as I was meeting with God, the God
of the universe, that's how we say it here, it's
not really devotions, you meet with the God of
the universe every single day, you should. And
as I was in his word, I read this story about
Peter, and Peter, you know, Peter was one of
the disciples, and he was in Jesus' inner circle.
There were 12, but there were three that was
in his inner circle. Peter, James, and John were
kind of those closest to him. And Peter, at one
point, in Scripture, the disciples are all together,
and they're all having this discussion, who's
the greatest? It's kind of like a family meal,
right? Like, I am the greatest. They were all
getting together, and they were all bragging
about who's the greatest, and he was one of them.
He was in the whole deal, right? And in the next
breath, he tells Jesus, you know, he's kind of
beating his chest. I don't know if he literally
beat his chest, but kind of in a way, he was
beating his chest, and he's saying, Jesus, if
you go to prison, even if you have to die, Jesus,
I'm with you. Do you know a day later, he denies
knowing Jesus three times? In a minute. This
is Peter. In a minute. And if we're not careful,
we can get engaged in things, and we will forget
God in a minute. I got a good friend who this
happened to. Just not too long ago. And I literally
sat down with him. And he's the same thing. God
blessed his, he served God for decades. And God
blessed his family. And literally a miracle took
place in his family with one of his children.
It's an amazing story. And he lost his ever living
mind. He walked away from God in an area of his
life. And I sat across from the table from him.
And I confronted him on it. And he said, you
know what he said? I'm willing to forget God
in this area. He didn't word it just like that,
but that's what he essentially said to me. I'm
willing to forget God in this area of my life.
In a minute, in a minute, how's it happen? Well,
I think Exodus 2018 reveals exactly how this
happens. And a little context again, God physically
shows up on Mount Sinai, same mountain we were
just talking about with Moses in the other scene.
And this mountain is located right next to where
Israel is camping. They're nomads. They're living
in tents and traveling. And Exodus 20, 18 says
this. Now, all the people witnessed the thundering
and the lightning flashes and the sound of the
trumpet and the mountain smoking. And when the
people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
God showed up on the mountain to meet with Moses
and actually to meet with Israel, and it freaked
them out. There was thundering. There was lightning.
God's presence was there. And 19 says, and they
said to Moses, you speak with us and we'll hear,
but let not God speak with us lest we die. And
Moses said to the people, do not fear for God
has come to test you and that this fear may be
before you so that you may not sin. And verse
21, I think, nails it. So the people stood afar
off. But Moses drew near to the thick darkness
where God was. I believe that Israel forgot God
in a moment for the exact same reason that we
forget God in the next minute. If we are standing
too far away from God on a daily basis, right,
when I no longer want to experience God for myself,
right, or for ourselves, we will forget God in
a minute. If we no longer want to experience
God. You know, we will forget God in a minute.
And I'm talking about a daily experience with
him. I'm not talking about this special moment,
right? The sea splitting moment. That's not what
I'm talking about. When you no longer hear God
for yourself, when you begin to rely on a secondhand
source to hear God all the time. Sometimes we
hear, you're hearing secondhand today from me,
right? That's okay sometimes. Sometimes even
somebody will come up and give you a word of
scripture. But if you're hearing it secondhand
all the time, you're missing it. You're standing
far from God. You need to hear God in your heart,
in your life. I need to hear God on a daily basis.
When we no longer desire his presence. When we
don't want to stand in his presence and the Holy
Spirit stir us, right? When we no longer fear
him and respect his position and who he is. You
know, is he a God of love? Absolutely, but he's
also a God of judgment. When we don't fear that,
when we don't submit ourselves personally to
his influence in our lives, I'll forget God in
a minute. Here's the thing. Miracles will not
cause you to remember God. They won't. Daily
provision in your life, even from the hand of
God, manna, right, will not help you remember
God. Even God crushing your enemy for you, Amalek,
crushing them, will not help you remember God.
It is his voice and it is his presence in my
daily life that keeps me from forgetting God.
I must meet with God on the mountain. I got to
meet with him on the mountain. I got to hear
him. I got to be where he's at. I got to feel
his presence in the thunder, right? The only
person in this whole group who never forgot God
in all of Israel was Moses. And Moses was the
only one going up the mountain. He was the only
one. He was cheering them on. God wanted to meet
with all of Israel. That last scripture I read
you, that he wanted to meet with all of them.
He wanted them to experience him. And they said
no. We'll just stand far off and you tell us
what it's like secondhand, Moses. We'll get the
secondhand account. We'll settle for a secondhand
account. And here's the thing. If you settle
for a secondhand account, if you just go to church
and you're not meeting with them on your own
in the daily, you'll forget them in a moment.
You'll be okay with standing far from God. We
won't know what it is to feel his thunder and
his lightning. How many know it is one thing?
I love watching things out in nature. It's one
thing to watch thunder and lightning, or actually
watch the lightning and hear the thunder from
a distance. Where we live, we live kind of up
on a hill where Dixie and I live, and we can
see storms coming from a long way. And it's an
incredible thing to watch a thunderstorm roll
in, and I can see the lightning, and I can hear
the thunder, right? How many know you count in
seconds just to know how far away it is? You
know, you'll do that. I do that kind of thing.
And I'll watch that roll in. It is a different
thing if you're standing beside a lightning strike.
I've been close where lightning hits. You can
feel the electricity in the air. You can feel
the power. And when it explodes, when that explosion
of electricity takes place, there's 300 million
volts in a lightning strike. 300 million. There's
120 in your receptacle in your house, all right?
300 million. It's when you experience God. There's
got to be an experience there. Worship team,
if you'd come. You've got to experience his presence.
They forgot God in a minute. Even with the miracles,
even with the provision, even with God trouncing
their enemies, they forgot God. They told God,
you speak with us. We'll listen to you. Secondhand.
We're not going to meet with God. We might die.
We don't want to experience him, right? They
settled for a secondhand word. They settled for
a secondhand account of his presence. A secondhand
experience. They settled for an inspirational
moment with God. It would have been incredibly
inspirational to see the Red Sea part. And to
cross. And to go over and drive. Incredibly inspirational.
You might even get inspired this morning, but
how many know that wears off by the end of lunch?
Right? Or by the end of supper. You will do the
unthinkable. I will do the unthinkable and forget
about God if I am not in his presence, if I am
not meeting with him daily. I'm going to ask
if you'd stand. See, here's the thing. It's in
the daily of life. It's in the daily of getting
into God's presence. It's in the moment when
I meet with the creator of all the universe and
not just call it a devotional time, right? For
a couple minutes in the Bible or a scripture
of the day. That's a great way to start, but
it's really about connecting with God. It's in
those moments where I'm alone with God that God
messes with my theology, right? My belief about
him. It's where that starts to really get all
fleshed out. It's where I stay close enough to
him that he can mess with my Christology. I start
to understand Jesus' role in my life. He starts
to change my psychology, right? How my mind thinks.
My sociology and how I relate and work with other
people. My biology, right? Because I start to
listen to what he even says to do with my body.
And I even made one up, your finance -ology.
What do you do in your finances? I don't think
that's really a thing. I tried to look it up.
Moses was the one. and God's presence. Moses
was the one going up the mountain. Moses was
the one seeking to hear God's word. And not for
one minute did Moses forget God. When an entire
nation of people forgot God, Moses was standing
in front of them saying, what is gone? How have
you lost this? Right? How have you lost it? You
forgot God. You took earrings out of your ears,
molded it into something you wanted it to be,
and that's what you're following. That's what
you're worshiping. I'm asking you to bow your
heads. I want you to ask yourself today, are
you settling for a second -hand account of God,
keeping God at arm's length, admiring it all
the way, watching Him like He's a thunderstorm
in the distance? He's amazing. You might even
say things like he's incredible. I can't even
tell you all the things that he's doing that
I can see from a distance. But are you feeling
the thunder of his presence? Do you feel the
electricity of the spirit in your own life? Do
you allow God's heat to come upon you and be
a convicting spirit? a convicting word in your
soul? Do you invite him to come in and convict
you and say, Lord, if there's any wicked way
in me, if there's this place that I should not
be going into or this place in my mind that I
should not be thinking on, God, I want to feel
your heat. I want to feel the conviction. Am
I acknowledging his constant presence even on
a busy Monday? Even on a busy Monday. It is your
ability to hear God, to know his presence, to
sense his presence, that will keep you from forgetting
him in the next minute. Father, I come to you
for each person in the house this morning. God,
they're asking themselves probing questions right
at the moment. Am I experiencing you, God? Or
am I just settling for a secondhand experience?
Jesus, you sent the Holy Spirit. So that each
one of us could know your presence in our lives.
You said when you come and you come to me that
the Holy Spirit would come to dwell in you. And
you can even be baptized and full of the Spirit.
And you will know my power. You will know my
presence. You will know who I am. You will know
the lightning. You will know the thunder. Lord,
I pray, God, that today we will not settle for
secondhand. We cannot settle for secondhand.
We will forget you. We'll get our eyes. We'll
take off the earring. We'll mold something that
we want to make it to be. And we'll follow that.
Father, I thank you for each one that's in the
house. And if you're here today, and every head
bowed and every eye closed, if you're here today
and you kind of feel like it's just been a secondhand
experience lately, right? I'm not saying you're
not saved. I'm not saying... you're not following
Jesus, but it's just kind of been a secondhand
experience. If that's you, raise your hand and
put it right back down. I'm not going to make
you do anything, but if that's you, just acknowledge
it. This is the way you acknowledge it. Thank
you for the honesty. See, multiple hands, many
hands. Just raise it up, put it back down. This
is you acknowledging between you and God. Not
a secondhand experience. I am one secondhand.
You need to tell Him that. You need to tell them
that in prayer right now. I told you, I'm not
going to make you do anything else. You just
pray right now. God, I do not want a secondhand
experience. I need you. I need your presence.
I need to know you're there. I need to feel that
thunder. We're a people who feel. And God, I
pray, while I know your word in my head, I need
to know you in my heart. In Jesus' name. In Jesus'
name. Now keep your heads bowed. I want to give
one more opportunity. If you're in the house
this morning and you don't know Jesus is Lord
and Savior of your life, this might be the first
time you heard the Word of God or maybe you've
heard the Word for a long time, but you don't
want to stand far off anymore. Now's the time.
Now's the time you want to come close to God.
Jesus made provision for that. He died on a cross.
We're about to celebrate this in two weeks. He
died on a cross. He went into a grave and He
rose from that grave and He paid the price for
our sin so that we could come. And experience
him. So that we could come close to him. Heaven
would be ours and hell would be a place that
we would never go to. He made this way. He made
this provision. And if that's you in the house
today. And you want God to come into your life.
You want to experience him first hand. And you've
never made that commitment before. And today
you want to do that. You decided today. I want
to follow Jesus. I want to experience God. I
want to know. If that's you, raise your hand.
Put it up. And then put it right back down. Thank
you for those hands. Thank you for those hands.
The Word of God says that here's the only requirement.
All you've got to do is believe in your heart
that Jesus rose from the grave and that He made
provision for you. All you've got to do is believe
and you've got to confess that to Him in prayer.
That means you just speak it out to Him right
now in prayer. You can whisper it to Him. You
can say, Jesus, I want you to come into my life.
I commit my life to you today. I'm going to walk
beside you. Lord, I want you in my heart. I want
you in my life. I want to know your presence.
And Lord, I commit to follow you today. In Jesus'
name. Amen. And it is that simple. Come on. A
couple people in the kingdom today. Come on.
Give the Lord a hand. Give him a hand. Come on.
Don't forget God. You've got to get with him.
You gotta know him. You gotta experience him.
You can't go off the person, look at the person
beside you, you cannot go, look at him right
now, just stare at him. You cannot go off their
experience. You can't do it. Second hand, as
amazing as it might be, that story might be,
you gotta get with him. to this message from
Lifehouse Church. We pray that you were impacted
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