WEBVTT 00:00:07.690 --> 00:00:10.169 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:10.169 --> 00:00:19.210 Lifehouse Church. God's presence. Amen. Yeah, 00:00:19.269 --> 00:00:22.030 awesome. Awesome. So good. I never want to take 00:00:22.030 --> 00:00:25.230 that for granted. Please don't. When God moves 00:00:25.230 --> 00:00:28.089 in a corporate setting like this, just jump in 00:00:28.089 --> 00:00:31.129 because God, when he's stirring, when God stirs 00:00:31.129 --> 00:00:33.149 the water, there's healing that takes place. 00:00:33.210 --> 00:00:36.369 When God stirs the water. Things change, right? 00:00:36.450 --> 00:00:38.829 The atmosphere changes. And he begins to do a 00:00:38.829 --> 00:00:41.549 work. So anytime that's taking place, just jump 00:00:41.549 --> 00:00:43.350 in, man. Begin to worship. Put your hands up. 00:00:43.429 --> 00:00:45.270 Close your eyes because your neighbor might be 00:00:45.270 --> 00:00:47.929 bothering you, right? Amen? Just put them off 00:00:47.929 --> 00:00:50.689 to the side. Family, whatever. And just focus 00:00:50.689 --> 00:00:53.130 on him because he'll move in your life truly. 00:00:53.429 --> 00:00:55.369 I want to take a moment just to pray. And we 00:00:55.369 --> 00:00:57.469 will pray over these balls typically every week, 00:00:57.509 --> 00:01:00.030 not quite every week. But these balls, if you're 00:01:00.030 --> 00:01:02.929 new with us, these green balls represent invitations. 00:01:02.969 --> 00:01:04.370 And you might say, well, why do you pray over 00:01:04.370 --> 00:01:06.760 those? Because we believe this. We believe if 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:10.010 you invite somebody. We want God's Spirit to 00:01:10.010 --> 00:01:12.049 go out ahead and just prepare their hearts. Somebody 00:01:12.049 --> 00:01:14.069 that might be far from God, we want to invite 00:01:14.069 --> 00:01:15.810 them. We want them to be prepared and ready to 00:01:15.810 --> 00:01:17.909 come in. And that happens by the Holy Spirit. 00:01:18.170 --> 00:01:20.530 People come here to meet God, not me, not the 00:01:20.530 --> 00:01:23.430 staff, the volunteers, all that. They really 00:01:23.430 --> 00:01:25.450 come to meet God, and we want that to take place. 00:01:25.629 --> 00:01:27.790 So if you invite somebody, put their name on 00:01:27.790 --> 00:01:29.109 there and stick it in there because these get 00:01:29.109 --> 00:01:32.049 prayed over, and God goes ahead and does all 00:01:32.049 --> 00:01:33.890 those things. You do the work of the invitation. 00:01:34.109 --> 00:01:36.030 The Holy Spirit does the work of bringing them. 00:01:36.069 --> 00:01:38.750 Amen? So if you bow your heads. Father, thank 00:01:38.750 --> 00:01:40.489 you for this day. God, thank you for the opportunity 00:01:40.489 --> 00:01:43.629 to dive into your word. God, see what your word 00:01:43.629 --> 00:01:46.269 does and speaks to us and God, how it can change 00:01:46.269 --> 00:01:49.090 us. But Lord, as we pray over our ears and God, 00:01:49.109 --> 00:01:51.540 our souls and our hearts, Lord, to receive. We 00:01:51.540 --> 00:01:53.420 pray over these balls. And, God, we ask, Lord, 00:01:53.500 --> 00:01:56.180 that, God, each invitation that has gone out, 00:01:56.280 --> 00:01:58.459 Lord, that you would go ahead and reach out to 00:01:58.459 --> 00:02:00.459 that person. Lord, that you would minister to 00:02:00.459 --> 00:02:02.319 them, that you would speak to them. And, Lord, 00:02:02.359 --> 00:02:05.140 that they would draw in to meet you. God, wherever 00:02:05.140 --> 00:02:08.379 that is, if that's there, if it's here, or anywhere 00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:10.139 in between, Lord, just meet them where they are, 00:02:10.219 --> 00:02:12.319 and we just give you praise. We give you glory 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:14.800 and honor. In Jesus' name, everybody say it together. 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:18.000 Amen. Amen. If you invited somebody, fill this 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:19.919 tank up. I know there's a bunch of you out there 00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:21.479 that invite somebody and you never put anything 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:23.780 in the tank. People are praying over these, all 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:25.659 right? Come on, let them join in with you. Truth, 00:02:25.819 --> 00:02:29.159 truth. Amen? Good? All right, awesome. I got 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:33.479 three people on board with me with that. Well, 00:02:33.539 --> 00:02:36.180 listen, in my son's senior year of high school, 00:02:36.360 --> 00:02:40.460 he bought himself a truck. And he had a truck 00:02:40.460 --> 00:02:42.439 previous to that, but he worked for a couple 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:44.740 years, and he bought himself a truck, and it 00:02:44.740 --> 00:02:46.300 was jet black. They're going to put it up on 00:02:46.300 --> 00:02:49.659 the screen here for you. Come on, guys. Yeah, 00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:53.800 come on. It was very cool. It was lifted. Sorry, 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:56.599 little hillbilly roots coming out there. It was 00:02:56.599 --> 00:03:00.280 lifted. You know, it had a V8 in it. It had aftermarket 00:03:00.280 --> 00:03:02.900 tires on it. It had dual exhaust, stainless steel 00:03:02.900 --> 00:03:05.979 exhaust. It had lightning, Ford lightning seats 00:03:05.979 --> 00:03:09.800 installed in it. It was just cool. It was jacked 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:12.620 up. It ran quick. And it got noticed when you 00:03:12.620 --> 00:03:14.520 drove by. And every once in a while, I would 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:16.120 sneak out and take it for a drive because I wanted 00:03:16.120 --> 00:03:18.219 to make sure it was safe for my son to drive 00:03:18.219 --> 00:03:21.120 it. Right? Go wheeling around town a little bit 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:25.080 and come back. It was awesome. It was great until 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:29.099 it wasn't. All right? Something can be awesome 00:03:29.099 --> 00:03:31.919 until it isn't. Yeah, yeah. Long story short, 00:03:32.020 --> 00:03:34.560 we started to have multiple mechanical issues 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:37.479 with this truck. It ended up being about a five 00:03:37.479 --> 00:03:39.960 -month ordeal that cost a lot of money, a lot 00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:42.159 of headache, a ridiculous amount of time going 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:44.900 back to a repair shop, right? And when we finally 00:03:44.900 --> 00:03:47.620 got the truck back on the road, it still wasn't 00:03:47.620 --> 00:03:50.789 right. So we kept driving it, and we took it 00:03:50.789 --> 00:03:54.650 back about six more times to get fixed. A couple 00:03:54.650 --> 00:03:56.610 of different places, if I remember right. And 00:03:56.610 --> 00:03:59.349 we just couldn't get it right. And I remember 00:03:59.349 --> 00:04:02.090 thinking to myself, because I like a challenge, 00:04:02.229 --> 00:04:05.629 and I don't like losing. So I'm thinking, what 00:04:05.629 --> 00:04:08.229 in the world do I do with this thing? Have you 00:04:08.229 --> 00:04:10.229 ever got to that spot where you're like, what 00:04:10.229 --> 00:04:13.669 in the world should I do? What to do, right? 00:04:14.270 --> 00:04:16.889 And I'm kind of like, ugh. And I'm frustrated 00:04:16.889 --> 00:04:19.670 and I'm aggravated. And I'm glad it was my son's 00:04:19.670 --> 00:04:22.550 money and not mine. You know, he was half broke. 00:04:22.750 --> 00:04:24.870 And we were both complaining to anybody that 00:04:24.870 --> 00:04:26.310 would listen to the story that we were about 00:04:26.310 --> 00:04:28.649 to tell. And finally, in a desperate attempt. 00:04:29.879 --> 00:04:32.259 to fix this truck that was no longer so much 00:04:32.259 --> 00:04:36.339 fun. I took a day off work and studied the problem 00:04:36.339 --> 00:04:40.100 for a little bit, and I consulted one last expert 00:04:40.100 --> 00:04:43.839 in a last -ditch attempt to fix this thing called 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:45.699 YouTube. How many of you ever gone to YouTube? 00:04:46.019 --> 00:04:49.420 Yeah, all right. Found someone who had the exact 00:04:49.420 --> 00:04:53.600 same issue as we did, and three hours later, 00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:56.779 we had this truck running like a top. It was 00:04:56.779 --> 00:05:01.319 fantastic. It was great. But way too often, we 00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:04.180 drive ourselves down the road with a check engine 00:05:04.180 --> 00:05:06.959 light on, with something spitting and sputtering 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:09.939 in our lives. We're not sure what to do, when 00:05:09.939 --> 00:05:12.980 to do it, how to do it, right? Where to get it 00:05:12.980 --> 00:05:15.839 done. And sometimes you just need to take the 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:19.959 day off and get with Jesus. Sometimes you got 00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:22.500 to take the day because you're not sure what 00:05:22.500 --> 00:05:26.189 to do in this thing called life. And I can assure 00:05:26.189 --> 00:05:30.589 you that if you take the time, Jesus has the 00:05:30.589 --> 00:05:34.009 what to do for your I don't know what to do. 00:05:34.129 --> 00:05:36.769 Amen? Spitting and sputtering. So if you got 00:05:36.769 --> 00:05:38.170 your Bibles this morning, I want you to go to 00:05:38.170 --> 00:05:40.209 the book of Matthew. We're going to start at 00:05:40.209 --> 00:05:42.769 chapter 7. We're going to slide on down to verse 00:05:42.769 --> 00:05:45.189 7. That's easy enough to remember. Matthew chapter 00:05:45.189 --> 00:05:49.769 7, verse 7. And it says this. Ask, and it will 00:05:49.769 --> 00:05:54.069 be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock. 00:05:54.509 --> 00:05:56.509 and it will be open to you. For everyone who 00:05:56.509 --> 00:06:00.470 asks, receive. And he who seeks, finds. And to 00:06:00.470 --> 00:06:03.529 him who knocks, it will be open. Or what man 00:06:03.529 --> 00:06:05.889 is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, 00:06:06.050 --> 00:06:08.750 will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, 00:06:08.889 --> 00:06:11.649 will he give him a serpent? If you then, being 00:06:11.649 --> 00:06:13.829 evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, 00:06:13.970 --> 00:06:16.410 how much more will your Father who is in heaven 00:06:16.410 --> 00:06:20.750 give good things to those who ask him? Jesus 00:06:20.750 --> 00:06:23.230 is preaching on the northwestern shore of the 00:06:23.230 --> 00:06:25.629 Sea of Galilee, and hundreds, maybe thousands 00:06:25.629 --> 00:06:28.430 of people are gathered on these grassy slopes. 00:06:28.670 --> 00:06:30.990 And this is one of the things that Jesus preaches. 00:06:31.069 --> 00:06:33.589 And I love it because this is one of my favorite 00:06:33.589 --> 00:06:36.389 verses in Scripture. I've got multiple Scriptures 00:06:36.389 --> 00:06:38.670 that I love, but this is one of my favorites 00:06:38.670 --> 00:06:40.149 in all the Bible. It should be one of yours, 00:06:40.230 --> 00:06:42.509 right? We all want to go to this verse and say, 00:06:42.610 --> 00:06:47.250 yes. This is my verse, right? Yes, I name and 00:06:47.250 --> 00:06:48.870 claim it, even though I don't do that, right? 00:06:49.009 --> 00:06:51.170 I don't really name and claim things, but like 00:06:51.170 --> 00:06:54.569 yes and amen to this verse. Ask and it'll be 00:06:54.569 --> 00:06:56.629 given to you. Seek and you're going to find. 00:06:57.089 --> 00:06:59.449 Knock, it'll be open to you. For everyone who 00:06:59.449 --> 00:07:01.649 asks, receives. He who seeks, finds. To him it 00:07:01.649 --> 00:07:05.550 knocks. What's not to like? It's an amazing scripture. 00:07:06.050 --> 00:07:09.209 I will gladly lay claim to this one. I receive 00:07:09.209 --> 00:07:11.589 it, right? In the name of Jesus. Bring it on. 00:07:11.649 --> 00:07:15.069 Anybody with me in this? Come on, right? This 00:07:15.069 --> 00:07:17.829 is a verse. This is a scripture. This is amazing. 00:07:18.230 --> 00:07:20.189 It makes you want to start praying right now 00:07:20.189 --> 00:07:21.810 for whatever it is you're looking for, right? 00:07:21.850 --> 00:07:23.949 Whatever you're asking for. You just stop right 00:07:23.949 --> 00:07:27.790 here and knock on the door. Like, Jesus, I need 00:07:27.790 --> 00:07:31.560 this. I got some, I got a need in my life. Because 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:34.240 I know this, I know something about knocking 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:36.360 on door. I know who's on the other side of that 00:07:36.360 --> 00:07:39.300 door. If I go knock it, Jesus is on the other 00:07:39.300 --> 00:07:41.680 side of that door. The answer is right on the 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.139 other side of the door. The provision, the peace, 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:47.240 the promise, right? The resources, everything 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:49.800 that we need is on the other side of the door. 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:51.899 It's on the other side of the ask. It's right 00:07:51.899 --> 00:07:53.980 on the other side of the seek with the King of 00:07:53.980 --> 00:07:57.220 Kings and the Lord of Lords. I know this. I believe 00:07:57.220 --> 00:08:00.199 it. It's awesome and it's good news for every 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:02.240 single one of us sitting here in the house. If 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:04.879 you're listening online this morning, but to 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:08.060 be perfectly honest, can I be perfectly honest 00:08:08.060 --> 00:08:10.860 this morning? Come on, to be perfectly honest, 00:08:11.100 --> 00:08:13.319 this scripture almost seems too good to be true, 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:18.639 doesn't it? It does. Can it really be that easy? 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:22.480 Can it be that simple that all I got to do is 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:25.660 ask? and I'll receive. All I got to do is seek 00:08:25.660 --> 00:08:28.660 God out, and he'll provide, right? All I got 00:08:28.660 --> 00:08:31.740 to do is knock, and God's going to open the door. 00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:35.570 It's almost hard to believe. You know, as we 00:08:35.570 --> 00:08:37.809 look at this and we read it, maybe we gloss past 00:08:37.809 --> 00:08:40.509 it. Maybe we think Jesus is being dramatic while 00:08:40.509 --> 00:08:42.929 he's out on his hillside preaching that day. 00:08:43.049 --> 00:08:45.409 Maybe we think some way this is just literary 00:08:45.409 --> 00:08:48.970 exaggeration, right, for the reason of bringing 00:08:48.970 --> 00:08:51.690 a point across. Sometimes we'll think those kind 00:08:51.690 --> 00:08:54.129 of things. But understand this, and you might 00:08:54.129 --> 00:08:56.289 even be asking that in your own spirit, in your 00:08:56.289 --> 00:08:59.830 own heart right now. Jesus gives us the right 00:08:59.830 --> 00:09:04.320 to ask and to seek and to knock. He gives us 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:06.879 the right to. He gives us the right. He gives 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:09.240 us the permission. He gives us the instruction. 00:09:09.559 --> 00:09:13.600 He gives us the directive. Do this, right? This 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:16.320 is what we should do when we don't know what 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:21.940 to do. If we need something or someone in a situation 00:09:21.940 --> 00:09:25.320 for things to shift in our life, we need to ask. 00:09:25.960 --> 00:09:31.299 We need to seek. We need to knock. Listen, if 00:09:31.299 --> 00:09:33.740 you knock on Jesus' door, He's not going to throw 00:09:33.740 --> 00:09:37.120 you off the porch, right? He's not going to duck 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:40.039 inside the house, pull down the shades, and hide 00:09:40.039 --> 00:09:41.940 behind the curtains like you do when the Mormons 00:09:41.940 --> 00:09:44.200 and Jehovah's Witnesses show up, right? He's 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:45.980 not going to do that. I was looking who's laughing 00:09:45.980 --> 00:09:49.659 about all that, right? When the traveling salesman 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:52.159 comes, and one more time, this is my neighborhood, 00:09:52.360 --> 00:09:54.580 they want to sell you solar panels. I'm like, 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:56.179 the last guy came, I felt like telling him, like, 00:09:56.220 --> 00:09:58.340 hey, I don't want solar panels, and please tell 00:09:58.340 --> 00:10:00.200 your friends I don't either, because they keep 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:03.519 coming. They keep coming, right? Jesus says, 00:10:03.659 --> 00:10:08.860 go ahead, ask. Go ahead, seek. Go ahead and knock. 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:11.980 And he's not exaggerating. He's not being dramatic. 00:10:12.419 --> 00:10:15.639 And we know this because if you read down into 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:18.679 the next scriptures, he clarifies what he says. 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:20.940 He doesn't make a passing statement and then 00:10:20.940 --> 00:10:23.320 just keep on going in his message. He says in 00:10:23.320 --> 00:10:25.779 verse nine, or what man of you there among you 00:10:25.779 --> 00:10:28.480 who if his son asked for bread will give him 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:31.159 a stone? Or if he asked for fish, he will give 00:10:31.159 --> 00:10:33.659 him a serpent. You then, being evil, know how 00:10:33.659 --> 00:10:36.480 to give good gifts to your children. How much 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:38.799 more will your Father who is in heaven give good 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:42.940 things to those who ask them? Jesus is telling 00:10:42.940 --> 00:10:46.340 the crowd that day. He's telling us, right, that 00:10:46.340 --> 00:10:50.899 the heavenly Father actually enjoys giving us. 00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:53.789 He actually enjoys it. The things that we're 00:10:53.789 --> 00:10:56.370 looking for. Our Heavenly Father is not perched 00:10:56.370 --> 00:11:00.049 up on a throne somewhere, you know, out there 00:11:00.049 --> 00:11:02.750 in the cosmos with his arms crossed. He's not 00:11:02.750 --> 00:11:04.649 looking down on us with a scowl on his face. 00:11:04.750 --> 00:11:07.049 He's not the angry dad that you might have grown 00:11:07.049 --> 00:11:11.149 up with, right? He's not ready to pounce or trounce 00:11:11.149 --> 00:11:13.629 on you if you got some kind of request from him. 00:11:13.669 --> 00:11:16.509 That's not him. He's not poised and positioned 00:11:16.509 --> 00:11:19.210 just waiting for the opportunity to hit the reject 00:11:19.210 --> 00:11:21.730 button. You know, the request comes in, denied, 00:11:22.049 --> 00:11:26.220 boom. denied, boom, right? He loves his kids. 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:29.879 He really does. It's his good pleasure to give 00:11:29.879 --> 00:11:33.059 to them when we call on him. He's looking for 00:11:33.059 --> 00:11:35.840 us to call on him. Somebody needs to hear this 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:37.899 this morning. Somebody, you need to get this 00:11:37.899 --> 00:11:42.399 in your spirit. I have three amazing adult children, 00:11:42.460 --> 00:11:46.399 and they're married, and they have produced five 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:48.440 super amazing great children, grandchildren, 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:51.610 right? And any one of them, any one of them come, 00:11:51.789 --> 00:11:53.950 my children, my grandchildren, my son -in -laws, 00:11:54.190 --> 00:11:56.690 my daughter -in -law, if they come to Dixie and 00:11:56.690 --> 00:11:59.509 I and they ask for help for something, they don't, 00:11:59.509 --> 00:12:01.389 but if they would come and ask for help for something, 00:12:01.509 --> 00:12:03.789 we would not sit there and think, you know, oh, 00:12:03.789 --> 00:12:10.129 gee whiz, I don't know. You know, I know you 00:12:10.129 --> 00:12:12.970 need this, but we don't sit around and go, I 00:12:12.970 --> 00:12:16.450 don't know if I really want to do that. Right? 00:12:17.409 --> 00:12:19.490 We'd have a smile on our face, like, yeah, how 00:12:19.490 --> 00:12:22.470 can we help, right? And it's one of those smiles, 00:12:22.570 --> 00:12:24.629 real smiles that you have when you give, not 00:12:24.629 --> 00:12:26.450 one of those fake ones. You ever see one of those 00:12:26.450 --> 00:12:27.710 fake ones when somebody wants to give something? 00:12:28.029 --> 00:12:31.029 This happens at offerings sometimes. Here we 00:12:31.029 --> 00:12:34.269 go, Jesus. How many of you talk through your 00:12:34.269 --> 00:12:35.590 teeth when you don't really want to do something? 00:12:35.710 --> 00:12:39.730 Here we go, Jesus. It reminds me a little bit 00:12:39.730 --> 00:12:42.850 of my granddaughter. One of my kids told me this 00:12:42.850 --> 00:12:44.970 story. One of our granddaughters, they were trying 00:12:44.970 --> 00:12:47.610 to teach her about tithing and she had 10, I 00:12:47.610 --> 00:12:49.750 think it was $10 bills. And they were trying 00:12:49.750 --> 00:12:51.750 to teach her like, hey, you give God a 10th back, 00:12:51.990 --> 00:12:53.730 right? That's God, you wanna give that back? 00:12:53.789 --> 00:12:55.389 And they're trying to teach her. And she was 00:12:55.389 --> 00:12:57.429 like, she was highly offended that she had to 00:12:57.429 --> 00:13:00.399 give a dollar back to God. She really was. She 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:02.360 didn't want to give it in the offering, and they 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:04.580 had to pretty much pry George Washington out 00:13:04.580 --> 00:13:06.860 of her hands when they got to church to teach 00:13:06.860 --> 00:13:09.120 her about tithing and putting in the offering. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:12.419 And she did it, and they really kind of worked 00:13:12.419 --> 00:13:14.240 with her and taught her. And actually, next week 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:15.500 she came back, and I think she gave everything 00:13:15.500 --> 00:13:18.940 to God, which is super cool. But our father is 00:13:18.940 --> 00:13:22.200 not up there just looking down his nose and thinking, 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:24.220 I don't want to give to my children. He's not 00:13:24.220 --> 00:13:27.940 doing that. He loves us. If you know him as Lord 00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:30.480 and Savior, he's looking down. He knows that 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:33.500 you have need. He wants to meet you there. And 00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:36.080 if I am evil in comparison, because that's what 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:38.860 the word of God says, right? And I am. My righteousness 00:13:38.860 --> 00:13:43.320 is as filthy rags compared to God's. I don't 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:45.799 have any righteousness outside of Jesus Christ. 00:13:45.879 --> 00:13:48.059 I really don't. There's no righteousness in me 00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:50.740 outside of him. And if I know how to give good 00:13:50.740 --> 00:13:54.980 gifts to my kids, how much more? Does the father 00:13:54.980 --> 00:13:57.779 in heaven who is righteous, who has everything 00:13:57.779 --> 00:14:01.320 at his disposal, want to give to his children? 00:14:02.059 --> 00:14:06.600 Amen. It's true. And you might have grown up 00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:09.440 with the most stingy, self -serving father on 00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:13.139 the planet, right? Maybe even an evil father, 00:14:13.259 --> 00:14:16.620 right? And he hasn't given you nothing but grief 00:14:16.620 --> 00:14:21.179 and trauma or pain or maybe even bruises. That's 00:14:21.179 --> 00:14:25.059 not your heavenly father. It really isn't. Don't 00:14:25.059 --> 00:14:28.179 superimpose what's on this earth onto God himself 00:14:28.179 --> 00:14:31.639 because it's not true. We have a father who loves 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:35.759 us, and he cares for us, and he wants to give 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:40.860 us. All we got to do is ask, seek, and knock. 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:45.139 It's your right. Jesus told us to do it. He said 00:14:45.139 --> 00:14:47.700 it's his good pleasure to answer when his children 00:14:47.700 --> 00:14:52.909 ask. Say it with me. Ask. Seek. Knock. I want 00:14:52.909 --> 00:14:57.330 you to say it again. Ask. Seek. Knock. Tell somebody 00:14:57.330 --> 00:14:59.529 beside you, you need to knock on the door. Tell 00:14:59.529 --> 00:15:01.309 them right now. You got to knock on the door, 00:15:01.389 --> 00:15:06.370 man. And I want you to say it to get in your 00:15:06.370 --> 00:15:09.149 spirit, because I know some of you have doubts 00:15:09.149 --> 00:15:12.690 about what I'm saying this morning. I know some 00:15:12.690 --> 00:15:16.250 of you struggle with believing this. Can I take 00:15:16.250 --> 00:15:18.190 a minute and just do something? I'm going to 00:15:18.190 --> 00:15:20.730 read your mind this morning. Not because I have 00:15:20.730 --> 00:15:23.529 any superpowers, not because I'm weird or flaky 00:15:23.529 --> 00:15:26.610 or super spiritual in some kind of way. I'm just 00:15:26.610 --> 00:15:29.750 human, right? I know what some of you are thinking. 00:15:29.870 --> 00:15:32.250 You're thinking, Pastor, I've done this before. 00:15:33.470 --> 00:15:36.929 In fact, Pastor, I've not only asked God, but 00:15:36.929 --> 00:15:40.509 I've sought God, right? Pastor, I've come and 00:15:40.509 --> 00:15:44.789 begged God for something. I knocked on the door. 00:15:45.210 --> 00:15:48.009 Right? Till my knuckles bled. I stayed on my 00:15:48.009 --> 00:15:52.049 knees over and over again asking him. Pastor, 00:15:52.289 --> 00:15:55.789 I sought him. I looked into his word. I did all 00:15:55.789 --> 00:16:00.710 the things. I've asked God. And nothing. Right? 00:16:01.610 --> 00:16:05.610 Nothing. Can I just keep it real? Anyone know 00:16:05.610 --> 00:16:07.009 what I'm talking about? Am I the only one who 00:16:07.009 --> 00:16:09.799 ever experienced that? You thought to yourself, 00:16:09.980 --> 00:16:12.860 well, maybe it's those other Christians, right? 00:16:12.899 --> 00:16:15.620 I'm a Christian, and maybe just all those other 00:16:15.620 --> 00:16:17.759 people get their prayers answered. Maybe God 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:20.019 just answers people. Maybe I got to say my prayer 00:16:20.019 --> 00:16:22.320 just right. I've already thought that. You know, 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.259 maybe I got to just get it super right, and then 00:16:24.259 --> 00:16:27.879 God automatically answers. Yeah, I've been there. 00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:33.100 Got the t -shirt, right? You've done this. And 00:16:33.100 --> 00:16:37.460 we think to ourselves, you know, what? What am 00:16:37.460 --> 00:16:42.799 I doing wrong? What am I doing wrong? What Jesus 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:48.259 said, he meant. The Father means it. The Holy 00:16:48.259 --> 00:16:52.500 Spirit means it. We just have to ask or understand 00:16:52.500 --> 00:16:55.720 something about ourselves, about our humanity. 00:16:56.779 --> 00:16:59.659 We all come asking God. We all come seeking God. 00:16:59.720 --> 00:17:01.659 We all come knocking to God, if you're a follower 00:17:01.659 --> 00:17:03.960 of Jesus. But sometimes we come looking for the 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:06.460 answer, and we all come with a preconceived idea 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:09.440 what that answer should be. Amen? Anybody with 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:13.839 me? You ever go to God in prayer? And honestly, 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:16.279 most of us, if not all of us, before we go to 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:18.700 God and we ask God for something, we already 00:17:18.700 --> 00:17:20.819 have the preconceived idea, like this is the 00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:22.980 right answer, God. Amen? You know what I'm talking 00:17:22.980 --> 00:17:25.630 about? Jesus, I'm coming, but can I tell you 00:17:25.630 --> 00:17:28.309 what the right answer is in all this? Right? 00:17:28.509 --> 00:17:32.250 We come asking him for our will, and we got this 00:17:32.250 --> 00:17:34.390 preconceived idea what the right answer is and 00:17:34.390 --> 00:17:37.369 what it should look like and what our will is 00:17:37.369 --> 00:17:39.390 and the whole thing. And all we're really going 00:17:39.390 --> 00:17:41.029 to do is for God to match up with what we're 00:17:41.029 --> 00:17:43.880 thinking. You know, like this is it, right? I 00:17:43.880 --> 00:17:45.819 need this, God, and this is what it should look 00:17:45.819 --> 00:17:47.759 like. God, could you hop onto my train right 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:50.759 now, right? Take the ride with me and go to where 00:17:50.759 --> 00:17:52.980 I'm thinking. And I'm here to tell you this morning, 00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:57.279 it may not always look like what my answer is 00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:58.599 not always going to look like what the Heavenly 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:01.500 Father looks like, right? His answer is going 00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:03.720 to look different from mine. I may not always 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:06.660 like my Heavenly Father's answer to my request. 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:10.990 I may not like it. He may not respond to the 00:18:10.990 --> 00:18:13.490 request just the way I'm thinking. I might not 00:18:13.490 --> 00:18:17.049 love what I end up with in the seek at first. 00:18:17.130 --> 00:18:19.869 I might not love what the other side of the door 00:18:19.869 --> 00:18:24.910 is going to look like initially, at first. Right? 00:18:25.009 --> 00:18:29.029 I might not like the answer. Growing up, I was 00:18:29.029 --> 00:18:32.509 fortunate. I really was. My earthly father, my 00:18:32.509 --> 00:18:36.069 dad, who is still alive and with us, is a Christian. 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:39.859 And my dad almost never raised his voice. I never 00:18:39.859 --> 00:18:41.839 hit a point in my life where I felt like my dad 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:44.519 didn't love me. I never felt threatened or belittled 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:47.079 in any kind of way. It was just never a thought 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:49.700 in my head. And I know I'm fortunate, but I can 00:18:49.700 --> 00:18:53.559 assure you that my dad did not always say yes 00:18:53.559 --> 00:18:57.799 to my request. As a matter of fact, he said more 00:18:57.799 --> 00:19:00.759 no's than he did yes's to my request, I know. 00:19:01.140 --> 00:19:04.700 I remember when I was 16 years old, And I got 00:19:04.700 --> 00:19:06.539 my license, and that was the greatest, one of 00:19:06.539 --> 00:19:08.500 the great highlights of my life was to get my 00:19:08.500 --> 00:19:10.759 license. I thought freedom was, you know, before 00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:13.259 me, the world was mine because I got my license. 00:19:13.380 --> 00:19:15.779 And I remember finding this car, and I had worked 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:17.920 up until this point and saved it. And it was 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.500 an AMC Javelin. Anybody remember those? They 00:19:20.500 --> 00:19:21.859 were only around a little while. Yeah, thank 00:19:21.859 --> 00:19:23.740 you. Some of us are over 50. We remember it, 00:19:23.740 --> 00:19:27.559 right? And it was awesome. And it looked awesome. 00:19:27.660 --> 00:19:30.099 It sounded awesome. And I remember taking my 00:19:30.099 --> 00:19:32.880 dad to see this car, and I wanted it so bad. 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:37.839 I tried every tactic a 16 -year -old can use 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:40.420 on their parents to convince them to do something, 00:19:40.660 --> 00:19:43.380 right, to get in line with it. And my dad was 00:19:43.380 --> 00:19:46.279 like, no. He's like, no. And I'm like, Dad, it's 00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:50.400 perfect. I got the funds. This is amazing. Look 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:53.539 at the fine. Jesus lined us up, Dad, all right? 00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:56.099 We are destined for one another, me and this 00:19:56.099 --> 00:19:58.930 car. Right? And you know what I learned about 00:19:58.930 --> 00:20:04.549 my dad? My dad was not Santa Claus. He loved 00:20:04.549 --> 00:20:07.490 me way more than Santa Claus. He knew when to 00:20:07.490 --> 00:20:11.069 say no to me. And I knew why he said no to me 00:20:11.069 --> 00:20:13.410 because we took this car for a ride. It had crazy 00:20:13.410 --> 00:20:15.869 horsepower. And I know what my dad was thinking. 00:20:16.029 --> 00:20:18.049 He's thinking, I'm not giving my 16 -year -old 00:20:18.049 --> 00:20:19.730 son this because he's going to kill himself in 00:20:19.730 --> 00:20:22.799 this thing. Right? It has too much power. He's 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:25.000 not going to be able to handle it. He's not experienced 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:30.740 enough to drive it. And dad said, no. I know. 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:34.440 Can you believe it? Right? And I'll take it a 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:37.079 few steps further. My dad was okay with letting 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:41.059 me suffer at times. You know, now. He let me 00:20:41.059 --> 00:20:43.819 suffer to learn some valuable skills. My parents 00:20:43.819 --> 00:20:45.940 did not buy me everything at every little request. 00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:47.779 As a matter of fact, if I wanted something, I 00:20:47.779 --> 00:20:49.740 remember going to him with a list of things like 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:51.440 you do when you're a kid for something. And I 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:54.440 remember my dad saying, you know what my dad 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:57.920 did for me and all that? He found me a job. He 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:01.840 did. He worked with a guy who was a beef. cattle 00:21:01.840 --> 00:21:04.480 farmer, and his name was Mr. Butler, and I remember 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:06.359 Mr. Butler used to drive around in a green truck, 00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:08.039 and I remember Mr. Butler, because he always 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:09.859 had his rearview mirror tilted completely sideways. 00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:11.980 I have no idea. I don't know if the man had vision 00:21:11.980 --> 00:21:13.740 problems. I don't know what was going on, but 00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:15.440 I remember him coming and picking me up in that 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:17.519 truck, and I'd go work for this guy, and I'd 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:20.740 bale hay with him. I remember painting his foundation. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:22.920 He wanted his foundation painted. I did all these 00:21:22.920 --> 00:21:25.779 things. You know how old I was? I was 12 when 00:21:25.779 --> 00:21:29.299 my dad got me my first job. 12 years old. And 00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:33.640 I received plenty of no's. And, you know, looking 00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:35.299 back, I'm like, man, dad, this would have been 00:21:35.299 --> 00:21:36.859 a lot easier if you just gave this to me, right? 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:38.859 This would be, my life would be much simpler. 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:41.200 You know, dad, if you just take care of this. 00:21:41.859 --> 00:21:45.220 But my dad had some deep wisdom. My dad had a 00:21:45.220 --> 00:21:47.519 work ethic and he wanted to teach me what a work 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:50.559 ethic was. And I thank him today for that very 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:54.019 thing. At times. At times, the Heavenly Father 00:21:54.019 --> 00:21:56.279 is going to come with a no, he's going to come 00:21:56.279 --> 00:21:58.700 with a yes, or he'll come with a wait. It's going 00:21:58.700 --> 00:22:00.799 to be one of the three. He's going to tell you 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:03.720 yes to things, he's going to tell you no to something, 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:05.740 and at times he's going to tell you to wait. 00:22:05.859 --> 00:22:08.240 How many of you like to wait? Yeah, me either, 00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:11.619 right? No hands in the house, right? And it's 00:22:11.619 --> 00:22:14.819 just that we've got to have faith in his answer, 00:22:14.940 --> 00:22:19.069 that it's going to pan out in the long run. Sometimes 00:22:19.069 --> 00:22:22.750 Jesus will leave me in the struggle. He will 00:22:22.750 --> 00:22:26.630 give me a no because it is in my benefit for 00:22:26.630 --> 00:22:30.289 the long run to ask, to seek, and to knock, and 00:22:30.289 --> 00:22:33.490 to listen to what he has to say. Now, I got to 00:22:33.490 --> 00:22:35.930 clarify something right here. As I was preparing 00:22:35.930 --> 00:22:38.630 this message, I want to make a clarification. 00:22:39.210 --> 00:22:43.269 It is never God's will that you are being abused. 00:22:43.549 --> 00:22:46.809 Hear me in this, okay? God will leave you in 00:22:46.809 --> 00:22:49.700 the struggle. but it is never our father's will 00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:53.339 for you to be abused. My dad would never have 00:22:53.339 --> 00:22:57.279 stood for somebody abusing me, ever. It's never 00:22:57.279 --> 00:22:59.180 the Father's will for you to be damaged, hurt, 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:01.440 or injured. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:03.420 destroy. God said that I come that you might 00:23:03.420 --> 00:23:05.380 have life and you might have it abundantly. He'll 00:23:05.380 --> 00:23:07.720 leave you in the struggle sometimes because it's 00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:09.460 going to be good for you in the long run. But 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:12.319 if somebody's abusing you, that's not God, right? 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:15.039 If you're in the middle of being abused in some 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:16.940 kind of way, you need to tell someone that's 00:23:16.940 --> 00:23:19.240 beside you. You need to let somebody know that 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:21.039 can make a difference to do something about that. 00:23:21.220 --> 00:23:23.000 And so many people, you know, sometimes they 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:24.640 come to the question, well, Pastor, why does 00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:26.190 God love you? allow that to happen? Why doesn't 00:23:26.190 --> 00:23:28.130 God just physically stop them? I'm like, yeah, 00:23:28.130 --> 00:23:31.789 I know, we just squash them, right? Boom. That's 00:23:31.789 --> 00:23:34.009 what we're thinking sometimes. But here's the 00:23:34.009 --> 00:23:37.910 thing, God gives each person, God never violates 00:23:37.910 --> 00:23:40.849 his own word, his own will, his own purpose, 00:23:40.930 --> 00:23:43.490 and God gives every single person in humanity 00:23:43.490 --> 00:23:47.579 a universal gift of free will. I don't know if 00:23:47.579 --> 00:23:50.380 you realize that. Not only on the earth, but 00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:52.859 in heaven, even the angels have free will. It's 00:23:52.859 --> 00:23:55.599 a universal law of God. He fully gives to each 00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:58.839 one of us. So if somebody is using the gift of 00:23:58.839 --> 00:24:01.500 God that God has given to all of us as a weapon 00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:04.900 to hurt others, to willfully sin, right, to destroy 00:24:04.900 --> 00:24:07.759 others, they're going to answer one day. They 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:10.359 will walk. If they don't repent and change their 00:24:10.359 --> 00:24:12.339 ways, they're going to stand before God. But 00:24:12.339 --> 00:24:15.500 in the meantime, If you're being abused, you 00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:18.299 need to tell somebody. You need to get to an 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:20.460 authority. You need to let somebody know because 00:24:20.460 --> 00:24:23.420 it's the body of Christ that surrounds you, right, 00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:25.920 that is your protection in all this. I needed 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:28.440 to make this clarification. God will let you 00:24:28.440 --> 00:24:31.960 in the struggle. He'll let you strain, but it's 00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:36.779 only to lift you up. He'll tell you no for the 00:24:36.779 --> 00:24:39.980 benefit of his glory and your benefit in the 00:24:39.980 --> 00:24:43.569 long run. He'll do it, but he will not. He doesn't 00:24:43.569 --> 00:24:47.130 want you in the abuse, right? He's a loving father. 00:24:48.230 --> 00:24:52.150 And just like my dad, I got to have faith that 00:24:52.150 --> 00:24:55.069 the Lord leads me in the struggle for a reason. 00:24:56.630 --> 00:24:59.670 Faith, and when he says no. Faith that it's going 00:24:59.670 --> 00:25:02.650 to be good for me. Faith when he says yes, and 00:25:02.650 --> 00:25:05.250 I'm seeking him. Faith, right, when the door 00:25:05.250 --> 00:25:08.880 doesn't open. Faith. When I'm seeking and I really 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:11.240 can't find what I'm looking for, faith in the 00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:14.119 struggle, faith in the strain, building me stronger, 00:25:14.259 --> 00:25:18.019 wiser. Too many times, right? How many know when 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:19.559 you come to God and you're looking for the answer 00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:22.000 that you want God to line up that it's your answer? 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:24.380 We're always looking for the easy way out. Amen? 00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:27.200 My answer is always the easy way out, at least 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:32.200 in my opinion, is what it is. Come and ask. Do 00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:34.480 your best to come without a preconceived idea 00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:37.420 of what the answer is supposed to be. You know, 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:41.559 what's easy and obvious. Let God get you. And 00:25:41.559 --> 00:25:43.759 if he says no, just know he's getting ready to 00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:46.539 strengthen you. He's getting ready to lift you 00:25:46.539 --> 00:25:50.599 up. How many know strength is never birthed in 00:25:50.599 --> 00:25:55.279 ease? Strength is never birthed in ease. Romans 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:57.839 8, 26 says this. Likewise, the spirit also helps 00:25:57.839 --> 00:26:00.940 in our weakness. But we do not know what we should 00:26:00.940 --> 00:26:03.759 pray as we ought. But the spirit himself makes 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:05.559 intercession for us with groanings which cannot 00:26:05.559 --> 00:26:08.200 be uttered. Now, he who searches the heart knows 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:10.779 what the mind of the Spirit is, because he makes 00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:12.859 intercession for the saints according to the 00:26:12.859 --> 00:26:15.480 will of God. And we know that all things, say 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:18.720 all things. Come on, the yes, no, and the wait, 00:26:18.779 --> 00:26:22.079 work together for God, for the good, to those 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:25.019 who love God, to those who are called according 00:26:25.019 --> 00:26:28.700 to his purpose. The Father wants the best for 00:26:28.700 --> 00:26:31.789 his children. Believe it. Hang on to it. Hang 00:26:31.789 --> 00:26:34.809 on to that answer for dear life, right? In every 00:26:34.809 --> 00:26:38.029 moment, in every time, ask, seek, and knock. 00:26:38.250 --> 00:26:43.470 Ask, seek, and knock. Ask, seek, and knock. Amen? 00:26:44.730 --> 00:26:49.690 And then have enough faith in the Father's answer 00:26:49.690 --> 00:26:55.210 to respond and live out His answer. All right? 00:26:55.750 --> 00:26:59.890 Have enough faith in the Father's answer to respond. 00:27:00.779 --> 00:27:03.799 and to live out his answer. What do I mean by 00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:10.380 that? Ask yourself this. If God says no to you, 00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:16.880 what does faith look like in the no? What's that 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:20.880 walk out like in my life, right? If he says no, 00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:24.039 I want you to picture, what would it look like? 00:27:24.329 --> 00:27:28.170 If God tells me no, how should I respond? What's 00:27:28.170 --> 00:27:30.829 this look like going forward in my life? What 00:27:30.829 --> 00:27:33.690 do I got to step through and do? If God says 00:27:33.690 --> 00:27:37.630 yes, he's calling you to do something. He's instructing 00:27:37.630 --> 00:27:40.410 you to do something. Whatever that is, what's 00:27:40.410 --> 00:27:44.390 this look like? If I never said another word, 00:27:44.430 --> 00:27:47.170 would my actions say yes to God, right? Would 00:27:47.170 --> 00:27:50.769 my actions say no, right? I'm not doing it. Would 00:27:50.769 --> 00:27:54.130 my actions say I'm waiting on God? Ask yourself, 00:27:54.269 --> 00:27:56.769 what does this look like? How do I respond? How 00:27:56.769 --> 00:28:00.269 do I live this out? This is where we get God's 00:28:00.269 --> 00:28:02.490 plan all jacked up in our lives. It really is. 00:28:02.650 --> 00:28:06.609 We get weary, right, and impatient in the wait. 00:28:06.849 --> 00:28:10.750 We get rebellious in the no, and we get disobedient 00:28:10.750 --> 00:28:13.210 in the going forward, and then the yes is what 00:28:13.210 --> 00:28:19.130 happens. So many times. So many times. How many 00:28:19.130 --> 00:28:21.750 of you have ever wanted something from God? I 00:28:21.750 --> 00:28:25.730 mean, really wanted something. And you got the 00:28:25.730 --> 00:28:30.130 no, and you went ahead and did it anyway. How 00:28:30.130 --> 00:28:34.490 many had buyer's remorse afterwards? Yeah. That 00:28:34.490 --> 00:28:37.869 thing brought you nothing but grief. Back when 00:28:37.869 --> 00:28:41.569 I was a youth pastor a long, long time ago, I 00:28:41.569 --> 00:28:43.349 used to tell the girls that were looking to date 00:28:43.349 --> 00:28:45.950 a boy, I gave them a couple pieces of advice. 00:28:46.890 --> 00:28:49.309 I gave two girls this morning coming in, two 00:28:49.309 --> 00:28:51.910 teenage girls, some advice, right? I told them, 00:28:51.930 --> 00:28:53.529 actually, they were coming in the door. I said, 00:28:53.630 --> 00:28:59.170 repeat this after me. Boys are vermin. And they 00:28:59.170 --> 00:29:00.690 said it. I could tell in their eyes they had 00:29:00.690 --> 00:29:02.430 no idea what vermin was. I said, go Google it. 00:29:02.509 --> 00:29:06.170 You'll figure it out. All right. But first and 00:29:06.170 --> 00:29:10.289 foremost, look for a boy who loves Jesus, not 00:29:10.289 --> 00:29:12.450 for a boy that you hope will love Jesus one day. 00:29:13.710 --> 00:29:15.390 Come on, I'm giving you some good advice here. 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:17.940 Tell your teenagers, look for a boy who loves 00:29:17.940 --> 00:29:20.119 Jesus, and that one you're hoping, wishing, and 00:29:20.119 --> 00:29:22.920 thinking might love Jesus someday, right? Then 00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:25.539 secondly, look for a boy who's living out, and 00:29:25.539 --> 00:29:27.980 there's evidence that he loves Jesus, right? 00:29:28.039 --> 00:29:30.039 You see it in his actions and not just his words, 00:29:30.099 --> 00:29:31.299 because how many of you know teenage boys will 00:29:31.299 --> 00:29:33.599 say anything to get a date with a girl? Amen? 00:29:33.799 --> 00:29:36.759 It's true. Then third, pray for confirmation. 00:29:38.320 --> 00:29:41.259 for God to confirm that you should go out with 00:29:41.259 --> 00:29:43.519 this boy. Look for what the Holy Spirit says. 00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:45.720 And if you don't see two out of the three and 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:47.720 you don't hear from the Holy Spirit, take that 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:50.339 thing wherever you found it, drive it back to 00:29:50.339 --> 00:29:51.859 the curb where you found it, throw it out of 00:29:51.859 --> 00:29:54.059 the car and let it there. And drive away as fast 00:29:54.059 --> 00:29:56.339 as you can. Now, come on, I used to tell teenage 00:29:56.339 --> 00:29:59.180 girls that. That's good advice, by the way. Right? 00:29:59.220 --> 00:30:01.400 It's true. And you can flip -flop it. You got 00:30:01.400 --> 00:30:04.539 sons, it's the same thing. No matter how spiritual 00:30:04.539 --> 00:30:06.420 that person looks, no matter how amazing they 00:30:06.420 --> 00:30:10.450 seem, If the Father and the Son and the Spirit 00:30:10.450 --> 00:30:14.049 are telling you no, don't go. What's it look 00:30:14.049 --> 00:30:17.450 like to walk it out? What does faith in the no 00:30:17.450 --> 00:30:23.309 look like? Because this, understand this, the 00:30:23.309 --> 00:30:28.009 Father knows the future. You don't. He knows 00:30:28.009 --> 00:30:30.970 what's ahead of you. Because the Father can see 00:30:30.970 --> 00:30:35.690 all, and our vision is so very limited. Because 00:30:35.690 --> 00:30:38.769 he knows the probability of where you're going 00:30:38.769 --> 00:30:42.230 and more than likely knows that a decision you're 00:30:42.230 --> 00:30:45.130 probably making in the moment is based on feelings 00:30:45.130 --> 00:30:47.710 and not necessarily facts and certainly not by 00:30:47.710 --> 00:30:50.029 all the facts that surround that you can't even 00:30:50.029 --> 00:30:54.150 see. Have more faith in God's answer than you 00:30:54.150 --> 00:30:57.690 will ever have in your own answer. Even when 00:30:57.690 --> 00:31:00.710 it doesn't look reasonable. Even when it doesn't 00:31:00.710 --> 00:31:05.869 make sense. Walk it out. There is always victory 00:31:05.869 --> 00:31:08.269 on the other side of God's answer. It always 00:31:08.269 --> 00:31:11.490 is. Worship team, if you'd come. Do you know 00:31:11.490 --> 00:31:13.769 what's not on the other side of the door that 00:31:13.769 --> 00:31:17.089 you knock on and God answers? There's never regret 00:31:17.089 --> 00:31:20.809 on the other side of there. Never. Really isn't. 00:31:20.890 --> 00:31:22.529 The only time you have regret is when you go 00:31:22.529 --> 00:31:25.450 through the door that God didn't open. And regret's 00:31:25.450 --> 00:31:28.259 on the other side of that. And as the worship 00:31:28.259 --> 00:31:30.400 team makes its way to the stage, I want to take 00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:32.180 you to a portion of scripture as we get ready 00:31:32.180 --> 00:31:36.039 to close this out. And in Joshua 6, Joshua, who 00:31:36.039 --> 00:31:39.460 was a leader of Israel, is seeking God about 00:31:39.460 --> 00:31:42.720 how he should approach a city called Jericho. 00:31:43.500 --> 00:31:46.859 And this city is a fortified city. As a matter 00:31:46.859 --> 00:31:49.059 of fact, the walls are so thick around this city 00:31:49.059 --> 00:31:51.319 that they believe that they raised chariots on 00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:54.160 the top of it. It's enormous. And the Israelites... 00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:56.680 led by Joshua, coming into the promised land. 00:31:56.839 --> 00:31:59.319 And they're to take this city called Jericho. 00:31:59.519 --> 00:32:01.720 And they know that they don't have the military 00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:03.200 advantage. As a matter of fact, they know they're 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:05.779 very much the underdog, right? And in a hundred 00:32:05.779 --> 00:32:08.619 different ways, they don't match up to what's 00:32:08.619 --> 00:32:10.900 standing in front of them and the task at hand 00:32:10.900 --> 00:32:13.619 of taking this city. And Joshua knows in his 00:32:13.619 --> 00:32:16.240 heart and in his spirit, if he messes this up, 00:32:16.339 --> 00:32:18.680 if God's not with him in this, a million plus 00:32:18.680 --> 00:32:21.119 people will be wiped out. The people of God will 00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:23.980 die, right? His friends, his relatives, relatives, 00:32:24.019 --> 00:32:27.079 everybody he knows. So, he seeks God. He knocks. 00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:31.119 He asks, right? He's beating on the door, and 00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:34.519 God gives him the strangest answer ever to go 00:32:34.519 --> 00:32:37.259 take a fortified city. He says this in Joshua 00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:40.079 6 .1. It says, now Jericho was securely shut 00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:42.400 up because of the children of Israel. None went 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:44.859 out. None came in. The walls, you're right, they 00:32:44.859 --> 00:32:47.180 shut the gates, this fortified city. And the 00:32:47.180 --> 00:32:50.079 Lord said to Joshua, see, I have given Jericho 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:52.460 into your hand. It's king and the mighty men 00:32:52.460 --> 00:32:55.400 of valor. Then God begins to tell him what to 00:32:55.400 --> 00:32:57.859 do. He said, you shall march around the city. 00:32:58.019 --> 00:33:01.440 All you men of war, you shall go all around the 00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:05.380 city once. This you shall do six days and seven 00:33:05.380 --> 00:33:08.200 priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram's horns 00:33:08.200 --> 00:33:11.140 before the ark. But the seventh day you shall 00:33:11.140 --> 00:33:14.099 march around the city seven times and the priest 00:33:14.099 --> 00:33:16.119 shall blow the trumpets and it shall come to 00:33:16.119 --> 00:33:19.019 pass when they make a long blast with the ram's 00:33:19.019 --> 00:33:21.750 horn. And when you hear the sound of the trumpet, 00:33:21.869 --> 00:33:25.509 then all of the people shall shout with a great 00:33:25.509 --> 00:33:28.009 shout. Then the wall of the city will fall down 00:33:28.009 --> 00:33:30.950 flat and the people will go up to every man straight 00:33:30.950 --> 00:33:35.109 before him. God gives Joshua the strangest military 00:33:35.109 --> 00:33:39.410 strategy ever. He says, go march around this 00:33:39.410 --> 00:33:43.670 fortified city one time for six days. Take the 00:33:43.670 --> 00:33:45.109 Ark of the Covenant, get the priests in front 00:33:45.109 --> 00:33:47.670 of you. Just go march around once and go back 00:33:47.670 --> 00:33:50.940 to your tents. Right? Go stay in your tents. 00:33:51.079 --> 00:33:53.920 Next day, go do the same thing. Six days in a 00:33:53.920 --> 00:33:56.420 row, go do this. And then on the seventh day, 00:33:56.519 --> 00:33:58.700 go around seven times. And when you go around 00:33:58.700 --> 00:34:01.619 seven times, I want the trumpets to blast, and 00:34:01.619 --> 00:34:03.559 I want people to shout, and I'm going to knock 00:34:03.559 --> 00:34:05.799 the walls down. How many know that does not sound 00:34:05.799 --> 00:34:08.719 like a good military strategy? How many of you 00:34:08.719 --> 00:34:10.860 have ever shouted at a door and it flew open? 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:14.019 When's the last time you yelled at a wall and 00:34:14.019 --> 00:34:18.920 it fell over? Never, right? Never seen it done. 00:34:19.980 --> 00:34:23.659 And he's probably thinking, God, this can't be 00:34:23.659 --> 00:34:26.219 you. This doesn't make any sense. This doesn't 00:34:26.219 --> 00:34:27.920 look anything like the answer I was thinking 00:34:27.920 --> 00:34:30.760 I was going to get from you. I can't picture 00:34:30.760 --> 00:34:34.139 this, God. This isn't even reasonable. This goes 00:34:34.139 --> 00:34:37.260 against the laws of nature. This can't be God. 00:34:37.719 --> 00:34:40.440 This is stupid. Anybody ever think that, right? 00:34:41.260 --> 00:34:45.030 For six days, march around once. Let them see 00:34:45.030 --> 00:34:47.630 how many people we have. Let them see the weapons 00:34:47.630 --> 00:34:50.590 we have. Let them get a handle on where we are 00:34:50.590 --> 00:34:53.289 and what we're doing, right? They're going to 00:34:53.289 --> 00:34:55.670 get a complete look at the competition. We're 00:34:55.670 --> 00:34:57.250 not even going to have the element of surprise 00:34:57.250 --> 00:34:59.389 in any kind of way. They're going to know what's 00:34:59.389 --> 00:35:01.650 up. How many of you ever watch Family Feud? Raise 00:35:01.650 --> 00:35:02.969 your hand right now if you watch Family Feud. 00:35:03.190 --> 00:35:05.090 Do you ever see a family and they're going down 00:35:05.090 --> 00:35:07.190 along, right, and they ask a question and they 00:35:07.190 --> 00:35:09.150 go down along and they're all giving good answers 00:35:09.150 --> 00:35:10.630 and they're clapping for each other and then 00:35:10.630 --> 00:35:12.130 you get that one family member who gives the 00:35:12.130 --> 00:35:15.360 stupidest answer ever? And they're like, ah, 00:35:15.460 --> 00:35:20.599 good answer, good answer. Joshua's probably like, 00:35:20.820 --> 00:35:26.400 okay, God, good answer. But Joshua knows something 00:35:26.400 --> 00:35:29.219 about God. He knows that God has never failed 00:35:29.219 --> 00:35:31.340 him. He knows that God has brought him through 00:35:31.340 --> 00:35:34.280 every single time, every battle he's gone to. 00:35:35.389 --> 00:35:38.070 Now, until this time, right, previous to this 00:35:38.070 --> 00:35:40.650 time, he knows God's been with him. He's always 00:35:40.650 --> 00:35:43.050 been right. Every single time, God's been right. 00:35:43.170 --> 00:35:45.750 Every single time, God's power has shown up and 00:35:45.750 --> 00:35:48.369 taken out the enemy. And I know this sounds strange, 00:35:48.449 --> 00:35:50.550 and I don't get it, and it doesn't make any bit 00:35:50.550 --> 00:35:53.489 of sense, what God's saying right now, but he 00:35:53.489 --> 00:35:56.989 answers the Lord and says, I'll do it. I'll do 00:35:56.989 --> 00:36:02.030 it. Faith, faith in the answer, in God's answer, 00:36:02.070 --> 00:36:05.610 not yours. He may tell you to go out and march 00:36:05.610 --> 00:36:08.190 around your house one time. You'll look ridiculous. 00:36:09.170 --> 00:36:11.309 He might tell you to go wherever you're going 00:36:11.309 --> 00:36:13.849 and march around seven times and blow a trumpet, 00:36:14.030 --> 00:36:16.090 right, and shout at something. You're going to 00:36:16.090 --> 00:36:19.909 feel ridiculous, but do it because God's in it. 00:36:20.010 --> 00:36:26.630 I'm going to ask you to stand. By faith, Joshua 00:36:26.630 --> 00:36:31.590 does everything to the T. God shows up on that 00:36:31.590 --> 00:36:34.570 seventh day. They marched around seven times. 00:36:35.050 --> 00:36:37.789 They began to blow the trumpets. They began to 00:36:37.789 --> 00:36:43.269 shout, and the walls collapsed. Historians tell 00:36:43.269 --> 00:36:45.730 us that they think they found Jericho, and they 00:36:45.730 --> 00:36:48.869 said it looks like somebody took a gigantic hand 00:36:48.869 --> 00:36:50.909 and pushed the walls in, which would have made 00:36:50.909 --> 00:36:53.590 a ramp for everybody, for the Israelites to just 00:36:53.590 --> 00:36:56.190 run up and jump right into the city and begin 00:36:56.190 --> 00:36:58.710 to take it. It looks like a giant hand just came 00:36:58.710 --> 00:37:03.820 down and crushed it and pushed it in. Ask, seek, 00:37:04.059 --> 00:37:10.360 knock. Ask, seek, knock. And realize it may not 00:37:10.360 --> 00:37:12.760 look, right, like you think it's going to look. 00:37:12.920 --> 00:37:16.000 Your request might sound, God's not always going 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:18.579 to answer the way you think. And then just have 00:37:18.579 --> 00:37:21.420 enough faith in the Father's answer to respond 00:37:21.420 --> 00:37:26.500 and live out that answer, whatever it is. Do 00:37:26.500 --> 00:37:30.440 it. We're going to get ready to take communion. 00:37:32.710 --> 00:37:33.929 And I'm going to ask you to do this. I'm going 00:37:33.929 --> 00:37:35.150 to just ask you to bow your heads right now. 00:37:37.250 --> 00:37:38.809 I'm going to talk just a little more. Once you 00:37:38.809 --> 00:37:41.570 get the communion elements, please hang on to 00:37:41.570 --> 00:37:42.650 them. We're going to take communion together. 00:37:43.929 --> 00:37:45.570 And I'm going to give you just a little more 00:37:45.570 --> 00:37:49.190 of what God shows and speaks. Just do what he 00:37:49.190 --> 00:37:53.190 says. But as we get ready for communion, the 00:37:53.190 --> 00:37:55.670 word of God is very clear. We only take communion, 00:37:55.750 --> 00:37:58.030 we take of the body, the bread which represents 00:37:58.030 --> 00:38:00.530 Christ's body and the blood. We only do this 00:38:00.530 --> 00:38:03.050 if we are followers of Jesus Christ, if we are 00:38:03.050 --> 00:38:05.409 saved. And if you're in the house this morning 00:38:05.409 --> 00:38:07.269 or if you're listening online and you're not 00:38:07.269 --> 00:38:09.730 saved, you can be. The word of God declares very 00:38:09.730 --> 00:38:11.670 clearly that if we believe on the Lord Jesus, 00:38:11.789 --> 00:38:14.929 that he is the son of the living God. If we believe 00:38:14.929 --> 00:38:16.969 that he died on a cross and rose from the grave 00:38:16.969 --> 00:38:19.730 to pay for our sins because we couldn't pay for 00:38:19.730 --> 00:38:21.710 him, we couldn't pay the penalty of death, only 00:38:21.710 --> 00:38:25.210 Jesus could. If you believe that and you want 00:38:25.210 --> 00:38:27.090 Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, you can 00:38:27.090 --> 00:38:29.369 do that today. The Word of God says that you 00:38:29.369 --> 00:38:32.070 just need to come in faith before Him. And you 00:38:32.070 --> 00:38:33.829 can pray the simplest prayer just between you 00:38:33.829 --> 00:38:36.210 and God. And say, Lord, forgive me of my sin. 00:38:36.510 --> 00:38:39.590 Come into my life. I want to follow you. I make 00:38:39.590 --> 00:38:42.690 the commitment today to follow you with my heart, 00:38:42.690 --> 00:38:44.809 with all my soul, with all my mind, with all 00:38:44.809 --> 00:38:47.389 my strength. Because I know you are the way, 00:38:47.389 --> 00:38:50.789 the truth, and the life. Forgive me of my sins. 00:38:50.849 --> 00:38:53.550 I turn. from the way I used to live. I turn from 00:38:53.550 --> 00:38:56.730 the sin that I participated in, and I look to 00:38:56.730 --> 00:38:59.730 you. Forgive me of those sins. Wash them clean. 00:39:00.250 --> 00:39:03.389 I come into my life in Jesus' name, and amen. 00:39:04.829 --> 00:39:07.789 If you pray that prayer, first of all, you're 00:39:07.789 --> 00:39:10.690 in the kingdom of God, which is awesome. Secondly, 00:39:10.889 --> 00:39:15.730 you qualify for communion. So I want you to come 00:39:15.730 --> 00:39:17.150 and get the communion elements, and then I want 00:39:17.150 --> 00:39:20.500 to share just a scripture. If you would make 00:39:20.500 --> 00:39:22.480 your way to the center, you can go to the back. 00:39:22.579 --> 00:39:24.820 There are elements in the back. There are elements 00:39:24.820 --> 00:39:27.480 in the front. Your assistance there will help 00:39:27.480 --> 00:42:25.429 you with the bread and the juice. Communion is 00:42:25.429 --> 00:42:30.110 significant because Jesus instructed us to do 00:42:30.110 --> 00:42:32.150 this. And he said, when you do this, do this 00:42:32.150 --> 00:42:35.409 in remembrance of me. And we take communion so 00:42:35.409 --> 00:42:37.210 we remember the cross of Christ. We remember 00:42:37.210 --> 00:42:39.289 the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross. 00:42:40.190 --> 00:42:42.789 But there's something, there's so many things 00:42:42.789 --> 00:42:45.630 that are connected with what Jesus, the finished 00:42:45.630 --> 00:42:50.099 work that Jesus did at the cross. With his crucifixion, 00:42:50.099 --> 00:42:52.599 his burial, and the resurrection, so many things 00:42:52.599 --> 00:42:54.280 took place. And I'm going to give you just one 00:42:54.280 --> 00:42:57.639 this morning that relates to, A, remembering 00:42:57.639 --> 00:43:01.820 Christ and what he did. But when Jesus died and 00:43:01.820 --> 00:43:04.920 he breathed his last, something took place in 00:43:04.920 --> 00:43:08.420 the temple at that time. There was a veil that 00:43:08.420 --> 00:43:10.539 was up, and it was a very thick veil. It was 00:43:10.539 --> 00:43:12.579 like a curtain, a very thick curtain, I think 00:43:12.579 --> 00:43:15.679 several inches thick, if I remember correctly. 00:43:16.199 --> 00:43:18.820 And the veil in the temple separated two rooms. 00:43:19.039 --> 00:43:21.380 There was the Holy of Holies, which was a room 00:43:21.380 --> 00:43:23.940 where the Ark of the Covenant dwelt. And God's 00:43:23.940 --> 00:43:26.659 presence actually, the Shekinah glory, God's 00:43:26.659 --> 00:43:30.159 presence dwelt in that place. And once a year, 00:43:30.300 --> 00:43:32.420 only once a year, the priest would go in and 00:43:32.420 --> 00:43:34.760 make atonement for the people, for the sins of 00:43:34.760 --> 00:43:38.269 the people in this Holy of Holies. There was 00:43:38.269 --> 00:43:40.730 a veil that would separate out to the holy place, 00:43:40.849 --> 00:43:42.889 and the priest, again, would take care of things 00:43:42.889 --> 00:43:45.369 out in the holy place on a regular basis. But 00:43:45.369 --> 00:43:47.650 once a year, the priest would go into the Holy 00:43:47.650 --> 00:43:50.730 of Holies. When Jesus breathed his last, the 00:43:50.730 --> 00:43:54.070 Word of God says that the earth shook. Things 00:43:54.070 --> 00:43:55.730 were moved. There was an earthquake that took 00:43:55.730 --> 00:43:59.929 place, and that veil was torn from the top to 00:43:59.929 --> 00:44:04.909 the bottom in two. This is symbolic. Because 00:44:04.909 --> 00:44:07.550 only once a year could a priest go into the presence 00:44:07.550 --> 00:44:12.349 of God to ask of God anything for atonement for 00:44:12.349 --> 00:44:16.150 the people. When that veil tore, Jesus paid the 00:44:16.150 --> 00:44:19.909 price so we can walk into the presence of God. 00:44:20.010 --> 00:44:23.190 Not just the priest, but every one of us can 00:44:23.190 --> 00:44:26.250 walk into the presence of God and we can ask 00:44:26.250 --> 00:44:29.710 God. We can ask Him for forgiveness. We can ask 00:44:29.710 --> 00:44:32.679 Him to meet our need. We can ask... God's Word, 00:44:32.800 --> 00:44:36.159 Jesus said it, right? We can walk in and ask. 00:44:36.420 --> 00:44:39.460 So when you take communion and you take the body 00:44:39.460 --> 00:44:42.760 of Christ and the representation of the vine 00:44:42.760 --> 00:44:45.199 as the blood of Christ in the new covenant, when 00:44:45.199 --> 00:44:47.920 you take these, you need to remember, right? 00:44:48.079 --> 00:44:51.840 We need to remember that because of Christ's 00:44:51.840 --> 00:44:54.719 sacrifice, you can walk into the presence of 00:44:54.719 --> 00:45:00.139 God and you can ask. You can seek. You can knock. 00:45:01.320 --> 00:45:05.079 Because He let you in. Jesus paid for all that. 00:45:06.159 --> 00:45:07.980 So I want you, as we're going to take communion, 00:45:08.280 --> 00:45:11.300 maybe you've been asking God for something and 00:45:11.300 --> 00:45:13.719 you felt like God's not heard you for years. 00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:18.500 And you stopped asking. I want you to pick it 00:45:18.500 --> 00:45:21.179 back up. I want you to ask Him. You need to keep 00:45:21.179 --> 00:45:24.320 asking. You need to keep seeking. You keep knocking. 00:45:24.480 --> 00:45:26.820 He hears you. Maybe you're not hearing the answer 00:45:26.820 --> 00:45:29.860 He's given. Maybe it's a wait. Right now, he's 00:45:29.860 --> 00:45:32.219 got you in a whole pattern. He's got reason for 00:45:32.219 --> 00:45:36.059 that. He's doing something. Amen? It's true. 00:45:37.019 --> 00:45:39.480 Sometimes people are praying for relatives. You've 00:45:39.480 --> 00:45:40.840 got to remember they have free will. We talked 00:45:40.840 --> 00:45:44.619 about that. God will go meet them where they 00:45:44.619 --> 00:45:46.300 are, but they've got to make a decision at some 00:45:46.300 --> 00:45:48.719 point. Maybe it's a thing that you're waiting 00:45:48.719 --> 00:45:51.559 for. Maybe it's something brand new in your life 00:45:51.559 --> 00:45:54.480 that you need to seek and ask. But as we remember 00:45:54.480 --> 00:45:58.840 Christ, remember, he tore the veil. You can walk 00:45:58.840 --> 00:46:01.360 in. You have the privilege. You have the right. 00:46:02.099 --> 00:46:04.440 And it is a privilege. So why don't you take 00:46:04.440 --> 00:46:07.199 the bread together? Lord Jesus, on the same night 00:46:07.199 --> 00:46:09.239 that he was betrayed, he took the bread and he 00:46:09.239 --> 00:46:17.880 gave thanks. Take the bread. He said, remember, 00:46:18.000 --> 00:46:24.559 this is my body that was broken for you. And 00:46:24.559 --> 00:46:27.989 in the same manner, he took the cup. which represents 00:46:27.989 --> 00:46:30.170 his blood and the new covenant and the new testament. 00:46:30.869 --> 00:46:33.309 And he said, take drink. So I want you to take 00:46:33.309 --> 00:46:44.829 the drink. I want you to bow your heads. What 00:46:44.829 --> 00:46:48.769 are you asking him for? What are you seeking 00:46:48.769 --> 00:46:52.190 for? What are you knocking about? Maybe you've 00:46:52.190 --> 00:46:56.539 even been afraid to ask him. Father, we come 00:46:56.539 --> 00:46:59.719 just grateful and thankful. Lord, I thank you 00:46:59.719 --> 00:47:02.360 for your word, God, that sets us free and shows 00:47:02.360 --> 00:47:05.880 us the way. And Jesus, you said to do this, to 00:47:05.880 --> 00:47:09.519 do this. God, so many requests are going up right 00:47:09.519 --> 00:47:13.079 now in this congregation, Lord God online. And 00:47:13.079 --> 00:47:16.400 Lord, I just ask, Lord, as we ask together, Lord, 00:47:16.480 --> 00:47:18.179 there's going to be individual needs. There's 00:47:18.179 --> 00:47:20.019 going to be different requests. Some of them 00:47:20.019 --> 00:47:22.099 are brand new. Some of them have been for years. 00:47:22.360 --> 00:47:24.099 And Lord, I just pray that they come back one 00:47:24.099 --> 00:47:26.590 more time expecting, knowing that there's a good 00:47:26.590 --> 00:47:28.969 father who wants to answer them. And Jesus, you 00:47:28.969 --> 00:47:32.690 made the way. You tore the veil so we could go 00:47:32.690 --> 00:47:34.750 in and ask. And Lord, we take this privilege. 00:47:34.849 --> 00:47:37.610 We take this right that you've given to us. Nothing 00:47:37.610 --> 00:47:41.090 we earned, Lord, but God, by your grace. And 00:47:41.090 --> 00:47:44.929 Lord, we exercise it. Lord, we call on you for 00:47:44.929 --> 00:47:48.070 your answer, for your will, and for your purpose. 00:47:48.190 --> 00:47:51.150 And Lord, we just ask this in Jesus' name. And 00:47:51.150 --> 00:48:20.360 amen. Visit our website at www .lifehousecog 00:48:20.360 --> 00:48:21.340 .com.