1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,840 I'm gonna be reading from the book of Habakkuk today. We're gonna start with 2 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:20,640 chapter 2 verse 2 and 3. The Lord replied, write down the revelation and 3 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:27,240 make it plain on tablets so that the herald may run with it. For the 4 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:32,520 revelation awaits in a pointed time. It speaks of the end and will not prove 5 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:39,880 false. Though it linger, wait for it. It will certainly come and will not delay. 6 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:46,440 I've entitled the message today, wait for it. And our lives are 7 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:55,840 characterized by speed, impatience, noise, activity, and occasionally we throw in a 8 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:03,040 little panic. And these days the world measures us by how fast we can get to 9 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:07,840 something as opposed to doing it in the right way. We're measured, our success is 10 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:14,240 measured by how fast we get to things. And so we're in a constant panic. And so 11 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:17,760 that's the source of many of our problems for us because we tend to get 12 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:25,240 impatient. And then we sometimes move too quickly or in the wrong direction. You 13 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:31,000 can take your seat, I'm sorry. According to a recent study, Americans respond 14 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:38,240 about 37, spend about 37 billion hours waiting in line each year, which is 15 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:43,240 equivalent to about five years of a person's life. And these days we wait 16 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:49,880 for everything, right? Our foods, our cars to charge, lines, customer service, 17 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:58,920 traffic lights, even our Amazon packages. We are awaiting people. And I'm in a 18 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:08,640 unique season of waiting. I have a little one on the way. And as we, amen, praise 19 00:02:08,640 --> 00:02:16,000 God. And as we wait patiently now, that was not always the case. At the beginning 20 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:23,480 of the pregnancy, we had one of the worst times in our lives. Sister 21 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:30,960 Christian was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum. Hyperemesis is a 22 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:38,960 pregnancy disease that causes extreme and persistent nausea and vomiting. And for 23 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:45,040 Christian, it was nonstop around the clock. She couldn't keep anything down. 24 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:51,840 She could barely move. And because we were first-time parents, we were like, 25 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:57,280 okay, I guess this is normal, right? This is how it's supposed to be. And so we did 26 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:03,640 our best to manage it and tried our hardest to make her comfortable. And so 27 00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:07,240 we proceeded because, you know, we knew that was part of the plan. We knew that 28 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:13,120 there's growing pains in pregnancy when you're birthing something new. And during 29 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:20,440 Christmas time, we headed to Yuma to visit Christian's parents. And the 30 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:26,240 constant vomiting continued. So we decided to drive back and we headed straight 31 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:33,720 to the ER. And when we got there, we got there at 5 p.m. 5 p.m. And they didn't see 32 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:42,200 us till 5 a.m. We were waiting 12 hours. Her systems were persistent. Christian is 33 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:49,560 in extreme pain. We want the baby to live. Desperation starts to kick in. And now 34 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:59,520 the questions to God start. Lord, we serve You faithfully. We are committed. We love 35 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:10,000 You. We're engaged in all aspects of the church. What's going on? And the part 36 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:16,720 that threw me over the edge was that hyperemesis is actually very uncommon. 37 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:27,080 Only 3% of pregnant people ever get it. So it irked me because like why us? Why are 38 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:31,680 you doing this? Right? And we have these questions to God and we bring these things 39 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:39,040 to God. And I'm not questioning God, but I do have questions. And so this book 40 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:46,480 Habakkuk, this prophet is in the same dilemma. He is looking at what is 41 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:55,960 happening and he's crying out to God for answers. Habakkuk saw Judah's rapid 42 00:04:55,960 --> 00:05:02,120 moral and spiritual decline and this deeply troubled him. At this point, the 43 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:07,400 northern tribes of Israel had fallen to Assyria and now God is telling Habakkuk 44 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,800 that the southern tribes would be invaded by Babylon because the people were 45 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:18,640 turning away from God. And unlike the other Hebrew prophets, Habakkuk doesn't 46 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:24,960 accuse Israel or even speak to the people on God's behalf. Instead, all of his words 47 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:30,800 are addressed to God. So this is personal. He's not going over here to 48 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:35,520 hear God and go over there. No, we're going toe to toe God. I need to hear 49 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:40,360 from you. I need you to answer me. And we all have those times in our lives where 50 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:47,440 we come to God in that manner. And there's a few points I want to pull out 51 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:53,520 because Habakkuk has two complaints to God and God answers them. And there's a 52 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:57,760 few lessons that I want to put out. And the first one is God is always moving. 53 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:04,640 He is always working. Amen. Habakkuk gets right to it in chapter 1 verse 2. 54 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:12,480 How long, Lord, must I call for your help but you do not listen or cry out to you? 55 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:19,040 Violence but you do not save. That question, how long, is a question we all 56 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:26,520 ask from time to time. Is it not? How long do I cry out without an answer? How 57 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:31,880 long do I stand here waiting for you? How long must I carry this disease, this 58 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:42,360 burden? How long must I endure? God, why don't you do something? God knows when 59 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:48,560 times get tough, we are likely to doubt Him. Let's consider the behavior of the 60 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:54,080 Israelites recorded in Exodus. And this is the pattern of God's people. Amen. God 61 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:58,880 delivered them from Egypt where they were there for centuries. God was with 62 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:05,560 them but they still cried out to the Lord. I have this this table if 63 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:11,000 Brother Isaac if you can put it up. They had a problem. There was a 64 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:15,760 reaction and there was God's response. You might not be able to see it or you 65 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:21,440 might be able to see it. The Egyptian army is bearing down on the people at 66 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:27,440 the Red Sea. That's their problem. The people's reaction will die here. God's 67 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:33,520 response, God parts the Red Seas and closes it on the Egyptians. Problem, food 68 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:41,480 begins to run out. We'll starve. God provides manna every day. They camp where 69 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:49,040 there's no water. We'll die of thirst. Moses strikes for rock, water. They get 70 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:57,720 tired only of eating manna. God doesn't care. God provides quail. Moses is on 71 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:05,120 Mount Sianah for 40 days. People's reaction, make a golden calf. Moses 72 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:11,320 returns. God eventually forgives them. I'm sure all of us can make a table like 73 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:17,720 this and see God's movement in our lives. Too often when we get in our moments of 74 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:23,280 crisis, we cry out to the Lord, woo me and forget how much He has done for us 75 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:29,600 already. Even when the Israelites doubted, God came through for them. And He 76 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:35,200 does so for us to this day. We serve a God that says the same 77 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:42,280 yesterday, today, and forever. Amen? We might not always have the full picture, 78 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:48,680 but God is moving on our behalf. Amen? And so God answers Habakkuk and says, 79 00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:55,360 look at the nations and watch. Be utterly amazed, for I am going to do 80 00:08:55,360 --> 00:09:02,200 something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told. Here's 81 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:06,800 where a lot of us begin to get stuck. We think that we can handle what God is 82 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:14,880 doing and how He's doing it until the process starts. We want God to move, but 83 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:20,720 we want God to move in the way that we envision. God saw the deep corruption, 84 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:26,160 the deep corruption amongst His people. And He tells Habakkuk that He's 85 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:32,280 summoning Babylon. And He's going to use Babylon to bring down judgment to a 86 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:37,440 rebellious Israel. And it's the same with us today. God sees our heart, our 87 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:43,520 intentions, our willingness, or lack thereof, and He will use it to move us. 88 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:50,640 Amen? Proverbs 19-21 says, many are the plans in a person's heart, but it's the 89 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:57,360 Lord's purpose that prevails. As you can imagine, Habakkuk was not happy with 90 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:04,800 that answer. He says, are you serious? Are you going to use, you're going to use 91 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:14,840 them, Lord? I could completely see Habakkuk going like, Lord, you don't get it. 92 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:23,280 Amen? And that's how we are sometimes, right? We forget who we're talking to. We 93 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:27,960 want to tell Him what to do, how to do it. We don't want to go through the process, 94 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:34,320 right? If you would have told me 14 years ago when I gave my life to Christ that 95 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:38,880 I would be in this pulpit with a beautiful wife, a baby on the way, and 96 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:44,760 grafted into a fifth generation apostolic family, I wouldn't have believed you. 97 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:50,680 There's no way. I was like, me, no way. But I would have definitely been like, sign 98 00:10:50,680 --> 00:10:58,040 me up, you know, because that sounds good to me, right? But then if you told me the 99 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:06,680 road to getting there, the pain, the suffering, the heartache, losing family, 100 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:14,920 losing friends, to get to this point, if God would have showed me all that, maybe 101 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:22,280 I'd say no. And so God knows exactly what we need, how we need it, and when we need 102 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:28,640 it. Church, God is saying something for you. He has something for you, but you 103 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:32,760 are not going to believe how He's going to do it. You have to come with Him in 104 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:38,080 faith and understand that He knows all things, and He will bring all things 105 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:47,360 according to His time. Amen? Second point I have for you today, God knows everything. 106 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:52,320 Sometimes God has us in waiting periods because He wants to perfect us and 107 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:57,680 refine us. Other times He has us in waiting periods because we are outside 108 00:11:57,680 --> 00:12:04,880 of His will. Where do you find yourself today? Are you in God's will or are you 109 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:13,680 in your own will? Habakkuk 2.4 says, see the enemy is puffed up, his desires are 110 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:20,360 not upright, but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness. The righteous 111 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:26,680 shall live by faith. That's the vision, that's the plan. Amen? You either get 112 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:35,880 it or you don't. There's no lukewarm. Amen? And here's the warning church. Let's 113 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:43,080 not ever think that we are too good, that we cannot become like Babylon. The fact 114 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:49,300 that God might use for a time a corrupt nation like Babylon doesn't mean that He 115 00:12:49,300 --> 00:12:57,240 endorses what they do. He holds all nations accountable to His justice and 116 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:04,400 Babylon will fall along all other nations that acts like them. So what we do in 117 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:09,880 our waiting season matters. We will either start conforming to the patterns 118 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:17,680 of this world or we will serve God. God spends the next few verses talking about 119 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:24,940 five woes, things that hurt Him. And He's talking about Babylon, but it 120 00:13:24,940 --> 00:13:32,400 applies to us today. Brother Isaac, if you can put the graph up. There are 121 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:38,380 there are five things that get to the heart of God and it starts 122 00:13:38,380 --> 00:13:46,000 separating us from Him. The first two points have to do with unjust economics. 123 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:51,400 Babylon cheated people out of their money to keep the people where they were. 124 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:59,400 What you do with your money matters. Amen? The third point had to do with 125 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:04,680 slave labor. Babylon treated humans like animals and threatened them with 126 00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:13,880 violence. How you treat people matters. The fourth point had to do with abuse of 127 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:22,460 substances and immorality. Babylon's leaders abused alcohol and sex. So what 128 00:14:22,460 --> 00:14:31,040 you do with your flesh matters. And the fifth point dealt with idolatry. Babylon 129 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:37,760 relied on idols on themselves, on their own power. What has your attention today 130 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:48,480 and who is directing you? That matters. Am I directing myself or is God? Matthew 131 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:55,100 621 says, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Given the 132 00:14:55,100 --> 00:15:03,940 human condition, most people will eventually become Babylon. Amen? What we 133 00:15:03,940 --> 00:15:12,760 do during our waiting time, how we do it, God knows. He knows the deepest darkest 134 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:17,560 secrets that we have. He knows our plans that we have. He knows what we do, what 135 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:24,440 we don't do. He knows how our heart works and how it doesn't work. He is wanting 136 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:32,800 us to come to Him. He wants us to throw everything at His feet because He is the 137 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:37,320 only one that can get us to righteousness. He's the only one that can set us 138 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:42,800 right. And if we don't, we will begin to separate ourselves and we'll begin to 139 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:51,720 look at ourselves more like Babylon than God's people. And so it hurts God when 140 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:58,440 we're not doing our part, when we become our own gods. And that's what Babylon 141 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:02,880 was doing during this time. They thought they could do everything whenever they 142 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:07,400 wanted, how they wanted to do it. They were one of the most evilest of people. 143 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:12,920 It was a hard time and that's why Habakkuk was, what's going on here? 144 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:19,040 How is it that you're gonna use these people? These people are worse than me. 145 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:26,600 I'm only a little sinner. These are big sinners. You know? And we want God, we 146 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:35,240 want God to move in a way that is gonna be comfortable to us. And God doesn't 147 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:41,200 always work that way. There are things that are gonna cost you. There are things 148 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:47,240 that you're gonna have to pay a price for. And as I get ready to be a father, 149 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:54,520 there are certain examples that I have to set. And you, the parents and the 150 00:16:54,520 --> 00:17:01,320 wanting to be parents and getting married, all these things matter. All the 151 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:08,440 things, all the holding that you do, the directing that you do to get your 152 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:16,120 your sons and daughters to the kingdom of God. All of that matters. And what we 153 00:17:16,120 --> 00:17:23,360 want to do is not rely on what we know but on what God knows. And if we continue 154 00:17:23,360 --> 00:17:28,880 to bring the people over to God, if we continue to bring our needs over to God, 155 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:37,640 He says, and He makes it very clear that He will answer us without delay. Amen? 156 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:47,040 My third point, don't let your circumstance keep away your praise. At the 157 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:54,080 end of chapter 2, God calls for silence, almost to allow us to reflect on what He 158 00:17:54,080 --> 00:18:01,680 just said. Where do you stand? Do you look more like Babylon or do you look more 159 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:09,480 like your Creator? The word of God says, the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all 160 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:16,560 the earth be silent before Him. He's giving us time to reflect. And you've 161 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:22,040 got to look into your own heart. I can't look into my neighbor's heart. You have 162 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:27,360 to look into your own heart. What is God doing with you? What is God doing with me? 163 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:34,120 Where do I stand? Do I look more like Babylon? Do I look more like God's 164 00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:40,960 people? Amen? And God outlines clearly why His judgment must come. The people 165 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:48,160 have turned away from God. And sometimes we don't think that we've done that. 166 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:54,360 Sometimes we think that we haven't left God. Sometimes we think that we're in the 167 00:18:54,360 --> 00:19:01,600 will of God when we're not. And we have to constantly check ourselves and check 168 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:05,920 our hearts and our spirits so we know that God is the one working and not us. 169 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:14,720 Amen? And so Habakkuk has this transformation. He has this change of 170 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:21,000 heart. And he goes from questioning God and saying, 171 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:27,560 why is this happening? Why is this going on? And he starts and he goes from not 172 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:34,440 understanding God to a powerful prayer. And even though there's so much going 173 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:39,320 around him, he is choosing now to trust God. He's not going to understand that he 174 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:43,680 doesn't know what's going to happen. He doesn't know what's going to go on. He 175 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:48,280 doesn't know how God's going to do it. But he's deciding to trust the Lord. He's 176 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:54,680 going to live by faith. The righteous shall live by faith. That is a 177 00:19:54,680 --> 00:20:03,360 scripture that is almost a motto of ours, right? Because it doesn't come 178 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:08,400 because we're going to see it. It's going to become because we have faith in God, 179 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:17,680 the God who can do all things to make it happen. Amen? And often one of the tests 180 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:24,200 in the season of waiting is whether or not we're going to take matters into 181 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:31,360 our own hands. That's what the flesh wants to do. That's what you know our 182 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:37,680 our minds sometimes want to do. To speed up the clock. We want it here. We want it 183 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:43,120 now. It's gonna, it doesn't matter what the cost is. It doesn't matter who I hurt, 184 00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:49,360 what I do. It doesn't matter. That's something that the flesh does, right? In 185 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:56,640 God's timing, God comes in and does it in a way that it's gonna be obvious and 186 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:04,720 it's not gonna be painful to you. Amen? And so our only, our worst enemy is 187 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:11,960 ourselves. It's the flesh, right? We get in our own way because if we believe what 188 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:16,680 God is saying, if we believe what God is doing, then we know that He has 189 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:26,960 everything perfectly ordered. Amen? Twelve hours passed by in that waiting 190 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:36,040 room. Twelve hours. You can only imagine as a worried husband what I was 191 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:40,680 trying to do to get some answers. 192 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:50,440 Christian had lost 20 pounds in less than two weeks. She could barely walk. At this 193 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:59,880 point she was barely talking. We needed help. Her body couldn't take it anymore. 194 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:10,720 We finally get admitted and are presented with two options. You choose your 195 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:24,680 health or you choose the baby. You can't have both. My heart ached. My heart ached 196 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:40,520 like it's never ached before. The choice was my wife or my child. My wife or my 197 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:50,720 child. And this is how good God is because we chose God and we prayed and we 198 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:56,920 worshiped and spoke to God at faith levels that had never experienced. And God 199 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,640 unlocked something in me during that waiting period that I did not know I 200 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:12,720 had. Isaiah 644 says, since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has 201 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:25,800 perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you who acts, who acts, who acts on 202 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:32,160 behalf of those who wait for him. God is telling us that if we wait for him, if we 203 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:37,880 trust him, if we lean on him, you will see him do things in your life that go 204 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:44,960 beyond our comprehension. If we refuse to act on what we want to do, we're gonna 205 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:53,280 see God do what he wants to do and what he's desiring to do in our lives. And in 206 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:59,120 your season of waiting church, it's okay to have questions. It's okay to have 207 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:05,600 these conversations with God. God can take our hardest of problems, our deepest 208 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:15,280 of worries. But don't wrestle with these things with yourself and the world. Take 209 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:23,000 them to God, wrestle with God, and don't let go until he blesses you. The promise 210 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:30,800 is though it linger, wait for it. It will certainly come and will not delay. How 211 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:36,920 many of you all have been waiting for something that God wants to do in your 212 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:43,840 life? How many of you all are in a season of waiting? What are we doing in this 213 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:58,120 season? How are we treating God in this season of waiting? Are we all in? Do we 214 00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:08,080 care about what God cares about? Or do we care about only what we care about? And 215 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:16,040 so God will do things. God will bring people. God will put gifts, talents in 216 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:25,280 your lives for you to use. Me being up here in this pulpit today is a witness 217 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:34,520 to how good God is. I don't deserve it. I don't ever think I'm worthy. But God does. 218 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:38,960 And I believe in a God that knows all that will create is a Creator of heaven 219 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:47,120 and earth and has directed my steps. And Habakkuk has this this this change of 220 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:56,360 heart and he goes into this prayer and he says, though the fig tree does not bud, 221 00:25:56,360 --> 00:26:03,720 and there are no grapes but on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the 222 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:10,560 fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the 223 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:19,840 stalls, though I do not understand what is going on in my life, though I feel lost 224 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:26,880 and alone in this season, though my pain is excruciating and I can't take it 225 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:33,680 anymore, though life is not going the way that I expected, though my 226 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:40,920 relationships are waiting, though I do not have the job I want, though I feel 227 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:48,600 like my only escape is to leave it all, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be 228 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:57,800 joyful in God my Savior, and He will take care of everything. We serve a mighty 229 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:06,280 God, we serve an all-powerful God, and we know that we can't do this alone. In 230 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:12,800 church I'm here to tell you today that you have to make a choice, you have to 231 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:18,800 make a choice whether you're gonna serve God and everything that comes with it, 232 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:27,200 or you're gonna play God and on Sundays be good and the rest of the week be bad. 233 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:34,120 But just know that you're constantly gonna be in that waiting period. God is 234 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:41,280 never gonna transform a spirit that doesn't want to be transformed. God is a 235 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:48,400 gentleman, amen? But we have to choose, we have to choose to honor God, we have to 236 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:59,480 choose to give Him our all, even when we're uncomfortable, even when we might 237 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:11,240 not have the exact words to say, God does, and we have to choose to serve Him, amen? 238 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:21,080 Joshua as he was getting ready to be with the Lord is talking to his people, 239 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:30,000 and he's trying to guide them, he's trying to tell them, you can avoid judgment, 240 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:38,600 you can avoid the hurt, the pain, but you're gonna have to make a choice. He 241 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:46,480 says in Joshua 24, 14, and 15, now fear the Lord and serve Him with all 242 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:52,920 faithfulness, throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates 243 00:28:52,920 --> 00:29:01,840 River and in Egypt and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable 244 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:11,720 to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods 245 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:18,000 of your ancestors beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land 246 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:25,400 you are living, but as for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. Make the choice 247 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:31,560 today church, make the choice to serve the Lord, make God your foundation, your 248 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:38,240 pillar, because without Him you're not gonna be able to move in this life 249 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:45,720 peacefully. You have to make a choice, you want answers, serve the Lord, you want 250 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:51,400 your pain to be taken away, serve the Lord, you want new opportunities, serve the 251 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:57,360 Lord. That's the only way that it's gonna come, and I don't tell you because it was 252 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:03,600 easy, I tell you because it was hard. It's been hard to serve the Lord, but the 253 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:10,040 reward that is in serving the Lord will go beyond measure. Why? Because His 254 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:19,600 promise is that it's coming, wait for it, it will not delay. We thank the Lord for 255 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:26,600 for what He does for His goodness, and we'll ask you to stand up now church. We 256 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:33,400 know that God is constantly working in our lives. Ephesians 3.20 says, now all 257 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:38,480 glory to God who is able through His mighty power at work within us to 258 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:47,360 accomplish infinitely more than what we ask or think, exceedingly and abundantly. 259 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:55,880 What does this say? If He is able to do it more often than not, He will. He is able 260 00:30:55,880 --> 00:31:06,400 Are you able? Are you willing? What God are you serving? Are you serving the God 261 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:12,120 that can do it or the God that can't do it? Because sometimes we hold on to our 262 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:17,800 issues, our problems, our circumstances instead of coming to the altar and 263 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:28,920 leaving it for the Lord. The altar has nothing to do with interacting with the 264 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:35,600 preacher, has everything to do with coming in contact with the living God. The 265 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:45,680 last two weeks we spent in Yuma and the brothers and sisters there, they're 266 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:55,680 flipped in regards to our age group. Everybody there is 75 plus. We're the 267 00:31:55,680 --> 00:32:02,400 youngins. But one thing that I saw that was so beautiful and maybe it's the 268 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:08,960 season that they're in, but it's such a beautiful lesson, is that they didn't 269 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:14,480 wait to be invited to come to the altar. They knew who they were gonna find if 270 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:19,680 they came to the altar. They knew what they were gonna get when they come to 271 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:27,840 the altar and so much we have to beg and plead and tell you, come. You should be 272 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:36,280 wanting to come. You want things to change? Come to the altar. You want your 273 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:43,280 circumstance to be different? Come to the altar. You want God to use you? Come to 274 00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:49,000 the altar. God will not delay.