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You can have all of me

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Every single little piece

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You can have it all

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Welcome to Hub City Vineyard.

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To get connected or to give online,

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go to hcv.church or give.htv.church.

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If at any point during this message

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you feel called to make a change in your life,

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text change me to 970-00.

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Thank you and enjoy the message.

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Please help me welcome back to the stage, Hub City Worship,

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as they bring you evanescence, bring me to life.

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How can you see into my eyes like open doors?

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Leading you down into my core

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Will I become so alone

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With my soul so cold

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Will spirit sleeping somewhere cold

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Until you find a star and leave it behind

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Wake me up, wake me up inside

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Hold my name and see me from the dark

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I'll give my blood to rest before I come undone

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Leave me from the nothing I've become

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Now that I know what I'm without

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You can't just leave me

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Breathe into me

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And make me feel weak

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Tonight

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Wake me up, wake me up inside

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Hold my name and see me from the dark

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I'll give my blood to rest before I come undone

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Leave me from the nothing I've become

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Bring me to life

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I've been living a lie

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There's nothing inside

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Bring me to life

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Frozen inside without your touch

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Without your love, darling

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Only you are the light among the dead

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All of this time I can't believe I couldn't see

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Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me

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I've been sleeping for a thousand years

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It's been hard to open my eyes to everything

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Without thought, without voice, without soul

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Don't let me die here

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There must be something wrong

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Bring me to life

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Wake me up, wake me up inside

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Hold my name and see me from the dark

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I'll give my blood to rest before I come undone

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Leave me from the nothing I've become

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Bring me to life

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I've been living a lie

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There's nothing inside

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Bring me to life

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Thank you, thank you. Just kidding.

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It gets harder and harder to share a message after a Summer Jam, of course.

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Excellent performance. June's Summer Jams at HCV, a series that focuses on music and its connection to culture.

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If you're joining us from home, thank you for welcoming us into your space.

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Every year we bring a live musical performance to our stage as a means of growing our relationship with Jesus.

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Last Sunday we kicked it off with the hit song Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls.

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If you missed it, you can go back to YouTube and listen in.

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This morning we heard Bring Me to Life by the rock band Evanescence.

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It was actually on their debut studio album Fallen.

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It was released on Wind Up Records and it was actually released January 13th of 2003

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following its inclusion on the soundtrack of the film Daredevil.

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For all you Daredevil fans out there, this song received a generally positive reception

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with critics praising Lee's vocals and melody.

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It became a commercial success, reaching number five on the US Billboard Hot 100,

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but actually garnered a lot more attention around the globe, going number one in 19 different countries.

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And actually in the UK, it was number one on the charts for four consecutive weeks.

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One of Evanescence's most commercially successful songs.

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It gained triple platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2019

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and Bring Me to Life won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2004.

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Now, interestingly enough, the band Evanescence was formed in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1994

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by singer and pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody.

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The two met at a Christian youth camp when they were 13 and 14 years old respectively

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and Lee thought they would be great at playing music together

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because they didn't fit in very well at the youth camp.

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Hmm, sound familiar? Look around.

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Now within a month, Lee gave Moody a cassette tape of her singing

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and playing guitar on a song that she had written

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and the two began writing and recording music in their parents' houses

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and playing in different coffee shops.

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Evanescence was on Wind Up Records, the same label that Creed broke through on

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and actually it was the fourth record label that finally accepted them.

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The first three that they applied this song for, this Bring Me to Life song,

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turned them down and said there's no way it's going to be successful

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because there was a woman leading the vocals.

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At that point, at the late 90s, early 2000s, there was no female leads

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and the record labels actually turned them down

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and that's why they end up on Wind Up Records.

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Now the album was actually distributed to the Christian community initially

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and it caused the band to absolutely shut it down and say no, they didn't want that,

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we're not a Christian band, we don't want to be labeled as a Christian band

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even though if you listen to the lyrics really closely,

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it can certainly be interpreted as a cry out to God to set her free

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and allow His Spirit to come inside of her.

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However, the song is about abuse and depression.

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It's actually about feeling trapped in a dark place in your mind

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and not feeling able that you can get yourself out of it.

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The line that says, how can you see into my eyes like open doors?

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It suggests that she felt this way for a long time

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but someone comes along of course and really points it out,

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hey, you're unhappy and this actually all happened.

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Amy Lee confirmed this interaction in an interview with Metal Hammer magazine.

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She says, this song is actually written about my now husband.

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I was in a very abusive, bad, difficult relationship for a long time

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and I was sitting at a dinner table across from Josh.

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Remember, she didn't even know this guy.

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He was a friend of a friend of another band member.

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They sat down to have dinner together and as he looked across the table at her,

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he asked her a simple question, are you happy?

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Those three words ended up initially writing the lyrics to this song that you just heard.

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The lead singer, she was living in fear.

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She was living in a fear of the unknown.

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She wasn't allowing herself to experience a freedom

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that can simply come with a choice to change.

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This morning, I believe that so many people within our culture live in fear.

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It's both in and outside of the church.

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It's not just a church thing.

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I mean, think about it, wages, right?

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They're not going up, but the cost of living is.

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I think, look at the cost of groceries, building materials, gas, anything that you have to buy.

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It just continues to increase dramatically.

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Politics is not comforting to anyone.

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Who can you trust?

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Is anyone telling the truth?

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Are they all liars and thieves?

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Because it certainly does seem that way.

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There's a lot to scare us happening in the world right now.

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We have wars, we have terrorism, cancer, diabetes, neurological diseases, and much, much more.

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Heck, even when we get sick, right?

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We don't even want to go to the hospital or doctor

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because in the back of our minds we're thinking,

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I don't have the money to pay those bills.

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And that whole scenario is literally crippling our culture,

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and people are living in fear.

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Then, as you just heard when you throw in verbal, mental, and physical abuse, right?

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Singer Amy Lee, she feels like she was lost.

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She had been hardened.

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She was questioning life.

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She was wondering, how could I ever be set free?

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And there's a lot of persons, places, and things that can bring fear into our life.

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And this morning, I specifically felt God leading me to talk about the fear of God.

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Because I wonder if the reason so many people experience fear in this life

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is because they don't understand the fear of God.

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And could it be possible that it's a loss of the fear of God

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that has created this culture of anxiety and fear both in the church and outside of the church?

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And I wonder if the fear of God is actually the antidote to the fear of man.

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It's actually the antidote to the fear of the things of this world.

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And it may sound simple, but remember, we are people.

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And we have a tendency to make the simple things complex

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and the complex things really simple.

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To start with, just think about this.

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There are over 300 references in the Bible where you will hear

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fear of the Lord, fear God, or fear His Word.

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Over 300 references.

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And there's no way that I can completely cover the depth of the fear of God

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in a 30-minute talk on a Sunday morning,

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because there's so many directions I can go in, but I'm going to do my best.

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For example, let's just jump into the Bible for a second.

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The book of Proverbs. What is the book of Proverbs?

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It's simply wisdom for dummies. Okay? So we all understand it.

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Proverbs 1, 7, the very beginning of the book,

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fear of the Lord is foundation of true knowledge and wisdom.

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But fools despise wisdom and discipline.

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So just to jump right into the book, the verse sums up what the entire book is about.

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When we fear God, we're going to grow in wisdom.

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But we must understand there's a difference between knowledge and fear.

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By show of hands, how many of you know someone that's really smart, but not wise?

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Really smart, and you think to your head, why are you dating them again?

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Why did you choose to do that? Proverbs continues, chapter 9.

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Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Foundation.

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Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.

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Fast forward, chapter 10, verse 27.

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Fear of the Lord lengthens one's life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

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Right? So it tells us that we're going to live longer if we have a fear of the Lord.

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Verse 14, 26, 27.

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Those who fear the Lord are secure. He will be a refuge for their children.

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In other words, when we fear God, it means we walk away from insecurity and doubt.

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And we walk in confidence.

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Verse 27, fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain.

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It offers escape from the snares of death.

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So we learn the fear of the Lord is actually what Jesus points to when he says we're going to live abundant life.

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So the Bible, as you can see, is full of truths about fearing God.

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Look at Psalm 2, verse 11.

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Serve the Lord with reverent fear and rejoice with trembling.

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It almost sounds like a song, right?

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Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.

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Let's all sing it. You want to try it?

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Let's all sing it. You ready? Ready? We can get it.

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It's a great way to memorize the verse. Ready?

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Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with...

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Oh, that was terrible. Come on.

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Look, I can't even sing and you're not singing with me.

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Are you ready? Serve the Lord with fear and...

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Okay, that's better. All right, we're getting there. We're getting there.

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We're getting there. All right, I got it.

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Maybe that was a little too fast for you.

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Look at Psalm 115.

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He will bless those who fear the Lord both great and lowly.

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You can turn that into a hymn.

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He will bless those who fear the Lord both great and low, both great and low.

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See? We can turn them into songs.

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Right? Let's go to the book of Ecclesiastes.

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What? Look, the whole book of Ecclesiastes is summed up with one sentence.

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That's the whole story.

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Here now is my conclusion.

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Fear God and obey His commands, for this is everyone's duty.

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I mean, think about these words are written in the same chapter as the meaning of life.

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You want to know the meaning of life?

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Fear God, obey His commands.

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That's everyone's duty. It's our responsibility.

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Jump into the book of Job, Job 28, 28.

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And this is what he says to all humanity.

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The fear of the Lord is true wisdom.

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To forsake evil is real understanding.

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Now think about it.

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There's over 300 more references just like that in the Bible.

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Right? Now some of you are thinking,

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what's this have to do with the song bringing to life?

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What's this all mean, Chris?

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Well, I believe that many people have an unhealthy view of God.

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A very unhealthy view of God.

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And it's because, could be because of their relationship with the earthly father.

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They had a bad relationship with the earthly father and they just put that on the God.

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Maybe they experienced abuse in this life just like Amy Lee did.

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Or maybe they're just walking in sin and they feel like they're never good enough to be accepted.

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There's so many people within our world that simply turn away from God, run from God,

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out of fear rather than running towards Him.

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When in reality, God is the one sitting across the table from us every single day asking us the question,

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are you happy?

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Church, are you happy?

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And that's the question God is asking us this morning.

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Now I get it.

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Some of you are biblical scholars.

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Some of you had communion for breakfast and you rolled in here on a highly holy cloud.

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Right? And you're like, oh, well, Chris, all those verses were from the Old Testament.

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You know, what about the New Testament?

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What does Jesus have to say about that?

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Well, that brings us to our first thought.

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The Church of Acts walked in godly fear.

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Look at Acts 9 verse 31.

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The Church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria.

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And it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord.

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And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.

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Hold up, hold up, hold up.

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Now you're telling me, right, that this church, this early church in the Book of Acts that we're reading about multiplied,

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not because they had a great marketing plan using billboards and mailers.

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Yep, that's what I'm telling you.

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And to take it a step further, guess what?

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They didn't, they probably didn't have the best worship.

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They didn't probably have the best preaching.

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And no, they weren't using Instagram and TikTok offering people to come simply by swiping.

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Join us at HTV by swiping.

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And I'm not saying those things aren't useful and God can't use them.

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But guess what? The church that we read about in the Book of Acts, they grew,

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they multiplied because they walked in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

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They were depending on God for strength, for direction, for guidance, for healing.

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And God provides, right?

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Humanity lets us down.

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Humanity lets us down.

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And I believe this healthy fear of God came from the disciples daily walking with Jesus

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and listening to his challenging teachings like this one in Matthew chapter 10.

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Are you ready? Jesus is going to go gangster on them right here with these simple words.

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Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body.

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They cannot touch your soul.

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Fear only God who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

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I mean, he just draws a line in the sand, right?

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And he says, this is what it's all about.

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You need to learn to understand what the fear of God is and apply it to your life.

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And we benefit from it because we are awoken.

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Our spirits are awoken. The chorus of the song, right?

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Wake me up. Wake me up inside. I, I can't wake up.

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Wake me up inside. Save me.

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Call my name and save me from the dark.

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Well, God wants to. God wants to save us. God wants to set us free.

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But again, it all goes down to a choice and an understanding, which leads us to our next song.

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See, there's a fear to be accepted and a fear to be rejected.

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There's differences. Exodus 20, 20.

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Notice what Moses says to the people.

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Don't be afraid. Moses answered them.

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For God has come in this way to test you so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning.

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Let me read this to you again. Let me read this to you.

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You ready? You ready?

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Moses says, don't be afraid. For God has come in this way to test you so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning.

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If you're anything like me, have you ever read the Bible and you simply begin to scratch your head like,

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Moses, what you said just doesn't make sense.

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Like, aren't you contradicting yourself? Like, what's going on?

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Moses, you just told me don't be afraid.

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But then you said, well, God's coming at you to test you so that you will fear him.

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So how am I not afraid, but then I'm fearing?

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What Moses is trying to tell us is this. He's not contradicting himself.

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He's simply letting us know that there's two types of fears.

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Right? There's a fear we reject and there's a fear that we accept.

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And when we learn to walk in the fear that we accept, it will change your life.

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It will make you a new person.

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While the fear of man and the fears of this world, they literally cripple our lives and they don't allow us to move forward.

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All throughout the Bible. Right?

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We read about these two different fears.

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For example, two scriptures for you that many of you know.

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Second Timothy 1, 7.

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For God has not given us the spirit of fear.

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Right? He didn't give us the spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

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First John 4, 18. Such love has no...

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Are you guys awake?

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Like, I'm full of energy. I'm excited. You just heard a great song.

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You're like, fair.

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Okay, I'm going to try this again. Ready?

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First John 4, 18. Such love has no...

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Fear. Thank you. Because perfect love expels all.

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Fear. And if we are afraid, notice these words that so many of us skip over, we don't expel the fear.

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But if we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment.

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And this shows that we're not fully experienced as perfect love.

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See, that's the...

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When we're fearing God that way, we're not receiving His love.

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We're running away from Him.

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Which leads us to our next song.

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See, fearing God is not the same as being afraid of God. They're different.

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Notice Isaiah 8, verses 13, 14. The Lord rules over all.

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So you must think about Him as holy.

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You must have respect for Him. You must fear Him.

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Then the Lord will be a holy place of safety for you.

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See, when the Bible says fear God, it is saying that we, as a church, if you're in a relationship with Him,

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from church, if you're in a relationship with Jesus, we need to live in reverence of Him.

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We need to respect Him. We need to stand in awe of who He is.

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Right? We know that the God we serve, He's set apart.

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He has power. And we are called literally to stand in awe.

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Look at Illuminus 19.

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The Lord also said to Moses, give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel.

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You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

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See, He calls His church to be set apart from culture, to be different.

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Don't blend in. Stick out like a sore thumb. Right?

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Just start randomly singing songs in the middle of church and make things up over a song.

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It's okay. Right? It's called being different. It's called being set apart.

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And since God is holy, we are called to be holy.

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Now, the difference is this is not the same kind of fear that came into the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were disobedient.

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So we're going to jump back in to Genesis chapter 3. We're going all the way back to the beginning of the Bible.

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And this is what we're going to read.

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At that moment, their eyes were opened.

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And they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So their eyes were open to the reality of sin.

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So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

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When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden.

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So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.

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Then the Lord God called to the man, where are you?

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Have you ever thought to yourself in a second, when you're reading about creation, you're thinking,

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Adam and Eve are playing hide and seek with God.

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I mean, they're setting themselves up to lose.

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Right? Like God knows where they are.

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And then the crazy thing is this.

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They thought they could run away from God.

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And here you got God walking into the garden and he plays along with them.

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Where are you?

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In reality, God knew where they were the whole time.

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Right? They ran away. Why? Because sin had entered the world.

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They cover themselves up with shame.

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And there's so many people that run away from God and are afraid of God because of their sin.

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Because of their mistakes, because of their choices.

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This is not the same fear that God describes about himself.

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God doesn't want us to run away from him.

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He desires that all of humanity run towards him.

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He desires that the church run to him and come before him in what?

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In reverence, in knowledge, right?

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In love.

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And friends, we can't do it on our own.

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We need to be empowered.

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So simply stated this morning, if you want to personally know whether you're living in a healthy fear of God or not,

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check your feet.

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Just check your feet.

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If you're living in a healthy fear of God and struggles come your way, are you running towards God?

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Or are you running away?

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Because if you're running away, you have an unhealthy fear of God.

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Because God wants us to run to him.

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You have the wrong fear if you're running away because you're scared.

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You have the right fear if you're running towards him with praise, adoration, and thankfulness, even in the midst of storms.

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See, we experience abundant life when we run after God because he is the meaning of life.

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And all throughout the Bible, there is this contradiction of people being afraid,

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a fear that will keep them enslaved, and having a holy reverence of a God who is what?

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Holy and set apart and desires to set us apart.

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That one of my favorites, and many of you will know this, is in Mark chapter 4, right?

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The disciples and Jesus hop into a boat and they start to cross to the other side.

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I'm going to read it to you, right?

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But soon, a fierce storm came up.

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So they're in a boat, they're in the middle of the water, high waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

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Now remember, Paul's there a second, remember, most of these men were fishermen, right?

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So fishermen are used to being in a boat.

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So when we read that it's recorded that a fierce storm, picture a hurricane, right?

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A major storm on the water.

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You got to picture a hurricane because these men knew what a storm was, right?

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What was Jesus doing? Now this is awesome. I love how Mark records this.

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Everyone check this out.

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Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion.

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So Mark just throws in the reality that Jesus grabbed a pillow, put it down, and just was, you know, just asleep on the pillow, right?

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Just throws that in there.

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So you know the disciples were mad when Jesus is not just asleep, but sleeping on a what? On a pillow.

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He's fast asleep. Now listen to the response.

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The disciples woke him up.

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You can see, Jesus!

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You know they were shaking him like, Jesus, wake up!

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Teacher, don't you care we're going to drown?

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I mean, they're freaking out.

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Don't you care we're going to drown?

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Now I love this.

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When Jesus woke up, notice what he does.

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He doesn't even acknowledge the disciples are there.

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Look, when Jesus woke up, he just walked right by him, walked to the front of the wave and said,

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Be still.

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See, you got to just get up!

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Can you just picture him getting up?

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Still asleep.

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Peace.

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So he did!

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Now listen to what happens.

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Suddenly, the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.

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Now when that's translated from the Greek, the scholars suggest that the storm went from a hurricane,

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picture hurricane force winds, shaking everything,

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to a sea as calm as glass.

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Just by his words.

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Peace.

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So then, Jesus walks back from the front of the boat and addresses his disciples.

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Now notice what he says.

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Then he asks them,

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Why are you afraid?

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Do you still have no faith?

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Now notice the disciples' response.

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The disciples were absolutely terrified.

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Who is this man?

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They asked each other.

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Even the wind and waves obey him.

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So suddenly, after they saw that miracle, they had a reverence.

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They had a respect.

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See, they forgot who was on the boat.

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They forgot who was asleep on that pillow.

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The disciples, who walked with Jesus for three years, lost their reverence of him.

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The ones who spent the most time with Jesus in the flesh forgot the power that he was exhibiting when he was healing and performing miracles.

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That's why they were freaking out.

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Because they forgot.

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And friends, we know we lost our reverence, our respect for God, when we quickly jumped to fear and doubt.

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Think about it. In the middle of a storm, and not just any storm or hurricane, Jesus was sleeping on a pillow.

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And if Jesus is snoring in the middle of a storm, what difference is it going to make if I'm running around screaming in fear?

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It's not going to change anything.

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We have to trust that God is in control.

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And think about how much our lives will change if we learn to walk in the healthy fear of God.

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If we learn to stand in awe of the one who sleeps in the boat, rather than focusing on all the storms of life.

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Friends, we'll have a quiet confidence that shapes our very life.

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We won't remain stuck living in fear.

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Amy Lee again writes,

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Leading you down into my core, where I've become so numb, without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold.

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Why did she write those words?

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Because she was living in the fear of man.

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She was living in the fear of abuse.

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She was living in the fear of judgment.

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And if that's you this morning, church, you've got to learn to begin to pray.

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God, give us a fear of you.

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Give us a reverence of you.

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Don't allow us to become like the disciples who got casual and comfortable with the savior of the world.

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And they forgot how powerful he really is.

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I want to challenge you, don't just come to our Sunday gatherings to check a box.

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Because that's not what it's about.

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God, help us.

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That every time we gather is an opportunity to meet with the God of the universe.

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See, we have to be careful, especially for those of you who have been in a relationship with Jesus for any length of time,

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not to lose the fear of God.

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It can become so easy to lose our reverence,

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to treat holy things as common, to make Sunday gatherings just a spectacle rather than a meeting place of God.

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See, we have to be careful that we don't approach God like we do at animals in a zoo.

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How many of you guys like to go to the zoo?

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Does anybody like to go to the zoo?

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I love to go to the zoo.

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We like to take our kids to the zoo.

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We go to the National Zoo quite a bit.

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I have an image here for you of my daughter, Lily.

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And we were actually at the National Zoo.

474
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,000
And this was, okay, it's coming, I promise.

475
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:38,000
And this was Phoenix's first trip to the National Zoo.

476
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:39,000
Oh, there she is.

477
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:40,000
Isn't she beautiful?

478
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,000
Lily, our Lily, Lily is so beautiful.

479
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,000
So this is Lily at the National Zoo.

480
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:53,000
Now notice when you go to the zoo, you have a wonderful steel fence and electric cables surrounding those animals.

481
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:54,000
True or false?

482
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:55,000
Right?

483
00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:59,000
So you can stand out there and you can smile, be like, oh, look, it's an African elephant.

484
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:00,000
It's beautiful.

485
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:05,000
There's nothing to be afraid of because it's in an enclosure.

486
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:06,000
Right?

487
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:10,000
Directly after that, we visited the lion's exhibit, right?

488
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,000
And at the lion's exhibit, you have the lions up there by the tree.

489
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:20,000
They have a moat, a moat around their enclosure and a large wall.

490
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:21,000
Right?

491
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,000
And on the wall, it says Predator viewing area.

492
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:26,000
Keep your distance.

493
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:27,000
Do not cross.

494
00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:28,000
Right?

495
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:32,000
So there's something about a zoo, right?

496
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:41,000
That's created for us for our viewing pleasure that takes away the fear, the reverence that we should have for these animals.

497
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:42,000
Right?

498
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:49,000
Now, how many of you know there's a big difference between looking at an elephant or a lion in the zoo and looking at an elephant or lion on a safari?

499
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,000
How many of you know there's a big difference?

500
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:52,000
Okay.

501
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:57,000
Now, let me tell you, for those of you who didn't raise your hand, there's a real big difference.

502
00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:58,000
Okay.

503
00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:02,000
And I'll tell you why, because I was just on safari a month ago.

504
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:03,000
Okay.

505
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:05,000
So just now, at the end of our trip to Kenya, it was beautiful.

506
00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:15,000
We had the opportunity to spend two days out in the middle of nowhere, and I do mean the middle of nowhere, in Africa in an open air land rover.

507
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:16,000
Okay.

508
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:17,000
Now, this is, you can flip it.

509
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:18,000
This is Jess.

510
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,000
This is our, isn't she beautiful in our safari?

511
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:21,000
Okay.

512
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:22,000
That was like 6 a.m. in the morning.

513
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:27,000
So, yeah, they make you get up early and then you get in an open air land rover.

514
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:37,000
And then before you drive out, they say, oh, we just want to let you know that four weeks ago, three people were killed by elephants because they decided to get out of the vehicle.

515
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:41,000
And when they got out of the vehicle to take a picture, the elephants stampeded them and they died.

516
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:42,000
Okay.

517
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:43,000
Thank you for that.

518
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:53,000
And then, okay, so he tells us that, our God tells us that, and then our God continues and says, oh, and by the way, I want to let you know that I survived a lion attack.

519
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:57,000
And since I survived a lion attack, I've become famous.

520
00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:58,000
I have my own TED Talk.

521
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:01,000
I'm not going to tell you about it, but if you go and watch me, you'll hear all about it.

522
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,000
So he's trying to get famous with his TED Talk.

523
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:07,000
But so that's the two things we hear before we go out.

524
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:08,000
Okay.

525
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:09,000
On safari.

526
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:10,000
On safari.

527
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,000
And then he says, oh, we're going to have a great time.

528
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:13,000
Let's go.

529
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:14,000
And he starts driving.

530
00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:15,000
Okay.

531
00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:18,000
So here we are driving and it's beautiful.

532
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,000
And it just so happened that that morning, this is what we saw.

533
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:22,000
Ready?

534
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:23,000
Next slide.

535
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:24,000
Okay.

536
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:28,000
Isn't that awesome?

537
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:29,000
Okay.

538
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,000
So this is the king of the jungle.

539
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:33,000
Okay.

540
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:35,000
Everyone say king of the jungle.

541
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:36,000
Yeah.

542
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:37,000
And where were we?

543
00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:39,000
We were in his jungle.

544
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:40,000
Okay.

545
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,000
That's how close we were to this lion.

546
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:43,000
Okay.

547
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:48,000
So we're about 10 feet from this lion enjoying a water buffalo.

548
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:49,000
Okay.

549
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:53,400
And he goes on to tell us as we were driving 90 miles an hour in an open air Jeep without

550
00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:57,000
seat belts over bumps going into the air, we're going to see lions.

551
00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:58,000
We're going to see lions.

552
00:34:58,000 --> 00:34:59,000
You're just like, oh my gosh, I'm going to die.

553
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:00,000
I'm going to die.

554
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:01,000
I'm going to die.

555
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:02,000
Okay.

556
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:03,000
But anyway, so we get to the lions.

557
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:05,000
He pulls up and that's what we see.

558
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:08,000
Oh, they just killed a water buffalo four hours ago.

559
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,840
And then he goes on to tell us, oh, this is a pride of lions.

560
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:12,440
There's not just one lion.

561
00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:14,000
There's four lions.

562
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:18,520
But just stay calm.

563
00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:24,000
And be quiet and don't make sudden movements.

564
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,400
And you can take all the pictures you want.

565
00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:27,400
Okay.

566
00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,840
I'm like, I took those pictures.

567
00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:31,840
Okay.

568
00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:32,840
I'm good.

569
00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:35,840
You can leave.

570
00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:41,120
So, so remember our guide attacked by lion survived.

571
00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:45,000
Joseph survived a lion attack.

572
00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:48,000
He turns the car around, heads out.

573
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:49,000
Right.

574
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:55,960
And as he heads out, pulls off the road to this.

575
00:35:55,960 --> 00:36:01,000
Now, listen, listen.

576
00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:06,840
That's how close I was.

577
00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:13,680
I took that picture and you can see his friend wasn't happy about it.

578
00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:20,320
So I'm in my seat taking pictures.

579
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:24,520
And all the people in the car with me are making fun of me.

580
00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:25,520
You're afraid.

581
00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:26,520
I'm like, you want to sit here?

582
00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:29,320
Come on up and join it.

583
00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:35,520
There's nothing between me and a 500 pound lion.

584
00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:42,520
And the only thing I thought was, please don't jump.

585
00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:44,440
Please don't jump.

586
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:46,800
Now here's the reality.

587
00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:54,960
There's a big difference between seeing a lion in the zoo and seeing a lion in the wild.

588
00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:59,120
Because when I was in the wild, I was in their country.

589
00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:02,440
I was in their land.

590
00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:08,000
And that was a predator that made me aware that they could take me down at any second.

591
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,080
And it wasn't just the lions.

592
00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:12,040
I didn't add the video.

593
00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:18,720
He pulled me up beside an elephant that was a mom that was protecting its cub or whatever

594
00:37:18,720 --> 00:37:19,720
it's called.

595
00:37:19,720 --> 00:37:21,560
I don't even know what an elephant baby's called.

596
00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:22,960
And she starts stomping her feet.

597
00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:25,960
I'm like, bro, pull away.

598
00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:37,000
Like, why are you doing this to me?

599
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:38,000
I wonder though.

600
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:48,240
Now listen, I wonder if we forget that when we gather here on Sunday mornings, he welcomes

601
00:37:48,240 --> 00:37:51,620
us into his presence.

602
00:37:51,620 --> 00:37:58,760
And I wonder if we get so casual that we lost the reverence of God, that we've lost the

603
00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:03,660
reality that every time we gather, every time we worship, God is here.

604
00:38:03,660 --> 00:38:07,440
Every time we wake up in the morning, God is living inside of us because he put his

605
00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:10,320
Holy Spirit inside of us if you're in a relationship with Jesus.

606
00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:16,200
And it's almost as if the church has lost that reverence, that love, that understanding.

607
00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:19,120
So I decided that I wanted to bring a lion to church.

608
00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:20,120
Are you ready?

609
00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:24,120
I wanted to bring a lion to church to prove a point.

610
00:38:24,120 --> 00:38:25,120
Now be careful.

611
00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:26,120
Everyone quiet.

612
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:27,120
Quiet.

613
00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:31,120
Don't make any sudden movements.

614
00:38:31,120 --> 00:38:32,840
Quiet.

615
00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:40,640
Now his name's Aslan, okay?

616
00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:50,760
And Aslan, right, in the wild, he's 500 to 550 pounds and can tear you from limb to limb

617
00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:52,840
in about 10 seconds.

618
00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:58,660
And the point is, God is known as the lion of Judah.

619
00:38:58,660 --> 00:39:04,000
And a lot of times we forget what a lion does and who a lion is.

620
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:11,320
And we focus on our enemy who roams around like a lion.

621
00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:12,960
Everyone hear that?

622
00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:17,360
Like a lion, looking for someone to devour.

623
00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:20,800
But God, our God, is the lion of Judah.

624
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:27,880
And God is calling us back to a holy fear and a reverence of who he is.

625
00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:34,560
Because it's so easy, church, to lose our awe, to lose our wonder, to lose our excitement

626
00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:39,040
for who God is and all that God does in our lives.

627
00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:45,080
For example, last Friday, not just past Friday, Friday before, we had a chance to go to the

628
00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:47,040
Boxcars game in the new stadium in Hagerstown.

629
00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:48,240
It's beautiful, right?

630
00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:49,800
The little leg was going to the Boxcars game.

631
00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:50,800
We took the whole family.

632
00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:53,600
I wish I would have put a picture in there for you, but I didn't.

633
00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:54,600
So we're there.

634
00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:55,600
We're watching the game.

635
00:39:55,600 --> 00:39:56,600
The stadium's beautiful.

636
00:39:56,600 --> 00:39:58,040
We're walking around, seeing everything.

637
00:39:58,040 --> 00:39:59,040
Baseball's okay, but it's all right.

638
00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:00,040
It'll get better, I hope.

639
00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:02,960
But anyway, so we're enjoying the stadium.

640
00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:03,960
We're checking it out.

641
00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:05,080
We're walking all around.

642
00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:09,920
And then Phoenix got thirsty, so we had to go wait in a long line.

643
00:40:09,920 --> 00:40:12,720
Long line, just to get a water, right?

644
00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:16,320
Only to learn that they didn't have water, so we had to buy smart waters that were 10

645
00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:17,320
dollars.

646
00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:18,680
I mean, just, oh my gosh.

647
00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:19,680
You don't have water?

648
00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:25,080
So anyway, but anyway, while we were waiting in line, right, their mascot was walking through

649
00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:26,080
the hallways, right?

650
00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:27,080
You know the mascot.

651
00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:29,360
And who's the mascot of the boxcarts?

652
00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:31,920
It's just some pilot that drives a plane, right?

653
00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:35,000
He's just some big tall guy or gal dressed up in a suit.

654
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:36,480
And we were there holding Phoenix's hand.

655
00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:40,200
And we said, oh, Phoenix, let's go get a picture, because everybody, you know, all the adults,

656
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:41,200
what are the adults doing?

657
00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:42,200
Oh, what's up?

658
00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:43,200
I don't even know his name.

659
00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:45,280
Does anybody know the boxcarts, mascots?

660
00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:46,280
What is it?

661
00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:47,280
Striker.

662
00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:48,280
Oh, Striker, they're getting selfies.

663
00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:50,280
Striker, have a beer with me.

664
00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:52,320
All right, getting selfies.

665
00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:53,320
We love Striker.

666
00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:54,320
All the adults.

667
00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:55,800
That's what the adults are doing.

668
00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:58,240
Oh, Striker, let me get your picture.

669
00:40:58,240 --> 00:41:04,280
Phoenix, you want to, Phoenix, you want to go get your picture with the mascot?

670
00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:06,320
I didn't know its name, with the mascot.

671
00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:09,320
He's like, no.

672
00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:13,320
I said, oh, I'll go with you.

673
00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:15,520
I said, Phoenix, I'll carry you.

674
00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:16,520
We'll get a picture.

675
00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:17,520
I'll hold you over here.

676
00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:18,520
I'll put my arm around him.

677
00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:22,000
He's like, I'm not getting near that thing.

678
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:24,920
He's like, I don't want to be anywhere near.

679
00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:26,400
He wouldn't even get close to that mascot.

680
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:27,960
He didn't want no picture.

681
00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:29,160
He didn't want to know its name.

682
00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:31,440
He didn't think it looked cool.

683
00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:34,200
Like to Phoenix, that pilot was intimidating.

684
00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:42,280
But see, Phoenix, now listen, listen, Phoenix was exhibiting a reverence, a fear, a sense

685
00:41:42,280 --> 00:41:43,280
of wonder.

686
00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:47,880
That's the first time he saw this mascot when he was looking at him.

687
00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:54,080
While all of us older fans, we've become so comfortable with getting our picture taken.

688
00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:58,760
This is awesome.

689
00:41:58,760 --> 00:42:05,560
I wonder, do we gather on Sundays to take a picture with God?

690
00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:10,040
Oh, hey, God, I'm in HTV.

691
00:42:10,040 --> 00:42:12,880
Checking in.

692
00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:15,140
God doesn't want that.

693
00:42:15,140 --> 00:42:22,080
God wants us to stand in awe of his presence and his power because he wants to experience,

694
00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:26,320
right, all of us living in abundance.

695
00:42:26,320 --> 00:42:30,960
And the only way we live in abundance is if we live in the fear of God, which leads us

696
00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:31,960
to our final fault.

697
00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:37,040
See, fear in God makes us live when awareness of his presence.

698
00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:40,120
Jesus, again, another challenging scripture.

699
00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:45,800
Then he said to the crowd, if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own

700
00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:47,760
way, take up the cross daily and follow me.

701
00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:49,760
If you try to hang on to your life, you'll lose it.

702
00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:52,400
But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

703
00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:57,960
And see, for many of us, we don't even understand what carrying the cross means.

704
00:42:57,960 --> 00:43:03,280
When in reality, his disciples, they knew what that illustration was.

705
00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:07,260
They knew when they saw someone carrying a cross surrounded by Roman soldiers, what their

706
00:43:07,260 --> 00:43:11,000
fate was, their fate was death.

707
00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:14,680
They were carrying that cross where they were going to get nailed to it and hung on it where

708
00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:18,320
they would die.

709
00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:20,640
And Jesus is challenging us.

710
00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:22,600
Are you carrying your cross?

711
00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:24,600
Are you willing to die for me?

712
00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:32,680
See, Jesus was describing and challenging us.

713
00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:36,040
Don't live in your own strength.

714
00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:38,920
Don't live for yourself.

715
00:43:38,920 --> 00:43:40,520
Live for me.

716
00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:46,040
And we must realize that fearing God is much more than having a relationship with him because

717
00:43:46,040 --> 00:43:50,520
we can have a relationship with God and not have reverence, not have fear.

718
00:43:50,520 --> 00:43:55,040
The point of the lion is to remind you, God's here, man.

719
00:43:55,040 --> 00:44:00,520
Every time we gather, God is in this room and his presence is living inside of us every

720
00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:02,620
single morning that we wake up.

721
00:44:02,620 --> 00:44:06,560
And when we become aware of this, it will change us.

722
00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:09,880
It will change how we live our lives.

723
00:44:09,880 --> 00:44:12,720
We have to be real careful.

724
00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:13,720
We have to be real careful.

725
00:44:13,720 --> 00:44:18,600
I'm going to challenge you to this, church, if everything that we do in our life lines

726
00:44:18,600 --> 00:44:22,160
up with God, maybe we're not serving God.

727
00:44:22,160 --> 00:44:24,380
Maybe we're serving us.

728
00:44:24,380 --> 00:44:27,760
Because I tell you what, God's going to call us to do things that make us uncomfortable.

729
00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:30,560
God's going to call us to do things we don't want to do.

730
00:44:30,560 --> 00:44:33,280
God's going to call us to change the world.

731
00:44:33,280 --> 00:44:36,840
But carrying the cross, understanding and reverence for God means that we lay down our

732
00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:40,220
agenda so that we can be committed to him.

733
00:44:40,220 --> 00:44:42,480
God is committed to our change.

734
00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:46,400
And so many people, they're afraid of God because they feel that conviction and they

735
00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:50,780
feel like he's going to just punish them and judge them when in reality, conviction brings

736
00:44:50,780 --> 00:44:53,200
about change.

737
00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:57,860
Conviction brings about an awareness that I'm making a mistake, I need to change.

738
00:44:57,860 --> 00:45:02,200
When we get in the presence of God, it changes our entire outlook, our entire direction of

739
00:45:02,200 --> 00:45:04,600
life.

740
00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:10,000
Fearing God makes us say no to temptation, no to sin.

741
00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:11,920
I don't want to mess up our relationship with God.

742
00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:14,480
God's becoming aware of his presence.

743
00:45:14,480 --> 00:45:16,760
It's not enough just to believe in God.

744
00:45:16,760 --> 00:45:18,880
It's not enough just to follow the rules of religion.

745
00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:20,720
That's empty.

746
00:45:20,720 --> 00:45:22,280
There's even more than a relationship.

747
00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:25,480
Because so many people, oh, I'm in a relationship with God.

748
00:45:25,480 --> 00:45:26,480
I love God.

749
00:45:26,480 --> 00:45:28,640
Okay, I understand that, but do you fear him?

750
00:45:28,640 --> 00:45:29,760
For example, think about this.

751
00:45:29,760 --> 00:45:33,600
I know several police officers that attend Hub City Vineyard.

752
00:45:33,600 --> 00:45:35,160
We have several police officers.

753
00:45:35,160 --> 00:45:36,160
Thank you for your service.

754
00:45:36,160 --> 00:45:39,680
Thank you for keeping us safe that attend our community of faith.

755
00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:46,480
I high-five them, I hug them, I encourage them, I pray for them every week because I

756
00:45:46,480 --> 00:45:49,320
know their job is hard.

757
00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:50,320
But isn't it true?

758
00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:54,760
I know them, I have a relationship with them, but isn't it true?

759
00:45:54,760 --> 00:46:02,680
As many of you know, when you drive and you're running late, all the rules go out the window.

760
00:46:02,680 --> 00:46:07,720
As soon as you get in your car and you start driving somewhere and you know you're late,

761
00:46:07,720 --> 00:46:09,840
you're like, okay, I gotta get there quick, I gotta get there quick.

762
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:12,640
I know I can go 10 miles over in the speed limit and not be pulled off.

763
00:46:12,640 --> 00:46:14,560
Okay, so if it's 70, I can go 80.

764
00:46:14,560 --> 00:46:15,960
Well, maybe I can go 85.

765
00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:16,960
It doesn't really matter.

766
00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:20,800
You know, oh, there's a speed camera, a speed camera, a speed camera.

767
00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:21,800
I gotta slow down, slow down.

768
00:46:21,800 --> 00:46:22,800
Oh, there's no school today.

769
00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:23,800
I can speed up.

770
00:46:23,800 --> 00:46:24,800
I can speed up.

771
00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:25,800
I can speed up.

772
00:46:25,800 --> 00:46:26,800
Right?

773
00:46:26,800 --> 00:46:30,720
It doesn't matter that I have a relationship with a police officer.

774
00:46:30,720 --> 00:46:33,320
It doesn't change my behavior when I'm running late.

775
00:46:33,320 --> 00:46:34,320
Right?

776
00:46:34,320 --> 00:46:37,960
I'm running late, I gotta get there.

777
00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:42,040
But everyone knows where I'm going.

778
00:46:42,040 --> 00:46:48,880
But when you're driving down the interstate at 85, 15 over the speed limit, and you're

779
00:46:48,880 --> 00:46:53,360
about a half a mile away and you look up and you see a police car at the bottom of the

780
00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:59,680
mountain, everything changes.

781
00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:00,680
Think about it.

782
00:47:00,680 --> 00:47:02,360
As soon as you see that police car, right?

783
00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:07,120
As soon as you see that police car, you're like, oh, 10 to 2.

784
00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:08,560
10 to 2.

785
00:47:08,560 --> 00:47:12,320
You got kids in the car, you're like, quiet, quiet, quiet.

786
00:47:12,320 --> 00:47:13,320
Get on your screens.

787
00:47:13,320 --> 00:47:14,320
Get on your screens.

788
00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:15,320
Right?

789
00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:18,880
Taylor Swift, turn this crap off.

790
00:47:18,880 --> 00:47:21,880
I need Maverick City.

791
00:47:21,880 --> 00:47:24,280
Come on.

792
00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:33,120
And then you calmly drive by.

793
00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:35,560
And then as soon as you get by them, what do you do?

794
00:47:35,560 --> 00:47:37,360
Are there lights?

795
00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:38,360
Are there lights?

796
00:47:38,360 --> 00:47:39,360
Are there lights?

797
00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:40,360
Oh my gosh.

798
00:47:40,360 --> 00:47:42,000
Oh, he's pulling out.

799
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:43,000
He's pulling out.

800
00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:44,000
Okay.

801
00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:50,960
Oh, Jesus, I love you.

802
00:47:50,960 --> 00:47:52,960
You know what your laughter means?

803
00:47:52,960 --> 00:47:56,520
You do it.

804
00:47:56,520 --> 00:47:57,520
That's all it means.

805
00:47:57,520 --> 00:48:02,680
It means you do the same thing that I do.

806
00:48:02,680 --> 00:48:05,840
And the point is this.

807
00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:07,560
The point is this.

808
00:48:07,560 --> 00:48:13,640
The police offers presence changes our behavior.

809
00:48:13,640 --> 00:48:19,280
And my question to you churches, does the presence of God change your behavior?

810
00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:21,320
Does it change?

811
00:48:21,320 --> 00:48:23,040
Does he change the way you live?

812
00:48:23,040 --> 00:48:25,280
Does he change what you love?

813
00:48:25,280 --> 00:48:26,760
Does he change where you go?

814
00:48:26,760 --> 00:48:28,760
Does he change the words that you use?

815
00:48:28,760 --> 00:48:31,080
Does he change what you watch?

816
00:48:31,080 --> 00:48:37,760
And that's why the fear of God is mentioned over and over and over again.

817
00:48:37,760 --> 00:48:45,000
Because it's living with that fear that it creates an intimacy that makes us change.

818
00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:47,760
God wants to be close to us.

819
00:48:47,760 --> 00:48:49,680
You know, I described for you Exodus chapter 20.

820
00:48:49,680 --> 00:48:51,600
I shared it with you earlier.

821
00:48:51,600 --> 00:48:54,600
Notice Exodus chapter 20 verses 2 and 18 to 20.

822
00:48:54,600 --> 00:48:59,720
I am the Lord your God who rescued you from the land of Egypt, a place of your slavery.

823
00:48:59,720 --> 00:49:03,240
When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram's horn and when they

824
00:49:03,240 --> 00:49:06,800
saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at

825
00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:08,080
a distance trembling in fear.

826
00:49:08,080 --> 00:49:11,720
And please understand, this is when Moses received the Ten Commandments.

827
00:49:11,720 --> 00:49:17,440
God was up on the mountain and God had invited the people to come and meet with him.

828
00:49:17,440 --> 00:49:19,100
But what did they do?

829
00:49:19,100 --> 00:49:26,160
They stood at the base of the mountain trembling in fear because they knew because of the thunder

830
00:49:26,160 --> 00:49:29,080
and the lightning that God was real.

831
00:49:29,080 --> 00:49:33,320
They knew because that mountain was shaking that God was real.

832
00:49:33,320 --> 00:49:35,040
Now notice what Moses says.

833
00:49:35,040 --> 00:49:36,800
That's why he says don't be afraid.

834
00:49:36,800 --> 00:49:38,380
Don't be afraid Moses answered them.

835
00:49:38,380 --> 00:49:42,800
For God has come this way to test you so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning.

836
00:49:42,800 --> 00:49:46,440
Because remember the Israelites, they were going everywhere worshiping stuff because

837
00:49:46,440 --> 00:49:48,400
they didn't think God was for them.

838
00:49:48,400 --> 00:49:52,760
God wanted them to come up the mountain to meet with him but they were so afraid they

839
00:49:52,760 --> 00:49:57,960
couldn't get close to him because they didn't understand what the fear of God was.

840
00:49:57,960 --> 00:50:00,260
They didn't understand what God was trying to do.

841
00:50:00,260 --> 00:50:08,800
So God had to make Moses his mediator to speak to him and give the people the Ten Commandments.

842
00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:12,920
When in reality God didn't want to just speak through one man, he wanted to speak to all

843
00:50:12,920 --> 00:50:14,440
the people.

844
00:50:14,440 --> 00:50:17,040
He wanted to be there for them.

845
00:50:17,040 --> 00:50:23,360
You see when God brings us out of sin, out of hardship, out of struggles, when we meet

846
00:50:23,360 --> 00:50:27,440
Jesus for the first time, he changes our life and he sets us free.

847
00:50:27,440 --> 00:50:31,880
And that's why he told the people in Exodus chapter 20 verse 2, I am the Lord your God

848
00:50:31,880 --> 00:50:35,440
who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

849
00:50:35,440 --> 00:50:40,040
He's saying you don't have to live in bondage anymore, you can be free.

850
00:50:40,040 --> 00:50:43,360
And that's why you fear me.

851
00:50:43,360 --> 00:50:47,140
That's why you follow my commandments.

852
00:50:47,140 --> 00:50:51,040
And Moses did his best to be the best mediator he could to the people but again the people

853
00:50:51,040 --> 00:50:56,760
just constantly wandered away because God didn't want a mediator, he wanted to meet

854
00:50:56,760 --> 00:50:57,760
with us.

855
00:50:57,760 --> 00:51:03,000
And then fast forward to today, God sent his son named Jesus to die on a cross so there's

856
00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:04,480
no longer a mediator.

857
00:51:04,480 --> 00:51:08,720
He took Moses' spot so that now we can go directly and boldly to God.

858
00:51:08,720 --> 00:51:12,720
We read this in Hebrews 4, let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.

859
00:51:12,720 --> 00:51:19,120
There we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

860
00:51:19,120 --> 00:51:20,680
See?

861
00:51:20,680 --> 00:51:22,800
God just wants us to be with him.

862
00:51:22,800 --> 00:51:24,800
God wants us to be close to him.

863
00:51:24,800 --> 00:51:30,520
And when God reveals to us his truths and convicts us of sin, he simply wants us to

864
00:51:30,520 --> 00:51:32,720
respond.

865
00:51:32,720 --> 00:51:35,400
He doesn't want us to become complacent.

866
00:51:35,400 --> 00:51:39,520
He wants us to learn what a holy reverent fear is.

867
00:51:39,520 --> 00:51:46,600
And as we learn and grow in that reverent fear, we will change our lives and the lives

868
00:51:46,600 --> 00:51:49,840
of many others because he's doing the work in us.

869
00:51:49,840 --> 00:51:50,840
Amen?

870
00:51:50,840 --> 00:51:52,240
Which leads us to our action steps.

871
00:51:52,240 --> 00:51:54,280
Four simple steps, growing in godly fear.

872
00:51:54,280 --> 00:51:56,880
And before we get to it, it's so cool, I'm wearing a shirt.

873
00:51:56,880 --> 00:51:57,880
I found this shirt.

874
00:51:57,880 --> 00:52:01,800
Isn't this a cool lion shirt?

875
00:52:01,800 --> 00:52:05,420
And it's got a cool R on it and I'm telling you it means reverence.

876
00:52:05,420 --> 00:52:08,680
Even though it means something else, it means reverence.

877
00:52:08,680 --> 00:52:14,520
But the name of this shirt, the reason I ordered this shirt is because it's called Be the Lion.

878
00:52:14,520 --> 00:52:15,520
Okay?

879
00:52:15,520 --> 00:52:20,360
So it's actually a workout shirt and it challenges you to be the lion in your workouts.

880
00:52:20,360 --> 00:52:21,360
Right?

881
00:52:21,360 --> 00:52:22,360
You be the lion.

882
00:52:22,360 --> 00:52:23,360
You overcome.

883
00:52:23,360 --> 00:52:24,920
You do it on your own.

884
00:52:24,920 --> 00:52:25,920
You are good enough.

885
00:52:25,920 --> 00:52:27,680
But I want to tell you this.

886
00:52:27,680 --> 00:52:31,920
Don't try to be the lion because we're never going to be the lion.

887
00:52:31,920 --> 00:52:36,880
What I want you to do daily is to release the lion.

888
00:52:36,880 --> 00:52:41,120
Because when we release the lion, that's releasing the spirit to do whatever it wants inside

889
00:52:41,120 --> 00:52:42,120
of us.

890
00:52:42,120 --> 00:52:44,280
So it changes us and it changes the world.

891
00:52:44,280 --> 00:52:47,360
So four simple steps in developing a godly fear.

892
00:52:47,360 --> 00:52:50,040
Number one, we got to draw close.

893
00:52:50,040 --> 00:52:51,040
Draw close.

894
00:52:51,040 --> 00:52:52,440
I love James 4, 7 through 8.

895
00:52:52,440 --> 00:52:53,880
So humble yourselves before God.

896
00:52:53,880 --> 00:52:55,860
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

897
00:52:55,860 --> 00:53:00,080
So those of you who are struggling with temptation or sin or doubt, all you have to do is humble

898
00:53:00,080 --> 00:53:01,240
yourselves before God.

899
00:53:01,240 --> 00:53:02,440
Come close to God.

900
00:53:02,440 --> 00:53:04,240
And what will God do for us?

901
00:53:04,240 --> 00:53:06,840
He will come close to us.

902
00:53:06,840 --> 00:53:08,320
Wash your hands, you sinners.

903
00:53:08,320 --> 00:53:12,120
Purify your hearts for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

904
00:53:12,120 --> 00:53:16,360
So when we draw close to God, God reveals to us those areas of our lives that are not

905
00:53:16,360 --> 00:53:17,360
living up.

906
00:53:17,360 --> 00:53:20,280
And it empowers us to be the people he's calling us to be.

907
00:53:20,280 --> 00:53:21,920
I love what John Bevere says.

908
00:53:21,920 --> 00:53:23,360
I didn't say this.

909
00:53:23,360 --> 00:53:24,360
This is author John Bevere.

910
00:53:24,360 --> 00:53:25,360
He says it this way.

911
00:53:25,360 --> 00:53:28,960
The fear of God means that I'm afraid to be away from his presence.

912
00:53:28,960 --> 00:53:32,020
Can I read that again?

913
00:53:32,020 --> 00:53:38,080
The fear of God means that I'm afraid to be away from his presence.

914
00:53:38,080 --> 00:53:42,360
The fear of God is not running away from him.

915
00:53:42,360 --> 00:53:45,440
It's not being afraid of him.

916
00:53:45,440 --> 00:53:49,520
Because when we run away from him and we're afraid of him, it breaks our connection with

917
00:53:49,520 --> 00:53:50,520
him.

918
00:53:50,520 --> 00:53:56,040
But when we live with a reverence, a respect, and a love, it transcends all human understanding

919
00:53:56,040 --> 00:53:58,800
because that's when he fills us with his presence.

920
00:53:58,800 --> 00:53:59,880
Which leads us to our next step.

921
00:53:59,880 --> 00:54:02,640
We come close and then we read and apply.

922
00:54:02,640 --> 00:54:03,640
Read and apply.

923
00:54:03,640 --> 00:54:05,320
Look at Psalm 112, verse 1 through 4.

924
00:54:05,320 --> 00:54:10,320
Praise the Lord, how joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands.

925
00:54:10,320 --> 00:54:12,400
Their children will be successful everywhere.

926
00:54:12,400 --> 00:54:15,280
An entire generation of godly people will be blessed.

927
00:54:15,280 --> 00:54:19,360
They themselves will be wealthy and their good deeds will last forever.

928
00:54:19,360 --> 00:54:21,600
Light shines in the darkness for the godly.

929
00:54:21,600 --> 00:54:24,080
They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.

930
00:54:24,080 --> 00:54:27,160
Now by a show of hands, I want all of you to participate please.

931
00:54:27,160 --> 00:54:28,420
Okay.

932
00:54:28,420 --> 00:54:32,720
How many of you, show of hands, please.

933
00:54:32,720 --> 00:54:37,520
How many of you want your children, grandchildren, and family to be blessed?

934
00:54:37,520 --> 00:54:39,520
How many?

935
00:54:39,520 --> 00:54:42,120
I think everybody's hand should be up, right?

936
00:54:42,120 --> 00:54:44,000
Because so many people, they want the favor of God.

937
00:54:44,000 --> 00:54:46,560
They want to be blessed by God.

938
00:54:46,560 --> 00:54:49,240
And God tells us that we will be blessed.

939
00:54:49,240 --> 00:54:55,280
How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands.

940
00:54:55,280 --> 00:54:59,000
We simply, our families will be blessed when we walk in the fear of God.

941
00:54:59,000 --> 00:55:02,200
For example, for example, let me tell you this story about our family.

942
00:55:02,200 --> 00:55:05,840
So many of you know my daughter Trinity is a softball player.

943
00:55:05,840 --> 00:55:07,840
I've told stories about her before.

944
00:55:07,840 --> 00:55:09,920
She played at the University of Maryland for four years.

945
00:55:09,920 --> 00:55:12,800
She got a fifth year, went down to FAU this past season.

946
00:55:12,800 --> 00:55:15,960
Okay, and played at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

947
00:55:15,960 --> 00:55:17,760
She's living the real hard life, you know.

948
00:55:17,760 --> 00:55:19,480
Goes to the beach every day.

949
00:55:19,480 --> 00:55:20,480
It's beautiful.

950
00:55:20,480 --> 00:55:22,640
But anyway, while she was there, right?

951
00:55:22,640 --> 00:55:29,320
While she was there, she led the team in wins, led the team in home runs and RBI's, okay?

952
00:55:29,320 --> 00:55:36,200
And was a part of leading her team to a, won the championship in her conference and then

953
00:55:36,200 --> 00:55:39,240
qualified for a regional at Gainesville in Florida.

954
00:55:39,240 --> 00:55:41,760
Many of you know I went down and saw her play at Gainesville.

955
00:55:41,760 --> 00:55:44,280
It was almost like the culmination of success for her.

956
00:55:44,280 --> 00:55:46,200
It was a goal for her to make a regional cut.

957
00:55:46,200 --> 00:55:49,120
I mean, they didn't win at the regional, but it's okay.

958
00:55:49,120 --> 00:55:50,680
They played in it, right?

959
00:55:50,680 --> 00:55:51,880
So she played in it.

960
00:55:51,880 --> 00:55:52,880
She felt good about it.

961
00:55:52,880 --> 00:55:53,880
They lost.

962
00:55:53,880 --> 00:55:54,880
She went home.

963
00:55:54,880 --> 00:55:58,560
Well, the Wednesday after, after playing in the regional tournament, she was named an

964
00:55:58,560 --> 00:56:01,040
All-American this year, okay?

965
00:56:01,040 --> 00:56:03,000
So Trinity, she reached another goal.

966
00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:04,920
Yeah, it's a great success.

967
00:56:04,920 --> 00:56:08,600
Trinity reached another goal in her life where she became an All-American at the end of the

968
00:56:08,600 --> 00:56:09,600
season.

969
00:56:09,600 --> 00:56:12,640
So all of her hard work paid off by being acknowledged as an All-American.

970
00:56:12,640 --> 00:56:15,420
Now she came home for a couple days, okay?

971
00:56:15,420 --> 00:56:17,560
We thought she was going to be here like three weeks.

972
00:56:17,560 --> 00:56:22,120
And then all of a sudden she got a phone call last Wednesday while she was here with us.

973
00:56:22,120 --> 00:56:25,160
And on the other end, she got a phone call from Texas, right?

974
00:56:25,160 --> 00:56:29,200
And she was talking to the coach that was on the other end.

975
00:56:29,200 --> 00:56:32,800
And we quickly learned that it was coach of a professional softball team.

976
00:56:32,800 --> 00:56:35,800
Trinity now is on her way to Austin, Texas.

977
00:56:35,800 --> 00:56:41,560
And she just signed a professional contract to play with the Texas Monarchs.

978
00:56:41,560 --> 00:56:49,000
Now, you know, we clap and we say, hey, that's awesome.

979
00:56:49,000 --> 00:56:50,000
Great job.

980
00:56:50,000 --> 00:56:58,880
But I firmly believe the only reason she got that contract is because she loves Jesus.

981
00:56:58,880 --> 00:57:03,600
I firmly believe that this is simply God's blessing coming down through our family.

982
00:57:03,600 --> 00:57:07,240
And it's not just her, it's all of our kids.

983
00:57:07,240 --> 00:57:13,960
All of our kids are blessed beyond measure because we live, her mom and I live in a holy

984
00:57:13,960 --> 00:57:15,680
fear and reverence of God.

985
00:57:15,680 --> 00:57:17,920
And when you do that, it changes you.

986
00:57:17,920 --> 00:57:21,680
So if you want your family to be blessed, allow God to change you.

987
00:57:21,680 --> 00:57:22,680
How do you do that?

988
00:57:22,680 --> 00:57:23,680
James 1 22.

989
00:57:23,680 --> 00:57:25,160
Don't just listen to God's word.

990
00:57:25,160 --> 00:57:26,160
Do what it says.

991
00:57:26,160 --> 00:57:29,240
Otherwise, you're only fooling yourselves.

992
00:57:29,240 --> 00:57:30,520
Do it.

993
00:57:30,520 --> 00:57:31,520
Live by the Bible.

994
00:57:31,520 --> 00:57:33,560
And you say, well, Chris, does it really work?

995
00:57:33,560 --> 00:57:36,460
Okay, listen, remember what I said, read and apply, right?

996
00:57:36,460 --> 00:57:37,460
Read and apply.

997
00:57:37,460 --> 00:57:38,460
No, I'm going a little long.

998
00:57:38,460 --> 00:57:39,840
Just stay with me for three more minutes.

999
00:57:39,840 --> 00:57:42,320
Testimony, I just received this past Tuesday.

1000
00:57:42,320 --> 00:57:44,640
Hey, Chris, it's Greg Farmer.

1001
00:57:44,640 --> 00:57:48,040
I wanted to say thank you for the past few series that you have given.

1002
00:57:48,040 --> 00:57:50,720
I've been struggling with diabetes for 20 years.

1003
00:57:50,720 --> 00:57:53,280
I followed the message on eating better.

1004
00:57:53,280 --> 00:57:57,360
Even though I can't walk right now with a broken foot, in three weeks, I've managed to

1005
00:57:57,360 --> 00:57:59,640
lose 25 pounds.

1006
00:57:59,640 --> 00:58:03,120
My diet and the way I was living before was shakeable.

1007
00:58:03,120 --> 00:58:06,520
God had to wake me up and cancel my plans to save my life.

1008
00:58:06,520 --> 00:58:13,560
I've also lowered my glucose levels to 6.3, which is also real close to being normal.

1009
00:58:13,560 --> 00:58:16,000
In other words, he's no longer diabetic.

1010
00:58:16,000 --> 00:58:17,040
Okay?

1011
00:58:17,040 --> 00:58:20,640
I can only pray that God sees me changing and heals me.

1012
00:58:20,640 --> 00:58:22,640
Please know that I hear you on Sunday mornings.

1013
00:58:22,640 --> 00:58:26,440
I apply it and I appreciate you.

1014
00:58:26,440 --> 00:58:28,660
So what's my point?

1015
00:58:28,660 --> 00:58:30,120
This is the point.

1016
00:58:30,120 --> 00:58:34,280
What I share with you on Sunday mornings is not my ideas.

1017
00:58:34,280 --> 00:58:35,880
It's not Chris being successful.

1018
00:58:35,880 --> 00:58:37,600
Oh, Chris is so good.

1019
00:58:37,600 --> 00:58:39,680
Chris, it's not me.

1020
00:58:39,680 --> 00:58:41,160
It's God in me.

1021
00:58:41,160 --> 00:58:43,660
And God uses me to challenge you.

1022
00:58:43,660 --> 00:58:48,900
My challenge to you is read it and apply it, and your life will be changed, even if it

1023
00:58:48,900 --> 00:58:51,760
means changing your diet so you're no longer a diabetic.

1024
00:58:51,760 --> 00:58:56,720
Last time I checked, that's a pretty big deal, which leads us to our third step.

1025
00:58:56,720 --> 00:58:58,680
Cultivate an awareness of his presence.

1026
00:58:58,680 --> 00:59:00,360
Psalm 139.

1027
00:59:00,360 --> 00:59:02,880
I can never escape from your spirit.

1028
00:59:02,880 --> 00:59:05,360
I can never get away from your presence.

1029
00:59:05,360 --> 00:59:06,640
Now think about Adam and Eve.

1030
00:59:06,640 --> 00:59:07,760
What did Adam and Eve do?

1031
00:59:07,760 --> 00:59:08,760
Right?

1032
00:59:08,760 --> 00:59:09,760
They ate the apple.

1033
00:59:09,760 --> 00:59:10,760
Sin entered the world.

1034
00:59:10,760 --> 00:59:14,560
And they're like, ah!

1035
00:59:14,560 --> 00:59:17,560
They were what?

1036
00:59:17,560 --> 00:59:21,640
Fearful.

1037
00:59:21,640 --> 00:59:25,200
I can never escape from your spirit.

1038
00:59:25,200 --> 00:59:28,560
I can never get away from your presence.

1039
00:59:28,560 --> 00:59:29,560
Touch me, oh God.

1040
00:59:29,560 --> 00:59:30,560
Know my heart.

1041
00:59:30,560 --> 00:59:31,560
Test me and know my anxious thoughts.

1042
00:59:31,560 --> 00:59:36,000
Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

1043
00:59:36,000 --> 00:59:42,200
God's presence is here.

1044
00:59:42,200 --> 00:59:44,640
Will you get close?

1045
00:59:44,640 --> 00:59:47,420
Will you allow him to change you?

1046
00:59:47,420 --> 00:59:52,040
Will you cultivate an awareness of his presence that releases you from the bondage of fear,

1047
00:59:52,040 --> 00:59:55,120
doubt, frustration, and negativity, which leads us to our final step.

1048
00:59:55,120 --> 00:59:58,120
If you're going to do all that, you've got to learn to walk in forgiveness.

1049
00:59:58,120 --> 00:59:59,880
Ezekiel chapter 36.

1050
00:59:59,880 --> 01:00:01,280
I will give you a new heart.

1051
01:00:01,280 --> 01:00:02,920
I will put a new spirit in you.

1052
01:00:02,920 --> 01:00:07,520
I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

1053
01:00:07,520 --> 01:00:12,720
And I'll put my spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to follow

1054
01:00:12,720 --> 01:00:13,720
my regulations.

1055
01:00:13,720 --> 01:00:15,480
And see, here's the reality.

1056
01:00:15,480 --> 01:00:17,040
He fills us with his spirit.

1057
01:00:17,040 --> 01:00:19,860
When he fills us with his spirit, we experience conviction.

1058
01:00:19,860 --> 01:00:22,100
We know we made a choice that's wrong.

1059
01:00:22,100 --> 01:00:26,840
When it doesn't line up with what it says in the Bible, say, God, forgive me, change,

1060
01:00:26,840 --> 01:00:28,920
and run towards him.

1061
01:00:28,920 --> 01:00:29,920
That's called repentance.

1062
01:00:29,920 --> 01:00:32,800
See, when we run towards God, that's repentance.

1063
01:00:32,800 --> 01:00:35,760
When we run away from God, that's living in sin.

1064
01:00:35,760 --> 01:00:37,440
That's the difference, right?

1065
01:00:37,440 --> 01:00:38,980
There's not a good or bad word.

1066
01:00:38,980 --> 01:00:43,120
The question this morning is, how do you respond with your feet?

1067
01:00:43,120 --> 01:00:46,280
Do your feet point you to running towards him?

1068
01:00:46,280 --> 01:00:48,960
We run towards him by saying, God, forgive me.

1069
01:00:48,960 --> 01:00:52,800
And there's some of you in here that have lost your connection with God because of your

1070
01:00:52,800 --> 01:00:56,560
unforgiveness with others or maybe even yourself.

1071
01:00:56,560 --> 01:00:59,840
And God is inviting you back into his grace.

1072
01:00:59,840 --> 01:01:00,880
Matthew 6.

1073
01:01:00,880 --> 01:01:05,080
If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

1074
01:01:05,080 --> 01:01:31,720
But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive you.

1075
01:01:31,720 --> 01:01:35,640
Amen.