WEBVTT 00:00:09.559 --> 00:00:12.660 We are so glad you're here. Whether you're listening 00:00:12.660 --> 00:00:15.439 on your morning commute. at the gym, or relaxing 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:18.079 with a cup of coffee. Thanks for spending part 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:20.980 of your day with us. If today's message encourages 00:00:20.980 --> 00:00:23.559 you and you'd like to get connected with everything 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:26.539 happening at Hub City Vineyard, head over to 00:00:26.539 --> 00:00:30.699 htv .church slash connect. We'd love to meet 00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:33.420 you and help you find your place here. Want to 00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:35.840 know what's coming up? discover ways to serve, 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:38.939 or stay in the loop on upcoming events, check 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:43.179 out hcv .church slash what's up for everything 00:00:43.179 --> 00:00:47.039 happening around HCV. Now turn it up, lean in, 00:00:47.140 --> 00:00:49.200 and get ready for what God has for you today. 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:52.280 We hope this message encourages you, challenges 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:54.619 you, and reminds you that you are deeply loved. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:58.560 Now, let's hear the message. I thank you for 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:00.219 each and every person here, Lord, and I ask that 00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:02.500 they would leave change today. In Jesus' name 00:01:02.500 --> 00:01:06.040 we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, good morning, everyone. 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:10.379 Hey, how are we doing today? All right, do me 00:01:10.379 --> 00:01:12.500 a favor. High five your neighbor and say, I love 00:01:12.500 --> 00:01:16.099 Jesus. If you're joining us from home, I love 00:01:16.099 --> 00:01:19.959 you. Thank you for welcoming us into your space. 00:01:22.219 --> 00:01:24.680 All right, listen, I do want to highlight, you 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:27.579 heard my wife Jessica talk about the tie -dye 00:01:27.579 --> 00:01:30.299 run in Ruck. It is coming up in a couple weeks, 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:33.549 but I have some bad news. Can I share bad news 00:01:33.549 --> 00:01:37.950 with you? Well, I'm going to anyway. We only 00:01:37.950 --> 00:01:42.549 have 39 runners currently signed up, okay? Last 00:01:42.549 --> 00:01:45.909 year, we had 140 runners. The year before, we 00:01:45.909 --> 00:01:49.750 had almost 180 runners. So let me remind you, 00:01:49.849 --> 00:01:54.329 okay? All this, the reason we're doing this run 00:01:54.329 --> 00:01:58.090 is for Micah's Backpack. We serve over 100 children 00:01:58.090 --> 00:02:01.879 every single week food. through the public education 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:05.159 system, and provide them meals for the weekend 00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:08.520 when they go home. So all the money from this 00:02:08.520 --> 00:02:10.759 run and ruck, from the race that we're doing, 00:02:10.780 --> 00:02:13.520 and the harvest party, or whatever they're calling 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:16.580 it afterwards, is all going to the kids. It's 00:02:16.580 --> 00:02:19.060 all going to Micah's backpack. So if you haven't 00:02:19.060 --> 00:02:21.900 signed up to run, sign up. If you haven't signed 00:02:21.900 --> 00:02:25.759 up to walk, sign up. If you want to really compete, 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:28.479 sign up. Or you know someone that runs, invite 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:31.379 them to come and participate in the event. And 00:02:31.379 --> 00:02:34.699 we also need many, many volunteers. So please 00:02:34.699 --> 00:02:37.340 stop by the Welcome Hub, grab some flyers, sign 00:02:37.340 --> 00:02:41.370 up to run, be a part of that. Listen, we are 00:02:41.370 --> 00:02:44.030 changing lives through Micah's backpack. I mean, 00:02:44.050 --> 00:02:46.909 Steve, go talk to Steve. Steve delivers all the 00:02:46.909 --> 00:02:48.870 meals to the different elementary schools. And 00:02:48.870 --> 00:02:52.129 he literally knows children by name. They run 00:02:52.129 --> 00:02:54.069 up and they say, oh, Mr. Steve, thank you so 00:02:54.069 --> 00:02:56.689 much for giving us food and allowing us to eat 00:02:56.689 --> 00:03:00.930 for the weekend. And that is real. And the reason 00:03:00.930 --> 00:03:03.909 we're doing the run is to support that food so 00:03:03.909 --> 00:03:08.110 it can continue to happen. Amen? All right. So 00:03:08.110 --> 00:03:13.340 have you ever noticed? How easy it is to take 00:03:13.340 --> 00:03:18.639 credit for things when life is going well. Right? 00:03:18.680 --> 00:03:22.039 When the business is successful, yeah, I worked 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:24.919 hard for this. When the family's doing well, 00:03:25.219 --> 00:03:28.419 I must be doing something right. Right? When 00:03:28.419 --> 00:03:31.400 we reach a goal, overcome an obstacle, when we 00:03:31.400 --> 00:03:34.300 accomplish something significant, we naturally 00:03:34.300 --> 00:03:36.719 want to celebrate. And listen, there's nothing 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:39.710 wrong with celebrating. what God has allowed 00:03:39.710 --> 00:03:44.310 us to accomplish. But there is a danger when 00:03:44.310 --> 00:03:46.569 we begin to celebrate what God has done without 00:03:46.569 --> 00:03:50.069 remembering who made it possible. See, pride, 00:03:50.270 --> 00:03:55.030 pride has a way of shifting our focus off of 00:03:55.030 --> 00:03:59.770 God and putting it on ourselves. It turns, look 00:03:59.770 --> 00:04:02.770 what God has done into look what I have accomplished. 00:04:03.389 --> 00:04:07.150 And the problem with pride is that it rarely 00:04:07.150 --> 00:04:11.110 announces itself. See, pride doesn't always look 00:04:11.110 --> 00:04:14.469 like arrogance, as most people think. Sometimes 00:04:14.469 --> 00:04:23.069 it's self -sufficiency. Sometimes it sounds like 00:04:23.069 --> 00:04:29.430 I don't need anyone's help. Sometimes it comes 00:04:29.430 --> 00:04:32.709 down to just forgetting to thank God for a meal 00:04:32.709 --> 00:04:35.870 that he provided for us. See, we are currently 00:04:35.870 --> 00:04:38.529 in a series called Chameleon, choosing conviction 00:04:38.529 --> 00:04:42.329 over conformity, a journey through the book of 00:04:42.329 --> 00:04:45.430 Daniel. And these events that we've been discussing 00:04:45.430 --> 00:04:47.930 in this book took place about 600 years before 00:04:47.930 --> 00:04:51.490 the life of Jesus. And the major theme that is 00:04:51.490 --> 00:04:53.689 weaved throughout the book is that there are 00:04:53.689 --> 00:04:58.470 two competing kingdoms, the kingdom of God and 00:04:58.470 --> 00:05:01.990 the kingdom of darkness. We learned in week one 00:05:01.990 --> 00:05:05.009 that Israel was conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar 00:05:05.009 --> 00:05:07.949 of Babylon. He destroyed the city, the temple, 00:05:08.050 --> 00:05:10.769 the land, and he took all the influential leaders 00:05:10.769 --> 00:05:13.389 back to Babylon as captives, where they would 00:05:13.389 --> 00:05:16.750 be brainwashed into Babylonian culture, and they 00:05:16.750 --> 00:05:19.269 would become leaders for the king and his kingdom. 00:05:20.170 --> 00:05:23.110 Daniel, of course, was one of those influential 00:05:23.110 --> 00:05:26.069 young people, and through a number of different 00:05:26.069 --> 00:05:28.870 circumstances, he proved to the king that he 00:05:28.870 --> 00:05:32.579 was a natural leader. He had integrity and courage, 00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:36.060 and he had this spiritual gift of hearing from 00:05:36.060 --> 00:05:39.500 God, interpreting dreams, and foretelling the 00:05:39.500 --> 00:05:42.899 future. Daniel was actually elevated the second 00:05:42.899 --> 00:05:45.500 in command in the entire empire, and through 00:05:45.500 --> 00:05:48.459 this process, Daniel begins to build this deep 00:05:48.459 --> 00:05:52.480 friendship with the king. So much so, that King 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:54.920 Nebuchadnezzar began to find a reverence and 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:58.360 respect for his God, for the God that we follow 00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:01.910 today. Now, when we first met Daniel, he was 00:06:01.910 --> 00:06:06.509 a teenager being taken into captivity. Fast forward 00:06:06.509 --> 00:06:09.970 to today's discussion, and Daniel is now 50 years 00:06:09.970 --> 00:06:12.949 old. And once again, he's needed by the king. 00:06:13.129 --> 00:06:16.149 And this is a reminder that this is kind of how 00:06:16.149 --> 00:06:20.149 life works. Right? This book is a picture of 00:06:20.149 --> 00:06:25.290 Daniel's life. And this book spans many, many 00:06:25.290 --> 00:06:29.680 years. And the reality is the miraculous doesn't 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:32.519 always happen in our life. There are going to 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:35.839 be days when you go to work and you serve at 00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:37.980 work and you come home and you take care of your 00:06:37.980 --> 00:06:40.459 children and you serve your children and you 00:06:40.459 --> 00:06:43.300 go to bed at night exhausted and you thank God 00:06:43.300 --> 00:06:45.699 for that day and you thank God for his blessings 00:06:45.699 --> 00:06:49.439 and that may be all that happened. And that's 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:52.360 okay. Because you know why? God is still working 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:56.649 in your life. Just because miracles aren't happening 00:06:56.649 --> 00:07:00.370 doesn't mean God isn't around. And we learn that 00:07:00.370 --> 00:07:04.529 in the life of Daniel. Remember, King Nebuchadnezzar 00:07:04.529 --> 00:07:06.829 had everything the world could offer. He had 00:07:06.829 --> 00:07:10.769 power, wealth, influence, and a kingdom that 00:07:10.769 --> 00:07:14.050 seemed unstoppable. But see, somewhere along 00:07:14.050 --> 00:07:15.990 the way, he began to confuse the blessings of 00:07:15.990 --> 00:07:20.509 God with the greatness of himself. Listen to 00:07:20.509 --> 00:07:22.910 how he describes his kingdom in Daniel chapter 00:07:22.910 --> 00:07:25.709 430. As he looked out across the city, he said, 00:07:25.769 --> 00:07:29.170 Look at this great city of Babylon. By my own 00:07:29.170 --> 00:07:31.389 mighty power, I have built this beautiful city 00:07:31.389 --> 00:07:34.529 as my royal residence to display my majestic 00:07:34.529 --> 00:07:38.189 splendor. Did everyone hear that? I have built 00:07:38.189 --> 00:07:42.670 it. It was my power. It was my glory. See, Nebuchadnezzar 00:07:42.670 --> 00:07:45.689 had become so impressed with himself that he 00:07:45.689 --> 00:07:47.769 had forgotten the God who had allowed him to 00:07:47.769 --> 00:07:51.410 rise to power. We're going to learn today that 00:07:51.410 --> 00:07:53.310 God's about to remind him of something every 00:07:53.310 --> 00:07:56.490 one of us needs to remember. When pride takes 00:07:56.490 --> 00:08:03.370 the throne, when pride is in our life, then praise 00:08:03.370 --> 00:08:07.069 takes a back seat. But see, God never intended 00:08:07.069 --> 00:08:10.350 for us to live consumed with ourselves. He created 00:08:10.350 --> 00:08:13.050 us to be in relationship with him, to celebrate 00:08:13.050 --> 00:08:15.470 his faithfulness and his goodness, and to give 00:08:15.470 --> 00:08:20.220 him glory, which he deserves. See, Nebuchadnezzar's 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:22.639 story isn't just about a proud king who needed 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:26.259 to be humbled. It's all of our stories. It's 00:08:26.259 --> 00:08:29.060 about what happens when we forget who is really 00:08:29.060 --> 00:08:32.440 in control and how God lovingly brings us back 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:36.519 to a place where our lives will bring him the 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:40.179 glory, which leads us to our first thought. See, 00:08:40.259 --> 00:08:43.960 God doesn't give up on people. He pursues them. 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:47.139 God doesn't give up on people. He pursues them. 00:08:47.259 --> 00:08:50.840 And when you look back through King Nebuchadnezzar's 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:53.320 spiritual journey, through the first four chapters 00:08:53.320 --> 00:08:56.639 of the book of Daniel, right, God has been revealing 00:08:56.639 --> 00:08:59.860 himself to the king. He's heard the testimonies. 00:08:59.860 --> 00:09:03.639 He's seen the fruit of following God. He's had 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:06.820 dreams. He's had interpretations. He's even acknowledged 00:09:06.820 --> 00:09:11.289 that Daniel's God is above every other God. And 00:09:11.289 --> 00:09:13.289 this first section of the book covers nearly 00:09:13.289 --> 00:09:17.509 30 or 40 years. God has been pursuing this man 00:09:17.509 --> 00:09:23.450 for over 30 years. Aren't we glad that God pursues 00:09:23.450 --> 00:09:28.950 us? See, God is pursuing you. He's pursuing me. 00:09:29.509 --> 00:09:32.190 And why does he do this? Because he loves us. 00:09:32.789 --> 00:09:35.850 See, God sees where our choices are taking us. 00:09:36.009 --> 00:09:40.350 He sees the pride we don't see. He sees the compromises 00:09:40.350 --> 00:09:43.190 we've justified, the wounds that we carry through 00:09:43.190 --> 00:09:45.769 our life and the direction our lives are heading. 00:09:46.190 --> 00:09:50.009 And because he loves us, he refuses to simply 00:09:50.009 --> 00:09:54.330 stand by and watch us destroy ourselves. God 00:09:54.330 --> 00:09:56.210 doesn't pursue us because he needs something 00:09:56.210 --> 00:09:59.330 from us. He pursues us because he knows we need 00:09:59.330 --> 00:10:02.559 him. See, church, he didn't want us to spend 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:05.539 our lives chasing after success or possessions 00:10:05.539 --> 00:10:08.460 or recognition or relationships or temporary 00:10:08.460 --> 00:10:11.600 pleasures, only to discover that we've gained 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:14.919 the whole world and are still completely empty. 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:19.179 He created you, he created me for so much more. 00:10:19.860 --> 00:10:22.639 He created us to know him, to walk with him, 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:25.779 and to experience the life that he intended for 00:10:25.779 --> 00:10:30.580 us. And sometimes God's pursuit is a wake -up 00:10:30.580 --> 00:10:35.179 call. Look at Daniel 4, 13 to 14. Then I, as 00:10:35.179 --> 00:10:37.399 I lay there dreaming, I saw a messenger, a holy 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:40.080 one, coming down from heaven. The messenger shouted, 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:43.200 cut down the tree and lop off its branches. Shake 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:45.159 off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Chase the 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:47.399 wild animals from its shade and the birds from 00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:50.980 its branches. See, in his dream, King Nebuchadnezzar 00:10:50.980 --> 00:10:53.399 quickly learned, through Daniel's interpretation 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:56.299 of this dream, that he may have been king of 00:10:56.299 --> 00:10:59.320 this land. of the territory which he controlled, 00:10:59.580 --> 00:11:03.340 but God is king of the world. And God was revealing 00:11:03.340 --> 00:11:06.580 to Nebuchadnezzar what was about to happen to 00:11:06.580 --> 00:11:10.919 him. And church, I am so grateful that God never 00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:16.259 gives up on us. He never gives up on us. And 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:18.820 for more than 30 years, God has been pursuing 00:11:18.820 --> 00:11:21.879 this king. And think about it. Through all of 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:24.919 his pride, his arrogance, his sin, his negativity, 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:28.240 all the evil and all the people that were murdered 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:31.980 and killed, God desired for him to experience 00:11:31.980 --> 00:11:36.220 abundant life. And I want you all to hear this. 00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:40.279 There's nothing we can do to keep God from pursuing 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:43.980 us. There's no sin too great. And I've heard 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:46.240 it so often. Oh, I messed up again. I did this, 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:48.559 Chris. I did that. So what? Repent and go back 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:53.480 to God. Because he's pursuing you. There's no 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:56.440 valley too low that would discourage God from 00:11:56.440 --> 00:12:00.120 loving on us or pursuing us. And how do I know 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:02.860 that? Well, Jeremiah 31 .3 tells us this. Long 00:12:02.860 --> 00:12:06.360 ago, the Lord said to Israel. Now, please understand, 00:12:06.500 --> 00:12:09.279 that's Old Testament. And Israel was God's chosen 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:13.059 people. Fast forward to today. If you're in a 00:12:13.059 --> 00:12:15.700 relationship with Jesus, you are God's chosen 00:12:15.700 --> 00:12:19.639 people. I have loved you. My people, with an 00:12:19.639 --> 00:12:22.200 everlasting love, with unfailing love, I have 00:12:22.200 --> 00:12:25.779 drawn you to myself. See, from the moment you 00:12:25.779 --> 00:12:29.019 were born, God has been pursuing your heart because 00:12:29.019 --> 00:12:31.659 his greatest desire is for you and me to be in 00:12:31.659 --> 00:12:34.360 relationship with him. And not only does God 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:37.639 pursue us, but he's patient with us as well. 00:12:38.919 --> 00:12:41.340 I mean, Nebuchadnezzar proclaimed in the opening, 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:46.320 look at this great city. It's my power. It's 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:49.950 my city. It's where I live. It's my majestic 00:12:49.950 --> 00:12:54.210 splendor. Right? In his arrogance, the king believed 00:12:54.210 --> 00:12:58.029 it was him who achieved all the success. And 00:12:58.029 --> 00:13:00.169 see, that is when God said, enough is enough. 00:13:00.370 --> 00:13:05.409 It is time for you to be humbled. And the crazy 00:13:05.409 --> 00:13:09.710 thing is, from the time he had his dream to the 00:13:09.710 --> 00:13:12.350 interpretation of the dream from Daniel to the 00:13:12.350 --> 00:13:14.210 point that he was humbled by God, it was another 00:13:14.210 --> 00:13:19.379 year. It's another year, an entire year. And 00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:21.460 again, God is trying to show us that he's patient 00:13:21.460 --> 00:13:24.759 with us. And he desires all of humanity to come 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:27.639 into a loving relationship with him. Look at 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:31.600 2 Peter 3, 9. The Lord isn't really being slow 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:34.299 about his promise, as some people think. No, 00:13:34.419 --> 00:13:37.539 he's being patient for your sake. He does not 00:13:37.539 --> 00:13:39.820 want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:45.340 to repent. God is pursuing us. Which leads us 00:13:45.340 --> 00:13:49.940 to our next thought. God humbles the proud. See, 00:13:50.019 --> 00:13:53.700 pride is humanity's biggest obstacle. I don't 00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:56.559 need God. That's for weak people. I don't need 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:00.799 God. I'm doing just fine without him. And I always 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:03.639 hear that in that confidence being spoken. That 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:07.080 is, until there's a crisis or a struggle comes 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:11.700 our way or temptation overtakes us. I mean, here's 00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:16.340 the reality. 98 % of all sin issues in our life 00:14:16.340 --> 00:14:20.940 is connected to some aspect of pride. And how 00:14:20.940 --> 00:14:22.820 do I know that? Well, the first sin ever recorded 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:26.700 in the Bible was pride. Satan rebelled against 00:14:26.700 --> 00:14:28.759 God and allowed pride to fill his heart thinking 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:33.220 he was as good as God. So let me remind you, 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:38.830 pride is destructive. Look at Daniel chapter 00:14:38.830 --> 00:14:42.649 4 verse 4 and 29 to 31. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was 00:14:42.649 --> 00:14:44.610 living in my palace in comfort and prosperity. 00:14:44.850 --> 00:14:47.090 I want to pause there just for a second. That's 00:14:47.090 --> 00:14:51.950 us. In our culture, we tend to live in comfort 00:14:51.950 --> 00:14:55.009 and prosperity. We're the wealthiest nation in 00:14:55.009 --> 00:14:58.929 the world. And notice what happens. Twelve months 00:14:58.929 --> 00:15:01.490 later, he was taking a walk on the flat roof 00:15:01.490 --> 00:15:03.789 of the royal palace in Babylon. And that's when 00:15:03.789 --> 00:15:08.110 he made that statement. It's all about me. And 00:15:08.110 --> 00:15:09.990 I want to challenge you, guard against becoming 00:15:09.990 --> 00:15:13.610 comfortable. Because the second we become comfortable 00:15:13.610 --> 00:15:17.590 in who we think we are, is the second that pride 00:15:17.590 --> 00:15:19.889 can enter into us and pull us away from God. 00:15:20.750 --> 00:15:23.909 And we can say things, by my own mighty power, 00:15:24.110 --> 00:15:26.730 I have built this city. I have built my life. 00:15:26.909 --> 00:15:30.629 I have built my business. While these words are 00:15:30.629 --> 00:15:32.309 still in his mouth, a voice called down from 00:15:32.309 --> 00:15:34.759 heaven. Oh, King Nebuchadnezzar, this message 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:37.919 is for you. You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. 00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:43.639 And God spoke directly to him. And here's the 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:49.960 reality. Success can elevate us, right? Position 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:56.000 can elevate us. Money can elevate us. And the 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:00.399 more we climb the ladder of success, of the culture 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:03.340 that we live in, the more we're doing it what? 00:16:04.019 --> 00:16:07.460 On our own. And unfortunately, when we get to 00:16:07.460 --> 00:16:16.860 the top of the ladder, if our focus is on us, 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:21.519 and our focus is on look at me, look what I have 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:23.480 done, then we're looking down at others. And 00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:25.100 not only are we looking down at others, but we 00:16:25.100 --> 00:16:27.179 have nothing around us to catch us or support 00:16:27.179 --> 00:16:31.980 us. It's dangerous when we think we have it all 00:16:31.980 --> 00:16:35.320 together. And the world tells us that's how we 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:38.120 should live. But when we're on top and it's just 00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:42.200 about us, that's when things get shaky. And that's 00:16:42.200 --> 00:16:45.779 when it's difficult to stand. See, God is not 00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:49.360 impressed at how high we climb if we forget that 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:52.299 he gives us the strength to climb up it. And 00:16:52.299 --> 00:16:55.440 we come to a point in life where we humble ourselves 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:59.799 before God or he's going to do it for us. And 00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:02.399 how do I know that? Listen to Jesus' words in 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:04.980 Matthew 23, but those who exalt themselves will 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:07.380 be humbled. And those who humble themselves will 00:17:07.380 --> 00:17:12.259 be exalted. God lowers the proud and he lifts 00:17:12.259 --> 00:17:16.099 up the humble. And when we walk in humility, 00:17:16.299 --> 00:17:19.099 God will lift us up. He'll promote us. He'll 00:17:19.099 --> 00:17:21.700 use us. He'll give us opportunities to share 00:17:21.700 --> 00:17:25.160 the good news. But if it's all about you and 00:17:25.160 --> 00:17:27.680 you choose not to acknowledge that it all comes 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:32.130 from God, then he's gonna be against you. See, 00:17:32.210 --> 00:17:35.849 God has a problem with pride. Look at James chapter 00:17:35.849 --> 00:17:39.849 four, verse six. And he gives grace generously, 00:17:39.849 --> 00:17:42.789 as the scriptures say, God opposes the proud, 00:17:42.950 --> 00:17:47.509 but gives grace to the humble. So this morning, 00:17:47.690 --> 00:17:52.029 is God opposing you? Because maybe he's trying 00:17:52.029 --> 00:17:55.009 to get your attention to wake you up to the reality 00:17:55.009 --> 00:17:58.329 of our third thought. See, a life of sin, leads 00:17:58.329 --> 00:18:02.930 to death. Unchecked sin can cause us to become 00:18:02.930 --> 00:18:07.150 a person we don't want to be. Continuing on in 00:18:07.150 --> 00:18:10.630 Daniel chapter 4 verse 33, that same hour the 00:18:10.630 --> 00:18:13.170 judgment was fulfilled and King Nebuchadnezzar 00:18:13.170 --> 00:18:15.869 was driven from human society. He ate grass like 00:18:15.869 --> 00:18:17.829 a cow and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. 00:18:17.950 --> 00:18:20.210 He lived this way until his hair was long as 00:18:20.210 --> 00:18:22.630 eagles feathers and his nails were like birds 00:18:22.630 --> 00:18:26.230 claws. And it's interesting, since we're now 00:18:26.230 --> 00:18:32.150 living in the AI era, I wanted to see this image 00:18:32.150 --> 00:18:35.309 of King Nebuchadnezzar come to life. So I took 00:18:35.309 --> 00:18:40.569 these exact verses that we just read, and I asked 00:18:40.569 --> 00:18:43.170 AI to create an image for me. Do you want to 00:18:43.170 --> 00:18:49.190 see it? All right, check this out. Now think 00:18:49.190 --> 00:18:51.349 about this. Look at that image. Think about this. 00:18:53.930 --> 00:18:58.130 The most powerful man in the world. His kingdom 00:18:58.130 --> 00:19:02.150 controlled the known world 600 years before Jesus. 00:19:03.230 --> 00:19:06.009 And God humbled him to the point that he lived 00:19:06.009 --> 00:19:14.589 like an animal. God humbled him to the point 00:19:14.589 --> 00:19:18.150 that he was no longer recognizable. And this 00:19:18.150 --> 00:19:20.329 is what can happen to us if we allow sin to control 00:19:20.329 --> 00:19:24.460 our life. See, we were created to live in relationship 00:19:24.460 --> 00:19:26.660 with God, following his ways. But when we choose 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:29.920 to live a life of sin, we're moved by our own 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:33.019 desires and impulses. We lose our humanity and 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:34.839 we allow the world and the culture to dictate 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:37.440 how we live. Paul says it this way in Romans 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:39.880 8, those who are dominated by the sinful nature 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:41.920 think about sinful things, but those who are 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:44.400 controlled by the spirit think about things that 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:46.859 please the spirit. So letting your sinful nature 00:19:46.859 --> 00:19:50.140 control your mind leads to death. But letting 00:19:50.140 --> 00:19:52.079 the Spirit control your mind leads to life and 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:57.839 peace. See, unchecked or hidden sin that we don't 00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:00.960 think anyone knows about leads us away from God. 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:04.700 You know that prayer request? When you're in 00:20:04.700 --> 00:20:06.740 a group, growth groups have started, jump in 00:20:06.740 --> 00:20:08.859 a group, maybe you're in a group, and there's 00:20:08.859 --> 00:20:11.539 a prayer request, and someone says, unspoken, 00:20:11.619 --> 00:20:21.849 I want to look back and say, hidden sin. Like 00:20:21.849 --> 00:20:27.150 if we can't speak it, what is it? It's hidden 00:20:27.150 --> 00:20:31.369 sin. And here's the reality. God knows our hearts. 00:20:32.069 --> 00:20:36.509 He knows what we're struggling with. And he just 00:20:36.509 --> 00:20:40.730 simply desires that we give it back to him. Right? 00:20:40.789 --> 00:20:43.490 That we seek forgiveness, that we repent, that 00:20:43.490 --> 00:20:45.910 we turn from our selfish desires and we allow 00:20:45.910 --> 00:20:49.250 him to have control over every area of our lives. 00:20:50.990 --> 00:20:53.670 So during our Sunday gatherings, I want to encourage 00:20:53.670 --> 00:20:56.950 you, church, stop ignoring the Holy Spirit. When 00:20:56.950 --> 00:21:00.390 he reveals areas of our lives that need to change, 00:21:00.710 --> 00:21:05.150 be obedient. James 5, 16, confess your sins to 00:21:05.150 --> 00:21:07.269 each other, pray for each other, so you may be 00:21:07.269 --> 00:21:10.549 healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person 00:21:10.549 --> 00:21:12.529 has great and powerful and wonderful results. 00:21:15.029 --> 00:21:17.369 See, there's grace and there's peace and there's 00:21:17.369 --> 00:21:20.720 hope. There is meaning for us when we stop hiding 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:24.259 and we allow God to have control of our lives, 00:21:24.380 --> 00:21:29.400 which leads us to our forethought. See, when 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:33.759 we cry out, God hears, forgives, and restores. 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:36.539 Continue with Nebuchadnezzar's story, Daniel 00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:40.059 4, verse 34. After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:42.880 looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.160 I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:48.049 the One who lives forever. His rule is everlasting 00:21:48.049 --> 00:21:51.309 and his kingdom is eternal. And notice the progression 00:21:51.309 --> 00:21:55.549 of the king's life. He looked around and was 00:21:55.549 --> 00:21:59.630 full of pride. Look what I did. He looked within 00:21:59.630 --> 00:22:03.190 and was completely broken, became an animal, 00:22:03.250 --> 00:22:08.789 if you will. He looked up and he found God. See, 00:22:08.869 --> 00:22:11.470 the breakthrough came when Nebuchadnezzar stopped 00:22:11.470 --> 00:22:14.009 looking at himself and started looking at God. 00:22:15.470 --> 00:22:19.490 See, his story didn't end with humiliation. It 00:22:19.490 --> 00:22:24.650 ended with restoration and worship. And God may 00:22:24.650 --> 00:22:29.069 humble us, but God's goal isn't to destroy us, 00:22:29.089 --> 00:22:32.410 it's to restore us. The prophet Jeremiah says 00:22:32.410 --> 00:22:35.769 it this way, in chapter 29, verse 12 to 14, in 00:22:35.769 --> 00:22:39.609 those days when you pray, I will listen. If you 00:22:39.609 --> 00:22:41.349 look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me 00:22:41.349 --> 00:22:45.400 and I will be found by you, says the Lord. I 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:47.480 will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. 00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:49.400 I will gather you out of the nations where I 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:51.660 sent you and bring you home again to your own 00:22:51.660 --> 00:22:56.279 land. God will find us when we seek him. When 00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:58.700 we humble ourselves and cry out in our brokenness, 00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:02.059 he hears us. Jesus promises us in Matthew 11, 00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:05.380 come to me, all of you who are weary and carry 00:23:05.380 --> 00:23:07.940 heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:10.319 my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:12.380 am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find 00:23:12.380 --> 00:23:15.480 rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:18.680 and the burden is light. And see, I believe that 00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:21.980 King Nebuchadnezzar's story or journey into a 00:23:21.980 --> 00:23:25.940 relationship with God is one that we need to 00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:29.539 reflect on and connect with. Because God had 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:34.400 to chase him down for over 30 years. And I don't 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:37.740 want to see you walking for 30 years not in a 00:23:37.740 --> 00:23:41.660 relationship with Jesus. So this morning, ask 00:23:41.660 --> 00:23:46.990 yourself, Am I in a relationship with Jesus? 00:23:48.349 --> 00:23:54.269 Is God still pursuing me? You know, in every 00:23:54.269 --> 00:23:56.789 single gathering towards the end, I always pray 00:23:56.789 --> 00:23:58.750 a simple prayer every week because I say to you, 00:23:58.829 --> 00:24:01.069 there could be someone in this gathering that's 00:24:01.069 --> 00:24:05.630 distant, far from God or is walking away. And 00:24:05.630 --> 00:24:08.450 I pray this simple prayer, not just for myself, 00:24:08.769 --> 00:24:11.029 but for someone that could be distant or far 00:24:11.029 --> 00:24:14.029 from God and for you. Those of you that are in 00:24:14.029 --> 00:24:16.750 a relationship with Jesus. Because I believe 00:24:16.750 --> 00:24:19.309 the more you pray this prayer, the more desperate 00:24:19.309 --> 00:24:21.089 you come to want to pray it with someone else. 00:24:22.809 --> 00:24:25.509 That it's not intimidating to invite someone 00:24:25.509 --> 00:24:27.250 into a relationship with Jesus because you know 00:24:27.250 --> 00:24:31.410 it. That you can pray for them and meet their 00:24:31.410 --> 00:24:33.750 needs and then invite them. Would you like to 00:24:33.750 --> 00:24:38.009 meet Jesus? Because he is the way, the truth, 00:24:38.009 --> 00:24:40.789 and the life. He is the one that brings meaning 00:24:40.789 --> 00:24:45.589 and purpose to life. So I'm going to invite the 00:24:45.589 --> 00:24:47.329 Holy Spirit to come now to search our hearts. 00:24:47.950 --> 00:24:52.430 And remember, he already knows our hearts. And 00:24:52.430 --> 00:24:53.950 I'm going to invite the Holy Spirit to convict 00:24:53.950 --> 00:24:56.809 hearts. And if you're in a relationship with 00:24:56.809 --> 00:25:00.069 him, lay it down. Ask forgiveness and turn from 00:25:00.069 --> 00:25:02.950 that way. But if you're not in a relationship 00:25:02.950 --> 00:25:05.869 with him, this is your opportunity to pray yourself 00:25:05.869 --> 00:25:08.589 into a relationship with him, with all of us. 00:25:09.109 --> 00:25:12.029 And become a part of the family of God as he 00:25:12.029 --> 00:25:17.420 desires for all of us. Let's pray. Come Holy 00:25:17.420 --> 00:25:28.680 Spirit. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full of doubt, 00:25:28.779 --> 00:25:36.099 shame, regret, sin. Change me. Forgive me. I 00:25:36.099 --> 00:25:40.759 believe you're God's son. I believe you died 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:46.130 for me. I believe. You're alive today. Make me 00:25:46.130 --> 00:25:52.309 new. Set me free. Reveal yourself to me. Fill 00:25:52.309 --> 00:25:55.730 me with your spirit and help me to serve others. 00:25:56.769 --> 00:26:01.250 In Jesus' name, amen. Now listen, if you prayed 00:26:01.250 --> 00:26:03.210 that prayer for the first time, see us, stop 00:26:03.210 --> 00:26:05.690 by the Welcome Hub, tell us you did it, text 00:26:05.690 --> 00:26:09.490 us, do something so we can give you some next 00:26:09.490 --> 00:26:13.160 steps on what it means to Pursue an abundant 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:18.680 life. And that intro led us to our action steps. 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:24.160 Giving God the glory. See, to eliminate pride 00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:26.039 in our life, we have to bring all glory back 00:26:26.039 --> 00:26:29.160 to God. And I want to challenge you this week. 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:32.299 I want to challenge you to put these three steps 00:26:32.299 --> 00:26:35.559 into practice every single day. Don't just hear 00:26:35.559 --> 00:26:39.240 them. Don't just write them down. But make them 00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:41.099 a part of your life because I believe that if 00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:44.000 all of us begin to live out these three simple 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:48.160 steps every single day, God will radically change 00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:51.579 the tri -state area. The people will hear the 00:26:51.579 --> 00:26:54.700 good news. The people will flock to our community 00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:57.339 of faith. Why? So Chris can get the glory? So 00:26:57.339 --> 00:27:00.680 Rhett can get the glory? No. So God can get the 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:05.660 glory. So that people see a move of God like 00:27:05.660 --> 00:27:09.500 they've never seen before. You say, it can happen 00:27:09.500 --> 00:27:13.119 here in Hagerstown? Yeah. I mean, think about 00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:17.079 it. Then we read about Jesus. Can anything good 00:27:17.079 --> 00:27:21.000 come from Nazareth? And we've heard that said 00:27:21.000 --> 00:27:25.339 about our own town. And my answer is, yes. A 00:27:25.339 --> 00:27:28.279 lot of good can come from Hagerstown. But it's 00:27:28.279 --> 00:27:29.740 going to come from the church and the people 00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:31.839 that are passionate about God and desiring to 00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:35.700 see their city changed. Which leads us to step 00:27:35.700 --> 00:27:39.960 one. We need to live a life of love. Doesn't 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:43.039 that sound easy? Be honest. Doesn't it sound 00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:47.359 easy? Let's all read it together. Live a life 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:53.180 of love. Do you think you can do that? And it's 00:27:53.180 --> 00:27:56.339 easy, right? Heck no, it's not easy. It's impossible. 00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:01.539 It's like we can say it, but it's so hard to 00:28:01.539 --> 00:28:06.559 do. It's so hard to do. And when we look at Daniel's 00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:09.420 life, it's interesting. We see a genuine affection 00:28:09.420 --> 00:28:12.700 between Daniel and the king. Listen to Daniel 00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:15.259 chapter 4 verse 19. Upon hearing this, Daniel, 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:18.259 also known as Belteshazzar, was overcome for 00:28:18.259 --> 00:28:23.420 a time. Overcome. He couldn't believe it. He 00:28:23.420 --> 00:28:25.539 was frightened by the meaning of the dream. Then 00:28:25.539 --> 00:28:27.480 the king said to him, Belteshazzar, don't be 00:28:27.480 --> 00:28:31.660 alarmed by the dream and what it means. So Belteshazzar 00:28:31.660 --> 00:28:34.099 replied. I wish the events foreshadowed in this 00:28:34.099 --> 00:28:36.640 dream would happen to your enemies, my Lord, 00:28:36.680 --> 00:28:38.839 and not to you. Now think about this. Think about 00:28:38.839 --> 00:28:44.500 this. This man was taken from his homeland as 00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:50.660 a teenager. His family was murdered. The temple 00:28:50.660 --> 00:28:55.319 destroyed. He was dragged off to Babylon where 00:28:55.319 --> 00:28:58.319 he was brainwashed, told what to think, how to 00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:02.470 live, had his manhood cut off. would never have 00:29:02.470 --> 00:29:05.710 a family, would never have children. And now 00:29:05.710 --> 00:29:11.130 we're at a point where Daniel has genuine love 00:29:11.130 --> 00:29:17.970 for this man. See, Daniel is an example that 00:29:17.970 --> 00:29:22.230 through his love for God, that allowed him to 00:29:22.230 --> 00:29:27.849 love the lost and to do it well. We can all learn 00:29:27.849 --> 00:29:32.180 from this man. As Jesus followers, this world 00:29:32.180 --> 00:29:37.059 is not our home. The Bible describes us as exiles 00:29:37.059 --> 00:29:44.420 waiting for Jesus' return. But listen, yes, we're 00:29:44.420 --> 00:29:47.259 waiting for his return, but Jesus told us we'll 00:29:47.259 --> 00:29:50.119 never know the day or hour. So stop trying to 00:29:50.119 --> 00:29:55.059 figure it out. I mean, there's paths. today that 00:29:55.059 --> 00:29:57.079 believe they have the right number scheme to 00:29:57.079 --> 00:30:00.180 say when Jesus is returning and Jesus said you're 00:30:00.180 --> 00:30:03.660 never gonna know. So why even try to figure it 00:30:03.660 --> 00:30:07.740 out? Like just serve others and love others and 00:30:07.740 --> 00:30:10.279 point them to Jesus. That's what we're supposed 00:30:10.279 --> 00:30:13.500 to do. And all of you know we're living in a 00:30:13.500 --> 00:30:17.019 divided society. It's like you can't be on social 00:30:17.019 --> 00:30:18.799 media for more than five minutes without getting 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:24.339 sick on your stomach. But we, the church, We 00:30:24.339 --> 00:30:29.200 should not be known for what we hate. We should 00:30:29.200 --> 00:30:32.000 not be known for what we're against. We should 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:34.200 be a place where people come and get built up. 00:30:40.500 --> 00:30:43.319 That's what it's all about. It's about building 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:46.240 each other up. And listen, if you're not building 00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:50.619 others up, then stop being prideful. Get over 00:30:50.619 --> 00:30:54.589 yourself. Because it's not about you. It's about 00:30:54.589 --> 00:30:57.930 him. And it's about the kingdom. And we need 00:30:57.930 --> 00:31:00.529 to begin to see people how God sees them as sons 00:31:00.529 --> 00:31:05.589 and daughters of God. Created in his image that 00:31:05.589 --> 00:31:08.230 he desperately wants to love and be in relationship 00:31:08.230 --> 00:31:11.849 with. And that's why Jesus said in John 13, I'm 00:31:11.849 --> 00:31:13.470 giving you a new commandment. Love each other 00:31:13.470 --> 00:31:15.789 just as I have loved you. You should love each 00:31:15.789 --> 00:31:18.670 other. Your love for one another will prove to 00:31:18.670 --> 00:31:22.220 the world that you're my disciples. So if your 00:31:22.220 --> 00:31:25.059 friend who does not believe in Jesus, maybe even 00:31:25.059 --> 00:31:28.960 hates God, rolled into our community of faith, 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:33.339 would they see us loving each other that way? 00:31:35.160 --> 00:31:38.019 Or would they see divided people arguing, bickering 00:31:38.019 --> 00:31:41.140 over issues that mean absolutely nothing and 00:31:41.140 --> 00:31:46.160 forgetting it's all about him? We need to learn 00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:49.559 to live a life of love, which needs us to step 00:31:49.559 --> 00:31:54.470 to. We need to share our Jesus stories. And listen, 00:31:54.549 --> 00:32:01.089 your Jesus story has power. And all of us, if 00:32:01.089 --> 00:32:03.289 you're in a relationship with God, has a story 00:32:03.289 --> 00:32:08.769 to tell. Every single one of us. Listen to Nebuchadnezzar's 00:32:08.769 --> 00:32:11.829 story, Daniel 4, 1 through 3. King Nebuchadnezzar 00:32:11.829 --> 00:32:13.849 sent this message to the people of every race 00:32:13.849 --> 00:32:15.549 and nation and language throughout the world. 00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:18.880 Peace and prosperity to you. I want you all to 00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:21.200 know about the miraculous signs and wonders the 00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:24.059 Most High God has performed for me. How great 00:32:24.059 --> 00:32:26.759 are His signs, how powerful His wonders. His 00:32:26.759 --> 00:32:29.099 kingdom will last forever. His rule through all 00:32:29.099 --> 00:32:33.140 generations. Now remember, those words are written 00:32:33.140 --> 00:32:36.220 at the beginning of the chapter. And then we 00:32:36.220 --> 00:32:38.599 get into Nebuchadnezzar's story. The point is, 00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:43.460 Nebuchadnezzar is sharing his story of life transformation. 00:32:45.769 --> 00:32:50.829 Same is true for us. Think about your life before 00:32:50.829 --> 00:32:55.829 you met Jesus. For me, there's despair, there's 00:32:55.829 --> 00:32:57.809 negativity, there's loneliness, there's lack 00:32:57.809 --> 00:33:00.369 of peace, there's insecurities, there's doubt, 00:33:00.490 --> 00:33:05.450 there's frustration. Now think about your life 00:33:05.450 --> 00:33:09.009 in a relationship with Jesus. You know, for me, 00:33:09.049 --> 00:33:12.839 everything's changed. For me, it's all about 00:33:12.839 --> 00:33:15.299 the story. It's all about being filled with the 00:33:15.299 --> 00:33:18.640 Spirit. It's being empowered by God. And if you 00:33:18.640 --> 00:33:23.599 don't have that story, then you have to ask, 00:33:23.700 --> 00:33:27.660 am I in a relationship with God? Because that's 00:33:27.660 --> 00:33:31.339 what He does to us. He transforms us. And then 00:33:31.339 --> 00:33:33.900 we read in Revelation chapter 12, and they have 00:33:33.900 --> 00:33:36.759 defeated Him by the blood of the Lamb. And that 00:33:36.759 --> 00:33:41.329 means we defeat the enemy. We defeat Satan. By 00:33:41.329 --> 00:33:43.809 repenting. When the Holy Spirit reveals a sin 00:33:43.809 --> 00:33:47.589 in our life, we say, God, forgive me. I want 00:33:47.589 --> 00:33:50.569 to no longer walk in that sin. I'm going to turn 00:33:50.569 --> 00:33:52.730 from it and go back to you. That's what repent 00:33:52.730 --> 00:33:55.990 means. It's not a bad word. That's what the blood 00:33:55.990 --> 00:33:59.329 of the Lamb did for us. And so we defeat the 00:33:59.329 --> 00:34:02.069 enemy by walking in grace and forgiveness and 00:34:02.069 --> 00:34:05.930 by our testimonies. And they did not love their 00:34:05.930 --> 00:34:09.679 lives so much that they were afraid to die. And 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:14.059 the point is this. Don't allow the enemy to continue 00:34:14.059 --> 00:34:17.900 to keep you down. There's many of you here that 00:34:17.900 --> 00:34:20.500 are struggling with insecurities, whether you're 00:34:20.500 --> 00:34:22.900 looking in a mirror or how you see yourself or 00:34:22.900 --> 00:34:24.579 how you view yourself. You're not good enough. 00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:26.360 You're never going to be good. Then tell your 00:34:26.360 --> 00:34:30.639 Jesus story. Like you want to overcome sin. You 00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:32.900 want to overcome and become a different person. 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:36.480 Tell your Jesus story. Because then you're allowing 00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:39.940 the Holy Spirit to empower you. And as you allow 00:34:39.940 --> 00:34:42.179 the Holy Spirit to empower you, then you're pointing 00:34:42.179 --> 00:34:44.880 others to experience the same new life. Your 00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:47.260 story needs to be told because it's your story. 00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:54.280 And your story brings glory to God. David says 00:34:54.280 --> 00:34:57.679 it this way in Psalm 51. Create in me a clean 00:34:57.679 --> 00:35:00.800 heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 00:35:00.820 --> 00:35:02.820 Do not banish me from your presence. And don't 00:35:02.820 --> 00:35:05.460 take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me. 00:35:06.119 --> 00:35:08.079 the joy of your salvation and make me willing 00:35:08.079 --> 00:35:12.980 to obey you. For some of us, we've lost the joy 00:35:12.980 --> 00:35:19.099 of our salvation. How do I know that? Because 00:35:19.099 --> 00:35:24.480 I listen. And it's much easier to walk through 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:28.639 life complaining, judging, looking at everyone 00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:32.539 else, making excuses, pointing fingers, playing 00:35:32.539 --> 00:35:35.820 the comparison game. than simply looking back 00:35:35.820 --> 00:35:37.559 and saying, God, I'm just so grateful for this 00:35:37.559 --> 00:35:43.980 life I'm living. And just like David, we need 00:35:43.980 --> 00:35:48.340 to ask God, God, restore in me the joy of your 00:35:48.340 --> 00:35:52.320 salvation. That we take the focus off of ourself 00:35:52.320 --> 00:35:54.760 and what I'm doing and what I should be doing 00:35:54.760 --> 00:35:57.320 and they should be doing, and we just are focused 00:35:57.320 --> 00:36:01.179 on him. Which leads us to our third and final 00:36:01.179 --> 00:36:04.110 step. That's when we choose praise over pride. 00:36:06.989 --> 00:36:09.829 Continuing in Daniel 4, 36, 37, when my sanity 00:36:09.829 --> 00:36:13.190 returned to me, so did my honor and glory and 00:36:13.190 --> 00:36:15.829 kingdom. Again, Nebuchadnezzar. My advisors and 00:36:15.829 --> 00:36:17.809 nobles sought me out and I was restored as head 00:36:17.809 --> 00:36:20.710 of my kingdom with even greater honor than before. 00:36:20.909 --> 00:36:24.090 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and 00:36:24.090 --> 00:36:26.909 honor the king of heaven. All his acts are just 00:36:26.909 --> 00:36:29.889 and true and he is able to humble the proud. 00:36:31.400 --> 00:36:36.380 Those who walk in pride, God humbles. That's 00:36:36.380 --> 00:36:40.039 what we learned. And the crazy thing about King 00:36:40.039 --> 00:36:43.079 Nebuchadnezzar is he disappears from the Bible 00:36:43.079 --> 00:36:48.519 now. You'll never hear him mentioned again. But 00:36:48.519 --> 00:36:51.079 for four chapters in the book of Daniel, we see 00:36:51.079 --> 00:36:54.820 a man who controlled the known world, was humbled 00:36:54.820 --> 00:36:58.280 by God, and now is bringing him glory. He's choosing 00:36:58.280 --> 00:37:03.219 praise over pride. And when you reflect on your 00:37:03.219 --> 00:37:05.440 life today and all the accomplishments that you 00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:09.119 have done or achieved in this life, what do you 00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:13.400 see? Do you see your success or do you see God's 00:37:13.400 --> 00:37:19.219 greatness? Is your response praise or is it pride 00:37:19.219 --> 00:37:22.960 and arrogance? And listen, there's nothing wrong 00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:24.820 with accomplishing great things. I believe God 00:37:24.820 --> 00:37:27.059 wants all of you to be great and you learned 00:37:27.059 --> 00:37:29.679 that three weeks ago. When I challenge you to 00:37:29.679 --> 00:37:34.130 be great, But don't take the glory. Be great, 00:37:34.250 --> 00:37:42.329 but choose praise over pride. So where are you 00:37:42.329 --> 00:37:47.590 today? Are you begrudgingly walking through life 00:37:47.590 --> 00:37:51.929 full of negativity and doubt? Are you on top? 00:37:52.969 --> 00:37:57.329 You're successful. You've earned the right to 00:37:57.329 --> 00:38:00.659 say you have. Because everything's going right. 00:38:02.639 --> 00:38:06.699 Or are you struggling? Are you facing difficulties? 00:38:08.039 --> 00:38:13.579 Like we learned last week in the fire. Well, 00:38:13.599 --> 00:38:18.000 notice what David says in Psalm 34. In fact, 00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:22.760 let's all read the first line together. I will 00:38:22.760 --> 00:38:27.360 praise the Lord at all times. What does that 00:38:27.360 --> 00:38:32.110 say? Sometime. All times. I will constantly speak 00:38:32.110 --> 00:38:34.469 his praises. I will boast only in the Lord. Let 00:38:34.469 --> 00:38:37.130 all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us 00:38:37.130 --> 00:38:39.010 tell the Lord's greatness. Let us exalt his name 00:38:39.010 --> 00:38:45.409 together. Amen? Will you stand with me? And listen, 00:38:45.489 --> 00:38:47.010 everybody focused up here. Don't look at your 00:38:47.010 --> 00:38:49.570 Bibles. Don't pick up your papers. Women, don't 00:38:49.570 --> 00:38:57.130 grab your purses. We're not done. Listen, I want 00:38:57.130 --> 00:38:59.070 to challenge you with two things. We're about 00:38:59.070 --> 00:39:02.150 to worship. So I want you to prepare your heart. 00:39:02.969 --> 00:39:04.590 But I want to challenge you to two things. And 00:39:04.590 --> 00:39:08.030 the first is this. I don't care who you are. 00:39:08.650 --> 00:39:11.110 I don't care how old you are. I don't care how 00:39:11.110 --> 00:39:12.610 long you've been coming here, even if this is 00:39:12.610 --> 00:39:16.630 your first time here. I want to challenge you 00:39:16.630 --> 00:39:21.670 with something. God's in this house. Let your 00:39:21.670 --> 00:39:26.369 walls down. Let your walls down today. Seriously. 00:39:27.130 --> 00:39:34.670 Let them down. Let your walls down. Right? If 00:39:34.670 --> 00:39:37.750 you feel prompted to lift your hands in worship, 00:39:37.909 --> 00:39:41.269 do it. Don't care about who's beside you because 00:39:41.269 --> 00:39:43.530 if you care about who's beside you or what they 00:39:43.530 --> 00:39:47.590 think about you, what is that? Pride. It's pride. 00:39:48.309 --> 00:39:50.550 If you're concerned about your voice and you 00:39:50.550 --> 00:39:53.429 can't sing and you're going to make a joyful 00:39:53.429 --> 00:39:59.949 noise, not song. And you don't sing because you're 00:39:59.949 --> 00:40:01.469 worried about what people think about your voice. 00:40:01.489 --> 00:40:07.809 What is that? Pride. If God is overcoming you 00:40:07.809 --> 00:40:09.750 and you begin to cry and weep, but then you're 00:40:09.750 --> 00:40:13.530 like, no, I can't do that. What is that? Pride. 00:40:14.909 --> 00:40:17.889 You see, we don't get honest in worship because 00:40:17.889 --> 00:40:20.250 we won't let our walls down because we're full 00:40:20.250 --> 00:40:25.250 of pride. God wants to change that today, I believe, 00:40:25.349 --> 00:40:29.409 in this worship. So I want to challenge you. 00:40:29.630 --> 00:40:33.530 Whatever God is revealing to you, allow your 00:40:33.530 --> 00:40:38.769 body to do it. If you're crying like a blabbering 00:40:38.769 --> 00:40:43.210 child, let it happen. If he wants you to get 00:40:43.210 --> 00:40:45.889 on your knees, get on your knees. If he wants 00:40:45.889 --> 00:40:47.510 you to lift your arms, lift your arms. If he 00:40:47.510 --> 00:40:51.849 wants you to dance, dance. Like it's okay. You'll 00:40:51.849 --> 00:41:01.710 do it at the football game at one o 'clock. Amen? 00:41:01.710 --> 00:41:06.050 All right. Now, listen. There were several words 00:41:06.050 --> 00:41:07.889 of knowledge before we worship. If these are 00:41:07.889 --> 00:41:10.670 you, get up here. The prayer team will be on 00:41:10.670 --> 00:41:14.610 both sides of the stage. Your right eye hurts. 00:41:15.909 --> 00:41:19.010 You have hip bone pain in your left hip. And 00:41:19.010 --> 00:41:21.650 listen, when Haron gave me that word last night, 00:41:21.710 --> 00:41:24.610 he goes, I've been getting this word for several 00:41:24.610 --> 00:41:29.809 weeks and the person won't come forward. That's 00:41:29.809 --> 00:41:34.070 pride. You have a bone fracture in your foot. 00:41:34.190 --> 00:41:36.449 You have a skin condition in the stomach area. 00:41:37.110 --> 00:41:40.250 Your name is Amy and you're worried about a job 00:41:40.250 --> 00:41:44.150 situation. So if any of those are you, get up 00:41:44.150 --> 00:41:45.730 here and get some prayer. And if you have any 00:41:45.730 --> 00:41:48.769 other need, get up here and get some prayer. 00:41:48.989 --> 00:41:51.010 Because when we were praying for this gathering, 00:41:51.190 --> 00:41:54.630 Randy was praying for us and he saw people flocking 00:41:54.630 --> 00:41:56.929 to the front and experiencing the miraculous 00:41:56.929 --> 00:42:00.610 in their lives. Amen? So will you sing with me 00:42:00.610 --> 00:42:02.889 this morning? Let's raise.