WEBVTT 00:00:01.419 --> 00:00:04.440 Sharing good news of great joy to all people. 00:00:04.780 --> 00:00:12.240 Elation Church. Luke 10, verse 38. As Jesus and 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:15.859 the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:19.719 they came to a certain village where a woman 00:00:19.719 --> 00:00:24.859 named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her 00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:29.300 sister Mary sat at the Lord's feet, listening. 00:00:30.039 --> 00:00:33.460 to what he taught. But Martha was distracted 00:00:33.460 --> 00:00:37.780 by the big dinner she was preparing. She came 00:00:37.780 --> 00:00:41.399 to Jesus and said, Lord, doesn't it seem unfair 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:45.439 to you that my sister just sits here while I 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:50.320 do all the work? Tell her to come help me. But 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:56.159 the Lord said to her, My dear Martha. In other 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:58.859 translations it says, Martha, Martha. Everybody 00:00:58.859 --> 00:01:00.700 say, Martha, Martha, and shake your head. Martha, 00:01:00.780 --> 00:01:04.599 Martha. But the Lord said to her, My dear Martha, 00:01:04.700 --> 00:01:09.379 you are worried and upset over all the details. 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:13.319 There's only one thing. Everybody say one thing. 00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:18.480 There's only one thing worth being concerned 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:24.879 about. Mary has discovered it. It will not be 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:32.939 taken away from her. One thing, one thing was 00:01:32.939 --> 00:01:39.140 necessary. You know, the food wasn't the most 00:01:39.140 --> 00:01:43.140 important thing to Jesus. It was the most important 00:01:43.140 --> 00:01:47.439 thing to Martha. And we really dealt with this 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:49.980 last week, and I hate for you not to be with 00:01:49.980 --> 00:01:53.579 us where we're moving from. I love that you're 00:01:53.579 --> 00:01:56.480 here today, visiting with us. trying us out, 00:01:56.599 --> 00:01:59.379 whatever it is that you're doing. You're welcome 00:01:59.379 --> 00:02:01.579 to be a part of our family. We would love for 00:02:01.579 --> 00:02:05.920 you to be with us. And if you're just here for 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:07.640 this week, we hope that you're blessed and have 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:10.300 a blessed week and a blessed trip back home. 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:16.139 Jesus said one thing was necessary. Food wasn't 00:02:16.139 --> 00:02:20.400 the most important thing. Martha invited Jesus. 00:02:20.659 --> 00:02:23.639 She's the one who gave the invitation. She invited 00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:27.539 him to come to her home. To spend time with him. 00:02:27.620 --> 00:02:30.139 To get to know him. Is what we looked at last 00:02:30.139 --> 00:02:33.919 week. But now she's in the kitchen working. She 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:37.599 can overhear maybe just the noise of him talking. 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:42.500 But she's not receiving what Jesus is saying. 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:48.520 And that's the one characteristic of Jesus that 00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:52.159 was more pronounced than any other thing of Jesus. 00:02:53.020 --> 00:02:59.400 Was his words. I mean, we see paintings and pictures. 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:01.240 We don't know what he actually looked like. We 00:03:01.240 --> 00:03:04.740 don't know what color his eyes were. I mean, 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:08.259 we know that he was a Jew, so that gives us some 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:14.319 type of look, I guess. But we don't know. Because 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:17.360 those things weren't the most important things. 00:03:17.979 --> 00:03:20.580 The Bible says that every time he talked, people 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:26.460 just were amazed. Just said, wow. Because he 00:03:26.460 --> 00:03:29.620 didn't talk like everybody else talked. When 00:03:29.620 --> 00:03:31.539 he talked about the kingdom of God, he talked 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:37.300 with authority. It wasn't just a suggestion. 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:43.080 It was with authority when he talked. So Jesus 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:44.840 said there's only one thing that's necessary, 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:48.639 one thing that's needed, one thing that should 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:56.590 not be left undone. And Mary... That's what she 00:03:56.590 --> 00:04:02.169 did. The necessary thing, the needed thing. I 00:04:02.169 --> 00:04:04.289 think this comes out of New King James where 00:04:04.289 --> 00:04:11.610 it says, Mary sat at Jesus' feet and heard his 00:04:11.610 --> 00:04:16.589 word. Everybody say one thing. Everybody say, 00:04:16.649 --> 00:04:25.759 sit at Jesus' feet and hear his word. Now, Jesus 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:33.220 was speaking, but Martha was distracted. Mary 00:04:33.220 --> 00:04:37.120 was not distracted. Mary sat at his feet and 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:40.079 heard his word. When you look up that word in 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:42.160 the Greek, in the Koine Greek, that word heard, 00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:45.519 here's the full definition of that word, to hear, 00:04:45.699 --> 00:04:51.519 to listen. Now, it's easy to hear. You can't 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:55.149 help but hear if your ears work, right? You can't 00:04:55.149 --> 00:04:59.589 help but hear. But to listen, it takes some effort. 00:05:00.910 --> 00:05:03.069 Most of the husbands are laughing now. I don't 00:05:03.069 --> 00:05:06.410 know why. Most of the wives are thinking that, 00:05:06.449 --> 00:05:08.569 yeah, selective hearing. There it goes again. 00:05:08.829 --> 00:05:16.149 Now, we can hear you. The key is listening. Everybody 00:05:16.149 --> 00:05:19.990 say listen. I had a friend, and J .T. was his 00:05:19.990 --> 00:05:21.850 road manager for a while. He would always say, 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:24.100 While he was preaching, he would always say, 00:05:24.180 --> 00:05:29.779 if you're listening, say, I am. Because when 00:05:29.779 --> 00:05:31.980 he felt like people were daydreaming and wandering 00:05:31.980 --> 00:05:35.220 off, and, you know, believe it or not, I'm not 00:05:35.220 --> 00:05:37.360 just looking at the back wall. A lot of preachers 00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:39.660 just stare at the back wall the whole time. I 00:05:39.660 --> 00:05:42.639 scan you and look at your face as I'm preaching, 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:46.920 and I can tell if you're listening or not. I 00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:50.019 can tell if you're distracted or not. And my 00:05:50.019 --> 00:05:51.899 friend Ken would say, if you're listening, say 00:05:51.899 --> 00:05:53.699 I am. And that would just kind of shock people. 00:05:53.860 --> 00:05:57.560 He would say, I know you can hear me. But if 00:05:57.560 --> 00:06:05.579 you're listening, say I am. So Mary wasn't just 00:06:05.579 --> 00:06:08.019 hearing, she was listening. She was listening 00:06:08.019 --> 00:06:13.319 to understand. This word encompasses both the 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:16.860 physical act of hearing. And the deeper understanding 00:06:16.860 --> 00:06:21.560 of what is heard. It's more than just auditory 00:06:21.560 --> 00:06:26.560 reception. It's being attentive. So attentive 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:33.839 that obedience follows to what you hear. That 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:37.259 gives us a deeper understanding of what Mary 00:06:37.259 --> 00:06:39.399 was doing and what Jesus said was most important. 00:06:40.300 --> 00:06:46.670 One thing is most important. Being focused and 00:06:46.670 --> 00:06:48.970 intentional. Last week we talked about this. 00:06:49.750 --> 00:06:51.870 I hate to re -preach last week's message. There's 00:06:51.870 --> 00:06:53.930 a whole lot more to it. You need to hear it if 00:06:53.930 --> 00:06:55.910 you haven't heard it. If you were here last week 00:06:55.910 --> 00:06:57.949 and you say, if you haven't heard it, get on 00:06:57.949 --> 00:07:00.110 the podcast, raise your hand. Just to help all 00:07:00.110 --> 00:07:01.350 these other people that didn't hear it. They 00:07:01.350 --> 00:07:07.230 need to hear it. But we talked about this. Just 00:07:07.230 --> 00:07:12.149 because you're close to someone, it doesn't mean 00:07:12.149 --> 00:07:14.449 that there's intimacy. You can live in a house 00:07:14.449 --> 00:07:17.990 with the same person. And unless you have focused 00:07:17.990 --> 00:07:22.389 attention, you're not experiencing intimacy. 00:07:24.569 --> 00:07:28.709 Same way with God. You can visit. You can come 00:07:28.709 --> 00:07:30.670 to church on Sunday morning and visit and just, 00:07:30.790 --> 00:07:33.569 well, I did my religious duty, but if you don't 00:07:33.569 --> 00:07:37.250 have focused attention, you're going to miss 00:07:37.250 --> 00:07:41.949 out. One thing is necessary to spend focused, 00:07:41.990 --> 00:07:44.689 intentional, Or we could even put in the word 00:07:44.689 --> 00:07:49.110 intimate time with God and receive a word from 00:07:49.110 --> 00:07:54.449 Him. Receive a word. Receive revelation. Receive 00:07:54.449 --> 00:08:01.550 spiritual wisdom from Him. Here's the deal. We 00:08:01.550 --> 00:08:04.810 can go through the mechanical activities of praying 00:08:04.810 --> 00:08:09.370 every day. You can say, okay, it's 2025. I'm 00:08:09.370 --> 00:08:15.120 going to pray every day. We can pray every day. 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:17.259 You can read your Bible every day. We have a 00:08:17.259 --> 00:08:20.540 Bible reading plan where, as a congregation, 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:23.120 we're encouraged to read through the New Testament 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:26.779 every year by reading five chapters a week, one 00:08:26.779 --> 00:08:29.540 chapter a day, Monday through Friday. You can 00:08:29.540 --> 00:08:31.699 do that reading plan just going through the motions. 00:08:33.139 --> 00:08:36.679 You can attend a worship service or, as people 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:38.820 say, go to church. You can do that every week. 00:08:38.860 --> 00:08:43.700 Perfect attendance, 52 weeks this year. You can 00:08:43.700 --> 00:08:48.700 do all those things and still not experience 00:08:48.700 --> 00:08:54.179 God's presence or hear His voice. And that's 00:08:54.179 --> 00:08:59.360 sad. That's sad. To just go through religious 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:04.360 activity and never really connect to God and 00:09:04.360 --> 00:09:09.440 experience Him. What's the difference? What's 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:13.720 the difference? Everybody say, want to. You've 00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:15.740 got to have a want to. You've got to have a desire. 00:09:17.539 --> 00:09:21.419 You've got to have a desire, just like the psalmist 00:09:21.419 --> 00:09:28.519 said, as the deer pants for water. Have you ever 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:32.059 been really thirsty? I mean, where you've got 00:09:32.059 --> 00:09:34.279 cotton mouth, and if you try to spit, there's 00:09:34.279 --> 00:09:37.600 no spit there. We called that spitting dust when 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:47.590 I was... It's just dry. You can get so thirsty 00:09:47.590 --> 00:09:50.889 for a drink of water. You just got to have it. 00:09:51.350 --> 00:09:53.009 That's the only thing that's going to quench 00:09:53.009 --> 00:09:57.509 your thirst. That's a desire that we need to 00:09:57.509 --> 00:10:01.529 have for God, for the living God. So we have 00:10:01.529 --> 00:10:05.490 to have a desire. And chances are, if you're... 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:09.039 you know, praying and reading your Bible and 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:13.080 coming to church, you most likely have some kind 00:10:13.080 --> 00:10:17.320 of desire for spiritual things. What you may 00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:28.519 be missing is expectation. Expectation. You may 00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:32.059 be a person that's never been told that God will 00:10:32.059 --> 00:10:37.120 meet you at the level of your expectation. If 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:39.480 you came this morning really expecting nothing, 00:10:39.659 --> 00:10:42.519 you're probably going to leave with nothing. 00:10:44.519 --> 00:10:47.139 And this is the thing. I mean, you can sit right 00:10:47.139 --> 00:10:50.100 beside a person and they can walk out saying, 00:10:50.299 --> 00:10:53.539 I didn't get anything out of that today. And 00:10:53.539 --> 00:10:59.320 you could be so full you're about to bust. Two 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:04.129 people seated in the same room. One of them had 00:11:04.129 --> 00:11:07.570 a different level of desire and expectation from 00:11:07.570 --> 00:11:12.730 the other one. God will meet you at the point 00:11:12.730 --> 00:11:17.289 of your expectation. I want to bring a new story 00:11:17.289 --> 00:11:22.429 to us today in 1 Samuel 3. Samuel was a young 00:11:22.429 --> 00:11:28.389 boy. His mom was older and she didn't have a 00:11:28.389 --> 00:11:31.659 child. She made a promise to God. She says, God, 00:11:31.779 --> 00:11:34.600 if you'll let me have a child, I'll give him 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:38.639 to you. And she really meant it. A lot of people 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:41.279 have said that prayer before, but she really 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:44.059 meant it. When he got to be about four or five 00:11:44.059 --> 00:11:47.320 years old, she even took him to the tabernacle 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:51.940 to live at the tabernacle. Sure, she would go 00:11:51.940 --> 00:11:54.080 visit him and things like that, but when she 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:55.940 said, I'm going to give you to God, I mean, she 00:11:55.940 --> 00:11:59.960 gave him to God. She kept her end of the deal. 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:06.899 Let's pick up in chapter 3. Meanwhile, the boy 00:12:06.899 --> 00:12:11.480 Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli, who 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:15.399 was the priest. Now in those days, this is a 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:18.919 sad statement right here. Now in those days, 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:25.419 messages from the Lord were very rare. And visions 00:12:25.419 --> 00:12:33.759 were quite uncommon. That's sad. That's sad. 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:39.360 Most likely due to a lack of desire and a lack 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:45.299 of expectation. One night, Eli, who was almost 00:12:45.299 --> 00:12:49.200 blind by now, had gone to bed. The lamp of God 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:53.559 had not yet gone out. And Samuel was sleeping 00:12:53.559 --> 00:13:01.099 in the tabernacle near the ark of God. Suddenly, 00:13:01.099 --> 00:13:07.960 the Lord called out to Samuel. Samuel. Yes, Samuel 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:10.220 replied. What is it? He got up and ran to Eli. 00:13:10.500 --> 00:13:14.600 Here I am. Did you call me? I didn't call you, 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:21.299 Eli replied. Go back to bed. So he did. Then 00:13:21.299 --> 00:13:25.159 the Lord called out again. I wish I had a big 00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:30.809 booming radio voice right here. Samuel. Samuel. 00:13:31.350 --> 00:13:34.870 Maybe that's better. Again, Samuel got up and 00:13:34.870 --> 00:13:39.090 went to Eli. Here I am. Did you call me? I didn't 00:13:39.090 --> 00:13:43.490 call you, my son. And I can almost think that 00:13:43.490 --> 00:13:45.610 Eli might be a little frustrated because he's 00:13:45.610 --> 00:13:47.149 old and he's trying to get his beauty sleep. 00:13:49.669 --> 00:13:53.370 He's like, I didn't call you. Go back to bed. 00:13:56.350 --> 00:14:00.129 Samuel did not get to know. did not yet know 00:14:00.129 --> 00:14:06.070 the Lord because he had never had a message from 00:14:06.070 --> 00:14:11.250 the Lord before. So the Lord called a third time. 00:14:12.490 --> 00:14:16.330 And once more, Samuel got up and went to Eli. 00:14:16.409 --> 00:14:23.710 Here I am, did you call me? Then Eli realized 00:14:23.710 --> 00:14:29.940 it was the Lord who was calling the boy. So he 00:14:29.940 --> 00:14:34.139 said to Samuel, go and lie down again. And if 00:14:34.139 --> 00:14:37.879 someone calls again, here's what you need to 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:42.720 say. Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening. 00:14:44.340 --> 00:14:49.379 So Samuel went back to bed. And the Lord came 00:14:49.379 --> 00:14:55.879 and called as before, Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel 00:14:55.879 --> 00:15:03.879 replied, speak. Your servant is listening. I 00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:09.179 want to tell you something. The Holy Spirit of 00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:17.159 God in you desires to speak to you. We're supposed 00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:20.840 to be led by Him. We're supposed to walk with 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:25.240 Him. We're supposed to follow Him. And He's speaking. 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:32.620 He's speaking. If you're in Christ today, the 00:15:32.620 --> 00:15:38.519 Holy Spirit is speaking to you. Now, it was a 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:42.500 long time before anybody told me that. So I guess 00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:44.960 I could see myself during those years as like 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:48.460 Samuel. I mean, God's trying to talk to me. He's 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:51.279 trying to lead me. He's trying to direct my path. 00:15:51.379 --> 00:15:54.539 He's trying to help me. He's my helper. He's 00:15:54.539 --> 00:15:57.360 my comforter. He was trying to comfort me during 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:00.919 times when I needed comfort, and I didn't know. 00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:09.100 I didn't know. Maybe you could be here today, 00:16:09.159 --> 00:16:10.740 and you might not know that. I hope you know 00:16:10.740 --> 00:16:14.059 that. But I'm telling you today, God, the Holy 00:16:14.059 --> 00:16:21.740 Spirit, is speaking to you. Not just every once 00:16:21.740 --> 00:16:25.379 in a while. Not just once a month or once in 00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:30.419 six months or once a year. With God in you, the 00:16:30.419 --> 00:16:33.299 word from God is not a rare occurrence like it 00:16:33.299 --> 00:16:39.179 was during this time in the Old Testament. He's 00:16:39.179 --> 00:16:46.139 wanting to work in you. Speak to you. But you 00:16:46.139 --> 00:16:48.840 have to acknowledge it. He's not just going to 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:51.179 knock you down and say, now listen to me this 00:16:51.179 --> 00:16:58.340 time. It's not the way God works. We have to 00:16:58.340 --> 00:17:02.179 be sensitive. Because the Bible says His voice 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:06.900 is a still, small voice. And just like Martha, 00:17:06.940 --> 00:17:10.079 many times we're too distracted to hear a still, 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:13.420 small voice. We have too much going on, too many 00:17:13.420 --> 00:17:16.839 distractions, too many things that we deem more 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:22.690 important, just like Martha did. And those things 00:17:22.690 --> 00:17:26.509 may not be bad things. They may be good things. 00:17:28.109 --> 00:17:30.269 But we're missing out on the one thing that's 00:17:30.269 --> 00:17:39.589 most important, most necessary. See, Samuel heard 00:17:39.589 --> 00:17:47.589 God. Samuel heard God. This was the first time 00:17:47.589 --> 00:17:50.470 he heard God. He's going to hear God a lot more. 00:17:51.490 --> 00:17:57.190 Right? But hearing God led Samuel somewhere. 00:17:57.349 --> 00:18:06.009 It led him to becoming. That word, as we were 00:18:06.009 --> 00:18:08.250 studying this week and talking, that word becoming 00:18:08.250 --> 00:18:13.150 just, boy, it just, it blew up on the inside 00:18:13.150 --> 00:18:18.329 of me. And I want you to get that. I want you 00:18:18.329 --> 00:18:23.269 to take hold of that. This word from God, he 00:18:23.269 --> 00:18:26.930 was in the tabernacle near the Ark of the Covenant, 00:18:26.990 --> 00:18:30.769 and God is speaking to him, and that first word 00:18:30.769 --> 00:18:33.910 from God led to a lot of words from God that 00:18:33.910 --> 00:18:39.829 led to him becoming. Without hearing God, he 00:18:39.829 --> 00:18:46.950 wouldn't have become. He became the last judge. 00:18:47.049 --> 00:18:49.900 This is right after the book of Judges. He was 00:18:49.900 --> 00:18:52.619 the last judge, and I'm not talking about like 00:18:52.619 --> 00:18:55.039 a Supreme Court justice. I'm talking about a 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:59.700 military leader is who the judges were. He became 00:18:59.700 --> 00:19:03.119 the last judge of Israel. He became the first 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:08.480 prophet of Israel. Now, there have been some 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:10.539 prophets before then, but he's the first prophet 00:19:10.539 --> 00:19:18.269 of Israel. And the priest, a priest of God, who 00:19:18.269 --> 00:19:24.190 would anoint the first two kings of Israel. And 00:19:24.190 --> 00:19:28.930 one of them wound up being a boy, just like he 00:19:28.930 --> 00:19:32.690 was a boy when God first spoke to him. We've 00:19:32.690 --> 00:19:35.990 got to remember, he's probably not even ten years 00:19:35.990 --> 00:19:42.309 old when God's speaking to him. God spoke to 00:19:42.309 --> 00:19:46.369 him. And God speaking to him led to his becoming. 00:19:46.569 --> 00:19:49.420 Listen. God speaking to you will lead to your 00:19:49.420 --> 00:19:56.680 becoming. You're not going to be the last judge 00:19:56.680 --> 00:19:58.099 because there's already been one. You're not 00:19:58.099 --> 00:20:00.339 going to be the first prophet because there's 00:20:00.339 --> 00:20:02.700 already been one. You're not going to be a priest 00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:09.180 anointing the kings of Israel. But you can become 00:20:09.180 --> 00:20:16.309 who God wants you to become. You can be empowered 00:20:16.309 --> 00:20:19.450 to do what He wants you to do, what He's calling 00:20:19.450 --> 00:20:25.990 you to do. One word. Everybody say one word. 00:20:26.490 --> 00:20:31.210 One word, a revelation from God, can change the 00:20:31.210 --> 00:20:36.549 situation that you're facing today. I'm sitting 00:20:36.549 --> 00:20:44.619 on that a minute. One word. I've had one word 00:20:44.619 --> 00:20:46.940 from God change the situation I was in. I was 00:20:46.940 --> 00:20:51.319 in my darkest point of my whole life. In the 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:55.200 middle of the night. It was bad. The darkest 00:20:55.200 --> 00:21:01.680 day I've ever faced. And one word from God changed 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:05.460 my situation. I went from not being able to sleep 00:21:05.460 --> 00:21:09.819 and turning and tossing and worrying, being overwhelmed 00:21:09.819 --> 00:21:17.630 with worry and fear. And one word from God, in 00:21:17.630 --> 00:21:22.529 the middle of the night, I moved from there to 00:21:22.529 --> 00:21:26.269 peace and sleeping like a baby. One word from 00:21:26.269 --> 00:21:33.609 God. One word from God can change the situation 00:21:33.609 --> 00:21:36.509 that you're facing today. One word from God can 00:21:36.509 --> 00:21:39.009 change your home. One word from God can change 00:21:39.009 --> 00:21:44.019 your business. You can consult someone who knows 00:21:44.019 --> 00:21:51.940 everything about everything. One word from God 00:21:51.940 --> 00:22:01.759 can change your life. The very first time I heard 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:03.779 the Holy Spirit speaking to me, He was drawing 00:22:03.779 --> 00:22:07.259 me to Jesus and drawing me to salvation. That 00:22:07.259 --> 00:22:13.769 changed my life. There are also times when you've 00:22:13.769 --> 00:22:17.470 got one word from God to get prepared. So that 00:22:17.470 --> 00:22:20.710 led me on a course of being prepared. One word 00:22:20.710 --> 00:22:25.910 from God to go into evangelism. One word from 00:22:25.910 --> 00:22:28.829 God to sell our house and move into an RV for 00:22:28.829 --> 00:22:33.890 20 years. One word from God to start a youth 00:22:33.890 --> 00:22:37.029 conference. Over 5 ,000 people came to Christ 00:22:37.029 --> 00:22:40.680 during that conference. One word from God. We 00:22:40.680 --> 00:22:43.599 left the comfort where we were in Myrtle Beach 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:46.220 with a free place to live, all utilities paid 00:22:46.220 --> 00:22:49.059 for, and the best salary I've ever had. One word 00:22:49.059 --> 00:22:53.160 from God to move to Davenport and start a lesson 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:57.019 church without a salary, moving back into the 00:22:57.019 --> 00:23:03.519 bus. One word from God. And as a result of that 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:05.839 one word from God, you're here today hearing 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:13.250 that what you need... What's necessary is for 00:23:13.250 --> 00:23:17.170 you to have focused, intentional, intimate time 00:23:17.170 --> 00:23:20.009 with God to receive a word for Him about what 00:23:20.009 --> 00:23:21.589 you're going through and what you're facing. 00:23:23.509 --> 00:23:26.670 Because it'll change your life. It's changed 00:23:26.670 --> 00:23:34.190 my life so many times. I grew up. I'm a preacher's 00:23:34.190 --> 00:23:40.220 kid. And then my mom was a preacher's kid. My 00:23:40.220 --> 00:23:45.660 grandfather was a preacher's kid. Boy, I had 00:23:45.660 --> 00:23:47.240 an agreement with God that I was never going 00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:49.740 to be a preacher. You know what I'm saying? But 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:52.839 God had different plans. One word from God changed 00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:58.680 all that. But I grew up thinking that my problem, 00:23:58.859 --> 00:24:02.299 you see, I always thought about my problem. You 00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:04.440 know, there were people around me that seemed... 00:24:04.750 --> 00:24:12.150 to be more spiritually mature than I was. There 00:24:12.150 --> 00:24:13.970 were people around me that were talking about 00:24:13.970 --> 00:24:16.509 experiencing God, kind of like we're talking 00:24:16.509 --> 00:24:20.710 about today. And I would say, I don't even know 00:24:20.710 --> 00:24:24.829 if that's possible for me. For me to encounter 00:24:24.829 --> 00:24:28.650 the living God in an intimate way and Him speaking 00:24:28.650 --> 00:24:33.640 to me, this sounds foreign to me. So I thought 00:24:33.640 --> 00:24:37.559 my problem from a lack of spiritual growth, from 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:40.539 me not experiencing the manifested presence of 00:24:40.539 --> 00:24:42.740 God and the Word of God, like it coming alive 00:24:42.740 --> 00:24:46.259 on the inside of me, I thought my problem, because 00:24:46.259 --> 00:24:48.980 I would always fall to temptation over and over 00:24:48.980 --> 00:24:51.200 again, kept falling that same temptation. Anybody 00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:54.160 know what I'm talking about? And I just went 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:55.420 through that and went through that and went through 00:24:55.420 --> 00:25:00.140 that. I thought my problem was due to my... Level 00:25:00.140 --> 00:25:02.400 of dedication. You see, I thought I wasn't dedicated 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:09.400 enough. Anybody ever been to a church service 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:11.599 where at the end of the church service they'll 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:14.880 have an invitation and almost every church service 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:17.660 is like, who wants to rededicate their life to 00:25:17.660 --> 00:25:22.920 Christ? Is anybody ready to rededicate? Is there 00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:24.440 only like three of us who've ever heard that 00:25:24.440 --> 00:25:31.490 term before? I would go to camp. And it's like, 00:25:31.529 --> 00:25:36.190 who wants to rededicate their life? I'm trying 00:25:36.190 --> 00:25:40.490 to be dedicated. I want to be dedicated. So over 00:25:40.490 --> 00:25:45.470 and over again, I had this experience of rededicating 00:25:45.470 --> 00:25:48.890 and rededicating and rededicating. And I got 00:25:48.890 --> 00:25:51.609 to the point that I rededicated so many times 00:25:51.609 --> 00:26:00.529 that I think my rededicator wore out. How can 00:26:00.529 --> 00:26:04.950 I rededicate more than I've... I mean, a rededicator 00:26:04.950 --> 00:26:08.309 wore out. See, it would last for a little while. 00:26:10.730 --> 00:26:13.849 It would last for a little while. I'm not saying 00:26:13.849 --> 00:26:16.369 there's no benefit to that. It would last a little 00:26:16.369 --> 00:26:20.930 while. But in my experience, it never lasted. 00:26:23.769 --> 00:26:26.410 And I'd have to rededicate again about a month 00:26:26.410 --> 00:26:28.490 or two later. It's time to rededicate again. 00:26:29.869 --> 00:26:35.309 Just got to keep rededicating. I'm going to connect 00:26:35.309 --> 00:26:46.170 that one necessary thing to where we are. Because 00:26:46.170 --> 00:26:50.569 I believe there's a connection. I believe there's 00:26:50.569 --> 00:26:56.549 a connection. I didn't need more dedication. 00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:09.440 What I needed was some more revelation. I needed 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:15.019 revelation more than I needed dedication. See, 00:27:15.160 --> 00:27:19.359 what I needed, what I was lacking was a hearing 00:27:19.359 --> 00:27:24.599 with understanding that would lead to my becoming. 00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:29.559 I'm going to say that again. What I was lacking 00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:34.539 was a hearing with understanding that would lead 00:27:34.539 --> 00:27:47.500 to my becoming. In Ephesians, Paul prays. He 00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:51.779 prays a prayer. And this is what he's praying 00:27:51.779 --> 00:27:55.480 in his prayer. He's praying that the followers 00:27:55.480 --> 00:28:00.589 of Christ in Ephesus, Would receive revelation. 00:28:00.970 --> 00:28:02.910 He didn't pray that they would be more dedicated. 00:28:04.349 --> 00:28:07.309 He prayed that they would receive revelation. 00:28:08.089 --> 00:28:14.609 Spiritual wisdom. Understanding from God. That 00:28:14.609 --> 00:28:21.630 would lead to their becoming. Here we go. I want 00:28:21.630 --> 00:28:24.410 to read the text. Y 'all got to listen faster 00:28:24.410 --> 00:28:26.529 because we're still going to be doing baptism. 00:28:26.789 --> 00:28:32.019 So y 'all got to listen fast. How many of you 00:28:32.019 --> 00:28:33.720 know I could probably preach until about 2 this 00:28:33.720 --> 00:28:36.799 afternoon? It wouldn't bother me a bit. But your 00:28:36.799 --> 00:28:43.839 fanny wouldn't handle them seats that long. Ephesians 00:28:43.839 --> 00:28:49.640 1 .15 Ever since I first heard of your strong 00:28:49.640 --> 00:28:52.140 faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's 00:28:52.140 --> 00:28:56.619 people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking 00:28:56.619 --> 00:29:01.480 God for you. I pray for you constantly. Now let's 00:29:01.480 --> 00:29:04.859 listen to this prayer. Here's what Paul was praying. 00:29:04.980 --> 00:29:09.240 Asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus 00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:13.380 Christ, to give you something, to give you spiritual 00:29:13.380 --> 00:29:18.839 wisdom and insight. Not more dedication. Spiritual 00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:23.500 wisdom and insight. Why? So that you may grow 00:29:23.500 --> 00:29:29.920 in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts, 00:29:30.829 --> 00:29:36.970 will be flooded with light so that you can understand 00:29:36.970 --> 00:29:46.190 the confident hope. That's good. The confident 00:29:46.190 --> 00:29:51.789 hope God has given to those He called His holy 00:29:51.789 --> 00:29:53.690 people. Look to the person beside you and say, 00:29:53.730 --> 00:30:01.809 that's me. That's me. are His rich and glorious 00:30:01.809 --> 00:30:08.710 inheritance. I also pray that you will understand. 00:30:08.789 --> 00:30:11.130 Everybody say understand. We're talking about 00:30:11.130 --> 00:30:14.569 spiritual wisdom, insight, the eyes of your heart 00:30:14.569 --> 00:30:17.369 being enlightened to the truth, right? That you 00:30:17.369 --> 00:30:22.670 will understand the incredible greatness of God's 00:30:22.670 --> 00:30:30.019 power for us who believe Him. Let me tell you 00:30:30.019 --> 00:30:33.579 a little bit about that power. This is the same 00:30:33.579 --> 00:30:37.619 mighty power that raised Christ from the dead 00:30:37.619 --> 00:30:40.619 and seated him in the place of honor at God's 00:30:40.619 --> 00:30:44.420 right hand in the heavenly realms. That's some 00:30:44.420 --> 00:30:49.940 power right there. It's more power than the nuclear 00:30:49.940 --> 00:30:54.420 plant. Can't raise anybody from the dead with 00:30:54.420 --> 00:30:59.920 nuclear power, can you? Now he, Jesus is far 00:30:59.920 --> 00:31:03.599 above any ruler or authority or power or leader 00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:08.759 or anything else. Not only in this world, but 00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:12.799 also in the world to come. God has put all things, 00:31:12.900 --> 00:31:15.660 everybody say all things. God has put all things 00:31:15.660 --> 00:31:20.180 under the authority of Christ and has made Jesus 00:31:20.180 --> 00:31:27.079 head over all things for His personal benefit. 00:31:31.630 --> 00:31:33.890 Somebody help me out. Don't go along with it 00:31:33.890 --> 00:31:38.990 if I'm not telling you the truth. God put Jesus, 00:31:39.130 --> 00:31:45.890 He put all things under His authority. He's the 00:31:45.890 --> 00:31:54.970 head over all things for your benefit. Everybody 00:31:54.970 --> 00:31:59.190 say, for my benefit. I mean, if you're in Christ. 00:32:01.450 --> 00:32:04.170 If it's the benefit of the church, that word 00:32:04.170 --> 00:32:06.710 church means called out ones. That's a direct 00:32:06.710 --> 00:32:10.410 definition from the Greek. It's called out ones. 00:32:10.450 --> 00:32:16.569 You're called out one. So Jesus is an authority 00:32:16.569 --> 00:32:23.630 over everything for your benefit. And guess what? 00:32:24.509 --> 00:32:28.569 In the church, everybody say, that's me. In the 00:32:28.569 --> 00:32:35.329 church is his body. It is made full and complete 00:32:35.329 --> 00:32:42.609 by Christ. The anointed one is what Christ means. 00:32:43.589 --> 00:32:47.690 Who fills all things everywhere with himself. 00:32:51.809 --> 00:32:57.650 That was Paul's prayer. And I want to challenge 00:32:57.650 --> 00:33:03.539 you. Starting this week. And I'm going to challenge 00:33:03.539 --> 00:33:07.599 you to continue. I'm going to challenge you to 00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:11.500 pray this prayer for yourself. Make this request 00:33:11.500 --> 00:33:18.279 to God for yourself every day. Every day before 00:33:18.279 --> 00:33:21.319 you pray. Every day before you pick up your Bible. 00:33:21.380 --> 00:33:30.400 Every day. Somebody say every day. If you want 00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:33.660 the Word of God to come alive to you, if you 00:33:33.660 --> 00:33:37.960 want to experience Him, if you want this spiritual 00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:42.420 wisdom and insight and understanding, if you 00:33:42.420 --> 00:33:44.700 really want to accomplish this one thing that's 00:33:44.700 --> 00:33:47.480 most necessary to sit at His feet and to hear 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:53.039 and to understand and to apply, I want to encourage 00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:56.480 you to pray this prayer. I double -dog dare you 00:33:56.480 --> 00:34:04.650 to pray it. Every day. If you do, and if you're 00:34:04.650 --> 00:34:06.589 consistent, I can't make you do it, and I can't 00:34:06.589 --> 00:34:13.710 make you consistent, but I promise you, the Word 00:34:13.710 --> 00:34:16.070 of God is going to be different to you. It's 00:34:16.070 --> 00:34:17.909 going to come more alive to you if you'll do 00:34:17.909 --> 00:34:23.889 it. And you might say, well, Dean, didn't you 00:34:23.889 --> 00:34:27.500 tell us that we're not beggars? And when we come 00:34:27.500 --> 00:34:29.400 to God, we just shouldn't beg. It shouldn't be, 00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:38.039 oh God, please. Please, God, please. It's part 00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:39.840 of this series too, and we're going to continue 00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:43.179 and talk about that. But you're not a beggar. 00:34:43.619 --> 00:34:47.139 If you're in Christ, you're not a beggar. You're 00:34:47.139 --> 00:34:49.780 a child of the King of kings and Lord of lords. 00:34:51.179 --> 00:34:56.659 You're not a beggar. I used to pray, and when 00:34:56.659 --> 00:35:01.599 I prayed, it's like I was begging God. We're 00:35:01.599 --> 00:35:06.500 not beggars. God's Word gives us great and precious 00:35:06.500 --> 00:35:08.900 promises that deal with every part of our life, 00:35:08.980 --> 00:35:13.340 so we come boldly before the throne of God and 00:35:13.340 --> 00:35:18.159 say, God, this is what you said. This is what 00:35:18.159 --> 00:35:22.719 I believe, and this is what I receive. That's 00:35:22.719 --> 00:35:27.929 the way believers pray. Not as beggars. You might 00:35:27.929 --> 00:35:29.650 say, but you told me to pray this every day. 00:35:29.889 --> 00:35:32.690 Well, the Bible says, Jesus said in Matthew 7, 00:35:32.769 --> 00:35:35.530 7, Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and 00:35:35.530 --> 00:35:37.849 you will find. Knock and it will be opened to 00:35:37.849 --> 00:35:44.829 you. But that's... It's actually saying this, 00:35:44.929 --> 00:35:50.989 Ask and keep on asking. Now that kind of sounds 00:35:50.989 --> 00:35:53.630 like a beggar, right? Ask and keep on asking. 00:35:55.360 --> 00:36:00.579 Seek and keep on seeking. Knock and keep on knocking. 00:36:00.679 --> 00:36:04.360 That's the tense in the original language. And 00:36:04.360 --> 00:36:06.539 it will be open to you. For everyone who asks, 00:36:06.659 --> 00:36:10.000 receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:12.860 who knocks, it will be open. Somebody say, that's 00:36:12.860 --> 00:36:16.760 me. See, we ask and keep on asking. We seek and 00:36:16.760 --> 00:36:18.679 keep on seeking. We knock and keep on knocking. 00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:22.610 Not that we're begging. but because we have received 00:36:22.610 --> 00:36:25.210 what we've been asking and we know that there's 00:36:25.210 --> 00:36:27.789 more. There's more spiritual wisdom. There's 00:36:27.789 --> 00:36:30.710 more insight. There's more revelation from God. 00:36:30.849 --> 00:36:38.929 Hallelujah. For those of you visiting, that's 00:36:38.929 --> 00:36:40.650 my amen button that the church gave me for my 00:36:40.650 --> 00:36:45.250 birthday. I think we just needed some more amens 00:36:45.250 --> 00:36:50.369 than we were getting at that moment. We ask and 00:36:50.369 --> 00:36:52.869 keep on asking because we've asked before and 00:36:52.869 --> 00:37:02.170 we've received before. Hallelujah. I put this 00:37:02.170 --> 00:37:04.650 into our words. The same prayer that Paul prayed 00:37:04.650 --> 00:37:07.530 for the church in Ephesus. If you want to take 00:37:07.530 --> 00:37:10.130 a picture of it, you can. I actually have 40 00:37:10.130 --> 00:37:13.889 pieces of paper. 39. I think my wife got one. 00:37:14.630 --> 00:37:18.980 I think Ganna got one. 39 pieces of paper. And 00:37:18.980 --> 00:37:20.739 if we run out, I'll bring some more next week. 00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:25.699 But I want you to take this prayer. It's got 00:37:25.699 --> 00:37:27.820 Ephesians. It's got the verses that we just read. 00:37:28.019 --> 00:37:30.960 And then it's got the prayer put in our words, 00:37:30.960 --> 00:37:34.699 praying to God. It's back on the middle of that 00:37:34.699 --> 00:37:39.139 back table. I encourage you to begin to pray 00:37:39.139 --> 00:37:42.739 this. Father, I ask you for spiritual wisdom. 00:37:43.659 --> 00:37:47.199 I ask you for revelation. I ask you for insight 00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:51.820 so that I can grow in my knowledge of you. I 00:37:51.820 --> 00:37:54.039 pray that my heart will be flooded with light 00:37:54.039 --> 00:37:59.559 so I can understand the confident hope that you've 00:37:59.559 --> 00:38:04.760 given me. I want to know. I want to understand. 00:38:04.960 --> 00:38:09.480 I want to take hold of the incredible power and 00:38:09.480 --> 00:38:15.010 authority you have made available to me. The 00:38:15.010 --> 00:38:17.469 same power that raised Jesus from the dead, you've 00:38:17.469 --> 00:38:20.170 made that available to me. The same power that 00:38:20.170 --> 00:38:22.190 seated him in heavenly places, you've made that 00:38:22.190 --> 00:38:25.150 available to me. And I want to know it, understand 00:38:25.150 --> 00:38:30.949 it, and take hold of it. Jesus, you're in authority 00:38:30.949 --> 00:38:35.409 over all things. You're the head. I'm part of 00:38:35.409 --> 00:38:42.030 your body. I'm in you. And you're in me. So all 00:38:42.030 --> 00:38:46.309 the things of this world, I declare all the things 00:38:46.309 --> 00:38:49.289 of this world are under your feet and under your 00:38:49.289 --> 00:38:52.090 authority, and because I'm your body, that means 00:38:52.090 --> 00:38:59.190 they're under my feet too. Somebody smile. Some 00:38:59.190 --> 00:39:03.750 of you just choked. Some of you just choked a 00:39:03.750 --> 00:39:10.170 little bit right there. If he's the head and 00:39:10.170 --> 00:39:11.929 we're the body and everything's under his feet, 00:39:13.000 --> 00:39:14.920 Is it not under your feet if you're the body? 00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:21.599 Come on. It's time that the things of this world 00:39:21.599 --> 00:39:28.460 keep beating us up and beating us down. All the 00:39:28.460 --> 00:39:30.860 things of this world are under His feet and under 00:39:30.860 --> 00:39:37.219 my feet too. So I ask you, reveal to me who I 00:39:37.219 --> 00:39:43.369 am in you. Reveal to me. All that you've made 00:39:43.369 --> 00:39:46.489 available to me, all that I have in you, Jesus, 00:39:46.570 --> 00:39:54.889 reveal that to me. Amen. You see, I improvised 00:39:54.889 --> 00:39:57.730 a little bit. I write it one way and then I write 00:39:57.730 --> 00:40:00.269 it another way. The main thing is you're not 00:40:00.269 --> 00:40:03.389 just reading a piece of paper. Don't say, Jesus 00:40:03.389 --> 00:40:12.030 is in authority over. Just use that as a guide 00:40:12.030 --> 00:40:16.650 to pray. Ask God for these things. I'm going 00:40:16.650 --> 00:40:22.050 to tell you, it's going to help you. I don't 00:40:22.050 --> 00:40:23.869 care where you are today. It's going to help 00:40:23.869 --> 00:40:28.230 me. It's going to help you. Whether you're spiritually 00:40:28.230 --> 00:40:30.730 above me or spiritually behind me, we're all 00:40:30.730 --> 00:40:34.349 on this course together. And it's going to help 00:40:34.349 --> 00:40:43.489 us. It's going to help us. And when we receive 00:40:43.489 --> 00:40:49.210 this word from God, and when we take hold of 00:40:49.210 --> 00:40:51.230 it, when we understand it, when we have this 00:40:51.230 --> 00:40:54.329 insight, when we have this revelation, when we 00:40:54.329 --> 00:40:56.650 have this spiritual wisdom and we begin to apply 00:40:56.650 --> 00:41:03.349 it, it's going to work towards our becoming. 00:41:07.489 --> 00:41:15.639 It's going to work towards our becoming. Let's 00:41:15.639 --> 00:41:21.659 pray. God, I thank You. Thank You for Your Word. 00:41:23.019 --> 00:41:25.860 Help us take hold of it with joy today. Help 00:41:25.860 --> 00:41:28.340 us to be doers of Your Word. Not just hearers 00:41:28.340 --> 00:41:31.699 only. I pray that Your Word would be planted 00:41:31.699 --> 00:41:35.739 into our hearts. And it will find good soil. 00:41:37.599 --> 00:41:40.920 Not soil that's distracted and can't take a hold 00:41:40.920 --> 00:41:43.570 of it and it won't be planted in. But the good 00:41:43.570 --> 00:41:48.909 soil of our hearts, where the roots will go down 00:41:48.909 --> 00:41:54.309 deep and strong, and a harvest will be produced 00:41:54.309 --> 00:41:58.090 in our lives. This online worship experience 00:41:58.090 --> 00:42:00.610 was brought to you by the friends and partners 00:42:00.610 --> 00:42:01.650 of Eulation Church.