WEBVTT 00:00:01.419 --> 00:00:04.440 Sharing good news of great joy to all people, 00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:11.119 Elation Church. Welcome to week number four in 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:13.759 our series entitled One Thing. It's cool to see 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:16.679 how God works and God just continues to bless 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:20.460 and use His Word, right? Expound on it, right? 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:23.280 Takes you further, takes you on a journey, right? 00:00:23.500 --> 00:00:28.760 Leads you to where you need to go. I wanted to 00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:31.719 start today a little differently. Instead of 00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:34.600 opening up our immediate passage like our text 00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:36.880 that we've been reading out of, I want us to 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:40.320 go back on week two. We finished with the Ephesians 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:44.600 1 prayer. And in it, in Ephesians, Paul is praying 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:47.200 that the followers of Christ would receive revelation 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:50.899 and spiritual wisdom and understanding from God. 00:00:51.179 --> 00:00:53.560 And I hope that you picked up, we had some papers 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:56.240 in the back. It actually had the Ephesians 1 00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:59.060 prayer. And Paul is, he's talking, he's encouraging 00:00:59.060 --> 00:01:03.119 all prayers to pray this. When we come to God, 00:01:03.219 --> 00:01:05.219 when we come to Scripture, before we come to 00:01:05.219 --> 00:01:08.319 church, we need to be expecting something. We 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:11.719 need to be expecting to hear from God, not just 00:01:11.719 --> 00:01:15.299 doing religious duty, not just marking off a 00:01:15.299 --> 00:01:17.640 little time card and punch card like, okay, I'm 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:24.680 here, I did my thing, God bless me. I came to 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:28.799 experience God. When I open up my Bible, I come 00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:32.609 to hear. what God wants to say to me. I come 00:01:32.609 --> 00:01:35.769 to change and be changed because the Word of 00:01:35.769 --> 00:01:39.250 God is like a mirror, right? When I come to it, 00:01:39.310 --> 00:01:43.349 I look in it, and sometimes I don't look that 00:01:43.349 --> 00:01:46.969 good. Sometimes you come to the mirror and you're 00:01:46.969 --> 00:01:50.069 like, oh boy, it's going to need some work today. 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:54.319 And then sometimes you come to the mirror and 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:56.459 you're like, all right, we can work with that. 00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:58.659 Like something happened, right? Same thing with 00:01:58.659 --> 00:02:01.219 the Bible. When we come to the Bible and we're 00:02:01.219 --> 00:02:05.019 reading it, it kind of exposes us, right? We 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:07.819 see for ourselves. Sometimes it's like, oh, boy, 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:11.860 oh, my, what's happening? The Holy Spirit starts 00:02:11.860 --> 00:02:15.740 working on us a little bit to conform us into 00:02:15.740 --> 00:02:20.330 whose image? God's image, right? To make us look 00:02:20.330 --> 00:02:23.969 more and more like Christ. The more and more 00:02:23.969 --> 00:02:26.289 you spend time with someone, the more you talk 00:02:26.289 --> 00:02:28.169 like them, the more you start acting like them, 00:02:28.189 --> 00:02:33.509 you pick up their habits. Come on. You know where 00:02:33.509 --> 00:02:38.750 I'm going. Don't make me repeat it twice. The 00:02:38.750 --> 00:02:40.509 more time you spend with God, the more you're 00:02:40.509 --> 00:02:44.389 going to look like him. Hallelujah. More like 00:02:44.389 --> 00:02:46.909 you're going to talk like him. He's going to 00:02:46.909 --> 00:02:51.050 desire the things that he desires and expect 00:02:51.050 --> 00:02:57.129 the things that he expects. Right? All right. 00:02:57.550 --> 00:03:01.969 Enough of that. God. Let's go to Ephesians 1 00:03:01.969 --> 00:03:04.969 prayer. I want to read it. And then like we finished 00:03:04.969 --> 00:03:07.909 in week two, I want us to kind of go over that. 00:03:07.969 --> 00:03:10.030 And I want us to pray it, kind of personalize 00:03:10.030 --> 00:03:12.349 it, take a hold of it, and pray it for ourselves. 00:03:12.590 --> 00:03:14.229 Okay? So if you want to turn in your scriptures. 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:17.639 Open up your Bibles to Ephesians 1, we're reading 00:03:17.639 --> 00:03:23.960 15 through 23. It says this, Ever since I first 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:26.419 heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:29.699 and your love for God's people everywhere, I 00:03:29.699 --> 00:03:32.939 have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray 00:03:32.939 --> 00:03:36.979 for you constantly. Asking God, the glorious 00:03:36.979 --> 00:03:40.180 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:43.240 spiritual wisdom and insight. so that you might 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:47.960 grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your 00:03:47.960 --> 00:03:51.520 hearts will be flooded with light, so that you 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:54.960 can understand the confident hope he has given 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:59.219 to those he called his holy people, who are his 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:04.080 rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:07.080 you will understand the incredible greatness 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:10.879 of God's power for us who believe him. This is 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:13.240 the same mighty power that raised Christ from 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:16.339 the dead and seated him in the place of honor 00:04:16.339 --> 00:04:22.360 at God's right hand in heavenly realms. Now he 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:25.519 is far above any ruler or authority or power 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:29.060 or leader or anything else, not only in this 00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:32.579 world, but also in the world to come. God has 00:04:32.579 --> 00:04:34.860 put all things under the authority of Christ 00:04:34.860 --> 00:04:38.139 and has made him head over all things. For who? 00:04:38.569 --> 00:04:42.350 for the benefit of the church, and the church 00:04:42.350 --> 00:04:47.470 is his body, it is made full and complete by 00:04:47.470 --> 00:04:52.730 Christ, who fills all things everywhere with 00:04:52.730 --> 00:04:58.029 himself. That'll preach. We can just go home 00:04:58.029 --> 00:05:01.410 right there. That's good stuff. The word is powerful. 00:05:04.529 --> 00:05:08.089 Dad worked on this and converted it to like, 00:05:08.410 --> 00:05:10.970 our language for us to take a hold of this okay 00:05:10.970 --> 00:05:14.189 so i want us to pray this together and i want 00:05:14.189 --> 00:05:16.269 you to do it not just out loud and repeating 00:05:16.269 --> 00:05:18.509 words because we all know that you can repeat 00:05:18.509 --> 00:05:21.430 words and it means nothing to you all right so 00:05:21.430 --> 00:05:25.290 personalize this internalize this and pray something 00:05:25.290 --> 00:05:29.209 like this to god okay and this is a practice 00:05:29.209 --> 00:05:32.550 that we need to make a habit that we need to 00:05:32.550 --> 00:05:36.720 make a ritual in our lives That when we come 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:40.000 to God, we expect to hear from him. We expect 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:46.779 to understand. Okay? Let's pray. And I'm praying 00:05:46.779 --> 00:05:49.959 for myself. You pray for yourself. Father, I 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:56.879 ask you this morning for spiritual wisdom, for 00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:02.699 revelation, and insight, so I can grow in my 00:06:02.699 --> 00:06:06.680 knowledge of you. I pray that my heart will be 00:06:06.680 --> 00:06:10.920 flooded with light so I can understand and take 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:13.980 hold of the confident hope you have given me. 00:06:16.060 --> 00:06:23.459 I want to know. I want to understand. I want 00:06:23.459 --> 00:06:27.319 to take hold of the incredible power and authority 00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:33.750 you have made available to me. This same power 00:06:33.750 --> 00:06:36.529 that raised Jesus from the dead and seated him 00:06:36.529 --> 00:06:41.209 in heavenly places, make it known to me. Reveal 00:06:41.209 --> 00:06:47.910 it to me. Make it fresh to me. Jesus, you are 00:06:47.910 --> 00:06:52.029 in authority over all things. You are the head. 00:06:52.269 --> 00:06:56.870 I am part of your body. I am in you. You are 00:06:56.870 --> 00:07:00.810 in me. And all things of this world are under 00:07:00.810 --> 00:07:12.199 my feet. Reveal to me who I am in you and all 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:20.339 I have in you. Amen. Amen. Let's dive into our 00:07:20.339 --> 00:07:23.160 main text. It's found in Luke 10, 38 through 00:07:23.160 --> 00:07:28.279 42. Story of Mary and Martha. Very familiar story, 00:07:28.439 --> 00:07:30.519 so don't check out. We're going to read it again 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:34.220 because there's no way that you got a hold of 00:07:34.220 --> 00:07:36.990 all of it. In one time or in four times reading. 00:07:37.029 --> 00:07:39.389 I feel like we could read the Bible a hundred 00:07:39.389 --> 00:07:42.509 times and learn something new because it's living. 00:07:42.629 --> 00:07:47.649 It's a living book. So let's read the story. 00:07:48.389 --> 00:07:51.250 Verse 38, as Jesus and the disciples continued 00:07:51.250 --> 00:07:53.870 on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain 00:07:53.870 --> 00:07:56.870 village where a woman named Martha welcomed him 00:07:56.870 --> 00:08:01.149 into her home. Her sister Mary sat at the Lord's 00:08:01.149 --> 00:08:04.540 feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:07.240 was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. 00:08:08.540 --> 00:08:19.319 She came to Jesus and said, But the Lord said 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:26.199 to her, But there is only one thing worth being 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:29.279 concerned about. Mary has discovered it and it 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:33.590 will not be taken away from her. So as we read 00:08:33.590 --> 00:08:37.149 that story, what was the one thing worth being 00:08:37.149 --> 00:08:41.009 concerned about? What was the one thing, because 00:08:41.009 --> 00:08:43.309 he's talking to Martha, right? What is the one 00:08:43.309 --> 00:08:46.909 thing Martha did not do that Mary did? What was 00:08:46.909 --> 00:08:49.009 the one thing necessary? What was the one thing 00:08:49.009 --> 00:08:53.850 needed? And that was to sit at Jesus' feet and 00:08:53.850 --> 00:08:59.149 hear his word. Too many times we mistake proximity 00:08:59.149 --> 00:09:02.129 for intimacy. We think that just because Jesus 00:09:02.129 --> 00:09:07.029 is in the home that I'm good. We think that like 00:09:07.029 --> 00:09:11.750 he's in us. I do my religious duties week in 00:09:11.750 --> 00:09:14.129 and week out, whatever. And I feel like that's 00:09:14.129 --> 00:09:17.950 all there is to God. And if he needs me, he'll 00:09:17.950 --> 00:09:22.570 get a hold of me. So we just kind of live our 00:09:22.570 --> 00:09:25.149 life and just, you know, if all of a sudden the 00:09:25.149 --> 00:09:31.980 clouds open up and we seek the spectacular. We 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:34.899 want God to just bust open the clouds and all 00:09:34.899 --> 00:09:36.519 this kind of stuff. And can he do that? Yeah. 00:09:37.700 --> 00:09:42.500 But often we seek the spectacular and miss, miss 00:09:42.500 --> 00:09:46.600 the things that God wants to do for us. Miss 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:53.799 what God wants to speak to us. God's not spooky. 00:09:54.340 --> 00:09:58.320 The Holy Spirit's not spooky. Okay? Too many 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:00.899 people, we get all weirded out when we start 00:10:00.899 --> 00:10:05.559 talking about the Spirit. If you start feeling 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:07.500 that way, that's like, that's not of God. That's 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:11.759 not what this is about, okay? But God wants to 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:18.500 speak to you. He has a word for you. Mary sat 00:10:18.500 --> 00:10:24.179 at Jesus' feet and she heard his word. This Greek 00:10:24.179 --> 00:10:29.279 word here. It can be listening or heard. Sometimes 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:30.740 it's translated like in different translations 00:10:30.740 --> 00:10:33.700 in your Bible. It'll say a different word. But 00:10:33.700 --> 00:10:36.700 the Greek word, the definition of it, says to 00:10:36.700 --> 00:10:40.179 hear, but it goes beyond just hearing, right? 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:44.120 I can audibly hear a sound and the sound of my 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:47.019 voice bouncing off the walls in this room, but 00:10:47.019 --> 00:10:49.340 that doesn't mean I'm listening, right? It's 00:10:49.340 --> 00:10:52.019 kind of like when a mother says, I know you hear 00:10:52.019 --> 00:10:54.860 me, but you're not listening to me. Kind of grab 00:10:54.860 --> 00:10:56.740 your attention a little bit, right? It's the 00:10:56.740 --> 00:11:00.700 same thing. But we can also listen. Look, we 00:11:00.700 --> 00:11:06.620 can also listen and not understand. We can listen 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:08.740 and not understand. Like we looked at the story 00:11:08.740 --> 00:11:12.559 of Samuel. He heard and he was like, he listened, 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:15.059 right? But he didn't quite understand it until 00:11:15.059 --> 00:11:18.610 a little bit later, right? Because we need help 00:11:18.610 --> 00:11:21.149 listening. We need help of the Holy Spirit to 00:11:21.149 --> 00:11:23.409 understand the things that God is speaking to 00:11:23.409 --> 00:11:26.429 us, to cause his word to come alive on the inside 00:11:26.429 --> 00:11:33.549 of us, to bring revelation. So this word encompasses 00:11:33.549 --> 00:11:36.450 both the physical act of hearing and also the 00:11:36.450 --> 00:11:39.389 deeper understanding of what is heard. It's beyond 00:11:39.389 --> 00:11:42.889 auditory reception. It's also attentive and obedient 00:11:42.889 --> 00:11:45.809 response to what is heard. So it's like... Mary's 00:11:45.809 --> 00:11:48.629 sitting at the Lord's feet and she's not thinking 00:11:48.629 --> 00:11:50.690 about, oh, well, what am I going to do tomorrow? 00:11:51.149 --> 00:11:53.649 Or I wonder what we're going to do after this. 00:11:53.789 --> 00:11:56.929 Or like, I wonder if, you know, is Jesus going 00:11:56.929 --> 00:11:59.190 to do party tricks afterwards? Is he going to 00:11:59.190 --> 00:12:00.669 like heal people? Like what's going to happen 00:12:00.669 --> 00:12:03.009 after? No, she's not wondering and daydreaming. 00:12:03.149 --> 00:12:05.970 She's sitting at Jesus's feet going, come on, 00:12:05.970 --> 00:12:09.250 God, give me something. I want to hear something 00:12:09.250 --> 00:12:11.149 that's going to change my life. I came here, 00:12:11.190 --> 00:12:13.049 and I'm sitting here, and I'm going to take hold 00:12:13.049 --> 00:12:15.730 of your word, and I'm going to act upon it. You 00:12:15.730 --> 00:12:18.669 give me one thing to stand on, one thing to do, 00:12:18.809 --> 00:12:23.649 I'll do it. Because I want to serve you. I want 00:12:23.649 --> 00:12:26.710 to follow you, right? I believe you. That's a 00:12:26.710 --> 00:12:29.950 sign of belief. That's a sign of faith is the 00:12:29.950 --> 00:12:33.669 willingness to act upon the word that is spoken. 00:12:33.850 --> 00:12:37.730 Amen? So Mary, she's sitting there with anticipation 00:12:37.730 --> 00:12:41.289 and a desire to do. We've talked about that. 00:12:42.210 --> 00:12:46.250 So the one thing is necessary for you and for 00:12:46.250 --> 00:12:57.730 me. One thing. What are the necessary things? 00:12:57.870 --> 00:13:00.470 What do you deem necessary in your life today? 00:13:02.129 --> 00:13:07.120 That if, you know, Everything else about today, 00:13:07.240 --> 00:13:10.059 just think over the course of one day. If you 00:13:10.059 --> 00:13:12.419 didn't do one thing, if you didn't do this one, 00:13:12.500 --> 00:13:15.200 like focus on it, would it just all fall to pieces? 00:13:15.539 --> 00:13:17.620 If you weren't involved in it, what would it 00:13:17.620 --> 00:13:20.899 do? What is the one necessary thing that you 00:13:20.899 --> 00:13:23.659 wake up and be like, I got to get this done. 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:30.720 It's the most urgent thing in my life. And is 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:34.200 that the one thing? that Jesus is saying here? 00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:41.559 Is that the one necessary thing? We can mistake 00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:45.019 the urgent for the necessary. And the urgent 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:47.559 things in our life can be crucial things, can 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:49.600 be critical things, can be important things. 00:13:52.779 --> 00:13:56.700 But if you miss the main thing, if you miss the 00:13:56.700 --> 00:14:00.320 most important thing in your life, and that is 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:04.720 to hear, from God, you're going to be struggling 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:07.840 and fighting and his life is going to be very 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:12.519 difficult for you when it could be my yoke is 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:23.279 easy and my burden is light. The one thing, the 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:28.620 necessary thing is not for you to logically produce 00:14:28.620 --> 00:14:32.179 the works from your hand. But the one necessary 00:14:32.179 --> 00:14:35.320 thing is to spend focused, intentional, intimate 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:38.879 time with God and receive a word from Him, and 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:41.539 the rest of these things will be added unto you. 00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:48.340 Because what I can do with my own hands is limited 00:14:48.340 --> 00:14:52.980 compared to what God can do is unlimited, is 00:14:52.980 --> 00:14:57.340 supernatural. So if I want supernatural things 00:14:57.340 --> 00:15:00.279 to happen in my life, I can't... break natural 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:02.919 measures, I'm just going to expect a natural 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:09.480 result. If it's all what I can do in my own flesh, 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:12.620 that's all I'm going to get. I'm not going to 00:15:12.620 --> 00:15:16.480 get any farther than that. But if my reliance 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:27.779 and my source, come on, stay with me. If I desire 00:15:27.779 --> 00:15:34.340 his word, His word fulfills me, gives me more 00:15:34.340 --> 00:15:37.480 energy than the bread that I eat, than the food 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:43.759 that I eat. That's when life's going to get really 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:46.840 good. Because that's what God wants for us. This 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:51.000 life is short. It's like a vapor. And we need 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:54.820 to start getting concerned and like, this is 00:15:54.820 --> 00:15:57.970 the most important thing. God speaking to us 00:15:57.970 --> 00:16:01.769 and us living according to his word. What he's 00:16:01.769 --> 00:16:04.610 saying. What he wants us to do. And that doesn't 00:16:04.610 --> 00:16:06.730 mean that you go live in a monastery somewhere 00:16:06.730 --> 00:16:12.250 like a monk in a cave. No. Because God is where? 00:16:12.389 --> 00:16:15.669 God is here. He's on the inside of you. And he 00:16:15.669 --> 00:16:23.009 is speaking. He is not far. I'm getting ahead 00:16:23.009 --> 00:16:28.190 of myself. But it is at his feet, listen, it 00:16:28.190 --> 00:16:33.809 is at his feet that we receive his word. Because 00:16:33.809 --> 00:16:36.429 I think this is a really important part that 00:16:36.429 --> 00:16:41.230 we miss. There was a lot of people in the room 00:16:41.230 --> 00:16:44.309 who didn't receive that word, and it was no value 00:16:44.309 --> 00:16:47.129 to them. They heard the sound of it, but it was 00:16:47.129 --> 00:16:50.129 no value to him. Jesus himself is speaking things 00:16:50.129 --> 00:16:55.179 into the room, but it's no value to those. who 00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:57.779 are just hearing it. It's only valuable to those 00:16:57.779 --> 00:17:02.120 who are at his feet, ready to receive it. Okay? 00:17:02.940 --> 00:17:07.299 Humbling yourself before the Lord. He gives grace 00:17:07.299 --> 00:17:16.339 to the humble. He, what? He resists the proud. 00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:18.619 Another verse says, I don't have it up there, 00:17:18.660 --> 00:17:21.319 sorry. You can Google it. That's the good thing 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:25.849 about Google. It can tell you everything. Not 00:17:25.849 --> 00:17:32.369 everything. But he gives grace to the humble. 00:17:32.430 --> 00:17:36.410 So those who humble themselves before the Lord, 00:17:36.589 --> 00:17:41.690 he gives understanding to. He gives grace. He 00:17:41.690 --> 00:17:46.069 gives his word. Someone said this week, I heard 00:17:46.069 --> 00:17:51.430 someone say there was a reason why God said, 00:17:53.020 --> 00:17:55.559 I want to make sure I say this right. There was 00:17:55.559 --> 00:18:00.400 a reason. He's like, he doesn't cast, Jesus doesn't 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:02.440 cast pearls before swine. I don't know if you've 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:05.019 heard that passage before. He's like, I'm not 00:18:05.019 --> 00:18:06.980 going to cast my pearls before swine, things 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:12.119 like that. And it was, the point of it was this. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:15.960 He's not calling us like pigs. But you know, 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:20.380 the pig doesn't value the pearl. Right? You don't 00:18:20.380 --> 00:18:23.220 give a pig a pearl. Because he doesn't value 00:18:23.220 --> 00:18:27.880 it. It has no value to him, so why give it? So, 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:32.440 in that same way, if we value, if we're hanging 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:35.480 on every word from God and we're living in that, 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:38.900 and that's the most valuable thing to us, we 00:18:38.900 --> 00:18:41.759 are going to receive those treasures from heaven. 00:18:42.839 --> 00:18:47.400 Okay? So, it is at his feet we receive his word. 00:18:47.740 --> 00:18:51.609 The grace with his word. comes the grace and 00:18:51.609 --> 00:18:55.950 understanding to do what he wants us to do. And 00:18:55.950 --> 00:18:58.470 in these past two weeks, we've talked about how 00:18:58.470 --> 00:19:03.069 his word leads us to become who he wants us to 00:19:03.069 --> 00:19:14.589 be. I'm just going to sit on this thing because 00:19:14.589 --> 00:19:21.549 I wanted to make everybody happy. It's time for 00:19:21.549 --> 00:19:24.529 a real talk, okay? Welcome to Jeffrey's TED Talk. 00:19:25.609 --> 00:19:36.430 Yeah. I've spent a lot of years, and, like, I 00:19:36.430 --> 00:19:38.970 was very blessed and fortunate to grow up in 00:19:38.970 --> 00:19:44.490 a home that God mattered and that being in church 00:19:44.490 --> 00:19:48.190 mattered and Scripture mattered. That's a blessing, 00:19:48.269 --> 00:19:51.480 and that's a privilege. Not a whole lot of people 00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:54.859 get, okay? My home was always filled, like, from 00:19:54.859 --> 00:19:58.079 the things on the wall to, like, you know, if 00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:00.920 LifeWay sold Scripture toilet paper, like, we 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:02.500 would have it. You know what I'm saying? Like, 00:20:02.579 --> 00:20:06.660 some people grew up collecting, like, I don't 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:08.099 know, all these kind of things. I grew up, like, 00:20:08.180 --> 00:20:10.079 collecting Bibles, you know, and I just, like, 00:20:10.119 --> 00:20:12.099 oh, this is a cool one. Let's get this one. Oh, 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:14.859 this one's metal and magnetic. Oh, this one has, 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:17.000 you know, fun colors on it. And it's like, oh, 00:20:17.019 --> 00:20:20.779 this is great. And I'm very fortunate. We joke 00:20:20.779 --> 00:20:22.720 about that, but I'm like, I'm very fortunate 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:25.440 to grow up in that kind of household. And it 00:20:25.440 --> 00:20:28.180 was always stressed upon me the importance of, 00:20:28.200 --> 00:20:31.859 like, knowing God, of hearing God. And you hear 00:20:31.859 --> 00:20:37.220 all these terms, right? And even in my school, 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:40.220 like, my education was centered around Christian 00:20:40.220 --> 00:20:46.059 values. And, like, that was a blessing to me, 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:49.319 right? Because it was constantly taking me back 00:20:49.319 --> 00:20:52.859 to who God is. It's constantly, like, grounding 00:20:52.859 --> 00:20:56.839 myself, okay? And even in school, like, I go 00:20:56.839 --> 00:21:00.160 to Liberty, and then I went to Trinity, and I 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:05.160 graduated. I did nine years, or almost nine years, 00:21:05.240 --> 00:21:08.720 and I graduated with a Ph .D. in philosophy and 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:11.500 Christian apologetics, okay? Don't call me doctor. 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:15.619 I will be upset. It's offensive. Don't do it. 00:21:16.490 --> 00:21:21.230 I didn't do it to get the title. I did it because 00:21:21.230 --> 00:21:24.970 I genuinely wanted to know. And I thought that 00:21:24.970 --> 00:21:29.990 learning this information, now this might sound 00:21:29.990 --> 00:21:33.369 silly to some of you, but I'm just being honest. 00:21:34.329 --> 00:21:36.650 I genuinely thought, there was a point in my 00:21:36.650 --> 00:21:40.410 life where I genuinely thought that if I gained 00:21:40.410 --> 00:21:43.430 this information, it was going to change who 00:21:43.430 --> 00:21:48.029 I was. And it would lead to my becoming who I 00:21:48.029 --> 00:21:52.609 needed to be for God. And I thought this information, 00:21:52.910 --> 00:21:55.670 I was like, I just need more. I need to read 00:21:55.670 --> 00:21:57.950 more. I need to absorb more. And all that's good. 00:21:58.170 --> 00:22:03.769 It's important. Don't get me wrong. I love reading. 00:22:04.690 --> 00:22:07.950 But there's a difference between reading a book 00:22:07.950 --> 00:22:12.630 and reading words. And all of a sudden, God's 00:22:12.630 --> 00:22:18.660 speaking to you. Because information, the degree 00:22:18.660 --> 00:22:21.619 and the piece of paper on the wall, didn't change 00:22:21.619 --> 00:22:26.640 who I was. It didn't impact my life. I didn't 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:28.299 all of a sudden wake up one day and I was just 00:22:28.299 --> 00:22:32.400 like, oh, I'm just, you know, wow. Look at me. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:47.339 When I learned that God would speak to me, And 00:22:47.339 --> 00:22:51.380 when I finally figured out what that was like, 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:59.279 it is those moments, those moments that led to 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:03.680 my becoming, to me changing, to me growing in 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:07.259 to who God wants me to be. Because it wasn't 00:23:07.259 --> 00:23:10.220 information. Information's important, and I draw 00:23:10.220 --> 00:23:13.859 from that a lot. But those times where God revealed 00:23:13.859 --> 00:23:17.539 his word to me, The same scriptures that I had 00:23:17.539 --> 00:23:20.779 read for hours and hours and hours and writing 00:23:20.779 --> 00:23:23.519 papers and all this kind of stuff, that stuff 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:25.880 meant nothing to me. It didn't change my life. 00:23:26.420 --> 00:23:29.099 It was just information, just busy work in my 00:23:29.099 --> 00:23:31.660 head. And then there was a difference. All of 00:23:31.660 --> 00:23:33.539 a sudden I'm like, wow, this means something. 00:23:34.140 --> 00:23:36.519 And then it changes the course. It changed my 00:23:36.519 --> 00:23:40.819 direction in life. Changed who I was. Changed 00:23:40.819 --> 00:23:46.240 who I wanted to become. Changed my focus. Because 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:49.500 only revelation, a word from God, can bring transformation 00:23:49.500 --> 00:23:56.039 to you. Not information. We have a lot of information. 00:23:58.140 --> 00:24:01.779 But only revelation from God. Him bringing that 00:24:01.779 --> 00:24:03.900 to us. And I want to go ahead and put this out 00:24:03.900 --> 00:24:05.579 here. I know I'm running out of time. I'm burning 00:24:05.579 --> 00:24:09.279 the clock, so to say. But I want to tell you 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:12.079 this. Like, in church, if you grow up in church, 00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:15.970 people talk about it. If you're new. People say 00:24:15.970 --> 00:24:18.470 things like hearing from God. What does that 00:24:18.470 --> 00:24:21.650 mean? God speaks to me. What does that mean and 00:24:21.650 --> 00:24:23.450 what does that look like on a day -to -day basis? 00:24:23.869 --> 00:24:26.369 I know people who have heard the voice of the 00:24:26.369 --> 00:24:31.569 Lord audibly. Okay? I know that. Me personally, 00:24:31.789 --> 00:24:34.470 I've never heard an audible voice of the Lord, 00:24:34.549 --> 00:24:37.670 but I know that he has spoken to me. Because 00:24:37.670 --> 00:24:42.410 when God speaks to you, he... gives you understanding 00:24:42.410 --> 00:24:45.230 and revelation about something that you wouldn't. 00:24:45.230 --> 00:24:48.190 He brings it into your purview that you wouldn't 00:24:48.190 --> 00:24:51.549 naturally know, that you didn't work to receive. 00:24:51.609 --> 00:24:54.670 Maybe he pulls from that, but it's an inner knowing. 00:24:54.849 --> 00:24:57.549 It's an inner voice from the Holy Spirit that 00:24:57.549 --> 00:25:00.549 all of a sudden urges you, prompts you, leads 00:25:00.549 --> 00:25:04.990 you, guides you into the truth of his word and 00:25:04.990 --> 00:25:07.890 causes it to become a fire on the inside of you, 00:25:07.970 --> 00:25:09.890 an unquenchable fire. It just, boom, and all 00:25:09.890 --> 00:25:13.200 of a sudden, You, any other thing that you thought 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:15.539 about when the Holy Spirit speaks to you and 00:25:15.539 --> 00:25:17.460 it comes alive on the inside of you, you know 00:25:17.460 --> 00:25:20.400 beyond a shadow of a doubt. You're like, man, 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:25.400 that was God. God revealed this to me. And you 00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:27.740 just got a hold of it. It's a deeper understanding, 00:25:28.099 --> 00:25:33.200 okay? That's what it's looked like for me. But 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:35.980 God still does reveal himself. He still speaks 00:25:35.980 --> 00:25:38.700 audibly. And all those things happening, but 00:25:38.700 --> 00:25:41.380 on a day -to -day basis, the Holy Spirit wants 00:25:41.380 --> 00:25:44.619 to lead you in everything, okay? Guide you into 00:25:44.619 --> 00:25:48.680 the truth of his word. Recapping a little bit, 00:25:48.740 --> 00:25:51.960 Samuel, listen, was in the tabernacle. God spoke 00:25:51.960 --> 00:25:55.099 to him multiple times. We learned this was week 00:25:55.099 --> 00:25:58.140 two again. We see that God speaks to him multiple 00:25:58.140 --> 00:26:01.000 times, but it was not until Samuel recognized 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:06.400 it was God, with a little help from Eli. And 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:09.359 humbled himself, because he said what? He came 00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:12.579 and he's like, speak to me, your servant is listening. 00:26:15.460 --> 00:26:18.660 That he received a life -changing word that would 00:26:18.660 --> 00:26:21.440 lead, that one word from God would lead to his 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:25.160 becoming. From Samuel, and he's just a young 00:26:25.160 --> 00:26:30.200 boy. And it doesn't matter how old you are. It 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:32.710 doesn't matter where you are in life. It doesn't 00:26:32.710 --> 00:26:34.829 matter what's going on or what you've done or 00:26:34.829 --> 00:26:40.890 not done. God has a word for you today. And he 00:26:40.890 --> 00:26:48.450 wants to change your life. Then we talked about 00:26:48.450 --> 00:26:51.569 Moses. When God saw Moses turn aside, this was 00:26:51.569 --> 00:26:54.630 last week, when God saw Moses turn aside from 00:26:54.630 --> 00:26:59.089 his routine tasks and concerns, And all of a 00:26:59.089 --> 00:27:00.890 sudden he was looking at the burning bush, that 00:27:00.890 --> 00:27:04.029 story, and it says that he turns aside and looks. 00:27:04.170 --> 00:27:06.829 I think I have it up here. Yeah, Exodus 3, 2 00:27:06.829 --> 00:27:10.009 through 5 says this. When the Lord saw, get this, 00:27:10.250 --> 00:27:14.170 when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, 00:27:14.450 --> 00:27:17.849 God called to him from the midst of the bush. 00:27:19.990 --> 00:27:25.990 When Moses turns away from his tasks of taking 00:27:25.990 --> 00:27:28.730 care of the flock or whatever, When he turns 00:27:28.730 --> 00:27:31.670 aside to look, that's when God called to him 00:27:31.670 --> 00:27:34.390 from the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. 00:27:35.029 --> 00:27:39.029 And he said, here I am. Moses is like, here I 00:27:39.029 --> 00:27:43.089 am. The words from this encounter with God changed 00:27:43.089 --> 00:27:46.670 his life, led to his becoming. This was the start 00:27:46.670 --> 00:27:50.549 date, right? To all the great things that Moses 00:27:50.549 --> 00:27:54.109 was going to do. It all started right there with 00:27:54.109 --> 00:27:57.509 one word from God. And that's why his word is 00:27:57.509 --> 00:27:59.970 so important to us. Something that stood out 00:27:59.970 --> 00:28:02.650 to me last week at the end of this, just kind 00:28:02.650 --> 00:28:05.329 of want to point this out here. In verse 5 it 00:28:05.329 --> 00:28:08.630 says, Then he said, this is God talking to Moses. 00:28:08.750 --> 00:28:11.630 It says, Do not draw near this place. Take your 00:28:11.630 --> 00:28:14.009 sandals off your feet, for the place where you 00:28:14.009 --> 00:28:23.049 stand is holy ground. What changed? What changed? 00:28:26.019 --> 00:28:28.339 Moses was standing in the same dirt as he was 00:28:28.339 --> 00:28:34.880 before. He's still right there by his little 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:38.599 task, wandering in the wilderness with his little, 00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:42.539 you know. He's still just in it. Look, come on. 00:28:43.940 --> 00:28:48.740 Did the dirt change? No. He's in the same dirt. 00:28:48.819 --> 00:28:54.619 He's in the same location. But now something's 00:28:54.619 --> 00:28:59.250 different. Now something's different. Come on. 00:28:59.289 --> 00:29:04.190 Moses is standing in God's presence. But I thought 00:29:04.190 --> 00:29:06.849 he was in the dirt in Mount Horeb. No, now he 00:29:06.849 --> 00:29:10.849 is standing in the presence of God on holy ground. 00:29:11.269 --> 00:29:16.450 Take off your sandals. Don't let anything in 00:29:16.450 --> 00:29:21.430 this physical life get between you and what I 00:29:21.430 --> 00:29:24.529 have for you and the word that I want you to 00:29:24.529 --> 00:29:28.589 speak. Throw it off. Get it away. Taste and see. 00:29:29.130 --> 00:29:33.950 The Lord is good. Amen? Moses is standing in 00:29:33.950 --> 00:29:37.250 God's presence on holy ground. Moses was at two 00:29:37.250 --> 00:29:44.490 places at one time. Think about it. He's at two 00:29:44.490 --> 00:29:49.289 places. His flesh was in the desert at Mount 00:29:49.289 --> 00:29:53.069 Horeb, but his spirit is now in the presence 00:29:53.069 --> 00:30:02.630 of God. There's a lesson here. Don't miss it. 00:30:03.829 --> 00:30:06.150 You don't have to go off. You don't have to have 00:30:06.150 --> 00:30:09.849 some physical geographical place to access the 00:30:09.849 --> 00:30:14.630 presence of God. And don't let anyone tell you 00:30:14.630 --> 00:30:19.049 otherwise. You have access. Say, I have access. 00:30:19.690 --> 00:30:23.650 I have access to the throne room of eternity. 00:30:24.329 --> 00:30:27.490 I have access to the very presence of God right 00:30:27.490 --> 00:30:30.819 here where I'm at. No matter where. No matter 00:30:30.819 --> 00:30:35.039 I'm at work, I'm in my car. No matter. I have 00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:40.240 access. But it takes me to turn aside. It takes 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:43.319 me humbling myself. It takes me sitting at his 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:51.359 feet, valuing his word. No matter where you are 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:53.920 in the natural, you have access to the presence, 00:30:54.160 --> 00:30:58.930 to his presence. let's turn now to ephesians 00:30:58.930 --> 00:31:02.470 it says god even when we were dead in trespasses 00:31:02.470 --> 00:31:05.549 i love this made us alive together with christ 00:31:05.549 --> 00:31:13.349 get happy we are made alive some of us still 00:31:13.349 --> 00:31:16.430 feel like we're dead in the room we're dead from 00:31:16.430 --> 00:31:19.470 the day before no we're alive together with christ 00:31:19.470 --> 00:31:27.220 amen by grace we have been saved And he raised 00:31:27.220 --> 00:31:34.599 us up together. Woo! He's alive. God's alive. 00:31:34.900 --> 00:31:36.839 We're coming in on Easter. I'm already happy 00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:42.000 about it. He's alive, and he raised us up together. 00:31:42.119 --> 00:31:46.420 His resurrection promises us our resurrection, 00:31:46.700 --> 00:31:50.240 right? So we will rise up with him, together 00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:55.950 with Christ. Why? Because we are in him. And 00:31:55.950 --> 00:31:59.430 he made us what? Sit together in heavenly places 00:31:59.430 --> 00:32:05.549 in Christ Jesus. We just read this and we don't 00:32:05.549 --> 00:32:08.069 act like it's real. But it's time for the people 00:32:08.069 --> 00:32:10.130 of God to start acting like the word of God is 00:32:10.130 --> 00:32:14.509 real. God's waiting on us to get a hold of it, 00:32:14.549 --> 00:32:18.410 to walk in it, to believe it. Because you live 00:32:18.410 --> 00:32:22.460 and you act on what you believe. And if you're 00:32:22.460 --> 00:32:24.299 like, well, I believe it, but I don't really 00:32:24.299 --> 00:32:30.420 do it, no, you're just deceiving yourself. And 00:32:30.420 --> 00:32:33.660 a lot of times we, you know, if you're a Christian, 00:32:33.740 --> 00:32:36.319 you believe that that's a part of that, is you've 00:32:36.319 --> 00:32:40.299 been made alive together with Christ, that by 00:32:40.299 --> 00:32:42.519 grace you've been saved. You take a hold of that. 00:32:43.119 --> 00:32:44.819 If you haven't taken a hold of that, you're not 00:32:44.819 --> 00:32:51.099 a Christian. Okay? And he's raised us up together. 00:32:52.180 --> 00:32:54.039 We're going to be raised up with him. That's 00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:56.980 a promise for God. We take a hold of, but we 00:32:56.980 --> 00:33:00.960 stop there. This third thing here says that he 00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:04.460 made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ 00:33:04.460 --> 00:33:12.680 Jesus. So God is in us. Everybody say, God is 00:33:12.680 --> 00:33:17.140 in me. God is in me. And he is seated. Where's 00:33:17.140 --> 00:33:19.490 God seated? He's seated at the right hand of 00:33:19.490 --> 00:33:22.470 the Father. And since we are in Christ, who's 00:33:22.470 --> 00:33:25.509 in Christ? Raise your hand. There you go. I'll 00:33:25.509 --> 00:33:26.789 embarrass you if you don't raise your hand. It's 00:33:26.789 --> 00:33:30.309 fine. Since we are in Christ, get this. The verse 00:33:30.309 --> 00:33:33.670 just said, we are seated with him in his presence 00:33:33.670 --> 00:33:40.230 in heaven. Woo! Come on. I may be right here 00:33:40.230 --> 00:33:45.829 today and talking, but man, in Christ, I'm seated 00:33:45.829 --> 00:33:49.589 at the right hand of the Father. God is sitting 00:33:49.589 --> 00:33:53.569 down. His word is yes and amen. His promises 00:33:53.569 --> 00:33:57.210 are fulfilled. Amen. His promises are already 00:33:57.210 --> 00:34:00.170 there and available for us and we have access 00:34:00.170 --> 00:34:04.470 to it. When we pray, we're not saying like, oh, 00:34:04.549 --> 00:34:09.349 manufacture this thing for me to have. He's already 00:34:09.349 --> 00:34:12.409 made it available. He's just like, you need to 00:34:12.409 --> 00:34:15.309 take a hold of it. And many Christians are not 00:34:15.309 --> 00:34:17.570 entering into the things in which they have access 00:34:17.570 --> 00:34:22.250 to. And you're missing out. And it's not that 00:34:22.250 --> 00:34:28.190 God's holding out on you. And if you only knew 00:34:28.190 --> 00:34:36.610 what you were missing out on, if you only knew 00:34:36.610 --> 00:34:41.849 what a relationship with God looks like and fellowship 00:34:41.849 --> 00:34:50.000 with Him, Constantly. Few only knew. But we are 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.400 seated with him in the presence in heaven. 1 00:34:54.400 --> 00:34:58.940 Corinthians 6 .19 says this. Don't you realize 00:34:58.940 --> 00:35:02.460 that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit 00:35:02.460 --> 00:35:06.639 who lives in you and was given to you by God. 00:35:08.079 --> 00:35:11.440 This word temple is very interesting. The Greek 00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:15.179 word here. is referring specifically to the inner 00:35:15.179 --> 00:35:18.320 sanctuary. So if you're familiar with the tabernacle 00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:22.000 or the temple in the Old Testament, and that 00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:26.079 picture, it's not just referring to the whole 00:35:26.079 --> 00:35:30.619 outer court. They had different layers, and this 00:35:30.619 --> 00:35:33.420 is referring to where God's presence dwelt, the 00:35:33.420 --> 00:35:36.679 Holy of Holies, the innermost part. which only 00:35:36.679 --> 00:35:39.260 the high priest could enter once a year on the 00:35:39.260 --> 00:35:42.199 Day of Atonement. So God here is not saying that 00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:47.800 we are just the general temple, but we are this 00:35:47.800 --> 00:35:52.760 inner part, the holiest of holies, the place 00:35:52.760 --> 00:35:57.719 with immediate intimate access to God. So we 00:35:57.719 --> 00:36:00.500 have immediate unlimited access to the most holy, 00:36:00.639 --> 00:36:08.340 sacred place. And if we're in God's presence, 00:36:08.659 --> 00:36:17.260 and he's in heaven, when we enter in, we are 00:36:17.260 --> 00:36:21.500 entering into the throne room of eternity. When 00:36:21.500 --> 00:36:25.360 we come to him, when we turn aside, you've got 00:36:25.360 --> 00:36:28.360 to realize that your body may be in a physical 00:36:28.360 --> 00:36:32.199 place, but your spirit, because we're spirit 00:36:32.199 --> 00:36:35.920 beings, God is spirit, we're spirit beings. And 00:36:35.920 --> 00:36:39.480 by the Spirit, by the Holy Spirit on the inside 00:36:39.480 --> 00:36:42.780 of us, by the blood of Jesus, has given us access 00:36:42.780 --> 00:36:57.440 to this place. Jesus had a, I would say, you 00:36:57.440 --> 00:37:00.639 know, as our archetype, as our model for how 00:37:00.639 --> 00:37:07.010 to live, right? He prayed a lot. He communed 00:37:07.010 --> 00:37:09.570 with the Father a lot. In fact, he said, anything 00:37:09.570 --> 00:37:11.750 that you hear me say is from my Father. It's 00:37:11.750 --> 00:37:17.130 because my Father told me, right? He also, at 00:37:17.130 --> 00:37:20.150 times, would go off. Like after he fed the 5 00:37:20.150 --> 00:37:23.289 ,000s, he would go off and he would pray to his 00:37:23.289 --> 00:37:25.170 Father in heaven. At the Garden of Gethsemane, 00:37:25.230 --> 00:37:28.329 he would pray. He would have those times. Why 00:37:28.329 --> 00:37:32.650 was it important for Jesus to have those times 00:37:32.650 --> 00:37:36.130 with the Father? Think about it. Just a little 00:37:36.130 --> 00:37:40.090 food for thought. I think it was important to 00:37:40.090 --> 00:37:45.050 him, but also I think as a model for us, we need 00:37:45.050 --> 00:37:49.010 to see that importance. If it was important to 00:37:49.010 --> 00:37:51.670 the master, is it not important for the servant? 00:37:55.630 --> 00:37:58.329 I don't believe we're placing enough importance 00:37:58.329 --> 00:38:03.400 on this. We need times of intimate fellowship 00:38:03.400 --> 00:38:06.860 and communion with the Father. We say that cliche 00:38:06.860 --> 00:38:09.840 like Christianity is a relationship. You know, 00:38:09.860 --> 00:38:12.079 it's not a religion, it's a relationship. God 00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:14.800 really wants fellowship, uninterrupted fellowship 00:38:14.800 --> 00:38:21.619 with you to do life together. And in Matthew 00:38:21.619 --> 00:38:23.519 6, we're about to turn there. There's something 00:38:23.519 --> 00:38:25.460 very interesting, and then we're done today. 00:38:26.079 --> 00:38:29.420 But the disciples come to Jesus. Listen, don't 00:38:29.420 --> 00:38:32.619 miss this. The disciples come to Jesus and they 00:38:32.619 --> 00:38:36.579 say, teach us how to pray. And a lot of times 00:38:36.579 --> 00:38:39.699 we focus on the prayer, which is the Lord's prayer. 00:38:40.380 --> 00:38:42.780 Our God in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your 00:38:42.780 --> 00:38:44.340 kingdom come, your will be done. How many of 00:38:44.340 --> 00:38:46.559 you have heard that? Yeah, we focus on that. 00:38:46.679 --> 00:38:49.219 And a lot of times we'll even pray that before 00:38:49.219 --> 00:38:52.139 certain things. And it's fine, even though God 00:38:52.139 --> 00:38:59.920 warns us about vain repetition. Sorry. So we 00:38:59.920 --> 00:39:02.159 need to be careful because he's a person, we're 00:39:02.159 --> 00:39:04.780 a person. If I went to my wife every single day 00:39:04.780 --> 00:39:07.860 and I was just like, you know, hey, honey, how's 00:39:07.860 --> 00:39:09.519 it going? You're great. You're beautiful. Bye. 00:39:11.199 --> 00:39:13.539 If I said that exact same rhyme like every single, 00:39:13.639 --> 00:39:16.639 like just every single day and that was it, what 00:39:16.639 --> 00:39:19.460 kind of relationship would we have? That'd be 00:39:19.460 --> 00:39:24.199 pretty poor, right? Yeah. So don't say the same 00:39:24.199 --> 00:39:27.739 things. I ain't going to listen to that. You 00:39:27.739 --> 00:39:32.449 know, that's not. That's not cool. But listen, 00:39:32.550 --> 00:39:36.489 in Matthew 6, I want you, don't miss this, before 00:39:36.489 --> 00:39:38.989 Jesus gives them what to pray, because the disciples, 00:39:39.130 --> 00:39:41.090 they're going, teach us how to pray. We see that 00:39:41.090 --> 00:39:43.710 you go off and you're talking to God and something 00:39:43.710 --> 00:39:46.429 about your prayer is so different and so radically 00:39:46.429 --> 00:39:50.090 different than mine. And you come back and all 00:39:50.090 --> 00:39:53.090 of a sudden, you know, you've been with the Father, 00:39:53.110 --> 00:39:57.030 you're saying like, something's different. I'm 00:39:57.030 --> 00:40:00.110 missing out on something. And it's funny, they 00:40:00.110 --> 00:40:03.630 didn't say, like, teach us how to heal. Teach 00:40:03.630 --> 00:40:07.230 us how to do all these spectacular things. You 00:40:07.230 --> 00:40:09.130 know, they're coming to him and they're saying, 00:40:09.230 --> 00:40:12.929 teach us how to pray. Teach us how to pray like 00:40:12.929 --> 00:40:18.090 you pray. And before he tells them what to pray, 00:40:18.269 --> 00:40:20.730 listen, a lot of times we skip over this little 00:40:20.730 --> 00:40:23.809 introductory part. Before he tells them what 00:40:23.809 --> 00:40:26.809 to pray, he tells them how to pray and where 00:40:26.809 --> 00:40:31.860 to pray. Look at this. Matthew 6, 6. When you 00:40:31.860 --> 00:40:35.139 pray, go into your room. And when you have shut 00:40:35.139 --> 00:40:37.900 your door, pray to your Father who is in the 00:40:37.900 --> 00:40:40.780 secret place. And your Father who sees in secret 00:40:40.780 --> 00:40:48.280 will reward you openly. Let's break that down. 00:40:48.980 --> 00:40:53.920 So when you pray, he says to enter, to come into. 00:40:59.400 --> 00:41:01.820 Okay? He's saying to enter. It's interesting, 00:41:02.059 --> 00:41:11.139 right? When you pray, enter. Come into. Where 00:41:11.139 --> 00:41:14.800 are we going to? Your room. I thought your was 00:41:14.800 --> 00:41:16.659 just kind of like inserted, but it's actually 00:41:16.659 --> 00:41:21.460 there. It's personal. It's possessive. Your room. 00:41:22.269 --> 00:41:24.469 And that word there, that Greek word, temion, 00:41:24.570 --> 00:41:27.289 it conveys the concept of a private or inner 00:41:27.289 --> 00:41:30.929 room. It's used in the New Testament specifically 00:41:30.929 --> 00:41:35.150 to refer to a place of privacy or intimacy. It's 00:41:35.150 --> 00:41:42.230 a metaphoric place. An inner place, not a physical 00:41:42.230 --> 00:41:49.170 place. Got me? Tracking? We're good? So when 00:41:49.170 --> 00:41:52.039 you pray, go into your... Room, something that 00:41:52.039 --> 00:41:54.300 belongs to you, something that you have access 00:41:54.300 --> 00:41:59.420 to and enter in. You know, when you walked in 00:41:59.420 --> 00:42:01.079 this room this morning, you were out in the lobby. 00:42:01.199 --> 00:42:03.300 When you cross that threshold, all of a sudden 00:42:03.300 --> 00:42:06.239 it's like, boom, the whole room's bigger. Things 00:42:06.239 --> 00:42:12.079 change. It's a different place. And I believe 00:42:12.079 --> 00:42:14.139 this is one of those thresholds that God wants 00:42:14.139 --> 00:42:17.360 us to cross. If you don't like where you're at, 00:42:17.460 --> 00:42:19.400 you need to enter into his presence. And look, 00:42:19.480 --> 00:42:22.989 everything gets better. Everything's better in 00:42:22.989 --> 00:42:27.449 the presence of God. Come on. If you don't like 00:42:27.449 --> 00:42:33.429 your surroundings, get over and enter. Cross. 00:42:33.769 --> 00:42:40.030 Come into. Inside. Where are we going? This is 00:42:40.030 --> 00:42:41.829 not saying that you have to pray in a closet. 00:42:42.010 --> 00:42:46.590 There was a popular Christian movie that kind 00:42:46.590 --> 00:42:48.469 of promoted this idea, and I've heard people 00:42:48.469 --> 00:42:51.989 all my life talk about this inner closet. You've 00:42:51.989 --> 00:42:54.969 got to find a closet, have your little prayer 00:42:54.969 --> 00:43:01.429 place. And that's fine, right? You sit in your 00:43:01.429 --> 00:43:04.530 car and you find a little place to quiet your 00:43:04.530 --> 00:43:06.630 mind and to eliminate distractions. Everybody 00:43:06.630 --> 00:43:10.929 has their own process, right? But we don't need 00:43:10.929 --> 00:43:16.530 to make that thing just... Sacrilege, some kind 00:43:16.530 --> 00:43:19.269 of religious thing that's not reality. Because 00:43:19.269 --> 00:43:22.250 God, a lot of times we like to treat God as like, 00:43:22.269 --> 00:43:25.630 well, I visit him and then I leave him. Once 00:43:25.630 --> 00:43:28.989 I leave this place of intimacy, I walk out and 00:43:28.989 --> 00:43:31.170 keep going about my day. So I keep returning 00:43:31.170 --> 00:43:34.710 when I need a recharge or a fill. And then I 00:43:34.710 --> 00:43:36.809 go out into my life and then everything's normal. 00:43:38.030 --> 00:43:45.500 Nothing changes. God doesn't want this. He wants 00:43:45.500 --> 00:43:53.500 this. He wants your heart. He wants your day. 00:43:53.739 --> 00:43:55.900 He wants your moments. He wants your breath. 00:43:56.320 --> 00:43:59.139 He wants your life to be a living sacrifice to 00:43:59.139 --> 00:44:04.980 him. It's pleasing to him, right? We don't have 00:44:04.980 --> 00:44:08.280 to pray in a closet because we have access. When 00:44:08.280 --> 00:44:11.519 we pray, we are commanded to enter our inner 00:44:11.519 --> 00:44:18.179 private place that belongs to us. Come on. And 00:44:18.179 --> 00:44:21.500 get this. A little fun, little inclusion here. 00:44:21.619 --> 00:44:30.079 When you have shut your door. When you have shut 00:44:30.079 --> 00:44:33.659 your door. So that is meaning, those are the 00:44:33.659 --> 00:44:35.820 words there, and it means to shut, to close, 00:44:35.980 --> 00:44:39.019 to lock the door, gate, or entrance. It describes 00:44:39.019 --> 00:44:41.219 the act of closing a door with the implication 00:44:41.219 --> 00:44:46.739 of preventing entry or access. This is an important 00:44:46.739 --> 00:44:54.940 thing that can keep you from entering in. So 00:44:54.940 --> 00:44:58.920 we're supposed to enter in our inner place because 00:44:58.920 --> 00:45:03.880 we are the temple. We're entering in the presence 00:45:03.880 --> 00:45:08.199 of God. And we have to shut the door. Look to 00:45:08.199 --> 00:45:09.460 your neighbor and say, it's time to shut the 00:45:09.460 --> 00:45:16.090 door. Time to shut the door. A lot of times, 00:45:16.130 --> 00:45:21.469 a lot of times we're like, well, my mind just 00:45:21.469 --> 00:45:24.929 wants to go this way and over here, and I just, 00:45:25.070 --> 00:45:28.730 you know, I don't have, you know, everything's 00:45:28.730 --> 00:45:32.530 just distracting. Soon as I'm trying to do that, 00:45:32.630 --> 00:45:34.610 you know, I have good intention, I have desire, 00:45:34.889 --> 00:45:39.849 and I go, and then something's knocking, something's 00:45:39.849 --> 00:45:43.730 pulling at me, pulling away. Now, it can be good 00:45:43.730 --> 00:45:46.730 things. It can be urgent things that pull you 00:45:46.730 --> 00:45:49.809 away. But in those moments, you need to realize 00:45:49.809 --> 00:45:55.969 that it's the thief who comes to steal. What 00:45:55.969 --> 00:46:00.289 is he stealing? The most valuable thing to you 00:46:00.289 --> 00:46:04.909 is what he steals. And if he can steal God's 00:46:04.909 --> 00:46:09.489 word from you, he can keep you from being, keep 00:46:09.489 --> 00:46:13.539 you from having the promises, keep you. From 00:46:13.539 --> 00:46:28.019 experiencing God. We have control. And before 00:46:28.019 --> 00:46:30.260 you say, well, I just don't have control, and 00:46:30.260 --> 00:46:33.199 you don't understand, that's the fruit of the 00:46:33.199 --> 00:46:45.789 Spirit. It's just been like on me lately. But 00:46:45.789 --> 00:46:51.869 I have control over what has entry or access 00:46:51.869 --> 00:47:00.510 to me. Why? Because I'm strong enough? Can I 00:47:00.510 --> 00:47:04.010 build up mental fortitude enough to prevent things 00:47:04.010 --> 00:47:07.769 giving me access? Maybe if I can just hold that 00:47:07.769 --> 00:47:10.820 door shut. Put on some noise -canceling headphones 00:47:10.820 --> 00:47:14.460 and block out the world around me. And just, 00:47:14.559 --> 00:47:20.440 I'll go to some village and, you know. Is that 00:47:20.440 --> 00:47:26.980 what God wants? No. See, we've got to realize 00:47:26.980 --> 00:47:30.400 when we read things like this in Scripture, God's 00:47:30.400 --> 00:47:32.840 telling you to do something. He's commanding 00:47:32.840 --> 00:47:36.900 you. And God's command and his word gives you 00:47:36.900 --> 00:47:41.559 the ability to stand on it for it to be real 00:47:41.559 --> 00:47:45.480 in your life. So if he says I can shut the door, 00:47:45.659 --> 00:47:52.420 then I have the ability to. And if the enemy 00:47:52.420 --> 00:47:56.559 tries to say, you can't do that, you turn around 00:47:56.559 --> 00:48:02.159 and tell the enemy. Say, you have no authority 00:48:02.159 --> 00:48:06.519 here. Come on, I'm in Christ. He is above all 00:48:06.519 --> 00:48:11.420 things. He's in authority. I'm in Him. And you're 00:48:11.420 --> 00:48:16.420 under my feet. If God has authority to do it, 00:48:16.440 --> 00:48:21.159 I have authority in Him. And if He's telling 00:48:21.159 --> 00:48:32.199 me that I can, then I have the ability to. We 00:48:32.199 --> 00:48:35.239 have the authority over what has access to us. 00:48:35.400 --> 00:48:38.380 We have authority over what can pull us away. 00:48:39.719 --> 00:48:44.019 We have control and authority over our minds, 00:48:44.119 --> 00:48:52.340 the thoughts and what I think. I have control 00:48:52.340 --> 00:49:02.940 over my focus. I have control over that. And 00:49:02.940 --> 00:49:06.900 God has given me that authority. Especially when 00:49:06.900 --> 00:49:11.480 my focus is for Him and on Him, nothing can pull 00:49:11.480 --> 00:49:15.119 me away. Because that is my God -given command. 00:49:15.239 --> 00:49:19.239 That's my God -given right. So shut the door. 00:49:20.159 --> 00:49:28.119 Turn aside. Shut the door. Let's continue on. 00:49:28.239 --> 00:49:30.579 The father who is in the secret place and your 00:49:30.579 --> 00:49:33.929 father who sees in secret, We reward you openly. 00:49:36.030 --> 00:49:40.190 Your prayer life, because you are a house of 00:49:40.190 --> 00:49:42.989 prayer. The temple of God was a house of prayer. 00:49:45.750 --> 00:49:49.070 And God sees that. And what happens in that time 00:49:49.070 --> 00:49:52.030 and that fellowship with him impacts everything 00:49:52.030 --> 00:49:55.909 outside of that moment. If you could draw a circle 00:49:55.909 --> 00:49:57.989 around you while you were praying, whether you're 00:49:57.989 --> 00:49:59.829 at your job or whatever, I don't care what you're 00:49:59.829 --> 00:50:02.369 doing, if you're praying and in the Spirit and 00:50:02.369 --> 00:50:04.889 talking to God and you're fellowshipping with 00:50:04.889 --> 00:50:07.449 Him, everything outside of that circle is going 00:50:07.449 --> 00:50:13.090 to be fine. It's going to be taken care of. That's 00:50:13.090 --> 00:50:17.389 all God wants for you. That's all you need. He 00:50:17.389 --> 00:50:20.449 provides. He's the source. We've been talking 00:50:20.449 --> 00:50:22.769 about that all day, right? He's the source. He 00:50:22.769 --> 00:50:25.590 provides. He takes care of me. He leads me beside 00:50:25.590 --> 00:50:33.670 still waters. So why do I fear? Why do I worry? 00:50:35.010 --> 00:50:40.210 If I'm with God, I'm talking with him, and my 00:50:40.210 --> 00:50:45.429 value is his word and his treasure, right? And 00:50:45.429 --> 00:50:49.800 it's not the stuff. The things of God are not 00:50:49.800 --> 00:50:51.880 the stuff of God. If we get concerned trying 00:50:51.880 --> 00:50:53.960 to achieve the stuff, we're never going to have 00:50:53.960 --> 00:51:01.300 anything. Right? It's about the person. It's 00:51:01.300 --> 00:51:04.559 about the person. And that's what God wants for 00:51:04.559 --> 00:51:08.280 you. He just wants you. The other week, someone, 00:51:08.300 --> 00:51:10.940 they were like, you know, they were coming to 00:51:10.940 --> 00:51:13.940 me, and I was like, God just wants you. They're 00:51:13.940 --> 00:51:15.780 like, what do you have me to do? God just wants 00:51:15.780 --> 00:51:17.900 you. He wants to spend time with you. He'll show 00:51:17.900 --> 00:51:21.349 you. He'll do something for you. He'll lead you. 00:51:21.389 --> 00:51:25.090 He'll guide you. That's what he wants. And that's 00:51:25.090 --> 00:51:27.210 what we need more than anything else. This year, 00:51:27.369 --> 00:51:30.210 this week, I don't care what you came in with. 00:51:30.369 --> 00:51:32.670 I don't care what baggage you got. I don't care 00:51:32.670 --> 00:51:34.949 what's happening in your life. The one thing 00:51:34.949 --> 00:51:39.650 you need and the one necessary thing I need is 00:51:39.650 --> 00:51:43.429 not more information, but I need revelation from 00:51:43.429 --> 00:51:47.639 God. Amen? Pray to your Father who is in the 00:51:47.639 --> 00:51:50.420 secret place. This refers to what is not visible 00:51:50.420 --> 00:51:53.199 or known to others. It contrasts to what is outwardly 00:51:53.199 --> 00:51:56.079 visible to what is inwardly concealed. It's heaven. 00:51:56.320 --> 00:51:58.280 It's the holy ground that Moses was standing 00:51:58.280 --> 00:52:02.519 on. It's the secret place of God. And I don't 00:52:02.519 --> 00:52:04.780 know if you've ever been to Disney before. There's 00:52:04.780 --> 00:52:08.739 these places in each park called Club 33 lounges. 00:52:08.739 --> 00:52:10.860 I know we're in the Disney Mecca, so, you know, 00:52:10.920 --> 00:52:15.860 illustrations are slim. So, but in the parks, 00:52:15.880 --> 00:52:17.940 there's like a secret place where only those 00:52:17.940 --> 00:52:20.679 who have access can enter, can step away from 00:52:20.679 --> 00:52:22.960 the day -to -day and the fun and all the crowd, 00:52:23.320 --> 00:52:25.360 and they can be nourished, and they can have, 00:52:25.460 --> 00:52:27.980 you know, come on, and they can enter into a 00:52:27.980 --> 00:52:33.909 place that only they have access to. Heaven is 00:52:33.909 --> 00:52:36.230 not a secret place because it is hidden from 00:52:36.230 --> 00:52:38.869 us or he's hiding it from us. It's secret because 00:52:38.869 --> 00:52:41.909 only those who are in Christ have access to enter 00:52:41.909 --> 00:52:44.949 and take hold of the God -given rights and privileges. 00:52:49.949 --> 00:52:52.849 I read this the first week, but it's so powerful. 00:52:52.949 --> 00:52:55.429 We just got to see this again in this light. 00:52:56.909 --> 00:53:00.210 Hebrews 10, 19. And so, dear brothers and sisters, 00:53:00.309 --> 00:53:03.349 we can boldly enter heaven's most holy place. 00:53:04.869 --> 00:53:09.849 Not just heaven. It's not just the outer courts. 00:53:10.730 --> 00:53:14.289 And those are wonderful. It's not just that. 00:53:14.349 --> 00:53:18.730 We can enter the most holy place. The holiest 00:53:18.730 --> 00:53:24.570 of holy place. The throne room. Come on. By his 00:53:24.570 --> 00:53:27.429 death, Jesus opened a new and life -giving way 00:53:27.429 --> 00:53:29.550 through the curtain into the most holy place. 00:53:29.690 --> 00:53:32.489 If we're not entering it, we're not taking advantage 00:53:32.489 --> 00:53:35.849 of the things that God has for us. He's made 00:53:35.849 --> 00:53:38.050 something available to us that we're not walking 00:53:38.050 --> 00:53:41.250 into. And as Christians, I think we need to realize 00:53:41.250 --> 00:53:44.190 this. We need to start doing it. I don't care 00:53:44.190 --> 00:53:45.750 if you've not done it, but we need to change 00:53:45.750 --> 00:53:48.829 and start entering in. Because once you know, 00:53:49.030 --> 00:53:51.929 once it's revealed to you, you need to take a 00:53:51.929 --> 00:53:57.239 hold of it and walk in it. So enter through the 00:53:57.239 --> 00:53:59.960 curtain into the most holy place. So let us come 00:53:59.960 --> 00:54:03.300 boldly. This is verse 16, backing up. So let 00:54:03.300 --> 00:54:06.539 us come boldly to the throne of our gracious 00:54:06.539 --> 00:54:10.760 God. And what? There we will receive his mercy, 00:54:10.840 --> 00:54:14.059 and we will find grace to help us when we need 00:54:14.059 --> 00:54:16.760 it the most. How many of you are thankful for 00:54:16.760 --> 00:54:19.559 the mercy of God? How many are thankful for the 00:54:19.559 --> 00:54:23.239 grace and his precious promises from him? It's 00:54:23.239 --> 00:54:26.360 there. It's that place is where we receive it. 00:54:27.119 --> 00:54:29.920 It's not praying and asking for those things. 00:54:30.280 --> 00:54:33.840 It's at his feet. When we humble ourselves before 00:54:33.840 --> 00:54:37.360 God, that's when those things come real to us. 00:54:38.119 --> 00:54:41.320 That's when the word of God, we receive it, and 00:54:41.320 --> 00:54:44.239 then now I can do the impossible because I'm 00:54:44.239 --> 00:54:47.380 standing on a word from God. I have the ability. 00:54:47.559 --> 00:54:51.659 I have the authority. With one word from God, 00:54:52.139 --> 00:54:55.480 You can walk across the water and defy the natural 00:54:55.480 --> 00:54:58.239 laws of reality, right? With one word from God, 00:54:58.300 --> 00:55:00.659 that's something I can stand upon, something 00:55:00.659 --> 00:55:05.820 that I can take to the bank. Because it matters. 00:55:06.980 --> 00:55:09.840 You and I need a word for God more than anything 00:55:09.840 --> 00:55:12.260 else, more than your next meal, more than your 00:55:12.260 --> 00:55:17.760 next breath. We need a word from God. And what 00:55:17.760 --> 00:55:20.460 happens in 1 Corinthians 2, 9 through 10? This 00:55:20.460 --> 00:55:23.699 is fun. But as it is written, I have not seen, 00:55:23.780 --> 00:55:26.940 nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart 00:55:26.940 --> 00:55:29.800 of man the things in which God has prepared for 00:55:29.800 --> 00:55:32.880 those who love him. God has something that's 00:55:32.880 --> 00:55:41.260 mind -boggling. I'm popping. Greater things than 00:55:41.260 --> 00:55:43.820 you can even imagine he has prepared for those. 00:55:44.860 --> 00:55:46.880 Don't get mad at me. This is what the Bible says. 00:55:48.059 --> 00:55:49.619 If you have a problem with it, you have a problem 00:55:49.619 --> 00:55:52.400 with Scripture. Don't think God wants you broke, 00:55:52.440 --> 00:55:58.579 busted, and disgusted. He has great things prepared 00:55:58.579 --> 00:56:07.260 for you. Do you believe that? His plans for you 00:56:07.260 --> 00:56:11.239 are good to prosper, Jeremiah 29, 11, to give 00:56:11.239 --> 00:56:16.500 you a future and a hope. That's who God is. Don't 00:56:16.500 --> 00:56:19.639 let anybody tell you otherwise. That's what he 00:56:19.639 --> 00:56:25.860 has for you. We need to believe that. I'm just 00:56:25.860 --> 00:56:27.800 letting it sit because I want you to see it. 00:56:27.820 --> 00:56:29.860 I want you to get a hold of this and really, 00:56:29.920 --> 00:56:37.739 really get it. Things that you can't even see. 00:56:38.039 --> 00:56:41.699 Things that you have never heard. Things that 00:56:41.699 --> 00:56:43.699 have never entered your heart. He has prepared 00:56:43.699 --> 00:56:46.619 for those great and precious things for you. 00:56:49.000 --> 00:56:53.659 But God has what revealed them to us, how? Through 00:56:53.659 --> 00:56:56.780 his Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, 00:56:56.860 --> 00:57:02.199 yes, the deep things of God. Now we have received, 00:57:02.239 --> 00:57:06.739 not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who 00:57:06.739 --> 00:57:13.300 is from God, that we might know the things that 00:57:13.300 --> 00:57:20.550 have been freely given to us by God. I will know 00:57:20.550 --> 00:57:27.650 them. I will see them. I will see them before 00:57:27.650 --> 00:57:34.650 I see it. Right? The things that God has freely 00:57:34.650 --> 00:57:38.250 given to us. One thing is necessary to spend 00:57:38.250 --> 00:57:42.150 focused, intentional, intimate time with God 00:57:42.150 --> 00:57:46.969 and receive a word from him. Sit at his feet. 00:57:48.590 --> 00:57:51.590 Sit at his feet. Humble yourselves before him. 00:57:53.010 --> 00:57:56.849 And say, speak, your servant is listening. Right? 00:57:57.010 --> 00:58:01.269 And turn aside from the trivial things in your 00:58:01.269 --> 00:58:09.110 life and value his word. Value his word more 00:58:09.110 --> 00:58:14.599 than anything else. This online worship experience 00:58:14.599 --> 00:58:17.199 was brought to you by the friends and partners 00:58:17.199 --> 00:58:18.119 of Elation Church.