WEBVTT 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:04.219 Sharing good news of great joy to all people. 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:09.720 Elation Church. This is week number two in our 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:15.300 series entitled, Not Mine, But God's. Everybody 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:19.980 say, Not Mine, But God's. And we're looking at 00:00:19.980 --> 00:00:24.859 some things that are ours in Christ that we can 00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:31.109 take hold of. So, here's a question. Who or what 00:00:31.109 --> 00:00:35.710 is your source? I want you to think about that. 00:00:36.609 --> 00:00:39.090 Now, it's easy when we're in church to just automatically 00:00:39.090 --> 00:00:42.009 say God, right? Because it's church and the correct 00:00:42.009 --> 00:00:45.189 answer is God or Jesus or something. I mean, 00:00:45.210 --> 00:00:49.490 I would ask questions in doing children's ministry, 00:00:49.590 --> 00:00:51.969 doing Vacation Bible School, I'd ask questions. 00:00:52.289 --> 00:00:54.490 We even had a game show. You remember the game 00:00:54.490 --> 00:00:57.710 show that we had at the table? and if the kid 00:00:57.710 --> 00:01:00.189 said Jesus, no matter what the question was, 00:01:00.329 --> 00:01:03.090 I'd at least give him a half point, even if it 00:01:03.090 --> 00:01:05.750 had nothing to do with the question, all right? 00:01:06.829 --> 00:01:09.750 So it's easy on Sunday morning to say Jesus is 00:01:09.750 --> 00:01:13.069 my source or God is my source, but I want you 00:01:13.069 --> 00:01:16.189 to really think about it. Who is your source? 00:01:18.030 --> 00:01:23.370 Who do you rely on? Who do you depend on? Really, 00:01:23.469 --> 00:01:27.340 I want you to think about it. What do you rely 00:01:27.340 --> 00:01:32.260 on? What do you depend on? Who do you run to? 00:01:33.299 --> 00:01:38.459 What do you run to? Who or what is your source? 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:43.799 See, so many believers love God and they trust 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:48.620 Him with their eternity, but they don't trust 00:01:48.620 --> 00:01:54.760 Him with their everyday things. I believe we're 00:01:54.760 --> 00:01:58.319 all guilty at times. We're all guilty at times. 00:01:59.099 --> 00:02:02.180 But God wants us to trust Him with our every 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:07.439 day to the same level that we trust Him with 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:15.539 our eternity. We depend on and display who or 00:02:15.539 --> 00:02:19.080 what is our source, who or what we draw from, 00:02:19.379 --> 00:02:24.560 who or what we expect to draw from. That's who 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:28.460 we depend on and that is displayed in our life. 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:33.479 Everybody say source. Jeffrey shared this last 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:37.340 week, but it became all too real today. And it 00:02:37.340 --> 00:02:43.180 wasn't on purpose. I don't know why. After you 00:02:43.180 --> 00:02:45.979 get past a certain length, like the HDMI cable 00:02:45.979 --> 00:02:49.340 at your house that you plug from your cable box 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:52.159 to your TV, it doesn't matter which way you plug 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:57.259 it in. It'll work either direction. But once 00:02:57.259 --> 00:03:00.180 you go past a certain length, and maybe Jordan 00:03:00.180 --> 00:03:02.599 could help us with this information, but once 00:03:02.599 --> 00:03:07.240 you go past a certain length, the signal will 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:12.139 only go one way. After the service, if you don't 00:03:12.139 --> 00:03:14.199 believe me, walk up here and look at this red 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:19.240 plug because it says source on this red plug. 00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:23.409 And that red plug way up there in the air, It 00:03:23.409 --> 00:03:33.849 says display. And today, I plugged in the source 00:03:33.849 --> 00:03:40.389 up there, the display down here. We ran all the 00:03:40.389 --> 00:03:44.810 wires, taped it down on the floor. You see, we 00:03:44.810 --> 00:03:47.669 have this nice little, we keep everything running 00:03:47.669 --> 00:03:51.229 together. It's not just jumbled up. We tape it. 00:03:51.870 --> 00:03:55.669 on the floor, and then I cut on the computer, 00:03:55.750 --> 00:03:57.590 I cut on the projector, we've got the screen, 00:03:57.830 --> 00:04:03.509 and it's like, Jeffrey, it's not working. Now, 00:04:03.569 --> 00:04:06.310 there's been times before when it didn't work, 00:04:06.370 --> 00:04:10.990 when it was time to buy a new wire, because there's 00:04:10.990 --> 00:04:13.530 about eight or nine little tiny wires in this 00:04:13.530 --> 00:04:16.769 cable, and if they get bent too much or stepped 00:04:16.769 --> 00:04:23.800 on too much, they might quit working. So, I didn't 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:27.860 even think to look. And finally, Jeffrey said, 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:31.420 you've got it plugged in backwards. You've got 00:04:31.420 --> 00:04:36.160 display plugged into the computer, and it will 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:40.540 not work. For some reason, that information will 00:04:40.540 --> 00:04:44.360 only go in one direction in that wire. It still 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:47.079 blows my mind that a wire knows which direction 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:51.300 the signal is going in. That's so... strange 00:04:51.300 --> 00:04:57.600 and foreign to me. But your life will display 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:15.680 your real source. I will. Our lives display to 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:21.639 the people around us who or what is our source? 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:29.680 It's automatic. You can't fake it. You might 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:32.879 can fake it at church, but you can't fake it 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:37.339 after you leave church. Your life is going to 00:05:37.339 --> 00:05:45.259 display your source, your real source. Now, some 00:05:45.259 --> 00:05:48.300 people look at their jobs as being their source. 00:05:49.769 --> 00:05:53.870 Some people look at other people as being their 00:05:53.870 --> 00:06:00.009 source. Right? I could stand here today and tell 00:06:00.009 --> 00:06:04.889 you that Gayna is my source because she has a 00:06:04.889 --> 00:06:11.129 job. She gets a paycheck every Thursday. I've 00:06:11.129 --> 00:06:14.069 been known to cut up and call her my sugar mama. 00:06:21.449 --> 00:06:29.730 Just cutting up, of course. So I could look at 00:06:29.730 --> 00:06:33.550 Gayna as being my source. She could look at her 00:06:33.550 --> 00:06:37.730 job as a cook in Disney as being her source. 00:06:39.949 --> 00:06:50.889 Right? But in reality, her job... Should be considered 00:06:50.889 --> 00:06:59.730 an avenue. And not a source. Ultimately. God. 00:07:00.029 --> 00:07:05.370 Should be our source. And that's just not. Only 00:07:05.370 --> 00:07:11.050 talking about finances. It's talking about. Everything 00:07:11.050 --> 00:07:20.240 you need. Somebody say everything. God. can be 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:26.139 the source of everything you need. And he wants 00:07:26.139 --> 00:07:31.019 to be. If you're a follower of Christ, God wants 00:07:31.019 --> 00:07:36.699 to be your source. He has already done everything 00:07:36.699 --> 00:07:40.399 necessary to meet every need you have and every 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:45.379 need of your life. Some people think, okay, well, 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:47.699 I'm good with God being my source and I... I 00:07:47.699 --> 00:07:50.000 realize that even though I have a job, that job's 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:53.620 an avenue, but God is my ultimate source because 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:55.879 he really is the one who gives you strength and 00:07:55.879 --> 00:08:01.779 life and breath, right? He gives you life. But 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:05.079 what about when it comes to your other needs? 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:08.439 What about when it comes to your emotional needs? 00:08:10.339 --> 00:08:13.279 Here's the deal. If you depend on someone else 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:17.379 to meet every emotional need that you have, you're 00:08:17.379 --> 00:08:22.980 going to be disappointed a lot. If you depend 00:08:22.980 --> 00:08:28.259 on another person to meet every emotional need 00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:30.579 that you have, if you're depending on a person, 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:36.539 you're going to be disappointed a lot. But if 00:08:36.539 --> 00:08:39.620 you depend on God, if you truly depend on God, 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:43.809 you will never be disappointed. Because He will 00:08:43.809 --> 00:08:48.309 not fail you. He will not let you down. He is 00:08:48.309 --> 00:08:58.230 God. But, the emotional needs that I have and 00:08:58.230 --> 00:09:01.809 Gayna has, I mean, we can be an avenue that God 00:09:01.809 --> 00:09:07.129 can use, right? As a husband and wife. But ultimately, 00:09:07.470 --> 00:09:12.000 she'll tell you. She'll even tell you that God's 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:17.159 her real husband. I've heard her tell other people 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:20.580 that, and sometimes I want to get offended. Wait 00:09:20.580 --> 00:09:26.740 a minute, I've got on a ring. Right? But I can't 00:09:26.740 --> 00:09:30.279 meet all of her needs. She can't meet all of 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:34.220 my needs. And if I depend on her as my source, 00:09:34.379 --> 00:09:39.700 again, I'm going to be disappointed. And there's 00:09:39.700 --> 00:09:42.039 been times in her life when she did depend on 00:09:42.039 --> 00:09:44.879 me and she was disappointed. Not because I wanted 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:53.879 to disappoint her. It's just, I'm human. I'm 00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:58.259 not going to be perfect. Look at the person beside 00:09:58.259 --> 00:10:00.720 you and gasp and say, do you believe the preacher 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:04.320 he told us he wasn't perfect? Most people depend 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:08.559 on... Listen, I'm... not your source for all 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:14.639 your spiritual needs don't hold me accountable 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:20.080 to that because I'll let you down I mean I try 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:23.500 and I study and I work hard but I cannot be the 00:10:23.500 --> 00:10:28.259 source of all the spiritual needs that you have 00:10:28.259 --> 00:10:35.019 only God can do that only God can do that so 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:40.059 There's a difference though. Now, I believe if 00:10:40.059 --> 00:10:41.820 you're here at a Galatian church that I'm an 00:10:41.820 --> 00:10:49.580 avenue that God can use, but I'm not the complete 00:10:49.580 --> 00:10:54.159 source. Look at the person beside you and say, 00:10:54.220 --> 00:10:56.000 that's pretty good. I hope you're getting this. 00:10:56.120 --> 00:11:02.019 I hope. In every area, everybody say every area. 00:11:02.669 --> 00:11:05.490 Not just the spiritual areas, but in every area 00:11:05.490 --> 00:11:08.929 of life, we should learn to rely on God's supply 00:11:08.929 --> 00:11:14.409 and God's ability instead of our own. Every area. 00:11:15.570 --> 00:11:22.610 There's not an area excluded. Every area. We 00:11:22.610 --> 00:11:25.309 need to rely on God. We need to trust in God. 00:11:26.149 --> 00:11:31.330 We need to depend on God, His supply, His ability. 00:11:32.169 --> 00:11:37.389 Now he will work through avenues in this earth. 00:11:40.470 --> 00:11:46.610 But he's a source. He's a source. Acts 17, 28. 00:11:46.850 --> 00:11:51.269 In him, everybody say in him. In him we live 00:11:51.269 --> 00:11:59.409 and move and exist or have our being. Having 00:11:59.409 --> 00:12:05.980 your being is. your existence. This is what God 00:12:05.980 --> 00:12:11.100 wants. He wants us to live in Him. He wants us 00:12:11.100 --> 00:12:15.519 to, every move we make, to move in Him, to exist 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:24.960 in Him when we're in Christ. Jesus was an amazing 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:29.440 example for us on earth. A lot of times when 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:33.019 we look at Jesus, we say, well, he's God. And 00:12:33.019 --> 00:12:35.440 he is. Look at the person beside you and tell 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:40.259 them, Jesus is God. Jesus is God. But when he 00:12:40.259 --> 00:12:43.759 came to this earth, he said that he laid down 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:48.919 a lot of things. Not that they weren't still 00:12:48.919 --> 00:12:54.980 his. He just chose not to operate in those areas. 00:12:56.879 --> 00:12:59.700 I don't know how to put it, of his godness, I 00:12:59.700 --> 00:13:08.419 guess we could say. He chose to be led by the 00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:13.960 Spirit. He chose to talk to the Father. He even 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:16.259 says, I mean, there's several verses I could 00:13:16.259 --> 00:13:17.860 pull out. I'm just pulling out this one today. 00:13:18.019 --> 00:13:22.539 But John 14, 10, Jesus said, the words I speak 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:27.309 are not my own. Now, he's God. And he's man. 00:13:27.570 --> 00:13:33.049 He's not 50 -50. He's 100 -100. The math doesn't 00:13:33.049 --> 00:13:37.149 quite add up, all right? He's 100 % God. He's 00:13:37.149 --> 00:13:42.409 100 % man. He laid down a lot of things that 00:13:42.409 --> 00:13:45.950 he could have held on to, but he laid it down 00:13:45.950 --> 00:13:51.200 to function as a man. And what he's saying is, 00:13:51.299 --> 00:13:53.779 the things that I say, like the Sermon on the 00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:55.679 Mount, he's up there, he's preaching for hours 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:58.159 and hours and hours all day until everybody got 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:00.259 hungry and then he had to feed them. Anyway, 00:14:00.340 --> 00:14:04.299 he's preaching and then he said, y 'all need 00:14:04.299 --> 00:14:08.279 to know something. The words that I'm saying 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:16.039 aren't my own words. The words I speak are not 00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:23.500 my own. But my Father, My Father, who lives in 00:14:23.500 --> 00:14:28.960 me, is working through me, is basically what 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:41.299 he's saying. Every miracle is walking in the 00:14:41.299 --> 00:14:43.480 Holy Spirit, living, moving, having his being 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:47.139 in the Holy Spirit, and doing and saying what 00:14:47.139 --> 00:14:49.360 God tells it, what the Father tells him to do, 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:53.080 even though... He's 100 % God and 100 % man. 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:58.340 He's functioning as a man, which makes him our 00:14:58.340 --> 00:15:07.840 example. Listen to me. It's not right for us 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:10.899 to look at Jesus and say, well, he could do that 00:15:10.899 --> 00:15:21.980 because he's God. Are you with me? Some of you, 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:25.679 I see smoke coming out your ears. It's not that 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:27.799 we just say, well, Jesus could do that because 00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:31.399 he's God, but I could never be able to do anything 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:35.360 like that. Well, look at the disciples and look 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:40.720 at the deacons and look at, I mean, look at the 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:43.419 things they did. And here's what Jesus said, 00:15:43.500 --> 00:15:46.919 if I recall correctly, he said this. He said, 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:50.279 greater things. Everybody say greater things. 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:55.220 He said, greater things than I did will you do. 00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:04.440 Greater things. Y 'all are thinking way too hard. 00:16:05.299 --> 00:16:11.000 Just go ahead and smile and say this. I can do 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:21.259 greater things. God wants to speak through you. 00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:30.879 God wants to empower you to do some amazing things 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:37.100 in this earth. Jesus said, the words I speak 00:16:37.100 --> 00:16:39.159 are not my own, but my Father who lives in me 00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:42.840 and does his work through me. 1 Corinthians 3 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:53.259 .9 says this, we are God's fellow workers. Say 00:16:53.259 --> 00:16:58.259 this, I'm God's fellow worker. I'm working with 00:16:58.259 --> 00:17:00.440 him. He's working with me. That's what a co -worker 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:06.460 is, right? We work together. We are God's fellow 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:10.279 workers. And then 2 Corinthians 6, 1, we then 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:15.559 as workers together with him. Has anybody ever 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:21.890 had a job where you had some co -workers? Sometimes 00:17:21.890 --> 00:17:26.730 that's good, sometimes that's bad. But if you're 00:17:26.730 --> 00:17:28.809 a co -worker with God, it's going to always be 00:17:28.809 --> 00:17:33.549 good. Here's what he says. He says, I want you 00:17:33.549 --> 00:17:40.450 to link up with me. He says, my yoke is easy. 00:17:43.650 --> 00:17:46.930 See, when we try to do it on our own, it can 00:17:46.930 --> 00:17:52.380 get hard. It can get difficult. It can get stressful 00:17:52.380 --> 00:17:55.940 when we try to do it in our own flesh and in 00:17:55.940 --> 00:18:01.839 our own strength and in our own mind. But Jesus 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:05.559 says, my yoke is easy. Everybody knows what a 00:18:05.559 --> 00:18:12.140 yoke is, right? You have two big oxen and you 00:18:12.140 --> 00:18:16.220 put a yoke on them to plow a field. The yoke 00:18:16.220 --> 00:18:19.460 connects both of those oxen together at the neck. 00:18:21.769 --> 00:18:25.170 It puts their forces together. It combines their 00:18:25.170 --> 00:18:32.690 strength together. They can do twice as much 00:18:32.690 --> 00:18:37.710 work together than they can by themselves. It 00:18:37.710 --> 00:18:41.470 would be very hard on one to plow a big field. 00:18:41.750 --> 00:18:46.430 But when two are working together, it's a lot 00:18:46.430 --> 00:18:53.710 easier. How many of you know? That if you link 00:18:53.710 --> 00:18:58.049 up with Jesus, it's going to be a whole lot easier. 00:18:59.509 --> 00:19:01.529 It's going to be a whole lot less stressful. 00:19:01.730 --> 00:19:04.950 Probably not even stressful at all, right? Because 00:19:04.950 --> 00:19:09.609 we're hooked up with someone whose power is limitless. 00:19:13.390 --> 00:19:18.390 Whose resources are limitless. Whose love is 00:19:18.390 --> 00:19:21.980 limitless. Come on, somebody. I'm preaching better 00:19:21.980 --> 00:19:26.039 than you're amening right now. He's limitless. 00:19:27.140 --> 00:19:33.460 And he calls us a worker together with him, God's 00:19:33.460 --> 00:19:44.319 fellow worker. When you're hooked up to limitless, 00:19:44.460 --> 00:19:55.240 your struggle disappears. As co -workers with 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:59.980 God, we have an opportunity to exchange our natural 00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:05.220 for his supernatural. We have that opportunity 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:15.460 to trade what we have for what God has. I don't 00:20:15.460 --> 00:20:16.940 know if you've noticed these things sitting up 00:20:16.940 --> 00:20:19.680 here or not. You probably wonder, well, this 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:28.049 big old rock. represents what I have. And this 00:20:28.049 --> 00:20:36.589 represents what God has. This is my natural. 00:20:36.670 --> 00:20:41.769 This is God's supernatural. And in so many areas, 00:20:41.829 --> 00:20:48.250 He calls for us to lay down our natural for His 00:20:48.250 --> 00:20:55.950 supernatural. Some of us get very frustrated 00:20:55.950 --> 00:21:00.650 because we try to take our natural and we take 00:21:00.650 --> 00:21:04.049 sandpaper and all kind of stuff and we try to 00:21:04.049 --> 00:21:09.289 make our natural. We work on it, work on it, 00:21:09.309 --> 00:21:15.450 work on it. We try to make our natural look to 00:21:15.450 --> 00:21:26.519 everybody else like it's supernatural. So we're 00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:29.359 not talking about increasing your human effort 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:35.640 to be more like Jesus. We're talking about an 00:21:35.640 --> 00:21:40.279 exchange. Everybody say an exchange. So as co 00:21:40.279 --> 00:21:42.140 -workers with God, we have the opportunity to 00:21:42.140 --> 00:21:47.119 exchange. This is me striving and working and 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:49.880 doing with me being the source or my spouse being 00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:53.359 the source or my job being the source. It's always 00:21:53.359 --> 00:22:00.819 going to look like this. God has something better 00:22:00.819 --> 00:22:11.140 for you. God did not take up residence in you 00:22:11.140 --> 00:22:21.000 for you to live your life apart from him. God 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:29.980 is in you. It's salvation. You move out of being 00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:34.740 in yourself and in the world to being in Christ. 00:22:36.180 --> 00:22:39.500 You move out of your unrighteousness and your 00:22:39.500 --> 00:22:43.359 sin into being the righteousness of God in Christ. 00:22:44.859 --> 00:22:49.200 There's a movement that takes place in your spirit. 00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:52.579 Everybody say your spirit. That's where that 00:22:52.579 --> 00:22:55.099 movement takes place. And it's immediate and 00:22:55.099 --> 00:23:06.000 it's done. So the question is going to look like 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:15.140 this. Are we living out of our spirit? Or are 00:23:15.140 --> 00:23:19.400 we living out of our soul? Trying to polish up 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:33.559 our soul. Are we living out of our spirit? See, 00:23:33.950 --> 00:23:36.049 I'm not talking about working to be the best 00:23:36.049 --> 00:23:40.670 you you can be. Because that can be frustrating. 00:23:42.569 --> 00:23:46.529 I've spent a lot of time being frustrated. Because 00:23:46.529 --> 00:23:50.210 I try to be the best I can be. You know, it's 00:23:50.210 --> 00:23:53.630 just like Romans 7, where we looked at it in 00:23:53.630 --> 00:23:56.970 our life group, right? Romans 7, it's like, well, 00:23:56.990 --> 00:23:59.269 I want to do the right thing, wind up doing the 00:23:59.269 --> 00:24:02.190 wrong thing. I want to, you know, and there's 00:24:02.190 --> 00:24:12.539 just this turmoil. In Romans 7, turmoil. And 00:24:12.539 --> 00:24:15.039 Paul gets to the point where he says, who's going 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:23.460 to deliver me from such misery? But he immediately 00:24:23.460 --> 00:24:31.240 gives you the answer. Jesus. You don't have to 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:34.079 live in that misery. Romans 8, 1, because now 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:35.799 there's no condemnation for those who are in 00:24:35.799 --> 00:24:39.339 Christ Jesus. We're dead to sin and alive to 00:24:39.339 --> 00:24:48.720 God. But we have to live differently. I believe 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:52.759 this is key. It's not just trying to be the best 00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:57.099 person you can be, but allowing God's life to 00:24:57.099 --> 00:25:07.599 flow through us. There's a difference. Galatians 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:12.839 2 .20. I've been crucified with Christ and I 00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:21.079 no longer live. It's not trying to be the best 00:25:21.079 --> 00:25:25.160 me that I can be anymore. Because the best me 00:25:25.160 --> 00:25:30.440 is crucified with Christ. I've been crucified 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:33.160 with Christ. I no longer live. But now Christ 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:38.660 lives in me. The life I now live in the body, 00:25:38.819 --> 00:25:42.500 I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me 00:25:42.500 --> 00:25:49.000 and gave himself for me. There's been an exchange. 00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:57.200 Not just my old life polished up, but new life. 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:02.460 See, we spend a lifetime learning how to live, 00:26:02.660 --> 00:26:07.099 learning how to live in our flesh and how to 00:26:07.099 --> 00:26:10.940 live in our soul. We spend a lifetime, but as 00:26:10.940 --> 00:26:15.200 Christians, we must learn to live again, all 00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:22.960 over again, as spirits who are in Christ. I wish 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:26.099 I could unpack this so beautifully and completely 00:26:26.099 --> 00:26:28.740 for all of us to just be able to grab it. I just 00:26:28.740 --> 00:26:34.960 got to tell you, I'm working on it. But it's 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:41.140 available. Let's cover this again. You are a 00:26:41.140 --> 00:26:45.180 spirit. Everybody say, I'm a spirit. That's who 00:26:45.180 --> 00:26:56.500 you are. You are a spirit. Now, you are a spirit. 00:26:56.940 --> 00:27:00.380 Made in the image of God. God is spirit. Those 00:27:00.380 --> 00:27:02.400 who worship him must worship him in spirit and 00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:05.900 in truth, right? God is a spirit. He created 00:27:05.900 --> 00:27:11.579 us in his image. Every other living thing in 00:27:11.579 --> 00:27:18.259 this earth is not a spirit. Humans are spirit 00:27:18.259 --> 00:27:27.589 beings. You are a spirit. You have a soul. And 00:27:27.589 --> 00:27:32.170 you live in a body. One of these days, we're 00:27:32.170 --> 00:27:33.970 not going to live in this body. We're going to 00:27:33.970 --> 00:27:39.029 have a glorified body. Sometimes I think about 00:27:39.029 --> 00:27:44.990 this. There's going to be a day where I'm going 00:27:44.990 --> 00:27:49.069 to be able to travel really fast. How many of 00:27:49.069 --> 00:27:51.869 you like to travel fast? Who doesn't like the 00:27:51.869 --> 00:27:55.309 confines of the speed limit? And I thought about 00:27:55.309 --> 00:27:57.880 it. I said, you know, Well, am I traveling the 00:27:57.880 --> 00:28:01.559 speed of light? Look at the person beside you 00:28:01.559 --> 00:28:05.799 and say, faster than that. Get this, as a spirit 00:28:05.799 --> 00:28:08.200 being, it's just something that I've thought 00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:10.200 about and thought about and thought about. It's 00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:12.000 not in the Bible, so don't look for a verse. 00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:18.180 Except Dean chapter 2, verse 7, maybe. It might 00:28:18.180 --> 00:28:21.400 be there. Listen, I believe we're going to travel 00:28:21.400 --> 00:28:28.420 at the speed of thought. I would say God travels 00:28:28.420 --> 00:28:30.039 at the speed of thought, but that would be incorrect 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:33.420 because God's everywhere all the time. He doesn't 00:28:33.420 --> 00:28:36.119 have to travel anywhere. He doesn't have to travel 00:28:36.119 --> 00:28:40.160 to you for the breakthrough in your life. He's 00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:44.819 already here. He doesn't have to travel. I believe 00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:47.180 he would travel at the speed of thought. That's 00:28:47.180 --> 00:28:49.220 fast. Anyway, I don't know why I got on that. 00:28:50.380 --> 00:28:52.299 You can forget that. By the time you walk out 00:28:52.299 --> 00:28:54.819 the door, it won't matter. You are a spirit. 00:28:55.059 --> 00:28:59.369 You have a soul. You live in a body. Just to 00:28:59.369 --> 00:29:02.369 give you some verses, if you haven't thought 00:29:02.369 --> 00:29:05.470 about this, 1 Thessalonians 5, 23. Now may the 00:29:05.470 --> 00:29:09.369 God of peace make you holy in every way, and 00:29:09.369 --> 00:29:15.930 may your whole spirit and soul and body... Hello? 00:29:18.410 --> 00:29:21.910 May your whole spirit and soul and body be kept 00:29:21.910 --> 00:29:25.910 blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 00:29:28.509 --> 00:29:30.670 So if you say, Dean, where did you get that I'm 00:29:30.670 --> 00:29:32.829 a spirit and I have a soul and I live in a body? 00:29:32.950 --> 00:29:35.029 Well, that's a good one. Here's another one. 00:29:36.069 --> 00:29:39.730 Hebrews 4 .12. For the word of God is alive and 00:29:39.730 --> 00:29:43.849 powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two 00:29:43.849 --> 00:29:49.049 -edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit. 00:29:53.650 --> 00:29:56.690 There's a difference between your spirit and 00:29:56.690 --> 00:30:00.549 your soul. Between joint and marrow, everybody 00:30:00.549 --> 00:30:06.730 say body. The Word of God helps us to divide 00:30:06.730 --> 00:30:12.670 these parts of us and to see it and to function 00:30:12.670 --> 00:30:17.230 and to operate in it. It exposes our innermost 00:30:17.230 --> 00:30:19.950 thoughts and desires. Your soul is made up of 00:30:19.950 --> 00:30:22.930 your mind. Everybody say my mind, my thoughts, 00:30:23.150 --> 00:30:27.069 my desires. Well, that's the next one. Your will 00:30:27.069 --> 00:30:36.049 is your desires. Everybody say, my will is my 00:30:36.049 --> 00:30:40.190 desires. Your desires could even include your 00:30:40.190 --> 00:30:50.269 plans. And then your emotions. See, that's part 00:30:50.269 --> 00:30:58.579 of your soul. So, we're supposed to depend on 00:30:58.579 --> 00:31:06.940 God in all these areas. In every area of life. 00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:14.019 We're supposed to rely on God. Last week we talked 00:31:14.019 --> 00:31:15.819 about having the mind of Christ. Everybody say 00:31:15.819 --> 00:31:19.099 the mind of Christ. We talked about how it was 00:31:19.099 --> 00:31:23.940 available to us. And we can... Receive the mind 00:31:23.940 --> 00:31:26.539 of Christ through relationship and through saturation. 00:31:27.019 --> 00:31:30.759 And the mind of Christ can have dominance over 00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:38.599 our mind and our thoughts by exchange. But the 00:31:38.599 --> 00:31:42.700 exchange comes through saturation. Everybody 00:31:42.700 --> 00:31:49.380 say saturation. And relationship. That's when 00:31:49.380 --> 00:31:53.779 we can discern. It's a skill to come to the point 00:31:53.779 --> 00:31:58.880 where you can discern the difference. And it's 00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:01.420 like, through the word of God, it's like a sharp 00:32:01.420 --> 00:32:04.579 two -edged sword. And it will help us to discern 00:32:04.579 --> 00:32:16.819 between our mind and the mind of Christ. Somebody 00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:27.859 smile. Our mind and the mind of Christ. So we 00:32:27.859 --> 00:32:30.279 talked about that through saturation and relationship. 00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:32.299 You can go back and listen to the podcast, YouTube, 00:32:32.420 --> 00:32:35.420 whatever. All right. But today, here's what we're 00:32:35.420 --> 00:32:39.000 talking about. Today, we're talking about exchanging 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:50.519 our will, our plans, our desires for God's. Does 00:32:50.519 --> 00:32:56.450 anybody remember when Jesus said, He was sweating 00:32:56.450 --> 00:33:01.869 drops of blood because he knew the pain and things 00:33:01.869 --> 00:33:03.509 that he was going to experience on the cross. 00:33:07.289 --> 00:33:11.789 He came to the point where he said, Father, not 00:33:11.789 --> 00:33:17.170 my will but yours. Now that doesn't mean that 00:33:17.170 --> 00:33:20.309 for you to follow the will of God means that 00:33:20.309 --> 00:33:22.210 it's going to be pain and suffering all the time, 00:33:22.289 --> 00:33:25.720 okay? I don't want to... present that to you. 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:34.779 It may not always be the easiest path. Hello? 00:33:35.259 --> 00:33:42.059 It may not always be the easiest, but it's always 00:33:42.059 --> 00:33:45.440 going to be worth it. Jesus said this. He said, 00:33:45.480 --> 00:33:54.529 for the joy that was set before me. The Holy 00:33:54.529 --> 00:33:58.170 Spirit spoke this through Paul. How many of you 00:33:58.170 --> 00:33:59.829 know if the Holy Spirit is speaking it, it's 00:33:59.829 --> 00:34:03.890 Jesus speaking it too, right? He said, for the 00:34:03.890 --> 00:34:09.630 joy that was set before me, I endured the cross. 00:34:14.110 --> 00:34:20.570 You might say, joy? Being whipped and beaten 00:34:20.570 --> 00:34:26.639 and crucified? Joy. On the other side of that, 00:34:26.820 --> 00:34:32.019 hello? On the other side of that was our salvation. 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:42.340 Without it, we're hopelessly and helplessly lost. 00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:50.940 And Jesus knew that walking through that was 00:34:50.940 --> 00:34:55.000 going to make it possible for us. To be in relationship 00:34:55.000 --> 00:35:02.940 with him. For us to experience his life. So, 00:35:03.079 --> 00:35:12.300 I want you to consider exchanging your will, 00:35:12.420 --> 00:35:19.900 your plans, your desires for God's. And here's 00:35:19.900 --> 00:35:24.119 a funny thing. It could look the same as it looks 00:35:24.119 --> 00:35:30.239 today to everybody around you. To exchange your 00:35:30.239 --> 00:35:33.639 will for God's, it could be just what you're 00:35:33.639 --> 00:35:42.300 doing. The life where you are. You know? God 00:35:42.300 --> 00:35:46.400 doesn't always tell you to quit your job and 00:35:46.400 --> 00:35:53.539 go on the road to follow His will. Did that to 00:35:53.539 --> 00:35:55.639 me. But it don't mean he's going to do that for 00:35:55.639 --> 00:36:03.659 everybody. When we were in college, we talked 00:36:03.659 --> 00:36:06.739 about this all the time in our Bible studies 00:36:06.739 --> 00:36:09.159 that we would have in college. We would talk 00:36:09.159 --> 00:36:12.820 about the permissive will. Everybody say permissive 00:36:12.820 --> 00:36:15.840 will. And the perfect will. Everybody say perfect 00:36:15.840 --> 00:36:18.400 will. Have you ever heard this? Has anybody ever 00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:23.690 heard those terms before? Because as we were 00:36:23.690 --> 00:36:26.050 praying and as we were studying, everybody, you 00:36:26.050 --> 00:36:28.030 know, you're at that point where you're in college 00:36:28.030 --> 00:36:30.730 and you're like, what am I going to do? What's 00:36:30.730 --> 00:36:35.690 next? And we were seeking God and wanting to 00:36:35.690 --> 00:36:38.630 do and wanting to go and be exactly where he 00:36:38.630 --> 00:36:43.650 wanted us to be. But how many of you know that 00:36:43.650 --> 00:36:45.849 you don't just pray one prayer and all of a sudden 00:36:45.849 --> 00:36:48.289 God answers that prayer? It's like, oh, well, 00:36:48.329 --> 00:36:53.320 you're going to, this is your path. How many 00:36:53.320 --> 00:36:55.139 of you know that sometimes your path changes, 00:36:55.199 --> 00:36:57.559 and you're still following God's will, but your 00:36:57.559 --> 00:37:00.340 path changes? Has anybody ever experienced some 00:37:00.340 --> 00:37:03.760 of that before? See, I'm glad you've experienced 00:37:03.760 --> 00:37:05.719 it. I don't have to tell you all my stories. 00:37:10.980 --> 00:37:13.940 See, I believe God has a permissive will. There's 00:37:13.940 --> 00:37:15.860 not a verse on this, but I believe God has a 00:37:15.860 --> 00:37:20.059 permissive will. He will let you follow your 00:37:20.059 --> 00:37:27.739 own will. Look at the person beside you and tell 00:37:27.739 --> 00:37:30.960 them, I'm not a robot. I mean, God will let us 00:37:30.960 --> 00:37:38.960 follow our desires, follow our will, follow our 00:37:38.960 --> 00:37:45.380 plan, follow our path. But I want to tell you 00:37:45.380 --> 00:37:47.159 today, God will let you follow your own will, 00:37:47.260 --> 00:37:52.559 but God has a perfect will for you, for you to 00:37:52.559 --> 00:37:57.440 follow, a perfect path. We're going to talk about 00:37:57.440 --> 00:38:01.139 the difference between the two, but God has that 00:38:01.139 --> 00:38:05.739 for you. Jeremiah 29, 11. Very familiar verse. 00:38:06.019 --> 00:38:12.659 Who's memorized Jeremiah 29, 11? This is God 00:38:12.659 --> 00:38:14.920 talking. He says, I know the plans I have for 00:38:14.920 --> 00:38:20.840 you. I want you to personalize this. God knows 00:38:20.840 --> 00:38:26.289 the plans that he has for you. Let's say that. 00:38:26.349 --> 00:38:33.130 God knows the plans he has for me. Not for you, 00:38:33.190 --> 00:38:37.849 for me now. Personalize it. God knows the plans 00:38:37.849 --> 00:38:41.110 he has for you. God knows the plans he has for 00:38:41.110 --> 00:38:47.250 me. And you know what? Chances are, chances are, 00:38:47.329 --> 00:38:50.670 God's not going to tell me his plan for you. 00:38:54.030 --> 00:38:57.789 God's going to tell me his plan for me. Now, 00:38:57.829 --> 00:39:00.230 there are some plans from God that's all the 00:39:00.230 --> 00:39:04.329 same, right? It's not his will. Everybody say 00:39:04.329 --> 00:39:07.550 will. It's not his will that any should perish, 00:39:07.590 --> 00:39:11.510 but all should come to repentance and faith in 00:39:11.510 --> 00:39:15.949 him. That's his will for everybody. But there 00:39:15.949 --> 00:39:19.789 are specific things, specific plans that God 00:39:19.789 --> 00:39:26.000 has for you. God has for me. And he knows those. 00:39:28.219 --> 00:39:32.659 And then he gives us a description of his plan. 00:39:34.599 --> 00:39:38.519 Everybody say my plan. Everybody say God's plan. 00:39:39.059 --> 00:39:42.539 Everybody say my will. Everybody say God's will. 00:39:43.760 --> 00:39:47.219 Everybody say my desires. Everybody say God's 00:39:47.219 --> 00:39:56.010 desires. We can exchange. Ours for his. His plans, 00:39:56.170 --> 00:40:02.889 his plans look like this. His plans are to prosper 00:40:02.889 --> 00:40:08.449 you and not to harm you. His plans are to give 00:40:08.449 --> 00:40:13.929 you hope and a future. That's what his will is. 00:40:14.650 --> 00:40:18.849 That's what his plans are. Some of you are choking 00:40:18.849 --> 00:40:21.309 on this, but it's okay. Go ahead and choke and 00:40:21.309 --> 00:40:27.130 swallow real good. One time, the doctor prescribed 00:40:27.130 --> 00:40:29.409 a penicillin pill that was so big, I didn't know 00:40:29.409 --> 00:40:32.670 if I could swallow it or not. But if I swallowed 00:40:32.670 --> 00:40:41.889 it, it would help me get better. If I didn't 00:40:41.889 --> 00:40:45.599 swallow it, because of the flavor that it put 00:40:45.599 --> 00:40:47.659 in my mouth or because it was too big to swallow, 00:40:47.880 --> 00:40:52.400 it wouldn't help me. So just go ahead and swallow 00:40:52.400 --> 00:41:04.980 this. See, God's plan will never harm you. Never. 00:41:06.739 --> 00:41:08.940 How many of you know that your own plan can harm 00:41:08.940 --> 00:41:17.699 you sometimes? How many of you know somebody 00:41:17.699 --> 00:41:21.260 who has a desire for some negative thing that 00:41:21.260 --> 00:41:25.119 harms them on a regular basis? Hello? Right? 00:41:26.179 --> 00:41:28.480 But that's their will. That's what they want. 00:41:28.579 --> 00:41:36.320 That's their desire. I'm going to go ahead and 00:41:36.320 --> 00:41:40.599 tell you. Just apply this across the board. Because 00:41:40.599 --> 00:41:42.340 I know you are thinking about something that, 00:41:42.380 --> 00:41:46.889 oh, I would never, right? I know somebody who 00:41:46.889 --> 00:41:50.750 has a will and desire for something, but I would 00:41:50.750 --> 00:41:53.989 never do that, and I can see how that's bringing 00:41:53.989 --> 00:41:59.929 destruction to their life. It's easy for us to 00:41:59.929 --> 00:42:03.809 see it in others, right? But apply it across 00:42:03.809 --> 00:42:13.650 the board. God's plan is to prosper you and not 00:42:13.650 --> 00:42:17.010 harm you. God's plan always, always, always, 00:42:17.070 --> 00:42:21.389 always will give you a hope and a future. Your 00:42:21.389 --> 00:42:26.269 plans may or may not. There's no guarantee on 00:42:26.269 --> 00:42:30.130 your plan. There's a guarantee on God's plan. 00:42:31.690 --> 00:42:34.329 Plans. There's the Hebrew word. You pronounce 00:42:34.329 --> 00:42:37.489 it if you want to. I've decided to quit trying 00:42:37.489 --> 00:42:43.630 to pronounce these words. But the plans. God's 00:42:43.630 --> 00:42:48.420 plans. For you. Or his thoughts. For you. His 00:42:48.420 --> 00:42:52.420 plans. For you. His purposes. For you. His intentions. 00:42:52.760 --> 00:42:57.179 For you. That word plan. I know the plans. I 00:42:57.179 --> 00:43:01.260 have for you. Declares the Lord. That's what 00:43:01.260 --> 00:43:03.219 it means. It means his thoughts. It means his 00:43:03.219 --> 00:43:05.480 plans. It means his purposes. It means his intentions. 00:43:08.440 --> 00:43:15.130 He has that for you. And for me. And his plans 00:43:15.130 --> 00:43:21.090 are to prosper you. I think I shared this back 00:43:21.090 --> 00:43:24.449 in the spring, and then we talked about who God 00:43:24.449 --> 00:43:27.909 is, and his name is Yahweh Shalom. Everybody 00:43:27.909 --> 00:43:31.130 say Shalom. There's multiple ways to spell it 00:43:31.130 --> 00:43:33.349 when you put it in English, but it's the same. 00:43:33.429 --> 00:43:38.949 It's Shalom. And for the majority of my life, 00:43:38.989 --> 00:43:42.769 if I heard the word Shalom, I always just thought 00:43:42.769 --> 00:43:51.860 peace. Peace. Peace is important. Peace is also 00:43:51.860 --> 00:43:55.579 an indicator of who your source is. I'll just 00:43:55.579 --> 00:44:02.780 throw that out there. That word prospers is the 00:44:02.780 --> 00:44:07.719 word shalom. And here's what it means. It means 00:44:07.719 --> 00:44:10.719 peace. Everybody say peace. It means health. 00:44:11.159 --> 00:44:16.480 Everybody say health. That's God's plan. Hello? 00:44:17.059 --> 00:44:20.500 God's plan for you is peace. God's plan for you 00:44:20.500 --> 00:44:24.920 is health. God's plan for you is completeness. 00:44:24.940 --> 00:44:31.500 Everybody say completeness. Not lacking. Complete. 00:44:32.239 --> 00:44:36.280 God's plan for you is welfare. That's God's plan 00:44:36.280 --> 00:44:42.429 for you. And some of these cross over. With agape, 00:44:42.489 --> 00:44:45.070 with love, with the definition of love, right? 00:44:45.230 --> 00:44:51.269 Welfare, well -being. God is love, so his plans 00:44:51.269 --> 00:44:53.309 are always going to be for your welfare and your 00:44:53.309 --> 00:45:02.469 well -being. Everybody say well -being. Everybody 00:45:02.469 --> 00:45:08.940 say safety. Everybody say prosperity. And we 00:45:08.940 --> 00:45:11.000 get to the point where, ooh, prosperity is a 00:45:11.000 --> 00:45:19.860 bad word. It can't be a bad word. Some people 00:45:19.860 --> 00:45:22.559 misuse it to say that God wants everybody to 00:45:22.559 --> 00:45:24.719 have a Bentley and an 8 ,000 square foot house. 00:45:32.760 --> 00:45:36.639 The Bible doesn't promote that. God's not against 00:45:36.639 --> 00:45:38.820 that. I don't think anybody in here has a Bentley 00:45:38.820 --> 00:45:40.800 or an 8 ,000 square foot house, but God wouldn't 00:45:40.800 --> 00:45:44.599 be against it. I mean, just look at Abraham and 00:45:44.599 --> 00:45:48.199 look at David. I mean, if the man can give an 00:45:48.199 --> 00:45:51.079 offering in the multiplied billions, he must 00:45:51.079 --> 00:45:54.800 have been doing okay. And he's a man after God's 00:45:54.800 --> 00:46:03.659 own heart. But he knew who his source was. Anyway, 00:46:03.880 --> 00:46:09.590 God's plans for you. God's plan, God's desire, 00:46:09.809 --> 00:46:13.210 God's will, God's thoughts, God's intentions 00:46:13.210 --> 00:46:22.190 for you. If you'll connect with his will, the 00:46:22.190 --> 00:46:26.929 result, hello? The result is always going to 00:46:26.929 --> 00:46:28.969 be peace, health, completeness, welfare, well 00:46:28.969 --> 00:46:38.579 -being, safety, and prosperity. I'm looking for 00:46:38.579 --> 00:46:43.440 one smile. If I can't find one smile, I'm going 00:46:43.440 --> 00:46:48.119 to have to say it about four more times. Let 00:46:48.119 --> 00:46:56.739 it sink in. Swallow that big old pill. I wish 00:46:56.739 --> 00:47:02.559 I had one of those. God's plans are to give you 00:47:02.559 --> 00:47:05.139 a hope and a future. When you look up the Hebrew 00:47:05.139 --> 00:47:09.079 words for Hope and future, I didn't put the spelling, 00:47:09.260 --> 00:47:13.440 our spelling for those words. But hope in the 00:47:13.440 --> 00:47:20.219 Old Testament, here's the picture. Hope is a 00:47:20.219 --> 00:47:24.800 cord binding you to a confident expectation. 00:47:32.010 --> 00:47:34.590 You know, I talk about Elpo, the Greek word hope 00:47:34.590 --> 00:47:37.289 in the New Testament. It's a confident expectation 00:47:37.289 --> 00:47:42.190 that you are anticipating with pleasure. That's 00:47:42.190 --> 00:47:47.289 the Greek word. The Hebrew word, you get this 00:47:47.289 --> 00:47:51.369 picture. Have you ever seen somebody tied to 00:47:51.369 --> 00:47:55.289 something? Most of the time that's bad when you're 00:47:55.289 --> 00:48:02.570 tied to something. I'll never forget, you know, 00:48:02.570 --> 00:48:07.130 camp. Taking a single mattress and tying somebody 00:48:07.130 --> 00:48:12.550 to the mattress with duct tape. Camp is so fun. 00:48:16.030 --> 00:48:22.710 Anyway, he deserved it. I want you to see this 00:48:22.710 --> 00:48:24.969 in a good way, not in a mean way, but a good 00:48:24.969 --> 00:48:29.860 way. Hope is a cord binding you. to a confident 00:48:29.860 --> 00:48:33.960 expectation in God. It's like you're tied to 00:48:33.960 --> 00:48:42.239 it. Put it together. Put it together. I know 00:48:42.239 --> 00:48:48.260 the plans I have for you. All those things that 00:48:48.260 --> 00:48:52.059 we just said, the plans I have for you are peace 00:48:52.059 --> 00:48:54.940 and health and completeness and welfare, well 00:48:54.940 --> 00:49:00.570 -being, safety, prosperity. And when you swallow 00:49:00.570 --> 00:49:07.150 that pill, you can be tied to that shalom with 00:49:07.150 --> 00:49:13.550 a confident expectation. A confident expectation 00:49:13.550 --> 00:49:20.030 of a good outcome. When it's just you, you don't 00:49:20.030 --> 00:49:25.969 know. When it's God, you know. Good outcome. 00:49:26.760 --> 00:49:29.260 The future is a good outcome or a victorious 00:49:29.260 --> 00:49:42.239 end. It should make sense to all of us. Right? 00:49:43.000 --> 00:49:48.699 If we want a guaranteed, I mean, we can go on 00:49:48.699 --> 00:49:52.099 our own and just be a gamble, but we can have 00:49:52.099 --> 00:49:56.420 a guaranteed. Good outcome and victorious end 00:49:56.420 --> 00:50:01.599 if we will follow God's plan, God's will, God's 00:50:01.599 --> 00:50:05.460 way. How do you know it? How do you know God's 00:50:05.460 --> 00:50:07.860 will, God's plans, God's desires, God's purposes 00:50:07.860 --> 00:50:14.079 for your life? How do you know it? I'm going 00:50:14.079 --> 00:50:15.800 to go ahead and say this is probably not the 00:50:15.800 --> 00:50:19.280 full disclosure of every Bible verse that could 00:50:19.280 --> 00:50:21.659 possibly be in Scripture that would connect you 00:50:21.659 --> 00:50:23.460 to God's will and His plans and His purpose. 00:50:23.960 --> 00:50:29.199 But this is a good starting point. Look to the 00:50:29.199 --> 00:50:30.679 person beside you and say, this is a real good 00:50:30.679 --> 00:50:37.320 starting point. Take delight in the Lord. And 00:50:37.320 --> 00:50:42.199 he will give you your heart's desires. When you 00:50:42.199 --> 00:50:49.340 delight in the Lord, his desire becomes apparent 00:50:49.340 --> 00:50:55.639 to you. It's revealed. It's not just going to 00:50:55.639 --> 00:50:59.179 fall in your lap. I can't tell you how many times 00:50:59.179 --> 00:51:00.880 in college we were just praying, God, we want 00:51:00.880 --> 00:51:02.579 to do your will. Please show us your will. God, 00:51:02.619 --> 00:51:03.760 I don't know what I'm going to do when I get 00:51:03.760 --> 00:51:05.940 out of college. God, show me your will because 00:51:05.940 --> 00:51:07.579 I really need your will. And I'm just kind of, 00:51:07.639 --> 00:51:18.559 right? Begging. Everybody say begging. Begging 00:51:18.559 --> 00:51:25.559 is not the way to find it. delighting in the 00:51:25.559 --> 00:51:31.300 Lord is a step in the right direction. Take delight 00:51:31.300 --> 00:51:33.900 in the Lord. He will give you the desires of 00:51:33.900 --> 00:51:36.980 your heart. Real quick, I'm a preacher's kid. 00:51:38.699 --> 00:51:46.559 My daddy was a preacher. My mom's dad, that grandfather, 00:51:46.760 --> 00:51:49.920 jumped sides of the family, but he was a preacher. 00:51:52.599 --> 00:51:58.360 His daddy was a preacher. When I took my driver's 00:51:58.360 --> 00:52:01.460 test to get my license, when I sat down with 00:52:01.460 --> 00:52:06.340 the policeman, I messed up a few times. But as 00:52:06.340 --> 00:52:08.099 we were riding, he says, well, what does your 00:52:08.099 --> 00:52:09.980 mom do? I said, well, she's a school teacher. 00:52:10.940 --> 00:52:14.239 She taught public school. What does your dad 00:52:14.239 --> 00:52:18.599 do? He's a preacher. And when we finished the 00:52:18.599 --> 00:52:22.920 driving test, he said, well, normally... You 00:52:22.920 --> 00:52:25.659 made too many mistakes to get your driver's license. 00:52:26.880 --> 00:52:28.739 But he said, but you need to get out of the house. 00:52:29.420 --> 00:52:38.440 That's what he told me. Got my license. I did 00:52:38.440 --> 00:52:44.739 not make that up. That's for real. Anyway, he 00:52:44.739 --> 00:52:53.639 said, you need to get out of the house. You know, 00:52:53.679 --> 00:52:59.800 I never desired to be a pastor. As a matter of 00:52:59.800 --> 00:53:02.659 fact, when Gannon and I started dating before 00:53:02.659 --> 00:53:04.219 we were married, I said, Honey, you ain't got 00:53:04.219 --> 00:53:08.880 to worry about it. I said, We can sing. We can 00:53:08.880 --> 00:53:10.599 go around churches and sing because we like to 00:53:10.599 --> 00:53:12.260 sing together and we like to praise God and we 00:53:12.260 --> 00:53:14.460 like to sing songs about God. But I said, Honey, 00:53:14.599 --> 00:53:17.340 you've got nothing to worry about. I'm never 00:53:17.340 --> 00:53:26.760 going to be a preacher. That's what I said. This 00:53:26.760 --> 00:53:34.320 was not my desire. I had other plans. I had other 00:53:34.320 --> 00:53:39.719 desires. I'm going to go ahead and tell you. 00:53:41.400 --> 00:53:43.619 I don't want to do anything else now than what 00:53:43.619 --> 00:53:49.539 I'm doing. Some people read this verse, God will 00:53:49.539 --> 00:53:50.960 give you the desires of your heart, and they 00:53:50.960 --> 00:53:53.480 say, well, God, if you want it bad enough, God 00:53:53.480 --> 00:54:01.530 will give it to you. I think that's a misinterpretation 00:54:01.530 --> 00:54:10.489 of the verse. As you delight in the Lord, he'll 00:54:10.489 --> 00:54:13.550 give you the desires. He'll give you the plans. 00:54:15.210 --> 00:54:18.670 He'll give you his will. This is part of the 00:54:18.670 --> 00:54:25.949 process of exchanging your will for his. Delight 00:54:25.949 --> 00:54:28.869 in the Lord. Delight, there's a Hebrew word. 00:54:29.420 --> 00:54:33.099 Needs to delight to take pleasure in. And I'm 00:54:33.099 --> 00:54:35.079 going to tell you, what do you take pleasure 00:54:35.079 --> 00:54:37.639 in? What's the thing that you delight in the 00:54:37.639 --> 00:54:39.519 most? What's the thing that you get the most 00:54:39.519 --> 00:54:49.539 pleasure in? Pulling your toes. Well, if you 00:54:49.539 --> 00:54:55.360 want God's desires and God's will, your delight 00:54:55.360 --> 00:55:00.599 and your pleasure needs to be in Him. Not in 00:55:00.599 --> 00:55:09.059 the things of this world. Our passion needs to 00:55:09.059 --> 00:55:13.059 be towards him and not towards the things of 00:55:13.059 --> 00:55:21.500 this world. And it's not a one and done commitment. 00:55:21.599 --> 00:55:27.679 It's a continual adjustment in our lives to delight. 00:55:29.440 --> 00:55:32.980 In the Lord and take pleasure in him. You might 00:55:32.980 --> 00:55:35.800 say, well, you know, I've never done that and 00:55:35.800 --> 00:55:37.880 look where I am today. Well, guess what? You 00:55:37.880 --> 00:55:40.639 can start today to delight in the Lord and take 00:55:40.639 --> 00:55:45.159 pleasure in him. Just start where you are. Start 00:55:45.159 --> 00:55:51.539 today. Jeffrey read these verses last week. Proverbs 00:55:51.539 --> 00:55:54.260 3, 5, and 6. We probably memorized them. If you 00:55:54.260 --> 00:55:56.840 memorize much scripture at all, you probably 00:55:56.840 --> 00:55:59.820 memorize these. Trust in the Lord with all your 00:55:59.820 --> 00:56:02.679 heart. Do not depend on your own understanding. 00:56:03.179 --> 00:56:07.099 Jeffrey focused in on this for having the mind 00:56:07.099 --> 00:56:12.039 of Christ, not depending, not relying on just 00:56:12.039 --> 00:56:18.900 your own mind, but relying on the Lord, trusting 00:56:18.900 --> 00:56:23.199 in him, depending on him. Depend on God. Don't 00:56:23.199 --> 00:56:25.619 depend on your own understanding. Depend on God. 00:56:26.480 --> 00:56:28.639 He knows everything about everything. Depend 00:56:28.639 --> 00:56:36.300 on Him. And it goes on to say, seek His will. 00:56:39.539 --> 00:56:41.300 It's not going to drop in your lap. You're going 00:56:41.300 --> 00:56:46.280 to have to seek. Have you ever played hide and 00:56:46.280 --> 00:56:52.280 seek? You seek. It's an active thing. Seeking 00:56:52.280 --> 00:57:02.099 is active. Seek his will in all you do. And he 00:57:02.099 --> 00:57:07.320 will show you. He will reveal it. Which path 00:57:07.320 --> 00:57:16.039 to take? But you got to seek. Seek. There's a 00:57:16.039 --> 00:57:21.440 Hebrew word again. Seek means to know, to perceive, 00:57:21.539 --> 00:57:24.960 to understand. And to acknowledge. We use that 00:57:24.960 --> 00:57:27.539 word acknowledge a lot around here recently over 00:57:27.539 --> 00:57:35.039 the last year. So seeking God. Let's break it 00:57:35.039 --> 00:57:40.400 down. Know God in everything you do. Know Him. 00:57:42.760 --> 00:57:45.099 Relationship. Everybody say relationship. Know 00:57:45.099 --> 00:57:52.039 Him. Perceive. Everybody say discernment. Perceive. 00:57:56.250 --> 00:58:02.289 That's one of the spiritual gifts, right? It's 00:58:02.289 --> 00:58:09.349 to discern. Understand. You might say, well, 00:58:09.369 --> 00:58:12.389 he's too big for me to understand. Well, you 00:58:12.389 --> 00:58:17.070 shouldn't stop trying. Understand what the will 00:58:17.070 --> 00:58:20.030 of God is. Perceive, discern what the will of 00:58:20.030 --> 00:58:23.559 God is. Know what the will of God is. And acknowledge. 00:58:27.179 --> 00:58:31.539 We need to think about this word a lot. It says 00:58:31.539 --> 00:58:37.179 acknowledge God in everything you do. Everything. 00:58:39.619 --> 00:58:43.820 We all do a lot. Just think about the rest of 00:58:43.820 --> 00:58:47.179 your day. What are you going to do? Do you already 00:58:47.179 --> 00:58:51.480 have plans? Think about Monday. What are you 00:58:51.480 --> 00:58:54.639 going to do? Do you have plans? What about Tuesday? 00:58:58.019 --> 00:59:04.280 Well, the Word of God says, acknowledge me in 00:59:04.280 --> 00:59:09.059 everything you do. Do you want to know what His 00:59:09.059 --> 00:59:11.340 will is? Do you want to know the steps to take? 00:59:12.260 --> 00:59:15.179 Acknowledge Him. Acknowledge the Holy Spirit 00:59:15.179 --> 00:59:21.460 who is living on the inside of you. Acknowledge 00:59:21.460 --> 00:59:26.199 God. Acknowledge who you are in Christ and what 00:59:26.199 --> 00:59:30.579 you have in Christ. Acknowledge. Not just on 00:59:30.579 --> 00:59:34.440 Sunday morning. In everything you do. Acknowledge 00:59:34.440 --> 00:59:43.960 God. Acknowledge Him. Somebody smile again or 00:59:43.960 --> 00:59:46.940 I'm not going to go any farther. Acknowledge 00:59:46.940 --> 00:59:50.110 Him. Look at the person beside you and remind 00:59:50.110 --> 00:59:54.309 them, acknowledge God in everything you do. Everything. 00:59:54.769 --> 00:59:58.690 Go ahead and say everything. Everything you do. 00:59:58.909 --> 01:00:05.170 Acknowledge God in everything. Not just the big 01:00:05.170 --> 01:00:10.329 things. The everythings, if you can put it that 01:00:10.329 --> 01:00:18.579 way. Everything. While you're working this afternoon, 01:00:18.699 --> 01:00:22.239 acknowledge God in everything you do. Right? 01:00:26.239 --> 01:00:30.519 Everything. In all you do. Here's the Hebrew 01:00:30.519 --> 01:00:38.000 word. All you do. Your way, your road, your path, 01:00:38.219 --> 01:00:42.980 your journey, your course of life. Look to the 01:00:42.980 --> 01:00:44.639 person beside you and say, that about sums it 01:00:44.639 --> 01:00:51.480 up. How about it sums it up? Here's the deal. 01:00:55.340 --> 01:00:59.880 If we will live our lives exchanging our will 01:00:59.880 --> 01:01:02.780 for His and acknowledging Him and delighting 01:01:02.780 --> 01:01:11.800 in Him, see, I can't help but believe there's 01:01:11.800 --> 01:01:13.480 going to be some people that get to heaven who 01:01:13.480 --> 01:01:15.199 are going to get there by the skin of their teeth. 01:01:16.559 --> 01:01:21.800 You know, they accepted Christ and at least I 01:01:21.800 --> 01:01:27.239 hope they are. Right? They've accepted Christ. 01:01:27.440 --> 01:01:29.179 I believe some people are going to get there 01:01:29.179 --> 01:01:34.139 by the skin of their teeth. But the goal, everybody 01:01:34.139 --> 01:01:38.440 say the goal. The goal is to hear these words. 01:01:40.380 --> 01:01:44.900 Well done, good and faithful servant. The only 01:01:44.900 --> 01:01:46.900 way we're going to hear well done, good and faithful 01:01:46.900 --> 01:01:52.760 servant is if we will exchange our will for his. 01:01:54.199 --> 01:01:56.980 This online worship experience was brought to 01:01:56.980 --> 01:01:59.719 you by the friends and partners of Elation Church.