WEBVTT 00:00:00.679 --> 00:00:03.439 Well, good morning. Go ahead and have a seat 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:10.460 as you do so. Church family, what a God. What 00:00:10.460 --> 00:00:13.919 a God who shows up when you didn't expect him, 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:18.100 right? Like what a God that shows up in moments 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:21.620 like this when you thought you were just coming 00:00:21.620 --> 00:00:24.940 in on a Sunday morning. And God's like, I'm going 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:27.539 to surprise you and I'm going to show up. And 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:30.219 I hope I hope what you get is just a sense of 00:00:30.219 --> 00:00:33.060 like God is up to something. Right. Like I hope 00:00:33.060 --> 00:00:35.500 that what you get is just that that. OK, God, 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:38.960 like we're here. And I hope the posture is that 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:42.719 you are expectant. Right. That you're expectant 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:44.500 that he is going to show up and he is going to 00:00:44.500 --> 00:00:46.399 do something. And that may be here in the room. 00:00:46.619 --> 00:00:49.039 Good morning to those of you on our online family. 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:53.539 Welcome on in. Clint in Kuwait is there this 00:00:53.539 --> 00:00:56.840 morning. Yeah, we can get up for Clint. Welcome 00:00:56.840 --> 00:01:00.119 to you and then also Baghdad, Paulding, our entire 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:02.399 online family. You just need to know we have 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:04.900 been praying for you. We continue to pray for 00:01:04.900 --> 00:01:07.140 you and we are expecting for what God is going 00:01:07.140 --> 00:01:09.420 to do there in whatever space you are, whatever 00:01:09.420 --> 00:01:12.260 screen, whatever sound that you happen to hear 00:01:12.260 --> 00:01:16.099 this. Same as in the room, God is present. And 00:01:16.099 --> 00:01:19.480 here's the thing with God being present, right? 00:01:19.579 --> 00:01:22.280 Like we can come in and go, God, we expect you 00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:25.700 to move and we expect you to work. And I don't 00:01:25.700 --> 00:01:28.239 know if you've noticed, but it's a little full 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:36.120 in here today. And within it being a little full, 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:40.760 it creates all kinds of dynamics. We're just 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:42.400 looking at this and going, okay, God, you are 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:44.579 moving within our community and we want to move 00:01:44.579 --> 00:01:48.879 with you. We want to be flexible and have the 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:51.719 ability to shape however God needs us to shape, 00:01:51.819 --> 00:01:56.000 not the other way around. What's happening is 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:58.959 that, I mean, let me just give you a picture, 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:05.140 okay? You ready? 41 kindergarten and first graders 00:02:05.140 --> 00:02:11.199 in a room together. Some of you got that because 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:14.000 you're like, I had a kindergarten and a first 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:19.300 grader. 41 in a room, right? Like, it's amazing. 00:02:19.479 --> 00:02:22.900 We celebrate it. But we also recognize that's 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:27.129 a little chaos. Right. And so then what we've 00:02:27.129 --> 00:02:29.210 realized is because of what God is doing and 00:02:29.210 --> 00:02:32.069 how he's moving and the amount of people that 00:02:32.069 --> 00:02:34.289 one of the things, one of the realities we have 00:02:34.289 --> 00:02:37.189 is there's about a 20 minute turnaround. And 00:02:37.189 --> 00:02:39.610 so what we're working on to make you happier 00:02:39.610 --> 00:02:42.650 as you're coming or leaving and what hopefully 00:02:42.650 --> 00:02:45.629 the 11 o 'clock, I got a picture last, I think 00:02:45.629 --> 00:02:48.389 it was two weeks ago that the entrance to the 00:02:48.389 --> 00:02:51.090 kids thing had a hundred kids standing and waiting 00:02:51.090 --> 00:02:55.830 because somebody was talking too long. So, you 00:02:55.830 --> 00:02:59.090 know, there's that. So here's what we're going 00:02:59.090 --> 00:03:01.830 to do. We're celebrating that God is moving and 00:03:01.830 --> 00:03:03.710 we just want to meet a minute. So the 11 o 'clock 00:03:03.710 --> 00:03:07.849 is moving to 1115. And what that buys us is that 00:03:07.849 --> 00:03:10.229 turnaround time that we need to hopefully not 00:03:10.229 --> 00:03:13.490 make everything chaos all the time. And hopefully 00:03:13.490 --> 00:03:16.650 make your... Okay, can I be real honest with 00:03:16.650 --> 00:03:19.090 you? If Heights is home, I don't care if you 00:03:19.090 --> 00:03:22.340 have to wait. Like I'm not being mean. Like if 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:24.560 this is home and you're like, I'm here for the 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:26.960 mission that God has us on. I don't really care 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:29.280 if you're like grumpy getting out of your car 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:31.400 because you got to walk from the gravel. I don't 00:03:31.400 --> 00:03:33.979 really care. I'm not being mean with that. What 00:03:33.979 --> 00:03:36.439 I really care is the people that do not know 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:39.879 Jesus that are giving church a chance. Like how 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:45.699 do we love them, right? How do we create space 00:03:45.699 --> 00:03:47.639 for them? And one of the ways we create space 00:03:47.639 --> 00:03:49.460 is we just move a service time. I know it's not 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:52.319 convenient for some, for others. I do need to 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:56.199 say this because you are consistently the largest 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:58.419 gathering. You realize we have identical services 00:03:58.419 --> 00:04:01.560 at eight in the morning and 1115. And there are 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:04.360 seats. I'm just saying, just saying. I want to 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:05.860 say good morning to one more group of people. 00:04:05.900 --> 00:04:08.340 And I need you to give them a hearty cheer because 00:04:08.340 --> 00:04:11.860 they are. doing something that y 'all aren't 00:04:11.860 --> 00:04:13.680 doing, right? And they're sitting in overflow 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:16.920 right now in the next room over. So good morning 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:24.060 to you in overflow. But here's the thing, God 00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:27.139 is on the move. That's what we don't wanna miss, 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:31.660 right? And we were at an offsite with some of 00:04:31.660 --> 00:04:34.500 our staff this past week. And one of the things 00:04:34.500 --> 00:04:36.600 came out of that was just like continuing to 00:04:36.600 --> 00:04:39.879 walk by faith and not by sight. And one of the 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:42.079 leaders came back to the middle school that meets 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:45.000 on this location and came back on Wednesday night. 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:46.839 And they were telling their team about walking 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:48.959 by faith. And someone on that team goes, hey, 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:51.240 well, why don't we pray intentionally for 20 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:55.660 students to meet Jesus tonight? And then the 00:04:55.660 --> 00:04:58.139 speaker who was there that night wasn't in the 00:04:58.139 --> 00:05:00.639 room. And so the speaker comes in the room to 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:03.660 speak. And halfway through, he's like, yeah, 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:05.699 I just felt like God going, hey, forget what 00:05:05.699 --> 00:05:08.759 you're going to say and do this. and see who 00:05:08.759 --> 00:05:10.720 needs to meet Jesus tonight. And wouldn't you 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.579 know it, 20 students gave their lives to Jesus. 00:05:16.660 --> 00:05:20.120 Why? Because God is on the move, right? Like 00:05:20.120 --> 00:05:22.259 God is on the move. And so in this room, the 00:05:22.259 --> 00:05:24.420 next night at Elements, which is our recovery 00:05:24.420 --> 00:05:27.879 ministry. The elements team were praying to see 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:29.939 a move of God and they were praying for five 00:05:29.939 --> 00:05:32.360 people, right? Like out of that group that they 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:34.620 would meet Jesus. I got a picture from the back 00:05:34.620 --> 00:05:36.600 of the room, I'm assuming it was. And there's 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:39.500 like 30 people down here praying with other people. 00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:42.339 And that's just a night later. And then on the 00:05:42.339 --> 00:05:44.699 same night, on Thursday night in Prescott Valley 00:05:44.699 --> 00:05:47.459 with our youth, they are praying big prayers 00:05:47.459 --> 00:05:49.819 that people will meet Jesus. And they had like 00:05:49.819 --> 00:05:52.500 20 kids that went, hey, I need to step into faith 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:55.360 in some way, shape or form. And that's all in 00:05:55.360 --> 00:06:02.120 a week, you guys. I've been around church enough 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:04.800 to know that's not normal. That's not normal, 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:07.600 right? Like God is up to something. God is moving 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:11.139 and doing something. And we get to be a part 00:06:11.139 --> 00:06:14.800 of it. And I don't want to miss, I don't know 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:17.500 how you feel, but like I went to the doctors 00:06:17.500 --> 00:06:20.279 a couple of weeks ago and I'm sitting with the 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:24.750 doctor and kind of a few months before that, 00:06:24.790 --> 00:06:26.290 they told me something that a couple of weeks 00:06:26.290 --> 00:06:28.310 ago, they're like, they're like, so your numbers 00:06:28.310 --> 00:06:31.610 are really bad in this area. And I'm like, well, 00:06:31.629 --> 00:06:33.529 what does that mean? And they didn't say this. 00:06:33.550 --> 00:06:36.689 This was my conclusion. Basically, you've lost 00:06:36.689 --> 00:06:39.910 10 years of your life. I was like, well, that's 00:06:39.910 --> 00:06:42.970 not good, right? Like, and so I see this report 00:06:42.970 --> 00:06:46.089 and what happens is, is inside, I got these feelings 00:06:46.089 --> 00:06:48.930 all of a sudden. And these feelings are like, 00:06:48.970 --> 00:06:51.810 I'm going to miss out, right? These feelings 00:06:51.810 --> 00:06:54.170 are all of a sudden, oh, this moment really matters. 00:06:54.990 --> 00:06:57.230 And so out of those feelings, then there's a 00:06:57.230 --> 00:07:00.110 response. And my response was, I was spiraling 00:07:00.110 --> 00:07:03.250 by the time I got home. And as I'm spiraling 00:07:03.250 --> 00:07:07.269 when I get home, I hear this voice. Hey, John, 00:07:07.410 --> 00:07:11.509 who numbered the days of your life before your 00:07:11.509 --> 00:07:15.569 doctor's visit? Well, you did, God. You got every 00:07:15.569 --> 00:07:19.370 one of them. Yeah, who's got them after? Well, 00:07:19.430 --> 00:07:23.589 you got them. Right? Isn't it funny how we fool 00:07:23.589 --> 00:07:25.389 ourselves? All of a sudden I'm like, I'm in control 00:07:25.389 --> 00:07:27.290 of the days of my life. You ain't in control 00:07:27.290 --> 00:07:30.730 of the days of your life. And what it did for 00:07:30.730 --> 00:07:33.569 me is all of a sudden there's just this holy 00:07:33.569 --> 00:07:36.810 like drive inside to go, God, I see you moving 00:07:36.810 --> 00:07:41.110 and we're just so desperate. God, I'm desperate 00:07:41.110 --> 00:07:45.350 in my lifetime to see a movement of God that 00:07:45.350 --> 00:07:49.560 is undeniably, it's just you and you alone. That 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:52.199 it's not any human that's getting the praise 00:07:52.199 --> 00:07:55.100 it's deserved. It's you and you alone. And here's 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:58.680 what I wonder. I wonder, we celebrate like God 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:01.120 and life change in other spaces, but I wonder 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:03.000 how many of us come into this room expecting 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:04.600 that God is going to change your life today. 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:10.480 By the response, not many. Okay? I'm just going 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:13.720 to throw that out there. Right? Like the idea 00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:16.980 that, wait, wait, you didn't just show up to 00:08:16.980 --> 00:08:19.470 something that's on your calendar. You know how 00:08:19.470 --> 00:08:22.269 church people attend church? They attend church. 00:08:23.350 --> 00:08:25.889 It's an event. They show up when it starts and 00:08:25.889 --> 00:08:29.129 they leave when it ends. And they leave the same 00:08:29.129 --> 00:08:31.629 person that came in. Why? Because church holds 00:08:31.629 --> 00:08:34.269 a marker on their calendar. Isn't it interesting 00:08:34.269 --> 00:08:36.419 that with your calendar... You think about the 00:08:36.419 --> 00:08:38.059 calendar and you think you got all these days 00:08:38.059 --> 00:08:39.639 because you got a vacation planned out there. 00:08:39.740 --> 00:08:42.220 What if today was your last? What if that worship 00:08:42.220 --> 00:08:44.720 set that you just went through was the last time 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:47.120 on this planet you would stand and by choice 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:51.600 use your voice before Almighty God? Did you leave 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:55.539 anything back? Right? Did you leave stuff that 00:08:55.539 --> 00:08:56.980 you were like, I don't know if I really feel 00:08:56.980 --> 00:09:01.620 like it today. My coffee hasn't hit yet. Right? 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:06.600 What would it look like if you stepped into moments 00:09:06.600 --> 00:09:09.860 and you go, wait, the God of the Exodus, right? 00:09:10.259 --> 00:09:13.659 The God who has gone 10 rounds with all the little 00:09:13.659 --> 00:09:15.399 G -gods that we've talked about over all these 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:18.559 weeks. The God who is your lifeblood. The God 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:21.559 who controls light and darkness. The God who 00:09:21.559 --> 00:09:25.019 controls your breath. The God who is big enough 00:09:25.019 --> 00:09:27.759 to protect. Who is your provision. Who is your 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:30.539 healer. He is here and he wants to meet with 00:09:30.539 --> 00:09:36.840 you today. He's here and he's present. That God, 00:09:36.840 --> 00:09:40.320 that God that can do anything is here. And guess 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:45.620 what? He wants a conversation with you. Why? 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:52.419 Because he loves you. He loves you. He's not 00:09:52.419 --> 00:09:56.360 okay for you to be where you are because he's 00:09:56.360 --> 00:10:00.039 got so much more. But it's by faith that we have 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:04.240 to step in. This might be a terrible example, 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:10.000 but you ever play the VR headset game? I got 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:13.320 to play a couple of years ago. My son -in -law 00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:17.899 bought one at Christmas. And, you know, you put 00:10:17.899 --> 00:10:20.240 it on and it's like, okay, you're in an elevator, 00:10:20.419 --> 00:10:21.899 right? And it feels like you're in an elevator. 00:10:22.940 --> 00:10:25.500 And then the doors open and there's a plank. 00:10:26.860 --> 00:10:30.279 And the game is called Walk the Plank. Fun game, 00:10:30.440 --> 00:10:33.220 you know? And so you're however many stories 00:10:33.220 --> 00:10:35.820 up, but you got the VR headset on, so it's all 00:10:35.820 --> 00:10:39.740 you can see. And so all you can see now is creating 00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:44.360 essentially the life around you. And so instantly 00:10:44.360 --> 00:10:47.419 what you see creates fear because now how high 00:10:47.419 --> 00:10:49.580 am I? I have a fear of heights. That's terrifying, 00:10:49.820 --> 00:10:53.019 right? But then the goal of the game is what? 00:10:53.100 --> 00:10:57.519 To step out onto the plank, right? So what happens 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:01.019 is what I see creates these feelings. And it 00:11:01.019 --> 00:11:04.340 determines how I respond. Like some people would 00:11:04.340 --> 00:11:06.279 be standing at the edge of the doors and it would 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:08.220 open in the planks there and you could see them 00:11:08.220 --> 00:11:11.360 in the living room backing up, right? Because 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:14.220 what they see and cause feelings, which creates 00:11:14.220 --> 00:11:17.580 a response that there's this anticipation of 00:11:17.580 --> 00:11:19.919 fear. And so you step back, right? Or you step 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:23.480 into it and you begin to move towards your goal. 00:11:24.700 --> 00:11:27.440 And you're going to become the greatest of whatever 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:30.240 the leaderboard is. By accomplishing what's there. 00:11:32.019 --> 00:11:36.899 What you see, what you see is really important 00:11:36.899 --> 00:11:41.100 to who you become. What you see is really important 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:46.799 to who you become. Because what you see shapes 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:50.100 how you feel, and how you feel often shapes your 00:11:50.100 --> 00:11:53.200 response. And how you respond will determine 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:56.840 how you move, and how you move will be who you 00:11:56.840 --> 00:12:02.720 become. See, if you walk in here and all you 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:06.139 see is a spot on a calendar, or you join online 00:12:06.139 --> 00:12:12.080 because it was just popped up in your feed, if 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:13.879 it's just a spot on your calendar, you're not 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:18.039 going to see God today. And you have to see that 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:20.159 God is present and that he wants to speak to 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:27.259 you. He wants to change you. He wants to have 00:12:27.259 --> 00:12:33.580 an intimate conversation with you. Right? And 00:12:33.580 --> 00:12:37.580 you have a choice in what you see. And so we 00:12:37.580 --> 00:12:42.759 see this played out in the Exodus story. And 00:12:42.759 --> 00:12:45.679 so kind of part of the story we're up to is Pharaoh, 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:48.379 the Egyptians or the Israelites leave and Pharaoh 00:12:48.379 --> 00:12:50.580 goes, that's a bad idea. I want them back. Right? 00:12:50.659 --> 00:12:53.559 And we know subplot, like God gives us the details 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:56.899 in the background. that he is hardening Pharaoh's 00:12:56.899 --> 00:13:00.279 heart because he is making his name known. And 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:02.059 through this, he's going to make his name known 00:13:02.059 --> 00:13:04.919 for all time, all human history, that you're 00:13:04.919 --> 00:13:07.320 going to get to see God and who he is and what 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:10.100 he does and how he rescues. Pharaoh doesn't know 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:11.940 that, so Pharaoh just does what Pharaoh does. 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:14.159 And in verse 10, it says this, chapter 14, verse 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:18.320 10. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:22.539 up, and there were the Egyptians marching after 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:26.529 them. they were terrified and cried out to the 00:13:26.529 --> 00:13:32.409 Lord, right? So what we're told is that as Pharaoh 00:13:32.409 --> 00:13:34.409 now comes, and you gotta put yourself inside 00:13:34.409 --> 00:13:37.929 the story, right? Because as you're inside the 00:13:37.929 --> 00:13:41.750 story, there is an army and it says that they 00:13:41.750 --> 00:13:45.049 are marching towards who? Towards the Israelites. 00:13:45.769 --> 00:13:50.190 This army is by far the most advanced military 00:13:50.190 --> 00:13:53.879 on the planet. Right. And so they are coming. 00:13:54.019 --> 00:13:57.000 And what happens is it says that the Israelites, 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:02.600 they look up. What happened? They changed from 00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:04.759 what they were looking at to something else. 00:14:04.779 --> 00:14:09.019 They see something. And what they see, what they 00:14:09.019 --> 00:14:12.019 see is this army that is barreling down on them. 00:14:12.700 --> 00:14:16.559 This army is coming to destroy them, which then 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:19.340 which then creates some feelings. And what you 00:14:19.340 --> 00:14:22.139 get is. And there were the Egyptians marching 00:14:22.139 --> 00:14:25.559 after him. They were terrified. They were terrified. 00:14:25.639 --> 00:14:28.580 They were full of fear. And it caused them, right, 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:30.820 like these emotions that well up inside. Because 00:14:30.820 --> 00:14:34.460 what you see, what you see will lead to what 00:14:34.460 --> 00:14:37.759 you feel. What you see will lead to what you 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:40.980 feel. And what they're feeling is their eyes 00:14:40.980 --> 00:14:44.220 go up. They see this military. And now what they 00:14:44.220 --> 00:14:47.399 feel is fear. What they feel is that they're 00:14:47.399 --> 00:14:55.210 terrified. What their feel is overwhelming. So 00:14:55.210 --> 00:14:57.110 that carries on in that same verse. It says they 00:14:57.110 --> 00:14:59.190 were terrified and cried out to the Lord. Verse 00:14:59.190 --> 00:15:01.769 11, they said to Moses, was it because there 00:15:01.769 --> 00:15:05.250 was no graves in Egypt that you brought us to 00:15:05.250 --> 00:15:08.289 the desert to die? Okay, you guys have been along 00:15:08.289 --> 00:15:10.629 for the journey. Do you remember at any point 00:15:10.629 --> 00:15:13.610 in this whole journey that Moses shows up and 00:15:13.610 --> 00:15:15.190 he goes to the Israelites and he goes, hey guys. 00:15:15.659 --> 00:15:18.360 God told me there are no graves here. So I'm 00:15:18.360 --> 00:15:20.659 going to take you to the wilderness so that we 00:15:20.659 --> 00:15:24.399 can bury you. Anybody remember that part? Good. 00:15:24.519 --> 00:15:27.639 I don't either. But that's where they go, right? 00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:31.080 That's part of their response. What have you 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:33.620 done to us bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we 00:15:33.620 --> 00:15:36.519 say to you in Egypt, leave us alone. Let us serve 00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:38.899 the Egyptians. It would have been better for 00:15:38.899 --> 00:15:42.480 us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:48.080 desert. Okay, what they are saying is, leave 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:53.740 us in slavery because at least we will be alive. 00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:58.919 Okay, they're going, let's go back from here 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:02.679 to slavery under the Egyptians because at least 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:07.539 we would be alive. Anybody relate? You don't 00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:10.419 have to raise your hand or nothing, but you ever 00:16:10.419 --> 00:16:16.009 been stuck in slave to sin? You ever had a season 00:16:16.009 --> 00:16:18.809 of life where you're a slave to sin? And what's 00:16:18.809 --> 00:16:21.350 interesting is that you were promised that sin 00:16:21.350 --> 00:16:23.169 would make you feel alive. You were promised 00:16:23.169 --> 00:16:25.029 that if you did this thing, this would make you 00:16:25.029 --> 00:16:27.470 feel alive. And what it actually feels like is 00:16:27.470 --> 00:16:30.870 a slow death. That is what they're saying. Like, 00:16:30.870 --> 00:16:33.529 let us go back to slavery, which is a slow death 00:16:33.529 --> 00:16:36.350 versus being out here in the desert and we'll 00:16:36.350 --> 00:16:40.070 just be dead. They see something. What do they 00:16:40.070 --> 00:16:43.649 see? All right, sometimes we gotta get like out 00:16:43.649 --> 00:16:46.710 of this world and into the actual story. Like 00:16:46.710 --> 00:16:48.929 you gotta kind of set yourself there. If you 00:16:48.929 --> 00:16:50.809 were here last week, what did Pastor Todd talk 00:16:50.809 --> 00:16:53.610 about? This pillar of what? Cloud and this pillar 00:16:53.610 --> 00:16:58.929 of fire. God physically represents himself in 00:16:58.929 --> 00:17:03.090 power and size and majesty, and he protects them. 00:17:03.149 --> 00:17:06.869 It says that this fire moves around and protects 00:17:06.869 --> 00:17:08.950 them, that he controls the light and dark. One 00:17:08.950 --> 00:17:12.069 side is light, one side is dark, that God's presence 00:17:12.069 --> 00:17:14.630 is there. And here's what's stunning with this, 00:17:14.670 --> 00:17:19.390 right? The pillar was still there. The pillar 00:17:19.390 --> 00:17:23.700 hasn't moved. They can still see God. And what 00:17:23.700 --> 00:17:26.519 happens? They look up and what happens? They 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:33.160 leave looking at God and they see what? It's 00:17:33.160 --> 00:17:36.299 not a trick question. They see the army, right? 00:17:37.059 --> 00:17:39.900 And the army is marching towards them, advancing 00:17:39.900 --> 00:17:42.440 towards them. Remember, who are they? They're 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:46.400 just a bunch of slaves. They're now free, but 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:48.220 they don't have any military. They don't even 00:17:48.220 --> 00:17:50.680 have a plan of, okay, we're going to close ranks 00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:53.299 and do this. They don't even have that. So what 00:17:53.299 --> 00:17:57.680 happens is what they see now determines what 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:01.680 they feel. What do they feel? And now what they 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:04.319 feel, they respond to. And how do they respond? 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:08.980 Negatively. God, it would have been better. Just 00:18:08.980 --> 00:18:17.299 kill us. God, it would have been better. How 00:18:17.299 --> 00:18:21.339 many times, how many times do you see something 00:18:21.339 --> 00:18:30.380 and you miss, you miss that God is there? What 00:18:30.380 --> 00:18:36.039 do I mean? The pillar is there and they see the 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:40.180 army and they change and go, we want to go back 00:18:40.180 --> 00:18:44.039 to slavery. Send us back to slavery. Remember 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:45.880 what happened in slavery? They cried out because 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:49.140 of their oppression. And so what you have is 00:18:49.140 --> 00:18:52.119 you have this in front of them. And so sometimes 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:54.319 what we can do is we can get really judgmental. 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:57.359 Why were they so dumb? Did they not see the pillar 00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:00.440 in front of them? Can I ask you a question? Why 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:07.440 are you so dumb? Why am I so dumb? Here's what 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:11.569 I mean. The cross of Jesus Christ is stained 00:19:11.569 --> 00:19:15.109 red for all of eternity for God to tell me how 00:19:15.109 --> 00:19:18.130 much he loves me. It's a permanent fixture in 00:19:18.130 --> 00:19:20.809 our history. Our calendar is geared around it. 00:19:21.670 --> 00:19:24.750 That stands in front of you every single moment 00:19:24.750 --> 00:19:27.150 of every single day. If that's not enough, above 00:19:27.150 --> 00:19:30.250 that is the resurrected Jesus who conquered death 00:19:30.250 --> 00:19:33.710 and the grave. And that stands in front of you 00:19:33.710 --> 00:19:37.940 every single day. Right? That is God. That is 00:19:37.940 --> 00:19:41.660 who he is. That is what he's done. That is our 00:19:41.660 --> 00:19:44.119 Savior. And so isn't it interesting that that's 00:19:44.119 --> 00:19:47.559 all true? And we're down here going, I think 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:53.500 I want to go back to slavery. Right? Jesus saved 00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:58.000 me. Jesus saves you. And then Jesus goes, hey, 00:19:58.039 --> 00:20:03.119 it's a narrow road. Ooh, that looks hard. That 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:05.799 doesn't look very fun. You mean I'm going to 00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:08.480 suffer for your name? I'm going to go back to 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:11.960 slavery. It's got some promise of fun and health. 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:15.059 And so we get over here, right? And we're like, 00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:18.099 oh, this feels like death. Jesus saved me. Jesus, 00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:23.220 okay. Wow, there's a narrow road. Same one you 00:20:23.220 --> 00:20:26.299 had before, Jesus. Your plan hasn't changed. 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:32.839 That's too hard. I'm going back to slavery. Slavery 00:20:32.839 --> 00:20:38.039 feels like death. Jesus saved me. We do this 00:20:38.039 --> 00:20:41.759 all the time. And Jesus goes, still the narrow 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:44.440 road. I'm still going to call you to make the 00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:46.460 choices that I'm calling you to make. I'm still 00:20:46.460 --> 00:20:48.180 going to call you to live the life that I created 00:20:48.180 --> 00:20:53.579 for you in Jesus. And isn't it interesting how 00:20:53.579 --> 00:21:01.640 easily, how easily we can see something and lose 00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:04.420 sight of who, and we just sang about it, right? 00:21:04.500 --> 00:21:08.210 Like, what a God. I mean, don't miss it. The 00:21:08.210 --> 00:21:10.630 God of the pillar and the fire, he's the God 00:21:10.630 --> 00:21:12.750 that released them from Egypt. He's the God of 00:21:12.750 --> 00:21:15.750 the Passover. He's the God that controls light 00:21:15.750 --> 00:21:17.230 and darkness. He's the God that controls your 00:21:17.230 --> 00:21:21.009 breath. And they miss it. Why? Because they see 00:21:21.009 --> 00:21:23.049 a bunch of humans coming towards them with really 00:21:23.049 --> 00:21:26.410 cool weaponary technology. And they freak out. 00:21:27.730 --> 00:21:31.970 Because all we got, all we got is, who knows, 00:21:32.130 --> 00:21:34.549 bread troughs and silver and gold. What are we 00:21:34.549 --> 00:21:38.440 going to do with that? Throw it at them? And 00:21:38.440 --> 00:21:42.019 it's amazing that we do the exact same thing. 00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:49.599 You got a resurrected Jesus who has conquered 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:56.119 death for you and grave. That has set you free 00:21:56.119 --> 00:22:00.160 that you even have the choice of thinking of 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.759 going back. And so what does Moses do, right? 00:22:04.859 --> 00:22:09.289 Because there's these responses we have. Moses 00:22:09.289 --> 00:22:13.910 answered the people, do not, verse 13, do not 00:22:13.910 --> 00:22:19.089 be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance 00:22:19.089 --> 00:22:24.069 the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians 00:22:24.069 --> 00:22:30.049 you see today, you will never see again. What 00:22:30.049 --> 00:22:31.890 does God do in the midst of it? They're freaking 00:22:31.890 --> 00:22:34.630 out. They see this. They're like, you know, let's 00:22:34.630 --> 00:22:37.049 get out of here. And Moses goes, he goes back 00:22:37.049 --> 00:22:40.230 and he reminds them of what? Who God is. Remember 00:22:40.230 --> 00:22:43.069 what a God you got. Don't you dare fall into 00:22:43.069 --> 00:22:46.480 the trap of that. Why? Because in this moment, 00:22:46.519 --> 00:22:49.240 as you stand here, all you have to do is remain 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:52.259 firm. Remain where you are. Remain where God's 00:22:52.259 --> 00:22:54.799 brought you. I know the path is hard. I know 00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:56.900 the steps are hard. I know this isn't what you 00:22:56.900 --> 00:22:59.359 would choose, but stay where you are. Why? Don't 00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:05.019 you dare run away. Stay where you are. Because 00:23:05.019 --> 00:23:07.039 if you do, you'll see the deliverance of the 00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:08.779 Lord. What is he saying? You're going to see 00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:11.329 the power. power of the hand of God. So what 00:23:11.329 --> 00:23:14.170 does he do out of their response? He moves them. 00:23:14.190 --> 00:23:17.990 He moves them back to a place of trust. He moves 00:23:17.990 --> 00:23:20.630 them. Your responses will lead you one of two 00:23:20.630 --> 00:23:23.309 ways. It will lead you away from God and trusting 00:23:23.309 --> 00:23:25.990 yourself, or it will lead you into a deeper trust 00:23:25.990 --> 00:23:29.730 with God. And when you step and you move, what 00:23:29.730 --> 00:23:32.029 happens is when you choose to trust God, listen, 00:23:32.150 --> 00:23:34.369 listen, what happens in verse 14, the Lord will 00:23:34.369 --> 00:23:39.109 fight for you. You need only to be still. The 00:23:39.109 --> 00:23:40.829 Lord will fight for you. All you got to do is 00:23:40.829 --> 00:23:43.849 stay still, Israelites. Don't run right now. 00:23:44.089 --> 00:23:46.369 Your step of faith right now, Israelites, is 00:23:46.369 --> 00:23:51.250 to not take off and not run. I don't know what 00:23:51.250 --> 00:23:55.210 it is for you today that you are seeing that 00:23:55.210 --> 00:24:02.750 feels so big, that seems so great. For me, in 00:24:02.750 --> 00:24:05.509 my humanity, it's sitting with a doctor and a 00:24:05.509 --> 00:24:08.730 laptop. And he starts to quote some numbers. 00:24:09.369 --> 00:24:12.670 And inside of me, what starts to happen? I got 00:24:12.670 --> 00:24:14.170 to get this figured out. I got to do this. I 00:24:14.170 --> 00:24:18.490 got to, all the things. And with one word, God 00:24:18.490 --> 00:24:23.490 goes, just be still and know that I am God. I 00:24:23.490 --> 00:24:25.609 don't know what yours is. Maybe you received 00:24:25.609 --> 00:24:29.869 a bill, right? You got a payment you got to make. 00:24:29.930 --> 00:24:31.470 And you're like, I don't have the money for that 00:24:31.470 --> 00:24:34.880 payment. And so you're spiraling. Like, what 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:37.299 does this mean? What's going to happen? You just 00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:40.140 need to know. Stay still and let the Lord fight 00:24:40.140 --> 00:24:42.059 for you. Why? Because he is your provision. That's 00:24:42.059 --> 00:24:43.440 what he showed the Israelites. That's what's 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:47.539 true today. He's your provision. Don't move and 00:24:47.539 --> 00:24:51.359 all of a sudden start to trust yourself. Well, 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:53.920 for some of you, it's the idea of loneliness, 00:24:54.119 --> 00:24:55.880 right? It's the idea of isolation. It's the idea 00:24:55.880 --> 00:24:59.359 that you feel like, man, I am isolated. What 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:02.480 I see is I see that I'm alone. And what that's 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:04.480 creating is these feelings. And what that's doing 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:07.220 is leading me to a response. And I want to go 00:25:07.220 --> 00:25:10.099 solve it. And you just need to know that what 00:25:10.099 --> 00:25:12.640 God is calling you to is to trust him in your 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:18.220 loneliness. For some of you, it's your marriage. 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:27.299 For some of you, it's your status. And God's 00:25:27.299 --> 00:25:31.900 going, will you trust me? For some of you, it's 00:25:31.900 --> 00:25:35.380 salvation. That you're still trusting yourself 00:25:35.380 --> 00:25:37.339 to save you. You're still trusting yourself. 00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:41.779 You believe this self -help that you can just 00:25:41.779 --> 00:25:44.599 be better. You just got to try harder. You don't 00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:48.279 got to try harder because you're dead. What do 00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:50.200 I mean by that? It says that everybody that is 00:25:50.200 --> 00:25:53.319 born into this life post, The Garden of Eden 00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:56.579 is born into separation with God. If you are 00:25:56.579 --> 00:25:58.680 separated from the source of life, that means 00:25:58.680 --> 00:26:02.099 you are dead. And what you need is you need life. 00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:06.700 And for some of you, you see, you see your brokenness. 00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:11.059 And in your brokenness, right? You want to go 00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:12.660 solve it. You want to go fix it. You want to 00:26:12.660 --> 00:26:14.779 go change it. You want to go. And what you really 00:26:14.779 --> 00:26:16.980 need is you just need a moment where you go, 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:21.819 Jesus, I am done. You have to save me. And what 00:26:21.819 --> 00:26:24.039 he's doing with the Israelites here is he's reminding 00:26:24.039 --> 00:26:27.099 them of who God is. He's reminding them of the 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:29.339 greatness of God. He's reminding them that this 00:26:29.339 --> 00:26:31.619 is the God that showed up. This is the God that 00:26:31.619 --> 00:26:34.220 has done this. This is the God that, so just 00:26:34.220 --> 00:26:36.200 stay still and you'll see his deliverance. What 00:26:36.200 --> 00:26:39.460 I love about God is God always provides the receipt. 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:42.259 What do I mean? Between the verses we just read. 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:46.319 It talks about, hey, raise your staff over the 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:48.039 water. I'm going to separate the water. You guys 00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:50.180 are going to walk through. And in the midst of 00:26:50.180 --> 00:26:53.359 that, right, in the midst of that, it says this 00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:57.099 in verse 26. Then the Lord said to Moses, stretch 00:26:57.099 --> 00:26:59.359 out your hand over the sea so that the waters 00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:01.720 may flow back, because the Egyptians are pursuing 00:27:01.720 --> 00:27:04.900 them, flow back over the Egyptians and their 00:27:04.900 --> 00:27:08.160 chariots and horsemen. Moses stretched out his 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:10.259 hand over the sea at daybreak and the sea went 00:27:10.259 --> 00:27:12.440 back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing 00:27:12.440 --> 00:27:15.299 towards it and the Lord swept them into the sea. 00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:18.240 The water flowed back and covered the chariots 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:19.400 and horsemen. Here's what I need you to know 00:27:19.400 --> 00:27:22.319 about that. That was the best weaponary technology 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:26.700 of the day. And what does God do? He just used 00:27:26.700 --> 00:27:28.380 a little water to wipe it all out, the entire 00:27:28.380 --> 00:27:34.900 army. Whom then shall I fear? Verse 28, the water 00:27:34.900 --> 00:27:36.640 flowed back, covered the chariots and horsemen, 00:27:36.660 --> 00:27:38.500 the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed 00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:41.019 the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them 00:27:41.019 --> 00:27:45.920 survived. Wait a minute. What had Moses told 00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:48.839 them that God had told him? Stand still and you 00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:54.319 will see what? The deliverance. Those Egyptians 00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:57.140 that you're so scared of today, you will never 00:27:57.140 --> 00:28:02.460 see them again after today. What is the receipt 00:28:02.460 --> 00:28:05.599 that God provides? He provides a receipt where 00:28:05.599 --> 00:28:08.759 they're all swallowed up in the sea. Why? Because 00:28:08.759 --> 00:28:12.559 your God, my God, always comes with receipts. 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:15.259 What do I mean by that? Beginning of the book. 00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:18.640 God said, let there be light, and there was light. 00:28:19.160 --> 00:28:23.640 That's a receipt. He hands you. Right? God creates 00:28:23.640 --> 00:28:25.380 everything in creation. You know when you go 00:28:25.380 --> 00:28:27.220 outside and you look up at the stars? You know 00:28:27.220 --> 00:28:29.700 what that's supposed to do? Remind you of the 00:28:29.700 --> 00:28:31.579 receipt that God has provided that he is the 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:34.799 creator so that you instantly are framed by who 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:38.759 he is. You look at the story of the nation of 00:28:38.759 --> 00:28:40.519 Israel. What does he say? He shows up and he 00:28:40.519 --> 00:28:43.200 goes, I'm going to rescue you from the who? The 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:46.640 Egyptians. What does he do? He brings them out. 00:28:46.839 --> 00:28:48.740 Then he tells them, hey, you won't see him again 00:28:48.740 --> 00:28:51.380 after today. What does he do? Swallows them in 00:28:51.380 --> 00:28:52.920 the sea and it says that every single one of 00:28:52.920 --> 00:28:56.130 them was gone. Why? Because God always provides 00:28:56.130 --> 00:28:59.750 the receipts. God also said that he would be 00:28:59.750 --> 00:29:02.970 born, that the Savior would be born of a virgin. 00:29:03.750 --> 00:29:06.269 What do you have in the story of Scripture, in 00:29:06.269 --> 00:29:08.369 the narrative of Scripture? You have a receipt 00:29:08.369 --> 00:29:12.589 that Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary. What 00:29:12.589 --> 00:29:14.509 else did Jesus say? He's going to go to a cross. 00:29:15.289 --> 00:29:16.789 They're not going to take his life. He's going 00:29:16.789 --> 00:29:18.670 to lay it down. So he goes to a cross and lays 00:29:18.670 --> 00:29:22.269 it down. And he says, after three days, I will 00:29:22.269 --> 00:29:24.809 rise again. Guess what happened? After three 00:29:24.809 --> 00:29:27.390 days, he rose again and the receipts were in 00:29:27.390 --> 00:29:31.630 500 witnesses that saw it. Why? Because God always 00:29:31.630 --> 00:29:36.250 comes with receipts. This whole book is God's 00:29:36.250 --> 00:29:39.309 record keeping his receipts. He said he would 00:29:39.309 --> 00:29:43.170 do something and he did it. Why is it so important? 00:29:43.750 --> 00:29:46.829 So that you could sit here today and know that 00:29:46.829 --> 00:29:51.759 your God is faithful. You can sit here today 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:54.660 and know that your God is love. How do I know 00:29:54.660 --> 00:29:56.279 that God loves you? There is a cross stained 00:29:56.279 --> 00:29:58.880 red for all of eternity that declares his love 00:29:58.880 --> 00:30:04.920 for you today. God has provided receipts over 00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:07.119 and over. Why? So that you would trust him. Why 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:10.619 is the story of the Exodus captured for us? So 00:30:10.619 --> 00:30:12.460 that you could sit here and go, God, you're the 00:30:12.460 --> 00:30:14.970 one that controls breath. You're the one that 00:30:14.970 --> 00:30:16.569 controls the light and darkness. That even though 00:30:16.569 --> 00:30:19.390 I see darkness, I will not be afraid. Why? Because 00:30:19.390 --> 00:30:22.230 you control it. That's how this works, right? 00:30:22.309 --> 00:30:24.309 Like God is providing receipts all the way through 00:30:24.309 --> 00:30:26.710 so that you could stand here confidently today. 00:30:26.869 --> 00:30:28.609 And when somebody looks at you and goes, how 00:30:28.609 --> 00:30:29.829 do you know that God's going to do that? You 00:30:29.829 --> 00:30:31.829 go, let me, hang on a second. Let me take you 00:30:31.829 --> 00:30:34.789 back to the story. Let me show you where God 00:30:34.789 --> 00:30:40.549 was faithful. The lives around you have receipts 00:30:40.549 --> 00:30:46.480 of God. You remember old school church, some 00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:49.579 of you? Show up and give a testimony. You remember 00:30:49.579 --> 00:30:53.619 that? No, just me? Cool. Hopefully some of you 00:30:53.619 --> 00:30:57.500 online know about that. What were testimonies 00:30:57.500 --> 00:30:59.000 back in the day? A testimony for those of you 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:00.160 that didn't grow up in church, weren't around 00:31:00.160 --> 00:31:02.700 it. A testimony was you could come up and you 00:31:02.700 --> 00:31:04.400 could share, hey, this is what God has done. 00:31:05.400 --> 00:31:07.039 This is where I've seen God this week. This is 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:10.519 what God's been doing this week. Why? Because 00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:14.339 in the confession, we started this way. We started 00:31:14.339 --> 00:31:17.240 with the receipts of God's movement. He rescued 00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:22.180 this week people in our community. He rescued 00:31:22.180 --> 00:31:26.220 people in our church family this week. So how 00:31:26.220 --> 00:31:28.900 do I know my God rescues? Not only do I have 00:31:28.900 --> 00:31:30.980 these receipts, I have the receipts of the lives 00:31:30.980 --> 00:31:34.839 around me. And what that does is when I see somebody, 00:31:35.140 --> 00:31:37.420 you ever meet somebody and you're like, man, 00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:40.680 I knew you years ago. You ain't the same cat 00:31:40.680 --> 00:31:43.079 no more. I don't know who says cat. I've never 00:31:43.079 --> 00:31:53.400 said that in my life. You're not the same. What 00:31:53.400 --> 00:31:57.140 happened? And you hear the receipts of their 00:31:57.140 --> 00:31:59.559 life and something triggers in you and goes, 00:31:59.640 --> 00:32:03.200 how do I get that? That's how this is supposed 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:07.019 to be. It's a fire, you guys. This is supposed 00:32:07.019 --> 00:32:09.099 to transfer. Why? Because you're seeing the goodness 00:32:09.099 --> 00:32:12.859 of God all the time. You're not questioning the 00:32:12.859 --> 00:32:15.400 love of God. Why? Because you know the love of 00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:19.460 God. You've experienced the love of God. And 00:32:19.460 --> 00:32:21.779 what you are is a walking, living, breathing 00:32:21.779 --> 00:32:25.720 receipt that you get to take into any situation, 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:29.119 in any circumstance. And when people want to 00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:31.160 talk about who God is, you go, that ain't my 00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:32.940 God. Let me tell you about my God. Why? Because 00:32:32.940 --> 00:32:38.480 I've experienced it. The greatest proof that 00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:41.759 this is true is what it's done in your life. 00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:46.000 People are always like, John, John, I want to 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:47.299 live on kingdom mission, but I don't know how 00:32:47.299 --> 00:32:49.740 to talk to my neighbor. Really? You're talking 00:32:49.740 --> 00:32:51.579 to me. So I think you figured out the talking 00:32:51.579 --> 00:32:55.500 piece. Well, I just don't know what to say. I 00:32:55.500 --> 00:32:59.839 don't want to sound dumb. So is it about you 00:32:59.839 --> 00:33:03.779 or is it about your neighbor meeting Jesus? Because 00:33:03.779 --> 00:33:05.920 all your neighbor needs to know is what? The 00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:07.640 same love that has been poured out of me, I'll 00:33:07.640 --> 00:33:11.579 pour out into you. The same stuff that God's 00:33:11.579 --> 00:33:14.279 done for me, I'll just give to you. And so I 00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:18.200 don't know, like once I was lost, I was in slavery, 00:33:18.240 --> 00:33:24.660 felt like death, and now I'm found. We make it 00:33:24.660 --> 00:33:29.420 so complicated, don't we? I love that God shows 00:33:29.420 --> 00:33:36.180 up with receipts. You ever want to question? 00:33:36.990 --> 00:33:38.990 or you are questioning, maybe you got questions 00:33:38.990 --> 00:33:42.609 about God, the greatest thing you can do is read 00:33:42.609 --> 00:33:45.769 this book. The greatest thing you can do is read 00:33:45.769 --> 00:33:49.730 the book. Why? Because it will tell you over 00:33:49.730 --> 00:33:52.650 and over and over who God is. The greatest thing 00:33:52.650 --> 00:33:56.089 you can do is sit with this book and the God 00:33:56.089 --> 00:34:01.150 of the Exodus will meet you. He will speak to 00:34:01.150 --> 00:34:04.730 you. He will lead you. He will guide you. One 00:34:04.730 --> 00:34:10.619 last story. Luke 17, verse 11. Now on his way 00:34:10.619 --> 00:34:12.800 to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border 00:34:12.800 --> 00:34:16.139 between Samaria and Galilee. So Jesus is traveling. 00:34:17.039 --> 00:34:19.139 He's heading towards Jerusalem. Verse 12. As 00:34:19.139 --> 00:34:22.340 he was going into a village, ten men, ten men 00:34:22.340 --> 00:34:26.059 who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 00:34:26.059 --> 00:34:28.860 and called out in a loud voice, Jesus, Master, 00:34:29.159 --> 00:34:32.579 have pity on us. When they saw him, he said, 00:34:32.780 --> 00:34:36.969 go show yourselves to the priests. As they went, 00:34:36.989 --> 00:34:41.250 they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw 00:34:41.250 --> 00:34:46.329 he was healed, came back praising God in a loud 00:34:46.329 --> 00:34:49.849 voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked 00:34:49.849 --> 00:34:53.289 him. And he was a Samaritan, meaning he was an 00:34:53.289 --> 00:34:57.639 outsider. Jesus asked, we're not all 10 cleansed. 00:34:57.639 --> 00:35:00.119 Where are the other nine? Has no one returned 00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:03.460 to give praise to God except for this foreigner? 00:35:03.739 --> 00:35:06.699 Then he said to them, rise and go. Your faith 00:35:06.699 --> 00:35:15.079 has made you well. There was 10 of them. And 00:35:15.079 --> 00:35:17.679 don't miss what happens. 10 of them are there 00:35:17.679 --> 00:35:20.239 and they're all together. You know why they're 00:35:20.239 --> 00:35:22.920 together? Because in that culture, in that context, 00:35:22.980 --> 00:35:25.900 they were dying together. They were literally 00:35:25.900 --> 00:35:28.340 dead people walking because of leprosy. There 00:35:28.340 --> 00:35:30.500 was no cure, and you couldn't be around other 00:35:30.500 --> 00:35:35.760 people. Ten of them. And they see, they see, 00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:39.380 don't miss it, they see the one that they have 00:35:39.380 --> 00:35:41.980 heard about, the Messiah, the Savior, the one 00:35:41.980 --> 00:35:45.219 who is healing people. And when they see Jesus, 00:35:45.320 --> 00:35:47.599 they recognize in them, all of a sudden, this 00:35:47.599 --> 00:35:50.570 feeling of hope. And as they have this feeling 00:35:50.570 --> 00:35:53.710 of hope, they respond. And they cry out, Lord, 00:35:53.809 --> 00:35:58.809 have mercy. They move towards Jesus. They use 00:35:58.809 --> 00:36:02.710 their voice. And guess what? They become healed 00:36:02.710 --> 00:36:06.449 and whole. But it doesn't end there. Because 00:36:06.449 --> 00:36:10.690 as they move, as they move to go do what Jesus 00:36:10.690 --> 00:36:13.909 told them to, one of them goes, hey, wait a minute. 00:36:14.889 --> 00:36:19.440 I'm alive. I was dead and now I'm alive. I got 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:22.739 to go back to the source of that life. And he 00:36:22.739 --> 00:36:25.860 goes back to Jesus. And on the way, what's happening 00:36:25.860 --> 00:36:29.300 is, is inside, he's so excited to be alive. He 00:36:29.300 --> 00:36:31.519 can't believe that he is healed. He can't believe 00:36:31.519 --> 00:36:34.099 that what was death is now life for him. And 00:36:34.099 --> 00:36:37.760 on the way, this praise breaks out. He can't 00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:41.179 contain it because he's gone from death to life. 00:36:42.219 --> 00:36:46.059 And now this life is bubbling up and overflowing 00:36:46.059 --> 00:36:48.579 and it gets to Jesus and his response, right? 00:36:48.639 --> 00:36:51.079 Because what he has seen is healing, what he 00:36:51.079 --> 00:36:55.059 has seen is life. And so now it moves him to 00:36:55.059 --> 00:36:58.679 praise. And he ends up and he bows down. His 00:36:58.679 --> 00:37:02.840 movement is to bow at the feet of Jesus and to 00:37:02.840 --> 00:37:06.900 worship him and thank him. And what does Jesus 00:37:06.900 --> 00:37:10.679 do? Not only are you healed of your leprosy, 00:37:12.119 --> 00:37:16.679 You're healed in your soul. Your faith has saved 00:37:16.679 --> 00:37:21.039 you. Okay, church people in the room, and by 00:37:21.039 --> 00:37:23.139 church people, I mean this. You gave your life 00:37:23.139 --> 00:37:27.119 to Jesus, okay? You had a moment where you gave 00:37:27.119 --> 00:37:31.219 your life to Jesus, okay? So church people in 00:37:31.219 --> 00:37:32.739 the room, I just wanna talk to you for one second. 00:37:34.119 --> 00:37:37.880 Maybe, maybe, and I'm not judging you. But maybe 00:37:37.880 --> 00:37:40.360 the lack of the ability to praise is you forgot 00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:45.619 who you were. You are the leper. You were dead 00:37:45.619 --> 00:37:48.679 in your sins and transgressions, as the Bible 00:37:48.679 --> 00:37:52.019 talks about. And you were saved by God himself 00:37:52.019 --> 00:37:56.099 in the form of Jesus. He paid every penalty for 00:37:56.099 --> 00:38:00.030 you, every sin for you. He took you from death 00:38:00.030 --> 00:38:02.510 to life. He took you from having no identity 00:38:02.510 --> 00:38:05.050 to now you are a child of God. And sometimes 00:38:05.050 --> 00:38:07.070 we just need to be reminded of who we are so 00:38:07.070 --> 00:38:11.389 that what? So that what we see, what we see erupts 00:38:11.389 --> 00:38:16.010 inside of us into praise. I think sometimes we 00:38:16.010 --> 00:38:19.429 forgot who we are. So what happens is we become 00:38:19.429 --> 00:38:22.150 stoic. Why? Because all we see is a time slot. 00:38:22.230 --> 00:38:27.070 All we see. And you are so much more. But there 00:38:27.070 --> 00:38:31.159 are some of you. And my heart is burdened for 00:38:31.159 --> 00:38:40.619 you today, right now. Because you, you have not 00:38:40.619 --> 00:38:48.699 stepped into a relationship with Jesus. You've 00:38:48.699 --> 00:38:54.420 been standing at a distance. And you keep showing 00:38:54.420 --> 00:38:56.780 up to church. You keep hanging out with those 00:38:56.780 --> 00:39:02.170 people that know Jesus. But what's happening 00:39:02.170 --> 00:39:06.590 is you see from a distance, but you also see 00:39:06.590 --> 00:39:08.610 all of these other things that don't make sense, 00:39:08.630 --> 00:39:10.190 that you don't know how to reconcile, that you 00:39:10.190 --> 00:39:15.829 don't. And the burden is that you would see Jesus 00:39:15.829 --> 00:39:21.170 as your Lord and Savior today. That you would 00:39:21.170 --> 00:39:25.670 see Jesus on that cross with his arms stretched 00:39:25.670 --> 00:39:30.860 out. And if he could look at you, he would say, 00:39:30.920 --> 00:39:36.320 just trust me. That sin that you think you can't 00:39:36.320 --> 00:39:38.059 defeat, just trust me, I'm paying for it right 00:39:38.059 --> 00:39:40.679 now. That marriage that you think can't be healed, 00:39:40.739 --> 00:39:43.360 just trust me. Because there's healing in my 00:39:43.360 --> 00:39:51.199 wings. Just trust me. Those questions you have 00:39:51.199 --> 00:39:53.900 that you keep spiraling into, just trust me, 00:39:53.920 --> 00:40:04.309 give them to me. Because I got them. I think 00:40:04.309 --> 00:40:06.369 he would look and he would go, I love you. And 00:40:06.369 --> 00:40:08.570 I got a life planned for you, but you got to 00:40:08.570 --> 00:40:13.630 give up you. You got to give up you. You got 00:40:13.630 --> 00:40:19.769 to stop wanting to run so that I can deliver 00:40:19.769 --> 00:40:31.230 you and I can heal you. So here's what we're 00:40:31.230 --> 00:40:33.820 going to do. None of this is planned, by the 00:40:33.820 --> 00:40:35.519 way. If you're here and you're a cynic and you're 00:40:35.519 --> 00:40:37.360 going, well, I bet they planned, we didn't plan 00:40:37.360 --> 00:40:43.280 this. I just feel called to it. I don't want 00:40:43.280 --> 00:40:45.519 you to miss the opportunity to see Jesus today 00:40:45.519 --> 00:40:49.260 for the first time. If you are here and you don't 00:40:49.260 --> 00:40:51.139 know Jesus, like you're like, John, I don't have 00:40:51.139 --> 00:40:54.800 a relationship with Jesus, but I want one. Today's 00:40:54.800 --> 00:41:01.849 your day. The Spirit's calling. On the inside, 00:41:01.929 --> 00:41:03.750 you feel like your skin is crawling. It's been 00:41:03.750 --> 00:41:05.389 one of those things. That's the Holy Spirit not 00:41:05.389 --> 00:41:10.690 letting you settle, not letting you run. Your 00:41:10.690 --> 00:41:14.050 head's gonna wanna turn. Keep your eyes on Jesus. 00:41:17.070 --> 00:41:18.989 And it's real simple. It's just, Jesus, I give 00:41:18.989 --> 00:41:25.829 you my life. It's yours. So we're gonna do this 00:41:25.829 --> 00:41:30.280 because faith requires a response. It requires 00:41:30.280 --> 00:41:32.519 movement. It's who we're becoming. We're becoming 00:41:32.519 --> 00:41:36.380 free. So here's what we're going to do. We're 00:41:36.380 --> 00:41:38.280 not even going to hide because this is supposed 00:41:38.280 --> 00:41:44.599 to be a moment of celebration. And this includes 00:41:44.599 --> 00:41:46.840 you online. This includes you in Baghdad today. 00:41:49.219 --> 00:41:54.780 There's a response. There's a response needed 00:41:54.780 --> 00:41:56.940 in Paulding. There's a response needed in Kuwait. 00:41:57.000 --> 00:41:59.510 There's a response needed in... You pick your 00:41:59.510 --> 00:42:04.429 place where you are. So if you are here today 00:42:04.429 --> 00:42:08.550 and you go, today is the day when I meet Jesus. 00:42:09.389 --> 00:42:16.030 Jesus, I give you my life. Save me. If that's 00:42:16.030 --> 00:42:21.150 you, I'm gonna count to three and I'm gonna invite 00:42:21.150 --> 00:42:25.869 you to stand right where you are. If you are 00:42:25.869 --> 00:42:28.530 new to church, you go, there is no way. Trust 00:42:28.530 --> 00:42:36.110 me, there's gonna be a holy celebration. But 00:42:36.110 --> 00:42:38.309 if it's you, you're just gonna stand. Jesus, 00:42:38.510 --> 00:42:44.050 I give you my life. If that's you, one, he loves 00:42:44.050 --> 00:42:49.869 you very much. Two, he died to save you, that 00:42:49.869 --> 00:42:52.869 your life can be free and alive. Three, if that's 00:42:52.869 --> 00:42:54.329 you, go ahead and stand up right where you are. 00:42:56.630 --> 00:43:01.190 I see you. See you. Let's go, church. Let's go. 00:43:04.329 --> 00:43:29.099 Let's go. For those of you that think you should 00:43:29.099 --> 00:43:30.739 have got up, that didn't, there's still time. 00:43:30.820 --> 00:43:36.019 You can get up. We'll celebrate you too. Here's 00:43:36.019 --> 00:43:40.840 the thing, you guys. The promise is that he delivers, 00:43:40.980 --> 00:43:47.559 that he saves. He sees you. He saves. Welcome 00:43:47.559 --> 00:44:00.320 to the family. Welcome to the family. I'm going 00:44:00.320 --> 00:44:03.739 to pray and then we're going to worship. Yeah? 00:44:04.579 --> 00:44:06.820 All right, let's pray. God, we come before you. 00:44:06.900 --> 00:44:08.860 You are the maker of heaven and earth. God, you 00:44:08.860 --> 00:44:10.679 see these people standing. Thank you for their 00:44:10.679 --> 00:44:14.500 courage. Thank you for the way that you are changing 00:44:14.500 --> 00:44:19.559 them today. That you have saved them from death 00:44:19.559 --> 00:44:28.400 to life. We trust you. And you alone, thank you 00:44:28.400 --> 00:44:35.719 for the way that you rescue us. God, this seed 00:44:35.719 --> 00:44:39.400 of faith that has been planted, would you grow 00:44:39.400 --> 00:44:42.719 into a tree that flourishes in each of them? 00:44:46.380 --> 00:44:48.440 God, we love you and we're just overwhelmed and 00:44:48.440 --> 00:44:50.659 grateful. And everybody said, amen.