WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.419 Welcome this morning. So glad that you are here. 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:06.040 Welcome to those of you online, from wherever 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:08.699 it is you find yourself watching. We are so glad 00:00:08.699 --> 00:00:12.900 that you're with us this morning. Several years 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:15.960 ago, when my kids were little, I had my oldest 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:18.140 were about four and my youngest was two, and 00:00:18.140 --> 00:00:21.420 we were at home and we heard the sound of doors 00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:24.239 slamming throughout the house. Now, if you're 00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:26.300 a parent of young kids, you know this is a sound 00:00:26.300 --> 00:00:27.820 you do not want to hear because little fingers 00:00:27.820 --> 00:00:29.839 and doors are not a good combination. And so 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:32.259 we're hearing the sounding of doors slamming, 00:00:32.259 --> 00:00:34.560 and then all of a sudden we hear a blood -curdling 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:38.140 scream of a finger that got caught in a door. 00:00:38.460 --> 00:00:40.939 And yes, it got slammed in the door. Not the 00:00:40.939 --> 00:00:45.439 door side, the hinge side. Oh, yeah, yeah, like 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:48.359 smashed, like bone, blood, like things you don't 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:49.899 want to hear about when you come to church, right? 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:52.000 Like some of you are already like lightheaded 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:54.340 right now. Yeah, so slammed. We're like, we got 00:00:54.340 --> 00:00:57.259 to take her to the emergency room. And so I got 00:00:57.259 --> 00:01:00.560 the other, the girls together and we were like, 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:02.420 man, this is really bad. My wife was going to 00:01:02.420 --> 00:01:03.939 take her to the emergency room and I was going 00:01:03.939 --> 00:01:06.540 to stay with the other two. And before they left, 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:09.040 I said, we need to pray. for your sister right 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:11.060 now. Like, this isn't good. And so I prayed first 00:01:11.060 --> 00:01:13.019 and we prayed for her finger. We prayed for the 00:01:13.019 --> 00:01:14.959 doctors. We prayed for the pain. We prayed that 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:17.780 everything would be okay. And then I said, well, 00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:19.359 would one of you like to pray? I just kind of 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:21.219 showed exactly what this type of prayer would 00:01:21.219 --> 00:01:23.459 look like. And my two -year -old, she volunteered 00:01:23.459 --> 00:01:26.099 to pray. She was the culprit, by the way. And 00:01:26.099 --> 00:01:28.920 she volunteered to pray for her sister in this 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:31.439 moment. And it was so special. She was going 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:33.280 to pray for her sister. She's hurting and she 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:36.120 prays and she says, dear God, thank you for this 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:40.650 day. Thank you for this food, amen. And that 00:01:40.650 --> 00:01:43.810 was her prayer, man. But here's the thing. I 00:01:43.810 --> 00:01:46.969 think that for a lot of us, we get caught in 00:01:46.969 --> 00:01:50.409 routines when it comes to our prayer life. We 00:01:50.409 --> 00:01:52.829 get caught in routines of saying the same things 00:01:52.829 --> 00:01:54.870 and doing the same things, and we get stuck in 00:01:54.870 --> 00:01:56.650 these routines. And I know for me, when I'm getting 00:01:56.650 --> 00:01:58.489 stressed out, it's like, man, I know right away, 00:01:58.530 --> 00:02:00.450 I'm gonna go, okay, God, I trust you, and I'm 00:02:00.450 --> 00:02:02.230 gonna turn it over to him there. All right, I 00:02:02.230 --> 00:02:03.849 know when I need something, then I'm gonna go, 00:02:03.950 --> 00:02:05.930 okay, God, I need something now. Life's getting 00:02:05.930 --> 00:02:08.889 hard. I'm gonna ask for this right now. All right, 00:02:08.889 --> 00:02:10.509 I'm not gonna tune into them before that, but 00:02:10.509 --> 00:02:11.949 when things get hard, that's what I'm gonna turn 00:02:11.949 --> 00:02:14.169 to. All right, we know that when the food is 00:02:14.169 --> 00:02:16.310 set in front of us, that's our cue then to thank 00:02:16.310 --> 00:02:18.770 God for the food. But I think a lot of times 00:02:18.770 --> 00:02:21.289 we just fall into these routines, especially 00:02:21.289 --> 00:02:24.729 when it comes to prayer. And I think that when 00:02:24.729 --> 00:02:27.789 we get stuck in these routines, we limit ourself 00:02:27.789 --> 00:02:31.620 from experiencing the full joy of prayer. If 00:02:31.620 --> 00:02:33.840 you've been with us over the last couple of weeks, 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:37.280 we've been talking through this idea of prayer. 00:02:37.460 --> 00:02:39.620 And the first week we looked at what prayer is. 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:41.680 Prayer is watering the seeds that God has planted 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:44.599 in your life. Our prayer is the water that allows 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:46.699 the seeds that God has planted in our life to 00:02:46.699 --> 00:02:49.919 grow. If you were here the next week, we talked 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:52.259 about going through winter seasons where we do 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:54.919 not see growth, where we do not see any new life. 00:02:55.020 --> 00:02:57.599 We don't see anything good. And we go, God, where 00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:00.000 are you in the middle of this? And really we 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:01.939 learned that that through these winter seasons, 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:04.919 prayer is an invitation to sit at the table with 00:03:04.919 --> 00:03:07.639 God, to talk with him in the midst of these seasons. 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:10.500 We learn that prayer is plugging into the power 00:03:10.500 --> 00:03:14.180 source. And through our prayers can be powerful 00:03:14.180 --> 00:03:15.740 because we are plugged into the power source 00:03:15.740 --> 00:03:18.120 that is God. He is the source of power. Therefore, 00:03:18.259 --> 00:03:21.180 when we pray, we are tapping into that source. 00:03:22.259 --> 00:03:24.620 And then last week we learned that prayer is 00:03:24.620 --> 00:03:27.080 declaring war. These daily bread prayers that 00:03:27.080 --> 00:03:29.360 we have is declaring war on the lies that the 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:32.000 enemy is telling us. We have an offensive weapon 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:34.919 in prayer to go, that's not true because God 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:36.879 says this and we have a prayer that we can pray 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:39.840 that combats the lies of the enemy. And we've 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:41.539 learned about prayer. And for a lot of you, I 00:03:41.539 --> 00:03:43.300 think you would go, okay, I've learned a lot 00:03:43.300 --> 00:03:46.169 and that's great. But you're still going, my 00:03:46.169 --> 00:03:48.289 prayer life could improve. And I think the bottom 00:03:48.289 --> 00:03:50.389 line comes to this is what we started this whole 00:03:50.389 --> 00:03:52.550 collection with is you can learn all you want, 00:03:52.610 --> 00:03:54.530 but the bottom line is that you have to do it. 00:03:55.090 --> 00:03:57.229 If you wanna improve at prayer, you have to pray. 00:03:58.330 --> 00:04:01.770 You have to actually get down to praying and 00:04:01.770 --> 00:04:03.610 doing it. What prayer is, is prayer is entering 00:04:03.610 --> 00:04:05.689 into the presence of God. We have an invitation 00:04:05.689 --> 00:04:09.210 to enter into the presence of God. And that's 00:04:09.210 --> 00:04:10.650 what prayer is. So here's what the scripture 00:04:10.650 --> 00:04:12.990 says. about how to enter into the presence of 00:04:12.990 --> 00:04:17.629 God. It says in Psalm 100, verse one, shout for 00:04:17.629 --> 00:04:21.910 joy to the Lord, all the earth. Shout for joy 00:04:21.910 --> 00:04:23.649 to the Lord. And then a couple of verses later, 00:04:23.769 --> 00:04:27.029 it says this, enter his gates, right? If prayer's 00:04:27.029 --> 00:04:28.629 entering into the presence of the Lord, then 00:04:28.629 --> 00:04:31.389 it says this, enter his gates with thanksgiving 00:04:31.389 --> 00:04:35.870 and into his courts with praise. Give thanks 00:04:35.870 --> 00:04:40.620 to him and praise his name. I enter into prayer, 00:04:40.699 --> 00:04:43.519 into the presence of God with prayers of thanksgiving, 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:46.519 with prayers of celebration, with prayers of 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:50.319 praise to him because God has given us what we 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:52.480 have and therefore we are to enter his presence 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:55.680 with praise. And when we enter God's presence 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:57.500 with praise and thanksgiving, it does something 00:04:57.500 --> 00:05:02.069 to us. A couple of weeks ago, We had our winter 00:05:02.069 --> 00:05:03.930 camp for our youth, our middle schoolers and 00:05:03.930 --> 00:05:06.529 high schoolers. We took them to winter camp. 00:05:06.709 --> 00:05:08.850 We got some of them in here. They're pumped about 00:05:08.850 --> 00:05:12.410 it. It was an incredible time. We had so much 00:05:12.410 --> 00:05:14.949 fun at camp. And I could spend the entire morning 00:05:14.949 --> 00:05:17.889 just telling you stories from camp. But we get 00:05:17.889 --> 00:05:19.589 to camp and it's the very first night. It's Friday 00:05:19.589 --> 00:05:22.050 night and we had chapel. And so we did our chapel 00:05:22.050 --> 00:05:23.589 session. And then after that, we go into our 00:05:23.589 --> 00:05:26.170 cabin time. And as we head to our cabin time, 00:05:26.290 --> 00:05:29.149 we finished up and I get to lead the freshman 00:05:29.149 --> 00:05:31.870 boys group. And for some of you are like, why 00:05:31.870 --> 00:05:33.629 are you leading a group? Well, I'm leading a 00:05:33.629 --> 00:05:35.829 group because we didn't have enough adults to 00:05:35.829 --> 00:05:38.540 step in and to lead. I'm just gonna leave that 00:05:38.540 --> 00:05:40.000 there. You can do with it what you want, but 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:41.620 that's all I'm gonna say about it, okay? And 00:05:41.620 --> 00:05:43.279 so I'm leading these freshman boys and we get 00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:44.939 done with our first night of discussion and we're 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:47.759 kind of out on the porch and Pastor Austin walks 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:50.120 by and he looks a little distraught and he's 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:51.899 on the phone and he hangs up the phone and I 00:05:51.899 --> 00:05:53.740 go, hey, is everything okay? And he goes, well, 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:55.800 I just got the call that the girls, the junior 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:58.959 senior girls cabin down the way, they found mice 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:01.860 in their cabin so they have to move cabins. And 00:06:01.860 --> 00:06:03.000 he's like, so we're going to have to move all 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:04.819 their stuff right now. If you guys want to come 00:06:04.819 --> 00:06:06.680 help, that's fine. I said, okay. So I go into 00:06:06.680 --> 00:06:09.519 my guys, to my freshman boys. And I say, hey, 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:12.779 the junior senior girls need help. All they heard 00:06:12.779 --> 00:06:14.439 was junior senior girls. And they said, yes, 00:06:14.459 --> 00:06:18.019 we're in. What do I need to do? Like, we need 00:06:18.019 --> 00:06:19.660 to go help them. And so they're like, okay, let's 00:06:19.660 --> 00:06:22.600 go. And so I go to help them. And the boys were 00:06:22.600 --> 00:06:24.360 coming a little behind me. And I'm not kidding 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:27.199 when I tell you, I smelled them before I saw 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:31.569 them. Like literally, they had like two bottles 00:06:31.569 --> 00:06:33.769 worth of cologne on as they come walking out. 00:06:34.110 --> 00:06:36.589 And as they walk past me, they have the audacity 00:06:36.589 --> 00:06:38.610 then with two bottles of cologne on them to stop 00:06:38.610 --> 00:06:42.629 and go, hey, Todd, do I smell okay? I'm like, 00:06:42.750 --> 00:06:44.410 bro, you smell like the cologne factory blew 00:06:44.410 --> 00:06:47.220 up on you. I don't know if that's okay or not, 00:06:47.360 --> 00:06:49.100 but that's what you smell like. And they're like, 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:50.740 okay, good. This is what we're going for. I'm 00:06:50.740 --> 00:06:52.420 like, all right, bold choice, but okay, right? 00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:54.819 And so they go, and man, they're doing everything 00:06:54.819 --> 00:06:56.319 they can for the girls. They're like, let me 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:58.000 grab your bags. Let me grab more bags. What else 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:59.879 can I do for you, right? And then these boys 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:02.439 are like, okay, I get this. This is my opportunity, 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:04.199 right? And they start trying to talk to these 00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:05.500 girls as they're carrying their bag. Anything 00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:07.779 else I can do for you, ma 'am, right? And so 00:07:07.779 --> 00:07:10.779 we get there. get them in their new cabin, set 00:07:10.779 --> 00:07:12.959 them up. And these boys, two of them may be sitting 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:14.420 somewhere in this area right here right now. 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:17.779 And two of these boys, they get there and they 00:07:17.779 --> 00:07:20.439 write their phone number in the dirt in front 00:07:20.439 --> 00:07:22.779 of their cabin. And they're like, call me, call 00:07:22.779 --> 00:07:25.019 me, right? I'm like, bro, don't hold your breath. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:27.540 It ain't happening, right? Like it's not happening 00:07:27.540 --> 00:07:30.060 right now. We don't need to point at them. They're 00:07:30.060 --> 00:07:34.920 already red. But so here's the thing. The rest 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:37.639 of the camp, these boys. thought that this was 00:07:37.639 --> 00:07:40.220 an invitation to flirt with the junior senior 00:07:40.220 --> 00:07:42.199 girls, right? They're like, I got an in already. 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:45.519 Like I helped them, right? And so I watched this. 00:07:45.579 --> 00:07:47.439 And the funny part is, is the junior senior girls 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:50.800 were like, no, not happening, right? But did 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:53.060 it stop them? Absolutely not. And so the freshman 00:07:53.060 --> 00:07:55.439 boys are like, okay, here we go. The thing is, 00:07:55.459 --> 00:07:58.019 there was a couple of them that did have a little 00:07:58.019 --> 00:07:59.779 bit of game. I'm not gonna lie. Like they had 00:07:59.779 --> 00:08:02.579 a little bit of game. And so I would see these 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:04.300 freshman boys coming to these junior, senior 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:06.600 girls and I would be standing there waiting for 00:08:06.600 --> 00:08:08.379 it going, okay, here it comes. And the junior, 00:08:08.420 --> 00:08:10.459 senior girls are like, nope, not happening. And 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:12.040 they would come up and they would start right 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:14.459 away and they go, hey, that's the most beautiful 00:08:14.459 --> 00:08:17.980 sweatshirt I've ever seen in my life. And then 00:08:17.980 --> 00:08:19.319 they would proceed with what they were gonna 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:21.680 say. And I watched this happen knowing the junior, 00:08:21.699 --> 00:08:23.579 senior girls were like, uh -uh. But when they 00:08:23.579 --> 00:08:25.740 disarmed them with the compliment, it changed 00:08:25.740 --> 00:08:28.459 the conversation. They were a little more receptive. 00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:30.980 They were like, okay. Okay, right, the answer 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:32.940 was still no, but they were willing to listen 00:08:32.940 --> 00:08:36.100 a little bit more. See, when we enter into God's 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:38.179 presence with thanksgiving, it doesn't change 00:08:38.179 --> 00:08:40.440 God, right? You're not buttering up God. God, 00:08:40.500 --> 00:08:42.120 thank you, now give me my Lamborghini, right? 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:45.179 That's not how it works. But when you enter in 00:08:45.179 --> 00:08:47.179 God's presence with thanksgiving, it does not 00:08:47.179 --> 00:08:51.120 change God, it changes you. It changes your heart. 00:08:51.620 --> 00:08:53.720 What prayers of thanksgiving, what prayers of 00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:58.399 celebration does is it trains your heart. It 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:01.080 trains your heart. It recalibrates your heart. 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:03.860 And I don't know about you, but I need recalibration 00:09:03.860 --> 00:09:07.759 of my heart often. The Bible says our heart is 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:11.919 desperately wicked. And we need to recalibrate 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:14.379 our heart. And what prayers of thanksgiving or 00:09:14.379 --> 00:09:17.360 prayers of celebration do is it recalibrates 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:21.200 our heart as we go into the presence of the Lord. 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:23.620 Now, how does it recalibrate our heart? If you're 00:09:23.620 --> 00:09:25.620 taking notes, the first thing is this, is it 00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:29.230 shifts the spotlight. It shifts the spotlight. 00:09:30.409 --> 00:09:33.169 All right, thanksgiving and prayers of thanksgiving 00:09:33.169 --> 00:09:37.990 doesn't deny hardship in your life. It just refuses 00:09:37.990 --> 00:09:40.649 to let hardship be the loudest voice in your 00:09:40.649 --> 00:09:45.190 life. It's not just happy talk. When you go into 00:09:45.190 --> 00:09:46.889 God's presence with thanksgiving, God, thank 00:09:46.889 --> 00:09:48.570 you for what you've done for me. God, I wanna 00:09:48.570 --> 00:09:50.769 thank you for this. It does not take away from 00:09:50.769 --> 00:09:54.269 the fact that life is hard. Like life is hard. 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:56.759 It does not take away from the fact that things 00:09:56.759 --> 00:09:59.899 are difficult. Hardship does exist and it's not 00:09:59.899 --> 00:10:02.820 easy. But what thanksgiving does is it does not 00:10:02.820 --> 00:10:06.320 let it drag you into its dark hole. Because we 00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:08.200 live in a culture that says if things are hard 00:10:08.200 --> 00:10:10.000 and things are bad, that's all you can focus 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:12.000 on. And you need to just find yourself in this 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:13.879 cave of depression because that's all you can 00:10:13.879 --> 00:10:16.279 see. And what we find in scripture is that yes, 00:10:16.419 --> 00:10:18.820 bad things happen, but they also exist with a 00:10:18.820 --> 00:10:22.340 good God. Both can be true. And what Thanksgiving 00:10:22.340 --> 00:10:25.720 does is it declares war, right? If you were here 00:10:25.720 --> 00:10:27.940 last week, it's pulling that card out that declares 00:10:27.940 --> 00:10:30.779 war and says, no, I will not allow my circumstance, 00:10:30.919 --> 00:10:33.259 I will not allow the difficulty in my life to 00:10:33.259 --> 00:10:35.399 drag me into the hole that it wants to because 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:39.340 I declare war knowing that God is still good. 00:10:40.059 --> 00:10:42.559 And what prayers of Thanksgiving do is it trains 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:46.740 our heart to shift the spotlight. It's not highlighting 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:50.159 all the stuff we don't wanna deal with. Say, 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:53.159 man, I want to focus on the right things. It's 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:57.100 reorienting our focus. Say, I'm just going to 00:10:57.100 --> 00:11:00.779 shift my focus a little bit. And what it does 00:11:00.779 --> 00:11:03.600 is it moves the burden. It moves the burden from 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:06.700 us to him. You don't have to shoulder it on your 00:11:06.700 --> 00:11:10.059 own. When you're entering into prayers of thanksgiving 00:11:10.059 --> 00:11:12.600 and prayers of celebration to God, you're allowing 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:14.600 him to shoulder the burden with you. You're giving 00:11:14.600 --> 00:11:17.120 it to him. You don't have to deal with all the 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:22.120 struggles on your own. It shifts the focus. It 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:25.860 shifts the spotlight. Next is this, is it humbles 00:11:25.860 --> 00:11:30.940 us. Prayers of thanksgiving and praise humble 00:11:30.940 --> 00:11:34.860 us. Some of you guys came to church just for 00:11:34.860 --> 00:11:36.460 this today and you didn't know that and you're 00:11:36.460 --> 00:11:38.320 not gonna like it. But I gotta tell you this, 00:11:38.500 --> 00:11:44.480 it's not all about you. Some of you are like, 00:11:44.519 --> 00:11:48.210 what? No, yes it is. You don't like that. But 00:11:48.210 --> 00:11:51.669 the truth is, is it's not all about you. And 00:11:51.669 --> 00:11:54.509 what prayers of thanksgiving does is it humbles 00:11:54.509 --> 00:11:57.029 us because we often see everything we have through 00:11:57.029 --> 00:11:59.590 a wrong lens and we think it's a result of us, 00:11:59.649 --> 00:12:04.029 not him. Oh, I earned it. That's my car because 00:12:04.029 --> 00:12:06.730 I earned it. That's my house. That's my accomplishment. 00:12:06.909 --> 00:12:09.549 That's my job. That's all a result of me because 00:12:09.549 --> 00:12:12.580 what I have done. What prayers of thanksgiving 00:12:12.580 --> 00:12:15.100 does is it allows us to be humbled to realize 00:12:15.100 --> 00:12:17.919 that everything you have isn't because you worked 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:20.720 hard, isn't because you earned it, isn't because 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:25.179 of what you did. I had the privilege at our camp 00:12:25.179 --> 00:12:27.860 to be the speaker for the weekend, which means 00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:31.019 I delivered six messages in about a 65 -hour 00:12:31.019 --> 00:12:35.039 span. And so I knew going into the camp that 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:37.440 some of my messages were good, some of them were 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:39.820 pretty awful. And I was like, let's just see. 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:42.580 how this goes. And so one of the days I'm at 00:12:42.580 --> 00:12:45.879 camp and Pastor David shows up. Pastor David 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:47.980 was doing his thing behind the camera. He's a 00:12:47.980 --> 00:12:50.299 ninja when it comes to camera and video and all 00:12:50.299 --> 00:12:52.500 that kind of stuff. And so he's doing his thing. 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:54.759 And Pastor David is also one of my best friends. 00:12:54.860 --> 00:12:56.460 And so he comes up to me and he's like, say, 00:12:56.519 --> 00:12:58.779 so how has it been going when it comes to the 00:12:58.779 --> 00:13:01.360 messages and speaking and everything this weekend? 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:04.080 And I told him, I said, I think it's been okay 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:06.740 so far, but I know coming up the next message 00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:09.019 I have, it really stinks. Like it's not a good 00:13:09.019 --> 00:13:11.299 one. And I'm pretty nervous for how this evening's 00:13:11.299 --> 00:13:13.039 gonna go because I know my message is not good. 00:13:13.220 --> 00:13:15.539 I don't think it's going to go over well. And 00:13:15.539 --> 00:13:18.500 I don't think it's going to be successful. I 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:20.700 just don't think it's a good message. And Pastor 00:13:20.700 --> 00:13:23.120 David, in Pastor David fashion, if you know him, 00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:25.340 this is very much on brand for him. He looks 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:29.620 at me and he goes, well, good thing success isn't 00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:32.480 determined by what you do. And he walks away. 00:13:33.860 --> 00:13:35.179 I was like, thanks, bro. You could have just 00:13:35.179 --> 00:13:39.289 punched me in the face, right? Like, sweet. But 00:13:39.289 --> 00:13:42.330 he's like, it's not about you. It reminds me 00:13:42.330 --> 00:13:44.850 of the Dominicans. I've gone to the Dominican 00:13:44.850 --> 00:13:47.210 three times in the last year. And anytime you're 00:13:47.210 --> 00:13:49.549 with the Dominicans at a church service and you 00:13:49.549 --> 00:13:52.049 share something as a compliment to them, every 00:13:52.049 --> 00:13:55.789 time their response is this, glory to God. It's 00:13:55.789 --> 00:13:57.490 like compliments just bounce off of them to God. 00:13:57.549 --> 00:14:00.649 They're like, nope, glory to God. It's not about 00:14:00.649 --> 00:14:02.769 us. And you need to understand that when we go 00:14:02.769 --> 00:14:06.230 to God in thanksgiving, what we do is we're humbling 00:14:06.230 --> 00:14:08.740 ourself. All right, we're humbling ourself. Oh 00:14:08.740 --> 00:14:11.179 God, thank you for this. Thank you for what you've 00:14:11.179 --> 00:14:13.379 given me in my life. Thank you for this blessing. 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:15.340 Thank you for all. And what you're saying is 00:14:15.340 --> 00:14:19.320 I needed you for this. It wasn't me. And the 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:21.080 way that it reorients our heart, the way that 00:14:21.080 --> 00:14:23.740 it shifts our focus is that it realizes that 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:27.220 it humbles us. It reminds us that you didn't 00:14:27.220 --> 00:14:31.820 earn all of this. It's because of him. All right, 00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:35.899 next is this, is it shifts us from consumer to 00:14:35.899 --> 00:14:40.070 worshiper. It shifts us from consumer to worshiper. 00:14:40.870 --> 00:14:43.490 And a consumer asks this, what am I getting? 00:14:44.129 --> 00:14:48.490 Is this meeting my needs? Am I satisfied with 00:14:48.490 --> 00:14:50.049 whatever it is that I've come to? And if I gotta 00:14:50.049 --> 00:14:52.149 be honest, some of you, that's how you walk into 00:14:52.149 --> 00:14:55.450 church. Is this meeting my needs? Is this what 00:14:55.450 --> 00:14:58.529 I wanted? Some of you already, as soon as I walked 00:14:58.529 --> 00:14:59.750 out, you're like, oh my gosh, that's the bald 00:14:59.750 --> 00:15:02.509 guy today. I didn't want the bald guy. I wanted 00:15:02.509 --> 00:15:05.759 the older gray -haired guy. Yes, I did say that. 00:15:05.779 --> 00:15:07.580 You can tell him I said that. Way older than 00:15:07.580 --> 00:15:09.200 me, all right? You can tell him I said that. 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:13.120 All right, but some of you, that's your attitude 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:15.419 when it comes to church is you're just evaluating, 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:17.399 did it meet my needs? I don't like this. They 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:18.879 didn't sing the song I want. I'm going to another 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:22.259 church. I'm out of here. Like you come in with 00:15:22.259 --> 00:15:24.799 a posture of being a consumer instead of being 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:27.019 a worshiper. And a lot of times we approach God 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:30.190 in prayer in the same manner. We approach God 00:15:30.190 --> 00:15:32.889 in prayer as a consumer going, God, did you fulfill 00:15:32.889 --> 00:15:36.370 what I wanted? Did you give me what I wanted, 00:15:36.429 --> 00:15:39.129 God? The big giant Santa Claus in the sky, you 00:15:39.129 --> 00:15:42.509 didn't do what I wanted. And we approach him 00:15:42.509 --> 00:15:44.870 like that instead of a worshiper. A worshiper 00:15:44.870 --> 00:15:48.450 asks, man, who is God? What has he done and how 00:15:48.450 --> 00:15:52.169 do I respond to what he has done? And the shift 00:15:52.169 --> 00:15:55.049 from consumer to worshiper is a shift from evaluation 00:15:55.049 --> 00:15:59.950 to adoration. It's not just evaluating. Some 00:15:59.950 --> 00:16:02.009 of you have an evaluation list to God. How'd 00:16:02.009 --> 00:16:05.070 you do today, God? Did you meet my needs? Check. 00:16:07.210 --> 00:16:09.830 Who are you to tell God whether or not he met 00:16:09.830 --> 00:16:15.250 your needs? The shift is from us being an evaluator, 00:16:15.289 --> 00:16:20.250 right? It's from evaluation to adoration. A couple 00:16:20.250 --> 00:16:23.279 of years ago. I finally said yes to an invitation 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:26.100 that I had been given many, many, many times. 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:29.559 And over the years, I just wasn't ready for it. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.360 I wasn't ready. I'm not ready yet. I'm not ready 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:33.919 yet. I'm not ready yet. But I finally said yes 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:39.100 to playing slow pitch softball. And I was like, 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:41.820 you know what? I've been removed enough from 00:16:41.820 --> 00:16:45.049 playing. And so I can just play. slow -pitch 00:16:45.049 --> 00:16:46.750 softball. And I was kind of excited because my 00:16:46.750 --> 00:16:48.750 daughters had heard stories, but they'd never 00:16:48.750 --> 00:16:50.649 actually seen me play a game that involved a 00:16:50.649 --> 00:16:53.190 bat, a ball, and a glove. And so I'm like, they're 00:16:53.190 --> 00:16:55.409 going to get an opportunity to see me play, right? 00:16:55.450 --> 00:16:57.830 I'm going to make them proud. It's not quite 00:16:57.830 --> 00:17:00.950 the same game that I'm used to. In fact, I learned 00:17:00.950 --> 00:17:02.870 that very quickly when I got to my first at -bat, 00:17:02.970 --> 00:17:04.089 and I was like, I'm going to hit this ball like 00:17:04.089 --> 00:17:06.529 10 miles. And it went like eight feet. And I 00:17:06.529 --> 00:17:10.670 was like, oh, this game is not the same. But 00:17:10.670 --> 00:17:12.210 I got through the game and man, I made a couple 00:17:12.210 --> 00:17:13.970 of plays. I did some stuff and I was so excited 00:17:13.970 --> 00:17:16.130 because as I walked off the field, I knew my 00:17:16.130 --> 00:17:18.329 daughters were gonna be so excited to come to 00:17:18.329 --> 00:17:20.450 me and to tell me how great I did. And I had 00:17:20.450 --> 00:17:22.369 proved to them that I was worth them loving me. 00:17:22.430 --> 00:17:24.089 And as I walked off, they ran up and they gave 00:17:24.089 --> 00:17:26.309 me a huge hug and it felt so good. And I'm like, 00:17:26.329 --> 00:17:27.650 did you see what I did? Did you see all that 00:17:27.650 --> 00:17:30.170 stuff? And they're like, dad, when does the game 00:17:30.170 --> 00:17:34.190 start? And I was like, well, the game's over. 00:17:34.250 --> 00:17:36.609 What do you mean? And they're like, oh, we didn't 00:17:36.609 --> 00:17:37.950 know. We were just playing with chalk over here 00:17:37.950 --> 00:17:39.190 the whole time. And I'm like, so you didn't see 00:17:39.190 --> 00:17:40.930 any of that. Why did you come give me a hug then? 00:17:41.049 --> 00:17:43.829 And they're like, because you're our dad. Because 00:17:43.829 --> 00:17:45.990 it doesn't matter what you do. I still love you. 00:17:46.029 --> 00:17:47.849 I think sometimes we go, okay, God, if you meet 00:17:47.849 --> 00:17:51.049 my needs, if you give me what I want, then I'll 00:17:51.049 --> 00:17:53.269 worship you, God. And he's going, no, I am your 00:17:53.269 --> 00:17:55.869 father. I have created you. I loved you. You 00:17:55.869 --> 00:17:58.890 are even breathing because of me. It has nothing 00:17:58.890 --> 00:18:01.609 to do. And a lot of times we show up with a valuation 00:18:01.609 --> 00:18:04.440 instead of adoration, but the shift. when we 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:07.579 allow ourself to come to him in a posture of 00:18:07.579 --> 00:18:09.640 celebration, a posture of thanksgiving, a posture 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:13.299 of gratitude, it moves God in our life from vendor 00:18:13.299 --> 00:18:21.700 to king. And it allows us to embrace this idea 00:18:21.700 --> 00:18:24.660 of gratitude and gratitude turns us from entitlement 00:18:24.660 --> 00:18:30.779 to awe. It shifts our heart. Next is this, is 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:37.000 it forms trust. It forms trust. It forms trust 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:39.279 because when we thank God for what he has done, 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.319 we understand that if God has done it in the 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:44.880 past, then I can trust he can do it again in 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:48.019 the future. If you're going through something, 00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:50.299 a lot of times remembering the fact that God 00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:52.240 has got you through it will help you get through 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:56.240 whatever it is you're going through. A couple 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:58.259 of days ago, I was driving with my wife and I 00:18:58.259 --> 00:19:01.920 think there's two types of people in. The world, 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:04.740 there's those that have a sense of direction 00:19:04.740 --> 00:19:06.880 to know if I've been somewhere one time, I can 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:09.980 get back there again. I know how to do it. And 00:19:09.980 --> 00:19:12.720 then there's other type of people in the world 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:15.039 that have no clue where they are at all times, 00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:17.720 right? And they need directions everywhere they 00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:19.779 go. And they're like, I don't know how to get 00:19:19.779 --> 00:19:21.799 there. I don't even know where I'm at. And I 00:19:21.799 --> 00:19:23.880 firmly believe that those two types of people 00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:28.869 marry each other, right? And I think my wife 00:19:28.869 --> 00:19:30.369 still had to use directions to get here this 00:19:30.369 --> 00:19:32.190 morning. So I'll just, that's just to tell you 00:19:32.190 --> 00:19:34.549 which one she is. And so I'm driving with her 00:19:34.549 --> 00:19:37.210 the other day and we get to this road and the 00:19:37.210 --> 00:19:38.970 road is closed in front of us. And the road is 00:19:38.970 --> 00:19:41.049 how we get home, but the road is closed. And 00:19:41.049 --> 00:19:43.430 so immediately I turn and I take a couple of 00:19:43.430 --> 00:19:45.349 side streets and I turn here, turn there, turn 00:19:45.349 --> 00:19:47.710 this place. And I get us to exactly where we 00:19:47.710 --> 00:19:50.170 needed to go by skipping the road that was closed. 00:19:50.250 --> 00:19:51.769 And she looks at me and she's like, how did you 00:19:51.769 --> 00:19:54.470 do that? And I was like, cause I am amazing. 00:19:54.630 --> 00:19:58.640 That's how I did that. But three days before 00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:00.599 that, that road was closed and I did the same 00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:02.859 thing, but I turned and I hit like five dead 00:20:02.859 --> 00:20:04.420 ends and I was like, I don't know how to get 00:20:04.420 --> 00:20:07.480 out of here. And I figured it out. And so I knew 00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:10.259 where to go. You know why? Because my past experience 00:20:10.259 --> 00:20:13.619 helped my present problem. And see, when you 00:20:13.619 --> 00:20:15.700 go to God and you go, God, thank you for what 00:20:15.700 --> 00:20:18.220 you have done. I'm gonna remember your faithfulness. 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:20.119 I'm gonna remember your goodness. I'm gonna remember 00:20:20.119 --> 00:20:23.700 what you have done. Your past allows you to be 00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:27.819 ready for your present. Your past experience 00:20:27.819 --> 00:20:30.700 gives you present confidence and God's faithfulness 00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:36.279 in the past gives you hope for now. And what 00:20:36.279 --> 00:20:38.460 it does to our hearts is it puts us in a place 00:20:38.460 --> 00:20:41.180 where it forms trust with God because we remember, 00:20:41.420 --> 00:20:44.000 God, thank you for this. God, I'm celebrating 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:46.000 what you've done. God, I'm giving you gratitude 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:48.920 and you're positioning yourself to trust him 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:50.700 more and more knowing that if he did it, he can 00:20:50.700 --> 00:20:57.559 do it. So what should we celebrate? If celebration 00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:01.480 changes our hearts, if thankfulness, if prayers 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:03.779 of thanksgiving changes our hearts, then how 00:21:03.779 --> 00:21:07.799 should we celebrate? First is this, is we need 00:21:07.799 --> 00:21:11.480 to celebrate God himself. Celebrate God himself. 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:18.680 God, you are so good. It says in Psalm 107 .1, 00:21:18.779 --> 00:21:23.599 give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love 00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:28.759 endures forever. In my prayer times, I set aside 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:32.119 time in the beginning to literally just list 00:21:32.119 --> 00:21:35.640 out who God is. God, thank you for who you are. 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:39.740 Thank you for what you have done. Not even talking 00:21:39.740 --> 00:21:42.339 about me or my life or anything, but just who 00:21:42.339 --> 00:21:47.619 God is. God is everlasting. God is all -knowing. 00:21:47.619 --> 00:21:50.319 God is all -powerful. God is all -loving. God 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:53.279 is merciful. God is patient. God is sovereign. 00:21:53.380 --> 00:21:56.440 God is unchanging. This is the God that we serve. 00:21:56.539 --> 00:21:59.220 This is who he is. And when we put ourself in 00:21:59.220 --> 00:22:01.299 a place where we can celebrate God for who he 00:22:01.299 --> 00:22:03.859 is, it reminds us to keep the right order in 00:22:03.859 --> 00:22:05.799 our life because we are none of those things. 00:22:08.380 --> 00:22:12.019 We are none of those things. And it allows us 00:22:12.019 --> 00:22:14.259 to remember our need for him and it postures 00:22:14.259 --> 00:22:16.319 us in a way to go, okay, God, I'm just starting 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:19.960 by telling you who you are. By declaring who 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:23.259 you are, by praising who you are and your characteristics. 00:22:24.539 --> 00:22:30.720 We need to celebrate God himself. Next is this, 00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:32.740 is we need to celebrate the people God has put 00:22:32.740 --> 00:22:36.640 in our life. God has put specific people in your 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:39.200 life. In fact, it's not by accident that any 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:41.539 of the people around you are around you. The 00:22:41.539 --> 00:22:43.099 people that you see, the people that you interact 00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:44.759 with, the people that are around you in your 00:22:44.759 --> 00:22:46.700 daily life are there because God has put them 00:22:46.700 --> 00:22:49.859 there. That's who he's arranged for you to interact 00:22:49.859 --> 00:22:53.220 with. It says in 1 Thessalonians 1, 2, it says, 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:57.480 we always thank God for all of you and continually 00:22:57.480 --> 00:23:01.420 mention you in our prayers. We're always thanking 00:23:01.420 --> 00:23:05.740 God for the people in our life. The people that 00:23:05.740 --> 00:23:07.519 are around you are an opportunity for you to 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:10.839 thank God for them. But specifically this, in 00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:12.700 verse 3, it continues, and it says, we remember 00:23:12.700 --> 00:23:15.500 before our God and Father, this is what we're 00:23:15.500 --> 00:23:18.869 thanking him for. Your work produced by faith, 00:23:19.049 --> 00:23:22.470 your labor prompted by love, and your endurance 00:23:22.470 --> 00:23:26.630 inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. All 00:23:26.630 --> 00:23:28.990 right, you're thanking God for what the people 00:23:28.990 --> 00:23:31.809 in your life are doing for God because God uses 00:23:31.809 --> 00:23:35.809 people to accomplish his mission. We have an 00:23:35.809 --> 00:23:38.589 example of people in our life that God uses, 00:23:38.670 --> 00:23:41.250 clear example that we can go, man, according 00:23:41.250 --> 00:23:43.250 to this, I wanna thank God for them because these 00:23:43.250 --> 00:23:46.039 are people that have labored. in love. These 00:23:46.039 --> 00:23:48.599 are people that have worked by faith, right? 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:51.259 These are people that have endured by hope. Like, 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:53.779 listen, we have such an opportunity in our life 00:23:53.779 --> 00:23:58.480 to thank God for people that have labored in 00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:00.880 love, that have showed up in faith. I think of 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:03.819 Pastor John. And we are so blessed to have a 00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:07.160 lead pastor that says, because of my faith, that 00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:09.740 is what I work in. That is what I work through. 00:24:09.799 --> 00:24:12.839 I work by faith. faith. And sure, a lot of you, 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:14.680 you come and you hear him preach and you see 00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:16.400 him on a weekend and you're like, either you 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:18.039 liked it, you didn't, whatever, right? You came 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:20.000 in as an evaluator. I don't know what you thought, 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:22.339 but you see him here. I get to see him off the 00:24:22.339 --> 00:24:26.200 stage. And church, I can't tell you how grateful 00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:28.660 we as a church should be that we have a lead 00:24:28.660 --> 00:24:31.619 pastor that is not making things just about him, 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:34.599 but about moving God's mission forward, right? 00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:37.220 That is willing to go, hey, I'm working by faith 00:24:37.220 --> 00:24:42.750 and my faith guides everything I do. That's an 00:24:42.750 --> 00:24:44.910 opportunity to thank God for the people in your 00:24:44.910 --> 00:24:48.089 life. I think of thanking God for the people 00:24:48.089 --> 00:24:51.789 in our life that labor with love, that labor 00:24:51.789 --> 00:24:54.089 with love. I don't think of a clearer example 00:24:54.089 --> 00:24:57.829 than Nathan who runs our recovery ministry. A 00:24:57.829 --> 00:24:59.529 ministry where people come in and they are down 00:24:59.529 --> 00:25:01.390 and out, man. People that come in and they are 00:25:01.390 --> 00:25:03.230 broken. People that are in the darkest, hardest 00:25:03.230 --> 00:25:05.049 part of their life going, I don't know how I'm 00:25:05.049 --> 00:25:06.490 gonna move forward. And he says, I'm going to 00:25:06.490 --> 00:25:09.240 love you because it is a labor of love. When 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:10.920 they relapse and he goes, hey, I'm gonna show 00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:14.799 up again because it is a labor of love. I think 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:17.380 of our kids in youth ministry. I think of our 00:25:17.380 --> 00:25:19.039 kids in youth ministry. Listen, if you don't 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:20.799 think it's a labor of love, you haven't smelled 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:24.099 a middle school boy's room at camp. I'm just 00:25:24.099 --> 00:25:27.720 telling you, that's a labor of love. I had in 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:30.400 our kids ministry. We had a record, right? We 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:33.299 had like three or four weeks in a row going right 00:25:33.299 --> 00:25:36.160 now where a kid did not quite make it to the 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:38.390 restroom before they. did what they were gonna 00:25:38.390 --> 00:25:41.390 do. Four weeks in a row, we were like, this is 00:25:41.390 --> 00:25:43.730 amazing. We've continued to go this long, right? 00:25:44.690 --> 00:25:46.670 I'll spare you the details, but it was unpleasant. 00:25:47.710 --> 00:25:49.990 It's the labor of love. We have an opportunity 00:25:49.990 --> 00:25:52.109 to thank God for people that are laboring in 00:25:52.109 --> 00:25:55.670 love. We have an opportunity to thank God for 00:25:55.670 --> 00:25:59.049 people that have endured by hope, endurance by 00:25:59.049 --> 00:26:00.690 hope. I have hope in Jesus, so I'm gonna endure. 00:26:01.089 --> 00:26:04.109 I think of Pastor Bob. Pastor Bob has been on 00:26:04.109 --> 00:26:11.779 staff at Heights for 20 years. 20 years. Those 00:26:11.779 --> 00:26:13.960 of you that are clapping, you understand why 00:26:13.960 --> 00:26:15.619 that's a big deal. It's because he's dealt with 00:26:15.619 --> 00:26:22.940 you for 20 years. He's endured. I'm going to 00:26:22.940 --> 00:26:24.500 have endurance because of the hope that I have. 00:26:24.579 --> 00:26:25.980 And this is who I'm thanking God for. You have 00:26:25.980 --> 00:26:28.359 people in your life that you get to thank God 00:26:28.359 --> 00:26:30.279 for. And here's the cool thing is that when people 00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:32.680 are on mission, when they're living on kingdom 00:26:32.680 --> 00:26:36.410 mission in their life, the world sees it. It 00:26:36.410 --> 00:26:40.130 says in Romans 1 verse 8, first, I thank my God 00:26:40.130 --> 00:26:42.829 through Jesus Christ for all of you because of 00:26:42.829 --> 00:26:46.730 your faith is being reported all over the world, 00:26:46.829 --> 00:26:51.650 spreading all over the world. We thank God for 00:26:51.650 --> 00:26:54.410 the people in our life. And last is this, is 00:26:54.410 --> 00:26:57.009 we thank God for the blessings in your life. 00:26:57.670 --> 00:27:04.900 You are blessed. You are so blessed. It says 00:27:04.900 --> 00:27:07.920 in James 1, verse 17, every good and perfect 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:10.799 gift is from above, coming down from the Father 00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:13.660 of heavenly lights, who does not change like 00:27:13.660 --> 00:27:16.019 shifting shadows. Every good thing you have. 00:27:16.440 --> 00:27:18.400 All right, every good thing you have. Every time 00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:20.380 you start your car, it should be a reminder to 00:27:20.380 --> 00:27:22.579 thank God for the blessings in your life. Every 00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:24.480 time you wash your hands and have running water, 00:27:24.660 --> 00:27:26.539 it should be a reminder to thank God for the 00:27:26.539 --> 00:27:28.559 blessings in your life. Every time you put your 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:30.960 shoes on, every time you flip on the air conditioning, 00:27:31.140 --> 00:27:32.960 you flip on the heater, you put a jacket on, 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:36.819 you breathe air. It should be a reminder in your 00:27:36.819 --> 00:27:39.079 life to say, God, thank you for the blessings 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:46.420 that I have. You are so, so blessed. But I recognize 00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:48.380 this. I recognize that some people came in here 00:27:48.380 --> 00:27:51.740 today and maybe you came in going, I don't really 00:27:51.740 --> 00:27:54.759 have anything to be thankful for. I don't have 00:27:54.759 --> 00:27:56.839 any blessings in my life and I don't really feel 00:27:56.839 --> 00:28:00.380 like celebrating. What if it feels like you just 00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:05.240 don't have anything to celebrate? And I get that. 00:28:06.680 --> 00:28:11.039 Here's what it says in Philippians 4 .4. It says, 00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:14.480 rejoice in the Lord always. I'll say it again. 00:28:15.670 --> 00:28:18.230 Rejoice. And it's always. It's not just when 00:28:18.230 --> 00:28:20.289 things feel good. It's not when things are just 00:28:20.289 --> 00:28:24.690 easy. It says rejoice in the Lord always. It's 00:28:24.690 --> 00:28:29.650 not a suggestion, it's a command. Our head baseball 00:28:29.650 --> 00:28:32.329 coach over at Embry -Riddle that I have the privilege 00:28:32.329 --> 00:28:35.170 of coaching under his leadership over there, 00:28:35.289 --> 00:28:37.950 he tells our guys this, when things are tough, 00:28:38.089 --> 00:28:40.789 when things aren't going the way that maybe we 00:28:40.789 --> 00:28:44.559 had hoped for. He'll say, the sun will rise tomorrow. 00:28:45.339 --> 00:28:47.299 And he tells them this. He says, I've yet to 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:52.240 live a day that the sun didn't rise. And you 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:54.859 know what that is? That's a reminder of God's 00:28:54.859 --> 00:28:57.920 faithfulness. His mercies are new every single 00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:00.740 day. And the sun will rise every single day. 00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:03.000 And I've yet to live a day that the sun didn't 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:05.200 rise because God is good. You have something 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:08.690 to be thankful for. You have something to celebrate 00:29:08.690 --> 00:29:11.950 God for who he is, even in the midst of our difficulty, 00:29:12.250 --> 00:29:14.730 even in the midst of our pain, even in the midst 00:29:14.730 --> 00:29:16.750 of when things aren't going how you wanted them 00:29:16.750 --> 00:29:21.509 to go, we have reason to celebrate. And church, 00:29:21.529 --> 00:29:25.109 I know this, whether you believe this or not, 00:29:25.329 --> 00:29:29.430 we have opportunity and reason to celebrate the 00:29:29.430 --> 00:29:33.009 good news that is the gospel. Whether you walked 00:29:33.009 --> 00:29:35.690 in today and you do not believe this, It does 00:29:35.690 --> 00:29:37.869 not change the fact that it is true. Whether 00:29:37.869 --> 00:29:39.349 you have believed this sometime in your life 00:29:39.349 --> 00:29:42.150 or you believe it now, it is still true. And 00:29:42.150 --> 00:29:45.430 the truth is this, is that God sent his son, 00:29:45.549 --> 00:29:50.630 Jesus, to die on a cross for you because of love. 00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:54.380 He sent his son because you and I cannot make 00:29:54.380 --> 00:29:57.119 a way to God on our own. He sent Jesus to pay 00:29:57.119 --> 00:29:59.519 the price that you could not pay, which is the 00:29:59.519 --> 00:30:02.160 penalty for your sin. And Jesus went to a cross 00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:04.759 and he paid the penalty for your sin so that 00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:07.960 you could have a relationship with God. That 00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:09.680 is the good news. That is the gospel. And that 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:13.759 is worth celebrating. We have an opportunity 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:18.180 to celebrate. And so I just want to give you 00:30:18.180 --> 00:30:21.539 an opportunity to celebrate. And for some of 00:30:21.539 --> 00:30:23.259 you, celebration sounds weird because you're 00:30:23.259 --> 00:30:27.319 not in a place to celebrate. But it's as easy 00:30:27.319 --> 00:30:30.799 as saying, God, thank you. It's thanking God 00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:35.319 for who he is. It's thanking God for the people 00:30:35.319 --> 00:30:38.339 in your life. It's thanking God for what he's 00:30:38.339 --> 00:30:41.559 blessed you with. So I'm gonna give you just 00:30:41.559 --> 00:30:44.359 a couple moments to celebrate, just to pray on 00:30:44.359 --> 00:30:47.640 your own, just you and God. to thank him for 00:30:47.640 --> 00:30:49.880 the blessing he's given you. Thank him for who 00:30:49.880 --> 00:30:52.339 he is. Thank him for the people in your life. 00:30:52.440 --> 00:30:54.740 And then I'll come back out and we're gonna celebrate 00:30:54.740 --> 00:30:57.779 through baptism, through celebration weekend. 00:30:57.880 --> 00:31:03.019 But right now, just you and God, thank God. Just 00:31:03.019 --> 00:31:53.589 thank God right now. Lord, we thank you. God, 00:31:53.650 --> 00:31:56.809 we just come before you with gratitude. We thank 00:31:56.809 --> 00:31:59.349 you for who you are, God, that you are good, 00:31:59.430 --> 00:32:03.049 that you are loving, that you are all powerful. 00:32:05.769 --> 00:32:07.950 God, we thank you for the blessings in our life. 00:32:08.690 --> 00:32:10.890 We thank you that you allow us to celebrate. 00:32:11.950 --> 00:32:14.069 And God, we thank you for the life change that 00:32:14.069 --> 00:32:17.609 we will celebrate as a church. We pray this in 00:32:17.609 --> 00:32:18.029 your name.