WEBVTT 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:03.600 Well, good morning, church. Good to see you guys 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:06.200 this morning. I want to welcome those of you 00:00:06.200 --> 00:00:09.000 online that are hanging out with us today. So 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:10.919 cool. I heard there's an entire family that's 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:12.699 having like a family reunion type thing. They're 00:00:12.699 --> 00:00:14.660 all watching together. So welcome to you guys 00:00:14.660 --> 00:00:18.800 for that. And man, it has been a while since 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:22.199 I have been up here to teach you guys. And we 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:24.859 just finished up last week a collection. It was 00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:27.640 called Know Your Limits. And as we were starting 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:30.160 this collection and Pastor John was... pondering 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:32.859 it. He came to me about teaching that. And I 00:00:32.859 --> 00:00:34.840 did something that I've only done twice in my 00:00:34.840 --> 00:00:37.500 ministry career. The first time I did it was 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:40.740 when I was working at a church and I'd only been 00:00:40.740 --> 00:00:43.979 in ministry for about a year and a half at this 00:00:43.979 --> 00:00:45.759 time. And the pastor comes to me and he says, 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:47.920 hey, would you preach on a Sunday morning? And 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:49.799 I said, awesome. Yeah. And he goes, the topic 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:52.100 is marriage. And I'd only been married for two 00:00:52.100 --> 00:00:53.740 years. And I was like, I will absolutely not 00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:55.500 preach that. I don't even know if I like her 00:00:55.500 --> 00:00:58.770 yet. Like I'm not. And I'm fairly certain she 00:00:58.770 --> 00:01:02.810 doesn't like me, okay? So I definitely need to 00:01:02.810 --> 00:01:05.310 learn this and not teach this. And so when Pastor 00:01:05.310 --> 00:01:07.969 John came to me about a series about knowing 00:01:07.969 --> 00:01:11.530 our limits and about resting, I was like, listen, 00:01:11.609 --> 00:01:13.329 I haven't rested since the third grade, bro. 00:01:13.450 --> 00:01:16.810 Like, I'm not your guy. I need to learn this 00:01:16.810 --> 00:01:20.209 before I can teach this. And so it's been a while 00:01:20.209 --> 00:01:22.150 since I've been up here with you guys. It's great 00:01:22.150 --> 00:01:24.549 to be able to have this conversation with you 00:01:24.549 --> 00:01:28.640 this morning. But I have to be honest, I'm up 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:31.879 here with a little bit of a heavy heart today. 00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:35.540 The last time I spoke was Easter Sunday, and 00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:40.780 my parents were here. And my parents were able 00:01:40.780 --> 00:01:45.040 to join us and be here for the service. And then 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:47.000 at the 930 service, we got them a room where 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:48.840 they just prayed for the whole service. They 00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:51.640 prayed for you guys. They prayed for our pastors. 00:01:51.700 --> 00:01:54.459 They prayed for the church. Just an incredible 00:01:54.459 --> 00:01:57.859 time. Nine days later, I got a phone call that 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:00.939 rocked my world. It was 7 .30 in the morning, 00:02:01.019 --> 00:02:03.560 which my mom doesn't usually call at that time, 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:05.780 but she was calling to let me know that my dad 00:02:05.780 --> 00:02:09.520 was on life support. And it was completely a 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:16.020 shock. It was completely out of the blue. And 00:02:16.020 --> 00:02:18.539 then I got another call later that evening to 00:02:18.539 --> 00:02:23.389 let me know that he had passed away. And I didn't 00:02:23.389 --> 00:02:25.569 know how to feel. I didn't know what to think. 00:02:25.610 --> 00:02:27.509 I didn't know how to process it. To be honest, 00:02:27.569 --> 00:02:29.889 the last seven weeks of my life have kind of 00:02:29.889 --> 00:02:32.289 been that, not knowing how to process this, the 00:02:32.289 --> 00:02:35.330 shock of it, the sadness of it. Like I miss him 00:02:35.330 --> 00:02:38.969 so deeply. And I don't know how to get through 00:02:38.969 --> 00:02:41.330 this difficult time that I'm going through. And 00:02:41.330 --> 00:02:44.569 I'm like, God, this is so hard. And I think when 00:02:44.569 --> 00:02:47.699 it comes to... When it comes to becoming a Christian, 00:02:47.780 --> 00:02:49.400 I think we have a misconception. And one of the 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:51.379 biggest misconceptions we have in life is that 00:02:51.379 --> 00:02:54.759 when you meet Jesus, everything is good. Everything 00:02:54.759 --> 00:02:56.620 is great. It's rainbows and butterflies. It's 00:02:56.620 --> 00:02:58.419 not compromised. You know what I mean? Like it's 00:02:58.419 --> 00:03:02.080 good. We're not gonna have any issues because 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:04.159 we meet Jesus and everything is smooth sailing 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:06.620 from then on out. And I don't know why we have 00:03:06.620 --> 00:03:08.860 this misconception or this belief because Jesus 00:03:08.860 --> 00:03:10.840 himself said something completely different. 00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:13.860 Like literally when Jesus was on the earth, he 00:03:13.860 --> 00:03:16.060 told us straight up, like Jesus doesn't mince 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:19.080 words. He straight up says it in John chapter 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:22.300 16, verse 33. He says, in this world, you will 00:03:22.300 --> 00:03:27.340 have trouble. Thanks, Jesus. Thanks, bro. Like 00:03:27.340 --> 00:03:30.000 he didn't even say, oh, maybe you'll encounter 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:32.039 some issues in this life. You know, we'll see 00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:34.439 how it goes. He's like, no, you will have trouble. 00:03:35.139 --> 00:03:37.840 It's gonna happen. If you are a human that's 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:40.919 alive, you are going to have trouble in this. 00:03:43.220 --> 00:03:46.620 But the call in scripture to follow Jesus isn't 00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:50.219 an exemption from suffering. It's an invitation 00:03:50.219 --> 00:03:55.020 to walk through suffering differently. Because 00:03:55.020 --> 00:03:57.139 the world has a way that you walk through suffering. 00:03:57.520 --> 00:03:59.620 The world has a way that you walk through it. 00:04:00.020 --> 00:04:02.280 And for those of us who call ourselves followers 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:06.099 of Jesus, you need to know that suffering will 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:09.889 happen, but maybe. Maybe that suffering in your 00:04:09.889 --> 00:04:13.349 life is an opportunity. Maybe it's an invitation 00:04:13.349 --> 00:04:19.290 to worship. And I know that sounds weird. Suffering 00:04:19.290 --> 00:04:21.889 and invitation to worship? That makes no sense. 00:04:22.569 --> 00:04:24.310 Oh, we know how to worship when times are good. 00:04:25.009 --> 00:04:26.490 You know what I mean? When you buy a new car, 00:04:26.509 --> 00:04:29.290 you're like, God, we praise you. And listen to 00:04:29.290 --> 00:04:30.490 how much we're gonna praise you. I'm gonna turn 00:04:30.490 --> 00:04:32.250 up my new Bose sound system right now. Listen 00:04:32.250 --> 00:04:35.610 to that. We're gonna worship you. All right, 00:04:35.629 --> 00:04:37.089 when you get the email that says you got the 00:04:37.089 --> 00:04:39.220 job. You're like, God, we worship you. We're 00:04:39.220 --> 00:04:40.660 gonna give you praise right now because God, 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:43.939 life is good. When your kid makes the team, we're 00:04:43.939 --> 00:04:46.519 gonna worship you, God. All right, those of you 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:48.560 who are single and ready to mingle, come on, 00:04:48.579 --> 00:04:52.019 you know who you are. And you meet that one that 00:04:52.019 --> 00:04:56.740 could be the one. Praise you, Jesus. Some of 00:04:56.740 --> 00:05:00.600 you are like, yes, Jesus, come on, quicker. It's 00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:02.939 easy to praise God when times are good. I want 00:05:02.939 --> 00:05:05.779 you to have breakthrough in your life. It's easy 00:05:05.779 --> 00:05:08.379 to praise God. I imagine the Israelites as they 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:10.639 walk through on dry ground, as the Red Sea is 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:13.199 parted through Moses, through God's power, Red 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:14.959 Sea parts, they walk through on dry ground, the 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:16.319 Israelites are saved and they're like, we have 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:19.199 major breakthrough. Praise God. Worship breaks 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:22.680 out. When you have breakthrough in your life, 00:05:22.740 --> 00:05:25.000 maybe you experience God in a new way in your 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:27.759 life. It's easy to praise God. Maybe you broke 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.699 the addiction in your life and it's easy to praise 00:05:30.699 --> 00:05:33.319 God in that moment when you have breakthrough 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:37.579 in your life. But what do you do when you find 00:05:37.579 --> 00:05:40.279 yourself in a situation that you don't wanna 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:43.160 be in? What do you do when you find yourself 00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:44.959 in a situation where you're like, how did I even 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:48.879 get here? I'm walking through a valley and I 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:54.019 don't even wanna be here. How do you handle that? 00:05:56.160 --> 00:05:58.740 Two weeks ago, we were driving to San Diego for 00:05:58.740 --> 00:06:02.639 my dad's memorial service. So we loaded up our 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:05.160 15 passenger van because when my family rolls, 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:07.959 we roll, baby. We have to load up a 15 passenger 00:06:07.959 --> 00:06:10.779 van to get there. I got a lot of kids. And so 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:12.860 as we were heading there, when we got to San 00:06:12.860 --> 00:06:15.079 Diego, we were gonna pick up my in -laws that 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:16.899 had flown in for my dad's service. And so we 00:06:16.899 --> 00:06:19.540 needed nine seats, which means it's 15 passenger 00:06:19.540 --> 00:06:21.920 van time. So we loaded up and as we were heading 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:24.860 to San Diego, we're coming in and we're coming 00:06:24.860 --> 00:06:27.279 over the last hill before we go down into the 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:29.660 last town in Arizona before you get to California. 00:06:30.360 --> 00:06:32.319 Sorry I said that word. I triggered some of you 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:33.899 right now by saying that word. I won't say it 00:06:33.899 --> 00:06:36.139 again. But as we're heading over there, we get 00:06:36.139 --> 00:06:38.420 to the last city, and as we're going down the 00:06:38.420 --> 00:06:42.399 hill, the car starts making this clunking sound. 00:06:44.339 --> 00:06:48.040 And the sound is like not a good sound. And I 00:06:48.040 --> 00:06:49.699 don't know anything about cars besides when you 00:06:49.699 --> 00:06:51.879 press the gas pedal, they go. And so I took a 00:06:51.879 --> 00:06:54.680 video of this sound, and we sent it to our friend 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:57.709 who's a mechanic. We were planning on stopping 00:06:57.709 --> 00:07:00.250 to get gas in Yuma anyway, and so we stopped 00:07:00.250 --> 00:07:02.670 in Yuma to get gas, and we pull up to the pump, 00:07:02.750 --> 00:07:04.870 and I put the gas pump in, and my phone rings. 00:07:05.790 --> 00:07:07.470 And it's our friend who's a mechanic, and I answer 00:07:07.470 --> 00:07:09.089 the phone, and he goes, listen, your car's done. 00:07:10.870 --> 00:07:12.269 And I was like, when you say done, do you mean 00:07:12.269 --> 00:07:15.050 done? Like, I gotta replace the windshield wipers, 00:07:15.069 --> 00:07:17.170 or what? Like, what do we gotta do here? He's 00:07:17.170 --> 00:07:21.019 like, no, your engine is completely done. And 00:07:21.019 --> 00:07:22.800 to make it worse, when I just find out that the 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:24.779 engine is completely blown and my car is completely 00:07:24.779 --> 00:07:27.139 useless, I look over to the gas pump that I just 00:07:27.139 --> 00:07:29.379 pumped $75 worth of gas into a car that won't 00:07:29.379 --> 00:07:34.319 work. So man, we start calling rental car companies. 00:07:34.459 --> 00:07:37.139 There's three rental car companies in Yuma. And 00:07:37.139 --> 00:07:39.139 I called every single one of them. Please, dear 00:07:39.139 --> 00:07:42.759 God, let there be a 15 passenger van. So I called 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:45.259 every single one of them. There's no 15 passenger 00:07:45.259 --> 00:07:48.079 van. Like, okay, we'll go to the second best 00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:49.939 option. If we can get a minivan, they have seven 00:07:49.939 --> 00:07:51.519 seats. When we get to San Diego, we will just 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:53.180 strap my in -laws on the top of the car. It'll 00:07:53.180 --> 00:07:56.100 be awesome. So we called every single rental 00:07:56.100 --> 00:07:59.000 car company to try to get a minivan. None of 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:01.480 them had a minivan. So we went, okay, what do 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:03.000 we do now? An economy car doesn't have enough 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:05.600 seats for our family, but we have my wife and 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:07.420 I that can both drive. So we're gonna try to 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:09.959 get two economy cars. That's our plan. We called 00:08:09.959 --> 00:08:13.040 every single rental car company. None of them 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:16.459 had any rental cars. Listen to me. How does a 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:19.540 rental car company have no rental cars? This 00:08:19.540 --> 00:08:21.279 should be a crime. Somebody investigate this 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:23.939 right now. Like, how is Yuma a real place? That's 00:08:23.939 --> 00:08:28.939 crazy. And so we're stuck here. Called every 00:08:28.939 --> 00:08:30.639 single rental car company, there is no rental 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:33.919 cars. Our van is done. And I'm going, you cannot 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:36.460 even script this situation any worse. I'm literally 00:08:36.460 --> 00:08:39.200 driving to my dad's funeral and our car gives 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:43.360 up. See, sometimes in life, we find ourself in 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:45.740 valleys, we find ourself in situations, but you 00:08:45.740 --> 00:08:47.860 have to understand that God has called us to 00:08:47.860 --> 00:08:50.740 follow him, and there's no caveat to when life 00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:54.100 is hard. Yeah, you can follow me, but when life 00:08:54.100 --> 00:08:57.059 gets hard, you get a free pass. When you're walking 00:08:57.059 --> 00:08:58.759 through a valley, it's okay, you don't have to 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:01.840 actually follow me. God says, here, follow me. 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:05.080 And there's no caveat to what that looks like 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:08.620 when life gets difficult. We're gonna be in Acts 00:09:08.620 --> 00:09:11.480 chapter 16 today. And there's a lot of examples 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:13.779 throughout scripture of people who've walked 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:16.460 through difficult times. What we have here is 00:09:16.460 --> 00:09:19.000 we have Paul and Silas. And the Paul and Silas 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:20.779 are walking around and they're doing the Lord's 00:09:20.779 --> 00:09:23.860 work, man. They are preaching Jesus. They're 00:09:23.860 --> 00:09:25.399 preaching to people and people are getting saved. 00:09:25.539 --> 00:09:27.340 People are going, hey, I wanna follow Jesus. 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:30.240 And all this crowd has come with them. And so 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:32.879 as this crowd forms, there's also this girl that's 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:34.879 following them. And this girl that's following 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:36.799 them is annoying the heck out of them. She keeps 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:39.899 saying stuff. And she's demon possessed. And 00:09:39.899 --> 00:09:41.840 as she keeps coming, I love this. It's so funny 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:43.899 in scripture, Paul gets fed up with it and he 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:46.240 stops and he casts the demon out. Not because 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:47.759 he's a good guy, but because he got annoyed. 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:50.340 He's like, I'm sick of this, get out of her. 00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:53.940 And he casts this demon out of this girl. The 00:09:53.940 --> 00:09:55.879 problem is this demon in this girl was giving 00:09:55.879 --> 00:09:58.980 her this power to be able to tell the future 00:09:58.980 --> 00:10:01.700 for people. She was a fortune teller. And so 00:10:01.700 --> 00:10:04.480 she was a slave girl and her masters were profiting 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:06.440 off the fact that because of this demon, people 00:10:06.440 --> 00:10:08.419 would come to her. She would tell them their 00:10:08.419 --> 00:10:11.299 fortune and then they would make money. Paul 00:10:11.299 --> 00:10:13.080 cast the demon out and all of a sudden their 00:10:13.080 --> 00:10:16.460 moneymaker is gone. And so they're very, very 00:10:16.460 --> 00:10:19.500 upset. And so they seize Paul and Silas and we 00:10:19.500 --> 00:10:22.860 pick up the story in verse 22. It says this, 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:27.240 the crowd joined in the attack against Paul and 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:30.379 Silas. And the magistrates ordered them to be 00:10:30.379 --> 00:10:34.500 stripped and beaten with rods. It says, after 00:10:34.500 --> 00:10:36.980 they had been severely flogged, not regularly 00:10:36.980 --> 00:10:40.679 flogged, severely flogged, they were thrown into 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:43.600 prison and the jailer was commanded to guard 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:46.620 them carefully. When he received these orders, 00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:49.720 he put them in the inner cell and fastened their 00:10:49.720 --> 00:10:56.419 feet in stocks. Listen, this is a bad day. You 00:10:56.419 --> 00:10:58.080 may have had a bad day, but I don't know how 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:00.279 many of you have had a Paul and Silas bad day. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:03.899 They are beaten to the point of almost death, 00:11:04.139 --> 00:11:07.360 severely flogged. And then they are thrown into 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.000 prison, but not just any cell in prison. They're 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:10.639 taken to the deepest, darkest cell. And what 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:12.139 you need to know about a Roman prison is the 00:11:12.139 --> 00:11:14.519 farther in you go, the worse the conditions are. 00:11:14.820 --> 00:11:17.340 There is no light. You are in the worst conditions. 00:11:18.259 --> 00:11:20.659 And they are chained in this. Their feet are 00:11:20.659 --> 00:11:23.179 put in the stocks in the inner cell. They're 00:11:23.179 --> 00:11:26.039 in the belly of the beast. They are in the deepest 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:27.600 part of the doo -doo, if you know what I mean. 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:30.980 This is where you do not wanna be. They are in 00:11:30.980 --> 00:11:33.299 a valley right now. And for them, maybe you've 00:11:33.299 --> 00:11:35.059 walked through a valley where you find yourself 00:11:35.059 --> 00:11:36.940 in the same place as them going, I don't know 00:11:36.940 --> 00:11:38.899 how I got here. This is not where I wanted to 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:42.840 be. This is not what I had planned for my day 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:45.879 or my life. And here's where I'm at. So what 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:48.100 is their response in this place that they find 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:51.740 themselves right here? Verse 25, about midnight, 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.519 which by the way, if I just got. beat to almost 00:11:54.519 --> 00:11:57.700 dying by midnight, I'd be asleep. So it's about 00:11:57.700 --> 00:12:01.019 midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing 00:12:01.019 --> 00:12:04.639 hymns to God and the other prisoners were listening 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:11.179 to them. Their response in a major valley was 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:14.429 worship. Their response in the major valley they 00:12:14.429 --> 00:12:17.110 did not expect to be in was to worship God. And 00:12:17.110 --> 00:12:18.610 I'm not gonna read the next part of the story. 00:12:18.690 --> 00:12:20.970 If you know the next part of the story, I'm not 00:12:20.970 --> 00:12:22.809 gonna read the part where an earthquake happens 00:12:22.809 --> 00:12:25.070 and the prison doors are blown off and the chains 00:12:25.070 --> 00:12:26.870 fall off of them. I'm not gonna read that part. 00:12:26.929 --> 00:12:28.990 You know why? Because Paul and Silas' response 00:12:28.990 --> 00:12:31.870 to their valley did not come after God showed 00:12:31.870 --> 00:12:38.570 up. In their valley before God showed up, their 00:12:38.570 --> 00:12:42.629 response was worship. When they didn't see a 00:12:42.629 --> 00:12:46.110 way out, their response was worship. God's power 00:12:46.110 --> 00:12:48.490 doesn't dictate how we respond to the valley 00:12:48.490 --> 00:12:52.590 we're in. Oh, God is worthy of our praise. Don't 00:12:52.590 --> 00:12:55.809 hear me wrong. But it's not an expectation of 00:12:55.809 --> 00:13:00.789 a miracle that allows us to worship God. In the 00:13:00.789 --> 00:13:02.490 middle of their valley, in the middle of their 00:13:02.490 --> 00:13:04.210 brokenness, in the middle of their situation, 00:13:05.090 --> 00:13:08.029 Paul and Silas worship because it's not worshiping 00:13:08.029 --> 00:13:13.399 after the valley, it's worshiping in. If you're 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:14.940 taking notes, write this down. We have to remember, 00:13:15.139 --> 00:13:21.139 we are worshipers. We are worshipers. Life is 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:25.600 worship. I preached a message a few months ago 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:27.820 that God had been putting on my heart to understand 00:13:27.820 --> 00:13:30.940 that life is worship. I have to understand that 00:13:30.940 --> 00:13:33.480 God created everything in the garden. He created 00:13:33.480 --> 00:13:35.600 all of humanity. He created everything with this 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:38.539 original design to be a worshiper. That is the 00:13:38.539 --> 00:13:41.580 purpose of creation is to worship God. And he 00:13:41.580 --> 00:13:43.139 created you with an original design. And then 00:13:43.139 --> 00:13:45.440 what happened is sin came in. And when sin broke 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:49.159 original design, there needed to be a solution. 00:13:49.299 --> 00:13:52.700 And the solution is Jesus. God sent Jesus to 00:13:52.700 --> 00:13:55.679 stand in your place to be the solution for the 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:57.960 brokenness and the sin. And what that did is 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:00.220 it restored original design. Remember, original 00:14:00.220 --> 00:14:03.399 design is a worshiper. And so for those of you 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:05.740 who are in Jesus, your original design is restored. 00:14:05.899 --> 00:14:08.820 You are restored to being a worshiper, which 00:14:08.820 --> 00:14:11.919 means that your life is worship, which means 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:14.679 that everywhere you find yourself is an opportunity 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:17.100 to worship because you were created as a worshiper 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:20.389 and life is worship. And I am not talking about 00:14:20.389 --> 00:14:23.970 singing songs. Not talking about singing, right? 00:14:24.009 --> 00:14:25.730 In the American church, we have put worship in 00:14:25.730 --> 00:14:29.090 a box. And the box is when we say things like, 00:14:29.149 --> 00:14:32.330 would you stand for worship? Would the worship 00:14:32.330 --> 00:14:36.149 band come on up? And so we limit worship to the 00:14:36.149 --> 00:14:38.230 time when we sing songs in church. And you have 00:14:38.230 --> 00:14:40.169 to understand that that is not what worship is. 00:14:40.210 --> 00:14:42.610 That is an act of worship through song, but your 00:14:42.610 --> 00:14:46.049 life is actually worship. And you have to remember 00:14:46.049 --> 00:14:53.029 that you are a. So we pulled the van into a parking 00:14:53.029 --> 00:14:54.909 spot. We were kind of at the pump for a lot of 00:14:54.909 --> 00:14:56.789 it. And we pulled into this parking lot off to 00:14:56.789 --> 00:14:58.370 the side, right? It was making a sound that was 00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:00.710 just unbelievable, right? It sounded like Chewbacca 00:15:00.710 --> 00:15:02.289 got something stuck in his throat, right? It 00:15:02.289 --> 00:15:05.870 was like, like it was terrible. Come on, that 00:15:05.870 --> 00:15:07.389 was funnier than that. That was, I mean, that 00:15:07.389 --> 00:15:09.210 was good. That just, that was off the top of 00:15:09.210 --> 00:15:13.250 the dome right there. And I'm going, man, we 00:15:13.250 --> 00:15:15.049 got to call these rental car companies. And so 00:15:15.049 --> 00:15:18.840 I'm behind the Maverick. In Yuma, Arizona, it's 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:21.480 105 degrees. Listen, I don't know why people 00:15:21.480 --> 00:15:24.139 live there. I'm just saying. If you're from Yuma, 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:26.980 God bless you. All right, I'm just saying. I'm 00:15:26.980 --> 00:15:30.159 glad you got out. Come on, don't write me an 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:35.019 email. That's a joke too, okay? It's 105 degrees 00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:37.720 and I'm pacing behind. I'm calling my friends 00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:39.700 to complain. I'm calling the rental car companies 00:15:39.700 --> 00:15:41.620 to bargain with them. Can you just fly a car 00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:44.679 in here? Like, I don't know, do something. I'm 00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:46.480 on the phone with all of them. I've called my 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:48.639 close friends to complain about my situation. 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:51.820 I'm not in a moment where I want to worship God. 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:55.840 But God spoke to me in that moment. And the question 00:15:55.840 --> 00:16:00.059 he asked me in that moment is I'm literally in 00:16:00.059 --> 00:16:02.480 the biggest, deepest part of this situation. 00:16:02.820 --> 00:16:04.700 The question that God is asking me right there 00:16:04.700 --> 00:16:08.759 is how do you worship me right now? Like, how 00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:12.080 do I worship in the way that I act, in the way 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:16.250 that I react, right? Now. Because if life is 00:16:16.250 --> 00:16:17.929 worship, it's not an exclusion for when you're 00:16:17.929 --> 00:16:19.750 going through a valley. And in the valley, God 00:16:19.750 --> 00:16:21.570 asked me the question of how are you worshiping 00:16:21.570 --> 00:16:27.590 right now? And I think what we have to understand 00:16:27.590 --> 00:16:32.210 is that worship is a choice, not a feeling. It's 00:16:32.210 --> 00:16:33.750 a choice that we make. It's not a feeling that 00:16:33.750 --> 00:16:35.669 we have. I don't think Paul and Silas are like, 00:16:35.730 --> 00:16:37.490 man, I just got beat within an inch of my life 00:16:37.490 --> 00:16:39.129 and now I'm chained to a prison wall. You know 00:16:39.129 --> 00:16:41.669 what I feel like doing right now? I feel like 00:16:41.669 --> 00:16:45.320 a worship session. Like that's not what they're 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:46.759 thinking at that moment. You know why? Because 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:48.279 worship isn't a feeling, it's a choice. They 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:51.379 chose to worship. As I'm pacing behind the Maverick, 00:16:51.379 --> 00:16:55.299 105 degrees in Yuma, and it kind of stinks. I 00:16:55.299 --> 00:16:57.019 didn't feel like worshiping. I felt like saying 00:16:57.019 --> 00:16:59.740 a lot of other words that I can't say right now. 00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:03.899 But I didn't feel like worshiping. Worship is 00:17:03.899 --> 00:17:06.240 a choice, not a feeling. It says this in Psalm 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:11.789 42 .5. Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so 00:17:11.789 --> 00:17:14.109 disturbed within me? Going through a valley, 00:17:14.170 --> 00:17:16.150 he says, what do we do? But put your hope in 00:17:16.150 --> 00:17:19.849 God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and 00:17:19.849 --> 00:17:24.970 my God. The choice to worship in the valley is 00:17:24.970 --> 00:17:26.549 a choice that you have to make. And what this 00:17:26.549 --> 00:17:29.369 choice looks like, worshiping in the valley looks 00:17:29.369 --> 00:17:31.789 like a thousand daily decisions of faithfulness. 00:17:33.589 --> 00:17:36.609 The decisions that you make during your day, 00:17:36.670 --> 00:17:39.779 when you go through, It's these decisions of 00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:41.579 faithfulness, right? It's choosing prayer instead 00:17:41.579 --> 00:17:45.779 of panic when you're anxious. When you walk through 00:17:45.779 --> 00:17:47.000 the valley and you're going through it, it's 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:49.119 choosing to trust his character when you don't 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:53.079 see his plan. It's choosing in these moments 00:17:53.079 --> 00:17:57.680 forgiveness over bitterness. Worshiping in these 00:17:57.680 --> 00:17:59.680 moments and the choice to worship looks like 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:01.799 when you're grieving to bring your pain honestly 00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:06.690 to God instead of running from God. It looks 00:18:06.690 --> 00:18:08.829 like when temptation hits in your life and the 00:18:08.829 --> 00:18:10.569 enemy's attacking and the devil's saying, go 00:18:10.569 --> 00:18:12.809 for this, try this, it's gonna feel good. It's 00:18:12.809 --> 00:18:14.609 for you to stop in that moment and say, listen, 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:17.170 I'm gonna choose what God desires over what I 00:18:17.170 --> 00:18:19.289 desire in this moment. And you can look back 00:18:19.289 --> 00:18:21.430 and you can say, God, listen, you are worth more 00:18:21.430 --> 00:18:24.369 than this temporary thing because I'm gonna make 00:18:24.369 --> 00:18:30.910 a choice to worship you. We were created to worship. 00:18:31.009 --> 00:18:33.109 And that means that every situation we find ourself 00:18:33.109 --> 00:18:37.339 in is an opportunity to worship. So how do we 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:40.539 have that attitude of worship when we're in the 00:18:40.539 --> 00:18:44.559 valley? You need to know this. Your valley does 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:48.279 not cancel God's presence. Because when we find 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:49.900 ourselves in a valley, a lot of times the question 00:18:49.900 --> 00:18:53.660 we ask is, God, why? God, where are you? I don't 00:18:53.660 --> 00:18:56.039 see you anywhere, God. All I see is pain. All 00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:58.339 I see is suffering. I'm consumed by what's going 00:18:58.339 --> 00:19:03.740 on. God, you have left. Where are you, God? And 00:19:03.740 --> 00:19:07.160 you need to know that wherever God is, is an 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:10.900 opportunity to worship him. And he is everywhere. 00:19:12.859 --> 00:19:14.700 He's everywhere. Even when you don't feel it, 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:17.519 God is everywhere. And so everywhere you find 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:19.400 yourself is an opportunity to worship him because 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:24.779 he is there. We have to realize that he meets 00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:27.430 you in your brokenness. God hasn't abandoned 00:19:27.430 --> 00:19:29.589 you, he's meeting you in your brokenness. Why 00:19:29.589 --> 00:19:32.910 are Paul and Silas, while chained to a wall in 00:19:32.910 --> 00:19:36.190 prison, why are they able to worship? Because 00:19:36.190 --> 00:19:40.130 they know that God is there. In that moment, 00:19:40.170 --> 00:19:41.589 they weren't seeing evidence of God, but they 00:19:41.589 --> 00:19:43.309 knew that God was there, so they were able to 00:19:43.309 --> 00:19:47.210 worship God in their situation. And what happens 00:19:47.210 --> 00:19:49.470 when we're able to posture our heart to worship 00:19:49.470 --> 00:19:52.970 God in the situation that we're in? We start 00:19:52.970 --> 00:19:57.279 seeing God's goodness in the situation. God is 00:19:57.279 --> 00:19:59.279 always there, which means there's goodness that 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:02.279 God has given us in those situations. I don't 00:20:02.279 --> 00:20:04.759 know if you've made the trip from Prescott to 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:08.619 Yuma. There's a lot of nothing on your way. And 00:20:08.619 --> 00:20:10.940 I could have broke down anywhere along those 00:20:10.940 --> 00:20:12.599 desert roads where there's literally nothing 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:15.480 in every direction. But God's goodness was that 00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:19.099 we broke down at a gas station. That we made 00:20:19.099 --> 00:20:22.000 it to an actual place where there was things 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:24.609 and we could stop at a gas station. Not just 00:20:24.609 --> 00:20:26.890 any gas station, Maverick. They have food, which 00:20:26.890 --> 00:20:28.750 means they have tables, which means we sat in 00:20:28.750 --> 00:20:33.269 air conditioning in tables. God is so good. In 00:20:33.269 --> 00:20:35.569 the middle of this situation, God was able to 00:20:35.569 --> 00:20:38.829 show his goodness in where we were even at. The 00:20:38.829 --> 00:20:40.849 fix to our situation is we called my mom, who 00:20:40.849 --> 00:20:43.009 lives in San Diego, who drove from San Diego 00:20:43.009 --> 00:20:47.150 to Yuma to pick us up to drive us back. But three 00:20:47.150 --> 00:20:49.210 months ago, my mom had an economy car that wouldn't 00:20:49.210 --> 00:20:51.329 have fit us, but she got a new car that has eight 00:20:51.329 --> 00:20:55.289 seats. Seven for us and one for her. God was 00:20:55.289 --> 00:20:57.150 working before we even knew we needed him to 00:20:57.150 --> 00:20:59.529 work. God's goodness was showing up months before 00:20:59.529 --> 00:21:02.069 we even needed the situation that we were in. 00:21:02.109 --> 00:21:03.750 God was saying, no, listen, my goodness is here 00:21:03.750 --> 00:21:05.329 and I'm gonna work in your situation even when 00:21:05.329 --> 00:21:08.289 you don't know that you need me to work. The 00:21:08.289 --> 00:21:10.130 goodness of God was showed through people. We 00:21:10.130 --> 00:21:11.569 had people that found out about our situation 00:21:11.569 --> 00:21:13.609 and they said, hey, we're gonna send you some 00:21:13.609 --> 00:21:15.170 money because we know you can't afford a rental 00:21:15.170 --> 00:21:18.380 car. We had people that are in our church that 00:21:18.380 --> 00:21:20.180 work for a rental car company that are on the 00:21:20.180 --> 00:21:21.940 phone trying to figure out how they can get us 00:21:21.940 --> 00:21:24.099 a car, sending us discount codes saying, listen, 00:21:24.200 --> 00:21:26.579 I'm gonna show up for you. The goodness of God 00:21:26.579 --> 00:21:29.539 was shown through people showing up and loving 00:21:29.539 --> 00:21:32.619 us. Our friend who's a mechanic who we sent the 00:21:32.619 --> 00:21:36.579 video to said, hey, listen, van's done. We're 00:21:36.579 --> 00:21:37.619 like, well, then what are we gonna do with the 00:21:37.619 --> 00:21:40.299 van now? We parked it in a spot and we tell the 00:21:40.299 --> 00:21:41.619 Maverick people, hey, we're gonna leave our van 00:21:41.619 --> 00:21:42.700 here. And they're like, when are you coming to 00:21:42.700 --> 00:21:46.980 get it? I'm like, I don't know. He drove from 00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:50.480 Prescott to Yuma and towed our van back here 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:55.000 for free. Why? Because God was working and there 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:57.420 was goodness of God even in a situation where 00:21:57.420 --> 00:22:00.359 it felt like God was absent. Sometimes we don't 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:02.460 feel God in our valley, but you need to understand 00:22:02.460 --> 00:22:05.980 that your valley does not cancel God's presence. 00:22:06.140 --> 00:22:08.599 And the truth is that valleys are actually often 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:12.099 places where God forms us. You find yourself 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:13.799 in a valley and you go, God, why am I here? And 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:16.359 he goes, because I want to deepen you. Because 00:22:16.359 --> 00:22:19.700 I wanna form you. Because I wanna reveal myself 00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:25.799 to you. Maybe you're just a seed. See, seeds 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:28.440 are planted before they grow. Seeds are put in 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:30.740 the dirt. Seeds are put in the darkness. Seeds 00:22:30.740 --> 00:22:32.579 are put in the place where they go, why am I 00:22:32.579 --> 00:22:34.559 here? I'm in the darkness, I'm in the dirt, but 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:36.579 they are in a place specifically so that roots 00:22:36.579 --> 00:22:40.259 will grow so that they can flourish. Maybe your 00:22:40.259 --> 00:22:42.140 darkness right now is just you being planted. 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:46.400 Maybe your brokenness right now, maybe the dirt 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:48.599 that you feel is your life right now is just 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:50.680 God planting you somewhere so that your roots 00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:56.119 can grow in him and you can flourish. Because 00:22:56.119 --> 00:23:02.039 even in our valley, God is present. And here's 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:04.960 the cool thing about how we act in this. Write 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:06.579 this down, your worship in the valley affects 00:23:06.579 --> 00:23:10.559 others. Your worship in the valley affects others. 00:23:11.250 --> 00:23:13.569 Man, I love the story where Paul and Silas are 00:23:13.569 --> 00:23:16.190 in prison. Because I can imagine the other prisoners. 00:23:16.289 --> 00:23:18.710 The verse says that they worshiped and they prayed 00:23:18.710 --> 00:23:20.890 and the other prisoners were listening. Can you 00:23:20.890 --> 00:23:23.730 imagine the other prisoners? They're like, oh 00:23:23.730 --> 00:23:25.029 man, I'm gonna listen to these guys. They just 00:23:25.029 --> 00:23:26.430 got beat within an inch of their life. They're 00:23:26.430 --> 00:23:28.910 probably gonna be crying all night. And all of 00:23:28.910 --> 00:23:30.089 a sudden they start worshiping and they're like, 00:23:30.150 --> 00:23:33.710 what the heck is going on? What is going on? 00:23:33.730 --> 00:23:35.670 This doesn't warrant this response right now. 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:38.279 What is happening? That's not the response that 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:40.420 you expect. And in our life, when things don't 00:23:40.420 --> 00:23:42.599 go the way we want, there's an expected response. 00:23:42.740 --> 00:23:44.680 But when we worship in the valley, it affects 00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:47.900 other people. It affects other people. You know 00:23:47.900 --> 00:23:52.779 why? Because your kids are watching. Because 00:23:52.779 --> 00:23:56.000 your coworkers are watching. Because your family 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:58.700 is watching. Because your spouse is watching. 00:23:58.740 --> 00:24:03.400 And what if in your valley, it becomes someone 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:07.650 else's evidence of Jesus? What if your valley 00:24:07.650 --> 00:24:10.089 is someone else's evidence of Jesus because they 00:24:10.089 --> 00:24:14.150 see you in a time that you should not be worshiping, 00:24:14.150 --> 00:24:19.650 but your worship affects others? I'm behind the 00:24:19.650 --> 00:24:21.950 maverick and God had just spoke to me and told 00:24:21.950 --> 00:24:23.670 me, hey, listen, what would it look like for 00:24:23.670 --> 00:24:27.170 you to worship in this situation? My attitude 00:24:27.170 --> 00:24:30.390 shifted because I didn't wanna worship. And I 00:24:30.390 --> 00:24:32.250 go back into the Maverick and my kids were sitting 00:24:32.250 --> 00:24:34.069 at this table and man, there's so many things 00:24:34.069 --> 00:24:35.990 around them. One of them being the IC machine 00:24:35.990 --> 00:24:38.769 that glows like a beacon from heaven in the corner 00:24:38.769 --> 00:24:40.650 of the store. And they're like, look at that. 00:24:41.329 --> 00:24:47.849 It's beautiful. And so my oldest comes up to 00:24:47.849 --> 00:24:49.210 me and she goes, dad, with my own money, can 00:24:49.210 --> 00:24:51.250 I buy an IC? And I looked at her and I said, 00:24:51.289 --> 00:24:54.210 no. She goes, okay, okay. And I said, because 00:24:54.210 --> 00:24:57.029 I'm buying them for all of you right now. They're 00:24:57.029 --> 00:25:02.779 like, no way. Greatest thing ever. Because how 00:25:02.779 --> 00:25:05.500 you worship in the valley affects those around 00:25:05.500 --> 00:25:10.740 you. How you act in the valley, how you react 00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:14.980 in the valley. Are you gonna react to what you 00:25:14.980 --> 00:25:18.359 want? Because our first response usually is the 00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:22.500 one you shouldn't do. How you act, how you react. 00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:25.980 How you represent Jesus, because if you're a 00:25:25.980 --> 00:25:27.880 follower of Jesus, you are called to follow him 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:30.200 regardless of the situation. Are you representing 00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:34.079 Jesus well? Because your worship in the valley 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:37.400 affects others. Here's what you need to know 00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:39.599 about the valley. I don't know what valley you 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:42.299 find yourself in. I don't know how long you've 00:25:42.299 --> 00:25:43.839 been walking through this valley, but you need 00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:46.500 to know this, valleys reveal what we're anchored 00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:54.009 to. Valleys reveal what we're anchored to. Because 00:25:54.009 --> 00:25:56.250 if you were a ship, what happens when an anchor 00:25:56.250 --> 00:25:58.410 is gone is that you are tossed wherever the storm 00:25:58.410 --> 00:26:01.490 takes you. Because an anchor holds you in place. 00:26:01.549 --> 00:26:03.509 And if the anchor is not there, then you are 00:26:03.509 --> 00:26:05.950 tossed when the storms come. The storms will 00:26:05.950 --> 00:26:08.869 come. Jesus said, you will encounter tough times. 00:26:08.930 --> 00:26:12.640 It won't be easy. What are you anchored to? Because 00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:16.299 if your life has been anchored to your job, if 00:26:16.299 --> 00:26:18.720 it has been anchored to your car, if it has been 00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:20.420 anchored to your house, if it has been anchored 00:26:20.420 --> 00:26:22.119 to a relationship, if it's been anchored to a 00:26:22.119 --> 00:26:24.059 person, if it's been anchored to anything but 00:26:24.059 --> 00:26:26.480 Jesus, when those things are gone, you will be 00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:30.380 tossed. But when your anchor is Jesus, you will 00:26:30.380 --> 00:26:34.099 stand firm. Think of the book of Job. In the 00:26:34.099 --> 00:26:37.259 Old Testament, the enemy, Satan, the devil looks 00:26:37.259 --> 00:26:39.789 and he goes, does anyone worship God? And God 00:26:39.789 --> 00:26:42.190 goes, yeah, Job does. He goes, well, that's easy 00:26:42.190 --> 00:26:45.569 for him. He's got everything. He's got a great, 00:26:45.750 --> 00:26:48.789 great income. He's got wealth. He's got riches. 00:26:49.549 --> 00:26:51.990 He's got servants. He's got everything. He's 00:26:51.990 --> 00:26:56.890 got health. God goes, okay, take it away. Satan 00:26:56.890 --> 00:26:58.529 goes and takes it away. He goes, hey, I'm gonna 00:26:58.529 --> 00:27:00.069 cut this because you're anchored to your wealth. 00:27:00.130 --> 00:27:02.769 Your wealth is gone. Job goes, joke's on you. 00:27:02.789 --> 00:27:04.529 I wasn't anchored to my wealth. I'm still praising 00:27:04.529 --> 00:27:06.609 God. He goes, okay, well, I'm gonna cut this. 00:27:07.430 --> 00:27:08.769 You're anchored to your family. And he goes, 00:27:08.849 --> 00:27:10.269 joke's on you. I'm not anchored to my family. 00:27:10.309 --> 00:27:12.289 I'm anchored to God. Well, I'm gonna cut your 00:27:12.289 --> 00:27:14.069 health then. You're anchored to that. I'm not 00:27:14.069 --> 00:27:15.490 anchored to that. Joke's on you. I'm anchored 00:27:15.490 --> 00:27:18.430 to God. And the devil thought that he was anchored 00:27:18.430 --> 00:27:20.109 to all these other things in his life. And his 00:27:20.109 --> 00:27:21.990 strategy was to cut these things out of his life 00:27:21.990 --> 00:27:24.250 to see if he would still be worshiping God. But 00:27:24.250 --> 00:27:26.390 he was anchored to God. And so when you're anchored 00:27:26.390 --> 00:27:28.269 to God, it doesn't matter what falls apart in 00:27:28.269 --> 00:27:29.650 your life. It doesn't matter the valley that 00:27:29.650 --> 00:27:31.289 you're walking through. You have something that 00:27:31.289 --> 00:27:35.269 holds you solid and it is Jesus. So church, listen 00:27:35.269 --> 00:27:39.940 to me. Cling to Jesus. I don't know what you're 00:27:39.940 --> 00:27:42.319 going through, but I know that when you cling 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:44.440 to Jesus, you get through what you're going through. 00:27:47.559 --> 00:27:49.700 Because when Jesus is your anchor and the storm 00:27:49.700 --> 00:27:51.559 hits, you stay anchored. You know why? Because 00:27:51.559 --> 00:27:56.380 he will never leave you or forsake you. He will 00:27:56.380 --> 00:27:59.819 never leave you or forsake you. How do we know 00:27:59.819 --> 00:28:01.480 he'll never leave us or forsake us? Because of 00:28:01.480 --> 00:28:04.359 the gospel. The gospel means good news. What 00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:06.180 is the good news? Even in your valley, the good 00:28:06.180 --> 00:28:09.160 news is this, is that you could not pay the penalty 00:28:09.160 --> 00:28:14.599 for sin, which is death, but Jesus could. And 00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:17.420 God sent Jesus to die in your place on a cross. 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:20.200 And when Jesus died in your place on a cross, 00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:22.099 he made a way for you to have a relationship 00:28:22.099 --> 00:28:24.940 with God. And the relationship that you have 00:28:24.940 --> 00:28:29.019 with God through Jesus is your anchor. And some 00:28:29.019 --> 00:28:30.940 of you in here, you've never put your faith and 00:28:30.940 --> 00:28:34.220 trust in Jesus. And you don't have an anchor. 00:28:36.500 --> 00:28:38.720 You are just primed and ready to be tossed by 00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:42.079 the storm that is life. And my encouragement 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:47.079 to you today is this. You gotta meet Jesus. And 00:28:47.079 --> 00:28:48.920 if you don't get anything else today, you gotta 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:54.779 meet Jesus. Because when the grenade of a loss 00:28:54.779 --> 00:28:57.000 of a family member gets tossed in your life, 00:28:57.400 --> 00:29:01.180 if you don't have Jesus to cling on to, you have 00:29:01.180 --> 00:29:05.480 nothing. Because when things aren't going the 00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:06.859 way you want, when you're walking through the 00:29:06.859 --> 00:29:08.079 valley and you're going, God, I don't even see 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:09.720 an exit. I've been in this valley for too long 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:11.000 and I don't even know how to get through it. 00:29:11.059 --> 00:29:12.839 If you don't have Jesus, you will not get through 00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:19.759 it. Jesus is calling you today. For those of 00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:21.500 you who maybe have put your faith and trust in 00:29:21.500 --> 00:29:23.559 Jesus, but you've realized that your anchor is 00:29:23.559 --> 00:29:26.819 not in him, you have to make your anchor Jesus. 00:29:27.940 --> 00:29:30.559 Jesus has to be the thing that you are anchored 00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:34.299 to in the storm. Because Jesus said it himself. 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:38.759 He said, you're gonna find tough times. But I 00:29:38.759 --> 00:29:41.279 only read you a piece of that verse. But actually, 00:29:41.420 --> 00:29:46.140 the full verse in John 16, 33 says this. I have 00:29:46.140 --> 00:29:49.960 told you these things so that in me you may have 00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:53.819 peace. Peace. Because in this world, you're gonna 00:29:53.819 --> 00:29:55.359 have trouble. It's gonna happen. He says, but 00:29:55.359 --> 00:29:59.160 take heart. He says, I've overcome the world. 00:30:00.140 --> 00:30:02.400 Yes, you're gonna have trouble. But Jesus says, 00:30:02.420 --> 00:30:06.559 I've overcome the world. Jesus is our peace. 00:30:07.740 --> 00:30:10.339 In our storm, in our valley, in the thing that 00:30:10.339 --> 00:30:13.799 you didn't want to walk through, Jesus is our 00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:18.339 source of peace. So let me ask you this question. 00:30:19.859 --> 00:30:26.920 How is your worship in the valley? Let's pray. 00:30:28.539 --> 00:30:37.160 God, thank you. That you allow us to worship 00:30:37.160 --> 00:30:43.019 you. God, thank you that you even listen to our 00:30:43.019 --> 00:30:46.819 worship. God, I pray that you would help us to 00:30:46.819 --> 00:30:49.259 live our life in a way that worships you even 00:30:49.259 --> 00:30:51.700 in our valley. That we would ask the question 00:30:51.700 --> 00:30:54.279 of, how is my worship in the valley right now? 00:30:54.839 --> 00:30:58.759 Because how we act and how we react is an opportunity, 00:30:58.980 --> 00:31:03.329 God. to worship you, to praise you, to represent 00:31:03.329 --> 00:31:07.390 you, to affect the others in our life. It is 00:31:07.390 --> 00:31:09.190 only because you are our anchor, Jesus, so I 00:31:09.190 --> 00:31:11.849 pray that we would stay anchored to you. Whatever 00:31:11.849 --> 00:31:13.470 it is that we are going through, whatever pain 00:31:13.470 --> 00:31:15.430 and suffering is represented in this room, God, 00:31:15.569 --> 00:31:21.490 pray that you would be our anchor. God, I pray 00:31:21.490 --> 00:31:24.769 as I'm still very much walking through this grief 00:31:24.769 --> 00:31:28.890 that you would be my anchor. Lord, that I would 00:31:28.890 --> 00:31:36.869 cling to you. We love you, Jesus. We praise you. 00:31:36.890 --> 00:31:38.950 We worship you with our life and we worship you 00:31:38.950 --> 00:31:42.789 with our song. In Jesus' name, amen.