WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.540 And so I want us to start really quickly in 1 00:00:03.540 --> 00:00:07.299 Samuel chapter 3, verses 1 through 10 specifically. 00:00:08.900 --> 00:00:11.259 And we'll read it together and then we'll pray 00:00:11.259 --> 00:00:13.759 and then we'll keep going. Now, the boy Samuel 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:15.900 was ministering to the Lord in the presence of 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:18.300 Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those 00:00:18.300 --> 00:00:21.879 days. There was no frequent vision. At that time, 00:00:21.940 --> 00:00:24.780 Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so 00:00:24.780 --> 00:00:27.399 that he could not see, was lying down in his 00:00:27.399 --> 00:00:30.600 own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, 00:00:30.620 --> 00:00:32.740 and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the 00:00:32.740 --> 00:00:36.119 Lord where the ark of God was. Then the Lord 00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:39.600 called Samuel, and he said, Here I am, and ran 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:42.820 to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:45.579 But he said, I did not call. Lie down again. 00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:49.299 So he went and lay down, and the Lord called 00:00:49.299 --> 00:00:52.719 again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:55.869 and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he 00:00:55.869 --> 00:00:58.950 said, I did not call my son. Lie down again. 00:00:59.630 --> 00:01:02.789 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the 00:01:02.789 --> 00:01:04.969 word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to 00:01:04.969 --> 00:01:09.829 him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third 00:01:09.829 --> 00:01:12.969 time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, 00:01:13.030 --> 00:01:15.829 Here I am, for you called me. And then Eli perceived 00:01:15.829 --> 00:01:19.730 that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore 00:01:19.730 --> 00:01:23.500 Eli said to Samuel, Go. Lie down, and if he calls 00:01:23.500 --> 00:01:26.359 you, you shall say, Speak, Lord, for your servant 00:01:26.359 --> 00:01:29.900 hears. So Samuel went, and he lay down in this 00:01:29.900 --> 00:01:32.459 place, and the Lord came and stood, calling as 00:01:32.459 --> 00:01:37.480 at other times, Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel said, 00:01:37.659 --> 00:01:42.739 Speak, for your servant hears. Let's pray. God, 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:44.439 again, we thank you for your word. We thank you 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:46.719 for this time that we can be together. I pray 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:51.000 that your word speaks. I pray that through stories 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:54.760 and through conversation, we hear you speaking. 00:01:54.959 --> 00:01:57.400 We hear you calling out. That we don't mistake 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:00.400 your voice for any other. That we would know 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:05.840 for a fact that it is you calling us. And when 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:09.219 we hear you calling, God, may we respond accordingly. 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:14.240 It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. At different 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:16.400 times in my life, I've wondered what I was supposed 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:19.000 to be doing. Or where I was supposed to be going. 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:21.919 What I was supposed to say or who I was supposed 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:25.539 to be. In fact, in high school, I felt like I 00:02:25.539 --> 00:02:28.319 was being called to serve in youth ministry. 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:31.900 I had so many youth ministers that poured into 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:33.740 me, whether it was my own youth minister, Mr. 00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:36.379 Glenn, or youth ministers that I interacted with 00:02:36.379 --> 00:02:39.360 at things like Bible camp or youth rallies. And 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:43.680 so I felt like I had a responsibility to pour. 00:02:44.460 --> 00:02:47.280 what had been poured into me into others, especially 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:51.740 the youth. So I would say I felt called to ministry, 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:56.180 specifically to youth. So I go to college at 00:02:56.180 --> 00:02:59.319 Faulkner University to major in youth and family 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:02.780 ministry. Unfortunately, I wasn't called to the 00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:06.680 classroom, actually. So I get to the end of my 00:03:06.680 --> 00:03:10.060 freshman year and basically did so bad that all 00:03:10.060 --> 00:03:12.199 my financial aid and scholarships were placed 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:14.180 on hold because apparently they do that if you 00:03:14.180 --> 00:03:16.080 don't actually go to class. They stop giving 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:21.800 you money. So I get basically kicked out of school. 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:24.580 And now, instead of doing the work necessary 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:29.080 to pursue my calling, I thought, well, maybe 00:03:29.080 --> 00:03:30.860 I could pursue a different calling, right? Because 00:03:30.860 --> 00:03:32.740 there's not just one calling. You can do other 00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:35.840 things. And so this was something that I always 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:39.319 wanted. This is the thing that I felt like I 00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:41.860 wanted to do and that would make me happy and 00:03:41.860 --> 00:03:43.319 that would fulfill me. And that was joining the 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:45.659 military. My grandfather was in the Navy. All 00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:48.240 the best men that I knew were military people. 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:51.699 And I grew up on the coast. And so we were with 00:03:51.699 --> 00:03:54.000 the Navy base. We had an Air Force base. There 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:56.139 was a Coast Guard base. And so I was, I'll join 00:03:56.139 --> 00:03:58.479 the Navy. And conveniently enough, my best friend 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:01.479 in high school also did awful his first year 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:03.159 of college. So we were talking and we were like, 00:04:03.219 --> 00:04:05.919 hey. Why don't we join the Coast Guard together? 00:04:06.180 --> 00:04:08.300 And it'll be great. We'll join the Coast Guard 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:10.319 together. We'll get guaranteed district. We'll 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:12.800 go to Alaska. We'll hunt fish and enjoy that 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:15.719 time. And so that's what we did. We had this 00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:18.339 plan. We went and talked to the recruiter. We 00:04:18.339 --> 00:04:21.639 were getting ready to go. And while getting ready, 00:04:21.879 --> 00:04:26.360 I was also serving as an intern, a ministry intern 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:30.279 at a church near my hometown. And on the Sunday 00:04:30.279 --> 00:04:33.199 before classes were set to begin at Faulkner, 00:04:33.259 --> 00:04:35.480 conveniently enough, that also was the same week 00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:37.079 I was supposed to go back to the recruiter to 00:04:37.079 --> 00:04:40.500 talk about getting set up for the next steps. 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:43.399 And so classes are set to begin on Wednesday 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:45.879 at Faulkner, and I'm also supposed to go that 00:04:45.879 --> 00:04:49.259 week to talk to the recruiter. And Sunday comes, 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:51.360 and the preacher at the church that I'm interning 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:54.819 at, Verlin Carroll, he preaches this lesson, 00:04:54.959 --> 00:05:00.699 really rude, on... Running and hiding from your 00:05:00.699 --> 00:05:07.040 calling. Taking the easy way out. As you can 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:10.160 imagine, I'm sitting there listening to this 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:16.269 sermon and I'm shook. Because... I had that first 00:05:16.269 --> 00:05:18.509 calling, right? That thing that I felt like I 00:05:18.509 --> 00:05:21.149 knew God wanted me to do or that I needed to 00:05:21.149 --> 00:05:23.730 do, that I had a responsibility to do. But because 00:05:23.730 --> 00:05:26.990 it wasn't easy, because it didn't come naturally 00:05:26.990 --> 00:05:30.370 to me, I had to work a little harder. So I decided 00:05:30.370 --> 00:05:32.790 I'm going to do the easy thing, right? Because 00:05:32.790 --> 00:05:35.449 the military people in here know basic training 00:05:35.449 --> 00:05:39.100 is a cakewalk, right? Yeah, no. Right. But I 00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:41.860 thought, OK, I'm physically capable. I can do 00:05:41.860 --> 00:05:43.680 that. That'd be a lot easier than going to the 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:46.180 classes in college. So I was going to take the 00:05:46.180 --> 00:05:47.959 easy way out. And so I'm listening to the sermon 00:05:47.959 --> 00:05:50.959 and and I'm hearing exactly what I need to hear. 00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:55.620 And he didn't know that I was thinking. He's 00:05:55.620 --> 00:05:57.839 talking to me and I still and I haven't asked 00:05:57.839 --> 00:06:00.319 him, maybe I should, if he knew that I needed 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:04.420 that lesson. But I talk to him and we pray. He 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:06.839 helps me get a second chance in school. And within 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:11.199 48 hours, I'm able to go back to college. Fast 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:13.579 forward a few years. Now I've been serving in 00:06:13.579 --> 00:06:15.759 youth ministry for a couple of years at this 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:20.040 point. But I'm pretty good at writing songs. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:25.459 And I've been told that I'm decent at writing 00:06:25.459 --> 00:06:29.399 songs and singing. And so I decide that, well, 00:06:29.420 --> 00:06:31.870 I've always loved music. In fact, when I was 00:06:31.870 --> 00:06:33.550 a kid, the thing that I thought would be the 00:06:33.550 --> 00:06:37.870 coolest was to be in the military and be a singer 00:06:37.870 --> 00:06:40.269 -songwriter. Anybody ever heard of someone named 00:06:40.269 --> 00:06:43.990 Elvis Presley? He was my hero as a kid, so I 00:06:43.990 --> 00:06:47.180 was like, I could be Elvis. And so now I'm in 00:06:47.180 --> 00:06:49.300 youth ministry and I'm serving and I'm actually 00:06:49.300 --> 00:06:51.240 serving at the church that I always felt like 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:53.680 I needed to serve at my home church because I 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:55.560 wanted to pay forward what had been paid to me. 00:06:55.639 --> 00:06:59.699 And so so I'm serving and and now I'm having 00:06:59.699 --> 00:07:02.939 this what I call my quarter life crisis where 00:07:02.939 --> 00:07:06.699 I'm like, I know I love ministry and I know this 00:07:06.699 --> 00:07:10.319 is what I need to be doing. But maybe I could 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:14.949 fulfill my calling elsewhere. And so I talked 00:07:14.949 --> 00:07:17.230 to Eliza. We pray about it and she's supportive. 00:07:17.449 --> 00:07:19.550 And but she's not supportive enough to move to 00:07:19.550 --> 00:07:21.470 Nashville. She's like, we can move to Montgomery 00:07:21.470 --> 00:07:23.790 because Montgomery is halfway between your family, 00:07:23.850 --> 00:07:26.050 my family in Nashville. We have friends there. 00:07:26.149 --> 00:07:28.290 We have churches there. And we know, you know, 00:07:28.290 --> 00:07:30.480 it'll work out if we're in Montgomery. Thank 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:32.939 goodness Eliza has some common sense. So I get 00:07:32.939 --> 00:07:35.360 a secular job and I start playing gigs. I start 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:37.139 writing more songs. I make some trips to Nashville. 00:07:37.259 --> 00:07:39.360 And it's all great, right? It was a ton of fun. 00:07:39.540 --> 00:07:41.879 And I felt like maybe I could fulfill my calling 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:44.860 in that way. You know, my songs, they all mostly 00:07:44.860 --> 00:07:48.019 have a faith -based element. And whenever I'm 00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:49.980 out playing gigs, I'm talking about my relationship 00:07:49.980 --> 00:07:53.040 with God. And so I think that I can fulfill my 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:57.259 calling this way. The entire time I'm doing this, 00:07:57.300 --> 00:07:59.819 I feel this void. I feel like something's missing. 00:07:59.899 --> 00:08:02.220 I'm not quite satisfied. I'm doing the thing 00:08:02.220 --> 00:08:05.199 that I've always loved, but it's not satisfying 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:08.839 me. And so several conversations with mentors 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:11.439 and preachers and Christian brothers and sisters 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:15.240 happen throughout this time while I'm doing this. 00:08:15.899 --> 00:08:18.439 And a lot of it revolves around me trying to 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:21.079 figure out what exactly I need to be doing. Has 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:23.319 anybody else ever wondered what they're supposed 00:08:23.319 --> 00:08:26.860 to be doing with their life? Anybody still wondering 00:08:26.860 --> 00:08:28.240 what they're supposed to be doing with their 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:31.180 life? Yeah, some days we don't know. But, you 00:08:31.180 --> 00:08:34.299 know, as it goes, I start praying a ton and my 00:08:34.299 --> 00:08:37.419 prayer is, God, make it clear. Make it clear 00:08:37.419 --> 00:08:39.759 what I need to be doing. Leave no doubt in my 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:42.039 mind. Don't let this be a Donovan decision. Let 00:08:42.039 --> 00:08:45.990 this be a God decision. And around this time, 00:08:46.029 --> 00:08:48.529 some things start happening. First, I get asked 00:08:48.529 --> 00:08:52.830 to help be one of the housing staff at Faulkner 00:08:52.830 --> 00:08:54.710 in the student life department. And then I get 00:08:54.710 --> 00:08:56.809 asked to start directing chapel until they find 00:08:56.809 --> 00:08:58.950 a spiritual life director. And then while doing 00:08:58.950 --> 00:09:01.549 this, I get asked to join the ministry staff 00:09:01.549 --> 00:09:03.789 at Vaughn Park. And then while serving as the 00:09:03.789 --> 00:09:06.429 college minister at Vaughn Park, I have a moment 00:09:06.429 --> 00:09:08.769 eerily similar to that moment that I had back 00:09:08.769 --> 00:09:13.389 in 2017 of just like sheer God moving clarity. 00:09:14.730 --> 00:09:17.210 I'm sitting there teaching my college class one 00:09:17.210 --> 00:09:19.750 Sunday morning and out of nowhere I have this 00:09:19.750 --> 00:09:25.029 overwhelming feeling. And my brain just goes 00:09:25.029 --> 00:09:28.149 to a different place and has this thought. I 00:09:28.149 --> 00:09:31.549 need to be the youth minister here. And so, long 00:09:31.549 --> 00:09:34.309 story short, I'm back doing the thing that I 00:09:34.309 --> 00:09:37.370 said I'd never do again. I'm the youth minister. 00:09:38.279 --> 00:09:41.840 Then around this time, this is we're in July, 00:09:42.019 --> 00:09:44.659 around this time last year, I start feeling this 00:09:44.659 --> 00:09:47.399 feeling of of needing to serve the kingdom in 00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:49.919 a different capacity. I start thinking maybe, 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.139 you know, I don't really connect with the youth 00:09:52.139 --> 00:09:54.820 as well as I used to. I'm definitely not fun. 00:09:55.500 --> 00:09:57.899 Kids are calling me a grandpa. And that is very 00:09:57.899 --> 00:10:01.399 true. I don't have the patience for middle schoolers. 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:04.679 Sorry. Love y 'all. But I just I can't do it. 00:10:05.259 --> 00:10:07.500 You know, and so I'm starting to think maybe 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:12.320 my gifts are best used elsewhere. And so I start 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:14.000 thinking about that. But I love where we were. 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:16.899 I love that congregation. And I know some of 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:18.159 them are going to listen to this. And I want 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:21.750 them to hear that I do love those people. And 00:10:21.750 --> 00:10:24.470 Eliza especially, this is the first time at any 00:10:24.470 --> 00:10:25.970 of the churches we've been in, and we've been 00:10:25.970 --> 00:10:27.970 in some great churches, this is the first time 00:10:27.970 --> 00:10:30.049 she's been plugged in and she's felt like she 00:10:30.049 --> 00:10:32.350 belongs and she felt like she had a ministry 00:10:32.350 --> 00:10:35.070 to pour into and to pour into her. And so we 00:10:35.070 --> 00:10:40.730 don't really go looking for a place to go. But 00:10:40.730 --> 00:10:44.009 not long after I start feeling this, I hear about 00:10:44.009 --> 00:10:47.250 this church in Blairsville, Georgia that needs 00:10:47.250 --> 00:10:50.450 a preacher. And I don't know why, but of all 00:10:50.450 --> 00:10:52.950 the preaching openings that had come across my 00:10:52.950 --> 00:10:56.490 mind and people have brought up to me of all 00:10:56.490 --> 00:10:58.690 the places that we could go. This is the one 00:10:58.690 --> 00:11:02.169 that stuck out to me a ton. So I just throw the 00:11:02.169 --> 00:11:05.750 idea to Eliza and say, you know, hey, what about 00:11:05.750 --> 00:11:08.669 this church in the mountains? We love the mountains. 00:11:08.750 --> 00:11:11.029 Beautiful. People are probably really nice. We've 00:11:11.029 --> 00:11:13.250 got some friends there. And she just constantly 00:11:13.250 --> 00:11:16.779 says, we're not moving. There were a couple times 00:11:16.779 --> 00:11:18.799 where she tells me, I hope I don't get in trouble 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:20.860 for saying this, but she says, shut up about 00:11:20.860 --> 00:11:26.299 Blair's Bulls. And amidst all of this, I'm constantly 00:11:26.299 --> 00:11:33.820 praying, God, make it clear. Nope, back. Wow. 00:11:34.059 --> 00:11:37.460 God, make it clear what you want me to do and 00:11:37.460 --> 00:11:40.379 where you want me to go. This has been my prayer 00:11:40.379 --> 00:11:45.340 for the last three or so years, maybe four. I've 00:11:45.340 --> 00:11:47.500 just been praying, God, make it clear. And that's 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:50.000 not like a big thing like, you know, every day 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:52.600 I'm like, God, you want me to leave? It's do 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:55.179 I need to go to the coffee shop today and sit 00:11:55.179 --> 00:11:57.379 there and just see if somebody needs to talk 00:11:57.379 --> 00:11:59.980 about Jesus? Do I need to go to the ballgame 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:02.360 and support the kids so that they know they've 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:04.059 got somebody fighting for them? Do I need to 00:12:04.059 --> 00:12:07.120 go and meet with that person that's been struggling 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:12.039 with life? What do I need to do? Where do I need 00:12:12.039 --> 00:12:15.279 to go? So fast forward to around January and 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:17.940 this random guy named Noah asked me if I'd be 00:12:17.940 --> 00:12:20.139 interested in coming and speaking at this little 00:12:20.139 --> 00:12:23.000 church in Blairsville, Georgia. And so he asked 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:25.320 me, he's like, hey, what about February? So February 00:12:25.320 --> 00:12:28.600 then turns to March. And it's kind of a good 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:30.480 thing that February did turn to March because 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:34.460 at the end of February, Eliza comes to me after 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:36.840 over a year of me telling her that I feel like 00:12:36.840 --> 00:12:39.960 we need to consider me making a change in ministry. 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:43.980 And she says, in short, I feel like we need to 00:12:43.980 --> 00:12:46.419 be willing to go wherever God calls us to go. 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:49.539 And by wherever she meant the state of Georgia, 00:12:49.779 --> 00:12:52.960 Knoxville, Tennessee, or we stay put. She was 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:56.559 not in full Abraham mode. OK, but she this is 00:12:56.559 --> 00:12:59.259 growth for her. OK. And so she says, you know, 00:12:59.259 --> 00:13:02.139 I feel like we need to be willing to go wherever 00:13:02.139 --> 00:13:06.620 God tells us to go. But I don't pursue coming 00:13:06.620 --> 00:13:09.740 here because one, I want the visit to be organic. 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:12.120 I wanted my time with y 'all back in March to 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:15.000 be organic. And two, we weren't really actively 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:19.720 trying to move. I just wanted to be open to if 00:13:19.720 --> 00:13:24.120 we felt called. So I told Eliza what my prayer 00:13:24.120 --> 00:13:26.480 to God was all along. And that was, if this is 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:28.990 what we're supposed to do, God, make it. Clear. 00:13:29.370 --> 00:13:32.230 So we come up here, I preach, and I won't walk 00:13:32.230 --> 00:13:34.029 you through every detail, but God made it really 00:13:34.029 --> 00:13:36.289 clear. And I think I told Chad and Phil, like, 00:13:36.350 --> 00:13:41.169 I have never, ever felt more sure about a decision 00:13:41.169 --> 00:13:48.049 except maybe proposing to Eliza. I'm sure about 00:13:48.049 --> 00:13:52.350 this. And I told you all of that to get to this 00:13:52.350 --> 00:13:55.070 point. Three points, actually. The first one 00:13:55.070 --> 00:13:57.889 is we need to be able to recognize God's voice. 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:04.080 We have to pursue what He calls us to do. And 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:07.259 if we miss or ignore the call, God will still 00:14:07.259 --> 00:14:11.500 work. So there's two actions, and then there's 00:14:11.500 --> 00:14:15.460 a grace statement. So the two actions we need 00:14:15.460 --> 00:14:17.940 to do, and the third thing is, if we don't do 00:14:17.940 --> 00:14:21.080 because of our human inability, or this is not 00:14:21.080 --> 00:14:24.840 to you, this is to me, our ignorance, God can 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:27.179 still work. He will still work, and God is still 00:14:27.179 --> 00:14:30.080 good. So I want to talk about each of these things, 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:31.960 starting with the first point. The first one, 00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:34.100 we need to be able to recognize God's voice. 00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:37.340 So we go back to our passage in 1 Samuel. Samuel 00:14:37.340 --> 00:14:40.200 hears God's voice several times, but he doesn't 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:42.840 recognize God, partially because he doesn't know 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:46.360 him, but also because you've got to imagine if 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:49.000 you're sitting in your house and you know that 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:51.259 there's somebody else there and you hear your 00:14:51.259 --> 00:14:53.919 name called, you're going to assume first that 00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:56.179 it's the other person calling you, not God, right? 00:14:56.809 --> 00:14:59.190 If I hear my voice called, I'm going to assume 00:14:59.190 --> 00:15:01.549 it's Eliza or it's one of my sons. I'm not going 00:15:01.549 --> 00:15:04.110 to think, oh, yeah, it's the God that I've never 00:15:04.110 --> 00:15:06.690 heard before. I've never seen before. I've never 00:15:06.690 --> 00:15:09.570 interacted with before. I'm going to assume it's 00:15:09.570 --> 00:15:11.509 the person that has a voice that I can audibly 00:15:11.509 --> 00:15:15.169 hear day to day. So imagine, though, if Samuel 00:15:15.169 --> 00:15:18.769 had never realized who was calling him, if he 00:15:18.769 --> 00:15:22.289 never realizes that this is God talking, if he 00:15:22.289 --> 00:15:25.049 never received the message as a message from 00:15:25.049 --> 00:15:28.490 God, And here's something deeper. When we read 00:15:28.490 --> 00:15:32.350 about Samuel, we're not just seeing a boy who 00:15:32.350 --> 00:15:36.289 learned to hear God's voice. We're seeing a glimpse 00:15:36.289 --> 00:15:38.769 of something much bigger. Samuel was a faithful 00:15:38.769 --> 00:15:43.570 prophet when hearing from God was rare. Samuel 00:15:43.570 --> 00:15:47.090 listened and he spoke God's word to his people. 00:15:47.129 --> 00:15:51.169 But Samuel points us even further. forward to 00:15:51.169 --> 00:15:53.289 the ultimate prophet, to the ultimate teacher, 00:15:53.429 --> 00:15:57.830 to the ultimate message bearer, Jesus. So Jesus 00:15:57.830 --> 00:16:00.350 doesn't just hear the Father's voice. He perfectly 00:16:00.350 --> 00:16:03.950 obeys it every time. What Jesus says in John 00:16:03.950 --> 00:16:06.970 12, verse 49 is, For I have not spoken on my 00:16:06.970 --> 00:16:09.750 own authority, but the Father who sent me has 00:16:09.750 --> 00:16:14.210 himself given me a commandment what to say and 00:16:14.210 --> 00:16:19.350 what to speak. Jesus brings a message directly, 00:16:20.299 --> 00:16:24.100 from God. He is the good shepherd whose sheep 00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:29.360 will still know his voice today. Jesus is the 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:33.259 final and clearest word from God. And through 00:16:33.259 --> 00:16:36.159 him, we don't just hear God's message. We see 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:38.539 it lived out perfectly. See, Samuel was able, 00:16:38.600 --> 00:16:40.980 because he listened to God, because he recognized 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:43.759 God's voice, because he heard God clearly, he 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:47.360 was able to bring the message. But Jesus was 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:50.799 God's word. He didn't just bring the message. 00:16:50.860 --> 00:16:53.779 He was the message. He lived the message perfectly. 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:58.259 So when we learn to listen for God's voice, like 00:16:58.259 --> 00:17:02.620 Samuel did, We're really learning to follow the 00:17:02.620 --> 00:17:08.599 voice of Jesus, our prophet, our shepherd, our 00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:13.740 savior. Imagine if Samuel hadn't realized who 00:17:13.740 --> 00:17:16.400 was calling him. He would have missed the message. 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:20.819 And we know this to be true in life. People respond 00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:23.980 to instructions differently depending on who's 00:17:23.980 --> 00:17:27.390 giving them. I'll put it to you this way. If 00:17:27.390 --> 00:17:29.930 my four -year -old Easton tells my two -year 00:17:29.930 --> 00:17:32.710 -old Peyton to clean up his toys, do you think 00:17:32.710 --> 00:17:36.549 Peyton's going to listen? No. Easton likes to 00:17:36.549 --> 00:17:39.470 be the boss sometimes. And Peyton never listens. 00:17:39.549 --> 00:17:42.569 In fact, Peyton will often hit Easton because 00:17:42.569 --> 00:17:44.349 Easton tries to tell him what to do. He doesn't 00:17:44.349 --> 00:17:46.690 listen. He doesn't listen to him. But if I tell 00:17:46.690 --> 00:17:49.250 Peyton to clean up his toys, do you think he's 00:17:49.250 --> 00:17:53.049 going to listen? Still no. But he's more likely 00:17:53.049 --> 00:17:56.700 to listen to me than he is Peyton. Easton. Why? 00:17:57.299 --> 00:18:00.440 Because the one giving instruction matters in 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:03.799 the mind and the heart of the hearer. It matters 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:06.559 who is bringing instruction. I want you to look 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:08.680 at what Jesus says in John chapter 10. This was 00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:10.980 our scripture reading. The sheep hear his voice, 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:13.480 the shepherd's voice, and he calls his own sheep 00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:15.619 by name and he leads them out. When he has brought 00:18:15.619 --> 00:18:18.500 out all his own, he goes before them and the 00:18:18.500 --> 00:18:23.279 sheep follow him for they know his voice. They 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:29.960 recognize. Jesus' voice. And here's the one I 00:18:29.960 --> 00:18:32.619 want you to hear clearly. A stranger, they will 00:18:32.619 --> 00:18:37.539 not follow. But they will flee from him. It's 00:18:37.539 --> 00:18:39.720 not just that they don't listen to the stranger. 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:43.299 They run away from the stranger. How many times 00:18:43.299 --> 00:18:46.119 have you felt like Satan is asking you, tempting 00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:48.099 you to do something, and you just say, well, 00:18:48.140 --> 00:18:51.470 I'm just going to ignore him. No, the sheep have 00:18:51.470 --> 00:18:54.569 to run from the enemy. They run from the stranger 00:18:54.569 --> 00:18:58.789 because they don't know his voice. So if I'm 00:18:58.789 --> 00:19:01.509 going to live a life that's following God's calling, 00:19:01.730 --> 00:19:05.730 I have to actually know who is doing the talking. 00:19:07.509 --> 00:19:10.480 I've not always been good at that. I just shared 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:12.539 some of my story with you. There have been plenty 00:19:12.539 --> 00:19:15.440 of times where I've tried to run or ignore my 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:18.259 calling or take the easy way out of what I believe 00:19:18.259 --> 00:19:20.940 God's asking me to do. And in all of those times, 00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:24.279 whether big life decisions or little things like, 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:27.599 hey, talk to that person. Every time I've ignored 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:33.079 God's voice, I've regretted it. I felt a void. 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:39.039 I've missed something big. To clarify, because 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:42.900 I need this to be very clear, what I'm not saying 00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:46.180 is that God gives us specific things that we 00:19:46.180 --> 00:19:48.940 have to do every single day. He doesn't bring 00:19:48.940 --> 00:19:52.180 all of us specific callings for our careers and 00:19:52.180 --> 00:19:54.940 locations to live, although I do believe he does 00:19:54.940 --> 00:20:01.160 do that in certain instances. So once I've heard 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:07.180 God's call, what then do I need to do? Well, 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:10.000 I should probably follow the shepherd, right? 00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:17.039 We have to pursue what he calls us to, where 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:21.400 he calls us to go, who he calls us to be, what 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:24.160 he calls us to say. We have to pursue what he 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:26.119 calls us to. Does anybody remember a guy named 00:20:26.119 --> 00:20:30.059 Jonah? Maybe you've heard about him if you've 00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:31.839 ever been to like a vacation Bible school or 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:35.059 children's worship. But if you haven't. God calls 00:20:35.059 --> 00:20:38.700 this guy named Jonah to go to Nineveh, and Jonah 00:20:38.700 --> 00:20:42.559 runs. He tries to avoid God's calling, and God 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:45.440 says to Jonah, let me make myself abundantly 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:48.200 clear. You ever tell your kids that? I think 00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:50.980 I tell Easton that at least twice a week. Let 00:20:50.980 --> 00:20:56.319 me make myself abundantly clear. You're going 00:20:56.319 --> 00:21:02.970 to do what I need you to do. What I need to happen 00:21:02.970 --> 00:21:05.509 is going to happen one way or another. And if 00:21:05.509 --> 00:21:07.529 I want it to be you that does it, you're going 00:21:07.529 --> 00:21:11.410 to do it. And I can tell you in my experience, 00:21:11.509 --> 00:21:13.490 when I've tried to do what I want, as opposed 00:21:13.490 --> 00:21:18.869 to what God has called me to, He has made Himself 00:21:18.869 --> 00:21:27.430 abundantly clear. I felt something missing. And 00:21:27.430 --> 00:21:32.559 even sometimes I felt miserable. But I want you 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:37.559 to hear what David says in Psalm 23. The Lord 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:42.559 is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:45.180 lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside 00:21:45.180 --> 00:21:49.559 still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:51.960 in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 00:21:52.809 --> 00:21:55.009 Even though I walk through the valley of the 00:21:55.009 --> 00:21:57.589 shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you 00:21:57.589 --> 00:22:01.269 are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort 00:22:01.269 --> 00:22:04.250 me. You prepare a table before me in the presence 00:22:04.250 --> 00:22:06.950 of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My 00:22:06.950 --> 00:22:14.950 cup overflows. Surely, goodness and mercy shall 00:22:14.950 --> 00:22:19.009 follow me all the days of my life. And I shall 00:22:19.009 --> 00:22:22.059 dwell in the house of the Lord. I don't know 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:25.400 about you, but I feel like a sheep sometimes. 00:22:26.539 --> 00:22:29.200 By that I mean I feel kind of dumb sometimes. 00:22:31.660 --> 00:22:38.720 Confused. Lost. Blind. And I can struggle at 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:41.420 times in knowing where to go or what to do, who 00:22:41.420 --> 00:22:44.420 to be, what to say. And clearly that's normal. 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:48.000 So normal that David would refer to us as sheep. 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:51.079 Hence the Lord being our shepherd and so much 00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:55.440 so that Jesus refers to us as sheep. And so we 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:58.240 have to answer this question. What happens when 00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:00.900 I follow the shepherd? Well, Psalm 23 tells us 00:23:00.900 --> 00:23:04.859 good things happen. He leads me in peaceful territory. 00:23:05.019 --> 00:23:08.559 He provides for me. He gives me protection. He 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:12.660 delivers me from evil as opposed to what happens 00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:17.700 when I don't follow the shepherd's calling. I 00:23:17.700 --> 00:23:20.319 don't have guidance through the valley of the 00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:24.099 shadow of death. I don't have anyone to provide 00:23:24.099 --> 00:23:27.160 for me when I can't. I don't have anyone to protect 00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:33.539 me when the enemy attacks. Maybe I'm wrong, but 00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:36.480 following the shepherd, following Jesus, sounds 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:40.809 20 times better than following myself. It sounds 00:23:40.809 --> 00:23:43.150 way better than following the world. It sounds 00:23:43.150 --> 00:23:45.710 way better than following the enemy. Following 00:23:45.710 --> 00:23:49.430 the shepherd is the only good option. And if 00:23:49.430 --> 00:23:52.269 you like what's good, it is the only option. 00:23:55.769 --> 00:23:59.289 So on one hand, I can be protected. I can be 00:23:59.289 --> 00:24:05.690 cared for. I can be loved. Or I can try to navigate 00:24:05.690 --> 00:24:10.329 life and all the garbage and the darkness. The 00:24:10.329 --> 00:24:15.890 bitterness of life by myself. With no guidance. 00:24:16.809 --> 00:24:20.509 With no future. With no destination. With no 00:24:20.509 --> 00:24:26.269 hope. I think I'd rather follow the shepherd. 00:24:27.509 --> 00:24:30.369 I think I'd rather follow the good voice that's 00:24:30.369 --> 00:24:36.690 calling. And to do that, I have to follow his 00:24:36.690 --> 00:24:41.509 voice when he's calling. Which first requires 00:24:41.509 --> 00:24:46.970 knowing His voice. Then it requires obeying. 00:24:48.210 --> 00:24:51.470 But I also want you to know that there is grace. 00:24:51.549 --> 00:24:52.990 I told you there's a grace statement in there. 00:24:53.089 --> 00:24:58.029 That if we miss or ignore the call, God can and 00:24:58.029 --> 00:25:01.650 will still work. Maybe you're familiar with some 00:25:01.650 --> 00:25:05.250 times in Scripture or just in life when men missed 00:25:05.250 --> 00:25:08.779 or ignored the call from God. And he still worked. 00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:12.880 We just talked about Jonah. And his ignoring 00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:16.420 God's call. We saw how God worked there. I shared 00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:19.279 with you my story of ignoring or trying to run 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:22.220 from God's call. And I do believe he has worked 00:25:22.220 --> 00:25:26.140 and is still working there. Again, I'm not saying 00:25:26.140 --> 00:25:29.279 God has specific careers and specific tasks for 00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:31.420 each of us to do. He doesn't have a checklist 00:25:31.420 --> 00:25:35.410 for each of our days. But I do believe God has 00:25:35.410 --> 00:25:37.670 a calling for all of our lives. He has something 00:25:37.670 --> 00:25:41.829 that he needs us to be doing. Whether it's a 00:25:41.829 --> 00:25:44.450 grand scale call, like I need to sell everything 00:25:44.450 --> 00:25:47.710 I own and go be a missionary, or it's a little 00:25:47.710 --> 00:25:50.730 daily call, like I want you to talk to that person 00:25:50.730 --> 00:25:54.410 about your testimony. God is calling all of us 00:25:54.410 --> 00:25:58.230 to do something, to say something, to be someone, 00:25:58.410 --> 00:26:02.380 to go somewhere. God is calling. Even if I miss 00:26:02.380 --> 00:26:05.099 the call and never realize what God is asking, 00:26:05.299 --> 00:26:08.200 I can have peace knowing that if I'm pursuing 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:12.240 Him and trying to listen for His voice, He will 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:17.079 work in and through me. And here's why I believe 00:26:17.079 --> 00:26:19.339 that. First, again, we have that example of Jonah. 00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:21.220 But I also want you to hear the words of Paul 00:26:21.220 --> 00:26:25.519 that we find in Roman 8. Paul says, likewise, 00:26:25.880 --> 00:26:28.980 the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do 00:26:28.980 --> 00:26:31.539 not know what to pray for as we ought, but the 00:26:31.539 --> 00:26:34.339 Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings 00:26:34.339 --> 00:26:37.200 too deep for words. And he who searches hearts 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:40.220 knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because 00:26:40.220 --> 00:26:42.759 the Spirit intercedes for the saints according 00:26:42.759 --> 00:26:47.460 to the will of God. And we know that for those 00:26:47.460 --> 00:26:51.750 who love God, And I'm going to insert this word 00:26:51.750 --> 00:26:55.849 here. For those who listen to God, all things 00:26:55.849 --> 00:27:01.250 work together for good. For those who are called 00:27:01.250 --> 00:27:07.450 according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, 00:27:07.630 --> 00:27:11.029 He also predestined to be conformed to the image 00:27:11.029 --> 00:27:14.599 of His Son. In order that he might be the firstborn 00:27:14.599 --> 00:27:18.099 among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, 00:27:18.099 --> 00:27:21.019 he also called. And those whom he called, he 00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:24.200 also justified. And those whom he justified, 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:27.160 he also glorified. So maybe you're wondering, 00:27:27.299 --> 00:27:30.339 how do I actually know? How do I actually hear 00:27:30.339 --> 00:27:32.859 God's voice? How do I know it's him and not just 00:27:32.859 --> 00:27:36.180 me? Not just the enemy? First, we can do what 00:27:36.180 --> 00:27:41.619 Samuel did. Just ask. Just ask God, is it you 00:27:41.619 --> 00:27:44.440 calling me? What Samuel says, his prayer is, 00:27:44.519 --> 00:27:48.299 speak, Lord, for your servant hears. Imagine 00:27:48.299 --> 00:27:52.960 if your daily prayer was, God, speak in my life. 00:27:53.059 --> 00:27:55.460 Tell me what you need me to do. Tell me where 00:27:55.460 --> 00:27:57.700 you want me to go. Tell me who you want me to 00:27:57.700 --> 00:28:01.839 be. What do I need to say today? Just ask him. 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:09.500 Ask God to speak and commit to hearing. The second 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:12.599 thing is opening the Word. We are crazy if we 00:28:12.599 --> 00:28:14.480 think that we can make it through this life, 00:28:14.579 --> 00:28:17.579 that we can know God's will for us without opening 00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:20.259 Scripture. God will never say something that 00:28:20.259 --> 00:28:24.039 contradicts Scripture. That is a fact. Because 00:28:24.039 --> 00:28:26.460 our God is not a God of confusion. And if you 00:28:26.460 --> 00:28:28.660 hear something that isn't aligned with Scripture, 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:33.960 that's confusing, right? If I give you a task, 00:28:34.099 --> 00:28:37.740 if I say, hey, I need you to change my oil, but 00:28:37.740 --> 00:28:42.299 I leave a note on the dash that says, hey, change 00:28:42.299 --> 00:28:45.859 the windshield wipers. Well, those are two different 00:28:45.859 --> 00:28:50.539 things, right? You could try to verify and you 00:28:50.539 --> 00:28:53.240 could call me and say, hey, did you mean change 00:28:53.240 --> 00:28:55.619 the oil and change the windshield wipers? Or 00:28:55.619 --> 00:29:01.920 you could maybe say, who left the note? That 00:29:01.920 --> 00:29:03.400 doesn't look like Donovan's handwriting. Why 00:29:03.400 --> 00:29:08.259 didn't he just tell me to do that? God will never 00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:10.700 say something that contradicts scripture to you. 00:29:10.819 --> 00:29:13.960 You hear people say all the time, God spoke to 00:29:13.960 --> 00:29:16.779 me. I do believe God speaks to us. Maybe not. 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:19.680 I'm not going to say he can't speak to us verbally, 00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:23.200 but people will say things like God spoke to 00:29:23.200 --> 00:29:25.200 me and then they'll fill in the blank with whatever 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:27.380 it is that they want. But that's nothing like 00:29:27.380 --> 00:29:29.740 what's in scripture. I would say that's pretty 00:29:29.740 --> 00:29:34.289 confusing. So if we want to know what God is 00:29:34.289 --> 00:29:36.430 trying to call us to do or what God is trying 00:29:36.430 --> 00:29:39.170 to say to us, we have to verify through Scripture. 00:29:39.309 --> 00:29:42.089 The shepherd's voice always matches the shepherd's 00:29:42.089 --> 00:29:46.890 word. And the third thing, and I said verify 00:29:46.890 --> 00:29:50.849 it, test it. The voice of our shepherd, this 00:29:50.849 --> 00:29:52.529 wasn't supposed to be a slide change, the voice 00:29:52.529 --> 00:29:56.869 of our shepherd will call you toward love. It 00:29:56.869 --> 00:30:01.539 will call you toward holiness, truth. And peace. 00:30:02.339 --> 00:30:06.019 It won't call you to fear. The shepherd doesn't 00:30:06.019 --> 00:30:08.839 call you to confusion. He won't call you to selfishness. 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:13.200 He won't call you to pride. He'll call you towards 00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:18.240 looking like Jesus. And the final thing is talk 00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:22.819 to wise believers. When you think God might be 00:30:22.819 --> 00:30:26.680 saying something. Run it by trusted Christians. 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:29.079 Run it by your shepherds. Run it by a deacon. 00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:31.319 Run it by that person that's mentored you since 00:30:31.319 --> 00:30:33.819 you were first baptized. Run it by the minister, 00:30:33.940 --> 00:30:36.539 whoever it is that you need to. Run it by them. 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:38.279 Some of the young people in the room, you've 00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:40.579 got some awesome parents and grandparents. Talk 00:30:40.579 --> 00:30:46.200 to them. Talk to trusted Christians. Notice I 00:30:46.200 --> 00:30:48.000 didn't say just talk to anybody that say they 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:50.960 believe in God. Talk to trusted Christians who 00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:57.079 know his word and want his. best for you. If 00:30:57.079 --> 00:31:00.539 you want to hear God's voice more clearly, we 00:31:00.539 --> 00:31:05.980 have to start by asking. We have to listen. Eliza 00:31:05.980 --> 00:31:09.319 always gets mad at me because she'll say something 00:31:09.319 --> 00:31:12.000 and I don't hear her because I'm partially deaf. 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:16.059 And well, that and I'm just dumb. Like I said, 00:31:16.180 --> 00:31:19.079 she so she'll say something and I'll go, huh? 00:31:19.819 --> 00:31:21.880 And then she'll repeat herself. But the problem 00:31:21.880 --> 00:31:23.940 is, I'm like washing dishes or something. I'm 00:31:23.940 --> 00:31:25.839 not actually listening to her. So I'm doing this. 00:31:25.859 --> 00:31:27.640 She'll say something. I'll say, huh? And then 00:31:27.640 --> 00:31:29.859 she'll say it. And I'm like, what? And she'll 00:31:29.859 --> 00:31:32.680 say, what are you saying? And she says, if you're 00:31:32.680 --> 00:31:35.059 not ready to listen, don't ask me what I said. 00:31:37.960 --> 00:31:40.599 Don't ask God to speak. Don't ask God to make 00:31:40.599 --> 00:31:43.240 himself clear if you're not ready to listen to 00:31:43.240 --> 00:31:53.640 him. Read his word. Test the calling. Talk to 00:31:53.640 --> 00:32:01.500 people. And then trust and obey. God, he still 00:32:01.500 --> 00:32:05.660 speaks. I believe that to be a fact. God still 00:32:05.660 --> 00:32:10.160 speaks. But we have to answer the question, are 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:14.400 we ready to hear? Here's how I want to wrap it 00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:20.289 up this morning. God is calling. All of us. He's 00:32:20.289 --> 00:32:24.009 calling all of us to do something. And to be 00:32:24.009 --> 00:32:28.529 simple, to be frank, God is calling us to lay 00:32:28.529 --> 00:32:32.670 our lives down and take up a cross. God is calling 00:32:32.670 --> 00:32:35.809 us to get rid of our baggage here on earth and 00:32:35.809 --> 00:32:38.390 say, I'm going to follow Jesus. I'm going to 00:32:38.390 --> 00:32:40.470 follow the good shepherd. I'm going to live a 00:32:40.470 --> 00:32:45.420 life that goes behind him. And the great news, 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:49.019 the gospel message is that that life is so much 00:32:49.019 --> 00:32:52.440 better than this life. And that life is not even 00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:54.759 as good as what it's going to be when we get 00:32:54.759 --> 00:33:00.000 to the restored creation. There is a home that 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:05.640 God is calling us to. And bless, bless, bless 00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:08.700 us. We get to participate in just a fraction 00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:12.900 of that here. Now, when he leads us beside still 00:33:12.900 --> 00:33:17.950 waters. When He leads us to the valley of the 00:33:17.950 --> 00:33:21.769 shadow of death. When He leads us to places of 00:33:21.769 --> 00:33:27.069 providence, of promise. And this is just a foretaste 00:33:27.069 --> 00:33:31.269 of the future. He's calling all of us to follow 00:33:31.269 --> 00:33:35.769 Jesus and to live for Him. He's calling us to 00:33:35.769 --> 00:33:40.279 a life of peace, joy, hope. He's calling us to 00:33:40.279 --> 00:33:42.740 live a life that leads to a life with him and 00:33:42.740 --> 00:33:45.640 the restored creation for eternity. God is calling 00:33:45.640 --> 00:33:48.980 and we have to follow. And if we do, he will 00:33:48.980 --> 00:33:51.519 lead us to a fulfilling and an abundant life. 00:33:51.660 --> 00:33:54.259 And if we don't, God's still going to be glorified 00:33:54.259 --> 00:33:58.599 one way or another. I heard someone say revelation 00:33:58.599 --> 00:34:03.200 can be summed up this way. God wins. Don't be 00:34:03.200 --> 00:34:07.509 dumb. Join the right team. God's going to be 00:34:07.509 --> 00:34:10.570 glorified. Heaven's going to be awesome. Jesus 00:34:10.570 --> 00:34:13.130 will be there. All our loved ones that have gone 00:34:13.130 --> 00:34:15.630 before us, that have accepted Jesus as their 00:34:15.630 --> 00:34:18.309 Savior, they'll be there. The place that God 00:34:18.309 --> 00:34:20.570 designed for us in the beginning, that beautiful 00:34:20.570 --> 00:34:23.769 home that He designed for man and him to live 00:34:23.769 --> 00:34:26.349 together, that's going to be what our reality 00:34:26.349 --> 00:34:28.690 is. And I want to be there. I want you to be 00:34:28.690 --> 00:34:31.289 there. And we have to know that He's going to 00:34:31.289 --> 00:34:35.570 have glory. It's up to us to follow Him there. 00:34:37.960 --> 00:34:42.300 Don't miss out on glory. And this isn't prosperity 00:34:42.300 --> 00:34:47.860 gospel. This is just the gospel. Glory is promised 00:34:47.860 --> 00:34:54.619 to those who follow his calling. The Apostle 00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:57.800 Paul says it very clearly in Romans 8. Psalm 00:34:57.800 --> 00:35:03.380 23 tells us that it's a good life. I would argue 00:35:03.380 --> 00:35:06.039 it's a great life. I'm driving last night in 00:35:06.039 --> 00:35:09.639 the dark. And Eliza yesterday decided to be a 00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:12.719 little emotional person. And I guess she was 00:35:12.719 --> 00:35:14.179 driving and she said, hey, if you want a good 00:35:14.179 --> 00:35:16.260 cry today, just listen to our wedding playlist. 00:35:18.059 --> 00:35:21.400 And I'm like, I don't even I forgot about that. 00:35:21.500 --> 00:35:24.460 So she sends it to me and and I hit shuffle and 00:35:24.460 --> 00:35:26.320 I press play. And the first song is this song. 00:35:27.340 --> 00:35:29.619 It's from the ground up and it talks about this 00:35:29.619 --> 00:35:34.480 life that we'll build. And I'm thinking about 00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:39.900 the life. That I was on the path for. The life 00:35:39.900 --> 00:35:44.639 that my. Myself. That I was born into. That I 00:35:44.639 --> 00:35:49.179 was destined for. Based on circumstances. And 00:35:49.179 --> 00:35:52.500 it wasn't what I have now. It wasn't a beautiful 00:35:52.500 --> 00:35:56.320 wife. It wasn't beautiful kids. It wasn't a great 00:35:56.320 --> 00:35:59.739 church family. It wasn't a life of peace. Of 00:35:59.739 --> 00:36:09.369 abundance. Of happiness. Of purpose. If I'd never 00:36:09.369 --> 00:36:13.309 accepted and listened to the call, I don't have 00:36:13.309 --> 00:36:19.409 any of that. And this is just a taste of what 00:36:19.409 --> 00:36:25.150 our home in heaven will be like. Don't miss out 00:36:25.150 --> 00:36:32.050 on that. Listen for his voice and respond accordingly. 00:36:33.329 --> 00:36:35.909 If you feel God calling you to something specific, 00:36:37.099 --> 00:36:41.400 If you feel like God is begging you to accept 00:36:41.400 --> 00:36:44.659 the free gift of salvation that Jesus brings 00:36:44.659 --> 00:36:47.960 to those who surrender their lives, if you feel 00:36:47.960 --> 00:36:50.239 like God is calling you to surrender something, 00:36:50.420 --> 00:36:52.739 whatever it is that's standing in the way of 00:36:52.739 --> 00:36:55.139 you following his calling for you today, of him 00:36:55.139 --> 00:36:57.840 calling you to glory, if anything is in your 00:36:57.840 --> 00:37:01.519 way, whatever it is, if you need to be baptized, 00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:05.599 we will have that water ready. If you just need 00:37:05.599 --> 00:37:08.760 to lay something down at the feet of Jesus, we 00:37:08.760 --> 00:37:12.079 are offering you this invitation now as we stand 00:37:12.079 --> 00:37:13.039 and as we sing.