WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 Psalm 118, 24 says, This is a day the Lord has 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:10.099 made. I will rejoice. I will rejoice and be glad 00:00:10.099 --> 00:00:14.839 in it. It's just an honor to be here. I want 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:18.019 to thank the pastor, the leadership, for allowing 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:21.359 me this time with you to break open the Word 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:24.559 of God. It's my honor, my privilege to be here. 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:28.859 And this morning, I want to talk about something 00:00:28.859 --> 00:00:32.380 that's very close and dear to my heart. And it's 00:00:32.380 --> 00:00:35.060 what the title of my message is called, Intimacy 00:00:35.060 --> 00:00:41.200 with God, An Intimate Relationship. Intimacy 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:44.399 with God. See, there's a real big difference 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:49.740 between a relationship and an intimate relationship. 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:54.679 And so with that, I want to begin with the... 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:58.539 Just a few definitions. They're going to be kind 00:00:58.539 --> 00:01:00.119 of sterile, but then I'm going to get to the 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.159 good one. This is a definition of a relationship, 00:01:03.500 --> 00:01:08.719 a connection, association, or a bond between 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:13.400 two or more individuals. That's kind of sterile, 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:18.500 isn't it? Well, how about the word intimate we 00:01:18.500 --> 00:01:20.060 put in front of that? Well, the word intimate 00:01:20.060 --> 00:01:25.019 means a close... and deeply familiar association, 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:31.459 feeling or connection. It's deeper, but to me 00:01:31.459 --> 00:01:37.519 it still feels very sterile. So that's kind of 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:40.939 the world's definition. What is the biblical 00:01:40.939 --> 00:01:45.180 definition of intimacy? Now listen to this. I'm 00:01:45.180 --> 00:01:46.799 going to say it twice because it's so important. 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:51.739 Fully knowing and being known. with complete 00:01:51.739 --> 00:01:56.500 openness and trust. That's the biblical view 00:01:56.500 --> 00:02:00.019 of intimacy. Fully knowing and being fully known 00:02:00.019 --> 00:02:04.299 with complete openness and trust. The Hebrew 00:02:04.299 --> 00:02:07.519 word for intimacy is yada. The Greek word is 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:11.319 ganasko. And they both translate to this, to 00:02:11.319 --> 00:02:20.479 know. To know. This implies a deep... experiential 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:24.580 and active relationship rather than just factual 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:30.879 knowledge. I want to give you two examples about 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:34.280 this idea of relationship and intimate relationship. 00:02:36.659 --> 00:02:40.900 You know there are 24 hours in a day and there 00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:45.419 are seven days in a week. So that's 168 hours 00:02:45.419 --> 00:02:50.259 that we have in a week. Now, if we give God, 00:02:50.340 --> 00:02:54.219 we come to church, and we give God two hours 00:02:54.219 --> 00:03:03.560 of that 168 hours, this amounts to 1 .190 % of 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:12.099 the time that we give to God. 1 .190 % of the 00:03:12.099 --> 00:03:14.620 entire week. I'm going to give you a quick example. 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:23.000 Hey, Danny. That's it. That's it. That's about 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:26.259 one second, right? Hey, Danny. Hey, Mike. That's 00:03:26.259 --> 00:03:29.000 a relationship. Danny and I have a relationship. 00:03:29.180 --> 00:03:33.080 Danny and I have a connection. But do we give 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:36.939 God that? Do we show up on Sunday morning and 00:03:36.939 --> 00:03:43.419 go, hey, God, I fulfilled my weekly obligation 00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:48.199 to God, and I can go do my thing. I'm very fearful. 00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:52.500 We are becoming a society that we feel very good 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:56.199 about ourselves when we enter church, and we 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:59.560 spend a couple of hours in church singing praises, 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:02.939 slapping each other on the back, and just loving 00:04:02.939 --> 00:04:04.560 on each other. There's nothing wrong with that, 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:07.680 and I'm not trying to diminish that. But what 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:13.259 I'm saying is, are we just giving God a connection? 00:04:15.979 --> 00:04:22.639 A 1 .190 % of our week just so that we can feel 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:27.120 good about our relationship with God. Now let's 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:29.920 look at this word intimate and put in front of 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:33.100 it, I mean behind it, relationship. An intimate 00:04:33.100 --> 00:04:37.060 relationship. Now for this example, I'm going 00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:41.839 to use my wife and I. In two weeks, August 2nd, 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:47.519 my wife and I will be married 57 years. Of course, 00:04:47.540 --> 00:04:53.180 we were both 12 years old when we married. But 00:04:53.180 --> 00:04:55.839 as I look at our, you know, when Candy and I 00:04:55.839 --> 00:05:02.120 started, we had a connection, right? But then 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:15.319 year after year after year after year. That relationship 00:05:15.319 --> 00:05:22.319 became very intimate. We began to know each other. 00:05:22.699 --> 00:05:26.360 You know why? Because we spent so much time together. 00:05:26.680 --> 00:05:30.899 In fact, we have a joke. Candy laughs about it, 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:34.800 but she never can remember how many years we're 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:38.660 married. And so when she asks me, she'll say, 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:39.959 Honey, how long have we been married? And I'll 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:44.860 go, Oh, forever. Of course, I'm joking with her, 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:47.379 but the other day I was getting a haircut, and 00:05:47.379 --> 00:05:51.540 she likes to do this. And so her and my haircutter, 00:05:51.540 --> 00:05:53.480 they were talking and all, and she looked at 00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:55.699 me, and I saw a little side of her mouth go up. 00:05:55.740 --> 00:05:58.139 And she said, Honey, how long have we been married? 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:00.800 And I didn't even look at her. I went, Oh, forever. 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:03.439 And I heard laughing behind me. There were two 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:05.920 guys sitting behind me. They were in line. And 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:07.600 I heard one guy say to the other guy, he was 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:11.500 laughing. He said, Forever. But that's become 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:15.000 a joke. But you know what? That's what intimacy 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:20.620 is all about. We're very open with each other. 00:06:20.660 --> 00:06:23.399 We trust each other. And that didn't just happen 00:06:23.399 --> 00:06:27.500 overnight. That happened after all this time 00:06:27.500 --> 00:06:32.759 we've spent together. And that's really my point 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:36.699 is you and I as believers need to be developing 00:06:36.699 --> 00:06:40.779 this intimate relationship. You know why? Because... 00:06:42.029 --> 00:06:45.569 Intimacy changes the dynamics of a relationship. 00:06:46.730 --> 00:06:49.370 Won't you agree with that? Sure, I think everybody 00:06:49.370 --> 00:06:52.810 will agree with that. Well, in order for us to 00:06:52.810 --> 00:06:55.649 really look, I want to use a foundational scripture 00:06:55.649 --> 00:07:01.069 when we look at this thing called intimacy with 00:07:01.069 --> 00:07:06.730 God. And I want to look at Matthew chapter 22. 00:07:07.149 --> 00:07:09.310 You all know this area of scripture very well. 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:13.560 There's a pharisaical lawyer that's going to 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:17.040 come and try to test Jesus Christ. And so he 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:21.639 says there in verse 36, Teacher, what is the 00:07:21.639 --> 00:07:25.420 great commandment in the law? And he, Jesus, 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:28.259 said to him, You shall love the Lord your God 00:07:28.259 --> 00:07:30.779 with all of your heart, with all of your soul, 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:34.300 with all of your mind. This is the great and 00:07:34.300 --> 00:07:36.860 foremost commandment. And a second is like it. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:40.579 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And 00:07:40.579 --> 00:07:43.439 then Jesus said this, on these two commandments 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:49.879 depend the whole law and the prophets. So as 00:07:49.879 --> 00:07:53.040 we look at loving the Lord our God with all of 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:55.639 our heart, soul, and mind, I want you to pay 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:58.180 attention to one word. That word in verse 37, 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:02.899 it says, you shall, you shall. There's no word 00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:08.519 in the Greek. that there's a definition of shall. 00:08:10.019 --> 00:08:14.120 Basically, it's loosely interpreted as an obligation. 00:08:16.060 --> 00:08:20.000 So we are obligated, Jesus says, to love the 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:22.360 Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, 00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:25.480 strength, everything that we are. That is one 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:27.480 of our duties. That's one of our obligations. 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:31.120 And as we go deeper and deeper and deeper with 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:35.690 the Lord, we begin to learn that it's all about 00:08:35.690 --> 00:08:38.889 having an intimate relationship with him in our 00:08:38.889 --> 00:08:42.490 lives. So I want to give you, and I know you're 00:08:42.490 --> 00:08:46.549 going to go, I'm a point guy. So I've got seven 00:08:46.549 --> 00:08:49.990 building blocks of intimacy that I want to go 00:08:49.990 --> 00:08:52.370 over with you. And don't worry, we won't be here 00:08:52.370 --> 00:08:54.110 for the rest of the day. I'll move through here 00:08:54.110 --> 00:08:57.210 pretty quickly. But I think we need to understand 00:08:57.210 --> 00:09:02.529 that we need to move much deeper in our relationship 00:09:02.529 --> 00:09:07.100 with the Lord. We feel good when we come to church, 00:09:07.220 --> 00:09:08.919 don't we? I mean, come on, don't you feel good? 00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:12.379 Don't you feel like you've satisfied your duty 00:09:12.379 --> 00:09:17.720 and obligation when you come to church? Our intimacy 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:23.059 with God should be a lifestyle, not a day that 00:09:23.059 --> 00:09:25.740 we give two or three hours to the Lord. It should 00:09:25.740 --> 00:09:30.100 be who we are. It should be our life. And so 00:09:30.100 --> 00:09:34.080 let's look at these building blocks of actually... 00:09:34.590 --> 00:09:37.509 having intimacy with God. First building block 00:09:37.509 --> 00:09:41.830 is daily commitment. Daily commitment. Now look 00:09:41.830 --> 00:09:45.610 at this. This requires radical honesty and vulnerability 00:09:45.610 --> 00:09:51.429 with God. Radical honesty and vulnerability. 00:09:52.210 --> 00:09:56.830 You know, Candy and I have spent so much of life 00:09:56.830 --> 00:10:01.259 together. That we fall in, we're radically honest 00:10:01.259 --> 00:10:03.580 with each other. I don't keep secrets from her. 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:06.679 She doesn't keep secrets from me. There's nobody 00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:09.759 in this world that I trust more than my wife. 00:10:10.500 --> 00:10:16.279 Why? Because of our intimate relationship. So 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:19.360 we commit ourselves to each other daily. Now 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:23.120 that doesn't mean that we don't have an argument 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:24.700 every now and then. I mean, she can't help it 00:10:24.700 --> 00:10:31.740 when she's wrong. I'm teasing, dear. But there's 00:10:31.740 --> 00:10:34.639 this discourse, you know, and we do talk things 00:10:34.639 --> 00:10:36.240 out. You know, when we were younger, we used 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:38.759 to get mad a lot. Now we don't get mad very much. 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:40.519 We just kind of get aggravated at each other. 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:45.360 But we wake up with a daily commitment. We're 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:48.759 daily committed. I'm as committed to her as she 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:51.879 is to me. That's why we trust each other so much, 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:55.679 because of this commitment we have with each 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:59.899 other. In fact... In Scripture, in Psalm 139, 00:10:59.960 --> 00:11:03.360 in verses 3 and 4, David says this, You intimately 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:07.200 are acquainted with all my ways, even before 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:11.799 there is a word on my tongue, you know it, you 00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:19.100 know it all. So, as we look at what David says, 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:23.200 we have to understand that God knows us intimately, 00:11:23.379 --> 00:11:28.429 very intimately. And it's our job then to reciprocate, 00:11:28.429 --> 00:11:32.309 to begin to know him. And I want to read something 00:11:32.309 --> 00:11:35.669 from a man that I highly respect. His name is 00:11:35.669 --> 00:11:38.289 Angus Buckham. I don't know if you've ever heard 00:11:38.289 --> 00:11:42.409 of him. Faith Like Potatoes, they made a movie. 00:11:42.750 --> 00:11:47.149 In fact, this is one of my devotionals that I 00:11:47.149 --> 00:11:49.830 use. And this is what he had to say about this 00:11:49.830 --> 00:11:54.429 loving the Lord your God, this intimate relationship. 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:57.639 He says this, the basic fundamental cornerstone 00:11:57.639 --> 00:12:00.240 of the Christian life is to love the Lord your 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:02.240 God with all your heart, with all your soul, 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:05.320 with all your might. Then you can love God with 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:09.039 all your heart and live like you want to, as 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:12.559 St. Augustine said. You see, if you love God, 00:12:12.700 --> 00:12:15.500 you will be a godly person and live according 00:12:15.500 --> 00:12:19.299 to godly principles. Now he goes on to say this. 00:12:20.259 --> 00:12:24.250 Listen to this. If the Lord Jesus Christ is not 00:12:24.250 --> 00:12:27.350 the greatest love in your heart, then it doesn't 00:12:27.350 --> 00:12:30.129 matter if you can speak with other tongues or 00:12:30.129 --> 00:12:32.750 if you have a healing ministry, how well you 00:12:32.750 --> 00:12:35.470 can preach the gospel is of no avail and there 00:12:35.470 --> 00:12:38.470 will be no lasting fruit. Make sure that your 00:12:38.470 --> 00:12:40.549 personal relationship, I'm going to change it 00:12:40.549 --> 00:12:42.669 to intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus 00:12:42.669 --> 00:12:46.799 Christ, is foremost in your life. have good times 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:49.440 of prayer and reading the Word of God, and all 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:53.080 these other things shall be added unto you. And 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:56.019 then he ends saying this, we must get back to 00:12:56.019 --> 00:13:01.580 basics. The church must get back to basics. What 00:13:01.580 --> 00:13:05.139 are the basics? We love, we shall, we have an 00:13:05.139 --> 00:13:08.840 obligation to love the Lord our God with all 00:13:08.840 --> 00:13:12.389 of our heart. in all of our soul, in all of our 00:13:12.389 --> 00:13:15.490 might, in all of our strength, in all that we 00:13:15.490 --> 00:13:20.230 are. That's fundamentally what God wants from 00:13:20.230 --> 00:13:28.169 us. So, we've got to daily commit ourselves. 00:13:28.649 --> 00:13:32.590 That means we're radically honest. We're honest 00:13:32.590 --> 00:13:35.169 with our Lord. We're honest and we're vulnerable. 00:13:35.990 --> 00:13:39.950 You know, I don't like to be criticized any more 00:13:39.950 --> 00:13:43.730 than you do, but it depends on who criticizes 00:13:43.730 --> 00:13:49.230 me. If my wife criticizes me on something, I 00:13:49.230 --> 00:13:52.289 might get a little agitated and aggravated, but 00:13:52.289 --> 00:13:54.710 I know she's not doing it out of spite or meanness 00:13:54.710 --> 00:13:56.830 to tear me down. She's doing it to build me up 00:13:56.830 --> 00:14:01.129 because I do have blind spots. I do have weak 00:14:01.129 --> 00:14:04.830 areas in my life, so we must be vulnerable to 00:14:04.830 --> 00:14:08.279 that. All right, number two. What's the second 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:11.980 building block? This one's very important. They're 00:14:11.980 --> 00:14:13.279 all important, but this one's really important. 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:18.240 Immersive scripture reading. Immersive scripture. 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:22.740 I didn't say read your Bible. I said immersive 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:25.159 scripture reading. That word immersive means 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:33.179 to plunge into, to dive into. Psalm 119, 111 00:14:33.179 --> 00:14:39.120 says, I hide thy word. In my heart, why? So that 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:45.220 I won't sin against you. Folks, and I know Pastor 00:14:45.220 --> 00:14:47.940 Jesse and every pastor you've ever heard talks 00:14:47.940 --> 00:14:53.960 about this. This is the most important book in 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:57.340 your life. This is the most important book that 00:14:57.340 --> 00:15:01.779 you will ever read. This book will bring you 00:15:01.779 --> 00:15:08.279 life and keep you from death. So we must be reading 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:14.100 it daily. Daily immersing ourselves in this. 00:15:14.139 --> 00:15:16.120 You want to have an intimate relationship with 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:18.779 God? How can you have an intimate relationship 00:15:18.779 --> 00:15:22.000 with God if you don't read his love letter to 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:26.500 you? Why do we depend on preachers and teachers 00:15:26.500 --> 00:15:30.700 to teach us this word? In fact, in 1 John it 00:15:30.700 --> 00:15:33.429 says to test the spirits. whether to see whether 00:15:33.429 --> 00:15:34.870 they're from God or not. How are you going to 00:15:34.870 --> 00:15:36.850 test it if you don't know what to test it to? 00:15:39.029 --> 00:15:47.250 So we must begin to be really, really, what's 00:15:47.250 --> 00:15:51.970 the word I'm looking for? We must be willing 00:15:51.970 --> 00:15:55.470 to every day commit ourselves to the reading 00:15:55.470 --> 00:16:01.820 of God's Word. also in psalms 119 verse 105 it 00:16:01.820 --> 00:16:04.759 says your word is a lamp to my feet and a light 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:10.259 for my path immersive screen and that that's 00:16:10.259 --> 00:16:12.899 not just reading it as i said that's meditating 00:16:12.899 --> 00:16:20.379 and memorizing you know meditation uh years ago 00:16:20.379 --> 00:16:24.940 in the church uh in our our forefathers they 00:16:24.940 --> 00:16:30.590 used to not only immerse their self in Scripture, 00:16:30.850 --> 00:16:33.690 but they would visualize Scripture. That's become 00:16:33.690 --> 00:16:36.830 kind of a dirty word now because of all the New 00:16:36.830 --> 00:16:38.570 Age stuff going on, but they would literally 00:16:38.570 --> 00:16:42.090 immerse themselves and visualize and get into 00:16:42.090 --> 00:16:45.049 and meditate on the Word. Not just read it, but 00:16:45.049 --> 00:16:48.230 look at it and meditate on it and pray over it. 00:16:48.250 --> 00:16:50.429 And God, what are you saying to me in this Scripture? 00:16:51.230 --> 00:16:55.480 That is so important. If you want to have intimacy 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:58.860 with God, you've got to really dive into his 00:16:58.860 --> 00:17:01.860 word and know what you're reading. And you know 00:17:01.860 --> 00:17:05.640 why? It's the primary way to understand the character 00:17:05.640 --> 00:17:09.960 and the plans of God. How can I understand God's 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:13.039 character and his plans for my life if I don't 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:17.160 ever read this book? And it needs to be a habit. 00:17:18.759 --> 00:17:20.599 Let me tell you what my habit is. And I'm not 00:17:20.599 --> 00:17:21.819 saying this is your habit. Let me tell you what 00:17:21.819 --> 00:17:27.200 my habit is. I get up in the morning. I lay out 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:29.119 all our meds that we take. When you get our age, 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:31.059 you take a lot of meds and a lot of vitamins. 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:34.799 So I lay all our meds out. I let the dogs out. 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:38.460 I go make me a cup of coffee. Sometimes I have 00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:41.440 those little white donuts. I sit down at my desk. 00:17:42.940 --> 00:17:47.599 I open up my Bible, and I read. And then I open 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:51.299 up my devotional, and I read. And then I spend 00:17:51.299 --> 00:17:53.400 the next few minutes in my quiet time with the 00:17:53.400 --> 00:17:57.839 Lord. Now, that's what I do. I'm not saying it's 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:00.759 what you have to do, but that's my daily routine. 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:04.140 And if I vary from that, and I do sometimes, 00:18:04.460 --> 00:18:09.680 I feel like something's off. But it needs to 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:12.539 become a habit. It needs to be something that 00:18:12.539 --> 00:18:16.559 we long to do and we yearn to do. In fact, my 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:18.599 daughter's favorite Scripture verse was Jeremiah 00:18:18.599 --> 00:18:22.289 29, 11. For I know the plans I have for you, 00:18:22.349 --> 00:18:25.269 declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not 00:18:25.269 --> 00:18:28.029 to harm you, plans to give you a future and to 00:18:28.029 --> 00:18:30.150 give you a hope. That's what God's plans are 00:18:30.150 --> 00:18:33.470 for you. But if you never delve into his word, 00:18:33.710 --> 00:18:40.109 how do you know? How do you know? All right, 00:18:40.150 --> 00:18:48.190 number three. Open and honest prayer. Consistent 00:18:48.190 --> 00:18:53.579 communication. Now, let me preface with this. 00:18:53.660 --> 00:18:56.180 I love the King James Version. I read the King 00:18:56.180 --> 00:18:58.960 James Version. But you don't have to pray in 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:04.519 the King James Version. Oh Lord, I thank thee 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:07.519 for all that thou hast given. Now, I'm making 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:11.240 fun. Most of my memory work is done in the King 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:14.319 James Version. But what I'm saying is, people 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:19.660 are scared to pray out loud. Because they say, 00:19:21.609 --> 00:19:24.710 In fact, when I was pastoring, there were several 00:19:24.710 --> 00:19:27.210 people, and I'll never forget it. I'd say, okay, 00:19:27.329 --> 00:19:29.970 brother or sister, would you please lead us in 00:19:29.970 --> 00:19:31.609 prayer? And I'd look up, and they'd be going, 00:19:31.910 --> 00:19:35.890 they'd be shaking their head. And I'd talk to 00:19:35.890 --> 00:19:38.509 them, and I'd say, why didn't you pray? Well, 00:19:38.730 --> 00:19:43.029 I really don't, I can't pray publicly. I just, 00:19:43.049 --> 00:19:46.369 you know, I just can't pray. And my thought is, 00:19:46.490 --> 00:19:49.529 I never said this. But my thought was, well, 00:19:49.609 --> 00:19:54.390 you can talk, can't you? We can talk, can't we? 00:19:54.450 --> 00:19:57.470 Do you know that's what prayer is? Pure and simple. 00:19:58.769 --> 00:20:02.109 It's talking to God. Do you talk to God all the 00:20:02.109 --> 00:20:06.910 time? I find it a habit for me to talk to God 00:20:06.910 --> 00:20:09.230 all the time. If I'm going down South Main and 00:20:09.230 --> 00:20:11.829 I hit all the green lights at once, I say, thank 00:20:11.829 --> 00:20:16.049 you, God. Or if something menial happens, I say, 00:20:16.109 --> 00:20:18.720 thank you, God. God, would you help me with this? 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:22.759 Breath prayers. You do it in a breath. Thank 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:28.640 you, God. I love you, God. But we must be people 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:31.700 of prayer. And if you want an intimate relationship 00:20:31.700 --> 00:20:36.000 with the Holy Spirit of the living God, then 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.779 we need to have open and honest prayer with our 00:20:39.779 --> 00:20:44.119 Heavenly Father. And it needs to be a conversation 00:20:44.119 --> 00:20:49.599 is what it needs to be. 1 Thessalonians 5 .17 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:55.799 says this. Pray without ceasing. How do I do 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:59.660 that, God? How do I pray without ceasing? You 00:20:59.660 --> 00:21:05.000 just talk. You just talk to God. Do you ever 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:08.500 walk outside and just seeing a beautiful sunrise 00:21:08.500 --> 00:21:13.140 or a beautiful sunset? And you're just overwhelmed 00:21:13.140 --> 00:21:16.980 with the beauty? God did that. Can't we just 00:21:16.980 --> 00:21:19.980 thank him for that? God, I thank you for that. 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:25.859 And don't expect all your prayers to be answered 00:21:25.859 --> 00:21:27.960 the way you want your prayers to be answered. 00:21:28.900 --> 00:21:33.059 God knows what's best for us. We don't pray so 00:21:33.059 --> 00:21:36.259 that we can get what we want when we're praying. 00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:40.000 But God knows what we need. God knows what we 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:43.380 want. And so we must understand that this communication 00:21:45.369 --> 00:21:49.170 It's with a caveat. Your children come to you 00:21:49.170 --> 00:21:53.650 asking you for stuff. I mean, Sam's a young man. 00:21:53.869 --> 00:21:56.130 I'm not going to call you up here. His eyes got 00:21:56.130 --> 00:21:58.390 about that big around. But if Sam came to me 00:21:58.390 --> 00:22:02.049 and said, Pastor Mike, I need to run down to 00:22:02.049 --> 00:22:05.609 Albertsons and get me a six -pack of Cokes. Could 00:22:05.609 --> 00:22:08.230 I have your car keys? I'm going to say, Sam, 00:22:08.289 --> 00:22:11.569 have you lost your mind? No, you can't drive 00:22:11.569 --> 00:22:16.930 my car. Sometimes God says, Sorry, no. I'm going 00:22:16.930 --> 00:22:18.589 to answer your prayer, but it's not going to 00:22:18.589 --> 00:22:21.970 be the way you would like to see me answer your 00:22:21.970 --> 00:22:27.069 prayer. Open, honest communication with the Father, 00:22:27.130 --> 00:22:32.069 and then receiving whatever he says is part of 00:22:32.069 --> 00:22:36.930 this intimate relationship with God. All right, 00:22:36.970 --> 00:22:41.670 the fourth thing. Practice gratitude. Have an 00:22:41.670 --> 00:22:47.960 appreciative heart. Practice gratitude. You know, 00:22:47.980 --> 00:22:51.480 there's a huge difference between being positive 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:54.559 and being negative. Don't you hate being around 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:57.920 negative people? I don't know about you, but 00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:59.539 we're supposed to love them all. We may love 00:22:59.539 --> 00:23:01.059 them, but we sure don't like being around them. 00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:07.799 Why? Why? Because nobody likes this negativity. 00:23:08.880 --> 00:23:11.589 We must have a... Do you know... that if you 00:23:11.589 --> 00:23:14.369 live here, either born here or you came here 00:23:14.369 --> 00:23:16.410 and you're now in the United States of America, 00:23:16.609 --> 00:23:18.650 did you know that you've already hit the lottery? 00:23:20.410 --> 00:23:22.009 When you look at the rest of the world, we've 00:23:22.009 --> 00:23:24.130 got all these teams, y 'all got all these teams 00:23:24.130 --> 00:23:26.170 out across the world. Katie and I have been on 00:23:26.170 --> 00:23:28.150 the mission field to a lot of different countries. 00:23:28.849 --> 00:23:32.230 And I can tell you, there is not a country that 00:23:32.230 --> 00:23:35.430 even comes close to the United States of America. 00:23:37.029 --> 00:23:40.009 We're in countries where people have nothing. 00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:44.579 And I'm saying nothing. And we have everything. 00:23:45.880 --> 00:23:50.920 Shouldn't we have an appreciative heart? Yeah. 00:23:51.480 --> 00:23:53.759 No, we want that new car. We want that new boat. 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:56.539 We want that new house. We want that new watch. 00:23:56.660 --> 00:23:59.839 We want all this new stuff. We need to have a 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:05.119 very grateful heart. Everything we had is God 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:09.609 -given. So if we cultivate this... appreciative 00:24:09.609 --> 00:24:13.210 and grateful heart it changes our perspective 00:24:13.210 --> 00:24:15.589 and you know what it's good for our mental well 00:24:15.589 --> 00:24:20.569 -being when i i worked uh in several jobs before 00:24:20.569 --> 00:24:23.130 i became a pastor in fact i worked most of my 00:24:23.130 --> 00:24:27.369 life working in the in the in the workforce and 00:24:27.369 --> 00:24:33.369 i was just a happy guy and i would walk around 00:24:33.369 --> 00:24:37.009 whistling And I can't tell you how many people 00:24:37.009 --> 00:24:39.990 would come up to me and say, Mike, why are you 00:24:39.990 --> 00:24:43.049 so happy? What are you whistling about? It would 00:24:43.049 --> 00:24:47.369 give me an opportunity to share who I am and 00:24:47.369 --> 00:24:50.710 my love of Christ. It was a way for me to witness 00:24:50.710 --> 00:24:55.589 because I basically am a pretty happy guy. The 00:24:55.589 --> 00:24:58.130 joy of the Lord is my strength and the joy of 00:24:58.130 --> 00:25:00.529 the Lord lives in my heart. So you're not going 00:25:00.529 --> 00:25:04.710 to see me be a negative. I'm going to be a positive 00:25:04.710 --> 00:25:07.690 person, but a person that is very appreciative 00:25:07.690 --> 00:25:12.529 of all he has. You know, I realized a long time 00:25:12.529 --> 00:25:16.210 ago, the farm we live on, the house we have, 00:25:16.369 --> 00:25:19.089 the vehicles we have, the blah, blah, blah, blah, 00:25:19.210 --> 00:25:21.430 blah, blah, blah, all this stuff that we have, 00:25:21.609 --> 00:25:29.849 I shouldn't have it. I really shouldn't have 00:25:29.849 --> 00:25:31.849 it. It's a blessing of God that I've got it. 00:25:32.089 --> 00:25:35.349 And so I'm going to give God praise and I'm going 00:25:35.349 --> 00:25:38.069 to be grateful for everything that I've got. 00:25:39.329 --> 00:25:41.609 I'm not going to worry about what I don't have. 00:25:42.470 --> 00:25:44.950 I'm going to be grateful for what I do have. 00:25:45.190 --> 00:25:47.230 And let me tell you something, ladies and gentlemen, 00:25:47.269 --> 00:25:49.690 when you make that change mentally, it's going 00:25:49.690 --> 00:25:53.970 to change your whole perspective of life. Be 00:25:53.970 --> 00:25:57.529 happy. Be happy. We're living in a day and age 00:25:57.529 --> 00:26:01.250 and a culture that is so negative and so driven. 00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:07.059 by stuff that we're just not happy. We're not 00:26:07.059 --> 00:26:10.839 happy with our mates. My wife made me mad. I'm 00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:12.220 going to get rid of her and I'm going to get 00:26:12.220 --> 00:26:13.700 me another one. But she's going to make you mad 00:26:13.700 --> 00:26:19.359 too. I don't like this car. I don't like that 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:23.920 car. Okay. Next one's not going to make you any 00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:27.559 happier. We need to have this appreciative heart. 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:29.039 And let me tell you something else that an appreciative 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:31.839 and grateful heart does. A appreciative and a 00:26:31.839 --> 00:26:35.019 grateful heart shares with others. And I'm talking 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:40.039 about your stuff. If any of you in here are Dave 00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:42.940 Ramsey fans, and I don't know if you are, but 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:48.079 he's a big guru on how to spend money and saving 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:49.920 and no credit cards and all this kind of stuff. 00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:53.059 But he said one of the principal things that 00:26:53.059 --> 00:26:59.059 you must do is to give. Give to others. You know, 00:26:59.059 --> 00:27:02.259 the Bible talks about tithes and offerings. We 00:27:02.259 --> 00:27:04.019 all give our tithes. You know what those offerings 00:27:04.019 --> 00:27:07.339 are? Those offerings are everything outside of 00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:12.400 the tithe. You see somebody in need and you've 00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:17.599 got the resources, give them the resources. We 00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:21.019 hold on to stuff, don't we? It's mine, it's mine, 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:24.410 it's mine. But a grateful heart, if I'm grateful 00:27:24.410 --> 00:27:27.509 to God, in fact, God tells me that I'm supposed 00:27:27.509 --> 00:27:33.430 to share what I've got with others. Now, I'm 00:27:33.430 --> 00:27:35.289 not supposed to share so much it puts me in the 00:27:35.289 --> 00:27:40.230 poorhouse. God says, you know, God gives us a 00:27:40.230 --> 00:27:46.930 brain. But I'm to share with you. How many of 00:27:46.930 --> 00:27:52.359 you have... I've seen somebody at Walmart in 00:27:52.359 --> 00:27:55.440 a parking lot or an eating establishment, and 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:59.000 they're out there just panhandling. They're giving. 00:27:59.160 --> 00:28:02.980 You know, they're without their handout. I listen 00:28:02.980 --> 00:28:06.759 for the Holy Spirit before I give. And let me 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:11.000 tell you what, when you do give, please don't 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:14.799 ask them what they're going to use it for. That's 00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:18.460 not your responsibility. If the Holy Spirit says, 00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:21.799 give that joker 10 bucks, Give him $10 and don't 00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:23.839 say, I don't go buy any liquor or drugs with 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:27.519 that because the Holy Spirit has quickened you. 00:28:27.559 --> 00:28:29.920 Or go buy him a meal or do something. But have 00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:32.279 this, you know, part of this intimacy with God, 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:36.079 he's given us so much and so he expects us to 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:40.319 share what he's given us with others. And so 00:28:40.319 --> 00:28:43.640 that's part of this intimacy with God, becoming 00:28:43.640 --> 00:28:49.160 that positive person that loves. to give uh first 00:28:49.160 --> 00:28:52.400 uh thessalonians 5 18 says give thanks in all 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:55.099 circumstances for this is the will of god and 00:28:55.099 --> 00:28:58.980 jesus christ for you ephesians 5 20 says always 00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:02.279 giving thanks to god the father for everything 00:29:02.279 --> 00:29:05.960 within in the name of our lord jesus christ so 00:29:05.960 --> 00:29:10.039 basically have an attitude of gratitude that's 00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:12.599 an old saying but it's isn't it true have an 00:29:12.599 --> 00:29:16.940 attitude of gratitude be thankful in all things 00:29:17.529 --> 00:29:19.950 Well, now, wait a minute, preacher. Am I supposed 00:29:19.950 --> 00:29:24.069 to be happy that my car exploded or that this 00:29:24.069 --> 00:29:27.109 happened or that happened? It didn't say be happy 00:29:27.109 --> 00:29:30.809 in the circumstances. God will take care of that. 00:29:30.970 --> 00:29:34.430 It said be happy in all things. I had a nursing 00:29:34.430 --> 00:29:36.950 home ministry for a number of years, and I remember 00:29:36.950 --> 00:29:42.750 a lady. She said, now wait a minute. She said, 00:29:42.789 --> 00:29:45.890 here in James it says, consider it all joy when 00:29:45.890 --> 00:29:48.529 you encounter diverse circumstances. Am I supposed 00:29:48.529 --> 00:29:51.230 to be happy about being in this place? And I 00:29:51.230 --> 00:29:55.549 said, no ma 'am, you're not. And I feel what 00:29:55.549 --> 00:30:00.990 you're saying. But I said, you can be happy in 00:30:00.990 --> 00:30:04.789 the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we're to be 00:30:04.789 --> 00:30:09.299 happy in. Not in our circumstances. But in our 00:30:09.299 --> 00:30:13.259 Savior. Danny put it so eloquently and so greatly 00:30:13.259 --> 00:30:16.119 when we were taking the Lord's Supper. Christ 00:30:16.119 --> 00:30:20.240 died for you. So that you would have life and 00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:23.859 have it abundantly. And you wouldn't have to 00:30:23.859 --> 00:30:29.779 spend eternity away from him. So, it should be 00:30:29.779 --> 00:30:33.839 a lifestyle. And here's another one. Valerie, 00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:35.420 I'm going to pick on you and the praise team. 00:30:36.440 --> 00:30:40.630 Authentic worship. That's number five. We want 00:30:40.630 --> 00:30:42.250 an intimate relationship. How about authentic 00:30:42.250 --> 00:30:45.269 worship? Now, this goes beyond Sunday morning 00:30:45.269 --> 00:30:48.670 music. It literally should be our lifestyle. 00:30:48.990 --> 00:30:51.789 There's nobody that loves to sing more than I 00:30:51.789 --> 00:30:55.289 do. I love to sing. Anybody that knows me knows 00:30:55.289 --> 00:31:03.730 I love to sing. But my lifestyle should be one 00:31:03.730 --> 00:31:10.119 of joy. That means... that I am worshiping my 00:31:10.119 --> 00:31:15.660 God in authentic worship, and it's not just the 00:31:15.660 --> 00:31:21.160 music. It's who I am. Everything that I do should 00:31:21.160 --> 00:31:23.940 be worship. Everything that I do should be in 00:31:23.940 --> 00:31:26.079 the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything 00:31:26.079 --> 00:31:29.839 that I do should be lifting up my Lord and Savior. 00:31:34.569 --> 00:31:37.349 I've got here, it is one of love and adoration 00:31:37.349 --> 00:31:40.789 for God the Father, God the Son, and God the 00:31:40.789 --> 00:31:45.670 Holy Spirit, the triune God. In fact, I put down 00:31:45.670 --> 00:31:50.230 here, I have a pattern that I go by when I pray, 00:31:50.390 --> 00:31:54.470 and it's the acronym ACTS, A -C -T -S. A lot 00:31:54.470 --> 00:31:56.130 of you know it, a lot of you have heard of it. 00:31:56.769 --> 00:32:00.089 ACTS, A is for adoration, C is for confession. 00:32:00.779 --> 00:32:04.180 T is for thanksgiving, and S is for supplication 00:32:04.180 --> 00:32:07.839 or praying for others. But the first thing in 00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:14.119 Acts is adoration. Adoration. When I lay my head 00:32:14.119 --> 00:32:17.079 down on my pillow at night, you know what I start 00:32:17.079 --> 00:32:22.339 out with? Adoration. I don't start out asking 00:32:22.339 --> 00:32:25.210 him for stuff. Oh, God, help me through this. 00:32:25.269 --> 00:32:28.630 We kind of do that, don't we? We go pray and 00:32:28.630 --> 00:32:31.049 we just kind of ask God, well, I need this and 00:32:31.049 --> 00:32:34.210 I need that. No, we need to start our prayer 00:32:34.210 --> 00:32:40.170 with authentic worship and just tell him how 00:32:40.170 --> 00:32:42.970 much you love him, how much you worship him, 00:32:43.029 --> 00:32:46.089 how much you adore him, how much he means to 00:32:46.089 --> 00:32:50.630 you. Can you imagine, and I don't do this enough 00:32:50.630 --> 00:32:56.150 with my wife, but can you imagine? If we told 00:32:56.150 --> 00:33:00.930 our spouses, I just love you. You know, I just 00:33:00.930 --> 00:33:03.750 adore you. I'll tell you this about her. You 00:33:03.750 --> 00:33:05.690 know, men and women are a little different. But 00:33:05.690 --> 00:33:09.990 she will be driving in the car or will be someplace. 00:33:10.109 --> 00:33:14.150 And she'll look at me and she'll go, do you know 00:33:14.150 --> 00:33:20.009 how much I really love you? She'll go, you know 00:33:20.009 --> 00:33:23.539 what that does to my heart? I may not always 00:33:23.539 --> 00:33:27.579 respond affectionately like men sometimes don't. 00:33:28.279 --> 00:33:32.180 But to have your spouse look at you and say, 00:33:32.339 --> 00:33:37.559 do you know how much I really love you? I'm going 00:33:37.559 --> 00:33:41.220 to go back to my original definition. To know. 00:33:41.980 --> 00:33:48.599 To know. Wow. That's authentic worship. When 00:33:48.599 --> 00:33:51.839 we fall down on our faces before God and not 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:55.400 ask Him for anything and just pour out our love 00:33:55.400 --> 00:33:58.420 and our devotion, folks, that's authentic worship. 00:33:59.099 --> 00:34:03.380 This is wonderful. I love it. But authentic worship 00:34:03.380 --> 00:34:06.880 is what we should be doing all the time to our 00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:09.619 Father in everything that we do, lifting Him 00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:12.639 up, telling Him how much we love Him and how 00:34:12.639 --> 00:34:16.659 much He means to us. In fact, Psalm 118, 24, 00:34:16.940 --> 00:34:20.579 this is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice 00:34:20.579 --> 00:34:23.039 and be glad in it. Why am I going to rejoice 00:34:23.039 --> 00:34:27.519 today about my Heavenly Father? Because I want 00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:31.019 to worship Him, because He's so good to me. So 00:34:31.019 --> 00:34:35.880 I just love Him. Wouldn't it be something if 00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:38.239 one day you just looked up toward the sky and 00:34:38.239 --> 00:34:42.460 looked right into the face of God and said, you 00:34:42.460 --> 00:34:44.050 really know how much I love you. I love you. 00:34:44.769 --> 00:34:49.429 Now, he already knows it. But wouldn't it be 00:34:49.429 --> 00:34:54.789 nice to say it? Wouldn't it be nice to say that? 00:34:57.829 --> 00:35:02.469 Authentic worship. In fact, let me read something 00:35:02.469 --> 00:35:06.429 real quick in two different psalms. I'm just 00:35:06.429 --> 00:35:08.829 going to read one verse. Psalm 106 says this. 00:35:09.550 --> 00:35:12.570 Praise the Lord. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, 00:35:12.610 --> 00:35:16.289 for he is good, for his loving kindness is everlasting. 00:35:16.829 --> 00:35:20.630 And then Psalm 107 says this. Oh, give thanks 00:35:20.630 --> 00:35:24.090 to the Lord, for he is good, for his loving kindness 00:35:24.090 --> 00:35:27.510 is everlasting. Now look at this. Let the redeemed 00:35:27.510 --> 00:35:32.489 of the Lord say so. Amen. Praise the Lord. Let 00:35:32.489 --> 00:35:35.550 the redeemed of the Lord say so. There's even 00:35:35.550 --> 00:35:38.150 a song that says that in it. Right, Chris? Yeah. 00:35:38.269 --> 00:35:42.400 Yeah. Let the redeemed of the Lord. Say so. Praise 00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:49.500 the Lord. Worship him. You know, I'm an old Lutheran. 00:35:50.760 --> 00:35:52.940 I grew up in the Lutheran church. I was confirmed 00:35:52.940 --> 00:35:56.000 in the Lutheran church. So I know all about the 00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:58.340 liturgical, and I love the liturgical. I know 00:35:58.340 --> 00:36:01.179 all about it. And then I was a Southern Baptist. 00:36:01.860 --> 00:36:06.380 My wife was a, what we called, hard trial Baptist 00:36:06.380 --> 00:36:09.429 when we married. She didn't like my church. I 00:36:09.429 --> 00:36:12.389 didn't like hers. So we decided on Southern Baptist. 00:36:12.829 --> 00:36:15.050 So hers was fundamental, and I couldn't do fundamental. 00:36:15.510 --> 00:36:17.570 Mine was Lutheran. She said, I think I'm going 00:36:17.570 --> 00:36:20.750 to a funeral when I go to your church. So we 00:36:20.750 --> 00:36:24.510 kind of worked it out, you know, through the 00:36:24.510 --> 00:36:27.690 years. We just kind of worked it out. And ended 00:36:27.690 --> 00:36:30.369 up, I ended up being a Southern Baptist minister 00:36:30.369 --> 00:36:33.989 for a number of years. And then we went non -denominational, 00:36:34.030 --> 00:36:36.949 which is the denomination. Non -denomination, 00:36:36.949 --> 00:36:39.329 just, you know. It should be interdenominational 00:36:39.329 --> 00:36:41.909 because it's everybody. You know what I found 00:36:41.909 --> 00:36:44.670 out through that whole experience? God doesn't 00:36:44.670 --> 00:36:49.150 care what I am. I can be a Lutheran. I can be 00:36:49.150 --> 00:36:51.489 Episcopalian. I can be a Methodist. I got a bunch 00:36:51.489 --> 00:36:53.590 of friends, pastor friends. They're from all 00:36:53.590 --> 00:36:55.349 these different faiths. And you know what I found 00:36:55.349 --> 00:37:01.050 out? We all love the Lord the same. So our lives 00:37:01.050 --> 00:37:04.449 should be built on this authentic worship of 00:37:04.449 --> 00:37:08.039 him every day. All right, number six. We're counting 00:37:08.039 --> 00:37:13.739 them down. Number six, obedience and trust. Obedience 00:37:13.739 --> 00:37:16.559 and trust. This is a big one. True intimacy and 00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:20.179 closeness with God leads to a desire to please 00:37:20.179 --> 00:37:24.199 Him. Do you want to please God in everything 00:37:24.199 --> 00:37:26.920 that you do? Are you mindful of that in all of 00:37:26.920 --> 00:37:29.179 your actions? Are you mindful that those actions 00:37:29.179 --> 00:37:34.440 either please or displease God? Trust in God. 00:37:34.940 --> 00:37:37.639 creates a confident and loving bond with him. 00:37:39.300 --> 00:37:42.699 You know, I think about the, when I look at obedience 00:37:42.699 --> 00:37:45.179 and trust, I think about the patriarchs in the 00:37:45.179 --> 00:37:48.579 Old Testament, you know, Abraham, Moses, David, 00:37:48.719 --> 00:37:52.159 Job, all those guys, they trusted him. In fact, 00:37:52.420 --> 00:37:56.760 and I've shared this, if you've been here, you 00:37:56.760 --> 00:38:01.860 know me and you know our story. But back in 2012, 00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:05.599 we lost our... 37 -year -old daughter to alcoholism. 00:38:06.340 --> 00:38:13.820 Terrible time, terrible. In Job, Job 13, 15 said 00:38:13.820 --> 00:38:18.440 this, Yea, though he slay me, yet will I trust 00:38:18.440 --> 00:38:24.000 him. We held on, I held on to that scripture 00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:28.699 very tightly because I felt like I'd been slain. 00:38:30.820 --> 00:38:32.980 Felt like my heart was ripped out of my body. 00:38:34.659 --> 00:38:36.739 And I'm not saying that to try to draw emotion 00:38:36.739 --> 00:38:39.940 out of you. I'm just saying our obedience and 00:38:39.940 --> 00:38:43.579 our trust should not depend upon our circumstances. 00:38:43.920 --> 00:38:46.179 I'm going to tell you something. My wife and 00:38:46.179 --> 00:38:49.199 I made it through that awful time, and you know 00:38:49.199 --> 00:38:51.920 how we made it through there? It was because 00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:54.539 of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Because 00:38:54.539 --> 00:38:57.059 I know of a number of couples that lost children, 00:38:57.099 --> 00:38:59.719 and they didn't make it. They didn't have a rock 00:38:59.719 --> 00:39:04.320 to stand on. Candy and I stayed together. We 00:39:04.320 --> 00:39:10.219 clung to each other during that time. You know 00:39:10.219 --> 00:39:14.639 why? Because we clung to our Lord. We stayed 00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:19.619 obedient to Him. We trusted in Him, knowing that 00:39:19.619 --> 00:39:23.599 one day we'll see her again. She was a believer. 00:39:23.739 --> 00:39:27.440 She just couldn't kick the addiction. But we'll 00:39:27.440 --> 00:39:30.860 see her again. So our hope, our faith, our trust 00:39:30.860 --> 00:39:34.960 is in God. It's a temporary separation. Although 00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:39.679 it still hurts deeply, it's temporary. And so 00:39:39.679 --> 00:39:42.760 we've got to learn, if we're going to have an 00:39:42.760 --> 00:39:45.099 intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior 00:39:45.099 --> 00:39:49.719 Jesus Christ, that even though things happen 00:39:49.719 --> 00:39:52.360 that we hate, that's out of our control, that 00:39:52.360 --> 00:39:54.639 we don't understand, we've still got to hold 00:39:54.639 --> 00:39:59.360 on and cling on to God. Because he loves us and 00:39:59.360 --> 00:40:01.920 he wants the best for us. And our obedience to 00:40:01.920 --> 00:40:06.719 God is not a rigid burden, but a joyful expression 00:40:06.719 --> 00:40:11.159 of our faith and our trust in him. Yea, though 00:40:11.159 --> 00:40:15.760 he slay me, Job cried out, yet will I trust him. 00:40:15.800 --> 00:40:18.960 He lost all of his family. He lost all of his 00:40:18.960 --> 00:40:21.179 possessions. And his wife just told him, why 00:40:21.179 --> 00:40:24.659 don't you just die? So he didn't have a lot of 00:40:24.659 --> 00:40:27.340 encouragement during that time. But he trusted 00:40:27.340 --> 00:40:33.000 God. He had an intimate relationship with God. 00:40:34.820 --> 00:40:39.360 And he knew, he knew that God would see him through 00:40:39.360 --> 00:40:42.920 this. In fact, when that was over, you know the 00:40:42.920 --> 00:40:46.840 story. He had a bunch more kids. In fact, his 00:40:46.840 --> 00:40:48.480 two daughters were the most beautiful, Scripture 00:40:48.480 --> 00:40:51.340 says, in the land. And he doubled everything 00:40:51.340 --> 00:40:55.480 that he had. Now, I know he wouldn't have given 00:40:55.480 --> 00:40:59.119 up what he had for that, but that's how God repaid 00:40:59.119 --> 00:41:03.860 his obedience and his trust in him. John 14, 00:41:04.039 --> 00:41:09.500 15 says, Jesus said, If you love me, you will 00:41:09.500 --> 00:41:14.079 keep my commandments. Now, who in here loves 00:41:14.079 --> 00:41:17.579 God? Look at all the hands going up. Yes, I know 00:41:17.579 --> 00:41:19.880 you love God. You're here. You're worshiping. 00:41:20.019 --> 00:41:24.630 I know you love God. Jesus said, if you love 00:41:24.630 --> 00:41:28.050 me, you'll keep my commandments. You'll trust 00:41:28.050 --> 00:41:31.090 me. You'll be obedient to my commandments. In 00:41:31.090 --> 00:41:34.329 verse 23, it says, if anyone loves me, he will 00:41:34.329 --> 00:41:37.670 keep my words. My Father will love him. We will 00:41:37.670 --> 00:41:43.110 come to him and make our abode with him. He will 00:41:43.110 --> 00:41:46.190 be in our life. We say yes to Jesus Christ. The 00:41:46.190 --> 00:41:48.739 Holy Spirit does enter us, does it not? Holy 00:41:48.739 --> 00:41:50.920 Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, he enters us 00:41:50.920 --> 00:41:54.659 and he changes us. He made his life with us. 00:41:54.699 --> 00:41:58.760 He's part of us. I see families in here. You 00:41:58.760 --> 00:42:00.539 know, we got a bunch of families in here. We 00:42:00.539 --> 00:42:03.219 got a few kids left, but the families are sitting 00:42:03.219 --> 00:42:05.059 together. We're all part of the family of God, 00:42:05.099 --> 00:42:07.340 and you're part of God's family. And you have 00:42:07.340 --> 00:42:09.980 an intimate relationship with your family members. 00:42:11.079 --> 00:42:15.880 That's what God wants with you. And the final 00:42:15.880 --> 00:42:22.150 one, number seven. Compassionate service. Compassionate 00:42:22.150 --> 00:42:26.010 service. This is demonstrated through your love 00:42:26.010 --> 00:42:29.929 for others. And can I tell you this? Family and 00:42:29.929 --> 00:42:35.269 friends don't count. I mean, they do. But come 00:42:35.269 --> 00:42:38.670 on. Scripture says even those that don't know 00:42:38.670 --> 00:42:42.510 God love their families. So when we're talking, 00:42:42.730 --> 00:42:45.250 I mean, you're going to be compassionate and 00:42:45.250 --> 00:42:48.610 serve your families, but you're going to as we 00:42:48.610 --> 00:42:51.449 grow intimate with God, it's going to be demonstrated 00:42:51.449 --> 00:42:59.110 as you give your love to others. That's not part 00:42:59.110 --> 00:43:01.650 of your family unit. That's not part of your 00:43:01.650 --> 00:43:06.170 close friends. Here again, we come back to that 00:43:06.170 --> 00:43:09.849 deal of service. Service, being part of somebody 00:43:09.849 --> 00:43:12.949 else's life and helping them. Galatians 5 .14 00:43:12.949 --> 00:43:16.099 says, For the whole law is fulfilled in one word 00:43:16.099 --> 00:43:18.179 of this statement. You shall love your neighbor 00:43:18.179 --> 00:43:20.679 as yourself. That's what Jesus said in Matthew 00:43:20.679 --> 00:43:23.300 22, which he got from the Old Testament, which 00:43:23.300 --> 00:43:26.840 came from the Old Testament. Romans 13 .10 says, 00:43:26.960 --> 00:43:29.619 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, 00:43:29.780 --> 00:43:34.599 is the fulfillment of the law. It's really easy 00:43:34.599 --> 00:43:37.159 for me to love my wife and my family. Some of 00:43:37.159 --> 00:43:40.880 you are not so easy to love. But I'm commanded 00:43:40.880 --> 00:43:45.400 to love you. And you know what? If I love you, 00:43:45.559 --> 00:43:49.860 that'll probably be receptive. You'll probably 00:43:49.860 --> 00:43:52.719 start to love me. I remember there was a guy, 00:43:52.780 --> 00:43:55.980 we had a Kairos ministry for many years, and 00:43:55.980 --> 00:44:00.559 there was a guy in there, and we probably have 00:44:00.559 --> 00:44:04.659 some Yankees in here, and I love the Yankees, 00:44:04.659 --> 00:44:08.500 but this guy was a Yankee. I mean, from the top 00:44:08.500 --> 00:44:09.539 of his head to the bottom of his toe, and when 00:44:09.539 --> 00:44:12.619 I first got around him, I didn't like him. He 00:44:12.619 --> 00:44:16.380 was fresh. He was loud. He'll get in your face. 00:44:16.619 --> 00:44:19.019 And I didn't like that. I'm an old southern boy. 00:44:19.159 --> 00:44:20.900 That's not the way I operate. I don't like that. 00:44:20.940 --> 00:44:23.340 I don't like people that get in my face. And 00:44:23.340 --> 00:44:26.320 when we were ministering to prisoners, and this 00:44:26.320 --> 00:44:30.420 guy was just one of those kind of guys. And do 00:44:30.420 --> 00:44:35.960 you know that after serving on two prison walks 00:44:35.960 --> 00:44:39.820 with this man, I got to where I loved him. I 00:44:39.820 --> 00:44:41.940 absolutely love this guy. This guy was as good 00:44:41.940 --> 00:44:46.599 as gold. Outside, he was rough as a cob. Just 00:44:46.599 --> 00:44:49.739 like sandpaper. He'd just get on your nerve just 00:44:49.739 --> 00:44:53.119 being around him. But he was the sweetest guy. 00:44:53.579 --> 00:44:56.699 And he and I got to where we hugged each other 00:44:56.699 --> 00:44:59.219 and we laughed together and we talked, you know. 00:44:59.500 --> 00:45:01.800 And that's part of what I'm talking about here, 00:45:01.860 --> 00:45:06.019 about this compassionate service and loving and 00:45:06.019 --> 00:45:11.219 getting to know one another. 1 John 2 .15 is 00:45:11.219 --> 00:45:13.340 a warning. It says, if we love the world, then 00:45:13.340 --> 00:45:20.719 the love of the Father is not in us. We've got 00:45:20.719 --> 00:45:22.480 to love the world, folks. You've got to love 00:45:22.480 --> 00:45:27.920 people that you may not like. Don't want to be 00:45:27.920 --> 00:45:32.619 around. Don't want to be their best friend. But 00:45:32.619 --> 00:45:35.519 you need to show them love. In fact, in 1 John 00:45:35.519 --> 00:45:42.650 4, think it says the one that does not love does 00:45:42.650 --> 00:45:48.849 not know God why because God is love so we must 00:45:48.849 --> 00:45:54.190 love we must love and we must love others and 00:45:54.190 --> 00:45:57.789 again that that melts back down into your service 00:45:57.789 --> 00:46:02.590 area sharing your wealth sharing with others 00:46:02.590 --> 00:46:09.579 sharing what you've got God loved, for God so 00:46:09.579 --> 00:46:12.260 loved the world that he gave his only begotten 00:46:12.260 --> 00:46:15.139 son, that whosoever believeth him should not 00:46:15.139 --> 00:46:18.360 perish but have everlasting life. For God so 00:46:18.360 --> 00:46:24.619 loved the world. That's our benchmark. If God 00:46:24.619 --> 00:46:28.179 loved the world, we should love the world. Maybe 00:46:28.179 --> 00:46:29.940 not like what they do, maybe not like what they 00:46:29.940 --> 00:46:34.119 say, but love them because we're commanded. It's 00:46:34.119 --> 00:46:36.969 an obligation. You shall. Love the Lord your 00:46:36.969 --> 00:46:39.809 God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. 00:46:41.230 --> 00:46:44.030 All right, so let me give you a quick recap. 00:46:45.690 --> 00:46:48.949 Intimacy with God, having an intimate relationship, 00:46:49.130 --> 00:46:52.449 number one, a daily commitment, radical honesty, 00:46:52.630 --> 00:46:56.210 and vulnerability with God. Number two, immersive 00:46:56.210 --> 00:46:59.949 scripture reading every day. Number three, open 00:46:59.949 --> 00:47:03.809 and honest prayer, consistent communication with 00:47:03.809 --> 00:47:06.809 God. Practicing gratitude, have an appreciative 00:47:06.809 --> 00:47:11.250 heart, authentic worship. Number six, obedience 00:47:11.250 --> 00:47:14.409 and trust. And finally, number seven, compassionate 00:47:14.409 --> 00:47:18.269 service. And let me give you this encouragement. 00:47:18.550 --> 00:47:23.969 Be patient. Developing intimacy with God takes 00:47:23.969 --> 00:47:31.809 time. It takes time. It took... We're still working 00:47:31.809 --> 00:47:35.159 on it. But 57 years, I've been with that woman 00:47:35.159 --> 00:47:40.099 for 57 years. She's been with me 57 years. A 00:47:40.099 --> 00:47:50.820 long time. A long time. But that's how intimacy 00:47:50.820 --> 00:47:59.940 is created, folks. So be patient. Begin to do 00:47:59.940 --> 00:48:02.260 those things that will bring you into this intimate 00:48:02.260 --> 00:48:06.519 relationship with God. That's what he wants from 00:48:06.519 --> 00:48:09.519 you. That's why he gave his son, Jesus Christ, 00:48:09.559 --> 00:48:13.119 for you. For this intimate relationship. You 00:48:13.119 --> 00:48:16.739 better get used to it, Christian. Because you're 00:48:16.739 --> 00:48:19.960 going to spend eternity with him. So wouldn't 00:48:19.960 --> 00:48:22.659 it be a good idea to start that intimacy right 00:48:22.659 --> 00:48:32.900 now with him? I think so. I pray that you have 00:48:32.900 --> 00:48:36.880 a great day today. Don't forget to pray for our 00:48:36.880 --> 00:48:40.340 pastor and Brad and some others going with him. 00:48:40.780 --> 00:48:44.079 A whole bunch going with him. From Pakistan, 00:48:44.380 --> 00:48:47.579 be sure you pray for them and the other teams 00:48:47.579 --> 00:48:50.940 that are on the ground right now and the ones 00:48:50.940 --> 00:48:53.059 that are going. I mean, holy smoke, this church 00:48:53.059 --> 00:48:55.519 is sending out people all over the world. That's 00:48:55.519 --> 00:48:58.860 fantastic. So be sure you be in prayer for that. 00:49:00.940 --> 00:49:05.760 Can I tell you that I love this congregation? 00:49:07.079 --> 00:49:10.980 I love this church. I love what you stand for 00:49:10.980 --> 00:49:14.679 and what you represent. I love your pastor with 00:49:14.679 --> 00:49:20.719 an unbelievable love. I really do. I think he's 00:49:20.719 --> 00:49:25.579 one of the truest example of what a man of God 00:49:25.579 --> 00:49:30.920 should look like. He is so much wiser. In his 00:49:30.920 --> 00:49:38.099 age. And I love him. Thank you for allowing me 00:49:38.099 --> 00:49:39.860 to. Break open the bread of life with you. I'm 00:49:39.860 --> 00:49:41.860 going to pray for you. And I'm going to end. 00:49:44.139 --> 00:49:46.860 My prayer with a blessing. And so if you'd like 00:49:46.860 --> 00:49:48.699 to receive that blessing. It's not from me. It's 00:49:48.699 --> 00:49:50.940 from the Lord. If you'd like to receive that 00:49:50.940 --> 00:49:54.139 blessing. Then just open your hands up. When 00:49:54.139 --> 00:49:57.360 I begin it. And just receive that blessing from 00:49:57.360 --> 00:49:59.300 the Lord. Again thank you for this opportunity. 00:49:59.980 --> 00:50:01.900 Father God, I'm just so thankful to be here. 00:50:01.980 --> 00:50:04.260 I'm so thankful for this congregation. Father, 00:50:04.320 --> 00:50:07.639 for what they mean to you. And Father, I pray 00:50:07.639 --> 00:50:11.239 that through the music, through the testimony 00:50:11.239 --> 00:50:14.659 of the children, through the word, through the 00:50:14.659 --> 00:50:16.940 fellowship with each other, Father, that the 00:50:16.940 --> 00:50:19.980 love of Jesus Christ has been felt so strongly 00:50:19.980 --> 00:50:24.079 in this place. Father, we desire an intimate, 00:50:24.320 --> 00:50:28.619 a very close and personal relationship with you. 00:50:29.119 --> 00:50:32.179 Help us, Father, as we work on that relationship. 00:50:32.659 --> 00:50:35.679 Be with us, Father. Be with all who are here 00:50:35.679 --> 00:50:38.659 this morning. Bless them. Let them have a great 00:50:38.659 --> 00:50:41.800 day in you today. And now may the Lord bless 00:50:41.800 --> 00:50:44.699 you and keep you. May the Lord make his face 00:50:44.699 --> 00:50:48.500 to shine upon you and be gracious to you. And 00:50:48.500 --> 00:50:50.800 may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you 00:50:50.800 --> 00:50:53.980 and give you peace. In the name of the Father, 00:50:54.019 --> 00:50:58.260 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 00:50:58.889 --> 00:51:00.210 God bless you. You're dismissed.