1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Welcome to Ocean Water. We hope you feel refreshed by the living water of Jesus Christ as we 2 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:16,280 help people receive drinking water from the ocean for free. Thanks for joining us for 3 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:46,240 this week's message. And if you enjoy it, please share it with a friend. Hi, I'm Dr. Ryan Delamater, the pastor of Ocean Water Church. I'm here today at the beach where I live. I'm glad that you could be with us today for this week's message. Today we continue our nine-week journey looking at one of the most fascinating people in the Bible, a guy named Daniel. We're calling this series Waves, Learning to Ride What Life Brings. Life is about 4 00:00:46,280 --> 00:01:16,280 harnessing momentum in the moments and seasons you find yourself in, and that has so many parallels to wave riding that we're using that over the next few months as a metaphor. So this series is about a man named Daniel who started out as a 15-year-old prisoner of war and went to the top of the pinnacle of success. Today I want to talk with you about the wave of conformity when you're pressured to conform. Now there's a lot of pressure on us right now to conform, and God has a lot of things to 5 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:46,280 say about this, so we want to be attentive to what he's trying to communicate. So Daniel was 15 years old when he was separated from his parents. He never saw them again, never got to go back to his home country, but the rest of his life was an amazing, rags-to-riches story where he starts off as a prisoner of war and ends up 85 years old, the most powerful man in the empire, except the emperor. He actually saves the entire empire and outlasts three different 6 00:01:46,280 --> 00:02:16,280 administrations. Nebuchadnezzar and Balthazar who were in the Babylonian Empire had taken over the Assyrian Empire and the Persians and Cyrus the Great took over their empire and said, we're killing all you guys, but actually we're keeping Daniel. He actually leads two of these three emperors to their faith in God, and at 85 years old they pull him out of retirement to save him one more time. It's an amazing, amazing story. So we're going to be looking at that in the weeks ahead. The Bible says in Proverbs 17.3, 7 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:46,280 that fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart. Before every blessing, there's always a testing. You see the Lord tests the heart. He tests your heart. Before every blessing, there's always a testing. If you're going to be blessed by God, you're going to be tested by God. Now, if you're going to be used by God, he's going to want to test you first. He's going to want to make sure that you're ready to handle the power and the blessing and the influence or whatever he wants to give you. He wants 8 00:02:46,280 --> 00:03:16,280 to make sure that you can handle it. So why does God say that he tests our heart? Well, it says that he tests our character, our integrity, our humility, our loyalty, our faithfulness, our truthfulness. All of this is about our character. The more you get promoted, the more power you get, the more influence, it's actually God trying to test you in these things. This is why Paul was taught so much and actually wrote so much of the Bible because God spoke to him more than he speaks to 9 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:34,880 both of us. Now, why is that? Well, Paul said we speak God's message because God tested us and trusted us to do it. When we speak, we're not trying to please people. We're trying to please God who tests our heart. Daniel's character was tested in so many ways like ours is each and every day. 10 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:54,280 And each time God wants to give you more influence and more power and more insight. And he wants to tell you things that he doesn't tell anybody else. So God tests us before he promotes us. And today we're going to look at a different kind of test, not major change, but the test of social pressure. 11 00:03:54,280 --> 00:04:07,880 This was the test that Nebuchadnezzar and the king of Babylon, he takes all of Israel captive. And he says, I'm going to find the smartest, the brightest, the best looking, gifted young people. I'm going to bring them to my palace. 12 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:17,680 And I'm going to try to get a bunch of these Hebrew boys and Jewish boys. And Daniel happens to be the one that's picked. And he's 15 years old when this happens. 13 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:30,280 And he goes through a three year indoctrination program where they try to basically wipe out his memory. They say, you don't need the Bible anymore. You don't need God anymore. We're going to basically secularize. We're going to brainwash you. 14 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:38,080 And you're going to be trained for three years. And then you're going to serve in my court. And you're going to serve in the royal palace. 15 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:48,680 And some of you are going to get promoted even to higher positions. And they're going to teach you a new language. They're going to teach you a new culture. They're going to teach you new habits. 16 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:56,880 They're going to give them a new religion and new names. So they're basically trying to completely reprogram them. 17 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:10,680 Now Daniel also had three friends. Daniel 1.7 says that the boys were all given new Babylonian names. Daniel was renamed Belshazzar. Hananiah was renamed Shadrach. And Meshach was renamed Meshach. 18 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:22,280 What does all this mean? What's going on here? Well, because all of their Hebrew names were references to God. So their new names took out those references to God and had references to pagans, pagan gods. 19 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:35,280 So Daniel actually in Hebrew means God is my judge. So Bel was a pagan or a phony god of Babylon. And Hananiah, his Hebrew name means God is gracious. 20 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:42,680 And he was renamed Shadrach. That means the moon god. And the moon god of Babylon, Mishael, whose name in Hebrew means who is like God. 21 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:49,480 In other words, there's no one as great as he is. Who is like God is renamed Meshach, who's a fertility god in Babylon. 22 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:58,080 And Azariah, whose name in Hebrew means God has helped me is renamed Abednego, which means servant of Nebo, who was another pagan god. 23 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:08,280 So Daniel 1.5 says that the king ordered that the young men in this program should eat the same food and wine served at the king's table while they're being trained during this three year period. 24 00:06:08,280 --> 00:06:22,680 After that, they were to become servants of the king of Babylon. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself by eating the royal food and wine and asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way. 25 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:30,680 So you see Daniel refused to go along with the program. He said, I'm not going to defile myself. Now what does that word defile mean? 26 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:39,080 It's an old word and it means to corrupt. It means to pollute. It means to contaminate. It means a loss of purity. 27 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:46,580 Now there were two reasons Daniel refuses to conform here in this situation. First is literally a health reason. 28 00:06:46,580 --> 00:06:55,380 The king's food wasn't really good food. It was kind of junk food. It was heavy on sauces and a lot of sugar and it wasn't really healthy food in the first place. 29 00:06:55,380 --> 00:07:04,380 So there was a physical reason. And then the second thing was, well, there was a cultural reason. God in the Bible gave the Jews, the nation of Israel, very strict dietary loss. 30 00:07:04,380 --> 00:07:13,180 Today we call them kosher. And God did this because he said, I don't want you to ever forget that you're a unique people from everybody else. 31 00:07:13,180 --> 00:07:20,080 You don't get to eat like everybody else eats. It wasn't because God thought that his people were better. 32 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:29,880 It's just that God said, I've chosen you and given you these commandments and I've given you my word and I'm promising you a Messiah, the son of God. 33 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:36,180 And it's not because you're better. It's just I chose you to be the conduit for what I want to do in the world. 34 00:07:36,180 --> 00:07:42,880 And you're not to forget that you're unique. So I don't want you to eat like everybody else and act like everybody else. 35 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:50,380 So Daniel goes, wait, I'm supposed to eat this way? I'm a Jew. There was a cultural and a national and a religious reason. 36 00:07:50,380 --> 00:07:57,080 So what's going on here and why is Daniel rejecting this? Well, there's a third reason and it's a big one. 37 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:03,380 And it's because it was an attack in his identity. You see, number one, this is the first test. 38 00:08:03,380 --> 00:08:09,280 The first test reveals Daniel's integrity. Integrity. He never forgot who he was. 39 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:14,880 Romans 12, 2 says the Bible says, do not conform yourself any longer to the values of this world. 40 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:18,580 Instead, let God transform you by a complete change of how you think. 41 00:08:18,580 --> 00:08:23,880 Then you'll be able to know the will of God. You have two choices in life. 42 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:30,080 You'll be conformed or you'll be transformed. You'll be conformed to the world. 43 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:36,080 You'll be like everybody else. You'll look the same and talk the same and in many ways act the same. 44 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:41,780 You'll be conformed or you'll be transformed by God's word and his life and culture. 45 00:08:41,780 --> 00:08:48,080 And if you're transformed by God's word, then you're going to know God's will and what he wants to do in your life. 46 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:52,880 You see, Daniel reveals integrity. He doesn't forget who he is, who God made him to be. 47 00:08:52,880 --> 00:09:01,380 The second test is revealed in discipline, personal discipline. He controlled his ego and his appetite. 48 00:09:01,380 --> 00:09:09,880 Now in this situation, the Bible says that Daniel made up his mind not to eat the food and wine given to them by the king. 49 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:17,080 And it was gourmet stuff. But Daniel shows tremendous discipline in spite of this great temptation. 50 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:21,180 Daniel is incredibly disciplined as a 15 year old without his parents. 51 00:09:21,180 --> 00:09:27,480 And he says to the most powerful man in the world, I'm not going to do that. 52 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:33,380 In fact, I'm going to serve God because he put me here. And I'm not going to serve you because you're a pagan king. 53 00:09:33,380 --> 00:09:37,480 And I know I'm going to end up indebted to you and being co-opted by you. 54 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,780 And so I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to be conformed. 55 00:09:40,780 --> 00:09:48,980 I'm not going to be seduced into the domino effect of what you want to do and want me to be. 56 00:09:48,980 --> 00:09:53,580 Well, that's an amazing amount of maturity and discipline for someone who's a teenager. 57 00:09:53,580 --> 00:09:59,980 Romans 6 13 says, don't let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness used for sinning. 58 00:09:59,980 --> 00:10:08,480 Instead, give yourself completely to God because he wants you to be a tool in his hands used for good and for his purposes. 59 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,780 This is the decision that Daniel made as a teenager. 60 00:10:12,780 --> 00:10:18,480 I want to be used by God, not used by the world. I want to be used by God, not by culture. 61 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:23,080 I want to be transformed by God, not conformed to the world. 62 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:27,580 You see, Daniel had integrity and he had discipline. 63 00:10:27,580 --> 00:10:33,580 Now, the third thing we see in his life and we really need to get a hold of this if we want God's blessing on us is courage. 64 00:10:33,580 --> 00:10:39,080 Daniel had courage, which means that he was willing to stand alone. 65 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:40,580 Think about that. 66 00:10:40,580 --> 00:10:49,080 It took a great amount of courage for him to look at the most powerful man in the world and ask him to exempt him from eating his food. 67 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:55,080 This was an insult both nationally and culturally. 68 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,580 He's basically a conscientious objector. 69 00:10:57,580 --> 00:11:02,580 What made this even more difficult was that he wasn't the only Jewish boy in the program. 70 00:11:02,580 --> 00:11:07,080 He was actually not just speaking for himself, but also for his three friends. 71 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:13,080 He's really feeling the weight of this decision, the decision not to conform. 72 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:16,580 I'm sure people said, you know, but everybody's doing it. 73 00:11:16,580 --> 00:11:22,080 How many times have we pulled our parents out when we were younger? 74 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:25,580 Daniel goes, I don't care if the whole world does it. It's not right. I'm not going to do it. 75 00:11:25,580 --> 00:11:27,080 This is the conformity test. 76 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,080 He stands with courage, willing to stand alone. 77 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,580 He's willing to say the majority is often wrong. 78 00:11:33,580 --> 00:11:38,580 History has proven that the majority is wrong a lot of the time. 79 00:11:38,580 --> 00:11:45,580 And just because the majority likes a particular value or passes a particular law doesn't mean the value of that law is right. 80 00:11:45,580 --> 00:11:51,580 What's right is right. And what's God's will will always be God's will. 81 00:11:51,580 --> 00:11:54,580 Only God gets to decide what truth is, not us. 82 00:11:54,580 --> 00:11:58,580 Only God decides what's right and wrong. It's not up for a majority vote. 83 00:11:58,580 --> 00:12:01,580 So Daniel says, I don't care what everybody's doing. I'm not doing that. 84 00:12:01,580 --> 00:12:05,580 And this is the kind of courage that God blesses. 85 00:12:05,580 --> 00:12:09,580 Exodus 23 says, never follow the crowd in doing wrong. 86 00:12:09,580 --> 00:12:14,580 And don't be swayed in your testimony by the mood of the majority. 87 00:12:14,580 --> 00:12:19,580 Daniel kept getting promoted because God looks at people who have courage and says, that's my person. 88 00:12:19,580 --> 00:12:22,580 I'm going to promote them. They don't follow the crowd. 89 00:12:22,580 --> 00:12:26,580 They're not swayed by the testimony or the mood of the majority. 90 00:12:26,580 --> 00:12:31,580 Now there's a fourth test revealing in Daniel's life, and that's the test of humility. 91 00:12:31,580 --> 00:12:34,580 You see, God loves humility. 92 00:12:34,580 --> 00:12:39,580 Look at Daniel here. He says, what he couldn't do for the authority, he said, I can't do this. 93 00:12:39,580 --> 00:12:43,580 It's against my values. It's morally wrong. It violates my conscience. 94 00:12:43,580 --> 00:12:48,580 He still is very tactful with how he communicates this, which shows a lot of humility. 95 00:12:48,580 --> 00:12:54,580 And the way that Daniel made his appeal to King Nebuchadnezzar and the authorities was that he showed respect. 96 00:12:54,580 --> 00:12:58,580 He knew that God had allowed this pagan leader who wasn't a Christian, who wasn't a godly man, 97 00:12:58,580 --> 00:13:03,580 but he knew he had allowed this leader in his life to be his boss. 98 00:13:03,580 --> 00:13:08,580 Daniel 1, 8 says, then Daniel asked the chief official, 99 00:13:08,580 --> 00:13:11,580 this is the chief of the palace, for permission to eat other things instead. 100 00:13:11,580 --> 00:13:16,580 Now God had given the chief official great respect for him. 101 00:13:16,580 --> 00:13:21,580 But he said, I'm afraid of my lord, the king, who offered that you eat his food and wine. 102 00:13:21,580 --> 00:13:27,580 And if you aren't as healthy as the others, I fear the king will have me beheaded. 103 00:13:27,580 --> 00:13:32,580 So next, Daniel talked it over with the guard and appointed him to look after Daniel and his three friends. 104 00:13:32,580 --> 00:13:34,580 Daniel offered a suggestion. 105 00:13:34,580 --> 00:13:37,580 Just test this for 10 days and a diet of vegetables and water, 106 00:13:37,580 --> 00:13:42,580 and then see how healthy we look compared to the other people. 107 00:13:42,580 --> 00:13:47,580 Then you can decide whether or not to let us continue eating our diet. 108 00:13:47,580 --> 00:13:51,580 So the guy agrees to it at Daniel's suggestion. 109 00:13:51,580 --> 00:13:58,580 At the end of the 10 days, Daniel and his friends looked healthier and more vigorous and stronger than everybody else in the training program. 110 00:13:58,580 --> 00:14:01,580 So after that, the guard let them eat their own food. 111 00:14:01,580 --> 00:14:08,580 You see, you get promoted when you have a reputation for responsibility. 112 00:14:08,580 --> 00:14:14,580 Proverbs 22 says, if you do your job well, leaders will notice you and will help you serve before kings. 113 00:14:14,580 --> 00:14:20,580 Now the fact is, people with great responsibility notice other people who are responsible. 114 00:14:20,580 --> 00:14:27,580 People with great responsibility notice other leaders who are responsible because they understand how important responsibility is. 115 00:14:27,580 --> 00:14:31,580 The second way to get promoted is to be humble. 116 00:14:31,580 --> 00:14:36,580 To be humble because our attitude determines our acceptance. 117 00:14:36,580 --> 00:14:41,580 Proverbs says, when you stand before the king, don't try to impress him and pretend to be important. 118 00:14:41,580 --> 00:14:44,580 If you threaten them, threats never work. 119 00:14:44,580 --> 00:14:47,580 Be humble or we stumble. 120 00:14:47,580 --> 00:14:51,580 Now develop a reputation for being responsible and humble. 121 00:14:51,580 --> 00:14:57,580 Now the third way is by not being manipulative, by not being deceptive. 122 00:14:57,580 --> 00:15:00,580 Now if you lie, God says you're on your own. 123 00:15:00,580 --> 00:15:05,580 You don't have God's defense. God says, I'm not going to help you in this situation because you're lying about it. 124 00:15:05,580 --> 00:15:09,580 So you don't try to strengthen your case for promotion with deception. 125 00:15:09,580 --> 00:15:14,580 Second Corinthians 4 says, we reject all shameful and underhanded methods. 126 00:15:14,580 --> 00:15:17,580 Why do we try to trick anyone and distort the word of God? 127 00:15:17,580 --> 00:15:23,580 We tell the truth before God and all our honest know that God will honor your honesty. 128 00:15:23,580 --> 00:15:28,580 Now the fourth way you get promoted is to appeal to your boss's goals and interests. 129 00:15:28,580 --> 00:15:32,580 You're there to help them. You start with what they want, not with what you want. 130 00:15:32,580 --> 00:15:36,580 This is exactly what Daniel does. He's very wise in doing this. 131 00:15:36,580 --> 00:15:41,580 Daniel says, look, we have the same goal here. Let's just try to get at it in a different way. 132 00:15:41,580 --> 00:15:47,580 You want me to eat this food because the king thinks it will make me more healthy. 133 00:15:47,580 --> 00:15:51,580 I don't have a problem with that. I want to be healthy. 134 00:15:51,580 --> 00:15:56,580 If it works, great. We've got a win-win. You win and I win. Everybody wins. 135 00:15:56,580 --> 00:15:59,580 Everybody gets what they want. 136 00:15:59,580 --> 00:16:03,580 If it doesn't work, then you decide. You're still in charge. You're still the authority. 137 00:16:03,580 --> 00:16:06,580 But we're going to start with your goals. 138 00:16:06,580 --> 00:16:12,580 The fifth way you get promoted is to choose the right place at the right time with the right words. 139 00:16:12,580 --> 00:16:17,580 Choosing the right place at the right time and the right words to appeal to an authority. 140 00:16:17,580 --> 00:16:23,580 If, by the way, you're a young person and you want to go out on your Friday night and your parents say no, 141 00:16:23,580 --> 00:16:29,580 you need to use these laws. I'm teaching you how to make a case to people, not just your parents, 142 00:16:29,580 --> 00:16:33,580 but people and bosses that you're going to have throughout your life. 143 00:16:33,580 --> 00:16:36,580 Now, what's the right place? Well, always privately. 144 00:16:36,580 --> 00:16:40,580 People mess this up all the time. You don't confront people publicly. 145 00:16:40,580 --> 00:16:44,580 All you'll do is solidify their opposition. You'll make them mad. 146 00:16:44,580 --> 00:16:49,580 You can't expect them to lose face and be into your requests. 147 00:16:49,580 --> 00:16:52,580 Proverbs says, a wise, mature person is known for his understanding. 148 00:16:52,580 --> 00:16:55,580 The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is. 149 00:16:55,580 --> 00:16:58,580 The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is. 150 00:16:58,580 --> 00:17:01,580 You see, because if you want to be persuasive, you can't be abrasive. 151 00:17:01,580 --> 00:17:05,580 I'm never persuasive when I'm abrasive. 152 00:17:05,580 --> 00:17:10,580 Now, the sixth way to get promoted is to trust God if they reject your appeal. 153 00:17:10,580 --> 00:17:14,580 What does that mean? Well, in this case, Daniel's appeal worked. 154 00:17:14,580 --> 00:17:18,580 But if your appeal doesn't work and you've appealed to your boss, 155 00:17:18,580 --> 00:17:26,580 Romans 8.28 says, and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love God according to his purposes. 156 00:17:26,580 --> 00:17:32,580 Now, that's not a promise for everybody. It's a promise for those who love God and trust his purposes. 157 00:17:32,580 --> 00:17:37,580 God works for good. You can find comfort in this for four reasons. 158 00:17:37,580 --> 00:17:43,580 Well, first, I have Jesus with me. Jesus said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. 159 00:17:43,580 --> 00:17:48,580 So you're never really completely alone. You may feel alone in that moment, but you're not. 160 00:17:48,580 --> 00:17:52,580 Jesus is with you. He says, I am with you. 161 00:17:52,580 --> 00:17:59,580 Secondly, I have the Holy Spirit in me. I not only have Jesus with me, I've got God's Spirit in me. 162 00:17:59,580 --> 00:18:08,580 And the Bible says, greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world, which means that you have an unfair advantage 163 00:18:08,580 --> 00:18:13,580 because you have God's Spirit in you and your carnal boss does not. 164 00:18:13,580 --> 00:18:18,580 So you have the Holy Spirit, Jesus with me, the Holy Spirit in me. 165 00:18:18,580 --> 00:18:26,580 Now, third, I have the promises of God to me. There are over 6000 promises from God to you in the Bible, 166 00:18:26,580 --> 00:18:33,580 which is why we want to read it every day. We want to know those promises that get us through difficult times. 167 00:18:33,580 --> 00:18:37,580 Now, lastly, you have God's family around you. Think about that. 168 00:18:37,580 --> 00:18:44,580 I have brothers and sisters and people who are praying for me, which, by the way, is why I want you to find a time each week 169 00:18:44,580 --> 00:18:51,580 to have a meal where you live and watch this message and pray for each other. That will help build God's family. 170 00:18:51,580 --> 00:18:58,580 It's easy. Pick a meal on a day, watch this message, and pray for each other and watch God work. 171 00:18:58,580 --> 00:19:04,580 I want to ask you a question. Now, are you friends with Jesus? Did you know that Jesus would like to be your friend? 172 00:19:04,580 --> 00:19:12,580 That's why I do what I do, because I like to see people become friends with Jesus and serve other people. 173 00:19:12,580 --> 00:19:16,580 Would you like to be friends with Jesus today? It's really simple. 174 00:19:16,580 --> 00:19:22,580 You just admit that your life is not the way you want it to be, and you ask Jesus to forgive you of your shortcomings, 175 00:19:22,580 --> 00:19:26,580 and then you ask Him to be your friend and guide you in your life. 176 00:19:26,580 --> 00:19:34,580 If you mean that sincerely, you can pray right now with me. Just say, Jesus, I'd like to be friends with you. 177 00:19:34,580 --> 00:19:41,580 Things aren't going the way that I'd like them to go in my life. Please help me to follow your amazing teachings. 178 00:19:41,580 --> 00:19:46,580 Please be my friend today. Guide me today. Amen. 179 00:19:46,580 --> 00:19:55,580 If you're friends with Jesus, you're in God's family. If you prayed that, I'd like you to text me at 562-553-2024. 180 00:19:55,580 --> 00:20:02,580 That's my cell phone number. I'd like to text you back and give you some things that will help you in your friendship with Jesus. 181 00:20:02,580 --> 00:20:06,580 Now, I want to thank those of you who support ocean water. 182 00:20:06,580 --> 00:20:12,580 Throughout this pandemic, I mentioned last week we've been helping provide food and water to 38 families in El Salvador, 183 00:20:12,580 --> 00:20:20,580 and we practice that here in San Clemente with the guy that we've adopted in our guys group that we take groceries to and clean his apartment and care for him. 184 00:20:20,580 --> 00:20:29,580 He has early onset Parkinson's and no local family, and so we're his family. Four guys, Adam and Bobby and Ivan and myself, 185 00:20:29,580 --> 00:20:44,580 we have adopted him and care for him. And I'm asking that you add your voice to the chorus of people who are starting to understand that we have an obligation to help get water and food to people and to be generous, part of our responsibility and our worship. 186 00:20:44,580 --> 00:20:52,580 Now, God doesn't watch the amount you give. He watches the sacrifice behind it. God knows its worship when it costs us something. 187 00:20:52,580 --> 00:21:07,580 Only we know what it really costs. That's why our worship is between us and God. But I want you to go online today at OceanWater.com and click on give and what God puts on your heart, set that up a monthly plan as part of your worship to help others. 188 00:21:07,580 --> 00:21:23,580 Now, thanks for being with us today. I hope you enjoyed this message and I hope you have a great week. Thanks so much.