1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:04,040 Hey everybody, this is Pastor John Ewart from Inglewood 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:05,920 Baptist Church in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,119 Thank you so much for tuning in to our podcast. 4 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,320 You're going to hear from God today as we share from his word 5 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,080 about important issues facing your life that can guide you 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:22,000 according to the Bible. Well, what a morning, Inglewood, 7 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:23,560 Amen. What a morning. 8 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:29,000 Praise the Lord, so thankful. Thankful for a worship team 9 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,080 helping us to do that. Don't forget they have put 10 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,320 together ACD that would help you worship. 11 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:37,840 You can download that. You can buy a bunch of those at 12 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:40,560 the bookstore. They'd love for you to share in 13 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:42,080 that with them. Don't forget that. 14 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,720 Listen, I want to I want to thank our connect groups for 15 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:49,720 reaching out, doing reach and reaching our community. 16 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,480 Keep hearing story after story every week of people who are 17 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,240 encouraged. In fact, this last week, Teresa 18 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:59,360 and I were visiting with a a member who had recently joined a 19 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:02,600 connect group, one of our small groups, and they had suffered a 20 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,080 loss in their family. And we were just talking about 21 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,480 that. And they were just testifying. 22 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,120 And I need you, I want you to hear this, how thankful they 23 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:14,840 were that this small group that they belong to had reached out 24 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,720 to them and loved them and prayed for them and encouraged 25 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:19,640 them. And we were just talking about 26 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:21,760 the way that that's the way the church is supposed to work. 27 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,760 And yesterday Jonathan Taylor and I were sharing with a young 28 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:29,600 man and we were talking about what the church is supposed to 29 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:31,200 do and how he needed to be a part of it. 30 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,360 He was talking about some issues in his life and how the church 31 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:36,400 needed to surround him. And, and I was just saying to 32 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:39,200 him that sometimes church church doesn't do that, but that's what 33 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:41,680 the church is supposed to do. So it's really nice when it 34 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,280 works. She, she also this church member 35 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:47,560 was sharing with me that, you know, I, I, I don't know if I've 36 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,080 realized that I've asked you all to be in connect groups that 37 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:55,800 much, but but she was in, she was talking about, you know, my, 38 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:57,560 my spiritual gift of aggravation. 39 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:02,440 So it was really powerful. And then she was, she was being 40 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,120 very loving and kidding with, but then she was sharing about 41 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,040 how she was inviting and encouraging people to come to. 42 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:09,160 And so I told her that the spirit of aggravation had come 43 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:11,160 to her too and that it had overwhelmed her. 44 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:15,320 So I just pray the spirit of aggravation fills you all and 45 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:18,160 you invite people to come be a part of what we're doing here. 46 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:21,400 Listen, I appreciate so much. Listen, this series that we're 47 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:23,720 doing and I told the students, it's nice to see these students 48 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:27,680 down Friday, man. And so I I told them last night, 49 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:29,520 Teresa and I had the privilege of going to the retreat and 50 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:31,400 sharing with him a little bit. I told him I was going to throw 51 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,640 down a little bit this morning and that they had to be my Amen 52 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,440 and Hallelujah section. So, so the rest of y'all join 53 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:37,520 them. Thank you very much. 54 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:42,320 So we're going to have to get after it a little bit. 55 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:44,600 Listen, we're trying to define this all we're trying to do. 56 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:46,480 We're trying to define what it means to be like Jesus. 57 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,360 That's what we're trying to do. How do, how do we be like Jesus? 58 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:51,120 Who do I need to be? What do I need to know? 59 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:53,560 What do I need to be doing to be like Jesus? 60 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:55,120 Right. So piece by piece, we're putting 61 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:58,760 this vision together takes time. There's a specific process 62 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:00,840 involved. This, this ain't my first rodeo. 63 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:04,280 And and so the journey together is valuable. 64 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:08,280 We can't rush it because we might miss its intended value. 65 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:12,000 It's kind of like some nights at my house, at my house. 66 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,720 If you come to my house at 7:30, you're most welcome. 67 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:17,120 But we're going to be watching Wheel of Fortune almost every 68 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,520 night now. That's that My wife loves Wheel 69 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:21,960 of Fortune. I, I will blame you for that. 70 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,880 Our daughter was actually on Wheel of Fortune a few years ago 71 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,440 and won like $70,000, just decimated the competition. 72 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:34,640 I mean, it was fantastic and, and so most nights were there 73 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:36,440 and we tend to talk to Wheel of Fortune. 74 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:38,960 I don't know if any of you all ever talked to the TVI was doing 75 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,320 that a lot yesterday to Oklahoma Sooners. 76 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:46,520 But another story. We won't go there, but you know, 77 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:48,560 but it's kind of like it's kind of like rushing stuff. 78 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,520 It's kind of like that person who solves the puzzle too early 79 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,520 on Wheel of Fortune. I mean, you got 4 DS up there 80 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:57,680 and you could have made 3000 more dollars and you solve the 81 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,480 stinking puzzle. You know I'm talking about we're 82 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:03,160 screaming at our house throwing things. 83 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,800 So please just note our objective, Our objective here. 84 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:11,040 It's not that you simply check off some To Do List. 85 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,240 That's not it. That's not what these 7 86 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:17,320 essentials are about. Our goal is intimacy with Jesus 87 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:19,079 Christ. That's what we're after here at 88 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:22,160 Inglewood. So to love him, to love others, 89 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:23,520 to fulfill his mission, that's part of it. 90 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:25,640 So these essentials help us to do that. 91 00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:28,400 So we believe every member needs to grow in these areas. 92 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:30,440 All of us, all of us have a growth to do. 93 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,120 But it not only defines who we need to be as people, it's also 94 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:37,040 going to define what we plan as a church and how we do things 95 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:39,520 together. So please, come live the 96 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:43,160 church's vision comes learn about the seven essentials of 97 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,280 discipleship. And this morning you might sense 98 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,600 that there's a theme called worship because our fifth 99 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:57,240 essential is a disciple responds in worship with all and 100 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,240 surrender. So last night, as I mentioned, 101 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,400 we were blessed to go to camp Willow Run, beautiful place on 102 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:07,280 the lake reminded us of home and had a chance just to share with 103 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:10,040 the students for a few minutes. So I want to thank you all for 104 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:12,320 being back here. I thank you for being awake. 105 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:15,080 I'm impressed after a week long retreat. 106 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:16,680 The adults aren't, but the students are. 107 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,520 Good job. And we're going to talk about 108 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:21,960 and their theme all weekend was worship. 109 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,320 There was a study done recently in churches, United States of 110 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:26,680 America. It was really interesting to me 111 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:29,920 because of what they concluded. They said here's what's absent 112 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,400 from most congregations in the US when it comes to worship. 113 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:36,560 They said what's absent is a sense of awe. 114 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:39,000 And that was that was interesting to me. 115 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,080 They even went on to say that only one in four worshippers 116 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:47,360 said they always or usually experience all during worship. 117 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:51,120 And I thought to myself, how do you measure all you know? 118 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:53,840 And so, you know, the definition of all in one of the 119 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:57,920 dictionaries would be a feeling of reverential respect mixed 120 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:00,160 with fear and wonder. So this idea of a mix of fear 121 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:02,880 and wonder, I get that part. How do you measure that, you 122 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:04,440 know? And then I got to thinking, are 123 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:09,360 we ever awed by God anymore? Is coming to church such a 124 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,520 routine? I, I pray that people seeing 125 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:16,520 baptized on a regular basis is not just a routine. 126 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:18,800 You know, it's just become so routine. 127 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,760 We're not awed by it anymore because in worship, what we're 128 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,120 doing is we're affirming God's worth by honouring and 129 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,960 glorifying him both through words but also through actions. 130 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:30,840 This isn't just about what we say. 131 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:33,480 So we love God by exalted him and everything we do both 132 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,480 corporately and individually. So life is an act of worship. 133 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,760 The students heard about that from Pastor Jordan this weekend. 134 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,120 Life should be an act of worship in response to God's love for 135 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:47,080 us. So are we really devoted to 136 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:52,760 exalting and surrendering to God in authentic, awe inspiring 137 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:55,040 worship or not? That's the question. 138 00:06:55,160 --> 00:07:00,520 Do we even know what that is? And so have you ever really ever 139 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:02,800 experienced worship before? And that may sound like a weird 140 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:04,280 thing. You may be here every week. 141 00:07:04,280 --> 00:07:05,800 That doesn't. That doesn't answer the question 142 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:08,800 because worship is a verb in the Bible. 143 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,000 Note that every time there's a word used for worship, it's a 144 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:15,880 verb. This is something that we do. 145 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,120 It refers to both action and attitude, right? 146 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:23,520 And so many today describe it only in terms, I'm afraid of 147 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:26,960 this thing, this Sunday morning church service thing. 148 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:29,760 That's worship, right? And I'm not. 149 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:32,120 And it certainly is. Or they might even more 150 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:36,640 specifically refer to the music or to the singing as the worship 151 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,240 part. And, and sometimes they'll even 152 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:43,600 attach their understanding and appreciation of what they think 153 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:49,000 worship is to a specific style based on, even based more on 154 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,440 personal preference than on theological content. 155 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:54,400 And so This is why I like worship. 156 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,800 It's because I like the style, whether it glorifies God or not. 157 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,560 So sometimes with human beings, it's a problem for us, part of 158 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:05,520 our sin nature. We often confuse preference with 159 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:09,480 what's right. I mean, if I don't like it, it 160 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:14,040 must be wrong, right? And so personal preference often 161 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:16,520 becomes a part of of how we think. 162 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,280 But it's really a part of our individual culture. 163 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:20,840 It's a part of our individual experience. 164 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:22,800 You like things. They evoke memories. 165 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:25,320 They evoke certain feelings and emotions that make you 166 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:27,880 comfortable, comfortable that make you happy because they 167 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:31,600 remind you of something else that was positive back when. 168 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:34,600 But friends, be careful because there are some people, not 169 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,039 necessarily here at Inglewood, but some people who want to 170 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:41,520 create a, a personal Amish type expectation where they push 171 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:44,880 pause and stick to a certain historical time period and 172 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:47,200 preference when it comes to worship. 173 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,840 I understand that that's what you like. 174 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,680 That's what you remember, That's what gives you the warm fuzzy. 175 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,880 And so so that's what you want. But but some people also base 176 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:01,360 their entire church participation on stuff like 177 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,360 that. They allow certain style that 178 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,080 that maybe is not their personal favorite to determine their 179 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,000 ability to worship into the their relationship to the body 180 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,000 of Christ. Listen, I'm sure there's some 181 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,560 people today that wouldn't like the way David sang the Psalms. 182 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,720 I mean, that young man needs to quit plucking that harp so fast. 183 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:21,480 That's way too loud. He's plucking that harp too 184 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:26,600 fast. You with me, everybody say Amen. 185 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:34,200 Thank you very much. Now, that would be OK if worship 186 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,680 was for us. But is worship for us? 187 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:42,640 No, thank you very much. Worship is not directed toward 188 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:45,560 us. So this way of judging or 189 00:09:45,560 --> 00:09:49,200 defining worship results in a very immature, very chaotic 190 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:52,520 ecclesiology. It it actually results in a very 191 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,800 incomplete discipleship idea. I mean, in a church like this 192 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:58,760 where there are hundreds of people who gather every single 193 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:00,200 week. I don't know if you realize 194 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:01,920 this. I'm glad you're all sitting down 195 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:04,400 because you might be shocked to know there are hundreds of 196 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:06,800 opinions in here. Did you know that? 197 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:10,040 If you looked around you, and I'm telling you the truth, if 198 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:14,000 you looked around you right now, there are people in this room, 199 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,720 you ready for this that disagree with you? 200 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:21,760 That's right. See, now, fortunately, most of 201 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:23,440 you don't get to hear that. Just me. 202 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:25,520 I get to hear all of it, but most of you all don't. 203 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:29,560 But we got to we, we want to grow beyond that as a church, 204 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:30,600 right? That's not who we are. 205 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,160 So true worship has to be something more than this. 206 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:37,000 True worship has to be more than just style. 207 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:40,760 It has to be more than just this service we attend, although 208 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,320 we're supposed to attend, we need to attend on Sunday 209 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,320 morning. So worship is for God, not 210 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:50,880 primarily for us, right? So, so we need to recognize true 211 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:53,520 worship is also not about the performance of others. 212 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:56,880 It's it's not about it's not about how the people up here on 213 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:59,200 the platform did. So put the scorecards I talked 214 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:00,760 about last week, just take them away. 215 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:05,200 It's not about that. It's also not just about now 216 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:06,640 listen to this one. This is important to you all 217 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:08,840 like it. This is, it's not just about 218 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:13,440 what you got out of it. It's much more about what did 219 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:17,960 you put into it? What sacrifice did you bring to 220 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:20,600 worship this morning? Think about the Old Testament 221 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:24,440 worship. What sacrifice do you bring to 222 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:29,160 God in worship this morning out of your personal life and offer 223 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:32,120 on the altar? See, so it's not what we get, 224 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,520 It's about what we put into. So worship involves our full 225 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,240 focus. It involves our full focus upon 226 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:41,560 the recognition of who God is. And So what worship really does 227 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:45,880 is it requires us taking the focus off of us and putting it 228 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:50,880 where it belongs on Him. And so we place it fully upon 229 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:54,200 him because He deserves it. Listen to Revelation 5I Read 230 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:56,280 some of this last night to the students. 231 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:58,800 Revelation 512 So sing with a loud voice. 232 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:04,000 Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and 233 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:08,240 wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing. 234 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:10,720 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under 235 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,080 the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying to 236 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:17,280 him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and 237 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,920 honour and glory and might forever and ever. 238 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:24,000 He deserves worship. Turn to your neighbor right now 239 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:25,800 and say Jesus deserves our worship. 240 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:33,400 Listen to me, I don't, and neither do you. 241 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:36,840 But He does. So worship is based upon the 242 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:40,800 truth of who God is. It's our spirit, our hearts 243 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,320 reaching out to the very heart of God. 244 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:48,040 So do I truly worship or do I simply attend services? 245 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:52,520 Right. Have you worshiped this morning 246 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:59,160 yet or simply gone through this week's motion of rituals? 247 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:02,040 You know, in the 10 commandments, the first four 248 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:04,640 commandments are about worship. They're about worship because 249 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:06,480 God knew we would be selfish about it. 250 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:08,000 But here's the trick. So is he. 251 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:13,440 He's selfish about it and, and he will not share true worship 252 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:15,880 with anyone or anything else, right? 253 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:18,920 And so we will be worshippers in heaven forever. 254 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:20,440 So we better learn how to do this. 255 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:23,040 We better learn to love it. We better learn to enjoy it 256 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:25,640 because this is a heaven like activity, one of the few we get 257 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,640 to do on earth. And so it's recognizing and 258 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,480 declaring His worth through our hearts, our words and our deeds. 259 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:35,640 So we exist to glorify Jesus in everything. 260 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,560 We're testimonies of His grace like these testimonies you heard 261 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:40,920 this morning. These are testimonies of grace 262 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,960 and His gifts of grace should lead us to acknowledge Him, 263 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:46,760 which is one of the reasons why Paul wrote to the church at Rome 264 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,640 in chapter 12 the way he did. Pastor Jordan was sharing from 265 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,400 this passage to the students yesterday morning. 266 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:55,440 It says I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the 267 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:59,320 mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, 268 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:03,320 holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 269 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,120 Now listen, there's not a mention of a Sunday morning 270 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:06,120 worship service. There is there? 271 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:10,320 Because it's more than that. It's life service. 272 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:13,960 It's your whole existence. And note the verb usage. 273 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:19,160 This is really important. You present, you have a personal 274 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:24,080 individual responsibility to pursue worship and to pursue 275 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:29,000 your own discipleship. Now, over the years, certainly 276 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:35,600 not in Inglewood, but over the years, I've heard folks complain 277 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:38,160 about their church leaders. You know, he just doesn't feed 278 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:41,520 me. Now, listen, there are certainly 279 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:43,120 weak preachers. I've worked with a ton of them. 280 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:44,920 They're weak preachers and teachers out there. 281 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:46,800 And there's some Sundays I'm not as good as others. 282 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:48,720 I recognize all that. But I have to ask you a 283 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:50,000 question. How old are you? 284 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:59,080 Are you a new baby Christian? Amen. 5, we got a testimony. 285 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:04,160 I mean, are you a new baby Christian? 286 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:07,360 If so, you need help. You you need help. 287 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:10,080 And we're here for you. That that's what we want to help 288 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:12,560 you, right? But if not, why do you always 289 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:14,320 need someone else to spoon feed you? 290 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:18,480 What's your responsibility? See, this is a shared load. 291 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:20,040 That doesn't mean I don't have a responsibility. 292 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:21,720 Doesn't mean you're connect. Group leaders don't have a 293 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,000 responsibility. But what's the shared load, 294 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,360 right? Learn and engage in these 295 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,000 essentials. Feed from your church 296 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,960 discipleship experiences, and then also feed yourself from 297 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,760 your personal spiritual discipline experiences and then 298 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,360 go feed others. That's what's supposed to 299 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:42,520 happen. You choose to be a disciple. 300 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:44,360 It's not just going to happen to you. 301 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:48,520 You choose to be a disciple. You choose to engage His word. 302 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:51,880 You choose to abide in prayer. You choose to unite in 303 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,320 fellowship. You choose to commit to service. 304 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,720 You choose to respond in worship with all insurrender. 305 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:02,680 You have a responsibility of these choices, and you must also 306 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:06,320 choose to feed others. So intentionally choose to 307 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:09,320 present yourself as a living sacrifice that you might 308 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,040 worship. And remember, only the people of 309 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:15,600 God can truly worship. Only those who know Him can 310 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,560 fully appreciate Him and all that He's done for us and lift 311 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:21,320 Him up and exalt Him. So we seek an intimate 312 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:25,040 relationship and fellowship with Him that leads us to this sense 313 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:29,640 of awe and surrender. So our corporate worship 314 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:33,280 experience where we present God's truth also serves as a 315 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:35,520 testimony even to those who don't know him. 316 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:37,000 And that may be some of you here today. 317 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,200 You may not have ever trusted in Christ as your Lord and Savior. 318 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,120 You're a guest or you're visiting with somebody else. 319 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:46,320 And so, you know, maybe you're just kind of watching to see all 320 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,040 this. What Paul writes about that to 321 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:51,560 the church at Corinth in First Corinthians 14, he says, but if 322 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,960 all prophecy and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is 323 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,480 convicted by all, he's called to account, by all the secrets of 324 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:02,440 his heart are disclosed. And so falling on his face, he 325 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,480 will worship God and declare that God is really among you, 326 00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:07,760 that you know, that's my prayer for you visitors. 327 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:09,960 Thank you for being here. But I pray you fall on your face 328 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:13,560 and recognize God. I mean, I really do. 329 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:17,160 And I want to help you do that any way we can, any way we can 330 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:20,000 to help you recognize who he is. See. 331 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:23,839 So invite your friends to view and observe us as we worship, as 332 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:27,040 we worship him and surrender and respond to Him this way because 333 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:30,280 this is how this is how human beings ought to interact with 334 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:33,800 Yahweh. This, this is what he deserves. 335 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:36,840 So, so maybe they'll experience that testimony and God will use 336 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:40,640 it to draw them to him. In fact, think about that. 337 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:44,160 That's what our friends overseas are doing even in the midst of 338 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:47,840 such darkness and difficulty. That's what they're doing. 339 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:51,480 God is using them and their worship as a testimony to draw 340 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:53,640 people to him. Pretty amazing. 341 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:55,920 Now I want you to see a biblical example. 342 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,040 Now that I'm done with the introduction, turn to Isaiah 343 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:00,760 chapter 6. We're going to spend just a few 344 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:04,880 minutes here, I promise. So here's the background. 345 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,560 The king of Judah, King Uzziah, has died. 346 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,280 He'd been a good king until he acted like the high priest and 347 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:14,560 disgraced God and died. He sinned. 348 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:18,280 He failed. So the threat of Assyria, these 349 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:21,080 outside forces are rising. They're under a great threat 350 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,640 from the outside. So the king is dead. 351 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:25,320 There are problems all around them. 352 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,120 What in the world are we going to do? 353 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:31,040 It's a dark and scary place. So what do we do in dark and 354 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:33,280 scary times? That's where Isaiah is. 355 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,520 So he goes to the temple to seek answers from God. 356 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:39,280 Now, Isaiah was different than the other prophets because he 357 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:41,160 actually had access to the Royal Court. 358 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:44,040 He was probably a relative of the king and so he's a little 359 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:46,480 different. So he's also personally probably 360 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,680 hurting. So he's overwhelmed by the days 361 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,680 around him. Days can be overwhelming, huh? 362 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:55,200 Turn to your neighbor and say overwhelming. 363 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:58,520 Are you with me? You all say Amen. 364 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,200 Some of you say Hallelujah. Thank you very much. 365 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:07,120 Now, Isaiah chapter 6, verse one says this. 366 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:11,400 Don't make me laugh, Dylan. In the year that King Uzziah 367 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:15,600 died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted 368 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,400 up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 369 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:21,800 Above him stood the Seraphim. Each had six wings. 370 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:23,800 With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his 371 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:26,800 feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and 372 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,640 said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. 373 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:31,560 The whole earth is full of his glory. 374 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:34,760 And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of 375 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:37,520 him who called, And the house was filled with smoke. 376 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:40,480 And I said, woe is me, for I'm lost. 377 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,200 For I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a 378 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:46,720 people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, 379 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:53,560 the Lord of hosts. Why must we as his disciples 380 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,560 respond in worship with all and surrender? 381 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,120 Well, the first thing is because we want to seek God. 382 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,720 He says I saw the Lord. Well, I mean what a picture of 383 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:04,600 power, what a picture of awesomeness. 384 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:06,720 I mean the King's dead. Who's going to be your king? 385 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,000 Who's going to lead us? What are we going to do? 386 00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:13,800 How are we going to survive? I saw the Lord high and lifted 387 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,920 up sitting on a throne. Who our Lord where high and 388 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:22,760 lifted up sitting on the throne. Now, friends, we stake our very 389 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:25,880 lives upon this. We stake our eternities upon the 390 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:28,200 fact that our King is sitting on a throne. 391 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,240 He's never leaving that throne. He'll always sit on that throne. 392 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:35,080 He reigns forever on that throne, and we stake our very 393 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:39,560 existence upon that. He is the King of kings, for my 394 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:46,440 eyes have seen who the King now. Earthly kings failed the Hebrews 395 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:47,760 time and time and time and time again. 396 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:49,960 Earthly leaders will do that. And this may shock you, but I 397 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:51,520 may too. You may not always like what I 398 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:53,080 have to say. I might not say the right thing 399 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:54,360 sometime. I might say the wrong thing. 400 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:55,880 Maybe I didn't say something I should have said. 401 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:57,840 Maybe I said too much. Sometimes I don't know. 402 00:20:57,840 --> 00:20:59,200 Connect group, connect group, connect group. 403 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:05,480 Who knows? But it would. 404 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:07,160 I have incredible hope for you today. 405 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:12,160 God is on his throne and He is King and He rules over this 406 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:16,280 church. So before we can live out his 407 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:19,560 vision for us, we He has to be the true Lord of our lives. 408 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:23,120 He has to be our King. So God reveals himself to his 409 00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:25,200 people this way. We hold him at high esteem and 410 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:29,320 honor, but it takes surrendered, seeking eyes to actually see 411 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:31,640 him. So what do you seek this 412 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:34,840 morning? Do you seek hope, peace, 413 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:40,960 purpose, salvation, forgiveness, direction? 414 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:45,360 We need Him. Listen to what the Proverbs say. 415 00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:49,240 Proverbs 817 I love those who love me, and those who seek me 416 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:54,400 diligently find me. Now Isaiah went to the temple to 417 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,040 pray. He was seeking God, and those 418 00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:58,600 who seek him that way will find Him. 419 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:01,440 Those who do not, those who seek their own way, you're going to 420 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:02,760 miss him. And you could miss him right 421 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:05,200 here. You could come week after week 422 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:08,320 after week and miss him because you're not really seeking Him. 423 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:11,640 In fact, years later, the Romans come and conquer Jerusalem. 424 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:15,000 Jesus actually predicts this. He prophesized about this and 425 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:16,760 they come and they destroy Jerusalem. 426 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,280 And General Pompeii, who led the Romans doing that, He goes to 427 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:23,480 the temple and he pours pig blood, which is unclean to the 428 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,400 Jewish people all over the temple, just desecrates the 429 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,760 whole temple with pig blood. Then he storms in, rips open the 430 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,160 curtain to the Holy of Holies and says this. 431 00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:35,120 It's empty. There's nothing but darkness 432 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:40,840 because that's what he knew and what he sought. 433 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:43,200 But Jesus, the King, my friends, it's right here. 434 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:44,480 We don't have to ask for his presence. 435 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:46,680 He's right here. And if you'll seek him honestly, 436 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:49,440 you, you'll, you'll meet him. If you don't do that, you're 437 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:51,400 going to miss him and you'll walk out again. 438 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,680 Go get your burrito or whatever you all get. 439 00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:02,680 That was nice. We worship to seek Him. 440 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:06,240 Isaiah did, and he saw him so. So how did he respond? 441 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:07,800 How did Isaiah respond after this? 442 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,240 Why must we respond in worship with all and surrender? 443 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:11,840 Secondly, because we've got to humble ourselves. 444 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:14,160 So that's what true worship leads to. 445 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:16,240 True worship leads to humility. Why? 446 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,880 Well, when we honestly worship God, we're going to recognize 447 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:21,200 two things. First of all, we will recognize 448 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:25,000 who God truly is. I mean, there was no doubt to 449 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:30,040 Isaiah who he saw, for my eyes have seen the king. 450 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:32,160 Look at verse 2 again. It says above him stood the 451 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:34,440 seraphim. Each had six wings with two. 452 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:36,080 He covered his face. With two, He covered his feet. 453 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,600 With two. He flew and one called to 454 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:42,280 another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. 455 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,120 The whole earth is full of his glory. 456 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:47,280 And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of 457 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:50,840 him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 458 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:54,400 You know, it's the only time Seraphin or Seraphim are 459 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,400 mentioned in the Bible. This is it, the one and only 460 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:01,360 these. This is an unusual high order of 461 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:03,600 heavenly creature. I can't wait to see them. 462 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:07,120 I can't wait to see this. They had 6 wings. 463 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,760 One pair covered their face, one pair covered their feet or body. 464 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:13,480 The Hebrew word could mean neither and the And so this 465 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:15,600 covering represents deep humility. 466 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,200 They know who God is. They don't have any question 467 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:21,280 about the angelic believer, the creatures. 468 00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:24,280 They all know who God is. And they covered their faces and 469 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,240 their bodies and their feet in deep humility before their Lord 470 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:29,720 and Master. And then the other pair was 471 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:31,360 ready to carry out God's command. 472 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:33,320 And the whole time they're praising God. 473 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:37,160 I mean, what an awesome example of worship this is, humbly 474 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,400 praising God, ready to serve him. 475 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,080 That's it. So these powerful heavenly 476 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,160 creatures recognized who God truly was. 477 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:52,360 Do we do we see his place on the throne? 478 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:56,800 AW Tozier, famous writer, author for many. 479 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,880 He once said the simple statement, God saves us to 480 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,720 become worshippers. One of the reasons you're saved 481 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,720 is so that you can truly worship God. 482 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:11,400 So if we cover ourselves in humility, we're ready to carry 483 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:14,680 out His command at a moment's no notice, with our mouths filled 484 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:17,280 with His praise, surrendering to who He is. 485 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:21,320 Oh, I pray that if we would do that, that the thresholds of our 486 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:26,040 lives would be shaken, that we would shake at the power of His 487 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:31,800 voice, that we would feel the smoke envelope us. 488 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:37,160 The psalmist wrote In Psalm 99. The Lord reigns. 489 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,720 Let the peoples tremble. He sits enthroned upon the 490 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:43,320 cherubim. Let the earthquake. 491 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:46,800 The Lord is great in Zion. He's exalted over all the 492 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,600 peoples. Let them praise your great and 493 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,200 awesome name. Holy is he. 494 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:57,720 Please let us hear your voice. Lord, please envelope us with 495 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:01,040 your presence. Do we ever tremble anymore? 496 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,120 Is it getting smoky and a little shaky in here? 497 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:11,640 Do you feel the smoke? Do you feel His presence? 498 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:13,960 In authentic worship we realize who God truly is. 499 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:16,600 But the second thing we recognize is that we also have 500 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:22,040 to admit who we truly are. Verse five goes on and it says 501 00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:25,480 and I said, woe is me, for I am lost, for I'm a man of unclean 502 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:27,840 lips, and I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips. 503 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:30,600 For my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. 504 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,160 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning 505 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,400 coal that had taken with tongs from the altar. 506 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:40,520 And he touched my mouth and said, Behold, this has touched 507 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:42,160 your lips. Your guilt is taken away, and 508 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:46,080 your sin atoned for. Isaiah immediately recognized 509 00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:48,520 his own sinfulness. He recognized his unworthiness. 510 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:51,000 That that ought to be a response to us when we stand in the 511 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:55,080 presence of the perfect Lord. So true worship leads to 512 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:57,440 conviction, true worship leads to confession, true worship 513 00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,480 leads to repentance. I mean, you got to listen to 514 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:04,520 when the apostle Peter first encountered Christ's power in 515 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:06,400 the Gospels. He had seen Jesus perform a 516 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,040 miracle. Luke 58 says when Simon Peter 517 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:13,560 saw it, he fell down at Jesus knees saying, depart from me for 518 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:17,560 I'm a sinful man. Oh Lord, there was no doubt 519 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:22,520 about how he had to respond. The great evangelist DL Moody 520 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:28,000 once said, we may easily become too big for God to use us, but 521 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:34,080 never too small. How dare we stand before God? 522 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,400 How dare we stand before God? We are sinners. 523 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:45,000 We don't deserve his presence. We don't deserve to tremble. 524 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,440 We don't deserve to be cleansed. We don't deserve his smoke. 525 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,160 We must be cleansed. The coal that you see in this 526 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:53,960 passage was taken from the sacrificial altar where blood 527 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:58,760 was shed for sacrifice. My friends, we're cleansed by 528 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:03,000 the blood from another altar when shaped like a cross. 529 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:08,360 So when we truly seek the Lord in worship, confession, 530 00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:11,920 conviction, and cleansing result, how can I stand before 531 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:13,760 God? I can tell you grace. 532 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:18,240 That's it, that's all. It's the only answer. 533 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:21,640 How could I ever be clean enough grace? 534 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:28,720 How does that work, Jesus? It's the only way, the only one. 535 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:32,480 A sacrifice on a cross and a risen victory for me and for 536 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:33,640 you. It's amazing. 537 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:37,600 So to leave a corporate worship service focused on anything or 538 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:41,240 anyone other than him is to miss the whole point entirely. 539 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:47,720 You just blew it. Not recognizing the presence and 540 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,360 power of God is short sighted. It's likely sinful. 541 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:53,120 We need to respond to humility and surrender to be ready to 542 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:55,360 receive God's vision to be used by him. 543 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:59,480 So we respond and worship with all and surrender to seek God to 544 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,560 humble ourselves. But then thirdly, lastly, we 545 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:06,080 also worship God in order to serve in obedience. 546 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,320 Look at verse 8. It says and I heard the voice of 547 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:12,640 the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? 548 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:20,040 Then I said, here I am, send me. And he says, go and say to this 549 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:22,160 people. And then he shares with him a 550 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:25,280 message. Isaiah found the answers that 551 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,960 he'd been looking for. He found the King's mission. 552 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:29,560 He found the King's vision for his life. 553 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,520 He entered God's house anxious. He entered it worried, and he 554 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:35,520 left with a new challenge. Now maybe you've come here today 555 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,040 completely distraught, completely burdened, completely 556 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,960 overwhelmed, or maybe just bored out of your mind. 557 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:49,520 Allow the overwhelming presence of the Lord to relieve the 558 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:51,440 burden of your overwhelming life. 559 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:57,240 Be renewed by His power. Be awed by His thunderous voice. 560 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:03,600 Surrender to His will. Recognize who He is. 561 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,120 Isaiah sought the Lord amid crisis, was willing to listen. 562 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:09,800 That's part of it. And God revealed himself to him, 563 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:12,840 but that didn't mean the challenges were over. 564 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:15,240 Life didn't get easier. If you read verses 9 through 13, 565 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:17,360 we won't do it this morning. But if you read verses 9 through 566 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:19,600 13, God also says, now nobody's going to listen to you. 567 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:23,520 Here's the message I want you to share to these people now. 568 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:25,920 They're going to ignore you. They're going to be apathetic. 569 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:30,440 They're going to be complacent. They're going to reject you. 570 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:34,440 And so it's interesting. Welcome to the life of a 571 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,360 prophet, huh? I might even say, welcome to the 572 00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:41,880 life of a local pastor because I'm telling you, every single 573 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:43,440 Sunday I expect the altar to be full. 574 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:45,840 Every single Sunday, I expect the next steps room to be full. 575 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:48,480 It's always fascinating to me what does or doesn't happen. 576 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:53,600 But that didn't change Isaiah's responsibility, nor does it 577 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:56,120 change ours. When whether anyone listens to 578 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:59,120 us or not does not change our responsibility to worship and to 579 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:03,960 share and to serve. We go and say to this people, I 580 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,520 want you to know that personal evangelism training will start 581 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:10,800 right here on Wednesday night, October 29th, in our midweek. 582 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:13,120 I'll be curious to see if the crowd still holds. 583 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:16,880 That was an evil laugh, by the way. 584 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:23,600 But I want to share with you, even those of you who've never 585 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:25,480 shared your faith. I don't want to share my faith. 586 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:27,760 I'm scared to share my faith. This is perfect for you. 587 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:29,800 It's exactly how we're going to share. 588 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:32,080 I want to share how you develop the relationship. 589 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:35,080 How do you move from talking about the weather to talking 590 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:38,520 about something important and getting to Jesus step by step in 591 00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:42,320 a natural, relational way to share about Jesus that'll make 592 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:44,840 sense out there won't make you look crazy, and what your 593 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:46,120 friends will actually respond to. 594 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:51,440 So you be here for that and you can still go sign up from last 595 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:53,200 week and serve. If you were here last week, our 596 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:55,160 core ministries still need you to serve. 597 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:58,120 In fact, I thought it was great. I walked in my office. 598 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:01,880 I don't know who did this. I love you, whoever did it. 599 00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:04,760 This is one of my favorite gifts I've ever received. 600 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,440 I cherish this. Not my favorite because my wife 601 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:13,840 has given me those, my grandkids. 602 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:17,040 So this is like my fourth favorite gift I've ever received 603 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:21,920 and it was sitting on my desk and it says caution, 100% 604 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:24,640 participation church, join at your own risk. 605 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:29,440 Isn't that fantastic? That's great. 606 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:34,800 Listen, not only am I going to cherish this, I was thinking we 607 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:38,960 need gigantic billboard size at every entrance to the property. 608 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:44,840 Listen, 100%, get involved. You can still serve. 609 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:47,000 Think about the four things I've talked about. 610 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,800 Think about the seven things, four by seven, 100%. 611 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:55,000 See what you can do. Listen, if God promised you 612 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:59,080 would fail every single time by earthly standards, would you 613 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:01,680 still obey? That's what Isaiah faced. 614 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:09,560 Isaiah said yes because he believed right and so awesome 615 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:12,400 and surrendered. Worship places the focus where 616 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:17,120 it belongs, off of us and on the one who sits on the throne. 617 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:21,160 There's a great quote often attributed to John Wesley, even 618 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:23,880 though most of historians don't believe he actually ever said 619 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,840 it. But it basically says catch on 620 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:31,480 fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you 621 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:35,480 burn. Where's our passion? 622 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:40,400 Where's the smoke? We're called a holy stewardship 623 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:43,200 of obedience, whether anyone else worships Him or not. 624 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:46,080 Let's not change our personal choice. 625 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:51,440 We choose to worship, so our motivation for serving God is 626 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:54,760 our recognition of who God is, as well as a recognition of who 627 00:33:54,760 --> 00:34:00,760 we are and how gracious and faithful He is to us, not what 628 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:04,680 anybody else does or does not do. 629 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:08,080 So worship has got to be more than just a corporate gathering. 630 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:10,120 It is that, and this is essential for us to come 631 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:11,520 together to encourage one another. 632 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:13,719 That's what I talked to the students about last night, how 633 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:16,280 thrilled we are when we're together and it encourages one 634 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:17,760 another. But this is also about what 635 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:23,360 we're doing alone with God, how much we're showing our adoration 636 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:27,120 and appreciation for him. So in all honesty, how's your 637 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:29,800 worship? Who's your king? 638 00:34:31,639 --> 00:34:35,960 So I invite you to join us here as we worship Jesus Christ, the 639 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:42,159 King of kings with awe and surrender, the psalmist wrote in 640 00:34:42,159 --> 00:34:45,560 Psalm 95-O. Come, let us worship and bow 641 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:49,040 down. Let us kneel before the Lord our 642 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:51,280 Maker. And it's now time to do that. 643 00:34:52,159 --> 00:34:54,440 Right now we're going to kneel before him. 644 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:59,080 We're going to bow before him in awe and surrender because we 645 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:06,000 must seek the Lord high and lifted up, sitting upon His 646 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:06,800 throne. Amen. 647 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:10,480 Hallelujah. Let's pray. 648 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:13,160 Father, we come to you to worship you. 649 00:35:14,720 --> 00:35:16,480 We come to you today to honor you. 650 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:21,320 We come to you today because we know we don't deserve you. 651 00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:27,440 But Father, in your incredible grace, in your incredible love, 652 00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:31,640 you have reached out to us. So Father, help us to 653 00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:35,080 acknowledge that this morning. For some people in the room, 654 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:37,880 they can't do that well because they don't know you. 655 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:42,000 They've never trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 656 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:44,120 And so, Father, that's the first step. 657 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:47,080 That's the sacrifice they bring to the altar this morning. 658 00:35:47,240 --> 00:35:50,440 That's their act of worship. They need to be saved. 659 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:53,400 Father, maybe there was a student at the retreat this week 660 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:56,280 who made a decision for you. They need to come and, and make 661 00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:58,240 sure that Pastor Dylan knows about that. 662 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:02,760 There are others here who recognize that, that they've, 663 00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:06,080 they've trusted in you in the past, but they recognize their 664 00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:08,360 walk with you is not right. And this is a moment of 665 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:10,160 recommitment. Maybe, maybe they've heard the 666 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:12,720 testimonies of baptism and they say I need to do that. 667 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:14,840 Or maybe they need to join the church. 668 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:16,600 I need to do that. I need to get involved. 669 00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:20,720 I need to serve. So today's the day of commitment 670 00:36:21,720 --> 00:36:23,080 for others. It's going to be a time of 671 00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:26,600 prayer. You can come and and Father, 672 00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:29,400 they can come and just pray to you at these steps as an altar. 673 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:31,800 Some of them lifting up our friends overseas, some lifting 674 00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:35,920 up issues in their life, some asking you to forgive them and 675 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:39,160 cleanse them. So Father, whatever we need to 676 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:43,040 do to take the next step of worship, let us bow down and 677 00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:48,160 kneel before you and be obedient to do that right now as we sing 678 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:51,680 in Christ's name, Amen. Stand with me if you would. 679 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,720 There'll be some pastors here. We'd love to pray with you. 680 00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:56,800 You can also just come and pray at these steps. 681 00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:59,760 There's also a room right over here called the Next Steps Room. 682 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:02,720 And we have people who would love to visit with you 683 00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:06,280 privately, discreetly pray with you about things in your life, 684 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:08,280 lift you up, encourage you, and share with you. 685 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:12,640 You can go straight there or you can come here, but you come as 686 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:20,680 we sing. Thank you so much for listening 687 00:37:20,680 --> 00:37:22,400 today, and I also hope that you'll go to 688 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:26,200 ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com as well as our app and find many 689 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:28,560 other resources that will bless you and your families. 690 00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:29,800 Thank you once again.