1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:07,200 Praise the Lord church. God is good. 2 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:11,560 Yeah, and all the time God is good. 3 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:18,560 Apologize if I seem like I'm nervous, because I am. 4 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:22,440 We have sweaty hands, so you might see me wiping them off. 5 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:25,360 Just sometimes they're easier than others, you know. 6 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:30,240 But by the help of God, we will. We will hear the word tonight. 7 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:35,800 So tonight I just want to quickly give honor to God, you 8 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:40,120 know, because of him, we are here and He is wonderful and 9 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:44,160 amazing. I give honor to my wife and my 2 10 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:47,840 wonderful daughters. I am blessed beyond measure 11 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:52,360 every time I look at them. And the hardest, the best and 12 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:57,320 the worst part of being a parent watching your kids grow up, you 13 00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:59,840 know, of course, you want to see them grow up and it's wonderful 14 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:05,080 to see them grow, but you're also you miss the little stages 15 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:10,640 and just I just been learning to look back instead of with 16 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:14,720 longing, which is such appreciation for God has allowed 17 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:19,000 me to experience and I just I've been so blessed with them. 18 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,680 I thank God for for my family and I give honor to all of our 19 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,360 ministry teams. There are so many. 20 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:31,080 There's, you know, Pastor and his wife, brother and Sister 21 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:36,440 Mason, senior and Junior, Bishop and Sister McGee are our 22 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,640 cleaning crew. I could, I could go down the 23 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:42,280 list. There's just so, so many 24 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:45,240 ministries and I give honor to each and every one of them 25 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:49,080 tonight. But I have three different 26 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,120 scriptures to start us off with this evening. 27 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,160 We're going to jump around starting in the Old Testament 28 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:56,480 and then there's 2 verses in the New Testament. 29 00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:58,960 They're not long, so I won't keep you standing long. 30 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:05,960 Deuteronomy 6 and five. And thou shalt love the Lord thy 31 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:11,400 God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all 32 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:17,360 thy might going into the New Testament in first John chapter 33 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:23,440 4, verse 19. We love Him because He first 34 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:28,080 loved us and then back a little ways. 35 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:34,200 Matthew 516 Let your light so shine before men that they may 36 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:40,080 see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven. 37 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:47,960 So my topic tonight is just this, my relationship with God. 38 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,960 So let's just pray real quickly. Jesus, thank you God for your 39 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,600 presence in this place. Thank you God for everything 40 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,400 that you have done. God, we love you, we give you 41 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,360 glory and praise. God, anoint my mind and my lips. 42 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:05,360 God, the ministers, your word and open our understanding. 43 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,440 God in our hearts to hear and receive what you would have for 44 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:12,920 us this evening. Lord, we give you all the thanks 45 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:17,680 in Jesus name, Amen. You may be seated. 46 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:23,480 I will try. I will try to try to speak 47 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,000 quickly because I know the the hardest thing in the world is to 48 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:32,040 sit and listen to someone talk, especially since I'm not very, I 49 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:33,680 guess energetic and fun to watch. 50 00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:36,600 I'm not asking for pity points, I'm just aware. 51 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,800 So I will speak with understanding to the best of my 52 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:46,840 ability. So but to go on the love that 53 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:54,080 God has for us is beyond amazing because even while we were 54 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:59,800 sinners in a state of rejecting His Holiness and going against 55 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:06,480 everything about His nature, He died for us to pay the debt, 56 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:11,680 debt and weight of our sin, even while knowing that most people 57 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:13,080 were never going to love Him back. 58 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:19,079 His love for us is so great that although His righteousness 59 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:24,680 demanded said to be punished in full, He could not bear to see 60 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,680 us pay the price. And so He stepped in himself to 61 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:34,360 pay the price for us. The more I think about it, the 62 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:40,000 more I realize how just so inadequate anything I do is. 63 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:43,840 I can't say enough. I can't do enough to add up to 64 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,920 the amount of love He has shown me, but all he's asking for is 65 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,720 just all of my love for him. He's worthy of infinitely more, 66 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,160 but just what I had to give is all he's asking for. 67 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:03,560 He even understands and still receives the various levels that 68 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:07,000 my best may look like from day-to-day because I don't have 69 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,560 100% to give every day. You know, we help all have ups 70 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,880 and downs. Sometimes my best is 60%, but if 71 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:18,400 I can give all that 60, that's all he's asking for. 72 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:25,120 He is very patient, especially when you consider any of the of 73 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:27,440 the false gods throughout human history. 74 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:31,520 They were never very kind. They were never understanding. 75 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:35,400 They were always very demanding and you just hoped they actually 76 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:40,960 heard you. And God, the real God, he's not 77 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:46,280 like that at all. He does expect our very best and 78 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:51,880 not to give less than that, but He's not asking for more, even 79 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:53,920 though He's worthy of infinitely more. 80 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,280 Through love, God takes up all of my slack. 81 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:03,440 He meets us at however far we are able to go. 82 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:07,800 The King of all creation has no duty or obligation to do this, 83 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:13,400 but He chooses to. How could I OfferUp anything 84 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:19,440 less than my very best? All He is longing for is a real 85 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:24,920 relationship with me, with every single one of us, for us to know 86 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:31,080 Him and be known by Him. The best way to build a 87 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:38,720 relationship is to communicate and spend time together to grow 88 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:43,000 in God. We must pray and read his word, 89 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:48,920 spending time in his presence. Prayer is just us speaking to 90 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:53,880 God and reading and listening to his word allows us to hear what 91 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:57,680 he has to tell us. And I'm going to focus a little 92 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:00,800 bit on the prayer at the beginning here because there are 93 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,360 there are different ways we can pray, just like there's many 94 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:06,680 different ways we can talk to our family or our friends. 95 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:12,080 Because some of my Co workers that I talk to every single day, 96 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:21,240 not every conversation is the same conversation, not you, but 97 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:23,800 not every conversation goes the same way. 98 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:27,400 And it's not a with all with the same mood, especially this week 99 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:31,640 in the heat, but it's different. There's different links that 100 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:33,920 we'll talk to people. There's different different 101 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:42,000 topics and prayer is much the same way because prayer, it can 102 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,440 be long, you can spend a long time praying. 103 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,680 And the benefit of that is it builds you spiritually because 104 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,800 it teaches you how to deny your flesh and satisfy the spirit. 105 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:58,680 And that is because the nature of our flesh wants to rush us 106 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:04,080 through spiritual things. Because most of the time when I 107 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:10,000 go to pray, I don't want to be here just just naturally 108 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:12,040 speaking. I, I don't because I'm thinking 109 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:14,880 I'd rather do something else. Not because I dislike God or 110 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:17,400 dislike prayer. It's just the moment I go to 111 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:22,120 pray, my mind scatters or I just think about I want to do 112 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:26,040 something else. But taking the time to pray for 113 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:30,320 a while will teach us. Denying our flesh, feeding 114 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:35,280 ourselves spiritually, and taking the time to stop and pray 115 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:40,559 help shift our focus. It's hard at first. 116 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,240 There's some of the altars in the Old Testament. 117 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,840 They had horns built on them, on the corners. 118 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:51,760 You were meant to tie down the sacrifice because if something 119 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:55,280 knows it's going to be killed, it doesn't go without a fight. 120 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:58,840 So the sacrifice, of course, is going to struggle. 121 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,920 It's going to be difficult. But if you tie it to the altar, 122 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:05,680 it wears down to the point where it can't fight back. 123 00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:09,680 And everything in the Old Testament, most things, is a 124 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:13,360 type and foreshadow of spiritual matters to come. 125 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,800 Sometimes we just need to tie down our flesh at the altar and 126 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:23,760 let it wear down so that the spirit can grow. 127 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:32,000 And time. It is the most precious 128 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:35,760 commodity any of us have from the time we're born. 129 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,640 It's limited, it will end for us. 130 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:47,400 Anything we give time to is valuable, and if we can just 131 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:53,400 learn to give God more of that, we're going to see the change 132 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:58,360 throughout our lives. The more precious something is, 133 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:02,480 the harder it is to give to God, but the better it is to give to 134 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:06,520 God because He has a habit and a way of taking of whatever we 135 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:10,320 give and pouring it back out in a better way. 136 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,320 But short prayers are also really good. 137 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:23,960 They're easy to do throughout the day and it keeps us in 138 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:28,640 constant communication with God. Kind of like when you're texting 139 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:31,960 your friend throughout the day. It's not sitting there holding a 140 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:35,960 full on conversation, but it keeps the communication going. 141 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:42,480 And you know, the prophet Elijah, he did a very, very 142 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:49,480 short prayer and God sent down fire from heaven and proved in 143 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:53,440 front of all of Israel that he was the one true God. 144 00:10:55,600 --> 00:11:00,400 Sometimes short in quality is mighty and anointed. 145 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:06,080 Prayer can also be done without words. 146 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:13,600 Hannah in the Old Testament, she was praying in her heart, not 147 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:18,800 even speaking the words aloud. God heard her and answered and 148 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:22,560 gave her a child. Sometimes our prayers are just 149 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:26,960 our tears and a broken heart because we just can't get any 150 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:28,680 words out. We don't even know what to say. 151 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:34,440 How many times have you gone to a friend or a parent of someone 152 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:37,160 you loved and you cried in their arms? 153 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:40,280 Because that's relationship, right? 154 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:44,320 That's good. Prayer, of course, can be 155 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:48,040 sophisticated, or what? What we think sounds 156 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:51,080 sophisticated, at the very least, when we're putting the 157 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:56,720 focus on God and His Holiness, not asking for anything, just 158 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:01,360 focus solely on Him. And Thanksgiving and prayer can 159 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:09,080 also be casual because He is our Father and our Friend who always 160 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:12,200 hears us. Because prayer is not about the 161 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:15,160 right words, the right volume, the right intensity. 162 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,760 It's not about the length of time, and it's not even about 163 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,560 the answer. Prayer is about communication 164 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:28,000 with God, learning to spend time with Him, knowing that He hears 165 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:32,000 us, and finding comfort in His presence. 166 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,400 There's something a lot of us, most of us men, can learn from 167 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,720 women. Women a lot of times will talk 168 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,480 not for an answer, but to talk to get things out. 169 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:48,560 It's a big part of being in a relationship. 170 00:12:48,560 --> 00:12:53,000 Just that, open communication. We can do the same thing with 171 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:59,400 God, not always worrying about getting the answer, but just 172 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:05,280 pouring it out to Him. And we can trust Him with the 173 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:11,880 answer. We can have faith completely in 174 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:15,680 Him and faith. I don't remember why I heard the 175 00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:19,560 quote, but I really like it. It's not just believing without 176 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:23,120 seeing it is a reasonable assurance. 177 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:30,080 And what you do not see, I like that, a reasonable assurance 178 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,280 because you know, my children and I'm sure you've seen them, 179 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:40,400 will just randomly jump off of something towards me with no 180 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:42,240 warning. It's the best. 181 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:48,200 But they do that because having spent time playing with, they 182 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:50,840 didn't start doing that. You know, they didn't just 183 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,080 randomly do it. One day they played with me and 184 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:57,080 got to know me as their dad as they grew up. 185 00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:02,360 And they learned, hey, Dad catches us. 186 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:06,120 You know, it started small, you know, like little Truss fall on 187 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,600 the bed or something to just leaping randomly off the couch 188 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:11,560 and suddenly I'm like, OK, here we go. 189 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:19,080 Yeah, But you know, if they randomly did that right now, 190 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:24,040 they have a reasonable assurance that I will catch them. 191 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,920 Not because they see the future and brought back undeniable 192 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:30,960 proof that they can see and touch and taste and feel that I 193 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:35,240 have caught them, but because I have done it before. 194 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:39,840 Because they know me, they have a reasonable assurance that they 195 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:46,200 will jump and I will be there. And Even so, when we pray to our 196 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:50,160 Father with the reasonable assurance that He actively 197 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:55,280 listens and we'll catch us, and we'll catch our tears and we'll 198 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:58,880 catch our frustration and we'll catch whatever it is we had to 199 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:03,840 pour out to Him. Relationships are built on 200 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:09,480 communication and trust. The more we pray and spend time 201 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:12,880 in the presence of God, just like the more time they spent 202 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:17,320 playing with me, the more we're going to find just how faithful 203 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:25,720 and trustworthy He is that we can leap and He is there now. 204 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:29,440 Unlike the other relationships in our lives, the one we have 205 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,840 with God involves a worship as well as prayer. 206 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:37,920 We give God praises and glory because He is holy, He is 207 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:41,440 divine. The nature of His being demands 208 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:49,880 worship, but our worship is not put on as a show for others, 209 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:55,160 rather my worship and my prayer. It's about Him. 210 00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:02,400 It's not about your opinion, it's not about your mood, It's 211 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:07,720 not about anybody else. What you think, what you see, 212 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:12,280 none of that. My worship 100% is about Him 213 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,960 regardless of what else is going on because his love and 214 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:22,360 greatness is greater than what's around me, even to the point of 215 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,000 this. And I had cut this out, but I'm 216 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:26,600 going to go ahead and bring it back in. 217 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,800 If my wife and I have an argument before we come to 218 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:34,200 church, it's it's the nature of marriage that happens. 219 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:40,720 Anybody married can say Amen, but have an argument before 220 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:45,960 church. And obviously when you get into 221 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,240 an argument of any type, more heated, less heated, whatever 222 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:54,440 your focus is kind of anywhere but on church. 223 00:16:55,880 --> 00:17:00,360 But if I have an argument with my wife before work and I go 224 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:03,480 into work, I'm still going to do my job. 225 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:07,480 I'm still going to talk to people like normal because I'm 226 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:12,480 not going to let what happened outside effect this here my job. 227 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:15,280 It's the same when it comes to God. 228 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,480 I'm not going to lighten argument or a shifted mood or 229 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:24,760 anything outside of Him to change how I come to my 230 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,839 relationship with Him. I can let him know I'm 231 00:17:27,839 --> 00:17:32,160 frustrated right now, but I'm still going to give you praise. 232 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:35,560 I mean, you can't hide your frustration. 233 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:42,280 He knows anyway, but he is so good that he's OK with that. 234 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,160 He's OK if you're mad at him. It happens. 235 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,120 We have feelings, so does he. He understands. 236 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:54,880 We can let him know and we can still praise him. 237 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:04,840 It's not hypocritical. It's not hypocritical if we just 238 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:10,080 don't feel anything to come in feeling nothing and still 239 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:19,680 Hallelujah Jesus. It's not wrong to not feel like 240 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,160 being here. It's not wrong to not feel like 241 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,280 doing anything for God. It's not wrong to even feel like 242 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:27,360 I just don't want to be a Christian because sometimes we 243 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:30,200 just don't feel like it. We don't feel like putting in 244 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:33,320 the effort. But love is a choice. 245 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:41,120 It's not a feeling worshipping when we don't feel anything just 246 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:43,400 shows the depth of our love for him. 247 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:50,600 Just like in a marriage when I still try to serve my spouse 248 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:55,640 even when the lovey dovey feelings aren't there. 249 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,000 Even when I may not be happy with her, make Sheena may not be 250 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:04,440 happy with me. We still serve each other and 251 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,480 help each other out. We may not feel like talking in 252 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:12,240 a moment, but but we know we're still in each other's corner. 253 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:18,040 Just because you're not feeling it right now doesn't mean you 254 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:22,280 can't give praise and glory and honor to God or spend time in 255 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:28,480 prayer. We worship God not because of 256 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,800 the feelings that come with it, but because we know Him. 257 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,320 And the more I grow in my relationship with Him, the 258 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:39,840 deeper I find my relationship to be. 259 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:47,560 Sometimes it's forced, but even when forced, it's still genuine. 260 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:54,680 Because I've tasted and seen just how good God is, and I've 261 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,360 decided that He is worthy of everything I can give, 262 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:06,360 regardless of the mood. And now I'm just going to pivot 263 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:09,320 a little bit here. I was hoping to be a bit 264 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:13,120 encouraging in the first half, and I might be stepping on toes 265 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:17,320 in this second-half. So my toes were stepped on too. 266 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:24,120 So they're still hurting. But God did lay this on my heart 267 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:29,960 and I want to speak this with love and I pray it brings us 268 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:31,720 growth spiritually and helps us out. 269 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:37,360 So here's another quote I read some time ago. 270 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,240 It's only embarrassing if you're embarrassed. 271 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:48,840 You see Graceland, she'll play around, use her imagination in 272 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:50,840 front of everybody, not embarrassed. 273 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:52,960 She doesn't find it embarrassing. 274 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:58,800 If you see someone 14 years old, they're probably not going to do 275 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:04,480 it because it's embarrassing. The only real difference besides 276 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:08,560 maturity levels, one finds it embarrassing and the other 277 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:15,080 doesn't. But I do love the quote because 278 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:17,640 it's also kind of freeing. There's a lot of stuff we think 279 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:21,160 is really embarrassing, but it's only because we find it 280 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:24,040 embarrassing. So there's, there's some stuff 281 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:26,920 I've been able just to let go of and it's been pretty nice. 282 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:33,840 But it hit me and my relationship with God, my prayer 283 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:38,200 life, my worship, trying to live holy, being separate from the 284 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:43,400 world, standing out. Sometimes when I say, Oh, I, I 285 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:46,880 don't listen to that or I don't go do those things. 286 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:50,400 It's only embarrassing if I'm embarrassed about it. 287 00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:58,040 And I found if I'm embarrassed, it's because I'm more focused on 288 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:05,360 me than I am on him. And, you know, I don't know, 289 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,640 Apostolic Church. Our worship is normally pretty 290 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:12,920 expressive, but sometimes when we have guests, we kind of tone 291 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:16,360 it down because we worry, what will they think? 292 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:21,000 I don't want to be embarrassed if they see me suddenly take off 293 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:27,000 running. How quickly we can forget that 294 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:31,320 our worship is not done as a show for others because our 295 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:35,440 worship is for God. He didn't change just because 296 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:39,800 someone else walked in. So why did I? 297 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:46,320 We sing, we clap, we dance, we jump, we shout, we run, we bow 298 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:52,760 down, we raise our hands, We cry because God is too good to be 299 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:57,360 silent and motionless. The fact that He saved my soul. 300 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:00,520 He called me out from darkness and into His glorious light. 301 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:08,440 It is why we do our best to live holy lifestyles. 302 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,240 And yet, how many times have we found ourselves more worried 303 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:17,280 about the opinions of others then we do about making sure God 304 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:24,160 gets the glory? Mark 838 Whosoever, therefore, 305 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:28,560 shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and 306 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,960 sinful generation of him. Also shall the Son of Man be 307 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:36,560 ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the 308 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:41,760 holy angels. If I'm more concerned with how 309 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:45,400 worshiping God and living for Him is embarrassing or making me 310 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:48,840 stand out and being concerned about how others think of me, 311 00:23:51,360 --> 00:23:53,240 I'm going to find that God's embarrassed to me. 312 00:23:55,920 --> 00:24:00,080 You know what, what would be worse, Brother Reese, if you 313 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,760 went and introduced Malin to a different friend group of yours 314 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,560 and you're like, hey, this this one of my best friends, Malin, 315 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:10,200 and she's like, what? I can't acquaintance. 316 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,120 You know, she shows a bit of shame at being your friend. 317 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:20,640 It's that is the worst feeling and you think God feels any 318 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:25,720 different because in that moment that would happen, there'd be a 319 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:28,640 part of you to be like, I feel like a wall just went up right 320 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,840 now. And just like, oh, I don't know 321 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:35,800 about this friendship. God doesn't feel any different 322 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,440 than we would. He feels just as hurt. 323 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:44,080 And you know, when you think of the cross, I've heard him 324 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:47,520 enough. You know all my sin. 325 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:51,480 He's already been through all that pain and here I am just 326 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:53,920 slapping him or spitting on his face. 327 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:04,320 He's too good. He will proudly call me his son. 328 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,120 And yet an embarrassment. I have tended to shirk back and 329 00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:16,200 hide, to be timid about it. If I will not proudly proclaim 330 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:22,200 him without shame or fear, he's not going to proclaim me. 331 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:29,800 I want to say it's it's OK if you're nervous about it because 332 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:33,480 it's hard to stick out. It's human nature to want to 333 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:38,120 just blend in with your peers. It's what we do. 334 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:40,520 Even everyone who tries to be so unique. 335 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:43,080 Like when I was a kid, it was the emo phase. 336 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:46,520 I didn't go through that phase, but it's a, it was the, it was 337 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:52,040 the end thing to be different about, you know, so, but even 338 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:56,360 then you see this groups of people that are all doing the 339 00:25:56,360 --> 00:26:00,040 same thing because you do want to blend in with your friends 340 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:06,960 and it's hard to stick out. So it's OK if your knees shake 341 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:11,200 because you're nervous, but stand anyway? 342 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:14,520 There's a difference between just being nervous and actually 343 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:19,520 being ashamed. That's right. 344 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:24,520 But if the people around us, they only see us as this timid 345 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,840 or toned down, mild and embarrassed when it comes to 346 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:36,200 God, how can we expect to be soul winners in the midst of 347 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,040 like minded believers? We shout His praise and we live 348 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:42,720 for Him. No problem, but we kind of 349 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:46,680 mumbled and we're and we're ashamed that we believe in God 350 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:51,840 in front of our Co workers or classmates or or lost family or 351 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:56,280 friends. My relationship with God is not 352 00:26:56,280 --> 00:27:01,720 meant to be hid. It's meant to shine bright so 353 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:07,160 that everyone can see and it's not so that I can stick out. 354 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:11,920 That's not the purpose and so that he can shine through me 355 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:16,400 because God cares about all those who are still lost and I'm 356 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:18,600 the only Bible some people are going to read. 357 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,160 I need to make sure they're reading the right stuff if 358 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:24,920 they're going up based off of me. 359 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:31,880 I believe was the apostle Pope Paul that wrote down follow me 360 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,440 even as I follow Christ because they could follow him and by 361 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,480 following his examples, he followed Christ so closely they 362 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:41,280 were following Christ. I want to be like that. 363 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:46,360 If someone decides to model themselves after me that they'd 364 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:48,320 be modeling themselves after Christ. 365 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:51,960 But that can't happen if I'm too ashamed about it. 366 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:59,160 Here's the last thought I'd like to leave us with here tonight. 367 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:05,240 In the book series called Aragon, there is a character. 368 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:09,320 It's his cousin, the main character's cousin named Roran, 369 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:16,440 whose fiance gets kidnapped. He gets terribly injured and the 370 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:19,920 village he lives is in danger of destruction by the King's army. 371 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:27,920 But his love for his fiance led him to the role of leader that 372 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:33,160 he never wanted to be as he stands up and convinces his 373 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:38,480 village to leave and to follow him while he pursues her. 374 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:44,120 His pursuit of her and the battles and the struggles he 375 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:48,240 went through to reach her was no small feat. 376 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:54,560 It took several months. He risked his life countless 377 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:58,120 times. He was a completely different 378 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:01,800 man by the time he finally did catch up to her. 379 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:07,680 He ended up doing many incredible and crazy things to 380 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:12,880 rescue her. He paid any cost, went through 381 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:18,680 any amount of embarrassment, humility, sometimes he was 382 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:24,640 raised up and yeah to the highs and lows. 383 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:32,280 But his pursuit of her when he finally brought her back and to 384 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:35,120 the safety of this new army he was now a part of. 385 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:41,160 To the men around him, when they looked at her, she looked like a 386 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:48,760 goddess, even though she was described as pretty plain when 387 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:54,520 you look at her. But Roaring's love, commitment, 388 00:29:54,960 --> 00:30:01,080 and crazy pursuit of her caused others to realize that she must 389 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:04,960 be worth more than what we initially realized. 390 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:09,120 More than any other woman around her, they looked at her in awe 391 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:13,720 and admiration, not because they knew anything about her, but 392 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,720 they got to know Roaring and knew about his love for her 393 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:20,480 through his actions and his exploits. 394 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:25,960 His love for her was so strong that literally nothing else 395 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:29,880 mattered and it was obvious to everyone around him. 396 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:38,480 Does my pursuit of God make others realize he's worth more 397 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:41,480 than anything else? Come on, that's good. 398 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:44,840 Do we have a relationship with Him that we are so passionate 399 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:48,320 and real about? That those around us want to 400 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:55,480 have what we do? That they will look and what 401 00:30:55,480 --> 00:31:00,520 they thought was an unappealing God and realized maybe I'm 402 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:04,680 really missing out on the most worthwhile thing that could have 403 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:10,720 ever known. Or are we just too uncommitted, 404 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:16,320 non serious or embarrassed for others to see His light through 405 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:24,520 us so our musicians can come as I as I finish up here. 406 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:32,920 Matthew 1344 again, the Kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure 407 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:39,000 hid in a field, the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and 408 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:43,560 for a joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and 409 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:48,520 buyeth that field. In layman terms, for everyone 410 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:52,760 that struggles with King James Version, he's talking about the 411 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:57,560 Kingdom of God is just like a treasure that was just hid 412 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:01,800 somewhere that would a man happened to stumble upon that 413 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:08,240 treasure, he hides it a little bit better and he gladly goes 414 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:13,080 and sells everything. Imagine literally selling 415 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:17,280 everything you have, your home, your car, everything because 416 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:22,000 you've seen that treasure and you decided what I have does not 417 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:28,000 matter compared to this. He gladly sold everything else 418 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:31,640 so that he could go buy that field and gain that treasure. 419 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:35,160 That's what the Kingdom of God is like. 420 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:37,560 That's what a relationship with God is like. 421 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:40,200 A treasure worth more than anything else we have. 422 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:45,480 My relationship with God should be the most valuable and 423 00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:49,400 treasured part of my life. That's worth any cost I have to 424 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:52,160 pay because I'm going to long for stuff. 425 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:57,360 I've given up. It's human nature but it's worth 426 00:32:57,360 --> 00:33:00,840 it. You know when when I married my 427 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:04,360 wife I gave up a lot of the perks that come with being 428 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:08,160 single and I do miss them sometimes. 429 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:12,160 I live to be home alone in peace and quiet. 430 00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:21,440 But what I have now is to say it's worth it. 431 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,880 Doesn't even cover it. I would not, I wouldn't even 432 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:29,360 give a moment of consideration of going back for what I have 433 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:34,000 now. And I want to be so close to God 434 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:35,360 that everything else is like that. 435 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:38,600 That yes, though I missed some things I might give up for him 436 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:43,840 compared to him, I really don't want it and I'm OK at moving 437 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:47,640 forward without it. I want to be so close to Him 438 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:51,400 that it encourages new believers to grow and their relationship 439 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:55,840 with Him and that it causes the loss to see that this is a 440 00:33:55,840 --> 00:34:01,560 treasure worth pursuing. So you can go ahead and stand. 441 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:06,000 This altar is open. You can come to the altar. 442 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:11,440 You can stay in your seat. But let us just pray that God 443 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:17,600 let me be as close to you as I can possibly be, and let me win 444 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:22,600 souls, because through me they see just how wonderful you are.