1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,080 Thank the Lord that he is a healer. 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:12,320 Hallelujah, Jesus. Hallelujah, Jesus. 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:23,400 He's a master Craftsman, made us as a masterpiece, and he is 4 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:26,720 excellent at restoring masterpieces. 5 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:29,120 Amen. I'm thankful for the Lord 6 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:31,400 tonight. Amen. 7 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:33,160 Take the wounds. And He did. 8 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:37,840 The Bible says he was wounded for our transgressions. 9 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:41,240 He took the wound so that we could just be left with the 10 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,320 scar. Hallelujah. 11 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:47,800 He took the wound. I was here tonight as she was 12 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:50,040 practicing and I was wrecked in my office. 13 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:54,200 I actually sent a picture to my wife. 14 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:56,800 On my little map. There is just a puddle of tears 15 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:08,160 because I know the story of life and I know that He can make all 16 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:18,990 things new. Amen. 17 00:01:21,150 --> 00:01:22,790 Can you just raise your hands right now? 18 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:41,680 I'm here to tell you tonight, there's hope in this room. 19 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:50,040 There's hope in this room. I don't care where you've ever 20 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:54,520 found yourself in life, you've never found yourself beyond his 21 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,880 reach. There's hope here tonight. 22 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:04,120 I feel hope in this place. Jesus. 23 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:16,920 Jesus, Hallelujah, Lord, Hallelujah, man. 24 00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:21,480 I feel the Holy Ghost. Rebecca, I set my office today 25 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:25,360 while that was going on, and I relived every conversation in 25 26 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:30,440 years that we've ever had evangelizing calls that had 27 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:36,360 every situation of life. And I'm thinking, God is so 28 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:41,400 good. God is so good. 29 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:47,960 I don't even know what to do here. 30 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:53,280 Do you have anything on your heart, man? 31 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:57,160 I just feel the Holy Ghost, Sir Mammoth, this is the first time 32 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:58,800 you felt the presence of the Lord. 33 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:01,600 You're feeling that because he's wooing you. 34 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,000 He's wooing you. He's, he's drawing you. 35 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:07,120 That's, that's God's spirit drawing you. 36 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,280 I feel his drawing right here, right now. 37 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,320 He's drawing tonight, Hallelujah. 38 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,800 If you feel like a hopeless case, if you feel far, just 39 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,680 beyond his reach tonight, he's still touching you right now. 40 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:22,280 He's still touching you right now. 41 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:29,240 Hallelujah, you Jesus. Come yet, Slorn. 42 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:30,960 Yet, Slorn. Hallelujah. 43 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:40,320 I can't tell you while you're walking through this valley. 44 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:47,720 I can't tell you just how long you got to stay. 45 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:58,120 I can't tell you why your heart feels so unsettled, but when 46 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:07,680 this all will change. But I can't tell you there is 47 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:16,000 something you can lean on. It's a promise that won't be in. 48 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:23,120 Then it won't break. It'll keep you when your future 49 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:34,880 feels uncertain. You're not out of grave when the 50 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:42,000 darkness overwhelms you and your fear just won't subside when 51 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:48,080 your questions outweigh answers. All those long and lonely nights 52 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:51,720 through, you gotta keep on moving. 53 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:57,440 He is with you in the valley of despair. 54 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:09,960 He won't live in life. With you, when you think you 55 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:15,160 just won't make it, he's right there. 56 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:23,520 When it looks like hope is lost, you're going to find out he's 57 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:32,800 nothing lost and thankful. So keep hold it on, keep hold 58 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:40,120 coming on is when the darkness, all the wealthy and the man just 59 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:44,560 won't subside. When your questions our way 60 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:51,760 answers On those long lonely nights when you got to keep on 61 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:58,000 moving. He's with you in the valley of 62 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,160 the star. He won't leave me alone. 63 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:16,840 He won't leave me alone. I can't tell while you're 64 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:24,640 walking through this valley. I can't tell you just how long 65 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:31,240 you've got to stay. I can't tell you why your heart 66 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:43,080 feels so unsettled or when this song will change, but I can't 67 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:47,440 tell you there's something you can lean on. 68 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:57,640 It's a promise that won't be in then you won't bring keep you 69 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:05,600 when your heart feels so unset off 'cause you're not out of 70 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:14,280 grace, Yeah, 'cause when the darkness overrounds you and the 71 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:19,720 fear just won't subside. When your questions outweigh 72 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:26,520 answered on the long and lonely night and you got to keep on 73 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:35,640 moving, He is with you in the valley of despair. 74 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:46,560 He is with you when you think you just won't make it. 75 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,640 He is right there when it looks like hope is more. 76 00:08:55,360 --> 00:09:00,560 You're going to find out he's nothing lost and thankful. 77 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:09,800 So keep hold it on. Keep hold it on because when the 78 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:15,800 darkness all throughout you and the pier, this won't subside. 79 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:21,680 When your questions our way answers over the long and lonely 80 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:25,960 night, bring your God to keep calm, moving. 81 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:31,520 He is with you in the valley of despair. 82 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:43,560 He won't leave him 'cause there has never been a moment. 83 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:50,160 There will never be a day he's not strong enough to rescue, 84 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:58,040 he's not strong enough to say. When the darkness overwhelms you 85 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:03,520 and the fear just won't subside. When your questions outweigh 86 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:10,440 answers on the long and lonely night for you Got to keep on 87 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:14,840 moving here with you in the valley. 88 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,600 This man, he won't leave it alone. 89 00:10:25,480 --> 00:11:07,800 He won't leave it alone. Fear just won't subside when the 90 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:14,320 questions outweigh answers on those long and lonely night for 91 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:20,960 you got to keep on moving. He is winking in the valley of 92 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:25,400 the Spire. He won't leave you alone. 93 00:11:31,480 --> 00:12:24,760 He won't leave. When will the rain stop falling? 94 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:34,480 When will the sunshine to drive my tears away? 95 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:45,000 I'll roll to your promise. Give us all the skies and rain. 96 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:54,280 Lord, I need you. So when will the rain stop 97 00:12:54,280 --> 00:13:03,560 falling? When will start to dive my tears 98 00:13:03,560 --> 00:13:09,280 away? I hope to your promise, even 99 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:17,200 though the skies are. Rain Lord, I need you. 100 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:20,560 Today, when will? The. 101 00:13:37,250 --> 00:13:48,240 Rain stop only when will the sun shine To dry my tears away. 102 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:58,520 I'll hold to your promise even though the skies are green, 103 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:01,600 Lord. I. 104 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,080 Need you. So when will the rain stop 105 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:12,480 falling? When will the sunshine through 106 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:23,760 to drive my tears away? I'll hold to your promise even 107 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:31,760 though the sky would rain. Lord I. 108 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:46,560 Need you to live? Hallelujah, Jesus. 109 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:48,600 Amen. Thank you Lauren. 110 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:52,840 Yes, God. Amen. 111 00:14:53,600 --> 00:15:00,560 Sweet, sweet spirit in my soul. Hallelujah, Amen. 112 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:04,400 We are so glad to have Amen, Kyle with us and Brenda with us 113 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:11,440 tonight. Amen Years ago, passed. 114 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,440 Now, Carl used to come here, here and there, he would pop in 115 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:16,520 and they've been gone for some time. 116 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:19,440 And in that period of time that they've been gone, he's lost his 117 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,120 father and such, but he's back in the area, Amen. 118 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:25,800 So we're probably going to be seeing more of him, Amen. 119 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,480 And that'd be tremendous. And glad to have his mom with 120 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:30,920 us, too, Amen. So glad to have them both 121 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:33,360 tonight, Amen, with us this evening. 122 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,600 And Carol, it's good to see you, Amen. 123 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:40,760 I see your little face pop up on Facebook sometimes in a little 124 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:44,320 bubble. Carol's watching, Amen. 125 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:46,280 But it's good to see you in person tonight. 126 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:50,040 She said she really got kidnapped today by her daughter 127 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,680 and granddaughter. And so she's held hostage here 128 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:54,720 tonight. I told her we'd call the 129 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:56,560 authorities after church was over. 130 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:01,440 And then we're so glad to have her, Amen, her sweet face here 131 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:04,280 tonight, Amen. If you'll stand with me, we got 132 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:07,360 some time for the word tonight. Amen. 133 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:09,880 I'm going to pick up this Kleenex. 134 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:15,320 I might need it. Amen. 135 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:18,080 Amen. I want to turn to Psalms 119. 136 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:21,800 And if someone's getting nervous that I'm going to read the whole 137 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:26,280 chapter, I want to set your nerves at ease. 138 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,240 Amen. It is a lengthy chapter, Psalms 139 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:36,480 119 is, but I want to read the very last verse. 140 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:47,760 Few weeks ago I was reading this chapter and the last verse hit 141 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:52,520 me and gave me a perspective on the whole chapter that in my 40 142 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,280 I wrote. I am now seven years of living. 143 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:59,000 It just never hit me before you know how have you ever had that 144 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:03,080 happen with scripture? Read something that 1020 many, 145 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:06,560 many times and like something just grab you that never grabbed 146 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,800 you before. What I believe the last verse of 147 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:15,960 Psalms 119 is, is actually the viewpoint that the whole Psalm 148 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,240 needs to be read through. I'm going to read it to you 149 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:20,520 tonight in the King James Version. 150 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:23,119 I'm going to read it to you in the version that I was reading. 151 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:25,440 Whatever this hit me. Amen. 152 00:17:25,599 --> 00:17:30,600 Psalms 119, the last verse of the Psalm 176. 153 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:36,000 Psalmist says I have gone astray like a lost sheep. 154 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:42,200 Seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commandments. 155 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:45,000 I was reading the contemporary English whenever I read this, 156 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,920 said I am your servant, but I have wandered away like a lost 157 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:53,760 sheep. Please come after me because I 158 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:56,640 have not forgotten your teachings. 159 00:17:57,400 --> 00:17:59,880 You'll just give me a little while tonight with the help of 160 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:01,880 the Lord. I want to minister this tonight. 161 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:11,440 The Psalm of a struggling soul. The Psalm of a struggling soul. 162 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:13,520 Hallelujah. Can we pray right now? 163 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:15,520 I know we've been doing a lot of praying and worshipping, but 164 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:18,320 just one more time. Spirit of the Lord touches 165 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:22,360 afresh tonight. God through your word. 166 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:28,760 God, your word, Lord is powerful, Lord, it can give hope 167 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:31,080 and healing and strength and correction. 168 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:35,000 Lord, all those things I pray, O Lord, tonight, God, help it, 169 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:38,720 Lord, to find us, Lord, or find someone tonight, Lord. 170 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:42,400 And the page is a scripture. God will not fail to thank you 171 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,360 and praise you, Lord, for what you accomplish in this place. 172 00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:50,040 Still yet in the name of Jesus Christ that I pray Hallelujah in 173 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,880 the church, say Amen, Amen. You may be seated tonight. 174 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:56,160 Amen. Bear with me here just a little 175 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:01,040 while this evening. By verse count, Psalms 119 is 176 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:03,680 the longest chapter in the Psalms. 177 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:07,120 For that matter, it is the longest chapter in the Bible. 178 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:12,880 It contains 176 verses. It is what's known as the Datic 179 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:15,840 Psalm, which means that it teaches us something. 180 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,200 As a matter of fact, the Psalm is an alphabetic acrostic. 181 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,360 What that means is there's 22 sections in this Psalm. 182 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:29,280 Every section is for a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, 183 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,400 and in each section are 8 verses, and each verse starts 184 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,680 with that same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. 185 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:40,200 And if you come along in your Bible reading plan, I hope that 186 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,680 most of you do, some of you might come up on Psalm 119 and 187 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:48,760 think 176 verses. I might just break that up over 188 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:52,560 a few days, you know. But nonetheless, if you do 189 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:56,400 divide it over a few days or if you tackle it all at once, 190 00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:00,800 however you decide to read it, you are constantly as you are 191 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:04,600 reading this Psalm, you're hearing about God's law and 192 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,240 you're hearing about God's commandments and his precepts 193 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:13,520 and his statutes and you pick up on things of love for the law 194 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:17,080 and, and obedience to his commandments and also things. 195 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:21,160 Like devotion to God's word, you hear this over and over again 196 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,840 and if you just do a surface reading of Psalms 119. 197 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:29,160 It can almost be this towering a piece of literature of 198 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,440 perfection as it would seem you you read this and you're 199 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:35,000 thinking man, how can someone love the law and his 200 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,480 commandments and precepts and all of these different things 201 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:42,720 that much it's it's almost I almost put it in class like a 202 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:48,000 Proverbs 31 whenever you read it and it speaks of the Proverbs 31 203 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:52,200 woman you know through the years Proverbs 31 has been the place 204 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:57,680 for a many Mother's Day sermons and even any radio programs used 205 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:01,720 to carry this the Proverbs 31 ministries program on their 206 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:04,280 frequencies. And we read about all these 207 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:08,320 different traits of this woman in this particular Psalm or 208 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,800 Proverbs 31. And and as you read them, you're 209 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,320 wondering, can this be a literal woman, you know, that's being 210 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:17,760 described here? And you may feel even a little 211 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:21,920 intimidated as a woman as you read it because you're reading 212 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:25,560 about all of her success and you're thinking about your own 213 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:30,440 failure in light of her success. And, and most likely we feel 214 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,480 like sometimes the finish line, if you're a lady reading Psalms 215 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:37,080 31, like the finish line for you is always going to be ahead of 216 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:40,200 you because what's painted in those verses, the scripture 217 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:44,320 almost seems unattainable. It almost seems unreachable. 218 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:46,640 I mean, when you just read, if you'll let me just give a 219 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:50,920 general here what's portrayed. There is a woman who never 220 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,280 sleeps. She's always working. 221 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,080 She always pleases her husband and children. 222 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:59,200 She makes food for her family and for her maidens. 223 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:03,000 She buys land and she plants a vineyard and harvests it. 224 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,840 She makes clothes for herself and her family. 225 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,760 She's mindful of the poor and the needy. 226 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:11,600 She sells goods that she has produced. 227 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,960 She exudes kindness and she operates in wisdom. 228 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:17,640 Always. She brings honor to her family. 229 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:20,800 She has a reverence for God. She's admired and very 230 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,960 influential in her community. She remains strong and 231 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:27,320 productive and dignified throughout her life. 232 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:32,880 And and if you start saying that and you look at yourself and you 233 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,640 look at that, it's like, whoo, I don't know if I'll ever reach 234 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:38,880 that. But it's common to folks that 235 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:43,920 it's unlikely that this is a a traits of just a single woman, 236 00:22:44,120 --> 00:22:48,600 but the rider is really looking at several women in life and 237 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:52,520 picking cherry picking the the the most admirable traits of the 238 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,440 women and putting them all into one for the idealistic woman, 239 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:57,280 right. Amen. 240 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,160 That would fulfill all of these. It's it's a portrayal of 241 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:04,320 excellence and it's derived from from observing all these real 242 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:07,360 women's lives and just picking certain attributes and traits 243 00:23:07,360 --> 00:23:13,200 from them, just bringing about a a idealistic, well-rounded, 100% 244 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:19,800 perfect lady. And the women are probably never 245 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:24,120 going to reach that. Amen. 246 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,920 You all right? And it's not their Bishop to 247 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:29,960 shame women. It's not their to pressure 248 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:31,520 women. It's there, of course, to try to 249 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:35,560 inspire women that although they may never embody all of those 250 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:38,960 traits, Amen constantly throughout their life and every 251 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:42,320 season of life, that maybe they can touch on them at different 252 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,760 moments in their life and something to aspire to. 253 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:51,240 When I read the Proverbs 31 and I read Psalms 119, I believe 254 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,360 there's something else. As I read through there and I 255 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:56,480 read about the law and the commandments and all of the love 256 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,320 and the obedience and the admiration for this, It's it's 257 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:03,120 almost like some spiritual giant here that that can keep all the 258 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:06,600 crossing of the TS and the dotting of the I's that that is 259 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:09,200 just enamored with the law. It's like, is there anything 260 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:11,520 else that this person has going on in their life? 261 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:14,640 It's it's like a flawless dedication, it would seem to 262 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:17,320 God's law. There's so much much talk and so 263 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:21,320 much interaction, Amen, in contemplation about the Word of 264 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,160 God that one wonders, does this person have other things in 265 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:26,040 life? Amen that they do. 266 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,520 And so when you read it in its totality and read every verse 267 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:33,080 just on the surface, you can almost feel a little small in 268 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,440 your own Christianity because of what you're reading there. 269 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:38,960 It's not making you to aspire to it. 270 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,440 You feel challenged by it and belittled by it. 271 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:43,800 Amen. Because it almost feels like it 272 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:48,560 is unreachable. But the very last verse of the 273 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:53,440 Psalm, in my opinion, really provides the true tenor of the 274 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:57,640 whole chapter. Because for 175 verses we've 275 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:01,560 been assuming something. Oh, the love and the affection, 276 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:04,440 the admiration that this person has for the law and the 277 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:06,240 commandments and the precepts of God. 278 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:08,800 And we've read through 175 verses. 279 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:10,920 That's a lot. We've read through them very 280 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:12,680 quickly. I need to get through my chapter 281 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:17,440 reading for the day and we read through it very quickly and as 282 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,720 we read quickly our our viewpoint has just lassoed on 283 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,200 the fact of this is a keeper of the law. 284 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:28,520 This is a lover of the law only to find out at last that this 285 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:32,560 Psalms, this psalmist who's writing and pinning these words, 286 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:39,000 cries out at the very end and says, I have wondered, I have 287 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:46,080 strayed. And God, if I can't find you, I 288 00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:50,880 need you to find me. We're hearing the words. 289 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:52,400 Just stay with me for a little bit tonight. 290 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:53,760 It's going to take me just a little bit. 291 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:57,480 But we're hearing the words, really, of a person who at one 292 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:02,440 time was a devoted servant unto the Lord, but now in the present 293 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,520 time, he's standing in need of rescuing. 294 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:08,560 He's standing in need for God to reach down. 295 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:11,640 He's standing in need for God to find Him. 296 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,840 Folks, in my whole life, I've read a Psalm 119. 297 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:19,320 Amen. I've missed so many things about 298 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:21,600 this Psalm. Hey, man, it's a great 299 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:23,600 storyline. It's like many books that you 300 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:25,760 would read. There is a overarching 301 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:29,000 storyline, but there is a real storyline within the story 302 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,520 that's being told. And I've missed so many things. 303 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,040 I've read the affection. I've read all of the compassion 304 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:38,920 that this person has for the Word and commandments. 305 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:41,760 Hey man. And as a result of that we got 306 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:45,120 some great quotable verses from Psalms 119. 307 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:50,080 We have verses like thy word. Have I hid in my heart that I 308 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:53,800 might not sin against Thee? We have words like thy word is a 309 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,200 lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. 310 00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:00,600 We have some like wherewith shall a young man cleanse his 311 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,040 way? By taking heed thereto. 312 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,360 According to thy word. We have stuff like great peace 313 00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:10,640 have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. 314 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:14,640 But while I'm reading all of this, there is a deeper story by 315 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,760 the one who's writing this, who's saying, you know what? 316 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:21,000 I'm in a period of time in my life right now, but I'm in a 317 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,520 struggle. I have some doubts. 318 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:27,600 I have some confusion in my relationship with God. 319 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:29,800 And he tips us off to stay with me. 320 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:36,560 He tips us off in the Psalms to this by the tenses of the verbs 321 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:42,400 that he uses in the song. I missed it for 47 years. 322 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,640 I've missed it because there's sometimes in the Psalm he's not 323 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:50,560 talking about his devotion, he's talking about other people's 324 00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:53,840 devotion. And there's many times in the 325 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:58,320 Psalm he's talking about his past devotion, but not his 326 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:02,400 present devotion. There's places in the Psalm he's 327 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:06,320 talking about hoping to have a future devotion, but he's a man 328 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,520 in a struggle right now. That's the deeper story. 329 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:15,400 Look if you will, at the 1st 8 verses of Psalms 119 because the 330 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:19,680 psalmist is describing to begin with what others have done. 331 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:25,840 Look at the verses verse #1 he says blessed are the undefiled. 332 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,040 He's not grouping himself into that category. 333 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,640 He said blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in 334 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:35,040 the law of the Lord. How do you know that, Pastor? 335 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:42,480 Verse 2 Blessed are they. Blessed are they that keep His 336 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:46,200 testimonies, that seek Him with the whole heart. 337 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,920 Verse three. They also do no iniquity. 338 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,360 They walk in His ways. Verse 4. 339 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:57,960 Thou has commanded us. He's omitting that at some time 340 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:01,960 in the past that He had heard the same commandment as they. 341 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:07,640 He says they we, we have been commanded to keep thy precepts 342 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:10,480 diligently. Verse 50 that my ways were 343 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:14,480 directed to keep thy statutes. He said that my ways were I'm 344 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:18,560 hoping I I feel like a failure right now and having upheld 345 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:22,560 this, he says, but I wish that they were presently directed in 346 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:26,520 keeping your statutes. Verse 6 Then shall that's the 347 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,560 future. Then shall I not be ashamed that 348 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,720 when I have respect and to all thy commandments I will praise 349 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:37,880 thee with uprightness of heart. When I shall have learned by 350 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:41,520 righteous judgments, I will keep thy statutes. 351 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:45,320 Oh, forsake me not utterly. Here is the writer. 352 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:49,160 Hey man, he, he's Speaking of they, and then he speaks of us, 353 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:51,920 and then he begins to speak of himself. 354 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:56,640 Hey man, he often speaks in the past about where he once was, 355 00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:59,120 and he speaks about a hope for the future. 356 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:03,800 Hey, man, he writes things like this concerning past and in the 357 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:05,520 future. Just walk with me here a little 358 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:09,080 bit. Verse 9, How can a man cleanse 359 00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:12,240 his way? Verse 10 I have sought. 360 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:18,480 I have sought that. That's that's like a, a a 361 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:20,960 present perfect. I'm not trying to get into all 362 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:24,480 the grammar, but when you have the word have with a word, 363 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:28,480 that's a past tense participle have sought that's in the past. 364 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:32,800 That's a action that took place in the past, but it has a 365 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:37,120 present connection. He says I have sought, but he 366 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:40,240 says let me not wonder. That's a present statement. 367 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,280 Wonder is present. Let me not wonder. 368 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:48,000 He said I will meditate. Verse 15, verse 16, I will 369 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:51,400 delight. Verse 22, I have kept. 370 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:56,400 Verse 23 Thy servant did meditate the past. 371 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:58,960 Verse 26, he admits it already early. 372 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:00,840 He says I'm in this struggle here. 373 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:05,280 I have declared that's the past. I have declared my ways. 374 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,840 But in the present he's saying teach me thy statutes. 375 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:12,840 In verse 30, he says I have chosen back there. 376 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:17,040 Verse 31 I have struck stuck back there. 377 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:18,600 Verse 32 I'm not going through them all. 378 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:22,920 If anybody's getting nervous, he says, I will run the way of thy 379 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:25,200 commandments when thou hast enlarged my heart. 380 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,520 There's times he's talking about where he has been and where he 381 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,680 hopes to be again someday. But in the present he's in the 382 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,040 struggle. In the present his feet has not 383 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:36,720 kept the path. In the present he has feared off 384 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:38,920 the path. In the present, he's saying, 385 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:43,160 God, I can't get back to where I fled from if you don't pursue 386 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:51,530 me. When I read the present tense, 387 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:55,000 it's given us a pulse of where the rider currently is. 388 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,120 And some of the present tense verbs in this chapter are like 389 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:03,560 verse 25, He says, My soul cleaveth unto the dust. 390 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:08,560 It's like verse 28, My soul melteth for heaviness. 391 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:10,000 You want to know where he really is. 392 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:12,360 Read where the present tense verses are. 393 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:16,840 That's where he is right now. He says verse 57, Thou art my 394 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:19,480 portion, O Lord, He's coming to an understanding. 395 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:27,200 Verse 2094 he says I am vying notice his cry save me. 396 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:30,200 I've read it so many years brother short Amen. 397 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:33,080 As a man that had it all together as a man that had 398 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:35,880 everything just right, keeping the law, paying the law. 399 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:39,920 But what I have here is a man that remembers a day when he had 400 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:43,720 it more together than he did in the present and he said God I'm 401 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:47,320 in a struggle right now and I need divine intervention. 402 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:49,720 I'm trying to preach to somebody tonight. 403 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:53,400 I don't know where you are in your relationship with God. 404 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:58,080 It might not be a perfect Rd. without any bumps and everything 405 00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:01,880 is exactly where it needs to be. But you can join a voice with 406 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:06,240 the psalmist tonight and say I remember former days and I have 407 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,800 a future goal but God, it's going to need some divine 408 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:18,600 intervention in my present. Listen to me. 409 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:22,520 He's not describing the memory, He's not describing a hope with 410 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:25,360 these, He's describing the present. 411 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:31,720 When he speaks, he says in verse 35, Make me to go in the path of 412 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:34,440 thy commandments. That's a presence, tense 413 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:35,880 statement. You know what he said. 414 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:41,480 Let's put it in these words. Force me Lord Verse 99. 415 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:44,120 Thy testimonies are my meditations. 416 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:46,960 He knows this because in the past they had been. 417 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:50,840 He's trying to get back there. The present petition verse #12 418 00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:53,520 Look at it. Teach me your statutes. 419 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:59,080 Verse 18 Open thou mine eyes. Verse 36 Incline my heart all 420 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:01,440 present tense. Verse 133. 421 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:11,000 Order my steps in thy word. So I read typically the whole 422 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:15,679 Psalm in one setting. When I read this this pastime, 423 00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:20,280 Sister Sheila and I came to that last verse where that Psalm was 424 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:26,600 said, I have gone astray. Then I went back and reread the 425 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:33,840 Psalm to the eyes of one that was struggling with his faith. 426 00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:40,080 Whatever he said, I've gone astray like a lost sheep. 427 00:34:42,159 --> 00:34:43,840 I'm going to preach here in just a little bit. 428 00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:47,159 He's trying to cry out to God and say, God, I can't seemly 429 00:34:47,159 --> 00:34:50,199 through everything that I've I can't find you, but I need you 430 00:34:50,199 --> 00:34:56,960 to find me. It's here and there that the 431 00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:00,200 writer speaks of his enemies. He constantly speaks well of the 432 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:03,920 law, yes, and it's benefits, but usually always in past tense. 433 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:07,640 But at last he's omitting God. I'm a wanderer and I've wondered 434 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:11,040 like a lost sheep. And God, I want to be retrieved. 435 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:14,800 I want to be found. I've not forgotten your law, but 436 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:18,520 I'm having a hard time keeping a hold of your law right now. 437 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:22,200 Hallelujah. You know what I think is 438 00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:25,560 beautiful? This is you're just delving into 439 00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:27,840 the brain of of your pastor here tonight. 440 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:32,040 Most Psalms are attributed to David, although not all Psalms 441 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:36,120 were written by David. And what we know, we certainly 442 00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:39,680 certainty is that we don't know who pinned Psalms 119. 443 00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:44,800 Some suggest Daniel, some say someone named Scribe, whatever 444 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:49,000 the person is anonymous but not unrelatable. 445 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:53,520 That's right. What that does for me, Brother 446 00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:56,320 Fred, is this, whether past or present. 447 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:01,080 Here's a man that had loved God deeply. 448 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:03,960 He wants to love like that again. 449 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:08,600 He had delighted in the Word. He had some battles with some 450 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:11,040 enemies. He had sought purity and 451 00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:14,600 understanding, even revival. He suffered affliction. 452 00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:21,000 But he's far from perfect. He has no identity as an 453 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:24,880 individual and that gives me hope for the Mason because 454 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:27,480 that's left open because you know what that does for me? 455 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:31,840 That tells me with no identity, no association and nationality, 456 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,280 race or anything applied to this, you know what I can do 457 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,320 then as individual. That allows him to be me. 458 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:45,040 That allows me to find my story and my struggle and my times of 459 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:49,480 wandering and my times of doubt and my times of giving up and my 460 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:51,480 times of shaking the dust off my feet. 461 00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:01,000 If you've never struggled in your Christian walk, hold on, 462 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:08,450 you will. That's not being a pessimist, 463 00:37:08,770 --> 00:37:11,130 that's being a realist. You will. 464 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:13,480 There'll be a day that you'll struggle. 465 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:16,880 There'll be times when things are not as clear as they were 466 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:19,440 when you first received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. 467 00:37:19,720 --> 00:37:22,040 There'll be times that you're, you're firm and you're 468 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:25,000 resoluteness, Amen. Will not be there as much as it 469 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,440 had been at other times. There'll be times that there's 470 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:29,920 things that you thought you would never doubt about, that 471 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:32,960 will encroach upon your mind and your thoughts, and you will 472 00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:35,120 doubt. You may question the very thing 473 00:37:35,120 --> 00:37:36,880 that you used to be so rigid about. 474 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:39,120 There will be a time that it will come. 475 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:41,760 Amen. We are Wanderers at past. 476 00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:46,760 We are lost sheep at best, but in our vacillating back and 477 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:51,400 forth just like he did, we got to come to the the epiphany that 478 00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:56,480 we want to find our way back. Hallelujah, he says, God, I want 479 00:37:56,480 --> 00:38:00,120 to get back to where I hate every false way where I can 480 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:05,080 clearly say, like I once said, I love the law and I love the Lord 481 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:14,160 and I love his ability to do what he can do in my I want to 482 00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:17,040 pay with a broad brush right here, brother McGee, you're 483 00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:19,440 you're talking to the wrong people because we're all here 484 00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:23,920 tonight. You can struggle on the Pew. 485 00:38:29,940 --> 00:38:31,540 Let me even take it a step further. 486 00:38:31,740 --> 00:38:35,020 You struggle on the Pew before you struggle at home. 487 00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:44,000 This person kept God's testimonies. 488 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:47,240 This person sought God's commandments. 489 00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:52,280 This person meditated on them day and night, the statutes of 490 00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:54,760 the Lord. This person rejoiced in the law 491 00:38:54,760 --> 00:39:00,360 like it was a precious treasure. But he also wondered, and he 492 00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:02,480 straight from the very truth that he wants treasured. 493 00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:06,560 He remembers, and he admits that he remembers and knows all the 494 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:09,080 teachings that he had been taught, but he feels a little 495 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:12,920 bit immobile about being able to trace his steps back toward 496 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:16,880 those founding truths. To his cry. 497 00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:20,680 Bishop is 1 of desperation. I read it again from the CEV. 498 00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:29,160 His cry is please come after me, please come after me, he says. 499 00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:37,280 I am like a lost sheep. I've got myself to where I am, 500 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,480 but I can't get myself back to where I was. 501 00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:45,800 Please come after me, he says, present tense. 502 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:52,520 Seek your servant. What's amazing about this is 503 00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:57,640 whenever He states those words, that shepherding terminology in 504 00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:02,320 the Hebrew language, the exact same verb that Ezekiel used in 505 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:07,680 Ezekiel 34 where God promised to seek his scattered sheep. 506 00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:11,200 It's as though the writer is saying I'm like a lost lamb. 507 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:15,280 I'm like a lost sheep, and if I am God, then you got to be the 508 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:17,840 Good Shepherd. Someone say Amen. 509 00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:25,320 Sheep don't just get in their minds someday. 510 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:27,880 And I'm not telling you because I've ever been a sheep, but I've 511 00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:32,920 read people who study sheep. Sheep never just get in their 512 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:39,520 mind that they're just going to leave the phoad someday, they 513 00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:42,920 say. Sheep wonder due to distraction. 514 00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:48,680 They nibble their way into trouble. 515 00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:52,720 There's a little tuft of grass where they're grazing, and they 516 00:40:52,720 --> 00:40:55,280 go and they eat on it, and then they see another tuft. 517 00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:58,680 And so, concentrated on those, they don't realize they're 518 00:40:58,680 --> 00:41:02,200 getting further away from their fold or further away from their 519 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:05,600 shepherd. They just begin to wander and 520 00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:09,720 stray by distraction until there's another tough, until 521 00:41:09,720 --> 00:41:13,720 they're so far away from the flock that that sheep then 522 00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:17,440 finally becomes lost, step by step, without even realizing 523 00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:20,680 anything is wrong. From the very beginning, Isaiah 524 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:23,960 said it like this. We all like sheep. 525 00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:26,520 He didn't say like wolves. He didn't say like any other 526 00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:29,760 animal. He said we all, like sheep, have 527 00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:35,000 gone astray. Wandering for a sheep is rarely 528 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:37,480 intentional. It's accidental. 529 00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:41,240 I don't know if anybody's going to help me here. 530 00:41:41,840 --> 00:41:45,000 And it's incremental. It's a notice. 531 00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:50,520 See, sheep are unlike dogs. They can't track their way home. 532 00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:56,120 Sheep are not like horses, Tracy. 533 00:41:56,120 --> 00:41:58,360 They, they can't orientate themselves. 534 00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:02,120 They're they're not like birds that's able to navigate by 535 00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:05,720 generations of instinct. That's in their DNA and their 536 00:42:05,720 --> 00:42:08,880 genealogy. No, it is founded that sheep 537 00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:12,760 have no sense of direction. They have no internal compass. 538 00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:16,600 They have no ability to retrace their path or their steps. 539 00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:21,200 So if they get separated, they have to depend upon the shepherd 540 00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:29,000 to pursue them. That's how the story of the 541 00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:30,520 shepherd. That said, I'm going to leave 542 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:34,920 the 99 and I'm going after the one lost sheep because it can't 543 00:42:34,920 --> 00:42:38,080 find its way home by itself. It 544 00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:52,680 and the lost sheep, no guidance. And we're the folks. 545 00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:54,680 I'm, I'm not trying to be brutal here. 546 00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:57,520 I'm just telling you about the nature of a sheep. 547 00:42:58,040 --> 00:43:02,360 If it's separated, even just a short distance, it's incapable 548 00:43:02,360 --> 00:43:08,200 even of returning on its own until it is found again. 549 00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:12,720 And once a sheep is aware of its aloneness, their natural 550 00:43:12,720 --> 00:43:18,240 response is to freeze in place. Their natural response is to 551 00:43:18,240 --> 00:43:21,600 start bleeding. Hey man, not bleeding, but bleat 552 00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:25,200 eating, crying out. And they often collapse in fear. 553 00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:29,560 And there's other places that I read that say that many times 554 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:33,960 they wander that much more frantically when they realize 555 00:43:33,960 --> 00:43:40,240 they're disconnected. And within days or even hours, a 556 00:43:40,240 --> 00:43:44,320 lost sheep will stop eating. A lost sheep will become 557 00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:48,720 dehydrated. Because as Psalms 23 proves, he 558 00:43:48,720 --> 00:43:54,920 leadeth me. Besides still they'll become 559 00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:58,440 dehydrated, they'll become listen to me, they'll even 560 00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:02,120 become just within page. Hey man, they'll become weighed 561 00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:12,040 down by their own wool, what their own shelf is producing. 562 00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:16,280 They won't be able to carry the load of it because they need a 563 00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:26,000 shepherd to shave it. Bible says if there's a sheep 564 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:29,160 that gets cast. A cast is whatever a sheep is on 565 00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:32,960 its back, all fours in the air. The a shed a sheep or lamb. 566 00:44:33,120 --> 00:44:36,920 They cannot restore themselves to their feet by themselves. 567 00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:41,840 If it is past, it requires a shepherd to get the sheep back 568 00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:49,760 on its feet or it will die. The lost sheep is defenseless. 569 00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:53,200 They cannot defend themselves. They cannot outrun their 570 00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:55,680 predators. They don't have camouflage as 571 00:44:55,680 --> 00:44:59,400 other animals have camouflage. They cannot climb to safety as 572 00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:01,560 other animals. They can't even make a 573 00:45:01,560 --> 00:45:10,320 threatening sound. So when the rider says in the 574 00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:19,480 last verse, I'm like a lost sheep, you got to understand the 575 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:24,120 desperation of that cry, he said. 576 00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:27,680 I'm not going to make it unless I have some help. 577 00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:29,960 I'm not going to make it out of it. 578 00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:36,200 My God. My God, honey, I'm asking for us 579 00:45:36,200 --> 00:45:40,360 tonight just to be honest with ourselves about where we are in 580 00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:43,520 our relationship with God. And if you're a struggling soul 581 00:45:43,520 --> 00:45:47,720 here tonight, you need to cry out with the highest voice of 582 00:45:47,720 --> 00:45:51,680 desperation and say, God, I'm not going to make it through 583 00:45:51,680 --> 00:45:55,000 this if you don't seek me. If you don't, 584 00:46:06,520 --> 00:46:11,360 He cannot save himself. If the shepherd does not search 585 00:46:11,360 --> 00:46:18,000 for him, if he does not find him, if he does not lift him, if 586 00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:26,480 he does not carry him, he will not be returning because sheep 587 00:46:26,480 --> 00:46:30,400 don't return home. Shepherds return sheep home. 588 00:46:41,680 --> 00:46:48,920 For 175 verses our stranger has sought God through His Word and 589 00:46:48,920 --> 00:46:56,120 His law, and he ends with 176 urgent that God would find him. 590 00:46:59,960 --> 00:47:03,200 My hope, God, is that you would pursue me. 591 00:47:03,840 --> 00:47:05,520 You remember the New Testament story. 592 00:47:06,400 --> 00:47:10,200 The Bible says that a rich man came to Jesus and he asked him. 593 00:47:10,200 --> 00:47:12,160 He said, basically, what good things shall I do? 594 00:47:13,800 --> 00:47:18,000 Which commandment should I keep for this eternal life? 595 00:47:19,240 --> 00:47:21,240 The rich man had the wrong questions. 596 00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:29,440 It's not what you can do. It's not what you can keep. 597 00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:34,200 You have the wrong question. God's longing for a hunger that 598 00:47:34,200 --> 00:47:38,640 says I've sought, but I need you to find me. 599 00:47:39,440 --> 00:47:43,520 I've pursued till my legs have been weak, but I need you to 600 00:47:43,520 --> 00:47:47,000 walk and run toward me. What was it folks? 601 00:47:47,040 --> 00:47:50,520 I understand even the prodigal, The Bible says when he came to 602 00:47:50,520 --> 00:47:53,440 himself, he made a measure of distance home. 603 00:47:53,680 --> 00:47:56,720 But Please remember that when he and he was in close enough 604 00:47:56,720 --> 00:48:00,480 proximity to the father's house, Dad didn't stay on the porch for 605 00:48:00,480 --> 00:48:03,920 him to make the whole journey. The Bible says that he ran. 606 00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:06,560 Amen to that young man. And fell upon him. 607 00:48:06,560 --> 00:48:09,640 Why? Because it takes a pursuit of 608 00:48:09,640 --> 00:48:22,740 the shepherd for the sheep. So he he seeks the word and 609 00:48:22,740 --> 00:48:24,820 wants to live by the world, wants to lighten the word. 610 00:48:25,220 --> 00:48:29,380 But he struggles with weakness and he fights with some enemies 611 00:48:30,100 --> 00:48:33,900 and he's failed more than one time and he understands he needs 612 00:48:34,340 --> 00:48:38,500 some mercy. Psalms 119 is not a victory 613 00:48:38,500 --> 00:48:46,040 parade. It's life, moments of devotion, 614 00:48:47,120 --> 00:48:52,760 moments of longing, but equally moments of weakness and moments 615 00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:57,800 of dependency. It's the pursuit of a imperfect 616 00:48:57,800 --> 00:49:00,800 man longing for the perfect pursuit of him. 617 00:49:04,720 --> 00:49:08,320 His confidence don't, don't lie, and his personal devotion or 618 00:49:08,320 --> 00:49:12,240 discipline Not at all. But it's in the shepherd that 619 00:49:12,240 --> 00:49:18,520 will never stop seeking his sheep, wandering sheep, even 620 00:49:18,520 --> 00:49:24,640 lost sheep. As I read through Psalms 119 and 621 00:49:24,640 --> 00:49:27,280 I have this beautiful acrostic of the Hebrew language, each 622 00:49:27,280 --> 00:49:30,800 letter Amen, and all these sections and these meditations 623 00:49:30,800 --> 00:49:33,160 and devotions of God's law and commandments. 624 00:49:33,520 --> 00:49:37,800 Standing behind all of that is a trembling voice saying, I have 625 00:49:37,800 --> 00:49:44,560 wondered like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, Lord, if you 626 00:49:44,560 --> 00:49:58,070 can stand with me tonight, we can bow our heads in this 627 00:49:58,070 --> 00:50:05,390 place. If you find yourself wandering 628 00:50:05,390 --> 00:50:13,750 tonight, if your devotion has slipped tonight, clarity has 629 00:50:13,750 --> 00:50:20,120 dimmed, you might say, well, Rhythm McGee, how do I gauge 630 00:50:20,120 --> 00:50:22,400 that? Well, let's take a pulse. 631 00:50:23,680 --> 00:50:29,320 Think about when you first came to the Lord and take a pulse of 632 00:50:29,320 --> 00:50:35,240 your worship, your devotion, your prayer, all the things, and 633 00:50:35,240 --> 00:50:39,000 stack it up to that initial experience after you've had it. 634 00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:44,520 And how valiant and how exciting and how exuberant you were to go 635 00:50:44,520 --> 00:50:50,040 and do and give yourself, ask yourself the question, have I 636 00:50:50,040 --> 00:50:53,840 went beyond that point or have I fell from that point? 637 00:50:53,840 --> 00:51:01,360 What am I doing all right in that though? 638 00:51:01,400 --> 00:51:05,000 I'm telling you tonight, if you say what, brother McGee, I, I, I 639 00:51:05,000 --> 00:51:07,600 see that this fading and there's going to be ebbs and flows of 640 00:51:07,600 --> 00:51:09,040 that through your Christian journey. 641 00:51:10,400 --> 00:51:14,160 But whenever you feel that that that ebbing away, that's not the 642 00:51:14,160 --> 00:51:17,880 moment to hide. That's not the moment to 643 00:51:17,920 --> 00:51:21,280 pretend. That's not the moment to put on 644 00:51:21,280 --> 00:51:24,840 a performance. You've just become the person of 645 00:51:24,840 --> 00:51:28,920 Psalm 119 and you need to lift the same prayer. 646 00:51:29,320 --> 00:51:36,360 Lord, I've wondered. Lord, I've wondered, come after 647 00:51:36,640 --> 00:51:46,760 me, pursue me, seek me. Lord, draw near to me, restore 648 00:51:46,760 --> 00:51:52,720 my steps. If I've lost my ardent affection 649 00:51:52,720 --> 00:52:00,240 toward you, God, restore that. Because here's what I can 650 00:52:00,240 --> 00:52:05,080 guarantee for you tonight when you lose your taste of seeking 651 00:52:05,080 --> 00:52:11,800 Him out, he's not even nor ever will lose his taste for seeking 652 00:52:11,800 --> 00:52:18,280 you out because the one who calls you to keep his word is 653 00:52:18,280 --> 00:52:22,800 the same God who carries you back to his word. 654 00:52:25,600 --> 00:52:29,280 So as the Psalms ends in that last verse, it's not the words 655 00:52:29,280 --> 00:52:33,120 of some some some self assurance that the Psalms had. 656 00:52:33,120 --> 00:52:37,720 No, it is the words of a man at a place of surrender. 657 00:52:39,200 --> 00:52:42,360 I need the shepherd to come after me. 658 00:52:47,800 --> 00:52:49,880 You may have been coming here for some time now. 659 00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:52,560 You might find yourself just going through the mechanics and 660 00:52:52,560 --> 00:52:57,880 the motions of all of the dynamics of Christianity and 661 00:52:57,920 --> 00:53:01,720 churchhood. But maybe it's been a while 662 00:53:01,720 --> 00:53:06,560 since you've just really lost yourself in His presence. 663 00:53:07,920 --> 00:53:11,880 Maybe it's been a while that hunger and desire has driven 664 00:53:11,880 --> 00:53:15,360 you, but it's just been prefunctiary, right? 665 00:53:16,040 --> 00:53:18,560 I just do because that's what you do when you're here. 666 00:53:19,320 --> 00:53:23,840 Sir, ma'am, you need to cry out to the Lord tonight and say I 667 00:53:23,840 --> 00:53:26,840 need the Shepherd to help my struggling soul. 668 00:53:27,800 --> 00:53:30,760 I need the Shepherd. I've kept past tense. 669 00:53:30,760 --> 00:53:33,200 His law. I've had affection. 670 00:53:33,920 --> 00:53:36,280 It was laid upon me. Past tense. 671 00:53:36,840 --> 00:53:42,160 I hope to get there again. But God, tonight I need you to 672 00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:45,880 teach me your ways again. Tonight my soul melteth. 673 00:53:46,600 --> 00:53:49,480 Tonight, God, I'm a struggling soul. 674 00:53:49,720 --> 00:53:52,720 I'm like a lost sheep and I can't find my way. 675 00:53:52,720 --> 00:53:55,120 If you go help me. Come on, Sir. 676 00:53:55,120 --> 00:53:58,920 Ma'am, I know, I know it's brutally, you know, a vulnerable 677 00:53:58,920 --> 00:54:02,000 place whenever we just got to get, you know, honest with God. 678 00:54:02,160 --> 00:54:05,880 But God loves our honesty. He loves our honesty Tonight you 679 00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:07,880 said, brother McGee, I just can't find my way. 680 00:54:08,040 --> 00:54:11,440 You got to cry out to God so he'll find his way to you. 681 00:54:13,320 --> 00:54:15,160 Get honest with the Lord tonight. 682 00:54:15,800 --> 00:54:17,440 Get honest with the Lord tonight. 683 00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:21,160 Have you found yourself sitting and just enjoying the music and 684 00:54:21,160 --> 00:54:24,320 the songs as though you're at a concert or entertainment place? 685 00:54:24,320 --> 00:54:27,320 More than engaging with what's being sung and allowing the 686 00:54:27,320 --> 00:54:30,520 lyrics to fall up on your ears, especially when they're directly 687 00:54:30,520 --> 00:54:32,320 from the Word and touching your heart. 688 00:54:32,320 --> 00:54:34,520 What are you saying? You might be a struggling soul 689 00:54:34,520 --> 00:54:37,240 tonight, and we all will meet those spots, but it's 690 00:54:37,240 --> 00:54:40,000 recognizing. Let the shepherd pursue you. 691 00:54:40,200 --> 00:54:46,400 Let the shepherd pursue you. I'm going to ask as many as will 692 00:54:46,400 --> 00:54:48,920 to come forward because I know how vulnerable it is to step out 693 00:54:48,920 --> 00:54:51,320 on our own. So if we collectively come, I 694 00:54:51,320 --> 00:54:53,360 don't know if you're coming because you need to come or you 695 00:54:53,360 --> 00:54:55,280 don't need to come. No one knows any different. 696 00:54:55,480 --> 00:54:56,800 But I'm asking if you'll just come. 697 00:54:56,800 --> 00:54:59,680 Meet me in the altar tonight. Meet me in the altar tonight. 698 00:54:59,680 --> 00:55:02,520 If you stand, you kneel. It matters not to me, Amen. 699 00:55:02,520 --> 00:55:05,600 Heaven knows, but I want to break, if you will, this motive. 700 00:55:05,600 --> 00:55:06,880 I'm not going to take a step for it. 701 00:55:06,880 --> 00:55:08,240 I don't want people to see me all that. 702 00:55:08,240 --> 00:55:11,080 I get it, Amen. But if all of us come, then no 703 00:55:11,080 --> 00:55:14,400 one knows, but heaven knows. But I want you to be honest with 704 00:55:14,400 --> 00:55:16,880 God in your prayer. I want you to be honest with you 705 00:55:16,880 --> 00:55:21,800 with God in your conversation. Come on, Sir. 706 00:55:21,800 --> 00:55:24,360 Come on, ma'am. Young, old, middle-aged, single, 707 00:55:24,360 --> 00:55:25,800 married. It matters not. 708 00:55:27,000 --> 00:55:30,920 Here I am God. Hell, I'm O Kochaye. 709 00:55:33,680 --> 00:55:35,360 God. I was going to win the world 710 00:55:35,520 --> 00:55:37,400 whenever my soul got caught on fire. 711 00:55:37,680 --> 00:55:39,360 Hallelujah, and I was born again. 712 00:55:40,800 --> 00:55:43,840 I've been noticing lately, God, that the fire has grown dim. 713 00:55:44,680 --> 00:55:47,520 I've noticed lately, God, that the fire has drawn them. 714 00:55:48,280 --> 00:55:52,200 I'm a struggling soul. I'm a struggling soul. 715 00:55:52,560 --> 00:55:55,440 I'm your servant. But I've wandered away like a 716 00:55:55,440 --> 00:55:56,600 lost sheep. Please come. 717 00:55:57,000 --> 00:56:01,680 Please come after me, Lord. Because when the when the robber 718 00:56:01,680 --> 00:56:03,720 meets the road. I've not forgot your law. 719 00:56:04,400 --> 00:56:06,800 I've not forgot your statutes. I've not forgot your 720 00:56:06,800 --> 00:56:08,880 commandments. I've not forgotten about. 721 00:56:09,800 --> 00:56:12,200 I know, but I need you to find me.