1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,880 If you have your Bible, sort of divide it in half, open it up 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,920 and then go a little left and you'll find your way to the book 3 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:11,880 of Psalms. We're going to be in Psalm 46 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,520 today. So while you turn there, I 5 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:16,400 suppose it's too late to wish you a happy new. 6 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,040 So let me say, back to school is cool. 7 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:22,840 Oh yeah, baby, we get our streets back. 8 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,680 We get our shopping centres back, our movie theatres back, 9 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:28,880 our restaurants. Back to school is cool. 10 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:31,120 Yeah. Can't wait. 11 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,680 If you are parents of little ones, you know, maybe this is 12 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,640 your very first year where you're dropping little Johnny 13 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:39,720 off. Be prepared. 14 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:42,760 Be prepared for feels you didn't know you would ever feel. 15 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:45,000 I can still remember when we dropped no off. 16 00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:47,440 You take him to school. And I suddenly had this thought, 17 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,160 You know, it's like going to mainland with your first born, 18 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,720 your precious first born and saying, OK, listen, go into the 19 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:56,040 shop. The lady behind the counter, 20 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,080 she'll look after you. I'll see you tonight and all 21 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:01,320 these things like, Oh my gosh, you know, can I trust them? 22 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:03,760 You're in for it. And then you're also in for it. 23 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,520 It's a few years to come where you're driving home with little 24 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:10,160 Johnny and you know, you've poured out your hard earned cash 25 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:12,000 on that education and how was school? 26 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,200 Fine, What did you learn? Nothing. 27 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,840 So just in case the tables are turned today and you're driving 28 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:22,840 home with little Johnny and little Johnny asks you, mom, 29 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:25,120 dad, what did you learn today? Just so that you don't say 30 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:27,160 nothing, I want to be very clear. 31 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:29,160 This is what we're going after today. 32 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,880 This is what I want to ask of you today and find in Psalm 46. 33 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,720 How do you plan to build in 2025? 34 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:39,840 How do you plan to build in 2025? 35 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,040 Are you just going to repeat 2024? 36 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,880 Have you given it any thoughts? Is it Que Sarah Sarah or just in 37 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,240 case that is the case, I want to show you how Scripture 38 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,440 encourages us to build and we find it in Psalm 46. 39 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,200 This is one of those raw and rugged feet in the dirt 40 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:02,480 Scriptures and it says in verse one, God is our refuge and 41 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,960 strength and ever present help in times of trouble. 42 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:08,759 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way and 43 00:02:08,759 --> 00:02:10,600 the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. 44 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,480 Those waters, raw and foam in the mountains quake where 45 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:16,280 they're surging. There is a river whose streams 46 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,680 make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High 47 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,160 dwells. God is within her. 48 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:24,360 She will not fall. God will help her at break of 49 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:26,520 day. The nations, this is verse 6. 50 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:28,520 The nations are an uproar, Kingdom's fall. 51 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,400 He lifts his voice and the earth melts. 52 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,640 And this is what I think he says when he lifts his voice. 53 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:38,000 Verse 10, be still and know that I'm God. 54 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:42,120 So how do you plan to build in 2025? 55 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,480 For me, the first thing I see there, the very first word in 56 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:48,240 the very first verse, we build with God. 57 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:50,800 I know what you're thinking. Well, obviously, yeah. 58 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,440 I mean, it's like Johnny at Sunday school where the Sunday 59 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,520 school teacher asks a question and he puts up his hand. 60 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,120 He says, I know it sounds like a squirrel, but I know the answer 61 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:03,560 has to be Jesus, you know, So the answer has to be God. 62 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,120 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labour, labour 63 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,040 in vain. Unless the Lord builds 2025, you 64 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:11,960 and I labour in vain. It's got to be God. 65 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:14,640 Obviously God doesn't be God. But here's the deeper question. 66 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:20,760 Which God? So AW Tosa says the following. 67 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:24,760 He says what comes to mind when you think about God is the most 68 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,200 important thing about you. What a statement. 69 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:33,280 What comes to mind when you think about God is the most 70 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,080 important thing about you. So what comes to mind when you 71 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:37,280 think? And when I say we've got to 72 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:42,920 build on God, which God? Is it That prickly, angular, 73 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:47,040 malevolent, grumpy old fart God of your imaginations? 74 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:52,040 Is it that religious God is more like a dictator than a dad, 75 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:56,560 distant and disappointed? Or is it the God of Scripture? 76 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:02,760 Because my Bible says that God is our refuge and strength and 77 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:04,960 ever present help in times of trouble. 78 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,040 You know, if you page a few pages back a few verses before 79 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:12,000 this in Psalm 34, it says the Lord is close to the broken 80 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,400 hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 81 00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:20,279 Is that the God that comes to mind when I say we need to build 82 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:25,960 2025 with God And I was reading in the New Testament, there's a 83 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,280 moment so you might be familiar with it where Jesus is letting 84 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:31,000 his disciples know, listen, I'm not here for good. 85 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:32,440 I'm actually going to go to be with the Father. 86 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:36,080 But when I do, I always thought the Bible says he said when I do 87 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:37,440 I'm going to send the Holy Spirit. 88 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:41,360 But I discovered this week that he doesn't say that. 89 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:44,920 He says when I go to be the Father, he will send the 90 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,440 Comforter who is the Holy Spirit. 91 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:50,760 Is that what comes to mind when you think about God? 92 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:57,600 Refuge, strength, a comforter, an ever present help in times of 93 00:04:57,600 --> 00:04:59,480 trouble? Is it this God up there looking 94 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,000 down, letting you know how disappointed He is in you? 95 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:04,960 He knows what you did in December and he knows what 96 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,840 you're trying to do in January, trying to earn some favor. 97 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:12,440 Which God? You know the word, the adjective 98 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:16,680 most often used by God to describe himself as the word 99 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:23,000 compassionate, Incredible. Now that God says, I want to be 100 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,320 your refuge and strength and an ever present help in times of 101 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:29,640 trouble. Now that, that we're in trouble 102 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:33,200 there, one Bible commentator says the best way that us and 103 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,480 modern times can get that is when, when things are falling 104 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:40,000 apart. It's a great modern translation 105 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,200 of times of trouble. And I don't know if you have 106 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,160 ever experienced things falling apart. 107 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:50,440 Yeah, we, we use it when, when I've got a microphone, Are you 108 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:53,400 ready? We use it when, you know, our 109 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:55,760 house falls apart. Our house fell apart last year. 110 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,240 We discovered that our home is 50 years old. 111 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,440 And the, the sewerage pipes, they call them earthenware. 112 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:06,920 It's like glorified pottery to take all the unmentionables from 113 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:11,200 the back door to the municipal. And, and so they sent a camera 114 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:13,080 underneath there and said, listen, your house is falling 115 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:15,840 apart. You have to replace the stuff 70 116 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:18,520 meters worth. And at its lowest point, it was 117 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,360 almost 3 meters underground. So you you got to know what our 118 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:24,960 home looked like for weeks. And then of course, while we got 119 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,360 earth everywhere, we had our first reins and it all ends up 120 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,160 in the pool. You know, my home was falling 121 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:33,240 apart. Maybe we say your wardrobe is 122 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,560 falling apart. You know, first time in church 123 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,040 in 10 years and you think, oh, I need to wear my Sunday best and 124 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,360 then suddenly realize, oh, it's kind of falling apart. 125 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,280 What often happens when people darken the door of our offices 126 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:47,560 is because their business or their marriage is falling apart. 127 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:54,960 But here in this context, it when life is falling apart and 128 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,000 maybe you're there right now, maybe this is your Hail Mary 129 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,680 because your life is falling apart and you say, Stephen, what 130 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:04,320 God is my refuge and strength and ever presently, like, don't 131 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:08,600 give me that little cute coffee cup bubble verse that doesn't 132 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:10,840 help in my situation. I need more. 133 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,440 Well, I'll throw it back at you and say, well, let me tell you 134 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,760 the context of this chapter, this Psalm. 135 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:22,880 I'll give you an idea of what it looks like to trust God when 136 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:26,760 life is really falling apart. See the context here is a king 137 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:30,880 by the name of Hezekiah. So biblical scholars believe 138 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:33,520 that during the reign of king Hezekiah, this Psalm, Psalm 46 139 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:37,240 was written. Now the nation of Israel had had 140 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:40,120 its ups and downs, but King Hezekiah was a good king. 141 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:44,240 The Bible says that he removed the high places and he he 142 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,720 basically eradicated idolatry through the entire nation of 143 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:49,480 Israel. So the high places were those 144 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:53,560 spots where they would go under the trees and make sacrifices 145 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:55,240 and burn incense to all foreign gods. 146 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:59,200 So he got rid of those and idolatry was outlawed. 147 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,120 And it says of him, it says he followed the Lord and he kept 148 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:05,280 his commands. You know, he didn't do what you 149 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:07,840 did in December. He, he stayed on the straight 150 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,200 and narrow. He kind of hoped, Hey, listen, 151 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:12,360 you know, some brownie points at least, but not with King 152 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:15,160 Hezekiah. Because he lived in the world 153 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:19,200 like we live. He faced brokenness and sin and, 154 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,920 and humanity like we do. And so one morning he woke up 155 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:27,720 and King Sennacherib and his vast army were on his doorstep. 156 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:30,520 Vast army. This is this is a word you know, 157 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:32,760 for me. It's like Lord of the Rings, 158 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:35,600 Battle of Helms, deep kind of vast army. 159 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:38,000 That's where the king stands on the wall. 160 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:41,280 And everywhere you look, it's like the hordes of hell have 161 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:43,360 descended and they're obeying for blood. 162 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:46,360 And it's not just, you know, I kill you. 163 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:52,880 He's also taunting and mocking them. 164 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,760 One stage, Sennacherib says, hey, listen, you know, we've got 165 00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:59,320 we've got about 1000 Chariots to spare. 166 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:00,920 And Chariots on those days were like tanks. 167 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:04,320 So we've got like 1000 and then, oh, my bad, sorry, you've only 168 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:06,840 got proper, what, 200 people to actually ride these things? 169 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:09,760 My bad. And then he says so that 170 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:11,920 everyone can hear, he says, oh, and by the way, if you're 171 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:16,040 wondering why we're here, your God sent us because your God saw 172 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:18,520 what you did in December. And he's like, MMM, I'm going to 173 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:21,640 wipe them out. Strike three, you're done. 174 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:26,120 And he wakes up in the morning, and that army and that king is 175 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,840 standing there. And it's in that place that he 176 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:31,760 writes Psalm 46. It's in this place that the 177 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:36,240 psalmist sits down and writes, God is our refuge and strength. 178 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:40,400 He writes it so that it's this declaration through the ages, 179 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:43,240 this declaration through the corridors of history. 180 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:46,800 So you and I, it doesn't matter what we're facing, even if it 181 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:49,360 pales in comparison. In that situation. 182 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:54,080 He says God is my refuge and strength and ever present help 183 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:56,520 in times of trouble. Therefore I will not fear. 184 00:09:56,520 --> 00:10:00,360 Though the earth gives way, the mountains fall into the heart of 185 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:01,800 the sea. See because he didn't know how 186 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:04,800 this was going to turn out, though it's waters raw and foam 187 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,760 in the mountains quake with their surging nations are an 188 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:09,960 uproar. Kingdoms fall, but he lifts his 189 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,600 voice and the earth melts. He still says be still and know 190 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:18,960 that I'm God. Be still and know that I'm God. 191 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,080 We've sung that all morning long. 192 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:25,680 One of the songs that we didn't sing is the lion. 193 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,800 This is how I fight my battles. It's based on that battle. 194 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:34,720 It may look like I'm surrounded, but I'm surrounded by you. 195 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:41,000 How are you going to build 2025? Is it? 196 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,680 That's Fats juicy retirement annuity. 197 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:49,840 Is it the ring of C-Suite executives or is it God, the 198 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:53,520 maker of heaven and earth who says let me be your refuge and 199 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:56,080 strength your ever present help in tons of trouble? 200 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:00,160 Because this is what the psalmist invites us to. 201 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:05,040 We don't know what we're going to face. 2025 is looking great 202 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:08,440 and you know that everyone's calling a 2020 thrive. 203 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:13,480 But what if it's 2020? Let's hope we survive. 204 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:24,160 The difference is who you buildeth and the psalmist simply 205 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:30,400 says, God, God, who wants to be your refuge and strengthen ever 206 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:31,840 present help in times of trouble. 207 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:36,400 So he doesn't pull any punches. In writing Psalm 46, he talks 208 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:39,000 about the earth giving way, mountains falling into the heart 209 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,320 of the sea, waters roaring and mountains quaking. 210 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:44,680 And then in verse 6, I love this part, it says nations are an 211 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:48,360 uproar, kingdoms fall, but he lifts his voice and the earth 212 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,800 melts. He lifts his voice. 213 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:56,040 Someone said to me the other day, if you want to know the 214 00:11:56,040 --> 00:12:00,800 voice of God, read His word, and if you want to hear the audible 215 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:03,360 voice of God, read His word out loud. 216 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:11,600 He lifts his voice, just a word, and the earth melts. 217 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:16,600 He lifts his voice, just a word, and the storm is calmed. 218 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:20,200 Just a word, and the dead are raised. 219 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:22,600 The blind. See the deaf here. 220 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:25,640 Just a word. And a man with a shriveled hand 221 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:27,960 extends it, and he's completely healed. 222 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:33,160 What's shriveled in your life? What's shriveling through 2025? 223 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:35,480 Just a word, he says. Come to my word. 224 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:37,400 Let me speak my word. Do you see? 225 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:40,720 How dare we build 2025 on bubbles? 226 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:43,960 The new year has a lot of bubbles. 227 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:46,760 Lot of bubbles and bling and hope. 228 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:51,240 And you know this lovely hype of a clean calendar and maybe 229 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:54,680 you've managed to get your e-mail inbox down to less than 230 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:56,680 100. You're like, Oh yes, things are 231 00:12:56,680 --> 00:12:59,760 looking good. We dare not build on bubbles. 232 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:06,440 We build on the word of God. I don't know what your last few 233 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,840 months were like, what your 2024 was like. 234 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:16,000 Mine was particularly unusual and dark, difficult. 235 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:20,040 I was saying to Kathy yesterday, the best way I can summarize 236 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,960 that like the last few months is legless anxiety. 237 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:29,360 And I'll say legless because if the thing had legs, you could 238 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:31,520 follow the footprints, footprints in the sand and go 239 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:33,600 like, OK, it was because of this or because of that. 240 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:36,200 But it's felt like the last few months has just been this 241 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:39,280 heaviness, like a darkness of this, this weight. 242 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:43,560 And I know that behind this is the year that we've had. 243 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:46,640 And I know that some of it was kind of the PTSD we had going 244 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:49,760 into this December because of last December. 245 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:53,480 And I know it's got to do with one of our friends at the end of 246 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:56,240 the year when you finish, you know, you're like properly 247 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:57,720 empty. And then you hear news that 248 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:01,040 she's had a double mastectomy and a fight with cancer. 249 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,440 And then while she's in the hospital, her husband has a 250 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:05,960 heart attack and dies. And I know I've carried that. 251 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:09,040 And I know we've, you know, been struck by lightning and all our 252 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:12,720 electronics have been fused. And, you know, there's sewerage 253 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,240 issues and did two funerals on Friday. 254 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:17,920 But it's more than that. It's more than that. 255 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,600 It's the world that we live in. It's the burdens that we share 256 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:23,280 with one another. It's the journeys you go 257 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:25,120 through. And I go through this and I'd 258 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:27,720 wake up in the morning and say the first thing that I feel. 259 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:33,760 But never before have I felt and found such hope and such life 260 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:36,800 and such power. The quiet of a morning with my 261 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:41,120 coffee and my bottle. And it's like he lifts up his 262 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:45,040 voice over that legless anxiety, and it just melts. 263 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:47,760 I don't know if you know Hein, fam. 264 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,080 He's one of the most incredible stories I heard. 265 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:55,480 Hein was a Vietnamese guy. He's a English teacher and 266 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:59,200 because of he was so good in, in both languages, he made friends 267 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:01,400 with an American evangelist when he was touring. 268 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:03,720 This was like the late 60s, early 70s. 269 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:07,800 And Hein and the evangelist basically travelled around 270 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:11,480 preaching and teaching the gospel, seeing hundreds saved. 271 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,760 And then the communist government took over, and, you 272 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:17,360 know, they got rid of all things American. 273 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,120 And they also threw Hein into prison because, you know, he was 274 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,360 associated with this evangelist. And they said, no, you dare to 275 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:25,320 undermine it, you know, communism. 276 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,400 And so they put him in prison. They've tortured him. 277 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:31,080 They treated him brutally, and they try to brainwash him with, 278 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:33,600 like, Marxist ideologies and everything like it. 279 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,400 And they did this not for weeks, not for months, but for years. 280 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:40,840 They went after Heim. He's a popular figure, well 281 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,080 known. And they used him as an example. 282 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:46,120 This is the poster child of what happens if you cross us. 283 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:48,560 His family didn't know what happened to him. 284 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:50,720 The evangelist didn't know what happened to him. 285 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:53,960 And after a couple years in prison, he eventually got to the 286 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:57,080 end. He felt like God has abandoned 287 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:02,000 me, might as well abandoned him. Maybe you feel the same today. 288 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:06,200 And he said to himself, he said, you know what? 289 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:09,000 Every time I pray, it feels like God's not there. 290 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:10,920 It feels like my prayers are bouncing off the ceiling. 291 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,040 Every time I cry out to God to rescue me, to Get Me Out of this 292 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:17,560 prison falls in deaf ears. So thank you. 293 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,280 I'm done. The next morning he wakes up for 294 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,240 the very first time, doesn't get on his knees, doesn't start his 295 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:25,960 day and pray, doesn't include God in his day. 296 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:28,880 And he begins with the usual chores that he had to do every 297 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:31,080 day. And those included cleaning the 298 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:34,560 the gods toilets. And he's busy scrubbing the the 299 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:38,800 toilet and there's this little piece of paper and it's got 300 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:40,800 English on it. And he's thinking, man, he's 301 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:44,680 never heard anything from the outdoor world because he's not 302 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,440 only been ostracized and isolated, but he's been rejected 303 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:49,360 by fellow prisoners. No one's talking to him. 304 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:51,160 He's like doesn't know what's going on with him. 305 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:52,560 He's worried he's losing his mind. 306 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:54,160 So he sees his little English piece of paper. 307 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:56,000 So he kings it off as best as he can. 308 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,360 And he sort of sticks it on his skin under his shirt so that the 309 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,480 the gods don't find it. He goes back into his prison. 310 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,920 He takes it out, dries it off. And the says the following says. 311 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:08,400 For I'm convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels 312 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,640 nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 313 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,960 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation 314 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:17,960 will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in 315 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:24,079 Christ Jesus. See, he had abandoned God, but 316 00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:29,920 God hadn't abandoned him. And the next morning, clinging 317 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:31,680 in the Louvre, another piece of Scripture. 318 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:35,560 And the next morning, another piece of Scripture, the only 319 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:38,080 thing he said, the only thing you could figure was that they 320 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,480 thought, this will show him. We'll use your Bible for what 321 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,880 it's meant for. And every morning, he's finding 322 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:49,160 treasure upon treasure. He was eventually released 17 323 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:55,120 years later, persecuted and brutalized and isolated for 17 324 00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:57,360 years. And after getting back to his 325 00:17:57,360 --> 00:17:59,440 family, he phoned this American evangelist. 326 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,680 He like could not believe, A, that he was alive and B, that he 327 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,280 had made it through 17 years of torture. 328 00:18:06,120 --> 00:18:08,640 And when he asked him, how on earth did you do that, he said 329 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,200 the following. He said, each day God provided 330 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:15,080 my daily bread. He gave me just a little bit of 331 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:18,440 Scripture each day. And the word of God sustained 332 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,640 me. I've lived that the last few 333 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,600 months. He lived that for 17 years. 334 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:29,920 Scripture, Psalm 46 is calling you to live that for 2025. 335 00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:36,280 How do we build in 2025? We build with God on our rights, 336 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:41,360 His word on our left and intimacy with Him front and 337 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:44,000 center. Verse 10 says the following. 338 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,640 He says be still and know that I am God. 339 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:54,040 He says you want to you want to really build well, you want a 340 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:59,880 fruitful 2025. Be still and know that I am God. 341 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:02,720 I've been looking at this. I love this verse, but there's 342 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:06,360 three big sections to it. There's a be still, there's a 343 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:10,640 knowing and then there's God, and I want to just unpack those 344 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:12,800 for a few minutes. The first one is be still. 345 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:18,040 Now we think it's like blaze still children should be seen 346 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:20,880 and not heard. But actually the Hebrew word for 347 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:26,040 be still is a sound. So imagine, I don't know if 348 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,000 you've seen it's the the game show minute to win it. 349 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:31,760 You've got a minute to do a little task. 350 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:33,960 And if you complete it, then then you win it, then you win 351 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,600 something. And so it's an American game 352 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,120 show. So it starts with something 353 00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:40,000 simple. You know, maybe you've got a 354 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,800 pack of cards and you've got a bowl on the other side of the 355 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,680 room and you just got to flick one of those cards into that 356 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:48,880 bowl and you win $1000. And so the minute starts the 357 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:51,280 next pack of cards and you get it. 358 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,440 And yeah, I've got $1000. And then the game show host 359 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:56,280 comes and says, OK, do you want to keep 1000 or do you want to 360 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,600 go for $10,000? And of course, you go for the 361 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,280 $10,000 and then it's a ping pong ball into cup or whatever 362 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:05,240 the case might be. Very simple, easy to do, but the 363 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:07,000 pressure is on if you've got to do it in a minute. 364 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:12,000 And if you give her up on the 1000, you can go for $10,000, 365 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:14,720 it's 200K. But if you give up on the 366 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,960 10,000, you can go for $100,000. And then ultimately, if you get 367 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,880 it in within that minute, you can give back the $100,000 to 368 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:25,920 win $1,000,000. And the one that I was watching, 369 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:27,880 they very seldom managed to get to the million. 370 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:30,760 But the one that I was watching, it's actually was an easy 1. 371 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,400 He got given 60 different shapes and they had to stand on one 372 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,280 another, whether it was like a pyramid or a wall, all on top of 373 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:41,320 each other within 60 seconds, which basically meant he only 374 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:45,080 had to put one strange shape on top of another every second. 375 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:49,480 So the guy says like $1,000,000, here we go. 376 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,440 And so he's going and he's doing it, and he's got this very 377 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:55,360 clever lean to shape that he's got. 378 00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:57,240 It's kind of like a triangle on its side. 379 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,000 And but it's working. And he's building his building 380 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:05,440 and he's about 15 seconds ahead. He's got like 20 seconds left. 381 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:07,680 And he's got three or four of these little things to do. 382 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:10,080 And he puts one on and it collapses. 383 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:24,480 That sound that you just made Be still for his Akaya was that 384 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:27,480 moment he got on the wall with him and his 200 cronies and 385 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:34,200 there were 2 million from It's where you are at your end. 386 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:38,640 Be still because he's in that place. 387 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:44,840 Be still and know that I'm gone. We don't run from it. 388 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:48,240 We don't hatch another plan. We just be still. 389 00:21:48,720 --> 00:22:00,440 Realize I can't still I know that I'm God not an idol, not to 390 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,920 boss and a bank account. God the creator of heaven and 391 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,000 earth. Last year when we're looking at 392 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,960 Emmanuel, God with us. We looked in Isaiah says he's a 393 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,640 wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of 394 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:15,120 Peace and there's this thread that runs through there this 395 00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:20,320 Hebrew word Pele and it's only attributed to God because Pele 396 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:24,320 is essentially when you sit as a situation you you have no idea 397 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:29,040 how that came about Pele that which requires God as its 398 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:34,320 explanation. So he's saying be still in 2025, 399 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:37,200 whatever you face, whatever you're going through, if you be 400 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:41,960 still, you have access to God Pele situation. 401 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:45,920 You will see that's his nature and character and his love and 402 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:50,440 desire for you is to Pele that situation that which requires 403 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:54,320 God as its explanation. We had that a few days ago we 404 00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:58,440 were in hospital visiting Katz Grant, who's in hospital. 405 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,800 She's 100 and something years old and she's on her last. 406 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:05,360 While we were there, my my daughter, who nearly died of 407 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:08,880 kidney failure a year ago, says, listen to this, OK, if I go 408 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:10,960 walk. And I was thinking, sure, 409 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,480 that's, you know, PTSD. She doesn't want to be in 410 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:17,160 hospital, so let it go. But I followed her and she ended 411 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:21,840 up going down to the pediatric ICU that she was in for most of 412 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,400 December the year before, bumped into the doctors. 413 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,880 And as I got to her, she met one of the nurses like, hey, do you 414 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:30,680 remember us? I recognized the nurse. 415 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:32,880 Unfortunately, she recognized me because she's like, yeah, I 416 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:34,640 remember you. You minded me because I put her 417 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:38,440 in that ward and you said she has to have a sorry, my bad. 418 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,160 You know, she said no, we took you from there, put it in 5A and 419 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:43,320 then you in the isolation pediatric unit. 420 00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:46,320 And then she said this. She says yeah, your daughter's 421 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:53,160 the miracle child. She remembers a year later 422 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:57,240 you're the miracle child. What God did there Pele that 423 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,240 which requires God as its explanation. 424 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:07,920 How do we build 2025? Maybe still and we know that he 425 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,240 is God. The problem is going from here 426 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:16,120 to here because what it requires is intimacy with God. 427 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:20,280 It requires a knowing and that knowing is Rory's favorite 428 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:21,960 Hebrew word uses it all the time. 429 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,200 It's yadah. So when her husband knows his 430 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:28,640 wife and she falls pregnant, it's the most intimate word in 431 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,360 Scripture. And he says that is what I want 432 00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:35,240 with you. But you say not a chance. 433 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:38,600 If I'm knowing you, that means you knowing me. 434 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:40,640 You know what I didn't last summer? 435 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,960 You know the things that that what I've seen is thank you, but 436 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:47,440 no thank you. So I want to tell you a story 437 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,480 that I heard, the most incredible story. 438 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:53,960 If I didn't know the person who told it to me, I would think not 439 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,880 to chance. It's a story about Emily. 440 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:01,920 Emily grew up in a Christian home, lovely Christian girl. 441 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,320 But when she started becoming a teenager, she started having 442 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:12,120 troubles with sort of like the the constraints of the Christian 443 00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:16,560 home that she grew up in. She really battled when all her 444 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:18,240 friends got cell phones and she didn't. 445 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:20,120 And the parents said, no, you got to wait for high school. 446 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,800 And she really struggled when she did get a phone and her dad 447 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:29,160 put FaceTime on their cell phones because now you can only 448 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:31,080 be on WhatsApp for like, 30 minutes a day. 449 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:33,160 And. And so this became, yeah, I 450 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:35,920 suppose, typical parent teenager conversations. 451 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:37,960 But eventually it turned into fights. 452 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:41,600 And then her and her friend, something happened at school and 453 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:45,080 she was sent home with a letter from the principal say, hey, 454 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:46,520 listen, just so you're aware, this went down. 455 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:49,840 And so parents read it, signed it, sent it back, but said, 456 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:51,960 you're grounded to what she said. 457 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,440 Grounded from what? I can't do anything. 458 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:56,760 I live like a prisoner in my own home. 459 00:25:57,680 --> 00:25:59,960 And those things just seem to trip the switch. 460 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:01,000 And so she decided, you know what? 461 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,800 I'm, I'm heading out. I'm done with this family. 462 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,240 And so she withdrew the money from her bank account, snuck 463 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:09,000 into her parents room, stole all the money. 464 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,600 She couldn't even empty the poor brother's Piggy Bank. 465 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:14,720 And she decided, I'm going to go and I'm going to live somewhere 466 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:16,240 else. I'm going to live the life that 467 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:18,120 I wanted. And so she does. 468 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:21,160 So she climbs on a Greyhound bus and goes as far away as the 469 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:24,480 money would take her, climbs off there, becomes a waitress. 470 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:26,120 She's sort of looking after herself for a while. 471 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:29,600 And then she meets the guy, falls in love, moves in with him 472 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:32,520 and adopts his lifestyle, which includes doing drugs. 473 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:37,200 And she gets heavily, heavily addicted to the point where 474 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:39,520 she's barely functioning. She loses her job. 475 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,160 And so her boyfriend says, hey, listen, you know this is not a 476 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:44,240 free ride. You need to pay your way. 477 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,400 You need to go get a job, which she tries, but she's so high and 478 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:51,720 not there, no one is willing to hire her. 479 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:55,920 So her boyfriend has some other ideas and she ends up doing some 480 00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:59,360 unthinkable things to make money, to have the drugs, to 481 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:01,640 stay with the boyfriend, to live this life that she so 482 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:03,760 desperately wanted. And then he decides, well, 483 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:05,680 you're not what I so desperately wanted. 484 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:12,600 Kicks you out a few weeks ago. A few weeks ago, Kicks it out a 485 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:15,800 little bit. You get like a handful of cash 486 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:17,520 and the clothes on the back and that's it. 487 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:22,080 Going cold Turkey on the back of like, proper drug addiction. 488 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:29,480 And she makes a decision, but God, Pele, she decides she's 489 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:33,880 going to phone her, see if she can maybe get helped out. 490 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:36,640 So she borrows, ask someone for a phone. 491 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:38,320 She phones because she doesn't have a phone. 492 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:41,920 Phones her dad's number, leaves the voicemail because he doesn't 493 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:43,720 answer. Maybe he's like me. 494 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:45,800 He doesn't answer, you know, unlisted numbers. 495 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:50,080 So it goes to voicemail. She climbs on another Greyhound 496 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:56,080 and heads on home and she is so struggling with with withdrawals 497 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:57,360 and cold Turkey and everything like that. 498 00:27:57,360 --> 00:27:59,440 She's basically blacks out for most of the trip. 499 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:02,360 She wakes up, the bus driver is waking up. 500 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:03,880 Everyone else has climbed off the bus. 501 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:05,800 He's like, listen, ma'am, you know your ticket says this is 502 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,440 where you've got to climb off. Please will you disembark? 503 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,760 And in that moment, she suddenly thinks, what was I thinking? 504 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:15,440 Hey, I don't even know if my dad heard the voice notes. 505 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:18,000 BI don't know if they want me back. 506 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,040 The things I said in the letter, the things I said to their face, 507 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:23,080 the fact that I robbed them and just abandoned them. 508 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:27,080 I don't know what I'm in for. And then to make it where she's 509 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:29,440 literally spent every last sentence getting there. 510 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:31,600 So she's got no way to go anywhere else. 511 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,960 And how am I going to make a living in this place around 512 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:36,600 people who know me and know what I've done? 513 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:40,320 This is, I'm sorry, my girl, you have to get off the bus. 514 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:45,280 So she climbs off and she walks into that Greyhound Transit 515 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:48,120 lounge, and there's just this roar. 516 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:55,280 Her entire family's there. Distant families there, aunts 517 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:57,080 and uncles have driven to be there. 518 00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:00,520 There's this massive banner that says, welcome home, Emily. 519 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:03,800 Her school friends are there, teachers are there. 520 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:07,120 The church is there in full. And the bus driver, he doesn't 521 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,200 know what's going on, but he's like, look, I want to be a part 522 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,600 of this. Who is this auntie who's around 523 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:14,080 back? And she forced her and he's just 524 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:18,160 overwhelmed at the love and kindness and mercy and 525 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:23,840 forgiveness of her family. See, that is the heart and 526 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:27,040 nature of God. He says, I want to know you. 527 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:36,800 So Emily, God wants to know you. Or if you like Emily, you've run 528 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:42,320 your track record and just in December put shade on what she 529 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:45,800 did. But God says if you just be 530 00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:53,200 still and you know I will be gone, I'll be Pele that which 531 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:58,640 requires God as its explanation. That is how our heavenly Father 532 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,480 wants to build with you through 2025. 533 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:06,680 That is what the psalmist calls us to in 2025, and that is what 534 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:09,160 I'm going to invite you to for 2025. 535 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:16,040 Would you consider allowing this God to wade into your life, to 536 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:20,200 walk through 2025 with you? Would you allow His Word to be a 537 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:22,360 lamp to your feet and a light to your path? 538 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,960 But most importantly, would you make space to get to know this 539 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:32,360 God and let Him reveal Himself to you so that we can see this 540 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:36,640 God whose Pele leave His footprints and fingerprints all 541 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,440 over your ear? That is my call. 542 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:41,560 That is the invitation of Psalm 46. 543 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,320 And now I'll ask you, what will you do with what you've heard? 544 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:46,760 Thanks, Ron.