1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:03,160 And that's what we're going to talk about this morning. 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,720 Before we get into that though, I am going to ask the Guatemala 3 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,280 team to come on up. Those that are still here from 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:15,680 the Guatemala team, they are leaving next Saturday. 5 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:18,560 They're going to be stuffed full of Turkey and then they're going 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,720 to head out. And so we want to, we don't want 7 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:24,080 them just to go. We want to send them. 8 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:27,040 We want to bless them. So I'm going to have once you 9 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:30,080 guys stand up, we're going to, we're going to pray that God 10 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:33,120 will use them and bless them. And Tom, would you grab that 11 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,800 that mic there and I'm going to have you pray over them. 12 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:42,040 So this is, this is not a spectator sport around here. 13 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:44,080 We send people, we want to bless them. 14 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:46,880 We're going to we're going to bless them as a house. 15 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,760 We're going to just ask God to use them powerfully. 16 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,160 We're behind them. Scriptures clear. 17 00:00:53,160 --> 00:00:55,960 It says how can they hear unless someone goes and how can they go 18 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:58,200 unless they're sent? So they're not just going, 19 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:00,880 they're being sent. All right, so let's let's pray. 20 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,040 And Tom, if you want to lead us. Sure. 21 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:09,400 Well, Father, we thank you, Lord, for these that have said, 22 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:16,520 Lord here, Father, we thank you for the work that you've put in 23 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:20,640 front of them. Lord that the calling that you 24 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:24,960 have on their lives to serve in Guatemala, all the souls that 25 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:28,320 will be saved, we call them forth now in Jesus name. 26 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,040 We thank you for all the healings. 27 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:35,280 Lord, Your word says miracles, signs and wonders will follow 28 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,040 those that believe. Father, I thank you for these 29 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:41,920 believers that you're sending down to Guatemala and I thank 30 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,800 you Lord for all the souls of be turned to the Kingdom. 31 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:49,400 We give you all the glory, honor and praise in the name above all 32 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,160 names. We pray the name of Jesus Christ 33 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:56,960 of Nazareth, the one who was, who is, and who is coming again. 34 00:01:57,560 --> 00:01:59,160 Amen. Amen. 35 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,560 Thank you, Tom. All right, they're going to be 36 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,320 going and doing VBS for how many kids? 37 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:09,919 Four days of VBS, Four days of VBS, 200 kids, 200 kids. 38 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,080 So they need a lot of prayer. Well, this is not just some 39 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,840 token prayer. They need 200 kids for four 40 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:18,240 days. So bless you guys. 41 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:23,360 We'll be yes, yes. So man, I'm, I'm just excited. 42 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:25,880 I appreciate these guys jumping in and doing this. 43 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:30,200 That's awesome and God is good. OK, let's get into the word. 44 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:35,560 I, I got away a couple for a few days this week and just to pray 45 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:38,320 and seek the Lord and there's some things the Lord's been 46 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,560 churning in my heart and some things I wanted to share, but I 47 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:43,480 really feel like I need to hold off on that. 48 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,080 We'll, we'll be getting into that in the days to come, but I 49 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,200 feel like we need to set ourselves up this morning for 50 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,360 Thanksgiving. We're we're going into this 51 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:54,280 season. Isn't it a wonderful thing that 52 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:59,520 we live in a nation that sets aside a day to give thanks? 53 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,840 You know, gratitude. Giving thanks is an act of 54 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,040 humility. It's an admission that, hey, we, 55 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:09,840 we've been recipients of things that we didn't deserve, that God 56 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,440 has given us things and that we need him. 57 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,560 And so Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. 58 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,440 Premeditated gluttony. Hallelujah. 59 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:23,040 So I'm going to smoke a big old 22 LB Turkey and it's I'm going 60 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:26,280 to double smoke a ham. Anybody hungry as I talk like 61 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,200 that? So we're, we're, it's going to 62 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:30,320 be a good time. We're going to host like 25 to 63 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:35,080 30 people and we'll eat and then we will lay down. 64 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:39,240 Amen. He maketh me lie down in green 65 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,160 pastures. In my case, he maketh me lie 66 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,880 down on a big old burgundy lazy boy. 67 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,560 Hallelujah. I just felt the anointing when I 68 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,560 said that. All right, so, but we're going 69 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:52,440 to, we're going to receive communion this morning. 70 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:56,840 But before we do that, I want to look at this whole thing of 71 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,160 Thanksgiving because Thanksgiving is not a day. 72 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:04,200 It's not an idea, it's a mindset and it's a lens through which we 73 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:06,840 look at life. It's a it's a way in which we 74 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:12,560 interact with life. Gratitude, Thanksgiving is a 75 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:18,440 crucial posture of our heart. And in fact, it is actually the 76 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:20,440 culmination of grace in our life. 77 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:22,600 You know we're saved by grace, right? 78 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:24,600 We all know that we're saved by grace. 79 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,880 When I was a new believer, I really wrestled with this, 80 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:30,640 wondering about this whole thing. 81 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:32,880 We're saved by grace and we're saved by faith. 82 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:34,200 And I was like, Lord, which is it? 83 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:37,880 And the answer was, uh huh. You ever seen that picture of 84 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,520 Michelangelo painted of it's God floating in the air and his 85 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,040 fingers coming down, and then man is floating in the air and 86 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,440 his fingers going up and it's a picture of grace and faith. 87 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,040 It's heaven invading earth. God reaches down. 88 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:52,480 God's finger towards man is grace. 89 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:56,960 Man's finger towards God is faith, and everything that we 90 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:01,600 get from God is by grace, but it comes through faith. 91 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:04,880 So the divine side is God gives us his grace. 92 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,600 So we're going to look at what that word means, but there's 93 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:12,240 also a response that we have, and that response is faith. 94 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:17,600 And at the foundation of faith is a conviction that God is 95 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:22,080 good. That is the foundation you could 96 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:24,560 do. Let's look at this. 97 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:29,280 There's a three legged stool, if you will, or there's three ideas 98 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:33,440 about God that you must buy off on in order for God to be 99 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:35,240 airtight and you to surrender your life to him. 100 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,080 We know that God is all powerful. 101 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:40,480 He's omnipotent, He's all powerful. 102 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,960 That's great. That's awesome if, but if that's 103 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,280 all there was, that'd be a pretty scary proposition. 104 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,480 God is also omniscient. He knows everything. 105 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:51,880 That's awesome. But the real kicker, the good 106 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:56,320 thing, the foundation of it all is He is loving. 107 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,320 He is good. He wants what's best for us. 108 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,120 So the way this lays out, God wants what's best for us. 109 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,400 He knows what's best for us, and He's able to bring it about once 110 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:10,560 we understand that we would have to be insane for a moment not to 111 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,640 surrender to Him, because God knows everything. 112 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:16,400 There's an old saying that God's will is what you would want if 113 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,400 you knew all the facts. God knows it all. 114 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:24,560 We don't, he knows it all. And so when we understand that, 115 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,920 then we, we say, Lord, I, I, I defer to you. 116 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,520 You're, you're omniscient, you know everything. 117 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:34,440 But not only that, God is able to, to, to pull it off. 118 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:36,880 And here's the, there's the foundation. 119 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,280 He really wants what's best for you. 120 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,680 He is good. And that is the foundation of 121 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:44,600 faith. Matter of fact, when you 122 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:48,080 struggle with your surrender, and we all have, when you 123 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:50,720 struggle with your surrender, it's because at one of those 124 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:53,680 those attributes you're, you're struggling with, you're thinking 125 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:56,240 and maybe God doesn't know. You ever wondered, Well, God, I, 126 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:59,480 I know you mean well. You think how ludicrous that is. 127 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:02,200 I know you mean well, but you don't really understand. 128 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:06,600 That is a ludicrous statement. He became human being and walked 129 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:09,640 among us so he could, he could be touched with the feeling of 130 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,320 arm infirmities. Jesus knows better than we do 131 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:18,480 and so he knows what's best. He has the power to pull it off. 132 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:20,600 Sometimes we struggle with that. God, I don't know if you can do 133 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:24,000 this one, He is all powerful. He can move heaven and earth to 134 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:28,560 get you to where you need to go. But here's the good news that 135 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:30,960 because if those were the only two realities, if he knew 136 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:33,080 everything and he's all powerful, that's a scary 137 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:35,920 proposition. If he's not good, if he doesn't 138 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:39,800 want what's best for me, that is a terrifying reality that an all 139 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:44,480 powerful, all knowing God is out there, but he is an out out for 140 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:48,320 my good. Hebrews Chapter 11, verse 6, it 141 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:52,440 says this without faith. It is. 142 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:55,480 I think it's verse 6. Without faith it is impossible 143 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:59,120 to please God, for all who believe him must believe two 144 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:03,000 things, that He exists. It's not good enough just to 145 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,760 believe that Jesus exists. God exists. 146 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:09,440 The demons believe that and tremble, but they don't 147 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:13,960 surrender to Him. The second truth there is this 148 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:19,120 and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 149 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:22,920 And when you realize that, that's where things get good. 150 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:28,560 It was about 3 years ago on a Sunday morning, I woke up to the 151 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,080 Lord speaking that very strongly to me. 152 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:35,000 That verse, just that line of that verse, I am the rewarder. 153 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:37,919 And it's so struck me. I, I mean, I've read that verse 154 00:08:37,919 --> 00:08:39,600 for many years. I've been walking with the Lord 155 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:41,880 over 40 years. I was raised in church. 156 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:46,200 I'd heard that a million times, but I never thought about how 157 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:51,080 God refers he he. That was a self-imposed title. 158 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,600 It was a a self description by God himself. 159 00:08:54,800 --> 00:09:00,360 God says to you I am a rewarder. That kind of tweaks our theology 160 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:04,720 because again, we're saved by grace through faith. 161 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,800 And we have, we want to emphasize the grace side that 162 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,920 it's all by grace. And it is even our faith is an 163 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:14,200 act of grace that God has extended to us, the ability to 164 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,040 see Him for who he is. Faith is simply recognizing God 165 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:20,760 for who he is. And once you see him for who he 166 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,240 is, then you want to surrender to Him. 167 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:26,400 And when you struggle in your faith, it's because you have a 168 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,080 misconception of who God really is. 169 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:34,920 And so the it's all grace. But if we're not careful, we 170 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,720 get, we get a little squeamish when we begin to talk about 171 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:40,600 faith, when we look at scriptures like your faith has 172 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:45,400 healed you, We look at this thing of God being a rewarder. 173 00:09:45,560 --> 00:09:48,520 If you look in in Hebrews Chapter 11, it's called the Hall 174 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,680 of faith of the faith chapter. And it get lists, all these 175 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:54,480 great men and women of faith and how they did great exploits. 176 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:57,760 And again and again you'll see this idea it says and they were 177 00:09:57,760 --> 00:09:59,800 commended for their faith. They were commended. 178 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:04,360 There is a commendation from heaven towards those who have 179 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:07,960 faith. God has reduced this whole thing 180 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:11,160 called a relationship with him, what we call Christianity. 181 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:15,880 He's reduced this whole thing. The one way in the door in is 182 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:19,760 faith. You ever wondered why that was? 183 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:23,640 Maybe I'm weird, but when I first got saved, I, I remember 184 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,920 having this conversation with the Lord and I, I didn't want to 185 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:29,360 voice it because I felt like this is not good to think. 186 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:31,360 But I'm thinking, Lord, you know, is it a little 187 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:33,920 unreasonable for you to reduce it all to faith? 188 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:35,960 And isn't it kind of self-centered that I got to 189 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:39,160 believe in you before I get in? Why do you take it so personal? 190 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:40,920 You know why God takes it so personal? 191 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:45,520 Because it is your faith. Is your estimation of His 192 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:53,400 faithfulness or His integrity, Your surrender is an expression 193 00:10:53,680 --> 00:10:57,680 of who you really think He is. Is he trustworthy? 194 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:02,080 It is a personal statement. Now the good thing about God is 195 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:04,600 He reveals some of His faithfulness and as we put our 196 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:08,960 faith in Him, we grow in faith. He doesn't demand great faith. 197 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:10,800 He said you have a faith of the mustard seed. 198 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:13,280 If you can start there, I will grow your faith. 199 00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:18,040 But we have to be convinced that God is the rewarder. 200 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,640 Do you really believe that? Do you believe that God commends 201 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,400 some and some don't receive a commendation? 202 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:31,200 And what it's what it's based upon is your faith, your 203 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:35,440 estimation, your, your, what's the word I'm looking for? 204 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,640 Your, your, your summation. This is who I think you are. 205 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:40,720 That's what God will judge us on. 206 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,720 It's an amazing thing. And what He wants to do is 207 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:47,600 reveal His faithfulness so you can grow your faith. 208 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:52,560 But we have to embrace this thing called faith that says God 209 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:54,640 is good. And that's where this thing 210 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:57,320 begins. That is the threshold of the 211 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:00,200 Kingdom. In fact, eternal life and 212 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:04,200 eternal damnation are both. There's one door in to both. 213 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,720 One it's faith and the other is unbelief over the one it says 214 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:10,800 God is good. It's a beautiful ornate marble, 215 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:14,600 you know, door and over is carved beautifully. 216 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,400 God is good. And as you walk through that, 217 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,880 you enter eternal life. And here's what we need to 218 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:21,720 understand. That is not a someday thing. 219 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:25,320 It's a right now thing because you are already, if you are born 220 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:29,880 again, you are already you have already entered eternal life and 221 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:33,320 the powers of the age to come are bleeding back into the 222 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,320 present and they will overtake your life. 223 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:37,480 But they only come through faith. 224 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,880 In fact, the measure of the Kingdom of God that invades your 225 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:45,720 life is based upon the the measure of your faith. 226 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,480 And it's not some earning thing. It's a matter of humility and 227 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:51,520 saying, God, I need you to reveal yourself. 228 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,000 I need to understand these things about you. 229 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:56,240 I want to grow in my estimation of you. 230 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:58,320 I want to see you for who you are. 231 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,680 And Lord, when I'm struggling and I feel like man, I don't 232 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:03,920 know if I can trust you and this this seems like it's 233 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,120 contradicting your word, what I'm going through. 234 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:08,880 See, everyone of us have faith and unbelief. 235 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:13,120 We all have that. We get to choose who we point 236 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:15,560 our faith towards and who we get to choose. 237 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:18,280 We choose who we're going to point our unbelief towards. 238 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:22,760 You see, you can say, God, I'm looking at this and this doesn't 239 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:25,760 line up with your word. So I'm going to point my faith 240 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:28,440 at myself and my unbelief towards you, and I'm going to 241 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:31,160 hold you at a distance because I trust me more than you. 242 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:36,400 Or we can look at circumstances because who who can admit that 243 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:38,920 there's times where what you're going through seems to 244 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:41,520 contradict what you're promised in the word. 245 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:44,760 There's that fight of faith. And it's like, man, I hear all 246 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:46,640 these promises, but I'm not seeing them. 247 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:49,240 There's no movement in my life. I need a miracle. 248 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:54,440 And in those moments, that's your truest expression of who 249 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:56,680 you think he is comes to the surface. 250 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:01,400 It's not what you say in worship in an air conditioned room on 251 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:05,240 cushy pews, great music mix. Thank you, Jason, all that 252 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:08,200 That's that's not where that's not your purest worship. 253 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,360 Your purest worship is when everything's falling down around 254 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:13,600 your ears. Will you still stand and say, 255 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:18,240 God, I know this, I, I, things are not going like I, I thought, 256 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:20,680 but I'm going to point my unbelief towards me. 257 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:22,920 I'm going to suspend my judgement. 258 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,080 I don't understand. It's above my pay grade. 259 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:26,880 But I know this. You are good. 260 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:29,840 And we focus on him. We pour in our faith towards 261 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:32,320 him. It's like binoculars. 262 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,200 You know, when you're a kid, you'd get binoculars. 263 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,120 You'd look and you'd, you'd look at things and things would get 264 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:39,080 bigger. How many of you were weird like 265 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:41,040 me? You'd flip them around and you'd 266 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,320 look through the big end and you'd look and everything looks 267 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:46,640 far away. In a very real sense, unbelief 268 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,960 is like flipping your binoculars around and you're looking 269 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:53,760 through the long you're You're viewing God through your 270 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:57,120 circumstances rather than viewing your circumstances 271 00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,480 through God. And when you do that, God 272 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:01,840 becomes very, very small and distant. 273 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:07,240 It's not reality, but that's what fills your vision and so we 274 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:11,200 have to have this thing of God is good and I'm going to place 275 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,280 my trust in him. I'm going to decide every one of 276 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:18,760 us has a measure of faith. Will you exercise it to begin to 277 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:21,920 grow it? Because you're what I'm saying 278 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:26,160 is this, that your conviction that God is good is the 279 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:30,680 foundation of gratitude. Gratitude is not an idea, it's a 280 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:32,760 mindset. It's a lens through which you 281 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:36,680 evaluate all of life. And when you do that, it be you 282 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:40,400 begin to see things differently. When you look through the lens 283 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:44,720 of gratitude, you see the blessing of God everywhere, even 284 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,520 in the midst of tragedy. But if you look through the 285 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:51,800 lenses of cynical unbelief, you begin to accuse God and agree 286 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:54,760 with the narrative of the enemy. I'm telling you, you will find 287 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:58,760 plenty of evidence to that truth, to, to that lie. 288 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:02,000 Rather, you're, you're going to find plenty of things to back 289 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,280 that up. It all depends on the lenses you 290 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:07,760 look through. And so this, this idea of 291 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:13,120 gratitude is really, it's, it's one of the primary evidences 292 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:17,640 that you're walking in faith. We said again, one of the 293 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:23,640 primary evidences that you are walking in faith in God is that 294 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:27,200 you are walking in gratitude. Because when you're walking in 295 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:30,520 ingratitude, you're accusing God of abandoning you. 296 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,920 You're accusing God of making mistakes, and it's a very, very 297 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,600 serious thing. It was unbelief, and that 298 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:40,480 manifested in complaining, which is exactly the opposite of 299 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:43,000 praise. It's using your mouth to accuse 300 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:45,120 God. It's using your mouth to say 301 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:47,000 God, you made a mistake, you blew it. 302 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:51,600 And when we do that, we attract an entire world, an entire 303 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,920 reality to us. God inhabits the praises of his 304 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:59,640 people and the enemy inhabits the complaining of God's people 305 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:04,760 and that both God and the devil bring their world with them. 306 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:09,640 And your mindset actually cultivates the world in which 307 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,119 you live. I know you've all seen it in 308 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:15,640 different, different scenarios, but I've talked to people 309 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:19,720 actually raised in the same home, same parents, same tragic 310 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,760 circumstances. And one walks in the blessing of 311 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,760 God and, and they're blessed and they're, they're thriving in 312 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:28,119 life. And the other is their life is a 313 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:29,640 train wreck. And you ask them both 314 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:33,360 separately, why, why, Why is your life such a train wreck? 315 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,560 Well, what would you expect from the child of an alcoholic who 316 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,520 was beaten by their parents and all this stuff? 317 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,680 And they're saying, well, of course my life's a train wreck. 318 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:43,280 I'm a victim of these circumstances. 319 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:46,520 You ask the other person raised in the same home, how is it 320 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,280 you're so blessed? Well, man, you don't realize 321 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:51,800 where I came from. And God rescued me. 322 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,160 God was so good to me. He extended the hand of mercy 323 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:57,760 towards me. What would you expect from 324 00:17:57,760 --> 00:17:59,440 someone that was shown such mercy? 325 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:03,240 Same circumstances, different lenses, and they live in two 326 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:08,000 different worlds. You literally create a world 327 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:12,240 with your belief system. So much so See, gratitude is 328 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,840 both a psychological and a spiritual reality. 329 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:21,160 There is a psychological element to gratitude that, even apart 330 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,680 from God, is a powerful thing. That's why you'll hear atheists 331 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:28,280 talk about the power of positive thinking, and sometimes 332 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:30,400 believers get squeamish. Oh, that's that's New Age. 333 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,160 No, it isn't. It's the way God's wired things. 334 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:35,680 No, you're not going to. You're not going to enter into 335 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,880 the full blessing of God with that unless you sign off on him 336 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:44,120 being good. But positive thinking is nothing 337 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:47,080 more and nothing less than looking for the positive around 338 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,120 you. And the fact is what depending 339 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:52,760 on the channel you want to tune into, you're going to find an 340 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:56,920 abundance of evidence and frequencies to tune into, and 341 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:00,080 you're going to find validation for what you've decided to 342 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:06,080 believe. And so this whole thing of faith 343 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:08,760 and the goodness of God is crucial. 344 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:13,040 And one of the primary expressions of that is, are you 345 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:16,360 a grateful person or are you a complainer? 346 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:21,160 Now, the fact is, some personalities have a little more 347 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:24,440 tendency than others. But don't let that let you off 348 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:29,560 the hook because you still, regardless of whether you have a 349 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:32,600 personality propensity or whatever you want to say towards 350 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:34,720 that, the fact is you're still going to live in the world that 351 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:38,440 you create with your own mind. I know that sounds New age, but 352 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:42,760 I'm telling you the what you believe, you will receive what 353 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:46,320 you if you're believing that everything is against you, then 354 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:50,880 you will adopt an attitude of a victim and life will happen to 355 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:54,880 you and you'll live under that. And if you believe that God is 356 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:58,520 good, you'll begin to recognize his moving and you actually 357 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:01,160 cultivate that very thing through your gratitude. 358 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:06,040 Cultivation through appreciation is a very real spiritual 359 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:09,240 dynamic. We said again, cultivation 360 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:13,400 through appreciation is a very real spiritual dynamic. 361 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:17,640 The children of Israel, they complained about what God didn't 362 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,360 give them. He delivered them out of Egypt, 363 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:25,120 drowned in the most powerful army on in the world right 364 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:28,080 before their eyes after they plundered it without ever 365 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:32,360 lifting a sword. They walk out wealthy, fat, and 366 00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:35,440 they're in the wilderness and they start complaining because 367 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:38,680 they don't have garlic anymore. Wait, brother. 368 00:20:40,360 --> 00:20:42,120 See. And it's it's the mindset. 369 00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:44,520 But then you got Caleb and Joshua had a totally different 370 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:48,520 mindset. So I'm telling you, this thing 371 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:51,520 is, this is not some minor thing or, oh, you know that. 372 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:52,920 Yeah. I need to adjust my attitude. 373 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:55,640 No, listen, this thing is crucial. 374 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,040 It is do or die. If you don't have the right 375 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:01,640 attitude. If you don't cultivate an 376 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:06,480 attitude of gratitude, it will actually sabotage your life. 377 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:13,040 Gratitude is actually the fruit of grace. 378 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:18,000 It's it's grace matured. It's the final stage of grace. 379 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:22,720 It's it's the full maturation, the full fruition of grace in 380 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:24,480 your life. We're saved by grace. 381 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:26,200 We receive that when we get saved. 382 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:29,960 But as we cultivate that, eventually it will manifest 383 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,640 itself in gratitude. And if it doesn't, you'll 384 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:36,720 actually destroy your own faith. What I mean by that, it's an 385 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:38,560 interesting study. If you look at the word, the 386 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:41,760 Greek word grace, it's chorus, CHARIS. 387 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,320 So we get the word charismatic. Charismatic. 388 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:46,440 I say that, you know, if you speak Greek, you never have to 389 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:48,440 clear your throat because you just talk and it does it for 390 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:49,920 you. It's chorus. 391 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,840 The root word of that is char, CHAR, which is joy. 392 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,560 And then chorus is grace, which is fascinating. 393 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:00,120 There's a whole, there's a whole lot of stuff in that we don't 394 00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:03,960 have time to get into. But the fact is this word chorus 395 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:08,200 had a history of development. It evolved. 396 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:11,400 It had several different layers of meaning that evolved over 397 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:14,480 time, all of it predating the writing of the New Testament. 398 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:18,760 And so when Paul is searching for a word to communicate this 399 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:23,520 power that God extends to us and, and make no mistake, grace 400 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:26,760 is the power of God. Second Corinthians chapter 12, 401 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:30,800 Paul said this, he's asking God, God, I've got this thorn in my 402 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,680 flesh. This, this, this messenger of 403 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:37,800 Satan buffeting me and he's saying, God, would you lift this 404 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:40,320 off? And the Lord said, I've allowed 405 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:43,880 this because I've got to keep you low so I can keep giving you 406 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:47,920 great revelation. How many of you want great 407 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:52,080 revelation? Get ready for a wild ride. 408 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:57,160 Let me read you. So I was thinking about this 409 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:02,560 yesterday and it I remembered this one time we had a guy, Joel 410 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:04,240 Budd. Some of you remember Joel and 411 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:06,320 Linda. Joel was preaching for US1 time 412 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:09,520 I was sitting on the front row and the well he was preaching. 413 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:10,920 I don't know what he was preaching about. 414 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,440 The Lord began to speak to me and I just wrote down what he 415 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:14,480 said. You be a judge. 416 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:16,240 Whether this was from God or not. 417 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:19,760 This is what he told me. He said persistence is key to 418 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:23,880 understanding. Many get offended by living out 419 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:28,640 of limited understanding, but refuse to press in for insight. 420 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:32,560 In other words, you're, you're, you're chugging along as a 421 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:36,400 believer and all of a sudden there's hardship and you're not 422 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,200 it's it's not lining up something the the dots aren't 423 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,120 connecting like God, I'm I'm trying to be faithful, but this 424 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:43,360 is happening. What's going on? 425 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:46,920 And rather than going to Him and really asking those questions 426 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,480 and assuming that my understanding is limited and 427 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:53,280 Lord, this is what it feels like, but I know that can't be 428 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:56,600 true because you're good. So I'm coming to you and I want 429 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:59,400 you to show me what's underneath this thing so I can connect the 430 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:02,120 dots. The Lord told me He said a lot 431 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:04,040 of people end up just getting offended. 432 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:06,760 They check out rather than pressing in for insight. 433 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:11,680 I would propose to you that often your greatest revelations 434 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:16,240 are right under your greatest frustrations, and that 435 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:21,480 frustration is actually the catalyst to cause you to press 436 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:25,920 in the very frustration that gets some people turn their back 437 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:29,520 on God, say when friends like that who needs enemies because 438 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,920 they have the wrong lenses on and they don't really believe 439 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:35,080 God is good. They trust in themselves more 440 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:37,320 than his omniscience, and they check out. 441 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:41,480 But for those who really believe that God is good, you go through 442 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:43,520 a hard time and it's like, man, this is frustrating. 443 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,360 This something isn't connecting. Something's not right. 444 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,000 If we'll cry unto the Lord, he'll hear our cry and he'll 445 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,720 begin to give us insight so that we can understand what's going 446 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:56,960 on underneath the surface. So again, I say to you, do you 447 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:00,600 really want great revelation? Because if you want great 448 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:03,000 revelation, then get ready for some frustration. 449 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,400 Frustration is one of God's primary tools in the life of the 450 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:10,040 believer. Romans 8 says we are subjected 451 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,760 to frustration in hope. And then he says, and people 452 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:15,080 don't hope for what they already have. 453 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:19,400 Matter of fact, it's the hope that's frustrating because the 454 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:23,440 hope knows, oh, there's a possibility there's God wants me 455 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,240 to, I have this hope, but yet I also have this experience that's 456 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:30,440 not lining up with my hope and my belief and my promise. 457 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:34,120 And that that tension there is what frustration is all about. 458 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:37,440 But that frustration, if you look in Romans 8:00, that 459 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,160 becomes the fuel of your intercession. 460 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:45,160 You begin to cry out to Him, and those who have great revelation 461 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:48,600 have had great frustration. And if you begin to know the 462 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:52,600 ways of God, you realize, OK, what God is doing is he's 463 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:56,840 drawing me into circumstances that don't make sense so that 464 00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,720 I'll turn to him. I'll cry out, and this will 465 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,840 become the platform upon which he gives me a better revelation 466 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,840 of Him. I'm going to grow and you cannot 467 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:08,000 grow in God without that dynamic. 468 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:12,280 So God draws us in. So listen to what he's what 469 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:14,000 what? This is the Scripture I'm 470 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:15,440 telling you. This is what the Lord spoke to 471 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:16,200 me. You'd be a judge. 472 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:18,720 The this is the next thing you told me. 473 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:22,760 The answers you are longing for are available to you if you will 474 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:25,760 press in for them. Much of what you long to 475 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:29,720 understand is too precious to be shared with the heart that has a 476 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:33,640 little interest. Your pursuit carries a value 477 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:39,480 system that cherishes the find. The pursuit itself raises the 478 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:41,600 value of the treasure. And then. 479 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:43,680 This is interesting. I'd never thought of this 480 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:45,360 before, but this is what he said to me. 481 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,600 Buried treasure is more valuable than mere gold because of the 482 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:52,080 expense of unearthing it. The market value raises with the 483 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,160 story of the pursuit. The investment of unearthing it 484 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:57,480 is folded into the value placed upon the treasure. 485 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:02,960 It becomes part of the equation. In other words, if you have a 486 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,360 pound of gold, which is worth some money right now, you got a 487 00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:09,480 pound of gold. That's worth what a pound of 488 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:11,960 gold is. But if you've got a pound of 489 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:15,040 gold, the blooms, I think that's what they're called, and they 490 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:19,320 were part of some famous pirate treasure that was discovered. 491 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:23,360 Them though our pieces of gold are worth more because of the 492 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:28,080 story behind it. And the fact is, easy money 493 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,000 spends easy. If God were to give you 494 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:33,000 everything that you wanted very easily, you wouldn't value it. 495 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:35,240 But as God, God's a good steward. 496 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:36,720 This is the next thing he told me. 497 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:39,000 Listen to this. This is he said. 498 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:44,000 I long to reveal more to you. But the value system to carry it 499 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,520 must be in place. The pursuit, the investment, 500 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:51,760 creates an internal value system which will steward the treasure 501 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,400 I long to give you. I will not throw pearls to those 502 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:55,920 who cannot understand their value. 503 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,840 I am too good a steward. And So what he was saying to me 504 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:03,760 is that it was it was actually the pursuit of these things and 505 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,120 the frustration of the circumstances that became the 506 00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:08,960 platform for him to reveal these things. 507 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:13,040 Those things were necessary because they created within me a 508 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:15,360 value system. And if everything came easy, 509 00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:18,200 easy money spends easy. You ever see someone win the 510 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,880 lottery or something? Easy money spends easy. 511 00:28:22,360 --> 00:28:25,920 But a guy that has to work his tail off, get up early, come 512 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:29,720 home late, dirty, worn out, falls into bed, only to do it 513 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:35,320 again the next day, that money spends a whole lot harder than 514 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,800 the easy money. And the revelation that God is a 515 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:40,880 good father. He's, he's really good. 516 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:45,280 He wants to reveal things, but he's also a very wise father and 517 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:48,600 he knows he can't just give you everything easily because you 518 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:51,400 won't value it. And So what he does is he draws 519 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:55,320 us into a circumstance. The circumstance creates a need 520 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:58,360 that there's, it requires a fresh revelation. 521 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:01,160 And then he's just waiting for you to ask. 522 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:04,040 And what he was telling me is what happens in those 523 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,040 circumstances. Many of us get frustrated, we 524 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:09,640 get offended. God, why'd you allow this? 525 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:13,280 When in reality, he's a really good father. 526 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:17,800 He knows what he's doing. He wants to draw you in and give 527 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:21,720 you a revelation that will cause you to be able to overcome in 528 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:29,160 that situation. This whole thing of gratitude is 529 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:32,640 the lens through which you evaluate circumstances. 530 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:37,480 And when those situations arise in our life, if we're 531 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:42,280 ungrateful, it's indicative of a false narrative we've bought 532 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:46,200 into about God. We believe something wrong about 533 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:50,000 Him, and it sabotages our ability to receive from Him. 534 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:55,120 And so God wants to, he, he wants to stretch us, He wants to 535 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:57,400 grow us. He longs to give us greater and 536 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:01,240 greater revelation of himself. The fact is, I'm, I'm telling 537 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:05,040 you, you cannot grow spiritually without more revelation. 538 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:11,400 Your growth is equal to the revelation that you carry. 539 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:16,920 Now you can, you can have knowledge and not grow, but you 540 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:20,200 can't grow without knowledge. You can be a person that just 541 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:22,600 has a lot of head knowledge, but you're not applying it. 542 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,040 But if you really want to grow in God, he's going to bring you 543 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:28,960 through circumstances and if you learn to run to him. 544 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:32,640 What I really wanted to preach on this morning, I got pulled 545 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:37,320 back into Psalm 63 this week. Oh my goodness, that thing just 546 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:43,480 destroyed me all over again. And I was so struck by David. 547 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:48,840 David had a habit throughout his life. 548 00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:52,960 When crisis hit, he didn't try to strategize. 549 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:56,760 Prayer wasn't the last thing. The first thing he did is said 550 00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:59,680 God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek thee. 551 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:09,240 My soul thirsts, my flesh faints for you, so I have seen you in 552 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:12,200 your sanctuary. I have beheld your power and 553 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:15,640 your glory. David knew I am thirsty. 554 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:18,800 My circumstances is placing a demand of me and I know where to 555 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:21,160 find the water. He would always go to God's 556 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,920 presence. And if we will have that value 557 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:31,200 system, if we will realize He is the truth, He is the key to 558 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:34,800 unlock the life that God wants to release to you. 559 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:38,880 But too often, that's the last thing we do. 560 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:44,200 And what I'm telling you is that at the foundation of that whole 561 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:47,640 process, that when you go through trials and every one of 562 00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:52,480 us has gone through them, if you don't have that foundation that 563 00:31:52,480 --> 00:32:00,640 God is good, then you are in danger of being offended and 564 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:03,680 withdrawing from Him. And the very trial that was to 565 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:08,440 be a pathway to promotion actually becomes a hindrance and 566 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:13,840 it derails you. You become just another story of 567 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:17,280 a believer who was once walking with the Lord but got offended. 568 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:25,360 You and I already live in eternity. 569 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:30,960 First, John's very clear the the apostle John in in in his gospel 570 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:34,480 and in his epistles. He's the one that really unpacks 571 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:39,280 this idea of eternal life and he talks about how eternal life, 572 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:43,120 we've already entered into it. It's it's they who believe in 573 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:44,960 him shall never die. They will live forever. 574 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:48,640 We're already living. We're we're accessing the powers 575 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:52,840 of the age to come, Hebrews 11 says, But those powers are also 576 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:56,680 invading here and the Kingdom of God is breaking in and we're 577 00:32:56,680 --> 00:33:00,360 experiencing that in the now. But the way, the avenue, the way 578 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:03,920 to receive that is through faith, and faith at its 579 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,120 foundation is just the conviction that God is good. 580 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:09,720 He can be trusted. I don't understand what all this 581 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:13,960 is, but I know God is good and I know He wants what's best. 582 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:16,560 He can do it and He knows it. So all I got to do is I got to 583 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:19,600 go to him and ask him and get in his face until I have a 584 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:22,960 breakthrough. And when you believe that, if 585 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:24,400 you can grab onto that one thing. 586 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:29,960 That was David's secret. I was worshipping this morning 587 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:34,040 and I was just telling the Lord I said, God, it is an amazing 588 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:37,080 thing. You are such a covenant God that 589 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:41,840 Jesus is referred to as the son of David and the root of Jesse, 590 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:45,640 this tremendously dysfunctional family. 591 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:48,200 And Jesus said that's the one I'm going to identify with. 592 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:54,000 I so love this guy David that the son of God himself calls him 593 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:56,920 his son and he rules from his throne. 594 00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:00,480 Isn't that amazing? I hope that makes you a little 595 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:04,840 jealous, because it sure does. Me, man, I'm like, I want in on 596 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:08,440 that. I, I, I don't care what you 597 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:12,960 think, but I want him to say I want to identify with a guy like 598 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:16,520 that. I see what's in Dave Olson's 599 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:19,440 heart and I'm going to identify with, I'm going to, I'm going to 600 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:22,199 move in and I'm going to release things to him because his heart 601 00:34:22,199 --> 00:34:25,199 is after me. The secret of David's life was 602 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:29,159 that when crisis hit, even the crises of his own making, he 603 00:34:29,159 --> 00:34:30,920 would hightail it to the secret place. 604 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:33,840 God, you are my God. I know you're good. 605 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:36,560 You, your steadfast love is better than life. 606 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:43,120 And he would find the answers. This is the secret to life. 607 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,800 It's not all the strategizing. Oh, that's good, but that's 608 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:50,360 secondary. The real thing is are you going 609 00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:54,199 to him? Do you believe he has your best 610 00:34:54,199 --> 00:34:57,360 in mind? That's the key. 611 00:34:57,840 --> 00:34:59,560 OK, we've got to receive community. 612 00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:01,560 Let me read something to you really quick here. 613 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:11,760 I I I felt this morning that it's like gratitude is an armor 614 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:16,640 of defense that will deflect the attacks of the enemy because it 615 00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:20,840 it it refuses it, it deflects the false narrative the enemy 616 00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:28,800 tries to feed to us. OK, where is it at? 617 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:33,680 Man? I can't believe this. 618 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:37,320 OK, I've shared this with you before. 619 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:39,560 This is something else. The Lord spoke to me a number of 620 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:42,400 years ago, and I've read it, but I think it bears repeating. 621 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:45,080 I'm just going to read through it because we got to hurry here. 622 00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:49,400 Gratitude and ingratitude are to your history what hope and 623 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:53,920 despair are to your destiny. Ingratitude cries there's 624 00:35:53,920 --> 00:35:57,960 nothing good in my past. Well, despair bemoans, there's 625 00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:00,760 nothing good in my future. You see what I'm saying? 626 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:08,400 They gratitude breeds hope, Ingratitude breeds despair. 627 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:11,960 OK, man, I was going to go through this etymology of the 628 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:15,360 word chorus and I forgot to. OK, real quick here. 629 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:19,240 Initially, chorus meant a drawing power. 630 00:36:19,240 --> 00:36:21,840 We use it that way. We'll say, oh, that girl, she 631 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,000 skated with such grace. What do we mean? 632 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:26,560 It captured our attention. It was beautiful. 633 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:30,880 We wanted to watch it. It's grace we we use it that 634 00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:32,800 way. And that was the initial meaning 635 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:36,760 of chorus. Over time it developed to also 636 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:40,560 the a feeling of pity and a drawing and a a a feeling of 637 00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:43,840 sympathy. So the best way to probably give 638 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:47,400 an illustration would be you're a wealthy person sitting in your 639 00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:49,960 big armchair. You got your TV tray with all 640 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:53,320 your food, like you got your big Turkey leg and the fire's going 641 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:56,640 and you're warm and you're. And you look out your window and 642 00:36:56,640 --> 00:37:01,160 down the long lane of your mansion in the snowy Dr. sits a 643 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:03,200 homeless guy right leaning against the gate. 644 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:05,000 And he's shivering. And he has a little sign. 645 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:07,560 We'll work for food. And you feel sympathy. 646 00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:11,160 You feel compassion. And that was called grace. 647 00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:16,520 But it didn't stop there. Over time, it became the the 648 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:19,120 wealthy person. You pick up that Turkey leg, you 649 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:21,880 get one of your big fur blankets and some other supplies. 650 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:24,880 And you go down and you say, hey, listen, I saw you. 651 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:27,480 I saw you shivering. I want to give you this blanket. 652 00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:30,520 Here's here's some food and here's some money. 653 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:32,520 I want you to get yourself a hotel tonight. 654 00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:38,880 And the concrete meeting of their need itself was great. 655 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:41,200 So here, This is why this is important. 656 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:44,800 Because when Jesus looked at us, he didn't just look at us from 657 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:47,760 afar and have pity on us and say, oh, I feel bad for matter 658 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:49,320 of fact, I'm going to wipe out their debt. 659 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:52,720 They don't owe me anything. Problem is, I'm still homeless. 660 00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:56,280 I'm still cold. I can't help myself. 661 00:37:56,600 --> 00:37:58,680 Jesus didn't just look from afar. 662 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:03,320 He literally got up from his throne, took on human flesh, 663 00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:07,800 came down and met my need again. Grace is power. 664 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:14,080 He gave me power, not just not to know, not just wiping out my 665 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:18,280 debt, but He gave me power to become all he called me to be. 666 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:20,920 So the grace of God begins to live within us. 667 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:23,240 And that was chorus. It was grace. 668 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:26,280 But here's the catch. The, there was a final 669 00:38:26,280 --> 00:38:30,800 development of this word and eventually it became also the 670 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:34,320 feeling of gratitude in the recipient towards their 671 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:37,480 benefactor. And he would feel grace. 672 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:41,000 He'd look up, thank you so much. I can't, I thought no one cared. 673 00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:44,680 And he's got that blanket on me. He's got that Turkey leg and 674 00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:47,960 he's so grateful. He expresses his gratitude. 675 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,000 That gratitude was car, as it was called, grace. 676 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:52,960 And we still use it that way. At my house, we're going to have 677 00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:55,880 about 25 to 30 people there and we're going to say grace. 678 00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:57,560 And at my place, there's going to be a lot of preachers 679 00:38:57,560 --> 00:38:59,880 probably. And so who knows how long that 680 00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:02,360 prayer is going to be because we're going to say grace and 681 00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:06,200 we're going to thank God. See, here's the thing, Grace, 682 00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:09,240 this is that the final stage of grace. 683 00:39:09,240 --> 00:39:13,400 This is why I say when you are grateful, it's the fruition, 684 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:17,360 it's the maturation, it's the zenith of the grace of God in 685 00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:19,960 your life. And if you're not grateful, it's 686 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:22,080 because something has been stifled. 687 00:39:22,240 --> 00:39:26,120 What you receive from Him has failed to be returned to Him in 688 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:30,040 the form of gratitude. There's a reason that when we're 689 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:32,520 worshipping, all of a sudden the gifts began to break up. 690 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:36,520 Why is that? Because those grace gifts, when 691 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:40,240 we continue the flow we've been receiving and receiving, we get 692 00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:42,680 here corporately and we return it back to Him. 693 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:46,160 And all of a sudden there's a fresh flow of grace and see 694 00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:48,680 people who are grateful that have gratitude. 695 00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:52,800 There's a continual flow that God can give more and they're 696 00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:55,640 sending it back to them. And that literally becomes a 697 00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:58,880 lens through which they evaluate everything in life, and they're 698 00:39:58,880 --> 00:40:01,080 looking for some hint of His goodness. 699 00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:03,440 And where other people are seeing reasons to be 700 00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:06,480 discouraged, they're seeing, they're seeing goodness all 701 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:07,840 over. Oh, look at what God did, this 702 00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:11,400 little thing, this little thing, and you actually begin to have 703 00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:16,040 breakthrough based upon that. Here's the thing, the fruit of 704 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:21,360 grace, the gratitude of yesterday's breakthrough 705 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:25,560 actually be contains the seeds for tomorrow's breakthrough. 706 00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:33,440 That fruit has seeds in it. Your gratitude, my gratitude 707 00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:38,720 today for yesterday's breakthrough actually creates 708 00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:43,760 within me a hope for the future. And I began to cultivate that. 709 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:46,600 And it creates an entirely different mindset and an 710 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:48,280 entirely different world I live in. 711 00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:53,680 And that's true of all of us. See, you can live in heaven or 712 00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:57,480 you can live in hell right now. No, there are literal places, 713 00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:01,360 and we will geographically move there one day. 714 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:05,360 But the fact is, both of them are bleeding into the present 715 00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:09,520 right now. And the danger is, is that as 716 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:14,320 believers, we can actually cultivate Hell's narrative in 717 00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:17,960 our life by agreeing with it and being cynical and complaining. 718 00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:21,200 And it's because we're fighting against who God really is, and 719 00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:24,000 we're agreeing with the lie of the enemy from way back in the 720 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:26,360 garden. God can't be trusted. 721 00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:29,440 I better take matters into my own hands. 722 00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:35,680 How's that worked out for us? And so gratitude is so 723 00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:38,320 important. This is not some side issue, 724 00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:41,840 some little thing, or one day a year that we honor this thing. 725 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:46,160 It must be a lens through which we look at life. 726 00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:51,320 It's an armor of defense. It is the fruit of grace. 727 00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:54,040 It's the mark of maturity in your life. 728 00:41:54,240 --> 00:41:58,040 If you are not a grateful person, I love you, but because 729 00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:00,400 I love you as your pastor, I'm telling you, grow up. 730 00:42:01,240 --> 00:42:03,880 You have to get the right lenses on. 731 00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:07,360 You've got to begin to see even the little seeds. 732 00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:12,320 So often what we do is we destroy tomorrow's crop because 733 00:42:12,320 --> 00:42:14,440 we curse it. And it's, it's, it's just in 734 00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:17,440 that embryonic form, those little seedlings coming up and 735 00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:19,640 we're wanting a harvest. We're wanting to plant a seed 736 00:42:19,640 --> 00:42:21,960 one day and eat the apple the next day. 737 00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:25,880 And it doesn't work that way. The Kingdom of God cultivate is 738 00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:29,960 is a cultivation process. And as we cultivate things, 739 00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:34,160 there comes a time where we're always living in a harvest and 740 00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:37,320 always planting seed and always living in a harvest and always 741 00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:40,760 planting seed. But we've got to start with that 742 00:42:40,760 --> 00:42:44,040 faith that says, God, you are good. 743 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:50,480 And what's gone into the ground, this yesterday's victory is the 744 00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:53,440 seedbed for tomorrow's victory. There's a reason when David 745 00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:55,320 looked at Goliath, he said, you know what? 746 00:42:55,440 --> 00:42:59,600 Yesterday I killed a lion. I got a bearskin rug in my tent. 747 00:42:59,960 --> 00:43:03,600 I got a lion's head over the mantle in my house, and Goliath 748 00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:05,880 is next. I can take that boy. 749 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:07,320 Why? Why do I believe I can do 750 00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:09,280 something in the future? Because I have proof of it in 751 00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:11,480 the past. That was gratitude. 752 00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:16,160 So let's go ahead and stand. If you don't have your communion 753 00:43:16,160 --> 00:43:21,200 element, just raise your hand and the ushers will bring that. 754 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:26,120 Well, they're coming psychologically and spiritually. 755 00:43:26,120 --> 00:43:29,240 Gratitude and hope are intimately connected. 756 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:32,800 The same mindset that appreciates the positive in your 757 00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:36,840 past will naturally expect the same for your future. 758 00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:40,240 But the negative corollary is true as well. 759 00:43:40,480 --> 00:43:44,080 The mindset that refuses to acknowledge the positive things 760 00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:47,680 that have happened to you in the past will fail to recognize any 761 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:52,400 possibility of it in the future. Breeding despair, you'll 762 00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:54,960 actually reject it as it's arriving. 763 00:43:55,640 --> 00:43:59,080 If you practice gratitude, it will inadvertently cultivate 764 00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:01,120 hope. Put on the lenses of 765 00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:03,600 thankfulness. They are the key to seeing the 766 00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:05,080 blessings that lie in the future. 767 00:44:06,160 --> 00:44:08,600 Gratitude and hope are rooted in the goodness of God, the 768 00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:11,720 conviction that God's character is benevolent and kind and 769 00:44:11,720 --> 00:44:16,760 actively involved in rewarding those who do right and punishing 770 00:44:16,760 --> 00:44:21,920 those who do wrong. And it all comes from your view 771 00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:29,560 of God. All right, lift up your bread 772 00:44:29,560 --> 00:44:33,840 here. Remember how we said Jesus is 773 00:44:33,840 --> 00:44:39,960 the wealthy mansion dweller who had it all, and we were the 774 00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:43,840 frail, shivering, homeless one at the end of the drive? 775 00:44:44,760 --> 00:44:47,600 He didn't just look out and say, ah man, I feel bad for him. 776 00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:53,440 Boy, this Turkey's good. He got up, took on human flesh, 777 00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:59,840 and dwelt among us. It was his grace, and he 778 00:44:59,840 --> 00:45:05,720 imparted to us his victory. Jesus, we thank you for this 779 00:45:05,720 --> 00:45:11,680 prophetic token of your incarnation, that you shared our 780 00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:16,840 frailty, our humanity. You know temptation more than we 781 00:45:16,840 --> 00:45:20,400 do because everyone of us succumb to it. 782 00:45:20,680 --> 00:45:25,400 You were the only one who resisted to the end and broke 783 00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:29,560 the back of temptation. Jesus, we thank you. 784 00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:34,560 We receive your body this morning. 785 00:45:37,680 --> 00:45:39,800 Jesus, we thank you for your blood. 786 00:45:42,480 --> 00:45:45,040 Leviticus says that the life is in the blood. 787 00:45:47,520 --> 00:45:51,800 The life that's in this blood is a life that has fulfilled every 788 00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:54,360 righteous requirement that God had for man. 789 00:45:57,800 --> 00:46:01,640 It says in Hebrews that once made perfect, Jesus became the 790 00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:05,920 source of eternal salvation. It also says that he suffered or 791 00:46:05,920 --> 00:46:07,880 he was perfected by the things he suffered. 792 00:46:08,440 --> 00:46:13,920 He was born innocent but had to go through every test that you 793 00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:17,360 and I failed. There is not a temptation you've 794 00:46:17,360 --> 00:46:19,600 ever faced that Jesus didn't conquer. 795 00:46:20,440 --> 00:46:22,920 You say well wait a minute, you know he never had to deal with 796 00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:26,840 Internet porn. He dealt with the underlying 797 00:46:26,840 --> 00:46:31,240 temptation of that very thing. He was enticed by the enemy. 798 00:46:31,240 --> 00:46:35,400 He passed the test. He was made perfect. 799 00:46:35,760 --> 00:46:38,880 What's in this cup is a life that has fulfilled every 800 00:46:38,880 --> 00:46:41,280 requirement that God had for men except one. 801 00:46:41,640 --> 00:46:46,360 Your faith. So Jesus, we thank you for the 802 00:46:46,360 --> 00:46:52,760 price you paid. We thank you, Lord, that you 803 00:46:52,760 --> 00:46:58,600 passed the test. You refuse to satisfy fleshly 804 00:46:58,600 --> 00:47:03,160 desires for our sake, for the Father's sake. 805 00:47:04,640 --> 00:47:08,720 Lord, we thank You that when you were on the cross spilling your 806 00:47:08,720 --> 00:47:13,000 blood, we were on your mind. For the joy of us set before 807 00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:15,560 you, You endured. Let's receive it. 808 00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:22,000 Hallelujah. Let's lift our hands to the 809 00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:25,200 Lord. Just lift your hands to the Lord 810 00:47:25,200 --> 00:47:29,160 for a moment. Father, we thank you, We bless 811 00:47:29,160 --> 00:47:32,840 you, Lord, we thank you, your goodness towards us. 812 00:47:32,840 --> 00:47:40,560 Lord, oh Jesus. Lord, I ask that you would open 813 00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:44,840 the eyes of our understanding to a greater revelation of you. 814 00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:53,640 And Lord, I ask that the the theme of our heart would be, God 815 00:47:53,640 --> 00:47:58,080 is good, God is good. Hallelujah. 816 00:47:58,080 --> 00:48:02,040 I'm going to ask the ministry team to come forward. 817 00:48:02,240 --> 00:48:04,760 If you need prayer this morning, the altars are open. 818 00:48:05,640 --> 00:48:08,960 If you need to get right with the Lord, this is the day to do 819 00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:11,640 it. If you if you're here to this 820 00:48:11,640 --> 00:48:14,640 morning and and you need to get right with God, it might be 821 00:48:14,640 --> 00:48:16,720 something you've done in the past, you've walked away or it's 822 00:48:16,720 --> 00:48:19,120 something you've never done. If that's you, just raise your 823 00:48:19,120 --> 00:48:20,600 hand high. We want to pray for you this 824 00:48:20,600 --> 00:48:22,320 morning. You need to get right with the 825 00:48:22,320 --> 00:48:23,000 Lord. Amen. 826 00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:26,200 Anybody else, you need to get right with the Lord this 827 00:48:26,200 --> 00:48:28,520 morning. Listen, don't leave here without 828 00:48:28,520 --> 00:48:31,640 doing that. No one's going to judge you. 829 00:48:31,920 --> 00:48:34,320 We've all had to walk that that out, man. 830 00:48:34,320 --> 00:48:37,840 It's a thing to rejoice about. Anybody else you need to get 831 00:48:37,840 --> 00:48:39,920 right with the Lord. Listen, if that's you, those of 832 00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:42,560 you that raise your hand, come forward as we close. 833 00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:45,360 Lord, we thank you for your grace. 834 00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:47,640 Lord, I ask that you'd bless each one of these. 835 00:48:47,920 --> 00:48:50,360 Lord, as we gather with friends and family, Lord, and we 836 00:48:50,360 --> 00:48:53,840 celebrate Thanksgiving, Lord, we ask that your presence would 837 00:48:53,840 --> 00:48:57,000 abide with us in Jesus name, Amen. 838 00:48:57,000 --> 00:48:58,960 Hey, I love you. Have a great week.