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Music. 
Are you guys going to be talking

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at the same? 
Time, do you need more than one 

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or? 
Good morning, Liberty Church. 

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How are you guys doing this 
morning? 

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Hi. 
We're so excited to be in Big 

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Kids church with you guys this 
morning. 

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It's so good to see all of your 
faces. 

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We just got a few announcements 
for you this morning. 

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First off, we have the Elevate 
change drive. 

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If you saw the change bucket 
there in the foyer, the Youth 

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Ministry is collecting change 
for upcoming missions trips, so 

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Jared and Beatrice would 
appreciate any change that you 

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can drop off. 
And oh, by the way, any changes 

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you give will help Jared become 
a changed man. 

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Oh, thanks for encouraging him. 
In our house we don't laugh, it 

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only encourages him over. 
There, OK. 

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Thank you. 
Sorry, we're not used to doing 

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this. 
We have to be in the light. 

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OK, fine. 
So the next thing we have in our

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announcements is our Angel tree 
drop off. 

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If you could get those gifts in 
by December 17th, that would be 

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perfect. 
We can get those to the families

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that are here locally. 
And then don't forget to get on 

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and the the child that you 
sponsored from Guatemala or 

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Albania that you make those 
payments to. 

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And Next up we have the Ladies 
Christmas Party today. 

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You're not a lady. 
You shouldn't be doing this. 

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Announcement the Ladies 
Christmas. 

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Party. 
Y'all aren't excited for that 

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are you? 
No, they're not. 

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They're not, they're not excited
at all tonight from 5 to 8 

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ladies, come on out. 
It'll be a good time potluck 

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style. 
And don't forget to bring the 

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food that you're, you've signed 
up and we're, you're, we're 

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going to have a good time this 
tonight to just celebrate the 

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the season and celebrate 
Christmas and the reason for it.

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And finally, we have the 
Havelock Christmas Parade coming

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up this Saturday, December 13th 
at 10:00. 

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Yeah, you want to go ahead and 
come on out and see us and 

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support Jay and Trevor. 
Jay and Trevor, are you here 

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this morning? 
There they are. 

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Raise their hands. 
Jay and Trevor have taken on 

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this feat to do the Christmas 
parade float this year. 

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They are working hard. 
Do you need any more help? 

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We're they're doing great. 
So come on out and support them 

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at the Havelock Christmas Parade
this coming Saturday. 

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We're going to pray for good 
weather for y'all that day. 

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We just, we're excited that you 
guys are taking on this 

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adventure for us and that is it.
Before we get up and stand up 

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and do worship. 
We're going to or before we sit 

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down to hear Pastor Blake's 
sermon, we're going to worship. 

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But Pastor Blake's sermon is the
chat that changed you. 

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And now we're excited to hear 
what he has to store for us 

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today with that. 
So go ahead, stand on up. 

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Are you sure you don't want me 
to sing? 

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Because I can. 
Sing. 

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For all to hear. 
Oh, you're all ready to worship 

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this morning. 
Are you all ready to worship 

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this morning? 
Got them on knees again, got 

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them begging please again I need
you, Oh I need you. 

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Walking down the stairs and 
roads. 

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Water for my thirsty soul. 
I need you. 

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Oh, I need you. 
Your forgiveness is like sweet, 

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sweet honey on my lips, Like the
sound of the Symphony of my 

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ears, like holy water on my 
skin. 

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Dead man walking slave to sin. 
I want to know about being born 

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again. 
I need you. 

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Oh God, I need you. 
Take me to the Riverside. 

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Take me on the bedside. 
I need you, Oh God, I need you. 

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Your beginners. 
It's like squeeze sweet honey on

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my lips, like a sound of silly 
little my ears, like oil and 

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water on my skin. 
Holy water, I don't want to piss

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your grace. 
God, I need it every day. 

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It's the only thing that ever 
really makes me want to change. 

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I don't want to abuse your 
grace, God, I need it every day.

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It's the only thing that ever 
really makes me want to change. 

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And I don't want to abuse your 
grace, God, I need it every day.

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It's the only thing that ever 
really makes me want to change. 

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I don't want to be with your 
grace. 

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God, I beat it every day. 
It's the only thing that ever 

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really makes me want to change. 
Your forgiveness. 

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It's like sweet, sweet honey on 
my lips. 

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Like sound of a Symphony of my 
ears. 

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It's like like holy water, your 
beginning. 

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It's like sweet, sweet honey on 
my lips, like a sound out of 

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Symphony of my ears. 
It's like holy water. 

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Give them a shot of phrase. 
Where creation suddenly 

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articulate with 1000 tongues to 
lift, want and cry. 

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Then from north to South, 
pennies to us, we hear Christ be

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magnified word. 
Oh. 

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Earth. 
Echoing is evidence his name 

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would burst from sea and sky, 
from realist to the 

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mountaintops. 
We hear Christ be magnified. 

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Oh Christ be magnified. 
Let his praise your eyes. 

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Christ be magnified. 
In me oh Christ being magnified 

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the. 
Altar. 

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Of my life, Christ being. 
Magnified. 

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In. 
Me When every creature finds its

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inmost melody, every human 
heart, it's native cry. 

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Men in war and in rap, should he
look praise we sing. 

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Christ be magnified. 
Christ be magnified. 

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Let his raise your eyes. 
Christ being magnified in me. 

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Oh, Christ being magnified in 
the altar of my life. 

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Christ being magnified in me. 
I won't be for my feelings. 

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I hold fast to what is true. 
And if the cross brings 

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transformation then I'll be. 
Come on, just give them your 

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devotion because death is just a
joy into resurrection life. 

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And if I join you in your 
suffering, then I'll join you in

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your rise. 
And when you're. 

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Returning glory with God. 
All the angels and the Saints, 

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my heart will still be singing. 
My song will be the same. 

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Oh Christ be magnified. 
Let his praise your eyes. 

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Christ be magnified in me. 
Oh Christ be magnified the altar

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of. 
My. 

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Life Christ be magnified. 
In me oh. 

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Christ be. 
Magnified there. 

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Is praise your eyes Christ be 
magnified in me? 

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Oh Christ, be magnified. 
The. 

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Altar of my life, Christ being 
magnified. 

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In me you unravel me with a 
melody, and you surround me with

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a song of deliverance from my 
enemies, until all my fears are 

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gone, singing out, and I'm no 
longer slave Fear. 

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I am a child of God. 
I'm no longer slave to fear. 

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I am a child of God and my 
world is new. 

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You have chosen me. 
Your love has called my name, 

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and I've been born again into 
your family. 

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Your blood flow through my 
hands. 

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I'm no longer a slave to fear 
you. 

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I am a child of God. 
I'm no longer a slave to fear. 

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I am a child of God. 
Oh, I'm no longer a slave to 

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fear who I am. 
A child of God. 

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I no longer say I'm a child of 
God who I am. 

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I'm surrounded by the arms of my
father. 

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I am surrounded with songs of 
deliver. 

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From our bondage with the sons 
and the daughters. 

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So missing our freedom. 
The sea so I could walk right 

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through it. 
Fears were drowned in burping 

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alone. 
You rescue me so I could say 

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this thing. 
I am a child of God. 

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You split the seas. 
Or I could walk right through 

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it. 
My fears were drowned in burping

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alone. 
You rescue me so I could stand 

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and see. 
I am a child, a girl. 

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I am a child, a girl. 
Oh, I am a child, a girl. 

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Yes, I am. 
I'm no longer slave to fear. 

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What are you? 
I am a child of God. 

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I'm no longer a slave to fear. 
I am a child of God. 

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Want to make sure we maintain 
the atmosphere of worship? 

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This is the first Sunday of the 
month and here at Liberty, 

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that's when we take communion 
corporately. 

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What I mean by corporately is we
take it all together. 

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And so if this is your first 
time, here's some instructions. 

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But if you're not a member of 
Liberty Church, that's fine. 

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This is for those that are 
children of God. 

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So if he's your father, if 
you're a believer, then 

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communion is for you. 
OK. 

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But what we do is we do this, 
we'll come forward. 

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There are four different 
stations up here with some fresh

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made bread from a woman who 
loves the Lord. 

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We've got some juice for you and
we'll ask you to take a piece of

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the bread and to take a cup of 
the juice, bring it back to your

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seat. 
Be very careful as you clap at 

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the end of the last song. 
We'll take communion together. 

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If you have some concerns or 
whatever. 

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We also have some prepackaged 
cups for you. 

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So there are options, but what 
I'll ask is if you'll come down,

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maybe these two rows here is in 
the middle and then exit out to 

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the wings to your side. 
I feel like a flight attendant, 

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but we're going to take 
communion together. 

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It's a very, very special time 
to take communion this morning. 

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So if y'all would go ahead and 
lead the way, Liberty, we'll 

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take communion together after 
this song and let's just 

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continue this worship. 
Amen. 

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Can't go back to the beginning, 
Can't control what tomorrow will

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bring. 
But I know here in the middle, 

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here's a place where you promise
to be. 

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I'm not enough unless you come. 
Will you meet me here again? 

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Because all I want, it's all you
are. 

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Will you meet me here again? 
As I walk now through the 

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valley, Let your love rise above
every fear, Like the sun shaping

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the shadow. 
In my weakness your glory 

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appears. 
I'm not even unless you come. 

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Will you mean me here again? 
That's all I want. 

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That's all you. 
Are. 

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Will you mean me here again? 
I'm not eater. 

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Oh. 
Unless you come. 

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Will you meet me here again? 
This all I want. 

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This all you are. 
Will you meet me here again? 

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Oh, meet me here. 
You never left. 

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You never left my side. 
You never left. 

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Not for a minute was I forsaken.
The Lord is in this place. 

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The Lord is in this place. 
Come, Holy Spirit. 

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The Lord is in this place. 
The Lord is in this place. 

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Not for a minute was I forsaken.
The Lord is in this place. 

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The Lord is in this place. 
For come Holy Spirit. 

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The Lord is in this place. 
The Lord is in this place. 

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I'm not eating unless you come. 
Will you meet me here again? 

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Because all is all you are. 
Will you meet me here again? 

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I'm not in enough unless you 
come. 

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00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:12,640
Will you meet me here again? 
Your soul? 

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It's all you are. 
Will you meet me here again? 

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You just ask the Lord if he'd 
meet you here. 

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I believe he said yes. 
You know, today we're going to 

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talk a lot about prayer. 
We're talking about some of 

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these basics ways that we come 
home for the holidays to the 

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Lord. 
And prayer is so key. 

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I don't know if you've ever 
thought of the story of 

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communion as a story of prayer, 
but it is because prayer is just

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a conversation. 
It's a conversation with the 

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Lord. 
Now there's ways to make sure we

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prioritize them the right way. 
We'll go into it, but the story 

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of communion is the story of the
God who speaks and our Savior 

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who listened. 
That's a conversation. 

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That's why in the Garden Jesus 
could say if there's any other 

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00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:16,120
way, how honest of a prayer, but
he also wrapped it up with what 

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00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:22,920
not my will, your will be done. 
And so this is a story, too, of 

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00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:26,360
prayer. 
Jesus had the authority to do 

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what he wanted to do on this 
earth. 

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How blessed are we that what he 
wanted to do was the will of His

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Father? 
This beautiful, beautiful act 

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that we do, known as communion 
today, came out of a Passover 

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meal. 
It came from the Old Testament 

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where they were celebrating 
deliverance. 

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00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:47,480
They understood that God had set
them free. 

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They knew that they were his 
chosen people, and they knew 

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this even while they were being 
oppressed. 

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And it came during this time 
that they all sat together to 

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00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,080
break bread and God himself in 
the flesh. 

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00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:06,040
Jesus gave them additional 
meaning at what was His Last 

230
00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:12,040
Supper, but not ours. 
Paul recounts this. 

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00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:16,120
He says, I pass on to you what I
received from the Lord himself. 

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00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,080
On the night when he was 
betrayed, the Lord Jesus took 

233
00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:23,200
some bread and he gave thanks to
God for it and he broke it in 

234
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:25,400
pieces. 
And he said, this is my body 

235
00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:30,440
which is given for you. 
Do this to Remember Me. 

236
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:34,280
So remember him as you take the 
bread this morning. 

237
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:44,840
Thank you. 
You know, in the Passover meal, 

238
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:50,760
the bread was always unleavened,
had no yeast in it to rise, and 

239
00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:53,320
it was to help them remember 
that they had to leave so 

240
00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:56,840
quickly that they didn't have 
time to bake it and let it rise.

241
00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:03,120
What seems sometimes like an 
emergency act on our part is 

242
00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:05,080
never an emergency act on his 
part. 

243
00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:09,000
Scripture says that Jesus, the 
bread of life, came at just the 

244
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:14,000
right time in history. 
Remember Him in this way when 

245
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:18,640
you take the bread and in the 
same way he took the cup of wine

246
00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:23,000
after supper, saying this cup. 
This cup is the new covenant 

247
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,640
between God and his people. 
It's an agreement confirmed with

248
00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:30,160
my blood. 
Do this to Remember Me as often 

249
00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:34,800
as you drink it. 
Remember him as you drink it 

250
00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:41,560
this morning. 
Thank you. 

251
00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:46,960
Verse 26 says for every time you
eat this bread and drink this 

252
00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:50,000
cup, you're announcing the 
Lord's death until he comes 

253
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:54,120
again. 
Why do you announce his death 

254
00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:58,400
until he comes again? 
The answer is because he's 

255
00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,480
coming again. 
If you announce his death, you 

256
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:04,160
announce his resurrection. 
There can be no resurrection 

257
00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:09,160
unless there is a death. 
And so we announce His death 

258
00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:11,840
until he comes again because we 
believe that He's coming in 

259
00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:15,240
because we know that He's coming
again, even if not everybody 

260
00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:18,560
knows it yet. 
So we believe in the 

261
00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:22,400
resurrection, not just of him, 
but for all that would come in 

262
00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:24,800
to know the relationship with 
the Lord because of Him, and 

263
00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:28,080
that includes us. 
So we announce His resurrection 

264
00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:32,120
when we take communion. 
Could anything be more beautiful

265
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:35,240
than to know how we'll rejoice 
when He does come again? 

266
00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:40,920
So this morning, before we do 
cheer for Him and we will want 

267
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:44,920
you to think about the things 
that He saved you from, I just 

268
00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:47,000
want you to think for a minute 
your individual things that he 

269
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,840
saved you from, He is still 
continually saving you. 

270
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:52,400
We spoke about this just before 
Thanksgiving. 

271
00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:56,440
We need to get into a practice 
of thanking him for the the 

272
00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:58,320
deliverance that has not yet 
arrived. 

273
00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:01,320
We need to start thanking him 
for the difficult things and the

274
00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:04,520
difficult seasons, because we 
know his character well enough 

275
00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:08,040
to know that on the other side 
of this comes something 

276
00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,760
beautiful and magnificent. 
But when we thank him in the 

277
00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:14,880
middle of it, before we have the
resolution, we show and 

278
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:16,920
demonstrate trust and love to 
him. 

279
00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:21,600
Think about what he saved you 
from, because the punishment we 

280
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:24,080
deserved happened on the cross. 
That's what the bread 

281
00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:26,920
represents, that his body was 
broken so that yours could be 

282
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,480
made whole. 
His blood was shed so that his 

283
00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:32,960
pure and sinless, spotless blood
could cover your life. 

284
00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:35,440
And when God himself looks at 
you, he doesn't just look at you

285
00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:37,720
as a forgive person or somebody 
who got off the hook. 

286
00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:41,800
He looks at you as if you were 
Jesus himself, because now he 

287
00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:46,520
doesn't have one perfect son. 
Our older brother, so to speak, 

288
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:50,360
theologically, broke down a wall
so that the family of God could 

289
00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:53,120
be multiplied. 
And he made a way when we had no

290
00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:56,080
way. 
Now is that not worth a praise 

291
00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:58,640
offering this morning? 
Give him, give him the glory. 

292
00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:12,719
Well, y'all can be seated, I 
mean, or stand up during the 

293
00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:13,280
service. 
I don't know. 

294
00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:14,320
I'm not going to tell you what 
to do. 

295
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:21,800
People behind you might. 
But As for the carotene to come 

296
00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:24,000
forward, it's everybody's 
favorite time of the service 

297
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:27,560
where we take up money. 
Yeah, that's what I'm talking 

298
00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:28,199
about. 
Come on. 

299
00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:31,480
Here's the reality. 
I say that kind of 

300
00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:34,360
sarcastically, but like a lot of
things in the Christian life, 

301
00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:36,800
when you grab a hold of the, the
meaning of giving and 

302
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:39,440
generosity, it changes, changes,
you know? 

303
00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:42,360
And I cannot tell you that every
time that I make an online 

304
00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,719
donation or that I pay a bill or
that I give or whatever that I, 

305
00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,199
that I feel that excitement 
within me. 

306
00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:51,800
But I also still praise God for 
what I know he's accomplishing 

307
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,080
through that. 
So every time that I give, every

308
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:57,560
time that I serve, I make sure 
that I thank the Lord for it 

309
00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:02,120
because it doesn't come 
naturally when I'm called in 

310
00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:05,320
last second to work with kids, 
which has happened on occasion 

311
00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:09,680
when I am giving of my tithe and
offering and there's something 

312
00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:11,400
that I'd really like and 
Christmas is coming. 

313
00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,840
Or when I look at somebody and I
know they need to have a 

314
00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:16,880
conversation and I'd rather go 
on my way. 

315
00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:18,720
And the Lord says, why don't you
do AU turn? 

316
00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:21,400
I wish I could tell you that 
every time I have that, I'm 

317
00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:23,240
like, yes, God, another 
opportunity. 

318
00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:24,560
And I know those people are out 
there. 

319
00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:29,600
But for me, I have to constantly
remind myself, this is what I 

320
00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:31,880
was made for. 
And it's not because I'm a 

321
00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:34,520
pastor, it's because I'm his 
son. 

322
00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:37,680
And so God, we do thank you for 
the opportunities. 

323
00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:39,200
We thank you for the ones that 
come easily. 

324
00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:40,760
We thank you for the ones that 
are difficult. 

325
00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:43,160
And we just pray that you 
continue to walk through all of 

326
00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:45,240
it with us. 
We don't just want you to walk 

327
00:35:45,240 --> 00:35:47,320
through the valleys with us. 
We want you on the mountaintops 

328
00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:49,280
of life. 
We wouldn't have them without 

329
00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:51,440
you. 
So we give everything that we 

330
00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:52,920
have. 
We give right back to the One 

331
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:54,400
who is the source of all of it 
anyway. 

332
00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,160
May you be glorified and may you
receive the honour in the name 

333
00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:02,920
of Jesus, Amen. 
We can turn to Matthew 6. 

334
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:06,360
We'll be reading a pretty, 
pretty well known story that a 

335
00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:08,400
lot of people have gone to 
church for a while would would 

336
00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:16,880
recognize. 
And while we're doing this, I 

337
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:20,080
just want you to know that you 
might get offended today. 

338
00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:25,720
But if you do, I hope that it's 
in a good way. 

339
00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:30,920
If you hear the gospel and it 
never offends you and it never 

340
00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:33,320
causes you to change, and it 
never makes you stop in your 

341
00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:37,840
tracks to think about something,
well, we'll talk about a seared 

342
00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:39,280
conscience later on in the 
sermon. 

343
00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:45,840
But let me just start with this.
God. 

344
00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:48,880
We call the fire of your Spirit 
down upon this congregation. 

345
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:51,920
We rebuke any of the enemy 
around us, and we invite Your 

346
00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:54,480
Spirit to inhabit your praises 
in the name of Jesus. 

347
00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:57,600
Amen. 
Did that sound awesome? 

348
00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:02,040
I memorized it. 
I didn't mean it. 

349
00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:08,760
Here's what I mean by that. 
I do want those things, but I 

350
00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:12,280
memorized it so that I could say
it without messing it up. 

351
00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:15,880
But I wasn't thinking about 
actually asking for His spirit 

352
00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:17,440
to be poured out. 
I wasn't actually thinking about

353
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:19,480
rebuking the enemy. 
Have you ever heard when people 

354
00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:21,160
will brag about other 
Christians, they'll say that 

355
00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:22,840
person can pray, paint off the 
walls. 

356
00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:25,480
It's a weird ability. 
I've never seen that spiritual 

357
00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:30,160
gift listed right. 
Normally when we tell somebody, 

358
00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:32,120
oh, that person's a prayer 
warrior, it's because we've 

359
00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:34,760
stood in a circle, we've 
awkwardly held somebody's hand. 

360
00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:42,080
Our palm sweat has mingled with 
theirs, and we have heard 

361
00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:44,880
somebody raise up volume and 
sound eloquent. 

362
00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:47,360
And we have said that person 
knows how to pray. 

363
00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:52,760
But you don't know. 
You just don't know. 

364
00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:57,040
The people that I go to for 
prayer are normally the ones 

365
00:37:57,040 --> 00:37:59,800
that have the aroma of the Lord.
They're people that I know will 

366
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:01,360
set aside time to be with the 
Lord. 

367
00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:03,600
People that could have an 
awkward prayer or an 

368
00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:06,760
uncomfortable prayer. 
I like it when I hear somebody 

369
00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:08,800
pray and it sounds like how they
talk. 

370
00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:12,560
That's my preference. 
Let me tell you, yesterday we 

371
00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:15,920
had this really beautiful 
ceremony at Carteret 

372
00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:17,480
Correctional Facility in 
Newport. 

373
00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:21,320
It was the Jumpstart Prison 
Ministry graduation program. 

374
00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:24,080
Oh, it was amazing. 
It really was amazing. 

375
00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:26,920
For those that serve with 
Jumpstart, I I don't know how 

376
00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:28,280
many of y'all would be in 
service today, but would you 

377
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:30,600
just stand up for a second if 
you have served with Jumpstart 

378
00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:32,760
in any capacity this year? 
So you got a couple here. 

379
00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:43,010
So all right, let me let me tell
you something about Jumpstart. 

380
00:38:43,010 --> 00:38:44,970
I mean, there are some that do 
it part time and I'll be doing 

381
00:38:44,970 --> 00:38:47,090
it part time. 
But the people who just stood up

382
00:38:47,130 --> 00:38:49,130
are some of those that did it 
full time. 

383
00:38:50,210 --> 00:38:52,610
There's other people that are 
doing other things at this 

384
00:38:52,610 --> 00:38:53,930
moment. 
You can't see them like Josh and

385
00:38:53,930 --> 00:38:57,600
Mary Jo Kaiser and you know, so 
I mean, it's a 40 week 

386
00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:01,520
commitment that we walk through 
a 40 week study book 

387
00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:04,040
discipleship with them. 
We talk about responsibility, 

388
00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:06,760
accountability and respect and 
honoring authority. 

389
00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:10,440
And it was really great because 
honestly, we're just talking to 

390
00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:13,480
these guys who as I, as I like 
to put it, they're fighting for 

391
00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:16,760
their life, but not, but not 
with like fists, right? 

392
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:18,800
And not with violence, at least 
not anymore. 

393
00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:22,200
They are struggling to reclaim 
their identity because when you 

394
00:39:22,200 --> 00:39:25,200
end up in prison, almost always 
it's because of your own 

395
00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:27,600
choices, right? 
And and when you end up there, 

396
00:39:27,720 --> 00:39:30,880
you have to now come to terms 
with the fact that everywhere 

397
00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:32,960
you go, what they call you is 
offender. 

398
00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:35,680
Well, the gospel is we are all 
offenders. 

399
00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:39,160
Romans 323 says we've all sinned
and fallen short of the glory of

400
00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:41,560
God. 
Man, I loved, I loved being 

401
00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:42,280
there. 
I loved hearing their 

402
00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:45,120
testimonies. 
I loved getting to fellowship 

403
00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:47,000
with some of their family 
members and loved ones that came

404
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:50,680
there to celebrate with them. 
Jay got to sing a couple songs a

405
00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:51,840
cappella. 
I'm going to ask if you just 

406
00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:53,320
sing those a cappella up here 
real quick. 

407
00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:55,400
No, no, none of them. 
OK. 

408
00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:58,480
I did tell her I wasn't going to
ask her to do that, so she knew 

409
00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:01,320
I didn't mean it. 
But, man, I loved it because you

410
00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:03,360
gave such a genuine prayer. 
And I went over to her and I 

411
00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:04,840
told her that was such a good 
prayer. 

412
00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:07,320
And she said, really? 
Because I felt like I just. 

413
00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:09,200
I don't remember what you said. 
You said like, I stumbled over 

414
00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:11,640
it or something like that. 
You blacked out. 

415
00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:15,320
Yeah. 
She was scared to do it. 

416
00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:16,600
And you know what? 
She did it scared. 

417
00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:19,160
There you go. 
You know what that's called? 

418
00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:22,880
Yeah, that's faith. 
It's honesty. 

419
00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:26,600
It's true. 
And so a lot of times we try to 

420
00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:30,040
emulate those that sound very 
eloquent in how they pray or in 

421
00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:31,920
the power that that sounds like 
how they pray. 

422
00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:36,720
Let me ask you something. 
If all of your relationships 

423
00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:40,120
were all polished in how you 
spoke to them, if you had 

424
00:40:40,120 --> 00:40:44,040
prepared a statement, I won't 
even go down the rabbit trail of

425
00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:46,840
if you said their name every 
fifth word like we do sometimes 

426
00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:49,600
in prayer, right? 
But if you had everything 

427
00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:53,040
polished, would you feel like 
you had a genuine relationship? 

428
00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:56,960
You would not. 
But we'll talk about this. 

429
00:40:59,240 --> 00:41:02,040
Told you it might be a little 
offensive, but I hope that it'll

430
00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:04,920
be helpful. 
Before I read Matthew 6, I want 

431
00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:08,080
to share a story that some of 
you might recognize, but I 

432
00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:09,760
didn't really know it until a 
couple months ago. 

433
00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:12,560
It's not miraculous in the 
least, not at least in the way 

434
00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:14,480
that we consider miracles to be 
these days. 

435
00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:18,360
But it's a pretty human story. 
It was something that happened 

436
00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:24,640
in the year 1969, and it's every
preacher's favorite guy to share

437
00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:26,520
illustrations from Mr. Rogers, 
right? 

438
00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:28,360
Who didn't love Mr. Rogers back 
in the day? 

439
00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:32,800
But on his show, he invited 
somebody named Officer Clemens. 

440
00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:36,720
Officer Clemens was a black 
police officer to sit beside him

441
00:41:36,720 --> 00:41:39,240
and cool their feet together in 
a little plastic kiddie pool. 

442
00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:42,400
It looked pretty simple, and it 
was childlike. 

443
00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:45,000
It looked ordinary to us. 
But in 1969, it was 

444
00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,040
revolutionary. 
Why? 

445
00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:49,560
Well, I'm glad you asked. 
I have the answer for you. 

446
00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:53,320
See, at that time, most public 
pools in America were 

447
00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:56,520
segregated. 
And so you could not go to a 

448
00:41:56,520 --> 00:42:00,440
public pool and have black and 
white people in the same pool. 

449
00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:04,240
And without putting out a big 
press release or a huge 

450
00:42:04,240 --> 00:42:07,960
statement or making a speech on 
television, he invited an 

451
00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:10,000
African American man onto his 
show. 

452
00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:13,200
And they both stuck their feet 
in a kiddie pool for everybody 

453
00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:15,760
to watch. 
You might think that's the 

454
00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:19,760
coolest thing about the story. 
But once the camera stopped 

455
00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:24,720
rolling and and they were done, 
he looked at Officer Clemens and

456
00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:27,760
he dried his feet with a towel. 
If that sounds familiar to 

457
00:42:27,760 --> 00:42:29,200
anybody who's read the the 
Bible. 

458
00:42:29,480 --> 00:42:30,840
And he looked at him and he said
this. 

459
00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:34,120
He said only Mr. Rogers gets 
away with these things. 

460
00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:37,560
He said you make every day a 
special day just by being you. 

461
00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:43,280
But Officer Clemens said it was 
the first time in his life he 

462
00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:44,880
ever believed a man truly loved 
him. 

463
00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:50,640
What happened between them was 
simple and slow, and it would be

464
00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:53,560
hard to make a movie off of that
one brief conversation. 

465
00:42:54,480 --> 00:42:58,400
But the act of speaking honestly
and listening openly created a 

466
00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:01,680
relationship between them. 
And I want you to understand 

467
00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:04,800
something today. 
Prayer works the same way. 

468
00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:09,440
Your prayers are not 
performances to be witnessed by 

469
00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:11,960
God. 
They are not things that you 

470
00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:13,880
grow in so that you sound 
better. 

471
00:43:13,960 --> 00:43:15,680
The only way you'll sound better
is if you grow in your 

472
00:43:15,680 --> 00:43:17,880
confidence. 
But you're not supposed to be 

473
00:43:17,880 --> 00:43:20,920
praying to him in order to sound
better to anybody else. 

474
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:24,920
Could you imagine if every 
anniversary I I wish my wife a 

475
00:43:24,920 --> 00:43:27,400
happy anniversary and then I 
took a Facebook poll. 

476
00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:29,720
Hey, what did you guys think of 
how I wished her a happy 

477
00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:32,480
anniversary? 
She liked it and that's fine. 

478
00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:34,200
But I want to know if you guys 
approve. 

479
00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:37,720
This is what we do with our 
prayer. 

480
00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:41,680
In fact, it sinks in so deeply 
to us that many of us, if we're 

481
00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:44,040
asked to pray publicly, and I'm 
not even talking about right 

482
00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:47,240
here, I'm talking about in our 
small group of 10 or 11 or 12 

483
00:43:47,240 --> 00:43:50,360
people, if, if we're asked to 
pray publicly, many of us, we 

484
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:52,600
get anxiety. 
Is there anybody here willing to

485
00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:54,360
say they get anxiety praying in 
front of people? 

486
00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:56,640
OK, this is good. 
Don't let people think they're 

487
00:43:56,640 --> 00:43:59,240
alone. 
We get anxiety over it. 

488
00:44:00,120 --> 00:44:02,480
But many of us who just had our 
hands up, we don't have anxiety.

489
00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:05,240
If somebody overhears us talking
to our friend at church, there's

490
00:44:05,240 --> 00:44:07,840
a disconnect, isn't there? 
We have to address it. 

491
00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:11,000
We have to figure this out. 
So the reason we're calling this

492
00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:13,080
home for the holidays is we're 
trying to come home to all the 

493
00:44:13,080 --> 00:44:14,880
basics of the Lord. 
And I don't care how long you've

494
00:44:14,880 --> 00:44:16,880
walked with them, there's always
room to grow. 

495
00:44:17,240 --> 00:44:19,320
If there's no room for you to 
mature left on this earth, he'll

496
00:44:19,320 --> 00:44:22,160
just take you home. 
But since you're here, we're 

497
00:44:22,160 --> 00:44:26,160
going to grow together. 
And last week we discussed some 

498
00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:30,320
important things, but this week 
we're going to discuss prayer. 

499
00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:34,200
Prayer is important. 
And in Matthew 6, we see what we

500
00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:41,480
call the Lord's Prayer. 
Now, if I were to say, just 

501
00:44:41,480 --> 00:44:42,880
recite it in the way that you 
know it. 

502
00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:47,000
Are you ready? 
Our Father who art in heaven, 

503
00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:57,240
just stop, Please stop, stop. 
Same thing as earlier. 

504
00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:00,840
You do want those things if 
you're a believer, but you've 

505
00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:03,240
learned to memorize it and 
you've regurgitated it so many 

506
00:45:03,240 --> 00:45:06,320
times it sounds like it belongs 
at a funeral. 

507
00:45:07,920 --> 00:45:10,840
And I'm not bashing you. 
That's how it sounds in any 

508
00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:13,080
church that recites it all 
together at one time. 

509
00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:15,440
Now, there's beauty about 
speaking scripture out together 

510
00:45:15,440 --> 00:45:18,280
and prayers together, so don't 
hear what I'm not saying here, 

511
00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:21,960
but Jesus didn't give this to 
you to memorize it. 

512
00:45:22,800 --> 00:45:26,320
Memorizing scripture itself, 
beautiful, helpful, useful. 

513
00:45:27,560 --> 00:45:31,400
That being said, was that really
what Jesus was going for? 

514
00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:34,800
I don't think it was. 
He actually said when you pray, 

515
00:45:34,800 --> 00:45:37,560
don't be like the hypocrites who
love to pray publicly on street 

516
00:45:37,560 --> 00:45:40,400
corners and in the synagogues 
where everyone can see them. 

517
00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:43,240
I tell you the truth. 
That's all the reward they'll 

518
00:45:43,240 --> 00:45:46,360
ever get. 
He says when you pray, go away 

519
00:45:46,360 --> 00:45:48,480
by yourself, shut the door 
behind you and pray to your 

520
00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:51,200
father in private, and then your
father who sees everything will 

521
00:45:51,200 --> 00:45:54,360
reward you. 
So he's talking about personal 

522
00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:58,040
prayer here, and he says in 
verse 7, when you pray, don't 

523
00:45:58,040 --> 00:46:01,760
Babble on and on as Gentiles do.
They think their prayers are 

524
00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:04,240
answered merely by repeating 
their words again and again. 

525
00:46:04,240 --> 00:46:10,040
Did we not just do that? 
He said, don't be like them, for

526
00:46:10,040 --> 00:46:12,480
your Father knows exactly what 
you need even before you ask 

527
00:46:12,480 --> 00:46:16,040
him. 
And then he says this, pray like

528
00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:18,400
this. 
Our Father in heaven. 

529
00:46:18,400 --> 00:46:20,120
I'm reading from the new Living 
Translation. 

530
00:46:20,520 --> 00:46:24,200
May your name be kept holy. 
May your Kingdom come soon. 

531
00:46:24,840 --> 00:46:27,320
May your will be done on earth 
as it is in heaven. 

532
00:46:27,760 --> 00:46:31,240
Give us today the food we need, 
we know that is what our daily 

533
00:46:33,320 --> 00:46:36,240
and forgive us our sins as we 
have forgiven those who sin 

534
00:46:36,240 --> 00:46:38,000
against us. 
And don't let us yield into 

535
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:42,280
temptation but rescue us from 
the evil. 1 Then he says if you 

536
00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:44,640
forgive those who sin against 
you, your heavenly Father will 

537
00:46:44,640 --> 00:46:47,480
forgive you, but if you refuse 
to forgive others, your Father 

538
00:46:47,480 --> 00:46:50,080
will not forgive your sins. 
That's a hard teaching. 

539
00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:53,640
And when you fast, don't make it
obvious as the hypocrites do, 

540
00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:57,120
for they try to look miserable 
and disheveled so people will 

541
00:46:57,120 --> 00:47:01,160
admire them for their fasting. 
I tell you the truth, that is 

542
00:47:01,160 --> 00:47:03,120
the only reward they will ever 
get. 

543
00:47:04,160 --> 00:47:07,200
But when you fast, comb your 
hair and wash your face. 

544
00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:09,840
It's just good advice, guys. 
Hygiene matters. 

545
00:47:10,960 --> 00:47:13,200
And then no one will notice that
you're fasting except your 

546
00:47:13,200 --> 00:47:14,920
father, who knows what you do in
private. 

547
00:47:14,920 --> 00:47:17,520
And your father, who sees 
everything, will reward you. 

548
00:47:18,160 --> 00:47:22,080
We get so legalistic about this.
We see this where it says don't 

549
00:47:22,080 --> 00:47:24,040
pray with your many words in 
front of people in street 

550
00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:26,360
corners and synagogues, and we 
say I'm not even supposed to 

551
00:47:26,360 --> 00:47:27,960
pray publicly, so I can't do 
that. 

552
00:47:27,960 --> 00:47:31,040
That is not what it's saying. 
The heart is these people want 

553
00:47:31,040 --> 00:47:33,360
to be seen for their prayers. 
They want to be seen for their 

554
00:47:33,360 --> 00:47:35,160
eloquence. 
They want to be seen as holy 

555
00:47:35,160 --> 00:47:38,120
people. 
You should only want God to look

556
00:47:38,120 --> 00:47:40,640
at you and increasingly see 
himself reflected in your 

557
00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:43,960
spirit. 
You can pray anytime, anywhere 

558
00:47:43,960 --> 00:47:46,160
for anybody. 
Some of my best prayers that 

559
00:47:46,160 --> 00:47:48,680
I've ever had have been ones I 
was not prepared for. 

560
00:47:48,680 --> 00:47:51,600
But I ran into somebody at Food 
Lion or Walmart or a parking 

561
00:47:51,600 --> 00:47:54,080
lot, and they said they had an 
issue and I prayed for them. 

562
00:47:54,400 --> 00:47:56,800
And before you think I'm a great
guy, I do it there because I'll 

563
00:47:56,800 --> 00:48:00,000
forget later. 
And then five days later I'll be

564
00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:02,200
like, oh, they asked me to pray 
for the grandma who was in the 

565
00:48:02,200 --> 00:48:03,640
hospital. 
Hey, how's your grandma doing? 

566
00:48:03,640 --> 00:48:05,400
Oh, she's been out of the 
hospital for three days. 

567
00:48:06,240 --> 00:48:09,440
Praise God, Right? 
We've all been there. 

568
00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:13,560
I want to be a genuine man of 
faith, and so when you ask me 

569
00:48:13,560 --> 00:48:15,760
for prayer, I try to do it right
then if I can. 

570
00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:18,320
That's the reason. 
But it's in public. 

571
00:48:18,400 --> 00:48:19,560
Am I in sin? 
No. 

572
00:48:20,560 --> 00:48:23,480
The fasting thing, if there's 
one thing people love more than 

573
00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:25,240
the time where we give at 
church, it's fasting. 

574
00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:30,040
How many of y'all have a problem
being hangry, whether it's 

575
00:48:30,040 --> 00:48:31,760
fasting or not? 
Yeah. 

576
00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:32,480
OK. 
All right. 

577
00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:35,480
So fasting. 
It says don't let people know. 

578
00:48:35,760 --> 00:48:39,120
I have had many conversations, 
many more than I ever thought I 

579
00:48:39,120 --> 00:48:40,560
would with people who were 
fasting. 

580
00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:42,400
And you can tell something's 
off. 

581
00:48:42,760 --> 00:48:45,480
You'll invite them to lunch, you
know, or you'll say, why don't 

582
00:48:45,480 --> 00:48:47,600
you come over on Tuesday? 
And they're like, I can I got 

583
00:48:47,600 --> 00:48:49,440
something going on. 
Oh, that's cool. 

584
00:48:49,480 --> 00:48:51,720
You know, what are you doing? 
Can't really say. 

585
00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:54,080
Why can't. 
Why can you not say? 

586
00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:56,920
It's happened in this church 
office in past years before 

587
00:48:57,240 --> 00:48:57,960
What? 
What is going on? 

588
00:48:57,960 --> 00:48:59,120
Why don't you want to go to 
lunch with us? 

589
00:48:59,120 --> 00:49:01,320
Well, come here. 
Shut the door. 

590
00:49:02,040 --> 00:49:05,840
I'm fasting. 
Please don't tell anybody else. 

591
00:49:06,840 --> 00:49:09,600
This whole thing is about don't 
make the things that you do for 

592
00:49:09,600 --> 00:49:13,080
God about you. 
So may I give you some freedom 

593
00:49:13,080 --> 00:49:17,160
here after church one day, if 
somebody invites you to lunch 

594
00:49:17,160 --> 00:49:20,360
and you happen to be fasting, 
say I'd love to, but I'm 

595
00:49:20,360 --> 00:49:27,080
fasting, it's OK. 
What he's saying is don't walk 

596
00:49:27,080 --> 00:49:34,800
in a church so hungry. 
I got kids so I'm familiar with 

597
00:49:34,800 --> 00:49:38,800
the the theatrics. 
Hey, would you mind emptying the

598
00:49:38,800 --> 00:49:42,000
dishwasher? 
What's wrong? 

599
00:49:42,360 --> 00:49:47,320
Nothing saying don't be 
childlike when it comes to this.

600
00:49:48,120 --> 00:49:50,480
If you're looking for the 
accolades that you get for 

601
00:49:50,480 --> 00:49:54,520
praying publicly or for fasting,
your heart is off and you just 

602
00:49:54,520 --> 00:49:55,960
made yourself hungry for 
nothing. 

603
00:49:56,840 --> 00:49:59,040
The reward that you got was 
people saying, oh wow, you're 

604
00:49:59,040 --> 00:50:02,920
fasting, and it's hard to catch 
that one at the bank. 

605
00:50:04,520 --> 00:50:07,240
Jesus is teaching that prayer is
not about memorizing the exact 

606
00:50:07,240 --> 00:50:10,240
words or a formula. 
He's talking about the heart 

607
00:50:10,240 --> 00:50:13,800
behind them. 
English grammar didn't exist 

608
00:50:13,800 --> 00:50:17,200
back then, but there are some 
key ways that we compare things.

609
00:50:17,800 --> 00:50:21,240
1 is a metaphor where you 
actually call somebody something

610
00:50:21,240 --> 00:50:24,840
like man, that guy's a rock. 
That normally means that man, 

611
00:50:24,840 --> 00:50:28,480
he's immovable or maybe he's not
too not too bright, right? 

612
00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:33,360
But there's something called a 
simile and a simile uses words 

613
00:50:33,360 --> 00:50:38,880
like or as to compare something.
And he said when you pray, pray 

614
00:50:38,880 --> 00:50:43,840
like this. 
So this is a pattern, but it was

615
00:50:43,840 --> 00:50:48,160
never meant to be a map. 
Prayer is the conversation that 

616
00:50:48,160 --> 00:50:51,000
forms you, but Jesus doesn't 
just teach us how to talk, He 

617
00:50:51,000 --> 00:50:53,840
also teaches us what kind of 
Father that we're talking to. 

618
00:50:53,840 --> 00:50:56,880
When you listen to that, because
you don't just need to learn to 

619
00:50:56,880 --> 00:50:59,640
hear His voice, you also need to
learn how to speak to him. 

620
00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:02,640
Conversation is of great 
benefit. 

621
00:51:02,640 --> 00:51:05,200
If you only go to Him to get 
information, it's a problem. 

622
00:51:05,560 --> 00:51:07,720
But listen to what He tells the 
prophet Jeremiah in the Old 

623
00:51:07,720 --> 00:51:10,560
Testament. 
Jeremiah 33 verse 3 says, ask me

624
00:51:10,560 --> 00:51:13,080
and I will tell you remarkable 
secrets that you do not know 

625
00:51:13,080 --> 00:51:19,680
about things to come. 
It's a promise to Jeremiah, but 

626
00:51:19,680 --> 00:51:23,080
I'm telling you it's possible. 
If you can be trusted with 

627
00:51:23,080 --> 00:51:26,080
things, He'll give you things. 
Does that make sense? 

628
00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:29,200
This is why prayer really 
matters a whole lot. 

629
00:51:29,680 --> 00:51:32,800
Jesus is teaching this to 
everybody who will listen to all

630
00:51:32,800 --> 00:51:34,480
of the believers there. 
He's not talking about the 

631
00:51:34,480 --> 00:51:36,320
prophets or the spiritual 
elites. 

632
00:51:37,360 --> 00:51:40,840
He has got in the flesh, talking
to people in the flesh, ordinary

633
00:51:40,840 --> 00:51:43,200
people, people who feel 
unworthy, people who feel 

634
00:51:43,200 --> 00:51:47,720
unsure, people who do not even 
feel spiritual or anything of 

635
00:51:47,720 --> 00:51:51,800
the sort. 
Think about this, the creator of

636
00:51:51,800 --> 00:51:54,400
the universe is not distant or 
annoyed when you pray, He bends 

637
00:51:54,400 --> 00:51:58,000
down to listen to you and leans 
towards your voice, just like 

638
00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:01,680
Mr. Rogers drying Officer 
Clemens feet and taking the time

639
00:52:01,680 --> 00:52:05,000
to just talk to him. 
God actually desires this with 

640
00:52:05,000 --> 00:52:08,440
you and even though we may 
theologically know this, I want 

641
00:52:08,440 --> 00:52:12,280
you to practically know this. 
God is not bothered by the sound

642
00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:16,000
of your voice. 
You are not a bother to Him. 

643
00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:17,920
Maybe you were a bother to your 
parents. 

644
00:52:18,560 --> 00:52:20,800
Maybe you were bothered to your 
boss or to your friends. 

645
00:52:20,800 --> 00:52:22,120
And you always feel like the 
burden. 

646
00:52:22,360 --> 00:52:25,960
You are not a burden to Him. 
He actually tells you to take 

647
00:52:25,960 --> 00:52:27,400
your burdens and give them to 
Him. 

648
00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:32,400
That's a different sermon. 
He wants to hear your voice and 

649
00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:34,080
oh, does He want you to hear 
His. 

650
00:52:35,240 --> 00:52:36,960
You can. 
We're going to talk about that. 

651
00:52:38,600 --> 00:52:40,600
This is where everything in 
Matthew 6 starts to click a 

652
00:52:40,600 --> 00:52:42,680
little bit. 
Jesus didn't give you a script 

653
00:52:42,680 --> 00:52:45,040
to recite. 
He gave you a rhythm to live in 

654
00:52:45,040 --> 00:52:47,400
and it needs to be daily. 
So when he said pray like this, 

655
00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:49,720
he's giving you a blueprint for 
a relationship. 

656
00:52:50,040 --> 00:52:52,680
And out of that relationship 
will come the best and most rich

657
00:52:52,680 --> 00:52:55,320
prayers you have ever prayed in 
your entire life. 

658
00:52:56,040 --> 00:52:58,000
So we're going to talk about how
to learn to hear from God. 

659
00:52:58,000 --> 00:53:00,080
But first we're going to learn 
how to talk with God. 

660
00:53:02,960 --> 00:53:05,560
Before we talk about learning to
talk with God, I'm not going to 

661
00:53:05,560 --> 00:53:07,240
do a fake prayer. 
Let's pray. 

662
00:53:08,920 --> 00:53:10,560
Just kidding. 
I just want to see who amongst 

663
00:53:10,560 --> 00:53:13,960
you put your heads down. 
It's another thing that we've 

664
00:53:13,960 --> 00:53:15,920
learned to do. 
Why do we do it? 

665
00:53:18,640 --> 00:53:20,840
Preference. 
Reverence. 

666
00:53:20,840 --> 00:53:23,320
Yeah, reverence for the Lord. 
Do you do that when you talk to 

667
00:53:23,320 --> 00:53:26,120
your boss? 
Hey, it's time for your yearly 

668
00:53:26,120 --> 00:53:28,040
review. 
Thank you for your time. 

669
00:53:30,560 --> 00:53:31,840
Maybe you need to. 
I don't know. 

670
00:53:32,040 --> 00:53:38,080
I don't know, maybe if you're 
the one that forgets your 

671
00:53:38,080 --> 00:53:40,880
anniversary and your spouse's 
happy anniversary, happy 

672
00:53:40,880 --> 00:53:44,040
anniversary to you as well. 
We say reverence. 

673
00:53:44,680 --> 00:53:46,120
Do you do when you walk into the
voting booth? 

674
00:53:46,240 --> 00:53:49,120
I hope not. 
It's a reference thing. 

675
00:53:50,120 --> 00:53:52,840
It falls back to like medieval 
times and the reverence of a 

676
00:53:52,840 --> 00:53:55,360
king here on earth. 
It's a reference thing. 

677
00:53:55,800 --> 00:53:57,240
But the Jewish people didn't 
pray that way. 

678
00:53:59,040 --> 00:54:01,080
They actually would have 
considered it irreverent, and 

679
00:54:01,600 --> 00:54:05,400
I'll tell you why. 
For them, they like to open 

680
00:54:05,400 --> 00:54:09,120
their eyes and look at God's 
creation while they address the 

681
00:54:09,120 --> 00:54:11,560
Creator. 
There's nothing wrong with 

682
00:54:11,560 --> 00:54:16,800
having your head bowed, but the 
moment that a lot of preachers 

683
00:54:16,800 --> 00:54:19,280
say let's pray, everybody does 
it like they're about to dive 

684
00:54:19,280 --> 00:54:21,720
into a pool, like they're 
synchronized swimmers or 

685
00:54:21,720 --> 00:54:24,560
something. 
And it doesn't make your prayers

686
00:54:24,560 --> 00:54:26,960
heard more. 
But we've learned to do it. 

687
00:54:27,440 --> 00:54:31,240
I remember learning my bedtime 
prayers and I put my hands 

688
00:54:31,240 --> 00:54:34,720
together like this and I take a 
knee at the bed and, you know, 

689
00:54:34,760 --> 00:54:37,320
then all the words run together.
It's not now I lay me. 

690
00:54:37,320 --> 00:54:42,840
It's now I lay me right. 
Pray the Lord my soul to keep. 

691
00:54:43,400 --> 00:54:45,080
Yeah, these are fun. 
These are fun things. 

692
00:54:45,080 --> 00:54:48,080
You know, if I should die before
I wake Mom, how possible is 

693
00:54:48,080 --> 00:54:52,040
this? 
There's nothing wrong with 

694
00:54:52,040 --> 00:54:54,520
closing your eyes and bowing 
your head if that makes you more

695
00:54:54,520 --> 00:54:56,360
comfortable in your relationship
with the Lord. 

696
00:54:57,160 --> 00:55:00,800
Personally, I do it sometimes, 
but I rarely do it unless I'm 

697
00:55:00,800 --> 00:55:03,360
listening to a speaker who says,
please close your eyes and bow 

698
00:55:03,360 --> 00:55:05,360
your head. 
And then I honor the authority 

699
00:55:05,360 --> 00:55:08,480
because I like the rules. 
But I want you to understand 

700
00:55:08,480 --> 00:55:10,640
that bowing your head is not 
Kingdom culture, it's church 

701
00:55:10,640 --> 00:55:12,680
culture. 
It's not necessarily bad, it's 

702
00:55:12,680 --> 00:55:13,840
just something that we've 
learned to do. 

703
00:55:13,840 --> 00:55:17,320
In the modern church Jewish 
tradition, the common prayer 

704
00:55:17,320 --> 00:55:20,400
position was always with your 
hands out and your eyes open 

705
00:55:20,400 --> 00:55:24,240
looking up that creation. 
This was their way of saying, 

706
00:55:24,240 --> 00:55:27,040
while I'm seeking God, I'm 
expecting God. 

707
00:55:27,920 --> 00:55:30,240
This is why you see things like 
this in Psalm 121. 

708
00:55:30,240 --> 00:55:32,120
It says I lift my eyes up to the
hills. 

709
00:55:32,120 --> 00:55:35,720
Where does my help come from? 
My help comes from the Lord. 

710
00:55:36,240 --> 00:55:40,040
What I'm afraid of is in 
America, I'm afraid that we 

711
00:55:40,040 --> 00:55:41,800
don't expect God to answer 
prayers. 

712
00:55:41,800 --> 00:55:44,200
We know that prayer is 
important, so we might as well 

713
00:55:44,200 --> 00:55:46,600
close our eyes and bow our head.
Plus, if we do that, we assume 

714
00:55:46,600 --> 00:55:48,880
everybody else is closing their 
eyes and bow in their head, and 

715
00:55:48,880 --> 00:55:50,480
then we don't have to worry 
about who's seeing us. 

716
00:55:50,480 --> 00:55:53,880
Pray. 
Oh man, we made it about us 

717
00:55:53,880 --> 00:55:58,560
again, didn't we? 
Prayer is about asking God and 

718
00:55:58,560 --> 00:56:01,360
expecting Him to show up. 
Think about that. 

719
00:56:01,360 --> 00:56:04,400
I lift my eyes into the hills. 
Where does my help come from? 

720
00:56:04,400 --> 00:56:06,600
It comes from my eyes closed and
I look at the carpet. 

721
00:56:07,720 --> 00:56:09,480
So I just want to encourage you 
there. 

722
00:56:10,400 --> 00:56:13,200
If there was one person in the 
Old Testament that really knew 

723
00:56:13,440 --> 00:56:17,280
how to speak to the Lord, I 
would actually go to Moses. 

724
00:56:18,000 --> 00:56:22,320
So go ahead and turn to Exodus. 
Exodus 33, if prayer is a 

725
00:56:22,320 --> 00:56:24,320
conversation with our Father, I 
want you to know that Moses 

726
00:56:24,320 --> 00:56:26,800
gives you a really clear picture
of what that can actually look 

727
00:56:26,800 --> 00:56:28,680
like. 
Most people, when they think of 

728
00:56:28,680 --> 00:56:32,600
Moses, what do you think of 
pardon the Red Sea and leading 

729
00:56:32,600 --> 00:56:34,680
them out of Egypt and all those 
really fun plagues? 

730
00:56:34,680 --> 00:56:36,240
We preached that about two years
ago. 

731
00:56:37,240 --> 00:56:39,480
He's the Red Sea guy, the 10 
Commandments guy. 

732
00:56:40,400 --> 00:56:43,120
But long before he stood before 
Pharaoh, Moses stood in front of

733
00:56:43,120 --> 00:56:47,040
God in honest conversation, and 
it carried his entire life. 

734
00:56:47,040 --> 00:56:50,760
And Exodus 33 is a very intimate
moment that we get in his life. 

735
00:56:52,000 --> 00:56:54,160
But to understand the weight of 
this, I want you to understand 

736
00:56:54,160 --> 00:56:57,440
that this part, this part that 
we're about to read, God has 

737
00:56:57,440 --> 00:57:00,800
already shattered Egypt's power.
He's already split the Red Sea. 

738
00:57:01,080 --> 00:57:03,520
He's already fed his people in 
the wilderness and LED them with

739
00:57:03,520 --> 00:57:05,240
a pillar of cloud and a pillar 
of fire. 

740
00:57:05,720 --> 00:57:09,000
And even with everything that 
God did, God's people still 

741
00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:10,440
didn't know how to relate to 
him. 

742
00:57:12,680 --> 00:57:14,960
So at Sinai, while Moses was on 
the mountain receiving the 

743
00:57:14,960 --> 00:57:18,280
commandments, Israel built what 
they built, the golden calf. 

744
00:57:18,600 --> 00:57:20,320
That's still a term that we use 
today. 

745
00:57:20,960 --> 00:57:23,400
And they started worshipping 
what their hands could control 

746
00:57:23,400 --> 00:57:25,720
instead of the God that was 
outside of their control. 

747
00:57:26,000 --> 00:57:29,000
So by the time you get to Exodus
33, Moses is leading a nation 

748
00:57:29,000 --> 00:57:30,640
that doesn't know how to talk to
God yet. 

749
00:57:31,040 --> 00:57:32,960
Isn't it tragic when you think 
about it like that? 

750
00:57:33,280 --> 00:57:36,440
They had seen his power, they 
had received his deliverance, 

751
00:57:36,680 --> 00:57:37,840
but they had not learned his 
heart. 

752
00:57:39,560 --> 00:57:42,680
They'd seen his rescue, but they
couldn't understand what it was 

753
00:57:42,680 --> 00:57:45,280
to be in his presence. 
And so Moses was the one person 

754
00:57:45,280 --> 00:57:47,960
that kept going back to God over
and over again simply to talk 

755
00:57:47,960 --> 00:57:50,480
with Him. 
I wish that I knew some of what 

756
00:57:50,480 --> 00:57:52,720
they talked about. 
That'd be pretty cool. 

757
00:57:53,240 --> 00:57:55,240
Every time I think about things 
like this, I always think I'm 

758
00:57:55,240 --> 00:57:57,240
going to ask him about that one 
day when I step into glory. 

759
00:57:57,240 --> 00:58:00,600
But I probably won't, probably 
won't care by the time I get 

760
00:58:00,600 --> 00:58:03,760
there. 
This is why Exodus says that 

761
00:58:03,760 --> 00:58:06,840
Moses would pitch the tent of 
meeting outside the camp. 

762
00:58:06,840 --> 00:58:08,520
He would set aside a place to 
talk with God. 

763
00:58:08,520 --> 00:58:10,480
It wasn't in the middle of town.
It wasn't in the middle of 

764
00:58:10,480 --> 00:58:12,840
everybody. 
It was literally on the outside.

765
00:58:13,200 --> 00:58:15,480
And he would go there as a 
rhythm of life, not just for 

766
00:58:15,480 --> 00:58:19,000
emergencies. 
Oh no, somebody's approaching 

767
00:58:19,000 --> 00:58:20,200
us. 
Let me run to the tent of 

768
00:58:20,200 --> 00:58:23,360
emergencies. 
No, it was the tent of meeting. 

769
00:58:24,120 --> 00:58:26,400
And so he would meet with him, 
and that's where he would get 

770
00:58:26,400 --> 00:58:28,000
clarity. 
He would get courage. 

771
00:58:28,000 --> 00:58:30,320
This is where he would speak to 
God and God would actually speak

772
00:58:30,320 --> 00:58:33,680
back to him. 
And then Scripture gives us one 

773
00:58:33,680 --> 00:58:36,480
of the most curious descriptions
of of this prayer that you can 

774
00:58:36,480 --> 00:58:38,360
see in the entire Bible. 
This is what it says. 

775
00:58:38,640 --> 00:58:41,680
The Lord would speak to Moses 
face to face as one speaks to a 

776
00:58:41,680 --> 00:58:45,040
friend. 
So when we read that in a 

777
00:58:45,040 --> 00:58:47,840
moment, I want you to know that 
is not one of those comparisons.

778
00:58:47,840 --> 00:58:51,560
It's not a metaphor or a simile.
It is not theological poetry. 

779
00:58:51,560 --> 00:58:53,520
It's a historical reality that 
happened. 

780
00:58:55,200 --> 00:58:57,760
So in Exodus 33, look at verse 
7. 

781
00:58:59,560 --> 00:59:02,440
It was Moses's practice to take 
the tent of meeting and set it 

782
00:59:02,440 --> 00:59:05,560
up some distance from the camp. 
Everyone who wanted to make a 

783
00:59:05,560 --> 00:59:08,120
request of the Lord would go to 
the tent of meeting outside the 

784
00:59:08,120 --> 00:59:11,320
camp. 
Whenever Moses went in went out 

785
00:59:11,320 --> 00:59:13,880
to the tent of meeting, all the 
people would get up and stand in

786
00:59:13,880 --> 00:59:16,240
the entrances of their own 
tents. 

787
00:59:17,160 --> 00:59:20,000
They would all watch Moses until
he disappeared inside. 

788
00:59:20,360 --> 00:59:22,920
And as he went into the tent, 
the pillar of cloud would come 

789
00:59:22,920 --> 00:59:26,080
down and hover at its entrance 
while the Lord spoke with Moses.

790
00:59:27,600 --> 00:59:29,960
When the people saw the clouds 
standing at the entrance of the 

791
00:59:29,960 --> 00:59:32,840
tent, they would stand and bow 
down in front of their own 

792
00:59:32,840 --> 00:59:35,760
tents. 
Inside the tent of meeting, the 

793
00:59:35,760 --> 00:59:39,240
Lord would speak to Moses face 
to face as one speaks to a 

794
00:59:39,240 --> 00:59:43,200
friend. 
Afterward, Moses would return to

795
00:59:43,200 --> 00:59:46,480
the camp, but the young man who 
assisted him, Joshua, son of 

796
00:59:46,480 --> 00:59:48,800
Nun, would remain behind in the 
tent of meeting. 

797
00:59:49,840 --> 00:59:52,720
To me, that one sentence changes
everything, that he would speak 

798
00:59:52,720 --> 00:59:55,280
to him face to face as one 
speaks to a friend. 

799
00:59:57,520 --> 00:59:59,840
There's no indication that God 
was only willing to do that with

800
00:59:59,840 --> 01:00:01,600
Moses. 
What about you? 

801
01:00:03,080 --> 01:00:05,240
Can God do that with you if He 
so desires? 

802
01:00:06,240 --> 01:00:09,160
I would say that He can, and 
this is the heart of prayer. 

803
01:00:09,440 --> 01:00:11,920
Not reciting the things that 
you've memorized, not hoping 

804
01:00:11,920 --> 01:00:15,320
that you've prayed good enough 
or well enough to please Him. 

805
01:00:16,960 --> 01:00:18,760
Talking to him like somebody you
love. 

806
01:00:19,800 --> 01:00:22,080
Talking to him like someone you 
can be honest with. 

807
01:00:23,000 --> 01:00:25,320
Talking to him like somebody you
can be real with. 

808
01:00:26,600 --> 01:00:29,280
This is important because a lot 
of people really believe today 

809
01:00:29,280 --> 01:00:31,240
that their prayer only counts if
they say it right. 

810
01:00:33,560 --> 01:00:35,920
But throughout Scripture you see
that Moses talked to God with 

811
01:00:36,000 --> 01:00:37,840
honesty. 
He said things like this like, 

812
01:00:37,840 --> 01:00:40,520
Lord, if you keep telling me to 
lead these people, but you 

813
01:00:40,520 --> 01:00:41,920
haven't told me, who will go 
with me? 

814
01:00:43,000 --> 01:00:46,760
Sounds a little whiny. 
If I found favor in your sight, 

815
01:00:46,760 --> 01:00:49,600
show me your ways. 
If your presence doesn't go with

816
01:00:49,600 --> 01:00:51,200
us, don't make us leave this 
place. 

817
01:00:52,240 --> 01:00:54,240
It's desperate and personal and 
emotional. 

818
01:00:54,720 --> 01:00:56,440
And Moses didn't hide his 
confusion. 

819
01:00:56,440 --> 01:00:58,800
He didn't fake his confidence. 
He didn't say, well, I'm leading

820
01:00:58,800 --> 01:01:01,120
all these people, these people, 
so they better know that I know 

821
01:01:01,120 --> 01:01:04,360
what's going on in front of 
these people. 

822
01:01:04,360 --> 01:01:06,600
He would say, Lord, if you're 
not going with us, please don't 

823
01:01:06,600 --> 01:01:10,280
make us leave. 
Can you imagine how people must 

824
01:01:10,280 --> 01:01:11,720
be there? 
Well, you don't know if he's 

825
01:01:11,720 --> 01:01:14,320
going with us. 
I'm sure he will, but I'm 

826
01:01:14,320 --> 01:01:17,680
talking to him right now. 
He was honest about where he 

827
01:01:17,680 --> 01:01:19,840
was. 
Think about the way that you 

828
01:01:19,840 --> 01:01:23,160
talk to someone that you trust a
whole lot, somebody who knows 

829
01:01:23,160 --> 01:01:25,880
the deepest, darkest parts of 
you and they still love you. 

830
01:01:25,880 --> 01:01:28,800
Think about these people. 
You don't rehearse your 

831
01:01:28,800 --> 01:01:30,560
sentences with them. 
You don't worry about how it 

832
01:01:30,560 --> 01:01:33,360
sounds. 
And I would ask you this, Do 

833
01:01:33,360 --> 01:01:36,440
your prayers with the Lord sound
similar to those conversations 

834
01:01:36,440 --> 01:01:39,640
that you have with that person? 
That's what we're shooting for 

835
01:01:39,640 --> 01:01:43,720
today. 
I want you to talk to the Father

836
01:01:43,720 --> 01:01:46,520
who calls you his own the same 
way that Moses talked to God, 

837
01:01:46,520 --> 01:01:47,920
the way a friend talks to a 
friend. 

838
01:01:48,840 --> 01:01:50,360
Most people know who CS Lewis 
is. 

839
01:01:50,560 --> 01:01:52,320
He's the author of Chronicles of
Narnia. 

840
01:01:52,680 --> 01:01:55,720
And truthfully, a lot of even 
greater things that he wrote 

841
01:01:56,000 --> 01:01:58,680
than that. 
But not a lot of people know the

842
01:01:58,680 --> 01:02:00,920
name Joy Davidman. 
That's the woman he would 

843
01:02:00,920 --> 01:02:03,440
eventually marry. 
But she was somebody who 

844
01:02:03,440 --> 01:02:05,800
initiated conversation with him 
and they had like nothing in 

845
01:02:05,800 --> 01:02:07,960
common. 
Personality wise, she's very 

846
01:02:07,960 --> 01:02:09,960
bold and brash. 
He was very thoughtful and 

847
01:02:09,960 --> 01:02:13,280
methodical and calm. 
He lived in Britain, she lived 

848
01:02:13,280 --> 01:02:15,240
in America. 
She would send letters asking 

849
01:02:15,240 --> 01:02:18,680
theological questions and he 
wrote her back and over time 

850
01:02:18,680 --> 01:02:21,480
they developed a friendship and 
a relationship and then out of 

851
01:02:21,480 --> 01:02:23,640
that sparked an actual romantic 
relationship. 

852
01:02:23,880 --> 01:02:26,840
Neither one of them were looking
for any sort of romance or any 

853
01:02:26,840 --> 01:02:30,520
sort of marriage or things like 
that, but over time they 

854
01:02:30,520 --> 01:02:34,000
developed into what became a 
very intimate relationship. 

855
01:02:34,000 --> 01:02:37,800
Now, I'm not telling you that 
writing a letter is going to get

856
01:02:37,800 --> 01:02:40,440
you married, guys and girls or 
whatever, but what I'm telling 

857
01:02:40,440 --> 01:02:46,320
you is time plus attentiveness 
equals a relationship. 

858
01:02:48,120 --> 01:02:50,960
If she had gone to him saying, 
hey, you probably have money 

859
01:02:50,960 --> 01:02:52,520
because you've written these 
books, you're an eligible 

860
01:02:52,520 --> 01:02:53,960
bachelor, what do you think 
about us? 

861
01:02:56,040 --> 01:02:59,360
What would he have thought? 
She's not in this for me. 

862
01:02:59,360 --> 01:03:00,960
She's in it for what she can 
get. 

863
01:03:02,680 --> 01:03:06,920
Let's think about what we pray 
about and if God wonders if 

864
01:03:06,920 --> 01:03:09,840
we're in it for us and what we 
can get or if we're in it for 

865
01:03:09,840 --> 01:03:12,680
Him. 
All of your best relationships 

866
01:03:12,680 --> 01:03:14,520
that you have, whether it's a 
marriage, whether it's a 

867
01:03:14,520 --> 01:03:17,920
friendship, whether it's a work 
relationship, whatever it is, 

868
01:03:17,960 --> 01:03:20,680
all of them have developed 
because you have invested your 

869
01:03:20,680 --> 01:03:23,320
time and your relationship 
together. 

870
01:03:24,640 --> 01:03:27,240
This is why prayer can feel 
differently for every believer. 

871
01:03:28,360 --> 01:03:30,760
I do want to say this because I 
did that fake prayer at the 

872
01:03:30,760 --> 01:03:33,240
beginning. 
If you pray loudly and boldly 

873
01:03:33,240 --> 01:03:35,640
like that and it's genuine, go 
for it. 

874
01:03:36,360 --> 01:03:40,440
I do love prayers like that when
they're genuine and it's really 

875
01:03:40,440 --> 01:03:42,880
not my job to judge if they're 
genuine or not. 

876
01:03:44,120 --> 01:03:46,200
But I can also tell if 
somebody's been in the presence 

877
01:03:46,200 --> 01:03:48,320
of the Lord and if they have a 
genuine relationship. 

878
01:03:48,640 --> 01:03:51,600
If that's your personality, pray
as big and bold and loud as you 

879
01:03:51,600 --> 01:03:54,160
love it in the in the right 
place. 

880
01:03:55,800 --> 01:03:57,960
But some of us, that's just not 
how we talk. 

881
01:03:57,960 --> 01:04:00,280
Some of us are big personalities
when we walk into the room. 

882
01:04:00,280 --> 01:04:02,440
Some of us we kind of whisper 
our conversations. 

883
01:04:02,640 --> 01:04:05,520
Some of us when we have 
something real to say, we prefer

884
01:04:05,520 --> 01:04:07,920
to write it down or journal it. 
Anybody who prefers to write out

885
01:04:07,920 --> 01:04:10,080
something important they need to
talk about before they do it, 

886
01:04:10,440 --> 01:04:13,640
Journal your prayers. 
Then whatever it looks like to 

887
01:04:13,640 --> 01:04:15,680
you is OK as long as it's 
genuine. 

888
01:04:15,960 --> 01:04:18,280
The first time that I preached 
on prayer after Pastor Tom 

889
01:04:18,280 --> 01:04:21,560
retired, I had somebody ask me, 
so how long do you think is long

890
01:04:21,560 --> 01:04:26,600
enough to pray? 
And I said, how long can it be 

891
01:04:26,600 --> 01:04:29,160
genuine? 
Because to be honest with you, I

892
01:04:29,160 --> 01:04:31,800
think God is honored a lot more 
by three minutes of a genuine 

893
01:04:31,800 --> 01:04:35,920
heartfelt prayer than by a one 
hour set aside time period where

894
01:04:35,920 --> 01:04:38,080
your mind keeps wandering 
wondering how many times you had

895
01:04:38,080 --> 01:04:42,920
Taco Bell this week or whatever.
You might want to take that to 

896
01:04:42,920 --> 01:04:47,520
the Lord. 
So I just, I just, I do want to 

897
01:04:47,520 --> 01:04:48,960
say this. 
If you have ever said that 

898
01:04:48,960 --> 01:04:50,800
you've spoken to God and not 
heard from him. 

899
01:04:51,520 --> 01:04:54,680
If you've ever decided that 
prayer doesn't work of before, 

900
01:04:55,560 --> 01:04:58,160
and I've done it too. 
I've gone to him when I've been 

901
01:04:58,160 --> 01:04:59,920
in a crisis. 
I've ignored him in my 

902
01:04:59,920 --> 01:05:02,600
mountaintop moments and I've 
gone to him in a crisis and 

903
01:05:02,600 --> 01:05:04,000
said, God, I need an answer 
right now. 

904
01:05:04,200 --> 01:05:06,160
And you know what? 
Almost always I feel like I do 

905
01:05:06,160 --> 01:05:07,120
get an answer. 
He is. 

906
01:05:07,480 --> 01:05:11,760
Aren't you glad he's not petty? 
Oh, now you want to talk to me? 

907
01:05:14,880 --> 01:05:16,360
Sometimes we're afraid to go to 
him. 

908
01:05:16,360 --> 01:05:17,760
He already knows the things 
we've done. 

909
01:05:17,920 --> 01:05:19,240
He. 
Doesn't just know the things 

910
01:05:19,240 --> 01:05:21,760
you've done, he knows the things
you've thought about doing. 

911
01:05:22,520 --> 01:05:24,600
If he wanted to thump you with 
the sky finger, he would have 

912
01:05:24,600 --> 01:05:28,080
done it already. 
How kind that He has given you 

913
01:05:28,080 --> 01:05:29,760
time to repent. 
And return to him. 

914
01:05:31,600 --> 01:05:34,680
Now I want. 
You to know this when you talk 

915
01:05:34,680 --> 01:05:36,360
to. 
God, this is going to sound 

916
01:05:36,360 --> 01:05:38,760
basic, but hear me, God is 
listening. 

917
01:05:40,800 --> 01:05:43,400
I want you to picture that God. 
Is leaning into your 

918
01:05:43,400 --> 01:05:45,400
conversation. 
If you've ever been in a 

919
01:05:45,400 --> 01:05:48,200
conversation with somebody and 
you can't hear them well and so 

920
01:05:48,200 --> 01:05:50,120
you what? 
You literally lean and say that 

921
01:05:50,120 --> 01:05:51,480
again. 
Sometimes we'll turn our ear 

922
01:05:51,480 --> 01:05:53,160
closer to them so we can hear it
better. 

923
01:05:53,720 --> 01:05:56,840
He wants to hear you. 
He doesn't have trouble hearing.

924
01:05:56,840 --> 01:05:59,480
So the leaning in is purely 
relational. 

925
01:05:59,480 --> 01:06:02,680
But he loves you. 
Of course he wants to hear about

926
01:06:02,680 --> 01:06:04,600
you. 
Of course he wants to hear your 

927
01:06:04,600 --> 01:06:08,480
thoughts, but we don't go to him
to get from. 

928
01:06:08,480 --> 01:06:10,880
Him but when we. 
Consistently go to him. 

929
01:06:10,880 --> 01:06:12,760
I want you to know you'll always
get from him. 

930
01:06:14,480 --> 01:06:16,560
God is always listening. 
The Lord's Prayer is really. 

931
01:06:16,560 --> 01:06:20,680
Not the Lord's Prayer is. 
It it's our prayer, it's our 

932
01:06:20,680 --> 01:06:23,360
pattern. 
And so I don't know, I just want

933
01:06:23,400 --> 01:06:25,160
to give you some real steps that
you can actually put into 

934
01:06:25,160 --> 01:06:27,000
practice. 
I think it'll help you. 

935
01:06:27,000 --> 01:06:30,000
And so the first thing is start 
with what's actually happening 

936
01:06:30,000 --> 01:06:31,800
in you, not what you think God 
wants to hear. 

937
01:06:32,480 --> 01:06:35,040
Many of us, even if we want to 
do that, Oh, look, there's a 

938
01:06:35,040 --> 01:06:38,840
typo. 
Many of us when we go to the 

939
01:06:38,840 --> 01:06:40,920
Lord, we start with what we. 
Think he wants to? 

940
01:06:40,920 --> 01:06:44,480
Hear I literally worked for 
somebody not at this church so 

941
01:06:44,480 --> 01:06:47,720
don't be like I think it was 
Pastor Tom it wasn't I worked 

942
01:06:47,720 --> 01:06:50,440
for somebody one time that would
often start his prayers. 

943
01:06:50,760 --> 01:06:56,800
Oh God, who has the cattle on 
1000 hills and I understand the 

944
01:06:56,800 --> 01:06:58,080
biblical. 
Reference there but. 

945
01:06:59,560 --> 01:07:01,320
It's just a weird thing he 
didn't have. 

946
01:07:01,320 --> 01:07:03,520
Cows this guy. 
That I worked for. 

947
01:07:03,920 --> 01:07:06,760
But he always addressed the God 
who had the cattle on 1000 

948
01:07:06,760 --> 01:07:08,480
Hills. 
You don't have to open it the 

949
01:07:08,480 --> 01:07:09,960
way that you think you're 
supposed to. 

950
01:07:11,320 --> 01:07:13,600
Hey, God, I'm in a crisis. 
Hey, Father. 

951
01:07:13,600 --> 01:07:16,280
Hey, Dad. 
I'm lonely today. 

952
01:07:16,960 --> 01:07:21,200
Hey God, I'm confused today. 
Talk about what is actually 

953
01:07:21,200 --> 01:07:23,120
happening in. 
You not what you think God. 

954
01:07:23,120 --> 01:07:24,920
Wants to hear. 
The second thing I would tell 

955
01:07:24,920 --> 01:07:26,480
you is say the quiet part out 
loud. 

956
01:07:26,720 --> 01:07:28,640
Maybe you're like, well, you 
just said I could journal it or 

957
01:07:28,640 --> 01:07:30,160
I could do it in my head. 
Yeah, I did. 

958
01:07:30,560 --> 01:07:33,160
But if you're bold enough, at 
some point I would say it out 

959
01:07:33,160 --> 01:07:36,000
loud. 
The Bible says faith comes by 

960
01:07:36,720 --> 01:07:40,040
hearing comes by hearing. 
I would advise you to have parts

961
01:07:40,040 --> 01:07:43,160
of your prayers out loud. 
And maybe you say, well, I I 

962
01:07:43,160 --> 01:07:45,200
don't, I don't want the people 
in my house or the people in my 

963
01:07:45,200 --> 01:07:46,640
office to hear me. 
Take a walk. 

964
01:07:47,760 --> 01:07:49,440
Just go out to the front porch 
for a minute. 

965
01:07:50,440 --> 01:07:52,560
I don't go into the bathroom and
close the door. 

966
01:07:53,400 --> 01:07:56,360
Go get a loan and say the quiet 
part out loud. 

967
01:07:56,840 --> 01:07:58,480
God, I'm scared. 
I don't know how I'm going to 

968
01:07:58,480 --> 01:08:00,080
fix this. 
I don't know what my kids are 

969
01:08:00,080 --> 01:08:01,680
going to choose. 
I don't know what's going to 

970
01:08:01,680 --> 01:08:07,200
happen next, but I know you. 
But most importantly, if you 

971
01:08:07,200 --> 01:08:08,400
really. 
Want to learn the right way to 

972
01:08:08,400 --> 01:08:12,160
talk to? 
God ask for correction and not 

973
01:08:12,160 --> 01:08:14,880
just comfort. 
Many of us will say that if God 

974
01:08:14,880 --> 01:08:16,439
gives me correction, I'll listen
to it. 

975
01:08:17,640 --> 01:08:23,240
That's negotiable. 
But ask for it, You say, why 

976
01:08:23,240 --> 01:08:26,520
would I ask for it? 
Because it will make you better.

977
01:08:27,640 --> 01:08:30,520
This pattern that he gave us, 
the Lord's Prayer, our prayer, 

978
01:08:30,520 --> 01:08:34,160
what does it say? 
Father, forgive us as we forgive

979
01:08:34,160 --> 01:08:39,680
those who sin against us, if the
only type of correction you ask 

980
01:08:39,680 --> 01:08:42,040
for in a prayer is correcting 
other people. 

981
01:08:45,279 --> 01:08:46,960
They're probably praying about 
you too, by the way. 

982
01:08:48,160 --> 01:08:51,000
You might. 
As well ask them, God, I think 

983
01:08:51,000 --> 01:08:53,160
this might be off in me. 
God, do you see something that 

984
01:08:53,160 --> 01:08:54,560
you don't like? 
Would you just show me? 

985
01:08:54,760 --> 01:08:57,439
I want to be more like you. 
I promise you, on the other side

986
01:08:57,439 --> 01:09:00,479
of that correction, you'll be so
much more at peace. 

987
01:09:02,120 --> 01:09:03,800
Hear me when I say this a 
dishonest. 

988
01:09:03,800 --> 01:09:06,880
Prayer only asks God. 
To fix the circumstances. 

989
01:09:07,319 --> 01:09:09,840
But an honest prayer will always
ask God to shape their 

990
01:09:09,840 --> 01:09:13,960
character. 
So talking to him, really. 

991
01:09:13,960 --> 01:09:16,520
Is just about being honest and. 
Forthright and if you don't 

992
01:09:16,520 --> 01:09:18,840
believe me, just take a stroll 
through the Psalms. 

993
01:09:18,840 --> 01:09:21,800
Let's read through some of the 
stuff that David prayed to the 

994
01:09:21,800 --> 01:09:24,760
Lord before he has prayed. 
Things that I would look at and 

995
01:09:24,760 --> 01:09:27,279
actually disciple somebody. 
Do not pray that prayer. 

996
01:09:28,040 --> 01:09:29,640
It was honest, it was in his 
heart. 

997
01:09:30,120 --> 01:09:32,479
You do not have to ask God to 
shatter the teeth of your 

998
01:09:32,479 --> 01:09:38,920
enemies or anything like that. 
OK, let's talk about how to hear

999
01:09:38,920 --> 01:09:42,279
from the Lord because if 
learning to talk with God is the

1000
01:09:42,279 --> 01:09:43,840
first half of. 
Prayer, then learning to hear 

1001
01:09:43,840 --> 01:09:44,960
from him. 
Is the other half. 

1002
01:09:46,760 --> 01:09:48,319
You can go to First Samuel 3. 
It's one. 

1003
01:09:48,319 --> 01:09:50,040
Of my favorite things, I to be 
honest, you don't. 

1004
01:09:50,040 --> 01:09:52,520
Even know a better way to teach 
hearing from the Lord than first

1005
01:09:52,520 --> 01:09:57,520
Samuel chapter 3 we're going to 
talk about Samuel before we get 

1006
01:09:57,520 --> 01:09:59,200
there let me just. 
Kind of set the backdrop for. 

1007
01:09:59,200 --> 01:10:01,680
You Samuel was not a prophet 
yet. 

1008
01:10:01,680 --> 01:10:05,200
He was not a spiritual giant. 
He was not trained to hear the 

1009
01:10:05,200 --> 01:10:07,760
voice of God. 
He was simply a boy that grew up

1010
01:10:07,760 --> 01:10:11,560
around holy things and he served
faithfully and he was learning 

1011
01:10:11,560 --> 01:10:14,400
how to be near God before he 
even knew how to recognize God. 

1012
01:10:14,880 --> 01:10:16,960
That's important and probably 
somebody needs to hear that 

1013
01:10:16,960 --> 01:10:18,360
today. 
Sometimes you have to learn to 

1014
01:10:18,360 --> 01:10:20,520
be near God before you learn to 
hear from Him. 

1015
01:10:21,040 --> 01:10:23,440
Just getting His presence. 
A lot of times we want to hear 

1016
01:10:23,440 --> 01:10:24,800
him, but we're not even close to
him. 

1017
01:10:26,440 --> 01:10:28,440
The starting point for every 
believer who wants to hear His 

1018
01:10:28,440 --> 01:10:31,560
voice is to get close to him. 
And I want you to know this 

1019
01:10:31,560 --> 01:10:33,520
before we read the scripture and
we go further. 

1020
01:10:33,880 --> 01:10:36,400
God is far more committed to 
speaking than we are to 

1021
01:10:36,400 --> 01:10:39,360
listening. 
We have very small attention 

1022
01:10:39,360 --> 01:10:41,760
spans. 
At one point I worked for 

1023
01:10:42,520 --> 01:10:44,120
Starbucks. 
It was like a licensed one 

1024
01:10:44,120 --> 01:10:47,080
inside of a Target. 
And on the day one of training, 

1025
01:10:47,200 --> 01:10:49,520
they said, OK, I want everybody 
to be quiet for a second. 

1026
01:10:49,520 --> 01:10:53,480
And we said OK. 
And we sat there and sat there 

1027
01:10:54,080 --> 01:10:59,920
and sat there and they said, how
long were you quiet or like 10 

1028
01:10:59,920 --> 01:11:02,880
minutes like something like that
had been. 3 minutes. 

1029
01:11:04,320 --> 01:11:06,120
They had a training technique to
say that the. 

1030
01:11:06,120 --> 01:11:08,520
Baristas are supposed to engage.
You in a friendly manner the 

1031
01:11:08,520 --> 01:11:10,840
entire time that you're at the 
counter waiting for your drink. 

1032
01:11:10,840 --> 01:11:14,520
Now, whether or not that happens
where you go, but that's the 

1033
01:11:14,520 --> 01:11:16,240
idea. 
Because when it's silent, they 

1034
01:11:16,240 --> 01:11:18,200
don't want you to feel like 
you've been ignored and that 

1035
01:11:18,200 --> 01:11:22,160
more time has passed than has. 
We hate silence. 

1036
01:11:23,120 --> 01:11:25,520
Whenever I train. 
People on how to preach or 

1037
01:11:25,520 --> 01:11:27,880
deliver a message. 
One of the things we always have

1038
01:11:27,880 --> 01:11:30,760
to combat without fail is don't 
be afraid of silence. 

1039
01:11:30,760 --> 01:11:34,680
But I'm going to tell you what 2
seconds of silence up here often

1040
01:11:34,680 --> 01:11:37,880
feels like maybe 15 seconds of 
silence in a conversation at a 

1041
01:11:37,880 --> 01:11:41,040
table, at least to us. 
But sometimes you need silence 

1042
01:11:41,040 --> 01:11:43,520
so that you can take in what was
just discussed. 

1043
01:11:44,200 --> 01:11:46,960
I happen to talk fast. 
Sorry, I'm working on it. 

1044
01:11:47,280 --> 01:11:49,320
But have I ever told you 
something? 

1045
01:11:49,320 --> 01:11:50,560
You're like, oh, I need to write
that down. 

1046
01:11:50,560 --> 01:11:52,520
And then I kept going and you're
like, ah, slow down. 

1047
01:11:53,760 --> 01:11:55,760
See what I'm saying? 
I know this, I already know it. 

1048
01:11:56,840 --> 01:12:00,120
But what I'm telling you is 
silence really is important 

1049
01:12:01,160 --> 01:12:04,320
because God is speaking and he's
committed to you receiving his 

1050
01:12:04,320 --> 01:12:06,360
words. 
We need to be equally committed 

1051
01:12:06,360 --> 01:12:10,080
to receiving them in this in 
this moment. 

1052
01:12:10,120 --> 01:12:13,560
I want you to understand we're 
about to read part of the story.

1053
01:12:13,560 --> 01:12:16,200
And it says, in those days, the 
word of the Lord was rare and 

1054
01:12:16,200 --> 01:12:19,120
visions were uncommon. 
This is not because God had gone

1055
01:12:19,120 --> 01:12:21,760
quiet, it's because his people 
had grown dull. 

1056
01:12:22,800 --> 01:12:25,680
Their spiritual leadership had 
become corrupt, and their 

1057
01:12:25,680 --> 01:12:28,960
worship had become mechanical, 
and the culture around them 

1058
01:12:28,960 --> 01:12:32,200
normalized a faith without any 
sort of actual expectation of 

1059
01:12:32,200 --> 01:12:34,960
God. 
So God was not silent as much as

1060
01:12:34,960 --> 01:12:38,000
people were not listening. 
But it was a problem from the 

1061
01:12:38,000 --> 01:12:42,000
top down, because Eli was the 
top priest then, and he had two 

1062
01:12:42,000 --> 01:12:44,800
sons named Hofni and Phineas, 
and they were corrupt. 

1063
01:12:44,840 --> 01:12:47,600
They were using their priestly 
or pastoral authority for 

1064
01:12:47,600 --> 01:12:51,360
personal gain, and they stole 
portions of the sacrifices meant

1065
01:12:51,360 --> 01:12:53,560
for the Lord. 
They intimidated people who came

1066
01:12:53,560 --> 01:12:55,960
to worship. 
They slept with women who served

1067
01:12:55,960 --> 01:12:57,560
at the entrance of the 
Tabernacle. 

1068
01:12:58,040 --> 01:13:00,440
By the way, these are all still 
problems with some religious 

1069
01:13:00,440 --> 01:13:04,120
people today. 
In other words, the people who 

1070
01:13:04,120 --> 01:13:05,720
were supposed. 
To model holiness were. 

1071
01:13:05,720 --> 01:13:09,120
Modeling rebellion, it's no 
wonder that people were distant 

1072
01:13:09,120 --> 01:13:11,520
from God. 
And Eli wasn't innocent either 

1073
01:13:11,520 --> 01:13:13,920
because even though he didn't do
the same things that his sons 

1074
01:13:13,920 --> 01:13:16,960
did, he did not remove his 
children from those positions. 

1075
01:13:16,960 --> 01:13:19,080
He allowed it to happen. 
He'd go to them, say, ah, you 

1076
01:13:19,080 --> 01:13:20,920
know, you shouldn't do that. 
Please don't do that again. 

1077
01:13:21,880 --> 01:13:25,560
But he allowed it to happen. 
And both are wicked decisions. 

1078
01:13:26,160 --> 01:13:29,280
So now you've got Samuel, who's 
grown up here learning. 

1079
01:13:29,680 --> 01:13:32,160
And this is what we're going to 
find in First Samuel chapter 3. 

1080
01:13:33,760 --> 01:13:35,640
The boy Samuel served the Lord 
by assisting. 

1081
01:13:35,640 --> 01:13:37,880
Eli and in those. 
Days messages from the Lord were

1082
01:13:37,880 --> 01:13:40,000
very rare and visions were quite
uncommon. 

1083
01:13:40,480 --> 01:13:43,800
One night Eli, who was almost 
blind by now, had gone to bed. 

1084
01:13:44,760 --> 01:13:48,280
The lamp of God had not yet gone
out, and Samuel was sleeping in 

1085
01:13:48,280 --> 01:13:50,600
the Tabernacle near the ark of 
God. 

1086
01:13:51,760 --> 01:13:54,040
Is he in his bedroom? 
He learned how. 

1087
01:13:54,040 --> 01:13:56,040
To be close to God before. 
He learned to hear from him. 

1088
01:13:56,600 --> 01:13:58,600
Suddenly the Lord called out 
Samuel. 

1089
01:13:59,280 --> 01:14:01,080
Yes, Samuel replied. 
What is it? 

1090
01:14:01,360 --> 01:14:03,280
And he got up and ran to Eli. 
Here I am. 

1091
01:14:03,520 --> 01:14:07,480
Did you call me? 
I didn't call you, Eli replied. 

1092
01:14:07,480 --> 01:14:11,200
Go back to bed. 
I like to think that's edited. 

1093
01:14:11,200 --> 01:14:12,520
I like to think he. 
Was a little grumpier. 

1094
01:14:12,520 --> 01:14:15,040
That's just me. 
But then the Lord called out 

1095
01:14:15,040 --> 01:14:18,680
again Samuel, and again Samuel 
got up and went to Eli. 

1096
01:14:18,720 --> 01:14:20,120
Here I am. 
Did you call me? 

1097
01:14:20,800 --> 01:14:24,680
I didn't call you my son. 
Go back to bed. 

1098
01:14:25,480 --> 01:14:28,440
Samuel did not yet know. 
The Lord, because he had never 

1099
01:14:28,440 --> 01:14:30,160
had a message from the Lord 
before. 

1100
01:14:30,840 --> 01:14:33,760
So the Lord called a third time,
and once more Samuel got up and 

1101
01:14:33,760 --> 01:14:35,720
went to Eli. 
Here I am. 

1102
01:14:36,480 --> 01:14:39,800
Did you call me? 
Many people learn to hear from 

1103
01:14:39,800 --> 01:14:42,480
the Lord, from somebody who 
teaches them, but at some point 

1104
01:14:42,480 --> 01:14:44,360
you have to graduate to hearing 
for yourself. 

1105
01:14:45,520 --> 01:14:47,600
And so it says. 
Eli realized it was the. 

1106
01:14:47,600 --> 01:14:49,000
Lord, who was calling the. 
Boy. 

1107
01:14:49,320 --> 01:14:52,200
And he said to Samuel, Go and 
lie down again. 

1108
01:14:52,840 --> 01:14:56,120
If someone calls again, say 
speak Lord, your servant is 

1109
01:14:56,120 --> 01:15:00,200
listening. 
So Samuel went back to bed, and 

1110
01:15:00,200 --> 01:15:02,360
the Lord came and called as 
before. 

1111
01:15:02,360 --> 01:15:05,440
Samuel. 
Samuel and Samuel replied, 

1112
01:15:05,440 --> 01:15:07,160
Speak, your servant is 
listening. 

1113
01:15:07,760 --> 01:15:10,720
And then the Lord said to 
Samuel, I'm about to do a 

1114
01:15:10,720 --> 01:15:14,800
shocking thing in Israel. 
I'm going to carry out all my 

1115
01:15:14,800 --> 01:15:16,480
threats against. 
Eli and his family from 

1116
01:15:16,480 --> 01:15:17,280
beginning to. 
End. 

1117
01:15:17,440 --> 01:15:19,560
I've warned him that judgement 
is coming upon his family 

1118
01:15:19,560 --> 01:15:23,200
forever because his sons are 
blaspheming God and he hasn't 

1119
01:15:23,200 --> 01:15:25,920
disciplined them. 
So I have vowed that the sins of

1120
01:15:25,920 --> 01:15:28,880
Eli and his sons will never be 
forgiven by sacrifices or 

1121
01:15:28,880 --> 01:15:32,480
offerings. 
Samuel is lying in the 

1122
01:15:32,480 --> 01:15:36,400
Tabernacle near the ark, close 
to God's presence, and when he 

1123
01:15:36,400 --> 01:15:38,560
hears his name, he goes to the 
first place that he's heard 

1124
01:15:38,560 --> 01:15:42,960
about God. 
Natural we all do this, but this

1125
01:15:42,960 --> 01:15:46,480
was a moment that God was ready 
for Samuel to mature. 

1126
01:15:48,840 --> 01:15:50,760
He runs to Eli. 
Assuming that that's the only 

1127
01:15:50,760 --> 01:15:52,000
voice that he could be hearing 
a. 

1128
01:15:52,000 --> 01:15:54,600
Human one, But this is where a 
lot of us live. 

1129
01:15:55,320 --> 01:15:58,160
Really lean into this. 
OK, I'm leaning in on purpose. 

1130
01:15:58,600 --> 01:16:03,000
It's not just for bad posture. 
Often times with us, God speaks.

1131
01:16:03,960 --> 01:16:08,400
He nudges us, He convicts us of 
things, He whispers things to us

1132
01:16:08,400 --> 01:16:12,080
and we dismiss them as our own 
thoughts, our own conscience, or

1133
01:16:12,080 --> 01:16:15,680
our own imagination because we 
have not taken the time to learn

1134
01:16:15,680 --> 01:16:20,280
what His voice sounds like yet. 
Three times. 

1135
01:16:20,680 --> 01:16:23,560
Samuel hears the call and. 
Three times he runs to the wrong

1136
01:16:23,560 --> 01:16:26,760
source. 
Only when Eli realizes what is 

1137
01:16:26,760 --> 01:16:28,320
happening does he. 
Give Samuel the key. 

1138
01:16:28,320 --> 01:16:32,840
That opens all of it, and that 
simple sentence reveals what? 

1139
01:16:33,000 --> 01:16:35,160
Hearing God requires. 
He says speak, Lord. 

1140
01:16:35,160 --> 01:16:37,120
Your servant is listening, is 
what he tells him to say. 

1141
01:16:37,480 --> 01:16:39,440
The first thing it reveals is 
availability. 

1142
01:16:43,560 --> 01:16:45,600
Speak. 
Lord means I'm open, I'm 

1143
01:16:45,600 --> 01:16:48,640
receptive, I'm not. 
Coming to you with my agenda, I 

1144
01:16:48,640 --> 01:16:52,240
am ready for your agenda. 
It also speaks to identity, he 

1145
01:16:52,240 --> 01:16:53,760
says. 
Your servant is listening. 

1146
01:16:56,120 --> 01:16:58,440
Honest question, don't have to. 
Answer it out loud when you go 

1147
01:16:58,440 --> 01:17:01,000
to the Lord in prayer. 
Is it with the attitude of 

1148
01:17:01,000 --> 01:17:03,360
somebody who's ready to serve 
him, or is it with the attitude 

1149
01:17:03,360 --> 01:17:05,120
of somebody who is demanding 
some help? 

1150
01:17:06,840 --> 01:17:09,880
His identity was. 
You want to speak to me? 

1151
01:17:10,160 --> 01:17:13,160
I'm ready to serve you. 
His identity is highlighted 

1152
01:17:13,160 --> 01:17:16,280
right in the middle, and it also
highlights his attentiveness. 

1153
01:17:17,160 --> 01:17:19,680
I'm listening. 
Do you know what active 

1154
01:17:19,680 --> 01:17:22,120
listening is? 
Active listening is when you're 

1155
01:17:22,120 --> 01:17:24,640
actually speaking to somebody. 
You're nodding your head. 

1156
01:17:24,640 --> 01:17:26,960
You're saying, wow, I hear you. 
But you're not interrupting 

1157
01:17:26,960 --> 01:17:28,200
them. 
You're just engaged in it. 

1158
01:17:28,600 --> 01:17:32,040
And sometimes you repeat it back
to the person that you're 

1159
01:17:32,040 --> 01:17:35,320
speaking to. 
Availability, identity, and 

1160
01:17:35,320 --> 01:17:37,200
attentiveness to the Lord. 
All right there. 

1161
01:17:38,400 --> 01:17:40,640
I'm not big on just memorizing 
for memorization's. 

1162
01:17:40,640 --> 01:17:42,640
Sake, but many times. 
If I feel like the Lord is 

1163
01:17:42,640 --> 01:17:46,160
speaking to me, I'll say speak. 
Lord, your servant is listening.

1164
01:17:46,840 --> 01:17:48,680
It's great advice that Eli gave 
him. 

1165
01:17:49,720 --> 01:17:52,080
Hearing God didn't just shape 
Samuel's experience, it shaped 

1166
01:17:52,080 --> 01:17:54,120
his whole identity. 
Because if we were to continue 

1167
01:17:54,120 --> 01:17:58,480
reading in verse 19 it says it 
says as Samuel grew up, the Lord

1168
01:17:58,480 --> 01:18:00,960
was with him and everything 
Samuel said proved to be 

1169
01:18:00,960 --> 01:18:04,920
reliable. 
Maybe your? 

1170
01:18:04,920 --> 01:18:07,080
Translation says none of his 
words fell to the ground. 

1171
01:18:07,080 --> 01:18:08,480
What it? 
Means is he had learned to hear 

1172
01:18:08,480 --> 01:18:10,960
from the Lord, so every time he 
spoke for the Lord, it was 

1173
01:18:10,960 --> 01:18:14,400
always accurate. 
It never was flawed because he 

1174
01:18:14,400 --> 01:18:18,440
had learned to hear accurately. 
Men and women of God, we can 

1175
01:18:18,440 --> 01:18:21,240
achieve this, but it's going to 
take time and investment. 

1176
01:18:22,640 --> 01:18:24,720
It's not even as spooky or 
spiritual as you think it is. 

1177
01:18:24,720 --> 01:18:26,640
There's something that every. 
Parent in this room would 

1178
01:18:26,640 --> 01:18:30,840
understand instinctively. 
If we were to take 20 kids and 

1179
01:18:30,840 --> 01:18:33,120
one of them was your kid and 
they were all talking in a room,

1180
01:18:33,120 --> 01:18:35,400
do you think that you could, 
with a blindfold, find your way 

1181
01:18:35,400 --> 01:18:37,960
to them? 
Why? 

1182
01:18:39,200 --> 01:18:42,440
You know their voice. 
You could find your way to them 

1183
01:18:43,400 --> 01:18:46,160
because you know their voice. 
So this isn't even a spiritual 

1184
01:18:46,160 --> 01:18:48,240
thing, this is just a routine 
thing. 

1185
01:18:49,400 --> 01:18:51,600
Relationship always builds 
recognition. 

1186
01:18:52,160 --> 01:18:53,640
You start to know their 
preferences. 

1187
01:18:53,840 --> 01:18:55,400
You start to know the things 
that they'll eat. 

1188
01:18:55,600 --> 01:18:57,480
You know if it's a restaurant, 
you got to get chicken Nuggets 

1189
01:18:57,480 --> 01:18:58,960
because they won't get the main 
course. 

1190
01:19:01,160 --> 01:19:03,440
You know everything about them. 
Because you spent time with 

1191
01:19:03,440 --> 01:19:04,440
them, you know the sound of 
their. 

1192
01:19:04,440 --> 01:19:06,680
Voice you know what they smell 
like when they need a shower. 

1193
01:19:06,680 --> 01:19:11,800
You know your child the way that
God knows you is a. 

1194
01:19:11,800 --> 01:19:13,320
Lifelong pursuit for us to 
learn. 

1195
01:19:13,320 --> 01:19:17,240
To know Him, scripture gives us 
a warning in. 

1196
01:19:17,240 --> 01:19:20,560
First Timothy 4 and I promised. 
We'd get here First Timothy 

1197
01:19:20,560 --> 01:19:22,480
chapter 4. 
The 1st 2 verses say this. 

1198
01:19:22,480 --> 01:19:26,000
The Holy Spirit tells us clearly
that in the last time some will 

1199
01:19:26,000 --> 01:19:28,760
turn away from the true faith. 
They will follow deceptive 

1200
01:19:28,760 --> 01:19:30,960
spirits and teachings that come 
from demons. 

1201
01:19:32,080 --> 01:19:34,440
It's fun right? 
How could somebody who wants to 

1202
01:19:34,440 --> 01:19:35,240
follow? 
God follow the. 

1203
01:19:35,240 --> 01:19:41,640
Teaching of a demon, What do you
think they don't know his voice?

1204
01:19:43,160 --> 01:19:44,880
And if you don't know his voice,
any. 

1205
01:19:44,880 --> 01:19:47,600
Voice will guide you. 
Think about this. 

1206
01:19:47,680 --> 01:19:51,400
If you hear something, you don't
have Eli to run to, but there 

1207
01:19:51,400 --> 01:19:52,840
will be something willing to 
guide you. 

1208
01:19:52,880 --> 01:19:56,280
First two says these people are 
hypocrites and liars and their 

1209
01:19:56,280 --> 01:20:00,680
consciences are dead. 
Now the way that that has been 

1210
01:20:00,680 --> 01:20:04,880
translated for many years is 
seared conscience in the new 

1211
01:20:04,880 --> 01:20:06,720
Living Translation. 
It says their consciences are. 

1212
01:20:06,720 --> 01:20:09,240
Dead, but what do? 
You do to sear something, you 

1213
01:20:09,280 --> 01:20:13,600
apply it to high heat and you 
press and you push and if you 

1214
01:20:13,600 --> 01:20:16,200
continue to sear it, what does 
it end up burnt? 

1215
01:20:18,520 --> 01:20:20,960
Now the the flexibility. 
That was in. 

1216
01:20:20,960 --> 01:20:22,840
It is gone. 
And here's what I want to speak 

1217
01:20:22,840 --> 01:20:26,520
to because the Lord spoke to me 
about. 

1218
01:20:26,520 --> 01:20:29,600
This this weekend. 
Several times I've had somebody 

1219
01:20:29,600 --> 01:20:32,680
ask me, I'm worried about a 
seared conscience. 

1220
01:20:33,480 --> 01:20:34,840
Maybe I have a seared 
conscience. 

1221
01:20:34,840 --> 01:20:38,320
Do you think I have one lesson 
#1 if you're worried about it, 

1222
01:20:39,280 --> 01:20:42,240
you probably don't have it. 
But I'm going to say probably, 

1223
01:20:42,480 --> 01:20:45,240
and I'm not going to say you're 
not on your way because what the

1224
01:20:45,240 --> 01:20:49,720
Lord told me today, well not 
today, this weekend, was that a 

1225
01:20:49,720 --> 01:20:52,800
seared conscience always happens
when you suppress conviction. 

1226
01:20:54,400 --> 01:20:56,200
So how does a seared conscience 
happen? 

1227
01:20:56,200 --> 01:20:57,880
Every time that you know, the 
Lord says something. 

1228
01:20:57,880 --> 01:21:00,800
To you and you know the right 
thing to do when you choose not 

1229
01:21:00,800 --> 01:21:05,760
to get seared a little bit more.
Seared a little bit more seared 

1230
01:21:05,760 --> 01:21:06,840
a. 
Little bit more now most people 

1231
01:21:06,840 --> 01:21:08,360
are afraid. 
Well, if I sear my conscience, 

1232
01:21:08,360 --> 01:21:10,040
is it? 
Does it sear me all the way to 

1233
01:21:10,400 --> 01:21:12,520
hell or whatever? 
You're worried about yourself, 

1234
01:21:12,640 --> 01:21:14,240
worry about your relationship 
with the Lord. 

1235
01:21:15,160 --> 01:21:20,080
Every time that it gets a little
more dead, you become somebody 

1236
01:21:20,080 --> 01:21:21,960
who finds it. 
Easier and easier to justify 

1237
01:21:21,960 --> 01:21:23,400
what? 
You want to do, even when God is

1238
01:21:23,400 --> 01:21:29,320
speaking to you, something else.
The Holy Spirit speaks and 

1239
01:21:29,320 --> 01:21:31,160
brings conviction to us, but 
when you push it. 

1240
01:21:31,160 --> 01:21:34,280
Aside, Or you delay responding 
to God, or you explain it away, 

1241
01:21:34,640 --> 01:21:37,960
or you simply refuse to act when
He tells you to do something. 

1242
01:21:38,280 --> 01:21:41,520
The human heart does lose 
sensitivity, and over time the 

1243
01:21:41,520 --> 01:21:45,160
voice of God will not grow 
quieter, but your willingness to

1244
01:21:45,160 --> 01:21:47,840
hear him will become weaker. 
That's what happened in the 

1245
01:21:47,840 --> 01:21:50,280
House of Eli. 
That's what happened in those 

1246
01:21:50,280 --> 01:21:52,520
days in Israel. 
So when God tells you to 

1247
01:21:52,520 --> 01:21:56,160
forgive, he tells you to speak. 
He tells you to pray, listen, 

1248
01:21:57,440 --> 01:21:59,200
and then you'll never have to 
worry about having a seared 

1249
01:21:59,200 --> 01:22:02,680
conscience. 
Eli wasn't wicked in the same 

1250
01:22:02,680 --> 01:22:05,200
way as his sons, but he 
struggled with the same danger 

1251
01:22:05,200 --> 01:22:08,800
in a different way. 
Because he wasn't highly 

1252
01:22:08,800 --> 01:22:11,680
immoral, but he was highly 
passive. 

1253
01:22:13,200 --> 01:22:16,400
He honored his sons above. 
Honoring the Lord. 

1254
01:22:17,120 --> 01:22:20,360
Is there anybody in your life 
that you struggle with because 

1255
01:22:20,360 --> 01:22:22,240
you honor them more than you 
honor the Lord? 

1256
01:22:24,720 --> 01:22:26,520
I got really quiet. 
Sorry, OK. 

1257
01:22:28,400 --> 01:22:30,560
By the time judgement came and 
this message. 

1258
01:22:30,560 --> 01:22:32,960
Was relayed to Eli. 
If he were to continue to read 

1259
01:22:32,960 --> 01:22:36,400
it, he's not even shocked. 
He's not surprised why? 

1260
01:22:36,400 --> 01:22:40,000
He's a high priest. 
He knows the Lord and he has 

1261
01:22:40,000 --> 01:22:42,120
been willingly allowing sin to 
happen. 

1262
01:22:42,120 --> 01:22:44,480
So when he hears the judgement 
is coming, of course he's sad, 

1263
01:22:44,480 --> 01:22:47,720
of course he's distraught, but 
he's not shocked. 

1264
01:22:48,440 --> 01:22:52,520
And many of us act like we're 
shocked after 13 years or 

1265
01:22:52,520 --> 01:22:55,360
whatever of not listening to 
God, and then a consequence hits

1266
01:22:55,360 --> 01:22:57,920
and we're like, how could God 
allow this to happen to me? 

1267
01:22:58,400 --> 01:23:04,680
He had 13 years of warnings. 
Samuel stands in a completely 

1268
01:23:04,680 --> 01:23:07,880
different contrast to Eli 
because Samuel's the picture of 

1269
01:23:07,880 --> 01:23:12,880
a tender and attentive heart. 
So with as much pastoral 

1270
01:23:12,880 --> 01:23:14,720
authority as I can summon. 
Please. 

1271
01:23:14,920 --> 01:23:16,760
Have ears to hear when I say 
this. 

1272
01:23:18,920 --> 01:23:20,320
If you will not obey, what the 
Lord? 

1273
01:23:20,320 --> 01:23:23,800
Has already told you. 
You should not expect new 

1274
01:23:23,800 --> 01:23:27,600
instructions from him. 
A lot of times God has spoken 

1275
01:23:27,600 --> 01:23:29,200
something to us. 
And he's. 

1276
01:23:29,200 --> 01:23:31,960
Asked us to do something and 
we've pushed it off and pushed 

1277
01:23:31,960 --> 01:23:34,840
it off and ignored him. 
And then we go to him and we ask

1278
01:23:34,840 --> 01:23:36,800
for something that's more 
important to us. 

1279
01:23:37,440 --> 01:23:40,000
And God's still waiting for the 
yes, Sir, on what he already 

1280
01:23:40,000 --> 01:23:42,600
asked you to do. 
And we want the new 

1281
01:23:42,600 --> 01:23:46,080
instructions. 
And he may look at you and say, 

1282
01:23:46,080 --> 01:23:48,160
I want to give you my words. 
But I can't trust you with them 

1283
01:23:48,160 --> 01:23:50,160
yet. 
You didn't do anything with them

1284
01:23:50,160 --> 01:23:51,520
the last time that I gave them 
to you. 

1285
01:23:51,800 --> 01:23:53,320
How do you listen? 
Well, the first one is you 

1286
01:23:53,320 --> 01:23:54,840
create moments of stillness 
everyday. 

1287
01:23:54,840 --> 01:23:57,360
We just talked about this. 
Get somewhere quiet. 

1288
01:23:58,280 --> 01:24:02,920
I remember back when my first 
child was born, I hated silence.

1289
01:24:03,160 --> 01:24:06,080
Cassie would go to worship team 
practice on Tuesday nights and, 

1290
01:24:06,480 --> 01:24:08,680
and I would just be alone with a
newborn baby. 

1291
01:24:08,680 --> 01:24:10,960
And I love looking at her and 
holding her, but you know, 

1292
01:24:10,960 --> 01:24:12,520
they're not good 
conversationalists. 

1293
01:24:12,520 --> 01:24:16,160
And so we couldn't talk. 
And I would always take her over

1294
01:24:16,160 --> 01:24:18,920
to a friend's house and go and 
spend time and I would say it's 

1295
01:24:18,920 --> 01:24:21,600
fellowship and I'm building 
relationship and community. 

1296
01:24:21,600 --> 01:24:25,240
And I was and I was avoiding 
some silence. 

1297
01:24:25,800 --> 01:24:27,800
I don't know what I would do 
without these moments of silence

1298
01:24:27,800 --> 01:24:32,040
where I can actually hear from 
the Lord now #2 I would tell you

1299
01:24:32,040 --> 01:24:35,120
to look for repeated themes and 
please hear this. 

1300
01:24:36,160 --> 01:24:38,360
One of the most overlooked ways 
that God speaks is through 

1301
01:24:38,360 --> 01:24:41,520
repetition. 
Samuel didn't recognize the 

1302
01:24:41,520 --> 01:24:44,040
voice for the first time or the 
second time. 

1303
01:24:44,400 --> 01:24:46,960
He honestly didn't even 
recognize God's voice the third 

1304
01:24:46,960 --> 01:24:49,560
time. 
He had to go and have somebody 

1305
01:24:49,640 --> 01:24:51,960
guide him so that the 4th time 
he got it. 

1306
01:24:53,960 --> 01:24:55,280
And I want you to think about if
this has. 

1307
01:24:55,280 --> 01:24:57,240
Ever happened to you? 
Maybe not with your name. 

1308
01:24:57,480 --> 01:24:59,960
But a lot of times the Holy 
Spirit will bring the same verse

1309
01:25:00,120 --> 01:25:03,200
or the same idea or the same 
conviction or the same 

1310
01:25:03,200 --> 01:25:06,800
encouragement to your attention 
multiple times and you're like, 

1311
01:25:06,800 --> 01:25:09,120
huh, that's crazy. 
I've been hearing a lot about 

1312
01:25:09,120 --> 01:25:11,320
forgiveness lately. 
Oh, that's crazy. 

1313
01:25:11,320 --> 01:25:12,840
I've been thinking a lot about 
my cousin lately. 

1314
01:25:12,840 --> 01:25:14,280
I haven't talked to them in 
three years. 

1315
01:25:14,760 --> 01:25:18,720
A lot of times this is because 
God is being patient and gentle 

1316
01:25:18,720 --> 01:25:20,120
and He's trying to communicate 
with you. 

1317
01:25:21,480 --> 01:25:24,560
So. 
Places that you may hear it is 

1318
01:25:24,560 --> 01:25:25,600
maybe. 
In Bible reading or 

1319
01:25:25,600 --> 01:25:28,480
conversations or sermons or just
deep in your spirit, I'm just 

1320
01:25:28,480 --> 01:25:30,680
telling you when you hear 
repetition, pay attention to it.

1321
01:25:32,000 --> 01:25:33,680
And to just double down on the 
last thing I said. 

1322
01:25:33,680 --> 01:25:35,120
Just obey. 
The last thing God told. 

1323
01:25:35,120 --> 01:25:38,240
You There's a recent Disney 
movie that said just do the next

1324
01:25:38,240 --> 01:25:40,640
right thing. 
That's great advice. 

1325
01:25:40,640 --> 01:25:42,360
You know what's better? 
Do the last right thing. 

1326
01:25:43,360 --> 01:25:46,120
Don't move on to the next right 
thing until you've done the last

1327
01:25:46,120 --> 01:25:49,480
right thing. 
Obedience keeps the heart tender

1328
01:25:49,480 --> 01:25:53,720
in your ears open. 
OK, as we close today, I, I want

1329
01:25:53,720 --> 01:25:56,640
to take us back to Moses in the 
tent of the meeting because 

1330
01:25:56,640 --> 01:25:58,640
there's one part of that story 
that I read to you that I have 

1331
01:25:58,640 --> 01:26:01,680
not addressed yet. 
Exodus says that whenever Moses 

1332
01:26:01,680 --> 01:26:03,880
went out to the tent that the 
presence of God would descend 

1333
01:26:03,880 --> 01:26:06,080
like a cloud and the Lord would 
speak to Moses. 

1334
01:26:06,080 --> 01:26:09,560
What face to face as one speaks 
to A to a friend. 

1335
01:26:10,480 --> 01:26:12,880
But the Scriptures also include 
a detail that most people skip 

1336
01:26:12,880 --> 01:26:14,920
over. 
And I think it's one of the most

1337
01:26:14,920 --> 01:26:16,560
important details in the entire 
chapter. 

1338
01:26:16,560 --> 01:26:20,080
It says when Moses returned to 
the camp, his young assistant, 

1339
01:26:20,080 --> 01:26:23,080
Joshua, son of Nun, remained 
behind in the tent. 

1340
01:26:24,520 --> 01:26:26,480
That one line has fascinated 
Jewish. 

1341
01:26:26,480 --> 01:26:27,400
Teachers. 
Christian. 

1342
01:26:27,400 --> 01:26:31,560
Theologians and me, wherever I 
land there for centuries. 

1343
01:26:32,480 --> 01:26:35,160
Why did Joshua stay behind? 
Why wouldn't he go with Moses? 

1344
01:26:35,400 --> 01:26:39,240
Yeah, you guys got to hear what 
God just told Moses because he 

1345
01:26:39,240 --> 01:26:41,080
was next in line. 
He's the successor. 

1346
01:26:41,680 --> 01:26:44,320
He's got a destiny, he's got a 
future and head ahead of him. 

1347
01:26:45,720 --> 01:26:47,680
Most Jewish teachers believe 
that he stayed. 

1348
01:26:47,680 --> 01:26:51,720
Behind because he was learning. 
He was hungry and he wanted to 

1349
01:26:51,720 --> 01:26:53,600
be near the presence. 
Of God, even when nobody. 

1350
01:26:53,600 --> 01:26:57,680
Was watching the Jewish desert 
fathers would teach that Joshua.

1351
01:26:57,680 --> 01:27:01,040
Stayed behind because he. 
Was in training for his heart to

1352
01:27:01,040 --> 01:27:03,800
recognize the voice that Moses 
had already learned to follow. 

1353
01:27:04,960 --> 01:27:08,520
He stayed because proximity to 
the Lord's presence is always 

1354
01:27:08,520 --> 01:27:11,080
preparation for you. 
You don't suddenly become a 

1355
01:27:11,080 --> 01:27:12,600
leader the day God calls your 
name. 

1356
01:27:12,600 --> 01:27:15,280
You become a leader by quietly 
learning to hear God's voice, 

1357
01:27:15,480 --> 01:27:17,280
even if other people don't see 
it happening. 

1358
01:27:17,880 --> 01:27:19,360
And so the same conclusion is 
here. 

1359
01:27:19,880 --> 01:27:22,080
Joshua wanted to learn to hear 
the Lord for himself. 

1360
01:27:22,080 --> 01:27:23,280
And what did we talk about 
earlier? 

1361
01:27:23,280 --> 01:27:26,240
Sometimes you have to learn how 
to be close to him before you 

1362
01:27:26,240 --> 01:27:30,840
learn how to hear from Him. 
And so after knowing that God. 

1363
01:27:30,840 --> 01:27:32,600
Had just had a conversation with
Moses. 

1364
01:27:32,600 --> 01:27:35,480
He said I'll just sit here and 
bask in the afterglow of this. 

1365
01:27:37,680 --> 01:27:40,040
Here's what that means for us. 
Faithful. 

1366
01:27:40,040 --> 01:27:43,080
Men and faithful women always 
pass on what they've learned, 

1367
01:27:43,600 --> 01:27:46,360
but you can't pass on something 
that you haven't practiced. 

1368
01:27:47,120 --> 01:27:51,440
Moses taught Joshua how to be 
near God because Moses had been 

1369
01:27:51,440 --> 01:27:55,440
near God. 
Later, even Eli with all his. 

1370
01:27:55,440 --> 01:27:59,000
Flaws and failures was. 
Still able to teach Samuel one 

1371
01:27:59,000 --> 01:28:01,320
sentence that opened his entire 
prophetic life. 

1372
01:28:02,560 --> 01:28:04,360
Eli, as we talked about, was not
a perfect. 

1373
01:28:04,360 --> 01:28:06,160
Father, he wasn't a perfect. 
Priest. 

1374
01:28:06,320 --> 01:28:10,720
He wasn't even consistent, but 
he still gave Samuel something 

1375
01:28:10,720 --> 01:28:12,280
that Samuel would. 
Carry for the rest of his. 

1376
01:28:12,280 --> 01:28:14,280
Life. 
And that's the confidence that 

1377
01:28:14,280 --> 01:28:17,360
he could hear from the Lord. 
I just want to speak this to 

1378
01:28:17,360 --> 01:28:20,280
some of you because some of us, 
we've had parents or mentors or 

1379
01:28:20,280 --> 01:28:23,520
leaders who are not perfect. 
Some of them may have let you 

1380
01:28:23,520 --> 01:28:25,920
down or disappointed you or even
wounded you. 

1381
01:28:26,640 --> 01:28:29,480
But I want you to hear this 
today, that even in imperfect 

1382
01:28:29,480 --> 01:28:32,840
relationships, there are pieces 
of wisdom and there are glimpses

1383
01:28:32,840 --> 01:28:36,000
of faith and moments of truth 
that helped you find your way to

1384
01:28:36,000 --> 01:28:39,080
the Lord today. 
Don't throw away the good 

1385
01:28:39,080 --> 01:28:41,400
because the people who gave it 
weren't flawless. 

1386
01:28:41,680 --> 01:28:45,000
Celebrate what they did pass on,
honor the pieces of faith that 

1387
01:28:45,000 --> 01:28:47,800
they passed on to you, and pass 
the best of it to the next 

1388
01:28:47,800 --> 01:28:50,360
generation. 
Your kids, your friends, your 

1389
01:28:50,360 --> 01:28:54,640
coworkers, whoever's around you.
Just like Moses passed intimacy 

1390
01:28:54,640 --> 01:28:58,320
on to Joshua and Eli passed 
listening on to Samuel, we can 

1391
01:28:58,320 --> 01:29:01,360
pass on the ability to hear God 
by becoming people who hear him 

1392
01:29:01,360 --> 01:29:03,920
ourselves. 
And all of this lands on one 

1393
01:29:03,920 --> 01:29:07,360
final scripture for today. 
Lord woke me up last night. 

1394
01:29:07,480 --> 01:29:09,640
I was waiting to have one of 
those Samuel moments, but I, I 

1395
01:29:09,640 --> 01:29:14,680
didn't get it, just woke me up. 
And if you do have the bulletin 

1396
01:29:14,680 --> 01:29:17,520
that has some of the notes to 
follow, there's like 3 

1397
01:29:17,520 --> 01:29:19,560
scriptures there at the end. 
And I want you to know I'm not 

1398
01:29:19,560 --> 01:29:21,600
going to read any of them, but 
you should. 

1399
01:29:22,120 --> 01:29:24,240
All scripture is profitable. 
We talked about that last week. 

1400
01:29:25,200 --> 01:29:29,000
The Lord said in the middle of 
this night, He told me to share 

1401
01:29:29,000 --> 01:29:34,240
this with you. 
Isaiah 3021 Your own ears will 

1402
01:29:34,240 --> 01:29:38,000
hear him right behind you. 
A voice will say this. 

1403
01:29:38,000 --> 01:29:41,200
Is the way you should go. 
Whether to the right or to the 

1404
01:29:41,200 --> 01:29:44,880
left, God wants you to be more 
informed than you do. 

1405
01:29:45,560 --> 01:29:47,840
He wants you to be more at peace
than you want. 

1406
01:29:48,120 --> 01:29:51,120
As much as you may desire 
clarity and direction and peace 

1407
01:29:51,120 --> 01:29:53,200
and all of these things, He 
wants it more. 

1408
01:29:54,520 --> 01:29:56,680
And so today I want you to 
understand that God's heart for 

1409
01:29:56,680 --> 01:29:59,280
you is not mysterious. 
It is not a confusing thing. 

1410
01:29:59,280 --> 01:30:02,080
It is not silence. 
There's a voice behind you. 

1411
01:30:02,520 --> 01:30:04,360
There's a voice that is inside 
of you. 

1412
01:30:04,720 --> 01:30:06,960
There is a shepherd that will 
speak in a way that you can 

1413
01:30:06,960 --> 01:30:10,480
follow and as you leave today, I
want you to think on these 

1414
01:30:10,480 --> 01:30:11,960
things and speak to Him 
differently. 

1415
01:30:12,280 --> 01:30:14,640
Try opening your eyes and 
putting your hands out when you 

1416
01:30:14,640 --> 01:30:17,240
speak to him. 
Stumble, stutter through your 

1417
01:30:17,240 --> 01:30:19,480
prayers. 
Make it genuine. 

1418
01:30:19,800 --> 01:30:23,160
That's all he really wants. 
This whole year has been about 

1419
01:30:23,160 --> 01:30:25,160
trusting in God. 
And trusting in. 

1420
01:30:25,240 --> 01:30:30,040
Jesus, if we really trust Him. 
We'll start opening up. 

1421
01:30:30,040 --> 01:30:31,360
More and more to him all the 
time. 

1422
01:30:31,720 --> 01:30:34,080
As a good reminder, this happens
to be the Sunday where we're 

1423
01:30:34,080 --> 01:30:35,680
handing out this year's 
Christmas ornament. 

1424
01:30:35,680 --> 01:30:39,560
So when you leave today, I would
love it if you would please go 

1425
01:30:39,560 --> 01:30:41,360
ahead and grab one of those 
Christmas ornaments on your way 

1426
01:30:41,360 --> 01:30:42,520
out. 
And if you happen to not be 

1427
01:30:42,520 --> 01:30:45,720
somebody with a Christmas tree, 
hang it from your mirror. 

1428
01:30:46,920 --> 01:30:48,760
Remind yourself that you can 
trust the Lord. 

1429
01:30:49,720 --> 01:30:52,640
This next year, we're going to 
be conquering a lot of hard 

1430
01:30:52,640 --> 01:30:56,240
things. 
And Speaking of Conquer, Conquer

1431
01:30:56,240 --> 01:30:57,640
is a program that's designed to 
help. 

1432
01:30:57,640 --> 01:30:59,160
Men who want to find all sorts 
of. 

1433
01:30:59,160 --> 01:31:02,480
Relational freedom, it's not 
just about sexual issues or 

1434
01:31:02,480 --> 01:31:05,280
whatever, but if you need to 
find relational freedom, freedom

1435
01:31:05,280 --> 01:31:07,800
from baggage, we've got some 
gentlemen right there in the 

1436
01:31:07,800 --> 01:31:09,200
back corner. 
Joni, you want to wave your hand

1437
01:31:09,200 --> 01:31:11,280
there who are willing to talk to
you after service. 

1438
01:31:11,760 --> 01:31:14,440
It is a group that really, 
really holds each other 

1439
01:31:14,440 --> 01:31:17,240
accountable and pulls each other
up to a brand new level and I'm 

1440
01:31:17,240 --> 01:31:18,880
so proud. 
Couldn't be more proud of them. 

1441
01:31:19,160 --> 01:31:21,200
Would you all stand up as we end
today in a prayer? 

1442
01:31:22,760 --> 01:31:24,600
Guys, I I hope I didn't offend 
you with. 

1443
01:31:24,600 --> 01:31:26,040
Some of my prayer stuff today 
unless. 

1444
01:31:26,040 --> 01:31:28,800
It was in a good way, but please
know my heart. 

1445
01:31:28,800 --> 01:31:31,920
I want us to be a church that 
hears God. 

1446
01:31:32,120 --> 01:31:37,400
I want us to be a community that
knows His voice because a lot of

1447
01:31:37,400 --> 01:31:40,720
us want to know his will for our
life and he wants you to know it

1448
01:31:40,720 --> 01:31:43,960
too. 
So let's encourage another one 

1449
01:31:43,960 --> 01:31:45,280
another on to. 
These good things. 

1450
01:31:45,280 --> 01:31:46,920
Spur one another on the good 
works. 

1451
01:31:46,920 --> 01:31:49,960
But if you want to know the good
works He has for you, learn to 

1452
01:31:49,960 --> 01:31:50,960
hear His voice. 
Amen.