1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:04,240 What's up, everybody? Come on, let's go. 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:07,280 My name is Pastor Dave. I'm the middle school director 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,720 here at RES, and God is good all the time. 4 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:15,160 Let's go. A few weeks ago, I took my 5 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:18,840 youngest, Kevin and Tashi, who are five and three, to the 6 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:22,840 trampoline park, and they were going nuts in there. 7 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:27,480 I couldn't pull Kevin off of the stuff, and it was hot in there. 8 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,160 And Toshi comes up to me and she's like, dad, I'm thirsty, 9 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:36,160 like, OK, let's go. So I grab her and I walk just 10 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:39,840 around the corner and I'm picking her up and I'm holding 11 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,320 her and she's drinking. And then I hear that 12 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:49,640 indistinguishable call of your lost child, dad, like, oh, Tosh, 13 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:54,040 Kevin's looking for us. And then almost immediately, 14 00:00:55,040 --> 00:01:02,120 with fear and tremble, and I could hear the tears in his 15 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:08,760 voice, he calls out again. All right, Tosh, hurry up, let's 16 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,800 go. We walk a few steps around the 17 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:18,440 corner and I can see Tosh, I mean Kevin with a staff member 18 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:24,440 now holding him, obvious tears coming down. 19 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,280 But he had heard me. I had called out to him. 20 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,360 I said Kevin, now he's looking for me. 21 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,520 He's not crying, he's looking around. 22 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:40,520 Where's my dad? I walked closer and I called out 23 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:46,840 again. Kevin and the staff member sees 24 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:52,120 me but just keeps looking, looking for Kevin's father, 25 00:01:52,800 --> 00:02:00,400 holding my son back, not letting him go to who he knows. 26 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:13,160 Kevin knew instantly as soon as I called out to him because he's 27 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:17,800 my son. We've spent thousands of hours 28 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,720 together. The staff member, an adult, 29 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,280 somebody more intelligent, more maturity, more experience, 30 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:33,400 couldn't recognize me at all, looking for somebody who looked 31 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:38,840 more like Kevin. The the difference wasn't 32 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:47,680 intelligence, wasn't capability. It wasn't that she couldn't 33 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:49,960 figure out. She just didn't have the 34 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:54,840 relationship we have. That's exactly what we're going 35 00:02:54,840 --> 00:03:01,000 to learn in our text today. When God feels distant, when God 36 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,920 feels quiet, when it feels like He's not communicating with us, 37 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:12,240 know that recognition comes from relationship. 38 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:18,200 That's our big idea for today. Incredibly, God has given us a 39 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:22,640 primary way. He builds relationships with us. 40 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:27,560 He speaks through his Word, which is alive. 41 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:32,160 It's active. Hebrews 412 tells us the word of 42 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:39,880 God is living and effective. It's not just ancient text on a 43 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:45,480 page. No, it's God actively 44 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:50,320 communicating with us today, right now. 45 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:56,400 The primary way you build relationship with God and learn 46 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:02,720 to recognize His voice is by feeding on His word. 47 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:10,560 Feeding means three things. Reading it, considering what it 48 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:15,640 means, and lastly, taking action, applying it, dealing 49 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,600 with it in your life. Think about that, Kevin. 50 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:22,760 How did he learn to recognize my voice? 51 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:30,480 By spending countless hours with me, listening to me, responding 52 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:35,440 to me. That's exactly how we recognize 53 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:39,920 God's voice through his living word. 54 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,440 So if you have your Bibles, open them up or being John chapter 55 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:49,160 10, we're going to read from his word and remember, this isn't 56 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,600 just historical text, historical information. 57 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,760 This is God speaking to you today. 58 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:02,800 But let me ask you, do you find it hard to hear God's voice? 59 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,920 Have you had a decision that you just needed God to speak into, 60 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,560 that you just desperately wanted direction, that you needed God? 61 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:15,880 So you reach out to God and pray and say, God, what do I do in 62 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,360 this situation? How am I supposed to handle 63 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:19,920 this? What is? 64 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,960 What is your will for me? What am I supposed to do? 65 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:30,040 God, give me direction. Then a thought enters into your 66 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:34,560 mind and you wonder, was that me? 67 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:41,480 Did I just make that up? Did I answer my own question? 68 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,720 Is this my desire? Is this what my heart wants? 69 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:54,480 Or God, was that you? Did you speak to me? 70 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,640 Was that the Holy Spirit pressing upon me? 71 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:00,560 Or maybe maybe it was something else. 72 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:04,720 Maybe it was that bad burrito I had the other day. 73 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:13,040 This is the struggle every believer faces, learning to 74 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:18,720 distinguish the difference between the voice of God and all 75 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:22,160 the other voices competing for our attention. 76 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:27,320 Wouldn't it be incredible to know exactly what God wants you 77 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,800 to do? To be able to hear from God? 78 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:35,480 Imagine if you could ask him for directions and you could get a 79 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:39,280 super clear answer. Have you ever been driving 80 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:45,320 somewhere and you have your your GPS on your Google Maps and then 81 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:50,480 suddenly it cuts out? You're in unfamiliar territory. 82 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:54,480 Maybe it's getting dark, Maybe you don't know where you're 83 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:58,920 going, but you think you do, but you rely on all everything on 84 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:01,680 Google Maps and then suddenly it goes dark. 85 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:07,200 I don't know about you, but when that happens to me, my anxiety 86 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,520 goes through the roof. Which way do I go? 87 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:13,400 Am I going the right direction? Did I miss my exit? 88 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:19,040 I would give anything to hear that voice say in 500 feet, turn 89 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:25,160 right, or even recalculating route something. 90 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:30,520 Just give me something. That's how many of us feel 91 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:33,640 spiritually. We're trying to navigate through 92 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:38,320 life's big decisions and we're desperately wanting to hear 93 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:43,240 God's voice, desperate for a clear direction. 94 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:47,920 God, should I? Should I take this job? 95 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:53,480 Should I move? Should I get married? 96 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:58,560 Should I have kids? Should I forgive them? 97 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,560 Should I say something or stay quiet? 98 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:09,440 Wouldn't it be incredible if you could ask God, ask him any 99 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:16,960 question and get a really clear answer, like a spiritual Google 100 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:21,000 Maps? God, what do you want me to do? 101 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:26,800 And then in that calm, clear voice, the voice that we've 102 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:32,720 heard many times, it says in faith, step into that new thing 103 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:40,600 or wait, I'm working on something else for you, or stop, 104 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:46,320 go the other way. But here's what happens often. 105 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:52,680 We're going through life. We think we hear something, but 106 00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:58,840 we're not 100% sure. God, Was that your voice or is 107 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:03,120 that just my own thoughts? Was that the Holy Spirit 108 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:08,440 directing me my emotions are are my emotions taking over what's 109 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:12,800 happening here? Am I am I justifying what I 110 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:18,240 really want to do or gotten? Is this your will for me? 111 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:23,080 So let's read John chapter 10 verse one. 112 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:29,800 It says truly, I tell you, anyone who doesn't enter the 113 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:35,680 sheep pen by the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and 114 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:41,400 a robber. Sometimes we are so desperate 115 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,800 for direction, longing to hear from God, that we're willing to 116 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:50,000 listen to anything to anyone, to any friends, even our bad 117 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:51,880 friends. The friends that give us we know 118 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:56,280 we they give us bad advice. We'll listen to fortune cookies. 119 00:09:56,560 --> 00:10:00,000 We'll listen to our hearts. That's the worst of all, by the 120 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:06,160 way. Or like in verse one, we'll 121 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,720 listen to false teachers who sneak into our lives. 122 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:17,960 Verse 2, the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the 123 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:23,000 sheep. The real shepherd, the legit 124 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:28,640 shepherd is Jesus. He's not sneaking around. 125 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:34,920 He's not playing funny business. In fact, the whole story of who, 126 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:40,640 of why and how Jesus is going to come to earth and to save us was 127 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,280 told hundreds of years before it even started. 128 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,440 Jesus is not trying to trick you and I into following him. 129 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,320 In fact, he's laid out a plan that seems kind of bad to some 130 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:54,880 of us. Jesus given the title the King 131 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:58,160 of Kings and the Lord of Lords, but he's not the king that 132 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:05,080 forces you to follow him. A king who's come to earth as a 133 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:13,920 humble servant to live a sinless life, a life of grace, teaching 134 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:18,920 of kindness, teaching of love, showing what actually looks 135 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:23,360 like. To do that, finish with me, 136 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:25,480 verse 2. The one who enters by the gate 137 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:29,320 is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, 138 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:34,760 and the sheep hear his voice. That's us. 139 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,720 We're the sheep. He calls his own sheep by name 140 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:45,440 and leads them out. That is incredible. 141 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:51,760 Jesus calls us by name. He speaks to us individually. 142 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:56,280 Think about that. God is so good that He wants to 143 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:01,000 be there for you and you individually. 144 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:06,160 He wants to guide us. He wants to give us directions. 145 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:11,120 Isaiah 3021 tells us whenever you turn to the right or to the 146 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:16,760 left, your ears will hear this command behind you. 147 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:20,520 This is the way. Walk in it. 148 00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:26,200 Jesus is there for us. He's leading us. 149 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:31,480 Recognition comes from relationship. 150 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:37,240 He is the one who actually wants to know and does know you 151 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:39,880 personally. He calls you by name. 152 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:44,320 This isn't just some giant blanket statement that God loves 153 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:46,840 the world. It's personal. 154 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:52,120 He sees you. He understands you with all your 155 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:58,160 talents, with all your traits and even your trials. 156 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:02,800 God's not here building robots. He's building relationships. 157 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,240 He knows exactly what's going on in your heart. 158 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:06,800 He knows the stuff you're proud of. 159 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:11,000 He knows the stuff you're ashamed of, and he knows the 160 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:17,280 stuff you're trying to hide. And get this, he still loves 161 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:21,160 you. He loves you fully even during 162 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:29,080 all of that. Verse 4 And when when he has 163 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:34,960 brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them, the sheep 164 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,640 follow him. Why? 165 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:44,560 Why would the sheep follow him? Why would we follow Jesus? 166 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:48,560 It says because they know his voice. 167 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:52,840 They never follow a stranger. Instead, they'll run away from 168 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:57,800 him because they don't know the voice of a stranger. 169 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:07,080 At first, the thought of hearing God's voice seems impossible. 170 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,360 It's not impossible, it's incredible. 171 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:21,920 Then it becomes recognizable and familiar and then discernible. 172 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:30,240 About four years ago at my previous church, I was asked to 173 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:36,480 shut down youth group. Shut it down or change it 174 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:40,400 significantly. Let me tell you, our youth group 175 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,720 was blowing up in numbers. We had 75 to 100 students 176 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:46,720 showing up every Wednesday. Doesn't that sound amazing? 177 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:53,840 I agree, it was amazing. Students would skate into our 178 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:58,280 parking lot, we'd hang out with them, we'd love on them, we'd 179 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:03,400 give them water, we'd tell them the gospel, and eventually, 180 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:07,320 eventually they started inviting their friends back. 181 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,320 And then all of a sudden, we had this explosion of skaters at the 182 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:14,840 church. Let me tell you, there's nothing 183 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:19,240 wrong with skaters or skating. In fact, the church we purchased 184 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:23,000 rails, we purchased ramps, we set it up so they could skate 185 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:28,200 there at the church. We loved having the students 186 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:33,440 there, but we connected to a group of students that were 187 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:40,800 hurting, that had parents in their lives, that were just 188 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:43,880 adults, really. No parenting happening. 189 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:50,120 Kids who lived from couch to couch, who never went to school, 190 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:56,040 who always had a vape that had weed or nicotine in it. 191 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:01,840 Kids that brought significant issues to our church. 192 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:09,400 You get me. Eventually that group grew to 193 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:15,120 twice the size of our normal Sunday congregation and we 194 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:21,560 continue to share the gospel over and over, week after week, 195 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:23,840 we would share the love of Jesus Christ of these students. 196 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:31,120 So when the time came, when the statement came at me that it is 197 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,680 time to shut down youth group because the students were just 198 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:39,560 totally out of hand, I was livid. 199 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:42,080 How could we shut down youth group? 200 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:46,640 This is all they have Shut down sharing the gospel. 201 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:54,040 This is insane how I I was so angry, I was so mad. 202 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:57,080 Every emotion in me was firing off. 203 00:16:57,280 --> 00:16:59,840 I wanted to yell, I wanted to quit. 204 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:07,960 I cried my heart. It was broken for these lost 205 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:11,319 kids. I was given two weeks. 206 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,520 Shut it down or change it significantly. 207 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:23,440 I had no idea what to do, so I did the only thing I knew what 208 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,040 to do. I went to the sanctuary where 209 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:29,480 the 100 kids would be and I got on my knees. 210 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:38,360 I prayed, I prayed, I prayed, and eventually my knees got so 211 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:42,640 tired I just laid there. I asked God, what am I supposed 212 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:48,440 to do? Give me something, God. 213 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:53,200 Give me direction. This doesn't feel right, God. 214 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:01,080 Eventually, I picked myself up off the floor. 215 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:08,320 I walked out of that room with no answers, silence, no 216 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:16,440 explanation, no direction of what I was supposed to do that 217 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:18,440 night. We had youth group and like 218 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:23,160 always, a ton of kids showed up so big that we had to split up 219 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:25,240 our game. We split it up into four groups. 220 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,640 We had the high school boys, the high school girls, middle 221 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:32,080 school, and quickly we ran the boys through the through the 222 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:34,320 game and then we sent them straight to the sanctuary as 223 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:37,520 quickly as possible. Next we sent the girls, sent the 224 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:44,640 other half and I was, I was walking out to go to the 225 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:50,120 sanctuary like I always do to do our lesson, share the gospel of 226 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:53,720 Jesus Christ. I get to the leader who's in 227 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,760 charge of making sure that every one of those students goes from 228 00:18:56,760 --> 00:19:01,240 point A to point B and he looks at me and he says they all left. 229 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:05,800 What? What do you mean they all left? 230 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,200 All of them? He's like, no, well, not all of 231 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:16,480 them. There's probably about 10 to 15 232 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:24,600 kids are normal church kids. And at that moment, the Lord 233 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:36,400 spoke to me, not audibly, but he said in these words, Dave, I 234 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:44,320 know you love those kids. I know you love them with all 235 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:52,800 your heart and so do I, but they're not here to learn about 236 00:19:52,800 --> 00:20:02,000 me anymore. And he told me I'm going to do 237 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,400 something that you can't do. And he gave me a vision of a 238 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:11,240 hand gently wrapping around students and leading them off 239 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:17,680 the church. Grounds that following Wednesday 240 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:21,280 was our last Wednesday all the students gathered like normal. 241 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:25,400 I shared the gospel one last time and then I let them know 242 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,240 youth group as you knew it is over. 243 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:38,240 They were in shock what it's done Wednesday night, it's done. 244 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:46,480 I told them if you have any desire, just a tiny inkling of 245 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:50,400 desire to learn more about God, to get connected with God, 246 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:57,680 something with God to show up at church on Sunday morning. 247 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,680 I will personally connect you. We'll start small groups. 248 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:05,440 We'll do something that will guarantee that we will continue 249 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:12,400 your focus towards God. But if you're not, if you have 0 250 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:17,360 interest in God, let's say goodbye. 251 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:26,000 When I said that, about 30 students stood up. 252 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:31,080 They got in a line and they proceeded to give me a hug, 253 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:39,480 shook my hand and said goodbye and the rest of them just walked 254 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:46,640 out back doors. The room had gone from this 255 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,480 energetic massive amount of kids. 256 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,200 She just a few of us leaders in this darkened room. 257 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:07,320 Am I call to God? Show me what's going on in my 258 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:13,800 failure to see how hard it was for me to let these kids go, 259 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:20,600 that my leadership already knew what God was working on because 260 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:28,640 these students were not even here for God that night. 261 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,360 There's a detail that I didn't learn about till later. 262 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:40,400 One of my leaders was so angry, just like I was. 263 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:44,080 He was in the back of the sanctuary, pacing back and 264 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:46,200 forth. He was calling out to God. 265 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:52,200 God, if this is really you, God, this can't be you. 266 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:58,000 God, prove to me. Prove to me that this is really 267 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,440 your will. Show up. 268 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:06,000 God do something. The rest of us leaders were 269 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:10,120 standing in the front of the sanctuary, kind of in sorrow. 270 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:16,320 Then I heard a familiar voice, a voice of a young lady who had 271 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,360 been in the group for a long time. 272 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,920 She said Pastor Dave and I looked up and she just walked 273 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:27,720 through the back doors. She said, sorry I'm late. 274 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:31,760 Oh, seriously, You don't know what just happened. 275 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:36,960 You have no idea that we just change everything. 276 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:43,720 Before I tell her anything she says, I just want you to know 277 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:49,640 that my friends here are not good for me. 278 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:55,000 So I haven't been coming to youth group for the last couple 279 00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:01,560 of weeks and I decided on my own that I'm just going to come to 280 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:12,880 church on Sunday mornings. I couldn't see it, but God was 281 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:18,880 working in all of this. He was working through the 282 00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:22,440 toxicness. I couldn't cut through it. 283 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:28,760 And yet here He was proving to me that He is in charge. 284 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:32,760 He is working. He's dealing with all of this. 285 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:40,680 God actually wants to be our spiritual Google Maps even more 286 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:45,520 than you want to hear from Him. He's not playing hide and seek 287 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:47,960 with the plan for your life. He's not trying to make it 288 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,000 difficult for you to try to figure out what you're supposed 289 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,880 to do. Wouldn't it be amazing for you 290 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:56,120 to clearly hear the voice of God? 291 00:24:57,120 --> 00:25:04,720 You can, but it comes from a relationship with God. 292 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,640 It comes from experiencing God. It comes. 293 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:16,200 What First Corinthians tells us is it comes from having Christ 294 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:20,560 in their life. 1st Corinthians 214 says but people who aren't 295 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:24,760 spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. 296 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:30,360 It all sounds foolish to them, and they can't understand it, 297 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:38,400 for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit 298 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:43,200 means. The spiritual person is someone 299 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:48,480 who receives the Holy Spirit and sees life through God's lens. 300 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:55,480 But we don't start off this way. Romans 512 tells us that 301 00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:59,960 therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, 302 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:06,720 death, through sin, in this way death spread to all people 303 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:13,360 because all have sinned. You see, we are all born into 304 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:20,240 this world spiritually dead, full of sins, full of issues. 305 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:23,640 But we don't have to stay that way. 306 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:32,800 Romans 58 tells us God proves. He proves it his own love for 307 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:36,480 you and I for us that while we are still sinners, Why are we 308 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,440 while we're still enemies of God? 309 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:49,360 Jesus died for you and I and God gives us a simple yet heart 310 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:53,400 surrendering instruction to deal with this. 311 00:26:54,680 --> 00:27:00,760 Romans 10/9 says if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord 312 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:04,200 and believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, 313 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:12,320 you and me and anybody who does this will be saved. 314 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:17,960 You must surrender to Jesus if you want Christ in your life. 315 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:21,480 The truth he has to give, the direction that he promises. 316 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:28,400 You have to surrender to God. Jesus died and he raised from 317 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:32,080 the dead three days later to offer you freedom from sin, 318 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:38,840 freedom from shame, a new life with God in control as your 319 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:43,800 spiritual guide. So today, if you'd like to 320 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,440 surrender to God, if you're willing to ask him for 321 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:52,040 forgiveness, for salvation, right now, I want to give you 322 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:55,200 that chance. So if everybody could please bow 323 00:27:55,200 --> 00:28:01,240 their heads, close your eyes just for a moment, just so you 324 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:05,000 can focus between you and God, I'm going to give you an 325 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,800 opportunity to talk to God. I'm going to give you an 326 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:13,840 opportunity to accept Him. You can repeat these words or 327 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,080 say something similar, but this is just between you and God. 328 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:25,360 Jesus, I know I am a Sinner. I know there's all kinds of 329 00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:30,920 stuff in my life that shouldn't be there, and I cannot save 330 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:38,280 myself. I want you to save me, adopt me. 331 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:44,520 Adopt me into your family. Jesus, I surrender everything to 332 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:48,760 you. I receive your promise of 333 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:53,400 forgiveness, your promise of adoption, your promise of 334 00:28:53,400 --> 00:29:00,120 eternal life and guidance. Lord, please be my Savior. 335 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:05,760 With nobody looking around, if you prayed that prayer for the 336 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:09,000 very first time today, would you be brave enough to raise your 337 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:12,840 hand? Thank you, I see you. 338 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:19,360 You can put your hands down in Jesus name, Amen. 339 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:25,760 All right, if you just committed your life to Jesus for the very 340 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:28,880 first time, welcome to his forever family. 341 00:29:34,510 --> 00:29:38,270 In just a moment, we're going to respond to the word of God. 342 00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:41,840 And during that time, there's tables on the back corners that 343 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:45,080 say I've raised my hand. These tables have people that 344 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:47,920 are going to congratulate you. They're going to love on you. 345 00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:49,120 They're going to give you a Bible. 346 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,640 We want to take the next step with you in your journey with 347 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:55,640 Christ. And I want to give you a couple 348 00:29:55,640 --> 00:30:00,200 application things that you can do in your life that will help 349 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:04,680 you hear from God. If I told you to wake up 350 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:08,120 tomorrow morning at I was going to say 3, but ain't nobody's 351 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:16,560 doing that at 5:00 AM to just pray to God and then just be 352 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:19,320 quiet for a few minutes that God will speak to you. 353 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:22,680 God will actually hear you. You will hear him. 354 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,840 A lot of you would do it. You would be excited about it. 355 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,000 You would be talking to your friends about it. 356 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:31,400 Hey, I'm going to do this. It's pretty cool. 357 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,800 God talks to me. He's real, He's alive. 358 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:38,720 He actually answers me. Well, here's the thing. 359 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:43,000 The Bible says that the word of God is alive. 360 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,440 It deals with our everyday situations. 361 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:52,720 Even more incredible says that the Scripture is God breathed. 362 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:58,640 It says that His word is a light, like a flashlight that 363 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:03,000 opens your view, guides us, and gives us direction. 364 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:07,880 Sometimes the reason that we can't hear God's voice clearly 365 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:15,520 isn't because he's not speaking. It's because we built barriers, 366 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:23,080 barriers between Him and us. How often do we read His word? 367 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:29,400 We read what it says, we think about it, and we say, hmm, I 368 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:34,000 don't think that applies to me. That seems like kind of a lot of 369 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,920 work. God calls us to treat our 370 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:42,120 marriages as the covenant they are, yet we treat them as 371 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:46,320 contracts to be dissolved when our expectations are not met. 372 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:50,800 The Bible calls us to get rid of bitterness and to forgive 373 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,560 others, and yet we can't imagine forgiving somebody else. 374 00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:56,040 We can't let them off the hook for what they did. 375 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:04,480 Deep down, you know the things that God is asking you to deal 376 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:08,160 with. Sometimes we're asking God for 377 00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:15,240 steps 234 and five, and he's still waiting for us to deal 378 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:21,480 with step #1. Application number one is to 379 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:25,840 live in dependence. Dependence. 380 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:30,560 Our culture heats that word dependent. 381 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:37,160 Such a bad thing, but it's obvious we are dependent on God. 382 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:41,560 He even calls us to be dependent on Him. 383 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:47,080 So fulfill that dependency by being in His Word. 384 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:54,680 A few weeks ago we talked about abiding in God's Word to let it 385 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:58,960 soak in, to be in it. So dedicate time with Him. 386 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:04,960 Maybe it is 5:00 AM, maybe it's 5:00 PM, but find a time to be 387 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:06,800 in His Word. Open it. 388 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:11,800 Let the truths of it come alive. Shape your mind, your character, 389 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,880 your path. Let it allow you to step into 390 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:18,160 directions that you don't really want to deal with. 391 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:22,320 It will start to answer your questions. 392 00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:26,720 Maybe you're thinking, I don't know where to start with this. 393 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:29,160 I don't know how to read the Bible. 394 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:37,560 Read John with us. It's 1 chapter a day. 21 days 395 00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:41,320 later you'll have more than you even started with. 396 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,200 And don't worry about understanding what it says. 397 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:46,880 You'll understand a lot, but you won't get everything. 398 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:49,440 That's OK. Just read it like you're getting 399 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:53,720 to know a person because that's exactly what you're doing. 400 00:33:55,840 --> 00:34:00,400 Application #2 Don't do it alone. 401 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:04,400 I can't tell you the amount of times our men's group have 402 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:08,320 opened the Word of God. And then we were open about 403 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:11,120 what's happening in our lives. And I can't tell the amount of 404 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:15,639 times that we threw out bad ideas into the group and allowed 405 00:34:15,639 --> 00:34:22,080 others to speak into it or spent a week praying about somebody 406 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:26,520 else's idea or decision or thing that's going on in their lives, 407 00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:30,280 only to have a discerning voice of God come back and tell us, 408 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:39,800 no, they shouldn't do that. This is a good thing, having 409 00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:44,320 people in our lives. This saves us from a lot of bad 410 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:47,920 choices. If you don't have people like 411 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:54,239 that in your life, start small. Find one person who loves Jesus 412 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:57,400 more than they love making you happy. 413 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:06,920 We would love for you to join any of our community groups. 414 00:35:07,720 --> 00:35:09,440 Pray over the things in your lives. 415 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:13,360 Be real together. Any of our staff, any of the 416 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:16,760 leaders, anybody at the checking tables will help point you 417 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:23,800 towards that. Lastly, application #3 pray 418 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:29,600 about everything. Seems simple, but it's really 419 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:34,520 not. Do you have God on retainer just 420 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:37,760 waiting to use Him at the most pivotal, pivotal moment? 421 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:39,640 This is the perfect time to use God. 422 00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:47,240 Or are we giving Him everything? There's things in our lives that 423 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:50,640 we don't know how to deal with God. 424 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:53,040 I don't know how to deal with the emotions of my preschooler. 425 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:56,120 God, I'm worried about money, but I don't want to seem like I 426 00:35:56,120 --> 00:35:59,800 don't trust you. God, I hate my job, but I don't 427 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:03,160 know what else to do. God, I'm attracted to somebody 428 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:09,360 else, but I shouldn't be. We need answers, but we don't 429 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:15,840 dare say it out loud, let alone tell God or tell wise counsel or 430 00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:19,640 tell our godly friends. But that can stop today. 431 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:26,640 Our prayer team is coming up right now not only to pray with 432 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:30,400 you, but to stand with you as you come before the Lord with 433 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:32,680 something that you have never talked to Him about. 434 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:39,120 So as the music starts, come forward. 435 00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:46,240 Please stand. Pray as the Lord leads you.