1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:04,680 All right, welcome back notes again are available on the back 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:06,520 table. If you want to grab those either 3 00:00:06,520 --> 00:00:09,440 now or on your way out, they're ready for you. 4 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,520 And you know, I, I mentioned often that I would be the type 5 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:15,080 of person that probably wouldn't get the notes while the guy's 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,000 teaching because I want to see it unfold and be surprised. 7 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:19,640 But if you want to see where I'm going, but certainly on the way 8 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,240 out, grab them and it'll be a great tool for you to utilize. 9 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:26,760 I mentioned, I mentioned this again for service, I said Kath, 10 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:28,160 Catherine was here. She's not here. 11 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,200 This service, though. Catherine, who's so dear to us 12 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:34,360 in our church, has been here for so many years. 13 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:37,440 Catherine asked me a couple maybe a year or two ago, a 14 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:39,760 couple years now, if I would send her my notes. 15 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:43,320 And usually my notes are like 16-18 pages long for a message, 16 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:45,440 But I started so I would send her those. 17 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:47,200 And then I thought, well, maybe I could consolidate them. 18 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:52,000 So then I started consolidating them down and now it's like I've 19 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,600 never been to a church where they have 4 pages of notes for 20 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:56,720 you to take home with you, you know, in a message. 21 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,040 But we really want this to be like a Bible study. 22 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:01,080 We value God's word, we value it greatly. 23 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,400 And my hope, my hope is that when I teach you the Bible that 24 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:08,360 it raises within you a hunger for and high expectations for 25 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:09,760 how God's Word is going to speak to you. 26 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:12,760 So now it's just become the culture of our church the last 27 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:15,120 couple years that we hand out this 4 pages of notes. 28 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,680 I don't feel like you're going to school, but I do want you to 29 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,920 grow and your understanding and knowledge of God's Word. 30 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:26,080 And I'm very honored to have that role of teaching God's word 31 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:28,840 on Sunday mornings here. All right, if you're watching 32 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,240 online, grateful that you are here with us N Life Church. 33 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:37,320 We're at right on Main Street in downtown Gaylord and you can 34 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,600 join us in worship services at 9:00 and 10:30 AM on Sunday 35 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,000 mornings and other events that we have going on, which you can 36 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,000 find on our website, nlifechurch.org. 37 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:46,720 But with this is your invitation. 38 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,560 Come and be with us sometime soon. 39 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:52,880 All right, let's take our Bibles if you have them or your device, 40 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,240 however you access. Got the Word and let's turn to 41 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,560 Psalm chapter 16. This is going to be about 1/3 of 42 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,240 the way through your Bible. Psalms is 150 chapters long, 43 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:06,760 short chapters. Many of them are very short, but 44 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:11,080 Psalms contains 5% of the Bible. So a lot of the Bible is 45 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,840 contained in these 150 chapters in the book of Psalms. 46 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,240 OK, so I'm going to read you out of the English standard version. 47 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:21,640 It's in your notes and on the screens or wherever you see it. 48 00:02:21,640 --> 00:02:24,320 But we do want you to see it when I read it to you. 49 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:28,040 So this is Psalm chapter 16, and I'm going to start reading to 50 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,280 you in verse 8. And the psalmist writes, I have 51 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:38,720 set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, 52 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:43,680 and I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and 53 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:48,840 my whole being rejoices. My flesh also dwells secure, for 54 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,600 you will not abandon my soul to shell or the place of the dead, 55 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:55,600 or let your holy One see corruption. 56 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:00,480 You make known to me the path of life, and in your presence 57 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:04,480 there's fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures 58 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:08,360 forever more. The psalmist starts this part of 59 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,160 of these verses by saying I've set the Lord always before me. 60 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:19,040 And he's doing that by focusing, giving attention, meditating on 61 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,040 who God is. And what I want to present to 62 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:26,280 you this morning is that the psalms give us lots to go on, on 63 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:30,000 who and what God is. So this morning I want to talk 64 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,600 to you about this idea of setting the Lord before you, and 65 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:35,480 I want to talk to you specifically about when you do 66 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:44,560 so, finding who and what God is. Let me pray for us, God, again, 67 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,480 it's such a great, wonderful thing to be together, to worship 68 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:51,680 you on Sunday mornings, to sing, to be together with our church 69 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,560 family, to give to you. And now as an act of worship, we 70 00:03:55,560 --> 00:04:00,000 open our hearts to your word. We value and treasure and lean 71 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,720 into your truth that we find in the Bible. 72 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,960 And as we're now in these weeks, particularly looking at the book 73 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,840 of Psalms, we pray that you would expand our love and our 74 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:16,160 understanding of who you are and what you're like and give us a 75 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:20,720 growing discipline on going to your word in order to grow and 76 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,160 our understanding of who and what you are. 77 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:27,640 We pray this in Jesus name and everyone together said Amen, 78 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,200 We're in the series and I had the idea for this this past 79 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,280 summer and we're calling it the OG playlist. 80 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:38,360 And if you didn't know, the OG means like the original, right? 81 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:41,480 Somebody told me what my son said, dad, sometimes OG means 82 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,840 like original gangster like, well, I don't think it's that 83 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:47,680 we're just going to go on OG like the original, right? 84 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,560 So this the Psalms, I look at the Psalms as the original 85 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:53,600 playlist. And what do I mean by playlist? 86 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,600 Well, if you're old enough to remember like me, back in the 87 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,800 day, like in the 80s, we had cassette playlist players, 88 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:01,360 right? And you would, you'd listen to 89 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,240 the radio and you try to catch songs coming across radio. 90 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:06,040 Some of you were laughing and smiling or you remember those 91 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:07,960 days, right? And you'd even call the radio 92 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,400 station and suggest request, can you play the song? 93 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,920 You'd sit there waiting and when you captured it and you had a 94 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:18,600 mixtape full of songs, both sides, cassettes had two sides, 95 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:20,800 remember? And when you had both sides of 96 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,440 cassette full of songs you love, you felt so rich, right? 97 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:27,520 So that was back then, but now we have playlists and you can go 98 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,240 to Spotify and Apple Music and YouTube and, and just find 99 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:34,040 endless, endless, endless options for playlists that 100 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:37,680 people create. And I present to you that the 101 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:43,440 Psalms is God's playlist of songs that were written in the 102 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:45,400 Old Testament era. And particularly they were 103 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:48,880 written over 15 year period, 1500 year period of time. 104 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:53,200 So from Moses all the way to after the, the period of like 105 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:55,760 Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Esther, if you get to 106 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:59,040 that part of the Bible, Nehemiah, after the, the Jews 107 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,680 had been dispersed throughout that part of the world by the 108 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:04,640 Babylonians and the Assyrians. I don't want to get too deep in 109 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,160 the weeds there, but just know that for 1500 years, songs are 110 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:12,040 being written to honor God and through the Holy Spirit. 111 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:15,560 The book of Psalms is it becomes a compilation. 112 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,560 It's not by 1 songwriter David writes a whole bunch of them. 113 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,280 Moses writes Psalm ASAP, the sons of Korra, They're written 114 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:23,640 by a variety of different writers, but it's a playlist 115 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:27,040 compiled, compiled by we believe the Holy Spirit. 116 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:30,960 OK, so I call it the original, the OG playlist. 117 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:33,560 And here's my hope for these weeks to come is that you will 118 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,600 dig deeper into the Psalms maybe than you ever have before. 119 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:38,960 So each week I want to just give you an option. 120 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,520 This is in fact, Taylor and Alex from the first service. 121 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:44,240 And they'd ordered one of these also. 122 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:48,800 So you can go to amazonorchristianbook.com. 123 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,800 And this is the book of Psalms. But it's as big as most of your 124 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,160 Bibles, maybe even. But it has really thick paper 125 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:56,880 and one side is blank where you can make notes. 126 00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:59,040 And then the other side is much bigger words and it's thick. 127 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:01,400 So you can write on it. And it's really like a journal 128 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:03,680 for Psalms, right? And it's like 7 bucks. 129 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:05,400 You can order from Amazon, 7 or $8. 130 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,640 But this one, but you could be the ESV one, which I use, but 131 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,880 there are multiple, the ones out there now just Google Psalms 132 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:15,280 Journal and you'll see that there are many that are out now. 133 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:18,040 And I put it in this beautiful leather sleeve and I try to 134 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,640 visit them daily. OK, so for me, I'm not always 135 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:25,040 consistent in this, but for me, like Psalm one, if there's 150 136 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:29,720 Psalms, then you can read like Psalm 1, Psalm 30609120 and kind 137 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:31,040 of get through the Psalms that way. 138 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:34,520 Or you can just move around and you could Google like, oh, I 139 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:38,000 want to read a Psalm about giving voice to sadness. 140 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,320 Or I want to give a song. I want a Psalm of celebration, 141 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:45,240 great joy, a song of lament. I'm going to be teaching a few 142 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:47,720 weeks to come on the songs of lament. 143 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:49,440 They're very valuable. And what is a lament? 144 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:51,680 It's like a very sad emotional song. 145 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:54,080 They're in the songs. They're ones that are very 146 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:56,160 joyful. The first week I gave you an 147 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,400 introduction to Psalms and the last week I talked about the 148 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,640 like the greatest hits, the essential songs, and we talked 149 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:05,280 about Psalm 23 and Psalm one. If you missed that, you can find 150 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:09,240 it on YouTube or Facebook, wherever you find your podcasts 151 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:12,280 for everywhere. So this week I'm going to talk 152 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:14,240 to you about finding who God is in the Psalms. 153 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:16,680 But in the weeks to come, I would be looking at songs of 154 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:21,760 repentance and songs of lament. I said we'll look at songs that 155 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:23,920 are difficult to get your head around because some of the 156 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:27,560 Psalms when you read them, if you don't quite dig in, then you 157 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,280 might think, wow, this seems to contradict the teachings of 158 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:31,640 Jesus. OK, what? 159 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:33,919 What about that? What about when you read Psalms 160 00:08:33,919 --> 00:08:37,919 that that are about violence and judgment and wrath? 161 00:08:38,039 --> 00:08:40,520 OK, so so the next in the weeks to come, that's what I want to 162 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:43,720 do. But this morning I want to show 163 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:48,200 you that many of the Psalms address who God is and what he's 164 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:51,440 like. And when you set before you the 165 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,160 Lord and you could do it in any part of the Bible and the Psalms 166 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:56,880 are wonderful for it. You went Psalm 16. 167 00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:59,960 It says I've set the Lord always before me. 168 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:03,080 So when you're setting the Lord before you, what is God like? 169 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:08,440 If you're not careful, you can let man man's ignorance and 170 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:13,120 traditional sometimes tradition that's shallow and inaccurate. 171 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:16,680 You can allow people to shape your view of God that's twisted 172 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:19,480 and wrong. So what do you want to do? 173 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:21,240 You want to? I want to keep the Lord set 174 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,320 before me at all times and I want to grow in my understanding 175 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:27,400 and knowledge of who God is. So the Psalms are great for 176 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:29,200 this. Now I want to remind you that 177 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:33,480 the Psalms are mentioned over 100 times, either quoted or 178 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:35,640 referenced or mentioned in the New Testament. 179 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:38,240 This is important to know because there are some 180 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:40,360 Christians that promote the idea. 181 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:43,280 You might hear, if you hear someone promote this idea that I 182 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:45,840 encourage you to be cautious. Some Christians will say, oh, 183 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:49,240 I'm just a red letter Christian. And what they mean by that is 184 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,040 that I'm only going to focus on, I'm only going to value the red 185 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:54,080 letters in the Bible, which are the words of Jesus. 186 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:56,880 On the one hand, you're like, OK, well, I can see that you 187 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:00,280 want to Revere the teachings of Jesus, but all Scripture is 188 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:04,360 valuable and pertinent. So some Christians negate even 189 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:06,200 the rest of the New Testament. They're just, I just want to be 190 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:08,320 about the red letters. I discourage that. 191 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,040 Then there are other Christians who say, oh, the Old Testament, 192 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:14,760 I don't need the Old Testament, I just need the New Testament. 193 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:16,400 OK, so I'm a New Testament believer. 194 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,800 Well, it is true we're in the New covenant, the New Testament, 195 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:23,200 but the Psalms again, being quoted 100 times in the New 196 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:26,480 Testament and being referenced by Jesus and referenced by other 197 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:27,840 writers. And I'm going to show you here 198 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,560 on occasion where Peter uses the Psalms. 199 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:34,320 It it lets us know that the Psalms are still important and 200 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:38,040 valuable in our life. If they were mentioned 100 times 201 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,480 in the New Testament, it's nodding at the fact that they're 202 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:43,160 valuable. Jesus mentions them and also 203 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,280 Peter mentions them. Maybe you didn't know that on 204 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:49,360 the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts, Peter, who was one of 205 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:54,080 Jesus's disciples, he references and quotes the Psalm that I just 206 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,680 read to you, Psalm chapter 16. I'll give you if you're new to 207 00:10:57,680 --> 00:10:59,600 the Bible, I'll give you the history of where this lands. 208 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,640 Jesus, it lives on earth. Then he's he has his ministry 209 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:07,960 for three and some years. He is God in flesh, Emmanuel. 210 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,040 We say God with us. So God puts on human skin and he 211 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:15,400 comes as Jesus and Jesus lives among his followers, discipling 212 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:19,600 them 33 years living, but like 3 and some years he is, you know, 213 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:22,880 presenting himself as the Messiah and giving us his 214 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:26,320 teachings. Then Jesus is crucified, then 215 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:28,560 he's buried. It's important to remember that 216 00:11:28,560 --> 00:11:31,800 Jesus is crucified and buried. He didn't just faint or soon 217 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:34,520 know. He died for our sin, for the 218 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:36,840 forgiveness of our sin. So he's dead and then he's 219 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:38,440 buried, and then he's resurrected. 220 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:41,720 And after he's resurrected, he spends like 4 years some days 221 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:44,680 with his followers, with his disciples, continuing to teach 222 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:50,480 them, OK, now then Jesus ascends to heaven to be with God, to be 223 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:52,640 with the Father. And Jesus tells his disciples 224 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:56,080 that you should go and wait for, I'm paraphrasing, but he says go 225 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:59,080 and wait for the Holy Spirit. The comforter is going to come. 226 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:02,320 And the comforter, now the Holy Spirit is going to abide in all 227 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:04,400 believers. He's available to all of us. 228 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,120 God can abide in us now, all of us who surrender our lives to 229 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:10,160 Jesus. So the Holy Spirit is going to 230 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:14,200 come in Acts chapter 2 into this upper room where the followers 231 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:16,040 of Jesus have gathered and they're praying. 232 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:18,560 And the Bible says that when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, 233 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,200 he's like a mighty wind and he settles on them with like, like 234 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:24,440 fire in their tongues. And they go out and they're 235 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:28,000 preaching in real languages to others who are in the city of 236 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,400 Jerusalem to celebrate the Pentecost, OK. 237 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:34,520 And so they go out preaching the gospel of who Jesus is and these 238 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:38,800 other tongues or languages. Now, in that context, this is 239 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:41,600 where we are. Peter gets up that first day 240 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,120 that the Holy Spirit comes upon them and he preaches A sermon. 241 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,720 And when he does, 3000 people are immediately added to the 242 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:50,560 Kingdom of God as followers of Jesus. 243 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,720 And if you've read this, maybe you missed that in Acts chapter 244 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:57,360 2, Peter is going to quote the Psalms. 245 00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:00,640 Look at your Acts chapter 2. And I'm going to start reading 246 00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:03,600 in verse 22. This is Peter and you would have 247 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:07,600 imagined he is preaching to 3000 without a sound system. 248 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:09,680 So he would have been shouting this really loud. 249 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:13,360 So they would get and he says, man of Israel, hear these words. 250 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:16,960 Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with 251 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:20,520 mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him 252 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:23,560 in your midst. As you yourselves know, he's 253 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:27,200 referencing, you know Jesus, He did these great miracles and he 254 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:31,160 said this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan 255 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:35,360 and foreknowledge of God. You crucified and killed by the 256 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:37,760 hands of lawless men. He's like you crucified him. 257 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:39,320 He was God, but you crucified him. 258 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,480 But it was his plan. God raised him up, losing the 259 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,960 pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held 260 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,200 by it. For David says concerning him 261 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:54,040 and in this occasion, watch Peter is preaching and he takes 262 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:56,840 Psalm chapter 16 that I read to you at the beginning and he just 263 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,440 quotes it. Now it's translated in the New 264 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:01,280 Testament. So but it's it's it's that Psalm 265 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:03,480 watch. He says, I saw the Lord always 266 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:07,880 before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken. 267 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:10,200 Therefore my heart was glad. Why is my heart glad? 268 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:15,120 Because I put the Lord before me at all times, and my tongue 269 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,640 rejoiced, my flesh also will dwell in hope. 270 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,160 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades or the place of the 271 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:24,520 dead, or let your Holy One see corruption. 272 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,560 You have made known to me the path of life. 273 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,520 You will make me full of gladness with your presence. 274 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,680 Watch this on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit 275 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:35,880 comes. Peter's preaching the 3000 and 276 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:42,080 he reads this part of this long song to let them know who God is 277 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:46,200 and what he's like. So the original sermon, the 278 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:49,720 original sermon, when the day of Pentecost happens, the Psalms 279 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:51,720 are there. So the Psalms are valuable. 280 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,200 Peter uses them. We can and should also. 281 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,680 And the Psalms are especially valuable in learning what God is 282 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:00,600 like. So what I want to do is I want 283 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:06,200 to go of the Psalms and I want to I'll show you what God is 284 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:10,320 like in the Psalms and I encourage you to find time to 285 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,840 read them to listen. However you get the Psalms. 286 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:16,440 Maybe you just want to get the Bible app that that is on your 287 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,320 iPhone or your Android device, or maybe you want to a journal 288 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:22,360 or maybe you want to go to YouTube and just say read 289 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:23,800 Psalms. You can get them either hearing 290 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:26,520 them or reading them. There's so many places where you 291 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:31,960 can access the Psalms. Now our thinking about God and 292 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:37,600 who he is shapes our entire world view, shapes our choices, 293 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:40,440 shapes our life. And our thinking about God can 294 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:42,920 be greatly shaped by the Psalms, and we should welcome that. 295 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,000 One of the authors that I'm really fond of, his name is AW 296 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:48,640 Tozer. He pastored in the Christian 297 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,160 Missionary Alliance tradition and died in 1963. 298 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:53,640 I pastored in Chicago and he said this. 299 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,960 What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most 300 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:04,160 important thing about us. What you think about God, how 301 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,880 you view him, is the most important thing about you. 302 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:10,000 It shapes every part of you. And if you let the traditions of 303 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,520 man or the world around you paint who God is, you likely 304 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:16,360 will miss him. But if you dig into the Psalms 305 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:20,640 and say, God, speak to me, show me through these songs, these 306 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:24,080 ancient Psalms, then God, show me who you are. 307 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:27,920 How much of the Bible is story? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 308 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:29,720 First and Second Samuel, Chronicles, those are all the 309 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:32,480 story in the New Testament. The stories of Jesus are in the 310 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:35,520 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. So sometimes the stories do jump 311 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:40,360 into the Psalms, but mostly there are short songs that talk 312 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:43,120 about who God is and I want to show you that. 313 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:46,840 So one of the first things I want to show you and you 314 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:50,840 understanding what God is like is Psalm 145 verses 8 and 9. 315 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:55,400 The psalmist says the Lord is gracious and merciful. 316 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:00,360 He's slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 317 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:05,440 The Lord is good to all and His mercy is over all that He's 318 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:07,839 made. I mean, think about that. 319 00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:11,119 It's only 2 verses. You can read that in just 320 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,640 seconds. And there's so much in this 321 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:18,160 short 2 verses and in the entire Psalm 1:45 that shows you who 322 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:20,160 and what God is like. So the psalmist says God is 323 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,319 gracious and merciful. He is slow to anger. 324 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:26,720 He's good to all, and He has mercy for all that He has made. 325 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:31,480 This is what God is like. So when we read the Psalms and 326 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:33,880 you find moments like this where it's like, oh, this is talking 327 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:36,320 about God, what he's like, then it's a good moment for you to 328 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:39,760 pause and then pray it back to God and you can say, God, I 329 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:42,760 thank you that you're gracious and you're merciful. 330 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:45,800 God, I profess that you are slow to anger. 331 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:48,480 You're good to all you have bursty for all that he's done. 332 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:50,680 Now there's a side of God in the other Psalms where you'll see 333 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:52,280 that yes, there's the judgment of God. 334 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:57,560 God also has wrath, judgment, righteousness, justice. 335 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:00,520 Those are talked about on occasions also, and these are 336 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:05,360 all facets of who God is. Another occasion, Psalm 99 337 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:08,440 verses 3 through 5. What is God like? 338 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:12,400 Well, the psalmist writes, let them praise your great and 339 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:18,480 awesome name. Holy is he exalt the Lord of God 340 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:23,960 worship at his footstool. Holy is he, what is God? 341 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:28,800 God is holy, and by holy we mean he's perfect. 342 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:33,280 He's pure, he's unblemished, He's completely perfect. 343 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,040 And Charles Spurgeon, the famous preacher from Britain who lived 344 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,680 in the 1800s, he said that the holiness of God is the crown of 345 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:44,400 all his attributes. The greatest attribute of God is 346 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:46,480 His Holiness. Now this that you're seeing on 347 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,280 the screen here, this is great. Jason and I were at a marriage 348 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:53,680 retreat this past week in on Mackinac Island and she she 349 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:55,640 mentioned the first ever she was here and she's like we were 350 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:57,400 telling we didn't stay at the Grand Hotel. 351 00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:59,480 We didn't we stay at another hotel, but we went to this 352 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:00,720 retreat that was at the Grand Hotel. 353 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:03,160 They let us in to the Grand Hotel. 354 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:05,400 We felt so, you know, fancy, right. 355 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:08,520 So we were there at the Grand Hotel and in the hallways back 356 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:10,680 at the like conference room where we were meeting for this 357 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,720 marriage conference. They had a whole bunch of these 358 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,280 like they were their covers or prints from Vanity Fair 359 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:18,440 magazine. Now think about that. 360 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:22,280 Vanity Fair like vanity means Bane, right? 361 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:25,240 So Vanity Fair, if you think about Vanity Fair today, you 362 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:28,400 wouldn't think of it having a preacher in the magazine Vanity 363 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:29,360 Fair. But we're walking on the hall 364 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:32,080 and they're like 100 or more of these portraits. 365 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:34,200 And I'm just kind of out of the corner of my, I see this and I 366 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:35,200 looked over. I was like, that looks like 367 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:36,960 Charles Spurgeon. And I laughed at it. 368 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:38,400 I'm like, oh, it's Charles Spurgeon. 369 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:41,120 Wow, that's funny. And I knew Charles Spurgeon was 370 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:44,280 kind of a full gospel preacher. He's kind of big dude. 371 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:49,160 And so I looked and so then I, I, I put the photo in chat Chi 372 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:52,800 BT and lo and behold, it spit it out said, Yep, this was this is 373 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:56,000 Charles Spurgeon. And it's December 10th, 1870. 374 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:59,480 Can you imagine a day when preachers showed up in Vanity 375 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:01,440 Fair magazine? Not odd. 376 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:03,760 We wouldn't be common today, man. 377 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,040 But in the 1800s, Spurgeon was having such a great impact. 378 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:08,720 And it says men of the day on the bottom. 379 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:12,080 It says no one has exceeded like him in sketching the comic aid. 380 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:15,800 Of repentance and regeneration. So the sketch artist says 381 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:18,760 they're finding the comic in this, that he promoted the idea 382 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:20,120 of being regenerated and repenting. 383 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:23,040 My point is showing this picture this, I just love that he showed 384 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:24,840 up in the hallways of Mackinac Island. 385 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:29,880 But also again, that Spurgeon said the holiness of God is the 386 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:33,880 greatest attribute of who he is. So who is God? 387 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:36,880 He's holy and putting that before you at all times. 388 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:39,320 When the Psalm 16 says I put this before, I put the Lord 389 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:42,720 before me at all times, we get to put before us this attribute 390 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:46,120 of God, His Holiness. And that's why we sing often 391 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:48,960 about the holiness of God. We're keeping it before us. 392 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:52,960 Now you may think of course God's holy, but in the ancient 393 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:56,320 world it was a shocking idea because if you don't know 394 00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:59,040 anything about Greek mythology or anything about 8 ancient 395 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:02,360 Pagan gods, they weren't holy and they weren't perfect. 396 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:04,760 So you think about Greek mythology, the gods would come 397 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:09,280 down and they would meddle and they would poke at and they 398 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:12,400 would disturb man. I recently this past year wrote 399 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,560 a book by CSO. It's called Until We Have Faces, 400 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:27,120 and it's a retelling of the Greek, but it's a retelling of 401 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:29,560 this ancient myth. And you saw in the in this 402 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:35,040 mythological story how twisted and unholy and unrighteous were 403 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:38,320 these gods that the ancient world worship false gods. 404 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,680 So when the writer of the Psalms comes along and says God is 405 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:47,040 holy, it is different. It sets him apart from the Pagan 406 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:50,800 gods that were around them. And in Isaiah and in Revelation, 407 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:55,440 Isaiah has a has a moment where he sees into the heavenly 408 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:57,120 courts. And John in the Book of 409 00:21:57,120 --> 00:21:58,960 Revelation has the same experience. 410 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:00,480 And both of them say the same thing of God. 411 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:03,320 They say that they were around the throne of God. 412 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,280 They're heavenly creatures and they're continually singing. 413 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,400 Watch that. God is holy, holy, holy. 414 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:14,440 Now think about that. If they're continually singing 415 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:18,080 holy, then it would just be holy, holy, holy, holy. 416 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:19,720 But it's like they're continually saying holy. 417 00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:25,800 But no, Isaiah and John say that God is holy, holy, holy, and 418 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,400 they say it continually around the throne of God. 419 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:32,440 So you want to find out who God is and what he's like. 420 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:35,880 Then remind yourself, keep it before you, that God is pure, 421 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,400 He's perfect, He is holy. He's not like the ancient gods 422 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:44,240 who meddled with human beings and we're greatly imperfect. 423 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:46,960 He is holy. What else? 424 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:50,720 What about God? Psalm 19 One, this is another 425 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,120 occasion. It says that the heavens declare 426 00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:57,320 the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 427 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,040 In this occasion the psalmist is saying the heavens not like not 428 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:04,440 not the place it will go to after we die, but he's saying 429 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,320 no, the heavens meaning that all that God has created, the 430 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,240 galaxies and the stars and the universes and the planets, 431 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:14,120 everything is God's handiwork. He is the creator and the 432 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:17,960 heavens declare his glory. And Psalm 33 verse 6, it says by 433 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:22,120 the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of 434 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:25,880 his mouth all their hosts, who is God? 435 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:31,760 He is Creator of all things. He created the heavens and 436 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:34,160 keeping this before us is a good idea. 437 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:38,000 Psalm 24 verse one says the earth is the Lord's and the 438 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,120 fullness thereof the word and those who dwelled therein, for 439 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:43,560 He has founded it. What did he found? 440 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:48,120 The earth and all its fullness. He founded upon the seas and 441 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:51,520 established it upon the rivers. You know, our, our, our lakes 442 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:54,760 here really more like seas. Aren't they Lake Superior? 443 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:56,040 I understand it's technically a sea. 444 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:57,960 I had friends, some for some years. 445 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:02,440 I lived in California between 2002 and 2000 and 2006. 446 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:05,120 And when I was going to move back to Michigan, I told some of 447 00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:06,880 my California friends, I'm moving back to Michigan. 448 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:08,840 And the couple of them said, oh, man, I'm sorry. 449 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:10,880 And you're like, what are you sorry for? 450 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:13,040 And I lived in Monterey, right near the ocean there. 451 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:14,400 So it's beautiful. It's really pretty. 452 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:16,000 But I was like, man, you don't understand. 453 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:18,400 Michigan is beautiful. And like Michigan, it looks like 454 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:20,440 an ocean. And I had people in California 455 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:21,480 ask me this, you're going to love this. 456 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:23,640 They said like, you can't see across it. 457 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:26,400 Meaning like you can't see across like Michigan. 458 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,280 Like, no, you can't see across it. 459 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:31,480 They're like, but it's a lake. I'm like, yeah, look at a map. 460 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,800 It's bigger than states, right? So when you think about God 461 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:39,400 creating the seas and the rivers, all his handiwork is 462 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:41,800 around us. What is God like? 463 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:47,200 He's a great creator who's made all things, and we want to keep 464 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:53,960 that before us. Then Psalm 20, 4, seven through 465 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:57,040 10 says lift up your heads. Oh, you gates. 466 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,040 So he's like, he's referring to the city gates, that he's like, 467 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,000 lift them up, lift up the city gates. 468 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,800 Let God in, He says, and lift up your heads, O gates, and be 469 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:10,160 lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 470 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:15,040 Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the 471 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:19,000 Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, and 472 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:23,440 lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come 473 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:25,560 in. Who is the King of glory? 474 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,040 The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory. 475 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:33,520 Say LA. Whatever you see the phrase say 476 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:34,720 LA. It's a, It's a term. 477 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:38,240 It implies that there was probably a musical interlude and 478 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:40,480 it's a time to pause and reflect on what was just said. 479 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,320 So the psalmist is saying that God is the king of glory, who is 480 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:44,800 the Lord. He's the King of glory and we 481 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:47,440 are to open up the gates of our hearts. 482 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:50,920 It's a metaphor. We open up our mind, the doors 483 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:55,320 of our mind, and we welcome him in as the king of glory. 484 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:57,240 And seeing God in this way becomes very important. 485 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,840 We we don't have kings now like they did in the ancient world, 486 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:03,640 but we could say God come and rule and reign and me, you are 487 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:05,840 the king of glory. I open the gates of my heart. 488 00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:09,680 I open the doors of my mind to welcome you in. 489 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:13,960 This is who God is. And then I'm going to show you 490 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:15,360 Psalm 139. What is God like? 491 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:19,400 139 verse one, David writes A Psalm and he says it's to the 492 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,760 choir master. I love that he's saying the 493 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:24,880 choir master should be teaching this to the choirs. 494 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:26,360 They're going to perform in the temple. 495 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:31,920 And he writes, O Lord, you've searched me and known me. 496 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:36,640 You know when I sit down and when I rise up, you discern my 497 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:40,800 thoughts from afar, and you search out my path and my lying 498 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:45,760 down, and are acquainted with all my ways even before a word 499 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:48,200 is on my tongue. Behold the Lord, you know it all 500 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:52,160 together. Who is God and what is he like? 501 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,440 He knows us. God is the one who knows us 502 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:59,080 intricately before words even come out, come out of our mouth. 503 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:01,200 God knows it. He knows the hairs on her head. 504 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:07,080 He knows every detail about who you are, which implies that God 505 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:10,720 is close. And this is an important truth 506 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:14,760 to know in the Psalms because you likely know people who say, 507 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:16,400 oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I believe in God. 508 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:18,520 I, I, there's a God. I believe in God. 509 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:22,720 But the people who just say they believe in God, often we would 510 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:26,600 say that they are agnostic. And on the one end, you have, 511 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:28,320 let's say you have someone who believes in evolution. 512 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:29,280 OK. They don't believe there's a 513 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,200 God. There's no afterlife, and 514 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:35,120 everything just emerged from a piece of cell or something, 515 00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:37,480 right? And so that takes a lot of faith 516 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:41,280 to believe evolution takes a great amount of faith, right? 517 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:43,880 So there are people with a great amount of faith believing that 518 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:55,420 the world just became what it is without agnostic. 519 00:27:55,420 --> 00:27:57,780 And they'll say, well, I believe there is a God, but you can't 520 00:27:57,780 --> 00:28:01,580 know him and he doesn't know us. He's distant. 521 00:28:01,700 --> 00:28:05,720 We just don't know. And many Christians live like 522 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:07,760 agnostics. They might say it, well, I 523 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:10,880 believe that there's a God out there, but but they're not, 524 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,560 they're not aware that he knows us intricately and closely 525 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:17,960 according to the psalmist. So agnostics, again, God's 526 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:20,720 distance, he's out there somewhere, but they wouldn't say 527 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:23,480 Jesus is God. So you might have some friends 528 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,120 say, oh, I believe in God. But then the next question is, 529 00:28:26,120 --> 00:28:28,720 will do you believe that he is the King of glory and that he 530 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:31,760 knows us intimately? And then he is Jesus and he has 531 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:33,760 redeemed us? All these attributes that we get 532 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:36,520 from the Psalms, do they see that in him? 533 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:42,120 So God is close and he knows us. And this is important to me at 534 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:45,120 for the culture of our church. One thing that's a really high 535 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:49,400 value for me personally is, is that I personally want to know 536 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,840 you and I want to know your names and I want to know your 537 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:56,680 stories because God, we're an extension of God and God takes 538 00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:01,480 the energy to know us. So the church being God like, 539 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:05,560 should give attention and discipline to knowing each 540 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,200 other. So I want to model this in our 541 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:10,440 church and I want to encourage you to be that same type of 542 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:13,120 person where you're like, I want to know others and I want to be 543 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:17,480 willing to be known in a community, a church where people 544 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:18,880 are known and being willing to be known. 545 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:21,600 Because if you shut off your heart and and just stay in the 546 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:22,960 background and you won't be known. 547 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:24,760 But if you're willing to be known and you're willing to know 548 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:28,600 others, then we become more God like because God knows every 549 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:34,440 intricate detail of who we are. And This is why Jesus in Matthew 550 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,280 chapter 6, verse 9, he wants us to pray to God. 551 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:40,360 He teaches us to pray to God in like a way where we're close 552 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:41,960 with God. And This is why he says, pray 553 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:45,320 then like this, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 554 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:47,960 Jesus doesn't say, though it's true. 555 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:54,360 Jesus doesn't say most holy God or King of glory or, you know, 556 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:56,680 there are all these different titles for God that Jesus could 557 00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:58,840 have encouraged us to pray. And God is all of those things. 558 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:02,040 But Jesus promotes the idea of coming to God and saying our 559 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:07,040 Father, our Father. We get to know God intimately in 560 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:10,720 that way. Good fathers know their children 561 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:13,800 well, right? Parents, mothers, you know your 562 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:15,480 children. You know their the way they 563 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:18,040 breathe. You know their their quirkiness. 564 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:20,480 You learn your children and God has done this with us. 565 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:23,360 I love a book by John Orkberg written in 2005. 566 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:27,360 It's called God is closer than you think, and it encourages 567 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:30,280 building disciplines that keep us aware of how close God is. 568 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,560 It's a discipline you build and you keep this before you God, 569 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:35,560 you're close. You're not distant. 570 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:39,200 Sometimes I I might feel you distant God, but I remind my 571 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:42,320 heart, I keep it before me that you were close and you know 572 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:46,000 every detail of who I am. We keep that before us. 573 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:51,360 Now I want to do an exercise in looking for who and what God is 574 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:53,360 in the Psalms. So I'm going to look at Psalm 575 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:55,840 one O 3 and I want to show you how to do this. 576 00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:58,560 So when you read the Psalms, my encouragement would be that you 577 00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:02,400 you pause in them and you can say the things back to God. 578 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:04,960 And when you're you, when you read the Psalms, maybe even 579 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:07,720 before you read 1, you want to pray God, show me who you are. 580 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:11,840 Reveal yourself to me, God, as these psalms talk about your 581 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:15,080 character and your attributes, who you are, show me. 582 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:17,520 So watch this Psalm one O 3 is a great one to do this with. 583 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:20,560 The psalmist says bless the Lord, O my soul. 584 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:25,160 He's talking to himself, soul curt, worship God. 585 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:28,520 He's stirring himself to it. Bless his holy name. 586 00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:32,000 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. 587 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:35,960 When we follow God, there are benefits that we receive. 588 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:40,320 It's beneficial in our lives to follow after Him. 589 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:42,520 And who is God and what is he like? 590 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,000 Well, verse three, Who forgives all our iniquity? 591 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:48,120 What is God like? He forgives and heals all our 592 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:53,000 diseases. God is a healer and he's still 593 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:55,680 healing today. Amen. 594 00:31:56,960 --> 00:31:58,720 And I have to mention this every so often. 595 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,160 Maybe I try to mention this a couple times a year, not to get 596 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:03,600 super deep in reason this, but there are many Christians that 597 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:06,080 would call themselves cessationists who love God 598 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:11,800 deeply and are well educated and well studied and very sincere. 599 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:14,440 But there are many in Christianity that believe that 600 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:17,760 the gifts and the miraculous gifts particularly have ceased. 601 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:19,800 So thus they would say they're cessationists. 602 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:22,320 The gifts have ceased. So in the New Testament there 603 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:25,480 are the gifts of the Spirit that are listed and many well meaning 604 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:28,120 Christians and many, I have friends, some I have some 605 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:31,000 friends that are cessationists, OK, Now they believe in the 606 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:32,520 goodness of God. They believe in the sovereignty 607 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:35,440 of God, but they don't believe that the miracles are still 608 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:38,080 available to us today. And they get that from in First 609 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:40,720 Corinthians where Paul says when things become perfect, then 610 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:42,880 prophecy will pass away and tongues will pass away and these 611 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:45,600 other miraculous gifts. And they interpret that to me 612 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:48,080 when things are made perfect, meaning like when the Bible is 613 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:49,880 finished, OK, so the Bible is done. 614 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:53,240 When the Bible is done, we won't need the miraculous gifts 615 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:55,600 anymore. But I read that and others who 616 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:58,880 are continuationists who believe that the gifts continue. 617 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:02,040 Well, we read that to think, well, when things are made 618 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:05,680 perfect, that's like when we get to eternity with God, when we 619 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:09,000 die, when Jesus comes back, well then things are made perfect. 620 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:11,960 Until then, the supernatural gifts I still believe are 621 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,800 available to us. And this is important for me 622 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:18,960 personally, personally, but also for our church, that we are 623 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:23,160 people that believe that God is still doing supernatural 624 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:25,880 miracles. And you can often tell when 625 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:27,520 you're around Christians that don't believe this, that are 626 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:29,640 cessationists. And again, they love God, well 627 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:32,360 educated, well learned. And the extremes of both to me 628 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:33,680 are are wrong. OK. 629 00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:36,000 And there's there's, you know, those who are cessationists 630 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,080 would say, well, continuations, they're just all they want is 631 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:40,000 miracles. They're not seeking after God. 632 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:41,320 They're just seeking after miracles. 633 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:43,920 And I would say, man, if that's true, I don't want to just seek 634 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:45,240 after miracles or the supernatural. 635 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:48,280 I want to seek God. OK, so the extremes are both, 636 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:51,080 but cessationists, the extreme of them is they would they would 637 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:53,360 pray things like and who wouldn't pray this? 638 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:56,160 But you'll hear them pray things like God, thy will be done. 639 00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:58,360 Whatever is your will, God let it be done. 640 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:02,240 Now Jesus said to pray thy will be done on heaven as an earth, 641 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:04,840 right? So, but there, if your cessation 642 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,080 is to a point where it's just like you can get to a point 643 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:09,400 where it's like, que Sarah, Sarah, whatever will be will be 644 00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:13,080 God, whatever your will is. They don't pray for miracles. 645 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:15,639 They don't believe for miracles because they don't believe that 646 00:34:15,639 --> 00:34:18,159 God is still doing supernatural miracles. 647 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:22,560 And in my opinion, when you're a cessationist and you approach 648 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:26,080 and see God, what is God like? He's a healer, He's forgiving 649 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:29,159 and he heals all our diseases. God is still supernaturally 650 00:34:29,159 --> 00:34:31,480 healing. And yet God is sovereign. 651 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:34,040 And there are times that God doesn't answer our prayers like 652 00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:35,880 we hoped and prayed that he would. 653 00:34:36,679 --> 00:34:39,159 But in those occasions we still come back thinking God, I still 654 00:34:39,159 --> 00:34:42,880 believe that you do supernatural miracles and believing in the 655 00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:46,520 miracle working power. God is a big part in my faith 656 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:50,159 and without it I think I would view God much differently. 657 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:54,960 Removed, not close. I believe that God is still a 658 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:58,080 healer and is still doing miracles. 659 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:02,360 Now verse 4 says, what else about God? 660 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:05,800 Who redeems your life from the pit and who crowns you with 661 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:09,400 steadfast love and mercy? God redeems. 662 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:12,040 And what does redeem mean? If it's not a term we use often? 663 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:16,800 It means to regain by purchase. So God created us for 664 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:19,920 relationship with him. We were distanced and separated 665 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:22,640 from God through our sin. And So what did God do? 666 00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:27,080 He came up with a plan to redeem us, to buy us back, to regain 667 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:29,840 us. And in Psalms it's saying, who 668 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:33,400 redeems your life from the pit, whatever pit you might be coming 669 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:37,680 through, God can redeem you out of it miraculously. 670 00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:42,040 Verse 5 says who satisfies you with good so that your youth is 671 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:44,240 renewed like the eagles? Who is God? 672 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:47,040 What is he like? Well, God renews us and he 673 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:51,480 brings us satisfaction. He satisfies us all the things 674 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:54,840 in the world that you can, if you want to, you can try them 675 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:57,520 all and still just be very discontented and very 676 00:35:57,520 --> 00:35:59,360 unsatisfied. The psalmist is saying of God, 677 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:03,560 he's the one who satisfies. So what I just did is I just 678 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:05,920 unpacked Psalm one O 3. That's how I would encourage you 679 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:07,560 to read the Psalms before you read it. 680 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:10,000 You're going to read one or two or ten a day. 681 00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:13,320 Psalm 119 is really long. That takes a lot longer to read. 682 00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:16,160 If you're going to read that one like, you know, eat your 683 00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:19,200 Wheaties, get ready for a long read, right? 684 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:21,760 But there's lots of characteristics in Psalm 119 685 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:25,040 about the word of God. So when you read the Psalms, 686 00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:27,400 just start by saying, God, reveal yourself to me. 687 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:32,280 Show me in the Psalm what you're like and then you might even 688 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:34,840 want to pray it back as you go verse by verse. 689 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:39,480 OK, now why is this basic to me? This is a kind of a basic 690 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:41,320 message. Why is it so important? 691 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:43,240 If you've been part of our church for some time, you'll 692 00:36:43,240 --> 00:36:46,920 know that one of the I I don't like what I call low hanging 693 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:50,760 fruit When I go to teach the Bible, I love to mine the Bible 694 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:54,000 and find stories that are not just the ones that are told all 695 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:55,960 the times. So I teach often from the Old 696 00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:58,680 Testament. I taught several weeks ago the 697 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:03,160 week that Charlie Kirk was killed and the woman in 698 00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:07,640 Carolina, Irena Zarutzka, I thought that we could a very 699 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:09,160 obscure story from the end of judges. 700 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:11,440 It's very violent story about a Levite and a concubine. 701 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:13,480 So that's not low hanging fruit, right? 702 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:16,080 If you got to pick fruit off a tree, the, the easy stuff is the 703 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:19,440 low hanging, But as a teacher of God's word, I want to reach high 704 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:20,960 man. I want the best fruit, right? 705 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:24,120 So I'm looking for depth and I want you to come to church ready 706 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:27,760 to learn about God's word. And so I, I, I take it very 707 00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:30,120 seriously, right? So this message this week when I 708 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:32,440 was preparing, I'm like, wow, is this too basic? 709 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:36,480 And then I realized, no, this is this is not low hanging fruit. 710 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:43,360 Us setting before us the Lord and here we is continually is a 711 00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:45,920 very important part of being a follower of Jesus. 712 00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:49,440 So I'll go back where I started Psalm 16, eight through 11. 713 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:56,040 I have set the Lord and knowing accurately who He is before me, 714 00:37:57,120 --> 00:38:01,440 and because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 715 00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:07,080 I set the Lord before me accurately again, viewing him as 716 00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:09,120 the Psalms painting and the rest of Scripture. 717 00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:12,600 But certainly the Psalms have these short, wonderful, dense 718 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:19,240 pictures, illustrations of who God is and what He's like. 719 00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:24,480 So some application to close with the psalmist give us so 720 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:26,840 much depth. And so my encouragement to you 721 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,920 is to read or listen to the Psalms often to get to know who 722 00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:35,200 God, who and what God is. So these can become devotional 723 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:37,720 tools for your lifelong. You read them over and over. 724 00:38:37,720 --> 00:38:39,280 Listen to them over and over and over again. 725 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:43,320 Whether YouTube, Spotify, you can find God's word everywhere 726 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:44,280 now. It's great. 727 00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:47,120 OK. So I would say add the Psalms to 728 00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:51,000 your discipline if you're hungry to get to know who and what God 729 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:53,640 is. And then #2 I would say knowing 730 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:56,760 and knowing who and what God is leads us to loving and 731 00:38:56,760 --> 00:38:59,320 worshiping God in even more meaningful ways. 732 00:38:59,920 --> 00:39:02,680 If you want to feel close to God, well, you have to know him. 733 00:39:03,240 --> 00:39:06,160 And a great way to get to know him is through what you find 734 00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:09,600 about him in the Psalms. And then finally, when you read 735 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:13,120 or listen to the Psalms, look for who and what God is. 736 00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:15,400 When you read through them. You can start, you know, by 737 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:18,960 again, by praying God. As I'm reading, listening, 738 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:27,440 reveal, show me who you are. Let me pray for us, God. 739 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:31,720 I do thank you for how we find you, who you are, what you're 740 00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:35,720 like in the Psalms, and for many of us that are new to 741 00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:40,280 Christianity, new to faith particularly, we need to know 742 00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:44,280 and see you. So meet us in the Psalms and all 743 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:47,080 throughout Scripture. And then for some of us who have 744 00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:50,000 been following you for decades and decades and decades, we 745 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:54,400 still can grow and our worship of you and our understanding of 746 00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:57,600 you. So meet us in this original 747 00:39:57,600 --> 00:40:00,040 playlist that you've put together for us. 748 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:04,080 That is our prayer in Jesus name and everyone said Amen. 749 00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:06,640 Before we leave this morning, I do wanted to give you just a 750 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:10,040 moment before we leave. And I want to give you a moment 751 00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:13,720 to present your life to Jesus. Hey, John, Jamie, you want to 752 00:40:13,720 --> 00:40:16,040 sit down for one quick minute? There you go, right before we 753 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:19,240 close. So before we leave, if you're 754 00:40:19,240 --> 00:40:21,360 here this morning and you've never surrendered your life to 755 00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:24,720 Jesus, maybe you've been wrestling with the claims of 756 00:40:24,720 --> 00:40:28,920 Christianity for a while and I don't know, and you've been 757 00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:31,000 around North life for a while or other Christians and they've 758 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:33,720 been sharing with you, but you've never made that decision 759 00:40:33,720 --> 00:40:36,120 to to just say I'm in. I want to give you a moment to 760 00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:38,560 do that in our worship time this morning if you're watching 761 00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:40,520 online. And what does that mean? 762 00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:43,400 Well, God created us that relationship with them, but we 763 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:45,600 were separated from our from God by our sin. 764 00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:49,040 So God redeemed us. He bought us back. 765 00:40:49,040 --> 00:40:52,400 He regained us through putting on human skin, coming and living 766 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:56,160 a sinless life and offering himself as a sacrifice on the 767 00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:59,200 cross for us. Then he's dead, He's buried, 768 00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:01,640 he's resurrected, conquering sin and death. 769 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:06,760 And now when we surrender our lives to His Lordship, we can 770 00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:10,080 have relationship with God. And you don't have to understand 771 00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:12,480 all the doctrines or theology of Christian that you just need to 772 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:14,520 believe. What do you do to become a 773 00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:16,000 Christian? You believe that the Lord Jesus 774 00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:20,040 Christ is the Lord Jesus is Lord, and you surrender your 775 00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:22,040 life to him. And then we encourage you to 776 00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:24,240 confess that with your mouth and to be baptized there. 777 00:41:24,240 --> 00:41:26,240 Our next step. But the original step is simply 778 00:41:26,240 --> 00:41:28,120 saying, God, I want to receive you Jesus. 779 00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:29,720 I want you to come and reign in my life. 780 00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:31,640 So this morning I'm going to pray. 781 00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:34,640 And my encouragement to you is to echo the prayer that I pray 782 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:38,280 and to tell someone, today's the day I made a decision to follow 783 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:39,840 Jesus. I'm going to pray and I 784 00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:41,200 encourage you to echo this with me. 785 00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:46,480 You might pray, Heavenly Father, I come to you in Jesus name and 786 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:48,880 I want to surrender the lordship of my life to you. 787 00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:53,200 So I repent of my sin. I say no longer do I want to 788 00:41:53,200 --> 00:41:57,360 live with me as the Lord of my life. 789 00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:00,160 I want you to come and be my King and reign in me. 790 00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:03,880 I welcome your forgiveness that comes to the cross and the 791 00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:06,880 resurrection of Jesus. I welcome it. 792 00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:09,520 I welcome your forgiveness. And now I say I want to follow 793 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:13,480 you all the days of my life and eternally I receive your eternal 794 00:42:13,480 --> 00:42:16,680 life now on this side of eternity, meaningful life and 795 00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:18,840 purpose. And then I look to spend 796 00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:22,240 eternity with you. So Jesus reign and rule in me. 797 00:42:22,240 --> 00:42:25,960 I present my life to you in Jesus name and everyone said 798 00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:29,200 Amen. Hey, I'm so grateful to see you. 799 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:31,640 Let's all stand together before you go. 800 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:34,480 And ladies, don't forget Wednesday night 630 is your 801 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:35,800 gathering. And man, if you want to camp 802 00:42:35,800 --> 00:42:39,440 with me Friday night in the Pigeon River, please either text 803 00:42:39,440 --> 00:42:42,840 me if you have my number, e-mail me kurt@nlifechurch.org. 804 00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:46,000 And before you go, I want to say blessing over you. 805 00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:48,840 So if you'll prepare your heart to receive this blessing. 806 00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:56,080 And now may the Lord bless you and keep you, and may he make 807 00:42:56,080 --> 00:43:00,640 his face to shine upon you. And may the joy of the Lord that 808 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:03,880 is unspeakable and full of glory, may it abound to you. 809 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:07,960 And may the peace of God that passes all understanding, may it 810 00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:11,280 surprise you in the midst of all of the challenges that life 811 00:43:11,320 --> 00:43:13,880 brings. And then may the mercies of the 812 00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:16,720 Lord, in other words, the forgiveness of God, that's new 813 00:43:16,720 --> 00:43:19,440 every morning. May it be especially new to you 814 00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:22,240 now and your mornings to come. And now may the Lord Jesus 815 00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:24,960 Christ guard your heart and your mind. 816 00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:29,800 You are salt and your light. Go now and be salt and light 817 00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:31,800 under the world. You are blessed. 818 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:32,800 We'll see you soon.