1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:05,240 My daughter and grandson were here all last week and then they 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:08,480 had surgery prep on Monday and surgery on Tuesday. 3 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:11,200 And I sat down today and kept getting up. 4 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:15,680 I'm like, I am never going to make it through an actual study 5 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:18,880 of first John. So we're going to go through 6 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:21,280 Living Water. And the reason that is, is 7 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:27,680 because it's something that if you guys don't know, the premise 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:33,680 of me going to Uganda is that I was going to build a water line 9 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:38,200 across Africa, which is still, which is still happening in his 10 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,720 time when he wants it, wants it move forward. 11 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:42,640 And it may be moving forward as we speak. 12 00:00:43,160 --> 00:00:47,320 But that water line, when I started it, I thought I was 13 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:49,360 going to build an actual physical water line because I 14 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:53,680 worked for a excavating company and I assumed that they needed a 15 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:55,120 water line. So I was going to go and dig a 16 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:56,640 water line because I'm not very smart. 17 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:02,080 And Long story short, God bad at me on the back of the head and 18 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:09,400 said, living water, Nick. So, So with that, there's a 19 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,040 study of living water and what that means. 20 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:16,840 And we've we've all heard John 737. 21 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,720 This is Jesus talking. And it says on the last day, the 22 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,640 great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, if 23 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:26,960 anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. 24 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:31,320 He who believes in me, as the Scriptures has said, out of his 25 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:33,800 heart will flow rivers of living water. 26 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,520 But he spoke concerning the Spirit, whom these, those 27 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,000 believing in him, would receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet 28 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,440 given because Jesus was not yet glorified. 29 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,840 And Lord, I just lift up this time and everybody here and 30 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:52,560 everybody at home, Lord, and just be in our midst, Lord, just 31 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:54,720 filling us up. Lord, guide and direct us. 32 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,400 We are, we are just to be about your business Lord and and 33 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:01,320 that's really our heart, that's our desire. 34 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:03,440 And I pray this all in Jesus name, Amen. 35 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:09,759 So then you look at Jeremiah 20 or Jeremiah 213 and it and this 36 00:02:09,759 --> 00:02:12,000 one, this one will hit you between the eyes. 37 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:17,360 If it doesn't, you have to think about a little bit for, for my 38 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:21,600 people have committed 2 evils. They have forsaken me, the 39 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,480 fountain of living water and a hewn for themselves, broken 40 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:32,000 cisterns that can hold no water. So this is truly speaking about 41 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,440 Israel. And if, if you have the choice 42 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:41,640 between a, a fountain of water coming out of the ground or a 43 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:43,120 cistern. And if you guys don't know what 44 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:47,280 a cistern is, and I I think here most of you guys do, but it's 45 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:52,280 basically it was hewn out of rock and usually underground. 46 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:54,760 There could be big ones and little ones, but it was 47 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:57,920 somewhere they could store water in the rainy season or store 48 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:00,520 water in the rainy season for the dry season. 49 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:07,360 And they didn't live in modern did this water was not ultra 50 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:09,840 clean when it went in the in the cistern. 51 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,080 So it was not ultra clean in there, right. 52 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:17,680 It was it was they had to like take the scum off the top of it 53 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,200 to get to the water. It was not, you know, you're 54 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,360 boiling the water or you have a, you have a, a fountain of fresh 55 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:29,440 water coming out of the ground and, and God is saying, and this 56 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:35,000 is they have committed 2 evils. They have forsaken my fountain 57 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:39,440 of living water and made for themselves their own cisterns. 58 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:47,720 And when you look at that, guys, that is the principle here is 59 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:53,400 God has the power for us to do the work he has. 60 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:59,280 He has living water for us. And when we do it on our own, he 61 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,120 doesn't say, oh, look at them trying. 62 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:07,440 He says that's evil. We're we're supposed to be doing 63 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:14,200 it in his strength, right? Isaiah 55 one says everyone who 64 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:18,320 thirsts come to the water and you who have have no money come 65 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,360 buy and eat. Yes, come buy wine, milk without 66 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:25,320 money and without price. God says to all come to the 67 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:28,880 fountain and drink. You will be filled to 68 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:34,320 overflowing and your overflow of living water will change the 69 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,520 world. And that's. 70 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:53,160 And that is something that we as believers, I think especially, 71 00:04:53,520 --> 00:05:01,520 especially in America and I, I say that because we and I, we 72 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:03,480 were talking before service about culture. 73 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:08,120 The American culture was built on the opposite premise of that, 74 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,680 not because they didn't love the Lord, but Americans what it 75 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:14,960 what's one of our favorite redneck sayings? 76 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,200 Get it done right, America, get it done right. 77 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:23,560 And that is Americans are adventurous. 78 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,840 They are I mean, and that is, you know, the the Mayflower, the 79 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,760 the people that came to the East Coast and came across this 80 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,440 country, by definition of what they were doing, they were 81 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:39,360 willing to to take risks and go out and do right. 82 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:47,360 But we can we can lose sight of our that it, it's about what I 83 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,040 do, not about what he did. And if we're and if we lose 84 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:57,000 track of what if it being about what he did, then he calls that 85 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:58,320 evil. He doesn't call. 86 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,080 I mean, that's that's my point is, is that when we think that 87 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,840 we have something to offer, he doesn't he doesn't pat us on the 88 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:07,920 head and say good try, but I'll give you a little extra. 89 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:14,200 He says, if you're doing it outside of my strength, I'm not 90 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,160 blessing it. I'm not I'm not in that right. 91 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,160 I need you because and when you, when you look at all the 92 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,600 principles of that through the Bible, when you look at Gideon, 93 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:26,960 you know, God's point in in the battle with Gideon was that he 94 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:31,400 showed up with not enough men to beat the other army. 95 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:34,840 And he said, but it's too big because you would say that you 96 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:38,240 had something to do with it. So then he shrank that. 97 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:41,160 And I don't have all the numbers, so I'm not using them. 98 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:45,480 But he shrank that. And then he said, you're still 99 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,200 too big. You'll still take credit. 100 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:49,640 And it was a fraction. It was, it was nothing. 101 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:54,920 So he brought it down to such a number that they absolutely knew 102 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,400 the only way that they were going to win is if God did it. 103 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,600 That's the God we serve. He wants us to know that he does 104 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:04,640 it in. He's doing the work right that 105 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:09,120 we're not. And in Ephesians 28 it says for 106 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,680 by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of 107 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:15,440 yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of 108 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:18,320 works left. Anyone should boast and that's 109 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:23,120 that principle. It's God gets all the glory 110 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,440 because he is the only way that the work got done. 111 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:31,000 And that is and the work, the the work we're talking about. 112 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:32,680 And there's two different kinds of work. 113 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:37,000 There's I call them capital Kingdom work and lowercase 114 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:41,400 Kingdom work, which is there is the only work that really 115 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:43,280 matters. The stuff that's going to last 116 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:47,280 is capital Kingdom work, right? I mean, what I do for a job, 117 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:53,000 the, the, the, the size of your church, the, all of that stuff, 118 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:54,960 you know, if you have a, you know, I'm doing this for a job 119 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,920 now. So I, the size of the church or 120 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:00,880 if I'm a construct, if I work in construction, I've, I've worked 121 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:03,840 myself up to Superintendent and I have a big company and we're 122 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,080 successful and we do millions and millions of dollars worth of 123 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:08,880 work. Guys, none of that matters. 124 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:12,680 And when I, when I say none of it matters, I don't mean that 125 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:15,000 that God doesn't want us to make a living. 126 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:20,800 What it's to remember that eternity is a long time and 127 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:26,520 we're not a long time. I, I go to the bookstore in 128 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,400 Bonners. I use this a lot, but it's, it 129 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,640 really the bookstore in Bonners, just the way it's set up, they, 130 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:36,679 they have a go to the very back wall and it's a used bookstore, 131 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:40,039 used new bookstore. And the back wall is full of 132 00:08:40,039 --> 00:08:43,880 biographies and they're random. They're biographies and 133 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:49,000 autobiographies, and there's probably 3 or 400 of them, and I 134 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:53,240 probably know 15 of them. And there are some people that 135 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:57,840 might know 100 of them. But those people that got 136 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,080 biographies written about them were important people in their 137 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:02,440 day and age. They were important enough to 138 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:05,360 have the biography written or important enough to write an 139 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:07,880 autobiography and have a publisher publish it. 140 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:12,920 And when I read the names, I, I mean, I might pick up the book 141 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,080 and flip through it and go, oh, that's who that guy is. 142 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:18,320 But by their name, I don't know who they are. 143 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:26,400 And my point of that is all that will last is what we do in 144 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:28,480 Christ. The rest of it is all just 145 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:34,320 Haywood and stubble, right? It is it is literally our and 146 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:39,960 and that doesn't mean that we we aren't here on earth and that 147 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,680 that businesses don't get made and all of that stuff, but we 148 00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:47,760 need to be doing it with a heart of Jesus. 149 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:50,040 What do you want me to do? How do you want me to move 150 00:09:50,040 --> 00:10:01,040 forward and to remember that as we move forward that being in 151 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:06,360 Christ is and this is, this is one of those truths that as you 152 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:10,200 get it, you it's a, it's a difference is if you are in 153 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:13,600 Christ, you don't work for love, you don't work for joy, you 154 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:16,040 don't work for peace. You don't go to Jesus and say, 155 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:17,920 give me peace. You don't go to Jesus and give 156 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:19,600 me love. You don't go to Jesus and say, 157 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:24,640 give me joy. If you are in Christ, Christ is 158 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:28,160 love. Christ is joy, Christ is peace. 159 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:33,640 So if you are in Christ, you have joy, you have love, and you 160 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:36,160 have peace. It's he doesn't have a tank that 161 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:39,080 he goes and gets and when you're low, he fills you up. 162 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,520 It is, it is something that you have. 163 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:46,120 But if you're doing stuff, it's the way I have it on my notes 164 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:49,520 here. The fruit is in the tree and it 165 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:52,360 and that is, you know, the SAP comes up and fills the branch 166 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:54,840 and then the branch produces the fruit. 167 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:58,280 But it wasn't because the branch went out somewhere and got the 168 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:00,200 fruit or the tree went out and got it somewhere. 169 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:04,800 He it was in the tree, right? It it is produced within that 170 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:09,200 and so staying attached to Christ and and his living water 171 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:12,720 in that that that's how it flows out of us. 172 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:19,320 Isaiah 12 three says, therefore, with joy, you will draw waters 173 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:27,960 from the well of salvation. Simply said, do we do we believe 174 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:33,360 that the Lord is enough or do we believe that that we've got 175 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:36,680 we've got stuff we could add. I say it on Sundays. 176 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:39,640 A lot of the only thing I brought to salvation is my need 177 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,560 of it. And I mean, and that's something 178 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:46,600 guys, I can stand up here and, and say, but it's something that 179 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:51,880 it is important for me to truly remember on a regular basis that 180 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:56,360 that no matter how long I'm a Christian, no matter how long I, 181 00:11:56,560 --> 00:12:01,960 I am blessed to be able to stand up here or teach, teach others 182 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,520 about him. No matter how long that goes on. 183 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:09,040 The only thing I brought to this is my need of it, right? 184 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:14,480 I get the joy of studying His Word every day and spending time 185 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:18,440 with Him, but just because I'm the guy that's standing up here 186 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:22,200 doesn't make me any any more or less special than anybody else. 187 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:26,720 It is. It is about Him and His Word and 188 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:29,120 His desire for each and every one of us, right. 189 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:38,160 The picture that God gives us of this living water versus a 190 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:41,760 broken cistern. I kind of had a picture in my 191 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:43,760 head. I've got a couple here, but one, 192 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,200 does everybody remember being a kid? 193 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:50,160 I know we're all a little older now, but when I was a kid and 194 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:56,640 had a little Datsun 210 and when it had, when it had a gas used 195 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:01,600 to be $0.99. And when I had like 1/4 tank of 196 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:07,240 gas, I would, my, my gas pedal foot was as light as you could 197 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:09,720 get. And you know, and then I'd, you 198 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:12,600 know, what friends would, friends would ride home and we'd 199 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,680 get pocket change and I put a couple dollars in and, you know, 200 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,720 and then Monday I'd roll around and I'd get my allowance and I'd 201 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:21,880 fill the tank up and suddenly I got a full tank of gas. 202 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:25,520 And my foot is substantially harder, right? 203 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:28,960 I am, I am, I am floor, you know, I'm ridiculous. 204 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:32,280 And that's because I had a full tank of gas. 205 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:36,680 What God's telling you is, is that no matter what kind of 206 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:42,080 power it looks like you have, if I am there, a puddle of water is 207 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:45,440 more than Lake Pend Oreille. If it's me, right? 208 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:49,800 If, if my fountain is creating a puddle, you can take as much out 209 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:53,800 of that puddle as you want forever. 210 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:59,640 I, there's more water in that puddle in, in potential than 211 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:03,480 there is in Pond Oreille. And we don't trust that, that 212 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,320 that's really what it comes down to is, is that a lot of times 213 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,520 we, we look at what the Lord's asking us to do and we go, well, 214 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:10,560 I don't know how that's going to happen. 215 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:16,000 You know, it's, it's, I think Mark is the one that said it 216 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:20,080 when we were going through this process of figuring things out 217 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:25,720 is God is never late, but he's rarely early, right? 218 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:29,040 And that is something for us as we're talking about living 219 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:33,360 water, like I don't need, I don't need more than 1/4 tank in 220 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:35,760 my car. It will get me wherever I, you 221 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:38,800 know, that that'll get me. It's running now. 222 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:41,480 I, I need more than an empty tank. 223 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:44,480 But God doesn't have to fill the tank. 224 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:47,480 He can, he can give me enough, right? 225 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:50,960 And then, and then what do I have to do is, is use my faith 226 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:53,840 to move that for, is to move forward in that grace, right? 227 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,120 That that that's the direction he wants me to go. 228 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:04,040 When I crushed my foot back in 2013, it was the only trip we 229 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:09,280 had sold a house in in late March, early or late April, 230 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:12,920 early June. And we had enough money that we 231 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:17,280 actually paid for a trip to Uganda in September. 232 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,040 And it was the first time that I'd ever just written a check 233 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,880 and I didn't have to like way to figure out how we were going to 234 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:24,240 pay for it. And I was excited and we were 235 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:29,520 doing all this stuff. And then I crushed my foot and I 236 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,800 can remember just chuckling because the reason that God gave 237 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,440 me the money was because I was supposed to be in Uganda in 238 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:39,080 September. And if he'd have given, if he 239 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:45,080 would, if he'd have had me wait like normal, I wouldn't, I would 240 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:46,800 have been too scared to give the money. 241 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:49,080 If that may, I wouldn't have paid for the try to cancel the 242 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:53,040 trip because I'm broken. I can't go and say hi, Nick, 243 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:54,560 you're too stupid. We're going to get, we're going 244 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:56,400 to have you. I'll pay for the trip in 245 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:57,880 advance. It's the only one I ever paid 246 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:00,440 for in advance. The rest of them as time went, 247 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:06,520 we had the money for it and and it was a fun as you do that over 248 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:08,920 and over again. It's fun to watch how God is 249 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:14,520 going to answer those questions. We, we got on the plane one time 250 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:21,200 in the Tri-cities and we were meeting one of our team members 251 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:26,360 in London. And when we got on our plane, 252 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:32,160 her ticket hadn't been funded yet, but she was sure it was 253 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:36,840 going to be. And when we got off the plane in 254 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:39,920 London, five hours later, she got off her plane. 255 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:42,000 Somebody had paid for a ticket, right? 256 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:47,400 And those are the things is, is that's, that's that God said, 257 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:49,280 and I don't know how he's going to do it. 258 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:51,880 I don't know why he's going to, I just know he said, and we're 259 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:52,920 just going to move forward, right? 260 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,120 Trusting that that's that, that's that trust. 261 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,680 And, and there's a going back and forth to Uganda over the 262 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:01,360 years. That was something I told people 263 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:06,440 is, is once you put your deposit down, and the reason deposits 264 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,520 were important is that until you put your deposit down, you were 265 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,160 still being wishy washy. You were, you weren't relying on 266 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:15,400 him, right? You were just thinking about it, 267 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:18,119 you put your deposit down and then he did. 268 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:21,839 You got to see God move. And by the time you were in 269 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:24,560 Uganda, I tell people, I said, you start with this little baby 270 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:26,839 step. And then as you're moving 271 00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:30,640 through the fundraising process of just talking about it and 272 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:35,520 random people coming up and giving you money that you, you 273 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,440 take bigger steps and bigger steps. 274 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:41,000 And then you get to Uganda and you're running on faith that 275 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:42,680 God's going to do something amazing. 276 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:48,720 And that's that trusting in his living water versus our broken 277 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:51,720 cisterns that I think I have something to offer that I can 278 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:57,000 bring enough money to do this first King 1712 is another place 279 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:01,440 we see this in action and this is the when Elijah goes to the 280 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:07,520 widow and it says so she said as the Lord your God lives. 281 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:11,480 I do not have bread. I only and only a handful of 282 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:18,080 flour in a bin had a little a little oil in a jar and see I am 283 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:21,880 gathering a couple sticks that I may go in and prepare it for 284 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,720 myself and my son that we may eat it and die. 285 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,280 She is not in a good place mentally. 286 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:28,560 I just thought I'd help you out with that. 287 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:32,440 That's that. I mean, that's that's low. 288 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:40,440 So she is not like full of this is not the position you would 289 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,040 think that a widow would be in that is suddenly going to have 290 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:47,480 this big step of faith, right? And she and Elijah says to her, 291 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:52,320 do not fear, go and do as as you have said, but make me a small 292 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:55,240 cake, cake from it first and bring it to me. 293 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:58,400 And afterwards make some for yourself and your son. 294 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:02,200 For thus says the Lord God of Israel, the benef flowers shall 295 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:06,040 not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the day 296 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:07,840 the Lord sends rain on the earth. 297 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:11,920 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah, 298 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,720 and she and he and her household ate for many days. 299 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:19,840 But then a flower was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run 300 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:23,440 dry, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by 301 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:27,440 Elijah. Now this lady, this lady is not 302 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:32,040 an Israelite. She, the Elijah, I mean the Lord 303 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:35,000 of the Israel of Israel, is not somebody she knew. 304 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:40,120 And this guy, this random guy shows up and and he's a prophet 305 00:19:40,120 --> 00:19:42,120 of the Lord. Now, she may have heard about 306 00:19:42,120 --> 00:19:44,200 the Lord, but she didn't know him. 307 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:50,800 But what did she do? She chose to have faith in him, 308 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,640 right? That's all she brought to this. 309 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:56,480 That's all she brought to this. She didn't bring the ability to 310 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:59,040 make more flour or the ability to produce oil. 311 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:03,960 All she did was have faith in the word of God from Elijah in 312 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:07,720 this case. And Elijah didn't do the work. 313 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,080 Right, because he had to have faith to go and tell a widow, 314 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,000 give me the last bit of your food and God will provide, 315 00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:19,080 right? This isn't this is, I mean 316 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:25,800 Elijah, the the faith Elijah has to have to do that is just to 317 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:29,200 trust in the Lord. But neither Elijah or the widow 318 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:33,840 had anything to do with making more flour or making more oil, 319 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,360 right? All they had was faith in the 320 00:20:37,360 --> 00:20:42,120 God that could do it, and then God did it right? 321 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:51,920 Now we have very similar orders in Acts. 322 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,760 Jesus gave his disciples orders like this, right? 323 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,560 Acts 14 Being assembled together with them, He commanded them not 324 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:02,960 to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the 325 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,720 Father, which he said, You have heard from me. 326 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:11,160 For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized 327 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,200 with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 328 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:15,520 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, 329 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,280 saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom? 330 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:21,760 And he said to them, It is not for you to know the times of the 331 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:25,440 season which the Father has put in His authority, but you shall 332 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:29,320 receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you 333 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:33,040 shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and 334 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:34,760 Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 335 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:43,000 So each one of the men Jesus was talking to had a mission to do, 336 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,360 right? And Jesus did not say to them, 337 00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:52,200 go this instant. What he said to them was wait 338 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:55,920 for the promise, right? Wait for the promise of the 339 00:21:55,920 --> 00:22:01,520 Father. And for us, that looks like you 340 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:02,880 got to know what that promise is. 341 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,960 And I mean, the promise is to be filled, but the promise that 342 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:08,680 he's telling, I mean, each one of those guys, each one of the 343 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,520 disciples, they went places, they did things right. 344 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,160 They did them directed by the Holy Spirit. 345 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:19,160 And when you look in the the word, it's we should be spending 346 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:22,600 time in our word. We should be spending time in 347 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:26,720 prayer right waiting on him. Joshua 18 says this book of the 348 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:30,160 law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in 349 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:33,560 it day and night that you may observe to do according to all 350 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:35,200 that is written it written in it. 351 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:37,760 For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will 352 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:47,200 have good success. So we cannot be successful of 353 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:51,360 ourselves, right? Not, not in not in capital K 354 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:55,040 Kingdom ways, right? We cannot do what the Lord wants 355 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:57,880 us to do outside of the Lord's power to do it. 356 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:02,520 And I will tell you, it's like my, my buddy and you are in in 357 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:04,800 the tri-cities that when I was deciding whether or not I was 358 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:07,120 going to stay in the tri-cities or I was going to come up here 359 00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:09,760 and he looked at me and he goes, really doesn't matter what you 360 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,240 want to do. What's the Lord telling you to 361 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,960 do? You know it And it, and it was, 362 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:18,160 you know, I was doing a pros and cons list of of should I do this 363 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:20,840 or should I do that? And and really, Bruce was just 364 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:22,680 Nick. I tried to go against what the 365 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:25,320 Lord told me to do one time. And it was the most miserable 366 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:28,240 six months of my life. And he picked what he and that 367 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:30,160 was one of those. He just picked the job because 368 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:32,720 it was a good paying job. And this is where you know, I'm, 369 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:37,600 I'm doing this stuff and guys, money won't get it done right. 370 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:41,720 If you, if you, if you decide that you're going to go the 371 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:44,240 direction of money and not the direction the Lord wants for 372 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:47,840 you, it's going to go badly. And it's one of the first 373 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:52,280 questions I ask anybody, like whenever anybody's moving or 374 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:53,960 anything. Do you have, do you have another 375 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,160 church? Do you have a body of believers 376 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:57,280 that's going to come around you, right? 377 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:00,720 Doesn't matter if you're moving to Nebraska because there's a 378 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:04,920 new multi $1,000,000 job. If you have no fellowship there 379 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:09,720 and God isn't telling you to go there, then you don't need to go 380 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:13,240 there, right? There's and now if God's telling 381 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:14,880 you to go there, it doesn't really matter about the 382 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:18,960 multimillion dollar job, right? It's that that's our that's what 383 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:21,640 we should be leading with is what's the Lord telling us to 384 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:26,280 do? Because guys, once, once I 385 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:29,240 agreed and gave my life to the Lord, that's the marching orders 386 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:33,120 I have is to be about his business, right? 387 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:39,360 And and Deuteronomy 11/10 is another one of this this 388 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:46,560 principles of God wants the credit and he doesn't want us to 389 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:48,600 think that it's about the sweat of my brow. 390 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:52,920 And like I said, as in America, it is at a one of my good 391 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,800 friends in in the tri-cities. Jason says all the time. 392 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:57,200 He said, Lord, just give me a list. 393 00:24:57,720 --> 00:24:59,600 Just tell me what to do. Give me a list and I'll check it 394 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:00,880 off. I'll just do the list. 395 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:04,360 Well, that's not how God works, right, because if it was all 396 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:08,480 stuff I could do without him, then he, he isn't getting the 397 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:10,600 glory right. And, and at the end of the day, 398 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:12,600 he wants people to look at my life. 399 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:14,280 He wants people to look at your life and go. 400 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,640 The only thing that explains that is God's doing work in 401 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:19,880 their life. That's what he wants, right? 402 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:23,120 He wants me to be a mystery to the world that they come and 403 00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:26,080 seek out what's weird there. How it how is that happening? 404 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:32,200 Deuteronomy 11/10 For the land which you go to possess is not 405 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:35,120 like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you 406 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:40,240 sowed your seed and watered it by by foot as a vegetable 407 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,480 garden. But the land which you cross 408 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,560 over to possess is a land filled with hills and valleys which 409 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:49,320 drink water from the rains of heaven, a land which the Lord 410 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:53,040 your God cares. The eyes of the Lord your God 411 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:55,480 are always on it from the beginning of the year to the 412 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:59,600 very end of the year. So this is clear to the 413 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:05,080 Israelites that that this land is not something they're going 414 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:09,240 to irrigate, that they're going to work and make better, that 415 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:11,360 the Lord is going to do the watering, right. 416 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:16,560 Egypt, if you guys don't know the, the different types, Egypt 417 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:20,880 is a type of the world. So when I, before I got saved, 418 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:26,520 my job was to work hard and make the, the, I mean the American 419 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,480 dream, right? The get the get the, I think 420 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:32,760 it's 2 1/2 kids, which that, or maybe it's 2 1/2 cars and that 421 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:36,560 second car is hard to drive and two kids and, and a wife and and 422 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:42,200 a three bedroom house and live in a suburb and have a good job, 423 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,000 right. Well, I checked all those boxes 424 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:49,080 and I wasn't, I wasn't content in the world. 425 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:51,520 I mean, I had everything the world said I should have and I 426 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:56,560 wasn't wasn't content. And the problem was they didn't 427 00:26:56,560 --> 00:27:02,160 have Christ right. And Canaan is, is a picture of a 428 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:06,040 of our life in Christ. It's not it's not being saved 429 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:09,800 because the Israelites were saved when they left Egypt. 430 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:16,600 They just refused to go into the land and have have that that 431 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:21,520 victorious Christian life which is relying on the Lord right to 432 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:25,800 do the work is to be in him letting him do the work in US 433 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:31,360 and and God is telling the Israelites the only way Canaan 434 00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:35,760 is going to grow is if I water it in Egypt. 435 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:39,080 They could dam the Nile River. There was the the and it would 436 00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:41,800 flood and they could water right. 437 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:48,880 They, they had control here. And God is telling them in no 438 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:53,920 uncertain terms that they don't have control and they're going 439 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,600 to have to trust him. And and, and when you I mean, as 440 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:59,880 we're going through Exodus on Sundays, you will see that God 441 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:03,560 just double S down on this over and over again that they have to 442 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,440 learn to trust him that he is the only way they're going to 443 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:08,960 survive any of it. Right. 444 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:17,120 This is back when I was going back and forth to Uganda, my 445 00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:20,720 safety guy that I've talked about before in the Tri-cities, 446 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:25,720 Bruno, he's one of those he just loves the Lord and it is just a 447 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:31,160 joy to be around and is, is convicting just to be around him 448 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:35,080 because of the love he has for the Lord and his just, he just 449 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:40,560 has a, a very he, he gets this that he has nothing to offer but 450 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:42,440 me and him. You have some pretty good 451 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:46,320 conversations. And something I told him, I 452 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:49,600 said, said, Bruno, this is kind of where we're at. 453 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:54,520 I keep planning and coming up with ways to pay our way to the 454 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:58,600 water line across Africa because I because I mean, I work, I 455 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:00,320 mean, at that time, that was my job. 456 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:04,160 I, I, I just kept, you know, I'll work more overtime. 457 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:08,880 I'll figure this out. And God finally said, Nick, all 458 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:13,240 your effort couldn't afford to build a drinking fountain across 459 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:16,840 Africa or couldn't afford to build a drinking fountain. 460 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:19,800 And I'm asking you to build a water line across Africa. 461 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,440 So it's literally that Gideon idea. 462 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:27,000 I was know all the money I could come up with all the ways I 463 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:32,280 could come to earn money wouldn't even scratch the 464 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,200 surface of what was going to be needed. 465 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:40,680 And when you when you recognize that there's a rest in that 466 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:42,400 Lord. If you want to do this, you're 467 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:49,080 going to have to do it because I can't and it is it is truly 468 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:59,400 something that as believers we need to settle into the Lord is 469 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:02,120 asking us to do stuff right. He might be asking us. 470 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:07,520 I mean, for me at that time, he was asking me to go to Africa to 471 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:11,800 the ends of the earth. But there are many places God 472 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:14,120 could send us right? There's, I mean, he could send 473 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:21,040 you the Sandpoint for all you know, but no matter where you're 474 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:24,480 at, there are homeless, orphans, widows, right? 475 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:29,040 There's India, there's South Africa, there's South America, 476 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:31,720 there's the 10:40 window, there's Europe. 477 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:36,320 These are, these are all places that God could send you could 478 00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:38,840 ask you to go, but he isn't going to ask you to go because 479 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:41,920 you have the money or the resources or the the talents to 480 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:44,400 do it. He's going to send you because 481 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:48,800 you're his to be sent wherever he wants to send you. 482 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:56,120 But how how you are prepared is by understanding that all of the 483 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:59,160 resources that you need are in him, right? 484 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:05,760 And that is when you pray and just wait on the Lord, right and 485 00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:11,760 say, Lord, I am willing to do whatever you ask me to do, but I 486 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:15,760 don't have the resources to do unless you do it through me, 487 00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:19,480 right? And that's that not forsaking 488 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:21,840 the living water that he's giving us, right? 489 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:24,240 Not trying when I try, I mean, like I said at the beginning of 490 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:29,520 this, when I try to do it in my own strength, he doesn't pat me 491 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:31,520 on the head and say, well, that was a nice try. 492 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:36,920 No, he calls that evil. If you're the what our 493 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:40,680 requirement as a Christian is to rely on him. 494 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:44,120 And like I said, I've shared, you know, it's get in, sit down 495 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:48,000 and hold on, right? He's running the ship, he's 496 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:57,320 running the boat, right. And the the fun thing is, is 497 00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:03,520 that we are here and bridges Sandpoint, right, This little, 498 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:08,760 little tiny 1919 building. And I say little tiny. 499 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:11,280 It's not tiny to me, but some might call it tiny. 500 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:19,680 And we are in downtown Sandpoint and completely in a position for 501 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:23,320 the God, for the God of the universe to do amazing things 502 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:28,880 with a people that is willing to just drink of that fountain of 503 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:30,840 living water and let him do the work right. 504 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:37,040 Let him come come into us and flow out into this community and 505 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,600 this and I say this community, I, I say Sandpoint because we're 506 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:44,320 in downtown Sandpoint. But guys, we in this building on 507 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:51,640 any given Sunday cover about 100 square miles from from I think 508 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:56,560 it's we are Bonners Ferry to Clark Fork to Priest River to 509 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:02,200 Silverwood. And that's a pretty big area and 510 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:07,560 a lot of people. And so in that there are there 511 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:10,800 are there's the ability to shine light into people's lives, 512 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:12,120 right? There's there's the ability to 513 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,600 flow water into their life, right. 514 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:21,920 But how we do that isn't by isn't by anything that I can do 515 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:27,640 in my flesh, in my strength. It's spending time with the Lord 516 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:30,960 and saying, Lord, what do you want me to do for you today? 517 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:33,880 You know, and not in a let me check that box. 518 00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:36,280 Lord, what do you have for me to do today? 519 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:39,240 What what have you built me for? What appointments do you have 520 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:40,680 for me? And that's that that morning 521 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:44,440 conversation that we have with him is, is Lord, I want to be 522 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:50,040 about your business, whatever that business is and that I am 523 00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:52,280 not because I have the strength to do it. 524 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:58,560 Because guys, I will tell you that as he moves life forward 525 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:03,600 for us, he shows me that more and more all the time that that 526 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:08,480 I am weak and feeble in my own strength, and that the only way 527 00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:10,639 that I move anything forward is in him. 528 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:15,480 Matthew 2818 says, and Jesus came and spoke to them saying, 529 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:19,560 all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 530 00:34:19,679 --> 00:34:23,199 Go therefore and make disciples of all nation, baptizing them in 531 00:34:23,199 --> 00:34:26,320 the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching 532 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:30,520 them to observe all things I have commanded you and lo, I am 533 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,360 with you always, even to the end of the age. 534 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:40,520 So guys, it is not if we should go right or if he has work for 535 00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:44,719 us to do. It is do we trust Him to give us 536 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:49,320 the the power and the ability to do the work that he's asking us 537 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:50,679 to do. Not not. 538 00:34:50,679 --> 00:34:55,159 Hey, I didn't, I'm not I'm not somebody who speaks well and 539 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:59,040 like he tells Moses in Exodus 4, which we'll be talking about 540 00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:03,200 this Sunday, who made your mouth right? 541 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:07,960 Who if if God asks you to do something, he will empower you 542 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:11,760 to do it. And, and really, if you are not 543 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:15,680 a good speaker, that is exactly the person he wants upfront 544 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:20,160 speaking because at no point I will tell you, at no point do I 545 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:26,240 do I ever take credit for being a, a good orator, which is a 546 00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:28,880 good speaker, right? I think that's the word proves 547 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:32,080 my point. This is not what I thought I 548 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:34,400 would ever do. This is not anything that 549 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:39,200 anybody in the world that knows me thought. 550 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:40,800 Hey, you know what Nick's going to do when he grows up? 551 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:45,240 No, I, I guarantee you there is, there is nobody that thought 552 00:35:45,240 --> 00:35:47,280 this is what Nick's going to do when he grows up. 553 00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:55,280 And that's the kind of people God uses not not he doesn't use 554 00:35:55,280 --> 00:36:00,160 people like Nick Adams. He uses people in positions that 555 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:04,960 they're not qualified for. And he does it because he wants 556 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:07,960 the glory of that. He wants people and, and not 557 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:12,240 because God is like selfish, I want the glory. 558 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:17,200 He wants people to look at your life and my life and go, what's 559 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:18,360 weird? How? 560 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:22,240 I mean, I, I honestly tell you that I, there are, there are 561 00:36:22,240 --> 00:36:27,120 people in my past that I don't know if they, if they, if they 562 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:31,000 know that I'm a pastor, any of that, but I, there are people 563 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:34,560 that I know for a fact, if they saw me doing this would go what 564 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:36,480 in the world? What kind of weird church is 565 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:40,800 that? I mean, that's when I got saved. 566 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:42,800 Guys. I went to, I walked into church 567 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:46,440 and Richard Shook, one of my good friends. 568 00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:49,640 But at the time, the last time me and Richard Shook had seen 569 00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:55,600 each other was after being in Santa Barbara, CA and that was 570 00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:58,560 blurry. If you don't know, if you're in 571 00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:01,440 Santa Barbara and you're a 19 year old from Washington, you 572 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:04,840 look 26. Don't ask me why that is, but I 573 00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:06,920 guess Californians don't age as fast or something. 574 00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:12,640 But so for somebody who drinks or drank at that time, looking 575 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:14,720 like a 26 year old was not healthy. 576 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:20,560 I'll just leave it at that. And Richard and me left the I 577 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:22,680 mean, that was the last time we saw each other when we parted 578 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:29,160 ways in in Bend, OR. And then I go into Calvary 579 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:32,480 Chapel Tri-cities and I dropped my daughter's off and I'm not a 580 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:36,080 believer at this time. My my wife then was had 581 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:38,760 rededicated her life and wanted to take the kids to church. 582 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:39,800 And I'm like, yeah, we can do that. 583 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:44,800 And we drop the kids off to Richard Shook and his wife 584 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:46,600 Candy. And I'm like, that kind of weird 585 00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:50,720 place is this, it's who's that? And then and then I go inside 586 00:37:50,720 --> 00:37:57,120 and this is the this is this is the God we serve. 587 00:37:57,560 --> 00:38:04,280 And this is he wants these, he wants these reactions from those 588 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:09,400 people that know us the most and know us from our past. 589 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:14,440 He wants us to stand out and go, well, I know they didn't do 590 00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:20,160 that. And so I go in the sanctuary 591 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:24,720 that first night and Steve Westermeyer is inside. 592 00:38:24,720 --> 00:38:28,120 And Steve Westermeyer is an elder or he wasn't an elder. 593 00:38:28,120 --> 00:38:30,360 He was just a like a Deacon, but he was, he's in the leadership. 594 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:36,600 And so everybody's why? Why do you care about Steve? 595 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:42,120 When I was 20 years old, I rolled my best friend's toe to 596 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,760 pick up on my 20th birthday as a designated driver. 597 00:38:46,240 --> 00:38:48,600 My 20th birthday as a designated driver. 598 00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:53,280 Not a good idea. But I had just been to Steve's 599 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:59,160 house, the guy I'm meeting in church now to buy me a cake, 600 00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:01,160 That was the last time I saw Steve Westmeyer. 601 00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:03,240 He was going to buy. He was going to buy underage 602 00:39:03,240 --> 00:39:05,560 Nick a keg of beer. That was last time I saw him. 603 00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:09,360 And now I see him in church and he loves the Lord, right? 604 00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:14,840 My point of that isn't that I was ridiculous as a kid. 605 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:19,640 It's that God got a hold of those guys in in a radical way. 606 00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:24,600 And because those guys were there when I got there, I was 607 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:27,640 not planning on taking any of it serious. 608 00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:35,440 But when I got there and they were there, it made me go, well, 609 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:38,640 maybe there's something to this, if that makes sense. 610 00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:44,640 That's that God wants to use your life. 611 00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:48,800 He wants to use my life in those around us lives. 612 00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:53,120 And how he does that is by filling us with his water, not 613 00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:59,240 not through my strength, right? Job 2912 to 17 And this is 614 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:02,960 something I think all guys should look at these passages 615 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:08,280 and and really this is, I would say, the something we should be 616 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:11,240 the business we should be about. Because I delivered the poor who 617 00:40:11,240 --> 00:40:15,200 cried out, the fatherless, and the ones who had no helper. 618 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:18,920 The blessing of the perishing man came upon me, and I caused 619 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:20,600 the widow's heart to sing for joy. 620 00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:23,560 I put on righteousness and it clothed me. 621 00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:25,920 My justice was like a robe and a turban. 622 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:29,440 I was eyes to the blind and I was feet to the lame. 623 00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:33,920 I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I 624 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:37,160 did not know, and I broke the fangs of the wicked and plucked 625 00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:41,440 to the victims from his teeth. Those are great things, right? 626 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:45,520 That's that's the description of a man about God's business. 627 00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:51,600 But if at any point I'm doing those things as a checklist 628 00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:56,200 outside of what of of God, of knowing that the only way that I 629 00:40:56,200 --> 00:41:00,840 do any of that stuff is through what God is doing in me and I'm 630 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:03,240 pouring into others. If at any point I think that 631 00:41:03,240 --> 00:41:09,120 those things are things I do to make myself more righteous, then 632 00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:11,800 I am completely. I'm back into, I'm back into 633 00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:16,280 broken cisterns. If I'm not doing them completely 634 00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:20,680 from the position of Lord, I can't. 635 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:25,480 You have to. If I do, then they're just hay, 636 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:28,000 wooden stubble, right? They're a waste of time. 637 00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:30,920 They are doing it in my own strength. 638 00:41:31,080 --> 00:41:38,480 Like I said, God is not impressed. 1st Corinthians 311 639 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:43,400 says for no other foundation can anyone lay then that which is 640 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:46,680 laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now if anyone builds on the 641 00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:50,240 foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, 642 00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:54,440 straw, each one's work will become clear for the day, will 643 00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:59,000 declare it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire 644 00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:02,120 will test each one's work of what sort it is. 645 00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:07,840 If anyone, anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he 646 00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:10,800 will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he 647 00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:14,600 will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved yet through fire. 648 00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:21,400 So all of that to say is if I stand up here every Sunday, like 649 00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:25,400 I talked about this week on Sunday, if I stand up here every 650 00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:28,000 Sunday, if I'm here every time the doors are open, but I'm 651 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:30,280 doing it because I want you guys to see me. 652 00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:34,000 If I'm doing it for my own gratification, if I'm doing it 653 00:42:34,240 --> 00:42:39,680 at all in my own strength, guys, it is a waste of time and it's 654 00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:42,520 not going to condemn me to burn in hell forever, but it is a 655 00:42:42,520 --> 00:42:45,280 complete waste for the Kingdom, right? 656 00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:49,080 When, when I get to heaven, I'm going to be Casting Crowns at 657 00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:52,880 his feet. If I'm doing anything for 658 00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:56,120 selfish reasons, I'm not going to have any crowns to cast 659 00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:00,920 because we all will be revealed in the end, right? 660 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:04,440 If we'll just, we'll use Billy Graham because I think we all 661 00:43:04,520 --> 00:43:07,720 all really believe his heart was in the right place and he was 662 00:43:07,720 --> 00:43:09,960 doing it for Jesus. But if he wasn't, if he was 663 00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:13,480 doing it for the crowds, if he was doing it because he was, he 664 00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:18,600 was the big man on campus, even though thousands upon thousands 665 00:43:18,600 --> 00:43:24,320 got saved for him, he will suffer loss if he was doing it 666 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:30,400 for the wrong reasons. So that is and, and I believe 667 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:33,080 that Billy Graham would have taught that exact same thing, 668 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:36,960 right? Is that the only reason to be 669 00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:40,760 here is to be in Christ about his business. 670 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:45,640 And that gets us back to that, that fruit of the Spirit. 671 00:43:45,640 --> 00:43:47,360 And what is the fruit of the Spirit? 672 00:43:49,040 --> 00:43:53,200 Galatians 522 But the fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, 673 00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:55,640 long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and 674 00:43:55,640 --> 00:44:01,000 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 675 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:05,160 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its 676 00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:10,160 passions and desires and what that guys Christ is all of those 677 00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:11,720 things. If you are in Christ, you will 678 00:44:11,720 --> 00:44:15,280 have that fruit right? It isn't you don't you don't 679 00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:21,320 struggle all we struggle with guys, I mean 100%. 680 00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:24,400 I can guarantee you what your struggle is on a daily basis, 681 00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:30,920 what my struggle is and around the world is selfishness. 682 00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:36,840 And I, and that's not that is we are a Adam suffered from 683 00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:39,920 selfishness. I suffer from selfishness. 684 00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:42,560 That's it. Because as soon as you get rid 685 00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:46,040 of that, suddenly it is really easy to have patience with 686 00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:48,360 people because why you don't have patience with them is 687 00:44:48,360 --> 00:44:52,600 because they are irritating who self they're irritating you. 688 00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:56,600 So you don't have patience. Why is it hard to love people 689 00:44:56,800 --> 00:44:58,920 because they're irritating you, right? 690 00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:02,480 I mean, and I, and I say that who steals your joy when 691 00:45:02,480 --> 00:45:06,280 somebody, somebody is stealing your joy because it is affecting 692 00:45:06,480 --> 00:45:09,960 you, right? I mean, that is really, and I, I 693 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:13,680 don't want to say that in some because there are real things 694 00:45:13,680 --> 00:45:15,280 that really happen that really hurt. 695 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:20,000 And, and I'm not, I'm kind of kind of messing with it in a lot 696 00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:21,960 of ways, like like a traffic thing. 697 00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:27,080 But I'm, I get that, that there's real hurt and there's 698 00:45:27,080 --> 00:45:28,760 real struggle and there's real pain. 699 00:45:29,840 --> 00:45:33,560 What, what we need to as believers in Christ have to 700 00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:37,720 understand is that he gets it and he paid for it. 701 00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:42,400 He paid for them. He paid for you, He paid for me. 702 00:45:43,160 --> 00:45:48,400 And in doing that, he gave us the power to just exchange all 703 00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:53,240 that for him and what he gives us right and and being filled 704 00:45:53,240 --> 00:46:00,800 with his living water. God is never never impressed by 705 00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:05,320 my effort right? That's that's that Jeremiah 213 706 00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:07,640 for my people have committed 2 evils. 707 00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:11,320 They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and 708 00:46:11,320 --> 00:46:14,880 hewn for themselves. Broken cisterns of that hold no 709 00:46:14,880 --> 00:46:21,400 water, right? It's he accepts faith in his 710 00:46:21,400 --> 00:46:25,320 ability to use the tool he has made for the work he is doing. 711 00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:31,360 So what he accepts is my faith in him to do the work he's 712 00:46:31,360 --> 00:46:34,680 asking to be done. But my faith isn't that. 713 00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:39,360 My faith is not that I have the power to do what he's asking. 714 00:46:39,600 --> 00:46:43,360 My faith is he has the power to do what he's asking. 715 00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:50,960 And Galatians 51 and this is 51 says stand fast. 716 00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:55,160 Therefore, and if you read the therefore Paul in chat the end 717 00:46:55,160 --> 00:46:59,320 of chapter 4 is talking about Hagar, which was the bondwoman 718 00:46:59,520 --> 00:47:04,120 and Sarah, which was the free woman and Abraham trying to make 719 00:47:04,480 --> 00:47:11,600 the promise with Hagar and making Ishmael and instead of 720 00:47:11,600 --> 00:47:14,600 having the promise that came through Sarah. 721 00:47:15,080 --> 00:47:24,480 And when we when we go back to to trying to make the promise we 722 00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:27,360 we entered back into bondage. And it says stand fast 723 00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:31,320 therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free 724 00:47:31,720 --> 00:47:35,760 and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 725 00:47:37,280 --> 00:47:41,080 When we try to do it on our own strength, not only is God not 726 00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:45,080 impressed, but it is exactly where the enemy wants to take 727 00:47:45,080 --> 00:47:46,800 you. He wants to wants to take me 728 00:47:46,840 --> 00:47:51,480 right back into bondage in to work harder. 729 00:47:52,800 --> 00:48:04,720 And God's desire for us is to truly rest in Him and accept 730 00:48:04,720 --> 00:48:13,880 that living water. Yeah, that good, guys. 731 00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:17,320 Living Water is pretty cool, isn't it? 732 00:48:17,320 --> 00:48:21,480 Anyway, Lord, I just thank you. I thank you for Living water. 733 00:48:21,480 --> 00:48:25,920 I thank you that you give us all we want, Lord. 734 00:48:26,520 --> 00:48:28,080 Let you feel it's overflowing, Lord. 735 00:48:28,080 --> 00:48:31,000 And that you would just out of this room, out of these people, 736 00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:34,760 out of out of this place, Lord, that it would just become a 737 00:48:34,760 --> 00:48:41,360 place known for weird people because of the, the work that 738 00:48:41,360 --> 00:48:44,440 you have for us, Lord. That we would just be a peculiar 739 00:48:44,440 --> 00:48:49,160 people that were out in our community doing your work, Lord, 740 00:48:49,160 --> 00:48:51,760 and your power and your strength, Lord, pouring into 741 00:48:51,760 --> 00:48:54,280 into those around us. And I pray this all in Jesus 742 00:48:54,680 --> 00:48:55,120 name, Amen.