1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:02,960 Welcome to the Illuminate Church podcast. 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:05,520 We hope today's message is encouraging to you. 3 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:26,160 Isn't it nice to have just a little moment of silence, a 4 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:31,200 little break for the noise when it doesn't feel so rushed or 5 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:36,640 busy or hurried? Did anyone feel uncomfortable 6 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,360 with that silence? You're kind of like, what are 7 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:41,480 you doing right now? I'm at church and I know how 8 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:43,640 this program goes. You're supposed to be talking. 9 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,560 I'm supposed to be listening. Then anyone feel the urge to 10 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:48,920 just like, grab your phone and do something productive? 11 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,320 It's kind of like, why are you wasting my time, right? 12 00:00:53,760 --> 00:01:00,880 Our lives are so full, so full, and we have so much to do and so 13 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,680 much responsibility. You know, I was talking to my 14 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,720 grandpa the other day and he lives not too far from here out 15 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:09,400 in Leesburg. And, and he was like, Dave, I'm 16 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,360 so glad I'm retired because if I wasn't retired, I would not have 17 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:17,560 time for my social life. I was like, all right, that's 18 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,640 good to know. He's a busy man. 19 00:01:20,960 --> 00:01:24,560 But have you ever gone to bed at night and thought, I don't think 20 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,520 I've stopped moving all day? It's like you wake up in the 21 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,640 morning and you go, go, go, go, go, and then you lay down at 22 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,160 night, get ready to do it all over again. 23 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,240 We feel so busy. There's so much to do. 24 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:42,240 We have our school, we have jobs, we have to pay the bills, 25 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:44,160 right? We've got to clean the house, 26 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:45,960 we've got to do maintenance on things. 27 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:49,440 You know, we've got to live our lives and we have our kids, our 28 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:52,400 kids. You know, it's like, I feel like 29 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,040 I work for my kids sometimes. They are, they're my little 30 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,440 employers, my tiny CEO's and they expect their agenda. 31 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:02,920 They want to know what they're doing, when they're doing and 32 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:05,360 how they're doing it. And I'm the one and my wife and 33 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:07,640 we're supposed to be the ones responsible to provide that for 34 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:09,639 them, right? Like they've got soccer 35 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:11,600 practice, they've got cross country in the morning. 36 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,360 They've got to make sure they have their lunches made and 37 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:16,240 ready for the day. And it's like, can I get a 38 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:17,120 water? Can I get this? 39 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:19,440 Can I get that? Daddy, can you fix my toy? 40 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:21,600 Mama, can you? And by the end of the day, it's 41 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,920 kind of like I've done so much. And then you clean it all up, 42 00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:26,280 right? Anybody. 43 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,160 Is this anybody? You cleaned it all up and ready 44 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:33,680 for the next day. It's so much, so much. 45 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,960 We're so busy. But I have a question for you. 46 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:44,320 In our wild busyness, how do we practice devotion to Jesus? 47 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:50,480 How do we pause? How do we slow down and actually 48 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:55,600 engage in an abiding relationship with Jesus? 49 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,440 If you brought your Bible or you have you have it on your device 50 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:05,160 on you version, you can go ahead and turn to John chapter 15 and 51 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:07,200 that's why you're turning there. I just want to give a shout out 52 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:09,600 to my people in the mezzanine. What's up guys? 53 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,120 You feeling good up there? I love seeing that mezzanine 54 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,840 filled. It's such a wonderful church 55 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:20,680 that we're part of and it's because God is here. 56 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:23,640 I know that you know that, but it's true. 57 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,880 And it's because we have wonderful pastors. 58 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,360 Pastor Tim, pastor Christine, you guys are genuine. 59 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:33,520 You're the real deal. You are beautiful people and 60 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,880 wonderful friends. And I, I can say, you know, 61 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:38,880 because I have the microphone right now and they would never 62 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:45,600 say they care for you so, so, so deeply that they're thinking 63 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:48,320 about you. And we talked a lot about when 64 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,000 we do have our teeth brushing time, it's like you're, you're, 65 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,920 you're focused on talking about the people about what's going on 66 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,560 in the church And, and there is a deep love in their hearts for 67 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:00,640 you, for illuminate each one of you. 68 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:04,920 And, and I know in our lives, I'm very grateful and Elena is 69 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,200 to for our friendship and relationship with you guys. 70 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,640 Thank you for being such wonderful people and so inviting 71 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,560 and so warm and for the opportunity to speak today. 72 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,240 Thank you so much. We love our pastors, don't we 73 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:22,320 guys? Hey, there's some churches I 74 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,720 wouldn't say that about, just saying they're the real deal. 75 00:04:28,280 --> 00:04:32,680 And also my family. I know we know a lot of you guys 76 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:35,840 now that we've got three kids, Elaine and I do. 77 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:38,160 And, and I want to say that worship was my favorite because 78 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:39,920 my favorite worship leader was leading today. 79 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,080 I'm sorry, Alex, I don't know if you're here, but sorry, Alex, I, 80 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:48,600 I love you too, but it's not as much, but I, I loved worship. 81 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:51,400 I love that we get to, to serve church together. 82 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:56,440 And we've got three kids, David, Liam's 11 and Joseph is 8 and 83 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,920 Verity's five. And if you saw the video 84 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:01,560 announcements, just at the very end, there's a little girl and a 85 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:03,360 yellow shirt carrying a basket of toys. 86 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:07,000 That's my daughter. She's so sweet and so beautiful. 87 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,600 And we're just, we're so thankful for the family the 88 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,000 Lord's given us. But today we're going to center 89 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:17,920 ourselves around devotion, around learning how to abide in 90 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,040 Christ. And so let's look at John 91 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:25,440 chapter 15. It says, abide in me and I in 92 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,400 you. As the branch cannot bear fruit 93 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:33,360 of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless 94 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,800 you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the 95 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,160 branches. He who abides in me, and I in 96 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,760 him bears much fruit. For without me you can do 97 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,160 nothing. How much is nothing? 98 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,080 Nothing. A branch that's cut off from the 99 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,080 tree can produce no fruit. It dies. 100 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,800 It has to abide, it has to remain The word abide in the 101 00:05:57,800 --> 00:05:59,960 Greek is this word pronounced men? 102 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:02,160 No. Now I looked it up on YouTube, 103 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:04,240 so I know it's right. Men know. 104 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:09,760 Do you say that men know what that word means is simply this. 105 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:17,760 To remain, to stay, to linger, to be present, to tarry, to 106 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:24,640 stand, to abide. The invitation to abide is not a 107 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,080 task. It's about relationship. 108 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:31,800 Abiding is something that we do when we're doing something we're 109 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,920 enjoying, right? Or if we're with someone that we 110 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,760 love, we want to abide, we want to be there. 111 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:41,640 We want to engage in that situation that we're in. 112 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:44,800 When Elaine and I were dating, I would drive from where I live to 113 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,600 where she lived, which is about an hour each way, just to 114 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:52,080 deliver flowers to her door because I wanted to abide with 115 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:54,440 her. I wanted to be with her. 116 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:56,840 It was worth it. It was worth that and so much 117 00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:00,760 more. People come here to this area 118 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,800 from all over the world, and they spend all of their money to 119 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:08,400 abide with whom? Mickey Mouse, right? 120 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:15,920 It's so true. When you abide in Christ, the 121 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:26,470 noise stops. It quiets and silences the noise 122 00:07:26,470 --> 00:07:31,520 around you when you learn to stay, when you learn to remain, 123 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:36,600 to linger with Him, to be connected to the vine. 124 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:40,280 You didn't even know that noise was there until it stopped, did 125 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:44,040 you? Sometimes we don't know the 126 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,080 noise we're living in until we stop it. 127 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:50,800 Learn to abide. If you want peace from the 128 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,400 noise. Learn to abide in Christ. 129 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:57,640 When you abide in Him, you don't need to be anywhere else. 130 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:03,720 And even if you do, you're OK to show up late because you're with 131 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:06,880 Jesus, because he's the most important person. 132 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:11,160 He's all that matters. We need to find our secret place 133 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:15,920 where we go into the room and and we shut the door and we just 134 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:21,440 remain with him. Where's your secret place? 135 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,520 What's it like? When I think of a secret place, 136 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:27,960 I think about that story, The Secret Garden. 137 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:30,480 Have you read that before or have you seen the movies? 138 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,520 There's this little girl, Mary Lennox, and, and she comes and 139 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:38,559 finds this beautiful, overgrown, abandoned garden and finds the 140 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,360 key and can get in through the wall and, and she goes into this 141 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:46,160 place and remains and just plays and finds joy and, and abides in 142 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:48,760 the secret place. Nobody knows about it. 143 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:52,840 Nobody knows she's there. She's just there remaining. 144 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:57,840 And I wonder, do you ever spend time with God like that, where 145 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,840 you can just disappear under the gate of the garden? 146 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:06,560 Nobody knows you're there. You can just stay, remain, be in 147 00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:09,680 His presence. We often treat our times of God 148 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:11,720 more like the drive through line of Chick-fil-A. 149 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:18,960 We want efficient, we want convenient, we want quality. 150 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:23,440 We want it quick, don't we? Show up. 151 00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:25,560 It's my pleasure to give you your food. 152 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:28,360 It's my pleasure to take it and drive away and eat it and enjoy 153 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:30,440 it, right? We want it quick. 154 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:33,400 But you cannot build a marriage in a drive through. 155 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:36,960 You cannot raise your children in a drive through. 156 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:41,560 And you cannot build a deep intimate relationship with Jesus 157 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:45,080 in a drive through either. It takes abiding. 158 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:50,320 It takes being present. It takes remaining if we just 159 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:56,080 pause and remain with Him. We have to learn to cultivate 160 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,480 that abiding relationship. Jesus isn't in a rush. 161 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:02,400 He's got all the time in the world. 162 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:04,200 You want to know why? Because He made it. 163 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,320 He's not in a hurry. He's never late. 164 00:10:10,680 --> 00:10:14,840 He's not bound by time. But I think sometimes he just 165 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:19,160 needs us to step in. We just need to step into that 166 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:21,200 moment that he's creating for us. 167 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:26,400 Real intimate love happens when we abide, when we stay, when we 168 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:30,000 dwell, when we go to that secret place with him. 169 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:36,160 And so today I want to give you 3 keys to abiding in Christ. 3 170 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:38,360 keys. We've been in this series about 171 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:40,000 the seven habits of Jesus people. 172 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:41,480 How many Jesus people in the house? 173 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:44,920 Amen. There's a lot of us 7 Habits of 174 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,640 Jesus people, and today we're going to talk about abiding in 175 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:51,200 devotion with Jesus. So here's the first key 176 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:55,600 everybody say #1 reading your Bible. 177 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,120 Reading our Bible. Pastor Tim preached the message 178 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:02,520 just a few weeks ago about reading the Bible, and it was so 179 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:05,680 beautifully crafted and presented and so challenging. 180 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:09,080 And so if you weren't here that Sunday, I'd encourage you go and 181 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:10,840 listen to the message. Or even if you were, I'd 182 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:13,560 encourage you to listen to it again because it's such a 183 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:15,600 challenge. It's such an encouragement to 184 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:20,040 spend time in the Word. If we want to abide in Christ, 185 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:22,880 we have to have a relationship with this book. 186 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,520 Do you know what the Bible says the Bible is? 187 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:30,320 Did you catch that? What does the Bible say that the 188 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:32,640 Bible is? Let's look in Second Timothy 189 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:36,280 316. It says all Scripture is 190 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:40,400 breathed out by God. It's profitable for teaching, 191 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,760 for reproof, for correction, for training and righteousness that 192 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:47,560 the man of God may be complete equips for every good work. 193 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:51,400 And so all Scripture is God breathed. 194 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,080 That means that the words that are in the pages of this book 195 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:59,720 are breathed out by God. So when we take these words and 196 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:06,080 we read them, we're doing this and breathing in the breath of 197 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:11,440 God, and we begin to declare and believe and speak out the word 198 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:15,440 of God. We are breathing out the breath 199 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:20,280 of God. We need the breath of God in our 200 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,720 lungs. Look at this in Genesis 27. 201 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:28,240 Then the Lord formed Lord. God formed the man from the dust 202 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:32,280 of the ground and breathe into his nostrils the breath of life 203 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:34,800 and the man became a living creature. 204 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,600 When God breathes, it creates life. 205 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:43,400 Look at Job 33 verse 4. The Spirit of God has made me, 206 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:46,880 and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. 207 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:49,680 Do you remember what happened to Job? 208 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:54,200 Job suffered intensely. He bore an intense amount of 209 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,960 grief and in Job 33, which is almost at the end of the book, 210 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:01,240 he says, the breath of God gives me life. 211 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:06,160 That means it sustains me. It's sustained him through his 212 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:10,240 suffering. Ezekiel 37 and five says it says 213 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:12,920 the story of the dry bones. When the dry bones come to life 214 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:17,040 says, thus says the Lord God to these bones, behold, I will 215 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,840 cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 216 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:24,040 God's breath resurrects things from the dead. 217 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:29,360 And so do you need the creating, sustaining, and resurrecting 218 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,520 breath of God in your life? I mean, do you really need it? 219 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:34,800 We all need it. It's here. 220 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,200 It's right here. And a lot of times this book 221 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,840 sits on a shelf in our house with a thin layer of dust, and 222 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,680 we ignore the power of the breath of God. 223 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:50,760 If we would just open it and breathe in, we would experience 224 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:52,400 His presence in ways like we've never known. 225 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:59,200 Learn to abide in His word. The second thing everyone say #2 226 00:14:00,680 --> 00:14:04,000 prayer. We need to have an abiding 227 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:09,800 prayer relationship with Jesus. Conversations with people that 228 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,280 you don't know can sometimes tend to be really awkward, 229 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,440 right? Because you're kind of like 230 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:16,880 making conversation. You're kind of just trying to 231 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:20,040 figure out you know who's who and, and get on with the thing 232 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,200 and you know, whatever it is. But often times those 233 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:26,080 conversations are short, you know, to the point, whatever. 234 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:27,520 And then you kind of reach that point. 235 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:29,680 If you're an introvert like me, you reach that point in the 236 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:35,520 conversation where you're like, okay, all right, so and you kind 237 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:38,760 of don't know what else to say. You know, I read something that 238 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,560 if you carry a bottle of water around with you or a glass of of 239 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:45,080 water or whatever, you know, if you're talking to somebody you 240 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:47,320 don't know, just making small talk, it's like a great 241 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:48,920 conversation. And because you'd be like, oh, 242 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:51,560 I've got to go get some more water or I need to go to the 243 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:52,880 bathroom. I've had too much water, you 244 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:56,320 know, So if you ever see me carrying water when I'm talking 245 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:57,400 to you, you'll know what I'm up to. 246 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,720 No, I'm teasing. I'm teasing, trying to help some 247 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:04,640 people out. Sometimes you feel the need to 248 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,720 carry on the conversation, but when you really know someone, 249 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:13,080 the conversations become longer, they become more intimate. 250 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:14,880 You get to know one another better. 251 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:17,920 Many of you experienced this as you got to know your spouse. 252 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:20,840 First dates are kind of like trying to get to know one 253 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:22,600 another. And then little by little, you 254 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,160 begin to deepen and your conversations begin to build on 255 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:28,760 one another and they're longer and they're more familiar. 256 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,120 You become really, really familiar with the voice of the 257 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:33,360 person you're spending time with. 258 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:35,400 Somebody calls on the phone. You're like, hey, what's up? 259 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:38,080 Like you know them. Also, you have caller ID. 260 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,760 That was like a total 1990s thing before we knew who called. 261 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:43,920 What did we do before we knew who was calling, right? 262 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:47,960 Moms. You know your babies cry, right? 263 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,160 Any moms in the house, you know when your baby's crying, you 264 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:53,240 know that's your baby. And not only do you know that's 265 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:55,840 your baby, you know what that cry means. 266 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:01,160 You know, if the cry is distress or if the baby's hurt, or if 267 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:03,200 there's just like a tantrum going on, or if there's a 268 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:04,720 squabble with the other siblings. 269 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:08,000 You know what that cry is. And I want to suggest to you 270 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:12,720 that we can be so close with the Lord, abiding in His presence, 271 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:17,200 knowing Him in such a way that we become so familiar with His 272 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:22,240 voice. We can hear Him clearly, close 273 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:27,600 enough to hear the whisper. So how do we pray? 274 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:31,040 How do we have this engaging prayer life? 275 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:35,080 Jesus taught us how to pray, and let's look at what He said here 276 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:39,120 in Matthew chapter 6, verse 6 through 14. 277 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:41,200 I'm going to read from the message translation. 278 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,040 It's going to be here on the screens for us. 279 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:48,920 Here's what you ought to do. Find a quiet, secluded place so 280 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:51,240 you won't be tempted to role play before God. 281 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:55,520 Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. 282 00:16:55,760 --> 00:17:00,280 The focus will shift from you to God and you begin to sense His 283 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:02,640 grace. I want to read it again from the 284 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:06,520 ESV English standard version. It says, but when you pray, go 285 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:11,079 into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who's 286 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:16,200 who is in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward 287 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,720 you. Let's keep going in the message 288 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:22,119 in verse 7 through 14. The world is so full of 289 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:25,640 so-called prayer warriors who are prayer ignorance. 290 00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:29,440 They're full of formulas and programs and advice peddling 291 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,440 techniques for getting what you want from God. 292 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:34,680 Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you're 293 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:38,200 dealing with, and he knows you better than you, what you need 294 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,400 with with a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply 295 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:46,360 like this. Our Father in heaven, reveal who 296 00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:49,240 you are. Set the world right, Do what's 297 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,080 best. As above, so below. 298 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:54,520 Keep us alive with three square meals. 299 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,680 Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. 300 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,080 Keep us safe from ourselves and the devil. 301 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:02,680 You're in charge. You can do anything you want. 302 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:07,440 You're a blazing beauty. Yes, yes, yes. 303 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:14,600 According to Lifeway and Barna Research, a lot of Christians 304 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:18,640 don't have an abiding prayer life, and even some without a 305 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:24,320 prayer life at all. More people say they believe in 306 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,720 prayer than actually do it. Isn't that wild? 307 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:32,160 Listen, 79% of Americans say they believe in the power of 308 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,920 prayer, but only 31% say they pray regularly. 309 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:42,200 Many prayers that we pray are on the go prayers. 310 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:44,640 And listen, there's nothing wrong with praying on the go 311 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:46,400 while you're going somewhere doing something. 312 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,680 We should always do praying. In fact, the Bible says pray 313 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:52,120 without ceasing. But we can't survive on on the 314 00:18:52,120 --> 00:18:55,000 go prayers. We need abiding prayers. 315 00:18:55,280 --> 00:19:00,040 But over 60% of Christians say they pray on the go, while 316 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:02,000 they're driving, while they're working, while they're doing 317 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,160 chores, while they're doing other things. 318 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:11,760 Prayer is often transactional for people Only 16% of 319 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:15,160 Christians say that their prayer life is mostly about 320 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:19,920 relationship with God. The rest say that they're asking 321 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:23,320 for help, guidance or blessings in their life. 322 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:29,360 Transactional prayers. You might think that people in 323 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:32,480 ministry, right, like pastors and people who serve in church, 324 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:35,920 they, they find it so much easier to pray because they get 325 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:38,680 paid to do it, right? Like you get paid to pray, 326 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,880 Pastor Tim, You get paid. It's what's up. 327 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:48,680 I mean, for real, Listen, 70% of pastors say they struggle to 328 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,200 have time in their busy lives to have a prayer life. 329 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:59,440 It's all of us. We are given the same 24 hours a 330 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:01,920 day. All of us have the same 24 hours 331 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,000 in a day and it's what we choose to do with our 24 hours that 332 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,320 makes us different. Have you thought about this? 333 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:10,680 I'm sure you probably heard people say if it's not on your 334 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,720 calendar, it's not, it's not happening, right? 335 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:15,880 It's not on your calendar, it's not happening. 336 00:20:16,120 --> 00:20:18,520 Have you ever thought about scheduling Jesus on your 337 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:20,920 calendar? Have you ever thought about 338 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:24,880 having a meeting with Jesus everyday that happens? 339 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,320 I mean, you wouldn't not show up for your meeting with your boss 340 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:29,560 tomorrow morning, right? You wouldn't, you're not going 341 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,320 to not show up for your team meeting and, and, and be there 342 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:33,760 and be present. You're going to be there because 343 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:35,240 your calendar says you're going to be there. 344 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:39,960 So schedule a meeting with Jesus and don't miss it. 345 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:44,520 Be there. We have to build abiding prayer 346 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,840 into our lives. And when we pray, don't bring a 347 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:50,960 Jesus do list. You've ever heard of a honey do 348 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:52,280 list, right? It's like all the things that 349 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:55,000 you've done around the house. Don't bring a Jesus do list. 350 00:20:55,880 --> 00:21:00,720 Simply come. We can't show up for prayer and 351 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,400 just tell him everything that we need and not listen. 352 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:10,040 That's not abiding prayer. We need to pray abiding prayers. 353 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:16,240 Maybe start your prayer time by saying, God, what do you want to 354 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:24,440 say to me today? And then wait, listen, what if 355 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,680 He says something? What if we're so quick going 356 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:31,720 from thing to thing, drive through relationship with God, 357 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:36,120 and we miss the jewels and the treasure of what He wants to 358 00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:41,720 share with us? We have to abide in prayer. 359 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,840 It's so important. We need ongoing awareness and 360 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:50,720 conversations with God. There are also these times that 361 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:54,680 God will call us into deeper moments of prayer, deeper senses 362 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:58,040 of abiding in his presence. We're like Moses, we need to go 363 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:00,560 outside the camp to the tent of meeting. 364 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:06,360 Intimacy with God grows behind the closed door of prayer. 365 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:09,280 Sometimes you got to shut the door. 366 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,360 There's intimacy that happens when the door is closed. 367 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:19,440 There are times in and my marriage with Elena that we go 368 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:22,440 into the room and we close the door and what happens in the 369 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:25,120 room behind the closed door stays in the room. 370 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:27,680 No one knows what happens behind the closed door. 371 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,040 It's the same with us and Jesus. Having an intimate relationship 372 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:37,800 with Jesus means you have to go into the room and you have to 373 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:40,720 close the door. You have to be willing to go to 374 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:42,480 that place. Some of you are feeling really 375 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:46,280 awkward by what I just said because you're like, how can I 376 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,200 have a relationship with Jesus like that? 377 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,400 That's the kind of relationship that he's inviting us into. 378 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:57,240 A deep, loving, passionate, beautiful relationship. 379 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:01,160 He's we're his bride. He's the bridegroom. 380 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:04,880 We're invited in. Don't feel awkward around 381 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:09,720 intimacy with Jesus. Go into the secret place, shut 382 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:14,160 the door and be intimate with your Father, with Jesus. 383 00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:17,600 He is there waiting for us. I love this quote from Francis 384 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:19,240 Frangipane. He's an author and he wrote a 385 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,280 book that I love called Holiness, Truth in the Presence 386 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,960 of God. He says this, every minute you 387 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:30,440 seek God is a minute enriched with new life and new power from 388 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:32,640 God. Give yourself a minimum amount 389 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:36,360 of time, an hour or two each day, but don't set a limit, as 390 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:38,760 the Lord may draw you in to seek Him into the night. 391 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:42,640 And as you continue, day by day, week by week, until you have 392 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:46,080 drawn near enough to God that you can hear His voice, becoming 393 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:49,360 confident that He is close enough to hear you whisper. 394 00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:53,720 If we are going to become a holy, we must sever the chains 395 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:57,680 and restraints, the bondage of desiring just an average life. 396 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,760 We will choose to leave the camp of familiarity and place our 397 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:07,640 tent in the presence of God. It sounds kind of crazy, doesn't 398 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:10,480 it? Like an hour or two each day. 399 00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:13,960 That's a lot of time. You're like, how would I build 400 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,800 that into my life? Listen, you spend an hour or two 401 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:21,600 watching TV everyday. You spend an hour or two on 402 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:24,000 Instagram, you're doomed scrolling YouTube. 403 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:29,040 I'm just saying you have time. We have the same amount of time. 404 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:33,760 There will be times that Jesus will call you into these deep 405 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:37,640 places where you have to set something aside to pursue him 406 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:42,480 with greater intensity. Are you willing? 407 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:49,280 I mean, will you respond to the call if Jesus invited you to 408 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,480 dinner? Like if if we live 2000 years 409 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:55,640 ago and Jesus says, come to my house for dinner and you believe 410 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:57,320 in him, right? You're not going to miss that 411 00:24:57,320 --> 00:24:59,760 dinner. You're going to turn up and I'm 412 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,160 telling you right now, Jesus is inviting you to dinner. 413 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:06,400 He's inviting you to spend this time with Him. 414 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:09,960 It's us that are too busy for His presence. 415 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:19,120 We need to learn to abide. How many of our prayers are one 416 00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:23,640 sided? How many times do we do all the 417 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:25,120 talking and none of the listening? 418 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:30,040 Are we only praying when it's convenient or are we willing to 419 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:34,320 inconvenience ourselves to pray, to spend time, and to abide in 420 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:37,720 His presence? Are we seeking His hand what He 421 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:42,000 can do for us, or are we seeking His heart, who He is? 422 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:47,960 We have to be willing to go to that place. 423 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,800 And so I want to ask you and challenge you, Church, can we 424 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:55,440 commit? Are we willing to say I'm going 425 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:59,040 to go to the secret place, I'm going to have an abiding prayer 426 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:03,120 life with God? Imagine, imagine this, if 427 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,240 everyone in this room, let's put the 9:00 service in the same 428 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:08,480 boat, everyone who comes to illuminate church. 429 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:15,040 If we took time this week to spend one hour with Jesus, one 430 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:18,280 hour of dedicated time when we're pursuing him, when we're 431 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,800 abiding with him, what would we look like? 432 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:23,000 What kind of church would this be? 433 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:25,360 I mean, we would have to get a new building, guys. 434 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,800 Like we would need to do something because revival would 435 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,000 break out. Because when you spend time with 436 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:34,440 Jesus, miracles happen. There's breakthrough in your 437 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:36,560 life. You begin to get prophetic words 438 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,200 for people. You begin to seek him and find 439 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,560 him and people around you were changed. 440 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:43,640 That's the kind of church I want to be part of. 441 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,280 Let's not just have illuminate Peso on the outside of this 442 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:50,000 building. Let's actually be illuminating. 443 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:56,200 Let's shine the light of Jesus. We can't shine the light if we 444 00:26:56,200 --> 00:27:01,240 don't have it. Fill up, be in His presence. 445 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:07,000 Spend that time with Him in the secret place #3 everybody say #3 446 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:10,480 this is the home stretch. We're going to talk about 447 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:14,480 worship. Worship, having an abiding 448 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:18,040 relationship with God through worship is so valuable. 449 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,480 It's such a treasure. AW Tozier said this. 450 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:26,280 We're here to be worshippers first and workers second. 451 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:31,800 Bible says in Psalm 95, come, let us worship him. 452 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:36,240 Everyone bow down. Kneel before the eternal who 453 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:41,080 made us. I was thinking about when Jesus 454 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:45,280 goes to dinner at Lazarus's house and there's Lazarus who 455 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:47,560 just got raised from the dead. He's like, I'm back, bro. 456 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:50,520 Like, this is great. And then we've got Martha, who's 457 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:53,600 working and serving and, and everything going on. 458 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:54,920 And then who do we have over here? 459 00:27:54,920 --> 00:28:01,320 We have Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, lingering, abiding. 460 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:03,280 And do you remember what she does? 461 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,680 She takes the expensive, costly oil. 462 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:10,880 This was worth a year's worth of wages. 463 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:15,200 This is valuable stuff. Valuable. 464 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:18,080 Think about how much you make in a year and think about, am I 465 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,000 willing to shatter that at the feet of Jesus? 466 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,200 Am I willing to give everything to him? 467 00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:29,520 Mary breaks this jar of oil and pours it over Jesus's feet and 468 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:33,480 lets down her hair and, and begins to wipe his feet with her 469 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:35,000 hair. And you know what happened? 470 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:39,200 Judas and, and old Judas, you know, and the others and they're 471 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:41,960 like, what are you doing? This is crazy. 472 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:45,000 This could have been so, this could have supported the 473 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:46,920 ministry for so many more things. 474 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:50,120 This could have given us so much more opportunity to further the 475 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:55,120 work of Jesus in the world. And Jesus is like, what's 476 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:58,640 happening here is significant and this is important. 477 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:03,400 This is worship. And I wonder, are you willing to 478 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:05,120 bring worship that cost you something? 479 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:08,520 I mean, it's pretty easy, isn't it, to show up the church and 480 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:12,520 sing a few songs? Is it easy to give a costly 481 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,320 offering of what you've made in your finances? 482 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:21,280 Is it easy to schedule that time with Jesus, to take time, a 483 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:23,800 couple hours a day and set that aside for him? 484 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:30,800 That time is valuable. David, King David said I will 485 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:32,960 not bring to God that which cost me nothing. 486 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:38,800 He's worth everything. He's worth more than you have 487 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:42,480 everything. We can never give enough to show 488 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:44,280 the beauty and the glory of who He is. 489 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,960 But I can give my heart. I can give myself. 490 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:51,800 I can be like Mary and not be so distracted with the working and 491 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:55,000 the doing to not realize that Jesus is calling me to sit with 492 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,920 him, to be with him, to abide with him. 493 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:04,720 That house where Mary broke the oil over Jesus's feet. 494 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:08,240 The Bible says that the house was filled with the fragrance. 495 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,640 Fragrance of worship. What's your house filled with? 496 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,880 Is it filled with the fragrance of worship or the stench of 497 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:22,640 media? So I was a little strong. 498 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:27,000 Sorry, that was a little strong. The stench of media. 499 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:31,440 I don't know, It just came out. Is it filled with that though? 500 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:33,080 I mean, is it filled with Instagram? 501 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:36,480 Is it filled with comparison? Is it filled with striving? 502 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:38,920 What's the fragrance of your home? 503 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:45,760 Let it be worship. Let it be abiding in worship in 504 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:49,840 the presence of God. So how do we do it? 505 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:53,600 We talked about a lot of things today. 506 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:56,960 How do we actually do it? There's, there's been times in 507 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:00,040 my life that that I feel like I've I've done really well and 508 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:03,480 other times that I've not done so well, but I seek to do as 509 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:06,680 best as I can. And I just want to share a few 510 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:09,880 things of what I do that maybe would encourage you and maybe 511 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:13,680 give you some tips and tricks to spending abiding time with 512 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:15,840 Jesus. The first thing is just to find 513 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:18,560 a quiet place might be difficult. 514 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:20,320 You might have to leave your house. 515 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:24,560 You might have to go for a walk or disappear into your closet. 516 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:29,120 Find a quiet space. Step outside of the noise. 517 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:31,360 Don't bring your phone. This thing is loaded with 518 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:34,760 distraction loaded. Don't bring your phone. 519 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:39,200 And when you go in to spend time with the Lord, maybe set an 520 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:41,000 alarm. Does anybody have an old clock? 521 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:44,200 Like an old fashioned clock? Like no one? 522 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:46,480 Yeah, there's one person in the back. 523 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:48,000 Thank you, Sir. I see that hand. 524 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:51,560 If you have an old clock or a timer or something like that, 525 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:56,480 set a timer for an hour and stay until the timer goes off. 526 00:31:57,360 --> 00:32:01,520 Remain until the timer goes off because everything in you is 527 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,120 going to tell you to get up and go because you're so busy. 528 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:08,240 There's so much to do. Just remain until the timer goes 529 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:12,600 off. When you pause, when you start, 530 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:15,840 just just kind of pause and and quiet yourself before the Lord 531 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:18,280 and tell the Lord you're ready to listen. 532 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:20,480 So got him. I'm ready. 533 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:22,480 I'm here. I'm going to open my ears to 534 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:24,400 hear from you. I'm going to open my heart to 535 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:30,080 you, whatever you want, I'm in. And then maybe play some worship 536 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:35,240 music, pull up, you know, Spotify or if there is something 537 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:36,280 I'm telling you to not have your phone. 538 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:37,400 How are you going to stream music? 539 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:38,800 I mean, how do we play music anymore? 540 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:42,520 Turn on airplane mode. How about that and listen to 541 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:45,120 some worship music that would be encouraging to you and just sing 542 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:48,360 along with the music and, and begin to worship the Lord. 543 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:51,320 And, and just as you're in that space, you can just experience 544 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:53,760 his presence and just sing just to him. 545 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:57,560 Nobody's listening. Read a chapter 2 of the Bible. 546 00:32:57,560 --> 00:33:01,000 Don't forget to breathe in the breath of God. 547 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:05,280 Breathe out His breath. I love to take my Bible and I 548 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:08,040 love to say Scripture out loud when I'm spending time with him 549 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:09,640 because I love to hear it. I love. 550 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:11,360 I think it's important that we say the Word. 551 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:13,160 It's important that we memorize it. 552 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:17,080 If you don't read your Bible much or you're kind of just 553 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:19,160 finding your way through it, you can read Romans. 554 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:21,560 It's a great place to read. It's so encouraging about who we 555 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:23,640 are in Christ. You can read the Psalms. 556 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:25,920 You can read John the story of Jesus. 557 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:30,680 Just take time and then wait. Just listen. 558 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:34,760 Don't do anything else. Don't bring any more lists in. 559 00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:37,000 Don't, don't ask him a bunch of questions. 560 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:40,640 Just wait and see if there's anything that he would say to 561 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:44,160 you. And if he does, write it down, 562 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:47,280 like take a pen and paper, write it down. 563 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:49,520 Just journal something I heard from the Lord. 564 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:52,520 But listen, even if you don't hear anything from the Lord, 565 00:33:53,360 --> 00:34:00,160 just being with Him is enough. Just being near Him is enough. 566 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:04,000 You know they say when you're so close with someone that even 567 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:08,120 being quiet is comfortable. Just be with Him. 568 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:15,719 Let him speak, let him wash over you and then take time and share 569 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:18,800 your heart with Him. God, I'm, I'm going through 570 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:20,560 this. I'm, I just really want to see 571 00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:23,520 breakthrough with my kids. I really want to, I need this 572 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:26,560 job opportunity to open up. I need you to help me steward my 573 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:29,199 finances better. I want to be bold enough to be 574 00:34:29,199 --> 00:34:30,639 obedient to what you're asking me to do. 575 00:34:30,639 --> 00:34:33,280 You know, just process these things with the Lord and let him 576 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:37,280 speak and, and receive what he says to you and just continue to 577 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,280 pray. That's what this exchange can be 578 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:41,280 like. That's what abiding is. 579 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:43,480 And then when you hear that timer go Ding Ding, Ding, Ding, 580 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:45,560 Ding Ding, you know that can be the end. 581 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:48,600 But maybe it doesn't have to be. Maybe you can just stay a little 582 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:50,400 longer. Remember when Jesus told the 583 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:51,960 disciples when they were with him in the garden? 584 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:56,320 Can't you just tarry? Won't you just wait with me? 585 00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:02,720 Won't you just stay? Let's receive the invitation of 586 00:35:02,720 --> 00:35:07,240 our Savior. The more you take time to abide, 587 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:12,280 the easier it will become. Like I said earlier, everything 588 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:16,280 in you is going to want to run away because your flesh wants to 589 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:19,240 live. It wants to to do it's own 590 00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:20,480 thing. It wants to be it's own person. 591 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:23,400 But what does the Bible say? We have to crucify the flesh. 592 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:28,960 How do we crucify the flesh? Abide in Christ, abide in Him. 593 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:32,160 Take that time when your flesh wants to run out the door. 594 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:36,040 Nope, I'm staying right here. I'm going to spend this time 595 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:38,600 with Jesus. I'm going to learn to abide in 596 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:40,800 Him. And the more you do it, the more 597 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:44,280 often you spend those extended abiding times with Him, the 598 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:47,080 easier they become. You become more familiar with 599 00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:49,560 His presence, and you won't want to miss that time. 600 00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:52,720 You're going to want to be with him as much as you can. 601 00:35:52,720 --> 00:35:55,200 And when you walk through your life, when you go to your work, 602 00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:56,840 when you do your things with your family, when you're 603 00:35:56,840 --> 00:35:59,800 managing your kids and all the things you're walking with His 604 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:04,600 presence in you, it gives you strength, gives you power, gives 605 00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:07,640 you boldness. He's with you. 606 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:12,160 We're going to end the service just a little bit differently 607 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:17,640 today, and we're going to have a song that's just going to play 608 00:36:17,720 --> 00:36:19,680 over the speakers. There's not going to be a band 609 00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:23,160 up here on the platform because you don't have a band at home. 610 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,960 You don't have Alex in your house to lead you in worship. 611 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:28,720 Maybe you can call him up. I don't know. 612 00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:31,680 He might turn up, who knows? But you're not going to have 613 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:33,920 access to a worship leader. You're not going to have 614 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:35,760 somebody encouraging you. You're not going to have a band. 615 00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:39,800 But what you can do is you can turn on worship music anywhere 616 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:44,720 you are, in your car, in your house, whatever it is, and you 617 00:36:44,720 --> 00:36:47,480 can begin to worship the Lord. This is an opportunity of 618 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:49,480 something we all can do. And so we're going to just, 619 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:52,440 we're just going to do an exercise today together. 620 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,200 We're going to play the song over the speakers and we're 621 00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:59,200 going to get along with Jesus. We're going to have abiding 622 00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:01,960 devotional time. This song is about 5 minutes 623 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:03,080 long. It's not too long. 624 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:07,120 And what I want to encourage you to do, I'm going to ask 625 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:08,680 everybody to stand in just a moment. 626 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:13,640 And when you stand, if you want to come forward to the altar and 627 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:15,920 you want to kneel at the altar, or if you just want to go to a 628 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:19,480 corner of the room, or if you just want to sit back down and 629 00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:23,040 just spend time with the Lord, that's completely fine. 630 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:26,800 Because what we want is for you to just abide with Christ and 631 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:29,800 become familiar with how it feels to stop. 632 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:32,800 Slow down. You don't have to sing the song. 633 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:34,240 We're going to have the words on the screen. 634 00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:35,840 If you want to read along with the words. 635 00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:39,640 It's a powerful song called The Secret Place, but you don't have 636 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:41,680 to sing. Just abide. 637 00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:46,120 Just be with him. Let that be enough. 638 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:51,240 And then after the song, I'll come back up and, and we're 639 00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:54,840 going to, to pray together and, and, and I'll, I'll close this 640 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:56,480 out. But I want to say to those of 641 00:37:56,480 --> 00:38:00,080 you that might be watching online today or this week or 642 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:02,800 whenever you're watching, because of copyright things with 643 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:06,000 YouTube, we can't actually play a song and have it stream 644 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:08,760 online. So we're going to cut the stream 645 00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:10,680 right now as soon as I'm done talking. 646 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:12,840 And you can do this quiet time as well. 647 00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:17,120 You can just just as soon as the stream cuts off, just play the 648 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:19,480 Secret Place by Hillsong. It's the same song. 649 00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:21,240 And you can engage in this time as well. 650 00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:23,920 And so church, I want to ask you, let's go ahead and stand 651 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:30,360 together. Lord, I pray that you would 652 00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:32,720 speak to us. I pray that you would teach us 653 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:37,480 to abide. We receive you in Jesus name, 654 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:44,080 Amen. Thanks for joining us today. 655 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:47,120 We hope God is speaking to your heart through this message. 656 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:50,120 If you'd like to connect with us, you can text connect to 657 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:56,640 407-588-0115 or visit Illuminate dot church. 658 00:38:57,080 --> 00:38:58,360 Have a great week.