I'd

like

to

go

to

the

Book

of

John,

chapter

17,

verse

3.

And

I

have

slides.

I

didn't

actually

talk

to

the

production

team

about

it,

but,

you

know,

hopefully

you

guys

can

follow

along.

I

didn't

practice

cues

or

anything.

I

really

just,

you

know,

I

don't

really

do

this,

But

John,

chapter

17,

verse

three.

I'll

look

amazing.

Crazy

how

that

works.

You

guys

are

professionals.

Okay,

John,

chapter

17,

verse

three.

And

it

reads

like

this.

And

this

is

eternal

life,

that

they

may

know

you,

the

only

true

God,

and

Jesus

Christ,

whom

you

have

sent.

John

must

have

gotten

complaints

about

how

the

rest

of

the

Bible,

John

being

one

of

the

later

gospels

and

the

later

books

that

were

written,

probably

got

complaints

about

how

the

Bible

wasn't

straightforward

enough.

So

I

think

he

threw

this

in

there

just

to

make

it

really

clear

as

a

part

of

Jesus

prayer,

telling

you

exactly

what

you

need

to

know.

If

you

missed

everything

else

that

he

did,

and

this

is

eternal

life,

that

they

may

know

you,

the

only

true

God,

and

Jesus

Christ,

whom

you

have

sent.

That's

it.

We

can

go

home.

No,

it's

not

any

more

complicated

than

that.

It's

not

easy,

but

that's

all

it

is.

When

Pastor

Joe

was

telling

me,

reached

out

to

me

about

what

presence

is,

what

it

represents,

and

what

it

means

for

this

church,

and

what

is

it,

what

it

is

that

you're

trying

to

do

as

you

spend

time

in

the

presence

of

God,

he

sent

me

a

little

blurb

explaining.

And

that

blurb

should

probably

be

my

next

slide.

He

was

probably

like,

you

know,

he's

like,

if

I

had

known

you

were

going

to

quote

me,

I

would

have

used

better,

broken

out

my

SAT

words.

And

he's

going

to

have

a

talk

with

Pastor

Cecil

said,

who

invited

this

kid?

But

this

is

what

he

told

me

about

what

presence

is,

right?

It's

all

about

prayer,

worship,

and

diving

into

the

Word,

just

creating

space

for

him

to

move

however

he

wants.

So

far,

I

can

attest

to

the

fact

that

that's

what's

been

happening.

But

there

are

three

things

that

he

pointed

out.

Prayer,

worship,

and

diving

into

the

Word.

Let

me

ask

you,

what

is

it

that

those

three

things

are

meant

to

do

in

the

scope

of

a

church

service

or

in

general?

What

are

they

meant

to

help

you

do?

One

thing

and

one

thing

only.

It

is

to

know

Jesus.

It

is

to

know

God.

It

is

to

know

the

fullness

of

who

he

is

and

have

him

revealed

to

you.

We

come

to

church

with

agendas.

We

pray

with

agendas.

We

worship

with

agendas.

We

read

the

Word

with

agendas.

But

it's

not

about

you.

It's

about

Jesus.

You

don't

need

an

answer

to

your

prayer.

You

need

Jesus.

You

don't

need

to

pass

this

exam.

You

need

Jesus.

And

I'm

not

saying

it's

wrong

to

pray

for

those

things,

but

let

me

tell

you,

that

is

the

only

reason

we

are

here.

It

is

to

know

God.

When

you

pray.

Most

of

our

prayers

are

filled

with

a

laundry

list

of

requests

that

we

bring

to

God.

What

does

your

prayer

look

like?

If

you

took

all

of

those

out,

how

long

would

it

last?

If

suddenly

the

Lord

says,

you're

not

allowed

to

ask

me

for

anything?

How

many

of

you

would

even

pray?

It's

hard

enough

to

pray

as

is

still

having

all

these

burdens.

How

many

of

you

would

still

pray?

How

many

of

you

would

feel

led

to

worship

God

if

you

didn't

come

in

here

with

some

need

driving

you

a

rough

day

at

work,

and

you

just

need

that

worship

song

to

make

you

feel

better.

How

many

of

you

would

open

the

Word

to

look

at

it?

And

you

know,

I've

done

this

a

lot

where

I'm

just

gonna

open

up

the

Word

and

just

let

it

speak

to

me.

Just

gonna.

Just

gonna

let

it

just

speak

to

me.

No,

this

Word

is

not

trying

to

tell

you

anything

about

you.

It

is

trying

to

tell

you

everything

about

God.

The

whole

point

that

I'm

trying

to

make,

you

need

to

know

God

on

a

deep,

intimate,

and

the

furthest

thing

from

superficial

level

possible.

That's

what

church

is

for.

And

I

believe

what

I

suggest

that

presence

is

all

about

so

that

you

would

know

Jesus

and

the

power

of

his

resurrection.

Can

we

give

God

some

praise

in

this

place?

So

if

you

do

come

to

church,

and

if

you

did

come

here

tonight,

which

you

have,

I

hope

it

was

to

know

God.

If

it

wasn't.

There's

still

time.

There's

still

time.

I

would

ask

that

you

change

your

posture.

When

I

was

younger,

I

definitely

dating

myself,

but,

oh,

well,

I

was

born

in

94.

You

guys

do

the

math.

Whatever.

There

was

a.

There

was

a

movie.

There

was

a

franchise

of

movies

that

came

out.

It

was

called

the

Fast

and

the

Furious.

Yeah,

yeah,

I

know.

They

suck.

Now

I

get

it.

I

understand

they

made

like

eight

too

many

of

these

movies.

But

I

would

say,

right,

being

the

millennial

that

I

am,

the

first

two

were

really,

really

good.

And

so

much

so

that

because

my

brother

got

me

these

DVDs,

I

would

watch

these

movies

constantly.

And

it

got

to

the

point,

as

many

of

you

can

probably

do

with

shows

that

you

like

and

movies

that

you

like,

that

I

started

to

be

able

to

predict

the

lines

as

they

were

about

to

happen,

I'd

be

like,

paul,

yeah,

yeah.

Like,

yeah.

Even

the

gear

shifts,

I

would

be

that

good

at

this.

And

many

of

you

have

that

right.

And

maybe

there's

a

movie

that

you've

seen

five

times,

10

times,

some

of

you

crazy

people,

maybe

even

20

times.

Most

of

you,

maybe

not

all

of

you,

most

of

you

have

been

in

church

your

whole

life.

This

is

not

the

first

Friday

night

you've

spent

in

church.

And

the

Lord's

coming

tarrying

Sunday

will

not

at

all

be

the

first

time

you

spend

in

church.

You

have

terabytes

of

memories

at

church,

terabytes

of

sermons

in

your

church,

terabytes

worth

of

Sunday

school

lessons

that

are

supposed

to

be

ingrained

in

your

soul.

Yet

if

I

were

to

pick

one

of

you

from

the

crowd

and

ask

you

to

explain

the

gospel

to

me

or

tell

me

who

Jesus

is,

would

you

be

able

to

do

it

the

same

level

of

justice

as

the

other

things

in

your

life

that

you

have

given

priority

to?

Do

you

understand?

It's

not

that

we

don't

have

the

ability

or

the

know

how

to

make

Jesus

or

getting

to

know

him

the

priority.

It

is

100%

that

we

just

simply

choose

not

to.

You

know

how

to

wake

up

in

the

morning

for

the

things

that

you

want.

You

will

wake

up

and

you

will

set

that

alarm

and

you

will

get

up.

You

will

do

what

it

takes.

You

might

give

up

sleep

for

it.

If

you

have

a

kid,

you

have

a

child,

you

know

how

to

say,

which

I

don't.

But

I

have

parents

who

loved

me,

and

I

saw

them,

especially

as

I

got

older,

say

no

to

themselves,

and

understood

that

the

cause

of

raising

this

child

was

far

greater

than

themselves,

that

they

were

given

a

job,

a

responsibility,

something

that

they

would

be

held

accountable

for.

And

so

they

tailored

their

behaviors

accordingly.

For

some

reasons,

when

it

comes

to

church,

or

more

importantly,

the

Word,

or

knowing

who

God

is,

it

is

the

first

thing

that

gets

taken

off

of

our

list

of

priorities

for

some

inexplicable

reason.

And

that

is

why

Hosea4.6

says,

My

people

are

destroyed

for

a

lack

of

knowledge,

not

a

lack

of

funding,

not

a

lack

of

finances,

not

a

lack

of

freedom.

Especially

not

in

this

country.

Maybe

that's

true

for

other

parts

of

the

world.

There's

nothing

stopping

you

but

your

own

desire,

the

sin

crouching

at

your

door,

the

selfishness

in

your

heart

that

you

have.

And

once

again,

I'm

telling

you,

that's

why

you

need

Jesus

and

that's

why

you

need

to

know

who

this

Jesus

is.

So

it's

important

that

you

stay

accountable

to

that

and

keep

track

of

that

and

keep

an

eye

on

that

as

you

move

forward.

I'm

on

social

media.

It's

a

hit

or

miss.

I'm

not

on

it

nearly

as

much

anymore.

I'm

on

it

to

do

mostly

the

obligatory

reposts

and

other

things.

And

I

have

100

reels

in

my

inbox

that

my

wife

has

sent

me

that

she's

mad

at

me

for

not

looking

at.

But

if

you

look

at.

But

if

you

look

at,

you

know,

social

media.

Social

media

is

a

great

place

to

be

a

Christian,

by

the

way,

because

you

get

to

show

people

exactly

what

kind

of

Christian

you

want

to

be.

I'm

not

going

to

touch

that.

But

if

you

look

at

Instagram

or

any

other

social

media,

I

guess.

Right,

whatever

you

like.

If

you

see

the

bios,

you

know,

popular

spot

for

Bible

verses.

I

took

an

informal

survey

of

what

these

Bible

verses

are.

And

some

of

you

already

know

where

I'm

probably

going

with

this.

But,

you

know,

think

about

what

that

bio

is

meant

to

do.

It's

meant

to

tell

you

a

little

bit

about

who

they

are.

And

to

the

extent

that

a

Bible

verse

is

in

there,

it's

meant

to

tell

you

their

relationship

with

God

or

what

they

know

about

this

God,

what

perspective

they

have

about

this

God.

And

so

I

took

an

informal

survey

and

so

we're

going

to

go

through

some

of

the

ones

that,

that

we

know

really,

really

well.

Let's

look

at

the

first

one.

First

one

is

Jeremiah

29:11.

You

guys

should

be

able

to

say

right

with

me,

for

I

know

the

thoughts

that

I

think

towards

you,

says

the

Lord,

thoughts

of

peace

and

not

of

evil,

to

give

you

a

future

and

a

hope.

Great

verse.

I

have

no

problem

with

it.

We

like

this

verse,

but

has

anybody

read

the

rest

of

that

chapter?

Just

saying.

Have

you

read

it?

If

you

have

it,

go

look

at

it.

This

is

true.

God

meant

it.

He

wasn't

kidding.

It

wasn't

a

bluff.

It's

very,

very

real.

But

if

you

look

at

the

verses

before

it

and

behind

it,

that's

conditional

on

repentance.

That's

conditional

on

saying,

lord,

I

was

wrong.

That's

conditional

on

them

surrendering

and

submitting

themselves

to

God.

Why

did

that

verse

not

make

it?

Is

any

prosperity

going

to

come

to

you

if

you

don't

know

Jesus?

I

mean,

forget

this

life.

Let's

talk

about

the

life

to

come.

If

you

don't

repent,

if

you

don't

surrender,

if

you

don't

submit,

is

any

of

this

going

to

happen

for

you?

Probably

not.

But

look,

the

rest

of

this

says

I

mean,

look,

just.

I

mean,

just

look

at

the

stuff

that's

underlined.

Sword,

famine,

pestilence.

Yeah,

more

sword,

famine,

pestilence,

curses,

astonishment.

Hissing.

Hissing

is

in

the

Bible.

Reproach.

They

have

not

heeded

my

words.

Why

did

that

not

make

it

to

your

Instagram

page?

I

would

say

that's

a

much

better

representation

or

much

better

impetus

for

someone

to

turn

to

Christ

because

at

least

tells

them

what

the

consequences

are,

what

eternal

damnation

could

look

like.

Or

did

you

not

know

this

God?

We

know

the

Jeremiah

29:11

God,

but

did

you

know

this

God?

Because

it's

the

same

God.

It's

the

same

God.

It's

the

same

God.

The

God

that

loves

you,

that

cares

for

you,

is

still

a

righteous

God,

is

still

a

God

of

retribution,

vengeance,

and

justice.

He

demands

a

standard

of

holiness

and

excellence

that

he

won't

make

any

compromises

on

with

anyone.

That's

one,

right?

We

all

like

that

one.

I

got

another

one,

Deuteronomy,

and

I

sort

of,

you

know,

maybe

summarize

this

a

little

bit.

Like,

I'm

the

head

and

not

the

tail.

Or

you.

You

know,

and

some

people

are

too,

like,

I'm

too

humble

for

that.

You

will

be

the

head

and

not

the

tail.

Whatever.

Okay.

We

love

that,

too.

Also.

Also.

Very,

very,

very,

very

true.

But

if

you

looked

at

maybe.

I

don't

know.

So

Deuteronomy

28,

the

first

14

verses,

immense

blessing.

So

much

blessing

that

you

don't

know

what

to

do

with

the

next

45

or

so

verses,

literally

three

times

as

much,

are

all

curses.

Do

we

have

a

sampling?

Did

I

even

send

you?

Oh,

yeah.

I

mean,

I

didn't

even

know

which

to

pick

here.

They

were

all

so

graphic.

If

you

heed

the

commandments

of

the

Lord

your

God,

there's

no

heading

or

tailing

that's

happening

to

you.

If

that

doesn't

happen

first.

And

look

at

this

as

a

blind

man

gropes

in

darkness.

You

shall

not

prosper

in

your

ways.

You

shall

only

be

oppressed

and

plundered

continually,

and

no

one

shall

save

you.

Why

did

that

not

make

it

to

the

Instagram

page?

I

would

say

again,

much,

much

better

witness

if

you

tell

people

about

the

God

that

will

make

you

the

head

and

not

the

tail,

and

do

not

tell

him

about

the

God

that

demands

a

standard

of

holiness

and

sonship

with

him

that

only

comes

from

the

finished

work

of

Christ

on

the

cross.

You

don't

know

the

God

that

I

worship.

Do

you

know

this

God?

It's

time

we,

as

Christians,

knowing

what

it

is

that

we.

I

hope

we

would

know

what

We've

been

saved

from.

We

of

all

people

should

know

this

God,

really,

really

well.

I

got

one

more.

Let's

go

to

Philippians.

Bro.

I

love

this.

I

can

do

all

things,

I

mean,

all

things

through

Christ

who

strengthens

me.

Look,

I

am

clowning

none

of

you.

I

have

right

as

we

speak,

there

is

a

little

paper

cut

out

where

I

like,

put

in

Sharpie

this

exact

verse.

So,

you

know,

I'm

with

it.

I

wrote

it

up

like

six,

seven

years

ago

when

I

was

studying

for

my

lsat.

And

I

was

like,

God,

I

don't

feel

like

doing

this

right

now.

And

I,

you

know,

I

did

one

of

those,

like,

speak

to

me,

Lord.

And

that

happened.

And

I

was

like,

it's

a

sign.

The

Lord

wants

me

to

be

a

lawyer.

And

so

it

made

it

on

my

wall.

We

like

that

one

too.

But

again,

what

was

Paul

talking

about?

This

was

not

motivation

for

you

to

wake

up

at

five

in

the

morning

to

go

to

the

gym.

Feel

free

to

use

it

as

such.

But

understand,

that's

not

why

I

was

in

the

Bible.

It

wasn't

put

there

for

you

to

be

motivated

about

grinding

your

way

through

life.

It

certainly

wasn't

put

there

for

you

to

live

your

life

in.

In

an

abomination

of

permissive

grace

that

was

never

intended

for

you.

Let's

look

at

what

it

actually

says

in

the

verses

before.

What

was

Paul

talking

about?

What

kind

of

all

things

was

he

talking

about?

He

says,

I

know

how

to

be

obased,

and

I

know

how

to

abound

everywhere

and

in

all

things.

I

have

learned

both

to

be

full

and

to

be

hungry,

both

to

abound

and

to

suffer

need.

How

many

of

you

signed

up

for

that

suffering?

How

many

of

you

signed

up

to

be

abased?

Do

you

still

want

to

do

all

things?

Do

you

still

believe

that

you

can

do

all

things?

The

Bible

says

you

can.

But

is

that

the

God

you

signed

up

for?

Why

did

that

not

make

it

to

your

Instagram

page?

It's

because

we

either

didn't

know

this

God

or

we

chose

not

to

accept

this

God.

And

this

God

is

one

and

the

same.

Hallelujah.

I

was

reading

the

Book

of

Esther,

and

this

is

actually

what

gave

me

the

impetus

to

speak

on

this

topic.

Everybody

knows

the

story

of

Esther.

Esther

was

put

into

a

position

of

power

and

prominence

at

a

time

when

there

was

a.

A

genocide

basically

about

to

take

place

against

the

Jews.

And

Mordecai,

her

relative,

makes

an

appeal

after

Haman

starts

to

wage

war

against

the

Jews.

And

Mordecai

tells

her,

hey,

you've

been

probably

appointed

for

such

a

time

as

this,

you

need

to

use

your

power

and

your

influence

to

somehow

sway

the

mind

of

this

king.

You

have

to

do

something.

And

if

you

remember

what

Esther's

response

was

in

verses

10

and

11

of

Esther,

chapter

four,

it

says,

then

Esther

spoke

to

Hatach

and

gave

him

a

command

from

Mordecai.

All

of

the

servants

and

the

people

of

the

king's

provinces

knew

that

any

man

or

woman

who

goes

into

the

inner

court

to

the

king

who

has

not

been

called,

he

has

but

one

law

put

all

to

death

except

the

one

to

whom

the

king

holds

out

the

golden

scepter

that

he

may

live.

We

know

that

Esther

musters

up

the

courage

to

go

do

this.

And

I

try

to

imagine

as

she

is

approaching

the

king

and

she

says

that

he

hasn't

called

for

her

in

a

month.

So

he

hasn't.

She

has

no

idea

he

wants

to

see

her

if

he's

happy

with

her.

Not

happy.

I

mean,

imagine

somebody

that

you're

married

to

not

talking

to

you

for

a

month.

If

I

go

three

minutes,

it's

a

problem,

right?

It's

already

a

problem.

No,

but

imagine

that

you

have

no

idea

what

kind

of

standing

you

have

with

the

king.

And

I

imagine

Esther

making

her

way.

Each

foot,

as

one

foot

gets

closer

and

closer

to

the

throne.

She

has

no

idea

if

she's

walking

closer

to

acceptance

or

death.

I

imagine

that

she

gets

down

onto

her

knees.

I

imagine

that

her

head

is

bowed,

has

no

idea

what

the

king's

about

to

say,

has

no

idea

if

the

scepter

is

going

to

be

extended.

And

even

when

it

is,

I

imagine

there's

a

shake

in

her

hands

as

she

goes

out

and

touches

it.

Here's

the

thing

about

King

Xerxes.

He

only

lived,

he

only

reigned

for

about

20,

21

years.

It's

not

a

short

amount

of

time.

But

he

came,

he

went.

You

don't

spend.

He

doesn't

live

rent

free

in

anybody's

heads

here

today.

I

know

that

Esther

looked

at

this

mere

mortal

man

and

feared

the

tiny

unction

of

power

that

the

Lord

allowed

him

to

have.

I

read

that

verse,

and

the

Lord

asked

me,

why

do

you

not

have

the

same

fear

for

me?

When

you

walk

into

my

house

and

say

that

you

want

my

presence,

why

do

I

not

get

the

same

kind

of

reverence?

If

Esther

understood

that

this

mazy

level

of

authority

was

to

be

feared,

why

do

we

not

fear

the

king

of

kings

and

the

Lord

of

lords,

the

one

who

is

worthy,

like

we

sang

of

our

praise,

of

our

adoration.

What

kind

of

presence

did

you

come

looking

for

today?

The

kind

of

presence

that

makes

you

Feel,

Feel

good.

That

makes

you

feel,

yeah,

I

got

what

I

need

for

tomorrow.

Or

the

kind

of

presence

that

makes

you

fall

prostrate.

The

kind

of

presence

that

says,

no

more

God,

I

can't

take.

Take

anymore.

Look

at

every

real

encounter

that.

That

people

in

the

Bible

in

scripture

calls

out.

There

wasn't

like,

oh,

God,

you

showed

up.

Awesome.

Excellent.

No,

it

was

like,

be

not

afraid.

And

there

was

like

instant,

you

know,

like,

gone.

When

the

Lord

was

thundering

on

the

mountain.

And

Israel

just.

They

just

heard

stuff.

They

didn't

really

even

see

anything.

And

they

just

said,

ah,

Lord,

we.

We

don't

want

to

hear

this

anymore.

Hey,

Moses,

Moses,

tell

God

to

stop

that.

Whatever

that

is.

Stop

that.

It's

terrifying.

Stop

it.

They

actually

encountered

God

for

who

he

is

in

all

of

his

glory,

and

it

petrified

them.

Did

that

God

change?

No,

he

is

the

same

God.

That's

right.

He

didn't

change.

His

arm

didn't

get

any

shorter.

His

strength

did

not

get

any

less

powerful.

Heard

nothing

changed.

But

maybe

your

reverence

for

him

did

or

did

you

not

have

it

to

begin

with.

Whatever

the

case

may

be,

Church,

it

is

time

to

reorient.

It's

one

thing

to

want

his

presence,

and

that's

what

we're

here

to

do.

We're

here

to

receive

it.

But

understand

whose

presence

you're

in.

Understand

what

it

is

that

you're

asking

for.

And

only

come

if

you

are

ready

to

be

broken.

If

you're

ready

to

lay

down

every

single

crown,

put

aside

every

single

agenda

and

be

prepared

for

a

radical

transformation.

Hallelujah.

Why

do

we

not

have

the

same

kind

of

fear

for

this

God?

Think

about.

Go

back

to

that

verse

with

Esther.

I

think

it's

still

up.

It

says,

any

man

or

woman

who

goes

into

the

inner

court

to

the

king

who

has

not

been

called,

he

has

but

one

law

put

all

to

death.

Think

about

it.

They

couldn't

go

into

the

inner

court

of

the

king

unless

they

were

allowed,

unless

they

were

given

a

privilege

because

there

was

something

special.

They

could

go

to

the

gate,

they

could

hang

out

wherever

they

wanted.

There

were

other

people

there.

But

to

meet

with

the

king,

you

had

to

be

called.

There

was

a

certain

level

of

preparation.

And

I

think

it's

so

incredible

that

the

Bible

uses

so

many

parallels

to

show

you

what

a

point

that

the

Lord

is

trying

to

drive

home.

If

you

look

at

the

tabernacle

and

what

it

initially

was

meant

to

do,

I

have

a

picture

of

it

somewhere.

I

think

you

guys

have

probably

seen

this

before.

You

guys

have

excellent

teachers

in

this

house.

But

that's

approximately

this

is

straight

off

of

Google.

I

don't.

Definitely

didn't

make

that

picture.

Okay,

yeah,

it's

by

those

guys.

But

if

you

look

at

this

tabernacle,

this

is

what

it

kind

of

looked

like.

This

was

the

general

layout.

This

is

what

a

lot

of

people

believe

that

it

looked

like.

This

was

the

entrance

to

it.

And

now

you're

in

the

outer

courts.

People

came

to

offer

their

sacrifices.

People.

First

of

all,

I

want

to

make

something

clear.

There

was

a

lot

of

preparation

that

went

into

just

showing

up

before

they

even

set

foot

into

the

place.

There

was

weeks,

probably

months

worth

of

preparation,

months

worth

of

anxiety

that

went

into

them

just

showing

up.

Okay,

forget

anything

else.

And

they

get

inside

and

they

have

to

make

sure

it's

the

right

calf

and

the

right

goat

and

the

right

ram

for

the.

For

the

peace

offering

and

the

sin

offering

and

the

guilt

offering

and

the

wheat

offering

and

the

drink

offering

and

all

these

things.

But

they

could

only

go

so

far.

Once

they

got

to

a

certain

point,

you

get

to

the

tent

of

the

meeting,

and

there

was

the

holy

place

where

the

priest

went

and

where

you

see

this

menorah.

And

then

once

a

year,

in

this

little

spot

right

here

where

you

see

the

numbers

1

and

2,

once

a

year

on

the

day

of

atonement,

the

priest,

after

years

worth

of

preparation,

after

years

worth

of

anxiety,

would

make

his

way

in

there

not

knowing

if

he

would

come

out

alive.

Not

because

he

was

terminally

ill,

not

because

he

went

in

there

hungry

and

his

blood

sugar

went

low,

but

because

he

was

about

to

see

God

and

experience

him

in

his

fullest

form

face

to

face.

We

don't

have

to

worry

about

any

of

this

stuff

today,

but

let's

start

back

here.

How

did

you

prepare

to

walk

into

church

today?

Or

did

you

prepare

to

walk

into

church

today?

Did

you

come

with

expectation?

Did

you

come

with

supplication?

Did

you

come

with

any

kind

of

submission?

And

you

wonder

why

you

don't

feel

church,

okay,

you

came

in,

you

don't

have

any

animals.

You

know

New

York.

Good

luck

finding

them

upstate,

I'm

sure,

but

we

don't

have

to

do

any

of

that.

But

did

you

come

with

a

sacrifice

of

praise

in

your

heart?

Or

did

you

just

leave

your

worship

leaders

to

just

yell

and

scream

and

like,

come

on,

man,

just

say

it.

Come

on,

please

say

something.

You're

just

like,

nope,

you're

not

going

to

get

a

peep

out

of

me.

I

say

what

I

want,

when

I

want,

how

I

want,

do

I

want?

Or

is

that

all

you

had?

Did

you

bring

your

sacrifice

of

praise?

Did

you

worry

about

getting

into

the

intimate

place

with

God?

Was

that

a

goal

of

yours

when

you

walked

in?

Did

you

even

want

that?

Did

you

even

imagine

it?

Did

you

wish

for

it?

And

if

so,

what

was

your

attitude?

And

when

you

walked

into

this

place,

did

you

expect

or

did

you

think

that

you

were

going

to

have

a

real

life

encounter

with

the

same

God

that

raised

Jesus

from

the

dead?

The

same

God

that

split

the

Red

Sea?

The

same

God

that

made

an

army

out

of

300

scrubs

with

Gideon?

The

same

God

who

raised

Lazarus,

the

same

God

that

we

study

about

in

the

Bible?

Why

are

you

not

afraid?

And

I'm

not

talking

about

fear

in

the

normal

sense

of

being

fear.

I'm

not

talking

about

the

kind

of

fear

where

if

you

grew

up

with

old

school

parents,

they're

about

to

hit

you

and

you're

about

to

like

wet

yourself

and

your

knees

are

knocking

together

for

no

reason.

No,

I'm

talking

about

a

fear

that

comes

from

understanding

the

sovereignty

and

the

power

of

the

God

that

you

serve.

And

if

you

have

not

felt

that,

if

you

have

not

known

that

you

are

missing

out

on

who

this

God

is.

Because

had

you

known

that,

it

wouldn't

be

easy

to

snooze

the

alarm

when

you

know

that

you

have

to

wake

up

and

study

the

Word.

It

wouldn't

be

easy

to

say

no

to

going

to

church

when

the

Lord

has

called

you

to

walk

into

deeper

relationship

with

Him.

It

wouldn't

be

easy

to

say

knowing

to

stewarding

your

family

well

when

the

Lord

has

called

you

to

be

a

minister

of

your

own

house

because

you

know

that

there

are

consequences.

You

know

that

this

God

is

not

a

God

to

be

trifled

with.

One

Church.

What

has

your

preparation

been

looking

like?

It's

an

honest

question

and

it's

one

that

I

wrestled

with

as

I

as

I

studied

and

read

this

Word.

So

I'd

like

to

come

up

with

some

alternates

for

some

suggestions

for

some

of

you

that

are

feeling

super.

I

mean

there's

definitely

some

of

you

with

one

of

those

three

verses,

it's

okay.

I

know

the

ones

that

it's

you

that's

like

avoiding

eye

contact

with

me.

I

get

it.

No

worries.

I

don't

judge.

Okay.

But

I

have

maybe

some

suggestions

I'd

like

to

if

you

haven't

met

this

God

who's

on

the

other

side

of

these

verses

in

these

chapters,

I'd

like

to

introduce

you

to

a

God

and

maybe

you

will

feel

so

inspired

to

make

that

into

that'll

make

it

into

your

Instagram

bio.

Let's

go

to

the

next

slide.

Deuteronomy

4:24

not

too

far

from

the

Deuteronomy

we

read

before.

For

the

Lord

your

God

is

a

consuming

fire.

A

jealous

God.

How's

that

going

to

sound?

Nice.

In

nice

like

bold

letters

that

no

one's

going

to

miss.

Consuming

fire.

A

jealous

God.

But

that's

who

he

is.

He

will

consume

everything

in

its

path

that

is

not

of

him.

One

day

when

you

get

up

to

heaven,

all

of

your

acts,

your

deeds,

your

thoughts,

your

desires

will

all

be

tested

by

fire.

And

only

that

which

was

sowed

in

good

soil,

that

the

Holy

Spirit,

it

gave

to

germinate

and

yielded

good

fruit.

Only

that

will

remain.

Everything.

Every

thought.

The

thought

you're

thinking

right

now,

looking

at

me

being

like

this

kid,

that

thought

is

going

to

be

tested

by

fire.

I

know

that

there's

a

lot

I'm

going

to

have

to

answer

for

and

it

terrifies

me,

it

does.

I

know

that

I've

been

saved

by

grace.

But

I

think

about

the

life

that

I

lived

and

I

thank

God

that

he

rescued

me

from

the

jaws

of

hell,

that

he

rescued

me

from

the

miry

clay

and

put

my

feet

on

a

rock

to

stay.

I

give

that

God

the

praise.

This

consuming

fire

is

a

jealous

God.

He

doesn't

want

your

second

place.

He

doesn't

want

your

eh.

I'll

give

him

this

sleepy

17

second

prayer

at

the

end

of

the

night.

I'll

give

them

the

verse

of

the

day

as

I'm

like

on

the

toilet

or

whatever.

And

don't

laugh

at

me.

I

know

some

of

you

do

it.

That's

the

reality

of

what

our

Christian

lives

and

our

devotion

have

been

to.

And

look,

it's

a

process,

right?

If

I

look

at

where

I

was

five

years

ago

and

I

look

at

where

I

am

now

and

I

look

forward,

I

expect

to

see

progress.

So

I'm

not,

you

know,

coming

for

anyone's

process,

but

if

that's

process

has

just

led

to

stagnation

and

that

is

the

best

that

you

have

decided

that

you

are

going

to

offer

God,

there

is

a

consuming

fire

that

will

not

put

up

with

second

best

or

second

place

in

your

life.

He

doesn't

just

want

to

be

first

place

on

your

list.

He

wants

to

be

the

list.

He

wants

to

be

not

just

first

place

on

the

list,

he

wants

to

determine

what

else

goes

on

this

list.

Do

you

know

this

God?

Would

you

put

that

on

your

bio?

Probably

a

pretty

good

representation

of

who

he

is.

Let's

go

to

another

one.

Another

one

of

my

favorites,

Psalm

97.

5.

The

mountains

melt

like

wax

at

the

presence

of

the

Lord.

At

the

presence

of

the

Lord

of

the

whole

earth.

So

for

those

of

you

that

grew

up

with

smart

lights,

wax

is

a

thing

that's

on

candles.

Candles

are

a

thing

that

you

light

on

fire.

And

fire

is

a

thing

that

happened

when

the

Neanderthals

were

just,

like,

hanging

out

and

then

just,

boom,

there's

fire.

Okay?

But

you

know

the

imagery

of

what

it

looks

like

when

those

candles

melt,

they

completely

disintegrate.

I

don't

know

how

many

of

you

have

seen

a

mountain

up

close

before,

but

it's

really

big.

And

the

Lord

spoke

that

into

creation.

They

wait

at

the

edge

of

their

seats

to

see

what

the

Lord

will

do.

And

when

the

Lord

speaks,

they

melt.

They

shudder.

They

cannot

sit

there.

They

start

to

disintegrate.

And

us

Christians

are

somehow

stronger

than

mountains,

sitting

there

with

stony

hearts

that

no

matter

sermon

after

sermon,

worship

song

after

worship

song

calling

out

the

name

of

this

Jesus,

we're

just

like,

eh,

I'm

just

gonna.

I'm

just

gonna

ride

this

thing

out.

I'll

be

back

next

week.

I'll

pay

my

tithe,

and

I'll

just

keep

going

at

the

presence

of

the

Lord

of

the

whole

earth.

He

owns

the

whole

earth.

He

holds

the

whole

earth.

He

owns

you.

He

paid

a

price

for

my

soul.

He

paid

a

price

for

your

soul.

And

he

demands

holiness.

He

requires

holiness

because

he

is

the

embodiment

of

holiness.

Do

you

know

this

about

God?

You

should

really

meet

this

God.

Maybe

even

put

that

on

your

Instagram

bio.

Let's

go

to

another

one.

Psalm

50,

verse

3.

Our

God

shall

come

and

shall

not

keep

silent.

A

fire

shall

devour

before

him.

See

the

theme?

And

it

shall

be

very

tempestuous.

Big

word.

I

know,

just

means

very

chaotic

all

around

him.

You

see,

we

mistake

God's

silence,

so

to

speak.

We

mistake

the

lack

of

consequences.

Might

I

suggest

as

though

God

is

dead

or

he

stopped

caring,

or

that

his

standards

have

somehow

changed.

They

have

not.

He

is

waiting.

And

he

has

a

day.

And

I

told

you

that

day

will

come

when

your

actions

are

going

to

be

testified

by

fire.

You

might

think

he's

silent

now,

but

I

would

suggest

that

he's

been

trying

to

knock

on

the

door

of

your

heart

for

a

long

time.

That's

another

story.

But

there's

gonna

be

a

day

when

the

trumpets

sound,

when

the

dead

in

Christ

shall

rise

again

and

the

Lord

shall

descend.

And

this

Jesus,

this

wonderful

savior,

this

Prince

of

peace,

this

Emmanuel,

will

not

keep

quiet.

And

he

is

going

to

call

out

everything

that

you

did.

It's

going

to

be

tested

with

fire.

Not

a

single

thing.

The

thing

that

you

did

this

past

Tuesday

when

you

thought

Nobody

was

watching.

That's

going

to

come

to

light.

The

thing

that

you

think

nobody

knows

about

you,

you

think

you

can

hide

because

you

know

you

have

good

things

going

for

you.

And

God

clearly

doesn't

care

because

he

hasn't

said

anything.

That's

going

to

come

to

light.

We

have

been

living

on

borrowed

time

for

so

long,

but

the

Bible

says

this

very

night

your

soul

could

be

demanded

of

you.

What

will

you

do

then?

And

you

will

see

and

be

left

lamenting,

much

like

the

rich

man

with

Lazarus,

that

he

spent

his

entire

life

trying

to

gain

the

world,

all

while

giving

away

bits

of

his

soul

until

there

was

nothing

left.

The

Lord

wants

you

to

go

to

work.

The

Lord

wants

you

to

stay

in

school,

but

he

gave

you

that

job

and

he

put

you

in

that

school.

The

Lord

wants

you

to

love

your

family,

but

he

gave

you

those

parents

and

he

gave

you

those

kids,

and

none

of

them

were

meant

to

sit

on

the

throne

of

your

heart.

None

of

those

things.

They

were

meant

to

be

avenues

and

instances

where

you

got

to

come

out

and

bear

fruit

of

the

finished

work

of

Christ

on

the

cross

that's

taken

place

in

your

life,

leading

to

radical

change.

Ephesians

2,

verse

8

through

10

says

that

you

were

saved

by

grace

through

faith.

For

good

works,

you

are

meant

to

show

good

works

that

demonstrates

what

it

is

that

the

Lord

has

done

in

your

life.

But

we're

content

to

come

Sunday

after

Sunday

for

feeling

extra

holy

and

the

budget

will

allow.

We'll

hit

a

couple

conferences

along

the

way,

go

to

the

conferences,

or

we'll

maybe

go

to

a

fasting

prayer

meeting.

If

all

of

our

other

plans,

you

know,

are

coming

to

or

have,

like,

smoothed

out,

if

our

friends

that

we

made

plans

would

say,

like,

I

don't

want

to

come

hang

out

with

you

anymore,

maybe

you'll

decide

you

want

to

go.

This

is

what

our

Christian

lives

have

been

relegated

to.

I

know

none

of

y'all

are

happy

to

hear

this.

Believe

me,

I

wasn't

either.

When

I

tried

to

sit

there

with

this,

I

was

like,

God,

I

got

come

back

tomorrow

night.

You

know,

it'd

be

one

thing

if

I

had

to

leave.

But

the

Lord's

challenge

for

those

of

you

who

are

supposed

to

be

mature

Christians,

who

have

moved

on

from

milk

and

are

eating

solid

food,

these

kinds

of

things

are

the

things

that

stand

in

the

way

of

knowing

who

this

God

is

on

a

deeper

level.

Once

again,

I

ask

you,

do

you

know

this

God?

It's

the

same

God.

If

you

didn't

know

this

God,

it

is

time

to

know

this

God.

This

God

is

not

just

the

Lamb

that

was

led

to

slaughter.

He

is

the

lion

of

Judah.

He

is

not

just

the

Redeemer,

he

is

also

the

Judge.

He

is

loving,

but

he

is

holy.

He

is

personal,

but

he

is

infinite.

He

is

a

servant,

but

he

is

still

a

King.

He

is

compassionate,

but

don't

get

it

twisted.

He

is

wrathful.

He

is

responsive,

but

he

is

immutable.

He

is

a

shepherd,

but

he

is

also

a

judge.

He

is

light

that

is

revealed,

but

he

is

also

a

mystery

that

we

can

never

fathom

with

our

human

minds.

He

is

the

Alpha,

he

is

the

Omega.

He

is

the

beginning,

he

is

the

end.

He

is

the

first

and

the

last.

And

this

God

is

alone

worthy.

This

God

alone

deserves

our

praise,

not

anything

else

in

your

life

that

you

set

up

to

be

an

idol

in

front

of

Him.

This

is

the

kind

of

repentance

that

the

church

is

looking

for,

that

the

church

is

being

required

to

show

today.

You

might

have

given

your

life

to

the

Lord

a

long

time

ago,

and

that's

good.

And

that's

why

you're

here.

And

I

thank

the

Lord

for

that.

But

if

your

spiritual

life

has

not

changed

and

it's

still

the

same

as

Aarti,

whatever,

that's

not

going

to

be

enough.

The

Lord

is

asking

you

to

make

some

steps

closer

to

him,

to

knowing

him

today.

Jeremiah,

chapter

9,

verse

23

to

25.

I'm

going

to

ask

the

worship

team

to

come

up.

It

reads

like

this,

but

let

him

who

glory

glory

in

this,

that

he

understands

and

knows

me,

that

I

am

the

Lord,

exercising

loving

kindness,

judgment

and

righteousness

in

the

earth.

For

these

things

I

delight.

This

is

the

only

thing

that

the

Lord

has

placed

you

on

this

earth

to

take

pride

in.

Nothing

else

will

matter.

In

50

years,

somebody

else

will

be

living

in

your

house.

In

10

years,

your

car

will

probably

be

junked,

especially

if

it's

a

hybrid.

Sorry,

too

soon.

But

these

things

that

you

spend

your

life

chasing

after

will

all

return

to

the

dust.

And

you

can't

take

it

into

the

pearly

gates.

You

can't.

So

why

buy

spend

money

for

that

which

is

not

food?

Why

toil

after

things

that

aren't

going

to

matter?

Take

an

inventory

of

your

life

this

week.

How

much

of

it

was

spent

towards

things

that

actually

mattered.

I

asked

this

question

of

my

church

last

weekend.

It's

the

end

of

April.

A

third

of

the

year

has

gone

by

and

you

still

remember,

like

the

words

of

your

testimony

maybe,

that

you

gave

on

December

31

and

January

1.

The

Lord

has

been

good

to

me

this

past

year

and

I

wasn't

able

to

do

much

for

the

Lord.

This

past

year,

but

I

hope

to

do

much

for

the

Lord

this

year.

Are

barely

left

your

lips

and

you

blinked

and

it's

four

months

later.

What

have

you

done

for

the

Lord

this

year?

How

many

people

have

you

told

about

Jesus

who

has

come

to

the

Lord

as

a

result

of

you?

I

am

standing

here

as

an

embodiment

of

what

one

man's

obedience

to

what

the

Holy

Spirit

laid

on

his

heart.

And

I

am

nothing.

And

I

am

nobody.

And

don't

be

fooled

by

this

white

shirt.

It's

got

spots

on

it

for

a

reason.

But

the

difference

is

that

the

scars

that

I

have

today

have

been

overshadowed

by

the

scars

of

those

nail

pierced

hands

and

the

blood

that

flowed

from

Calvary

changed

my

life

because

one

man

obeyed

one

church.

Will

you

obey

today?

In

a

few

short

moments,

you're

going

to

be

able

to

partake

in

communion

with

God

in

an

intimate,

in

an

intimate

manner

of

experiencing

what

he

did

for

you,

what

he

came

to

do,

what

he

set

you

upon

this

earth

to

accomplish.

But

don't

come

without

reverence.

This,

it's,

you

know,

it

might

be

bread

that

you

have

an

issue

with,

or

you

might

not

like

the

taste

of

the

grape

juice.

And

that's

not

what

what

it's

about.

It's

about

what

that

represents.

And

what

that

represents

is

the

heftiest

price

that

anyone

has

ever

had

to

pay.

And

it

was

paid

for

you

and

you

and

you

and

you

and

you.

Because

the

Lord

looked

at

you

and

said,

this

is

my

son.

He

is

worth

it.

Remember

the

flip

side

of

the

verses

that

we

read.

The

Lord

demands

excellence.

The

Lord

demands

holiness.

So

don't

come

to

the

table

in

a

lackadaisical

manner.

Understand

the

power

and

the

might

of

the

God

that

you

find

yourself

in

the

midst

of.

Don't

take

that

for

granted.

Come

as

you

are.

And

I'm

with

all

that.

But

if

you

come

as

you

are

and

you

go

the

same

way,

you

didn't

either.

Either

you

didn't

experience

the

Jesus

that

I'm

talking

about,

or

something

went

terribly

wrong.

And

I've

been

in

that

rat

race.

I've

been

in

that

cycle.

And

the

Lord

wants

that

cycle

to

end.

For

some

of

you

today

know

this

God,

the

loving

God,

who

is

also

just,

the

compassionate

God,

who

is.

Who

demands

a

higher

standard

of

holiness.

For

me,

it

was

obedience

to

the

word

that

the

Lord

spoke

to

me

through

the

man

of

God

six

years

ago

that

ended

up

leading

me

to

the

cusp

of

a

spiritual

breakthrough.

Again,

not

in

ministry.

Nothing

else

that's

worth

bragging

about,

but

just

in

knowing

God

and

The

Lord

is

taking,

asking,

knocking

on

the

doors

of

your

heart

to

make

some

steps

today.

Don't

say

no.

Don't

say

no

today.

You

said

no

a

bunch

of

times

before,

just

like

I

have.

Today's

not

that

day.

Make

it

different.

Let's

bow

our

heads

and

let's

pray.

Lord,

we

thank

youk

for

this

time.

We

just

surrender

ourselves

into

youo

hands,

God,

as

we

approach

this

table.

Thank

youk,

Lord,

that

yout

looked

at

me

and

when

the

world

saw

nothing

worth

fighting

for,

nothing

worth

banking

on,

Lord,

you

saw

me

as

the

one

that

you

saw

in

my

mother's

womb,

knitting

me

together

for

a

good

purpose,

Lord

Jesus,

for

a

plan.

That's

the

best

plan,

the

plan

that

you

had

for

me.

And

I

know

that's

the

case

for

every

brother

and

sister

here

under

the

sound

of

my

voice,

Lord,

would

you

allow

us

to

prepare

our

hearts,

sanctify

our

hearts,

Lord

Jesus,

to

a