Transcription
Good morning everyone. Good morning. Good to see you today. Everyone doing all right? Beautiful day. H July, the premier month of the North Country, right? Doesn't get better in July. Amen.
Well, praise the Lord. We're we're uh here to worship [music] God today and fellowship together and hear from the word of God. We have a special guest, David Boyet, Pastor David from Tupper Lake. We're so excited to have him with us to share the word today. Amen. And uh would you stand with me? We're just going to open in prayer [music] and get right into worship. God is moving in the earth. He's moving in New York State. He's moving in upstate New York. [music] He's moving in Malone, New York. Amen. And I pray you can say he's moving in my life, [music] our family, our marriage, and the call of God on our lives is coming to pass. Amen. It's good thing, right? Amen. [music]
So, let's pray and ask the Lord to uh to just meet with us today. He desires to meet with us. [music] And uh in the last couple of weeks, we've been having some really great services. as the Lord's been meeting us at the altar and uh restoring just an intimacy [music] with him that sometimes waines and fades in our lives and [music] um he's bringing that back I think and I'm excited about that. So let's uh let's enter in by prayer. Amen.
Father, we thank you so much for the grace of God that [music] brings salvation. And Lord, you have appeared as your word says. You have appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness, [music] worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. We thank you [music] for that scripture and that exhortation. And Lord, we we heed it. Lord, we listen to it. And we say, God, we want to live soberly and righteously and godly. Teach us [music] your ways, Lord. And even this morning we pray as we worship draw us closer to you. Holy Spirit draw us into the [music] presence of the father. In Jesus name we pray. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Where are you? Oh, there you are. Oh. Oh, we Julie needs a second. Would you uh greet one another? Yeah. Greet one another in the name of the Lord. Say hi to somebody. Smile at them. Amen. start to get a ticket. I know. I'm sorry.
All righty. Through you, I can do anything. I can do all things. Cuz [music] it's you who gives me strength. Nothing's impossible through you. [music] Blind eyes are open. Strongholds are broken. I am living [music] by faith. Nothing is impossible. Not you, Lord. Amen. Thank you, Jesus.
I'm not going to live by what I see. I'm not going to live [music and singing] by what I feel. Cuz deep down I know that you're here [music] with me. I know that you can do anything [music] through you. I can do anything. I [music] can do all things cuz it's you who gives me sl. Nothing is impossible through you. [music] Blind lines are open. Strongholds are broken. [music] Yes, I am living by. Nothing is impossible. [music]
>> [music] >> Let's declare this. I'm not going to live by [music and singing] what I see. I'm not going to live by what I feel. Cuz deep [music] down I know that [singing] you're here with me. I know that you can do anything. Through you, [music] I can do anything. I can do all things. Cuz it's you who gives me strength. Nothing is impossible [music] through you. Blind eyes are open. Strongholds [music] are broken. I am living by faith. Nothing [music] is impossible.
I believe. I believe. I believe. I believe in you. I believe. [music] I believe. I believe. I believe in you. [music] I believe. I believe. I believe. I believe in you. [music] I believe. I believe. I believe I believe in you. Through you I can do anything. I can do all things [music] that you call me to, Lord. Oh yeah. Nothing is impossible through [music and singing] you. My lines are open. Strongholds [music] are broken. I am living [singing] by faith. Nothing is impossible.
I believe. [music] I believe. Yes. I believe. I believe in you. I believe. [music] I believe. I believe. I believe in you. [music] I believe. I believe. I believe. I believe in you. [music] I believe. I believe. I believe. I believe in [music and singing] you. Amen. Thank you, Lord.
>> And the same [music] person that wrote those words wrote these as well. And I'm [music] speaking of the scripture context that this was taken from. Paul said, "I can [music] do all things through Christ who gives me strength." and that when he prayed that something would be taken away, he prayed three times and God says, [music] "My grace is sufficient for you." And that he was going to do a greater work in him because of the thing he was going through. That he was learning to really really lean into God, not his own strength, not his own mustering up, whatever. So today, let's believe the Lord for that. That we understand what he's trying to say to us, what we're struggling with, what we're dealing with, what is difficult in our life. That we understand that God is a God who loves us and [music] he has grace for us. Amen.
Do you believe it? [music] Let's sing it out. Great is your [singing] faithfulness, oh God. You [music] wrestle with the sinner's [singing] heart. You [singing] lead us by [music] still waters into mercy and nothing can keep us aart. [music] So remember your people, remember [singing and music] your children, remember your [music] promise, [singing] oh God, your grace is enough. [singing and music] Your grace is enough. Your grace is enough [music and singing] for me.
Rain is your [music] love and just is [singing] God. You use [music] the weak to lead the strong. You lead us [music and singing] in the song of your salvation. And all your [music] people sing along. [singing] That's you and us. So remember [music] your people, remember your children, [music] remember your promise, [singing] oh God. Yes, your [music] grace is enough. Your grace is enough. [music] Your grace is enough [singing] for me. Your grace [music] is enough. Your grace is enough. Your grace is [music] enough for me.
So remember your people. [music] Remember your children. Remember [music and singing] your promise. Oh God, your [singing] grace [music] is enough. Your grace is enough. [singing] Your grace is enough [music] for me. Your grace is enough. [singing] Heaven reaching down to us. Your [music and singing] grace is enough for me. you. Let's sing it out. [music] Your grace is enough. Your grace is [singing and music] enough. Your grace is enough for [singing] me. Your [music] grace is enough. I [singing] am covered. Your [music] love. Your grace is enough for me. for me. [singing] [music] Oh yes, Lord. For [music and singing] me.
So [singing] remember your people, remember your children, [singing] remember your promise, oh God, your Your grace is enough. [singing and music] Your grace is enough. [music] Your grace is enough for me. [singing] Oh, your grace is enough. [singing] I am covered with your love. Your grace is enough [singing] for Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. [music] Glory to you God. Glory to you Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We praise you Lord. We praise you [music] Jesus.
I call you faithful for the promises [music] you've kept every need that you have met. And Lord, [singing] I'm so grateful. [music] You were with me every [singing] step. And I [music] never will forget. And I think of how you blessed me. How [singing] your hand has never let me [music] go. You've never [singing] let me go. You [music] have been [singing] so good to me, God. I can't believe how [music] you love me. What a friend you have been. So good [music] to me. God, I can't believe how you love me. What a friend you have [singing] been.
Oh, you ask me for Lord. [music] I [singing] call you Savior. for the blood that [music] washed me clean, for the wrongs that you redeemed. And I [singing and music] know you're a [music] see one more reason to believe. Cuz when [singing] I think of how you bless [music] me, how your hand has never let me [singing] go. You've never let me go. [singing] And you have been [music] so good to me. God, [singing] I can't believe how you love me. What [music and singing] a friend you have been. So [singing] good to be. Oh God, I can't [singing] believe [music] how you love me. What a [music and singing] friend you have been. You are my friend. [music]
Thank you Jesus. Thank you Lord for every [music] morning, for every [singing] open door. I call you faithful. And I just want to thank you, [singing] Lord, for every mountain, [music] for every time you brought me [singing] through. I call you favor. And I just want to thank [music] you, Lord, [singing] for your forgiveness. Thank you, Lord. You never turned away. Oh, I call you faithful. And I just want [singing and music] to thank you, Lord, for your salvation. You paid a price I couldn't pay. [music and singing] I call you faithful. And I just want to thank you, Lord. [music] You have [singing] been so good to me. Oh, God.
>> [singing] >> They can't believe how you love me. What a friend you have been. So good to me. [singing] God, I can't [music] believe how you love me. What [music and singing] a friend you have been. So good to be God. I can't believe how [singing and music] you love me. What a friend you have been. So good to me. God, I can't believe how you love me. What a faith you have. I just want to thank you Lord to sing you praise to sing of your love. I just want to thank you Lord. Thank you [music] Lord. We worship you. We worship you. We sing your [singing] great love, oh God. Hallelujah. Thank you for your faithfulness, for your salvation. Thank you, when I think of how you love me. Thank you, Jesus. How [singing] you love me. How your hand has never let me go. You never let me go. [music] When I think I think [singing] [singing and music] you've never let me go [music] to God, [singing] I can't [music] believe how you love me. What a [singing] friend. [music] You have so [singing] good [music] to me. God, I can't believe how you love me. [singing] What a friend you have.
The Lord keeps showing me a picture of um footprints in the sand and I know it's it's from bygone error when it was a big deal a poster people saw it and they were like that is just so cool you know and and if you don't know the story for you younger The person saw how the Lord was with them and there's two footprints in the sand, two sets of footprints in the sand and they're walking along and then all of a sudden they only see one set of footprints. It's like, God, I don't understand. Why did you leave me? How come there's only one set of footprints? And then Jesus said, I didn't leave you. That's when I was [music] carrying you. And I and I could I don't share that just to share it. The Lord really is showing my heart that we need to understand that [music] we need to you know there's some of us here especially that just you know when God has carried you you don't question it because you've recognized it. But there's other times when you don't and you're [music] just walking by faith and you trust him because you know he is faithful. know his goodness and that he loves us because he is so good, not because we're good. But remember the there is times when we just need to let go. Let go and let God carry you. Let him draw you close to his heart. So important. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. The Lord is here. The Lord is here. He lives in our praises. Adore him. Praise him. He's present. He lives in our praises. He loves us and he's here right now. So go on, praise him. Praise him. the more we can praise him and adore him, his presence is here. Amen.
>> Amen. This is um this is from a scripture. The Bible says God inhabits the praises of his people. Amen. He comes when we praise him in our midst. Amen.
>> Thank you, Lord.
>> So, don't hold back. Feel his presence. Who is [music and singing] the great king of glory seated [singing] on high? Heavens. Oh Jesus, you are alone. You are the Lord God Almighty, strong in compassion and mercy. Lord Jesus, you were alone. And I've searched the world for a love that could fill my heart. [music and singing] But nothing compares to the [music and singing] wonder of who you are. Holy, holy, sing holy. All the angels cry holy Jesus you [music] alone. [singing] Jesus, you are Lord. Thank you, Lord. You set the stars [singing] in the heaven. You set the world into Jesus. You alone. And you [music] breathe your life in your creation. You walked among your creation. Oh [music] Jesus, you alone [singing] for a [music] love that could [singing] kill my heart. Oh, but nothing compares to the wonder [music] of you are [music] holy all [singing] the I sing glory [music] all [singing] the angels Jesus [music] your Lord Oh worthy. All [music] creation worthy. All [music] the heavens make Jesus [music] you are. Jesus, you are Lord. You shed your blood for salvation. [singing] [music] You broke the curse for our freedom. [singing] Oh, thank you, Lord. You rose from death. [music] Let's sing it out. Come on. Jesus, you are Lord. Oh [music and singing] Jesus, you alone. Holy, [music] holy, [singing] holy, [music] holy angels cry. Glory Jesus [music] you are Lord. Worthy all creation sing worthy. All [music] the heavens exalt thee. Jesus you [music] [music] holy all the earth are singing holy all the angels cry holy Jesus [singing and music] you alone worthy. Let's lift up [music] our hands to our savior. All great heavens Jesus you would know. [music and singing] Holy. I can't help but sing holy. How my heart cries out. Holy Jesus. You alone. Worthy of my voice and sing worthy. I bow my life to exalt thee. Jesus, you alone. Oh Jesus, you were exult. We exalt you Lord our God. We sing Lord. We sing your praise Lord. Let our lives as an offering to you. Let our lives be for you and Jesus. Youus, [music] you are Jesus. Jesus.
I believe someone has a word. We're just waiting upon the Lord. encourage you. I want to encourage you to come. Even if it's [music] just a few words, it doesn't matter. Your obedience is everything for you and for those that will hear the words. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you Jesus. In the interest of hearing from God and speaking when he speaks to [music] us, speaking a word, remember last week we talked about the fact that we are a prophetic people means God wants his voice to come through us at times times and seasons. [music] It will be an exhortation, word of instruction, maybe a word of warning to somebody that you sense from the Lord. God throughout history has used people to speak his word. Amen. And um we as a [music] last days church, spiritfilled from Pentecost in Acts two, [music] right? Spiritfilled people of all people, we should be prophetic. Amen. But you don't just turn that on or off. You grow into it as you walk by faith into the prophetic realm and you say, "God, use me. Speak to me. Give me words." And um And it is baby [music] steps at first, but as you obey God, you will begin to hear his voice more clearly. And uh and there will be times when it will be so clear, it will be as the Bible describes it, the burden of the word of the Lord. [music] It will weigh on you and you will have to deliver it. Amen. Is anybody interested in doing [music] that for God, speaking for God into somebody's life? Amen. Then um yeah, let's begin to [music] exercise that right when you come into church, say, "God, here I am. Use me, Lord, in any way you want." [music] Amen. As you go about your day, as you wake up in the morning, spend time with your spouse. [music] Um may God may want to speak something into their life. That is a great place to share the word of the Lord with one another. Amen.
>> Amen. You may be seated. We're going to ask the ushers to come. So good to worship together. Amen. And we're going to receive the offering this morning and then get into the word. So, I didn't feel like God gave me a word today, but I did kind of feel like he might have last week. And if I'm out of order, I can be corrected certainly. Um, but I'm I'm just here to tell you and encourage you this morning that God answers prayer. Um, most of you know that I lost my husband a year ago [clears throat] and I prayed for him for 48 years to come to know the Lord and it took some rough uh going for he got cancer at the end. But two months before he died, um I talked to him about about the Lord and I had walked with the Lord all that time, but he never really gave his life to God. He believed in God. But one day I said to him, um, "Is there anything I can do for you today?" Because at that point, he couldn't do anything for himself anymore. And he said, "Yes." He said, "You can pray for me that I'll know I'm going to go to heaven when I die." [snorts] And um so we did and I know where he is now. And so don't ever give up um praying because God does answer in his own way and in his own time. But he is faithful. And I just want to encourage you this morning that he's good and he's faithful. And I can stand here not a blubbering fool this morning because I have peace in my heart um in the faithfulness of God. Amen.
>> Amen. Thank you, Sherry. That's a a great testimony. I know God um sometimes brings people to himself at the very last moment and it's maybe they resist their whole life. Whatever the case may be, I think about the thief on the cross, right? at the very last minute he cried out and Jesus had mercy on him. So don't doubt you know when if it's a last minute well it's just that they just know God is drawing on their heart and they are finally yielding and whatever time period that is it better to serve him early right throughout your life and you receive so many blessings and we store up rewards in heaven the Bible says as we serve him here on earth. So so don't tar but um thank God that um that he reaches out to people even at the very last days. Amen.
>> I didn't particularly get a word, but more of an image. Um, while we were singing, I imagined a white translucent hand upon all of our foreheads and blessing us. And in this moment, I feel compelled to say that even through all the things that we feel guilty for and all the things that we may not feel forgiven for, we need to understand that we are and that he is the redeemer. He is the one who holds our hands and our hearts always. Amen.
>> Amen. Thank you, Nicholas. Amen. Amen. Let's pray and honor the Lord with our giving. Father, thank you for blessing us. We return the first fruits to you and gifts from our heart to the work of ministry in the earth. And we pray that you would bless it in Jesus name. Amen.
>> [music]
>> Amen. Amen. Uh we're going to have another baptism service next week. Cool, right? We had one two weeks ago and I think s excuse me I think 16 people were baptized and there's a couple of more couple more that um are going to be baptized next week. If you would like to be baptized, please let Lydia Brown know. Lydia if you don't know Lydia it's right back there. Um and um or you can let me know if you can't find her and uh we will make sure you get the information you need for that. Amen. U Bruce vowed to his own hurt that he's going to heat the water up. So we're counting on Bruce to get the heater out and all the others say, "Hey, wait a minute. What about us?" So, yeah, it' be nice. We're going to do that right out in the sideyard with the baptismal tank after the service. So, looking forward to that.
We have a a nursing home service coming up, at least scheduled um on the 1 of August, and as you know, we put out an appeal for someone to help to lead these services. Um uh Joe Richards been faithful to do this for quite a while, and uh she can no longer do that. as far as the leadership of it. And so we're asking people to just step up. Maybe your family will say, "Hey, we'll go and we will, you know, be there for this and uh and we'll just help you." It's like a halfhour service on a Saturday morning and um we can give you more information. But that's coming up on August 1. Please let us know uh whether we can still hold this service or not. We need people. Amen.
If you need a Bible, please raise your hands, a loner Bible. um to follow along in and an usher will bring one to you. Just raise your hand up high and we'll bring a Bible. Everyone good? Okay. All right.
We are so blessed to have Pastor David Boy, a friend of ours, a friend of mine, and a man I've known for many, many years, but we've become reacquainted in the last, I don't know, eight years, eight to 10 years. Yeah, it's been a while now. And um and uh we've been sharing with each other's churches, going back and forth, sharing in ministry, and it's been a real refreshment to my soul and a blessing. He's he's a good man, loves God, and he's been faithful serving the Lord in Tupper Lake for many years, and uh he's a man of the word, which I appreciate. And uh he's he comes in under the radar. He's very he kind of low-key, but man, he delivers it. you know, the word of the Lord comes and it is and it lands because truth is so powerful, isn't it? Um, we don't have to hype it up. We don't have to stylize it. Amen. We just speak truth, the word of God, and it lands and it bears fruit in our lives. And and uh I thank God for uh David's ministry to do that and his and his integrity to keep it real. Amen. So, let's uh we're going to dismiss kids church with Bruce out here. We're going to go over to the kids church building for the remainder of the service. Have fun, guys. And let's welcome uh Pastor Dave as he comes. Amen. [applause]
>> Well, good morning. It's uh well, greetings from Tupper Lake and it's so good to be with you today. You know, I uh I had one person in our church. I his name is Danny Riando and he says, you know, he says, "Me and my wife remember once, it was about six months ago." He says, "And you were you were preaching." He says, "You you you you hit the pulpit once." He says, "Me and my wife almost fell over." So, I I I figured the uh the the laid-back style maybe has to has to start giving a little bit, but um I was thinking um um well, I know this this this church, you've been through a lot. You know, I know you lost love member here probably what a month ago in in May. And uh we had uh we had used the uh the the building I think the following week to do a service for my dad. And um I uh sometimes you get things hyped up in your mind. I had really wanted to uh be able to try to to reach as much as I could my relatives. I had about 30 relatives here. And uh of course in my mind I had the the perfect sermon. I mean, you never want to offend anybody and you try not to offend anybody. But you realize that if you do, that comes with the territory sometimes, but since I only see a lot of my relatives once every five or 10 years, you you you say to yourself, I'll do my best not to offend. Um, but yet I'll try to speak the truth whatever way you can. But things uh things kind of happened where I guess I didn't plan on a couple of things. the um people that shared in the middle where it went a little bit longer than I thought. So I thought, well, we probably shouldn't do the song and I'll probably have to cut out some of the really good things I had to say the second half. And I says, how am I going to do this? And all this is going through my mind. And uh so to make a long story short uh you know I I got a chance to preach to my relatives although it didn't work out exactly the way I thought. Maybe maybe I got a C+ or something but I was I was thinking um years ago I saw this and it I think the Lord spoke to me through this. It really helped me. Um, I don't know if you remember the the famous uh chef Julia Childs. I think Yeah. But uh I for some reason or another I was a young man. And I just got a kick out of watching her on Saturday morning whenever she'd come on. And she had uh was making this particular kind of bread. And uh of course, you know, when she puts butter on it and stuff, she just goes crazy over the butter and the uh the garlic and all the spices. And she kind of takes us through her whole routine of doing all that and putting it in the oven. And you're just uh waiting for her to take it out at the end of the show. So after all this expectation and and drama of getting the bread together, she she pulls it out and it's as flat as a pancake. And I thought, well, what's she going to do now? And she just uh looked at the audit and she said, well, you know, you can't win them all. So [laughter] I think that's a healthy way to look at ministry. I realize God speaks to us about serious things sometimes, but other things just happen. And uh I think when Jesus walked into his hometown of Nazareth and when he walked out of the synagogue, they all wanted to push him over a hill. And uh I can see the people around that didn't work out very good. But anyhow, we kind of trust that God is sovereign and he's in control. Uh and I think that too about the prophetic word. A lot of us are afraid to share or prophesy or even give an exhortation because we think well it uh kind of may hit a flat tune and I want to say you know you can't win them all that that comes with the territory that comes with part of learning and uh so anyhow uh let me get started.
I wanted to I wanted to to um I guess speak to you today about the about the call of God on your life. And I I want to say a couple of things about the call of God. I'm I'm going to call them separation cost. And after speaking a couple things about separation cost having to do with the call of God in your life, I I want to go to a a particular miracle Jesus did in John chapter five where he made a a crippled man to stand up and walk. And I kind of wanted to tie that in with what I'm going to be saying today. So, uh, that's where I'm starting and that's where I'm going so you'll have an idea. But, um, I wanted to turn to the a very simple scripture in Mark. And, uh, this is in Mark chapter one, and it's where Jesus calls two sets of brothers to himself. And by the way, I want to uh No, I'll just read this first. This is in Mark 11:16. It says, "As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Come follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." At once they left their nets and followed him. Uh when he had gone a little further, he saw James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John in a boat preparing their nets. Without delay, he called them. And they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
And I just wanted to to stop right there for now. And right here, you can see where Jesus is calling uh two sets of brothers. And uh the two sets of brothers uh we'll say Simon Peter because I know his name kind of goes back and forth Simon or Peter. So we'll just say Simon Peter and his brother Andrew and then James and John two sets of brothers from two different families. But uh they were all involved in a fish fishing business together. And uh and along with that um I think Andrew Simon Peter's brother, he was a he was a disciple of John the Baptist for sure. and whatever Simon Peter and James and John uh did not know that John was saying about Jesus, Andrew would have filled them in being a disciple and a and a and a fishing partner. And this wasn't the first time that Jesus met these four men. Uh, I remember when I was a young Christian, I would read this and I would say, "Boy, Jesus, he he really had a power over people. Come and follow me and they just drop their nets and they follow them." And uh I I probably understood it like that for about a year. But uh Jesus had actually met these uh these four men weeks earlier, maybe a month or more earlier. Uh the key thing you read is before John the Baptist was put into prison and then after he was put into prison. Uh the passage we just read was after John was put into prison. But Jesus had met these people the first time before John was put into prison. Probably the only difference is he did not yet ask them to to leave their nets and to come and follow him. But uh they had had a chance to be with Jesus to talk with him. Uh they had had a chance uh I believe even to when Jesus went up to Jerusalem to make his public entrance so to speak. uh the time he talked with Nicodemus and did all the miracles in Jerusalem. Uh I suspect they were there because they were they were devout Jews and I suspect they went up to the Passover feast like they were supposed to. So they had got to hear quite a bit about Jesus before Jesus made this formal invitation to come and follow me. uh they were interested, but they hadn't made a made a firm commitment yet. And uh the obvious separation cost for these four men was that they would leave their fishing business. And uh that was in many people's mind that would be a big separation cost. I mean to to leave your fishing business and especially James and John to leave their father Zebedee with a hired hands. He's expecting to leave the business with his with his kids and they leave and they follow Jesus. But you know I think over the years I've seen very very few people stick with Jesus who think it's simply a good idea. It always takes something more than thinking it's a good idea to walk with Jesus. I mean, something has to be touched and aroused deep inside you. And and I think of what uh what these four men uh heard specifically probably through Andrew through John the Baptist. But John the Baptist, he had said about Jesus. This is before he knew Jesus would be the Messiah. But he came preaching about the Messiah before he knew it was Jesus. And he said, you know, uh the man who's shortly going to come on the scene after me. He's standing in your midst right now. And uh he was preferred before me, which I understand to mean that, you know, uh he might be as old as me or younger than me, but he lived before me. and he said, you know, his he's so great, I'm really not worthy of unloosing his the the the latch on his handle. And he also said about Jesus, he said uh he said uh the God who told me to come into baptize to make the public aware that this Messiah was in your midst right now and he's going to be entering the public scene soon. He told me, he says, "The one whom you see the spirit of God and descending upon him and remaining upon him, he's the one he's the one that would baptize with the Holy Ghost. Uh he is the one that I would attest to the fact that he is the son of God." I think later in John chapter 3, John says this about him. He says, "He that comes from above is above all." Uh, "He that comes from the earth is earthly." He speaks of the earth, but Jesus speaks about things he's he's seen and heard in heaven. He says, and uh he says, "No man receives his testimony, but in in all likelihood, some did, but most did not." But um he said that um concerning Jesus that God he puts the spirit of God in him without measure. So in other words, when you hear from him, it'll be just like hearing from God himself. There's no there's no washing down there at all. Uh he says the father is putting all things into his hand. And he says that he that believes on him will have everlasting life. So those are some pretty big things to hear for the first time. And you can really understand why the things these four men had heard about Jesus, why it touched and aroused something deep inside them. Uh it wasn't just a good idea. It was something very real. C can you imagine? Uh, I mean, we we we hear these phrases about Jesus uh as if uh we take them for granted because they're well remembered Bible phrases. But, but these people heard these things before they were Bible phrases. They heard them in real time. And uh I think of when I first got saved and uh I had I heard nothing like they heard. But even the spirit of God getting a hold of me and reading my Bible in my bedroom for probably two weeks straight and thinking to myself, how come the church never taught me this? I I just couldn't believe that I was as fascinated as I was about that. And uh I don't know if you've noticed this, but I I've certainly noticed it that when you when you have the call of God on your life, and every bornagain Christian does, you don't you don't come to Christ without being called. It's both a wonderful thing and for me it was also a terrifying thing. And the reason I say terrifying is because I knew it was so true that indifference was not a right response. I knew that I had to I had to respond affirmatively and I knew that was going to change my whole life and uh as much as I would try to tell myself differently uh there wasn't any place to go. You can't you can't unhear what you heard and unsee what you've seen. So um and lastly I'll say this too uh you know John he referred to Jesus as the lamb of God twice uh in this very first meeting that these uh four men including Andrew had had with Jesus. And the lamb of God is signi is significant. If I was to summarize the meaning of the entire Old Testament with everything that you see, uh, behold the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world refers to Jesus twice that way. And you get to the book of Revelation, you see God sitting upon the throne with his book, saying, "Who's worthy?" And behold, a lamb looking at it like it had been slain. The lamb of God is still there. And uh he's right there at the beginning, he's right there at the ending. So hearing all these things uh I try to imagine what it would be like hearing it the first time. And it's just uh this wasn't a this wasn't a hard separation cost to them. I'm convinced the way they confidently uh we read about it twice. They they left their nets and they followed him. didn't seem to be any deliberation uh any gut-wrenching soularching. Uh they were just ready to go because the what they knew was so much that these cost even though seeming great to others, they were great to others because others weren't seeing and knowing what they were seeing and knowing. But to them they were very meager cost uh because it was a the reward so outweighed what they were doing. It just wasn't any question in what they what they were going to do. And I I want to say this again too uh uh or for the first time I should say most people that are asked to follow Jesus uh they're not asked to leave their jobs or their livelihood. Uh but everyone pays a separation cost whatever that would be. And you may not know that what that separation cost is on day one, but you uh you will know it very very soon whether it's uh the approval or disapproval of someone. Uh, I know I used to be a bartender and it took me a few months, but I realized, you know, I don't know if God wants me to attend bar the rest of my life and uh my dad always wanted me to take over the family business, you know, and my dad was real disappointed, but uh those are some of my costs. I was never a rich man, although I did buy my first car for 3,600 and I paid cash. And uh that was back in 77. how times have changed, haven't they? Uh but it's easy to concur that these these four men that followed Jesus that uh they were sold uh these were not hard cost to them. They were very puny cost uh but puny cost to them in comparison to the promises they were given. And I'll just give you two quick examples that you're well aware of. Uh separation costs for Abraham. Uh you know, leaving his country, leaving his family, uh not knowing where he was going. I suppose that uneasiness is a separation cost. Uh living as a stranger in a strange land that God had promised to give he and his descendants for an everlasting possession. uh great promises but living as a stranger in a strange land that was a separation cost. But again uh he was not only promised that God would give him the land to he and his descendants but he was promised that from his loins the Christ would come the savior of the world. Abraham was promised that he would be an heir of God and an heir of all things. So the separation cost that Abraham paid, you can even see that they seem meager in comparison to what God had promised him. And uh the other one is Moses. And of course you know Moses, he was a he was a descendant of Abraham, but he lived as the daughter of Pharaoh in Egypt. Had a very highstanding position. Uh I suspect he probably could have been the next king of Egypt. I don't know that for sure, but he had a very high standing. Anyhow, and uh the Bible says about about uh about Moses or at least it suggests this that Moses uh he knew about the promises made to Abraham and his descendants. And you read about this in Hebrews 11, I think it's verses 24- 27. is is that Moses would rather suffer affliction with God's people than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. So why would he want to do that unless he didn't know the promises that were attached to Abraham's descendants and God's people? And I think it ends by saying that Abraham was very mindful looking at him who was unseen. So Abraham or not Abraham but Moses, he had he had something really deep and aroused in his heart to do this the decision that he did. And these four men again uh they were really in some ways no different than Abraham or Moses. They were leaving their unique separation cost uh to follow Jesus the same way these two uh big patriarchs did.
And uh I'm going to now move into what I'm calling my second kind of separation cost. And the separ the second kind of separation cost would be this. You know the first kind is something you can point to and identify and saying it's this or it's that is or it's something some business some person but the second kind uh in order to go after the interests of God you really have to recognize that the interests of God are very different than your own interest. uh they're very different than than than earthly interests of man. And uh the interest of God will never harmonize with the interests of man. And when I say interest, I just don't mean whatever your hobbies or your likes are. But the whole way we think and we reason, that's part of our interest. And none of those harmonize with God's interest. And uh a large part of it is because we don't know the plans of God. So how can how can you harmonize with God's interests when you don't know his plans and you know for sure that his interests are not going to harmonize with earthly interests because his interests are from heaven. Ours are from earth. What's that scripture? I think it's in Matthew that um no man can serve two masters. He will love one and despise the other and and then vice versa of course and uh God's uh God's interest originate from God in heaven. Man's interest they originate from the heart of man in the earth and they're just opposed to one another. Don't ask me how and why. They just are. I think most of us know that that have walked with the Lord for a while. Do you remember what um the time that Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke him because Jesus was telling him how he had to go into Jerusalem? He was going to be uh arrested and uh mistreated by the leaders and and and killed on a cross. And Peter just said, "Jesus, don't be talking like that." He says, "Far be it from you for something like that to happen to you." And I'm convinced every once in a while they thought Jesus said crazy things. They just didn't understand. But they let it go because this is this is one of those things. But uh but Jesus what he said to Peter, I guess he said it to Satan too because Satan was using Peter. And I guess he said it to the other disciples too because the other disciples were hearing what Jesus uh was saying. He said um he said, "Peter, you you savor not the things of God, but you savor the things of men." He did not criticize Peter for having evil interest. He simply criticized Peter for having man's interest, you know, which is much different than a son of God interest. And I don't remember did I put down a scripture in Matthew 20 maybe maybe 16 23 24 and this is right after Jesus said you know you savor not the interest of God but the interest of man. Then Jesus said to his disciples if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself take up his cross and follow me. And uh for whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses it for my sake uh will find it. And uh I think one other time I think the apostle Paul he was talking to the people in Corenth and this was by way of letter. I think you find this in 1 Corinthians 3:3 where Paul says to him, he says, you know, you're you're you're yet carnal. He says, "You still walk as men." Which doesn't seem like a horrible insult, but you still walk as men. I mean, that's just the opposite of where God wants to bring us. He wants to teach us how to walk like sons and daughters of God, which is so different and so opposite. And it's not our default position. Our default position is our own thinking, our own reasoning, our own comfort zones. uh you know, whatever seems right. That's always a going to God is never a default position. If you don't do it intentionally and on purpose and and with a little bit of resolve that I'm going to do this, uh the default position, it just doesn't go there. And uh there is a spirit behind man's interest. uh there's probably more than one you could name. And there's also a spirit behind God's interest. And uh I think of that scripture in 1 Corinthians 2 that says, "We have not been given the spirit of the world, but we've been given the spirit that is of God that we might freely know those things that are of him." You see, in and the the the spirit of
The world, uh, may not know the interests of God if God hasn't announced them, and may not know them. And certainly, the spirit of the world has a default position that is of the world. The spirit of the world does not like the things of God. Is not, does not like his interest. Does not want us to see us get involved in his interest. So, even, even if you could take your, your, your paint, your best p picture on the interest of man, even the, the, the best intended interests of man are still 180 degrees opposed from the interests of God. Again, Peter had good intentions. He wanted to keep Jesus safe, but he doesn't know the plans of God.
So, uh, so anyhow, uh, God, God's got to make him, get him on board with that to do that. And, uh, I guess you have to say this, uh, we've been made in the image and likeness of man, of Adam, of fallen Adam, and it's God's, uh, passionate goal to make us in the image and likeness of his son, and which are two opposing things. And, um, I don't know, Peter and all of his, uh, all of his, uh, disciple friends that were disciples of Jesus, they were still acting like men. They had made that initial separation cost of leaving things to follow Jesus. But they were still really walking as men. Jesus loved their commitment. He loved their willingness to follow him. But they were still walking as men. They were still works in projects, a work in project. And, uh, he wanted to get them to the place, uh, where everything was no longer about them. Everything was no longer about what made them feel good. Everything was no longer even about what they thought would make him feel good. Uh, you know, I think Jesus, do you want us to call fire down and destroy these people for insulting you the way they did? And, uh, he said, "No, no, you just don't get it." And he could have just doubled down. I, I probably would have. That's why I'm not Jesus. But he could have just said, you know, um, I'm from heaven. You're not. [laughter] When are you going to get this? But anyhow, he, he bore along with him and, uh, he would, he would say to them in so many words, you think it's good for you to hang on to your familiar self, but it's not. Your familiar self is all wrong. Uh, it's going the way of destruction. What feels best to you is all wrong. Uh, all of heaven knows it. All of hell knows it. Uh, you seem to be the only ones that apparently don't know it as much as you should, but you need to trust me on this. Uh, and, um, these are a second kind of of separation cost when you try to get out of your own way and get out of your own reasoning. Uh, get out of your own mental comfort zones and to say, you know, I want to do this God's way. And how many, I don't want to embarrass anybody, but, uh, don't do anything, but if I asked, how many would raise their hands if they, if they, if they said that God's ways just feel natural to me? I've had people say that to me before. Um, and I, I, I usually just leave it for a further conversation, but, um, but they're not.
So, I think a good illustration does a lot better than 10,000 words. So, I'm going to start bringing you toward my, uh, my miracle in John chapter 5 that Jesus does. I'm going to need about five or 10 minutes to get there. But, um, the generation of Israel that died in the wilderness, God had did so much to try to earn their trust, to make them believe that they could rely upon him and what he said more than what they could see themselves through by what was in front of them. He wanted to get them over that hump where he could bring them to supernatural ground where all the odds could be against them in 20 different ways. But if God said, "I said you could do this, so you could do this." Somehow they could, they could leave, uh, that comfort zone of wanting to see the odds in their favor and say, "No, we're just going to believe God." And God tried so hard to get them there. Uh, the Bible says that 10 times in the wilderness they provoke God where God set things up or allowed things to come together on purpose to bring them right to the edge where they would have to say, are we going to believe the promise of God or are we going to believe what's right in front of us? And, uh, 10 times, times God brought them to the edge, and on the 10th time, God had had enough. Uh, that's when they came to a place called Kadesh Barnea. And many of you, many of you probably know that story. But in Kadesh Barnea, they had been in the wilderness for a few weeks, and God was getting ready to bring them into the promised land. And of course, you know that, uh, uh, they sent in 12 spies to spy out the land. And, uh, 10 of the spies came back with a bad report, uh, convinced that, uh, they didn't stand a chance if they were to go in and fight with him. And of course, you remember Joshua and Caleb said, "No, we can do this." Well, it wasn't that Joshua and Caleb saw anything different about the people. They just believed the word of God. They had, they had gotten over the hump. But the other 10 didn't, and the other 10 were able to persuade the whole multitude of people that, uh, we can't do this. Uh, maybe God will bring us up or bring us in another way. Oh, maybe we'll go back to Egypt, but, but we, we can't do this. And God said, uh, you know, I, I've had enough for now. Uh, this generation will not enter into the promised land. Uh, all the fighting men from 20 years old and upwards, uh, they won't enter in. Uh, you're going to wander in the wilderness as a nation for 40 years. And, uh, at the end of 40 years, uh, when all the men of war have died off except for Joshua and Caleb, he says, then the children, your children will will enter into the land, but, but you won't. Uh, I'm glad there's boundaries with God. Uh, one of the problems with Christianity today is there's no boundaries with God. He's just the God of forever, forever, forever chances. And, uh, I believe God will give us another chance anytime we're serious, but he doesn't give us a chance just for the sake of giving us another chance if it's going to be the same thing.
But, um, so anyhow, I think, uh, did I have numbers 14:22 or 23 or I think, did I have that? If I didn't, it's okay. Okay, I guess that, that's all right. I want to say this. Um, even though the nation was sentenced for 40 years in the wilderness, uh, the actual offenders that, that God was going to see die in the wilderness was, uh, would be 38 years. And I'm going to tell you why in just, just a second. Um, that, that's all right. Don't, don't worry about it. I think I covered it anyhow. Thanks, thanks for, thanks for the stab though. [laughter] But, um, but what, what God had, uh, actually, why don't we put up Deuteronomy 2:14. I think I had that one down. It says, "And the time we took to come from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the valley of the, of the Zered was 38 years." And that 38 years is significant because after 38 years, the men of war, 20 years old and upwards, back in Kadesh Barnea, 38 years earlier, they were the ones that God was upset with. He wasn't upset with the children. He was upset with the 20 years old and upwards, the men of war. And he says, "You're going to die in this wilderness." And actually, the, the all the men of war, 20 years old and upwards, it didn't take them 40 years to die off. They died off in 38 years. And the last two years was actually two years their children had to serve out for them. And God was actually making positive progress now out of moving the children into the land. But it was 38 years that the men of war took to die off. And you could say in one sense that once they died, died off, that was their sentence. Their sentence was 38 years. The nation's sentence was 40, but their sentence was 38 because once you're dead, there's no more, there's no more sentence to serve. That's it.
And with that, I, I wanted to, you're probably wondering what this has to do with anything with the miracle in John, but in John chapter five, we read about a man who had been a for 38 years, which is very interesting to me because, uh, when I see the nation of Israel who for 38 years, uh, served, served out a sentence because they were in essence, they were a spiritual. Uh, when you think of the nation of Israel's history, that 38 years they marched in the wilderness was sort of emblematic of Israel's future history as a nation. Other than the days of Joshua, Israel as a whole, they never learned how to walk. They never learned how to trust God. Never learned how to believe in God. Never learned how to have faith in God. At the very end, they were taken over by Assyria, by Babylon, switched to the Mes, or the Persians after that. Then it went to the Greeks, and then it went to the Romans. I think when Jesus came, John chapter one simply tells us he came unto his own, and his own received him not. And they received him not for a reason. They still hadn't learned how to trust God. They still hadn't learned how to think about those things that came from above rather than things that came from the earth. And, uh, this, uh, this impotent man who had been a for 38 years. You wonder why the Holy Spirit wanted to point out the number of years he was crippled unless it was perhaps meant to be emblematic as the nation where Jesus is, he's on the scene now, and he's serious about having people that are going to learn how to walk. And Jesus was always doing natural miracles to signify spiritual miracles before calling himself the light of the world, or right after he healed a blind man blind from birth, and that got a big hoopla, and he was the bread that came down from heaven. Not like the mana in the wilderness that your fathers ate and are dead. So Jesus was, it was not unusual for Jesus to do natural miracles to, to represent spiritual things that he was passionate about doing. And, uh, this man who had been crippled for 38 years, I, I think he was meant to be emblematic of the nation. Uh, it was really a crippled nation when it came to trusting God. When it came to believing in having faith in God, it was a nation without faith. A nation who could not be led by the spirit. God tried 10 times in the wilderness, and the whole history after that, other than a few positive times, it, it just never lasted. Uh, that's what I worry about when I, when I think of our nation. I, uh, you know, everybody talks about how the nation came together after 9/11, but whatever coming together there was, only lasted a few months. And, uh, one of my biggest concerns with the different concerning movements going on in this country is, uh, boy, I just think we get, uh, normalized with things too fast, and we say, well, that's just the way the world is right now. And, uh, so I, I can understand why Israel, looking back, why nothing lasted. Unless God really gets a hold of a person, things just aren't going to last. We always go back to that default position.
So, uh, the nation, like this man in a bed, they were crippled spiritually. Uh, they were bedridden as a nation. In that bed, they lied on. I guess you could say they savored the things of man more than the things of God. Uh, that was their bed. It was their own instinctive interest, their own familiar ways they loved. They were governed by their own self-will and self-reasoning. They were in bondage to their own self-life. They made no progress in the nation, just like they made no progress in the wilderness for 38 years. The self-life had ruled them, and, uh, they never really looked at anything in light of how it might serve God and what, or how God might be trying to, to help them or to show them something. Uh, they looked at everything and how it affected them or made them to feel. Uh, most of the murmuring and most of the rebelling in the wilderness, uh, it came as a result of not getting what they wanted, not feeling like they wanted to feel. Look at Peter's shock when he takes Jesus aside to rebuke him. I mean, it never even enters his radar that he could possibly be wrong on this. Jesus, don't be talking like that. Far be it from something like that to happen to you. That's not the way winners talk, Jesus. We're going to, like, we have to teach you something here. And of course, you know, Jesus kind of rebuked him back, but in a, in a, in a truer way. Uh, but spiritually speaking, you know, Peter at this time, even though he was a work in progress, even though he had met that first separation condition, Peter was still a spiritual. The other disciples were still spiritual cripples.
Now, uh, the good side of things is, is Jesus was still committed to them. If you remember the night before he was arrested, he thanked the father passionately. Thank you for these men that you've given me. You know, they, they got a lot to learn, but boy, they've stuck with me. They've been with me. You know, others have left me. Remember in John chapter 6 when Jesus talked about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, and the Bible says many of his disciples left him and followed him no more. But these men, they stuck with him. Where else shall we go? So, uh, if you look at yourself today, he says, "Boy, I'm somewhat of a cripple." Know that Jesus, he, he appreciates your stick-to-itiveness [laughter] and, uh, something will be shown from that. But, uh, when one, when one turns to Christ, when one becomes born of the spirit, this is where, this is where the spirit of God wants to take us. It wants to take us on supernatural ground where we stop relying on what we can see through in and of ourselves and what God has said. Um, I don't know if it's just me or maybe some of you have experienced this, but I go through times and seasons where I feel absolutely numb. I feel like the, the, the heavens are so barren. Uh, I can't see. I'm like Elijah when he prayed for rain. There wasn't even a cloud in the distance. And finally, when he prayed, he saw this little dinky, dinky cloud. And it's, I almost think of like the men out trying to start a forest fire, and you're kind of blowing into those embers, just trying to nurse it to health. But I, I have times where I feel like that, and maybe some of you do too. And boy, the times like that, they can take you over if you're not careful. You, you just got to, you just got to realize that he's a god of, he's, he's not only a god of faithfulness, but he's a god of timing. He does things in his time. And I think of that phrase, um, that they use with our military, uh, military readiness. You might go through 10 years doing nothing but being ready, but boy, when it's time to be ready, you better be ready. And, uh, so I try to get my mind along that line instead and and do what I can, but realize the ultimate, uh, plan and and strategy is in his hands.
But, um, this man that Jesus healed, that he made to get up and walk, he had a rationale for not being able to have his miracle yet. He said, "You know, I'm always next to the pool, but there's never any man to lift me up and to put it in as the first one after the water is stirred." And, uh, you know, Jesus never picked him up and put him in. He said, uh, he said, "Stand up, pick up your bed and walk." Or he may have said, "Pick up your bed," saying, I don't remember the order of that, but he, he said, "Pick up your bed and walk." And, uh, what Jesus told him, it did not meet his, his expectation of what he thought needed to happen. He was looking for somebody to pick him up and put him in the pool when the water stirred. So he had to believe outside of himself to believe what Jesus was saying. And he did that. He picked up his bed. He stood up and, and he walked. And, uh, this man believed Jesus enough to do that. And I don't think a person will ever really learn how to walk in the spirit as we should until we realize that we have a fundamental problem that we savor the things of man more than the things of God. And, uh, I, I almost hesitate to use this example. I don't want to offend anybody. Uh, but years ago, I, I used to, uh, I used to watch Seinfeld when it first came on in the 90s. It was, uh, and I remember this one character, George Costanza, and some of you probably remember the name, if nothing else, but, um, he had decided in the coffee shop one day, he said, "You know," he says, "I'm, whatever, however old he was, 33 years old, he says, nothing has ever gone right for me in life. Everything is wrong. He says, today I'm making a commitment. I'm going to do everything the opposite. Every instinct I would feel and do, I'm going to do the opposite of that." So, in the coffee shop, this, uh, tall, really good-looking blond-haired woman went up to the counter to get something, and George got up out of his seat, and he walked up to her and he says, "I, I'm George Costanza. I don't have a job and I live with my parents." [laughter] And, uh, and she, she almost began to say, "Oh, I'd like to know more about you." And, and, uh, the whole show was about doing the opposite. And, uh, I don't know if I'd go that far, but often times breaking away from your own self, it feels clumsy. It feels like you're doing the opposite, but when you know God said it, uh, I would even go a step further. We often times don't know God said it. Often times we're like Gideon, where we like two or three or four affirmations. But I, I'm, I'm to the point now where I think if I'm, if I, I would like to say if I'm 51%, but it's more like 60%. If I'm 60% sure God said it, I hold it on the burner and I get ready to act and I say, like, well, let's give it a shot. If it doesn't work out, well, you can't win them all. >> But I'd rather, I'd rather, I'd rather die trying than die waiting. >> So that's what we do.
But when we, when we, when you look at, um, uh, Matthew 16:23 again about Jesus telling Peter, you say the things of man more than the things of God, and in doing, uh, verse 24 and 25 instead, which means deny yourself, pick up your cross, and come and follow me. Denying yourself, picking up your cross, and following him. It always seems like that's that hard, tough thing Jesus had to say. But when you think about the reward of that is walking, it doesn't seem all that bad to me because the, the, the cross you're picking up in many ways is like that bed the man told was told by Jesus to carry. He says, "You've been in bondage to that bed for 38 years. Now, I want you to carry it around as a trophy to say you're not under it anymore." And would you, would you like to say to, you know, I see picking up your cross that way. I'm denying myself. I'm picking up my cross. I'm trophying that. I'm saying I'm following Jesus. And the reward of all that is walking. I, I, I mean, next to having my name written in the Lamb's Book of Life, I love the idea of walking. Uh, what does that scripture in Romans say? Those who are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Uh, last thing I'll say is this. Uh, well, two last things, but real quick. You see that word walking numerous times in the New Testament. Uh, you hear about walk not in the flesh, but walk in the spirit. Uh, you read the phrase walking in faith, walking in newness of life. Uh, walking as children of light, walking worthy of the vocation with which you were called. And, uh, you never read about lying, but you always read about walking. And do you know that after the Holy Spirit fell on the day of, on the day of Pentecost, the very first recorded healing miracle we read about after Pentecost was about a crippled man. And if you remember, I think James, was it Peter and John? They saw him sitting outside the temple looking for money. And he says, "Well, I don't have any silver and gold, but what I do have, I'll give you." He says, "Rise up and walk." I mean, to me, that's God's passionate statement that when he has a church, it's going to be a church that walks. It's not going to be a church that stumbles and needs to be taken by the hand. It's going to be a church that learns how to walk. And, uh, I want to say this, whatever you're going through in life, whatever impossible situation, uh, you, you could be in or would be in or foresee yourself being in, boy, God has a purpose. He wants to teach us how to walk. And if somehow we can learn how to walk, that's got to be the, the, the utmost thing in our mind. Not the problem, but what is God trying to teach me through this? >> There's nobody that doesn't want to walk. So there will be a, a separation cost, and I named two of them. But the separation cost, especially the second one, getting out of ourselves, leaning on him, uh, there's such a great reward to that. He's teaching us how to walk. I think of that scripture verse. I think it's in, uh, first or second Peter, but it says some, something along the line, uh, whereby we've been given exceedingly great and precious promises that we might be partakers of the divine nature. And the divine nature is not in bondage in a bed. The divine nature walks. Amen. Amen. And, um, so try to, try to be encouraged by that. And anytime I come here, I, I, uh, I, I love the life I feel here. So I know this is a, this is a, a learning how to walk church. And, and, and when I say learning how to walk, you do walk, but we're still learning how to walk better, aren't we? Amen.
Father, we thank you, Lord, for, uh, God, your word to us, Lord. We thank you, God, for the, the great patience you have with us, God. And the great commitment you have to us, Lord. Uh, God, it's your will, God, to bring us all into a, into the image and likeness of, of Jesus. And Lord, we just want to give you free reign, God, to have your way in our life, God. We want to give you free reign, Lord. Uh, God, just to, just to dismiss, God, our own thinking and our own reasoning, God. Often times when, uh, when things are happening around us that we don't understand, God, and we just want to give ourselves to you in a new and a fresh way, Lord. God, asking the right questions, God. Uh, God, I pray, God, that you would encourage, God, any hearts here that need encouragement today, God. And we pray, God, uh, God, uh, thank you, Lord Jesus, God. I, I just sense on the horizon, God, like Elijah saw the clouds, God, I believe there's clouds of rain, God, coming here, God, a holy rain, God, that would just rain over this place, God, that would, uh, see people excited about Jesus and see new converts, God, excited about Jesus. And God, we just ask, God, God, we just pray that into existence right now, Lord. And we pray, God, that the movement they're feeling right now, God, it would, uh, God, it would spark into embers, Lord, and it would spark, and the fire would get a little bit bigger and a little bit bigger. God, have your great way here in Malone, New York. God, thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. >> I'll let you close as you like to do. Thank you. Amen. You know the, uh, I couldn't help but think when David was talking about the children of Israel, Kadesh Barnea, and they refused to go in because of fear, fear of the giants in the and