Transcription
Heat. Heat. Thank you. Thank you, Lord. Great is thy faithfulness to us, Lord. Throughout every generation, you've been faithful, Lord. We thank you, God of covenant, who keeps it to a thousand generations. Worthy are you. Worthy are you, Jesus. Precious Lord, thank you for this house, this people. You love us so much. Thank you for the honor of meeting with you in this house, of being a daughter in this house. Great is your faithfulness, Lord. And I build you an altar here now, Lord. I build you an altar of worship and praise for all that you've done in me, in this place, in all of us. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. Thank you, Lord.
I remember, Lord. I remember. I remember. I remember. I remember. I remember. I remember, Lord. We remember all that you've done done. We take this time to remember. We remember you, Lord. We remember you, Lord. Great is your faithfulness. Thank you, Lord.
We turn our hearts again, Lord. We turn our hearts again, Lord, toward you again, Lord. Again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again, we turn our hearts again to you, Lord. Our greatest love. There is no no one like you. No one like you, Lord. Touch your people tonight, Lord. We've seen so much, but would you touch us again? We've come hungry. Tell him you're hungry tonight. We've come hungry. We've come hungry. We've come hungry, Lord. We've come hungry, Lord. We've come thirsty, Lord, for living water, for the fountain that never runs dry. You turn our hearts, J. Would you touch us in this place tonight? Would you, oh Lord, have mercy on me and open my mouth and shut it as you please. You're worthy of all that you desire, Lord. You're worthy of all that your heart longs for. You're worthy, oh Lord. Let these Let these moments, Lord, let this tiny window of time echo for all eternity. Lord, let us be changed forever. Touch us again, Lord. Touch us again, Lord. Would you just ask him to touch you? Would you just ask him to touch you, Lord? Lord, touch us. If you're not hungry, ask him to touch you. Oh Lord. Oh Lord. Oh Lord. Fill us till we overflow tonight.
Precious Jesus, we need you. We need you. We need you. We need you. We need you. We need you. Holy Spirit, we know it's your joy to reveal Jesus. Would you come? Thank you for being here. Come more. Would you come more? Would you come more? Give us eyes to see Jesus. Give us ears to hear his voice, Lord. Give us hearts that are soft and tender, Jesus, to the seed of your word. Lord, we open our hearts again. We ask you that you would wound us with love again. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. There's no one like you. There's no love like you. There's no friend like Jesus. We open our hearts. You wound and you bind up. You cut and you heal. The man of sorrows who was anointed with the oil of gladness above all his companions. Oh Jesus, it's all in the cup. It's all in the cup. The sorrow and the joy, the suffering and the gladness and all that we need. for everything is found only if we drink what you're serving. We thank you that you're the high priest and the lamb. And we say to you tonight, if you pour yourself out to us, we will drink of you, Lord. the offerer and the offering. Only you. The water and the well. The water in the well. The water and the well. The water and the well. You are living water, Jesus. And you're the only place to get it. Oh, and we come to you tonight, Lord, with a fresh hunger. We come needing a touch from you. And we know you love to touch us. We know you love to touch us. And so we we've yielded before, but help us yield again. Help us yield again in this house, in this place, in this place. Lord, help us yield again now, oh Lord. Oh Lord Jesus, how we love you. The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. And though wickedness won't go unpunished, you delight in showing mercy. Thank you for your mercy. It's the only reason we're here. your mercy, your kindness, your faithful pursuit. Lord, wound us again with love. Oh Lord, we give this time to you.
When I was a little girl, I might just sit down. When I was a little girl, probably starting at seven. Oh, Holy Spirit. through like 12 years old, I would dream a lot and I had an ongoing dream. And in the dream, I was climbing a hill lined with flags to a building that had a name on it. And I could never see the name till the first time I drove up on this property. And I remember telling my dad and his all of my grown-up friends that I kept having this dream and I didn't know what this place was. I had never seen it here. And I came to visit, I think the first time with friends and we drove onto the property and I was undone in the car because I realized I was here and that since I was a little girl, he'd been talking to me about this. And I could never have dreamed all that he would do from that dream. All I knew was that he would change me here and that he would use me here and I was supposed to end up here for who knows how long, for who knows what. But that's when I knew I was coming. I don't even know if some of you know that. So when I drove onto the property the first day, I was a mess. I felt the Lord tell me to remember again with you, to recall some of the things first that just the Lord did. So, it's an honor, Lord. It's an honor to have been given so much in this house and to be able to come back and bless to honor you all, to honor Bill, to honor the whole all of the leadership.
I remember the first day I was in school up here. I don't Were these always out? Okay. Before that, I was going to say I was right there. The first day that Bill spoke in school, you could hear me on the recording. I was wailing so uncontrollably. And this little Nazarene girl was humiliated because everyone heard me and I was trying to hide, but what can you do? And he touched me so deeply. And that's when I met Haley and Andrew Sy, another student. We'd been worshiping together and she helped me up from the floor. And that was that was the end of that. been dear friends ever since. I remember the first time, Chris, that you talked about purity. One of the first Sundays I was here, I was so uncomfortable. I was so uncomfortable with the specificity. So very and then Danny got up and said, "Some of you are nervous laughing." That was me. I was like in the third row and I was nervous giggles the whole time. He's done so much. And I knew there was a there was a place the Lord like in intimacy with Jesus. There was a there was another place that you know the Lord I wasn't used to hearing other kinds of intimacy talked about but the Lord so he so grew me. He so taught me. I'm so thankful for you. Thankful for the way you loved my husband. for the way that you've walked with us patiently. Jason's on speed dial. He always has been. I don't know where Brian and Jen are, but I just want to Okay, was thinking about Jay posting that he had some friends that needed something done when we were in school of ministry and school of ministry students like need money, you know? I was like, and we were friends. Jason was such a dear friend and I I was like, "Hey, I know you posted, but can you do can you mean that and he texted me and he said, "Yeah, it's Brian and Chin." And I remember coming to your house and I don't even know what I did for you. I think I organized something. I don't know. Cuz you love organization. I was the last person who should have been helping me with that. We all know now, but I'm so thankful. Was thankful to serve you, to be in your house and love your kids and and then worship with you, to be in his presence together.
Um, I remember in second year We were waiting for Bill to come one day and we heard that it had started raining in the room in first year. So naturally, we were hungry for the Lord to move with us too. So everything stopped and everyone just begin to worship and When he finally got there, which was a long time, I think, he basically just scooted into a pile. There was no room. We were already a mess. And he said, "I'm about to do something I've never done, and I may never do it again." It's kind of like a we'll see how this goes. And he said, "If there's somebody in the room who is carrying something, who's carrying Jesus in a way that you want to carry Jesus, I want you to go and honor them. There wasn't room to move. I'll never forget that day because it was like our whole class had this precious revelation that we needed each other. And it's like maybe you had this thought of one person across the room that you wanted to get to, but you weren't getting there cuz all of a sudden it hits you like I need you. I need every person in this room. We need each other. >> We all see in part >> and we needed each other. And that was the day I understood in a different way what this kind of family was. And I was changed forever. It changed the way we did community. It changed the way we did life. Some of our dearest friends are sitting here with us. And did you need this? >> Just in case, Mommy. >> Just in case. >> I got you. I got you. Mommy knows the Lord's done so much in us since I since I saw you. Some of you I've never seen you. Since I was here with the family last. Um, this is my mom. >> This is my mom. Thank you for letting me bring her. My parents have loved Jesus my whole life and they made it very easy for me to fall in love with them. And I know that that's not everyone's story, but it is mine. And in 2020, my precious saintly, and I mean this, my precious saintly father went to glory. And the Lord as he moved mom with us to Tennessee and my brother and sister-in-law and we're in the same place serving in the same house. Mom's on staff. I mean like it's just such a gift. And the Lord has oh he's done such a deep work in our family. And the Lord has um he's asked some things of us that were costly for us. And in the midst of it, I felt my prayer was that he would that I would begin to know this man of sorrows. That I would begin to know him in the fellowship of his suffering. You know, when everyone was contending for Olive to be raised, Cali, we it's like I was texting back and forth in prayer. I was in Ohio praying for my dad to be healed of cancer. And um and he always heals. It's just not always the way we want. He always heals. Healing is inevitable. With Jesus, we we don't lose. If we're his own, death is a doorway. It's a passing through. Death, wears your sting. And if we won't rush past it, but we'll stop. And if we have wounds that aren't healing, we need a deeper revelation of his wounds. If we have a sorrow that doesn't seem to be lifting, we need another revelation of the sorrow he carried. If we have a fear of anything issue, we need the fear of the Lord. We need his love. We need another revelation of his love, his death. If we're to receive a thankful, grateful, true revelation of the victory, there has to be a grateful, thankful revelation of his death, of the cross. If the man who knew the most sorrow was the the happiest, we got to get it. And I felt um he's he's been dealing a lot with um my courage, believe it or not. I might look wild to you, but I used to be terrified. I was terrified. Terrified to be in front of people. I was I was like my yes was yes. I had no nos yet to certain things. Of course I did. What I'm saying was Whoa. Let me be clear. Still a lot of nos. I hated disappointing people. I was so terrified to disappoint the people I loved. And I had this measure of the fear of the Lord, but I was also really wanted to make all my people happy. He said, "Good luck." Well, I found that out. Thank you. The hard way. And the Lord even, you know, it was a journey. It was such a journey. I had to dethrone everything else in my life so I could actually digest what people were pouring into me. Right? Anyways, I'm giving you context for where we are kind of where I was. I was terrified to be on a platform. I was terrified to sing. My parents used to call me up to sing with them and I ran out of the room crying once as a kid. We were singing family and we did three-part harmony and the third part was out sometimes. I was so nervous, but look what the Lord has done. Look what the Lord can do. And I Oh my God, thank you. I could never have imagined and I don't know what I would have done. He's so kind to hide things for us. He's so kind not to reveal what we can't handle. He's so kind to reveal to us what we have to know when we need to know it. And sometimes he doesn't do it sooner than that, but it's just on time. And he kept wooing me into love so that I couldn't say no to him and so that I would be able to say no to other things. so that he could deliver me of my mixture. Cuz he won't share a throne. >> He won't share a throne. >> And he's a bridegroom king. He's jealous. and he won't share his bride. He wants her all to himself. And rightly so, he paid for her in blood. Oh, he paid for us in blood. And so, for these last several years, there's so many things. There's too many things to catch up catch you up on and things that it wouldn't make sense. We're we're not all close. But what I will say is this. Take me back to my first time you preached. I don't want to be oversharzies. There's nothing fun about those people. We all know them. You know, you know people like, "Okay, I'm going to pray about what to do with that information. Thank you. But as we've been going through this these things that our and we all have the things he's asked us, you know, in the midst of it, I give birth to a 10 lb 11 oz little boy. His name is Wilder Justice McCrae. Look what we've gotten ourselves into with his name. He is he is his name. And um he came we found out we were pregnant a year after um a year after my my dad had passed. And um it felt like the most incredible seed cuz we believe he was born to preach the gospel. We just do. I mean this kid doesn't stop. He will follow me around the house sometimes and go, "Mommy, take up your cross." This is not a joke. I didn't tell him to say this. I didn't like I don't say this to him all the time. Yes, I talk. Yes, I think because of the deeper revelation that he keeps burning in me of his body and his blood. I'm thankful that my children hear about that all the time, but it's not like I'm feeding them language. And he and he's like, "Mommy, take up your cross daily. Mommy, take up your cross daily." He had a dream last year that I ate a wooden cross. tiny trumpets. Don't ignore what your kids say to you. Write it down. You may not get it, but don't don't ignore it. I know this house knows that, but and in this in this time of like thought of Bill so much. I love Benny. Thank you, Jesus, for Benny. That's a story I wanted to tell. I'm going to come right back to this. When I was really, really sick once, I don't remember when it was, but we had a we were wor we had something going on with worship. I was so sick. I could not get better. And I didn't I was just like days and days and days. And she heard that I was sick. And it's not like we were super close. I knew I was loved. But she heard that I was really sick. And she had made that enormous jar of master tonic. Everybody knows. Everybody's making the face. And she drove it to my house. She got she asked if she could bring me Master Tonic. and she drove it to my house to my front doorstep, told me how much to take, gave me all the instructions, didn't care that I was like hacking at the door when she answered it. She's like, "It was just so precious. I've never forgotten that. Thank you, Lord, for Benny." So, as we've been walking through our own on our own journey, my my prayer has been that I want to know this man of sorrows. Not because suffering is holy by itself. It doesn't make us holy to suffer. What does the work in us is that we see his suffering and that we fellowship with him in his suffering and that we let us like we we let him give us a revelation of himself in ours. And that our prayer is that we can't change what we can't change, but that he would change us. And that he would take this old rugged cross and carve out the narrow way in our hearts. That he would deal with all of our mixture. That he would carve out the things that can't be found in the life of Jesus, so they shouldn't be found in ours. And this is going to be like the rest of our lives, this process. But a couple years ago, I started waking up in the night. I started waking up in the night. Uh, and all I could hear, you know, was Babylon is falling. Babylon is falling. Babylon is falling. Babylon is falling. Don't be caught in the building. Babylon is falling. Babylon is falling. Don't be in that house when it falls. Babylon is falling. Babylon is falling. Babylon is falling. And then I started waking up. I was just like, Lord, what? Teach me. What do you want to teach me? It seems obvious, but I don't want to assume. You know in charismatic cultures we have to be we have to be careful not to only declare but also to inquire of the Lord. And in our circles, it's very easy to because we've been given so much. But it's he who gave it and deep love. Doesn't get the gift and run away with it and do our own thing with it. We continue to come back and ask him, ask him, ask of him to inquire of the Lord, to seek his face. So I'm asking I'm asking what do you want to teach me? I'm like is this what you're talking to me about this? What do you want to talk about? And I, you know, get up get up before the sun and went down, you know, go downstairs and hear Wonder. Wonder listens to scripture all night. And one night she was listening. I get up and literally as I sit down on the couch with my my tea and my Bible, I hear her phone go off. The fall of Babylon. And I'm like, okay, okay. I'm like, Lord, okay, let's talk about it. I open up my Bible. I just open it to the fall of Babylon. This is what he does if we want to hear his voice and we want to we want to know what he's saying. Not that we want to want him to tell us what we want to hear, but if we really want to hear his voice, he is speaking. And after that, I I I woke up from these ongoing dreams about and the people wouldn't matter to you, but they were these signs of things that we'd become about in our churches and circles, in different department, different things. And this is the this was to all of us, the church. And I woke up from these dreams and the first thing I would hear, it progressed into you can't have Babylon in the bridegroom. Stephan, you can't have We can't have Babylon in the bridegroom. We can't have both. We can't have both. And at the heart of Babylon is a people who became their own source. >> Who were given so much, who had seen so much blessing. who became known for blessing, who became known for all their stuff. They were known for all their stuff. And I think in so many ways, and the Lord has been this is this is for us. And I I want this is my prayer for every one of us that even if we don't think this message is for us, that we would inquire of the Lord tonight. Now he would come asking. David said, "You have searched me and you know me." But then he says again, "Search me. Search me. Search me again. Know me. See if there's any wicked way. The people of Babylon became their own source. They became wise in their own eyes. They were their own supply. They needed nothing anymore. We invite Babylon into our lives when we forget that we have need. And I don't just mean practical things. Some of us have obvious needs. Some of some of you have suffered greatly. And so, you know, but when we've been given so much as the church, as the house of God, as the we've been given so much and we've seen his presence move over and over and over and we learn to teach it and we learn to preach it and we run schools. This is not just for this is for all of us, for everywhere. And we get super good at it. and thank God. But then we can do it with our eyes closed. And sometimes along the way, we stop inquiring because we know what he taught us. We got this now. Jesus said in the sermon on the mount, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. They'll be filled." There's a promise for the ones that stay hungry. And I and we need this room. Please never stop going to church. Never. Never, never, never, never. You have no good reason to not go to church. >> We have no good reason not to be a part of the body except our own arrogance. >> And the only reason we do those things is because we've become our own accountability and our own measurement. >> And this is the heart of Babylon. And for many, it manifests that way. But for those of us who have stayed in the church, it's easy to become wise in our own eyes. Touch us, Lord. Touch us again, Lord. The church at Leodysia. Many of you have it memorized to the angel of the church in Leodysia. Right. The amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of creation of of the creation of God says this. Jesus is talking, I know your deeds that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. And I hope when we read these words, we're not thinking about everybody else. I hope that you're searching your own heart. Every time I read this, it shoots through me because you say, "I am rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing." And you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed. And I sav to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love I reprove and discipline. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Friends, he won't knock forever. He won't always knock. We're in a wonderful window of mercy. If he's knocking, it's a gift. Respond. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him. And he with me. And he who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne. as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. He's sharing the victory with us. He's the lamb on the throne. He's sharing his victory with us. He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. There's a reason why I think there's a reason why in John 4 when Jesus meets the woman at the well. I think this is why. Oh guys, there's a reason why he started his public ministry at a well. There's a reason why he started with a woman who was thirsty. physically thirsty. She came for water. And there's so much in that story, but there's the thirsty get Jesus. Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst. But the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. I've been spending so much time in Revelation 21 and I'm flipping all around. Are you with me? You good? He He's coming back for a bride. He's not coming back for the most gifted. The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. It's why Matthew 7 in Matthew 7 Jesus says, "Not everyone who call says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven." And they'll say to me, "Did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not cast out demons in your name? Didn't we work incredible miracles in your name?" His house say, "Depart from you." I never knew you. Because sometimes in all that he gives, if we stop coming back for him, he's coming back for a bride. He's not coming back for the five-fold ministry. >> He's not coming back for the gifted. He's not coming back for worship leaders whose songs have touched the whole world. And we're grateful. We're grateful. He's not coming back for incredible revival group pastors. He's not coming back for good people who like loved Buddy Jesus. He's coming back for a bride who gave up her name for his who gave up her name for his. Who gave up her reputation to be his Tucker? >> Who loved him more than all that he gave. >> Who loved his heart more than his hand. who came faithfully and was taught and held accountable and was changed forever in rooms like this, but couldn't wait to go home and find his eyes in this secret place. A bride who was ravished by his beauty. Who loved him when they didn't get the miracle. >> Who loved him when they made the declaration and they still didn't see it on this side. Hebrews 11, faith. And by faith they considered him who was faithful. And it was it was said of them was credited to them as righteousness. A bride without spot, wrinkle, or blemish. A bride who knows that she's only clean because of his blood. A bride who knows, who's more excited about her groom than the wedding, who's more excited to be his, to finally be fully his. than everybody than being known for his name but not really having him. Being known for having all this stuff, doing all this stuff, but a bride who refused to be alone with him just to get words of knowledge. A bride of worshippers who refused to give her quiet time to record a new song. A bride who would get up in the middle of anything if she felt him drawing her. Who responded to the little nudge just to be with him. A real bride wants to be where the bridegroom is at all times. And this first love makes us want to deal with the things in us that we don't see in him. We are not our own measurement. The scripture, the life of Christ, he's our example. He's the gospel his whole life. Jesus is perfect theology. Jesus is the answer to every question. I had a wild dream sometime this last year. And you know, you know it's the Lord when you're like 104 fever and you're delirious and your kids are delirious. We're all delirious with fevers in bed. And you wake up out of a dream and you're like, whoa. And it's so crazy because it was before you guys even asked me to come, but I had a dream that I'd come home. And um and in this dream I heard the next morning I I woke up to a text from one of the staff about coming uh like an official invitation to come and and that time didn't work out but then the Lord sent me for this time. But it was so crazy. I I was just like what an what an honor. And I woke up from this dream and oh Lord and and in the dream I was saying over and over and have mercy on me. Please hear my heart. What I was saying over and over as I wept was it's time to burn our Jesus and theology. It must be Jesus alone. And we have so much self-help and self-love and self stuff. The language has become so self-absorbed. And his church is we we've adopted so much of it. The preservation of our own lives when Jesus said to lay them down. He protects our lives. We don't. And I'm not saying we don't have good boundaries. But if the language of the world's council replaces the Christ, we're in danger. We wear sweatshirts. Please, if somebody's wearing this shirt, I love you. I love you. Oh, man. No shame. I'm not saying everybody who wears one feels this way. I'm just I'm wanting to We have to pay attention to the the desensitizing that we've bought into the lack of reverence. It's become a joke. Jesus and coffee. It's how I get through a day. I love Jesus and I swear a little. >> Hey, the Lord has touched me deeply about things that I've made room for before. But he is saying to his church, "Babylon is falling. Come out from her." Yes. >> And if I am going to take on his name, if I want to be his bride, I should want I should want all of everything unh wholesome. Ephesians 4, let no unh wholesome word come out of your mouth. Only that which right, only that which is appropriate for the moment. It gives grace to the hearer. guys. He wants our language. He wants our thought life. He wants the music we listen to. Maybe you don't listen to filthy stuff, but if it's numbing you to your sensitivity to his presence, is it worth it? >> Is it worth it? grace. My daddy always taught my My daddy always taught me that grace was the higher standard. It wasn't an excuse for loose living. Oh Lord, he's he helps us. So he's so merciful with us. When I think about his patience with me, Lord, he all he wants is everything. It's not much when we really think about I know we're awesome and I know it's important for us to it's important for us to know that it's important for us to know that we're amazing. But what makes us as amazing is that he loves us. Our worth is all wrapped up in his. >> We if we've got a selfworth issue, it's because we need a revelation of his great worth. It's because we're missing how worthy he is. And so we're lost. And if we're searching to figure out who we are, we've spent too much time talking about who we are. >> How we need the whole Christ. All of them. There's a reason why they had to eat the whole lamb, even the bitter part. It's like Jesus said to his friend, "Can you drink this cup?" There's a reason why the message of John 6, it's why John 6, remember, he's just fed, he's fed the 5,000. We've seen incredible signs and he goes away to pray. You know Jesus, he he's with the crowds and then he would go away. He'd be alone with his father. When you become a bride, your loneliness is swallowed up. I just want to tell you Isaiah 54, if you're single, the Lord is your husband. There's nothing that satisfies but Jesus. Some of you are in marriages that disappointed you and you're so distracted by what's not changing in them that the Lord can't change you. He can't have your mixture. What if he dealt with our Babylon? What if he dealt with my mixture so that he could touch Stephen? He wants everything. He wants everything. He wants everything. And he'll have no less because this is what he's worthy of. Revelation 21. I want to read some of it because it's it's so hopeful and it's also it ought to we ought to live with the greatest most unreasonable joy and also live with the most unending ache until he comes. If there's no ache, we should be alarmed. If there's no longing, if there's not an ache, if there's not laughter and weeping, we should be alarmed, both. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away. Oh, and there is no longer any sea. To the people of God, the sea represented chaos. Water was like, they're like, remember that whole bit about the flood? I know you said you wouldn't do it again, but I have a little bit of from seeing water, right? They saw like he caused the water to swallow the Egyptians. Water was crazy, right? So for them it represented chaos. So this and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be among them, and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death. There will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain. The first things have passed away. If we ache with him now, this is our promise. And he who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And he said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." And then he said to me, are you ready? It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Here it is. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. It's only for the thirsty. It's only for the bride that hasn't forgotten she needed him. That hasn't taken off taken over the plans. bridezilla that hasn't taken over everything and she's distracted by how she's going to look and what she's going to wear and how she looks to everybody else and how incred how epic this is going to be and all that he's given to her and she's known with it's like this is what I'm known for. He comes to the one who thirsts, who never forgets, that he meets us at the well. He's the water and the well. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. And this has been cutting me, guys. This has been cutting me. but for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable. Before he lists off all these other crazy people, he confronts our cowardice. And it's easy in a room like this to be courageous. And I'm not talking about someone who will approach people in malls to give them words. Talking about the I didn't I didn't mean to make a joke. I'm just saying this is the kind of people we are. It's who we are. It's what we should do. But we can't be just that because anybody can do that. We could do all of that in his name. And at the end of the day, he could look at us and say, "I didn't know you. You did all this stuff for me. You taught the world how to do this stuff for me." You were a part of teaching people about worship. Did you teach them this? Did you teach them it was about being a bride or that it was just all this? It's not that he doesn't use it all. It's just that this doesn't make a bride. It's only intimacy with Jesus. The one who comes thirsty, the one who knows her need. The woman with the alabaster jar. She knew she was a sinner. She knew it. And I know that we don't like to talk about that. He's we're we've been delivered from sin. We I I know he's washed us. But if we think we never have to come to the cross again, surely we will sin again. And surely this will be our sin that we were arrogant enough to think we didn't have to come back to think that we didn't need new mercy every morning to think that the cross was for someone else. But what makes every one of us the same in this room from Bill to Chris? What what makes our most incredible spiritual hero the same as the crack addict in the street who's a Satanist who's complete like you know like scary stuff. What makes us all the same is that we all need Jesus. No one outgrows their need. We don't outgrow our need. If we stop if we stop thinking that we have to come back, we're no better. And in fact, we'll come down with all of Babylon. And I think it is true that those who forgiven much love much. When we don't forget what he did for us, when we don't forget that we have need. When we never say, "I'm full. I'm fine." Ephesians 5 talks about, you know, it lists and lists and it says, "Don't be drunk with wine, but be filled with the spirit." The original Greek there says, "Be being filled." It's an always thing. You don't We don't stay full on our own. But the one thing he won't take from us is our love. We must give it. He won't take your heart from you. And every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. And every one of us will have a chance to give our hearts, to give our lives. Every one of us. And I feel the Lord knocking again, knocking on the door of our hearts, James, wanting to touch the ones who may not suffer from persecution yet or at all, but those who suffer from sleep. When we think we're okay, but we're not. We show up at all the right meetings. We're known for being a pillar in the house. We're known for our accurate words. We're known for healing ministry. We're known for these things. But could it be said of us that love for Jesus spilled out of us everywhere we went? There should be no question when two people are getting married. There should be no question about who she's with in the room. No one should be left wondering if I'm belong to Stephen. No one, no one should be left wondering who I'm here with. I see sometime the the mixture in our hearts. We want the bridegroom, but we want a little Babylon. We love Jesus, but we still want to do a little of this. And sometimes the things we do for God, if if we talk more about what we want him to do through our lives or what he's doing, if we if we are giving testimonies and we're really just talking about what he's using us to do. I remember being in school and feeling the difference when somebody got up and they were talking about Jesus and when they were talking about them. I remember the way that felt in the room. We we we've all felt that, right? I'm like, is this the testimony of Jesus? Is that the spirit of prophet? No. You know, and it's awesome because there we're hungry and excited. But as we grow with the Lord, as we grow in maturity, we ought to grow out of this. >> We must we must. We have to. We have to look at it. We have to look at it. If we like it when people respond to how the Lord uses us, we have to look at that. We have to look at it. We have to look at it when we get so good at this thing we're doing. Out of the heart, the mouth speaks. Ask the people in your life what you talk about most. Who you talk about most. Matthew 25, the 10 virgins, five foolish, five wise. I'm just going to turn there for a minute and then I want us to pray. I believe I believe he wants to touch us tonight. And I don't mean in a I'm not not in a work anything up way. In a in a bridal I'm desperate way. And some people say we shouldn't be desperate for God. I disagree. And that's okay. It's okay. I think that we shouldn't despair. We're because we have life. We have him. I need him all the time. Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish. Five of them were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them. But the prudent took oil and flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at the midnight But at midnight, there was a shout, "Behold the bridegroom. come out and meet him." Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out." But the prudent answered, "No, there will not be enough for us and for you, too. Go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves." And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came. And those who were ready went into him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, "Lord, Lord, open for us." But he answered, "Truly I say to you, I do not know you. Be on alert then, for you do not know the day or the hour." I want to point out, and I don't know, I'm not a scholar, but I am a bride. And I got that from a precious sister that I heard say. It's true. I I'm Make me that bride, Lord. But notice, they're all virgins. They all came thinking they were okay. Maybe they were squeaky clean in some ways, they thought. But their hearts had been unfaithful for some time. They weren't showing up to be with him like they once did. We can't buy time, but we can buy oil. And we get oil by showing up again every day. Every day. Every day. Every day to be with the one we love. To let him fill us. To let him touch us. to let him change us, to let him search us again, to show him that we love him, to spend time with him. First Corinthians 13, the excellence of love. It's a chapter, even if you've not read much of the scripture, most have heard it. Love is patient. Love is kind. It goes on to say, "If I have not love, I'm only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol." And I always only thought about it as if I have not love. Now, I know that there are different kinds of love. But if we don't have first love, not just brotherly affection, we'll only love each other rightly because we love him first and because he first loved us. goes through all these things. We can do all of these things. Do all of these things. Give our lives to the flames. Do it because it's the thing to do. It's the right thing. But was it a heart that loved him more than anything? I mean, that's incredible that we could do something like that. If I could give my body to the flames and not have love, this should shake us. We should read it differently. The very next the first verse of the next chapter says this, "Eagerly desire spiritual gifts, pursue love." We have much pursued the gifts and desired love. But love doesn't come that way. Love doesn't come this way. Intimacy doesn't come this way. And he won't come for a bride that wants him for his stuff, but doesn't want who he is. A bride who wants his house, but not his heart. Because in the end of all this, he's the light. The dwelling is him. It's him. It's just him. It's just Jesus. I don't know what the rules are about PE being up anymore. My daughter made these for me. made me a bouquet of flowers to have. She said, "You'll do great, Mommy. I'm praying for you. God help
You. Love wonder. God, help me." Yes, Lord. I need you. I want us to. I, I don't have like this big enormous thing. I don't have. I don't have a plan. I just wanted to come and be obedient to say what I feel like He's saying to all of us. I'm in this with you. But He wants His bride, and He wants, He wants the kind of love that knows its need. That never stops hungering and thirsting. That knows that the promise of all that comes with Him is because it comes with Him.
He's the promise. He's the reward. And if we're talking more about what He's doing through us than what He means to us, we're missing the whole point. So without any excuses tonight, without any reasons why, without any kicking and screaming, without any arguments, I just want us to ask Him to search our hearts. Babylon is falling. She's about to get tore up from the floor up. Don't be caught inside that kingdom. Don't be caught in there thinking you were fine, thinking that all the things you had were because you were blessed. Sometimes we think that when a crowd is around us that it's a sign of blessing. Sometimes we think when we draw a crowd, things we do, right? We think it's a. The scripture also says, "Where there's a corpse, many vultures gather." We need Him first. Love in the fear of the Lord. And as we walk with Him, as Heidi talks about, I love Heidi. We yield, and then we yield again. And then we yield again. And we yield again. And I don't know how many times of yielding I'm on right now, but I can't stop. I can't stop. I need Him so much. I need Him so much.
So I would ask you, whatever you need to do. If you need to get on your knees. Antto, will you come play, brother? If you're doing more talking and processing than you are praying, now's a good time for you to start. Now's a good time to return. I used to preach a lot of process. I believe in it. But we talk way too much now. We do way too much talking and not enough praying. We need You, Lord. We need You. We need You. We need You. We need You. How we need You, Lord. How we need You, Lord. How we need You, Lord.
Lord, what wounds Him most is our indifference. It's when we neither burn, we're not hot, or we're cold. He wants everything tonight. He wants everything for the rest of your life. And He will satisfy you. Everything you've been holding on to in one hand and letting go of in the other. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. No one can satisfy you like Jesus. No one can satisfy you like Jesus. And He loves you. And He's knocking on the door of our hearts again. He's knocking on the door of our hearts again. He wants the cloud of His presence to return. He wants the cloud of His presence to return to your home, to return to your family, to return to your, your marriage, to your children, to this house, everywhere. He's with us. But there's more. And it's the oil of intimacy He longs to give us. He wants to teach us to buy oil and to our lamps to be full, to trim our wicks. And we only rise with Him if we learn to die with Him. We can't earn this. We can't earn this. We can't be good enough for this. We have to come thirsty. We have to come hungry. We have to come needy. I promise if you come, you'll fall in love. If you drink this water, you'll never thirst for anything else.
In Psalm 90, Moses prays, "Satisfy us early in the morning. Satisfy us early in the morning that we might rejoice and be glad all of our days." He goes on to say, "That the beauty of the Lord would rest on our children and that You would establish the work of our hands." There's no work worth doing unless He's establishing it. Lord, we long for Your beauty to rest on our children and on our children's children. Lord, Lord, we long to love You. Love the Lord our God with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength. To do as Your scripture commanded, to talk about You as we come and go, to teach You everywhere we go, everywhere we walk, to talk about You with everyone around us, with those we love. Out of the heart the mouth speaks. We want to drip with oil. We want to drip with oil with first love's flame. We ask You to touch us again. We ask You to touch us again. We ask You to touch us again. Oh, don't leave us poor and naked and blind. Jesus, touch us again. Son of David, have mercy on us. Son of David, have mercy on us. Touch us.
True joy comes from a revelation of the bridegroom king and of His wounds. Help us to see You, Lord. Oh, help us to see You, Lord. Touch us again. Touch us again. Touch us again. Touch us again. A bride. A bride without spot, wrinkle, or blemish. That You might present us without spot, wrinkle, or blemish. The bride You long for. The bride You ache for. The bride You're jealous for, who loved not her life, even unto death. Touch us again, Lord, the oil of intimacy. Teach us to buy oil. Teach us to buy oil, to stop worrying about our days. Each day has enough trouble of its own. We can't buy time, but we can buy oil. Buy oil. Buy oil. Buy oil. Buy oil. Buy oil. Teach us to buy oil. Teach us to buy oil. Revealed to us. Revealed to us. Revealed to us. To the second one. You are a mighty name. Jesus Christ. We're incapable of keeping this vow, but our Caller is the keeper. The one who woos us with love will give us grace to keep this vow by His grace. By His grace and with His body and His blood, the God of covenant, help us to keep ours, Lord. Help us to keep our vows to You. To love the sound of Your voice more than any other. To long for Your touch more than any other. To care more about what You think than any other. Touch us again, Lord. Hey, hey, hey. Oh my Jesus. Give Him your idols. Give Him your idols. Give Him your idols tonight. Give Him your idols. Give Him what means most. Give Him what means most in this house. Give Him what means most. Give Him what means most. Give Him your idols. Thought I didn't even. No more phone calls to old loves. No more phone calls. We're cutting off all communication with lesser loves tonight. We're cutting off all communication with lesser loves tonight. We're burning our bridges in Your presence, Lord. We're burning our bridges that lead us back to old loves, that lead us back to old things, that lead us back to lesser things that have had our hearts. We burn the bridge tonight. We burn the bridge tonight. Somebody needs to burn the bridge tonight. We burn the bridge tonight, Jesus. Nail us to that cross with You. All of this stuff. Nail it to the cross. Nail it to the cross. Nail it to the cross. He's conquered it. No need to cling to it, Lord. All the way down. Who else is worthy? Oh, how we invite the winnowing. We invite the winnowing tonight, Lord. We invite the winnowing. We invite the shepherd's rod. We invite the shepherd's rod. You're the good shepherd. You're the good shepherd. You reprove the ones You love. You're making us the bride. The bride that's made herself ready. It was given to her garments of white. Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards. Catch for us the foxes. Catch for us the foxes. Catch for us the foxes that distract us from desiring You most. Catch for us the foxes that ruin the vineyard of our love. The wounds, the unforgiveness. Let it go tonight. Let it go tonight. It doesn't matter if they never change. He can change you tonight. He can heal you. He can satisfy you. At the end of all this, no matter the pain or the py, no matter what it is, no matter what it is that we try to protect ourselves from, our only safety is in beholding His beauty. The only safety is for the bride who won't leave His presence. Who won't leave His room. He won't leave. We won't leave. We don't leave. We don't leave. We don't leave. We don't leave. We don't leave. There's not somewhere better to be, friends. There's not somewhere better to be. There's not somewhere better to be. There's not somewhere better to be. He's got to know it. Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. Elsewhere.
Oh, I had a vision earlier this year. Keep praying. Keep it. Ignore me if you're in a moment. I had a vision earlier this year and I saw a wooden wedge, like a doorstop. And I asked the Lord what it was. Don't even look at me. Just close your eyes. Keep thinking about Jesus. Let your spirit catch this. I saw a doorstop and I said, "Lord, what is that?" He said, "It's a doorstop." And I said, "What are You showing me?" And all of a sudden, I, I realized. I saw a hand take this doorstop and and and shove it underneath the door to hold it open. And I said, "Lord, what is this?" And He said, "It's you." He said, "It's your hand and you're the doorstop." And He said, "You've been trying to hold the door open for a few people in your life. But when you're holding the door open, you're not really going all the way through. And Jesus said, 'I'm the door.'" That's not what being a doorkeeper means. In case you were wondering, some of you, some of you have thought it was your responsibility to hold the door open for the ones you love, and you've actually made them an idol. You've actually made this scenario, this situation, whatever. You're just, you're trying to get them through. It feels like the best of intentions. It's easy to do. If you're an intercessor, this is easy to do. And we do stand between. We, we, we do stand in proxy. But the Lord wants to deal both with our false humility, which is actually arrogance that we think we could ever hold the door open or get them to come through by blocking it open. Jesus is the door. Jesus is the door. And only the Holy Spirit draws hearts. Only the Holy Spirit convicts hearts of sin. You and I don't do that. The most incredible thing that I could ever do is be the bride that He's returning for so that I drip everywhere I go. And I stop trying to hold it open for you and hold it open for you in my own arrogance and think that I could have something. See, what happens when we do that is we think we have something to do with it when they come through. It's not true. Only Jesus draws hearts. You better believe I wept like you've never seen. We manage, we manage other people's progress. We make ourselves the authority on how we think they're doing. All the while, we're missing the gift of being a bride, of going all the way through the door and actually just making them hungry. Making them hungry. A holy jealousy for more of Him. Being around people who are in love, it will either make you, either you can't stand it and it tweaks you because you don't have it, or it makes you long for more. And I pray that this is what my life does. I pray this is what your life will do. That you will enter in all the way through Jesus who is the door and the gateway, that you'll be His bride. We become thieves and robbers when we don't enter in through the veil of His body and His blood. He's the bridegroom and He wants it His way. And everything that comes with Him only comes His way. And it's so worth it. He's so worthy.
Lord, forgive us for being busy doing what we thought was the work of a bride. But all the while it was the work of our own hands. And it doesn't mean some of it hasn't been Your leading. I pray that everyone in this room would give up control today. That you would yield your control, your yield. You would yield your need to determine an outcome when it's not in your power anyway. His way is better. With Jesus, you get more than you could ever have desired, more than you were ever letting go of. Come and consume us. Swallow us whole. I pray, Lord, for a fresh touch in this secret place for each one. I pray, Lord, that they would see Your face. Those who dwell in secret will rest under the shadow. Forgive us for when we've pocketed Your praise. Forgive us for when we've pocketed Your praise. Forgive us for when we've pocketed Your praise. Forgive us for when we've received Your applause. Forgive us for when we've received Your worship. Forgive us. Forgive us. Forgive us. Forgive us. You will wear the crown forever. Only You are worthy. Only You are slain. Only You are slain. Only You are slain. It's fast. Thank You.
Lord, we want to tell You we, we're not entitled to Your presence. We're not entitled. We're not entitled to Your presence. You don't owe us anything. We're not entitled to another touch and another touch. But we know that You long to, that You love to, that it's what You want to do, that it's Your delight to do. Until we come with hearts of thanksgiving. We give You thanks that You come to us again and again, even at times when we've held out our hands, that we're full, that we're not empty, that we're not needy, that we're not aware. But Lord, we thank You that You come. Thank You for Your mercy to us. Thank You for Your mercy to us. Give us the grace to live lives worthy of the gospel of Jesus. Lives that are worthy of who You are. We're incapable, but You are more than able. Conform us into Your image by the work of the cross. And as we remember You, You will remember us. You'll put us back together. Our disjointed, broken, messy body. You'll put us back together. You're the head. We yield to You again. Have Your way. And Lord, as we linger here and move on at the same time, we, we say may the Lamb, the worthy Lamb, receive the reward of His suffering in us. And holy Father, may You present to Your Son a pure bride. Do whatever You have to do to keep us as the apple of Your eye and make us ready for that wonderful day in Jesus' name.