WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:01.520 Well, amen. 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:02.160 Amen. 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:02.879 Amen. 00:00:02.959 --> 00:00:07.519 I feel like we can go ahead and go on home after that worship set. 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:08.560 My goodness. 00:00:09.119 --> 00:00:13.519 I don't know how they expected me to get up here after that with all these tears in my eyes. 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:16.719 Hey, uh, it is so good to be with you this morning, man. 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.559 That was an incredible moment of worship uh that we just got to experience together. 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:21.199 My name is Josh. 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:23.440 I'm the Angular pastor here at United City. 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:24.960 Uh been here now for about three years. 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:27.359 It is so good to be with you this morning to open up God's word. 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:29.440 We're gonna be in Isaiah chapter 12. 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:31.280 That's where we're gonna be this morning. 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:38.399 Uh while you're getting there in your Bibles, I'd like to take a moment to welcome all the men and women at all of our correctional facilities, as well as everybody joining us online. 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:41.920 We are so thankful that you are with us uh this morning. 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:49.200 So I'd like to start off uh just a little different this morning to that's all right with y'all. 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:50.320 Um everything is different. 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:52.799 We're just gonna lean into different for the month of July. 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:59.439 Uh I'm gonna need your help though, uh, as uh I just want you to shout it out to me or or or or sing along, right? 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:03.920 I got a few songs and I just want to know uh who my audience is in the room, and just who knows. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:04.560 Okay, here we go. 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:06.079 First one, here we go. 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:13.200 Okay, okay. 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:15.359 This is uh anybody got the name of the song? 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:18.159 September, that's why it's in my earth, wind, and fire. 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:19.920 All right, that's good, that's good, that's good. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:21.519 The eighth of the witness live. 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:24.239 I can tell y'all got past this because y'all know that song there. 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:25.200 All right, here we go. 00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:26.480 Uh the next one. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:32.719 Whitney Houston, that's right. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:35.280 And what did my friend say? 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:38.319 She said, My what? 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:41.920 Come on, if you know a sing along. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:51.120 Whitney Houston, all right. 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:53.120 Next one, this one might be a little tricky. 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:09.520 And it goes, if they say, Yeah, okay. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:15.599 That is Human Nature by Michael Jackson, iconic, iconic 1982 thriller uh album. 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:18.479 And the last one should be fun. 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:22.319 Yeah. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:24.400 If you know what, sing along. 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:26.000 Come on, this is an easy one. 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:37.599 Go something like uh, you can dance, you can judge having the time of your life. 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:41.199 Who see that girl? 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:47.439 Watch that scene, dig in the Dancing Queen by ABBA. 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:50.000 Dancing Queen by Abba, yeah. 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:54.800 And just so you know, all of those songs are from the 80s because I believe that's the best decade of music. 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:56.879 Argue with your mamas, don't argue with me. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:02:58.000 Oh, okay. 00:02:58.560 --> 00:02:59.120 Great. 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:01.039 I knew I came to the right church. 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:04.080 This is gonna be a fantastic morning. 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:06.400 Man, I love all of those songs. 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:09.840 I still listen to all of those songs, and I would imagine that many of you do too. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:10.800 Why, right? 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:18.319 It's because these songs transcend genre and generations because all of us can connect to them, right? 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:20.719 Uh they remind us of something. 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:22.000 Uh, they remind us of someone. 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:27.199 Again, I'm the younger pastor at United City, but I love these songs because my granddad would play them for me, right? 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:31.919 Or maybe you just like it because of the way it sounds and the way that it makes you feel. 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:36.240 It always makes me ask the question, you know, what caused people to write songs? 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:37.280 I gotta give it to her. 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:43.280 Taylor Swift has built quite an impressive reputation on bad romances and breakups. 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:45.759 And I mean, we could learn a thing or two from her. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:48.879 Michael Jackson wrote for the love of pop culture. 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:51.840 The Beatles wrote for the freedom of expression. 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:53.520 And then you got genres, right? 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:55.680 You got jazz, you got pop. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:00.960 Uh, some of us like to listen to heavy metal, and I'll just be praying for you uh as we go through this, right? 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:02.960 But here's the deal. 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:11.599 This morning, I want to talk about a genre that wasn't written to gain glory, but a genre written to give glory. 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:19.040 Music with deeper purpose, greater perspective, directed towards someone far greater. 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:27.920 We've mentioned that a few times this morning, but we're launching into a series called Greatest Hits, where we're looking back and diving into what does it mean to worship? 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:29.680 What is the definition of worship? 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:31.040 Who is it that we worship? 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:33.120 What happens when we worship? 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:39.680 Defining what worship is, not just for United City, but for the collective whole, from what the Bible has said worship is. 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:43.360 And so over the next few weeks, I can't tell you how excited we are as a worship uh team. 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:50.160 We're gonna be diving into the Bible, but we also are gonna be doing some really unique creative elements over the uh rest of July. 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:50.879 So please come back. 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:53.199 There are gonna be a lot more throwbacks, right? 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:58.319 That many of you probably grew up singing uh that we just wanna uh continue to put in front of our people. 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:03.040 Uh, but this morning, I've got the tall task of answering this question. 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:06.639 What is worship? 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:08.720 What is worship? 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:12.639 Uh, for many of you, you probably have a preconceived notion of what you think worship could be. 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:24.959 Uh, for some of you think that you know worship is just coming to church on a Sunday morning and singing and then listening to how amazing all the girls sound, and then all the boys up here have really tight jeans on, and we wear Chelsea's and we sing to the pitch of chipmunks, right? 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:27.439 So maybe that's what you think worship is, right? 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:30.480 For some of you may say, no, it has everything to do with my hymn book. 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:31.680 Things are very liturgical. 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:38.560 Maybe that's the background you grew up in, regardless of where you came from or the uh worship background you come from. 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:50.319 In a nutshell, worship is responding to God with all that we are, because of all he is. 00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:59.759 Worship is responding to God with all that we are, because of all that he is. 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:04.720 Worship is a response, sometimes intentional and sometimes instinctive. 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:07.680 Uh, I am an Ole Miss baseball fan through and through. 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:09.680 I know I got an answer for that on the day of judgment. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:10.160 It's coming. 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:11.040 I'm aware of that. 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:13.839 But I remember a few years ago, it was during the College Royal Series playoffs. 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:17.920 Uh, we were down really bad in the bottom of the fifth, uh, and we just needed a big win. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:26.399 And Tim Elko, who now plays for the Chicago White Sox, stepped up to bat, and you could just kind of feel the electricity in the stadium when my boy hit a grand slam. 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:31.199 And before I realized it, I was up on my feet screaming, Oh my god, Tim, this is amazing, right? 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:33.759 And you probably have your own variations of that. 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:34.240 Why? 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:37.839 Before I was up, before I could even think about it, I was up on my feet, right? 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:45.519 Um, have you ever been so overwhelmed by awe, thankfulness, or joy that you just couldn't help but respond? 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:55.279 Um, Lily and I got the opportunity to get down to uh Florida a few uh about a month ago to go see uh spend some time with uh Mickey down at Disney. 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:59.600 And let me tell you something, though expensive, they really do make it feel so magical. 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:06.639 The Imagineers have done such a good job at making you say, Wow, like I didn't even know that this was possible. 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:14.399 Perhaps the cutest expression uh of awe that I have seen in probably this year uh is from Lily Cisneto. 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:18.319 So that's George and uh MJ Cisneros' uh baby girl. 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:22.160 They recently took her to the color factory, and I just want to show y'all how she responded. 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:23.199 Take a look. 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:27.360 Wow. 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:30.160 Wow. 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:32.319 Wow. 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.480 Now, isn't that just about the cutest thing you'll see all day? 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:37.920 Wow, right? 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:40.240 She enjoyed the colors, the sights, the sounds. 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:40.959 It was amazing. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:41.519 And why? 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:47.199 Because when we encounter beauty, majesty, or greatness, something in us awakens. 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:49.439 We can't help but respond. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:53.279 We can't help but say, Wow. 00:07:54.959 --> 00:08:01.920 But the question I would have for you this morning, church, is this Does your knowledge and your experience of God make you say, Wow? 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:10.079 You know, Elevation Worship wrote a song a few years ago, and uh it asked one question. 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:14.399 Said, what would you do if he walked into the room? 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:16.800 Think about it. 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:20.000 What would you do if King Jesus walked into this room? 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:21.839 How would you respond? 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:22.879 What would you say? 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:23.839 How would you pray? 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:24.800 How would you shout? 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:30.480 But if I'm being honest, it leads me to a growing concern in the American church today. 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:31.920 All right, here we go. 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:34.720 I feel like this is kind of my lane, so I can talk about this, right? 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:43.759 The concern is that worship is becoming way more about preference than it is principle, about what we prefer. 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:56.159 Uh the concern is that worship is becoming more about what we desire to hear versus what God desires to hear from his people. 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:07.519 The concern is that worship is becoming more about us and what we like instead of Jesus and what he's like. 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:17.600 The concern is that we've reduced our definition of worship to the 18 and a half minutes that take place on a Sunday morning service here at United City. 00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:20.480 If the average church member attends twice a month, right? 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:23.919 And they make it in time for the first song, catch it, right? 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:26.960 Then that number moves up to 37 minutes, right? 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:30.960 When you say, Josh, my family and I were faithfully attend this we're every day or where every week. 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:35.679 I would say, cool, that moves up to an hour and 14 minutes of your month. 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:42.000 But when you get to church, it's not a really good experience unless it's what you want, right? 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:43.600 Let's just be for real, right? 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:49.120 Because before we can encounter worship, we have to evaluate worship, right? 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:54.480 Who's singing, who up there, what songs we singing, and what key. 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:57.120 Maybe some of you like, you know, worship just isn't my thing. 00:09:57.200 --> 00:09:58.960 That's not my, you know, that's just not my thing. 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:00.399 It's just a bit too emotional. 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:01.759 It's just a lot of sights and sounds. 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:08.000 It's just, you know, I'm just waiting to see when the lights go down for Pastor Chris to stick up here in the dark and preach the word. 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:10.080 Because that's what I'm about, right? 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:11.679 And maybe that's you. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:16.799 But can we just be honest that we've bought into the lie that worship is a spectator sport? 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:23.279 Like you show up to watch, not worship. 00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:37.279 And if we're not careful, y'all know I'm from Mississippi, so if we ain't careful, we'll start coming to worship with a checklist more than an expectancy, a reverence, and a hunger for the presence of God to move in our midst. 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:42.320 Church, if we've reduced, you can clap for it, that's great. 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:43.039 Sure. 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:45.519 I already like y'all better than 830, but don't tell them I said that. 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:46.559 All right, here we go. 00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:56.960 Church, if we've reduced worship to a Sunday morning music set, we're missing out on the wonder of what worship actually is. 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:01.279 It's a gift that's meant to be exercised, not just experienced. 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:02.320 But I get it. 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:09.039 Some of y'all grew up in some real charismatic environments where you had dancers and flags and you really couldn't worship because you were scared you was gonna get hit in the head with a flagpole. 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:10.080 I understand that, right? 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:12.320 Brother Jerry has run around the church seven times. 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:14.879 Surely he has to tire himself out at some point, right? 00:11:15.759 --> 00:11:25.840 For some of y'all, you grew up in a tradition that said that if you if you sung a bit too loud or if you raised your hands a bit too much, then they would ask you to step to the back so that you didn't disrupt the peace. 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:29.360 Both experiences, right? 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:34.799 But I would submit to you today that worship is far more of a lifestyle than it is an event. 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:44.879 Worship should be viewed as a daily muscle that we as believers are called to exercise, yet at its core, worship is simply responding. 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:46.320 It's responding. 00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:48.720 Worship is a response. 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:52.240 And this is where we find ourselves in Isaiah 12. 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:58.480 As I was preparing for this, I was reading from the NASB, and the subheading they have is Thanksgiving Expressed. 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:00.639 And I think that is a great way to say, what is worship? 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:02.879 It's Thanksgiving Expressed, right? 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:09.600 Isaiah 12 is found, or the background of Isaiah 12 is found in the chapter right before it, Isaiah 11. 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:19.919 See, Isaiah 11 paints a picture of the peaceful, redeeming, and righteous rule of God through his ideal king, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the shoot from the stump of Jesse, it says. 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:21.200 Very poetic, right? 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:33.039 Isaiah goes on to say that he will usher in an era of peace, so much so that a baby cub and a baby human will be able to lie together in peace. 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:47.679 That the king will have the government rest upon his shoulders, and that he will usher in a time where the nations will experience the saving grace of the Messiah, redeeming God's people and freeing the world from the grip of sin and death. 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:50.000 And then Isaiah 12. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:53.440 And he says, In that day you will say, right? 00:12:53.919 --> 00:13:01.039 When you look at Isaiah 12 on its own, it sounds like somebody who's decided to worship God and to live for him, which is good. 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:18.639 But when you place Isaiah 12 against the backdrop of God's coming redemption, when you place Isaiah 12 after the addiction you struggled and how God saved you from it, when you place Isaiah 12 after the divorce and how hard it was to get over, but to see God's rightful and righteous hand carry you through it. 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:32.799 When you place Isaiah 12 on the back half of the diagnosis, when you place Isaiah 12 on the back half of the redemption, when you place Isaiah 12 on the backside of the victory, church, Isaiah 12 becomes a lived-out response. 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:39.279 It becomes a full-hearted, soul-deep reaction to a radical encounter with Christ the Messiah. 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:43.759 And you automatically get thanksgiving expressed. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:50.080 So for the next few moments, I just want to give you four things that your worship should say. 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:51.840 What should my worship sing? 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:54.720 What should my worship say? 00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:59.840 The first thing is this worship should say, I thank you. 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:02.559 Worship says, I thank you. 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:09.200 Isaiah 12, beginning in verse 1, it says, I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away. 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:11.759 Though you were, it's past since. 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:13.919 He's remembering something that took place. 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:17.440 Church, there's power in memory. 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:23.039 Not the kind that recalls what you ate last week or the movie or the friend you hung out with a few months ago. 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:28.320 I'm not talking about that kind of recollection, but the kind that remembers who you used to be. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:35.039 Remembering what you used to do, remembering the identity you used to have. 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:47.039 Remembering what you used to put your hope in, or who you used to put your hope in, remembering, as it says in Ephesians 2, that at one point you were dead in your trespasses and alienated away from God. 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:50.960 That you were a slave to the things that held you bound. 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:58.399 That you followed the desire of your flesh, that you were children of wrath like the rest of mankind, right? 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:05.039 Remembering those days, remembering the days where you did not cry out to Jesus to save you, but you cried out to the bottle. 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:10.799 Or you cried out to a toxic relationship, or you cried out to yourself. 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:20.559 Remembering that your starting place was Egypt, in captivity and oppressive and hard. 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:24.960 And without Jesus, your birthplace would have been your resting place. 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:26.000 Egypt. 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:32.240 But Ephesians 2, 4 says, But God, anybody thankful for but God? 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:40.000 But God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses. 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:40.960 What did he do? 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:43.120 He made us alive together with Christ. 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:45.519 By grace, you have been saved. 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:59.840 Maybe, just maybe, that old hymn writer was on to something when he said, Oh Lord my God, when I, in awesome wonder, I consider, I remember, I recall all the worlds thy hands have made. 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:06.639 I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed. 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:09.120 Then sings my soul. 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:12.799 Then sings your soul. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:19.200 My Savior guide to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:25.120 Church, there is power in remembering because it should lead you to a place of gratitude. 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:26.879 What did Brandon Lake say? 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:33.919 I throw up my hands and I praise you again and again because all I have at the end of the day, if I ain't got nothing else, I got a hallelujah. 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:37.440 Your worship should say, God, I thank you. 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:39.039 I thank you. 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:42.639 Worship says, I trust you. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:45.919 Worship says, I trust you. 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:47.440 Isaiah 12, 2. 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:48.879 Behold, God is my salvation. 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:50.879 I will trust and will not be afraid. 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:52.559 I will trust and I will not be afraid. 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:53.360 Okay, so one phrase. 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:55.200 Let me break it down for you just this way. 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:58.399 One phrase, two decisions, two resolves have been made. 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:01.679 The first decision is a decision to trust in God. 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:07.119 The second decision is not to trust in your emotions. 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:13.680 Your feelings are real. 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:16.079 Pastor Chris said it last week at our summer blockbuster. 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:19.200 Your feelings are real, but they aren't always true. 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:24.640 And this matters greatly when it comes to how and why we worship. 00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:29.200 As you guys know, I'm a worship leader and it is it is one of the greatest privileges of my life. 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:30.720 There have been a few songs that have come out over the years. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:31.599 I'm thinking of two in particular. 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:33.119 I'm thinking of see a victory by elevation. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:34.079 I'm gonna see a victory. 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:36.480 I'm gonna see a victory, for the battle belongs to you, Lord. 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:42.079 I'm thinking about Waymaker by Leland, which says, even when I don't see it, you're working. 00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:44.480 Even when I don't feel it, you're working. 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:46.000 You never stop, you never stop working. 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:48.880 But church, I'm gonna love with you because I've been here my own life. 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:54.880 Just because he's working doesn't mean it feels like he always is. 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:01.680 We can sing, I'm gonna see a victory, but we ain't seen it yet. 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:10.480 And what will happen is that we will allow our emotions to dictate our response instead of the truth of God's word directing our worship. 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:17.279 And what will happen is that we'll say things like this, oh, because I don't feel like it, I'm going to withhold my worship. 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:20.559 Because I don't feel like it, I'm not going to sing in church. 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:23.839 Because I don't feel like it, I'm not going to respond. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:35.039 But church, with all the love in my heart, if worship is a response to the truth and the character of God, even when you don't feel it, even when you don't see it, you can still respond. 00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:44.000 Even when your circumstances aren't good, you can trust that God is good. 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:48.640 Even when it's hard to sing, your goodness is running after me, you can believe it is. 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:51.359 Let's talk about worship at United City for just a moment. 00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:55.039 I'm thinking about David and Daniel Humphrey sitting on this seat, uh, sitting right here on the front row. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:19:00.480 They, uh, if you do not know their story, uh, I would just encourage you uh to spend some time with them. 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:02.400 What an amazing store of hope and encouragement. 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:07.200 But to see the way that David and Danielle worship heart abandoned every week. 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:09.839 I get a front row seat to see you guys worship. 00:19:09.920 --> 00:19:14.640 So many of you that I'm looking out into the audience now and seeing, it moves me to tears. 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:28.079 As an act of encouragement, as an act of hope to say, I know what you're going through, but the way that you profess and you and you trust God, the way that the sit, the way that the circumstance of the situation is hard, yet you trust God. 00:19:28.319 --> 00:19:29.519 It moves me to tears. 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:32.000 It's a very emotional thing. 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:37.680 I also know that there are people that come to church and they're expecting to feel something emotionally. 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:41.839 I also know there are people coming that they hope they feel nothing emotionally. 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:48.000 And what I would tell you that it's important to note that we're not chasing an emotional high when we come together. 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:51.119 We're pursuing a divine encounter. 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:56.880 We're not chasing emotion, we're not chasing what worship can make us feel like. 00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:01.680 We're pursuing a divine encounter from a place of remembrance and hope. 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:04.799 And sometimes, church, you ain't gonna feel like it. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:10.240 Sometimes your emotions will tell you that God is not worthy of your praise. 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:17.200 But verse two is a strong call to base our worship on truth, not on feelings, and we be wise to follow that lead. 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:19.920 We be wise to follow the lead of King David. 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:26.240 Uh like 67 of the Psalms were lament Psalms, if you don't want to lament, it's just things like just sad boy songs. 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:29.519 Like my boy was just toe up and just sad all the time, right? 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:38.000 And he would often start off his Psalms very sad, but at the end of them, he would always end in this resolve to praise. 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:44.880 And I'm reminded of Psalm 42, 11, which he says, Why are you cast down, O my soul? 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:47.599 And why are you in turmoil within me? 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:50.160 Hope in God, for I shall again what? 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:51.599 Praise him. 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:54.079 I shall again respond. 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:55.519 And why? 00:20:55.680 --> 00:21:00.000 Because my salvation is in my God. 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:09.759 It's important to recognize this because I think so many of us allow ourselves to talk to ourselves instead of us talking to ourselves. 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:13.119 Brandon Lake says, Come on, my soul. 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:14.720 Don't you get shy. 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:18.319 Lift up your song because you've got a lion inside of those bones. 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:23.599 Even when you don't feel it, get up and praise the Lord. 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:27.680 Worship says, I trust you. 00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:31.359 Worship says, I submit to you. 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:46.640 Isaiah 12, 3 and 4, it says, With joy you would draw water from the wells of salvation, and you will say in that day, give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:48.880 There are a few action verbs in there. 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:50.400 Make known his deeds. 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:53.359 Call upon the name, exalt him. 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:57.519 Worship says, God, I submit to you and surrender. 00:21:58.559 --> 00:21:59.839 Not only should your worship be exalted. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.680 Expressed in singing, but it should be expressed in the way you serve. 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:09.119 Which means that for many of you in this room, you need to express your worship by serving. 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:10.640 And please hear me. 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:12.720 This is not me trying to get you on a serve team. 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:18.880 It's an invitation for you to experience the joy that's awaiting you on the other side of your obedience. 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:20.799 So can I just love you really, real, real quick? 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:25.119 Can you get over self and into submission so that the Holy Spirit can move in your life? 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:28.559 Like, can you just stop arguing with God? 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:31.200 Can you stop bartering with the king of all creation? 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:32.160 Can you stop it? 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:37.039 Just stop and do the last thing that God told you to do. 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:41.759 You know, the image you use here is powerful though. 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:43.920 Drawing water from wells. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:48.160 And so in biblical times, what you should know is that uh this was hard work. 00:22:49.039 --> 00:22:57.279 It was it took time, it took a lot of effort, it was enduring, it was a very uh laborious activity, and it didn't always feel good. 00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:00.000 But notice, but notice where he puts it. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:04.079 He puts it after redemption, he puts it after the Messiah has come. 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:15.440 And so he's talking about this work that's gonna happen on the backside of redemption, which means that living a life of worship and responding to God's goodness won't always feel or be easy. 00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:18.240 Sometimes it might even be costly. 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:27.759 I don't know how many of you are familiar with the story of Mary, the sweet young girl who poured out a pint of gnarred oil on the feet of Jesus. 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:31.599 Jesus, uh Judas looked at it and said that that was worth 300 denari. 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:42.319 That in their time would have been a full year's wage, equated to today, that would be a full year's salary for the standard American family. 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:45.680 That's substantial when you think about it. 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:52.000 Yet she poured out her offering as an expression of worship, and Jesus saw it pleasing. 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:55.680 Jesus saw it fitting, Jesus saw it loving. 00:23:55.759 --> 00:24:02.799 And church, I'm gonna be honest, God might not be calling you to pour out your salary at his feet, but are you prepared to? 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:15.039 See, there is joy in the activity of worship because your submission shouldn't cater to preference or comfort. 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:18.720 Your submission shouldn't bend to desire or preference. 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:22.720 Your submission says, whatever you want me to do, Lord, I'll do. 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:25.920 So let's get practical. 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:27.680 Oh, here we go. 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:29.039 I probably won't be able to get up here. 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:34.400 I lead worship from this very spot a lot. 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:36.079 So I see all y'all. 00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:38.000 Even when the lights are down. 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:40.079 And we'd be singing up here. 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:42.480 Sometimes we'd be singing. 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:47.039 And some of y'all just be looking at us. 00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:53.920 Your body is in the room, but your mind and your attention is somewhere else. 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:55.839 And we see it on your face. 00:24:56.480 --> 00:25:01.519 And we're singing about the goodness of the Lord and the joy in the house of the Lord, but we don't see it on your face. 00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:05.039 Can I just can I just be honest? 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:09.759 Some of y'all next step is just to sing in church. 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:13.839 It's that easy. 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:21.920 It's to express yourself more fully and not for show, but from a heart surrendered before God. 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:24.480 Need I remind you what David told his wife? 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:30.079 He said, Girl, I will dance even more undignified if it is for my God. 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:36.319 So, men, I'm talking to y'all. 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:38.880 Your children need to see you sing. 00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:44.960 Because if you don't, who would they sing to when times are hard? 00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:47.680 They need to see you with your hands raised. 00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:52.160 You ever wonder why at the end of a hasby chase the cop screams hands up? 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:55.279 Because it means surrender. 00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:58.319 It means surrender. 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:05.119 When your hands go up, you're affirming, you're agreeing, you're yielding, or surrendering to a greater authority. 00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:07.279 And they need to see that. 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:13.279 For some of you, your next step is to submit outwardly by expressing what God has been doing in your life. 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:17.279 And sometimes that's going to be really uncomfortable, and sometimes that's going to be really costly. 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:23.680 But I would point you to the cross of Jesus Christ, who was very publicly shamed, but he did it out of love for you. 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:26.160 It was costly. 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:28.079 It was uncomfortable. 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:29.279 It was public. 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:33.839 But he's exalted to the right hand of the Father and He's seated on the throne today. 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:38.160 There is joy on the other side of your obedience when you sing in church. 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:43.599 When you raise your hand and say, God, I testify to the truth that you are good and your goodness is running after me. 00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:45.039 That you are a way maker. 00:26:45.119 --> 00:26:48.400 You are a light in the darkness, and God, I surrender to that. 00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:55.920 For some of you, your next step is not to worship when things are good, but to worship when things are hard. 00:26:56.880 --> 00:27:04.079 It is easy for us to throw our hands up and praise when the bank account looks right and the kids acting right and the marriage is going good. 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:05.519 It is easy. 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:10.240 It is hard to do so when it feels like the world and God are against you. 00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:17.039 But the scriptures say that it is in the heart that faith is tested and produced. 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:24.079 So maybe for you, your next step is not to worship when things are good, but to worship when things are hard. 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:28.720 Worship says, I thank you. 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:32.640 Worship says, I trust you. 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:35.519 Worship says, I submit to you. 00:27:35.759 --> 00:27:37.119 I surrender my life to you. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:38.720 God, I'm choosing to serve you. 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:42.079 And lastly, worship says, I hope in you. 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:44.240 I hope in you. 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:48.400 Isaiah 12, 5, 6 says, sings praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously. 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:50.480 Let this be made known in all the earth. 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:56.480 Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. 00:27:58.079 --> 00:28:02.720 Isaiah prophesied that the Holy One of Israel would dwell among his people. 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:16.319 When you think about the word prophesied, if you don't know what that means, essentially God gave Isaiah a vision of the future that was truth, that it had not been yet realized, but Isaiah was to take the message he heard from God and to proclaim it to the people, right? 00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:20.960 So he prophesied that the Holy One of Israel would dwell among his people. 00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:22.880 We've seen that phrase a lot. 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:30.319 And if you've read your Bible at all, between Genesis and Revelation, you've seen that constant narrative throughout the entire story of Scripture. 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:32.079 It starts in Genesis, right? 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:35.839 It's a picture of the Garden of Eden. 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:46.000 It's a picture of Jesus, God in the flesh, Emmanuel, God with us, sharing meals with the very people he created that would one day crucify him. 00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:52.000 It's a promise of what's still to come when sin and death are defeated for good and Jesus is the only light we'll ever need. 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:54.079 But, church, here's the most beautiful part about it. 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:56.000 This is not just about the past. 00:28:56.960 --> 00:28:58.480 This is not just the future. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:01.440