WEBVTT 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:20.079 Well, we are continuing our series, Survival Guide for the Soul, and we've been talking about the fruits of the spirit, and we'll continue that today, and we'll continue going through that. 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:31.280 Um this uh there was a woman uh who was telling her friend that she was very uh down and she she didn't feel very happy in her life and she wanted to be happy again. 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:37.359 And her friend said, you know, I've always thought that you look much younger than um your actual age. 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:44.960 And so if you want to feel better about yourself, what you should do is you should go around and you should ask people, how old do you look? 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:55.439 And when they tell you um that you look so young, you know, and then you tell them your real age, they'll be shocked and you'll feel better about yourself and you'll have the happiness that you want in your life. 00:00:55.520 --> 00:01:00.159 And so that day she went to a store, she asked the clerk at the store, How old do you think I am? 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:04.000 And he looked at her and he said, Well, I think you're about 35 years old. 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:07.120 And she said, Well, I'm actually 47. 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:09.200 And he said, Wow, that's that's incredible. 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:10.319 Okay, well, way to go. 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:12.400 And she said, That did make me feel good. 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:13.200 That was really nice. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:20.640 And so then she went to McDonald's and she walked out to the front of the line, she said to the cashier, How old do you think I am? 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:23.840 And he said, I think you're, I don't know, 29. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:26.319 She said, Wow, yeah, I'm 47. 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:27.840 He said, Wow, that's incredible. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:32.719 And so she felt better about herself even more, and then she left there and she went to the bus stop. 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:36.319 And there was a a very elderly man there waiting at the bus stop. 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:37.359 No one else was there. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:38.640 She said, I'm gonna try it again. 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:40.400 She said, Sir, how old do you think I am? 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:48.319 And he said, Well, I do have a way of telling the exact age of women, and uh, and if you want, I could try it on you. 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:49.760 And she said, Okay, sure. 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:50.400 Go ahead. 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:52.560 And he said, Well, I have to kiss you first. 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:54.719 And she said, Well, really? 00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:59.519 And he said, Yeah, if uh if I kiss you, then I'll I'll know your your age exactly. 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:02.000 She said, Exactly, and he said, exactly. 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:06.560 And so she said, Well, there's no one around, uh, give this a try, you know. 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:12.159 She gave him a little kiss, and he said, I think you are uh 47 years old. 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:14.240 She said, Incredible, that's amazing. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:16.159 How did you guess my age? 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:20.719 And he said, Well, I was just behind you in line at McDonald's just a minute ago. 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:28.960 We will do crazy things for happiness sometimes. 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:30.879 And today we're talking about joy. 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:36.800 We're seeking joy so often in our lives, but happiness and joy are two very different things. 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:42.159 Seeking happiness, as we will see, causes corruption in our lives and dissatisfaction. 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:46.080 But seeking the joy of the Lord comes from a place of innocence. 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:50.479 Seeking the joy of the Lord uh impacts us in unbelievable ways. 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:54.319 And so we've been talking about the fruits of the Spirit, and we'll look at it once more. 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:56.879 Galatians chapter 5, starting in verse 22. 00:02:56.960 --> 00:03:00.479 It says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy. 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:07.759 That's what we're talking about today, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:14.879 So today we're talking about joy, and in this time, I'm gonna give you a little bit of uh an update of what's been going on in our lives. 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:22.719 Uh my wife Hannah is here, and we uh, along with our two kids, about two years ago moved to Austin to start a church. 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:25.919 And uh and I'll tell you a little bit more about that in just a moment. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:28.719 But now, today we live in Amarillo. 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:32.639 We just moved just about a month ago or a month a half, a month and a half ago. 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:36.560 And uh, and and uh, you know, we we love it. 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:41.759 And I'll explain a little bit about uh the journey that that brought us to that place, but we love Amarillo. 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:45.680 Hannah grew up in Amarillo, we have lots of friends and family there, we love being there. 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:50.080 People from Dallas often say, like, well, there's not that much to do in Amarillo. 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:51.759 And um, I get that. 00:03:51.919 --> 00:04:00.400 We took our kids to the theme park that they have in Amarillo, and uh they have this roller coaster, and it is very small, and it is a very short ride. 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:02.879 It there's nothing uh spectacular about it. 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.240 But the the guy that runs the roller coaster, he was hilarious. 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:18.720 He was like, come on, come forward, don't raise your hands in the air because of the possible risk of dismemberment or decapitation and move forward, go into the roller coaster. 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:20.560 And I was like, this guy is hilarious. 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:22.000 I like him so much. 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:24.000 But I don't think he was joking at all. 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:27.920 Like he was dead serious, and there was nothing on this ride, you couldn't get hurt. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:31.040 If you fell off of it, you'd be like, Oh, I'm I gotta scratch. 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:33.199 Like it was not, it wouldn't be that bad, you know. 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:35.120 This is a very like simple ride. 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:46.879 And so then we're about to get on the on the cart, and um we, you know, me and Grady went ahead because it there was only room for two more people on that ride, and then Hannah and Willow stayed behind. 00:04:47.040 --> 00:05:02.079 And I'm about to get on the cart, and he says, for real, he says, now if the roller coaster stops at any point, um, if you guys could in unison rock back and forth, that will make it go forward again. 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:05.360 And I was loving it, I was like, ha ha, that's hilarious. 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:06.560 You're so funny. 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:09.040 And he didn't laugh or smile at all. 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:12.240 And so we got on the roller coaster, we went around, and it was great. 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:20.160 And uh then Hannah and my daughter Willow got onto the roller coaster and it stopped like halfway through, it just completely stopped. 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:24.480 And he goes, Yeah, I'm gonna need you to rock back and forth now. 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:37.759 I was like, he was serious, he was dead serious, and so they all like one, two, three, and then they would j lurch forward and it would move just a little bit, and they all had to work together to make this ride work. 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:39.519 That's how that's how bad it was. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:44.319 But in Amarillo, even though there's not that much to do, there's a quality of people. 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:49.680 There's a there's we've we've had just moved into a house and we've had to do some painting and stuff like that. 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:53.040 And um the the workers there, their name matters. 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:55.519 They're the contractors, they take that seriously. 00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:00.879 They they hold a a high level of pride over the work that they do, and that's been incredible to see. 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:14.079 In fact, on the flight over here, yesterday we were flying in, and uh we got on the flight, and um two gentlemen sat down in the two seats in front of me, and uh I could tell that they had never met each other and they they they didn't know each other. 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:16.720 They just sat down in the seat and started up a conversation. 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:20.160 I put my headphones in, I was gonna listen to some music for the flight. 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:31.680 It's only about a 12-minute flight, so I just listened to like two songs, and then I uh we started the descent, and I took my headphones out, and uh, and and they were um buying and selling cattle. 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.399 They had just met each other on the on the plane. 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:44.720 And I I I will I will never forget this moment because I you don't hear people introduce themselves this way anymore, but they decided they're gonna do this deal and they're gonna exchange information. 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:48.800 And so the guy goes, Mark Sibyl is the name, and he reaches a hand out. 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:50.959 And I was like, You never hear anyone introduce themselves. 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:55.279 I don't walk around going, Josh Morse is the name, you know, and this was totally normal. 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:58.560 He was like, John Chesterton, pleasure to meet you, you know. 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:00.000 And they did a deal right there. 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:01.920 It was so great that we got to witness that. 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:02.720 But we love it. 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:10.160 We loved, we love being around the people there, we love being around our our family that is there, and so um, so we love it. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:11.279 We we love being there. 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:18.879 And so we're gonna talk about joy, and um, I'm gonna give you a little bit of an update of how we found ourselves in in this position. 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:28.800 We were um we were we we started off on Saturday nights and we were meeting at a Methodist church, and uh and it was rough going. 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:34.319 It was Saturday nights were a hard sell for um people in that area to go to church. 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:40.720 Um, but we were saving a lot of money, and we didn't have to buy toys for the nursery and and and all those things. 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:57.199 And so um we had services for a year on Saturday nights, and um things were going fairly well, but we really needed some more momentum to in order to be able to sustain the church, desperately needed more momentum, and uh and so we started looking around for a place where we could meet on Sundays. 00:07:57.279 --> 00:07:59.279 I started talking to other pastors in the area. 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:07.199 Some some pastors had churches that were large in the area and said we tried for a little while to do Saturday nights and no one would come, and so we stopped it. 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:10.079 So I said, okay, we really need to move to Sunday mornings. 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:12.399 And uh we took a big risk. 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:20.720 We put a lot of money into uh trailers and equipment and kids' um supplies and toys and all those things, and it was a gamble. 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:24.959 We we really thought it's important that we move to Sunday mornings and that we take this risk. 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:30.000 And so we put all this money and invested all this money into being able to have services on Sunday morning. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:33.600 We found a university where we could meet and uh and we went for it. 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:35.840 We went all in on that plan. 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:39.039 And it was only four weeks after that that COVID hit. 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:54.799 And all of a sudden, everything that was our cushion in order to continue to keep paying staff and to keep paying the rent and the things that we had to do, all of that had been placed into this big bet of ours of all meeting in person, and Austin shut down completely. 00:08:55.039 --> 00:09:02.399 Um, there are still plenty of churches, friends that I have that are pastoring there that are still not meeting in person in any capacity at all. 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:08.080 And so just four weeks into this big move, it it really hurt us drastically. 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:12.799 And so um I was fearful, I was terrified that the church was gonna shut down. 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:14.799 I was scared of of what would happen. 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:23.120 And uh and and one week I I had recorded the message that I preached, and and we would watch it as a family on Sundays together. 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:26.639 And then we also produced um Tyler Bates, who's here tonight. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:31.519 Um, Tyler and Connie would produce a kids' video, and so we would watch that with our kids. 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:33.279 And uh they do a great job. 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:40.480 Those videos are fun and hilarious, and our kids love them, and uh, but they're also impactful too. 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:42.000 Um the messages were so good. 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:51.600 And so I'm watching this video, and Tyler is preaching, and he's talking about the time that Paul gets on the the ship and he is they shipwreck. 00:09:51.679 --> 00:10:07.919 And even in the middle of the shipwreck, then they they they swim over to an island and they're making a fire to warm up, and he gets bitten by a snake, and everyone thinks he's cursed, like your ship got wrecked, and then you were bitten by a snake, and everyone dies that gets bitten by this snake. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:11.519 And after a little while, there are no ill effects on Paul. 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:17.360 And so uh Tyler's telling this story, and he says this thing that stuck out to me so much. 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:22.240 He said, The enemy will continue to fire darts that are what if darts. 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:23.840 What if this happens? 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:25.360 What if this happens? 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:26.639 What if it goes down like this? 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:29.360 What if your worst fears come true? 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:36.159 And and and you'll start to feel all of this worry because of the darts that are being fired at you that say, what if? 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:39.279 And he said, but Paul had a better saying. 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:46.080 It was even if even if we get shipwrecked, God will still get me to my destination. 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:53.279 Even if I get uh snake bitten, God will still get me to my destination. 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:59.919 And when he said that, I realized that I was feeding anxiety to myself by constantly sitting there saying, What if? 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:05.840 So the first thing that we should remember today to find our joy is to learn to say, even if. 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:10.480 Anxiety says, what if, but faith says even if. 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:13.200 Even if my worst fears come true. 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:21.440 And as he was preaching, I was remembering the passage in Daniel chapter 3 with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and it starts in verse 16. 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:29.600 It says, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to him, King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:34.720 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it. 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:38.240 And he will deliver us from your majesty's hand. 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:49.919 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold that you have set up. 00:11:50.720 --> 00:12:10.720 Maybe no one is threatening to throw you in a fiery furnace today, but you have something that you've been uh in fear of or worried about, or something uh uh that you've been laying at the feet of God asking him for, and and or something that you've been dreading that could possibly come up. 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:14.080 And and over and over we can say, well, what if that really does happen? 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:16.639 What if that really does take place? 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:24.480 And it takes so much more faith to say, even if my worst fears come true, I will still serve God. 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:30.799 Even if, even if the thing that that scares me to death happens, I will still serve God. 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:37.600 And the second thing that we need in order to keep our joy is to maintain your innocence. 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:39.440 Maintain your innocence. 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:53.440 Now, um uh I was in Austin, we were we were having a pretty difficult time, and my friend Rishi Baskeran was in town, and we went to dinner, and he said, Um, I'm doing a study, a deep dive on innocence. 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:56.320 And uh and so I said, Well, tell me more. 00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:59.840 And he taught me all the things that he was reading and all the things that he was studying. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.960 And that was when I realized that joy comes from innocence. 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:14.480 I kept thinking about it in the terms of Jesus told us to be like little children, and all of that makes so much sense when you start to look at the joy of a little child. 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:17.440 The innocence of a child causes there to be such joy. 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:22.720 And once the weight and the pressures of life step in in our lives, that's when things start to get heavy. 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:25.279 That's when we lose our joy. 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:34.240 And so then I started studying, I started reading everything that I could find in the scriptures about this, and I came to 1 Samuel chapter 16, starting in verse 6. 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:35.120 Let's read this. 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:44.000 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, surely the Lord, Lord's anointed hand, uh Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord. 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:46.799 Samuel was looking for a king for Israel. 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:52.080 And the Lord said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:54.799 The Lord does not look at the things people look at. 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:58.720 People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:06.879 And then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel, but Samuel said, The Lord has not chosen this one either. 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:12.399 Jesse then had Shema pass by, but Samuel said, Nor has the Lord chosen this one. 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:17.919 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, The Lord has not chosen these. 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:21.279 So he asked Jesse, Are these all the sons you have? 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:23.279 There is still the youngest, Jesse answered. 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:24.639 He is tending the sheep. 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:28.960 Samuel said, Send for him, we will not sit down until he arrives. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:31.039 So he sent for him and had him brought in. 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:35.120 He was glowing with health, and had a fine appearance and handsome features. 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:39.120 Then the Lord said, Rise and anoint him, this is the one. 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:50.159 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David, and Samuel then went to Ramah. 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:50.720 Okay. 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:55.759 Now you you might remember this journey of David. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:15:06.799 We first need to point out, though, that when Samuel was looking for the next king, he had already prophesied that Saul would lose his position and that there would be a new king. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:11.120 And so he's looking for David, and David is out in the fields working. 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:16.159 This is a symbol of keeping his head down and doing what he's been called to do. 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:26.639 Not standing there in that line, trying to look like the right person to be picked, not manipulating the situation, but being pure and innocent and doing the work that he has called him to do. 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:28.960 And so then he gets chosen to be the king. 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:34.320 And you might remember that Saul was uh at different times trying to kill David. 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:45.039 He was jealous of David, he was uh trying to kill him, and and you you see and remember the corruption of Saul and the tragedy of the way that it ended with Saul. 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:50.879 What you might not remember, though, is that Saul started off in much the same way that David did. 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:52.960 Pure in that sense. 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:58.960 In fact, whenever he was chosen to be king, Saul was hiding in the closet with all the bags. 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:04.320 And the Bible says that even still he was head and shoulders taller than everyone else and incredibly handsome. 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:06.320 He probably had a beard much like this one. 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:08.080 Incredibly handsome. 00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:16.320 Um I I'll admit, I sometimes, if I'm trying to look smart, I do this a little bit. 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:18.000 I think that that's gonna work. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:22.879 And uh, but I'm convinced now that the beard says one major thing about me. 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:25.039 I'm comfortable wearing pajamas anywhere. 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:27.519 It's like I don't care about my appearance at all. 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:30.559 That's the thing that I figured out that it actually says about me. 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:33.840 Um so yeah, that's the that's that's how it works for me. 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:44.000 Um so uh the the the point here though is that what he is saying is that that uh Saul started off in this pure state. 00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:47.919 He had been made king and then they found him plowing his own field. 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:55.200 Whenever they defeated the Ammonites, they wanted to kill the people who said Saul wasn't qualified, but he stopped them and said, No, we won't do that. 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:57.759 Today is the Lord's day. 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:04.480 But then over time, the power, the the need for more caused corruption in his heart. 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:08.079 Innocence requires a commitment to stay that way. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:11.440 It requires that you do not allow your heart to become corrupt. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:16.319 And the opposite, the opposite of being innocent is being corrupt. 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:19.680 And innocence is also the perfect response to corruption. 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:28.799 And so Samuel goes to find a new king, and he sees Eliab, which is Jesse's son, and he sees how tall and handsome he is, and he thinks this must be the guy. 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:29.680 But it wasn't. 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:35.279 It says there in that passage that man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:36.720 What is God looking for? 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:40.160 One of those things that God is looking for is innocence. 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:49.680 We need an innocence in our lives, one that causes us to walk innocently into our lives so that we can experience the joy of the Lord. 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:58.079 People believe that the only way to get what they really want in life is to move forward through manipulation, and manipulation is a form of corruption. 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:02.880 Innocence says God will take care of everything that needs to be taken care of. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:04.240 God can take care of anyone. 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:10.880 Innocence knows that God is bigger than whatever you can try to accomplish for yourself. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:17.599 David uh was hiding in a cave from Saul, and he had multiple opportunities to kill Saul. 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:21.680 And when he chose not to, he was maintaining his innocence. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:23.680 David was a joyful person. 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:28.000 We see him often uh singing in the fields and dancing to God. 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:32.160 He he had this joy, but over time David as well was corrupt. 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:39.440 And it was when he saw Bathsheba and he decided to get what he wanted that he lost his innocence. 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:50.240 That corruption came into his life, and the joy was lost, and you see the tragic effects of that one choice that goes not only on David but the rest of his family as well. 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:58.319 We have to stay innocent, we have to be able to find the innocence and be content to leave everything else in God's hand. 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:04.079 And when we don't have joy, it's because we're corrupt in some area of our lives. 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:05.759 I'm gonna read to you a quote. 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:10.559 It's one of my favorite quotes that I've I've ever seen, seen or come across. 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:12.079 And uh it's from G.K. 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:12.960 Chesterton. 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:20.960 I believe it's in Orthodoxy, but it says, Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free. 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:24.400 Therefore, they want things repeated and unchanged. 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:34.000 They always say, Do it again, and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead, for grown-up people are not strong enough to exalt in monotony. 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:37.200 But perhaps God is strong enough to exalt in monotony. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:43.599 It is possible that God says every morning, do it again to the sun, and every evening, do it again to the moon. 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:49.039 It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike. 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:49.920 Listen to this. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:57.359 It may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. 00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:11.440 It may be that he has the eternal appetite of infancy, for we have sinned and grown old, and our father is now younger than we are. 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:21.119 It is that eternal appetite for infancy that causes us to feel an overwhelming joy and peace. 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:30.000 It is that appetite for infancy that God has, and this quote from Chesterton says that the way that we have lost it is through sin. 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:33.359 That our sin has caused us to grow older. 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:39.359 For the people who are Lord of the Rings fans, um, is his name uh Gollum, uh, the one that likes the ring? 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:40.559 Is it Smeagol or Gollum? 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:43.839 It used to be Smeagol, and then it was Gollum, and he loves that ring. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:48.240 Okay, if you go back and you look, he was actually a you know the way that he looks. 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:50.720 You've seen the movie or you've read it described in the books. 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:51.759 You know the way that he looks. 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:57.599 When you go back into his previous life, he was actually a normal hobbit. 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:10.319 And it was the sin, the desire to get what he wanted and have the power that he wanted and the control that he wanted that degraded him into what he was that we've seen in the book or the movie. 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:18.640 It's that holding on to something and saying, I need this, and doing everything that we can to try to work our way into it and get it for ourselves. 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:22.240 And when we do that, we have corruption in our lives. 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:29.519 And so the way that it looks for me in that sense then is I started uh praying that God would restore my innocence. 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:40.160 And so uh I I would I would drive home to my house after work, and I would often remember what it was like when we first moved into that house. 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:43.839 How excited we were, how thrilled we were, how grateful we were. 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:51.119 And I would recall all of those feelings and those memories, and I would say, God, don't let me get comfortable with doing the same thing over and over every day. 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:53.039 Restore my innocence. 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:56.079 I would uh I would think about it with my marriage. 00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:59.759 I would go back to those days where I would be so excited to go on. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:03.759 A date with my wife whenever I met her. 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:07.920 And I would be so anticipating those times that we would have together. 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:17.839 And then all of a sudden, you you don't realize the corruption that builds into your life over time, where you get busy with work and the kids and school and everything else that's going on. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:20.640 And so I started just praying, God, restore my innocence. 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:22.640 Restore my innocence for my marriage. 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:27.200 Let me be as joyful and happy as I was on the first day that we got married. 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:29.519 Restore my innocence for this marriage. 00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:34.240 And then I started thinking about every everything that I had in my life. 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:39.920 I would start to think about the moments that I could think back of special moments of spending time with my kids. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:42.640 And over and over say, God, restore my innocence. 00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:44.000 Restore my innocence. 00:22:44.160 --> 00:23:00.720 And while I was stressed out about what was happening with the church, and I was trying so hard to make things work and to put things where they were supposed to be, and do everything that I could to make all of this work, if I just stopped for just a moment and said, God, restore my innocence, my joy would come back. 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:03.039 It isn't chasing happiness. 00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:08.880 It isn't looking for the next thing that will please us, the next thing that will give us this feeling of happiness. 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:11.279 All of that searching is corruption. 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:15.359 All of that searching of finding the next pleasure in life, finding the next thing. 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:21.839 If I could just have this, if I could just have this job, this car, this house, if I could just have these things, then I would be happy. 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:26.559 And it can never bring fulfillment because it has now become an idol in your life. 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:30.000 And instead, we say, God, just restore my joy. 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:37.519 I just want to be in the presence of you, and I want my joy to return for everything that you have given me. 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:41.279 I want to feel that joy once again. 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:52.160 And so after a while, we kept continuing to do the videos for the service, but giving was impacted. 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:58.000 Our ability to continue to go was getting slimmer and slimmer by the day. 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:00.960 And the joy was zapped out of my life. 00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:04.079 I was constantly thinking about what if? 00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:06.079 What if this really does close down? 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:07.519 What if this does happen? 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:09.680 What if this is the way that it goes? 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:18.079 And I was overwhelmed with that type of stress and anxiety, and I could not get myself to find God's joy again. 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:22.160 And the my even if it did come to that. 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:26.480 It came to the day where we had to say, it's time to close the doors. 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:30.000 It's time to say that we're not able to do this anymore. 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:34.640 It was the hardest thing that I've ever done in my life. 00:24:35.119 --> 00:24:41.440 I decided that for everybody that I possibly could that was in the church, I would call all of them personally and I would tell them these things. 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:43.680 I would tell them what was going on. 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:49.680 And every call and every conversation was extremely emotional and difficult. 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:59.839 I preached to the church about endings and how uh how we ought to handle endings whenever they come along in our lives. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:06.559 And one of the things that I read about whenever I was researching it is that endings are so much more truthful than beginnings. 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:23.200 In the beginnings, we have our high hopes for all the things that could be, the things that it might turn out to be, all of these things, and we place our high hopes on all of these things, and and we long for those things, and so we have our high hopes in the beginning, but at the end it's truthful because we see what work was actually done. 00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:24.640 We see what was done. 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:32.079 It's also truthful because as I learned, people will tell you what they really thought whenever something is ending. 00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:35.279 And it was so painful. 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:40.160 And I thought, God, I don't know, I don't know what's going on, I don't know what we're gonna do. 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:42.319 I don't know why you would call me to do this. 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:47.279 I don't know why you would would would ask me to come and to move my family and to go through this. 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:51.119 We had difficulty with our kids in schooling. 00:25:51.200 --> 00:26:02.240 We had trouble uh adapting, we had all of these things that we were going through, and and for it to, the timing to be so poor, for it to hit us at the very worst time that it possibly could have hit. 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:06.319 And over and over I was just saying, Why, God, why are you putting me through this? 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:14.880 And then I remember so clearly God saying, Why did you do this in the first place? 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:18.880 I said, Well, because I believe that you asked me to. 00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:24.079 And God said, Well, then will you do what I'm asking you to do now? 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:28.960 And immediately I remembered that message. 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:37.039 Paul could have easily said, uh, why, God, did you ask me to get on this ship if you knew that it was going to shipwreck? 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:41.599 Why, God, did you ask me to go through all of this if you knew what the ending really was? 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:53.839 And as I prayed through all of those things, I realized and remembered that no matter where the journey takes you, you can find a joy in the innocence of following God. 00:26:54.319 --> 00:27:05.680 Without making your own agenda, without deciding what you think it's going to be, what you think it's going to turn into, you can just give your all to God and you can find a joy in that innocence. 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:10.240 And so we felt like God said, well, this time you get to choose. 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:12.799 You can choose anywhere that you want to go. 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:17.279 We felt like God, out of nowhere, called us to move to Austin and to start the church. 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:20.480 And we felt like God said this time, you can go anywhere that you want to go. 00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:32.880 As we talked about what we wanted for our family, the the the we had spent, you know, 16 years here in Dallas with my side of the family, the closeness that we wanted with Hannah's side of the family, we said, this is what we want to do. 00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:34.640 We want to move to Amarillo. 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:37.119 And so we believe that we had made that decision. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:42.160 We believe that God allowed us to be able to make the decision on where we wanted to go next. 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:50.480 And when we got there, I found out that through many different people, God had prophesied it long before we ever even knew the church was closing. 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:59.759 There's a friend that we have named Molly that works there at the church where we are in Amarillo at Trinity Fellowship with um pastors Jimmy and Kim Witcher. 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:06.640 And Molly had a dream that we would be moving there and that I was gonna come on staff at the church. 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:10.400 And so she went to her oversight and she said, I had this dream, I don't know what to make of it. 00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:12.720 And he said, I'm certain that that's not gonna happen. 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:15.440 This was last year, this was long before COVID ever hit. 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:17.359 He's got a church, he's down in Austin. 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:18.799 It's not gonna happen. 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:24.000 Before we ever even knew what was going on, God was making a plan for us. 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:41.680 And if I can just stop in those times and bring myself back to the innocence of following God, not expecting him to come through in a certain way, not expecting him to deliver certain things, if I can just bring myself back to that place where I say, God, I just want to serve you. 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:54.240 Then in that innocence we find a joy that is overwhelming, a joy that overtakes us, a joy that is profoundly deep and not dependent on the things that we have in life. 00:28:54.480 --> 00:28:56.160 Don't seek happiness. 00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:59.839 Seek the joy of resting in the presence of God. 00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:11.200 Seek the joy of the innocence, of not trying to make a way or manipulate the circumstances, but instead following the voice of God no matter where it leads you. 00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:15.759 And so here I am preaching this series, and we've just moved. 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:17.680 We just moved to Amarillo. 00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:23.759 I still have, I'm being torn in a million different directions, I'm finishing up things in Austin, I'm moving and starting a new job. 00:29:23.920 --> 00:29:27.519 We're trying to settle into our house, and we have all of this work that we need to do. 00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:32.480 And in all of that, I've had the most profound joy. 00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:37.839 In the crashing of the biggest dream that I've ever had in my life. 00:29:46.000 --> 00:30:04.400 I can truly say that the joy of the Lord is overflowing in our lives right now because I've finally come to the place where I've given up on getting all the things I want out of life, accomplishing all the things that I want in life, and instead finding my innocence. 00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:12.160 Your joy is killed by corruption, and it is given to you freely through your innocence. 00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:14.960 Would you bow your heads and close your eyes with me today? 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:27.599 You can kill corruption in your life by bringing back your innocence. 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:38.240 Maybe today you have a specific area in your life where you can sense that corruption has seeped in. 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:44.079 Your prayer today is God restore my innocence. 00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:53.039 Oftentimes our desires take us over. 00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:56.880 They pull us in so many different directions. 00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:01.680 And so today we can be restored in our innocence. 00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:05.200 We can find the joy of the Lord. 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:16.640 Maybe today you're sitting at home or at one of the campuses or here today, and you say, I don't know if I've ever experienced a joy like that. 00:31:16.960 --> 00:31:21.920 I've chased happiness my whole life, but I don't know if I've ever truly experienced the joy of the Lord. 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:26.079 You can pray a simple prayer today. 00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:34.000 You can pray a simple prayer that says, Lord, I accept you and receive you in my life. 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:36.799 And I want your joy. 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:43.119 I don't want to follow my own way anymore, but Lord, I want to give my ways to you. 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:47.200 And it's as simple as that. 00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:48.720 You can pray it today. 00:31:51.279 --> 00:32:00.079 And if you feel the corruption in an area of your life, every time it rises up, pray, Lord, restore my innocence. 00:32:00.720 --> 00:32:08.319 So, God, we pray today that we would have an eternal appetite for infancy. 00:32:09.920 --> 00:32:26.720 Lord, that our sin would not cause us to grow old, that we would see your beauty in the rising of the sun, in seeing the moon at night, that we would say with you, do it again. 00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:35.680 That we would marvel at your creation once again, that the simple things in life would give us the profound joy that you have offered us. 00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:40.960 So, Lord, we say today, restore our innocence. 00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:49.599 Lord, we pray all these things in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 00:32:49.839 --> 00:32:50.480 Amen.