Luke 18:18-30

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Luke 18 is where we're at today. Luke 18. And I was thinking about it this week. I was like, wouldn't it be cool when we get done with this series if we just had t-shirts made up that said I survived Luke? It feels like that would be fun. I survived Luke. Yeah, we're wearing proudly. And I've been loving it. I can't lie to you. We pick on it a lot, but you know, yeah, I feel like there's sometimes Luke's in heaven, like, really? Y'all gonna joke on me again? Um but uh I've been loving it. I've been loving it. Uh in in a few weeks, man, we're getting really close to Easter. It's coming really quick. And I'm excited about that for many reasons. One of the many reasons I'm excited about it is because it's unlike any other time of year, and I and I feel like it's supernaturally so, in that people are responsive and receptive to an invitation to come and be in a church when any other time of year they wouldn't be. So why is that important? Well, um you want to make sure that if an if there's a possibility that open door and an invitation can bring somebody into an opportunity to have a relationship with Jesus, that you take every opportunity available to say, Hey, would you like to come? And you can invite somebody, and listen, you can say, Hey, I want to invite you to Easter service. I would love if it was with me. I'd be honored if it was with me, but it could be anywhere. I just want to invite you to service. If you want to come to me to Hope City, that'd be great. We'd be honored to have you. There's gonna be fun afterwards, and and we won't put chocolate in the Easter eggs again this year, so there's ants there. Like we've learned our lesson. We're forging ahead, we're becoming wiser, but we'd love to have you come and just hang out and just spend time. You don't have to dress fancy. If you want to wear a big hat, you can wear it. But if you just want to wear your jeans and a t-shirt, that's happy Easter for us too, because we're not trying to put a fit together to be more faithful. And so we invite you. But if it's not here, then go somewhere. But the opportunity, I want you to think about this. The realization there's somebody who woke up today and their current destination is not heaven, their current destination is hell. And there's opportunities that, with your invitation, come Easter, their eternity will look different than it does now. And I need you to wrap your head around that because what that means and what that does, because listen, I know that you're like me. You see on social media, on the news, everybody's like, the end is near, right? And it very well could be. I'm sure they thought that in World War I. I'm sure they thought that in World War II. And there's moments throughout history like, man, this seems to be what the end times that Jesus is talking about looks like. If that's true, that doesn't make me afraid, that makes me intentional. I'm not afraid because I know him, but there's I'm intentional because there's other people that don't know him. And so I want to make sure that every opportunity, hey, you want to come? Like next week, women, uh ladies, you got the you've got the the lunch that you're going to. I don't know where you're going. It's gonna be incredible. I know that much because it's not about the food, it's about the community that you're a part of. And so come next week and bring your friends and say, hey, listen, after the service, we're gonna hang out. And this is what you can do. You can say this, and I'll back you up and I'll reimburse you. Hey, say, hey, listen, come with me. And if the service is terrible, the pastor will reimburse your lunch. Right? Let's let's let's do that. And and they'll say, Okay, bet, right? Let me see. Let me see if this and listen opportunity is something that we want to be ready for at any given moment. And so I want us to be intentional because there's some beautiful things that are happening in the life of the church, right? And so I just want to remind you of that. Um, we'll talk about giving at the end. Um, we'll put that stuff up on the screen at the end. Uh Luke 18, verse 18. We ready? Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question, good teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life? Why do you call me good? Jesus asked him. Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments. You must not commit adultery, you must not murder, you must not steal, you must not testify falsely, honor your father and mother. The man replied, I have obeyed all these commandments since I was young. And when Jesus heard his answer, he said, There is still one thing you haven't done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me. But when the man heard this, he became very sad, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw this, he said, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Those who heard this said, Then who can, excuse me, then who in the world can be saved? And he replied, What is impossible for people is possible with God. And Peter said, We've left our homes to follow you. I've got to love Peter. Yes, yes, Jesus replied, and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come. Back up to verse 18. Now I'm gonna reference some Matthew and Mark, because Matthew and Mark both also carry the same account. And I'm gonna lean on them some because I love that the Holy Spirit, when these writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit, they still had their human perspective, right? And so listen, 2 Timothy 3.16 says, every word is God inspired, God breathed. And so, and but they're writing, so we get a couple of perspectives, and I want to lean on those guys just a little bit today to give us a little bit more insight. Um, Mark chapter 10, verse 17 says, as Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him and knelt down. Uh, one of the things about this is like it's kind of hard when you've been reading about Pharisees and other religious leaders trying to trip Jesus up. And then somebody asks a question, you're like, are they being honest? Or are they just trying to be sneaky? Are they trying to somehow hoodoo Jesus? And this is not a moment where you have somebody trying to be sneaky. This is a person who's coming up honestly. He kneels down, he runs up, kneels down. What must I do to be saved? There's a sincerity in his question, though the focus of his question is wrong. And what's the focus of his question? What can I do to be saved? Now we know from last week, remember that Jesus just said, hey, the way you come into the kingdom is like a little baby, right? And you everybody that's ever holding, I remember the first time I ever held uh our firstborn, we're like Ella's born, and I'm like making sure that I do everything possible because that's a little itty bitty neck and a sizably larger head, right? And so it's like, but that's all babies, not just our baby, though. It was 95 percentile, it's not bad. And so, like, but you're you're holding the head because the neck doesn't have the ability. The neck doesn't have the ability. Every baby, if you just let them, they're just gonna, right? And so my reliance is completely fully on Jesus, not what I can do. So when he asked the question, it's sincere, but it's misplaced. What must I do? He's wanting to make sure that he doesn't miss out on eternity. Um I don't know that like we think as much about eternity as those that we read about in scripture, especially in in the church during that time. Uh or during when Jesus, like they thought about eternity a lot. We think about eternity when somebody dies. All right, show up at a funeral, and then you maybe you ponder it, maybe you don't. Man, I think about it. I've had times where I sat down as a kid, I'm like, man, like, are we gonna get bored?

unknown 8:06

Right?

SPEAKER_00 8:06

Because you think about this is forever. You can't wrap your head around forever. Am I gonna get bored? There's only so much soft serve ice cream a person can eat, right? Like, like that's what heaven is. It's like soft serve, and it's like the the the dessert bar at a at an all-you-can-eat place, right? It's like, is this what it's gonna? It's like just funsies all the time. And I think we miss out on that. We're gonna be so in awe of God. You think about this. That the angels, right now, they surround the throne room and they they call out, holy, holy, holy. What does holy mean? It means set apart. And it's almost as though every time they look up, they see something about them they haven't seen before. That he's always unfolding something new about who he is, like they're glimpsing a newness about I just think, man, I don't know that we're gonna be worried. Like, well, sometimes we talk about heaven, it's like there's no more pain, there's no more hurt, and like, praise God for all of that. But I think we are so enamored with the presence of God. It's like, man, like what I could never get enough of this. I could never get enough. And I don't know that we think about eternity a lot, but this guy was thinking about it, and so he comes and he says, uh, once religious leader asked Jesus this question, good teacher, verse 19, why do you call me good? Jesus asked him, only God is truly good. So Jesus is not saying that he's not good, he's asking a rhetorical question. Because it would be normal for people to come up to rabbis and call them teacher, but the word good is reserved for God. So Jesus is like, Do you know what word you're using with me right now? Like, are you are you aware? Are you just trying to? It's almost not like he's saying, Are you trying to blow smoke? But it's like, listen, uh, only God is good. So why are you calling me good? Is it because you're seeing that in me, or is there something else at play? And so it's a rhetorical question. So don't let anybody ever tell you, well, well, Jesus said he's not good. No, like they need to understand language, right? So Jesus asks him, only God is truly good. Excuse me, um, verse 20 goes, but to answer your question, to answer your question, there is something that um gets pointed out in Matthew's gospel right here, when Jesus is about to answer the question. It says to answer your question in Matthew 19, verse 17, the second part of verse 17, Jesus says, if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments. So Jesus says, if you want, if, if is like a super huge word that's important to put in your notes. Because when Jesus uses if, the the revelation is, well, if you want to receive eternal life, if you want to have eternal life, if you want to be, there's the insight is not everybody's going. Is that too far of a jump to make? If you want this, you can also choose if you don't want it. But but but here's what we have to do. Listen, we have to understand this. We can't play with people's lives when they start asking about eternity because there is an eternity where there's fully connected to God and completely separated from him. Right? And so he says, if, and so we can't play when people start asking this because here's what Jesus never does: He never sells the gospel, he never he never makes it easy, right? Like, and I feel like sometimes it's like, how can I most make this the most flavorful presentation to anybody? Hey, die to yourself. What's the best way I can say that? And so the way that we sell it is this man, God's always gonna be with you. Yeah, that's true. He's always gonna be with me. But what we associate that with is like, my car's not gonna break down, my bank account's always gonna look good, every bad day is gonna turn into a good day. And like, no, no, no, no, Jesus' like, you want to know me? Awesome, I'll let you know me. I'll let you know how I suffered. We're like, ugh, don't want that. But Jesus is like, no, that's how you get to know me. That's how you get to know the Father, right? And so he's not selling anything, but he is clear. He's like, if if you want, this is what Matthew's version says, if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments. It's not recorded in Luke, but the rich young ruler says this, which ones? Which of the commandments? This is a wild question because when you use the word commandments, options seem to be taken off the table, or else it's not a command, it's just a suggestion. Right? If you're commanded by God to do something, then to ask, which ones am I commanded to do? Well, you're commanded to do all the commands. That's all the ones that you're supposed to do. Which ones? Like, what are we talking about here? Like, this isn't optional. Either I'm obedient or I'm disobedient. And my disobedience is sin, and my obedience is faithfulness. So he says, he says, which one? the man asked. Uh it's hard. Just say the side note. I was thinking about this. One of the hardest moments of my life was being at my mom's funeral. One of the best moments of my life was being at my mom's funeral. Because she ran the race and she's in eternity with Jesus. Over the years, I've been in ministry. It's like we're 24 years, we're closing in on a quarter of a century. That sounds crazy. You're like, Joey, you look so young. I know. It's because Dr. Nate had me go through a skin exfoliation that burned the top off my head. And I look at least a good, yes, thank you. A solid five months younger, at least. Um, but over those years, I would get asked to do funerals for people that I didn't know. Can I tell you the hardest funerals to do is when you walk into a place and you're trying to do a funeral with somebody that you know didn't know Jesus. But here's here's the problem, though. There are some pastors that so want to comfort families that they won't speak truth. And it's not like I walk into a place and saying, hey, listen, uh, you know this guy didn't know Jesus. And so I'm not gonna pretend like he got his wings, because that's even bad theology. We'll we're we sit, listen, if anybody ever tells you uh God just needed another angel, no, we sit higher than the angels. We're not we're not gonna be angels in heaven, you're not gonna be up there checking at the gate, get your white diaper. Right? You've seen the little baby angels, you chubby. It's from it's from all the soft surf, right? Like, like you're not getting up there and like you're looking like a little cupid walking around. Like it's it's not that's not how it's gonna be you're you're higher than the angels. And so, but it's hard because I've been places where I'm like, man, I know that person didn't know God, and we're and we're acting like everybody gets to go. And it's a disservice to everybody that's still breathing. And um I I I was studying this and looking at this, and like, man, Jesus replies to this guy when he's like, which commandment should I keep if I want to go and have eternal life? I love the grace of Jesus in this. Because now he responds, he's like, here's what you gotta do. You must not commit adultery. Now, here's this rich young ruler. That's so like we find out through studying and the titles and the Greek uh understanding like he was probably some kind of leader in that community, whether it was a religious leader or not. We understand that he had means, uh, he had a lot of money, and he was young in his life. And so imagine this. You're standing there, you ask Jesus, what do you need to do to have eternal life? And he says, first thing, you must not commit adultery. And the guy's like, Bing, I'm good there. Right? Mental checklist. Would you not do that? I would do that. If, like, this is the test of like, do you check all the boxes to get eternal life? I'm standing there keeping score. Okay, just me. All right. I know it's spring four, but that's a little funny, right? Like, okay, I'm standing there, okay. What you want to say, God? And I hope I got this test right. So you must not commit adultery. Boom, I'm good. You know the commandments, he says, you must not murder. I haven't killed anybody. At least since my youth. I don't know. There was a time when I was in elementary school, right? Like I, but since my youth, which basically means the age of accountability. We're talking like 12, 13 years old. So I haven't killed anybody since then. Or ever, but that's what he's saying. Okay, check. Must not murder, check. Must not steal. I haven't stolen. Boom, I'm good. You must not testify falsely. You must not be a liar. Boom, I'm good. Honor your father and mother. I love mama and daddy. Boom, I'm good. Right? And also, there's no caveat to this. Honor your father and mother if they've honored you. Honor your father and mother if they've been nice to you. Like, it doesn't mean that you have to love everything that they did, and it doesn't mean that you have to talk nice about it, but listen, you've got to honor them because God calls us to honor. We'll have a sermon soon about what honor really is, but but that's not where we're going today. So, anyways, so boom, I nailed that. Verse 21 the man replied, I have obeyed all these commandments since I was young. He's thinking, man, you gotta be excited because Jesus just took a breath and he stopped mentioning things. If it's you, if it's me and I've got a hundred on the test, I'm like, you've met the right one today, Jesus. You're welcome. Right? Right? You just scored a hundred on the Jesus test. Yes, I'm you're welcome that I'm in your presence. He's got unlocked the commandments. And uh at least I'll say this, because when you read it and you and you have some biblical education, you recognize that there's more than just the commandments Jesus said. Jesus mentions to him all the commandments that include another person. Uh let me say it like this: he He mentions all the commandments that are horizontal in nature, but he hasn't yet mentioned the vertical ones. I want to say this really quick because we're talking about a rich young guy, but I just need to say, don't check out on me if you say, Well, I'm not rich, so this sermon doesn't apply to me. Buckle up. Right? So, so so he's thinking, I've got this on check, I'm good to go. And and uh in all the ways that a a lover of God should look and act, I'm doing that. I've got all the acts right. Does that make sense? Okay. Verse 22, when Jesus heard his answer, now I'm gonna lean on another one of our guys again, Mark, Mark 10, verse 21. Mark 10, verse 21. Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. So Jesus is about to say something, and he's not trying to punk this young man. He's not trying to make him look like an idiot or make him look foolish. He's about to say something from a perspective of what? A standpoint of what? Love. And listen, he's about to do something. He's about to expose a blind spot. Driving down the car, uh down the road the other day, down the interstate, my wife's car, it's got a neat feature. If you're about to cut somebody off, it goes beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. You're like, oh, my bad, right? Instead of just swerving out in front of them and then praying, Holy Spirit got you, right? Which I've done before. But it beeped at me, and before I even crossed the lane, I I got corrected. Why? There was something in my presence, but wasn't in my peripheral. Right? Like it was near me, but I couldn't see it. It was a blind spot in my life. It was a blind spot in that moment. And Jesus looks on this young man with love and he's getting ready to expose a blind spot. And I believe that this service today for us represents a moment where God would say, if you would allow him, he wants to show you some blind spots in your life. Because he loves you. Because listen, the love of Jesus brings correction, it brings repentance, it brings conviction. It doesn't just always make you feel good for 45 minutes on a Sunday morning so you can feel good that you went to church and nothing really offended you. We need to come before the presence of God saying, Lord, find in my heart what is not what you want there and expose it. And Jesus with love, he didn't just pat him on the head and say, Good job. I love you a whole bunch, go on your way. No, I love you, and so now I'm about to do surgery on your heart. He said, looking at him with love, there is still one thing you haven't done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me. So I want to say really quickly, for anybody that can kind of start wilding out, this is not prescriptive. You don't have to leave after service, right? Facebook marketplace, start selling the car, the dishes, the dog. Like you don't have to put everything on, like the cats, you can let them go, be with God, right? Like, but I haven't made a cat joke in months. Be proud. So listen, you you this is not prescriptive, he's pointing at something with this man. There's still one thing you haven't done: sell all your possessions, give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me. The savior of the world just said, Hey, come walk with me. And this guy goes all my stuff. The inside is like you can have all the actions, right? He had all the actions of somebody who follows God, right? But his heart still worshipped his wealth. He had a substitute savior. And when things get tough, it's okay. I still got my money. Money can solve a lot of stuff for a lot of people and cause a lot of problems too. But he's like, man, I I got all this stuff. And he's sad. When you think about it, it's mind-boggling, right? The savior of the if you believe this is really God. And he said, Come follow me, you're like, let's go. Where are we going? Let me sell everything right now. But but here's what a blind spot does. You can think that you have so many things right, but there's still areas where you find your comfort and trust. And let me say this for you, it doesn't have to be money. It's like because you can come to church and the church clothes can be right. What do I mean by church clothes? Because we don't carry church clothes around here. But what I mean by church clothes is like the right, the right smile, the right production. You're like, man, I show the church, I give money, I'll show up on a work day, I'll paint some walls, I'll bring some food, I'll do the things that we're supposed to do in church. I'll invite somebody to Easter, I'll do all this stuff. Yet in the secret compartments of your heart, there's something that you're trusting more. You say, Yeah, yeah, God, I love you, but what your heart says is, no, I trust the bank account more, I trust the relationship more, I trust my emotions more, I trust my intellect more. It doesn't have to be money for you. Listen, there's so many people that are missing the kingdom of heaven from what's going on in their brain. There's like, there's so many things I can't sort out and connect all the dots. And listen, that's okay. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, but there will always become a point where it's a step of faith. And I believe this. So many people are using their intellect to sidestep the truth that if you really study about how valid scripture is and who Jesus was, and that he really existed, that he really died, that he really rose again from other historical resources other than the Bible, even, then what you're saying is listen, there's a point where it's requiring more faith for you to believe that this is false and this is true. But you're trusting your intellect. Or you start going by your emotions. God, I'll go to church, I'll do these things for you. But listen, when your emotions get wonky, it controls your life. And can I tell you something? God, God loves you enough to never let you fail a test, but to let you take it again. And sometimes you're like, man, why are all these things? I'm getting so mad all the time. I'm getting so frustrated all the time. God's like, Yeah, let me work that out in you. And you're like, no, I just want to. I remember I remember when we had just moved back from Montana and we were a couple weeks away from Ella starting school. We were trying to find a place to live. We had a place, we were going to rent it. The day before I brought the check, I called the guy and said, Hey, where will you want to meet? We were so excited. We found the perfect place. And he's like, Oh, you know what? We decided to give that to somebody else. I was like, listen, furious. I'm like, you decided to give it to somebody else. I've got the check written, the check written. I'm like, I was coming. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm sorry about that. Hang up the phone. I was mad. We were staying at my wife's parents at that time. So you got to go to a lonely spot, right? You gotta find a quiet space. So I stomped down the stairs of the basement where we were, and I'm walking, and I mean, steam's coming out. Ashley comes downstairs, what's going on? I said, they gave away the house. We don't have a place to stay, we're living here. Ella starts in two weeks, blah, blah, blah. I don't know all this stuff. I'm like, I just, I just want to be mad. I these are the words that came out of my mouth. I do not want a hoorah speech right now. I said that to my wife, every and everybody said, Oh. Yeah, she's still alive. She she backed up, she gave me space, and she went and searched, and God showed her the place that we live at now. And it was the right place that got our kids like, listen, there are people in this room that would not be in this room had we not moved to that house. Like, it's like crazy. But I wanted to be emotional. And God's like, You're mad at me because I'm helping you. That's what happened that day. I was furious with God, and He had positioned us, He prepared us to position in the right place at the right time. And I'm mad at God. Is that bananas? So let me ask you this. Like, I let my emotions in here's the love of God. He still loved me. He's still like Joey. Hey, just want to remind you, that blind spot's still there, buddy. And so there's other things that would come up, and I'd have to deal with them. Uh-oh, the computer batteries low. I better hurry up. It's 11 o'clock. I gotta really go fast. Is it 11? Man, I just thought my watch was off. Okay. I didn't spring it forward. I need to hurry. Um this guy leaves sad. And then uh Jesus says, it's easier, listen, it's hard for the rich to get into heaven, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. There was kind of this like teaching that went around for a few years. I don't know if you ever heard it, where it would it would propose that there was a place, there was this entry area into Jerusalem where there was this small little passage that the camels had to take off everything, get down on their knees, and kind of scurry through to get through. And it was like, you know, it's kind of a neat teaching, except for the fact that it's completely false. Right? And Jesus is saying, listen, it's easier for this, the camel was like the biggest creature in that area, right? It's easier for that camel to go through this eye of this little needle than the rich person to get into heaven. Now, this is confusing to everybody that hears Jesus make that statement because culturally they believe that if you were wealthy, you were in the presence and the blessing of God. They believe that you walked with the favor of God, that his hand was on you. You're wealthy, his hand's on you. You must be doing things right. So the rich young rulers here, he's got all the stuff, all the money, all the things. And everybody's thinking, man, he's got his stuff together. And Jesus is like, no, no, no, no, no. It's gonna be really hard for him to get into heaven. It's impossible is the word that gets used. Everybody should. Verse 26. Those who heard this said, then who in the world can be saved? He said, What is impossible for people is impossible with God. This is a hard thing for them to hear because it was believed, man. If you got the money, you're good to go. And they're looking at this guy and they're like, man, this guy's not making it. Uh-oh. This isn't as much about money as it is trust. And uh, you need to know that being poor doesn't get you into heaven either. That's not the point of this. It may provide you one less challenge than the rich person has, but that doesn't get you into heaven. The rich younger lord is trusting his money to the point that he valued the things of earth more than the things of heaven. That's a tough place to be. Um Jess, would you just draw him something for me real quick? It's it's a it's a tremendous thought to have uh if you break it down and you really think through everything Jesus told this man, sell everything, give it to the poor. Like, gosh, that's gonna be hard. And Jesus goes, but you're gonna have treasure in heaven. What's the truth about heaven? Treasure's never going anywhere. Never a famine, a fire, a flood, nothing's gonna mess with that. He's like, and have relationship with me. It's hard because like when you've lived so long trusting something and you didn't even know your trust was in it, it's hard to give it up. Does that make sense? I don't know if I word that well. Like, it had been such a familiar thing to him that he couldn't even see, oh man, this is where my faith is. My actions say that I love God, but my belief says that I'm trusting this over him. I val I value what's in my pocket, value what's in my hand, value what's in my bank account more than I value eternal things. And um the love of Jesus is so good that it exposes these blind spots. And I've just was praying this week, and and uh I was going this walk, and I'm like, God, where are my blind spots? And you I this is what I heard. I didn't hear anything. And it doesn't mean that I don't have blind spots, but do you know what God's blessed me with? He's blessed me with brothers and sisters that I can have community with and accountability with and honest conversations with. And he's blessed me with an incredible wife that I can talk to that that didn't smack the life out of me when I said, I don't need a whorah speech. But I've been blessed with these things, and listen, I think the grace of God is that when we spend time together, there's gonna be some things that the Lord will maybe use you to help expose in me so that I can be closer to him. And there's things that the Lord's gonna use in me to help maybe expose in you to help you get closer to him. What he's not gonna do is he's not gonna guilt trip us to get us there. He's gonna bring conviction that changes the heart, and it'll bring a heart of repentance as I'm turning from the rich things to the right thing. I'm turning from from all these things that had all the value to the only thing that has any value at all. And so it's just like this mind, this the shift, this shift. And I want to tell you, as I've been praying over this coming month, praying over March and April, like there's a there's a stirring in my heart, and I want to say this because like that I don't want to say this so that you would have any sort of motivation of like, oh, this is the time when I really need to get people here, but I feel like over the over the next six weeks, the Lord's wanting to do special things in this place. And I can't describe to you why I feel that way, other than every time I'm in his presence, I sense that. I sense there's some things that he's wanting to heal in marriages. Amen. Like, like some like we don't have to play games like, hey, marriage isn't going good right now. I don't gotta play games with you. I can just say, hey, it's it's rough. Let's let's pray together, let's talk together. Life is kind of eating me up right now. I need some, I need some help in this help. Would you help me carry the burden? But I also feel like in this place, one of the things the Lord's gonna do is bring into a shout of praise among our hearts, and we would say, Listen, I don't have to feel it before I declare it. I think the Lord's raising up maturity in this church that as he exposes blind spots, we'll come to the altar, lay those things down, turn to him and say, God, I'm gonna choose to trust you. And as I choose to trust you, I'm gonna declare your value over the value of all this other stuff. Like Paul said, I count all things as lost, all things is rubbish. Paul actually uses a dirty word right there. If you study the Greek. Beep. I count all things as beep compared to you. And I think in this moment, what God's doing in our heart is we're in a season that's unprecedented. There's hard things happening all the time. There's weird things going on in our in our nation and in our world. And it's like, but his promise is his spirit's gonna pour out more and more. I read somebody say the other day, like, everybody, you better get ready. Things are things are about to happen. I'm like, the excitement in my heart is I'm about to see the Spirit of God like I've never seen the Spirit of God. Like in the book of Acts, they gather together in a room and Holy Spirit descends on them and flames like tongues of fire on their heads and like signs, wonders, miracles, and all that stuff is amazing. But it's secondary to the relationship that I have with God. Those other things, listen, people are gonna get healed in this house, but we're not going to celebrate the healing, we're gonna celebrate the healer. God, thank you that you are the healer. This is just what you do. You're gonna heal marriages, you're gonna heal relationships. There's some of you that are gonna step into some in some places that have been so wildly uncomfortable, you're like, I don't want to go there. And God says, Yeah, but if you'll step into this area, if you'll step into the fire and not try to sidestep it, I'm gonna purify your heart. I understand around the word revival, but like in my heart, it's like, could we be a people? Like it's so funny. I'm like, God, could I have this message next week when it's not spring forward and half the place is gonna miss? So, what I need you to do is I need you to be this message on repeat to people say, Man, if we will humble ourselves before God, just like this servant, and man, he missed it. He sad and he walked away, but he did expose something. He did expose how to find out where you're at with God. He came before him, he bowed before him. What must I do? And and our response is not what must I do? It's in my ability. What what do I need to lay down? Where do I need to trust you? Where do I need to become that infant in my life that my head can't be lifted up other than you holding it up, God? Completely, just unbelievably just wrecked before you. This making sense today, okay. So I don't know if it's an hour less sleep, but I'm just like, I'm not, and I'm not trying to hype anything, but there's something in my heart that I feel like the presence of God is saying, Man, if you will step into it, I like when somebody brings me a gift. I just say, Hey, Joey, just sit right there. I'm gonna put this in your lap. I feel like that's how we are all the time with God. God, I'll show up and I'm gonna sit like this. Oh, man, like come with the praise that you're like, God, I am declaring your goodness when all I see around me is anything other than that. I'm saying, God, I still believe that you are good. That you don't have to be coaxed into raising your hand in worship, saying, Well, that's not how I grew up. It doesn't matter. The Bible calls us to raise up a voice with a shout of praise, right? To lift up holy hands, to clap, to spin around. And I'm not saying you got to do it all in this place, but if it doesn't ever happen in your life, you're choosing willful disobedience to the God who's called you to worship him in a certain way. It's like telling Ashley, oh, I love you so much. And I know that she likes chocolate nuggets, but I bring her Cheetos. And I brought you something you hate. Love you, girl, right? Like, no. And we come in this place with hands in pocket and just kind of like just a countenance, like, man, if the band gets it right, then I'm gonna enter in. Can't just heads up. We're just regular people that play instruments. We're trying. Some weeks you're like, listen, I was hitting some notes today, you're like, Ah, you know what? I wonder if less than a perfect praise, he just wants a reckless praise. Problem is when we don't feel it, we don't give it. And God just said, yeah, but could you just choose it? Bro, this is not a guilt trip. This is just a conviction. Um it's we have to ask ourselves if we don't see the fire of God in our presence, is it because we didn't bring a sacrifice worth consuming? I'm not trying to go through the motions. Not trying to ramp up to Easter. God of the universe, we just stand before you right now. May we catch a glimpse of who you are that we would be humbled. And so in all, may you grace us with the fear that Isaiah had, say, man, well, I am dead. Your holiness is not a place where I deserve to be, but because of Jesus' sacrifice, it's a place I get to be. We be a people, God, that come before you. Not clinging to our treasures, regardless of this is a bank account or a relationship or a mental capacity. Thank you, God, that we be people that we would be correctable, that we'd be correctable, and in the areas where we struggle, habitually struggle, and we say, Man, God, how could you ever transform me? God, I thank you that what's impossible for man, what's impossible for me to do in my life, is possible for you. So we come and we just want to say, Man, we God, we we we choose to trust you with our lives, the pretty and the ugly. Thank you, Lord. With your eyes closed, I just I'm praying that there'd be a holy moment right now that you could uh that you could like however your mind's eye would would paint it, that you could just see Jesus looking on you with love the way he did that young man. Thank you, God. Thank you that your love doesn't just uh coax us into apathy. It's not what it does at all. It frees us. It frees us to step boldly into purpose. Thank you for it. Can we just pray a prayer together right now? That uh, man, as we launch into what I just feel is some weeks, I don't know what God wants to do. I don't know what he wants to do, but could you just put your hands on your lap like you're open? Just say, I'm about to hand you something, God, and I'm about to prepare myself to receive. You know, just pray this prayer with me. Jesus, come on, let's just, Jesus, whatever you want to do, that's what we want to do. Wherever you want to go, that's where we want to go. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Would you give them a praise? Yeah, thank you, God.