WEBVTT 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:11.759 You're listening to the road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt. 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:15.599 Worship is what you value. 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:18.800 Worship is what you behold. 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:22.559 Worship is your priority. 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:26.239 Everybody worships something. 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:28.239 Some people worship their family. 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:30.239 Some people worship their spouse. 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:32.640 Some people worship money. 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:34.479 Some people worship success. 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:38.880 Success is a is probably one of the biggest idols in America. 00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:41.119 All you have to do is go to the bookstore. 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:43.840 We put work to success. 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:45.759 We value success. 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:47.280 That's not all bad. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:52.399 But if it's all you worship, it's horrible. 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:59.039 At The Road, our vision is to raise up wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ. 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:03.520 For more information on the road, visit theroad.org. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:08.879 We hope you are encouraged by today's message from Pastor Teacher Steve Holt. 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:22.719 As you know, we've been in the book of Philippians for about, I think, eight or nine or ten weeks, but I've done a segue into worship after hitting Philippians 3.3. 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:31.840 We're going to go back to Philippians, but I want to stay on this theme because of what God's doing in our church in the arena of worship. 00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:47.439 I believe that with Michael coming on staff, he has brought an energy and a passion to worship that is exciting, and I want to flow with that and grow as a church in the arena of praise and worship. 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:55.200 So the last four weeks, if you've been with us, I've been talking about worshiping in spirit and in truth. 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:59.680 And that's going to be actually a separate topic. 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:07.439 When you go to the sermons, you'll find it not under Philippians, but you'll actually find it under worship in spirit and in truth. 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:15.360 And we've talked about Philippians 3, 3, this idea of what it means to worship in the Spirit. 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:32.960 And Paul's interesting in that he makes this contrast in probably one of the most vulnerable, authentic chapters of the entire Bible by Paul, Philippians 3, about his background. 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:42.960 And he's pretty, it's pretty cool the way he explains his journey in Judaism and in religion in general. 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:51.039 I grew up Lutheran, and I've taken some of you guys from time to time on my Lutheran journey. 00:02:51.280 --> 00:03:06.639 I was lifting weights the other day in Villa, and I met a young man who comes out of a Lutheran background, and we had so much in common as we talked about our Lutheran heritage and catechism and all of that. 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:12.800 And so what Paul does in Philippians 3 is he's talking about his journey in Judaism. 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:17.680 And then how he learned to worship in the Spirit. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:23.840 And what he's saying is, I didn't worship in the Spirit in my Jewish heritage. 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:25.840 I followed tradition. 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:28.879 I was circumcised on the eighth day. 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:31.599 I was of the tribe of Benjamin. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:33.360 I did everything. 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:35.039 I was a Pharisee of Pharisees. 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:36.800 He probably had the Pentateuch. 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:40.879 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, memorized. 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:49.680 He followed the law, and he said, but I never learned to worship in the Spirit until I found Christ. 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:50.879 We talked about that. 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:53.919 You can look back at that sermon if you like. 00:03:54.080 --> 00:04:01.680 Then we went to John 4 and we talked about worshiping with spirit and truth. 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:13.680 That, and the image I gave you guys was this idea that, you know, your heart, because when it says worship in spirit and truth, it's small as spirit. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:15.439 So it's talking about your spirit. 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:18.319 Worship with your spirit and truth. 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:21.680 And that this is like a furnace room. 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:24.720 But the fuel is truth. 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:30.160 I mean, if you don't know who Christ is, it's really hard to worship him as you ought. 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:32.800 You can't worship something you don't know. 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:49.680 And so the fuel of worship in the furnace of your spirit is truth, knowing God in his word, understanding doctrine, understanding theology, understanding who Christ is in his character. 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:54.079 But then, but then you need fire. 00:04:54.879 --> 00:05:00.240 You need to be able to light the fire in your heart, and that's the Holy Spirit. 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:06.639 So the Holy Spirit, where we connect our spirit with his spirit, creates heat. 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:12.399 It creates a fire within us, and that's worshiping God in spirit and in truth. 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:17.040 And then last week we talked about the four spiritual laws of praise. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:19.199 I enjoyed doing that one a lot too. 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:50.079 The four spiritual laws of praise, and we were in Revelation chapter four, and we talked about there's no rock concert that's ever been done by Rolling Stones or by Bob Dylan that even comes close to Revelation chapter four, where the seraphim and the cherubim and the 24 elders and these and these heavenly hosts are thrusting down their crowns before the throne. 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:53.759 Throne is mentioned 14 times in Revelation 4. 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:57.120 Christ is on the throne, gang. 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:01.519 And there's no Congress in heaven. 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:05.759 And there's no re-election every four years in heaven. 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:10.639 He's always on the throne, he's still on the throne, he's gonna remain on the throne. 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:27.680 And so what we tend to do is think that reality is what's happening in this three-dimensional world, and yet the three-dimensional world is being affected by the fourth dimension of Christ on the throne, and that's the control center of the universe. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:37.519 And so when we come into worship, we're focusing on the control center, we're focusing on Jesus, we're focusing on him on the throne. 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:43.759 So I want to talk about this morning worship as beholding the Lord. 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:46.959 Worship as beholding the Lord. 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:48.879 So what is worship? 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:54.319 Worship's not just the songs we sing, that's part of it. 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:58.560 It's not just the songs that we write, that's part of it. 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:05.839 It's not doing children's ministry, it's not your offering that you give, and people are, do you guys ever take an offering around here? 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:10.399 By the way, we do have boxes in the back, and you can give in the box in the back, or you can give online. 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:13.600 I think 70% of our church gives online. 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:19.439 Those are expressions of worship, but they're not worship. 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:31.759 Worship is what you value, worship is what you behold, worship is your priorities. 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:36.319 Everybody worships something. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:48.240 Some people worship their family, some people worship their spouse, some people worship money, some people worship getting promotions in their job, some people worship success. 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:52.720 Success is a is probably one of the biggest idols in America. 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:54.879 All you have to do is go to the bookstore. 00:07:55.439 --> 00:07:57.839 For you that go to bookstores anymore. 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:04.160 I was at Mardell the other day and I said, you know, you guys are gonna be out of business in the next 20 years. 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:07.199 And the guy said, Oh no, the next five. 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:13.680 And it's funny because I've been at now, you know, I've remember when Mardell came in. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:30.639 Remember if you've been to Mardell on Powers, how huge that book section used to be, and now it's shrinking and shrinking and shrinking, and it's all more like trinkets and jewelry and crosses you can put on your wall and all that, because everybody's more and more buying online. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:39.120 So in America we worship success, we put worth to success, we value success. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:40.879 That's not all bad. 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:46.240 I'm not saying that's bad, but if it's all you worship, it's horrible. 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:54.159 So it's interesting that in the Old Testament, the word for worship means to bow down. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:09:00.639 It has the idea of bowing down and even falling forward before the Lord. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:02.559 That's what the Hebrew means. 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:09.759 But in the New Testament, it changes, and that word for worship means to kiss. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:33.759 It moves from Jesus or Messiah, Father God, Yahweh, Jehovah as King, to being a friend, to being an intimate father, to having an intimate relationship with him. 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:36.480 Men and women, he's still king. 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:38.720 You see it in Revelation 4 and 5. 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:40.559 He's on the throne. 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:51.039 But Jesus brought to us an intimacy that even the Jewish nation had not known. 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:52.960 David knew it. 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:54.720 David understood it. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:10:03.679 David was so prophetic because he talked about the beauty of the Lord. 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:06.399 He spoke of beholding the Lord in Psalm 16. 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:08.240 We'll look at it in a minute. 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:10.799 But he was a prophetic voice. 00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:14.320 Hardly anyone got that except maybe Moses. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:19.600 Moses seemed to understand this intimacy with God. 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:24.000 Isaiah seemed to understand this intimacy with God. 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:30.399 Jeremiah had to understand this intimacy with God because of the pressure he was under as the weeping prophet. 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:32.080 David. 00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:35.120 David is a type of worshiper and warrior. 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:40.159 We don't find anywhere in Scripture until Jesus arrives. 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:46.480 But men and women, this idea of worship is giving worth to an intimacy. 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:49.919 So two key passages. 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:50.879 Don't turn to the first one. 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:52.559 You don't need to turn to the first one if you've been with us. 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:53.360 If you want to, you can. 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:54.639 John 4.23. 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:57.919 You jot it down, just John 4.23 says this. 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:15.279 But the hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit, in truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship him. 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:18.399 Really interesting passage. 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:31.840 Really revolutionary idea that God is actually, I believe, more interested in you than your worship. 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:35.360 He is not seeking worship. 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:38.559 He's seeking worshipers. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:12:06.000 It's a new dispensation, church, that God, in 2 Chronicles, he's talking about that God's eyes look to and fro across the earth, looking for those who love him, for those that affectionately go after him, for those that have crowned him, that have enthroned him, that he might strongly support them. 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:19.360 And then he says, now, Jesus says in John chapter 4, that it's a new day, and the Lord is looking for, he's searching for, what does he say? 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:22.879 He's searching for true worshipers. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:30.960 Which by connotation means there's false worshipers. 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:42.799 Those who worship with their spirit, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and in truth. 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:47.919 What a concept that God is looking for worshipers. 00:12:48.960 --> 00:13:19.840 Now, if everything that God does, and everything that God desires for all of us in this room is based in and motivated by love, and that if everything that's motivated by love is for our best, then it means, men and women, that the more we learn to be true worshipers, then the more we discover his love and what's best in our life. 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:42.720 And so as a Christian hedonist that I am, and I pray you're growing to be a Christian hedonist too, that the pleasure of God, the pleasure of God in our lives is becoming increasingly our highest value, is to live and worship and walk in joy, then worship is catalytic. 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:52.480 Worship is maybe the most catalytic thing that we do that changes us. 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.159 It pleases God and it changes us. 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:57.279 Isn't that exciting? 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:01.279 That what we do, the more we behold him, he's gonna change us. 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:06.159 So this is a second passage and turn to this one, 2 Corinthians chapter 3. 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:08.960 So let's look at 2 Corinthians chapter 3. 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:14.559 I want to focus on verse 18, but I want to start at verse 13. 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:23.360 Because we see the Old Testament and the New Testament development of worship starting in verse 13 with Moses. 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:28.080 Okay, so 2 Corinthians 3, 13. 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:38.639 Unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:46.720 So you remember that Moses met with the Lord face to face. 00:14:47.120 --> 00:15:11.200 And because of that face-to-face encounter with the glory of God, his face began to shine as a reflection of the glory of God, and it was it was almost blinding to people, so he had to put a veil over, but then it says he actually had the veil over his face because it was going to fade over time. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:15.840 But, verse 14, their minds were blinded. 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:26.559 Now he's talking about the Jewish nation now, for until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament because the veil is taken away in Christ. 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:31.039 But even to this day, when Moses read, a veil lies on their heart. 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:32.639 He's speaking of Israel. 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:36.559 Nevertheless, and by the way, that's for anyone. 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:56.159 Anyone who doesn't know the Lord, I mean, really, even in apologetics, when we're talking about apologetics and we're in situations with those maybe that have a different view, and we're having a discussion about creation and evolution or the inerrancy of the Bible or whatever. 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:57.679 There's a veil, right? 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:00.080 There's a veil, and they don't, they just don't get it. 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:01.919 And that's me, that's the way I was. 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:07.519 I mean, six months before I got saved, if I had that discussion, there was a veil over my heart. 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:10.080 I didn't understand the truth, it was just bouncing off. 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:14.879 Then I got saved, the Holy Spirit came into my heart and I understood. 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:20.480 And I was like, wow, why didn't anybody ever tell me this stuff? 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:26.399 And then my dad, who taught me my catechism for three years, is my pastor and father, I did. 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:32.879 But there was a veil over my heart, and so you can't worship with that veil. 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:38.879 But then in verse 16, he talks about getting saved and what happens when we're born again. 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:42.879 Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:51.200 So we can talk till the cows come home about worship, but if you don't know the Lord, you don't have a clue what I'm talking about. 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:56.320 And every time you come into church, and I'm, and there's people in here who don't know the Lord. 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:04.079 You may be long on religion, but very, very short on relationship with God. 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:05.279 You don't really know him yet. 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:06.000 That's okay. 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:07.200 That was me. 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:10.480 I mean, I was in church nine months before I was born. 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:16.799 I mean, I was, I graduated out of church like 14 times, you know, between birth and 18. 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:26.960 But the reality is, when you get saved, the veil is taken away, and you begin this journey of now being able by the power of the Spirit to behold the Lord. 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:28.240 Look at verse 18. 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:49.519 But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:51.519 Now listen to me. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:58.079 A person could have been saved, been a Christian for 30 years. 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:22.480 And they grew up in a church where they sang the hymns, they did, they went through the motions, and maybe for about 10 seconds, as we sang Amazing Grace, or How Great Thou Art, they have an encounter with the Lord once a week during the hymn sing. 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:35.039 And then there's a young man, he gets saved here at the road two years ago, and he begins to behold the Lord 30 minutes a day. 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:45.519 He just, he just maybe takes out his guitar, maybe he puts it on YouTube, whatever, and he beholds the Lord for 15, 20, 30 minutes a day. 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:48.720 Guess who's gonna be changed quicker? 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:51.119 Into the image of God. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:58.960 It's not quantity alone, it's quality and quantity. 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:03.440 This person is spending that time every day beholding the Lord. 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:08.079 It might be five minutes at first, and then you get hooked, and then it's 10 minutes, and then it's 15 minutes. 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:12.400 But they're learning to worship the Lord in the Word and in worship. 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:13.519 It's both, gang. 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:14.559 Truth and spirit. 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:15.440 Truth and spirit. 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:28.319 Spirit speaking to you, opening the word, meditating on God's word, worshiping, making the word of God a dialogue, not just a monologue, not just about information, but transformation. 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:34.240 And worshiping the Lord, then they're just gonna exponentially grow. 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:37.599 And how many of us have said, right? 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:46.400 I don't know why, I still have struggles with porn, I still have struggles with alcohol, I still have whatever it might be, I still have an anger issue. 00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:49.119 You gotta learn to behold the Lord, man. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:52.000 Because it's the only thing that'll change you. 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:53.599 You can't change you. 00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:59.680 And so you start beholding the Lord, and I'm just telling you what he says here. 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:11.039 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into his image. 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:14.799 That's how we, that's how you get, that's how you break the power of anger. 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:17.440 That's how you break the power of jealousy. 00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:24.240 Today, I go into the furnace room to pray. 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:31.519 And I'm just sitting there and I'm meditating on 2 Corinthians 3.18, and all this shame just starts to nail me. 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:34.559 All this shame from my past. 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:37.039 Anyone know what I'm talking about? 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:40.480 I just, I just, condemnation, man. 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:43.519 And I got, I gotta preach. 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:47.440 But I had to renew my mind, gang. 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:49.119 So I had to behold the Lord. 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:57.680 So I was glad nobody was in there yet because I just began to worship the Lord and sing to him and to think on Jesus, and then it went away. 00:20:57.759 --> 00:20:58.960 It gradually went away. 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:00.640 That's the way it works, though. 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:04.799 The enemy comes and he shames you and he condemns you. 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:16.240 And we have to take our eyes off of the condemnation and put our eyes back on him because that's how we are truly transformed. 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:20.960 And so in the Old Testament, you have these passages. 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:24.000 Um Exodus 19, 6. 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:28.319 And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests. 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:30.559 Isaiah 61, 6. 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:33.680 You shall be priest unto the Lord. 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:39.039 But then in 1 Peter 2, 9, it says, You are a royal priesthood. 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:41.680 You are a royal priesthood. 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:54.160 And so Moses goes to Mount Sinai and he climbs up and he encounters the Lord, and there's thundering and lightning, not unlike what we just read about in Revelation chapter 4. 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:57.119 He's encountering the presence of the Lord. 00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:01.200 How many like Thunderstorms. 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:04.319 Yes, my kind of church. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:05.119 Yes. 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:08.960 You're still my kind of church, even if you don't like thunderstorms. 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:15.440 But I love thunderstorms because I've spent so much time in Revelation 4 and 5. 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:20.720 And it just reminds me, wow, it's like heaven came down. 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:40.799 Now we'll say one time we were having a big thunderstorm and we heard the biggest explosion in our backyard, and this lightning struck one of our large pine trees and just took a streak, just took the bark off about that wide and about an inch deep, like a circle all the way around, and you can see where it drove into the ground. 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:42.880 It was super powerful. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:48.720 So Moses is on Mount Sinai, he's beholding the Lord, he's worshiping the Lord there. 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:50.720 And what did Israel do? 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:59.680 They said, Moses, you get the words from the Lord and tell us about it. 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:11.440 And Israel made a fundamental, huge, massive mistake at that point, and they're still living with it today, and that is we don't want a personal encounter with God. 00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:12.480 We want the law. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:16.079 Just get the law and give us the law, and we'll do the law. 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:20.079 And then God raised up the church. 00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:29.200 We are, Peter says in 1 Peter 2 9, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:31.680 Men and women, you've been born again. 00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:33.359 You're a priest. 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:37.200 You can worship him in intimacy. 00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:38.160 We can know him. 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:39.359 We can behold him. 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:41.039 That's what we're about to do. 00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:43.680 We're going to behold him for who he is. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:46.480 Turn in your Bibles to Psalm 115. 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:49.279 This is really, really important. 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:52.000 Psalm 115. 00:23:53.359 --> 00:23:59.839 Because in Psalm 115, this is one of the, oh man, Psalm 115 is awesome. 00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:04.640 It's sad, but it's awesome because it's a reminder to us of some things. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:05.759 But look at verse 3. 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:07.200 Our God is in heaven. 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:09.279 He does whatever he pleases. 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:13.200 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:16.240 They have mouths, but they do not speak. 00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:19.440 They have eyes they have, but they do not see. 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:21.440 They have ears, but they do not hear. 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:23.920 Noses they have, but they do not smell. 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:28.480 He's speaking of idols, the making of wooden, gold, silver idols. 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:30.799 They have hands, but they do not handle. 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:35.920 Feet they have, but they do not walk, nor do they mutter through their throat. 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:38.480 This is this key verse, is verse 8. 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:42.720 Those who make them become like them. 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:46.880 So is everyone who trusts in them. 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:58.960 Beloved, when you behold something and you continue to behold that thing, you become like it. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:16.160 And so that's why you can see it in the eyes of men and women who fall away from the Lord and they go after illicit sex or they go after their anger or they go after gambling, whatever it might be, that begins to take them over. 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:17.440 They become like that. 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:32.079 Have you ever been in a been in a um a place where there's prostitution, we have, and you've been in places where there's tons of gambling, we have, and you just people are, they look like robots. 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:35.200 They just, their eyes look dead. 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:38.079 They become like their idols. 00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:41.680 You see prostitutes on the street, poor things. 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:48.720 They're giving their bodies away to men or to other women or whatever it is, and they're they're just dead. 00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:55.599 So you become like what you give yourself to, and we behold the Lord, we become like him. 00:25:56.079 --> 00:26:01.279 His image begins to grow in the hidden places of your heart. 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:13.119 Your character is transformed from the inside out because you're beholding the character and the love and the forgiveness and the beauty. 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:16.559 And next time I speak, I want to talk about the beauty of God. 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:20.720 And it makes us beautiful. 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:27.359 You've been listening to The Road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt. 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:30.480 We hope you have been blessed by today's message. 00:26:30.640 --> 00:26:34.480 To connect with us further, visit theroad.org. 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:38.559 If you are walking through a difficult time, we want to pray for you. 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:45.759 Go to theroad.org, click on the ministries tab, and go to our prayer page to send us your prayer request. 00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:53.920 Thanks again for tuning in today, and be sure to listen to the next edition of The Road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.