SPEAKER_01: Okay, so I would like to start with a question, and then I don't have a special segue.
SPEAKER_01: So here's the question.
SPEAKER_01: It's very simple.
SPEAKER_01: Do you need God?
SPEAKER_01: It's a simple question, right?
SPEAKER_01: And most of us are thinking, is this a trick question?
SPEAKER_01: It's not a trick question.
SPEAKER_01: Do you need God?
SPEAKER_01: Of course.
SPEAKER_01: People are like, well, yeah, duh, of course.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to remember that question.
SPEAKER_01: I don't have a special illustration to tee up our scripture.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to segue into that.
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to ask you that question.
SPEAKER_01: I want it to set in your mind.
SPEAKER_01: And then I want us to read Psalm 38.
SPEAKER_01: You can go there in your Bible, you can scroll there in your phone, or you can follow along the screen.
SPEAKER_01: And here's what I'm going to ask you to do as you find your way to Psalm 38.
SPEAKER_01: It's the one right after Psalm 37.
SPEAKER_01: As you find your way there, here's what I'm going to ask you to do.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to read it together.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to dive headfirst into Scripture.
SPEAKER_01: And I want to encourage you to do something here.
SPEAKER_01: Because everybody reads the Bible a little differently.
SPEAKER_01: We're reading to learn or we're reading to maybe find something we didn't before.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I'm actually going to ask you to do with this particular passage of Scripture today.
SPEAKER_01: You ready?
SPEAKER_01: Here it is.
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to ask you to feel it.
SPEAKER_01: When we read this today, I'm going to ask you to feel it.
SPEAKER_01: So if you have your Bibles, you're there, Psalm 38, follow along screen.
SPEAKER_01: Here we go.
SPEAKER_01: It is David.
SPEAKER_01: You have heard of him.
SPEAKER_01: He has penned these words in this song.
SPEAKER_01: He says this, O Lord, don't rebuke me in your anger, or discipline me in your rage.
SPEAKER_01: Your arrows have struck deep, and your blows are crushing me.
SPEAKER_01: Because of your anger, my whole body is sick.
SPEAKER_01: My health is broken because of my sins.
SPEAKER_01: My guilt overwhelms me.
SPEAKER_01: It is a burden too heavy to bear.
SPEAKER_01: My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.
SPEAKER_01: I am bent over and racked with pain.
SPEAKER_01: All day long I walk around filled with grief.
SPEAKER_01: A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken.
SPEAKER_01: I am exhausted and completely crushed.
SPEAKER_01: My groans come from an anguished heart.
SPEAKER_01: You know what I long for, Lord.
SPEAKER_01: You hear my every sigh.
SPEAKER_01: My heart beats wildly, and my strength fails, and I'm going blind.
SPEAKER_01: My loved ones and friends, they stay away, fearing my disease.
SPEAKER_01: Even my own family stands at a distance.
SPEAKER_01: Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me.
SPEAKER_01: Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me.
SPEAKER_01: All day long they plan their treachery.
SPEAKER_01: But I am deaf to all their threats.
SPEAKER_01: I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.
SPEAKER_01: I choose to hear nothing, and I make no reply, for I am waiting for you, O Lord.
SPEAKER_01: You must answer for me, O Lord my God.
SPEAKER_01: I prayed, don't let my enemies gloat over me or rejoice at my downfall.
SPEAKER_01: I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain.
SPEAKER_01: But I confess my sins.
SPEAKER_01: I am deeply sorry for what I have done.
SPEAKER_01: I have many aggressive enemies.
SPEAKER_01: They hate me without reason.
SPEAKER_01: They repay me evil for good and oppose me for pursuing good.
SPEAKER_01: Do not abandon me, O Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Do not stand at a distance, my God.
SPEAKER_01: Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.
SPEAKER_01: Did you feel those words?
SPEAKER_01: Some of us have been in those moments where we felt, God, I am on the verge of collapse.
SPEAKER_01: This is what you call one of the penitential psalms.
SPEAKER_01: Have you heard of the word penitent before?
SPEAKER_01: It's okay if you haven't.
SPEAKER_01: I'll tell you where you may have heard it because I'll tell you the first time I heard the word penitent was in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
SPEAKER_01: We've just gotten kind of back into the Indiana Jones movies.
SPEAKER_01: Our son has wanted to watch those for months, and so we've started watching them, and we have not watched them in order because I am terrified of the second one.
SPEAKER_01: Indiana Jones, some of you know it, and the Temple of Doom.
SPEAKER_01: Now listen, before I get an email, I'm not endorsing things.
SPEAKER_01: They are PG on Disney Plus.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just saying, don't come at me like that.
SPEAKER_01: And also, also, these movies are 40 years old.
SPEAKER_01: So if I give away a spoiler, that's on you.
SPEAKER_01: I was about eight or nine years old the first time that I watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
SPEAKER_01: And we lived in one of those like condominium complexes where here's a row of houses, and then there's kind of the parking lot, and then there's another row of houses.
SPEAKER_01: And we went, uh, I say we, I went and was spending the night at a friend's house across the way.
SPEAKER_01: And we got there, and his folks said, We're gonna watch Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
SPEAKER_01: And I thought, oh, I loved the first one.
SPEAKER_01: It was great.
SPEAKER_01: Like, I can't wait.
SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm excited.
SPEAKER_01: So they put it on, and we start watching this thing.
SPEAKER_01: And when that guy brings out dessert and he says, chilled monkey brains, I was like, mm-mm, I hate everything about this.
SPEAKER_01: I don't like this movie, but I was like, no, I'm I'm tough.
SPEAKER_01: I'm a third grader.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna stick it out.
SPEAKER_01: Nope.
SPEAKER_01: They get to that scene where that dude with them antlers came in and he gets to that guy.
SPEAKER_01: Done, done.
SPEAKER_01: Stood up, went behind their couch, started crying, wiped my tears off, stood behind the couch like I thought a couch would protect me from an evil guy from Temple of Doom, Indiana Gems.
SPEAKER_01: I thought the couch that I could see over would do it.
SPEAKER_01: And I stood there and they're looking at me in the back.
SPEAKER_01: They're like, Are you okay?
SPEAKER_01: I was like, uh-uh, uh-uh, I gotta go.
SPEAKER_01: It's like 10:30 at night.
SPEAKER_01: I walked out of their house, an unaccompanied minor, eight or nine years old, and I walked across the street to my house, and I start ringing the doorbell.
SPEAKER_01: I've never rang a doorbell as ferociously in my life.
SPEAKER_01: And it wasn't working.
SPEAKER_01: Like they weren't, my parents were not coming, and I kept kicking the door.
SPEAKER_01: And of course, I'm young, I don't know any better, man.
SPEAKER_01: My parents, I'm eight or nine, I mean, they were stoked to have me out of the house.
SPEAKER_01: I don't think I need to unpack that for any folks in the room.
SPEAKER_01: So imagine you're excited to get some time with your spouse, and all of a sudden, d-ding-d-ding-d-ding, boom, boom, mom, mom, mom.
SPEAKER_01: Like that cartoon on the family guy.
SPEAKER_01: And my parents, they run downstairs, you know, they open the door.
SPEAKER_01: What happened?
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, he took his heart out.
SPEAKER_01: He took his heart out.
SPEAKER_01: Again, spoilers, it's on you.
SPEAKER_01: We actually watched Temple of Doom yesterday with our son, and those scenes came out, and I was like, it's a great time to get up and go to the kitchen and get a snack.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, nope, nope, nope, nope.
SPEAKER_01: I'm 42 and I couldn't look at it.
SPEAKER_01: I pulled my shirt over my head.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, I can't do this.
SPEAKER_01: They're laughing at me.
SPEAKER_01: Robin's looking up, she's like, oh, this is horrible.
SPEAKER_01: I remember the first time, though, it was Indiana Jones in the last crusade, and he's he's getting through these booby traps, and he's like, uh, you know, uh, he's reading the thing, and he says, only the penitent man will pass.
SPEAKER_01: The penitent man, the penitent man, the penitent man.
SPEAKER_01: And then he says, Penitent, penitent, kneel.
SPEAKER_01: And he does this flip it.
SPEAKER_01: It's really, it's really cool.
SPEAKER_01: That was the first time I heard the word penitent.
SPEAKER_01: Penitent means a reverent humility, a kneeling before, an acknowledgement of something that is has has lordship over you.
SPEAKER_01: These words that David pens, some think that it's after this prophet named Nathan visited him.
SPEAKER_01: David had uh David had slept with Bathsheba, and he made decisions that changed a lot of people's lives, and he was feeling the weight of the sin.
SPEAKER_01: We're not terribly sure if that's exactly when he penned these words, is after that, but we sense that something's going on.
SPEAKER_01: It is likely that that happened.
SPEAKER_01: Regardless, this song that we read in Psalm 38 is coined a penitential psalm, which is because David's posture is God, I need you.
SPEAKER_01: I can't do this.
SPEAKER_01: I am on the verge of collapse.
SPEAKER_01: You feel it.
SPEAKER_01: That's why I asked you when we read it to feel it.
SPEAKER_01: You feel it in the words.
SPEAKER_01: Whatever the occasion was that he wrote this, it would be used in the temple as a psalm of prayer, a song of prayer when the priest would present what was called the memorial offering.
SPEAKER_01: Uh occasionally you would have in the temple inside of Jewish tradition in the Old Testament, you would have this memorial offering that the priest would present to God.
SPEAKER_01: The idea was that it was a symbolic act that represented repentance in light of the goodness of God and this almost, I guess, remembrance of who God is and what he was able to do and to posture the people's hearts toward remembrance.
SPEAKER_01: Because this penitential psalm is so guttural, it resonates deep in the throngs of a personal spirit if you have ever gone through anything tough, if you've ever lost anything, if you've ever lost anyone, if you've experienced that type of pain where you feel like I can't do it anymore.
SPEAKER_01: It was used as a recitation.
SPEAKER_01: They would recite this, it is believed, when they would present this memorial offering because it postured their hearts to remember they needed God.
SPEAKER_01: I asked you that question.
SPEAKER_01: Do you need God?
SPEAKER_01: Listen to the words.
SPEAKER_01: Your arrows have struck deep, and your blows are crushing me.
SPEAKER_01: My guilt overwhelms me.
SPEAKER_01: Has anybody ever been there?
SPEAKER_01: This is a burden too heavy to bear.
SPEAKER_01: My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you knew that your sins, your wrongdoing had such consequences on your life, and they were consequences you were not ready for.
SPEAKER_01: It's not a popular thing to talk about in church because it doesn't make anybody feel better, but the reality is this: many of us have been there.
SPEAKER_01: We chose what we want in the moment over what mattered most.
SPEAKER_01: And as has been said, making choices is not the hardest part, managing choices is the hardest part.
SPEAKER_01: And we manage those choices we made in the moment and we pay the price for them, and you feel it.
SPEAKER_01: And maybe for some of us, we just needed to hear you're not alone.
SPEAKER_01: Others of us have felt that.
SPEAKER_01: And then we kind of just get stuck in that guilt and we we don't know what to do, and we don't even know where to go.
SPEAKER_01: We're just hurting.
SPEAKER_01: We're on the verge, we just feel under attack.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe, maybe there's, you know, my goodness.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you know what I long for, Lord.
SPEAKER_01: You hear my every sigh.
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever had those moments with God where life was so hard, what you were going through was so tough that you didn't even know how to articulate a prayer?
SPEAKER_01: That you just said, God, you ever had one of those prayers?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes you get there.
SPEAKER_01: That's where David is.
SPEAKER_01: He's right here.
SPEAKER_01: And he highlights something for us that's that's I think is fascinating.
SPEAKER_01: David is needy.
SPEAKER_01: But see, on paper, David's not supposed to be needy.
SPEAKER_01: You know who he is.
SPEAKER_01: David, Goliath, slain tens of thousands, warrior, king, poet, the most famous person in the world at the time is David.
SPEAKER_01: And he had everything fame, position, status, satisfaction, money, influence.
SPEAKER_01: David had everything.
SPEAKER_01: On paper, David is not a needy person.
SPEAKER_01: Then why is he needy?
SPEAKER_01: There have been some researchers that have gone back and they've looked at the historical records of what David owned, his estate under his rule.
SPEAKER_01: And when they looked at things like gold, precious metals, land, uh, you know, all of the things that would have been, I guess, included in David's estate, right?
SPEAKER_01: In David's portfolio, if we were to bring it up to modern terms, researchers have suggested that David's net worth in today's world would have been north of a hundred billion with a B dollars.
SPEAKER_01: David had everything anybody could ever want.
SPEAKER_01: So why does he seem so desperate and broken in this penitential psalm?
SPEAKER_01: Here it is.
SPEAKER_01: You can have everything you want in life and still not have what you need in life.
SPEAKER_01: It is possible to get everything you want and miss exactly what you need.
SPEAKER_01: Because most of us are chasing satisfaction, contentment, happiness, or joy from the outside in.
SPEAKER_01: If we get enough, if we have enough, we will be enough.
SPEAKER_01: And here's what we learned.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what we learned from David right here.
SPEAKER_01: Stuff will never satisfy the soul.
SPEAKER_01: You can have everything you want and still not have what you need.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the truth for every living person who has ever existed, you can acquire everything the world can give you.
SPEAKER_01: And some of it's great.
SPEAKER_01: It's wonderful things.
SPEAKER_01: Ice cream is awesome.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it for real.
SPEAKER_01: I like a nice pair of running shoes.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you like that that restaurant you like to go to.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you like that car.
SPEAKER_01: There's nothing wrong with that.
SPEAKER_01: But you can get everything the world has to offer.
SPEAKER_01: And it doesn't matter who you are, you still need Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Because Jesus is the only eligible redeemer for mankind, and he's the only viable source of hope.
SPEAKER_01: And how do we know that?
SPEAKER_01: Look at a man who had everything.
SPEAKER_01: The most famous person on planet earth with everything.
SPEAKER_01: And in Psalm 38, I don't know that I have heard words that sounded more desperate and needy ever.
SPEAKER_01: Because David knew something.
SPEAKER_01: Even though he had everything that was available to any person at the time, he still needed God.
SPEAKER_01: So I asked you this question: Do you need God?
SPEAKER_01: Most of us, we answer, of course, I need God.
SPEAKER_01: But I want you to look at what David is saying here.
SPEAKER_01: David's going to God with everything.
SPEAKER_01: I'm sick.
SPEAKER_01: I'm emotionally unwell.
SPEAKER_01: I am physically unwell.
SPEAKER_01: My family is walking away from me.
SPEAKER_01: My family members are avoiding me.
SPEAKER_01: Have your family members ever avoided you?
SPEAKER_01: There's funny and there's real, right?
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not talking about, hey, I just got home from the gym and I smell, mmm.
SPEAKER_01: And you walk in and you try to hug your kids, and they're like, sorry.
SPEAKER_01: Love you, thanks for providing everything in our lives, but I don't love you enough to hug you post-gym.
SPEAKER_01: Or have you ever had those rifts in your family?
SPEAKER_01: He felt it.
SPEAKER_01: David's dealing with all of it.
SPEAKER_01: Mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, family relationships, in his friendships.
SPEAKER_01: He's feeling the desperation.
SPEAKER_01: He's feeling the weight of his own sins.
SPEAKER_01: He's feeling all of it.
SPEAKER_01: So we ask the question, do you need God?
SPEAKER_01: And the answer might be, of course I need God.
SPEAKER_01: I can't make my way to God on my own.
SPEAKER_01: I need Jesus, right?
SPEAKER_01: I need salvation.
SPEAKER_01: We preach this.
SPEAKER_01: That's why our church exists.
SPEAKER_01: But here's the question: Do you recognize, like David, and it reads on the page, but you'll miss it if you don't dig in and feel it, right?
SPEAKER_01: Do you realize that you need God in every area of your life?
SPEAKER_01: This is one that's going to be tough for some of us.
SPEAKER_01: Because some of us are walking around like we don't need God in some areas in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: Because we don't want him prying into our business.
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: God, I got this one.
SPEAKER_01: I got this one.
SPEAKER_01: I think I know what you're gonna say, so I'm just not gonna ask.
SPEAKER_01: I've had those moments.
SPEAKER_01: I've walked out of the house and I've been dressed and ready to go.
SPEAKER_01: And I know.
SPEAKER_01: If I ask Robin, do I look okay?
SPEAKER_01: She is gonna say, mm-mm.
SPEAKER_01: So you know what I do?
SPEAKER_01: I don't ask her, I just get out the house.
SPEAKER_01: How many of us treat God like we're trying to sneak out with that outfit that we know does not look good and those colors do not match?
SPEAKER_01: Your shirt does not match your shoes.
SPEAKER_01: How many of us treat God like that?
SPEAKER_01: God, I got this thing that I do, and no one sees it, but I'm good.
SPEAKER_01: No, I'm good.
SPEAKER_01: God, I know every blessing I have comes from you, and I don't know, I'm supposed to kind of respond to you.
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, but I'm good, but I'm good.
SPEAKER_01: God, yeah, I get it.
SPEAKER_01: This person, they wronged me.
SPEAKER_01: I'm supposed to forgive them.
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, no, no, I'm good, no, I'm good.
SPEAKER_01: Do you need God in every area of your life?
SPEAKER_01: Let's get practical here.
SPEAKER_01: Because this is where we really learn to lace up our shoes with what we read in this penitential psalm in Psalm 38.
SPEAKER_01: Do you recognize that you need God in every single area of your life?
SPEAKER_01: Do you recognize that you need God in your family relationships?
SPEAKER_01: Do you recognize that you need God in your friendships?
SPEAKER_01: Do you need God in your workplace?
SPEAKER_01: Do you need God when you're just out and about at the grocery store?
SPEAKER_01: Some of us need God when we're trying to find that parking spot.
SPEAKER_01: Do you need God in your finances?
SPEAKER_01: Do you need God in your mental health, in your physical health?
SPEAKER_01: Or do we only need God when we're crushing a double-double and we ask God to bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies?
SPEAKER_01: Do you need God in every area of your life?
SPEAKER_01: I mean, really?
SPEAKER_01: Think about that.
SPEAKER_01: Do you bother God with all your stuff?
SPEAKER_01: Because I think sometimes we don't want to do that.
SPEAKER_01: God's busy.
SPEAKER_01: You know, this whole earth-spinning thing, sun, moon, stars, ocean.
SPEAKER_01: It seems to have a lot.
SPEAKER_01: I've seen a lot of National Geographic documentaries.
SPEAKER_01: God seems to be pretty busy.
SPEAKER_01: Yet Jesus tells us in the Gospels, keep knocking.
SPEAKER_01: Bug me.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, bother me.
SPEAKER_01: Some of us we don't want to bother God.
SPEAKER_01: Well, God, He doesn't care about what do you mean He doesn't care about?
SPEAKER_01: You know what Jesus says?
SPEAKER_01: His eye is on the sparrow.
SPEAKER_01: You ever spent any time around birds?
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not talking about the ones that are pets.
SPEAKER_01: I'm talking about pigeons and crows in your neighborhood.
SPEAKER_01: Gross.
SPEAKER_01: They poop on stuff.
SPEAKER_01: Birds.
SPEAKER_01: Annoying, loud birds that wake you up before the sun is up.
SPEAKER_01: Birds.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus says, His eye is on the birds.
SPEAKER_01: You don't think he cares more for you?
SPEAKER_01: Do you bother God with all your stuff?
SPEAKER_01: David did.
SPEAKER_01: With everything.
SPEAKER_01: He even gets into some real specifics here that for some of us we can take away.
SPEAKER_01: Because you ask God, God, I need your help.
SPEAKER_01: I need your help.
SPEAKER_01: Practically, do you go to God for help?
SPEAKER_01: Because He'll hold you accountable.
SPEAKER_01: That's what'll happen.
SPEAKER_01: You know this.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what'll happen.
SPEAKER_01: You come home, it's been a long day, you want to interact with your family.
SPEAKER_01: God, I need patience today.
SPEAKER_01: And you know what He's going to gift you with?
SPEAKER_01: The opportunity to be patient.
SPEAKER_01: And you're going to have to exercise that.
SPEAKER_01: But He'll give you the grace to exercise the patience.
SPEAKER_01: David talks about it right here.
SPEAKER_01: He says this.
SPEAKER_01: He says, You know what I long for?
SPEAKER_01: You hear my every sigh, my heart beats wildly, my strength fails.
SPEAKER_01: I'm going blind.
SPEAKER_01: He's like, God, I can't do this.
SPEAKER_01: This is nuts.
SPEAKER_01: I'm having such a hard time, and now people are coming after me.
SPEAKER_01: And then what does he say?
SPEAKER_01: But I am deaf to all their threats, and I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.
SPEAKER_01: I choose to hear nothing and I make no reply.
SPEAKER_01: Do you ask God for help with the things you listen to?
SPEAKER_01: Here's a big one.
SPEAKER_01: I've had conversations with people this week where they've gotten to a place in life and they've said, the last year of my life has been the hardest year of my life.
SPEAKER_01: How on earth did I get here?
SPEAKER_01: I was spending time with this person.
SPEAKER_01: I was listening to this person.
SPEAKER_01: I was spending time around this, I was listening to this.
SPEAKER_01: And you know what you realize very quickly?
SPEAKER_01: The voices in your life impact the choices in your life.
SPEAKER_01: Do you listen to things?
SPEAKER_01: Are you in proximity to people who say things that pull you further from the richness of a relationship with Jesus Christ?
SPEAKER_01: Or do they help you?
SPEAKER_01: The voices in your life will shape you because they influence us on a level we don't realize sometimes.
SPEAKER_01: So David says, look, I've got threats, I've got negativity, I've got fear.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not, I don't want to listen to that.
SPEAKER_01: I choose to not listen to that because I know what that's gonna do to me, right?
SPEAKER_01: We've heard the phrase.
SPEAKER_01: How many of you heard the phrase?
SPEAKER_01: We say it with food, but it's it's reality, it's everything.
SPEAKER_01: Garbage in, garbage out, right?
SPEAKER_01: You listen to a lot of stuff, it comes out in your language, right?
SPEAKER_01: And speaking of your language, what does David say?
SPEAKER_01: He says, I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.
SPEAKER_01: I make no reply.
SPEAKER_01: Let's get real on a very, very sensitive topic for a lot of people.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna use some bad words, you're gonna have to be okay with it.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you got really uncomfortable with that.
SPEAKER_01: Our definition of bad words might be different.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes you just gotta shut up.
SPEAKER_01: That was my bad word.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are like, oh, that's not bad.
SPEAKER_01: Well, if you grew up Baptist in the 90s, it was bad.
SPEAKER_01: You ever felt like, man, I really just need to keep my mouth shut right now?
SPEAKER_01: But you don't?
SPEAKER_01: You ever done that?
SPEAKER_01: I've done that.
SPEAKER_01: I've managed to shove this size 12 foot in my mouth a time or two.
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure I'm not alone.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes the wisest thing you can do is to zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes the wisest thing you can do is to take these thumbs.
SPEAKER_01: They usually type something snarky on the internet when somebody votes differently than you, has a different opinion than you, thinks differently, says something that you don't like.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it's good to take these thumbs and do the old magic trick.
SPEAKER_01: Hide them.
SPEAKER_01: Hard to text like this.
SPEAKER_01: And don't game the system and use Siri because voice text will get you in more trouble because if you got an accent, you will say some things you didn't say.
SPEAKER_01: Do you ask God for help in every area of your life?
SPEAKER_01: Do you realize that you need God's help in every area of your life?
SPEAKER_01: What you listen to, what you what the content you absorb, the words that you say.
SPEAKER_01: I've had those, I mean, you you will practice this, and some of you know exactly what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_01: You have been in an argument with someone, it's popped up, or you've gone into a conversation, something's come up at work, and you have this prayer moment with God, and you're like, God, please help me to not open my mouth, because the things I want to say are gonna feel real good to say, but they are not gonna turn out well.
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes you have those subtle prayers.
SPEAKER_01: God, help me to shut up.
SPEAKER_01: There's one, there's a practical one for everybody in the room.
SPEAKER_01: You might think, what can I take from church today?
SPEAKER_01: Here it is, here's a prayer.
SPEAKER_01: It's not a spiritual sounding prayer.
SPEAKER_01: God, help me shut up.
SPEAKER_01: That might bless you and somebody else.
SPEAKER_01: Do you need God in every area of your life?
SPEAKER_01: Because see, here's what happens.
SPEAKER_01: Oftentimes, we don't recognize our need for God in every area of our lives until our life looks like a country song.
SPEAKER_01: I talk to people all the time.
SPEAKER_01: They're at rock bottom.
SPEAKER_01: Time to find God.
SPEAKER_01: Now I want to say this very, very gently and lovingly, and I hope it actually encourages you.
SPEAKER_01: The same God you find at rock bottom is the same God you will find on top of the mountain when life is good.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't change.
SPEAKER_01: And I want to encourage you with this.
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to wait until your life looks like a country song to ask God for help in every area of your life.
SPEAKER_01: But a lot of times we do that, don't we?
SPEAKER_01: Oftentimes we wait till we're at the end of our rope.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I mean, you know, I'll figure it out on my own.
SPEAKER_01: I don't need to read the instructions.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to ask for directions.
SPEAKER_01: I'll power through it.
SPEAKER_01: I'll figure it out.
SPEAKER_01: I'm good.
SPEAKER_01: And when none of that works out, we end up saying, God, I was not good.
SPEAKER_01: I thought I was good.
SPEAKER_01: Should have read those instructions, should have followed the directions, should have gone to you, but I didn't.
SPEAKER_01: And now here we are.
SPEAKER_01: Please help me.
SPEAKER_01: Oftentimes we wait as a last resort to ask God for help.
SPEAKER_01: Can I encourage you?
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't have to be like that.
SPEAKER_01: But I think I know why it is like that for many people.
SPEAKER_01: I think it's because we find it unnecessary, if I can use that word, to ask God for help when everything is going well in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, life's good.
SPEAKER_01: I don't need God.
SPEAKER_01: Everything's good.
SPEAKER_01: I think it's easy to stop asking God for help when everything in our life is going well.
SPEAKER_01: If we do this one thing that David practiced over and over, and it's where we get really practical for everyone in the room today.
SPEAKER_01: For some of us, the practicality was zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket.
SPEAKER_01: You're like, I'm taking that one, I'm using that one this week.
SPEAKER_01: I'm using that one in 20 minutes.
SPEAKER_01: Like, you're there.
SPEAKER_01: For some of us, we just needed to hear that other people have been on the verge of collapse and have needed God.
SPEAKER_01: For some of us needed to realize, oh, it doesn't bother God when I come to Him about everything.
SPEAKER_01: No, it doesn't bother God.
SPEAKER_01: I am never bothered when my kids come and they ask me for something.
SPEAKER_01: I don't care how trivial they think it is, how meaningless they think it is, how simple they think it is.
SPEAKER_01: I don't care if they want to talk to me about A, B, C, or D, and they're like, Dad, I know you're not interested in this.
SPEAKER_01: And I tell them, no, I'm not interested in that, but I'm interested in you.
SPEAKER_01: And I just want to hear you.
SPEAKER_01: Some of us just needed to hear it never bothers God when his kids come and talk to him.
SPEAKER_01: You know this.
SPEAKER_01: Parents, you know this.
SPEAKER_01: Your kids spend years pooping their britches.
SPEAKER_01: Yet they run up to you and you could not be more excited to pick them up and hug them.
SPEAKER_01: Some of us just needed to hear that.
SPEAKER_01: But here's where it gets practical for everybody because everybody can practice what I'm about to say.
SPEAKER_01: I think the reason David in these moments would ask God for help in every area of his life is because David made a practice out of thanking God for every good thing in every area of his life.
SPEAKER_01: Because what do we do?
SPEAKER_01: Life goes well.
SPEAKER_01: We're above board.
SPEAKER_01: We got money in the bank.
SPEAKER_01: We got we got our health.
SPEAKER_01: We got good friends.
SPEAKER_01: We got that new car.
SPEAKER_01: Everything's smooth at work.
SPEAKER_01: God, we put it on cruise control.
SPEAKER_01: I got this.
SPEAKER_01: And we incidentally stop thanking God for every good thing in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: So then when some of these things start to go downhill, we wait until we hit rock bottom to ask God for help.
SPEAKER_01: But there's something that's a little counterintuitive, and it's this the more you thank God for every good thing in your life, the better you get at asking God for help in every area of your life.
SPEAKER_01: Because here's what it does.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna give you two things that I want you to practice.
SPEAKER_01: All right, you ready?
SPEAKER_01: A thank God for every good thing in your life.
SPEAKER_01: B, ask God for help in every area of your life.
SPEAKER_01: Two things.
SPEAKER_01: It's not trivial, it doesn't bother God.
SPEAKER_01: I'll tell you what it actually does.
SPEAKER_01: Asking God for help in every area of your life is a practice that postures your heart to be a grateful one and a trusting one.
SPEAKER_01: It actually trains your trust muscles to rely on God in every season, in every situation, to go to God with everything you need.
SPEAKER_01: Asking God for help in every area of your life is a practice that prevents you taking the credit for every good thing in your life.
SPEAKER_01: And instead postures you in a way that acknowledges every good thing in your life is from God.
SPEAKER_01: I'll say it like this: if we don't give it as praise, we will take it as pride.
SPEAKER_01: So the more we thank God for every good thing in our life, the more we train ourselves to trust Him with everything in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: Thus, we will ask God for help in every area of our lives because we recognize where help comes from.
SPEAKER_01: This penitential psalm.
SPEAKER_01: David seemingly at the end of his rope, seemingly just done.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, he says it.
SPEAKER_01: He says, I'm on the verge of collapse.
SPEAKER_01: I'm facing constant pain.
SPEAKER_01: I messed up.
SPEAKER_01: I'm racked with pain.
SPEAKER_01: All day long I walk around filled with grief.
SPEAKER_01: Why would David feel so confident in his ability to be so vulnerable with God?
SPEAKER_01: Because David practiced what I'm encouraging all of us to practice.
SPEAKER_01: Thank God for every good thing in every area of your life.
SPEAKER_01: Ask God for help in every area of your life.
SPEAKER_01: What that's doing is it's building trust in your relationship with God.
SPEAKER_01: Because we all need God's help.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the deal you're gonna ask God for help sometimes, and he is not gonna give you what you want.
SPEAKER_01: And that's not encouraging.
SPEAKER_01: I know you don't want to hear that, but it's the truth.
SPEAKER_01: God's not always gonna give you what you want, but he will always give you what you need.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you've been in those seasons of life.
SPEAKER_01: I know I have.
SPEAKER_01: Or you wanted something so badly, and you knew, God, this is great for me.
SPEAKER_01: God, this is great for my family.
SPEAKER_01: God, this would be great.
SPEAKER_01: Don't you know?
SPEAKER_01: And you're like, you're selling God on it.
SPEAKER_01: Like God doesn't know what the upgrades are and what perks come with it.
SPEAKER_01: God knows it has four-wheel drive.
SPEAKER_01: God knows you can sync up your phone to it and play Pandora on the radio.
SPEAKER_01: God knows it's got a rear view camera.
SPEAKER_01: God knows it's got floorboards that you can just take and shake out because you got kids and they spill goldfish crackers in there.
SPEAKER_01: He knows.
SPEAKER_01: God knows you're trying to sell God on it.
SPEAKER_01: God, this would be great for us.
SPEAKER_01: God, let me do it.
SPEAKER_01: Let me show you the brochure.
SPEAKER_01: God, look at this.
SPEAKER_01: Look, it's got this feature.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, look, it's got a water closet.
SPEAKER_01: God, look at this.
SPEAKER_01: It has heated floors.
SPEAKER_01: Like God doesn't know.
SPEAKER_01: We try to sell God on it, and then God doesn't give it to us.
SPEAKER_01: You know what we do?
SPEAKER_01: God, come on.
SPEAKER_01: And you're like, that sounds irreverent.
SPEAKER_01: You've done it.
SPEAKER_01: I can tell by your laughter, you've done it.
SPEAKER_01: God, but I deserved it.
SPEAKER_01: God, I worked hard for this.
SPEAKER_01: I will admit this as your pastor.
SPEAKER_01: God, I fasted and prayed for this.
SPEAKER_01: Why didn't you give it to me?
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes you just sit with it.
SPEAKER_01: And years later, I know why you didn't give that to me, God.
SPEAKER_01: My character wasn't ready for it.
SPEAKER_01: You had better.
SPEAKER_01: God's not in the business of trying to meet your expectations.
SPEAKER_01: Not when he knows how to exceed them.
SPEAKER_01: Your expectations are based off of what you want.
SPEAKER_01: His goodness is based off of what you need.
SPEAKER_01: And we all need him in every area of our lives.
SPEAKER_01: Even when God doesn't give you what you want, will you still ask him for help?
SPEAKER_01: Because that's where help actually comes from.
SPEAKER_01: David had everything anybody could ever want, and he still recognized how much he needed God in every area of his life.
SPEAKER_01: And the reason he recognized he needed God in every area of his life is because he thanked God for every good thing in his life.
SPEAKER_01: God, I beat Goliath.
SPEAKER_01: God's like, good for you.
SPEAKER_01: David's like, no, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: That's not what he did, did he?
SPEAKER_01: David doesn't go to God every time and say, God, here's the back of my baseball card.
SPEAKER_01: Look at all these awesome things I did.
SPEAKER_01: God, look at me.
SPEAKER_01: I'm great.
SPEAKER_01: My card price should be going up.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna make it in the Hall of Fame one day, God.
SPEAKER_01: They're gonna make statues of me.
SPEAKER_01: VeggieTales is gonna make a movie about me, God.
SPEAKER_01: Look at that.
SPEAKER_01: God, look at that.
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_01: What does he do?
SPEAKER_01: God, thank you.
SPEAKER_01: God, you did, God, you did, God, you did, God, you did, God, thank you.
SPEAKER_01: Practice that, and you will learn to trust God in all seasons so that when you thank him for everything he's done, you will trust him with everything he has.
SPEAKER_01: And you won't worry about bothering him.
SPEAKER_01: It'll become that relational dynamic between you and your heavenly father.
SPEAKER_01: God, help me with fill in the blank.
SPEAKER_01: That will grow your trust muscles.
SPEAKER_01: It will grow you closer to God.
SPEAKER_01: Two things all of us can do.
SPEAKER_01: Thank God for every good thing in our lives and bug him with everything in your life because he is there for you.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_01: And we'll get out of here before we linger in the lobby.
SPEAKER_01: God, thank you again for another day.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for your word.
SPEAKER_01: I pray that your word speaks to us, maybe in a fresh way today for some of us.
SPEAKER_01: God, that whatever it is that we mind out of here would be something we can take with us and apply to our lives so that we would live out our faith and that we would grow closer to you.
SPEAKER_01: God, we thank you for this, for all you're doing in and through the life of your church.
SPEAKER_01: God, I pray specifically because I know, because I've had those conversations this week, there's people within earshot of my voice, either in the room or online, who are hurting and they're in that moment.
SPEAKER_01: They're in that moment.
SPEAKER_01: God, I'm wrenched over with pain.
SPEAKER_01: I need help.
SPEAKER_01: God, I'm going to ask that you comfort them in the way that only you can comfort them.
SPEAKER_01: God, that we would not forget that in a church this size, there's people who are going through a lot of things, that we would remember to pray for each other, to encourage each other, to lift one another up.
SPEAKER_01: Because the beautiful thing about everybody needing you, God, is that we all need you so we're all in the same boat.
SPEAKER_01: So, God, I pray that you bestow upon us, that you bless upon your church a spirit of community that walks in our faith together, that grows in our faith together.
SPEAKER_01: Because we all need you.
SPEAKER_01: So, God, we thank you for what you have done, what you are doing, and what you will do.
SPEAKER_01: And we ask that you give us the discipline and the faith to go to you for help in every area of our lives.
SPEAKER_00: So, in your name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for joining us today at Sunrise Church.
SPEAKER_00: We hope this message encouraged you and blessed you.
SPEAKER_00: If one of the ways that you choose to worship with us here at Sunrise is by giving online, there's a link right here that you can follow, it'll take you to that payment portal.
SPEAKER_00: Everything that you donate helps not only go towards reaching people in the greater San Diego area, but also all around the world for our ministry.
SPEAKER_00: If you want to get further connected, whether in person or online, you can email this email right here, and either myself or one of our team members will be there to answer it and help you get connected in any way that you.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for joining us, and we'll see you next time.