Your Heart Is Not A GPS, Stop Letting It Drive

What if the most important thing about you isn’t your job, your goals, or even your personality—but what leads your worship? We explore how the Magi were guided by a moving star and how Israel followed a pillar of cloud and fire, then bring those scenes into our modern lives where leadership often defaults to our hearts, our careers, or our screens. The thread holds: true worship is led by the Lord, and when he leads, he forms us through detours, deserts, and decisive steps of obedience.

We open up the gap between imagined worship and actual worship by following the trail of time and money. If your calendar and card statements could talk, what god would they name? With honesty and humor, we name today’s subtle idols—approval, productivity, comfort, image—and contrast them with the living presence of Jesus who promises, I am with you always. That promise reframes fear. Obedience still feels risky, but it’s never lonely. We talk about faith that plans big and trusts bigger, and why dreams that don’t require God rarely honor him.

Central to this journey is the Holy Spirit. Jesus said it was better for him to go so the Helper could come, guiding us into all truth and glorifying the Son. That’s the difference between hearing a sermon and being moved to surrender. We recenter worship as a whole-life response—bodies as living sacrifices, habits that align desire and duty, and simple practices that anchor our attention: daily Scripture, honest questions in community, and a one-week audit that reveals what we actually adore. Along the way, we challenge common clichés that shrink Jesus into a buddy and recover a vision of Christ as Lord who is worthy of awe, trust, and action.

Walk away with three practical steps: keep a time budget for one week, commit to a five-day devotional, and make one concrete change that gives Jesus your first and best. If everyone worships something, let’s choose the only Leader who turns wilderness into formation and everyday moments into altars. If this conversation helps you realign your week around Jesus, share it with a friend, hit follow, and leave a review so others can find it too.

Transcript

Big Idea And Opening Prayer

Josh 0:00

As we jump into this morning, our big idea is this what is leading your worship? Okay? We all have an object of worship of something in our life. We are created to worship, and make no mistake, we will worship. Now, what we worship, what leads us in that worship, may be different, but we are all created to worship. So I'm gonna pray and then we're gonna jump in. Jesus, I ask and I pray that as we start this this morning, that God, you just soften our hearts to lead us into worship of you. Father, I ask and I pray that I just be a tool you use to speak to your people, to make us into your image. Father, I ask that we just open our eyes, open our ears, and that Father, we are changed from the inside out. Father, I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so Matthew 2, starting in verse 9, it says this. After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh, and being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. Alright, so I love Christmas, and if you've been here long enough, you know that, right? Christmas is the best time of the year, and I love that here we are in the middle of February, still doing Christmas messages. Okay? But there are some things I do want to correct about our understanding of Christmas. And number one is this Matthew just showed us in verse 9 that the star that led the wise men to Jesus went before them. Okay? This was not like in most depictions we see where there's just a star off in the distance on the house or resting above the house, and so the wise men are walking to this. This is a star that rose and goes before them. It moves and leads the wise men to the very house where Jesus is. Now, I'm gonna start with does anybody have an idea of where we've seen something very similar to this throughout Scripture? Yes, in Exodus, right? As the Israelites are being led out of Egypt, they are led by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. In fact, in Exodus 13, 21 and 22, we see this, and the Lord went before them by a day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. Now, what does this mean for us today? And it's very simple when we stop and think about it. True worship is led by the Lord. Here's the thing, and it's one of my big pet peeves, and I try to catch myself as often as I can. We don't have a worship team here. We have a praise team that leads us in praise. We worship, though, as we follow after Jesus. And here's what that means: that means worship is more than just coming up and singing songs. Worship is more than just me coming up here and preaching a sermon. Worship is more than you just sitting there and kind of fighting everything else in your mind to go, I know I should be paying attention. Worship is everything we do. And you are being led to worship something. See, how did the wise men know where to go? The Lord led them. How did the Israelites know how to get from Egypt to the promised land? The Lord led them. Now, and and it's kind of ironic when you think about the Lord leading them through the wilderness, because does God take them directly from Egypt to the Promised Land? No. In fact, they just wander around for 40 years, and that's because God doesn't always bring us straight to where we're supposed to be for a reason. For the Israelites, it was this: since they did not believe that God was who he claimed to be, even though they saw all of the plagues that just happened in Egypt, they still doubted that God was going to be able to expel the people that were in the promised land. So God went, that's cool. Now you guys are gonna wander around until an entire generation dies off. Because the younger generation, Joshua and Caleb, were the only ones who went, dude, we got this. So for you young people in here, let me go ahead and show you the significance there. See, us old people, we're stuck in our ways. And it's really, really, really hard to get us old people to think differently. However, you younger people in here, why are you not rising up and going, hey, but I see it differently? Because for the most part, all of us remember when we were young, well, most of us probably remember when we were younger. Some of us it's been too many moons.

unknown 6:16

Amen.

Who Or What Is Leading You

Following Jesus Through Fear And Risk

Josh 6:19

But we do remember a time where those dreams you had, you you went, this is all doable. And then we get to an age where realism sets in, right? And we we no longer have these amazing dreams of things that we can go do, and all of a sudden it's like, no, we need to be realistic with what we're gonna do. See, all of us at one point in our life, we went, hey, we want to go be an astronaut or or whatever, but I'm gonna use astronaut for an example, because some of us nowadays, as in our older lives, don't even believe space is a real thing, let alone that we can go to it. Right, JT? And see, that's what happens. But see, the Lord is leading, and it the question really isn't if the Lord is leading, it's are you following? See, it it's it's hard because I go, we look at this Christian life and we think that here's the end goal. I just gotta get you to say a prayer and get you baptized, and then okay, we can kind of whop our hands of that. Now on to the next one. Where do we see that anywhere in scripture, though? See, it's a following that we see in scripture. It's dying to ourselves, it's leaving all of that back here and going, I'm gonna follow where Jesus is going. And this star, it's not just fixed in one place, it's leading them to where Jesus is, and they follow the star. Because understand this what is leading you matters. Like, who or what is leading your life matters. Last week after service, we went on our family nature hike, and it was an amazing time. We love being outside, we love being away from the distractions of life and all of that, but at one point we kind of looked up on this trail and we were like, this trail is just a dead end. Like we're just gonna walk a couple of miles and then turn around and walk a couple of miles back. Why wouldn't we have picked like a trail that wrapped around and did a loop so we would, you know, just be able to walk and wind up back where we start? And it dawned on us, we, in our infinite wisdom, decided that a kindergartner would be the best trail leader. And although we didn't get lost and no one died, so she did a phenomenal job at that. We didn't realize that she didn't have an app or anything on her phone. She didn't stop and look at the map when we first got there and went, hey, here's how we should go. And some of us, that's your life. You didn't stop and look, you didn't stop and think, you didn't go, hey, where am I going to end at this? You kind of just took whatever turn came up. I used to do this all the time when I first got my license. Because, and and this is a whole different sermon, but like young people today, I don't understand. Like, I remember on my 16th birthday, like, first appointment of the day, because I wanted my license because that gave me freedom. Young people today, they're kind of just like, I'll wait till I'm like 18 and then I don't have to get my permit. And you know, there's always Uber and there's this and there's this, and it's like, what is wrong with you? Like, get your license and go get a car so you can have a life. But what we used to do is we would literally pile all in my car and we would get to a stop sign, and then we had a coin. And if it was heads, we're gonna turn right, and if it's tails, we're gonna turn left. And one time we wound up, anyone in here, do you know where Yee Haul Junction is? We wound up there one night, and I'm looking around, going, Lake Okachobi. Man, I've never seen that. Like, let's just keep going at this point. See, but that's how some of us have lived our entire life, being led by something we never even intended to lead us. And all of us are being led by something. The question is, is what is leading you? See, right now, here's the big thing, right? Follow your dreams. Dream? Oh, I heard it over here. Follow your heart. Jeremiah 17 shows us that, right? Your heart is wicked and deceitful above everything, but that's what you want to follow? Your heart, look like, think about this. Like, in your life, who has lied more to you than you? We do it every morning, right? Like, I was thinking, and I don't know how this hit me last night, but I was thinking about just this podcast episode I want to do. Because, see, when I look in the mirror, every morning, here's what I see: this strapping young 18-year-old who can still conquer the world. And I'm like, man, you look good, man. Like, you look good for your age. Like, but then here's what happens. Debbie loves taking pictures to put things on social media. And the other day, I was just kind of I don't get on it a lot, so again, if you're seeing stuff on there, it's Debbie, right? So I got on it the other day because Debbie was like, there's a message you need to respond to, and I was like, okay. So I'm like kind of looking, and the first thing that comes up is this picture. And it's Joe standing right here and me standing right here, and I'm looking at it, and I'm like, that old guy is wearing the same clothes that I wore to service. Like he's balding, and where what happened? See, and that is what happens when we follow our heart, which is wicked. Because my heart tells me totally different things than what reality actually is. So maybe we're following our heart. Maybe we're following our job. Because maybe that's where we get our value from. Because you may not hear good job anywhere else except for at work. And then that becomes addictive, right? Because now it's like, oh, these people appreciate me. You go home and it's a different story. My mom used to tell me this all the time growing up. Like, I like being at work because at least there I get respect.

unknown 12:46

What you get?

The Spirit’s Role: Guiding And Glorifying Christ

What Worship Really Means

How You See Jesus Shapes Worship

Growing Faith By Knowing Christ

Josh 12:47

I go, Mom, I thought I did a good job, but thanks for the compliment. So maybe it's our job, maybe it's our friends. Like, think about it. Keeping up with the Joneses is a real thing, right? Like, we look around at our friends and we go, hey, like, this is must be what I need to be doing. Now, some of us, most of us in this room, I'm gonna go ahead and say, have probably grown out of that phase. You younger people, I can tell you right now, haven't. Because all it takes is that one kid that does something stupid, and like people like chuckle, and all of a sudden it's like, oh, that's what it takes to be liked. Well, let me act like that too. And all of a sudden it's like, dude, you ain't even never been to the hood before. Why are you trying to talk like that? And it's more than just him. So the y'all that looked over, I go, but this is what we do, and it's called peer pressure, and all of us in this room at some point in our life have succumbed to peer pressure. And I go, but maybe that's what we're following. Maybe it's your spouse. Like maybe you're just like, you know, following and going, hey, this is where my validation comes from. You want to know the worst part about that? What happens when the marriage doesn't work out? What happens when your spouse leads you to somewhere you didn't want to go? What happens when all of a sudden you don't remember who you are because you've been spending too much time trying to be someone else? And and lastly, what if you're just following yourself? See, some of us we think that star landed on us. And that's where I need to go worship. And everything needs to end on me. And I'll be honest, this is probably the majority of us, if we're honest. Because we look at life like it was given to me so that everything could flow up to me. And I'm gonna tell you, this is a very dangerous place to be. Because you wanna know what's never gonna happen? Your heart will never be content with the amount of worship that you can have. You will constantly chase after something else and something else and something else. And that's gonna lead you to so many different places in your life that you never wanted to go. And lastly, what if Jesus was leading us? Like, what if we were actually following the model given by our Lord and Savior? What if we were actually following Jesus? What if we could actually describe ourselves as disciples? Because, see, everything is trying to lead us somewhere. The question is, is where are you going? Because when you chase down what you're worshiping, you're gonna wind up somewhere. I mean, it just is, you can't follow something and not go somewhere, because otherwise you're just standing in one place. And none of us in here are doing that. Now, I would make the argument that following Jesus is the only safe bet. See, even in the wilderness, even in the wilderness when the Israelites were lost and they're just walking around for 40 years, who was still taking care of them? Who was still providing for them? The manna that fell every morning was given by who? See, even when the Lord is leading us somewhere that it seems like a trial for us, he is still going to walk with us and provide for us. And we forget that all too often. Because a lot of times Jesus is going to lead us to places that, listen to me, are scary and are uncomfortable. This is why in Matthew 28, and we got a couple of years before we get to 28, because we're only in chapter two. But in Matthew 28, when Jesus gives the great commission, how does he end it? Yes, he tells us, go make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. There's the mission, there's what we gotta do. But then Jesus gives us this promise with it, and I will be with you till the end of the age. Think about this. I can guarantee you that anywhere Gabby goes with me, and we have been in some sketchy places before, she isn't afraid. Why? Because I am with her. And she sits here and goes, it doesn't matter what's gonna happen, my dad is here and he will not let anything happen to me. Yet most of us walk around scared to death. Why? Your dad is with you. Why do I need to be afraid to go tell someone about Jesus? Jesus is with me. Why do I need to be afraid to post a video? Do you guys want to know the best comment I got this week on a video? I have terrible clothes, and I should go buy new clothes. I'm sitting here going, hold on, did you even listen to what the video had to say? We're talking about like demons and stuff, and you you're just like, your clothes are terrible? Like, I've been told that my whole life. I really don't care. I'm colorblind to begin with. Everything looks good to me. And I go, what are we so afraid of? Because sometimes Jesus is going to take you to places that are uncomfortable because his glory is gonna go into the darkness to illuminate the darkness. He's gonna make you talk to people. And I know for some of us in this room, listen, this is my biggest fear too. I know you can't guess it, but I hate talking to people. Inside, when I have to, I'm good with with a group. Because for the most part, people follow social norms and you're not gonna start asking me weird questions right now. But when it's one-on-one, when I have to be intimate and vulnerable, that's uncomfortable for me. Like when someone says things like in the privacy of their own, let's say, car, like you have to enter into that awkwardness now. And I get it, that's not always fun. And sometimes that's where Jesus is gonna lead you to because he's gonna bring glory into the darkness. This is why, even though we may be afraid and uncomfortable, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. See, whatever, wherever Jesus is leading is going to be better than anything you could ever possibly think of. This is why Paul in Ephesians 3 says that, right? To him who is able to do more than I can even imagine. I'm gonna tell you right now, I have a very, very vivid imagination. Mission Scent over the next year somehow is going to sponsor a dirt racing car. You know why? Because I went to one dirt track race and I was like, Joe, if we go half and you go half, we could get a car, dude. And this is on top of our 42-foot boat we're getting. See, we have vivid imaginations. Joe showed me what he's planning this year for the Christmas parade, and I'm gonna tell you right now, that's a vivid imagination that involves like heavy equipment and welding. But yet, Scripture shows us that he is able to do more. And yet we're afraid to follow after that. Here's the thing if our dreams don't scare us, they are not big enough for God. That's what faith is. Faith is sitting here going, yeah, we're gonna go out and we're gonna buy enough food for a hundred people on the 28th. And God, I hope a hundred people show up. You know what? I hope we run out of food. Because that way next time they'll know you need to get here at four. Because that's what time we said it would start. That's what faith is. Faith is going, I'm scared to death, but I'm gonna do it anyway. And see, more of us, we need to be led into that. And verse 11, we see what happens when we finally get to where the Lord is leading. It said this, and going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they what? They fell down and worshipped him. Now, here's what I want us to understand about this. This ultimately is the job of the Holy Spirit. This is what the Holy Spirit causes in us. In fact, in John 16, Jesus is trying to explain to his disciples why it is good for him to leave. Because think about this, you're walking around with someone who can literally like spit on mud and restore people's sight. And he's sitting here going, I'm about to leave. If you're a disciple, hopefully you have enough sense to go, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You're someone we need around. Like you're raising people from the dead, you're giving sight, you're opening ears. Like we need you around. And Jesus goes, It is to your benefit that I leave, because if I leave, the Father will send the helper. And then he launches into here's what the helper will do. Starting in verse 13, it says, This, when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but ever whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. In other words, how do you know what is true? The Holy Spirit is what illuminates that. This is why two people can hear a gospel message, and one person can fall on their face and go, Yes, I submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the other person goes, That's a fairy tale, and walk away. You heard the same words. One heard truth, the other one couldn't. And then after that, he will glorify me. This is how we know if it is the Spirit. Because the Spirit's role is very simple: to bring glory to the Son. Because He will take what is mine and declare it to you. That is what the Holy Spirit allows us the opportunity to do, to worship. And to worship rightly. See, the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the believer is to bring us to worship. Just like we saw with the star leading the wise men to worship Jesus, the Holy Spirit is what leads us to worship. Now, before we get any further, we're gonna talk about that word worship. Because, like I started with at the beginning, too many of us misunderstand what the word worship is. We think it's singing or praying or something other churchy. Listen to me very carefully. Whether you are here at this building or you are at your house or your job or a volleyball court or wherever you find yourself, you are worshiping. Although, yes, singing and praying and those things are examples of worship. Worship is described in the Bible as this word, it's called proschino, which means the deep adoration due to God. Proschino. I'm broken just like everyone else. However, when you give me a funny look when I mispronounce a word, Debbie, it really makes me self-conscious to say the next one, right? Moses couldn't speak either. Now, that being said, I'm not comparing myself to Moses, guys, but that being said.

unknown 24:33

There's an app for that.

Josh 24:35

Mr. Himes, I listened to that probably 40 times this week and I knew it was gonna happen. But here's the thing. When we look at this word, worship, we need to tie it together with Proverbs 1.7, which says this that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom, is how it would end. Worship is that fear in action. That is what worship is. It is all your adoration funneling to something. Think about it like this. Let's say hypothetically, you have a child who spends 19 out of 24 hours a day on a video game. Do you think they are worshiping?

unknown 25:23

No.

Everyday Life As Worship

Idols, Time Budgets, And Honest Audit

Josh 25:24

They are. 100%. They are worshiping that video game. If you are a person, okay, and everyone knows this, right? If you have an iPhone, you can go right into your settings, you can go to battery, and it will tell you how long your phone has been on. And when you see that number is like seven, ten hours out of a day, do you think you are worshiping? Yeah, you are. See, we all worship. Make no mistake. Now, this fear that we're talking about, this fear in action, it's not, when we think of fear, we think of it wrongly. This word fear means a deep adoration, a deep respect, right? So when we hear this, it doesn't mean that we are afraid of Jesus. It means we see Jesus for who Jesus is. Now, Isaiah was lucky enough to see the Lord for who the Lord is. In Isaiah 6, 5, he sees God and here is his response. You ready? And I said, Woe is me, for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. Isaiah sees the Lord, and what is his response? Woe is me. Now, if you continue reading, after that, the Lord takes a coal from the fire, brings it to Isaiah, puts it on his lips, and purifies Isaiah. That is a picture of our salvation. That is what happens in salvation. But his response, now, this is someone, you gotta understand who Isaiah is. We know him as the Mesianic prophet because he gives us so many prophecies about the coming Messiah. But even someone like Isaiah, when he sees the Lord for who he is, his first reaction is to say, woe, is to bow, is to pull his eyes off of because he knows who he is standing in front of. Yet, what do we teach as the church? Jesus just wants to be your friend. That's all he wants. Do you see how we're setting people up for failure from the beginning? Because where did we get that lie from? Where in Scripture does it say Jesus wants to be your best friend? He doesn't want to be your best friend. If you're a parent in here, you know the most damaging thing you can do to your child? Be their friend. Because here's the thing: they don't need another friend. What they need is a parent. What they need is someone to come alongside and discipline. What they need is someone to go, hey, the way you're going is bad. And it's only going to lead to pain. And that's not always easy, is it, parents? Because sometimes you don't want to be that. But see, Isaiah rightly worships, but yet we come into the glory of the Lord and we're like, hey, what's up? What's cracking? We're just friends. Jesus doesn't want to be our friend. Jesus is our Lord, our Savior. And because of that, our worship needs to look differently. See, how we see Jesus matters. In fact, A.W. Tozer would say this: what you think of when you think of God is the most important thing about you. Because think about it, what you think when you think of Jesus is what controls the worship that comes from you. Because again, if I'm just looking at Jesus as another one of my friends, am I gonna worship that? No, because I don't worship my friends. Why? Because let's be honest, for the most part, they're all knuckleheads who don't deserve my worship. Every once in a while I'll be like, hey, thank you, because they did something very nice. But I shouldn't worship them. And everything we do is our worship. Everything you do is worship. It's just what are you worshiping? What is leading that worship? See, I get asked a lot from people, how do I increase my faith? And I'm gonna I'm gonna go ahead and explain it the best way I can. In order to increase your faith, you have to increase the object of your faith. Now, the illustration I can give you is imperfect, but I think it does a very good job of understanding how we do this. If I want to love Debbie more, here's what I do: I study Debbie. Now, for some of you husbands in here, you may go, that's weird. You study your wife? Yes, I do. And it's one of the most aggravating things in the world for Debbie because sometimes she can't handle my level of worship. She definitely cannot handle my undivided attention because then I start nitpicking things. And I start going, okay, hold on. Last week you said, but now you're saying, so let's get to the bottom of this and which one is true.

unknown 30:46

And that's over juice.

Weekly Challenges And Closing Prayer

Josh 30:48

Now, bless you. Now, what that causes, though, is that causes me to spend time with Debbie. And if you ask our kids, especially Kayla, because we've heard this before, we spend way too much time together. We just go in our room and talk for hours. And I go, yeah, I do. Because otherwise, how am I going to know this about her? And then what winds up happening is as I'm talking to her and as I'm spending time with her, my heart's adoration is to fall more in love with her. And then what does that happen? Well, then I have to study her more. Because we got to this level. How do I get to this one? And it starts this cycle all over again. And the more I fall in love with her, the more I want to just do for her. So I give us that example because that is the same cycle that we talk about when we're talking about how we would increase the object of our faith when it comes to Jesus. You want to worship Jesus more rightly? Listen, spend time with Jesus. And you're probably sitting here going, well, how do I do that? Well, for starters, he left this really good book that you can read at any time you want to. You're like, well, I don't understand what I'm reading. Guess what else he left? The church. Because if you're reading and you don't understand it, you have this cool new invention that Alexander Graham Bell gave us where you can pick up the phone and go, hey, I was just reading this and it doesn't make sense to me. Can you help me understand this? Some of you are really good about that. Some of you, I can guarantee almost weekly, I'm gonna get a text message that is like this long, and you're like, hey, I was reading this, is this what this means? And then we're gonna have a whole conversation about that. Some of us, I'll go ahead and be honest, you probably don't pick up the Bible as soon as you leave here. And then we wonder why we don't grow. See, if you want this relationship to work, you have to spend time with Jesus. That's what Romans 12:1 is all about. Before we get to being changed, before we get to the renewing of our minds, the Bible starts with this give your life as a living sacrifice, for this is your spiritual worship. Here's what that means. When I turn the TV off, when I turn my phone off, when I put the game down, when I get every distraction out of the way, I can now open up the Bible, I can now listen to spiritual songs, I can now spend one-on-one time with Jesus. The question is, are you? Like if you were to go throughout your week, how many hours or minutes would you say you spend with Jesus? Like if you had a battery check for your relationship with Jesus and your battery for your iPhone, which one's gonna be more? And I and listen, I'm giving you the perfect excuse right now. But my Bible is on my phone. I get it. But see, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, most of us, this right here, this is all the the time I spend with Jesus throughout a week. And I go, that ain't gonna cut it. Because there's a reason why Luke 9 says, daily pick up our cross. Because if you only ate once a week, I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess you'd probably be hungry the other six days out of your week. And none of us are not not eating. I mean, I can look around and see none of us are starving. But yet we starve our relationship with Christ all the time. Because, well, you don't get it. My job, it's it's demanding. Yeah, I get it. I've rode around in a truck working construction, and every place we went to, it was a new podcast, or it was a new sermon, or it was a new song, or it was a new something, because I'm trying to grow in my relationship. I get it. See, because like we looked at last week, what I put in comes back out. And when I do this, this causes me to love Jesus more, and guess what? That causes my actions to be more in line with Scripture. At no point am I sitting here going, hey, force. Force yourself. This is a choice. And when I make that choice, it causes my eyes to be focused on the things that are above and not the things here. And what that will cause in my heart is for me to follow Christ. I don't have to force myself to do the right thing. Like, like if I saw someone drop money at the store, I don't have to like go, I mean, if it's 20 or less, I'll I'll go ahead and return it. But you know, if it's more than 20, I'm a teacher, so it's not like I'm paid real highly, right? I go, no, that's not mine. I'm gonna give it back. Now, are there times that that hurts? Yes, depending on the week. What bills came out that week, that might be like gut-wrenching. But it's still the right thing to do. When someone calls and goes, hey, I need help. I don't have to sit here and go back and forth in my head and go, should I? I mean, I already have plans. What happened to me this week? And I went, no. The right thing to do is they need someone, and so I need to be there. Why? Because that's what Jesus did. It's very, very simple. Look at your life and go, am I doing the things that Jesus did? Like if people were to describe you to someone, would Christ-like be a description? Because that should be. If I'm following after Jesus, people should look at you and go, man, they live like Jesus lived. They are Christ-like. That is what the word Christian means. So it's hard to call yourself something and not actually be that something. Because we are all worshiping. We need to remember the disciples aren't Christians doing churchy things. See, it's easy. We do a lot here, right? Like, I try with everything I am to make sure our focus is never an inward focus. Like, I'm not sitting here going, how can I make it more comfortable in this room? I do spend time sitting here going, how can I make it more uncomfortable in this room? So that we leave this room to go out there and do the mission. And again, those of you that like we've been talking about the future and what the future looks like, you've heard me tell you, like, I don't want a building. Let's get a big outdoor pole barn. No walls. It'll have a roof because we live in Florida and it does rain. But other than that, nah, let's get outside. Why? Because it's a reminder that we don't exist to be in here. We exist to go into the darkness, we exist to go out there, we exist to give our life as a sacrifice. That's what the disciples did, and just like I say all the time, listen to me very carefully. I'm not trying to add more things to your already busy life. What I'm trying to get us to understand is we need to take the things we're already doing, but do it for the glory of God. Like if we can do that, that's a win. Because that's what worship is our work, our marriage, our parenting, our dinners, our shopping, our driving, our eating, our drinking, everything being done for the glory of God. That is worship. These wise men, these were men, honestly, who called and named kings. Remember, what was the first thing they said when they showed up with Herod?

unknown 39:43

Where's the new king?

Josh 39:44

Good job. What was it? Say it with a little more power next time.

unknown 39:47

Where's the new king?

Josh 39:48

Where's the new king? Their job is to name that king. And when they get in front of this two to three-year-old little kid, what do they do? Hit their face in worship. We get in front of Jesus, what do we do? Perfect, Natalia. Yeah. Let's crack it. How you doing, bruh? Whoever made that noise, I agree a hundred percent. It slips out because I hear it about eight million times a day. I hate that word. Bruh. Bruh. And make no mistake. We worship all the time. John Calvin is quoted as saying this: the human heart is a perpetual idol factory. Why? Because what were we created to do? Worship. It's just natural for us. And if it's not Jesus, guess what? You're gonna replace that with something else. That's why, what are the two things we hear throughout Scripture? Idol worship and Jesus. Like those two things competing constantly. Since we were created to worship, we will worship. And I'll be honest, the easiest way to know what we do to worship, and this is one of the challenges this week, is this. This week, as you go throughout your week, make a budget, a time budget of your week. What did you do? Because that is the easiest way to know. Here's what I worship. What you spend your time and what you spend your money on are what you worship. And if we're honest, because that's what we need to be, because listen, the fake you is fine. The fake you that's sitting here going, yeah, I worship Jesus, yeah, I'm a Christian, they're doing just fine. But if you actually go throughout your week and write down, oh, from this time to this time, here's what I did. And then on Friday or Saturday, look back at your week and go, oh, here's what I actually did. See, I think I do a really good job of eating well. I really do. I love vegetables. Like at one point in my life I was gonna be a vegetarian and then I didn't. But I love veggies. And I really do think I do a good job of eating well. And then I step on the scale and I'm like, how am I gaining weight? A little too well. But then Debbie's like, oh well, yeah, remember, you had this and this, and I was like, oh, I don't I don't eat a lot of sugar, and she's like, mm. And then we we start going through what I actually have eaten. See, my my mind will forget some of it, right? Like, for those of you that don't know, I I've switched off Mountain Dew, I gave up the dew. Okay, that's why you see Celsius over there because it has zero sugar and a lot of caffeine in it. But I go, it's because I don't even pay attention to it. Because it's just natural for me. Our worship is the same way. Most of us aren't sitting here like going, oh, I choose to worship this. And most of us, I'm gonna go out on a limb, probably don't have totem poles or something at your house that you're bowing down and worshiping to. Maybe one or two of you do, and I just don't know it because I haven't been to your house yet. But most of us probably don't. Because our idols aren't usually carved images anymore. Our idols are fancy electronics that fit into our pockets, and our idols are fancy electronics that have controllers to them, and our idols are our job, and our idols are our spouses, and our idols are our you just fill in the blank. So, yes, I challenge us this week. Take stock in what you actually do, pay attention to it. Pay attention to it enough that you're just gonna write it down and be honest with it. Because here's the problem like we started with. With, we can lie to ourselves all day long. And we can go, yes, I worship Jesus. But without being honest about it, it's very easy for an idol to slip on in that. And just go, look over here. Don't worry about that. Number two, download, or not download, you don't have to download it, right? But we have that five-day devo every week for a reason. Because if I want to fall more in love with Jesus, I need to study. It needs to extend further than just right here. Or here's what I will do because I love everyone in this room so much, and your relationship with Jesus matters to me so much. I can start extending my sermons. And instead of it just being, you know, half an hour to 40 minutes, I have no problem just sitting here and talking about Jesus for the next five to six hours. Debbie has told me what they have done in Spanish churches. And I'm just saying, I don't think maybe they're wrong in some of it, right? Like she's like, oh, they preach a message, they go eat, and then they come back and preach another message, and then you're like just sitting there hanging out and doing small group, and then they preach another message. Unless kids fall asleep. And we could just spend all day doing it. Like I'm all for it. But I'm trying to help us out with the five days, right? Like, let's start here first and then move to that. And again, in number three, at the end of the week, look back on your week. If you really do a uh a budget of your time, and you can look back now and go, okay, here's where I spent my time. Because if we're not honest with that, why would we expect change to come from it? If you're already sitting here going, I don't, I'm good, like I don't need to change, then why would we change? Because think about it. None of us this morning, maybe not none of us, Debbie is a morning person, but most of us this morning didn't open our eyes and go, okay, I'm just gonna get out of bed now. We opened our eyes and we went, I have to get out of bed because I have something to do. I fell asleep before 8 o'clock last night, and still opened my eyes this morning and went, I have to get up because I have to get to the building. See, none of us want to change unless we have to change. And how do you know if you need to change if you're not honest in taking time to see if we need to change? These wise men came to worship, and I'm telling you, you worship. The question isn't whether or not do you worship, it's what do you worship. And so as we close today, that is our challenge for next week. To sit here and go, what do I spend my time doing? What do I spend my money on? And I'm not asking for your money. That isn't this message. But it's an easy way to sit here and go, what do I worship? Because at the end of the week, you will be able to go, at least, here's what I worship. And then go, okay, how can I change that? So, Father, I ask and I pray that as we move from this moment, that God, as we prepare to sing this last song, that God, we just let down everything else in our lives. That Father, we just sit here and we go, I'm gonna choose in this moment to worship. Just like the song we opened with. Understanding that worship is a choice. Understanding that what I give my heart to, what I give my emotion to, what I give every my time to is my worship. I just ask and I pray, Father, that you open up the heart that we have to go, I will choose to worship you. Father, I ask and I pray that as we go throughout this week, that you just continually draw us to you. That Father, you just pull our heart, our eyes, our attention, our time to you. That Father, we allow everything else to be built from that. Father, I just ask and I pray that those of us in this room that are ready to take that next step, that even as we sing this song, that Father, we just lift up our hands and lift up our voices. We stop worrying about the people around us and we set our eyes on you to worship you rightly. Father, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.