August 24, 2025 • 44 mins
Who exactly are we talking to when we pray "Our Father, which art in heaven"? For many believers, God the Father remains the most abstract member of the Trinity despite being the one to whom Jesus directed our prayers.
In this powerful first installment of a series on the Trinity, we unpack the nature and character of God the Father through scripture and practical examples. Beginning with the foundational truth that "for us, there is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created," we explore how the Father functions as Creator, Provider, Protector, and the perfect embodiment of love.
Unlike our imperfect earthly fathers, God represents perfect fatherhood—the source of all life and care. His creative work wasn't random but precisely designed, from Earth's perfect positioning on its axis to the intricate balance of nature. As Provider, He cares for our daily needs just as He cares for the birds and wildlife, though many of us struggle to fully trust this provision when challenged to tithe or step out in faith.
The Father's protection surrounds us like a shield, not eliminating challenges but giving us confidence to face them without paralyzing fear. His love manifests both through unconditional acceptance and through discipline—correction that isn't punishment but rather proof of His desire to see us grow. The ultimate expression of this love came when "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son."
Perhaps most misunderstood is God's jealousy—not a petty emotion but rather His protective concern for relationship with us. When we feel God pursuing us, it's because something is threatening our connection with Him.
Ready to transform your understanding of prayer, provision, and divine relationship? Stop focusing on Jesus only during emergencies and start seeking God's face in every moment. Pray with us: "Father, meet all my needs according to Your perfect will," and watch how He responds to those who trust Him completely.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Amen, amen.
Let the little little ones goback to nursery.
Where did my wife go?
She bailed, she did what.
I don't blame her.
I don't blame her.
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I don't blame her.
A couple of weeks ago, Ipromised that I was going to do
a series on the Holy Trinity, onthe Godhead, and we're going to
start that series today, andthe reason that I promised it
was because I realized therewere a lot of people who didn't
fully understand it.
Now, normally, whenever I stepinto the pulpit, I step in to
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preach, not to teach.
So this is kind of a new facetfor me.
So prepare yourselves.
Okay, I'm going to be a littlebit slower today.
I'm not going to yell as much.
I'm going to try not to yell asmuch.
This is something that'sincredibly important for us to
understand, because we need tounderstand who God is, who Jesus
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is and who the Holy Spirit is.
Now, while they are all onething, we look at them to serve
different purposes.
Amen, and so I want to start.
Joe, I actually I'm guessing youhave your Bible with you.
Can you open your Bible?
I need you to go to Matthew 6.
I brought a King James Versionand a New Living Translations
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with me this morning, but I needto know what Joe's.
Joe, how old is your Bible?
Okay, that's what I was hopingfor.
I don't know how old this oneis.
This one's not even mine.
I don't even actually know whoit belongs to.
It's got lots of stuff in it,so somebody's gotta be missing
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it, but apparently they're not,because it was a little dusty
sitting back there and it's beenlaying back there for I can't
tell you how long.
That's how I get new Bibles.
I wait for you guys to leavethem lay around long enough and
I'm like, oh, they obviouslydon't want it.
Joe, can you read out of yourBible Matthew 6, 9 through 13?
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9 through 13?
Well, here, can I just borrowit with that?
I probably can't read it either.
Matthew 6 you're in the rightspot there.
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It is no well, I have ithighlighted in this one too, but
I'm looking for an old bible.
Oh, sorry, joe, I'm droppingyour stuff on the ground now.
Hopefully that wasn't markinganything important.
What did I tell you?
Matthew 6.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
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Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as itis in heaven.
Give us this day our dailybread and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors.
That's what I wanted to see,because we've always said that
forgive us our trespasses, right.
And I don't know why that Ihave such a hard time that the
King James Version is debtorsinstead of trespasses, I don't
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know why.
So I looked at the New LivingTranslations and I was really
like, ew, this doesn't feelright.
So we have to go back to the OG, right?
Okay, that gave me what Ineeded.
I'm like how much stuff do youhave in that Bible?
Joe Just keeps jumping out.
Man, there you go.
All right, we're gonna startthere.
So we're gonna start over again.
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Matthew 6, nine through 13.
And it says after this mannertherefore, pray ye this is King
James Version.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy
kingdom, come.
Thy will be done on earth as itis in heaven.
Give us this day our dailybread, and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors, andlead us not into temptation, but
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deliver us from evil, for thineis the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever, amen.
So I wanted to start with that,because in the book of Matthew
it says after this mannertherefore, pray ye, our Father
which art in heaven?
Right, that tells us that weare praying to the Father.
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Right Now, this is NewTestament, so there's a lot to
be learned here.
But we start every prayerknowing that we are praying to
the Father, amen.
So there's some confusion inthat.
Who are we praying to?
We are praying to the Father,to God the Father, amen.
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We all together on that, okay,great, wonderful.
Okay, now we're gonna jump realquick to 1 Corinthians 8, 6.
It says but for us, there isone God, the Father, by whom all
things were created and forwhom we live.
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All right, we good.
Do we get it?
It says but for us, there isbut one God, the Father, by whom
all things were created.
Are we getting there now?
God the father is the creator.
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Good job, you guys are catchingon fast.
I want you to think for just asecond about earthly fathers.
Right, life wouldn't come to uswithout earthly fathers Amen.
Now.
Some of us have great fathers,some of us have subpar fathers.
Some of us don't even know ourfathers.
Amen.
Now.
Some of us have great fathers,some of us have subpar fathers,
some of us don't even know ourfathers, right, and it is hard
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to realize how good God is whenwe base it on what we call a
father here on earth?
Right, because I will promiseyou that there isn't a dad in
this room who has been perfectat any point in their fatherhood
career.
Right, we have all fallen shortof the glory of God.
However, god is perfect and heis our sustainer.
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We can list all of the thingsthat God is, and we're going to
get into some of them, but wehave to stop thinking about the
father in the manner in which wethink about the father here on
earth.
Amen, because he is the sourceof all life.
He is the source of love andthe source of our care.
Genesis 1.1 says in thebeginning, god created the
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heavens and the earth.
We already talked about this.
He is the creator.
Right, at this point, god isspeaking things into existence.
He is putting the birds in theskies, the fish in the seas, the
animals on the land, and we canquestion that right.
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Frogs, why Mosquitoes?
Why?
What's the purpose?
Right, I think we can getfurther in life without some of
those things.
But why did he make vampireswith wings?
Right, like they suck in myblood all the time.
I can't go out in the frontyard here without practically
being carried away.
I absolutely don't understandwhy God created some of the
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things that he did, but here'swhat I do know he has infinite
wisdom compared to me.
Amen, and that's the part thatwe fail to realize in the
creation.
See, we talk about science andevolution and people think about
those things and they thinkwell, that can't be possible.
God couldn't have createdeverything.
Certainly, things have evolved.
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I promise you he is the creatorof all things.
They are still findingcreatures in the depths of the
seas and in the depths of therainforest that have never been
discovered before.
If we are finding the speciesthat live in the world, it is
not hard to believe that we arestill finding tribes of people
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in this world that we have neverseen before.
Can I ask you a question?
What is the Great Commission?
To preach the gospel untilevery ear has heard right.
And the challenge is this wehaven't discovered all of them
yet, so not every person hasheard the gospel of Jesus Christ
, and we know that Jesus' returnis dependent on everybody
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hearing the gospel, amen.
And so we know that God, thecreator, has designed this
perfect atmosphere in which wecannot possibly find all of
those things until his timecalls us to find them.
That is divine creation.
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I love to think about the worldand I apologize to anybody who
thinks the world is flat.
The earth is flat because I'mnot gonna talk about a flat
earth.
Okay, think about how the earthsits perfectly on its axis at a
tilt and spins the exact speedat which it should spin so that
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we don't fly off Right, so thatwe can stay on the earth, that
gravitational pull that allowsus to stay there.
And think about all of thethings that are in the layers of
the earth.
That is not something thathappened by accident.
It was designed so that wecould live here.
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The challenge is we live here,but we abuse where we live right
and we don't take care of thethings that God has given us.
And because we don't take careof them, we watch it decline.
And as it declines, we thinkwell, he gave us dominion over
all of these things.
It is ours to control.
Can I correct that for just asecond?
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It is always his and alwayswill be his.
It is our responsibility asflesh and blood to care for what
God has gifted to us.
He has created this perfectthing so that we may have life
abundantly here right Now.
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The challenge is the word tellsus that heaven is welcome on
earth.
What we allow in heaven will beallowed on earth.
Right, and what we allow onearth will be allowed in heaven
amen.
And what we allow on earth willbe allowed in heaven Amen.
So the challenge is we'reallowing things on earth that
are not heavenly.
We don't want those things inheaven, do we?
But we also are not expectingheaven on earth.
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God did not create us to showup with subpar expectation.
He created us to show upexpecting big things, not from
one another, because we will leteach other down.
He has called us to expectgreat things from him and him
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alone Amen.
In the beginning, god createdthe heavens and the earth.
Everything began with him.
Literally every star, everyplant, every weed, everything,
even the stuff you don't like,began with him.
But, most importantly, everybreath began with him.
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The breath in your lungs wouldnot be there if it weren't for
God Amen.
Now, when we think about Godbeing so good to us and
breathing life into our lungsand allowing us to live the life
, a lot of us look at life as ifit's a sentence right, we have
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to get to the end of it in orderto have heaven.
I'm going to tell you we shouldbe inviting heaven here.
We should be inviting heaven tobe on earth with us, because
when we get to glory, that'swonderful.
But why would we live sick andbroken?
Why would we live that way whenGod did not call us to live
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that way?
He has given us the ability tolive in health, in plenty, amen.
Now listen, you're going toexperience want.
Embrace it.
I'm living in a season of want,like you have no idea.
I think about all the thingsthat I should have that I don't
have, and then I think but God,but God.
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You have given me so much tothis point, right, you have
given me so many things, and Isay this a lot, and I know this
sounds crazy to some of you, butI have never experienced real
loss in my life.
I have never experienced a lossso great that I didn't know how
to recover from it.
Some of that is because I'mstubborn Amen.
But some of that is because Iknow that God is faithful in all
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things and even when I take aloss, even when I don't win like
I expect to win, I know thatGod is using that for victory.
I don't focus on all of the badthings that are happening.
Listen, it takes me a minutesometimes.
Right, we're not all just ableto go.
Oh well, that wasn't a big deal.
Our lives get changed andturned upside down at a moment's
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notice.
But we cannot focus on all ofthose things because that is not
what we are called to do.
The breath in our lungs is tosing praise and give glory, not
to speak death.
Not to speak death.
It is not designed to speakdeath and hate.
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Imagine if you were to show upto an art gallery and you look
at how many of you guys like art.
I like art, but I can't affordit.
Right, like, I haven't figuredthat out yet.
I haven't figured out howsomebody can sell a piece of art
for a million dollars.
I'm not saying you're nottalented.
There's some beautiful art outthere, but I'm still a little
bit confused by it.
But you walk through an artgallery and you see some of
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these paintings and you look atthem and you know just how
beautiful they truly are.
Right, and when you look at it,you think the person who was
painting that knew exactly whatthey were doing at every stroke
of their brush right.
God is the exact same way thecreator of this universe.
He knew with every single thingthat he would be creating the
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purpose and the longevity ofthose things.
He knew what he was doing farbefore you and I were ever even
formed.
He knew that we would besitting in this building on this
day and he has called you intothis place for such a time as
this that you might hear thewords, embrace the words and
change your life.
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Listen, we cannot live ourlives for the world and for sin
any longer.
God has called us to repentancesimply through the creation.
Amen.
When he called us to be, hecalled us to be perfect,
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blameless, sinless, andunfortunately, the enemy found a
great way to make us feel shame.
Shame is not from God.
Shame is not from God.
If you're sitting in your seatright now, feeling like
something in your life justisn't right, or you know, lord,
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I don't feel like I'm worthy,lord, I don't feel like I
deserve to be.
Listen, god has not called youto live that life.
He has called you to be free,and I will be free, amen.
Okay, the Father is also ourprovider.
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How many of you believe thatGod will provide everything all
the time.
Yeah, you know what?
Can we just show hands realquick?
Who believes that God is goingto provide all things?
Can I ask you another quickquestion?
Keep your hands up for just aquick question, for just a quick
second.
Actually, you know what?
Put your hands down, becausehere's my next question.
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So many of you raised your handright Because you believe that
God is going to provide all ofyour needs in your life.
Yet I would bet three quartersof you go.
I can't tithe 10% Because if Itithe 10%, we won't have the
money for groceries.
I can't afford to not tithe.
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Listen, guys.
I lost my job and my wife and Iare still tithing on what I
made then.
Do you know why?
Because we believe that if wecontinue to give at what God was
giving us before, he'll give itto us even bigger next time.
It doesn't have to be money.
You know, I left a job afteralmost seven years, after almost
seven years, all of the thingsthat I had in that place and I
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walked away.
I'm making a third of what Iwas making, but God is still
blessing us every single day.
You know what I have theability to get up and go to work
every morning.
That is a blessing all in itsown, amen.
But here's the challenge webelieve, or say that we believe,
that God will provide allthings, but we don't actually
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believe it.
We only believe it when he'sgiving us something, amen.
We don't believe it when he'staking something away.
Let me promise you this when hehas taken something away, it's
to stretch you to the next level, right?
He has taken a lot away from mein the past.
Every time I feel like and Ihave argued and wrestled and
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fought with God about all of thethings you know, lord, you told
me that you would bring me tothis place.
You told me you would set me onthat mountaintop, and now
you're taking me off.
And you know what he says it'stime to move on, it's time to
grow.
I don't want to grow, god.
I like this mountaintop, right.
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I like what I've got here.
I don't.
And he says, no, not today.
It is time for bigger, it istime for greater, amen.
God has called this place togreater for years and every time
I walk in here, I am in awe ofthe things that he does, in
absolute awe.
God has never provided halfway.
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He has never provided for youhalfway.
He meets your needs daily,every day.
He has met your needs.
I don't think we give Godenough glory for that.
I don't think we give himenough.
Maybe you're sitting in yourseat and you're just feeling
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like you're in pain, or maybeyou're sitting in your seat and
you're feeling depressed.
You're sitting in your seat,but you're sitting in your seat.
Can I tell you that God wokeyou up this morning and brought
you to a place of worship.
Right, he's humbled your heartso that you can hear his word.
We should be excited about whatGod is doing in that Amen.
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Listen, I don't wake up.
I don't wake up every day Iprobably do this more often than
I should complaining that Ihave to go to work.
I wake up excited that I get togo to work because I'm gonna do
something with my life today.
Listen, I'm gonna look at who Iserve, not what I have to do.
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Right, I look at who I serve.
I serve a good God In allthings.
I serve a good God and inserving a good God, I get to
serve a broken people.
Right, because when somebodyhave you ever listen?
I don't like to answer thephone when I go to work to serve
a broken people, right?
Because when somebody have youever listen?
I don't like to answer thephone when I go to work, because
sometimes you answer the phoneand there are people that just
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yell Like the first word out oftheir mouth is not appropriate
to say in the pulpit or ever tobe clear, and I don't like
talking to those people.
But God has called me to thatplace.
Do you those people?
But God has called me to thatplace.
Do you know why?
I think God has called me tothat place?
My wife knows why God hascalled me to that place.
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Because I can be that person.
I can lift you up and I cantear you down.
Right, don't charge me a latecharge on my credit card.
I'm gonna call you.
Right, it's my fault, it's 100%my fault, but I'm gonna call
you.
I'm gonna let you know.
Right, that's not good.
So God has put me in a placewhere I have to.
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I have to deal with thosepeople and at the end of that
call, do you know what I have tosay?
My pleasure, my pleasure, itwas my pleasure to have you
belittle me for something thatwasn't my fault.
And God says, yeah, but do youdo it?
And when God calls you to thatmoment, you should realize that
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he is making you grow intosomething you have never even
realized you could grow into.
Amen, matthew 6, 26.
It says look at the birds.
They don't plant or harvest orstore food in barns, for your
heavenly father feeds them.
And aren't you far morevaluable to him than they are?
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My wife and I were just talkingabout this.
My wife and my kids.
We plant all kinds ofpollinating flowers because we
love monarch butterflies,milkweed and all of the things.
It's fascinating to us and wecan't figure this out, but this
should be a very clear sign ofdivine creation.
These butterflies will come toour house and eat off of our
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flowers and then, when theweather gets cold, all of the
monarch butterflies all of themfly to Mexico for the winter
months.
For the cold months, thosebutterflies will fly back to the
exact same flower the followingyear.
That's fascinating, isn't it?
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If he will care for them in sucha way, will he not care for you
the same way?
If he has cared for them, if hehas given them the
understanding to go somewhereelse to get fed so that they may
not die, has he not done thesame for you?
You will never starve, you willnever be left without, because
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God has called you a friend.
I am a friend of God, you are afriend of God.
If that doesn't excite you, Idon't think anything can, right?
Listen, I got some prettycrappy friends, right, and I am
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a pretty crappy friend.
But let me tell you somethingGod doesn't care how terrible of
a friend I am, he is stillalways good to me.
When I go to him and I say,lord, I haven't been here in a
minute and I just need you toknow that I am thankful for all
that you do.
He continues to bless me.
He calls me into that time withhim.
He calls me into thatrelationship with him, and
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sometimes the phone has to workthe other way.
Right, he can't always call meinto that.
Sometimes I have to call himinto that.
Lord, I am lost and I am broken.
I am coming to you to give mepeace.
Lord, let your perfect will bedone in my life today, amen.
But so often it has to be theother way and sometimes he
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really has to do something badto get ahold of us right, really
has to shake us up.
We have to trust him with ourdaily needs, not just in an
emergency.
Have you ever walked into asituation where you're like, oh,
that shouldn't happen like that, and you immediately start to
pray, but you haven't talked toGod in three weeks?
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You might show up to church andyou might oh, pastor Michael's
praying.
I bow my head and really you'rethinking about what you're
having for lunch or where you'regoing after church or whatever
your plans may be, and thatprayer completely slips through
your mind.
I promise you at the end of theservice, when I'm praying, I'm
praying that God moves in yourlife in a mighty way.
I can't pray you into heaven.
It is your responsibility toget yourself there right.
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And so what I need you tounderstand is that we cannot
focus on Jesus whenever we havea need.
We need to focus on Jesus atevery moment of our lives, at
every turn, at every question,at every desire.
We should be seeking God's face.
Now, when I go to God, I alwaysask him that his perfect will be
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done in my life.
Okay, that's the best thing youcan do.
Here's the problem.
I will ask for his perfect willand then I'll say but if you
could do it my way right.
Lord, your perfect will, buthere is my will.
If you could, if it would beyour pleasure, lord, allow me to
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be independently wealthy.
Did you guys know my dad hitthe lottery?
Hit the lottery $28.
But he hit the lottery right.
Not enough to quite retire on.
I think about the blessings thatGod pours out on me.
They're not always the blessingthat I'm asking for, but they
are blessings nonetheless, and Ihave to focus on those things
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daily and not just whenever Ihave a need.
The Father is our protector,psalms 91.2.
This I declare about the Lord.
He alone is my refuge, my placeof safety.
He is my God and I trust him.
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I trust a lot of people.
I believe that I will trustanybody until they prove that I
shouldn't trust them.
And once that trust is broken,it is really hard to rebuild
that trust with me.
Right Now.
That's not to say I dislike you.
That's not to say that I won'tconverse with you.
That's not to say I won't beyour friend.
But when you volunteer to dosomething, I'm like your friend.
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But when you volunteer to dosomething, I'm like, yeah,
probably not Appreciate theoffer, because what I've asked
in the past has not come tofruition.
God is not that way in my life.
Even when he's taking somethingaway, I trust that it is for my
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good and it is not for the goodof the person next to me.
It is not for the good of theperson who receives because of
my debt.
It is not for that person.
He is doing it for my good,amen.
How many of us actually believethat it's hard?
Because God does something goodin all things but we look at
the bad things and we can't seethe good.
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We want to argue with him aboutthose things.
You know, when we talk a lotabout Job, whenever we talk
about these types of things, jobcontinued to give God praise.
He wanted to die.
He was miserable.
But God to you be the glory,but God to you be the glory in
all things, not just when I'm onthe mountaintop, but when I'm
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in the valley too.
I will wait in the valley aslong as I need to be there, so
long as God is King of Kings andLord of Lords.
That's never going to change.
So that means when I hit thatvalley, I can wait with patience
.
I can wait with patience.
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It's hard, but it's a learnedskill.
It is a learned skill.
The longer you fight him, thelonger you stay in the valley.
Mike, can I share your news?
Yeah, so last week I'm nottaking credit for this I want to
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be very clear.
Mike had been looking for a newjob and we'd been praying about
it for a long time, and lastweek, when God spoke to him and
said that there was somethingthat he wasn't embracing I can't
remember exactly how it wassaid we sat and we talked after
service and he said that a lotof the jobs that he's
interviewing for, that he'stalking about, they require him
to use new technology, which isnot something that he's
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interested in doing, notsomething that he felt confident
doing.
And I said to him I said that'sit.
I said you need to get overthat.
You need to be prepared.
Wednesday night I was hereworking and he walked in and he
told me that he got a job at oneof the places that he told me
required him to use technology.
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When God speaks, we listen right.
When we prepare our heart forwhat God is going to do for us,
then he starts to move.
We can embrace that right.
How long did you look for a newjob?
How long Two months he waslooking and wasn't able to find
anything.
Sometimes we are the roadblockto God's blessing.
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Sometimes we are the roadblockbecause we don't want to receive
what it is that God is tellingus to receive.
Amen.
When God says, step out, youhave to step out.
You have to be willing to dothat with a great amount of
confidence too.
The one thing nobody can eversay about me is that I lack
confidence.
Right, I'm confident even whenI'm wrong, even if I know I'm
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wrong.
I'm gonna tell you confidentlythat you are wrong and I am
right.
If the clouds opened up and Godsaid, michael, you are wrong
and I am right.
If the clouds opened up and Godsaid Michael, you are wrong, I
would say let's talk about this,right?
Hold on, let me ask, chat GPT.
Right, god surrounds hischildren like a shield.
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Now, I was you guys like thoselittle Facebook videos of all
the cute little animals, right?
Aren't they cute?
Like all the little babyducklings and chickens and
whatnot?
And I saw this video where thismama duck was walking and she
had all of her little ducklingsbehind her and, one by one, the
ducklings fell into this drain,into the sewer drain, and she's
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just walking, just keeps ongoing, she don't even know.
They just one by one they fallinto this drain and the police
came and rescued all of thosebaby ducklings from that drain,
took the drain cover off, pulledall of the little ducklings out
and as soon as they did, mama,when she realized all of her
ducklings were gone, she cameback and the minute that they
took those ducklings out sheopened her wings and those
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ducklings ran and hid undermama's wings.
They were scared.
They were so used to beingclose to her that when they were
removed they had fear, a greatamount of fear.
Now chickens are the exact sameway.
Even when the weather gets bad,all of the chicks will huddle
under mama's wings and she'lltake care of them.
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God does the exact same thingfor us each and every day.
You know, I always picturemyself walking around with like
this, like clear shield aroundme and there's stuff just flying
at me and it's bouncing off allthe time, because God has
designed me to believe that hecan protect me from all of those
things.
I also think that sometimesthat leads to stupidity.
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Right, I was Roger and I wereworking on those sound baffles
in the gym and that lift is how?
Where's Roger?
How high is that ceiling, doyou figure?
I have no judge, I have nospatial reasoning.
25 feet, Think it's 25 feet inthe air.
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And when you get up there, thisthing wobbles back and forth
like this.
I'm driving at 25 feet in theair.
He's like you know, you're notsupposed to do that, right?
I'm like, eh, it's fine, see,because I think God will protect
me in all things, but I fail torealize just how stupid I can
be.
Right, challenge accepted.
And the thing is is I don'tever want to test God like that,
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but sometimes I have to realizethat he is good in all things
and he will in fact protect me.
But he can only protect me solong as I take him with me,
right?
And when I begin to do stupidthings and I separate myself
from the will of God, there isno guarantee of protection.
In order to live under thecovering, I have to live in
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relationship with God rightThrough prayer, through fasting,
all of those things we don'thave to live in.
Fear every day is not of god.
There is no such thing ashaving good fear, right, maybe a
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healthy amount of fear, likewhen you're on that lift, like I
probably shouldn't do that,that that conscious that tells
you you shouldn't do thosethings.
There's probably a healthyamount of like reasoning, but
fear is not of Having a strongfoundation in the safety and in
the understanding that God isour protector is one of the most
important things that we can do.
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God as part of the Trinity isall of these things that we have
talked about up to this point.
If we know that he is ourprotector, then why do we worry
about the things that arehappening in the world around us
?
I'm not saying we shouldn't becognizant of them, but I can't
worry myself.
If I live in worry all the time, I would never leave the house
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and if I never left the house Icouldn't bless the world around
me.
Amen, the father is love.
1 John 3.1, it says see howvery much our Father loves us,
for he calls us his children andthat is what we are.
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But people belong to the worlddon't recognize that we are
God's children because theydon't know him.
Amen, that we are God'schildren because they don't know
him.
Amen.
People look at us, the peoplewho live for the world, look at
us like we're the crazy onesbecause they don't know who God
is, to know how good he is andknow just how blessed they could
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be if they lived under hiscovering.
The father is love.
It is unconditional and is notearned.
You do not earn the love of Godthrough kind acts, through
being good to people.
Love is unconditional so longas you believe that God is the
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creator of all things, that heis the father of your life and
you love him and you have arelationship with him.
That love is free and withoutcost.
If you think about the prodigalson's father running down the
road to embrace his rebelliouschild like, you picture that in
(34:27):
your head.
That is how Jesus is to usevery day.
Or God is to us every day,right, when we are constantly
pushing back on all of thethings that he does, when we
have that revelation that weneed to be in relationship with
him, that we need to be in hispresence when we come running
back, he is meeting us there.
He's running far faster thanyou can because he is excited
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that you are home.
Right, this isn't about yougetting your way.
This isn't about you havingthings or whatever the case may
be.
He just wants you to be home.
The father is wholly unjust.
Hebrews 12, 6, it says for theLord disciplines those he loves
and he punishes each one heaccepts as his child.
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Now we just admitted we're allchildren of God right Now.
Listen, for the Lorddisciplines those he loves and
he punishes each of the one he'saccepted as his children.
His discipline is proof of thelove.
It is not condemnation, it isnot rejection.
(35:29):
It is proof of his love.
He wants you to change fromglory to glory.
Right, and without discipline,without correction, can we
change?
Listen, some of y'all got badkids.
You got bad kids because youdon't discipline your kids right
.
Listen, it's the truth.
You go out to the store.
You see these kids like hangingfrom the clothes racks,
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knocking stuff off the shelf.
Do you know why those kids dothat stuff?
Because they're allowed to dothat stuff.
God does not allow us to sin.
It's not acceptable in thekingdom of God, amen.
And when we do it, he correctsus.
We don't like that.
We don't like correction,because correction means change,
accountability means change,and so we blame God for taking
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all the fun out of life.
I'm gonna tell you what some ofthe most fun that I have is with
my Christian friends.
I've had a lot of fun with mynon-Christian friends in the
past, right, but I wouldn't calldrunken stupors fun.
At the time it felt like a goodtime and now I realize I can do
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all of those same things.
I can play all of those samegames and do all of and not have
to be worried about whether ornot I'm in control of my own
body, right?
And I am thankful that God gaveme that realization and pulled
me from that life.
I was like geez Holly thanks alot.
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Just as a coach will push hisathletes to be better, so will
God push us to be better.
A coach isn't pushing theirkids to be better just because
he wants them to be better.
He's pushing them for betterfor the victory, right, just as
God is pushing us to be betterfor the victory.
Now here's an important partthe Father sent the Son.
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Amen.
We're gonna talk about Jesusnext week, but I want you to
know that the Father sent theSon.
Amen.
We're going to talk about Jesusnext week, but I want you to
know that the Father sent theSon.
Most of us know this, but John3.16, it says for this is how
God loved the world he gave hisone and only Son, so that
everyone who believes in himwill not perish but have eternal
(37:45):
life.
Now we look at John 3, 16 inNew Living Translations.
Most of us can quote it in KingJames Version For God so loved
the world that he gave his onlybegotten son.
So, therefore, everyone whobelieves in him shall not perish
but have everlasting life,however that may go towards the
end.
But his only begotten son.
We are the children of God,amen.
But Jesus is the only begottenson of the heavenly Father.
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Amen.
But Jesus is the only begottenson of the heavenly father, amen
.
And he sent Jesus to be thesacrifice for our salvation.
That is a sacrifice that noneof us will ever understand.
You may lose a child, you maylose a spouse, you may lose—God
did it willingly Sent his son,knowing what would come, so that
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we may have everlasting life.
One of the things that I want tojust tell you, though and I
think this is incrediblyimportant is that God one of the
things that he is that we tendto take out of context he's a
very jealous take out of context.
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He's a very jealous God.
He is not jealous like you, andI look at the word jealous,
right.
I get jealous when somebodygets something that I don't have
.
I get jealous when my wifespends time with somebody else
instead of me with her boyfriend.
That just started a rumor.
That just started a rumor.
Exodus 30, what Don't evenstart?
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Exodus 34, 14.
It says you must worship noother gods, for the Lord, whose
name, whose very name, isjealousy, is a God who is
jealous about his relationshipwith you.
God is not jealous when you goand spend time with other people
.
God is jealous when you don'this relationship with you.
God is not jealous when you goand spend time with other people
.
God is jealous when you don'tspend time with him because he
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wants you to be in relationshipwith him.
He doesn't care about the otherthings that you're doing.
He wants you.
He's jealous when you rejecthim for other things.
Amen.
Deuteronomy 4.24,.
It says the Lord, your God, is adevouring fire.
He is a jealous God.
God's jealousy is aboutprotecting what belongs to him.
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Right, he is trying to protectyou in all of those things.
He wants to protect his gloryand his people.
We look at jealousy verydifferently.
But when you feel the Lordchasing, but when you feel the
Lord chasing you, when you feelthe Lord pursuing.
You know that he is jealous ofsomething that's happening in
your life and he wants toprotect you from it.
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Amen, and you have to be readyto embrace that jealousy.
God, the Father, is not distant.
Many times we often think thatthe only thing that we have
connection to is the Holy Spirit.
God is not distant.
He is your creator, yourprovider, your protector, your
lover, your corrector.
He is the only one who sent hisonly son so that you shall have
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everlasting life.
Every part of his nature iscaring.
Every part of who he is is.
Every part of who he is isdesigned to show you that he
cares.
If you've struggled to see Godas the father, today is an
invitation to run to him.
Picture yourself as theprodigal, picture yourself as
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the one who has turned from God.
I know that each and every oneof you I believe this in my
heart you're all in a greatplace in your lives and you're
all in such a good relationshipwith Christ that if the trumpet
sounded and Jesus returned rightnow, we would all go to heaven.
Amen.
I wanna believe that.
The thing is is.
I'm standing here in thispulpit watching some of you
sleep in your seat right, whichtells me you aren't concerned
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about what God is doing in yourlife.
You are more concerned aboutnap time.
You are more concerned aboutlunchtime.
You are more concerned aboutwhat you're going to do this
evening.
Is there a football game ontoday?
Anybody getting worked up aboutthat?
Yet Okay.
Next week, anybody gettingworked up about football?
Yet yeah, when professionalfootball starts, I'll be lucky
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if I get some of you to churchon Sunday mornings.
You know the Browns play at 10am.
Pastor Michael, I can't Listen.
They're going to lose anyway.
They're going to lose anyway.
You might as well, not, right?
They're undefeated in preseason.
Okay, congratulations on yourzero real wins.
I don't know.
Anyhow, we're not going thereToday.
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I need you to trust him withwhat you cannot control Amen.
There are so many thingsoutside of your control.
You need to trust him with that.
You need to release the fearthat he won't come through for
you.
That is the best return oninvestments you're ever going to
make is believing that God willshow up when you need him to
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show up.
I want you to pray this week,father.
All of my needs be met in yourwill.
Father, meet every desire of myheart in your will.
I want you to pray that thisweek.
More than anything, I want youto seek his face in all things
Amen.
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When you get to work and itgoes sideways, I want you to
just say, lord, whatever it isyou're teaching me, make it
abundant and make it clear, lord, because I live to serve only
you.
Just as our earthly fathers areput in this position to protect
us, god is designed.
His desire is to protect us, tolove us, to care for us.
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Amen.
Let's pray together.
Father, I thank you and I praiseyou for the move of your spirit
in this place today, lord, forthe stirring of our hearts that
we may be able to recognizeexactly who you are and what you
have done for us.
Lord, not just what you havedone by sending your son, jesus,
to die on a cross for us, but,father, what you are continuing
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to do through his death, throughhis resurrection, father, that
we have everlasting life becauseof a sacrifice that you were
willing to make by sending himto us.
Lord, I thank you for pouringout your love upon this house
and this body, father, father, Ithank you for moving so freely
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in this place, but, lord, evenmore I thank you for simply
sustaining us when we feel likethere is no way.
Lord, I pray a blessing overevery person sitting in this
room.
Touch their hearts, father,lead them, guide them and direct
them in the mighty name ofJesus, and the church says amen.
Amen, amen.
Let the little little ones goback to nursery.
Where did my wife go?
She bailed, she did what.
I don't blame her.
I don't blame her.
(00:21):
I don't blame her.
A couple of weeks ago, Ipromised that I was going to do
a series on the Holy Trinity, onthe Godhead, and we're going to
start that series today, andthe reason that I promised it
was because I realized therewere a lot of people who didn't
fully understand it.
Now, normally, whenever I stepinto the pulpit, I step in to
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preach, not to teach.
So this is kind of a new facetfor me.
So prepare yourselves.
Okay, I'm going to be a littlebit slower today.
I'm not going to yell as much.
I'm going to try not to yell asmuch.
This is something that'sincredibly important for us to
understand, because we need tounderstand who God is, who Jesus
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is and who the Holy Spirit is.
Now, while they are all onething, we look at them to serve
different purposes.
Amen, and so I want to start.
Joe, I actually I'm guessing youhave your Bible with you.
Can you open your Bible?
I need you to go to Matthew 6.
I brought a King James Versionand a New Living Translations
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with me this morning, but I needto know what Joe's.
Joe, how old is your Bible?
Okay, that's what I was hopingfor.
I don't know how old this oneis.
This one's not even mine.
I don't even actually know whoit belongs to.
It's got lots of stuff in it,so somebody's gotta be missing
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it, but apparently they're not,because it was a little dusty
sitting back there and it's beenlaying back there for I can't
tell you how long.
That's how I get new Bibles.
I wait for you guys to leavethem lay around long enough and
I'm like, oh, they obviouslydon't want it.
Joe, can you read out of yourBible Matthew 6, 9 through 13?
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9 through 13?
Well, here, can I just borrowit with that?
I probably can't read it either.
Matthew 6 you're in the rightspot there.
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It is no well, I have ithighlighted in this one too, but
I'm looking for an old bible.
Oh, sorry, joe, I'm droppingyour stuff on the ground now.
Hopefully that wasn't markinganything important.
What did I tell you?
Matthew 6.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
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Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as itis in heaven.
Give us this day our dailybread and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors.
That's what I wanted to see,because we've always said that
forgive us our trespasses, right.
And I don't know why that Ihave such a hard time that the
King James Version is debtorsinstead of trespasses, I don't
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know why.
So I looked at the New LivingTranslations and I was really
like, ew, this doesn't feelright.
So we have to go back to the OG, right?
Okay, that gave me what Ineeded.
I'm like how much stuff do youhave in that Bible?
Joe Just keeps jumping out.
Man, there you go.
All right, we're gonna startthere.
So we're gonna start over again.
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Matthew 6, nine through 13.
And it says after this mannertherefore, pray ye this is King
James Version.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy
kingdom, come.
Thy will be done on earth as itis in heaven.
Give us this day our dailybread, and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors, andlead us not into temptation, but
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deliver us from evil, for thineis the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever, amen.
So I wanted to start with that,because in the book of Matthew
it says after this mannertherefore, pray ye, our Father
which art in heaven?
Right, that tells us that weare praying to the Father.
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Right Now, this is NewTestament, so there's a lot to
be learned here.
But we start every prayerknowing that we are praying to
the Father, amen.
So there's some confusion inthat.
Who are we praying to?
We are praying to the Father,to God the Father, amen.
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We all together on that, okay,great, wonderful.
Okay, now we're gonna jump realquick to 1 Corinthians 8, 6.
It says but for us, there isone God, the Father, by whom all
things were created and forwhom we live.
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All right, we good.
Do we get it?
It says but for us, there isbut one God, the Father, by whom
all things were created.
Are we getting there now?
God the father is the creator.
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Good job, you guys are catchingon fast.
I want you to think for just asecond about earthly fathers.
Right, life wouldn't come to uswithout earthly fathers Amen.
Now.
Some of us have great fathers,some of us have subpar fathers.
Some of us don't even know ourfathers.
Amen.
Now.
Some of us have great fathers,some of us have subpar fathers,
some of us don't even know ourfathers, right, and it is hard
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to realize how good God is whenwe base it on what we call a
father here on earth?
Right, because I will promiseyou that there isn't a dad in
this room who has been perfectat any point in their fatherhood
career.
Right, we have all fallen shortof the glory of God.
However, god is perfect and heis our sustainer.
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We can list all of the thingsthat God is, and we're going to
get into some of them, but wehave to stop thinking about the
father in the manner in which wethink about the father here on
earth.
Amen, because he is the sourceof all life.
He is the source of love andthe source of our care.
Genesis 1.1 says in thebeginning, god created the
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heavens and the earth.
We already talked about this.
He is the creator.
Right, at this point, god isspeaking things into existence.
He is putting the birds in theskies, the fish in the seas, the
animals on the land, and we canquestion that right.
(07:01):
Frogs, why Mosquitoes?
Why?
What's the purpose?
Right, I think we can getfurther in life without some of
those things.
But why did he make vampireswith wings?
Right, like they suck in myblood all the time.
I can't go out in the frontyard here without practically
being carried away.
I absolutely don't understandwhy God created some of the
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things that he did, but here'swhat I do know he has infinite
wisdom compared to me.
Amen, and that's the part thatwe fail to realize in the
creation.
See, we talk about science andevolution and people think about
those things and they thinkwell, that can't be possible.
God couldn't have createdeverything.
Certainly, things have evolved.
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I promise you he is the creatorof all things.
They are still findingcreatures in the depths of the
seas and in the depths of therainforest that have never been
discovered before.
If we are finding the speciesthat live in the world, it is
not hard to believe that we arestill finding tribes of people
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in this world that we have neverseen before.
Can I ask you a question?
What is the Great Commission?
To preach the gospel untilevery ear has heard right.
And the challenge is this wehaven't discovered all of them
yet, so not every person hasheard the gospel of Jesus Christ
, and we know that Jesus' returnis dependent on everybody
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hearing the gospel, amen.
And so we know that God, thecreator, has designed this
perfect atmosphere in which wecannot possibly find all of
those things until his timecalls us to find them.
That is divine creation.
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I love to think about the worldand I apologize to anybody who
thinks the world is flat.
The earth is flat because I'mnot gonna talk about a flat
earth.
Okay, think about how the earthsits perfectly on its axis at a
tilt and spins the exact speedat which it should spin so that
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we don't fly off Right, so thatwe can stay on the earth, that
gravitational pull that allowsus to stay there.
And think about all of thethings that are in the layers of
the earth.
That is not something thathappened by accident.
It was designed so that wecould live here.
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The challenge is we live here,but we abuse where we live right
and we don't take care of thethings that God has given us.
And because we don't take careof them, we watch it decline.
And as it declines, we thinkwell, he gave us dominion over
all of these things.
It is ours to control.
Can I correct that for just asecond?
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It is always his and alwayswill be his.
It is our responsibility asflesh and blood to care for what
God has gifted to us.
He has created this perfectthing so that we may have life
abundantly here right Now.
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The challenge is the word tellsus that heaven is welcome on
earth.
What we allow in heaven will beallowed on earth.
Right, and what we allow onearth will be allowed in heaven
amen.
And what we allow on earth willbe allowed in heaven Amen.
So the challenge is we'reallowing things on earth that
are not heavenly.
We don't want those things inheaven, do we?
But we also are not expectingheaven on earth.
(10:37):
God did not create us to showup with subpar expectation.
He created us to show upexpecting big things, not from
one another, because we will leteach other down.
He has called us to expectgreat things from him and him
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alone Amen.
In the beginning, god createdthe heavens and the earth.
Everything began with him.
Literally every star, everyplant, every weed, everything,
even the stuff you don't like,began with him.
But, most importantly, everybreath began with him.
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The breath in your lungs wouldnot be there if it weren't for
God Amen.
Now, when we think about Godbeing so good to us and
breathing life into our lungsand allowing us to live the life
, a lot of us look at life as ifit's a sentence right, we have
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to get to the end of it in orderto have heaven.
I'm going to tell you we shouldbe inviting heaven here.
We should be inviting heaven tobe on earth with us, because
when we get to glory, that'swonderful.
But why would we live sick andbroken?
Why would we live that way whenGod did not call us to live
(12:05):
that way?
He has given us the ability tolive in health, in plenty, amen.
Now listen, you're going toexperience want.
Embrace it.
I'm living in a season of want,like you have no idea.
I think about all the thingsthat I should have that I don't
have, and then I think but God,but God.
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You have given me so much tothis point, right, you have
given me so many things, and Isay this a lot, and I know this
sounds crazy to some of you, butI have never experienced real
loss in my life.
I have never experienced a lossso great that I didn't know how
to recover from it.
Some of that is because I'mstubborn Amen.
But some of that is because Iknow that God is faithful in all
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things and even when I take aloss, even when I don't win like
I expect to win, I know thatGod is using that for victory.
I don't focus on all of the badthings that are happening.
Listen, it takes me a minutesometimes.
Right, we're not all just ableto go.
Oh well, that wasn't a big deal.
Our lives get changed andturned upside down at a moment's
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notice.
But we cannot focus on all ofthose things because that is not
what we are called to do.
The breath in our lungs is tosing praise and give glory, not
to speak death.
Not to speak death.
It is not designed to speakdeath and hate.
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Imagine if you were to show upto an art gallery and you look
at how many of you guys like art.
I like art, but I can't affordit.
Right, like, I haven't figuredthat out yet.
I haven't figured out howsomebody can sell a piece of art
for a million dollars.
I'm not saying you're nottalented.
There's some beautiful art outthere, but I'm still a little
bit confused by it.
But you walk through an artgallery and you see some of
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these paintings and you look atthem and you know just how
beautiful they truly are.
Right, and when you look at it,you think the person who was
painting that knew exactly whatthey were doing at every stroke
of their brush right.
God is the exact same way thecreator of this universe.
He knew with every single thingthat he would be creating the
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purpose and the longevity ofthose things.
He knew what he was doing farbefore you and I were ever even
formed.
He knew that we would besitting in this building on this
day and he has called you intothis place for such a time as
this that you might hear thewords, embrace the words and
change your life.
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Listen, we cannot live ourlives for the world and for sin
any longer.
God has called us to repentancesimply through the creation.
Amen.
When he called us to be, hecalled us to be perfect,
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blameless, sinless, andunfortunately, the enemy found a
great way to make us feel shame.
Shame is not from God.
Shame is not from God.
If you're sitting in your seatright now, feeling like
something in your life justisn't right, or you know, lord,
(15:22):
I don't feel like I'm worthy,lord, I don't feel like I
deserve to be.
Listen, god has not called youto live that life.
He has called you to be free,and I will be free, amen.
Okay, the Father is also ourprovider.
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How many of you believe thatGod will provide everything all
the time.
Yeah, you know what?
Can we just show hands realquick?
Who believes that God is goingto provide all things?
Can I ask you another quickquestion?
Keep your hands up for just aquick question, for just a quick
second.
Actually, you know what?
Put your hands down, becausehere's my next question.
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So many of you raised your handright Because you believe that
God is going to provide all ofyour needs in your life.
Yet I would bet three quartersof you go.
I can't tithe 10% Because if Itithe 10%, we won't have the
money for groceries.
I can't afford to not tithe.
(16:24):
Listen, guys.
I lost my job and my wife and Iare still tithing on what I
made then.
Do you know why?
Because we believe that if wecontinue to give at what God was
giving us before, he'll give itto us even bigger next time.
It doesn't have to be money.
You know, I left a job afteralmost seven years, after almost
seven years, all of the thingsthat I had in that place and I
(16:46):
walked away.
I'm making a third of what Iwas making, but God is still
blessing us every single day.
You know what I have theability to get up and go to work
every morning.
That is a blessing all in itsown, amen.
But here's the challenge webelieve, or say that we believe,
that God will provide allthings, but we don't actually
(17:07):
believe it.
We only believe it when he'sgiving us something, amen.
We don't believe it when he'staking something away.
Let me promise you this when hehas taken something away, it's
to stretch you to the next level, right?
He has taken a lot away from mein the past.
Every time I feel like and Ihave argued and wrestled and
(17:29):
fought with God about all of thethings you know, lord, you told
me that you would bring me tothis place.
You told me you would set me onthat mountaintop, and now
you're taking me off.
And you know what he says it'stime to move on, it's time to
grow.
I don't want to grow, god.
I like this mountaintop, right.
(17:49):
I like what I've got here.
I don't.
And he says, no, not today.
It is time for bigger, it istime for greater, amen.
God has called this place togreater for years and every time
I walk in here, I am in awe ofthe things that he does, in
absolute awe.
God has never provided halfway.
(18:10):
He has never provided for youhalfway.
He meets your needs daily,every day.
He has met your needs.
I don't think we give Godenough glory for that.
I don't think we give himenough.
Maybe you're sitting in yourseat and you're just feeling
(18:30):
like you're in pain, or maybeyou're sitting in your seat and
you're feeling depressed.
You're sitting in your seat,but you're sitting in your seat.
Can I tell you that God wokeyou up this morning and brought
you to a place of worship.
Right, he's humbled your heartso that you can hear his word.
We should be excited about whatGod is doing in that Amen.
(18:50):
Listen, I don't wake up.
I don't wake up every day Iprobably do this more often than
I should complaining that Ihave to go to work.
I wake up excited that I get togo to work because I'm gonna do
something with my life today.
Listen, I'm gonna look at who Iserve, not what I have to do.
(19:11):
Right, I look at who I serve.
I serve a good God In allthings.
I serve a good God and inserving a good God, I get to
serve a broken people.
Right, because when somebodyhave you ever listen?
I don't like to answer thephone when I go to work to serve
a broken people, right?
Because when somebody have youever listen?
I don't like to answer thephone when I go to work, because
sometimes you answer the phoneand there are people that just
(19:31):
yell Like the first word out oftheir mouth is not appropriate
to say in the pulpit or ever tobe clear, and I don't like
talking to those people.
But God has called me to thatplace.
Do you those people?
But God has called me to thatplace.
Do you know why?
I think God has called me tothat place?
My wife knows why God hascalled me to that place.
(19:51):
Because I can be that person.
I can lift you up and I cantear you down.
Right, don't charge me a latecharge on my credit card.
I'm gonna call you.
Right, it's my fault, it's 100%my fault, but I'm gonna call
you.
I'm gonna let you know.
Right, that's not good.
So God has put me in a placewhere I have to.
(20:13):
I have to deal with thosepeople and at the end of that
call, do you know what I have tosay?
My pleasure, my pleasure, itwas my pleasure to have you
belittle me for something thatwasn't my fault.
And God says, yeah, but do youdo it?
And when God calls you to thatmoment, you should realize that
(20:35):
he is making you grow intosomething you have never even
realized you could grow into.
Amen, matthew 6, 26.
It says look at the birds.
They don't plant or harvest orstore food in barns, for your
heavenly father feeds them.
And aren't you far morevaluable to him than they are?
(20:58):
My wife and I were just talkingabout this.
My wife and my kids.
We plant all kinds ofpollinating flowers because we
love monarch butterflies,milkweed and all of the things.
It's fascinating to us and wecan't figure this out, but this
should be a very clear sign ofdivine creation.
These butterflies will come toour house and eat off of our
(21:23):
flowers and then, when theweather gets cold, all of the
monarch butterflies all of themfly to Mexico for the winter
months.
For the cold months, thosebutterflies will fly back to the
exact same flower the followingyear.
That's fascinating, isn't it?
(21:44):
If he will care for them in sucha way, will he not care for you
the same way?
If he has cared for them, if hehas given them the
understanding to go somewhereelse to get fed so that they may
not die, has he not done thesame for you?
You will never starve, you willnever be left without, because
(22:08):
God has called you a friend.
I am a friend of God, you are afriend of God.
If that doesn't excite you, Idon't think anything can, right?
Listen, I got some prettycrappy friends, right, and I am
(22:30):
a pretty crappy friend.
But let me tell you somethingGod doesn't care how terrible of
a friend I am, he is stillalways good to me.
When I go to him and I say,lord, I haven't been here in a
minute and I just need you toknow that I am thankful for all
that you do.
He continues to bless me.
He calls me into that time withhim.
He calls me into thatrelationship with him, and
(22:52):
sometimes the phone has to workthe other way.
Right, he can't always call meinto that.
Sometimes I have to call himinto that.
Lord, I am lost and I am broken.
I am coming to you to give mepeace.
Lord, let your perfect will bedone in my life today, amen.
But so often it has to be theother way and sometimes he
(23:12):
really has to do something badto get ahold of us right, really
has to shake us up.
We have to trust him with ourdaily needs, not just in an
emergency.
Have you ever walked into asituation where you're like, oh,
that shouldn't happen like that, and you immediately start to
pray, but you haven't talked toGod in three weeks?
(23:33):
You might show up to church andyou might oh, pastor Michael's
praying.
I bow my head and really you'rethinking about what you're
having for lunch or where you'regoing after church or whatever
your plans may be, and thatprayer completely slips through
your mind.
I promise you at the end of theservice, when I'm praying, I'm
praying that God moves in yourlife in a mighty way.
I can't pray you into heaven.
It is your responsibility toget yourself there right.
(23:54):
And so what I need you tounderstand is that we cannot
focus on Jesus whenever we havea need.
We need to focus on Jesus atevery moment of our lives, at
every turn, at every question,at every desire.
We should be seeking God's face.
Now, when I go to God, I alwaysask him that his perfect will be
(24:15):
done in my life.
Okay, that's the best thing youcan do.
Here's the problem.
I will ask for his perfect willand then I'll say but if you
could do it my way right.
Lord, your perfect will, buthere is my will.
If you could, if it would beyour pleasure, lord, allow me to
(24:37):
be independently wealthy.
Did you guys know my dad hitthe lottery?
Hit the lottery $28.
But he hit the lottery right.
Not enough to quite retire on.
I think about the blessings thatGod pours out on me.
They're not always the blessingthat I'm asking for, but they
are blessings nonetheless, and Ihave to focus on those things
(25:00):
daily and not just whenever Ihave a need.
The Father is our protector,psalms 91.2.
This I declare about the Lord.
He alone is my refuge, my placeof safety.
He is my God and I trust him.
(25:21):
I trust a lot of people.
I believe that I will trustanybody until they prove that I
shouldn't trust them.
And once that trust is broken,it is really hard to rebuild
that trust with me.
Right Now.
That's not to say I dislike you.
That's not to say that I won'tconverse with you.
That's not to say I won't beyour friend.
But when you volunteer to dosomething, I'm like your friend.
(25:42):
But when you volunteer to dosomething, I'm like, yeah,
probably not Appreciate theoffer, because what I've asked
in the past has not come tofruition.
God is not that way in my life.
Even when he's taking somethingaway, I trust that it is for my
(26:04):
good and it is not for the goodof the person next to me.
It is not for the good of theperson who receives because of
my debt.
It is not for that person.
He is doing it for my good,amen.
How many of us actually believethat it's hard?
Because God does something goodin all things but we look at
the bad things and we can't seethe good.
(26:25):
We want to argue with him aboutthose things.
You know, when we talk a lotabout Job, whenever we talk
about these types of things, jobcontinued to give God praise.
He wanted to die.
He was miserable.
But God to you be the glory,but God to you be the glory in
all things, not just when I'm onthe mountaintop, but when I'm
(26:46):
in the valley too.
I will wait in the valley aslong as I need to be there, so
long as God is King of Kings andLord of Lords.
That's never going to change.
So that means when I hit thatvalley, I can wait with patience
.
I can wait with patience.
(27:13):
It's hard, but it's a learnedskill.
It is a learned skill.
The longer you fight him, thelonger you stay in the valley.
Mike, can I share your news?
Yeah, so last week I'm nottaking credit for this I want to
(27:34):
be very clear.
Mike had been looking for a newjob and we'd been praying about
it for a long time, and lastweek, when God spoke to him and
said that there was somethingthat he wasn't embracing I can't
remember exactly how it wassaid we sat and we talked after
service and he said that a lotof the jobs that he's
interviewing for, that he'stalking about, they require him
to use new technology, which isnot something that he's
(27:56):
interested in doing, notsomething that he felt confident
doing.
And I said to him I said that'sit.
I said you need to get overthat.
You need to be prepared.
Wednesday night I was hereworking and he walked in and he
told me that he got a job at oneof the places that he told me
required him to use technology.
(28:16):
When God speaks, we listen right.
When we prepare our heart forwhat God is going to do for us,
then he starts to move.
We can embrace that right.
How long did you look for a newjob?
How long Two months he waslooking and wasn't able to find
anything.
Sometimes we are the roadblockto God's blessing.
(28:37):
Sometimes we are the roadblockbecause we don't want to receive
what it is that God is tellingus to receive.
Amen.
When God says, step out, youhave to step out.
You have to be willing to dothat with a great amount of
confidence too.
The one thing nobody can eversay about me is that I lack
confidence.
Right, I'm confident even whenI'm wrong, even if I know I'm
(28:59):
wrong.
I'm gonna tell you confidentlythat you are wrong and I am
right.
If the clouds opened up and Godsaid, michael, you are wrong
and I am right.
If the clouds opened up and Godsaid Michael, you are wrong, I
would say let's talk about this,right?
Hold on, let me ask, chat GPT.
Right, god surrounds hischildren like a shield.
(29:24):
Now, I was you guys like thoselittle Facebook videos of all
the cute little animals, right?
Aren't they cute?
Like all the little babyducklings and chickens and
whatnot?
And I saw this video where thismama duck was walking and she
had all of her little ducklingsbehind her and, one by one, the
ducklings fell into this drain,into the sewer drain, and she's
(29:47):
just walking, just keeps ongoing, she don't even know.
They just one by one they fallinto this drain and the police
came and rescued all of thosebaby ducklings from that drain,
took the drain cover off, pulledall of the little ducklings out
and as soon as they did, mama,when she realized all of her
ducklings were gone, she cameback and the minute that they
took those ducklings out sheopened her wings and those
(30:08):
ducklings ran and hid undermama's wings.
They were scared.
They were so used to beingclose to her that when they were
removed they had fear, a greatamount of fear.
Now chickens are the exact sameway.
Even when the weather gets bad,all of the chicks will huddle
under mama's wings and she'lltake care of them.
(30:28):
God does the exact same thingfor us each and every day.
You know, I always picturemyself walking around with like
this, like clear shield aroundme and there's stuff just flying
at me and it's bouncing off allthe time, because God has
designed me to believe that hecan protect me from all of those
things.
I also think that sometimesthat leads to stupidity.
(30:51):
Right, I was Roger and I wereworking on those sound baffles
in the gym and that lift is how?
Where's Roger?
How high is that ceiling, doyou figure?
I have no judge, I have nospatial reasoning.
25 feet, Think it's 25 feet inthe air.
(31:11):
And when you get up there, thisthing wobbles back and forth
like this.
I'm driving at 25 feet in theair.
He's like you know, you're notsupposed to do that, right?
I'm like, eh, it's fine, see,because I think God will protect
me in all things, but I fail torealize just how stupid I can
be.
Right, challenge accepted.
And the thing is is I don'tever want to test God like that,
(31:32):
but sometimes I have to realizethat he is good in all things
and he will in fact protect me.
But he can only protect me solong as I take him with me,
right?
And when I begin to do stupidthings and I separate myself
from the will of God, there isno guarantee of protection.
In order to live under thecovering, I have to live in
(31:53):
relationship with God rightThrough prayer, through fasting,
all of those things we don'thave to live in.
Fear every day is not of god.
There is no such thing ashaving good fear, right, maybe a
(32:13):
healthy amount of fear, likewhen you're on that lift, like I
probably shouldn't do that,that that conscious that tells
you you shouldn't do thosethings.
There's probably a healthyamount of like reasoning, but
fear is not of Having a strongfoundation in the safety and in
the understanding that God isour protector is one of the most
important things that we can do.
(32:34):
God as part of the Trinity isall of these things that we have
talked about up to this point.
If we know that he is ourprotector, then why do we worry
about the things that arehappening in the world around us
?
I'm not saying we shouldn't becognizant of them, but I can't
worry myself.
If I live in worry all the time, I would never leave the house
(32:58):
and if I never left the house Icouldn't bless the world around
me.
Amen, the father is love.
1 John 3.1, it says see howvery much our Father loves us,
for he calls us his children andthat is what we are.
(33:18):
But people belong to the worlddon't recognize that we are
God's children because theydon't know him.
Amen, that we are God'schildren because they don't know
him.
Amen.
People look at us, the peoplewho live for the world, look at
us like we're the crazy onesbecause they don't know who God
is, to know how good he is andknow just how blessed they could
(33:40):
be if they lived under hiscovering.
The father is love.
It is unconditional and is notearned.
You do not earn the love of Godthrough kind acts, through
being good to people.
Love is unconditional so longas you believe that God is the
(34:04):
creator of all things, that heis the father of your life and
you love him and you have arelationship with him.
That love is free and withoutcost.
If you think about the prodigalson's father running down the
road to embrace his rebelliouschild like, you picture that in
(34:27):
your head.
That is how Jesus is to usevery day.
Or God is to us every day,right, when we are constantly
pushing back on all of thethings that he does, when we
have that revelation that weneed to be in relationship with
him, that we need to be in hispresence when we come running
back, he is meeting us there.
He's running far faster thanyou can because he is excited
(34:47):
that you are home.
Right, this isn't about yougetting your way.
This isn't about you havingthings or whatever the case may
be.
He just wants you to be home.
The father is wholly unjust.
Hebrews 12, 6, it says for theLord disciplines those he loves
and he punishes each one heaccepts as his child.
(35:09):
Now we just admitted we're allchildren of God right Now.
Listen, for the Lorddisciplines those he loves and
he punishes each of the one he'saccepted as his children.
His discipline is proof of thelove.
It is not condemnation, it isnot rejection.
(35:29):
It is proof of his love.
He wants you to change fromglory to glory.
Right, and without discipline,without correction, can we
change?
Listen, some of y'all got badkids.
You got bad kids because youdon't discipline your kids right
.
Listen, it's the truth.
You go out to the store.
You see these kids like hangingfrom the clothes racks,
(35:49):
knocking stuff off the shelf.
Do you know why those kids dothat stuff?
Because they're allowed to dothat stuff.
God does not allow us to sin.
It's not acceptable in thekingdom of God, amen.
And when we do it, he correctsus.
We don't like that.
We don't like correction,because correction means change,
accountability means change,and so we blame God for taking
(36:15):
all the fun out of life.
I'm gonna tell you what some ofthe most fun that I have is with
my Christian friends.
I've had a lot of fun with mynon-Christian friends in the
past, right, but I wouldn't calldrunken stupors fun.
At the time it felt like a goodtime and now I realize I can do
(36:35):
all of those same things.
I can play all of those samegames and do all of and not have
to be worried about whether ornot I'm in control of my own
body, right?
And I am thankful that God gaveme that realization and pulled
me from that life.
I was like geez Holly thanks alot.
(37:01):
Just as a coach will push hisathletes to be better, so will
God push us to be better.
A coach isn't pushing theirkids to be better just because
he wants them to be better.
He's pushing them for betterfor the victory, right, just as
God is pushing us to be betterfor the victory.
Now here's an important partthe Father sent the Son.
(37:24):
Amen.
We're gonna talk about Jesusnext week, but I want you to
know that the Father sent theSon.
Amen.
We're going to talk about Jesusnext week, but I want you to
know that the Father sent theSon.
Most of us know this, but John3.16, it says for this is how
God loved the world he gave hisone and only Son, so that
everyone who believes in himwill not perish but have eternal
(37:45):
life.
Now we look at John 3, 16 inNew Living Translations.
Most of us can quote it in KingJames Version For God so loved
the world that he gave his onlybegotten son.
So, therefore, everyone whobelieves in him shall not perish
but have everlasting life,however that may go towards the
end.
But his only begotten son.
We are the children of God,amen.
But Jesus is the only begottenson of the heavenly Father.
(38:05):
Amen.
But Jesus is the only begottenson of the heavenly father, amen
.
And he sent Jesus to be thesacrifice for our salvation.
That is a sacrifice that noneof us will ever understand.
You may lose a child, you maylose a spouse, you may lose—God
did it willingly Sent his son,knowing what would come, so that
(38:27):
we may have everlasting life.
One of the things that I want tojust tell you, though and I
think this is incrediblyimportant is that God one of the
things that he is that we tendto take out of context he's a
very jealous take out of context.
(38:49):
He's a very jealous God.
He is not jealous like you, andI look at the word jealous,
right.
I get jealous when somebodygets something that I don't have
.
I get jealous when my wifespends time with somebody else
instead of me with her boyfriend.
That just started a rumor.
That just started a rumor.
Exodus 30, what Don't evenstart?
(39:11):
Exodus 34, 14.
It says you must worship noother gods, for the Lord, whose
name, whose very name, isjealousy, is a God who is
jealous about his relationshipwith you.
God is not jealous when you goand spend time with other people
.
God is jealous when you don'this relationship with you.
God is not jealous when you goand spend time with other people
.
God is jealous when you don'tspend time with him because he
(39:32):
wants you to be in relationshipwith him.
He doesn't care about the otherthings that you're doing.
He wants you.
He's jealous when you rejecthim for other things.
Amen.
Deuteronomy 4.24,.
It says the Lord, your God, is adevouring fire.
He is a jealous God.
God's jealousy is aboutprotecting what belongs to him.
(39:55):
Right, he is trying to protectyou in all of those things.
He wants to protect his gloryand his people.
We look at jealousy verydifferently.
But when you feel the Lordchasing, but when you feel the
Lord chasing you, when you feelthe Lord pursuing.
You know that he is jealous ofsomething that's happening in
your life and he wants toprotect you from it.
(40:15):
Amen, and you have to be readyto embrace that jealousy.
God, the Father, is not distant.
Many times we often think thatthe only thing that we have
connection to is the Holy Spirit.
God is not distant.
He is your creator, yourprovider, your protector, your
lover, your corrector.
He is the only one who sent hisonly son so that you shall have
(40:40):
everlasting life.
Every part of his nature iscaring.
Every part of who he is is.
Every part of who he is isdesigned to show you that he
cares.
If you've struggled to see Godas the father, today is an
invitation to run to him.
Picture yourself as theprodigal, picture yourself as
(41:03):
the one who has turned from God.
I know that each and every oneof you I believe this in my
heart you're all in a greatplace in your lives and you're
all in such a good relationshipwith Christ that if the trumpet
sounded and Jesus returned rightnow, we would all go to heaven.
Amen.
I wanna believe that.
The thing is is.
I'm standing here in thispulpit watching some of you
sleep in your seat right, whichtells me you aren't concerned
(41:26):
about what God is doing in yourlife.
You are more concerned aboutnap time.
You are more concerned aboutlunchtime.
You are more concerned aboutwhat you're going to do this
evening.
Is there a football game ontoday?
Anybody getting worked up aboutthat?
Yet Okay.
Next week, anybody gettingworked up about football?
Yet yeah, when professionalfootball starts, I'll be lucky
(41:47):
if I get some of you to churchon Sunday mornings.
You know the Browns play at 10am.
Pastor Michael, I can't Listen.
They're going to lose anyway.
They're going to lose anyway.
You might as well, not, right?
They're undefeated in preseason.
Okay, congratulations on yourzero real wins.
I don't know.
Anyhow, we're not going thereToday.
(42:11):
I need you to trust him withwhat you cannot control Amen.
There are so many thingsoutside of your control.
You need to trust him with that.
You need to release the fearthat he won't come through for
you.
That is the best return oninvestments you're ever going to
make is believing that God willshow up when you need him to
(42:32):
show up.
I want you to pray this week,father.
All of my needs be met in yourwill.
Father, meet every desire of myheart in your will.
I want you to pray that thisweek.
More than anything, I want youto seek his face in all things
Amen.
(42:52):
When you get to work and itgoes sideways, I want you to
just say, lord, whatever it isyou're teaching me, make it
abundant and make it clear, lord, because I live to serve only
you.
Just as our earthly fathers areput in this position to protect
us, god is designed.
His desire is to protect us, tolove us, to care for us.
(43:16):
Amen.
Let's pray together.
Father, I thank you and I praiseyou for the move of your spirit
in this place today, lord, forthe stirring of our hearts that
we may be able to recognizeexactly who you are and what you
have done for us.
Lord, not just what you havedone by sending your son, jesus,
to die on a cross for us, but,father, what you are continuing
(43:39):
to do through his death, throughhis resurrection, father, that
we have everlasting life becauseof a sacrifice that you were
willing to make by sending himto us.
Lord, I thank you for pouringout your love upon this house
and this body, father, father, Ithank you for moving so freely
(44:03):
in this place, but, lord, evenmore I thank you for simply
sustaining us when we feel likethere is no way.
Lord, I pray a blessing overevery person sitting in this
room.
Touch their hearts, father,lead them, guide them and direct
them in the mighty name ofJesus, and the church says amen.
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