November 16, 2021 • 43 mins
Is wisdom obtained simply by attending church? Is wisdom a one-time "purchase?" In this series we discover what the Word of God tell us about seeking, obtaining, and maintaining life-long wisdom.
Wise Living Series
Travis Miller
January 20, 2019
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Episode Transcript English
Travis Miller: [00:00:15] I must speak for a little while this afternoon, I'm going to share some stories, I'm going to look at some verses of scripture, they'll be put up on the screen and my whole intention, my entire goal and direction in speaking this short while this afternoon is to inspire each and every one in the sound of my voice to have a conversation with God. In conclusion prayer in her own way, in her own fashion, in her own words, is to have a conversation with God, that is exactly what I am attempting to do. There you go. Cat's out of the bag. That's what I am trying to do in sharing this talk. This speech, this sermon, whatever you want to call it, so that we would respond to God. [00:01:07][51.9]
Travis Miller: [00:01:09] As you might expect, is pastor of this congregation, I am in the people business. I've been in ministry now for more than 30 years. I've been around church and around congregations for more than 50 years and over all those years and all those experiences. I've observed some things, quite frankly, that trouble me. I've seen some things and reflected on some things that, to me, seem out of place with following Jesus Christ. [00:01:46][36.2]
Travis Miller: [00:01:48] Here's the deal, I've wondered how in the world good people end up in bad situations. I, over the years, in the course of time in various congregations, I've traveled and ministered in 40 different states and God knows how many different churches as part of our ministry and I've seen this and that and the other, and you know what I come across? What about this young lady who's kind and compassionate and friendly, but she's often in a bad relationship? What about that? What about the faithful family that even serves in some ministry in the church, but they seem to regularly be in financial trouble? What about that? What about the friendly, interesting couple whose children, unfortunately, are giving them regular grief? Or what about the couple who found Jesus long ago? They seemed to really love Jesus, but they fight and argue like complete enemies. I'm bothered by the good young man who seemed to not be able to keep anything related to a decent job. I am concerned about a sincere person who is in lack of personal control that brings ongoing health issues. Am I the only one who is ever wondered about such things? [00:03:13][85.5]
[00:03:20] Three or four years ago, I learned of the ridiculous tragedy of a long time friend. Fact he was a friend for 20 plus years. An enjoyable person, a helpful, fun, pleasant, churchgoing man. Not only churchgoing, but church involved, he served and ministered to others. But a few years ago, unexpectedly, my wife and I received a call from his wife. She discovered that the man had maintained a mistress in another state for seven, eight, 10 years. He destroyed his marriage. Devastated his children and rocked the faith of those he'd influenced. It makes me ask how? How does that happen? How does a nice person do something so foolish? I'm aware of another good man. An older man, a man who spent his entire life serving congregations. A man who planted churches and pastored churches, who then went on to help others plant churches and pastored churches. A good person, a righteous man. One of his adult children started business, the business started getting a little bit of success and the child decided, You know what, I want to expand the business, I want to add other locations, and so he went to the bank, but the bank wouldn't give a business loan. And so
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:21):
I must speak for a little while this
afternoon, I'm going to share
some stories, I'm going to look
at some verses of scripture, they'll
be put up on the screen
and my whole intention, my
entire goal and direction
in speaking this short while this
afternoon is to inspire
each and every one in the sound of
my voice to have a conversation
(00:42):
with God.
In conclusion prayer
in her own way, in her own fashion,
in her own words, is to have a
conversation with God, that is
exactly what I am attempting
to do. There you go.
Cat's out of the bag.
That's what I am trying to do
in sharing this
talk. This speech, this sermon,
(01:03):
whatever you want to call it,
so that we would respond
to God.
As you might expect, is pastor of
this congregation, I am in
the people business.
I've been in ministry now
for more than 30 years.
I've been around church and around
(01:23):
congregations for more than
50 years
and over all those years
and all those experiences.
I've observed some things, quite
frankly, that trouble
me.
I've seen some things and reflected
on some things that, to me,
seem out of place
(01:44):
with following Jesus
Christ.
Here's the deal, I've wondered how
in the world good people
end up in bad situations.
I, over the years, in the course of
time in various congregations,
I've traveled and ministered in
40 different states and God
(02:04):
knows how many different churches as
part of our ministry and I've
seen this and that and the other,
and you know what I come across?
What about this young lady who's
kind and compassionate and friendly,
but she's often in a bad
relationship?
What about that?
What about the faithful family
that even serves in some ministry
(02:25):
in the church, but they seem to
regularly be in financial
trouble? What about that?
What about the friendly, interesting
couple whose children,
unfortunately, are giving them
regular grief?
Or what about the couple who
found Jesus long ago?
They seemed to really love Jesus,
(02:46):
but they fight and argue
like complete enemies.
I'm bothered by the good young
man who seemed to not be able
to keep anything related to
a decent job.
I am concerned about a sincere
person who is in lack of
personal control that brings
(03:06):
ongoing health issues.
Am I the only one
who is ever wondered
about such things?
Three or four years ago,
I learned of the ridiculous
tragedy of
(03:27):
a long time friend.
Fact he was a friend for
20 plus years.
An enjoyable person, a helpful,
fun, pleasant,
churchgoing man.
Not only churchgoing, but church
(03:47):
involved, he served
and ministered to others.
But a few years ago, unexpectedly,
my wife and I received a call from
his wife.
She discovered that the man had
maintained a mistress in another
state for seven, eight, 10
years.
(04:09):
He destroyed his marriage.
Devastated his children
and rocked the faith of those
he'd influenced.
It makes me ask how?
How does that happen?
How does a nice person
(04:30):
do something so
foolish?
I'm aware of another good man.
An older man, a man who
spent his entire life
serving congregations.
A man who planted churches and
(04:50):
pastored churches,
who then went on to help others
plant churches and pastored
churches. A good person,
a righteous man.
One of his adult children started
business,
the business started getting a
little bit of success and
(05:11):
the child decided, You know what,
I want to expand the business, I
want to add other locations, and so
he went to the bank, but the bank
wouldn't give a business loan.
And so the good dad, the righteous
dad, the ministry dad.
Emptied out his 401k.
Gave all the money to the child.
(05:34):
There were struggles in the
business, and the child was
convinced things are ready to turn,
the tipping point is really
very close.
Just a little more capital
and the business will go over the
edge, and really over the hump,
and it'll go from there.
And so dad, the faithful
man, the righteous man.
(05:55):
Mortgaged his home,
gave the money to the child.
And the business went
belly up.
Retirement money gone.
Bank foreclosed the house,
the righteous man, the faithful
man, the ministry man lost
(06:17):
everything.
How does a good person?
Makes such tragic
mistakes.
I mean, really, anybody who hangs
around a church and ministry
long enough, you hear sermons
about how God wants to
(06:38):
bless lives and how
God heals people
and how God changes families
and how God blesses
finances.
But still, if you observe,
you get engaged, you watch and
figure what's happening.
There are examples of people
who hear the messages
but aren't experiencing
(06:59):
what's being preached and
taught.
Why is that?
Actually, if we become students
of the Bible, the word of God, there
are similar stories
in here. Sometimes we think in
the Bible, well, the stories in the
Bible are like this.
We get stories about wicked
(07:20):
people who live wicked
lives. Well, that's true.
Well, there's story about righteous
people who have righteous lives.
That's also true.
But today, I want to point out that
in this book, we also find stories
of good people
who did foolish things
and it cost them dearly.
(07:43):
Right in this book, There are
battles lost.
There are lives ended, there are
families ruined by good
people acting
foolishly.
There are murders and adulteries.
There are kingdoms lost.
There are friendships ended in
this book by decent
humans who are acting
(08:04):
ignorantly.
There are hopes vanished
and promises extinguished and
health wasted in fortunes
forfeited and relationships
terminated.
These are Bible stories that
happened at the hands of good
people
who were living poorly.
Why do these things happen?
(08:26):
In the Book of
Job Chapter nine in verse four,
he made a helpful observation
for this discussion.
Today in Job nine,
from the Bible, says God
is wise in heart
and mighty in strength.
Who has hardened himself
(08:47):
against him
and prospered?
Well, clearly, God is wise and
God is mighty, that's plain
and simple, Joe declares it.
But after declaring that truth,
Job then asked who
has hardened himself
against him against
God and prospered?
(09:10):
Who's hardened himself against God?
And still prospered?
Nearly every spring, and it's coming
up again in April, May.
My wife wants me to take her
to Skagit County
and see the beautiful tulip fields.
(09:31):
Sometimes we visit, you've been
there, you know this, you visit and
boots are absolutely
needed.
There's not just mud
there's lots of mud.
Fabulous Pacific Northwest
rain, note, I said fabulous.
(09:51):
Soaks those tulip
fields, making them muddy
and soft.
But there are other times we have
visited those fields when the rains
have ended and the
fields are different.
Fields are crusty.
I've been there when the surface is
hardened and even cracking,
(10:13):
it's so hard, yet when you walk
on it, you can tell it's a
crusty surface, but there's moisture
underneath,
but the surface is hard
and dry.
The soil is gone from moist
and muddy to crusty
and hard.
And you know what?
We know this that doesn't
happen immediately.
(10:37):
First, the rain dwindles,
there's fewer days of rain
and then there's fewer inches
of rain. It's not as severe,
less rain, less
mud, slowly but
certainly, then no
rain and then more crusty
hardened soil.
Job asks the question,
(10:58):
who has hardened
himself against God
and prospered?
It's a rhetorical question.
Listen, good people
live poorly when
we allow our lives
to harden toward
God like those tulip
fields. Soil lives
(11:18):
don't harden immediately.
Would you hear the preacher today?
It's not overnight that
we go from muddy, saturated,
spiritually soaked people
into hard, cracked
and crusty hardened ones
toward God?
Oh no, my friend.
But over a period of time.
(11:38):
Choices are made.
Often times not intentionally,
but accidentally
good people, people
who have an experience with
God get hardened
toward God, we minimize
God.
Sometimes we de-emphasize
(11:59):
God.
And sometimes it's not just ignoring
God, but we forget about
God. We go on our daily
duties and our things, and we don't
even consider, Hey,
I might want to talk
to God about this
distancing from God.
It happens when we don't make the
connection between eternity
(12:21):
and our present reality
times. We become crusty because
we compartmentalize God
and the spiritual rain diminishes,
because there are some areas
of my life I don't want
God raining on.
I don't want God messing
with. I don't want him investing
(12:41):
in challenging and changing
that area of my life.
We don't need him.
We think for some
things, dryness comes when we
keep God at arm's length.
We hold God to a comfortable
distance. And as we make
these small incremental
decisions, they accumulate
(13:02):
until there is faulty,
hard crusty,
cracking soil
in our approach, in our
determination and our response
to God.
And when we get to that place where
we are hardened toward God,
hear this preacher
and that ancient preacher Joe
from years ago, we cannot
(13:24):
expect God's prosperity
and God's success when
we have put him out
of areas of our life.
Good people know failure when
they allow their lives to harden
(13:44):
against God.
How's a good person
make tragic mistakes?
It bothers me.
I believe that good people
foolishly fall.
(14:06):
When we mistake
our righteousness
for wisdom.
Good people.
Foolishly fall.
When we mistake our righteousness
for
wisdom.
You see, righteousness, that
(14:26):
explains the believers
standing with
God.
It describes his view
of our lives when
we are in right relationship
with him.
According to scripture, living in
the New Testament Covenant, we
enjoy rightness
with God when we apply
(14:48):
the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ to our
lives. We enjoy rightness
with God when we repent,
when there's sorrow for
walking the wrong direction, and
we turn toward
Jesus Christ is rightness
with God. When we are baptized
in the name of Jesus
(15:10):
to wash away our faults
and failures, there's rightness
with God. When we receive
the gift of his Holy Spirit,
part of him dwelling within us,
and that New Testament
new birth experience
makes us righteous
in God's sight.
It brings us in the right
(15:31):
relationship with
him, and that's a wonderful
and miraculous and amazing
thing that we could never accomplish
on our own.
But righteousness
is not the same
as wisdom.
(15:53):
Wise living
is earthly
wise, living is a
human experience.
In the great book on Wisdom,
Proverbs Chapter one and verse
number seven.
Solomon writes, the fear
of the Lord
(16:14):
is the beginning
of knowledge.
But fools despise
wisdom and instruction.
Fear of the law, the respective
God entering into
a right relationship with him,
that's the beginning
of knowledge, that's the start.
(16:34):
But hear me, it doesn't say
all knowledge is now yours.
It doesn't say all wisdom is now
yours. It doesn't say you've
completed the package and you've got
all of God's brains.
It doesn't say that it says, the
fear of the Lord is the beginning
of knowledge.
And it also says fools
despise wisdom
(16:56):
and instruction, I think it's
interesting that it doesn't
say wicked people despise
wisdom.
It doesn't say sinners,
despise wisdom.
It doesn't make that
differentiation, it says.
In other words, I can be a good
person, I could fear the Lord
yet still live foolishly
(17:17):
in this world.
Proverbs Chapter two, notice
these verses, beginning at verse
number six.
For the Lord grants wisdom.
From his mouth come knowledge
and understanding.
He grants a treasure
of common sense.
Man, there you go.
(17:37):
The treasure of common
sense.
He grants that to the honest.
He's a shield to those who walk
with integrity.
He guards the powers of the
just and protects
those who are faithful
(17:58):
to him.
Verse nine, then in other
words, afterwards, after these
things have happened, then you'll
understand what is right just
and fair, and you will find the
right way to go, for
wisdom will enter your
heart, and knowledge will
fill you with joy.
Wise choices will watch
(18:19):
over you.
Understanding will keep
you safe.
Hear me today, according to
scripture, wisdom follows
honesty and integrity
and faithfulness.
We are told that wisdom comes
with the salvation package.
We don't get baptized in the name of
Jesus and come up out of
(18:40):
there full of wisdom
and understanding.
It's not the way it works.
Wisdom for living
is separate from righteousness
with God.
Come on, think about it, folks.
I can be compassionate and kind,
and it's not the same as being
thoughtful and thorough.
(19:03):
I could be loving, and it's not the
same as being discerning.
I can be funny, and it's not
the same as being perceptive
kind.
People aren't always
knowledgeable.
Pleasant folks aren't always
rational.
Sweet folks aren't always
sensible folks.
(19:23):
Righteousness, explains
the believers standing
with God.
Wise living is
a human experience.
I want us to get in in our hearts
and our understanding and our
knowledge today.
Sometimes we mistake,
alright standing with God,
with wise living on
(19:44):
the Earth, and when we do,
good people fall
into foolish outcomes.
What's the alternative?
Preacher, Surely you haven't just
shared all this information to scare
the bejesus out of all of us?
There's got to be a solution?
(20:07):
Indeed, I need to make us aware
of the deception, and the error
in the faults, that would cause us
to crash.
But I happily proclaim that
there are elements of scripture,
very clear and very direct,
to help ordinary humans
as you and I.
There is a better way we can
(20:28):
experience God's prospering,
we can know God's success,
not just on Sundays in a
house full of worshiping
disciples, but we can know
success in our career
choices. We can know success
in our marriages and families.
We can know success as we
go into this world, in our financial
(20:48):
decisions. We can know success
in our retirement.
We can know success in our
careers, if we do what
the scripture points us to do.
A few weeks ago from this pulpit, I
spoke about the Ark
of the Covenant.
In particular, David's efforts
(21:10):
to return the ark to Jerusalem,
perhaps you recall
that the Ark of the Covenant
represented God's
presence.
It wasn't all of God's presence
in a gold box, but it it signified
the centrality.
And when he visited his people,
it was from the centrality of
(21:30):
that box.
And so, David's trying to bring the
box back to the Israel,
to the city, and we talked about
how, that while it was
in the House of Abinidab,
God blessed that household
because of the Ark.
So David had one failed attempt
to return the ark.
Then he got it right, and
(21:51):
he led the people to transfer the
ark back to Jerusalem.
And so we pick up at that same
story again, if you'll look with me
in first Chronicles 16
and verse number one.
The Bible says they brought the Ark
of God
and set it
in the midst of
(22:13):
the tabernacle
that David had erected
for us.
Then they burnt offerings, offered
burnt offerings and peace offerings
before God.
They brought it back,
put it in the Tabernacle, in the
tent in the town where
they were living.
(22:34):
Verse number seven of the
Bible says, on that day, David
first delivered this Psalm
into the hand of Asaph and his
brethren to thank the
Lord. Now this entire
song runs to verse 35.
I'm not going to read it all right
now. I encourage you to read it
in its entirety.
It's a wonderful song,
(22:55):
but I want us to notice something
right near the beginning of the song
David had sung
after the Ark was back in
town.
All give thanks to the Lord, call
upon his name, make
known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him.
Sing songs to him.
Talk of all his wondrous
(23:16):
works.
Glory in his holy name.
Let the hearts of those rejoice
who seek the Lord.
Look at verse 11, seek
the Lord and his
strength.
Seek his face
evermore.
Seek the Lord
and his strength.
(23:37):
Seek his face
evermore.
Over the recent holidays.
Our family took an adventure, went
down to Safeco Field or T-Mobile
Field now.
We went to that enchanted Christmas
(23:59):
thing.
Where the whole infield was
created into this big old maze
of incredible Christmas lights.
And in the maze,
there were hidden,
Santas nine reindeer.
So as you walk into the maze,
(24:21):
every participant is given this
little card with all the
names of the nine reindeer
and there's little scratch off
places. When you find a reindeer,
you could go over to the table with
all the five year olds
and scratch off your gold coin
that you found that reindeer.
(24:44):
Some in our party were more
jazzed about finding all nine
than others.
We went round and round
in that crazy maze
seeking
nine reindeer.
I'm sorry to confess, among
six average Americans, we
(25:05):
were not able to find them all.
Some little five year old kid found
them all in five minutes, probably,
but adults were lacking.
I think we found 7 maybe.
But after that,
it was over.
The seeking was finished.
(25:27):
We found all the reindeer
we were going to find,
everybody with me seeking, it
was a one time event.
Seek, find,
it's over.
And so I'm challenged
when David writes,
and so says to the
(25:48):
children of Israel,
seek the
Lord and his
presence and his strength,
seek him ever
more.
And I begin to struggle.
That seems kind of strange to me
because the arc
wasn't lost any more.
The presence of God wasn't
(26:09):
somewhere else any more.
It was no longer in a barn
in Abinidabs house.
The ark was in town.
It was in a tabernacle made
by David.
It was in a tent, the ark,
if you will, while David was
talking, was right over there!
David Seeking, had to be
(26:30):
different than us looking for
reindeer in a ball
park. I want to know, why
does a king call his people
to seek the Lord
when the presence of God is
right in the tent?
Obviously,
it's right there!
Why does David challenge
(26:50):
all of Israel to
seek what is
obvious?
His meaning of seek, if we look in
other translations, it
says study God.
It says search for the Lord.
It says, look to
(27:11):
the Lord.
Study God.
Inquire of God.
Look to the Lord,
in modern day in practical
terms.
I submit to this congregation,
david was saying this,
we sought the ark.
We searched for the presence of God.
We brought it back home and we
set it up in a tent.
(27:32):
And there it is.
And now, as he's singing
and as he's rejoicing us,
he says to the children of Israel,
Now hear me as often
as you can, as regularly
as you would go
to the tent, seek what
is obvious!
Get into that tabernacle!
(27:52):
Saturate yourself
in the presence of God!
Have you found God's presence?
Absolutely, they had.
Did they know where he was?
Certainly they did.
David was saying, Now
visit the ark.
(28:14):
I want you to notice in that
passage, he said, seek the Lord
and his strength, seek his
face ever more,
seek his face ever
more.
Seek his presence, continually
pursue his presence day
and night, frequent
(28:34):
the power of God always.
Why? Why did David
feel that way?
Why was the presence of God
so important as David
challenged the people of Israel?
I'll take you back to the book of
Job once again.
Job said, God is wise
(28:54):
in heart.
And mighty in strength.
God is wise.
And Mighty.
You get to the New Testament, the
Apostle Paul and an
apostle by the name of Jude
had this to say, in first
(29:16):
Timothy 1:17.
Now to the King Eternal,
immortal, invisible.
To God, who
alone is
wise be
honor and glory, forever
and ever amen.
Jude, in the last sentences
(29:38):
of the book, in the letter that he
wrote Verse 25, he says,
to God our savior,
who alone
is wise the glory
and majesty, dominion
and power now and forever.
I believe with all of my heart
that David called
for a continual and
(29:59):
lifetime pursuit
of God's presence.
Because David knew
there is a difference between
rightness with God
and wisdom in living.
David knew, I want to
be in the presence of God
because he alone
is wise.
(30:23):
David understood the presence of
God brings more
than a right relationship for
humanity.
The presence of God also
brings wisdom
for a living.
I preach this afternoon there's
a difference between finding
God and learning
from God.
(30:43):
There's a difference between an
experience with God
and the goose bumps on a prayer
meeting, and there is a prospering
and a successful life
with God.
We don't constantly pray
and turn to God because
we've lost him.
We're not on our knees because our
(31:05):
relationship is in question,
rather, we constantly
seek the obvious
because we want his wisdom
for living day to day.
Finding God the first
time that makes my
soul right with him,
but seeking God all
(31:26):
the time that makes our
lives successful
here and now.
Well, I preach today, you know what,
we keep going back to
that obvious tent because
God alone
is why we seek
(31:46):
the obvious, because we want
his wisdom in our day
to day living and we
seek the obvious because you know
what, I want to maximize
success.
And I want to minimize foolishness.
That's why we seek the obvious.
21 days of prayer, preacher?
(32:07):
Why are you doing that?
Did you lose God?
You don't know where he is?
Is your relationship in trouble?
Oh no, my friend, we
seek the obvious because
we want to maximize our success
and we want to minimize our
foolishness.
We want to do that as individuals.
We want to do that as families.
(32:29):
We want to do that as a
congregation.
Well, you have pre-service prayer
for 30 minutes, Don did a great
job leading prayer today.
Evan did a great job last week.
Why do you do that, preacher?
We're going to pray at the end of
church anyway.
(32:49):
Why are you praying at the beginning
at church? What's going on?
You're so carnal?
You're so sinful?
No, my friend, we seek
the obvious because we want
to maximize
success and we want
to minimize foolishness,
right here right now
on this Earth, as individuals
(33:10):
and families and as a congregation.
My God preacher, you're
getting all stinking wound up,
sweats running down your little bald
head.
What's the big deal man?
(33:31):
We saw you last weekend,
Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
Preacher, you were having a Holy
Ghost rally, tearing it
up, enjoying the presence of God.
What are you doing back here again
this week?
Why in the world do you come in two
weeks in a row?
You've got three services last week,
(33:51):
you're good till June man.
Why are you back again this week?
Why are you so wound up tight
about the things you've got to tell?
I'll tell you why, it's not because
I've lost him.
It's not because I have sinned
during the week.
I'll tell you why, because I
recognize he alone
is wise, and I recognize
(34:13):
I want to maximize God's
prosperity in my life,
and I want to minimize
the foolishness and the life
failures and the crash
and burn.
I want to have God's favor
in my life.
I want his wisdom.
(34:36):
So I follow the King David
Song, Seek
the Lord and his strength.
Seek his face
everyone.
For his wisdom.
(34:56):
For his strengths.
Always.
Always.
What are you getting at preacher?
I'm getting at here
and now.
(35:23):
I hope to have provoked to prayer,
those in this room
who are weighing things
in their lives.
I hope to provoke in this room
those that are making college
choices and career
choices that they would decide,
I will seek the Lord
and his strengths
(35:44):
forever more in this decision.
For those in this room that are
making decisions about their family,
the school their kids attend, or
where they're going to go to school,
or maybe your children are entering
kindergarten for the first time.
I preach to parents, you know what?
Those decisions, those steps,
those outcomes.
We need to seek the Lord in his
(36:06):
strength and seek his face
ever more.
I preach to those who are
considering a new
relationship or perhaps
the status of a current
relationship.
We need to seek the Lord
and his strength.
The reason many good people
end up in lousy relationships
(36:28):
is because we falsely think
God doesn't care about that.
Hear me today, the church
is the bride of Christ.
He cares about our relationships
as much as that.
You considering a home purchase,
are you considering a major
(36:49):
financial decision?
Are you doing something in
retirement or in career?
Listen, I plead.
I preach in faith.
We ought to seek the Lord
and the only wise God
always, in all things
I preach,
for every one who's already
(37:11):
involved in serving in ministry
and to those who would become
involved in serving in
ministry, whether that's in
Children's Ministry, Student
Ministry, Music Ministry,
Guest Services Ministry,
whatever the ministry, music
and students and all of those
things, faith group leadership
and all the roles in Faith
(37:32):
Group. I pray for
a congregation
that'll saturate
those ministries in
the power and presence
of Almighty God.
I pray for our men and women
who must have
a saturating anointing
of God.
(38:02):
I preach this afternoon
about decisions,
lives,
choices
that are bathed
in God's presence.
I
Pray for men and women
(38:24):
that will recognize and realize,
anytime any human
decides,
I don't need God in that area
of my life,
we're making a choice.
We're saying my wisdom
is greater than his.
(38:47):
In the Old Testament and new, they
were convinced.
Those who walked
in the steps and pathways with Jesus
Christ.
Their conviction, their knowledge,
their understanding was,
He alone is wise.
(39:08):
Of course, if I've never found him,
I've not known of forgiveness
of my sins, I've not been baptized
or filled with his spirit.
That's the starting place.
It's got to begin right there.
And hear me today,
this holy savior
did not die on the cross,
suffer that pain,
(39:31):
humiliation and ridicule,
raise himself from the dead,
so you and I could have a one
time hit of godly
power.
That is not
what this holy book
is all about.
(39:55):
But even before the outpouring of
the spirit.
There is a man named David,
got all jazzed about a God
experience,
And in that moment of God
moving on him, as he penned his
song,
(40:17):
he said, these people got to know.
The ark is home,
it's in a tent right there, it's
obvious.
These people got to know
it's not the end.
It's the beginning.
(40:41):
These people got to know,
you need to be in a tent.
Little decisions add up and become
big decisions.
You need to be in that tent.
Why do you change your schedule?
Why do you work around an afternoon
(41:02):
service on a Sunday?
Why do you organize your life
so you can participate in a faith
group and get together with other
believers? Let me tell you why
I need to be
in that tent.
I mean, look at that gold box.
(41:23):
I need to be around when his
presence settles in.
I got a few degrees, I got decades
of experience, but I don't have the
wisdom I need to go a step farther.
I need to be
in that tent.
If anybody in this house feels a
(41:44):
little bit like I do, would you
join me in the presence of God?
Would you? Even where you're at?
Raise your hands?
Would you come up around this front
area and kneel?
Would you close your eyes?
Would you open your voice?
Whatever is spurring you
and challenging you right now?
Come on somebody. Do you want to be
in that tent?
(42:04):
Are there men and women, and moms
and dads, and husbands and wives
that'll declare, "You know what"?
I am not going into the future
on my own, of my
own energy, my own defense
and my own understanding.
No. I want
to seek the presence and the power
and the anointing of God.
All the days of my
(42:25):
life.
I don't want to end up in a foolish
tale here.
I want the prosperity
of the all knowing
and only wise God In
me.
I must speak for a little while this
afternoon, I'm going to share
some stories, I'm going to look
at some verses of scripture, they'll
be put up on the screen
and my whole intention, my
entire goal and direction
in speaking this short while this
afternoon is to inspire
each and every one in the sound of
my voice to have a conversation
(00:42):
with God.
In conclusion prayer
in her own way, in her own fashion,
in her own words, is to have a
conversation with God, that is
exactly what I am attempting
to do. There you go.
Cat's out of the bag.
That's what I am trying to do
in sharing this
talk. This speech, this sermon,
(01:03):
whatever you want to call it,
so that we would respond
to God.
As you might expect, is pastor of
this congregation, I am in
the people business.
I've been in ministry now
for more than 30 years.
I've been around church and around
(01:23):
congregations for more than
50 years
and over all those years
and all those experiences.
I've observed some things, quite
frankly, that trouble
me.
I've seen some things and reflected
on some things that, to me,
seem out of place
(01:44):
with following Jesus
Christ.
Here's the deal, I've wondered how
in the world good people
end up in bad situations.
I, over the years, in the course of
time in various congregations,
I've traveled and ministered in
40 different states and God
(02:04):
knows how many different churches as
part of our ministry and I've
seen this and that and the other,
and you know what I come across?
What about this young lady who's
kind and compassionate and friendly,
but she's often in a bad
relationship?
What about that?
What about the faithful family
that even serves in some ministry
(02:25):
in the church, but they seem to
regularly be in financial
trouble? What about that?
What about the friendly, interesting
couple whose children,
unfortunately, are giving them
regular grief?
Or what about the couple who
found Jesus long ago?
They seemed to really love Jesus,
(02:46):
but they fight and argue
like complete enemies.
I'm bothered by the good young
man who seemed to not be able
to keep anything related to
a decent job.
I am concerned about a sincere
person who is in lack of
personal control that brings
(03:06):
ongoing health issues.
Am I the only one
who is ever wondered
about such things?
Three or four years ago,
I learned of the ridiculous
tragedy of
(03:27):
a long time friend.
Fact he was a friend for
20 plus years.
An enjoyable person, a helpful,
fun, pleasant,
churchgoing man.
Not only churchgoing, but church
(03:47):
involved, he served
and ministered to others.
But a few years ago, unexpectedly,
my wife and I received a call from
his wife.
She discovered that the man had
maintained a mistress in another
state for seven, eight, 10
years.
(04:09):
He destroyed his marriage.
Devastated his children
and rocked the faith of those
he'd influenced.
It makes me ask how?
How does that happen?
How does a nice person
(04:30):
do something so
foolish?
I'm aware of another good man.
An older man, a man who
spent his entire life
serving congregations.
A man who planted churches and
(04:50):
pastored churches,
who then went on to help others
plant churches and pastored
churches. A good person,
a righteous man.
One of his adult children started
business,
the business started getting a
little bit of success and
(05:11):
the child decided, You know what,
I want to expand the business, I
want to add other locations, and so
he went to the bank, but the bank
wouldn't give a business loan.
And so the good dad, the righteous
dad, the ministry dad.
Emptied out his 401k.
Gave all the money to the child.
(05:34):
There were struggles in the
business, and the child was
convinced things are ready to turn,
the tipping point is really
very close.
Just a little more capital
and the business will go over the
edge, and really over the hump,
and it'll go from there.
And so dad, the faithful
man, the righteous man.
(05:55):
Mortgaged his home,
gave the money to the child.
And the business went
belly up.
Retirement money gone.
Bank foreclosed the house,
the righteous man, the faithful
man, the ministry man lost
(06:17):
everything.
How does a good person?
Makes such tragic
mistakes.
I mean, really, anybody who hangs
around a church and ministry
long enough, you hear sermons
about how God wants to
(06:38):
bless lives and how
God heals people
and how God changes families
and how God blesses
finances.
But still, if you observe,
you get engaged, you watch and
figure what's happening.
There are examples of people
who hear the messages
but aren't experiencing
(06:59):
what's being preached and
taught.
Why is that?
Actually, if we become students
of the Bible, the word of God, there
are similar stories
in here. Sometimes we think in
the Bible, well, the stories in the
Bible are like this.
We get stories about wicked
(07:20):
people who live wicked
lives. Well, that's true.
Well, there's story about righteous
people who have righteous lives.
That's also true.
But today, I want to point out that
in this book, we also find stories
of good people
who did foolish things
and it cost them dearly.
(07:43):
Right in this book, There are
battles lost.
There are lives ended, there are
families ruined by good
people acting
foolishly.
There are murders and adulteries.
There are kingdoms lost.
There are friendships ended in
this book by decent
humans who are acting
(08:04):
ignorantly.
There are hopes vanished
and promises extinguished and
health wasted in fortunes
forfeited and relationships
terminated.
These are Bible stories that
happened at the hands of good
people
who were living poorly.
Why do these things happen?
(08:26):
In the Book of
Job Chapter nine in verse four,
he made a helpful observation
for this discussion.
Today in Job nine,
from the Bible, says God
is wise in heart
and mighty in strength.
Who has hardened himself
(08:47):
against him
and prospered?
Well, clearly, God is wise and
God is mighty, that's plain
and simple, Joe declares it.
But after declaring that truth,
Job then asked who
has hardened himself
against him against
God and prospered?
(09:10):
Who's hardened himself against God?
And still prospered?
Nearly every spring, and it's coming
up again in April, May.
My wife wants me to take her
to Skagit County
and see the beautiful tulip fields.
(09:31):
Sometimes we visit, you've been
there, you know this, you visit and
boots are absolutely
needed.
There's not just mud
there's lots of mud.
Fabulous Pacific Northwest
rain, note, I said fabulous.
(09:51):
Soaks those tulip
fields, making them muddy
and soft.
But there are other times we have
visited those fields when the rains
have ended and the
fields are different.
Fields are crusty.
I've been there when the surface is
hardened and even cracking,
(10:13):
it's so hard, yet when you walk
on it, you can tell it's a
crusty surface, but there's moisture
underneath,
but the surface is hard
and dry.
The soil is gone from moist
and muddy to crusty
and hard.
And you know what?
We know this that doesn't
happen immediately.
(10:37):
First, the rain dwindles,
there's fewer days of rain
and then there's fewer inches
of rain. It's not as severe,
less rain, less
mud, slowly but
certainly, then no
rain and then more crusty
hardened soil.
Job asks the question,
(10:58):
who has hardened
himself against God
and prospered?
It's a rhetorical question.
Listen, good people
live poorly when
we allow our lives
to harden toward
God like those tulip
fields. Soil lives
(11:18):
don't harden immediately.
Would you hear the preacher today?
It's not overnight that
we go from muddy, saturated,
spiritually soaked people
into hard, cracked
and crusty hardened ones
toward God?
Oh no, my friend.
But over a period of time.
(11:38):
Choices are made.
Often times not intentionally,
but accidentally
good people, people
who have an experience with
God get hardened
toward God, we minimize
God.
Sometimes we de-emphasize
(11:59):
God.
And sometimes it's not just ignoring
God, but we forget about
God. We go on our daily
duties and our things, and we don't
even consider, Hey,
I might want to talk
to God about this
distancing from God.
It happens when we don't make the
connection between eternity
(12:21):
and our present reality
times. We become crusty because
we compartmentalize God
and the spiritual rain diminishes,
because there are some areas
of my life I don't want
God raining on.
I don't want God messing
with. I don't want him investing
(12:41):
in challenging and changing
that area of my life.
We don't need him.
We think for some
things, dryness comes when we
keep God at arm's length.
We hold God to a comfortable
distance. And as we make
these small incremental
decisions, they accumulate
(13:02):
until there is faulty,
hard crusty,
cracking soil
in our approach, in our
determination and our response
to God.
And when we get to that place where
we are hardened toward God,
hear this preacher
and that ancient preacher Joe
from years ago, we cannot
(13:24):
expect God's prosperity
and God's success when
we have put him out
of areas of our life.
Good people know failure when
they allow their lives to harden
(13:44):
against God.
How's a good person
make tragic mistakes?
It bothers me.
I believe that good people
foolishly fall.
(14:06):
When we mistake
our righteousness
for wisdom.
Good people.
Foolishly fall.
When we mistake our righteousness
for
wisdom.
You see, righteousness, that
(14:26):
explains the believers
standing with
God.
It describes his view
of our lives when
we are in right relationship
with him.
According to scripture, living in
the New Testament Covenant, we
enjoy rightness
with God when we apply
(14:48):
the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ to our
lives. We enjoy rightness
with God when we repent,
when there's sorrow for
walking the wrong direction, and
we turn toward
Jesus Christ is rightness
with God. When we are baptized
in the name of Jesus
(15:10):
to wash away our faults
and failures, there's rightness
with God. When we receive
the gift of his Holy Spirit,
part of him dwelling within us,
and that New Testament
new birth experience
makes us righteous
in God's sight.
It brings us in the right
(15:31):
relationship with
him, and that's a wonderful
and miraculous and amazing
thing that we could never accomplish
on our own.
But righteousness
is not the same
as wisdom.
(15:53):
Wise living
is earthly
wise, living is a
human experience.
In the great book on Wisdom,
Proverbs Chapter one and verse
number seven.
Solomon writes, the fear
of the Lord
(16:14):
is the beginning
of knowledge.
But fools despise
wisdom and instruction.
Fear of the law, the respective
God entering into
a right relationship with him,
that's the beginning
of knowledge, that's the start.
(16:34):
But hear me, it doesn't say
all knowledge is now yours.
It doesn't say all wisdom is now
yours. It doesn't say you've
completed the package and you've got
all of God's brains.
It doesn't say that it says, the
fear of the Lord is the beginning
of knowledge.
And it also says fools
despise wisdom
(16:56):
and instruction, I think it's
interesting that it doesn't
say wicked people despise
wisdom.
It doesn't say sinners,
despise wisdom.
It doesn't make that
differentiation, it says.
In other words, I can be a good
person, I could fear the Lord
yet still live foolishly
(17:17):
in this world.
Proverbs Chapter two, notice
these verses, beginning at verse
number six.
For the Lord grants wisdom.
From his mouth come knowledge
and understanding.
He grants a treasure
of common sense.
Man, there you go.
(17:37):
The treasure of common
sense.
He grants that to the honest.
He's a shield to those who walk
with integrity.
He guards the powers of the
just and protects
those who are faithful
(17:58):
to him.
Verse nine, then in other
words, afterwards, after these
things have happened, then you'll
understand what is right just
and fair, and you will find the
right way to go, for
wisdom will enter your
heart, and knowledge will
fill you with joy.
Wise choices will watch
(18:19):
over you.
Understanding will keep
you safe.
Hear me today, according to
scripture, wisdom follows
honesty and integrity
and faithfulness.
We are told that wisdom comes
with the salvation package.
We don't get baptized in the name of
Jesus and come up out of
(18:40):
there full of wisdom
and understanding.
It's not the way it works.
Wisdom for living
is separate from righteousness
with God.
Come on, think about it, folks.
I can be compassionate and kind,
and it's not the same as being
thoughtful and thorough.
(19:03):
I could be loving, and it's not the
same as being discerning.
I can be funny, and it's not
the same as being perceptive
kind.
People aren't always
knowledgeable.
Pleasant folks aren't always
rational.
Sweet folks aren't always
sensible folks.
(19:23):
Righteousness, explains
the believers standing
with God.
Wise living is
a human experience.
I want us to get in in our hearts
and our understanding and our
knowledge today.
Sometimes we mistake,
alright standing with God,
with wise living on
(19:44):
the Earth, and when we do,
good people fall
into foolish outcomes.
What's the alternative?
Preacher, Surely you haven't just
shared all this information to scare
the bejesus out of all of us?
There's got to be a solution?
(20:07):
Indeed, I need to make us aware
of the deception, and the error
in the faults, that would cause us
to crash.
But I happily proclaim that
there are elements of scripture,
very clear and very direct,
to help ordinary humans
as you and I.
There is a better way we can
(20:28):
experience God's prospering,
we can know God's success,
not just on Sundays in a
house full of worshiping
disciples, but we can know
success in our career
choices. We can know success
in our marriages and families.
We can know success as we
go into this world, in our financial
(20:48):
decisions. We can know success
in our retirement.
We can know success in our
careers, if we do what
the scripture points us to do.
A few weeks ago from this pulpit, I
spoke about the Ark
of the Covenant.
In particular, David's efforts
(21:10):
to return the ark to Jerusalem,
perhaps you recall
that the Ark of the Covenant
represented God's
presence.
It wasn't all of God's presence
in a gold box, but it it signified
the centrality.
And when he visited his people,
it was from the centrality of
(21:30):
that box.
And so, David's trying to bring the
box back to the Israel,
to the city, and we talked about
how, that while it was
in the House of Abinidab,
God blessed that household
because of the Ark.
So David had one failed attempt
to return the ark.
Then he got it right, and
(21:51):
he led the people to transfer the
ark back to Jerusalem.
And so we pick up at that same
story again, if you'll look with me
in first Chronicles 16
and verse number one.
The Bible says they brought the Ark
of God
and set it
in the midst of
(22:13):
the tabernacle
that David had erected
for us.
Then they burnt offerings, offered
burnt offerings and peace offerings
before God.
They brought it back,
put it in the Tabernacle, in the
tent in the town where
they were living.
(22:34):
Verse number seven of the
Bible says, on that day, David
first delivered this Psalm
into the hand of Asaph and his
brethren to thank the
Lord. Now this entire
song runs to verse 35.
I'm not going to read it all right
now. I encourage you to read it
in its entirety.
It's a wonderful song,
(22:55):
but I want us to notice something
right near the beginning of the song
David had sung
after the Ark was back in
town.
All give thanks to the Lord, call
upon his name, make
known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him.
Sing songs to him.
Talk of all his wondrous
(23:16):
works.
Glory in his holy name.
Let the hearts of those rejoice
who seek the Lord.
Look at verse 11, seek
the Lord and his
strength.
Seek his face
evermore.
Seek the Lord
and his strength.
(23:37):
Seek his face
evermore.
Over the recent holidays.
Our family took an adventure, went
down to Safeco Field or T-Mobile
Field now.
We went to that enchanted Christmas
(23:59):
thing.
Where the whole infield was
created into this big old maze
of incredible Christmas lights.
And in the maze,
there were hidden,
Santas nine reindeer.
So as you walk into the maze,
(24:21):
every participant is given this
little card with all the
names of the nine reindeer
and there's little scratch off
places. When you find a reindeer,
you could go over to the table with
all the five year olds
and scratch off your gold coin
that you found that reindeer.
(24:44):
Some in our party were more
jazzed about finding all nine
than others.
We went round and round
in that crazy maze
seeking
nine reindeer.
I'm sorry to confess, among
six average Americans, we
(25:05):
were not able to find them all.
Some little five year old kid found
them all in five minutes, probably,
but adults were lacking.
I think we found 7 maybe.
But after that,
it was over.
The seeking was finished.
(25:27):
We found all the reindeer
we were going to find,
everybody with me seeking, it
was a one time event.
Seek, find,
it's over.
And so I'm challenged
when David writes,
and so says to the
(25:48):
children of Israel,
seek the
Lord and his
presence and his strength,
seek him ever
more.
And I begin to struggle.
That seems kind of strange to me
because the arc
wasn't lost any more.
The presence of God wasn't
(26:09):
somewhere else any more.
It was no longer in a barn
in Abinidabs house.
The ark was in town.
It was in a tabernacle made
by David.
It was in a tent, the ark,
if you will, while David was
talking, was right over there!
David Seeking, had to be
(26:30):
different than us looking for
reindeer in a ball
park. I want to know, why
does a king call his people
to seek the Lord
when the presence of God is
right in the tent?
Obviously,
it's right there!
Why does David challenge
(26:50):
all of Israel to
seek what is
obvious?
His meaning of seek, if we look in
other translations, it
says study God.
It says search for the Lord.
It says, look to
(27:11):
the Lord.
Study God.
Inquire of God.
Look to the Lord,
in modern day in practical
terms.
I submit to this congregation,
david was saying this,
we sought the ark.
We searched for the presence of God.
We brought it back home and we
set it up in a tent.
(27:32):
And there it is.
And now, as he's singing
and as he's rejoicing us,
he says to the children of Israel,
Now hear me as often
as you can, as regularly
as you would go
to the tent, seek what
is obvious!
Get into that tabernacle!
(27:52):
Saturate yourself
in the presence of God!
Have you found God's presence?
Absolutely, they had.
Did they know where he was?
Certainly they did.
David was saying, Now
visit the ark.
(28:14):
I want you to notice in that
passage, he said, seek the Lord
and his strength, seek his
face ever more,
seek his face ever
more.
Seek his presence, continually
pursue his presence day
and night, frequent
(28:34):
the power of God always.
Why? Why did David
feel that way?
Why was the presence of God
so important as David
challenged the people of Israel?
I'll take you back to the book of
Job once again.
Job said, God is wise
(28:54):
in heart.
And mighty in strength.
God is wise.
And Mighty.
You get to the New Testament, the
Apostle Paul and an
apostle by the name of Jude
had this to say, in first
(29:16):
Timothy 1:17.
Now to the King Eternal,
immortal, invisible.
To God, who
alone is
wise be
honor and glory, forever
and ever amen.
Jude, in the last sentences
(29:38):
of the book, in the letter that he
wrote Verse 25, he says,
to God our savior,
who alone
is wise the glory
and majesty, dominion
and power now and forever.
I believe with all of my heart
that David called
for a continual and
(29:59):
lifetime pursuit
of God's presence.
Because David knew
there is a difference between
rightness with God
and wisdom in living.
David knew, I want to
be in the presence of God
because he alone
is wise.
(30:23):
David understood the presence of
God brings more
than a right relationship for
humanity.
The presence of God also
brings wisdom
for a living.
I preach this afternoon there's
a difference between finding
God and learning
from God.
(30:43):
There's a difference between an
experience with God
and the goose bumps on a prayer
meeting, and there is a prospering
and a successful life
with God.
We don't constantly pray
and turn to God because
we've lost him.
We're not on our knees because our
(31:05):
relationship is in question,
rather, we constantly
seek the obvious
because we want his wisdom
for living day to day.
Finding God the first
time that makes my
soul right with him,
but seeking God all
(31:26):
the time that makes our
lives successful
here and now.
Well, I preach today, you know what,
we keep going back to
that obvious tent because
God alone
is why we seek
(31:46):
the obvious, because we want
his wisdom in our day
to day living and we
seek the obvious because you know
what, I want to maximize
success.
And I want to minimize foolishness.
That's why we seek the obvious.
21 days of prayer, preacher?
(32:07):
Why are you doing that?
Did you lose God?
You don't know where he is?
Is your relationship in trouble?
Oh no, my friend, we
seek the obvious because
we want to maximize our success
and we want to minimize our
foolishness.
We want to do that as individuals.
We want to do that as families.
(32:29):
We want to do that as a
congregation.
Well, you have pre-service prayer
for 30 minutes, Don did a great
job leading prayer today.
Evan did a great job last week.
Why do you do that, preacher?
We're going to pray at the end of
church anyway.
(32:49):
Why are you praying at the beginning
at church? What's going on?
You're so carnal?
You're so sinful?
No, my friend, we seek
the obvious because we want
to maximize
success and we want
to minimize foolishness,
right here right now
on this Earth, as individuals
(33:10):
and families and as a congregation.
My God preacher, you're
getting all stinking wound up,
sweats running down your little bald
head.
What's the big deal man?
(33:31):
We saw you last weekend,
Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
Preacher, you were having a Holy
Ghost rally, tearing it
up, enjoying the presence of God.
What are you doing back here again
this week?
Why in the world do you come in two
weeks in a row?
You've got three services last week,
(33:51):
you're good till June man.
Why are you back again this week?
Why are you so wound up tight
about the things you've got to tell?
I'll tell you why, it's not because
I've lost him.
It's not because I have sinned
during the week.
I'll tell you why, because I
recognize he alone
is wise, and I recognize
(34:13):
I want to maximize God's
prosperity in my life,
and I want to minimize
the foolishness and the life
failures and the crash
and burn.
I want to have God's favor
in my life.
I want his wisdom.
(34:36):
So I follow the King David
Song, Seek
the Lord and his strength.
Seek his face
everyone.
For his wisdom.
(34:56):
For his strengths.
Always.
Always.
What are you getting at preacher?
I'm getting at here
and now.
(35:23):
I hope to have provoked to prayer,
those in this room
who are weighing things
in their lives.
I hope to provoke in this room
those that are making college
choices and career
choices that they would decide,
I will seek the Lord
and his strengths
(35:44):
forever more in this decision.
For those in this room that are
making decisions about their family,
the school their kids attend, or
where they're going to go to school,
or maybe your children are entering
kindergarten for the first time.
I preach to parents, you know what?
Those decisions, those steps,
those outcomes.
We need to seek the Lord in his
(36:06):
strength and seek his face
ever more.
I preach to those who are
considering a new
relationship or perhaps
the status of a current
relationship.
We need to seek the Lord
and his strength.
The reason many good people
end up in lousy relationships
(36:28):
is because we falsely think
God doesn't care about that.
Hear me today, the church
is the bride of Christ.
He cares about our relationships
as much as that.
You considering a home purchase,
are you considering a major
(36:49):
financial decision?
Are you doing something in
retirement or in career?
Listen, I plead.
I preach in faith.
We ought to seek the Lord
and the only wise God
always, in all things
I preach,
for every one who's already
(37:11):
involved in serving in ministry
and to those who would become
involved in serving in
ministry, whether that's in
Children's Ministry, Student
Ministry, Music Ministry,
Guest Services Ministry,
whatever the ministry, music
and students and all of those
things, faith group leadership
and all the roles in Faith
(37:32):
Group. I pray for
a congregation
that'll saturate
those ministries in
the power and presence
of Almighty God.
I pray for our men and women
who must have
a saturating anointing
of God.
(38:02):
I preach this afternoon
about decisions,
lives,
choices
that are bathed
in God's presence.
I
Pray for men and women
(38:24):
that will recognize and realize,
anytime any human
decides,
I don't need God in that area
of my life,
we're making a choice.
We're saying my wisdom
is greater than his.
(38:47):
In the Old Testament and new, they
were convinced.
Those who walked
in the steps and pathways with Jesus
Christ.
Their conviction, their knowledge,
their understanding was,
He alone is wise.
(39:08):
Of course, if I've never found him,
I've not known of forgiveness
of my sins, I've not been baptized
or filled with his spirit.
That's the starting place.
It's got to begin right there.
And hear me today,
this holy savior
did not die on the cross,
suffer that pain,
(39:31):
humiliation and ridicule,
raise himself from the dead,
so you and I could have a one
time hit of godly
power.
That is not
what this holy book
is all about.
(39:55):
But even before the outpouring of
the spirit.
There is a man named David,
got all jazzed about a God
experience,
And in that moment of God
moving on him, as he penned his
song,
(40:17):
he said, these people got to know.
The ark is home,
it's in a tent right there, it's
obvious.
These people got to know
it's not the end.
It's the beginning.
(40:41):
These people got to know,
you need to be in a tent.
Little decisions add up and become
big decisions.
You need to be in that tent.
Why do you change your schedule?
Why do you work around an afternoon
(41:02):
service on a Sunday?
Why do you organize your life
so you can participate in a faith
group and get together with other
believers? Let me tell you why
I need to be
in that tent.
I mean, look at that gold box.
(41:23):
I need to be around when his
presence settles in.
I got a few degrees, I got decades
of experience, but I don't have the
wisdom I need to go a step farther.
I need to be
in that tent.
If anybody in this house feels a
(41:44):
little bit like I do, would you
join me in the presence of God?
Would you? Even where you're at?
Raise your hands?
Would you come up around this front
area and kneel?
Would you close your eyes?
Would you open your voice?
Whatever is spurring you
and challenging you right now?
Come on somebody. Do you want to be
in that tent?
(42:04):
Are there men and women, and moms
and dads, and husbands and wives
that'll declare, "You know what"?
I am not going into the future
on my own, of my
own energy, my own defense
and my own understanding.
No. I want
to seek the presence and the power
and the anointing of God.
All the days of my
(42:25):
life.
I don't want to end up in a foolish
tale here.
I want the prosperity
of the all knowing
and only wise God In
me.
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