God's Plan For Us Together

I don't know what I'm trying to sing but there's something in that song that is making me want to dance. Come on somebody. No, I'm not dancing. Good to see you guys. And of course we want to say hello to all of our campuses that are joining us right now in the Austin area. Central, Lake Travis, Leander, Liberty Hill, and I understand that yesterday Lake Travis beat Central in a softball game yesterday. Come on give it up for Lake Travis. Whip it up on those people and come on Reese you got to step it up. I thought those all of those college students were gonna come over there and beat all those old Lake Travis people like Karen Douglas and didn't happen. Karen actually gave them a pep talk before before the game and I guess it worked. Karen good job and of course it's good to see anyone and everyone that's joining us online. Celebration Church can we just say hello to everybody by putting our hands together and a lot of great things happening and of course make note of our time of fasting and prayer and just seeking God and that'll begin Sunday night not Wednesday but Sunday night throughout the week and we're excited about just getting back to school and just getting back into what is our normal rhythm of life and I know moms you're ready for those kids to go back to school get a little little R&R a little rest get them off and get them in the bus and then you go to sleep till about one o'clock and that's what Lori did she never did anything she just slept. How many know I just lied and I'm going to hell if I don't repent of that and I won't be married for the rest of my life but not true not true but today we are beginning a brand new message series called together come on say the word together together and we're gonna just be highlighting this because I think August is a good time for us to just get together to get back together but to also understand that I think it's it's an important word to God and you'll see that throughout the series how God is into this life and this life is doing it together where two or more are together where they're gathered together God says that's where I show up yes God does deal with us as individuals but he really deals with us on a greater fuller way as corporate people as people that are in the body of Christ and so if you were watching the news this week whether

you were intentionally watching the news which like a lot of us we have to be careful and then maybe watching it accidentally you were reminded of what was probably the darkest days in American history world history as we know it as Cove it for many of you your life was affected it was affected of course because you couldn't gather couldn't gather in your school you couldn't gather at work you couldn't gather in church we couldn't gather at Christmas or Thanksgiving or whatever and depending on where state you were in where my California people that you can even go to the bathroom all of that to say it was full-on and it was horrific in many ways and of course this past week trying to get answers which were not found and saddest of all of all those places that we couldn't gather would have been the bedside of those that were dying the bedside of those who had to die alone and I was watching and just seeing what some of our people are posting and checking it out and Karen Douglas pastor Karen who's been on our team and our staff for many years and attends the Lake Travis campus and is there this morning posted this picture of her family I want you to see this this is a picture of her grandchildren when they were trying to talk to their grandma before they saw her go to heaven sadly that is what a lot of people had to experience it's one thing does not go to a party or to a gathering but it's another thing to die alone and to try to go through what is arguably the worst and maybe any kind of illness or any kind of sickness alone it's not the way it's supposed to be and I want to bring some tension into the room because I do believe that we all have to understand something about God we were designed to live together we were designed to die together when you read the book of Genesis and you read the patriarchs in their last breath Some of the last things they said was gather together the sons so I can bless them. When they knew that their dad was about to depart, they would gather to the bedsides for those last words, those last moments. And I want us to understand that we live in a dying world. When you look at the world, as much as we want to experience this world, but the Bible also says to love this world is to not

love God. To have a love for this world is to not have a love for the Father. It just simply is saying this, you love life and you love what God does and He redeems our time in this world, but we also have to realize that the earth is a vapor, the world is a vapor, it's a blink, it is still filled with pain and suffering and issues and no matter what the world offers, no matter how much you get of the world, it's all temporary. And even Jesus warned us, what is it profit you if you gain what? The world. And then you sold your soul. And in the end, you have no eternal life because you put your life into this world. And I think that you and I need to understand that. But the way of life, the way God has designed life, that we were designed to live, to heal, to overcome, to survive, not through looking in windows or with distance between us and people. 2 John, there are three letters that John wrote. 2 John verse 12, he says, I have a lot of things, I got many things I'd like to write to you, but I do not want to do so with paper and ink. Or if we put it in today's vernacular, I have a lot of things I could email you, but I'm not going to email you. I want to come to you and I want to speak, how? Face to face. See, that's God's mind. And we do video church, we do as it relates to our campuses every six weeks for this reason. We do believe that the majority of time that people need to have is a face to face encounter with their pastor, with their communicator. It's great to watch videos, it's great to go to church on video or online, all that's great, but nothing will ever substitute what even the scripture tells us is the predominant and the highest, if you will, standard of relationship, and that is that we see each other face to face. I am sure that Karen's mom was blessed to see the grandchildren look at her through the window, but she would have been more blessed to have them touch her. They would have been. In fact, I believe that's what he goes on to say. I could write to you, I could do other ways of communication to you, but I hope to see you face to face so that your joy may be full. That literal Greek there is our joy may be full. How many know that we are changed when we're in the presence of people? Your body, in fact I was just speaking to one of our doctors here after the first service and she went through her neurological definitions of what happens to you when you have divine and direct connection to people. It changes you. You're designed to be with people. That's why God came in the flesh.

God did not say from heaven, hey, I love you all, and what I'm going to do by video is die on the cross for your sins. No, he came in, and he came in, and he came into every world that you and I have ever and will ever live in, beginning in a stable, beginning as a baby, going through every stage of life for you and for me. He did it so that he would flesh it out, and you and I have a God who came in the flesh. He didn't just come in the spirit. In fact, when he was raised from the dead, he was not just raised, or his spirit was not just raised, his body was raised, his fleshly body, and the Bible says when he comes again, you're going to see even the nail-scarred hands when he returns. It's real. It's not a spirit. It's real. Again, in 3 John, he would write these words. I had, again, almost exact words. I had many things to write you, but I'm not willing to write them to you with pen and ink, but I hope to see you shortly when we will speak face-to-face. It's great to get a text. It's great to get a call. It's great to get some form of communication in the form of a letter or from a card. Who would take anything from your child every now and then? Just a shout-out. The reality is we'll take it, but notice the fullness of joy that comes by being face-to-face. Nothing is better than being together. When you ask a mom or a dad, what's the perfect vacation? And now that we have a grandchild and one on the way with Jackson and Kendall, the perfect vacation for us, it's not where the vacation is, it's not what the vacation is, it's who is in the room. I've learned this, that when my mother would say, all I want is everyone home, that's the perfect vacation. That's the time that any mom and any dad, and as you age, you're gonna see, that's really what's most important, because when someone's not there, something's missing. And when it comes to the church, when it comes even to God's family, that's the way God looks as a heavenly father.

He goes, if you're not here in the room, something's missing. In fact, the Bible says the church is hindered when you're not in the room. The Bible says that God has ordered the church to grow by this way, by each one, each person gathering in the room, being in that place. In fact, when you read the scriptures, every church in the New Testament was named according to a location. Why does it say that? Why does it say the church in Thessalonica? Why does it say the church in Colossia? Church in Ephesus, because that's how God looks at the church, the local church, the expression of a local house, a local people together. So if you lived in Colossia, if you lived in those regions, that's where you went to church. It wasn't ever a church gathered according to doctrine. It was according to location. In other words, they didn't have the name Celebration Church, or they didn't have the names that we have today. I really wanted to call the church originally from the book of Ezekiel, the last verse, the name of that city, or the name of that church shall be called the Lord is there. But it would sound bad to other churches, like, where do you go to church? The Lord is there. Oh, he's not here, but he's there.

And then you got pastors cutting your tires. I didn't want that, I wanted relationship, which would have exposed their demonic powers, which means the Lord is with me. All that to say, location, or in other words, being in the location means a lot to God. Not just being online, not just being on video, not just capturing it or catching a service every now and then. It's not just coming every now and then. The average church attender in today's church world, in churches like ours, per month average about 1.4 times a month, which means people today, if you go once a month, it's like, yeah, I've seen people at H-E-B. Pastor, just go to your church. When's the last time I saw you? Ah, Christmas. 86, Christmas 86. Wow, they didn't even have a church in 86. Yeah, but in the spirit, the Lord told me I joined your church in 86. You just finally became submitted to the will of God by finally starting it in 2000. The reality is, is that God means business when he says get together. Where two or more are gathered in his name, there he begins to show up. And yes, it did bring peace to Karen's mom when she saw those babies looking at her

through the window, but that word there, full, means to be complete, to be perfect. In other words, it doesn't really get better than when you're with people. And that's how God views church. And as much as we would say, I don't wanna go to church, as much as we would say, I don't feel like going, and even this morning, I said, I'm not going, and Laurie says, you're going, you're going. And every time you go, and when you show up, it's amazing the joy that God puts, it's amazing the joy that you get from God when you show up in the room, because you're gonna hear from somebody, somebody's gonna say something that you needed to hear. I didn't expect in the last service after the first service to be able to pray for a family that's been in our church for two years, as this mother of 38 years old is in stage four cancer, standing there with her 14-year-old son, as they go back to MD Anderson Wednesday to get another round of therapy and chemotherapy, to do what they have to do, which many of you know, you leave at 3.30 in the morning, you go to MD Anderson, you get your pills, you get your treatment, and you come back home, and you throw up for a week. She needed prayer. And then I turned to that little boy who's 14, I said, I know you don't have your mom and your dad's

full attention right now, and he just began to cry. But it breaks their heart that they can't give you everything that you need right now. Now as a 14-year-old boy. Your dad, your mom are doing everything they can for her to stay alive. I want you to know you're not gonna be an average young man when you grow up because of the experiences that you are going through right now. And you're watching how to fight. And you're gonna be the real hero. You're gonna be a real champion. You're gonna be a real victor one day in life. And I hate that you're having to go through this. And he's just bawling, standing there with his coffee. What if I didn't come to church today? What if we just said, ah, don't feel like it. And that's not just for me as a pastor. I'm talking about maybe there are people sitting next to you that you don't know they're going to MD Anderson this week. Or they're gonna have to face something that they don't know how to face. But because you were close to them, it changes their perspective. It's all about with God being together. When we go alone, when we go away, when we go solo, when we go by ourselves, or when we go independent and individualistic.

In other words, I'm a Christian, Joe, but I just don't do the church thing. That is not in the mind of God. You can't support that scripture. You can't say you're a biblical Christian and say that you are all about Christ and then yet you can't be about his church. Jesus said to Peter, who am I? And he goes, you're the son of God. Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus, on the media of those words out of Peter's mouth, Jesus said, Peter, you're not that smart. Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. My father in heaven, by the spirit of God, you saw this. And then in the next words he says, and I will build my church on the basis of this revelation. On the basis that Christ is the son of God. As soon as you say Christ is the son of God, as soon as you say Jesus is Lord, he leads you to the house of God. You can't go solo. There's no such thing in the scriptures. In fact, I wanna give a couple of truths to you and then kind of break it down a little bit more for you. Psalm 50, it's one of my favorite psalms. I've been kind of camping over and over in it for many things and for many reasons. But the mighty one, the God, the Lord has spoken

and he summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. And if you just stop and read that God, the mighty God, the king, the ruler, the Lord, he's speaking and he's summoning the earth. He's gathering together or his goal is to gather all of those who live on the earth, whosoever will, whosoever will come. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes would not perish but have everlasting life. His whole call, his whole cry is come to me. From the rising of the sun to its setting, all day long, he is just whispering to people, calling to people, summoning people, beckoning people, come. Out of Zion, which is of course a type in a picture of the church, the perfection of beauty. So what he's saying is come to the church where in a world that is bad, in a world that's broken, the church is the place where you can find home. The church is the place where you can find refuge. The church is the place where you can find support. Now I wanna say something to this point at this particular time because a lot of people, when we talk about that particular truth, that it is the perfection of God's glory. It's the perfection of beauty. Understand that the church has not been holy in all of its ways. Would you agree with me?

The church has not been beautiful in all of its ways. The church has not always been moral. Its leadership has not always been right. The people have not been the reflection of the beauty of God. But that does not do away with the beautiful call that still exists on the church. Though the church is not holy, the church still has a holy calling. That supersedes whatever you've experienced. It may not be evident in your own practical application. We may see a lot of issues with the church, but that doesn't change the view and the perspective of God from the heavenlies. It is still his bride. It is still the reason why he died. He died for the church. He died and the Bible says not only did he die for the church, he is coming back for the church. He's coming back for all who understand that this is his family. It's a clear perspective. And I, having been in ministry for 40 years, can tell you there's a lot of burn marks. There's a lot of brand marks. There's a lot of hurt. There's a lot of rejection. There's a lot of stuff every day that I have had to deal with for 40 years of ministry. That just goes with every form of leadership. If you're in the military, you're going to be shot at.

That just goes, I can't believe people are trying to kill me. That's military. I didn't sign up for this. Well, that's what you're involved in. It's warfare. The kingdom of heaven suffers violence. And the violent, you've got to overcome some violence. You've got to overcome some hate. You've got to overcome stupidity. I'm not saying people are stupid, but I'm just saying, yes, they are. They're very stupid. And what you have to see is God's church from God's perspective, according to Psalm 50 and Ephesians chapter five. It's his bride. God has shown forth. Now watch verse three. May our God come and not keep silent. The fire of God devours before him or God is consuming fire. I believe that's where Paul writes about that in Corinthians. Our God is a consuming fire. Fire goes before him and he brings activity. It's very temptuous around him. In other words, nothing stays the same in the presence of God. How many believe that when you get closer to Christ, he rearranges everything? You don't become stiff. You don't become religious. You don't become boring. You don't become an aquarium of just this little box where you have this limited life. You become an ocean. The Bible goes on to say, and he summons the heavens above and the earth to judge his people.

And then notice he lands with verse five, gather my godly ones to me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. Get together is what he is saying. In other words, what is God saying? What's God communicating? Together. Pastor Joe, what is the Lord saying? I'm in a transition. I just met a whole row of beautiful girls from the Houston area. They're here to celebrate the 19th birthday of one of the girls. I asked, how did y'all come by way of being in Austin today, all sitting together? And the one who has just moved here and her boss goes here, turned 19, and all of these girls play in college, at some university, softball. In fact, if you're a single guy, you need to go right here to this third row. Right here. Get in the car, Travis. Get in the car right now. One plays up in Temple softball. One is a cheerleader at Texas A&M. Two girls play at Cisco on the softball team. And one is a home nurse. I mean, it's powerful. And are you married, nurse? Nobody's married. Nobody's married. This is why you need to be in church. This is why you need to be in church. I saw Lori in church. So if you're in Central, if you're in Lake Travis, Liberty Hill, Leander, I'll talk for another 30 minutes, but that won't do you.

Lake Travis, it takes an hour and a half to get up here, so you should have been at this campus. Why was the reason I was saying all that? They came to celebrate their friend's birthday. They gathered all the way from their various locations to come and be with their friend that they've known since high school. There's something powerful about that. There's something that honestly helps in life and helps us to not become weird and abnormal and unusual. The Bible tells us that when we disconnect from the body of Christ, we go rogue in our thinking, in our approach, in our believing, in our attitude, and in our view of God. It's so clear from Scripture, and I'll close with a Scripture in that in just a moment. But God says, gather my godly ones to me. Get together. And then he says, my godly ones. My godly ones. Now, I'm going to ask, how many of you would say, Jesus is your Lord and Savior? Let me see your hand. Like, that's my God. That's my guy. He's my king. Okay. I'm godly. I'm godly not because I'm perfect. I'm godly because he's God, and I've received his righteousness. It's been imputed unto me. That's great. That's a fact. But notice how God says, but then he goes, clarifying the word, those. So a lot of people, when you say, God is calling you, or are you godly?

Yes. And then he goes, those who have an understanding of covenant and sacrifice. Oh. Wait a minute. What? Yeah. A lot of people say they're of God. A lot of people say they're Christians. A lot of people say they're God followers, and they're believers, and they're spiritual, and Jesus is Lord, or however they want to describe it. They're on their way to heaven. They have eternal life. But my comeback to that is, but God clarifies, but those who have made a covenant. with me by sacrifice. It's one thing to say you're godly, it's another thing when you take your godliness and you begin to walk it out sacrificially. It's one thing to say I receive Christ as Lord and Savior, which the Bible says you're saved. But it also says that even the devil believes. Even the devil confesses. The difference is he's not obedient. I want to challenge you to this understanding that God is calling you to understand that to be a true follower, to be truly godly, means that you are following him with the understanding of these two key words, covenant and sacrifice. That there is no covenant without a sacrifice. You're under the covenant of Christ. If you say Jesus is Lord and Savior, what you're saying is I believe it all happened at the cross. His blood was shed for me. He sacrificed his blood. He who knew no sin became sin. Because someone in the covenant is greater and lesser. That's just the way it works. How many are thankful that God is greater than our sin? Now then, Jesus says these words. Now you pick up your cross. In other words, if you're mine, if you have now made a covenant, you now enter into sacrifice. That's why the Bible says bring a sacrifice of praise. Gathering together in a sacrificial way, which means some days just getting out of bed and going

to the house of God is a sacrifice. You not killing your husband on the way to church is a sacrifice. How many know what I'm talking about? You just guys were making it to church. And I believe that there are degrees. I do believe that there are places where God says that's good because you would have never done that last year. You would have never, that was never even your mindset to get out of bed and to make that sacrifice, to make that drive, to get the kids dressed. Or the only thing that you know your kids are going to eat because you've had that kind of bad day is what they're going to get in kids' kid church. And you're just hoping that they're going to give them something to feed the child all week long. The truth is, is that there are those days, there's moments, but you sacrifice. And that's what happens. He goes get the people who really want to get here. See, God is not interested in us just being a gathering of Christians. He's interested in us being a gathering of covenant Christians, covenant people. Let me give you what covenant people are according to Acts chapter 2. The Bible says those who had received the Word of God, this is the day the church began, the Bible says Peter preaches and those who heard the Word, those who then received the Word, put it into action. They became covenant believers. They stepped in to sacrifice, which begins with baptism. The Bible says those continued as they went. They were baptized that day, 3,000 souls. So the first church was a mega church. If you have a problem with the big church, you wouldn't have liked the first church. And they continued devoting themselves to the Apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to the breaking of the bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling. Everyone there kept feeling a sense of, oh, this is amazing. And signs and wonders were being done through the Apostles. Signs and wonders were manifesting. And all of those who had believed were together had all things in common. And they were even taking what they had and giving it, distributing it to those who had need. Day by day, continuing with one another and with one mind in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord said, I want to bring more people to

this church day by day, those who were being saved. Look at that last verse, those last words in 47. And the Lord wanted to add to the church more people to a place that was doing it the way God wanted it to be done, which understood its covenant. If God gave his all for me, I give my all for him. That's what it means. If Christ sacrificed, I don't sacrifice for my sins. How many know he did that once and for all? But Jesus does say, now you pick up your crosses, I picked up mine. It's not for your sins, but it is for fellowship. Because you can't know me apart from sacrifice. You can't appreciate me apart from sacrifice. And the more you walk with me, the more you sacrificially step in and say, Lord, I don't care what I got to give up. I don't care compared to you. The question is, what's holding you back from giving it all to God? What do we learn from this? What do we learn as it relates to covenant people? Covenant people gather together under God's divine authority. What you find first and foremost are these characteristics from the story that we just read. early church in Acts chapter two, covenant people gathered together under God's divine authority. They gathered together under the word, but that word that the apostles were teaching was that Jesus is Lord, that Jesus is King. Number two, covenant people gathered together with mutual commitment and accountability. They were accountable to one another. They were loyal to one another. They were consistent. See, if you sit alone, no one knows. If you're there or not. If you go by yourself, you go individualistic. Frankly, the reality is is that there's not gonna be much joy for you.

There's not much commitment because God blessed his commitment. Number three, covenant people gathered together to share as they were doing what the Bible tells us to do. As God has blessed us, we give. We share our possessions. We share how God has blessed us. Oh, let me also clarify something. Many people like to tech in this day that we're living in with the increase of socialism and communism in our country. Well, that's what the Bible says we are to share. No, not with people who do not wanna work. The Bible says if you don't work, you don't what? Eat. See, this is the difference. When you read the book of Timothy, you're gonna read Paul the apostle. There was a widow or there were widows who needed things and Paul the apostle writes in 2 Timothy, he says before you put a widow on the list for the Meals on Wheels program or whatever that need was, she had to be at least 60 years of age. Why? He says because she can still work. She had to be faithful to the house of God. She had to have only one husband or had been a woman of commitment to the husband that she had.

She could not be known as someone who just bounced from woman to woman or man to man. The Bible says she was not to have any family that could provide for her lest the church is burdened. In other words, what Paul is saying is why have you burned every bridge including your family and now you come to the church wanting the church to do for you when you have run away your own mom and your own dad and then you come to the church going, no one will give to me. Yeah, because you've bruised and you've beaten everybody back. I mean, this is in the Bible. So when people come and you're hearing this a lot that Christianity is really socialism. Nothing is farther from the gospel. That is not true. And here's another thing, the difference is how many love when the government comes and takes your money? Do you go with a cheerful heart? Yes, yes, yes. The Bible says God loves what kind of giver? A cheerful giver. It's not by force. It's volunteer. It's not something you have to do. It's something you get to do. It flows out of the abundance of your heart.

Guys, you better know your scripture lest the country you've lived in for the last 250 years if you're that old, won't be that country. And you're seeing it. It's not a political statement. It's just a fact. It's just a reality. It's not politics. It's just fact. This is what happens. The enemy wants to kill, steal and destroy. You gotta know the principles of God. So we share, but we don't just throw and cast our pearls among the what? Among the swine. Here's another one. Covenant people gather together to learn and mature into a corporate expression of the kingdom of God. We learn and we learn the word and we mature. We become more like Christ. We become more conformed into his image and his likeness so that we can express the beautiful nature of God's kingdom and God's nature. Number five, covenant people gather together to be marked by the anointing and the presence of the Holy Spirit. How many believe we can do nothing without the power of the Holy Spirit? Signs and wonders was a characteristic of the church. God was doing miracles because they were unified

under the name of Jesus. There was order. There was divine delegated authority and they were operating in how God orchestrates the world in beauty and in order. Number six, covenant people gather together to bring encouragement and in strength. The Bible says we derive strength from one another. Bible says when you speak, you're speaking encouragement, strength and comfort. It's clear throughout the scripture. You and I are benefited when we see each other. Number seven, covenant people gather together to function as a peculiar people in the midst of the world. What does that mean? That's first Peter. You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. You're a peculiar people, which means you are God's. You're not a product of the world. You're a product of the word of God. You're God's. Now act different. You're a testimony. There are things that we would all like to do in the form of manifesting at an airport. Lori and I were flying back Thursday night from Asheville. I was ministering to a pastor who had just lost his son and his wife and spent a couple of days with him. And the lady said, do you have any metal inside?

I said, yes, I do. And I said, it's inside my knee. Oh, you don't have any metal? I said, I said, I have metal inside my knee. And she just kept, said, boy, you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. I said, I have metal in my knee. I had a knee replacement. And she goes, child. I knew what she was saying. She gonna get me banned the rest of my life from flying on American Airlines. And I wanted to say something. I wanted to say, I would like to take this metal and put it like somewhere else, like maybe, you know, in the heavenly. Anyway, has anybody ever felt like that in life? And if you haven't, you are liar, liar, liar, pants on fire. We all get these moments. And I had to just go, pick up your cross. Die to yourself. I will say it was a little earth shattering a couple of days ago going through the Austin TSA and the lead TSA agent, Pastor Joe, go to Celebration Church. I said, have I been good? She goes, a couple of times, you've been good. The truth is guys, we live in a world and this world needs a testimony. And it's not about me.

It's about his name. And I don't wanna do anything that mars his name, that contaminates his name. We live as a peculiar people. We're supposed to be different. Covenant people, lastly, gather together for worship. We're here for worship. And so the guy that I just have to just show you from the book of 2 Samuel, and I know I'm, over time, I'm gonna have the pastors get ready to come at our campuses. It happened in the spring. Look at this story, guys, real quick. This is what happens when you don't stay together in God's house. It happened in the spring at the time when kings were supposed to gather together, when kings were supposed to be with their armies, when king was supposed to be where he was with the people. David was that king. He sent Joab. He sent his servants and they went out. But David stayed at home. David stayed in the comfort of his house and it became evening or when it got dark. It's not if it's gonna get dark, it's gonna get dark. David got up because he couldn't sleep. You know why he couldn't sleep? Because he wasn't in the place he was supposed to be.

And he walked around on the roof of the house and there he saw a woman bathing. She was beautiful. And David inquired about this woman. And even one of his servants said, this is Bathsheba. She already has a husband. That's Uriah, your soldier. But David did not listen. He took her, went with her, laid with her. And the Bible says some of the worst words you've ever heard. When she conceived, she said to David, I am pregnant. That could have been avoided. This whole story is a picture of when you and I dislocate from the house of God, our thinking goes out the window. You start making decisions that you're gonna have to live with for the rest of your life. All because David chose not to be where God wanted him to be. Where God had ordered him to be. Where God had designed him to be. And how has God designed you to be? In church. It's just the reality. I've seen it in 40 years. People go stupid. Those who understand covenant and sacrifice. Why did David not go to battle? Because he got tired of sacrificing.

Sacrificed enough, given enough, I'm done. And what happens to all of us when we give ourselves to our own flesh and our own nature? You start running with the wrong people. That child that she conceived died. And it broke David's heart. You can avoid a lot of bad decisions by being in the right place. Pastors, will you come and close in prayer? We love you guys. Hey, with every head bowed and every eye closed here today, how many would say, Pastor Joe, I just simply wanna be in the right place? Where God wants me to be. Can I just see your hand? Can you show God, Lord, I just wanna be where you want me to be? And I think you know what that means. We're gonna do church in a way here. In fact, we are not gonna be a dysfunctional church. 26 years we've been doing this, guys. One thing people cannot say is that we do stupid. We don't do drama. Our whole goal is to do righteousness. Do what is right. Do what is holy. Do what is godly. Do what is biblical. Do what is by the Holy Spirit so that you will plant yourself and see

not just your life flourish, but your future and your family. And however long you're here, by God's ordained timing to be in this church, we want you to say, boy, was my joy full of celebration. Not because it's the celebration, but because it's the Holy Spirit. Maybe you're here today and you say, Pastor Joe, I don't have a relationship to Christ. Or maybe you once did and you are right now in a rogue place. You're not where you're supposed to be. You once had a really strong walk with God. And you've just kind of taken off in your own way. You've gone your own direction. And guys, in the end, it doesn't end well. If you're here today and you say, God, give me another chance. I turn to you today. Forgive me, wash me, cleanse me. I'm here to tell you he is faithful. He'll speak to you. Can we just say this out loud? Lord Jesus, because of your mercy, even when I'm in a bad place, you find me. You give me another chance. I hear you knocking on the door of my heart. Now come in. I trust you.

I believe in you. But I want to obey you. Thank you for making a covenant with me by your blood that says if I believe in you, I'm safe. I'm saved and I'm forgiven. But Lord, I want to obey you. Give me strength to follow you all the days of my life. And all the God's people said, amen. Can we just thank God for his mercy and his grace today? God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.