More Than Just Directions | Pastor Daniel Floyd

Come on let's just fill this room with our worship God we honor you What we glorify your name Thank you Jesus If it seems the day you made So I rejoice in the glad, with joys in the glad in it This is where I believe That you are more than enough, you're more than enough for me You sing your faithful, you are faithful to your promise You are strong and I am free When I'm standing in your presence I have everything I need The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Yeah, the joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Oh my soul, bless his name All that is within these days The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Jesus, come one day You are worthy of, you're worthy of my praise 'Cause you are faithful to your promise You are strong and I am free When I'm standing in your presence I have everything I need The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Oh my soul, bless his name All that is within these days The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Thank you Lord, we've got the joy of the Lord To let your eyes up like a river over the floor Holy Spirit, let it pour out with no limit Over the floor we, Holy Spirit, let it rise In letting your eyes up like a river over the floor

Holy Spirit, let it pour out, let it pour out with no limit Over the floor we, Holy Spirit With the joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord is my strength The joy of the Lord Come on church we sing The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Oh my soul, oh my soul, bless his name All that is within these days Oh my soul, bless his name All that is within these days Oh my soul, bless his name All that is within these days The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Oh my soul, oh, thank you Lord, thank you Lord - Come on, do we believe that today? It's we give you praise. Thank you Lord. ♪ Holy praise the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ We praise your name ♪ ♪ West of those who are unto Him ♪ ♪ A place they're open confidence in Jesus ♪ ♪ You won't forsake Him ♪ ♪ Blessed are those who seek His face ♪ ♪ When they need fix their gaze on Jesus ♪ ♪ They won't be shaken ♪ ♪ Come on and praise the Lord with me ♪ ♪ Sing if you love His name ♪ ♪ Come on church ♪

♪ Come on and lift your voice with me ♪ ♪ He's worthy of all our praise ♪ ♪ Yes, He is His ♪ ♪ West of those who walk with Him ♪ ♪ With hearts to settle pilgrimage ♪ ♪ With Jesus ♪ ♪ They'll see His glory ♪ ♪ And blessed are those who died in this ♪ ♪ We're sure He is to give it all to Jesus ♪ ♪ And all for His glory ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus ♪ ♪ It's all for your glory ♪ ♪ Come on and praise the Lord with me ♪ ♪ Sing if you love His name ♪ ♪ Always sing ♪ ♪ Come on and lift your voice with me ♪ ♪ He's worthy of all our praise ♪ ♪ Come on and bring your love of all our praise ♪ ♪ Sing if you love His praise ♪ ♪ Come on and lift your voice with me ♪ ♪ Always He is worthy of all our praise ♪ ♪ Let's guard in the sanctuary ♪ ♪ Let's guard in the fields of plenty ♪ ♪ Let's guard in the darkest valleys ♪ ♪ Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name ♪ ♪ Let's guard with my hands around Him ♪ ♪ Let's guard with the praise that caused me ♪ ♪ Let's guard with no bodies watching ♪ ♪ Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name ♪ ♪ Let's guard with the weapons for me ♪

♪ Let's guard with the walls before me ♪ ♪ Let's guard 'cause He goes before me ♪ ♪ Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name ♪ ♪ Let's guard with the hopes of victory ♪ ♪ Let's guard with His always with me ♪ ♪ Let's guard with His always worthy ♪ ♪ Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name ♪ ♪ Let's guard in the sanctuary ♪ ♪ Let's guard in the fields of plenty ♪ ♪ Let's guard in the darkest valley ♪ ♪ Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name ♪ ♪ Let's guard with my hands around Him ♪ ♪ Let's guard with the praise that caused me ♪ ♪ Let's guard with no bodies watching ♪ ♪ Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name ♪ ♪ Let's guard with the weapons for me ♪ ♪ Let's guard with the weapons for me ♪ ♪ Let's guard, 'cause He goes before me ♪ ♪ Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name ♪ ♪ Let's guard with the hopes of victory ♪ ♪ Let's guard with His always with me ♪ ♪ Let's guard with His always worthy ♪ ♪ Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name ♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪ Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name ♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪ Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name ♪ ♪ Let's guard with the weapons for me ♪ ♪ Let's guard with His always with me ♪ ♪ Let's guard with the weapons for me ♪

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ Come on and breathe ♪ ♪ You're all over me ♪ ♪ Sing it to your heart ♪ ♪ In His grace ♪ ♪ Come on and live ♪ ♪ Oh, you're all over me ♪ ♪ He's worthy of all of us ♪ ♪ Yes, He's worthy of all of us ♪ ♪ All praise Him ♪ ♪ He's worthy of all of us ♪ ♪ All praise ♪ ♪ Oh, give them praise today ♪ ♪ Yes, He's worthy of all of us ♪ ♪ All praise ♪ ♪ He's worthy of all our praise ♪ ♪ How great, how great ♪ ♪ Oh, how great, how great ♪ ♪ How great is our God ♪ Let's sing how great is our God. ♪ How great is our God ♪ ♪ Sing with me, how great is our God ♪ ♪ And all we'll see, how great ♪ ♪ How great is our God ♪ ♪ We tell Him today, how great ♪ ♪ Oh, how great is our God ♪ ♪ Sing with me, how great is our God ♪ ♪ And all we'll see, how great ♪

♪ How great is our God ♪ ♪ 'Cause He's the name above all names ♪ ♪ 'Cause you're the name above all names ♪ ♪ Let's tell Him today that you are worthy of all praise ♪ ♪ And my heart will sing how great ♪ ♪ Are you God, sing that again ♪ ♪ And show the name, you're the name above all names ♪ ♪ He's worthy, you are worthy of all praise ♪ ♪ And our heart will sing how great is our God ♪ ♪ And our heart will sing how great is our God ♪ ♪ Let's give Him praise, give Him praise Jesus ♪ (gentle music) ♪ I could see Your name for all ♪ ♪ All my life and still find more to love each time ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name every on my lips ♪ ♪ It's sweet in every time that I call on it ♪ ♪ There's just something 'bout Your name ♪ ♪ There's just something 'bout Your name ♪ ♪ There's just something 'bout Your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry only ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ Jesus, you're worthy ♪ ♪ You have been the friend who never left ♪ ♪ I won't forget Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name every on my lips ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus ♪ ♪ It's sweet in every time that I call on it ♪ There is no one to name There is no one to name There is no one to name Jesus you're worthy

Oh there's something about your name There's just something about your name There's just something about your name That makes me cry It's your holy Lord There is no one to name Jesus There is no one to name There is no one to name Jesus you're worthy You're worthy Lord So worthy Jesus 'Cause your name is holy You are worthy come on listen this, the Jesus your name is like the morning night The warm, the dark, the skin tonight The resurrection in the light Jesus, Jesus your name The save you make and heal Your name can make the storm is still You never, never will Jesus Jesus the bread of life broken for us The wounded and the worthy one The first and last And still to come Jesus Jesus the key Oh the well, the grave, the Lord the will, the forever reign The love of all of the nays Jesus Jesus, Jesus be the name Jesus be the name The kids songs of glory Jesus be the name Jesus be the name Jesus be the name The kids songs of glory Jesus be the name Jesus be the name The Lord Jesus be the name The kids songs of glory Jesus be the name Jesus be the name Jesus be the name The kids songs of glory Jesus, Jesus be the name The kids songs of glory Jesus be the name The kids songs of glory Jesus be the name Jesus be the name The kids songs of glory Jesus be the name The kids songs of glory Jesus be the name Jesus be the name The kids songs of glory - Are you so grateful for the love of Jesus today? Not only our King and our Savior, but our friend. He's such a good and gracious God. We're so grateful that you're in the house of God today. Can you let me know that you're happy to be in the house of God? There's no place like it. I wanna extend a special welcome to all of our campuses right now, those of you joining us online. We're so glad that you're here today. And you know, every Sunday is a special Sunday here at Gateway Church, but today is especially, especially, especially special.

It's very special. It's a very special Sunday. So we're gonna let you know why. - That's right. So if you know anything about Gateway Church is that we have a real commitment to the next generation. I would say the now generation. And one of the things that's always been a part of our calling is raising up leaders within the next generation. We just believe if you multiply yourself, then you multiply kingdom impact. And so one of the ways that we're doing that this summer is with our young adult internship. And we wanted you to see them. They're gonna be mobilized to every campus, but we wanna take a moment and pray over them because today is the beginning of it. And so there's 38 of them. They're gonna make their way up here. Show them some love. (crowd cheering) So I think there's about 28 here because 10 are on mission trips. And I think some of this crowd's going to Japan tonight, like leaving it midnight to go serve. And let me just say this. We don't always have the time on a Sunday. But if you knew everything your church was doing, you'd be so proud.

You'd be so proud and you'd give a whole lot more. I mean, you would just, okay, just messing with you. You'd be so proud of everything that's happening. But yes, so this group will be serving for eight weeks this summer, getting experience in different areas of the life of the church to be assigned to campuses, gonna be a part of those teams and be in team meetings. And you know, just how many of you know that at this age, you're trying to figure out, God, what are you calling me to? And I believe that some of this group, they're gonna end up in full-time ministry as a result of it. But how many of you know that ministry just doesn't happen within the walls of the church, that you're a minister wherever you go, outside the walls of the church. And so we're developing on that for that calling. And I said this in the earlier service, but I'll say it again, my prayer for them, I was thinking about this this morning, is what was said of Jesus, said he grew in stature and in favor with God and man. And the word stature there means that he grew in maturity. And then the word favor there means that there was a grace on his life for relationships. And that's my prayer for them, is that this summer would be a summer of even an accelerated maturity in the Lord, maturity in leadership, a maturity in being able to lead and influence things.

And then I would have put a grace on their life because this is what I told them, I'll tell you, the kingdom of God and your life and your destiny is built through relationships. God moves his kingdom forward at the speed of relationship. Every open door God wants to open for you, it's gonna come through a relationship. Every part of your destiny is through a relationship. That's what I always say, whenever God puts you in relationships to someone, you need to ask why. God, what are you wanting to do here? And so I'm praying that God does that for this group, that there's just the hand of God and the grace of God be on them in that way. And we can't wait to see what God will do. And we had a little time together in between services. And this is the generation that God has chosen to pour revival out through. And I just told them, I said, the best is yet to come through you. And this is my prayer is that our ceiling becomes their floor and that they do exceedingly abundantly and above anything we could ever ask, thank or imagine. Come on, do you believe that today? (audience applauding) - You know, Proverb 16.9 says that in his heart a man plans his course, so I'm so proud of you. to man planes his course, but it is the Lord who will determine your steps. So just trust him in this process. Say yes to the things that are asked of you. Even if you don't like it, do it anyway. Don't give up. Don't quit. You win if you don't quit. So we've got your

back. You've got a whole army church family that's got your back. And we love you so very, very much. And hey, you're going to make some of the greatest friendships this summer and maybe some of you will find a spouse. I don't know. I mean, that's not the goal. So don't be distracted. Do you see this divide right here? The guys and the girls. We're going to bring them back up in August. They'll all be like clumped together. So good. We love you. Hey, if you're comfortable with it, why don't you stretch a hand towards this group? Either that the campus is there. And let's pray together. Father, we thank you for these students. And I thank you for the step that they took. We didn't believe that word that we plan our ways, but you order our steps. And so I'd just pray this would be a a summer and an experience of great maturity for them. Pray they'd go grow in the ways of the Lord and in the knowledge of God. Pray they would grow in competency and ability and skill and leading in the house of God. And Lord, I pray that you'd put a grace on their life. The word says that favor will surround us like a shield. And so God, would you put the shield of favor around them, favor in relationships, favor with mentors, favor with their peers? God, a grace for relational favor in their life. God, that they would grow in that with God and with man. Lord, we believe wholeheartedly that your hand is upon them and that you will use them in great and powerful ways. So we echo the words of the Apostle Paul, now into him who is well able to do exceedingly abundantly and above anything we could ask, think or imagine according to the power that is at work within us to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever and every once in a big amen. Amen. Come on, celebrate them one more time. The future of the local church is bright, everybody. It's very bright. Hey, why don't you greet somebody around you before we get into the word. Learn a new name, make a new friend, shake somebody's hand. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]

[Music] [Music] [Music] All right, let's put our hands together for Jesus one more time. Come on, every campus you can do. [Music] So glad you're in church. As you just saw a minute ago or just a second ago, summer bash is coming up in just a few weeks and I know I don't know if you have little kids like we do, we, you know, have teenagers and little ones and we were spending time on the back porch while I hear the the sun isn't as bad and it's going to get there but we were taking all the outdoor time we could and Tammy and I were working through June and July like all right what camp are they going to and cheer camp this and soccer camp and all the camps and right in the middle of it though summer bash everybody and if you're wondering what summer bash is it's our version of VBS and can I just say this to all the parents as I am one that you're going to invest dollars into a whole lot of things but there's nothing that's going to get you an eternal return on investment like having our your children in summer. So if you haven't signed them up or you plan something else, cancel it and get signed up for that. We want to make sure that you have a spot at every campus. It's going to be a powerful time. Having you is thankful for all of our kids team, Gateway Kids. Come on, that are pouring into our children. What a great group. And the next Sunday is water baptism, everyone. And if you've never taken the step, you've placed your faith in Jesus, but you've never taken the step after that of being water baptized, then make sure you're here. We're going to talk about that next Sunday and just open up, what does God's word say about it?

And then give you the opportunity to take that step next Sunday and we'll have everything that you need. And so you show up, it's going to be a powerful day together. Now today we're beginning a brand new series though called Road Trip, all about this journey of faith. And some of you will be on road trips this summer. I hate road trips, just get that out there. If it's more than six hours looking for an airport. Just don't like being in a car that long. But if you are on a road trip, make sure you tune in online and be a part of this. But how many of you know the journey of faith is like a road trip? It's a journey we're on that God's taking us. And there's mile markers along the way and things that we need along the way to make the trip great. And that's what we're going to be talking about in this series. Today we're going to begin in John chapter 16, if you have the Bible with you, if you're not, it'll be here on the TV. Let's look at it. John chapter 16, Jesus is speaking to his disciples. He's kind of winding down his ministry, giving them some important thoughts. And he says this, he says, I have much more to say to you. I have a lot more that I want to tell you more than you can now bear.

But when he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. So the Holy Spirit is coming. He is the spirit of truth. And as a matter of fact, he's going to lead you to truth. And he will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears. And he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. So all that belongs to the Father is mine. And this is why I said the spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you. Now there's a whole lot in that text. We're going to unpack it together because if you're like, he'll make known what and who and when and how we're going to get all that cleared up by the time we get finished today, all right? So if you're the notetaking time for when you're writing this title down, if not write it down anyways. Here's the title more than just directions. From God, you need more than just directions. Let's pray together. Father, our hearts and minds are open to you. So Holy Spirit, would you speak to us? And would you do what your word says? Would you guide us to truth today? We need to hear from you. We believe our lives will never be the same

because of the power of your word. We pray this in Jesus' name. Everybody said amen. Amen. So about 18 months ago, ish, I was in New Orleans. Some of you are like, you need to repent. I was just there to eat, relax. I was just there to get some food and I had a meeting. And so a buddy of mine and I happened to be there at the same time, our flights lined up. We were in New Orleans at the same time. So we text each other and said, hey, where are you? And he's like, where are you? And I said, I don't really know where I am, honestly. I'm somewhere in downtown near New Orleans. And he said, he goes, well, I'll drop a pin. And then we can meet up and we can get some vignets. And everybody said amen, right? I mean, we get some vignets. And so we went to Cafe Dumont. Okay, some of you, some of you all need to repent. You've been there a lot. It sounds like, I'm kidding, I'm joking, complete joke. So we went to Cafe Dumont. And it's what he sent me a pin. And if you're not sure what that means, ask your kids. So he dropped me a pin and texted over to me. And so we met up and I went right to where he was parked and we went and got our bignets and hung out a little bit. And then he flew to Tampa and I flew back at that time to DC.

And we went on about our day. But I got on the plane and I was thinking about this. How great would it be in our life when we need direction if God just dropped a pin? Like, how wonderful would it be if it was just like, God shot you a text and it would be blue? (audience laughing) The bubble would be blue because he does not carry an android. (audience laughing) But he would drop you, if it was like, do I date her or do I not date her? And God was just like, I'll drop a pin and it was over her house and you're like, thank you, Jesus. That is the one, like I'm supposed to. Or how great would it be if it was like, do I take the job or not take the job? Do I make the move or not make the move? How great would it be if it was as simple as God just dropping a pin? I know what to do, and then I can move on from there. But how many of you know it's not how God works? God doesn't just work in shooting out directions to us. He wants something a little deeper. I like to say it this way. He doesn't want to be our direction dispenser. God, I need directions. God, I'm in a crisis. God, I need to know what to do here. God, I need to, I got a decision to make. Will you please real quick, God?

Will you give me direction on this? God wants a little something more. God wants to have connection with us. God wants to have communion with us. And the Bible says that in the text we just read, John 16, he says this, he goes, listen, he's talking to his disciples, and man, he spent three years with them. And the Bible says that if all the volumes of books couldn't contain, all that Jesus did or said. So you know what we get in the scriptures? It's the stuff we really need to know, but it's not the full thing of all Jesus said and did. And he goes, I've got so much more, I want to tell you. I got so much more, I want to say to you. More, I want to reveal to you. There's more, I want you to. How many of you know that no matter how long you've been walking with Jesus, there's always more? That none of us have arrived. There's no finish line in this journey of faith. There's no, I've been to all the Bible studies. I've read all the books. All the major authors. I've done all the Bethmore's things. Studied all of Priscilla's, I know it all. Come on, how many of you know that never happens in our journey of faith? There's always more, God's wanting to show us more. And how many of you know that no matter how long

we do this journey of faith, we need the direction of God. And here's what we all know to be true, is that as we are younger, the decisions are not as great and the consequences are not as great. I mean, my seven year old, he's just trying to decide, are we watching, kicking it? Are we playing with Legos? I mean, major summer decisions, right? Like, am I going to Dutch bros? That's what my teens are deciding. Are we going to Chipotle? You got big life decisions happening this summer around my house, are you following me? Like, but how many of you know you get older and the decisions are bigger and the consequences are greater? Do I take the job? Well, if I take it, that could lead me down a road that leads to some great opportunities in my life. But if I take this other job, then it could be a year in and there's a massive layoff and now where do I stand? How many of you know the decisions get bigger, the consequences get greater? Do I go out with her? Do I not go out with him? One relationship could be life giving and healthy, the other could be a little cray-cray. (audience laughing) It's like the nervous laughter. (audience laughing) It's like, I know who he's talking about.

(audience laughing) I haven't even know you need the direction of God. And he says, hey, I've got so much more to tell you. There's more in God, more he wants to know. But here's what I want to propose to you today. Here's the big idea. Is that God doesn't want to give you guidance. He wants to be your guide. That he just doesn't want to give you guidance. God, I'm in a crisis, show me what to do. God, I need to know which to go to this direction. Lord, do I go for the job, do I sign the contract, not sign the contract? Do I apply for that school, not apply for that school? Great, I got it from here. Thanks for giving me some guidance, God. And God goes, no, no, I don't necessarily just want to dispense guidance to you. I would rather be your guide. Let me say it this way. There's a difference between a travel agent and a guide. A travel agent will book the thing for you. Here's the flights, here's the itinerary. Here's where you're going next. Here's the train between this city and that city. Here's the restaurant you're going to eat at. Here's the excursion. This is the thing you're going to do. You're going to visit that museum and go to that thing. A travel agent will lay out the whole vacation for you.

And sometimes we want God to be our travel agent. God, will you just show me the next four years? God, will you show me the next three months? Just kind of, will you give me the plan? Put it in an app so I can pull it up when I need to. I can put it away when I need to. But I just want you to kind of show me the, how many of you know there's a big difference between a travel agent and a guide? A guide knows the way, has been the way, and then will show you the way. Hey, anybody ever been on an African safari? Okay, a few of us, I've been on about 75. All at the animal kingdom, at Disney. Some of you are like, wow, do you go to Africa that much? Yeah, Disney, been a lot. No, for real, I got to go home once. One time I was preaching in South Africa and the host was like, we're gonna take you on a real safari. So we got in the truck, person was a, it was a lot like animal kingdom, I gotta be honest. How many of you know that I'm glad but they weren't like, here's keys, here's a truck. Have fun. Now, in that moment, I wanted to know that I wasn't gonna get eaten. (audience laughing) By some animal that's bigger than me, I wanted a guide. I wanted someone that said, hey, on this side, there's a wildebeest.

Over here, running, that's a spring buck. That's honestly the only two names I remember, but... (audience laughing) How many of you know when you're walking with the guide of the Holy Spirit? He has been the way, knows the way, and can show you the way. You don't need guidance. You need the helpers, what Jesus said in John chapter 14, but the helper, everybody shout helper. The helper, he's gonna help you. Who's that, the Holy Spirit? Him, the Father will send in my name. He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said. You don't need guidance, but what you do need is an intimate relationship with the guide, the Holy Spirit. He will guide you. So if he's gonna guide you, then the question is, what is he gonna guide us to? I wanna give you three things you need to know that he'll guide you to and then two things that you need to do so that he can be your guide. If you're with me, say amen. All right, number one, write this down. What is he gonna guide us to? He's gonna guide you to truth. If the Holy Spirit is speaking,

he's always gonna guide you towards truth. We say that again. If the Holy Spirit is speaking, he's always gonna guide you towards truth. It's not gonna, he's not gonna guide you to something that doesn't line up with the word of God. He's always gonna guide you towards truth. So then you gotta ask the question, well, what is truth? Well, truth is a person and his name is Jesus. He said, I am the way the, come on, everybody say it together, I am the way the, I am the truth and the life. He goes on to say, no one comes to the Father, except through him, but he is the truth. John chapter one, verse one says, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God and the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. So he is the word in flesh. And if you wanna see Jesus, then look at the word. Does that make sense? So you look at the word and you find him. So his word is true. So what do I have to, how do I know truth? Well, I saturate my life with God's word because the word of God is truth. He said, your word is truth, sanctify them by the truth. This is what Jesus said, your word is truth. These aren't the words of Daniel's, the words of Jesus.

So if I wanna know the truth and I have to look at the word and what is the spirit gonna do, John 16, we just read it, the spirit of truth will guide us into all truth. So if the spirit is speaking, he's leading you to truth. If anyone is speaking to you about the spirit, I feel like the Holy Spirit wanted me to share this with you. Well, if it does not truth and does not line up with the word of God, it wasn't the Holy Spirit. It's an easy thing to figure out and divide or y'all following me. Let me show you, the word says this about the word. For the word of God is living, it's as current as tomorrow's newspaper, everybody. It's living, it's active, it's sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul, of spirits and joints and of marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. So the word has a way of working past all of everything we want to front. The word has a way of getting past all of our pretension, all of our pretending, all of our religiosity and getting right in between the marrow. The word of God is like a laser. It's like a well-calculated pointed laser and it works into the deep parts of us to change us and transform us. This is what Paul wrote to Timothy and 2 Timothy. He said, "All scripture is breathed out by God and it's profitable for what?" It's profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction.

I don't like that. And training in what? In righteousness, in right living is another way to think about that. So this is what the word of God does. So what will the word do? It'll guide you into truth about God. It'll guide you in the truth about God. It'll tell you about his character and his nature, that he's long-suffering, that he's the Redeemer, that he's kind, that he's patient. How many of you thankful God's patient today? It's gonna guide you into truth about And we learned this a couple of weeks ago, His immutability, that His nature and His character does not change. This is who our God is. As you open the Word of God, the Spirit of God is gonna make real the Word of God to you and guide you to see Jesus in a better way. That He's Savior, that He's sustainer, that He's a strong tower that we can run into and find safety, that He's our hope in the middle of trouble, that He is a sure foundation, that He is a solid rock we can build our lives upon. This is the truth He's gonna guide us into. He'll guide us into truth about ourselves. That's not always fun. The Word of God as you open it up and the Spirit of God, what will He do?

He will begin to reveal things about us that need to change, that need to grow, that need to develop. Why? Because He's out to make you into the image of His Son. And so He's gonna reveal things about you. He's gonna reveal things about your attitude, about your choices, about how it comes out of your mouth. He's gonna reveal things about yourself. And I would just say this, if you only ever open the Word and it agrees with you, then you've created a God in your own image. Amen, preacher, that was good. (congregation laughing) Because here's how the Word works. When the Word illuminates something in my life by the Spirit, I don't adjust the Word to make me more comfortable. I adjust my life to fit the Word. And I may not be there yet. I may be in a process, or y'all following me? I may be on the journey of this, but I don't read something in the Word about the way I think or the way I act or the way I speak and go. Nah, I won't read that anymore. No, I let the Spirit convict me. If I'm a follower of Jesus, I have the Spirit of God. I let the Spirit convict me and then begin to work with me until I look more like the Word and less like me. Come on, look, can I get a better amen right there?

Okay. (congregation applauding) And then also the Word, it'll guide you to truth about God about yourself, and it'll guide you to truth that builds you up. Let me give you three Es to think about this. Three Es, number one, the Word. The Spirit will guide you to truth, and the truth will encourage you. If you're ever discouraged, just open up the Word and let the Spirit of God guide you to truth, 'cause the Word of God will encourage you. Truth will encourage you. If you feel heavy, it'll lift you. If you get into truth. If you feel overwhelmed, it'll lift the burden off of you. That's why it's so important every day. Listen to me, start your day every day with the Word. Start your day with truth. You know what's happened? The Holy Spirit is gonna, you're gonna see something you didn't see before. You're gonna learn something you didn't learn before. The Spirit of God will begin to reveal. It'll encourage you, it'll exhort you. Exhortation is whenever a Word motivates you towards action. Does that make sense? It's more than encouragement. Encouragement is like, man, that felt, thank God. That's right, I need to look at it that way. Already feel lighter, already feel more encouraged.

Exhortation would be another step where it's like, no, the Word of God or a Word someone gives me, it motivates me to take a step of faith that I needed to take. I'm idling much more exhortation than anything else. If you haven't noticed this, I want to exhort you. I want you to get off your blessed assurance (congregation laughing) and go do something with the Word. Go live it out. Go be Jesus in a community. Go make a difference in the world around you. That's exhortation, that's when the Word motivates you to move. Then there's edification and he'll guide you to this. Edification is when you are strengthened on the inside. It's when you need resilience to fight through something and someone gives you a word or the Spirit of God illuminates something as he's guiding you to truth and that edification strengthens you and go you just get something on the inside that goes come hell or high water. I'm remaining planted. That's what edification does for you or y'all following me. I think sometimes we call prophetic what is actually which I'm all for and believe in but I think sometimes we call prophetic It's where someone's giving you a word that is for you to motivate you towards something, or giving you something that you need to strengthen you because you're walking through something very tough

and very difficult, and he will guide you to truth. This is what the Spirit of God is going to do for you. You need the guide, not just guidance in your life. You're with me saying then. All right, listen faster. Number two, the Spirit's going to guide you to what's best. He's going to guide you to what is best in your faith, in your life. That's what he said. He said, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will tell you what is yet to come. Now, if you just read that on surface value, you would go, oh, that's like futuristic, maybe even like end of times or like apocalyptic or prophetic, but it's not what he's talking about here. Remember, he's speaking to his disciples and he's saying, I'm gonna tell you what is yet to come. Now, here's what we have to understand is the word tell right here, the verb tell, or to make known. Are y'all with me so far? Okay, I don't wanna lose you. Like, I wasn't coming for a seminary class. That word there, the idea of that is an announcement, but it's not an announcement of something new. It's a reiterative announcement, meaning the Spirit of Truth is going to reiterate to you what has been made known in the person of Jesus. So Jesus came and his life was an announcement of a kingdom being established, the kingdom of God.

Are y'all tracking so far? This is why we get messed up in American church when we try to merge kingdom mentality with American democracy. We don't elect who's in charge. Jesus is in charge. He's king. We just bow our knee and say yes sir, whatever you need. All right, now don't leave and go. He's not for America. I love where I live, I'm grateful. Thank God for it, but I serve a king. Okay, it's a different mentality. And so he was the full expression of the kingdom of God, but what Jesus is saying is the Spirit is gonna help you, is gonna reiterate to you and help you understand what you saw in Jesus as the kingdom is established through the church. Are y'all following me so far? Here's, let me give you an example. Like whenever you watch a movie that's your favorite, like let's take one of the greatest of all time, Top Gun. (congregation laughing) Okay, and Maverick. Okay, the sequel, okay. You ever watched it for the 15th time, just me? And you're like, "Wow, I didn't see that last time." You ever watched a show or maybe even read a book and you read a book again? You're like, I missed that last time.

I didn't see that last time. What's, this is what Jesus is saying. He's saying the, it's not that the partial expression of the kingdom was in Jesus, the full expression of the kingdom was in him. He wasn't missing anything. It's us that didn't see it the first time. But the Holy Spirit is gonna help guide you to understand more and more what was being expressed in the person of Jesus as his kingdom come, his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Another way to think about this is the spirit is gonna give you discernment, to help you understand what is yet to come. I just wanna say it this way. He's gonna help you know what's best. Is that tracking everyone? And how many of you know that you need the guide of the Holy Spirit? So that you can discern what is kingdom of God? What is kingdom of darkness? What is kingdom of God? What is kingdom of darkness? See the discernment of the Holy Spirit, it helps you choose between what's best and better. We say it this way. How many of you ever been at a crossroads where you're like both are good? I mean, it's easy when it's like bad, good, choose good. Light, evil, stay away from evil.

Normal, crazy, stay away from crazy. That was some dating advice. Cloped, okay. How many of you, it's hard when it's good, gooder? It's not great English, right? But how many of you know a lot of the crossroads we face in life? It's like, Lord, I could see both. I could see this direction and I could see that direction. I need the discernment of God. what is the kingdom step to take? What is the Jesus step to take in this situation? And sometimes it's hard to figure out. That's why you need the intimacy of the Holy Spirit. Your helper, the Greek word there is paracletes. It means one of the same quality. Whenever Jesus left, he said, hey, I'm going to send another one. He said, it's good that I go. Now, if I'd have been a disciple, I'd been like, it ain't good if you go. I'd like to have you here. He goes, no, if I go, then the helper will come. The paracletes, the one of the same quality. Another one of the same kind. In other words, I won't be here, but someone just like me is coming, and he's going to guide you to what's best for your life. Can I tell you something? The paraclet, he can walk up in your board room with you. Do I sign it?

Do I not? In the church world, we use the expression like this for your new to church. We'll say, everything looked good, but I had a check in my spirit. That's the discernment of the Holy Spirit. And that's what he's promised to do for you and me. But if all I want is guidance, then I don't get the guide in that way. And if I haven't got the intimacy on a daily basis, a continual basis, then I won't be able to recognize the voice of the guide when he begins to speak. How many can testify that you could have avoided some painful moments in life and if you just discern the voice of the Holy Spirit? Are you getting this? Here's an example of Jesus doing it in his own life. He said, now while he was in Jerusalem, at the Passover festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. So they were like, hey, Jesus, team Jesus. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them. He's like, I'm glad you believe in me and follow me, but I'm not going to fully trust myself to you. And here's why, for he knew all people. He didn't need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person. Your applause looks good, Jesus says. For all that I'm doing, but I'm not

entrusting myself because I know what's in you. This is the discernment of the Holy Spirit that you and I need in our life, every day of our life. Come on, can I get a good amen? Amen? All right, number three. If it's the Holy Spirit, he's going to guide you to Jesus. It's what he said. Jesus said, he will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. So what did Jesus say? Do you see the order? Jesus said, well, you know what? I only do what I see the Father doing. And then Jesus said about the Holy Spirit, he's going to do what he sees me doing. And he's going to share with you what I make known to him. And so if it's the Holy Spirit in your life, it's going to make you more and more like Jesus. That may be one of the best tests. Will this step make me more like Jesus? If it's not, it's probably not God. Is this group and engaging with them going to make me more like Jesus? Is moving to this neighborhood going to make me more like Jesus? It's just a good litmus test, everyone. It's what Paul told us in 2 Corinthians. He said, so all of us who have had the veil removed, all of us who have placed our faith in Christ,

we can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord who is the Spirit, here's what he does. He makes us, everybody read it with me. He makes us more and more like him. That's what he's doing. More and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 'Cause the goal is not to look more and more like Daniel, it's to look more and more like Jesus. So two action steps for you to take real quick, and then we'll pray. Number one, your job is to position yourself near the guide. Just stay close to the guide and you'll hear the voice of the guide. Here's what Jesus, or I'm sorry, what James wrote. He said, come close to God and God will come close to you. And then he says some challenging words. Wash your hands, use centers. Remember, this is James 4-1, not Daniel 4-1. Purify your hearts for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Here's simply what James is saying. Is that, hey, you're kind of, you're inchy. So you're starting to adapt customs of the world, thought patterns of the world, ways of thinking around the world. And so because of that, it creates impurity in your life. And this happens to all of us. I don't think we've literally wake up one day and go, "That's it, I'm gonna live for me today."

It's just a little at a time. It's a little turn of a dial, a little step at a time, a little compromise at a time. And James is just saying, "Hey, just come close to God and guess what? "He'll come close to you. "Just come close to him and he'll come close to you. "Just position yourself near the guide." And when you're close to the guide, you can get the direction of the guide. Guidance comes if you're just near the guide. So we've been to Disney a lot. It works for our family with big kids and little kids. And especially the little ones like Abigail and Jonas, whenever we go into the park and it's like thousands of people and it's the summer and you're walking on the wet hot sun called Florida. It's like beating down on you. What do we say that every parent says? Take my hand and stay close. Why? Because when you're this tall, you don't have the vantage point of everyone else's this tall. And if they'll trust me, I'll get on to the safari. I know where it's at. And if they'll trust me, I'll get on to Mount Everest. I know where Mount Everest is. We'll get on the roller coaster.

If they'll trust me, I know where every popcorn stop is in every park. I've been to them all. They'll trust me, I know how to get the Mickey ears, but they've gotta stay close and they gotta hold my hand. If they'll trust me, can I tell you something? If you'll trust him, he's got good plans for you. If you'll trust him, he sees the beginning from the end. If you'll trust him, if you'll just stay close, he's got an adventure he wants to take you on. And he's even got some surprises along the way because he's a good father and he's a great father. And he wants to do some amazing things in and through your life, but you're gonna miss it because if you don't stay close to the guide, but when you're close to him, you can be like, go left, okay, let's go left. Go right, okay, girl, cross this bridge, okay. I'll go over that, why? Because the guide can be trusted. None of us, whenever we're following Apple Maps or Waze or whatever we use in our car, none of us are going. I don't know about this left turn. I don't know about this merging, why? 'Cause we trust the source. And if you'll trust the source, and you'll position yourself near the guide, he will take you to places you never dream possible. And so what do you do when you're close to the guide? You respond when he speaks.

You respond when he speaks. I love this verse, one of my favorites. If you love me, you'll do what I say. Now, depending on your religious filter depends on how you read that. Some of you read that and go. Yeah, God just tell me, if you love me, you'll do what I say, or you can read it this way. If you love me, you'll do what I say. It'll take care of itself. 'Cause when you're in love, love makes you do things you know that wise wouldn't do, 'cause you're in love. That's why they're sitting about religion. It's about a relationship with the heavenly Father who sent the Holy Spirit to be your guide. And if you'll stay near the guide, and you'll listen to the voice of the guide, you'll do what the old hymn says. Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, except what? Trust and obey, and then trust and obey. And guess what? You'll look back over your life and say, "Man, look at all the guidance I got from God." 'Cause you were intimately connected to the guide, the Holy Spirit. You received the word of God today. Is that helpful? (congregation applauding)

Will you pray with me across all of our locations online if you can, wherever you are? Just every head bowed, every eye closed. I want you to take a moment, just evaluate in your own life. How have you been treating the guide? Have you been wanting to travel agent? Plan it out, give it to you, let you run, or are you wanting intimacy with the guide? Maybe you're here today, and you've never taken the most It's really the beginning of the road trip of faith. And that is to surrender your life to Jesus. You've never said yes to Him. I'm not asking if you've said yes to a church or said yes to some religious experience. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about a true relationship with Jesus where you've really surrendered your life to Him. So God, I'm not calling the shots you are. I'm giving my life to you. Do with it what you want. See, we all have a problem that none of us can solve. It's called sin. We're born with it. It's innate in the human experience. And so that's why Jesus came. He came to do the impossible, what we can never do. He lived the life you and I could never live the perfect life. He died the death you and I deserved.

And His death and His resurrection made a way for us to have a right standing with God, a right relationship with God. You don't have to fix yourself to come to Jesus. You come to Him just like you are. And if you've never taken that step, I want to help you take that today. And the way you receive this beautiful gift of salvation, of forgiveness, is by faith. It's simply believing that what Jesus did on the cross was enough to pay the penalty of your sin and my sin. And so a moment of we're going to pray together, there's nothing special about the way I say it. It's just me helping you communicate that expression of faith to God. And if that's you today, before we pray, I just want to know who I'm praying with. I'm going to count to three in a second. I'm going to ask you to shoot your hand up in the air. No one's going to come to you or point you out. No one's looking around except myself or the pastor at your location. But if you say that's me today, I need a fresh start with God. Maybe there was a day where you were walking with Jesus, but you know you've strayed away. Then when I count to three, you just shoot your hand up and say, "That's me, I need that." And we're going to pray together. So on three, all across the room,

you shoot up your hand. One, two, three, just shoot it up. Keep it up high enough long enough. God bless you, God bless you. God bless you, I see hands all over the room. God bless you, God bless you, it's beautiful. More importantly, heaven sees you, Jesus sees you. You can put it down. Church, would you pray this out loud together with me for the benefit of those who just slip their hand up? Say, "Jesus, I need you. "I ask you to forgive me of all my sin. "I believe you died for me. "I believe God raised you from the dead. "Today I make you my Lord and Savior. "Thank you for a brand new beginning. "In Jesus' name, everyone said amen. "Amen, come on, let's put our hands together "for those who made that decision." (congregation applauding) It's incredible. You may have heard it, but we are a church of next steps. We believe the journey of faith is taking a next step. And all of us have one to take today, I believe. Some of you is to take the word and to really evaluate and say, "God, how are you speaking to me?" That's a next step. Some of you, you just made a great step. You surrendered your life to Jesus. And your next step is to let somebody know about it.

And so in just a moment, our prayer team is gonna be down front and up in the balcony. And if you raised your hand, made that decision, we would just love to pray for you, celebrate that decision with you. So just come up to a prayer team and say, "Hey, I prayed that prayer and made that decision today." You can also stop and connect central in the lobby as well. Some of you, your next step today is you came in with a need or maybe even carrying a very weighty burden in your life. And you don't need to leave carrying that alone. We wanna pray with you and minister to you, so the team will be here available for you. Some of you, you've never been water baptized. You need to sign up, that's a next step. And so we wanna help you no matter where you are, take the right next step in your life. And so I'm gonna invite you to stand with me all across the room. And our prayer team is gonna come and make their way to the front. And if you need prayer for any reason at all, and we would love to join our faith together with you. So as the team leads us in a chorus, you slip out where you are and make your way down front. And we'll love to pray with you. Let's worship. ♪ And I surrender all ♪ ♪ I surrender all ♪

♪ Oh, to thee my blessed Savior ♪ ♪ I surrender all ♪ I surrender all All to see my place in Savior I surrender all Come on let's sing that again, I surrender I see I surrender all I surrender all All to see my place in Savior I surrender all As we close service today If you need prayer for anything at all, our team is going to be down here If you're new to Gateway, our prayer team is made up of our serve team and staff And they pray for you during the week, not just in this moment When we dismiss here in a minute, as we all walk that way If you want to walk this way, we are not in a rush We would love to partner with you in prayer Hey, can we do something together? Can we celebrate with all of those that gave their life to Jesus today? It's the reason we're here, why we do what we do Hey, if that's you, there are hands that went up all over the room If that's you, we want you, we want to partner with you, we want to get you in a pathway and next step You can text Jesus to 7-10-10 We love the number 7-10-10 Gateway, you can just save that in your phone if you want Or you can come down to the front to our prayer team Or as you're walking out, connect central Go talk to a pastor, we would love to partner with you And you're walking with Jesus, it's why we're here And so don't leave without talking to somebody today Have a couple announcements for you Pastor Daniel just mentioned them, water baptized is on next week

If you want to get baptized, come ready to get baptized next week We'll have everything you need, you can literally show up in your church clothes We will have everything you need to go and get baptized next week And my last two announcements have everything to do with the next generation Which is good news at Gateway, that God's moving to the next generation And so summer bash is coming up And if you have kids in here, there's probably 900 kids in kids ministry right now If you're a parent in this room, I'm going to tell you what I love about summer bash It's not just childcare This is a ministry your kids are going to learn about Jesus They're going to receive the foundation of everything we believe And we have hundreds of kids get saved every single year in summer bash So make sure as you're leaving today There's a team out there, there's a balloon arch You can go there if you want to serve at summer bash Or if you want to get signed up at summer bash, go see our team Last but not least, if you're a teenager in the room Next month is youth con It's our youth conference here at Gateway If you're a parent of a teenager, you want to get them signed up You can scan that QR code We have some incredible speakers coming to speak at youth con And it's going to be an incredible experience where people meet Jesus Before you leave, let me pray for you Jesus, thank you so much for today God, thank you for the word that you spoke through Pastor Daniel, I pray it would fall on good soil today Lord, I pray as we leave Holy Spirit We would acknowledge that you're our helper and you're our God And so God, we acknowledge you in all of our ways today

Lord, we give you glory, we give you honor And we give you praise in the house today Jesus' name and everybody said Amen, amen, thank you so much for being here Have a great week (upbeat music)