Obedience > Sacrifice

Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music

♪ Of our praises ♪ ♪ And time and time again we worship you ♪ ♪ And anyone with eyes can see a mountain ♪ ♪ But anyone with faith will see it move ♪ ♪ Elohim, the God who goes before me ♪ ♪ Prince of peace, my heart has found a home ♪ ♪ You're the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ There's no end to who you are ♪ ♪ There's no limit to your glory ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Merciful and true, God of every virtue ♪ ♪ The solid rock we're standing on ♪ ♪ You're holy and you're kind, the epitome of light ♪ ♪ We magnify the worthy one, we magnify the worthy one ♪ ♪ Elohim, the God who goes before me ♪ ♪ Prince of peace, my heart has found a home ♪ ♪ You're the father, son, and the holy ghost ♪ ♪ There's no ending who you are, there's no limit to your throne ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ There's no limit to your throne ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, there's no limit to your throne ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ No, no one is higher, God, our provider, Prince of Peace ♪ ♪ He is good beyond measure, worthy forever, Elohim ♪ ♪ No one is higher, God, our provider, Prince of Peace ♪ ♪ He is good beyond measure, worthy forever, Elohim ♪ ♪ No one is higher, God, our provider, Prince of Peace ♪ ♪ He is good beyond measure, worthy forever, Elohim ♪ ♪ No one is higher, God, our provider, Prince of Peace ♪ ♪ He is good beyond measure, worthy forever, Elohim ♪

♪ The God of course before you, the God of grace before you ♪ ♪ The God of course before you, Prince of Peace ♪ ♪ My heart has found a home for the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ There's no end to who you are, there's no limit to your reach ♪ ♪ There's no end to who you are, there's no limit to your reach ♪ ♪ No limit, there's no limit, no limit, no one is higher, no one is higher ♪ ♪ For us ♪ ♪♪ ♪ And no one is higher, God our provider, Prince of Peace. ♪ ♪ He is good beyond measure, worthy forever, Elohim. ♪ ♪ No one is higher, God our provider, Prince of Peace. ♪ ♪ He is good beyond measure, worthy forever, Elohim. ♪ ♪ And no one is higher, God our provider, Prince of Peace. ♪ ♪ He is good beyond measure, worthy forever, Elohim. ♪ ♪ No one is higher, God our provider, Prince of Peace. ♪ ♪ He is good beyond measure, worthy forever, Elohim. ♪ ♪ The God who goes before me, Prince of Peace. ♪ ♪ My heart has found a home. You're the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. ♪ ♪ There's no end to who you are. There's no limit to your worth. ♪ ♪ Worthy is your name, Jesus. You deserve the praise. ♪ ♪ Worthy is your name, Jesus. You deserve the praise. ♪ ♪ Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name, Jesus. ♪ ♪ You deserve the praise. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name, Jesus. ♪ ♪ You deserve the praise. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name, Jesus. ♪ ♪ You deserve the praise. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name, Jesus. ♪ ♪ You deserve the praise. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name. ♪ ♪ Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name. ♪ Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name. Jesus, you deserve the praise. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name. Jesus, you deserve the praise. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name. Jesus, you deserve the praise.

Worthy is your name. Jesus, you deserve the praise. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name. ♪ Holy is Your name ♪ ♪ Holy is Your name ♪ ♪ Holy is Your name ♪ ♪ Holy is Your name ♪ ♪ Holy is Your name ♪ ♪ Holy is Your name ♪ ♪ Holy is Your name ♪ ♪ Holy is Your name ♪ ♪ Oh, how worthy is this day ♪ ♪ Worthy is Your name ♪ ♪ Worthy is Your name ♪ ♪ Worthy is Your name ♪ ♪ Worthy is Your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ You deserve the praise ♪ ♪ Worthy is Your name ♪ ♪ Worthy is Your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ You deserve the praise ♪ ♪ Worthy is Your name ♪ ♪ You deserve the praise ♪ ♪ Worthy is Your name ♪ ♪ Well, it don't matter what you're facing ♪ ♪ There's blood that's covering us ♪ ♪ There ain't nothing that blood can't do ♪ ♪ It's redeeming, reconciling, it's conquering ♪ ♪ It's redeeming, reconciling, it's conquering ♪ ♪ Yeah, it's redeeming, reconciling, good, good blood ♪ ♪ Yeah, it's redeeming, reconciling, good, good blood ♪ ♪ Yeah, it's good, good blood ♪

Hey, I sang a spontaneous song and accidentally announced that Grace was pregnant. This was before. Yeah. Yeah. And I didn't get scheduled for a while, so I guess I had to make sure nobody was pregnant. Before. Anyway. Maisie's in the back. She's good. She's good. She's good. Hey, everybody. Hey. Welcome to the Altar Fellowship. We're about two things here. What are they? Worship and family. If this is your first time here on a Sunday, anything can happen when the Lord is in our presence, when we're in the presence of the Lord. And I just feel this thing's probably a little bit of the wrestle I'm going through in my life right now, where I just feel like there's nothing the blood can't do. It sets our minds free. It heals our bodies. It frees us of sin and bondage. It brings joy where there's sorrow. Is there power?

Yes, there's power in the blood. Only in the blood is there power. Yes, there's power in the precious blood. Give me some kick, chief. Is there power? Yes, there's power in the blood. Only in the blood is there power. Yes, there's power in the precious blood. There's nothing that can set me free except the blood that flowed down Calvary. The grip of death lost its hold on me. I've been washed by the blood of the Lamb. There's nothing that could ever save me. ♪ The one who raised me from the grave ♪ ♪ Alive in Christ, now for all my days ♪ ♪ I've been washed by the blood of the Lamb, come on ♪ ♪ Is there power ♪ ♪ Yes, there's power in the blood ♪ ♪ Only in the blood, is there power ♪ ♪ Yes, there's power in the precious blood of the Lamb ♪ Hey! ♪ Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on ♪ ♪ There's nothing that can strengthen me ♪ ♪ Like the fire that falls from the heavenlies ♪ ♪ I'm filled with power for eternity ♪ ♪ I've been washed by the blood of the Lamb ♪ ♪ Yeah, I've been washed by the blood of the Lamb ♪ ♪ Is there power ♪ ♪ Yes, there's power in the blood ♪ ♪ Only in the blood, is there power ♪

♪ Yes, there's power in the precious blood of the Lamb ♪ ♪ Is there power ♪ ♪ Yes, there's power in the blood ♪ ♪ Only in the blood, is there power ♪ ♪ Yes, there's power ♪ ♪ In the precious blood of the Lamb ♪ ♪ In the precious blood of the Lamb ♪ ♪ Yes, there's power in the blood of the Lamb ♪ Come on, boys! ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ There is power, power, wonder-working power ♪ ♪ In the precious blood of the Lamb ♪ ♪ There's power, power, wonder-working power ♪ ♪ In the precious blood of the Lamb ♪ ♪ There is power, power, wonder-working power ♪ ♪ In the blood of the Lamb ♪ There is power, power, wonder-working power ♪ ♪ In the precious blood of the Lamb ♪ In the precious blood of the Lamb ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -♪ There's nothing that could separate ♪ ♪ His kingdom's come and He shall remain ♪ ♪ We're raised with Him and in peace we reign ♪ ♪ We've been washed by the blood of the Lamb ♪ ♪ Yeah, we were washed by the blood of the Lamb ♪ ♪ Is there power?

-♪ Yes, there's power in the blood -♪ Only in the blood ♪ Is there power? -♪ Yes, there's power -♪ In the precious blood of the Lamb ♪ Is there power? -♪ Yes, there's power in the blood -♪ Only in the blood ♪ Is there power? -♪ Yes, there's power -♪ In the precious blood of the Lamb -♪ In the precious blood of the Lamb -♪ Yes, there's power -♪ Hey! -♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Amen to that. -♪ Is there power? -♪ Yes, there's power -♪ Is there power? -♪ Only in the blood -♪ Is there power? -♪ Is there power in the blood? -♪ Yep, is there power? -♪ Is there power in the blood? -♪ Only in the blood -♪ Is there power? -♪ Yes, there's power -♪ Is there power? -♪ Come on, just declare that over your circumstances. Come on. Is there power?

-♪ Hey! -♪ Is there power in the blood? -♪ Only in the blood Is there power -♪ Yes, there's power in the blood Hey! -♪ Is there power? -♪ Yes, there's power in the blood -♪ Only in the blood Is there power ♪ Yes, there's power Is there power Amen. I love our church and we love you Lord so much. God thank you for the power and the blood of Jesus. Precious blood. Look at the cross right now. Jesus, we quiet the noise and we look at the cross. We look at the cross. We look full in his wonderful face. That wonderful face. We let the things of the world grow dim. We look at his face. Turn your eyes, turn your eyes, turn your eyes. Upon the Son of God. The one who gave it all. The one who gave it all. Who shed his blood so that we might love him in return. How great a love. How pure a love. For the joy set before us, he endured the cross.

Knowing from the beginning it would be worth the cost. Fix your eyes, oh my soul. On the one who gave it all. Consider him the author and the finisher. Oh, lift your head and look to him, the Son of Man. My weariness is swallowed in the kindness of our covenant. Consider this, consider him, he is everything. He is everything. For the joy set before us, we will lay aside. Every weight, every burden to behold our prize. Turn from all other things. Set our gaze on the King. ♪ Consider Him the author and the finisher ♪ ♪ Lift your head and look to Him the Son of man ♪ ♪ My weariness, the kindness of our covenant ♪ ♪ The kindness of our covenant ♪ ♪ Consider this, consider Him, He is everything ♪ ♪ Consider this, the author and the finisher ♪ ♪ Lift your head and look to Him the Son of man ♪ ♪ My weariness is swallowed in the kindness of our covenant ♪ ♪ Consider this, consider Him, He is everything ♪ ♪ He is everything ♪ ♪ He is everything ♪ ♪ He is everything ♪ ♪ He is everything ♪ ♪ We will run this race focused on Your face ♪ ♪ You won't let us grow weary ♪ ♪ We're not made of spring, it's a pilgrimage ♪ ♪ You won't let us lose heart ♪ ♪ We will run this race focused on Your face ♪

♪ You won't let us grow weary ♪ ♪ We're not made of spring, it's a pilgrimage ♪ ♪ You won't let us lose heart ♪ ♪ We will run this race focused on Your face ♪ ♪ You won't let us grow weary ♪ ♪ We're not made of spring, it's a pilgrimage ♪ ♪ You won't let us lose heart ♪ ♪ We will run this race focused on Your face ♪ ♪ You won't let us grow weary ♪ ♪ We're not made of spring, it's a pilgrimage ♪ ♪ You won't let us lose heart ♪ ♪ We will run this race focused on Your face ♪ ♪ You won't let us grow weary ♪ ♪ We're not made of spring, it's a pilgrimage ♪ ♪ You won't let us lose heart ♪ ♪ We will run this race focused on Your face ♪ ♪ You won't let us grow weary ♪ ♪ We're not made of spring, it's a pilgrimage ♪ ♪ You won't let us lose heart ♪ ♪ We will run this race focused on Your face ♪ ♪ You won't let us grow weary ♪ ♪ We're not made of spring, it's a pilgrimage ♪ ♪ You won't let us lose heart ♪ ♪ Consider Him the author and the finisher ♪ ♪ Oh, lift your head and look to Him, the Son of Man ♪ ♪ My weariness is swallowed in the kindness of our covenant ♪ ♪ Consider Him, consider Him, He is everything ♪ ♪ He is everything, He is everything ♪ ♪ He is everything ♪ ♪ He is everything ♪

♪ He is everything ♪ ♪ We will run this race focused on Your face ♪ ♪ You won't let us grow weary ♪ ♪ We're not made of spring, it's a pilgrimage ♪ ♪ You won't let us lose heart ♪ ♪ We will run this race focused on Your face ♪ ♪ You won't let us grow weak when our measure's sprint ♪ ♪ You won't let us lose heart ♪ ♪ You won't let us lose heart ♪ ♪ You won't let us buy the ways ♪ ♪ We're walking a narrow way ♪ ♪ Come be the lamp unto our feet ♪ ♪ The light unto our path ♪ ♪ We're not gonna lose heart ♪ ♪ I love You, Lord, and I lift my voice to You ♪ ♪ I love You, Lord, and I lift my voice to You ♪ ♪ To worship You, O my soul, rejoice, take joy, my King ♪ ♪ To worship You, O my soul, rejoice, take joy, my King ♪ ♪ Rejoice, take joy, my King ♪ ♪ In what You hear ♪ ♪ May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ears ♪ ♪ May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ears ♪ ♪ May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ears ♪ ♪ May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ears ♪ How are we, hon? When we were singing that song, I couldn't help but hear the Holy Spirit say, How many times we do the New Year, New Me. I'm finally going to make those things happen that I had hoped for.

And I realized that this year, for me, will be 50 years that I started following the Lord. And what I want to say is, it isn't about the sprint. Really, it is about the pilgrimage, like what you said. It's the longevity. It's the hanging in there. It's the going when it really gets hard, when you feel like there is nothing happening. I'm not seeing great fruitfulness. I'm not seeing the things accomplished that I really would like to. And honestly, I'm just out of breath. I'm just out of the... If that's you, if you're at a place right now where you feel like, how do I even keep going when I've tried this so many times and there just hasn't been the breakthrough that I'm looking for? If that's you, just raise your hand. Just raise your hand, and honestly, just look around. If there's somebody by you who has their hand raised, let's just take a moment just to acknowledge God's faithfulness. Lord Jesus, I pray for these individuals who are looking for a breakthrough, looking for more than just that fast answer, looking for stability. Lord, I think of Pastor Matty's message about being established. And part of it is being able to break through

when the honeymoon is over, when it's really, really gut time. It's really time to say, it's not about me, it's all about you. And I want you to be honored in my life, and I'm willing to trust you. So, Lord Jesus, I pray for these individuals who raised their hands and those who were struggling even to do that. I pray, God, that you would just establish them in a way that will be to your glory, that it's not about the fruitfulness, it's not about the things that we can accomplish, it's all about walking with you and being faithful and obedient. So, Lord Jesus, I just thank you for establishing us in a way that would be to your glory, and we thank you for these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Yeah. Jesus, I love you, I love you, I love you, Jesus I love you, I love you, I love you Jesus I love you, I love you, I love you, Jesus I love you, I love you, I do. Jesus I love you, I love you, I love you, Jesus I love you, I. Come on, lean in, and tell them you love them. Jesus I love you, I love you, I love you, Jesus I love you, I love you, I, hey.

Jesus I love you, I love you, I love you, Jesus I love, go to the chorus, your name is like honey. Your name is like honey on my lips. Your spirit's like water to my soul. Your word is a lamp unto my feet. Jesus I love you, sing it again, hey. Your name is like honey on my lips. Your spirit's like water to my soul. Your word is a lamp unto my feet. Jesus I love you, I love you, Jesus I love you, I love you, to the first. Jesus, Jesus, holy and anointed one, Jesus. One more time. Jesus, Jesus, risen and exalted, the risen and exalted one, Jesus. Thank you for this day, Lord. Thank you for your presence. Thank you for the life you gave and the relationship you established. May your heart be moved, Lord, by the song of our heart and the posture that we take in worship, Lord. You are worthy. He's worthy, isn't he? You are worthy, Lord, worthy of praise. You are worthy, Lord, worthy of praise. You are worthy, Lord, worthy of praise. We, as I think each of us, as we sort of try to deal with the responsibility we have to cultivate what we call, you know, personal relationship with Jesus, as we try to figure out exactly what it means to have that.

I think, you know, one of the things, one of the concerns that I have as a pastor, a leader, as someone that feels a sense of responsibility for the journeys that we're undertaking here is that, you know, we come into places like this, we come into moments like this. And that some of us might live here for years, we may go to this church, young men and women may grow up in this church, surrounded by, inundated by, overwhelmed constantly by opportunities to experience God meaningfully, and yet never actually taking that step. And so I'll tell you just a bit about my sort of private world, is that I don't know that there's anything I have prayed more frequently, more consistently for the members of this church than that God would give us holy curiosity, that God would give us the desire to just go hey, other people hear God speak, what might it be like if I tried to do that? Other people have encounters with God, what might it be like if I tried to do that? I hear about people praying at home, maybe you've never done that before, God I'm gonna try to, I'm gonna set my alarm a little bit earlier tomorrow, and I wanna, I wanna wake up and just spend time with you. And I've gotta tell you guys, it hasn't been for me conviction most often that has driven me into my relationship with God, it's been curiosity. What happens if I pursue God? What happens if I consistently seek His face? What happens if I make the pursuit of the Word of God, of the voice of God, the central passion of my life, and that curiosity has been the thing that has caused me to find God in, in, in deeper and more profound and transformational ways than I, I could have ever imagined. You know, the Bible tells us that we will find Him when we seek Him. It does not say we will find Him when we sit in a room with other people who seek Him. And so my exhortation, my challenge to you, my dare to you, my invitation to you today is if, if not for desperation, maybe for the sake of curiosity, I wanna invite you to seek God like you've never sought Him before, to try. If you feel uncomfortable getting out of your seat, you know, when we gather together for

worship next week, make it, make a commitment to yourself today that you're gonna change your perspective, that you're gonna change your pursuit. And, and, and that you'll do so just as a, we'll call it a science experiment, you know. Somebody said, somebody said, I heard somebody say once that if you want to get something you've never gotten, you're gonna have to do something you've never done, amen. And so let's be a people who aren't afraid to do things we've never done, amen. Hey, we're so glad that you're here at the altar. Would you guys, as you're finding a seat, if you can, would you just bless our musicians, tell them how grateful we are for them and their ministry today. What an awesome, awesome, awesome start to the morning. Thank you for being here. If, as you're finding your seat, I want to, I wanna share a, a thought I had this week, you know. We have got a lot of ground to cover this morning, and so I wanna make sure that we keep going. I wanna make sure that God has something special for us today. But raise your hand if you have ever heard of Moses before. All right, good, look at that. You're doing, you're doing good. I, I wanna tell you, you know, I have thought a lot through the years about that burning bush moment in Moses' life when he was, you know, 80 years old, when he was commissioned by God into this, this ministry of leadership or deliverance as he worked to, to partner with God to see the Israelites delivered from their slavery, their, their generations and generations of slavery in, in Egypt. But there's this one exchange that really jumped out to me this week. It's in, you can find it in Exodus, in Exodus 3 is where Moses has his burning bush moment, but it, it continues into Exodus chapter 4. And Moses, you know, he, he hears this calling that God says, Moses, I'm gonna send you to Pharaoh and you are going to lead my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. And, and, and Moses, you know, for good reason is a little bit hesitant.

I mean, this is a, a tall order, and, and Moses is very well aware of the many reasons that he is pretty unqualified to do this thing he's being called to do. And so, so Moses answers the Lord. God says, Moses, I'm gonna use you. You're gonna be a deliverer for my people. And Moses says in Exodus 4, 1, it says, Moses answered and said, but suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice. Oh, brother, I can commiserate. I, I understand, I understand this struggle. What if no one will listen to me? What if I can't be persuasive enough or articulate enough or charismatic enough? What if, what if I can't argue people into, you know, the deliverance? you want them to step into, you know? What if no one will listen to me? And so he says, but suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice. Suppose they say, the Lord has not appeared to you. And I love this, that God's question to him is so profound in verse two of Exodus three. It says, so the Lord said to him, what is in your hand? And he said, a rod. You know, it's the same rod I've carried around for 40 years. I found this stick on the ground a couple decades ago. I've just been sort of walking around with it. I don't know, it's my stick. Like it's nothing special. It's plain, it's ordinary, it's common, it's insignificant. But God says, what do you have in your hand? And Moses says, well, it's a rod.

And if you're familiar with the story, God ends up turning that rod into a serpent. Moses uses that rod repeatedly in the deliverance of the Israelites, not least significant of which is when he comes to the shore of the Red Sea not too long after this conversation, and God tells him to hold that rod up over the ocean. And as he holds that rod up, the ocean parts itself before God's people. This rod becomes a centerpiece of this amazing, miraculous, historic thing that God does, but it's not because the rod was anything special. It's because Moses took what was in his hand, and he said, God, you can use something ordinary. And every week, we give you the opportunity to give in an offering. And every week, I understand, I can sympathize with this idea that you feel like what's in your hand or what's in your bank account or what's in your wallet, it's pretty ordinary. It's pretty insignificant, it's pretty unimpressive. And so you feel like, what difference could this possibly make? And I would point you to the story of Moses that God doesn't say, all right, Moses, you're gonna need some sort of special super rod if you're gonna do what I've called you to do. He just says, take the plain thing you found on the ground 20 years ago, that thing that you've been walking around with

day after day after day after day, that insignificant, unimpressive, everyday thing. And if you'll trust me with that, I can use that to change the world. And so I want to encourage you to understand this, that God's not asking you for something you don't have. He's just asking you today the same question that he asked Moses, what's in your hand? What do you have? Not what do you wish you have. Not what do you plan to have five years from now. Not what do you think you could get if everything goes the way you hope it goes. He's asking you today what's in your hand. And if you're willing to take what's in your hand and put it into his, you might just find, like Moses did, that what seems ordinary to you can actually be a tool he uses to change the world for others. And so this morning, as you prepare your hearts to give, as you turn your ears to listen, to say, Father, what would you have me give this morning? My hope is that you won't be intimidated by what seems to you like an ordinary offering because God loves to use ordinary things to make an extraordinary difference, amen? And so this morning, we are gonna give in the offering. Are you excited about that? Come on, we're gonna take what's in our hands and we're gonna lay it down before the Lord,

which is exactly what Moses did in that moment. If you need to use the envelope, there should be an envelope in the seat in front of you if you wanna use that to give by cash or check or card. Of course, you can scan that QR code there with your phone or you can give through the mobile app. How many of you came on Wednesday to Pastor David's first class on finance? I love it. We've got three more of those. And again, I hope that you will make it a priority. God has really blessed and anointed David in this area. You will receive a lot of insight that will be life-changing for you. And so if you weren't there this last week, I'd encourage you to make it a priority to be there these next three Wednesday nights. If you were there this last week, I would encourage you to be there these next three Wednesday nights. Everybody needs to be there these next three Wednesday nights. But would you stand? We're gonna pray over this offering. Lord, Father, we thank you that you can use ordinary things. Thank you, Lord, that you do use ordinary things day after day after day. Thank you, Lord, that you've not asked us to give you something we don't have or we can't earn or produce,

but we thank you, Lord, that you've simply asked us to be faithful with what you have put in our hand. Thank you, Lord, that today you ask us for sacrifice, but yesterday... provided a sacrifice to give. So we thank you, Lord, for the provision of the jobs that we hold. Thank you for the skills and the abilities to do the jobs that we hold. Lord, we thank you that we've been able to earn money and that with this money that we're able to honor you. I can't think of anything of greater worth than to give to your work in the world. Lord, we just, we bless you today. We ask you that this offering would move the needle for the sake of your kingdom, Lord, that as we give to what you're doing in this community, that you continue to bring us opportunities to bless those around us, continue to bring us opportunities to glorify your name and to advance your kingdom. And we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. All right, whenever you're ready, we will be receiving the offering here at the front. Thanks so much. Thank you. Y'all can be seated. It got so quiet so fast. You guys, y'all good? You guys are very well behaved today. It's freaking me out a little bit. I want to show you, I've got, here's my notes for today. I just have one piece of paper from my notebook. You know, as we talk about, we talked this last week about being established and what it means, what it looks like to be established, the vital importance of establishment, not just for our own life, but for our spouses, for our children, for the people that are

in the church community around us. And my hope is that all of us can sort of agree that it's our desire, it's our calling, it's a God-given responsibility each of us have received to be established in the place to which God has called us. And if we can agree on that, then I think we have to probably have a conversation about some of the pitfalls or some of the opposition that we may face as those who are seeking to be established. Now I have talked to you in the past about things like offense or restlessness that can certainly pull people off of the foundation to which God has called them. How are we doing, Josh? Are we, we're sorting it out? I don't know what that hand signal means. Just give me a thumbs up or thumb, are we bad? All right. Okay. We're just, it's going to be a mid sounding sermon today and y'all are just going to have to deal with it, you know. Thank you, buddy. I, but as I was praying about this, about God, like help me prepare or equip or position or provoke or inspire our people to be established. I had this one phrase dropped into my spirit. The Lord began to speak to me. He said, Matty, you have said to the people, do not treat as common what God calls holy. But I want to say to them today, do not treat as holy what God calls common. The Lord said, Matty, you have said to the people, do not treat as common what God calls holy. But today I want to say to them, do not treat as holy what God calls common. Now I have said often, it's a great tragedy for us to treat as common what God calls holy. It's things like our marriage, things like the gathering of the saints, things like worship or the scriptures that we, we treat those things like they're no big deal, like the

Bible is just some, some homework assignment, some book that, you know, our parents want us to read or, or we treat the gathering of the saints like it's just a chore to sort of knock off our, our, our to-do list each week. Or we, we treat our marriage like it's a burden we have to bear instead of a blessing God has given us to, to grow in our, our faith and, and in our knowledge of Christ. And so all of those things are true. I stand behind that sentiment that it's, it's wrong. It's a great tragedy for us to treat as common what God calls holy, but there's another side to that coin. And that is that often I see people falling prey to, to this temptation to treat as holy things that God calls common. That is to say that we defend and we revere and we venerate things that are just regular things, like a political party or candidate, for example. Like the job that we happen to have. And it's like, I was talking to a man in the church this week and he said, well, you know, I don't want my boss to think that I'm like all about the money. And I said, that's why you go there. Like you wouldn't show up to the warehouse every day if he wasn't paying you to be there. Like that's the arrangement. It's a money-based, you know, situation. And so, you know, but we fall into this thing where we treat things as holy. We venerate them like they're a God-given calling or an assignment when they're just a matter of convenience or comfort for us. Or, you know, maybe it's something that is like good. It's helped us for a season, but it's not a holy or a sacred thing. And so, I want us to look today at 1st Samuel chapter 15, and I want us to maybe learn from King Saul. If you're familiar, King Saul was the first king of Israel. And you can read his story all throughout the book of 1st Samuel. And in 1st Samuel chapter 15, we read the story of the events that led to Saul's disqualification. He was removed as the king of Israel. The favor and the grace of God were removed from him because of the events found in 1st Samuel chapter 15. And God began to raise up David as his replacement as a result of the events of 1st Samuel chapter 15.

And so, I mentioned earlier, we have a lot of ground to cover. There's 35 verses in this chapter, and I'm gonna do my best to teach through the whole thing today. If I can't do it, we'll just stop and, you know, we'll be here next week. So, we can pick it up then. But I want to just read this, and we'll pull some things out. And I want you to see how someone who's been established by God can lose that place by treating as holy things that God considers common. I want you to see today how someone who's established can lose their place by treating as holy things that God calls common. So, we'll start in 1st Samuel 15 verse 1. It says, Samuel, this is the prophet of Israel. Samuel said to Saul, who's the king of Israel, the Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people, over Israel. Now, therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord. Thus says Yahweh Tzab'ot, the Lord of hosts, I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel. Now, he ambushed, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. So, the Amalekites, those are descendants of Amalek. And so, he says in verse 3, Samuel says, on behalf of the Lord, now go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all they have, and do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. I want to make sure you pay attention to that verse because brutal. You know, I was in a conversation, I'm using that term generously, with a very devout atheist once, and he pointed to this verse and said, this is the God that you claim to serve, the God that commands that his people utterly destroy, you know, both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. He said, are you sure you're on the right side? And then I said, this is the God who will destroy both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. Are you sure you're on the right side? God will go to great lengths to protect his people and to make sure they inherit every blessing he intends for them. And so I think the gut check for us needs to be not that God is like sunshine and rainbows, he's not a care bear. Like, the gut check for us needs to be that God is scary. God is severe.

Paul wrote that it is a, what did he say? He said it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Consider what the Bible tells us, both the kindness and the severity of God. And so this idea is like we need to understand that just because God is good to those who are his does not mean that God is soft to anyone, especially those who are not his. And so this should instill in us, this should be like a seed that would produce in us the fear of the Lord to say, I wanna make sure I always stay on his side. I wanna make sure that I never become his enemy because God does not play with his enemies. And so Saul in verse four, so Saul hears that instruction and he gathered the people together and he numbered them in Talaim, 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. Then Saul said to the Canaanites, go depart, get down from among the Amalekites lest I destroy you with them for you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. So this is a separate group living with the Amalekites and he tells them, we're about to destroy the Amalekites unless you wanna be destroyed, you need to separate yourselves from them.

Which probably there's a some practical pastoral insight for us in this idea that if we're not careful the company we keep, we might end up getting destroyed right along with them. One of the great schemes the enemy uses, one of his most effective tactics in the life of new or young believers that I have seen is that they will be a part of a group of friends that revel in sin and self-destruction. And then their hearts will be pierced with conviction and they'll come to Christ. They'll answer an altar call, they'll come to some church event, but then they go back into school the next day, they go back into work the next day. And the enemy says, well, if I can't keep you from professing faith in Christ, I'm gonna keep you tethered to people who are running as fast as they can away from him. And maybe since I couldn't keep you from the altar call, since I couldn't keep you from the event, since I couldn't keep you from the moment of salvation, maybe I can keep you from ever becoming a follower of Jesus by making sure you continue to follow people who are determined to find their end in destruction. And so I would point you to the lesson of the Kenites, what Saul says to them, which is separate yourself from people who are headed from destruction. Can I tell you, I have done both.

I have tried to like hang out with my friends and people that were living in sin and rebellion against God to try to reach them. And I have also just ended in severed relationships. And can I tell you the relationships I have severed, those people have been more impacted for the glory of God by the fact that I was willing to walk away from our friendship to pursue him than the people that I continue to live in sin and compromise with. And so if you want to find a way to reach your friend or your coworker or your family member that is determined to rebel against God's standards and statutes, my advice to you is do not engage with them, especially in their sin. And they may be upset and they may run their mouth and they may talk about, oh, you're just so religious and Jesus hung out with sinners and you're nothing like Jesus, but in their heart of hearts, they're gonna know this person found a better path. And when the day comes that I'm ready to find a better path, I know who I can call. And so the Kenites departed, verse six tells us the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt. He also took Agag, king of the Amalekites, alive

and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs and all that was good. And they were unwilling to utterly destroy them, but everything despised and worthless that they utterly destroyed. So you see the difference here that what was the command? Go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have, do not spare them. Kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. Then Saul attacks as he was commanded to do, but Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs and all that was good. And they were unwilling to utterly destroy them. destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. And so they made these sort of value judgments. They said, well, these are really nice, you know, this is some really nice cattle here. We've got the king. I mean, look at the prestige. We're gonna take the king alive for sure. We get to capture a king and make him our slave. I mean, that's a huge accomplishment. That's a big deal. But here's the thing that I think stuck out to me when I first read this. It's that it doesn't say that Saul spared Agag. It says Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep. So Samuel, the prophet, hadn't delivered the message of God or the instruction to all the people. He delivered it only to Saul. And so Saul's failure is to lead the people into God's will or to maintain God's holy standard for the people who

were looking to him for leadership. I've got that phrase, and the people circled in my Bible, and I wrote bad leadership right above it in the margin. Like, this is the thing, is that everybody ends up rebelling against God's instruction because the leader isn't careful to keep it and to teach those under his leadership to do the same. This, I think, is important for us to recognize, is that those of us that have any bit of influence, you know, maybe we were a manager at work. Maybe we just have some kids that are looking to us for guidance in life. We can teach our kids compromise, or we can teach our kids to carefully observe the instruction of the Lord. And my hope is that we'll be intentional in the way that we do that. But there's this word here that I think is really hard to deal with. He says that, it says that Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling, that's the word, were unwilling to utterly destroy them. It doesn't say that they couldn't have done it. It says that they were just not willing. They looked at these things and they thought, look at the value of these things that, you know, God has called us to lay these things down. Surely, if God knew how much this was worth, if God knew how impressive this livestock was, if God understood, you know, all the good that we could do with these things, and he would never have called us to destroy these things. They judged for themselves the value of these things, and so they they became unwilling to obey God. The cost seemed too high, but everything despised and worthless, yeah, that's fine, we can get rid of that. And so those things they utterly destroyed. Verse 10, it says, now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, this is again the prophet, saying, I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments. Now, this is really interesting, because if you would have asked Saul, Saul, do you still follow God? He would have said, yeah, of course, but that's not how God judged the situation. We don't get to follow Christ and ignore his commands. We don't get to follow Christ and ignore his commands. We don't get to say, I'm a follower of Christ, but I negotiate with his commands. He is

either the Lord of my life, or I am the Lord of my life, and there is no in between. And so Saul, he kind of obeys in this situation. He partially obeys, he might even say, he mostly obeyed in this situation. Samuel told me to attack the Amalekites, I attacked the Amalekites. Like, I did it, right? I carried out the command. Like, maybe there were some corners that I cut, maybe there were some compromises, but, you know, ultimately I did what God wanted. I destroyed the Amalekites, and so everything is good, right? But here's the thing we have to return to again, and again, and again. We don't get to follow God on our own terms. We've got to follow him on his terms. And so God says, not only has Saul disobeyed my commands, he's turned back from following me altogether. And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night. So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul went to Carmel, and indeed he set up a monument for himself. And he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal. Now, isn't that like a man who decides that his judgment is better than God's, and certainly God would never want us to sacrifice such fantastic animals? You know, look at these great livestock. We've got to keep these things alive. These are worth a lot of money. You know, they're really sought after, and so we can't destroy these things. And so what does he do on his way back? He builds a monument to himself, because look at my great victory. This is, I've got this in my Bible. I've got it underlined and highlighted because just that one phrase, that he set up a monument for himself. And I underline that because I recognize that there are many people I know. In fact, I have been one of them who build monuments to themselves for the great things they've done in the name of the Lord. Man, there are entire churches in this nation that are built as a monument to a man

and his great personality and his amazing gift. There are well-known ministries that, oh, they're not offerings to the Lord. They're not sacrifices and the product of lives laid down for the glory of God. They're monuments to a man and his great victories, his amazing strength and brilliance. And so we've gotta be careful. I think we've gotta understand that the victories God gives us, if we don't continue to remain careful to lay down the glory they bring us at his feet, that what they'll produce in us is the kind of heart that Saul demonstrates here. And that is that instead of humbly and fearfully obeying God, he built them. He did half of what God called him to do and then built a monument for himself. In verse 13, it says, then Samuel went to Saul and Saul said to him, blessed are you. Here's the very spiritual language of a man who's half obeying God. You know, the prophet of the Lord shows up, blessed are you of the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord. This is how some of y'all talk to me. You're doing half of the things God has called you to do, but you know, the man of God walks in and it's like, oh, blessed and highly favored. God's so good to me, you know,

he's just been encountering me. No, what's been happening is that God has withdrawn his presence from your life because you are compromising with the things he's called you to do. So blessed are you of the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord. And then I love Samuel's response here. He says in verse 14, but Samuel said, what then is this bleeding of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of oxen which I hear? Meaning you haven't obeyed the commandment of the Lord. It's evident and obvious. You did part of it, but you haven't obeyed what God commanded you to do. And so verse 15, Saul said, they have brought them from the Amalekites for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God. And the rest we have utterly destroyed. So there's a couple of points. I feel like I need to draw out from this passage. Okay, they have brought them from the Amalekites. Hold on, Saul, who is in charge of that attack? Yeah, so he built a monument for himself, but then when there was some blame, it was them that did it. You understand what I'm saying? Like he didn't build a monument to the 200,000 foot soldiers he brought with him. He built a monument to himself for his brilliance. But then when he realized that he was in trouble,

who did it? Well, they brought them from the Amalekites for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen. You see how suddenly, you know, the credit goes to Saul, but the blame goes to the soldiers. The credit goes to Saul if it's good, but if it's bad, the blame goes to the soldiers. See, this is a tale as old as time. It's like Adam standing before God, like, well, the woman you gave me made me do it. And then the woman going, uh, it was the snake's fault, right, this is like the human impulse when we realize that we're being confronted with our own compromise. And I would say to you, every one of you, I hope you'll hear this, that one of the hallmarks of a person who's established or mature in their faith is that they are willing and quick to take accountability. That they're willing to say, you're right, God called me to this standard and I did this instead. I shouldn't have said that to you. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. That was the wrong decision that I made. I hope you'll forgive me, I will be better in the future. Like, there is grace, there's endless grace for people who are willing to admit their faults and their failures. I think about David's response after Bathsheba that he, you know, tore his clothes and he wept,

and then he began to write, you know, cast me not away from your presence, O Lord, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Like, he confesses his sin and he says, God, if I lose the kingdom, if I lose my throne, if I lose my prestige and my reputation, that's fine, but I still need your presence. I need your spirit to work in my life. Like, that's, that's all. heart of contrition and humility and accountability. And yet, I've got to be honest with you, I thought when I was young that adults were very mature. And then I became an adult and found out we've all just been 15 for a really long time. And so it's rare to find a person of any age who's willing to say, hey, that was the wrong thing. I was wrong. I made the wrong call. I got emotional in that situation. I hope you'll forgive me. And, but I'm telling you, there is nothing that will make me respect a person more than accountability. That if they're willing to say that thing I did is below my standard, I have a standard for myself and that's not it. And I acknowledge that and I commit to meeting that standard if ever given the opportunity in the future. Like that is a person I can respect and truly admire. In fact, years ago, I'll never forget this.

We've been friends for a long time with Dutch Sheets, if you're familiar with him and his awesome ministry. He and his wife, we've been friends forever. In fact, they were the first people to ever babysit our son Kai when he was just a little baby. And Dutch, years ago, he was gonna do an event called the Wilderness Outcry. It was somewhere in the Midwest. They'd like rented some farm and people were gonna come together. He was really looking forward to this event and then he had to cancel it like two months before the event. And I'll never forget his response because it was totally different from what I would have done. He posted a response saying, I must not have heard the word of the Lord. I thought that this was the will of God, but if it was the will of God, he would have resourced it. And so he said, we didn't have the money come in that we needed to come in. And so we're not able to confirm the venue or the staging that we need to put on this event. And so we're gonna have to just cancel it. I'm gonna continue to seek God. And in humility, next time I'm gonna be better. And it blew me away. Because if I was in his position, I'd have been like, y'all should have gave more.

You guys, I heard the word of the Lord. You guys didn't hear the word of the Lord. You should have given to us. Like that's how I would have responded. But his response was such a demonstration of humility and accountability to me that it stuck with me. And that was now 15 or more years ago. More than 15 years ago. And that stuck with me. That made such an impression of what Godly accountability looks like. And that's what we need from leaders. That's not what we see from Saul. Is that Saul, he had time to go build a monument for himself but then when he gets confronted about his compromise, suddenly it wasn't him that did it. It was the soldiers. They did it. They brought them back from the Amalekites for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen. And they only did that, Samuel, to sacrifice to the Lord, your God. I think that's really interesting that something has switched in Saul's mind that he doesn't describe Yahweh as the Lord, our God. He describes him when he's talking to Samuel as the Lord, your God. That Saul, who only attacked the Amalekites because Yahweh himself had instructed him to do so, doesn't even take ownership of God.

He has no personal proximity to God. He doesn't have any, you know what we would call a personal relationship or any sort of revelation of intimacy. He's just saying, Samuel, you know that God you serve, that God you keep talking to, we brought these things back, or I should say they brought these things back so that they could sacrifice them to the Lord, your God. And then he says that the rest we've utterly destroyed. Then Samuel said to Saul, be quiet. Yeah, that's the best thing a leader like that can do is be quiet. He says, be quiet, and I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night. And he, that is Saul, said to Samuel, speak on. So Samuel said, when you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? Now the Lord sent you on a mission and said, go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed. Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil and do evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul, now let me stop there. So in verse 17, Samuel says this phrase is really interesting to me. I've got it circled and highlighted, boxed in my Bible. He says, Samuel, when you were little,

or he says, so Samuel says to Saul, when you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? the tribes of Israel, and did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? So Saul was not a boy when he became the king of Israel. And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? He wasn't a child. In fact, he had an adult child. Jonathan was grown. He was already an accomplished military strategist. And so Saul presumably was 50. The Bible tells us that he was tall. He was like a head taller than everybody else. And so because he was tall, because he was good looking, because he was smart and competent and well-spoken, the people said, this is the kind of man we want to be our king. So that's why Saul became king. And so what Samuel is saying here is not when you were a small child, God made you the head of the tribes of Israel and anointed you king over Israel, because that didn't happen. What he's saying is, Saul, there was a time when you didn't think about yourself so much. There was a time when the nation was bigger than you in your own eyes.

There was a time when the Lord was bigger than you in your own eyes, but now you're not little in your own eyes anymore. You've become big in your own eyes. You've become a big deal. Now, I'll tell you, one of the reasons that I am so slow to encourage people into sort of platform ministries, that's why I'm not up here telling everybody that you guys should start YouTube channels or that sort of thing, is not because I don't want you to have influence, but because it's for the same reason that I haven't taught my 12-year-old son to drive yet. It's because it's a seriously dangerous thing. And I don't think, my 12-year-old, as brilliant as he is, I don't think he really understands how seriously dangerous it can be if you misuse it. Just like influence. If we misuse influence, it is so much more dangerous than most people can comprehend. You know, years ago, I remember we were playing in our band and things started to really pick up for us, and we had a lot of fans coming to our concerts. There's weird things happening. Like, I'll never forget one time walking through an airport and I'm just walking down this long hallway. It's a pretty empty airport. I'm walking down this hallway and there's a mother and her daughter walking toward me.

We're just gonna cross past each other. And this girl, she gets maybe 20 yards away from me and she stops and she's looking right at me and she just starts to shake and cry. And I'd love to tell you it's because of the presence of the Lord and she got delivered. She was just a fan of our band and she saw what she thought was a celebrity in real life and she's like having a breakdown, can't talk, can't say anything, and her mom has no idea what's going on. So I was just like, hey, my name's Matty. And you know, I'm like small talking with this girl's mom while she's trying to collect herself. It's like a very, it's a very weird situation to be in. And it always, it was like the voice of the Lord, and I consider this really just God's sovereign grace for my life, that situations like that would happen and it would scare me. Because I would realize like I could, if people feel like that about me, I could lead them whichever way I want and they'll follow. And if I'm off, they're all coming with me. And so I need accountability in my life and I need correction in my life and I need the fear of the Lord to govern my life because what I do, you know, for better or worse is going to impact all the people that are looking to me as a leader in their life. And I remember, you know, a couple years into the band

as we began growing, I sat in a ministry green room. I wasn't doing any music stuff, I was preaching at this event. And there were all these sort of people in this ministry green room. And ministry green rooms, they can be pretty political one time. I sat next to this guy, older guy. I still to this day couldn't tell you his name. But he was maybe like mid-60s, but he shook my hand and started telling me. I was like, hey, how you doing? And he was like, oh, we're doing great. God's doing amazing things through the ministry. We're reaching this nation. We're breaking into this, you know, culture, this region. God is like changing the world. It's so amazing. You know, I just came out with this new book and it was a bestseller. And hey, he says to one of his assistants, hey, grab him a copy of the book. You know, I'll sign it for you if you want it. And I was like, I have no idea who you are. Never seen you before in my life. I don't know your name. I still to this day couldn't tell you his name. I genuinely had no clue who this man was. But in his world, everybody knew who he was. So after that conversation,

I made a commitment that I would always introduce myself. No matter what the situation, I would be at an autograph signing, you know, where somebody had a shirt with my face on it, you know, and they're waiting for two hours to come and get an autograph. and take a picture with me and I'll still stick my hand out and say, hey, my name's Matty. It's not because they need it, it's because I need the reminder that the world doesn't revolve around me. Like there may be people that think I'm cool, but it's a very small subculture inside a very small subculture. The world doesn't really care about me. They don't know who I am. And so it's a crucial thing for us to make sure that we remain little in our own eyes. And Saul here in 1 Samuel 15, is a great example of what happens when we lose that sense of just how minuscule we really are in the grand scheme of things. And so Samuel reminds him of a time when he was little in his own eyes, that he was humble, a time that he knew that he was not a big deal. The universe did not revolve around him. And so Samuel challenges him in verse 19,

he says, why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil and do evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul, he defends himself. He says in verse 20, he says, but I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. And I've gone on the mission which the Lord sent me and brought back Agag, king of Amalek. I've utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people, here he is blaming others again. I obeyed, but the people, they took the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed to sacrifice to the Lord, your God in Gilgal. And so he's trying to absolve himself of guilt again, instead of taking accountability when given a second opportunity. So in verse 22, it says, so Samuel said, has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? I understand this is new King James English here. And so I wanna paraphrase this. Does the Lord care as much about your offerings as he does your obedience? He continues, he says, behold, to obey is better than sacrifice. And to heed is better than the fat of rams. And so Saul said, look at these amazing things that we could bring to the Lord.

Millions of dollars worth of livestock. I mean, unimaginable wealth that we took from the Amalekites and we're gonna sacrifice it all to the Lord. And Samuel says, God doesn't care about animals. Those are common, those are common things those are common. God cares about obedience. This is the problem. The problem is that Saul ascribed value to these things based on human standards. As if God would be impressed with, you know, prize goats and bulls. As if God would be impressed with, you know, the best of the Amalekite livestock. He's God. He made them all himself. He already owns them all. So God's not after bulls and rams and sheep. God's after our hearts. And so Saul wasn't bringing God what God wanted. Saul was bringing God what Saul wanted. And this is the thing is that we want to bring God the things we value and we expect him to be just as impressed as we are. This is, I'll never forget years ago, sitting with a young man who grew up in the church and he learned to sing in the church, but then he became the vocalist of a band that was pretty popular.

And actually they're still pretty popular today. And I'll never forget the two of us, we were sitting in a van, we were getting shuttled from a concert we had just played over to the airport. So we had about 20 minutes together to talk. And he had told me about a year earlier, I know it's not God's will for my life to be in this band. And then I said, well then brother, I'll be praying for you as you quit. I hope that God's grace is on your life. I hope he continues to bless and prosper you. A year later, God traps him in a van with me for 20 minutes. And I go, hey man, remember that conversation that we had when you told me that you knew it was God's will for you to not be in this band? And he said, oh yeah, I remember that. But I mean, we've gotten so big, we're selling so many records, there's so many people buying tickets to our shows, God's obviously blessing what we're doing. And so I can't quit now. And it broke my heart. that this young man thought prosperity clearly demonstrated that it was God's will because the devil can sell concert tickets too. And so what happened is he said, you know what I want is fame and I'm gonna take fame regardless of what God has called me to do and I'm gonna bring that fame as a sacrifice to the Lord.

God will like it because it's a thing of value. God doesn't care about fame. God does not care about influence. God does not care about wealth or riches or livestock or you know worldly kings or thrones. God cares about surrendered hearts. And so instead of bringing God the fruits of our ambition, we've gotta come back again and again and again to obedience, to say God what have you called me to do? And if it seems counterintuitive, if it seems counterproductive, if it seems backwards, our answer has got to be yes. It'll be 10 years ago this year, later this year, that actually 10 years ago, basically right about now, that I was leaving for a tour. We played our, I just played our first show in Austin, Texas and I walked off the stage and I said, something feels different about this. And after a month or two of prayer, the Lord gave me clarity and said, Matty, I'm calling you away from the music industry. And everybody said that I was crazy because look at all the people you're reaching. Look at all the good you're doing. People are getting saved. I mean a dozen people gave their lives to Christ that day. And so people would say, well look at the great impact you're having. How could you walk away from this? And I would point you to this verse

because I think to obey is better than sacrifice. You know, what we're bringing God on stage in front of all these kids, it's a great, valuable thing. But I don't think God is primarily concerned about that. I think he really wants me to obey. Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? What God requires from us is obedience, not ambitions fruit. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams. This is why, you know, for us, we can sort of go again and again and again, sort of mindlessly into the idea that, that, you know, an offering that we give or a, you know, a sacrifice that we make to maybe wake up early on Sundays and to come to church, that God is impressed with that and he's honored by that, but we have to constantly remind ourselves and return daily to communion with God because I can do sacrifice without relationship with God, but I cannot do obedience without relationship with God. I can do sacrifice without relationship with God, but I cannot do obedience without relationship with him. And this, I think, I have a lot more to say, but let's just stop here. We'll pick it up next week. I want to just put a pin in this today to challenge you this week to seek God about his will for your life.

I want to challenge you this week to say, God, show me where you've planted me and help me see this not just as, you know, a means to an end or the next rung on the ladder of self-promotion or selfish ambition, but let me see this as a divine calling on the days that it's fun and fulfilling and the days that it's brutal and it feels like it's killing me. I've been amazed at how many people have come to the altar fellowship because they thought it would be a shortcut to prominence for their ministry. Those people don't last, but if God has called you here, my, I don't know, my desperate plea is that you would let yourself be established in obedience to the word of God and that you would, like I taught last week, that you'd return back to the first sign of someone who is established, the first attribute of a heart that's been established, and that is that you would be content in the things that are and the things that are not your responsibility, that you'd be able to say, yeah, I could chase prominence, I could chase prosperity, but it's not prominence or prosperity that moved the heart of God, it's obedience.

And so, God, I'm gonna plant myself. in your word to my life, and I will not be moved. Amen. Come on, Lord, we thank you for your word that brings life and blessing and illumination. God, we honor you today. And we pray that you would just let today be another brick in the foundation that would reinforce for us the need for us to have the fear of the Lord. God, help us with great fear and trembling to never treat as wholly what you call common, to never overestimate the value of worldly things, and to remember, God, that what you are looking for is not sacrifice, but obedience. So help us, God, to remember in every situation what your voice sounds like, and to determine within ourselves that it is your voice we will abide in and not the world's definition of success or prosperity. Lord, we commit our hearts to you. We commit our talents and our resources to you again today. We give you our focus, our attention, and our energy, and we say, Lord, you are worthy of it all. Be glorified in all we do, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen, family. Hey, God bless you guys. Thank you so much for being here. We will see you Wednesday night for the class at 6.30,

and then, of course, right here next week. Thanks, y'all. Thank you.