Set Your Mind on Things Above

Jesus, there's no one like you. You're worthy to be praised. You're worthy to be praised. Seated on the highest throne. There's no one like you in all of heaven or all the earth. There's no one like you in all of heaven or all the earth. There's no one like you in all the earth. You're worthy to be praised. We stand around your throne and we say you're worthy. We stand around your throne and we say you're worthy. Be magnified. Be exalted. We lift you up. Come on, just take 30 more seconds and press in. 30 more seconds. You are seated on. There's no one like you. You're in the throne. Oh, mighty Savior. You're so worthy. Seated on the highest throne. Oh. Oh. Yeah, we bless you, Lord. We say be enthroned on our praises. We give you all the glory, all the honor. Do your name. And everybody said. Amen. Come on.

Come on, let's sing over the mountains. Over the mountains and the sea. Your river runs with love for me. And I will open up my heart. Let the healing set in. I'm happy to be true. And I will take you there. And I will always sing of when your love came down. Every voice. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love. Hey. Hey. Over the mountains and the sea. Your river runs with love for me. And I will open up my heart. Let the healing set in. I'm happy to be true. And I will take you there. And I will always sing of when your love came down. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. Oh, I feel like dancing. It's foolishness, I know.

But when the world has seen the light, they will dance with joy like we're dancing now. Oh, I feel like dancing. It's foolishness, I know, for when the world has seen the light, they will dance with joy like we're dancing now. They will dance with joy like we're dancing now. They will dance with joy like we're dancing now. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. I would sing of your love forever. I would sing of your love forever. I would sing of your love forever. I would sing of your love forever. Oh, I would sing. Jesus. Oh, we will sing. We will sing. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. I could sing of your love forever. Come on, let's just lift up his name this morning. Yeah, we bless your name. We bless your name. Oh, how we love you, Jesus. Oh, how we love you, Jesus. You're worthy to be praised. You are worthy to be praised.

Oh, how we love you, Jesus. How we love you, Jesus. You are worthy to be praised. Oh, how we love you, Jesus. How we love you, Jesus. You are worthy to be praised. How we love you, Jesus. Oh, how we love you, Jesus. Oh, how we love you, Jesus. Oh, how we love you, Jesus. Oh, my soul, stand up in praise Him Oh, these hands, we've come to raise them wide to You. Take our hearts, buried and broken We are here, ready to open them wide to You. Oh, my soul, stand up in praise Him Oh, these hands, we've come to raise them wide to You. Take our hearts, buried and broken We are here, ready to open them wide to You. ♪ We are here and ready to open your heart to me ♪ ♪ We come into your courts with a grateful heart ♪ ♪ We come into your house with a faith ♪ ♪ We're lifting up our voice, we're lifting up our hearts ♪ ♪ As you come into this place ♪ ♪ In your eyes, there is a hope that never dies ♪ ♪ There ain't no snow that we are proud of ♪ ♪ We are here, so come with power ♪ ♪ So come with power, come with your goal ♪ ♪ We are here, ready for more than gold ♪ ♪ We are here, we come, hey ♪ ♪ We come into your courts with a grateful heart ♪ ♪ We come into your house with a faith ♪

♪ We're lifting up our voice, we're lifting up our hearts ♪ ♪ As you come into this place ♪ ♪ We come into your courts with a grateful heart ♪ ♪ We come into your house with a faith ♪ ♪ We're lifting up our voice, we're lifting up our hearts ♪ ♪ As you come into this place ♪ ♪ Won't you come into this place ♪ ♪ Won't you come into this place ♪ ♪ We come into your courts with a grateful heart ♪ ♪ We come into your house with a faith ♪ ♪ We're lifting up our voice, we're lifting up our hearts ♪ ♪ As you come into this place ♪ ♪ We come into your courts with a grateful heart ♪ ♪ We come into your house with a faith ♪ ♪ We're lifting up our voice, we're lifting up our hearts ♪ ♪ As you come into this place ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Lifting up our hearts, as you come and fill the room. Lifting up our hearts, as you come and fill the room. I see the cloud. I see the cloud. I see the cloud. I see the cloud. And I step in. I want to see your glory like Moses did. Flashes of light. And rose of thunder. I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. Show me your glory. Show me your glory, my God. Show me your glory. Show me your glory. I'm marked by your beauty. And I'm lost in your eyes. And I want to walk in your presence like Jesus did. All your glory surrounds me. And I'm overwhelmed. And I'm not afraid. No, no, no.

I'm not afraid. Show me your glory. Show me your glory, my God. Show me your glory. Show me your glory. And I want to look on the face of the one that I love. Long to stay in your presence. Yes, where I belong. And I want to look on the face of the one that I love. Long to stay in your presence. Yes, where I belong. Oh, yeah. Yes, where I belong. With you, my life. With you, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, I want to sing and look upon this day. ♪ Let us sing forever of His saving grace ♪ ♪ And on the streets of glory let me lift my voice ♪ ♪ Cares are vast and heaven lies ever to rejoice ♪ ♪ Oh I wanna see Him look upon His face ♪ ♪ Let us sing forever of His saving grace ♪ ♪ And on the streets of glory let me lift my voice ♪ ♪ Cares are vast and heaven lies ever to rejoice ♪ ♪ Oh you face of the one that I love ♪ ♪ Oh I long to stay in your perfect light ♪ ♪ Oh yes I long to love on your face of the one ♪ ♪ Oh behold your King, behold your King ♪ ♪ I long to love on your face ♪

♪ Oh I long to love, oh it's where I belong ♪ ♪ I long to love on the face of the one that I love ♪ ♪ In your presence, it's where I belong ♪ ♪ It's where I belong, it's where I belong ♪ ♪ Oh to look upon your face ♪ ♪ Oh to feel your saving grace ♪ ♪ Oh we long for you, oh we long for you ♪ ♪ To look upon your face on the streets of glory ♪ ♪ It's where I belong, it's where I belong ♪ ♪ Show me your glory, show me your glory my God ♪ ♪ Show me your glory, show me your glory my God ♪ ♪ Show me your glory, show me your glory my God ♪ ♪ Show me your glory, show me your glory my God ♪ ♪ Show me your glory, show me your glory my God ♪ ♪ My eyes light fire, hear what it's saying ♪ ♪ Show me your glory, show me your glory my God ♪ ♪ Your voice is like many waters ♪ ♪ Show me your glory, show me your glory my God ♪ ♪ My eyes light fire, hear what it's saying ♪ ♪ Show me your glory, show me your glory my God ♪ ♪ My eyes light fire, hear what it's saying ♪ ♪ Show me your glory, show me your glory my God ♪ ♪ My eyes light fire, hear what it's saying ♪ ♪ Show me your glory, show me your glory my God ♪ ♪ I see heaven blue, I'm breathing power of love ♪ ♪ I see heaven blue, I'm breathing power of love ♪ So this morning we're gonna sing, we've been throwing it back lately, I don't know if you guys can tell, some of the oldies that we're putting in here, but I think that there is just something so special about worship songs that were written way back when. Where it was really just, I think modern worship can sometimes teeter the line of really artistic,

but the wording can be kind of unrelatable, I don't know. But we're gonna sing It Is Well, and it's not any modernized version of it, but it's the original hymn. And Pastor Zach asked me to just talk about the history of the song real quick, so for some perspective, but I'm probably gonna not say his name right, but Horatio, Horatio Spafford, what a name. He was a very successful businessman back in the 1800s, and in the Chicago fire, he lost everything. He lost all of his wealth, everything that he had worked for, and then three years later, he sends his family, they're supposed to go on a trip to Europe, and he sends his wife and four daughters ahead of him, because he couldn't go right away, and their ship sunk. And all four of his daughters perished, except for his wife. She gets back on the mainland and sends him a telegram saying, saved alone. So this man had lost all of his wealth, all four of his daughters, and he decides to sail across to get to his wife, and as they're sailing on the spot that the ship had sunk, the captain had told him, hey, this is the spot. This is where your family perished. And it was on the boat that he wrote the lyrics to this song. And I was talking to Callie right before service, and she was saying, what is the perspective of someone who sings this song but can't quite actually believe it? Like it is well with my soul that when all the sorrow in the world is upon me, how do I say it is well with my soul? And maybe you can't fully say that this morning, but it's just like meditating on scripture. You meditate on something until your heart catches up. You just meditate and you meditate. And maybe you're reading it and you're like, Lord, this just does not apply to me. But eventually, the revelation comes, and you wake up and you say, Lord, this applies to me. And I don't know what, I know what some of you are walking through in this room, and I know a lot of you know what I'm walking through, my family's walking through and losing

my brother, and I know other people in our congregation have recently lost loved ones. And I understand the longing, like the soulful, deepful longing of Lord, is it really well? But it is, because the Lord has the final say on death and in life. He has the final say in what happens after this life. And we do not hold all of our treasure here on this earth. Because as we all know, it all fails us, it never measures up, no matter how hard we try to make sense of this world, it never makes sense, unless Jesus is at the very center of it. So we're going to sing this song, and we're not going to rush through it, because this song is very wordy, but in the most pure and beautiful way. And we're just going to take some time to get through it, and I encourage you to just meditate on it, meditate on the words and meditate on what it means, until you catch up to the revelation, that it is well with my soul, no matter what comes upon me, no matter what the enemy tries to bring against me, that my King has the final word. And it is well with my soul, and I'll sing it to the ends of the earth, even when the world is telling you it's not. You should be sad, you should be depressed, you should be anxious, you should seek out man's attention. No, it is well with my soul to be in the presence of my Savior and my Savior only. Yahweh, we thank you. We thank you that all the sorrow in the world could weigh upon us, but that you take it off. That you bring peace that is not understandable. You bring an understanding to this world that our treasure is found in you. That my treasure is at the end of this life. So Yahweh, as we meditate on these words, I ask that you give every person in this room a revelation of who you are. A revelation that every circumstance comes into agreement with your word. When peace like a river attendeth my way When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well with my soul

Though Satan should buffet Though trials should come Blessed assurance, control That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate And hath shed his own blood for my soul It is well with my soul It is well, it is well with my soul My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought My sin, not in part but the whole He is nailed to the cross And I bear it no more Praise the Lord, praise the Lord O my soul It is well with my soul It is well, it is well with my soul It is well with my soul ♪ It is well, it is well with my soul, yeah ♪ ♪♪ ♪ And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be the sign ♪ ♪ The clouds rolled back as a scroll ♪ ♪ The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend ♪ ♪ So, it is well with my soul, it is well with my soul ♪ ♪ It is well, it is well with my soul ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ He holds everything in the palm of His hand, oh, yeah, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, home is where I'm going, home is where I'm going, home is where I'm going, home is where I'm going, home is where I'm going, home is where I'm going, Hey, come on! Israel, Israel, with my soul, Israel, Israel, Israel.... Oh, it is well, Lord. Oh, it is well, Lord. Oh, it is well, Lord, oh, it is well, Lord, oh, it is well, Lord, oh, it is well, Lord, oh, it is well, Lord, oh, it is well, Lord, oh, it is well, Lord, oh, it is well, Lord, oh, it is well, Lord, oh, it is well, Lord, oh, it is well, Lord, oh, it is well, Lord, oh, it is well. Come on, just to keep drowning the voices, put your hands together. To break open this box around my head. Come on somebody, let's celebrate this morning. Every night I dream, every night I dream. To break open this box around my head. Come on somebody, let's celebrate this morning. Every night I dream, every night I dream. Come on, John. Every night I dream, every night I dream. Come on, everybody. Every night I dream, every night I dream. Yes, you are good. You are good.

You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good.

You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. You are good. We are good. We are good 70 for 70. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. ispers We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good.

We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. We are good. So, Holy Spirit, I thank you that through the tragedy of one family, you've proclaimed for generations that it's OK. That it's, it's well. And I ask that you would mark this house, and on this day, at 9.52am, that this is a The house that is known for the land of the living. For the increase of his kingdom. The wise words of a friend of mine once said that death has been defeated and it is finished. Because of that it is well with our souls. You know, there are places in the world that I could drive by and remember the tragedy that happened there. You know, we have, even collectively as a society, you know, there's monuments built at the site of 9-11. You know, you could drive by Columbine High School. And you know, these things are, they're marked with the tragedy that occurred there. You know, for Horatio Spafford, I'm sure there's a point somewhere between North America and the UK, somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that, that, you know, will always be marked as a place of unimaginable loss and sorrow, but if, as Michael was saying, if a captain can say, hey, this is the place that the tragedy happened, then how much more should we be able to drive by places like this one and say, that's the place, not where tragedy happened, that's the place where triumph came to my life.

That's the place where Jesus came to bring me deliverance. That's where, that's the place where God healed my marriage. That's the place where I stepped out of religion and into a real living relationship with my creator for the first time in my life. That's the place that my heart was healed and my life began again. And so, you know, we, we call this place the altar fellowship and we recognize that altars are places of sacrifice. And in fact, we'll talk about that later today, but, uh, but an altar, uh, the, the, the fathers of our faith in the old Testament, they would build altars, not just as places of sacrifice, but also as places of memorial, they would build an altar, they would stack stones and they would build an altar so that other people, other, other, uh, pioneers would be able to come and find the place that heaven touched earth. And so our hope and our prayer and our expectation is that today God would mark this as a place where heaven touched earth. And maybe today's the day that you lay down some trauma, some sorrow, some brokenness and, uh, maybe today is, is the day that you establish this place as an altar that you can drive by 20 years from now, 30 years from now, 40 years from now, you can bring your grandchildren to come and see this place and say, that's the place that it all changed. That's the place that God reached into your story before you were born and reshaped your universe, man. That's the place that it happened. What a great privilege it is to be a part of building this altar so that future generations will be able to come and remember the faithfulness of God in this place. Amen. Amen. Come on. If you are able to find a seat, this would be a great time to do that. Would you, as you're doing so, would you thank the musicians for their awesome leadership today? Thank you guys so much.

So, so, so much. What a special morning. Thank you, Lord. Amen. You know, that song, It Is Well, that song we just sang, that's, not only is that a powerful song because it's just a powerful song, it's also a powerful song because of Horatio Spafford's story and how that song was birthed. You know, I love those lyrics of the third verse where he says, uh, my sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin, not in part, but the whole was nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Oh, my soul. I think no matter what kind of suffering or sorrow I may be experiencing in the moment, I can always rejoice in the fact that my sin, not in part, but the whole has been nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Isn't that good news? There is always good news to celebrate no matter what Fox or CNN have to say. Amen. Um, and, uh, you know, that song is also powerful for me because the first time I ever remember singing it was at my dad's funeral when I was. when I was eight years old and we buried my father, we sang that song. And I remember thinking at eight years old, it's not, it's not well with my soul. We're gonna leave here after this service and we're gonna put this box with my dad's body in it in the ground, like, it's not well with my soul. But you know, there's something about declaring it is well with my soul, not because life is easy,

not because this situation is fun, but because my sin, not in part, but the whole has been nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Like it is well with my soul, not because of my circumstances, but because of my savior. And I didn't know it at the time when I was eight years old, I didn't understand the lyrics of the song, but they were prophetic. They were a declaration of a future reality that I was yet to experience. And I didn't see it, I couldn't sense it in the moment, but I was joining my expectations, just with my words, I was joining, I should say maybe my confession with God's promises. And maybe for the first time in my life, I was coming into agreement with what God had spoken to me. That I was, if you had asked me to judge my situation, I would have said, everything is awful. But if, but when God looked upon me, he was able to say, no, it's well, it's gonna be okay. This situation is in hand, I'm in control and I'm able to work this for good for you, Maddie, as for all who love me and who are called according to my purpose. And so my hope today guys is not that you would have hope because your situation is easy, because you feel confident or capable of handling whatever life has thrown at you. My hope today is that you would be so,

that your eyes would be so fully fixed on Christ, that no shifting circumstance of the world in which we live would be able to convince you that things are out of his hands. And that we would be able to confess on mountaintops and in valleys that it is well with our soul. And so, you know, I say all this guys because we cannot build our faith on God's performance, but we can build our faith on God's promises. Like God doesn't owe us anything, right? God doesn't have to meet our standard or our expectations, but I do know that God keeps his promises. He's faithful to his word. And we can build our hope on that. In just a moment, we're gonna give you an opportunity to give. I'm holding for applause now. Are you guys excited? Yeah. This is, you know, we give our time by being here. We give our energy, our song. We pour out our hearts to the Lord as we worship him. Some of us stand on stage and we give the gifts that we've spent years cultivating. But maybe the gift you have to bring to the Lord isn't an instrumental gift. Maybe the gift that you have to bring to the Lord that you've spent cultivating is your ability to earn a paycheck. It's your skills, your opportunities, your resources.

And so what we're gonna do is we're gonna do what wise men have been doing for 2000 years and we're gonna bring our gifts to the king. Amen. Y'all get what I'm saying? We're gonna do what wise men have been doing for 2000 years and we're gonna bring our gifts to the king. Maybe you're a gifted accountant. Maybe you are a gifted salesman. Maybe you are a gifted nurse. Whatever it is that is creating wealth for you, whatever gift that is that God has given you that is generating wealth for you, this is your opportunity to bring that gift back to him and to say, Lord, thank you for your provision. Thank you for your blessing. Thank you for the prosperity that I experienced. And thank you, Lord, that there's more where that came from. Now, as you know, there are a few ways you can give. There should be an envelope in the seat in front of you. If you wanna give by cash or check or card, you can scan the QR code or if you have the Alters app, which I hope you all do, you can also give through that. Would you stand with me as we pray over this offering? Faithful Father, Lord, you are majestic. You are mighty and you are good. And Father, we thank you that you have invited us to partner with you. Thank you, God, that like a good father, you have invited us to partner with you.

that you invite us as your children to come and share in what you're building. And so Lord, as we do so today, we, we ask that you'd give us grace to do so with joy. Let us be cheerful givers today. God, as we, as we give today, we ask father that our giving would be pleasing and honoring and glorifying to you. And we ask father that this, uh, that this offering would be like, uh, multiplied abundantly, uh, overwhelmingly God for, for the, for the glory of your name, that it would be effective God to advance your kingdom and your will in the world around us. God, we just, we bless you today, not just with our words, but we bless you today with our finances in Jesus name. Amen. All right. Whenever you are ready, we'll be receiving it here up at the front. Thank you so much. You good. Commercials are over. Christ is on the throne. I am, uh, I'm really honored to, to, to be here. You know, it's, it's, I was just talking, um, I was up in Chicagoland with, uh, with Thomas cook, Thomas and Nancy who are, uh, who many of you know, they were part of our church for years and, um, they are, God is, it seems like he's doing something really sweet, uh, for them and opening some doors for the church that they are wanting to plant up there and, and, uh, bringing some people into their life. And it's just a, an awesome time. We got dinner together and, uh, Thomas took me over to this building that they're, they're looking at, and it's like a perfect place for God to just move in an awesome way. And, uh, you know, it was, it was, uh, interesting for me to, to sort of, to talk to someone who is where I was six years ago, we're going to start this church. And you know, in, in, in some sense, there's a part of me that's like, you're going to bite off more than you can chew, you

know? But then, you know, the spirit says, good, that's the point. Jump in, man. Like let God be God, begin to dream God sized dreams. This is a beautiful, wonderful thing to say yes to more than you can handle without a miracle, because that's a great way to make sure that you get to see some miracles, you know? And, uh, and so as I, you know, as I was talking to, uh, to Thomas and, and, and everything, I, I don't know, I came away from that conversation with just a new appreciation for what God has done here over these last years. I'm just so grateful. I'm so overwhelmed with, with gratitude and thanksgiving at just the faithfulness of God, not just to, you know, move in our lives at the church, but the way that he has surrounded us, not just me and my family, but all of us with wonderful, amazing, godly people that inspire and encourage us in the faith. It's, it's, uh, something I hope that we never begin to take for granted. This week, I was talking to a bunch of college students who, you know, they're, they're like, most of them are cell phone zombies, you know? And, and they, but, and they're like 18, you know? And, and my, uh, my friend, the president of the university, uh, he and I have talked about how they have seen over the last, between five and 10 years, this dramatic decline in biblical literacy in their incoming students. You have students that their entire life, they're born into a church. They went to, you know, student ministry, and then they went to youth ministry their entire life. They did Awana or whatever. They went to the youth camps, they did everything. And, uh, they show up to Bible college. And, uh, and somebody references, you know, Noah's Ark, and they look at you like, I've never heard of that before. They don't, they've never heard the story of David

and Goliath before. And so they're having to build new classes into their curriculum to teach fundamental Bible principles. There is an old Testament and a new Testament. There's 66 different books that were written over 1500 years by about 40 authors. And here's the stories that are in the Bible. Some of the main stories that you're going to hear about. And so this is, it's an interesting phenomenon. And so naturally I decided to talk to them about the kingdom. And, uh, this is interesting for those of you that have been here for years. I spent a year, you remember this, uh, talking about the kingdom every week and doing my best to try to reframe our understanding of what the kingdom is from what many of us grew up believing. And that is that the kingdom is where we go when we die. It's where our souls go after we die. And, you know, I asked the student. And so I said, well, tell me about the kingdom. When you hear the kingdom of God, what comes to mind? And you know, you get answers like pearl gates and streets of gold and the throne of God. When you think about the kingdom of God, you know, you hear answers like eternal peace and rest. You know, some people who are very spiritual, they'll say things like the people of God, right? Where God reigns, yeah, beautiful. Like none of these answers are wrong, but there's this interesting sort of implicit expectation that comes when we view the kingdom as the place we're gonna go to next. And that is this, that our assignment is to anticipate the kingdom,

not to advance the kingdom. Like that's the conclusion that we come to. We live our life hoping for a kingdom someday instead of doing anything to establish or advance that kingdom now. And I understand that people might even, on a theological level, say, well, I'm not sure about this. You know, people call it like kingdom now theology. And if you were to Google that, I'm sure that you could find some people that would take issue with a sort of caricaturized version of kingdom now theology. But here's where kingdom now theology comes from. It comes from Matthew chapter six. I wanna say it's verse 33. Jesus says, sorry, Matthew 6 10. Jesus says, father, let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That's the central ethos of the kingdom existence. Like people who embrace the ideology of the kingdom, we've gotta be people that understand that the hope of the kingdom is not one day. The hope of the kingdom is here now. Jesus starts his ministry. Let me be really careful with my words. The hope of the kingdom is not only one day. The hope of the kingdom is also here now. You understand?

And Jesus begins his ministry with these words. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And here's the truth. Overwhelmingly, I was raised in a church. I'm sure I'm not the only one. I was raised in a church that rejects that idea entirely. Now, not to say that we would say Jesus is wrong, but that we put our hope in escaping. We put our hope in the rapture. We put our hope even in death, and saying that those things will unite us with God and bring us into his kingdom. But it's not death that brings us into the kingdom. It's not the rapture that brings us into the kingdom. It's Christ that brings us into the kingdom. And Christ's, the announcement of his ministry is you need to repent because the kingdom that you thought was way over there is actually at hand. It's accessible, it's tangible, it's touchable right now. And this week, as I was having some conversations, as I was looking at Matthew 6.10, I made a point to some students about something that I thought was important. If you'll look, if you'll throw it back up there, Matthew 6.10, it says your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So Jesus connects the arrival of the kingdom with the will of God in a way that I think is important to us. It's important for us to consider this simple truth.

God's kingdom comes where God's will is done. That's what it looks like. What does the kingdom look like in your life, in your home, in your neighborhood? It looks like the will of God being done. It looks like the highest good being established and advanced. This is extremely spiritual, but I don't wanna over-spiritualize this to the point at which this just becomes academic or intellectual or theological for us. The truth is we ought to be asking ourself, how can God's will be done in my marriage? How can God's will be done in my house? How can God's will be done in my industry? And how can I, with whatever influence I have over those things, make sure that God's will is done here? That's what it looks like to advance the kingdom. It's not complicated. It's not to say it's always easy, but it's not complicated. So God's kingdom comes where God's will is done. But here's the problem that I see people run into. Here's the problem that I run into myself often. we've got to ask the question then, how do I know God's will? Now, like I get it, I could give you a, you know, a really snarky, sarcastic answer and say, well, you could just read the Bible. Have you tried reading the Bible about it? And like, I think that's good advice.

Okay, so first of all, sarcastic as it sounds, my hope is that every one of you do make the studying of scripture a part of your everyday life. But I want you to know, I've done some of it for you, you know, I study scripture. And so maybe instead of just like opening to page one and saying like, I'm going to figure out God's will today, you know, maybe I can help paint a target for you to aim for, is that all right? So I want to go to Romans chapter 12, and I want to read it to you out of the NIV, which I think in this one instance is maybe, is maybe a clearer articulation of what the scripture says. I'm not a, you know, King James purist, I just, I'm going to take whatever I think helps the principle be best understood, okay? It says, Paul writes to the church in Rome, he says, therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. Verse two, it says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be, everybody say then. Then, all right, this is a sequence, this is talking about cause and effect here. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. Beautiful.

So Romans 12, one and two, they introduce us to a series of principles, a series of maybe, of ifs that lead to a then. You understand what I'm saying? And if the then is, you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, that's to say you'll be able to know confidently, you'll be able to affirm and confirm what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. That's the then, and we should pay a lot of attention to the ifs that came before it, right? And so, here are the conditions. Paul says first, in Romans 12, one, offer your bodies. I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. I love that Paul says, in view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices. What he's saying is something like this. Because you know that God is not going to abuse your submission, you can wholeheartedly submit to God. That God is not cruel or tyrannical, that he is merciful. And so, you're gonna give your life to something, and I can think of nothing, or no one maybe more well-qualified to receive it and to guide it and to use it than the God that gave it to you in the first place. And so, he says, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.

I need you to hear this. Faith, the life of faith does not mean just believing in God. And this is, I think, where millions of Americans, millions of people in our Western society, they sort of stop. They say, well, I believe in God, or I believe in Jesus. But the book of James tells us, so do the demons, and they tremble. It counts for nothing to believe that there is a God. It counts for nothing even to acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God. It doesn't matter. There's a distance of infinity between believing that God is and following him in a meaningful way. Faith doesn't just mean believing in God. Faith means trusting him. You know, through the years, I have had the privilege to be able to share the gospel with many, many unbelievers. Who will, you know, will talk about whether God exists. And, you know, I'll make some points about the, maybe the fine-tuning argument as we look at creation. Or even just the fact that things exist at all. Things don't come from nothing. And so there must have been, you know, a one thing that was the origin of all other. things and so philosophically maybe I can walk people to the edge of you know at least openness to the concept that maybe there is a God but then I have to take them to the edge of that concept and say but you are still overwhelmingly

far away from God. It may feel like you're warming up to the possibility that there's a creator somewhere but there's a distance of infinity between believing that there is a God and trusting him with your whole heart putting your life in his hands. So faith it doesn't just mean believing that God exists faith means trusting him. You surrender your life to God as God gives your life to you. I think this is a principle that's that's interesting to me. Paul says offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. I urge you brothers and sisters the view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. Holy and pleasing to God. The thing about offering your body as a living sacrifice I think that a lot of people overlook is you know I could maybe at the end of this message I could do an altar call and say come forward if you're ready to surrender your life to the Lord. Maybe people would run forward and they would surrender their life. Here's the problem you don't have tomorrow in in your possession yet. You don't have 10 years from now or 20 years from now or 50 years from now. None of those things are guaranteed to you. None of those things are given to you. You have no authority today over what you do tomorrow or next week. And so I can't expect for any of us to be able to give our life to Jesus today. You have to give your life to God as God gives your life to you. That is one moment at a time. One day at a time. That it would be easy to run forward to the to the altar today and say I give my life to you Lord but you're gonna have to wake up tomorrow and make the same commitment. You have to wake up the day after that and make the same commitment again. When your spouse is arguing with you more than you wish they would you're gonna have to make that argument I or make that that commitment Lord I give my life to you. When when you lose your job and your life is in turmoil and things are upside down when when you lose a loved one you get a scary prognosis from a doctor like in those moments you're gonna have to surrender those moments to God. And I think this is what we fail to understand is is that like you know we have people that say I gave my life to Jesus when I was six years old but when you were and that's great you know we we should I'm thankful for those salvation experiences

those moments that we have where we say this is where God first grabbed ahold of me but the truth is we've got a yield to his his word and his will for our life not once and then we move on but daily moment by moment we are not just offering our bodies as a sacrifice we're offering our bodies as a living sacrifice. That is to say an ongoing perpetual lifestyle of sacrifice and self-denial. And then he adds this descriptor he says I urge you brothers and sisters in view of God's mercy offer your bodies as a living sacrifice and then he says this is what it looks like for your body to be offered as a living sacrifice. Holy and pleasing to God. You should pay attention to that phrase because employed by a church is not the same as holy and pleasing to God. There's a lot of preachers that are finding that out this year. Praise God right? Like understand this in ministry going occasionally on missions trips with the church volunteering in the kids ministry is not the same thing as holy and pleasing to God. To offer your body as a living sacrifice means that you will live in a way that is holy and pleasing to God. Now I've talked in the past about this word holy that means set apart it means distinct something is for a very special use or purpose. And so this doesn't just mean pious it doesn't just mean very religious. To be holy means to be set apart to say I'm not gonna give myself to the things that the world chases. My attention, my affection, my skills, my abilities, my resources, my opportunities those things don't belong to the world. I am actually set apart. I'm captured entirely by God. My life exists for him alone. And so I understand that the world may want this from me or that society may expect this from me or even my parents may want this from me, but my allegiance is to God and to God alone. I'm offering my body as a living sacrifice to the Lord and I wanna be holy and I wanna be pleasing to God. I've got that phrase to God underlined in my Bible because the part that we can read from that

that is maybe reading between the lines a little bit is that we are not aiming to be pleasing to anyone but God. If we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord, we ought to be holy that is set apart entirely for His glory and for His purposes. And we ought to be pleasing to God. That is to say that we've got to determine within our hearts that if everyone else rejects us, but we're walking in God's will, we will walk that path joyfully. I think it's crucial, it's critical for us to understand this reality that there will be times in life that we have to say no to the world so that we can say yes to God. And maybe more painful than that, there will be times that we have to say no to those we love, to those who love us so that we can say yes to God. Hear this, we've got to, we cannot live to meet the world's standards. The world has standards for us. The world has some moral presuppositions about the way the world ought to work, the ethics that we ought to abide by. And if we live our life to meet the world's standards, we're gonna shift and change generation after generation. You have people that'll say, well, you know, morality, it's just, it's defined by society. And so there is no objective morality. It's just what people sort of view as right

and in the best interest of their community. And I would say, well, the Roman Empire thought that it was okay to buy children as sex slaves. And to use them as such whenever they wanted to. And we thought we'd moved away from that. It turns out some people, even in our own nation have kept the practice alive. And so is it okay? I mean, if they're just doing what they think is right? Was it okay for the Romans? No, I mean, you know, we might look at Germany in the 1940s and say, well, as a society, this is what they thought was best. And so morally it was fine. No, we know intrinsically that there is an objective moral standard. And yet, unfortunately, many people dishonestly sort of argue that morality is just a product of our time. It's a product of our culture. And I would disagree. I would actually say that our culture is a product of our morality. Yes. That the society we've built is the consequence of the moral foundation we have set. And the moral foundation was for centuries in this nation, the Holy Bible. And as I mentioned earlier, more and more increasingly, young people are becoming illiterate with regard to the Bible.

And so you have people now that don't know anything about what scripture says or the impact that it's had on shaping the society that has produced the privileges they enjoy. And they're at war with the Bible because it says some mean stuff about groups they wanna be nice to. I'll use the word mean loosely here, right? And so I say all this to say, if we're gonna offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, we must resist the urge to be accepted by the world. We must repent of our need to be popular or palatable or well-liked. Here's the, I heard someone say recently that unbelievers will say, listen, if you Christians would act like Jesus, everyone would love you. And this guy said with great, he said with great indignation, they crucified Jesus. Everybody didn't love Jesus, right? The actual Jesus. And so we're doing our best, but it is a lie to say that the reason the world rejects us or the reason that the world hates us is because we don't look enough like Jesus. That's the accuser speaking. The truth is that if we look like Jesus. So we will be hated by the world just like he was hated by the world. And so we've got to determine in our hearts that we will offer our bodies as a

living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to only God. And then Paul explains why this is so critical. And he says, because this is your true and proper worship. I love this. This is, this lines up really profoundly with, uh, the first time in scripture that the word worship is ever used. I want to say it's in Genesis chapter 22, when, uh, Abraham is taking Isaac, his son up the mountain, his son, whom he loves up the mountain to go and, uh, drive a knife through his heart and, uh, sacrifice him as a burnt offering to the Lord. And God tells Abraham, I want you to take Isaac, your son up the mountain. I want you to sacrifice it to me. Abraham gets to the base of the mountain and he turns to his servants and he says, you stay here. Me and the boy are going to go worship. That's the first time in scripture, the word worship is used not to describe someone singing a song to describe someone sacrificing their future, sacrificing the most precious thing in the world to them. And so if we're going to look at, you know, what, what scholars would call the law of first mentions, we ought to see worship not as singing and dancing. We ought to see worship as sacrifice. That's what the framework that scripture gives us for worship. And this is what we see here in Genesis. Oh, you guys are great in Genesis. You guys hopped right back to Genesis 22. It was in Genesis 22. Nailed it. Let's go. Um, that's good. I thought we were in, in Romans 12 still. Uh, that's great that this is our true and proper worship. It's, it's not that we would, you know, show up on Sundays and sing and dance. It's that we would offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to only God.

That is what worship looks like in God's eyes. I am sorry if, if my preaching or the preaching of any other pastor or teacher you've ever sat under has communicated to you that God exists to bring fulfillment and satisfaction to you. He is not your genie. He's your creator and we praise him that he's merciful because he really doesn't have to be. He answers to no one. He is judged by no one. There's no one who can sit in accusation or judgment against him. He is the supreme authority. He's the final, the first and the final word on every topic and every subject. And yet so often we treat God like, like our worship is a, you know, a handful of change that we drop in his hat as we walk by in our lives. Like he's a beggar asking for some scraps of praise if we have the time. I need you to hear this. You exist to worship him. He made you to worship him. And when he then calls you to worship him, it's not narcissism or egocentrism on his part because that's what he made you for. He's, he's asking you to do the thing that will bring you ultimate fulfillment. That is the thing that you were made to do. Hmm. And we could argue and say, well, God is so egotistical because he made these creatures and he demands that we worship him. And I would say, well, you can think what you want, but God is God. And God is able to demonstrate his manifold wisdom to principalities and powers in the heavenly realms through his church.

God is able to let his glory be seen. And that is God's highest priorities that his glory would be demonstrated. And, uh, and to never overestimate, he can't be arrogant. He can't overestimate his worth. He's God. Nothing exists outside of him. And, and so when he calls us to worship him, he calls us not to worship him, to try to accommodate or overcome his own insecurity. But because this is what he designed us to do, not to worship him just in song and dance, but to worship him, as the scriptures say, in spirit and truth, by way of offering our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, that is your true and proper worship. That's what worship looks like when God sees his people. I think this is a beautiful principle. We talk about this ethos, this idea that Jesus communicates in Matthew 6.10 when he says, let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. What is heaven doing right now? Worship. What's heaven going to be doing in 100,000 years? Worshipping. Worship is the business of heaven. It's the centerpiece of heaven. All of worship revolves around the exaltation and the adoration of the one who sits on the throne. And so if we are going to be a people who allow it to be done in our midst on earth as it is in heaven, if we're going to be a kingdom people, we are going to have to be a people that take every part of our lives, every aspect of our

existence, and build it around the adoration of the king. Now that doesn't mean that we just, I think you should do this, this would be a great thing to do, but that doesn't mean that we just turn on a worship playlist and let it play in the background of our kitchen, you know, 24 hours a day, go ahead and do that if that's what you want to do. But that means that we should offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to the Lord, day after day after day after day, because that is what heaven looks like. That's what worship looks like. Do not conform, verse two says, to the pattern of this world. I love that the pattern of this world is entropy. It's the, what is that, the second law of thermodynamics that matter in a closed system will always tend to move from order toward disorder, or from order toward chaos. Dr. Rich is very excited. I said something about science today. He tithes extra if I talk about science in my sermon. Just kidding. But we, this law of the universe is a law that if you put, you know, if you were to put a watch in a box and leave it for 1,000 years and then open that box, you're not going to find a PlayStation 5. You're going to, you know, you're going to find dust. Like, if, unless things are acted upon by an outside force, they always tend to move from order toward disorder. And so, what is the pattern of this world? It's a pattern of constant progress toward chaos. That's the pattern of this world. It's constant progress toward chaos.

And you don't have to look hard to see it, right? That is the pattern of this world. But be transformed, and I love here that word transformed is the same word that's used in the book of Luke when Jesus is transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration, that he's illuminescent, his face shone like the sun, the scriptures tell us, and Paul is telling us here that we should expect the same, that while the world is tending, you know, is progressing toward chaos, we ought to be growing in luminescent identity, that something about us ought to stand in more and more stark contrast to the ways of the world, day after day after day after day. And so, he says, do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Understand, we are a charismatic church. We're a Holy Ghost church. We believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still in full and complete operation. We rejoice in that fact. However, being charismatic doesn't have to mean that you are stupid. I know that's a little blunt, but I also am trying to be clear for those of you who are stupid. And so, if it's not you, I'm talking about somebody else. Here's the reality though. If you have been around the charismatic movement for a long time like I have, you know that people would be, many people in the charismatic movement would be perfectly happy just coasting through life on vibes. The vibes are good.

You know, they call it like, oh, wow, the presence is here, you know, and we can roll around on the ground and we just feel it and it's awesome and it feels great, but none of that, according to Romans chapter 12, transforms you. You're transformed by the renewing of your mind. If you can... come down to the altar and I lay hands on you and you fall out, we'll praise God about that. But it's all show if you don't think different when you stand up. If it doesn't change the way that you see yourself, the way that you see your God, the way you see the world around you, none of it counts for anything. And so we are transformed not by the things we feel, not by the encounters and experiences and prophetic words and you know, testimonies. We are transformed by the renewing of our mind when God touches your life. And God does, we believe and affirm that God can and will and loves to touch your life, but when God touches your life, He touches your life. Not just so you can go, wow, God touched my life. He touches your life to make you think different. Amen. And so he says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then, that's the word, right? Circle that word. Underline that word. Then you will be able to test and approve

what God's will is. When you've offered your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, when you've engaged in your true and proper worship, when you've refused to be conformed to the pattern of the world, but you've become transformed by the renewing of your mind, then and only then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is. His good, pleasing and perfect will. First offer your body, then know God's will. Hear me, through the years, I have met and ministered to countless people who are stuck in their spiritual development because they insist, if God will show me His will, then I will offer myself to it. If God will show me His will, then I will offer myself to it. I'll stop sleeping around when God shows me my spouse. Like, if God shows me how my life is gonna be better because I joined the church, then maybe I'll join a church. If God will show me His will, then I will offer myself. But God's word says here in Romans chapter 12, if you will offer yourself, then you will know His will. That the impetus is on you to surrender yourself, to offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, then you will know my will. Faith comes before sight. Faith comes before sight. But listen, I can hear some of you saying,

oh, I still need to know what kind of ministry I should start. You know, I need to know if I should quit my job or sell my house. I need to know if I should, you know, divorce my spouse or if I should marry my boyfriend. Like, how can I possibly know God's will for my life? Listen, maybe you want to offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to the Lord, but maybe you don't even know where to start. You've still got these questions about where do I go next to God, but you're not even sure where to start sort of inviting that answer. And so I want you to see this image of what I might describe as a heavenly man from Colossians chapter three. And I'm over time, but we're just gonna go for it. Are we good? All right, okay. Would you guys do something? I wanna do something a little bit different. I'm gonna just read Colossians three verses one through 17. Would you stand? Do what I used to do as a kid. Would you stand for the reading of the word of God? No. Colossians three, one through 17. I'm not gonna add any of my own commentary. I want you to hear this description or this instruction or this exhortation

to heavenly minded people. Colossians three, one through 17. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on the things of earth. For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth, like fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience in which you yourselves also once walked when you lived in them. But now present yourselves, sorry, but now you yourselves are to put off all these things, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him. who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering,

bearing with one another and forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you must do. But above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Amen. Guys, we don't start or strive toward this huge earth shattering life, toward the huge earth shattering life, changing words of instruction or guidance from God. We live our lives in steady obedience to the simple yet critically important little things that Yahweh calls us to manage day after day. And so where do you start to discover God's will for your life? Well, you start by dealing severely with covetousness and lust and wrath and filthy language. You put on kindness and humility and patience and forgiveness and above all, you put on love. You stay seated in peace.

You sing songs to the Lord with your family and whatever you do, whether it's big or small, simple or complex, you do it with gratitude for the glory of God. Family, if you will commit to this kind of life, I have a feeling that one day you'll look around and be astonished at just how far you've come. God's will is not always about the next huge mountain you are to climb. It's overwhelmingly and consistently about the next kind word you get to speak, about the next minor offense you get to forgive and about the next opportunity to give love instead of selfishness or hatred or indifference, amen? Lord, we thank you for your word that reveals to us your heart and your mind. We thank you, God, that you've called us to be heavenly men and women, people that demonstrate a better way than the way of the world. God, we ask that you'd give us grace to set our mind on things above, to not be concerned with things that produce anxiety and turmoil and division in the world, but to forever rejoice in the fact that because Christ still sits on the throne, that we can declare with full confidence that it really is well with our soul. Lord, we ask you to take our lives and let them be laid down as living sacrifices

that are holy and pleasing to you, God. Make us people who don't just worship in song, but who worship through sacrifice. Lord, be exalted, be honored, and be praised through every choice that we make. And let our lives be a light to the darkness of the world, especially in this next week. And we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Amen, family, God bless you. Thank you so much for being here. We'll see you Thursday night, and then of course next week right here. Thank you all. Thanks for watching!