The Reason You’re Not Seeing Miracles

It's in two weeks, everybody. We'll celebrate the greatest day in the history of the world in two weekends, and I cannot wait. I hope you're making plans to join us. I hope you're going to be here, and I hope you'll help us pack out the house for an incredible, incredible Easter celebration. Well, welcome to church today. What a day. What a day to be in church. We're so glad you're here in Yorktown and in Newport News in Virginia Beach and joining us online. And of course, the men at Indian Creek and a special shout out to the men and women who serve our country in the military and their families. This is the time we lift you up. We love you. We stand with you. We stand with you today. How many of you were at church last weekend? Make some noise last Sunday. It's a bunch of you. It's a bunch of you. It's a bunch of you. Some of you just told a lie in church because y'all weren't here. Some of y'all were not here. But if you weren't here, we missed you. We missed you. It was a great, great Sunday, and I want to encourage you. It was one of those. Listen, I don't often rank my messages. Maybe you do, but I don't often rank my sermons, but it was a top 10.

It was a top 10 last Sunday. More of you cheered for being here than just cheered for the top 10. I'm trying to try not to take it personal. It wasn't a top 10 because of me. It wasn't a top 10 because of my delivery, but it was a top 10 because of the content and because of what I believe God's doing in our church and in our midst and in our hearts to teach us about one more. And if you weren't here, I want to encourage you to go back and catch up on that message on our website or on YouTube. You don't want to miss it. And I want to challenge you, if you didn't get one last week, to stop by our invite kiosk or click the link over in the chat right now online for a one more card. These little cards are simply a reminder for you that God has you here, that his purpose for your life is to reach one more, one more person who is near to you, but far from God and his church. And so we're praying for lots and lots and lots of one mores, lots and lots of one more stories, especially on Easter weekend. So it's a perfect time to invite your one more. And I'm praying, I'm praying for your one more. By the way, next Sunday, next Sunday is Palm Sunday, and we've actually set aside next Sunday as communion Sunday. It's going to be a really, really special service, and it's one that you do not want to miss. And so make sure you're back next weekend as we celebrate communion together. I'm telling you, the next two weekends are going to be life-changing for so many different people, and I believe it can be life-changing for you, your friends, and family as well. But today, today we're completing our series. It's the grand finale of our series called We Are Weck. We Are Weck. And this has been a 23-year celebration, all month long.

We've been celebrating 23 incredible, remarkable, amazing years together at Waters Edge Church. I was just a mere child when I started this church, everybody, just a child. And I can prove it because if you look at the early pictures of our church, I had just a little baby goatee, that's it, just a little, it was a little baby, a baby goatee. People have asked me sometimes, how long have you been growing your goatee? And my answer is my whole life, all right, everybody, my whole life. But I can always tell by looking at pictures from the early days of our church, I can always tell how old our church was at that stage of the picture based on how long the goatee is. And I can also tell based on the amount of gray hair I have, because when I started this church, I didn't have any gray hair. And now I have pastored you people for 23 years, and it is gray and thin, y'all. And I'm blaming you, by the way, I'm blaming you. Today though, I'm pretty excited about wrapping up, wrapping up this series of messages. I think God has a word in store for us today. And I'll just tell you, I'm coming in hot today. I hope you're okay with that. I hope you're okay with that. It has been an incredible celebration of 23 years, and I love you, and I'm proud of our church, and Tabitha and I, we truly are so honored. When I say it, I don't mean anything, but true sincerity when I say it is the greatest honor and privilege of our life to be your pastors, and we love you so much. And we do believe that our best days are still ahead of us. I think we've only scratched the surface. of what God wants to do in and through us. And I'm telling you all that, I'm telling you all that to soften your heart because I'm gonna come at you a little bit today, everybody. I'm coming in hot like the Duke Blue Devils are in the championship bracket.

I'm coming in hot today. I'm coming in hot. Hey, I'm coming in hot. If you're in Yorktown, I'm coming in hot like Madison in the three-point shot. Are you kidding me? It was, I mean, we could have just, we could have just shut down church after that three-point shot. I mean, some of y'all worshiped more after that three-point shot. And I don't know what it was like in Newport News or in Virginia Beach, but it was off the charts here. And I got a word today that I believe, I believe God has given it to me for us. And I'm probably so passionate about today's message because the Lord has really convicted me, really convicted me that I've been praying for him to do something, something that I know he wants to do. I know he wants to do it. And I've been praying for him to do it. And the whole time I've been praying it, the Lord's convicted me that I haven't been doing what he wants me to do. And how many of you know that won't work? That won't work. That won't work. We always have a part to play. That won't work.

It's like this. If I said to you, I want to be strong, I want to be, I want to be strong. I want to have muscles and I want to have abs because they're buried under there somewhere. I'm certain of it. I want to be, I want to be strong, but I'm not willing to go to the gym and lift weights. How many of you know that won't work? Look at your neighbor and say, that won't work. That won't work. That won't work. It's like this. It's like every time the lottery gets to like one of those big numbers, like multi-millions of dollars numbers, I always start to talk about all the things I will buy if I win the lottery. Man, when I win the lottery, I'm going to buy this and I'm going to do that. And I'm going to build this for the church because I always think about the church. Don't judge me, y'all. All right. So when I win the lottery, when I win, I'm going to do this big dreams when I win the lottery. And then somebody will say, well, how many tickets did you buy? Well, I didn't buy any tickets because I don't play the lottery.

I'm dreaming about what I'm going to buy when I win the lottery, but I don't play the lottery. That won't work. That won't work. I was at home the other day and I was watching and one of those weight loss shots, commercials came on, you know, the ones, we go V, one of those, you know what I'm talking about? And I'm watching it and all these skinny people are walking down the road. They're like a skinny person parade down the road. It's awesome. And they all look so happy. And I'm like, oh my gosh, they look so happy. And then all the not so skinny people are watching. They're watching from the sidelines as the skinny person parade takes place in front of their very eyes. And then they take the shot. Y'all seen this commercial? They take the shot and then they run out and they join the parade. It's awesome. They joined the skinny person parade. I'm like Tabitha, they look so happy, happy, skinny people. I want to be in a skinny person parade. I'm ordering the shot. And Tabitha says, well, you know, that's fine, but you're going to have to change what you eat.

I was like, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no. They didn't show that in the commercial. They don't show that. They don't show that. I'm not interested in changing what I eat, but I'd like to lose some weight. Y'all know, tell somebody, that won't work. Tell them that won't, that won't work. Well, the Lord has convicted me that when you pray for something you expect God to do, but you're not doing what he expects you to do, that won't work. That won't work. So here's my confession. Here's my confession. I've been praying something for our church in our 23rd year. I actually prayed it over you and maybe it didn't even dawn on you. I was praying it for you, but on our birthday Sunday, just a couple of weeks ago, our official birthday Sunday, I prayed this prayer over you and I'm not praying it casually. I'm actually believing God for it. I'm praying for it fervently and in faith that God will do it. And it's not just some random prayer that I made up on my own. I'm actually praying for the very thing

that God has done before in the Bible, because how many of you remember a couple of weeks ago, I taught you God doesn't do something in the past to frustrate our faith in the future. Like, you need to know that. Like we don't read about amazing, miraculous, incredible things from our past just so we'll be frustrated with our faith now. It's not like we read about the miracles in the Bible. Oh my gosh, Jesus fed 5,000. I bet that was awesome. And oh my goodness, Peter walked on water. Wow, that's so incredible. The blind could see and the lame were healed and could walk and the deaf could hear. That's amazing stuff that happened in the Bible. Wish we lived back then. Too bad we didn't live back then. Now we live here, we suck. You know, it's not that. That's not why we have miracles recorded for us in the Bible. We don't read about something from the past to frustrate our faith in the future. We read about some of those miracles in the past to build our faith for the future. We see God do amazing things in the past so that we'll have faith to believe He's gonna continue to work miracles. He's gonna continue to move in power. And sometimes it looks different

and sometimes He works in different ways. It's not always gonna be the same, but He's still working. He's still moving. He's still saving. He's still delivering. He's still rescuing. He's still healing. He's still doing it. He's still doing it. He's still doing it. Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! His past performance is the perfect indicator of a future miracle. And that's why I can stand before you and say, the best is still to come. The best is still to come in your life. The best is still to come for your family. The best is still to come with your finances, in your business, with your children, in our church, for your faith. The best is still to come. It's still to come. It's only getting better. No, no, no, Pastor, look at the world. The world's only getting worse. No, no, no. No, you gotta look beyond the world.

Look to heaven. It's only getting better, everybody. God saves His best work for the end. In fact, Jesus made us this promise. This is amazing. Jesus said, very truly, I tell you, whoever believes in me, do you believe in Jesus today? Do you believe in Him? Okay, then this is a promise for you. Whoever believes in me will do the works I've been doing. And they will do even greater things than these. Jesus said, you will actually do more than I did here on earth. That you will do greater things than me. Now, imagine that. Wrap your head around that. If you believe in Him, if you believe in Him, you can do greater things than Jesus. It's possible. So I've been praying this specific verse for our church in our 23rd year. And it's a verse that describes the early church, the days of inception of the early church. This movement we call the church. At its very beginning, there's a scripture that describes what was taking place for us. And it's been my prayer. The Bible says this.

The Bible says, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And I wanna do that. Would you just do me a favor? Would you read those underlying words with me, everybody? Read it with me. It says, and many wonders and signs. One more time, just so you get the point. And many wonders and signs. And that's what I've been praying for. Now, the context here is the early church. And we don't know all the signs and wonders. We don't know what they all were, but we know about some of them. You can actually read about them in the first few chapters of the book of Acts. The sick were healed. That's a wonder and sign. Dead were brought back to life. That's a wonder and sign. Demons were driven out. There was miraculous provision. It's a wonder and sign. They had visitations from angels. In the early church, these were the wonders and signs, perhaps the most amazing. Wonder and sign was when over 3,000 people were saved and baptized and added to the church in one day. And I'm praying for a one day for us one day. I'm praying that one day we'll see

wonders and signs like that. All kinds of wonders and signs. Bible also says this, that all the believers, they were unified and they shared everything in common. That's a wonder and sign. Imagine that. Imagine a church like ours, so diverse. A church like ours, so different. And some of us have such strong opinions about so many different things. Think about it. Some of our church loves Krispy Kreme. Some of our church loves Dunkin' Donuts. Some of our church drives Fords. Some of our church drives Chevys. Think about this. Some of our church votes red, some of our church votes blue. Some of our church loves the Dallas Cowboys. The rest of our church loves to win. Think about the differences. You'll see it. Think about it. We're very different. Very divided church. Can you imagine an entire church, thousands and thousands of people being unified? That would be a supernatural move of God. And they had it in the early church. They had it. And I'm sure there were many other signs and wonders

and supernatural acts of God that we don't even know about. So here's what I've been praying. I'm just gonna tell you, I've been praying, Lord, let us be marked this year like the early church was marked by wonders and signs, miracles and movements of your spirit. That's been my prayer. It's been my prayer. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And I actually was spurred on to pray this, really, by my wife, Tabitha, back in January at our very first Prayer and Worship Weekend. We have another one coming at the end of August. I hope you'll prioritize it and be there. But as we were leaving the house to come to Prayer and Worship Weekend, Tabitha asked me a question that I honestly, I haven't been able to shake. She asked, she said, what if tonight marked us? She said, what if tonight God's spirit moved in such a way that we were changed by his presence forever? She said, she said, like, what if tonight, what if tonight we started singing and we didn't stop?

What if we worshiped all night long? I thought, wow. Wow. And those questions being marked by the presence of a holy God, being marked by being in his presence, is why I started praying this scripture for signs and wonders in our midst. And I literally, I've been thinking about it ever since. Every Sunday, every Sunday, I wake up thinking about it. I thought about it this morning when I woke up. What if we showed up and we stopped having church as usual? But what if there were actually miracles and signs and wonders because God is here and our lives were marked and we were different because of it and your marriage looked different because of it and your family looked different because of it and the way you raise your kids look different and the way you do business and the way you treat your neighbors and the way you handle your money was different because of it. What if your life was marked by the presence of God? Because every time we gathered, there were signs and wonders and miracles and a move of his spirit. I've been praying for that. I've been praying for it. But the Lord convicted me because I've only been praying half of the scripture.

Can you put the verse back up? I wanna show them the part I've been praying just so we're all together. And many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. That's what I've been asking God to do. But there's the part of a verse that I haven't been praying. It's actually the first part of the verse. And I think the first part of the verse is what God's asking me to do. Let me give you the whole verse. The Bible says, everyone kept feeling a sense of all and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And here's what the Lord convicted me of. You want the wonders and signs, but you're missing the all. You want the second half of the verse, but you're missing the first half. Now, I wanted them to leave the verse up because in our English translation, we don't fully get the weight of this verse. If I were to translate the first half of this verse for you from the original language it was written in, from the original Greek of the Bible, this is how the first half would read. It would say, fear was occurring to every soul. And then it would say, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

Fear was occurring to every soul. Now, the English translators realized that fear was occurring to every soul would be a little bit of a odd thing to read for us in English. And so they took some liberties and they translated that, which is fine, same meaning, but maybe a different weight to it. They translated it. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, but really it's about fear occurring to every soul. In fact, that little word awe that they translated, it is the word in Greek phobos, phobos, which it means this, it means to be afraid, to be exceedingly fearful. It's where we get our word phobia. And it's really referring to this idea that you probably grew up hearing and misunderstanding. It's really referring to this, it's referring to the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord. Have you heard about that before? The fear of the Lord? Someone like, oh yeah, oh yeah. When my daddy took off his belt. I know, I know, we don't spank anymore. So when my mama put me in timeout, I was like, oh my God. That's the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is what turned some of you

away from God when you were children, youth and young adults. Because you couldn't understand how you can be afraid of something and in relationship with it at the exact same time. For you, the fear of the Lord was this, it means you gotta get dressed up in your Sunday best to go to church. And you better act right up in church. Don't be shooting three hoops, you know what I'm saying? Don't be shouting out for Madison on the stage or whoever was on your stage, on your campus. And to you, that seemed like religion and you weren't looking for that. You're looking for a relationship and so you were turned off to the fear of the Lord. I get that. For you, the fear of the Lord meant when you pray, you bow your head, you clasp your hands, you recite a prayer you memorized and you better do it right. And that's the fear of the Lord. And that turned some of you off to the point that you didn't ever wanna hear or much less think about the fear of the Lord anymore. But that's actually a misunderstanding of this principle. That is not the fear of the Lord. When the Bible talks about the biblical fear of the Lord or the awe of the Lord, like we just read about in Acts 2.43, this is not a fear that drives you away from God.

It's actually a fear that pulls you in closer to Him. They were in awe of the Lord. They were arrested by fear of the Lord. And there were many signs and wonders and miracles performed in their midst. I love how the psalmist describes the fear of the Lord. He says it like this, the Lord delights. Don't miss that. The Lord delights in those who fear Him. Who put their hope in His unfailing love. This does not sound scary. This does not sound off-putting. This does not sound religious at all. God delights in those who fear Him. God delights in those who are in awe of Him. God delights in those who reverence Him, those who are arrested by His goodness and His grace and His mercy and His love and His holiness so much that they put Him above everything else in their life. That's the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is to recognize that God is not casual and He cannot be treated as such. That He is actually worthy of our all. This is a illustration that's gonna break down. I can just tell you, this is not a perfect illustration, but it's the only one. It's the only one I could come up with. Do you know how when you watch fireworks, they capture your attention?

When you watch fireworks, you cannot look away. When you watch fireworks, you're in awe of them. You look at them and all their glory and all their splendor and they evoke something from you. And sometimes they even evoke an emotion out of you. I remember being with my kids when they were little at Disney for the first time, watching the fireworks show at Disney with my kids for the first time, and I started to cry. There's something about a fireworks demonstration that's so awesome and so beautiful and so magnificent and so remarkable. And they grab your attention. But you're careful around fireworks. You're mindful of their power. You better not treat a firework casually. And that's similar to the fear of the Lord. So I've been praying, Lord, let us experience in our 23rd year a move of God. Let us see your signs and your wonders. Let us experience the power of God. Let us experience the power of God. and miracles in our midst, mark us and change us Let us experience the power of God. Let us experience the power of God. so we're never the same because of your presence. Let us experience the power of God. And I just felt the Holy Spirit say, you gotta pray the whole verse. I'll put it up one more time so everybody gets it.

Everybody kept feeling a sense of awe, the fear of the Lord. And many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And when I finally read that verse in its whole entirety, Holy Spirit just illuminated my mind to understand you can't have wonders and signs when you're missing the awe. God won't do wonders and signs in our church, in our lives, in our midst. He won't do them if we don't. If we don't fear Him, if we're not in awe of Him, there won't be wonders and signs. It'll be church as usual. There won't be wonders, there won't be signs. There won't be miracles if there is no awe. And Jesus actually demonstrated this for us in Mark chapter six. You can read that whole chapter a little later on your own. But in Mark chapter six, Jesus returns home to His hometown from a miracle-working, lifesaving, people-rescuing tour. Jesus has been on tour saving lives. Jesus has been on tour healing blind people. Jesus has been on tour doing miracle after miracle after miracle, after miracle. And then Jesus comes back home. And when Jesus comes back home, He comes back to people who are comfortable with Him. He comes back to people who know Him. When He starts teaching, they start nudging each other. Like, hey, who does He think He is?

Isn't that Jesus? Isn't He just a common carpenter? They start elbowing each other. Didn't His moms, they marry? Didn't they live down the block? Didn't we used to play with Him on the playground? Isn't He the kid who always won Red Rover, Red Rover? He was so familiar and so common and they were so accustomed to Him. Look at what Jesus said to them. Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives, and in his own home. And then Jesus said this, or this was said of Jesus. Excuse me, it was said of Jesus. He could not do any miracles there except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. In other words, He could do more miracles, but He could not do more miracles. He could not, think about that. There's something Jesus could not do. He could not do more miracles because there was no awe, there was no fear, there was no reverence, and so there were no miracles. Could it be, could it be that you're missing your miracle because you're missing the awe? Could it be in our church that we're missing the miracle because we're missing the awe? Could it be that the reason so many people,

and you know a bunch of them, you could tell me their names. I saw a few of them yesterday when I was out and about shopping and I hadn't seen them in ages. They once were committed to Christ. They once said, yes, I love Jesus. They once were involved in the church, but a year later, two years later, 10 years later, they're nowhere to be seen. They've walked away from their faith. They walked away from their church. Could it be because they were missing the awe? I love, I love that we can be casual. I love it. I love it. Listen, I could not preach like this if I had a suit and tie on. I love that we are relevant. I'm so happy, happy, happy that we can laugh in church. Church should be fun. I love it. I love that we use technology, that there's lights and sound and cameras, and we're all over the world because of it. I love it. I love it. I love it. Thank God for air conditioning in the church buildings. Today, I love it.

I love it. I love that you have your Bible on your phone, accessible, convenient, with one little tap anytime you wanna read it. I love that today people are joining us, literally right now in this moment from all over the world. some of you right now sitting on your couch in your PJs eating a bowl of frosted mini-wheats that's awesome I love that this is a place of zero judgment and I mean that that you can come here just as you are and it doesn't matter who you are where you've been or what you've done doesn't matter what you were doing last night doesn't matter what you look like what you wear how many piercings or tattoos you have doesn't matter I love that you can come just as you are I love that you can come here and you can belong before you believe I love that you're accepted you're wanted I love that I love all of it and there's nothing wrong with any of it until it makes you so comfortable that you lose the all until it becomes so convenient that you've lost the fear he delights in those that fear the Lord do you fear him does fear occur in your soul when you think about him you reverence him are you in all of him I want to end today with four questions four questions that I think if you would honestly ask these questions they would it would answer the question do I fear the Lord really this is this is such a like a foreign concept to most of us the fear of the Lord we don't even know do I fear I don't know if I fear him okay let me let me help you with four questions and I would I would ask you to write these four down open your notes in your phone or get out that notes page or tap that seat back in front of you and it'll take you to our website and you can go to our to our fill in the blank notes on our app figure it out how to write these four down because I think they're so important and we won't have time to unpack them all the way today and we probably won't even have time for the Holy Spirit to speak to us all the way that he wants to say about them but

these are four questions I believe you can ask today to know if you fear the Lord and listen look at me for just a minute when you answer these questions if the answer to the question feels like it's creating a distance between you and God because suddenly you start to feel guilt or shame that's not from your heavenly Father that's listen for everything of God there is an opposite reaction from the enemy and so when there's holy fear the enemy comes along with unholy fear and that's what some of you have experienced your whole life and it's actually driven you further away from God so if the answers to these questions feel like they're creating distance between you and God that's the enemy that's not God God draws us closer when he convicts us that's what the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit convicts and we get closer the enemy condemns and we get further away you see it so if the answer to one of these questions is no I don't I don't I don't think I fear the Lord here's here's all you have to do let's look at me God I'm sorry I repent I'm giving you my full attention all of my affection that's it that's it that's the response that God's looking for in our lives for questions here's the first one number one do you fear the Lord you do if you can answer this do I love God's Word do I love God's Word those who fear God love his Word this is what the Bible says it says these are the ones I look on with favor those who are humble and contrite in spirit and those who tremble at my word you fear my word you know you fear God when you love the Word of God to the point that you take it seriously you don't treat it casually you don't have a take it or leave it attitude about God's No, you read it daily. You consume it. Like you consume a meal in the kitchen because you got to have it. You're hungry for it. And it's not just part of your life. It's actually the truth that guides your life. It feeds you.

It empowers you. It convicts you. It teaches you. It guides you. It conforms you into the image of Christ. It renews your mind. So you're not bought into all the other lies of the world, but you're dialed in on the truth of the word of God. Do I love his word? Number two. Number two, ask yourself, do I love what he loves and hate what he hates? This is how you know if you truly fear the Lord. Do you love what God loves and hate what God hates? What does God love? He loves people. That's what God loves. So you can know if the fear of the Lord is in you, if you love people, especially people who are hard to love. And what does God hate? God hates sin because sin separates people from him. The Bible says this, to fear the Lord is to hate evil. So do you hate it? Or do you rationalize it? Do you hate it or do you entertain it? Let me ask it a different way. Does it entertain you? When you think about the things you watch,

listen to, scroll through, focus on, entertaining yourself. Does it depict sin? Does it depict evil? You can't fear the Lord and laugh at what he hates. Number three, do I fear the Lord? Ask this question. Do I love his presence? Or do I treat his presence casually? Do I long for his presence? Do I prioritize this gathering, this experience in my life? Or do I just come when it's convenient? Listen, if you're joining us online today from somewhere around the world, I love that. And if you're like in a different state or far away cause you can't get here, man, I love that. But if you're watching from three miles down the road just because it's convenient to stay at home, what does that say about the fear of the Lord? And just coming here doesn't mean you fear the Lord. You come here and you wait to see if it's a song you like before you sing. Do you wait to see if it's a song you like before you sing? Or you wait to see if it's a sermon that applies to you before you take notes? What does that say about the fear of the Lord? Do you come to bring him a sacrifice of praise? A sacrifice means it costs you something. Do you come to be in his presence and worship him? What if, what if the spirit of God moved

in such a mighty way that we worshiped all night long? Would that annoy you? Oh, I'll be so tired on Monday. Oh no, you won't. You let the spirit of the Lord move in your heart and life. You'll be fired up, ready to go everybody. You ain't gonna be tired on Monday. The Bible says this, since we are receiving a kingdom that is unshakable, that's what we're getting. That's what you're getting, a kingdom that is unshakable in a shakable world. Oh boy. We are getting a kingdom that is unshakable. What's our response? Let us be thankful. Let us please God. How do we please God? By worshiping him with holy fear and all. For our God is a devouring fire. In his presence. There is power in his presence, there is peace in his presence, there is conviction because holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who can stand in the presence of the Lord. Only those who have clean hands and pure hearts can come before the Lord. Do you fear him? Where has God become casual to you? Pastor Craig Groeschel said it like this, the problem for most of us isn't that we've rejected God, we've just reduced him. God help us, God help us fear you. How do I fear the Lord? There's a fourth question, number four, do I love to obey him? When he speaks, do I obey immediately?

You know, there's some of us, and I'll say this about myself, there are some things the Lord has been speaking to me about for years, for years. Where's the fear? Where's the awe? That God would speak to me about something and I wouldn't respond in immediate obedience? He's calling one of you right now. You better answer, you better answer that phone, you better answer it, I'm telling you. Look at what the Bible says, it says work hard, work hard to show the results of your salvation. Let me stop there for a moment because I don't want you to be confused. We are not saved by works, you don't get saved by works, salvation is a free gift. We receive it by faith, but faith works. Salvation is a gift of God's grace given to us that we receive by faith, but faith works because after you're saved, there's work to be done. God has work for you to show the results of your salvation. So what are the results of your salvation? It says this, it says obeying God, that's how you show you're saved. You obey God with deep reverence and fear, we obey Him. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. This is the fear of the Lord, do I obey Him? Now, listen, if the answer to that question or any of the questions is no, I don't love His word, I don't love what He loves and hate what He hates, I don't love His presence, I don't obey Him, then you don't fear the Lord. So what do you do? Look at the verse, it says for God is working in you, giving you the power and the desire to do what pleases Him. What pleases God? Remember what I read to you earlier from the psalmist? It pleases the Lord, He delights in those who fear Him. So it pleases God to fear Him.

So if you're like, I don't fear Him, what do you do? You say, God work in me and give me the desire and the power to fear you. That's what you do. You don't run away and you don't hide and you don't sit in disgrace and shame. You say, God work in me, give me the desire and the power to fear you because you are holy, you are righteous, you are wonderful, you are amazing, you are awesome. So I fear you, I'm in awe of you. Are you? I want to end with this, the four questions. Can you put them on the screen for everybody to see the four questions? If you didn't get to write them down, get your phone out and take a picture of the four questions. Be real still, listen. If you know Jesus, I'm certain His Holy Spirit is speaking to you. Do you fear Him? One more thing, God loves you. so much. He loves you unconditionally, but it pleases Him when we fear Him. Would you bow your heads? Would you close your eyes? Holy Spirit, set this word in our hearts. Set it deep so the enemy can't steal it. Root it in our lives so we wake up thinking about it and go to bed praying about it and we walk every day in awe of who you are. And in this holy, sacred moment, I know, I am convinced there is someone here who does not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I'm going to talk to you for just a moment if that's you. God brought you here because He loves you and He wants to change your life from the inside out. And it begins, it begins today with you recognizing who Jesus is and what He did for you on the cross to pay the penalty of your sins so you could say yes to a relationship with God and be forever connected to Him. And if you've never said yes to Jesus, this is your moment, this is your time. And I'm going to pray a simple prayer. If you'd say, pastor, include me in that prayer. I want to give my life to Jesus today. Would you just shoot your hand high in the air so I know? I want to know. This is your moment. I preach the sermon for you.

Come on, anybody else? God bless you. God bless you. I'm going to pray this prayer and you pray it silently from your heart. You can put your hand down and say, Jesus, I want to know you. I want my sin forgiven by you. And I want to live my life for you. So be my Lord and Savior. It's in Jesus' name we pray today. Amen. Come on, everybody. Thank God for His word today.