Moses and the Burning Bush

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So, if you want to know what you're doing with your life, come to the marriage seminar.

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I need to know what am I doing with my life, Barbie.

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All right.

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Are you guys in a good mood this morning?

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I hope so.

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It's going to be a good … It's going to be a good morning, not because of anything

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I've got, but because he's a holy God, and he is here, and he loves you.

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He cares about us.

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Before we get started, this coming Wednesday is March 5th, I believe.

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It is Ash Wednesday, and it marks the beginning of the Lenten season.

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I'm going to talk a little about this in the back end of the message, so I'm not going

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to teach right now about it, but the reason I wanted to bring it up right now is because

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we will be doing devotionals over the 40 days prior to Easter, and they will be posted on

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social media and on our app every day in the morning, a three to five-minute devotional

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from one of our staff members, just to kind of lead you through each day, and it's going

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to pair along the reading that we've been doing on the greatest stories ever told.

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So, I encourage you to pick that up as a daily thing that we do as we go into the Lenten

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season, and then the following week is Springhouse Conference, and so I hope that you have

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registered.

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We are excited.

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It looks like we've got a couple 300 people that are registered to come, so it's going

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to be a good time.

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Please bring neighbors, bring friends.

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It's not exclusive.

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It certainly can be for the community as well.

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We'd like them to come and partake and be a part of it.

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I think God has some real exciting things then, but God has a habit of saving the best

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right now, and so I believe he's got something for us this morning.

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We're continuing in the greatest stories ever told, and today we're going to look briefly

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at a story that you're actually going to read, I believe, tomorrow, if I've got the plan

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correct.

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You're actually in it this week, and so we're going to get a little bit of a jump start

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on it, but we're going to be looking at Exodus chapter three.

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So we're going to stand, and we're going to read from Exodus chapter three, and then we

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are going to read a verse from 1 Peter as well.

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Now, first service was puny, and I am taking score, so let's do this with a little gusto

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this morning.

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Here we go.

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Is my clicker working?

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Moses and the burning bush.

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Here we go.

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Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and

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led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

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There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.

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Moses saw that though the bush was on fire, it did not burn up.

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So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight, why the bush does not

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burn up."

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"Do not come any closer," God said.

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"Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."

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Then he said, "I am the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob."

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At this, Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

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Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought

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to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

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As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

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But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.

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For it is written, "Be holy because I am holy."

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Let's read that last line again.

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Be holy because I am holy.

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Father, I thank you for your word.

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I thank you that it is amazing.

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It's extraordinary, your word is.

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I pray, Lord, that it would transform our lives.

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I pray, Lord, that it permeate all thoughts, God, and ideas, Lord, that it would be supreme.

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It would hold the authority in our lives.

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I pray, Lord, that it would get down into our spirit and it would transform us today.

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In Jesus' name, amen.

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Amen.

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You may be seated this morning in the presence of the Lord.

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The greatest stories ever told.

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This is a familiar story, I would assume.

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Has anybody seen "The Prince of Egypt"?

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You see movies that have come out and you,

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and, or you've, you've probably seen Moses, the older, the old school.

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I'm, you know, I'm gonna watch the cartoon, of course,

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but the old, the old school, what's that name?

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Moses, 10, oh, the 10, of course, the 10 Commandments.

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You see the 10 Commandments, yeah.

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(congregation laughing)

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You know, these stories, inanimate, I mean, you know,

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I'm kinda thinking, what did these people do

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without TV and movies, you know, without telling a story?

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But really, truly, this story is,

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is one of the more well-known stories.

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And man, I just, I love the move of God

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because I look at the stories in the Old Testament

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and I see how it is so woven and put together

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to point us to Jesus.

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If you pay attention, you can always get a line back

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to Jesus, which is the whole point in the first place.

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He is the center of all things.

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So here we are, the setup is Moses has,

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Moses has fled from Egypt, okay?

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And we read that, if you're in the Bible reading plan,

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you've read that.

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He was put on the Nile, he was accepted

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into Pharaoh's family, he grew up and was raised there.

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He ended up killing a Hebrew worker

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and ends up running away from Egypt into the wilderness.

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And so here we are, and he's in the wilderness,

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he's with his family, he gets married,

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he's with his father-in-law, Jethro,

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and he's out in the wilderness.

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And he's out there tending the flock,

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and he looks over and he sees a bush that is burning,

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but it's not burning up.

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Now, I don't know about you, but when I see a fire anywhere,

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it draws my attention.

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Anybody draw?

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Now, I like to start fires too.

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Yeah.

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Both metaphorically and physically, yeah.

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But you know, I'm drawn to the fire

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because you see the big stacks of smoke

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coming in the air or fire.

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You turn your head and say, "What's going on?"

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Something is on fire.

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But typically when something's on fire, it's consumed.

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And what happened here is Moses looks over,

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he sees this bush on fire, which I would assume,

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I don't know, but I would assume that's not extraordinary,

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the fact that a bush in the wilderness was on fire

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because of the climate.

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That probably could have happened.

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But the fact that the bush was burning,

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but it wasn't being consumed was a particular note.

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And so he takes his focus off of the flock

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and he heads toward this anomaly

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and out of the bush comes this voice.

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Now, I'm gonna tell you, if I go up to a bush

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and I hear a voice, the angel of the Lord said,

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"Do not be afraid."

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I say, "Too late."

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(congregation laughing)

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And so the voice of God comes at Moses and he says,

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"Do not come closer."

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You don't have to tell me twice.

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"Do not come closer."

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He says, "Take off your shoes, take off your sandals

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"for where you are standing is holy ground."

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Where you are standing is holy ground.

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And Moses obeys, he takes off his sandals

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and it says that he holds his arm up

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and turns his face away in recognition and acknowledgement

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that it was God talking to him.

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And then in the discourse, in the conversation,

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God is saying, "Moses, I'm gonna send you back to Egypt

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"from where you came."

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I bet Moses thought to himself prior to that moment,

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he was never gonna see that place again.

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But he says, "I'm gonna send you back to Egypt

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"and I'm gonna use you to deliver

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"over nearly 600,000 men, women and their families

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"from slavery because I have heard the cry of my people."

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And of course, just like many of us, Moses says,

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"Oh sure, I'll do it right away.

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"What do you want me to do?"

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No, Moses renders a bunch of excuses.

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"I'm not good enough."

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Anybody ever thought they weren't good enough?

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Raise your hand.

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"I'm not good enough.

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"I don't have the answers.

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"People won't believe me.

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"I don't speak well.

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"I'm not qualified."

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Moses renders these excuses much like we do

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when God tells us to do things, asks us to do things

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and toward the end he says, "You know what, God?

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"I tell you what, I got a better idea.

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"Why don't you send somebody else?"

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Has anybody ever gotten to that place with God

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where you're like, "Lord, why don't you just

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"send somebody else?"

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The word tells us that God's anger burned against Moses.

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Can I tell you this morning,

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when God tells you to do something, you need to obey.

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When God tells you to do something,

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obedience is always the correct answer.

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God's anger burned against Moses

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and I believe that it burned against Moses

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because God's power was on display right before Moses.

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Moses had no reason to not believe what God was saying

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and to say to send somebody else,

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it wasn't that Moses was capable or incapable of doing it.

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What he was saying is, "God, I don't trust

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"that you're able to do through me

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"what you're saying you can do."

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And he's talking to the God of the universe,

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the God who breathes stars.

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Well, we love the part of the stories

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where we get to be used by God.

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In fact, I would suggest that most of us think,

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think that we want to hear the Lord tell us what to do

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so that we can do it.

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But I am compelled this morning to back up

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to the front part of this story

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because we tend to unfortunately gloss over

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the initial interaction between God and Moses

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and the heart posture with which Moses encountered

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a holy God.

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How many times, how many times, friends,

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do we try to approach God on our own terms?

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How many times in life do we attempt to approach God

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on our own terms?

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These are my girls, Hadassah, Lucy, Ruby, and Nora.

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Yes, they are beautiful, thank you.

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We were invited to a wedding in Knoxville not too long ago.

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Anybody get wedding invitations in the mail?

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Okay, I'm about to hurt some of your feelings.

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Are you ready?

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Get ready, okay?

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When I get a wedding invitation in the mail,

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and I know you've spent a lot of time

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and thought and energy on your wedding invitation, okay?

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I open the thing, I pull it out of the envelope,

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I look at the name, I look at the date,

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I put it in my calendar, and I throw it away.

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I'm so sorry I don't have a shoebox

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of all your wedding invitations.

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I'm not saving all of those things.

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But I look at the name, the date, put it on my calendar,

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and there we go, okay?

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So I got this invitation probably three months

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prior to the wedding.

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And we are gonna go to this wedding in Knoxville.

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And so we load up the car, the van, it's a road trip,

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we end up getting to Knoxville, and we get to this wedding.

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And of course, the O'Dea family,

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we were just so early to this wedding.

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We actually, I think they heard our tires come in

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as I was slamming on the brake to run out of the car.

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Now of course, the wedding was set up

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in a very wonderful way.

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It was set up in a way that as you are approaching

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the outdoor wedding, everybody is facing you

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and watching you as you walk in.

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So I was very, this is a very,

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I'm actually having a deja vu moment right now.

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If you were outside, everyone is just staring at me

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and my family walking down this path.

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But it's not just a straight beeline to the seats.

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No, this path goes zig, zag, zig, zag, zig.

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And around this beautiful path are some ponds

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and some rocks and some decorations and flowers

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to which my girls love to pick the flowers,

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jump in the puddles, pick up the rocks

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and do everything that they're not supposed to do

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as the wedding is about to start

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and everybody's staring at us coming down this path

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on the zigzag, right?

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Well, what happens in my mind, and maybe if you're a dad,

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maybe this is you as well,

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anytime we take our kids somewhere,

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I'm thinking what are our kids gonna do?

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Like what's the plan for our kids?

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And so I'm looking immediately to say,

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if Jessica's there, I know she's got kids,

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I'm gonna go sit with them and Justin,

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we'll get our kids together, whatever.

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So I'm looking and I'm noticing as I come down the path,

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there are no kids sitting anywhere in the wedding.

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There's zero kids.

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I'm like, what, why are there no kids?

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These people not have kids, what is going on?

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So we get to the bottom of the zigzag,

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the music has started, the procession has started

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and the sister of the groom who we were there to see,

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the sister gets up and walks over to me and smiles and says,

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"I see you've chosen to bring your kids."

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And I said, "Yes."

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She said, "I wish I could have brought mine."

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And then she went and sat down.

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And I realized at that moment,

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I should have read the invitation.

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Kids were not invited to this wedding.

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And so we went and sat down on the back row

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and I was probably more strict with my girls

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than I've ever been in my life.

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And of course, during the recessional,

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the very end, that sweet moment where the bride and groom

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go down halfway down the aisle

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and he swings her back to give her a kiss,

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there are four blondies that are playing

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in the middle of the aisle in their forever wedding picture.

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Thank you very much.

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We are a part of their wedding forever.

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Here's the point of the story.

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You're not allowed to show up any way you want to.

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(congregation murmuring)

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We're not allowed to show up any way that we want to.

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But what about that invitation that just says, "Come," right?

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Because we talk about that, like, just come as you are.

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All of us, what about that invitation of just,

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"Come as you are," all those things.

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Guess what?

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The invitation is an open door

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that gives you access to the throne.

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But once you get there, there's some expectations.

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There's some expectations.

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What you bring and what you don't bring is important.

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It's important.

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How many times do we show up on our own terms,

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lack of regard and consideration and disrespect

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run rampant in our culture,

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because we are a society of,

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"You're not gonna tell me what to do."

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We are a, yeah, aren't you glad you came this morning?

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(congregation laughing)

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You're not gonna tell me what to do.

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That is an anthem of the culture.

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You are not gonna tell me what to do.

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Let's face it, we are adverse

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to having authority over us in our lives.

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We love authority that doesn't require us to change,

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to adjust, to bend,

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or we prefer authority that we agree with,

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but give us someone that we disagree with,

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Houston, we've got a problem.

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And then in our ignorance as Christians,

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when we don't like what we're being asked to do,

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we tout this very dangerous and haughty line,

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"I'm not gonna listen to a man, I'm gonna listen to God."

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And if your response is that fueled by a disagreement

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or your opinion, then you better buckle up

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and be ready to listen to the star breather

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and do what he tells you to do.

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And you're gonna be shocked, I think,

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about what he tells you.

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How many times have we had an actual burning bush moment?

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Now, those exist.

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I've had one time in my life

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that I've heard the audible voice of God, one time.

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Have you had a burning bush moment?

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Have you had an extraordinary moment

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where there was just,

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it was unquestionably God's presence in front of you?

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And I would venture to say that a majority of us

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have not had those types of moments.

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Though God still speaks to us,

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he desires to speak to us.

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But because we don't typically have burning bush moments,

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those supernatural moments

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where God's audible voice shows up happens and it's so rare,

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when it does, it's not usually with the arrogant,

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it's with the humble.

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It's with the humble.

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It's with those who are ready to listen.

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All throughout scripture, God establishes leaders.

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He establishes people in authority.

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Moses, Samuel, David, Paul, a litany of kings.

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There's so many people, I go on and on.

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And I believe that it is the Lord's expectation

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not that people revere the man,

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but revere the God that's been placed in the man

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and approach the authority that's been placed

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on those people as those who have been anointed

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by the God in whom you say you believe.

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Do you realize how weighty of a place it is to be

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in a position of spiritual authority?

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To be in a place where you actively acknowledge

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and receive the calling and the anointing

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from the most high God and say,

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"Lord, use me to serve in a capacity of spiritual authority."

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It is a weighty task.

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It is a weighty calling.

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It's one that shouldn't be taken lightly,

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should be treated with respect toward the Lord.

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God gives a special dismentation of grace

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to those who have been called to those positions.

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And I believe how we approach the authority

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God has established here on earth

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says a lot about how we approach

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the holiness we see in God.

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We serve a multifaceted God.

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He is rich in grace and mercy.

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In fact, we are told this,

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"For we do not have a high priest

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"who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses,

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"but we have one who has been tempted in every way

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"just as we are, yet he did not sin.

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"Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence."

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With confidence, we are encouraged

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to approach the throne of grace with boldness,

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with confidence, but we forget the very next line.

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"So that we may obtain," what?

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Mercy.

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Well, if I'm going to obtain mercy,

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that means I'm in a position with which I need mercy.

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So when I say, when it says come boldly,

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it's not run into God's courts just willy nilly

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any way you want to and just treat him as Santa.

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It is because of Jesus,

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you have access to go right up to the throne of God,

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but you understand the very first thing

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you're gonna get is mercy.

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Yeah.

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And then you're gonna receive grace

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for the thing that you need.

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He is a holy God.

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He is a righteous King.

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He is Alpha and Omega, the star breather.

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He is extravagant, extraordinary, and he is nothing less.

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He is so much more than the vocabulary

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that I rendered to you this morning.

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He is a great, great God.

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And sometimes we treat him

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like he is some bum on the side of the road

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that we get to use for our own vices.

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We get to come boldly, come as you are, come one and all.

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You don't have to clean yourself up.

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All of those have merit and are true.

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But when it comes to approaching a holy God,

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you might come the way you are,

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but you won't leave that way.

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You might come the way you are,

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but you will not leave the same.

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God is constant.

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Hebrews 13 tells us that he is the same yesterday,

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today, and forevermore,

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which means that he was holy yesterday.

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He is holy today, and he will be holy forevermore.

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All too often, we only consider our part

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of the conversation and the relationship

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and what we benefit out of it.

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We rarely examine how he comes to the conversation

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and his expectations.

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And he comes as a king, holy, mighty, and exalted.

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Some of you may know who this fella is.

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This guy, his name is Michael Fagan.

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Michael Fagan broke in to the palace of Queen Elizabeth

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in 1982.

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Fagan scaled his way into the royal history

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after a night of drinking.

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He climbed over a fence at Buckingham Palace

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and made his way up to the drainpipe and onto the roof.

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Removing his shoes and socks,

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he entered the royal residence through an unlocked window.

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From there, he spent some time wandering through the palace,

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including triggering the alarm system twice

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as he pursued King George V's stamp collection.

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Evidently, assuming the alerts were a glitch,

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the police on watch turned the alarms back off.

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Likewise, in a plan for eventual exit,

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Fagan told the son that he broke one of the palace's ashtrays

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to get a piece of glass to use to cut through

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a pigeon netting on the roof,

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accidentally cutting himself in the process.

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Ultimately, Fagan made his way

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into the residential wing of the palace

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and apparently unwittingly to the bedroom

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of none other than the queen.

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The story goes on that they had an interaction.

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The queen was trying to call somebody to help

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and nobody was answering the phone.

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And he was in the bedroom.

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He didn't harm her.

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He just wanted to have a conversation.

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And then they took him on.

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Do you know that there are some places

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where you do not have access where you can just walk up

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and get in the way that you want to?

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Do you know that if you were wanting to go to the White House

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and meet the president, regardless of who it is,

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you would want to meet the president,

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there are protocols, there are things that you have to do

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and many of you wouldn't get to do it.

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You have access to a holy God.

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But there are things in the process of accessing him

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that are important, that show to him

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from your heart posture that you understand that he's holy,

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that he is holy.

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Moses understood such a thing.

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And he establishes up front his authority with Moses

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and he watches to see Moses' reaction.

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What is Moses going to do when God says,

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"Take off your sandals for the place you are standing

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"is holy ground."

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Moses obeys.

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Moses obeys.

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Guys, I believe we are so busy being about ourselves

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that many of us wouldn't even realize

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there was a burning bush in the first place,

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let alone take off our shoes.

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There wasn't anything, I believe,

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particularly special about the ground

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where Moses was standing.

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It was because God's presence was there.

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Anywhere God's presence resides is a holy place.

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Any ground that God is residing in, it's a holy place.

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And that place was significant and holy,

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not because there was a bush, not because it was burning,

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not because Moses was there,

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but because God Almighty was there.

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Because God Almighty was there.

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He required Moses to take off his shoes.

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And I believe that He requires us to do the same.

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Today, I wanna focus in on what renders us incapable

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of taking off the shoes.

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I understand that we want to be in the position of Moses,

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hearing God say, "Go and do this."

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At least we think we do.

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We actually don't, but we think we wanna be there.

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But before we even get there,

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I believe it's poignant and it's important,

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especially given the season and time that we're in

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approaching Resurrection Sunday

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and where we are just culturally,

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that we examine our heart posture

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when we approach this holy God.

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Does He have a plan and a purpose for your life?

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Absolutely.

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Does He have direction for you?

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Yes, He does.

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But guys, we've gotta back up and realize

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we are less, He is more.

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We are small, He is huge.

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He is God and we are not.

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What shoes are you wearing

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that you are not going to render to God?

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What shoes are you wearing where you say,

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"You're not gonna tell me what to do."

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Let's examine some of these potentials.

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And maybe like me, you fit into some of these categories.

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The first shoe I wanna look at is the shoe of significance.

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The shoe of significance.

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This shoe says, "I'm important."

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This shoe says, "I've got a big boy job

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with a big boy title with a big boy office."

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This pair of shoes, as we walk around in these shoes says,

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"I've got people that I expect to answer to me

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and I don't really care to answer to anybody else."

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These shoes say, "I've got a portrait of myself

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hanging places.

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I've got a title that's bigger than my name.

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I've got a bank account that shows my significance.

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I am important.

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And God, while I hear what you're saying

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and while I want to do what you tell me to do,

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I'm not ready to give up my title and my position

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because I'm significant, I'm important."

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And God is saying, "Take off the shoes of significance

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because I am holy, because I am holy."

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I think another pair of shoes that we contend with,

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some of us, are the shoes of control.

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These are water shoes.

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Has anybody ever been white water rafting?

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Father's Day weekend, we're going,

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if you wanna register in the app.

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Shoes of control.

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Here's what these do.

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These say, "If I'm in control, I won't get hurt.

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If I'm in control, if I'm driving the car,

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then I can take the safe path and the safe route.

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God, where do you want me to go?

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Just download it to me and then get out of the way.

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I wanna be in control of the situation

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so that I can make sure that I don't put myself in jeopardy

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or put myself in a position that might be embarrassing

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or it might actually put me in a position

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that I've actually gotta do what your word says

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in front of my friends who are also Christians.

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I wanna be in control.

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I just wanna, I wanna be in that driver's seat, God.

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So just give me the instructions.

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I don't want me to get hurt or anybody get hurt.

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God, you don't understand.

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God says, "I want you to relinquish control

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because I am holy, because I am holy."

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There are some other shoes up here.

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What about this one?

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The shoes of busyness.

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Shoes of busyness.

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I wake up at 5 a.m., I go to bed at 10.

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My calendar is full of things to do.

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I am going here, I am going there.

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I'm involved with this and that

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and I want my name on everything.

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Don't try to start a ministry without involving me

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because I wanna be a part of it.

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I need to be in the know.

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I need to be able to speak into everybody's life.

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Listen, I have FOMO and I cannot miss out.

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I want to be a part of what you're doing.

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I'm a part of what I'm doing

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and guess what, everything I'm doing has Jesus on it

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so it must be what I'm supposed to do.

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I am so busy, I'm doing this and that

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and everyone loves me because I'm involved with it all.

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God says, "Be still and know I'm God."

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I don't got time.

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(congregation applauding)

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But God, I don't got time because I'm running around.

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I'm doing all the stuff for your glory.

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I have no idea who you are.

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Take off the shoes of busyness, Kevin,

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because I am holy, because I am holy.

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Now these are the shoes of confusion.

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(congregation laughing)

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These shoes say,

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I want to go to church.

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I want to wear the T-shirt.

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I want to participate in your ministry

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but I want to live my life the way I want to live it.

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These shoes say, God, I know that you've given the word

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but your word is open to my interpretation.

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I have reinvented my life to be what I want it to be

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and so I wear these shoes of confusion

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and God, you know what, I come to you in my time

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when I need you to just bless me, just bless me

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but I need to fit in because my identity

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has not been found in you, it's found in everybody else.

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Everything else.

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God says, take off the shoes of confusion

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because I am holy, because I am holy.

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Oh, I don't know how you'd like this to happen.

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(congregation laughing)

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These are the shoes of security.

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Am I stepping on many toes today?

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(congregation laughing)

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I've got copious amounts of cash in my house.

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I've got everything needed when Armageddon happens.

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And somebody comes and takes over,

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come over and hang out with me because I've got a plan.

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And you know what, here's the thing,

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I disguise it under this clever idea that I'm being wise,

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that the Lord has given me wisdom and good stewardship

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so I hoard all of these things

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so that whenever you're in need, I'm secure

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or when something goes down, I'm secure

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because I put my faith in worldly things rather than in God.

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Because I have forgotten that the beginning of wisdom

Speaker: 00:31:21

is fear of the Lord, not storing up treasures here on earth.

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And so I am so secure, hey, I can quit my job,

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I can do whatever I want 'cause I got plenty of money,

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plenty of things, I am secure.

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The Lord says, "Take off the shoes of security."

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I am your security, I am holy, I am holy.

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Want me to keep going?

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These are the shoes of oblivion.

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These are my Vegas shoes.

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Oblivion, what are the shoes of oblivion?

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Oblivion says, I am having a great life.

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I have been a part of every party, every scene,

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I am enjoying, in fact, I'm enjoying my life so much,

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God, I have no room for you in it.

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I am oblivious to the fact that you created me,

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that you have a plan and a purpose for my life,

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that you actually have something for me to do.

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I don't need any of that 'cause I'm so distracted

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by all of the other fun that I'm having on this earth,

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I have no idea that I'm destroying my life,

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but I've got a lot of stories to tell.

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It's the shoes of oblivion, I have no clue.

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God, I had no clue that you actually wanted

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to do something through my life.

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I'm just out doing my own thing.

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Take off the shoes of oblivion because I am holy,

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I am holy.

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What about the shoes of the past?

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Anybody like Bluey?

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These are the shoes that we wear

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when we refuse to mature and eat meat.

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These are the people who show up to church every week

Speaker: 00:33:22

ready to receive and never give.

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These are the people who have been around the things

Speaker: 00:33:28

of the Lord, but they no more read the word of God

Speaker: 00:33:30

or try to mature than the man on the moon,

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they allow everyone else to put in the work for them.

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They are riding on the coattails

Speaker: 00:33:37

of the previous generation's faith.

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They don't understand that they've got

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a personal relationship with the Lord,

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that they've got to cultivate,

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that they have to work out their salvation

Speaker: 00:33:50

with fear and trembling.

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I'm okay, I'm good, I'll let them do it for me.

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Guys, put in the work, I'll reap the benefit.

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Take off the shoes of the past because I am holy.

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And I don't know, but at least in my life,

Speaker: 00:34:10

this last one's probably the most dangerous.

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These are the shoes of complacency.

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The shoes of complacency say, I know what the word says,

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God, I know what you told me to do, but I don't care.

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I'm content, I'm good doing what I'm gonna do.

Speaker: 00:34:32

I get bold, I get, Lord, you have spoken it through people,

Speaker: 00:34:36

the authority of my life, your word,

Speaker: 00:34:38

I've heard the truth over and over again,

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but I refuse to change because I am complacent

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and I'm content with where I am

Speaker: 00:34:45

and I don't want it to change.

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This is dangerous because you acknowledge God almighty

Speaker: 00:34:55

in his voice and you deny it.

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You acknowledge what his word says

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and you choose not to do it proactively.

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Take off the shoes of complacency because I am holy.

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Now, maybe I'm the only one

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that's put on some of these shoes, I don't know,

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but I venture to think that there's a lot of us.

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You see, you think it's easy for Moses,

Speaker: 00:35:23

take off the shoes because you stand on holy ground.

Speaker: 00:35:26

You are being asked to do the same thing.

Speaker: 00:35:28

Get into the presence of a holy God

Speaker: 00:35:32

and he is saying, take off the shoes.

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Take off the shoes.

Speaker: 00:35:37

What are you bringing to the relationship?

Speaker: 00:35:40

What are you bringing to the communication

Speaker: 00:35:42

and to the conversation that you're not ready to let go of?

Speaker: 00:35:45

Because before God can give you the direction

Speaker: 00:35:49

to go liberate 600,000 people, he's going to say,

Speaker: 00:35:53

I need you to follow me in obedience by rendering the shoes.

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I need you to follow me in obedience

Speaker: 00:35:58

in the simple thing that you've got going on right now.

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God, I want to know your will for my life.

Speaker: 00:36:02

I want to know your plan.

Speaker: 00:36:03

I want you to give me direction.

Speaker: 00:36:05

Take off the shoes.

Speaker: 00:36:06

First, take off the shoes.

Speaker: 00:36:09

Acknowledge me as holy in your obedience.

Speaker: 00:36:13

I'm not hearing clearly from the Lord.

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I don't know if he's supposed to,

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I don't trust that guy who's speaking into my life

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or that girl who's speaking into my life

Speaker: 00:36:19

or that thing that I've heard from the Lord.

Speaker: 00:36:21

I'm confused, I'm trying to find, find, find,

Speaker: 00:36:23

he's saying, take off the shoes.

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Take off the shoes.

Speaker: 00:36:27

And as you do, his presence will become clearer and clearer.

Speaker: 00:36:31

So what does it look like to sacrifice

Speaker: 00:36:34

and to give up some things?

Speaker: 00:36:36

I'm going to transition here

Speaker: 00:36:37

into talking about the Lenten season.

Speaker: 00:36:39

Lent, L-E-N-T is short for Lenten

Speaker: 00:36:43

and it simply means springtime.

Speaker: 00:36:44

There's nothing fancy or particular about that.

Speaker: 00:36:47

The Lenten season is 40 days prior

Speaker: 00:36:49

to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not including Sundays.

Speaker: 00:36:53

40 days before the resurrection Sunday

Speaker: 00:36:56

that we celebrate, not including Sundays.

Speaker: 00:36:57

There is no biblical mandate

Speaker: 00:37:00

that you participate in the Lenten season.

Speaker: 00:37:02

What do I mean by participate in the Lenten season?

Speaker: 00:37:04

Well, traditionally in church culture,

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there are things, some traditional things

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that the church will do during those 40 days

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in preparation of a heart posture leading up to Easter

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to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

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Primarily fasting is a part of that.

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Now, what is fasting?

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Fasting is simply giving up or going without something.

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Now, traditionally in a broad way,

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fasting is doing without food and drink.

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But fasting can actually be applied

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to anything in your life.

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It can be something that you give up.

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It could be something like social media.

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It could be something like being on the internet

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or it could be something like driving

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or it could be something like certain parting ways

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from certain relationships and things like that.

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It can be anything.

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Now, what would you choose?

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Why would you fast?

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What would be the purpose of fasting?

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Well, the purpose of fasting is to identify something

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in your life that is an everyday thing

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that would be a sacrifice that you would give up

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that would remind you about Jesus Christ,

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that would be replaced.

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It's not just about giving up something.

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It's about filling what you've given up

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with the presence of God, drawing closer to God.

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So the purpose of a fast would be to lean in

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so that you can be in his presence

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and that you can hear his voice more clearly.

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And so here at Springhouse, we've taken up the charge

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of participating in the Lenten season.

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Now, do you have to do this?

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No, it's your choice.

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You might be looking at me and saying,

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you're not gonna tell me what to do.

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But if you'll do it, there are some wonderful,

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positive spiritual implications.

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If you do it the way it's supposed to be done,

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you can only win by drawing closer to a holy God.

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And so we participate because I wanna be a church

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who hears God's voice, not just hears God's voice,

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but hears God's voice clearly

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and is able to respond clearly.

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Now, is it for direction?

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Sometimes it's for direction, but for some of you

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and for me, maybe this season, you gotta identify the shoes.

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Some of you are wearing shoes

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you don't even know you're wearing them.

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You don't even know they're on your feet.

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And maybe this is a season where the Lord wants to say,

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hey, I want you to take off those shoes.

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Well, God, I didn't even know I had those shoes on.

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Yeah, you drew close to me.

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Now I wanna illuminate some stuff in your life.

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I wanna illuminate some stuff in your life.

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It's not about what you give up,

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it's about who you give it up for.

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So some of you have already heard about the Lenten season

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because I have asked the leaders at Springhouse

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to identify something that the ministries can fast together.

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Now, as soon as I got out, as soon as out of the gate,

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I said to the staff, I said, we're gonna fast bread.

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The first thing out of people's mouth was,

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well, does this count as bread?

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Does that count as bread?

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What is bread?

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Is a thin crust bread?

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Is a thick, what is bread?

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Can I tell you something?

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Look at me right here.

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It doesn't matter.

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Bread is defined by whatever you need

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to give up in your life to draw close to God.

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And it's not something where we come in here and say,

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Kurt, hey, six days without bread, man, I'm doing it.

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I'm doing great.

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Because why?

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That puts the spotlight on me.

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This is what Jesus said about fasting.

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And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites,

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for they disguise their faces

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that their fasting may be seen by others.

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Truly, I say to you, they've received the reward.

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But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face

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that your fasting may not be seen by others,

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but by your Father who is in secret.

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And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

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The Lenten season and us fasting as a church

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has nothing to do with you having conversations

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about what the thing is that you succeeded at fasting.

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If the conversation is gonna happen,

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this is what it should be.

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Barbie, let me tell you what God revealed to me today.

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Keith, let me tell you what God has downloaded

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in my spirit today.

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And you start to say, man, Kurt,

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you just gotta glow about you.

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It seems like you're just, you're just,

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you're just joy of the Lord.

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And you say, I'm spending more time in his presence.

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Because I have intentionally thought about him more

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in this season.

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And here's the crazy thing.

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Resurrection Sunday happens.

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Yeah, you might go back to eating bread.

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But the hope, the hope is that you so enjoy,

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it says in his presence is the fullness of joy.

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I've so enjoyed his presence

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that I don't wanna lose what I've got.

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So I'm gonna continue to lean in.

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I'm gonna continue to press in.

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And so I encourage you to think

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and to pray about something.

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Some of you, here's the thing.

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I think sometimes it's a little ludicrous

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to tell people to pray about what to fast.

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Because when you're trying to fast,

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you're trying to hear the voice of the Lord.

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And if you're not hearing the voice of the Lord,

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he's not gonna tell you what to fast

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'cause you can't hear what he's saying.

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So practically, what's distracting you?

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What's in front of your face?

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What are you dealing with every day

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that you could say, I'm gonna sacrifice this

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and it's going to cause me to have to think?

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Cause me to have to lean in?

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We're believing the Lord for these three things this year.

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This is why I want our church to fast together.

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Hunger for the word, tears for the lost,

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and answer prayers and testimonies in this house.

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Have you been praying for these things?

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I came down here and presented to the entire congregation

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at the beginning of January, this is our prayer direction.

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Are you actually praying for these things?

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I wanna see the Lord answer these prayers.

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These are important.

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These are important.

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This is my buddy, John.

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(gentle music)

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The primary reason we fast is to be in the presence of God.

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John told me a story, it was a while back.

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He was out of town and he encountered some people

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who knew me and they had an interaction.

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And the interaction was not favorable about me.

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It was an interaction and his response in that moment

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was, wait a second, what you're saying is so off base.

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I know Kevin, that's not who he is.

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Now why was John able to respond in that way?

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Cause he had spent time with me.

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He had been in my presence.

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And the more time you spend in the presence of God,

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the more you know about the character of God and who he is,

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the more you can speak on his behalf.

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Now if you've paid attention over the last several months,

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I try to give a little antidote like this one,

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every message, because here's the point.

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How we treat others is a direct reflection

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of how holy we believe he is.

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How we treat others is a direct reflection

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of how holy we believe he is.

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Why is that?

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Cause God created you.

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He created you.

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So for me to exercise my opinion about you,

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to render something outside of building you up

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and loving you just shows how much I think he's not holy.

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Take off the shoes, Kevin, because I am holy.

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You will not obey a voice you don't recognize.

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And as we lean into this season of Lent,

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my prayer is that we would recognize

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the voice of the Holy Spirit.

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May it be through him speaking to us directly.

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May it be through the voice of others

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that you can line yourself up and understand

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that it's not always what you want the answer to be.

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It's hearing clearly his voice

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and it resonating with your heart.

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So many things this week the Lord told me

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that I didn't want.

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I was like, that's not right.

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That's not what I wanna hear.

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And it made me course correct.

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Why is God course correcting Kevin O'Dea?

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Cause I don't look like Jesus yet.

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And most of the time when I get into his presence,

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these are the things I learn.

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How little I really know.

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How little I really deserve.

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And how little I really have to offer.

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Because significant time in his presence

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will cause you to realize how small you are

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and how holy he is.

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Guys, it's all about him.

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It's not about us.

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It's all about him.

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What a privilege it is to be called into his presence.

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What a privilege it is that he would say render the shoes.

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What a privilege it is that he would say now go

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and do what I've told you to do.

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Moses was in a privileged state

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and he was used because he obeyed.

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Will you obey in rendering your shoes?

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Because he is holy.

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He is holy.

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So you're gonna stand with me this morning.

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David, when he was worshiping the Lord with no clothes.

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True story, no clothes.

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They all ridiculed him.

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They put him down.

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They talked bad about him.

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You know what his response was?

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I'll become more undignified than this.

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You have an opportunity this morning?

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'Cause I'm gonna invite you to come to the altar space

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and take off your shoes and worship this God.

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Come, if you may, if you dare.

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Let's worship.

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(gentle music)