Episode Transcript
[00:00:08] Speaker A: How about you?
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Doing well. Let's stand and worship together. We're gonna do this song we learned a couple weeks ago.
[00:00:14] Speaker A: Y' all know the scripture pretty well.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: Father, Let your kingdom come Father let your will be done on earth as in heaven Right here in my Father, let your kingdom come Father, let your will be done on earth as in heaven Right here in my heart Give us this day our daily bread Forgive us, forgive us as we forgive the ones who sinned against us Forgive them and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one and let your kingdom come Father, let your kingdom come Father, let your will be done on earth as in heaven Right here in my heart Father, let your kingdom come Father, let your will be done on earth as in heaven Right here in my heart Give us this day our daily bread Forgive us, forgive us as we forgive the ones who sinned against us.
Forgive him. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one Let your kingdom come it's yours, it's yours, it's your yours all yours all yours the kingdom, the power, the glory are yours it's yours, it's yours all yours all yours forever and ever the kingdom is yours it's yours, it's yours all yours all yours the kingdom, the the power, the glory are yours it's yours, it's yours are yours are yours forever and ever the kingdom is yours Father, let your kingdom come Father, let your will be done on earth as in heaven Right here in my heart Father, let your kingdom come Father, let your will be done One earth as in heaven Right here in my heart.
[00:03:21] Speaker A: Right.
[00:03:22] Speaker B: Here in my heart Amen I was.
[00:03:42] Speaker C: Lost in shame could not get past.
[00:03:45] Speaker B: My blame until he called my name.
[00:03:50] Speaker C: I'm so glad he changed me Darkness.
[00:03:52] Speaker B: Held me down But Jesus pulled me out and I'm no longer bound I'm so glad he said save me See I now a new creation in Christ the old has gone there's new life I live by faith not by sight There is a new name written down in glory and it's mine yes, it's mine I've met the author of my story and he's mine yes, he's mine.
[00:04:40] Speaker C: Sin had left me blind But Jesus.
[00:04:44] Speaker B: Opened my eyes Now I see the light I'm so glad he changed me Now I'm walking free I've got the victory see it's all over me I'm sorry so glad he changed me See I now a new creation in Christ the old is gone the old is gone I live by faith. I live by faith, not by sight There is a new name written down in glory and it's mine, yes, it's mine I've met the author of my story and he's mine yes, he's mine. There is a new name written down in glory and it's mine yes, it's mine I know the author.
I met the author of my story and he's mine yes, he's mine. Sing it.
Oh, I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am. I am who I am because the I am tells me who. Sing it. I am who I am. Cause the I am tells me who I am I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am I am who I am because the I am tells me who I am There is a new name written down in glory and it's mine yes, he's mine. There is a new name I met the author of my story and he's mine yes, he's mine.
There is a new name, you, name written down in glory and it's mine yes, it's mine. I know Jesus. I met the author of my story and he's mine.
Yes, he's mine and he's mine.
Yes, he's mine and he's mine.
Yes, he's mine.
Hallelujah.
Amen.
[00:07:37] Speaker C: Hallelujah. Have a seat.
My name is Julie. For those of you who I haven't gotten to meet before, I obviously serve on the worship team here, But I also serve with the youth here at Westgate Chapel and had the absolute privilege and joy to spend a week with our kiddos, our kiddos, our young people.
I'm old. I can say kiddos. Where's my life? People, are you awake? Are you in here?
They've recovered. We have recovered a little bit, right?
I just want to say thank you so much to all of you for praying for us, for the students, for the leaders.
It was truly the most incredible time.
Lives were changed, you guys. Chains were broken. There are people whose name is written just like we just sang about.
And just all glory to God. Would you just continue praying for these students whose lives were impacted, that they would just continue to walk in faith, freedom, and new life?
We actually, a number of them wrote little kind of snippets, which I had a hard time, even articulating my experience. So this is just a little snapshot, but if you grabbed a worship guide on your way in, they're inside there, but they're also in the app. And I also noticed that in the app you can actually find a link to watch the keynote sessions that we got to watch. And they were incredible, wonderful to watch with your small group. Listen to them while you're getting ready in the morning. They were very impactful. So please, please check that out.
Let's see. If you are new here at Westgate, please connect with us. We would love to get to know you better. There are some cards in the pew in front of you. One of them is a connect card where you can just jot down some information and you can put it in one of the boxes in the back. But even better, we would love for you to go to our guest services center right out here and just meet the folks there. We would love to get to know you. We also would love to pray for you. If you have any requests, you can put those on this card or in the app as well.
Today, I want to highlight one of the ministries here at Westgate. It's called Threads of Love. And you probably maybe would recognize that on days where we have baby dedications, our Threads of Love ladies bring, they all make quilts. And so each of the new babies that is dedicated get a quilt. But they do actually a lot more than that. They have sewn over, I would say, hundreds of quilts that have been sent across the seas to different international workers, to missionaries, missionary kids donated to that neighborhood church, to the Veterans Administration. Lots of, lots of other places where those quilts have gone. And I know that those ladies, as they make them, pray over them and just that the Lord would use that to bring comfort. But we're going to be having an annual retreat treat here at Westgate on August 22nd and 23rd. So whether you are a seasoned quilter or somebody who just wants to try it out, we would love to have you.
I have a friend who used to say, if you can drive a car, you can quilt. Nodding heads, right? My quilter friends in here would you say that's true, right? If you can, if you can drive a car, you can run a sewing machine.
I know there's more to it, but we have lots of beautiful ladies who would love to help walk alongside you. You will get lunch. We have some devotional time. And you'll get a kit that will be used and donated when the quilt is put together. So please register for that registration. Is open now and it closes. August 15th.
So now while I catch my breath, you can all stand and take a minute to greet the people around you. Say hello and welcome somebody new.
[00:11:35] Speaker B: Sa it savior to the Lord, because.
[00:12:55] Speaker A: He is is glorious.
[00:13:07] Speaker B: No words could describe your majesty.
No mind can define your mystery.
And nothing that I've ever seen even comes close to your glory.
Creation displays how great you are.
Mountains and oceans and infinite stars. And nothing that I've ever seen even comes close to your glory.
You are powerful, you are great. And and the frame of the universe bows at your name.
You are majesty, you are God. And the praise of 10,000 is still not enough. You are glorious, Almighty God, you are.
I've seen sin saved and new life began Pride mag melt away to a new heart again.
And nothing that I've ever seen even comes close to your glory.
Oh, I've seen death hushed away at the sound of your voice. The broken and fallen rise up and rejoice.
Still nothing that I've ever seen even heaven comes close to you glory.
You are powerful, you are great. And the frame of the universe bows at your name.
You are majesty, you are God. And the praise of 10,000 is still not enough. You are glorious, Almighty God, I've seen so much, but still there's more.
And I've hurt so much but still there's more.
And you've done so much.
I thank you, lord, you are glorious.
I've seen so much, but still there's more.
I've heard so much, but still there the more You've done so much.
I thank you, lord.
You are glorious.
You are glorious.
You are powerful. You, you are great. And the frame of the universe bows at your name.
You are majesty, you are God. And the praise of 10,000 is still not enough.
You are powerful, you are great. And the frame of the universe bows at your name.
You are majesty, you are God. And the praise of 10,000 is still not enough. You are glorious.
You are glorious.
You are glorious.
You are glorious.
It here is where I lay it down every burden, every crown this is my soul surrender oh, this is my surrender.
Here is where I lay it down every lie and every doubt this is my surrender.
And I will make room for you to do whatever you want to.
To do whatever you want to.
And I will make room for you to do whatever you want to.
To do whatever you want to.
Here is where I lay it down every burden, every crown.
This is my surrender.
Oh, this is my surrender.
Here is where I lay down every lion, every dot.
This is my surrender?
And I will make room?
And I will make room for you?
Whatever you want to do?
Just do whatever you are?
And I will make room for you oh, yes, I will?
To do whatever you want to?
To do whatever you want to?
And I will make room for you to do whatever you want to?
To do whatever you want I will make room.
[00:21:10] Speaker A: Sing shake up the ground.
[00:21:15] Speaker B: Shake up the ground of all my tradition? Break down the walls of all my religion Your way is better oh, your way is better Shake up the ground of all my tradition?
Break down the walls of all my religion Your way is better oh, your way Shake up the ground of all my tradition? Break down the walls of all my relation Your way is better?
Your way is better?
Shake up the ground of all my tradition?
Break down the walls of all my relation Your way is better oh, your way is better?
And I will make room for you to do whatever you want?
And I'll make room for you to do whatever you want to?
To do whatever you want to here is where I lay it down you are all I'm chasing now this is my surrender oh, this is my surrender?
Here is where I lay lay it down you are all I'm chasing now this is my surrender oh, this is my surrender Amen.
[00:23:24] Speaker A: Lord God, this song is an appropriate response to you.
God, we surrender.
God, we surrender all of our lives to you. Our days, our nights, our waking, our sleeping, our questions, our doubts, our answers, our decisions. God, we surrender them all to you.
Thank you.
Thank you, lord.
Amen.
You can go ahead and have a seat.
This time we're going to continue in worship through the giving of our tithes and our offerings this morning. So if you're in the middle aisles, there's a black bucket. Go ahead and take that and pass it to your left or right, out to the outside and up top in the balcony from the outside in. And our ushers will collect those this morning as we give back to the lord.
[00:24:50] Speaker B: Sam.
[00:25:16] Speaker A: Well, good morning, everyone.
My name is Adam juss. I get to serve here as executive pastor and of ministry and this morning I get to share God's word with us this morning as we conclude a series on the lord's prayer and if you are joining us via livestream. Welcome. Glad to have you worshiping with us as well. From.
From afar as well.
For 10 years, Sarah and I lived out in archbold, Ohio. If you guys know where Archbold is.
An hour west, I think is that way west right now. Kind of got turned around maybe that direction. And so we lived out there for 10 years. And that was a different experience for me, specifically when it comes to agriculture and farm life, because I grew up in the suburbs of Columbus, so got to experience a lot of neat things, learn about tractors, learn about animals. And one of the cool things that I got to learn, because some of our friends owned farms, had farmland, was about the animals. The goats, the hogs, the pigs, the cows, the steers, the calves, all that. And some of our friends with their kids would, each year in the summer season, would really dive into fair life. You guys know what fairs, I mean, the fairs are? Yeah, we love fair life, especially the fried food. Right.
And one thing that always baffled me about the fair was the showing of the animals. And so some of our friends had, like, these animals that they would raise and show. I have a couple pictures for you first. This is Addie. She's actually, I think, a senior in high school now, but those years ago, this is her with a 500 pound calf.
She is not 500 pounds. The calf is another one here, another one of our friends, Rain. She's Sam's age, so she's finished her first year in college and she is here with like a 1300 pound steer.
And what really amazed me, what baffled me was just their ability. As you go to the Fulton county fair and you'd watch these little girls or these little boys walk in leading this giant animal that at any point in time would just go.
And then the girl would get sent somewhere else. Right.
For some reason that never happened. So they would put this is like a halter and also called a lead on the animal. And it goes around their head. Because our animal vet told me that wherever the head goes, the body follows. And so this would get placed and then the kid would just gently, like, lead them wherever they needed to go for the show. And it's still.
It amazed me, right?
And asking them, like, why does this happen? How is this possible?
And what they would say, because it's about the relationship.
It's about this relationship between the two that there has been so much time. And I was texting back and forth with Rain yesterday, and she said, just the amount of time that I spent. And she looked, I look back at that so fondly, the amount of time that in the morning before school, I would spend the hours after school with the care, the brushing, the speaking, the feeding, the washing, the practice of the leading. And hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month, of building a relationship where this large animal trusted her.
And basically what we think Surrendered to. I will follow and trust where you are leading.
This morning we're finishing with the sermon on, not the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's Prayer, which is in the Sermon on the Mount and with these last two petitions where we are saying, our Father, lead us and deliver us. Now, we've talked about how our Father's name is to be prayed and holy is his name. And we want his kingdom to come and the will of God to be done in our lives and in our world. And to do this, we need daily bread. We need to rely upon God every day. And then also how, God, you need to lead us into receiving your forgiveness and also extending that forgiveness. We talked about that last week and this morning we're talking about being led. And I. I joke that, well, it's not as if we want to imagine that God puts this lead on us as if we're animals. But then someone reminded me, hey, I'm in pretty good company because Jesus called us all sheep that he wants us to. He wants to lead us.
So we're going to be Talking about these 6th and 7th requests of being led and also being delivered.
So we did this last week. We'll do it again. I invite you to stand if you're able. And we are going to say, and as we read this scripture together from Matthew 6, this is also a prayer.
So we also are praying together this morning.
So join with me.
Matthew 6, 9, 13.
This, then is how you should pray.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Amen.
Go ahead and be seated and be seated for my words this morning.
So the sixth petition, like the first half of verse 13, is to lead us.
We were saying, God, you lead us. And so if you're following along in those sermon notes, it says, as disciples, we are asking our Father to lead us.
And we're not the first ones to make this request. We're not the first ones that feel a need or a desire that we don't have all the answers that we need God's assistance in leading us. And maybe we've had paths of making bad choices, bad mistakes, and God, I'd rather get it right and just ask you to lead. Give me some help in discerning what you want us to do. So I just wanted to read through a few verses out of the book of Psalms. Psalms is like a bunch of prayers. And people of God, for generations and centuries have been praying the Psalms as like a prayer. And many of them are the same. Lead us, lead me, God. So I just want to read a few of them for us.
Psalm 5, 8 says, Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies, and make your way straight before me.
Psalm 27, verse 11.
Teach me your way, Lord. Lead me in a straight path.
Psalm 43:3. Send me your light and your faithful care. Let them lead me.
Psalm 61:2. As I call, as my heart grows faint, and lead me to the rock that is higher than I.139 24. See if there is any offensive way and lead me in the way everlasting.
And finally, Psalm 143, verse 10, Teach me to do your will.
Sounds like the Lord's Prayer. We want your will, for you are my God. May your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
Now, all of these requests, again, we are in good company of asking God, lead me leads us to the fact that this request requires a heart of humility and surrender to be willing to say, God, yeah, I want you to lead me. I trust you to lead me.
This involves a relationship, an intimate relationship with our Lord.
Say, yes, I will trust.
I trust that you know better than I do. Your ways are higher than my ways.
It requires a humility in us. It requires that word surrender as well.
It is saying that I don't know the way, but you do.
And. And for many of us that have a hard time asking for directions, or if you know someone that has a hard time asking for directions, this might be a challenge where they want to pull away a little bit.
I got it.
I don't want to follow all the steps in that manual because I probably know better than those builders. Maybe.
But it takes humility and surrender to say, God, lead, lead me.
As I was thinking about this, I was just pondering, God, what are we asking?
What are we really asking for you to lead us to? Right.
If we're asking God, lead us well into what it says and lead us not into temptation. And I would bet most of your Bibles, when you open that up and you see there's a little footnote there, and you look, scroll down to the bottom of your Bible and it has in some other places, maybe this word could be used as testing or trial.
So what is it? This temptation leading not into temptation has two meanings. And I think it's tricky as I've last couple weeks thinking about this, I've thought about it quite often because it didn't quite make sense to me, and it was leading me to be confused a little bit. So I kind of dug in a little deeper, and we'll spend a moment here.
So one, this first word as we read it and what we've already read and spoken, do not lead us into temptation. But if we think of temptation, but we also know God does not tempt.
Number one, we need to understand that God does not tempt. We can read in James 1, James, the brother of Jesus, and James, in his first chapter, uses this word multiple times and in multiple ways.
In 13 and 14 James 1, verses 13 and 14, he writes, when tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me.
For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.
But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
So it seems odd to request God lead us not into temptation because it's not in his character to lead us into temptation. He can't do it. It's impossible.
So is that a good use of this word? It's kind of confusing. If we're asking God, don't lead us into something that we know it's impossible for him to do, right.
We can use it the other way. The second way is to use as testing or trial.
And again, the same chapter, James is using the same word, but in a different fashion.
Verses 2 through 4, consider it pure joy. My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete and not lacking anything.
And if we put that in, Lord, lead us not into testing or trial. That scratches my head as well, because. Wait, not gonna lead us into temptation because God can't tempt. But then we just read that we're supposed to.
Trials are good because they help build perseverance and character and grow our faith and everything. So am I really supposed to say, God, don't lead me into a trial.
What do we do?
Thankfully, there's people a lot smarter than me.
And one commentator puts it this way, do not lead us into a testing of our faith that is beyond our endurance without your help.
So, God, lead us, but don't lead us into temptation, but don't lead us into a testing of our faith that's beyond our own endurance without your help.
So, Father, as you lead us, we know that we will be led at times in the periods of trial and testing. But God, give us strength to stand firm, to endure, to have a firm foundation. Give us strength and endurance as you lead us, as we trust in you, as you are leading us.
Give us the feet to stand.
So I then think, what if we look at a few places where God led his people? And what can we learn when God leads? And what is that like?
So I have three examples for us, three parts in Scripture for us to consider about God's leading us as we pray this together.
The first comes from Exodus chapter 13 to give you a quick run in from Exodus 13 at the beginning of Exodus. God's people are in Egypt and they've been there a long time. They've been there 400 years and they've become slaves in this place. And life is not good, it's not well. And the people are crying out and God is responding. He's going to provide for them a deliverer which also ties in later.
So God sends Moses, Moses shows up. And God through Moses then, or Moses through God, whatever is the right way. God does it. Moses is the instrument.
And there's plagues. The 10th plague is the Passover. And then that's the last one.
The lower G gods of Egypt have been judged. And Pharaoh says, that's enough, get out.
So this is where we are. The people of God get to leave. Verses 17 and 18, chapter 13. When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.
For God said if they faced war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. And the Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.
So number one, about this passage about God leading, we learned that God does not normally lead us through shortcuts.
God does not normally lead us through shortcuts.
It would have been much easier, much quicker if they would have just gone along the coast, right through the Philistine country. And my mind says that probably would have taken one to two weeks of walking to get there.
Instead, God takes them along a 40 year journey into the promised land so that they would grow in the intimacy of the relationship with the Lord and they would know what it means to be led, that they would know what it means to trust and know what it means to receive the love of God, to know what it means, how God wants them to be at the priesthood of all believers. And God had to teach and train them and grow them and mature them. And it wasn't Done in a two week journey along the coast of the Mediterranean.
It was done along in a 40 year journey in the Sinai Desert wilderness with trusting and leading.
I think we would prefer the shortcuts, right?
I would prefer shortcuts.
One of my favorite things to watch on YouTube are the hacks.
How you can do something quicker, better, faster, stronger, more powerful, right?
The shortcut way.
And God can do it that way, but we put an asterisk next to it and say that's not usual, that's not normal.
Totally within his ways and means, if that's what he wants.
But for us to understand, it's mostly done through long cuts most of the time. Our character, our integrity, our maturity and our holiness.
We need to take the long way around.
But a temptation in our world and our culture is the fast way. It's the shortcut way. It's the minimal amount of effort, the minimal amount of work, the minimal trial, the minimal pain, the minimal sweat, the minimal amount of tears.
I was a sophomore in college, having been a believer for a little over a year. And in my dorm was this girl. And I noticed her, she was also coming to our church group on campus. And I thought, okay, I'm running after Jesus. And I looked over at her and she was running after Jesus too. And I said, hey, would you like to go out? What you do?
This is before texting. He's want to go for a walk and, and ask her out on a date. And she graciously said no.
And I was like, oh, that hurt. That was a little disappointing.
But then I know what I need to do. God still is leading me, still growing me. I still had a lot of maturing, still do have a lot of maturing left to do and. But okay, I kept running after Jesus. There's the Lord. I'm running after the Lord.
After another year, after another year. About two and a half years later, I look over and I still see her. And she's running after the Lord, running after Jesus. And I'm still running after Jesus.
And I said, there she is again.
Hey, would you like to run with Jesus together?
And she said, yes.
And next month or in month and a half, we'll be celebrating 24 years of running after Jesus together.
So I don't share that, to applaud. Maybe you're applauding her for keeping with me.
I love my wife Sarah, and I think she's fantastic. Fantastic.
And rabbit trail, squirrel, go. Okay, I'll share this.
This week, one of the fall classes we're going to do is an art of marriage course. A six week. And Sarah and I and probably another couple are going to help lead this. And I was telling Bethany, our adult ministry admin, hey, we're doing this class. And she's like, well, who's leading? I said, well, I am. And I said, well. She goes, oh, okay, that sounds nice.
And I said, actually, I'm going to go ask Sarah if she'll do this with me. I put Sarah's name on it. And she's like, well, I want to do it.
So I said, I put my wife's name on this and it's going to increase the attendance by like 75% because she's fantastic.
Definitely the better half.
[00:46:39] Speaker B: Half.
[00:46:42] Speaker A: Anyway, back on course. Okay.
What, what I learned in reflection back at that, you know, seemingly long cut, right? A couple extra years, right? There's been much longer cuts. It's not 40 years in the wilderness.
I realized that if she would have said yes initially, I wasn't ready.
I wasn't ready to be in a relationship. I wasn't mature enough.
Barely. I was mature enough then.
It takes time for God to do the work on us, to mature us, to ready us. It takes time to build our character, our integrity of who we are.
But we live in a culture where there's a lot of instant we want it now.
And we are training our brains, we're training our hands, we're training our feet to receive something as fast as we can.
And that's not really the way of God.
And so we can see a problem on the horizon or even what we're experiencing now, if we are used to.
I have a question. I need an answer.
Hey, Siri.
Hey. Google or Alexa, Right, Got it.
Or if we need something, we don't even go to a store and we get it delivered that day.
We're used to an instant culture. And if we think God wants us to sit and wait and listen for five minutes, that's like way too long.
We gotta be careful of, like, how are we training ourselves to be followers and disciples of Jesus? Do we want a fast spirituality? Do we want to fast faith? Or are we willing to say, okay, Jesus, I want to take a long walk with you in this intimacy that we have together.
When God asks us to take the long road, don't start pulling away.
One of my favorite authors and late pastor was a gentleman by the name of Eugene Peterson, who wrote like the message version of the Bible. Many of you might read or know that, but in some of his writings he coined this phrase about Discipleship that early on in those years when I was waiting, he said, discipleship is a long obedience in the same direction God leads us, not through shortcuts, but through a long obedience.
So do you have the patience to wait for his leading, to hear his voice, to listen?
Or do you want to take the lead out of his hand?
Second story Matthew chapter four.
This is the time. Matthew chapter three. Jesus, his earthly ministry is beginning.
And he goes and he gets baptized. And when he gets baptized, there is God the Father that speaks to him out of the sky. He is God the Son present in the river. Then God the Holy Spirit descends on him. And then, so we have the Trinity, this doctrine that we all believe of God is three, God is one.
And then this two members of the Trinity head out into the wilderness.
So Matthew 4, verse 1 says, Then Jesus was led, God the Son was led by the Spirit, God of the Holy Spirit, into the wilderness to be tempted. And in your Bibles there's probably like an, like a footnote again. Is this tempted or is it tested by the devil?
So we see this word again, but he's going out into the wilderness. The Holy Spirit is leading him out into the wilderness. So I have a picture of wilderness, the Judean wilderness, where this was. He's been led out to. This looks like a great place where you'd like to be led by God, right?
There's just a little bit of green, just like that prayer. Give us today our daily bread in the wilderness. There's just enough, just enough bread, just enough water. I got another image right here of this as well. There's just enough shade.
And this is where the Holy Spirit leads Jesus.
And so as we are trusting God to lead us into a trial, into a place of testing, we know that where Jesus has been, he can relate. He can know what we're going through.
We know what he went through on the cross.
Nothing that we are going through surprises him or is hidden from his eye.
And he wants to lead us and walk with us through it.
So the two pieces out of this Jesus being led, we see that God leads us into times of testing. So don't be surprised.
And secondly, that there is purpose in the testing.
God leads us into times of testing and that there is purpose Testing.
Okay, how many of you have a driver's license?
How many of you had to take a test to get a driver's license?
How many of you are grateful that there is a test to drive?
Although some of you might argue that other people might not have taken the test?
Or passed the test.
But testing has. Testing has a purpose.
It's not just testing for testing's sake. It's to see do you have the skills to be safe and on the road. And that driver's test, testing, it's to check the merit of your training.
Are you ready? Are you there? And so occasionally, God leads us, says, into a time of testing, and we are to look upon this with joy.
Back to James again.
Because in that testing, there is perseverance and work and faithfulness all being done and developed and we see how it's going.
There have been times in my life where I've gone through times of testing and man, I did not do well.
The fruit of the spirit which I had hoped was being developed in me, ah, that didn't show up.
So testing reveals what is there.
It shows what you have been working on in between the tests. And so next time when you show up to that same type of test and all of a sudden, oh, I responded differently, Someone else noticed a change in me, a different fruit.
Thank you for the testing, Lord. Thank you for growing me. Thank you for maturing me.
Many of us are in places, in work and in schools and in communities where you are tested about with your faith, right and your character and what is right and what is wrong. God, show us those right paths.
Right after I got out of school, my college was mechanical engineering. And out of mechanical engineering, I got this job at a plant where we made water softeners. So if you like soft water at home and not the stuff that smells like eggs, then if you had that, then you got one of these softener systems in your home. And there were these big black tanks that were filled with resin and the water ran through it and made it nice, made it soft and took out the hard chemicals or hard minerals and stuff out of it. And so my job was to once a week take one of these big tanks and I'd lug it over into this testing room and they made sure I was safe.
They put some cinder blocks and then a quarter inch piece of plexiglass right in front of me. And I hooked this thing up and I to test it. Because we marketed it, it held 300 psi, which meant we had the engineering and design it to hold 450psi because you have to overdo it.
And so I would sit there and I would start cranking up the pressure on this thing and it would build and build and build.
350, 400. Once I got to 400, I knew it was going to explode. At any point in time. And it's like that jack in the box thing where you're waiting for this to pop up and scare you. So every time, I never always. I always jumped, and 4, 25, 4, boom. And it would blow up, and I'd, you know, jump. And everyone heard it in the plant. And so I would do this, you know, every week, make sure what we're producing still passed the test.
One time, we were redesigning this to try and improve the process. And I was kind of responsible for this. And so I. This new design, this new way of bringing out a test set. I had to do this three, four times a day because as they tested, they kept blowing up. Earlier. They weren't even making it to 300.
This is a problem.
And after, like, weeks and weeks of this, and the owner, I'm losing money here on this and feeling a lot of pressure and everything, he calls me into his office and he says, why isn't it working? I'm like, well, all the models, everything, it should be working. We keep trying to tweak things and make it work. It's not working yet. And he goes, well, our box says it's 300 psi, so they're gonna pass. I said, yes, we'll keep working. He goes, no, you don't understand me.
They do pass, don't they?
That holds 450, right?
This is a test.
I said, I'm sorry, sir.
I'm gonna keep working on it, but I'm not gonna say that they do.
I think many of you are probably in places where you're asked and you're tested on your character, on your integrity.
Maybe you're a guy and a girl in a relationship, and one is pushing the other.
You're being tested.
Maybe you're in a community, and that community is pushing you to not follow the right paths of the Lord.
And you're being tested.
How are you pushed? How will you respond to this testing?
What is going to be revealed?
Thankfully, we have God's grace, we have God's forgiveness, and we also have his continued leading in our lives.
This third piece of Scripture, this third illustration of being led by God, comes From Galatians, Chapter 5. We studied Galatians back earlier in the winter.
Paul's writing to the church In Galatians, verses 16 through 18.
It speaks of being led by the same Spirit that was leading Jesus.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit.
And the Spirit was contrary to the flesh.
They are in conflict with each other. So that you are not to do whatever you want, but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. So we have this image again here that not only were the Israelites led by God, not only was Jesus led by the Spirit, but we too each day are being led by the Lord, by the Spirit.
For those of us that are Christ followers, the living, breathing Spirit of God inside of us is leading us.
And as the Spirit of God is leading us, we understand this brings us into conflict with flesh at times.
God's leading brings conflict because God's leading brings holiness.
God's leading in our lives brings conflict because God's leading brings holiness.
God is bringing us back into the image as we are made in the image of God.
And because of sin in this world, we have been twisted in some way, shape or form. And so that rubs against how God is going to, is reforming, transforming us.
You can read the Rest of Galatians 5 of all these ways that we feel and sense this tension, this conflict within us with the purpose of being led by God into His holiness.
And we know that he is faithful to complete that work.
But do you feel that tension?
Because I will say, and as I hold this up, God gives us a choice.
Our Father gives us a choice. Jesus gives us a choice. We don't have to take his lead.
We don't have to follow.
At one of his high points in his ministry In John chapter 6, Jesus feeds the 5,000 or the whole crowd, probably 15,000 people.
All these people are there. Jesus is so awesome.
And then he goes and he walks on water.
And then he starts talking about how he is the bread of life and who wants to continue to follow Him. But his teaching gets harder and harder and harder because there is conflict. But to be holy, to say yes to the holy work of God in us, takes his lead. And not everyone wanted to do that. And so people start to walk away.
And finally Jesus asks Peter, what about you, Peter? Are you going to leave as well?
And Peter responds, says, where else would I go?
For you have the words of eternal life.
So Lord, we ask that you would lead us.
And why do we trust our Father to lead us? Because the next verse in Matthew 6, he's the only one that can deliver.
We try to get others to deliver for us, but God's the only one that can deliver.
That seventh petition. Deliver us. Deliver us from the evil one.
The whole idea, God's leading us and he's delivering us as we follow so a few points here.
[01:02:46] Speaker B: A.
[01:02:46] Speaker A: We live in a world that is physical and spiritual at the same time.
We live in a world that has this physical reality and also a spiritual reality.
And are our eyes open to it? I think of 2 Kings 6 with Elisha and his servant. When God opens his eyes and he sees the holy army of God, angels and chariots of fire.
And we get a glimpse from Ephesians 6 where Paul writes, you know, finally, be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the ruler's authorities, evil powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. So that we live in a world that is both physical and also spiritual, something that we can see with our eyes and some that we cannot.
And so we pray God lead us and deliver us from this evil one, the one that works in this realm that we often don't see or perceive, which leads the letter B. We live in a world with an evil one that is formidable.
Satan, the devil, the tempter, the father of lies, is formidable.
First Peter 58 Peter, who's had these firsthand experiences, says, be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
This is the enemy who does.
He does want to lead us into temptation.
He does want us to not take up God's lead. He will try and fill us with lies and doubt, to drop the lead he will want to take, have us convinced that the shortcut is the best way when we can cut corners, our character, our integrity, it's not that important.
And he is prowling around looking for us to devour.
Deliver us from the evil one.
See, we live in a world with a father who is unrivaled.
The devil might be formidable, but it's really no battle.
I love. There's an old hymn that says, and one simple word shall fell him.
We know who the victor is.
It's the one who holds the stars and knows and calls everyone by name. The one that considers all the nations of the earth as a drop in a bucket.
It is God, our Father, the maker of heaven and earth, and he is unrivaled. Christ, our Savior who is supreme.
We live in a world with a Father who is unrivaled and undefeated.
D We live with a church so that we don't walk alone.
All of this, the whole Lord's prayer is done in plurality. Our Father, lead us, forgive us, give us, deliver us. We are not alone. And one of the lies is that you are alone and that no one cares about you. No one loves you.
That's not true. We have brothers and sisters in Christ. That's why being a part of a church body is so valuable and so important.
We are not alone.
You've got a whole army of believers to your right and to your left. And we are following the lead of our Father each and every day, trying to bring him glory.
Lastly, e We live in a world looking forward to eternity.
We live in a world that now there is a time and a place that God leads us.
And these journeys that we are in are hard and they are long and they are challenging and they are painful and difficult.
And we do have conflict.
And it's not easy to choose for God's holiness.
[01:07:24] Speaker B: And.
[01:07:27] Speaker A: We know there's a forever.
We know there is an eternity that we ultimately will be in God's loving arms forever. And this is this picture that Jesus gives in John 14 that he is preparing a place for us. He says, do not let your hearts be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. My Father's house has many rooms, and if it were not so, would I have told you that I'm going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am.
And so we follow the lead of God.
We humbly submit and surrender to his lead.
This lead that sometimes will lead us through long cuts.
A lead that will lead us to places of trial and testing.
A place where God will deliver us out of his goodness and out of his strength and out of his might and out of his love.
And he will give us endurance for the journey because we aren't alone. He is with us.
Just like those steers and those calves were with those girls and trusted them in the ring. When you go out into the ring of life, trust the Father to lead you.
There's three reflection questions here that are in the conclusion of the sermon notes, and I invite you to ponder upon them or something else that the Holy Spirit's been poking you with this morning.
But how are you allowing God to lead your life?
Is there something that you've been holding onto and you've been resisting or rejecting God lead?
How is your heart and attitude?
Do you still need to surrender the last one? How do you seek God to lead you alongside Others, do you trust in the body of Christ to walk along with you?
Do you trust him in your journey?
For you don't have to walk alone.
We're gonna pray and then we're gonna have a final song.
The song is called I Want Jesus. And I think the prayer act of that is God, I, Jesus, I want you to lead.
I want you to lead me. And that's the invitation.
So if you would. Let's. We're going to pray and close our time together.
And I'll pray for us.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us, Father, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us.
Deliver us from the evil one.
And Father, when we want to praise and worship the name of another, lead us.
When we desire our own kingdoms and our own wills.
Lead us, Father, when we need to forget and receive your forgiveness.
Lead us.
When we are in times of testing, in times of trial, lead us. We pray when we have seasons and moments of doubt and temptation, deliver us.
Lead us.
And Father, when we wake up each morning, before each interaction, before each conversation, before each moment, as we read your word, as we spend time with you, as we spend time with others, God, may we surrender and you lead us.
We pray this in your good and perfect and holy name, Jesus.
Amen.
[01:12:34] Speaker B: O, I want Jesus.
Oh, I want him.
Oh, only Jesus, take this world and give me.
O, I want Jesus.
[01:13:08] Speaker A: O.
[01:13:11] Speaker B: I want him.
O.
[01:13:19] Speaker A: Jesus.
[01:13:22] Speaker B: Take this world and give me no more mixture.
Give me the God of scripture.
No more idols or lesser loves.
[01:13:42] Speaker A: No substitute.
[01:13:46] Speaker B: Will ever do.
There's nothing more I'll ever pursue.
O, I want Jesus.
Oh, I want him.
Holy Jesus, take this world and give me.
I surrender until my heart grows tender.
Here be my treasure, my greatest call.
[01:14:37] Speaker A: No substitute.
[01:14:41] Speaker B: Will ever do.
There's nothing more I'll ever pursue.
O, I want Jesus, Give me Jesus.
Oh, I want you.
Oh, Jesus, take this world and give me.
Sing that again. Sing it out.
I want Jesus.
Only Jesus will satisfy.
He satisfy my soul.
Take this world and give me.
Oh, take this world and give me.
You are enough.
You are enough.
Isn't he enough?
Isn't he enough?
Jesus is everything, all that I'll ever need.
Isn't he enough?
Isn't he enough?
Jesus, my king of kings, you satisfy me.
Isn't he enough?
Isn't he enough?
Jesus is everything.
All that I'll ever need Isn't he enough?
Isn't enough?
Jesus, my King of kings, you satisfy me oh, I want Jesus, I give only Jesus, only Jesus Take this world against me.
Raise your voice.
[01:18:20] Speaker A: Let's sing that chorus again.
[01:18:21] Speaker B: Sing it out.
[01:18:22] Speaker A: I want Jesus.
[01:18:36] Speaker B: Only Jesus.
[01:18:46] Speaker A: So take.
[01:18:46] Speaker B: This world and give me.
[01:18:53] Speaker A: Take this.
[01:18:54] Speaker B: World, World and give me.
[01:19:00] Speaker A: Take this.
[01:19:01] Speaker B: World and give me.
[01:19:07] Speaker A: Amen.
[01:19:08] Speaker B: Give God praise. Amen.
[01:19:10] Speaker A: Amen.
Not sure where Holy Spirit's leading each of you this morning.
I do want to ask if at one point in your life you have said yes to Jesus and you have taken the lead, but something recently has you pulling away.
Maybe the invitation for you this morning is to surrender and come back to say yes.
Maybe others of you here have you just wondering what this is all about. And you've never said yes to the Lord, to him being your savior or to be your lead.
And this morning you might want to do that if either of those are your situations. This morning we have the McKinney's up here on one side and the Heisingers up here. And I would invite you to respond.
Come forward, have them pray with you, have them pray for you.
Whatever next step, if you have something else going on in your life that you want to receive prayer for, please take the opportunity to have others come alongside and pray with you and pray for, for you.
So as you go out this week, let the Father lead.
And we do this through the love of the Father, through the grace of the Son, through the power of the Spirit, go in his peace. Amen.
[01:21:03] Speaker B: Sam.
