Wee all know what it's like when a plan falls apart, a leader you look up to leaves, or life just gets incredibly messy and confusing. In this message, Pastor Barbie gets incredibly real about those exact moments. She breaks down the myth that everything in our lives needs to be steady and perfect before we can experience God’s joy or feel Him near.

Instead of giving us easy answers, she shares her own honest struggles to remind us of something vital: God is never caught off guard, and His goodness goes so much deeper than whatever we are going through.

Pastor Barbie challenges us to stop trying so hard to control every outcome. Instead, she invites us to let our worship be about who God is, not about how we happen to feel today. She reminds us that even when we can’t feel God, He is still there. We can still worship because true peace comes from trusting His nature, not from our mess.

Whether you’ve been following Jesus for decades or you’re brand new to walking following Jesus, your next step isn’t about pretending you have it all together. It’s just about worshiping, trusting, and obeying. God is already here,

He is worthy, and He’s already welcoming you in.

Scriptures Referenced

Deuteronomy 10; Job 1:21; Psalm 50:9-12, 100:3; 103:1-22, 139:16, 145:1-21; Daniel 3:24-25; Hebrews 13:5; 1 Timothy 1:17; Revelation 22:5

Key Insights

• God’s Presence is not a feeling. It’s a promise.
• God is never surprised, confounded, caught off guard, or taken aback by our circumstances.
• The faithfulness of God is not subject to the fluctuations of our circumstances.
• Sometimes our deliverance looks like companionship. We want out of our mess, but He wants to walk into the middle of it.
• True worship remains anchored in WHO God is, not how we feel.

Key Sections

00:00:00 - God’s Character, Our Anchor

God is unfathomably great and faithful. When we don’t understand our circumstances, God’s character and goodness remain the anchor for our souls.

00:04:20 - Embracing God’s Field and Calling

God's assignment for us can look completely different than we expect, but our peace is found in trusting His bigger story and participating in His field as stewards, not owners.

00:08:02 - Returning to Simple Obedience

In seasons of confusion or emotional upheaval, God invites us back to the basics: seek, trust, and obey. Our security comes not from leaders or plans, but from relentless focus on God through every storm.

00:12:15 - Choosing Worship

Worship anchored to blessings or feelings is fragile, but worship rooted in trust becomes our life raft. Our perspetive or worthiness isn't the issue. God's is.

00:16:31 - Security in God’s Ownership

The church, our calling, and even hardship belong first to God, whose ownership banishes fear and striving since He never leaves or forsakes His people.

00:18:00 - With Us in the Fire

Sometimes deliverance looks like compansionship instead of escape. God’s presence in the fire is promised and reliable, even when we can’t perceive it, and faith means worshipping Him despite the lack of visible miracles.

https://springhouse.captivate.fm/episode/still-present-still-worthy

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Gathering Times

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• Sundays, 11:00 AM
• Thursdays, 6:00 PM

Contact Info

Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167

615-459-3421

CCLI License 2070006

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I was telling them in first gathering, in first service,

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I could just sit and listen to Michael and just

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go exactly where you need to go in your spirit to worship because

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of what he carries. So I'm just going to ask you to play

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for just a second while I share that with him.

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I will exalt you, my God, the King.

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I will praise your name forever and ever. Every

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day I will praise you and extol

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your name. Great is the Lord and most worthy of

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praise. His greatness. No one can fathom. One

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generation will commend your works to another. They will tell

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of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious

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splendor of your majesty. And I

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will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell

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of the power of your awesome. And I will proclaim

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your great deeds. They will celebrate your

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abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

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The Lord is gracious and compassionate,

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slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all.

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He has compassion on all he has made.

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All you have made will

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praise you, O Lord. Your saints will extol you. They will tell of

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the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might

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so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the

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glorious splendor of your kingdom.

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Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and your

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dominion endures through all generations.

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His kingdom. His kingdom. The Lord is

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faithful to all his promises and loving toward all

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he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall

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and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of

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all look to you and you give them their food

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at the proper time. You open your hand

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and satisfy the desires of every living creature.

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The Lord is righteous in all his ways

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and loving toward all that he has made.

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The Lord is near to all who call on

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him. To all who call on Him. In truth, he fulfills the

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desires of those who fear him. He hears their cries and

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saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him.

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And all the wicked he will destroy. But my mouth.

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My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.

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Let every creature praise his holy name

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forever and ever and ever and

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ever and ever. And that is why we are

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here this morning. We have come to worship

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a holy God. That's why I'm here.

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Thank you, Michael. Father. God, I thank you so much.

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You know how to recenter us. You know how

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to bring us back to what is important. You etched it through the

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pages of eternity, Lord. And you released it to us.

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This is about you, Father. May it always be

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about you. We love you, God. And

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we Will sing of your great love and your greatness and your

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goodness and the way that you open your hands. We will speak

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of your kingdom, God, because it all belongs to

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to you. Thank you Lord for letting us be in your field for a

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while. We will bless you and give you all of the glory. Let my stuff

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fall and your stand in Jesus name. And

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the people said, amen. God

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is so faithful. God is so

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faithful. You know, I don't think any of us plan to

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be here like this. The last two weeks have been very

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interesting and

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I've had my own struggles, I'll be honest. But this is

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what I know. This is what I know. God is

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good. God is good and he is faithful.

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They just said he opens his hand and satisfies the

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desires of every living creature. God is good. And

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nothing changes that. Nothing changes that. Ro and

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Kai, our five year old grandson, walked into the.

Speaker: 00:04:38

Hal and I were sitting on the porch and Rowan walks in. He and

Speaker: 00:04:41

Nora are playing in the grass and Hal and I are talking

Speaker: 00:04:45

and Rowan walks up on the step up on the porch and he goes,

Speaker: 00:04:49

hey, good news. The bees

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have pollinated your front yard.

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And he said, that's always a good thing. Listen,

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good news is anything that comes through his hand. Amen.

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Anything that comes through his hand is good news. So good

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news, the bees are pollinating your front yard right now as

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you speak. Because you know what? The work of God continues.

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It's his kingdom, it's his field. And I'm so

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grateful for that. Do you know how much pressure that takes off?

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You have no idea.

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You know, when I took this job about

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25 years ago, however long, and

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God, yours is kind of like dogs. I think I've been here two centuries.

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But anyway, I knew

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what the Lord had assigned me to do. Hal and I both felt that the

Speaker: 00:05:48

Lord had called us to hold up Pastor Ronnie's arms and support

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him as he carried out the ministry that the Lord had given him. And

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I was 110% certain that I

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was going to leave when past Ronnie retired. And I told

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Pastor Ronnie that for the last 10 years that I served with him.

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And when Pastor Kevin came into this position,

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I actually started to pray

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and felt like the Lord told me to stay.

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And Hal felt that too, that we were to stay and we were to support

Speaker: 00:06:23

Pastor Kevin. And I went to Pastor Ronnie and I said, pastor

Speaker: 00:06:27

Ronnie, I've lied to you the last 10 years. And

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because I told you I was go when you left. And

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that was my heart's desire in all honesty, And I said, but

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I believe the Lord's told me to stay. And he went. I

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knew that. He said, the first

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time you told me you were leaving, I knew you hadn't prayed about it.

Speaker: 00:06:53

Oh, that gift of discernment can come back to bite you from time to time.

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And. And, you know, so it didn't end with Pastor Ronnie the way

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that I expected. And when I began to serve with Pastor

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Kevin, I thought I knew how that would end. And this was not it,

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because I'm 61 years old, and

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I know. I just made the

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assumption. Boy, you get in trouble when you assume anything with God, isn't it? Except

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for his goodness. And so my assumption and, you know, to share with Kevin,

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you know, my heart's desire is to pour

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into this house. As long as you have me, pour into this house. And then

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when it's time for me to go, my prayer would be that the Lord would

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raise up somebody behind me to serve and lift your hands and all of

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those things. But see, that was my plan.

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And at some point, God has to giggle, you know,

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don't you think? God has to go, I so trust him, guys.

Speaker: 00:07:50

I just trust him. I just trust him. And it

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didn't seem like I trusted him as I was weeping and wailing in my car

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driving home the other night. And the Lord just began to minister

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to me. God is still present,

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and he is still worthy. God is present,

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and he is worthy. He hasn't changed his mind.

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And I said, lord, what do I do? God,

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what do I do there? I've got about 100 voices coming at me

Speaker: 00:08:20

right now, things I should do or shouldn't do or should be or, this is

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a good idea. And why did you ever do that? And I'm like, lord, what

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do I do here? And he took me back. See, the Lord taught me to

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dig wells a long time ago in the Spirit. And

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so he took me back to my first well. And my first well that he

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taught me to cultivate in my life was this. Seek

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the Lord, trust the Lord, obey the Lord,

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seek the Lord, trust the Lord, obey the

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Lord. And I wasn't in any of those categories. In my car that day,

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I was in Lamentations. And

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he said, pick another book.

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Seek the Lord, trust the Lord,

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obey the. Is that not the most simple thing you've ever heard?

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It's easy to read, it's hard to do, but it is

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the truth. And that's the first well he allowed

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me, even as a child, to learn. Okay, Lord, if I will seek you

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If I will find you in your truth and dig

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myself into that place in you, I will come to a

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place that I can trust you. No matter what. No matter what.

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And when I can trust you, Lord, I can be set free to

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obey you. And see, that's my heart for this body,

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always has been. That we would seek him,

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that we would trust him, and that we would obey him. Because

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it's about Him. It's not about who's standing on the

Speaker: 00:09:54

platform. It's not about me. It was never about Pastor Ronnie, and it wasn't

Speaker: 00:09:58

about Pastor Kevin. It's not about the elders. It's not about any of it.

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It's about him. It is about him. And you know

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what gave me great comfort? I'm like, lord, this was an un. You did not

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tell me this was coming. All the days

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ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Speaker: 00:10:16

Even the unexpected ones. All of the days ordained for

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you were written in his book

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before they happened. Here's the thing. God is never surprised,

Speaker: 00:10:29

confounded, caught off guard, or taken aback by our circumstances.

Speaker: 00:10:33

I do not see anywhere in the Word, or would it be consistent

Speaker: 00:10:37

with the Lord's character for him to go? Man, I did not see that coming.

Speaker: 00:10:42

Uh, we might not have seen it, but not only

Speaker: 00:10:46

did he see it, he prepared us for it. Do

Speaker: 00:10:50

you know how many amazing pastors you have in this house?

Speaker: 00:10:54

Let's see. Pastor Will. I'm so scared to do this because I'll miss

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somebody, and there'll be somebody new standing up here

Speaker: 00:11:01

next week.

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Seriously, man, there's, like, nine of us. You are

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surrounded. If God didn't have you surrounded. Well, if God didn't have you surrounded,

Speaker: 00:11:16

there would be no need for the nine. He's got you.

Speaker: 00:11:20

Pastor Will. Pastor Jonathan, Pastor Allen, Pastor

Speaker: 00:11:23

Justin, Pastor Carol, Pastor Doug,

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Pastor Robert. I mean, all of them. If I missed

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you, please just stand up and shout. Do it now in front of everybody. Go

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ahead,

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Pastor kurt.

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Oh, Lord, help us.

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I appreciate your boldness, my brother. I

Speaker: 00:12:00

love that, though all the days ordained for us were written in his

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book. And so, as I decided to start moving out of

Speaker: 00:12:07

Lamentations, I was like, lord, what do I do?

Speaker: 00:12:11

God, what do I do? Because I don't have answers on all of this. The

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Lord has given me great vision for about three weeks going

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forward, and then I'm trusting him for the next one. Okay, but he's good. But

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you know what he said about this? This next, like, two to three weeks

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is this worship anyway.

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Worship Anyway, when he gave that to me in the car,

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my first thought was, I gotta get a T shirt.

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Did you know that this is a thing? Did y' all know this? I went

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to look for a T shirt. And it's a whole webpage. I can buy a

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30 by 60 flag if I want to

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that says worship anyway. And that is my heart,

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guys. It should never be about a human. It's about

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him. And he is worthy. He is

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worthy for us to anchor ourselves in worship and get to

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the other side of this, whatever that looks like. Worship

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anyway. And you know what else? And guys, I'm just taking you down this path

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and trying to be as transparent as I know to be. Cause that's all I've

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ever known to do with you all. And. And I just want

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to be honest. And so as I was, you know, struggling my way through it,

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Lord, you know. Cause what are you going to do about this? How are you

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going to fix this? What are you going to do about this? And you know

Speaker: 00:13:28

what he said? I love when the Holy Spirit speaks. So

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shepherds do not own the field. They merely tended under the direction

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of the owner.

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We don't own it. I'm basically working a 7 11.

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And if you've got problems, I'm going to refer

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you to the owner.

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I'm like, you're gonna need to see the owner about that.

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I have such peace in that, because I know the owner,

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and he is good, he is faithful,

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and he has never, ever, one time in 61 years

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let me down. Not one time. And I don't expect him to.

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That's just who he is. He's that good. And not only is he good,

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he knows how to humble you, too. If the field's. If this was not

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enough, I said, lord, you know, what if I need to do

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this? Or, lord, what if I need to do that? Oh, my gosh,

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guys, the word cracks me up in the way

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that it just pierces straight to the heart. And I said, lord, you know,

Speaker: 00:14:35

what do you need of me? And here's his answer. I have no

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need of a bull from your stall or goats

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from your pens. For every animal of the forest is mine. And the

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cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains.

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And everything that moves in the field is mine. For the world is mine and

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everything in it. I am going to use that so

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often. I have no need

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of a cow from your stalls.

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We don't have anything to offer him that he

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doesn't already have. But he gives us the Privilege of

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bringing our worship, of participating in what he is

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doing in the earth. That's what I want. I want a

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sovereign God who needs nothing from me, but

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allows me to be able to work in his field. Allows me

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to walk with his sheep in the pasture. And if that isn't enough,

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know that the Lord himself is God. It is

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he who has made us, and not we ourselves. We are his

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people and the sheep of whose pasture

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His. It's all His. It's all his that

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should bring us great peace. Actually, I was real peaceful about

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that until Pastor Jonathan shared last week that sheep are flammable.

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And I'm having to ponder that one a little bit. But you know what?

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We are. And I've seen a few fires in the last two weeks.

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Cause sheep are flammable, but the

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owner of the field isn't. He is fire.

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He is. He is sovereign and he is good. So

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here, say this with me. His field,

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his sheep. Isn't that peace inducing?

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His field, his sheep. And let me tell you

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something. He is not an absentee owner. He just

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isn't. He isn't an absentee owner. His word

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tells me this. I will never leave you

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or forsake you. He will never leave us

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or forsake us. Elvis has not left the building.

Speaker: 00:16:50

I mean, seriously, we sometimes. It's

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just one of the things the Lord told me many years ago

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was if it ever becomes about you, I will remove you.

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And I pray that he does. I pray that

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anybody, if it ever becomes about anybody or

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anything other than him, that the Lord would just

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watch over his church, cover his church,

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minister to his church, regardless. Because it

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can never be about anything but that. Now I had a couple people

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going. I'm really struggling to, you know, sense God's

Speaker: 00:17:27

presence. Doesn't matter if you sense his presence.

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Presence is not about a feeling. It is a promise. I will

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never leave you or forsake you. And he took me to the best passage of

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scripture. After the last one, are you looking forward to the next one?

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The sheep and pins and bulls and things. I love that. The

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Lord took me to this passage and I know it's familiar. The King Nebuchadnezzar

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leapt to his feet. Did we not cast three men bound into the

Speaker: 00:17:54

midst of the fire? I see four men loose

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walking in the midst of the fire and they are not hurt. And the form

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of the fourth is like the Son of God. We have read that passage. We

Speaker: 00:18:05

know that story. Ch. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they were told that

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they would bow to the king, and they refused to bow to

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the king. And so the king had the furnace heated up

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just all so powerfully that even the men that were

Speaker: 00:18:20

taking them up there were killed. You know, died because of the heat

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of the flames. And so they throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

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into that fire. And this is what happens after a

Speaker: 00:18:32

period of time. King Nebuchadnezzar, he looks in and he

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sees four men walking in that

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fire. They are loose and walking in the midst of it.

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And for some reason, it just struck

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me, nowhere in scripture,

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nowhere does it tell us that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

Speaker: 00:18:55

saw him. Nowhere does it. They.

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I'm making some suppositions here, but like if you were thrown in a fire and

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there was a fourth man in there who loosed you and looked like the Son

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of God, don't you think that might be the first thing you said when you

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came out? Did any of you see what I saw?

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Now, they might have, but that wasn't what they came out with. Or it wasn't

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important enough for God to have it put in the Word. Because sometimes you're

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not gonna see him. Sometimes you still gotta carry the

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testimony of God's goodness and his faithfulness. When you don't

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even know he's been walking through it with you,

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it doesn't say, I would have told somebody, did you see

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him? Did you see him? But God doesn't give

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that portion to us. Because sometimes we're called to walk by

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faith. Because God's presence is not determined by our

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awareness of him, but by his promise to never leave

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us. It's his

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promise. It all goes back to him.

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Whether you feel him, whether you see him, whether you're sensing

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his presence or not, he is here and he is

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with you, and he will not leave you. Whether you are at

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Springhouse or Lifepoint or wherever it is that

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God has for you, your assignment is to seek the Lord,

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to trust the Lord and obey the Lord. That's all.

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I believe that would be all that any pastor would ask of you.

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Seek the Lord, trust Him and obey Him. That's what we do.

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His presence is not a feeling, it is a promise.

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And here's something that I think if we can

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grab hold of, it is super important. Because sometimes

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we so expect the woo hoo moments and, you know,

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deliverance from fire moments. But you know what one of the greatest gifts in the

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fire was? Sometimes our deliverance looks like

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companionship. We want out of our mess, but he wants to

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walk into the middle of it. God deliver me.

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This is not what I wanted to do, Lord. This is not where I wanted

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to be. This is not my decision. Aren't you so glad it wasn't?

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Aren't you so glad it wasn't? We went out and he could have

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just delivered the guys out of the fire, but he walked in it with

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them. He walked in it with them. And I'm so grateful that

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we have a God who does that. A famous

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philosopher once said, Barbara Jean Price, my

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mother. God ain't scared.

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God ain't scared of this. He knew it

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was coming before we did. He planted our

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feet deep in faithful soil.

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And he is sovereign and he is good, and God ain't scared

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when life shifts and God's presence remains. The

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faithfulness of God is not subject to the fluctuations of our

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circumstances. It just doesn't. And this is going to. I mean,

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I know this is going a little bit quick. I'm just trying to share with

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you what he shared with me. Okay? Though the

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clouds obscure the view, the sun is still right where it

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is supposed to be. He hasn't changed.

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Now let me give you the paraphrase of yet another

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philosopher, my papaw. It don't matter

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what the clouds are doing. The sun's still exactly where it's supposed to be.

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It doesn't matter what's going on around us. It does

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not matter how distracted we are and how many things that the

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enemy would love to get our eyes on instead of what's important.

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The sun's still exactly where he's supposed to be.

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God is still sovereign and he hadn't changed.

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And you know what one of the things about clouds is? They change from day

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to day. The sun remains stable. And

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he is still worthy. He is still worthy

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of worship. He's worthy of praise. And my heart's

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desire would be that when we come together, that would be the focus.

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To worship him, to exalt him, proclaim

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him, to magnify his name, and then to go out and do

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it outside the doors, tell people about the goodness of

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the Lord and what he's done.

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This is the God we serve. For the Lord, your God is the

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God of Gods and the Lord of Lords, the great God, mighty

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and awesome, who shows no partiality. He defends the cause of

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the fatherless and the widow. He is he. He

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is your praise. He is your God. Now

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to the King, Eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God.

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The only God. Be honor and glory forever

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and ever. Amen. Then I Heard

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every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the

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sea and all that is in them, saying to him who

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sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be praise and

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honor and glory and. And power forever

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and ever and ever. We don't worship because our lives

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are consistent, but because our God is.

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If we're waiting for our lives to have no change, there to be

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nothing that's inconsistent in our lives. We gonna be waiting a while. That

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sounds like another philosopher. I know we're gonna be waiting

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a while. We do not worship because our lives are consistent, but because God

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is. And he is worthy. And you

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know what else he reminded me of? We're just going down this path. Worship that

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depends on blessing is worship that has not yet dropped its anchor into

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trust. If you can only worship

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when things are good, then there's an issue. Do you know

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how much in the last two weeks I have drugged the anchor behind

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me? But we're not designed for that weight.

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Drop that anchor into a place of trust. That

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says the God that I just read to you about. That's the God

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we're going after. That is the God who is worthy of worship and

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praise. That is why we are here. Worship

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anchored. Worship says the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

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Blessed be the name of the Lord. That's not about Kevin,

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that's not about me. That's not about Ronnie, and it's not about

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you. Whatever comes into your life is a blessing of the lor,

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whether you have it or you don't have it. Blessed be the

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name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

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That is the call in my heart. That is what the Lord

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has worship just planted in me because that was the

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first place I met him as a child. That was the

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second well, the second well he allowed me to dig in my

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life was to learn to worship him in spite of what was going

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on in the world. To go. God, you are good. I don't understand any of.

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I don't even like any of this. But God, I love you and I know

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you are good and know that you're going to work this out. I know that

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you are going to give us beauty for ashes. I know, God, that you are

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sovereign and you are faithful and this is your field.

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May I hear your voice so that I can work it well.

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And that's not just for me, guys. That's you. We're all in this field.

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We are all in this field. Worship team.

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Here's another thing I might want to mention to you, we're probably not going to

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last until 1230 most of the time. Because I feel like God is

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pretty concise. One of the things that I feel like he has birthed in my

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spirit is for the next three weeks, I want us to

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press in worship. I really do. He allowed me to write a song

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this week, and the line in the song that is pivotal for me was, let

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worship start its healing. Let worship start its

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healing. It worked for David. When David lost his son, and he

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mourned, and he threw ashes on his head and he mourned

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for a season. But the day came when he had to get up and

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wash his face. And his first act was what? Go worship.

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Go and worship. And that's what I believe the Lord would have

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us plant in for the next three weeks. That's as much as I got, guys.

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And we're going to trust him beyond that. But fortunately for you, I

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need no bull from your pen.

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I have a feeling I'm going to hear that back at me many times.

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I told him, I said, that's going to be my quote this week on social

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media. It's not unless

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Courtney overrides me. But anyway, here's

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the thing, guys. True worship remains

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anchored in who God is. Who God is.

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Not on how we feel. Not on how we feel.

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It's about him because he is present

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and he is worthy. He is present

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and he is worthy. So here's

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the thing. Yet another transparent moment. Just

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because this is how I work things out with the

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Lord, I just said God, I'd really like

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to do a fast song at the end of service, but

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some people might not be in a fast song kind of place.

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And you know what he said?

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Worship. Anyway.

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Worship. Anyway, so I'm

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gonna read you one more passage. And as I'm reading this

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passage, I want you to grab it in your spirit

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as you make your way toward the altar space.

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Cause you know what we're gonna worship through? We're gonna worship

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because he's worthy.

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The hundred and third Psalm.

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Guys, here's your weapon right here.

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Praise the Lord. O my soul, all my inmost

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being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul. And

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forget not all of his benefits, who forgives all your

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sins, heals all your diseases, redeems your life from

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the pit, crowns you with love and compassion, satisfies

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your desires with good things. So. And I need this one so that your

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youth is renewed like the eagles. The Lord is

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compassionate and gracious, slow to

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anger, abounding in love, and he will not always accuse nor will

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he harbor his anger forever. He does not treat us as our sin

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deserve. Can we hear an amen

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or repay us according to our iniquities? For as high as

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the heavens are above the earth, so great is

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his love for those who fear Him. As far as the east from the

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west, so far has he removed our transgressions

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from us. As the Father has compassion on his

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children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.

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Jump down to verse 17. From everlasting to

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everlasting. The Lord's love is with those who fear him

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and his righteousness with their children's children.

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A little further. And his kingdom, his

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kingdom. His kingdom rules

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over all his kingdom. And so would you join me

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and. Can we just worship him for a minute? Because the thing is, is we

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got a thousand reasons to worship him and we need to

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draw from those wells just a little bit and. All right,

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you, let's go. Let's go.