Tom Logue - Wander

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Almighty God. [00:00:03] Speaker B: You welcome you. [00:00:06] Speaker A: Hey there. [00:00:06] Speaker C: If you're new to Restored Church, we want to welcome you and thank you for tuning in. You're listening to a portion of our Sunday worship gathering. We believe the church is not an event but a family you belong to, so we would love the opportunity to connect with you. If you want to learn more about our church or if we can help you in any way, please Visit our website, www.restoredtemecula.church and click on Contact. With all that said, we, we hope you enjoy the message. [00:00:35] Speaker A: All right, so this morning I'm actually not going to have you open your Bible to Matthew. I'm going to have you open your Bible to Exodus, chapter 15 this morning. If you don't have a Bible with you, no sweat. The team can throw the words up on the screen for you. That way you can follow along. I'll be in the Christian Standard Bible translation. I typically will preach out of that translation on Sunday mornings. It's one of my favorites. So if you don't have the csb, the words might be helpful for you. That way there's not inconsistencies in terms of the specific words that you're following along and reading. [00:01:12] Speaker B: So like I said, we've been going. [00:01:13] Speaker A: Through Matthew for a long time. We've been journeying together, looking at Matthew's gospel, talking about Jesus, talking about the king and his kingdom, what it looks like when God gets his way. But this morning, God put a message on my heart that I've been wrestling with for weeks, and I want to be obedient to share it with you this morning. So all that being said, I'm just going to jump right in because I got a lot to share with you. So let's pray together. Yeah. God, thank you for this morning. Thank you that we get to be together. Thank you for your grace on us, every single person in this room. And I just can't shake it right now, Lord. I just feel like there's some of us in the room that desperately want change. And I feel like your invitation to each one of us this morning is to allow you to transform us. And so that's my prayer. I want to be transformed, Jesus. I want to be more like you. There's nobody like you. You're matchless. You're holy. You're really good. You're brilliant. You're kind. You're faithful. You're so generous and gracious and kind. Would you make me? Would you make us more like you? That's our prayer. I love you in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen. So, man, a few weeks ago, I spent my mornings with Jesus. A few weeks ago, I'm just kind of praying and enjoying his presence and reading the scriptures. [00:03:03] Speaker B: And he asks me a question. Does anybody in the room, do you. [00:03:07] Speaker A: Ever feel like God will provoke you. [00:03:09] Speaker B: And kind of prompt you with like. [00:03:10] Speaker A: A question in your heart, in your spirit, in your mind? [00:03:13] Speaker B: That happens to me fairly often when. [00:03:15] Speaker A: I'm pressing in, you know. [00:03:16] Speaker B: And he asked me a question. Here's the question that he asked me. He said, why did my people wander in the wilderness? And I instantly knew what he was talking about. I knew that he was referring to the story of the Israelites. And if you're familiar with the story, you know, like Moses, the Exodus, maybe back in the day you saw the Charlton Heston movie, you know, like, Let My People Go. It's that whole concept of. [00:03:39] Speaker A: Not concept, it's the whole story. [00:03:41] Speaker B: It's the historical account of God delivering his people out of slavery and bondage in Egypt. And in the process of him delivering out, they end up wandering 40 years through the wilderness. So I instantly know that he is. [00:03:56] Speaker A: Referring to that story. And here's the thing, I've read that story a hundred times. [00:04:03] Speaker B: Do you ever find yourself when you're. [00:04:05] Speaker A: Maybe opening your Bible to something that's familiar? [00:04:07] Speaker B: Like, cool, I've been here before. I kinda wanna go explore something else that is maybe more fresh or something that isn't as. [00:04:13] Speaker A: I don't know, like, I've heard this story before. I wanna encourage you. If that ever happens to you, that's. [00:04:18] Speaker B: A really good sign. You should actually read that very story. [00:04:22] Speaker A: That God's provoking in your heart. [00:04:23] Speaker B: Cause there's so much gold to be. [00:04:25] Speaker A: Mined in the scriptures. [00:04:28] Speaker B: And so, yeah, you know, the story. [00:04:30] Speaker A: Moses, he has this really powerful encounter with God. [00:04:35] Speaker B: And in that powerful encounter, it kind of kicks off this chain reaction into the story that ultimately leads to Israel. [00:04:41] Speaker A: Wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Now, here's the thing, it begins with Moses having this encounter. And if you know the story, you. [00:04:53] Speaker B: Know, it's this kind of weird moment where Moses is. [00:04:57] Speaker A: He's in the desert and he sees this burning bush and it's like on fire, but it's not being consumed. And he's like, that's interesting. [00:05:05] Speaker B: And then God, like meets with him in this moment. [00:05:07] Speaker A: He has this encounter with God through this burning bush. [00:05:09] Speaker B: And God speaks to him, like literally talks to Moses and he tells him, he goes like, I'm gonna send you somewhere. I'm gonna send you to lead my people out of slavery in Egypt. Now, here's the thing. If you've ever had an encounter with God, you know that that when you encounter God, things just have a way of changing. Like you can't have an encounter with God without change taking place. And in my experience, when a person has an encounter with God, whether it be miraculous or even just the mundane, like me sitting in my living room. [00:05:42] Speaker A: At 5:30 in the morning with a. [00:05:44] Speaker B: Cup of coffee, everything in between that. [00:05:47] Speaker A: Spectrum, when we have an encounter with God, in my experience, it either softens a person, makes them changeable, or it hardens a person. Now, Moses, he has his encounter with God with the burning bush. [00:06:02] Speaker B: And God tells him, I'm sending you to lead my people out of slavery in Egypt. And then, if you remember, God makes two promises. [00:06:08] Speaker A: Do you remember what the two promises are? [00:06:12] Speaker B: He says, I'm going to rescue my. [00:06:13] Speaker A: People from Egypt and I'm going to. [00:06:16] Speaker B: Bring them into their own land. I'm gonna bring them into a land of their own. [00:06:20] Speaker A: The promised land, right? [00:06:25] Speaker B: And so you fast forward, right? God sends these 10 plagues. They're wild, okay? Crazy stuff happens. The Nile turns to blood. There's locusts and frogs, and just crazy stuff happens. And then it culminates with the final. [00:06:39] Speaker A: Plague, which is the death of the firstborn all across the land. And finally Pharaoh gets to the spot after that 10th plague where he's like, that's it, Moses. You and your people, get out. Get out of here. Okay, so you guys know this Moses. [00:06:56] Speaker B: Leads the people out of Egypt. [00:06:59] Speaker A: And then something kind of bizarre happens. [00:07:03] Speaker B: Moses takes people out. [00:07:04] Speaker A: And then Pharaoh changes his mind. [00:07:08] Speaker B: And so he sends his army, the Egyptian army, he sends them out after the Israelites. They've just left, right? He's like, go and bring them back. I'm changing my mind. So now you get the picture. You have the people of God, the Israelites, they've left Egypt. They're on their way. And then now they come to the Red Sea, and they have the Red Sea in front of them, this barrier. And then they have the Egyptian army closing in on them. [00:07:32] Speaker A: And then what happens? One of the most spectacular things in history. [00:07:39] Speaker B: God ends up parting the Red Sea. Literally. [00:07:42] Speaker A: Like, it says that the waters are like walls on each side. [00:07:45] Speaker B: The Israelites walk through on dry ground, through the sea. The Egyptian army comes after them and then gets swallowed up. And it's this beautiful moment of like, spectacular deliverance. [00:08:03] Speaker A: The Egyptian army gets swallowed up. The threat is gone. And the people of God party. They celebrate. [00:08:09] Speaker B: They're like, oh, my goodness. He actually said he was going to do this. He's done it, and he's done it in spectacular fashion. And then what happens is they begin. [00:08:18] Speaker A: Their journey to the promised land. And as they're beginning their journey, God gives them a warning. Exodus chapter 15, starting in verse 22 says this. [00:08:40] Speaker B: Then Moses led Israel on from the Red Sea. [00:08:45] Speaker A: And they went out to the wilderness of Shur. [00:08:48] Speaker B: They journeyed for three days in the. [00:08:51] Speaker A: Wilderness without finding water. [00:08:53] Speaker B: They came to Merah, but they could. [00:08:54] Speaker A: Not drink the water at Merah because it was bitter. That is why it was named Marah. Marah means verse 24. [00:09:02] Speaker B: The people grumbled to Moses. [00:09:03] Speaker A: Everybody say grumbled. [00:09:05] Speaker B: Do you know what grumbling is? [00:09:08] Speaker A: Parents, you know exactly what grumbling is. It's because your kids are doing it fairly regularly. [00:09:11] Speaker B: It's complaining, okay? That's what grumbling is. They're complaining to Moses and they say, what are we gonna drink? [00:09:18] Speaker A: So Moses, being a pretty good leader, he cried out to the Lord, and. [00:09:22] Speaker B: The Lord showed him a tree. When he threw it into the water. [00:09:26] Speaker A: The water became drinkable. I love this. [00:09:29] Speaker B: They need something. Moses goes, he pr. [00:09:32] Speaker A: God provides. It's beautiful. [00:09:33] Speaker B: Keep reading. The Lord made a statute and ordinance. [00:09:36] Speaker A: For them at Merah, and he tested them there. Look at verse 26. He said, look at this. [00:09:42] Speaker B: If you will carefully obey. [00:09:45] Speaker A: Everybody say obey. It's an important word. Obey. [00:09:48] Speaker B: If you will carefully obey the Lord. [00:09:50] Speaker A: Your God, do what is right in his sight, pay attention to his commands. [00:09:57] Speaker B: And keep all his statutes. [00:09:58] Speaker A: I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For. For I am the Lord who heals you. Okay, so get the picture. The people of Israel, they're setting out on their journey to the promised land, okay? [00:10:10] Speaker B: And God gives them a warning. [00:10:14] Speaker A: Allow me to summarize this warning for you. It's this. Hey, guys. My chosen beloved people, listen. If you don't listen and obey, it's not gonna go well for you. [00:10:30] Speaker B: So, Israel, they set out right into the wilderness. They're headed for the Promised land. And if you know the story, you. [00:10:36] Speaker A: Know the people don't listen. [00:10:39] Speaker B: Like, over and over and over again. And they don't obey. [00:10:45] Speaker A: What they do a lot of is they do a lot of complaining. [00:10:49] Speaker B: And they mostly complain about two things. [00:10:52] Speaker A: Food and their leaders. Now, I don't know what it is about the human condition, but, man, people love to complain about leaders. [00:11:07] Speaker C: We do. [00:11:08] Speaker A: I say people as though Like, I'm not included in, like, the fallenness of humanity. We, as people, we love to complain about our leaders. I was in Denver ministering with one of our sister churches this week, and. [00:11:20] Speaker B: I went a day early. [00:11:22] Speaker A: I wanted to spend the day praying and skiing. I love to ski in the mountains. I just experienced God. And then I spent some time with Josh, who leads our sister church in Denver, just catching up and connecting and being together. [00:11:35] Speaker B: And that day I'm skiing and I. [00:11:37] Speaker A: Take a break for lunch and I go into the lodge and I'm eating lunch and I overhear this group of. [00:11:41] Speaker B: Guys sitting at the bar. It's like 11 o'. [00:11:43] Speaker A: Clock. They're already like two or three beers in. So they're having a time. [00:11:47] Speaker B: And either way, I'm sitting there, I'm. [00:11:49] Speaker A: Listening to these guys, and all they're. [00:11:52] Speaker B: Talking about, all they're doing is they're. [00:11:54] Speaker A: Complaining about their leaders, they're complaining about politicians, they're complaining about their bosses. And I sat there and I ate for probably. I was probably in there for like 45 minutes. And the whole time, all the conversations were just these guys complaining about their leaders. [00:12:10] Speaker B: Trump this and this guy that and da, da. [00:12:12] Speaker A: And I was kinda like, okay. [00:12:13] Speaker B: And my boss, blah, blah, blah. [00:12:15] Speaker A: And you're like, okay. We as people, I don't know what it is, but we love to complain about our leaders. A few weeks back, I was at a local coffee shop here. I won't say which one, but I was at a local coffee shop. [00:12:30] Speaker B: And you know how, like, when you're in the coffee shop, you can look around and it sounds so judgmental, but. [00:12:35] Speaker A: I'm gonna just confess it to you. [00:12:36] Speaker B: You look around the coffee shop and. [00:12:37] Speaker A: You'Re like, that group is definitely Christians. [00:12:40] Speaker B: Do you know what I'm talking about? You could just tell. And so there's this group, I think. [00:12:44] Speaker A: There'S like four of them, and they're sitting there and they're just complaining about their pastors. They're complaining about their leaders, like, out loud. And I'm sitting there and I'm just like, kind of praying. I'm like, oh, Lord. Like, you know, when you don't want to eavesdrop. [00:13:09] Speaker B: I was in that space and I was like, stop. Like, ew. [00:13:12] Speaker A: So I just put my earbuds in. You know, it doesn't just happen at the ski slopes with the guys that are, you know, three beers deep at lunchtime. It's the church too. People love to complain about their leaders. [00:13:26] Speaker B: I mean, if you are a type of Person who is still watching the. [00:13:29] Speaker A: News, you know, brace, like, have mercy, but, like, if you watch the news. [00:13:36] Speaker B: It'S literally 90% is people just complaining about different leaders on all the different political spectrums. It's like, it's where we're using media as, like, weapons to complain about that style of leadership versus that style of leadership. [00:13:50] Speaker A: People love to complain about their leaders. Now hear me. I'm not a fan of poor leadership. I've been hurt deeply by poor leadership. [00:13:59] Speaker B: I'm sure that my poor leadership has hurt other people. So I'm not here to promote. [00:14:03] Speaker A: Just like leaders are untouchable. Don't talk crap on them. That's not what I'm saying at all. What I'm saying is that for whatever. [00:14:09] Speaker B: Reason, part of the human condition, people. [00:14:11] Speaker A: Love to complain about their leaders. But leadership's hard. Many of you in the room know you carry weight. You carry weight at your job. You carry weight in your household. You carry weight in your family. [00:14:27] Speaker B: You carry this leadership burden that is actually kind of heavy. And so you know what I'm saying when I say it's hard. [00:14:36] Speaker A: And there's no perfect leaders other than. Other than the God man, Jesus Christ. Everybody else is a flawed leader. But here's my observation. My observation is that a lot of the time, people want to be advised, but they don't want to be led. See, being led, it requires a certain level of humility that doesn't come naturally to us, does it? So if I can just exhort you, would you spend more time praying for your leaders than you do complaining about them even, and especially when you disagree with their leadership? Because hear me, they need it. Leadership's hard. [00:15:35] Speaker B: Okay, so eventually, these Israelites, right, they finally make their way to what is essentially like the border of the promised land. Okay, flip over to numbers, chapter 13. [00:15:49] Speaker A: Numbers, chapter 13. We're gonna start here in verse one. [00:15:53] Speaker B: They're on the precipice, man. They're right there. They've been journeying through the wilderness. They've already been delivered from Egypt. They God's like, I got this land for you. I'm giving it to you. They're coming up. They're at the precipice at the border of the promised land. And look what it says in verse 1. [00:16:05] Speaker A: Numbers 13. [00:16:08] Speaker B: The Lord spoke to Moses, send men to scout out the land of Canaan. [00:16:14] Speaker A: That's the promised land. And look what he says. [00:16:16] Speaker B: Scout out the land of Canaan. I am giving. [00:16:19] Speaker A: If you have a pen, underline that in your Bible. [00:16:22] Speaker B: I am giving. To the Israelites who's like, guys, the land that you see right there, that's the land. The land that I've been talking about. The land that I promised you. That's the land. That's the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes. Moses sent them from the wilderness of. [00:16:45] Speaker A: Paran at the Lord's command. [00:16:47] Speaker B: All the men were what, leaders in Israel? [00:16:51] Speaker A: Okay, so get the picture here. [00:16:52] Speaker B: You got 12 dudes, 12 leaders. They're sent into that promised land to, like, scout it out, to check it out. [00:17:02] Speaker A: Now skip down to verse 25, numbers 13. They come back at the end of the 40 days. They returned from scouting out the land. The men went back to Moses, Aaron. [00:17:16] Speaker B: And the entire Israelite community in the. [00:17:18] Speaker A: Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them. [00:17:22] Speaker B: And the whole community showed. [00:17:25] Speaker A: Yeah, and the whole community. [00:17:26] Speaker B: And they showed them the fruit of the land. They literally bring back fruit. [00:17:29] Speaker A: Verse 27. [00:17:30] Speaker B: Then Moses, or they reported to Moses, we went into the land where you sent us. Indeed, it is flowing with milk and. [00:17:39] Speaker A: Honey, and here's some of its fruit. Look at verse 28. However, the people living in the land are strong. [00:17:48] Speaker B: And the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak. [00:17:54] Speaker A: Think giants, like, literally. Verse 29. [00:17:57] Speaker B: The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev. The Hithites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country, and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan. So get this. They come back, they're giving a report. They're like, hey, the people. The guys. The other guys are bigger. They're big, okay? And not only that, but, like, this people group lives over there. This people group lives over there. This people group lives over there. [00:18:18] Speaker A: And verse 30. Then Caleb quieted the people in the. [00:18:23] Speaker B: Presence of Moses and said, let's go up now and take possession of the. [00:18:28] Speaker A: Land, because we can certainly conquer. I love Caleb. Let's go get it. Let's roll. Verse 31. [00:18:35] Speaker B: But the men who had gone up with him. [00:18:39] Speaker A: Responded. We can't attack the people because they are stronger than we are. Excuse me, You've been tuning into the. [00:18:54] Speaker B: Story, I hope, like, God's made some things abundantly clear, has he not? Hey, like, you're my chosen people, I'm with you. I'm going to deliver you out of. [00:19:06] Speaker A: Slavery in Egypt and bring you to. [00:19:08] Speaker B: This promised land that I am giving to you. There it is. He's made it clear. [00:19:14] Speaker A: He's with his people. [00:19:15] Speaker B: He is giving them this land. [00:19:19] Speaker A: And yet how quickly they forgot what God is capable of. Now, hear me. When I read these stories, it is so easy for me to judge these people. It's so easy for me to judge these people. Gosh. [00:19:39] Speaker B: Like, they're so quick to forget the. [00:19:40] Speaker A: Power of God and the things that he's done for them. And then I'm like, oh, this isn't just their story. It's my story, too. How many times I have forgotten what God is capable of. You know what I'm talking about? Like when fear or worry or anxiety, like, walks into the room. You know what I mean? [00:20:12] Speaker B: Like, when the what ifs start to. [00:20:14] Speaker A: Pile up, how quickly I forget the strength and the power of God. It's not just their story. It's my story, too. Verse 32. So there's 10 other guys. They give a bad report. Look at it. [00:20:32] Speaker B: They give a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted. The land we pass through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants. [00:20:42] Speaker A: And all the people we saw in. [00:20:44] Speaker B: It are men of great size. [00:20:48] Speaker A: We even saw the Nephilim there. [00:20:50] Speaker B: The descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim. [00:20:52] Speaker A: If you're wondering about the Nephilim, Mike and Herrick are experts on the Nephilim. You can go talk to. If you're not laughing, you'll get it. It's a funny Christian joke. [00:21:04] Speaker B: Giants. [00:21:05] Speaker A: Just think giants, okay? [00:21:07] Speaker B: To ourselves, we seemed like grasshoppers compared to them. We're like the size of grasshoppers. [00:21:12] Speaker A: We must have seen the same to them. [00:21:13] Speaker B: Keep reading into chapter 14, verse 1. Then the whole community broke into loud. [00:21:19] Speaker A: Cries, and the people wept that night. [00:21:23] Speaker B: This isn't like a handful of people. This is like probably hundreds of thousands of people. [00:21:31] Speaker A: Verse 2. All the Israelites complained. There's that word again. About Moses and Aaron. [00:21:42] Speaker B: And the whole community told them, if only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness, why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to. [00:21:57] Speaker A: Go back to Egypt? [00:22:01] Speaker B: So they said to one another, look at this. Let's appoint a leader and go back to Egypt. Okay? Just reminder, in case, you know, you've been checking your phone and stuff. Just reminder. [00:22:18] Speaker A: What did God promise these two or these people? [00:22:20] Speaker B: They gave him two promises. He promised them to deliver them from Egypt, which he's already done. In miraculous and spectacular fashion. [00:22:28] Speaker A: Can I get an amen? [00:22:29] Speaker B: Yeah. That's crazy. Okay, so these are the people that, like, walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. The people who witnessed the Egyptian army get swallowed up by that same Red Sea. Okay, so he's promised them that he's already delivered on that promise. And the second promise was the. That he was gonna give them the promised land, the land that they just scouted, the land flowing with milk and honey. [00:22:53] Speaker A: And what was his warning as they were setting out on that journey? Guys, hey, listen. Listen and obey me, or it's not gonna go well for you. So these people, God's chosen people, they're on the doorstep of the promised land. [00:23:15] Speaker B: God's given them clear instructions. [00:23:17] Speaker A: He's made promises to them, yet they continue to not listen and not obey him. In fact, they even want to appoint. [00:23:27] Speaker B: A new leader and go back to. [00:23:30] Speaker A: Egypt where they were slaves. Do you know what a slave is? A slave is someone who can't say no. Now, listen. Have you ever felt the sting of betrayal? Like, have you ever felt that? Like, that, like, rejection? Those of you who know that feeling, like, you know, it's a different kind of pain. I've felt it a few times in my life. And it is. I'm not exaggerating when I say it. It's devastatingly painful. [00:24:27] Speaker B: But if you felt that. [00:24:27] Speaker A: You know what I'm talking about. If you've ever felt that, can I just tell you something? Like, God himself identifies with you. He knows what it feels like. I don't want us to lose sight of what's happening here. The people God loves, hear me. His chosen people, they do not choose him back. They consistently do not listen, do not obey. They reject him. Hear me. And his leadership. This is betrayal. And it's not just their story. It's my story, too. Let's look at what happens next. Let's keep reading. Verse 5 in Numbers 14. Then Moses and Aaron fell face down in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community, Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Yephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land. [00:25:45] Speaker B: Tore their clothes, and said to the entire Israelite community, the land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. Only look at what they. [00:26:02] Speaker A: Look what they say. [00:26:03] Speaker B: Only don't rebel against the Lord. In other words, listen and obey. And don't be afraid of the people of the land. For we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them. [00:26:17] Speaker A: And the Lord is with us. Us. [00:26:20] Speaker B: Don't be afraid of them. Listen, this is a whole sermon in of itself. [00:26:24] Speaker A: I read this. [00:26:25] Speaker B: It gets me fired up. Like, if the Lord is with you, you have nothing to fear. [00:26:32] Speaker A: Like, think about it for a second. [00:26:37] Speaker B: Almighty God, creator of all things, the supreme being of all time, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. He existed before time began, okay? From him and through him and to him are all things. If the Lord is with you, you have nothing to fear. Friends, no matter what you're facing in your life, even right now, let's do a little pastoral application for a second. You. Everything that you're facing in your life, no matter what you're facing, you have health issues. You have maybe relationship issues. [00:27:10] Speaker A: You. [00:27:11] Speaker B: Maybe you have some addiction issues. Things you can't say no to. Things that feel bigger than you. Things that feel stronger than you. Things that feel more powerful than you. [00:27:23] Speaker A: I need you to hear me say this. [00:27:25] Speaker B: If the Lord is with you, you. [00:27:27] Speaker A: Have nothing to fear. Somebody's with me. Thank you, my friend. [00:27:35] Speaker B: Is the Lord with you? [00:27:37] Speaker A: That's the question. [00:27:40] Speaker B: Is the things that you're giving yourself over to, the things that you're pursuing. [00:27:43] Speaker A: Is he with you in those things? [00:27:46] Speaker B: Listen, if he is, you have nothing to fear. [00:27:50] Speaker A: If he isn't, then the fear makes a whole lot of sense. Because you're in danger. Because there are things that are bigger than you. There are things that are more powerful than you. [00:28:01] Speaker B: There are things that are stronger than you. [00:28:05] Speaker A: Keep going. Verse 10. So really quickly. Joshua and Caleb. [00:28:13] Speaker B: Guys, this is the land. God is with us. He's promised this land to us. Let's go get it. They might be bigger than us, but they're not bigger than the God with us, right? They give this just rallying, brave heart. [00:28:26] Speaker A: Let's go. You know, look at verse 10. The whole community threatened to stone them. And it's not talking about, like, psychedelic drugs. [00:28:35] Speaker B: It's talking about executing them with rocks. So while the whole community threatened to. [00:28:42] Speaker A: Stone them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting. [00:28:47] Speaker B: The tent of meeting is where Moses. [00:28:49] Speaker A: Would go and meet with God face to face. Look at what the Lord says to Moses. Verse 11. How, oh, how long will these people despise me? How long will they not trust in me, despite all the signs I have performed among them? I will strike them with the plague and destroy them. Then I will make you into a greater and Mightier nation than they are. So God's had it. He's had it with the rebellion of the people. Regardless of all that he's done for them, they refuse to listen and obey him. So God's like Moses, I'm starting over with you. And then Moses does something profound. Moses does something that all great leaders do. He prays. Go to verse 19. Check out what he prays. Please pardon the iniquity of this people in keeping with the greatness of your faithful love. Just as you have forgiven them from Egypt until now. Look at what God says back. Verse 20. The Lord responded, I have pardoned them as you requested. [00:30:19] Speaker B: Whoo. [00:30:23] Speaker A: So get the picture? God's betrayed after so many times. He goes, okay, that's it. I'm starting over. Moses prays. [00:30:31] Speaker B: And what he does is, I love the way Moses prays here. [00:30:34] Speaker A: This is a masterclass in prayer. [00:30:35] Speaker B: He appeals to God on who God is. He goes, God, you're so faithful. You're so loving. You're so forgiving. You've been forgiving these people for so long. Forgive them again. [00:30:51] Speaker A: And God forgives the people. Listen, some of you, you have people you love dearly in your life, and they haven't yet experienced the forgiveness of God. Like they're far from Him. [00:31:07] Speaker B: They have not yet received that grace, that forgiveness. [00:31:15] Speaker A: Stay with me. Stay with me. Listen, if there's people in your life that fall into that category, can I just encourage you? Keep praying for them, man. Keep praying for them. Because God hears your prayers, and he's a God who responds. So Moses, he prays, and God forgives the people. Verse 26. This is my last bit of Scripture. Numbers 14:26. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about me? [00:32:01] Speaker B: I've heard the Israelites complaints that they make against me. [00:32:06] Speaker A: Tell them as I live. [00:32:08] Speaker B: This is the Lord's declaration. [00:32:10] Speaker A: I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. Your corpses will fall in this wilderness. All of you who were registered in the census, the entire number of you, 20 years old or more, because you have complained about me. I swear that none of you will enter the land I promised to settle you in, except Caleb and Joshua. [00:32:37] Speaker B: I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it. [00:32:47] Speaker A: But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. Your children will be shepherds in the. [00:32:55] Speaker B: Wilderness for 40 years and bear the penalty of your acts of unfaithfulness until all your corpses lie scattered in the wilderness. You will bear the consequences of your iniquities. 40 years. Based on the number of the 40. [00:33:10] Speaker A: Days that you scouted the land. A year for each day, you will know my displeasure. I, the Lord have spoken. I swear that I will do this to the entire evil community that has conspired against me. They will come to an end in the wilderness. And there they will die. Dang. Listen to me. God loves people like he loves people. God loves you, but he hates evil. How long must I endure this evil community? What's interesting to me about this journey to the promised land that these people are on from Egypt to Canaan. Canaan's the promised land. From Egypt to Canaan. It's about an 11 day journey, give or take. Instead, it ends up taking 40 years. So back to that question that God asked me in my living room a few weeks ago with my coffee. Why did my people wander in the wilderness? The simple answer is they chose not to listen and obey. Friends, when we don't listen and obey, we wander. When we don't listen and obey, we wander. That phrase has been so heavy on my heart the last few weeks. And I don't think it's just for me. I think it's for us. I think it's for you too. When we don't listen and obey, we wander. Now, this story, as dramatic as it is, as crazy as it is, as. [00:35:48] Speaker B: Heavy as it is, it's also a. [00:35:51] Speaker A: Really beautiful prophetic picture. It's a beautiful prophetic picture of the ultimate promised land that God is leading his people to. [00:36:02] Speaker B: That through Jesus Christ, God is delivering his people from the bondage of sin and Satan and death and bringing them into the fullness of the kingdom of heaven. Just like. Just like Moses delivered the people from the bondage, the slavery in Egypt and delivered them into the promised land. Through Jesus Christ, through his perfect life, through his substitutionary death, through there's powerful resurrection that he is almost like the true Keller calls him the true and greater, the true and better Moses. That in the same way that he is delivering us, his chosen beloved people, out of the slavery to sin, the slavery to death, the slavery to Satan, into the fullness of the kingdom of. [00:36:42] Speaker A: Heaven, things the way they're supposed to be. [00:36:49] Speaker B: There's no cancer and there's no death and there's no suffering and there's no gossip and there's no division, there's no strife, there's no racism. The list goes on and on. Of all the things. [00:37:01] Speaker A: I almost said a word I shouldn't say, in the poll. [00:37:03] Speaker B: But all the things that are awful about our reality. [00:37:10] Speaker A: Here's my concern. My concern is that too many Christians and too many churches are wandering on their way to the promised land. And when we don't listen and obey, we wander. Listen to me. Do you realize that God has plans for you? Like, he's got plans for you. [00:37:46] Speaker B: And they're probably different than some of. [00:37:49] Speaker A: The plans you have for you. But hear me, they're not worse. [00:37:55] Speaker B: They're probably not easier, but they're certainly better. [00:38:00] Speaker A: Why? Because I guarantee you, he's a better leader than you. That's my story. [00:38:06] Speaker B: He's a much better leader than me, friend. Like, infinitely better leader of my life than I am. My life looks so, so different than I thought it would. You rewind 20, 25 years ago. I cannot believe what God has done. And it's not. Cause I'm like, I'm not amazing. Those of you who know me, you're like, amen. Like, it's not because of that. It's because he's really gracious and he's really good, and he's profoundly, like, forgiving. And he can do things with, like, the worst of the worst. He's got plans for you, man, and they're spectacular. [00:38:42] Speaker A: Do you realize that? Are you listening? [00:38:51] Speaker B: Are you obeying? Are you walking with him. [00:38:56] Speaker A: Or are you wandering now? Listen, it doesn't matter how old you are. It doesn't matter how young you are. [00:39:05] Speaker B: It doesn't matter how put together you are. It doesn't matter how gifted you are, how long you've been in church. It doesn't matter what your financial situation is, how smart you are, how pretty you are, how cool you are. [00:39:16] Speaker A: Listen, I believe God is giving us the same warning God gave these Israelites. If we don't listen and obey, it's not going to go well for us. God's got plans for you, man. [00:39:36] Speaker B: He's got plans for this church. [00:39:38] Speaker A: Listen, there's no perfect church. [00:39:40] Speaker B: But, guys, our church is awesome. Like, he's been so good to us. He's got plans for this church. [00:39:47] Speaker A: And hear me, it's not just up to the leaders. It's not just up to me and Ebony. It's not just up to the elders. [00:39:56] Speaker B: It's not just up to the deacons or the gospel community leaders. It's not just up to the staff. It's not just up to the leaders. [00:40:02] Speaker A: No matter how faithful they are. Guys, do you realize Israel had some faithful leaders, man? [00:40:11] Speaker B: They had some faithful leaders. Not perfect, but faithful Caleb, Joshua, Moses. [00:40:19] Speaker A: Most of the time, certainly at this. [00:40:23] Speaker B: Point of the story, there were faithful people among them. [00:40:29] Speaker A: Yet the whole community wandered. [00:40:32] Speaker B: Do you realize what that means? [00:40:37] Speaker A: That means what you do doesn't just affect you. On the flip side of that, what you don't do doesn't just affect you. What you do with your time doesn't just affect you. [00:40:56] Speaker B: What you don't do with your time. [00:40:57] Speaker A: Doesn'T just affect you. [00:40:58] Speaker B: What you do with the money God's given you. What you don't do with the money God's given you doesn't just affect you. What you do with your mouth, the things that you say. [00:41:08] Speaker A: Doesn'T just affect you. And at the same token, the things that we don't say, because, you know. [00:41:18] Speaker B: The Bible talks about the church being not just the family of God. [00:41:22] Speaker A: We are big about that. [00:41:24] Speaker B: We're convinced about that in the scriptures that the church is the family of. [00:41:27] Speaker A: God, but it's also the body, the. [00:41:28] Speaker B: Body of Christ, right? [00:41:30] Speaker A: You guys know this. [00:41:31] Speaker B: What the hands do affects the whole body. What the eyes do affects the whole body. What the feet do, it affects the whole body. The legs, the arms, the elbows. What each member of the body does affects the whole body. What you do and what you don't do, and what I do and what I don't do doesn't just affect you. Right. [00:41:51] Speaker A: Now, hear me. I'm convinced that God desires to bless. [00:41:57] Speaker B: This body and to lead this body. [00:42:01] Speaker A: Into, like, glorious things, man. [00:42:03] Speaker B: And those of you that have been journeying with us for a while, you know, he already has holy smokes. He's been so gracious to us, like, unbelievably gracious. By grace, I mean, we don't deserve it. He's been so gracious to us. He's been so faithful to us. He's provided for us in ways that we didn't know. We're gonna like. There's been moments we're like, what's gonna happen? He's provided. [00:42:25] Speaker A: He has protected us. [00:42:28] Speaker B: The staff's nodding at me. [00:42:30] Speaker A: Cause they know in wild ways, man. [00:42:34] Speaker B: He'S been so good to us. [00:42:37] Speaker A: Here's my question. We're starting a new year. It's 2026. Sounds like the future, but it's now. Here's my question. In 2026, will this body walk with God on the way to the promised land or will we wander? I believe God's given us the same warning he gave to the Israelites. If we don't listen and obey, it's not gonna go well for Us. But hear me, if we do, if we do, he will bless us in ways we do not deserve and listen and in ways that will absolutely blow our minds. Cause he's so good, he can't help himself. Now hear me, I'm not talking about earning blessings from God. It's all grace. When we don't listen and obey, we wander. So I mentioned a little bit ago, I was in Denver with one of our sister churches this week, and I went a day early. And the reason I went to date, really, is because I wanted to do three things. I wanted to pray in the mountains and ski in the mountains. That's two things. Pray and ski. And then I wanted to spend some intentional time with Josh, the guy who leads the church, just to love on him and care for him and be a friend. And so we went out to dinner. I skied during the day, and then we went out to dinner together. And we caught up, and we had just a really, really special time. It was really. It was good. And so we're wrapping up dinner, and our server comes to us, and she's. [00:44:39] Speaker B: Like, hey, are you guys going to the game? [00:44:42] Speaker A: And I look over at him, he looks at me. And we're just kind of like, what game? And so we asked her. We're like, what game are you talking about? She's like, you don't know about the game? [00:44:54] Speaker B: And instantly, you know, like, I'm not. [00:44:56] Speaker A: From the area, so I'm kind of like, oh, gosh, I should. And I feel weird. And she's like, half the people in this restaurant are going to the game. Like, you guys aren't going to the game? I'm like, what game? [00:45:05] Speaker B: And is there any hockey fans? [00:45:07] Speaker A: Like, NHL hockey fans? [00:45:09] Speaker B: Anybody in the room? [00:45:10] Speaker A: Even follow hockey? [00:45:11] Speaker B: Don't be shy. [00:45:13] Speaker A: So there's Mike. Okay. [00:45:16] Speaker B: We got someone in the back. Who is it? Come on, don't be shy. [00:45:20] Speaker A: Brittany knows. Okay. [00:45:21] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:45:21] Speaker A: Let's go, Britain. Great. Okay. [00:45:23] Speaker B: The shame in the room around hockey right now is weird. [00:45:29] Speaker A: There we go. [00:45:30] Speaker B: So she refers to the hockey game that night. [00:45:33] Speaker A: Okay, so Denver's team is the Colorado Avalanche. They were playing a team from Canada, the Ottawa Senators. Supposedly, it's supposed to be a big game. So she's like, you guys aren't going to the game? And we're like, no, we weren't planning on going to the game. We're just hanging out. And so, you know, like, a minute goes by. Remember how I talked about eavesdropping? There's a woman sitting on my right. Older lady. She Goes, you guys should go to the game. I'm like, okay. [00:46:01] Speaker B: She's like, the team's kicking butt right now. They're doing so good. I think they're on this winning streak or whatever. [00:46:06] Speaker A: Like, you guys should go to the game. And so, I don't know. I was kind of feeling a little spontaneous. I look at Josh, I'm like, wanna go to the game? [00:46:15] Speaker B: And so I knew that I had. [00:46:16] Speaker A: Like, a StubHub credit. [00:46:18] Speaker B: So I look, I open up StubHub. I'm like, if I can find just. [00:46:20] Speaker A: Cheap nosebleeds that I can use the credit for, we'll go. So I pull it up, and I just. I'm such a cheapskate. I pull it up and I just. [00:46:28] Speaker B: Go, filter best deal. And it. Shove it. And I. Two tickets up at the top. [00:46:35] Speaker A: 40 bucks. I'm like, we're going to the game. [00:46:38] Speaker B: I'm like, do you want to go? And he's like, yeah, I want to go. He's like, hold on. Let me call my wife. He calls his wife. Courtney says, yes, we're going to the game, dude. It starts in, like, 25 minutes. We're like, we're going. We're like, dude, we're like, couple old dads. We're like, it's 6:30. We're going. Let's do this. [00:46:55] Speaker A: We're out. And so I get the tickets. [00:46:59] Speaker B: We're excited. And then it hits me. [00:47:03] Speaker A: I'm like, oh, man. What about Josh? What I didn't tell you was that a week ago, Josh tore his Achilles tendon. So he's in, like, this walking boot. He's not supposed to walk at all. It's gonna make it much worse. [00:47:26] Speaker B: He's not supposed to walk for, like. [00:47:27] Speaker A: Six weeks until he can begin physical therapy. So I'm like, crap, dude. [00:47:32] Speaker B: Any of you who've ever been to. [00:47:33] Speaker A: Any sports stadium knows it's pretty big. [00:47:37] Speaker B: And you gotta walk quite a bit. [00:47:38] Speaker A: To get to your seat. So I'm like, dang it. [00:47:41] Speaker B: And he's like. He's like, kinda like, well, no, let's go. You know? [00:47:43] Speaker A: And I'm like, dude, I don't wanna. [00:47:45] Speaker B: Like, I don't wanna. I want you to get. [00:47:47] Speaker A: Well, I care about him, you know? [00:47:48] Speaker B: He's like, let's go. [00:47:49] Speaker A: I'm like, okay, we'll figure it out. So we get a car. We get dropped off right in front. We go in and we go. [00:47:57] Speaker B: You know, the tickets work. [00:47:58] Speaker A: Thank God. [00:47:59] Speaker B: We go in, right when we get past the thing where they scan your. [00:48:02] Speaker A: Tickets, there's this first flight of stairs. And like I said, we're at the very top, and I see this flight of stairs. We're about to go up, and I look over, and I see Brenda. Brenda is a woman standing there with a name tag that says Brenda. Okay, Brenda's standing right there. And I look at her, and I go, hey, Brenda, my friend Josh here, he just had a fairly serious injury. What's the, like, quickest route to get to our seat? She's like, well, where are you sitting? I show her the tickets, and she does one of these. She goes, I got you. [00:48:47] Speaker B: And instantly I'm like, ooh, what's gonna happen? [00:48:53] Speaker A: So she leaves for a second, she comes back, and she's got a wheelchair. [00:48:59] Speaker B: Instantly, Josh is like, no. I mean, there's thousands of people around. [00:49:03] Speaker A: He's. [00:49:04] Speaker B: You know, he doesn't want to be. [00:49:05] Speaker A: Like, the guy who's in a wheelchair, you know? [00:49:08] Speaker B: And. [00:49:12] Speaker A: Do you guys have that photo? Can you throw the photo up there for me? So can you. [00:49:16] Speaker B: Can you see it? So this is Josh. [00:49:20] Speaker A: This is his foot. That's Brenda. Rock star. Rock star. Okay. [00:49:25] Speaker B: So she wheels us over to what seems to me like a private elevator. We get in this elevator, she takes. [00:49:31] Speaker A: Us all the way to the top. I'm like, that just saved us three flights. Huge flights of stairs. Not only that, she wheels Josh and me because I'm with him. Wheels us all the way to our seats, and drops us off right there. I think there's one more photo of us at our seats. I love how the guy behind me is acting like he can't see that we're taking a selfie and does the light. [00:50:06] Speaker B: So it was fantastic. What would have. Hear me. What would have been literally thousands of. [00:50:12] Speaker A: Steps, ended up being, like, maybe 10. [00:50:17] Speaker B: So we're at our seats. The game was awesome. I'm not a huge hockey fan. [00:50:21] Speaker A: I've been a few times. [00:50:22] Speaker B: Live hockey's pretty cool. [00:50:23] Speaker A: Okay. [00:50:24] Speaker B: Game was awesome. [00:50:25] Speaker A: The Avalanche. They're affectionately known as the avs. Okay. For the Denver crew, the AVS score. [00:50:31] Speaker B: Eight goals, they win the game. There were three fights. Amazing. Okay? [00:50:40] Speaker A: It was an awesome game. Get this. About a minute left in the game. I look over, someone's waving at me. It's Brenda. [00:50:52] Speaker B: She's got that wheelchair. [00:50:54] Speaker A: Dude. [00:50:54] Speaker B: She's ready to go. He didn't have to walk at all. Like, she was wonderful. It was awesome. [00:51:02] Speaker A: Hear me? [00:51:03] Speaker B: Josh didn't have to make his injury. [00:51:06] Speaker A: Any worse because there was a way. There was a way for him to avoid wandering around the stadium, trying to find the seats. What if I told you there is a way for you to avoid the wandering in your life? Because there is. It's called prayer. Some of you are like, cool, Tom's talking about prayer again. Yep. When I talk about prayer, I'm not talking about the occasional thing. I'm not talking about just praying before your meal. That's all. Awesome. Thank God for the provision in your life, the way he food is a gift. I'm not saying it's bad. I'm talking about. I'm not talking. I'm not throwing shade at the occasional prayer. But what I'm talking about is. I'm talking about a lifestyle. I'm talking about building your life around prayer, both personally and collectively, corporately, communally. Hear me. If you want to avoid wandering on your way to the promised land, build your life around prayer. Guys, this is one of the reasons why. This is the reason why prayer is such a big deal to us. [00:52:39] Speaker B: That's why you're getting tired of hearing. [00:52:41] Speaker A: Me talk about prayer. [00:52:42] Speaker B: It's a huge deal for us. Whenever we gather, we prioritize prayer. [00:52:46] Speaker A: Whether it's here, some of you are sitting here, and you're like, God, they pray a lot. Yep. [00:52:50] Speaker B: Unapologetically. We prioritize prayer when we gather, whether it's here on Sundays or when gospel communities meet for their Lord's suppers or the prayer room. Like, the reason. One of the main reasons why the prayer room exists is so that we can build our lives around prayer. And God willing, we will add more and more and more sessions in the prayer room to accommodate more and more people. I'm talking about building your whole life around prayer. Cause people build their lives around all sorts of things. And not that they're bad, they're just things we build our lives around. Again, I'm not throwing shade. I just want you to see that you are building your life around things. People build their life around work. People build their life around school. People build their life around sports. People build their lives around all sorts of things. Now, I will guarantee you that every single person, every one of us, myself included, I guarantee we have three things in common that all of us are building our life around. We are all building our life around eating. [00:53:53] Speaker A: Sounds stupid. Yeah. [00:53:54] Speaker C: Amen. [00:53:54] Speaker A: Yeah. Beautiful. That's a pretty good thing. [00:53:57] Speaker B: We're all building our lives around sleeping. Except if you have young kids, then you're just doing the best you can, but you're still wanting to build your life around sleep. And finally, we're all building our life around breathing. There's a reason you don't live underwater. [00:54:16] Speaker A: Why? Because without those three things, it's not going to go well for you. I got a hot take for you. Without prayer, without engaging with God, without listening to him and obeying what he says, it's not going to go well for you. If you want to avoid wandering on your way to the promised land, build your life around prayer. Because hear me, when prayer stops, the wandering starts. That's why Paul says things like pray without ceasing. All right, Ben, would you come up? I'm going to close. I'll close with this. I've heard it said from multiple different sources throughout the years, and it still strikes me. Jesus, 12 disciples, these guys journeyed with him for like, three years, right? [00:55:35] Speaker B: They witnessed it all. [00:55:39] Speaker A: They watched Jesus preach with power. [00:55:44] Speaker B: They watched Jesus heal people miraculously. They watched Jesus walk on top of water. They watched Jesus raise people from the dead. [00:56:01] Speaker A: Don't you find it interesting that they. [00:56:04] Speaker B: Didn'T ask Jesus to teach them how. [00:56:06] Speaker A: To do any of those things? [00:56:08] Speaker B: But In Luke chapter 11, they do. [00:56:10] Speaker A: Ask Jesus, will you teach us to pray? Listen, I think we. And this is not to be mean. [00:56:20] Speaker B: I include myself here. I genuinely have so much to learn, guys. [00:56:24] Speaker A: But I think we're unclear on what prayer is. [00:56:31] Speaker B: It's way more than we think it is. [00:56:33] Speaker A: And yet it's so simple. The other day, I was on my laptop going back and forth with the Terminator. Anybody else use AI from time to time. I want to get a pulse. How many? I use it sometimes. Raise your hand if you are. You use AI somewhat regularly. Hi. So I can see. Oh, okay. Most of the room. Wow. A lot of the room. [00:57:03] Speaker B: So regardless of your AI of choice. [00:57:04] Speaker A: I'm on my laptop, back and forth with the Terminator. I'm asking it questions. It's giving me responses. [00:57:10] Speaker B: It's then asking me questions. [00:57:11] Speaker A: I'm responding to those. [00:57:13] Speaker B: I give my responses. It gets this. There's this back and forth going on. [00:57:17] Speaker A: And I feel the spirit of God again, the way he does with me. Asks me a question, and he goes, do you realize what you're doing? [00:57:27] Speaker B: Not in a condemning way. [00:57:29] Speaker A: Do you realize what you're doing? Because the ways you're engaging with AI, that's prayer. That's prayer. [00:57:45] Speaker B: It's the engaging. [00:57:48] Speaker A: It's the back and forth. And instantly I was like. [00:57:56] Speaker B: You know the scene in the movie when they. [00:57:57] Speaker A: Like, zoom in on the character's face and it's like, that's what it was like, oh, my gosh, I feel like spirit goes, people are praying to AI and they don't even realize it. So I ask the Terminator. I'm like, hey, what are the most common reasons people engage with you? Check out what it said. First thing, seeking companionship. Role playing scenarios, prompts to act as a character companion or an imaginative context, examples, storytelling, conversations, or adult themed interactions. Okay, that was the first thing, Companionship. Second thing, seeking answers and truth. Research and fact checking. Third thing, seeking inspiration. Requests for stories, poems, scripts, lyrics, or motivational content. The next thing, seeking relationship and intimacy. It said, they ask a lot of questions about me. Shoot. Oh, man, Sorry. That one gives me. Oh, Jesus. Sorry. The next one, seeking counsel, requesting advice on personal matters. [00:59:46] Speaker B: So we got people engaging with AI. [00:59:48] Speaker A: For answers, truth, companionship, inspiration, relationship, intimacy and counsel. There's all these concerns about the dangers of AI right now. You know, I'm not anti AI, but. [01:00:06] Speaker B: I'm like, well, there's some things that. [01:00:07] Speaker A: We got to figure out here because, yeah, there are some dangers. I joke around about the Terminator thing, right? But please hear me. My greatest concern with AI isn't necessarily the Terminator happening in real life. My greatest concern is that mankind will pray more to artificial intelligence than it does to divine intelligence. Listen to me. I bet you're better at prayer than you think you are. And I bet you pray more than you think you do. When a person prays to AI, they encounter AI. But when a person prays to the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, they encounter God. Do you want to encounter him? If you do pray, You want to avoid wandering on your way to the promised land. Build your life on it. Stand with me if you're able. I want to. I want to pray for us, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. I just want to give you a moment all around the room. I recommend you close your eyes, but you don't have to. It's just to minimize distractions. I want to give you just a moment and give you an opportunity to just begin to, in your own personal way, begin to pray to your maker. And specifically, I want to invite you to express your desire to encounter him to the degree that you want to. I'm gonna give it about 30 to 60 seconds. Respect the people around you, please. But take an opportunity. And I'm going to pray over us. For some of you, you're a Christian man, and I don't just mean gender like you're a Christian, but if you're honest, you're in a space where you're wandering on your way to heaven, like you're yielding more to your feelings and to your flesh than you are to your Father in heaven. And I feel like God wants you to know that you don't have to wander anymore. Like you can walk with God again. Like you need grace, you need forgiveness. And I feel a responsibility that you would hear from me this morning that all the grace and the forgiveness you could ever need is available to you in Jesus, his perfect life credited to you, his blood shed for you like it's for you for the millionth time. Come. Come get it. Come and get it. Some of you, others of you, you're faithful like you are. But despite your faithfulness, you might still be wandering, too. And the reason for that is because you belong to a body, and what we do or don't do affects others. What one member of the body does affects the whole body. If you're in that space where the wandering feels beyond you, despite your faithfulness, I just want to. I want to encourage you to do what Moses did, to intercede in prayer on behalf of your brothers and your sisters in this church. And if that bothers you, if you're like, Tom, I don't like that. Like, I shouldn't be responsible for them. I'm not my brother's keeper. That's exactly what Cain said to God when he asked him about his brother Abel. If that's where your heart's at, you're wandering just as much as anybody else. Pray for them. Or maybe you're here, Jesus, help me. Maybe you're here. In your wandering is a much more dangerous kind of wandering, because you're not wandering on your way to the promised land. You're wandering on your way to somewhere else. Like, heaven's not where you're headed. If you're here at the chance there's anybody here. Like, if you died tonight and you stood before your maker and you're not. [01:06:30] Speaker B: Absolutely sure what would happen to you. You're not absolutely certain that he would embrace you and say, well done, good and faithful servant. [01:06:45] Speaker A: I'm here to tell you that this morning, you can be sure, because he desires you. [01:06:50] Speaker B: He desires to bring you into the promised land. He desires to bring you into the fullness of the kingdom of heaven, things the way they're supposed to be. If the chance there's anybody in the room that you haven't yet given your life to, Jesus said, I want you to be my savior and my leader, both of them. [01:07:10] Speaker A: You can. [01:07:12] Speaker B: You can be certain today. Because despite every single mistake, you've made despite every single failure you're responsible for. In the same way that Moses was interceding for the people, There's a high priest in heaven. His name is Jesus. He's been interceding for you your whole life. [01:07:30] Speaker A: And he's saying, come to me. [01:07:32] Speaker B: So if you want to be sure, if you want to be certain, you can be. Jesus has gone to great lengths to. [01:07:38] Speaker A: Purchase your salvation if you'd only receive it, and you can. He wants you. It's the gospel. It's the best news ever. And it's for all of us. It's for me, Jesus. Thank you. So if you're here and you're wandering in any way, in any way, I don't want you to leave without coming forward and being prayed over. I think God wants to bless you in ways that will blow your mind. Prayer team, Will you make your way to the front? My question for us, friends, will this be a year of wandering, or will it be a year of walking with God on the way to the promised land? Father, I'm gonna let my words be few. Please have your way among us. Please have your way among us and every single one of us. [01:08:42] Speaker B: I'm not trying to be dramatic. [01:08:44] Speaker A: I know there's. I have a face mic, and sometimes I hate it, but, God, you hear my prayers. You know my heart. You know every single one of our hearts. You see us. Have your way among us. May we experience the fullness of your kingdom. We love you. It's in your beautiful name that we pray. [01:09:02] Speaker B: Amen. [01:09:06] Speaker A: So what we're going to do for the next 10 minutes is we're going to fill the room with praise, Thanksgiving. Thank you, God. The band's going to lead us. They're going to give you an opportunity. Take the opportunity to respond. Give him your worship. Give him your praise. [01:09:20] Speaker B: And if you're wandering in any way. [01:09:22] Speaker A: In any way, come receive prayer. You can come now. I love you guys very much. Enjoy him.