EASTER AT DEEPER - LIVE

[Music] so [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] hello family happy easter happy resurrection sunday it's such a joy to be with you this is the day that the lord has made and we rejoice and are glad in it and we are so excited to worship with you especially on easter sunday absolutely and then easter weekend we had an open house come to the house you guys were able to see it was so cool it was so cool to see so many of you you know talking with you hugging your necks you know still messed up obviously you know respecting our space but man what a time we had just celebrating the miracle of this house the miracle that god has given us and so man such a pleasure such a joy to see so many of you enjoy again just experiencing with us the miracle that god has given us our many family reunions absolutely and we want to encourage you all to use the chat room because we want to hear from you we're not in the same building right now pastor isn't saying tap your neighbor and say you know all of that we literally have this platform virtually to connect with each other so let us know where you're watching from if it's the us or the uk or africa or australia or near far if you're in orlando tampa let us hear from you and if you have any prayer requests dfc is a praying church it is a part of who we are and we want to pray with and for you so let us know so that your brothers and sisters from all over the world will call out your name in prayer yeah i think it was last sunday there was a a lady watching she had a prayer request and she shared it in the chat yeah and i saw all of our people flop hey we're praying for you hey we're with you hey you know we're standing with you and that's just the power of the of agreement but also the power of communities so yeah do that and new viewers if you're watching we want to say welcome happy easter to you happy resurrection sunday and now that you're watching and now that you're here make sure you sign up for our text messaging list um there's always stuff happening like we talked about the open house you know that happened this past weekend we got you know zooms that are coming up and all sorts of things going on but we want to make sure that we communicate those things to you so sign up for our text messaging list so you can stay in the know all you have to do is text dfc to 844-929-2001 right now to be connected and families with little ones who are watching we have something for you too head on over parents family members to wwe all new lessons crafts videos activities for your child to love and to learn in god's presence also as your child is doing their craft you take a picture of everything else i literally have like thousands of pictures yeah but we want to see those pictures so when you post on your social media we have a hashtag use our hashtag hashtag my deeper arrow so that we can see how your child is loving god's presence and parents keep the ink and the paper because we know you're going to run out eventually i have run out several times you're printing off put it on auto ship on amazon honestly then you can just get it yeah it just shows up you know my kids we've been doing this for so long now they'll remind us if we forget i love it joanna one of my daughters she'll come in and say hey are we doing children's lesson i'm like i'm sorry we forgot you go let's get the printer going let's get the ink running so yeah go ahead pants and do that why don't you go ahead and share and subscribe this broadcast if you're watching us on facebook go ahead and share if you're on youtube subscribe to our channel that way every time we go live you know about it well it's time to prepare our hearts for worship but i want to remind us of something that the apostle paul reminded a group of people of in his day found in first corinthians uh chapter 15. um if you can go there i got my paper bible this morning it's easter sunday um exactly it's easter sunday so i brought my paper bible i love it but paul wanted to remind a group of believers of the importance of christ being raised from the dead you know obviously this is easter sunday and for us there's so much to celebrate i mean family our whole experience hinges on this faith in christ salvation through christ was made possible because of this day right here but there was some group of people there's a group of people at that time that was saying christ didn't rise from the dead and paul wanted to put them in their place by reminding them of this glorious reality he says this now if christ's proclaim is raised from the dead how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead that's what they were saying hey he didn't really rise but if there's no resurrection the dead paul said then not even christ has been raised and if christ has not been raised he said then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain but down in verse 20 he makes a glorious statement i'm skipping a few verses because he makes this statement he says but in fact christ has been raised from the dead the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep his pronouncement to them was some people were saying it didn't happen and he was saying look if it didn't happen we should be pitied right but guess what it did happen you could put that in the chat it happened it happened he has been raised from the dead and because he was raised guess what that means we were raised with him and so on this day let's open our hearts to worship embracing this reality afresh that we don't worship a dead god we worship a risen savior and so this morning let's prepare our hearts to worship our risen savior let's pray father we truly know that this is a day of rejoicing for the people of god god because christ has been raised from the dead we can rejoice in this glorious reality that we too have new life god i pray for brothers and sisters uh that are sharing and watching this broadcast all over the world father that their faith would be ignited afresh by this by the empty tomb god this is such something that just lights our heart on fire as we think about what you did for us how you defeated death and sin and the grave and because you have been raised we too were raised god we thank you for this glorious reality and we pray as we worship god we worship with this in mind that you defeated it all you who knew no sin became sin that we might become the righteousness of god in christ jesus and for that we give you glory for that we give you honor and for that we give you praise we thank you for all these things and we thank you for jesus coming dying but ultimately rising in your name we pray amen family let's worship our righteousness [Applause] happy resurrection sunday deeper family we're so excited as always to get to worship with you listen jesus got up so i need you to get excited about it today we're gonna lift him and praise him because he's worthy of it all come on [Music] [Music] his body was broken for our transgressions but i'm so glad that's not where my story is [Music] sin has lost its grip on me he is come on get excited about that oh jesus [Music] his righteousness [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] gave me a reason to dance [Music] who the sun sets free is free indeed morning spirit i'm grateful for the savior god is [Music] is thank you for rising this is our song say hallelujah [Music] is if you know that jesus lives somebody shout right where you are we celebrate today that he got up he got up he rose from the grave and he calls us out of darkness come up with those hands together where you are we're gonna sing this song about what he's done for us [Music] [Music] i was breathing the night [Music] it was [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] caught us out of darkness into your life come on [Music] oh [Music] god this is our story we say this i needed rescue my sin was heavy my chains break at the weight of your glory i needed shelter i was an orphan now you call me [Applause] oh jesus [Music] now the bible says it tells us to show forth the praise of him who has called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light so if he's called you out of the grave and into his glory i need you to make some space where you are i need you to declare this out of your mouth are you ready make this declaration of what jesus has done come on this good news i'm living in the land now i'm living in the light now i'm living in the night now i'm living in the light now [Music] when now i'm [Music] he called my name yeah [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] come on if you're living in the light of jesus can you please lift your voice and lift your hands to one more time and to say hallelujah thank you jesus we are free because of you in your presence we are free and we lift our hands in this moment to set our attention on you we say thank you for all that you've done [Music] [Applause] we love you only you can say it is fine my soul only you can love me [Music] you are the greatest [Music] you [Music] [Applause] is [Laughter] [Music] is can love me [Music] jesus is [Music] [Music] [Music] is jesus [Music] jesus how sweet your name is [Music] come on just place your attention on him and sing it out jesus [Music] jesus [Music] you jesus your choice [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Music] oh jesus come on lift your hands [Music] jesus [Music] jesus [Music] you jesus [Music] is [Music] we there's nobody [Music] a second think of all is he's done for you think of where you are in this we look moment your eyes and we cry [Music] oh we love you [Music] yes is [Music] i [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] is we find that it's only in you you are holy you are worthy and we honor you come on keep your attention keep your hands lifted let's continue to magnify the lord it was my cross you boy so i could live in the freedom you died for [Music] and now my life is yours and i will sing of your goodness forever worthy is your life jesus you deserve the praise worthy is your name worthy is your name jesus you deserve my praise [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] [Applause] jesus [Music] is [Music] of every breath of every song [Music] as your glory fills this place you alone [Music] as your glory fills this place [Music] you [Music] is oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] let him is up the name of jesus [Music] away fade away jesus take your place is sickness [Music] jesus your voice oh god take your place paul can't take your picture this is our prayer father in the earth in the nation in your church would you take your pleasure would you be the center would you be the sitter [Music] is is oh jesus [Music] oh [Music] oh jesus thank you [Music] let all the other names fade away till there's only you let all the other names fade away jesus take your place jesus take your place be the center again [Music] be our reason again be our devotion again be alone again [Music] anything we put in your place we tear it down we tear it down we tear it down we tear it down we cast down the idols now we tear it down jesus take your place in our hearts in our minds jesus take your place in your church in your church in your church god jesus take your place we cry out say jesus jesus take your place there's only one worthy there's only one worthy of worship there's only one worthy of praise there's only one worthy of adoration there's only one worthy of our hearts affection it's only one worthy of our attention there's only one worthy of our worship the laying down of our lives our surrender our submission there's only one worthy of our submission to the process of god to even go through suffering there's only one worthy in his name is jesus in heaven there was only one worthy to open the scroll and the seal it was the lamb of god who was slain there is only one worthy family this morning we are celebrating the resurrection of our lord and savior jesus christ all around the world there have been gatherings happening in earlier different time zones and there will be gatherings that happen in in later time zones that we'll all magnify we'll all point to we'll all fix its attention upon the one who is worthy that is king jesus and today we join in with the millions and quite possibly billions of believers today who are centering their focus centering their attention on the only one who is worthy if you're watching this if you're watching today and you you find yourself and you're saying why why are they making such a big deal about jesus well obviously you know that around the world this is what we call resurrection sunday it was the day that thousands of years ago our shave arose from the grave with all power in his hand and is it was the prophetic announcement of a forever hope or forever power of new life that we could find in jesus and today is the day that we proclaim around the world that there is only one that is worthy hearing a sing songs of affection and adoration you're hearing us say that there's only one who is worthy you're hearing us say that we're tearing down the idols and that he is the only one that will receive our affection and tension may be wondering why we're making such a big deal about this i was just spending some time in worship and began to think to myself this is this is appropriate this worship that we are giving the lord is appropriated not only is it appropriate for now it is appropriate forever you see when when we're saying that the lord is worthy or we're declaring that he's he is worthy of this affection or attention or worship or praise we're not just saying it because it sounds good or we're not just saying it because it's a churchy worship thing to do we're saying it because jesus has done something that no one else has done and his doing of this thing has provoked has brought about this response if any of you have watched sports you've usually at the end of the game they have this interview and the interview is usually with the star player or the player who had an outstanding performance or the player that had done something extraordinary that had led his team to victory last night i happened to be watching the semi-final of gonzaga versus ucla and it finished in a wild way where there was a buzzer beater shot from about half court and immediately my mind knew who was going to get the interview at the end of the game immediately i knew who the attention was going to be on at the end of the game immediately i knew who was going to get the praise or the glory or the affection or the attention at the end of the game because there was someone who had done something extraordinary that immediately my mind and my heart knew they're going to get the attention they're going to get the worship they're going to get the praise the camera is going to be on them eyes are going to be on them everyone wants to know what they're going to say what they're going to do what their point of view was what their perspective was how it happened in their mind immediately my spirit knew who was going to get the attention because there was someone who did something that no one else had done during the entire game and family this is the day and this is the hour and can i say for the believer it is for the rest of our life where the cameras position themselves where the eyes focus in the hands say and the mouse say jesus we give you the attention we give you the worship we give you the praise in actuality all of heaven all of earth joins in and will join in for all eternity to focus in on the lamb of god the one who did what no one else did the one who took my sins when no one else did the one who forgave me when no one else did the one who was buried the one who rose again the one who did what no one else did and so that is why all around the world the collective cameras of our heart focus in on the one who is worthy and we lift our hands we lift our voices lift our songs we say worthy is your name jesus you deserve the praise worthy is your name you have done what no one else has done you have done what no one else has done should we position ourselves to give you worship and praise we will not give it to another for no one else has done but you are done [Music] wherever you are which is posture yourself in your home please please don't give don't interview anyone else don't focus your attention on anyone else how strange would it be for the reporter to interview the player on the bench who did not ever get in the game and how silly of us to ever worship or point our attention to shame or guilt or sin or condemnation or sickness or this person or that celebrity how foolish would it be for us to give worship and attention to anyone else except for the one who has done what no one else has done the one who is worthy the one jesus it is because of what jesus has done we make a big deal about him not just today but for the rest of our lives we choose not to pay attention to anyone else other than the one who is worthy [Music] i'm so amazed the cross is is unexplainable it's it's you can't put it into words and then when you think of resurrection and what jesus did you worship for the rest of our lives and we will worship for the rest of our lives but i know that this morning or today you are you're watching and you may have some needs that maybe on your heart and on your mind i don't want to move past that and jesus is available to take care of those needs but i want you to understand that we're not going to the place of prayer wondering if he can or if he will or no no we are fully aware that our god can and will why why can i say that so confidently i say that because we never prayed for jesus but god sent him we we never asked to be safe from our sin but yet he knew what we needed and he sent his son to die bear be buried and raise again so the the reality is is if we were given the greatest answer when we never prayed for it how much more will he answer if we ask him and if we're asking him for healing and asking him for deliverance and asking him for provision surely that is far less than the ultimate price of our salvation the fact that he sent jesus as we've said before he's done the ultimate thing so why would he not do the lester thing and so right now wherever you are whatever you need you can be confident that god hears and answers your prayer because when you weren't even praying he sent the answer how much more will he send an answer now to you who cry out to him as his children father i pray for those who are watching today lord that as they cry out to you with their needs needs of healing needs of provision needs of protection lord needs of strength whatever it may be father may they find rest may they find confidence may they know that you hear and answer prayer lord i thank you i thank you that before you went to the cross you made a pit stop to be flogged lord to have your skin and flesh torn apart stripes laid upon your back to purchase the healing of your people father i thank you that healing is not something that we are claiming just as a personal desire but it is our inheritance based on what you did father i thank you that those who are dealing with sickness in their body they receive healing in the name of jesus that those who are dealing with tormenting spirits father now in the name of jesus would they be freed by the power of your spirit lord i thank you right now that you are touching people who have been dealing with tormenting spirits in the mind spirits in the mind lord that have caused them to to even go into a uh ptsd state some lord ocd some others anxiety and stress at a level they've never experienced before for some others lords caused them to enter into a fear like never before father i thank you that right now you're dealing with mental illness right now for those who are watching you have some people in your family and some of you are even been battling that right now the tormenting spirit is gone in the name of jesus we speak to you tormenting spirit and we say you must go now may the shalom of heaven the shalom of god come now and invade your mind we speak peace be still to your mind we thank you now lord we thank you now lord we thank you loud lord it wasn't just circumstantial anxiety or circumstantial fear no there was a spirit assigned to your mind to torment it but now in the name of jesus we call on resurrection power to be made manifest in your mind may it destroy every work of darkness and may you receive clarity again peace again for we thank you we thank you family we can never worship the lord enough so as we've already sung to the lord and already worshiped and glorified him i want us to be led in another moment of worship by deeper worship as they continue to exalt the lord to give him glory let's take the collective cameras of our heart the focus the attention of our spirit let's place it up all upon the worthy one let's glorify him let's lift him up let's make him big and let's make him great in our homes wherever we are watching because there truly is one that is worthy and his name is jesus let's worship together [Music] so [Music] why is that [Music] sing a new song to him who sits on heaven's mercy [Music] holy holy holy [Music] with all creation i sing praise to the king of kings you are my everything and i will adore you [Music] oh [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] mr such a beautiful thank you [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] the moon and stars that went the morning sun was there the savior of the world was falling his body on the cross his blood poured out for us the weight of every curse upon him [Music] again [Music] the son of god [Music] forever is is [Music] is [Applause] [Music] sing hallelujah we sing hallelujah the lame is over we sing hallelujah we sing is [Music] hallelujah [Music] because he lives i can face tomorrow [Music] all my fears are gone [Music] my future [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] key [Music] [Applause] is [Music] you're alive [Music] is [Music] i i am free [Music] i am i can sing she you we want to let you know the resurrection is not just an event but the resurrection is a person and his name is jesus his name is jesus his name is jesus [Music] his name is says [Music] that's good [Music] me [Music] and because you got up we can get back up again because you rose we have a home and we have a future we've been caught out of darkness into your marvelous lighter where would we be without the cross where would we be without the grave where would we be without the empty tomb we thank you that you're the god that turns graves into garbage you're the god that turns our grave into a dance floor you're the god that turns our grave into a dance floor we celebrate the blood we celebrate the empty tomb we celebrate you jesus hallelujah hallelujah how many are thankful that our savior is alive because he's alive we are alive and we're so thankful today to be celebrating the resurrection of our lord and savior jesus christ wherever you're watching from today we want to say welcome to easter at deeper resurrection sunday we're so thankful for all of you who have joined us across the world who are celebrating who are turning your attention to who are giving worship and honor and glory to jesus the only one who is worthy and the only one who will ever be worthy of worship and praise we're so thankful to be with you today and we're so grateful for the presence of the lord that we sense tangibly here among us and we know you can sense tangibly wherever you are i want to invite you into a continuation of our worship uh it's one of the things that we do here as a community and it is a part of who we are as a house and that is generosity we love to be generous to the lord and it's an extension of our worship our thankfulness our gratitude our love and affection to the lord and we want to invite you into this moment of generosity all the ways to give are on your screen currently and we want to thank you for your faithful giving deeper you continue to be outrageously and i don't say that uh as as just a trite statement we we say this with truth you have continued to be outrageously generous uh to the lord and we are so thankful for your generosity as many of you who live here locally within the central florida area got to see your generosity is accomplishing much here in the building in the space that we have occupied and are preparing to welcome all of you not just here locally but from around the world when the lord allows you can you can see that your generosity is accomplishing much uh and it's also allowing us to be a blessing to those within our local community and those uh outside of our local community we want to thank you for your generosity all the ways to give are on the screen you can text any amount to 84321 you can go to the deeper app the website and church center and you can give effectively there today i i want to share something with you and usually in these moments i have a particular passage of scripture uh that i read and usually i'm i'm holding some sort of uh either bible device or paper bible you're not seeing me hold up a bible today you're saying well what's what's going on with that is pastor caleb is he lost did he lose his bible is he no longer going to go to the scripture i'm going to go to the scripture but i'm going to reference a few things that i don't have time to fully read for us today because i was just actually driving uh with my wife the other day and i was actually thinking about this time of generosity while we're in the car something occurred to me whenever you watch a movie there are a number of characters or people who make up the movie and and depending on the role that they're playing they can be seen as good or bad or in different characters to the story when you leave the movie after you finished watching it depending on how the movie played out you might you know leave the movie saying i really like this character i really like that character i hated that character i hate the way that they operated in the movie and and how many of you are getting my feelings really quickly you know you watch start watching the movie and you start disliking the person as if they're not even acting as if like this is really happening has that ever happened to anybody you leave the movie and you go to the instagram page and you're like i don't like you because of what you did in the movie right uh i'll be guilty so so so i understand maybe some of you like yeah i get it well when we read the scripture it's not a movie okay they're not acting this is real life these are not just characters these were real people but when i look at the story of the passion of our christ there are a number of different individuals that when you look at the story you can say i really like this character i i really like this person i really like the role they played in in the story of our christ when when we look at the story of jesus many of us dislike judas or we we dislike peter at the beginning because he denied jesus we maybe dislike herod or pontius pilate or or the soldiers who mock jesus and we look through the story we find a number of different people say man how could they do that to our lord and savior but i look at the story and i see some people who are are woven into this story that has been told for thousands of years and will be told for all of time on this earth i look at the story the greatest story of all time story of injustice betrayal resurrection power suffering triumph joy denial all of these things happen within the story of our savior i look at the individuals who are part of the story and i began to notice something i go to john chapter 12 and i look at mary from bethany who the scripture says breaks open this box of expensive ointment and perfume pours it upon jesus and the scripture says she didn't know it at the time that she was anointing jesus for his burial then i i fast forward and i look at luke 22 and the man who had prepared a room to host the passover meal didn't know that jesus was going to show up but he had a room already prepared and he offers this to the lord and it's the place where jesus has a passover meal how great was communion on friday by the way wasn't that an incredible time in the presence of the lord then i i fast forward a little more and i i look at simon of cyrene who gives of himself his own physical strength to carry the cross of jesus up golgotha's hill because jesus so beaten so weakened by the stripes he took for your healing simon takes up the cross to god got this heel he gives of himself and then i think of joseph of arimathea we don't really talk about him much but the scripture says that he takes a risk to care for the body of jesus and he gives up his tomb to jesus but as we know he got its tune back because jesus didn't stay there then i think of mary magdalene who went to the tomb and anointed jesus body with with ointment and spices and she becomes the first woman preacher to declare the best message of resurrection power to the disciples and i think of all these people who seemingly are are nobodies on the outside on the fringes of the story and find themselves into the story that is told forever and i look at the common thread generosity mary gives the ointment the man gives the room simon gives his strength joseph gives his tomb and mary gives her spices and ointment and they all get included in the greatest story in human history not because they preached a great message prophesied someone's future cashed out a demon raised up a large ministry no generosity and god said i'll include you in the story for all of human history what am i saying this morning i'm saying you get to be a part of the greatest story in human history simply through generosity the giving of yourselves the giving of your time the giving of your resources you allow the story to be passed on and then you also get inserted in the story you become mary of bethany you become mary magdalene you become simon cyrene you become joseph of arimathea you become the one who gave his room you become a part of the story because you are willing to give of what you had to jesus this is the invitation it's more than just downloading an app and inputting some numbers it's more than just writing a check it's more than just giving your reoccurring gift you are entering into the story and you get to be a part of the greatest story through generosity family i pray that you would receive this today that through your generosity you'd enter into the story the greatest story ever we're so thankful that the lord allows us this opportunity to be generous to him we're going to prepare our hearts shortly for the lord but before we do we introduce the song to you the team introduced a song to you this past friday and actually was written by our very own chris lawson and trinity anderson we're so thankful for the gift that god has placed on the inside of them to give language and and these melodies and harmonies to a sound that really leads us to a place where we honor the lord so before we hear the word of the lord we want to show this song this declaration back into your hearts we want you to join us again from this moment in good on good friday where we sing about the one who gave up everything for us our lord and savior jesus christ let's worship together we thank you god for your love that you poured it out on the cross you showed us how far your love will go that the king of glory will come to earth and take our place and die the death that we deserve to die the death that we should have died the weight of every curse upon him but he took it all on his shoulders you took it all up your shoulders jesus and it's all because of your love for us you put your life on the line you left the 99 to come after us you you put your life on the line and we lift our voices now we thank you for your sacrifice thank you for your love [Music] thank you lord we were helpless you came right on time oh what a love [Music] to die oh what a sacrifice we lift our hands and we say how great how great how wild [Music] how great how great how wild is your love oh god we declare what you did [Music] [Applause] [Music] is is how great [Music] oh is [Music] [Music] has done look what your love has done look what your love has you left heaven for a dream that's how far your love will go lifted high for all to see just how far you're [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] you were shake her how great we celebrated look what your love has done [Music] is is is [Music] we right [Music] foreign [Music] that's how far god [Music] lifted high just as you rose lord you proved just how far your love will go [Music] there's no way you won't keep down [Music] coming after me after me is oh oh oh oh this is [Music] he just loves you [Music] thank you for chasing me is oh the overwhelming never ending reckless love of god once it again me down fights till i [Music] leave [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] father we thank you we thank you for your amazing love we thank you that you paid the debt that we owed but could not pay it was our cross that you bore those were our nails that you took in your hands and in your feet those were the stripes that we deserved but we thank you that your word declares that by your stripes we are healed so the stripes that you took for us the stripes that we deserve have resulted in healing for us so we thank you jesus we thank you for salvation we thank you for deliverance we thank you for the hope that we find in your cross we thank you for the power that is in your blood we thank you that you're strong enough to break the yoke that you're strong enough to tear down the walls you're strong enough to tear down the lies you're strong enough to move the mountains you are strong enough to make a way we thank you jesus for your love you didn't have to do it but you did [Music] i know it was over 2000 years ago we still stand amazed at your sacrifice we still stand amazed and we still stand in all of you in all of your love for us and all of your love for us a good shepherd leaves the 99 he puts his life at risk he puts his life on the line to go after the one that's lost and we thank you that you did what a good shepherd does you put your love on the line you put your life on the line you paid it all for us we stand with gratitude we say thank you jesus [Music] thank you we love you we honor you we bless you for the rest of our days we're grateful for what you've done we seal this moment all that has been said and all that has been sung in your matchless name in the name of jesus if you love the lord somebody shout out amen right where you are hallelujah amen hallelujah thank you jesus i know when you probably move from forward from this moment you're probably gonna be singing that refrain over and over thinking about the lord look what your love has done yeah look what your love has done [Music] hallelujah we're so incredibly grateful for deeper worship and chris lawson and trinity anderson and the band and the team they are phenomenal and i know that uh because we receive emails every week and we see comments on the post every week you're like please please don't take that down we want to watch it we want to go back to it want to hear it again and i understand there has been a secret that i've been holding from you for quite some time and i wasn't actually planning on telling you right now but i just feel like it's a good moment to tell you i texted pastor jason i said i think this is a good moment he agrees so i'm going to let the little secret out there's a reason why we've been pulling down our worship from youtube there's there's a lot of different reasons for that but one specific reason why we know that you enjoy the worship and go back to the worship and people all over the world uh watch deeper worship and uh enjoy deeper worship some people even copy deeper worship it's all good but but all of those things happen but but god has given this house a sound and it's giving these individuals a sound and and so the secret that i want to let out to you in this moment is that deeper worship is releasing their own project i know i wish y'all were in the room so y'all could share or something and uh so these worship moments are about to go around the world very very soon and that is the reason why we have not been leaving the worship up because deeper worship is going to have its own youtube channel where you can experience all of that worship that you experience on a regular basis but so that the rest of the world can experience that worship i know that they should experience the word too but but so do the rest of the world can experience that worship without having to to go through all of our services in order to experience it and so we're so excited because the rivers are going out as the lord has given us instruction to do as a house and so that's another manifestation of rivers going out to the world and so the reason why you haven't been able to go back and get it is because you're going to be able to have it for all time uh in your home in your car or wherever you are and so we are so excited about that so i wish you were in the room so we could clap and cheer together but i'm hoping that the comments are going crazy or something but deeper worship is releasing its own project very very soon and we are so excited about it you'll have more details as time moves forward if you're ready for the word say let's go deeper you know what to do let's go deeper i want us to stand and read the word uh together i'm gonna actually read i'll passage of scripture and as you know we stand to read the word i am so grateful to have the privilege of proclaiming the gospel proclaiming the word of the lord i i'm so glad that god has called me to do this and he's called all of us to do it but i'm glad that i have the opportunity to do it right now so if you could stand uh turn your attention uh in your bible so isaiah chapter nine isaiah chapter nine you're gonna say pastor um we normally read isaiah chapter nine for christmas you didn't recognize this resurrection right and i do uh but the lord has something to say to us out of that i'm going to read it out of the christian standard bible and then we are going to pray together and jump right in to our time of the word of the lord uh the people this is what the bible says verse 2 of isaiah chapter 9 the people walking in darkness have seen a great light a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness you have enlarged the nation and increased its joy have that sorry that somebody put something in there on the screen there so let me read it from my screen all right the people walking in darkness have seen a great light a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness you have enlarged the nation and increased its joy the people have rejoiced before you as they rejoice at harvest time as they rejoice when dividing spoils you have shattered their oppressive yoke and the rod on their shoulders the staff of their oppressor just as you did in the day of midian for every trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire for a child will be born for us a son will be given to us and the government will be on his shoulders he will be named wonderful counselor mighty god eternal father prince of peace the dominion will be vast and its prosperity will never end he will reign on the throne of david and over his kingdom to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever the zeal of the lord of armies will accomplish this let's pray together father i thank you for the declaration and the proclamation of your word father i thank you for how you by the power of your holy spirit were translated and interpreted to every heart and we will all not only receive but be changed by the word of the lord father i pray as always that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart will be acceptable in thy sight o lord my strength and my redeemer as your son it is my desire and as your servant it is my desire to make you proud and father i pray that you use me for these next few moments anoint me to proclaim your word which is already anointed and because of your goodness grace and mercy would you save people not only watching this stream not only watching right now but in every place around the world in every church around the world and every place where the gospel is being proclaimed may there be fruit today and may there be a great harvest in jesus name amen you can be seated you can be seated i actually have a story today i have a pastor caleb anointing on me to at least begin here but um i have to be very careful to be honest with you because um this story is about uh my kids but but the reason why i have to be very careful is because my children do not like being used as object lessons or examples in fact if i ever use them specifically by name which i will not be doing today but if i ever use them for an object lesson or they figure out who i'm talking about when i get home after the stream i get the assignment treatment for my children that normally when i get home it is a joyous raucous occasion they run and they all say daddy and it's just an amazing amazing time but if i use them as an example i get the silent treatment so i have to be really really careful with this i figure maybe that's one of the reasons why i don't tell family stories the way that pastor caleb was able to so artfully use every circumstance in his life to become a preaching message but in this particular case and i admire it but in this particular case i i was thinking about something specifically um as as we were uh you know every parent has a desire in their in their life and their parenting skills no no parent doesn't care about their kids they all care very deeply about their kids and and want the best for their children and so you know you set out and then there's certain things you set out to do you're like okay they're gonna you know go to the best of this they're gonna have the best of this and that kind of thing and you do the best of your ability based on where you are to do it and one of the things that parents desire to do and set out to do is to make sure that whenever their children eat they they have said it in their heart that it's going to be a balanced and nutritious meal that they're going to have all the different food groups and they're going to be healthy and things of that nature and so you know you do your best and all of that we're going to eat fruits and vegetables and grains and all that kind of stuff that that is a wonderful thing and when your children are infants they don't have a choice you you you go to the baby food island and you know that some of that stuff you're choosing is nasty i mean it's just like okay you know green machine and and peas and pureed peas and all this kind of stuff like you would never eat that yourself but you as a parent you're like my child is going to get nutrients they are going to be nutritious they are going to be healthy i'm going to make sure that they have all the different food groups and this works until they become toddlers and when your children become toddlers their will shows up and when their will shows up um you you now find yourself in in the midst of a a battle that is actually stronger than you've ever recognized no one ever really tells you ahead of time uh the will of children my children my wife and i our children are very strong willed uh that's that's what we'll call them strong will uh strong will is what they are and they have a very strong will and they express their opinion freely and and that kind of thing and we do appreciate that and we'll appreciate that as they continue to get older but but what most people don't tell you is how strong-willed a child is and how they will literally match which with you in an attempt to break you down they are literally trying to find out can i outlast you and so um at dinner time um this is one of the struggles we we as parents know uh those of you who are parents of toddlers now you're like yes please preach it um for those of you who remember uh toddler years um you're like oh yeah i remember that and for those of you who have yet to come it for whatever reason it just seems like the lord makes you deaf to this kind of stuff and i totally get it so it's all good because you're like i still i can't oh the little bundle of joy they are bundles of joy when they're asleep but but but the reality is at dinner time for a toddler um this can become a time where they exert their will bedtime is another time that they exert their will we go back and forth uh with bedtime and going to bed and that kind of thing now i know some of you are militaristic in your patterns and all that kind of stuff god bless you but for the normal people we go through struggles um at these times and so uh for the normal all so all the normal people say amen for those of you who are super nanny you got it together god bless you may your anointing increase but for those of us who who go through we're normal people we go through some strong-willed times we go through these battles and and for for one of our children we uh endeavor and i i'll just insert this the more children you have uh the more your will has already been broken down and so it's for example um if you if you if you have one child they're always dressed you know shirt pants the whole deal whatever when you have multiple children a diaper is pants just saying just saying that after a while it just kind of when you have one child they drop a fork on the floor you know you make sure you wash it with soap and everything else when you have multiple children you count how long it's been on the floor and say pick it up and go ahead you're fine five second rule it counts that kind of thing is so and and and most of us are laughing the only one that's not laughing right now is my mother um she's just like no you're gonna wash that that's my grandchildren i get it all good but but stay with me here so so what happens is with one of our with one of our children obviously our endeavor to to provide healthy meals and things like that um it has always remained and we've continued to do that and my wife and i you know we're we're intentional about that specifically my wife is very intentional about making sure we have the different food groups making sure that everyone eats something green and all that kind of stuff but one of our children i'm just would not eat anything but chicken nuggets now you understand that that that you know obviously we don't want to eat feed our children process food and all that kind of stuff so don't don't come at me or whatever until you have a strong-willed child so that this particular child had a a a thing it was like i'm not gonna eat anything but chicken nuggets every night no matter what the meal was this child wanted chicken nuggets and it was like we could put out other food and ultimately they would refuse to eat because this particular child wanted chicken nuggets for every single dinner and ultimately because you don't want to starve them you eventually give them chicken nuggets well i was talking with pastor jason one time of course he if you're ever having a struggle with with children or wondering whether or not your your child is going through something unique why don't you talk to someone who has 10 of them and so you'll recognize really quickly okay so it's not just us it's not our parenting children actually do this okay i feel better now and so i was talking with pastor jason when i talk about pastor jason he made a statement at the time um that that may seem to be harsh to all of you but just understand they have ten wonderful beautiful children all of them are saved they're amazing they love the lord they love each other they are well behaved well-mannered they are all going to be great they're all going to be great for the kingdom jason and jessica have done a phenomenal job with them so when he gives me advice i can listen and so when i say this next thing don't come for him because he's doing amazing all right so so he he he made this statement to me he said well hunger wins and when he said that statement he said most parents underestimate the will of a toddler what is happening in your house is that your toddler has learned that they can outlast you they have learned that somehow or another no matter what you put in front of them if they refuse it long enough eventually your will will bend not theirs eventually their will your will will bend and you will give them what they want and so what they have learned even though they cannot articulate it is that if i last long enough if i if i if i refuse long enough if i don't eat these peas if i don't eat these green beans if i don't eat this long enough they're going to let me eat and they're finally going to give me what i want most of you do not think that your toddler is doing that but your toddler is sizing you up they are looking you up and down saying what you got for me that's what your toddler is doing to you you may not recognize it but but essentially most adults underestimate the will of a toddler and as a result of the underestimation what happens is you and i who love our children and don't want them to be hungry we eventually we bend and we give them what they want when pastor jason said hunger wins i was like okay wait wait hold up what are you saying and he essentially said this because you are underestimating the will of your talk but you need to take it back by doing this you let them know this is dinner tonight and i said well they don't eat the dinner that we set out and he said oh they will because hunger wins this is the dinner this is the meal and so um we we don't give options because when you have 10 kids you can't decide what do you want to eat and what do you want to eat what do you this is what we're eating right and so so you don't really get a choice at that and so your toddler has learned that if they refuse what you do long enough you will bend and give them what they want and so now they have trained you to give them chicken nuggets and now i'm feeling a little like okay wait a minute defeated and i want to you know stick out my chest and say okay we're going to do this thing this is you don't get an option well now you know all mothers all mothers are like okay wait a minute i don't like this idea i brought this idea to my my wife and i said hey i was talking with jason and he said this and hunger wins and i'm not with that i'm not sending them away hungry so it took a little bit and i get all mothers are kind of like you know dads and moms process things differently so i totally get it everybody's different so so but but this continued on for a little bit and i kept saying i mean hunger wins hunger wins and so finally we agreed to test out this theory to see how long it would go and literally we we put out the food and the child said i do not want this food and in the way that toddlers do either by crying or throwing the food and and so uh ultimately it's like well okay you don't have to eat it and so the toddler thought they won they got down they started playing everyone else is eating the food we finish the food the toddler's plan whatever the food is still there on the table and ultimately the toddler said i'm hungry and i said i know and there's food but i don't want that food okay you don't have to have it and so they went and kept playing and they came back again and said i'm hungry and i said i know and we have food for you and i said but i don't want that food i said okay you don't have to eat it so they started playing and then without us saying a word they got in their seat went to the table and ate all of it because hunger wins learned in that moment that we had been underestimating the will of our toddler i want to spend a moment talking about a a topic that that is not necessarily a headline a scripture or anything else it's what i want to call the underestimated will of god the underestimated will of god um i was i was thinking about this because as you know last week we talked about the will of god in grand theological terms we talked about the fact that they have four characteristics or facets or some of you learned a new word metonomies but four characteristics or or facets in two categories we somebody said all of us learned a new word um i even stumped my mom on that one that's pretty rare um but there are four characteristics or facets of the will of god just to give you a brief overview we talked about how the will of god simply put is that which pleases god and the fourth fastest of four parts would be um that which pleases god god's decree god's eternal purpose and god's sovereign will and we talked about the two categories of the will of god being what he has determined and what he desires now in all of that i i want to to bring to our attention what i would call the underestimated will of god as we look at at the the grand story of what god is doing in in the larger account of what god is doing and we we begin to see his heart the heart of our father who is not just a distant god but who by divine providence is active in every aspect of not only our lives but active in every aspect of creation and then as our father is active in every part of our life and so we see this god who who created the heavens and earth by speaking by by literally the council of his own will by deciding that he wanted to by deciding that he wanted to see something and he spoke and creation came into existence and god created the heavens and the earth and and we know that the creation account in the book of genesis as it talks about it and in addition to all of that he created a place of divine communion or fellowship with his creation by planting a garden called eden he plants the garden of eden and he creates man in his own image and his own likeness and he sets him in the garden and as my friend david binion so beautifully paints the picture and it sawn the glory of eden god started walking with dust as a friend and ezekiel in addition to the the account of creation gives us a glimpse uh prophetically by prophetic vision uh another part of the creation story that doesn't find itself uh contained in the annals of genesis but but we begin to see these parts of creation uh drip all the way throughout scripture job begins to give us glimpses ezekiel begins to give us glances isaiah begins to give us glimpses and we see these things this this woven tapestry of the glory of god and the power of god and the heart of god put on display and as ezekiel begins to talk to us about another part of the creation story he begins to give us a glimpse into something as he's prophesying to the king of tyre he prophesies first to the king of tyre and then he begins to add his prophesying begin to use this this allegory or this metaphor to begin to to speak not only to the king of time but also to give us a glimpse into what was happening in the creation story and and glory and we see this in ezekiel chapter 28 when the prophet begins to say then this further message came to me from the lord he says son of man sing this funeral song for the king of tyre give him this message from the sovereign lord he you were the model of perfection full of wisdom and exquisite and beauty let me stop right there in verse 12 and just point out the fact that clearly he's not just talking or directly talking about the king of tyre what he's now giving us is a glimpse of part of the creation story that we don't see in genesis what else was also happening at that time he's actually talking about lucifer at this moment verse 13 you were in eden the garden of god your clothing was adorned with every precious stone red carnelian pale green peridot white moonstone blue green barrel onyx green jasper blue lapis lazuli turquoise and emerald all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold they were given to you on the day you were created for i adorned i ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian you had access to the holy mountain of god and walked among the stones of fire you were blameless and all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you your rich commerce led you to violence and you sin so i banished you in disgrace in the mountain of god i expelled you almighty guardian or cherub from your place among the stones of fire your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty your wisdom was corrupted by your love and splendor so i threw you to the ground and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings you defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your dishonest trade so i brought fire out from within you and it consumed you i reduced you to the ashes on the ground and the sight of all who are watching all who knew you are appalled at your faith you have come to a terrible end and you will exist no more this is a picture of what happened to the anointed cherub in heaven as pride filled his heart and lucifer now was cast out of the presence of god satan cast to the earth and enraged over his banishment and punishment now sees god's pride's creation god walking with the dust of the earth and he whispers alive to the prized creation of god man causing the friends of god to turn their back on god and now the friends of god all mankind is now in bondage to sin satan having seen and experienced both the holiness of god and the wrath of god thought he had mankind forever under his control and forever separated from god the bible tells us in romans chapter 5 verse 12 that when adam sinned sin entered the world adam's sin brought death so death spread to everyone for everyone's sin not only did it happen to mankind but romans chapter 8 verse 20 tells us this against its will all creation was subjected to god's curse it wasn't just man it was creation as well romans chapter 8 verse 20 and 21 against its will all creation was subjected to god's curse but with eager hope the creation looks forward to the day when it would join god's children in glorious freedom from death and decay what was the curse that creation was subjected to the curse of sin and death things were not originally created to die when adam sinned sin entered the world and everything was subjected not only to the curse of sin but also to the curse of death and no matter what man would do from that point forward they would always fall short the bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god literally our best works our best days our highest days the days that we feel the best the days that we feel good without god and without faith in christ the bible describes it as filthy rags he describes it describes our righteousness this way in romans chapter 3 verse 10 paul is writing and he says no one is righteous not even one what he was quoting was isaiah chapter 64 6 he was making an allusion to that particular scripture when isaiah chapter 64 verse 6 says this we are all infected and impure with sin when we display our righteous deeds they are nothing but filthy rags like autumn leaves we wither and fall and our sins sweep us away like the wind and this whiz is the state of man without christ but specifically the state of creation and all of mankind before jesus came and so the entire time satan thought to himself i have them right where i want them i get to make them do whatever i want because i have enslaved them to sin i have god's pride creation as a captive they have no ability to measure up to the holy standard i know that god is perfect but they are not they are martin so therefore even though he desires relationship with them i will continue to keep them in the chains and in the bondage of sin and we see this play out historically time and time again from the days of noah when we saw this in genesis chapter 6 uh just last week we saw that the bible says that god regretted that he even made man because their thoughts were of constant evil but yet even though he decided that he was going to destroy the earth with the flood his mercy kept a man and a family because ultimately there was something in him that said i'm not done with them yet he could have been done with man but he was not done with man but yet we saw that the balance of mankind constantly thought evil we saw that in the days of abraham sodom was destroyed by fire because of its evil we see the manifestation of the wrath of god even god's chosen people those who he had revealed himself to those who he had walked with those who he said with his own special possession and treasure even those people when they god made a covenant with them and walked with them more closely than any other people on earth and they had seen his mighty acts those people made a golden calf from the gold that god gave them coming out of egypt and worship it as god what a thumb in the eye of god what a way to look at him and say even though you are god we're gonna worship something that we can create on our own and create an idol and satan knew this because what he realized was that god who is holy cannot abide with sin and so as a result what we see time and time again particularly in the old testament is the wrath of god against sin and this is exactly what satan was counting on i'm going to use this pride's creation to make god angry because he's holy he cannot abide with sin and so we see generation after generation among the people who belong to god it all became like a yo-yo one generation was decent and the next one was evil one generation was repentant and the next one was insolent one king was righteous and the next one was evil it was like a yo-yo there could never be momentum in mankind there could never be momentum within generations as soon as one king put up an idol another king tore it down and then another king raised it back up as soon as one king did righteous another king came and he did more evil than all the other kings and we see this yo-yo happening over and over and what was happening is because the enemy had figured that he had the people right where he wanted them hearing from the mouths of the prophets god's wrath against sin and desire for relationship because certainly he realized that mankind was enslaved to sin so as the prophets would proclaim god saying things that return to me and i will return to you i want to be in relationship with you you've treated me like an adulterous affair you've turned your back on me you break my heart i want to love you i want to bring you back and you can imagine as the prophets are proclaiming the heart of god the devil is laughing thinking i have mankind exactly where i want them i'm taking this marred dust i'm taking this marred clay i'm taking god's pride creation made in his image and his likeness and forcing them to break his heart and he thought because god cannot abide with sin he thought there was nothing that could be done he foolishly thought to himself that he had god trapped because certainly god is too perfect to accept damaged goods his calculation with whispering a lie to creation and getting it to be enslaved was that god can't do anything about it because he's too holy to get dirty god won't do anything about this because i've seen his perfection and i've seen his beauty and i've seen what happens when things are imperfect all he has is wrath so he's too holy to get dirty but he underestimated the will of god he underestimated the will of god because there was a side of god that he had never seen when he sinned all he saw was wrath there was a part of god that god had never shown him because we understand like the psalmist says his greatness it's unsearchable there is no end to god and so just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it's not there so things in the earth were bad when god looked at the earth he described it this way in isaiah chapter 59 starting with verse 2 this is how god describes the way that he sees things you'll you'll see some tense changes in here isaiah 59 verse 2 it says this it is your sins that have cut you off from god because of your sins he has turned away and he will not listen anymore this is how he sees things your hands are the hands of murderers and your fingers are filthy with sin your lips are full of lies and your mouth spews corruption no one cares about being fair or honest the people's lawsuits are based on lies they conceive evil deeds and then give birth to their sin they hatch deadly snakes and weave spiders webs whoever eats their eggs will die whoever cracks them will hatch a viper their webs can't be made into clothing and nothing they do is productive all their activity is filled with sin and violence is their trademark their feet run to do evil and they rush to commit murder they think only about sinning misery and destruction always follow them they don't know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good they have mapped out crooked roads and no one who follows them knows a moment's peace so there is no justice here now we have a tense change here this is not a people talking here so there is no justice among us and we know nothing about righteous living we look for light but only find darkness we look for the brightest skies but walk in gloom we grope like the blind along a wall feeling our way like people without eyes even at brightest noon time we stumble as though it were dark among the living we are like the dead we growl like hungry bears we moan like mournful doves we look for justice but it never comes we look for rescue but it is far away from us for our sins are piled up before god and testify against us yes we know what sinners are we know we have rebelled and denied the lord we have turned our backs on god we know how unfair and oppressive we've been carefully planning our deceitful lives our courts oppose the righteous and justice is nowhere to be found truth stumbles in the streets and honesty has been outlawed yes truth is gone and anyone who renounces evil is attacked what are you seeing here you are seeing two things at play you are seeing god who looks at the earth and sees the condition of the earth and he's saying this is bad you are sinners and yet you are seeing sinners who are also saying we know it's bad but no one actually steps up to change it so god is saying i this is the condition of the earth and the people are saying yeah we know it's like this paul looking back at scripture mirrors isaiah chapter 59 and romans 3 when he says in romans 3 verse 10 as the scripture says we read this earlier no one is righteous not even one no one is truly wise no one is seeking god all have turned away all have become useless no one does good not a single one their talk is foul like the stench from an open grave their tongues are filled with lies snake venom drips from their lips their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness and they rush to commit murder destruction and misery always follow them they don't find nowhere to find peace they have no fear of god at all obviously the law applies to those who was given for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses and to show that the entire world is guilty before god for no one can ever be made right with god by doing what the law commands the law simply shows us how sinful we are isaiah 59 describing the condition of the earth romans chapter 3 describing all unbelievers and everyone else who's trying to cross the divide by works so god who looks at the condition of the earth realizing that people on the earth recognize how sinful they are but have no recourse on how to fix it he decides to come himself i can't find anyone on earth among my servants among the prophets among those who have imputed righteousness to who can actually pay the price or actually pay the ransom that is necessary for their freedom because the curse of sin and death has entered the earth and it requires a life for a life and no one else has the power to give their life and take it back so the price has always been too high for mankind and because the devil knew this because he knew that the price for the ransom was a life for our life that anyone who was trying to be free would have to die but death hadn't been defeated yet and so because death hadn't been defeated yet the price was always too high for mankind so god surveying mankind seeing there is no one else who can do what he can do no one else who could actually be the intercessor or the intermediary or the priest who can atone for sin who can give a sacrifice and come back he came himself hallelujah the bible says to us in isaiah 59 verse 16 and 17 the lord looked and was displeased verse 16 first to find no justice he was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed so he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm hallelujah and his justice sustained him he put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head he clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion hallelujah one commentator says this way the wicked had to acknowledge the disturbing fact that there was no intercessor no savior among men the only savior was the lord himself and looking down upon the earth and at the wretched state of man god saw an appalling picture the earth was depraved gripped by a spirit of wickedness there was no intercessor no one who could save it only god himself could be the intercessor the one to pay the penalty for sin and provide salvation for the people for this reason the lord stepped into the world to save the human race through his mighty power and righteousness this he did through his son his servant the lord jesus christ christ alone made intercession for the transgressions of all mankind but see it's not just that he came that's amazing that's wonderful but this particular passage of scripture in isaiah chapter 59 not only declares to us what happens but it also reveals to us an aspect of his character and his nature and that is a word called zeal for isaiah chapter 59 16 and 17 in a christian standard bible says it this way he saw that there was no man he was amazed that there was no one interceding so his own arm brought salvation and his own righteousness supported him he put on righteousness as body armor and a helmet of salvation on his head he put on garments of vengeance for clothing and he wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak family all the devil knew was wrath he didn't realize that there was a part of the character and the nature of god that was greater than wrath his love empowered by his will for his love to be revealed something the bible calls the zeal of the lord hallelujah i'm excited something the bible calls the zeal of the lord i read to you in the beginning uh isaiah chapter 9 verse 2 through 7 in the christian standard bible and i know you probably thought i was lost reading what we typically read around christmas time at resurrection sunday but i need you to hear it again the people walking in darkness have seen a great light a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness what is the land of darkness the land of the shadow of death you have enlarged the nation and increased its joy the people have rejoiced before you as they rejoice at the harvest time as they rejoice when dividing the spoils for you have shattered their oppressive yoke and the rod on their shoulders the staff of their oppressor just as you did on the day of midian for every trampling boot of battle and the bloody garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire for a child there's a hope in all of this will be born for us a son will be given to us and the government will be on his shoulders he will be named wonderful counselor mighty god eternal father prince of peace the dominion will be vast and his prosperity will never end he will reign on the throne of david and over his kingdom to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever and look at this the zeal of the lord of armies will accomplish this how will it happen how will this prophetic word which comes 700 years before it's uh before being instituted or manifested into the earth how will this happen how is it that the people who don't deserve this kind of word who don't deserve a savior how is it that a holy god who has shown nothing but wrath in the eyes of the enemy and sometimes in the eyes of the people how will he accomplish this because we don't have this kind of revelation this is how it will happen the zeal of the lord will accomplish it the zeal of the lord will accomplish it now this is interesting because as i was spending my time considering all of this i've studied the zeal of the lord before in fact um the way in his lowest common denominator uh that is defined really uh the new living translation brings it out it it talks about this passionate commitment whenever whenever the word zeal is used or the zeal of the lord is used in the new living translation it actually says the passionate commitment of the lord will accomplish it and so i've always understood the zeal of the lord to be his passionate commitment i've known zeal as passion and more specifically as passion combined with the commitment to do something so when ascribed to god zeal is generally known as passionate commitment but for some reason the word wouldn't leave my spirit and so whenever that happens even though i've studied it before even though i have a definition even though i could kind of go there relative to the hebrew definition of it i knew then that the spirit of god was inviting me to look a little bit deeper and discover something else that he wanted to say about this specifically the word wouldn't leave my spirit so i kept digging and when i learned when i kept digging i learned that while it does mean what i originally studied there is it means something that's more in a particular portion of the definition in hebrew jumped out to me even more when we read the zeal of the lord will accomplish this in isaiah chapter 9 verse 7 and also in isaiah chapter 59 zeal in this past in this passage describes an intense fervor passion and emotion that is greater than a person's wrath and anger most often however this word describes god's zeal which will accomplish his purpose passionate commitment or his pursuit of something and so that is basically the full definition in the hebrew but there was something specific almost like neon lights that was jumping out at me concerning the word zeal and specifically the zeal of the lord and i want to tell you what jumped out to me i didn't read it with emphasis because i didn't want you to get ahead of me because i didn't want you to lose the point yes zeal means a passionate commitment but specifically when ascribed to the lord hear me zeal is an emotion that is greater than wrath zeal is an emotion that is greater than wrath meaning that while sin deserves wrath god is committed to something more hallelujah so when isaiah chapter 9 verse 7 something isaiah saw ahead of time 700 years before it happened when he's saying this literally to answer the question how will it happen the zeal of the lord will accomplish it a word about salvation and deliverance to a creation that does not deserve it they and we deserve wrath we are in darkness caused by the shadow of death that's what we deserve and so when isaiah begins to prophesy about the coming of a messiah he throws in there the lord begins to say and how will it happen the zeal of the lord an emotion that is greater than wrath which will be empowered by his will a passionate commitment a god who says that yes even though i have wrath against sin i have something greater than that hallelujah the zeal of the lord will accomplish it the zeal of the lord says this i'm more committed to restoration than i am to wrath the zeal of the lord says i'm more committed to reconciliation than i am to wrath the zeal of the lord says i'm more committed to love than i am to wrath the zeal of the lord says i'm more committed to mercy than i am to wrath what god is actually saying is i'm going to do this because while the earth deserves my wrath my passionate commitment to reconciliation my passionate commitment to restoration my passionate commitment to mercy my passionate commitment to grace my passionate commitment to my love is greater than my right this will come because the zeal of the lord will accomplish it that's why i read to you this powerful scripture i'm going to come back to it in isaiah chapter 59 verse 16 and 17 in the christian standard bible he saw that there was no man he was amazed that there was no one interceding so his own arm brought salvation and his own righteousness supported him he put on righteousness as a body armor and a helmet of salvation on his head he put garments of vengeance on for clothing and look at this and he wrapped himself he wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak to put it around him he said when i come i want to come knowing that my commitment to restoration and reconciliation is greater than my commitment to wrath zeal is an emotion that is greater than wrath a passionate commitment that was greater than wrath is what he wrapped himself in he was saying i know what they deserve but i'm more committed to friendship than i am to anger zeal zeal helps us understand isaiah 53 a whole lot better who has believed our message to whom has the lord revealed his powerful arm my servant grew up in the lord's presence like a tender green chute like a root and dry ground there was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance nothing to attract us to him he was despised and rejected a man of sorrows acquainted with deepest grief we turned our backs on him and looked the other way he was despised and we did not care yet it was our weaknesses that he carried it was our sorrows that weighed him down and we thought his troubles were a punishment from god a punishment for his own sin but he was pierced for our rebellion crushed for our sins he was beaten so we could be made whole he was whipped so we could be healed all of us like sheep have strayed away we have left god's path to follow our own yet the lord laid on him the sins of us all he was oppressed and treated harshly yet he never said a word he was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep is silent before his shearers he did not open his mouth unjustly condemned he was led away no one cared that he died without descendants that his life was cut short in midstream but he was struck down for the rebellion of my people he had done no wrong he had never deceived anyone he was buried like a criminal he was put in a rich man's grave but it was the lord's good plan it was the lord's will it was it pleased the lord to crush him and cause him greed it was the will of god empowered by the zeal of the lord that pleased god his good plan the will of god to crush him and cause him grief yet when his life has made an offering for sin he will have many descendants hallelujah he will enjoy a long life and the lord's good plan will prosper in his hands when he sees that when he sees all of his accomplice by his anguish he will be satisfied and because of his experience my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous for he will bear all their sins i will give him the honors of a victorious soldier because he exposed himself to death he was counted among the rebels he bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels family the devil underestimated the will of god because he did not know the zeal of the lord he assumed based on his experience that god was too holy to get dirty but because god was committed to something more than wrath it is zeal that allowed that which is holy to get down in the dirt and get dirty so that we could be made righteous at second corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 tells us for god made christ who never sinned to be the offering for our sins to that we could be made right with god jesus came when we could do nothing for ourselves he has a rapid fire for you romans chapter 5 verse 6 through 8 when we were utterly helpless when we could do nothing for ourselves christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners now most people would not be willing to die for an upright person though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good but god showed his great love for us by sending christ to die while we were still sinners it was the zeal of the lord family that led him to humble himself and give up his defined privileges as philippians says do not be selfish don't try to impress others be humble thinking of others is better than yourselves don't look out for your own interest but take interest in others too you must have the same attitude that christ jesus had though he was god he did not think of equality with god as something to cling to instead he gave up his divine privileges he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being when he appeared in human form he humbled himself in obedience to god and died a criminal's death on the cross therefore god elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names that at the name of jesus every knee would should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue declare that jesus christ is lord to the glory of god the father the enemy never thought this holy god would ever give up his divine privileges to come after man because he knew nothing about the zeal of the lord he thought this holy god won't abide with sinners all he can show them is wrath but the zeal of the lord says that god is committed to something more than wrath he's so committed to showing you and i something he's so committed to going after us that even though we deserve wrath it is the zeal of the lord that would accomplish that the enemy did not know this side of god he didn't know just how far his love would go as a worship team saying earlier that's why we say look what the lord has done in his haste and out of he out of his blindness he crucified the lord as paul writes in first corinthians chapter 2 but the rulers of this world have not understood it if they had they would not have crucified our glorious lord that is what the scriptures mean when they say no eye has seen no ear has heard and no mind has imagined what god has prepared for those who love him he took an enslaved creation and they didn't even understand what they were doing they did not understand that literally what they were doing was hastening the demise of the enemy they were causing his end to come to completion they were causing mankind to be freed if the devil had known that that's what he was doing everywhere jesus went he'd be offering him pillows and drinks but instead he was persecuting him instead because he did not know that his time was up and that after 33 short years the keys of death hell and the grave would be taken back and the kingdoms of this world would be taken back and he'd be robbed of his authority and the ransom would be paid he had no idea because he did not see the zeal of the lord he thought if god ever shows up on the earth the earth is doomed if god ever shows up on the earth all they're gonna get is wrath he did not count on the zeal of the lord a god who was more committed to reconciliation and to friendship and to restoration than he was to ride to give people an opportunity to come into the saving knowledge he couldn't see it he couldn't understand it so when jesus was talking it was like charlie brown's teacher to him he couldn't understand it at all so when jesus said now the time has come in john chapter 12 for the son of man to enter his glory i tell you the truth unless the kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies it remains alone but its death will produce many new colonels and plenty for harvest of new life the enemy had no idea that jesus was saying if you take me out as one son when i come up out of the ground there's going to be a harvest of sons he didn't recognize it because he did not count on the zeal of the lord that's why he couldn't recognize what jesus was doing at some point he expected jesus to go off but instead jesus went into the ground came up out of the ground and brought you and i with him i wish i had somebody to help me preach this thing real quick because i got to bring it to a close you can come play i almost wish i had an organ don't do it but i'm just saying i'm just saying he couldn't he couldn't understand when jesus would speak in john chapter 2 verse 19 he says all right jesus replied destroy this temple and in three days i will raise it up he did not understand no i could see no ear can hear no heart can understand what god had prepared for those who love him that's not talking about us family that's not talking about our inability to know the will of god he wants us to know the will of god literally nobody on earth no enslaved mind that did not receive revelation could ever concede that the zeal of the lord would show up they couldn't conceive it so as a result when jesus says listen when i'm saying this right here i'm telling you i'm getting ready to pay a price the price that you demanded that is paid a life for a life but guess what happens when i give my life i'm gonna pick it back up you destroy this temple and in three days i will raise it up he did not comprehend john chapter 10 verse 17 and 18 when jesus said the father loves me because i sacrificed my life so i may take it back again no one no one can take my life from me i sacrifice it voluntarily or willingly for i have the authority to lay it down and when i want to and also to take it up again for this is what my father has commanded the devil thought that when adam sinned it was all over he assumed that god was too holy to get dirty he underestimated the will of god he underestimated the zeal of god because the bible says to us and i promise you i'm finishing the bible says to us this is what happens i told you in in romans chapter 5 verse 12 it says when adam sinned sent into the world and adam's sin brought death so death spread to everyone for everyone sinned and that's where the enemy thought i got him when paul goes on to write through revelation in romans chapter 5 verse 15 but there is a great difference between adam's sin and god's gracious gift for the sin of this one man adam brought death to many but even greater is god's wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man jesus christ hallelujah and the result of god's gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man's sin for adam's sin led to condemnation but god's free gift leads to our being made right with god even though we are guilty of many sins for the sin of this one man adam caused death to rule over many but even greater is god's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man jesus christ yes adam's one sin brings condemnation to everyone but christ one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with god and new life for everyone because one person disobeyed god many became sinners because the other person obeyed god many will be made righteous ha the devil thought we were doomed because we could never measure up to the standard of perfection that is the holiness of god that's what he saw in the beginning of creation when he fell he saw the wrath of god for those who god was committed to he didn't see the zeal of god so he underestimated just how far his love would go he didn't know that god was more committed to grace than he is to wrath as romans chapter 3 this is my last scripture says to us now god has shown us a way to be made right without keeping the requirements of the law as was promised in the writings of moses and the prophets long ago what are we talking about here since we didn't talk much about the law and this the law was given to show men how sinful they were to show them that they needed god to show them that they couldn't make it up on their own even if they could obey it outwardly they couldn't obey it inwardly their hearts betrayed them their thoughts betrayed them and just like them for you and i it is a saying that without him we'd fall short we understand that it's not keeping commandments or law that makes us righteous for we say this often and we're quoting romans chapter 3 verse 22 when the bible says to us we are made right with god by placing our faith in jesus christ and this is true for everyone who believes no matter who we are you are not made right by what you do the zeal of the lord his passionate commitment is so great that he doesn't actually ask you to do because he knows you would mess it up he asked you to believe just receive what i've done that there wasn't anybody on earth including you that could pay the price so i came and did it for you and all i want you to do is accept my free gift this is the state of mankind verse 23 for everyone has sinned we all fall short of god's glorious standard yet god in his grace freely makes us right in his sight he did this through christ jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins for god presented jesus as a sacrifice for sin people are made right with god when they believe that jesus sacrificed his life shedding his blood this sacrifice shows that god was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sin in times past for he was looking ahead i love you god and including them and what he would do in this present time god did this to demonstrate his righteousness for he himself is fair and just and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in jesus can we boast then that we have done anything to be accepted by god no because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law it is based on faith so we are made right with god through faith and not by obeying the law family those of you watching around the world the enemy underestimated the will of god he did not think that god would go that far he did not realize what peter wrote in ii peter chapter 3 verse 9 you're not to put up on the screen that god is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance so he delays his wrath because of his zeal his commitment to restoring relationship with you reconciling with you showing you his love and giving you an opportunity to heal the relationship break that mankind had his commitment to that is greater than his commitment to wrath he's still holy and one day the wrath of god will be poured out on those who rebel against god but that doesn't have to be you [Music] the passionate commitment of the lord has made it so that you and i have an opportunity right now to come to him the mistake that the enemy made i keep saying it over and over is that he underestimated the will of god because he assumed that he was too holy to get dirty but john chapter 3 verse 16 tells us that god is more committed to restoration than he is to wrath it doesn't mean that there is no wrath he poured that out on jesus so that we didn't have to experience it he's committed to righteousness and justice it's not that the wrath is canceled it's that literally when you place your faith in jesus that which jesus took on your behalf you don't have to take this is how we know how committed god is to restoration for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life god did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but through him the world might be saved the bible tells us that god was in christ reconciling the world back to himself family you might not have been thinking about god but he's always been thinking about you the devil had no idea that he was going to lose you but god knew and right now i don't want you to underestimate the love of god the devil underestimated the will of god because he did not know that god was more committed to restoring restoration restoring relationship with us than he was to punishing us you don't have to accept punishment you know for many of us there's a reality that we are going to have to be able to get over in order for us to accept this free gift the bible says to us that the wages of sin is death but the free gift of god is eternal life through christ the bible says to us as i just read that we are made right with god by placing our faith in jesus christ and this is true for everyone who believes no matter who you are there's a reality for many there's a reality for many they can't seem to get over what they've done and guilt and shame plagues their life perhaps i'm talking to you you are hearing the proclamation of the love of god hearing the proclamation of the desire of god for relationship with you [Music] but there's something in you that feels like but i i don't deserve it i could say something to you that some people might consider to be controversial but it's really not jesus i mentioned this on tuesday night prayer call jesus chose the 12 including judas who betrayed him now the only way a betrayal can happen is if it wasn't expected by those in the circle if everyone thought he would do it they would have kicked him out which lets us know that even though judas had some character flaws ultimately he was still one of the twelve but when the devil who had underestimated the zeal of the lord and the will of the lord thought i can't take this demonstration of the kingdom anymore i need to kill jesus jesus was doing things that at this point were defying all logic like raising lazarus from the dead many days after so the reality is the chief priests had decided that they were going to kill lazarus and jesus and and jesus knowing what had to happen because of divine foreign knowing that his will was to go to the cross to take on your sin and my sin and the sins of all mankind and sins of the world so that we wouldn't have to so that we could be freed from the penalty of sin and death he knew he had to go to the cross and so judas the bible says betrayed him yes you know that the bible also says to us that when judas did that satan entered him like he did the serpent he enters judas and judas now being used by satan the accuser falsely accused and betrays jesus why am i telling you that i'm telling you that because when satan was done with judas and the deed was done judas could never get over it judas wasn't always that way for that moment satan entered him when satan was done he just discarded him and left him there with guilt and shame and judas never was able to get over his guilt and shame so he hung himself there are times when the gospel is preached the gospel is proclaimed the gospel is the good news of jesus which is that you and i don't have to accept the penalty of sin and death that god is not angry with us but instead what he did was the zeal of the lord his commitment his passionate commitment to the restoration of relationship has always been greater than his wrath and so you are not encountering a god who is ready at any moment to strike you down for every wrong thing you've ever done no instead you've come to a god who loves you doesn't require that you do something first just require that you believe and that you accept a free gift that he gives you something as pastor caleb alluded to earlier that we didn't even pray for or ask for we saw this in isaiah 59 people were aware of their sin but they didn't even intercede and ask god to do anything about it so god decided to come himself [Music] he did that for us without us asking that's his love that's his love so you are hearing good news god is not mad at you he's committed to restoring relationship with you judas couldn't get over his sin but in this moment i want you to receive what the lord has done and not approach this moment saying i've done too much you don't know pastor my sins you don't know what i've done you don't you don't know how bad it is you don't know what i thought you don't know what i did you don't know my past i don't need to know i know oftentimes we say i don't care that that's not my case it's not that i don't care he said i don't really need to know i want you to know that god knows exactly what you've done exactly where you are exactly how far you are and he has you here watching in this moment because he wants you to know that none of that stuff you did is able to keep you from his love nothing you did is so bad that he won't come that's why the bible says that while we were yet sinners why we were still in it he didn't wait for us to get ourselves together while we were yet sinners at the right time god sent christ to die for the ungodly to die for you and for me so now this is your moment this is your moment to accept by faith what jesus has done [Music] to be the recipient of the zeal of god the will of god the love of god the grace of god the mercy of god by placing your faith in jesus i'm going to say one more time this is the third time i've said this verse we are made right with god by placing our faith in jesus christ and this is true for anyone who believes no matter who you are so if you're ready to place your faith in jesus jesus christ either for the first time or you mean it this time i just want you to put this in the chat i'm ready i'm ready i'm ready i'm ready i'm not gonna run i'm ready i'm not gonna let guilt steal this moment i'm ready i'm not gonna let shame steal this moment i'm ready i'm not gonna let my past steal this moment i'm ready i'm ready to place my faith in jesus i'm ready i i've been saying one day i'll do it that one day is today i'm ready i've been saying i'm gonna i'm gonna do some things first and no no no i'm ready i'm ready that just put it in there i'm ready i'm ready either for the first time real this time no matter who you are just say i'm ready i'm ready to trust jesus i'm ready to put my faith in jesus i'm ready to receive this love i'm ready to receive forgiveness i'm ready to stop trying this on my own i'm ready to stop wondering what's going to happen to me when i die i know i can have eternal life with god if i just say i'm ready i'm ready that's you family i want to pray with you i want to pray with you and if you don't know how to pray prayer is talking to god maybe you don't know the words to say perhaps you just say god i'm here i believe you and i'm ready but if you don't know what to say you can repeat after me it's not the prayer that says it's your faith in christ that saves you but pray with me say father in the name of jesus i come to you and i confess that right now i'm ready to be saved jesus i believe that you are the son of god that you came you live you died and you rose again so that i may have new life in you today i receive your mercy and forgiveness for all of my sins my past is erased today forever and i am born again and with your help i will live for you for the rest of my life in jesus name amen hallelujah well family if any of you did that you could be watching live you could be watching at another time if any of you did that i want you to do this we don't want to just leave you not knowing what to do i want you to know that you are part of a family the family of god whether you ever come back to deeper whether you ever watch our stream again whether you ever dawn the doors of this particular place we'll see you on the other side but you are part of the family of god you just gained brothers and sisters and so if that's you and you prayed that prayer and you meant it you placed your faith in jesus christ i want you to do something that you may consider to be bold but it's actually not that bold it's just a way of saying i'm excited and i i just did something amazing i want you to put in the the chat hashtag i met jesus that's a number sign i met jesus hashtag i met jesus you do that you'll see two things happen one a bunch of people are going to congratulate you and say welcome to the family and two our moderators will send you a link that you can click on and know some next steps of how to walk this thing out but i want to congratulate you and welcome you to the family of god because the zeal of the lord his will which is more committed to reconciling with you then to pouring out anger on you has just saved you welcome to the family deeper family global deeper family around the world we love you so much happy resurrection day what a glorious day as you know for believers we celebrate resurrection every day and every week we can't wait to celebrate with you again as a family next week be blessed have an amazing week happy resurrection day [Music] another incredible time in god's presence literally week after week we are immersed we are changed we are refreshed we are restored i mean the list go on and on and on here at dfc we're so grateful for god's presence and if during this sermon during worship even during the given you just the giving you decide to say yes to christ by giving your life to christ today you have made the best decision yet and we welcome you to a family of believers from all over the world your future in christ is amazing and his plans for you are good and they are perfect listen family we had an amazing time worshiping together don't forget that if you didn't give you can still put your seed in the ground right now it's never ever too late to give you can give on church center the deeper app our website or you can text to give text any amount to 84321 as always if you are watching on facebook thank you for watching don't forget to like share this stream if you're watching on youtube don't forget to follow subscribe hit that notification bell and guess what you can watch this service all over again and every other service that has been streamed on our channel we are so excited that we still get to worship it may not be the same but god is still here you all have a happy easter you know where to find us same time same place have a best week guys bye [Music] [Applause] so [Music] so [Applause] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Deeper Fellowship Church

Views: 10,159

Rating: 4.9196787 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: uzFsCdQobCE

Length: 187min 40sec (11260 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 04 2021