Gateway Church | March 7 | Brad Larson

good morning everybody there we go my name is jeff dagle i'm one of the pastors here on staff and we just want to say thank you so much for choosing to get up or maybe you've already been up for a couple of hours and to be here and spend part of your sunday morning with us and for all of you who are watching online as well wherever you are watching from thank you for logging in and being part of what is happening here with us today so today's gonna be a little bit different uh it's not uh-oh different this is gonna be a good different the way we're gonna kind of get into this today so just invite you just to kind of uh let's see if i just take a deep breath real quick and just kind of settle yourself for what's going to take place in our time together this morning so last week uh our family we moved into a house and uh the first night that we were there we weren't even sleeping there that night but the first night that we were there i was out in the backyard playing with my dog and and i had this moment of realization that i just kind of like looked around and i realized for the first time in months i was standing in a place where i couldn't see a single street light so if you know what that means then it's like there's really no ambient light in my backyard there's no the house lights weren't even on it was just it was a full moon and i just looked up and i kind of got lost in this moment of just looking at all the stars and just gazing you know i was just like doing if you would see me you'd be like that dude's weird you should try it sometime remember when you were a kid and you go out and you try and find the big dipper how many used to do that was like the easiest constellation you just like where is it where is it [Music] and there's something that's fascinating about looking up and finding the big dipper and then once you start to learn all the other constellations and you look up and you gaze and you just you just kind of get lost in these moments [Music] i mean i kind of think my life's a big deal i got a lot going on i got a lot of decisions to make i have as a pastor i have authority i have responsibility i've trying to be a dad i'm trying to be a husband just trying to be a man trying to fix our house i got my life's a big deal and maybe that's kind of how you feel too and then you have these moments where you you look up in the sky and you see all these galaxies and you realize my life's not that important in the grand scheme it's i'm not as a big deal as i think i am it doesn't mean i'm not important because you matter and i matter but in the scheme of life and the and the magnificence of who our creator is we just realize how [Music] small we are and how seemingly insignificant our lives tend to be but yet we believe in a god who's able to speak into existence galaxies the scientists say are still expanding because his word never stopped it wasn't say he didn't speak it and then say stop i can believe that the galaxies are still expanding at his word and yet this same god is apparently so intimately aware of every last detail of your life a couple weeks ago two weeks ago we our family we hiked to the top of piestewa peak here in the valley and we get to the very top after hustling and getting up and out of breath and when you take this moment at the top of the mountain and just take this full panoramic view of the entire valley and it had the same response in me sitting in my backyard this sense of like wow a couple months ago we took our boys we went up to the grand canyon we're from north carolina originally moved here six months ago i'd heard about the grand canyon i've seen pictures of the grand canyon people talk about the grand canyon but i've never been to the grand canyon and then we go and i have this anticipation in me and if you've ever been how many of you ever been okay so you know i'm talking about you walk up to the south rim or wherever you hit it and you walk up for the very first time and no matter how many pictures you've seen the first time you see it it's just like i mean you're left speechless [Music] so i want to ask you when was the last time you found yourself in a situation where you were faced with this deep sense of awe and wonder where something almost took your breath away or just it just caused you to just kind of put your life in perspective so today is today's gonna be different so instead of inviting you to stand i'm actually gonna invite you to stay where you are and just sit in fact i would ask you to do this i would invite you to choose a posture that best reflects what your response is on the inside what is taking place on the inside and then you select the posture to reflect that but you are invited to sit and experience we don't come to churches remind ourselves we don't come to church to critique and evaluate and assass and then go write our google reviews we come to experience a living god we come to encounter his presence we come to gather with the body with his bride we come to be a people who are focused on responding to this amazing love story between a heavenly father and his people so i want you today to experience something different so let me ask you just right away just close our eyes for a second just close your eyes right where you are and as you ponder and as you consider when was the last time that you found yourself in a situation where this sense of awe and wonder was evoked inside of you i would ask you to ask a second question is what's keeping you from experiencing that more often i'm just going to leave you here for just just a couple of minutes and then the band will get started but one last question that is this what is fighting for your attention right now what what is competing for your attention [Music] right now in these moments that is that is making it difficult for you to be fully present right here right now i'm asking you to do is just identify it find a way to set it aside for these next moments together so that you can fully experience and be present in the room as we worship together [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] god of creation they're at the start before the beginning of time with no point of reference [Music] and as you speak 100 billion galaxies are born in the vapor of your breath the planets [Music] i can see your heart and everything you've [Music] if creation sings your praises so [Music] alive i will exalt you my guiding king and praise your name forever and ever i will praise you every day yes i will praise you forever great is the lord he is most worthy of praise no one can measure his greatness [Music] the heavens proclaim the glory of god the skies display his craftsmanship day after day they continue to speak night after night and make him known they speak without a sound or a word their voice is never heard yet their message has gone throughout the earth and their words to all the world the lord merely spoke and the heavens were created he breathed the word and all the stars were born he assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs let the whole world fear the lord and let everyone stand in awe of him for when he spoke the world began it appeared at his command [Music] [Music] if the stars were made to worship so will i [Music] if the oceans roar your greatness so will i [Music] forth everything exists to lift you high so will i if the wind goes where you send it so will i [Music] if the rocks cry out in silence [Music] if the stars [Music] [Music] if [Music] exists to lift you high so alive [Music] if the rocks cry out in silence [Music] then we'll sing again [Music] [Music] when i look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers the moon and the stars you set in place what are mere mortals that you should think about them human beings that you should care for them god of salvation you chase down my heart through all of my failure and pride [Music] the light of the world abandoned in darkness to die [Music] and as you speak 100 billion failures disappear when you lost your life so i could find it here if you left the grave behind [Music] every part designed [Music] i can see your heart a billion different ways every precious like you would again 100 billion times but one measure could amount to your desire [Music] you're the one who never leaves the one behind [Music] jesus should never leave us behind [Music] miss your presence is in this room it's in this room [Music] and we sing all honor in all glory and all power is yours [Music] we give you praise is you alone are worthy jesus oh give you praise we give you praise yes we love you we love you [Music] we say there is none like you god let me just invite you just as a family and as a church his presence is here so can we stand just in reverence in an awe of god and who he is [Music] and let's just sing this together and lift him up see there is none like you no one else can touch my heart like you do and i could search for all eternity long and find that there is like you let's sing that again oh there is one else can touch my heart like you do [Music] i could search for all eternity love and find that there is none like you sing that again [Music] there is none like you know unlike your father [Music] no one else can touch my heart like you do and i could search for all eternity long and fine there is none like using i could search for all eternity and i could search for all eternity long and fine there is none like you just while we're in this moment let me just read this passage and i want you to hear this as these words are being spoken as if it was a prayer from your heart psalms 139 david writes oh lord you have examined my heart and know everything about me you know when i sit down or stand up you know my thoughts even when i'm far away you see me when i travel and when i rest at home you know everything i do for some of us that might be a little bit scary [Music] you know what i'm going to say even before i say it lord you go before me and you follow me you place your hand of blessing on my head he places his hand of blessing on your head such knowledge is too wonderful for me too great for me to understand i can never escape your spirit i can never get away from your presence if i go up to heaven you are there if i go down to the grave you are there if i ride the wings of the morning if i dwell by the farthest oceans even there your hand will guide me and your strength will support me i could ask the darkness to hide me in the light around me to become night but even in darkness i cannot hide from you to you the night shines as bright as day darkness and light are the same to you you made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's room thank you for making me so wonderfully complex your workmanship is marvelous and how well i know it you watched me as i was being formed in utter seclusion as i was woven together in the dark of the womb you saw me before i was born every day of my life was recorded in your book and every moment was laid out before a single day had passed and then he writes this verse 17. how precious are your thoughts about me go god they cannot be numbered i can't even count them they outnumber the grains of sand and when i wake up you are still with me [Music] i don't know what you walked in with this morning i don't know what you're facing what what you're celebrating what you're grieving i don't know if coming into a place like this stirs up fear and anxiety and uncertainty and not sure what to expect and for some of us walk into a place and this is the highlight of our week or some of us is like oh we can't wait to be here but for all of us this is the reminder you know the first song it was there were two lyrics that were themed one was i can see your heart in everything you've done and maybe you struggle to see god's heart moving in your life maybe you maybe you're desperate to see god's heart for you and it's not my words but the words of scripture that says how precious are your thoughts towards me oh god and some of you need to hear that right now so just hear it how precious are his thoughts towards you heavenly father we thank you for these moments we thank you that we can just be taken somewhere to invoke a sense of awe and wonder and just to just kind of gaze at your majesty and your greatness but god we thank you really even more so for what you do in our hearts in the midst of our life in the midst of our situations that it tells us that you see us you're aware and that you care so deeply for us [Music] so god we live our lives in response to you into your heart then we just say thank you for this time that we have together this morning in jesus name and everybody said amen can we just give the lord a hand clap or a shout or something or [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and if you would go ahead just take a seat right where you are normally uh we would have you guys walk around and meet each other and greet but we're not gonna do that today but if you are new here today just to tell you we don't normally do this this is not typical uh but we do typically come together and gather and we worship and and we we do have fun together doing this um but if you are new here today we want to just we want to connect with you we want to help you take whatever your next step is in the journey to come and figure out this is the place where you want to be if this is if these are the people careful there's some some of us are just a little bit crazy and weird we all are but if these are the people you want to do life with so if you would if you would just text the word path to the number 94 000 that will begin a digital journey you'll get a link video from preston an invitation to grab coffee with you or something why because we want to connect we want to get to know you want to hear your story we want to help you take your next steps so with that brad larsen's gonna be speaking today and uh yeah yeah all right ladies and gentlemen brad larson is gonna be speaking today no it's gonna be fantastic so uh let's just prepare our hearts to receive the word of god thank you [Music] it is great to see you i mean truly thank you for being here thank you those who are watching online we we are so grateful for every one of you i will say it like this you're made in god's image and likeness and that's enough but that you would take time to just prioritize um a relationship with god it means a lot and today i really do feel like i i have a burden and a weight from the lord and so i'm just going to ask that you just lean in just a little bit get on the edge of your seat and just be prepared to receive what i feel like he is saying to us to our homes to this house because it is it is special it's special and let me let me just start this way how many of you enjoy getting forwarded email chain letters a couple hands you're kind of weird then um here's one i got recently the header is this computerized survey of the expectations of church members when it comes to the perfect pastor all right the perfect pastor preaches 15 minutes and includes all that the bible has to say about the subject condemns everyone else's sin except yours never says anything you might disagree with works 5 am until midnight gets 8 hours of sleep to stay healthy he's also the janitor after each service he prepares a sermon every week for 40 years he never repeats an idea an illustration or a joke he makes 60 a week wears good clothes buys good books and gives 50 a week to the poor he's 28 years old and he's been in ministry for 30 years he has a burning desire to work with teenager teenagers and he spends all of his time with the elderly he's a close personal friend to every member he makes 15 visits a day to church families shut-ins and the hospitalized spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched and he's always in his office when you need him he has four kids who never get in trouble a wife who cooks like betty crocker counsels like joyce's brother brothers plays praise like anna and looks like marilyn monroe without making anyone jealous if your pastor does not measure up to these expectations simply send this chain letter to six other churches whose pastors fail to reach these reasonable standards then bundle up your pastor send them to the church at the top of the list and you'll receive 1693 pastors expectations we all have them we all have them ever heard this definition of disappointment frustrated expectation frustrated expectation now i want to share a personal and a little bit painful story of disappointment with you and it took place this past thanksgiving 2020 and i was sitting outside on my patio with my dad who's 79 years old and we were having a conversation and he threw out a statement um that threw me for a loop and here's what he said he said brad i don't know how to be your father right now i don't know how to be your father now what made this more difficult for me is over the past several months i've been on a personal journey of intentional fathering with my children i have been leaning in talking about questions when they will leave our house what values uh what tools what wisdom will i deposit into their lives and so i've just been thinking about it you know thinking about the dinners thinking about symbols that i will put into their hands so that they'll be able to take the next path and so even in that last few weeks men we have been journeying together in this process everyman of leader.com the men have been coming together they've been thinking about how they can become kings and priests in their homes and how can they lead intentionally and in this process one of the exercises that i had to participate in was writing a tribute letter to my father telling him all the things that i'm thankful for everything that i'm grateful for what he had put into my life what he had given to me and all this and then this statement that was a little bit tough to take and if i was honest for the last several years i felt disappointed i felt like there were some expectations that i had for him in relationship to parts of my life parts of my children's lives and i was i was frustrated right like disappointment is a relational reality for all of us as human beings relationship requires wrestling and what happens in disappointment is we start to have these expectations they get frustrated discouragement sets in and then darkness sets in where i was experiencing with my father a place that i couldn't see anything like for an extended period of time where i couldn't see anything that i was grateful for anything that i was thankful for because i was fixated on what i was not receiving in the relationship i was disappointed disappointment blinds us scripturally if you look at a couple of places in luke 24 when jesus appears to the two disciples on the road to emmaus after he has been crucified the disciples don't recognize him and i was reading that passage and the lord was gently asking me do you know why they couldn't see jesus no read it again and as i read it i saw what is true for all of us i saw that they were disappointed jesus had been condemned and he had suffered a painful death and their hopes had been shattered and their hearts were shattered they were disappointed and jesus had to walk with them he had to talk to them through the hebrew scriptures the writing of writings of moses he had to sit down with them in fellowship break bread and then the blindness lifted think about job job was disappointed rightfully so he had experienced some loss and some difficulty and for chapter after chapter after chapter he is dealing with disappointment and he has friends who come along and give him misguided information about god you've done something wrong he's like no i'm innocent i'm just i'm upright and he's processing and one friend comes in and speaks and then god speaks in 38-41 are you the one who laid the earth's foundation this holy moment of a father speaking to his son and job responds i should just cover my mouth but disappointment dealing with disappointment is vital to relationship it's vital to being a human being it's vital to being able to walk through this life and to understand the depth of what god is doing and i had to deal with my disappointment and as i began to write to my dad all the things that i was thankful for the things that i admired about him the values even though i was two years old my parents got divorced so i saw my dad just a couple of weeks a year but the blindness started to lift and i began to see everything so clearly i was aware when he and i would get together and he would put his arm around me i remember the karate movies i remember the times that we'd play golf and go fishing things that are so prized to me that like i had forgotten in some way because i was so fixated seeing things from my perspective and then i started to see from his perspective where i was and where he was and he was feeling disappointed in himself and i just reminded him and as i shared that letter with him he just he just cried i mean he he cried and i cried do you have anyone that you feel disappointed with anything that you feel disappointed with are you capable of admiring them like truly being thankful for them and feeling that they are so special to you with a log of disappointment in your eye we are in a series titled the real jesus and yes we're talking about the jewishness of jesus and our goal is not to become more jewish our goal is to become more like jesus who is jewish it's not just simply the jewish roots it's the jesus roots and the hebraic perspective like the crux of the hebraic perspective that jesus understood foundationally was covenant it was relationship it was deep and meaningful connection it was the blessing of relationship and i believe what god wants to restore and recover in our hearts for ourselves for our homes and for his house is a restoration of respect admiration reverence honor esteem this is the title of my message and if i'm honest i really felt like the lord gave it to me and i wasn't real excited about it but here it is the rocket fuel of relationship relationship by definition the state of being connected like we were created for connection we crave deep and meaningful connection the dictionary defines friendship one attached to another by affection or esteem honor esteem reverence admiration aw the stuff that relationships thrive on i want you to consider something for just a second that the most deep and meaningful things that we experience on this earth were first established in heaven right things that exist here that are in actuality a truer greater reality they already existed in heaven heaven is the substance earth is the shadow like god is a father that's not an earthly like something patterned after earthly fathers right god's not striving to relate to us like in our reality it's the other way around but that's not how we think we tend to process and struggle to process god as a father because of our earthly fathers it's downside up thinking and in order to grab this concept we need upside down thinking because things like community relationship fathering they start there that gives me hope if you didn't have a father who was consistent or there was abandonment or there was rejection or there there was pain and abuse instead of having to look from this perspective we actually can understand what a father is what relationship is what community is because the trinity operates we're going to see in this honor respect and admiration it's crucial but our downside up thinking has eroded our ability to understand relationship it's subtle but it's you know in our culture like hey how do you know so and so we're facebook friends as if some deep work of meaningful connection and and wrestling took place in bloop like bloop unlike bloop follow bloop unfollow like wow however embedded deep in our dna by our creator is connection is relationship healthy relationships thrive thrive and the texts show us from genesis to revelation that what god is after whether you understand this or not what god is after his relationship his pursuit and friendship and intimacy and connection with us and so today i just want to share three reminders three reminders about this the first one is this relationship it thrives on honor esteem respect reverence admiration and awe that's a long first point i know but you understand this spouses if your parent if you have friends you understand this what we appreciate appreciates goes up in value when you appreciate and admire your spouse their value goes up but i will say this being married for 20 years it is very common and regular to be disappointed with your spouse to have expectations and no no humor but just the little things that you have expectations over that blind us we end up being darkened from seeing anything good see it play out all the time but i want to introduce you to a phrase that might make you flinch and here it is the fear of the lord the fear of the lord and what's your reaction to that phrase cause you to cower cause you to think about everything you've ever done wrong in your life well i'd like to paint the biblical picture for you let's start off proverbs 22 4 it says this the reward of humility and the fear of the lord are riches honor and life psalm 25 14 the lord confides and those who fear him he makes his covenant known to them the phrase is used hundreds of times throughout scripture now the admonition to fear god it antagonizes people because they think it means to be afraid of him they think obligation restrictive rules threats of punishment damnation sort of archaic but this isn't what it means and we must distinguish in our understanding the fear of god from the fear of divine punishment the fear of the lord is not the fear of punishment it is the awe admiration honor respect and relational reverence of god he's ma his magnificence his love his friendship his intimate concern for our lives treating the relationship as special it's not something common distinct set apart or holy it's the rocket fuel of relationship certainly with god but also with humanity with each other now there's a couple of cons phrases and concepts that i i read through from uh jewish commentators let me just read them the love of god and the fear of god are considered twin concepts in the hebraic perspective jewish commentators say that ahava which is a hebrew word for love and ye fear hebrew word for fear they're the two wings on which the torah soars through the heavens is that crazy to think about listen think about this the love of god and the fear of god when i was growing up i was saying a lot of songs about being afraid of god okay i didn't hear much about the love of god over the last 10 years i've heard a lot of songs about the love of god now these are held in balance here's the way that i would say it to fully grasp and comprehend the love of god really the love of someone there has to be esteem and honor and respect when there is an esteem and honor respect this love it's common yeah god loves me and we treat it as such when someone says to you i love you love you brother someone says that to me in the in the lobby i love you brother if i don't know you i mean i can i can grasp that you're made in the image of god and you have god's likeness but when we share in relationship and connection that means a whole lot more if there's a negative aspect to the fear of the lord it may be regarded as this the fear of damage to your heart and soul the fear that missing the mark that sin will blind you to god's passion for you the way that god treats you because you'll think he's distant and detached and you'll miss the relationship so i want you to get this hebraic spirituality was rooted in reverence and it's something that god is asking for us to restore and to recover in ourselves in our homes in his house because we're going to read in just a second some things that transpire as related as it relates to this but let me give you some sub points jesus's life and ministry taught this to us isaiah 11 1-3 a shoot will come up from the stump of jesse from his roots a branch will bear fruit the spirit of the lord will rest on him the spirit of wisdom wisdom and of understanding the spirit of counsel and of might the spirit of the knowledge and fear of the lord and he speaking of jesus will delight in the fear of the lord matthew 6 9 jesus teaching the framework the way in which to pray this then is how you should pray our father in heaven hallowed be your name distinct set apart to be highly regarded to hold in high esteem be your name john 14 10 listen to the way that jesus talks about his father the words i say to you i don't speak on my own authority rather it's the father living in me who is doing his work remember jesus at the garden of gethsemane not my will but yours be done honor respect appreciation esteem the early church embodied it acts 9 31 then the church throughout judea galilee and samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened living in the fear of the lord and encouraged by the holy spirit it increased in numbers acts 10 2 speaking of cornelius he and all his family were devout and god-fearing he gave generously to those in need and he prayed to god regularly it's foundational with god the father and the patriarchs and the matriarchs of our faith jeremiah 32 4 40. god speaking i will make an everlasting covenant that means it won't end with them i'll never stop doing good to them and i will inspire them to fear me not to cower i will inspire them to honor and to admire me so that they will never turn away from me that's god's heart exodus 1 17 speaking of these hebrew midwives shifra and pua says the midwives however feared god and did not do what the king of egypt had told them to do they let the boys live they risked their lives how how did they risk their lives because they honored god above pharaoh they honored him that they were willing to risk their lives and to them it didn't even seem like a risk because there was so much appreciation and admiration for god you know scripture tells us to honor the king but first and as a priority is to put god in his place the bible understands the fear of god to be liberating you know in exodus 20 20 moses said to the people do not be afraid god has come to test you so that the fear of god will be with you to keep you from sinning i mean it sounds kind of odd right it's interesting at least it's a paradox paradox a statement that attracts attention because it seems contradictory fear not that you might have the fear of god god has come to test you right in order that the fear of god will always be with you clearly there's something more there don't be afraid honor esteem admire appreciate place significant value on that you'll be tested this this word test in hebrew i love it it means to lift up nisayon and basically it means that when you learn to honor god and place him the one who has all wisdom and all understanding the one who sits high above the one who is the beginning in the end when you place him in that proper perspective he puts things on us not to crush us but to build our muscles because there are things that he places on us because that is the way we grow that is the way that we grow our muscles it happens to be the root word of miracle how do you look at circumstances how do you look at weight that you're carrying right now and god's desire is that you would learn to understand how to respect and admire him at such a place as a father whose greatest desire is to see you fulfill everything that he meant when he created you second thing is this respect and reverence in relationship reap results i'm going to let the text speak for itself all right psalm 34 7. the angel of the lord he encamps around those who fear him and he delivers them psalm 34 9 fear the lord you as holy people for those who fear him lack nothing psalm 25 14 i read it before the lord confides in those who fear him he makes his covenant known to them man i want god to speak to me i want him to share secrets there it is psalms 1 11 10 also proverbs 9 10 the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom all who follow his precepts have good understanding to him belongs eternal praise psalms 147 11 the lord's delight is in those who fear him those who put their hope in his unfailing love again proverbs 22 4 the reward of humility and the fear of the lord are riches honor and life malachi 3 16-17 then those who feared the lord talked with each other and the lord listened and heard a scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the lord and honored his name on the day when i act says the lord almighty they will be my treasured possession i will spare them just as a father as compassion and spares his son who serves him isaiah 33 6 he will be the sure foundation for your times a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge the fear of the lord is the key to this treasure relationship thrives this isn't this isn't so far from us to grasp this here's the question for you are you getting these types of results in your relationship with him do you feel as if his covenant is being made known to you do you feel as if life honor enriches like just falling off the bone so to speak for you what would you consider in your own life is respect and reverence part of your practice not this isn't shame and obligation this isn't condemnation i'm just asking as it pertains to this meaningful connection with the one who contains all wisdom do you prize it the last thing i just want you to remember is respect and reverence it requires three things choice learning and practice the fear of god is a choice it's not a mystical experience proverbs 1 28-29 then they'll call to me but i will not answer they will look for me but will not find me since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the lord it's it's a decision that we make i mean what's at stake insight into his covenant wisdom a depth of friendship all those things that i read in those passages those are the things that are state at stake relationally as it pertains to grasping a hold of this the fear of god can be learned it's a walk of intimacy it's not it's not a run it's not a silver bullet it's a walk it's not one transforming moment it's a it's a learned behavior for us proverbs 34 11 it says come my children listen to me i will teach you the fear of the lord deuteronomy 17 18-20 when he takes the throne of his kingdom he's to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law taken from that of the levitical priests it is to be with him he's to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the lord his god and follow carefully all the words of this law or instruction in these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow israelites and turn from the law to the writer to the left then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in israel deuteronomy 31 12 assemble the people men women and children and the foreigners residing in your towns so they can listen and learn to fear the lord your god and follow carefully all the words of his instructions their children who do not know these instructions must hear it and learn to fear the lord your god as long as you live in the land you are crossing the jordan to possess we can learn this we can choose this this is a relational reality for us and last the fear of god is a practice let me remind you jesus told us in matthew 7 24 therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice that person is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock is this your practice is like jeff said earlier your practice to prize all of your comings and goings and doings you're not bad but do you ever feel that you become so important both in all the good things that are happening and all the negative things that are happening in your life that you just are thinking so often that you're so me centered and god's greatest desire to have is to have a deep and meaningful relationship with you and he doesn't make it hard he doesn't make it difficult he lays it out in front of us to just say prize the relationship because i prize you you know i love this you know john 3 16 descripted this way for god so valued held in such high regard the world that he gave his only begotten son he so esteemed you he thought of you as precious you know well brad i'm not i'm not very precious you don't know what i've done listen you know how you determine someone's value it's based on what someone's willing to pay and the god of the universe spilt the blood of his son because that's what he thinks about you and all this thinking that you've been doing let me tell you this some of those thoughts aren't your thoughts they've they've been there for a while they're not yours but you've grasped a hold of those lies and you've been living as if they're true meanwhile there is there is a father who speaks over you who scripture says jeff said it his precious thoughts about you are like the grains of sam that many i mean from time to time i like to just go like god um can you just tell me like six of those like just six but if you could unleash all the grains of sand so i could know cause because i'm having a hard time grasping that has has it become so common has it just has it just gotten sort of common the relationship i mean how does that work husbands and wives right when we just become roommates and they're not special and we stop admiring and we stop respecting and we stop standing in awe of our spouses or what about our children i mean the bible says that they're a gift from god you know if i had to look on a scale of one to a hundred how often i'm walking in that reality if you ask my kids they're gonna say something different probably but this is what we're invited into romans 1 20-23 it says for since the creation of the world god's invisible qualities the creation of the world his invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen meaning that we can see them in creation remember jesus often withdraw withdrew to the wilderness to pray i don't know about you but i find that going into creation evokes a very visceral understanding of the intelligent design of god it also allows me and affords me the opportunity to hunt and fish more regularly with my wife because i come back and my soul is filled up anyway sorry took a detour there having been clearly seen being understood from what has been made so that people are without excuse for although they knew god they neither glorified him as god nor gave thanks to him but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened although they claimed to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal god for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles like it just kind of happens right so i want you to consider for just a second a couple of things like how do you interact with the word of god the word that became flesh right this love letter that from genesis to revelation speaks of meaningful deep connection does it get your attention do you have so many apps on your phone pinging you for daily scripture verses that it's just become so common that you don't prize this very i mean beautiful incredible book just how often does it get your attention consider the bride of christ the body the church i mean how do you treat it no shame no condemnation i mean is it like oh ah i gotta get ready you just feel a sense of like oh rush rush rush rush rush where you come prepared like if you showed up to a date with your bride the way that you come to his bride would it would they feel special again like i said no shame i just want you to consider for just a second what about your posture in the presence of the father the king the king of all kings like what's your posture on a consistent basis daily like what is it is it special is there anything special about it or is it just common how do you treat god's prized possession the ones who bear the likeness and image of god people if we were to think about the last little while here it seems we might have lost our way just a little bit someone doesn't have our same viewpoint they don't think like we think they're not even common they might even be considered trash to most of us is that how god treats people your co-workers your boss how do you talk about them how do you talk about your children how do you talk about the people that are surrounding you like it's it's really important what about the marginalized and the elderly like do you see them as the prized possession of god or or are they just common i love this the hasidic jews in the crib of babies newborn babies they put pictures of the elderly rock star rabbis in their crib you can google it and see this picture because they prize the elderly i mean deeply embedded in the hebraic perspective is honor for the elderly our culture seems to be prizing younger and younger the mark zuckerbergs and and other young but if you really truly grasp experience and wisdom like sitting around you how often do you take somebody out to eat in their 80s like how often when was that like they're supposed to feel honored we are a five five-generation church okay again no condemnation and shame let's recover and restore the thing that brings rocket fuel to both our relationship with god and with humanity now i started off telling you that i was i was disappointed and so i wrote this letter to my dad and i thought about this after i did it and i decided to write a letter to my heavenly father and so i woke up one morning and i just took this posture and in a moment i'm going to invite you to this posture not because it's magic but it is a posture that is biblical that in invites i believe perspective peace recognition of power but as i sat in this posture i just opened up my heart and just wrote like i was just a little kid okay i just wrote and i just want to share with you what i wrote because i think it'll it will do something for you and i just said you know father i'm troubled by the entitled spoiled rotten attitude that i have had and that permeates our culture at times it's like my emphasis often and only is on what you have done and did for me and do for me and that's not the relationship and friendship that i want with you now as a father you're awesome you protect me and defend me you allow me to stumble you offer guidance you show constant compassion and you're gentle you're so slow to anger and you are kind i mean like you are kind full of wisdom you provide me detailed instructions you provide constant sweet reminders you're present you're strong you're always there for me you're faithful like you know me like you you know me like nobody else and you still still love me like nobody else you seriously are amazing you're my place of safety or my place of refuge my place of rescue you're good like really good you made me and i'm yours your love doesn't fail it's not flimsy your love fights for me you're in constant pursuit of me with goodness and mercy you keep promises you care about our relationship like you care about our relationship you act with justice you care for the marginalized you're righteous then i ended i want to be just like you when i grow up then i read in psalms 103 david like let all that i am praise the lord might never forget the good things he does for me he forgives all my sins he heals all my diseases he redeems me from death and he crowns me with love and tender mercy he fills my life with good things my youth is renewed like the eagles the lord is compassionate and merciful slow to get angry filled with unfailing love listen he will not constantly accuse us nor remain angry forever he does not punish us for all our sins he does not deal harshly with us as we deserve for his unfailing love towards those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth he has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west like if you're thinking about your sins right now he has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west the lord he's like a father to his children tender and compassionate to those who fear him who respect him who will simply admire and treat him as special he knows how weak we are remembers we're only dust our days on earth are like grass like wildflowers we bloom and die the wind blows and we're gone as though we had never been here but the love of the lord remains forever with those who fear him now i know it might seem a little bit different for you but i'm just going to invite you and challenge you and you may not be able to do this physically but would you just take this posture right where you are would you get on your knees just for this moment i want you to see and experience something if you're here maybe because of poor and abusive parenting that's left you with the image of a father and someone to be feared or you're terrified and you're threatened of god because you're thinking about all your shortcomings because of poor teaching that was put upon you as a child i want you to just spend a few moments telling god like i'm afraid of you god and i wish i wasn't like voice it in your own words and tell them that you just want things to be different between the two of you like let him just wash over you through story through moments through things that you've experienced maybe it was a hike or just the beauty of a mountain range or little children or the birth of your children or pictures of your grandchildren connect those with the activity of god god speaks to us in our imaginations and our thoughts and it's for us to discern and see his voice clearly in those through his scripture can you hear jesus calling you friend or is it the mistakes and the disappointment that needs to be dealt with that's blinding you and you're wondering you don't know what i've done brad no but i know how god responds to those the story in luke 15 of the prodigal father the extravagant father whose son is wayward and he's screwed up so many times and the father looks for him and runs after him runs to him throws a robe of righteousness around his neck puts a ring of authority on his finger and he puts shoes on his feet and he throws a party that's the god that we're in relationship with the one who deserves all honor all esteem all admiration so we're going to respond in the manner that is due him so just invite you to close your eyes [Music] god speak to you in this moment come let us worship and bow down let us kneel before the lord our god our maker [Music] no one else can touch [Music] there is none like you [Music] and there is none like you no one else can touch my heart like you do [Music] and i could search for all eternity long and fine there is none like you there is none there is none like you not like you jesus no one else can touch my heart like you do and i could search for all eternity and find there is just going to invite you to stand to your feet you know this posture like i said it's not magic [Music] but it is biblical it is powerful it is given to us to set things in proper order and proper perspective we can easily become the god of our own world think that it's all about us that we're so important [Music] i just want to invite you over the next seven days to just take this posture there'll be seasons of time where things seem so important to me distractions disappointment that i'm dealing with and so during those seasons i will just first thing that i do is just take that posture and i ask you to do that i feel like god wants to recover and restore something in this house that every one of those passages we read he wants to unleash in this church i believe in his body but i'm saying this i feel like the lord is saying this to us and it's a choice for us it's a learning for us it's a practice for us to invite our alter ministry team to come down to the front let me just say a few things if you're here and you are feeling the weight of disappointment let me encourage you like job let me encourage you like the two disciples on the road to emmaus to actually deal with your disappointment say it disappointed in my grandkids disappointed in this person or that person it makes you human sometimes the the depth of that disappointment requires 30 plus chapters like job or the book of lamentations we we have thought that that was not spiritual but it is because disappointment will lead to discouragement will lead to darkness will lead to deception and ultimately to destruction if you're feeling destruction in your life i can guarantee you there is disappointment god means for us to both deal with that with others and obviously to come in contact with who he is how did jesus handle the disappointment of peter denying him he chose to trust him again he chose to risk relationally because that's who god is he gave him a position of authority i don't know about you but this is the this is the relationship on the table people like we get to wake up every day and experience this let's prize it let's honor it let's esteem it and if that's not been your practice it's okay god brings no shame to you he just says like it's really good so if you need prayer for anything at all we'll stay here as long as you need us to encourage you invite you to step into this posture it's biblical you can find it the hebrew word is barack b-a-r-a-k let me pray a prayer of blessing over you father we thank you for moments to encounter you to experience you isn't something to endure or evaluate it's something to experience your presence you inviting us in god i pray for a measure of relational clarity and weight as we see how incredible it is to interact with your love letter with your words to call you friend and to walk in friendship with you in intimacy help us we choose today to say yes to you and to walk with you god there's anybody here that does not have that type of relationship or connection got to pray that you'd tug on their heart that they would see you very clearly and they would be able to respond and just pray with someone today in this place in jesus name amen amen well thank you guys so much for being here if you need prayer invite you to come down to the front if it's your first time be with us we'd love to meet you out in the lobby but i just pray that you have an amazing week thank you again for being here thanks for joining us online

Channel: Gateway Church

Views: 212

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Preston, Morrison, gateway, church, gateway church, scottsdale, tempe, gateway church sermons, church online, arizona church, scottsdale churches, tempe churches, gateway people, gateway life, Preston Morrison, Robert Morris, Pastor Robert Morris, Pastor Preston Morrison, Preston Morrison sermons, church sermons, So Will I, Fear of God, Fear of the Lord, Relationships, Relationship, Relationship Goals, Keys to Relationships, Rocket Fuel, Brad Larson, Larson, So Will I Video, Fearing

Id: 6bpBrBKscbI

Length: 77min 3sec (4623 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 07 2021