How to get God's Attention

i want to call your attention to one verse it's in first peter verse chapter 3 verse 12. this is what the bible says it says for the eyes of the lord are over the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers you know what that tells me you can get god's attention because it says his eyes are over the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers but look what he says but the face of the lord is against them that do evil let us pray jesus i pray today that you meet the needs of your precious people and god for all you do we're just going to praise you i'm believing you for a fruitful invitation in the way that you would deem fruitfulness not the way i would god the way you would attribute significance not the way i would so would you hide us in the cross of calvary that people might see jesus lord god help people to realize we love them more than that help them to realize how much you love them and i pray this prayer with a grateful heart for i pray this prayer in jesus name amen you may be seated i want to take a little time and i want to talk to you about how to get god's attention how to get god's attention i want to give you the basis and take just a few moments to give you the basis for the sermon i read something that said that the average lifespan of a man is 78.8 years 78.8 so what that means if if you're 39 it's halfway over if you're 39 it's halfway over but i started really thinking about that and i thought now uh here in a few weeks i'll be 57. so i'm in the third quarter i'm in the end of the third quarter getting ready to go into the last quarter of life getting ready to go into the last quarter of life and i began to think about some things that i want to do it's the last quarter it's the last quarter and i want to go out with a bang so there's some things that i want to do now i'm not a hunter i'm not really a i'm not really a hunter somebody said why are you not a deer hunter i never could understand getting out of a warm bed to get in a cold tree so you know i'm just i'm just i'm i'm some dumb just not plumb dumb amen i just never could really understand that but i always thought it would be neat to go on a bear hunt i mean go big amen go large i always thought man that would that that would be so neat so there's a school a college that i speak for and the president called me he said benny i want you to do something with me i said what do you want me to do he said i want you to go on a bear hunt with us i said you're kidding he said no we're going to go up near canada and i want you to go on the bear hunt with us and i said hey i'm going to do that i'm going to do that and i did it uh you say uh benny did you did you kill a bear well if i had of you would have heard about it before now amen no but a guy that was on the hunt with me he killed a bear and i said uh after he killed his bear i said do you mind if i take a picture with your bear he said no no go right ahead so i took a picture with a with his bear i just i wish it was my bear but it wasn't my bear but this is what i told myself i said you know you really got to be good to kill a bear and i said that guy killed one i didn't kill one but he's an experienced hunter and i said i'm a good hunter i said i'm a good hunter but i'm not a great hunter it takes a great hunter to kill a bear so i don't want to feel bad about myself and i got home and the guide called me the next day and he said i want to tell you something i said what's that he said the day after you left my seven-year-old son killed a bear needless to say that didn't make me feel good about myself but he said we want you on the hunt and he said now you've got to have the proper clothes i said no no i i've got clothes i've got clothes they said no no you don't understand you've got to have camouflage you've got to blend in with the woods so you can't wear what you normally wear you gotta you gotta make sure you've got camouflage i said okay i'll i'll get camouflage and the first day we was there we were i think it was the first day we were having lunch and moose lasagna moose lasagna and they said now after you've had the moose lasagna we need you to go do something i said what's that they said we've got this body wash it's a no scent body wash you're gonna have to bathe yourself in it because you've had moose lasagna and the bear can smell the moose lasagna i said i didn't have enough of it for him to smell it i can promise you but said the bear can smell it and said it will get the bear's attention so you be sure and bathe in this don't put on any deodorant i said why because they said it will get the bear's attention and i said let me explain to you there's a drink that i like to drink it's called dot mountain dew and i thought i would take one out with me they said no no no you can't do that i said i can't do it they said no no it will get the bear's attention they said all you need to do is take the empty bottle i said the empty bottle they said yes you're going to be out there for about six hours and you can't use the bathroom why because it will get the bear's attention i said boy i've got a book i'm reading this book they said no no because when you turn those pages it will get the bear's attention they said are you planning on wearing that ring that you've got on i said i thought i would it's my wedding ring i've been wearing it now for 37 years i thought it would they said no no no you can't wear it i said what do you mean they said you've got to put a camouflage glove over it i said that they said it might get the bear's attention so be sure and put a glove over the ring and they said now talking they said talking we understand that every day you call people in your church and wish them a happy birthday i said i do they said you can't do it here because that will get the bear's attention so basically what i can do is for 20 feet in the air sit in a stand and barely breathe because anything i do is going to get this bear's attention because this bear can smell a hundred times better than a human and i'm going to get the mayor's attention so i crawled up in the stand and i began to think about everything i do will get this bear's attention stream off and i thought what gets god's attention what gets god's attention what brings god's manifested presence because i want god's attention i want god's attention i want god's attention on my life i want god's attention on my family i want god's attention on my ministry what brings and what gets god's attention i want to give you i want to give you what i believe are four or five things that gets god's attention the first thing that gets god's attention is desperate prayer desperate prayer see i believe god in our lives will bring us to the point of desperation that he might bring us to the point of dependence that he might bring us to the point of deliverance notice i didn't just say prayer but i believe ladies and gentlemen it's desperate prayer that gets god's attention did you ever think about this how did jesus pray he prayed but how did he pray hebrews 5 and 7 says that he prayed strong crying supplications and tears i'll tell you how he prayed he prayed till his sweat became as great drops of blood there is a difference ladies and gentlemen in praying and being desperate in prayer there's a difference in praying and being desperate in prayer but when we're desperate in prayer it gets the attention of an almighty god in mark chapter 4 the bible says something it says in the same day when the evening was come they came to the sea of galilee and jesus said disciples let's go to the other side and when they had sent away the multitude they took him even as he was in the ship and there were also with him other little ships and there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship so it was now full of water get this folks jesus said let's go to the other side they were in the perfect will of god but they got into a storm you can be in the perfect will of god and be walking through hell you can be in the perfect will of god and be going through a storm the good news is this if jesus said let's go to the other side we're going to make it to the other side we're going to make it to the other side because he said let's go to the other side now look what the bible says he was on the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow i don't know if he got it from mike lindell but he was asleep on a pillow and look what the bible says and they awake him and say unto him master get this folks understand something the lightning didn't wake him there's only one record in the entire word of god of jesus sleeping and it's right here there's only one record in the entire word of god of jesus sleeping and it's right here the lightning didn't wake him the thunder didn't wake him the storm didn't wake him the boat being full of water didn't wake him but when his children thought they were at the end of the rope when they thought they were drowning when they thought all hope was gone when they thought they were at the end and they cried out the bible says master carest thou not that we perish and the bible says heroes i want you to know something god responds to desperate prayer god responds when we get to the point of desperation barbara and i got married and her mother is a devout christian and i said is your dad a christian she said no he's not my daddy's not a christian and i started going to church with them and she would stand up in church and she would say i want everybody to pray for my husband his name is jill he's lost he's on his way to hell jim needs to be saved and the invitation would be given and she would make her way to an altar i've never been in service with a woman that she didn't make her way to an altar i've never been in service with her once she didn't go down get on her knees and pray for her husband and i'd hear crying out to god please save jim please deal with jim's heart god one day i came in from work and barbara was crying i said barbara is something wrong she said not anything's wrong everything's wonderful daddy called me daddy told me that last night he got saved last night he got saved and after my daddy got saved he looked at my mother and said renise you prayed this on me you prayed this on me you prayed this on me all i want to say folks when we desperately pray it gets god's attention when we think all hope is gone and we cry out to god it gets god's attention the second thing that gets god's attention is sacrificial giving it's sacrificial giving we're never any more like jesus than when we're giving johnny said to mom can you give me twenty dollars mom said no way he said mom if you do i'll tell you what daddy said to the maid while you were at the beauty shop she started reaching for that pocketbook gave that twenty dollars she said what what did daddy say to the maid daddy said to the maid be sure and wash my socks listen he got mama's attention he got mama's attention i i don't know if you've ever thought about this story but it's in mark chapter 12 verse 41. get this story and jesus set over against the treasury and he beheld the people that cast their money into the treasury just like we will do today maybe have done and many were rich casting much now wait there was a poor widow she threw in two mites that's one-eighth of a cent she threw in one-eighth of a cent and look what the bible says i've never noticed this perhaps you have when she did this jesus said to those disciples come here guys come here guys i want you to see this come here guys come here disciples i want you to see this this poor widow has cast more than all those that gave big gifts because in the next verse for they cast in of their abundance but she of her wall did cast in all that she had even her living what did she do she gave all she had to live on i'm not going to camp here long because i've been doing it long enough when you preach about giving it gets real quiet but here's what i'll say many times we're focusing on what people give jesus focused on focused on what they had left many times we're focused on oh what a large gift but jesus is focused on what they had left all i'm trying to say today hey hey by the way this is good preaching because i'm knee-deep in the word of god i'm knee-deep in the word of god and here's what i want you to see you want to get god's attention sacrificial giving desperate prayer but while i was standing sitting in that bear stand not seeing a bear i said there's a third thing that gets god's attention it's painful tears it's painful tears you know uh in second kings chapter 20 god said to isaiah isaiah you go down to the king's house king hezekiah king of judah and you tell him he's going to die get his house in order line up the roll call who's going to be in authority get his wheel ready he's going to die and not live and isaiah went down to hezekiah's house and said hezekiah you need to get things in order and in verse 3 hezekiah said god i want to remind you of something i've lived a life of integrity i've walked before you in integrity i've walked in truth and the bible says hezekiah wept sore this is all i want to say can you change god's mind apparently he did because god said isaiah you go back down there and you tell him i've added 15 years to his life and verse 5 tells us why i heard his prayer but i've seen my tears let me tell you something tears attract god's attention you see pastor i'm going through a hard time i'm sorry but i want you to know something tears attract the attention of god you you want to get god's attention try tears you want to get god's attention try brokenness you want to get god's attention try weeping because psalms 56 verse 8 says god takes our tears even in heaven and he puts them in a special bottle bottles are tears because tears ladies and gentlemen get the attention of god you said pastor i'm weeping before god over my marriage tears get the attention of god i'm weeping before god over my situation tears get the attention of god i'm weeping before god over what's happening with my child tears get the attention of god folks if there's ever been a time that we need god's attention it's now if there's ever been a time that we need god it's now and pastor what what gets the attention of god desperate prayer sacrificial giving painful tears let me tell you the fourth thing that gets god's attention sacrificial praise sacrificial praise there's a verse that i never thought about it until i was in that bear stand hebrews 13 and 15 says this offer up the sacrifice of praise did you know the bible speaks more about praising the lord than it does praying to the lord did you know there's seven different hebrew words used for praise now i believe there's a difference in just praising god and in sacrificially praising god when we sacrificially praise god that's when our world is not going well everything is collapsing around us but we say i want to be like job i've lost my family i've lost my finances i've lost my friends i'm frustrated but though he slay me yet i'm going to trust him though he slay me yet i'm going to trust him it's it's when we're like the three hebrew children who said by the way king the god that we serve he's able to deliver us out of this fire oh goodness gracious sometimes folks he don't deliver us out of the fire he delivers us in the fire amen the the god that we serve he's able to deliver us but by the way o king even if he don't deliver us we're still not going to bow down we're going to praise the lord there's something about sacrificial praise psalms 147 says this folks praise you the lord for it is good to sing praises under god for pleasant and praise this comely the lord do filled up jerusalem he gathered together the outcast of israel look when we praise him he heals our broken hearts when we praise him we don't even realize it folks but while you're praising the lord he's healing your broken heart while you're praising the lord he's binding up your wombs while you're praising the lord he's doing exploits in your mind in your mind and in your heart and in your life oh folks let me tell you something sacrificial praise will get the attention of god that's when things are not going good but i'm gonna praise god anyway [Music] see there's four states there's four states of life there's people who constantly complain and grumble there's people today that you won't get anything out of church you won't get anything because all you can do is critique everything that's wrong constantly grumble and complain but i want you to know something psalm 77 and 3 says this when i complained my spirit's going to be overwhelmed and folks if i live in a lifestyle and spirit of always complaining my spirit's going to be overwhelmed and look then there's state number two it's people who live lives of ingratitude people who live lives of ingratitude just not grateful folks we are so blessed how many of you today had to decide you got up this morning and you had a good shower i hope you did you got up you had a good shower bath and then you had to decide what you were going to wear i had to decide what i was going to wear had just out of curiosity how many of you it was a decision what you were going to wear today you tell me we're not blessed you tell me we're not blessed oh don't you tell me we're not blessed you know what i know folks you know what we're worried about we're worried about eating too much how many of you say pastor i'm worried about eating too much get them both up wave them to jesus amen most people in our world are worried about something to eat people who live lives of ingratitude i am blessed i am blessed every day that i live i am blessed when i wake up in the morning till i lay my head to rest i am blessed i am blessed well i've got shoes on my feet i've got plenty to eat i am blessed i am blessed hey man thank god for dirty dishes thank god for dirty dishes for they have a tail to tale while others are going hungry while we're all doing pretty well with home and health and happiness we should not make a fuss by the stack of evidence before us god's been very good to us there's a third state it's people who praise god for obvious blessings sure you got a new car praise the lord the coveted test was negative praise the lord well anybody can do that you're just praising him for the obvious look here folks there's two ways to live life two ways either nothing is a miracle or everything is a miracle either nothing is a miracle or everything is a miracle and lastly people who praise god at all times because first thessalonians says in everything just give thanks for this is the will of god okay okay three to twelve if you're taking medication but it won't be done by 12. i said in that stand that's it god four good points i'm done it's like god said like god said you know no no there's one other thing that gets my attention that's a repentant child a repentant child a repentant child let me explain you know the story of the prodigal son he goes out and he's living a sinful life he goes out with the harlots i don't know everything he does but he left the father's house and he goes out but look what the bible says i'm going to rise and go to my father and i'm going to say father i've sinned against heaven and before thee and i'm not worthy god i'm not worthy to be your son can i've been down in that pigpen i've been eating those husks that the swine would eat i'm a jewish boy god can i just be one of your hired servants look what the bible says and he arose and came to his father and when he was a great way off his father saw him why did he see him folks when he was a great way off because he was looking for him he was looking for that boy and when the father saw him he had compassion get this folks and he ran the only time in the bible that god ever ran was right here but when that boy wanted to come home he got god's attention when that boy wanted to make things right he got god's attention and folks when we want to get right with god we can get his attention because he's interested in that repentant child he's interested in that child that wants to come home and he saw him and he ran and he fell on his neck and he kissed him he said daddy i've sinned against heaven and i'm no more worthy to be called thy son but the father said let's do something put the best robe on him the best robe was for the guest of honor put the best robe on him by the way because the sin he's pawned his signet ring get a signet ring and put it on his finger and he said the slaves go barefooted the servants go barefooted but he's not a servant he's my son you make sure you put shoes on his feet [Music] let me tell you something folks what gets god's attention is when that child wants to come back home what causes god to run is when that child wants to come back home over 20 years ago i told this story 20 years ago i was about 20. just making sure you were still with me [Music] 20 years ago in the old church i told this story about a preacher being on a train he'd been away preaching he'd been away preaching and he was seated on the train and there was a young man beside him and he was crying and he could tell he was emotional and he said to that young man what's going on son i'm a pastor i can tell you're emotionally distraught he said well preacher i'm glad you're here because he said two years ago i got it i got into it with my daddy and i did something that i've regretted so long i hit my daddy my daddy said you leave he said i left and for two years i've lived like hell but he said two weeks ago i got saved preacher two weeks ago i gave my life to christ and he said i wrote my daddy a letter and i said daddy i want to come home i'm so sorry please forgive me i wrote daddy a letter [Music] and i said daddy if i can come back home i'm going to be on a train no apple tree out front would you just hang a white rag in the tree and that way i'll know it's okay to come back home about 15 minutes passed and he looked over at the preacher and he said preacher my house is right down here on the curve i can't bring myself to look would you look and see if there's a white rag hanging in an apple tree he said i sure will that train lapped and he said son i've got good news there's white towels hanging all over that tree and at the base of it there stands an old man and a woman and they're waving a white sheet that's emotional for me because i've all thought about all the times in my life that god's waved a white sheet [Music] all the times i've messed up but he still waved the white sheet because when i wanted to come back home it gets god's attention we get god's attention through desperate prayer we get god's attention through sacrificial giving we get god's attention through painful tears we get god's attention through sacrificial praise but when a repentant child wants to come home we get god's attention every head's bowed and every eye is closed with every head bowed no one's looking pastor i want to get god's attention because i'm away from god i'm not right with him i'm not the place where i want to be i'm not right with him pastor but i'm so glad that when i come home i can get god's attention if you're here and you'd say pastor i'm just not right with god but i want you to pray for me i know you won't call my name or you won't embarrass me but pastor i just want you to pray for me if that's you you're in one of our campuses maybe you're even watching online just still away right where you're at you'd say i'm just not right with god i'm not right with god but if you're not right with god you'd say pastor i want prayer nobody's looking nobody's looking i want prayer today if you want prayer just slip up your hand god bless you god bless you i just want prayer pastor god bless you i just want prayer god bless you now listen if you raised your hand pray this prayer with me repeat this prayer with me [Music] lord jesus i'm a sinner but god i'm sorry for my sin i'm so sorry i want to change i believe that you died for my sin [Music] god you've waved the sheet for me so i ask you to forgive me i ask you to come into my life [Music] i ask you to forgive me so i can be right with you now thank you god for forgiving me thank you for running to me today pastor i prayed that prayer with you hold your hand up high unashamedly where i can see it hold it up and leave it up hold your hand up high unashamedly and leave your hand up hold it up high under shame and leave your hand up hold your hand up high unashamedly and leave your hand up unashamedly and leave your hand up [Music] now listen if you're watching online take that device if you prayed that prayer with me and text four words i prayed that prayer i prayed that prayer this is not for me it's for you you'll have a consolation you'll have an assurance you'll have a peace in your heart if you just text those four words i prayed that prayer do it right now i prayed that prayer you do it right now now folks every person is going to stand and look at me every person is going to stand every person every person is going to stand and look at me every person is going to stand to look at me every person is going to stay at me there's a song that came on my heart the song was all i did was praise you it talks about the lord goes before us [Music] and he fights the battles battle is the lord's by the way folks the battle's not ours it's the lord's and he goes before us and he fights the battles and in the end we're the victor but the song says all i did was praise you and folks when all we do is praise him he'll fight the battle we just got to praise him so here's what we're going to do we're going to sing that song and if you say pastor i'm in the middle of a battle i'm i'm in the middle of a battle what should i do sacrificial praise you can praise him right there but you know what else we can do folks we can come and get on our knees before god and say lord [Music] a preacher friend of mine his wife left him and you know what he said if god sends her back i'm going to praise you [Music] but if god don't send her back i'm still going to praise you he said the lord brought the scripture to me pastor many the lord is my shepherd i shall not want i think there's something about folks i think it gets god's attention when we say no it's not good right now but i'm going to praise him anyway i'm going to praise him for who he is i'm going to praise him that he's god [Music] look here every morning i tell myself god is good [Music] there's three things i tell myself every morning god is good the second thing i tell myself god loves me and the third thing i tell myself god is working all things for my good [Music] so no matter what happens i'm just gonna praise you god so we're going to sing you can praise him there but if you want to come here and say god i'm just going to praise you i'm going to praise you no matter what no matter what hell throws at me no matter what happens i am going to praise you you know what god wants folks he just wants our praise god just wants our praise and i'm going to praise you so as we sing you obey the lord

Channel: Rock Springs Church

Views: 282

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Rock Springs Church, rock springs, rockspringslive, rockspringschurch, RS_Macon, RS_Branch, benny_tate, Benny Tate, Dr. Benny Tate, Pastor Benny Tate, Milner GA, Rocksprings Church, Rock Springs Worship, Rocksprings Worship

Id: ZFevrNNa0cY

Length: 42min 19sec (2539 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 24 2021