True Worshipers | September 26, 2021

my life is in you and my hope is in you my trust [Music] is [Music] [Music] i will not fear i will not fear there's nothing to be afraid of in your presence i will not fear i will not fear there's nothing to be afraid of in your presence [Music] good morning welcome to church today do we all stand up to our feet we'll keep you viewing online thank you for joining us today we want to put our hands together [Music] [Music] but the miracle that i just can't get over my name is registered in heaven thank you lord i believe in signs and wonder i have resurrection power yes still the miracle that i just can't get over my name is registered in heaven oh and my praise belongs to you forever this is my testimony from dead to life cause grace rewrote my story i'll testify by jesus christ the righteous i'm justified this is my testimony this is my testimony yeah thank you [Music] sing the praises sing the praises of the spirit son and father our god will finish what he started yes he will say our god we'll finish what he started this is my testimony from dead to life cause great tree wrote my story i'll testify by jesus christ the righteous i'm justified this is my testimony this is my testimony on let's play this today see if i'm not dead you're not done hallelujah greater things are still to come oh i believe greater things are still to come oh i believe if i'm not dead you're not done oh i believe if i'm not dead you're not done [Music] [Music] this is my testimony from dare to lie cause grace rewrote my story i'll testify by jesus christ the righteous i'm justified this is my my testimony from there to lie the pastry wrote my story i'll testify by jesus christ the righteous i'm justified this is my testimony this is my testimony yes thank you bless you lord come on let's begin to speak praise to our god let's begin to be faithful to our god this morning let's sing this out i love you for your lord never fails me all my days i've been held in your hands from the moment that i wake up until i lay my head i will sing of the goodness of god sing this out [Music] [Music] of the goodness of god so good i love your [Music] me through the voice in darkness night you are close like no other i've known you as a father i've known you as a friend i have lived in the goodness of god all my life on my life that i am [Music] is running after me your goodness is running after it's running after me with my life laid down surrender now and i give you everything after [Music] everything [Applause] [Music] all my life [Music] all my life you have been so good [Music] all my life [Music] you have been so good your goodness with is life laid down i'm surrendered now and i give you everything your goodness is running after me you're is this is thank you lord come on can we thank him for his goodness thank him for his mercy oh thank you you know we just sang that line that says i'm surrendered now i give you everything and i want us to take a moment right now where you are if you're watching online if you can just lift up your hands lift up your voice to him and worship him with everything today oh god you're worthy you're worthy of all of our hearts you're worthy of all of our attention all of our focus god oh have your way come on sing out a new song to him this morning have your way love thank you lord thank you lord our father in heaven [Applause] [Music] hallowed be your name your kingdom come quickly your will be done the same come on listing that i'd say on earth as it is in heaven let heaven comes to earth as it is in heaven let heaven [Music] yes lord we pray today let your kingdom come come on say our father [Music] your kingdom come quickly your will be [Music] is let heaven come we pray we pray let heaven is is hallelujah [Applause] is oh foreign thank you lord come on we just thank him thank you lord oh we thank you you know as i'm singing and worshiping thank you you know as i'm sitting and worshiping i'm reminded that there is no name greater than the name of jesus that there is nothing stronger than the name of jesus that there's nothing greater than the name of jesus and friends i don't know what you walk into those double doors today but i'm here to remind you and encourage you that there is no name greater than his name whatever you're going through jesus there is no sin that jesus didn't defeat there is no weight that god can't break there's no bondage that can keep us bound i'm telling you god is good and he is great here's what i want to do man is it okay if we go back into that song i don't know if i'm like off i don't know if i'm allowed to do this but can i tell you there's breakthrough in this real boat can i tell you where breakthrough starts is when we worship him it's when we lift him up and we say hey god i'm seeking you i'm worshiping you god there's no name greater there's no one higher i'm singing you so with hands up come on can we worship him can we present and can we lead in this song thank you lord [Applause] is this morning come on give him some thanks this morning oh we worship you oh we worship you oh we praise you oh father we thank you for your goodness good lord we thank you that you meet every need you meet every heart god i thank you that as we seek you come on can we pray to him this morning lord as we seek you for direction and power oh you would give it to us oh we serve a good god god you see our needs you see where we lacking god i thank you that we serve a god who lacks nothing so god we come to you this morning come on would you ask him out of your own mouth just ask him god would you meet my need here god would you meet us here this morning god we thank you oh we love you lord oh we love you lord but i thank you for your goodness and who you are and what you're about to do in this service we love you and we bless you in jesus name we all say amen and amen can we give it up just a little bit for jesus now can we give it up just a lot of it for jesus like he did something good well hey i don't know about you but i'm so glad i came to church this morning and it is only like 9 00 something and god is already moving but here's what i want you to do before we continue with the rest of service can you high-five maybe two or three neighbors and say hey i'm so glad you're here and then pay attention to the screens as we got announcements for you [Music] every year in the fall we do the beef ham conference this is about beef and be fruitful and multiply god is i mean with urgency speaking to the body of christ and calling us to go into all the world and to make disciples of all the nations and the lord by his wisdom is breathing some new insights some new strategies we're going to have testimonies we're going to have stories of what god is doing and we're going to have so much inspirational teaching and god i believe will speak to you about what he's called you to do what is your part in the great commission in these last days folks the way things are looking we don't have all that much time left and the lord is giving us an opportunity right now to get repositioned to get realigned and to bring in the greatest harvest that we've ever seen [Music] hello rock family whether online or in person we're truly glad you're with us today we have a huge favor to ask of you would you please fill out the welcome card in the seat back pocket in front of you if it's your first time please fill it out completely and if you've done that before just your name and email will do our fall classes are continuing to start and we have something for you including prayer groups and an exciting singles event coming up check out the flyer in your bulletin the rock app or our website for more information we had an amazing launch of our midweek youth service last week and the best is still to come every thursday at 6 45 pm everyone in junior high and high school is invited to attend and bring a friend we're believing the lord to move powerfully in our young people once again we are so glad you joined us today now let's prepare to receive our tithes and offerings now as we prepare our heart to bring our tithe and offering before the lord today i want to remind us that the rock is a tithing and a missions-giving church and tied simply means 10 which is why we bring the first 10 of all of our increase and we present it and give it to the lord we do this because the bible says that the tithe is the lord's which is also why we prioritize the tithe first and we're also a missions giving church because jesus said to go out into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature and make disciples of all the nations and so i want to say thanks to all of you for standing with us and partnering with us with regards to your giving because as you give you are giving toward the kingdom of god and helping us advance the gospel not only in our communities but also around the world you know i'm reminded of a passage found in proverbs 18 10. the bible says that the name of the lord is a strong tower the righteous man runs into it in other words the righteous man runs to the lord and is safe you know in a world filled with uncertainty there is a place of security and whenever we find ourselves in a jam or in trouble facing certain adversities or a challenge there is somewhere we can run to and there is someone we can turn to and his name is jesus and in jesus we have a place of security but most people put their confidence and security in other things in fact the very next verse goes on to say the rich man's wealth is his strong city in other words when times get tough he runs to money why because money is his security and it's not only wealthy people who may have this tendency it's the not so wealthy people as well though the money may not be there the assumption could be if i only had more money then i would be more secure but it is a lie in fact the bible says there is a deceitfulness to riches the deception is to think that if we have more money than we are more secure more money means more security but it is a lie it is a lie in fact king solomon the wisest and the wealthiest man to have ever lived calls the money uncertain riches he also said that money has a way to make wings and fly away in other words money is uncertain it has ups and downs the economy can change companies can close jobs can be lost sales can go down salaries can be lowered and not only that expenses can rise and cost of living can go up and it is a double whammy and so money is uncertain but let me tell you we have someone who is always certain always dependable always faithful and in an uncertain world he is secure and he is stable and we have someone that we can turn to and someone we can run to in an uncertain world and his name is jesus so whatever it is that you may be facing today as you give i want us to remind ourselves that our confidence is not in our money our confidence is in jesus you know there's uh many ways you can give the easiest way to give is through the rock app and if you don't have the rock app you can visit our website gototherock.com to not only download the app but you can also give there for those of you that are part of our anaheim campus and you attend our anaheim campus then when you give just select congregations and then select anaheim english and you can give there for those of you that are part of our larger online audience then simply select online audience and you can give there now i don't know what it is that you may be facing today you may be facing something difficult but don't put your confidence in your money put your confidence in jesus and if that is you run to the lord today as you give today let's come to before the lord father we come to you in the name of jesus and i thank you that though we live in an uncertain world where money is uncertain the economy is uncertain our jobs can be uncertain there's so much uncertainty in our world but in this uncertain world we have a place of total security and protection and we can be confident because that security is not in our money or in the economy our security is in you so father today as we give and some uh that are giving today and then there's others that may be giving later this week or whenever it is that they're giving false may we be reminded that our confidence is not in our money but it is in you so we run to you and we thank you lord that in you we are confident and we are secure in jesus name amen god bless you amen and amen the psalmist said i was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the lord for i was young and now i'm old but i still never seen the righteous forsaken oh give thanks unto the lord for he is good and his mercy endured forever i don't know about you but i think our god deserves a praise a hallelujah thank you jesus and that also goes to our online audience we're so glad that you are part of us today and we thank you for joining us and we believe that something will be said or done that will encourage you as well as encourage us before we begin i'd like to remind you of the b fam conference which is coming up and those of you that are here to the sound of my voice if you just simply take out your bulletin you should find an a insert like this and b fam simply stands for be fruitful and multiply and the lord wants us to do that particularly in these last and evil days and you can help by just simply turning to the back and there are various time slots that are available maybe only maybe you can give only an hour but whatever that might be it will be helpful to us so i encourage you to fill this out and if you would turn this in we would greatly appreciate it now some of you have been asking someone just asked me what happened to pastor jerry and pastor kimberly well let me let you know they're all right they're all right there's nothing that's happened to them they just took a little vacation and someone said well i've never seen them gone that long they're all right they're all right i've heard from them all right and they will be back next weekend so they are returning soon and uh why don't you tell those who are not here who are wondering where they are where they are all right we would greatly appreciate that and you might also be wondering about pastor jonathan and marlene well uh they're not on vacation but uh marlene had that baby they've been waiting for so his name is shepherd cole dearman he was born last sunday september the 19th at 5 48 am and those of oh oh i thought you were clapping for me obviously it's not me right all right okay okay we got that squared away and i'm here to report that he's seven pounds two ounces so we thank the lord for for that and obviously jonathan is home with his wife taking care of her but he will be back soon and so they both covet your prayers i guess when all the oohing and awing is done that i know you're not no longer looking at the screen you're looking at me for real then all right okay but we just want to keep them within our prayers and there's another treat we have today down here on the front row are some missionaries that we love yarshire and monique handle can you stand and grab that mic and come on up here can you do that let's give him a handcart these are our missionaries to north america they've been primarily with the native americans but i don't know what you're doing now so that's why you're up here to tell us and tell me what you've been up to well we'd like to give you a report today so it's our report from north america native american tribes uh god is still doing marvelous things he is still healing he is still restoring glory and he's still bringing sinners back into his sheepfold and his glory in romans 10 romans 10 verse 14 and 15 how then can they call on one they have not believed in and how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard and how can they hear without someone preaching to them and how can anyone preach unless they're sent as it is written how beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news [Music] [Applause] because perhaps you're not um right with what might be going on in your house or in your city or in your country or maybe even in the world this is what we've learned that one disciple at a time we can change the world and so we're inviting you to partner with us and to do that thank you for always always supporting us thank you for what you do we're able to do what we do no i know i had to let my wife say something she knows [Laughter] no we are so grateful grateful grateful grateful for all the support that the rock does towards us uh we go into native country in montana the crow northern cheyenne reservation we're now entering into new territory with the blackfeet and the flathead reservation so the lord is extending our tents we cannot do it without you and we love you very very much we love pastor jerry and pastor kimberly and all the leaders that have followed us and has supported us for many years over 11 years and so we do want to say thank you you go with us when we are sent you are sending us and so we thank you for your partnership and we're truly grateful thank you thank you for everybody life why don't we extend our hand to them and at least give them a prayer father god we thank you for this couple we thank you for what they represent because they represent our missionary arm and they're here today because of the work that you've done within their life but they stand instead for those who could not be here today who are also doing the same thing we thank you o lord those of us who have not had the opportunity or for various reasons cannot go for being able to support couples like this who have gone in our stead couples who are going and sharing the good news of jesus christ couples who are withstanding the threats and situations that go on knowing that if god be for us then who can be against us so lord we pray their strength in the lord we pray that you would meet them on every corner every situation and lord that you would be exalted in all that they go to do we thank you and we praise you for the things that you are doing with here within the rock and within your church at large be lifted up as we pray this in jesus name amen [Applause] and let's see i remember you asked me if if you could take one of my assistants on a missionary trip and i haven't seen that child since that is a true story you know but she is serving the lord and we thank the lord for that well we need to jump right into the word so we can hold up your bibles and let's declare what it is that we believe about this book this is the word of god it is living powerful sharper than any two-wedged sword can we say this together this is my bible it is god speaking to me i am who it says i am i can do what it says i can do i can have what it says i can have so i open my heart today to hear god speak a word that will change my life forever well let's go straight to the our text today which is in the book of john chapter number 14 the book of john in chapter number 14. and we're going to start where we ended last week the anna did a marvelous job uh but we're going to start right there in john chapter 4 with verse number 16 through 24. so john chapter 4 verses 16 through 24. uh right now we're reading of the esv the english standard version if you don't have that version don't worry about it just look at the screens and let's read out loud and loudly john chapter 4 starting at verse number 16. jesus said to her go call your husband and come here the woman answered i have no husband jesus said to her you are right in saying i have no husband for you have had five husbands and the one you now have is not your husband what you have said is true the woman said to him sir i perceive that you are a prophet our fathers worshiped on this mountain but you say in jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship jesus said to her woman believe me the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in jerusalem will you worship the father you worship what you do not know we worship what we know for salvation is from the jews but the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshiper will worship the father in spirit and truth for the father is seeking such people to worship him god is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth in our text jesus makes a simple request that exposes the situation i'm i think everyone here is familiar with the story of the woman at the well and last week pastor anna did an excellent job of bringing that to us but there was a situation in her life you know what i mean by the word situations uh there are things that you know they just don't add up okay and so jesus comes to her with a very simple request she's finally decided that she wants this spiritual water that jesus has been talking about she probably still doesn't understand all that he was saying but she is at least moving toward jesus and saying i don't know what you're saying but can you give it to me and all that jesus does is he asks a very simple question go call your husband and come here now i don't know if she hesitated i don't know if she thought about it i don't know if there was a gap of time in between because she did respond and when she responded she says i have no husband you know what she was saying was true because she didn't have a husband and you know this is making it clear for those that are shacking up that jesus doesn't consider that to be marriage because he said you don't have a husband even though she there was somebody she was living with and but but one of the things is is that uh she told uh uh something that was factual but it wasn't the whole truth um those of us that have you know become pastors we we found out that that happens a whole lot someone comes and wants to get married oh okay you get excited all of a sudden you start talking and say like have you been married in four years i'm still married what do you mean you're still married you want to get married to this other person and like you know i'm like if i didn't ask the question then they wouldn't have told me and so here it is she is at least admitting that she has no husband but she's not telling the whole story she has a situation but jesus with a word of knowledge is able to pick that situation apart now he's not picking it apart because he wants to shame her because if he wanted to shame her he would have gone into more detail he would have been able to tell some stories about what's going on and and just made her look a uh a as a disgusting trap he could have done that but he didn't because jesus is trying to do something here this is very important jesus goal or he comes to people that look like their lives are all messed up he doesn't come to mess it up more he comes to straighten us out he comes to give us hope he comes to take something that the father sees on the inside and begin to try to mold it and shape it so that what's on the inside because comes to be seen on the outside see this woman has a destiny there is a whole people group that she could reach but when you look at her right now you don't see that within her life but jesus came just asking that simple question do you have a husband and her simple answer is no allows him to begin to open up or shine some light on a situation you see that's what the word of god is jesus is the word in the flesh and he says i am the light of the world and he comes to shine light on situations in her life whenever you go in for surgery guess what they use bright lights because they don't want to miss anything and that's what jesus has come to do he wants to do the father has called for some surgery to be done within our life but we need light to shine into those places and then we need to admit what it is that the light reveals and believe it or not she does that because though jesus said in john 17 or i mean in john chapter 4 verse 17 and 18 you have well said i have no husband for you have five she goes on to say in john verse number 19 sir i perceive that you are a prophet now that may not sound like much but it is a lot you know sometimes in order for me to get someplace i just need to start walking now you might walk like this and i might take little steps oh i'm not supposed to go there i'm sorry and i might take little steps but i'm taking steps toward the goal and she just took a step toward the goal watch this watch this watch this you see in john chapter 4 verse number 9 she referred to jesus how is it that you being a jew asks me for a drink she referred to him as a jew remember this the samaritans and jews they disliked each other but then when he talks about this living water in verse number 11 of john chapter 4 she calls him sir sir you have nothing to draw with and now here in john chapter 4 verse number 19 she says sir i perceive that you are a prophet and look at what happens when we get to john chapter 4 verse number 29 she told the people that she was talking to come see a man who told me all that i have ever done can this be the christ oh nobody's excited lord but me she started off you were just a jew and we don't talk to jews we don't have anything in common and now she's all the way over here with the revelation could this be the christ the son of the living god the messiah the one who's come to take everything that's crooked and make it straight could he be the one and that's what the lord the father saw in her and that's why he sent jesus jesus said and at least in the new king james version i must needs go through samaria because there's someone there that the father sees that nobody else sees and he can do something in her life and make her a missionary make her a disciple make her someone who can turn the world upside down he's saying that for us as well he's saying that for us as well and then something strange happens which is really where i want to get to and verse number 20. she says this after jesus has just talked to her and and after she says sir i perceive your prophet in verse 20 she says our fathers worship on this mountain and the mountain they were on was mount garrison and that's where jacob's well was and he says and you jews say that in jerusalem is a place where one ought to worship now when you first read this it sounds like wait wait wait wait wait wait we were talking about your sin we were talking about getting that straight and the bible's clear if you confess your sins he's faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness but now you're changing the subject and you're talking about worshiping on this mountain and and and at least when i first read that uh i would say she's trying to divert the conversation she's she she's trying to move it away from what jesus was talking about but i'm not sure about that anymore because one of the things that i noticed is that when she tried to divert the conversation before this point jesus always brought it back to something spiritual he never picked up what it is that she was saying when she was talking about practical and natural things he was keeping it on a spiritual level but he doesn't do that here he begins to take right up on her conversation so i'm wondering something was she trying to change the subject was she trying to jump to something religious rather than dealing with the issues within her life or could it be that she was looking at her life and saying what do i do now what church do i go to i'm a catholic you're a protestant you've been talking to me what shirts do i go to now do i go back to my old church or do i go to the church you go to tell me i want to suggest that to you because jesus picks right up with what she says and he begins to say woman believe me in verse number 21 the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in jerusalem worship the father what he's saying is this oh i'm here now you don't know who i am but i'm the son of god and i've come to let you know even though the old testament made it clear that you were to worship god in jerusalem there's a new plan there's a new sheriff in town and you can worship it in spirit and truth wherever you are and isn't that true remember the apostle paul and silas were thrown into prison in acts chapter 16 and guess what they did they worshiped the lord within prison wait wait wait wait and this isn't isn't just a new testament concept i seem to remember the story of jonah oh jonah chapter 2 verse 1 and 2. then jonah prayed to the lord his god where from from the belly of the fish if you can pray from the belly of the fist to god and worship him from there you can pray and worship the lord from anywhere verse 2 saying i called out to the lord out of my distress and he answered me of the belly of shehu i cried and you heard my voice it in a tabernacle wasn't it a uh temple wasn't in the church it was in the belly of the fish so it is not where you worship but it's who you worship and it is how we worship we worship god the father and we worship in spirit and in truth and i love in verse 23 and 24 where it says but the hours coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth for the father is seeking such to worship him verse 24 god is spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth there are so many truths in those two simple verses the first one is this god is spirit and father god is spirit and father i say that because sometimes when we use the word spirit guess what we take away all relationship and we make it to be some figment of our imagination almost like a ghost god is spirit but he's also a father oh help me lord when i say god is spirit that means that there's no flesh and sometimes when i come before him what i show more of than anything else is my flesh but god is not flesh god is spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth in john chapter 8 verse 8 it says those who are in the flesh cannot please god because why god is spirit first corinthians chapter 1 verse number 29 it says out of the new king james i'm sorry that no flesh and glory in his presence so when i come before him i'm not coming before him to show him my flesh and that could happen in so many ways i'm not thinking but you know i i don't i don't know maybe you're not like me but i spent a lot of time on my flesh i know you're not like me let me just talk to this wall here lord i spend a lot of time with my flesh i wake up in the morning i look in the mirror all right i got you all those sort of things you know you got to look at what you're wearing and even when i don't look my wife reminds me of what i didn't look at okay so there's so much energy that we spend on the flesh and god is trying to remind us i am not flesh so if you want to worship me you can't take all the time you're spending on the flesh and give it to me because i'm my flesh i'm spirit and i made you spirit as well i've given you a soul it's just simply housed in this flesh when i first created you you were spirit soul and body and once you fell things got turned upside down and now you think about the body then the soul and then if it's time left over the spirit but i'm calling you to worship me in spirit in truth but sometimes when you talk about spirit it can be like the third person it's it's not personal so he reminds us not only is he spirit he's also a father in psalms 103 verse 13 and 14 it says a father shows compassion to his children so the lord shows compassion to those who fear him for he knows our frame he remembers that we are dust and i love this example of how god is a father found in zephaniah chapter 3 and verse 17 i learned it are the king james the new king james so i'm going to read out the esv that i might quote it out of the king james verse 17 of zephaniah zephaniah's in the old testament anything that you can't pronounce it's in the old testament okay i'm the only kid or kid zephaniah chapter 3 verse 17 the lord your god is in your midst a mighty one who will save he will rejoice over you with gladness listen to this he will quiet you by his love and he will exalt over you with loud singing i love it the the king james says the lord your god in the midst of you is mighty and but it goes on and says and he will sing over you wait wait we're talking about god god is spirit but he's also father and as high and lifted up as he is as great and powerful as he is he's still a tender father who's in love with his children just like a father off-key as can be we'll take that child of his and begin to sing over that child we have a father he has instruments all throughout creation and he wants to sing over his children so we come before him we not only come before him seeing him high and lifted up we could perform seeing him as a tender loving god who wants to give his all and his best to his people we worship him in spirit and in truth and the spirit i'm going to talk about the holy spirit in just a minute but i believe what he says in spirit he's reminding us that the spirit is all that we are and we are supposed to worship him according to what it says in the book of luke in chapter number 10 in verse number 27-28 uh a lawyer had asked jesus you know about the greatest commandment and jesus took the question back on him well what do you say so he answered and said you shall love the lord your god with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself he said to him you have answered rightly do this and you shall live what i'm saying is to worship the lord in spirit is to worship him with all that you have your mind on him i'm going to come back to that your actions on him let me share it now i taught this message last night and even this morning when we were worshiping and i was in but all of a sudden a thought occurred to me and you know how quickly i got out of worship so he says in spirit that means everything that you have can you focus it on me can you be with me in your thoughts can you be with me in your actions can you be with me in your words or is there so much going on in our lives that we are easily distracted and even in the presence of the lord i'm not in his presence wait wait nobody else oh i'm in the wrong spot again nobody else knows it but me or really the lord and then me because sometimes i forget that my mind is wandering that i'm being distracted by a phone or distracted by what somebody else is doing worshiping him in spirit is taking all that i have and giving it to him knowing that i'm in his presence it's sort of like isaiah said in the year that king uzziah died i saw the lord high and lifted up and the train of his robe filled the temple and i heard the angel saying holy holy holy is the lord god almighty and we when he was in the presence of the lord it was such it was such a magnificent and a holy experience that he was able to see himself as a reflection of the true and the living god i'm a man of unclean lips in the midst of a people of unclean lips that's what happens when you get in the presence of the lord so he says that we should worship him in spirit and in truth in truth where do i find truth in john chapter 17 and verse number 17. it says sanctify them in the truth your word is truth man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of god but there's one more not only do i need to know god his spirit he is father not only do i need to know i need to worship him and spirit and truth means all that i have and truth and and and and the beautiful thing about the new covenant is he's given us the holy spirit and it says in romans chapter 8 sometimes i don't even know what to pray for as i ought well the spirit himself makes intercession for me with groanings that could not be uttered so the holy spirit comes to help me he comes to help me he can't take my place but if i'm willing and obedient he can lead me and guide me to be pleasing unto my father but there's one more when we were reading he also said in verse number 23 but the hour is coming and now is it's coming because jesus was there and now is because jesus was there but he was going to usher in the holy spirit he was going to usher in a new place of salvation for those who believed in him where the true worshipers will worship the father and spirit and truth for the father is seeking such to worship him most of the times when we think about seeking we think about us seeking him but here he is seeking us so if we want to be in his presence if we want to worship him the bible says in second chronicles 16 9 for the eyes of the lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong or to give i'm sorry i'm quoting out of the new king james to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him let me add this sentence in and you have done foolishly in this for now on you will have wars i love that first part what says what's that last part in there for this was written to a good king by the name of asa and there was a time in asus life where he sought the lord with all of his heart and he had a tender heart a heart that the lord could shape and mold the lord could rebuke and move somewhere else but when he became older became wiser became richer became famous his heart began to change until he made a decision and the lord sent a prophet uh asa the lord's not pleased with the decision you made and it's going to cost you if you don't change and he wouldn't took that profit through the prophet in jail because not only is it important for me to have had a tender heart i need to have a tender heart in the present tense and i can't just rely on what i did in the past i'm finding this out right now the eyes of the lord go to and fro to show himself strong on behalf of those or to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him that is that lord whatever you say that's what i want to do not my will but your will be done time is just about running out so i want to read something that steve shell said as we prepare to come in for a landing i think as some people say he wrote this as an introduction to this uh a part of john chapter four he says it's so easy to stand i think all of you know who steve sheld is he's one of he is a he used to be a foursquare pastor he's a doctor he's a doctor mean a doctor of uh theology uh the this whole series that we're doing we are using some of his uh teachings and writings uh commentaries and he's just been a blessing to the rock but this is what he wrote it's so easy to stand there praying saying all the right things with my mind still asleep or focused on something else i can be halfway through the lord's prayer and suddenly realize that i haven't a clue what i just said and that i said those things with no particular awareness that god was listening to me i'm just reciting words words i memorized the good words when i actually stopped to think about them but until then until i wake up inside until i become conscious of the one to whom i was supposedly talking it's just a morning ritual that i do so i can check it off my list but if i stop wake up my spirit if i become aware of god and sense that he is with me in that room if i wake up my mind and really think about what i am saying those same words will guide me into one important exchange after another a conversation will take place between my spirit and him and i know when that change takes place inside and what jesus teaches us today is that god does too and it brings great joy he says the father actually searches for people who worship him that way so today as we look at our life not just at the woman at the well have we given our life over to worship him that way to worship him in spirit which means everything that i have lord i give it to you because what i had came from you but in truth i'm doing it according to your word if your word says to raise my hands i raise my hands if your word says to be still and know that i am god i know how to be still and know that he is god the lord says he's seeking those people he's searching for those people he wants to exalt those people and what aza reminds me of i could have done it at one time in my life but the question today is am i doing it today i was sitting down here in worship and i had to bring my mind back same song same words but i had to fight to make sure that i kept him before me in the year that king usa died i saw the lord if we're not careful the enemy will let everything else come in i will see and spend my time on those things as i thought about that this is it i know i say this is it a lot okay so i'm coming in all right i say that a lot too i'm here not quite things when we worship the lord we need to worship the lord first of all with our time sometimes it's not where we spend our money is where we put our time but even [Music] though i give the lord my time when i give him my time do i give him my attention you know you can be with someone spend time but you're not attended to them i will worship the lord with my time with my attention and with my love he loves me and he wants me to believe that he loves me and to return that love to be a reflection of that love and the last thing that the lord put on my mind is not only do i want to worship the lord with my time with my attention with my love but with my obedience and he said to me if you can do that then you're worshipping me then you are worshiping me in spirit and in truth can we bow our heads father god this was a simple message but i still believe it was a profound message because we all know this but if we don't take inventory on a routine basis we can find ourselves floundering we can find ourselves drifting off course but you've come today and you said worship isn't in a building worship isn't in a specific place not to say that we won't come to specific places but that's not where worship is worship takes place between me and you is when i stop and give you my time it's when i stop and attend to you it's when i stop [Music] not only receiving your love but expressing my love to you it's when i stop open my ears to your word and be doers and not just hearers of your word so we're here today lord having looked at this woman at the well she knew little about the gospel that we know but she responded and moved closer and closer to you until she found the messiah became a disciple became an evangelist help us oh lord with all the knowledge we have with all the experience that we have help us to learn the importance of worshiping you [Music] in spirit and in truth to god be the for glory great things he has is and will yet do in the name of jesus we pray just before we close i know you said we've heard this five times okay just before we close if there's anyone in here who either came in not knowing the lord jesus christ or maybe you knew or know the lord jesus christ but you feel that you're far from him [Music] i'm just going to ask you with every head bowed every eye closed if you just raise your hand we're not going to embarrass you you got to see some hands raised here just raise your hand anyone just raise your hand father god you see the hands that are raised they're just being honest like the woman of the well was able to tell a truth and you used the truth that she told to draw her closer to you these hands that are raised i pray lord that you'd grab hold of these habits if they don't know you have them come up front and talk to us that we can show them what you want to do and how they can enter into that and those that know you remind us there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in christ jesus but you told us that if we would confess our sins that you're faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness let us take the cure that you've given unto us let us worship you in spirit and in truth we thank you for those who raised your hand we thank you for those who are here we thank you for the faithfulness of the rock congregation over this last month we honor you in jesus name can we say amen can we all stand yes we can give a lot of hand praise anything good it comes from him i'm going to tell you that now well i am 10 minutes over so i'm going to be chastised for that so those of you that know how to protect me do that for me but before you go can we just turn to one or two and uh just give one of those big high fives okay we're gonna try to make sure everybody stays safe and healthy just give a big high five a big high five a big one i didn't say to touch hands i decided to give a big high-five okay that's good and those of you that are visitors we'd like you to know that if you go out this door you'll see our visitor booth and we have a gift for you we thank you for being here don't forget the fam conference be sure to fill out those sheets that's the bpm conference is coming up in about two weeks god bless you in jesus name amen oh you

Channel: Go to The Rock

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Id: 9A9K-R5xG6g

Length: 71min 41sec (4301 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 26 2021