Summer 2025 | What Do We Value | Isaiah 66:5 | August 10

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Music.

Psalm 27, 8 says, because my heart has heard you say, come and talk with me.

And my heart responds, Lord, I am coming.

Lord, we are coming this morning to seek your face.

Lord, we want to see you. We want to hear you.

Holy Spirit, we ask that you fall on us this morning.

I read this prayer last night and I wanted to share it because it's my heart

this morning. And I pray that you...

That it resonates with your heart this morning.

Father, I ask your forgiveness for the times that I've entered an atmosphere

of worship with a casual, irreverent attitude.

Lord, I repent for taking your presence for granted, for treating it as common.

Men of the blood of Jesus, cleanse me this morning. Cleanse us this morning,

Lord. Lord, remove anything that's not of you.

I humble myself before you and I ask for the grace to change.

I want to be aware of you and I want to respect your presence.

No matter where I am or what I'm doing.

I want to live in reverent awe of you at all times.

Lord, we repent this morning.

When we don't put you on the throne of our lives,

when you are not Lord of everything.

So Father, we do that this morning.

I just want to take a few minutes and give space for this and just,

Lord, help us open our hearts to you.

Thank you for loving us.

Lord, when we turn our focus to you, we will be changed. So Father,

we ask that this morning. Make us more like you.

Transform us into your image, Lord, in a new way.

Join me in prayer, Father, as we just sang, we want to know you more and more.

We want to hang on your every word as we've been reflecting this summer on just

the importance of the word of God in our lives.

God, we want your word to replace our thoughts.

We want your word to speak truth into our lives.

When all that we see and all that we tell ourselves are lies,

we want your word to cut through and to change us,

to change all that we are, to change all that we care about,

to change all that we prioritize, to change everything about us,

God, that we would be a people who live in fear of you,

people who so desire to be in your spirit day by day, every moment,

that it would define our lives, God.

And as I was thinking about this prayer, Lord, and praying for your spirit to

come upon us this morning in such an undeniable way that we would never want to be the same.

I was thinking about the passage in Zechariah that tells us,

you said to Zerubbabel, not by will or power, but by my spirit, God.

So I pray for us this morning that this is not by human will,

human strength, human power, human ingenuity and creativity, human intelligence.

But by your spirit in us that you would fall this morning.

Bring us to our knees before you, God. That all that we would want,

all that we would desire will be found in you.

That we would prize you above all else.

That we would let go of our wills and our desires.

That we would open ourselves to you. Come, Holy Spirit, come. Amen.

So, as many of you noted, since I'm not wearing athletic gear,

things have changed this morning about, I don't know, eight or nine o'clock last night.

And I've been wrestling with the Spirit the last several days.

And I think the word that Jenny would use is agonized.

And we've prayed and we've sat and we fasted and we've worshiped.

And I don't want to let go of what the Spirit's doing.

And so everything that was planned for today has been changed and we're moving

forward and what the Spirit has for us.

And in some ways I haven't

felt this strongly in this regard since

probably the first sermon I

brought to the church two years ago or so and I preached about Paul's prayer

to give him an unceasing anguish for the people of God and for those who don't know Jesus us.

So I guess Jenny's word is appropriate.

And so some of this has come from Wednesday night for all of you who were able to join us.

And we had a great time expressing values.

And Eric prepared the questions that were right for the moment and they were good.

And so I said, thank you. And, and said, I love you all.

And then we went home and didn't think too much about anything.

But when we got home, Jenny burst into tears.

And she was just saying, we missed it.

We missed it. What is, this is important, but what does any of it matter if

we are not growing in our love and knowledge of Christ?

If we're not worshiping him in spirit and in truth, as it says,

John says, if he is not the goal.

There are plenty, we talked about a lot of great things that are good,

godly things that we should value, like community and outreach and generosity and discipleship.

There's lots of non-religious groups that do a great job at community.

There's a lot of groups that are not Christians that do a lot of good work with generosity.

There's a lot of non-spirit-led, non-spirit-filled organizations that do really good at outreach.

Apple, I don't know if they still do, but employed brand evangelists.

There's a lot of organizations that are not following the spirit of God that

do a lot better job at all of those values.

And I was listening as I was, so Jenny shared that.

And I guess I missed really my sentiment in that moment is when she shared that,

the only thing that I can express is the most beautiful display of God's wisdom

that came from her that I told her the other day, just like it served,

the purpose it served was just for me to love and respect and value her so much

more than I already do as a result of just God's spirit and work in her.

And so, you know, I took that in, didn't think much more of it,

didn't ponder on it, didn't cross my mind some, just the amount of wisdom that

came from that statement that we've missed it until Friday when I was working, doing my thing,

listening to some talks, sermons, podcasts, whatever they are.

I try to not fill my Fridays with just empty entertainment as much as I can be successful in that.

And I felt like I just needed to, as a response to that wisdom that God shared

through her, just start taking some notes, just feeling like that was the result

to just write some of my thoughts down and get them out of my head.

And as I wrote these notes, what I felt was the overwhelming urge by the Spirit

to share these words today.

And it was that that I agonized over day and day.

And what I wanted to do in that, as the voice I kept hearing is that for those

who fear the Lord, we obey immediately.

And for those who fear the Lord, we obey when it doesn't benefit us.

And I want to be somebody who fears the Lord and not have fear of man or fear of other things.

And it happened on that same day that I was listening to something and just

happened to pay the most attention when they were talking about how God tells

us over and over in his word to not fear.

365, 366, whatever times it is, God tells us over and over, do not fear.

It is the command that is repeated most often. And then yet the first words

that we speak, that Adam and Eve speak to God in the garden,

just about are, I was afraid.

So I don't want to live in fear. I don't want us to live in fear.

And the wisdom that came from the spirit and Jenny that night, it seems too obvious.

It seems like we missed it because we just take for granted that we are believers

who should value the things that God desires.

Rather than, and again, the questions were what we needed in that moment.

But were we missing that idea? Were we missing the point that what is it that God values?

Because we can value good and godly things, but we can also miss other good

things that God values because we all have blind spots that holds us off,

that keeps us focused on the things that we care most about in our hearts and

miss the other things that perhaps we could have.

So what is it that God values? What does the spirit want from us?

And this goes beyond just words of value.

This is what does God desire of us? What does the spirit desire of us?

And I just kept thinking about this passage in Isaiah and it occurs over and

over again in the Psalms and it's not unique to this passage,

but in Isaiah 66, it says, Thus says the Lord.

Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.

What is the house that you would build for me? And what is the place for my rest?

All these things my hands have made.

And so all these things came to be, declares the Lord.

But this is the one whom I will look.

He who is humble and contrite in spirit and who trembles at my word.

Than sitting under the Spirit and saying, Spirit, change me.

Help me to value what you value.

Help me to put aside what I value and what I care about as long as it's what you care about.

I was thinking about some verses in 1 Peter 2.

It talks about, You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,

a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him

who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Then chapter three implores us in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy.

We are chosen and valued by God so that we would value him above all things,

that we would cherish him above all things, that we would see him rightly and

that we would fear him and give him priority in all that we do.

And so I just want, I wanted to encourage and, and continue what started on

Wednesday by refocusing us onto these questions of what does God value?

What is the spirit leading us to?

And so we can pray things like God revealed to us, our hearts revealed to us

your heart and what you value that we may value it as well, that we would value

the correct things for us.

Us to ask that question as we continue to pray and move away from that, what started then.

Are we valuing the correct things? Are we valuing worship?

Are we valuing prayer? Are we valuing teaching? Are we valuing the ministry

of the word? Are we valuing fellowship?

Are we valuing discipleship?

Or are we valuing the activities and ways that we might demonstrate those things?

So that if we're valuing the way that we would see it happening in our minds,

then if that doesn't happen, we look back and say, we're not valuing togetherness

because it's not happening in the way that I see it.

We're not valuing worship because it's not happening in the way I see it.

We're not valuing prayer because it's not happening in the way that I see it.

Are we valuing the ways that we see it in the activities? Are we valuing the things that God values.

Because if we're valuing prayer, if we're valuing togetherness,

if we're valuing worship, then how that plays out might change.

And how we do those things might change. And essentially, how we demonstrate them doesn't matter.

They are all equally good as long as we are valuing the right thing and not

the activity or not some idea of what it could look like.

In Matthew chapter 6, the Sermon on the Mount, we have Jesus telling us,

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

seek first my kingdom and all of these things will be given to you as well.

To prioritize ourselves in such a way that we seek and value him above all things,

that in a sense, it doesn't matter what we're doing because that's where our

hearts are and that's what we value.

Lord, help us value what your heart values and what your heart looks to more

than how we imagine we could demonstrate that. And I was thinking about,

came across this idea from George Mueller, how he talks about that nine-tenths of the work is,

having no will of our own so that we may walk in God's will for our lives.

And he actually breaks out into more sort of like his steps for how to seek the will of God.

And he says, seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it

has no will of its own in regard to a given matter.

Nine-tenths of the trouble with people is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties

are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be.

He says, having done this, I do not leave the result of feeling of simple impression.

I do so. If I do so, I make myself liable to great delusions.

And then he says, I seek the will of the spirit of God through or in connection with the word of God.

That he gets out of the way. he doesn't trust his feelings and he looks to the

word of God to direct him in his will.

And whatever the will of God brings, he is happy in it because it is God's will

and because it is his presence that has guided it.

Another question to guide us

as we continue is, are we demonstrating the things that we say we value.

And not just in the sense of how can we measure it and how can we show it,

but in the sense that with the exception of a couple of us, all of us came into

this church on a Sunday morning.

And for the majority, what we were met with that we value is community.

That was an overwhelming response. And that is a good thing.

We received community and so we value it.

But if we only stop at receiving, then are we really valuing it?

If you came in and received community and that's why you stayed,

have you in turn demonstrated that to someone else who has come in,

who is new in such a way that that is their story now?

Experience generosity in such a way that it doesn't stop at receiving it,

but that has turned into demonstrating it to others so that that becomes their story as well.

Thought about how there are so many great opportunities for demonstrating these

things that we value already,

that there are, there are, there are, we want to be a new Testament church and

there are people in this church that see each other three and four times a week.

Seeking God and the word and praying, there are these beautiful opportunities

to walk into what we want already. Are we taking advantage of those? And if not, why not?

Are we valuing other things, which is fine. You're allowed to value other things,

but we need to be aware that if we're valuing other things, we can't then just

say the church isn't providing the opportunities for us to walk in these values.

Because what we're saying is I'm going to take these values.

I'm going to accept these values. I'm going to receive these values.

I'm going to act on these values based on what is convenient to me or what works

for my schedule or what I in turn value.

And so it's not really valuing thing.

It's still running by these other values that determine our lives and desiring

for more, but not already taking advantage of the more that's there.

And I was thinking about again, and the Sermon on the Mount,

Matthew chapter six, Jesus says, where your treasure is there, your heart will be also.

If we say that we value things like togetherness, but we don't have time for

the togetherness that's already happening, what does that demonstrate in our lives?

To only value these things on our terms. These are prayers that we need to wrestle

with in our hearts and not just have quick answers to.

How can we walk more in line with the Spirit as we enter into these values?

How can we become more and more what the Spirit of God is calling us to be?

And we have to do that in multiple ways, two ways at least. We have to do it

personally. We have to demonstrate and cultivate within ourselves these values.

As Roy used to talk about with the demonstration of like plates overlapping,

we have to become more and more.

It is a process of walking in faithfulness and allowing the Spirit of God to

shape us as we take steps to organize our lives around what we say we care about, or more importantly,

to organize ourselves around growing in depth of knowledge and love of Christ.

We have to install them into ourselves personally. If we value generosity,

we can't rely on the church to be generous and say that we're being generous, right?

If we say that we value something,

we have to demonstrate it in our own lives personally, because how we demonstrate

it in the church is not going to fulfill the entirety of you prioritizing and

demonstrating in your life.

There will be things that we do and things that we don't do.

And there'll be sometimes things that you want to do, but we don't do.

But we are not, the church doesn't exist to be the sole source of how we demonstrate

these values in our lives.

The church exists to encourage us, to challenge us, to convict us,

to supplement that larger question of how am I growing in Christ likeness?

How am I growing in desiring the spirit? How am I growing in the fear of the

Lord that changes all that I am?

And so there will be activities and opportunities that the church invests in

as we have ability and capacity.

And those at times that may overlap with the way that we're seeking to implement in our own lives,

you need to supplement those things and so

things may change at times and they may not change at times and that may excite

us or that that may frustrate us but it doesn't matter whether things stay the

same or things change as long as we are the ones who are changing and i i came across this story,

from John Bevere and this is kind of.

Main thing that caused me to write some thoughts down.

And he's an author, speaker. He was speaking at a conference and he was talking

about how he was invited to speak at a national conference in Brazil.

He was invited. This is the first time he'd ever been to Brazil.

And so there's this giant stadium. It's sold out. Thousands of people.

It's surrounded by police, many of whom are not believers.

There's this national worship band full of all the greatest worship leaders across Brazil.

And Brazilians are colorful, vibrant people who love to sing. They love to dance.

So this worship group is playing for an hour and it is amazing.

And John Bevere is getting ready to walk out, to speak for his time.

And he, as he enters the stadium, as he sits and rests and prepares,

he is overwhelmed by a lack of the presence of the spirit of God,

that God was not in that place.

Thousands of Christians gathered to worship. And as he looked around,

he saw people having conversations. He saw people rummaging in their purses.

He saw people, it disengaged.

And this amazing worship group

is playing and leading the people are not there for the presence of God.

And so he comes on stage and he just stands there for 45 seconds.

And the silence in a giant stadium drew the attention of all the people.

And he felt the Lord, the Spirit of God lead him in this. And he asked them questions.

If you were having dinner with somebody and they were absent-minded,

if they were rummaging in their purses, if they were having side conversations,

if they were disengaged,

would you continue in that relationship with them?

He gave more examples, but of course the answer was no, and we would all say the same thing.

And then he proceeded to speak for 75 minutes on the fear of the Lord.

And some of us are already thinking an hour of worship, 75 minutes of teaching.

Presumably there's going to be something after that.

That's too much, too much time, too much attention span for me.

And so he spoke on the fear of the Lord for 75 minutes.

And then he felt the spirit of God move in that place in such a powerful way

that a wind blew through them.

That invitation for those who are convicted by what the spirit is doing tonight,

to stand up and repent, repent of their lack of the fear of the Lord,

repent of their lack of attention to the presence of God who was waiting to

be there, but was absent because they wouldn't give him their attention.

And he said that the spirit blew in that place a second time and God spoke to

him, I'm going to move again one more time.

After all this, after the spirit moved those three times, he ends up in a car

on the way back to his hotel or wherever he was going with the main worship

leader, the main singer of that night.

She's a national treasure in the Christian world in Brazil.

And her husband was there with them in the car as well. And she was saying how

amazing it was that God blew through that place.

And John Bevere was saying, you know, it must've been a jet flying over the

stadium at the right time. That's what we felt.

Cause he didn't want to believe or not that he didn't want to believe,

but his rational mind couldn't grasp hold of what God was doing.

And her husband spoke up and said, this stadium is surrounded by police officers,

most of whom do not know Jesus.

They don't know God. And when the spirit moved and that wind came,

they rushed into the stadium because they didn't know what it was.

And he said, when the spirit of God moved, I was watching the soundboard and

none of the microphones picked it up.

It just impacted me that we could change everything about what we do here.

And we could feel justified in that because we think that we're doing all of

the right religious activities that we value.

But if the spirit and the presence of God is not here with us,

then it doesn't matter what we do. And if nothing ever changes,

but the spirit of God shows up, that is enough.

So long as he is changing our hearts, so long as we are the ones who are being

shaped and changed by him.

Do we value the presence of God, the fear of the Lord?

When we come together, are we, are we coming in discontentment?

Are we coming in anger? Are we coming in fear?

Are we coming in whatever it may be?

Are we coming in anticipation that the Lord, the spirit of God is going to fall

and he's going to move and shape us to be more and more like him.

Our own expectations of what life could look like, of what togetherness could

look like, of what being people led by the Spirit of God could look like.

Are we coming with our own expectations of that?

Are we coming in preparation for the God of the universe who wants to move among

us, who wants to move in this place? He wants to move.

He wants to fill us. He wants us to never be the same.

I think a friend of mine several months ago was sharing about,

what the Lord was speaking to him as he listened to the sermon that day,

or as he was at Alliance and listening to the sermon that day.

And the question in his heart was, am I making myself good soil for God to fill and invade and change.

Not do I like the song that was sung. Not do I think that the teaching was good.

Not whether or not I wanted to do more of this or less of that.

But is my heart good soil for the spirit to fall on and fill that I may never be the same?

Psalm 96.9 says, Worship the Lord in all His holy splendor.

His holy splendor.

Lord, I don't even think we know what that phrase means. Show us what that means, Lord.

And let all the earth tremble before Him.

Leviticus 10.3 says, by those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy.

Lord, show us that if you're holy, we want to be holy, Lord.

And you make us holy. Thank you for that.

And before all the people, all of us,

you must be glorified.

Music.

2 Timothy chapter 4. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching,

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit

their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

For I'm already being poured out as a drink offering in the time of my departure has come.

I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord

the righteous judge will award to me on that day and not only to me but also

to all who have loved his appearing,

God may we love your presence,

may we love your appearing.

May we finish all that you have set out for us to accomplish in our brief lives here,

let us not be distracted Acted.

Music.

Father, I just.

We're just saying holy forever, Lord, that your name is higher above any name,

any power, any authority that's here on earth or the heavens.

You are higher than that, and you are holier than that.

Father, I just stand here with the bread. Father, I pray that you just break

my heart for what you did for me, Lord.

Break my heart for your broken body.

Father, thank you that you loved me so much, that you love me so much.

That you sent Jesus to take on my sin, all of our sin, the world's sin for eternity,

to make a way to be in relationship with us.

So we thank you for the broken body.

We thank you for what this represents. We thank you for the sacrifice.

Terry was talking this morning about the old song, we bring the sacrifice of

praise into the house of the Lord.

So what's your sacrifice of praise this morning? What are you sacrificing to

praise him and to say, holy forever?

Your name is holy, and I come before you, Lord, broken for what you did for me.

So Father, I pray that you show each one of us in this room what is our sacrifice

today. Is it the fear of man? Is it the fear of tradition?

Is it the fear of whatever? It doesn't mean you have to stand up,

raise your hands, or lay on the floor. But God, whatever that sacrifice is,

I pray that you show us what it is individually today.

What is my sacrifice of praise to you, Lord? And we give that and we honor you with it.

Father, we thank you for the blood that was shed and how it covers us.

Lord, your blood covers us and covers everything that's not good in us and cleanses

us and makes us white as snow. Thank you for that.

God, may we never forget your sacrifice. May we not pick up the elements today

in the same way that we always do.

May we remember your broken body and your blood in a new way today, Lord.

Thank you, Father. When you feel you're ready to meet with the Lord at the communion

table, we invite you to do that as we continue singing.

Music.