201: Life-Giving Practices | Part 3

Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast.

We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for tuning in.

We're in a series called 201, it's called About the Profile of the Disciple.

You heard our mission and vision a couple of weeks ago.

We talked about what kind of church we want to be, a general overview.

Last week, Ryan taught about compelling faith, essentially just sharing Jesus what it looks like to be a Christian that loves the Lord so much that you want other people to also know him.

And today we're going to talk about life-giving practices.

Okay, so our setup is gonna be pretty simple.

They gave me an iPad because I was too stressful last time.

I don't know why, because you know iPad kids are crazy, and I'm definitely one of those.

But what's gonna happen?

We're gonna talk through a little bit of scripture and set up the reason for the life-giving practices, and then just like Dave said, and you can see these chairs.

I'm gonna have some people come up here because you know the collective mind is greater than the singular one.

And these people, in some ways, probably a lot of ways, know Jesus a lot better than I do, have a lot better habits than I do, but somehow I have the job.

Okay?

Anyways, thanks.

Maybe a little bit of a strange place, a little spooky place.

Our core scripture today is gonna be in Revelation.

Um, and it is kind of crazy, but it's not that crazy.

So the day behind Revelation is John, one of Jesus' disciples, is um, you know, he's been exiled, he's done work for ministry.

They send him off to an island to die, essentially.

And while he's walking around kicking the stones, Jesus shows up and he's like, oh, here's a vision, and talks about essentially like, oh, here's what's happening, here's what's going to happen.

He sees lots of creatures, lots of things, and people will argue about what it means.

Um, but generally it's all about Jesus, okay, and we're gonna focus on him today.

Okay, so I'm gonna talk through our scriptures in our main one.

I should back up, shouldn't I?

I should, my bad.

Our scripture is in chapter two, but we're gonna talk through uh chapter one just a little bit to uh just give us a reference for what we're gonna be seeing.

Does that make sense?

Yes?

Okay, does it make sense to anyone else besides my friends?

Okay, good.

Alright, so what's gonna do?

We're gonna look at uh, Chris, will you help me, Revelation 1, verses 1 and 2?

Revelation 1:1

So the first thing, I think it's on your notes.

Maybe it's not, either way, it's on the screens.

Uh it says, Jesus is the point of revelation.

We're gonna look at verses 1 and 2.

There is a revelation, or this is a revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place.

He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant, John, who faithfully reported everything he saw.

This is his report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

So here's the thing: Jesus is the point.

Look at the highlighted portions.

This verse tells you that Jesus is uh both the one doing the revealing and the person and the thing that's being revealed.

Does that make sense?

Does that make sense?

Yes.

Thanks.

We're gonna keep going.

We're gonna look at verse three, or yeah, uh, verse three, and which is our second point.

What Jesus has to say about himself is important.

God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to his message and obey what it says for the time is near.

Love the first line because it's about me, you know?

God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy.

I'm blessed.

Okay.

And how we can all be blessed is if we listen to what he says, right?

If we pay attention to what these scriptures say.

If we look at the book of Revelation, try to understand it and apply it to our lives.

What Jesus has to say about himself is important.

It's worth changing your life over.

Does that make sense?

Oh my gosh, you guys are getting so good at saying yes to me.

I love it.

Give me money.

Point number three is this.

It skips down a little bit to the second half of verse 5 and verse 6.

All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.

He has made us the kingdom of priests for God his Father.

All glory and power to him forever and ever.

Amen.

The gospel of Jesus is our why?

Looking at Jesus, talking about Jesus, paying attention to what he has to say, right?

Being changed by what he has to say.

You can't talk about him too much without talking about the gospel.

Right?

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.

We talk about the cross so much.

The greatest thing in history, especially for the believer, is that Jesus took us who are far off from him and made a way for us to be close to him.

He gave us the opportunity to know him.

There was a giant gap.

We were born in this gap, born with separation, born into sin, born with iniquity.

I think Isaiah says.

But he took it away, he washed it away by shedding his blood.

The gospel is the main thing.

That's why we worship Jesus, that's why we lift Jesus high.

That's why we talk about him, that's why we give our lives to him.

That's why Dave's like, hey, show up to this thing, and we show up.

Not because this is a really cool high school.

One of us, like, we really want to relive our glory days.

I definitely don't.

I peeped, but it's fine.

But because Jesus really is the reason.

Does that make sense?

Yeah.

Okay, it makes sense to her.

Does that make sense?

Also, don't say yes.

If you're like, no, it doesn't make sense.

Give me a thumbs down.

I can talk some more.

I won't, though.

Alright.

So here's what we're gonna do.

Um, so we get there to that's essentially about the first half of Revelation chapter one.

In the second half, um, John is walking around and he hears Jesus' voice behind him, right?

And he turns around and he describes Jesus.

He sees a vision of him, and he's like, he's tall and bronze, like me, probably a little bit more muscular.

Um, and he says his eyes are like flames of fire, his hair is white as wool, okay, and his voice sounds like many rushing waters.

It's a thunderous sound, right?

And of all the things, God essentially is like, write this down, you know?

Which takes us to chapter two, okay.

I was raised Apostolic Pentecostal.

I told you last time.

So, what happens when in those kind of churches is when you read the scriptures, you stand up together.

So I'm gonna do I'm gonna invite the panel up so we can all stand up together.

Yep, yep, come on, guys.

The panel.

Everyone else will stand up so that Shadi and Saya and Emmanuel and Ella.

Yep, come on.

By up, I mean up on stage.

Yep.

We're gonna read the scripture together, uh, then we're gonna pray.

Uh, we're gonna talk some life-giving practices.

I'm gonna get out of your face, okay?

Bible says this in uh Revelation chapter 2.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

I know your deeds, your hard work, and your perseverance.

I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not and have found them false.

You have preserved and have endured hardships for my name and have not grown weary, yet I hold this against you.

You have forsaken the love you had at first.

Consider how far you have fallen.

Repent and do the things you did at first.

We already talked about knowing Jesus, right?

We talked about seeing Jesus, about being changed by him.

But here, right, we see Jesus, he's being revealed to us in this book, in this chapter, like in this, in this whole thing.

The whole thing is about him knowing us, or us knowing him.

And he says this.

We see him, but hey, here's what I want.

I want a relationship with you.

I want to know you.

So the whole framework for today is like, how do you cultivate a relationship with Jesus?

The main thing, right?

So the whole of the Christian life flows from the love of God.

First receiving it, right?

Understanding that he died for us and was raised again on our behalf, and then reciprocating and sharing it.

So we'll answer the question today, like, how do you cultivate the love of God in your life?

So you guys come on over, we'll pray, and then you can sit back down.

Lord Jesus.

Uh thank you so much for today.

Thank you for these people, thank you for this opportunity we have to talk through uh the scriptures, God, to talk about our experiences.

Lord, I pray um that you'd meet us through today.

You know, the most beautiful thing about having uh a diverse body, God, about being in relationship with other people, God, about being in church community, is that we get to see different facets of you.

We get to see your power and your glory, God, and your purpose, God, your plans.

We get to understand you a different way through the lens of other people.

So I pray that that would happen today.

Or if um anything crazy is set up here, or I ask that you would uh just cast it into the sea of forgetfulness, Lord, that it would not stick, that it wouldn't hold in our memories, Lord, but you would only cause the things to take root and produce good fruit uh that you want to see in our lives.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

You guys are gonna miss it down.

Welcome.

Okay, so you already met uh Shadi, you know, incredible.

This is her husband Saya, he serves on our leadership council, right?

I was gonna say something in Farsi, the one thing that I know, but I'm afraid to mess it up on the internet, so I won't.

Um this is Emmanuel, he's the nicest person in the entire world, literally.

If you ask him, he's like he's like, How are you doing?

I actually care about the answer.

Incredible.

Was her protege last season, is still serving, absolutely amazing.

And this is Ella Ingram.

You probably have no idea who this is, never heard of her family before in your life.

Never, right?

You don't know who that is.

Yeah, me either, sis.

Anyway, she's a college student, super awesome, loves Jesus, also says things to me sometimes that hurt my feelings in the best way.

So that I can live in love like Jesus a little bit more.

It's really good.

Anyways, so we're gonna talk through four key areas.

There's a lot of things that you can say um about life-giving practices, there's a lot of things that uh you can talk about.

We're gonna talk about four key areas that I thought uh were really applicable for our church that might be really helpful.

Um take notes if you want, or you can like voice memo the whole thing, or it's gonna be on the internet.

So if they say something really great, you can go back and listen to it.

Okay, but here's the four areas that we're gonna talk about today.

Um it's Bible reading, it's praying, it's worshiping, uh, and we're gonna talk a little bit about community today.

Okay?

So um, here's what's gonna happen.

It would be a blind reaction, and then they told me you can't give them a blind reaction, you have to like help them be prepared.

So we plug some verses out, um, and then we're just gonna talk about them.

Talk about what they mean to these people, talk about what they could mean for us.

I got some questions if I do a bad job facilitating and it gets a little stale, and we'll keep moving, and then Isaac's gonna come back up here and sing, and then we'll be done, okay?

Alright, let's go to Bible reading.

There's two verses.

Uh Hebrews 4 12 says this for the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

And Psalm 119, 105 says this your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.

What do you guys think of those verses?

Anything?

Anything stick out to you?

Anything?

Jump out of the page.

What do you think?

Yeah.

Yeah, you can share it.

I would say, you know, it's not so much about reading the scripture to get the information that's packed in it, but what this scripture actually does to you when you spend the time.

And it's the word of God, and uh it's powerful.

I love the fact that it's alive, like that passage says, that it's not some dead text that we read.

It's actually the word of God that's alive and it's active.

And like a surgeon's knife, it actually will do some work in you by, you know, there's this constant battle between our flesh and the spirit, and and the word of God helps us distinguish that where our minds are governed by the flesh and where they need to be governed by the spirit.

I have a friend at Nate Travis, he lives in Virginia, and he says talking about like doing spending life with Jesus and reading the scriptures, it's it's like going through surgery, you know, like it is you're creating a wound to get better, right?

There's something about like reading it that does kind of attack kind of the things that you have on the inside, but it's removing the bad stuff and like it's creating a wound like for greater healing is really good.

What do you think about these verses, Ella?

Yeah, I told you I was gonna ask.

You directly, I did.

I I know.

Um I don't these verses, I mean, the bottom one, my dad has literally like prayed over me since I was a little kid.

So I I'm very well acquainted with um the lamp is is at my feet and and the word is is my light, and so whenever I feel like I'm in darkness, I know, okay, I need to bring out my little lamp.

Um, but I also know that God walked with me through the valleys, and so even if I don't have my lamp, I'm not alone.

Um and yeah, I mean the word is alive, so it changes every time you read it, which is one of my favorite parts.

Um, what does that mean?

It changes every time you read it.

Well, technically the words do not change, but you do.

Um and it it shows you something different every time, and that's like the best part.

So you can reread the same thing over and over again and find something new every single time.

And it will relate to you every single time.

That's true.

That's true.

Uh how about Emmanuel uh Bubbles Relevance?

What do you think?

Because what people like have a lot of critiques about it, and some of them I think are warranted, but um, you know, it's translated into our language from a different spoken language, and is written, you know, hundreds of years ago over the course of like hundreds of years.

Do you do you find that the scriptures are relevant to your life, or is it kind of like you have to work really hard to see yourself in them or see them apply for you?

What's that like for you?

I mean, um absolutely the word is totally and uh absolutely relevant to my life, and I think it's relevant to every Christian's life, because um, just like what um Saya was trying to explain the other time, it's just the understanding that the scripture in itself gives a revelation of somebody, and that is Jesus, which I was happy we read from Revelation 1.

It's just the understanding that the revelation of Jesus in itself is a blessing to all.

So meaning that when Jesus is revealed, we are able to get the blessings in the aspect of the fact that our life changes by the fact that the word is active and interpreted through the Holy Spirit.

Because remember the words that we are talking about here, they are written, um documented by different people, but we are also told that those words that are written are actually inspired by the Holy Spirit.

So, meaning that through the help of the Holy Spirit who gives us interpretation of those words, we are able to have a transformed mind.

And just looking at Psalm 119 and 105, it says, Your word is a lamp for my feet, meaning that it's a light on my path too.

Meaning that when I read God toward daily, when I expose myself to God toward daily, I will never be misdirected.

Even if I've been going in the wrong way before, by the space and by the message of God through his word, I can be redirected to the right direction.

So I think that is one of the ways that um the word is really applicable to us as Christians in this day.

He knows Jesus.

You read the word, you will never be misdirected.

I know that's right.

That blessed me.

Write that down.

That was good.

I'm gonna watch that.

Uh Shadi, do you have like uh like rhythms of Bible reading or like studying?

Like, what does that look like for you in your regular life?

You are a mom, you have big kids, you work, you have a husband, you have a life and responsibilities.

Like, what uh what's it like uh for you to read the Bible on a regular day?

So one of the rhythms of uh uh my uh day as far as Bible reading has been for the last few years that I have promised myself I'm not gonna look at my phone before I read a word first.

So I practice that faithfully every morning.

I have one of my memory verses right in front of me, and I just recite that in my mind before even I get out of the bed.

And then I get my phone and go on the Bible app and just read it, meditate on it, just try to soak my mind before starting our busy day and thinking about all those things that we need to do.

It just takes a few minutes and just reshifts my day, I feel.

And we have another rhythm together that as Saya goes to work, I work from home, Saya goes to work and he calls me up when he's driving to work and we pray together.

And that is such a blessing for both of us just to pray together.

So if you get a chance, it had really changed our life so much.

Uh just reshifting our mind to his word and just praying together.

Yeah.

I love you, Donna.

So good.

Also, um clearly these people really know Jesus, right?

You see that?

I'm here to bring the human element, okay?

Sometimes I can't stand reading my Bible.

I think it is boring.

Like sometimes, like some of especially like, you know, like um Numbers, Leviticus.

Well, go Leviticus is crazy if you read it, but uh Numbers, and it's like somebody had this kid and this kid and this kid, you know.

I'm like, what what kind of life is there?

I don't really get it.

Do you guys um ever struggle to uh read the Bible or like want to?

And like how do you make it something that is like enjoyable?

Obviously, it's life-giving, right?

You talk about it like, oh, this is really good, it's good for my life, it's good for me to understand, it's good for me to build my relationship with Jesus to see this, but um all good things aren't always enjoyable all the time.

Is there like a specific way that you're like, oh, I've made this has helped me want to read the Bible?

I've done XYZ and it's helped me want to spend time in the scriptures too.

Any of you guys have anything with that?

Can I respond first?

Yeah, you can because I have the microphone.

She got the mic.

Dave, she got the mic.

I'm never gonna let that go.

So it has been very difficult to read the Bible at times for me, especially uh going through a very difficult season of my life with the diagnosis that I received last year.

It was very difficult.

It was like I was angry, I was frustrated, I was down, I was depressed, I was anxious, and I would just read the Bible and I would just say, you know, I don't know how I can digest it, how I can receive it.

But as you said, it's amazing how his word is just alive and just so powerful, and just during even the hardest time of your life, when you think you are at the end of your rope, it just gives you hope, it just lifts you up, it just encourages you, it just uh uh takes your focus from uh your small world and just take it to a much bigger place where you need to be, and it just reminds you uh of his love, his compassion.

Yeah.

I know that's good.

How about you all that?

Um I've always struggled to read my Bible.

I also find it quite difficult and boring.

Um it's I'm not a good reader and it's a lot of reading, so yeah.

But I'm very loud.

But the the Bible lab, they have these little widgets, and so I have uh the daily Bible verse on my phone every time I open my phone.

And so that has helped me read the Bible like every day.

And I have like a I have like a streak of like 50.

So um, that's right.

I'm just saying, but it's in college, that's pretty but it's also like super helpful because then I learn new verses.

And like today it was about um it was about like being a believer and like get rid of my disbelief.

And it was about a father begging for the life of his uh son, and it was so interesting, and I didn't like fully know the the context and like everything, so I got to read the whole chapter and it was it was so good.

And then I also I really like cartoons, so the Bible project is amazing.

Yeah, the Bible project, it makes me understand everything better.

So if I'm if I'm like, oh, I'm too tired to read the Bible, I'll watch the chosen, I'll watch the Bible project, I'll listen to the Bible on my way to class.

Yeah.

That's good, that's good.

Um, we're gonna keep going with prayer, but just all two things that I realize that are fault in design.

We're talking about a lot of things and a lot of resources that aren't up on the screens.

Um, if you want to talk about it afterward or you need some help or something, come and talk to me after this service.

Uh, we can relist all of the things that are talking about or explain what the Bravo project is or how to get those apps on your phone to be actually helpful because we're talking about this for practical understanding.

So I'm really sorry about that.

I just that just clicked with me just now.

Um, thank you.

Those are good things.

Don't stop.

Say it again next service.

The other thing is this too that's really helpful for me, and then we'll move on to prayer casually.

You notice like NASB, NIV, NLT, stuff like that.

There's a lot of different translations in the Bible.

I, when I became a Christian, and the church that I was going to when I was a little kid had like New King James.

So it was written in like God knows what year.

And it's like these thousands, and like what is betwixt.

I have no idea.

But looking at a translation in different translation of English with uh different language around it is really helpful.

Um and the Bible app, like she was talking about, also has this thing where you can highlight a verse and then add different translations so you could see different interpretations of the same thing, and it kind of just means different things and hits you differently.

Anyways, does that make sense?

Is that helpful?

They were like, oh, the Bible is good.

You should read it.

It's good and helpful.

It's hard sometimes, but here's some good ways to give it a shot.

Does that make sense?

Yeah?

Do you have any questions?

Don't ask right now.

Alright, we'll keep going.

Grace will help us go to uh prayer.

Uh praying.

The Bible says this in Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 25.

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

Uh, he lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.

This is he being Jesus, our behalf, talking about Christians and the saints.

Jesus lives forever to intercede with God or on their behalf.

Uh and then Mark 1, 35, very early in the morning, speaking about Jesus again while it was still dark.

Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place where he prayed.

And then Mark McGovern is a pastor at Experience Church in San Francisco.

And he says this, you are never more like Jesus than when you're praying.

You're most like Jesus when you're praying.

Pretty cool.

What do you guys think of those verses?

Or what comes to you as you as we are?

We love the fact that he intercedes for us.

Kind of a reminder that we don't have to be perfect.

And that he cares about where our heart is more than anything else, not our performance as a believer.

And I love the fact that that we could just pray to God.

I mean, that's you know, it's through his work on the cross that the scripture says that veil was ripped, so we have access.

But really, we're like princesses or princes who could just run to the king without asking permission from anyone.

Can we enter or need to make an appointment to see him?

We could just run to him.

And I think it's a practice like anything else in in life that doesn't come naturally, maybe, but as you do it more and more you get used to it.

So often there is no good prayer, I think, or someone who prays a great prayer.

I think it's you know, it's just something that we just have to get used to.

And and like you said earlier, God wants a relationship with us, and that's how we relate to Him.

I have a question for you.

We you text me about it, about one of the questions, but no, it's okay, it's good.

You do what's coming to you next.

Um prayers allowed to look different, you know, from like person to person, depending on what your relationship with God is like.

And I love what you said about not needing to make appointment, you can just talk to the Lord or talk to God.

What is like, what do you do when you don't know what to pray?

Or like, um what would you tell someone that's like, I don't actually know what to say to God?

Yeah, I can you're telling me that I can talk to him, but what do I actually say to him?

What's that?

Well, I always say everyone tell everyone that God's my best friend.

So we just talk.

Like, I'm just like, God, how's your day?

Which I realize is silly because he can't respond.

I mean, he can't respond, but he doesn't respond like that.

Anyway, um, but you're doing great.

Okay.

But I just I just talked to him about my day.

I talked to him about everything.

I talked to him on my car right over, I talked to him when I woke up.

It's like I always just talk to him.

And it doesn't have to be about anything, it'd be like, God, I do not want to eat this food right now.

This does not look good.

I've never prayed that before in my life.

You move into my cafeteria, but let me tell you.

I'm like, oh my goodness, I do not want to eat whatever's on that plate.

But then you're like, okay, but you have blessed me with this, so I'll I'll eat it.

Um but it can literally be about anything, and that's the best part.

He is your best friend.

And so you just talk to him like one.

And so you can cry to him, you can get mad at him, and he'll he'll forgive him.

Well, you get mad at God?

Yeah.

It's okay though.

He's he's forgiving.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm sure he's mad at me sometimes.

No, he loves you.

That's friendship.

You get mad at each other, you you cry at each other, it's it's a whole thing.

I'd be mad at God too, but probably for less holy reasons than you.

Oops.

Shadi, you're talking about uh going through hardship.

Um, what what's it like to pray to God in a hard season?

I know like when for me, uh it's really easy to pray when I need something, you know what I mean, or like want something.

Um like I'm feeling like I'm in lag, but when stuff's hard, I don't know.

I feel like I go either way, whether it's like maybe I'll just take this to God and hope they can do something, or sometimes uh I feel like I'm inconsistent, like sometimes I shy away, you know, when things are hard.

Like I don't know if I really want to talk to him.

What's it what's prayer like for you in like a tough season, if I may approach the subject?

Uh I think uh I cried a lot, and that's okay.

Yeah, I think that's allowable, uh, you know, and just sit and just wait and just be patient and just submit and just remembering what Jesus Himself did in the Garden of Gethsemane and ultimately submitting to him.

And uh that took me a long time for me personally to get there and sometimes even to be angry, you know, when people just write and left, give you verses, or just you know, and just expect you to just uh perform or get out of your pain, but uh it it just it requires a time and you need to get there.

And God is so patient with us and just so gentle and just so loving, and he doesn't push us or rush us and just uh hangs out with us, and just I learned to just remain in him, and he promises that he would remain in us.

Um that second verse there talks about that Mark chapter one, very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up and left the house and went to a solitary place where he prayed.

I think another version talks about like he prayed, it was like before the sun came up, like he was out there.

What do you think?

Um, like the getting alone portion with God?

You know, obviously, like we pray together, we do it at church, you guys pray together in the car um on your way to work, which is really awesome, I'm sure.

You pray with your parents, even like talking about your dad praying those verses and scriptures over you.

What's it like for you?

Like uh some people describe it as like the secret place or like the solitary place.

Like, what is that like for you?

I was just about to say that.

Like the secret place is something that is so important in the sense that it's just you and God.

And I don't know if you really understand the dynamic of love relationship, and which I think a lot of people that are married here would understand.

It's the fact that there has to be communication.

And I think one of the things that we begin to understand in the place of communication is God really in himself wants to relate with us and he wants us to be willing to care whatever it is that we are ongoing in, whatever fit we are, and he really wants to change our heart, he really wants to help us grow in those things.

So I feel the secret place is always an opportunity for us to communicate our minds.

And I I see it this way.

In the place of communication, like a lot of things happen.

Like sometimes it could just be the place of just experiencing God's peace, most especially at the start of the day, like E.E.

was saying, and um getting to like just digest God's word in itself, because sometimes uh while we are praying or while we are doing or having those communications, some words, some thoughts drops in our mind.

And I tell you, those thoughts, those words could be something that will keep us through the day.

And I think this is one of the reasons why uh Matthew was putting it this way, that we should um um, it said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

So meaning that each day, the word that proceeds out of God's mouth in the place of communication, whether it is you studying the scripture or it's you praying, having those thoughts, they are really very important for our survival as Christians each day.

So that is why the secret place is something that we should, as Christians, never neglect.

It should be the place to the source of strength.

Because the reality is we are never left to do life on our own.

We are not like we are not like those that like I mean the unbelievers, but we have God with us, and I think that changes everything.

That's good.

There's um there's a lot you can say about prayer, and even listening to it, I'm like, uh, you know, like when you try to show somebody a movie and you're like, I all of a sudden see this movie for the first time, like through someone's eyes.

I'm thinking about like just right now in this moment, definitely good learnings for next time.

But I'm like, oh, it sounds, well, it is really mystical, it is really spiritual, it's really crazy and supernatural, even just like the concept, like the terminology of the secret place and uh some of the scriptures we're talking about, like Ella was saying, at the very same time, it's really simple and really personal.

Does that make sense?

Do you see like the spectrum of uh things that are all true about prayer, you know?

And so even a secret place, I know uh my grandmother, Big Mama has um, she has a room.

No one's allowed to sleep in there, like it's got a couch and stuff like that, but you're only allowed to go into this room if you're praying.

Like that's her secret place.

She's got her Bibles in there, she only listens to worship music in there, and like that's her secret place.

For me, I've got one-year-old twins.

I don't have any secret places in my house.

And so my secret place is at 12 minutes from from you know Willow Glenn to uh Delmar High School, where it's like I can just listen to worship or like not listen to anything and just speak to God.

Sometimes the Bible talks about like I don't really know what to say, and so the spirit intercedes on your behalf with groans and utterances.

Have you ever just had a thing where you're like, da, you know what I mean?

Like, I don't know.

I have this feeling that I can't quite put words to.

God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, interprets that and it reaches him the way that it's supposed to, and he moves on your behalf.

Does that make sense?

The book of Daniel.

Uh Daniel's walking alongside the riverbank, and he's praying about what's going on in his life and in his nation, and then being in captivity.

The angel shows up to Daniel, I think in the old translations of the Bible it says, as soon as you began to pray, I was dispatched towards you, and I've been warring through the heavens to meet you, to give you this vision of what the Lord has to say.

And I was like, oh, that's a really good thing.

Me and my physical world, like I send my prayers up, and God literally moves on my behalf and the things that I cannot see, just start working stuff out for my good and for his glory.

Does that make sense?

Yeah?

So just talk to the Lord.

Uh and it's so simple.

She was talking about being angry.

I cuss at him sometimes.

What in the world is going on?

But with some few other four-letter words in there.

Because I don't get it, but I think because he wants a relationship, right?

You get mad at your best friend, you know what I mean?

He can take it and he can translate it and interpret it and change your heart as you make the connection.

Does that make sense?

Okay, we're gonna move on to worship.

Clearly, best part.

Just kidding.

It's the shortest thing because I knew it was me and you listen to me all the time.

Psalm 100, 123 says this in the passion translation.

Controversial, we talk about why later.

Um lift up a great shout of joy to Yahweh.

Go ahead and do it.

Everyone, everywhere.

Worship Yahweh with gladness, sing your way into his presence with joy and realize what this really means.

We have the privilege of worshiping Yahweh our God, for he is our creator and we belong to him.

We are the people of his pleasure.

And so, one of the things we have on this list that we sent on the notes is that uh worship is so much more than singing, but it's not less, you know.

I would talk about our spiritual worship, presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord, as Romans 12 says, but um, it's not less than music.

What do you what do you guys think?

Uh what do you guys think of worship at awakening?

You know?

Just kidding.

Don't say that until night.

No.

Um what's what is your experience of worship like?

You know, uh, specifically like in a church context.

Like you come, what are you saying?

15 minutes, like what's that, what is that like for you?

What is your experience when we gather together?

I can say a word about that.

I was drawn to Christianity by music because of my love of music.

Growing up as a Muslim, Muslims don't have music in their service, or at least it's very sad.

I don't want to get into that.

But what attracted me were the words that worshipers were singing, and it's amazing that God opens this channel through music, which we all relate to emotionally, and I think it engages our emotions more than anything else when you read or sing along with worshipers.

So that's what that's when I look back in the 25 years of being Christian, the starting point was worship.

And I remember the first few weeks at service, I was like bawling, and I didn't even know why.

Later I realized it's actually the Holy Spirit working its magic, its work in me, to bring me to repentance, to realize that I am a sinner.

And then being preached the word of God, something else that we growing up as a Muslim never knew, that Jesus claims to be Lord.

We always thought Jesus was another prophet.

So that combination of worship and then preaching was amazing in in making it so easy for me to accept and just raise my hand and say, God, I want you.

So and then I became a worship pastor.

Yeah, yeah.

You probably didn't know that.

Oh, I did know that.

And I've I've I've written some songs.

I actually have a CD.

And uh I could go along.

Come on, club! Shameless club! Where can we buy it?

Where the CD at Farsi.

I don't think you probably I got friends that know Farsi, they can translate it from me.

He's like, come get this ministry.

Anyway.

What about the rest of you guys' worship music?

I think for me, uh worship starts with the acknowledgement of who God is, and which is like really very important for me because I think um a lot of times, like just acknowledging, even just waking up in the morning, having still having that bread is not just that I am the best person on earth.

It's just like the Bible puts it, it says it's by the mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed.

So, meaning that like acknowledging that place, that it is really God who has given me that bread, the bread that I have, that I'm still alive today and LD, like I just want to give that glory to him.

I want to worship him for that.

And that really forms a good basis to pray.

And in fact, a lot of times it helps you quiet every other thing that is ongoing because it shifts your focus.

It like your gaze changes.

Oh, you've been going through your day has been rough, things have been going really bad, but the moment you just worship, your gaze shifts away from those particular bad things and shifts towards God, acknowledging him and just inviting him into the situation.

Yeah, yes.

That's good.

Charlie, you have anything?

The same, it's uh just acknowledging God, praising him.

Uh also as uh I worship, I uh start just thanking God and remembering uh the miracles that he has done for me in my life.

And that is, I feel like it's so powerful because the testimonies we each have is just the whole truth.

No one can argue against it.

We know it's the truth, we know it's something that God had done in our life.

So just remembering that and just like soaking in that and just uh praising God and thanking Him for all He had done, it just encourages my day and gives me a lot of hope for uh future.

Uh how do you engage with worship music?

Like what's it like for you in church or like at home or like walking into class or like what's it literally everywhere?

Yeah, yeah.

Um I grew up in a household where you wake up to worship music, so I always start my mornings with worship music if I can.

That's like my go-to.

Um which I think starts your day off.

I think worship music is kind of like a reset, and so like it resets your your mind and like your spirit to like look up at God and be like, okay, I'm gonna start my day looking at God, and I think that's the best way to start your day.

Um, but then I also I listen to it on my walks, on my way to school, um, to classes, in when I'm feeling down, when I'm feeling up, every ever all the time.

There's not no bad time to listen to worship music, I think.

So I appreciate that.

Specifically me as a worship pastor.

It's so fun.

Two things uh before we keep going, uh, at least for me, one of the things that's really powerful about worship, talking about reshifting your focus or thanking God.

I remember uh there's a scripture in Acts chapter 16, Paul and Silas are in prison uh for preaching the gospel, and I think it they're performing a healing on like the wrong day or something like that.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

And so the Bible says, like in the midnight hour, right?

It's the middle of the night, they're in prison, they're shackled up, uh laying in the dirt, uh, there's chains on these cells.

They began to sing and praise God, and as they sang, there was a great earthquake, right?

Their chains fell off, um, and the prison doors opened.

And it wasn't just them, you know, it was everyone in the prison.

And as a result of it, someone who did not know God came to know the Lord.

And so I just think about like practically, I don't know if we've ever been singing here and there's been an earthquake, you know, because of our singing.

Um man, we really have no idea like what our worship does for other people, you know, when you really pay attention to Jesus and shift your focus, you know.

If we to even like Bob says in somewhere else in the Psalms that like he inhabits our praises, like we actually sing and he's like, oh, let me sit down in here and like rest here in this spot.

As an encouragement to you, as we gather together to sing and stuff, you have no idea what it's like when you start paying attention to Jesus and talk about how good he is.

You have no idea what happens.

The freedom that gets unlocked for other people, you know?

The ministry that happens, how God speaks to someone through your singing, through your worship, and through your demonstration.

And I recognize it's hard, right?

Not everyone knows how to play guitar and sing and feels comfortable standing on stage.

Um but it's worth engaging with.

Not just because it makes me feel better, you know?

But it actually is life-changing.

Worship was the thing that drew me to Jesus first, too.

Like we have a similar story.

So if I can drop and be like you, that'd be awesome.

But so far I'm on my way, I think.

Um anyways, last thing.

I'm gonna invite Isaac, I don't know where you are, uh, but will you uh come back up really quick?

Because he's gonna sing a little bit um as we get ready to go.

Um we're gonna go to community really quick.

Um These two verses say this.

Uh Hebrews 10, 24, and let us consider thoughtfully how we may encourage one another to love and do good deeds, not forsaking our meeting together as believers for worship and instruction, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more faithfully as you see the day of Christ's return approaching.

Um essentially, like, hey, keep coming to church and like meeting up with people.

Um then the second verse in Galatians 6, carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Do you see how that kind of happened today?

You know?

Like because uh we were able to gather together, because we were able to meet together, and this time in this designated space.

You have to see a few people's relationship with God.

Like, is uh is that good for you?

Is that helpful?

I mean, does that like truth?

If it's no, then like let's talk about it.

But like, does that help you uh like or it helps me, if I'm asking you, because I'm on stage and you're not.

Does it help you like want to pray a little bit more?

I mean, and trying to find a way to pray.

Does it want to help you worship a little bit differently, help to sing to God?

Does it help you want to spend time reading your Bible?

Do you see like how these different people with different walks and different experiences have a similar relationship with God and it's encouraging in different ways?

Do you see that?

That's the whole point of this whole thing.

You know?

I'm so glad that we get to be here together.

And think together is like the operative word.

I understand some people can't make it sometimes.

You travel, you work, you do things, you are sick, unable, you got crazy babies, you need to stay home and watch online, it is what it is.

But there's something about seeing Jesus in the face of someone else.

You know?

What would you say to someone that is struggling to engage in church community?

Like struggling to want to come to church or want to interact with someone or even like talk about Jesus with the believers.

Like, what would you say to someone who maybe is a little bit hesitant about engaging that way?

I mean, if they're going through a hardship in life, we have to be sensitive.

I mean, you don't really want to be pushy.

But my experience as a Christian in the last 25 years has been community is actually probably the most important aspect of that faith.

You need to have that relationship.

And unfortunately in a Sunday service, you only get to say hi and bye to people.

You don't really get to know them.

And looking back, like at the 10 years in our small groups and people I've met and sort of did groups together, we grew closer to each other.

And then there are moments where you're vulnerable, and especially if there is trust, and I'm sure there is trust among many of us, we get closer to each other when we hear each other's struggles.

We get a chance to pray for each other.

Or maybe there is a word of encouragement that somebody needs to hear.

And often I think as a group, that's the best the best time to do it.

And then the best part is breaking bread together too.

I love that.

You know, we as a group we love to host and and have food.

And there's nothing like being around the table and laughing and breaking bread and eating uh together.

So yeah, community.

I mean, without it, I think if you I don't think you could do Christianity in isolation.

I don't think it's possible.

Um well when I first read this question, I was like, oh, you could do this, you could do that, you could do, I don't know, all these things.

But um I felt like I was kind of being hypocritical because I'm in college right now and I have not found a church yet, and I still don't want to get involved with the community.

It's really scary, guys.

Um and I was like, oh, bring an extroverted friend, but I'm the extroverted friend, so like it's really problematic.

Um I was like, go multiple times.

I've been multiple times, and I still don't know anyone at the churches I've been trying out.

So I don't know, I feel like just follow God and God will point someone out to you, and if if he it might take a little bit of time, but God has a plan and just put your trust in him.

Can I just add to that?

Sorry, let me get away.

Yeah, you can.

Um Shadi and I felt a calling 10 years ago to come and be a part of a church of a younger generation.

But the first year we couldn't connect.

We felt like, are we in the right place?

So I would just say be patient and just hang in there, and the right timing will come.

But now looking back, that season, there was a reason for that.

And I cherish that because I had to like just be still and realize my identity in Christ and who I am, not what I do for him.

So there's a season for that.

Amen, amen.

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