Daddy's Finger | Pr Joel

This morning, we're going to look into Luke fifteen, verse eleven to twenty

four. We're going to read it together, only because when you read a

word of God, he might speak to me in one way, he might

speak to you in another. Let's read that verse eleven here fifteen. Then

he said a seven man had two sons, and the younger of them said

to his father, father, give me the portion of goods that falls to

me. So he divided them his livelihood, and not many days after the

younger son get it all together, journey to a far country, and they

wasted his possessions with prodigal living. And when he had spent all, there

rose a famine, a severe family and in that land, and he began

to be in want. Verse fifteen. Then he went and joined himself to

a citizen of that country, and send him into the fields to feed swine.

And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine

ate. And no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself,

he said, how many of my father's hired servants have bread enough to

spare, and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my

father, and will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven

and before you, and I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.

Make me like one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to

the father. But when he was still a great way off, his father

saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

And the son said to him, father, i have sinned against heaven

and in your sight, and I'm no longer worthy to be call your son.

But the father said to his servants, bring out the best rope and

put it on him, put a ring on his hand, and sandals on

his feet, and bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let

us eat and be merry. For this son was dead and is alive again.

He was lost and now was found, and it began to be marry.

So we know this story doesn't end here. If you read the Bible,

you know that there's another guy in the story. And who's he The

elder brother? Right, But just for today, it's actually like a two

part series. But I thought I'll give us the father's hot, the father's

hot for us, And it was a great reminder even for me. I

didn't plan to speak this message here, and we didn't even plan to even

be in Malaysia at this point in time, but God had prepared it,

and I was recently in. The reason we came back to Malaysia dealing myself

and Sophie is because my own father he's having a hot procedure and so he

had some hot complications and he was not eating well. And so when my

mom texts me about a month ago saying like he's struggling to even walk up

the staircase, I said, get him checked out. And so that that

prompted me to think that there's something not right and true enough when he went

to the medical um, the hospital medical check up and then they said you've

got blocks. You need to be scheduled in for surgery, and that that

reminded me that, hey, you know what we need to be there as

well, like whether it's I can't be there in the surgery room, but

I can be there with you right now. And this message was already brewing

even in Melbourne. That calls reminding me that hey, you know what,

you may not you may not be able to be there right in that room,

but what can you provide your dad. What can I give my dad

is my presence, my presence, and I'm of you. You might think

like, oh my dad. Like Sophie, if she comes to me,

she's like, you know what she does? She in school, in her

daycare, she would draw and stuff, right, and then she would I

think Michelle Chamers has as a kid here and some of it as kids.

Then she would do something for me anyway, I pick up up. She

said, Daddy, look I made this for you. And then I was

like wow, and she would draw something. Actually, it doesn't look like

much. I would describe it to you. It looks like a folded up

paper that I can toss into the band, right, and it's like,

not looking like much, but I value it because she thought of me.

I value it because while this is like a circle, she tells me it's

a unicorn. I'm like, okay, I'll try to see the unicorn of

this doesn't seem like much, but thank you. And then I keep it.

And some of us wh you do for God may not seem like much,

but he sees it in his eyes. And so when we made this

trip, I was saying that I don't know whether we're what we're doing what

we're gonna do, what we're gonna say. But Lord, you see a

heart, and I hope some of us here that's a message for you that

you're more than you're goods. God wanted me to tell you. He spoke

to me, but he wanted you to know as well. The first point

if you're taking notes, is you are worth so much more than you're goods.

Some of us you're you're you're pursuing things, you're praying. God give

me the newest iPhone so that we can be I can use the Bible app

more because my app is crashing all the time. Maybe that's you. You're

praying, Lord give me a new iPhone, and you're praying, and God

wants you know. He's so much more than an iPhone. He's so much

more than the kyle you drive. The house that you might want to stay

in is so much more. Let's read Luke fifteen. It says here that

the youngest son said to his father, give me the portion of goods that

fall to me, and then he gave his lifelihood. I want you to

remember this because at the end of this I want you I'm gonna bring some

thoughts to you as well that he says here the word portion of goods.

So some of us we work by portions. Um Like, Lord, this

morning I woke up at seven am. I'm doing my part. This is

my portion. Lord, do you see what I'm doing? This is just

one portion you might start Monday tomorrow. I was just telling PASSI Gloria that

was driving this on this highway today, and I'm like driving through me and

Delio. We didn't have this conversation, but we thought the same thing,

what a nice draw. And then we saw the sunrising and like it was

great weather. And then we thought to ourself, like wow, it's amazing.

She's really beautiful and the birds are chirping. And then we suddenly had

just thought, will it be the same on Monday, right, because we

just drove the last week around and then she's saying, you're the mad driver

again and you're like cutting here and there, like honking and kous. But

on Sunday morning, it's like wow, and it's a it's a section of

life that we encounter. So there's there's a Sunday that we drive and we

go like wow, some of us, will you come to Sunday service You're

like, yeah, Jesus, and then you sing, I trust in you.

But then the real trust is tested. Where on Monday, Right on

Monday, can you still sing the goodness of God? In a bad jam?

You're like God, the of what is this? And some of us

you're challenged there, some of us you don't have enough. On Monday you

feel like Monday, you check your bank account, your touching goal is keeping

ranked zero, or you feel you need to top up. Something's not working.

And then he's saying, God, I need more, and I'm here

to challenge you and to encourage you that the more that you need is not

good, it's God. The more that you need you and I need is

God. And our identity should never be found in goods, never be found

in your bank account, but in God, in Him, it's who we

belong to. The youngest son said give me my position, not knowing that

after he has spent it all, he realized, where what do I need?

My father's servants has more to eat then me. Here I should go

back because it's not the portion that makes a difference, it's a person that

makes a difference. My father is the one that makes a difference. And

so I need to go back to my father, and some of us you

just need to do that. Maybe this Sunday you just need to know that.

Oh yeah, maybe I shouldn't pray for more money. I should just

pray. Lord, speak to me, Lord, show me, Lord,

lead me. Amen says here some scripture for you. Now, if God

so clothes the grass of the fields, which today is and tomorrow is thrown

into the oven, will he will he not much more clothe you? O

ye of later faith? Right? Matthew Is sixteen vested twenty six. He

says, what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole will

and loses his soul? What will a man give in exchange for his soul?

It's a good question. Well I give so I can get more,

and hopefully you guys speaking to some of us, that it's not more possessions,

but more of his presence. And I wrote just a downward spiral that

you can evaluate yourself of this story where when it started with the sun saying

give me my portion. So some of us you start with just a little

bit God, we derail a little bit. We start with that little thing

that distracts us, and then he goes into possessions, you are more and

then what happens prodigal? What does the word prodigal mean? Anyone wants to

take a guess, it means it's it's actually in the scripture wasted, wasteful.

So when you go into possessions, you have a lot, then you

start wasting because you stop relying on that father. Again. Let's say Sophie,

she asked me like, can I have more chips? I keep giving

her, but if I go like, you want more chips? Sure,

all right, let me call I don't know what's your grab, and then

buy ten bags of chips for her. Right. Do you think she would

eat that ten bags of chips all at once? Hopefully not sukhi No,

yeah, so she won't eat it all at once, and then she might

have nine bags of chips left over, and that becomes what waste. And

so it leads us to when we get more than we can ask for and

more than we can handle at the same time, we end up wastefully living.

And that's where it goes into what you end up in a place of

the pigs right, where you know that it's not gonna be enough, you

can't manage it, and the pigs. I spoke about this in mail when

um in Melbourne, I think in Australia, I think, and find it

here as well. This word pods is actually a chocolate. Ela knows this.

It's some form of chocolates. And the pigs are eating pods. Then

all the congregations like pots are good. I'm like, no pods are left

over. I don't know left over food like vegetables. And you know how

many of you cook here? Anybody cooks? Yeah, So that there's the

part of the vegetables you feel like, oh, this stalk is too hard.

You cut it off. This meat is like you cut it off.

You put it all together. Guess who eats it? The pigs, And

so they end up eating the pods, the shell, the waist, and

lastly you will end up perishing. And so if you take this, you

know that if we're desiring the wrong things, it will lead this ultimately to

perishing. And God was changing me that what are some right things that we

can pursue? And number one I said, it's not more of goods,

but ask God for more of your presence, more of you. If the

young man had gone like I'm going to go to a new country. Can

you go with me? Can you bless me? If the father went with

him, it would be a different story. And so ask God, Lord,

lead me and help me to focus not on goods but on God and

someone here. God wants you know that even as you're getting you might be

in a good place. And God wants you know that you're in a good

place, not because of your goods, but because He is good. Because

he's good, He's allowed you to be in a good place. Just be

reminded that he's a good God who's able to do more of them we can

do. So trust him. Remind yourself, look to your neighbor and say

you're worth more than your goods. Number two is God knows more and has

more than you know. Some of us you think you know more, but

I want you to know. I'm reminded all the time God knows more and

has more than you know. We spoke about portion earlier. The young man

said, give me my portion, and Luke fifteen verse seventeen, he says,

when he finally came to himself, he said, how many of my

father's hired servants have bread enough to spare, and I perish with hunger.

So when he first thought, if I have this much, that's all I

need. And when he finished it all, he realized that, you know

what, my father knows better. Even his servants have enough food. And

so that's that realization. Some of us need to have this beyond goods that

our father knows better. You may not have gotten the job that you want.

That could be some of us here that you apply for this job,

Hey, how come I didn't get this job? And then you get this

other job. And sometimes it's not the title that you want, it's not

in the in the realm that you want. Delia has a testimony like that

that and I'm just sharing it on her behalf that when we first landed in

Melbourne and we were like, hey, let's let's anchor this church plan,

let's help out, she waited nine months. That sounds like pregnancy, right,

nine months and then the nine months she was waiting for a job.

The job that came she used to be working in in a UNI as as

as part of the finance department. And when she got the job in Australia

that that came up. It was an admin role and some of us think

admin, what is admin? And she she had that thought. She came

back to me and then we had this discussion at home and she said,

I had this job and this opening doesn't seem like much. It's an admin

role, but maybe what should we do? And we prayed about it and

she felt the piece and I felt I said, hey, you know what,

let's believe that God can do the miraculous. This admin role could be

something on I think, Lord is, if this is of you, let's

let's pursue it. And she said, I have a piece, Let's let's

continue. Let's take this job on. And when she took that job on

funny thing is a school offer came in. UNI offer said, hey,

if you haven't found a job, you've got an exact role that you're one

thing in this UNI and she said, I've already committed to this admin role.

So there's that ideal and that's what God opened for you. But she

felt, I'm gonna stick with what God opened. Long story shot in that

year. I think in the next year, let's say that was twenty fifteen,

twenty sixteen, her company had a review and then she told me,

she said, oh my goodness, I couldn't believe that I actually had three

promotions in one year and her boss came up and to her and said,

you know what, we've never promoted anyone like like this in history, and

just to this date, I think they've they've just hired new people in the

company. And then she told me this, um, and this is not

this all to give God glory that they asked her like you, how do

you get into this job? You're not in the banking line, you're not

in this, you're not in that. How do you get into And then

she says that was her as many she said, you know what, I

stuck in the yards and that's where she gets to be a testimony and God

opens that door. And in that story as well, they know she's like,

oh, yeah, I heard your your your husband's a pastor, and

how's that going for you? And how can you how can you afford this?

How can you do this? And just being a testimony like that in

that place, you know that if you have gone to UNI, you'll be

doing a job. But when you take up what God opens for you,

that's a calling and you respond to that. So God has so much more.

If that's you you're praying for a new job, you're saying this role

has nothing for me. Ask God, say, God, show me which

door helped me to listen to your voice. Abide in him John fifteen,

Verse four. It says, abide in me and I in you. As

the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither

can you unless you abide in me. So it just speaks about abide means

to remain, so meaning when you're attempted to jump or attempted to move,

remain some of you. You went through some challenges. Let's say you heard

of people living church, but you remain and God knows that. God knows,

and God has a word for you. They might have a different calling

for different ones by God saying, as you stay in me, what you

shall bear fruit. So each of verse can bear fruit regardless of like whether

me and Delia we bear different kind of food. But who works in us

the Holy Spirit so in and true that God wants to bear different fruits.

When I see that um new guitarists in the house, I go like,

that's fruit. As you remain in me food. So our part is not

to say I can do it by myself, but remain remain. And the

word abide means to dwell as well. Dwelling means when they're going gets tough,

you don't run out the door. You dwell when when it's tough,

when it's it's crazy. Um this this trip back, people are asking us

like you're crazy, Like just just came back like that. We only pack

on that day, like say Thursday night we're flying Thursday, we're packing.

We're like, we don't even know the leaves are proof or anything. We

just felt like, God, if this is you, um go And then

abide is dwelling coming back home and saying, Lord, you have it on

in control. Without you, we can't do anything. But with you,

I can do all things I wrote here. Don't cut yourself from the source.

Keep a strong connection with him. That's gonna help us some of us.

You love your WiFi so much, right, how many of you can

do without WiFi? Now? It's hard And so as you step out of

the house sometimes you realize that, hey, why why is my connection going

down? Why is this not loading? Why is my Instagram not loading?

Why is it reals not loading? And realize, hey, it's because I've

left the connection. I'm stepped out and the word a bye means it's not

just on Sundays we come into God's presence, but in the traffic jam,

you're praying, Oh God, right, God clear this traffic jam. Lord,

help me be patient, helping me nice, help me sing some hill

songs the one, or some elevation worship or some extra songs. Help me

be in your presence even in that jam, even on a train, even

in this ordering food, you're present with Him. And that's that's abiding is

meaning you have constant thoughts that you're still He's still with you. I'm still

with you God, So abiding him. Some sixty three verse want the tree

or God, you are my God? Early, will I seek you?

Some of us like to wake up in the afternoon. This verse is for

you and me. Early will I seek you. My soul thirst for you,

my flesh lungs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there's no

water. So I've looked for you in a century to see your power and

glory. Because your loving kindness is better than life. Is telling with their

first point, I said, you're more than your goods. His loving kindness

is better than life. My lips shall praise you. So it just speaks

about regardless whether I have a good outcome. Lord, you're with me,

and it's better than life. If Esians Tree, verse twenty, I think

past the glory I prayed this earlier now to Him who is able to do

exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask, think, or imagine,

according to the power that works in us. So there are some things that

we know that humanly we can't, but only God can, and God will

help us. God will come true for us. Someone needs to know that

that if you're thinking you're you feel like quitting anyone here, don't look at

neighbor. Don't point at him right now. If you feel like quitting,

you feel like this is too stressful. It's only half of the year,

okay, guys, still got another half left, Yes, another half and

the next half. I hope you run with him. You run with him,

you say, Lord, the next six months, Lord, be with

me. Lord. It's it can be challenging, but it's gonna be okay

because you're with me. Keep trusting him, keep abiding. Number Three's what

I always learn when I'm picking up toys right now is you might mess up

like a child, but he will always pick you up as a father,

you might mess up as a child there at times. Where as a child,

how maybe our children of God point your neighbor now and say you are

a child of God. Being childish is a different thing, okay, but

we are some of us in our in our you know, attitude, Sometimes

we can get childish, but God's reminding us it's okay. If you fall,

it's okay because don't beat yourself up. I'm here to pick you up.

And I've I'm constantly learning this with Sophie as well. Um, what

we usually do in Melbourne is we do grocery runs. And it's because eating

out in in Australia it's crazy. It's like twenty dollars a meal, and

so we we stalk up my groceries and sometimes Dealia does it, sometimes I

do it. Sometimes she'll send me with a list and then I'm like,

oh no, I've got to find this, and Sophie will be with me

because they will be taking a train back and stuff and there at times,

so I've taken her grocery runs like she's turning for now it's from two years

or old, three years old for us old and now she can walk.

I'm like yes, but guess what happens and walking with her and I'm holding

the grocery bags and some vegetables and stuff, and then she goes, Daddy,

I'm tired. Daddy, I'm tired. And I go like, what

does it look? This is full and carrying you seventeen kilos. This is

a workout, guys, this is And I look at the line. I'm

like, I'm in front of line. I'm gonna pay it. But she's

like, Daddy, look I'm tired. And then she goes like, look,

my legs are broken. I go like, this most ridiculous. Clearly

not broken, clearly still moving, but going on and on, and then

I'm holding this. I look at it back and then everybody's like just laughing

and smiling and like, oh that's cute. And I'm like, this is

not cute. Now I have to pay kind even get my money out of

my wallet. I'm like, Then she said, daddy, can you carry

me? Who says that? And I go, sure, right, I

go because only because she mentioned the word I'm tired, and some of you

you're even afraid to say you're tight. I want you to know that this

between us, you can be real that you can't even pray. I know

the Lord prayers starts with our father world in heaven, Hello be your name,

But sometimes that can be tough. And he even understands, Lord,

I'm tired. If you read the Book of Psalms, it doesn't always start

with woe, Lord, how great thoull name is? Lord? Where are

you? And there's disappointments, there's emotions. If you really read the Book

of Psalms, there are times. And the Bible, you read the Book

of Job, you know that the man and the women of all in faith,

they had challenges as well. Their faith was tested. There are times

where you feel like this morning, you feel like you feel only it could

sleep one more hour? Right? And God understands our tiredness. I want

you to know that it's in his word. That's why he says, come

to me all who are weary, meaning those who are tired, weary and

heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take your yoga upon me,

for my yogi's light and my burden is not heavy. And some of

us need to know that that you know what. You can't come to God

and say, Lord, I don't have it together. Lord, I don't,

Lord, I can't do this recently. I shared this in x KK

last week that we had the toughest week in our life. It was just

two weeks ago. And it started with like, so if we had a

medical appointment, actually a medical emergency, and we had to take her to

Basically she had a UTI in a kid urinary track infection and as a child,

if you catch that you can get high fever. Her fever is like

thirty nine but something, and we had to take an emergency and we were

waiting there and I was like, this is not good, and praise God

he got us the antibiotics subsided. Then the following day or two, I

hear my my dad having this hard condition. I'm like, whoa, God,

this is a load. And then what makes matters worse is my mom

was caring for my dad and she slipped and fell and she bruised the eye.

And then she she was on FaceTime with sunglasses. I'm like, why

are you doing sunnis in your house? She's like, I bruise my eye

and this is O whoa, this is bad and in and true that I'm

sharing this because we have family as well. What we were going through is

Delia was expecting as well. She was four weeks pregnant, and so we

were like, whoa, this is insane. And God was speaking to me

as I was writing this song. I was recording this song in the studio

in Melbourne, and I haven't finished the song. I was like, ah,

this song is not done. The song is not finished. And I

was speaking to God. Lord helped me finish it, and he gave me

that verse, I still believe you will come true. You always do.

And when I received that verse and I wrote it in that song, God

spoke to me at that time and says, will you still believe me if

you didn't have a ch'all? And I was like, whoa God this is?

Is this a devil? Right? You almost think like who is this?

And I preached that message only on that Sunday in ax Melbourne. I

said, God spoke to me, you might be speaking to me, and

I share it with you as well. Will you still love me with or

without your child? It's a question, he asked Abraham in a very funny

way. It's a question that he asked many heroes in the Bible, and

he was asking me, will you used still love me? He asked Peter

that do you still love me, Peter. And so when he asked me

that, I was like, I said, I told you, I said.

It took me a while to answer that, but my answer was like,

I'll still believe, not knowing that he wasn't referring to Sophie because that

following Sunday while we were serving, and Dealer told me, it's like,

I think there's something happening. And the long story shot right after we served

that Sunday, we had lunched together at church. We were in the emergency

department and basically we came out at eight pm, win it at three pm.

I only picked deal it up at like eight something pm, and she

said, I think we lost a baby, and it was it was tough,

but because God prepared us for this. I want you to know that

a loss is not about the goods. When you have God's presence, it's

not about the goods. And so I go like, it was tough for

me because I was thinking, I, oh, my goodness, this is

to I wonder, how will deal you feel about this? But when we

got she got into the car, she said, hey, you know what,

God gave me the peace And we hear about that first all the time

right peace. We surpassed us all understanding. We were at this point of

like God, this does not make sense. Why what I love you?

Lord? We just served, we were on Sunday together. How can this

happen? But God guardances the peace beyond all understanding. And at that point

we felt like Lord, regardless whether we have a child or not, we

will praise you, because what does The Psalm twenty three says, the Lord

is my shepherd. I shall not want, So he said, I shall

not be in want. And then it takes me. He reminds me.

As I'm driving, he reminds me, he leads me. Besides the waters

and green pastures sours my soul. Though I walk through the valley of the

shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

So the God that leads us true green pastures is also the God that

leads us besides still waters. It's also the God that's with us in their

valleys. And then this speaks about enemies. You prepare a banquet the former

enemies. You annoint my head with all my cup overflows. Then comes goodness

and mercy, as shall followers. And so what I realize in the summary

of Psalms twenty three years. Lord, You're with us all the way,

right from the beginning to the end. It's about you, and we had

that peace. So some people after x KK, they came up to us,

they said, they're sorry. I said, you can be sorry about

the condition, but don't be sorry about our faith. Because our faith grew

stronger. We believe even more even though we don't receive it. It's one

thing to receive something from God and then you believe him. But do you

believe him even though you don't receive it. I think the Bible says blessed

those who don't see it yet believe it more blessed. And that's what I

call it, that God is speaking to some of us. You might have

a dream that's yet to be fulfilled by God's saying, would you still believe

that I know more, that I can do more, and there's so much

more. That's his plan for you, because he's that father who will always

pick us up. He's a father who's always going to be there. And

sometimes it's okay to say, Lord, I'm tired, Lord, I don't

have it altogether. Lord, some of us need to be praying real press

Lord, Why and you may not get your answer that's how you expected.

But I want you to know he answers his answers. Some of you say,

God didn't answer me, he didn't give me a text, but his

answer could be peace like for us, we didn't get our answer. My

answer is you have me my peace, which I give to you. And

that was that was enough for us. If you ask us, how do

we get true this, we can say we can't on our own, but

only by his grace. And that's that's him. He's always going to be

there with us. I found this out and Deutronomy thirty three, verse twenty

sixty twenty seven. There is no one like the God of jesu Un.

I'm like, who is that? I told you the Bible's fun. Who

is jes You run right? I spoke in x MELBN. They say,

well is Jesus running right? Jesus running, God of Jesus running right,

who rides the heavens to help you and his excellency on the clouds. And

it picked my interests. I'm like, ah, this is interesting. Who's

the good of Jeshun? What does jess Un mean? And that word Jesuun,

it's a poetic name of Israel and it's designated character. It says,

designating under its character is an ideal character. It means what good little people.

So Israel was known for their rebellion. Israel was like wandering in the

desert. The Israelites, they spent how long forty years? Also in the

wilderness, they spent a great deal of time running from God. And in

even in that, God's still referred to the mess good little people, as

as as a whiny toddler who can be crazy. Some people can go like

this annoying toddler in a mall, asking to pick up and stuff like that.

Right, But as I look at her, I go like, good

little people, I'm still going to carry you. And that's how God looks

at us as well. That there's nothing, no prayer that's too annoying for

him, there's no need that's too big for him. I want you to

catch that as you come to him, regardless of how you fail in the

past, you mess up in the past, God's still gonna go and He'll

still look at you as in, this is a good person, it's my

good little child. I'm still gonna help you. I'm still going to carry

you. I'm still gonna run with you. And that's what the father did.

The father saw the son come from far, and what does he do?

He did the Jesus run right, Jess, you run, He runs

and embraces and kisses. And that's what God's for us, despite o'll sin,

despite our lag, he gave us, Jesus, he gave us the

best. That's what Pasquanna shad last week, that God gave us his best.

And we read it in the Bible that you know, if you don't

go on, you know he's He's got good things. And so for us

the only reason we can hang on and we hold on to this hope that

it might be one loss, but we know that God's not. It's not

the end. God's got good things for those that love him in our call

to according to His purpose. And so you can never I wrote here that

you can never outgrow his stuff. Some of us, like I was making

this trip bag, I was thinking what can I do for my dad?

And then he had me thinking there's nothing God can do for me, because

he's still my God. Some of us, you might be in a position

where you're financially more. Yeah, you're a financially more stable, and then

you can buy your dad something. But when you know that our Henley father,

we can't outgrow it. He can still still do things for us.

He can still open up that door, He can still provide you with that

job. He can still help you with your insecurity, with your need,

with depression, with things that sometimes you're afraid to say it out, but

God can speak to you. That's a God that loves us. And in

this story I told you about that with portion. We started with that,

that young boy asking for a portion, right, This is how much God

loves us. When the boy came back, remember that he gave his portion

ready, so he had his portion. The man gave his livelihood. Right.

But in this story, when the young boy came back, what does

he get? He gets a ring on his finger, sandals on his feet,

and a robe around him. He got more than when he left.

That's what I caught. I caught that if you remain with God, God's

got so much more. When we laugh, we sometimes feel like God,

I want this dream, and God saying you want this dream? This is

so small? Do you see this robe here? Do you see this?

And sometimes you don't see that we only want this dream, and God's going.

He's got so much more, and sometimes we desire we go. Lord,

I want this dream, I told him. I share this with Dealer

like the only reason he allows these things because he's got more, and we

just have to trust him. We just have to go. Lord. I

know, Lord, I might be disappointed. Lord, I might be in

a place of of lack in my own sense. But Lord, you are

my father, the one who knows me, the one who informs me,

and you know my need and that was the only way that we could get

true this. Don't focus on the position. Focus in the provider. That's

the God that we serve. He gave us Jesus God. Once you know

number one, it's not the good that will make it better, it's him.

You might think I need a house, then I'm then I'll be a

better person. I need a car, Then I'll people will view me differently.

God saying no, no, no, don't worry about how people view

you, good little people. I still love you, I still care for

you. I will still be there for you if you would hold on to

me, if you would trust me, I'm that God that will lead you.

Besides still waters and green pastures. I'm a god that will lead you

in the valleys. I will even prepare a banquet in front of your enemies.

I will annoyt your head with oil. Your cup shall overflow, and

you will encounter good and mercy as you follow me. You just need to

be reminded that he is a father.