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The Dangerous Weight of Glory: Why We Can’t Handle God’s Presence Our Own Way · The Worship and Leadership Podcast

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, what's going on everybody?
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: And welcome to the Worship and Leadership Podcast.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Elmer Cañas Jr.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: And like always, my good friend, Willie C.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Sensor Jr.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yo, what is up?
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_02: I'm excited to be here.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, me too.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: Today.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Me too.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Another day.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_02: Well, what's the saying?
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_02: Another day, another dollar.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Another dollar, but I thought you were gonna be faster, but no.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: But it's another day, another breath.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: Come on now.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: We got breath in our lungs.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Lord.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: We got so much to be thankful and grateful.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, thank you, Jesus.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Lord.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm thankful, man.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Hey.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's a good day, brother.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Good to see you, bro.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: You too, bro.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's good to see you.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's good to see the back of Jacob's head.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: He's uh over there switching cameras.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_02: Jacob, you're a blessing, man.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_02: We appreciate you, bro.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, sir.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Producing the service, this uh, this the service, this service, this uh the service unto the people.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: He just has the Yankees hat, so we got issues there, but yeah, it's okay.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's all right, it's all good.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: He's the Lord's working on him.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord's working.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: But no, we're excited to be here another week, and we thank you guys for taking time and joining us on YouTube or on any type of streaming service that you guys listen to these podcasts.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: But the Worship and Leadership Podcast, season five, episode three.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: We're today we're talking about the Ark and the weight of glory.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_02: Come on now.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: Every time I think about the Ark, Elmer, I always think about It's not Noah's Ark.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: No, it's not Noah's Ark.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: To be clear.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Who built the Ark?
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: No, no.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_02: Classic Christian song.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: Come on, man.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_02: If you know that song, put it in the comments right now.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: So when I think about the Ark, Elmer, I think about Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_02: Classic movie.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Did he ever find it?
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think he did he find it, Jacob?
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: He said he did.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: He did?
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_02: Man, I guess it's been forever.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: I don't remember.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_02: He found the Ark?
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_02: Interesting.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: So he was looking for the Ark of the Covenant.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Of the Covenant, yeah.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I thought he was looking for Noah's Ark.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now it makes sense.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's all making sense.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_02: Oh man.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, he was not looking for the boat.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: He was looking for the box.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Looking for the box.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_02: All right, Omer.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_02: Me and you, we gotta watch that movie again.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Gotta watch it.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Indiana Jones.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: PG 13?
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's PG 13.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_02: PG 13.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's it's okay.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's got some scary parts, but it's okay, man.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: It'll be good.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, we gotta watch that.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_02: So the ark.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_02: The ark.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_02: Talking about the ark.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_02: So for those of you that that are tuning in, again, we never want to assume, you know, that everybody tuning in has a deep or clear understanding of these theological terms, especially these old testament terms.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_02: And so the ark is a feature that comes into play in the book of Exodus.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: And briefly, the ark, it's a it's a sacred gold-covered chest where God's presence dwelt among his people.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_02: It was a representation, it was a literally a box.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: It was a box of wood that was overlaid with gold, and it represented God's presence being with and among his people.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: And inside of this ark, there were three very special items.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_02: The first one is the tablets that held God's law, the the Ten Commandments and the other 600 plus laws and prescriptions for God, for God's people.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_02: And then we have manna, and manna, it's basically it was it's it was literally angel food.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_02: It was food that came down from heaven that miraculously fed the people every day.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_02: And then it was Aaron's staff.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: Aaron was a high priest for Israel, and his staff had budded with almonds, almond blossoms, and it represents authority.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_02: And so these three things there they're in this box, and everywhere that the people would go, they would carry the Ark of the Covenant with them.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_02: It's called the key word is called the Ark of the Covenant because it is an agreement between God and his people.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_02: God says, Hey, I'll be your God, I'll be your protector, your provider, your leader, and then you likewise agree to only serve me, to worship me, and to live life the way that I have prescribed it for you.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_02: So that that's the ark.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I like that word.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: You use it a lot, prescribed.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Why, why is prescribed important?
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_02: Well, because God is a God of detail and order.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: And when we think about worship, we are not allowed.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_02: The people of God in the Old Testament, they weren't allowed to enter God's presence any which way that they chose.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_02: Like they, you know, first of all, there were certain individuals.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_02: We talked about this on our last episode.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_02: There were certain individuals that could enter directly into where the ark was held.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: This is this ark was held in what was called the Holy of Holies within the tabernacle.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_02: So specific people could only enter.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_02: They had to be wearing certain clothing, they had to do certain rituals before they could enter, and then there was a certain way that the sacrifices had to be offered to God to be acceptable when we talk about worship.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_02: Well, why is that important?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: Well, us being New Testament believers, there's no physical arc anymore.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_02: We carry God's presence.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_02: And because we carry God's presence, there's an expectation that God has in how we handle his presence even today for his people.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: And it and it wasn't just so much covenant, but you know, as we're reading, we we see the symbolism and the covenant part, but it also held his actual presence, like there was a manifest presence of you know within the ark.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: So so there are there are terms that you guys may read in your Bibles, like glory or Shekinah, or Kabbod.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_02: And so let's just kind of unpack that.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: So when we talk about God's presence, we're we're we're talking about his glory, and that word is it's kebab or kabbod in the original Hebrew language.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_02: And this kabbat, it was like the weightiness of God, and it was the manifest presence.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: And so God would lead them by the pillar of cloud either in the day, and he would lead them by the pillar of fire at night.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: This is how God is leading his people.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_02: And the Ark of the Covenant, on top of it, there was a lid, and it was called the caparet or the mercy seat.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_02: And the the Bible describes this mercy seat as as being adorned with two cherubim that, and their wings are like facing each other.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_02: And on the day of atonement, Yom Kippur, the high priest, would take the blood of the sacrifice of the sacrificial lamb, and he would sprinkle that blood right there on that mercy seat in between those cherubim.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: And the glory of the Lord, the kabbada of the Lord, that the fire would descend and consume that sacrifice.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_02: And that that was the way that the people believed and they knew that their sacrifice had been received and accepted by the Lord.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_02: It caused great celebration.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: So when we talk about this weightiness, this glory, his glory has a way of pushing everything out.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: You know, there's a there's a scripture that talks about this tentum being in this tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord fills the temple and pushes literally everybody else out of the way.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: And that's what God's presence does.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, his presence is life-changing.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_02: His presence in us today pushes out the flesh, it pushes out my agenda, it pushes out my goals, it it pushes out the the sting and the stain and the stranglehold of sin.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_02: His glory pushes all of that out to where there's only room for him.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: I get to why?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: Because he is the centerpiece of this, he is the focus of it all.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's the the the beauty in in the ark.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: If if you read it from Moses all the way to David and the way, you know, Moses was given the instructions on how to facilitate it and all the things that you know led to the Levites and Aaron, the tribe of Levi.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then once you see the relationship between the presence of God and David, yeah, it it becomes more it goes from something that seemed almost like like a tradition or a ritual to more relational, the way that David handled it.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so even though it was it was furniture in the Holy of Holies, it represented a living God.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so again, I I love seeing the the contrast between the instructions received by Moses in in creating this space for God to meet with man.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: But then also the the the contrast on David's side where he didn't treat it just as furniture, he treated it as holy because he knew that the very God that he served dwelled and rested upon that place.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, which is staggering to think about because God is infinite.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, we were all talking about this yesterday in sermon prep.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, God is infinite, he's so he's always filling every space that he's in.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_02: He's infinite in every way and every dimension, yet he willingly condescends and says, I'm I'm gonna compress my presence into this box while still being the God of the universe.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_02: Like that's why because so that way, like you said, we can have access to him and we can relate to him.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we can't go up to our um, you know, David couldn't ascend this a super high mountain or go out into outer space where the planets are because they're glorifying God.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_02: But God says, No, I'm gonna come to you.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_02: And and I think that's important for us today because God's spirit, that is his glory coming to us.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_02: He says, I'm coming to you, and I want to make my home in you now.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not making my home in some golden box, I'm making my home in you.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: There's two two instances that I do want to talk about because we're talking about the the arc and the weight of glory.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so there there is some there's something that comes with the responsibility, whether you're a parent or you have a job, or even you might be studying right now, you know, and there's something that when something is expected of you and you're responsible for certain tasks or duties or responsibilities, you have to you have to do your best, you have to fulfill what you're expected to do, but there's always a consequence.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: There's a consequence in in this context, there's there's weight to what is asked of you or given to you.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: And there's two instances in scripture where the ark, you see the the interaction between the Levites, and we'll unpack this a little bit more.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: The interaction between the Levites, and we actually did talk about when the high priest would go in and he had little bells around the hem of his garments, and if if they didn't hear the bells jingling, right, they would just pull him out from the rope that they would wrap around him because they knew that you know he he fell dead.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: He felt died in the presence of the Lord.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's there's another instance again further along where David's moving the Ark of the Covenant.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, and uh one individual attempts to uh stabilize the ark that seemed to be about to fall, you know, as they were transporting it, and as he touched it, he fell dead.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_02: He fell dead.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, the context is the ark had been captured by the Philistines, where they're like one of the sworn enemies of Israel, and so they are transporting the ark back to Israel.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: They're transporting the ark back to where it belongs, and they have the ark placed on a cart.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_02: And as they're you know, they're driving along, they're driving the oxen along, the cart falls.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_02: The oxen, the Bible says they they the beasts of burden, they stumble, the ark begins to slip off of this cart and fall.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: And so Uzzah, a gentleman named Uzzah U-Z-Z-A-H, is there helping to guide this cart along.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_02: He reaches out and attempt to steady the cart.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_02: He touches the ark, and the Bible says that the fierce anger of the Lord broke out against him and he fell dead on the spot.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: Now, when you read that out of context, or you read that in isolation, you're like, what in the what happened?
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_02: He just touched the ark.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like, why was that such a big deal?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_02: Right?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_02: And it's easy then to to make God seem like he's capricious or just random or wicked.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: Like, why would you kill somebody for simply touching an ark?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_02: Just touching a box, like that's your presence.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_02: Like, we would want to get close to you.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm gonna go back to my word prescription.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_02: God had prescribed a way for the ark to be carried.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_02: The ark was never supposed to be carried in a cart.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_02: The Bible says in the book of Exodus, verse 20, chapter 25, this ark, it's a box, and constructed on it are poles, four, four holes.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sorry, four holes that two poles were supposed to slide in.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_02: And the Bible says it was meant to be carried by the Levites on their shoulders.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_02: Every time that ark was to be moved, it was to be moved on the shoulders of the Levites.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_02: They carry the presence of God.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so had David returned the ark back to his tent on the cart with the ox, he would have he would have done it his way.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_02: That's exactly right.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so, in many ways, people are again, people do question like, why did he fall dead?
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Why, you know, what caused the ox to stumble?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think that was the Lord saying, like, yo, hold up.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know?
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, this this isn't right.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: Because the Bible says David was immediately angry.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_02: And so he didn't touch, hey, leave it where it is.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_02: He goes back and remembers, oh, wait a minute.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: Because again, God had prescribed this is how every time the ark moves, this is how it moves.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: He actually goes back to study how it was meant to be moved.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's exactly right.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't know.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: He didn't know.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't know.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_02: So he does, what does he do?
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_02: He goes back to God, he goes back to God's word.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_02: And and listen, as worship leaders, as Christians, when we are leading worship, we don't lead worship out of our emotion or what feels good or what we think that people want.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's got to be word-based.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_02: That's right.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_02: And that's one thing I always appreciate about you, Pastor Homer, is like your dedication and diligence in in making sure that the songs we sing accord with sound theology.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_02: Right?
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_02: And I and I just so appreciate that about you because we got to remember, like, these are the priests.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_02: And honestly, man, there was also a failure of the priests.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: Because we got to remember, the priests taught the people.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_02: The book of Nehemiah is clear on that.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like the priests also served as teachers, like they were experts in the law.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_02: And so there was a failure on their part in leadership to say, hey, wait, wait, guys.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_02: Nope, nope.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_02: Take that thing off of that cart.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, Aaron, go get the polls and put them mugs in.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_02: This, hey, this is how we're going to bring this ark back home because this is how God prescribed it.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: Well, was it we we talked about this in one of our meetings that the kings, the kings, the first first few months, they had to write the Torah.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, that was by hand.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was in our off staff, and Pastor Mike was taking us through Deuteronomy.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_02: That's right.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_02: And saying, hey, listen, okay.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_02: Because again, Israel's demanding a king for a king when they have God as their king.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: And he's like, okay, I'm gonna give you a king.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_02: It's not it's not best for you, but if you do, if I do give you a king, here's a requirement.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_02: He must not only read the law of study law, he had to write it out by hand.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_02: And it says so that his his his heart would not be puffed up against his brothers.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: He would mistreat his brothers and he wouldn't go after the glory and go after the gold and mistreat.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: And so this is what David is doing.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_02: He's going back to the word of God.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_02: And out of that comes this realignment where he says, okay, this is how I handle the presence of the Lord.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_02: This is how I'm to carry.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: So can I just encourage you right now, as a worship leader, start with the word of God.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: If there's misalignment, it's not it, listen, can I tell you it's not a program issue.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: It's a it's a heart issue, it's a submission issue.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_02: Like, hey, are we doing this the right?
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_02: And that's what's crazy about it.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_02: It it's not that a cart isn't a bad thing.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_02: A cart's not a bad thing at all.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_02: The crazy thing about it, though, is that the Philistines sent the cart.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: They didn't know how to handle the presence.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: They were pagans.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: And they were like, okay, well, why?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_02: Because just for context, the the ark is in the Philistine camp, and all sorts of crazy things are happening.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_02: Like they're their idol is bowing down and broken, and and a crazy plague breaks out over them, and they realize, hey, it's because of this arc, this box.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: I I can't help but think in our context of society today, how we have marketed Jesus.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like, like I I love the merch, bro.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like I love the hats, the shirts, all that's cool.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'd rather be wearing a Jesus shirt than like, you know, like a I don't know, a Budweiser shirt, yeah.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: Of what people advertise.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: But but I also I think we've there's been a lot of in a lot of ways, and we've talked about music already, but I think in in the church in general, there's a lot of uh compromise where we've allowed the world to influence how we reach people, how we present the gospel, how how we even do church.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: And in many ways, going back to this instance where the Philistines were the ones handling the Ark of the Covenant, they had no clue.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times we we allow what looks good, what looks relevant, what what feels good to be the driving factor.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but God says no.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: And and there's a lot of people, Pastor Mike shared a video clip with me uh a few weeks or actually a few days ago of a guy leading worship and and and he slips up and he says he says a bad word in church, you know, and and there's and and the context of the reason why he shared it is like, hey, like we have to guard our platforms, we have to guard these areas where we're we're not just putting talent on a platform, we're not just putting people that are capable of doing things.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: No, there's things that God has prescribed of us, even as believers in the after Jesus came, right?
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's still a lifestyle that we're meant to live and and with hold and hold up to and to the standard.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so, yeah, in in this case with the Philistines, the world cannot be the driving factor, right?
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: Relevancy, feeling good, making things attractive should not be the essence of how we handle God's presence.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we go back to what he says, what our relationship should look like, what our life should look like for him, through him, yeah, in him, and all those things.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: And so I'm I'm so glad you said that, Pastor Elmer, because I I think that there's a tendency for like the pendulum to swing, like for the for the for the New Testament believer, for us as Christians, I think there's a tendency, like the pendulum to swing all the way to legalism, where like everything is the devil and everything's a sin.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, no, because now there's no joy in your life.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: And then this sort of hyper grace, loosey-goosey antinomianism, where it's like, hey man, I got God forgives.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_02: Jesus is my best friend.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm going to heaven.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so man, God knows my heart, I can do whatever I want.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_02: And so I can just have this loosey-goosey laissez faire.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: God is love.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, God is love, man.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, hey, man, do you it's all covered by the blood.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: But scripture, again, there are still prescriptions in the new covenant.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, it's yeah, it access, it has increased because like we are directly connected with God because he lives on the inside of us.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_02: But the reverence can't decrease.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_02: And so there are a couple of scriptures just thinking through that.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: Hebrews 10, 19 says, Let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of our faith.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_02: A true heart.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_02: So like I'm coming to the presence of the Lord and there's no hidden motive.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not trying to hide anything.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_02: And then Hebrews 12, 28 says, offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_02: That's New Testament language right there.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_02: So, and Hebrews 12, 1 says, He says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_02: He's saying that is the only thing that's holy and acceptable.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_02: It's your entire body.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_02: He says, This is your reasonable word worship, your reasonable servant.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's your living sacrifice.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, I'm a living sacrifice.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_02: So it it's so it's not like that that the all decreases, it actually increases.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_02: Because it's one thing to say, wow, that box that contains the presence of God.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_02: It's another thing to say, hey man, you contain the presence of God.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_02: That's me?
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, I want to guard this.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_02: Man, what an honor.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_02: It's not, it's not I'm scared, but it is fear.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_02: It's a reverence.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_02: Like, man, what God, the fact that this holy, limitless, un you know, incomprehensible God lives on the inside.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_02: He dwells on the inside of me day and night, 24-7.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_02: What a high honor.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I don't want to treat this casually.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: What's the word?
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: We've become desensitized.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: Desensitized to to to reverence, yeah, to honor.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: All words that are important in our culture.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, no, that doesn't matter.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_02: Because there's nothing sacred anymore.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_02: Our bodies aren't sacred, our minds aren't sacred.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: Marriage, our parents, authority, authority, gender, like nothing is sacred.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_02: So we we lump God's presence in that as well.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_02: Because nothing, nothing is sacred.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_02: So that includes the Lord.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: Man.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_02: My God.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_02: And this is where we just have to have that realignment.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_02: And just remember, man, the God of the universe lives on the inside of us.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think of like the first time I got a car and a Honda Accord 95.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I was in high school.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: So my dad like went all out and got me this car, right?
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how old it was, honestly, but it was thinking back right now, it was an ugly color.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: It was a baby blue Honda Accord.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: But it stood out.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: But but the fact that I had a car in high school, right?
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: And when I got it, I took care of that thing.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: And even as I got older, and I actually bought my first vehicle, my own car, which was another Honda Accord.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like I took care of that thing like crazy.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like I nobody would step in, step foot in it with food.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like you gotta finish that outside.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: I I'd washed it.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: I had the whole cleaning kit in the back.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, like the tires were always shining.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, sir.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and and like there was this all that I had about my vehicle, right?
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: That you have because for your first time, you're you're protecting it, taking care of it.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that that probably lasted for a few years.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: That where I just kept this, like it's gonna be impeccable, right?
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then slowly after time, that fades away.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it goes away.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then you start eating, start eating your Taco Bell in the front seat, and you're like crunch, and then like it starts lettuce everywhere, and you're like, it's all right, I'll clean it later.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then you allow your friends to come in, they spill their drinks in their front seat, and you're like, it's all right, I'll clean it later.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: And because there's there's something to clean it, and and eventually we put it off on, oh, I'll just clean it later.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'll I'll buy this other thing to fix it, to take care of it.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: When you can just do that from the very beginning.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: And instead of instead of allowing things to come and infiltrate your space that you've so revered for such a long time, you start letting your guard down because it's just easier to do it later.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: And and just going back to that vehicle, like I'm this is so vivid.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: I I think that's how we live our life at times.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: A relationship with the Lord.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh, this is like special.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna carry my Bible everywhere.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm not gonna speak that way.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna use foul language.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm not gonna watch certain things on TV.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm gonna stop listening to this music.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: But then after a while, it's like, oh, it's just okay.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: I can't handle it.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a mature Christian, right?
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, this and that.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then we slowly start excusing everything, and we're and then we allow culture, we allow the very things that we at one point were keeping outside of our car.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: And we're now we're letting it giving it space because we think that we have a solution.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: We think we have a solution to fix it later.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: But number one, when you think you're the solution, that that's the problem there.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, because we we're not gonna be the solution.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: We're we're always gonna go to Christ.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: But then if we think Jesus is just gonna fix everything for us because we're choosing to allow these things, he's gonna be there.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: He's gonna love us.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, absolutely.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: But there's gonna be consequences.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_02: Come on, man, that's so good right there.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, this is why we are given multiple times in scripture the command, not suggestion, but the command to warfare against sin.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, Hebrews uh 12 says to to get rid of every besetting sin, every prevailing sin, that to get rid of that, to cling close to Christ, to not to drift, to guard, we're called we're called to guard our hearts.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_02: We're called to guard what we look at and what we listen to.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_02: We're we're called to guard influence.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_02: Who influences us?
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: Why?
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_02: Because those things have a way of creeping in.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_02: And because Jesus is perfect.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: So it you know, we in scripture, Jesus, he touches the leper and the leper gets clean.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_02: If the leper touched anybody else, they became unclean.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_02: So the issue isn't Jesus, it's us.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_02: It's that those influences they deter from our ability to stay connected to the Lord.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_02: Jesus ain't going nowhere.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_02: The Spirit is God.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_02: He he can't be contaminated by anything because he's holy.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_02: But we're the issue.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so it's like this house.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_02: Like you said, it's like we're this house, and Jesus is the guest of honor in our house.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_02: But when we allow these other things in, they pollute the atmosphere.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: They don't pollute Jesus.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_02: But it us as a house, we're the issue.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like, hey man, you gotta get that out of your life.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: You gotta, like you said, you it's guarding it.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_02: It's not a fear thing.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's listen, guys, there's a scripture in 1 Peter that talks about you have had enough time of living according to the world and indulging in your flesh.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_02: And what did it produce?
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_02: It just produces death.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you were talking about that in sermon previously about man, this these pathways.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that it's a choice.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_02: You can have more death, more condemnation, more shame, more guilt, or you can have more life.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_02: And so I guard, I want to guard my heart against these things, not because I'm I'm fearful that God would strike me down or that I fear angering God.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_02: No, I don't want to anger God, but it's because I love Him.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_02: But it's also because these influences, man, they're not good for me.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_02: They didn't produce the life that they promised me that they would produce.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_02: They didn't produce freedom that they promised that they would produce.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_02: So that's why I don't want those things in my life, in my house, because they don't produce that freedom that I that I fully get to enjoy with Christ.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's why I want to guard that, I want to guard that presence because I'm like, this is the source of my life.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_02: This is life for me.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then when we do do like do things or allow things in our life and we feel like yucky, yeah, and we feel that conviction, right?
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's not a bad thing.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: No, like that's that's like the Holy Spirit saying, like, hey, let's let's realign things.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: So going back to the story of Uzza, all this happens and David's like, what the heck just happened?
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like David could have just reacted and figured, I we're gonna drag this thing, you know, and he could have just done it himself.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and a lot of times we can emotionally react to conviction and we're like, I don't like feeling this way.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just I'm just not gonna go to church.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't like feeling this way.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't like how Jacob looks at me when I when I when I'm like, you know, yeah, doing something I'm not supposed to.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then so we we easily say, I'm just not gonna go to church.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna stay away from Christians because we're emotionally reacting versus the conviction is there to realign us.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of David saying, uh, let's just figure this out on our own, he actually goes back and he's like, Okay, I'm doing this wrong.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: Right, what do I need to do?
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: He goes back to scripture as you reference, and he figures out this is the prescription, this is how God intended for this ark to be transported.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_02: And then out of that, because it's I mean, that's repentance, because repentance, it's humiliat action.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, wait a minute, let me stop, turn back, and then go the right way.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: David's response now is joy.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_02: And it and as they're bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the city, the Bible says David danced with all his might.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_02: Celebrating.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_02: He celebrating, he dancing, man, he's cutting a rug.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_02: And they would move the ark several paces, set it down, and then he would get up and or they'd stop, not sitting down, but they would stop, and then he would dance and they would worship.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_02: Then they'd walk a few more paces, stop, and then they would worship.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_02: And it said it said David danced to the point where he literally danced out his clothes.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_02: Come on now.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_02: Have you ever gotten your praise break on to the point where you danced out of your clothes?
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_02: The Bible says he was out of his clothes.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_02: You know, he didn't have a belt.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_02: He didn't have a belt on now, my Lord Jesus.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_02: And his wife, her name is Mikal, she looks down and she is embarrassed.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_02: She's like, You the king, and you up here making a fool out of yourself.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_02: And he's like, You kidding me?
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_02: I got the arc of the I got the presence of the living God back in our vicinity.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_02: And and so what why so repentance, guys?
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_02: Listen, repentance brings joy.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_02: Like when you stop and you course correct.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_02: That's why you it's good to lean into the conviction that's a gift from God because he wants you to come back to him, because the Bible says in Psalm 16, in his presence there's fullness of joy, and that's what David was living out.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_02: He's I have I am in the Lord's presence again, and there's fullness of joy.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's a freedom that he he walked into.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'd rather walk look like a fool to the people around me.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: Come on, and and bring bring pleasure to the Lord than to want to satisfy those around me and dissatisfy God, you know, just through my actions.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly what we saw.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like his very wife, his own wife, yeah, spoke these words to him, and he's like, no, like God's God's more important.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, god, yeah, God's yeah, God's got it, God's way more important.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_02: And so there is a place for joy, and and so again, we don't want the flesh to creep in and we don't want to be led by these things.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_02: Having said that, we don't want to be emotionless.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, because again, David was joyful.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_02: He danced with all his might, danced before the Lord.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_02: So there is a question I would want to ask you, Pastor Elmer.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_02: You know, what you know, how do we differentiate, you know, between or discern between like emotionalism and and the Lord's presence?
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that that's a very hard question to answer because I I don't want to discount people's emotions.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: There's David got angry, yeah, and then he was overjoyed.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so even in this instance, there was a lot of emotion that that we see, you know, that that comes from David's responses.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: But he was reacting to the moment.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot, it's easy for us to be real emotional in moments of worship.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: Because the words move us.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: I've gone to events, I've we've seen them on television, like where there's concerts, you know, certain secular artists singing certain songs, and yeah, and the words themselves move the audience, and people are in tears, and you know, and songs are powerful.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: The words are powerful, yeah, and they trigger emotions and thoughts and you know, and a lot of different things.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's easy to just be caught up with words themselves, and then there's the actually ref I'm we're gonna reflect.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's the power of music in itself that it it makes you reflect on things that either you've experienced or that you're desiring.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and so you're desiring a relationship.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: So all these love songs, they just get you all gooey and like, oh my goodness, right?
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's why like one of the most popular genres of music for teenagers and young adults is is romantic music, like RB, yeah.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: RB.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's true.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: That because it it it speaks to their hormones, yeah, and everything going on inside of them, right?
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's that's what's marketed towards them.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then as you get older, the music gets softer and slower, and you know, all that stuff, and even the funky and groovy stuff, like it's so groovy, but it's slower, yeah.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because now you're cruising and chilling, yeah.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so so music is catered to your your age and to your your emotions and where you're at in life, and so music itself is an amazing tool, powerful tool.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: But when it comes to discerning the move of God and what is God's presence, why am I feeling a certain thing versus emotions?
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's really hard to kind of explain.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, but that's where we have to use discernment and we have to go into situations prepared.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like don't just step into a moment of worship, just being like, okay, I'm just gonna whatever I feel, I'm gonna feel.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: No, I've come to a place in my life uh just where it's not about the emotions.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: I can sit in most rooms today, and literally because of what we do and and what I've done in church, as far as like you know, being behind the scenes and working with production and worship and creative teams, it's it's easy for me to go into like analytical mode where like looking at everything and there could be people on the floor crying, yeah, but I'm so focused on the details that I'm supposed to be focusing on in that moment that like there can be something happening, but I but in my mind I'm so focused on other things that I'm not experiencing what other people are experiencing.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: So you could be in the same environment and completely not experience what other people are, yeah, because your focus is on something completely different.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so I say that because I might be doing what I'm responsible for in that moment, but I'm missing, you know, the the move of God or whatever's happening in people's lives, you know.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, and in the same way, I've I've been in places where I've just felt the presence of God so heavy, like just a peace, calm stillness.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: But then all of a sudden someone just breaks up and like screaming and like just really crazy.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm like, man, like but there's a peace of God, like there's this yeah, peaceful presence, and you don't know what people are feeling, sure, and so that's hard to discern, but you do know again, going back to prescription, what the Lord requires of us.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I'm gonna come before him with a repentant heart.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: So if I know I I can shut off and I'm I don't have to go in and focus and analyze and do those things, I'm gonna step into a moment of worship, number one, with a repented heart because I've done things that have distracted me and pushed me away from the Lord.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, and throughout the day, I've I've I've probably allowed things to just kind of get the best of me and my emotions.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I need to submit and surrender my emotions to God.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm just gonna break out into tears because I feel bad for what I did.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now, now more convicted than I am worshiping.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so, in a time of worship, a lot of times we'll come in and we want to fix things with the Lord.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but it's that's not the time to fix things.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's where we're supposed to say, like, God, regardless of who I am, what I've done, like you are worthy.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, like I don't even want to, I don't want to focus on so before I go in there, I want to already have a repented heart.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's good.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: And because then I can give him what he deserves.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: So again, I I know this is this is me speaking for me.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to go into those moments, giving God what I believe I've learned that he's worthy of, yeah, and not for him to fix my heart.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, do I get it right all the time?
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: No, there's times where I'm like, man, all right, Lord, but it's the first thing I say.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: There's times I've led worship where I'm like beginning before we rehearsals even start, like, God, like forgive me.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm sorry, I repent.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_00: If I need to apologize to someone, I'll do it because those are things that will hinder you.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: Wanting to get right with the Lord, wanting to fix things in a moment where really the focus should be just Him.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thinking of about this cart where that David was using to transport the the Ark of the Covenant.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I can't I can't use my own methods to move the presence of God.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: I can't use my own methods to to to worship God.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: I I he asks for all of me.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so if he wants all of me, that means all everything that's distracting me, including my mistakes.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, everything that's distracting me, including the things that are on my calendar, everything has to be surrendered to him in that moment.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think in a in a moment of emotionalism versus what is it to really come into the presence of God?
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want my own emotions to get in the way of what he is worthy of.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_02: Man, that's so good, man.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_02: I just first of all, I love that.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think you answered that brilliantly.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, ultimately, it's you know, in in that moment, what is the centerpiece?
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_02: Is the centerpiece my my my feelings, or is the centerpiece the Lord?
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_02: Where's the spotlight?
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_02: Is the spotlight like on the moment that feels good, or or is the spotlight on God Himself?
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I I I love that, man.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_02: Even like you said, man, I I want to have clean hands, I want to have a clean heart.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm gonna make that right with the Lord before I step on that platform.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what is come into his courts with Thanksgiving?
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_02: Enter into his courts with praise, his gates with praise, yeah.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: That takes preparation.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so a lot of time, again, we we come to church, we come into night of worships, we come into environments where we know we're gonna have these moments, right?
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: And we're waiting for that moment to start to begin the process.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: But we need to come like the the whole tabernacle, again, we talked about the process.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_00: There was the all of the work for you happened outside of the Holy of Holies, yes, before you even encountered the presence of God.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: All of that was preparation for you to be right before you even entered in.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and so again, emotionalism needs to die in those spaces.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's that's before they even start the video in church, you know, whatever your countdown, whatever it is, but that has to be surrendered and submitted to the Lord before we even begin worship.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_02: That's so good.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I and I listen, that emotionalism, it goes in both ways.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_02: And what and what Elmer's saying is like, again, it's not you waiting until you feel like worshiping the Lord.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like that's preparing your heart.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_02: But also, man, there are days that you wake up and and and that you enter in into the space, you go into the auditorium, into the sanctuary, and you don't feel like praising, you don't feel like leading.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_02: You got to get that right in that moment.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_02: You gotta say, okay, guys, there's some junk here.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's Psalm 139, it's David.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_02: Lord, would you just examine my heart, take out the wrong stuff, put the right stuff in because I want a clean heart.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_02: Because here's the thing, irrespective of what you're going through, it doesn't change the fact that he is worthy of your worship.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_02: It just doesn't change.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_02: He is worthy of your worship.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_02: And so you now have the opportunity to prepare your heart to worship him.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_02: I I want everybody listening and watching to go read in the book of Exodus, go read it in the Old Testament, just on the Day of Atonement, what the high priest had to do to prepare.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_02: It is wild, Elmer, about what the high priest had to do in preparation of offering the sacrifice for the Day of Atonement.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it was like the Super Bowl.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_02: Like every the entire nation, millions of people, I mean, two million Jews at minimum were led out of Egypt.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_02: And you knew they grew in the wilderness, they was having babies.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_02: Millions of people are watching this event take place.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_02: And that high priest is like, man, I got to come right, I got to come correct.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_02: Not out of fear, but out of reverence.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_02: And so you think about the people that are watching your life as you're leading.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_02: They're looking to you to see what is appropriate worship, what does acceptable worship look like?
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_02: What does it look like to worship the Lord?
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_02: And that's all heart posture.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_02: And if it's not right, it'll leak out.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it'll be as clear as day from that platform.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_02: If your heart's not right, it'll just show in inauthenticity screams, especially to the world.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_02: Like the world can sniff out inauthenticity and fakeness and hypocrisy from a mile away because the world deals with that.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_02: The world lives in that.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_02: So the world understands that.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_02: And so we want to present, hey, look, there's a new way forward, and I'm here to show you that way.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_02: I and it's and I can only do that if if my heart's clear.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_02: Not perfect.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_02: When I talk about perfect, it's like sweeping a room.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I it it you are you gonna get 100% of the granules out of there?
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_02: No, that's not the point, but it's making space.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and that's what I want to do because I'm because the presence is here in me.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, and I appreciate you kind of clearing that up.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that emotions are part of our expressions.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why I'm saying I don't want to count out people's expressions because it's it's part of the whole thing.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but the the choice of am I gonna react emotionally or am I gonna do what the Lord's called me to do?
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, come with a grateful heart.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thankful heart.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: And and in moments of worship, you see people tearful, you see people just grateful and thankful, smiling.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, David danced, you know.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_00: We don't know if it was booty naked or if he had he had a little robe on a room.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, some you know, some underoos or something.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_02: Something.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I don't know.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: But but for him to do that, he was emotionally excited, and there was like excitement and joy happening, you know, just adrenaline going on.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_00: And and we see that in church too.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and so I'm not saying that that's bad or you know, or good or what's what, but I am saying that we need to surrender the emotions that we're walking into church before or into the presence of God, any moment that you have with the Lord in your time of devotion, that should be the time that you say, God, here's my thoughts, here are the things that are heavy on my mind right now.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I need you to carry this because I want to live today the day that you've called me to live.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't want to be distracted by by worry that I shouldn't be carrying.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to be distracted by by stress that I shouldn't be holding on to.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's what I mean by surrendering those emotions.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think to your point, I think emotions, I I got this quote here.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_02: I think emotions like they serve to lift the room, right?
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_02: Because I mean, again, if you come on this on the platform on the stage and like you're excited, people are more likely going to be excited.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so yeah, you're lifting, but then you're doing so so the glory of the Lord can feel the room.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_02: Like if they're a precursor, they're just hey, we're clearing space for the Kavad, the glory, the weight of the Lord to enter into this space.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_02: And I I just so appreciate you you sharing that piece of it there, Elmer, about why you have to get your heart right.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_02: I just had this thought.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_02: You tell me if you're a green.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_02: I I think because the reason why the emotionalism has to become secondary is because you will you're in danger of gauging the move of God on the people's response.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I've man, I remember uh there was a church that we were part of when we lived in in Tuscaloosa, and all of the all of the worship team members, specifically all the musicians, we had our own kind of group chat, and it was just like a quick and dirty way for us to like you know make sure we were aligned on like set list and practice and hey, are we making any shifts and changes, all that other kind of stuff, right?
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_02: It was just like it was this was it was text, it was pre-Slack.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember one of the one of the uh musicians after service, he said, Hey man, I don't know about you guys, it's like, but man, what did y'all think of worship, man?
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_02: It's like to me, man, it just felt so dry, and it just felt so uninspired.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_02: It just felt so this or that.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember there was silence on the text there for about an hour.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_02: Normally, like we're always chatting and talking.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_02: And and uh finally one of the other musicians, he was our MD actually, he chimes in and he says, Hey, he's like he's that's interesting that you said it felt dry.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_02: And he said, Man, listen, I'm not trying to be a jerk, but he said, When is when was the last time that worship was about how you felt?
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_02: And it was like and then out of that, other musicians like, yeah, man, I dude, I was man on the drums, man, and I was just worshiping the Lord.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like it was an incredible time.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_02: Like, man, the Lord spoke to me, and everybody in that chat started talking about their personal encounters with the Lord.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like like, hey man, this is this is where I saw God moving.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_02: Like it wasn't in that moment, it wasn't nobody talked about the people.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like he had this long soliloquy about how the people weren't lifting hands and guys drinking coffee, and man, people just weren't engaged, man.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_02: There were babies crying, and it was people focused.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_02: And then when the MD was like, hey man, when was the last time worship was about how you felt?
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_02: Then everybody else was like, Man, this is where I just saw the Lord.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_02: Like it did it what you know, we it wasn't a pile on session, and he came back later on and he repented, he's like, guys, I'm so sorry.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_02: And then he he confessed, he confessed that there was some marital strife happening.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_02: And then so we were able to minister to him and say, Okay, man, like, hey, let's let's get your help for that.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, and and I'm I'm thinking of that, of that particular brother in the Lord when you said that, and that man, what if he just would have taken the time to have the heart to say, Hey Lord, my marriage is a wreck.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_02: So, what I'm gonna do right now, I'm gonna set that aside, I'm gonna worship you.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_02: Because even though my marriage is tough right now, you are still worthy of my my praise, my celebration.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_02: You're worthy of all of that.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: But the power of elevating God above your own circumstances.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of times we elevate our circumstances over God and those sacred moments because we don't honor reverence.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_00: We don't hold those things holy.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I I had a thought and it just left me.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_02: Lord, bring it back in Jesus' name.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_02: Bring it back like you you brought the dove back to Noah's Ark with the olive brand.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_02: Do it, Lord.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_02: Come on.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna come back.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_00: It'll come back.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you, it'll come back.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's the word.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_02: The word always returns.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_02: It don't return void either.
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_02: What did the Bible say?
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_02: In Jesus' name.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I have enjoyed this.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_02: It's a good conversation.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know, man.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like uh I don't know.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_02: This is it was it was fun reflecting, but then just talking through again, just worship and glory and wait.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_02: And hey, listen, everybody, family, we are living in the best of the kingdom on earth right now.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_02: You know, Jesus says about John the Baptist, hey, there's nobody born of a woman greater than him.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_02: And then right after that, he says, But the one that's in the kingdom, the least is greater than him.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so, hey, listen, we're we're kingdom people.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_02: And so if this feels heavy, good.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_02: If it feels confrontive, good.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_02: But we don't want it to feel condemnatory.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_02: But I we do want to invite you to just evaluate, hey, do like King David.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_02: Go back to God's word.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_02: And say, okay, hey, where's where has there been some misalignment?
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_02: Where I where have I become casual?
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_02: Where have it just become laissez-faire about the presence of God?
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_02: Where have I leaned more into emotionalism?
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_02: Or maybe you need to have a harder look in the mirror and say, man, where are the there's some sin areas in my life that are contaminating the house, not the presence, but they're contaminating the house that it that it's in.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_00: The thought I was having was that the whole purpose of God prescribing and designing the Ark of the Covenant in the first place was relationship with with man, with his with his creation.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_00: The whole purpose of David stopping and going back to realignment to how God prescribed for the Ark to be handled was the the passion that he had and the goal that he had to return the Ark of the Covenant back to his people.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so there was this desire to be close to the presence of God and to have the presence of God at the center of his tent.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so relationship is at the core of all this.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of our our mass gatherings, right?
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you go to a big event and there's over like 50, 100 people, a thousand people, it's usually a transactional event.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you're going to a football game, basketball game, whatever, you pay to go and be entertained to support people that don't even know you, but but you're wearing their their colors and their names on their on your back and all stuff.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so you're being entertained.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's all transactional.
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_00: You go to a concert here in Nashville, you're going, you're paying money to go listen to someone sing songs that you like, right?
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_00: That has no idea who you even are.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_00: But there's a transaction going on and they're making money and you're paying them for it.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_00: And but it's entertaining you and it's moving you emotionally.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so all of these things are great.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying they're bad.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_00: But then you walk into church and you feel you feel like, oh, it's a big crowd.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_00: There's a big parking lot.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of things that are similar because people are moving into a place.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it can be easily be in the same thing where we we become it's a transaction.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_00: Because in these other spaces, there is no relationship.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_00: There's no relationship with the athletes, with the players, the owners at a at a game.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe for some people, that's awesome.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_00: But if you don't, like it's it's just most of us won't have relationships with athletes and things at that level.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_00: If you're going to a concert, you don't have relationship with artists.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_00: You're just going for entertainment.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's a transaction.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what I have, you give me what I need.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that's good.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_00: And and it and the bet the I guess I'm asking you to reflect on this.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like, don't treat your relationship with God and His church in that same manner.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's not like it's intended, God's intent for even His church is for His presence, not just to be in a building in a box.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's for us to allow the Holy Spirit that dwells within us to come alive in every space that we walk in.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's good.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_00: So going back to the things we've been talking about in the last two episodes, that that map, there is a mandate for us to go and make disciples.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_00: There's an assignment of purpose.
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's something in the presence of God that empowers us as believers to go out and to go and make a difference and go change our world.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not transactional.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_00: We're actually gathering, number one, to worship him and exalt our creator.
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_00: So you come with what God's asking you, which is your whole heart.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_00: And everything, even your problems.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, just don't make them greater than him.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then, and then allow the Lord in these places and these spaces where you gather in small groups or at the gathering, students, uh Sundays, allow the word to just penetrate your heart and allow the Holy Spirit just to capture you and to fill those spaces that are void and to give you the words that you need through scripture so that you could go out and make a difference.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so church is not a transactional place.
• 49:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's right.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus already paid it all.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's no other transaction.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, there's no there's no merchandising there.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_02: And that's the kingdom.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's free, it's available.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_02: Jesus says the kingdom is near you, it is at hand, and it's freely available and it's given to you.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_02: So and and I man, I'm so glad you said that is so good.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_02: That's prophetic there, Elmer.
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_02: Just about the fact that it's not transactional, it's fully relational.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_02: And why is that important?
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_02: Because when you think about grace, we we tend to think in terms of like theology and salvation.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_02: Like, if I do this, then God will do this for me.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_02: And so like I have to earn salvation, I have to earn forgiveness, I have to earn freedom, and you don't.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_02: And what grace does is it puts an equal sign between every person on the planet.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_02: It's Romans 3 that we're all equally guilty.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_02: All of us have equally fallen, and all of us equally deserve eternal separation from apart from God in hell.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_02: We all deserve that.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_02: And then what grace does, grace just says, I'm not gonna give you like a new grading system.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna tear the whole thing down.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_02: Man, I'm gonna tear the whole structure down.
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_02: And that's that's where the Pharisees and Sadducees, that's why they struggle.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_02: There's like, no, we need an equivalency.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like, nope, there's no equivalency.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_02: You're all jacked up, you're all messed up.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_02: I'm running the whole thing.
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah and so what I'm doing now, Jesus says, I'm the gate.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_02: Like he says, I'm the scoreboard and I'm perfection.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_02: So it's like Jesus took the test, got 100% on the test, and put your name on it.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_02: That's righteousness.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_02: That's imputation of righteousness.
• 50:45
  SPEAKER_02: And then he says, I'm gonna take it a step further, and I'm gonna take that same life-giving power, that same resurrection power that is in me.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna place it within.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_02: I'm actually because I he says, I am the resurrection.
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_02: Not that I have it, I am it.
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_02: And he says, now guess what?
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_02: That resurrection power is in you.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, come on.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_02: That guy, there's no need for competition, there's no need for comparison, there's no need for emotionalism, for flesh.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_02: There, there's no need to for for relapse and going back to the word.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_02: The world can give you that.
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_02: And so you get to now step onto that stage, step onto that platform with the full measure of the kingdom alive in you.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_02: You don't have one third of God on the inside of you.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_02: And so you now get to have a one-on-one conversation with the Lord.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_02: And guess what?
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_02: Everybody else in the room, they get to be in on it.
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_02: And that's the God that we're serving and worshiping, man.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_02: Come on, man.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_02: Let me fire it up.
• 51:41
  SPEAKER_02: Come on.
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_02: What a what a mighty God we serve.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_02: For real.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_02: What a mighty God we serve.
• 51:46
  SPEAKER_00: And if Indiana Jones finds that box, it's gonna be empty.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna come on.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_02: Because he's in me and in you, and in you, and in you.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_00: Come on.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_02: You don't hey, guess what, guys?
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_02: You don't have to be Indiana Jones.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's a that'll preach.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_00: Come on.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_02: Man, we gotta write that down.
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_02: Some of us, some of y'all, you acting like Indiana Jones.
• 52:05
  SPEAKER_02: You're trying to go search it and go find it.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, if you belong to the Lord, it's in you.
• 52:08
  SPEAKER_02: He found it.
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_02: He found you.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_02: He found you.
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's the asset.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_02: God found you.
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_00: Man, let's go.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_00: Come on.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm fired up, man.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_00: We got we got a few more episodes on where we're still going through the tabernacle and the tabernacle of the ark and everything that's going on, the pattern of worship that God uh or prescribed for us and through the Old Testament and the New Testament.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_00: But this has been awesome, bro.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, sir.
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_00: Appreciate you.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_00: Love you, man.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_00: Love you, and we're so grateful and thankful for those of you that join us every week.
• 52:40
  SPEAKER_00: And please share this with other people as well that you know that we'll be blessed by this content.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_00: And we love you, fam.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_00: And until next time, peace out.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, sir.