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Drift_to_Sleep_Experiencing_the_Awe_and_Wonder_of_God · Abide Meditation App

• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to this bedtime story from Abide. I'm
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Lonee Laura, and it's wonderful to have you joining me
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  Speaker 1: tonight for sacred Awe. Tonight, we will be meditating on
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  Speaker 1: the wonder and majesty of the Lord God Almighty as
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  Speaker 1: he expressed himself on the earth. We will be hearing
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  Speaker 1: scriptures of his majesty to inspire us, and we'll be
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  Speaker 1: looking at elements of His creation in the vast illuminations
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  Speaker 1: of light in the celestial bodies above us, to the
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  Speaker 1: expansive ocean stretching out beyond us. The Bible verse that
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  Speaker 1: this story is based on tonight is First Chronicles twenty
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  Speaker 1: nine to eleven, which reads, Yours Lord is the greatness
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  Speaker 1: and the power, and the glory, and the majesty and
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  Speaker 1: the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
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  Speaker 1: Yours Lord is the Kingdom. You are exalted as head overall.
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  Speaker 1: Amen and Amen. None of what you see around us
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  Speaker 1: just happened and appeared at a thin air. It was
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  Speaker 1: meticulously crafted and ordered by our extraordinary creator, God, the
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  Speaker 1: One and only Lord Almighty. Observing and meditating on this
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  Speaker 1: earth and all that is in it, will inspire awe
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  Speaker 1: in our hearts. Tonight, sacred awe, sacred wonderment, worship and
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  Speaker 1: praise will bubble up from our hearts with no striving necessary. Tonight,
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  Speaker 1: as we uncover God's goodness and grandeur, we'll discover that
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  Speaker 1: obedient worship, which is a vital part of the Christian walk,
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  Speaker 1: is not necessary. Organic worship is preferable to God. In
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  Speaker 1: obedient worship, the key is to take our eyes off
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  Speaker 1: the lesser and raise our gaze to the Greater. We
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  Speaker 1: will be experiencing His greatness and glory tonight through the
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  Speaker 1: eyes of our heart as we gaze upon His majesty
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  Speaker 1: in awe and wonder. Let me lead you in a
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  Speaker 1: time to get our bodies and minds prepared for deep sleep.
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  Speaker 1: Make whatever adjustments you need in order to get into
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  Speaker 1: the maximum degree of comfort. As you begin to fall asleep,
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  Speaker 1: breathe deeply and slowly into your stomach, in and out,
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  Speaker 1: in and out. This might be the first time today
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  Speaker 1: that you've taken several slow, deep, full breaths into your lungs.
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  Speaker 1: As you continue to breathe, let your lungs expel any
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  Speaker 1: stagnant air from the day. Let all worries and anxious
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  Speaker 1: thoughts come to peace. You may have had a very
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  Speaker 1: productive day, or you may feel you still have things
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  Speaker 1: left to do. Take comfort effort that you did the
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  Speaker 1: very best you could, and God's grace is more than
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  Speaker 1: sufficient to help you tomorrow. It is what it is,
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  Speaker 1: and God is no less proud of you. You are
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  Speaker 1: fervently loved by him. He is telling you that now
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  Speaker 1: is the time that you can rest. Just be, be
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  Speaker 1: still in his presence. Bring your awareness to your body
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  Speaker 1: and release any areas of tension and strain, starting with
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  Speaker 1: your toes. Let your feet and legs hang limp and loose.
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  Speaker 1: Release any tightness in your calves and thighs. Keep breathing
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  Speaker 1: and feel yourself, letting go of anything you're holding on to.
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  Speaker 1: Relax your hips and stomach muscles, and your back and
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  Speaker 1: shoulders inhale and exhal Finally, as you come up, loosen
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  Speaker 1: your cheeks and jaw, your brows and forehead Softly close
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  Speaker 1: your eyes. They have been focusing all day, and now
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  Speaker 1: they can fully rest and relax. Breathe as you surrender
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  Speaker 1: all your cares to the Lord. Cast all your cares,
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  Speaker 1: all your anxieties, all your worries and all your concerns
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  Speaker 1: once and for all on him, for he cares about
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  Speaker 1: you with deepest affection and watches over you very carefully.
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  Speaker 1: You are held in his warm embrace and strong care
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  Speaker 1: and control. Knowing this, you may come to stillness. Join
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  Speaker 1: me in prayer. Most Loving Father God, we lift our
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  Speaker 1: eyes to you tonight. You are the one and only
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  Speaker 1: living God, the creator of the vast cosmos. You hold
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  Speaker 1: the ever expanding universe with its millions of galaxies, in
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  Speaker 1: the palm of your hand. You are unfathomably great and majestic,
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  Speaker 1: and yet we get to call you Papa. Your loving
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  Speaker 1: tenderness knows no bounds. We worship you for such perfect love.
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  Speaker 1: You accept us in our sinful state and make us righteous.
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  Speaker 1: When we meditate on your gift of eternal life, we
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  Speaker 1: cannot help but burst with joy and wonderment. Would you
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  Speaker 1: kide our hearts tonight as we seek to know you better.
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  Speaker 1: Let us meditate on your works and sacred awe, and
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  Speaker 1: may our thoughts draw us closer and closer to you.
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  Speaker 1: May it inspire organic worship and childlike trust. Your ways
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  Speaker 1: are above our ways, and we trust you in all
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  Speaker 1: your mysterious ways. We love you and trust you in
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  Speaker 1: the powerful name of your son Jesus Christ. Amen, continue
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  Speaker 1: to breathe gently and deeply, precious one, and come with me.
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  Speaker 1: Take my hand, and let's come outside onto the porch.
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  Speaker 1: Look up at the stars. Out here on this remote beach.
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  Speaker 1: There are no other lights competing with our vision of
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  Speaker 1: the sky. We can see the vastness of space above
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  Speaker 1: us with clarity. Ah, It's a perfect starlight night. You
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  Speaker 1: could gaze at this sight for hours without getting tired
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  Speaker 1: of it. It's better than the most wonderful painting. It's
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  Speaker 1: almost like moving artwork. It's like a jet black silk
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  Speaker 1: sheet encrusted with silver and gold, flex and diamonds, and
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  Speaker 1: out fires and toe pauses that move and glimmer as
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  Speaker 1: they catch the light. The song of King David and
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  Speaker 1: Psalm nineteen erupts from your heart. The heavens declare the
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  Speaker 1: glory of the Lord, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
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  Speaker 1: Another translation for the song goes on the celestial realms
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  Speaker 1: announce God's glory. The skies testify of his hands great work.
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  Speaker 1: Each day pours out more of their sayings each night,
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  Speaker 1: more to hear, and more to learn inaudible words are
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  Speaker 1: their manner of speech, and silence their means to convey.
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  Speaker 1: Yet from here to the ends of the earth, their
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  Speaker 1: voices have gone out. The whole world can hear what
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  Speaker 1: they say. God stretched out in these heavens a tent
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  Speaker 1: for the sun, just as a psalm said, the skies
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  Speaker 1: tell loudly but silently of the Lord's greatness. In your
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  Speaker 1: heart feels this. You are silent, but your praise is
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  Speaker 1: loud in your heart. The wonder of it all holds
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  Speaker 1: you captive. Ah. There, just now you see one of
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  Speaker 1: those diamond like stars shooting across the black satin blanket,
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  Speaker 1: shooting into a black hole going who knows where, well, going,
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  Speaker 1: God knows where. It's amazing to think that that tiny
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  Speaker 1: little shooting star that barely flashed across the sky was
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  Speaker 1: actually a huge burning meteor hurtling through space with a
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  Speaker 1: massive tail of fire, and you would have missed it
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  Speaker 1: if you'd blink. Wow. God's grandeur fills you with a
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  Speaker 1: sacred awe. Psalm thirty three, verse eight says, let all
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  Speaker 1: the earth fear the Lord, Let all the inhabitants of
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  Speaker 1: the world stand in awe of Him. And the voice
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  Speaker 1: translation puts it like this, Let all people stand in
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  Speaker 1: awe of the Eternal. Let every man, woman and child
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  Speaker 1: live in wonder of Him. One definition of awe is
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  Speaker 1: a strong feeling of respect or amazement brought on by
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  Speaker 1: something that is beautiful or sacred. It's a mixed feeling
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  Speaker 1: of reverence, fear, and wonder caused by something majestic, sublime, sacred,
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  Speaker 1: et cetera. Doesn't that describe our God? Majestic, sublime, sacred,
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  Speaker 1: even fearsomely wonderful? To fear the Lord in the way
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  Speaker 1: his word instructs us to, we must come with reverence
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  Speaker 1: and awe in our hearts. There is nothing trivial or
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  Speaker 1: commonplace about our Crator and Lord. Psalm seventy two five reads,
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  Speaker 1: May the people fear You for as long as the
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  Speaker 1: sun shines, as long as the moon rises in the
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  Speaker 1: night sky. Throughout the generations, the Psalmists have much to
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  Speaker 1: say on this theme of awe and fear of the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: This tells us that it's closely knit with a worshipful heart.
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  Speaker 1: Psalm one hundred and one, verse ten tells us the
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  Speaker 1: fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All
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  Speaker 1: those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise
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  Speaker 1: endures forever, or it can also be translated this way.
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  Speaker 1: Reverence for the eternal is the first step toward wisdom.
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  Speaker 1: All those who worship Him have a good understanding. His
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  Speaker 1: praise will echo through eternity. Lord God Almighty, we worship
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  Speaker 1: you and kneel our hearts in reverential awe before you.
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  Speaker 1: We declare that you are other than You are so
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  Speaker 1: far above our understanding that we cannot fathom your ways.
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  Speaker 1: We can only marvel and wonder at you. You contain
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  Speaker 1: so many mysteries that we will be discovering for all eternity,
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  Speaker 1: and out of everything, most mysterious and unfathomable is your
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  Speaker 1: wild love for us. It will take all of our
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  Speaker 1: eternal life and glory to even scratch the surface of it.
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  Speaker 1: The vastness of space cannot compare to the magnitude of
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  Speaker 1: your love. Still, we ask you to show us as
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  Speaker 1: much as we can handle of your love, even if
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  Speaker 1: you have to hide us in the cleft of a rock,
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  Speaker 1: as you did with Moses, and cover our face while
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  Speaker 1: your goodness passes by pass us by Tonight with your goodness,
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  Speaker 1: wonderful Lord God, we echo Moses's prayer and say, show
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  Speaker 1: us your glory, Lord, show us your glory tonight. We
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  Speaker 1: long to see you in Jesus' name. Amen. Paul describes
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  Speaker 1: a similar sentiment in Second Corinthians three eight, as he writes,
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  Speaker 1: now all of us, with our faces unveiled, reflect the
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  Speaker 1: glory of the Lord, as if we are mirrors, and
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  Speaker 1: so we are being transformed, metamorphosed into his same image,
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  Speaker 1: from one radiance of glory to another, just as the
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  Speaker 1: spirit of the Lord accomplishes it. As we look on
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  Speaker 1: God like Moses did, we will glow with his radiance.
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  Speaker 1: Our hearts will be filled with his light, and we
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  Speaker 1: will effortlessly beam his love to the dark world around us,
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  Speaker 1: just like Moses and the children of Israel had to
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  Speaker 1: cover him with a veil because they could not behold
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  Speaker 1: his face. Looking at God's creation often helps us see
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  Speaker 1: more of who he is. I think between us and
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  Speaker 1: sometimes we need to get away. Also like Moses did
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  Speaker 1: when he went up on a mountain to seek God, tonight,
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  Speaker 1: we are at the ocean seeking his face. So come,
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  Speaker 1: let's step off the verandah and walk down to the
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  Speaker 1: shoreline of this paradise beach. The water glistens and sparkles
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  Speaker 1: under the crescent moon's pale yellow lamplight. There is peaceful silence,
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  Speaker 1: a sacred hush, except for the gentle sounds of the
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  Speaker 1: ebbing waves of the sand, and some far distant seagulls
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  Speaker 1: that haven't curled up to sleep in their nests just yet.
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  Speaker 1: David's worshipful lyrics and Psalm one hundred and four bubble
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  Speaker 1: up in your soul. Of course, the sea is vast
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  Speaker 1: and stretches like the heavens beyond the view, and numberless
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  Speaker 1: creatures inhabit her, from the tiny to the grate. They
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  Speaker 1: swarm beneath her waves. From the tiny to the grate,
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  Speaker 1: God has handcrafted each and every living thing. This boundless
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  Speaker 1: and measureless sea, stretching out in front of you, far
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  Speaker 1: beyond what any eye could see, holds you speechless. This
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  Speaker 1: is sacred offe. Psalm one hundred and thirty nine comes
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  Speaker 1: to your mind as you look out on the ocean. Expanse.
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  Speaker 1: If I ride on the wings of morning, if I
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  Speaker 1: make my home in the most isolated part of the ocean,
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  Speaker 1: even then you will be there to guide me. Your
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  Speaker 1: right hand will embrace me, for you are always there.
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  Speaker 1: That inspires all awe in your heart. Even out in
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  Speaker 1: the farthest and most isolated parts of the ocean, where
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  Speaker 1: no man has set sail, God is there. And even
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  Speaker 1: in the most isolated seasons of your life, when you
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  Speaker 1: have felt furthest from God and his people, still he
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  Speaker 1: has been with you in His hand has guided you.
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  Speaker 1: His hand has guided you back to Him, back to
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  Speaker 1: his love, back to his embrace, back to his care
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  Speaker 1: as your father. You can run away, but you are
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  Speaker 1: never outside his grace, not ever breathe that in. There
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  Speaker 1: is no other love like that, vast, magnificent, unfathomable. Keep
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  Speaker 1: breathing as you meditate on that. Hmhmm. You are breathing
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  Speaker 1: in such pure oxygen. The sea air is so clear.
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  Speaker 1: The scent of salty air is fragrant to your nose.
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  Speaker 1: The blue black sky is cloudless. The fragrant air is
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  Speaker 1: crisp and fresh. There's a cooling breeze that brushes your cheeks.
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  Speaker 1: You inhale deeply. The grandeur of God is on full display.
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  Speaker 1: He created all this. Words from the prophet Amos describe
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  Speaker 1: this site so well. Who builds his upper chambers in
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  Speaker 1: the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth, who
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  Speaker 1: calls for the waters of the sea and pours them
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  Speaker 1: out upon the surface of the earth. The Lord is
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  Speaker 1: his name. Who else but the Lord could do this?
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  Speaker 1: Also Two fourteen comes to mind, for as the waters
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  Speaker 1: cover the sea, the whole earth will be filled with
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  Speaker 1: the knowledge that the eternal is glorious and powerful. He is,
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  Speaker 1: indeed both glorious and powerful. How often do you gaze
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  Speaker 1: reverently up at the cosmos on a starry night and
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  Speaker 1: pause to tell God just how marvelous you think his
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  Speaker 1: artistry is. Let's tell him right now. Lord. We find
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  Speaker 1: it so hard to put into words our praise and
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  Speaker 1: love of you, sacred awe has made us speechless, but
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  Speaker 1: will borrow King Solomon's word from Psalm seventy two. The
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  Speaker 1: sun and the moon will stop shining before your lovers
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  Speaker 1: will stop worshiping for ages upon ages that people will
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  Speaker 1: love and adore you. We worship you tonight as we
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  Speaker 1: gaze on your beauty and creation. May we never look
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  Speaker 1: away and get distracted, because nothing and no one else
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  Speaker 1: is worthy of our admiration and love like you. Who
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  Speaker 1: are we that you are mindful of us? And yet
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  Speaker 1: you love us? Oh Lord? You take our breath away
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  Speaker 1: with your wonders. And yet we also know from Job
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  Speaker 1: thirty three four that God's spirit has fashioned us, and
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  Speaker 1: a breath of the Highest One imparts of life to us.
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  Speaker 1: So we return to the breath that you are giving
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  Speaker 1: us back to you as worship and praise in Jesus
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  Speaker 1: Mighty name. Amen, you are standing here between this in
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  Speaker 1: the sky, amazed at his glory. Yes, these are possibly
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  Speaker 1: sights you've seen before, but you are standing still before
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  Speaker 1: the Lord tonight, and you are beholding the scene with
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  Speaker 1: brand new eyes. The eyes of your heart are seeing
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  Speaker 1: it in a posture of sacred awe, and it is
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  Speaker 1: causing you to see your Lord more clearly. You feel
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  Speaker 1: so small between earth and sky. Way down here we
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  Speaker 1: are humans, like little specks of dust on the Earth's crust,
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  Speaker 1: and just like dust floating away on the breeze, we
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  Speaker 1: too will pass away one day. But the heavens have
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  Speaker 1: endlessly declared God's majesty since the beginning of matter and time,
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  Speaker 1: and they will continue to do so. His creation praises
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  Speaker 1: him day and night, night and day, and it's a
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  Speaker 1: privilege to join nature tonight in glorifying him. The Psalmists
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  Speaker 1: poetry and Psalm one hundred and forty eight puts it
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  Speaker 1: better than any words you could compose. Praise the Eternal.
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  Speaker 1: All you in the heavens, praise the Eternal. Praise Him
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  Speaker 1: from the highest places. All you his messengers and his
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  Speaker 1: armies in heaven, praise him. Sun, Moon, and all you
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  Speaker 1: brilliant stars above praise him, highest heavens, And all you
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  Speaker 1: waters above the heavens, praise him. Let all things join
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  Speaker 1: together in a concert of praise to the name of
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  Speaker 1: the Eternal. For he gave the command, and they were created.
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  Speaker 1: He put them in their places to stay forever. He
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  Speaker 1: declared it so, and it is final. Everything on earth
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  Speaker 1: join in and praise the Eternal. See monsters and creatures
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  Speaker 1: of the deep, lightning and hail, snow and foggy mists,
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  Speaker 1: violent winds, all respond to his command. Mountains and hills,
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  Speaker 1: fruit trees and cedar forests. All you animals, both wild
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  Speaker 1: and tame, reptiles and birds who take flight, praise the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: All kings and all nations, Princes and all judges of
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  Speaker 1: the earth. All people, young men and women, old men
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  Speaker 1: and children alike, praise the Lord. Let them all praise
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  Speaker 1: the name of the Eternal, for his name stands alone
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  Speaker 1: above all others. His glory shines greater than anything above
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  Speaker 1: or below. He has made his people strong. He is
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  Speaker 1: the praise of all who are godly, the praise of
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  Speaker 1: the children of Israel, those whom he holds close. Praise
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  Speaker 1: the Eternal. You look out in stunned silence as these
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  Speaker 1: verses take root and cause your heart to magnify him.
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  Speaker 1: If you didn't praise him, maybe the silky sand under
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  Speaker 1: your bare feet would cry out and praise you. Remember
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  Speaker 1: in Luke's Gospel, when Jesus was being celebrated and praised
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  Speaker 1: on his approach to the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday,
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  Speaker 1: he replied to the irate pharisees, I tell you, if
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  Speaker 1: my followers don't say these things, then the stones will
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  Speaker 1: cry out. God doesn't need your praises, because the whole
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  Speaker 1: universe is shouting them every moment. However, when you glimpse
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  Speaker 1: His goodness and glory on a night such as this night,
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  Speaker 1: you can't contain your sacred awe. Out of everything admirable
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  Speaker 1: in this life, God alone is most worthy of our worship.
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  Speaker 1: He is worthy of our constant awe. And adoration. He
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  Speaker 1: is worthy of our every sacrifice. He is worthy of
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  Speaker 1: our attention and our every thought. He is worthy of
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  Speaker 1: the time and energy it takes to tell him just
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  Speaker 1: how amazing we think he is. Even now on the
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  Speaker 1: sandy shore, under the starlit night, out of your mouth
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  Speaker 1: topples the praises from Psalm seventy four, fifteen and seventeen.
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  Speaker 1: You broke open the earth, and springs burst forth, and
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  Speaker 1: streams filled the crevices. You dried up the great rivers.
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  Speaker 1: The day and the night are both yours. You fashioned
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  Speaker 1: the sun, moon, and all the lights that pierce the darkness.
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  Speaker 1: You have arranged the earth, set all its boundaries. You
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  Speaker 1: are the architect of the seasons, summer and winter. Keep breathing,
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  Speaker 1: precious listener, Breathe and know that God sees the depth
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  Speaker 1: of your heart, and he sees your worship. The Father
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  Speaker 1: is seeking true worshippers, just like you, with worship that
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  Speaker 1: comes from your soul. True worship does not need to
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  Speaker 1: include a song. It doesn't need to be in the
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  Speaker 1: midst of a congregation of believers. You don't need to
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  Speaker 1: raise your arms. It doesn't need even to be verbal
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  Speaker 1: or fiscal. Sometimes the truest form of praise is when
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  Speaker 1: the heart is on its knees in sacred adoration, beholding
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  Speaker 1: the glory of the Lord Lord. In John four, the
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  Speaker 1: Samaritan woman at the well, whose heart longed for freedom
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  Speaker 1: to worship God, questioned Jesus on the nature of true worship.
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  Speaker 1: Why did it have to be exclusively for the sleg
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  Speaker 1: you chosen ones Jesus, who wants all of us to
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  Speaker 1: have the freedom to adore Him at any time, in
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  Speaker 1: any place on earth, replied affectionately to her, Believe me,
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  Speaker 1: dear woman, the time is coming when it will no
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  Speaker 1: longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: or in Jerusalem. But the time is coming. Indeed, it's
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: here now when the true worshippers will worship the Father
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: those who will worship him that way, for God is spirit,
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: and so those who worship Him must worship in spirit
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: and in truth. Sees our hearts, and he sees the
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: truth of our praise. He sees the sacred all and
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: the quietness of your heart. Through your day, as you
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: turn your eyes to Him, moment by moment, his Holy
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: Spirit enables you to fix your gaze on him when
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: there are many distractions vying for your attention. Now, dear one,
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: I invite you to bring your awareness back here and
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: now to this shoreline under the pale moon, with the
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: silken sky kissed by the glistening stars and the canopy above.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: Breathe your praises to the Father, the perfect Father for
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: every child in heaven and on earth. Dear Almighty God,
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: thank you for filling our hearts with true worship and
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: sacred awe tonight. But to be still in your presence
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: is sufficient for genuine adoration to stir in our hearts.
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: May our worship never cease. May our hearts be fixed
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: on you even as we sleep. You are worthy, so
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: worthy we glorify you and irreverential awe and wonder. Thank
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: you for your love for rest that defines our comprehension.
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: Thank you for revealing it just a bit more to
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: us tonight. Thank you for causing your glory to pass
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: by us. May your spirit go with us every day
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: and the precious names of Jesus. Amen, let's listen again
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: to this sleep story and feel secret all bubble up
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: in your heart. Continue to breathe gently and deeply precious one,
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: and come with me, Take my hand, and let's come
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: outside onto the porch. Look up at the stars out
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: here on this remote beach. There are no other lights
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: competing with our vision of the sky. We can see
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: the vastness of space above us with clarity. Ah, it's
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: a perfect starlight night. You could gaze at this sight
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: for hours without getting tired of it. It's better than
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: the most wonderful painting. It's almost like moving artwork. It's
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: like a jet black silk sheet encrusted with silver and gold,
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: flecks and diamonds and sapphires and toe pauses that move
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: and glimmer as they catch the light. The song of
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: King David in Psalm nineteen erupts from your heart. Heavens
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: declare the glory of the Lord, and the sky above
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: proclaims his handiwork. Another translation for the song goes on
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: the celestial realms announce God's glory. The skies testify of
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: his hands great work. Each day pours out more of
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: their sayings each night, more to hear and more to learn.
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: Inaudible words are their manner of speech, and silence their
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: means to convey. Yet, from here to the ends of
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: the earth. Their voices have gone out. The whole world
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: can hear what they say. God stretched out in these
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: heavens a tent for the sun, just as the Psalm said.
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: The skies tell loudly but silently of the Lord's greatness.
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: And your heart feels this. You are silent, but your
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: praise is loud in your heart. The wonder of it
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: all holds you captive. Ah. There, just now you see
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: one of those diamond like stars shooting across the black
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: satin blanket, shooting into a black hole going who knows where, well, going,
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: God knows where. It's amazing to think that that tiny
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: little shooting star that barely flashed across the sky was
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: actually a huge burning meteor hurtling through space with a
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: massive tail of fire. And you would have missed it
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: if you'd blink. Wow. God's grandeur fills you with a
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: sacred awe. Psalm thirty three, first eight says, let all
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: the earth fear the Lord, Let all the inhabitants of
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: the world stand in awe of Him, And the voice
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: translation puts it like this, Let all people stand in
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: awe of the Eternal. Let every man, woman and child
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: live in wonder of him. One definition of awe is
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: a strong feeling of respect or amazement brought on by
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: something that is beautiful or sacred. It's a mixed feeling
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: of reverence, fear, and wonder caused by something majestic, sublime, sacred,
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: et cetera. Doesn't that describe our God? Majestic, sublime, sacred,
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: even fearsomely wonderful? To fear the Lord in the way
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: his word instructs us to, we must come with reverence
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: and awe in our hearts. There is nothing trivial or
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: commonplace about our Crator and Lord. Psalm seventy two five reads,
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: may the people fear You for as long as the
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: sun shines, as long as the moon rises in the
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: night sky. Throughout the generations, the Psalmists have much to
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: say on this theme of awe and fear of the Lord.
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: This tells us that it's closely knit with a worshipful heart.
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: Psalm one hundred and one, verse ten tells us the
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: those who practice it have a good understanding His praise
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: endures forever. Or it can also be translated this way,
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: reverence for the eternal is the first step toward wisdom.
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: All those who worship him have a good understanding. His
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: praise will echo through eternity. Lord God Almighty, we worship
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: you and kneel our hearts in reverential awe before you.
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: We declare that you are other than You are so
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: far above our understanding that we cannot fathom your ways.
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: We can only marvel and wonder at you. You contain
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: so many mysteries that we will be discovering for all eternity,
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: and out of everything, most mysterious and unfathomable is your
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: wild love for us, and will take all of our
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: eternal life and glory to even scratch the surface of it.
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: The vastness of space cannot compare to the magnitude of
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: your love. Still, we ask you to show us as
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: much as we can handle of your love, even if
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: you have to hide us in the cleft of a rock,
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: as you did with Moses, and cover our face while
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: your goodness passes by pass us by Tonight with your goodness,
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: wonderful Lord God, we echo Moses's prayer and say, show
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: us your glory, Lord, show us your glory tonight. We
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: long to see you in Jesus' name. Amen. Paul describes
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: a similar sentiment in Second Corinthians three eight, as he writes,
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: now all of us, with our faces unveiled, reflect the
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: glory of the Lord, as if we are mirrors, and
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: so we are being transformed, metamorphosed into His same image,
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: from one radiance of glory to another, just as the
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: spirit of the Lord accomplishes it. As we look on God,
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: like Moses did, we will glow with his radiance. Our
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: hearts will be filled with his light, and we will
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: effortlessly beam his love to the dark world around us,
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: just like Moses and the children of Israel had to
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: cover him with a veil because they could not behold
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: his face. Looking at God's creation often helps us see
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: more of who He is. Nothing between us, and sometimes
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: we need to get away. Also like Moses did when
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: he went up on a mountain to seek God. Tonight,
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: we are at the ocean seeking his face. So come,
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: let's step off the verandah and walk down to the
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: shoreline of this paradise beach. The water glistens and sparkles
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: of the crescent moon's pale yellow lamplight. There is peaceful silence,
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: a sacred hush, except for the gentle sounds of the
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: ebbing waves of the sand, and some far distant seagulls
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: that haven't curled up to sleep in their nests just yet.
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: David's worshipful lyrics and Psalm one hundred and four bubble
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: up in your soul. Of course, the sea is vast
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: and stretches like the heavens beyond the view, and numberless
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: creatures inhabit her, from the tiny to the grate. They
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: swarm beneath her waves. From the tiny to the grate,
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: God has handcrafted each in every living thing. This boundless
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: and measureless sea, stretching out in front of you, far
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: beyond what any eye could see, holds you speechless. This
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: is sacred off. Psalm one hundred and thirty nine comes
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: to your mind as you look out on the ocean. Expanse.
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: If I ride on the wings of morning, if I
• 40:29
  Speaker 1: make my home in the most isolated part of the ocean,
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: even then you will be there to guide me. Your
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: right hand will embrace me, for you are always there
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: that inspires awe in your heart, even out in the
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: farthest and most isolated parts of the ocean, where no
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: man has set sail. God is there. And even in
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: the most isolated seasons of your life, when you have
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: felt furthest from God and his people, still he has
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: been with you in his hand has guided you. His
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: hand has guided you back to Him, back to his love,
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: back to his embrace, back to his care as your father.
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: You can run away, but you are never outside his grace,
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: not ever. Breathe that in. There is no other love
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: like that, vast, magnificent, unfathomable. Keep breathing as you meditate
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: on that. Hmm. You are breathing in such pure oxygen.
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: The sea air is so clear. The scent of salty
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: air is fragrant to your nose. The blue black sky
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: is cloudless. The fray in air is crisp and fresh.
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: There's a cooling breeze that brushes your cheeks. You inhale deeply.
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: The grandeur of God is on full display. He created
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: all this. Words from the prophet Amos describe this site
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: so well. Who builds his upper chambers in the heavens
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: and founds his vault upon the earth, Who calls for
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: the waters of the sea and pours them out upon
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: the surface of the earth. The Lord is his name,
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: who else, but the Lord could do this. Also Habakuk
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: two fourteen comes to mind, for as the waters cover
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: the sea, the whole earth will be filled with the
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: knowledge that the eternal is glorious and powerful. He is
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: indeed glorious and powerful. How often do you gaze reverently
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: up at the cosmos on a starry night and pause
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: to tell God just how marvelous you think his artistry is.
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: Let's tell him right now. Lord. We find it so
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: hard to put into words our praise and love of you,
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: sacred awe has made us speechless, but will borrow King
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: Solomon's word from Psalm seventy two. The sun and the
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: moon will stop shining before your lovers will stop worshiping
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: for ages upon ages that people will love and adore you.
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: We worship you tonight as we gaze on your beauty
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: and creation. May we never look away and get distracted,
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: because nothing and no one else is worthy of our
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: admiration and love like you. Who are we that you
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: are mindful of us? And yet you love us? Oh Lord,
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: you take our breath away with your wonders. And yet
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: we also know from Job thirty three to four that
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: God's spirit has fashioned us and a breath of the
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: Highest One in parts of life to us. So we
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: return to the breath that you are giving us back
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: to you as worship and praise in Jesus' mighty name. Amen,
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: you are standing here between the sea and the sky,
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: amazed at his glory. Yes, these are possibly sights you've
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: seen before, but you are standing still before the Lord tonight,
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: and you are beholding the scene with brand and new eyes.
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: The eyes of your heart are seeing it in a
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: posture of sacred awe, and it is causing you to
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: see your Lord more clearly. You feel so small between
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: earth and sky. Way down here we are humans, like
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: little specks of dust on the Earth's crust, and just
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: like dust floating away on the breeze, we too will
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: pass away one day. But the heavens have endlessly declared
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: God's majesty since the beginning of matter and time, and
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: they will continue to do so. His creation praises him
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: day and night, night and day, and it's a privilege
• 45:52
  Speaker 1: to join nature tonight in glorifying him. The Psalmist's poetry
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: and Psalm one hundred and forty eight puts it better
• 46:02
  Speaker 1: than any words you could compose. Praise the Eternal. All
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: you in the heavens, praise the Eternal. Praise Him from
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: the highest places. All you his messengers and his armies
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: in heaven, praise him. Sun, Moon, and all you brilliant
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: stars above praise him, highest heavens, And all you waters
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: above the heavens, praise him. Let all things join together
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: in a concert of praise to the name of the Eternal.
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: For he gave the command, and they were created. He
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: put them in their places to stay forever. He declared
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: it so, and it is final. Everything on earth, join
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: in and praise the Eternal. See monsters and creatures of
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: the deep, lightning and hail, snow and foggy mists, violent winds,
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: all respond to his command. Mountains and hills, fruit trees
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: and cedar forests. All you animals, both wild and tame,
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: reptiles and birds who take flight, praise the Lord. All
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: kings and all nations, Princes and all judges of the earth.
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: All people, young men and women, old men and children alike,
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: praise the Lord. Let them all praise the name of
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: the Eternal. For his name stands alone above all others.
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: His glory shines greater than anything above or below. He
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: has made his people strong. He is the praise of
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: all who are godly, the praise of the children of Israel,
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: those whom he holds close. Praise the Eternal. You look
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: out and stunned silence as these verses take root and
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: cause your heart to magnify him. If you didn't praise him,
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: maybe the silky sand under your bare feet would cry
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: out and praise you. Remember in Luke's Gospel, when Jesus
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: was being celebrated and praised on his approach to the
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he replied to the
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: irate Pharisees, I tell you, if my followers don't say
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: these things, then the stones will cry out. God doesn't
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: need your praises because the whole universe is shouting them
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: every moment. However, when you glimpse His goodness in glory
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: on a night such as this night, you can't contain
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: your sacred awe. Out of everything admirable in this life,
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: God alone is most worthy of our worship. He is
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: worthy of our constant awe and adoration. He is worthy
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: of our every sacrifice. He is worthy of our attention
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: and our every thought. He is worthy of the time
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: and energy it takes to tell him just how amazing
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: we think he is. Even now on the sandy shore,
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: under the starlit night, out of your mouth topples the
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: praises from Psalm seventy four, fifteen and seventeen. You broke
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: open the earth, and springs burst forth, and streams filled
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: the crevices. You dried up the great rivers. The day
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: and the night are both yours. You fashioned the sun, moon,
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: and all the lights that pierce the darkness. You have
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: arranged the earth, set all its boundaries. You are the
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: architect of the seas, summer and winter. Keep breathing, precious listener,
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: Breathe and know that God sees the depth of your heart,
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: and he sees your worship. The Father is seeking true worshippers,
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: just like you, with worship that comes from your soul.
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: True worship does not need to include a song. It
• 50:26
  Speaker 1: doesn't need to be in the midst of a congregation
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: of believers. You don't need to raise your arms. It
• 50:32
  Speaker 1: doesn't need even to be verbal or fiscal. Sometimes the
• 50:37
  Speaker 1: truest form of praise is when the heart is on
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: its knees in sacred adoration, beholding the glory of the Lord.
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: And John four, the Samaritan woman of the Well, whose
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: heart longed for freedom to worship God, questioned Jesus on
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: the nature of true worship. Why did it have to
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: be exclusive for the seleg you chosen ones Jesus, who
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: wants all of us to have the freedom to adore
• 51:06
  Speaker 1: Him at any time, in any place on earth, replied
• 51:09
  Speaker 1: affectionately to her, Believe me, dear woman, the time is
• 51:14
  Speaker 1: coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. But the
• 51:21
  Speaker 1: time is coming. Indeed, it's here now when the true
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: The Father is looking for those who will worship him
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: that way. For God is spirit, and so those who
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. Our
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: Father sees our hearts, and he sees the truth of
• 51:48
  Speaker 1: our praise. He sees the sacred all and the quietness
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: of your heart through your day, as you turn your
• 51:54
  Speaker 1: eyes to Him, moment by moment, his Holy Spirit enables
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: you to fix your gaze on Him when there are
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: many distractions vying for your attention. Now, dear one, I
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: invite you to bring your awareness back here and now,
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: to this shoreline under the pale moon, with the silken
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: sky kissed by the glistening stars and the canopy above.
• 52:24
  Speaker 1: Breathe your praises to the Father, the perfect Father, for
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: every child in heaven and on earth. Dear Almighty God,
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: thank you for filling our hearts with true worship and
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: sacred awe tonight. But to be still in your presence
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: is sufficient for genuine adoration to stir in our hearts.
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: May our worship never cease. May our hearts be fixed
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: on you even as we sleep. You are worthy, so
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: worthy we glorify you, you and irreverential awe and wonder.
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: Thank you for your love for rest that defines our comprehension.
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: Thank you for revealing it just a bit more to
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: us tonight. Thank you for causing your glory to pass
• 53:15
  Speaker 1: by us. May your spirit go with us every day
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: in the precious names of Jesus. Amen, let's listen again
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: to this sleep story and feel secret all bubble up
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: in your heart. Continue to breathe gently and deeply, precious one,
• 53:39
  Speaker 1: and come with me. Take my hand, and let's come
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: outside onto the porch. Look up at the stars. Out
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: here on this remote beach, there are no other lights
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: competing with our vision of the sky. We can see
• 53:59
  Speaker 1: the vastness of space above us with clarity. Ah, it's
• 54:05
  Speaker 1: a perfect starlight night. You could gaze at this sight
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: for hours without getting tired of it. It's better than
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: the most wonderful painting. It's almost like moving artwork. It's
• 54:20
  Speaker 1: like a jet black silk sheet encrusted with silver and gold,
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: flecks and diamonds and sapphires and topauses that move and
• 54:31
  Speaker 1: glimmer as they catch the light. The song of King
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: David in Psalm nineteen erupts from your heart. The heavens
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: declare the glory of the Lord, and the sky above
• 54:46
  Speaker 1: proclaims his handiwork. Another translation for the song goes on
• 54:54
  Speaker 1: the celestial realms announce God's glory. The skies testify of
• 54:59
  Speaker 1: his hands great work. Each day pours out more of
• 55:04
  Speaker 1: their sayings each night, more to hear and more to learn.
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: Inaudible words are their manner of speech, and silence their
• 55:16
  Speaker 1: means to convey. Yet from here to the ends of
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: the earth, their voices have gone out. The whole world
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: can hear what they say. God stretched out in these
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: Heaven's a tent for the sun. Just as a psalm said,
• 55:36
  Speaker 1: the skies tell loudly but silently of the Lord's greatness,
• 55:42
  Speaker 1: and your heart feels this. You are silent, but your
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: praise is loud in your heart. The wonder of it
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: all holds you captive. Ah. There, just now you see
• 55:58
  Speaker 1: one of those diamond like stars shooting across the black
• 56:02
  Speaker 1: satin blanket, shooting into a black hole going who knows where, well, going,
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: God knows where. It's amazing to think that that tiny
• 56:16
  Speaker 1: little shooting star that barely flashed across the sky was
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: actually a huge burning meteor hurtling through space with a
• 56:25
  Speaker 1: massive tail of fire. And you would have missed it
• 56:30
  Speaker 1: if you'd blink. Wow. God's grandeur fills you with a
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: sacred awe. Psalm thirty three, verse eight says, let all
• 56:43
  Speaker 1: the earth fear the Lord, Let all the inhabitants of
• 56:46
  Speaker 1: the world stand in awe of Him, And the voice
• 56:51
  Speaker 1: translation puts it like this, Let all people stand in
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: awe of the Eternal. Let every man, woman and child
• 57:01
  Speaker 1: live in wonder of Him. One definition of awe is
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: a strong feeling of respect or amazement brought on by
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: something that is beautiful or sacred. It's a mixed feeling
• 57:16
  Speaker 1: of reverence, fear, and wonder caused by something majestic, sublime, sacred,
• 57:24
  Speaker 1: et cetera. Doesn't that describe our God? Majestic, sublime, sacred,
• 57:32
  Speaker 1: even fearsomely wonderful. To fear the Lord in the way
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: his word instructs us to, we must come with reverence
• 57:43
  Speaker 1: and awe in our hearts. There is nothing trivial or
• 57:46
  Speaker 1: commonplace about our creator and Lord. Psalm seventy two to
• 57:53
  Speaker 1: five reads, May the people fear You for as long
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: as the sun shines, as long as the moon rises
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: in the night sky. Throughout the generations, the Psalmists have
• 58:07
  Speaker 1: much to say on this theme of awe and fear
• 58:11
  Speaker 1: of the Lord. This tells us that it's closely knit
• 58:15
  Speaker 1: with a worshipful heart. Psalm one hundred and one, verse
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: ten tells us the fear of the Lord is the
• 58:24
  Speaker 1: beginning of wisdom. All those who practice it have a
• 58:28
  Speaker 1: good understanding His praise endures forever. Or it can also
• 58:35
  Speaker 1: be translated this way, reverence for the eternal is the
• 58:39
  Speaker 1: first step toward wisdom. All those who worship him have
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: a good understanding his praise will echo through eternity, Lord
• 58:52
  Speaker 1: God Almighty, we worship you and kneel our hearts in
• 58:57
  Speaker 1: reverential awe before you. We declare that you are other
• 59:02
  Speaker 1: than You are so far above our understanding that we
• 59:06
  Speaker 1: cannot fathom your ways. We can only marvel and wonder
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: at you. You contain so many mysteries that we will
• 59:16
  Speaker 1: be discovering for all eternity, and out of everything, most
• 59:21
  Speaker 1: mysterious and unfathomable is your wild love for us. It
• 59:27
  Speaker 1: will take all of our eternal life and glory to
• 59:30
  Speaker 1: even scratch the surface of it. The vastness of space
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: cannot compare to the magnitude of your love. Still, we
• 59:40
  Speaker 1: ask you to show us as much as we can
• 59:43
  Speaker 1: handle of your love, even if you have to hide
• 59:47
  Speaker 1: us in the cleft of a rock, as you did
• 59:49
  Speaker 1: with Moses, and cover our face while your goodness passes
• 59:54
  Speaker 1: by pass us by. Tonight with your goodness, wonderful Lord God,
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 1: we echo Moses's prayer and say, show us your glory, Lord,
• 1:00:06
  Speaker 1: show us your glory tonight. We long to see you
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 1: in Jesus' name. Amen. Paul describes a similar sentiment in
• 1:00:20
  Speaker 1: Second Corinthians three eight, as he writes, Now all of us,
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: with our faces unveiled, reflect the glory of the Lord,
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 1: as if we are mirrors, and so we are being transformed,
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 1: metamorphised into his same image, from one radiance of glory
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 1: to another, just as the spirit of the Lord accomplishes it.
• 1:00:45
  Speaker 1: As we look on God, like Moses did, we will
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 1: glow with his radiance. Our hearts will be filled with
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 1: his light, and we will effortlessly beam his love to
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 1: the dark world around us, just like Moses and the
• 1:01:00
  Speaker 1: children of Israel had to cover him with a veil
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 1: because they could not behold his face. Looking at God's
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 1: creation often helps us see more of who he is.
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 1: Nothing between us, and sometimes we need to get away,
• 1:01:20
  Speaker 1: also like Moses did when he went up on a
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: mountain to seek God. Tonight, we are at the ocean
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 1: seeking his face. So come, let's step off the verandah
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 1: and walk down to the shoreline of this paradise beach.
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 1: The water glistens and sparkles under the crescent moon's pale
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 1: yellow lamplight. There is peaceful silence, a sacred hush, except
• 1:01:53
  Speaker 1: for the gentle sounds of the ebbing waves of the sand,
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 1: and some far distant seagulls that curled up to sleep
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 1: in their nests. Just yet, David's worshipful lyrics and Psalm
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 1: one hundred and four bubble up in your soul. Of course,
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 1: the sea is vast and stretches like the heavens beyond
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 1: the view, and numberless creatures inhabit her, from the tiny
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 1: to the grate, They swarm beneath her waves. From the
• 1:02:26
  Speaker 1: tiny to the grate, God has handcrafted each in every
• 1:02:31
  Speaker 1: living thing. This boundless and measureless sea, stretching out in
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 1: front of you, far beyond what any eye could see,
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 1: holds you speechless. This is sacred off Psalm one hundred
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 1: and thirty nine comes to your mind as you look
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: out on the ocean. Expanse if I ride on the
• 1:02:55
  Speaker 1: wings of morning, if I make my home in the
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 1: most isolated part of the ocean, even then you will
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 1: be there to guide me. Your right hand will embrace me,
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 1: for you are always there that inspires awe in your heart.
• 1:03:14
  Speaker 1: Even out in the farthest and most isolated parts of
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 1: the ocean, where no man has set sail, God is there.
• 1:03:23
  Speaker 1: And even in the most isolated seasons of your life,
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 1: when you have felt furthest from God and his people. Still,
• 1:03:31
  Speaker 1: he has been with you in his hand has guided you.
• 1:03:35
  Speaker 1: His hand has guided you back to Him, back to
• 1:03:38
  Speaker 1: his love, back to his embrace, back to his care
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 1: as your father. You can run away, but you are
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 1: never outside his grace, not ever. Breathe that in. There
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 1: is no other love like that, vast, magnificent, unfathomable. Keep
• 1:04:02
  Speaker 1: breathing as you meditate on that. Hmm. You are breathing
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 1: in such pure oxygen. The sea air is so clear.
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 1: The scent of salty air is fragrant to your nose.
• 1:04:21
  Speaker 1: The blue black sky is cloudless. The fragrant air is
• 1:04:25
  Speaker 1: crisp and fresh. There's a cooling breeze that brushes your cheeks.
• 1:04:31
  Speaker 1: You inhale deeply. The grandeur of God is on full display.
• 1:04:40
  Speaker 1: He created all this. Words from the prophet Amos describe
• 1:04:46
  Speaker 1: this site so well. Who builds his upper chambers in
• 1:04:50
  Speaker 1: the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth. Who
• 1:04:54
  Speaker 1: calls for the waters of the sea and pours them
• 1:04:57
  Speaker 1: out upon the surface of the earth. The Lord is
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 1: his name. Who else but the Lord could do this?
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 1: Also Habakuk two fourteen comes to mind, for as the
• 1:05:12
  Speaker 1: waters cover the sea, the whole earth will be filled
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 1: with the knowledge that the eternal is glorious and powerful.
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 1: He is indeed both glorious and powerful. How often do
• 1:05:26
  Speaker 1: you gaze reverently up at the cosmos on a starry
• 1:05:31
  Speaker 1: night and pause to tell God just how marvelous you
• 1:05:35
  Speaker 1: think his artistry is. Let's tell him right now. Lord.
• 1:05:42
  Speaker 1: We find it so hard to put into words our
• 1:05:45
  Speaker 1: praise and love of you, sacred awe has made us speechless,
• 1:05:53
  Speaker 1: but will borrow King Solomon's word from Psalm seventy two.
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 1: And the moon will stop shining before your lovers will
• 1:06:03
  Speaker 1: stop worshiping for ages upon ages that people will love
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 1: and adore you. We worship you tonight as we gaze
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 1: on your beauty and creation. May we never look away
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 1: and get distracted, because nothing and no one else is
• 1:06:21
  Speaker 1: worthy of our admiration and love like you. Who are
• 1:06:26
  Speaker 1: we that you are mindful of us? And yet you
• 1:06:30
  Speaker 1: love us? Oh Lord, you take our breath away with
• 1:06:35
  Speaker 1: your wonders. And yet we also know from Job thirty
• 1:06:40
  Speaker 1: three to four that God's spirit has fashioned us and
• 1:06:45
  Speaker 1: a breath of the Highest One in parts of life
• 1:06:48
  Speaker 1: to us. So we return to the breath that you
• 1:06:53
  Speaker 1: are giving us back to you as worship and praise
• 1:06:57
  Speaker 1: and Jesus's mighty name. Aim. You are standing here between
• 1:07:04
  Speaker 1: the sea and the sky, amazed at his glory. Yes,
• 1:07:11
  Speaker 1: these are possibly sights you've seen before, but you are
• 1:07:14
  Speaker 1: standing still before the Lord tonight, and you are beholding
• 1:07:18
  Speaker 1: the scene with brand new eyes. The eyes of your
• 1:07:22
  Speaker 1: heart are seeing it in a posture of sacred awe,
• 1:07:26
  Speaker 1: and it is causing you to see your Lord more clearly.
• 1:07:32
  Speaker 1: You feel so small between earth and sky. Way down
• 1:07:37
  Speaker 1: here we are humans, like little specks of dust on
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 1: the Earth's crust, and just like dust floating away on
• 1:07:45
  Speaker 1: the breeze, we too will pass away one day. But
• 1:07:49
  Speaker 1: the heavens have endlessly declared God's majesty since the beginning
• 1:07:55
  Speaker 1: of matter and time, and they will continue to do so.
• 1:08:01
  Speaker 1: His creation praises him day and night, night and day,
• 1:08:08
  Speaker 1: and it's a privilege to join nature tonight in glorifying him.
• 1:08:15
  Speaker 1: The Psalmists poetry and Psalm one hundred and forty eight
• 1:08:19
  Speaker 1: puts it better than any words you could compose. Praise
• 1:08:23
  Speaker 1: the Eternal, All you in the heavens, praise the Eternal.
• 1:08:28
  Speaker 1: Praise Him from the highest places, all you His messengers
• 1:08:33
  Speaker 1: and his armies in heaven. Praise him. Sun, Moon, and
• 1:08:38
  Speaker 1: all you brilliant stars above praise him, Highest heavens, and
• 1:08:43
  Speaker 1: all you waters above the heavens, praise him. Let all
• 1:08:47
  Speaker 1: things join together in a concert of praise to the
• 1:08:51
  Speaker 1: name of the Eternal. For he gave the command, and
• 1:08:54
  Speaker 1: they were created. He put them in their places to
• 1:08:57
  Speaker 1: stay forever. He declared it so, and it is final.
• 1:09:03
  Speaker 1: Everything on earth, join in and praise the Eternal. See
• 1:09:08
  Speaker 1: monsters and creatures of the deep, lightning and hail, snow
• 1:09:13
  Speaker 1: and foggy mists, violent winds, all respond to his command.
• 1:09:18
  Speaker 1: Mountains and hills, fruit trees and cedar forests. All you animals,
• 1:09:24
  Speaker 1: both wild and tame, reptiles and birds who take flight,
• 1:09:29
  Speaker 1: praise the Lord. All kings and all nations, Princes and
• 1:09:35
  Speaker 1: all judges of the earth. All people, young men and women,
• 1:09:39
  Speaker 1: old men and children alike, praise the Lord. Let them
• 1:09:45
  Speaker 1: all praise the name of the Eternal. For his name
• 1:09:49
  Speaker 1: stands alone above all others. His glory shines greater than
• 1:09:53
  Speaker 1: anything above or below. He has made his people strong.
• 1:09:59
  Speaker 1: He is the praise of all who are godly, the
• 1:10:03
  Speaker 1: praise of the children of Israel. Those whom He holds
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 1: close praise the eternal. You look out in stunned silence
• 1:10:15
  Speaker 1: as these verses take root and cause your heart to
• 1:10:18
  Speaker 1: magnify him. If you didn't praise him, maybe the silky
• 1:10:23
  Speaker 1: sand under your bare feet would cry out and praise you.
• 1:10:29
  Speaker 1: Remember in Luke's Gospel, when Jesus was being celebrated and
• 1:10:32
  Speaker 1: praised on his approach to the city of Jerusalem on
• 1:10:35
  Speaker 1: Palm Sunday, he replied to the irate Pharisees, I tell you,
• 1:10:41
  Speaker 1: if my followers don't say these things, then the stones
• 1:10:44
  Speaker 1: will cry out. God doesn't need your praises because the
• 1:10:52
  Speaker 1: whole universe is shouting them every moment. However, when you
• 1:10:57
  Speaker 1: glimpse His goodness and glory on a night such as
• 1:11:00
  Speaker 1: this night, you can't contain your sacred awe. Out of
• 1:11:07
  Speaker 1: everything admirable in this life, God alone is most worthy
• 1:11:11
  Speaker 1: of our worship. He is worthy of our constant awe
• 1:11:15
  Speaker 1: and adoration. He is worthy of our every sacrifice. He
• 1:11:21
  Speaker 1: is worthy of our attention and our every thought. He
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 1: is worthy of the time and energy it takes to
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 1: tell him just how amazing we think he is. Even
• 1:11:32
  Speaker 1: now on the sandy shore under the starlit night. Out
• 1:11:37
  Speaker 1: of your mouth topples the praises from Psalm seventy four,
• 1:11:41
  Speaker 1: fifteen and seventeen. You broke open the earth, and springs
• 1:11:48
  Speaker 1: burst forth, and streams filled the crevices. You dried up
• 1:11:52
  Speaker 1: the great rivers. The day and the night are both yours.
• 1:11:57
  Speaker 1: You fashioned the sun, moon, and all the lights that
• 1:12:02
  Speaker 1: pierce the darkness. You have arranged the earth, set all
• 1:12:07
  Speaker 1: its boundaries. You are the architect of the seasons, summer
• 1:12:12
  Speaker 1: and winter. Keep breathing, precious listener, Breathe and know that
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 1: God sees the depth of your heart, and he sees
• 1:12:23
  Speaker 1: your worship. A father is seeking true worshippers just like you,
• 1:12:28
  Speaker 1: with worship that comes from your soul. True worship does
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 1: not need to include a song. It doesn't need to
• 1:12:37
  Speaker 1: be in the midst of a congregation of believers. You
• 1:12:40
  Speaker 1: don't need to raise your arms. It doesn't need even
• 1:12:43
  Speaker 1: to be verbal or fiscal. Sometimes the truest form of
• 1:12:47
  Speaker 1: praise is when the heart is on its knees in
• 1:12:51
  Speaker 1: sacred adoration, beholding the glory of the Lord. And John four,
• 1:12:58
  Speaker 1: the Samaritan woman of the Well, whose heart longed for
• 1:13:01
  Speaker 1: freedom to worship God, questioned Jesus on the nature of
• 1:13:05
  Speaker 1: true worship. Why did it have to be exclusively for
• 1:13:09
  Speaker 1: the selec few chosen ones. Jesus, who wants all of
• 1:13:13
  Speaker 1: us to have the freedom to adore Him at any time,
• 1:13:15
  Speaker 1: in any place on earth, replied affectionately to her. Believe me,
• 1:13:21
  Speaker 1: dear woman, the time is coming when it will no
• 1:13:24
  Speaker 1: longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain
• 1:13:27
  Speaker 1: or in Jerusalem. But the time is coming. Indeed, it's
• 1:13:33
  Speaker 1: here now when the true worshippers will worship the Father
• 1:13:37
  Speaker 1: in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for
• 1:13:40
  Speaker 1: those who will worship him that way, for God is spirit,
• 1:13:45
  Speaker 1: and so those who worship him must worship in spirit
• 1:13:49
  Speaker 1: and in truth. Our Father sees our hearts, and he
• 1:13:54
  Speaker 1: sees the truth of our praise. He sees the sacred
• 1:13:58
  Speaker 1: all and the quietness of your heart through your day.
• 1:14:01
  Speaker 1: As you turn your eyes to him, moment by moment,
• 1:14:04
  Speaker 1: his Holy Spirit enables you to fix your gaze on
• 1:14:07
  Speaker 1: him when there are many distractions vying for your attention. Now,
• 1:14:15
  Speaker 1: dear one, I invite you to bring your awareness back
• 1:14:19
  Speaker 1: here and now to this shoreline, under the pale moon,
• 1:14:26
  Speaker 1: with the silken sky kissed by the glistening stars and
• 1:14:29
  Speaker 1: the canopy above. Breathe your praises to the Father, the
• 1:14:33
  Speaker 1: perfect Father for every child in heaven and on earth.
• 1:14:39
  Speaker 1: Dear Almighty God, thank you for filling our hearts with
• 1:14:43
  Speaker 1: true worship and sacred awe tonight. But to be still
• 1:14:48
  Speaker 1: in your presence is sufficient for genuine adoration to stir
• 1:14:52
  Speaker 1: in our hearts. May our worship never cease. May our
• 1:14:57
  Speaker 1: hearts be fixed on you even as we sleep. You
• 1:15:01
  Speaker 1: are worthy, so worthy we glorify you and irreverential awe
• 1:15:07
  Speaker 1: and wonder. Thank you for your love for rest that
• 1:15:11
  Speaker 1: defines our comprehension. Thank you for revealing it just a
• 1:15:15
  Speaker 1: bit more to us tonight. Thank you for causing your
• 1:15:19
  Speaker 1: glory to pass by us. May your spirit go with
• 1:15:23
  Speaker 1: us every day in the precious names of Jesus. Amen,
• 1:15:30
  Speaker 1: Let's listen again to this sleep story and feel sacred
• 1:15:34
  Speaker 1: all bubble up in your heart. Let's listen again to
• 1:15:39
  Speaker 1: this sleep story and feel sacred all bubble up in
• 1:15:43
  Speaker 1: your heart. Continue to breathe gently and deeply, precious one,
• 1:15:52
  Speaker 1: and come with me, Take my hand, and let's come
• 1:15:56
  Speaker 1: outside onto the porch. What about the stars out here
• 1:16:04
  Speaker 1: on this remote beach. There are no other lights competing
• 1:16:08
  Speaker 1: with our vision of the sky. We can see the
• 1:16:12
  Speaker 1: vastness of space above us with clarity. Ah, it's a
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 1: perfect starlight night. You could gaze at this sight for
• 1:16:23
  Speaker 1: hours without getting tired of it. It's better than the
• 1:16:28
  Speaker 1: most wonderful painting. It's almost like moving artwork. It's like
• 1:16:34
  Speaker 1: a jet black silk sheet encrusted with silver and gold,
• 1:16:39
  Speaker 1: flecks and diamonds and sapphires and toepauses that move and
• 1:16:45
  Speaker 1: glimmer as they catch the light. The song of King
• 1:16:51
  Speaker 1: David and Psalm nineteen erupts from your heart. The heavens
• 1:16:57
  Speaker 1: declare the glory of the Lord, and the sky above
• 1:17:01
  Speaker 1: proclaims his handiwork. Another translation for the song goes on
• 1:17:09
  Speaker 1: the celestial realms announce God's glory. The skies testify of
• 1:17:15
  Speaker 1: his hands great work. Each day pours out more of
• 1:17:19
  Speaker 1: their sayings each night, more to hear and more to learn.
• 1:17:26
  Speaker 1: Inaudible words are their manner of speech, and silence their
• 1:17:32
  Speaker 1: means to convey. Yet from here to the ends of
• 1:17:36
  Speaker 1: the earth, their voices have gone out. The whole world
• 1:17:41
  Speaker 1: can hear what they say? God stretched out in these
• 1:17:46
  Speaker 1: heavens a tent for the sun. Just as the Psalm said,
• 1:17:53
  Speaker 1: the skies tell loudly but silently of the Lord's greatness.
• 1:17:58
  Speaker 1: And your heart feels that you are silent, but your
• 1:18:03
  Speaker 1: praise is loud in your heart. The wonder of it
• 1:18:06
  Speaker 1: all holds you captive. Ah. There, just now you see
• 1:18:15
  Speaker 1: one of those diamond like stars shooting across the black
• 1:18:19
  Speaker 1: satin blanket, shooting into a black hole going who knows where, well, going,
• 1:18:27
  Speaker 1: God knows where. It's amazing to think that that tiny
• 1:18:34
  Speaker 1: little shooting star that barely flashed across the sky was
• 1:18:39
  Speaker 1: actually a huge burning meteor hurtling through space with a
• 1:18:43
  Speaker 1: massive tail of fire. And you would have missed it
• 1:18:48
  Speaker 1: if you'd blink. Wow. God's grandeur fills you with a
• 1:18:54
  Speaker 1: sacred awe. Psalm thirty three verse says, let all the
• 1:19:02
  Speaker 1: earth fear the Lord, Let all the inhabitants of the
• 1:19:05
  Speaker 1: world stand in awe of Him, And the voice translation
• 1:19:11
  Speaker 1: puts it like this, Let all people stand in awe
• 1:19:15
  Speaker 1: of the Eternal. Let every man, woman, and child live
• 1:19:20
  Speaker 1: in wonder of Him. One definition of awe is a
• 1:19:27
  Speaker 1: strong feeling of respect or amazement brought on by something
• 1:19:31
  Speaker 1: that is beautiful or sacred. It's a mixed feeling of reverence, fear,
• 1:19:37
  Speaker 1: and wonder caused by something majestic, sublime, sacred, et cetera.
• 1:19:46
  Speaker 1: Doesn't that describe our God? Majestic, sublime, sacred, even fearsomely wonderful.
• 1:19:57
  Speaker 1: To fear the Lord in the way his word instruct
• 1:20:00
  Speaker 1: us to, we must come with reverence and awe in
• 1:20:03
  Speaker 1: our hearts. There is nothing trivial or commonplace about our
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 1: Crator and Lord. Psalm seventy two to five reads, May
• 1:20:15
  Speaker 1: the people fear You for as long as the sun shines,
• 1:20:20
  Speaker 1: as long as the moon rises in the night sky.
• 1:20:23
  Speaker 1: Throughout the generations, the Psalmists have much to say on
• 1:20:29
  Speaker 1: this theme of awe and fear of the Lord. This
• 1:20:34
  Speaker 1: tells us that it's closely knit with a worshipful heart.
• 1:20:40
  Speaker 1: Psalm one hundred and one, verse ten tells us the
• 1:20:44
  Speaker 1: fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All
• 1:20:48
  Speaker 1: those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise
• 1:20:53
  Speaker 1: endures forever. Or it can also be translated this way,
• 1:21:00
  Speaker 1: for the eternal is the first step toward wisdom. All
• 1:21:04
  Speaker 1: those who worship him have a good understanding. His praise
• 1:21:09
  Speaker 1: will echo through eternity. Lord God Almighty, we worship you
• 1:21:18
  Speaker 1: and kneel our hearts in reverential awe before you. We
• 1:21:22
  Speaker 1: declare that you are other than You are so far
• 1:21:27
  Speaker 1: above our understanding that we cannot fathom your ways. We
• 1:21:32
  Speaker 1: can only marvel and wonder at you. You contain so
• 1:21:38
  Speaker 1: many mysteries that we will be discovering for all eternity,
• 1:21:42
  Speaker 1: and out of everything, most mysterious and unfathomable is your
• 1:21:48
  Speaker 1: wild love for us, and will take all of our
• 1:21:52
  Speaker 1: eternal life and glory to even scratch the surface of it.
• 1:21:57
  Speaker 1: The vastness of space cannot compare to the magnitude of
• 1:22:01
  Speaker 1: your love. Still, we ask you to show us as
• 1:22:05
  Speaker 1: much as we can handle of your love, even if
• 1:22:10
  Speaker 1: you have to hide us in the cleft of a rock,
• 1:22:13
  Speaker 1: as you did with Moses, and cover our face while
• 1:22:17
  Speaker 1: your goodness passes by pass us by Tonight with your goodness,
• 1:22:23
  Speaker 1: wonderful Lord God, we echo Moses's prayer and say, show
• 1:22:29
  Speaker 1: us your glory, Lord, show us your glory tonight. We
• 1:22:34
  Speaker 1: long to see you in Jesus' name. Amen. Paul describes
• 1:22:43
  Speaker 1: a similar sentiment in Second Corinthians three eight, as he writes,
• 1:22:48
  Speaker 1: now all of us, with our faces unveiled reflect the
• 1:22:52
  Speaker 1: glory of the Lord, as if we are mirrors, and
• 1:22:56
  Speaker 1: so we are being transformed, metamorphised into his same image,
• 1:23:01
  Speaker 1: from one radiance of glory to another, just as the
• 1:23:05
  Speaker 1: spirit of the Lord accomplishes it. As we look on God,
• 1:23:12
  Speaker 1: like Moses did, we will glow with his radiance. Our
• 1:23:17
  Speaker 1: hearts will be filled with his light, and we will
• 1:23:20
  Speaker 1: effortlessly beam his love to the dark world around us,
• 1:23:24
  Speaker 1: just like Moses and the children of Israel had to
• 1:23:28
  Speaker 1: cover him with a veil because they could not behold
• 1:23:31
  Speaker 1: his face. Looking at God's creation often helps us see
• 1:23:39
  Speaker 1: more of who He is. Nothing between us, and sometimes
• 1:23:45
  Speaker 1: we need to get away, also like Moses did when
• 1:23:49
  Speaker 1: he went up on a mountain to seek God. Tonight,
• 1:23:54
  Speaker 1: we are at the ocean seeking his face. Let's step
• 1:24:01
  Speaker 1: off the verandah and walk down to the shoreline of
• 1:24:05
  Speaker 1: this paradise beach. The water glistens and sparkles under the
• 1:24:13
  Speaker 1: crescent Moon's pale yellow lamplight. There is peaceful silence, a
• 1:24:19
  Speaker 1: sacred hush, except for the gentle sounds of the ebbing
• 1:24:23
  Speaker 1: waves of the sand, and some far distant sequlls that
• 1:24:27
  Speaker 1: haven't curled up to sleep in their nests just yet,
• 1:24:33
  Speaker 1: David's worshipful lyrics and Psalm one hundred and four bubble
• 1:24:37
  Speaker 1: up in your soul. Of course, the sea is vast
• 1:24:41
  Speaker 1: and stretches like the heavens beyond the view, and numberless
• 1:24:45
  Speaker 1: creatures inhabit her, from the tiny to the grate. They
• 1:24:50
  Speaker 1: swarm beneath her waves. From the tiny to the grate,
• 1:24:57
  Speaker 1: God has handcrafted each and n every living thing. This
• 1:25:03
  Speaker 1: boundless and measureless sea, stretching out in front of you,
• 1:25:07
  Speaker 1: far beyond what any eye could see, holds you speechless.
• 1:25:12
  Speaker 1: This is sacred offe. Psalm one hundred and thirty nine
• 1:25:18
  Speaker 1: comes to your mind as you look out on the ocean.
• 1:25:21
  Speaker 1: Expanse if I ride on the wings of morning, if
• 1:25:26
  Speaker 1: I make my home in the most isolated part of
• 1:25:28
  Speaker 1: the ocean, even then you will be there to guide me.
• 1:25:34
  Speaker 1: Your right hand will embrace me, for you are always
• 1:25:38
  Speaker 1: there that inspires awe in your heart. Even out in
• 1:25:45
  Speaker 1: the farthest and most isolated parts of the ocean, where
• 1:25:49
  Speaker 1: no man has set sail, God is there. And even
• 1:25:54
  Speaker 1: in the most isolated seasons of your life, when you
• 1:25:57
  Speaker 1: have felt furthest from God and his people, still he
• 1:26:01
  Speaker 1: has been with you in. His hand has guided you.
• 1:26:05
  Speaker 1: His hand has guided you back to him, back to
• 1:26:09
  Speaker 1: his love, back to his embrace, back to his care
• 1:26:14
  Speaker 1: as your father. You can run away, but you are
• 1:26:20
  Speaker 1: never outside his grace, not ever. Breathe that in. There
• 1:26:26
  Speaker 1: is no other love like that, vast, magnificent, unfathomable. Keep
• 1:26:33
  Speaker 1: breathing as you meditate on that. Hmm. You are breathing
• 1:26:41
  Speaker 1: in such pure oxygen. The sea air is so clear.
• 1:26:47
  Speaker 1: The scent of salty air is fragrant to your nose.
• 1:26:53
  Speaker 1: The blue black sky is cloudless. The fragrant air is
• 1:26:57
  Speaker 1: crisp and fresh. There's a cooling breeze that brushes your cheeks.
• 1:27:04
  Speaker 1: You inhale deeply. The grandeur of God is on full display.
• 1:27:13
  Speaker 1: He created all this. Words from the prophet Amos describe
• 1:27:19
  Speaker 1: this sight so well. Who builds his upper chambers in
• 1:27:23
  Speaker 1: the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth. Who
• 1:27:27
  Speaker 1: calls for the waters of the sea and pours them
• 1:27:30
  Speaker 1: out upon the surface of the earth. The Lord is
• 1:27:34
  Speaker 1: his name. Who else but the Lord could do this?
• 1:27:41
  Speaker 1: Also Habakuk two fourteen comes to mind, for as the
• 1:27:45
  Speaker 1: waters cover the sea, the whole earth will be filled
• 1:27:49
  Speaker 1: with the knowledge that the eternal is glorious and powerful.
• 1:27:56
  Speaker 1: He is indeed both glorious and powerful. How often do
• 1:28:00
  Speaker 1: you gaze reverently up at the cosmos on a starry
• 1:28:05
  Speaker 1: night and pause to tell God just how marvelous you
• 1:28:09
  Speaker 1: think his artistry is. Let's tell him right now. Dear
• 1:28:16
  Speaker 1: Almighty God, thank you for filling our hearts with true
• 1:28:20
  Speaker 1: worship and sacred awe tonight. But to be still in
• 1:28:24
  Speaker 1: your presence is sufficient for genuine adoration to stir in
• 1:28:29
  Speaker 1: our hearts. May our worship never cease. May our hearts
• 1:28:34
  Speaker 1: be fixed on you even as we sleep. You are worthy,
• 1:28:39
  Speaker 1: so worthy we glorify you in irreverential awe and wonder.
• 1:28:46
  Speaker 1: Thank you for your love for us that defines our comprehension.
• 1:28:51
  Speaker 1: Thank you for revealing it just a bit more to
• 1:28:53
  Speaker 1: us tonight. Thank you for causing your glory to pass
• 1:28:58
  Speaker 1: by us. Bear it go with us every day in
• 1:29:02
  Speaker 1: the precious names of Jesus. Amen, listen as I read
• 1:29:09
  Speaker 1: this benediction over you from number six. The Lord blesses
• 1:29:14
  Speaker 1: you and keep you. The Lord make his face to
• 1:29:18
  Speaker 1: shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord
• 1:29:21
  Speaker 1: lift up the light of his countenance upon you and
• 1:29:24
  Speaker 1: give you peace. Tonight we will be meditating on the
• 1:29:34
  Speaker 1: wonder and majesty of the Lord God Almighty, as he
• 1:29:39
  Speaker 1: expressed himself on the earth. We will be hearing scriptures
• 1:29:44
  Speaker 1: of his majesty to inspire us, and will be looking
• 1:29:48
  Speaker 1: at elements of his creation in the vast illuminations of
• 1:29:52
  Speaker 1: light in the celestial bodies above us, to the expansive
• 1:29:56
  Speaker 1: ocean stretching out beyond us. The Bible verse that this
• 1:30:03
  Speaker 1: story is based on tonight is First Chronicles twenty nine
• 1:30:07
  Speaker 1: to eleven, which reads, Yours Lord is the greatness and
• 1:30:14
  Speaker 1: the power, and the glory, and the majesty and the splendor,
• 1:30:19
  Speaker 1: for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours Lord
• 1:30:26
  Speaker 1: is the Kingdom. You are exalted as head overall. Amen
• 1:30:33
  Speaker 1: and Amen. None of what you see around us just
• 1:30:39
  Speaker 1: happened and appeared at a thin air. It was meticulously
• 1:30:44
  Speaker 1: crafted and ordered by our extraordinary creator, God, the One
• 1:30:49
  Speaker 1: and only Lord Almighty. Observing and meditating on this earth
• 1:30:57
  Speaker 1: and all that is in it will inspire awe in
• 1:31:00
  Speaker 1: our hearts tonight. Sacred awe, sacred wonderment, worship and praise
• 1:31:09
  Speaker 1: will bubble up from our hearts with no striving necessary tonight,
• 1:31:17
  Speaker 1: as we uncover God's goodness and grandeur, we'll discover that
• 1:31:22
  Speaker 1: obedient worship, which is a vital part of the Christian walk,
• 1:31:26
  Speaker 1: is not necessary. Organic worship is preferable to God. In
• 1:31:32
  Speaker 1: obedient worship, the key is to take our eyes off
• 1:31:36
  Speaker 1: the lesser and raise our gaze to the Greater. We
• 1:31:43
  Speaker 1: will be experiencing His greatness and glory tonight through the
• 1:31:47
  Speaker 1: eyes of our heart as we gaze upon His majesty
• 1:31:50
  Speaker 1: in awe and wonder. Let me lead you in a
• 1:31:57
  Speaker 1: time to get our bodies and minds prepared for deep sleep.
• 1:32:04
  Speaker 1: Make whatever adjustments you need in order to get into
• 1:32:08
  Speaker 1: the maximum degree of comfort. As you begin to fall asleep,
• 1:32:16
  Speaker 1: breathe deeply and slowly into your stomach, in and out,
• 1:32:26
  Speaker 1: in and out. This might be the first time today
• 1:32:32
  Speaker 1: that you've taken several slow, deep, full breaths into your lungs.
• 1:32:41
  Speaker 1: As you continue to breathe, let your lungs expel any
• 1:32:45
  Speaker 1: stagnant air from the day. Let all worries and anxious
• 1:32:50
  Speaker 1: thoughts come to peace. You may have had a very
• 1:32:56
  Speaker 1: productive day, or you may feel you still have things
• 1:33:00
  Speaker 1: left to do. Take comfort that you did the very
• 1:33:04
  Speaker 1: best you could, and God's grace is more than sufficient
• 1:33:08
  Speaker 1: to help you tomorrow. It is what it is, and
• 1:33:13
  Speaker 1: God is no less proud of you. You are fervently
• 1:33:21
  Speaker 1: loved by him. He is telling you that now is
• 1:33:25
  Speaker 1: the time that you can rest. Just be, be still
• 1:33:31
  Speaker 1: in his presence. Bring your awareness to your body and
• 1:33:38
  Speaker 1: release any areas of tension and strain, starting with your toes.
• 1:33:45
  Speaker 1: Let your feet and legs hang limp and loose. Release
• 1:33:52
  Speaker 1: any tightness in your calves and thighs. Keep breathing and
• 1:33:58
  Speaker 1: feel yourself, letting go of anything you're holding on too.
• 1:34:05
  Speaker 1: Relax your hips and stomach muscles, and your back and
• 1:34:14
  Speaker 1: shoulders inhale and exhale. Finally, as you come up, loosen
• 1:34:27
  Speaker 1: your cheeks and jaw, your brows and forehead Softly close
• 1:34:35
  Speaker 1: your eyes. They have been focusing all day, and now
• 1:34:41
  Speaker 1: they can fully rest and relax. Breathe as you surrender
• 1:34:47
  Speaker 1: all your cares to the Lord. Cast all your cares,
• 1:34:54
  Speaker 1: all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns
• 1:34:59
  Speaker 1: whi and for all on Him, for he cares about
• 1:35:04
  Speaker 1: you with deepest affection and watches over you very carefully.
• 1:35:13
  Speaker 1: You are held in his warm embrace and strong care
• 1:35:17
  Speaker 1: and control. Knowing this, you may come to stillness join
• 1:35:27
  Speaker 1: me in prayer. Most Loving Father God, we lift our
• 1:35:33
  Speaker 1: eyes to you tonight. You are the one and only
• 1:35:38
  Speaker 1: living God, the creator of the vast cosmos. You hold
• 1:35:46
  Speaker 1: the ever expanding universe with its millions of galaxies in
• 1:35:50
  Speaker 1: the palm of your hand. You are unfathomably great and majestic,
• 1:35:58
  Speaker 1: and yet we get to call you Papa. Your loving
• 1:36:03
  Speaker 1: tenderness knows no bounds. We worship you for such perfect love.
• 1:36:11
  Speaker 1: You accept us in our sinful state and make us righteous.
• 1:36:17
  Speaker 1: When we meditate on your gift of eternal life, we
• 1:36:21
  Speaker 1: cannot help but burst with joy and wonderment. Would you
• 1:36:27
  Speaker 1: guide our hearts tonight as we seek to know you better.
• 1:36:32
  Speaker 1: Let us meditate on your works and sacred awe, and
• 1:36:36
  Speaker 1: may our thoughts draw us closer and closer to you.
• 1:36:42
  Speaker 1: May it inspire organic worship and childlike trust. Your ways
• 1:36:48
  Speaker 1: are above our ways, and we trust you in all
• 1:36:53
  Speaker 1: your mysterious ways. We love you and trust you and
• 1:36:59
  Speaker 1: the power powerful name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen,
• 1:37:07
  Speaker 1: continue to breathe gently and deeply, Precious One, and come
• 1:37:13
  Speaker 1: with me, Take my hand and let's come outside onto
• 1:37:18
  Speaker 1: the porch look up at the stars. Out here on
• 1:37:25
  Speaker 1: this remote beach. There are no other lights competing with
• 1:37:29
  Speaker 1: our vision of the sky. We can see the vastness
• 1:37:33
  Speaker 1: of space above us with clarity. Ah, it's a perfect
• 1:37:39
  Speaker 1: starlight night. You could gaze at this sight for hours
• 1:37:44
  Speaker 1: without getting tired of it. It's better than the most
• 1:37:49
  Speaker 1: wonderful painting. It's almost like moving artwork. It's like a
• 1:37:55
  Speaker 1: jet black silk sheet encrusted with silver and gold and
• 1:38:01
  Speaker 1: diamonds and sapphires and topauses that move and glimmer as
• 1:38:06
  Speaker 1: they catch the light. The song of King David and
• 1:38:12
  Speaker 1: Psalm nineteen erupts from your heart. The heavens declare the
• 1:38:18
  Speaker 1: glory of the Lord, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
• 1:38:24
  Speaker 1: Another translation for the song goes on the celestial realms
• 1:38:31
  Speaker 1: announce God's glory. The skies testify of his hands great work.
• 1:38:38
  Speaker 1: Each day pours out more of their sayings each night,
• 1:38:43
  Speaker 1: more to hear and more to learn. Inaudible words are
• 1:38:48
  Speaker 1: their manner of speech, and silence their means to convey.
• 1:38:55
  Speaker 1: Yet from here to the ends of the earth, their
• 1:38:58
  Speaker 1: voices have gone out. The whole world can hear what
• 1:39:02
  Speaker 1: they say. God stretched out in these heavens a tent
• 1:39:07
  Speaker 1: for the sun, just as a psalm said. The skies
• 1:39:14
  Speaker 1: tell loudly but silently of the Lord's greatness, and your
• 1:39:19
  Speaker 1: heart feels this. You are silent, but your praise is
• 1:39:24
  Speaker 1: loud in your heart. The wonder of it all holds
• 1:39:28
  Speaker 1: you captive. Ah. There, just now you see one of
• 1:39:36
  Speaker 1: those diamond like stars shooting across the black satin blanket,
• 1:39:41
  Speaker 1: shooting into a black hole going who knows where, well, going,
• 1:39:48
  Speaker 1: God knows where. It's amazing to think that that tiny
• 1:39:54
  Speaker 1: little shooting star that barely flashed across the sky was
• 1:39:59
  Speaker 1: actually a huge burning meteor hurtling through space with a
• 1:40:04
  Speaker 1: massive tail of fire, and you would have missed it
• 1:40:08
  Speaker 1: if you'd blink. Wow. God's grandeur fills you with a
• 1:40:15
  Speaker 1: sacred awe. Psalm thirty three, verse eight says, let all
• 1:40:22
  Speaker 1: the earth fear the Lord, Let all the inhabitants of
• 1:40:25
  Speaker 1: the world stand in awe of Him, And the voice
• 1:40:30
  Speaker 1: translation puts it like this, Let all people stand in
• 1:40:35
  Speaker 1: awe of the Eternal. Let every man, woman and child
• 1:40:40
  Speaker 1: live in wonder of Him. One definition of awe is
• 1:40:47
  Speaker 1: a strong feeling of respect or amazement brought on by
• 1:40:51
  Speaker 1: something that is beautiful or sacred. It's a mixed feeling
• 1:40:56
  Speaker 1: of reverence, fear, and wonder caused by something majestic, sublime, sacred,
• 1:41:04
  Speaker 1: et cetera. Doesn't that describe our God? Majestic, sublime, sacred,
• 1:41:13
  Speaker 1: even fearsomely wonderful? To fear the Lord in the way
• 1:41:19
  Speaker 1: his word instructs us to, we must come with reverence
• 1:41:23
  Speaker 1: and awe in our hearts. There is nothing trivial or
• 1:41:27
  Speaker 1: commonplace about our creator and Lord. Psalm seventy two to
• 1:41:34
  Speaker 1: five reads, May the people fear You for as long
• 1:41:38
  Speaker 1: as the sun shines, as long as the moon rises
• 1:41:42
  Speaker 1: in the night sky. Throughout the generations, the Psalmists have
• 1:41:49
  Speaker 1: much to say on this theme of awe and fear
• 1:41:52
  Speaker 1: of the Lord. This tells us that it's closely knit
• 1:41:56
  Speaker 1: with a worshipful heart. Psalm one hundred and one, verse
• 1:42:02
  Speaker 1: ten tells us the fear of the Lord is the
• 1:42:06
  Speaker 1: beginning of wisdom. All those who practice it have a
• 1:42:10
  Speaker 1: good understanding His praise endures forever. Or it can also
• 1:42:17
  Speaker 1: be translated this way, reverence for the eternal is the
• 1:42:21
  Speaker 1: first step toward wisdom. All those who worship him have
• 1:42:26
  Speaker 1: a good understanding, his praise will echo through eternity. Lord
• 1:42:34
  Speaker 1: God Almighty, we worship you and kneel our hearts in
• 1:42:40
  Speaker 1: reverential awe before you. We declare that you are other
• 1:42:45
  Speaker 1: than You are so far above our understanding that we
• 1:42:49
  Speaker 1: cannot fathom your ways. We can only marvel and wonder
• 1:42:55
  Speaker 1: at you. You contain so many mysteries that will be
• 1:43:00
  Speaker 1: discovering for all eternity, and out of everything, most mysterious
• 1:43:06
  Speaker 1: and unfathomable is your wild love for us. It will
• 1:43:11
  Speaker 1: take all of our eternal life and glory to even
• 1:43:14
  Speaker 1: scratch the surface of it. The vastness of space cannot
• 1:43:19
  Speaker 1: compare to the magnitude of your love. Still, we ask
• 1:43:25
  Speaker 1: you to show us as much as we can handle
• 1:43:27
  Speaker 1: of your love, even if you have to hide us
• 1:43:31
  Speaker 1: in the cleft of a rock, as you did with Moses,
• 1:43:35
  Speaker 1: and cover our face while your goodness passes by pass
• 1:43:41
  Speaker 1: us by. Tonight with your goodness, wonderful Lord God, we
• 1:43:46
  Speaker 1: echo Moses's prayer and say, show us your glory, Lord,
• 1:43:51
  Speaker 1: show us your glory tonight. We long to see you
• 1:43:57
  Speaker 1: in Jesus' name. Amen Paul describes a similar sentiment in
• 1:44:05
  Speaker 1: Second Corinthians three eight, as he writes, now all of us,
• 1:44:10
  Speaker 1: with our faces unveiled, reflect the glory of the Lord,
• 1:44:14
  Speaker 1: as if we are mirrors, and so we are being transformed,
• 1:44:19
  Speaker 1: metamorphised into His same image, from one radiance of glory
• 1:44:23
  Speaker 1: to another, just as the spirit of the Lord accomplishes it.
• 1:44:31
  Speaker 1: As we look on God, like Moses did, we will
• 1:44:35
  Speaker 1: glow with his radiance. Our hearts will be filled with
• 1:44:39
  Speaker 1: his light, and we will effortlessly beam his love to
• 1:44:42
  Speaker 1: the dark world around us, just like Moses and the
• 1:44:46
  Speaker 1: children of Israel had to cover him with a veil
• 1:44:50
  Speaker 1: because they could not behold his face. Looking at God's
• 1:44:56
  Speaker 1: creation often helps us see more of who He is.
• 1:45:02
  Speaker 1: Nothing between us, and sometimes we need to get away.
• 1:45:07
  Speaker 1: Also like Moses did when he went up on a
• 1:45:10
  Speaker 1: mountain to seek God. Tonight, we are at the ocean
• 1:45:16
  Speaker 1: seeking his face. So come, let's step off the verandah
• 1:45:24
  Speaker 1: and walk down to the shoreline of this paradise beach.
• 1:45:30
  Speaker 1: The water glistens and sparkles under the crescent moon's pale
• 1:45:35
  Speaker 1: yellow lamplight. There is peaceful silence, a sacred hush, except
• 1:45:42
  Speaker 1: for the gentle sounds of the ebbing waves of the sand,
• 1:45:45
  Speaker 1: and some far distant seagulls that haven't curled up to
• 1:45:49
  Speaker 1: sleep in their nests just yet. David's worshipful lyrics and
• 1:45:55
  Speaker 1: Psalm one hundred and four bubble up in your soul.
• 1:45:59
  Speaker 1: Of course, the sea is vast and stretches like the
• 1:46:03
  Speaker 1: heavens beyond the view, and numberless creatures inhabit her, from
• 1:46:08
  Speaker 1: the tiny to the grate, they swarm beneath her waves.
• 1:46:15
  Speaker 1: From the tiny to the grate, God has handcrafted each
• 1:46:20
  Speaker 1: in every living thing. This boundless and measureless sea, stretching
• 1:46:26
  Speaker 1: out in front of you, far beyond what any eye
• 1:46:29
  Speaker 1: could see, holds you speechless. This is sacred off Psalm
• 1:46:37
  Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty nine comes to your mind as
• 1:46:40
  Speaker 1: you look out on the ocean. Expanse. If I ride
• 1:46:44
  Speaker 1: on the wings of morning, if I make my home
• 1:46:47
  Speaker 1: in the most isolated part of the ocean, even then
• 1:46:52
  Speaker 1: you will be there to guide me. Your right hand
• 1:46:55
  Speaker 1: will embrace me, for you are always there that inspires
• 1:47:02
  Speaker 1: awe in your heart. Even out in the farthest and
• 1:47:06
  Speaker 1: most isolated parts of the ocean, where no man has
• 1:47:10
  Speaker 1: set sail, God is there. And even in the most
• 1:47:15
  Speaker 1: isolated seasons of your life, when you have felt furthest
• 1:47:19
  Speaker 1: from God and his people. Still he has been with
• 1:47:22
  Speaker 1: you in his hand, has guided you. His hand has
• 1:47:27
  Speaker 1: guided you back to Him, back to his love, back
• 1:47:31
  Speaker 1: to his embrace, back to his care as your father.
• 1:47:38
  Speaker 1: You can run away, but you are never outside his grace,
• 1:47:43
  Speaker 1: not ever. Breathe that in There is no other love
• 1:47:48
  Speaker 1: like that, vast, magnificent, unfathomable. Keep breathing as you meditate
• 1:47:56
  Speaker 1: on that. You are breathing in such pure oxygen. The
• 1:48:05
  Speaker 1: sea air is so clear. The scent of salty air
• 1:48:09
  Speaker 1: is fragrant to your nose. The blue black sky is cloudless.
• 1:48:17
  Speaker 1: The fragrant air is crisp and fresh. There's a cooling
• 1:48:21
  Speaker 1: breeze that brushes your cheeks. You inhale deeply. The grandeur
• 1:48:29
  Speaker 1: of God is on full display. He created all this.
• 1:48:37
  Speaker 1: Words from the prophet Amos describe this sight so well.
• 1:48:42
  Speaker 1: Who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds
• 1:48:45
  Speaker 1: his vault upon the earth. Who calls for the waters
• 1:48:49
  Speaker 1: of the sea and pours them out upon the surface
• 1:48:52
  Speaker 1: of the earth. The Lord is his name. Who else
• 1:48:59
  Speaker 1: but the Lord could do this? Also Habakuk two fourteen
• 1:49:03
  Speaker 1: comes to mind, for as the waters cover the sea,
• 1:49:08
  Speaker 1: the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge that
• 1:49:11
  Speaker 1: the eternal is glorious and powerful. He is indeed both
• 1:49:17
  Speaker 1: glorious and powerful. How often do you gaze reverently up
• 1:49:23
  Speaker 1: at the cosmos on a starry night and pause to
• 1:49:27
  Speaker 1: tell God just how marvelous you think his artistry is.
• 1:49:33
  Speaker 1: Let's tell him right now. Lord, We find it so
• 1:49:38
  Speaker 1: hard to put into words. Our praise and love of You,
• 1:49:43
  Speaker 1: sacred all has made us speechless, but will borrow King
• 1:49:49
  Speaker 1: Solomon's word from Psalm seventy two. The sun and the
• 1:49:56
  Speaker 1: moon will stop shining before your lovers will stop worshiping
• 1:50:00
  Speaker 1: for ages upon ages that people will love and adore you.
• 1:50:06
  Speaker 1: We worship you tonight as we gaze on your beauty
• 1:50:09
  Speaker 1: and creation. May we never look away and get distracted,
• 1:50:15
  Speaker 1: because nothing and no one else is worthy of our
• 1:50:18
  Speaker 1: admiration and love like you. Who are we that you
• 1:50:23
  Speaker 1: are mindful of us? And yet you love us? Oh Lord,
• 1:50:29
  Speaker 1: you take our breath away with your wonders. And yet
• 1:50:35
  Speaker 1: we also know from Job thirty three to four that
• 1:50:38
  Speaker 1: God's spirit has fashioned us and a breath of the
• 1:50:42
  Speaker 1: Highest One in parts of life to us, so we
• 1:50:49
  Speaker 1: return to the breath that you are giving us back
• 1:50:52
  Speaker 1: to you as worship and praise in Jesus's mighty name. Amen,
• 1:51:00
  Speaker 1: you are standing here between the sea and the sky,
• 1:51:04
  Speaker 1: amazed at his glory. Yes, these are possibly sights you've
• 1:51:10
  Speaker 1: seen before, but you are standing still before the Lord
• 1:51:14
  Speaker 1: to night, and you are beholding the scene with bran
• 1:51:17
  Speaker 1: new eyes. The eyes of your heart are seeing it
• 1:51:21
  Speaker 1: in a posture of sacred awe, and it is causing
• 1:51:25
  Speaker 1: you to see your Lord more clearly. You feel so
• 1:51:32
  Speaker 1: small between earth and sky, wagh down here we are humans,
• 1:51:38
  Speaker 1: like little specks of dust on the Earth's crust, and
• 1:51:42
  Speaker 1: just like dust floating away on the breeze, we too
• 1:51:45
  Speaker 1: will pass away one day. But the heavens have endlessly
• 1:51:50
  Speaker 1: declared God's majesty since the beginning of matter and time,
• 1:51:55
  Speaker 1: and they will continue to do so. His creation praises
• 1:52:02
  Speaker 1: him day and night, night and day, and it's a
• 1:52:08
  Speaker 1: privilege to join nature tonight in glorifying him. The Psalmists
• 1:52:16
  Speaker 1: poetry and Psalm one hundred and forty eight puts it
• 1:52:19
  Speaker 1: better than any words you could compose. Praise the Eternal,
• 1:52:24
  Speaker 1: all you and the heavens praise the Eternal. Praise him
• 1:52:29
  Speaker 1: from the highest places. All you his messengers and his
• 1:52:34
  Speaker 1: armies in heaven, praise him. Sun, Moon, and all you
• 1:52:38
  Speaker 1: brilliant stars above praise him, highest heavens, and all you
• 1:52:44
  Speaker 1: waters above the heavens, praise him. Let all things join
• 1:52:49
  Speaker 1: together in a concert of praise to the name of
• 1:52:52
  Speaker 1: the Eternal. For he gave the command, and they were created.
• 1:52:56
  Speaker 1: He'd put them in their places to stay forever. Be
• 1:53:00
  Speaker 1: clared it so, and it is final. Everything on earth,
• 1:53:06
  Speaker 1: join in and praise the Eternal. See monsters and creatures
• 1:53:11
  Speaker 1: of the deep, Lightning and hail, snow and foggy mists,
• 1:53:16
  Speaker 1: violent winds, all respond to his command. Mountains and hills,
• 1:53:22
  Speaker 1: fruit trees and cedar forests. All you animals, both wild
• 1:53:27
  Speaker 1: and tame, reptiles and birds who take flight, praise the Lord.
• 1:53:33
  Speaker 1: All kings and all nations, Princes and all judges of
• 1:53:37
  Speaker 1: the earth. All people, young men and women, old men
• 1:53:42
  Speaker 1: and children alike, praise the Lord. Let them all praise
• 1:53:48
  Speaker 1: the name of the Eternal. For his name stands alone
• 1:53:52
  Speaker 1: above all others. His glory shines greater than anything above
• 1:53:57
  Speaker 1: or below. He has made his people strong. He is
• 1:54:03
  Speaker 1: the praise of all who are Godly, the praise of
• 1:54:06
  Speaker 1: the children of Israel, those whom He holds close, Praise
• 1:54:11
  Speaker 1: the Eternal. You look out in stunned silence as these
• 1:54:18
  Speaker 1: verses take root and cause your heart to magnify him.
• 1:54:24
  Speaker 1: If you didn't praise him, maybe the silky sind under
• 1:54:27
  Speaker 1: your bare feet would cry out and praise you. Remember
• 1:54:33
  Speaker 1: in Luke's Gospel, when Jesus was being celebrated and praised
• 1:54:36
  Speaker 1: on his approach to the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday,
• 1:54:40
  Speaker 1: he replied to the irate Pharisees, I tell you, if
• 1:54:45
  Speaker 1: my followers don't say these things, then the stones will
• 1:54:48
  Speaker 1: cry out. God doesn't need your praises because the whole
• 1:54:56
  Speaker 1: universe is shouting them every moment. However, when you glimpse
• 1:55:01
  Speaker 1: His goodness and glory on a night such as this night,
• 1:55:06
  Speaker 1: you can't contain your sacred awe. Out of everything admirable
• 1:55:13
  Speaker 1: in this life, God alone is most worthy of our worship.
• 1:55:18
  Speaker 1: He is worthy of our constant awe and adoration. He
• 1:55:22
  Speaker 1: is worthy of our every sacrifice. He is worthy of
• 1:55:26
  Speaker 1: our attention and our every thought. He is worthy of
• 1:55:30
  Speaker 1: the time and energy it takes to tell him, Just
• 1:55:33
  Speaker 1: how amazing we think he is, even now on the
• 1:55:39
  Speaker 1: sandy shore, under the starlit night. Out of your mouth
• 1:55:44
  Speaker 1: topples the praises from Psalm seventy four, fifteen and seventeen.
• 1:55:51
  Speaker 1: You broke open the earth, and springs burst forth, and
• 1:55:55
  Speaker 1: streams filled the crevices. You dried up the great rivers.
• 1:56:00
  Speaker 1: The day and the night are both yours. You fashioned
• 1:56:05
  Speaker 1: the sun, moon, and all the lights that pierce the darkness.
• 1:56:10
  Speaker 1: You have arranged the earth, set all its boundaries. You
• 1:56:15
  Speaker 1: are the architect of the seasons, summer and winter. Keep breathing,
• 1:56:23
  Speaker 1: precious listener, Breathe and know that God sees the depth
• 1:56:28
  Speaker 1: of your heart, and he sees your worship. The Father
• 1:56:32
  Speaker 1: is seeking true worshippers, just like you, with worship that
• 1:56:36
  Speaker 1: comes from your soul. True worship does not need to
• 1:56:42
  Speaker 1: include a song. It doesn't need to be in the
• 1:56:45
  Speaker 1: midst of a congregation of believers. You don't need to
• 1:56:48
  Speaker 1: raise your arms. It doesn't need even to be verbal
• 1:56:52
  Speaker 1: or fiscal. Sometimes the truest form of praise is when
• 1:56:56
  Speaker 1: the heart is on its knees in sacred adoration, beholding
• 1:57:01
  Speaker 1: the glory of the Lord. And John four the Samaritan
• 1:57:07
  Speaker 1: woman of the Well, whose heart longed for freedom to
• 1:57:10
  Speaker 1: worship God, questioned Jesus on the nature of true worship.
• 1:57:15
  Speaker 1: Why did it have to be exclusively for the sleg
• 1:57:18
  Speaker 1: few chosen ones. Jesus, who wants all of us to
• 1:57:22
  Speaker 1: have the freedom to adore Him at any time, in
• 1:57:24
  Speaker 1: any place on earth, replied affectionately to her, Believe me,
• 1:57:29
  Speaker 1: dear woman, the time is coming when it will no
• 1:57:33
  Speaker 1: longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain
• 1:57:36
  Speaker 1: or in Jerusalem. But the time is coming. Indeed, it's
• 1:57:42
  Speaker 1: here now when the true worshippers will worship the Father
• 1:57:46
  Speaker 1: in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for
• 1:57:50
  Speaker 1: those who will worship him that way. For God is spirit,
• 1:57:54
  Speaker 1: and so those who worship Him must worship in spirit
• 1:57:58
  Speaker 1: and in truth. Our Father sees our hearts, and he
• 1:58:04
  Speaker 1: sees the truth of our praise. He sees the sacred
• 1:58:08
  Speaker 1: all and the quietness of your heart through your day,
• 1:58:10
  Speaker 1: as you turn your eyes to him, moment by moment,
• 1:58:14
  Speaker 1: his Holy Spirit enables you to fix your gaze on
• 1:58:17
  Speaker 1: Him when there are many distractions vying for your attention. Now,
• 1:58:25
  Speaker 1: dear one, I invite you to bring your awareness back
• 1:58:29
  Speaker 1: here and now to this shoreline under the pale moon,
• 1:58:36
  Speaker 1: with the silken sky kissed by the glistening stars in
• 1:58:39
  Speaker 1: the canopy above. Breathe your praises to the Father, the
• 1:58:44
  Speaker 1: perfect Father, for every child in heaven and on earth.
• 1:58:51
  Speaker 1: Dear Almighty God, thank you for filling our hearts with
• 1:58:55
  Speaker 1: true worship and sacred all tonight. But to be still
• 1:58:59
  Speaker 1: in your press since is sufficient for genuine adoration to
• 1:59:03
  Speaker 1: stir in our hearts. May our worship never cease. May
• 1:59:08
  Speaker 1: our hearts be fixed on you even as we sleep.
• 1:59:12
  Speaker 1: You are worthy, so worthy we glorify you and irreverential
• 1:59:18
  Speaker 1: awe and wonder. Thank you for your love for rest
• 1:59:23
  Speaker 1: that defines our comprehension. Thank you for revealing it just
• 1:59:27
  Speaker 1: a bit more to us tonight. Thank you for causing
• 1:59:31
  Speaker 1: your glory to pass by us. May your spirit go
• 1:59:35
  Speaker 1: with us every day in the precious names of Jesus. Amen,
• 1:59:43
  Speaker 1: let's listen again to this sleep story and feel sacred
• 1:59:47
  Speaker 1: all bubble up in your heart. Continue to breathe gently
• 1:59:54
  Speaker 1: and deeply, precious One, and come with me, Take my hand,
• 2:00:01
  Speaker 1: and let's come outside onto the porch. Look up at
• 2:00:05
  Speaker 1: the stars out here on this remote beach. There are
• 2:00:12
  Speaker 1: no other lights competing with our vision of the sky.
• 2:00:17
  Speaker 1: We can see the vastness of space above us with clarity. Ah,
• 2:00:24
  Speaker 1: it's a perfect starlight night. You could gaze at this
• 2:00:28
  Speaker 1: sight for hours without getting tired of it. It's better
• 2:00:34
  Speaker 1: than the most wonderful painting. It's almost like moving artwork.
• 2:00:40
  Speaker 1: It's like a jet black silk sheet encrusted with silver
• 2:00:44
  Speaker 1: and gold, flecks and diamonds and sapphires and toepauses that
• 2:00:50
  Speaker 1: move and glimmer as they catch the light. The song
• 2:00:56
  Speaker 1: of King David and Psalm nineteen erupts from your heart.
• 2:01:02
  Speaker 1: The heavens declare the glory of the Lord, and the
• 2:01:06
  Speaker 1: sky above proclaims his handiwork. Another translation for the song
• 2:01:11
  Speaker 1: goes on the celestial realms announce God's glory. The skies
• 2:01:19
  Speaker 1: testify of his hands great work. Each day pours out
• 2:01:24
  Speaker 1: more of their sayings each night, more to hear and
• 2:01:30
  Speaker 1: more to learn. Inaudible words are their manner of speech,
• 2:01:36
  Speaker 1: and silence their means to convey. Yet from here to
• 2:01:42
  Speaker 1: the ends of the earth, their voices have gone out.
• 2:01:46
  Speaker 1: The whole world can hear what they say? God stretched
• 2:01:51
  Speaker 1: out in these heavens a tent for the sun. Just
• 2:01:57
  Speaker 1: as a psalm said, the skies tell loudly but silently
• 2:02:02
  Speaker 1: of the Lord's greatness, and your heart feels this. You
• 2:02:07
  Speaker 1: are silent, but your praise is loud in your heart.
• 2:02:11
  Speaker 1: The wonder of it all holds you captive. Ah. There,
• 2:02:20
  Speaker 1: just now you see one of those diamond like stars
• 2:02:23
  Speaker 1: shooting across the black satin blanket, shooting into a black
• 2:02:28
  Speaker 1: hole going who knows where, well, going, God knows where.
• 2:02:37
  Speaker 1: It's amazing to think that that tiny, little shooting star
• 2:02:41
  Speaker 1: that barely flashed across the sky was actually a huge
• 2:02:46
  Speaker 1: burning meteor hurtling through space with a massive tail of fire.
• 2:02:52
  Speaker 1: And you would have missed it if you'd blink. Wow.
• 2:02:57
  Speaker 1: God's grandeur fills you with a sacred awe. Psalm thirty three,
• 2:03:05
  Speaker 1: verse eight says, let all the earth fear the Lord,
• 2:03:09
  Speaker 1: Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe
• 2:03:13
  Speaker 1: of Him. And the voice translation puts it like this,
• 2:03:18
  Speaker 1: Let all people stand in awe of the Eternal. Let
• 2:03:22
  Speaker 1: every man, woman and child live in wonder of Him.
• 2:03:30
  Speaker 1: One definition of awe is a strong feeling of respect
• 2:03:35
  Speaker 1: or amazement brought on by something that is beautiful or sacred.
• 2:03:40
  Speaker 1: It's a mixed feeling of reverence, fear, and wonder caused
• 2:03:45
  Speaker 1: by something majestic, sublime, sacred, et cetera. Doesn't that describe
• 2:03:53
  Speaker 1: our God, majestic, sublime, sacred, even fearsomely? To fear the
• 2:04:03
  Speaker 1: Lord in the way his word instructs us to, we
• 2:04:07
  Speaker 1: must come with reverence and awe in our hearts. There
• 2:04:11
  Speaker 1: is nothing trivial or commonplace about our Crator and Lord.
• 2:04:18
  Speaker 1: Psalm seventy two five reads, May the people fear You
• 2:04:23
  Speaker 1: for as long as the sun shines, as long as
• 2:04:26
  Speaker 1: the moon rises in the night sky. Throughout the generations,
• 2:04:33
  Speaker 1: the Psalmists have much to say on this theme of
• 2:04:36
  Speaker 1: awe and fear of the Lord. This tells us that
• 2:04:40
  Speaker 1: it's closely knit with a worshipful heart. Psalm one hundred
• 2:04:47
  Speaker 1: and one, verse ten tells us the fear of the
• 2:04:50
  Speaker 1: Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All those who practice
• 2:04:54
  Speaker 1: it have a good understanding His praise endures forever. Or
• 2:05:02
  Speaker 1: it can also be translated this way, reverence for the
• 2:05:06
  Speaker 1: eternal is the first step toward wisdom. All those who
• 2:05:10
  Speaker 1: worship Him have a good understanding. His praise will echo
• 2:05:15
  Speaker 1: through eternity. Lord God Almighty, we worship you and kneel
• 2:05:24
  Speaker 1: our hearts and reverential awe before you. We declare that
• 2:05:29
  Speaker 1: you are other than You are so far above our
• 2:05:33
  Speaker 1: understanding that we cannot fathom your ways. We can only
• 2:05:38
  Speaker 1: marvel and wonder at you. You contain so many mysteries
• 2:05:44
  Speaker 1: that we will be discovering for all eternity, and out
• 2:05:49
  Speaker 1: of everything, most mysterious and unfathomable is your wild love
• 2:05:54
  Speaker 1: for us. It will take all of our eternal life
• 2:05:58
  Speaker 1: and glory to even scratch the surface of it. The
• 2:06:03
  Speaker 1: vastness of space cannot compare to the magnitude of your love. Still,
• 2:06:10
  Speaker 1: we ask you to show us as much as we
• 2:06:12
  Speaker 1: can handle of your love, even if you have to
• 2:06:16
  Speaker 1: hide us in the cleft of a rock, as you
• 2:06:19
  Speaker 1: did with Moses, and cover our face while your goodness
• 2:06:23
  Speaker 1: passes by pass us by Tonight with your goodness, wonderful
• 2:06:29
  Speaker 1: Lord God, we echo Moses's prayer and say, show us
• 2:06:35
  Speaker 1: your glory, Lord, show us your glory tonight. We long
• 2:06:40
  Speaker 1: to see you in Jesus' name. Amen Paul describes a
• 2:06:49
  Speaker 1: similar sentiment in Second Corinthians three eight, as he writes,
• 2:06:54
  Speaker 1: now all of us, with our faces unveiled, reflect the
• 2:06:58
  Speaker 1: glory of the Lord as if we are mirrors, and
• 2:07:01
  Speaker 1: so we are being transformed, metamorphosed into his same image,
• 2:07:07
  Speaker 1: from one radiance of glory to another, just as the
• 2:07:11
  Speaker 1: spirit of the Lord accomplishes it. As we look on God,
• 2:07:18
  Speaker 1: like Moses did, we will glow with his radiance. Our
• 2:07:22
  Speaker 1: hearts will be filled with his light, and we will
• 2:07:25
  Speaker 1: effortlessly beam his love to the dark world around us,
• 2:07:30
  Speaker 1: just like Moses and the children of Israel had to
• 2:07:33
  Speaker 1: cover him with a veil because they could not behold
• 2:07:37
  Speaker 1: his face. Looking at God's creation often helps us see
• 2:07:44
  Speaker 1: more of who He is. Nothing between us, and sometimes
• 2:07:50
  Speaker 1: we need to get away, also like Moses did when
• 2:07:55
  Speaker 1: he went up on a mountain to seek God tonight
• 2:08:00
  Speaker 1: at the ocean, seeking his face. So come, let's step
• 2:08:07
  Speaker 1: off the Verandah and walk down to the shoreline of
• 2:08:11
  Speaker 1: this paradise beach. The water glistens and sparkles under the
• 2:08:18
  Speaker 1: crescent Moon's pale yellow lamplight. There is peaceful silence, a
• 2:08:25
  Speaker 1: sacred hush, except for the gentle sounds of the ebbing
• 2:08:29
  Speaker 1: waves of the sand and some far distant seagulls that
• 2:08:33
  Speaker 1: haven't curled up to sleep in their nests just yet.
• 2:08:39
  Speaker 1: David's worshipful lyrics and Psalm one hundred and four bubble
• 2:08:43
  Speaker 1: up in your soul. Of course, the sea is vast
• 2:08:47
  Speaker 1: and stretches like the heavens beyond the view, and numberless
• 2:08:51
  Speaker 1: creatures inhabit her, from the tiny to the grate. They
• 2:08:56
  Speaker 1: swarm beneath her waves. From the tiny to the grate,
• 2:09:03
  Speaker 1: God has handcrafted each and every living thing. This boundless
• 2:09:09
  Speaker 1: and measureless sea, stretching out in front of you, far
• 2:09:13
  Speaker 1: beyond what any eye could see, holds you speechless. This
• 2:09:18
  Speaker 1: is sacred awe. Psalm one hundred and thirty nine comes
• 2:09:24
  Speaker 1: to your mind as you look out on the ocean.
• 2:09:27
  Speaker 1: Expanse if I ride on the wings of morning, if
• 2:09:32
  Speaker 1: I make my home in the most isolated part of
• 2:09:34
  Speaker 1: the ocean, even then you will be there to guide me.
• 2:09:39
  Speaker 1: Your right hand will embrace me, for you are always
• 2:09:44
  Speaker 1: there that inspires awe in your heart. Even out in
• 2:09:51
  Speaker 1: the farthest and most isolated parts of the ocean, where
• 2:09:54
  Speaker 1: no man has set sail, God is there. And even
• 2:10:00
  Speaker 1: in the most isolated seasons of your life, when you
• 2:10:03
  Speaker 1: have felt furthest from God and his people, still he
• 2:10:07
  Speaker 1: has been with you. In His hand has guided you.
• 2:10:11
  Speaker 1: His hand has guided you back to him, back to
• 2:10:15
  Speaker 1: his love, back to his embrace, back to his care
• 2:10:19
  Speaker 1: as your father. You can run away, but you are
• 2:10:25
  Speaker 1: never outside his grace, not ever. Breathe that in. There
• 2:10:32
  Speaker 1: is no other love like that, vast, magnificent, unfathomable. Keep
• 2:10:39
  Speaker 1: breathing as you meditate on that. Hmm. You are breathing
• 2:10:47
  Speaker 1: in such pure oxygen. The sea air is so clear.
• 2:10:52
  Speaker 1: The scent of salty air is fragrant to your nose.
• 2:10:59
  Speaker 1: The blue black sky is cloudless. The fragrant air is
• 2:11:03
  Speaker 1: crisp and fresh. There's a cooling breeze that brushes your cheeks.
• 2:11:09
  Speaker 1: You inhale deeply. The grandeur of God is on full display.
• 2:11:19
  Speaker 1: He created all this. Words from the prophet Amos describe
• 2:11:24
  Speaker 1: this site so well. Who builds his upper chambers in
• 2:11:29
  Speaker 1: the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth. Who
• 2:11:33
  Speaker 1: calls for the waters of the sea and pours them
• 2:11:36
  Speaker 1: out upon the surface of the earth. The Lord is
• 2:11:40
  Speaker 1: his name. Who else but the Lord could do this?
• 2:11:47
  Speaker 1: Also Habakuk two fourteen comes to mind, for as the
• 2:11:51
  Speaker 1: waters cover the sea, the whole earth will be filled
• 2:11:55
  Speaker 1: with the knowledge that the eternal is glorious and powerful.
• 2:12:01
  Speaker 1: He is indeed both glorious and powerful. How often do
• 2:12:06
  Speaker 1: you gaze reverently up at the cosmos on a starry
• 2:12:11
  Speaker 1: night and pause to tell God just how marvelous you
• 2:12:15
  Speaker 1: think his artistry is. Let's tell him right now. Lord.
• 2:12:22
  Speaker 1: We find it so hard to put into words our
• 2:12:25
  Speaker 1: praise and love of you, sacred Awe has made us speechless,
• 2:12:33
  Speaker 1: but will borrow King Solomon's word from Psalm seventy two.
• 2:12:40
  Speaker 1: The sun and the moon will stop shining before your
• 2:12:43
  Speaker 1: lovers will stop worshiping for ages upon ages that people
• 2:12:48
  Speaker 1: will love and adore you. We worship you tonight as
• 2:12:53
  Speaker 1: we gaze on your beauty and creation. May we never
• 2:12:58
  Speaker 1: look away and get distracted, because nothing and no one
• 2:13:02
  Speaker 1: else is worthy of our admiration and love like you.
• 2:13:07
  Speaker 1: Who are we that you are mindful of us? And
• 2:13:11
  Speaker 1: yet you love us? Oh Lord, you take our breath
• 2:13:16
  Speaker 1: away with your wonders. And yet we also know from
• 2:13:21
  Speaker 1: Job thirty three to four that God's spirit has fashioned
• 2:13:26
  Speaker 1: us and a breath of the Highest One in parts
• 2:13:29
  Speaker 1: of life to us. So we return to the breath
• 2:13:35
  Speaker 1: that you are giving us back to you as worship
• 2:13:38
  Speaker 1: and praise in Jesus's mighty name. Amen, you are standing
• 2:13:46
  Speaker 1: here between the sea and the sky, amazed at his glory. Yes,
• 2:13:53
  Speaker 1: these are possibly sights you've seen before, But you are
• 2:13:57
  Speaker 1: standing still before the Lord tonight, and you are beholding
• 2:14:01
  Speaker 1: the scene with bran new eyes. The eyes of your
• 2:14:05
  Speaker 1: heart are seeing it in a posture of sacred awe,
• 2:14:09
  Speaker 1: and it is causing you to see your Lord more clearly.
• 2:14:16
  Speaker 1: You feel so small between earth and sky. Wagh down
• 2:14:21
  Speaker 1: here we are humans, like little specks of dust on
• 2:14:25
  Speaker 1: the Earth's crust, and just like dust floating away on
• 2:14:29
  Speaker 1: the breeze, we too will pass away one day. But
• 2:14:33
  Speaker 1: the heavens have endlessly declared God's majesty since the beginning
• 2:14:39
  Speaker 1: of matter and time, and they will continue to do so.
• 2:14:46
  Speaker 1: His creation praises him day and night, night and day,
• 2:14:53
  Speaker 1: and it's a privilege to join nature to night in
• 2:14:56
  Speaker 1: glorifying Him. The Psalmists poetry and Psalm one hundred and
• 2:15:03
  Speaker 1: forty eight puts it better than any words you could compose.
• 2:15:08
  Speaker 1: Praise the Eternal, All you in the heavens, praise the Eternal.
• 2:15:13
  Speaker 1: Praise Him from the highest places, all you his messengers
• 2:15:18
  Speaker 1: and his armies in heaven. Praise him. Sun, Moon, and
• 2:15:23
  Speaker 1: all you brilliant stars above praise him, Highest heavens, and
• 2:15:28
  Speaker 1: all you waters above the heavens, praise him. Let all
• 2:15:33
  Speaker 1: things join together in a consort of praise to the
• 2:15:36
  Speaker 1: name of the Eternal. For he gave the command, and
• 2:15:40
  Speaker 1: they were created. He put them in their places to
• 2:15:43
  Speaker 1: stay forever. He declared it so, and it is final.
• 2:15:49
  Speaker 1: Everything on earth, join in and praise the Eternal. See
• 2:15:55
  Speaker 1: monsters and creatures of the deep, lightning and hail, snow
• 2:15:59
  Speaker 1: and foggy miss violent winds, all respond to his command.
• 2:16:05
  Speaker 1: Mountains and hills, fruit trees and cedar forests. All you animals,
• 2:16:11
  Speaker 1: both wild and tame, reptiles and birds who take flight,
• 2:16:16
  Speaker 1: praise the Lord. All kings and all nations, Princes and
• 2:16:22
  Speaker 1: all judges of the earth. All people, young men and women,
• 2:16:27
  Speaker 1: old men and children alike, praise the Lord. Let them
• 2:16:32
  Speaker 1: all praise the name of the Eternal. For his name
• 2:16:36
  Speaker 1: stands alone above all others. His glory shines greater than
• 2:16:41
  Speaker 1: anything above or below. He has made his people strong.
• 2:16:47
  Speaker 1: He is the praise of all who are godly, the
• 2:16:51
  Speaker 1: praise of the children of Israel, those whom he holds
• 2:16:55
  Speaker 1: close praise the eternal You look out in stunned silence
• 2:17:03
  Speaker 1: as these verses take root and cause your heart to
• 2:17:07
  Speaker 1: magnify him. If you didn't praise him, maybe the silky
• 2:17:12
  Speaker 1: sand under your bare feet would cry out and praise you.
• 2:17:17
  Speaker 1: Remember in Luke's Gospel, when Jesus was being celebrated and
• 2:17:21
  Speaker 1: praised on his approach to the city of Jerusalem on
• 2:17:24
  Speaker 1: Palm Sunday, he replied to the irate pharisees, I tell you,
• 2:17:30
  Speaker 1: if my followers don't say these things, then the stones
• 2:17:33
  Speaker 1: will cry out. God doesn't need your praises because the
• 2:17:41
  Speaker 1: whole universe is shouting them every moment. However, when you
• 2:17:46
  Speaker 1: glimpse His goodness and glory on a night such as
• 2:17:49
  Speaker 1: this night, you can't contain your sacred awe. Out of
• 2:17:57
  Speaker 1: everything admirable in this life, God alone is most worthy
• 2:18:01
  Speaker 1: of our worship. He is worthy of our constant awe
• 2:18:05
  Speaker 1: and adoration. He is worthy of our every sacrifice. He
• 2:18:11
  Speaker 1: is worthy of our attention and our every thought. He
• 2:18:15
  Speaker 1: is worthy of the time and energy it takes to
• 2:18:17
  Speaker 1: tell him just how amazing we think he is, even
• 2:18:23
  Speaker 1: now on the sandy shore under the starlit night. Out
• 2:18:28
  Speaker 1: of your mouth topples the praises from Psalm seventy four,
• 2:18:32
  Speaker 1: fifteen and seventeen. You broke open the earth, and springs
• 2:18:39
  Speaker 1: burst forth, and streams filled the crevices. You dried up
• 2:18:44
  Speaker 1: the great rivers. The day and the night are both yours.
• 2:18:49
  Speaker 1: You fashioned the sun, moon, and all the lights that
• 2:18:54
  Speaker 1: pierce the darkness. You have arranged the earth, set all
• 2:18:59
  Speaker 1: its boundaries. You are the architect of the seasons, summer
• 2:19:04
  Speaker 1: and winter. Keep breathing, Precious listener, Breathe and know that
• 2:19:12
  Speaker 1: God sees the depth of your heart, and he sees
• 2:19:15
  Speaker 1: your worship. A father is seeking true worshippers, just like you,
• 2:19:20
  Speaker 1: with worship that comes from your soul. True worship does
• 2:19:27
  Speaker 1: not need to include a song. It doesn't need to
• 2:19:30
  Speaker 1: be in the midst of a congregation of believers. You
• 2:19:33
  Speaker 1: don't need to raise your arms. It doesn't need even
• 2:19:36
  Speaker 1: to be verbal or fiscal. Sometimes the truest form of
• 2:19:40
  Speaker 1: praise is when the heart is on its knees in
• 2:19:44
  Speaker 1: sacred adoration, beholding the glory of the Lord. And John four,
• 2:19:51
  Speaker 1: the Samaritan woman of the Well, whose heart longed for
• 2:19:55
  Speaker 1: freedom to worship God, questioned Jesus on the nature of
• 2:19:59
  Speaker 1: true worship. Why did it have to be exclusively for
• 2:20:03
  Speaker 1: the seleg you chosen? Ones Jesus, who wants all of
• 2:20:06
  Speaker 1: us to have the freedom to adore him at any
• 2:20:09
  Speaker 1: time in any place on earth, replied affectionately to her.
• 2:20:14
  Speaker 1: Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it
• 2:20:17
  Speaker 1: will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on
• 2:20:20
  Speaker 1: this mountain or in Jerusalem. But the time is coming. Indeed,
• 2:20:27
  Speaker 1: it's here now when the true worshippers will worship the
• 2:20:30
  Speaker 1: Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking
• 2:20:35
  Speaker 1: for those who will worship him that way, for God
• 2:20:38
  Speaker 1: is spirit, and so those who worship him must worship
• 2:20:42
  Speaker 1: in spirit and in truth. Our Father sees our hearts,
• 2:20:49
  Speaker 1: and he sees the truth of our praise. He sees
• 2:20:52
  Speaker 1: the sacred all and the quietness of your heart. Through
• 2:20:55
  Speaker 1: your day, as you turn your eyes to him, moment
• 2:20:58
  Speaker 1: by moment, Holy Spirit enables you to fix your gaze
• 2:21:02
  Speaker 1: on him when there are many distractions vying for your attention. Now,
• 2:21:10
  Speaker 1: dear one, I invite you to bring your awareness back
• 2:21:14
  Speaker 1: here and now to this shoreline, under the pale moon,
• 2:21:21
  Speaker 1: with the silken sky kissed by the glistening stars, and
• 2:21:25
  Speaker 1: the canopy above. Breathe your praises to the Father, the
• 2:21:29
  Speaker 1: perfect Father for every child in heaven and on earth.
• 2:21:36
  Speaker 1: Dear Almighty God, thank you for filling our hearts with
• 2:21:40
  Speaker 1: true worship and sacred awe tonight. But to be still
• 2:21:44
  Speaker 1: in your presence is sufficient for genuine adoration to stir
• 2:21:49
  Speaker 1: in our hearts. May our worship never cease. May our
• 2:21:54
  Speaker 1: hearts be fixed on you even as we sleep. You
• 2:21:58
  Speaker 1: are worthy, so worthy we glorify you and irreverential awe
• 2:22:04
  Speaker 1: and wonder. Thank you for your love for rest that
• 2:22:08
  Speaker 1: defines our comprehension. Thank you for revealing it just a
• 2:22:13
  Speaker 1: bit more to us tonight. Thank you for causing your
• 2:22:17
  Speaker 1: glory to pass by us. May your spirit go with
• 2:22:21
  Speaker 1: us every day in the precious names of Jesus. Amen,
• 2:22:28
  Speaker 1: let's listen again to this sleep story and feel secret
• 2:22:32
  Speaker 1: all bubble up in your heart. Continue to breathe gently
• 2:22:38
  Speaker 1: and deeply, precious One, and come with me. Take my hand,
• 2:22:45
  Speaker 1: and let's come outside onto the porch. Look up at
• 2:22:49
  Speaker 1: the stars. Out here on this remote beach. There are
• 2:22:56
  Speaker 1: no other lights competing with our vision of the sky.
• 2:23:00
  Speaker 1: We can see the vastness of space above us with clarity.
• 2:23:06
  Speaker 1: Ah it's a perfect starlight night. You could gaze at
• 2:23:11
  Speaker 1: this sight for hours without getting tired of it. It's
• 2:23:16
  Speaker 1: better than the most wonderful painting. It's almost like moving artwork.
• 2:23:23
  Speaker 1: It's like a jet black silk sheet encrusted with silver
• 2:23:27
  Speaker 1: and gold, flecks and diamonds and sapphires and toepauses that
• 2:23:33
  Speaker 1: move and glimmer as they catch the light. The song
• 2:23:38
  Speaker 1: of King David and Psalm nineteen erupts from your heart.
• 2:23:44
  Speaker 1: The heavens declare the glory of the Lord, and the
• 2:23:48
  Speaker 1: sky above proclaims his handiwork. Another translation for the song
• 2:23:53
  Speaker 1: goes on the celestial realms announce God's glory. The skies
• 2:24:01
  Speaker 1: testify of his hands great work. Each day pours out
• 2:24:06
  Speaker 1: more of their sayings each night, more to hear and
• 2:24:11
  Speaker 1: more to learn. Inaudible words are their manner of speech,
• 2:24:17
  Speaker 1: and silence their means to convey. Yet from here to
• 2:24:23
  Speaker 1: the ends of the earth, their voices have gone out.
• 2:24:27
  Speaker 1: The whole world can hear what they say. God stretched
• 2:24:31
  Speaker 1: out in these heavens a tent for the sun, just
• 2:24:37
  Speaker 1: as a Psalm said. The skies tell loudly but silently,
• 2:24:42
  Speaker 1: of the Lord's greatness and your heart feels this. You
• 2:24:47
  Speaker 1: are silent, but your praise is loud in your heart.
• 2:24:51
  Speaker 1: The wonder of it all holds you captive. Ah. There,
• 2:25:00
  Speaker 1: just now, you see one of those diamond like stars
• 2:25:03
  Speaker 1: shooting across the black satin blanket, shooting into a black
• 2:25:07
  Speaker 1: hole going who knows where? Well, going, God knows where.
• 2:25:17
  Speaker 1: It's amazing to think that that tiny little shooting star
• 2:25:21
  Speaker 1: that barely flashed across the sky was actually a huge
• 2:25:25
  Speaker 1: burning meteor hurtling through space with a massive tail of fire.
• 2:25:31
  Speaker 1: And you would have missed it if you'd blink. Wow.
• 2:25:36
  Speaker 1: God's grandeur fills you with a sacred awe. Psalm thirty three,
• 2:25:44
  Speaker 1: verse eight says, let all the earth fear the Lord,
• 2:25:48
  Speaker 1: Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe
• 2:25:51
  Speaker 1: of Him, and the voice translation puts it like this,
• 2:25:57
  Speaker 1: Let all people stand in awe of the Eternal. Let
• 2:26:01
  Speaker 1: every man, woman and child live in wonder of Him.
• 2:26:08
  Speaker 1: One definition of awe is a strong feeling of respect
• 2:26:12
  Speaker 1: or amazement brought on by something that is beautiful or sacred.
• 2:26:17
  Speaker 1: It's a mixed feeling of reverence, fear, and wonder caused
• 2:26:22
  Speaker 1: by something majestic, sublime, sacred, et cetera. Doesn't that describe
• 2:26:30
  Speaker 1: our God majestic, sublime, sacred, even fearsomely wonderful? To fear
• 2:26:40
  Speaker 1: the Lord in the way his word instructs us to
• 2:26:43
  Speaker 1: we must come with reverence and awe in our hearts.
• 2:26:47
  Speaker 1: There is nothing trivial or commonplace about our creator and Lord.
• 2:26:54
  Speaker 1: Psalm seventy two to five reads, May the people fear
• 2:26:58
  Speaker 1: You for long as the sun shines, as long as
• 2:27:03
  Speaker 1: the moon rises in the night sky. Throughout the generations,
• 2:27:09
  Speaker 1: the Psalmists have much to say on this theme of
• 2:27:12
  Speaker 1: awe and fear of the Lord. This tells us that
• 2:27:16
  Speaker 1: it's closely knit with their worshipful heart. Psalm one hundred
• 2:27:23
  Speaker 1: and one, verse ten tells us the fear of the
• 2:27:26
  Speaker 1: Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All those who practice
• 2:27:30
  Speaker 1: it have a good understanding His praise endures forever. Or
• 2:27:37
  Speaker 1: it can also be translated this way, Reverence for the
• 2:27:41
  Speaker 1: eternal is the first step toward wisdom. All those who
• 2:27:45
  Speaker 1: worship him have a good understanding His praise will echo
• 2:27:50
  Speaker 1: through eternity. Lord God Almighty, we worship you and kneel
• 2:27:59
  Speaker 1: our hearts and referential awe before you. We declare that
• 2:28:03
  Speaker 1: you are other than. You are so far above our
• 2:28:07
  Speaker 1: understanding that we cannot fathom your ways. We can only
• 2:28:12
  Speaker 1: marvel and wonder at you. You contain so many mysteries
• 2:28:18
  Speaker 1: that we will be discovering for all eternity, and out
• 2:28:23
  Speaker 1: of everything, most mysterious and unfathomable is your wild love
• 2:28:28
  Speaker 1: for us. It will take all of our eternal life
• 2:28:32
  Speaker 1: and glory to even scratch the surface of it. The
• 2:28:36
  Speaker 1: vastness of space cannot compare to the magnitude of your love. Still,
• 2:28:43
  Speaker 1: we ask you to show us as much as we
• 2:28:45
  Speaker 1: can handle of your love, even if you have to
• 2:28:49
  Speaker 1: hide us in the cleft of a rock, as you
• 2:28:52
  Speaker 1: did with Moses, and cover our face while your goodness
• 2:28:56
  Speaker 1: passes by pass us by Tonight with your goodness, wonderful
• 2:29:02
  Speaker 1: Lord God, we echo Moses's prayer and say, show us
• 2:29:07
  Speaker 1: your glory, Lord, show us your glory tonight. We long
• 2:29:13
  Speaker 1: to see you in Jesus' name. Amen. Paul describes a
• 2:29:21
  Speaker 1: similar sentiment in Second Corinthians three eight, as he writes,
• 2:29:26
  Speaker 1: now all of us, with our faces unveiled, reflect the
• 2:29:30
  Speaker 1: glory of the Lord, as if we are mirrors, and
• 2:29:33
  Speaker 1: so we are being transformed, metamorphised into His same image
• 2:29:39
  Speaker 1: from one radiance of glory to another, just as the
• 2:29:42
  Speaker 1: spirit of the Lord accomplishes it. As we look on
• 2:29:48
  Speaker 1: God like Moses did, we will glow with his radiance.
• 2:29:53
  Speaker 1: Our hearts will be filled with his light, and we
• 2:29:56
  Speaker 1: will effortlessly beam his love to the dark world around us,
• 2:30:01
  Speaker 1: just like Moses and the children of Israel had to
• 2:30:04
  Speaker 1: cover him with a veil because they could not behold
• 2:30:07
  Speaker 1: his face. Looking at God's creation often helps us see
• 2:30:15
  Speaker 1: more of who He is. Nothing between us, and sometimes
• 2:30:21
  Speaker 1: we need to get away, also like Moses did when
• 2:30:25
  Speaker 1: he went up on a mountain to seek God. Tonight,
• 2:30:29
  Speaker 1: we are at the ocean seeking his face. So come,
• 2:30:36
  Speaker 1: let's step off the verandah and walk down to the
• 2:30:40
  Speaker 1: shoreline of this paradise beach. Water glistens and sparkles under
• 2:30:48
  Speaker 1: the crescent moon's pale yellow lamplight. There is peaceful silence,
• 2:30:54
  Speaker 1: a sacred hush, except for the gentle sounds of the
• 2:30:57
  Speaker 1: ebbing waves of the sand, and some far distant seagulls
• 2:31:02
  Speaker 1: that haven't curled up to sleep in their nests just yet.
• 2:31:08
  Speaker 1: David's worshipful lyrics and Psalm one hundred and four bubble
• 2:31:12
  Speaker 1: up in your soul. Of course, the sea is vast
• 2:31:16
  Speaker 1: and stretches like the heavens beyond the view, and numberless
• 2:31:20
  Speaker 1: creatures inhabit her, From the tiny to the grate, they
• 2:31:24
  Speaker 1: swarm beneath her waves. From the tiny to the grate,
• 2:31:31
  Speaker 1: God has handcrafted each and every living thing. This boundless
• 2:31:37
  Speaker 1: and measureless sea, stretching out in front of you, far
• 2:31:41
  Speaker 1: beyond what any eye could see, holds you speechless. This
• 2:31:46
  Speaker 1: is sacred off Psalm one hundred and thirty nine comes
• 2:31:52
  Speaker 1: to your mind as you look out on the ocean.
• 2:31:54
  Speaker 1: Expanse If I ride on the wings of morning, if
• 2:31:59
  Speaker 1: I make my home in the most isolated part of
• 2:32:01
  Speaker 1: the ocean, even then you will be there to guide me.
• 2:32:06
  Speaker 1: Your right hand will embrace me, for you are always
• 2:32:11
  Speaker 1: there that inspires awe in your heart. Even out in
• 2:32:17
  Speaker 1: the farthest and most isolated parts of the ocean, where
• 2:32:21
  Speaker 1: no man has set sail, God is there. And even
• 2:32:26
  Speaker 1: in the most isolated seasons of your life, when you
• 2:32:29
  Speaker 1: have felt furthest from God and his people, still he
• 2:32:33
  Speaker 1: has been with you in his hand has guided you.
• 2:32:37
  Speaker 1: His hand has guided you back to Him, back to
• 2:32:41
  Speaker 1: his love, back to his embrace, back to his care
• 2:32:45
  Speaker 1: as your father. You can run away, but you are
• 2:32:51
  Speaker 1: never outside his grace, not ever breathe that in. There
• 2:32:57
  Speaker 1: is no other love like that, vast, magnificent, unfathomable. Keep
• 2:33:04
  Speaker 1: breathing as you meditate on that. Hmm. You are breathing
• 2:33:12
  Speaker 1: in such pure oxygen. The sea air is so clear.
• 2:33:18
  Speaker 1: The scent of salty air is fragrant to your nose.
• 2:33:24
  Speaker 1: The blue black sky is cloudless. The fragrant air is
• 2:33:28
  Speaker 1: crisp and fresh. There's a cooling breeze that brushes your cheeks.
• 2:33:34
  Speaker 1: You inhale deeply. The grandeur of God is on full display.
• 2:33:43
  Speaker 1: He created all this. Words from the prophet Amos describe
• 2:33:48
  Speaker 1: this site so well. Who builds his upper chambers in
• 2:33:53
  Speaker 1: the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth, Who
• 2:33:57
  Speaker 1: calls for the waters of the sea and pours them
• 2:34:00
  Speaker 1: out upon the surface of the earth. The Lord is
• 2:34:03
  Speaker 1: his name. Who else but the Lord could do this?
• 2:34:10
  Speaker 1: Also Habakuk two fourteen comes to mind, for as the
• 2:34:14
  Speaker 1: waters cover the sea, the whole earth will be filled
• 2:34:18
  Speaker 1: with the knowledge that the eternal is glorious and powerful.
• 2:34:24
  Speaker 1: He is indeed both glorious and powerful. How often do
• 2:34:29
  Speaker 1: you gaze reverently up at the cosmos on a starry
• 2:34:33
  Speaker 1: night and pause to tell God just how marvelous you
• 2:34:38
  Speaker 1: think his artistry is. Let's tell him right now. Lord,
• 2:34:45
  Speaker 1: we find it so hard to put into words our
• 2:34:47
  Speaker 1: praise and love of you, sacred Awe has made us speechless,
• 2:34:55
  Speaker 1: but will borrow King Solomon's word from Psalm seventy two.
• 2:35:02
  Speaker 1: The sun and the moon will stop shining before your
• 2:35:05
  Speaker 1: lovers will stop worshiping for ages upon ages that people
• 2:35:09
  Speaker 1: will love and adore you. We worship you tonight as
• 2:35:15
  Speaker 1: we gaze on your beauty and creation. May we never
• 2:35:19
  Speaker 1: look away and get distracted, because nothing and no one
• 2:35:23
  Speaker 1: else is worthy of our admiration and love like you.
• 2:35:28
  Speaker 1: Who are we that you are mindful of us? And
• 2:35:32
  Speaker 1: yet you love us? Oh Lord, you take our breath
• 2:35:37
  Speaker 1: away with your wonders. And yet we also know from
• 2:35:42
  Speaker 1: Job thirty three to four that God's spirit has fashioned
• 2:35:46
  Speaker 1: us and a breath of the highest one imparts of
• 2:35:50
  Speaker 1: life to us. So we return to the breath that
• 2:35:56
  Speaker 1: you are giving us back to you as worship and
• 2:35:59
  Speaker 1: praise in Jesus Mighty name. Amen, you are standing here
• 2:36:07
  Speaker 1: between the sea and the sky, amazed at his glory. Yes,
• 2:36:13
  Speaker 1: these are possibly sights you've seen before, But you are
• 2:36:17
  Speaker 1: standing still before the Lord tonight, and you are beholding
• 2:36:21
  Speaker 1: the scene with brand new eyes. The eyes of your
• 2:36:25
  Speaker 1: heart are seeing it in a posture of sacred awe,
• 2:36:28
  Speaker 1: and it is causing you to see your Lord more clearly.
• 2:36:35
  Speaker 1: You feel so small between earth and sky. Way down here.
• 2:36:41
  Speaker 1: We are humans, like little specks of dust on the
• 2:36:44
  Speaker 1: Earth's crust, and just like dust floating away on the breeze,
• 2:36:49
  Speaker 1: we too will pass away one day. But the heavens
• 2:36:53
  Speaker 1: have endlessly declared God's majesty since the beginning of matter
• 2:36:58
  Speaker 1: and time, and they will continue to do so. His
• 2:37:04
  Speaker 1: creation praises him day and night, night and day, and
• 2:37:11
  Speaker 1: it's a privilege to join nature tonight in glorifying him.
• 2:37:18
  Speaker 1: The Psalmists poetry and Psalm one hundred and forty eight
• 2:37:22
  Speaker 1: puts it better than any words you could compose. Praise
• 2:37:26
  Speaker 1: the Eternal, All you and the heavens, Praise the Eternal.
• 2:37:31
  Speaker 1: Praise Him from the highest places, All you his messengers
• 2:37:36
  Speaker 1: and his armies in heaven. Praise him, Sun, Moon, and
• 2:37:40
  Speaker 1: all you brilliant stars above, Praise him highest heavens, and
• 2:37:45
  Speaker 1: all you waters above the heavens, praise him. Let all
• 2:37:50
  Speaker 1: things join together in a concert of praise to the
• 2:37:53
  Speaker 1: name of the Eternal. For he gave the command, and
• 2:37:57
  Speaker 1: they were created. He put them in their places to
• 2:38:00
  Speaker 1: stay forever. He declared it so, and it is final.
• 2:38:05
  Speaker 1: Everything on earth, join in and praise the Eternal. See
• 2:38:11
  Speaker 1: monsters and creatures of the deep, lightning and hail, snow
• 2:38:15
  Speaker 1: and foggy mists, violent winds, all respond to his command.
• 2:38:21
  Speaker 1: Mountains and hills, fruit trees and cedar forests. All you animals,
• 2:38:27
  Speaker 1: both wild and tame, reptiles and birds who take flight,
• 2:38:32
  Speaker 1: Praise the Lord. All kings and all nations, Princes and
• 2:38:37
  Speaker 1: all judges of the earth. All people, young men and women,
• 2:38:42
  Speaker 1: old men and children alike, praise the Lord. Let them
• 2:38:47
  Speaker 1: all praise the name of the Eternal. For his name
• 2:38:51
  Speaker 1: stands alone above all others. His glory shines greater than
• 2:38:56
  Speaker 1: anything above or below. He has made his people strong.
• 2:39:02
  Speaker 1: He is the praise of all who are godly, the
• 2:39:05
  Speaker 1: praise of the children of Israel, those whom he holds close.
• 2:39:10
  Speaker 1: Praise the Eternal. You look out in stunned silence as
• 2:39:18
  Speaker 1: these verses take root and cause your heart to magnify him.
• 2:39:23
  Speaker 1: If you didn't praise him, maybe the silky sand under
• 2:39:26
  Speaker 1: your bare feet would cry out and praise you. Remember
• 2:39:32
  Speaker 1: in Luke's Gospel, when Jesus was being celebrated and praised
• 2:39:35
  Speaker 1: on his approach to the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday,
• 2:39:39
  Speaker 1: he replied to the irate pharisees, I tell you, if
• 2:39:43
  Speaker 1: my followers don't say these things, then the stones will
• 2:39:47
  Speaker 1: cry out. God doesn't need your praises because the whole
• 2:39:55
  Speaker 1: universe is shouting them every moment. However, when you glimp
• 2:40:00
  Speaker 1: His goodness and glory on a night such as this night,
• 2:40:04
  Speaker 1: you can't contain your sacred awe. Out of everything admirable
• 2:40:10
  Speaker 1: in this life, God alone is most worthy of our worship.
• 2:40:15
  Speaker 1: He is worthy of our constant awe and adoration. He
• 2:40:20
  Speaker 1: is worthy of our every sacrifice. He is worthy of
• 2:40:24
  Speaker 1: our attention and our every thought. He is worthy of
• 2:40:28
  Speaker 1: the time and energy it takes to tell him just
• 2:40:30
  Speaker 1: how amazing we think he is. Even now on the
• 2:40:36
  Speaker 1: sandy shore, under the starlit night, out of your mouth
• 2:40:41
  Speaker 1: topples the praises from Psalm seventy four, fifteen and seventeen.
• 2:40:47
  Speaker 1: You broke open the earth, and springs burst forth, and
• 2:40:52
  Speaker 1: streams filled the crevices. You dried up the great rivers.
• 2:40:56
  Speaker 1: The day and the night are both yours. You fashioned
• 2:41:01
  Speaker 1: the sun, moon, and all the lights that pierce the darkness.
• 2:41:07
  Speaker 1: You have arranged the earth, set all its boundaries. You
• 2:41:11
  Speaker 1: are the architect of the seasons, summer and winter. Keep breathing,
• 2:41:19
  Speaker 1: precious listener, Breathe and know that God sees the depth
• 2:41:24
  Speaker 1: of your heart, and he sees your worship. The Father
• 2:41:27
  Speaker 1: is seeking true worshippers, just like you, with worship that
• 2:41:32
  Speaker 1: comes from your soul. True worship does not need to
• 2:41:37
  Speaker 1: include a song. It doesn't need to be in the
• 2:41:40
  Speaker 1: midst of a congregation of believers. You don't need to
• 2:41:43
  Speaker 1: raise your arms. It doesn't need even to be verbal
• 2:41:47
  Speaker 1: or fiscal. Sometimes the truest form of praise is when
• 2:41:51
  Speaker 1: the heart is on its knees in sacred adoration. Behold
• 2:41:56
  Speaker 1: in the glory of the Lord. And John four, the
• 2:42:01
  Speaker 1: Samaritan woman of the Well, whose heart longed for freedom
• 2:42:04
  Speaker 1: to worship God, questioned Jesus on the nature of true worship.
• 2:42:10
  Speaker 1: Why did it have to be exclusively for the slegew
• 2:42:13
  Speaker 1: chosen ones. Jesus who wants all of us to have
• 2:42:16
  Speaker 1: the freedom to adore him at any time, in any
• 2:42:18
  Speaker 1: place on Earth, replied affectionately to her. Believe me, dear woman,
• 2:42:24
  Speaker 1: the time is coming when it will no longer matter
• 2:42:27
  Speaker 1: whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem.
• 2:42:32
  Speaker 1: But the time is coming. Indeed, it's here now when
• 2:42:37
  Speaker 1: the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and
• 2:42:40
  Speaker 1: in truth. The Father is looking for those who will
• 2:42:44
  Speaker 1: worship him that way, for God is spirit, and so
• 2:42:48
  Speaker 1: those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.
• 2:42:55
  Speaker 1: Our Father sees our hearts, and he sees the truth
• 2:42:58
  Speaker 1: of our praise. Please the sacred awe and the quietness
• 2:43:02
  Speaker 1: of your heart through your day. As you turn your
• 2:43:04
  Speaker 1: eyes to Him, moment by moment, his Holy Spirit enables
• 2:43:08
  Speaker 1: you to fix your gaze on Him when there are
• 2:43:11
  Speaker 1: many distractions vying for your attention. Now, dear one, I
• 2:43:19
  Speaker 1: invite you to bring your awareness back here and now
• 2:43:25
  Speaker 1: to this shoreline, under the pale moon, with the silken
• 2:43:29
  Speaker 1: sky kissed by the glistening stars, and the canopy above.
• 2:43:33
  Speaker 1: Breathe your praises to the Father, the perfect Father for
• 2:43:37
  Speaker 1: every child in heaven and on earth. Dear Almighty God,
• 2:43:44
  Speaker 1: thank you for filling our hearts with true worship and
• 2:43:47
  Speaker 1: sacred awe tonight. But to be still in your presence
• 2:43:52
  Speaker 1: is sufficient for genuine adoration to stir in our hearts.
• 2:43:57
  Speaker 1: May our worship never cease. May our hearts be fixed
• 2:44:01
  Speaker 1: on you even as we sleep. You are worthy, so
• 2:44:05
  Speaker 1: worthy we glorify you and irreverential awe and wonder. Thank
• 2:44:12
  Speaker 1: you for your love for us that defines our comprehension.
• 2:44:16
  Speaker 1: Thank you for revealing it just a bit more to
• 2:44:19
  Speaker 1: us tonight. Thank you for causing your glory to pass
• 2:44:23
  Speaker 1: by us. May your spirit go with us every day
• 2:44:27
  Speaker 1: in the precious names of Jesus. Amen, Let's listen again
• 2:44:34
  Speaker 1: to this sleep story and feel sacred. All bubble up
• 2:44:37
  Speaker 1: in your heart. Let's listen again to this sleep story
• 2:44:43
  Speaker 1: and feel sacred, all bubble up in your heart. Continue
• 2:44:49
  Speaker 1: to breathe gently and deeply, precious one, and come with me,
• 2:44:56
  Speaker 1: Take my hand, and let's come outside to the porch.
• 2:45:02
  Speaker 1: Look up at the stars out here on this remote beach.
• 2:45:09
  Speaker 1: There are no other lights competing with our vision of
• 2:45:12
  Speaker 1: the sky. We can see the vastness of space above
• 2:45:16
  Speaker 1: us with clarity. Ah, It's a perfect starlight night. You
• 2:45:24
  Speaker 1: could gaze at this sight for hours without getting tired
• 2:45:28
  Speaker 1: of it. It's better than the most wonderful painting. It's
• 2:45:33
  Speaker 1: almost like moving artwork. It's like a jet black silk
• 2:45:38
  Speaker 1: sheet encrusted with silver and gold, flecks and diamonds and
• 2:45:44
  Speaker 1: sapphires and topauses that move and glimmer as they catch
• 2:45:49
  Speaker 1: the light. The song of King David and Psalm nineteen
• 2:45:55
  Speaker 1: erupts from your heart. The heavens declare the glory of
• 2:46:01
  Speaker 1: the Lord, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Another
• 2:46:07
  Speaker 1: translation for the song goes on the celestial realms announce
• 2:46:13
  Speaker 1: God's glory. The skies testify of His hands great work.
• 2:46:20
  Speaker 1: Each day pours out more of their sayings each night,
• 2:46:25
  Speaker 1: more to hear and more to learn. Inaudible words are
• 2:46:31
  Speaker 1: their manner of speech, and silence their means to convey.
• 2:46:37
  Speaker 1: Yet from here to the ends of the earth, their
• 2:46:40
  Speaker 1: voices have gone out. The whole world can hear what
• 2:46:44
  Speaker 1: they say. God stretched out in these heavens a tent
• 2:46:50
  Speaker 1: for the sun, just as the Psalm said. The skies
• 2:46:56
  Speaker 1: tell loudly but silently of the Lord's greatness. And your
• 2:47:01
  Speaker 1: heart feels this. You are silent, but your praise is
• 2:47:06
  Speaker 1: loud in your heart. The wonder of it all holds
• 2:47:10
  Speaker 1: you captive. Ah. There, just now, you see one of
• 2:47:18
  Speaker 1: those diamond like stars shooting across a black satin blanket,
• 2:47:23
  Speaker 1: shooting into a black hole going who knows where? Well, going,
• 2:47:30
  Speaker 1: God knows where. It's amazing to think that that tiny
• 2:47:36
  Speaker 1: little shooting star that barely flashed across the sky was
• 2:47:41
  Speaker 1: actually a huge burning meteor hurtling through space with a
• 2:47:46
  Speaker 1: massive tail of fire. And you would have missed it
• 2:47:50
  Speaker 1: if you'd blink. Wow. God's grandeur fills you with a
• 2:47:57
  Speaker 1: sacred awe. Psalm thirty three, verse eight says let all
• 2:48:04
  Speaker 1: the earth fear the Lord, Let all the inhabitants of
• 2:48:07
  Speaker 1: the world stand in awe of Him, and the voice
• 2:48:12
  Speaker 1: translation puts it like this, Let all people stand in
• 2:48:17
  Speaker 1: awe of the Eternal. Let every man, woman, and child
• 2:48:22
  Speaker 1: live in wonder of Him. One definition of awe is
• 2:48:29
  Speaker 1: a strong feeling of respect or amazement brought on by
• 2:48:33
  Speaker 1: something that is beautiful or sacred. It's a mixed feeling
• 2:48:38
  Speaker 1: of reverence, fear, and wonder caused by something majestic, sublime, sacred,
• 2:48:46
  Speaker 1: et cetera. Doesn't that describe our God majestic, sublime, sacred,
• 2:48:55
  Speaker 1: even fearsomely wonderful. To fear the Lord in the way
• 2:49:01
  Speaker 1: his word instructs us to, we must come with reverence
• 2:49:05
  Speaker 1: and awe in our hearts. There is nothing trivial or
• 2:49:09
  Speaker 1: commonplace about our Crator and Lord. Psalm seventy two five reads,
• 2:49:18
  Speaker 1: May the people fear You for as long as the
• 2:49:21
  Speaker 1: sun shines, as long as the moon rises in the
• 2:49:24
  Speaker 1: night sky. Throughout the generations, the Psalmists have much to
• 2:49:31
  Speaker 1: say on this theme of awe and fear of the Lord.
• 2:49:36
  Speaker 1: This tells us that it's closely knit with a worshipful heart.
• 2:49:43
  Speaker 1: Psalm one hundred and one, verse ten tells us the
• 2:49:46
  Speaker 1: fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All
• 2:49:50
  Speaker 1: those who practice it have a good understanding His praise
• 2:49:55
  Speaker 1: endures forever. Or it can also be trans this way.
• 2:50:02
  Speaker 1: Reverence for the eternal is the first step toward wisdom.
• 2:50:06
  Speaker 1: All those who worship him have a good understanding his
• 2:50:11
  Speaker 1: praise will echo the eternity. Lord God Almighty, we worship
• 2:50:19
  Speaker 1: you and kneel our hearts in reverential awe before you.
• 2:50:25
  Speaker 1: We declare that you are other than you are so
• 2:50:29
  Speaker 1: far above our understanding that we cannot fathom your ways.
• 2:50:34
  Speaker 1: We can only marvel and wonder at you. You contain
• 2:50:40
  Speaker 1: so many mysteries that we will be discovering for all eternity,
• 2:50:45
  Speaker 1: and out of everything, most mysterious and unfathomable is your
• 2:50:50
  Speaker 1: wild love for us. It will take all of our
• 2:50:54
  Speaker 1: eternal life and glory to even scratch the surface of it.
• 2:51:00
  Speaker 1: The vastness of space cannot compare to the magnitude of
• 2:51:03
  Speaker 1: your love. Still, we ask you to show us as
• 2:51:08
  Speaker 1: much as we can handle of your love, even if
• 2:51:12
  Speaker 1: you have to hide us in the cleft of a rock,
• 2:51:15
  Speaker 1: as you did with Moses, and cover our face while
• 2:51:19
  Speaker 1: your goodness passes by pass us by tonight, with your goodness,
• 2:51:25
  Speaker 1: wonderful Lord God, we echo Moses's prayer and say, show
• 2:51:31
  Speaker 1: us your glory, Lord, show us your glory tonight. We
• 2:51:37
  Speaker 1: long to see you in Jesus' name. Amen. Paul describes
• 2:51:45
  Speaker 1: a similar sentiment in Second Corinthians three eight, as he writes,
• 2:51:51
  Speaker 1: now all of us, with our faces unveiled, reflect the
• 2:51:55
  Speaker 1: glory of the Lord, as if we are mirrors, and
• 2:51:58
  Speaker 1: so we are being true transformed, metamorphised into his same image.
• 2:52:04
  Speaker 1: From one radiance of glory to another, just as the
• 2:52:08
  Speaker 1: spirit of the Lord accomplishes it. As we look on
• 2:52:14
  Speaker 1: God like Moses did, we will glow with his radiance.
• 2:52:19
  Speaker 1: Our hearts will be filled with his light, and we
• 2:52:22
  Speaker 1: will effortlessly beam his love to the dark world around us,
• 2:52:27
  Speaker 1: just like Moses and the children of Israel had to
• 2:52:30
  Speaker 1: cover him with a veil because they could not behold
• 2:52:33
  Speaker 1: his face. Looking at God's creation often helps us see
• 2:52:41
  Speaker 1: more of who He is. Nothing between us, and sometimes
• 2:52:47
  Speaker 1: we need to get away, also like Moses did when
• 2:52:52
  Speaker 1: he went up on a mountain to seek God. Tonight,
• 2:52:56
  Speaker 1: we are at the ocean seeking his face. So come,
• 2:53:03
  Speaker 1: let's step off the verandah and walk down to the
• 2:53:07
  Speaker 1: shoreline of this paradise beach. The water glistens and sparkles
• 2:53:15
  Speaker 1: under the crescent Moon's pale yellow lamplight. There is peaceful silence,
• 2:53:21
  Speaker 1: a sacred hush, except for the gentle sounds of the
• 2:53:25
  Speaker 1: ebbing waves of the sand, and some far distant sequlls
• 2:53:30
  Speaker 1: that haven't curled up to sleep in their nests just yet.
• 2:53:36
  Speaker 1: David's worshipful lyrics and Psalm one hundred and four bubble
• 2:53:40
  Speaker 1: up in your soul of course, the sea is vast
• 2:53:44
  Speaker 1: and stretches like the heavens beyond the view, and numberless
• 2:53:48
  Speaker 1: creatures inhabit her, from the tiny to the grate, they
• 2:53:52
  Speaker 1: swarm beneath her waves. From the tiny to the grate,
• 2:54:00
  Speaker 1: God has handcrafted each in every living thing. This boundless
• 2:54:06
  Speaker 1: and measureless sea, stretching out in front of you, far
• 2:54:10
  Speaker 1: beyond what any eye could see, holds you speechless. This
• 2:54:15
  Speaker 1: is sacred awe. Psalm one hundred and thirty nine comes
• 2:54:21
  Speaker 1: to your mind as you look out on the ocean.
• 2:54:24
  Speaker 1: Expanse If I ride on the wings of morning, if
• 2:54:28
  Speaker 1: I make my home in the most isolated part of
• 2:54:31
  Speaker 1: the ocean, even then you will be there to guide me.
• 2:54:36
  Speaker 1: Your right hand will embrace me, for you are always
• 2:54:41
  Speaker 1: there that inspires awe in your heart. Even out in
• 2:54:48
  Speaker 1: the farthest and most isolated parts of the ocean, where
• 2:54:51
  Speaker 1: no man has set sail, God is there. And even
• 2:54:56
  Speaker 1: in the most isolated seasons of your life, when you
• 2:55:00
  Speaker 1: have felt furthest from God and his people, still he
• 2:55:04
  Speaker 1: has been with you in his hand has guided you.
• 2:55:08
  Speaker 1: His hand has guided you back to Him, back to
• 2:55:12
  Speaker 1: his love, back to his embrace, back to his care.
• 2:55:16
  Speaker 1: As your father. You can run away, but you are
• 2:55:22
  Speaker 1: never outside his grace, not ever breathe that in. There
• 2:55:29
  Speaker 1: is no other love like that, vast, magnificent, unfathomable. Heep
• 2:55:36
  Speaker 1: breathing as you meditate on that, hmm, you are breathing
• 2:55:44
  Speaker 1: in such pure oxygen. The sea air is so clear.
• 2:55:49
  Speaker 1: The scent of salty air is fragrant to your nose.
• 2:55:56
  Speaker 1: The blue black sky is cloudless, The fragrant air crisp
• 2:56:01
  Speaker 1: and fresh. There's a cooling breeze that brushes your cheeks.
• 2:56:06
  Speaker 1: You inhale deeply. The grandeur of God is on full display.
• 2:56:15
  Speaker 1: He created all this. Words from the prophet Amos describe
• 2:56:21
  Speaker 1: this site so well. Who builds his upper chambers in
• 2:56:26
  Speaker 1: the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth, Who
• 2:56:30
  Speaker 1: calls for the waters of the sea and pours them
• 2:56:33
  Speaker 1: out upon the surface of the earth. The Lord is
• 2:56:37
  Speaker 1: his name. Who else but the Lord could do this?
• 2:56:44
  Speaker 1: Also Habakuk two fourteen comes to mind, for as the
• 2:56:48
  Speaker 1: waters cover the sea, the whole earth will be filled
• 2:56:52
  Speaker 1: with the knowledge that the eternal is glorious and powerful.
• 2:56:58
  Speaker 1: He is indeed both glory and powerful. How often do
• 2:57:03
  Speaker 1: you gaze reverently up at the cosmos on a starry
• 2:57:08
  Speaker 1: night and pause to tell God just how marvelous you
• 2:57:12
  Speaker 1: think his artistry is. Let's tell him right now. Dear
• 2:57:18
  Speaker 1: Almighty God, thank you for filling our hearts with true
• 2:57:23
  Speaker 1: worship and sacred awe tonight. But to be still in
• 2:57:27
  Speaker 1: your presence is sufficient for genuine adoration to stir in
• 2:57:31
  Speaker 1: our hearts. May our worship never cease. May our hearts
• 2:57:37
  Speaker 1: be fixed on you even as we sleep. You are worthy,
• 2:57:42
  Speaker 1: so worthy we glorify you and irreverential awe and wonder.
• 2:57:49
  Speaker 1: Thank you for your love for us that defines our comprehension.
• 2:57:53
  Speaker 1: Thank you for revealing it just a bit more to
• 2:57:56
  Speaker 1: us tonight. Thank you for causing your glory to pass
• 2:58:00
  Speaker 1: by us. May your spirit go with us every day
• 2:58:05
  Speaker 1: in the precious names of Jesus. Amen, listen as I
• 2:58:11
  Speaker 1: read this benediction over you from number six. The Lord
• 2:58:16
  Speaker 1: blesses you and keep you. The Lord make his face
• 2:58:20
  Speaker 1: to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The
• 2:58:23
  Speaker 1: Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you,
• 2:58:27
  Speaker 1: and give you peace.