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Sing It! | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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I want you to turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter
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10. I want to share a message with you that was
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really birthed through a discussion that we had
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in our seniors group a couple of Wednesdays ago,
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and then through those of you that are going
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through training about hearing God's voice. This
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is the word that God had put in my heart through
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those things and just cultivating things in my
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spirit. So if some of this is a repeat for some
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of you, I want to tell you that God is speaking.
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The devil wants to diminish your life. The devil
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wants to erode away your effectiveness. He wants
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to gradually steal your voice. He wants to shift
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your life away from having momentum towards God
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to just, you know, just being comfortable where
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I am. And if we allow the enemy to have his way,
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he will steal away, steal away, steal away, steal
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away. to condemn anybody, people that are not
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here. But you know, 40 years ago, if I go back
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that far in the church, I can't even believe
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it, I'm saying 40 years ago. Do you know when
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somebody gave their life to Christ, they were
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there Sunday morning at 9 o 'clock for Sunday
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school. They were there Sunday morning, 10 o
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'clock for church. They were there Sunday night,
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6 o 'clock for church. They were there at a prayer
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meeting usually. They were there Wednesday night
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at 6 .30 or 7 o 'clock for church. The normal
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devotion to... Jesus and his church was expressed
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maybe four or five times a week. But there has
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been a diminishing over the years. And there's
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lots of reasons for it. Culture shift, all different
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kinds of things. Again, I'm not saying this to
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bring condemnation. But do you know the average
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commitment now to people that are fully committed
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to the church is to be present twice a month.
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That if you are present twice a month, you are
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fully committed to the church. And it's an expression
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of how there is an erosion. Now there's lots
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of reasons for that. And again, I'm not trying
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to bring condemnation to anybody. But the enemy
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has successfully diminished the power of the
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church. But Jesus is not coming back for a weak,
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anemic bride. Jesus is coming back for a bride
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that is strong. Hallelujah. For a bride that
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is all in for him. Hallelujah. He is coming back
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for a prepared church. Amen. Somebody give God
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praise right now. And I believe. I believe that
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the diminishing of the enemy, that we have to
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quit tolerating it and draw a line in the sand
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and say thus far and no more. Amen? Glory to
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God. And so I want to talk about a way that the
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enemy tries to diminish you. And perhaps it's
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not even a diminishing, but he's trying to keep
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you out of a key part of spirit -filled, Christian
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living. And that is this, that God has given
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you a voice to sing. And I want to remind us
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why it is we do what we do on Sunday morning,
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but beyond that in your everyday life. The song.
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The song. Now, let's start reading. In 1 Samuel
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chapter 10. Samuel took a flask of oil, poured
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it on Saul's head, and kissed him and said, Is
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it not because the Lord has anointed you commander
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over his inheritance? When you have departed
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from me today, you will find two men by Rachel's
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tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah.
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And they will say to you, The donkeys which...
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you went to look for have been found, and now
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your father has ceased caring about the donkeys
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and is worrying about you, saying, what shall
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I do about my son? And then you shall go on forward
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from there and come to the terebinth tree of
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Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel
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will meet you, one carrying three young goats,
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another carrying three loaves of bread, and another
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carrying a skin of wine, and they will greet
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you and give you two loaves of bread, which you
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shall receive from their hands. Here's my text
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for this morning. After that, you shall come
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to the hill of God. where the Philistine garrison
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is, and it will happen when you have come there
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to the city that you will meet a group of prophets
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coming down from the high place with a stringed
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instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp
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before them, and they will be prophesying. And
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then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you
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and you will prophesy with them and be turned
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into another man. And let it be when these signs
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come to you that you do as the occasion demands
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for God is with you. You shall go down before
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me to Gilgal and surely I will come down to you
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to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices
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of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait
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till I come to you and show you what you should
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do. Verse 9, So it was, when he had turned his
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back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another
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heart, and all those signs came to pass that
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day. And when they came there to the hill, there
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was a group of prophets to meet them. Then the
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Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied
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among them. Father, I thank you for your word
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this morning. And I ask, Lord Jesus, that you
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would anoint your word to break every barrier
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in our lives in Jesus' mighty, mighty name. And
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everybody said, Amen. Amen. Samuel was the prophet.
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And just like Dennis and Linda have started a
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school to learn how to hear from God and how
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to prophesy, Samuel had schools of prophecy around
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Israel. He had one in his hometown. And he had
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another here in Gibeah. And so there was a school
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that Samuel led. We don't have record of any
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other prophet doing this, but Samuel did this,
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trying to raise people up in his generation to
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hear God's voice. And so Samuel was not talking
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about an arbitrary group of prophets. He was
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talking about a group of people that he had personally
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invested in. would be at a certain place coming
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down a hill at the very time that Saul was going
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to meet with them. And this group, this group
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of prophets, Samuel had taught them that in the
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midst of your prophesying, in the midst of doing
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what you do, you should play instruments. I find
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it interesting. How many of you find that interesting?
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Now how many of you play an instrument? Now how
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many of you have an instrument? Come on. Come
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on. I love the verse that Cammie opened up with.
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Sing to the Lord. Do you know that that is a
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command in the Scriptures? It is a command. to
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men and women. I point out the men because the
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men have a harder time singing. That's true in
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the society in which we live. In fact, I preached
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this message in a church called the Garden Church
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in Africa. And a woman came up to me afterwards
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and she said, She said, Pastor, today, after
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decades, she had to be, I don't know how old
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she was, she had to be 70, at least 70. She had
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been married to her husband for many, many, many
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years. And she said, today, for the first time
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ever, I heard my husband sing. Isn't that amazing?
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The command to sing is not to the gifted. The
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command to sing is not to those worthy of being
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on the platform. The command to sing is to every
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single one of us. Sing to the Lord a new song.
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Sing to the Lord all the earth. Amen? It is a
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command. God has given you an instrument. You
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may or may not be comfortable with that. God
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does not care. He does not care if you're comfortable.
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God is not concerned about making you feel comfortable.
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He wants to equip you with a life -changing tool.
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In 2 Corinthians chapter 10, it says this, For
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the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but
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they are mighty in God for the pulling down of
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strongholds. Glory to God. Now, I'm talking this
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morning about one of those tools. There are many
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tools. And you might say, well, I'm better at
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one of the other tools. And that may be true.
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But God wants everybody in the house. He wants
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everybody listening to me at home. He wants everybody
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to use this tool that He has called singing.
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Amen? Praise the Lord. Now, before we go on,
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I want to declare over you this morning that
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God sings. God sings. I want to read to you a
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verse. The Lord your God is in your midst. He
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is the mighty one, and He will save. He will
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rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet
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you with His love. He will rejoice over you with
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singing. He will rejoice over you with singing.
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Have you ever heard God sing over you? Do you
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think God is so concerned about His image that
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He doesn't sing? No, he sings. Have you ever
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heard him sing over you? Have you ever heard
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him lift his voice up over you because he delights
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in you? I find this stunning. I find this stunning.
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We sometimes hear God's voice speak to us. And
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He does. But have you ever heard Him sing? Oh
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God, open up our ears that we can hear You singing
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over us. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. When our kids
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were small and they were disquieted, Cammie would
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rock them in the rocking chair. And she would
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sing over them. And sometimes I would listen
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around the corner. And I would listen to her
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sing, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something
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about that name. If you know it, sing it with
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me. Master, Savior. Jesus, like the fragrance
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after the rain. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all
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heaven and earth proclaim kings and kingdoms
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will all pass away but there's something about
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that name and as she would sing our sons and
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daughters would would quit crying, and they would
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often go to sleep. And as she sang, the atmosphere
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would change. That's powerful. When God begins
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to sing, the atmosphere changes. I feel the Lord
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in this place right now. Thank you, Father. Let
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me read you another passage. You are my hiding
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place. You shall preserve me from trouble. You
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shall surround me with songs of deliverance.
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You see, when you get in a pickle and when you
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get in trouble, you begin to fret and you begin
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to fear, but God begins to sing. And when God
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begins to sing, The atmosphere changes and it's
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why you have to find the secret place. This season
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for us has been all about the secret place. You
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find the secret place with God. You find the
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secret place with God. And He... He begins to
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sing over you songs of deliverance. You wonder
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where deliverance comes from? It comes from the
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voice of God. You wonder where freedom comes
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from? It comes because God begins to sing His
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song. Hallelujah. And we are made, friends, we
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are made in the image of God. He sings and He
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made us to sing. I love the creation story as
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told by C .S. Lewis in the Chronicles of Narnia.
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I love it, and I wonder if there's any truth
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to it that's not recorded in the scripture. Aslan,
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who is representing Jesus, do you know what he
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does the whole time creation is happening? He
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is lifting up his voice in song, and as Aslan
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sings, creation order comes forth out of the
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ground. I wonder if some of creation that's unrecorded,
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we're going to be able to find out fully one
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day. We have a few verses about creation and
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that's it. We're going to know fully, even as
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we are fully known. And I wonder if some of that
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creation came forth from the singing of the Father.
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Glory to God. When God sings, The atmosphere
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changes. Deliverance comes. Things begin to change.
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Peace comes. We feel His love. You know, sometimes
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you're feeling His love. In fact, just right
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now, just lift your hands up to the Lord. Say,
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God, reveal Your love to me. Sometimes when we
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feel His love, We can't hear it, but he is singing
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over us, delighting in us. Glory to Jesus. When
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things get tense at home or when Cammie's telling
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me something I don't like hearing, do you know
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what I begin to do? I begin to say, I love you,
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Cammie. And she goes. Singing changes the atmosphere.
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Do you know the book of Revelation is a book
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about foretelling? God, give us eyes to see and
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ears to hear what God is saying in this hour.
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Because in this hour, it's a very prophetic hour.
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God is working powerfully, setting the earth
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up for His return. I believe that with my whole
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heart. Don't think that what is happening around
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the earth is just the will of a president. What
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is happening around the earth is God moving the
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pieces, getting ready for Jesus to return. Hallelujah.
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And so Revelation, Daniel, portions of the Scripture
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are all about forth telling, telling us. how
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it's going to come so that we recognize the season.
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No man knows the day or the hour, but the church
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should recognize the season of His return. Revelation
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is also a primary book about what happens in
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the heavens. And do you know, every time we see
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what's happening in the heavens, what do we see?
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We see somebody singing. Somebody lifting up
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their voices before God. Angels, seraphim, cherubim,
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elders casting down their crowns, singing, you
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are worthy. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
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to receive glory and honor and power and might
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and dominion forever and ever and ever. It is
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a book about worship. If you, on this side of
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eternity, Don't become a worshiper. You're missing
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out. Because heaven is filled with worship. It's
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what's happening day and night around the throne
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as they sing, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God
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Almighty. The whole earth is full of His glory.
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Hallelujah. And Jesus taught us. Jesus taught
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us to pray, as it is in heaven, so let it be
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on the earth. You wonder why miracles start to
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break out when we worship? It's because the atmosphere
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of heaven is coming down to the earth. Oh, glory
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to God. Oh, glory to God. The atmosphere of heaven
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coming down to the earth. Your voice. He wants
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you to think thoughts like, well, I'm glad I
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made it through another worship service. That
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was a long one. I sure like it when Brianna leads
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better than Pastor. Because Pastor goes on and
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on and on and on and on. When you have thoughts
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like that, you're missing the whole point. Because
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the whole point is that heaven, the atmosphere
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of heaven, come to the earth. Glory to God. And
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the enemy wants to diminish that in the church.
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But Jesus said that the gates of hell will not
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prevail against the church. And all the diminishing
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that he is trying to accomplish to weaken the
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church and to make it less effective and to make
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it less real. It's going to come to nothing in
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Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to
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God. We praise Your name, Lord. Worship is a
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huge weapon in spiritual warfare. It changes
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the atmosphere. It was no wonder that the prophets
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coming down the hill were playing instruments.
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And I know the Scriptures doesn't say this, but
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I can't help but also believe that they were
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singing to the Lord as they played. And it's
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no wonder that in that atmosphere, Saul, the
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first king of Israel, was transformed and changed
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into another man. And God began to work in him.
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Hallelujah. When you first came to the church,
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maybe not this church, I'm talking about the
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church, you gave your life to Christ and you
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first started coming to church, did you wonder,
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what is that that I feel? It's the presence of
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God. That's what that is. It's the presence of
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God. Are you with me this morning? No. In spiritual
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warfare, God... will sometimes call you to use
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singing even more sometimes than praying or other
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forms of prayer, which this morning is about
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singing. In Psalm 8 -2, it says this, Out of
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the mouths of babes and nursing infants you have
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ordained praise. Because of your enemies that
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you might silence the enemy and the avenger.
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That means this. It doesn't matter how old you
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are. That when you lift up your voice in praise,
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that the enemy flees. The voice of the enemy
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is silenced. It also doesn't matter how old you
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are in Christ. You can be a brand new believer.
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And when you lift up your voice to the Lord,
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His presence comes and the voice of the enemy
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is stilled and silenced. Now this is important
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because the enemy whispers things to us all the
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time that we're tempted to believe. And you know
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the place where that voice is stilled is when
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you begin to sing and you begin to praise. And
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it's true for every single believer. It's not
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just true for the pastor. It's not just true
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for the singers. It is true for you. It is true
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for you. Hallelujah. Let the high praises of
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God be in their mouth. Let a two -edged sword
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be in their hand to execute vengeance on the
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nations and punishment on the people. Hallelujah.
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I love King Jehoshaphat. I love that story. Now,
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God did not do this every single battle, but
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in this battle, he gave us an incredible illustration
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about life, and it was Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles
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20, verse 21. And I'll just get to the heart
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of the story where it says, and when he consulted
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with the people, he appointed those who should
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sing to the Lord and who should praise the beauty
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of holiness as they went out before the army
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and were singing, praise the Lord for His mercy
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endures forever. Now, there is a war right now.
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In fact, there's several of them around the earth,
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but you know in their strategy, you know what
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they did not do? Send forth the singers first.
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Hey, who can sing? I want you to get on the front
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line and move into Iran. Just singing, praise
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the Lord, for His mercy endures forever. Go ahead.
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Go ahead. If they announced that as a strategy,
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what would the world think? And that is exactly
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what Jehoshaphat did. Moab, Seir. Amen. The three
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armies gathered against them. And Jehoshaphat
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puts the singers in the front to praise the Lord.
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Wow. Wow. Praise the Lord for His mercy endures
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forever. They've got spears. They've got arrows.
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They've got swords. But we've got something they
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don't have. We have a song. And in the spirit
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realm, the enemy still trembles when we sing.
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And the Bible says when they began to sing and
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praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people
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of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come
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against Judah, and they were defeated. Somebody
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give praise to the Lord. Hallelujah. Glory to
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God. They lifted up their voices, and the enemy
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was defeated. Hallelujah. Oh, we give praise
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to God. Glory to Jesus. Glory to Jesus. Glory
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to Jesus. Now, Saul, in this story, time would
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go by and Saul's heart would harden against God.
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And he backslid. And in fact, he started consulting
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witches. He started going the wrong direction.
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And God released an evil spirit to torment Saul.
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And that opened door in Saul's heart, the lack
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of repentance. Saul refused to repent, and so
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that demon continually badgered him. And I want
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to thank God that when we move away from him,
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he does not leave us alone. God's heart was to
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move Saul to repentance. But Saul refused to
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repent, and this demon spirit drove him nuts.
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Mad. And so somebody had the bright idea, bring
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somebody that can play an instrument. And I love
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it because the chapter before, the story right
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before, David is anointed the next king of Israel.
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And who did they just happen to call upon to
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come and play before King Saul? David. And the
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Bible says in 1 Samuel 16, 23, And so it was,
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whenever the evil spirit that was sent from God
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was upon Saul, David would take a harp and play
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it with his hand. And I can't help but also think
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that here that David sang. And then Saul would
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become refreshed and well, and the distressing
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spirit would depart from him. And I ask you why?
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Because when David sang, the presence of God
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came. And when the manifest presence of God was
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in the room, demons had to leave. When you begin
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to sing, everything that the enemy... is coming
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against you with. When the presence of the Lord
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fills the room, has to flee. Fathers, I want
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to encourage you to sing at home. I got one amen.
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I want to say that again because I feel like
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there's power in that. Because there's intimidation
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on some of the men when it comes to singing.
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I break that intimidation off of you in the name
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of Jesus so that you can sing. It changes the
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atmosphere. It changes the atmosphere. I've got
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to move along in this message. In 2 Kings 3,
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I've preached on this a long time ago and I've
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shared it in a couple of different places. But
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it's so powerful and it's the calling of God
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that He placed initially on my life. In 2 Kings
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3. And the story is this, that Jehoshaphat...
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was going to be defeated by Moab, and so Jehoshaphat
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did not pray. Have you ever had a situation where
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you did not pray? And then later you wished you
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did? Jehoshaphat did not pray. When you don't
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seek the Lord about something, it will not go
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well. But in his own thinking, he thought, well,
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if I can just get two other kings to team up
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with me, we can take care of Moab. And so without
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praying, Jehoshaphat teams up with Jehoram, the
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wicked king of Israel, who was the son of a wicked
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king. And he teamed up with the king of Edom.
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And he was a wicked king. But he was thinking
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numbers, numbers, numbers. I just got to outnumber
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Moab. And he did not pray. And guess what happened?
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They wandered for a week. They ran out of food.
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They all got discouraged. Everything fell to
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pieces. And Jehoshaphat comes to his senses.
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God will bring you to your senses. And he said,
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we've got to pray about this. Is there a prophet
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in this area that can help us? And somebody said,
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well, Elisha lives right over there. Elisha,
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the one that served Elijah, he lives right over
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there. And Jehoshaphat says, send for him now.
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Well, Elisha came, and when Elisha got there,
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there was Jehoshaphat, there was Jehoram, there
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was the king of Edom, the three of them, and
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Elisha knew two of these kings are evil men.
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And he came into the situation, and he looked
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at Jehoram, and he said, I want to tell you something,
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Jehoram. that if Jehoshaphat was not here, I
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would turn around and leave. I don't even want
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to be with you. Well, what do you think the atmosphere
34:13
was like? It was filled with anxiety. It was
34:21
tense. And then Jehoram responds. And he said,
34:26
I want to tell you something, Elisha. Moab is
34:30
going to destroy us all. Well, what a thing to
34:33
say to the prophet. Even Jehoram, the wicked
34:37
king, was filled with discouragement and he injected
34:40
that discouragement into the atmosphere. You
34:44
have division. You have an angry prophet. You
34:48
have discouragement in the atmosphere. Do you
34:52
think it's conducive to prophesy? It is not.
34:58
It's not conducive for God to move in that atmosphere.
35:02
And can I tell you that sometimes in your home,
35:04
you have the wrong atmosphere. You believe in
35:08
God for a miracle, but your home is filled with
35:11
discouragement. And your home is filled with
35:14
division. You can't quit arguing amongst yourself.
35:19
And you're expecting God to move? Elisha couldn't
35:25
even make anything happen in that atmosphere,
35:28
but he knew he was called upon to prophesy. And
35:34
so after he says that to King Jehoram, I wouldn't
35:37
even look at you. In verse 15, he says this,
35:41
but bring me now a minstrel musician. It's powerful,
35:52
friends. Why did Elisha do that? He didn't always
35:56
do that, but he did it here. Why? Because the
36:01
atmosphere needed to be changed. And I love this
36:07
musician. I cannot wait to meet this musician
36:11
in heaven. I do not know his or her name. Probably
36:15
a male in this time frame. I do not know his
36:20
name. We're not told his name. We don't even
36:23
really know what instrument he played. Maybe
36:25
a harp. Maybe some kind of lyre or flute or whatever.
36:31
Did this musician sing or not? We don't know.
36:36
But the musician showed up. And in that atmosphere,
36:42
the musician began to do something. The musician
36:48
began to play. And we don't know how long the
36:53
musician played. We don't know how much time
36:57
it took. But when the musician came, it says,
37:01
then it happened. When the musician played, that
37:07
the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha. It was
37:13
when the musician played. And said, thus says
37:15
the Lord, make the valley full of ditches. And
37:19
he goes on and on and on about the strategy.
37:23
The strategy is released through the word of
37:28
the prophet. And that strategy was implemented
37:33
and Moab was defeated. Hallelujah. But why? Why
37:40
did Jehoshaphat win the battle? Why did the other
37:44
two kings participate in the victory? Because
37:48
a musician began to play. A musician began to
37:55
play. A musician began to play. When somebody
38:03
steps forward with the weapon, This weapon of
38:12
warfare. And they use it. The power of the enemy
38:20
comes down. What we find here, discouragement
38:28
leaves. Anybody been discouraged this week? Come
38:35
on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come
38:37
on. There they are. There's all the hands. You've
38:40
been discouraged. Do you know the remedy? The
38:46
remedy? You begin to step into the presence of
38:50
the Lord with worship. Discouragement cannot
38:56
stay in the atmosphere of the presence of the
39:00
Lord. And the atmosphere of the presence of the
39:04
Lord comes when we sing. When we sing, now here,
39:09
I'm not talking about just singing. You know,
39:12
you can sing along with the radio, you know,
39:14
whatever it's playing, secular music or whatever,
39:17
and that sound of singing is not the sound that
39:20
God inhabits. So I'm not saying that just any
39:23
type of singing. But this morning what I'm talking
39:26
about is the heartfelt, engaged singing as unto
39:31
the Lord. Amen? And Psalm 22 .3 says that's the
39:35
kind of singing of praise. that he inhabits.
39:39
Glory to God. I wonder, the prophets, you know,
39:44
most of the prophets are written in verse. Did
39:47
you notice that? That it is written just like
39:50
the Psalms are written. We know the Psalms are
39:53
meant to sing. And I wonder if many of the prophets
39:57
did not just give or orate their prophecies.
40:02
I wonder if they sang their prophecies. I don't
40:06
have any study that would back that up. I briefly
40:11
tried to find some, but I wonder. It's written
40:16
in verse. And did they accompany their prophecy
40:22
with song? The victory comes because a musician
40:29
begins to play. And Paul... tells us this. They
40:38
lived in a time of intense warfare, battle over
40:43
the church. You think that our lives are difficult?
40:49
I've come from some places where the gospel is
40:52
scarce. The gospel is scarce on my island. What
41:01
we experience is not like what anybody else is
41:06
experiencing around the world. And Paul knew
41:10
that we would need encouragement. He said this,
41:16
Do not be drunk with wine, which is dissipation,
41:19
but be filled with the Spirit. And then he defines
41:23
a part of being filled with the Spirit. And we
41:27
know from other places in the Scriptures about
41:30
speaking in tongues and the gifts of the Spirit
41:32
and the different things, the different ways
41:34
that the Spirit operates. But Paul here, in talking
41:39
about being filled with the Spirit of the living
41:43
God, says speak to one another in psalms and
41:47
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
41:53
melody in your heart to the Lord. If you're going
41:58
to be filled with the Holy Spirit, there's going
42:01
to be something happen in your life. One of those
42:03
things is you are going to sing. Sing. Sing to
42:12
the Lord. Sing to the Lord. Sing to the Lord.
42:18
Something unique is happening in this house.
42:21
Something unique has always been happening in
42:23
this house, but it's coming up to another level.
42:26
And I'm reminding you about singing because there's
42:28
people like Saul coming into the house carrying
42:31
demons and trouble. I'm not saying they're possessed.
42:35
They might be, but they're badgered by demons
42:38
all week long. And they come into the house of
42:42
the Lord. Do you know what they don't need? They
42:45
don't need somebody that's just singing because
42:47
of religion. Do you know what they need? They
42:51
need an atmosphere. that is explosive with praise,
42:56
that is inhabited by the power and the presence
43:00
of the living God. Because people that have been
43:02
badgered with demons all week, that don't know
43:05
what to do about it, when they get in that atmosphere,
43:08
do you know what happens? They go, oh, it feels
43:11
so nice in here. And we don't want them to be
43:16
like Saul and just feel better for a moment.
43:18
We want to teach them and call people to repentance.
43:22
Because when they repent, they'll really be delivered
43:25
and not just feel better on Sunday morning. And
43:29
if that's your case, if you just feel better
43:31
on Sunday morning, and when you go back, you
43:35
don't feel so good, God is calling you to full
43:38
repentance so that you can be delivered and set
43:43
free. But the world needs a people that understand
43:47
worship. That when we worship the atmosphere,
43:53
Speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual
43:58
psalms. Has your voice been diminished? Maybe
44:10
the enemies just kept you all along from that
44:13
part of your walk with God. Maybe that's a door
44:19
you've refused to open. I don't have a voice.
44:25
That's not my personality, Pastor. That's not
44:30
my personality. And that's a real question. That's
44:38
a real struggle, you know. I say that not in
44:43
jest. And if you've felt that way, The enemy
44:49
wants you to stay that way. The Lord wants to
44:55
help you in that and move you to a place of freedom
45:00
in singing. Hallelujah. Singing and making melody
45:09
in your heart to the Lord. There's lots of places
45:18
to go here, but I want to conclude with a story
45:22
in Acts chapter 16. And Paul and Silas are in
45:32
prison. Others have already been killed. They've
45:37
been beaten and they're in stocks. And they're
45:43
going to be killed in the morning. Paul and Silas
45:48
are going to be martyred in the morning. And
45:56
Silas looks at Paul, says, Paul, this is the
46:04
end. It's been a good run. Are you feeling okay?
46:16
I'm hurting, Silas. I can't move my hands. They're
46:20
cramped up. My back. Well, what are we going
46:31
to do, Paul? And Paul looks at Silas and says,
46:38
why don't we sing? Why don't we sing? Oh, praise
46:54
the name of the Lord our God. Oh, praise his
47:03
name forevermore. For all my days, I will sing
47:13
God's praise. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. Our God. Silas.
47:26
Silas, will you sing with me? Will you sing with
47:30
me? This is our last night on earth. Let's sing.
47:37
Because even now, he's worthy of our praise.
47:42
Let's sing. And Silas joined with him. Oh, praise
47:47
the name of the Lord our God. Oh, praise His
47:55
name forevermore. For endless days I will sing
48:04
God's praise. Oh, Lord, oh, Lord our God. Oh,
48:15
hallelujah. Hallelujah. My mother turned 80 this
48:20
year. And she told me at her birthday party,
48:24
she said, I can't sing like I used to. Anybody
48:34
experience that? Some of you laughing. You know
48:45
what the enemy would want my mother to do? Just
48:49
quit singing. Just quit singing. Who wants to
48:57
hear that anyway? But I want to tell you something
49:02
that God doesn't care whether you're eight or
49:06
whether you're 88 or anywhere in between. He's...
49:13
calling you to lift up your voice. And everybody
49:16
in the jail began to hear it. Everybody in the
49:21
jail began to hear the song that was being sung.
49:29
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And they began to listen.
49:35
And they began to say, well, that's never happened
49:39
in this jail before. This place of misery. This
49:43
place where they give us nothing to eat except
49:49
to keep us alive. Whoever heard the sound of
49:54
singing and they listened in to their ear and
49:59
they began to hear Paul and Silas and they began
50:03
to sing with them, I believe. Are you pulling
50:08
that song up? Anastasia, play that one. Yeah,
50:14
play that one. I feel like God's going to set
50:16
some people free right now. Because the same
50:20
thing that happened then still happens today.
50:23
Because they begin to sing. And they begin to
50:26
lift up their voice. And the jail cell began
50:30
to shake. God sent angels. And the jail cell
50:36
began to shake. Hallelujah. And the stocks that
50:44
were holding their wrists, they began to break
50:48
open. Oh, glory to God. Glory to God. Hallelujah.
50:54
Oh, we give you praise, Lord. We give you praise.
50:59
Oh, praise the name of the Lord our God. O praise
51:09
His name forevermore. For endless days we will
51:20
sing Your praise. O Lord, O Lord our God. Oh,
51:31
praise the name of the Lord our God. Oh, praise
51:39
His name forevermore. For endless days we will
51:49
sing Your praise. Oh, Lord, oh, Lord our God.
52:00
Oh, praise the name of the Lord our God. Oh,
52:08
praise His name forevermore. For endless days
52:17
we will sing Your praise. Oh, Lord, oh, Lord
52:25
our God. now listen listen the stocks came off
52:34
of their wrists and feet the chains around the
52:39
other prisoners broke off and the doors flew
52:43
open and you would think that the prisoners would
52:49
just rush right out but i believe there's something
52:54
between the lines that happened That we don't
52:58
see in Acts chapter 16. But I believe it was
53:01
there. Because I believe in that moment. That
53:06
God gave a word to Paul. That said, Paul. Don't
53:12
go through the door yet. Stay where you are.
53:18
Stay where you are. Because in the atmosphere
53:21
of the presence of the Lord like that. The word.
53:28
he heard a word stay right here because there
53:33
was a jailer and the jailer came running and
53:37
the jailer saw all the doors open and he thought
53:40
for sure the prisoners had escaped and he took
53:45
a sword to his to his throat and was about to
53:50
kill himself but paul yelled from the prison
53:58
We are all here. And that day, the jailer and
54:05
all of his family came to Christ, was baptized,
54:10
brought the prisoners out, and washed their feet.
54:14
Somebody give God praise. Glory to God. Why was
54:20
that jailer saved? Why was his household baptized?
54:24
Because somebody began Somebody began to lift
54:32
up their voice. When we sing, the atmosphere
54:36
changes. Shackles break off of people. And lives
54:41
are never the same again. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
54:49
Glory to God. Oh, praise the name of the Lord
54:57
our King. Praise the name of the Lord our God.
55:27
Oh, praise His name forevermore. For endless
55:35
days we will sing God's praise. Oh, Lord, our
55:42
Lord, our Lord. Now I want to do one thing this
55:50
morning because some of you need to respond.
55:55
You have felt diminished and you have felt the
55:59
enemy waging war on your soul. And this is not
56:05
about condemnation like you've done something
56:07
wrong because that happens to all of us. But
56:11
this morning what we want to do is we want to
56:14
be the voice of God. And we want to sing this
56:18
song of deliverance over you. And so I would
56:23
like you to step out of your seat and come down
56:25
to the front. If you've been in that place of
56:28
warfare, of difficulty, of trial, and you haven't
56:33
had breakthrough, come on, come on, come on.
56:36
We're going to sing over you this morning, this
56:39
morning. God, would you just speak to people?
56:41
They know they should be down here at the altar
56:44
right now. God, would you just speak to people
56:46
to step out right now because shackles are going
56:50
to break. In the name of Jesus, we thank you,
56:54
Father, for moving powerfully in this place.
56:58
In Jesus' name. Hallelujah, Lord. Hallelujah.
57:02
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
57:06
Oh, we give you glory, God. We give you glory,
57:09
God. We give you glory. We give you glory. Hallelujah.
57:13
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
57:18
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. We praise your name.
57:22
We praise your name. God is doing something right
57:24
now. God is doing something right now. We thank
57:28
you, Father. We thank you, Father. We give you
57:31
glory, God. We give you glory, God. Oh, my God.
57:35
Here we go. Oh, praise the... Come on, sing it,
57:40
sing it. One more time. Oh, praise the name of
58:18
the Lord our God. Oh, praise His name forevermore.
58:30
For endless days we will sing Your praise. Oh,
58:40
Lord. Does this mean, Pastor, that I will always
58:54
see with my eyes the blessing? Does this mean
59:03
that if I'll just sing that nothing bad will
59:08
ever happen? Does this mean that life will be
59:15
roses from here on out? I want you to hear the
59:24
song of Habakkuk. The fig is not blossoming.
59:33
There's no fruit on the vine. The olive crop
59:39
failed. And we have no food. My flocks are gone.
59:53
The hurts can't be heard. That's how he started
1:00:01
his song. Yet, I will sing anyway. I will rejoice
1:00:12
anyway. I will practice joy in the Lord my God.
1:00:23
The Lord God is my strength. He will make my
1:00:28
feet like the deer's feet. He will make me walk
1:00:33
on high hills. That's what Habakkuk sang. Sometimes
1:00:44
you sing Habakkuk's song. That's just the way
1:00:46
life is. But you sing. The devil wanted to keep
1:00:55
Habakkuk quiet. The devil did not want this song
1:00:59
to be put in the Bible. But Habakkuk said, no,
1:01:06
it doesn't matter. I don't understand why my
1:01:09
enemies look blessed and why Israel looks defeated.
1:01:13
I don't understand why people that don't serve
1:01:18
God get all the good things in life. while my
1:01:23
life stinks. But it doesn't matter. The devil
1:01:33
is not going to have my song. And so, Lord, I
1:01:38
just lift up this church to you. I lift up everybody
1:01:43
standing here, everybody listening at home. I
1:01:47
just ask in Jesus' name that the song of the
1:01:50
Lord would be in their hearts and in their minds
1:01:56
and in their mouths. And God, I pray that you
1:02:04
would put a melody, you'd put a melody in our
1:02:10
hearts. I pray, God, that even as Pastor Ben
1:02:14
sent me another song that God had given to him,
1:02:20
A sound from this house heard nowhere else in
1:02:23
the world. I pray that you will release that
1:02:27
into this house over and over and over and over
1:02:32
again. I pray that the song of the Lord would
1:02:36
come forth. God, I pray that we would hear you
1:02:40
singing over your people. Give us ears to hear
1:02:46
what you are saying. In Jesus' mighty name. Hallelujah.
1:02:53
Can we give the Lord praise? Give the Lord praise.
1:02:56
Give the Lord praise.