Sunday December 9th 2018

And Jesus he stops right in his tracks. There's all kinds of people touching them all kinds of people touching him all kinds of people going to church all kinds of people say they know Jesus by when someone touches Jesus with an open heart and a true desire to have a relationship with him. He stops and he turns around. I heard your sister. I heard your sister. All those other people, who knows what was going on, but this woman said there's something special about Jesus and if I touch this guy, my life is going to change only God can give you that only God can give you that and so she took it risk and she didn't know what was going to happen. Except that she thought something's going to happen. Something's going to happen and God is saying this morning reach out. I dare you I Dare You Reach Out And Touch the Hem of my garment. And see what happens. Y'all want to stand there and just I don't know maybe on my Garmin C have to get close to do that. Right? You have to step out of the crowd and you have to reach over and have to touch one of the biggest and most difficult things will ever do is get our behinds up out of a chair and come to the front and accept Christ. I don't know y'all have done it. I remember Billy Graham. I said I don't know what's going on, but I got to go down there, but it was like I was glued to that seat but event once I got up there was no stopping. Down and You Reach Out And Touch the Hem of the Garment and my life changed. I mean changed instantly it didn't you know, right all the sudden or anything like that but something changed I go back on the road with the band and all the sudden I'm drunk and I'm preaching to people and they're actually crying and asking how to receive Christ. I'm drunk and like like that's God. But talk about God working through no matter what the situation if you give him room if you give him room you could be laying on the street, but if you give him room you'll speak through you to somebody. I mean, hopefully that's not the way it happens. But what I'm saying is God is just looking for us to Reach Out And Touch the Hem of His Garment and then and it takes risk sure takes risk. Absolutely. This woman was exposing herself to the whole Community. Are we willing to take the risk with Jesus or we just going to sit and wait until whatever it is. We think we need that the teachers are convinced us that Jesus is okay. And you know, it's crazy. But that is God Almighty will work with us fear is God Almighty who win Daniel just was in the presence of one of his angels felt like a Deadman, right? And who when I was had that experience in Toronto who went out the Chicano presents came around me, which is for those who don't know. It's an Old Testament word for the presence of God when it came around. I just I just fell in the floor and ran on my hands and knees. Because the presence was so strong and it scared me so much. And that God is going okay. I'll work with you. What do you need? What do you need that is amazing. God loves us that much. Tell me what you need. What do you need? I'll I'll do whatever I can to tell you that I love you. And then I'm with you and I want I want, and come into your life and I want you to live the life that I died to give you not the one you went to school to have the one that I died to give you a lot of people have tremendous changes in their Direction. Once they discovered Jesus because all of a sudden they're being motivated by something other than the road thinking in the wrong priorities and now it's when they start following God and boom you're into your life man. You're into your life.

So he does this and she gets healed and there's a big thing there and then the crowd said to him, you know, what don't bother the teacher anymore don't bother anymore because she's dead. The girl died. Jesus was late. dependency of showing up late You showed up late with Lazarus. on purpose so now I'm not going and they got mad at him or not where I needed you to be when I needed you and God saying well, I'm glad you you have my schedule in hand, but I know what's going on eternally, so trust my schedule not yours because I know what's going on. So he gets so, you know the story you go there and Lazarus is dead for days. 4 days and he wants to do a miracle. Martha says, but he's going to stink. I don't care if he's going to stink. He's going to come alive. Like we're so stuck on appearance this and opinions and what people are going to think and mighty and she knew it was God almighty. And she's going out while I but I don't know he's going to stink. Can you imagine God when he puts up with with us? I don't act like I don't want to do that Lord because you know, it's going to be like what what are people going to think? Okay. I just want to do a miracle in your life man. I just want to bring you into everything that I died to give you and we're sitting concerned about what our sister's got a thing for the neighbor or somebody at work. Oh man. I got a what about what I think What about what I think? So they said don't bother. put great faith going around the crowd at that point and overhearing what they said Jesus told him don't be afraid just believe

Don't Be Afraid just believe

And it stopped me in my tracks on Tuesday. What's up in the Barons? And I

don't be afraid just believe Now that's a word for someone here this morning. So work for all of us, really? What God is saying don't be afraid. I know she looks dead. I know you think Lazarus is dead. But I know what's really going to happen. So don't be afraid just believe and God is saying to us this morning. Don't be afraid. Just believe don't be afraid to follow me just believe don't be afraid to take that step just believe don't be afraid to give that thing just believe it's a powerful simple truth that Jesus said to them how many times Jerry says it all the time. How many times in the Bible is the single most quoted statement from God Don't Be Afraid fear not over and over again. And so Jesus is saying that to his this morning and he said something really beautiful and another piece of scripture where you're saying.

If you fear I'm paraphrasing us if you fear you're not perfected in love. Because fear has to do with punishment talking about our relationship with God. God is not here to punish you. Now, you know all of us have lived that's a good generation of our Christian walk. Thanking God with hope to get us and he was keeping a okay screw that up screwed that up made a mess. And we go yet. We did. Yeah, we did. I guess I better read the Bible some more praise him or give more money serve at the food bank. Try to love my sister. Try to love my brother and we start trying to earn God's grace. right And how's your no? No, no. No. No, you don't understand my love for you. I'm not here to punish you. I punished will not like to be logically speaking properly. Man punished Jesus. God did not with Jesus. God did not meet his son up as some theology likes to make us think that was the sin of humanity in full vomiting force and God simply allowed it to happen. Because there was an atonement going on all of the sin hate anger. Jealousy every bitter ugliness of humanity Butte itself on to Jesus and he said I'll take it with each hit he would take it and went this flesh ripping off his back. He said I'll take it. I'll take it. I could call twenty thousand Legions of angels right now, but I'm going to take this because I'm going to Bear the sin of humanity so they don't have to pay the price of this. So they you and I don't have to stand in front of God and say, I don't know. Or we can say I know who I am. I know what I am. I know what I've done. I know what lives in me and it's no good thing but I have chosen to follow Jesus and I have come in underneath those wings that Jesus cried about when he looked at Drew's on the side. I just want to get you in underneath my wings and take care of you. That's all God wants that's what he wants. There's nothing God is not out to try to somehow. Scalp us. Does somehow cause us to have some deep dark ugly understanding of sin and feel and hate ourselves. That's not what he's doing. He sang. I want to show you how Broken You Are. So you let me fix it. You won't let me fix what you don't know. You know, you're not going to fix the brakes on your car. If you don't know the broken and sometimes you have to fix your brakes. Because if you don't you're going to go flying into something and that's God he's saying I'm not trying to condemn you. I'm not trying to make your life miserable. I'm trying to fix your brakes because you're heading for a wall because you've got this unconfessed thing or you've got this anger or you've got this whatever it is. You've got this need to impress people. You've got this need to have nice things because it makes you feel that you're special, but it's actually putting you and Dad and it's putting your family in danger. You've got this addiction that you just won't give me. You're telling me about it and you're remorseful about it, and you don't like it, but you ain't giving it to me. And God can't take what we don't give them. He will not rip it out of our hands. So it's it's interesting that he says Don't Be Afraid just believe and that's what God is saying to us this morning and he say what what does that look like and what we read here this morning? I mean like to look at this.

You've got it. It's all over days. You shown us the still Quiet Waters. You've let us in Grass covered ways. But now Shepherd of Judah please stand in the midst of your own, Most Holy One into this place, establish your throne. That's how you get piece. That's what believing looks like saying this we're supposed to live a life of continual repentance. And I know I've been talking a lot about it and I'm going to continue talking a lot about it because it is the fundamental core way that God comes into our life and into our churches and into situations. That is the door hinge. I've got entrance to repentance and we're supposed to have a daily walk of ongoing repentance.

How many get up and eat a bowl of fudge every morning? I'd like to get up and eat a bowl of fudge every morning why we watch our diet. because what goes in could really do some damage will God is saying what comes out can really do some damage and it does Eternal damage. You're not just going to have gained a few pounds and have to go to Weight Watchers. Y'all going to have to really face. About it because it says in the end everybody. Everybody you and me. Everybody will stand and the throne judgement of Christ. We're all going to be there and we're all going to have great big posters on her head of everything we've done. Luckily, we will have the grace and the Forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Because we chose to accept it we chose to accept it. So where do we need to have an ongoing daily repentance? Because God says I've got a whole life for you. And this is clogging it. It's not like I just want to make you feel bad, you know, some people who Point things wrong and you and they just do it because they just liked it make you feel like dirt. You know that special in a workplace. How many times have I heard someone talking about me around the corner? Right? How many times was I talking about somebody around the corner?

What goes around comes around the corner?

Trust me this many days. I drove home from that radio station and God saying yeah. Well, what about that? What kind of day was that there buddy? And you want me to bless that? You want me to be in your life and in your prayer have presents in your life and you got that going on. So God says get rid of it. How do we get rid of it? It's the willingness to say Dad take it take it whatever I have to do. Whatever needs to be done. So that the spirit of God can flow. And so we can be what it is. We're supposed to be and I don't think I'm being I don't think I'm being crazy when I say that we are not living. the life that truly reflects Christ Bill was talking to me this morning and told me a story of purifying silver. And the idea, you know, we take this this silver any put it in the fire and just take it out against woman was watching it and put it in a game in it take it out. And finally she said how do you know when it's when it's finished. He said when I can see my reflection in it.

We will know one more time. when we reflect Jesus Christ That's when we'll know. And you know what you all do we all do in little pieces. And hopefully when you put all our little pieces together, it creates the image of Christ as the church. So Jerry doesn't have to have all the pieces. Tony doesn't have to have them face. When does not. But you're going to have some. And when we come together, our weaknesses are helped by another person's strengths. And our strength comes to help another person's weakness and you have this wonderful symbiotic thing that is just this organism called The Church. But it can only happen if there's love. Because if there's no love this won't help this. And this won't come near this I am I don't know what I ain't going over there with that person. And we already in a church of only 80 people on a good day. We have clicks. We dip. And people over here and the people back there and just people have meet over there and some up there and they go to the same place every week good or bad. Who knows that's for God to know but as long as we are trying to do this Then the church will be with the church is supposed to be but it it takes work. May you make this your holy of holies. May we know your presence is here may your glory to send a cloud full displacement the mighty Messiah appear may your Holiness blood through this dwelling meaning you and I may we worship like Judah before Lord. We would pray even today. Come fill your temple once more. That's God's cry. He just wants to come and fill the temple. He just wants to come and heal you he just wants to come and cause you to be lightened in your load. He wants to come and give you a sense of the future that is possible and not impossible. He wants to come and take away the past that keeps on haunting you at night and keeps on telling you you never will. When God is saying with me you can with me you can this is what God is saying to the church, but he can't do that unless we let him in. You can do it from a distance. It's got to be this personal coming in. All we like sheep have wandered. You know what the thing about that is the wandering. We were all wondering at times right? We're all wondering. Sometimes through this week maybe some of us have wondered I felt it downstairs. I felt I was very a whole bunch of things were going on. I was trying to do all this stuff and stop and I just came up here. And I just said father all that doesn't matter. What matters is you focus me. I'm wondering I'm wondering I'm getting worried about this and I'm getting worried about that and I'm thinking about what that person is going to say and I'm thinking about this and that and in the end you end up just stopped right you end up just stopped.

But you brought us together again that we might join in your worship that we might lift up your name Lord. We desire to please you with offerings Fit For A King teaches to sacrifice unto our God that are courts with your Praises Mason and God wants us to sing. sing

Like this thing like a really sing in your life in the sense not just singing But the have your life be this great statement is beautiful statement, and that's what God wants to do. So father we thank you for what you're saying to us today. We thank you Lord for your grace. And for your mercy and that father God you're calling us as a people to live a life of consistent repentance. But not just feeling sorrowful but saying to you as a loving father dad, what do you want to do with what do you want to do with today? What needs to be touched today?

Come Holy Spirit, I just bring that to our minds. So that we could have truly you fill our Temple. truly fill our Temple father, Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit

We just sit in your presence father.

Have your way.