4 Keys To A Spiritual Reset

I want to give you four keys to a great spiritual reset. Four keys to a great spiritual reset. We tag this as a praying for California and we spent from about five o'clock to six o'clock next door in the prayer room praying for California. So if you ever want to be involved in that, make sure you find out when the prayer meetings are. It's so important to get the church praying. And there's great hope because as California goes, so goes the nation. And that doesn't have to mean bad things. It can also mean good things. And I think I forgot to mention, but Ignite, you're in here. I know some of you are like, oh no, oh no. Don't worry, you're going to get a lot out of this because this is what is going to get you through life. In the same way that there are physical remedies to physical problems, there are spiritual remedies to spiritual problems. Okay guys, this is going to be huge. Think about this. There are spiritual remedies to spiritual problems. So we look around and we say, what is going on? The homeless situation, the border situation, the perversion in the schools. I mean, if it's not one thing, it's the next. And sometimes we forget that, yes, this is a big problem, but there are spiritual answers. Evil never surrenders its hold without a fight, but always through the grim contentions of the battlefield. J.H. Howitt, I believe that's his last name. He said that, and it's so true, evil never surrenders its hold without a fight. So you have to realize the evil in your family, the evil in your life, the evil that's going on in our nation, it's not going to surrender its hold without a fight. But we don't fight this battle with swords and bullets and ammunition like that. We fight it with spiritual ammunition. And evil can surrender its hold. Can you imagine if you contend for your family, if you contend for your children, if you begin to press in like never before? 1 Corinthians is very important for us. 1 Corinthians 10.6. Now these things, what things, the warnings and the admonitions, admonishments, I should say, that took place in the Old Testament are an example for us today that we might not crave evil things that they craved. And God will often use enemies, pestilence and famine and drought as a judgment, as well as an alarm clock. I don't like alarm clocks, but we need them from time to time. And God will give us an alarm clock to wake us up. I just saw an advertisement for an alarm clock that's pretty cool. When it goes off, it's got wheels on it. Have you seen it? And it just flips off of your desk and starts going around the bedroom floor. You got to get up and catch it and turn it off. And so I'm thinking about getting that for my kids. And so God will use the alarm clock and He'll use that wake-up call. He'll use that jolting. He'll use that not just an alarm, but a travesty. We look around and we get so fed up and we get so concerned with what's going on. And God can use that to wake us up. So God will use our enemies. He'll use pestilence and He'll use famine and drought. Sound familiar? To get our attention. So we find ourselves in Joel 1. This is so important for America and for California. Hear this, you elders. Hear this, you elders. And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land. So He's talking to the church of their day. So hear this, you leaders. And it begins with leadership. I really believe that it begins with leadership in our nation. When the leaders call the people to pray and fast, when the leaders lead by example, that's a biblical phrase. Although the secular businesses have picked it up, it is a biblical phrase to lead by example. Hear this, you elders. Give ear. In other words, it means pay attention. Pay attention, all you inhabitants of the land. It will shock you. It will wake you up. And here's what He says. Has anything like this ever happened in your days? Well, can we say that now? Yes? No? Maybe so? Okay. I'm going to have to make a judgment call here real quick. Daniel, can you switch? Can you switch with that chair that's not squeaky? Yeah, thank you. That was okay for a few minutes, but I kept trying to picture this the whole time, the squeaky oil. So we'll get some WD-40 on that next time. But isn't it true, picking up where I left off, that leaders lead by example? And that's why you'll see a healthy church is a reflection of her leadership. A compromising church is a reflection of her leadership. And the reason I want to really get this point across is many leaders in America need to wake up to the fact that people are watching you and influence plays a huge role. Just begin in 1 Kings and read the Old Testament and see if leadership doesn't matter. Yes, it does matter. God would say because of Jeroboam, because of Rehoboam, because of Asa, because of Josiah, because of Hezekiah, because of Ahab, because of Manasseh, because of their leadership where they led the people. And that's why I do get sometimes frustrated because the pastors aren't supposed to be cowards. We're supposed to be watchmen. And to sound that alarm and to blow the trumpet in Zion, Joel would say, wake them up. That's what the trumpet did. It would wake up the people. He says, has anything like this happened to you before in your day or even the days of your father? Tell your children about it. Let your children tell their children and their children have them tell another generation. See, not only are we to encourage our kids with God's goodness and grace, but also remind them of his judgment. I don't know about you, but I want my kids to fear God. I don't want them to think he's a doting grandfather or a cosmic ball of love just winking at us. You got this? Yes, grace when you need it, love, but you fear him, you respect him. And he goes on to say, what happened? The locust has consumed all of the land. The locust, the swarming locust, the chewing locust, there's four different types of locusts that come in there. And it just devastated everything. Imagine something coming in and devastating all of your resources, basically all of your income, all of your livelihood. And guys, my heart is never to scare, but it is to prepare. The way things are going with cryptocurrency and everything online, what happens when the locust comes in and destroys your life? And you can't access anything. And I don't think we realize how fragile life is. And the response is clear. The response is clear. God is telling Joel to tell the people awake, awake from your slumber, lament well, and be ashamed of what has happened. Those are all great responses. And we've had this movement in our country. I remember me and my mom talking about many times, this self-esteem movement, and some of it's good, but they don't think anybody should feel shame or guilt or anything. You shouldn't feel anything like that, but that can actually be a good thing if it gets us to change, remove the shame and the guilt. And do you know why that's why many refer to alcoholism as a disease? You can trace it back right to its roots, early 1900s. They didn't want people feeling bad, addicts feeling bad. I understand they're hard about it, but that's not a disease, it's a choice. And so we start to minimize, we start to dumb down human responsibility. And so he said here, he goes on to say, so because of this, the locust has devastated, devastated your crops. By the way, they're about 40% protein if you ever want to eat locusts. If we ever go to that direction, it's okay, 40-50% protein. You'll be in good company if you have a little honey with those. John the Baptist was in the wilderness eating locusts. They're actually, if you cook them and things, I'll get away from that. But just a little bright side, because it's a little heavy. And he's going to go, here's the remedy. I can't tell you how much I love about God and why I get so passionate, why I always give people hope, even though the messages are hard, because God says, here's the problem, here's the solution. Thank God. Now when you get into revelation and things, the solution's over. You had your opportunity. God gets to a point, even with Jeremiah, I believe he says, don't pray for the people anymore, the judgment is coming. But there's always, here's the problem, here's what's going on. And so when you tell people that, yes, God's judgment, these are the consequences of your sin, of your choices, but here's the hope and here's how you get back on track. Thank God for that. So here's what he says to do. Consecrate a fast. Consecrate a fast. In other words, consecrate. Set apart a season of dethroning King's stomach and just silencing the voice of flesh so you can hear the voice of God. Because King's stomach is loud, isn't he? I mean, I've been trying it all day like some of you and I'm doing pretty good, but man, it's tough. It's tough. But Lord, I want to consecrate this time with you. It's not a good work. It's bringing the flesh into submission. And then once you do that, call a fast and then call a sacred assembly, not just a normal assembly. This is assembly where they would sanctify themselves and they would get their hearts ready. They wouldn't come with unforgiveness and bitterness and fear and unthankfulness and things like that. They would, Lord, I need to hear from you. My kids need you. I'm dealing with suicidal thoughts. I'm dealing with fear and anxiety. God, I need to hear from you. And so gather the elders, gather the leaders and all the inhabitants, all are welcome to God's house that know God. They call on Yahweh. So come into God's house and do what? Cry out to the Lord. Cry out to the Lord. Now, some of us cry out differently. I'm an internal guy. Can you relate? I'm like, I'm feeling those pains and I'm crying out to Lord. Others are more vocal, but it never has to do with the volume of your voice. It has to do with the condition of your heart. Cry out to God. Set time aside to seek Him. And it's a good reminder, there is a cost to revival. There's a cost to revival. Guys, we want God to move, don't we? We want God to move. We want revival, but we've got to get to prayer meetings. We've got to have more prayer meetings. We've got to be seeking God like never before. There's a price to pay. It's not legalism and works. It's a desperate heart crying out to God saying, I'm turning off Netflix and I'm going to pray. See, that's an exchange of passions right there. My passion for worldly things, my passion for God has to exceed that and fasting helps pay the price. But remember, we don't love, God doesn't love us more, but I sure love Him more when we fast and we pray. And then Joel 2, if that wasn't alarm enough, blow the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in my holy mountain. So of course, you know, many of you know Zion and that's where the Zionists come from and in Jerusalem and in Israel there, blow the trumpet, let everyone know and sound the alarm from my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land know and they will tremble for the day of the Lord is coming for it is at hand. And that's why I've always said the silent pulpit is not God's pulpit. They might have got away with this in the 80s or 90s, but this is a time where the pulpit needs to be loud and vocal and authoritative by God's word. Raise up your voice, lift, he told one of the prophets, lift up your voice like a trumpet. Spare not Jeremiah, call them to repentance. Spare not Isaiah, wake them up, show them the magnitude of their sins and if they don't like you, that's on them, not on you. You're doing what God has called you to do. David Guzik said this, when the plagues of locusts and the drought devastated Judah, you might have thought that Joel would have encouraged the people. He might have said, hey, hang in there. Things are bad, but they'll get better. Tough times don't last, but tough people do. Instead, Joel said, you think that was bad, worse is to come if we don't repent. Oh, if I could go on just national radio and I could, I would say this, yeah, things are pretty bad at the border and I've got all these conservative friends and they're posting things and this, yes, things are bad, but they're going to get a lot worse if you don't humble yourself before almighty God. If you don't repent of your sin, this is a call to repentance. This is in my wheelhouse here, guys. This is what God has uniquely called us to do. It's to tell people, yes, it's bad, but you better get off your high horse. You better get back into being thankful for what God has given us and come out in the power of the spirit and repent and be broken before him. That is our only hope. Isn't that true? Yes, it's bad, but it's going to get worse if we don't wake up. And I took out some of Joel. It begins to either list what the locust did again or it begins to list what an invading army is going to do. And commentaries are divided, but the point is this, regardless of if it's restoration from the locust or protection for a foreign army, the remedy is the same. You have to remember this. If you need restoration, if the marriage is broken or you've drifted from God and you don't feel that passion or you left your first love or you don't really know him, to restore that, it's the same principles to protect you from the onslaught of the enemy. The same principles. Now, therefore, it says the Lord says, can you just think about this for a minute? God himself, of course, all the Bibles inspired, written, holy men of God were moved as they were led by the spirit of God. But when they record, when they would actually write down, thus, can you just, those words, can you imagine writing those down? Like, this is what God said. Thus saith the Lord. This is a remedy. This is a cure for our chaos. This is the, what is it that they found the secret, right? This is it. Turn to me, turn to me with all of your heart. Turn to me with all of your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So guys, this is the remedy. Young adults, husbands, wives, things are not going well. You're distant from God, spiritual issues. This is always the remedy. I look back on my life and I can say, this has never, never, never led me astray. When I set time aside to pray and to fast and to cry out to God and say, God, break me, humble me. I might not feel like it. There's a lot of pride right here, but God take that pride and break me and get me to my knees. I don't want to, but Holy Spirit, let me want to begin to move in my heart. Oh God, and you begin to move. He will come in and meet you where you are. If you seek me, you will find me. And then something so interesting, surrender your hearts, not your garments. Most of us don't even know what that means. But if you've seen the Passion of the Christ, you've seen what's the new series out now too, where they'll show some of the Pharisees, where they will, what will they do? That was a sign of ripping that outer, just like, just out of a fury of anger. They blasphemy God and it's a sign of how bad it is. Their garment actually rips. And that's why I love when Jesus died on the cross, that God took and he ripped the veil. And now people could go boldly into the holies of holies. And so God says, rend your hearts, not your garments. What were they doing? Outer professions or outer examples. And do you know, there are people who they'll get really upset at what's going on in America and they do, and I don't blame them, really upset. They'll go to school board meetings. They'll go, they'll do all these things, but their heart is arrogant and prideful. They are gossiping and slanders and backbiters. They're doing good things, but God says enough of that. Rend your heart. Don't go through the motions. Actually break before God Almighty. And this wonderful word, return to the Lord your God. Return means to come back. It's actually connected with the word repent. Repent means to turn back for God is, let's look at that. You need to see those words. God is for he is gracious. God is merciful. He is slow to anger and of great kindness. And he relents from doing harm. I can tell you that is the truth because America should have been blown out of US 50 years ago. Like Billy Graham said, God's gonna have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah because if he hasn't judged America, we are so perverted. We are so wicked, but we have to remember God is gracious. He is merciful. He is slow to anger. He's great in kindness. And he relents. He holds back from doing harm. Often that remnant, that remnant is what holds that judgment hand of God back because it's really hard. I believe if you, I mean, we've got scriptures we can look at. It's hard for God to pour out wrath or judgment on a people that are weeping and interceding. It's so prevalent that he told Ezekiel, I sought for a man. God looked for a man. Man, wake up. Wake up. That's a principle you can take to the bank. I sought for a man all over. I looked, I looked for a man who would build a wall and stand in the gap as an intercessor. So here's the judgment of God. And like a Moses, this man gets before and says, God, no, spare your people. He's looking for that intercessor. And that's what men, you need to view yourselves in your home as that more than anything else. Your number one job is not to pay the bills. Your number one job is to be the spiritual leader and to intercede on behalf of your family, to get up early or to go to bed late and cover them. So let's look at these briefly based on Joel. If you need a great spiritual reset, do this. God said it. So I believe it, right? Reset with repentance. Reset with repentance. Repentance is the key to spiritual growth. Does anybody need to grow spiritually? Repentance is the key to true change. Repentance is the key to lasting joy, genuine peace, and lifelong purpose. It reconnects the heart of man to the heart of God. And the reason I get passionate about this point is I have heard people tell me in the prayer room, well, I've repented. I did that like six years ago. Really? I did that last night. Is it, but we, well, I did that. No, I'm not talking about repentance for salvation, but there's repentance. And this is why people don't grow spiritually. It's why there's no true change in their life because they stay. I'm going to just say something here. They, they stay stuck and stupid. I don't know. You know, I'm not trying to, if the shoe fits, wear it right. But they, they, they don't repent. They don't own it. They make excuses and they don't grow spiritually. They don't get spiritually mature because the side of a spiritually mature person is humility. Richard Owen Roberts said, you can be certain that at the forefront of every significant recovery from backsliding, the doctrine of repentance has been among the precious truths that God has quickened and used. What he's talking about, if you go back, if you look at any point in church history, this is, this is pretty amazing. If you go back in any point of church history, and I've got lots of books on it, I could bore you with some books, but even from the first, you know, we have one pretty close. One of the first recorded sermons ever preached from a guy named Peter, what must we do to be saved? Repent every one of you. And then God has used that repentance. When you have the early church fathers, some of them were martyred. And then you go into early reformation days before the reformation, you go into revivals and awakenings. It's what Americans know. We need that now. Without that, there's no other hope. You think 2024 is going to answer our problems? The election is going to finally put things back in our favor. You could create more chaos than we have now. Getting back to God and repentance has always been that precious truth that God has used to bring man back to Him. Any other examples in the Bible? I think Jesus said, go and preach repentance. Repentance is like the first word in the gospel and the last word. Jesus was taken up, comes back, go and preach repentance and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. It's that connection that we need again. So maybe here's some areas tonight as we go into worship in just a little bit here, are areas that we need to repent from as believers. What about fear? Fear. Anybody unthankful? I'll tell you right now, unthankfulness is what is a byproduct of a life of a believer who's not staying full of God's Spirit. How do I know? Because it creeps into my heart as well. Unthankful. I can't believe this. Look at what they're doing. You fill in the blank. I mean, we could go off on about 12 different things, right? This, and this, and this, and this, and you become very unthankful. And the Bible is crystal clear that we must maintain a thankful heart even in the midst of adversity. Have you become very unforgiving? This person too, unthankful and unforgiving, is a toxic Christian. Have you ever been around a toxic Christian? Or you know who they are, right? You're doing great. You see them at church like, oh, goodness gracious, right? Because they're toxic. Did you see in the news today? Look at what Newsom's doing. Look at what California, did you? Yes, I got it. I got it. But it's just spewing out of them. Yes, it's one thing to be concerned. I talk to people, man, we're concerned. We got to pray. But if you allow that, if you allow that to now influence your heart and become unthankful and bitter, it's going to be very difficult. Every time I say stuff like this, it rubs people the wrong way, but it is what it is. I am. Thank you, though. And I know people don't like it, they have different views, and that's okay. But personally, I think my wife, we've agreed, personally, we have to prepare for possibly some bad things happening. I have to prepare that I might not have my retirement that I've been putting towards. Do you have any crypto that they're going to make you go to? And what about that all falls apart? I have to prepare for that. I have to prepare to where I get to such a point and prepare my kids that, Lord, You're enough. You're enough. If I have to go back to manual labor and I lose everything I worked for, did I really? But see, you have to prepare yourself for that. And we don't like to hear that. I don't like to say it. But if I don't prepare myself for that, I'm going to be hit hard with all these things that might begin to happen. And most of you are probably much more well-protected than loudmouths like me. I'll never forget, maybe I shouldn't say it, but it's okay. But I was fortunate enough to be invited to a private meeting in Chino Hills, we'll just say that, with a well-known pastor and some state senators there who are Christians. And I'll never forget what they told this main pastor, it's in the news a lot. They said, Sir, Sacramento's really watching you. Just be careful. They're watching you and they do not like what you're doing. So that means go after your audits. Have you ever went through an audit? It's a nightmare. I went through my first one in 2000 because I went from six figures in my 20s, left it, followed God, and now I claim zero. I didn't know that would trigger an audit. So three weeks, you're finding every single receipt known to mankind. You're getting grilled. And they actually gave me back $600 more or something. But it was terrible because you can't mess around with them. And so knowing that could come at you, knowing things are, you know, so you just got to get to the point where, you know what? Maybe I won't have what I thought I would have. Maybe I'll die a poor man. But as long as my kids are following the Lord and my wife is secure and making the, but if you don't, if you don't, the reason I'm saying this, because if you're holding on to these things, I get pretty ticked off when they start to come after these things I'm holding on to. My goodness, could we be taxed higher? Holy smokes. But if that's going to set me off and that's going to upset me, see how it's controlling me? And what about other things that happen? And your bank says, it's not uncommon for Bank of America, Wells, these big corporations say, hey, we're closing your bank account down in 30 days or less. I can give you people that I know that, you know, big Christian names out there that they've closed their bank accounts down. PayPal just went through that whole thing. Remember, we were trying to switch over and we're still trying, but like they can just stop and freeze your assets. And something was in their disclaimer where they can actually go into your bank, which is completely illegal, but I guess it was in their disclaimers. And so I just had to get to a point where it's like, Lord, I just need you. I need you. I'm trusting you because I get too angry. I don't know if it's German, Irish, I don't know. School board meetings, I want to punch somebody. I mean, it's like, you guys, you are perverts. You school board members, you are perverts by allowing this to come into our schools. And you've seen John Amachuka who reads at the school boards and like, don't, don't, you can't read that. Why are you allowing the kids to read it? You perverts, hypocrites and see that, but you just got to be careful because you don't want that too much anger to come out and unthankfulness. And I find myself doing that. Can we, are we ever going to be able to buy a house? Mike, have you seen the medium prices and the interest rate? Like house payments have doubled or tripled and you can get really, really unthankful. Thank you for listening. That was my therapy session. But, but I'm just, isn't that true? Because as believers, we, we literally have to, it's the Lord's, it's the Lord's, it's the Lord's. And you have to, number two, this is so important. If you want a spiritual reset, you have to reset with action. There has to be action on the part of the believer. God has taught me this a lot over the years. It's one thing to pray and fast, but you got to put feet to your faith. He said, consecrate a call, consecrate a call, a sacred assembly, set something aside, and then also sanctify yourself. So there's, there's, as God's doing something, we're doing something too, to separate from the world's influence and consecrate oneself to God. And again, I've talked about this, the crying out, there was heartfelt desperation. See, there is action. I'm going to consecrate. We're going to come to here Wednesday night. We're going to, Lord, we're going to cry out to you. There's going to be desperation in our hearts and we're going to take action. We're going to change the spiritual condition of our homes. Blowing a trumpet and sounding an alarm reflects urgency, reflects urgency, reflects, doesn't it? No, no, no. Wake up. There's urgency. God is, is looking to judge. We need to return. There's urgency there. There's desperation. There's, there, there's a, um, a call to action. And isn't ironic, the most important thing to do in church is pray, but it's the least attended event known to mankind. There's no, there's, there's, we lack the urgency with all your heart, with all your heart. What does that mean? We no longer hold on to pet sins or wrong attitudes. Everything is confessed and a new course is set. We ask God to search us and see if there's any unconfessed sin hiding in the deep recesses of our heart. We continue to seek him with passion and fervency until the fire consumes our sin and transforms our heart. It's a pursuit, not a formula. That is key. I think I read this definition. I'm trying to think where did I get? Maybe I came up with this. I'm not real sure, but that's what with all your heart is. We get rid of Lord. If there's anything wicked within me, if I'm holding in bitterness, if I'm holding an unforgiveness, if I'm allowing certain sins to still dominate my life, Lord, I put those before you show me. Is there anything in the deep recesses of my heart? Am I pursuing idols? God, would you show me? And I'm going to seek you with passion and fervency until that fire consumes me. And I will tell you this, it is a pursuit. It's not a formula. I can't tell you how many times I've had to pursue God in the midst of not feeling like it. Pursuing that heat of the fire even when I don't feel like it. And then of course, we can't ignore number three. We have to reset with prayer and fasting. Bill Bright, many of you know who he was. He said, sometimes Satan makes you feel it's a great sacrifice, but it's really a great blessing. Isn't that why we don't do a lot of things? Oh, it's a great sacrifice. Oh, I don't want to give up work and come to church. Or I don't want to give up this and do this. And if I could, people always say, oh, I don't know how you get up so early. It's not that hard. Go to bed early. It's not that hard. Oh, but I can't love my voodoo. I love my Reacher. I love my Netflix. I love my Amazon Prime. I love it. But it's a great sacrifice to seek God. Actually, it's a great blessing. Streams in the desert, March 2nd. The morning watch is essential. You must not face the day until you have faced God, nor look into the face of others until you have looked into the face of God. You cannot expect to be victorious if the day begins only in your own strength. I can tell you, as a living witness, having all different kinds of jobs and scenarios, when I was a Christian, coming back to the Lord, you can make that time if it's a priority. If it's a priority, you can make that time without a shadow of a doubt. Of course, I know I've worn this example out, and it doesn't happen anymore, but it was a great eye-opener to me. How many people get up at four in the morning on Black Friday? Remember when they put a tent in front of Target the night before to save on a TV that you'd probably thrown out by now? See, there's the priority of the pursuit. Bill Bright continued, fasting and prayer, it's a critical means for personal revival. If you need personal revival, again, let me just give you my own story. Prayer and fasting is so important. I can't keep feeding the lusts of the flesh all the time and begin to pray and see the power of God in my own life. Something dominates either the Spirit of God through prayer and fasting or the pull of the flesh. It can restore the loss of one's first love for the Lord. Step out in faith. Here's what I love what he said, we don't always hear accurately, amen? Some of you who think you hear from the Lord perfectly, I will challenge you on that. You do not because you have a sinful nature just like me that is still in our hearts. We don't always hear accurately, especially if God is asking us to do something we don't want to do. Isn't that true? In this era of prayer and fasting especially, token fasting such as giving up chocolate or lemon pie or some other favorite food may be commendable, but it does not allow the Holy Spirit to do the inner work necessary to bring about real change in your spiritual life. And I can tell you that is absolutely true. I'm not against doing that type of fasting. I think it's good, it's beneficial. But throughout all of biblical history, church history, it means to shut the mouth. That's why I often say the five-minute daily devotional versus the five-hour seeking God alone devotional, big difference. I love five-minute devotionals. I have three, streams in the desert, my utmost for his highest, and a different one I read. We need those. I need that nugget. But compare that with a time set apart seeking God. Lord, I don't have my phone on, put earplugs in if you need to, whatever, but I've got this time alone with you, Lord. Somebody, maybe you can remind me who it was in the New Testament, thought it was pretty important to go to a solitude place often. Why did Jesus, well, we don't need to, he had to. Really, think about it. He had to get away from the pull of ministry and of people and of these voices and all this busyness and just go in the garden of Gethsemane and sit there and ponder and pray. And that is often when God will speak to you. It's no secret. I've said it before, but a lot of the sermons, a lot of the articles, things you hear from this pulpit do not come from the busyness of the day. As I'm sitting before God, these thoughts will pop in, these points will pop in, these titles will pop in, the structure. Sometimes the sermon is done in 30 minutes from just listening, God, what do you want to say? The still, small voice of the Spirit. I have to walk around with the phone or note, even you'll see me up here sometimes during worship putting notes in. I've got to say this, this is an incredible point. I just thought of one, waiting, waiting, we wait on God, waiting is movement in the spiritual realm. Like I just, mic drop for God, when I realized that waiting is movement in the spiritual realm, because I can't wait on God, we've got to do this. But no, that waiting is movement. You are actually moving, those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their spiritual strength. You are moving in the right direction, even when you're waiting on God. And so that is point number four, reset by waiting. And this is another point that dawned on me early in the morning, restoring what the locust consumed took time. Did you think about that? The locust came through, devastated everything. Do you think the people saw the greenery coming back in the next day? It took time. There are consequences for our actions. Because of those actions, God was displeased and it drew the people back to Him. And now that we're back to Him, and now that we're seeking and waiting upon Him, as we do that, just like Samson, the hair begins to grow back, the anointing comes back, the strength comes back, the zeal comes back, the pursuit comes back. And in that waiting time, it was not wasted time, because that's where God prepared me and renewed me and restored me, just like He does with you. Waiting is movement in the spiritual realm. Streams in the desert, January 26. A great deal is said in the Bible about waiting for God. The lesson cannot be too strongly enforced. We easily grow impatient of God's delays. Guilty as charged, sir. And you do too. Have you ever prayed for anything and you're like, what is going on? Lord, what is going on here? Much of our trouble in life comes out of our own restlessness, something reckless. We end up making reckless decisions and our own hasty decisions. We cannot wait for the fruit to ripen. I want that banana even though it's green. But we insist on plucking it while it is green. We cannot wait for the answers to our prayers, although the things we ask for may require long years in their preparation for us. God knows what will destroy you. And if you're not ready, it will destroy you. I guarantee, had God called me to be a pastor at a younger age, it would have destroyed me. Probably disqualified, would never have touched the pulpit again. And that's why He doesn't call a lot of young people right away. He lets life give them a few right hooks and left hooks and learn and let people break you and humble you. And so you're ready for His calling. Not waiting for God can derail your destiny. Think about how important waiting is. It can derail your destiny. Yeah, well, you have any proof? Well, where do you want to start? I think of Saul. He's like, Samuel's not back and we have to make this sacrifice. Samuel's not back. I know what God said, but I've got to take things into my own hand. And there he goes. Saul offers the sacrifice. A king is not supposed to do that. And here comes Samuel. If you would have just waited, this was so bad that God actually says, I have rejected Saul from being king. Disobedience is as the sin of witchcraft. But I sacrificed, but you were disobedient, waiting for God. What about great old Joshua? Anybody remember Joshua? Incredible victories. And then he goes into one city and he is utterly defeated. God said, you didn't ask me what was wrong. You went ahead. Or there's another group of people. Joshua had another fault too. This group of people came. They appeared to come from a very far away land. Joshua made a peace treaty with him, but they were kings right next door just about. God said, you didn't take counsel of me. You didn't wait. You rushed ahead. So if you feel God is calling you to do something, that calling is good. It's God-given. But use the time to prepare, not step ahead. Because when God says you're ready, you're ready. There's nothing you can do. Man can't stop it. Man can't stop it. And I tell people, I know this has upset a few people over the years, but it's true and it's a great example. We have people who come and they'll say, I want to teach or I want to lead worship or whatever it is. Okay, well, let's have God open the door. And they say, well, Shane closed the door. He didn't allow... Listen, little old me is not going to be able to stop you. If God is calling you to do something, oh, but you can say no. Yeah, but when God says yes, nobody can say no. Who can open a door that God shuts? Or who can shut a door that God opens? Let Him promote you. Let Him do it because then it's beautiful. It's not prideful. It's not arrogant. And God will sometimes tell us no to check our heart. Because that really reveals the heart, doesn't it? I've seen it. Oh, no, I don't think so right now. What? God told me that you are disobeying God. Oh, no, I'm not. No, no, I just don't know you. We're going to pray about what's not right now. You think God will just kick me out of the way if he wants to do something. He starts things and doesn't ask my permission. Where'd our homeless ministry come from? Anybody ask me for permission? No, guys got to the desert, the ministry of the homeless, hey, here's what we're doing. Great, wonderful. How'd the men's ministry start? My mom asked Rick Carr years ago, hey, Rick, you mind doing this? I didn't know about it. Nobody asked me for permission. All these things come underneath our umbrella, right? But if God is going to do something, I was blessing up here. I didn't ask her to come up here. God opened that door. Same with Madeline. Same with the other people we use. God opened that door. Why does John Stratton help us from time to time? Because Morgan came back from desert Christian and said, this guy did chapel. You should listen to him. Yeah, whatever. I don't think so. But what does God want to do? He knows what to do. When we begin to obey God, he will bless us. And I don't want to take up a lot of time, but there are four cautions in the waiting period you have to be careful of. I'm going to go quickly and I'll be done. While you're waiting, if you're not careful, there's a loss of joy. And a loss of joy opens the door of temptation very wide. Waiting can harden your heart. Waiting can fuel doubt and unbelief. God, did you really say? Did you really say that? We become doubtful. We begin to unbelieve. And if you ever struggle with those things, it's okay. Say, Lord, I'm beginning to doubt. I'm beginning not to believe. I know these thoughts are not right. I'm bringing them to you. I'm repenting. God, would you strengthen me? And would you give me some confirmation? Show me if I'm going to hold onto this promise or show me if that was you or if that was me. Lord, would you show me? Take these doubts to him. Waiting can lead to spiritual drought. Oh my goodness. If I wait too long, I give up. I still picture them in my mind at the altar and at the altar over here, but because God didn't heal their marriage quick enough, they went to plan B. Now they're with somebody else and they had that opportunity. God isn't taking this addiction away quick enough. I'm going to run back to it. And now they're in deep bondage. Waiting can harden your heart. It can lead to a spiritual drought because when I'm tired of waiting, I don't want to see God anymore. I'm ticked off. I'm upset. So remember that waiting time is not wasted time. God never says to stand still or sit still or be still unless he is going to do something. Praise God. He says, Moses, Moses, stand still. Stand still at the Red Sea. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Having done all, Joshua, just stand still and I will deliver the army into your arms. Christians in California, just stand still. Keep praying. Keep contending. Christians throughout the United States, keep contending for the faith. God often waits for us against streams in the desert from January. We fail many times to receive the blessing that God has ready for us because we do not go forward with him. While we miss much good through not waiting for God, we also miss much through over waiting. There are times when our strength is to sit still, but there are also times when we are to go forward with a firm step. Funny story. Can I tell it? You don't know what it is. I was in pre-marriage counseling with my wife 22 years ago. Ask Sean Appleton at Hope Chapel. You can ask him. He goes, Morgan, can you leave the office for a while? And she left. He goes, what are you doing? Either ask her to marry you or don't. Don't keep playing these games. You're going to lose her. Oh, okay. That was it. That's why we're married. But I was waiting, right? Why was I? Because of fear. I can't be hurt again. I can't go through that again. I am fearful. I'm not. I'm this, but now I'm not. I'm this, but now I'm not. And a woman cannot go through that much. I'm on, I'm off. I'm on, I'm off. I'm on, I'm off. Should we plan? Should we not? No, we can't break up. Never see you again. But I don't know. He said, stop it. Stop it. Take action now. Stop playing games. Is that good? Okay. That wasn't too funny, but if it's funny, hey, it works. But I'm glad he did. Aren't you? My kids are glad too. But sometimes, sometimes we got to put feet to our faith. That's what faith is. It's trusting God. Even planning the church. I was like, I don't think so. I don't know. And for months, I don't know. Shawn again at Hope Chapel. Yeah. I said, hey, I think I want to start a church, but I don't really know. How about if I just start a three month series here at your church and we'll see how it works? He goes, no, either plan a church or don't. Golly, this guy's ruthless. You should thank God for people who will shoot you straight. Thank God for people who will shoot you straight. Get up and fight again. Maybe there are some things when we begin to obey God, God will begin to bless us. Is there anything that God has been telling you to do? Do it. Do it. Or say, Lord, I don't know if this is you or me. God confirm it. And then when he confirms it, do it. The blessing of obedience, because procrastination hinders a spiritual reset. I'm going to close with Joel 2. I think we have 2.18-19. After God goes through all this with Joel, he says, then the Lord, we need a then moment right now. Some of you need a then moment in your life. Do you know those then moments in the Bible? This was happening, then God. This is going to hell in a handbasket, then God. Jonah was fish food, then God. Or one of my favorite, but God. I try to highlight all those. Yeah, this is happening, but God. Samson was destroyed, but his hair grew back. His anointing came back. Here comes this wicked army ahead of us. Hezekiah says, I don't know what to do, but God. And that's what he says. Then the Lord, if you do these things, if you step out, you cry out, you humble yourself, you fast, you begin to petition him, you begin to prioritize him, you begin to seek him with all of your heart, then the Lord will be zealous for his land. He will pity his people. The Lord will answer and say, I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. I will restore to you the years that the locusts have taken. Now, Bible students are thinking the same thing I'm thinking about myself. Well, the context, we're not really God's people. We're not really Israel. Okay, but you have to pull out the principle. The principle is God says he is still zealous. He pities those who love him and serve him. He answers us by saying, I don't want you to be a reproach, and I want to restore to you the things that the enemy has taken. That's just as clear as scripture has ever taught. Even in the New Testament, God is a God of restores. He restores things, but we have to hear the cries of the prophets. I don't know if I was able to get that screen to them in time, but we have to hear the calls, the cries of the prophets. It is a call to fall. That's why we have an altar open. That's why he would say, sound the alarm. That's why he would say, call out. All the prophets would say the same thing. Joel said, cry out and return to God. Sound the alarm. Samuel said, if you return with all of your heart and put away your idols. Isaiah said, raise your voice like a trumpet and return and be healed. Oh, Jeremiah, obey my voice and live. Amos said, put away your fake worship and let justice run down like a river and righteousness like a mighty stream. Oh God, if you provide the fire, I'll provide the sacrifice. God, come and fill me again with your strength.