Ask The Hard Questions (Video)

And I didn't put the chapter and verses because when the Bible was written it was just read like a like a book. It wasn't, you weren't really designed. I love the chapter and verses but the downside is we can compartmentalize and we just take a couple verses here without reading the whole love letter. And so I want to just look at the whole body of 28, 29, and 30. And many of you know a big part of meditating, meditating on God's Word. The Bible talks a lot about meditating and what meditation is is to take it in and to ponder it and to absorb it and to let it let it permeate your life and your spirit and to and to just meditate on God's Word as it transforms you. It's not just to read it because how many of you know you can read something and not quite get it. And I have to, I have to repent often because sometimes I'm just reading as my daily reading. Okay, I got through my daily reading 30, 40 minutes and check mark but what did I read? Because we fail to meditate on it. That's why meditating is so important. And part of meditating, believe it or not, is contemplating. So when we read it we don't just meditate upon it we actually contemplate. He's excited I think. That's okay. I've got five myself so I've been there many times before. Tons of grace. Don't worry about it on our end. But contemplating, contemplating what the scripture says. In order to contemplate you also have to ask some hard questions. Psalm 28 begins with an incredible line really I think. To you, to you God I will cry out. I will cry to you oh Lord my rock. And that's why I wanted to play that clip before the service because I don't know how many of you have heard of David Wilkerson. But it's actually a whole sermon. You should listen to it. I believe it's called A Call to Anguish. And it is, I've listened dozens of times because there's so much truth in that phrase, a call to anguish. And unless we can get burdened by what God wants to do we're not going to see a lot of change. Lots of people are busy but we're not burdened. There has to be a call to anguish, a call to desperation. And I'm going to a pastor's conference in Southern California here with my wife in San Diego. Charlie Kirk is putting it on with Turning Point USA so we'll be meeting him. And Kaylee, the President Trump's secretary or what was she, press secretary. I don't remember her last name. Yeah there you go. Talk about the hardest job in the world. Man. But anyway and so I love these events but and I want to be careful here being I've been at NRB the National Religious Broadcasters and a lot of events and they're good events but often a good thing we miss the God thing. Because instead of worship mornings or prayer nights there's a lot of food. Some people choose to have some drinks later. It's just a get together. But business as usual is not going to cut it in these dire times. We've got to press in like never before. We've got to be prayed up. We've got to be fasted. We've got to be that burden of anguish. And God says, I hear that cry. I feel their burden, their anguish. They truly are praying for this nation. They're truly praying for this state. They're truly concerned about what's going on. And now that baptism of anguish. That's often how God begins a ministry. It doesn't begin off of mediocrity or just complacency. We have to go deeper. And if you read past Christian history there's something called the deeper life that many people haven't experienced. Many Christians have not experienced that deeper profound work of the Holy Spirit where they are literally in anguish over the condition of our nation. In anguish over what the sex ed that is being pushed and the LGBTQ agenda that's being perverted and pushed on our children. And there's an anguish and from that you want to make a difference. And where do you take this anguish? Well like the psalmist did, to you God I will cry. Lord you are my rock. And when he wrote this, you know I don't know if we can think of something stronger now of course maybe steel and things. But when they would see a huge rock that was nothing was stronger. Nothing had a greater foundation. And so we use these words or they use these words for God that would show strength. Do not be silent to me. In other words God don't be silent. If you are silent to me I will become like those who go down to the pit. I will be in despair. Hear the voice of my supplication when I cry out to you. When I lift up my hands towards your holy sanctuary. Hey he's giving you permission to lift up holy hands during worship. Isn't that interesting? I will lift up my hands. And there's nothing special about these things but what our body language does it reflects our heart often. You should have seen the people at the Dodger game when I went to that. Talk about raising hands and getting excited because it's a form of expression. It's wow. It's you are awesome. You are holy. You are great. My rock. My salvation. And I put one of the questions up there. Are you embarrassed to worship? Men mainly. I don't know why this is so profound but I was just during worship. I don't know why God just took me back or maybe I took myself back to in my 20s. I was going to church in Lancaster and I remember the pastor up in the front row and I'd say what a wimpy guy. That is so silly. Wimpy, weak. Look at that and look at how the table is turned. But really I was dying inside. I was not strong spiritually and internally and definitely embarrassed to worship. You know I'm not not worshiping. But you get a few beers of me and some country music. Wrong spirit. Are you crying out to God? What it is it's a passionate plea. Are you spending time throughout the week? Are you crying out to God? And if not why? Usually we don't have a real strong desire for God or the things of God because we're not feeding on the things of God. We're feeding on the things of the world and therefore our appetite for God has diminished. And this isn't the type of boo-hoo cry sit in a corner. I mean this is a Lord you've got to do something. You've got I mean I could I could shock you if I would read the legislation that they're trying to pass in in Sacramento. It's just mind-boggling what they're trying to teach the kids this woke agenda this perversion. Russell sent me one of the clips to the news story I just saw. It's been in the news and I didn't want to I don't want to make it about that but there should be a crying out Lord enough is enough. I don't care about me but I've got children and grandchildren so do you. What are we leaving the next generation? God they're calling good evil and evil good and by the grace of God I want to make a difference. I don't care what happens to me the rest of my life but I want to expose the unfruitful works of darkness. Lord would you give this this this this pathetic voice a bold voice to make a difference to stand up straight. God we need you. We are crying out for you. Will you bring revival to our churches? Oh where is the God of Jehovah? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? And there's a cry there's a crying out to God. I'm done with church is normal. I'm done with with normal church. I should say our Christianity where we just come and we tickle the ears and we say hello but then the power of God is not resting upon that church. Where is the power of God? The New Testament church will come in and go okay well when does church start? Where's the healings and and people being delivered and and God being lifted up in the atmosphere so thick with the power and presence of God? And so now when we want to get desperate and contend for the deeper life people call us weird and extreme. No actually you're weird and extreme when you don't have historical biblical Christianity. It's not meant to be dead and lifeless. And so that's my cry just so you know for ever since we started the church God revive this state, revive this nation, revive this church. Give us a hunger for you. Give us a a united front. Give us just just such a where we don't even care what time it is worship is we're pulling down heaven and then we leave here able to impact our culture. God is making a difference in our lives. I was honored I received a email from our senator who represents us in in Washington. He watched Sunday's message and he was so encouraged and then I'm encouraged by him and and see what God does and and God God you know he says you guys are making a difference. Keep doing what you're doing. California needs this and so there's in the midst of just in the midst of depression and and you look at where everything is going there's very there there are highlights where God is being is highlighting things that are going well and we don't want to just focus on the negative. Please don't misunderstand. But there's a time and a place to to have anguish and to cry out. There's a season for everything. And then he goes on to say do not take me away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity who speak peace to their neighbors but evil is in their hearts. You ever meet these two-faced? Oh don't get me started. And you can tell that flowery language you know just the wolf in sheep's clothing but evil is in their hearts. So give them according to their deeds and according to the wickedness of their endeavors. Give them according to the work of their hands. Render to them what they deserve. It's pretty interesting. This is one of the parallels where you'll hear you know the God of the Old Testament the God of the New Testament we know it's the same God. It's just you know Old Testament written over 1500 years or so many different authors 1400 years maybe and then the New Testament just a shorter brief period of time and it's the same God. But definitely there's a shift now I'm supposed to pray for my enemies. Where in the Old Testament was go get them God. Now it's like Lord save them. And that's why often because you'll see it's not the different God it's not different testaments it's not a different God didn't change but now we have this this the Holy Spirit within us erring on the side of grace and love and mercy and praying for our enemies and and and those who despitefully use you and giving them more than they request. But do you think that you may be taken away with the wicked? Are you willing to change that today? And I know many of you here already know and obviously this wouldn't apply but there are those who listen from all over I can't believe some of the places that people are watching this this message and share it with friends and family. And so I want to ask that question do you think that you may be taken away with the wicked? Are you willing to change that today? And of course it's a very simple transition it's actually a transaction the debt that is on you you give it to the to Jesus. It's a transfer of debt it's a reckon it's accounting it's a reckoning reckoning Jesus reckoned he took upon him the debt we owed and all you have to do is repent and believe. Because they do not regard the works of the Lord nor the operation of his hands he shall destroy them and not build them. Blessed be the Lord because he has heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my strength and my shield my heart trusted in him and I am helped therefore my heart greatly rejoices and my song I will praise him. Now we don't know exactly the time period you know he could have wrote this all at once but I began to think this week how did he know doesn't look like God heard his supplication how did nothing really change but see his heart changed and that's what happens in prayer you go from woe is me Lord what are you doing to now you encourage yourself you strengthen yourself in the Lord and now your prayer changes from I don't understand anything to now God you're going to answer and I think it's okay to praise him praise him before the the fruit comes praise him knowing God you are going to deliver knowing you are going to revive your church and we praise him in advance that's actually an aspect of faith I believe that you are who you said you are does he hear your supplication are you humbly asking and pleading for godliness he said here he heard my prayer he heard the voice of my supplication and that's one good thing about God is he will hear your prayer he will hear your cry it might not be yes it could be no or I think what he likes to do to do with me the most is maybe not yet we'll see keep trusting but I go into prayer sometimes frustrated and the more worship I put on the more time I spent praising the the you know 20 minutes later or half hour you're you're like Lord thank you God thank you I know you've heard my prayer I know my heart's right before you I know you're going to do something even though I might not see it and now you understand that your heart has been changed because as you're if we truly believe that prayer is communicating with God I think most of us do correct the most important powerful weapon we have that's communicating with God and praying and bearing our heart and confessing and repenting and even talking about things that are bugging us maybe or things we don't understand and as that relationship dynamic is taking place you begin to change from it you can't pray and not change that's why prayer is one of the hardest disciplines you will ever strive to develop just me or anyone else relate the prayer you get up to pray and I got this to do I got that to do I gotta tell Levi this about the sound and Levi this about the media we got to get this I remember this pastor Abrams up early he's texting me at five in the morning and I can't get anything done and it's just I'm trying to pray I'm trying to pray and look at my phone's going off I think it's the other way around right yeah okay but there's so much to do I mean how many times you set up okay Lord I'm going to pray and then something happens you can't your schedule is there's a conflict with your schedule or you sit down to pray with your kids and it's great for a minute and then there's like little demons that come in and and and go into their minds and they don't want to pray that's the greatest weapon the Lord is their strength so it's interesting he said here the Lord is my strength and now he's interceding for others the Lord is their strength as well in other words I could pray for myself and say the Lord is your strength as well let me encourage you it's not just Shane time it's not about my prayer life it's your prayer life as a corporate body you will be strengthened as well God is your saving refuge he is he is he is for his anointed like a covering save your people and bless your inheritance shepherd them also and bear them up forever he's interceding and so I threw the question out there since we're asking tough questions do you have the heart of an intercessor and I I've thought about just giving so and you can look you can just do a word study you know scriptures about intercession in the in the bible and I mean from Moses to Elijah to David to Nehemiah to Ezekiel I mean it's just like it's throughout scripture it was it really took took my breath away as far as look at how many people so if Moses didn't intercede and raise his hands the army would have been defeated if if that if that didn't if Esther if could it be that we're missing the power of intercession but when we get in the prayer closet it's all about me myself and I I want my desires this inflation is killing me these gas prices this is life is not going like I thought anybody under the delusion like I was it well you know two years ago when COVID's over in a few months I mean I'll be back to normal that that isn't that was thrown out the window a long time ago and so we can get delusioned sometime and but God wants us to intercede for our state intercede for our school districts and and things and and and begin to ask God to intervene and I believe he answers those prayers just as much as personal prayers because that's a selfless prayer where we're going behalf before God and we're interceding on behalf of the land or or our family he told Ezekiel I sought for a man from among them from among the people who would build the wall not a physical wall a spiritual wall between me and the people who would who would stand in the gap as it were and God wants to judge the people he's standing in the gap saying like Moses Lord don't judge these people I'm I'm interceding I'm pleading and God says for that one person I would would would stay my hand of judgment I would withdraw for a time if my people humble themselves and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways but also if an intercessor humbles himself if you're praying for family members the greatest thing a parent can ever do for their children is begin interceding interceding praying praying for their spouse they've never they haven't met yet that's a toughie is it my wife said we have four daughters you're gonna start praying for your husband's no no no no I'm not going no no no I that's not even in my that's not even my radar right now but interceding and praying come on let's just be honest and and interceding how do we intercede for our state how do we know I mean I often wonder it's safe to assume we we we're beyond the levels of Sodom and Gomorrah I I can I'm I'm pretty sure that what is keeping God from just not spanking us big time like that big earthquake everybody's talking about California is going to go into the ocean I'm not sure about that of course but how do you know we're not interceding and keeping that at bay to some degree how do you I believe we are I believe God's remnant his people are keeping that judgment full judgment at bay he hears the cries of his people there's a grace that comes over there there's a there's a revival that comes over I'm so encouraged by the churches even throughout the United States you know there are many good churches don't don't believe that there aren't even in California and God is raising up these remnant voices that will go out and preach hard truths and love people and contend for revival and preach repentance the old paths and preach holiness with fire in their eyes but love in their hearts and seeing people miraculously changed by God and God has these fires all over it's not beyond God to to bring revival in the midst of darkness and depravity as a matter of fact that's often when it happens as his people intercede and you've heard me talk about it a lot but with the reason I have such a heart for revival some people don't like that word they said it's you know kind of makes them think of weird things okay how about a spiritual awakening how about how about being revived spiritually let's get away from the term but something's got to happen to where they're they're God just pours out a spirit on a large group of people and that happened time and time again Scotland actually has the most revivals and recorded history I got a big thick book and it's the hundreds of them in there amazing and just about every single one I read about they started with intercession two or three people four people of prayer meeting contending for a year new hebrews revival I remember two two ladies one was blind one was crippled and they were praying and they were praying and they were praying God showed them that Duncan Campbell would would be coming over to start this revival and then you look at the different Evan Roberts in 1904-1905 Welsh revival or in Scotland the Calvinistic fathers Methodist of wells that's a big term but it was they were Calvinist and Methodist I guess but anyway these guys would go out Daniel Rowlands Griffin Jones Hal Harris uh and and they would begin with intercession they would start prayer meetings and begin interceding for an area before the revival hit I mean I it's a hard you'll be hard pressed to find one where you just see some church people showing up a pastor unloads the weapon of God's word and then revival breaks out without any prayer meetings without any laboring and then Psalm 29 give unto the Lord you mighty ones give unto the Lord glory and strength give unto the Lord the glory do his name worship the Lord and the beauty of holiness in this phrase if you take the Hebrew phraseology of this sentence it's a beautiful worship ceremony the person is dressed to worship and he's not talking about wearing a suit and tie and but there's a there's a come and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness in other words you you came to worship there's a sweet smelling aroma about your lifestyle about your worship and I don't know about you but I could have kept going on with the goodness of God for about a half hour singing that song over and over again hit repeat hit repeat hit repeat and then the negative Nelly's and judgmental Jerry's will say that's brainwashing and as I often say will wash me then thoroughly with the blood of the Lamb because I need more of the goodness of God the goodness of God given to the Lord the glory do his name Lord we give you that glory tonight we want to worship you in the beauty of holiness there's something there's something beautiful about holiness not that you're perfect but that you come out from among them and you're you are separate I can't watch those things I can't I can't go there I can't hang around with that group I can't act like Sodom when I want to come out of it I there's a difference and I want to live that holy life and as I'm making choices that honor God I come to a worship service and there's something beautiful that takes place because I'm not living and besetting sin I've cleaned my heart and I've cleansed my soul and I lay it bare before God and there's something sweet about the beauty of holiness it's beautiful have you ever seen a teenager in the innocence of life and they're following God and they're innocent there's something beautiful about that holiness come and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and that's a command worship the Lord and the beauty of holiness it's an active tense verb in the language come and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness I know many people listening or even here you might say Shane I've been dirty all week even today but you can change that nobody's here nobody nobody's here that's perfect we want people to know you come as you are Billy Graham would often end his his uh his his yeah messages with that song come as you are and your everyone is welcome here we welcome everyone we don't affirm you catch the difference we don't affirm sinful lifestyle but we welcome everyone everyone is welcome do you give God your all does your life reflect holy beauty do you desire the loveliness of spiritual worship and guys I know many people fall short I don't want you to leave you leave here discouraged but you get back up and you fight again you're saying Lord I know you don't want me to watch those things I know I don't need to listen to that I don't need to let my mind go there I don't need to hang around with this negative gossiping slandering backbiting group I don't need and and you and you begin to repent and get back on track with God and that how that holiness comes a beautiful beautiful sense of worship I know I'm preaching to the choir but sometimes we've got the choir needs a little preaching too haven't you felt do you feel a difference when you come into worship and your heart is right I don't know about you but that but but when you've been living for God yes you've made mistakes you've but you've repented you've cleaned that area up and you're doing good maybe you fall you get back up and you're walking with the Lord and you're repenting in your and worship just just comes alive because it ministers to your heart but when you're living in sin like the prodigal son you think the prodigal son enjoyed worship feeding the pigs no he's miserable but again you can change that today you repent say Lord that's not who you want me to be I stumbled I fell I can't continue in this I want you Lord I want you to change my heart change my life get this out of me I want that holy desire I want I want what Shane talked about I want that I want to love worship I want to have a passion for you God would you would you create in me a clean heart renew within me a right spirit that's David's prayer after he committed adultery and killed the husband now you might be in a pretty bad spot but I don't think you're up to that par if so you probably would be in jail not here you just do you desire the loveliness of spiritual worship and maybe you're not hungry for worship and you're hungry for God because you're consuming the wrong things the voice of the Lord is over the waters this this the voice of God is always something I don't know maybe some you know you know when you read the Bible certain things just really resonate with you like when I first read I remember I think I just put the Bible down and just took it in when the when the pillar shook and Isaiah had that vision of God I read it some 22 years ago I'm like why have I been reading the Bible since I was 12 what's wrong with me and the pillar shook holy holy holy is our God and the voice of God is like thunder that cracks that cracks the cedars in Lebanon I mean it's just this how do you explain God the voice that can just crack Mount Everest that's power in his name the voice of the Lord is over the waters the God of glory thunders the voice of the Lord is powerful the voice of the Lord is full of majesty the voice of the Lord breaks the cedars the voice of the Lord defy divides the flames of fire what can stop God's voice the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness the voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forest bare and in his temple everyone says glory powerful power the voice of the Lord and you know what this reminded me of is what is an aspect of God's voice today is me and you proclaiming his truth so you could you could theoretically say when we preach God's word or we or we we let the truth go out it is like thunder that roll rolls through the valley it's powerful it's majestic the voice of the Lord breaks the cedar the voice of the Lord can break Washington the voice of the Lord can break the liberal media the voice of the Lord can break TikTok and Facebook and Instagram it goes out there it's thunderous because the Word of God is powerful and to make no mistake about it that voice of God can be carried through us as we proclaim his truth the Word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword it divides it cuts it discerns the thoughts and the intents of the heart it's powerful so have you truly heard God's life changing pride shattering soul piercing voice do you enter the house of God with fear and reverence do you enter the house of God with fear and reverence you know it's one thing I hope never happens here and sometimes I can see that you know we have to be careful but and maybe it was just when I was younger you know it was definitely a different culture back then you know the public schools you said the pledge allegiance you prayed and I mean the fear of God was was was on this place in in America and there was a you know of course there was there was evil going on but there was just a reverence and a respect for God and when you would walk in I remember I'd walk into the at just a church as a kid you know my mom or others the ushers say boy take that hat off this is God's house don't talk be quiet have a respect how you conduct yourself and you wouldn't bring your your girlfriend in that you're living in sin with and because there's just there's just a holy respect for for God's house and that's how the temple was in the old testament that priest could not go into the holy holies without getting his heart right once a year he would just walk in trembling am I holy enough am I right enough and there there was a there was a reverence he'll never be holy enough you'll never be right enough thank God for Jesus but there should be a reverence and a respect for for God's house and how we conduct things how we do things and that's why you probably don't see it but we try really hard here to make sure we're honoring what God would want us to honor that we're trying to steward a very challenging environment because you don't want to quench and grieve the spirit but also you don't want to let certain things just go haywire and you don't well if it's odd it's God no we have a biblical mandate to steward what God is doing if you're not sure what that looks like just come to one one of the wren heavens God just it just people are just broken for some reason at those the Lord set enthroned at the flood is that interesting they mentioned the flood the Lord set enthroned he was he was still in charge still in command and the Lord the Lord sits as king forever the Lord will give strength to his people the Lord will bless his people with peace and so do you recognize God's sovereignty and trust in it don't leave here tonight without reminding yourself of God's sovereignty God's sovereignty is my sanity I gave a sermon by that title a while ago and I've had to rest in that so many times because we look at what's going on in the news and you're not gonna you're gonna go insane without God's sovereignty as your as your anchor knowing that all hell is breaking loose but God's sovereignty will prevail and then psalm 30 I will extol you it's it's it's a pressing in it's a looking to God to answer and I will I will look to you oh Lord for you have lifted me up you have lifted me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me thank God for that God will lift you up if you look to him your enemy will not be able they might be laughing at you now but there will become a time when they will not laugh because every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Lord and oh Lord God I cried out to you and you healed me this could be physically it could be spiritually emotionally oh Lord you brought my soul up from the grave have you ever felt like you're going down to the grave have you ever struggled with that depression or that anxiety or that pressure that begins to push you down and you feel like you're going to that grave I can't take much more of this how I know there's a couple in here that can relay I know not all of you can't because you haven't been there yet but some of us can say if it wasn't for the Lord on my side I would have been buried in that grave but God pulled me up out of that and he put me back on the right ground oh God I don't let me go down to the grave he's not talking about hell and with the demonic realm but there's a grave the pit shaol and gehenna and all these terms they have for for different things in a holding spot and and and Lord I feel so beaten down I feel so abused I feel like I can't keep doing this and everyone's against me but Lord lift me back up whoo that that just preaches itself right there I cried out to you and you healed me Lord you brought my soul up from the grave you have kept me alive that I should not go down to the pit that's why I often say if you're barely holding on make sure it's to the hymn of his garment make sure sing praise to the Lord you saints of his sing praise to the Lord even when you don't feel like it amen even when you don't feel like it I've learned the better praise and worship where my heart really changes is when I force my flesh to shut up and I praise God despite my feelings Lord I didn't come in here feeling that great but but I'm gonna I'm gonna submit I'm gonna command I'm gonna do what your word commands and I'm gonna praise you I'm gonna sing praises to you and you're not faking it what you're doing is you're bringing your flesh into submission and after a few minutes something will break and then that praise you begin to feel and you said there's those feelings there's that love of God because I broke through and experienced the power of God for his anger is but for a moment here's a famous verse that we many of us have heard his anger is but for a moment his favor is for life weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning and that's what we encourage people keep moving forward keep pressing it because yes yes yes yes it is difficult weeping may endure for the night in the night season but joy cometh in the morning God will honor his word but we have to ask the hard question do you thank God or complain regularly any complainers in the room tonight or just me oh there's four that's great balcony any complainers up there okay oh the whole balcony that's good there's he we have to tell the truth down here a little bit more many of us struggle with that complaining because that's the fleshly nature it wants to complain the ac is not cool enough you know they never know ac back then right they just open the windows and hope for the best i better not stay there too long i can really convict us now in my prosperity in other words when he's wealthy now in my prosperity i said i shall never be moved he's trusting in his wealth lord by your favor you have made my mountain stand strong you hid your face and i was troubled of course there is another translation of this you could say now in my prosperity meaning prospering with God prospering spiritually i like that as well i shall never be moved you have made my mountain stand strong you hid your face and i was troubled so if we take it the context as his prosperity is making him prideful God will hide his face and you will be in trouble you'll feel like you're in trouble anyone ever been there God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble and he's saying here i may be saying i'm trusting in my wealth i'm trusting in my prosperity i will never be moved and you know that that comes in to a lot of us especially in america where people can make a lot of money and man because when you're doing good financially i don't know if you've ever been there you think you can never be moved look at my bank account look what's coming in i am set and then God brings a crash in a housing market or stock or loss of a job yeah he hides his face and i was in trouble do you boast in your prosperity are you counting on it are you prepared if God strips it away and i'm in on this issue i feel so much you know a lot of things i would like to talk to the church about in the future but we have to be prepared for an uncertain future we really don't know what the future holds we know who holds the future praise God but i i've over the years i've talked to so many people who lost a lot what they were counting on like this is my nest egg this is my retirement this is my i mean i had some good friends in construction that had to go back to work in 2008 i think it was and they're so depressed and so many and i got it that would not be fun but what are we trusting and are we prepared are we prepared that things might not work out the way we think they're going to work out because what happens if we're putting our faith and trust in that when that falls apart we we fall apart but if you're trusting in God you say oh that's that stinks well okay Lord you're going to see me through some other way because your confidence is in him and i've talked to a lot of men especially when i'm speaking of men's events one of them the biggest thing i would say up there with with divorce probably that draws men back to God is being hit with a financial hammer or i should say a loss of finances they thought they were all that in a bag of chips and they lost everything or they lost their job they're going to lose their home i got them into a financial crunch then they cried out to him and God often will do that to wake us up he says i cried out to you oh Lord and to the Lord i made supplication here's what he prayed supplication is it's like praying but it's supplication is a clear call to action on the part of the Lord what you're asking him here's my request what prophet is there in my blood when i go down to the pit will the dust praise you will it declare your truth and so have we spent significant time praying have we reflected lately on the brevity of life the brevity of life how precious it is every time you do a memorial service you remember the how how how quick life goes especially if it's a young person i remember doing one here for a baby that was in leona valley very difficult the brevity of life and Vinny's here i just saw him i did his mom's had the privilege of doing his mom's memorial on monday and uh 86 years old when she gave her heart to the Lord at JetHawk Stadium unbelievable unbelievable i'll never forget that she wheels up in a wheelchair she's ready she you're ready except Jesus now at 86 let's do it and then a couple years later you know a year and a half later just the brevity how quick things go and and get in and missing all these key things that God is doing because we're in a hurry here oh Lord here oh Lord and have mercy on me anybody need mercy tonight the definition of grace and mercy i mean we many of us know it's you know with with with grace unmerited favor mercy is you deserve something but God doesn't give it to you anybody can relate to that yes thank God here oh Lord and have mercy upon me Lord i deserve to not have all this i deserve to not benefit from this wonderful life or or or all these blessings you you've given me and Lord thank you for having mercy upon me Lord you are my helper you have turned you have turned for me my mourning into dancing you have put off my sackcloth and clothes me clothed me with gladness to the end my glory may sing praises to you and not be silent oh Lord my God i will give thanks to you forever so are you willing to ask God to help you today will you praise and thank him regardless of what the future holds that's the power of repentance repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of action and when we repent and we get our our hearts back on the right on the right page God begins to really move powerfully