You ask me how I know He lives.
He lives within my heart.
Amen.
And then, the third solar system.
So the light from gravity of the sun, the sun is second most of us.
God. And before the throne, notice this, there was a sea of glass. Again, what that
looks like, I'm not sure. We'll have to wait until we get to heaven. But there's
this sea of glass that was before the throne like under the crystal. And in the midst
of the throne, and among above the throne, were four bees full of eyes before the
light. Here John describes for us that there are these four bees, these four animals.
They're these angelic beings. They're not like anything we have on the earth. He
tries to describe it for us. He tells us that there would be four bees, notice there in verse six.
Before the throne, there was a sea of glass like under the crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and
around about the throne, were four bees full of light before the light. And the first
piece was like a lion, and the second piece like a hawk, and the third piece had a face
like a man, and the fourth piece was like a flying eagle. But notice verse eight,
and the four bees had each of them six wings about him, and they were full of
eyes within, and they rest not day and night. I want you to notice the emphasis that we see
in this passage. And it's emphasized here in verse eight, it's really what the entire passage
is about. Because like I said, this chapter is really just a transitional chapter, giving us
a description of God. And if you haven't noticed, the whole point and purpose of this chapter
is to give us a high view of God. When you see God, and the throne room in heaven,
and His majesty described, whenever it's described in the Bible, the purpose is to give us
a high view of God. We see Him with power and might and majesty. We see Him on the throne
with lightening and thundering proceeding. We see the sea of glass. The Bible tells us there
in verse eight, it says in the four bees that teach them six wings about Him, and they were
full of eyes within, and they rest not day and night, saying, Now if you're a man here tonight,
I'd like you to read the rest of this verse, verse eight with me. Let's read it together.
This is what they're saying in heaven. They say, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which was and is and is come. Now let's read it like you're a Baptist, all right?
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is come.
I want you to understand that in the throne room in heaven, John describes for us that
there are these beasts that are surrounding the throne of God, and their full job,
their entire job is simply to give praise to God as they lift up their voice, and they say,
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come.
And I want you to notice that whenever you get a description of God in the Bible,
it's always a high view of God. It's always an exceptional view of God.
It's a majestic view of God. It's a view of God's glory. Revelation chapter four is not the
only place we get this in scripture. If you would, go with me to the book of Isaiah.
Keep your place in the Revelation. We're going to come back to it. Go to the book of Isaiah
in the Old Testament. If you open your Bible just right in the center, you're more than likely
following the book of Psalm. Right after Psalm, you have the book of Proverbs, then Ecclesiastes,
then following Solomon, and then Isaiah, Isaiah chapter number six. Isaiah chapter number six.
And I'd like you to notice verse number one. Isaiah chapter six and verse one.
In Isaiah chapter six and verse one, we have again a prophet of God giving us
a description of the throne room of God. Isaiah chapter six and verse one. Notice
what the Bible says, in the year that King Josiah died. Now it's interesting to me
that Isaiah takes the time to give us that time frame or that time marker. He says,
in the year that King Josiah died, I also saw the Lord sitting upon a throne. It's interesting
to me because Josiah was a good king. And when Josiah had died, you may think that this
might have been a troublesome time for the nation of Israel. It might have been a
troublesome time for the prophet Isaiah. They might have wondered and been worried about
the next king that was to take the place, the next leader that was supposed to come,
and how he perceived, and how he would treat them, and how he would treat the people of God,
and the work of God, and the men of God. But here the Bible tells us, in the year that King
Josiah died, Isaiah says, I saw also the Lord sitting upon the throne. Let me tell you
something, it does not matter who the political leadership is in any nation because whether it's
Trump or whether it's Biden, whether it's Bush or whether it's Obama, God is always on his
throne. Here Isaiah is reminding his people about that. He says, in the year that King Josiah died,
I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne. And I want you to notice, I want you to notice
the description, high and lifted up, and it's trained to build a temple. I want you to notice
that whenever you see a description of God, the throne room of God, the power of God, it's always
a high view of God. Isaiah says, I saw the Lord sitting upon the throne, high and lifted up,
and it's trained to build the temple. Notice verse 2, above it stood the seraphim, each had
six wings, with twain, he tells us, he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet,
and with twain he did fly. Notice the consistency with Revelation 4, and one cried unto another,
and said, let's read it together men, let's read it, what it says there in verse 3,
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.
I want you to notice that when Isaiah gives us an image of the throne of God, it is high,
it is holy, and it is lifted up. When John gives us a description of God, it's high,
and it's holy, and it's lifted up. Notice there in verse 4, Isaiah goes on to say,
and the post of the door moved that the voice of him that cried in the house was filled with smoke.
When they said these words, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of
his glory, they said it in such a way that the door closed, the door moved that the voice
of him that cried in the house was filled with smoke. It's a high view of God.
We get a high view of God in Revelation, we get a high view of God in Isaiah, but this is not
the only place. Let me give you another example, go with me to Ezekiel, if you would,
Ezekiel chapter 1. If you're there in Isaiah, just go past Jeremiah, into Lamentations,
and into Ezekiel. Past Jeremiah, past Lamentations, into Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 1.
In Ezekiel chapter 1, we have yet again another prophet giving us a description
of their view of God. Notice in Ezekiel chapter 1, I don't have time to go through the whole
chapter of Ezekiel, but if you're really with Ezekiel chapter 1, Isaiah, excuse me,
Ezekiel has the hand of God come upon him, the spirit of the Lord has come upon him,
he begins to see these visions, and he's seeing all these crazy things. He's seeing a tornado
coming towards him, he's seeing these beasts flying towards him, he's seeing all these
amazing things, but he says in verse 26, and above the firmament that was over their head,
the likeness of a throne as the appearance of a sapphire stone. Isn't that what it said
in Revelation 4? And upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance
of a man above upon it, and I saw the color of amber and the appearance of fire
round about within it. Here we're told, in Revelation we're told, that lightning proceeded
from the throne. Here we're told that he saw the color of amber as the appearance of fire
round about within it, and the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance
of his loins even downward, I saw his worthy appearance of fire, and he had brightness
round about as the appearance of a dove. Notice how that's consistent with Revelation.
There was a rainbow. Here we're told there's a grove, there's a bow that's in the cloud
in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. Have you ever
wondered why it is that the filthiest, most perverted group in our world has chosen the
rainbow to represent themselves? When the Bible tells us that it is a rainbow that is above
the throne of God, as the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain,
so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This, notice, was the appearance of
the likeness of love. Notice the word, the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it,
I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spayed. I want you to notice and
do me a favor, don't even wonder Hebrews as you would Hebrews chapter 10.
This is all by way of introduction. I'm going to get into the sermon here in a minute. Hebrews
chapter 10 of you started with Revelation and go backwards. You have Revelation,
Jews, 3rd, 2nd, 1st Peter, James, Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 10. I wanted to make the
point to you tonight. I hope I've made it. We could look at other passages yet,
but I won't take the time to do that. But I want to make the point that whenever God is
described in the Bible, whenever we get a view of God, and of course we know that
no man has seen God at any time. We understand that. But whenever a glimpse of God,
a glimpse of the power of God, the glory of God is given to us in Scripture,
it's always a high view of God. He is high. He is holy. He is lifted up. It's a high view
of God. And I'm here to tell you something. Today we have a church culture in America today
that has a very low view of God. I mean, if you want to wonder why, if you wonder why
there are so many churches in our country today that want the atmosphere of the church service
to feel like a casino or a nightclub or a rock concert, the answer to this is because they
have a low view of God. That's why preachers stand up and they preach wearing skinny jeans
and sandals on a bar stool. Why? Because they have a low view of God. That's why they
don't take time to preach the Word of God. They don't take time to preach the actual Word
of God. They don't take the Word of God and the preaching of the Word of God and
the following of the Word of God seriously because they have a low view of God.
Oftentimes, and maybe you're newer to one of our types of churches,
when people come to church like ours, knowing about this church, and I'm sure
stronghold and the other churches here are similar, sometimes we have new converts and
they'll come to church and they want to know, why did we sit in the old hand?
To them, they wonder, why do you eat out of this old Indian Bible?
Why does the past, I realize we're in a camping trip and we're a little more casual,
but usually we show up to church, the pastor is wearing a suit and a tie. We say, why is that?
Well, we could give you all sorts of reasons, but the short answer is this, because we have a
high view of God. Because we just believe that if we're going to do something for God,
we're going to do it with reverence. We're going to do it to match his glory,
to match his power, to match his holiness. We have a high view of God.
Well, churches today have a low view of God. But that's not really what I'm preaching about tonight.
Tonight what I'm preaching about is not the low view of God that the church culture has,
but it's the low view of God that the Christian culture has. Because I'm concerned
that there are many Christians, even in our independent fundamental Baptist, even in our
churches, that do not understand the concept of a high view of God.
And in fact, they have a low view of God. See, here's the truth. When you have a high view of
God, it'll change some things in your life. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 31, notice what it says.
This is a verse that to me highlights a high view of God. Hebrews 10 31. It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God. I mean, that's a verse to me that declares
the power, the might, the strength, the fear, the reverence that we should all have for God.
And it would change our lives. It would change the way we do things.
It would change the way that we live if we had a high view of God. You say,
why? Because it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
A high view of God, developing a high view of God. You say, okay, pastor,
guys, I understand the high view of God. I understand that when God is represented in
the Bible, it's always high and holy and lifted up. How would that really change my life?
How would that change my Christian walk? How would that change the way that I do things?
I'd like to give you three different areas in which a high view of God would change in your
life if you got a high view of God. If you're taking notes tonight, I encourage you to write
these things down. I'm not sure if you're able to do that. If you're able to, maybe you
can jot this down. You're there in Hebrews chapter 10. Look over to Hebrews chapter 12,
and let me say this. A high view of God in the Christian life, a high view of God
produces proper standards. I'm talking about personal standards in your life and in my life
will be produced, they are produced out of a high view of God. In fact, oftentimes when
you've got young people, you've got, we were talking about this last night with the pastors,
we were having a conversation about the next generation and making sure that the kids that
grow up in these types of churches, that they stay with it, they stick with it,
that they stick with the standards. You know, one thing that I believe is that we've got to
make sure that they get a high view of God because a high view of God will produce a
standard. See, when you get a high view of God, you will be concerned with what is acceptable
to God. Hebrews 12 verse 28. Hebrews 12 verse 28. Wherefore, Hebrews 10 verse 28,
wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby, notice these
words, we may serve God. Notice it, we may serve God. Is that what we want? We may serve
God. Is that what we want in our churches? Christians that will serve God? We may serve God.
Is that what we want from our young people? We may serve God. Isn't that what we as parents
want for our children coming up and being raised in churches and families like ours?
We may serve God. But notice, the Bible says that we may serve God acceptably.
Do you understand that not all service to God is acceptable to God?
God is not pleased with all worship. The Bible tells us that we must worship God in spirit
and in truth. He's concerned with worship, but he's concerned with the souls of that worship.
How that worship is conducted, he says that we may serve God acceptably. Notice, with reverence
and Godly fear. You say what's reverence and Godly fear? It's a high view of God.
Reference is to, is to have respect, to be in awe of, to have fear,
Godly fear here in reference to us hearing God. See, when we have a high view of God,
we will serve God acceptably. We will be concerned with what is acceptable to God.
Notice verse 29, for our God is a consuming fire. Again, I just want you to notice,
when the Bible describes God, it's an awesomeness. Our God is a consuming fire.
He's not a spark. He's not a little match you turn on. God is a fire that wants to consume you.
God is a fire that wants to take over your life. And he wants us to serve him
acceptably with reverence and Godly fear. Go to Ephesians, if you would, Ephesians chapter 5.
If you start at Matthew, you got Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1st Corinthians,
Galatians, Ephesians, Ephesians, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1st Corinthians,
Galatians, Ephesians, Ephesians 5. Let me give you another verse here to prove the point.
See, when you get a high view of God, you will be concerned. You will become concerned with,
you will become concerned with what is acceptable to God. Ephesians 5 and verse 10.
Notice what the Bible says. Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. Proving what is
acceptable. Figuring out, testing, trying, and trying to understand what is acceptable unto the
Lord. See, when you get a high view of God, it'll produce proper standards. Why? Because you
will become concerned with what is acceptable unto the Lord. You say, Pastor, I don't understand.
What do you mean? Go to Genesis, if you would. Genesis 39, first book in the New Testament,
Genesis 39. Here's what I'm trying to tell you. When you get a high view of God,
we will not have to give you a bunch of lists about what you should do or what you
should not do in the Christian life. Now, don't misunderstand me. I am mindless. I'm all about
this. I love lists. I've got a whole conference that highlights lists, all right? So I'm not against
lists. If you get a list, see me after the service, and I'll give you a list for whatever
you need. You need a list for what you should be watching? We got one. You need a list for
what websites you should be going on? We got one. You need a list for what music you should
be listening to? We got one. You need a list of whatever list you got. I'm not against it in the
night. If you need a list, I'm not against lists. Don't misunderstand me. I'm all for a preaching
list, but I do want you to understand something. If you got a high view of God and you became
concerned with what is acceptable to God, you wouldn't need so many lists, and they wouldn't
have to be so long. I mean, Pastor Charlie, God bless him. I love his preaching, and I'm glad
he's doing this, but if you have a high view of God, he wouldn't have to preach a sermon
explaining to you what's wrong with the Truman Show. If you got a high view of God,
he wouldn't have to preach a sermon explaining to you what's wrong with Minority Report.
If you got a high view of God, hey, if you got a high view of God,
we wouldn't have to preach sermons against Star Wars. We wouldn't have to preach sermons
against The Matrix. We wouldn't have to preach sermons against Spider-Man and Superman and
Batman. Hey, if you got a high view of God, we wouldn't have to sit here and explain to you
what's wrong with Disney and all their pedophilia and all their symmetry and all their
trying to brainwash our children. Hey, if you got a high view of God, you would all of a
sudden become concerned with what is acceptable to God. And when you become concerned with,
is this something that is acceptable to the Lord? All of a sudden, the list become irrelevant.
Because people always want to fight the list. You do standards, and I want more standards,
but you get these young ladies, and they want to know how low is too low on the shirt,
and how high is too high on the skirt, and how tight is too tight, and how short
can my short be before I'm a transvestite, right? And then you got these guys,
well, how skinny are skinny jeans? If you got to ask the question, they're too skinny.
Let me know you're skinny jeans. Don't make me look skinny unless you're actually skinny.
How long can it be before it before I cross the line before I step over the rules?
I don't know these facts. And they want us to just give them these specific, you know,
here's what you have to do. And here's the closest you can get to the world.
As far as you go, I'm just going to tell you something. If you got a high view of God,
and you were concerned with what was acceptable to God, you wouldn't get a list.
If young ladies woke up every day, if ladies woke up every day, and looked in the mirror,
and look at what they were wearing, and they asked themselves, is this acceptable to God?
When you turn on the radio, and you start listening to music, if you ask yourself
this question, is this acceptable to God? Is this pleasing to God?
Is this something God wants you to listen to? Hey, you wouldn't need a list.
When you when you start watching the show, or start watching the movie and ask yourself,
is this what's pleasing to the Lord? Does this bring pleasure to God? You wouldn't need a list.
Go back to Revelation chapter four, if you would.
Revelation chapter four.
There have been times in my ministry when people, and God blessed them,
their hearts in the right place. I don't think anybody does this from a bad heart.
Sometimes people, they'll give us a gift card to a restaurant, and they're trying
to give us a gift card. There have been times when my wife and I, you know, maybe going on a
date night or something, oh brother so-and-so, or sister so-and-so gave us a gift card to this
restaurant, to this restaurant we've never been to, never, never, never been there. We said,
well let's go, let's go try it, you know, they gave us this gift card. There have been
times when, you know, my wife and I, we walk into a restaurant, we take one step into
the restaurant, we kind of look around, we look at each other, and we're like, let's go.
And you say, well, there's just something about living your life with a high view of God
that makes you think, I don't think this is acceptable to the Lord.
And you give that illustration, you're like, well, what is it, what do you, you know,
what restaurant is it, tell me what the restaurant is, I won't go there.
But I didn't give you a list, I'm just telling you something,
you walk into a restaurant, and the lights are dark, and the music's loud,
and the waitresses are dancing, and you think to yourself, this is not acceptable to God,
this is not what God wants, this is not what God wants me, this is not something that
is pleasing to the Lord. I'm just here to tell you something, I'm just here to tell you
something, sometimes, sometimes, it's not a list, it's just asking yourself this question,
is this pleasing to God? Years ago, my wife and I have been there for a couple of years,
we were out for dinner with a couple, an older couple, they were a nice couple,
I really liked them, and they were being a blessing to us, and I remember he looked,
he looked at me, I was maybe 18 years old at the time, he looked at me, he said,
do you know what your purpose in life as a Christian is? And I said, yeah, I think so.
He said, what's your purpose in life? And I began to do what every, you know,
good independent practice does, I began to rattle off a list. To go to church Sunday morning,
Sunday night, Wednesday night, and to go snowboarding, and to read the Bible, and to pray,
and to tithe, and to do this, and to do that, and I'm not against any of that, by the way,
I'm still for all of that. And I remember he opened up his Bible, he took me to this verse,
Revelation chapter 4, and I want you to understand the context, because we read the entire
chapter in its context, and we saw that the entire chapter is all about the glory of God.
It's all about the fact that God is tied, holy, lifted up, and the very last verse,
verse 11, gives us the application, Revelation 4-11, the Bible says, because God is high,
because God is holy, because God is lifted up, the Bible says, thou are worthy, O Lord,
to receive glory and honor and power, for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure
they are, and were, created.
Do y'all know why God created you? Do y'all know why God created me? For his pleasure.
Now I believe that going to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, and going to night
break pleasure to God. I believe that going soul-breaking break pleasure to God,
I believe that going being a tither break pleasure to God, I believe that reading the
Bible every day, praying every day, bringing pleasure to God. I just want to tell you, it's bigger than that, it's bigger than that when you understand that God is high holy lifted up. And my job and my purpose is to bring pleasure to Him, is to serve Him in an acceptable passion, in an acceptable way. It'll produce proper standards. You'll stop asking the wrong questions. And you'll start asking the right questions. It was the wrong question. Here's the wrong question.
Young people, listen up. Here's the wrong question. Your mom, your dad, they tell you, don't go there, don't do that, don't talk to that person. Don't watch that, don't listen to that. Here's the wrong question. What's wrong with it? But what's wrong with it? Why can't I go there? Why can't I listen to that?
Why can't, look, when you get a high view of God, you'll stop asking what's wrong with it, and you'll start asking what's right with it. You'll stop asking, what can I get away with? You'll stop asking, what's the closest I can get to the light without crossing it? And you'll start asking, what would be pleasing to my Heavenly Father?
See, the truth is this, in the Christian life, you and I should not be choosing between the good and the bad. Oh no, we should not be choosing between the good and the bad. We should be choosing between the good and the bad. What's the best thing I could do with my life? What's the best thing I could do today? What's the best thing? If you're asking yourself on a Sunday night, you're wondering, should I go to church or not? You should ask yourself this question, what would be pleasing to the Lord? What would be acceptable to Him?
What would be the wisest thing? What would be the best thing for me to do with my life right now? See, I'm here to tell you something. I'm here to tell you that a high view of God reduces standards. When you get a high view of God, you begin to care about and concern yourself with, not bliss, and I'm not against bliss, but you begin to concern yourself with what is acceptable to God.
And I just believe, I just believe that if I can help you, if I can help all these young people develop a high view for God, then I won't have to worry about when I'm not there.
I'm talking about as a father, my wife as a mother, you as parents. Hey, as a pastor, I don't have to worry about, well, what are they going to do when they're over there in that situation? What are they going to do when this temptation comes? Hey, if you got a high view of God, you'll just do what is pleasing to God.
In Genesis 39, we have an example of a young man who got ripped away from his family. But something about this young man, Joseph, is that he had a high view of God.
And I want you to notice that when you get a high view of God, not only will it cause you to be concerned with what is acceptable to God, it will also cause you to not want to sin against God.
Genesis 39 verse 7 goes to the Bible says, and it came to pass after these things. Now we don't have time to go through the whole story of Joseph, but if you remember Joseph, he was, his brothers sold him into slavery.
He's in Potter's house. And the Bible says after these things that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, and she said, lie with me.
But he refused and said unto his master's wife, behold, my master wadeth not. That term wadeth not means knoweth not what is with me in the house.
He hath committed all that he hath to my hand. There is none greater in this house than I, and neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee.
This is Joseph speaking to Potter for his wife. He says, because thou art his wife.
Now I want you to notice the last little phrase of this verse, because this phrase reveals a lot. It reveals a lot about Joseph.
He says, you have this woman asking him, intending him to commit adultery with her, and he's responding to her, and he's giving her the reasons why he can't do it.
And notice he says, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against Potiphar? Is that what he says?
It would have been a sin against Potiphar. He says, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against my parents who taught me to not do such things?
Is that what he says? It would have been a sin against his parents. He says, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?
See, Joseph had a high view of God. Now I'm sure he was concerned with Potiphar. I'm sure he was concerned with his testimony.
I'm sure he's concerned with what others might think, but his primary concern was with what God thought of him.
He had a high view of God. I'm just here to tell you that a high view of God produces proper standards. It will make you be concerned with what's acceptable to God.
It will make you be concerned with what's not acceptable to God. It will make you not want to sin against God.
Go to 1 Corinthians 11. I said number one tonight, a high view of God produces proper standards. Let me give you another thought.
Not only does a high view of God produce proper standards, a high view of God produces a proper view of submission.
Now, when you get a high view of God, you will understand something, and it is this, that there is a chain of command in the world.
There's a chain of command in life, and that chain of command ends with God at the top.
Because God is high, holy, and lifted up. There's a chain of command that ends with and leads us to God.
Let me give you an example of that. 1 Corinthians 11 verse 3. Notice what Paul says. He said,
But I would have you to know that the head, the word head in the Bible in reference to families, or government, or churches is always in reference to authority.
The head is the one in charge. Notice here, we're told, but I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ.
Notice men, notice something, because we as Baptists, we like to highlight the fact that we're the head of the wife, the Bible says that, we're going to see that.
But before we get to the husband of the head of the wife, the Bible says that Christ is the head of the man.
So you've got to submit yourself also to Christ. But I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man,
and the head of Christ, notice this, the head of Christ is God. Now women today, the feminist women, when they hear preaching like what I'm talking about right now,
they like to say, oh you're just some sort of a male chauvinist, you want to put women down when you tell them that they've got to submit to their husband,
and that's putting us in a lower state, and that's talking about our value, and if we have to submit, then you're saying that you're better than us.
But wait a minute, the Bible says that Christ, God the Son, submitted himself to God the Father. Does that reduce the value of Christ? No it does not.
We believe in the Trinity. I mean God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. The whole purpose of the Trinity is that we believe that they are co-equal,
co-existing, co-internal, they are all equally God. That God exists in three persons. Hey, Jesus is no less God than the Father is,
the Holy Spirit is no less God than the Son is, but yet they choose to willingly submit themselves under the authority,
and it doesn't make them any less. And women are no less when they submit themselves to their husband.
And church members are no less when they submit themselves to their pastor. And employees are no less when they submit themselves to their boss.
See, a high view of God will help you understand that in life there's a chain of command, and that chain ends with God at the top,
because we have a high view of God.
Go to Ephesians chapter 5. Go back to Ephesians, I'm not sure if you kept your place there. I meant to ask you to keep your place there, but if you could go back there,
pass 1 Corinthians relation to Ephesians chapter 5.
When I was in the military many years ago, I was in the Air Force, and by the way, I always like to give this disclaimer when I use the military as an illustration.
I'm not advising anybody to go in the military ever, okay? It's just something I did, and that doesn't make it right.
When I was in the military, when I was in the Air Force, when we were in boot camp, one of the things that they had us do is they had us memorize our chain of command.
And when I say they had us memorize the chain of command, they did not just have us memorize the ranks of our chain of command,
they literally had us memorize the names of everyone in our chain of command.
So for example, I was an airman in boot camp, and above me was another airman that had been given the position of flight leader, or flight commander.
So in my chain of command, I had this other airman that was also in boot camp that had been chosen to be the flight commander.
He was in my chain of command, so when I was asked to rattle off the chain of command, I had to start with him because he was the flight commander.
Then we had our staff sergeant, who was in charge of our flight. Then we had a sergeant over him, a technical sergeant, that was in charge of our little division.
And then there was a master sergeant that was in charge of that entire section, and it went on and on.
And we went up through the base commander, all the way up to the secretary of defense, which at that time was Donald Rumsfeld for us,
and then all the way up to the president of the United States, which at that time was George Bush.
And we were asked to memorize this chain of command.
And the purpose of the exercise was this, to explain to us that in a chain of command, the authority does not come from the person above you.
The authority comes from the top and trickles down.
So when you've got a staff sergeant that gives you an order, when you even have a flight commander that gives you an order,
and you choose to disobey that order, it is a serious thing because they have been empowered, they have been commissioned,
they have been given the authority to give those orders, to take that head, to be that leadership from the leadership above them,
from the leadership above them, from the leadership above them, and it went all the way up for us in the United States military,
up to the highest position of leadership, the president of the United States.
And they wanted us to understand, when a flight commander or a staff sergeant or a tech sergeant or a master sergeant
tells you to grab a mop and to go clean the latrines, you should see that as an order from the president himself.
Because the president himself is the one that had put the secretary of defense in his place,
who had put the different generals in their places over the different branches of the military,
who had put this chain of command in place all the way down to us.
See, when you get a high view of God, you understand that submission is ultimately to God.
Now what's interesting to me is that when you read the passages about submission in the Bible, this is highlighted.
Over and over again. Let's look at it. Ephesians 5, verse 22.
Why? Submit yourself unto your own husband.
Now the average feminist Christian stops reading right there because they're so upset.
I can't believe that he returned to that passage.
I can't believe that you read that on Mother's Day.
Why? Submit yourself unto your own husband.
But I want you to notice this. I want you to notice. Notice this phrase. Don't miss it.
As unto the Lord.
See, when you get a high view of God, you realize that there's a chain of command that leads to God, that ends with God,
and you realize that submission at the lowest level is ultimately submission to the highest level, which is God.
And it's not just wives. Go to Ephesians chapter 6.
Look at verse 5. Ephesians chapter 6, verse 5.
Ephesians 6, 5. Here we're told, servants, just to help you apply that in our modern society,
you can think when you read servants there, think worker, employer.
Servants, be obedient. What does that mean?
It means to put yourself under the authority under being submission to them that are your masters according to the flesh.
Again, the word master there, just think boss, employer, the guy in charge.
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh.
Notice, notice, how are you supposed to hate men?
You know, we like to preach in the mouth by submitting and I'm all for it.
But hey, when you go to work, you're supposed to submit to your boss with fear and trembling.
Fear and trembling? Yeah, because you've got a high view.
A high view of my boss, not necessarily your boss, but fear and trembling, in terms of heart.
Notice, as unto Christ.
When you go to work, you've got to work hard like if the Lord Jesus Christ is ordering you.
Like if the Lord Jesus Christ is the one that gave you that time, that assignment, that job.
Why? Because you've been given a chain of command.
You've been given human authority and that chain of command leads to God.
If you have a high view of God, you will understand that all submission is ultimately to God.
Notice verse 6, not with eye service as men pleasers.
We've all known that type of worker, right? The guy that only works when the boss is watching?
Not with eye service as men pleasers, but as a service of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.
With good will, doing service, don't miss it, as to the Lord and not to man.
See, in a chain of command, authority comes from the top and it trickles down.
Are there any Ephesians going to Colossians? Colossians 3, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians.
Over the years at my church and as I've traveled the country, the Lord has allowed me to travel and preach in different places.
I've been asked a question multiple times by young men.
Young men are the ones that like to ask me those questions.
And they'll ask me, you know, usually they only ask the question as much as they make the statement.
And they'll say, Hi, how's your marriage? You know, I'm dating this girl and I'm kind of serious about me wanting to marry her, but she won't submit to me.
And my response is usually, praise the Lord?
And they're like, wait a remark? I thought every woman was supposed to submit to every man? I wouldn't say that.
In fact, the Bible goes on to explain to say that every wife needs to submit to her own husband.
Every wife doesn't have to submit to every husband. She needs to submit to her own husband.
You say, why is that important? Because your wife doesn't need to be submitting to somebody else's husband at work.
She needs to be home submitting to her own husband.
So get this idea out of your head. All women are supposed to submit to all men.
Hey, walk up to my wife and start trying to over her around. See how that goes.
And get punched in the face.
Because not every woman needs to submit to every man.
But wives should submit to their own. So these young men go, my girlfriend won't submit to me.
Will she shoot? Do you put a ring on her finger? Do you vow to provide and protect and procedure yourself as a leader in her life?
She doesn't do this to you. She doesn't need to be submitted to you.
So then the inevitable question comes, well then how will I know if she submits it?
How will I know if she submits it? And look, I've got my own question.
Before I marry her, how will I know if she submits it?
And the answer is a very simple answer. It's the only answer.
And it's this. Watch her with her father.
Because until she gets married, her father is the only biblical authority that she must submit herself under.
So if you want to know if she submits it, look at the person that she's currently under the head of and how she submits to him.
And that will give you an idea of how she'll submit to you.
And then, you know, I've had this conversation so many times that I can't even tell you. It's funny.
Because then the answer is, well you don't understand, her father is not saved.
Or her dad, you know, he's a Sunday morning owner.
Or you know, the thing about her dad is that he drinks.
And you don't understand her dad, he's not a very good leader. He's not very spiritual. He's not very hip. He's not very not.
And listen to me. I feel bad about that. I wish that all dads did not drink. I wish that all dads did not smoke.
I wish that all dads read the Bible with their families and read the Bible for themselves.
I wish that all dads were faithful to church and soul owners. I wish that all dads were all of that.
But please, let me help you understand something.
When a follower, in any situation, right now we're using the example of a young lady with her father.
But it could be a young man with her father. It could be a church member with their pastor.
It could be an employee with their employer. It could be a wife with her husband.
It could be in any situation where there's biblical, God-given authority,
the one who is to submit, if they wanted to find a reason to justify their rebellion and their lack of submission, they could do it.
For everyone. And for anyone.
Because I like to remind these young men, oh, oh, okay, so your girlfriend doesn't submit to her father because her father is a sinner, but you're not?
But you must be the Lord Jesus Christ next.
Because when she gets married to you, if she wants to find some area that you're lacking in to justify her unwillingness to submit, let me let you in on a little secret.
She's going to find it and she's going to find it pretty fast. Because you're a sinner.
And here's the point that I'm making.
When you get a high view of God, you understand that submitting and the submitting process is not hinged upon the human authority that happens to be upon you.
Because the human authority is always going to be a sinner. It's always going to be flawed. It's never going to be perfect.
It doesn't matter how godly they are. It doesn't matter how good they are. It doesn't matter how great of a Christian they are.
They're going to lie in something, but our submission in the human authority realm is always not in response to their character, but in reverence to God.
Why should I go, my God, my boss is an idiot. This is what I'm in on.
My boss is an idiot. So I just do it the way I think it should be done because he doesn't know what to do.
And then you wonder why your wife won't submit to you.
And then you wonder why your kids don't respect you.
Hey, let me make it all a secret. You read what you sow.
You sit there and talk crap about the pastor and his sermon every Sunday on your way home from church.
Well, the pastor said this. The pastor said that.
And your kids and your wife watch you rebel against your God-given authority, the pastor of the church, who the Bible says you're supposed to obey.
And he is the ruler of the church. And of course, we know that we're not going to be in a war over God's heritage.
We understand that we're not going to ensure ourselves that the matters that don't apply to us.
But when it comes to the church, hey, when it comes to the church, the pastor is the boss.
And then you sit there and rebel against him and you wonder why your kids rebel against you.
And then you wonder why your wife doesn't respect you.
You come home and complain about your boss, complain about your boss.
And then you wonder why your wife complains about her boss.
I'm just here to tell you something. If you have a high view of God, you will understand that submitting to blood, human authority, is done in reverence to God.
Colossians 3, another verse right there.
And whatsoever ye do.
I'm reading that over and over to highlight something. This applies to everything.
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily.
Why? Here's why.
As to the Lord and not to men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance where ye serve.
The Lord cries.
See, I'm just here to tell you something and it's this.
A high view of God will produce proper standards.
You'll become concerned about what is acceptable to God.
You'll become concerned about what is pleasing to the Lord.
And you'll begin to live your life in accordance.
And you won't need someone to stand up and tell you all the rules.
Now you'll like those sermons because you're living with a life of standards.
But you won't need it.
Because the reason that you don't smoke and you don't chill and you don't go with the girls that do is not because the pastor said it or your dad said it, but it's because it's pleasing to God.
Now you submit yourself to the pastor, you submit yourself to your father, you submit yourself to your husband, you submit yourself to your boss in reverence not to them necessarily, but to God.
Who gave you that husband? Who gave you that father? Who gave you that boss? Who gave you that pastor?
And the authority trickles from God to Adam.
Ladies, please understand, when you back off your husband and you rebel against him and you're not reverent to him and you don't submit to him, you're not disrespecting your husband, you're disrespecting God.
That's right.
You're not rebelling against your husband. You say, well if you knew my husband, if you knew what my husband has done and he's hurt me and I realize that he may have hurt you and I realize that your husband's not perfect and he is a sinner and he's probably done stupid things, but you submit to God.
And God has never hurt me. He never liked me. He never let me down.
See, the high view of God understands that our submission is ultimately to God.
Go to Job chapter 42 and go to Job chapter 42.
We're talking about a high view of God.
I said number one tonight, a high view of God produces proper standards. Number two tonight, a high view of God produces proper submission.
Let me give you a third one tonight and we'll finish up.
A high view of God produces a proper view of God.
Because let's be honest, why don't you listen to the preaching?
Why do you go to a church where the pastor teaches you what the Bible says to do and then you say, you don't say it out loud, but you say in your mind, I'm not going to do that.
I don't want to do that.
I don't care how many times he preaches against the Truman Show, my favorite show, let me keep watching.
I don't care how many times he preaches against Star Wars, I just like Star Wars.
And when they come out with episode 39 and episode 40 and episode 112, I'm just going to keep watching.
I don't care what he says.
See, a high view of God produces proper view of God. Let's be honest with ourselves.
When we choose to not do what the Bible says, it's because we have a very inflated view of ourselves.
Whenever you see a description of God and he's described as high and holy and lifted up, you always in that description also see the reaction of the man that got that view of God.
Let me give you some examples. Joe 22, remember Joe?
Now remember the Bible tells us that Joe, by the way, that joke about the sermon being short, that was a joke.
The thing about Joe, remember Joe, he was perfect. The Bible says that he never sinned with his vows.
The Bible says that he never charged God foolishly and he did none of those things.
He never charged God foolishly. He never said, God is wrong and God is sinning when he does this to me. He never did any of that.
But you know, one thing that Joe did do is that he questioned God. And he questioned God a lot.
He didn't say, God's wrong for doing this, but he did say, I don't know why God's doing this.
He even said, if God was here, I would ask him why he's doing this and I would force him to answer me.
He made statements where he insinuates that he wants to put God on the stand as if like in a courtroom.
And he wants to cross-examine him as a lawyer and ask him, why are you doing this and why would you answer me and why would you tell me what you're doing?
So God decides to show up. And God shows up in a very similar way as with Ezekiel. He shows up in a tornado.
And he shows up, and you remember, I won't take the time to go through it, but God decides, okay Joe, you got questions? I got questions too.
He gives us a whole chapter with all these questions. Where were you when I formed the earth? Where were you when I set the boundaries of the ocean?
Where were you when I did this and when I did that? And he gives all these questions to Joe.
And what God is highlighting is his own power and majesty and greatness.
Now notice the response from Joe. When Joe gets a high view of God, Joe 42 verse 1, then Joe answered the Lord and said, notice the high view that Joe has of God.
He says, I know that thou canst do everything. That's the omnipotence of God.
And that no thought can be withholden from thee. That's the omniscience of God.
Notice Joe's new view of self, verse 3. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge?
Notice what Joe says, Therefore have I uttered that I understood not things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Joe says, God, I didn't know what I was talking about. I talked about things that were too wonderful for me, things that I did not understood, things that I knew not.
Notice verse 4. Here I beseech thee and I will speak. I will demand of thee and declare thou unto me.
He says, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now, notice, but now, notice what he said, but now my eye has seen thee.
He says, I got a view of God. I got a high view of God. I got a view of God that is high and holy and lifted up.
And he says, as a result, verse 6, wherefore I abhor myself and repent in God's compassion.
Remember, Joe didn't sin, but after getting a view of God, you know what he said? He said, I hate myself and I repent for everything.
Everything I've done, anything I've done, I'm sorry God, I'm sorry.
I'm just here to tell you, in light of God's holiness, we see ourselves as sinners.
It's not just Joe, going back to Isaiah, Isaiah 6, you remember Joe?
Isaiah, Isaiah 6. It's consistent.
When they get a high view of God, they get a low view of themselves.
When they get a high view of God, they get an accurate view of themselves.
Isaiah 6 and verse 1. Isaiah 6 and verse 1.
In the year the king desired that, remember when we read that? I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Notice verse 3, and one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole world is full of his glory.
And the host of the Lord moved at the voice of him and cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Notice verse 5, notice Isaiah gets a high view of God, and in verse 5, we see a proper view or a low view of self.
Verse 5, then said, I, woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lip, involved in the midst of people of unclean lip, for I have seen the king, the Lord of all.
I'm just going to tell you something.
If you don't see yourself every day as a sinner that needs to get right with God every day,
you know what I'm saying? I'm a three-to-thiver, and I go soul wedding, and I tithe, and I even use my vacation time to come to a cabin trip where they kiss me every night.
I mean, I'm pretty right with God.
If you don't wake up every day with this realization that I am a sinner and I need God, it's because you don't have a high view of God.
Because if you have a high view of God, you would say, like Paul said, by God's grace I am a man.
Nothing that I have can I boast of. What have I received that has not been given to me?
Every good gift comes from above.
It is God who gives you the power to get well.
There's nothing you have that you can glory in. There's nothing you have that you can boast in. There's nothing you have that you can brag in.
When you have a high view of God, like Isaiah, you say, what was me? I am a nun. I am a man. I'm empty and lit. You said, like Job, I abhor myself.
A high view of God always produces a low view of God, a proper view of God.
It's not just Isaiah, it's Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 1.
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Levitation, Ezekiel.
Ezekiel chapter 1, verse 28. Ezekiel 128.
Ezekiel 128, remember Ezekiel got this view of the Lord.
As the appearance of the boat is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
He said, this was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
He said, I got a view of God. I saw his glory. I saw his power. I saw his might. Notice his response.
And when I saw it, I fell upon my faith.
And I heard a voice of wonder and faith.
See, a high view of God will fix our problem with our high view of God.
In light of God's holiness, we see our need. We see ourselves as sinners.
Go to Psalm 131. We're almost done. Psalm 131.
Psalm 131.
I don't feel that bad for too long when I travel places and I figure out I came all the way out here. I might as well keep seeing it.
Psalm 131, one.
Not only does a high view of God produce a proper view of self, in the light of God's holiness we see ourselves as sinners.
But let me say this, in the light of God's glory, we see ourselves as small.
Psalm 131, verse one. I love this little song. It's three verses.
There's a beautiful song.
It's David speaking.
He says, Lord, my heart is not haughty.
The word haughty means arrogant, superior, or lifted up.
He says, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. The word lofty means proud or exalted.
He says, neither do I exercise myself in great matters or in things too high for me.
See, David was a military man.
He understood this concept and when I was in the military, sometimes you'd be told to do something
and someone that outranks you would be to tell you to do something.
Somebody else that outranks you would walk up and question why are you doing that?
Should you be doing that?
And the proper answer is this catch-22, right?
If you tell them, well, Tech Sergeant So-and-So told me to do it.
Then it's the right answer. They're like, well, I'm a Master Sergeant.
And then if you're like, oh, you know, if you want me to, then you're in control of the area.
And because they've got to change the command what they want to do.
So you're like, well, what's the answer? The answer is this.
That's above my pay grade.
You're going to have to take it over the box.
I'm just doing what I was told.
And you know, David, he's saying, well, I do not exercise myself in great matters or in things too high for me.
David is the King of Israel.
David is the Chief Executive Officer.
David is the Commander-in-Chief.
And David says, there are things that are above my pay grade.
And look, young ladies, when some guy is trying to get all fresh with you, well, why can't we ride in a car by ourselves?
That's above my pay grade.
You're going to have to take that over my back.
Or better yet, take it over with God.
I don't exercise myself in great matters or in things too high.
And I want you to notice this.
This is David speaking. Remember David?
What do you know about David?
He killed Goliath.
He's the King of Israel.
He's a powerful warrior.
He personally trained a group of the late warriors called the Mighty Men.
I mean, this is a tough dude.
This is a bold man.
And David, who's also a man after God's own heart, who also has a proper view of God, who also has a high view of God.
David says, surely I have behaved and quieted myself.
Notice this.
Toughest guy in the Bible.
As a child.
That is wing of his mother.
My soul is even winged, is as a wing child.
And then he acknowledges the one that outweighs him.
Let Israel vote in the Lord.
From henceforth and forever.
See, a high view of God will give us a proper view of ourselves.
David wasn't full of himself.
He said, my heart is not hiding. My eyes are not off.
Do not exercise myself in great matters or in things too high for me.
He said, in fact, I have behaved and quieted myself as a child.
He said, as a wing child.
He said, let Israel vote in the Lord.
Here's how John said it.
When they came to question John, remember John the Baptist?
The Pharisees came to John.
John had recently given the attention to Jesus.
He said, behold, the Lamb of God has taken away the sins of the world.
And people began to follow Jesus.
And the people that were following John began to follow Jesus.
And the crowds that John was having were now getting smaller and smaller.
And the Pharisees, they show up and they're trying to discourage him.
And they ask him, hey, have you noticed that everybody's following Jesus?
I used to follow you. Now they're following Jesus.
And here's how John put it.
He said, he must increase, but I must be increased.
He said, what did John have? He had a high view of God.
He said, Lord, you know what? It's not about me, it's about God.
It's not about me, it's about the Lord Jesus Christ.
If he increases, if he gets the glory, then the automatic result is that I must increase.
Go to Exodus 7-3 if you would.
Exodus 7-3. Genesis, Exodus.
I'm talking about a high view of God.
A high view of God.
I hope that you'll get this idea.
Because a high view of God produces the proper standards, it produces the proper submission, it produces the proper view of God.
And you say, Pastor Jimenez, what are you trying to get us to get to that?
What do you want us to walk away from in the sermon?
Here's what I want you to get is a high view of God.
Amen.
A high view of God.
In your life.
I mean all throughout the Bible we're told this.
Jesus said, when you pray, he said, say these words.
Jesus said, this is the attitude, he said, hallowed be thy name.
He said, what is that?
It's a high view of God.
I don't know what I'm saying.
In using the name of God in pain, he's saying it's hallowed.
It's holy.
It's set apart.
When it's used, it should be used in a way that it's reverent.
When we speak about God, we should speak about God in a reverent way.
He's not the man upstairs.
It's like a break.
He is God Almighty God.
And if we've got a high view of God, if I change the way we live our lives, if I change the way we see ourselves,
if I change the way we see ourselves,
Exodus 7, 3, verse 4.
I just want to show you these couple of things and then we'll finish up.
Exodus 3, verse 4.
And when the Lord saw that he turned aside, this is Moses, remember Moses?
He left Egypt because he killed a man.
He's now been on the backside of the desert for 40 years.
And Moses, when the Lord saw that he turned aside, God called him to him out of the midst of the bush
and said, Moses, Moses.
And he said, Here am I.
So get the story.
Moses is out in the desert, backside desert, taking care of these animals.
And as he's walking by, a bush starts talking to him.
A bush is on fire and the bush says, Hey Moses.
Moses.
I mean, what do you say to a burning bush, Here am I?
Then he said, Who's he?
A burning bush.
Then he said, Draw not thy wither,
put off thy shoes from off thy feet,
for the place where I'm about to stand is holy ground.
People like to talk about the Holy Land?
The Holy Land?
You know, referring to Jerusalem and Israel?
Here we have the Holy Land, the Holy Ground.
This is actually Mount Horeb, Mount Sinai in Arabia.
Not Israel.
Now how do you explain that? Here's how I explain that.
Wherever God is, that's the Holy Ground.
Wherever God is, that's the Holy Land.
Wherever God is, and by the way, do you know that you are in dwell with the Holy Spirit of God, which is God?
You said, What's the Holy Land?
It's Alberta, Georgia.
And this place is holy? It is right now.
When God's people are here, this is the Holy Land.
And the Bible teaches us something about how we approach God.
He says, Hey, put off thy shoes from off thy feet,
for the place where I'm about to stand is holy ground.
Moses there on the back side of the desert.
Go to Joshua, chapter 5, if you go to Joshua 5.
If you're in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua.
Joshua, chapter 5.
By the way, let me say this.
When the burning bush called to Moses,
what caught Moses' attention was the fact that the bush was burning and not being consumed.
If you remember, we saw in the Hebrews 12 to the 9,
where our God is a consumed fight.
You feel like God wants to consume you, but he does not want to burn you up.
God wants to take over your life, but he will empower you to do so.
Joshua 5, verse 13.
Here we have Joshua, this is many years later.
Joshua's now led the children of Israel into the Promised Land.
He's getting ready to begin to conquer the land.
Bible says in verse 13, Joshua 5, verse 13,
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho,
that he looked up his eyes and looked, and behold,
there stood a man over against him,
with his sword drawn in his hand,
and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him,
Art thou for us, or for our adversary?
I love this story, because here we have Joshua,
a military leader, getting ready to begin a military campaign.
He's out by himself, praying and meditating and thinking,
and this man shows up and he's got a sword in his hand, a weapon in his hand.
And Joshua asks him the big question that you and I often like to ask God.
Are you for us, or are you against us?
Are you going to bless me, God? Are you going to help me, God?
Or are you going to hinder me, God? Or are you going to hurt me, God?
He says, Art thou for us, or for our adversary?
And I love the answer, because this is what we would call a Christophany,
or a theophany. This is an Old Testament appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I love the answer, because Joshua is a leader.
He doesn't use words, he's asked a very specific question.
Are you for us, or are you for our adversary?
Are you for us, or are you for against us?
And this man answers, verse 14,
And he said, Nay.
And you look at that and you say, What is that?
He said, Are you for us? The question, Are you for us or against us?
And he says, No.
And Joshua, you know, as a leader, right?
He's probably thinking something like that. I didn't ask you a yes or no question.
I asked you, Are you for me? Are you against me?
And you answered, No. You answered, Nay.
And I love the answer, verse 14,
And he said, Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord, I am not a bomb.
He says, Do you want to know if I'm for you or if I'm against you?
The answer is neither. The answer is Nay. The answer is No.
I'm not here to be for you. I'm not here to be against you.
I'm here to take over.
I'm here to take charge.
I'm here to take control of my way in your life.
God's not here to bless you or curse you.
He can do both, but he's really here to just take over.
He's here to take charge of your life.
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and then worshiped and said unto him,
What sayeth my Lord unto his servants as the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua,
Choose thy shoes from off thy foot, for the place where thou standest is holy.
And Joshua did so.
I just wonder, I just wonder if every time that it was time to go to church,
if you realize that the building that you're walking in,
not because that building is special,
but the building that you're walking in because of the people of God assembled in that building,
because of the Word of God being preached in that building,
because of the man of God proclaiming the truth of God's Word,
if you realize that that was holy land,
I mean, and I'm not telling you to do this, but if you were to, please don't do this, alright,
but if you were to take your shoes off and say,
The place where I'm standing is holy ground.
I wonder if you stopped skipping Sunday night service because of the Emmys or the Grammys.
Or the Oscars. Or whatever plain excuse you've got.
If you saw it as a time that was holy.
I wonder if you would start reading your Bible consistently.
If you would begin to develop an actual tie of communion and devotion with God,
if every time you approached that Bible, you approached it reverently,
you took your shoes off and understood that I'm standing in a pool
in the holy place, I'm about to speak to a holy God,
I'm going to hear from a holy God, I'm going to bow my head and pray to a holy God,
there's a truth in heaven with majesty and glory,
and I get to access God.
I wonder if you quit skipping your Bible reading week after week, month after month.
I wonder if you understood that when you and I go out and we knock doors,
the Bible says that we are co-laborers with God.
I mean forget your silent partner, praise God for your silent partner.
But my silent partner is not brother so-and-so, my silent partner is God himself!
The Holy Spirit of God!
Back when we started reading about the search, I would go slowly by myself a lot,
because we didn't have many soldiers to go with me, so I'd go by myself.
I'd knock doors and people would say,
Hi, we're from Mary Doctor's Church, this is me!
And every once in a while somebody would ask me like,
Where are you?
I'm like, I've got a partner.
His name is God.
I'm just here to tell you that if we began to see our relationship with God,
or walk with God, high, holy, lifted up, special, reverently, it would change a lot.
We wouldn't have to preach these sermons about you going soul winning,
you go soul winning because you saw God high, holy and lifted up.
We wouldn't have to preach sermons about standards,
you'd have standards because you saw God high, holy and lifted up.
We wouldn't have to preach about creating the Bible and prayer and church attendance,
you'd do those things because you saw God high, holy and lifted up.
I hope we see God high, holy and lifted up.
Lord, we thank you.
We thank you for these passages of scripture.
Lord, we thank you for these references to the throne of God.
And how we can see you, how we should see you.
High, holy, lifted up, I believe it would change our view of self.
If we would get the proper view of God.
I pray you help us.
In the magical name of Christ we pray.
Amen.
Alright, we want you to open up your head notes to song number 159.
Song number 159, bless you be the name.
Song 159, let's sing this out with all our hearts.
Let's sing this out with all our hearts.
Blessed be the name, blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name, blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
His name above all names shall stand.
He's haunted more and more.
At God the Father's almighty hand.
Where angels host adore.
Blessed be the name, blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name, blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Deeper, Savior, friend of man.
Was ruined by the fall.
Thou hast beat thy salvation's plan.
Where thou hast died for all.
Blessed be the name, blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name, blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
His name shall be the counselor.
The mighty prince of peace.
From all his kingdom's conqueror.
Whose rage shall never cease.
Blessed be the name, blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name, blessed be the name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Amen, amen, amen.
Thank you very much for coming, guys.