For Letter Words Sermon Series - “Rest”

I'd say I love. I love worship. I just love being in the community of believers. There's nothing else better than being with a group of people who love our Lord and Savior, a man church, a man, a man.

I better get used to this because once we get to heaven, this all we're going to do in 24 hours, seven days a week, 365, you know, there's 90 every time. And have it right. All we're going to be doing is worshiping our God. And so if you're tired now, I need you to do some aerobics and then some spiritual aerobics.

If you need a jog in place for a quick do some calisthenics, whatever you need to do, I need you to be ready, because we will be before our Lord, our God, our Savior. What better place to be than to be in the house of the Lord? Man, You know, as a father, there's times that I can recall where I used to take our kids to like, you know, just to their yearly checkup, right?

The annual exams or their bi bi annual exams. And, you know, we take them in and we kind of, you know, the doctor examines them and, you know, it's you guys know what I'm talking about, right? Those who have kids. Can I get a minute? He's just a money pocket man. They just they just drain your pockets. I mean, you know, you hope that they're a tax write off, but you don't have enough to have a good tax write off.

So you got to have more practice. I have more. Come on, church man. Ministry happens, you being I'll tell you. But you know, when we take them to the doctors, you know, they weigh them, they they measure them, they poke, they pry, they you know, they get evaluated to see how well they're growing. And, you know, it's just that's what they're there do when they you know, they are like babies and teenagers and infants and toddlers and all that great stuff.

And I remember asking the doctor, why are my children sleeping so much? Like, man, these jokers, all they do, they do two things eat, sleep. And you know the other thing, right? That's all they do. And I begin to understand, you know, the doctor would tell me like they're like, Ryan, this this is a process that children go through to grow and to develop themselves.

Are you kidding me? Like eating sleep does all they have to do. You know, over the summertime, typically what happens is that, you know, they they go home for the summer because, you know, no school throughout the week and they're sleeping more. They're staying and later they're staying up later they're sleeping in later. And there's a growth spurt that happens because they're sleeping over time.

They're getting more sleep in over to summer than they are during the entire school year. And so begin to realize what the doctor is saying, that there's some growing that's associated to our rest. But the doctor simply said that resting is necessary for growth. You mean to tell me that growing and resting goes hand in hand is like, Yes, it does.

You know, one and one of another thing is, as a father and a parent of children know, we get to kind of post pictures on my social media things. Right. You know, and we get to post pictures like what you're about to see right here. are they going to kill me or are they going to give me this coming?

yes, my babies. I can do that because I'm the past in a daddy, man. And this is what you call a payback. All that stuff they used to give you growing up, you know, just kind of just raising it through. But what this picture really depicts is that, you know, this is one of our older house. And and that's he can do my baby girl, get some boots and some pajamas.

That was like three years expired. Amen. And it was snowing that day, actually. He got some high water, so probably got some ashy ankles. I don't know what's going on, but this this reminds me how they had like a growth spurt over over the years. Right. I love you guys. My kids like, that man. But I'm just reminded how fast they grow.

You know, we can look back at pictures through our timelines and we get to see how our children grow and how they continue just to grow, not only just physically, but also spiritually. And we see all throughout Scripture where the scriptures are telling us that we need to rest. Yes. That the Bible tells us that we need to slow down and just rest as we enter into this month.

This month, we are walking into a new sermon series called Four Letter Words. Keep it clean, Keep it clean, four letter words. And so today, just the focus of my scripture is rest r e s t. The Bible is replete about scriptures and how they tell us that we should rest are wishes Sabbath Exodus Chapter 33 tells us that I will go with you and give you rest.

Psalms 55 tells us that I will fly away and be at rest. Psalm 62 tells us that my soul rest in God. Psalms Chapter 127 tells us that He grants us sleep or rest to those he love. The apostle Matthew writes that he will find rest for your souls. There remains a Sabbath rest for God's people. Hebrews Chapter four.

But we all know Psalms 23, right? We grew up kind of reciting this for those who kind of grew up in church. You know, we know Psalms 23, My Lord is my shepherd. I'll show not one. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leaves me beside still waters. He refreshes my soul. Good. But then I've read and learned the scripture for for decades now.

And I went back and read it just this past week because I'd just been prepping all weekend. As I prepare this week and I'm preparing about rest, I've been struggling just to get rest. I often say most of the scriptures, the most, most of the passages that I preach, I'm preaching to myself. So I'm not preaching to maybe preaching to the choir, but more likely I am preaching to myself the goddess in the ring.

I need you to rest. I need you to slow down. I need you to really embody my presence there. My good day, the image of God. I need you to rest. And as I go back and remember, just look at Psalms Chapter 23, Psalms 23. The very passage itself says this He makes me to lie down in green pastures and.

But think about that. He makes. Yeah, God. What is it? God, you're making me? Yes. That's not the type of God we want where He's making you to do something. The Scripture says he makes King James version. He's making you to lie down in green pastures. Why? God, Why do. Why are you telling me to go take a nap and get a snack?

Hey, man, I love that Pastor The Saints. A couple of weeks ago, Pastor Saints preached out of First Kings, and he's talking about, you know, where Elijah had to go, you know, get fed by ravens and so forth and so forth that he lay down and took a nap in a snack. But it's Psalm chapter 23. David is writing that the Lord is making him to lie down in a pillow top mattress provided by Hilton Hotels.

Amen. Somebody the only hotel chain. Amen. Earplugs are an inside joke. All right, Now I begin to say, God, if you are a father and you know what's best for us, then yes, I would take a rest. I never realized that our God can be so aggressive towards his children. But why can't Hebrews talks about where God he He chases those he love, right?

The God can correct us because you love us. I remember growing up my mama, whenever she speared cross border child, she says that she only spears arise because she loves us. I really didn't begin to understand what she was saying by that. And to I had to of my own that we spare the rod, we spoil the child.

That what the Scripture is saying that because we love our children, that we love our community of believers, the community that we have correction and ultimately a mandate will come. And so mandates like living a righteous lifestyle, mandates to say that, you know, we are pursuing Christ. And so we begin to look at our study for today. The focus of our list is going to come out of Exodus chapter 20 versus eight through 11, Exodus Chapter 20, verses eight through 11.

Exodus is in the beginning of the Bible, technically, the first second book, second book, Genesis, Exodus first day reads Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, Your God in it. You shall do no work. You nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your mill servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.

He didn't say wife. I'm joking. I'm just joking. I'm just joking. I'm just joking. I'm just joking. I'm getting some emails if y'all want to email us. Is admin at one church in. So I'm just joking. It's verse 11 four. In six days the Lord made the made the heavens and the earth. He made the sea and all this in them and he rested the seventh day.

Therefore the Lord bless the Sabbath. He blessed is Sabbath day in hallowed it. God outlines Ten Commandments. We know Exodus Chapter 20 is typically known for the Ten Commandments. Right? He outlines Ten Commandments in in those he he's talking about what is necessary to have a right relationship with him and then also was a right relationship with others.

If you look at the core of Ten Commandments is divided into two separate parts, your relationship with God and your relationship with other people. And he's outlining specifically what is necessary to have a a very healthy relationship with him. You know, you should have know the guys before me. You should not make idols. You should not take the name, lower God in vain.

Remember the Saturday to keep it a holy honor, your mother and your father. I heard that 100 times when I was growing up. You should not murder. You should not commit adultery now. Still, you should not bear false witness. You should not covet to take commandments. And out of those Ten Commandments, our God, our Lord and Savior found two pleasing to put in there that you should rest.

He said that we should rest in on. My God, why is that so important? And I get it. You know, we live in a in a culture where it's always hustle and bustle that we're going from a to Z, We're going we're doing this, we're doing that. We had to have five different jobs. We've got to have six different side houses.

We got to bring in multiple streams of income. You know, we got to do this in the morning, come back at night. There's so many things that we're doing day after day that we don't have time to rest, dealing with family, dealing with kids, dealing with work, dealing with bills, cars that break down. But yet in the core crux of what he's telling the Old Testament believers to do the most and one of the most important things out of the ten is to rest.

I'm part of a generation growing up where I can remember back in my day where on Sundays stores were like closed, Y'all remember that? And even the ABC store. Come on now, I know what I'm talking about. I remember, like, you can even go into the grocery stores and buy, you know, little wine for your stomach, you know, litany of Konya, whatever, whatever.

I mean, you know, come on, people don't trip. Keep it real, right? I remember growing up that like on Sunday, nothing was opened and we we got that from the scriptures. They poured it from the scriptures because they wanted to keep the Sabbath holy. That means they didn't want to do any work on Sundays. What so ever.

In 1967, true, Kathy opened up an amazing restaurant and this pioneer of restaurants saw that it was super important to close on Sundays so that all of his employees could set aside one day to rest and to worship. And to this day, we can't leave church. Go down to the Golden door, the red arches, and get a chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A because the CEO and president and the owner who started this franchise saw value in resting, arguably the most successful restaurant to date, even more successful than that place that you go to to get coffee.

That's our name, nameless. That starts with the ness. I know we got some people that work there, something, you know, I'm just they saw that it's so important to pull back because we know as scriptures God worked for six days. But on the seventh day he rested and I get.

You're looking at someone who, as a marketplace leader, full time in ministry as we ramp ramping up and launching ministries and doing different things, I was full out, 160% nonstop. My wife, my kids, some staff members would tell you I was always going go and going. Bible studies, meetings, elders meetings, staff meetings. I was on four different border directors, four different board of director boards, leadership meetings, community meetings.

And one of my mentors told me, they said this, Ryan, you cannot keep up the pace that you're going. They said your team cannot keep that pace. You said, although that you can keep that pace of but your team cannot keep up with you is detrimental to their health, is detrimental to their families, and is detrimental to their to their to their walk with God.

They said you are going to have to stop what you're doing. And my response to them was, look, it's too much to do. I'll stop when I die. It's too much ministry. It's too many souls that has to be saved in this community. I will stop when I die. You know what the devil is too busy. Then he said this.

Why are you making the devil your role model right now? What, man? Well, my mentor told me. Ryan, why are you making the devil? Your role model. He said the devil is busy, but God rest it, man. I punched out. I went home. I was. I was done right. As good as good. Don't you hate when people preach your own sermon back at you?

I'm like, Why are you preaching them? I'm preaching to you. They'll be preaching me. I was being preached at yesterday. Listen, I on a zoom call. Preaching right back at me. They would just put on one step right back at me. I'm like, Man, I was on a bad movie that was up against the ropes. I'm like, Man, what's going on?

I was so busy trying to do ministry or actually doing ministry, but I was forsaking my time with God. I was so busy doing ministry that I was forsaking my wife. I was so busy doing ministry that was forsaking my my family for the sake of the gospel. Like there's somebody else that has to hear the good news.

They're like, Ryan, that's not of God. We need to rest. Yes. Genesis, Chapter two verses one through three says this. Thus, the heavens and the Earth were finished in all of the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work, which he had made, and he rested. On the seventh day from all his work, which he had made so of God rested.

Why don't we, if God pulled back one day and rested, why don't we rest it in Hebrew In this context, in verse two, where he says He rested, rested in Hebrew is Sabbath s h a b a t h. That word by self means to stop. It means to cease. This is where we get the word Sabbath. God was saying that I will cease doing anything else but to rest.

So you mean to tell me growth and rest goes hand in hand? If you're growing as a young person, that growth spurt and over that summer you grow two or three inches because you're resting more if you get it. I don't have to preach as long if you're resting in the Lord. Right. Growth would take place if you're resting in his word, if you're abiding in his word, growth would take place.

Okay. 1965 Motown artist Sam Cooke wrote one of the most prolific songs of the time. This was a protest to the support, actually, the support protests of the civil rights movement as people of color was fighting for equality. So my attempt in a Sam Cooke voice, it says, Who said that over here? They told me not to do it.

I don't have faith in you, Pastor had seen. I'm good for at least one. No. Right. Come on, now. It's okay. It's okay. Yeah. Sam Cooke says that he was born by a river of over college. Up. He made a boy. Kazhagam. Blow it for me, man.

And he says, just like the river I've been run in ever since. It's been a long, long time coming. Yeah, well, go back in. Due to the guys it sings. Sounds a lot better. But what Sam Cooke was saying is that it's been a long, long time coming. But I know change is going to come. Church Today change has to come.

Change that. We desire to grow and to walk in what God has called us to do, what God has called us to become. It's a long time coming because this world need change. That change starts with us. The change starts with you. That change starts when you're abiding and resting. When your Sabbath thing with our Lord and our God.

So to grow to rest, the first thing you would need is time. Yes. I need to recognize the time that you need to stop and rest. I remember taking a trip with my family some time some years ago, and I was with my grandparents. And this is how far I mean, my brother now we just got our license.

We're probably 16 or 17 years old, and we're driving from North Carolina to back to Michigan, where my grandparents were from. And my granddad, he's like, you know, let's let the twins, they can write, you know. So I got in one car, got it to my grandfather car. He was driving nice little Cadillac or something, whatever it was, nice little stretch thing.

And my brother was taking point. And typically when you're driving with two or three people, there's always a point car. Then it's a second car, you know, you by then we do kind of block and move, you know. Yeah, those are like unspoken rules of how to, you know, okay, we'll talk after church, but we're driving and next thing you know, Brian's taking point and I keep falling further back.

And what was taking place, I was tired and I was starting to doze off with the next thing, speed back up. And then I started pulling back some more. Brian kept to speed, but for some reason I kept going back and forth and my grandfather told my mother said, I can't call her by her first name because I might get in trouble.

But, you know, he's tired. Yeah, it's time for him to rest because we will make our destination safely if we keep allowing him to go in the direction that he's going. Yes. Somebody put it to you this way. Your rest is connected to other people. Come on, hurry up. Yeah. Yeah. How will you rest? Is connected to myself and everyone else in here.

So I need you to rest. Yes. And so eventually what I do, I'll pull over and I begin to switch out. Drivers in took a34 hour net, got back in the driver's door. We rolled up into Michigan, and everything else is history scripted tells us that on the seventh day God and his work in which he is made, then he rested on that seven day God rest it on the seventh day because he needed to rest.

After creating all that he did in six days. We work 40 hours a week. We need to take a nap right? God created everything. That is everything to be. It's not the Big Bang Theory is not anything else that the science we try to tell you God created everything any rested. To do this, we need time. We didn't know.

When is time to rest? Let me give you another analogy. Farmers know that you can't continue to farm the same feel the same way year after year. Right? You can't so the same seed and expect to get the same product out of the soil. Because what happens is that the soil has a tendency that where it needs to rest.

So what the farmers do, they are they plant something different, a different season, or they don't play anything in that field at all. So that way the field itself can rest the dirt itself needed to rest. So the farmer knew that to produce the harvest that he was anticipating and needed to rest the dirt that was retaining the seed.

So somewhere back in Genesis, it says that God bent down, picked up some dirt, formed us and blew his breath in us. So if a farmer needs to rest his field and we're created out of dirt, why can't we need to rest? Yeah, right down here.

You'll get it next week. It's okay. Let me connect the dots for you. If we're created out of dirt in the dirt that we're so that we're so in season two needs to rest. God is telling us that we need to rest. And rest is not a reward of progress. Rest is a reward of the promise. And rest is not the reward of progress, but rest is a reward of the promise.

The promise were guys says that we should rest. He says that verse three God bless. This is going back to Exodus chapter 20. Exodus, Chapter 20 says this verse three The promise that we have is this and God bless the seventh day and sanctified it because that in it he had rested from all of his work, which God created and made.

There's a blessing and a sanctification in the resting that we have. He said that he blessed and sanctified. He set it apart on a seventh day I begin to look at Exodus differently. The commandment tells us in Exodus Chapter 20 that he commands us to rest, but this isn't the first time that he we see in scriptures where we rested.

Go back to Exodus Chapter 16. Exodus Chapter 16. We'll begin to see the Israelites walking through the wilderness right? Yeah. Remember the story where walking through the wilderness and they. They have anything to eat. And what did God tell them to do? He gave the men a right. He gave the men a daily. Except for what day? On the seven day, Something like that.

Okay. The Ten Commandments in chapter 20 tells us that we need to have a savage book on this in Exodus chapter 16, where the children of Israel are walking through the wilderness and you gave them manna daily. But on the sixth day you gave them double portion. What God was doing was this He wanted you and I to understand that we have to trust that he will provide for us even while we're resting, so that you don't have to do anything that God is going to provide for you, even when your need to rest.

That God is providing for you, why you're sleeping while you're resting while your Sabbath thing. So if you are a control person, that has to do everything that won't go the way that you needed to go gas to take your hands off of it, I got this. I need you to rest.

Scripture says every morning everyone gathered as much as they needed. There were linen from living, from manna to manna 21st century, from paycheck to paycheck. Vineyard done that. You know how it is. The children of Caesar was collecting manna Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday. But on the sixth day, Guy said, Trust me, I will provide for you.

And Matthew, Chapter six, verse 31, says this So do not worry or saying, What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear for the pagans? Run After all these things and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them, he says, But seek his kingdom, seek His kingdom, his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

But he says this. But first, seek. Yes. First seek. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow. For tomorrow will worry about itself. You need time for rest and you have to trust that God has everything under control. While your resting God is saying, Just trust me. God is saying just trust me. But there are those, I'm sure, as Israelites on a six day, guess what they were trying to do?

They was trying to pack up more and more and more because they didn't trust God. That FOMO, Right. The fear of missing now that they were trying to hoard as much as they could, just as feared, just in case God doesn't deliver on his word. God, just in case, you know, you don't know my entire situation, God. So let me get more than I need.

Just. Just in case I hold me by just a little while longer. Maybe you're that person who can't trust God. Maybe you're that person who can't trust God because maybe God has let you down in the past. But let me remind you, God never lets you down right? Right. It's just that your plan wasn't his plan, right? So when you begin to align your plans with his plans, and then you begin to have that revelation that my God always provides for me, you begin to have to understand that God will always do what he says he's going to do because his word would not return.

Boy, right then God always gives you more than you're able to have. Is pressed down, shaken, stirred, running over, right? Church Yeah. That's how the God of the heavens and the earth operates. Yeah. Yes. Yes, sir. But only happens when you're resting in him. Let me give you some benefits of resting. So benefits of of kind of getting adequate rest.

You'd have a healthier heart weight control. You might be a little bit smarter and says your brain gets lose sharpen. You know I man it reduces the stress. It helps you to think clearer. You might be in a better mood. Don't look at anybody to right. You look. Just keep looking straight cause it helps you to make better decisions.

This is what rest does for your soul. When he says that he rested, he's Sabbath. He sees from doing anything. Last year, I was invited to a pastor's retreat. I was telling our leadership team about this about nine months ago, and I left on a Tuesday, about 4:00. It was in stone. Bill got there about four 3445 because it's about 45 minutes away.

444 from 445 Tuesday to 11:00 on Wednesday was the best 20 hours that I've ever had in my life. The facilitator was asking us to do certain things and we really looked at one passage as the scripture, and he just said to be still. Yes, to be still. And so he began to ask us questions about what that will look like and asked us questions.

And he ask is, what are you defined by? What's your identity and who is your identity? Your identity is not your your your clergy status or the degrees that you have on the wall or the the accolades that you've acquired over the years. Those are not your identity. He said, This is what I want you to do. This is this is your first assignment.

He said, I want you to go outside. And this is like an a retreat area. So it's all out in the wilderness and it's the word, the, you know, the it's just the woods and the birds and, you know, foxes and bears and deer, you know, all, you know, the wilderness. And so he said, This is what I want you to do.

Go outside. It's been about ten or 15 minutes. You guys just find your own little place lo own your own little area, and then come back and let me know what what God says to you. He said, I want you to just to be still. Be still a rest as Look, I can do this. And now if your mind like me starts drifting away, really back in.

So I get out there, I go outside, I sit down on this park bench in this kind of chilis. I put my hoodie on, got my fitted cap on, and I'm sitting there, I'm praying, be still. Know that I'm going to be still know that I'm I'm just repeating this scripture. Be still and know that I'm God. Be still okay, I got to go do this.

I got to have this meeting. my gosh, I got to go take care of this person. I got to do this for the elders. Okay? whoa, whoa, whoa. Let me really back and be still and know that I'm God. Be still and know that I'm God. Be still and know that I'm go my gosh. I got to make sure Ashen has this Kindle I got to know be still and know that I'm God be still and know that I'm God.

My mind is chasing. I start I took a deep breath. I exhale, close my eyes, and next thing you know, I begin to feel the sun begin to shine down on me. I feel the heat from the sun. I hear the wind rustling because of the leaves behind me. And I feel I hear water dripping back in, cascading in a fountain right behind me.

And I'm just kind of just taking it all in. I begin to slow everything down. 3 minutes later, I begin to weep because I got in a posture to see Christ. I begin to get down and my mind is clear and gas begin to speak into me. I begin to rest in his presence. The cares of the world is going away, be still and know that I'm God, be still and know that I am.

Lord, abide in me and know that I am there. Know that I will not leave you no forsake you And I just begin to weep and I just begin to keep crying. I'm like, God, why did it take so long for him to get back to this place? This place that I've longed for, this place where I begin to slow down and feel his presence.

I begin to repent. My God, I'm sorry. I shouldn't take me come in to retreat center to remove the distractions of life. Yes. To fully being your presence. And you may be looking like you do. Pastor, I'm a child of God right now. I'm a man and I'm human. I sin. Yeah. I got some crazy thoughts, but end of the day, he redeems and restores years.

So that day from now, from that day forward, I made a promise to myself, my wife and our leadership team where I would take one day a month while we get ghost. Okay, Go get missing no longer. No one can get a, you know, go. I'll call Felicia. I said, listen, I'm going out. I'm going to the mountains or to the beach or to the lake, or I'll drive to a cabin somewhere.

I go to Victory Mountain camp or I just get missing. I take my Bible and I sit in a notepad while I'm going to retreat to rest. On this particular day. I don't answer any phone calls while I'm driving to this place. She knows where I'm going and when I'm finished because I don't want to take any phone calls, look at it in emails that's going to shape what it's going to shape my thoughts for the next six or eight or 12 hours.

So church today, as we kick off our sermon series, the four letter words as our worship team make their way to the stage, I want to encourage you to rest. Maybe you don't know how to, Maybe you don't know. Or maybe you've forgotten what that is. Maybe all hell is breaking loose in your life right now. Maybe the cares and the weightiness of the world is just weighing you down.

Maybe you don't know where your next paycheck is going to come. Maybe you don't know what's going to happen with your children. Maybe you don't know what's going to happen with your family. Maybe you're dealing with some type of sickness or some disease or something like maybe you just forgot who God is. I would encourage you to rest a reminded of a story about a gangster which many of us kind of know.

His name is Al Capone. Al Capone is one of the most notorious gangsters in the American culture. He's done some things that he's gonna have to answer for Greed, lust, murder, death. Death was certain for him that was knocking at his door. Al Capone was asked this one question. The question that was asked to Al Capone was this What do you want etched on your tombstone?

Al Capone sat there and just thought about it for a second and he says this, My Jesus mercy, like you probably like me being judgmental. I didn't think Al Capone new Jesus because the fruit that he was displaying doesn't show that he knew who Christ was. But his response was that my Jesus mercy, Al Capone knew that He missed much of his life pursuing things that really didn't matter, that he was chasing after things that really didn't matter, that he was pursuing things that took time away from him.

Maybe you're pursuing things that really doesn't matter in the grand scheme, things of the kingdom chasing career money, family. That's great, but you can't take it to heaven. He knew that he had missed the mark, that if he can rewrite his story, that he would pursue things differently. He knew that he will rest more and I will probably even see that he will even serve God.

Even the more that's what mercy like mercy is. What you missed the mark. But God says, Come any way. Mercy says when you jacked up last night, but come anyway, right? Mercy says when you acting like a fool. Like you're just acting crazy. But come anyway. That's what mercy is When you act as ratchet is all ratchet is.

Come on now. I almost think every language this morning. More email. That's all I know. Hey, man, no bueno. When you're doing things that transgresses our God's heart. That's what mercy is. He says. Come any way. Jesus, my Jesus, have mercy. I believe Al Capone was saying this. Lord, have your way, Lord, have your way with my life.

A couple of weeks ago, Pastor Santis gave us a chip where he said that I'm This poker analogy talks about when you are playing cards with you or whatever, that you have an opportunity to kind of like cast all your chips in.

And he gave a commission to say, Are you willing to be all in today? So I took one of these chips and grateful to see the overwhelming response by the church. That was February 11, 2024. And on my chip I just put down, I'm all in. Come and be honest, there's just times where I'm not where I'm not all in where the weight of life and family and ministry has you pull away sometimes.

Can I get even in church when life just happens where you try to be all in but you can't because life is happening to you. I'm all in. So when we sing this song, Lord have your Way, we're seeing God. I'm all in.

We had some chips up here earlier this week. We're going to bring him back. And I just so you may not get him this week, but come back. Come back next week. And I was talking to a few people. I'm like, why didn't you go up there to get a chip? Like I was I was afraid. But this is family.

And so next week we're going to have more chips up here, just to remind you that you have the opportunity to be all in for Christ. He said, You can be all in for Christ. He wants you to be all in for one church. He wants to be all in for what God has called you to do. And so this morning, as we stand to our feet, this is the four letter word series that the growth that we desire comes in when we rest.

The growth that you're seeking, the growth that you're desiring comes when you're resting and abiding in Christ, because apart from him, you cannot grow. And so today, as we worship together, this one last song we're going to cry out Lord have.

Your way. We're going to proclaim God, have your way with me today. So this altar is free. This is safe space where you want to come up here, rededicate your life, come to the altar, rededicate your life. Pastors, elders and deacons are here. We want to pray with you. We want to have the opportunity to walk alongside you and do life with you.

I don't know what's going on with your life right now, but our promise to something is going on. But God says, give it to me. That's where mercy comes in. So today, Father, we thank you, God, for who you are. God, we're asking you to have your way with us. So as we lift up this song this morning.

God, we're asking that you can do what only you can do. God, you know what's going on in the lives of your children. Father, I pray, God that you meet them right where they are. Just like the woman at the will. Just like the woman with the issue of like you met her in her Ms.. In her worst position possible.

So, God, you let us know that you meet us right where we are. Go right when we are broken. Where we're. We're. We're desperate. Crying out for God that you can meet us right where we are. So, Father, have your way with this girl. We're saying that we're all there. Even where we missed it. We're all in God.

Have your way. We'll give you the glory and the honor. Amen,