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[0:00] Amen. Praise the Lord. It's good to be here. And to welcome the unseen guest.! It's always good to welcome the Lord here and I think you invite all of us to come to you this morning.

[0:33] Lord, we want to come to your table and be able to sit down with you today and we ask that you would be here to feed us and meet our needs here this morning.

[0:48] I want to thank you that you as the creator of the universe are willing to come and meet with us and we open our hearts to receive from you this morning because you are good and you are righteous in your holy and you are a friend.

[1:13] Thank you for that this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. I'd like you to turn with me to Proverbs chapter 8 this morning to begin with.

[1:26] Proverbs chapter 8 is stuck here in the middle of a lot of Proverbs but it stands out as one that I always remember.

[1:40] There's a lot said here about the great value of wisdom. And I'm going to read from what's called the Living Translation.

[1:52] It's not really a translation. It's a paraphrase. It was written for children originally and so it's kind of put in a little modern day terms but I read it because it just puts a little different words here in it.

[2:06] So if you'll follow along with me you're not going to follow along in the other translations so maybe just listen. Can you hear the voice of wisdom? She is standing at the city gates and at every fork in the road and at the door of every house.

[2:19] Listen to what she says. Listen men she calls. How foolish and naive you are. Let me give you understanding O foolish ones. Let me show you common sense.

[2:32] Listen to me for I have important information for you. Everything I say is right and true. I hate lies and every kind of deception. My advice is wholesome and good.

[2:43] There is nothing evil in it. My words are plain and clear to anyone with half a mind if it's only open. My instruction is far more valuable than silver or gold.

[2:57] For the value of wisdom is far above rubies. Nothing can be compared with it. Wisdom and good judgment live together. For wisdom knows where to discover knowledge and understanding.

[3:07] If anyone respects and fears God he will hate evil. For wisdom hates pride and arrogance corruption and deceit of every kind.

[3:19] I wisdom give good advice and common sense because of my strength. Kings reign in power. I show the judges who is right and who is wrong. Rulers rule well with my help.

[3:30] I love all who love me. Those who search for me shall surely find me. Unending riches, honor, injustice, and righteousness are mine to distribute.

[3:42] My gifts are better than the purest gold and sterling silver. My paths are those of justice and right. Those who love and follow me are indeed wealthy.

[3:54] I fill their treasures. The Lord formed me in the beginning before he created anything else. From ages past I am. I existed before the earth began.

[4:06] I lived before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters into the earth, before the mountains and the hills were made. Yes, I was born before God made the earth, the fields, and the high plateaus.

[4:19] I was there when he established the heavens and formed the great springs to the depths of the ocean. I was there when he set the limits to the seas and gave them his instructions not to spread beyond their boundaries.

[4:33] I was there when he made the blueprint for the earth and the oceans. I was always at his side like a little child. I was his constant delight, laughing and playing in his presence, and how happy I was with what he created, his wide world, and all his family of mankind.

[4:50] And so, young men, listen to me, for how happy are all who follow my instructions. Listen to my counsel. Don't refuse it.

[5:00] Be wise. Happy is the man who is so anxious to be with me that he watches for me daily at my gates, or he waits for me outside my home. Whoever finds me finds life and wins approval from the Lord.

[5:15] But the one who misses me has injured himself irreparably. Irrepairably. Those who refuse me show that they love death. I read this this morning because of a...

[5:32] I want to say something, Brother John, this last Sunday morning. See that God is always early on our needs because I was sitting here listening to Brother Merv, and all of a sudden, just a lot of things started coming that I could write down.

[5:48] I said, okay, something's coming here. I didn't know when, but you needed someone this morning. So, praise the Lord. He was at work already before we even ask. We have a God.

[5:59] I want to share a story this morning I heard yesterday. In 2010, I'm going back to the 1900s. I was thinking of the 1900s.

[6:10] I was born in 1958. That was only a couple years from World War II. I didn't think of that long. A long time ago. Anyway, 2010, a man wrote a book of, he had hid treasure of great, describe what it was.

[6:31] He hid a treasure in the Rocky Mountains. He didn't give it a place. He wrote a book with a lot of clues about where to find it. And this became public knowledge.

[6:44] And he, the record says it was three, up to 350,000 people started searching for this treasure.

[6:59] Five people died trying to find it. And there was a man that found it 10 years later, 2020.

[7:09] He found this treasure. He took the guy's book and he read the book. He studied the book. And he said when he, he said what he needed to do is get to know not just what that book was saying, but he had to study it long enough to get to know the guy that wrote the book.

[7:32] He had to get to know his thoughts and his ways of thinking. So he kept reading it over and over and over to get the thinking the thinking behind all that was written in that book.

[7:45] And he did find that treasure in the Rocky Mountains. What an example for us to get to know the one that wrote the book.

[7:59] I have something down here. One of the great realities with which we have to deal with is the voice of God in his world. He spake and it was done.

[8:11] You know, Hebrews chapter 11 says this, by faith we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God.

[8:33] And, you know, I made a comment. I was together with the guys in their Bible study that God got down here framing things up. He's a framer. He built the world.

[8:45] But, you know, he was not down here like we are as a man framing. Because God just simply spoke. It was simply his word and as that word came forth it happened.

[9:00] so he says that he by faith we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God.

[9:13] They were put in order. They were equipped for their intended purpose so that what we see was not made of things that are visible.

[9:25] I'd like somebody if you have a translation if you can look up a translation in the Amplified Bible look up John 1 1 to 3 somebody can do that for me I'm going to keep going here and I'll have you to read that.

[9:45] I want to read this one here this still makes me think the Bible will never be a living book to us until we are convinced that God is fluent in his universe.

[10:01] Otherwise he can communicate in his universe beyond this book. Is that possible? We put much in the book because he has revealed himself and his will his purposes and plans do this.

[10:17] But is there a God that's beyond that book that speaks? When I become convinced of that let me give you an example. Last Sunday morning Brother Enos was up here and he said worship is a form of surrender.

[10:41] That morning I had read the temptations of Jesus there when Satan was tempting him and he had a word for Satan get thee behind me Satan I quickly turned to that in Matthew get thee behind me Satan thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve I read that many times but that word that morning was for me worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve Brother Chuck how many times we as older guys still have to be told what to do that was a direct command to me could I have my water up here even a lot of water coming in here this morning so I might as well get some too we need to be told sometimes get back to worship God and him only shalt thou serve why because we get so involved in life we get our we get our going here and there worship the

[11:49] Lord your God him only shalt thou serve and that was for me that was the living God speaking to me the God who is alive in his universe today he spoke that word to me him only shalt thou serve I just need that and we all do from time to time we get wake up calls so he speaks and I'm going to go someplace this morning back to Genesis just to let's go back here there is a law of first mention that I picked up years ago law of first mention and we want to go here a little bit okay God in the beginning created the heaven and the earth the earth was without form and void and God the spirit of God moved on the face of the waters so what do you have there you have the earth but it's out of order there's not any order there and the spirit of God moved on the face of the water did somebody find that

[13:10] John 1 1 to 3 got it there you read that and the!

[13:35] amen all things were made I want to get to the end here this might just seem like a lot of okay Dan's just up here running on but it is it will bring it will come home for us so here's the earth without form and void have you ever been there in your own life without form and void things are just out of order you have we all get there my wife and I we probably say that as far as our journey together we've had most times out of order than most of you here things just going this way and that way trying to keep going in the face of whatever but yet each one of you will say probably the same thing you feel like yours is probably the greatest story here so yesterday we were we were at an event and after we got past the noise at the beginning we learned a lot about stewardship really a lot of stewardship how we are called to take care of what God's given us and let's look here let's go to Genesis chapter 2 verse 5 so God's created the earth he said let there be light there was light he begins to put order here into the universe let there be light

[15:11] God saw the light it was good I'm reading here in the first chapter but we'll go over to so God's brought light into the universe and he divided the light from the darkness there is you know darkness is not and it's not a thing you say it that way it's just simply that there's no light there so when light comes it's gone you think about it so light is something God said let there be light and what all that light brought to the universe when he said let there be light there's no sun yet but he just said let there be light and what all came out of that light the spoken word of God just said light when do you need something in your life and he just let there be light and God when that light comes in so over in Genesis chapter 2 verse 5 okay again he repeats something here the heavens and the earth were finished the seventh day

[16:20] God ended his work he blessed the seventh day sanctified it and these are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens up till now we've only had the name God here now it's the Lord God because the name Lord here has a different meaning than just God he is now revealed as the all-powerful all-knowing God okay he publishes God the word God had a lot to say but now it's the Lord God formed so he began to see a revelation here every plant of the field before it was in the earth and every herb of the field before it grew the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth and there was not a man to till the ground you know rain showed up here but it didn't show up really on the earth till the flood so God had it in mind but he hadn't brought yet but here was the earth now but he was not yet ready for those the growth the plants the life that take care because why he needed a man to till the ground and there was not yet rain he hadn't brought rain so he's bringing order here but he needed a man to till the ground and

[17:47] I guess in thinking of stewardship as we talk here at our bible study here recently there's we're called to till the ground to take care of it to manage the ground that was God's original intent in bringing this earth he needed a man to till the ground so man is called to that to take to care for to manage to till the ground so he looked the Lord God formed the man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life man became a living soul and then the Lord God planted a garden and there he put a man that he had formed so you know God has order in how he works and he wants to bring that order in our lives when things get out of order his purpose bringing us back is to bring things in order I'll put it this way he that order doesn't come with just making us better it comes with a new a new heart a new life recognizing that

[19:02] I was dead and I'm before a holy God I'm judged I need a new life I need as Jesus said to accept a man be born again he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven cannot even see it and understand that is also by faith I want to go down and just look a little farther here you know we see a progression here of God revealing himself as the creator now also the one who's all powerful over all things that word Lord there in Hebrew I guess is something Yahweh it it has a and I'm not sure if this is the word but there is one word that the Jew the Israelite would never would never say it was so sacred they would not say that word so going on in that progression here

[20:07] I want to just look at a little something Genesis chapter 12 Abraham now is in the picture and God comes and calls him to leave his father's house and gives him the promises he's going to make a great nation and then verse 7 and 8 I'm going to read the Lord appeared unto Abraham and said unto thy seed will I give this land and there built an altar unto the Lord who appeared unto them and he removed from thence unto a mountain in the east and pitched a tent having Bethel in the east and there he built an altar unto the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord we have a you know there's the names of God but they're also

[21:16] God is revealing himself as a God that blesses to his heart now is coming to Abraham that he is bringing he wants to bring blessing to Abraham but it doesn't just stop there he said I'm going to bring that blessing to all families through him and of course as Abraham keeps going on his journey he realizes he that blessing is going to be children but he has none so he he comes to the place and finally saying Lord I don't have any is it going to go to my servant here I mean so Abraham faced for 25 years hearing the voice of God hearing that promise and yet

[22:18] I'm taking it on to his hands he had son Ishmael but the day came when the promise was there the promise of a son he had Isaac born 25 years he waited and was tested so I want to go yet to Exodus so we see a little bit more here the names of God so Moses in chapter three he has the occasion of the burning bush where he meets God there God reveals himself as I am the God of the father thy father the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and then in verse 13 Moses said unto God behold when I come to the children of Israel and shall say unto them the

[23:19] God of your fathers has sent me unto you they shall say to me what is his name what shall I say unto them God said unto Moses I am that I am and he said thou shalt say unto the children of Israel I am the Lord I am has sent me unto you so a further revelation the God who exists the God who exists I have to have a faith that God exists if you go at all in scripture you realize without faith you're not going very far you will not go very far scripture constantly reminds us we're going anywhere in the kingdom of God we have to know he exists!

[24:46] I am I am that I am the God who exists the God who walks out and he affects his will his will for our lives he will affect that will God and one more in Exodus chapter 6 where he says in Exodus chapter 6 verse 2 and God spake unto Moses said unto him I am the Lord and I appeared unto Abraham unto Isaac and unto Jacob by the name the God Almighty but by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them and I have also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan so you know they did not know

[25:47] God yet at that time by the name Jehovah but he is continuing to reveal himself to it there's a there's a thought in in I would like to say among the higher thinkers that they're that God is a God of progressive revelation I don't understand that but I've read some about it where he progressively reveals himself father but I do see it somewhat here as you go through scripture as he reveals himself through different men here as he speaks and that he is showing himself more and more as a personal God you know there's the God of the universe who created all and we see that you know it was mentioned when we were speaking about stewardship here six days shalt thou labor and then the seventh day rest that is a testimony of the

[26:54] God of creation so we were reminded of that in the six days of labor and the day of rest we're constantly reminded of the God of creation he six days and he created all and then there was a God of creation day of rest there except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die unless it dies and decays it just stays alone but if it die it will bring much fruit it's going to be abundant!

[27:30] That's a testimony reminder of God's redemption for mankind he died on the cross and in that death there came forth a resurrection it's a constant reminder we can see it in our world around us so the God who spoke this universe into being is a voice in our world a living voice today do I do I hear that voice can I keep my heart quiet where I can listen to him and as the children reminded you this morning they can come to him they can come to him in their life situations just come he loves to spend time with us do I know God that voice as a friendly a friendly voice and in other words when I come to meet with

[28:33] God is it friend to friend do I have that I would say there's times when I I come feeling condemned I come yeah God's hand of wrath so so I want to go back to talk about names here going back to Genesis here Genesis now chapter four the end of the chapter it says to Seth to him also there was born a son and he called his name Enos then man began man to call upon the name of the Lord now maybe you'll have to correct me on this but I found this this morning in the Bible dictionary the name

[29:35] Enos would mean a man as weak and dependent creature got a name there it's your name quite a name to live up to right a weak and dependent creature that's all of us isn't it that is all of us a weak and dependent creature and at that point it says man began to call upon the name of the Lord wow so when he recognizes he's weak and independent he now begins to call on the Lord it's called worship I begin to call on the name of the Lord someone yesterday put it this way worship and work in the original were two were the same word as the Bible was translated on they divided it made it worship on

[30:38] Sunday morning and work on Monday morning but actually it was all the same I haven't studied it out but I heard that work and worship were the same word it was it's all of life and if I get that thought where God thought that way God planned it that way that was his original intent work and worship are the same and if work is a form of surrender where I am dependent on him then I can do that in my work I can do that whenever I play I can do that here Sunday morning I can so you read down in chapter 5 of Genesis and again reminded male and female created he them which two blessed them called their name Adam and Adam lived 130 years he begot his son in his likeness after his image called his name Seth as you read down through here the only thing you have about their life is their years they had a son and they died and they died and they died so

[32:00] Satan came with that word you shall not surely die but the record here is that they have and we have continued to die so while we're here in our short period of time though these men had you read their their length of life Adam 130 930 years Seth had 912 years Enos lived after he begat Canaan 815 the days of Enos 905 years and so forth this is the account where you have man that lived the longest 969 years but he died also so man is still very dependent okay so if I can bring this here there is an end here in sight and

[33:01] I guess what I'm wanting to say here does God know my name the God of the universe does he know my name does he know your name is he involved in the experiences of life that we are walking through is he with us that's I believe what I see as he was coming to Abraham and then to Moses and these others Enos who began to see he was dependent on God and he began to call on the Lord these men he began to reveal himself that way I believe Adam knew God as a friend because God would come to him in the cool of the day and talk and walk with him he knew him as his friend and so we we today need to

[34:05] I believe make him that known as that a friend of man if we would turn to him I was challenged yesterday one of the older guys that spoke just sat down in a chair and he simply said my name is John and I am your friend that's how he started that's how he introduced himself you know that that is really I think how God wants to come to us I'm your friend and as we as we walk in as we learn that then we can I believe we can bring our needs to him bring ourselves to him worship and so forth and he can he can work in our lives

[35:06] I would like to just share one story on faithfulness again we heard this yesterday years ago in another country there was a man that felt God had him preach and he was he told his son I believe you guys can help me to set up 5,000 chairs and son didn't want to do this and think it was worth it but he did go ahead and made arrangements and got the chair set up the night that he was to preach it was raining nobody showed up he sent the choir out to sing and they sang out in the rain for a time they came back in and still nobody there and the guy went out ahead and preached his message gave the altar call there was nobody there was 5,000 chairs nobody there he went back

[36:22] I think he said his son asked him what well it doesn't matter I did what God said he rested in that and as the story went on it wasn't until this man was on his death bed I understand he close to death that a fellow came to visit him at his death bed and you don't know me but do you remember a night when he was preaching to an empty crowd no crowd nobody there you thought nobody was there but that night I was at a face I was facing things in life that I could not overcome I was ready to take my life but I noticed this man over here preaching in the rain nobody listening

[37:25] I'll take the time to at least listen to him so unseen to the man preaching he was listening and he that night was born again I never knew it and on in his life that night because he was faithful one man was born again so God just calls us to be faithful amen I want to say this there is a God and he knows your name knows where you're at knows your circumstances knows mine he's a God that speaks light and order and he will bring that into our lives and I believe that but sometimes to walk that out when things are struggling and it takes some faith and

[38:30] I still am grown in that faith amen so praise the Lord okay I will sit down and brother Mike you come and share good morning it's good to be here there was some thought provoking message Dan about God and how he could be how he could actually a progressive God that speaks to us through more than his word like just in his creation and even in just communing with people how he can speak to us so yeah brother John just texted me this morning I wondered if I had a little share so if I seem a little scattered I just excuse me but there was something that I thought I would share on a little bit I won't try to make it too long but it was just this past week

[39:31] I had after my parents went home I just had a lot of thoughts and things in my life I couldn't really tell what it was but just kind of anxious and just with all the things when we went to Michigan and came back and with everything that's happening there and so I so I just spent here a week ago I just spent some time reading I found that sometimes when that happens I think we should make that a part of our daily life but sometimes when we do that I find peace in that just it brings a peace in and one thing that really stood out to me was I was reading in Matthew chapter 6 and I'll start in verse 25 to 34 and it teaches on worry and anxiety and as I was reading that I was like well what does God's word say about being anxious I find myself being anxious about in all areas of life just you know spiritually just about where where are we going where is my life with

[40:38] God and am I walking in full surrender am I loving people am I loving Jesus the way God has loved me and so but Jesus was very clear in this passage where he says in verse 25 he says therefore I say unto you take no thought of your life while ye shall drink nor yet for your body what you shall put on is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment and so I find that interesting that he says very clearly take no thought for your life so at the end of this I want to come to a point on this he he's saying so does that mean we can take that into the thought does that mean that he's saying that we should not care about our life we should not I don't think that's what he's saying but the point that he's trying to bring out do not worry about what's going to happen in your life there's at the end of all of this he he tells us what what we should focus on and he said behold the fowls of the air in verse 26 for they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly father feedeth them are ye not much better than they he said are we not much more than they yet

[41:48] God knows God knows every creature and living crawling thing that's in on the earth in the water and yet we tend to think that does he know I exist does he know my trials does he care can come but he says in verse 27 which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature and why take ye thought of raiment consider the lilies of the field how they grow they toil not neither do they spin and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these so he's giving us we know that Solomon does not arrayed like one of the lilies that do not spin they do not they just the Lord cares for them and they grow and they die and and we look at the creation we think yeah that's a flower right but yet

[42:51] God created it I believe God was a creative God he has he he took interest in his design not just in his creation but in us as in much more clothe you O ye of little faith so I'm challenged with that O ye of little faith therefore take no thought saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed for after all these things do the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knoweth that ye have need of all of these things so it says that God knows that we have the need of all of these things so with us knowing all of that with that all being brought into you know into consideration about not worrying where we go or what we do what does God say that we should be concerned about well I think he makes it very clear Jesus makes it very clear in verse 33 he said but seek ye first the kingdom of

[43:51] God and his righteousness and all these not in our time maybe it's not the way we think or in the exact place that we think should happen but it's very clear that he goes through and talks about all the things that we should not worry about and what we should not care about then what does he say we should do he said we should seek first the kingdom of God and when we seek God and his righteousness it says all these things will be added unto us and then I was just thinking through these verses that a lot of times I believe that when we become anxious we are not walking by faith because in the footnotes it says that anxious care is the direct opposite of faith so I believe that when I let anxious thoughts come into my life I am not walking by faith I I believe that when we can fully trust on

[45:04] God and in his perfect will there we can find that peace that brother Mervyn was talking about last Sunday I found that to be true in my life to set one's heart on material possessions or to worry about the lack of them is to live in perpetual insecurity and to deprive oneself of the spiritual blessings of God so I believe that it's within our means and the choices that we make that we can deprive ourselves from the spiritual blessings of God that it's not we tend to think well God doesn't bless me why doesn't God bless me a lot of it has to do with how I respond we have the choice of and I believe that our praise and relationship with God should not be circumstantial we should not base how we feel about God and how we feel about life on the trials that we face those trials that we face I think are meant for a reason and that they are actually a blessing and I would like to turn to Hebrews 12

[46:06] I think it is where it talks about that and it's just one verse it says in Hebrews 12 verse 11 now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness but how does it how do we come unto the peaceable fruit of righteousness it's unto them which are exercised thereby or in the ESV version it says unto those that are trained by it so if we let these trials train us we come out stronger and we come out our faith can be built it can be strengthened but if we look at these as trials and God as drudgery all that it creates is more insecurity it can create more insecurity and mistrust and anxiety and so I wanted to close with a couple verses that I had looked up that also would connect with the trials that we face that they can be a blessing and that we can grow from them in

[47:16] Romans 5 verse 3 and 4 it says not only so but we also glory in our sufferings I'm not sure exactly maybe there's some thought on how do we glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance character and character hope also in James 1 verses 2 to 4 it says consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces!

[47:45] let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything which there again in Matthew 6 we read where he said that first seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you and in James he says the same thing that when we go through these trials and we grow in them and we let them train us as it says in Hebrews 11 it says that the perseverance can finish its works lacking anything so it was a challenge for me and I just feel like that's something that God has been showing me is that I tend to be anxious sometimes I'm not sure what and it seems like when I find peace in one thing I find another thing to be anxious about I'm like huh I haven't visited this in a while yeah I could be anxious about that but I'm not sure why I'm anxious about it it's just a continuation and

[48:47] I think in our lives we face different things and to some it may be worse in some areas in life and others but I've just found that spending time in his word and like brother Dan shared that his word unless we believe that God is fluent that his word is life and when we read his word it's him speaking to us even though we don't actually hear him so I guess the thought was that in these trials that we face let us not be anxious let us use these trials to train us to become stronger that our faith may be increased and our trust strengthened I think that was all that I had hopefully that made sense and it was good to be here and blessings!