The Source of Security | Francis Chan

Well, I uh I don't know I don't know who comes up with these uh these themes, but I love this theme of known. I I so love this theme. Um I I just want us to stop for a second and just can we just recognize how huge it is?

Just just to be fascinated by the fact that God knows us right now. that he knows like he perceives from afar. The Bible says he knows when we sit. We know he knows when we rise. I mean, just just two minutes ago, I'm backstage just going, "God, okay, you're looking at me right now."

Like, God, you know what's going on in my head. You know, like you you know you you know whether or not I'm willing to just say whatever you tell me to say right now. And even as I'm praying, I'm going, God, you know that I'm not there yet. you know, there's still some of this junk in here that's concerned about what you think and I and I won't just say anything.

And I'm like, God, change that, man. I WANT TO BE THAT GUY. LIKE THOSE GUYS I READ ABOUT IN THE BIBLE, THEY'LL JUST THEY DON'T CARE WHAT anyone's going to do to them. They just say it. And God knew. HE'S JUST GOING, "MAN, your heart's just not there yet."

I'm going, "God, get me there. Get me there. Get me there." Cuz I don't want to come up here and say what I think you want to hear. I don't want to come up here and say what I feel like saying. I just want to go, okay, God, here here's my mouth.

Here's my mind. You know me. You know I'm known by you. So right now, you know the thoughts that have gone through my mind today. I started repenting of some of those things. And God, you know, you saw that. You saw that thought. You saw where my eyes went for just for that moment.

But you saw it. AND GOD'S A HOLY GOD saw that. Recognize that. And now you see my pride getting ready to come up on the stage and still [laughter] this sense of self-preservation rather than just saying, "Okay, God, whatever. Whatever. Go ahead. Here we go. Here we go." And I just go, "Okay, right now I feel like I'm set.

I'll say I don't care what you think." You know, it's like, God, I I want to do it. I want to be right in your eyes. I want to be right in your eyes. I I want to look at this clock that's ticking down at 38 minutes and 52 seconds and go, "Okay, if that's a countdown of my life, then what would I say?

Would I would I really care if I knew I was going to stand in the presence of God in a few seconds? You think I would care at all what you thought?" And those are the thoughts that have been going through my head. Like, just say it. Just say it.

Call it out. Throw it out there. How do you know that's not the end? It's up to him. You just say it. The leadership has given me the the topic obedience birthed by a proper identity. Obedience birthed by a proper identity. And I just when I saw it, I thought, man, it would be just like God to give me the topic that I have struggled with my whole life.

You know, it's like why couldn't they have said, "Oh, you're going to talk on God is holy and you're going to die any second." It's like, "Oh, I got that one." You know, but but identity, it's this this whole like doing what we do because we know who we are.

Like that's that that's that's what I've struggled with. I've struggled with security. I've struggled with being insecure. I still do. It's a fight, man. This is this is the exact stuff. I mean, it's perfect timing because I feel like it's exactly what God was teaching me in the last week.

Last week, I was I was doing some writing and uh and and and over by where I write is like this amazing Chinese food place. And so I got some takeout of just the creepiest Chinese food. Brought it. You know, I mean, this is my favorite place to eat on earth right now.

Okay. So, I get some takeout. It's just me. It's just me, the Lord. You know, I got my laptop. I'm emailing. I'm writing. And I got all these things going on and bring my food back. And I'm just I'm just going at it. Going out doing all this stuff.

And you ever have one of those times where I look down and my food is like almost all gone and I don't even remember taking a bite? You ever do that? And I just look down. I go, "No." LIKE I JUST ATE LIKE THREE4S OF THIS thing and I DIDN'T EVEN TASTE IT.

I wasn't even thinking, you know, AND I'M GOT IT WAS LIKE a I know it sounds so dumb, but it was like a panic. like I never get to eat this and now I'm almost full and I didn't even taste it or enjoy it. And you it took everything in me to close my laptop, you know, shut off my phone and go, I'm going to taste the rest of this, [laughter] you know, I'm not going to think about anything else except for this food just and I just started going, oh yeah, oh yeah, you know, and just I wanted to savor the rest of it.

And I just felt like, man, that was the exact thing God was teaching me this morning. You know, that morning where he was just going, Francis, this is WHAT YOU ALWAYS DO. You're like running, you're doing this, you're doing that, you're doing all this. And you don't STOP AND JUST TASTE that the Lord is good.

You know, you're always trying to achieve something else. And it's like you're worshiping achievement rather than worshiping Jesus. And you're just going after and you're praying. You're praying. You're praying like these prayers of Solomon which are good. Remember Solomon when he what's the one thing he prayed for?

He prayed for wisdom. And I pray that and but he goes but what did David pray for? The one thing was I I just want to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That's the one thing I asked for. Just let me gaze upon your beauty.

And we talk about Solomon and what a great prayer that was. But where did that get him? You know, and David, the the man who just says, "I I just want to be in your presence every day. I just want to dwell in your house. This is the one thing I ask.

I just want to gaze at your beauty." And I don't do that. It's like I don't I don't just stop and taste and and and it was one of those moments where the Lord was forcing me forcing me. It's like in Psalm 23 where he makes you lie down in in green pastures.

Like it's like, you know, I'm going to make you rest right now. And and I think it's just so similar to, you know, with with with what it's happening with Phil, you know, Wickham. It's just like God just going just shut up. Okay, just shut up. You know, I mean, it was so cool.

We had the best prayer time, you know. uh Phil and I, you know, I I was praying for him and then then he's like, you know, which means I want to pray for you in my head, you know, and I'm like, okay. And he's just over there going, you know, and it was like, yeah, yeah.

And I'm soaking it in like, no, something's happening right now. And going, this is good. This is good. And but but I I felt like it was one of those this is a common theme where God just saying let me just make you lie down here for a second.

Would you just close the laptop, turn off the phone, taste and see that the Lord is good and and it was those times because God knows me and he knows where I go. And and yes, some of the work is good and we're supposed to work hard and some of it is because for me I get so frustrated with people who are in ministry and this just my own thing and that are lazy and are always complaining.

Oh, I work too hard. We had, you know, two services this week. H, you know, that that type of thing. And and so I kind of rebel the other way and like, wow, you sang four songs. [laughter] uh you know I I kind of just go ((cheering)) the other direction and I'm like no this is how you work you know and and so there's some of that but there was this there's this other side of my work that's just flatout evil.

It's just wrong. It's where I I think I'm earning something and I'm proving something to God. And it's that that wrestle that some of us, who knows what, it's just flatout sin. And God's just going, "Francis, stop it." Rest in the love of God. You got to learn to rest in the love of God.

Like, where are you finding your security? You feel good when you get enough things done. When you when you you've got a big enough group of people following you now you're going to feel good. That's what makes you feel good. That's what you rest in accomplishment rather than resting in the cross.

Resting in the fact that God in heaven watched his son. Okay. Watched his son. Those of you are parents. Imagine watching your son. Your son's looking up at you and he's going, "IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY? ANY OTHER WAY? IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY? I DON'T WANT TO.

IS THERE ANY WAY YOU CAN JUST TAKE THIS CUP FROM ME? I FEEL LIKE I'M DYING RIGHT NOW. LOOK AT ME. I'M SWEATING DROPS OF BLOOD. IS THERE ANY WAY YOU can make this cup pass from me? Three times where HE SAYS, "MY SOUL IS GRIEVED TO THE POINT of death.

Please tell me there's another way. But not my will, yours be done." The fact that that God who hears his son say, "Not my will but yours be done." That God answers Isaiah 53:10. It was the will of the Lord to crush him. [sighs] It was the will of God to crush his son when he's screaming out like that. for my sake, for my iniquity.

He's going friends, what more do you want than that? Can't you rest in the just just knowing that he did that for me? Like right now, just resting. God watched his son and said, "Now this is my will for your guilt, for your iniquities. I'm going to make him who knew no sin become sin on your behalf.

Why? So that you might be the righteousness of God in him. This is what was going to determine your righteousness, not your works, Francis. Just stop. Just shut up. Just rest. Just lay in this green pasture right now. Do you understand? That's where your righteousness comes from. And how he forced me to that point was when I was meditating on on Philippians 3 where Paul says, "For his sake, I've suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him."

Just meditating on that thought that Paul says, "Look at all my works." He goes, "Everything I've done, I've done way more than you. You want to talk about bragging, let me brag to you." He says there in Philippians 3, you think you've accomplished something, Francis. Look what I've done.

You can't touch any of this. He goes, "Yet I look at all of that and I count it rubbish. Everything I've ever done," he says, "It's, you know, the word, it's dung. It's crap." He goes, "All of my good works, everything I've ever done, I might as well just crap on a plate and hand it to God."

He goes, "That's what I consider here, God. Here's my offering. Here's all of this." He goes, "No way." He goes, "I count all of my works. That's all it is. So, I push it aside. I count it as rubbish in order that." That was the phrase that hit me.

In order that I may gain Christ and be found in him. He goes, "I have to do that. I got to look AT EVERYTHING I DO AND GO, OH, THAT'S NOTHING. That's garbage. So in order that I may be found in Christ. And God was just saying, "Okay, Francis, what do you want?

You want to keep working? You want to keep earning? And what are you going to present to me? All your righteous deeds are going to be like a filthy rag at the end of your life. You want to do that? You want to present that to me? You want you want to present this this plate of rubbish to me? or you want to put that aside so that you can be found in Christ, not having a righteousness that you earned, but that comes from him.

And it was just like, Francis, lay down. Stop [snorts] it. Don't you want to be found in Christ? Don't you want to be found in Christ? To where God looks down at you and says, "Res, oh, you're perfect. You're perfect. You're perfect. You're just like Jesus. You're perfect. You just took on his righteousness, but you had to put away all of your stuff first.

He forced me there. I loved it. I prayed for you. I prayed for you today just going, "God, I know there are people in that crowd just like me where you're so insecure and you're working. You're trying to earn something. you're trying to do something and you're worshiping achievement.

It's a self-righteous thing rather than just enjoying and resting in Christ and finding your identity in him and then working. But then it's fun. It's out of freedom. It's out of joy rather than this insecurity trying to earn something. You know, I uh I keep reading these things about Facebook um and about how many people are uh see how the music stops when I say Facebook.

Um he's like, "What?" Um, but I've been reading uh this stuff on, you know, they talk about how the kids today, they're like facing this depression, like there's so many suicides and depression and a lot of it's because of Facebook. They go, they look on and they see what they're missing out on.

They're going, "Wow, look at that girl's having so much fun. I'm not having that much fun." You know, look at that guy. Look at her. Oh, look at all the cleavage. You know, all of this. Seriously. I mean, let's just put the best pictures of us having the best time looking the best, scandaly dressed, everything else, trying to make oursel look the best, and others look on and go, I'm not her, I'm not him.

I'm not having that much fun. And it just it just gets them down, down, down, down, down. And they're just like, I'm done. And people feel like they're just going to lose it. Kill themselves, kill other people, whatever. I just I can't take it anymore. And I thought, you know, it's people looking and seeing, gosh, she gets to do that.

I don't get to do that. And I thought about this gathering. I thought, you know, this happens in the Christian world, in ministry, especially now with the internet. We can look at all of the things that Rick Warren is accomplishing that you are not, right? and you discover all the things that Tim Keller knows that you do not know.

You don't even understand them, right? I look, hey, let's let's admit it. And we start feeling insecure. I get this way. I go, God, I look at Andy Stanley and this just a strategist. Why can't I be like that? Why can't I I I lead people around like that?

Why can't I know as much as a piper or a killer, you know, like God, why didn't you give me that? All you gave me was you made me sexy, you know, and that's it, you know? ((applause)) Thank you. And you just go, you're like, God, I want this.

I want that. I wish I had all of this. Seriously, man. You talk about insecurity, man. You just start reading all these things and seeing what people accomplished and this and that and you just start looking at your own life and you're like, man, I've been talking to the same guy for 10 weeks and now he's back on drugs.

You know, like, I did nothing. I do nothing. I don't I don't even know what this sentence means that this guy wrote. and you just we go through our own depression in ministry and own insecurity and um there's one passage that the the Lord has repeatedly um put in my mind and it's Jeremiah 15 where he says before I formed you in the womb I knew you before you were born I consecrated you I pointed you a prophet to the nations I I've I've preached that verse many times I I I love it where God says, "Okay, stop.

Forget about this guy, that guy, comparing to all these different things." Okay, stop that. He goes, "Before you were born, I knew you. Does that matter to you, okay? That the God of the universe that created all of these people is looking at you and said, "Look, before you were formed in the womb, before I even made you, I knew exactly what I was making.

I knew you before you were born. You were known by me. See, this is our identity is that God before I was born says, look, I I I need a prophet. Like he says to Jeremiah, I I before you were born, I consecrated you, appointed you a prophet to the nations.

God knew ahead of time what he was making when he made you. He goes, "Okay, I need someone. I need someone for catalyst 2014. I need him to come up here at this time. I'm going to make him. I'm going to start making them now. This is this 46 and a half well 47 years ago.

I this I'm going to make a guy. I I know exactly who I'm going to make. Does that mean anything to you? The God of the universe knows you and he knew who you were going to be before he made you. He designed you for this. I love that.

That you weren't an accident. I wasn't an accident. It's not like I was born and God goes, "Oh, great. Chinese baby 2 billion4. What am I going to do with this one?" ((applause)) [laughter] It's It's God going now. We need one more of them. Um, and this is what I'm going to do.

I know him. I know him. I'm going to give him this gift set. I'm going to give him this gift set. It's just going to work in my overall plan. And for me to soak that in and go, "Okay, before my mom gave birth to me, you knew this.

Why am I scared walking onto a stage? You made me for this. You knew me. You knew me. This is where our security. This is where our joy has to come from is just to sit and rest and go, "Okay, so the God of the universe, he watched his son die for me.

He watched his son cry out and it was his will to still crush him so that I could become his righteousness and he knew I was going to accept that before I was born. He had these good works that he prepared beforehand that I would walk in them and he designed me for this.

And then in those moments of insecurity like in verse 8, you know, he he tells Jeremiah and don't be afraid of them. I'm with you. So I'm not alone right now. This this is why I can say whatever you WANT ME TO SAY, GOD, RIGHT NOW CUZ YOU'RE WITH ME.

You're with me. You perceive my thoughts from afar. Your spirit dwells inside of me. Jesus is right here with me always to the end of the age. All of this is going on. Me and God. Me and God. And I just got to dwell on that and focus on this.

Okay. The God who created me is watching me right now. He knows when I sit. He knows my thoughts right now. Jesus who died, suffered for me, and rose again. He's with me. The spirit of God who the spirit of him who raised Christ from the dead dwells in me.

I'm a partaker of the divine nature right now. What do I need to be afraid of? What am I afraid? If I could dwell and soak that in, then suddenly this courage comes in. If I would lay down on those green pastures, if I would rest, if I would learn to taste and see that everything is good, everything is good.

God is good. He's with me. It's like Moses. Moses just says, "Okay, I don't want to take another step unless you go with me." Right? I don't want to go there. This week in in my Bible reading, we kind of read through the Bible in a year at at our church.

We just all read together and we're reading the book of uh of of uh Judges. Um say the book of Gideon, but it it's it's about Gideon. And I was reading about Gideon and and uh I love the story of Gideon. You know, sometimes we're like, "Oh, he had to set out the fleece and then he did it again."

Like, "Oh, is he doubting? Was he this? Was he that?" I'm just going, "No, I I love the story of Gideon cuz cuz Gideon's going uh he says he uh where is it?" Judges 6 where he says, "Angel the Lord," the angel of the Lord, you know, where most would interpret this as Jesus himself appeared to him and said to him, "The Lord is with you, oh mighty man of God.

The Lord's with you. The angel of the Lord comes to Gideon and says, "The Lord's with you." Can you imagine if an angel came to you tonight and just said, "The Lord's with you." If Jesus himself just came up to you and just said, "God is with you."

Imagine that. I'm appearing to you alone at night. God's with you. Okay, that's all I need. That's all I need. That's all I need to know. You know, and Gideon later is like, "Okay, well, I want to make sure." Okay. And uh he goes, "Hold on here. I want to make sure God's with me.

I'm going to bring you something back." And the angels, you know, first of all, I'd pretty much trust God is with me if the angel of the Lord came down and said that to me, you know, it's like, okay. like like okay prove it [laughter] you know and so there's a weirdness to it but he goes and he brings the sacrifice you know and and and the angel you know touches it with with his staff the tip of his staff and fire comes from the rock and he goes okay now I know I'm like so the ANGEL WASN'T ENOUGH [laughter] OKAY THAT'S great okay he touched it with with the tip of of of his his his staff but and then it goes on later on you know the story where it's like Are you really going to give these people into my hands?

Let me uh let me let me let me put a fleece out. Let me put a fleece out and and and make it make it wet and everything else dry. So God does it. He's like, "Okay, don't get mad, God. Don't get mad, God. One more thing. One more thing.

Okay, do the opposite. Okay, this time make this dry and everything else wet." And and at first I used to go, "Come on. What is your problem?" But really, I'm I'm looking at that and going now, I'm reading it differently this week where I go, man, Gideon just had to know God was with him.

And once he knew God was with him, he's like, "All right, give me 30,000 men. Give me 10,000 men. Give me 300. I don't care. God's with me. We can take him on. We can do anything." He spent all of his time just making sure God was really with him.

You sure this is you? You sure this is your promise? cuz if it's your promise, I'll go out there by myself. I'll defeat the whole army by myself. Go ahead. And so he's testing, testing. Do you have that attitude where you go, you know what? All I need to know is that he's with me.

That's all I need to know. I'll dwindle my army down to 300. When I was reading that story again, God was convicting me. He goes, Francis, you've got the 30,000 and you're trying to add more soldiers. You're doing the opposite of Gideon. You're like recruiting. You're trying to get more and more and more and more.

Don't you see that that that [laughter] I'm all you need? But you keep grabbing. MAYBE MAYBE IF YOU hire another staff guy. Maybe you get the right executive. No, no, no. Maybe if you get just a little bit larger of a budget. Maybe if you come to Catalyst and you come up with some other trend that you that's that's working for other people now.

Maybe there's a book. Maybe there's a speaker. Maybe there's just someone you can hire from here that'll change everything. And I I want you to understand if you do that, that may be the most foolish thing you could do rather than dwindle your army down and trust in the Lord.

You know, there's a verse in um the Bible. 2 Chronicles 16:7. Okay. 2 Chronicles 16:7. Um, speaking of King Asa, it says in 2 Chronicles 16:7, "At that time, Hani the seer came to Asa, king of Judah, and said to him, because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you."

Verse 8, he goes, "Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

You have done foolishly in this. For from now on you will have wars. He's Don't you get it? You blew it. You so blew it because you relied. You relied on someone. You thought, "Oh man, if I could just hire that guy, he will change everything. The church is set.

If I can get that worship leader, then oh, we're going to draw so many people. If we can get that guy preaching at our church, woo, we're set. We're set. Church is going to be fine. That's exactly what King Asa did. He forgot about the early days where he was just a nobody.

And he's had this tiny little army. He's like, "God, you got to save us. You got to save us." He goes, "Remember that? Why? Cuz you relied on the Lord. And what are you doing now?" "Oh, you're recruiting." "Good. you got the king of Syria, you got this guy, you got that guy.

He goes, "Because you did that and you did not rely on him, you're done." And and I and it's such a sad story cuz then then God diseases his feet or or diseases. What? That's not a verb. Um he uh he inflicts a disease on his feet and uh and uh why can't I be smarter? you know, um, ((cheering)) but he inflicts this disease on his feet and it says that what King Asa does, he doesn't cry out the Lord even then.

He gets the best doctors cuz he's the king. He's been the king for like 36 years. He's like, "Give me the best physicians. Fix my feet." He still won't cry out to the Lord. He made this transition of how in the early days he would just trust in God because he was a nobody.

He had nothing going for him. And so he relied on the Lord and the Lord delivered him and gave him all these great conquests. But what happened in life? He started looking at his success and going, "Let me rely on this. Hey, why don't you guys join me?

Why don't I recruit this guy from over there?" And he says, "You know what? That's so stupid. Just because you did that, God's not going to strengthen you. Don't you understand? God's eyes like right now the the eyes of the Lord are roaming to and fro throughout this room.

Like God in heaven knows, we're known by him. And he's going, "Who in there trusts me? He's like looking, oh, oh, you're looking for a youth pastor and you think that's going to save forget you. Oh, you think a new executive pastor with a good game plan to set these programs?

Forget you. You're still on your face. You're still in your face believing THAT THAT ALL [laughter] YOU GOT TO DO IS JUST GO, "OKAY, GOD, I'M STUPID. I CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT. I NEED YOU SO BADLY. I BELIEVE YOUR SPIRIT IS IN ME, GOD. And I want you to be LIFTED UP.

I DON'T even care if it's me. I don't care if it's another church. I don't CARE IF IT'S ANYONE ELSE IN THIS ROOM. I JUST WANT THE name of Jesus lifted up. I don't even care. [laughter] I don't care if I get any credit. I don't care if I'm even a part of the church.

I'm just tired of people the way they talk about you and the way they belittle you. God, I don't care if it's my church. I just want to see a church really loving each other supernaturally by the power of the Holy Spirit where if an unbeliever walked in, he'd go, I've never seen love like this.

I've never seen people love each other like this. You know, I'm just going, God, ((applause)) I don't care if it's me. I don't. I just want to see it cuz I know I see it in this book, man, that there's [laughter] this Holy Spirit power that can cause people to be so madly in love with each other that they don't care about their stuff.

Here, take my things. Take my I don't care. I'm so focused on eternity. And we're so madly in love with each other that unbeliever would walk in and just go, "Okay, I I've had friends before, but I haven't had this kind of family. I' I've never seen that."

And I'm just going, so who's the person in this room that's going, I don't care if it's me. I just want I just want Jesus lifted up cuz God's going, who care? Who believes in me still? Who who still believes in me? Who who who cuz I want to strengthen someone.

I'm I'm He's looking. The eyes of the Lord are running to He's searching for someone. God wants to strongly support someone. It's not like we're begging him to do something he doesn't want to do. He goes, "I'm looking. Would someone just believe in me again? Would someone just rely on me and quit thinking that this is going to fix it and this is going to fix it?

WOULD YOU JUST GET BACK TO CHRIST? I I know who I am. It's the cross. It's the cross. It's the spirit. Let me rely on the fact that you know me. rely on the fact that you're with me and I believe you can do anything, you know, I I I told you I' I've felt insecure at times where I go, God, why why don't I do other things?

Why why is my mind I feel like it's stuck? I feel like [laughter] I'm I'm not thinking straight. I'm I try to study and I'm not getting it. It's not I'm not absorbing things. you know, maybe not as sharp as I, you know, you start going to all these different places like, Lord, I'm I'm frustrated right now cuz I know even at like at a conference like this, you want to come up with something new.

And a couple months ago, I was at a conference. Louisie Gigglio was speaking and he was reading that passage in Revelation 4 where it says, "Day and night the angels never stop." Like they never stop saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty." And and it hit me when he I mean, I've heard that passage, preached that passage, but when he said it, it it hit me like they never stop.

Like right now, those angels are in heaven. Like right now, those angels right now are in heaven going, "HE IS SO HOLY. GOD IS SO HOLY. DO YOU GUYS EVEN GET? YOU GUYS DON'T GET WHO HE IS? HE'S SO HOLY." THEY'RE JUST CONSTANTLY crying out to everyone UP THERE, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW HOLY HE IS?

DO YOU UNDERSTAND how separate he is? How different he is?" And it was like at that moment, God just helped me realize, man, Francis, what if that's all I've asked you to do on the earth? Maybe your WHOLE ROLE IS JUST EVERYWHERE YOU GO SAY THE same thing.

It's just look at people go, "DO YOU GET WHO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT? DO YOU understand how holy is?" I know you sing, "Holy is you just sing. You just say these words. Do you know who you're talking about? Do you get it? Do you get the fact that he knows you?

Every thought right now like he knows like that God. Do you understand what it's going to be like when you see him? Like if this countdown clock now at 9 minutes 35 seconds, if I see him in 9 minutes and 35 seconds, do you understand what that moment's going to be like?

If that's a countdown of your life, what would you do right now? Do you understand? We underestimate this God you get, how holy he is. It's not like you just get up and we're talking about a being where everyone who saw him just shuddered in fear. Even that that that that story of Gideon after he saw the angel of the Lord, immediately the angel's like, "Don't worry.

Don't do not be afraid. I'm not going to kill you. You're not going to die." Those were his words. "You're not going to die." Cuz immediately he's like, "I'm not allowed to see that. I'm not allowed to see the angel of the Lord." That's the angel of the Lord.

I'm dead. Gideon thought that same thing Isaiah thought when he came into the presence of God. Oh, I'm ruined. I'm a man of unclean lips. He's going to kill me. John. John the beloved disciple sees Jesus and he goes, "I just I I fell at his feet like a dead man."

Job Job just goes, [laughter] "I I always heard OF YOU, BUT NOW THAT I SEE YOU, I'M just going to shut up. I'm going to shut up. I'm going to repent and just, [laughter] you know, it's just like everyone that saw him, do you get it?" Like, man, if I saw him right now, if this is the moment, and it's going to be, it's guaranteed to all of us, we're all going to face him.

Holy, holy, hol. And if this is my only job on earth is to mimic those angels in heaven and say, "Friends, that's all I created you for." Okay, maybe you're not a great strategist. Okay, maybe you're not as smart as this guy or that guy. What if your only job was just to tell him?

Do you get HOW HOLY HE IS? DO YOU UNDERSTAND? This isn't a game. Look, and it doesn't matter. I don't care if you're a senior pastor, you got a big mega church. I don't care about this or that or whatever else. I don't care how many people look up to you.

Do you understand who you are in in relation to God? Some of you some of you are total liars in this room. Okay, let's face it. And I'm just saying this out of concern, man. You talk about how you know God and you tell your your your disciples how you you got to have this relationship with God.

You got to love him. You got to know him. You got to spend your and YOU KNOW THAT YOU don't even know him right now. You don't even feel the security. You just say it. You say these things. Look, I've done it where YOU YOU KNOW WHAT to say.

You know what passage to go to. You know the look in your eyes. Everything else. But God sees through that. He knows you. And do you know him right now? [snorts] I'm convinced there's there's people in here right now having affairs and I'm just going, "Are you kidding me right now?

Are you kidding me?" And you're going to keep ministering to people and somehow in your twisted mind think that you're doing the right thing by hiding it so that it's not shameful to the ministry or this or that. And the church needs you. The church needs you. The church needs you to open your mouth and tell the truth before another scandal comes out.

Man, I don't say this to judge anyone. Man, I just want you right when you come before him. I want you, this is what I PRAY. I GO, GOD, I pray that people would be so secure in you that they'd willing just to be honest and go, I don't care.

Even if my wife leaves me over this, I got to tell the truth about my life. I'm tired of lying. So, I lose my position and but right now I get this picture of God. And if I've got 5 minutes and 47 seconds left, then I'm going to get this thing right with him.

I want to be known by God. I want to know him. I don't want to take a step out of this sanctuary unless he comes with me. I'm going to set out this fleece. God, you got to be with me. And if you're with me, I'll dwindle it down to 300.

Do you still have that confidence? You still relying on the Lord? Cuz as some of you know, I nearly lost my identity a few years ago after I started writing and speaking. and everyone expects something of you and pretty soon you're just trying to meet everyone's expectations. You get so much criticism you don't even know how to handle it.

You get so much flattery you don't know how to handle it. You just get all this input you don't even know what to do and preaching you're just answering people and you forget you forget what got you here. It's because you just relied on God. Because you just sat you stopped and were able to rest and go, "Wow, God, you know me.

You made me for this. You're with me right now." That's all I'm going to look at. That's all I'm going to think about. I'm going to try to keep my mind pure. I want to make a covenant with my eyes, Lord, not to look lustfully upon a woman.

I don't want those thoughts. I don't want you seeing me doing that. you know me and you know when I just start doing a bunch of stuff because I think I'm going to earn righteousness. No, I'm just going to rest in what Jesus did for I can't add to that.

I'm going be secure in that and out of that security. Lord, let me do some great things so that if I were to die three minutes, I'm good with that because I'm right with you, God. Is there anything else you want me to say that I haven't said?

This mouth is yours. I'm going to have the worship team come up and I just don't want to force anything right now. I feel my flesh wanting to take over and try to make something happen. God doesn't need me. He doesn't need me to make you feel guilty or try to pull some sin out of you.

He can reveal to you right now if you don't really know God. Some of you are like me where you just you do stuff because you're insecure rather than resting in the cross, resting in the fact that you're loved and known by God. Just do whatever the Lord's telling you to do. >> [snorts] >> Let's let's just worship him for a little bit.

And for some of you, you don't need to be singing. You need to be confessing. ((music playing)) Others of you, you don't need to be singing. You need to be resting just lying in those green pastures and soaking in the grace of God. Maybe you just meditate on the cross.

Picture Jesus on the cross. After God taught me these things last week on Sunday, we took communion. And then after my message, I said, "Let's take communion again." A lot of churches have two offerings. Let's do two communions. So, we just try to do too much rather than just soak in the body and blood of Jesus Christ and enjoy the cross, enjoy his grace, enjoy being ((music playing)) found in his righteousness.