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At Sandals Church, our vision is to be real with ourselves, God and others. This channel features sermons and teaching from Pastor Matt Brown and other members of the Sandals Church preaching team. You can find sermon notes, videos and more content at http://sandalschurch.com/watch
Hey, Sandals Church, I am so glad that you are here today with us either at church or watching from online. We're going to do something that we've never done at Sanless Church. We've never ordained somebody in the studio. And so we're going to do that today. We're going to ordain my dear friend, Eric Sally. Let's give him a hand. Yes. His lovely wife, Nancy, who both of them work for us here at Sanless Church. And we've been friends for a long time. And Eric is somebody that I have recruited for a long time. It's actually kind of odd. I was thinking about it. When I first started Sanless Church, you were two people that I looked up to spiritually and wanted to be like someday. And so they were a little bit ahead of the game. Eric doesn't like to bring up me to bring up that he's older than me, but he is. And so I looked up to you guys. And it was just such a great moment for me as a pastor when God called you to Sanless Church and brought you here from a great church. And an amazing church and brought them here. And you guys have served in ministry together. You've served as church planters for us in Africa for eight years. Eric was a professor at California Baptist University. He is a doctor, but I will never refer to him as that. So. Are you or not your doctor too? Yes, he is my doctor. So yes, takes care of me very, very well. And I am very, very thankful for his love and care. And he doesn't charge me. It's great. So it's awesome. You know, they have served for us for so long and they are such dear people. And the Bible says this, do not lay hands too quickly on someone. And I would actually say this in his case, this is long overdue. We should have done this a long time ago. He is tested. He's true. He's trained. He's a pastor. He loves our church and he's good for us. And I just want you to know that if you believe in me, I want you to believe in him. Because our church is in good hands with him being a pastor. So Eric, I just like to just take a minute and just share with the church just any thoughts you have. Yeah, 20 years ago we met. And 20 years ago Matt Brown said, I think you're called to full-time ministry. And so what a wild and incredible ride to get to this point. It's pretty humbling and honoring to be here and to know. I mean, you know what you're getting, right? You know what God's done. You know what he's doing. And the cool part is you must think that there's some hope for the future of what he's going to do. And so I love this church. I love you. I love God. I love Jesus. I love his kingdom and I want to be a part of that. So I just, I thank you for honoring me in this moment. Yeah, amen, amen. So I'm going to invite our executive team and our pastors to come forward. And we're going to do what the Bible says to do whenever you ordain an elder or a pastor. We lay hands on them. And what that is saying is that we recognize in Eric spiritual authority and leadership. And we don't do a good job in our culture of respecting elders and those in authority. We need to do a good job here at San Jose Church of respecting him and honoring him. It's a difficult job to lead. Leadership is easy when everyone agrees. Leadership is not easy when you disagree. So I want to encourage you to love him, to love his wife, to come alongside them as they take this huge step of faith, to serve you. That's what it means to be a leader in the church. It's to be a servant like Jesus. And that's what they're doing. So church, if you would stand, even if you're at whatever campus you're at, would you stand? And I want you to be a part of this and extend this hand. This is something that's been happening for 2,000 years in the Christian church. And now you get to be a part of that today. So pastors, everybody just placed their hands on Eric and I'm just going to pray over him. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, what we are doing today is not magical, but it is spiritual. Lord, what we are saying is what you already know. Eric is a pastor. He has proven it. He has lived it. Lord, he has loved you. He has loved his wife. Lord, he has loved this church. Lord, he has such an example to me. He is such a good friend to me. He is such a good man. God, I'm thankful for all the times I've needed his advice, his direction, and at times, even his correction. Lord, we are so honored that you have blessed us with the gift of Eric and of Nancy at Sandals Church. Lord, we thank you for both of them and we recognize, Lord, that they minister as a team. Lord, but today we are here to set apart Eric. And Lord, I know you called him a long time ago. And Lord, you were waiting for this day. You knew this day would happen, Lord, the day that he was born, the day his mama and daddy held him in their arms. And God, we are grateful that you made Eric and gave him to us. And so Lord is a church. We ordain him as a minister, as a pastor of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Lord, and we give him all the authority and all the rights and all the power, Lord, that comes with this difficult and humbling position. Holy Spirit, we pray that you would anoint him with new gifts, new strengths. Lord, as he steps into his new calling, bless him, bless their marriage, and Holy Spirit protect them. We pray this in Jesus' name. And all God's people said, Amen, amen. Hey, Sanles Churchman, thank you so much for joining us. And hopefully everybody got to just see that amazing ordination. And it was so powerful. And I love Eric, Sally, so much. We're going to talk today about how to hear the voice of God. So why was Eric ordained? Because he's heard the voice of God. He's not just heard him to a call to salvation, he's heard him to a call to service. And so some of you are sitting there and saying, Well, how on earth can I hear God's voice? How on earth can I connect with God? Because here's what I want you to know. God doesn't just speak to pastors. God speaks to his people. God speaks to his sheep. And if you love God, he's speaking to you. Let me say this, even if you don't know God, he might be speaking to you today. So how on earth do we hear God? How do we do this? Number one, on your notes, care deeply about what the Bible says. Care deeply. You see in the Bible, the Bible, these are the words of God. The words of God, some of you are like, Well, I've never heard of God. Have you read his Bible? When you read his Bible, you are hearing his word. Here's what the Bible says about itself. Here's what the Bible says for the word of God is alive and powerful. Sometimes my messages are ho and hum, amen? You're like, Well, it's a good nap. The Bible says this about itself, it is sharper than the sharpest, two-edged sword. Cutting between the soul and the spirit. That's deep church. That's deep. It exposes. You want to know why you don't read your Bible? You want to know why you don't know where your Bible is? Here's why. Here's what the Bible says about itself. Listen to me. You can read any book you want, but the Bible is the only book that can read you. And that's the problem. Some of you guys, you don't even know where your Bible is. If I put a gun to your head, which I wouldn't because I'm a peaceful person, and a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But if I said, Where's your Bible, some of you could not find it. I want you to know church. I lost my Bible last week for the first time in my life. And it's not been good. Now, some of you are going to judge me. Listen, I was in like four hotel rooms in five nights. I didn't know where I was. I was so confused. I slept with the night light on. So if I woke up in the middle of the night, I would know where I was. And I was speaking at 8.30 a.m. in a church in Sacramento. And apparently I left my Bible there, but I have not been right. I have not been right. Like I'm a book guy. Like some of you you started on your phones, that's fine. I'm a book guy. I want to make notes. I write the date. Every time I read the Bible, I write the date where I was and what day it was when I read it. Because I want to know when I come back around how God has changed me. The Word of God doesn't change, but I do. And so I lost God's Word. I lost it. And man, Tammy and I, we got a big argument this week. And do you know how helpful the Bible would have been for me to show her where she was wrong? I guess this verse, that's that's that would not have helped husbands. That's that's not how you use the Word of God. But part of our issue, listening to me was my issue. I was out of sorts. And here's the thing you need to know about the Word of God. The Word of God tetheres you to God. Some of you are like, well I'm a free spirit. Well if you're a free spirit, you're not connected to the Holy Spirit. When I was a kid on the playground, I loved to play tether ball. Anybody play tether ball? I was a tether ball champ. All the young kids are like, what is that? It was glorious. It's a black top athlete. Man, it was amazing. But if you want to know what tether ball is, it's literally a pole on the ground with a ball that's tethered to the pole. And all you do is smack that ball as hard as you can and you try to get it to go around and when it goes tight you want. But the whole point of the game is to keep the ball tethered to the pole. And you can't play the game when the rope snaps and the ball goes wherever it goes. And some of you are calling yourself a Christian but you are not tethered. The rope has snapped. The word of God tetheres you to God. Tetheres you. And that's why some of you are you're miserable. Listen, I didn't have my Bible for a week. Some of you haven't read it for a year and you're like, where is God? And God's word is saying, where are you? Where are you? But here's what I want you to know. You're not alone. The people of God have always struggled reading the word of God. You see before there were ever Christians. You say it's animal church, some of us are raising church. Some of you've never been to church in your life. Welcome. But some of you are just learning. And so when you read your Bibles there's two sections. There's the Old Testament and there's the New Testament. The Old Testament is written for a specific ethnic group called Jews. And it's mostly the story in the Old Testament, not all of it, but mostly the story about their struggle. Listen to this with God. You see Jewish people are just like me and you. Sometimes you and I, we feel super close to God. Anybody who felt that? Like you just hear worship song and you're like, oh my gosh, I want to stay in this moment forever. And sometimes we wander, don't we? And sometimes we forget God. Sometimes we actually forget where our Bible is. I want you to know that that just didn't happen to a Jewish person. It happened to the priests in Judah. They actually lost their Bible in the temple. They didn't know where it was. And so that's where this story begins in 2nd King's chapter 22 verses 8 through 11. We have this priest named Hillcaya, the high priest. He's the Pope of the Jewish faith. He's the highest. He's supposed to be the closest to God. He's supposed to know God, right? He's the one you talk to when you need advice. But he said to Shaffan, the secretary, listen. He said, I have found the book of the law in the temple of the Lord. He found it. You know what that means? He didn't know where it was prior to. So he gave it to Shaffan who read it. Only Shaffan could read it. The high priest could not read the word of God. He couldn't read Hebrew. Then Shaffan, the secretary, informed the king. He said, he'll caya the priest, has given me this book. And listen to this. Read it in the presence of the king. Listen to this. When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his robes in grief. Here's the thing. Even though Josiah had never heard the word of God, he cared deeply about what the word of God said. Let me ask you, when's the last time you trembled? When's the last time you shook? When's the last time you grieved at the reading of God's word? So many of you are more passionate about your team. We all know Pastor Fredo's wrestle with the Lakers, right? But some of us, we care more about politics. We care more about our jobs. We care more about celebrities who couldn't name us if we died. Then we do the word of God. That is going to direct your eternal destiny. Now I'll admit, the Bible is hard to understand. I struggle with it. I've spent my life studying it. Listen to me. The Bible is hard to understand, but listen to me. Life is impossible to understand without the Bible. It's impossible. You don't know who you are. You don't know where you're from and you don't know where to go. And let me just say this to all the young people. All these adults who you think are so smart, if they don't have the word of God, they're making it up as they go along. They don't know. So here's what I want to challenge you. I want to challenge you today. You want to hear from God, tether yourself to the word of God. Tether yourself and read from him every day. Number two, you want to hear from God, turn to people that you know hear from God. Who are the people that you know? You know, man, if I'm lost, man, if I'm off, if I'm hurting, if I need a word from God, who are those people that you know you can speed dial? You have Marty on your phone. Turn your favorite. Who are those people that you call? I was doing some shopping for my wife and I was in the parking lot. I was running late. Those of you who listen to debriefing know this story. A girl came up to me in tears. She said, are you past her, Matt? I said, yes, I am. And she began to shake. She said, I've had dreams. And she just started to pour out these dreams that she's been having. Two of them were great. One of them was terrifying. And you'll have to listen to the debrief to get all the details. But here's what I want you to know. She'd heard from God, but she didn't have anybody in her life that she could go to. She'd seen me on the internet, but she came running. Man, listen to me. She doesn't even go to our church, but she's that willing to run to someone she knows. Here's got some of you're so stubborn. Can I just say that? So proud. So arrogant you would never admit she was at work in her uniform. Rance straight at me. Straight at me. And she said, man, I need to know. She said, I've happened these dreams. She says, is this God? You know what I asked her? I said, well, do you read your Bible? She said, no, I said, we need to change that. Because I can give you a answer, but the word of God can give you the answers. And second, King's 22, 12 through 13. The King gave these orders. He so moved. He so upset. Right? He so, he so grieved. Oh my gosh, what was read? And here's the thing. He said, we're not living this. You want to know why you don't read your Bible? Because you're not living this. And he gave these orders to heal Kaya the priest. To annic him the son of Shafan, to Acbore, the son of Makaya. And he said to Shafan the secretary, and as I, the King's attendant, he said, go and inquire of the Lord for me and for all the people in Fajuda. Listen to me, husbands. Some of you are so overwhelmed. Like, I can't be a spiritual leader. Okay, fine. Then who can? You better get to know them. You better get in a small group with them. Get in a men's group. Get in a men's study. And somebody who knows a little more than you. Because here's the thing. Listen to me. For those of you who manage a household, those of you who are single moms, you are the spiritual leader of your house. You better understand God's word. And that's what Josiah realized. He said, oh my gosh, we're not doing this. I'm a terrible leader. Man, if we could just have just an alter call at the end of the church that said, man, you're a terrible leader. And you're like, man, I don't need anyone. You're right. If we live in a house, so just come on forward. He said about what is written in this book that has been found. Listen to what he says to these four men in this cabinet. He says great is the Lord's anger that burns against us. He said, what for the Bible is all about love? Yeah. A lot of it is. or others, and you mistreat yourself and others. He says, our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book. And let me just say that some of you, your daddy didn't raise your right. Your daddy didn't have the conversations that you needed to have. Man, your daddy didn't have a sex talk with you. You know who does? Your father in heaven. You'll have the sex talk in multiple chapters. You know? You want to blush? Read song and songs. Woo! My father is detailed in heaven. Yes he is. He'll have all the talks with you that maybe your parents never did. You say, why wasn't raised right, Pastor? That's why we got to be born again so we can be re-raised to new life. He says, they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us. You see what he understands? This Bible isn't just a history. It isn't just some random irrelevant book that's out of date. He says, this is about me. This is about us. This is about our lives. Hey, if this message has been an impact to you, I would love for you to give. And you can do so by going to donate.se. For now, let's get back into the message. These people, these people who know God, listen to me. They will have biblical knowledge. Why would you go to somebody to learn about God who doesn't read their Bible? Who doesn't know their Bible? But we do this all the time. Remember on TikTok following spiritual guides? Do they know God's Word? Do you have they read God's Word? Well maybe they're spiritual, but let me ask you what spirits are guiding them. It's not the Holy Spirit. Some of you are asking your auntie. Some of you are asking your friends. You know how dumb your friends are. They're not my friends. They're your friends. Ask somebody that knows their Bible. Next ask somebody that's active in the local church. And there's all these Christian experts today that don't go to church. You know what that means? They're not an expert on the Bible. Jesus said to those who love Him, feed my church, care for my church, shepherd my church. He asked Peter, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? And he said yes I do Lord. And every single time when Peter said he loved Him, Jesus said then take care of my church. Take care of my church. You go, pastor, the church is full of difficult people. Amen. That's why there's room for you. That's why there's room for you. But there are so many Christian celebrities today that write books, write blogs, sing songs, haven't sat in a local church in a decade. And they're leading you. They're leading you. Let me ask you, where are they leading you? They're not leading you to the right place. As soon as I find out a Christian leader, a Christian influencer, a Christian blogger, isn't in a local church serving an active, I don't care what they say. Look, they might be talented, but they are no longer anointed. I want my leaders anointed, not just talented. Next, they have to possess Godly character. Don't just listen to what a leader says. Look how a leader lives. Now, no one's perfect. I mean, you know, I'm not perfect. You know that. You're like, well, Tammy's close. Yes, amen. Amen. It's not about perfection. It's about direction. Look at their life. Where are they headed? Do they have character? Next, have they demonstrated personal wisdom? Do they make good decisions? Why would you follow a spiritual leader who's wrong often? Maybe this is their day. Listen, you can ask dumb people for spiritual advice. I wouldn't. I wouldn't. And here's the last thing. You want to know how you know you're talking to someone who hears from God. They will never tell you to follow your heart. They will always tell you to follow God. And let me just say this. The number of people who are willing to tell you that is shrinking. We are blessed at Sandals Church to have so many people who will not tell you what you want to hear but what you need to hear. Number three, how do I hear God's voice? I want to challenge you to allow God to speak through whoever He chooses. For some of you, you need to ask yourself, God, could you speak to me through Matt? I've been in this town for a long time. People have known me for a long time. It's kind of nice. They still see me as 20 something. It's kind of nice. I mean, I look young. Yeah. But oftentimes people we've grown up with, we can never respect. It's why Jesus said a prophet is only without honor in his own hometown. So just ask yourself, God, could you use Matt to speak to me? God could use Sandals Church to speak to me. Could you use my group leader? Could you use my campus pastor? Could you use the minister that's leading me, guiding me? Could you use the sole care person who's working with me over deep rooted issues in my life and sin that has enslaved me? God could you use this person? Because here's the thing you need to know about God. He will use whomever He chooses. I don't know if you know this, but God isn't like, what do you think about this person? God doesn't like campaign prophets. He never does like a sample to find out what women think about John the Baptist kind of hairy, eats insects, you know, doesn't wear underwear. That is not a political candidate. God's like John, you're it. John you're it. Think about some of the prophets God picked. Whomever were naked, weird, bald, angry. God chooses whom he chooses and you want to why? It's never about the person. It's always about God. So the king says, the king says, you guys got to help me understand this. You got to help me interpret this. I got no. And so he goes to Hillcuyah the high priest. He goes to all the men that he counts on, all the men that are supposed to know God, but they are just as far from God as he is. So guess what they did? They went to speak to the prophetess Hula, who was the wife of Shalom, the son of Tickva, the son of Horace, the keeper of the wardrobe. Listen to me. She lived in Jerusalem in the new quarter. She's a woman. She lives in a nice place, right? New part of town. Some of you, you've been a Christian your whole life, you've never heard of Hula. She's one of the most important women in the history of faith. Let me say this. Sometimes the person God chooses to use is a woman to speak to us. Now if you were not raised in a Christian home, you're like duh. No, it's Hula, but right. Hula, but here's the thing, right? So we're in this tension. We have people in our church who didn't grow up religious and like, oh, of course God would use a woman. And then we have people who were grow up in a religious tradition and we care more about our religious tradition than what God's word says. And here's the thing. You may be more like Hillcuyah, the high priest who was more pagan than he was Christian. Some of you have no idea how far Israel got from God. So Hillcuyah is the high priest. He can't read or write Hebrew. He asked Shalom to read it to him. Do you want to know what's in the temple at this time? A gigantic ashra pole. If there are kids present, that's on you. It's a big penis. Do you want to know what would be in the temple as you walked in? No sexual male prostitutes in the temple of God. And some of you read the Old Testament and you say, I don't know why God's so angry. That's why God is so angry. And let me just say this. It's not just Hoolda that God uses. There's just some of the women that we've covered in this series. Debra, to lead and be a prophet. Mary and Martha, who preached the very first Christian sermon. And the Lord Jesus didn't say, man, I really wish we had a man around here. I'd like someone to know I'm alive. He just sent them. Some of you have been in church your whole life and you've never heard of Phoebe. You've never heard of her from friends, right? But Phoebe, who delivered the Book of Romans to Rome and interpreted it for the leaders and pastors in the church. She was not just UPS. She was a traveling scholar. Anybody read the Book of Romans? I would have had some questions too. We talked about Priscilla, who instructed the evangelist Apollo, who's mentioned in the Book of Acts and in the Book of Corinthians. We talked about Junia, who was well known and we don't know exactly how to interpret the Greek sentence and we can translate it this way. She was well known among the Apostles or as an Apostle. Her name was so troublesome scholars for 500 years translated her name Junius because they thought she had to be a man. For 500 years, they mistranslated the Bible because they're like, well, that doesn't fit with what we understand. Then last week we talked about Abigail, who saved her family and her moronic husband, amen ladies? Amen. I know. It's a full-time job. Pray for Tammy, right? But here's the thing. Hulda. This is why you need to know her. Hulda was used to spiritually lead Israel's greatest king. If I ask Christians in the room who's the greatest king, you're going to rat off some names, David Solomon. But that's not what the Bible says. You see, the Bible isn't interested in your vote. The Bible is interested in God's vote. And here's what the Bible says about Josiah. That it does not say about David. It does not say about Solomon. It does not say about anyone, only Josiah. Here's what it says. Second Kings 23, 25, neither before or after Josiah. Was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did? Now if you're a Christian, I need you to tune into this with all of his heart, with all of his soul and with all of his strength. Does that sound like anybody? Sounds like what Jesus is called you to do. What is the greatest commandment to love your Lord, your God with all your heart? Soul, mind and strength. And guess who did that? Josiah. Josiah. In accordance with the law of Moses, you see the best king in the history of Israel, listen to me, men, did not fall for women sexually. But he did follow a woman spiritually. Do you see the difference? Solomon had a lot of women in his life, not a woman to lead him. David had a lot of women in his life, not a woman to lead him. You see Josiah became the greatest king because he followed God. He followed God. Can I just say this? If you want to be a better Christian, you have to let God choose who he picks to speak to you. Last week we had Melody preach. Some of you were great with it. Some of you weren't. Some guys in our church had a problem with it. Some women in our church had a problem with it. Ladies, you confuse me. I am eternally confused. But let me just share this with you as your pastor. Last week when Melody preached, here's three things that God spoke to me through her. Three things I needed to hear. And let me say this. I'm the one who gave her the text to preach on. You can research me on the internet. I have preached this text. I am well known for this text. I am considered an expert on the text that she preached on. And yet God spoke to her through me and I had missed some things. Number one, here's the first thing that God used her mouth to speak to my heart. I don't have to be perfect to be a parent. But I do have to be present. I'm a visionary. I know you think I'm right here. I'm in tomorrow. You know, when you go to Disneyland tomorrow land, that's where Pastor Matt lives. I'm just always in tomorrow land. My whole life, I have struggled being present. I don't have to be a perfect parent, but I do have to be present. Man, God just spoke straight to my heart. Next, this was a word from God. I can't allow my good to become my God. I don't know about you, but I've done that. I have worshiped my good and I have forgotten my God. Look, life is not always good, but God is always good. And through her tears when she talked about her husband, having heart attack twice, God moved me to tears. You see, just because where God's people doesn't mean we always get it good. Next, this was huge for me. When I actually needed this sermon a couple of days prior, wisdom is not just knowing what to say, but it's knowing when to say it. Abigail knew when to talk to her stupid husband. And that was not when he was drunk. Let me say this. God doesn't just want to use melody. He used hula, he used Deborah, he used Mary, he used Martha, he used Phoebe, he used Priscilla, and listen to me, ladies, he wants to use you if you just would listen. Second Kings 22, 15 through 17, she said to them, she's speaking to the highest ranking men in Israel. Listen to this. This is important. Here's what she says. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says. I don't know that I've ever said that in a sermon. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says. Here's what she's saying. As my mouth moves, God is speaking. Tell the man who sent you to me, who's the man? Oh, the king. You see, it doesn't matter if you're the king. You're the king of a pile of dirt when God starts speaking. Tell the man who sent you to me. This is what the Lord says. I am going to bring a disaster on this place and its people. According to everything written in the book, the king of Judah has read because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols. Their hands have made. And my anger will burn this place, listen to this, and it will not be quenched. Let me ask you a question. Why did they go to Hulda? She the only prophet? I know. You don't know your Bible the way you should. You're convicted. Well, maybe Israel had some other problems before they weren't that good. Actually, they had one of their greatest prophets who was alive at that time. You want to know his name is Jeremiah. And some of you guys don't know this, but Jeremiah's book is the longest book in the Bible. And you're going to go look at the pages. You're going to say, I was wrong. We don't count the length of book college students by the pages we count them by the words. We had college students writing 10 page paper with like eight words. Done. Done. I know what you do. The margins, you squeeze it. I'll just wrote a 20 page paper. That's three. Jeremiah's got the most words. So why did they go to Hulda? Same reason you don't go to the person you know is going to tell you what God wants. I think they're counting on the fact that she's a woman. Maybe she would soften God's judgment. I think they wanted a care bear, but they got mama bear. They got a whole sermon. They came to Hulda because they thought she was weak, but Hulda was ready to preach. But this, this is the beauty of God. She was harsh on Israel and the men who stood in front of her. But she did have a mother's heart for the king. You know how old Josiah was when he became king? Eight years old. In America you have to be 80 to be present. But you know. Eight. Eight years old. Eight years old. You see he had a young heart, but here's what Hulda knew. She knew what God knew. He had a heart for God. And so she said, tell the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, concerning the words you heard. Listen to this because your heart, King Josiah, was responsive. And you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and this people that they would become a curse and laid waste. And because you tore your robes and you wept in my presence, listen to me, church God is watching. I have also heard you declares the Lord. Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see the disaster that I am going to bring on this place. So they took her answer back to the king. Man we all need God's voice, amen. Sometimes when God speaks, it's terrifying. I have not just heard God speak to me. I have heard God speak through me and I don't mean out my mouth. I mean through my body. So terrifying, so rattling, so powerful. I've been so humbled, so guilt-ridden, so overwhelmed by my sin and his holiness. Have you ever had that experience? Josiah had that experience. Listen to me just because the word of God was read. It wasn't even preached. Sometimes we hear God in a thundering voice. Sometimes we hear Him in a small voice. And you know why that is? God knows when you're fragile. The Bible says, a bended read, he will not break. He's not here to break you. You're already broken. He's here to heal you. Sometimes we hear Him through a sermon. I wish that every one of you could have the opportunity to do what I do at least once because here's the weirdest thing. Like right now I'm talking every now and then when I'm preaching something happens. And I don't know if you always hear it but I always know when it happens. It's not me, it's Him. And He's humbling. I'm a little freaky. A lot freaky. To have God borrow your body to speak a word. But here's the thing we always hear from Him and His word, always. Here's the thing I want you to know today. God speaks to those who are willing to listen. God will speak both words of challenge and comfort. But I want you to hear me today. Your best life comes from seeking God's voice and obeying His word. I was in the grocery store yesterday getting hamburger buns. I don't know why that details matters but... Then I had a woman run up to me shaking. Red faced, eyes full of tears. She said, are you about to pass your mat? Made a scene. Everybody in their shopping carts. I said, yes I am. Said, do you go to Sandals? She said no. But I watch online. She said my marriage is almost over. She said we have kids. We have kids. She said my marriage is so hard. I was like, I know I'm married. She said this, would you pray for me? And then she said this, I'm so sorry. I said don't ever apologize for needing prayer. She said, would you pray for me? And I said of course. When we prayed, it was powerful. And then we said, a man, I said is your husband abusive? No. Has he cheated on you? No. Has he neglected you? No. I said then go home and repent and ask for forgiveness. I said it's hard, isn't it? I said was that from God? You know what she said? Yes. What if God spoke to you? Let me just ask you, would you be responsive? A woman who doesn't even go to our church in the bread aisle of state or brothers was. You're sitting in church right now. Could you be responsive? Look at our country. Look at our world. Look at how broken people are. You want revival in this country? God wants it to start with you. Be like Josiah. Terrier roads. Cry out. Say God, heal my marriage. God, heal my kids. God, move in this church. When, if ever, have you got on your knees? Last week during Melody's prayer, my dad's old fashioned. Melody called at the end of service. She said, I want you to come forward. I don't know what you did at every campus, as a Hunter Park. And they say, I surrender all my dad, my dad. You know, he's grabbing my shoulder. He says, would you go forward with me to the altar? I said, sure. And he goes, and I want your son to come to us. I don't know if he's coming. So we went and we went to the altar. We prayed, have you ever done that? Ever in your life? Have you ever been so moved by God? And maybe you can't come to the altar today. But maybe you could just get on your knees and just say, Lord, we need you. We need you. We need you in our mayors and our homes, in our kids' lives and our schools. We need you in this church. Because here's the thing. We don't have a temple anymore. It's destroyed. Do you know what God's temple is? It's you. What have you allowed in his temple that needs to be gone? What is in your heart that makes God jealous and angry that needs to go? You want to hear from God, get rid of that sin today. And say, God, take it away. Some of you need to get on your knees. Some of you need to come to the front and pray. But if we want revival in this country, it has to start with us. We're all called to be Josiah. And we can debate, I'll should women preach, should women not preach. You know what we should be debating is the church listening. It's the church listening. Because God can speak to whomever He chooses, through whomever He chooses. It's just, are we willing to listen? Let me pray for you right now. Family Father, I just pray for our church. I pray Lord that we would be like Josiah so sensitive to your word. So tethered to you that when you speak, Lord, we obey, we move, we listen, we cry, we weep, we rejoice, we obey. Lord, let us be like Josiah, the greatest version of ourself. Let us love you with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind and all of our strength. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.