Knowing God

[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the Message podcast of High Ridge Church, Longview, where our vision is to help you know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and ultimately make a difference. We are so glad that you're here and we pray that this message impacts your life as you apply the spiritual truths from God's word in practical ways. [00:00:18] Speaker B: Let's listen in. It is such a joy to be in the house of the Lord. This morning I echo the words of David says, I was glad when they said unto me, let's go into the house of the Lord. I believe that we should enter his presence with, with thanksgiving, with, with praise. And that's a beautiful, beautiful thing. I think you ought to have a good experience when you go to church. And that's not the church that I grew up in. Let me just say it was. I wasn't always glad to go into the house of the Lord. I had to just pretend to be glad to go to the house of the Lord. But I'm genuinely glad that you are here. I'm glad that you are watching from wherever you might be watching from. So to all of our faithful friends watching from all around the world, we love you. We're glad that you're here. We're glad that you're tuning in. God's got something special to speak to you. So come on, High Ridge family, let's welcome in all of our friends watching online. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful hot day in Texas. So wherever you're watching from, it's probably cooler than it is here, but grab your Bibles if you would. Philippians chapter three. We're going to spend all of our time camping out in that scripture today. Philippians chapter three. And as you're turning there, I want to say thank you so much for your generosity. Many of you have chosen to stand behind us financially and everything that God has called us to do. None of that is possible without a lot of people standing behind us financially. So if you have your phones, the tap to give is located on the chair back right in front of you. That's the easiest possible way to give if you want to support what we're doing here. Let me just tell you, it has been, it has been hot in Texas in more ways than one. We had number two of three air conditioning systems go out this past week. So let me just say we need to take up an offering today because those, those are not cheap. But more than that, I do think it's important to not just to not just invite you to give and to not just invite you to be part of what we're doing here financially, but to also. To also kind of show you where the money goes. And more than just air conditioning systems, it's. It's. There's a lot of amazing people that are hearing the gospel and experience the grace, that are experiencing the. The generosity of this church, not just here, but around the world. In our first service today, we had five missionaries that were sitting in the service, and I announced to them, I said, guys, I. I can't tell you their names. I can't tell you where they're serving. You just need to know that where they are ministering, where they are, where they. Where they are missionaries, it is not legal, it is not safe for them to be doing what the Lord has called them to do. And they're willing to literally put their lives on the line for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And they are depending upon people like you supporting them. It's a big deal. And so it's more than just an air conditioner here. What you're giving towards is to support people like that that are serving Jesus in places where it is not okay, it is not safe, it is not easy. They're not just called to suffer for the gospel in Hawaii someplace. Come on, somebody. You ever see missionaries? Like, I just feel the Lord calling me to, you know, Acapulco. Mm. Same girl say, let's go suffer. Like, I'm talking about for real fear. And it's a big deal when you support what we're doing here and how we're able to support them. I wanted to say thank you for your generosity. We also have some wonderful things happening with our youth. They are not the church of tomorrow. They're the church of today. Those guys are able to put together some gift bags for the college fair. They're also doing a ton of bags for Homeless Resource Day. I love that God is using our young people to make a difference right where they are today. They're able to be a blessing to people. All that stuff costs money. And let me just say, this is your tithes. This is your offerings. This is your generosity at work, investing into some amazing young people who are doing some awesome things right here in this city, and I love it. We're in the city for the sake of the city, and I love watching our young people get involved. Isn't that cool, everybody? Is that all right? Come on, Come on. We can do better than that. So thank you for your generosity. I want to talk today about knowing God, so in case you haven't noticed on the wall of our lobby here, we have four huge billboards that. That say words that you might see that sound pretty cool. You might have no idea what they mean, or it may mean something completely different to us than it would be to you. But the first of those billboards says, no. God is part of our vision, part of our mission statement. The reason we do everything that we do here is to help people know God. Now that. That concept is gonna be a little bit different in. In my mind than it might be in. In your mind. And so I wanna help us to kind of get on the same page as a church. What does it mean to. To know. To know God? How do you. How do you understand and how do you really know something that. That you can't see? Now, we all would agree that there are. There are powerful things that you can't see. There are things that are. That are really, really cool that you. That you know, are. Are powerful and good that you can't see. We. Gravity. Come on. That's kind of a big deal. And when you're six or seven and decide to jump off the roof with your homemade pair of wings, you understand, gravity is a real thing. It exists. But there are other powerful things that you can't see. I thought it would be a much more important part of my life when I was little, but chloroform, it's. I don't know where I'm going with that. There are some other powerful things that you can't see. Bad breath. Come on, somebody. I can't see it, but I can feel it. And I have an emotional response like, mmm, mm, mm. Pastor, would you pray for me? I'll pray tomorrow. I can't right now. Powerful. You can't see it. When your eyelashes start shriveling up, you're like, mmm, help him, Lord. There's nothing. There's nothing worse than somebody praying for you. And just. Mmm. He's like, there's a mint right there. Help him, Jesus. Maybe he should drink some of that anointing or this might help, but you can't. You really want to pray. You really have a need. And it's like, I can't. I can't press through right now. I just can't press through. Can't get past it. There are some powerful things that. That you can't see. And so the Lord invites us to know him, but it's. It's a difficult concept for us not to talk about, but it's a difficult process for us to Understand, what does it mean to really know God? How would I, how would I know that I know Him? Can, can I know God more? Is there a, is there a level to that? And I think for many of us that have, that have grown up in the church, you've been raised in some church here or somewhere else, you would say, I believe that I know God because I've had experiences with Him. I had these moments, these memories, these experiences where I know. I, I experienced the Lord. I felt his touch, I felt his presence. I, I experienced some miracle. I, I prayed for someone and I, or I watched somebody get healed or I heard a testimony or I saw, saw a missionary and it blessed me and it helped me. And I know God because I've had experience with Him. I know something about Him. Here's what I want to say, that God's presence is not just something to experience, but it's an invitation to a real life relationship. And that's the difference between having an experience, having a memory, and then having a real relationship with God. You can absolutely know him and he invites us into a real life relationship. You might have been taught that your whole life, but for people like me, teaching it to me, and then me actually having hands on and starting to do it myself, those are two different things. There's concept and then there's actually following through and experiencing it for myself. Some of us have to learn the hard way. Come on, somebody, Some people are like, don't go down that road. That's a dead end road. I'm like, you don't tell me how to live my life. It's only dead end for you. I know what I'm doing. That's the reason why I'm here. Mistakes were made. So to really know God, to understand him, we have to be able to do more than just take somebody's word for it. We need to know for ourselves what does it mean to know God. So the Apostle Paul, when he's writing this letter to the Philippians, he has to, he has to kind of give them his resume of why they should listen to him because they don't really respect him for one reason or another. And so not just in this letter to the Philippians, but in multiple letters, Paul has to say, look, do you have any idea what I've had to go through so that I could bring messages to you and help you? Do you have any idea the things I've had to suffer? So remind yourself, Paul knows God. He was knocked off his high horse and he left everything in his Past to follow after the Lord. He trained underneath the, the, the. The greatest theologian of his time. He's the star student. He has his whole life laid out in front of him. He's persecuting the church and zealous to stop this thing called Christianity because it goes against everything that he's ever known. He leaves everything to follow after Christ. He is 100% all in the moment that Jesus speaks to him and says, why are you, why are you persecuting me? He said, who are you? I'm Jesus. He says, what do you want for me to do? He's like, I want you to not see for a few days. Cool. Cool. Then Paul begins to travel and to plant churches. He begins to raise up spiritual sons and daughters. He knows God. His life has been radically wrecked for the Gospel. And yet in Philippians chapter three, he writes these words. But whatever were gains to me, all the things that I've done, all the things that I have, all the things that I know, whatever were gains to me said, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, look at this. I consider everything a loss because I found something better for the surpassing worth, the incredible value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake. It's not just because I wanted to leave everything. He said, no, it's for his sake. He says, I've given away everything. I'm 100% all in, 10 toes down. I've lost all things. He says I consider them garbage that I may gain Christ and be found in him. He said, I don't have a righteousness of my own that comes from following after some law, but what I do have is what was brought to me through faith in Christ when I believed. He says, I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and the participation in his sufferings. He said, I don't just want to know all the good stuff. I want to know the other side too. I want to know all of them. Anything that there is to know, I want to know Him. Even the participation of his sufferings. Those are dangerous words for anybody to even say. Lord, help me to suffer for the kingdom. Might not want to. Might not want to pray that prayer. Lord, consume me. Perhaps. Think about what you're saying. But here's Paul like, I don't care. I want it all. Anything that he has, all that he is, I'm in 100% in, he says, becoming like him in his death and so somehow attaining to the resurrection of the dead. Not that I've already obtained all This I don't have it all worked out. I don't have it put together. I don't have it all figured out, he said. But I have one goal. I have, I have one aim. There's one hope that I have for my life. This is my one thing. I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. I want to, I want to understand how you could love somebody like me. I want to understand how you could die for somebody like me. When I'm persecuting you, I'm actively working against you. And all of my life is completely against God, God and everything that you, that you stand for. And then you would, you would die for somebody like me. I'm all in. I leave everything behind. We would agree Paul knows God and has a deep hunger for God. And there's some things that it helps to, to push our own lives into a new direction. It helps us to see even a person like Paul that had all these experiences with God, says I, I've got to know more. There must be more. Several things that I feel like are so important in this text that are sticking out to us as believers and as a church this morning is that knowing God is not an event. It's a pursuit. It's not a one time event. I know God because I got saved. I know God because I was spirit filled. I know God because I got baptized. Those are wonderful things. And if you've not been saved, we're gonna get you saved today. If you've not been baptized, we've got that going on next week. If you, if you need to be filled with the spirit, we will fill you with the spirit. I know God because I, I was anointed with oil. We will put enough oil on you to slide you into the next room. We could absolutely do those things. They're wonderful. And I agree with all of it. But knowing God is not an event, it's a pursuit. It's a daily pursuit, a hunger to know him more. From wherever you are to whatever he has for you. There's more. Now one of the reasons why that's a difficult concept for us to understand is because the English language is very limited. If you, if you understand the Latin language or you speak Spanish, you'll, you'll understand that to know someone is different in those languages than it is in, in English because we, we use the word no like we use the word love. Oh, I love that for you. Oh, I love you. Oh, I love you. Oh, I love, love you. Like completely different. Meanings, depending on how you say it and who you say it to. The English language is very limited. So when we say, I, I know someone, sometimes that just means you met them or you had an experience with them or you saw their record on say Cheese Greg County. You. Oh, I know her. That's that third dwi. I used to go to church with her. Like, do you really know that person? Or do you. Do you know their. Their record? And sometimes we treat the Lord that way. Oh, I met him. I. I know about him. Or I. I see his track record. I. I know him. Do you. Are we misusing the word no? One of the cool things that I've had to experience it in my life is I spent a couple of years in the Christian, contemporary Christian music scene, and. And I got to travel and minister and got to be on the road and meet just all kinds of celebrities, all kinds of movie stars and people that are the who's who of the 90s and early 2000s. It was a big deal. My dad once called me the Forrest Gump of our family. Because you've met everybody, you've been everywhere. And I just had that knack for meeting famous people. And so when people would ask me, oh, do you know this person? Do you know that person? I would say, absolutely. You know, I rode in the elevator with this person, or I was on the bus with this person, or me and this one, we hung out in the hotel lobby, or me and this person prayed together. Do I really know them? No, but I've met them. I have a memory. I have an experience. I have some memories nobody else has. I have some experiences with people that. That others would say. I. That's pretty exclusive. Not many people know this person, this, this president or the. Or this king or. Or this. This. This celebrity. I have. I have pictures. I have memories. I have a whole celebrity folder on my phone. Like, I could just show you. Like, it's ridiculous. It's not because I'm anybody special. I just happen to be in the right place at the. At the right time. As a matter of fact, I have a. I have a photo of. Of one person that's extremely difficult to photo. Not many people have a photo with this guy. If you have no idea who that is, you need to get saved. You might not see him in heaven, but you should have seen him here on Earth. That's a big deal. Let me say, I had to squat down to get that photo. Cause that's a short little man that's also his security saying, sir, no Photos. I'm like, you don't know my life. I'm what you call rebellious. That was a big deal. And as we're looking at God's word, it's easy for us to say, oh, I know God, because I met God. I had a story, I had an encounter, I had a moment. I have a memory. But Paul uses a different word than what you would use as the word to. To know. Paul uses the word ginosko. I gnosco I. I know. I. I want to know. I have a deep desire to. To know him. And that word doesn't mean that you've met him because Paul had met him. It doesn't just mean you had some memories, doesn't mean you'd have a story or two. I ganosko, I want to know him. To know him. Gnosco means to know personally through a continued relationship. There's a difference between knowing someone as a friend, knowing someone as an acquaintance, and then being married to somebody. Come on, somebody. There's a difference there. So here's what we see. Not only does Paul want to know him better, not as his. Not only is his aim to know him better, but people like Moses in the Old Testament, after leading 2 million people out of slavery, across the Red Sea, out of siege, seeing all the plagues that God poured out on Egypt, Moses says this in Exodus 33. He said, Teach me your ways so that I can know you. Doesn't he already know Him? He said, oh, there's more. Let me just tell you this. If you could understand God with your human mind, he would cease to be God. There's always more. There is a deeper expanse to knowing Him. Knowing God means the more that we know, the more that we want to know. I don't know enough. It's a pursuit. So the question is not really. Have you had an experience with God? You might be having an experience with one, with one, with him today. The question is, do you? Do you, Ginosko? Do you have an intimate relationship that's continuing with him? Do you have a deep desire to know him more? Or have we gotten into the place where we've settled for what we've already experienced? Because to know God is to pursue him, to hunger for Him. David says, I hunger for you. He says, I thirst for you like a deer pants for the water. I need more of you. I need more of your presence. I need you. It's a pursuit. It's not a one time event. It's a daily relationship where you're talking to him and he's speaking back to you. Knowing God is not an event. It's a pursuit. And by the way, that's what a healthy relationship looks like. To really, honestly have a great relationship with your husband or with your wife, there should be a healthy pursuit there. I want to listen to you. I want to hear what you have to say. I want to know you and get to know you better. One of the things I asked on the first date when me and my wife sat down at a Starbucks, and it had been a while since I'd been in the game, my game was a little rusty, so give me some grace. And so I asked some things that probably should have waited till, like, third date, maybe somewhere in there. I said, hey, nice to meet you. Here we go. Number one. What is wrong with you? And why aren't you married? Because there is no way you could look that good and not have been married by now. What's wrong with you? And she's like, what is wrong with you? No, I'm so vague. That's not what she said. She said, I don't know. And so I told her, well, here's what I'm looking for. I'm rusty. I want a woman that loves Jesus. I want a woman that could love other children that are not her own, as if they were her own. I want a woman that wants to serve God's people for the rest of their life. If those aren't the things that you want, we can leave as friends. Have a great, wonderful summer. That's me. What do you want? I'm rusty. Give me some grace. Right. I'm rusty. What do you want? What are you looking for? Did any of those things match up with you? She's like, all I've ever wanted is a man that knows what he wants. I'm like, I know what I want. I don't know how to say it very well. Case in point. But I know what I want. And I had a desire from that point on to know her more. But here's my thing. I didn't want to waste my time with someone that didn't want the same things that I knew I had to have. I'm not trying to waste somebody else's time either. We're too old to be wasting each other's time. What do you want? Let's just cut to the chase. I said, I don't know how to play dating games. That's not my thing. She said, good, I don't know how to play those either. I'm like, we are. Yes. I said, do you want to fast and pray about getting married? She says, absolutely, I do. Like, this is the strangest date with the most beautiful person I've ever seen. We are meant to be. There's a pursuit there. There's a who are you? What do you have going on in your life that's a healthy relationship, even if the game was a little rusty. And for some of us, maybe your relationship with the Lord is a little rusty, but talk to Him. He's not going to reject you. He said, just get to know me, ask me, talk to me, and he'll begin to speak to you. He says, my sheep, hear my voice. There's always more to know if you're willing to pursue Him. I think this is important. This is something the Holy Spirit put on my heart this morning. For many believers, we get to the point where we stop wanting to know more about God as soon as we know more than you, as long as I think I know more than you know, I'm good. And we limit our relationship with the King of Kings, with the Lord of Lords, to some competition of, do I know more about something than someone else does? Knowing God is not an event. It's not some metal that you put up on the wall. It's a daily pursuit. Knowing God means the more that we know, the more we want to know. Here's the second thing that I think is important for us to see from this amazing text number two. Knowing God means wanting more than his benefits. Wanting more than his benefits. Now, please hear me. The Lord wants you to cast your cares upon him because he cares for you. There's nothing wrong with that. The Lord absolutely wants us to. To come into his presence and to tell him, like, lord, I need these things. It says he knows what you need before you even ask. But he still says, ask me. There's nothing wrong with asking the Lord for what we need. There is something wrong when the relationship is limited by only asking God for what we need. That becomes really weird. If you've ever been in a relationship with someone that just loved you for your money. None of the rest of us knows what that feels like. I've never had anything like that. For just once, I would like to be on the other side of that, like, oh, they're just using me for my money. You know, probably not my lot in life, but it gets really weird when someone treats you like you're an atm. Oh, I love you. Hey, can you give me, you know, like, God is. God is not Santa Claus. He. He's Not a sugar daddy. But yet some of us limit our relationship with God to just, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme. Oh, God, I'm your favorite. Give me money. Bless my life. Heal my bunions. God, you love me. You have to take care of me. Like, there's. There's so much more than just seeking after what he can do for you. Come on. And I try to make it as humorous as possible, but in all honesty, let's just be honest. That's the way many people treat the Lord. Give me, bless me, heal me. Fix this. Kill them. God is not your butler. And relationships get really weird when. When gifts are the focus over the giver. Relationships get real weird. Some of you are like, I just heard a word. We have a group for you. Let me help you. We have. We have plenty of groups for you. Let's. Let's talk about healthy relationships. But the most healthy one has to be your relationship between you and your father. He's worth more than that. More than just a list of requests. More than just a Christmas list. Let me remind you, there's nothing wrong with asking the Lord for what you need. Come on. But within the context of relationship, a healthy relationship, you'd be surprised at how quick God begins to answer. Those that he knows love him, Those that He knows are pursuing him, those that want his heart. God doesn't say no to people like that. He might say, wait, or I have something better. But don't treat him like Santa Claus. The real value is in the relationship with him, not in what he can do. Does that make sense? So Paul writes that in verse eight, he says, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of something better. He said, my career pales in comparison to knowing Him. All the money in the 401k that I have doesn't matter compared to knowing Him. The very first time I got a 401k was about three years ago. And I'm like, I have $401,000. That's not what that means. None of y' all told me, don't say nothing. Paul says, I consider all that a loss. Why? Because I found something better. It's the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. So the greatest gift that God gives is not what he does. It's himself, it's Him. He is the treasure. He is the prize. He is the goal. The point is Him. He says, seek after me. Not just what I can do for you. You. The greatest treasure is Him. And when you start honoring the Lord that way, you're going to know him better. What does it mean to know God? What does that mean? Jesus says this. John 17:3. Now this is eternal life. What is it, Lord, that they know you? That they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. So think about this. All the stories that you've ever read about in middle school about people searching for the fountain of youth and looking for eternal life and Indiana Jones, you recognize the stories of everyone looking for life. Jesus says, here's eternal life. And Jesus does not describe the greatest thing that people have ever looked for, that eternal life. He doesn't describe eternal life in the context of time. He describes eternal life in the context of a relationship. You're looking for the wrong thing in the wrong place. You want eternal life, know him. It's not a time period, it's a relationship that's timeless. Here's what we see. Eternal life doesn't begin when you die. It's something we can have. Now, I'm gonna let that sit for just a moment. We can have it right now. In our relationship with a God that wants to be known, eternal life is to know him. Here's the third and final thing, and I'll close with this number three. Knowing God starts with Jesus. Jesus. Now, I will admit it is difficult for us to know something that we can't see, right? We understand that's hard to do. And we've been cautioned about falling in love with someone that you can't see. That's called a catfish story. Come on, somebody. If you have no idea what that is, don't worry about it. You're gonna be fine. Just know if you're ever dating somebody and their FaceTime never works. It's an online relationship. But I swear, like this. Can we zoom them right now? Oh, they don't have Internet where they live. Is that right? Is that right? No, this is a beautiful. A beautiful pageant winner from Gilmer. Like that's a 400 pound sumo wrestler from Russia. That's what that is. You don't know. So for us to fall in love with something that we can't really see, like there's something that should be setting off alarm bells inside of our minds. I can't really do that. But here's the thing. God says, I understand that you can't see. As a matter of fact, John 1:18 says, no one has ever seen God, but the Son has made him known. Knowing God starts with your relationship with Christ. God sends his Son, his one and only Son. And I'm so grateful that he serves as a living, breathing example in human history of what it means to see the Father. Jesus says, you've seen me, you see the Father. I only speak what I hear my Father say. I only do what I see my Father do. I'm the living embodiment of God, come down to earth. I'm Emmanuel. God with us. The Word made flesh dwells among us. I'm so thankful that God sends His son. Here's why I want to put this on the screen. God didn't ask humanity to figure him out. He sent his son. He sends His Son. And this God that we can't see, the invisible God made himself visible so that the unknowable could be made known. So when we look at the life of Christ, we find what we need to know the Father better. So when we ask ourselves, how much does God love me? He says, look at my son. When we ask ourselves, how would God treat a person that is broken? He says, look at my son. How does God feel about sinners? Look at my son. How does God feel about religious people? Look at my son. How does God feel about those that have been betrayed and abused? Look at my son. How does God feel about forgiveness? Look at my son. And God reveals himself through his son and says, look to Jesus. Paul writes, looking unto Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith. Look to Christ to know God begins with our relationship with Jesus so that this invisible, all powerful, unknowable God could be made known. He humbles himself. To a death, even on a cross, so that we could see the depths of his love for me. And so when Paul says this in verse 10, he says, I want to know Christ, yes, To know the power of his resurrection and the participation in his sufferings. And then he says, becoming like him. There's a good question to ask of ourselves. Do I know God? Do I really know Him? Here's what I want you to see. The evidence that I know God is when my life begins to look a lot more like Jesus. You know God, you're not just going to be having religious arguments with people online. Jesus didn't do a whole lot of that. He did flip some tables, though, just throwing that out there. He did make a whip, so the options are open. But a relationship with Jesus, after a while, you're going to recognize I'm not the same as I used to be. Come on, somebody. I don't talk like I used to talk. Still have the same accent, but I don't use a lot of the same words because I don't want to. I don't go where I used to go. That doesn't satisfy me anymore. I don't want what I used to want. I don't treat people the way I used to treat people. Having relationship with Jesus is going to affect the way that you treat people. It's going to affect the way that you forgive. It's going to affect the way that you love. It's going to affect the way that you give. It will affect your pocketbook because you're not limited by greed and what you think you have to have anymore. You recognize that when he talks about being a steward over finances, you recognize he's the owner. He's trusting me. If it's already his, then my job is to do what he wants to do with my finances. And God says, oh, now you're getting to know me. To know God means I'm going to start looking more like Christ. He's going to affect the way I live my life, the way that I spend my time, the way that I spend my money, the way that I honor and love and forgive. That's knowing God. So here at High Ridge, it's more than just a billboard that we put up in our. In our lobby. It's a call. It's a mandate to know him better. And if you've never met Jesus, you have zero concept of what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. I'm glad you're here and today is your day. If you say, I knew God at one point in my life, but I've gotten so far away from Him. I've drifted and I used to. But I need to come home. I am glad you're here. As a matter of fact, God led you here for a reason. It's not an accident that God brought you here today. He brought you here because he says, I see that you want to know me. And the good news is, he's not here to turn you away. He says, come to me. Come home. For others, you might have been walking with God 99% of your life. Let me just remind you of a simple concept. There's always more. He says, come to deeper waters with me. Our hope every single Sunday morning is that people would know God and those that know him would know him more. And those that have never met him would meet Him. So we create services that lost people love to attend. We create services that have a moment where prodigals can come home. We create services that clearly present the gospel so that people that don't know God can find him right here. Had a man stop me in the gym this past week and said, you know, what's the most important thing that has to happen in a church service? He was mad at his church. He wanted to come to mind. I'm like, bro, if you're mad at him, you're gonna be mad at me. It ain't ever gonna be enough. I played this game with a long view a time or two. I said, the most important thing is that people know God. Well, I already know him. Then this is probably not church for you. For the rest of us, we recognize that there's more. There's always more. And I want to know him. And I want people that don't know him to meet him today. Would you bow your head and close your eyes? Maybe you came here today and you say, pastor, you're talking to me. I don't know Jesus. I've never had a relationship with the Father. I've never asked him to forgive me of my sins. I. I'm so glad that you're here. And I'm going to help you, just like somebody helped me one time for others in this place. You see, I was raised in church. I used to have a relationship with God, but I've drifted so far from him. My friend, I'm glad you're here. And I'm going to help you the same way that somebody helped me. It's time to come home. You know it. God knows it. You sense it inside of your spirit already. It is time for you to get right with God. Let me help you. This is your moment. With heads bowed and with eyes closed, I'm going to lead you in a prayer. And I'm going to ask that you pray this prayer with me. And don't just say the words, mean it from your heart. Take a step towards him. I'm not here to embarrass you or single you out in any way. I would never do that. But you need this moment and you need to do this. So as a matter of fact, all of us are going to pray this prayer out loud with you. So, saints, let's pray this together. Just say, jesus, I believe you're the Son of God. And I believe that you came and died. And I believe you rose from the grave so that I could have life forgiveness for my sins. Please forgive me. Let me know you and I'll give you the rest of my life. In Jesus name and with heads bowed and eyes closed. If that was you. And you say, pastor, I prayed that prayer. I meant that Prayer. I took that step of faith. Just those of you that prayed that prayer. Would you look up at me from wherever you are and go ahead and slip your hand up, say that was me. I prayed that prayer. I meant that prayer. Can I see your hands all across this place? Good, good. Good for you. You guys can put your hands down. So proud of you in the decision that you just made. I'm gonna ask you to take a step of faith. Maybe you're watching. Even online, there's a phone number that's appearing on the screen. I want to invite you to text me. Text the words I prayed to that number. I'll send you back some things that will help you take your relationship with God to the next level. It's a free gift to you. I want to invite you to take one more step. Good for you. High rich family, go ahead and stand up to your feet. If you wouldn't mind. As we finish up our service today, I also want to remind you, if you're watching this online or if you have social media, it would be awesome if you would do us a huge favor and share this message on social media. Every single week, we have people that are watching from all around the world at different times in the week that are meeting Jesus, that are getting to get fed the word of God, that just don't have access the same way that we do. And that's only possible if more and more people begin to share what God is doing right here in Longview. So if you wouldn't mind, click the share button. It's a big deal. And then comment online of wherever you're watching from. It's a cool thing when you do that. Thank you for being a part of what God's doing and using your social media as a redemptive tool for the. For the gospel of Christ. I'm going to invite our elders and their wives forward. And as we finish up the service today, these guys are going to be available to pray for you about whatever you might need prayer for. I've instructed each of them to get a breath mint so that you can enjoy that time of prayer. They've all got mitts. I love it. That's beautiful. Great, great, great. Good for you guys. See, we're ready for you if you need anointing. All we can do that. We've got enough to slide you into the next room right there. We would love to pray for you. If you're walking through a season, do not feel bad. Do not feel embarrassed about needing prayer. That's why you came here. Let us help you. And then for everybody else, I want to pray for you. I want to bless you as you go. Father, would you bless my friends with an incredible week? Would you pour out your favor and your mercy and your grace upon them? Lord, I pray that they would have a hunger and a holy desire to to know you more. Lord, I pray that as their cups are empty that you would fill it, that you would show them the beauty of a wonderful relationship with you, the mighty God, the King of Kings. We ask these things in Jesus name and all of us said together. Amen. God bless you as you go. I hope you have an awesome week. [00:42:02] Speaker A: Thank you so much for listening in today. Our prayer is that you are encouraged and strengthened by the message. If you haven't done so yet, be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave us a review wherever you're listening. [00:42:14] Speaker B: If you want to be a part [00:42:15] Speaker A: of our online community conn, connect with us through Facebook or Instagram with the handle hyridgelv or you can check out our [email protected] lastly, if this ministry has impacted your life and you'd like to support its work, visit highridgelv.com give we appreciate your support and we're believing with you today for God's best in your life. Have an incredible week and we will see you next time.