Part Four: Service
Pastor Aaron Batchelor Preached on 6/3/2026
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Summary
Exploring Psalm 123, Pastor Aaron Batchelor teaches that 'keeping the climb' requires a transition from seeking God's help to submitting to His service. He encourages believers to keep their eyes fixed on the Master's hand, trusting in His mercy even when the path is filled with criticism or delay.
Key points
- •Spiritual maturity begins when a disciple shifts their focus from personal desires to the Master's authority and purpose.
- •In the 'waiting rooms' of life, believers must learn to watch the Master's hand for direction rather than demanding immediate explanations or answers.
- •True discipleship is characterized by submission and service rather than the world's climb of ambition and self-promotion.
- •Critics and bitter people should not be allowed to set the direction of a believer's life; instead, one must look upward to the Lord to keep from drifting.
Scripture
Discipleship
Surrender
Perseverance
Authority
Spiritual Growth
Life application
This week, before starting your daily tasks, ask God 'What is important to You today?' and consciously surrender your agenda to His leading. When you feel criticized or stuck, intentionally turn your prayer from 'Why is this happening?' to 'Lord, have mercy on me.'
Reflection questions
- In what areas of your life are you currently feeling 'stuck' between a promise and a problem?
- How often do you ask God what He wants from your day versus asking Him to bless what you have already planned?
- Are there critics or negative voices in your life that are becoming louder than God's voice? How can you refocus on the 'Master's hand'?
- What does the phrase 'the lower you go in the kingdom, the higher you go in Jesus' name' mean to you in your current season?
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Full transcript
0:00Praise God. Praise God. Hallelujah. I
0:00read a book years ago by Terry [music]
0:00Law. Praise releases faith. I found that
0:03to be true in my life. How about you?
0:05Whenever you begin to release your
0:06praise to the Lord, something happens in
0:09your faith. You begin to see that God is
0:11bigger than all your problems, bigger
0:12than all your circumstances. Anybody
0:15have a testimony tonight? You just like
0:17to give God another thanksgiving,
0:19another praise tonight, why don't you go
0:20ahead and do that and bless the name of
0:21the Lord together. This is what we came
0:24here for. We give him praise.
0:25Hallelujah. We love you, Jesus.
0:28Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
0:33>> Yes.
0:36Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.
0:39Amen. Praise God. Why don't you turn to
0:41a few people around you, high-five them,
0:43tell them how glad you are to see them
0:45at New Life St. Louis. Tell them how
0:48good God's been to you in your life.
0:49Praise God.
0:52Amen. Amen.
1:00Thank you, Jesus. Praise God. Praise
1:03God. Amen. Amen. So glad to see you on
1:06this midweek Bible study. [music] We
1:09come together because we love the Lord.
1:12We love his people and we desire to know
1:15him through the power of his word.
1:18Anybody want to know more of God. I want
1:22to know him. So I'm thankful you're here
1:25tonight. Let's open our Bibles. Turn to
1:27Psalm 123. We're in the fourth part of
1:30our series. Keep climbing. Anybody still
1:33climbing?
1:35Amen. Keep climbing with these songs of
1:38ascent. And we're going to begin in
1:41Psalm 123.
1:44Praise God. The scripture says, "Unto
1:46thee, lift I up mine eyes, oh thou that
1:49dwellest in the heavens. Behold, as the
1:52eyes of servants look unto the hand of
1:54their masters, as the eyes of a maiden
1:57unto the hand of her mistress, so our
1:59eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until
2:03he have mercy upon us. Have mercy upon
2:07us, oh Lord. Have mercy upon us. For we
2:10are exceedingly filled with contempt.
2:12Our soul is exceedingly filled with the
2:15scorning of those that are at ease and
2:18with the contempt of the proud. You ever
2:22been in a season where you didn't know
2:23what to do or what was next in that
2:26season? You prayed, you fasted, you
2:28sought after God, but the answer didn't
2:30come just yet. The door didn't open, the
2:32healing didn't happen, the breakthrough
2:34didn't arrive, and you found yourself
2:36stuck between a promise and a problem.
2:40That's where this psalm lives. Psalm
2:43123. It's not written from the
2:45mountaintop. It's written from the
2:47waiting room. And the psalmist is
2:48hurting. He's surrounded by criticism.
2:51And he's asking God for mercy. And yet,
2:54here's what I want us to focus on
2:56tonight. He refuses to take his eyes off
3:00the master.
3:02>> So, I want to teach him on that tonight
3:03in this keep climbing series that we
3:06keep our eyes on the master. Amen.
3:10Heavenly Father, thank you for your
3:11word. Thank you for your presence that's
3:13met with us tonight. Thank you for
3:15[music] what you're teaching us. Lord,
3:17continue to help us keep climbing
3:18through your grace. Speak to every man,
3:20woman, and child in this place tonight.
3:23Bring us together in unity. May you
3:25receive all the glory and [music] the
3:26honor from it. Lord, we'll thank you in
3:29advance for what you're doing and what
3:30you're going to speak to us. In Jesus
3:32name we [music] pray. And everybody
3:34said, "Amen." Praise God. You may be
3:36seated if you'll tell somebody keep
3:38climbing.
3:41>> Praise God. If you're catching up with
3:43us on this series, we're going through
3:44the songs of ascent. Psalm 120 through
3:47Psalm 134. Again, I would encourage you
3:49to read those psalms as you uh read
3:52tonight. They're not very long. Uh but
3:54they are important and uh these are
3:57steps that we are taking. Tonight's step
3:59from Psalm 123, the word I want us to
4:02focus in on is service. Somebody say
4:05service. These are songs that pilgrims
4:09are singing and speaking to one another
4:11as they're traveling uphill toward
4:13Jerusalem. They're not tourists. They're
4:15worshippers. And every step is bringing
4:17them closer to the presence of God.
4:20Every psalm is teaching us another
4:23lesson about what it means to follow
4:25him. The progression is absolutely
4:27beautiful, which is why I love teaching
4:29through this series. Psalm 120 as I turn
4:32from the world. 121 is I trust God for
4:36help. 122. Last week we talked about I
4:39delight in God's presence about worship.
4:42But now we arrive at Psalm 123 and we
4:45discover what every disciple eventually
4:47reaches a season where all he can do is
4:51keep looking toward the master waiting
4:54for him to move. And so Psalm 123 is
4:58service. It's about submitting oursel to
5:01God's authority. And as these pilgrims
5:03are drawing closer to Jerusalem, they
5:05discover that every what every disciple
5:08must learn and that that's this
5:10following Jesus is not just about
5:12receiving from God. It's about
5:15surrendering to God. If our life as
5:19believers is only focused on receiving
5:22from God, we'll be greatly disappointed
5:24when we feel like we don't receive from
5:27God. So our focus has to be about
5:30surrendering to God whatever his purpose
5:33is. Many people want God as a savior but
5:36fewer want him as master.
5:40But spiritual maturity for us begins
5:42when our eyes stop being fixed on
5:44ourselves and become fixed on him. Psalm
5:49123 is a psalm about servants. It
5:53teaches us that the posture of a
5:56disciple whose eyes are constantly,
5:59somebody say constantly, constantly
6:01looking toward the master for direction
6:04and provision and mercy and instruction
6:08because if you're going to keep
6:09climbing, eventually you must learn how
6:13to serve.
6:15>> So, there's a few things that this psalm
6:17teaches us tonight. And the first thing
6:18the psalmist teaches us is where to look
6:21when life stops making sense. Here's the
6:24first thing I want us to learn from this
6:26passage tonight. Number one is look up
6:28when you feel stuck.
6:32>> Anybody besides me ever felt stuck in
6:34life? Stuck in a decision? Just stuck in
6:36a season? You feel like you're just kind
6:38of stuck a little bit. He said, "Unto
6:40thee, lift I up mine eyes." Does that
6:44sound familiar to anybody? kind of
6:45sounds like Psalm 121. The difference is
6:48what the pilgrim sees because in Psalm
6:51121 when they're beginning the journey,
6:53he writes, "I will lift up mine eyes
6:55unto the hills from whence cometh my
6:57help." But Psalm 123 says, "Unto thee
7:01lift I up mine eyes, oh thou that
7:03dwellest in the heavens." The focus has
7:06become more personal. Not on the
7:08mountain, not on the journey, not on the
7:11problem, not the destination, but God
7:14himself because you become what you
7:17consistently look at.
7:21>> And a distracted disciple, Lord, help us
7:24through this these end times because a
7:26distracted disciple is a discouraged
7:29disciple.
7:31>> A focused disciple becomes a faithful
7:35disciple.
7:37Many believers spend more time looking
7:39at politics, at social media, at news
7:43headlines, at personal problems than
7:46they do looking toward God. But all of
7:49those things are looking down. They are
7:52temporal. They are seasons. They are not
7:55eternal. They don't last forever. And so
7:58these things around us that we see,
8:00hear, touch, and feel, they're going to
8:02eventually pass away. They're eventually
8:04going to burn up. all these things
8:06around us. And if we keep our eyes on
8:09that, we can get discouraged. If all
8:11we're looking for is to receive from God
8:14instead of submitting to him, what is
8:16your purpose in this season?
8:19>> You cannot climb while you're constantly
8:23looking down.
8:25>> I'm going to say that again because
8:26that's a preaching point right there. Is
8:28you can't climb while consistently
8:31looking down. You've got to look up at
8:33some point. I'm sure there's seasons
8:35whenever we look and we feel upset or we
8:38feel disappointed because something
8:41hasn't come through. Not denying the
8:43reality of our situation, but somewhere
8:45you've got to tell your eyes to look up.
8:49>> You've got to say, "Self, it's time to
8:51look unto God who is our help. It's time
8:53to understand that God has a purpose.
8:56Though I may not understand it right
8:57now, I'm going to trust him." We've got
9:00to look up. Somebody say, "Look up."
9:02When you're stuck, look up. But looking
9:04up is only half the lesson. It's not
9:07enough to know where the master is. We
9:11must learn to watch for what the master
9:14is doing.
9:17>> Because the servant isn't just looking
9:19at the master's face, he's looking for
9:22the master's hand. Did you catch that in
9:25the psalm? You got to watch for the
9:27master's hand. Tell somebody, you got to
9:29watch for the master's hand.
9:33as the eyes of the servants look unto
9:36the hand of their masters. It's one of
9:38the most beautiful pictures in all of
9:41scripture because ancient servants, they
9:43watched the master's hands. And a simple
9:46motion communicated everything. The
9:49servants stayed alert. They were
9:51watching. They were listening. They were
9:53ready. They were waiting. Whatever the
9:55master was getting ready to motion
9:57towards or to do, they were ready to
9:59pour. They were ready to serve. They
10:00were ready to wash feet. They were ready
10:02to open doors. They were ready to serve.
10:05So the servant didn't constantly ask,
10:07"What do I want to do?" The servant
10:09asked, "What does the master want?"
10:12>> So I have an important question for you
10:14today. In the 24 hours in which you and
10:16I have lived in this past day, did we
10:19ask God what he wanted today?
10:23Well, that was a low h. So I'm wondering
10:25if we all have to think about that. Or
10:28did we bring our agenda to God and ask
10:30him to simply bless what we had already
10:32determined to do in our life?
10:34>> Or did we ask? Did we think to ask the
10:37master, "What's important to you? What
10:39matters to you?" I I can tell you
10:42there's been many days that I've just
10:43kind of plowed through trying to do my
10:45checklist and even felt good about it at
10:47the end of the day that I accomplished
10:48some things. Like Martha, I was washing
10:50dishes and making meals and washing
10:52people's feet and working hard and
10:54feeling good about myself. And by the
10:56time I got to the end of the day, I had
10:58to come and ask myself in prayer, did I
11:00really accomplish anything for the
11:02master.
11:05>> I'll tell you, this is what Jesus wants
11:07from us. Jesus is not just looking for a
11:09workhorse. He's not just looking for
11:11somebody that he can put burdens on. In
11:13fact, he said, "If you're weary, if
11:15you're worn out, if you're anxious, cast
11:17all your cares upon me because I care
11:19for you." He also said, "If you're laden
11:21down, if you're burdened," he said, "Go
11:23ahead and bring that to me and I'll give
11:25you a burden that's light. I'll give you
11:26a yoke that's easy. I'll give you
11:28something that you can carry so you
11:30don't feel weary all throughout your
11:32day." But you got to come to him and ask
11:34him, "What do you want today? What's
11:37important? What's on your heart? What
11:39matters to you?"
11:42>> We're not simply asking God to bless our
11:44plans. This believer's life is learning
11:48to follow his plans. Proverbs 19:21, I
11:51read it this morning in my reading. The
11:53scripture says that many are the plans
11:55of a man, but it is the Lord's purpose
11:58that prevails. And if we're going to
12:00walk this Christian walk, if we're going
12:02to walk in the spirit, then our desire
12:04must be to please the master. What is
12:06it? We're bringing ourselves into
12:08alignment. What is it that you want
12:09today in my finances, in my life, and
12:12because I know what I want.
12:15You asked me, I'll tell you. I know what
12:17I want. I got a list of things that I
12:19want. But what do we know what the
12:21master wants? We know how we want the
12:23economy to work out. We know how we want
12:25politics to work out. We know how we
12:27want our families to work out. We know
12:29how we want the church and the pastor
12:30and everybody else to work out. But do
12:32we know what God wants? Are we able to
12:35tap in to the spirit? That is a
12:38disciple. A disciple. A disciple taps in
12:42to say, "God, where is your hand moving
12:45in this moment?"
12:48>> Because perhaps many of us just want God
12:50as a consultant,
12:52>> but the Bible calls him Lord.
12:57>> Oh Lord, help us right now. Let's just
12:59lift our hands towards heaven because I
13:01think we need some help from the Holy
13:02Ghost today. Heavenly Father, we're here
13:04not as perfect individuals, but we're
13:06here as your children, as disciples who
13:09desperately want to hear from your voice
13:10and desperately want to follow after
13:12you. I pray God that you would touch us
13:14right now in this moment in the name of
13:16Jesus. Somebody say, "Amen."
13:18>> The Bible calls Jesus Lord. You know
13:22what that means? That's not just a
13:24praise term. That's not just something
13:25we throw into a song. It means master.
13:28It means supreme authority. It means
13:30that even if I feel like something is
13:32important and urgent, but the master
13:34says, "I want you to move in this
13:35direction and talk to that person or to
13:37be still," then if I'm going to truly
13:39follow after Jesus, I've got to put my
13:41fleshly desires to the side and say,
13:43"Even though my feelings are pressing me
13:45towards that position and towards that
13:47decision, I'm going to wait on the Lord.
13:49I'm going to trust God. I'm not going to
13:51run in this moment. I'm not going to let
13:53my emotions run a muck. I'm not going to
13:55let my feelings rule my life. I'm not
13:57going to let other people's
13:58determination and counsel run my life.
14:01Thank God for counselors. Thank God for
14:03therapists. Thank God for friends. Thank
14:05God for leaders. But ultimately, I need
14:07to bring everything unto the Lord, to my
14:09master, to my supreme authority in my
14:12life and say, God, what is your will?
14:15What are you doing right now? How are
14:16you moving in this moment?
14:19A servant's eyes stays on the hand. Why?
14:24because the servant's heart trust in the
14:27master.
14:30>> So Boston and Charlotte, you've heard me
14:31discuss and talk about my fur babies.
14:33Boston and Charlotte, we love these
14:34dogs. They don't understand a lick
14:37English like we do, but you let us reach
14:41for a leash and suddenly their ears perk
14:43up and they're paying attention.
14:46>> You let me reach for the treat jar and
14:49they're watching every movement. I
14:51suddenly command authority in the house.
14:54That's right.
14:56>> Because they have learned that certain
14:58movements mean that something is about
15:00to happen. So a mature disciple learns
15:04to watch for God's activity, not just
15:07the activity of people.
15:10Do you believe that God wants to share
15:12secrets with you?
15:15Three of you. God wants to share secrets
15:18with the believers. It is not God's will
15:20to keep you in the dark because my Bible
15:22says he brought us out of darkness into
15:25his marvelous light that we could show
15:27forth the praises of him that we could
15:29come into his presence and have
15:31relationship with him. God was about to
15:33bring judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.
15:35And he couldn't even do it without first
15:37saying, "I got to stop by my servant
15:38Abraham's house and I got to tell him
15:40what I'm about to do." And he allowed
15:42Abraham to negotiate with him on what he
15:45had already determined to do for those
15:47cities that had sinned against him. God
15:49delights in sharing secrets. In fact,
15:51the greatest mystery is God manifest in
15:54the flesh. The greatest wonderful
15:56counsel and wisdom of God is the cross.
15:58And he decided to share that revelation
16:01with us. Did not hide it, but he
16:03disclosed it to those of us that are
16:05truly seeking to follow after him. God
16:07wants to share with you what is going
16:09on. But you got to ask, you got to seek.
16:12You got to look. You got to knock. You
16:14got to watch his hand on where he's
16:16moving. I'm going to speak this right
16:17now. God is not just looking for the
16:19pastors or the prophets or the apostles
16:22in order to show what he's about to do.
16:24God is looking for believers. He is
16:26looking for everyday men and women who
16:28will follow after him who will simply
16:31look to the master and say, "What is
16:32your purpose in this moment?" Cuz I can
16:35tell you right now, while the five-fold
16:36ministry is necessary in the church, it
16:39does not work without the believers
16:40coming together in unity and being
16:43listening to the voice of God. God wants
16:45to reveal himself to you. Don't discount
16:49your place in the kingdom of God.
16:56>> Don't displace yourself simply because
16:59of your pedigree or because you look to
17:02others and think they may be more
17:03spiritual than you. God wants to speak
17:04to you. He wants to show you what's
17:06going on. And and I know you're sitting
17:08there, "Well, pastor, I've been asking
17:10God to show me what's going on in my
17:11life." Perhaps God's trying to get your
17:13eyes off your problems.
17:17>> I'm just speaking from personal
17:18experience because there's been many
17:20times God hadn't answered the way I
17:21thought he should answer for my personal
17:23problems. But he has helped me to see
17:25what matters to him, what's important to
17:27him. And here's what I've realized some
17:29of you mature disciples understand this
17:31is that while you're serving the master,
17:33while you're loving on people, God is
17:34working on behind the scenes and he is
17:37developing surprises. He's already
17:39working the supernatural. He's already
17:41working miracles, but you got to keep
17:42your eyes on him. Not just the
17:44destination, not your problems, not
17:46people. Keep your eyes on the master's
17:48hand. Where are you moving? What are you
17:50doing? And how are you serving? Cuz I'm
17:52here for it. Whatever you want, Lord,
17:54I'm yours.
17:56>> We got to know what he's doing. The
17:59servant wasn't watching the calendar. He
18:00wasn't watching the crowd. He wasn't
18:02watching other servants. His eyes were
18:04fixed on one thing. Somebody say, "One
18:07thing."
18:08See this is the reason why our heart Dr.
18:10Wear this is why our hearts get so
18:12anxious because we we get our attention
18:16on a multiple affections on multiple
18:19things that are happening. It's a God
18:21complex [snorts]
18:23>> is what it is. We would never call
18:25ourselves God but we sure do assume that
18:28responsibility like we're supposed to
18:29keep eyes on everything and we're
18:31supposed to figure it all out and have
18:32perfect understanding of everything
18:34that's going on in our lives. That's not
18:35what he calls us to. He calls us to keep
18:37our eyes on him
18:41>> and our eyes on the master's hand
18:43because you and I both know that just
18:44one touch from the master's hand that
18:46changes everything.
18:48>> You just just one touch. I'll watch your
18:50hand. If you touch my fin, it's going to
18:52be blessed. If you touch this house,
18:54this life over here, it's going to
18:56change. It's going to be different. If
18:58your if your hand touches it, it it's
19:00going to move. It's going to turn. It
19:02doesn't matter how much power the world
19:04thinks they have. It doesn't. The Bible
19:05says that the king's heart is in the
19:07hand of the Lord and he turns it just
19:09like he turns a river of water. He turns
19:12it because it's in the master's hand. If
19:14your life is in the master's hand, you
19:16don't have to worry about your
19:18relationships. You don't have to worry
19:19about your problems. You can cast it all
19:21on the Lord. Get yourself into alignment
19:23and watch the master
19:26>> work it out for you. Somebody say,
19:27"Amen."
19:29>> The closer we get to Jesus, the more
19:31attentive we become to him. But here's
19:34the hard part. This this I think we can
19:37acknowledge this. Sometimes the hand
19:39doesn't move as quickly as we like.
19:43>> Sometimes the answer doesn't come
19:44immediately. Sometimes the miracle
19:46doesn't happen overnight. So what do you
19:48do while you're waiting? What do you do
19:51while you're waiting? Here's what the
19:53psalmist tells us in Psalm 123. Wait on
19:57mercy,
19:58not answers.
20:02>> Thank you, Lord.
20:04There were times whenever our kids were
20:06younger that they wanted explanations of
20:09everything. Your kids asked probably
20:11like mine do or your grandkids, why?
20:13Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why can't we
20:15eat here? Why can't we get that? Why
20:17can't we go there? Why can't we do this?
20:19Why are you doing this? Why? Why do we
20:20have to leave? Why do I have to wear
20:22that? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
20:24Why? They wanted the details.
20:27And sometimes, many times, all I could
20:30tell them was, "You just have to trust,
20:32Dad. You got to trust mom.
20:34>> That's right.
20:35>> They didn't get an explanation. You know
20:36what they did get though? A
20:38relationship.
20:40>> Oh Lord, help us right now. We think a
20:43relationship with God is built on having
20:44all the answers, but it's not. A
20:46relationship with God is built on trust.
20:49>> I trust you.
20:52I trust you. I'm stepping out on the
20:53water because you said I could come to
20:55you. I don't understand everything
20:56that's going on right now. Why the wind
20:58is blowing like it is. Why the waves are
21:00so high, but you said come. So that's
21:02what I'm doing. I'm learning to trust
21:04you. And so the psalmist says in verse
21:06three, "Have mercy upon us, oh Lord.
21:10Have mercy." I think we discount mercy.
21:13It was just read from Lamentations
21:14chapter 3 tonight to recall to our minds
21:17the mercy of God that we are not
21:19consumed. You and I are here tonight and
21:21we're still here despite everything that
21:23happened to us, despite everything
21:25that's going wrong, everything that has
21:27been wrong. You and I are here by the
21:29mercy of God. So evidently the master
21:32still has a plan for your life.
21:33Evidently God still has a work for us to
21:36do. Evidently God is still weaving
21:38together a fabric and tapestry of his
21:41kingdom that no mind can comprehend. But
21:43if we'll just trust him, we're going to
21:45eventually see the finished product. But
21:47until then, we've got to stop looking
21:49for all of the answers and simply cry
21:52out for mercy. Have mercy upon us, oh
21:55Lord. I want you to notice what the
21:57psalmist didn't say. The psalmist
21:59doesn't say, "Lord, fix them. Lord,
22:01remove them. Lord, destroy them." Or,
22:04"Lord, explain yourself." He simply
22:07prays, "Have mercy upon us." Because a
22:10mature faith stops demanding
22:13explanations and starts trusting in
22:16God's mercy. We're not demanding wages.
22:19We are asking for mercy. And the higher
22:23we climb spiritually, the more aware we
22:26become of our need for grace and mercy.
22:32>> Mercy. Have mercy on me. That'll help
22:35you with people you're trying to forgive
22:37when you start crying out for mercy for
22:39yourself.
22:41>> Oh Lord,
22:47>> help us. Lord, help us. Immature
22:50believers are entitled believers.
22:53>> Amen.
22:54>> Immature believers are the ones that
22:55think that we're entitled to something.
22:57But mature believers become grateful.
22:59Grateful for mercy, grateful for grace.
23:01If it had not been for the Lord, where
23:03would I be?
23:05>> You notice Isaiah whenever he got closer
23:07to God in the book of Isaiah, when he
23:08got close to God's throne, the more he
23:10he cried, "Woe is me. I'm a man of
23:13unclean lips." Did you notice that when
23:15Jesus or when Peter got close to Jesus
23:17in the boat, the more he said, "Depart
23:19from me for I'm a sinful man." The
23:21closer we get to God, the more we
23:24realize, "I'm here because of mercy." We
23:27never graduate. We just had graduation
23:29Sunday. Hey, you and I, we never
23:30graduate from grace. We never outgrow
23:33mercy. We never become so spiritual that
23:35we stop meeting God. We need him every
23:39single day. Have mercy upon me, oh God.
23:45I need his mercy. I need his grace every
23:48single day. Things I know I didn't do
23:50and things that I did do, things that
23:52I've messed up, things that I've come
23:54short in, have mercy upon us. Cuz as you
23:56are walking closer to God, you you don't
23:59become just more perfect. You become
24:01more dependent upon the mercy and the
24:03grace of God. You thought you needed him
24:06whenever you first got into this. You
24:07didn't know how much you needed him
24:09until you start walking with him and God
24:11starts revealing to you how much further
24:14you need to come to be like him. That's
24:16whenever you cry out, "Lord, have mercy
24:19on me." And and whenever we stop crying
24:21out for mercy and grace, it's because we
24:23stop looking into the perfect law of
24:25liberty. But every time I open up, it
24:27begins to show me things like I've never
24:30seen. It begins to reveal things in my
24:32heart.
24:35The reason that the psalmist, this
24:37servant, needs mercy,
24:40especially in Psalm 123, is because his
24:42life has become painful.
24:45The psalm closes with people mocking
24:48him, criticizing him, looking down on
24:52him. Which leads us to the final lesson.
24:56Don't let bitter people set your
24:59direction.
25:03Don't let bitter people set your
25:06direction. Have you ever noticed that if
25:07you stare at something while you're
25:09driving, you'll drift toward it.
25:12I If I had a nickel for every time my
25:14wife would have told me, Aaron, what are
25:15you doing? Whoa. Hey. Whoa.
25:19>> I can't tell you how many times close
25:21your ears, baby. I've pretended like I
25:23don't know what you're talking about.
25:24I've always been what? But really, I was
25:26distracted. I was looking at somebody
25:27over here. I was looking at my phone. I
25:29was just distracted. not paying
25:31attention. And [clears throat] thank God
25:32she was watching the line, watching the
25:34cars. I chuckled at her the other day
25:36because I've got my little helper in the
25:38car. I've got the person that's there to
25:40help me to make sure and watch because I
25:42get distracted. And a lot of times it's
25:44because we're in a hurry. We just we
25:46just we just move. But the more we focus
25:48on other things, the more we drift away
25:50from where God is trying to get us. And
25:53that happens a lot in driving.
25:55Motorcyclists know this, police officers
25:57teach this, driving instructors teach
25:59this. you tend to move towards whatever
26:02holds your attention. And some people
26:05spend so much time watching the critics
26:07that they drift towards bitterness. Some
26:10spend so much time watching opposition
26:13that they drift away from their calling.
26:16So many of us have watched and listened
26:18to so many people explain what they
26:21think God is saying and what's happening
26:22in churches that we have drifted away
26:24from what the master is actually doing.
26:27And the psalmist eventually cried out in
26:29verse four, "Our soul is exceedingly
26:32filled with the scorning."
26:37People around him are looking down on
26:39him, but he keeps looking up. They're
26:43talking about him, but he's talking to
26:45God.
26:47>> They're focused on his failure, but he's
26:50focused on the master's hand. The
26:53greatest mistake you and I will ever
26:54make is to allow the people who
26:56criticize you to determine the direction
26:59of your life.
27:03>> Sometimes we spend so much time watching
27:06critics that we lose sight of our
27:07calling.
27:09But here's something I want you to
27:10remember tonight. Never let the people
27:12talking about you become more important
27:15than the God who called you.
27:20You got to remember God called you. He
27:22brought you into this thing. He created
27:24you. He's got purpose in your life. He's
27:27got plans for your life. And you're
27:28always going to have critics. Jesus has
27:30to constantly remind me what he told the
27:32disciples. He said, "You're going to be
27:33hated of all men for my sake." But he
27:35said, "Don't worry about that. Don't get
27:37frustrated by that." In other words, he
27:39said, "I don't want you to get
27:40distracted by that because they hated me
27:43first. They didn't like me first. They
27:45came against me first. So don't take it
27:47all so personal. Whenever critics rise
27:49up against you, you got to keep your
27:50eyes on me lest you get wearied in your
27:53minds. You got to keep your eyes on the
27:55master. And you got to watch him who
27:57endured so that you can I can endure. In
27:59fact, one of the greatest blessings that
28:01God could ever give us in these end
28:03times is that anointing of endurance is
28:05that we'll just keep steady when
28:07everybody else is talking smack and
28:09everybody else is hating and everybody
28:11else is being hypocritical or walking
28:13away. We've got to remain steady and
28:15keep our eyes on the master's hand.
28:19>> The pilgrims were facing opposition.
28:21They were facing mockery,
28:23contempt, criticism. And yet, I want you
28:27to notice what they didn't do. They
28:28didn't fight back. They didn't
28:30retaliate.
28:32They looked upward. They had a place
28:33they were going.
28:35One of the marks of spiritual maturity
28:37is learning to not let the voices around
28:41you become louder than the voices above
28:42you.
28:46>> Only the voice above you can call you up
28:48higher.
28:50>> Come on, John. Come up higher. Come on,
28:53Ezekiel. Come on, Isaiah. I'm speaking
28:55to you. Come on, come up higher. I've
28:56got things that I want to show you.
28:57Ephesians chapter 2 says that he has
29:00raised us up to sit together in heavenly
29:02places in Christ Jesus so that he can
29:04show us the riches and benefit us and
29:06bless our lives and reveal things to us.
29:08But we got to keep our eyes on the
29:10master so that he can raise us up. You
29:12can't keep climbing if you stop every
29:14few steps to answer every critic.
29:19I love the book of Proverbs and the book
29:20of Proverbs gives us some wisdom and
29:22there's two verses that almost look like
29:23they're contradictory but they're right
29:25next to one another but the first verse
29:27says answer not a fool according to his
29:29folly lest you also
29:31step into that same foolishness. Then
29:33the next verse right after it says
29:34answer a fool according to his folly. So
29:36he's not wise in his own eyes. What is
29:38he talking about? Discernment. You got
29:40to have discernment. And the only way we
29:41can know when to be silent and when to
29:43speak up is if we keep our eyes on the
29:45master. If we keep our eyes on the
29:47master, we'll stop wearing ourselves out
29:49with every defense because we're taking
29:51personal attacks and feeling like we got
29:53to answer every critic and we got to
29:55answer all the opposition. But if we
29:57keep our eyes on the master, we'll know
29:59that he'll take care of things. Judgment
30:01is his. Vengeance is his. Let God repay.
30:04Let God take care of it. And you and I,
30:07we just got to keep moving forward. We
30:08just got to keep climbing cuz there's
30:10souls that still needs saving. There's a
30:12kingdom that still needs expanding.
30:14There's a life that still needs
30:15redeeming. We got to keep on climbing.
30:17And so we don't answer. We don't fight
30:19back against all of the crowd and the
30:21mockers and the spectators. We keep our
30:24eyes on the master because the master
30:26has the final say to every individual.
30:29He has the final word to everything that
30:31has happened. That's really the lesson
30:33of Psalm 123. The psalmist never tells
30:36us when God moved. He never tells us
30:39when the answer came. He never tells us
30:41when the critics stopped talking. But
30:43the only thing he tells us is I got to
30:45keep my eyes on the master and I got to
30:47trust in his mercy. I got to trust in
30:49his mercy. I got to trust in his grace
30:51that at the end of it all, God is going
30:53to take care of it. I just have to keep
30:55climbing. Somebody say, "Keep climbing."
30:57You got to keep climbing. Come on. You
30:59got to throw off all those things that
31:01have stopped you and hindered you. the
31:02weights and the sins that does so easily
31:05beset you. You got to keep climbing. You
31:07got to stop worrying about what
31:08everybody else has said and about all
31:10the people that are negative and all the
31:12people that are talking smack in the
31:14world. You just got to keep climbing.
31:16You got to keep your eyes so that you
31:17don't become wearied and discouraged in
31:19your own spirit. You got to trust in him
31:22and keep on serving. And you got to keep
31:24the towel in your hand even when they're
31:25coming to whip you and beat you and
31:28crucify you. Keep the towel in your hand
31:30and keep on washing feet because the
31:33lower you go in the kingdom, the higher
31:35you can go up in Jesus' name. Cuz he
31:38said the proud, he resists, but he gives
31:41more grace to the humble. And so if
31:43you'll stay humble and keep on serving
31:45the master, God will just keep raising
31:47you past critics. He'll [snorts] keep
31:49raising you past problems and
31:50circumstances that seem to have you
31:52down. But you'll keep serving him and
31:54watch God set you up for success.
32:01Stand with me if you will. This is the
32:03will of the Lord for us as we keep
32:05climbing as disciples is we've got to
32:08keep serving.
32:09>> We got to keep surrendered to his
32:11authority. Psalm 123, it teaches us that
32:14disciples climb differently than the
32:16world.
32:17You know it. You work your jobs. You're
32:20in the world. You're working among
32:22people. The world climbs through
32:24ambition.
32:26How do we climb?
32:28Submission.
32:32>> That doesn't that sound backwards?
32:35Doesn't that just look flip-flopped as
32:36to what we should do? Because
32:37everybody's being ambitious. Everybody's
32:39trying to climb over one another.
32:40Everybody's trying to get the attention
32:42of the boss and the attention of this
32:44person and that person, and we're just
32:45trying to climb over one another in the
32:47world just to be. That's not God's
32:48kingdom. God's kingdom is submission.
32:52>> God's kingdom is serving.
32:54God's kingdom is loving.
32:56>> The world says, "Well, follow your
32:57heart." But the Bible says, "Follow the
33:00master.
33:03>> Don't trust your heart. Trust God."
33:06The heart is deceptively wicked.
33:09>> Trust God.
33:11The world says, "Look within."
33:15But the disciple says, "I'm going to
33:16look up.
33:18>> I'm going to look to God." The world
33:20says you need to demand your rights. The
33:23disciple says, "Lord, have mercy."
33:28Like the story that Jesus told of the
33:30Pharisee, that righteous religious
33:32person over here, self-righteous, I
33:34should say, over here
33:37who just thought he was better. Thank
33:39you, God, that I'm not like that person
33:40over there. He had stopped loving. He
33:43had stopped serving. He had just become
33:45pretentious and self-righteous and
33:47thought he was somebody because of his
33:48high standing position in the church.
33:50But this person over here beat his chest
33:53and said, "Lord, I'm sorry. I'm a sinner
33:55>> and I need your mercy." Who do you think
33:57is going home blessed?
34:01Who do you think is going home with
34:03God's favor and God's attention? The
34:05person over here who didn't think they
34:06needed anything and thought that they
34:07were all good and thought that because
34:10of their self-righteousness that they
34:12were better than everybody or this
34:14person over here who said, "You're my
34:16master. I'm I'm here to serve you. I
34:18don't feel worthy. I've made a lot of
34:20mistakes in my life, but I humbly submit
34:22myself to you. Who do you think's going
34:25home? It's the man that's surrendered.
34:26It's the man that's submitted himself.
34:29The secret of the climb is not your
34:32strength. It is surrender.
34:35It's not self-reliance. It is dependence
34:37upon God. Because the higher that you
34:40and I climb, the more we discover that
34:41the safest place in the world is with
34:44our eyes fixed on the master.
34:47So tonight, perhaps some of you are
34:48waiting on healing. You're waiting on
34:51direction. You're waiting on an answer.
34:53You're waiting on a miracle. And while
34:56you're waiting, the enemy wants your
34:58eyes on the problems and on critics and
35:00on people around you, on the delay, on
35:03the disappointment.
35:06Well, thank God for five testimonies,
35:08Sister Savannah. And some of you were
35:09going, "Where's my testimony?"
35:11You're in the waiting room right now.
35:14Psalm 123 gives us a better way. Keep
35:16your eyes on the master's hand.
35:22>> One word, one touch from the master can
35:25change everything. One movement of his
35:28hand can accomplish what your years of
35:30striving never could. So I guess what
35:33I'm saying tonight through this psalm is
35:34don't quit. Don't panic. Don't get
35:37distracted. You got to keep climbing.
35:39You got to keep your eyes focused. You
35:41got to look to the master. Would you
35:43lift your hands right now in your voice
35:44to him? Would you ask God to help us
35:46tonight to draw closer to him by keeping
35:49our eyes on the master? Heavenly Father,
35:51I thank you for your word tonight. I
35:53thank you for these disciples that are
35:55in this house. Heavenly Father, you know
35:57every struggle, every situation that
35:59they're walking through. You know, Lord,
36:01our hearts, they want to fear sometimes.
36:03They want to panic. They want to be
36:04anxious. So Lord, and we're struggling
36:06right now with critics and with problems
36:08and circumstances. But I pray Lord that
36:10through faith tonight that you'd help us
36:12to keep our eyes on your hand. Help us
36:14to keep our eyes on you, the master.
36:17Help us, oh Lord, to trust in your mercy
36:19for our life. God, I need it tonight. I
36:22need your mercy every moment, every day.
36:24Lord, I can't do this on my own. I've
36:26fallen so short of your glory, but I'm
36:29trusting you tonight. I'm going to keep
36:30climbing whether I feel like it or not.
36:33Not out of my own strength or my own
36:35power, but by your spirit, by your
36:37anointing, by your grace, Lord. Lord,
36:39I'm going to keep climbing. I'm going to
36:40keep moving forward. I pray tonight that
36:42your word would pierce, Lord. Every
36:44heart would reach down into the depths
36:46of their soul and be planted in good
36:48ground so that as they're walking this
36:51week, they can trust you no matter what
36:53they're facing, no matter who talks
36:55about them, no matter what critics they
36:56have. But I pray like the psalmist did,
36:59Lord, we cry out for mercy. We cry out
37:01for help because we know that you're
37:03with us. We're here to serve, Lord.
37:05We're here to wash feet. We're here to
37:07love people. We're here to humble
37:09ourselves just like you did. And we
37:11know, God, that you'll lift us up, Lord.
37:13You'll exalt us in due time. [music]
37:15You'll raise us up, Lord, above every
37:17problem. You'll raise us up. You'll
37:19bring us through. And we're going to
37:20trust you tonight in the name of Jesus.
37:23Is there anybody here tonight that'd
37:24like to come pray up around this [music]
37:26altar? There any disciples that would
37:28like to take steps tonight and say,
37:29"Lord, help me keep my eyes fixated on
37:32you. Lord, keep my eyes focused so that
37:35I can be faithful. Keep my spirit free
37:37from panic and worry and anxiety and
37:40fear and discouragement and depression.
37:43Keep my spirit, Lord, I pray. [music]
37:45Keep my heart focused. Lord, I surrender
37:48all my plans, all my dreams, all my
37:50hopes to you. I'm here to serve. So,
37:53what's important to you? What is it that
37:55you want for my life, God? What is it
37:57that you want me to do, Lord? What steps
37:59do you want me to take? You're my
38:01master. You're my Lord. You're the
38:04supreme authority in my life. I yield
38:07myself. I yield my family to you. I
38:09yield my finances to you. I yield this
38:12problem to you tonight, [music] God. I
38:14yield my children, my grandchildren. I I
38:17yield, Lord, every relationship. I yield
38:19my job to you, God. I want your handle,
38:23Lord, over my life. And God, I give
38:25myself to you right now. Would you come
38:27pray and [music] talk to him, disciples?
38:30Come on. Would you come love on your
38:31master tonight? Would you come humble
38:33yourself under his mighty hand and watch
38:35him exalt [music] you in due time? I'm
38:38going to trust you, Lord. I just want
38:40more of you. I just need more of you.
38:42I'm going to keep my eyes focused on you
38:45tonight Jesus.
38:49>> Yes, [singing and music] Lord,
38:52I am
38:55aailable.
38:57[music and singing]
38:58I
38:59>> Yes, Lord.
39:03>> [music and singing]
39:07>> Lord, I will not fear.
39:09Lord, I will not fear. I will not be
39:11discouraged. I'm going to keep
39:13believing. I'm going to keep having
39:15faith. Oh God, though a thousand rise up
39:17against me, I'm going to keep my eyes on
39:19you. Though opposition is [music]
39:22readily around us at all times, you are
39:24my shelter. You are my refuge. [music]
39:26You are my strength. I'm going to keep
39:28serving. I'm gonna keep loving, Lord.
39:37God, where are you moving? What are you
39:39doing? Give us insight and
39:41understanding. Give us wisdom [music]
39:43and knowledge, oh Lord, in these last
39:45days. Raise up a people like the sons of
39:47Issachar who understand the seasons
39:50[music] and understand the timing, who
39:52understand what you're doing, Lord. Oh
39:55God, give us discernment. I pray in the
39:57church. Give us discernment in our
39:59homes. Oh God, cause us to be sensitive
40:02to the wind of your spirit, to the
40:04whisper of your voice. Oh, lead us, I
40:07pray. Oh God, [music] we're watching
40:09you, oh Lord. Teach us priorities. Teach
40:12us what is important. Oh God, whatever
40:15you need to rearrange in our life, we
40:17yield oursel to you right now. [music]
40:21Oh yes, [singing] God.
40:32God, I cast all my cares upon you
40:35because you care for me, Lord. [music]
40:38I yield myself to you. Every sickness,
40:41every report, oh, I yield it all to you
40:44right now. Every struggle, Lord, every
40:46difficulty, every [music] burden of my
40:48heart, I yield it to you. Every person
40:50I'm trying to care for, every person I'm
40:53trying to lead [music] and to counsel, I
40:54need you, Lord Jesus. I'm here to serve
40:57you, oh God. I'm here, oh Lord, to yield
40:59myself to you. Oh, teach me your ways.
41:03[music] Teach me your commandments, your
41:05precepts. Order my steps in your word,
41:07Lord. My eyes are fixed on you. My eyes
41:11are fixed [music] on your mercy.
41:17Have mercy. Have mercy on us, God. Have
41:20mercy on my family. Have [music] mercy
41:23on my life, Lord.
41:26Oh yes, Jesus.
41:31Yes Lord.
41:36Oh [music] yes, God.
41:40Give us understanding of what the will
41:42of the Lord is for our life, for our
41:44church, for your community, for your
41:46people, [music] Lord. Oh, give us
41:48understanding hearts. Give us wise
41:51hearts, oh God.
41:53Help us to walk in the fear of the Lord
41:55every day.
41:58>> Oh yes, God.
42:11>> In the name of Jesus. Yes, Lord.
42:15>> Hallelujah. Let's take a few moment
42:18continue to lift your voice in prayer
42:19right now. Can you do that? Come on.
42:21Let's yield oursel to the Holy Ghost
42:23through prayer right now in the name of
42:25Jesus.
42:28Oh yes, God. Hallelujah.
42:31Hallelujah.
42:33Come on. That's it. There's still some
42:35burdens and cares that need to be cast
42:37on the Lord tonight. There's still some
42:39priorities that need to be reset and
42:41refocused tonight in the name of Jesus.
42:44Oh yes, God. We're not going to walk
42:46according to our own understanding, but
42:48in all of our ways, we're going to
42:49acknowledge you. We're going to look to
42:51you, our master, our Lord.
42:57[snorts]
42:59Hallelujah. That's it. Hallelujah.
43:01That's it. Somebody's touching heaven
43:02tonight. Come on. Somebody's got
43:04sincerity in your prayer tonight. Oh
43:07yes, Lord. Hallelujah. This is where we
43:09get aligned. This is where we get into
43:11alignment. Yes, God.
43:15Oh, align us, oh God, with one another.
43:17Bring us in unity, oh Lord, of the body.
43:19Bring us in unity with love. Bring us in
43:21unity with peace. Keep our eyes focused
43:24on you, God.
43:27[snorts]
43:29Oh yes, Jesus.
43:33Let our steps be established, oh God.
43:35Let our feet, Lord, be firmly planted in
43:38your word. Help us keep our eyes fixated
43:41on you, Lord Jesus. Through all
43:43opposition, through every critic, Lord,
43:45through all the pain, through the things
43:47we don't understand, help us to keep our
43:50eyes stayed upon you, God.
43:53That's it. Come on. That's it. Just for
43:54a little longer right now. Yield
43:56yourself to the Holy Ghost. Thank you
43:58for making this a house of prayer right
43:59now. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.
44:03Thank you, Lord. I need you every hour.
44:05I need you every moment. I need you
44:07every day. I need you in my life, God.
44:10Let my words be seasoned with grace. I
44:12bring every thought, Lord, into
44:14obedience to you. I captive every
44:16thought in the name of Jesus. Every
44:19anxious thought, every fearful thought,
44:21even every good thought, I bring it all,
44:23Lord, and I surrender it to you right
44:25now. I'm keeping my eyes on your hand.
44:27Where you're moving, what you're
44:29working, what you're doing, what's
44:30important, what matters to you, oh God,
44:33is what matters to me. I want to be in
44:35alignment with you. Hallelujah Jesus.
44:40In every season of my life, oh God,
44:43young or old, rich or poor, in every
44:45season of my life, I want to be yielded
44:48to your spirit. I want to be focused on
44:50you God.
44:55Oh.
45:12Hallelujah Jesus.
45:15Hallelujah Jesus.
45:18Hallelujah Jesus.
45:22Oh yes Lord.
45:26Turn [singing]
45:28your eyes
45:31upon
45:33Jesus. [singing]
45:38Look [singing] full
45:41in his wonderful
45:44face.
45:47Keep our eyes on you, Lord. Oh, and the
45:51things
45:53[snorts]
45:53of earth
45:56will grow strange. [singing]
45:59Lead them
46:02in the light
46:05of his glory [singing]
46:08and grace.
46:12Hallelujah. You know, the way that we do
46:15that, I'm I'm going to say something
46:16that you already know and you're here
46:18tonight and you're already praying. So,
46:19don't take it as a criticism. All right?
46:21Just take it as an admonishment to keep
46:23on. I think in this generation, one
46:25thing that we have to be careful about
46:27is that we learn more to sing than we do
46:30to pray.
46:32>> We can sing for 30 minutes, but we can
46:34only keep attention span in prayer for
46:36five. I think that's a concern that this
46:39generation has. Not our church. I'm
46:41talking about all the other churches
46:42around. Feels better to talk about them,
46:44right? All those other churches we know
46:46about, they struggle. They really
46:48struggle. I think we have to be aware.
46:50We got to be careful. You can't just
46:52keep your eyes just on songs that you
46:54but to prayers that you pray. You got to
46:56keep that communication open. That's the
46:58only way that God can speak to us is
47:00keeping our ears open in prayer, saying,
47:02"Oh God, teach me Lord, lead me, Lord."
47:05There's a place for songs. There's a
47:07place for singing. It's important part
47:09of the fabric of the church and of
47:11growth and of disciplehip. But we cannot
47:13misplace prayer. And perhaps it's just
47:15more on my mind because we got our
47:16prayer conference happening this week.
47:18And I thank God for reminders like that.
47:20But I also want to remind the church
47:22tonight. We've got to keep our focus on
47:24prayer. He said, "Let my house be a
47:26house of
47:28>> for all people. We got to be a house of
47:30prayer. This church was built on prayer.
47:32Started as a prayer meeting. Your house,
47:35your family, your your life is going to
47:37be built on prayer. It's going to be
47:40Amen. Hallelujah. It's going to be built
47:41on prayer. So, let's keep that. Let's
47:44keep that prayer. So, tonight, maybe you
47:47go back to the Lord. Maybe you present
47:49what you did today. Take inventory.
47:52Lord, how is my language today? Did I
47:56say the things that needed to be said?
47:59Lord, how about my thoughts? Did I think
48:01on things that you wanted me to think
48:02about? Things that are true, honest,
48:05pure lovely good.
48:08Oh, yeah. Lord, I had a list of things I
48:10had to do today.
48:12Is that what you wanted me to do? Did I
48:15do well? Is that okay to ask the Lord
48:17like that?
48:20Three. Amen. Three. Well, I'm You know,
48:22sometimes you just go after that one.
48:24And I got him tonight. I got that one
48:26tonight.
48:31Present yourself to the Lord.
48:33>> Present your body as a living sacrifice.
48:36So Lord, everything that I am,
48:38everything I I've done, I think the Lord
48:41may may may may help. Not even may, he
48:44will. He'll help that anxiety and that
48:47fear that you got and that pressure that
48:48you've been feeling, he has a way,
48:49Sister Lorren, of just lifting that off
48:51of you. man, as a as a earthly father,
48:55if my kids, if my daughter Brayley's got
48:57some anxiety and she's carrying some
48:59weight, you better believe that if she
49:00shares that with me, if she shares
49:02something, I'm going to do whatever's in
49:03my power to make sure that that girl can
49:05sleep tonight and I'll carry whatever
49:07I've got to carry. I'll encourage her,
49:09pray for her, love her, intercede for
49:11her, whatever I've got to do. If I do
49:13that being a earthly dad, if I do that
49:16being a evil father as it were, compared
49:18to a perfect father, how much more will
49:20your heavenly father, if you'll come to
49:22him, say, "Let me take that. Come on,
49:23give it to me. I let me let me lift it
49:25up. Come on. You get your sleep tonight.
49:28I don't need sleep." God says, "I don't
49:30need rest, but you do. So, just cast
49:32your care upon me. Let me let me carry
49:34that for you, and you get a good night's
49:36sleep tonight, Xavier. You rest tonight
49:39because I got you." And he becomes a
49:41defense. The name of the Lord is a
49:42strong tower that the righteous run
49:44into. And our You still believe that
49:46tonight? Do you believe you're safe in
49:48him? Come on. You believe your daddy is
49:50going to let you out there all alone and
49:52he's not going to protect you. This is
49:54why we continue to serve him. We serve
49:56him in spite of pain and opposition
49:58because he's my defense. He's my
50:00shelter. Oh, if you love the Lord
50:02tonight, why don't we just conclude and
50:04let him know that tonight? Tell him how
50:05much we love him, how thankful we are.
50:07Thank you for keeping me. Thank you for
50:09mercy. Thank you for grace. You're a
50:11good good father. There's nobody else
50:13like you. Hallelujah. Oh, I love you,
50:16Jesus. I praise your name,
50:19Lord. [applause]
50:26Thank you, Lord. [applause and cheering]
50:27Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.
50:32[cheering]
50:37[applause and cheering]
50:41Thank you Lord. Hallelujah.
50:44>> Hallelujah.
50:51>> Hallelujah.
50:52>> Somebody say, "Keep climbing."
50:54>> Oh yes. Now may the Lord bless you and
50:56keep you. Make his face shine upon you.
50:59Be gracious unto you and give you peace
51:04in Jesus name. Love one another before
51:06you leave. Hug somebody's neck. Sister
51:08Sena, keep pushing. Listen, can we just
51:10thank the Lord for the food that's back
51:11there? There's canned foods and all
51:13kinds of things. If you need something
51:15or know somebody that does need
51:16something, head back to the foyer back
51:18here. Love one another. I love you.
51:20Thank you for this worship team. Did
51:21amazing job tonight. God bless you.
51:24You're dismissed in the wonderful name
51:25of Jesus.