Speaker 1: 0:00

What's up? Free Church. Hey, great to see you today. Great day to be in God's house. I join with our team and my beautiful wife in welcoming you to Sunday service at Free Church. There's a lot of places you could be today, but you chose to be with us. So if you're a guest, we welcome you. We welcome you today. It's going to be a great day. We have an incredible day in store and, man, I'm just excited to be here with you. If you're watching online, thank you for joining us. Great day to be in God's house. Hope you feel in your living room what we are experiencing here in this house.

Speaker 1: 0:50

And listen, I just am a lot of things going through my mind right now, but I have. We're going to get a little ring out, so let me just keep talking while we can get this ring out. Otherwise, I'm going to switch microphones. Check one, two, two, one, two. Everybody good. Why don't you tell your neighbor how good they look today? They look great. Best fit in the house. Check, elliot. Check. Check One, two, all right. Can you hear me? Okay, it's all right. All right, let's roll on. Hey, I'm ready to preach God's word. Are you ready to receive it today?

Speaker 1: 1:32

The year was 2010, 2010, and we were in Houston, texas, at the time, and we were in Houston. We had a multitude of services Saturday service, three Sunday services, and then we had a Wednesday night service, and so I was also facing this little medical issue. I wasn't really sure. We had a bunch of tests going on. Doctors were saying it's gonna be one thing or another thing, and so they were saying but the test is going to determine that, and so the test was scheduled for Thursday and Wednesday. Before that Thursday test, we had service and I'll never forget we were worshiping in the front, having a moment and just thanking God and praising, and it was a powerful Wednesday night service and just like what we experienced here, as we were singing about the blood of Jesus and the name of Jesus that heals, and declaring his promises, and I stepped up into the stage area to transition the service from worship into the preaching of the word and kind of what Pastor Matthew does on Sundays and what Urshana does sometimes as we transition the moments, and I started to declare something and I just felt compelled to like compel the church into just erupting worship, like erupting praise, like let's take the roof off the top, and began just encouraging and exhorting. And, man, the worship got loud and it was incredible and I was touched. And then I went into the Thursday appointment and they did the testing and at the end of the testing they came back immediately with results and they were like whatever we thought it was, it is not. You're absolutely fine. We're not sure what caused all the trauma that led up to this test, but we can guarantee you are okay and I had a moment where I realized it was in the power of praise and worship in that setting that I was healed.

Speaker 1: 3:42

It's the year I learned sometimes the result. If it's not what you're looking for, you can praise your way into the result you need. Why don't you just turn to your neighbor and say I'm about to go all in, and then the other one you'd be ignoring all services look back at them and say I'm about to get my praise on. You might need to. Just, you might need to get some elbow room. Huh, you're going to preach with me nine o'clock service. Don't bother me if I'm about to get my praise on, because you don't know, first of all, what God's done in my life and you don't know what I need. Only God knows what I need.

Speaker 1: 4:31

So we're in this series entitled All In. I shared a birthday message last week, by the way. Well done, free church on 13 years. Well done. Now we're moving forward, celebrated, had some fun, ate a cupcake, took a picture. Let's keep going. Another 13 ahead of us If the Lord prevails in my life to continue that process. I hope I got 13 more Hope I got 26 more Amen. Some of you are like I hope I got 13 more Hope I got 26 more Amen. Some of you are like I hope so. Maybe Give them five, lord, give them five.

Speaker 1: 5:14

We started this all in series and we've got a key verse. It's Jeremiah 29, 11. It says this for I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, they are plans for good. Come on, somebody say good, a God plan for your life is a good plan. And many times you don't just want good plans, you want God plans. The plans of God are good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. So that's the promise and that's what we hang on to.

Speaker 1: 5:46

We're a church that declares God's promises and fulfills his purpose on this earth. So there's the promise, but what is the purpose. Watch this In those days when you pray, I will listen and God says this and if you will look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. You want those promises in your life. It's gonna take an all-in attitude from your life. Remember last week we learned this that I will never get God's best until I give God my best. All of us want to give God something, but are you willing to give God your best? Give God something, but are you willing to give God your best? It's the values of our church.

Speaker 1: 6:33

Now we talk about vision. I just said we're a church that declares God's promises and fulfills his purpose on earth and that leads us to this vision of helping people know God and find freedom and discover purpose and make a difference. You should know that by now. If you don't know that, start to memorize those things, because vision is sight and if vision is sight, then we need values for behavior. So if we know God, we find freedom, we discover purpose, we make a difference, then we have values. So if we know where we're going, we have a bridge on how to get there. How do we know God on Sunday? How do we find freedom in small groups? How do we discover purpose through the freeway. How do we make a difference? Through the dream team. Everybody track in, so that's the bridge to help us get to the vision, but then we need values that guide us. It's like the guard rails to the bridge that keep us on the right path. Everybody needs values, and if you do not determine your values, your values will be determined for you.

Speaker 1: 7:35

In fact, I would say this a lot of us, without leaning in here, if a lot of us, we lean on culture for our values instead of declaring our own values and then lean back into culture. So we let popular opinion shape our values, we let popular teaching shape our values. And I'm here to tell you, as a family, you need to have values or your values will be created by outside forces, and that's why we have God's word in our life. So at Free Church, if you don't have values for your family, this is where you can start. Our values at Free Church are this we love God, we love people, we pursue excellence and we choose joy.

Speaker 1: 8:29

Now listen, I'm gonna lean in for a second. We love God. I'm gonna preach about this. We love people. I need to talk about this. We love people, we pursue excellence. I just said we will not get God's best if we don't give God our best. That's pursuing excellence, not perfection, but taking what God has resourced me with and giving that to him as my best. But I want to just lean in on we love people for a second Now. I'm your pastor and I love every one of you and I feel compelled to just speak to this moment of culture in our world and I've prayed about this and I'm going to try to be strong and not emotional. But you know I'm an emotional person, not emotional, but you know I'm an emotional person and I've prayed about this and I really ask the Holy Spirit to give me the right words and the right spirit.

Speaker 1: 9:37

This week was a traumatic week for our country and I would just say this when you love God, that is where our hope is. Our hope is in God and God alone. Our hope is not in people. The psalmist said this Some trust in men or princes, some trust in horses or chariots, but we will trust in the Lord, our God. So we love God but we love people. And when we love people, the value of free trust, we don't just love people like us, we love all people. And I would just say this because I know, in a room like this, I'm not a political activist, I'm a pastor, so I can only lean in on God's word. So the first thing is we're to love the Lord, god with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We love God. The second is, we love people. We love our neighbor as ourself. So, no matter where you sit on a political realm, this is an important lesson for us to learn.

Speaker 1: 10:50

Charlie Kirk Was not a pastor, he was a political activist, but he was a Christian and you might not agree with everything he said and I'm not asking you to agree. I didn't agree with everything he said. In fact, I didn't follow him, I don't know him. I have friends that have met him and had dinners and lunches with him, and so they know him. On a personal level I do not, but I know this he did profess to be a Christian, but he was a political activist and when you're an activist you're activating something and in the political environment that we are witnessing in our life, it really used to be good to be like right in the middle of the road, but now there's like this far side and this other far side, and they're both far sides, can we agree? They're both far. I want to be in the middle and I want to be a bridge builder and I want to be a person that people can look to and find strength and hope.

Speaker 1: 11:54

So when I say we love God, we love God without a doubt. When I say we love people, we love all people, whether we agree with them or not. And I think what we need to learn as a people is there are things that we have to agree on. We have to agree that Jesus Christ is the son of God. We have to agree that the Bible is the word of God and we have to agree that we have to be born again of God. That's what we have to agree about to get to heaven. Everything else we may not have to agree about, but if we disagree, we can agree to disagree, and that is what is lost in our country right now Melissa Hartman in Minnesota, charlie Kirk, people whose lives have been taken because we have built an environment around us that says if you don't agree with me, you're wrong and I don't like you, and that's not the fabric of what our nation was built on, but that's not what the word of God was built on.

Speaker 1: 12:59

And let me tell you, if I'm knocking everything off the stage, cause I'm so, but listen, if, if you're, you love the people you love, love them with everything you have and the people that you don't agree with or you're not sure about you, love them with the love of Christ. In fact, the Bible says pray for your enemies, bless those who persecute you and be good to those who are harmful to you. So today, as much as I'm praying for the Kirk family, I'm praying for the young man's family and for that young man that made a decision that has altered his life forever and changed his family trajectory forever. And so we have to be as Christians. We can stand on God's word, we can stand on the truth of God's word and we can love people because of what God's word says. Can you agree with that church? So we love God, we love people.

Speaker 1: 14:12

Let's talk about loving God. Loving God as a value means it needs behaviors. When I say I love God, there's a descriptive way that I just it works for me. When I love God, I love God's presence, and I'm so thankful that the promise of God in my life and for your life is that when you gather with two or three in the name of Jesus, he shows up that when you enter his courts and enter his gates with thanksgiving and praise, he shows up that he is a God who inhabits the place where people praise him. So when we say we love God, there's values that are associated with that, because we love God's presence and whatever I have to do, thank the Lord that I really never can get away from God's presence. I never can get away from God's love, but I'm passionate about his presence. So when I say we love God, what are the values?

Speaker 1: 15:09

Number one we pray first. That's a behavior to the value of loving God. You say well, what is the value of loving God? What does that look like in my life? Number one you pray first. Before you form an opinion, before you go into a meeting, before you take a test, before you drive down the street, before you start your day, pray. The second thing, another version or a behavior of the value of loving God, is we worship passionately. You just experienced that in this house Hands raised, tears flowing down our face, jumping up and down, running, sometimes clapping, kneeling. I'm going to preach about all those things in a second. But we worship passionately.

Speaker 1: 15:50

Another behavior is we read his word daily. This is as I was praying this morning over the service and knowing that there's all kind of unrest in our community and I was like God, what's the word for today? And in my daily bible reading? Because even though it's Sunday, I still go through my morning routine. Like you don't throw out your routine, so like I start my morning routine, I get up, I feed the dogs, I take them for a walk, I let my little pointer, little GSP run all over. She runs, she wears herself out running and it wears me out watching we go back to the house. I pour myself a triple shot of espresso. Come on, somebody, I don't just get this energy, I work for it. And I grab my Bible to read the word.

Speaker 1: 16:50

And today's daily reading is the story of Esther and Mordecai says Esther, you can remain silent, but surely God puts you on this earth for a time such as this. So that's why we can't be silent about our faith. We read his word daily and his word shows up every day. And then the last behavior to that value is we give generously. So when you love God, those should be areas of behavior in your life that promote that value. We pray first, we worship passionately, we read his word daily, we give generously.

Speaker 1: 17:32

So let's talk about worship for a second, because worship is not just a newsflash, it's not just singing a song on Sunday. Check, check one, two, three. Worship is a lifestyle, and you know what Worship is love expressed. Worship is love expressed. Look what Jesus says. He says you shall love the Lord God. Say this with me you shall love the Lord God with all your heart. Worship is love expressed.

Speaker 1: 18:15

Man, there's a Greek word, so this is interesting to me. The Greek word is proskuneo. Proskuneo and proskuneo is the Greek word for praise and worship, and it means to kiss, but it's not a passionate kiss, it's not a lover's kiss. So when you think about proskuneo being a kiss, as in worship, it's not how I kiss my wife. Thanks, lord, you don't have to think about that. But I just need a minute too, for one second. You look so good today. I mean just for a minute. But proskuneo is the kind of kiss watch this the kind of kiss that a dog greets its owner with when they come home from being gone for a while. Now, if you're a dog person dog people in the house, your dogs are going to heaven because, proskuneo, like, what does a dog do? When you come in, they're so excited. Oh my God, I never thought you were coming back. I'm so glad you're home. Jump up in your arms.

Speaker 1: 19:39

I was with my nephew and niece, robbie and Danielle, this week and I watched their son Silas, play football, which he crushed it. He had a touchdown, an interception, a tackle for a loss. The kid was all over the field. I think he only like he didn't play like on four plays the whole game. But he had an awesome game. I was loving, cheering for him.

Speaker 1: 19:55

But they have a little dog. It's a little golden doodle, like a little tiny, the cutest little golden. His name's Blue, because he works for the University of Michigan, go Blue. And so I get there on Wednesday night and when I walk in the door, blue is just running, just running. He's running so fast, he's not stopping. He's so excited to see me, so excited to see his favorite uncle running everywhere, running everywhere, running everywhere. And finally I go Blue, give me a hug. And he stops and just puts his hands up like this, and I pick him up and he gives me a hug and he just, I don't ever. I don't even let my dogs kiss my face, and this dog licked my face like crazy. That is listen.

Speaker 1: 20:41

When we talk about passionate worship, that's what the Greek word is referring to. The kind of praise and worship like oh, I never thought I would get back into this place, I never thought I would get close to your presence again and I just got to pour myself out without I'm going to reckless abandon for what you've done in my life. As opposed to a cat run to greet anybody, in fact most people I know who have a cat. I love all of you, but I didn't even know you had a cat, because he never comes out in public so they might not go to heaven. Go ahead and send me an email later, that's fine. Actually, my email changed. It's now urshana at freechurch, but that is. That's the reference of the Bible in the Greek of praise and worship, that kind of expression.

Speaker 1: 22:18

Now in the book of Psalms. I can't even preach the next two passages of scripture, so we got to jump ahead. In the Psalms, over 100 times the word praise is used, and then in Psalm 150, it's used 13 times alone. But even though the word praise is used over 100 times in the whole book of Psalms. It's a different praise there's. There's seven of them, and then the next two minutes I'm going to give you all seven. Are you ready?

Speaker 1: 22:47

The first one is Hillel, hillel and Hillel. It means this to rave, to boast, to celebrate, to be clamorously foolish. Now I will say we can go from God to goofy in about three seconds. But there are some of us that are so passionate on Saturday about a group of 19-year-olds that have a jersey on with a logo on their helmet and we lose our mind and we throw money at it and we just it's everything in our man and we cheer and we scream and we drive down the street honking the horn and we listen to this. Some people go to football games like four hours early and tailgate for four hours before the game and some of you come in this church 30 minutes late, 30 minutes late. I'm just trying to pastor a little bit.

Speaker 1: 24:07

Hallel, to rave, boast, celebrate, to be clamorously foolish is the base and the root of where we get hallelujah and the Yah at the end is God. So when we hallelujah, we're hallel-ing God. So when we sing that song and we're just singing oh, I hope I can hit the note Hallelujah, hallelujah, you're saying raving. I'm boasting about God and the blood Jesus shed for my life, and I will get clamorously foolish, even more undignified than this David said in the book of Samuel, chapter 6, when he's bringing the ark back. I'll be crazy if I have to, because my heart is being poured out in thanksgiving and praise. Psalm 35, 18 says I will give thanks in the great assembly, among the throngs. I will praise, I will hallel, hallel, I will hallelujah. It is my highest praise.

Speaker 1: 25:18

The next one. The next one is yada. There's so many. Sometimes you guys are amazed at what I do say. It's more incredible what I don't say. Yada means to acknowledge in public knowledge, in public. You see, a private faith is really no faith at all. But faith is meant to be yada, it's meant to be expressed. Psalm 138.1,. I will praise you, lord, with all my heart, before the gods, before everything else, that little g gods, all the things that have importance of my life. I'm going to praise you, god, in front of that first and passionately, so everyone and everything in my life knows where I stand. You, god, are number one in my life and alone. You are one, yada, I'll praise you in public.

Speaker 1: 26:16

The next one, barak, means to bless by kneeling or bowing, and sometimes, in the moments of worship and praise, it's just almost overwhelming the sense of how I feel so undone in the presence of God Almighty, presence of God Almighty. And so just in awe and reverence, I go to a knee and I just, I just acknowledge the fact that I don't. I mean, where would I be? David said, where would I be without the Lord on my side? I'm going to Barak. I will praise the name, psalm 103, one praise the Lord, my soul, with all my inmost being, praise his holy name. I'm Barak. I'm going to have to just acknowledge, in reverence of kneeling and bowing before the Lord, that he alone is God.

Speaker 1: 27:05

So people say, people say, oh, is your church one of those churches that have contemporary worship? And I say no, no, it's not really contemporary worship. We're the church with the most traditional worship, because it's the worship found in scripture. Like we do this, because it's what God's word commands us to do To lift a hallelujah, to praise in public, to bow and to kneel. Let's keep going.

Speaker 1: 27:36

The next one. The next one is zamar. Zamar means making music with strings. Oh, I wish Josh was up here to just rip off a little guitar solo right now. Psalm 92 and 1. It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name. We have music and instruments in here because it's, first of all, it's biblical, it's commanded in scripture. But it helps us Sometimes when Josh is riffing out a little guitar solo. It helps me with my thought and my word that I can't put into play Like, oh yeah, I would play that in worship if that was me. It's good to make music to the Lord.

Speaker 1: 28:23

Psalm 150 and three says praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and the lyre or the new age guitar. Praise him with the timbrel and the dancing. Praise him with the strings and the pipe. Praise him with the timbrel and the dancing. Praise him with the strings and the pipe. Praise him with the clash of cymbals and praise him with resounding cymbals.

Speaker 1: 28:49

Listen, do you think it's loud in here sometimes? Heaven is going to be loud. Scripture says that there will be a praise that will erupt in heaven. That will be as the noise of thousands of waterfalls. Have you ever been by a water like the Niagara Falls? You can't barely think it's so loud. There's going to be thousands, that's how loud it's going to be in heaven. So if you don't like noise here, why? Thousand? That's how loud it's going to be in heaven. So if you don't like noise here, why? It's good to make music to the Lord. Oh, you're like well, I don't have a musical gift in my body. Like I have nothing you actually do. You have 10 stringed instruments right here. Gift in my body? Like I have nothing you actually do. You have 10 stringed instruments right here and you can clap your hands and look at. This gets to.

Speaker 1: 29:50

Shabbat means to address in a loud tone or to shout. Look, clap your hands and shout to God with a voice of triumph. I wish, I wish I could tell you that sometimes, in moments where I don't feel very much victory in my life, when I decide to shout with a voice of triumph, I see victory aligning in my life, but I don't feel like being loud. Why should I be loud? Because he's worth it, because he's worthy of a shout, he's worthy of a praise like that. Let's keep going. We got two more. That leads to todah.

Speaker 1: 30:31

Todah means to lift hands in adoration. Pastor Matthew had us do this this morning To lift our hands in adoration. When we lift our hands, it's a sign of desire. I'm reaching for you. Listen, when the kids were little, I don't know if there was anything like coming home and those little feet pattering down the hallway and throwing hands up in the air, reaching for me to pick them up and hug them. So it's a sign of desire, it's. It's. It's a sign of reaching God Like man. If God, I know I I'm just going to reach my way and if God I know I'm just gonna reach my way for a heaven on earth experience. I'm just reaching God. And it's also a sign of surrender. And there are moments in services where it's like God, I'm giving you my best, but I'm just gonna open my arms and surrender and receive what you have for me today, because I know how I've praised you to this point. Your presence is here to reveal something powerful for my life.

Speaker 1: 31:46

And then the last one tequila. Somebody just perked up, not tequila, tequila and this sometimes it's just God is just too good to us. Look at this Tequila's exuberant singing Like not golf course singing so no one can hear us, but like exuberant singing A few. It probably been about seven or eight months ago. I started praying.

Speaker 1: 32:29

I was like Lord, I want the expression on Sunday morning of our church family and I could only frame it in one line I wish our church family would out sing the band, and I'm gonna tell you what. Thank you, young people and young adults, thank you for all of you that just lift your voice and exuberant singing. Look at what the scripture says, psalm 34 and 1. I will extol the Lord at all times. His praise, his tehillah will always be on my lips. You just notched that down as your favorite verse. His praise will always be on my lips.

Speaker 1: 33:14

Listen, it's not our idea to come in here and be so expressive. It's God's idea. He framed it for us because he knew the power that praise and worship would have in our lives. When I read through scripture praise has brought victories, praise has opened doors, praise has broken off chains. Like it is so powerful in our life for us to have a biblical expression of praise in our life.

Speaker 1: 33:54

So the next time we sing, next Sunday, when you come, I just encourage think about these seven, think about these seven Hallelujah. I'm going to shout it out. I'm going to express my praise, even in public. I'm going to let everybody know God is good. I'm going to clap my hands, I'm going to sing exuberantly, I'm going to kneel and bow, I'm going to raise my hands. I'm going to do something. Maybe it's something you've never done, but I can tell you it's biblical and it'll change your life.

Speaker 1: 34:26

Can you receive that word today? Let's all pray, father. Thank you for today, a powerful day in your presence. Lord, you're so good to us to meet us every single time, to keep your promises, and that's why we're so, we're so dedicated to sharing your promises, because you are a promise keeper and you're a way maker. And Lord, I just pray. The expression of this church family, the expression of our homes, the expression of our individual lives, would be of praise and thanksgiving to you, because you're so good and you're so great and you're greatly to be praised as you keep your head bowed, your eyes closed. Maybe you've never decided or made a decision to follow Jesus, so it's so amazing. In next service, at the start of the 11 o'clock service, we're baptizing 16 people today who have made a decision to follow Jesus and then made their decision public. But maybe you never made that decision today and then the next minute, I'd like to give you that opportunity. It's just very simple.

Speaker 1: 35:30

The Bible says if you believe it in your heart, what do you believe? If you believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that he died on a cross for your sins and on the third day he arose with victory over death and the keys to death held in the grave, the Bible says Ephesians 1.7 says like this because of the sacrifice of the Messiah and his blood poured out on the altar of the cross, we're free people, free from the penalties and punishments of our past, but not just barely free. Paul writes abundantly free. And that freedom can be yours if you believe Jesus paid that price for you. And then if you confess it with your mouth. And if that's you today, I just wanna lead you in this prayer. So I'm gonna count to three and see if there's anybody that would make a decision to follow Jesus today. Are you ready? One We've prayed for this moment all week long.

Speaker 1: 36:26

Two, three Let me see your hands all over this room. Thank you for that hand. Thank you for that hand. Thank you for that hand Awesome. Thank you for that hand. Let's pray this prayer together. Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on a cross for my sins. You paid a price I could not pay to give me a gift I really could never earn. But I choose to believe it and confess it that you are King of kings and Lord of lords. I turn from my own ways to follow after you. Be my Lord and Savior In Jesus' name, and let the church say amen, amen.