Sunday Morning Worship & Word | August 21, 2022 | Pastor Anthony “Know What You Have!”
by Anthony McCool
August 21, 2022 · First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: John 14:6-14

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/anthony-mccool--sunday-morning-worship-word-august-21-2022
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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hello can you worship him in this house and worship [Music] do you believe that this morning that he has never lost a battle in the court of law in our legal system it would be called precedent and whatever situation you may be faced with today or whatever circumstance you might find yourself in the answer is right here in this book of the law and there is scriptural precedent for whatever trial that you are facing the enemy might be reading charges before you today and before life begins to slam down that gavel you ought to open up that book and cry out on the name of jesus and know that every answer to whatever you're facing is right here in this book if you need healing there's scriptural precedent if you need restoration there's scriptural precedent if you need provision he's never lost a battle everything that's in this book is applicable to 2020 and if you believe that why don't you give god a shout of praise he's never lost a battle and he's never lost a trial you've got great advocacy this morning that whatever you need you just call out on that name and he's ready to meet you keep that same spirit as you make your way back to your seats and you can be seated across this house thank you praise team and musicians for just holding our hand into the presence of the almighty god what a sweet aroma that has been lifted up to heaven this morning and i just believe as that fragrance goes up that it just enters into his nostrils and he just pours his spirit down in this house and i i believe that whatever you have need of yes we celebrate what god has done in the past and yes we plan for what god is going to do and we have faith and expectation for the future but i just believe we serve a god so mighty we serve a god so great as pastor whitley told us that this is the day that he has made and that he can work right in your situation before you leave this house and i believe that this morning and he has never lost a battle i say welcome to every single person in this house and all of you tuning in online and those of you that will be viewing our television broadcast or i know i mentioned a few weeks ago i was with our great churches in germany and every monday morning they wake up and check out our archives and are in service with us they're they've already had both of their services on this sunday so anyone tuning in in the archives i welcome you as well and i'm just excited about what god is doing not only in the city of knoxville not only the united states but just around this world and he's pouring his spirit upon all flesh and i believe that this morning i want to say welcome as well to i'll say that's my family as well to my uncle ronnie's family i love you all it's an honor and blessing to have you all here i apologize i'm the one preaching this morning so hopefully hopefully you'll come back and tune in after today i also want to say welcome to chris johnson chastity johnson uh here from the city of knoxville or excuse me from the state of kentucky let's give them a great big hand it's an honor to have you all here and to any other guests that we don't have their visitor card on we hope that you feel the love of jesus christ just manifested through first apostolic church and it's our highest honor that you would choose to worship with us on this sunday if you have your bibles if you would turn with me to the book of john chapter 14 and we're going to read verses 6 through 14. i give honor to our bishop this morning our pastor and pastor whitley for just the phenomenal teaching and preaching we've been feasting upon and i thank them so much for their leadership and this great congregation the greatest people in the world i believe that and it's a great honor for me to serve with you all john chapter 14 we'll begin reading at verse number six it states jesus saith unto him i am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me if he had known me he should have known my father also from henceforth ye know him and ye have seen him philip saith unto him lord show us the father and it sufficeth us could you imagine saying that to jesus jesus saith unto him have i been so long time with you and yet hast thou not known me philip when jesus he'll call you by your name to call you out but after he calls you out and he calls you by your name you better watch out he that hath seen me have seen the father and how sayeth thou then show us the father believeth thou not that i am in the father and the father in me the words that i speak unto you i speak not of myself but the father that dwelleth in me he doeth the works believe me that i am in the father and the father in me or else believe me for the very work's sake verily verily i say unto you he that believeth on me the works that i do shall he do also and greater works than these shall do because i go unto my father and whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will i do and the father may be glorified in the son if ye shall ask anything in my name i will do it for a few moments this morning i want to minister to you on the subject know what you have know what you have let's pray over this word right now mighty god we thank you today for the opportunity that you have given us to assemble together you see the faithfulness of every individual you know every circumstance they face and father as your word goes forth today i ask that it sink down deep into our hearts and let it apply to whatever we may be facing whatever we may be dealing with with the emotions and the circumstance of life lord we know through your name jesus when we call out on your name that anything we ask in your name you're you're ready to meet our need we thank you we praise you when we become before your throne of grace with boldness with great expectation in jesus name we pray amen know what you have time and time and again we read stories of people possessing wondrous works of art or priceless treasures without even knowing it archaeologists have found ancient writings in the land of israel and stones used to build houses those constructing the home fell to realize their cornerstone once served as part of an artifact or commemorating the victory of a great king the monarch may have lost his kingdom a long time ago but the memory through that artifact still lived on waiting many generations later to be discovered for generations the stone fell to fulfill its intended purpose of proclaiming a great victory and only by happenstance of building a modern day structure was it discovered entire libraries of ancient writings remained hidden until modernization led to the building of a subway or some other project construction rather than archaeological excavation led to some of the most important finds in history many people trying to advance their civilization have found adam items of incalculable value hidden beneath their feet beachcombers with metal detectors have unearthed ancient coins and weapons they have also found wedding rings and jewelry once important to the owners but seemingly lost forever and those that lost them this may in a moment of carelessness or in in a moment of not realize where something was placed they didn't value what they had and it was lost but somebody at a later time discovered at the beautiful beachscape often acts as the sands of time transporting us to a place long gone but not forgotten we often read stories of people going to garage sales swap meets or estate auctions and buying seemingly ordinary paintings that turn out to be priceless works of art some people kept these items in their possession for many years without realizing their true value we read of important historical letters being found in antique desks the first issue of action comics featuring superman was found in the wall of a house we read of an additional painting hidden under the canvas of another painting these stories all reveal that many people do know do not always realize what they truly possess and as a result they devalue the valuable and they fell to treasure if you will their treasures and what they view is no real prize transforms into a prized possession when its worth is recognized a few examples i give you this morning a diamond ring that was purchased this woman purchased what she thought was a fake diamond ring at the west middlesex hospital in london in the 1980s she paid 13 for the large ring and she wore it almost every day for 30 years but in 2017 the woman who wished to remain anonymous learned that the ring was actually a 26 carat diamond it was only early on in that year that she wanted to see if it had any values at all sotheby's jessica weinman told bbc it was a total surprise for her when the jewelers said that the looks like a diamond and the ring was originally priced at over hundred thousand dollars but when it went on auction it went for eight hundred and forty seven thousand dollars and she paid thirteen dollars for it whoever sold that i don't believe realized what they had larry all a maintenance worker at milwaukee's capitol court mall was cleaning up the storage room one day before the mall was about to be demolished he eventually found a pair of sneakers buried in the trash but all instantly knew these shoes did not belong in the garbage all recognized michael jordan's signature on the side of one of the shoes and he instantly remembered that these sneakers used to be on display in the sports apparel store called playmakers years ago he said i was a big basketball fan and he said i remember that was the biggest crowd the mall ever saw when those size 13 michael jordan autographed shoes were on display the size of them the side of them said my very best now oh obviously quickly grab those out of the trash with michael jordan's signature on the side and believes that they will sell on auction for close to twenty thousand dollars michael jordan air jordans signed in the bottom of a trash can i don't think they realized what they had when a financial analyst bought an old painting at a flea market for four dollars in 1989 he had no idea that an old copy of the declaration of independence was nestled behind a tear in the canvas sounds like the start of a great movie right he had stumbled upon one of the 500 official copies from the first printing in 1776. auction house sotheby's sold it in 1991 for 2.42 million dollars that's a pretty good margin an unprecedented figure it was far and away the highest price for historical americana ever the auctioneer and former vice president said at that time it was the highest artifact ever sold the next slide i show you probably one of the most significant finds of our generation an illinois couple was shocked to discover the remains of a 63 year old mcdonald's meal including french fries buried inside the wall of their home the couple were recently renovating their crystal lake illinois house which was built in 1959 and purchased by them in 2015 and after removing a built-in toilet paper holder he pulled out this great historical artifact this priceless piece of memorabilia no doubt the smithsonian was on the line immediately trying to get their hands on it they told the today's show that they weren't expecting to find any hidden treasure as they removed the wall fixture in the bathroom you know had the real estate agent or the appraiser of that home only known what was inside i didn't realize what they have and my last example the salvador mundi also known as the lost leonardo you might have seen this in the news in recent years this painting was purchased in 2005 at a new orleans auction for 1 175 that's a pretty good amount but it ended up being sold in 2017 for 450 million dollars obviously there's a lot of controversy and even critique but it is believed by many reputable art historians and art restorators that it was a piece of leonardo da vinci it made its way to new york initially in a trash bag after being sold for eleven hundred dollars at a new orleans auction and every single one of us as we think about oh that diamond ring if i could have purchased that for thirteen dollars or if i could just when i look into the waist can if i could see a pair of michael air jordan shoes in mint condition with his autograph on them or or or or maybe i could discover the the declaration of independence when i go to that next estate cell or come across an invaluable painting by a renaissance artist and we think of those margins initially but we sometimes don't think of the person on the other side of the coin who sold these items and let these items get away for absolutely pennies for what they were worth so i invite you this morning in our scripture to know what you have and to value what you have philip said to him lord show us the father and then that will be enough and jesus said have i been so long with you and yet you still do not know who i am philip do you not know what you have whoever has seen me has seen the father yet how can you say philip show me the father jesus you do you not realize what's right in front of you jesus up unto this point had healed a man with an unclean spirit he had healed simon's mother-in-law of a fever he had cleansed a leper he had healed a lame man he had healed a man with a withered hand he had calmed a storm he had healed a man overtaken by a demon he had healed a woman with an issue of blood who merely fought through a crowd and touched the hem of his garment he raised a young girl from the dead he spoke to a storm and calmed it he fed five thousand then he fed another four thousand he walked on water and you got one of his disciples now asking hey jesus if you got time could you just reveal to us who the father is and jesus says philip have i been so long time with you yet you still don't even realize what is right in front of you oh just just tell us this and that will suff suffice did it suffice when i fed you did it suffice when i provided for you did it suffice when i calmed the storm do you not know what's in front of your face philip three ways that we can devalue the gifts that god has given us the first we can be careless with what we have the second we can allow the wrong things into our life that cause us to auction everything off for pennies on the dollar just to save our life and number three we can take the gifts that god has given us for granted number one careless with what we have no figure in the word of god better represents not really knowing what he had than the life of samson maybe at times he did but he would become so careless with the valuable gifts god had given him an angel the lord appeared to samson's mother which was a miracle in and of itself and told her that he that she was going to have a child and he was to be a separated one he wasn't going to be able to participate in the things that other people his age did or the society around him and he was going to be separated for a divine purpose to free his people he was never to touch any fruit of the vine he was never to touch any dead thing and he was never to have a razor touch his head he was to be separated for a specific purpose and in turn god was going to give him supernatural ability in turn god was going to provide for him in a miraculous way and he was going to be called out and used specifically to free his people samson god told him is going to be used for amazing things and only he will be able to do it but he has to be devoted and separate he must protect the very valuable gifts that i'm going to entrust him with and we know the story of samson specifically at its conclusion when he was tortured beaten and his eyes were gouged out and he was made to be a slave his demise though did not happen overnight it was a series of decisions and a series of negotiations choosing to pawn off the priceless for a few moments of pleasure habits he developed selling the priceless calling he had on his life out of arrogance and out of carelessness and rebellion to god's word and god restored him time and time and again god gave him mercy over and over again god gave him strength and supernatural capabilities and god would still work within him even in his mistakes and god gave him every single opportunity god worked through him in a mighty way but samson sold the opportunity to be an absolute hero of faith he sold the opportunity to free his people he sold the opportunity to leave a mighty legacy all for a very cheap price samson was so arrogant he was called to lead his people his parents asked their son is there is there not a woman among us do you do you have to sell that do you have to sell everything that you've been giving samson he wasn't supposed to have any fruit of the vine yet we read about him hanging out in the vineyards he wasn't supposed to touch anything unclean yet we read about him pulling honey from the carcass of a lion selling off his calling one act of oh disobedience at a time samson's calling to him he had been given so much it was a joke and at the at the feast you could read about it he's so coy and cute and funny telling jokes and riddles about his acts of disobedience chance after chance he squandered his ministry and sold his priceless talents and calling for cheap with women who did not believe in the true god of israel all coming to a close when he was deceived by the very thing he invested so much in delilah her people were the oppressors of the israelites her people tortured and killed the israelites her people wanted to devour every last israelite and he would end up selling everything he had to the people that not only wanted to eliminate him but his whole family his whole tribe and sampson who was called and given supernatural strength samson who was a miracle baby samson who god touched and ordained and was called to be separate for such a time as this to free his people squandered it all away because he didn't value what he had he didn't have any reverence or respect for what god had given him he didn't truly realize what he had and he did not value it until it was too late i want you to know today god has given every single one of us he has given every single one of you talents and gifts and you better value every single thing and protect what god has given you by living a separate living a holy life because god wants to use you in a mighty way to free your city to free your family and if you walk around like cheap and coy and cute and making jokes and playing games with what god has given you it might be too late don't be as esau and sell your birthright and sell your promises and sell your inheritance just to appease your flesh we can allow number two the wrong things in our life and it can cost us to sell every single thing we have to survive we read that jonah ran away from the lord and found the ship bound for the port and sell to tarshish and it says away from the lord jonah was out of the will of god and because of this that ship that jonah was on the lord sent a strong wind along with a violent storm the sailors became so afraid that we read they began to possibly lighten the load of the ship by throwing all of their cargo overboard hoping and praying that their ship would not be broken hoping and praying that they could just survive the night these mariners were making a trading voyage as it should seem and they were laid down with many goods and much merchandise by which they hoped to go home and get gained they had set sail into the mighty waters and once home were going to experience a big payoff but now because of allowing the wrong thing onto their boat now because they allowed something out of the will of god on their ship they are just now content to suffer the loss and sell everything they have and throw it all overboard just to hopefully save their life think about it for a second the perspective of these sailors not only was their life now put in jeopardy but the very things they had worked so hard for their valuable possessions were thrown overboard all because they allowed something out of the will of god in their life growing up we used to go to the flea market and at different stages of life we would uh collect different toys everything from ninja turtles to batman to superman and gi joes and all these different things and at every stage of life we would accumulate a certain amount and my dad and mom always taught us to take care of them we'd go to the flea market and then sell them off well early in the morning you know those the prized possessions some that might have been in the package or some that became a rarity or are very popular those would go first and those would go to the highest price and and just as the hours go on you know you'd get kind of sick of sitting out there and the the sun would come out and it get hotter and hotter and eventually i remember my dad would just start yelling and say hey we're having a fire sale everything must go and he would give just one uh a price that you could not refuse because it was time to go we see this now with the sailors having a fire cell throwing every single thing of value they had overboard these sailors were setting back home to tarshish and neighboring ports some had probably been out months some had been out years trying to provide for their family they had poured literal blood sweat and tears into obtaining the precious earnings and they were now on their way home family depended upon them livelihood depended upon them their future depended upon their experience and their work and all their toil out sea this was the time they they had worked and earned their reward and they were on their way home but through improper vetting through a time of carelessness maybe out of just grabbing a few bucks to carry an extra passenger just jonah was allowed to slip on their ship something out of the will of god just made their way on their boat all was now lost just just hoping to save their life all their hard work all their sacrifice all the many hours away from their family now wasted they traded their treasure for an extra few bucks for a boarding pass i've seen people on fire for god start dating someone that was not in the will of god oh and it wasn't overnight the praise that would go forth up front they would just incrementally digress back and that would then it would affect their attendance then it would affect every aspect of their life because they were allowed a relationship out of the will of god first first it was the house of god then it was their virtue then it was their purity then it was their calling all just being sold off for pennies on the dollar and only to realize a few years later that they're just trying to do everything they can just to make it through the night all because they allowed something out of the will of god on their boat the bible says a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favor rather than silver gold i've seen great men and great women great leaders great pastors great teachers great saints of god on fire for god but just would allow an improper relationship to develop and it started out it's just a just a text message just uh just a quick like on a photo just a quick comment on a story a jonah that just would slip in and the storm would begin to to come and they're now content with their marriage being thrown overboard their legacy their good name being thrown overboard their family being thrown overboard selling everything they had for next to nothing because they didn't truly value and didn't truly protect what god had given them i've men i've seen men slip into the back of their daughter's wedding and because of actions that he had made throughout his life he had disgraced his family so much that she no longer wanted him to walk her down the aisle all because it it wasn't something that happened overnight it it wasn't something immediate but it was lacking the foresight and it was lacking the vision and it was lacking the spiritual maturity to protect the most important things in your life or you might be sitting there well that could never happen to me i i'm a saint of god my tie good and straight i've seen disagreements small little feuds over something so petty and just a seed of bitterness begin to be planted and frustration can enter in and you'll end up being so focused and have your mind so set on silliness that you forego promises and blessings that god has for you over something that if you were honest with yourself you probably would not even remember six months from now but you'll draw a line in the sand and say bless god it's going to be like this or what else and then the next thing you know they can't come to church because this person's there or they had a feud with this person and they can't come to this event if that person's there and not realizing that they're continuing to disconnect themselves from the body of christ not realizing that their family is watching every move that they make not realizing that they are also called to reach out and to be an example to others and all the time god has this miraculous plan for their life all the time god has these blessings that he wants to pour out that you don't even have room enough to receive [Music] but just over maybe a disagreement with someone or just over a spat with a family member we can sell off what god has for us if we allow our emotions to steer us we can find ourselves at life's negotiation table selling all of our valuable possessions just hoping just to now make it out alive we can number three take for granted the blessings we have and we can get complacent living in the miraculous in the book of matthew and you can cross references well we read that jesus in the final hours before he would be captured after the last supper after his disciples had so boldly proclaimed that i would never betray you jesus ha i can't even imagine you suggesting such a thing at the last supper i'll never betray you and if the occasion called for it peter said i would even die for you jesus oh the irony of peter offering to die for jesus and only a few moments later in the garden of gethsemane jesus asked those oh so faithful and proud boldly proclaiming disciples guys just pray for me for one hour and jesus went to pray in such anguish so uh his his drops of sweat were like blood drops in anguish he prayed even more surely his disciples were out protecting him and and maybe having a revival and he goes on to the disciples and he finds them asleep comes back a second time finds them asleep comes back a third time finds them asleep he would think after jesus telling you that one of you is going to betray them that that might have them on the edge of their seats or that the hour is at hand you know he's revealing all these things to them that you think that would that would that would have them on high alert but in the final hours right before jesus capture we find the disciples asleep and jesus comes unto them and says could you not even pray with me one hour they had just participated in the last supper he had told them one of them would betray him their disciples proudly proclaimed it isn't me these disciples who had been and spent so much time with jesus they were so blessed they had so much insight into him he had blessed them and provided with them so much such should be a warning to each and every one of us that we can get too comfortable we have communed with christ so much and he's done so many great things he's provided for us so many times that we can just take it for granted and come into a place of spiritual complacency where miracles are happening before our very eyes oh cool just another sunday the disciples walking hand in hand with the messiah the creator of the world wrapped in flesh right in front of them they had seen experienced and been beneficiary of his miracles provision and and his healing yet they asked him hey show us the father and and that would suffice i'm talking about us today we've got the greatest of music and the greatest of singing and the greatest of preaching well most of the time maybe not this morning the the greatest of facilities the greatest of resources and we can find ourselves just coming in and going through the motions and failing to recognize and realize the mighty miracles that god has provided for us through the years realizing what we are able to experience on sunday morning great criers and great singing and great playing and a place that i can take my family to and great kid's quest [Applause] we've got to remember and value what we have we can't take the church and what god has provided for us for granted we've got to remember also that just jesus said have i not been so long time with you yet still you ask me oh and that will suffice for you if you if you don't praise over the preaching this morning or if you don't praise over the music at least look at your family and say god thank you thank you for thank you for what you've given me thank you for waking me up this morning that alone that alone should make you praise a little bit without any music without any without me screaming without anybody singing if i if i just open your open my eyes and see my family oh i say god thank you for what you've done jesus said have i not been so long with you how can you come in and be just how can you leave discouraged how can you how can you not have hope do you not remember what i've done just open your eyes look at your family look what god has given you value your family this morning spend time with your family this morning reach out and don't take them for granted this morning now don't miss too much church but take vacations with your family spend purposeful time with your family i don't have the picture because i wanted to live through the night but my family had went to disney world a few weeks ago and pastor whitley he put it in his stories as well i don't know if i was supposed to tell that because never mind he just sent it in a group text scratched that but he sent a picture of sister brenda whitley right there in front of magic kingdom with her hands up and brother nate killed me when he text he said this is the the first vacation we've been able to have together i thought how how awesome spending time investing in your family it's important make memories value your family value your marriage invest in it every single day don't let a sunday afternoon dinner don't don't let some kind of silly pettiness between you or your son or you and your daughter you and your mother you and your father and aunt or uncle or or something with somebody else don't let that eat away even for one second the valuable and precious time that god has given you on this earth don't spend one dinner don't spend one lunch focusing on something you're not even going to remember six months from now and say god thank you for my family i rejoice today and i'm valuing i'm valuing what i have i'm not going to let it go by another day value your your friends that's why we try to have small groups we we need each other we've got to have each other being a pastor and having friends throughout the world or whatever you can receive texts of encouragement and you're appreciative of it or you'll hear a word or a sermon and i'm thankful for it they're building but i can receive a text from a saint of god in this church and it's like that times 10. when i when i see a text or somebody from the church says i know there's this hurdle here or there's this obstacle here or maybe there's this situation that needs addressed when it's communicated in the right manner and it's hey we can fix this we can do this together and it just it's a supernatural strength that begins to take place we have to value our relationships and we need each other there's too much talk and too many memes about cutting people off and i'm going to smile no i want to enhance my circle i want more people in it yes i'm going to have boundaries but i'm called to reach this world and i need just every single person that i can get that i can get in my grasp i need all the help i can get to make it and i need to value i've got to value what god has given me hallelujah we can focus on songs and reports and it's our news reports and it's it's so always portrayed in television sitcoms or movies it's it's it's like everybody has the worst job in the world or there's been songs about working 40 hours a week and monday through friday you're nine to five shift work what i mean what whatever it is as people of god let's be thankful for the jobs that god has given us in whatever capacity thankful for the ability to go out and work thankful for the ability to go out and serve in in whatever capacity thankful for the opportunities god has given me brother tony bell's shared a story i i i said this about a year ago about being thankful for your job and maybe we ought to go in in the morning and thank your boss for for the job that he or she has given you and for allowing you the privilege to work there or whatever he texts me the next day and he said brother anthony i did exactly what you told me to do i got up monday morning i called my boss and i told him i said thank you for allowing me to work you're one of the the greatest supervisors and bosses i've ever had i'm just grateful today he said that boss was really taken back by that and had never heard anything like that before you know i'm thinking well that's that's fantastic that's what i was wanting brother tony said yeah and then my boss had me drug tested for the craziness i was saying [Applause] he didn't tell me whether he passed it or not but of course he was joking but in all seriousness let's speak words of gratitude i know it's a cliche about it's my choice to rejoice it is a choice it is a decision it is an outlook it is valuing the things that we have not being careless with the mighty gifts that god has given us not being careless with the opportunities that he has given us if the musicians would come jesus said philip have i not been so long time with you yet still you ask show us the father and that will be sufficient for you was it sufficient when i fed the 5 000 was it sufficient when i i said peace be still yet still you don't realize what's right in front of your face we've got to make a concerted because it doesn't happen by accident we have to make a concerted effort to protect the most valuable things in our life our calling in christ and our our church and our our family our friends and the opportunities that we have i would close going back to our original example of samson delilah was from the valley of zurich and this was the valley of the choice vine so if you would allow me just a bit of latitude this morning it was the valley of choice it was the valley of decision tim know where she resided in the valley of sorek was the place where the philistines were and this valley of the choice vine this valley of sork was the geographical marker between the philistines and the house of judah so samson had a decision to make and perhaps it was a geographical marker and landmark for him not to have any fruit of the vine so he doesn't get so close to that borderland where the people that wanted to take him out and the people that wanted to take out his family and nation were the people who wanted to oppress his people so he finds himself at the valley of sorry the valley of the choice vine the valley of decision god gave him one more chance at this geographical marker and this crossroads in his life samson had the opportunity to go back home to judah or to sell everything he had his calling his family his people and his god and we know the outcome every single one of us has a choice to make today stand with me if you would we have a decision to make in our lives as i mentioned and i will reiterate it gratitude doesn't happen by accident protecting the valuable things and appraising what's most important in our life doesn't take place by happenstance and maybe you're at the valley today and maybe it is sin and may i reach out to you first and foremost maybe you've allowed something out of the will of god in your life and you need to repent this morning this altar is going to be open for you but maybe there's also a situation in your life and maybe you're harboring some frustration and it's taking your joy and you're you're selling your joy off because of some frustration in your life maybe maybe some anger in your life over a situation that no one else knows about that you're just selling the peace in your life and some sleepless nights and not enjoying the time with your family at dinner time because something's just been eating away at your thoughts maybe you have doubt or or fear in your and it's been causing you to just kind of sell your faith off pennies on the dollar one aspect of the time you have a decision to make today you can do that and continue on to those things that will oppress you and continue on to those things that you're supposed to abstain from or you can return back to judah and what does judah mean this morning judah means now well i praise the lord because the answer to whatever situation you have is giving god praise because we read that he inhabits the praise of his people and when you begin to lift up that name above every other name jesus who was the it was the judah was the tribe that jesus would come out of when you begin to lift up those praises to heaven he begins to take residency he begins to acknowledge that you're crying out in your distress that you need help in this situation no matter how small or minuscule you think it might be it's not jesus wants you to have peace jesus wants to heal you of your infirmity [Music] if samson would have only just went back home to judah a house of praise there's mercy there if he would have just gone back home to judah there's there's peace there there's deliverance there there's yeah i made some mistakes but i can go back there and there's restoration there [Music] so i would encourage you this morning judah means now will i praise the lord i would encourage you if you're at the negotiation table of life to just get up and slam the chair in and say i am going back to judah it is my choice to rejoice my joy is not for sale my peace is not for sale my calling is not for sale my praise is not for sale i'm turning back and i'm heading toward the house of judah so i want to invite you this morning whatever you are facing whatever you are dealing with this altar this morning is representative of heading back to judah and i would invite you to step forward right now and say whatever i'm facing i'm stepping and i'm going back to judah now will i praise the lord now will i lift up his name because whatever i'm facing whatever i'm going through he's going to show up when i begin to lift up his name in jesus name [Music] there's a phrase that's called burn the boats this familiar phrase often evokes courage when herman cortez and his men arrived in veracruz mexico in 1519 they had one goal and that was conquest the story is told upon his arrival that cortes ordered his men to burn their ships because retreat was not an option he told them to burn their ships because he didn't want his men to even have in the back of their mind that there was any other decision than to just press forward and take over what they had set to do so i want to invite us this morning with whatever situation you're facing maybe it's sin and you need repentance maybe there's doubt in fear maybe there's a need that you need provision for you need to leave all of those things behind and say i'm not turning back to that it's not even an option for me to do so and i'm stepping forward to judah because now will i praise the lord so i want to invite us to just lift up our hands this morning across this house and whatever you have need of he knows what you have need of he's the comforter our key verse said anything you ask in his name he is going to do it you don't have to have some eloquent prayer you don't have to spell everything out that you've been dealing with it says he is going to advocate for things that you don't even know you need advocated for the only thing you have to do this morning is just lift up that name of jesus so i want to invite you would you just speak that name out for a second jesus jesus we thank you jesus we love you jesus we love you lord i thank you jesus i'm going back to judah yes jesus oh i give you thanks this morning