Under Cover: Finding Shelter in God's Authority | Associate Pastor Chad Erickson

As we return to your seat, if you would stand with me if you're not already standing, before I uh direct your attention to a uh scripture text tonight, um I'll ask you, and you're not going to hear this very often, but if you will take out your phone and take out your uh iPad or any device you have, um I want a QR code. They're going to put a QR code on the screen. And tonight, we begin a brand new series called Undercover. And uh uh this week we'll start it and then uh next week Pastor Carpenter will be coming and uh giving our second uh the series. And if you will just just take a picture of that that's going to give you our outline for tonight. This is tonight's outline. Tonight's uh notes for this uh session tonight. Uh following Pastor Carpenter, Pastor Hammond will be coming the following week. And then we'll have GMC, General Ministry Conference. And then following that, Pastor Carpenter will come back for the final the fourth week uh and we will conclude this series. But this is one of my uh very uh favorite teaching series and um a man by the name of John Bevere um had wrote this out actually wrote a book entitled Undercover which was one of the greatest books on on spiritual authority uh in submission that I have ever read. uh years ago, we actually watched um we watched the video series, but we are going to uh maybe do a shorter version of that series. Um and tonight, I hope you download those notes and you can just follow right along with me. Uh matter of fact, Psalm 91 uh verse 1 and 2 is our uh key uh key verse for the evening. It says simply this, he that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God. I like that. My God. In him will I trust. in order to be under the cover of someone or something, there has to be trust in that. And I'm so thankful that he is my God. I like to I like how uh the psalmist made that personal. He's not just our God. He is my God. In whom will I trust? In him will I trust. Uh tonight um of course the series is Undercover and tonight's uh session is entitled Finding Shelter in God's Authority. Let's put our Bibles down. Let's pray together. Father, we love you. And we're so thankful, Lord God, that we have your covering. And Lord, we're so thankful that you put authorities in our life, Lord God, that can help direct us and and help us. Lord God, you are the lamp unto our feet, the light into our pathway, but you've also given authorities in our life that are also guiding us down the same path that you are lighting. And Lord, for that we are so thankful. Lord, I never want to be on an island and alone. I never want to, Lord God, ever be out of a place of a covering. Lord, for there's protection in the covering. And for that purpose, Lord, we're going to teach this series. And Lord, I just believe your church is going to receive it and going to respond to it. In Jesus' name we pray. Clap your hands on the Lord before you're seated. Come on, one more time. Give him loud praise. Can you give him a midweek loud praise? Thank you, Jesus, for covering and thank you for being my God. And you may be seated in the house. So, what does it exactly mean to be or to live under cover? Well, it means dwelling in God's protective shadow, which is a place of refuge, a place of safety. It's a place of provision and blessing. >> I like this right here in every single area of our life. I don't know about you, that's what I want. I want to feel protected. I want to feel security and feel secure. I I want to I want safety. I want provision. I want to live a life of blessing, a life of favor. But that only comes when we are under his covering. Uh however, if we step out of that covering, we expose ourself and we have no protection from danger. For divine protection is activated when we choose to live in that secret place. Not occasionally, but as our daily dwelling, >> he that dwelleth in the secret place. God himself has got to be our absolute shelter. Um that that's the foundation that we're going to lay this week for for our series. And and I'm really going to unpack step by step. And by the end of this message, I believe we're going to understand what authority truly looks like. Um, and uh, and then obviously uh, pastor and next week is going to build upon this. But look with me. Let's begin with a powerful truth in Romans chapter 13 and verse one uh, verse one and verse two. Um, this is set out pretty clearly there. There's not a lot of guesswork that goes along with this. It just simply says, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers." And that simply means those that are in authority above you. For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. very clear uh very very cut and dry and to the point. So why is this so hard for us to accept in our culture? Why this authority this this dominant authority why is this so hard? Well, it's because we live in a democratic society democracy where we vote for our leaders. We question them. We have uh town hall questioning sessions. We debate them. Our leaders debate each other. And we think authority is something that we get to approve of. But the kingdom of God does not operate on democracy or a dem a a democratic mindset. In God's kingdom, all authority originates with him. He appoints it. He ordains it and our response to it determines whether we stay under his protection or we step out from under it. So every person in this this house tonight should be in subjection to governing authorities not out of fear and this is what I want to clear clearly state not out of fear of punishment but for conscience's sake. Okay. What this simply means is we are this is not some kind of a cult. You can study cults and occults and you can study where people are made to fear the leader in order to follow the leader. And this is not this is not what the church is all about. God is our authority and God does place authorities over us, but it's not for fear. >> It's not for any kind of punishment. It's simply so that we could be protected by the authority above us because all authority ultimately traces back to God even when it feels unjust. And I can't wait for later on in this series when they begin to teach about the uh the unjust authority and what our response is to that authority. But submission opens the door for God to act in ways that rebellion never could. For God's throne is established upon authority >> in the whole universe. Nothing is greater than authority. All other authorities are appointed by God. And when we learn to see authority everywhere we go, we discover our proper position in the body of Christ. A person who has truly submitted to authority becomes moldable, careful in speech, and able to lead others into submission. And that's so important right there because you cannot truly lead others into submission or a submissive lifestyle until you also are submitted to authority. >> So, let me tell you, let me tell you this. This is a true story that's going to illustrate what I'm what I'm trying to get started here and get an introduction for our series. But back in the late 1980s, there was a young youth pastor and it's actually the author of this book, John Bevere, um this this book where we're studying undercover. And um he he had planned and prepared home groups for the young people that he youth pastored. And uh these were going to be times of fellowship uh Bible study uh building relationships. These were going to be some very successful small groups. And he believed with all his heart that these groups called they were called teen parties were from God and would bear great fruit in his youth in his youth ministry. Well, uh story goes that he had gone to he's from Texas. He had just uh just recently been hired on, he and his wife, to be youth pastor at a very large church in Texas. And uh like all youth pastors do, they're always looking. I remember when I was a youth pastor, always looking for new ideas and new ways to reach young people because as culture changes, you've got to find new ways to reach them. Uh and he had gone to a a conference in in Louisiana. And this conference was at a church uh that was also very progressive. and they were seeing hundreds if not thousands of young people coming to the church. Um, and they were doing it by uh after football games on Friday nights, they were having what they called citywide parties. And they would have 20 to 30 households that were hosting these parties. Uh, schools from all over the county as they were having their football games. They had them all playing uh and they were seeing these young people show up on Sunday morning uh and and come to God, give their life to God, what have you, and and and join the church in this Louisiana church. And so, so this youth pastor, John River, uh he saw it. He he caught the he caught the vision. He was excited. He came home and he got his staff working feverishly working on creating these parties. And if you've ever worked on a youth staff or or worked on any kind of staff within the church, a small group staff, you know, there's a lot that goes into planning. Um, matter of fact, they had worked, Brother Thompson, they had worked for eight months, his staff, he had, I believe it's somewhere around 24 staff members as a large church and a large church and he had about 24 staff members on his youth team and they for eight months have been working feverishly on getting these groups together. Then one Sunday, his senior pastor stood up in a staff meeting, and he announced that the entire church was going to be cancelling all home cell groups, every single one of them. And uh John is is is giving his he's telling the story and he's sitting there and he's thinking to himself, surely he's not talking about our youth party. Surely he's talking about the adults, the you know their small groups and their cell groups. He said he he he begins to write. He said, "Surely they're not talking about what we've been planning for eight months because it just so happens that he had talked to the senior pastor about two months earlier in the parking lot as they were getting in their cars headed to the house and and he had shared this idea with the senior pastor and the senior pastor thought it was the most amazing idea he had ever heard." And so here the youth pastor, he's thinking, I know he's not talking to us. I know he's talking to everybody else. He's not referring to the youth ministries. And so he said for the next 20 minutes in this meeting, in this staff meeting, he began to plead with the pastor and say, "Pastor, you're you're not talking about the youth department, are you, when you say small groups?" And the pastor said, "Yes, I I feel strongly that the spirit of God has laid on my heart that we need we just need to cancel them for a while." And he said, 'But pastor, you don't understand. We're we're we're we're in line. We we could have hundreds of young people coming to the church through through our our our our teen parties. And and the pastor said, "Yes, I understand what you're saying, but I I just feel like God has spoken to me that we need to cancel for now. We need to cancel our small groups." and and he said for 20 minutes he just kept on pleading and and and and he said I I felt rebellion begin to rise in my heart as I thought this doesn't make any sense just a couple months ago you were all about this we've been we've been we've been working on this for eight months surely this is not about us and in his mind he began criticizing the decision that the senior pastor had made and he started justifying why he should keep his youth groups going anyways. And and the Holy Ghost began to deal with him. He said the Holy Spirit began to deal with me strongly. And the Lord showed me that even though I had outwardly submitted, he said my heart was full of rebellion against authority that God had placed above me. All right. >> He said, "I realize that I have been kicking against the goats just like the Lord spoke to Saul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9 and5 when Jesus said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to prick or to kick against the pricks." These goss that Jesus was referring to were were sharp poles that that that farmers use. Has anybody ever heard the term? Let me find my goat here. I brought it in. I thought security was going to stop me. Has anybody ever heard the statement as stubborn as an ox? I I think, brother Josh, I think they're one of the most stubborn animals. Now, they're the most hardworking and one of the most strong the strongest animals that a farmer can use in the field, but they're so stubborn. I mean, donkeys are stubborn, but oxen are even more stubborn than donkeys. And and so the the farmer has to have as he's plowing and he's following the ox, the ox will just stop and the ox will just decide, I'm not going any further. And that farmer has to take this go, this prick and has got to just get him the backside a little bit. Get him back in the hip a little bit. Oh, that oxen, that ox will start to move forward again and they can plow again. But sometimes the ox decides, I'm going to kick against the thing that's pricking me. And Jesus said it to Saul, which was soon to be Paul, but said to Saul, said, "You are fighting my people. You're you're coming against my church. This is my church. I I've established in the book of Acts and and here you are and you're persecuting them and he said you're you're kicking against the pricks because here's the deal. The farmer is going to plow. The oxen is going to move forward. >> It's going to get pricricked. >> But the question is, are you going to kick against the very thing that's trying to move you forward? >> Because there's pain. There's pain when the auction begins to kick against the goal. There there's pain again. It's going to happen. things are still going to move forward. We're still going to plow the field, but you have a decision to make. Do I obey? Am I obedient? Am I submissive? Or do I fight against the very thing that's trying to move me forward? >> And so, it was Jesus that told that to Paul and he said, he said, "You you're kicking against the bricks." and and John Bevere, he he began to feel this within him that I'm fighting against the very thing that's trying to push me forward. And this resistance is not only hurting me, but it's hurting the work of God. So right then and right there, he repented in his heart and he tells he says, "I went home. I picked up the phone." He said, "I called my senior pastor and said, "Pastor, I'm calling to ask for your forgiveness because God has shown me I've been in rebellion to your authority and I have sinned greatly." He said, "Please forgive me. I will cancel these home groups immediately." And the pastor graciously forgave him. And that moment of true submission became became a turning point in his life. And he said, "It became a turning point in my ministry." And that is what it looks like to to stop kicking against the bricks and just get back under the cover of your pastor, of your authority. Because true freedom and protection are always found only when we remain under God's covering. And it never can be found outside of God's covering. >> It's been said many times, you're never going to be able to prove you're submitted to your authority >> until you have a serious disagreement with your authority. Submission is revealed when agreement ends. Now I've heard the term that submission begins when when agreement ends. But I believe you could be submitted even even when you agree. So I want to say it's revealed when agreement ends. So this youth pastor's submission, it wasn't proven when he called a senior pastor because anybody can apologize. Anybody could pick up a phone because because they feel bad of of of how they reacted and still hide rebellion in their heart. So John's submission submission was proven when he went and informed all his youth staff that the project that they had spent the past eight months working on had been cancelled. That's how you prove your submission is when you go to others and talk about the situation. And so I want to read verbatim how how John's testimony ends, how this youth pastor's testimony ends. He said, "As soon as I hung up with the pastor." He said, "I heard the Holy Spirit posed this question in my mind. Now, how will you inform your 24 leaders this weekend?" He said, "I saw a vision of me walking into the room with the leaders and in a sad monotone voice reporting, guys, you're not going to believe what's happened." He said, "They would," he said, and he's imagining this. He said, "They would all look at me concerned, asking what happened." He said, I would continue in my heavy monotone voice. you you know we we've worked on these youth parties for eight months but pastor has cancelled the home cell groups and we're not going to be able to have our parties on Friday night. >> He said I saw them all begin to moan and groan in disgust over the decision. >> It was easy to perceive that they were upset with the senior pastor and that we were all victims. And of course, I look good at his expense. He said, after mulling the scene in my mind, he said, I heard the Holy Spirit question, is this what you're going to do? And he said, no, sir. He said at the next meeting he said I walked in the room full of leaders with confidence and with a smile on my face and excitement in my voice and with enthusiasm he said I announced guys I've got great news. He said God has spared us from birthing and building something that's not from him. He said, "Our senior pastor told us in a staff meeting this week that the direction of the Holy Ghost for this church is not to have home groups so effective immediately the parties are cancelled." >> And he said, "The result was excitement with my youth team and appreciation that our senior pastor had been looking out for our youth ministries." Come on. That's true submission. That's truly staying under the cover of your leader, not trying to expose him as someone who's against the youth team and against the youth group and he's an old fddy duddy that that's not up with the culture and up with the times, but a a man who walks into his youth staff and says, "Thank God that our pastor has heard from God and thank God we're not going to get ourselves into a mess because who knows what could have happened, but God >> has delivered us even before we got set into it." True submission truly staying in the shadow of the Lord. But because we understand what undercover truly means, now we've got to understand why resisting authority is so dangerous. So, so let's move into the next layer. And you can follow me right along as you're following your outline of of this foundation. Because what truly is sin? Because if we don't really understand what sin is, we'll never understand why stepping out from undercover is so devastating. But 1 John 3 and 4, it says this, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law. For sin is here's the definition of sin. For sin is the transgression of the law. King James translated that sin is a transgression of the law. But the original Greek word is anomia which means lawlessness. What he's simply saying here is sin is lawlessness. Sin is refusing or stepping outside of God's direct authority in our life. It's not just the the big outward moral failures that we always think of, the adultery and stealing and murder. And and when we think of sin, sometimes we go to these the these great uh moral failures. When when you hear somebody say, "Oh, I've sinned." Well, the first thing you think about is is they they've stepped out of their marriage. they've been unfaithful in their marriage or or something of that nature. But lawlessness is simply rebellion against God himself in what God has established in his word. It's it's not like a political disagreement or or or social trend. Lawlessness produces chaos, fear, division in a cold heart, >> a hardened heart. We can look at the very first sin in in human history and you're going to see this truth is crystal clear. Uh go with me to Genesis chapter 2 and we're going to read uh verses 16 and 17. Then we're going to kind of read into chapter 3 just a little bit. God placed Adam and Eve in a perfect garden. Y'all listen to me. There was no sin. It was a perfect situation. It was a perfect garden. And and God said in verse 16, "Of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it." And there's always consequences when there's a command. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely >> die. Now, now notice how generous God was. He said, "Of every tree," listen, I don't know how many trees were in the garden. Hundreds of trees. He said, "Of every one of these hundreds of trees that's in this beautiful garden that I've placed you, you are free to eat except one single restriction." And it was given for their protection. That restriction was an act of love when he said there's one tree because he was he was showing his authority over them. But he also understood without that one tree there is no such thing as choice. Right there there there's there's there's no true relationship without choice. We're just robots. If if all we are is is in a perfect environment where we cannot make a choice of wrong, then we just serve God because that like an angel. That's what we're created to do. If there was no choice to disobey, there would have been forced obedience in forced relationship. >> But I thank God that he gave us one tree so we could prove >> our submission to him. But here we go. Here comes a serpent. Look in Genesis 3:1. Servant speaks to Eve and says, "Yay, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" See how he distorted that word of God? God said, "You're you can eat of all the trees except one." And and Satan comes behind him and says, "Oh, he's telling you you can't eat of all the trees." Is that what he Oh, he twisted this emphasis so that the one restriction sounded like God was somehow stingy and was withholding good from Adam and Eve. And then Satan begins to question God's character. Look in verse five. For God doth know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as God's, knowing good and evil. He He made God look unfair and unloving and most importantly untrustworthy. >> That's right. >> Remember we talked about trust. You got to trust in your covering. And and Satan understood if I could just put a question in Eve's mind that her God is not trustworthy, she will step out of the covering of his authority. And sure enough, as soon as Eve's mind accepted the lie about God's goodness, it was easy for her to reject his authority. She ate, Adam ate, and in that moment, they both stepped out from under God's covering and brought death into the human race. And that's exactly what sin is. It's lawlessness, rejecting God's direct authority and submitting only to one's own will. It's a selfish thing. It's not only a scary place to be, it's a selfish place to be to be out of God's authority. >> Partial obedience, delayed obedience, or obedience only when it feels convenient. It's all lawlessness. Everyone say that lawlessness. >> James 1:22 says, "Oh, be ye doers of the word." Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. Hearing without obeying is selfdeception. So, we got to examine our hearts. This is this is what this this whole session tonight is about. We got to begin this series by examining our hearts. Is there any area where we're resisting God's direct word in our life or how he wants to direct us, his will in our life? Cuz that resistance is sin and it pulls us out from under his protective authority. This is a question I continually have to ask myself personally because submission to God and his appointed authorities is not a one-time decision I make. It's a decision I have to continually make. I have to continually check my heart and check my motives >> because we're living in this this new day we're living in. And this is not how it was growing up. I I remember growing up. I remember my father was my pastor the first 18 years of my life. And I remember hearing of meetings between he uh and saints in the church when they would come in and they would they would say, "Pastor Ericson, we we we we we got a we got a major issue. Our our job is wanting to transfer us out of state or or or we just we we feel like like maybe it's time for us to to to pack up and to to find to go somewhere else. Maybe have a new start somewhere. You know, sometimes things get kind of a little hairy. you know, marriages break up and one wants to leave here, another one wants to go there. And and I remember hearing these, Brother Thompson, I remember hearing these stories, but back then they would come and they would say, "Pastor, we want you to pray and we want you to touch God for us and we want you we're under your authority, pastor, and we want you to tell us what to do and and tell us what God has for us." But it's sad to say that as time has progressed that that meeting has turned into, "Pastor, I need to inform you of a decision we're trying to make." They they they come to us, they come to Pastor Carpenter, they come and they say, and here it is. If if you tell Pastor Carpenter, "I heard from God," I want you to know you you are shutting the voice. You're shutting off the voice of your authority. Because as soon as you say, "God told me, >> the Holy Ghost told me," as a pastor, we have no choice but to step back because we're not going to try to trump what the Holy Ghost has told you. >> And I'm not saying that the Holy Ghost can't talk to individuals. I believe wholeheartedly. We ought to ask. And here's what here's what you say. You say, "Pastor, would you help me pray?" >> You need to be praying. We I need to be praying for any major decision I make. But you go to your pastor and you say, "Pastor, I need your wisdom. I need your advice. I'm not coming to inform you what I'm doing. I'm not going to come inform you that I'm leaving. I'm not going to come inform you that I'm moving away. I'm coming to ask you to help me pray over this decision." And you know what? Your pastor, he might say, "You know what? I feel good. I I had prayer about this all week, and I feel good about it. I feel the Holy Ghost. I feel you're right. The decision you're making, that's a good opportunity for you. And he might or he might say the Holy Ghost said no. And we've got to be willing like this youth pastor. We got to be willing to say, man, does he not understand this is a $20 an hour pay raise. But the Holy Ghost sees stuff that we don't see. The Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost is in tune with the future that we cannot see. >> It's like the prophets of old. He sees. That's what a prophet is. He's a seer. The Holy Ghost can see things. And man, let me tell you something. There's things that you might have $20 more an hour in your bank account, but if the Holy Ghost doesn't lead us somewhere, that's a scary place to be. Because as soon as we step out of the authority, out of under the authority of our pastor and our leaders, oh, it's a scary place to be. And I promise you, it may not make sense. And let me tell you something. It usually doesn't make sense. >> It doesn't make sense that youth pastor John Bevere, it didn't make sense to him. >> Come on, pastor. We're going to have hundreds of of of visiting youth in our in our church services on Sunday morning. Pastor, how could you say no? Well, I'll tell you how pastor could say no because the Holy Ghost saw in advance. And who knows that those home groups might have split that church wide open. And that pastor who listened to the Holy Ghost instead of listening to man's ideas said that straight. And the same thing is with us. God every day in my life. I want to wake up and I want to check my heart and make sure that I'm submitted to my my man of God and into and to the first lady of this church. Uh he's more than just my father-in-law and my mother-in-law, but they're my pastor. They're my leader. They're the director. They're my shepherd. And shepherds carry staffs, sticks, man. It feels so good when the shepherd has that rod with the curve on the end and they're directing you. You they're pulling you back from the cliff. Oh, that feels so good. But I tell you what doesn't feel good was sometimes you get sometimes you get this right here. Because sheep are dumb. >> We're not as dumb as goats. But we are dumb. We're followers on purpose. Sheep are not leaders. Sheep are followers. There's some I've said this before from this pulpit. If somebody calls you a sheep, it is not a compliment. Especially if you're the black sheep, that's that's that's not a compliment. Thank God for a shepherd. And you just got to continue. We got to continually not just 10 years ago, not just 5 years ago, but it's something that every day, God, I want to be submitted to my authority. So, I'm moving quickly. Here's where everything ties together so powerfully. Because of this lawlessness we just defined as not just a personal issue. It's a growing deceptive force already at work in the world and even oh even in the church. 2 Thessalonians 2:7 says, "For the mystery, the mystery of iniquity doth already work." It's already there. It's already working. It's already in the world. And God forbid it's already in the church. And this this New King James calls it the mystery of lawlessness. It is the secret power of lawlessness. The mystery. It's a secret power of lawlessness. It It's already working secretly, subtly, making rebellion look reasonable, even spiritual. Matthew 24:12 says, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. In the last days, this secret power is going to increase. Its works exactly like the serpent did in the garden. It'll distort God's word, question his character, and making it seem right to step out from under authority." That's why revealed knowledge, knowledge that comes from submission and obedience is our greatest guard against deception. When we stay under cover, God reveals truth to protect us. Who is so I'm so I'm so thankful to be in the house of God tonight >> because this is where truth is revealed. the people that that sit before me tonight, you are here for a purpose. Why are you here? Because you're under the authority of God. It's not just because you had nothing else to do on a Wednesday night, but you want to keep your family under the authority, under the covering >> of a God who wants to protect us and care for us. Stand to your feet with me. This is the foundation of this entire series. Everything that's covered in the next three weeks builds directly on what I've begun tonight. So, we close this first week and I want us to just to take a few moments before the Lord and we need to ask ourselves these questions. Am I dwelling in the secret place? A lot of times secret places are not good places. But the shadow of the Almighty, that secret place, that's a good that's a safe place to dwell. Am I dwelling in the secret place or am I kicking against the goats in an area of my life? And it might not, it might not be every area. It might just be one small area. Am I walking in any form of lawlessness, even the sub kind? Because if we discover that we are in any way, my God, we got to make a decision today to get fully back under the covering of God. It's the safest, most blessed place to be. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God. In him will I trust. Oh, church family, we've got to stay undercover. I'm wanting pastor to come. He's going to he's going to have session two. I want him to come and I want him to close out this session. But as he comes, can we just lift up our hands and can we pray this prayer? God, Lord, check my heart. Check my spirit. God, I want there to be nothing, oh God, that would cause you to question if I'm submitted to my authority. God, I want this man in my life. Oh God, I want him to be able to say anything he wants to say to me. I want him to be able to correct me. I want him to be able to guide me. I want I want him to be able to say if there's something in my family that needs to be said. If my daughters are doing something they ought not to do, I want my pastor, my first lady to be able to say, "Chad and Fallon, I need you to correct this in your home." And Lord God, I want to open my mind. I don't want to get offended. Lord God, I don't want to be offended ever. at my man of God. But God, I just want to submit and say, Lord, have your way in my life. Have your way in my family's life. Lord, open my heart. Lord, I don't want to come up with reasons and excuses why my my ideas are correct, God. I just want to be under your covering. And anything you say, God, I want to follow it. I want to do your will in Jesus name. Come on, clap your hands unto the Lord tonight. So good. So good. So good.