The Daysman | Student Pastor Zach Hammond

If you will grab your Bible, we're going to go to the book of Job this morning. Go to the book of Job. Once again, man, I I seen so many guests in the house of the Lord today and some of you that have just come in. It's so great to have you here at FAC and we thank God that you have chose to worship with us and we want you just to make yourself right at home. In fact, this morning when we get done with service and after we have prayed together in the altar, the coffee shop that's out here to my right, when you exit out these right doors, uh they have a gift for you. If you're a firsttime guest, we want you to uh know just how much we appreciate you worshiping with us today. And so, you can go out there and they have a gift for you uh today. And we want to just say how thankful we are to have you. Um there's a a series going on on Wednesday night. So, we are in part three of that series coming up. And so, I want to uh make plans to be here. You invite somebody and I'm excited to be uh teaching that um this coming Wednesday night. We miss our pastor and first lady today. Uh they are out ministering at a church in Mississippi. I was talking to pastor and I I believe I heard him correct and if not, he can correct it later, but um he said he's preaching at a church that predates um the Civil War. That's how old the church is. Um, it started out as a uh another denomination as a Baptist church I believe he said. But somehow in the early part of the 20th century, somebody got the Holy Ghost and it changed the name and it's been that way ever since. And so he's there preaching a dedication. Somebody got baptized in the name of Jesus and all of a sudden you've got a different uh a different church there. and and um he's there dedicating or or not dedicating but just celebrating the uh anniversary there. And so we pray for pastor today as he is he's uh he's getting ready to I'm sure he's watching today. We honor him and they're they're another time zone. So he's probably tuned in this morning. We love and appreciate our pastor, don't we? Won't you give them a big hand? We love them and thank God for them. Honor him today. Job chapter 9 and verse number 32. Again, church family, those of you that know me know that I I cannot stand being without a voice. I do a lot of things to try to protect it. And so, if you'll help me preach this morning, it would it would it would really help me out. I know we got a lot of guests that's going to have to endure this today, but church family, if you would just help me with my with my voice today. Help me preach. It's not just about me talking. It's about you agreeing. Amen. That's right. What good is it if you throw out a seed and it falls on bad ground? Amen. >> Amen. So, we we're going to preach this morning. I believe God wants to do something in our midst. Job chapter 9 verse number 32. For he is not a man as I am, he said that I should answer him, for we should come together in judgment. Neither is there a daysman betw twix us that might lay his hand upon us both. Let him take his rod away from me and let not his fear terrify me. Then would I speak and not fear him, but it is not so with me. I want to preach and hopefully by the time we get done here we understand Job's words here in his context. Um, but I want to preach to you for just a few moments this morning on this topic. The daysmen. The daysmen. If you'd lay your Bibles down and lift them to heaven, I believe the Lord's going to speak to us today. Lord, I thank you for the opportunity to be able to stand in your presence today. Lord, as we've lifted you up, as we worshiped your name this morning, Lord, we felt your almighty presence come into this room. Lord, we felt your hope and your peace and your goodness, Lord, come into this house, Lord. And I pray that before we leave here that every person in this room experiences your goodness, Lord. That we would leave here, Lord, and we would be changed by your presence. Let it be without doubt, Lord, when we leave this room today that every person has felt the glory of the almighty God. In Jesus' name we pray. Everybody said, "Amen." >> Amen. You may be seated this morning. The days, the daysman. We We see Job makes this statement here. This is the only time in scripture that this word is used. The daysman is um is in this book of Job. That's uh not a real long book, but they many believe and if you study it out that Job is the oldest book recorded in your Bible that it was written uh before any other book was recorded. And so uh Job was the Bible says was a perfect Job was a upright man. He went um through some of the most difficult trials that could be exampled in the Bible. Amen. I don't know about you, but nobody's signing up for Job's trial. Amen. Nobody wants to go through what Job has went through. And Job lost not only everything, but seemingly lost everybody. His friends were not the most, you know, encouraging. Um his wife in in the midst of all of it telling him, "Job, just give up and die." I mean it's terrible. Nobody wants to go through what Job is going through. But Job goes through a 9month trial. I don't think it was just by coincidence that it was nine months because God was birthing something through Job's story that we could look back many years through the pages of time and the pages of scripture as an example that no matter what is going on in the life of the child of God that God has his hand on you today. I want to encourage somebody that has come to the house of the Lord today and you're confused and you're frustrated and life is uncertain and perhaps you've got worry in your mind and you're fearful and this is not at all how you thought it was going to turn out. Right? It's this is not at all what you thought it was going to look like. I just want to let you know that God sees you right where you're at this morning. And each and every time that we go through something, each and every time that we are challenged and we are shaken, we can look back at Job and always have a little bit better perspective on life. Amen. I walked into a service last night thinking, man, how am I going to preach to these young people who need me to kind of give them some energy and preach, you know, and I don't have a voice? And I was sitting down there kind of with all my excuses. And all of a sudden, all of a sudden, Sister Cook comes rolling up and she's got broken bones and a broken back and all this. And I see her over there waving her hand. And I thought, man, my voice ain't that big of an issue. Right? You know, Job's situation will change your perspective. You say, "I got some things going on, man. I It's just, you know, it's kind of drama at work and this is going on with my family." Job is a perfect example of of of just any and everything could be going wrong, but God is still in control. Amen. >> God is always there working. If we will be just and we will be upright and we will serve him, God's hand is always at work. All things work together for the good of those that love him and are called according to his purpose. And we don't like that because all things includes the bad things. All things includes the dark days. All things include the seasons that we didn't expect, the seasons that we didn't have in mind, right? There there's so many things within the stories of scripture that it's just like it never turns out the way you thought it was going to, right? It's never exactly the way you thought it was going to be. But God always has a way of taking everything and making it all work for his glory. But Job in the midst of all of his mess uses this term and he says he he says and he's trying to describe it that I am in this place of trial. I am in this place of pain and there's no days between us. There's no one that can reach and touch both sides. There's no one that can touch me and touch heaven. There's no one that can reach and connect me seemingly to God. Job is trying to describe his distance he feels. Job is trying to depict how far he feels from God. Do I have any honest people in the room this morning that would say there's been seasons of your life where you just feel like God's a long, long way. There's been seasons and times you go through where it's like, "Hey, what am I doing? Did I did I did I did I make God mad? Did I say something wrong? Did I Did I not pray enough? Did I not do that? I just feel so dist from God. Job answers all those questions for us because Job was sacrificing God daily on a maybe. He was going to God. He had a well-worn path of righteousness. He was he was perfect. He was upright. So you can go ahead and mess up that that mentality of your mind to think that just because something's going wrong, you did something wrong. >> That's a lie from the enemy. That's a lie from the devil. Don't let the devil put you in a worse situation than you're already in. You're going through it and everybody else is going to go through it and everybody's going to face something. And that's God taking you and molding and shaping your will into his will. It's not that you've done something wrong. It's not that you're worse than the person across town or you're worse than that person sitting in front of you. It's the fact that all of us are going to face trials and tribulation. And Job said, "In the midst of the worst situation, I just wish there was somebody that could connect me to God. >> I just wish there was a daysman that could go in betw twix in between us." In other words, maybe in our New Testament terminology, he said, "Brother Dempsey, he said, there's no mediator. There's nobody that could reach across this gap and get me to God. I just want to feel God. In ancient eastern customs, we see that this figure and even within the the the the root words that we see in this that make up this term daysman, it means one who reproves or decides and the the the new uh the new translations of your your Bible would would they reference him as a umpire. An umpire. Anybody ever played any softball or baseball? There's an umpire. guy stands behind the plate called strikes and balls. We don't trust him anymore. We've got a new system called the ABS and they they have a little frame and then and all it takes I don't know if you've watched baseball recently, but if you hadn't watched in a while, you start watching you realize that we don't trust those guys anymore. So the guy the guy batting can tap his helmet, he can challenge it. And with this virtual box, they can overturn the umpire. And the catcher behind the plate, if he disagrees, if he looks over at the dugout, he can tap his head and he can challenge it. Both parties have this umpire that really don't matter anymore. They need one of those things in basketball. I don't know how they're going to do it, but they need one. Until then, I it's rigged. I'm just telling you, the whole thing's rigged. But there there there is some there there there is this system now that that it's impartial. That computerenerated system is impartial. He he may you know and you always have in the back of your mind you know you're watching you're cheering for your team and and you're wanting them to win and all of a sudden that strike is called or that ball is called that out is called and you're thinking and that's a terrible call. You know maybe he grew up as a Yankees fan. Maybe he grew up as a Dodgers fan. You know, maybe he has a little bit of that fleshly side of him that is partial because you can't separate that, right? You can't depict, you can't take and you you can say all you want to. You can you walk in the room, but you are flesh and you are carnal and you can say, "I saw it this way, but if it comes down to it so close, huh, the tie goes to the runner, but I've seen the tie go to who he wants it to go to." You know what I'm saying? Does everybody everybody understand it this morning? Because there's a sense of partiality and there's a part of me that kind of likes the fact that they're using this computer until somebody learns how to manipulate the computer. I'm sure you know because it's not partial. That's what they said the daysman is. It's somebody that is both merciful but also just. It's somebody that is not going to lean one way or another. not going to uh uh be partial to one party or another. And so Job is saying, I just wish there was somebody that was understanding of my situation that could perhaps go before God and say, God, do you look what look at what Job's going through. Somebody that could petition God on his behalf. Someone that could reach across this distance that he feels from God. So, let's navigate through scripture. So, feel a little bit more like a Bible study this morning as we navigate the scripture. Go to Ezekiel chapter number 14. And I want you to read these verses with me on the screen or you can follow along on your Bible. If you're taking notes, this would be a great thing to note and study later on. But the Lord of the word came unto me saying, "Son of man, when the land sinnth against me by trespassing grievously, then I will stretch out my hand upon it. I will break the staff of the bread thereof and send famine upon it and will cut off man and beast from it. Now, there's a lot of things. This is that Old Testament. You're not going to maybe there's some things in here you don't understand, but I want to point out just a few few statements here. He says, though these three men, notice this, though these three men, in verse 14, these three men, this is who he lists, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it. He said, "If these three men were in it, they couldn't deliver their own souls by their righteousness, sayeth the Lord God. If I cause noisome beast to pass through the land and spoil it, so that it be desolate that no man may pass through because of the beast." He says, "Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver their sons nor daughters. They only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. Or if I bring a sword upon the land, nay, and say s uh the sword go through the land so that it may cut the man and beast from it. Though these three men were in it, he's making an emphasis to you that even if it was Noah in it, or even if it was Daniel in it, or even if it was Job, there's nothing that could be done. And he goes on and on and on. Read it later on. It goes all the way down to verse 23. and they shall comfort you when ye see their ways and their doings. And ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, sayaeth the Lord God. Though these three men, if Noah, Daniel or Job, any of these men of the Old Testament, I believe he could have listed all of them. We could have went through Abraham. We could have went through all the names of the Old Testament. But he said, "If these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, Noah saved his household from the flood. Daniel's prayers influenced and and and and spared his friends and others in Babylon. Job's intercession delivered his friends ultimately from God's wrath in the midst of a trial." The point here is even men with a track record of righteousness. Even the good folks, let's say it that way, even the saints, even the ones that maybe you esteem highly, those that you know have a walk with God, even those that are living a righteous life effective in intercession and they're they you've seen God to deliver not only them but use them to deliver others could not save Judah right now. They said that's what the passage is saying. Judah is in a place and the nation's guilt and their their their their their sin was too great that even if it was one of these three that had done many powerful things in tough times, it reminds us that no one can save anyone but themselves. I know this is hard for you to swallow and many of you sat next to your most prized possession in your family this morning. But no matter no matter how much I love my wife and kids, I can't save my kids. No matter how much I want my kids to serve God or I want your kids to serve God or I want you to serve God, I can't carry anybody this morning. It's his will that every single person make their way into heaven's gates, but that doesn't mean that I can carry you into heaven's gates. >> Nobody can save anybody. You can do your best to influence and you can prop up your spouse throughout your entire marriage spiritually and try to encourage them to do the things to live a righteous and holy lifestyle and be separate and and and be called out and live who God's called them to be. You can challenge your kids and you could say, "Hey, we want you to we want to train you and raise you in what's right. But ultimately, there's going to come a day where you've got to make a decision and you've got to do what Peter said right after he gave the plan of salvation where he said, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." That's how you save yourself. That's how that you that's the plan of salvation. But just right after that in verse 40, Acts 2:38's the plan of salvation. Acts 2:39 is this promises unto you and to your children. And Acts 2 and 40 says in many other words did he testify and exhort saying save yourself. Save yourself from this untoward generation. No matter what anybody is doing around you, no matter what the culture looks like, no matter what your situation looks like, Job, no matter how unfavorable it is, no matter what is going on in your life, you've got to make up your mind. I'm going to save myself from this untoward generation. Every young person, every mom, every dad, every person breathing God's air has a decision to make today. Am I going to separate? Am I going to save myself >> in this world that I am in but I am not of? >> Job says, "I just need somebody to connect the gap." Isaiah 59. I told you I'm going to read a good bit of scripture today. Go there with me. Isaiah chapter number 59 and verse number 12. For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us. For our transgressions are with us and our as of as as of as as for our iniquities, we know them. Anybody know your sins today? I know you don't want to think about them, but you need to be honest with yourself because we're only as strong as we are honest. He said, "I know my iniquities. I know my transgressions. I know my faults and my failures in transgressing and lying against the Lord and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt and conceiving and uttering from the heart uh the heart words of falsehood. I don't know about you, but when I read this stuff, it kind of makes I know this is terrible to say, but it ought to make you feel a little bit better about yourself. You know, nobody else I everybody in here is just living just perfect life. I really and judgment is turned away backward and justice standeth a far off. For truth is fallen in the street and equity cannot enter. Yay truth fellth and the he departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. And the Lord saw it and it displeased him and there was no judgment and he saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore, his his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteous is righteousness it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation upon his head, and he put on the garment of vengeance for clothing, and it was clad with a zeal of his cloak. We're in the Old Testament. Just remind yourself of that. According to their deeds, accordingly uh accordingly, he will repay fury for his adversaries recompense. to his enemies, to the islands, he will repay recompense. So they shall so shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall raise up a standard against them. Notice the shift here. It changes. He says, "And the redeemer shall come to Zion and unto him that uh from transgression in Jacob, sayaeth the Lord, as for me, this is my covenant with them, sayeth the Lord. My spirit is upon them. Uh and my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed seed in the Lord from henceforth and forever." Verse 16 is like a hinge in this passage. You see, he said, "And I saw that there was no man." And he said, "I wondered, would there be a intercessor? I wondered would there be a mediator? I wondered if there would be a daysman that would stand between." And so I I want to encourage you today and let every person in this place know that somewhere along the lines of your lineage, no matter how polluted by sin it has been, I believe that if you're in this room today, that somebody prayed for you. Somewhere in the pages of your history book, in your family tree, is a prayer that somebody said, "God, touch the generations to come. God, touch the children that'll be born. God, touch the people." And it has positioned you in this room this morning, some of you, without even realizing your destiny. Realizing that your path has positioned you here without without happen stance. It's not by chance. And so we see here, he says, "Could there just be a daysman? Could there just be an intercessor? Could there just be someone?" And then we see as the Old Testament comes to an end, there's 400 years of silence. There's 400 years of nobody doing anything. Could could you just experience I just just try to think through with me living we have record but the time said we have record we have we have we have stories we have people that are saying I just need somebody that'll go to God for me I just need something in between me and my problems I need something that will reach across what seems like this this this gap or this gulf between me and God every time I run into an issue and every time I run into a problem I need a mediator I need somebody that can help me. I need somebody that'll intercede on my behalf. I need somebody that'll pray for me. I need somebody that'll encourage me. I need to know that to the fatherless there's a father. To the motherless there's a mother. To somebody that's in need there's a there's a promisekeeper. I need something in between. And but for 400 years there's nobody. Neither side moves. God doesn't make a step. Neither does man. 400 years of silence. You talking about terrible place to live. There's this great gap and there's nothing but silence. Nobody steps toward God and God steps toward no one. It's silence. But man, how powerful it is when we turn that page. I I don't know about you, but I I'm so thankful to live when I live. I'm thankful to live in this time of this dispensation of time that's the church age that we have a book that tells us these things. We have a book that says in the back of the book, we win. Amen. I'm thankful to be a part of a church that's already an overcomer. We've already We just got to get on the right team, right? It's a winning team. It's a It's a team that's The victory is already there. He said, "The gates of hell will not prevail against the church." I'm thankful to live. I'm glad I didn't live in 400 years of silence. Some of you introverts are thinking, "Man, that' have been nice. No social media. No, just quiet." says, "I'm just looking for someone who will stand in the gap." There's this distance. We turn the page into the New Testament. And I'm thankful for the New Testament. In John 1, you know it. You've been around church. You've heard it. In the beginning was the word. And the word was with God. and the word was God. The same was in the beginning. In other words, the same was in Genesis when he spoke it into existence. That he spoke across a gap. He spoke across something that was void and it was dark and he began to reach across and life came forth. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life and the life was the light of men. and the light shineth in darkness. Job was in a dark time and he was looking for a light, but the darkness comprehended it not. Jump down to verse number 14. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld this glory and his glory was the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth. Anybody tell me who we're talking about? Huh? Anybody shout who we're talking about? >> There we go. There we go. We're in the New Testament. We're talking about Jesus, the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. John bear witness of him and cried, saying, "This was the one whom I spake. He that cometh after me is preferred before me. For he was before me. He was in the beginning. He was in Genesis. And this is the fullness." He says, "Of of his fullness have we all received. And grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. We have, you have, I have a mediator. I I want you to understand how powerful this old old dusty book of Job was. That Job in the midst of all of his problems looks into the future and speaks a word of prophecy. He didn't even know he was speaking prophecy, but he's speaking prophecy saying, "This feeling that I have feels like there's this gap that I cannot reach across that I I cannot get across that. I need a mediator. I need a daysman to reach across and connect me to heaven in the midst of my mess." Amen. >> So, he he projects forth and then 1 Timothy 3:14 says, "These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly. But if I tar long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar in the ground of truth, and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. After years of silence, he was justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory. And now there is a mediator. Now we have what Job did not have in the mediator, the man Christ Jesus. Well, how does that happen? Paul says to the church at Galatians, Galatians 3:20, follow along with me. Now, a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? Question. God forbid. For if there had been a law given, which could have been gi which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded that all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. Look at this. But before faith came, we were kept under the law. Shut up under shut shut up unto faith. And that that's that's that's us before the law. before God came, before we had a mediator, he says there's this there's this gap, jump down to verse number 27. For many of you that have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. If you you've been baptized into Christ, you put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither uh bond nor free. In other words, there's neither male nor female. There's there's not rich. There's not poor. There's nobody that's that's living on God's earth that it's not for no matter no matter your race, no matter your degrees, no matter what it that's it. It's for everybody today. We got to continue to believe that in the world that we live in. Amen. It's for everybody today. No matter how broken you are, no matter how good life is going, >> my concern nowadays is more for the blessed than it is the broken. >> The broken seem to be running to God. The blessed seem to have figured it out. God forbid that it take Job's situation to remind us that we need a mediator. But he says, "And if you be Christ and you are of Abraham's seed and he hes according to the promise." Look at Hebrews 8:es 1-6. Now of these things, I'm just going to let this scripture preach the concept to you this morning. Now, of these things which we have spoken, this is the sum of the things that I've talked to you about this morning. This is the sum. This is the summary of it. We have such a high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of majesty in heaven. A minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle which is the Lord pitched and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifice sacrifices. Wherefore it is the necessity of man. He he he said I want you to understand this. He said is the necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there were a priest that offer gifts according to the law, who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses admonished of God, that he was uh to make the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a a perfect blueprint of our relationship with God, of blood, water, and spirit. He said, "You you've got these shadows of heavenly things." He looked back over. He says, "See, saith he, that thou shalt make all things according to the pattern shown to thee in the mount, but now," this is the summary. But now, hath he obtained a more excellent ministry. You have a more excellent ministry than Job had. You have a more excellent ministry than Daniel had. You have a more excellent ministry than Noah had. You have an excellent ministry by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant. I'm thankful, man, when I read this book and I study this book. I'm thankful that I'm in a better covenant. I'm in a covenant that I'm not bringing in some kind of lamb or some kind of dove or some kind of goat. But I'm thankful to have a mediator that in the midst of my problems, in the midst of my trials, I can go unto God. He says, he's a mediator of a better covenant which was established upon better promises. And that's why Paul says we are without excuse. We got a better covenant and we got better promises. I I'm thankful to be a part of the church. Amen. The church is I mean being in covenant, right? I want to be in covenant. I want those better promises. He is a me a mediator. He is the daysman of a better covenant. He is that days for you and I. And we have Jesus Christ the mediator standing in the gap. Turn the page to Hebrews 9. One more passage of scripture and I'm quickly coming to a close. For if the blood of bulls and goats and ashes of a hepher sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself himself without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. And for this cause, he is the mediator of the New Testament. Notice that we turn the page and we all of a sudden have the gospels. The good news for you and I is that in the midst of everything that could go wrong, we have something Job doesn't have. So you may have a feeling of fear. You have you may have a feeling of of distance. You may have a feeling of trials. And you God only knows what some of you are dealing with this morning. But there is no excuse for your distance from God. That's my whole point to bring to you this morning as I feel burdened to communicate today that there is there's no reason for us to feel any distance from God because we have a daysman. We have someone that can stand and reach into the greatest problem, into the biggest issues, into what you would consider the biggest sin. There is no sin. There is no depth. There is no problem. There is no issue. There is no mindset. You've not done enough to distance yourself to a place that God can't reach down and put one hand on you and one hand on heaven and say, "Hey, I can be the mediator." How? because I became the sacrifice. I became what you needed. I died for your sins. I died for your victory. Don't you dare hold on to and sit in the mess and sit in the trouble today that I died to bring you out of. Stand to your feet this morning. God, help us. I I I believe this is what Paul demonstrates when he says, "You frustrate the grace of God. that we sit we sit in a situation that God's already given you victory over. >> You sit in a pit of despair acting like there's not a daysman. He's here. He's here reaching. As the old song says, just reach out and touch him. He's here. You don't have an excuse. Job had an excuse. You don't have an excuse. You can feel the distance. But that's your problem. You got to save yourself. If you're distant from God, this sitting 400 years of silence, it's your problem. Because he did what only he could do. He came down and he died. and he took on shame and he was beaten and he bled. He was spit on. He went through a lot so that you could just simply make a step. He did all that he did just so that you could come down and just say, "God, would you forgive me?" Don't listen to the lies of the enemy. Don't listen to the lies of a culture in this world. It's not hard to repent. It was hard going to a hill called Calvary. He reached way further than we ever had to. He reached across the gulf and all he said there this great gap between us and God. And all we have to do is just say, "Lord, would you forgive me?" It's just one step towards God. It's just one honest prayer. For there is one God and one mediator. between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. He is our daysman. Reading all that we've read this morning, thinking through all that we've thought through this morning. I don't know if this does what it did did if if it'll do to you what it did to me earlier as I read this in Hebrews 4. Seeing that we have such a great high priest that he passed into heavens, Jesus the son of God, he reached the cross. Let us hold fast to our profession for we have not a high priest. We don't have the situation Job has. We have not a high priest that can't be touched with our pain and our infirmities and our issues. There's not a young person in here today too far for God not to reach you. There's not a person in here that ought to let the devil put any doubt in your mind that he can't make you who God's called you to be this morning. >> There's water here for you to be baptized. That you'll be a new creature in Christ Jesus. There's people are here that'll pray with you for you to receive not only a better covenant but a better a promise called the Holy Ghost. We don't have the problem Job have. We have a daysman, a high priest that can be touched with our pain, that can be touched with our brokenness, that can be touched with I feel him reaching in this room this morning. I feel God reaching down to the broken this morning. So what does he say? Verse 16 is what gets me stirred up. Let us come boldly. >> I can boldly, brother Fuller, step toward him. Why? because he boldly stepped toward me. That there's not one thing, there's not anything that can separate me from the love of Jesus Christ. This morning I feel like nobody loves me. Let me introduce you to the daysman. I feel like I've got a mess in my life. Let me introduce you to a dazman this morning. I feel like I'll never make it. I feel so distant from God this morning. His arms are not short that he cannot reach, nor his ears heavy that he cannot hear. The biggest lie the devil will tell you this morning is that God don't care. God don't hear you. I'm here to fight it with everything within me today. The devil is a liar. And God formed you in your mother's womb with a purpose and a plan for you to prosper, for you to further his kingdom. And so this morning, I just come to simply encourage somebody that there's a God who's reaching for you. I've been in church for 30 years, Brother Hammond. It don't matter. It don't matter. He's got something new for you if you'll take a step. I I've never really been in this church thing. In fact, this is my first Sunday in an apostolic church. Oh, it's perfect for you because you're going to feel a gap closed. And it's a feeling like you've never felt in your life. All the all the emptiness and all the brokenness and all the hopeless and all the peaceless situ. All of a sudden, you're going to feel the God that created you, that breathed life into you. All of a sudden, step into your situation. I wish right now with every head bowed and every eye closed, this altar this morning is not for everybody just yet. We will open it up to this church body as we know it is our culture to gather around and pray this word into our spirit and we do it every time we're together and it's so beautiful. But this morning, whether it be saint or someone who feels like they are lost in a sinner, whether you've been in church for a long time or this is your first time, I just invite somebody to this altar that simply would describe your relationship with God as just being a little bit distant. I'm not as close as I used to be. I'm not as close as I want to be. But God this morning wants to stand in the gap. Jesus Christ crucified as he stretched his arms out on that cross and he allowed them to nail his hands. He reached then and he's reaching right now. And he's asking, would you take a step towards me? If you feel distant from God in any way, I wish you'd step down to this altar this morning and meet the Savior, the redeemer, the mediator, the daysman this morning. Come on. If that's you, I challenge you to step out and watch God meet you in the midst of your trial. Job, he'll meet you right in your the gap that you thought nobody else could feel. I I I know I'm reaching for our for for somebody today that's never experienced God. But I'm also reaching for some folks that's been in this a while that say, "I don't serve him like I used to serve him. I don't pray, brother Hammond, like I used to pray. I don't do what I used to do, but I want to get back to where I was." Lord, the Holy Ghost is in this room this morning. Come on. As you come to this front, I wish you'd press your way all the way up so it'd have room for everybody. If we're all honest, we all need to draw closer to him today. Come on, that's it. I hear your prayers. As you draw nigh unto him, he'll draw nigh unto you. Lift up your voice right now and say, "God, I need you. God, I need you today. God, I need you today. God, I need you today. It's a better covenant with better promises. It's a better covenant with better promises. Come on, saints of God. Would you help me create an atmosphere this morning? Nobody looking around. If you would pray with somebody next to you, you don't know. You don't know what they're dealing with today. Come on. That's it, man of God. Reach, reach, reach for him. Seek him. You'll find him. Knock and you'll be surprised what's on the other side of that door. >> >> Come on, church family. Help me pray this morning. Come on, help me pray. Be an intercessor today. There's people in this place that need God. There's people in this place that's on their way to a devil's hell. Help me intercede this morning. Help me reach across this morning. It's not his will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. All would cross the gap of sin. >> >> Come on, altar workers, help me. Come on, altar workers, help me find somebody. There's people seeking God all across this place right now. Come on, help me in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, let him become your mediator this morning. Let him become your mediator. You don't have to live in sin. You don't have to live in that trial. You don't have to live in that pain. >> >> I don't want anyone else. I don't need anything else. You are my You are my You are my You are my You are Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. You are my Oh, the presence. The presence of the Lord is here. The presence of the Lord is here. The presence of the Lord is here. There's no coincidence that when the story is told about the rich man and Lazarus that he sits in heaven looking down and he said, "There's a great gulf between us." Because eventually one day there's going to be a gap the daysman can't cross. >> >> That's why it's so important today that we do everything we can to try to introduce any and everybody and make sure everybody's got a mediator in that gap. Could I encourage you? Pierce, come here for a second. Pierce is a friend of brother Todd Malones. He met at the gym. I met with Pierce and brother Malone probably a month ago. About a month ago. Pierce is going through a mess. going through some trials. We baptized him a couple weeks ago on an off day. Pierce just received that greater promise of the Holy Ghost. That's what it's all about. That's why we're here this morning. I want to introduce you to a mediator. No matter your problems, there's a promise for you this morning. Come on, one more time. Would you lift your hands? Would you lift your hands today? God, I thank you for Pierce. I thank you for his life. I thank you for filling him with the Holy Ghost this morning. Lord, I thank you for what you're doing in our church. Come on, reach for him. Reach for him. God, let nobody in this room be lost. Let us not be lost when there is a mediator today. >> >> Come on for just a few more moments. Oh, in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. You are >> >> Heat up here. >> >> Heat up here. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. >> >> Come on, with every hand lifted in this room this morning. Lord, we thank you for your presence. Lord, we thank you that you came to earth and died, was resurrected so that we could have life and have it more abundantly in this room today. Lord, I thank you for every soul that was changed, that was touched by your presence today. Lord, we're believing, Lord, that your word is going to take up root, Lord, in somebody's life this morning, Lord, that it's going to grow. It's going to lead us. It's going to guide us. I believe somebody's going to make a decision to be baptized. Somebody's going to make a decision to walk in covenant with you in that greater covenant, Lord, with greater promises. Lord, we honor you tonight, Lord. Go with us and keep us. Bring us back here tonight, Lord, that we may worship you and honor you and everything, Lord, with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen and amen.