God's Invitation To Our Church

God isn't frustrated with you, He is actively inviting you deeper into His presence, His rest, and His truth.

In this sermon on Psalm 95, Lead Pastor Neil McClendon unpacks God’s three-fold invitation to the local church: "Come on," "Come in," and "Listen." Pastor Neil addresses how our understanding of God directly shapes our posture in worship, why sanctification requires us to continuously outgrow our past patterns, and how learning to truly listen to God's voice guards our hearts against spiritual hardening. Discover how stepping out of shallow routine into wholehearted, truth-filled worship aligns us with the living God who holds creation in His hands.

In this episode, we cover:

• "Come On" — The Loving Invitation: Overcoming misconceptions of a frustrated God to embrace His joyful call toward growth.
• Worship is Proportional to Knowledge: How deepening our grasp of God's immense character transforms our praise from a duty to a heartfelt response.
• Sanctification as a Continual Process: Three key areas believers should continuously outgrow: marriage dynamics, self-centeredness, and past limits of biblical knowledge.
• "Come In" — Worshiping in Spirit and Truth: Aligning our inner conviction with outer reverence and engaging our whole heart before God.
• "Listen" — Hearing God's Voice Today: Learning to hear God through Scripture, prayer, authority, and circumstances without testing His proven faithfulness.

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Transcript

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This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org.

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If you got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open it up to Psalm 95. If you don't have a Bible, uh, everything I'll say will come up on the screens here behind me. Now, we're we are going through the book of Acts. We took a break uh to do Advent and we'll get back in Acts in a couple weeks. I got a couple things I need to preach out of my guts before we get into Acts. Got a little fire in my bones here, uh and I want to talk to you. Now, by the way, when I say fire in my bones, that doesn't mean I'm here to get on to you today, all right? If you're visiting today, we're not that kind of church. Uh I didn't go to church much as a kid, uh, but when I did, it was usually a fat guy screaming at people, and I just kind of thought, that looks painful. Uh uh, and so now it's just a fat guy talking sweetly to you. Amen? I heard that over here, Chris Camardo. Anyway, uh I want to talk to you about God's invitation to our church. This is what I think God is saying to our church. That when I say to our church, I don't mean the building you're setting in. That's not the church. The church is not an institution or it's not an organization, it's an organism, it's a throbbing mass of humanity from all different walks of life. All right? And so I think this is what God is saying to our church. And it's the 95th Psalm. It says this in verse 1, oh, come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving, and let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise. Why? For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods, and in his hand are the depths of the earth, the heights of the mountain are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh, come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Maribah, as on that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation. They were a people who go astray in their hearts. Excuse me. And I said, They are a people who go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways. Therefore I swore in my wrath, they shall never enter my rest. Uh and now it it starts off. Notice the progression to the psalm. It starts off, they're shouting and singing, and now it ends up with some listening, and we'll get there. Uh, but there's three things I think God is saying to our church as we enter this new year. And the first one is simply this is just come on. Come on. It's verse one. Now, in verse one and verse six, the same phrase is repeated. It says in the ESV, the translation I read from, preach from, it says, Oh, come, and it says, Oh, come. Uh, and you're like, this is like a Christmas carry. Oh, come, oh come. No, no, no. Uh in the Hebrew, it's the word come, but it's two different emphasis here in verse one. It's come on. It's come on. Now, I realize that sounds simple and innocuous and altogether kind of not very interesting, but but let me just say this, bless you. Let me say this that when you hear the word come on, the phrase come on, you hear that through the lens of the context in which you first heard that. Like, I grew up with a pretty strident, pretty strict old school dad. And my dad would say to us, come on, and it didn't come out like this, okay? It would come out like, come on, like, oh, and so when my dad said like that, I was like, Come on, I thought, oh, somebody's in trouble. Uh, that's how he would announce somebody he'd walk up on a scene and go, come on. And me and my brothers just all kind of step back. Because we knew somebody's fixing to get slapped, kicked, pushed, whatever, mocked, made fun of. And so when I hear come on, I think somebody's in trouble. And the second thing I hear is somebody's pathetic. Because the other way my dad said it was, come on. Come on. Are you kidding me? Come on. So when I was reading this and I went to the Hebrew, and it's like, oh no, it's not, oh, come, it's not some general vague imitation. It's God saying, Come on. I was like, oh, I started backing it like who's fixing his slapped. Now, I hear some of you, you hear it through a different context, but here's the context I want you to hear through. I brought, you say a picture's worth a thousand words. So I brought you a moving picture called a video. Let's say that together. A video, and I want you to see this is what God, this is the way God issues the invitation. Notice no sound. You don't need sound, just watch his face. Smiling Jesus. Keep watching. Because some of you are like me, little knuckle-headed. You're like, okay, I know you're inviting me to something. Some of you need to hear it a second time. And God understands this. Still smiling, still invite. Look at me. What I believe God is saying to our church in this week in this new year is come on. It's not come on, you pathetic excuse of nothingness. It's not, come on. He's not frustrated with you. You're not in trouble, and God's not frustrated. Matter of fact, God so believes in you that he's gonna work through you through you this year to accomplish his means in the world around you. So when I say come on, you're like, oh, okay, I don't know what you mean. There's two things I want to say under this first one of come on. The first one is this is that worship is proportional to our understanding of God. Worship is proportional to our understanding of God. Verse one, he says, Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving. Let us make a joyful noise. That's my department. I can't sing, I'll make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise. Verse one and two, this is what you do. And then verse three says, This, for the Lord is a great God. For because, in other words, hey, this is what we do. We sing like this, we respond to God like this when we come in to worship, when we gather, uh oh, we we don't get stuck at the coffee bar in the lobby, we don't get stuck in conversations in the lobby. Why? Because the Lord, verse three, the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods, and in his hand are the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands form the dry land. This is what I mean when I say worship is proportional to our understanding of God, meaning the goal of the church is not to sing louder or with more gusto or whatever. The motivation for worship is the right knowledge, is the right knowledge of God, okay? And so I submit to you today that we should, Lindsay or Clyde, whoever's leading, should never have to try to get you to sing louder. But we should get the goal of the church is not to sing more or louder, but simply understand more. And if you can ever get to verse three where you get to this, because the Lord. We do this. Why? Now notice this that the text doesn't appeal to us or our mood, it points to God as the motivation for worship. So the motivation for worship is the right knowledge of God, to see God in the fullness of his being, to grasp the immensity of his nature, and to be moved by the mercy that he has shown to us. Now, I know that can sound like a lot like, okay, I'm trying to envision this. Let me help you. Because in June of 1993, something happened to me that really shaped the way I think about worship and really the way I think about God. And because of the way I think about God, the way I worship. June 1993, I was traveling full-time, preaching all the country. A church in Sugarland, Texas reached out to me called Sugar Creek Baptist Church. Jim Jackson, our youth pastor, said, Hey, could we get on your schedule? You do our youth camp next year. And I said, Sure. So in June of 1993, I've been married six months. I took my wife with me. Uh, and we did camp. And Jim said, Hey, we want you to come back. And Fenton, our pastor, wants you to preach after that Sunday back in here. So come back, we'll put you and your wife up in a hotel. And so we finished camp. By the way, fun fact at that camp, this little eight-year eighth-grade girl named Krista Mixon came up to my wife and said, Hey, would you be pin pals if I wrote you there? Would you write me back? And my wife's like, Absolutely. Gives her our address. I'm like, don't give these German kids our address, they'll show up. And so she gives her this little eighth-grade girl, um, Krista Mixon, our address. Krista Mixon writes my wife a letter. My wife writes her back. They're pin pals for a while. Krista Mixon grows up, marries a young man named John Hood. Her name is now Krista Hood. Yes, that Krista Hood, who's our children's pastor. Your world just shrunk, didn't it? Yeah. And so we come back for the weekend. That didn't change my life, my understanding of God. We come back and Jim says, Hey, we're gonna go to Papasitas. I'm like, I'm down for that. And then he goes, There's a new movie out about dinosaurs. I'm like, I ain't down for that. The movie was called Jurassic Park. Maybe you've heard of it. Before it was a roller coaster or a theme park, it was a movie that shaped the way I think about God. Here's why. We get to the movie, and when I'm not excited about a movie, like I ain't down with it. And so I'm like, Dinosaurs, really? I'm not a paleontologist. What am I doing here? And I'm just kind of sitting there watching the movie, and you don't see any dinosaurs. You see a bunch of scientists, people talking, and then they start the little Ford Explorer tram ride through the Jurassic Park, and you hadn't seen anything. There's a storm coming and the wind's blowing, all of a sudden they show a goat, and then there's no more goat. And I'm like, oh. And then the tram breaks down. And you're like, uh, something foreboding is coming, okay? And all of a sudden that they're sitting there, you hadn't seen a dinosaur so far in the movie. You had nothing, nothing. And the little kid remember has a cup of water in the cup holder of the Ford Explorer, and the camera zooms in on it. And I remember hearing this and the ripples in that cup. And I just shrunk down in my seat, like, oh boy. I don't know what that is, but it sounds big. And then you hear it again. And it's like, oh. I just reached over. I've been married six months. I just reached over and grabbed my wife's hand, like, just comfort me just a little bit. And then the little kid, you know, the broke down, the kid gets a flashlight and he's trying to get it on, and all of a sudden he shines it out of the little Ford Explorer and it hits that eye, and you're like, I jumped in my wife's pocket. I was so, I was like, whoa! And my favorite part was then the then you see the T-Rex, and the T-Rex starts eating people, and the T-Rex starts chasing them. My favorite part was a side mirror on the Ford Explorers. They're getting away. A little scripture at the bottom. Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. And I was like, yeah. By the way, objects in this mirror are closer than they appear as well. Uh, just a little fun fact there for you. But you said, What's this got to do with God? I remember getting back to my hotel room that night and just sitting there, and I was like, why was I so impressed or did imprinted upon by that? And that little voice in me kind of said, Hey, by the way, that's what it's like when my people begin to worship. It's like the body of Christ begins to take strides, take steps and make strides, and there's tremors that go out in the spiritual realm. And I never thought about God and worship the same ever since then. June of 1993 was a theater right over here off 59. It's not even there anymore. I don't know what it is now. But that's where my understanding of God got broadened because I remember just hearing that and just thinking, whatever that is, it's big and there is a thickness to its being that I am not prepared for. And God is the same way. And so when I say worship is proportional to our understanding of God, this is what I mean. It's not how you feel about who's leading worship or what song we're singing. It's really you're reflecting your when you have a laid back, almost cavalier posture towards worship. What you're really saying is, I don't really understand God that much. And it makes me think, oh, we we need to teach you more. Here's the second thing I want to say about this innocuous hey, come on, come on, man. Come. Just a smiling Jesus, inviting you into what's next. Here's the second thing under that sanctification is a process, not an event. It's a process, not an event. And because of this, we're always changing. Matter of fact, there's three things you should outgrow this year. Three things you should outgrow this year. Number one, your marriage. Some of you are like, I'm listening now. Uh don't turn there, but in Ephesians chapter 5, Paul's talking to, the Bible's talking to men, says, Love your husbands, love your wives, says Christ loved the church, gave himself up for her. We hear that as men are like, I don't want to relate to that. And then it says, okay, let me bring this down to something you love, your body. And he says, No one's ever hated his own body, but we nourish and cherish it, men. You nourish and cherish your own body. Now, what's it got to do with anything? The word nourish there in the Greek means to feed to maturity. So look at me, men. You should be nourishing, you should be relating to your wife in such a way that she is nourished, she is fed, she is strengthened by the way she relates to you and you relate to her and so and lead your family. And so your wife is being nourished and she's growing, and you're like, I don't want to be left behind. So you start growing as well. And so what happens when two people are growing spiritually, you outgrow where your marriage has been. The reason a lot of people leave their marriage is because they don't outgrow it. It's just stuck in the same place. You got married eight years ago and you still relate to each other like you just got married. It's just kind of like, hey, by the way, when your wife gets out of the shower, she just wants to stop sweating. She's just like, uh, please, and you're like, hey, grow up, okay? Just grow up. Your wife's like, please, bro. What? Well, give me a break here. But when you are nourishing, matter of fact, here's a question, men. I want every one of you, if you're married or you're dating somebody or you're thinking about getting married, ask the person, your significant other. Men, you got to ask the question. Your wife didn't have to ask it. Here's the question: Can you make a meal out of what I give you physically, emotionally, and spiritually? That was women. You know what that is? He ain't never gonna ask that. So let me give it to you again, man, so you can write it down. Can you make a meal out of what I give you physically, emotionally, and spiritually? I know how you think, men. I dang what my God, I'm the love pirate. Of course you can make a meal of what I give her physically. Thank you, the pot-bellied stallion. I appreciate that. Look at if that's all you're trusting in. Look at me. I'm gonna get at you here. You're still acting, you hadn't outgrown your marriage yet. You're still acting like you're on your honeymoon. Now, I that part is great, amen. Hello? Yes, that's a gift from God. Don't stop enjoying that, ladies. We need to keep enjoying that, amen. You're like, I ain't saying nothing. Honey, did you hear all those other men saying amen like that? That wasn't me. Can you make a meal of what I give you physically, emotionally, and spiritually? Yeah. Because you should be outgrowing your marriage. Here's the second thing you should be outgrowing yourself. You should be outgrowing yourself. 2 Corinthians 4.16 says, hey, outwardly we're wasting away, but inwardly we're being renewed day by day. If you're not being renewed inwardly day by day, you are growing sick and tired of being sick and tired. You're the perpetually angry man that people don't feel comfortable or safe being around. And you're not mad at everybody else. Deep inside, you're mad at yourself because you sense there's something you should be doing, but you don't know how to do it. And what you're not doing is you're not outgrowing yourself. Outwardly, you're wasting away. Have you noticed, men, that the more you do the same thing, the less consequence it has? Because inwardly you're not being renewed day by day. Here's the last thing you should be outgrowing, your knowledge of God. You should be outgrowing your knowledge of God. You say, What do you mean? I'm just no, no, no, you should be growing, you should be knowing more, growing in your knowledge, your understanding of God. This is why you should consistently be in a church where you're being taught the truth of God's word, because this is what brings change in us. This is why we have midweek classes that start, ladies' Bible study starts Tuesday, two days. Midweek classes start Wednesday night, midweek meal starts Wednesday night, right in here. This is why we have Sunday morning Bible studies going on right now in the building, right across the parking lot. They happen at 9 a.m. 10:30. That's why our warehouse, our student ministry building out here is full of kids right now. That's why there's probably 74th, 5th, and 6th graders right across the parking lot right there. Why? Because we we don't we want our kids constantly outgrowing their knowledge of God. You say, well, what why is that a big deal? Here's why that's a big deal. People stop coming to church, not because they don't enjoy church anymore, but because you no longer enjoy yourself and you blame it on the church. If you're not outgrowing where you are, who you are, and how you are right now, it's just a matter of time before you get sick of yourself and you take it out on the church. You you outwardly you're wasting away, but you're not being renewed inwardly, and you think some of that's the church's fault. Look at me, we ain't got to create desire for you. We can't do that. I just spent two days or a day and a half in Freer, Texas. If you know where Freer, Texas is, say amen. Yeah, well, some of y'all know about I'd heard about it. I have a friend that's from there, and I got there, and Freer, Texas is home of the Muy Grandi. If you know what the Muy Grande is, say amen. Less people. See, we lost most of you there. For those of you who don't know, for those of you who don't feed animals and then shoot them, uh it's called deer hunting. Uh there's a big contest every year called the Legend of the Muy Grande. It's the biggest deer. No, no, not just deer. They have like antlers. Like I grew up in East Texas, you have six point, eight point, ten point. I saw a 26-point buck in a convenience store. Oh, it looked like somebody cut off a rocking chair and stuck it on the thing. I was like, what? Horns growing up, horns going down. And they said, Well, it's what we feed them down here. And he said, This is the Muy Grande. And I made the mistake of saying, What's the Muy Grande? Boy, what kind of village idiot are you? I walked in one store and the guy said, Where are you from? I said down by Coke Zero. He goes, Where are you from? I said, Ah, how do you know I'm not from Freer? You ain't from here. Well, you must work for the Chamber of Commerce, Freer, Texas, where every truck is nice and they have a cow catcher on the front of it. Because they're used to hitting deer at 70 miles an hour. Bam bam! Driving back last night, I saw six dead animals on the side of the road and they were all deer. I mean, deer are like rats down there, they're everywhere. And I was like, wow. Now you may be thinking, why are you telling me all this? I don't have to create desire for anybody down there to go deer hunt. Matter of fact, one guy said to me, You hunt? And there I was at the fork in the road. I wanted to say, Do I look like I hunt? And he's like, You're breathing, ain't you? Uh yeah, I don't understand the sport of like feeding an animal in the same place all the time, and then sometime in November coming out there and shooting it. It's like me feeding my dog all the time. The one day standing up on the breakfast table and shooting him. I don't really consider that a sport, but that's just me. Now, my family, they'll kill and eat anything. They are cracker rednecks from East Texas, and they ain't nothing they won't shoot. Uh I went once and I gave my dad the gun back, and I said, and I told the guy this in the store, and he's just he took his hat off and started just doing this. And I said, Hey, but bro, but I got guys in my church, I get a lot of deer meat, guys in my church, I love it, man. Back strapped, mmm, yummy. And he goes, I wouldn't give you anything. I said, excuse me, I wouldn't give you a thing. Man, don't hunt, you don't eat. Thank you, Jethro Clampett. I get right on that. But here's the thing, I walked away. I do not have to go to Fear, Texas, and create desire for those men to hunt. Now, if you're a deer hunter, I'm not mocking it, okay? Just don't invite me. Okay? I mean, I got family members, they put deer urine on them, go out in the woods, and I'm just like, you know, that's like more expensive than Kobe beef by the time you add it all up. Just go buy Kobe beef. Shut up, boy. What's wrong with you? Just because you're a sissy. I'm 59 years old, and the men in my family call me a sissy because I don't like to hunt. But here's the thing I don't have to create desire for them. They get up, it's 10 degrees outside, they go sit in a glorified treehouse on steroids and shoot Bambi's mom. And it's about $3,000 to do that. My truck costs $3,000, but I digress. We can't create desire for you. Okay? You should ask yourself, is why is there not this desire in me? See, because first thing God's saying to our church is, Come on, come on, man. What's the next step in your faith journey? Second thing God's saying is come in. Come in. It's verse six. Oh, come. It's come in in the Hebrew. Let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for He is our God, and we're the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Notice the verbs in verse 6. Worship there is not singing, it means to prostrate oneself, to just get down before on your hands and knees. If all you believe about worship is singing, then you're not really worshiping God, but you're worshiping your preferences, okay? So to worship is to bow down, to kneel. What is happening here is the progression of worship. It goes from singing to your posture changing. Uh verse one, singing, shout to the Lord, make a joyful noise, all that stuff. And now that they're kind of understanding the God that they're singing to, that they're worshiping, their posture begins to change. And so we've all heard that we worship in spirit and truth. If you've ever heard the phrase in any church, we worship in spirit and truth, say amen. Has anybody ever explained to you what that means? Say amen. See, you lose most people. Because we preachers like to say things that sound profound and go boom, take that. So worship in spirit and truth is very simple. Look at me. It means it's what's happening in you is a reflection of what's happened inside is a reflection of what's happened outside. And what's happening outside is a reflection of what's happening inside. A couple weeks ago, maybe a month ago, we were singing and I was right over here. And I just sense the Holy, we're talking about King of Kings, and I just sense the Holy Spirit going, Hey, just why if I'm the king, why don't you just kneel down before me? Well, Lord, I don't want to scare my people with my freedom. So you'd rather grieve me? Well, Lord, you know, I don't want people to think I'm showing off. I don't think they're gonna think that. You just you're saying. And I'm the king, well, bow. And so I had to confess to the Lord, you know what? I think I don't think that was, I think that was sin. And he's like, you think. Come back when you make your mind up. Okay, that was sin. I'm sorry. So I'm just warning you, all bets are off in the new year. I'm like David, I'm gonna become more undignified than this. Because here's here's my concern, okay? Here's my thing when it comes to worship. We we we love worship, but I think we worship more in our head than we do in our heart. Uh what do you mean? Uh uh to worship in spirit and truth, it means that the outside matches what's going on the inside. And sometimes I feel that in our worship, we got plenty of truth, but we ain't got much emotion. Uh, and I'd like to see us engage our emotions in worship this year. Now, we're not, I'm not talking crazy, pasta snakes, none of that stuff. No. I'm just talking about uh bow down, kneel down, raise your hand. My kids mock me at my house. They'll be talking, and someone says something good, and they're like, I'm gonna do dad at church. This is dad. Yeah, yeah. And you're like, does that doesn't bother me at all? Matter of fact, I have a little sip while I got it here in my hand. So if you ever see me doing this with a cup of coffee, yeah, it's because I'm like, I'm saying, I'll drink to that. Oh, that's so good. Yes, yes, yeah, because I feel it in me and it wants to get out of me. And that's okay. Now, if you're like, hey man, I'm pretty stoic about worship, look at me. That's okay too. But don't look down on the person that's raising their hand like, mm, that's a bit much. We're Baptists. Put your hands down. No, no. See, come in means, hey, let's just enter a little deeper in. I think there's a balance, and I think this quote captures it well. Let me read this to you. Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy in a church full of artificial admirers. On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the discipline of rigorous thought. But true worship, worship in spirit and truth, true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine, strong affections for God, rooted in truth, are the bone and marrow of biblical worship. And so I just want to fuel your understanding of God, like make me because the more you understand God, the more you're outgrowing yourself, the more free you're going to be in worship. Uh I want you to point to something in verse 7. He says, For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep of his ham. Like I could say right now, this is a very preachery thing to say. Worship is about, it's rooted in creation and covenant. And you'd go, Yeah. And you'd walk out and go, What'd that mean? Yeah, when I say worship is reading creation, it's verse four. And his hands are the depths of the earth, and the heights of the mountains are his also, the sea is his, for he made it. He created it. That's creation. Covenant is verse seven, for he is our God. And we're the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. You say, Oh, I don't get it. Let me make a connection. Verse seven, sheep of his hand. Look at verse four. And in his hand are the depths of the earth, the heights of the mountains are his also. So if you're sitting in this room and you're a 17-year-old girl and you're thinking, Man, I love Jesus. I I want a guy to think I'm cute and be interested in me and ask me out. I just want to say to you, hey, nothing wrong with that. That's natural, that's normal. God made you as a young woman for a relationship with a young man. But instead of pitying yourself or taking matters in your own hand, what you've got to read in here and kind of go, Oh, no, wait a minute. You said in his hands are the depths of the earth, and in his hands are the heights of the mountain in verse 4. And now in verse 7, you're saying that I'm the sheep of his hand. So the same hand that holds the depth of the earth and the heights of the mountain holds me. Yea, me. I can rest securely in that. So you got me, God, huh? You're not punishing me, you're protecting me. That's what high school's about. Thank you very much, God. I'll take more protection. In his hand is the depths of this of the earth and the heights of the mountain. And it's the 17-year-old that's laying in bed at night and going, You got a plan for me, or do I have to come up with something? It's a divorced mom with two kids. It's like, you still got a plan for me? Do I have to take matters into my own hand? Please tell me I don't have to squeeze myself into those bedazzled jeans and go to Bar Louis and just see who finds me interesting. I'd rather off myself. He's up on the bedazzler. Their jeans not a chandelier. Yeah. The last thing he says, he says, Come on. Then he says, Come in. And then he says, Listen. Listen. What do you mean? Verse 7, today if you hear his voice. Today, if you hear his voice, how are you going to hear his voice? Because he's a speaking God. That's how. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as he did at Maribi's on the day at Massa in the wilderness when your father's put me to the test. And they put me to the proof. By the way, to put him to the test is to basically say, Well, we're going to see what we're going to see if God's going to do what we're asking him to do. And to put him to the proof is to say, okay, God, you've done it before, but I need you to do it again. Prove that you're really real. These are two episodes, and we ain't got time to go there, but for the Old Testament, one is from is from Exodus 17, and one's from Numbers chapter 20. The 40 years wandering when God said, I loathe that generation. Okay? Remember that that ends? It starts off, shout to the Lord, woo! And now God says, Hey, shut up and listen. I want to hear you just you empty worship, you're saying things you don't quite understand. He says, For 40 years I loathe that generation. I said, There are people who go astray in their heart. Look at me. You start to wander in your heart before you ever wander with your hands and feet. You just kind of wander, you just begin to kind of drift. Your heart just becomes to get about a half a bubble off. God says, Hey, they put me to the test and they put me to the proof. Two episodes from the history. And the Bible references it, so we'll learn from it. One's in Exodus 17 at the beginning of the 40 years that wandered in the wilderness, and then numbers 20 is kind of towards the end. And guess what? It's the same thing. What? They're like they hung out of water. Like, God, we're out here dying of thirst. Don't you care? I mean, you bring us out here to the desert to kill us. Could you could you here's the question to think about Have you ever seen enough from God that will keep you from testing him and putting him to the proof? Can you ever just say to your whole family, man, hey, hey, by the way, it's kind of rough right now, but God has demonstrated himself, he's proved himself. We're not putting God on trial, okay? God is faithful and we're gonna be faithful. But they were like, Oh, God, can you? I mean, can you even provide water? And God said, Moses, take that, take your staff with which you struck the Nile. This sound familiar? Like I'm capable. And he says, You guys want water? Okay, Moses hit this rock. I'm gonna make water come out of the rock. And he does it in the very beginning, early on. And at the end, same thing. They're like, hey, once again, I mean, are you really real? Maybe this year where you could just move past testing God and asking God to prove that he's really real, even though you've seen his work. Today, if you hear his voice, he speaks. Let me close by just telling you there's four ways God speaks primarily. He speaks through his word, through prayer, through spiritual authority, and through circumstances. God speaks through his word, through prayer, through spiritual authority. That means pastors and teachers. And oh my gosh, they got like 15 religious channels in Freer Texas. I tried to watch them, they made me angry. It's just people not teaching the Bible. I had to get up and walk around my hotel room, had to call my wife. Oh my gosh. Ah! And she's like, turn the channel. Don't try to control me from Sugarland Woman. I was just like watching it, just thinking, what are you doing? Oh, sad. God speaks through his word, through prayer, through spiritual authority, and through circumstances. Now let me say this. In your circumstances, I'm like, okay. God never speaks through any of those in any way that violates his word. He just doesn't. And I've heard all kinds of kookiness. Well, you know, the Lord told me to divorce my husband. He did. Has he been unfaithful? No. No. Is he abusing you? No, no. I'm just not happy. Oh, thank you for saying that. I'm divorcing my wife tomorrow. Yes, this actually happened. Lady made an appointment with me to tell me that she just wasn't happy. And I know God wants me to be happy. And I said, What page is that on? I hadn't found that one yet. So you're not happy with your wife either? No. Most of the time, but sometimes I'm not happy with her when she says snarky things like, Hey, uh, it's January. Are you gonna get the Christmas lights off the house? And I'm like, Your little monkey feet fit a ladder, you can get them off. And she doesn't say anything, she just walks on by. Or, hey, there's a lot of leaves in the front yard. Yeah, because we have a tree in the front yard. Get the connection. And by the way, ladies, you ain't gotta take up some of you, ladies, like, I dare you what. She's a big girl. She can, she's just like, I ain't doing it. I get to it, I got some things going on. I get around to it, okay? But sometimes I'm not happy. You know why I'm not happy in my marriage sometimes? Because I don't get my way. And that crazy woman I'm married to, you know what she says? Oh, it's a very Christ-like experience to not get your way. Whatever kind of voodoo, monkey magic you're trying to work on me right now, I don't receive in Jesus' name. And she just smiles and she said, Jesus didn't get his way. Remember in the garden? Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. Your will's not always gonna be realized, honey. And in my mind, I didn't say it loud. But in my mind, I thought, oh, that's why I got married. Did not get my way. And guess what? That's exactly right. There's not a married man in here that doesn't know that's true. Now, some of you are gonna walk out here and throw me under the butt. Can you believe he said that about his wife? And about marriage? If you think you're gonna get your way all the time in marriage, you ain't married. And if you're single and you think that, you should never get married. Because here's the thing, and I'll be done. Look at me. Here's how you know you married the right person. You don't get your way, and you like it. I lost some of you right there. That last part. You're like, oh, oh, oh. I think we had a blowout, Pastor. Can you back up? Yeah. I don't get mad. Now, am I happy? Hey, by the way, am I happy? Tuesday is our 31st wedding anniversary. Yeah. I'm very happy. I'm so happy. I'm taking her to the Waffle House for dinner for our anniversary. Yes. Y'all think you're kidding, right? No, I'm not kidding. No. And guess what? That's her preference. Some of y'all just yellow y'all. She's wants to go to the waffle house. A little waffle. 31 years. I don't always get my way. Amen. If you're always getting your way, you're abusive. I don't always get my way. And I'm better for it. And I got your Christmas slice down. I say, when it gets above 70 degrees. Cold up there on that roof. She takes the weather. It's gonna be under that for the next couple of weeks. I know. I'll get him. Today, if you hear his voice, go hard, God speaks through his word through prayer, spiritual authority, and circumstances. But there is no circumstance where God speaks contrary to his word. Okay? Let's pray together. God, thank you that we can laugh and learn at the same time, but we don't want to miss the point that you're a speaking God. And you're saying to your people, listen, listen, don't just assume, don't walk in assumption, live in authority, listen. And not because you're mad at us, not because we're pathetic or somebody's in trouble. You say, Come on, come on, man. What I have in store for you is so much bigger and better than what you have in store for you. Come on. Some of us you're saying, come in. Come a little deeper. Let's just take another step. And to all of us, you're saying, listen. So, Holy Spirit, brood over us right now for just a moment as we listen before we get out of here. So press in on us what you're saying, God. We're listening and you're speaking. That's a great combination. So, Holy Spirit, have your way with us right now. Father, we're mindful today that you're a loving God, you're a gracious God, you're the smiling God that beckons us Godward and says, Come on, come on. There's no brimstone in your throat. We're not pathetic and we're not in trouble, but we are invited. So we've heard you loud and clear saying to our church, not the building, but the people. That's the church. Come on, come in. Listen, I'm not done. My heart is full of goodness with your name on it. And so, Lord, we want to posture ourselves to hear that, taste it, and see how good it is. God, that's our desire. Make it our experience. We pray in Christ's name. When everyone said, Amen. Amen. Thank you for your presence here today. If you're new to our church, know this. You're always welcome. You're always welcome. If you have any questions about anything you saw or heard today, some of our pastors will be available down front. I'm gonna ask Lindsay if she would make herself available down front as well. Uh, we believe that women have a priesthood. And I say that, and some of you can jump in, send me emails. Uh, we believe in the priesthood, but we believe that women have gifts. We don't believe that a woman pastor, or we will never have women elders, but we will affirm the priesthood of women. Does that make sense? Okay, I don't want you to be like, oh, get all tied up. We're very conservative theologically. Uh, one thing you'll notice about our church on Sunday morning, there's not a lot of frosting, there's a lot of cake. Does that make sense? We don't have lights and smoke and all that kind of stuff. And and here's why. Uh, we don't want Sunday morning to be the experience. We want you to be so equipped with the gospel that you become the experience people have in the workplace. Uh, that's why we do there's a there's a reason we we don't disparage other people that have gyroscopes and whatever. And great, wonderful. Uh I don't I don't know that's gonna make a difference in your soul. So there's a method to the madness. But anyway, there's always something going on in our church. We like to make you aware of what's going on. We do that by way of our video announcements, so check them out real quick.

SPEAKER_00 36:55

Here's what's happening at Grand Park Way Baptist Church. Did you know that we have a church app? You can use it to get involved, register for events, listen to sermons, podcasts, and more. Find it wherever apps are available for your devices. Women's Weekend is a two-day gathering for women all across our city of all ages to glorify God, be equipped in faith, urge toward holiness, strengthen in friendship, and reminded that Jesus Christ alone has the power to satisfy. It'll be on February 23rd and 24th here at Grand Parkway Baptist Church. January 14th will kick off our first starting point of the year. Come and learn what it means to be a member of Grand Parkway Baptist Church. It'll be held during second service in the Fellowship Hall. Midweeks begin on January 9th and 10th. Tuesday mornings will have Bible studies just for women, followed by Bible studies for the entire family on Wednesday evenings. We take care of dinner with registration. Finally, DNO is our in-town, overnight weekend-long experience for our students. It'll be on February 9th through the 11th. If you're interested in serving, driving, or being a host home throughout the weekend, contact Annie at Grandparkway.org. For more information or to register for these events, please visit our website at grandparkway.org. If you have any questions or want someone to pray for you, find one of our pastors at the front of the stage at the conclusion of our service.

SPEAKER_02 38:29

We'd like to conclude our service with a spoken blessing. So if you would stand to your feet, hold your hands out. He knows the things that you pray to God that no one ever finds out. And he invites you. With full knowledge of all of that. He still wants you and he welcomes you. He says, Come on. Come in and listen. Depart now and give yourselves to those realities in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Bless you.