What gets in the way of "the fear of the Lord"

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hi, I'm AJ Jones. Welcome to the podcast for Goodly Church. Together with my husband, alan, we are starting a new church in the Greater Nashville area. The episode you're about to listen to comes from a special service we did a week before opening to the public. We invited friends and family to come stress test all of the systems of a new church. We're pleased to announce that, as of this listening, goodly is now open to the public and we'd love to invite you to visit. We hope to meet you in person soon.

Speaker 1: 0:30

This is our first service in our brand new church with some new people, and we are obviously putting some prayer into Lord. What is it that we're going to talk about? What should we make the focus of our first service? And you know, is it going to be angels? Is it going to be an end time series on the Book of Revelation? Is it going to be prophecies about who's going to be the next president of the United States? Because that always goes down well, but it's better than all of those things.

Speaker 1: 0:58

Tonight, we're going to talk about the fear of the Lord. So when I say we're going to be talking about the fear of the Lord, my message isn't really about the fear of the Lord. My message, rather, is about the things that keep us from feeling the fear of the Lord. So the fear of the Lord is an interesting thing To understand. Why it's interesting to understand, why it's important? It's important that we open up the word of God. That's what we're going to do. Before we do that, I love to pray, because otherwise I'm just someone up here, and when we pray, the Holy Spirit comes and opens up His word and he teaches us, and it's beautiful. So, holy Spirit, I thank you for the opportunity to be here, to open up your word, to discover truth, lord, that have been hidden there. And I ask that, as we listen to the word tonight, lord, as I teach, lord, that you would anoint my words. It just wouldn't be a good talk, but rather, lord, it would be the very words of Holy Scripture speaking to our hearts, lord, to help us, to encourage us, to bring about hope and to do something beautiful in our lives. And so we ask all these things in your wonderful name, amen.

Speaker 1: 2:11

Largely speaking, there's two Hebrew words that are translated into our English word fear, because I don't know about you, but growing up, the fear of the Lord was an odd phrase for me, in fact my 14 year old last night. She loves to say what are you teaching at church? And so I was talking her through and she was like why are we supposed to be fearful of God? And so I want to draw a distinction between two of these Hebrew words. But I want to make it clear that there's not too big a distinction between them, but it is interesting nevertheless to look at it.

Speaker 1: 2:42

The first Hebrew word is a verb, it's pachad, and it means to tremble, to be afraid, to live in terror, to have fear of. It's what we typically think about when we say I'm scared, I'm frightened. It's to live in fear of something happening, and as a kid I was really never sure of why we're supposed to live like that way toward God. The second Hebrew word is a noun and it's yirah and it means fear, reverence or devotion. Now what is fascinating? Almost exclusively it's the second word that's used to describe the fear of the Lord for people who are in a right relationship with God. But it's almost exclusively the other word that's used when describing the fear of the Lord for people who are not in right relationship with God. That makes sense. So if we're in relationship with God. The fear of the Lord is something beautiful. It's about our reverence, it's about our devotion, it's about the fuel and the furnace in our heart that keeps us connected to Him and wanting to live for Him and wanting to worship with Him. But if we don't know the Lord, if we're rebellious to the Lord, there is a reason that we need to be fearful about the coming judgment. It's one of the things that Jesus preached flee from the wrath of God. I'm not talking about the wrath of God tonight. We'll save that for maybe next week when we open our doors to the public. That's all. It's a big crowd cheer. So what's interesting is this is the word that we're going to be looking at. Both those words, both those Hebrew words, are valid.

Speaker 1: 4:21

But because I imagine I'm speaking to most of you who are in a right relationship with God, I want to talk about what are the things that get in the way of our devotion and our love for God, because if you're human, there are things that get in the way. The Bible is filled with stories of people bypassing the fear of the Lord, and we're going to read about three of them. Before we jump into that, I want to reinforce to you why the fear of the Lord is a good thing, and the book of Proverbs has a lot to say about that. Look at this. It says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. So if you want to be smart, cultivating the fear of the Lord is a good thing. It adds lengths to the life. The fear of the Lord helps us avoid evil. The fear of the Lord leads to life. And then one rests, content, untouched by trouble. That's beautiful. How about this one, proverbs 22, verse 4, humility is the fear of the Lord. Its wages are rich and honor and life. That's a great list. If we, as believers in Jesus, in right relationship with God, cultivate the fear of the Lord, we get all of those benefits. And if you were to come up with a plan for Satan to keep the people of God from oh, I don't know knowledge, a long life avoiding evil, having rest, being contented, freedom from trouble, riches and honor, then you couldn't do much better than to get them to discard the fear of the Lord in their lives. That makes sense. So we want to look at how does that happen.

Speaker 1: 6:08

We're going to read three passages in Scripture. We're going to start in the Old Testament. We're going to read a passage in 1 Samuel 13. The context of this passage is that Saul has just attacked Israel's enemies, the Philistines, and it mentions that Saul has brought 3,000 soldiers with him. 2,000 are with him, 1,000 are with his son Jonathan. And where we pick up the story? Saul has just kicked the mother of all hornet's nests. His son Jonathan has just attacked a Philistine outpost, and the Philistines, they come out to fight Saul and Israel.

Speaker 1: 6:43

So we pick up the story in 1 Samuel 13, verse 5. The Philistines assembled to fight Israel with 3,000 chariots, 6,000 charioteers and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And when the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard-pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks and in pits and cisterns. So, as we learn, israel's got 3,000 soldiers and the Philistines well, they have quite a lot more. And so Israel's army starts freaking out and they start hiding. By the way, these are hardened elite soldiers who are now hiding for their lives. We keep reading verse 7,.

Speaker 1: 7:28

Saul remained at Gilgal and all the troops with him were quaking with fear, and he waited seven days, the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal and Saul's men began to scatter. So Saul's soldiers, they're getting scared, they begin to scatter because they're severely outnumbered. But what's not mentioned in this passage but you can read a few chapters earlier is that Saul has got this prophetic word from Samuel. In chapter 10, it says Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what to do. So here's Saul, anointed by God to lead Israel. Here's Samuel.

Speaker 1: 8:19

And by the way of all the prophets, in Samuel it was written about Samuel that the Lord let none of his words fall to the ground, and all the stories we read in the Bible is just so that whatever Samuel said came to pass. So Saul gets this amazing prophetic word go do this. Wait seven days until I come to you, and then I'll tell you what to do. So let's see what Saul's going to do. Is he going to hold on the word of the prophet and the fear of the Lord, or do something stupid? Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen.

Speaker 1: 8:47

So Saul said bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings. And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making the offering, samuel arrived How's that? For perfect timing and Saul went out to greet him. What have you done, ask Samuel? I mean, the timing on this is incredible. Just when Saul thinks that's it, samuel's not coming. God's forgotten about me. I have to take matters into my own hand. He does something he shouldn't do, because Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin and only the Levites were allowed to make sacrifices. That and also he's got this prophetic word from one of the greatest prophets who've ever lived right, wait for me. And he doesn't wait, and no sooner does he set fire to the things. Samuel shows up and he's like what are you doing? There's a great phrase that says that God sure misses a lot of opportunities to be early, but he's always on time. Saul was learning this lesson. Now what's interesting is when we screw up, do we own it? Let's see what Saul does. Does Saul own up to what he's done or does he choose a very different reaction?

Speaker 1: 10:01

Verse 11, saul replied when I saw that the men were scattering and that you did not come at the set time. You notice, it's not my fault, it's your fault. You understand that and that the Philistines were assembling, I thought now the Philistines will come down against me and I've not sought the Lord's favor. So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering. There is so much to unpack here, so much that Saul is saying and yet not owning. He's spotless.

Speaker 1: 10:33

Saul replied when I saw that the men were scattering. So he's blaming on the men, but what's actually going on in his heart is their sphere of man. How about this line when he says you did not come at the set time, which is fascinating. If I was Samuel I'd be like Hello, like I'm standing right here. What do you mean? I didn't come at the set time, I'm literally here. This one is my favorite. He says I thought now that the Philistines will come down against me and I have not sought the Lord's favor. It's just gross over spiritualization and justification for his own sin.

Speaker 1: 11:16

Saul is not with himself at all. He's just left himself in distress and he's making up stories practically gaslight and poor Samuel saying hey, none of this is my fault If it's the men's fault. If it's not the men's fault, it's your fault because, kind of you didn't show up and actually I was just trying to honor the Lord. The only thing that he says that barely rings true is this line where he says I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering. My question is what compelled you though? What pushed out those actions and more? What's keeping him from realizing what he's done? It is very hard to own where you're at if you've left yourself to move to denial. If you're not with yourself, you can't even account for what you've done, and therefore you can't even be reconnected.

Speaker 1: 12:11

The first thing that I want to talk about tonight that gets in the way of the fear of the Lord is our fear of what people will think, aka the fear of man. What people might think, what people might say, what people might do, is a killer, and our little heart is going to reverberate with. I want to fear the Lord, but what will people think? And that's a challenge that, in my experience, doesn't disappear. You just swap out the people that you're afraid of. Sometimes it's shocking what your heart says and reveals who it is you're scared of. So that's number one. Number two we're going to jump over to the New Testament. I'm going to read from Luke 9. This is a really interesting passage. It's a pattern of three.

Speaker 1: 12:54

Luke 9, verse 57, says this as they, jesus and his disciples, were walking along the road. The man said to Jesus I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus replied something weird like yeah, just scan my QR code to get on our mailing list and we can work something out. No, jesus speaks directly to the man's heart and he says Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head. Jesus said to another man follow me. But he replied Lord, first let me go and bury my father. And Jesus said to him let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Still another said I will follow you, lord, but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family. And Jesus replied no one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

Speaker 1: 13:50

There's a couple of interesting things about these five verses. Look records that all three people they all wanted to follow the Lord, but there was a common theme in all of them, exemplified best in the last guy's response, where he basically says I will follow you, but first they all had something that got in the way of their following of Jesus. Here's the thing, all their objections were completely legitimate and yet from Jesus' perspective, who knew their heart, all those legitimate things were actually in the way of following him. I don't know if you've noticed this yet, but how many of you noticed that following God involves sacrifice? The trouble is they're not always the sacrifices we're counting on.

Speaker 1: 14:41

For me, some of the hardest things I've had to obey God on don't require things like me laying down my life, but they have required me laying down my reputation or my plans or my preferences or how I'd like to spend my time or money, for example. God has not required me to sell all I have and give to the poor. Remember he said that's the rich, young ruler. What must they do to inherit eternal life? And he's like I. Just, you know beta commands. I've done all those since I was a child. Great sell everything you have, give it to the poor. Why do you go away sad and dejected Because his money got in the way of the fear of the Lord.

Speaker 1: 15:20

A number of years ago, the Lord invited us to adopt, and it was funny, because adoption did not sound appealing to me whatsoever. And you know, he invited us to adopt and we had three children and I was just relieved to be out of the diaper stage and actually the thought of going back into, you know, having babies, where you don't get sleep and you're responsible for somebody 24 hours a day. Not that you're not responsible for your other children, but at this stage my children had learned how to feed themselves and get dressed and amuse themselves. Right, I just needed to periodically turn them toward light and make sure they got outside for fresh air, but by and large they ran their own life. When you have a baby, if a friend who says they're a noise at one end and a smell at the other, and your life just by necessity has to change.

Speaker 1: 16:03

And I wasn't excited about that, but I had a thought, and it's a thought that I've often had in my life, and it goes something like this if you don't like logic and you don't want to be challenged, just tune it out. The thought goes if I'm a follower of Christ, which I am, it's my job to follow where he leads, not question where he's leading. Or worse, jump up into the cockpit and say, hey, I got that great idea. But what about if we do this? Or ooh, look, you know, there's Disney worlds this way, why don't we go? Do that instead of where you're going? I think that all of us will at some point be offered an opportunity to follow the Lord in a way we might not have dared to or considered or even want, and it might cost us really legitimate things, and that's my point number two. Really legitimate things can get in the way of the fear of the Lord In my life.

Speaker 1: 17:07

One of the biggest things that gets in the way of the fear of the Lord for me, ironically, are the very things he's asked me to do. Let me break that down. Last week I remember it clearly I'm in my home office and I have this massive to-do list and I'm just blasting through. I am not even present with myself. I'm just totally dissociated in work and doing and finding my value and just knocking things off a list. I hear this voice and it's about as clear as you taste a flavor in a can of LaCroix. You know it's like whoa. That's how loud the voice is. It's barely there. But I hear this voice ask me has momentum replaced your fear of the Lord? And I'm offended because the very momentum is the thing that you've asked me to do. And how dare you interrupt? I don't say any of that, but that's what my little heart does. My heart's like I'm gonna go now. If that's what you're gonna do, we're gonna do a play that game. Not a mature response, not a humble response, super defensive. My point is that some very good things, if we're not careful, can get in the way of the fear of the Lord. I can get lost doing things for God so that I forget to be with God, which is what I was created for. All right, last one. This one is super sneaky, and now I'm gonna offer us some solutions.

Speaker 1: 18:42

Matthew 17, verse one One of the craziest stories in the Bible I love. The evangelicals, of which I am one, tend to get upset with the more charismatic things in the world. Right, so deeply suspicious of things like prophecy and angels and visions. I'm like have you read the Bible? Because the story I'm about to read you is one of the weirdest out there stories ever.

Speaker 1: 19:04

Matthew 17, verse one. After six days, jesus took with him Peter, james and John, and he led them up a high mountain by themselves and there he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them, moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. Yeah, that's a totally normal thing. Jesus, who they've only known in human form, is transfigured in his heavenly form. And then Moses, by the way, who is dead, comes back from death and is talking to them, which, by the way, is forbidden in other parts of scripture. And then Elijah well, he gets a pass because he was caught up in a whirlwind, but nevertheless he's here and the three of them are having a conversation. And so if we just stop there and consider that's bonkers, that's mental, like if I asked you how was your week and you told me that I might be calling like a psych ward, like, my first thought is like, oh yeah, it happens to me all the time Jesus is transfigured in his glory, moses and Elijah appear, they start talking with Jesus. I don't care how next level your experience with God has been, this just is bonkers. Only one of the disciples reaction is recorded. I bet you can guess which one.

Speaker 1: 20:24

Peter said to Jesus Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters One for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah. Is it Peter? Is it good for you to be here? Is it good for you to be with us. Is that right? Because, remember, jesus took the three away from the nine and only these three got to see it. So Peter is just like I knew I'd be included. I'm kind of a big deal. It's good that we're here. What he wants to do is a really weird thing. Do you want me to put up a shelter for you? We don't know why. So we're trying to have to read some of this stuff in.

Speaker 1: 20:59

But I think Peter, as you read through the gospels, is often trying to be helpful. He's often jumping in, jumping ahead of Jesus, trying to help Jesus. At one point, jesus rebukes him and says get behind me, satan. So there's a word for all you people pleasers who are just trying to help. It could be Satan. You're welcome, right, he's being helpful. He's trying to suggest things to Jesus that he might want.

Speaker 1: 21:22

Now here's the thing. I've seen that very reaction a thousand times in other people and many more times in myself, when I get overwhelmed, when I get in over my head, when there's a sense of divine acceleration or things are just happening too quick. This part kicks in where I pretend, where we pretend We've got it all together, we just power on, often leaving ourselves, leaving others and the environment behind. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? Surely you've seen this in other people. Denial and dissociation are powerful drugs. Keep reading Matthew 17, verse five. While he was still speaking this is Peter still speaking a bright cloud covered them and a voice from the cloud said this is my son, whom I love and with him I'm well pleased. Listen to him, aka zip it. When the disciples heard this verse six, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. There's the proper response to this supernatural encounter All humility, the fear of the Lord. Peter's response before was something else entirely. So that's our third thing when things accelerate too quickly in life, whether it's good, whether it's chaos, we can leave the fear of the Lord and just adopt a survival strategy.

Speaker 1: 23:01

I was telling you about adopting. I remember one day and this happened several times in our process of adoption, but this is very clear I remember we're driving along, it's just me and AJ in the car and I just blurt out I don't wanna do this, I'm pulling the plug. This is ridiculous because I'm so caught up in literally I've hit the trifecta, I've got a fear of man, like we've told people we're gonna adopt. But actually I'm terrified of adopting because what if we get the wrong baby? What if we got a baby that's got serious physical, emotional or health problems that we're not prepared for? Like a baby is for life not just for Christmas, that's puppies, but a baby is for life. Like if we adopt this thing, there's no guarantee we're gonna be good parents, they're gonna be a good baby. What if the birth mother's a nightmare? This is chaos. But I'm also freaking out because if I back down, haven't said publicly hey, we're gonna do this, what kind of man am I? Just wanted to stop.

Speaker 1: 23:57

I'm also feeling overwhelmed by all the responsibilities of life because I have three other kids and you know this that in the next, like I can't do, I've got too much my plate and this sense of divine acceleration, stuff is happening too quick. But I'm also frightened. What if we can't afford it? What's happening is I'm just wanting to turn down the fear of the Lord so I can ignore that. It was his invitation. I just want to be where we were before you asked me to do something. I just want to downshift my relationship with you, without admitting that that's what we're doing, and yet the Lord is always calling us into more and more and more. And how many of you notice that the next hurdle seems to be a little bit bigger than the last one?

Speaker 1: 24:35

Rather than behaving like Peter and Moving to be helpful because that's not usually my MO I Move to catastrophizing, which is much more my skill set. All right, so catastrophizing everything's gonna go wrong. We're gonna be broke, the baby we're gonna get gonna turn it to be a psychopath and murder all three children while we're fast asleep. Just, I've just written. This is worse story because I don't want to be present with life right now.

Speaker 1: 25:03

You see, these three things the fear of man, the list of legitimate things and responsibilities that we have and and seasons of acceleration are all in competition for your focus. What the Lord wants you to focus on is the fear of the Lord, your reverence and your devotion and your connection with him. But our flesh is like yeah, but what will others think? What will the say? What will others do if I step out when I follow you? Or? Or how will this get done? Or how will I even live? Or I have to stay in control or I'm gonna lose it, which is the biggest lie ever.

Speaker 1: 25:46

The scripture says the fear of man is actually a snare to many. And Jesus says we're upset and we're worried about many things. And Jesus also tells us what does a prophet, a man, if he gains the whole world yet loses his own soul? And the thing I've learned is this is never a one-time moment. It's not like whoa, I just kind of Lick that sucker and now I'm awesome, I've got the fear the Lord 24-7, because there's plenty of opportunities for a heart to be tested. So you might be wondering, alan, what's the solution? Well, there are many, I would imagine. I've only thought of two and I want to leave you with two practical ones. Colossians 3, verse 15, says this let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body, you were called to peace and be thankful. Number one Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. That word rule. There is the only time that Greek word is used in all of scripture and it can be translated With the context of an umpire.

Speaker 1: 26:56

You know you have an umpire in game. I'm using sports analogies, which people who know me is like. This is dangerous. An umpire calls decisions. We'll just make a decision for the two competing teams. Is it in, is it out, and that's as far as my analogy is gonna go right. An umpire rules.

Speaker 1: 27:14

When things are going on in your life and you're feeling overwhelmed, it's okay. God's not mad at you. You have a gracious and compassionate God. You have a God that loves you, that while you were far off he died for you, so he's not threatened by your disconnection today and he's willing to give you peace, and his peace is amazing. His peace can be this umpire to help you choose wisely, not reactively. He's really really good. And number two Be thankful. Gratitude has this amazing way of bringing you back to earth. Gratitude gives us perspective.

Speaker 1: 28:01

Now I mentioned to you that my 14 year old. Every week she says what are you speaking on a church, kaisi, kaisi. And usually I'll give her a preview. And so last night, saturday, I just walked through my slides and she looks at this and I mentioned her this and she asked me this great question. She said but, daddy, when we're in distress, how will we ever remember to be ruled by peace or get in touch with gratitude? Smart cookie right Now. She's right.

Speaker 1: 28:33

But the Lord gave us something else to help, and it's a third option. God put us in community, namely the church. I hear me out, because I know that for some of you, the church hasn't been a place of support or of peace. It hasn't lived up to how it was designed by Jesus. But the important thing to understand is, when you're in that state, you are not alone and you're not called to walk alone. Whatever you are facing today, whatever you are facing right now, jesus will not leave you alone. So we're in a new church, or a new bunch of people, and I want to try something. Don't have to do this if you're not comfortable. I'm serious as our attack. If you don't want to try this, just close your eyes, pretend right. This church is all over the city where people just pretending right, you fit right in. I don't mean that in a shaming way. I just mean close your eyes. No one's taking score.

Speaker 1: 29:28

We're recording this. If you listen to it and think I want to try that, you can just download the podcast later this week and you can try the exercise. But thought we'd try a little exercise. I'm going to invite you right now, if you'd like to, to just bring to mind a situation in life right now that has connections to feelings of fear. Maybe it's the fear of man, maybe it's your own fear. Or you got situations that you're avoiding and you know you're avoiding it because you've given yourself over to distraction. Or perhaps bring your mind to attention Of situations where you feel overwhelmed and if it helps, you, close your eyes Now, as you're bringing this situation to mind, or you don't want to bring this situation to mind. Be at peace, it's totally fine. Right, you can do this exercise later or not at all. There's no judgment. But if you find your mind wandering, just gently invite your mind to come back.

Speaker 1: 30:27

What we're going to do is we're going to invite the Lord Jesus into this situation, because he's the prince of peace. So when he shows up, a supernatural piece Comes with him. It might not fix everything, but it'll at least give you a different perspective. So, holy Spirit, just all across this room, as we're just sitting here with you, as we're thinking about the things that might provoke us, lord, with fear, when we're aware of our responsibilities, good responsibilities that we might have realized have gotten in the way of connecting with you, or if there's situations, lord, that just the divine acceleration or the chaos in our life, lord, is causing anxiety. Holy Spirit, would you just begin to come and minister the peace of Christ. And, as you're aware of the Lord, what might he be saying, what might he be whispering, what might he be pointing you to? You know, tonight we're going to take communion together and we're going to do that in a minute.

Speaker 1: 31:48

I thought, before we take communion, it might be nice to just create some space for the Lord to speak to people, especially people who've never met Jesus before. And, like I said, you know we're friends and family. It's likely you already know Jesus, but you might not. You might have just been going to church your whole life and doing the right thing and no one knows. And that's fine, there's no shame in that. Perhaps you've never known that you have a God that loves you, who's for you and is not against you, but perhaps you're aware that something is not right, that no matter how hard you try, you just can't find peace, and I want to encourage you. That's not a you problem, that's a problem that's afflicted us all.

Speaker 1: 32:39

The Bible calls that problem sin. It's the root of everything that is wrong in this world. It is the fuel for all the wrong that's been done to you and also all the wrong things that you and I have said or thought or done, but we're not stuck in this hopeless way of living, because Jesus, the Prince of Peace, he came to save us and he did this by giving his life for us, by willingly dying in our place to remove sin from our heart. And the beautiful thing about him is he's willing to give us a different fuel for life, one of hope and of peace and of joy. What I love about him, his scripture always talks about his salvation in the present tense. So you don't have to wait. You don't have to go to a Bible school, you don't have to wait until tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation. It's what he's offering you tonight. And a simple question is will you trade your sin for his life? Because he's already paid for everything. He just wants to know if you'd like to take him up on that offer. And when we do that, when we ask him to take our sin, to forgive us of our sin, the Bible says you'll come and he'll live in us. Not only will he forgive us of all the wrong things we've done and said and thought, but he'll also purify us and change our hearts so that we live for him.

Speaker 1: 34:21

I'm curious tonight. If you've never received this free gift of life that Jesus offers before, would you be brave and just raise your hands so that I can pray for you? And my hope is that everybody knows the Lord. But if you don't, tonight is a great time to get saved and meet Jesus. Well, aj and I and our team, we want to thank you so much for coming. We really, really appreciate your support and your encouragement, but we're not over yet. We have a ministry team who would love to pray for you tonight and I'm going to invite our ministry team to come forward. And if you would like to be prayed for tonight, if you need physical healing in your body, our team would love to pray for you.

Speaker 1: 35:08

If you want to respond to anything that was said in the message tonight, if there's something that you are just like I need someone to pray for me, or if you just want a blessing that doesn't even have to be anything wrong then I'm going to invite you to come over and see Hannah over here. It's probably easiest if you just line up here. Hannah will make sure that you get prayed by somebody. But please hang out, get prayer, chat with one another. Come say hi to me if I haven't had a chance to say hi to you. And don't forget your kids. That would be important. Let's not traumatize your kids on their first week here.

Speaker 1: 35:37

But thank you again for being here. I know, like I said at the beginning, many of you are already in church and so we're not looking to steal sheep, but you are most welcome here anytime. Next week is our public open doors, which we're very excited about, and so if you'd like to come back for that, we would love that. There's something beautiful about coming into an already full room. But thanks for being here tonight. We really, really appreciate it and, god bless, thanks for listening to this episode. We'd love to hear from you wherever you are in the world. To get in touch, visit us online at GoodlyChurch.