It's Time To Look To Him

Well, if you have your Bibles, turn with me to Isaiah 54. Yep, there we go — we’ve got some people wooing already. You already know what’s up. Isaiah 54.

We are starting a new series today called God’s Best. Everybody say, “God’s best.” When we talk about the new year, we think of new beginnings. We think of resolutions. We think of making goals — how can I improve this year and see personal growth in my own life? We all have this desire to start the new year on a good note. And I believe that this is going to be a great year — but it’s not by what we can do. It’s because of the power of God. Amen. It’s what God can do. And I believe that there are some significant things that He wants to do.

You crown the year

I’ve been praying over the past several weeks, and I shared this scripture out of Psalm 65, verse 11, which is what I’ve been praying over our church and over you guys. It says, “You crown the year with your goodness, and your paths drip with abundance.” You crown the year. How many of you know what makes our year good is God? It’s Him. He’s the one that blesses our year. It says, “You crown the year with your goodness; your paths drip with abundance.” When we follow Him, He provides for us. He cares for us. He’s the one who makes our year great. And so it happens by God. It doesn’t happen by our own strength.

How many of you would like to be better planners? Anybody else? How many people would like to maybe spend a little less money, or lose a little bit of weight, or exercise more? There are things that we can do that can advance us to some degree. But how many of you know the things that really matter — the things where we have significant impact, where we are satisfied inside out — only happen when we receive from God and follow Him? Amen.

And so God’s plan for your life is a supernatural plan. Even if you did everything that you thought you could do to see His plan come to pass for your life, if God isn’t in it, how many of you know it won’t happen? You see, we need God for His plan to happen in our lives. Jesus said in John 15:5, “Without me you can do nothing.” We also read in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” You see what’s going on here? We need a move of God. We need God in our lives — to hear from Him, to follow Him, for Him to lead us, to guide us. And as we do those things, if God is for us, who can be against us? And so we need God. Somebody say amen.

I love that verse: “You crown the year with your goodness, and your paths drip with abundance.” How many of you know God has everything that you need? Everything that you need to know, every material thing, every resource, every idea, every direction, every bit of wisdom, every bit of healing — everything that you need, God has available to you. But without God in the middle of everything you do, it won’t happen. Jesus said in John 15:7, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” So we need God to be a part of our year. Somebody say amen.

Those who will endure

I wasn’t planning on this, but as I was praying this morning, I was just asking the Lord, because I knew that there were some things that He wanted to say that I hadn’t prepared, that I hadn’t planned on. And as I was praying, I felt like the Lord said this: “Those who will endure are those who spend time in My presence.” Those who will endure are those who spend time in My presence.

I was talking with Pastor Larry — and I mentioned this last week — he used to have a word of the year that the Lord would bring, and we would all receive it, and it was always fun. So I asked him, “Well, did the Lord show you anything? Is there a word of the year?” And we were going back and forth, and we were talking about being filled with the Spirit and being in His Word. And I really got the sense this morning that that’s all true, but that this is a year of being in His presence — that we would know how to enter into His presence, that we would be people who know how to remain in His presence, abide in His presence, and that we would be people who are filled with His Spirit, so that wherever we go, His presence is with us.

But how many of you know we need a fresh revelation of who Jesus is in our lives? There are so many of us that are going through life with good intentions. We have a heart that loves God, a heart that wants to honor God, that wants to serve Him, that wants to follow Him. But so many of us are weary, because we have been going through life in our own strength. We’ve been so busy doing for God that we forgot to be with Him — to learn how to sit at His feet, how to make Him a priority. And because we haven’t had the right perspective, because we’ve been doing it on our own, we get tired, we get weak, we get weary, and sometimes we fail.

And I really feel like there is a time coming where there are going to be many people in the church who get weary of God Himself, because they don’t spend time with Him, because they’re not receiving from Him. And that’s why I feel like the Lord is saying, “Those who will endure…” I’m not talking about you’re going to die. No, I’m saying those who endure, those who fulfill the plans of God, those who remain in relationship with Him — those who endure are those who spend time in My presence.

Return to your first love

And this is what I got: Jesus said, return to your first love. Jesus, in Revelation chapter 2, is writing to the churches, and He says, “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.”

So here’s Jesus, speaking to the churches, and He’s saying, “Listen, I see what you’ve done. I’ve seen the good things. I see how people have tried to add to what I’ve said, or have spoken things as though they were true and they are not, and you’ve recognized that. You’ve stayed the course.” But notice, this isn’t what Jesus was most after. Verse 4 says, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Some translations say you’ve forgotten your first love.

And I just have such a pull in my heart that the Lord is presenting us with an opportunity — that we would be people that welcome His presence, that spend time with Him, that are taught and led by the Spirit to come into His throne room with boldness, full of grace, full of mercy. That we would be people that wouldn’t just do it once on a Sunday, but that come and do it regularly, wherever we are. He says, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

How many of you know we can get so busy with the doing that we forget what’s most important? We get so busy with what we can do, with what we can accomplish — and none of those things were ever meant to define us. We forget that what really defines us is who we spend time with. At the end, it doesn’t have to do with all the things that you can accomplish. How many of you know the most masterful work of art, the best thing that you could ever do, is nothing compared to what God can do or has done? And all He’s asking — He’s saying, “No, all I’ve been after this whole time was you. To be with you.”

How many of you know that’s the story of the gospel? Sin entered the world, and we were dead, and God in His love did everything so that He could be with us again. And so when we received Jesus, it’s not just a prayer of salvation so that we can die and go to heaven one day. It’s so that we can be with Him right now. And He’s saying, “I don’t want to wait another minute longer.” And my heart and my prayer is that we would be people that would say the same thing: “I don’t want to wait another minute. I want to be in Your presence right now.” How many of you know that because of what Jesus did, we can do just that? May we not be a people who forget our first love. May we not be people who forget what Jesus did, who He was, and what He has for us. Amen.

Verse 5. Jesus says, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works.” Everybody say, “First works.” Let’s try that again. Everybody say, “First works.” Jesus is saying, “Remember from where you have fallen. Repent.” What does that mean? Turn — and do the first works.

Sometimes we get distracted by the new. We like the new thing. We like the flashy thing. We like the newest technology. We like the newest toys. We like the new, and that sometimes translates to our spirituality, where it’s like, “What’s the new thing? What’s the new church? What’s the new preacher? What’s the new pastor?” But how many of you know it’s not about what’s new? It’s about what’s already been done. Jesus said, “I have finished the work,” that you might walk in My ways, that you might be with Me. He’s already done the work.

And so when He says return to the first, how many of you know He’s not trying to make this very complicated? In fact, many of us know logistically what it takes to be with God — to be in the Word, to be people of prayer, to be people of worship. But then we’re always like, “Yeah, but there’s got to be a different way. There’s got to be more.” And because we don’t want to spend the time, or we don’t want to wait, we just look for that instant gratification, that new thing that we can go to. But Jesus is saying, “Remember, repent, and do the first works. Go back to what I’ve given you to do.” He says, “or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place — unless you repent.”

How many of you know if we want to endure, we must repent and go back to the first works? Amen. Those who will endure are those who spend time in My presence. Oh, what an opportunity I believe the Lord has given us. I feel like the Lord has given me a special assignment: to lead us, to show us, and to demonstrate how to be people who enter into His presence regularly — how to worship, how to be in His presence, how to spend time with Him.

And as we’re beginning this series called God’s Best, I pray that that would be our prayer — that we would say, “Lord, I want You to be a part of this year. I’m not going to go back to the way I’ve been doing it. What I’ve been doing was for myself. What I’ve been doing hasn’t been for Your glory; it’s been for me. What I’ve been doing hasn’t been satisfying.” But that we would be people that would repent and say, “God, I’m calling to You. I’m looking to You. Lord, I’m returning to You. I want to be with You. I want to spend time in Your presence.”

So as we continue in the Word, can we just do that right now? Can we just bow our heads, and let’s just pray. Say, “Lord, I want You to be a part of this year.” Just go ahead and tell Him that right now. “Lord, I want You to be a part of this year. I want to do Your will this year. And so I invite You into my 2023, to see Your plans, to see Your purposes come to pass in my life. In Jesus’ name.” In Jesus’ name we pray, and we said amen. Amen.

Sing, O barren

Well, I had you turn to Isaiah 54, and I want to look at this. This is one of my favorite prophetic verses in the Bible, and many of you are familiar with it. Isaiah 54, starting at verse 1. This is God speaking to His people through the prophet Isaiah, and He says: “Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord. “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited. Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.”

So this passage is really talking about everything that we just talked about. This is God coming to His people, and He’s saying, “Listen, I want you to look to Me.” In fact, that’s the title of the message today. When we’re talking about God’s best, the first thing we must do is look to Him. We look to Him. And here’s God saying, “I don’t need you to be looking to your boss. I don’t need you to be looking to your friends or to others to get you down the road or to advance you in life. If you do that, you’re going to have a very low level of success. You’re not going to fulfill your supernatural assignment. You’re not going to do the things that I’ve asked you to do.” God is saying, “I want you to look to Me.”

And I want you to notice how He starts. He says, “Sing.” Everybody say, “Sing.” Here’s God speaking to this woman who is a widow, who is barren, who has no way of having her own family. And here’s God coming, and He’s saying, “I want you to sing.” It’s quite the conundrum. I don’t know if any of you have ever felt that way. I know there were times even this week where I’m just like, “Lord, I don’t feel like I’m in a place to give thanks. I don’t have the strength. I don’t have it in me, because of what I’m going through, because of the things that I’m feeling.” Anybody else relate? When you just don’t feel it — when it’s like, “I know this is the right thing to do. I’m going to church on Sunday because I know it’s the right thing to do, but I’m just not feeling it.”

I can only imagine that this woman felt that way — that as she’s looking around at all the other families that are flourishing, the families that are growing, things are happening for them, God’s blessing them — it’s like, “Why isn’t that happening for me?” And I want you to notice what God says to this woman: “Sing.” How many of you know it’s time for us to sing again? To sing through the disappointment, to sing through the unmet expectations, to sing through the hurt, through the pain, through the inadequacy, through the failure. How many of you know God is still worthy?

And He’s saying, “I want you to sing.” Why? Because God is saying, “I want to partner with you. I want to be there for you. You may not see it right now, but when you sing, when you lift your voice to Me, when you begin to give Me praise, when you begin to give thanks in advance of the things that I will do — I want you to know that I will come through for you.” It’s time to sing again. Amen.

I don’t know about you, but as I was reading this, it was as though the Holy Spirit was speaking right to me, and I’m just like, “Lord, I can’t help but worship You, because You’ve already done it. You’ve already done everything. Lord, if I don’t ever receive anything from You again, You’ve already done more than enough.” How many of you know that is true? But God says, “But I’m not going to keep you where you’re at. I want to take you from glory to glory, from faith to faith, from strength to strength, from hope to hope.” How many of you know our God is the one who lifts us up and wants to advance us into the things that will truly, absolutely satisfy? Amen.

It is amazing to me — anybody else have an iPhone and look at this thing called Screen Time? Anybody? I got this note, and I actually kind of freaked out about it, because this morning it gave me this weekly report, and it said that my screen time went up like a thousand percent. And I think there was some glitch, because apparently I spent 23 hours and 57 minutes a day on my phone. I’m like, that’s not true. But it’s amazing to me how much time we spend on things that we think will satisfy, but they leave us empty. We think we know what successes or victories in life will really mean something, but how many of you know only God has the plan that will satisfy our lives? It’s already been written. He already knows what He’s created you to do. He’s uniquely fashioned you and made you with plans and purposes. And for us to fulfill His assignment for our lives, we must tap into what He has said and who He says we are.

And so here’s God coming, saying, “I want you to sing.” You may not feel it. How many of you know you can come in on a Sunday morning, and maybe you got some bad news yesterday, and you’re not feeling it? How many of you know the only absolutely appropriate response is to sing — to lift our hands, to look to Him and say, “God, I worship You, not because of what’s going on around me, but because of who You are, and because of Your promises to me — that You have promised that You will partner with me, and You will take me from glory to glory”? How many of you know in order for us to receive God’s best, we must look to Him and sing? Amen.

Oh, this is important. This is important, because there’s not a lot of singing going on out there. There’s a lot of complaining. There’s a lot of “me” out there right now. And God’s saying, “I don’t want you to look to others. I don’t want you to look to yourself. I want you to look to Me.” Everybody say, “Look to Him.” It’s time to start singing. Maybe it’s been a tough season for you. Maybe last year was a tough year for you. Maybe it’s just been a tough day. But wherever you find yourself, the Lord is wanting to bring about a new season as we look to Him and call upon Him.

Your Maker is your husband

Look at verse 4. Verse 4 says, “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame.” Sometimes, when God starts speaking — maybe you’ve heard the Lord speak to you through His Word, or maybe in a time of prayer, where you’re like, “I’m pretty sure that’s the Lord” — all of a sudden this fear creeps in. It’s like, “Well, what if He doesn’t do that? What if He doesn’t come through for me? What’s going to happen if I start trusting the Lord and He doesn’t come through?” But notice what God is saying. He’s saying, “You will not be disgraced.” Any season of embarrassment or shame will be a thing of the past. Why? Look at verse 5: “For your Maker is your husband.”

What is God saying? God is saying, “I am committed to you.” That’s better — you all are agreeing. God is saying, “I am committed to you. I’ve committed Myself to you.” Psalm 23, verse 1 says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” What is the psalmist saying? “God, You have everything I need. You’re the one who leads me. You’re the one who provides for me.” It says, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

And I believe what God is saying is, “I want you to allow Me to be your Shepherd. I want you to allow Me this year to lead you. Will you trust Me more than what you see on social media? Will you trust Me more than what you see on the news? Will you trust Me more than the news you received yesterday?” God is saying, “I want this to be a year where you allow Me to lead you.”

Verse 4 says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” Why? “For You are with me.” God is saying, “I am committed to you.” If we knew that, how many of you know you’d walk a little bit differently? If you were growing up in school and there was a bully, and then all of a sudden you make friends with the best and most popular athlete in the school, and you walk into school with him — how many of you know you walk into school differently that day? Because someone’s got your back. But God is saying, “I’ve got your back. When you look to Me, when you come into alignment with Me — I have committed Myself to you. I will come through for you, if you allow Me to lead you.”

“For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” How many of you know that’s exactly what He wants — to be with us forever? And so God is saying, “If you would just allow Me — if you would look to Me, if you would call out to Me, cry out to Me, sing to Me — if you would just allow Me to lead you, stop making your own decisions, getting ahead of Me, but allow Me to lead you, there will be nothing that can stop you.” Why? Because He is your Shepherd.

Call to Me and I will answer

I don’t know about you, but I want this to be the year that I look to Him. If I had any resolution, it would be that I spend more time with Him, because I’m not defined by what I can do or what I can accomplish. We’re defined by who we spend our time with. So how do we do that?

How many of you remember Jeremiah 33:3? This is where God says, “Call to me” — everybody say, “Call to me” — this is God speaking. He says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” How many of you know that there is a difference between calling out to God and thinking about calling out to God? I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get stuck in a mode where I spend a lot of time thinking about what I should ask God about or what I should talk to God about, rather than actually talking to Him about it. There is a difference between telling someone, “I was thinking about calling you,” and actually calling them. And I think a lot of times that’s how we approach God. We spend a lot of time thinking about our problems — “Oh, I really should pray about this situation. I really should ask the Lord what He thinks about this” — but we don’t actually pray.

How many of you know that there is a real spiritual resistance? There is an adversary that tries to keep us from seeking or being with God. I want to just give you props, because you’ve already taken victory steps by being here today. How many of you know the adversary doesn’t even want you in this room? In fact, he’s going to give you every reason and every excuse not to receive the things from the Lord, whether that’s hearing the Word on a Sunday, or being alone with the Lord and spending time in prayer in your room. There is a spiritual resistance that we deal with.

I remember just the other day, I’ve been setting some time aside with the Lord, and I was going through that time, and I just found myself constantly being distracted — with everything I had to do that day, with everything that was going on, with decisions that were being made. I was so distracted. And I was just like, “I might as well just stop. I set this time aside, I’m already three-quarters through, and I’ve barely prayed, because I’ve just been so distracted.” I start praying, and then I get distracted. It’s like — squirrel! There’s a squirrel, and you just get distracted all the time. That’s where I was. And I just knew in my spirit, no, there’s something the Lord wants to bring. There’s something He wants to speak to me. And I just said, “Lord, I am going to be steadfast. I am not quitting.” And I just came right back. And how many of you know the Lord gave me what I needed in that moment?

How many times do we quit too early? How many times do we stop because “that should have happened by now”? Can we just have a different approach — “Lord, no matter how long this takes, I need to receive from You”? Because how many of you know the best investment that you can make with your time is being with Him? I’m going to say that again: the best investment that we can make with our time is being with Him.

You see, God says, “Call to me, and I will answer you.” Call to Me and I will answer — is that not one of the best promises? Now, sometimes I read that and I’m like, “Well, Lord, I’ve prayed prayers, and I didn’t hear anything.” Well, then that makes one of us a liar. Either God is lying, because He didn’t answer, or I’m lying, because I didn’t really give Him my attention. Because God said, “Call to me, and I will answer.” Oh, that changes things. That changes the expectation level — that when I look to Him and I begin calling out to God and I say, “God, I don’t know what to do. I need You. God, would You help me? God, I need wisdom before I make this decision.”

How many of you know that requires humility? That requires a heart that is willing to set aside the time, that sets aside the pride, that sets aside the arrogance of “I can just do this on my own. I can navigate this. God gave me a brain; I can use it.” I love it when believers say, “God gave us a brain so we can use it.” Yeah, but He gave you a spirit too. He did give you a brain, but how many of you know we default to that way too often before we come to Him? He gave us a brain, yes, but He gave us a spirit that has been born again, that can receive the things of God. And He wants us to look to Him and to be led by His Spirit. Amen. We need to look to Him.

“Call to me, and I will answer you.” No disclaimers in there. Not “if He’s in the mood,” not “if He’s not too busy,” or “if you caught Him at the right time.” He says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” How many of you know God is saying, “I will not only answer you, I will show you things that you never thought of. I will give you answers to problems that you couldn’t figure out on your own”? I don’t know about you, but that’s like 99 percent of the things that I deal with. I don’t know what the best way is. But how many of you know God knows the best way? God knows what’s right. God knows what I need better than what I think I need. And so He’s saying, “Will you look to Me?” Will you call to Him? Call to Him. Amen.

Daily at His gates

Let me give you a hint of how we can hear from the Lord. We’re hitting this new year, and we’re doing some things. How many of you know we’re starting with our 21 days of prayer? We need to pray. But we’re also starting with our daily reading — reading our Bibles every day, that we would be people that would be in the Word every day. I know that we have these journals that are available, and we have reading plans online, and sometimes that can be daunting, because you think, “Oh, I’ve got to read four or five chapters today.” But how many of you know, even if you can just get in and receive one thing — it’s just more important that we set aside intentional time to be with Him? Amen.

So let me give you a hint of how you can hear from the Lord. Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” I like the ESV, where it says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete” — everybody say, “Complete” — “thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

We spent a lot of time talking about this last week; I’m not going to spend a lot of time here today. But how many of you know the Bible is not just a good book? It’s not just a bunch of wise sayings or a book that has some truth. It literally is the breath, the Word of God. The Holy Spirit came upon and moved on these authors, so that the things they wrote that were true then are still true today, because God is eternal. God knew, when He moved on those authors, that you would be here today, and that you would need a word from Him. He knew that you would be coming to Him, and in those messages that were written 1,500 years ago, He knew where you were at in that moment, and He had a word put in His Word for you right there. You see, His Word is alive and active. It is a living Word. It’s not just a book. It is relevant, it is true, it is eternal. And if you want to know what God is saying, how many of you know we start with what He has already said?

You see, we need to be people who come to His Word every day. If you are wanting to hear the voice of God, the leading of God, we start with what God has said. And I want to tell you — this happens all the time for me when I come to His Word. Now, there are times where you can make it a task, and you can go through the motions. We can do that. Your New Year’s resolution could be “I want to get in shape,” and you can just go through the motions, and that workout was meaningless. It’s the same thing. But how many of you know that when I come and open my heart and begin reading His Word, not only do I see things that I’ve never seen before — it’s not the facts — but the Holy Spirit is speaking to me in a different way, where I know, “That’s it. That’s what I needed for this day.”

And so to make this a year of God’s best, we need to position ourselves to hear from Him, to receive from Him. But how many of you know we can’t just do this one and done? Maybe you started the reading plan last week — we made those available to everybody, we have our daily reading plan — and you’re like, “Man, I already missed six of the seven days. I think I should just be done.” How many of you know that’s what the enemy wants? But that we would not just do it one time — we would keep coming back to His Word. And I want to encourage you, this is just a little pro tip: do not worry about the missed days. Just start today. Okay? How many of you know God is not concerned about your performance on these things? He just wants to be with you. And when we spend time with Him, He meets us in that moment. Amen.

And that’s exactly what’s happened for me. As I open His Word — maybe I’ve spent time in prayer and I’m like, “Lord, I need wisdom here” — as I open His Word, His Holy Spirit starts speaking to me, and He starts giving me answers: things that I didn’t see, things that I didn’t understand, or things that I never would have thought of. We need to receive His Word.

I love the scripture out of Proverbs 8:34. It says, “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord.” This is Proverbs chapter 8. This is the person of Wisdom speaking. In a recent study that we did, we found out that the person of Wisdom is actually Jesus. Jesus Himself is talking here. And He says, “Blessed is the man” — I don’t know about you, but I want my life to be blessed — “blessed is the man who” what? “Who listens to me, watching daily at my gates” — everybody say, “Daily” — “waiting at the posts of my doors.”

Listen, I’m telling you, 90 percent of the problem for us today is we love our instant gratification, where we can just say, “God, what are You saying?” and then we wait — “No, not yet. I’ll try again tomorrow.” We want that instant answer all the time. But how many of you know it involves us being with Him, spending time at His feet, being in His presence? Oftentimes there is an alignment in our heart that has to happen before we can hear accurately. And so that’s why, so often, the best way to get into His presence is by giving Him praise, by giving Him worship. Why? Because you’re declaring truths of who He is, even though your heart and your mind may not be there yet. But as you spend time in that, declaring it and being in His presence, all of a sudden there’s an alignment that’s taking place, and now your spirit is lined up with His, and He begins to speak to you right where you are. You guys know what I’m talking about?

This is how we have God’s best. This is how we receive His best. This is how we come into this year — not just for prosperity, not just financially. No, this is how we receive God’s best for our lives. And His best for our lives happens when we just spend time with Him — spending time with Him in His Word, spending time with Him in prayer, spending time in worship. Maybe you’re like, “I just need to go a little bit deeper with Him than I have.” Maybe that’s just reading an extra chapter out of the Bible a day. Maybe that’s coming to worship and not just standing there and looking at the screens, but singing them out loud. And maybe you’re like, “I don’t have a great voice.” That’s okay. A lot of us don’t have very good voices. But it’s about declaring with our mouth who He is. Maybe for some of you it’s lifting your hands. Maybe it’s asking for a fresh revelation and saying, “God, would You show me? Would You take me to You?” Because that’s His heart — that we would know Him more. Amen. And He honors that prayer.

And so God speaks to us through His Word. I want to encourage you — we’re talking about some very simple, basic things, but how many of you know we sometimes need to get back to the basics? And that really is that we would be a people who pray, people who spend time daily waiting at the door, spending time in His Word, receiving from Him. Because I’m telling you, when you do this, He will shape you. He will speak to you. He will lead you. Why? Because He has committed Himself to you.

I shared this story a few weeks ago. There was one day I missed my time with the Lord because I slept, and I was like, “Oh, Lord, there goes that. Now my day is gone.” And I was going up the stairs, and I’m like, “Lord, I’m sorry I missed my time with You.” And I remember He just said — at first I was like, that’s cheesy — but He said, “Being with you is My favorite part of the day.” And I was like, “Oh yeah. That’s right.” And that just made me want to be with Him all the more. You see what I’m saying? That we would just have that heart that says, “God, You’ve done everything to be with me. Let me have a heart that says, yes, Lord, I choose to be with You.” Amen. Oh, that we would choose that.

Can we do this? Let’s stand together. We’re going to close in prayer this morning, and I’m going to invite you to pray with me. If this is your heart, I’m going to ask that we pray and ask the Lord to do a work in our hearts. Because I don’t know about you, but sometimes I start looking at what I can do more than what He can do. Sometimes I start looking at what I have to do rather than just being with Him. I have a distracted heart. Anybody else? I need more of Him. And so this would be my prayer: that we would be people that would say, “Lord, just the way You chose me, I’m choosing You. This will be a year that I choose You.”

So if that’s your heart, I’m going to pray this prayer, and I’m just going to ask that you repeat after me. Just say it in a voice loud enough for the person next to you to hear, but let’s pray it with our heart. Just say, “Lord, I give this year to You. I declare that this will be a year that I look to You. I’m calling on You. I ask that You would speak to me, that You would lead me, that You would help me to make time for You every day — to listen to Your Word, to be in Your presence, to discern Your voice by Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Lord, I just declare over every person here, Lord, that You would strengthen us — that You would strengthen us today to be people of Your presence. Lord, that we would be people that are committed to entering into Your presence, not through anything that we can do, but, Lord, according to what You have already given us. That we would come and be people who come to Your throne daily by the blood of Jesus — who are washed, who have been forgiven, who have been made righteous by what You have done, by Your love. Lord, that we would take this seriously, that we would not be rushed, but, Lord, that it would be our heart to say, “Whatever You want to do, whatever You want to say, Lord, I’m going to wait. I’m going to wait for You.”

And Lord, we thank You that just being in Your presence changes us. And Your Word says, Lord, that we enter into Your presence with praise and with thanksgiving. Lord, when we come into Your Word, it’s as though we’re looking at You face to face. Lord, when we call on You, You answer us. Lord, You have given us the tools. And Lord, we repent of not making You our priority, of thinking that we can do it on our own, of thinking that we know what satisfies, what’s best. But, Lord, You created us, and You have a plan for us. And Lord, we say that we need to hear from You. We need to be led by You.

So Lord, give us the strength to do these things — to return to our first love today. And we love You because You first loved us, and we respond to that love today by saying yes, Lord. Yes. This will be the year. This will be the time. This will be the season. “I’ve done it all before, but I’m going to do it again. I’ve read Your Word; I’m doing it again. Why? Because You’re going to reveal Yourself in a new way, and I need it. I need a fresh revelation of who You are.” Jesus, teach us how to worship You. Teach us how to walk with You. We don’t have all the answers, and so we look to the One who does. We honor You. We thank You. We receive Your Word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Is that good? The Lord is good. Amen. I don’t know about you, but I want to endure. I want to see His plan come to pass for my life. I want to see it for your life. Let us be a people of His presence. Oh, that we would see the face of the Lord when we come here.

You know, sometimes — and this is not a dig by any stretch of the imagination; we do this intentionally — our worship leader will come up here at 10 o’clock and start singing. And this morning it was just a handful of us, and I was like, “We’re bringing it. The Lord’s coming here, and it’s starting with us.” And then everybody comes in, and it’s kind of like the call — “Hey, everybody, come in and start.” But you know what my dream is? That before I even get into this room, there is an atmosphere of worship already happening, because we’re so eager — because we’ve seen the Lord, we’re so eager to worship Him that we’re not even going to wait for church to start. We’re going to start right now. How many of you know the Lord’s given us full access? Amen. Full access. There is nothing in the way of you coming to Him — just a heart that is surrendered.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.