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Three Named Angels in the Bible: Lucifer: Worship (Narcissistic – self worship) Gabriel: Word Michael: Prayer Prayer doesn’t move God toward us. Prayer moves us toward God. Exodus 25:8-9 NLT // Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you. Exodus 33:11 NLT // Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Matthew 5:17 // Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Seven steps, 6 pieces of furniture. The Outer Court: Give God thanks. Psalm 100:4 // Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Thanks for what He’s done. Praise for who He is. Psalm 103:1-5 // Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Brazen Altar: Focus on the Cross. Romans 5:6 NLT // When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Isaiah 53:5 // But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Nails: Freedom from my past. Spear: Freedom in my heart. Crown: Freedom in my mind. Whip: Freedom in my body. The Laver: Offer every part of my life to God. Romans 12:1 // Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. The Candlestick: Invite the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. Zechariah 4:6 // ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. Isaiah 11:2 // The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord. Galatians 5:22-23 // But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The Table of Shewbread: Claim the promises in God’s Word. Matthew 4:4 // Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Ephesians 6:10-18 // Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes… (Take) the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray… The Altar of Incense: Worship His Name. Psalm 29:2 // Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. Psalm 95:6-7 // Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Proverbs 18:10 // The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. 7. The Ark of the Covenant: Intercede for others. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 // I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. Prayer should be our first response, not our last resort.

“Your number one desire as a follower of Jesus should be to hear the voice of God.” – John Bevere Expectation is the breeding ground for miracles. What does God want? Worship is love expressed. We all worship something. Worship is our response to what we value most. Romans 1:21-23 // For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. A Not-So-Great Exchange 1. Substitutes 
Deuteronomy 6:14-15 // Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. 2. Pride John 12:42-43 // Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. 3. Pleasure 
Hebrews 13:15 // Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 4. Spectatorism James 4:8 NLT // Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Hebrews 10:22 // Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith… What Does God Really Want? Psalm 50:8-15 NLT // I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer. But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it. Do I eat the meat of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats? Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory. 1. Thank Him with my sincere affection. 2 Chronicles 16:9 // For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2. Offer Him the control of my life. Romans 12:1 // Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 3. Include Him in my everyday life. Deuteronomy 6:14-15 // Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. What God really wants is relationship with me.

“We are as close to God as we choose to be.” - Oswald Sanders How close are you to Jesus? How close do you want to be? John 15:12-13 // My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. How Close Can We Come to Jesus? James 4:8 // Come near to God and he will come near to you. Jeremiah 29:13 // “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jesus’ 6 Circles of Relationship: The Crowds – the place of “watching & listening” from a distance; The 5000 – the place of “feeding & healing”; The 70 – the place of “working & serving”; The 12 – the place of “leaving all & following”; The 3 – the place of “joys & sufferings”; and, The One – the place of “sacrificial love.” Matthew 16:24 // Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. THE CLOSER CALL is … A Call to INTIMACY. THE CLOSER CALL is … A Call to SURRENDER. THE CLOSER CALL is … A Call to LOYALTY. How Far Have You Followed Him? John 15:14-15 // You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. How close can you come to Jesus? How close do you want to come? The experience of knowing Christ is more of a lifelong journey than a momentary experience.

Joy to the World Luke 2:8-14 NKJV // Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest,
 and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Good tidings of great joy Matthew 2:1-2; 8-10 NKJV // “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.” Exceedingly great joy To understand what JOY really is, we need to understand the depth of LIGHT vs DARKNESS IMMANUEL – God with us Jesus IS JOY God’s JOY is not CIRCUMSTANTIAL it’s PERSONAL – it’s about HIM Worship the WHO not the WHAT Who God is will always be worthy of praise because that is simply His nature. Change my joy focus Remember the darkness When we remember the darkness, the light shines even brighter

Our freedom plans aren’t what they’re cracked up to be. Luke 15:20 // So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Prodigal Son Wildcard Luke 15:1-2 // Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” The Prodigal Son Extravagant The Prodigal Father Luke 15:7 // “When he came to his senses… The Father was always waiting. If you’ve been watching the road, keep watching. There is an invitation to all of us to come home.

What are we really searching for? Psalm 68:6 // God sets the lonely in families… John 14:2-3 // My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. Where do we really live? Broken home. Divided home. Empty home. Home alone. Why do I feel these things? John 4:9-15  //  The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” Jesus meets us at the place of our brokenness, but doesn’t leave us there. John 4:42 // They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” Four questions to ask before we come home: Does anyone want me to be there? What if I don’t feel fulfilled? Have I done enough good things? What if nothing has changed? Free Trial Romans 10:13 // “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Luke 8:41-44 NIV  //  Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.  And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.  She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. Spiritual Disappointment Can Create: Confusion through delayed expectations Mark 5:25-26 NIV  //  And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.  She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. Apathy through perceived anonymity Luke 8:42 NIV  //  As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. Anger through perceived inconsistence Luke 8:48-49 NIV  //  Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” Disconnection and a loss of hope Luke 8:49 NIV  //  … “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” Dealing With Disappointment: Our Way Forward Start with the power of God Philippians 1:6 NRSV  //  I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. Remember God’s faithfulness through His character 2 Timothy 2:13 NIV  //  … “if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” God’s unpredictability creates opportunity for our faith James 1: 2-4 NIV  //  Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Hope in Jesus Christ is found in redemption regardless of circumstance Hebrews 6:19-20 NRSV  //  We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain,  where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Psalm 112:5-6 // Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; 6 a righteous man will be remembered forever. Legacy: Where my life lives on. What will you do that will outlive you? Giving to something that will outlive me. Living so my life outlives me. Mark 14:9 // Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her. Am I generous? John 12:1-8 // Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” Intentional Sacrificial Extravagant The enemy of generosity is selfishness. Extravagant - More than you have. Intentional Sacrificial Extravagant 300 Denarii Levels of Giving: Intentional - Tithes Sacrificial - Offerings Extravagant - Extravagant Giving Hebrews 11:6 // And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Extravagant - More than you have. Extravagant - all that I have. Mark 14:9 // Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.