Scripture referenced
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Psalm 37:34 central verse for the year: put your hope in the Lord, travel steadily along his path
34 Wait for Yahweh, and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
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Keep this verse
Proverbs 25
it is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of a king to search it out
1 These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
3 As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.
4 Take away the dross from the silver, and material comes out for the refiner;
5 Take away the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Don’t exalt yourself in the presence of the king, or claim a place among great men;
7 for it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,” than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whom your eyes have seen.
8 Don’t be hasty in bringing charges to court. What will you do in the end when your neighbor shames you?
9 Debate your case with your neighbor, and don’t betray the confidence of another;
10 lest one who hears it put you to shame, and your bad reputation never depart.
11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
12 As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.
13 As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him; for he refreshes the soul of his masters.
14 As clouds and wind without rain, so is he who boasts of gifts deceptively.
15 By patience a ruler is persuaded. A soft tongue breaks the bone.
16 Have you found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for you, lest you eat too much, and vomit it.
17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he be weary of you, and hate you.
18 A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.
19 Confidence in someone unfaithful in time of trouble is like a bad tooth, or a lame foot.
20 As one who takes away a garment in cold weather, or vinegar on soda, so is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink:
22 for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and Yahweh will reward you.
23 The north wind produces rain; so a backbiting tongue brings an angry face.
24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than to share a house with a contentious woman.
25 Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
26 Like a muddied spring, and a polluted well, so is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
27 It is not good to eat much honey; nor is it honorable to seek one’s own honor.
28 Like a city that is broken down and without walls is a man whose spirit is without restraint.
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Isaiah 62
give the Lord no rest until he completes all that he has promised
1 For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning lamp.
2 The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory, and you will be called by a new name, which Yahweh‘s mouth will name.
3 You will also be a crown of beauty in Yahweh‘s hand, and a royal diadem in your God‘s hand.
4 You will not be called Forsaken any more; nor will your land be called Desolate any more: but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for Yahweh delights in you, and your land will be married.
5 For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you. As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
6 I have set watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem. They will never be silent day nor night. You who call on Yahweh, take no rest,
7 and give him no rest, until he establishes, and until he makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
8 Yahweh has sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, “Surely I will no more give your grain to be food for your enemies; and foreigners will not drink your new wine, for which you have labored;
9 but those who have harvested it will eat it, and praise Yahweh; and those who have gathered it will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.”
10 Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way of the people! Build up, build up the highway! Gather out the stones! Lift up a banner for the peoples.
11 Behold, Yahweh has proclaimed to the end of the earth, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your salvation comes. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.’”
12 They will call them The holy people, Yahweh’s redeemed. You will be called Sought out, A city not forsaken.
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Proverbs 3:6
seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take
6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
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Proverbs 3:5
trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding
5 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding.
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Psalm 23
he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake
1 Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever.
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Romans 8:1
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
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1 John 1:9
if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from all wrongdoing
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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Psalm 37:7
be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him, fret not over the one who prospers in his way
7 Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This was the last Sunday of 2023, and Brian led Tribe fam through a look back at the compass bearing the church had carried through the year, drawn from Psalm 37:34: "Put your hope in the Lord, travel steadily along his path, and he will honor you by giving you the land." The morning was more conversation than lecture, with the congregation sharing what they had seen that verse produce in their own lives and in the life of the church over the past twelve months. Brian also previewed that a word for 2024 was coming, but held it for the following Sunday.
What was said
Brian started by rewinding to January 2023, when Tribe had landed on Psalm 37:34 as a guidepost for the year. Rather than opening a new topic, he wanted the church to check in honestly with how they had actually done against that verse before moving forward into a new year. He asked people to name what they remembered, and from there the morning became a dialogue, with people across the room building on each other.
Several people offered concrete examples. Amanda pointed to the twenty-one days of focused prayer and fasting for Israel that the church had done in the fall, which ended the day before October 7. Lanisha noted that Tribe had not quit in a town she described as a graveyard of church plants, and pointed to the move into the Virginia as evidence of patient, active waiting. Brian named the ongoing search for a permanent facility, which Bob and others confirmed had involved years of looking at options that had not worked out.
Brian worked slowly through several phrases in the verse. He traced "put your hope in the Lord" to a Hebrew root meaning to twist and bind together, the idea being that hope is produced when personal faith is woven together with God's promises rather than anchored in circumstances. He connected "travel steadily" to Hebrew words for watching, observing, and being on guard, not passive waiting but what he called finish-line waiting, the kind that actually affects the person in the race.
The phrase "along his path" opened a longer conversation about what it has meant for Tribe to operate under the direction to stay close. Brian admitted that for someone wired as a visionary leader, "stay close" is a hard direction to run on. Several people named the same frustration, the sense of washing cars and sanding floors while wanting something more obviously significant. Brian used the Karate Kid to put a frame around it: the menial-looking tasks are the training, and the breakthrough comes after.
Brian moved through "he will honor you" and "giving you the land," noting that in Hebrew the word for "giving" carries the sense of grabbing hold of, not passively receiving. He connected this to inheritance, the idea that the adversary constantly tries to disqualify people from what is already theirs, and set that against the reminder from 1 John 1:9 that confession restores a person to full standing.
Toward the end, the congregation moved into a time of quieter prayer and sharing. Words that came up from several people independently included "prepare" and "breakthrough." Lissa shared a picture of two notebooks, one full of the enemy's accusations and one being built page by page out of every private moment between a person and the Lord, and asked forgiveness for the times she had referenced the wrong book. Renee shared a picture of a ship on a calm sea, preparing to sail into a storm, with the season of stillness being the preparation rather than the delay. Brian held those contributions alongside the verse and said the word for 2024 would be shared the following Sunday.
Touch points
Things you could actually do this week.
- Open Blue Letter Bible this week and look up one word from Psalm 37:34 in the Hebrew to see what is underneath the English translation.
- When you wake up in the morning before you get out of bed, take a moment to say 'Lord, you are good' and turn your attention toward him before the day starts.
- Write down three specific things the Lord did for you in 2023, the way Cathy kept notes through the year, so you have something concrete to look back on.
- On a walk this week, pick up one small thing as a physical act of actively looking for evidence of God's goodness rather than just saying the words.
- Come to the worship night at the TMC tonight from seven to nine and enter the new year with surrendered worship rather than a party.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Brian described waking up early and simply saying 'Lord, you're so good,' and feeling his presence wash over him from that small act. When has a simple, unplanned moment of turning your attention toward God surprised you with something you weren't expecting?
- The congregation looked back at the compass bearing from a year ago: Psalm 37:34, 'Put your hope in the Lord, travel steadily along his path.' Where did you personally see that verse play out in your own life over 2023, and where did you fall short of it?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Resumen en español
El mensaje resumido, en español.
El domingo 31 de diciembre, Brian Hunter llevó a la congregación de Tribe a hacer una revisión del año que terminaba. Hace un año, el versículo que sirvió como brújula para la iglesia fue Salmos 37:34: "Pon tu esperanza en el Señor, viaja con firmeza por su camino, y él te honrará dándote la tierra; verás la destrucción de los malvados." Brian invitó a la familia de Tribe a reflexionar juntos sobre cómo habían vivido ese versículo durante 2023, y la conversación fue abierta y participativa, con varias personas compartiendo lo que habían visto.
Entre los ejemplos que surgieron estuvieron la fidelidad de la iglesia en un valle donde muchas congregaciones no han sobrevivido, el proceso de buscar un espacio más grande para reunirse, y los 21 días de ayuno y oración por Israel que la iglesia vivió antes del 7 de octubre. Brian también habló sobre la tensión de escuchar al Señor decir "quédate cerca" cuando uno quisiera tener un plan claro y visible para el futuro. Varios miembros compartieron imágenes y palabras que sentían del Señor, todas apuntando hacia una temporada de preparación antes de un avance que viene.
Al cerrar el año, Brian animó a cada persona a preguntarle al Señor cómo crecer en 2024, recordando que la voz de Dios es específica y amable, muy distinta a la condenación del enemigo. Anunció que el 14 de enero compartiría la palabra que siente que el Señor tiene para Tribe en el nuevo año.
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Pasajes bíblicos mencionados:
- Salmos 37:34
- Salmos 37:7 ("Quédate quieto delante del Señor y espera con paciencia en él")
- Proverbios 25 (sobre la gloria de Dios en esconder las cosas y la gloria del rey en buscarlas)
- Proverbios 3:5-6 ("Confía en el Señor con todo tu corazón... y él dirigirá tus sendas")
- Isaías 62 (sobre dar al Señor descanso hasta que cumpla sus promesas)
- Isaías 65 (sobre la puerta de esperanza en el Valle de Acor)
- Romanos 8 ("No hay condenación para los que están en Cristo Jesús")
- 1 Juan 1:9 (confesión y perdón de pecados)
Read the full transcript 11,057 words
Like it. How is everyone? Brian just said something to me. I'm just gonna say it like he said it. And then he said, don't say it like this.
Say it some other way,
but I'm gonna say it the way he said.
He said, feels good in here. Hope feels like I don't know. Just tell everyone to explore the space. That's what he said. I don't know how else to say it.
I don't know. Get get out of your rut, maybe. Yeah. Look at Renee and Matt. They're sitting on the couch on the front row where I can talk.
Talk directly to you. I love it. Let's stand. What's hard for Nancy? I know.
It's too comfortable. Well, Lord Jesus, we come before you this morning, and we just remind ourselves that we're here for you. We're here to meet with you, and we come to worship you today. Help us to expect anew, afresh today. Touch of your presence.
We tell you we love you and we worship you and you're worthy. We're worthy. In Jesus' name. Just while I was praying that, I was just reminded this morning. It was like, you know how sometimes you wake up and you're psyched because you realize you don't have to actually get up yet?
Yes. I woke up, but I don't have to yet. And so I just closed my eyes and then I thought, oh yeah, I should I'm awake but I'm just laying here. I should I should pray. And so I just I said, Lord, you're just so good.
You're just so good. And the most I just like his presence just came over me. Like his presence just me saying, Lord, you're good and just deciding in that moment to be like, oh, oh, yeah. I'm I'm gonna just pray. I'm awake.
I don't have to be up. I'm just gonna acknowledge him and just turning my eyes, the affection of my heart towards him. His presence just washed over me and I don't know, it was like a window opened and there was like fresh air coming into my spirit. I can't explain it with words, but that's available to each and every one of us with a
simple, Lord, I'm here to meet with you.
Just turn your affections of your heart towards him today. What is it that you need to see changed in your life this upcoming year? What is it? Is it more of his joy? Is it more of his hope?
Because he's provided it all. Turn the affections of your heart towards him. Let him just come in. Let him open the window and just breathe afresh on you today. Lord, come breathe on us.
Come breathe on us. Just give him permission. Let's declare it in this place that we set our hope on him and him alone. King of kings, God almighty, the everlasting who never leaves us, who will never forsake us. Set your hope there
this morning. Yes, Jesus. We said I confident
I see the goodness of the Lord. Just declare that. Speak that over yourself today. I will remain in Maybe there's some people in here this morning that are trying to break through and worship, but there's a heaviness on you this morning. Maybe you feel like you've walked around this wall a 100 times in worship, and I just feel this morning, the Lord just encourage you, come on.
Come on. Walk with me one more time. Because it's with him that matters. He'll handle the circumstance. He'll handle the outcome.
Take his hand. As you walk around that wall, whatever it is, that wall that seems like a blockade, something that you just can't seem to get over like a hurdle, whatever that is. Take his hand and just trust him with the outcome. We trust you today. Just remind yourself of that this morning.
Waiting for change today. Waiting for change to come. Knowing the battles won already for you. For you have never me. Yeah.
I
know the night won't last.
Have. You do it again.
So your promise still stands.
Your promise still stands. And great is your faithfulness, your faithfulness. I'm still in your hands and this
Just thank him right where you are that his faithfulness, his mercy, his love never runs out.
Thank you, God.
And even when we mess up, your grace is sufficient that we can run to you and ask forgiveness. We praise you this morning. Ask that you would let us leave here today changed, different. Because we don't wanna stay where we were yesterday. The manna was only meant for one day.
Seek you fresh, so we seek you fresh today. We ask for the spirit of revelation to come as we open up your word and as we hear your promises. Lord, we just ask that it would change us. That would it go from the pages down into our spirit today. Thank you for your faithfulness.
Thank you
for every heart in this room wherever they find themselves today. Your heart today is to wrap them up and to pull them closer, closer still. Open up your heart to him today. He's here. He's here in all his love, in all his grace, in all his faithfulness to you.
And even when someone else left you or hurt you, he did not. He is faithful, the only one, truly faithful. Put your hope and trust in him today. In Jesus' name. And everybody said, amen.
We'll greet somebody. I see a lot of new faces. It's wonderful. We're gonna do some more worship at the end today, so keep your hearts open for that. Fill up your coffee and get out your bible.
It's Sunday. Sunday,
Sunday.
Check my text. Kathy is so like, giving me so much support with her eyes alone this morning. It's I I received that. That is great. If you have if you have your bible with you this morning, would you turn to Psalms 37?
And we're going to rewind the clock twelve months. And we're going to we're going to check-in with how we did personally, how we did collectively as a tribe family for where we felt we felt like the lord was, like, giving us a a signpost, a guidepost, a compass bearing. And if you've been at tribe for any length of time, you probably know that this is not whenever the lord gives us like a a compass bearing, we stay on that compass bearing for a while as long as he, like, has us on that compass bearing but we don't we don't bring it up Sunday after Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. Right? So, Kai, do not turn to that slide, but and I tested the staff at the end of the week, but let me test you.
For those of you who have been with us, who were here last year this time, even though we weren't here, can anybody recall I know some of you don't even remember what you had for breakfast this morning. It's alright. But can anybody remember what we were talking about this time last year? You Steadfastness. Colin, hot hot like, Colin.
Coffee, Wheaties, your your brain pills, whatever it was. Wow. That is amazing. Now when Colin says steadfastness, does anybody have anything else to elaborate on if that has unlocked some memories from last year? And staff can help out now.
Are we talking about anything?
Well, what we felt like as, like, a a a direction or a a compass bearing for us as tribe, a word from the lord as we moved into 2023. Steadfastness is, like like, very close to the bull's eye. Also, if you're if you're new to tribe, I really I don't know the church background that you have come from, but I really want the church service that we have here this morning to be less of a monologue and more of a dialogue as you've already begun to see. I love to hear from you. I want to hear your questions, your comments, your connections, whatever is going through your brain that pertains to what we're talking about, I wanna hear it.
Oh, Ella. What do you got?
In January, you're talking about a word for tribe, and we talked a lot about Psalms thirty seven thirty four
Oh.
To put our hope in the Lord and to travel steady along his path this year. Yes. I have a yearly notes. And so I was looking back in January of last year. Nice.
Wow. A type a person.
Wow. Very well done. So let's let's look at verse 34. Let's look at verse 34. Chapter 37 verse 34.
And you can put up that title you can put up that title slide now, Kai, please, sir. Psalms 37, chapter 34, travel steady along his path. Chapter 37, verse 34, one verse, put your hope in the lord. Travel steadily along his path, and he will honor you by giving you the land, and you will see the wicked destroyed. One verse.
And I don't know I don't know what sort of church background that you have come from. The church background that I have come from, there was there was usually about this time of year, like, in in January, there was usually a really big deal about a word from the lord for direction for the coming year. And it was like it was like a really big deal. How many of you have come from a church culture where, like, the pastor or the church would, like, share that? Okay.
Alright. So now for those of you with your hands up, keep your hands up because you are now qualified to participate in this next part. No. No. No.
Keep them up. How many of you for your church, it was a big deal in January? Okay. February? Already by February.
March? Oh, we've already lost all of our hands. Okay. Alright. So similar to a New Year's resolution, I've abandoned those completely because, like, I have goals and dreams and things that I that I work towards in the New Year's, but but I feel like the bigger the deal is made in January, the more likely you set yourself up for, like, like, a a fizzle or, like, a and it just drops right off.
And so with that in mind, I always try to be very careful about whenever I feel like, like, at this time of year, whenever there's, like, a word from the lord. But I always spend weeks, like, around Christmas break leading up to this, and as we go into January, Lord, what do you have in store for me in 2024? Lord, what do you have in store for your church in 2024? Like, what's what's on your mind? What's on your heart?
What would you have for us, like like a compass bearing or a a constellation that we can that we can help orient and navigate by in the coming year? And last year, we had this verse. And I'm cooking up. I'm brewing a word for us for 2024. But if you remember, if you've been with us on the journey in all of 2023, we didn't reference this a whole lot, although within internally within our team and our pastor's council, board of trustees, we we referenced this idea and concept a lot.
Lord, where are you leading us? Where are we going? And so today, as we close out 2023, I wanna do a a quick review of what we talked about, and I want us to check-in with with ourselves as a church family. And if you're brand new to tribe, we're like Olive Garden. If you're here, you're
Family.
Family. So sorry. No breadsticks. But you've had enough carbs over Christmas anyways. Put your hope in the lord.
Travel steadily along his path, and he will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed. Let's talk about a our tribe family for this past twelve months. Have you seen examples of how we have followed that, applied that, lived that? So let's let's rewind.
Let's see. How did we do? How did we do? We did not quit. Whoo.
In a town, in a town that is a graveyard of church plants. And for those of you that have been in this valley for a a long time, you know this city is a graveyard of churches, even when they have large backing and denominational backing, and we didn't quit. Good job, tribe.
My favorite is where we're sitting at right now.
How he has led us here to the Virginia.
Being patient and waiting, and he opens doors for us to be able to meet bigger spaces to grow.
That's really good, Lanisha. So we haven't always met here. Tribe is about seven years old. We're on our seventh year of being a church here in this valley, And we've only been meeting here. We met here for Mother's Day once, and then beginning of the summer, we've started meeting here.
We met here through the fall. We're gonna continue to meet here as long as we're traveling steady on his path, and he leads us to be here. If he leads us someplace else, alright. We'll we'll go there. But I love I love that connection and that observation.
That's really good.
And to kind of piggyback
on that
Here comes Janet. So we pass the mic around the room for all of our families that watch on live stream?
I remember you saying wait and watch. Be on guard in that finish line waiting. And you had some great examples about the finish line waiting. And there was a quote that I had written down that you said, which I thought is so true. And it is, sometimes it takes the Lord a long time to act suddenly.
Yes. As authored by Bill Johnson to give credit where it is due, but it is so true. If I say it three more times, then I get to own it, and I'll take credit for it. Oh, and I got my staff holding me accountable, our leadership team. Sometimes it takes the Lord a long time to act suddenly.
Yeah. Anything else? A lot of our our staff I keep looking over here. A lot of our staff is either working or out traveling. But how else have y'all seen us living out this word?
The mic's coming to Amanda.
Good job.
I feel like we did a great job a few months ago listening to the Lord when he kind of burdened our heart in a good way to just pray for Israel long before the war broke out and to fast or pray or give something up and just focus myopically on Israel and what's going on and how much the Lord loves her and what's to come. And we did all that for twenty one days. And then on the twenty second day, it was October 7 and everything started. And I cannot that you cannot deny that that was the Lord kind of leading us in that way. And we had a choice to be obedient or not.
I mean, I feel like the Lord leads me in stuff and sometimes I just say no and then get in trouble for it with me and the Lord. But, yeah, as a church, we obeyed and that was that was a huge way to stay steady along his path and honor him, like the verse says.
Beautiful example. Beautiful example. Kai, do you have that verse to put up there? Thank you. Let's look at that.
Put your hope in the lord, travel steadily along his path, and he will honor you by giving you the land, and you will see the wicked destroyed. So this time last year, we we took we we moseyed. It's a good Wyoming word. We moseyed our way through some keywords of this verse. And by way of review, I want to just lightly land on several of those words.
And I think, Amanda, the example that you gave and what you were talking about, Lanisha and Janet, is is so good to keep spun up in our mind as we look at a few key concepts in this verse. But let me check-in with you. When you see that verse, put your hope in the lord, travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land, and you will see the wicked destroyed. You've probably heard me tell this story before, but I was a when I was a little kid growing up in rural Texas, I would go on walks with my grandmother Boo.
I called her Boo, and we would walk along. We we lived out in the country, 20 acres, trees and woods and things. And my grandmother, Boo, would always have, like, a little walking stick, but she kinda used it out in front of her. And I I would when I was a little boy, I'd hold her hand. We'd walk through the woods, and I would say, boo, like, why do you have that walking stick, and why are your eyes always glued on the ground?
And she said, well, there's two reasons, cowboy. She called me cowboy. The first one was for? Snakes. Yes.
A 100%. And I was like, snakes? And then the second the second reason she says, like, like, cowboy, there were a lot of Native Americans that that traveled through this region, and and Cory can picture it perfectly because he got to go back there with me years ago. And he said she said that that that wherever Native Americans went through, there was always like little artifacts and arrowheads, and I'm always hunting for an arrowhead. And as a boy, that just captured my imagination.
Arrowheads, like, for real, not in a museum, but that you could find on the ground. Boy, my eyes were glued to the ground and for snakes. And every now and then, my grandmother, as we were walking along, she would stop, and my first thought was, snake. Second thought was she'd she'd bend down and pick something up, or maybe she'd kick the dirt with her feet, and I thought, oh, she's onto something. I could remember my heart beginning to race.
Every now and then, she'd pick up and rub it between her fingers and and just about every time, it was just a rock and she'd flip it away and keep walking but every now and then, she'd be she'd say, Looky here, cowboy. How did she see that? And it was, like, either either either, like, flint knapping or an actual projectile point, and I just I can remember, like, there was nothing cooler than my grandmother finding an arrowhead. And in a similar way, in a similar way, according to Proverbs, the Bible says, that's for the glory of a for the glory of God to conceal a matter, and it's for the glory of a king to search it out. God doesn't hide things from us.
He hides things for us. Proverbs 25. Yes. Yes. Something.
Search it out. But contained within this passage, we just scratch, scratch along, and and look. Could there be some some treasure in this one verse that just leaps out at us? And when you examine this passage just to to look to it with your eyeball, what are some things or what might be one thing that you see that could be noteworthy that maybe you'd wanna scratch around some more at? What what stands out to you in this verse?
What catches your eye? And, again, it doesn't have to be, like, super deep spiritual meaning. What do you notice? Kyle, you're cheating. You're you're helping them out too much.
Go backwards. We'll get there.
Alright. I'll do it. Alright.
So the obviously, we're gonna go with hope first. And I've downloaded Blue Letter Bible onto my phone, so now I just look everything up
Yes.
Every time I read something.
It's like a it's like an arrowhead, like like, radar detector.
Totally. So I looked up the word hope because in let's see. What does mine say? Because I think it says something different. Oh, wait.
Wait is another word that's used in some translations, and it's a it's a verb. So, you know, I I feel almost like I'm preaching to the choir. Obviously, everybody, most people here probably know that waiting is an active thing. Like, we're not just
sitting finish line waiting.
Yes. We're not just twiddling our thumbs. We're actually doing something while we wait.
Which is different than doctor's office waiting.
Right.
Right? New guy? Makes sense.
I don't know. Okay. Off of that, I also have Blue Letter Bible. So when all the way back earlier this year, I, like, looked it up because my version said wait. And the second word for it was to look for and how you would walk with your bow.
Boo. Boo. I really challenged myself this year to truly look for the goodness of the Lord because it's so easy to just, like, constantly say, oh, God's so good, but then never actually look for his goodness in your life and make up excuses. So that was, like, my task this year. And I would walk the Elk Refuge, like mostly every evening.
Sometimes I would just get to like the end of my street and turn around, but it's okay. I would Gretchen's going to understand what I said, but I would pick up garbage that stood out to me. Evidence. Evidence. Yes, it's a whole thing.
But I have a bunch of evidence. I'm not going call it garbage, but it is also garbage in my room now from my prayer walks this year. And that act of faith of actually just stopping and picking up something and keeping it, it's really grown me throughout this whole entire 2023. Because while some of it might literally be a Reese's cup wrapper, it showed that my faith in the Lord is more than just saying it, but actually, like, going out and actively waiting for his goodness to come.
If only there was a place or a thing or, like, a memorial that we had as a tribe family that we could place those little mementos or little reminders of god's goodness, like, should really develop that sometime. Oh, yes. Let's highlight that phrase, put your hope in the lord. So allow myself to introduce my so that phrase, put your hope in the lord, that is a beautiful Hebrew phrase. And when you dig down into that definition, it means to twist and bind together, to twist and to bind together.
Your faith combined with god's promises. We've talked about this recently. Lord, you said in Isaiah 62, the Bible says, give the watchman, watch, give the lord no rest until he completes all that he has promised. Lord, you said, hold him to his word. That's what builds your faith and when it's twisted together, your faith with his word, that is a surefire recipe for what?
Hope. That's where hope comes from. Boy, there's a lot of hope in this valley. How many people right now are hoping for more? Snow?
Yeah. Yeah. What are you doing? Like like like dancing around a fire where you're burning last year's skis and you're splashing Jagermeister trying to, like, evoke the gods to come and bring more snow in a, like, in a slightly humorous but actually pagan ritual for snow? No.
There's a lot of hope in this valley. Man, I hope to tick off this, this, and this skiing this year. Boy, I hope we get more, but, like, what is it anchored in? Nothing. But when you have faith combined with god's promises, oh, that's the real source of hope.
And if you don't have hope, perhaps you have not marinated in god's promises in that area of your life. That is really good, isn't it? Yes.
Hate and Clay's world is in this cancer world right now. But You're in a battle? We are, but he stayed at the Hope Lodge in Salt Lake a couple of nights this week, wasn't
it? And
that is it's something the American Cancer Society does in states all over the country, and it's free for families that are going through cancer or treatments, and they provide everything. And just the word hope for that lodge and all those people there are there for and with hope. Wow. You know, and I love that they've named it there because everything there, all these valleys they're going through, if they don't have hope, what's the point? You know?
Right. And it's, I don't know, that word is so strong.
Yeah. There there's another passage. Somebody can look this up and just tell me. In the Valley Of Achor, god will place a door of hope. And Achor means, like, hardship, difficulty, opposition, sorrow, sadness.
He places a door of hope. What are doorways meant to what are we supposed to do with doorways? Open them. Go through them. Who's gonna find it sooner?
Joy or Kathy? Bam. Isaiah 65. In the Valley Of Achor, go and place a door of hope. Let's go to this next phrase, travel steady.
So these are some of the phrases that that I have seen, that I picked up, turned over my hand, brushed it off, looked at it closer, travel steady. Travel steady. That word travel steady, Janet referenced and mentioned. In Hebrew, it means to watch, to wait for, to observe, and to be on guard. To watch, to wait for, to observe, and to be on guard.
Similar to what we've what we talked about just a moment ago, there are at Tribe, we talk about three different kinds of waiting. First of all, there's doctor's office waiting. Can you wait harder at the doctor's office in order for you to be seen by him? No. I mean, maybe if you're, like, screaming and clutching your arm.
You know, maybe maybe you'll be seen sooner. But doctor's office waiting, you're at the mercy of the doctor. Doesn't matter what's going on with you, how badly you need to see him, how urgent it is. If there's even if there's one other person in the office, you're like, dang. There's nothing you can do.
You just gotta wait for the doctor. There's birthday waiting, which birthday waiting, we get excited for, but there's nothing we can do to accelerate that day. But then there's then there's what I call finish line waiting. Finish line, if you've ever been in the cheering support section for somebody that's been in a race or maybe you've been in a race, as you get to that finish line, you're wiped out, you're tired, you're exhausted, but somebody has gone to the race to cheer for you. And when you hear their voice, and when you see them jumping up and down, it's somehow, someway just gives you that last little bit of strength to give it everything you've got to cross the finish line.
And when we have finish line waiting, somehow, someway, it imparts energy to those in the competition that that helps them it accelerates. It causes them to accelerate. Right? Doesn't matter how hard you wait at the doctor's office. The doctor gonna see you when the doctor gonna see you.
But finish line waiting is different. We can affect time with our enthusiasm and with our being watchful, being waiting for, not passively, but actively to observe and to be on guard, to be ready at all times. Travel steady. Whose path? His path.
Anybody ever tried to talk god into putting your hope in yourself and traveling steadily along he your path and ask him to bless it? Europe? Yeah. Europe. His path, road, journey, but that word also means the manner in which.
How does god roll? How does he do things? Will you highlight that next portion along his path, Kai? Along his path. Clink.
Not just way, but also how he rolls. Does that make sense? Thoughts, questions, connections about this, the way in which he rolls. For several years, as a tribe family, we have been in a place of we feel like the direction from the Lord is stay close to me. Stay close to me.
And for me, if you are the leader of a business or an organization or a team, chances are you're probably more of a visionary leader. If you feel like your job or your actual job is to, like, come alongside the boss, you're, like, a number two, you're probably an administrative leader. And the the the your boss or your counterpart probably has the the big ideas and big dreams, and then it's your job to, like, alright. Let's figure out how to to make this happen. Administrative leader coming up with the big ideas can tend to be more of the visionary leader.
I would fall under the category of a visionary leader, and I love vision. I love, like, knowing, like, where we're going for the next two years, three years, ten years, fifteen years. For years in ministry, we operated with five year goals, ten year goals. And after we launched Tribe and Tribe successfully, you know, reached our cruising altitude. I said, okay, Lord.
What's next? And we've been praying that. And if you've been on staff for a while, you know that we've been praying. Lord, what do you have for us? And the clearest thing that we've heard is him say, stay close.
And that's really frustrating for me personally. When I say that, for how many of you that just, like, oh, it it just it's a little bit hard to swallow. It sits a little sideways. With stay The stay close part. Like, if that's the direction, stay close.
Like, what kind of a direction is that? For how many of you that's like, ah, that's challenging? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. I hear yeah. As a doer. Okay? Like, how can I, like I'm waiting?
Well, wait harder. Mhmm. Stay close means listen.
I'm not sure who's seen the movie, The Book of Eli, but I often go to Psalm 23, and there's a verse in there about a path. And it says, he leads me in paths of righteousness. And why? For his name's sake, for his glory. Side note, to be on a path of righteousness isn't necessarily acting righteous.
It's walking in your identity of how he made you, how he sees you, and who he made you to be. That's good.
We've tried. Bob is, on the board of trustees. We've really we've really tried this year to travel steady along his path. What do you have for us, senior pastor Jesus? What do you have for us?
I can remember, and it still happens to me all the time.
I was just gonna say that that is hard for me. Like, stay close. Like, great. Okay. And then what?
Like, stay close. Great. And then what? And so it makes me think about Proverbs three:six, seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take. But it's seek him first.
So, you know, I mean, I think sometimes I know for me personally, the Lord's like, woah. Woah. Woah. Like, thank you that you're willing to run out and do this, this, and this for me. But, like, oftentimes, I'm, like, running out with, like, a banner, like, I'm doing this for Jesus.
But, really, I'm, like, trying to do things for Jesus. And he's, like, back there, like, on a different path, you know, and he's, like, you gotta stay close to me. Mhmm. And then I'm gonna show you what is the right path. Yes.
And there's also so much, like, the Lord's been showing me, like, over the last year in that scripture. Because I think that I grew up in thinking of that scripture really legalistically of because I think maybe it's the NLT version says, acknowledge the lord in all your ways and he will make your path straight. And I think I thought that there was one path, and don't hear what I'm not saying. Like, we don't get to just choose whatever we want, and then we acknowledge God and he Mhmm. We go, oh, yay.
Now this is the right path. But when we're with the Lord, when we stay close, like, we can't go wrong. Like, if we're sincerely close with him because we're gonna be sensitive to which way he's guiding and which way he's leading. It's when we're not close that we find ourselves on this path like way over there, like, woah, how did I get here? It's because I wasn't close to the Lord.
You know, it's like so simple, stay close, but yet it is so difficult sometimes. Yeah. Like, don't think that that's a simple vision at all. I think that might stay close might be the hardest vision we've ever had to run on.
I see those hands. I
want to get to you.
I feel like, you know, we've we've been focusing on Israel and god has taken care of Israel so many times and yet they continually turn their backs on god. We, you know, we want things our way, our time, and that's not necessarily god's plan. I mean, you know, just stay close. Does it just mean when it's going your way? You know?
Stay close because you have the truth. You you have the god that's gonna do it in his timing and, you know, we need to be we need to learn to be patient. And that is so difficult. Yeah.
Yeah. Lisa
just said, I I would I would suggest you that it's harder to stay close to the lord when things are going your way, which is exactly what Moses warned Israel about. When you cross into the promised land, you're gonna be moving into houses that are already built in, vineyards that are all like, all you gotta do is go out and pluck the grapes, and you're gonna be so blessed. Don't turn from me in this promised land, a land of flowing with milk and honey.
I also looked up Proverbs six, but I also looked up the verse before it. It says trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding. And I think when staying close comes to that, I think of, like, our dog Mhmm. Where, you know, we we have him off leash, but there's, like, some points where I'm like, hey. You need to stay close near me.
Like, there's something dangerous over there, but my dog doesn't know that. But I'm telling him, like, hey. Stay close. And and you're understanding, you don't know why you need to stay close, but I I know why. There's danger over there, and and you need to trust me as your person.
Like, hey. You need to stay close to me because I'm protecting you of what that path over there leads.
Absolutely.
And then it says, seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. So going off of Lissa, like, there are so many different paths that we can take, but as long as we do stay close, right, like, he will show us which path is the one that he has for us to protect us from whatever those other paths lead to.
Yes. In the same way that Ella is send it all the way down. In the same way that Ella is Nash's person, Jesus, you are our person. Help us. Help us.
Like, to not pull against the leash of your spirit. Help us. Because how many of you know that that pulling on the leash only gives us a sore neck? And how many of you know that that and I don't know how he works it out, but we have been given free will. And the the only thing worse than the judgment of god where he goes and, like, ganks the leash a little bit, not to be mean, not to be spiteful, but but provides correction for us, the what is the only worse than than the judgment of a little gink?
What's the only thing worse than that? Yeah. What? On
the clip now?
Yeah. Clip. Mhmm. That should be the most terrifying sound you ever hear in your life. If the lord goes click, okay, man?
I wanna go back to something Alyssa said. Okay. And this is this is real down and dirty, and this is tribe. It's about tribe, not some abstract concept, which is driven largely by Alyssa
Yes, yes.
And Tim Vetter and a few other people that I won't mention. But we have relentlessly searched for new facilities for how many years? Yes. Three, three, four maybe?
Yes. Yes. Intensively, yes, three, four.
And I don't know how many things we've looked at. I've lost track. Mhmm. But I do know that that's active waiting for me, and I think for Alyssa, and and probably for Brian. And there is a there is a vision that we we think is god's vision for us, but getting there is another matter.
Yeah.
And things happen when you actively wait. The TMC Yes. Was not what we were looking for. Yes. It just happened when we were looking for something else.
Yeah.
And I believe that if we continue looking, and in the last several months, we've looked at several things, none of which worked, doors closed, etcetera.
So I I just wanna encourage everybody who's been involved in this process not to get discouraged. That's great. And god god will he's there for us. That's good. So, is it, do we, do we wait positively in faith or do we go peek through windows?
This jiggle door handles, follow-up with listings? Like like, are we which is it? Both. It's attention to manage. Immature Christianity just goes out and does, does, does, and says, I'll wait for the lord to my caller.
Well, learned about that. Not going to do that anymore. All in their lap. Mature Christianity walks intention. Holding proper tension between that that that that passive hope and that active searching for the will of the lord.
It's attention to manage. And the result, whether the door opens up or not, is found in this next phrase. He was like, you get what you've been praying for. Or, like, he will honor you like being picked first on teams for kickball. Like, there's an element of that of, like like, wow.
Because, like, if you were ever the kid that got picked first in kickball, like, it's pre it's a pretty special feeling. Right? And there's an essence of that. There's an essence of that in that that phrase, he will honor you. But when you look up that word in the Hebrew, it doesn't say anything about kickball, but but that that idea is in there.
But additionally, equally, it carries with it this idea of up. He will honor you, meaning he will cause you to grow to a greater place of maturity. Is that not a great way for the lord to honor us with in in a really good way, with more responsibility? If you've been faithful in the little, the lord says that he can trust you with much, a lot. I can already see the memes flashing through your head of like, Lord, you trusted me with enough in 2023.
But he says he will honor you. Associated with that phrase honor you means he will cause you to grow up. As we've been looking, as we have said, I feel like the lord is calling us to to denying ourselves twenty one days for Israel, not knowing that in the result when we started back in the fall, it caused us to grow up. If you are looking for the lord to to to to break through in an area in your life, he very well could have that opportunity for you right now, but it looks like growth and maturity instead of just the pre microwave end result. If that makes some sort of sense, nod to me, okay?
The next phrase, giving you. Giving you. It does mean handing it to you. But when you look at that word in Hebrew, there's also an active to borrow one of my favorite Texas expressions, grab ahold of. So you can underline giving you, and out in the margin of your bible, grab a h o l t, of.
Grab ahold of. Now does grab ahold of, does that sound like receiving? No. It sounds like I gotta grab ahold of it and hang on. He will honor you by giving you the opportunity to grab ahold of the land.
I'll let you uncover the last couple of really good I'll let you look it up. You've heard a couple of people mention this idea of Blue Letter Bible. You can go to blueletterbible.org, or you can download the app on your phone. It's a great way. It is kind of like an arrowhead detector.
You can in the Old Testament, the original language was Hebrew, written in Hebrew. In the New Testament, the language it was written down in was Greek. Very good. And so in Blue Letter Bible, if you have that app or if you go to blueletterbible.org, you can look up any verse in the Old Testament. You will see it transliterated from Hebrew into English, and then it will give you the definition and the tense and, like like, treasury of scripture knowledge on each of these words in the Hebrew of the Old Testament, and then you can look at the Greek in the New Testament.
So I'll let you look up the last two, the land, and then that phrase, you will see the wicked destroyed. That word destroyed. Those are two great words to to look up. And now I've kind of given you a template for for how to do it and what could be uncovered. With that being said, as we now zoom back out and look at that verse holistically from the 5,000 foot view again, is there anything else that stands out differently to you now or something additionally that stands out to you that you saw earlier?
Sarah. Strong showing from young adults this morning.
Oh, I love it.
Okay. So my version is a little different. Yeah. And it says, hope in the lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land.
So, like, when I read that, I'm like, you're like his family. You're, like, inheriting it, and you are his child. So it's like he, yeah, you're, you know, he's honoring you by giving it to you, but also, like, he's exalting you, and you're inheriting that land. So it's like, do with it what he would. Wow.
That's really good. Inheritance. Let's let's pi let's picture an imaginary scenario for just a moment about this idea inheritance because because conveyed in that phrase and the whole passage is this idea of of accomplishment through struggle. Imagine many siblings whose parents were extremely wealthy, and they left an inheritance to be divided among their children and grandchildren. We've probably seen movies about this, but can you imagine the squabbling over the inheritance?
Can you imagine the the the nefarious cousin or the crooked attorney? This is just a few and none of them are in this room. That would try to cheat a person out of their inheritance. We have an adversary that is constantly trying to discredit or disqualify us from our inheritance. Oh, that thing that you did last weekend?
Inheritance gone. Oh, you didn't pray hard enough for that? Oh, nope. Inheritance disqualified.
But
we are all children of god. Everybody. But he's looking for sons and daughters that will lay hold of his inheritance for us. The Bible says, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you mess up and you blow it, the bible says, according to first John one nine, that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to purify us, forgive us of our sin, and purify us from all wrongdoing.
So this being the last Sunday in 2023, why don't we we've got plenty of time here. Why don't we take a little bit of time to just look at a little bit of game film that the Holy Spirit would show to your heart about how did 2023 go for you? Did you put your hope in the Lord? Did you in the midst the midst alter that course right now. But let's just invite the Lord to whisper to our hearts for a few moments.
Okay? We have more than just a few moments. Do you wanna sit in prayer?
So I just felt like I had a word that might be helpful as we consider where we've been and think about where the Lord is leading us. And my husband did a really great job this last week leading our family wins, twenty twenty three wins. Like, we talked about that as a family, like, we've seen the Lord bring us and some of the cool things that he's done in our lives. But now it feels like that time of the year where we have to think about just like what listen was just praying and singing. Where does the Lord wanna change us?
Where are we struggling? Where in our lives are we maybe acting in ways or thinking things that aren't pleasing to the Lord? And I think it's helpful to just remember that the enemy tells us things like, you're a loser. You're always failing at things. You're such a disappointment.
Like, these really general accusations that make us think, man, I can't do anything right. But the voice of the Lord is clear and direct, and he speaks very specific things to our hearts that only he knows in a way that only he can to address our specific situations. And in his kindness brings us to repentance, and so I think it's it's helpful to be on guard, to be able to recognize the most of the enemy and his condemnation and telling us, you know, we're we're never gonna get it right. We're never gonna live up. Whatever it is, whatever lie the enemy speaks to, you know, however he speaks to you.
And just, you know, say, oh, Satan, get behind me in the name of Jesus. Jesus, what do you have for me? How do you want me to grow? What are you know, what sin tendency do I have deep in my heart that you want to point out to me, and then give me clear specific steps for living laying that down and living a life that's righteous and pleasing to you in the year end.
That's good, Cath. Anyone else is the Lord putting something on your heart to share?
Okay. Sorry. Overcoming a less than spirit. I today, I've been exercising my seeing with my eyes, visions, words. Like, to me, word knowledge is just something that comes to your head.
And so the Lord's have he has me in a season of working on seeing with my spiritual eyes. And so I asked the Lord to show me a word of wisdom, which doesn't do me any good if I keep it to myself. Because it has to do with us, and it has to do with things that we've been talking about. And so I asked the Lord to show give see help me see a word of wisdom. And I saw a ship on a calm sea.
And I asked the Lord what that meant, and he said that's us. That's tribe. The ship is usually a a vehicle or a ministry. And pray pray that he elaborated a little bit more. And so he's preparing each and every one of us on this ship to lift the anchor and sail into a stormy sea.
But right now, we are staying still, and we are preparing for this norm. And so I just as an encouragement, you know, we're looking around for places to move to and where to go next and, you know, and in Jackson, like, kind of we swim along that line. It's like, what do we do next? What do we do next? Where are going?
Where are we going? And so this season of waiting is maybe difficult because we're not moving forward, it feels like, but he's doing a work in each and every person on this ship that is getting ready to set sail.
Somebody write that down. Go.
Going off of that, always like to wait. Personally, just for confirmation from what I'm hearing from the Lord before I share. But during prayer time this morning when I'm just walking in the hallway, the only word I kept hearing was prepare, prepare, prepare. And when I was just right over there, the Lord is preparing us and praying when I just spoke. What came to me is just a couple scriptures above where we're in right now with Psalm 37.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Fret your not yourself over the one who's processors, prospers in his way over the man who carries out evil devices. And it's just so easy to just get caught up when someone is already doing something right ahead of you or succeeding and they're doing it especially by evil means and you're waiting patiently for the lord doing things by correct means to really hang on to continually prepare your heart and your mind, your soul for when he does act, to allow yourself to be in a place ready to receive, to take a hold of. Because when you have your heart ready for that, it's easy
for you to take a
hold of it and then keep it by your side. And how you were saying to stay beside the to be prepare your heart for what he
has in place
for you, for us as as a tribe family, for this next year coming. So, I don't think it's a good incidence that multiple people have heard. Just for repair. So, just take just these next moments and really think about what area in my life do I need to prepare for the Lord to show up and show out because he's a good father, and he'll do way more than what we think
he'll
do. It's good, Lanisha. Let's just not be in a hurry. Let's just be still I didn't have to deal fully with that. I don't know if anybody else feels that way, but
yeah. Yeah. I just had one thing. I told myself I wasn't gonna share unless I heard both Brian and Lissa say the word today, and they both said it. So
told
both Brian and Lissa said the word breakthrough, and just felt like I was supposed to share that with the verse up there that was on the screen. I feel like the words he will give you the land were very significant for this coming year, and that might be him giving us physical land. It might be as a breakthrough of a spiritual significance of of just being able to minister more more hearts coming to Jesus. Him giving us the land is significant somehow in that way of breakthrough. So we were steadfast this past year, I felt like.
And so now there's gonna be breakthrough in that. Will you
pray that over us as a Stride family? God.
Lord, we just thank you for your goodness, and we just wanna see more of you. We pray for this breakthrough that if there's something that we're stuck in, your favor, your your goodness, and our own personal lives and in tribe and in this valley, Lord. We wanna stay close and see see the fruit that you have for
As Renee was sharing, was thinking a different picture but the same message. We are the karate kid right now. So, you know, the picture of staying close is the karate kid going and living with mister Miyagi and and doing things exactly as he did. And I think some of the frustration and the tension that we felt this year has been when God is our mister Miyagi has asked us to wash the car and do the wax on, wax off. And I don't even remember the other parts, but there's all these things that I just remember the Karate Kid being so frustrated.
Like, no, I wanna do something significant right now. Like, I want you to actually train me to do what you do. And that frustration that he felt and that he would go and he would do it and he would, you know, not really willingly, but he would do it. And then there's that epiphany moment when mister Miyagi explains to him and connects. Here's all these tasks that you felt like were menial tasks.
And look, now you're ready to fight because you can see you have developed that muscle memory and those emotions by doing that. And I think that, you know, there's been frustration in 2023 because it felt like we're just we're just washing cars. We're just doing these things. Thank you. We're just sanding floors, and it and we're like, god, what are you doing?
And and perhaps along the line of what Colin was saying, there's gonna be that moment this year, that breakthrough where we'll go, oh, that's why. But it doesn't mean that we've missed it on any level that we can, you know, as the verse talks about, wait patiently and that active waiting and that training, the training on the cruise ship to get ready to go. It looks insignificant, it doesn't mean it's wrong. It's preparing us. It's good.
When we were just worshiping just a minute ago, I had this, like really vivid picture of there were two notebooks and one was one was super super big, one was super full, and one was like, you know, kind of brand new, had just a tiny bit of writing in it. And then I felt like this was for Kai specifically. I was gonna tell you before, but then he went to the bathroom. I'm just but kind of for all of us too. Right?
We look at the big notebook where the enemy writes all of our failures or our shortcomings or things that like are not who we truly are and we tend to like look and see that book all the time. Right? It's in our minds. It's huge just like you were saying, Cathy. But then I saw this even bigger book I hadn't seen before and I just felt like I the Lord just say that every time between you and the Lord nothing to do with dad and I, nothing to do with being raised in a pastor's home, none of that.
He's seen every single time between you and him that you've glanced his way, that you've leaned on him. Like, he's building and loves this book that he's developing just between the two of you. And I felt like it was maybe a little bit of a reminder to me, like, and for all of us, like, it's so easy for us to not see things the way the Lord sees them. You know? And I just feel like I need to ask your forgiveness for referring to the enemy's book and not to the Lord's beautiful book about you.
Sometimes, I'm sorry. Will you forgive me? Because it's beautiful and he loves that book. So Lord, forgive us where we've viewed people out of our flesh or out of fear or whatever it is. Because, Lord, you see each and every one of us in our unique relationship with you, each and every one of us.
And Lord, forgive us where we've looked at our own book that the enemies built against us more than we have that book that you're trying to build between us and all the beautiful winds like Cathy was saying. Forgive us. Because when we fix our eyes on you, we look more like you. We act more like you. And we all fall short.
We all fall short. Thank you that your grace is sufficient for us. Thank you, Lord, for your mercy and for your grace. Lord, I pray for each and every one of us that we would hear your voice more clearly in this new year. I see this picture of when we say get a hold of that promise.
I feel like when we were praying before service, Oliver and I were holding hands. And I reached over and I took Oliver's thumb and I made it, like, grab my hand harder, kinda jokingly. But I just see that picture of that's what it means to get a hold of. Is the Lord's got his hand out and you can choose to grab a hold of his hand or not. Not that you weren't wanting to hold my hand.
You weren't. We have to grab a hold of it. Hold of it. Right, Brad? Hold of with a t.
So Lord, help us to grab a hold of your hand and lean in to hear your voice in this new year like we never have before individually first, then corporately as a church body, and as the church, the big c church. Let us lay aside any preconceived notions or built up ideas of what we think we are supposed to be, who we've been or what we are supposed to be in the future. Lord, we lay all that down and we just say you speak who we are over us as we walk steadily with you, as we stay close. In Jesus' name, amen. Amanda, do you have some announcements for us?
I'll play and you
can We just have a few more minutes here together, but as we do every time we gather corporately, we just take one more opportunity to what we call bringing our tithe and offering to the Lord is an act of worship to him. So we have honored and worshiped him today through his word, through singing and praise and worship in that session, but also by bringing our tithe and our offering. We say, God, money is kind of like how the world works, and we kinda have to work real hard for it at our job. And an act of worship and surrender is giving a portion of our finances, our hard earned finances to you to say, God, I love you, and I trust you enough to do this, and to be obedient to you in this way. So as an act of worship, you can do it anytime, but we always do it corporately when we're here together as a tribe family.
So we're gonna pray and do that and just have a couple announcements and get you guys out of here. But, whether you're giving now or another time, it's very simple. We don't pass buckets here, but we do have a little box at the door there. You on the right, you can drop cash or check. You can always go to our website, tribej.com.
Or the easiest way is you just open up your phone, and you can see those instructions. And it's like you're texting a new friend, and their phone number is 84321. You just type that in and then put the amount. It'll give you some instructions and it's very simple. You can do that act of worship anytime.
I did it one time while I was driving because I didn't wanna think it. I was like, oh my gosh.
This is not honoring as a world
at all. Do it then.
So don't do it when you're don't text and drive. But I was trying I was like, I will forget if I don't do it, and that was terrible. Never do that, Ollie, as you're learning to drive. So don't don't do my example. I don't know why I said that.
But as we head into the new year, new goals, phone in the trunk. So bring your tithe and your offering to him. Offering is above and beyond, and he honors obedience. No matter where you are in life, no matter what you've done, no matter where you're going, God honors obedience. And this is just one way that we like to do that.
So let's pray together, and we'll we'll do that. Heavenly father, we just love you dearly. You are so worthy of our praise, so worthy of our praise, whether we feel like it or not, just like gravity exists, whether we believe it or not, you are faithful and you are good and you are worthy despite our feelings. And so we thank you for that. Thank you that you are an anchor for our soul and
that no matter what,
you are faithful. Faithful. And so we just bring our tithe and above and beyond that, our offering to you, father, and we just say it is all yours anyway. Thank you that we get to be good stewards of finances, of relationships, of time, of people. And we just say as we enter this new year, father, just receive this act of worship.
We know you do. Help our hearts to be right every time we bring our tithe to you. Help us to calibrate our hearts to yours. We thank you it. Thank you for your goodness and all the fruit that's to come just naturally.
Ministry is done through money and other ways. Time, talent, and treasure. Father, it takes money sometimes to to bring people into your kingdom. It helps anyway. You can do anything.
But we just thank you for all the fruit that's to come whether we get to see it or not. Thank you that we get to be your hands and your feet and your mouthpiece for the kingdom in Jesus' name. Amen. For the kingdom. So now, we are going to tonight, if you don't have, well, even if you have some New Year's plans later, come to the TMC from seven to nine tonight.
We are going to have a worship night. It's gonna be young adults, old adults, everywhere in between. We're just gonna worship him. What better way to kinda launch into this new year with just surrendered worship to him. So please come tonight.
The TMC, if you've never been, it's right across from Whole Foods. It's where it's the building that we own. It's just too small to house all of us sometimes, but we're gonna get in there tonight. It's at 1200 South Highway 89. So come there tonight, seven to nine.
And if you are not on our tribe text and you're like, well, I've never heard of that because we did send out a message. Or if you wanna know what's going on with tribe and you have and you don't get texts, please come see me right after service, and we'll get your number on that, on that line so you can know what's going on.
Prayers after service.
Right over here where I'm pointing by the window, Lanisha and her team, will be available for prayer. If there's anything there's nothing too big, nothing too small for the Lord, and Lanisha loves and is so good at agreeing with you in what you're believing the Lord for. So go over there and see her afterwards. And Brian, please, do you wanna come behind the keys? Oh, okay.
And I understand there's,
like, some football game or something happening today. I'm just kidding. I'll be taking one for the team and worshiping and praying for the Vikings while y'all are screaming at the TV.
Just before you stand up, would you email send me an email of that and yours as well? And next Sunday is January 7, I believe, and I have a word there. But then the following Sunday, I guess that would be the fourteenth. A word for 2024 for us as a tribe family. So, hold those things that were said intention and check it against the word that I've already begun to write out.
Alright? With that in mind, stand up. Would that be alright if I prayed for you? Jesus, thank you so very much for being good to us in 2023. You are faithful never to let go of us.
Help us to travel steadily along the path, grab a hold of you with an even tighter grip in 2024. I command a blessing over each and every person here today. God, give them a great week. Keep them safe. And Lord, would you let it snow?
We pray these things. In Jesus name, the strong son of god and everybody said, amen. I love you so very much. Have a great week and remember, you got this.
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