The Danger of the Hand Raise: Why Ritual Cannot Replace Regeneration

• God as Rock (Yahweh Tsur) 00:04:18 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines God as 'Yahweh Tsur,' meaning the Lord is our rock, foundation, and stabilizer, contrasting this with the instability of life's circumstances.
• [Psalm 18](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+18&version=KJV) Exegesis 00:05:19 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor analyzes Psalm 18:2, distinguishing between the Hebrew words 'Selah' (shield/surround) and 'Tsur' (bedrock/foundation) to explain God's protective and stabilizing nature.
• Rejection of Pantheism 00:06:39 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explicitly rejects the idea that nature (sun, moon, stars) is God, affirming instead that God is the Creator of these things and is distinct from creation.
• Metaphor of the Anchor 00:08:11 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses his wife as an analogy for an anchor, explaining that just as she steadies him, God is the rock that keeps believers calm during emotional highs and lows.
• David in the Cave of Adullam 00:09:55 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts David's time in the Cave of Adullam, where he was hunted by Saul but found community with outcasts, illustrating how God acts as a fortress and gathers people in times of distress.
• Community Identity 00:11:33 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines the church as a 'cave of misfits' where diverse people with scars and hurts come together, emphasizing unity across racial and socioeconomic lines.
• David's Theology of God as Rock 00:12:34 ▶️ 📄
  > Explaining Psalm 31:3 where David calls God his rock and fortress, highlighting God's faithfulness when others have left.
• The Rock of Escape (Engedi) 00:13:05 ▶️ 📄
  > Retelling the story of David escaping Saul in the cave, where God provided a physical 'rock of escape' and David named the place Engedi, combining 'refuge' and 'shield'.
• David Spares Saul 00:14:43 ▶️ 📄
  > The narrative of David cutting off the corner of Saul's robe but choosing not to kill him, demonstrating that God fights the battle and David does not need to take vengeance.
• David and Goliath 00:16:35 ▶️ 📄
  > The story of David defeating Goliath not with Saul's armor but with his own anointing and a rock, illustrating that God is the 'horn of salvation' who brings victory.
• David's Stronghold and Water from Bethlehem 00:19:09 ▶️ 📄
  > The account of David's men fetching water from Bethlehem's well, which David refused to drink, pouring it out to God to show that God is his true stronghold and source of life.
• Personal Application of the Rock Metaphor 00:22:29 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor urges the congregation to make the metaphor personal, asking where God has been their rock, and shares a personal struggle with writing the sermon.
• Moses and the Rock 00:23:59 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor begins to recount the story of Moses standing on a rock to see God's glory, illustrating that one must stand on the rock to be in God's presence.
• Exclusivity of Salvation 00:25:04 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts that Jesus Christ is the sole mediator for a relationship with God, explicitly rejecting other religious figures like Allah, Confucius, Buddha, and Muhammad.
• Building Life on Christ 00:26:29 ▶️ 📄
  > Using the metaphor of building a house, the pastor urges the congregation to build their lives, marriages, and finances on the 'rock' of Jesus to withstand life's storms.
• Eschatological Victory 00:30:10 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor connects the 'rock' in Daniel's dream to Jesus, stating that Jesus will crush all world empires and defeat Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet.

• Sermon Illustration 00:02:50 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a story from a documentary about a rock climber who, when asked what he looks for on a mountain, replied he is looking for a 'solid rock' to put his whole weight on, which the pastor uses to introduce the concept of God as a reliable foundation.
• Sermon Illustration 00:07:47 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes his wife Stephanie as his 'anchor,' clarifying that this metaphor means she steadies him during emotional extremes, rather than being a heavy weight, to illustrate how God stabilizes believers.
• Sermon Illustration 00:10:56 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the biblical account of David hiding in the Cave of Adullam, where he was joined by 400 men who were in debt, distressed, and depressed, illustrating how God gathers misfits and outcasts into a community when they are in a 'cave' of difficulty.
• Sermon Illustration 00:11:33 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes the church as a 'cave of Abdullam' filled with misfits from all walks of life, contrasting it with a 'country club' to emphasize that the community is made up of people with scars, hurts, and habits who have been set free by God.
• Sermon Illustration 00:13:05 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the biblical story of David and his 400 men being trapped by Saul, only to be saved when a messenger informs Saul that the Philistines have attacked their home base, allowing David to escape through a 'rock of escape'.
• Sermon Illustration 00:14:43 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor narrates the story of David sneaking into Saul's cave, cutting off the corner of his robe, and then sparing his life to demonstrate that God fights the battle, not David.
• Sermon Illustration 00:16:35 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor tells the story of David delivering cheese to his brothers, encountering Goliath, and defeating him with a stone from a stream, emphasizing that David used his own anointing rather than Saul's armor.
• Sermon Illustration 00:23:03 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his pastor Matt Tuning calling him while he was struggling to write the sermon, encouraging him to push through because the message would set people free.
• Sermon Illustration 00:23:59 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the biblical account of Moses asking to see God's glory, and God instructing him to stand on a rock so he could see God's back as His glory passed by, illustrating the necessity of standing on the rock to be in God's presence.
• Sermon Illustration 00:27:45 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts a story of a young man and his father at the beach after a massive storm, where the son asks why the rock remained while the sand was washed away, and the father explains that the rock is stronger than the storm.
• Sermon Illustration 00:30:45 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a parable about a king seeking a painting of peace; while most painted calm meadows, one artist painted a stormy waterfall with a bird protecting its chicks in a cleft of rock, illustrating that true peace is found in God amidst chaos.

• Pastoral Charge 00:01:03 ▶️ 📄
  > Attend the free youth camp worship night at Freeman Coliseum on June 19th.
• Pastoral Charge 00:01:53 ▶️ 📄
  > Express gratitude to Pastor Matt Tuning for his upcoming ministry.
• Pastoral Charge 00:04:18 ▶️ 📄
  > Verbally affirm the name 'Yahweh Tsor' with the congregation.
• Pastoral Charge 00:12:49 ▶️ 📄
  > Clap in response to the statement that God surrounds and protects the believer.
• Pastoral Charge 00:18:57 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor invites the congregation to clap in agreement and declaration that giants will fall.
• Pastoral Charge 00:22:39 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor invites the congregation to worship God joyfully as their salvation.
• Pastoral Charge 00:33:29 ▶️ 📄
  > To put faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] Thank y'all so much for coming. We are united to our north side campus, south side campus, east, west, and broadcasting to over 4,000 incarceration facilities and we are so grateful that you're in the house of God. To everybody that's new coming to one of our locations or the central campus, come on, let this thunderous applause be a statement of our gratitude. Thank you for coming. It means the world. And many of you have come today just to find solace in the fact that Jesus rules and reigns even when the Spurs loses and I know
[00:00:31] broken, but come on. Aren't we proud of our team? Aren't we grateful for the San Antonio Spurs?
[00:00:39] Grateful for our team. I love the fact that it's San Antonio versus everybody. It's who we are.
[00:00:46] 2-1-0 countdown city. We're just believing that God brought us together. And I just want to take one moment to highlight that we have our youth camp coming up this Thursday and Friday, June 18th the 19th, and then on the 19th on Friday night. We have an opportunity to unite all five campuses
[00:01:03] together for a night of worship. I'm going to be preaching and teaching. CBC Worship will be leading. Can we just take over the Freeman Coliseum and lift up high the name of Jesus together?
[00:01:12] It's a free event. We're trying to unite all our campuses, but on the screen right now is a QR code for you to be able to register. Get a ticket. It's free. We just got to know you're coming,
[00:01:23] so make sure you get your ticket. We're going to leave there a couple more seconds so you could download this and get your ticket to be a part of a night of worship, Freeman Coliseum.
[00:01:33] I wanna take an opportunity to honor a dear friend that's in the house.
[00:01:36] He is a New York Knicks fan and we've been talking a lot of trash to each other along the way, but he is my friend from Boston, Massachusetts.
[00:01:44] He and his wife, Pastor Matt Tuning and Beth Tuning, pastor of a church called Netcast Church.
[00:01:50] And he's sitting with me on the front row today, all over our campuses.
[00:01:53] Can we say thank you to the man of God that is in the house that'll be preaching our night of revival in August.
[00:02:00] We're grateful.
[00:02:01] Love you, sir.
[00:02:03] I will be wearing in our Why Not You podcast in August a Knicks jersey.
[00:02:08] I just want to go on clarification.
[00:02:10] I have lost the bet.
[00:02:12] However, I will be wearing none other than Jordan Clarkson's jersey from the New York Knicks because he's from San Antonio.
[00:02:20] Got to keep that in there, all right?
[00:02:21] So anyways, what I want to preach a message entitled today, Rock Solid, Rock Solid. If you have a Bible, Psalm 18 is where we're learning and gleaning from today. We have been studying about the names of God.
[00:02:36] And I want to begin by way of introduction. I came across a documentary in regards to some of the most extreme rock climbers in the world. And in the documentary, there was a moment where the interviewer asked one of the rock climbers this question. He says,
[00:02:50] what are you looking for when you are ascending a very significant mountain ridge for the purpose of getting to the top, summoning the top? What are you looking for? He was thinking that the rock climber would say, man, I'm looking for courage. I'm looking for strength. I'm just
[00:03:07] looking for somewhere to put my fingers. And he said this, and I think it's a word for us. Come on. Anybody listening today? Anybody with me today? Come on, receive this. He goes, I'm looking for a
[00:03:16] solid rock. And then he made this statement. He goes, it may look secure, but it may crumble under pressure. I need something I can put my whole weight on today. I've come to tell somebody
[00:03:28] we got a God. We could put our whole weight on today. Somebody clap. Amen. Shout to the God who is the Lord. I rock, but I got to teach you his name. Got to teach you his name. Now we have
[00:03:40] learned Elohim. Come on, say Elohim. That means God's powerful. We've learned Yahweh. Come on, say Yahweh. God is personal. We've learned Adonai. Come on, say Adonai. That means God possesses all things. We are his servant. We have learned Jehovah Rapha. Come on, say Jehovah Rapha.
[00:03:56] God is healer. And today we're going to learn that God is Yahweh to soar. Now you're like, Pastor Ed, I don't know if I can say that word. It's to soar, all right? T-S-U-R. Sounds like
[00:04:06] to soar, but you can put that together, to soar. Yahweh to soar on the count of three. Come on, you got it. One, two, three. Yahweh tesor. Means that the Lord our God is our rock.
[00:04:18] And today I want to give this as a target statement before we jump into Psalm 18.
[00:04:23] What you stand on will determine what you stand through. Oh, let that cook for just a second.
[00:04:30] What you stand on will determine what you stand through. For many of us, we understand that life can be hard. Anybody else want to give a testimony? Sometimes life will life you.
[00:04:41] Sometimes you'll find yourself, man, you think things were going well.
[00:04:45] You got that email.
[00:04:46] You got that text message.
[00:04:48] You got that medical report.
[00:04:49] You got that statement that all of a sudden finances are not where they're supposed to be in regards to your financial portfolio.
[00:04:55] Whatever that news may be, isn't it interesting?
[00:04:57] Things could be going well.
[00:04:58] And in one split second, everything feels like it's crumbling around you.
[00:05:02] But it's important for us to recognize that we got a God that's our rock.
[00:05:05] Psalm 18, by the way, is where we're studying from today.
[00:05:08] Psalm 18 is given to us by the psalmist David under the inspiration of God.
[00:05:13] And he says something to us in verse two that we're really going to put underneath the microscope.
[00:05:17] We're gonna study it, examine it.
[00:05:19] But let me just read verse one.
[00:05:20] It says, I love you, Lord, my strength.
[00:05:23] And then verse two, the Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
[00:05:37] now he uses the word rock twice now in our english language it just seems like he just said rock and rock but actually in the hebrew language come on let me teach you some hebrew today the first time
[00:05:46] he uses the word rock he uses the word selah s-e-l-a selah as to say that god you are the god that shields me covers me protects me and therefore in your presence you surround me oh that's a good
[00:06:01] word for somebody today, that you got a God that covers you, shields you, surrounds you, and he is the mighty rock, but he is Yahweh Selah when he surrounds you. But he's Yahweh Tesor when he uses
[00:06:15] the second time, which means that God, you are my bedrock. You are my foundation. You are the boulder I build my life on. And when David says that you are my Selah, you are my Tesor, you are the rock
[00:06:27] that surrounds me and you are the rock that stabilizes me. Point number one, we see the meaning of the metaphor. Now it's a metaphor to call God rock. Don't miss this. We live in a world
[00:06:39] that calls everything God. That's called pantheism y'all. Have you heard that term before? Everything's God. The sun's God, the moon's God, the water's God, the grass is God, the trees are God. Y'all that's craziness. God is creator. These things are an expression of his goodness and his kindness.
[00:07:00] The sun is not God. My God made the sun. The moon is not God. My God made the moon.
[00:07:06] Come on. The stars aren't God. However, we look to horoscopes more than we look to the scripture.
[00:07:12] Come on. He made the stars. He knows them by name. And when we understand who God is, then we begin to use everyday metaphors to equate this to the characteristics of who God is. So if
[00:07:23] God is rock, then what is he? He is stable. He is durable. He's reliable. He's my security. He's my elevation. He gives me visibility to the things that are coming because he is my rock. It's a
[00:07:36] metaphor. For example, my wife and I've been married almost 28 years. Come on. That's a big deal to us. That is a big deal to us. This coming August, 28 years, August 1st, I've called
[00:07:47] Stephanie. She sang here at the Central Campus, y'all. She's five foot tall. She'll tell you she's 5'1". She's Filipino. Come on, man. She is my sweet and sour. Amen. And that she is a beautiful,
[00:07:59] beautiful human being who loves God with the anointing of God on her life. And I will say this to her often. You are my anchor. You're my anchor. Now, you know what I mean. I'm not calling
[00:08:11] her a 500-pound weight that drags on the ocean floor that's rusty and got barnacles on it. Y'all, that's craziness. Y'all with me? When I say you're my anchor, I'm saying this to Stephanie and she's listening to this right now, that you are the one who steadies me. When I get real high
[00:08:29] and my lows get real low, you are just the anchor that keeps everything calm. And when I say that you are my anchor, this is what David is saying to God, you are my rock. But what's crazy about
[00:08:40] this, I don't call Stephanie my anchor because I met her on a cruise. Y'all with me? I don't call step. I ain't said this in any other service. This is downloaded in the ADD mind right now.
[00:08:53] I don't, I don't look at Stephanie and go, you are my anchor. Cause I was in the Navy.
[00:08:57] Are you with me? God is called rock by David because he learned some of the greatest lessons in his journey with God in the wilderness, looking at rocks, building his life on rocks in caves in strongholds and i'm going to teach you some stuff real quickly y'all still listen
[00:09:19] say amen now when you hear david use these terms fortress i read this to you in psalm 18 verse 2 deliver refuge shield horn of salvation stronghold these are all based upon stories and encounters that david had that god revealed himself as strong and mighty i gotta break this
[00:09:41] down to you. When David says you are my fortress, there's a moment where David is in what's called the cave of Abdullam. It's first Samuel chapter 22. He's in the cave of Abdullam. This is between
[00:09:55] pasture and palace. Some of you don't know what I'm talking about. Let me break it down. He's been anointed the future King, but he ain't King yet. So he's in between pasture. He's a shepherd,
[00:10:06] which by the way, God was predicting and prophesying that there would come a great shepherd. Jesus was reminding us through the scripture that David was a shepherd unto people as a King. And there would be a King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That would be a shepherd unto us.
[00:10:22] So we needed a shepherd King. So he raises up a shepherd King, but between pasture and palace, there's a man named Saul. That's currently the King of Israel. Who's jealous of David, who actually wanted to kill David.
[00:10:37] And while he was on the run, he had to leave and forsake his family.
[00:10:41] His friends walked away from him.
[00:10:43] He's being hunted by a man, literally being hunted by a man named Saul and all of the army of the nation of Israel.
[00:10:51] One man standing by himself in a cave called the Cave of Abdullam.
[00:10:55] Check this out.
[00:10:56] And all of a sudden in the cave, all by himself, a group of 400 men from nowhere that he's never met before, that the scripture would say were in debt, distressed, and depressed.
[00:11:09] 400 men that nobody wanted all of a sudden found David in a cave and said, we're going to follow you. And God took men that nobody wanted and made them men that everybody wanted. Come on. Happy
[00:11:22] Father's Day. Next weekend's Father's Day. This is what God's raising up here at CBC. Oh God, I can feel it. Here's what he's saying to us. I know our name as a church is called community
[00:11:33] Bible church, but can I tell you what we are? We are the cave of Abdullam where a lot of misfits who don't fit in other churches ended up at a place called CBC and all across our campuses.
[00:11:45] Listen to me. This ain't no country club up in here. We're people from all walks of life.
[00:11:51] They got a lot of scars from our past, a lot of hurts, habits, and hangups and cry. Oh God, and he has set us free and we came together black white brown north side south side east side west
[00:12:06] side all across this city no respecter of car no respecter of home no respecter what you got in your bank account we bleed red together we got a soul that was made in the image of god and we need
[00:12:20] each other but david did not learn that lesson in a bible study at community bible church he learned that lesson in the cave all by himself which is why he said in psalm 31 verse 3
[00:12:34] you are my rock and you are my fortress and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me you know what he's saying everybody has left me but you haven't left me you are my fortress you surround
[00:12:49] me come on if we go clap let's clap to a god that is our rock oh we having fun up in here and then he says, God, you are my deliverer. This is an incredible story. Y'all. I don't know if
[00:13:05] you've studied. This is called the rock of escape. It's first Samuel chapter 23. Come on. I'm just going chapter by chapter through first Samuel, just in my mind here, first Samuel 23, this group of 400 men that nobody wanted and their ride or die with David, man, their ride or die. And all
[00:13:21] of a sudden their back is up against the wall. Like not just proverbially, literally Saul is on the other side of this giant rock and Saul is about to kill David. And all of a sudden, a messenger
[00:13:32] comes up to Saul and goes, the Philistines have taken over our home base. And Saul's like, we got David. And all of a sudden the messenger's like, man, but they're, they're, they're taking over our family and our kids and we've got to protect home base. And so all of a sudden they leave.
[00:13:48] And then David, watch this, who literally was seconds away from dying is looking at a giant rock on the other side of the rock was Saul and these men and they're gone. And David calls this
[00:14:00] place. He calls this place. What he calls it the rock of escape. He wasn't worshiping the rock.
[00:14:09] He was grateful for the God who was his rock that shielded him from Saul in the enemy. And they couldn't get to David because of the rock. And then watch this. He goes from fortress to deliver.
[00:14:24] he then now begins to combine two words together refuge and shield refuge and shield this is what's known as engedi man listen if you haven't read the bible y'all i'm telling you you can't tell
[00:14:34] me the bible's boring now it's got some parts you're like man i don't know what's going on in here but then there's some moments we're like this is a story he's in the cave again a different cave
[00:14:43] not abdulham but a different cave once more with the same dudes that nobody wanted there's some guys that are surrounding david that are half hood half holy can i get an amen from somebody a little, little bit of gangster in them. So they're hiding in a cave and Saul comes into the
[00:14:59] cave. And the scripture says to relieve himself. We don't know if he's taking a nap or using the bathroom. However, the eyes of Saul are not adjusted to the darkness. So David and his men
[00:15:10] are, are hid into this cave. And all of a sudden, once more, these dudes have hood have holy. We're like God has given you Saul in your hands, kill him. And David sneaks up on Saul, takes a dagger,
[00:15:26] cuts off the corner of his kingly robe and Saul doesn't even know it. He walks out the cave and then David comes out the cave. Look, come on, this is so savage. Looks at Saul and holds up a corner
[00:15:40] of his kingly robe and says, I could have killed you, but my God has delivered you into my hands and I've chosen to let you live. Cause what is he saying? God fights my battles.
[00:15:58] I don't have to do this. God's going to take care of this. Oh, I've come to tell somebody you don't got to fight your battle. God will fight your battle. I can listen. I could feel
[00:16:11] every hair standing up on my arms right now because I'm just wishing somebody would understand this term, God to soar, Yahweh to soar. He is my rock. He is my shield. He shields me. He's my
[00:16:26] place of rest. And then all of a sudden, this is crazy y'all. Cause I know, I know you've thought about this. So I'm not teaching you something you ain't heard of, but in first Samuel chapter 17,
[00:16:35] when the Bible says that in Psalm 18 verse two, that he is the horn of our salvation.
[00:16:41] It's interesting. I was studying this. I was like, God, I don't know what the horn of salvation is, man. Help me understand this. And all of a sudden it went back for me. The first Samuel 17,
[00:16:49] there's a guy named Goliath. Anybody remember him? Nine foot nine, the champion that nobody wanted to fight. David comes up on the scene. Once more, he's been anointed by God. He comes up on the scene because his father, Jesse says, Hey, listen, go deliver some cheese to your
[00:17:06] brothers. True story. So David shows up with some, some $5 hot and readies from little Caesar.
[00:17:12] come on anybody else besides us still eating those things man they'll come through at the moment you need them right so he delivers some cheese to his brothers and he hears a giant that's blaspheming
[00:17:27] the name of his God and David's like hey anybody heard this and all the men of Israel are afraid of the champion which by the way Saul was supposed to be the dude that fought Goliath
[00:17:41] but he is in fear and trepidation and a little dude named david who's probably 14 15 16 years old at this particular time with the anointing of god on his life walks out and says how dare
[00:17:54] this man defy the armies of our god and then he asked the question he's like what's in it for the dude that wins and all of a sudden somebody was like you get to marry the king's daughter and
[00:18:06] you ain't got to pay taxes. David's like, you had me at taxes. All of a sudden, watch this, puts on Saul's armor. He's like, I can't wear Saul's armor. You know why? Because you had
[00:18:17] never intended to wear somebody else's armor. You got your own anointing. You got your own anointing. He goes, all I need. What was his choice weapon? I hope to God you understand the theme today rocks and God defeats the Goliath, the giant through a young man named David
[00:18:44] through the strength of the Lord through rocks. What was God teaching David that I am the horn of your salvation. I am the one that brings you victory. And I want to say to somebody today,
[00:18:57] because God is Yahweh to soar my rock giants fall in the name of Jesus. Come on. Can we clap together. Giants fall. I got to tell you one more story. Come on. I got to tell you one more story
[00:19:09] because when he says you are my stronghold, this is second Samuel chapter 23. Now this is a crazy moment where all of a sudden David is once more with his dudes and they're looking down on Saul
[00:19:22] and they're in the plane around a well in Bethlehem. You got to understand this about David.
[00:19:27] David grew up in Bethlehem. David was very familiar with the streets of Bethlehem. David drank from a well in Bethlehem that he would consider his favorite water source. But David had not been able to go back to Bethlehem. Why? His face is on the wall. Israel's most wanted.
[00:19:45] He can't show his face. Everybody's looking for him to go back home. That's where they're expecting him to go. So he can't go. So he's living in the wilderness. He's living amongst the rocks. God is teaching him lessons. And as he looks down in the stronghold, he looks at Saul,
[00:19:59] looks at the men thousands of men that are resting and David is just looking down and he come on let me just lean in let me get a little dramatic right now he just kind of leans in talking to some dudes
[00:20:09] and he's like how would it be just to get a glass of water three dudes were like we got you and they go down unbeknownst to David he didn't he didn't even send them they loved David so much they went
[00:20:32] down. And while the enemy was asleep, and I'm saying the enemy, I'm talking about Saul and his men that tried to kill David, goes down, gets a proverbial glass of water. And before they leave,
[00:20:44] they take a spear. And the captain of the bodyguards that protected Saul, who was literally asleep outside of Saul's tent, they put a spear in the ground next to the head of the man that's
[00:20:58] supposed to be protecting Saul. You talk about savage and they come back and they hand the glass of water to their King named David. And David's like, this could have cost you your life. I cannot
[00:21:10] drink this water. And he pours it out as an offering to the Lord. And then watch this. David shouts from the stronghold. Saul, while you slept, my men could have come in and killed you,
[00:21:23] but we choose to let you live because God, and he says this, God is my stronghold.
[00:21:32] As to say, he's elevated me and I'm not trying to take you out. I just need you to know that God has taught me his faithfulness. No weapon formed against you shall prosper greater as he that's
[00:21:46] in you than he that's in the world. You are more than a conqueror. Dear God, I wish you could hear me. If God be for you, then who could be against you? You're like, I got a lot of enemies. Let me
[00:21:59] tell you what the Lord is telling us. I'll prepare a table before your enemies and feed you and satisfy you. They could say whatever they want to say about you. They can remind you of your past.
[00:22:12] Oh, we know when she used to be this, or we knew when he was this, you ain't that same person no more. There are people that will always try to tear you down, but there's a God that's elevating
[00:22:24] you. How? Because you've built your life on the rock. And this leads us to point number three.
[00:22:29] Listen, this metaphor has got to be ours. This is more than a metaphor. We've got to make the metaphor mine. It's got to be yours. I love what the Psalmist David would say. He'd say these words
[00:22:39] to us in Psalm 95 verse one. Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Not just my, my rock not just your rock our rock here's the invitation oh god let me preach this today
[00:22:51] this is where this message began to take on a whole new level of life for me it's thursday y'all this past week and if i could just be completely honest man i was struggling writing this sermon
[00:23:03] i was going to pick another name of god and all of a sudden matt tuning pastor matt who's in the room today he called and he wanted to talk trash about the knicks and i wasn't having it all right
[00:23:14] so it made the game we lost we were up by 29 i'm like dude because we've been going back and forth and he's like what you doing i was like man i'm struggling through this sermon and he said a word
[00:23:24] to me that i think it was very encouraging and prophetic he goes sometimes those messages that are really difficult you don't give up on because god wants you to push through because in this there is something attached to this message because it will set some people free and he
[00:23:36] says and stop trying to just kind of figure this thing out look at your own life and ask the question of God, where have you been my rock? So we begin to get real personal. And I'm telling you
[00:23:47] all of a sudden stuff started downloading into an ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, struggling dude. And God was just downloading a message. And a couple of things came out. Y'all ready? Check this out.
[00:23:59] There's a guy named Moses. You've heard of that dude. It's like, God, show me your glory.
[00:24:04] And God looked at Moses and said, man, you can't, you, you can't be in my presence and live.
[00:24:09] And then in Exodus 33, he says, but I'm gonna allow my glory to pass by and I'm gonna let you see the fullness of me, but you won't be able to see me face to face.
[00:24:18] But in order for you to be in my presence, I need you to stand on a rock when my glory goes by.
[00:24:26] You go, Pastor Ed, I'm not picking up what you're saying.
[00:24:29] What God was saying to Moses, you can't be in my presence unless you're standing on a rock.
[00:24:35] And if you ask the question, what's the rock?
[00:24:37] Let's go into Acts chapter four.
[00:24:38] simon peter said it this way the stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and his name is jesus now let me let me put it together come on somebody let me put it together
[00:24:50] what god is telling us that if we're gonna have a relationship with god and we live in a world that says there's a lot of gods allah is not our god confucius ain't my god buddha ain't my god
[00:25:04] Muhammad ain't my God. My God is known through multiple names, but through Jesus Christ as King of Kings, Lord of Lords. Listen to me. This is uncomfortable for some people that I'm talking to right now. There's not many ways to get into a relationship with God. There's only one way to
[00:25:24] get into a relationship with God, which is to stand on the rock of Jesus Christ himself. That's the only way you get to God. You can call me arrogant. You can call me narrow-minded. You can
[00:25:39] call me bigoted. You can call me intolerant. Listen, I may not be a bright dude, but I know this.
[00:25:45] My life is hitched up to the one who walked out of grave. That's who my life is connected to.
[00:25:51] Watch this. And he's still rolling stones because he's the rock who you're building your life on.
[00:26:01] That's why Jesus in Matthew chapter seven, verse 24 and 25, he goes, there's two types of soil, sand or rock.
[00:26:10] He goes, where are you going to build your life?
[00:26:14] He goes, the one that builds his life on the sand ends up in disappointment because everything he built his life on is gone.
[00:26:22] But then I love in Matthew chapter seven, verse 24 and 25.
[00:26:25] Anybody with me today?
[00:26:26] Come on, receive this word of the Lord.
[00:26:27] This is what God says to us.
[00:26:29] everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. What does this mean? You build your marriage on the rock. To my single brothers and
[00:26:42] sisters that are waiting for the one while being the one, because when you meet the one, you don't want the one to tell you you're not the one. You with me? Come on. I don't know if
[00:26:51] you caught that. Some of you are out there looking for the one all the while. Don't miss this. You're not being the one. And if you meet the one, the one may tell you you're not the one. You go,
[00:27:02] so how do I make sure I'm the one? Build your life on the rock. That's what you got to build your life on. Singled, married, in school, working, whatever your story is, build your life
[00:27:15] on the rock. Your marriage has got to be on the rock. Your finances have to be on the rock.
[00:27:20] Because if not, listen to me, then your life will be on the rocks. Or will it be on the rock?
[00:27:27] because if it's on the rock, then understand what scripture says.
[00:27:33] You will face some storms in your life.
[00:27:36] The wind will blow, the water will rise, but the storm is not greater than the rock.
[00:27:43] Let me break it down to you real quickly.
[00:27:45] There was a young man who's with his father at the beach the night before a massive storm came through and washed out all the sand.
[00:27:50] The dunes were gone, the seashells were gone.
[00:27:52] It looked like utter devastation.
[00:27:54] The father and the son are standing at the shoreline and the little fellow looked to his dad.
[00:27:58] And he said, dad, he goes, everything's gone except for that rock out there in that water.
[00:28:04] It was that rock that's sticking up out of the water.
[00:28:06] He said, how come the storm didn't take the rock?
[00:28:10] And the dad said a very simple, profound statement.
[00:28:12] He said this, he goes, because the rock is stronger than the storm.
[00:28:17] And I'm here to tell somebody, I got to tell you something.
[00:28:22] We're either going into the storm or in the middle of a storm or we're coming out the storm.
[00:28:28] all of us are gonna face storms you love God don't love God all of us get storms the difference is when you go through the storm is your life on the rock or is your life built on you built on what
[00:28:40] this world tells you if we build our life on what this world tells us it is sinking sand but I got to share something with you because while I was studying this through the encouragement of Pastor
[00:28:49] Matt there was another verse that popped in my mind it was Daniel chapter 2 y'all still with me come on am I talking to somebody today check this out in Daniel chapter 2 there's a guy named
[00:28:58] Daniel that interprets the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar has got a dream and he's like, nobody can interpret the dream. And all of a sudden Daniel goes, the word of the Lord is this, that I have seen a rock cut out from the mountain with no human hands and it destroys all
[00:29:18] world empires. And this one rock will rule and reign forever. King Nebuchadnezzar is like, help me understand. And then Daniel begins to break down head of gold, chest of silver, belly of bronze, leg of iron, feet mixed with iron and clay. Let me explain something to you. Head of
[00:29:34] gold, Babylonians, chest of silver, Medes and the Persians, belly of, of gold, or excuse me, of bronze. It's the Grecian empire, legs of iron, the Roman empire. But here's the part that deals with us because all four of those world empires, the rock has crushed them, but there's one empire
[00:29:52] that's not yet come. Feet mixed with iron and clay. What is this? This is a one world government under the leadership of the antichrist by the spirit of the false prophet and Satan himself and the demons of hell that will wage war against the people of God. And what Daniel saw before
[00:30:10] Jesus ever came to a manger in Bethlehem, he saw the rock. Who's the rock? It's Jesus who crushes all world empires. I've come to tell you today that the rock of Jesus Christ forever defeats
[00:30:23] Satan, forever defeats the demons of hell, forever defeats the antichrist, forever defeats the false prophet, and it will be over as God gives us victory. But what is the symbol and the metaphor of our victorious God? What is it? Rock. He's Yahweh Tesor, the God that delivers. And I got
[00:30:45] to show you this picture. Check this out. I came across this story as a parable about a king that had a competition with some artists in his community. He said, I'm looking for someone to actually paint a picture of what peace, P-E-A-C-E, looks like in this world. So a group
[00:31:08] of artists got together and many of which would paint a grassy meadow, streams of water, sun rising, sun setting. The king was like, it's not what I'm looking for. And there was one painting that came out, one painting. And there was a painting of a rapid waterfall, black sky, stormy
[00:31:32] sky. Cracks of lightning. It looks utterly chaotic and confusing. Everybody was like, that's not a picture of peace. But the king, I want you to listen to me. The king saw something that no one else saw. As he looked into the waterfall, I want to show you this picture.
[00:31:51] There was a bird covering its chicks in the cleft of a rock, resting in the midst of the storm.
[00:32:02] and I need you to know today that the storm will rage and the lightning will crack, but we got a calm and a peace because our life is built on the rock. I love what the hymn writer
[00:32:18] said. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but I wholly on my body lean on Jesus name on Christ. The solid rock I stand
[00:32:40] all of the ground is sinking sand. Anybody with me today? Come on. Can we clap our hands?
[00:32:47] Yahweh to soar. Now, let me just take a moment here at the central campus. I'm going to keep saying this until we understand the rhythms of this house, all the other campuses. It's not at
[00:32:57] the end of the service that anybody moves. It's just at the central campus. I know some of you may have emergencies you need to deal with, but I believe God's doing something in this moment.
[00:33:06] I believe God's on the move in this moment. I sense in my spirit right now all across our campuses that God is wanting to do one or two things. For those of us who've called upon the name of the
[00:33:16] Lord, this is an on-time word for you for what you're facing. Don't build your life on sinking sand. Build your life on the rock that's solid ground. If you've not given your life to Jesus,
[00:33:26] There's a rock that you can build your life on and his name is Jesus.
[00:33:29] And if you've never put your faith and trust in Jesus, now's the time.
[00:33:33] So heads bowed, eyes closed all across our campuses.
[00:33:36] Father God, we thank you for today.
[00:33:38] And Lord, I pray right now that you give courage for people to go, I needed this message.
[00:33:43] I needed this word.
[00:33:44] With heads bowed, eyes closed, if this was an on-time word for somebody today, in light of what you're facing, would you raise your hand right where you're seated all across our campuses?
[00:33:53] Father God, for every hand that's lifted, you see it God show them that you are Yahweh to soar the foundation that you are Yahweh Salah that you are the God that would surround them shield them cover them and we can build our life
[00:34:10] on you God thank you for who you are and what you've done you put your hands down heads bowed eyes closed I believe some of you need to put your faith and trust in Jesus today is the day
[00:34:20] of salvation. God brought you to one of our locations to hear a message. To our incarcerated brothers and sisters, this could be a message for you. Anybody listening and watching. Based upon the scripture, it says, whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. What are we
[00:34:35] calling on? God is rocked through Jesus Christ. And if you want to put your faith and trust in Jesus, I did this when I was 15 years old. And today you can make this decision. We're going
[00:34:45] to pray this prayer out loud. Let's say this together. Lord Jesus, I'm not perfect, but I believe in you. Save me. Change me. Forgive me. I give you my life. If you prayed that prayer in
[00:34:57] faith all across our campuses, would you raise your hand as tall as you can? Elbow above your ear so we can celebrate your decision. Come on, anybody else, if you raised your hand, we're clapping. Welcome to the family of God. Hey, my name's Ed Newton, pastor at Community Bible Church
[00:35:13] here in San Antonio, Texas. Thank you so much for even turning on to our YouTube channel. And if you're not subscribing right now at Community Bible Church here in San Antonio, Texas, you got to subscribe. Here's the reason why. We believe that God's given us a message rooted in His Word,
[00:35:29] empowered by the Holy Spirit, that would be an encouragement to you. And if you're not subscribing right now, you got to stop what you're doing and hit that button. Also, here's what I'd say to you. Every time you watch, would you drop some comments? Let us know where you're watching
[00:35:42] from, how the message impacted you, and how we could pray for you. And would you do us a favor?
[00:35:47] One of the things that we believe oftentimes is bless people, bless people.
[00:35:51] And if this message blesses you, how about you send it to somebody else and ask them to click the subscribe button as well.
[00:35:57] And if you are planning any trip to the state of Texas, hear me when I say this, you can't come to Texas without coming to see us in San Antonio.
[00:36:04] I'd love to meet you face-to-face.
[00:36:06] And as always, until we meet again, much love.