Is He Worth It To You?

1:25 God, we have nothing to give to you that you didn't first give to us. What an honor. What an absolute honor to come into your presence, and it's only because of Jesus. Thank you, Lord, that we can speak to you right now. Help us, God. Open our eyes to what an amazing thing it is that we are speaking to you right now. God, some of us take this for granted. We think it's no big deal to speak to you and you seriously listen. God, open our eyes to how stunning that is, how shocking, how impossible that should be. God, right now, I pray that you supernaturally, Lord, fill me.

2:13 Make it so I am not afraid to say anything up here, that I will say whatever you tell me to say. even if everyone hates me after, I don't care. I want to know you. I want to say what you want me to say, Lord. I want to please you. This is the last thing I say on this earth, Lord. May it honor you. And God, may I say everything out of love for these students, Lord. May I say everything to make the name of Jesus great, not mine or anyone else's. God please lead this time through your spirit and I pray that this is not just a bunch of words Please, God, please meet us in this room, whatever it takes, Lord, whatever it takes. Wake us up to your holiness. your glory, your love, your mercy.

3:16 In Jesus' name, amen. Man, I had one of the greatest mornings this morning. That's cool that you talked about your mocha. But mine was like, from the start, was just insane. Like, I woke up at like, gosh, 4.45 or something. Probably the same time you guys did, right? And I mean, but I was just wired. which is abnormal. I mean, I just, I was wide awake and just excited to get into the presence of God and just to pray. I actually spent the night over at Terry Franson's house and had a little slumber party. And man, just woke up and just started praying. And it's just one of the awesome, amazing prayer times where God, you know, you're just sensing his presence in the room, and he was just reminding me of everything. Since I was like a little kid, he was reminding me of even my mom's death, of when she died giving birth to me, and here I was in a temple in Hong Kong, in this Buddhist temple, you know, as a little kid, and how he met me there, and how I started searching for him there, and all these impossible things that happened in my life until now.

4:43 And it was just like, it was just me and him in this little room and just talking. And I mean, two hours went by where I'm just blown away, just thanking him for everything and just all through my life, miracle after miracle after miracle going, God, this is so good. This is so good. It's so good being with you. Man, and as I think about that, I just go, gosh, do you have times like that where it's just you and him? And it's not prayer isn't just close your eyes and go through a checklist of things, but like a person, like he's a real person. And you have this interaction with him and you know him. Like, is that what your life is about? And Saturday morning, Saturday morning, I woke up and I, my same routine in my house, first thing I do is go right out the sliding glass door of my bedroom.

5:38 and I built a little shed, a little Home Depot do-it-yourself shed thing, and I just go in there and I pray, and I just went in the shed on a Saturday morning. I'm just there by myself, and I'm going, God, I mean, I'm beside myself. Like, I'm crying. I'm like groaning, going, God, I can't believe I get you all to myself. Like, it is you and me in this room. Like, it's just the best. And my concern is some of you are listening to me right now going, that's weird. I've never done that. And I'm going, well, then what is your faith all about? Like, is it about a person and knowing this person of God and going, this is everything? Because I feel like we were all taught when we came to know Jesus, hey, this is not a religion. It is a relationship. But then everything else we're taught afterwards almost contradicts that.

6:40 And we get into churches that are more about, you know, knowing a bunch of stuff, you know, or not doing a bunch of bad things, or a church that is about doing miracles. These are all great things. But pretty soon we start getting focused on all these other issues, and it distracts us from knowing him. And this book from cover to cover is about knowing this person of God where you're going, God, I could just stay here with you all day. Like, it's just so good knowing you. It is so good being with you. This book is about Adam, right? Could you imagine being the first person looking at the one who just made you? Just try to imagine that. You were just created, and someone looks at you and says, I made you.

7:39 What in the world goes through your mind? Like you're just going, what am I? And then someone in front of you goes, I made you. I breathed life into you. You were made to know me. Can you imagine what would go through your mind, this thing that you realize is called a mind or whatever? It's like, you're my creator and I can walk with you right now? and then he creates Eve, and then the two of them are walking in the garden with the one. I mean, what is that like? He goes, look, I made all of this for you, and so you and your wife, you're walking in this garden with the one who made you, like nothing can get to you. He's there to protect you, to love you, to have fellowship with you. Man, is there anything, anything in you screaming going, I am so jealous of that. I wish I was there. I wish that was me. What would that feel like to walk with the creator? See, that's what this book is about. And then that's why it was so fascinating when you have people like Abraham, who was called a friend of him.

8:59 A friend of God. Then you have Moses that would go on the mountaintop and actually be with him? Everyone's like, no way. You're going to go up that mountain. You'll die. No man can go into that type of presence. And then Moses, he's like, you know, and God says, look, I'll give you the promised land. I'll give you this amazing land. You know, I'm not going to go because I might kill you and all your people because they're really bothering me right now, you know. And Moses says, no, no, no, no. Don't you go sending me. I don't care. I don't care about some land flowing with milk and honey. If you don't come with me, I don't want to go because it's your presence that I want. I want you as a person, God. I want you there. I've got to have you there.

9:47 This book is about David who uses this language that's like an addict where he's like, you know what? Some of you were addicts. Some of you guys have parents who are addicts. Some of you have friends who are addicts where their mind almost doesn't, it doesn't make sense, where they're willing to lose their family because they want this drug so badly. And you're going, how can you give everything up for this one thing? But right then, it's just this addiction that overcomes them, and they give everything up. I mean, that's the language I see in David when he's going, I'm in a dry and weary land where there's no water and yet my soul thirsts for you I just want you I know I'm starving to death I'm dehydrated I'm about to pass out but I want you like some of these addicts want this drug it's that type of language it's just the one thing the one thing maybe you give me anything on the earth it's just the one thing I ask he says I just want to dwell in your house all the days of my life. Every day I just want that time with just you. That's it. If I can have one thing, I got to have that.

11:01 then you get in the New Testament, and you've got people like Paul who's saying, look, for me, to live is Christ, and to die would be awesome, because that just means I get more Jesus. I'll actually see him. It's this obsession, and somehow in church, we've turned it into something else, and suddenly we're not producing people who are lovers of Jesus. We have people that will fight for different causes, and that's a good thing. But at the end of the day, Jesus says, look, there's only one thing that is necessary. There's only one thing that's necessary.

11:48 He says, look, the greatest commandment, the greatest is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength. Like, that's the greatest commandment. It's the one thing that's necessary. It's the one thing that David's after, and my concern is that it could be the one thing that's missing here.

12:09 That you can become these brilliant activists doing all sorts of things, but at the end of the day, it says in Matthew 7, there's going to be people who will say, Lord, didn't I do this? Didn't I do this? And it says, God will say, depart from me. I never knew you. Like, who are you? man do you know him are you enjoying him because i am telling you satan will do everything he can to distract you everything he can to get you busy with good things so you neglect the most important he'll get you in all sorts of traps because he doesn't want us to have fellowship with god In Psalm 73, I was thinking about this passage when I was sitting there. The psalmist says, truly, God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

13:09 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped. Why? Because I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. He goes, I know God's good. Man, I know God. I love him. I've had these times. But he goes, I almost blew it. I almost blew it. I almost threw my whole life away. Man, because I looked at someone else. I looked at their life. I started to envy something that was wicked.

13:48 This is going to happen in your life. You guys, this happened to me Monday night. Satan got the best of me. Just this Monday night. And you've got to understand, this has been the best year of my life. This has been the best year of my life. I'm having so many mornings like this, everything else. I turned 50 about, I don't know, a couple months ago. And I told my friends, I'm like, I don't want to party. I know I'm 50. I don't want to party. if you can do one thing for me, would you fast and pray on that day? Okay, just out of your friendship for me, would you fast and pray for me? And pray for this, for this next season of my life, four things. One, I want to know him. I want to know him like better than I've ever known him. I just, if there's more to experience, to feel, to sense his presence, I've just got to get so close to him. Two, make it, just ask God to the point where I'm disgusted with sin.

14:46 Because sometimes sin still is glamorous to me, and I don't want that. Get it out of my life. I want to be so pure. Three, I want to be bold. I don't want to come to a place like this and go, oh, I hope they like me after. Like, just to have none of that. And go, if you hate me, great. As long as you love me, and you love what I said. That's what I want to be. Give me that type of boldness. And then four, I just want to hear his voice and know where he's directing me, what he's calling me to do. So I've had my church fasting and praying for me that night on my 50th birthday. And they came together at night, laid hands on me, just prayed those things. Then they gave me a calendar. The present was a calendar for the rest of the year. And so every day there's a name on that calendar of a different person in the church that's fasting and praying for me that day. So like right now, someone's fasting and praying for me back home.

15:41 And it's like, dude, that was the greatest gift ever. And so I just feel like, man, I am on fire. And yet, Monday night, my mind was out of control. I almost slipped. My prayer shed. Okay, let me back up. Okay, when I moved into the city, I bought this house because there was this cool deck in the backyard going from the second story just out. And I thought, oh, that's where I'm going to spend my time with God. But it was all rotted out. And so I thought, man, I got to tear this thing down because I don't want any of the kids stepping on it. They could fall through. They could die. You know, so I tear it down to build another one. And the city inspector calls or comes to the door and says, I see you knocked down the deck.

16:33 And I go, man, that thing was dangerous. I got to put a, I'm putting a new one up. Some friends are coming over. And he says, well, you don't have a permit for that. I go, well, there used to be a deck here. And he goes, well, there's no proof of that now. I go, there's a sliding glass door that walks off the edge that, and he goes, well, you shouldn't have torn it down. You can't do it now. I'm like, what do you mean I can't do it? He goes, well, there's a new rule. And I'm like, you've got to be kidding me. I bought this house for this deck. He goes, well, you shouldn't have torn it down yet. You should have called me first. And I'm like, okay, sorry. What do you want? And he's like, you can't do it.

17:11 So, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Whatever. I mean, that's thousands of dollars. I mean, this is why I bought the house. And... And so, okay, then I build a little closet in my garage. And so I go in my garage. I used to go in my garage in the mornings and just get my time alone. I've got seven kids and other people living in this little house. And so I want quiet. And so I'm in the garage. Well, one day the inspector comes by when the garage door is open. You're not allowed to have a closet in the garage.

17:47 I got to tear it down. I'm like, you seriously, what are you doing? You wait till my garage door opens and go, there's a closet there. Like, what in the world? You do this to everyone? So then I look up, what are the regulations for a shed? You know, what is legal in my city? 10 by 12. I build one exactly 10 by 12. City inspector calls.

18:14 You can't have a shed. I go, it says in the rules I can have a shed. I just need a place to pray, dang it. And he goes, well, any other street in Daly City, you can have a shed, but not on your street because it's on the coast. And so Monday, I'm losing it. And I'm on my computer in my bed. I'm Googling, do I have to allow the inspector in? Okay? And I'm reading this whole thing and saying, no, you don't have to. He needs a search warrant or whatever else. Then, but in my mind, I'm just thinking about all these scenarios. And I'm so embarrassed to admit this. I typed in, what happens if I hit a city inspector? No, because I'm thinking, like, I'm going to hit this guy. I mean, I'm so angry.

19:13 And I'm thinking, I'm picturing myself, like, just following him down the stairs and just like pretending like I fall and just cracking his head against the wall. I'm envisioning this. And then I think, no, no, no, no, outside, because it's concrete, I'll just slip on the top step, fall on him, and I'll just accidentally cram his head. And this is what I'm thinking. And I'm thinking he'll get up and take a swing and then it's self defense and I'm going to destroy this guy. And this is what's going on in my head. I literally have it typed on my computer what happens if I hit a city building inspector. But then this is how evil I am. I was about to hit enter then I thought no but if I hit him and they find this on my computer they'll know. So I didn't hit enter. So I don't know what happens. But like, okay, this is Francis who had such a great quiet time.

20:08 And it's like, it is insane how he gets in your head. And suddenly I'm fantasizing about just pummeling this city inspector. And I'm going, what just happened? And what is going on in this stupid head of mine? Man, and I just immediately like texted one of my friends who was a contractor. I'm like, dude, just would you handle this for me, please? I just need help. I'm fantasizing about murder. You know, like, this is out of control. And I say that because it's like, it's amazing how Satan will try to get in there. And some of you guys know exactly what I'm talking about. And you let these thoughts get out. And you're like, what is going on in this head? And that's why I had to say that publicly. So now I can't do it because they'll show the video. hey, he premeditated and, you know. But it's insane, this world we live in. That's why he goes, gosh, I see this and it just seems so appealing for that moment. He goes, and I almost slipped because I'm looking at other people to get away with this stuff. But then at the end, he says, but then I entered into the sanctuary of God. He goes, when I tried to understand this, It was wearisome, but then I went into the sanctuary of God, and I discerned their end.

21:35 He goes, man, I almost blew it, but then I got back in the presence of God. I got back into heaven, and I thought, oh, this is so not worth it. The punishment, everything, it's so not worth it. And he goes on, and he starts saying, you know, you set them in slippery places. You make them fall to ruin, how they're destroyed in a moment. He goes, I was brutish. I was ignorant. I was a beast towards you. He goes, nevertheless, I'm continually with you. You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel. Afterwards, you'll receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish. You put an end to everyone who's unfaithful to you.

22:30 But for me, it's good to be near God. I've made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. He just calms down again and goes, oh God, I almost blew it. You know what? What do I want in heaven but you? There's nothing on earth I desire besides you. He goes, God, I'm sorry. I was envious. I almost fell. Man, I knew you were good, but I almost blew it, and I'm back in that right place again. Or I go, oh yeah, there's nothing I want. It's just enough to be with you. As my question is, is that enough for you? Are you enjoying these times with Him? Because my concern is, I feel like we've created a generation that's so dependent on all this other stuff in order to worship?

23:28 Like if Hillsong United was here tonight, and John Piper or whoever you're into, T.D. Jakes, whatever, is gonna be here. Like this place would be packed, but what if someone says, we're just gonna come in there and we're just gonna pray. And then Terry's gonna come up and he's gonna read two chapters from the Bible, like God's actual words, and we're all just going to tremble at it. Then we're going to take a piece of bread, and we're going to take a cup, and we're going to drink of it, and remember his son that was tortured, and it's going to be awesome. Like how many people would show up to a house just to hear the scriptures read? How many people wake up in the morning just to be in the presence of God and go, no way, no way, no way? And at what point does it become evil when we need all these other things. Like this Sunday, I had my 13-year-old daughter with me, and I'm like, honey, if I said, hey, we're gonna have a party for you, and I'll make a cake, and that's it, how many of your friends would show up to bring you presents? She goes, maybe two. And I go, well, what if I rented out Dave and Buster's, and I said, you know what, unlimited video games, food, how many would show up? She goes, probably my whole school. And I go, and how stupid would it be if I looked at you on that day at Dave and Buster's and go, see, look at all the friends you have.

24:53 I said, you know what, honey, if you were just in a room with nothing but you, I would find you and celebrate your birthday with you, and I would bring you a gift because you're worth it to me because I want you. I actually want those parties where it's just you and your real friends, and we really get into it. I don't want to make the big fiasco that draws all of these people and they go, wow, look at all these worshipers you have. Man, it's time for your generation. I know some of you know what I'm talking about. I'm praying that you start something new where people are in awe of this book again. It doesn't matter who reads from it. Where people actually don't walk away from services like this and go, oh, I didn't really like the worship today.

25:42 Man, isn't that crazy? That's like a normal sentence, walking out of a church service. I didn't really like worship. did you ever even think that it wasn't for you? Seriously, do you think those angels in heaven, there's four living creatures right now that are looking at God going, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. It says day and night, they never cease saying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. I doubt there's ever a day where one of them goes, worship wasn't that good today. I didn't really like it. You know, I'm serious.

26:37 You guys, how screwed up are our minds from this type of thinking where we've got to get back to just the simple book, the simple communion where we flock in our dorm rooms and in homes everywhere, and we're just excited to be with brothers and sisters coming in the presence of God and going, no way, we get to speak to him? Are you kidding? We get to speak to him? No way. Someone's going to read from the book, and we're just going to tremble at his book? Wait, we're going to just break a piece of bread? man and remember his son that was tortured for me this is going to be insane what we're just going to say holy holy holy is the lord god almighty who was and is to come and we're just going to say it over and over and over again to him i want to be there i want to be there i actually don't want dave and busters i actually don't want all the other stuff because maybe less is more than that there would be a generation i'm praying that it be you of people that just can't wait to wake up in the morning and be alone with him and go oh God, it's enough just to have you.

27:43 And then we create these new gatherings where it's enough, just the word of God, just communion, and my time is over. I told Terry, I want to be here all day. I have so much to say. God, I just pray that you take what was said, burn it in their hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, amen.