Speaker(s): Thomas Schaller
Sermon 12332
7:00 PM on 7/6/2022

P. Schaller –

Just before Ryan comes up, we’ll read Ps. 148. Praise ye the Lord. That’s what I felt just now. What do you think.
Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord. Set the Lord before our face. Psalm 148:1-3, I didn’t know they
praise God, the sun and moon. Vs. 4-5. Like all of creation praising God. Us, too. Us too praising
God, appreciating God, worshipping God, praising God.

When Jesus was on the donkey going into Jerusalem, Hosanna, Hosanna to God in the Highest.
That seems normal, but what happened after was also normal. Cursing. Crucify him! Crucify
him! And so on. We have two worlds. Cursing and blessing. We have praise and complaining.
We have the natural life of our humanity and we suffer and then we have faith and we praise.
Vs. 6-8. Have you ever had a stiff wind in your face, maybe a snow storm and you just say,
praise God. That is just awesome. Vs. 9-13. Wow!

This earth is to be filled with his praise. We are the church where it happens. We are the people that have the spirit of praise. We are the ones that understand these things. We are the ones anticipating the coming of Christ, the
kingdom that is coming to this world. We are tasting it tonight. We are living in it in the Spirit.
We are in fellowship with God and we are in love with him. Vs. 14. That’s what I feel tonight.
Praise the Lord! I just feel like saying it all night. Praise God! Thank you, God! Praise you. Thank
you. Thank you, God for your words, your work, your love. Wow. Okay. So, what do you think
about that? That’s true, isn’t it? (Prayer).

Okay. You may be seated. Yes, you may be seated. Turn in your Bibles to Luke 11. How difficult is it to control our tongue? What do you think? Yes, we have our bodies, our feelings, our experiences in life, all kinds and for us to have a secret in our life. Something that is not in the world but something that is actually hidden. Hidden. It’s
called in Revelations 2:17, hidden manna. When you pray in secret, your heavenly Father sees that and
he rewards you. Here in Luke 11:9, prayer.

Ask. Remember Peter was in jail under Herod and the church prayed for him and the angels
came and released him. And he thought he was dreaming when he went through the door, the
outer gate and he realized he had been delivered. Sometimes we don’t even believe what can
happen with God. God answers. God does do great things.

In our staff meeting Tuesday morning, Julius said that Pastor Schaller is going to have to song
lead Wednesday night. So, last night I was troubled by that statement! So, I called him up and
he said, no. Seth Horton is going to do it. I go, oh, good. Good.
Vs. 9. Ask for what? All kinds of things. Big things. Little things. Things from the heart. Things
about people, relationships, money, housing, our spiritual life. Ask. Brandon’s song tonight and
Gary. That was a fantastic song. Thank you. Beautiful. When I am weary, when I am weak, I
have God. I can ask.

Vs. 9. Seek. Many times, we don’t know what to seek for but God can help us and lead us and
put it in our heart to be hungry, to desire, to seek. Like the deer in the forest are looking for
water in Psalm 42, Psalm 63. We are seekers. We are looking for more in life than just what the world
has and what the world advertises. Learn to process the advertising in the world in the opposite
way. Not being pessimistic or negative but enjoying good things but finish the sentence with
the Scripture, with the deep life, a worshipful life, a life where you know that no one will satisfy
me except God even in marriage. Even in a very good marriage. You’re not married so your
partner will satisfy you. You’re married so that you will find God and hopefully find him
together and he satisfies both of you. Then you find yourself enjoying God between each of
you.

Vs. 9. Does it say maybe? No, you shall find. Vs. 9. These are great words for us because we are
hungry and thirsty and we’ve lost something. I’ve lost something and I am seeking. Some
people lose their virginity. Some people lose their integrity. They lose their reputation. We lose
our character. That some people lose the very purpose and meaning of life. They have lost it
and then they do not seek it. They are not looking for it. They don’t know what to look for.
We come and we have a message and it’s above. Proverbs says, “the way of life is above to
escape the hell below.” This life can be hell but we have found the life above. We are seated
there. We have been raised with Christ, seated in heavenly places.

We are empowered with his Spirit. We are anointed by God to fulfill his purpose and to bring praise and thanksgiving out of human beings that have sinful natures. That nature contradicts the very nature of God. When
we are filled with the Spirit, we are satisfied. We are encouraged. We are comforted.
Vs. 10-11. Jesus is comparing God to an earthly father. If an earthly father will give bread
whenever his son needs bread, would he give him a stone? If he asked for a fish, would he give
him a serpent? Vs. 12. Will he hurt his son or make a joke of it or come in short? Will he lack
what his son needs? No. vs. 13. Wow. That’s the part that we love about this teaching. Will he
give us the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit it seems to me is the key to life. Everything about God is
given to us. God himself. The Holy Spirit he has given to us. It sounds like everything is okay in
my father’s house. It sounds like the Holy Spirit is going to teach me these words and put them
in our spirit. We will have them and it will be a secret place, a hiding place, a place in Revelations 2:17
where there is hidden manna. Hidden manna. Hidden food.

I know there are people concerned about their future so they are buying up dehydrated food
and storing it in their cellar. Maybe getting a hiding place for canned goods or whatever. We
know that people are concerned and worried and troubled about the future. And that be as it
is. But there’s another kind of hidden food. And it is this one. That the Father gives the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him. The filling of the Spirit. The guidance, the teaching, the satisfaction,
the hidden manna. You have to have it. You have to have it. if you don’t have hidden manna,
you will be in a bar room. You’ll be in a bar room before the sun goes down.

You’ll be with another woman. You’ll be lying or cheating. You’ll be depressed. You’ll be looking for drugs and
medications if you don’t have a secret place.
But you have. You have a secret place. It’s in Christ. It’s in the church. It’s in faith. It’s a hiding
place. No wonder people are in so much trouble. They have no hiding place. God is our refuge
and our hiding place. We need a hiding place.
I want you to see a couple – turn to Exodus 15. We have the story with Moses here. I say that to
think about it. Yes. Sometimes I used to think I wish I lived in another century or lived in
another place where life was better. It wasn’t ever better. Cain killed his brother first chance he
got, first generation of the human race. It’s never been better.

There was always murder and rape and hatred and racism and unbelief and fear and guilt. It was never better. There was never a better time. It’s always been wicked and evil and it continues to be so.
So, how do we live then? Well, the good news is that in our history as a country there are
enough Christians to bring in when our country was born, there was enough Christians that had
the sense of knowing that we must fear God. To have a successful democratic republic we must
have the fear of God. We must have a moral law written in our hearts and we must have the
fear of God, pure religion, God’s spiritual visitation to his people. We have that in our history.
Now we see that being overturned or ignored or made fun of or lied about. That is the way it is.
Look at Exodus 15 and two verses. Vs. 24. They were thirsty.

The people murmured. What shall we drink? This was a wicked, evil generation that came out of Egypt. Unbelief. Two people out of 600,000 men made it into the Promised Land. They were Joshua and Caleb. Everyone died in
unbelief. Everyone that came out of Egypt. That generation that came out. None of them
entered. Two people. Everybody died in unbelief.

That’s like today. That’s the world we live in, but do you have a secret place? But do you have a
secret in your life? Do you have something in your heart and in your life that is making a
difference for you? Are you a person that has asked God for the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit
and he gave you. He filled you. He satisfied you. Read it with me, vs. 25. There it is. That’s all.
He cried to the Lord. And God had something to show him. He cried to the Lord and God had a
way. He had a solution. God has something there. He cried to the Lord and God had somebody.
God had something. God had a message. He cried to the Lord and God had a Bible verse or God
had a brother or a sister. God had a tree.
God showed him a tree and of course we think of the cross in that regard and he had Moses,
when he cast the trees into the waters the waters were made sweet, Exodus 15:25. So, there it is.
Be careful with your words.

Turn to Leviticus 10 just a few more minutes. Leviticus 10:1, strange fire. It looks like they were drinking
alcohol. We see that later on in vs. 8-9. It may be. That’s what the commentators say. They
were serving as priests, drunk or drinking. This was strange fire so vs. 2. It’s a terrible thing to
lose two sons. Vs. 3. Moses is saying to his brother – in my words – God’s not fooling around.
This is for real. Don’t fool around. Don’t play around with it.

Then it says, “Aaron held his peace.” That’s the part I want you to think about for a minute.
Aaron held his peace. Aaron was, we could say – I’m just making a point – Aaron,
brokenhearted, I lost my two sons. But I don’t have anything to say about it. It’s God. I don’t say
anything about it. He held his peace.

How do you hold your peace when you’re disappointed or hurt? How do you hold your peace
when someone you love is a disappointment or in trouble somehow or however we react? How
do we hold our peace in life? How do we hold our peace when you want to be swearing?
Swearing like a sailor. Cursing. When you are angry with God, how do you hold your peace?
That’s a good question, isn’t it? How do we hold our peace?

We must know the secret place. You have to have a secret place in your life. Because that’s how
you can be different. You’re not swearing and cursing like the people on the streets with hatred
and violence and emptiness and loneliness and depression. You’re not those people. You are
people that have a, you have a – you know what I’m saying. You are people that have the Holy
Spirit of God in you and you are actually able to live a life of praise and thanksgiving.

There’s one more story just because you folks are awesome Bible folks. It’s Ezekiel. Very
unusual. Ezekiel 24:18, Ezekiel was told that his wife would die, and he said don’t cry. Vs. 16. Let’s
slow down here for a second. What did God say to Ezekiel? I’m going to take away the desire of
your eyes. He means his wife. I’m going to take her away in a stroke, yet don’t mourn or weep
neither shall tears run down. You’re not to cry, Ezekiel, when this happens, vs. 17-18. My wife
died and I didn’t cry and I didn’t mourn.

What’s the meaning? The meaning is it’s a picture of how God has Israel and Israel died and
God is not weeping. This is an expression of God. This is an expression by his prophet. What’s
the application for us? I think we mourn and weep. It’s only normal. That’s obvious. That’s Josh.
1 with Moses. We are human beings. We have a lot of feeling and weeping and crying and
being angry and upset and disenchanted and disappointment – all of this is part of life. And we
are not to pretend that it’s not real. But I am saying something in our message tonight. And that
is that I believe we are not like the world. When there’s no water we turn to God.

Nehemiah 2, when Nehemiah was before the king and the king said, why are you sad? And it says
Nehemiah prayed to the Lord how to answer. He prayed to God. You see, work in your heart
and in your life to bring God into every area of your life. Like live a life that is different, a life of praise, a life of thanksgiving, a life of prayer, a life of quietness. If you have some jealousy in
your heart or some problem with some person, learn also to be quiet before God. Ask God. God
can take it away. God can help you. Do I need to talk to everybody about my problems or is
there something else I can do? Maybe I need help. Maybe I need advice but there’s also a lot of
studies now that people that talked and talk about their opinion and their point of view and
everything does not reconcile divided parties. It is not necessarily the answer for your
problems. This is different.

Because we are living a life before our Heavenly Father. And we have a prayer life and when
Jesus was on the earth, we saw and we listened to what he said about it. He said, ask. It will be
given. Seek, and you will find. Knock. It will be opened. My heavenly Father will answer you. So,
that’s a good word. Would you pray with me, please.

The hiding place for you. Do you have one? Do you have a hiding place with God? Can you go to
God with your stuff? Can you go to God? Can you find God? Can you wait on God? Those are
good questions, aren’t they? They encourage us in our faith. He will lead us in a way different
from the world. The world doesn’t have it, and they don’t like it the way we – you be humble
and obedient and you have nothing to say as you are before God. We put our hand on our
mouth. We are before God. They don’t like that but that’s okay. We find God. We find God and
we know who he is and that’s beautiful. So that’s it. Amen.

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