Matt:
Amen. It has been a great week this week, and you just got to experience just a little bit of all that the Lord was able to do this week and this morning, I have invited Josie Rudd, our children's ministry director to come with me because if anybody knows what happened this week, it is Josie, one of the Masterminds of the week, and her and her team, along with all of the volunteers this week has made a great, great week happen. And Josie, I think everybody here gets a little bit of a taste of the bigness of this week, but give us just some stats, give us a little bit of, um, clarity on exactly how big was this week and what did the building feel like.

Josie:
Yeah. Well, this was the largest week of VBS Burnt Hickory has ever had. Um, I was watching the registrations come in and they were increasing by about a hundred kids every three days. So got the kids staff together and said, Hey, we're probably gonna need to open some more classrooms, so let's find some more teachers to help us out. And I think I told you last week when I did announcements, I, we were sitting right around 1400 kids, uh, on our registration. But on Monday morning when we walked in the door, there were 1400 kids that actually showed up on that day. Um, we had 461 volunteers. God met the need that we had. And so on campus we had about 1800 people here. Yeah.

Matt:
Every day. Uh, it was good. Awesome. You know, one of the coolest things that, that, um, I gotta see one day is actually I, I had to get outta here for a lunch appointment and on ways we actually caused a red line going both directions out of this building. Uh, and I thought that was a cool milestone. Uh, probably not for the people in traffic, but for everyone else I thought it was, uh, kind of cool. Now, Josie, a a lot of really, really neat things happen, but what everyone really wants to know is who won the Penny Wars, uh, this week? 'cause we had to, we had to kind of squelch it a little bit. The competition got a little hot. Uh, the boys cried, I heard. Um, and so, you know, we can't have the crying boys, so parents, it's on you to tell them who won, if you wish. Josie, how'd it go?

Josie:
Well, the boys rallied, but the girls still pulled it out, but they, but within $15, but we raised over $3,000 to help with our afterschool club program, so pretty exciting.

Matt:
Okay. Now, yeah, that's good. That's good. That's good. Not the Crying Boys is not good, but that was good raising the money, Josie. Um, now obviously there was a ton of energy in the house all week. I mean, there was trains of kids going every direction. It was like the airport, um, around here and, and it was just orderly, which I'm amazed. 'cause I mean, if, I mean, it was, y'all did a great job on that. Um, why, I mean, like, give us the why behind why Recruit 460 something volunteers. Why lock down the building? Why have the parking people, I mean, why do this for five days?

Josie:
Well, because VBS is more than just a, a week of mourning. It is each individual child and then the way that child can then speak into the life of their family and then out into the community. I mean, it's, it's the kids running through the halls singing the truths that they've learned. God sees me, God cares about me. Um, it's the conversations that we have and the relationships that we're able to build. It's the high fives and the fist bumps that let the child know we love you and this is a safe place for you. Um, I had a conversation on Friday with a little boy who had a million questions about God, but no one at home to answer them. And so as we were talking, he shared that he had lost someone in his life who was important to him, and we were able to talk about the hope that knowing Jesus brings. And so that was one of hundreds of conversations that went on around the building, and that is why we do VBS.

Matt:
So Thursday morning, just to paint a little picture for you, um, this, and this is Josie's words. There was a sea of kids, uh, a sea of kids in this room. And Thursday morning is kind of the big gospel presentation. And you saw a little bit of that, a little bit in the video of that. Um, I gotta sneak in the back and just watch Josie present the gospel that morning to these kids. Josie, tell us kind of what it felt like in the room right there and then what the Lord did that day and, and through the week with kids.

Josie:
Yeah. The, the room was silent and you could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. And you know, it's a, it's a weighty thing when you are, when eternity stands in the balance. And so, um, I extend the opportunity, you know, raise your hand and make a fist. And if there has never been a time when you have asked Jesus to be your Savior, um, would you flash your hand at me and you can see all these little hands flashing, and then, and then we send them to their teachers. And so you just, I, I moved to the side and I stand there in prayer, you know, over each, each Salvation Dec decision. And, and we had 70 children that give their life to Christ this week.

Matt:
Come on. So, so cool. Josie, give us a little testimony. Um, you kind of gave us one of a kid that, that was here and, and found some, some incredible advice, but give us a testimony of, of maybe even a volunteer this week that the Lord not only used them, but met them right where they were.

Josie:
Yeah, I I, on the day that we presented the gospel and extended the invitation to receive Christ, I, I talked to one of our teachers in the hallway and she said, you know, uh, oh, I won't share her story, but she has been through just a really difficult year and she's really had to depend on the Lord. Um, and so she was alone with the Lord one morning in just a particularly difficult morning full of pain. And so she, um, she said, the Lord gave her a verse and said, even though you are in the middle of this raw and real journey, um, I want you to continue in your ministry. And so she signed up to come and be a teacher at VBS, and she connects with the kids in this really authentic and genuine way. And in her classroom, 11 children prayed to receive Christ last week just in her classroom alone.

Speaker 3:
Yeah.

Josie:
So we're talking about, uh, the bigness of God and the smallest of things, things magnified was our, was our theme. And so the bigness of God to minister in someone and then out through them, well, that's just pretty incredible, isn't it?

Matt:
<laugh> man. So the theme this year magnify hit really, really strongly, um, and the music you just heard, which by the way, I saw some of you doing the motions, uh, you know, the words, uh, once you hear it, you can't get it out right. Um, the theme hit really strongly this year, but it also hit in a particular reason for really where kids are right now. Um, joie, tell us just a little bit about the, the state of where kids are and why this week was so important to them.

Josie:
Yeah. Kids are struggling, um, and parents are struggling. Parents are facing some really unprecedented, um, issues. Things that we've never seen in generations before. Uh, increase in smart technology in algorithms and, and artificial intelligence. And then the world is so hostile and divisive, and so parents are feeling the weight of that and they've got their own anxieties and struggles. Um, but a recent study of 14,000 US children, a representative study, um, showed that nearly 40% of those kids had not formed strong attachment bonds to their parents. And the significance of that is that these kids do not feel secure. And so we see that coming out in their behaviors. Um, they, if you've looked at the mental health crisis, um, in children, it just continues to escalate. Uh, children are feeling anxiety and depression and suicidal ideation, and then, and some children are following through on that.
And so there's a real need for God there. And so the kids are coming and they don't have a foundational understanding of authority. They are their own authority. And so there's, there's a lack of respect for authority there. There is no absolute truth. And so this week we met them with, you know, God is your authority. He created you. He knows you better than you know yourself. He has planned good for you. That's right. And he loves you and cares about you. And if you will understand his love for you, that is where your security is found.

Matt:
Man, that's strong. And man, I, I just wanna thank you on behalf of all of us, um, for using those moments to pour into those kids. What, what is one kind of message, um, that you would like to give to the church as a whole and as well as just to all the families that brought their kids? You don't get the microphone often, but what would you just wanna say to them for this past week?

Josie:
Well, families, first of all, to you, thank you for bringing your kids, thank you for sharing them with us for the week. We loved getting to know them. And, and I hope that you know that this is a church that loves children and an invests in families and, and we want you to come back. We want you to be able to find your place here at Burnt Hickory and then church family. You know, thank you. Doesn't seem like enough. I was listening, uh, to probably a kid's podcast, and I heard this pastor talk about the story of Jesus and the children, which we taught to the children on Monday. Um, and he said, you know, very often you hear the call come and serve in children's ministry and because it's always a really prevalent need, you hear it all the time and it falls on deaf ears.
He said he was challenged by that because by not stepping up and saying, I will, you know, are we the, are we then not letting the children come to him? Um, but I shared with our volunteers, 460 of 'em at our vol volunteer training rally. You know, you said, I will, I will be the one to lead them to Jesus. And even if you couldn't be here in person, you through your prayers and through your giving. And so I just wanna thank you for being a church that loves and that invests in children. Thank you.

Matt:
Yeah. And Josie, what's one thing that you would like to ask us to pray? Like last week we were just praying for the week, praying for the week. What's one thing now on the backside of the week? Because man, there's some serious responsibility now, um, and 70 kids giving their life to Jesus and us growing them up in the faith. What is one thing that you'd like to ask for us to pray over over children's ministry this week?

Josie:
Yeah, that is the prayer request. You know, 70 children who have started their walk with Jesus, and we wanna walk alongside them and help them to grow in their faith. And then there are the seeds that we're planting and God is continuing to minister even in those hearts and lives. So please pray for open doors and and effectiveness for, for this church to be able to pour in and, and bring those families in and minister to them well and help their kids grow in their faith.

Matt:
Man, that is awesome. Would you guys do me a favor and appreciate Josie, her team and all the volunteers for a great week? Thank you, Josie. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, man. That's good. Oh, man, I could talk about that all day and, uh, and now that Josie's off the stage and can't get to me, I wish we could do this every week, right? Um, I wish that every week could be VBS week. But anyway, well, hey, look, since it's Father's Day, all right, and since we're coming on, on the backside of VBS and since as a church, we're walking in this series called The Summer of Psalms, I want you to do me a favor for a few minutes this morning. I want you to turn with me, the Psalm 1 28, Psalm 128 today. And as you're finding that psalm, what I wanna remind you that the book of songs, or the Book of Psalms is nothing more than ancient Israel's book of songs.
Now, there're songs for a reason because they actually help you remember the spiritual truths that God has given you during their day. When these were written, they, there, there were no digital copies of scripture. Everybody didn't have a Bible in their hand. So each generation taught a song to the next generation so they could connect with God so that they could memorize it, so that they could have their moment of worshiping God. That's what the Psalms are. The Psalms are a collection of songs that connect our hearts with God's heart, God's hearts with our heart, and allows us to bring our emotion to him and walk in his way. Well, well, Psalm 1 28, and by the way, dads, today's gonna step on your toes a little bit, all right? For those of you that aren't dads yet, but one be will be one day, it's gonna give you a little bit of a little bit of a runway or a goal.
And for all of us as believers in Psalm 1 28, it actually does exactly what I talked about, and it points us in a direction to connect our heart with God's heart and our heart with the blessings of what God wants to give us. And in Psalm 1 28, I love this little six verse Psalm because in these verses this week, it's gonna lay out this charge to us of how to walk in God's blessing. But it's also gonna give us some practical indicators of what are the blessings of God. All right? So what I wanna do this week is the same as I've done the last couple weeks. I wanna start with a principle that lays some guardrails for the morning, and then I wanna pull out a couple of truths that can help us walk out this Psalm in our life. So write this down in your notes.
If you got, if you got the app open, here's the, here's the principle for the morning. God has graciously offered us a powerful and a blessed life. But here's the thing, that can only be found in him. All right? And I want you to let that that sin on you for a minute. All right? So leave that up there for a minute, because this is the promise of God, and this is where this Psalm is gonna take us, that God has given us, he's graciously offered to us this powerful, right? Not a meek, not, not a little weak life, but a powerful life and a blessed life. That's what he offers. All of us, is what he wants to give. But it can only be found in Him. All right? But the question is, how do we get it? Okay? It's one thing. You just read that and move on.
How do we get it? Well, here's the good news this morning. That's actually what the Psalm lays out for us this morning, and it gives us such an anti view of the blessing of God that most of culture gives us. You'll see what I'm mean in just a minute. Let me read the psalm over us and then I'll pull apart a couple things for us. It says this, the Psalm says this. First one, blessed are all who fear the Lord and who walk in obedience to him. You will eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house. Your children will be like olive, ch surround your table. Yes, this will be the blessing for the man who fears the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion. May you see prosperity in Jerusalem all the days of your life, and may you live to see your children's children peace be on Israel.
Now, once again, I love this why, because the last three weeks, each of these psalms that I've, they've kind of pulled out for us, have started with this same word. Blessed is the Hebrew word aray. It literally means happy. And it's pointing to the idea that we serve a God that wants to bless us. We serve a God that wants to give us, what does it say, happiness. But this psalm is showing us the how we get it and actually what it is that he wants to give us. But it's also showing us two main things as we work through it. On one end, it's showing us that there are some requirements for God's blessing. But on the other side, it's showing us the practical ways that God blesses. Now, look, when you first read this, just out of a cursory reading or a fast reading, it almost seems like, okay, that's kind of common knowledge.
Why would we need to process through that? But as I thought about it this week, this text actually is incredibly relevant and important to us because it shows us some misconceived notions about God and about the blessings of God. Now, this is not for you, but just for some other friends that misunderstand this, all right? Let me show you why this Psalm is so, so important for us. It's so important because there's this feeling, right? Not here, but other places, right? There's this feeling when the Psalm was written that you can actually live this lifestyle, however you wanna live, doing whatever you wanna do. But then when you need God, you can just pull him off the shelf and plant his blessings in your life. You've, you've probably maybe had a friend that this was there view of God, that saw God as a genie in the bottle, right?
Just live how I want to and when I need him, I'll rub the bottle up and call him out for a blessing. Or maybe God is just this butler in the corner where he just minds his own business until I need him, and I give him the nod and he steps in. Well, this Psalm then and now is showing us that is not how the blessings of God works. It's also showing us that there's this cultural misunderstanding that many people feel that they can just live how they want to live, and then somehow call on God and put him on the hook for doing what I need him to do. And then I'll have the audacity to be mad at him for not doing what I need him to do. You ever kind of felt that in your life a little bit or seen that in somebody's life?
That's what this psalm is, is kind of dealing with a little bit or even even bigger in some of our lives. There's this understanding the Psalm is dealing with of of this misunderstanding of God's blessing. When some people hear the blessings of God, they're thinking the prosperity gospel or that God is gonna make me hit the lotto next week or gimme the millions or whatever. Or I'll never be sick as long as I say my prayers at night, right? But that is not the blessings that God is talking about here. You see, this psalm is actually gonna show us what the blessing of God looks like. And spoiler alert, catch this Dad's many times it starts with the dads inwardly in us, all right? It moves to us as dads providing for our families. It highlights our marriage, it touches our kids. It moves into the community, the city and the nation, and all in all, it even presses into our grandkids.
And here's the thing, I don't think any of us in this room would not want that to happen. So in other words, what I'm gonna press into a little bit is that the blessing of God, yes, it starts in you, but it's never meant to remain in you. It's meant to pass through you. So let's look at it pretty close. What does it take for a man of God? Or what does it take for a family? Or what does it take for any believer, right? To be blessed. It's kind of a two step process. It's a two step process. And the secret sauce is actually in the first verse of this psalm. Let me read it to you again and it'll show you how to be blessed. Watch what it says, verse one. It says this, blessed are all who fear the Lord who walk in obedience to him.
Did you see it? There's two main words here, right? There's two main verbs here, right? There's the word fear, and then there's the word walk. All right? That's the main verbs in the sentence. And here's the thing, church. It's that simple. It's that simple. I'm gonna give 'em to you in just a minute as a one and a two, but I don't want you to pull 'em apart, okay? 'cause they always remain together. All right? So I'm gonna spend a time, if we want to be happy, if we wanna see the blessing of God in our life, the first thing the psalmist says is that we just need to fear the Lord. We need to fear the Lord. Now, does that mean I'm scared of him? Does that mean I run away from him? No, no, no, no. That means I run to him. That's what it literally means.
It doesn't mean that I'm afraid of God. It means that I'm in awe of God. Where it says fear there, you may wanna write the word a WE. I'm in awe of God. Now what does that mean? That means that I put him in such a prominent position of my life, that his shadow is casted over me, that his presence is casted over me, and that he is preeminent. And everything that I do, in everything that I say, that every decision I make is based upon his rightful place in my life. Now, this is the opposite of a casual view of God, right? A casual view of God, of just attending church or maybe saying a prayer at a meal or a God I trust bumper sticker or, or maybe even have that cool bumper sticker that the Darwin bumper deal is being bitten by the fish over here.
Whatever. This is an opposite view of that. This means that by God being at this place of all in my life, that it affects how I think, how I speak, how I walk. CS Lewis says it like this about fearing God. He says, the fear of God rests somewhere in the middle of dreading to let God down and then holding him in the highest esteem. Now, what this means for us and from scripture is that blessings from God come our way when we put him in his rightful place. That's what it means. Why? 'cause to live in the light of God's presence is to invite God's presence into our lives. But it doesn't stop there. 'cause when we live in his presence. The second thing the psalmist says, if we wanna be blessed is to do what? It's the second word I talked about. It's to walk in his way.
It's to walk in his way. Now, don't separate these two things, fear and walk. Now this is logical. Why? Because how do you really know? If you fear God, is it because you said something? Is it because you went somewhere? No. You know, you fear God by where your feet take you. Does that make sense? That's how you know you fear God. In fact, look at verse one again. It says this, blessed are all who fear the Lord who walk in obedience to him. Now, how do you show that you fear the word fear. The fear the Lord, it's easy. You walk in his way, right? How do you know that you're walking in his way? It's easy. You fear the Lord and you take him seriously. Here's the deal. We've tried to separate these things out a whole lot, but one cannot exist without the other.
But we've tried to make them independent, right? It's not just your heart that matters. And it's not just your works that matter. It's the intersection of both of these things in your life that invite God's presence in your life. Why? 'cause I'm putting God in the preeminent spot. And as a result of that, I'm walking him out and showing what he's done in my life. In fact, this is the same thing that James says in James chapter two. The half brother of Jesus says this, James two 14. He says, what good is it? My brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds, can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, go in peace, keep warm and be fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it's not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, you have faith and I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by my deeds. So what's the psalm is saying here? The psalm is saying is that blessings of God result from us fearing God and walking in obedience, fearing God and walking in obedience. You will be blessed with your feet and not just your feelings with your life and not just your lips. The bottom line is it is if you're not moving in your faith, you're not fearing. And if you're not fearing, you are not moving. This is such a clear message, dads, I'm putting it on the bottom shelf for us. 'cause that's where we need it. Yes sir. The idea verse one is, blessed are all who fear the Lord and who walk in obedience to him.
Now look, we could stop right there. Alright? We could stop right there. But if I'm you, what I'm asking is, okay, Matt, I grabbed that. I get that there's my two things Is is to put him where he needs to go and to walk it out. But what will it do? Because that's the, that's my question in everything. Okay, how's that gonna work? What's that gonna mean? Where's that gonna flesh out? Right? That is actually what the rest of the psalm gives us, right? The rest of the psalm gives us some very practical categories that God is waiting to unleash on your family, these blessings. In fact, lemme give 'em to you real quick before we're done. The first blessing that is in this psalm, and that can be in your life for fearing and following, is number one is just a personal blessing. It's a personal blessing that God wants to give you when you fear God and when you walk in obedience.
So dad, mom, kids, listen. You will be blessed personally when you fear and when you follow, you say, Matt, well how? How do you, how do you know that? Well, look at verse two. Watch what it says. It says, you will eat the fruit of your labor, blessings, and prosperity. It says, watch, this will be yours. What is it saying? When you fear and when you follow, you can eat the fruit of your what? Of your labor. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that you're gonna become wealthy and you're gonna become rich the moment you start working. That's not what that means. But what it does mean is that God, the creator of the universe, will begin to fill your heart and give you meaning and fulfillment in your work. And as a result of that, your work will begin to provide for your needs and you will begin to see him move in your life when you're fearing him.
And when you're following, you'll begin to feel the presence of God pressing into you and pressing you into directions. Whether it's your finances, your feelings, whether it's your future, all of these things, God is in those details and he wants to bless you. He wants to walk with you in those things. But it doesn't just stop at a personal blessing. That's where it starts. But it doesn't stop there. It moves from a personal blessing. If you fear and if you walk, it moves from personal to next. Number two, it moves to family. God promises us family blessings when we walk in 'em. So, whoa, Matt, where, where, where are you? You getting that? Well look at verse three. Watch what it says. The psalmist says this about verse three. It says, your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house. Look at your wife right now and say, you are fruitful vine, honey.
Now don't say that. That's just weird, right? That's weird. Don't, don't say it. That's weird. But listen, this, this is really, really cool, really cool. Not usually the language I hear about you talking about your wives, but this is really cool. Why? Because the picture here is of a fruitful vine. A vine. Listen, that especially in an agrarian society that this was being written in, it is, it is a picture of thriving. Listen, dude, when you walk in your faith, what it's saying is your wife is gonna be blessed, they're gonna thrive, they're gonna flourish, they're gonna be fruitful, they're gonna be productive. I mean, all in all, when you think about a vine, all that vines need to be flourishing is they need something to cling to. They need something to give them nutrients, and they need something to hold on so they can produce the fruit in their life.
And that's what this is saying about us. It's saying the sign of a happy marriage is being fruitful and faithful. And when we as the, as the male, as the believer of Jesus, the head of our houses, when we begin to fear and follow, our wives will be filled to the brim. That's what it's saying here. But look, it doesn't stop at just our wives. It moves from our wives to the whole family. Why? Because Satan knows. So goes the family, so goes the world, right? It all starts in the family. Look at verse three. Look at the rest of verse three. It says this about it. It says, your children, see we've moved from wife, now we're to children. Your children will be like olive shoots around your table. What? Olive shoots. I don't want my kids to be olives. I don't even like olives, right? But listen, details matter. Details matter why olive shoots. You know why? Because in ancient Israel, the the olive plant, right? The olive tree is a symbol of stability, a symbol of loyalty and a symbol of investment. Man, they were a basic, and they actually still are a basic sense of the agriculture of the day. And and catch this even, even better poetic language here in the Psalms. Did you know it takes 10 to 15 years for an olive shoot

Speaker 3:
To produce fruit? And what is it saying? If you'll cultivate it, if you'll fear and follow dad, if you'll fear and follow mom, if

Matt:
You'll fear and follow family, that little chute will begin to grow and begin to grow. And after about 15 years, maybe a little bit longer in America, maybe 27 years in America, after about 15 years, right? That thing will begin to produce fruit. And here's the cool part about olive trees. I told you this is such a cool deal in the scriptures. Olive trees will produce once they start producing up to 20 to 30 generations. So you know what the Lord is saying here? It's like, Hey, not only did the blessings of God hit you personally, hits your wife. Secondly, it hits your kids after that up to 20 and 30 generations. In fact, he keeps going in verse six, and watch this. He says this, may you live to see your children's children. In other words, may you live to see the day that those little shoots around your table grow up into trees, and then they have little shoots

Speaker 3:
That you're helping them grow up and bless their lives. You wanna talk about the blessing of God.

Matt:
The blessing of God is when he blesses personally, when he blesses your family. And then thirdly, here's the shortest one, when he moves from personal to family, then thirdly, he moves to community blessings. This is what happens when we fear and follow. This is what happens when we fear and obey. Blessing starts personal, it moves to family, and then it moves out into the community. Watch verse five. It says, may the Lord bless you from Zion. And may you see, watch here it is the prosperity of we've already had the wife. We've already had a personal, we've already had kids, we've already had grandkids. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all

Speaker 3:
The days of your life. What does that mean? That means that as the people of God begin to get blessed, there's a ultimate response in us

Matt:
That we begin to spread the blessings of God to those that are outside this place. That's what we saw this week, right? That's what we saw when we magnified, when God began to press our hearts into these kids, into these families, into this community, it begins to spread. And it doesn't just stop in Jerusalem. It doesn't just stop in West Cobb. It begins to move. He says in the last verse, all the way into Israel, he says All the way out as far as it can. Why? 'cause the person of God began to fear God and began to walk in his ways. Listen, it's that easy. It's that easy. Put God in his place

Speaker 3:
And walk out his ways. It's that easy. You want the blessing of God in your life. You can pray for it all you want to. But the moment you turn in awe to who the Father is in the moment, you begin to walk it out with your feet. You're aligning yourself with the creator of the universe that can pour them on to you, pour them on to your wife, pour them onto your kids, pour them onto your grandkids, pour them onto your community, and you will begin to pour them right back to him. So as we close today, let me ask you a couple questions. Number one, is God in the rightful place for you to stand in your life and say, I'm all yours God. Or are you standing on the throne looking down at God saying, why are you not blessing me? Is God the force that drives your actions? Or do you just invite him to walk in your way? Is God the God of your life or are you.