#167 Living Vertically (3 - Transforming Our Horizontal Lives)

If you've got a neighbor you don't love, if you've got a city you don't love, if you've got people in another political party that you just despise, it's probably because we are not setting the Lord continually before our face. Music. Welcome to the One Cry Podcast, a nationwide call for spiritual awakening. The goal, accelerating the movement of God through sharing revival truth, stories, and reports.

Hey, well, welcome to the OneCry podcast. I'm Kyle Reno. I'm with my co-host, partner in crime, longtime friend in the faith, Bill Eliff. You doing all right over there, buddy? I'm here, man. I'm here and good to be with you, Kyle. Wow. That's awesome. Well, listen, I just want to say to our listener, we are honored that you'd give us time.

I mean, this started in Bill's heart and the One Cry ministry, and to give us a few minutes to really, Lord willing, help you in your personal walk with God, to be a person that wants to know the ways of God, how to walk with Him intimately, but also, man, to be a people that But pray that one cries about teaching, that God has a heart to hear our cry, to believe on behalf of the next great move of God. So we hope that helps you. I hope you let others know about it.

And man, we've been two weeks, Bill, in a series on living vertically. Yeah, it's rich, man. I mean, we listen. Y'all think that we get fired up on here when you're listening. You should hear the before and after. There's a sermon series coming to a church near you. So it's fun. But we know now that in light of God's word, that if we would learn to be a people that live vertically. It changes everything about our horizontal lives.

But there's a war for that. There's a war to keep that perspective. And, man, I know, Bill, you're going to land us practical because we've been looking at, if we look up, here's attributes, nature, character of God. Remember who he is. But how do we learn to do that in everyday ways?

You know, have you ever watched on the Weather Channel during some guys out, you know, in the middle of a hurricane and he's standing there trying to stand upright and he just keeps getting blown by the wind, you know. And I saw a guy one time just get completely blown over. It wasn't so scary. It would have been laughable, you know. But the problem is we live in a world that's pushing us.

And the world and the flesh and the devil are formidable enemies to keep us from looking at God, to keep us from living vertically instead of just living this way. And we know we're not saying that we don't live this way. We do live this way. We live with people. But you can't live rightly this way horizontally until you live rightly vertically. And we need to set our minds there, set our hearts there, and see God and just live in his presence.

And as you've been talking about this the last couple of weeks, Kyle, I keep being drawn to Psalm 16. I've been studying it for really several months and just kind of meditating on this glorious chapter. Now, this chapter is written by a man who we love so much because he lived vertically. And the one time that we see him taking his eyes off the father and living horizontally was so disastrous. And it was disastrous in light of the fact that he'd lived a very vertical life

for many, many years. That man, of course, was David. And we have the Psalms that I don't know if there's any book of the Bible that's more precious to more people than the Psalms. And it's because they're written by a man who lived vertically all the time, who looked vertically all the time. And the epitome of that is here in Psalm 16.

And let me just point us in. And Kyle, I want us to just talk about this a little bit and then pray with our listeners. First of all, he says in verse one, and we've got two different versions of the scripture here. I have like the right one and he has the standard. That's for another podcast. Yeah, that's right. We have a whole podcast, a whole series on that. But verse one, he says, preserve me, O God, I take refuge in you. I don't take refuge in a thing, in a plan.

I take refuge in you. And I love this. I said to the Lord, you are my Lord. I have no good besides you. I just love that, Kyle. I mean, he just right from the beginning, he just says, Lord, you're it. And I don't have anywhere else to go. Oh, I don't have anywhere else I want to go. I don't have anywhere else I need to go. I want to go vertical.

I have no good besides you. And then he says this, the next couple of verses, he says, as for the saints, and he talks about those who are living vertically, those who know the Lord and walk with him, who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.

And the sorrows of those who bartered for another God, all the other people out here who are living for the gods of power, pleasure, materialism, and they're bartering, and they're paying their soul for this, and they're giving their life for this. The sorrows of those who bartered for another God will be multiplied. And the psalmist says, David says, I'm not going to pour out their drink offerings of blood, nor will I take their name on my lips. In other words, a guy's got to make a decision.

Where, who is your God? Who's your God? What, where's, where's the God you're going to live for go after? And I just think of right now with all the media going on and I just watch people and they're just bartering their souls. I mean, they're just selling their souls, trying to get something over here, but not David. it. He says, I've come to the point where I realize that I have no other God but you. You are my God. I've settled that. And I have no good besides you. Isn't that beautiful?

And then he goes a little farther and he says, the Lord is the portion of my inheritance. Now, An inheritance in an Israelite's day was everything because they didn't have a lot. And an inheritance was usually what the next generation had to start their life was the inheritance that came from their fathers. And it might not have been much. It might have been a little plot of ground. It may have been a herd of sheep. uh but he says uh that the lord is a portion of my narratives i get the lord.

And and you are my cup of blessing and you support my lot and and these lines of the inheritance think of a portion of ground have fallen to me in pleasant places it's just so pleasant. My heritage is beautiful to me. So I'll bless the Lord. I'll just bless the Lord who has counseled me. And, and then here's where I wanted us to land Kyle. Yeah. He says, indeed, my mind now instructs me in the night. Yeah. I have set the Lord continually before me.

And because he is at my right hand, I'll not be shaken. And my heart is glad and my glory, which means my whole being just rejoices. And my flesh will also dwell securely. Now, there's more that he says there. But, Kyle, we've been talking about how to live vertically. You know, it's so critical. And when you do, you start seeing God as creator, as the lover of your soul, as, you know, all these things that you, we talked about. But that doesn't happen overnight.

In fact, not only does it not happen overnight, there's this wind of the world and the flesh and the devil that's pushing us horizontal all the time. And uh everybody around us is bartering for other gods and there has to be a deliberate choice doesn't there yeah for us to live vertically i'm looking at several of these passages of scripture and these declarations that david makes you know about he says i love that he said i say to the Lord. It's that you are my Lord.

I'm coming vertically for you and I'm saying, you're it. You're all I got. You're all I want. I have made some declarations, some decisions here. You're my portion. You're my inheritance. You're my future. I'm not looking for another portion. I'm not. I'm not trading. trading, that which is eternal for these things that are temporal. And it's interesting, Bill, it makes me think, like, he wrote this down.

Like, he wrote this inspired by the Holy Spirit, obviously. David's making this declaration about who God is to him. And it's not just a one-time thing. It's this moment, but it's continual. You know, it's continual that I have decided that my whole future is tied up to being that my God is ultimately king. And I have set the Lord before me like he's I'm living. I'm living all my life.

It's almost like Joshua, you know, that great final sermon saying, you know, you can choose the gods on the other side of the river, but that's for me in my house. I will choose the Lord. I mean, he's the Lord. He's my portion. I got nothing else. But with him, I've got everything. I've got everything. So, you know, it's interesting as you're talking about that, I think there is a choice against and a choice towards.

So I've been thinking about this matter of a presence-centered life and how do you live 24-7 in the presence of God. That doesn't happen by accident. and you have to learn to abide in the Lord. You have to learn how to resist distractions. So your buddies are all going this way. The world is going this way. You know, you think, well, man, what would give me really joy is just binge out all night on something here.

And no, that's not my God. That's not what will give me good so you have to resist that i will not i will not choose. The gods the the sorrows of those who have bartered for other gods their sorrows just multiply right so child talk about this with me for a minute yeah he says i have set and that That word set, I studied that a little bit in the Hebrew. It is a determined, deliberate, here I stand, there is no other decision. I have set the Lord.

Now look at this word and let's talk about it for a minute. Because I think it's the key, continually before me. I have set the Lord continually before me. If you're listening to this podcast, say this out loud where you are with me, unless you're like in class and you're listening, you could be listening to a teacher. I have set the Lord continually before me. What a great verse. So what does it mean, Kyle, when he says.

Practically. Yeah. Continually. How do we set the Lord continually before us? In my mind, David shows us two moves in this passage of Scripture. It's away from that which is normative, like to be consumed with the things of this world, and toward the Lord.

Like it it's this constant decision that i mean the pull of this the in the honestly the moment that that the only moment we see in scripture or one of i should say but the predominant where david's not david is when he doesn't do that you know so when david doesn't turn from a distraction a temptation of just a gravitational pull toward living horizontally you know so he he He forsakes that and then reestablishes his.

He makes the decision. I'm going to gaze upon the Lord. I'm going to spend time with God. I'm going to meditate on his law.

I'm going to rejoice. I can't wait to lead people into procession into the house of God. You know, it's this constant two moves you're seeing away from and toward him. Yeah. Yeah. And on the and on the towards side. Yeah. So I've been thinking about this a lot for a year. Yeah. What for me, there are multiple choices I have to make to set the Lord continually before me. And we're going to see in a minute the results of that life. But there are multiple choices.

One is a choice for morning and evening prayer. Now, some are more, you know, larks and some more owls and I get all that. But there's something about like for me, I'm a morning guy. There's something about. And it took years, honestly. When I was a kid, I was sporadic more than I, you know. And when I had eight kids at home, it was way harder. I had to get up way earlier. But there's something about this is part of the setting the Lord continually before me.

I'm going to get up and meet with the Lord. I'm going to find time to meet with the Lord in an undistracted way because that kind of sets the whole day. We could talk about that a lot. But there's also something about how do you pray without ceasing? How do you set him? When he says continually, that means continually. manually, how do you consciously choose and think about him throughout the day? What have you found helpful in that way?

Man, I'm interestingly just living right where you're at in my mind and heart. So I think you got to have anchor points like that in life and day. So that morning and evening, you know, like I have some practical rhythm points that I'm these God, I'm giving you this. And that's not the end. It's just the beginning. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, and I'm concluding here. That's not the end. It's just I'm closing a loop to rightly start another one on the next day. But to...

Bring to mind the presence of the Lord everywhere all the time. As I'm engaging with someone to be willingly weird, I just say, well, let's talk to the Lord about that. I'm anticipating. I learned this from Jet. You love him. You know, David here. Somebody asked me about Jet. I said, what's Jet like? I said, well, I've learned this. You're talking about David Jet. David Jett. Yeah, David Jett. Yeah. Sorry, I should probably clarify that.

They're not an airplane jet, a person. Yeah, right. That's a presence guy. And this is cumulative work of God in his life. Let me tell you what I have learned, that he anticipates God. There's this in him belief throughout the day that God is here, God is near, and he's my father. And so he anticipates the Lord's prayer and engages the Lord on a conversational way personally and with other people.

And if I'm going on a walk or if I'm on a drive between the office and a lunch, that I'm just, I'm thinking about him. You know, I'm conversing and listening and that my mind's set. My mind could go a million ways, but I'm going to choose to in this next moment to set my mind on him. And I might zone out for a while, but I'm going to choose to again. Yeah. And, you know, I think this is driven by two or three things. One, it's driven by desperation.

Yeah. I have no, he says in verse two, I have no good besides you. I agree. You know, where can I go? no, you alone have the words of eternal life. So, so I got nothing without him. So I need to come to him constantly for direction, for help, for just encouragement, for consolation. And, uh. And, uh, so, and there's another thing, but I just completely forgot about it, but I can't remember what it was. He really helps my memory. That's the other thing.

Yeah. That desperation. I want to tell you a little story. So a few weeks ago I was in New York and I'm not a fan of New York. You know, I just don't, I don't really like being there. Never have.

And uh so i had this meeting and they told they gave us the wrong address and i came out of my it was eight o'clock i was 7 45 on uh on this morning and i came out on this in brooklyn and you cannot fathom brooklyn at eight o'clock in the morning i mean people mashing around everywhere smells of every description so much marijuana smell, that i got high just walking down the street and i've never been high in my life,

but i mean you know you know what i'm saying and there's and there's guys laying on the and all kind of you know go in the bathroom on your feet if you're not careful i mean it's It's literally like that. So I'm walking this block, two blocks, and I'm trying to find this place. And they gave me the wrong address. And I'm just walking, walking, walking. And I'm just, I don't like it. I want to be home in my recliner. I'm just not, you know, it's just not good.

And finally, I get around and I find a guy who knows the directions. And he said, oh, they gave you the wrong address. Here's how you go. So I start walking again, same path. I'd walk right back. And the Lord, in his kindness, said, hey, Bill. He said, this is your elder brother, Jesus. Do you know that you could have been talking that you just wasted this whole 30 minutes? We could have been talking with each other. Mm hmm. And I thought, oh, my goodness. I just lost 30 minutes.

I could have been talking with a king. And so now listen to this. I just started talking to Jesus. Lord, what are you? Good morning. And what's your assignment today? And Kyle, if I'm lying, I'm not. This is not an exaggeration. In five minutes, I suddenly loved New York. Wow. It was the weirdest thing. I mean, it was like just downloaded into my soul. I started looking at these people, and I thought about the great church that was there, Brooklyn Tabernacle, and how they loved those people,

and how lives have been transformed. form. I think I'll love New York the rest of my life. You know why that happened? I went vertical. And I got close to the heart of my elder brother, Jesus. And he loves New York.

He just loves New York. If you got a neighbor you don't love, if you got a city you don't love, if you got people in another political party that you just despise, it's probably because we are not setting the Lord continually before our face. And there's something to me about the exercise, learning how to take every gap moment and turn to the Lord in prayer. This is how we do this. I'll tell you another quick story, and then maybe we'll pray together.

But Kyle, we have a missionary couple in our church that oversees our global engaged ministry, and they're incredible. They're missionaries in Vietnam for a long time. And when I was talking about this one day, she came to me later and she said, Bill, I've hesitated, but I need to tell you something. I think the Lord wants me to tell you. And I said, well, you know, fire away. She said, look, years ago, I was on the mission field.

I was raising my kids. I was trying to learn the language, the Vietnamese language. It was so hard. And she said, I was kind of miserable, honestly. And I was doing a homeschool with my kids. And we were memorizing scripture. But it was just, you know, I was just kind of pushing as much scripture as I could into them. And I wasn't doing real well. And she said, a salty old veteran missionary came to me and said one question. She said, how are you practicing the presence of God?

And she said, I just had never thought about it like that. Well, I just, she got so desperate. She asked the Lord and she said, Lord, how can I practice your presence? And he said, you see this, this verse that you were teaching your children. He said, I want you to memorize the first line of that. And, and she's a very busy person, you know, and an overachiever. And she said, oh, Lord, I'll memorize the whole chapter. No, just the first. I don't want you to memorize the second line.

I want you to memorize the first line. And all day long, I want you to meditate on that first line. She said, I meditated on that first line for two months. Wow. And it was like all day long, I just kept thinking about this one line and the richness of it. And I just chewed it up and chewed it up, and it got down in my soul. And one day, the Lord brought by a little Vietnamese lady and said, that's for her. And she said, I gave it to her. And the Lord said, okay, let's go to the second line.

And she said, Bill, for 20 years. I have set the Lord, is what she's saying, continually before me by meditating and memorizing Scripture and praying it through. Wow. Beautiful. Amen. Well, imagine what would change in our lives today, I'd say to our listeners, if we would learn how to continually set the Lord before. Set the Lord. Yeah. The invitation has been sent out. Yeah. The Lord has invited all of humanity to come and dine with him.

You know, through the finished work of Christ, the door is open. The table is set.

The question is, will we come? Will we come in the everyday way? So let's do this. If you would, wherever you are, our listeners, would you just start to engage the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength right there? I'm going to pray for us, and Bill's going to close us in a second. But why don't you ask him the practical applications of this truth to show you how to start setting your mind, your heart, your schedule, your rhythms before the Lord.

Father, I'm going to ask in a new way. Lord, I know that these truths are resonating with me to just to give you my thoughts. Lord, so I pray for us as a people, Lord, that you'd have a people whose minds are continually stayed on you, that you're our lot, you're our portion, that that would be measurable in our rhythms, in our schedules, in our anchor points of our day, to the moving, flowing, ebbing parts of our life that you...

Would allow us to dine with you, to be with you, to be loved by you, and that you would find willing participants. I pray that for your glory's sake. Lord, I pray that what you're saying to us in these podcasts and even today would go beyond a head nod, a mind agreement, to a repentance. And Lord, repentance is not, we know, a bad thing. It's saying, oh, oh yes, Lord, and adjusting our life, coming into agreement with what God thinks.

And Lord, so for us to say, Lord, oh, Lord, I have bartered for this world's gods, and my sorrows are multiplying. And Lord, I come and I want to set the Lord before me continually because I have no good besides thee. That's right. And apart from you, I have nothing on this earth.

And I pray, Father, that you would show us the practical ways to continually turn upward, continually look to you and continually fix our mind on the things of where Christ is continually, Lord, to pray without ceasing. So show us practically. Thank you for this wonderful missionary who you showed her practically how to set her mind continually on the Lord. And I pray, Father, that you would take us there too.

And I pray that we'd hear the great results. It may not be till heaven, but we hear the great results of many people who've done that, Lord, and what happened. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, again, to our listeners, so honored for your time, and I just pray that these weeks will help you, have help to you. Maybe you missed one, you go back. How to live vertically and knowing that'll impact not just you, but others, your church as well.

So if it's been an encouragement to you, it was never intended to stop with you, let it spread through you to somebody else, send a link, let somebody know. And hey, if this has been an encouragement. We like to be encouraged. So maybe let us know, respond to it. And we're just honored to be a part of the journey and look forward. Music.