Are You Enjoying God — Harold Vaughan

Now Heavenly Father tonight, we're so thankful we could meet here in your son's name and father in the power of that name. We implore and we plead that you would come among your people God that you would open our eyes that we might behold wondrous things out of your word.

Father, I pray that great grace would be upon us. The great grace would be upon them all like it says in the book of Acts and father that there might be great help. Great encouragement great conviction great cleansing great victory great empowerment as a consequence of this meeting tonight.

Have your way Lord. We give you permission to speak to our hearts and we thank you in advance for what you're going to say in Jesus name. Amen, you may be seated. Are you enjoying God or? Enduring God.

Enjoying God Rather Than Enduring the Christian Life

How many of you are enjoying your Bible study. How many of you are enduring your Bible study? Are you enjoying your prayer life or? Enduring your prayer life, you know, not it not every Christian has been happy all the day ever since he's seen the light.

It makes a great chorus too bad. It doesn't pan out and experience that way every time. Years ago. I got a mailing from the leaders in North America Concerning the National Day of Prayer. I read it with great interest.

I'd never heard of it at that point in time and come to find out that the Leaders were calling all Christians in America to join in on a great National Day of Prayer and on this great Monumentous National Day of Prayer that were inviting all believers to spend at least five minutes in prayer on the National Day of Prayer.

Now when I read that I didn't know whether I ought to laugh or weep. But I thought to myself man alive at five minutes five minutes Constitutes the National Day of Prayer. Then there's a lot of people that name the name of Jesus that are simply not enjoying Fellowship with God.

And my brother and sister when we stop enjoying God we become candidates for revival over four five hundred and fifty references in the Bible to joy and rejoicing. And Revival deals with those things that keep us from enjoying God through the Holy Spirit.

I believe that the God of the Bible is a supremely happy God. For in his presence there is fullness of joy. But brethren, what good is it to dwell in Jerusalem if we never see the face of the king? One man said that God is most glorified in us when we're most satisfied in him.

Duncan Campbell said that revival is an awareness of the presence of God. That revival is simply an awareness of the presence of God of God a consciousness of the personal presence of God. PT Forsythe said we do not pray in order to live the Christian life.

We do not pray in order to live the Christian life, but rather we live the Christian life in order to pray. I want to tell you there's nothing more Defining and more more important about you than your relationship with God in prayer.

St. Gordon said there's more you can do after you pray, but until you do pray. There's nothing more you can do but pray. I Believe the Church of North America is dying on its feet because it's not living on its knees.

Prayer as the Measure of the Church's Spiritual Life

You know, they've been trying to get prayer back in public school now for about three decades. I kind of like to see prayer come back into the Baptist Church wouldn't you? Don't you think it's a stretch to try to get people who don't even believe to observe a moment of silence or Something like that when the fact of the matter is we need a revival of prayer in the house of God.

Leonard Ravenhill said you can tell how popular a church is by the Sunday morning attendance. Tell how popular the church is by the Sunday morning attendance. He said you can tell how popular the guest preacher is by the Sunday evening attendance.

And then he said you can tell how popular God is by the prayer meeting attendance. You ever stop to think that maybe the most unpopular person in the church today is God himself. Andrew Murray said is it not a proof that the Holy Spirit is to a great extent a stranger in the church when prayer is Regarded as a burden or a duty or a task.

All my brethren Wesley said God will do nothing but an answer to prayer, but everything by it. Jesus said my father's house shall be called a house of a house of prayer. Jesus central definition of the church a house of prayer.

Jesus central desire for the church a house of prayer. You know, you all have a very lovely auditorium here. But I just have to say this as lovely as it is. There's nothing sacred about this sanctuary per se.

It's not like God's just hanging around here all the time. God does not live in buildings or ornate edifices. God lives in people man is the dwelling place of God. We've been made a habitation of God by his spirit and if God lives in me and if God lives in you then my father's house.

My father's house a house of prayer. No man is any greater than his prayer life. No man is any greater than his prayer life. No woman is any greater than a prayer life and no church will ever be any greater than his corporate prayer life.

Prayer, the Holy Spirit, and the Early Church

Study the book of Acts you'll find at least 53 References to prayer over just about two references per chapter in the book of Acts. The only way to explain what God did in the early church was prayer and the Holy Spirit of God.

I heard about a lady one time that had a couple of children. They were giving us giving her fits. They were very mischievous all the time getting in trouble. And she did everything to try to straighten them out.

She threatened them disciplined them yelled at them spanked them talked to them. Bribed them and the more she did the worse they got. And she was about at the end of her rope and she was talking to her neighbor confiding in her and begin to tell her about her children and What a nightmare it was and the neighbor woman broke in and said, oh well sister I had the same trouble with my children.

She said I I tried everything to get him straightened out but nothing nothing worked until I Finally took them down and and let my pastor talk to them and she said why since pastors talk to them I've had hardly any trouble at all.

Well, this woman was desperate. So she got the pastor's phone number and called and made an appointment. Maybe he could work a miracle on her two brats so she goes in with her her two children and here they are and fear and trembling and They're guilty of sin and they're meeting with an authority figure and on top of that He represented God which made it all the more intimidating and here they go in and the pastor Introduces himself and says to the mother.

Why don't you just wait out and outside in the in the waiting room? I want to speak to you boys here in private so she goes out and closes the door and Pastor sits down and the boys are sitting there in fear and trembling across the desk from the pastor and the pastor Said to the boys he said I want to ask you a question.

I want you to tell me where is God and They just sit there in stone silence and the pastor spoke up spoke up the second time. He said son. I ask you a question. Now I want you to tell me right now Where is God?

The kids just sit there the little one was crying the old one felt like joining in and they didn't know what to say and the pastor got very abrupt no doubt and Fundamental Baptist pastor and he said the third time he said son.

I've asked you twice now I'm gonna ask you one more time. I want you to tell me right now. Where is God? And by that time the kid jumped up out of his seat Ran out of the waiting room and he screamed out and he said mom mom.

They've lost God around here. Now. They're trying to blame that one on us, too. Now there's no doubt about it these boys had done a lot of things they ought not to have done. But if they lost God down at church, then they were on their own on that one.

But you know I believe that that is the predicament. Precisely the predicament of a lot of the people that named the name of Christ that they have lost the personal Presence of God. You say Harold don't didn't you learn anything in Bible school?

Don't you know that God is everywhere? God is omnipresent. Friend let me just tell you something. God is not everywhere like he was with the glory of God filled the temple and the Tabernacle and the people could not even stand upright because of the overwhelming personal presence of God.

God is not everywhere like he was on the day of Pentecost when 3 ,000 3 ,000 crowded into the kingdom of God and Friend when we lose this sense of the nearness of God when we lose the sense of the smile of God when we lose this.

This this manifest presence of God. I say we become candidates for revival. I Was sitting in Bible college. I think that we had the most unusual Speakers come to our chapel platform. It should go in the Guinness Book of World Records most unusual chapel speakers.

And I'll never forget one one character one day He made a statement that absolutely grabbed my attention when he said it's the most natural thing in the world for a Christian to pray. What do you think about that?

He said it's the most natural thing in the world for a Christian to pray. Man if he's right about this. If it's natural for a Christian to pray then I must not be a Christian because frankly prayer was just about anything.

But natural to me I've learned since then that if you're filled with the Spirit of God, it's natural to pray if you're walking in the flesh. It's absolutely abnormal to pray and I want you to turn in your Bible to Revelation chapter 3 to what Alexander white described as the Most important verse in the whole Bible on the subject of prayer.

Christ at the Door of the Laodicean Church

Revelation chapter 3 and Verse 20 we find Christ outside the door at the Church of Laodicea. And not even got a century out and here we find the Lord outside the door at the church at Laodicea. Revelation chapter 3 in verse 20 the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking.

Read out loud with me tonight if you would just verse 20 I'm reading from the King James Version Revelation chapter 3 verse 20. Let's read aloud together, please. Behold, I stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me now notice what he said.

He said I stand at the door. And knock. It's interesting. He always takes the initiative and he says I stand at the door and knock and then he said if any man Hear my voice in John 10. He said all my sheep hear my voice.

All my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. Do you ever hear his voice? Does he ever speak to you? All my sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. He said if any man hear my voice and Open the door.

Now Jesus doesn't come barging in uninvited and I want to tell you the Holy Spirit of God can be easily offended. You know what? Really the essence of revival is the essence of revival is that when the time between Sin and repentance grows to where it's just about one in the same to where we become very Sensitive to this gentle dove of the Spirit of God and Jesus said if any man hear my voice and open the door.

He said I will come in to him. I want to tell you when you open the door, you don't have to drag him in. You don't have to beg him to come in. He will come in and he said I will come in to him notice I will come in to him and I will sup with him.

That means I will have dinner with him. I will have intimate fellowship with him and he with me. Rinker said prayer is dialogue between two people who love each other. The prayer is not just monologue.

You know what? I think I think Baptist me. We need to quit saying our prayers and get back to praying our prayers. I'd like to get in a red-hot Irish prayer meeting because those people brother when they pray it's like they're not gonna take God.

Take no for an answer and it's kind of like they're suing God for whatever they want. Now he says this the prayer is dialogue between two people who love each other. You know, you know what? The meaning of the prayer life is that to be on praying ground simply means you're on speaking terms with Jesus Christ.

Now you marry people you know what it is when you're not on speaking terms with your mate, don't you? Don't look too pious. No, you know what? It's like when you're not on speaking terms with your mate and brother sister.

I want to tell you to be on praying grounds just means that you're on speaking terms with the Son of God. You're in vital contact. You're in vital union with him. Now tonight, I I'm not going to preach to you as much as I am going to share my testimony with you tonight.

A Testimony of Spiritual Dryness

Because I have a sneaking suspicion far too many can relate to this pitiful testimony concerning the prayer life. I Grew up in Southside, Virginia the son of a tobacco farmer and When I came I never heard the gospel until I was about 14 or 15 years old.

I had to go to a gospel film at a public high school. We grew up in a liberal church where we had preaching every other week whether we needed it or not. The pastor had four congregations. They called it a charge.

They should have called it a dud. But I grew up in this context. I finally heard the gospel and Received the Lord and would you believe it took me three years to find a Bible believing church. You said well, good night, man.

You're from Virginia. You're from the Bible Belt. Let me clear up a clear up a misconception. There is no Bible Belt in the United States. There is no Bible Belt. There's a church belt. But there's no Bible Belt in the south.

Most people don't go to church to meet God. It's more of a social cultural family obligation type thing than it is an encounter with the Living God. It's a church belt. Okay, and we have a church belt so it took me three years to find a Bible believing church.

A little Bible study had started up and it finally turned into a local church. Well, I got into this thing and I want to tell you I was coming out of Casper milquetoast liberal Labyrinth and here I get into this red-hot on fire independent premillennial Evangelistic soul-winning separated born-again Baptist Church.

Man, I've never I've never seen anything like in my life. And when I got in there, they told us what not to do. They said why don't you drink alcohol and they were strong about this and they said don't you smoke cigarettes?

And my dad was a tobacco farmer for crying out loud. And then they said now don't you go to the dance hall? You'll lose your testimony and then they said stay out of the pool hall man. You shouldn't be in those dens of iniquity.

So they told us what not to do and then they also told us what to do. They said why you ought to come to church every time the doors are open and the doors were open just about 24 hours a Day, and they said you need to come to church every time the doors are open.

You need to read your Bible every day and then they told us to tithe and they told us to tithe and they told us To tithe and they told us to tithe and they told us to tithe. We'd give a whole month every year on tithing for crying out loud.

It's almost like they thought the congregation was retarded or something. They couldn't pick up on it. Well, he told us to tithe and then they told us to pray. Now the implication was that if you do all the do's and dodge all the don'ts then you'll be right with God.

I got news for you friend. You can do all the do's and dodge all the don'ts and not even be born again. The cults do the do's and dodge the don'ts and they're not even saved. The idea was don't walk in the flesh and you will be in the spirit.

But the Bible doesn't say that the Bible says walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. It was almost like doing and not doing made you spiritual which is not true at all, brother.

When you're filled with God, you'll abstain from some behaviors and you will engage in certain disciplines. Yes, praise God, but those things itself are not the ticket. It's not a legal way, you know.

But anyway, I got in this church and I want to tell you it was it was a good experience. And you know when I got in the church They told me to pray and I wanted to pray and I knew all to pray and I tried to pray.

But let's be honest about it when you first get saved. You really gotta get used to talking to somebody you can't see. I mean it is a new experience. Is it not and I remember back in those days how that man?

I know how to pray and I want to pray and I'm gonna try to pray but I didn't know how to pray and I Had a real problem often when I would pray it seemed like it seemed like I wasn't making contact with God.

Often when I prayed it seemed like there was a barrier between me and God. It seems like the heavens were brassed over. I mean it seemed like my prayers would ricochet off the ceiling and Hit me in the face about as quick as they came out of my mouth.

Anybody here when you pray sometimes feel like you're not making contact with God. You know what? I'm talking about. Shake your head if you know what I know what I'm talking about right there and Brother, that's the way I felt a lot.

But I supposed to pray the Bible said pray. I wanted to pray so I tried to pray so I'd crank out something. Just to go through the motions, you know. Let's don't make too much fun of the rosary crowd because we've got our old little prayer beads to where we just say the same.

Thing over and over that doesn't have any meaning either. It's good preaching and I would pray like this right here. Lord thank you for today and Lord just be with my family Lord and Lord help me not to have these evil thoughts and Lord Help me Lord to be a better Christian and you know, you know, let's be honest about it.

There's not a whole lot of God enjoyment. When you have to struggle for every syllable. There's not a whole lot of God enjoyment when you're pretty much just repeating the same thing. You heard somebody else say or the same thing.

You've already said about a thousand times. There's not a really a whole lot of sense of connection with God, but I knew I supposed to pray. I wanted to pray. I tried to pray and I just drudged on and every now and then I would have a Blessed encounter of of intercourse with God in prayer, but often I would get the sealing treatment.

Revival Meeting and the Burden of Unconfessed Sin

Well, I remember I started preaching and you know, whenever you start preaching or getting up in public you're pretty much forced into praying more than the average person and Because if you don't they'll all be able to tell how flat you are.

So you pretty much forced into praying more and I remember one summer we we did a tour of 80 churches in three months. 80 churches in three months we did 40 states in three months and I remember driving from New Mexico one Saturday night to Colorado and Got in late and got up early and I had to preach and I want to tell you I woke up on Sunday morning.

And I did not feel spiritual. How many can relate to that point right there? I did not feel spirit. I didn't feel like going to church. I didn't feel like preaching. I sure didn't feel like praying. I felt like going back to bed, man I was exhausted, but I said man I better get out here and pray because I'm as flat as can be.

I'm as dead as four o 'clock. So I got on on my knees at the edge of the bed. And I was praying there that day. Of course, I had had this with me and I was praying like this. I said I Say dear God Please be with my family Lord and Lord, please help me not have these evil thoughts and Lord, please be in the service.

And would you believe I Fell asleep passed out 30 minutes later. I woke up. I couldn't even remember what I was doing. But I was on my knees. So I figured I must have been praying because that's the only thing I did on my knees.

I'd apologized to God and I said Sorry about that Lord, but I'm back again here now God. And brother that's the kind of prayer life I had for a long time. To where it just seemed like I wasn't breaking through into the presence of God.

Well every now and then I would have one of these blessed blessed times of prayer. Well, let me tell you that back at that home church where I grew up they decided to have a revival a Revival meeting how many of you know what revival means in the south in a red-hot on fire pre-millennial Schofield Evangelistic missionary minded born-again separated on fire Baptist Church.

I'll tell you what it means brother. You get the most high-powered evangelist you can find to come in and scorch the socks off the congregation. That's what it's all about. Now they brought in a nuclear powered evangelist.

I mean that guy I've never seen anything like it that guy got up there like a like a ball of fire and man. He began to preach against sin and there in that very first meeting and that that revival service I'll never forget how that he preached on sin.

He just happened to preach on the five sins that I personally was guilty of there that first night in revival meeting. I'm telling you everything that guy said was true. I'm telling you the guilt was overwhelming.

I mean as he sat there and he began to go through and expound. I thought he must have talked to my mother. I mean everything he said fit me to a tee and every time that finger was about a foot long everything that time that finger Would point out brother.

It was always in my face and every time those beady eyes would come peering out from behind the sacred desk, man. It was almost like I had Superman x-ray vision man. They were a point pointed it on me every time I'm sitting there about to fall out about to pass out on their conviction.

Well, I didn't wait for the invitation. I made one way down to the altar, you know back in those days in our church I used to get in a conviction in every service. I just come forward every time. It was it gets almost to the point where they should have put a little reserved to plaque for Harold up here.

You know one of those gold plaques, you know. And nobody else seemed to be bothered and nobody else seemed to get on conviction. But every service I've come to I'd get on to us. I mean deep conviction of sin and I used to think man.

I must be the worst Christian in the bunch. Nobody else seems to be bothered and I'll tell you something friend if you get under conviction a lot. That's not a sign. You're the worst Christian in the bunch.

That's just a sign that you're still near enough to God to where you can hear him. And Andrew Murray said when you think your father from God than you've ever been you probably nearer to God than you've ever been.

Oh, but I didn't feel near to God. My conscience was smitten. I made my way down to the altar. I had the carpet worn out my path coming down, you know. And I was down there at the altar and praying and I said, here's what I prayed.

I said, oh god Please forgive me of all my sins. Yeah, you ever pull that one Little blanket coverage going on here. It's almost like now Lord. I don't have time to go into detail tonight and God rather than pray Retail, I'm praying wholesale and Lord rather than praying brand-name.

I'm just gonna go generic here and Lord. It's kind of like Lord rather than go through the whole list I'm just gonna kind of bundle the whole thing up and put them in a big bushel and Lord, please forgive me of All my sin and just drop the whole wad.

Well, that's the way the deacons prayed. Blanket coverage, you know, it works pretty good with the insurance people, but it doesn't cut it when it comes to confessing sin to God. Well, I thought that's what I was supposed to do.

So I went over and shook the preacher's hand and The preacher turned around. I told him I said I've come to rededicate my life to the Lord. Now that's what we used to do. You know rededication is nowhere to be found in the Bible.

That's another invention. We oughta we oughta trash but if you go back on your dedication to God You don't need to rededicate. You need to repent of where you went back. But I didn't know that and I went over and very sincere and told the preacher I said preacher I shouldn't be smiling, but I said preacher.

I was very serious. I said I've come to rededicate my life to the Lord. Man, he turned around and that crowd was fired up. You folks need to make a trip down south to find out what I'm talking about here.

But this crowd was wired tight. I mean they were they were wide open and that pastor said brother Harold has come tonight to rededicate his life. How many you're excited for brother Harold? They shouted man Amen, and and then he said bro.

How many gonna be praying for brother Harold? They all shouted a Rafter rafter raising shouts. Amen. I thought man, this is great. Here. I am in a Bible-believing church. I couldn't believe it when I came to that church.

I Had a Jesus saves bumper sticker on my 71 Pinto. I had a black King James zip-up Bible. I had a pair of war out dungarees with a one-way sign on them. I didn't know much but buddy I was excited about Jesus and those people loved me to death.

And I thought here I am in a Bible-believing church man a revival meeting. I rededicated to Christ and you know what? I thought smooth sailing from here on right? Well, not exactly now. I've learned a little bit since those days.

I'll tell you what I've learned when it comes to confessing your sin. You don't confess them all at one time. You confess them like you commit them one at a time the Bible says if we confess our Sins plural.

Yes, then God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all Unrighteousness, you see you see what we need tonight people. We need more than forgiveness. What we need is cleansing.

You get forgiveness by Confession, but you get cleansing by walking in the light and I have learned that since that those days. Then when it comes to being honest with God, you don't confess all of your sin at once.

But rather you confess your sins like you've committed them Lord. I've been worried about this God. I've had a bad attitude about that Lord. I wasn't really honest here Lord. I didn't respond properly to my family on this point.

You see that's the way to get the ear of God is by telling God the truth, but for years for years man, I just pulled out that blanket coverage forgive me of all my sins prayer and and and and missed out on Getting the ear of God.

From Religious Duty to Honest Confession

Well, I got it in my second stage of prayer and Here's the way it went. Something like this Lord Help me to be a better student of your word Lord. Help me to be more obedient to my parents Lord help me to be a better soul winner Lord help me not to have these evil thoughts.

I prayed that every time I ever prayed by the way and Lord Lord help me to be a better Christian. Now. Let's let's be honest about it friend. What is a better Christian? Have you ever met a better Christian?

I mean, you know what that was that was just a way for me to get out of telling God That I was a fairly sorry Christian. You see it was a it was a safe face measure it was a moral dodge to get out of telling God the truth and You know It took me about 12 years to figure out that God's not interested in being my assistant.

And if I could say to you tonight, God's not the least bit interested in being your associate either. When Jesus comes into your life, he doesn't come to just help you out. He comes to take you over and I want to tell you the proper prayer is not Lord.

Help me to do better next time when you should be praying dear God forgive me of the last time. Don't pray Lord. Help me pray Lord. Forgive me. You know most of the time when we're praying asking for help.

It's too late for help. We don't need help. What we need is forgiveness. Don't pray Lord. Lord. Help me pray Lord. Forgive me. Don't pray Lord. Help me pray Lord. Have me I got nothing to offer but failure God here.

I am the prayer of surrender is the prayer that gets the year of God. But I didn't know that and I used to think that if I could just get God to help me out brother I could really pull off something for Jesus, you know, I thought you know what?

I came to Lord. I thought man the Lord's really got something now. I found that lady. He had something he had a liability and brother. But I used to think that I forget you just get God to help me out boy.

I could really pull off something for Jesus. Well here I was and and with all that help me stuff Forgive me of all my sin stuff. Just just a moral dodge and it didn't get the barrier down. Well, I got to my third stage now back home.

What we had was a watch night service. Anybody ever been to a watch night New Year's Eve service now what they used to do in the old days was to get a guilty voking evangelist to come in and Remind you of every sorry thing you've done the year before that you shouldn't have done and then to also remind you of all the good things you should have done that you didn't do and He would really pour it on and some of those some of those Sinai preachers brother can really put it over on you.

You know what I'm saying? I mean, there's no hope man and and then around midnight The whole congregation would get around the altar and would pray in the new year and would make New Year's Eve Resolutions now, how many of you ever made a New Year's Eve resolution?

Let's see the hands. All right here they are. How many of you ever kept one two hands? Okay, they're probably probably lying. But anyway, I know I'm just I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.

No, no offense. No offense. Don't be mad. But but anyhow. The point being we make all these resolutions that we don't have power to keep. I Remember when our second son was born about about Two or three years after the first and you know children love children.

I Mean you get two little kids two little babies together, man. They want to go and play with each other and hold each other and they love it, you know children love children. We also learned that children Have cannibalistic tendencies that they do tend to bite and devour one another and and and one day Michael was about four years old and and Brandon was around two and and they were in the Floor in the nursery playing when my wife and I were in the office doing work when we heard a blood-curdling cry come out of The nursery so we go rushing in and what do we find teeth imprints in the baby's arm?

Quarter inch deep. I said Michael get over here. I Said did you bite your baby brother? Yeah, dad. Now, there's a period in childhood development When they don't even know enough to lie and this is the quickest period of childhood development.

They quickly outgrow this stage, but he said yeah, I did it. He didn't understand cause and effect. I thought man we got a politician on our hands, but I anyhow I Said now what you've got to do you have hurt your brother.

Look at him. He's weeping get over there and apologize and tell him you're sorry trying to teach him to clear his conscience. So he goes over and hugs his baby brother. Sorry Brandon. I said get back over here gonna bite him again.

Oh, no, dad. Do you promise I promise? So I thought Well, we got that taken care of. 20 minutes later a blood-curdling scream comes out of the nursery. We go rushing in teeth imprints this time in the baby's leg a quarter inch deep.

I said Michael get over here. Did you bite your brother? Yeah, dad. What what you just told me you weren't gonna do it man. Go tell him you're sorry. Sorry Brandon, I think get back over here you're gonna bite him again.

Oh, no dad. Do you promise he didn't know what promise meant and he didn't quit biting his brother and other children. Until an evangelist came by and their little girl bit the daylights out of him and that took care of the biting problem.

He's not been anybody since. Now, you know what? I begin to learn. I begin to learn when my children mess up. I don't want them coming up making a bunch of promises. I know they don't have the power to keep.

Well, I'll never run in church again dad. Yeah, right. Oh I'll never go across the street after the ball again dad. Mm-hmm. Oh, I'll never say that dad. Yeah, right. No, no when my children mess up, you know what?

I want them to hear. You know what? I want to hear him say dad. Sorry, you know how hard that is for a five-year-old ten-year-old fifteen-year-old. It gets progressively more difficult if you don't develop this habit early on I think and When we mess up God doesn't want us coming up making a bunch of promises.