← The Wake-Up Call
The Wake-Up Call
Receiving the Deep Approval of God
00:23:16
Righteousness does not come from following the rules but from coming to know the Ruler.
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Good morning, Sower Nation. It is Thursday, March 12th, in the year of our Lord 2026. I'm John David Walt. This is your wake up call and it's going to be a good day today. Jesus is excited about today. You know what he's really excited about? Getting to walk with and in you today. He's going. Everywhere you're going, he's going. And you're going to be fully alert, alive, awake, attuned, abiding in him all day long. He's just gonna. He's gonna tell you things that you didn't know about yourself. He's gonna lead you to certain interactions with people you're gonna call, people that you wouldn't have thought about. You're gonna text some people today. You're gonna see perfect strangers and he's gonna see them through your eyes and smile at them through your smile. It's just we don't even know what all is going to happen today. But we know it's all going to be good. It won't all be easy, but it's all going to be good because it's going to be full of Jesus. Because you're seeking first the kingdom of heaven everywhere you go. Because that's what he's doing. Okay, it's time for consecration. Wake up, sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body as a living sacrifice to you. Jesus, we belong to you. And we're praying in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. All right. Today's entry is entitled Receiving the Deep Approval of God. Our text is Matthew, chapter 3, verses 16 and 17. Hear now the word of the Lord. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, this is my Son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased. The Word of the Lord. Now consider this. Why was Jesus baptized? He didn't need to be baptized for himself. He certainly didn't need John's baptism of repentance from sin. Jesus was baptized for our sake. He did it for us. He did it as he told his cousin John to fulfill all righteousness. He was showing us what it means to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. There it is. And all these things will be added to you that's Matthew 6:33. He stepped into the river and transformed a ritual of repentance into a tidal wave of righteousness. But what does that word mean? Righteousness? We assume we know until we are asked. It feels to us like a religious word that means something like perfect behavior, like never doing anything wrong. It's why Jesus being baptized seems wrong to us. He was already perfect. However, this is not what the Bible means by righteousness, at least in this instance. The Greek word is dikayasune. Say that with me. D kayasune. It essentially means the approval of God. And there we have it. Baptism is not something we do in order to be approved. It is something we do because we are approved. Righteousness does not come from following the rules, but from coming to know the ruler. In so many relationships in life we find we have to change and even conform in order to be accepted. The opposite with God is actually true. We have to be accepted. It's actually true in relationships. The opposite is true. We have to be accepted in order to truly change. Sure, anyone can manage a little behavior conformation to get by. But that's not what God has in mind for his children. He wants deep hearted healing. He wants us to be transformed, as the scripture says, by the renewing of our minds. In fact, he wants to do the transformation himself by his presence within us. First we must receive his deep acceptance of us as his sons and and daughters, just as we are in our brokenness. Only then can we begin to grow into the fullness of the men and women he made us to be. Remember, if someone says you have to change in order to be approved and loved, that's a lie. You will change only when you know you are approved and loved. That's why over and over the Bible repeats things like this. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8. Jesus got into the water that day and heard these words of divine approval spoken over his whole life. So we could hear these words of divine approval spoken over our broken lives. So insert your name. John. David. You are my son. Maybe if you're like a woman, you're going to say you are my daughter, my beloved one. With you I am well pleased. I just want you to hear it. Let me say it over you. I'm just saying your name right now. You are my son. You are my daughter. You are my beloved one. With you I am well pleased. As you sit at the feet of Jesus, could you just let that wash over you today. Something tells me you're going to do it. I just, I want you to. I want you to say those words from your name. I told you yesterday. I think I say them over me every day. John David in the shower. Okay. It's almost like it's washing off all the lies every single day that, that want to tell me. You know you'll have approval when you do this or when you don't do that or when you buy this or when you buy that. That's what all advertising is doing saying you actually, you got to. For, for your life to work. All you need is God. You need God's word. You need God's approval and he gives it to you. And you know what? It's that word that actually leads to real repentance, turning right. It is your kindness, Lord, that leads us to repentance. It's the, this is the, this is the risk God takes to give us the performance review before the job starts that's so good. It's not conditioned on your performance. It's not conditioned on your behavior. Only thing it's conditioned on is his goodness, his grace, his love. And you have one job. Receive it. Receive it. Open up. Let it break you open. Let it wash over you. Let this word of God completely destroy your old way of being, your old economy of how you think about yourself. And let this word remake you into love, into the very love of God he wants to give you. And you know what'll happen? That's how you'll start treating other people. Can't help it. What's in you flows out of you, right? Broken people break people. Healed people heal people. That's how it works. You become his agent. He does it in you, through you, for you, around you, about you. That's what transformation is. Let's pray. Our Father, thank you for your son Jesus and Lord Jesus, thank you for the way you fulfilled all righteousness and for making it your gift to us. Come Holy Spirit, and activate this deep approval of God for us in our lives. In my life. Just say in my life. Praying in Jesus name. Amen. Journal prompts today. How have you worked for approval from God and from other people to try to gain righteousness? And righteousness just means like rightness. You see, this is where self righteousness comes from. When a person's trying to like win by justifying themselves, rule following all those things. Are you ready for the shift to a righteousness that can't be earned? Can't get it from performance, can't get it from People pleasing can't get it from rule following. Are you ready for a shift to a righteousness that can't be earned, but only received as a gift by faith? And are you ready to receive approval from God and to work from this approval rather than for it? Guys, this is revolutionary teaching. It's not my teaching. This is the Bible's teaching. I don't think most people understand it. I don't even think a lot of Christian teachers understand this. They still got us out there with John in the water, in the river saying, you know, you gotta repent. This is a baptism of repentance. You actually have to receive, then you can repent. All right, you ready to sing, guys?
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We got.
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Dad's is going to sing with me today. It's going to be so good. I'm so thankful for you. And. And just to get to share the gospel. That's what this is. This is the gospel. The good news, you're going to hear more of it with dad here. Here we go. Well, everybody, we ready to sing today. We appreciate you all singing with us every day. And we especially appreciate dad coming in
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here because I'm happy to do it. It's my pleasure.
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He's, you know, he's retired, but he's not done. And I'm not tired.
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I'm just retired.
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That's good. I've never heard that one. I'm not tired. I'm just retired. Well, I always tell people that, you know, you can quit your job, but you can't quit the Lord.
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That's right.
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You got to keep going.
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You got to keep moving. You got to keep going with him.
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He's got good for you to do still.
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Right?
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Think how much good you've been able to be a part of since you quit your job.
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I know it. This right here, that. Singing his songs going out to people that haven't heard them in a long time. Maybe they've heard them and remember them and can hum them. Well, then they'll hum them the rest of the day.
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A lot of times people don't even have anybody to sing with.
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No, I know it.
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And so it's just an interesting thing. That's. That's. I never thought I'd be doing this. Singing on. On the radio.
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No, I didn't either.
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And singing hymns. But you mostly only would sing a hymn in church. Yeah, if they still sing hymns in church. Yeah, but why not sing them every day?
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You're right. We got a whole book full of them.
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We tell them about that book. What's it called?
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This is called the Great Redeemer's Praise.
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That's right. That's the seedbed hymnal. Dad, we. Do you know that we made this hymnal Seedbed? Yes. I mean, Andy Miller and it was money well spent. His tune, his team. And I hope you'll get one of these hymnals. We link it every day in the email, but you know, we're never selling, but we're always sowing.
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That's right.
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If your church, if your church would, would be interested in putting these hymnals in there, call me, email me back, just say, hey, let's, let's talk. Because we'd love to get them in your church. It's been amazing to see. We've just got a whole next printing of them. Probably another 40,000 of these hymnals niche. So we don't want the hymnals in the warehouse, we want them in the church house.
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My goodness.
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How many can I sell you, dad?
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How about two?
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Well, today, tell them what we're singing.
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All right, we're going to sing. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
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Yeah. What's the number?
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It's 306. Surely the presence of the Lord. That's the name of it.
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Surely the presence of the Lord. And you know that today in the wake up call, we talked about the baptism of Jesus and how God's the father spoke over God the son, Jesus. He said, you're my son.
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I am well pleased.
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Exactly. You're my beloved and with you I'm well pleased. And you know, Dad, a lot of people didn't grow up with the best fathers and they can't hardly believe that God would feel that way about them. And I just want to say thank you for being the kind of father, well, that helped me believe in God.
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I thank you. But you know who my father was.
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That's right.
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And that's Martin and I, My brother and I copied after our daddy and. And you just can't go wrong when you have somebody like that leading you.
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That's right.
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But everybody doesn't.
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Everybody doesn't. And you know what happened to a lot of those men? Their fathers were not there for. No, it just gets passed on. But do you know the mercy and the miracle of God is that he can break that cycle. And even people listening to us, you had a difficult father and it led you to become not the best father. He can turn it around today.
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That's right.
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I don't care if you're early in your parenting, your fatherhood, or if you're late in it. If you have adult children, the Lord can come in and redeem what's been lost. He can turn that relationship around.
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Turn it around.
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He can turn it around. And you think, man, there's just maybe not much left, but.
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But what's left is really important.
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I think about how I remember thinking about that, that ensure it says, you know, it may not add years to your life, but it will add life to your years. That's the Lord. What you got left. He can expand it out in equality in a way you'd never believe. He can rebuild your relationship with his.
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All he needs is to hear from you. That's doesn't have to be a long, drawn out, fancy prayer, just. Dear God, please help me. I need your help.
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That's right.
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I want to be a better person. And I know I can't do it by myself. I need your help.
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That's right. I want to be a better father.
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And he will be there for you, brother.
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Amen. That's great, dad. Well, let's sing this song. We'll sing it through twice. It's a great chorus and. And I feel like it fits even what's. And right now the Lord is with us.
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Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. I can feel his mighty power and his grace. I can hear my.
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Face.
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Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
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Once again.
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Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. I can feel his mighty power and his grace. I can hear the voice of angels. I see glory on each face. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
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Amen.
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That's a good one.
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Well, and you know what? That's the truth. He is in this place. He's in your place. He's in your life. And that's the beautiful thing about this wake up call. We're coming alive and alert and awake to that. At the beginning you just only thing
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you need to do is ask him because he may not come if you don't ask him. Because he doesn't, you know, he's not going to push himself on you. He wants to come, but it doesn't take. But come, Jesus. That's all you got to say?
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That's right. That's good. He goes where he's wanted.
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That's right.
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So it's time to hit the fields today and we're gonna sew for The Awakening. I'm J.D. walt.
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And I'm David Walt.
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And we'll see you to see them on the field.