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morning. >> Good morning. >> Uh thank you Anthony for this privilege. It's been an honor to to get this together and uh so yeah, I'm excited to come to you guys and share what God has uh through me to to give like Anthony said a little maybe a different perspective and just to hear somebody different. So yeah, so let's go ahead and turn to Psalm 139. If you could all stand for the read. Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down. You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, oh Lord. You hem me in behind and before and you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me to too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me. Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark. To you the night will shine like the day. For darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My name was not hidden from you. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious me are your thoughts, oh God. How vast is the sum of them. Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I wake, I am still with you. If only you would slay the wicked, oh God, away from me, you bloodthirsty men. They speak of you with evil intent. Your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, oh Lord? And abhor those who rise up against you. I have nothing but hatred for them. I count them my enemies. Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offense way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Heavenly Father, I thank you for this time you've given us to come together. I just pray that you just speak through me of what you have for us to to learn from these scriptures today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. You may be seated. So, as I said, my name is Brian Perry. I like long walks on the beach, sprint car racing. I enjoy to hunt and I enjoy a good sweet tea and brisket. Those are a couple of my things, just a kind of tidbits if you were to look up a profile on me. But, I've lived here in Pennsylvania for a handful years now, but originally, I was actually born in New Hampshire. That is right. I'm a New Englander. All right. [snorts] So, and my family is all from New England. My dad was born in Maine, my mom was born in Connecticut. And then my siblings, I am the oldest. And then I have a younger brother, Kyle, and sister Jenna. We were all born in Keene, New Hampshire. That's where we grew up. And, uh, we lived there for, um, I think it was about 11 years. Well, all my life till 11 years old. Um, my dad is a truck driver. And he worked for a a company called Stone Mills, which some of you might recognize. Um, but they they had a place in Chesterfield, New Hampshire. And they expanded in in add another place in New Oxford here. So, that's why you might recognize it. But, years went by and that company, Stone Mills, was bought out of a bigger company called, uh, United Natural Foods, UNFI. Denise knows it well. Uh, but yeah, so they got bought out and then UNFI had places all over the country. And they realized, they said, "Well, we don't need the Chesterfield, New Hampshire location anymore. So, we're going to close it." So, they came to the workers and said, "You have two options. Either you move to another location that we have, or you find another job." So, my parents started praying and and seeking God's wisdom on what to do. And being that, you know, partially that my dad knew some of the people that were here in New Oxford that maybe had transferred and stuff like that. And through many prayers and everything, they led uh God led my family to move here. Now, at that point, if you'd asked me then, it was the worst thing that ever happened in my life. I had a great church family. I had a great church. Um, we had friends and everything there and I vowed that someday, that when I turned 18, that I'd move back. And that was that was the last time. We've been there maybe once or twice since, but as you can see, I have not moved back. So, um, just a change in life in that way. But, as we as we lived moved here, uh, my family we decided to my siblings and I were home schooled and we got involved in a home schooling group here. And we got to meet some people and they started talking about some of the older siblings in their families had gone this place. It was a a camp ranch up towards Lake Erie called Miracle Mountain Ranch. And I was like, "What what is this place you guys talk about?" You know, and then they said, "Well, they have horses." And I'm like, "Horses? That sounds great." For me growing up, I was a John Wayne fan. That's what I I watched. I watched John Wayne, I watched Davy Crockett. I wanted to be a cowboy. That was my my dream. And uh So, I was like, "Well, that's pretty cool. They got horses and then, you know, it's a Christian place, so I'll be with Christian people and and everything." So, one thing led to another and I started looking into this program. So, what it is is they take college age students and they they have a apprenticeship program. Throughout the winter months, you learn [clears throat] different classes from different people that are there, different staff members. So, class on godly marriage, conflict resolution, and all these different courses that you learn and then they kind of turn they have retreats and stuff throughout time, but in the summertime it flips and it turns into a summer camp. So, then the apprentices kind of become labor for in the summertime and we get to put some of the stuff that we learned throughout that year to practice. So, I applied there and >> [snorts] >> they were already filled for that one year and I was like, "Okay, but what what to do now?" So, I was working and and we started looking online and we found this place in Ohio and called Faith Ranch. And so, we looked at that place and they were like, "Yeah, we would love to have Brian, you know, come here and blah blah and so it I ended up going and I lived there for about a year or so and then it became the next year for Miracle Mountain Ranch. So, I applied again and I got in. And so, I ended up going there for a year, and they have a second year program as well. So I applied for that. But I I didn't make it into that one. They said, you know, I want you to work on some stuff, go home, you know. So I was like, okay, I can do that. So I went home and I I uh got involved in my church as far as uh helping with youth group and and helping out lead the youth and do that kind of stuff. Got into a young adults group. And uh and then I got a phone call from the the owner of Miracle Mountain Ranch. She says, Brian, we're getting a second group together. Have you ever thought to moving to Texas? And I was like, Texas? Yeah. The home of the cowboy, man. I want to be a cowboy. So where do I got to go? I got to I'm better good at Texas, right? How can I pass this up? So he said, all right, well, we're going to start a second year group in Texas if you want to do it. I said, I'll pray about it. And that was And then so I did and I end up going there. We were there for a little bit and then where we were at kind of started not working out, but so we end up working moving to another camp that he knew of uh in Mississippi. So I finished out my summer. I was there 9 months in Texas and then I finished out the summer in this camp in Mississippi. And then after that, I was like, well, this part of my chapter is I think it's done, but where do I go from here? How do I, you know, horse training's not always uh there's not tons of jobs around here for it all the time, but um so I was kind of looking at that, but one of the the families that was the couples that was at Miracle Mountain Ranch my second year, they ended up leaving and they he got a job at a place in Tennessee. And then he said, I need people to come help me. We're going to start a cowboy church here. We're going to start uh doing trail rides and stuff like that. And you have a lot of experience with trail rides. Would you come work for for me? I was like, yeah, that sounds like a good idea. So went there, end up trying to uh they started a cowboy church and I was the like the youth leader there for for a little bit and it was a a small little church and it really have any kids that kind of hit or miss, but anyway, so we did that for a little while and then things kind of started to change there with the the farm that we were at and stuff and so I was like, I just don't know where to what where to go, what to do. So just praying again about what to to do. So I came home. Came home to Pennsylvania and and uh wasn't sure if I'll do horses again, wasn't sure what I was going to do, but got into the workforce and started working and and uh and honestly I didn't do horses after that. And I haven't haven't been back to doing horses very much. Um but just working and stuff like that. But then I started getting involved in another church I started going to with uh a young adults ministry and the guy was like, "Hey, you have experience like with young adults ministry, do you want to to help me start this?" And I was like, "Yeah." So I uh I helped him start it and kind of co- co-led this group and then he's like, "Hey, my wife and I feel that we're led to move somewhere else, so I'm leaving." I'm like, "All right, well what's going to happen to our group, you know?" And they're like, "Well, so" I end up taking over the young adults group and then uh one Sunday evening we were there and two young ladies came in and uh the one of them was Britney my future wife and uh the other one was Emily Stern and they said Britney said, "I just realized I needed some different friends and so I googled young adults ministries and yours one popped up." And and so we decided to come check it out and so then Caitlin and Reba and a bunch of people that you guys may know started coming to this young adults group that I was leading and we became friends and and then Britney and I became more than friends and then we got engaged and then married and and uh here I am now beautiful wife two crazy boys that you probably have run into or they've run into you, probably, at one time or another in this church. Um but yeah, so that's that's kind of a nutshell of my story of anti-save. Travel, I've done a lot of stuff. My family, we've always traveled as growing up. My dad being a truck driver, to him it was kind of easy for him to drive. And so we did. We've drove driven all over the country. My I want my mom sister lives in Oregon. We've driven from here to Oregon. >> [snorts] >> Um and so you ask, why do I tell you all this? Well, if you've ever heard the Johnny Cash song I've Been Everywhere, I kind of feel like sometimes that's my my my song, my story. As I sit there and as he goes through the states and I I'm like, yep, yep, yep, been there. But David also talks about some interesting things about traveling and going through some things. And let's go go through this. And I want to break this up >> [snorts] >> into four different sections. So the first section is we're going to do verse 1 through 6. And that's you know me. Second section is 7 through 12. You encompass me or you surround me. The third section is 13 through 18. You created me. 19 to 24. You test me. >> [snorts] >> So let's go ahead and read that first section 1 through 6, Psalm 139. O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my laying down. You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know completely, O Lord. You hem me in behind and before. You have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Throughout scripture and throughout Psalms, we see a lot of poetic theology and some big theological words and teachings. But here in 139, David David is very personal. If you look here, it says, "O Lord, you have searched me, and you know me. You know where I sit and when I rise. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going in and laying down." I think we should take David's lead on how we communicate with God in our life and every day. It's just a straightforward talk. This is a Psalm. It's a praise, but also too, if you notice certain parts in here, the way he's talking, he's just like, "God, this is what's going on. This is what's you know, I understand that this is what you have for me. This is what you're seeing in me. This is what" just a a straight conversation. So, in uh in verse one, you search me and know me. He searches you. He searches everything about you. That's the first thing on your paper there. Are you ready to be searched? In the in your talkings to God, are you are you talking with him, but are you ready for the the searching and the the answers that might come back? Are you ready for God what God has for you because he already has it planned out before you even think it. And I I I think this could be taken two different ways, that concept of God knowing everything and and me before you ever think it. It's kind of hard for us nowadays, but it could either be taken as in fear. You be like, "Oh my goodness, this guy knows me. I I don't I don't want that." Or you could look at it as a privilege to say, "God knows me." And I should know him, right? I know it's crazy to think about anyone knowing everything about you or know what you're going to do, say, or even think. >> [snorts] >> Even David kind of struggles with it in verse six. He says, "I can't do that." Well, well, not not that he can't do that, but in verse six he says, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me to too lofty for me to attain." So, he's saying, "God, you know all this stuff. You know everything. I I I'm not at that level. I can't do that. I can't know what Sometimes I don't even know what I'm going to say." Right? As we go through our lives, there's things that I'm I'm very guilty of it. I'll just say stuff. Now, I'm like, "Ah, man, I didn't That That didn't come out right." Or that that probably shouldn't have been said. But, you know what? God knew I was going to say that. A thing to think about and remember is that the writers of Psalm in early scripture knew far less of God than we do today. Yet, they loved him more. The prophets were inspired by the spirit of God. That is how we were able to write about how It's how they were able to write about things to come such as the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ. They did not have the fullness of the revelation of God as we do as the new covenant believers. This is before God sent Jesus to Earth with his ministry. So, we have the benefit now as coming through the new covenant of Jesus' um birth and resurrection. But, back then, they didn't have that. They had There was people that were brought forth and God spoke to you or gave message to you directly to to share. But, nowadays, if we we have all this that we can go through, all these scriptures, how much more we should know than what they they might have known at the time. Which brings me to the next point in your paper. God knows all about each of us, but he knows us relationally through Christ. So, you kind of look at one of the things when I was studying they they they said it's kind of like having a fiance, getting married. You know, you start dating, you know something about this person, you connect over something. Oh, I like this, I like Oh, so do I. But then, as you get closer and you grow closer, there's things that that align even more and you know about a person and then you might get engaged and you might find out more about this person. Be like, "Hey, if I'm going to be with you for the rest of my life, we should know this, you know?" And you have discussions. But then, when you get married, there's all a whole more stuff that you learn about that person. You learn more and more as your years go. And I think that was kind of a interesting tidbit to kind of think about that is is God knows everybody, knows everything. But when you accept Christ and you you build that relationship, how much more you know him in that in that time. All right, let's move on to the next part. Don't worry, I'm not going to be an hour or anything. This might This might go a little quick, so. Where can I go? Let's go on the next section, which is you encompass me or you surround me. Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hands will guide me. Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me." and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you. The night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. So, as in my story, I've said I've traveled a lot. Right? I've been to Maine, to Oregon, Canada, the Gulf of Mexico. And I'll tell you what, God was always with me. In those times, sitting in my camper, I lived in a camper in Tennessee, I'll I'll tell you that. Um sitting in in my camper in Tennessee with my little dog Ben, he was a little puppy at the time, just being like, I just don't know where I'm going. I know where I'm at this very moment, but I just don't know where I'm going to go. God already knew. David isn't saying or asking where God will be, but he is saying that no matter where David is, God will be there also. He wasn't trying to trip up God. He wasn't being like, "So, are you over here? Are you over here?" He wasn't like the Verizon guy. Can you hear me now? Good. All right, can you hear me now? Good. No, he wasn't doing any of that. He was saying, it's not that where he would be, it's wherever David would be, God would be also. Verses 13 through 18, which is you created me. For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me and are your thoughts, oh God? How vast is the sum of them? Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I wake, I am still with you. You know, I did also have a joke about the verse about the hairs on the head, but I see Dan Diodorf is not in here, so he's outside, but He said he's listening. He said he's going to listen. He's doing POC this morning. But anyways, so God is the author of life. An author is the creator of a story. He has ownership of it. He knows the story. He knows the plot lines and the subplot lines. He knows the characters and what they their backstories are, even if he doesn't make them known on in the book or the movie. Um he knows from the beginning to the end. So, the first time I ever saw Star Wars, so another Brian talking about Star Wars from the pulpit. There you go. Uh the first time I ever saw Star Wars, I was at a friend's house at a sleepover. He's like, "Let's watch Star Wars." I was like, "What is it?" Cuz I was I was a Western guy, you know, I didn't watch the sci-fi stuff. I wasn't really into it. And he's like, "You don't know what Star Wars is?" I'm like, "No." He's like, "Well, we got to watch it." But then after we watched it, he started talking about all this other stuff that wasn't in the movie. And I'm like, "What are you talking about, dude? It was not I wasn't even in there." He's like, "Well, this is brother and this person's thing and this" And I was like, "Well, how do you know this? Were you just making it up?" He goes, "No, there's books." And here, I didn't realize that George Lucas, they actually wrote books about Star Wars, and he actually had a huge storyline, which nowadays they've kind of gone through a little bit and made other movies to kind of cover some of that stuff, but at the time, they only had a couple movies out. And it didn't make sense to me, but this my friend, he's like, "Oh, I've read these books and everything. George Lucas knew what he wanted to do from the start to the finish." Now, he did something interesting in the movie history and started kind of in the middle and worked out, you know, different ways, which I think was kind of cool, a little different. But, I just think of that as a as that is that he had a bigger picture and uh and then he revealed at certain times. I I find it interesting, too, where he says, "I know this full well. Here's another example of David talking with God like a normal conversation." So, he's going through where I count them, they would outnumber my grains of sand, when I wake, I'm still Oh, let's see, where was it? Uh Ah. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. So, here's just another I I think it's kind of interesting. So, he's like, "Hey, I know this, and I just I just wanted to let you know that I know this and and but I think he also cuz he sees it in his own life, the things that are happening. So, we're going to go to 19 through 24, which is you test me. Now, this one gets a little little interesting a little bit, and I was like, okay, when I was preparing, I was like, I don't know how this kind of fits in, but God guided me in a certain way that we're going to go through it, and I I think I I got something. Uh but anyways, 19, if only you would slay the wicked, oh God, away from me, you bloodthirsty men. They speak of you with evil intent. Your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, oh Lord, and that abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them. I count them my enemies. Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offense way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. This definitely is a prayer that kind of boomerangs around, right? David is saying these things that he has seen and he hates and he doesn't like. He hates what the people around him are doing against God. He hates what they are saying against God. Doesn't that sound familiar for today? There's things that we see that are happening that we just don't don't agree with. We don't like and in some type cases it's it's hard not to hate what's going on. He's saying just get rid of the people, get rid of the hatred in their life and that in their hearts. And it will be it'll be easier if we just do that, right? He's saying to God just just wipe them out. But then he says, but hold on. Make sure my heart is right. You can't be judgemental against somebody if your heart's not coming from the right place. But if you notice he ends the way he started. He knows that God continues to search him and to test him and knows his thoughts and to lead him in the way of the everlasting. So he's saying what he started off with go back to verse one. Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me. And at the end he's saying search me, oh God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way and true lead me in the way everlasting. So in the beginning he says that God searched him and knows him. But he's making that his prayer at the end that even though he's struggling through these things and he's saying, "Hey, I'm not a big fan. I'm not I'm not I'm struggling with this." He says, "Hold on. Check my heart and then know me so I can know you." As we close, I want to go back to what we we talked about a little bit back. I said that God knows all about each of us. While I'm doing that, while I'm speaking of this, go ahead and turn to John chapter 10. I said that God knows all about each of us, but he knows us relationally through Christ. What does that mean? What does that mean to be known through Christ? In John chapter 10, it says, "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know him his voice. But they will never follow a stranger. In fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." Jesus used the figure this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. So, therefore, Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All whoever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the Whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and the kill and destroy. I've come that they may have life and they have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Then go down to verse 14. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. God sent his only son Jesus to Earth to become a man, to be crucified in place for our sins. If we acknowledge and change our hearts and our minds to follow what God already planned for our life and follow his voice, we will spend eternity with him someday. And David too. So that brings me to the last point in your paper there as we close. Are you going to with the thief or the shepherd? The shepherd already knows you. Are you going to get to know the shepherd and follow him? Or you going to follow the thief? Which is the world around us that's being destroyed and and the struggles that are going on. Who are you going to follow? That's it for I have today. I had told you it was going to not going to be an hour. It was going to be short. But let's go ahead and close in prayer. And then Anthony will come up. Heavenly Father, I thank for today. Thank you for this opportunity to come and and read your scripture, Lord. And I just pray you just be with us as we go throughout our week, our life, that you already have the script in then the things in our lives planned out and you know our hearts, our mind, what we think, what we say, what we do. But Lord, I pray that you just guide us to know you as you know us. That we fully know your word and that we are able to share it with others and share the the word to our friends and family. And I just pray that you just help us as we go through our week and guide us and direct us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Nice work, man. You guys give Brian a hand. >> You know, it is scary. Uh maybe this may surprise you in the fact that my vocation involves coming up and talking in front of people every single week. It's scary, guys. Opening up God's word and seeking the spirit and seeing what