Phil Beach Jr. shares a profound message about the longing of God for a genuine relationship with His people, illustrated through the story of a king who disguises himself as a pauper to find a bride who loves him for who he is, not for his power or riches. He emphasizes that true love for God comes from a place of understanding our need for Him, rather than seeking His blessings or gifts. The sermon challenges listeners to reflect on their own motivations for seeking God and to desire a deeper connection with Him, akin to the woman who anointed Jesus' feet with her tears. Ultimately, Beach Jr. encourages believers to ask God for Himself, trusting that He will reveal Himself in ways that may require us to let go of our attachments to worldly things.

There once was a great, great, mighty and powerful king. And he lived in a great palace. And he had many servants who served him night and day. And every day, early in the morning, he would strip himself of his kingly array and his crown, and he would dress as a pauper. And he would leave the courts of his kingdom early in the morning. And he would walk through the towns and the villages. And he would go to various different events, meetings and gatherings and town events. And he would simply walk to and fro. And then late in the evening, he would come back. And of course, his servants were waiting. And as he came back, they bowed before him. And he did this day in and day out, day in and day out. And finally, one of his servants said, O king, O great one, I have a question. And the king said, Yes, speak on. He said, Why, being such a great king, why do you every morning strip yourself of your kingly garments and put on the clothes of a pauper and walk throughout the streets? He said, You're a king. He said, All the armies of the land are at your command, your command. Why do you do this? And the king bowed his head and tears began to flow down his face. And he said, I'll tell you why. I long to find a bride. I long to find one who I can embrace. But I fear to walk among the villages dressed in my kingly array, lest many be attracted to me, not because they love me or because they care about me, but because they see my power. They see the might of my word. They see the kingdom that I reign over. The armies of the land that are at my command and the wealth that I possess. He looked at his servant and he said, Would they love me or would they love those things? And the servant was speechless. And the king said, No. He said, I'll find the one who will love me for no other reason other than she loves me. And then when I have found in her a love that is truly, truly real, and I have found that being dressed as a pauper, she wants to be with me. She longs to embrace me. Then I will surprise her and I'll say, Let's go for a walk. And I'll lead her out of the village and I'll bring her in and I'll let her see my kingdom, my glory, and my power. And at that time she will say to me, Oh, my lord, the king, these things aren't of interest to me, but it is you. And then I will say to her, And that is why all that is mine is yours, because they mean nothing to you. Father, thank you for your great love that you have loved us with. Thank you for your kindness and your mercy. Father, we pray in the next few moments you would grace us with the capacity to be able to understand the deepest longing in your heart in this hour that we live in. May you be pleased to not only help us understand the longing in your heart, but to be subject to that which is necessary in order that we might be found even as this girl was found. We commit the next few moments into your hands, Father, and pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to penetrate deep into our hearts, to free our minds from the clutter of religion and from the pride of selfish ambition and from the noise that's going on in the religious community today, O God. Free us from that today and bring us into your heart that we might hear you, Lord. We long to hear your heart, Lord. We long to hear your voice, Lord. Granted, Father, I pray in Jesus' name, Amen. Beloved, our Father in Heaven has a deep longing in His heart today. And the story, whenever the leaders are ready, I want to ask the children to just quietly stand single file over there and go ahead with your leaders. Beloved, I want to challenge you this morning. I want to challenge you this morning to consider the story. Consider the wisdom of the great King who stripped Himself of His kingly apparel, who stripped Himself of all of His power and all of His glory, who stripped Himself. Listen, He didn't make Himself appealing. We need to be aware this morning. We need to be aware this morning of a Gospel or a Jesus or a Spirit that may come to us. And in coming to us, we become attracted. We become attracted to the Lord and that attraction is connected to selfish ambition. What attracts you about the Lord today? What do you find appealing about Him today? Have you seen His glory? Have you seen His kingdom? Have you seen His power? Have you seen His authority? Have you seen His riches? And have you desired that? Going to begin today, I don't know how long it will go, a message entitled, The Captivity of the Righteous. The Captivity of the Righteous. We're going to be looking into the book of Job. But before we do that, I want to, if I may, just ask you to imagine that right now the Lord would come to you and say these words. What could be the most wonderful thing that you could wish for? What could be the most wonderful thing that you could wish for right now? It's a rhetorical question. Not one intended for you to answer out loud. Neither is it one intended for you to answer quickly. But ponder the thought. Ponder the thought. What could be the most wonderful thing that you could wish for? I suppose that in asking that question to many people, many answers would come. I suppose if you asked a child that question, you can get all kinds of answers. Then I suppose if you asked a teenager that question, you would get different answers. And then a young couple. If you asked a man in the desert who hadn't had water for five days, I'm sure his answer wouldn't be the same as someone else's. But nevertheless, the question, what would be the most wonderful thing you could wish for? Did you know that God actually asked in so many words that very question to a lot of people? Did you know that? Just imagine! Just imagine! It almost sounds like a modern cartoon in 1 Kings 3. God spoke to Solomon in a dream. We won't turn to it. But here's what the Lord asked Solomon. He said, Solomon, what would you like me to give to you? Ask of me anything. Wow! That's incredible, isn't it? Do you remember the two prophets, Elijah and Elisha? Well, right before Elijah was hurled up to heaven, he looked at his young disciple and he said to Elisha, he said, Elisha, what would you like me to do for you right before I'm taken up to heaven? So Solomon was asked the question and then in one of the Gospels, very ambitious people came to Jesus and he perceived that they were wanting to ask him a question, so he said, actually, what would you like me to do for you? Beloved, did you know that Jesus actually teaches in the New Testament that His followers can ask Him for anything? John 15, verse 7. Jesus said, If you abide in Me and My Word abide in you, you shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done. And so you remember earlier, I said, just imagine, just imagine, pretend as if the Lord appeared to you now and said, son, daughter, what is it that you would like for Me to do for you? You remember the feeling you might have gotten at that moment? Wow, that would be so incredible. Then we discovered that God actually said that to certain people. And our hearts even pound more. We go, wow! To imagine God saying that to me is one thing, but then to realize that in the Bible there are instances and illustrations where God actually asks people, what would you like Me to do for you? And then, and then, to be brought into the New Testament and realize that Jesus said that to certain people. What would you like Me to do? Remember the ambitious moms? We would like our sons to be set on your right hand and the other one on your left hand. But lo and behold, the great, amazing, and shocking revelation is this. The thought of God asking us, what would you like Me to do for you, is not just a fantasy. It's not just a dream that we can imagine God doing. It's not just something that we can marvel at as we consider those who God asked that question to. But lo and behold today, even right now, according to God's Word, He's saying to you, He's saying to me, He's saying to all Christians everywhere, what is it that you want Me to do for you? Ask, and you shall receive. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and the door shall be opened unto you. The invitation is open. Almighty God in Heaven, through His Word and through His Holy Spirit, is speaking to your heart and my heart right now. And He's saying, ask of me. In 1 John 3, verse 22, and 1 John 5, verses 14 and 15, the Bible teaches the same thing as in John 15. Additionally, in Mark 11, verse 24, Jesus said, whatever you ask, believe, and you'll receive. Where does that put you on the inside? Oh, I beg you, I beg you this morning, be transparent before God. Be honest before God. Become like a little child this morning. Think about a little child standing before their big, strong mom and dad. And mom and dad looking at them and saying, little one, I'm going to bless you today with a special, special blessing. And they go, what is it, mom? What is it, dad? And they look out and they say, just ask me whatever you'd like. Whatever you'd like today. Wouldn't that be awesome? Are you serious, mom? Dad, do you mean anything at all? Just ask me and we'll do it. Have that kind of heart before God this morning. And consider for a moment, consider for a moment this morning, what is your response to dad's invitation this morning? What is your response to dad's invitation this morning? He's saying ask! Ask! Now don't answer too quickly. Don't answer too quickly. What do you think our Father would long to see in the hearts of His children in response to the invitation that He gives us? Ask whatever you will. What would be father's ultimate hope that you would ask Him? And secondly, if God has a particular thing that He would love for you to ask Him for, could He just give it to you? Right now, for example, if I was the CEO of a multi-million dollar company, founder and president, chief executive officer, and I had a son. He was all of nine years old. And one day I said, son, what's in your heart today? What is it that you want from your dad? He looks up at dad and he says, dad, I would like to work together with you in running the company. Old dad wipes away his tears. Really, son? Yes, dad. I've been thinking about it. Last year you bought me a minibike and a snowmobile. And I had fun. We've got this beautiful home and this beautiful pool. You built tennis courts. We've had fun, dad. You brought me to the Yankees. You brought me to the Mets. You brought me to the Giants. We've had fun together, dad. But recently, dad, I've been saying to myself, you know, it certainly would be nice if I can work together with you, dad. I have an interest in my heart regarding the company. And again, dad wipes the tears from his eyes and he says, really? And his son looks at him and says, yes, dad, when can I start? When can I start, dad? Tomorrow? Dad, can I dad tomorrow? Dad, you could buy me a suit like you have. I'll even get my hair cut, dad, because I know I haven't wanted that and you've been asking me to. Whatever, dad, I'll do it, dad. Can I start tomorrow, dad? Well, at that time, dad is sort of overcome because he's so overwhelmed with the fact that his son longs to work with him. His son longs to actually show an interest in his company and show an interest in the thing that is very dear to his father's heart. And his father looks at him and sets him on his lap and he says, son, I want you to know that your desire to work with me, your desire to work with dad, it just really touches my heart. He said, and I'm going to give you that request. I have made a mental note today. You're nine years old and today I've made a mental note. And the mental note is my son has grown weary of the snowmobile that he has. My son has grown weary of the motorcycle I bought him. My son has grown weary of the pool and the tennis courts. My son has grown weary of going to the Mets game and the Yankees game and the Giants game. My son has grown weary. Today my son has become interested in working with me. Son, I've written it down. It's as good as done. But I have some bad news for you. What's wrong, dad? What's wrong? Can't I work with you? Oh, no, my son, you can work with me, but you can't start tomorrow. I can't. He starts to cry a little bit. He says, why not, dad? I really want to. He says, I know you do, son. And I want you to. But you can't. He says, well, dad, just tell me why I can't. Dad said, son, there's some things that have to happen on the inside of your heart before you can work together with me. But I promise you, I promise you as your dad, I will see to it that those things will be accomplished and as soon as they are, I'm going to have an office all ready for you. I'll have your name on it. I'll walk you through the company. I'll introduce you to all my employees as my son. And at that time, you will know that what I told you this day when you were nine years old will be true. Ask and you shall receive. Now, I want to ask a question now, okay? Listen carefully. This is the heart of Father now. This is the heart of Father speaking to us. Do you think that dad was upset a year before his son was nine when he asked his son, what would you like me to give you this year? And he said, a snowmobile. Do you think his dad was upset? Of course not. How about the year before that when his son asked for a motorcycle? No. Maybe he was a little worried. He wasn't upset. But what happened to dad when his son said, I don't want these things anymore, dad. I'm interested in you and what you do. Father's standing in our midst and he's asking, what would you like me to do? Some of us are saying, I want a motorcycle, daddy. Dad's saying, oh, well, we'll see if we can do that. I want a snowmobile, daddy. I want a pool, daddy. I want to go to the Yankees game, daddy. I want to go to the Mets game, daddy. And father says, but you know what? Father's anticipating our ninth birthday. Because guess what happens when we turn nine? Guess what happens when we look at daddy at nine? We don't ask for snowmobiles and pools and things anymore. We're thankful that daddy loves us so much he gave them to us, but we don't want them anymore. We want something of him. What are you asking daddy for this morning? If God has one request that he would love for you to ask him, how would God go about giving it to you? You know, beloved, it's not too difficult for God to give us a motorcycle. Oh, he might have to give us a little bit, maybe an afternoon of lessons on safety. And maybe he'd give us a crash helmet. Okay? That young man right there, he's got a crash helmet. There you go. Look at that, see? I think dad would want us all to have that, alright? It would just be, maybe just an afternoon, but you know what? After the afternoon, guess what daddy would do? He'd give us the keys. And what about a big old, big huge built-in swimming pool? Well, dad would probably make sure that we could swim, but you know, it wouldn't be too long and we would learn and then dad would say, go ahead and jump in. Go ahead and jump in. But when it comes to this nine-year-old request, suddenly daddy no longer responds to us the way he used to respond. Some of us can hear this and maybe some of us can't. That's okay. There is something that our father longs for you and I to ask of him and the asking of this request brings great joy, great excitement. It brings tears to our father's eyes. But his response to us is the same as the father whose nine-year-old asked him for something very special and his response is two-fold. Number one, I will give you the thing that you've asked for, but not tomorrow. It'll take time. Why daddy? Because there's things on the inside that need to be done. I'd like to invite you to turn your Bibles to Luke 7. The captivity of the righteous. Before we go into the book of Job, we want to lay a foundation that we need to build upon when we go into the book of Job. Because the book of Job happens to be the place where you and I find what brings most delight to father's heart. Now I know that perhaps many in their initial response will say you are nuts. The book of Job happens to be a book that speaks of horrendous suffering and turmoil and pain and humiliation. Just hold on. We'll get there. Luke chapter 7 beginning in verse number 36. Listen carefully. And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. This was Simon. Not Simon Peter. Simon the Pharisee. And he went into the Pharisee's house and sat down to meet. Now, before we even go on, let's just look at this for a moment. Who's inviting who in this story? The Pharisee desired Jesus to come and eat. So Simon was hosting Jesus. Jesus was a guest in Simon's house. We got that? It's very important that we lay this foundation. And behold, a woman in the city which was a sinner, when she knew Jesus sat at meet in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment and stood at his feet behind him weeping and began to wash his feet with the tears. Oh my! Oh my! I seem to be hearing the Lord. And he seems to be reiterating that question that we asked before. Remember the question? My son, my daughter, what would you like? Oh my! I'm strangely attracted to this woman. Not to her physical appearance, but I'm attracted to her worship. I wonder how many this morning when asked by Father, what would you like me to give to you? I wonder how many said, Father, I would like to stand behind your son weeping and begin and anoint his head with ointment. Now! Now! Now! When the Pharisee, Simon. When Simon the Pharisee saw, when the Pharisee which had bidden him, that is, Simon invited Jesus and this woman, doesn't really even say she was invited, does it? But she just what? What did she do? She heard that Jesus was going to be there. So, whether she was invited or not, she showed up. When he saw, he spoke within himself, saying, this man, huh, this man, didn't know who he invited to his house, did he? This man didn't understand who he invited to his house. If he were a prophet, he would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches him. For she is a sinner. This is a scary thing. Listen. Listen. I don't know if you've come to know the Lord in this way yet, but listen carefully. What does the Bible say, Simon? Was he talking out loud? What does it say? Verse 39, he spoke within himself. Just imagine. Just imagine this. Here's a woman of ill repute, just slobbering all over Jesus. And Simon is looking at her, his mouth is closed, and he says within himself, hmm. You ever muster up one of those? Hmm. Hmm. That's a hmm. But Jesus always has something to say. He always has a response to one of those hmm that wells up within us. So you've got two people looking at Jesus and two different things going on. You've got one person at His feet, washing with their tears, anointing with oil, weeping, kissing Him nonstop. And you've got another man going hmm. And Jesus answered. And Jesus answering said to him, brothers and sisters, be prepared for Jesus to answer that hmm that rises up in you. Be prepared. He'll answer it. Listen to what He says. Simon, I have somewhat to say to you. Wow. And He said, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors. The one owed 500 pence and the other 50. And when they had nothing to pay, He frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore which of them will love Him most? And Simon answered and said, well, I suppose that he to whom He forgave most, probably holding his breath. I would think at this time Simon began to shake on the inside. He began to tremble. What is this guy doing? Why is he asking me this question? No, I didn't say it out loud. Maybe he is a prophet. I had thought if he was a prophet, he would have known what man or woman this was, but he seems to be reading my thoughts. He is a prophet. Thou hast rightly judged Simon. And he turned to the woman and said to Simon. Now look what he's doing. He turned to the woman and said to Simon. He was making Simon look at the very thing that he despised. And watch what he says. See this woman? I entered into your house and you gave me no water for my feet. You know what the custom of the day was back then when you invited someone over to your house? The custom of the day was to have a hired servant wash your feet. But what does Jesus say about Simon? What does He say about Simon? He invited him over, but he didn't what? He didn't wash his feet. Thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she's washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss. What was a kiss signifying? A greeting. Oh my. But this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil Thou didst not anoint. But this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Do you know it's a very sad state of affairs when we invite Jesus into our home, but we don't wash His feet. We don't anoint His head. And we don't wash His feet with our tears. Why? Why don't we? Ask what you will. Ask. And I'll give it to you. Verse 47, Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. Forgiven much, loveth much. Forgiven little, loveth little. Now, I don't believe that Jesus was saying, Simon, you're just not as an awful sinner as this woman. That's why. I mean, Simon, she's really a mess. I mean, she is a mess. That's why she's got such extravagant expressions of worship. She's a mess, Simon. I expect that from her. But you, let's face it, Simon, you've walked a pretty straight path in your life. You've done pretty good, son. I understand why you don't understand that. I can understand. No, not for a second. I don't believe Jesus was saying that. What I believe Jesus was saying, Simon, this woman knows how much she has been forgiven. Simon, you don't see how much you need to be forgiven. The captivity of the righteous, the captivity of the righteous, our blindness like Simon's blindness, we don't see how much we've been forgiven. And because of that, we entertain Jesus just like Simon did. It's a professional thing. We love to have Jesus come and visit us in our homes. We love to say Jesus is a guest in our house, but we don't wash His feet with our tears. We don't anoint His head with the alabaster box of oil. We don't kiss Him continuously. And we despise those who do. Who was the name of David's wife when he saw David dance before the Lord with all of his might? God despised him in her heart. Michael, why did she despise David? Because David was a man at that time in his life. Do you remember what time that was? The time when what? The ark of God was coming back, Norman. The ark was coming back to the house of God. Listen, David had been freed from his captivity. Brothers and sisters, God help us to hear, David's captivity was not Saul. David's captivity was not the wilderness. David's captivity was not 13 years of having no kingdom and having no family. David's captivity was himself, as is your and my captivity. It was himself. We are captive to ourself. The captivity of the righteous. Forgiven, but forgiven a little. Because we are captive to ourself. We haven't seen what is being displayed by this harlot woman. We haven't seen the dregs and depths to which we have fallen, into which Christ has come and rescued us. And because of that, we host Christ like Simon, the Pharisee. We don't mind inviting Him into our home. We don't mind inviting Him into our house. We don't mind calling on His name. We don't mind being forgiven a little. A little. We don't want to be too extravagant. Extravagance causes the belch. The belch of Simon. The mockery of David's wife. You have made yourself naked in front of all of Israel today. David said, woman, I dance before God, not the children of Israel today. I dance before Him because He has freed me from my captivity. And I am a man with no home but Him. No joy but Him. Simon, look at this woman. Beloved, look at this woman. Guess what? The difference between this woman and Simon was Simon cared a whole lot what people thought of him. But this woman could care less what people thought. Simon was forgiven with dignity. This woman was forgiven and she didn't know how to spell dignity. Simon invited him into his house but played his cards carefully so he wouldn't get too committed. I'll invite him in, but I'm not going to wash his feet. I'm not going to greet him with a kiss. I'm going to leave a way out. I'm going to leave a way out. In case it gets too hot. This woman wasn't even invited. Doesn't say she was or wasn't. She came and went all the way. Now, listen carefully. That's the foundation only. That leads us into a transition. Everything comes together here. Everything comes together here. All of the stories that we talked about this morning, they all find their meaning in this truth. And this truth brings the transition into what we really want to get into. What God is really after in our hearts today. After in the earth today. Dad, I want you now. I'm interested in your affairs. Remember that story? The king stripping himself. Clothing himself in pauper's clothes. Seeking, looking around. His servant says, What's wrong? What are you doing? I'm looking. I'm looking for someone who wants me alone. You think Simon wanted the lowly Nazarene alone? He might have wanted... Hey, he invited him to his house. He was probably interested in this guy. But he wanted to keep a safe distance. He wanted to know how Jesus could benefit him. How he could benefit his seat. He was among the Pharisees. He was on the council. He didn't want to go into this thing too quickly. Everything comes together here. The captivity of the righteous. What is the thing that our Father is longing to dawn upon us? What is the one desire our Father is longing to see in our lives? What is the one thing that God is longing and waiting for to dawn in you and in me? Here's what it is. The day when He comes to us in our prayer, in our communion, and He opens the ears of our heart and we hear Him say, Son, Daughter, ask of Me anything this day and I'll give it to you. And suddenly all manner of things come to our mind but we don't say anything. We think about all the gifts He's given us in the past. We think about the success He's given us. We think about the blessings He's given us. We think about all those things. But something happened. Something is happening now. And rather than spurting out without thinking, another toy. Another toy that Daddy has so faithfully given us. Suddenly our hearts have a strange awakening. And we look up to Daddy and we look into His eyes and we say, Dad, today I want you. I want to know you. Dad, I want to know what is keeping me from knowing You. Thank You for Your blessings. Thank You for Your kindness. Thank You that when I was sick, You healed me. Thank You when I wanted this, You gave it to me. Thank You that You displayed Your faithfulness to me. But God, these things are now... They don't appeal to me, God. What's wrong, God? Lord, You asked me and I don't know what's wrong. I mean, I even had a list of things last week I was going to ask You. But somehow that list seems insignificant now in Your presence. Lord, now I want You and I'm grieved, God. I'm grieved because You've got to show me what is in my life. What is preventing me from knowing You? Lord, rip away the veil. Lord, I've got to know You. I've got to know You, Lord. Lord, I've got to wash Your feet with my tears. I've got to kiss You and embrace You. Lord, You, You. I want You. What a holy moment. Has that happened yet in Your life, loved one? Now we're going to close, but before we do, oh, I wish we could go for another two hours. I really do. But we can't and we won't. God, this is just the foundation. Thank You, Lord. God, please, please, Father, put this in our hearts. Help us to see. Help us to see. Help us to hear You say, Simon, look at this woman. Simon, you are in captivity. You are in captivity, Simon. You are in captivity to Simon. When we say, Father, I want to know You. I don't have my list anymore. I need to know You. What is it that's hindering me? Father says, are you sure you want to know? Are you sure you want to know what's hindering you? Well, Lord, no, I'm not. Smart answer. Smart answer. No, I'm not sure, but Lord, where else can I go? Thou alone has the words of eternal life. These things no longer satisfy me. There was a time, God, when I associated the receiving of these things with a sense of God loves me. And I am happy because God has done this for me. It's okay. That's okay. There's a place for that. But now, Father, those things no longer make me feel that way. There's a longing. There's an emptiness. There's a hole in my heart. God, only You can fill it. Now, Lord, in answer to your question, no, I'm not sure I want to know, but Lord, I've got no other alternative. I don't want You to give me what I had on my list. That doesn't work. It leaves me empty. Father says, okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. I hear your heart. I will give You what You've asked for. But You must learn. Yes, Father. You must learn to trust me. Why? And we're going to close with this. Job. That's an extra long chord, Norman. Thank you. I just realized it. I can move up. One of these days, we're going to have one that goes right out there. Fifty feet, praise the Lord. Oh, thank You, Father. Father, we delight in Your presence this morning. We delight in Your heart. We delight in Your Word. We delight in You, Lord. We honor this woman. We honor her, Lord. We honor her. We honor her love. We honor her devotion. And, Lord, we pray that You will take us and deliver us from the Simon-Pharisee religion. You love Simon. But you had something to say to Simon. God says, Son, you're going to have to trust Me because I've heard your prayer. I am delighted that you took your list and threw it away. I am thrilled that you have come to Me and you have said, I want to know You, but you must trust Me. Why, Lord? Job 1.8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered My servant Job? A righteous man. A man who was blessed. A man who prospered. A man who loved God. A man who loved God so much that when his children had parties, he would go and offer up sacrifices for them just in case they sinned while partying, God would forgive them. He was an intercessor for his children. Have you considered My servant Job? I believe. Allow Me this liberty. You don't have to believe it if you don't want to. I believe in the midst of Job's heart. A righteous man. One who shunned evil. One who was blessed. One who prospered. One who was known in all the land as a man of God. I believe in the depths of Job's heart. God was saying, God. God was saying, Job, what would you like? Job could hardly ask Him for anything else. He had everything. Children, prosperity, honor. He sat in the community as one that judged. I believe that in the midst of all this activity, Job was saying, God, I want to know You. Thank You for blessing me. Thank You for making my head anointed with oil. Thank You for causing everyone to see Your blessing on my life with God. Where are You? I want to know You. And that, that is what provoked God to ask the question, hast Thou considered My servant Job? There is none like him in the earth, a perfect man and upright, one that feareth God and shuns all evil. Now listen. Listen. Remember the question? God says, I've heard your cry, but you've got to trust Me. Trust you, God? Okay, but what do you mean trust you? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Does Job fear You for nothing? Another translation, Does Job fear You for no reason at all? In other words, is Job like the woman that the king who stripped himself from his kingly array and put on pauper's clothes? Is Job like the woman that was attracted to him for no other reason other than, I love you. Period. The great test is about to begin. And it all is over, the issue. Can a man love you, God, for simply you? Here we go. This is where we're closing. Trust me. Oh, if that little son knew at nine when he said, Daddy, I want to work with you. If he only knew when his dad said, Okay, but you can't start tomorrow. There's some work that needs to be done. But when it's done, I promise you, there'll be a place for you if he only knew the work. Listen. Verse 10, Hast Thou not made a hedge about him and about his house and about all that he has on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands and his substance is increased in the land. Here it is. But put forth thine hand now and touch all that he hath. Everyone in your heart say that. You have to say it out loud. Say it in your heart with me. And touch all that he hath. In closing, a lengthy foundation we laid. We bring it all together. This brings us to our next session. When we awaken and Father says, What would you like? And we throw out our toy list and we say, Father, I want you. Father says, Good. But trust me, because I must touch all that you have. And in the subsequent messages, we're going to discover that God touching all that we have is the means by which He gives us what we ask for. Himself. And delivers us from our captivity. Ourself. Hallelujah to God. Let's bow our hearts in a moment of prayer. Father, thank You. This is Your moment, Lord. Speak to our hearts. Prepare our hearts. And enable us to be brought to the place where we can ask for You and You alone. And give us the grace when in response to our request, You begin to touch all that we have. For we realize, Lord, that nothing can have us if we are to have You entirely. I'll say that again. Nothing can have us if we are to entirely have You. Speak to us, Lord, in the next few moments before we close, please. We ask in Jesus' name, Amen and Amen. Now, we're going to continue this in subsequent times. And I just want to encourage you to pray when you gather together. Pray, Lord, help me to hear your heart cry. Thank You, Lord, for Your grace. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord. Just tell Him in your heart, Lord, You are.