1 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:08,200 Thank you for listening to Riverbend Church's podcast. 2 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,560 To find out more about this message or Riverbend Church, 3 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:14,920 connect with us online at Riverbend Church dot live. 4 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,480 Man, nothing like being able to start off our Sunday with some 5 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,080 baptism. We actually get to celebrate 6 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:28,520 more baptisms in the 11:00 service. 7 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,400 So really excited about that. If this your first time with us 8 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,360 at Riverbend, let me go ahead and tell you if somebody hasn't 9 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:37,480 told you yet. Thank you so much for choosing 10 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:39,560 to be here with us. We hope that you have already 11 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,120 felt so very welcomed and very much at home. 12 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:44,480 My name is Ben. Get the service lead pastor. 13 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:46,640 We'd love to personally thank you. 14 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,920 After the service, meet with you, place a small gift in your 15 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,320 hand. You just do us the greatest 16 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:54,880 favor by doing two things. If you're new to riverbend #1 17 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,480 simply make yourself at home #2 that Connect card that you 18 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,480 received on your In whatever info you feel comfortable 19 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:04,599 passing on that Connect card, just jot it down. 20 00:01:04,599 --> 00:01:07,440 That let's us know where to ship a small thank you gift out to 21 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,960 you in the mail. But coming off of Easter week, 22 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:14,320 man, incredible, incredible week. 23 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,000 We can't get over everything that God has done throughout the 24 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,640 past week or so, and we hope that you can't either. 25 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,280 But this morning we're going to be starting a brand new series 26 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:29,760 going through the life of Jonah. We're going to be doing an in 27 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,880 depth exploration of the Old Testament book of Jonah. 28 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,000 And Jonah is probably most famously known for what, being 29 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,840 swallowed by fish or whale. Yeah. 30 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,360 So I think it's only appropriate to kick off this series by 31 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,600 giving some giveaways. Here's some hats you probably 32 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:47,720 want to look up. It just says, get in, loser. 33 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:52,320 We're following God's will. So there you go. 34 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,720 There you go. That one curved. 35 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:06,120 That one curved again. So nothing makes you feel better 36 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:08,320 on a Sunday morning than the pastor throwing you a hat that 37 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:12,960 says get in loser, right. Anyway, so one of the things 38 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:16,320 we're going to find out throughout this series, really, 39 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:18,160 really excited about it. Several things. 40 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:20,960 I just want to let you know on the on the forefront of it. 41 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:24,920 I believe that what we're about to walk through over the next 42 00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:28,400 several weeks together through the life and the teachings of 43 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,800 the book of Jonah is going to be the most important, probably the 44 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,880 most applicable series that we have gone through walkthrough 45 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:39,480 throughout this year to date. Second of all, I believe that 46 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,760 some of us are going to experience a freedom like we've 47 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:47,040 never experienced before throughout this series. 48 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,120 But in order for us to understand and for, in order for 49 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,240 us to receive and get everything that God wants to give us 50 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,280 throughout this series and throughout the book of Jonah, I 51 00:02:57,280 --> 00:02:59,240 got to go ahead and give you a heads up and a warning. 52 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:04,600 It's going to require some pretty uncomfortable and brutal 53 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,600 level of honesty, self-awareness, being honest 54 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:12,160 with yourself about yourself. And the fourth thing that I 55 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,400 would tell you about the book of Jonah is, even though it's 56 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:19,720 probably probably most well known for the incident in which 57 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:21,480 Jonah's swallowed by a great fish. 58 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,280 We'll get to that next week. But even though it's it's 59 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,720 probably most well known for that incident, the Book of Jonah 60 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,040 is not really about a fish. The Book of Jonah is really 61 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:35,720 about freedom. And really the book of Jonah, if 62 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,520 I were to summarize it into one phrase, the book of Jonah is 63 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:43,240 really about the lies that we so easily believe and the truth 64 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,760 that can actually set us free. So let's go ahead and dive in 65 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,000 really quick. Book of Jonah, If you have a 66 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,440 Bible with you, Jonah chapter one verse one for you super 67 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,680 spiritual people out there, there's no shame in using the 68 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,720 table of contents because it's a really tricky book to find in 69 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:02,920 the Old Testament. But if you don't have a Bible 70 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:04,760 with you, no worries. The passage is on the top of 71 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:06,760 your note sheet and it's on the screen. 72 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:10,480 Jonah chapter one, verse 1, verses one through 3, says, now 73 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:14,200 the word of the Lord came to Joseph or Jonah the son of Amata 74 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:17,920 saying, arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out 75 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,560 against it, for their evil has come up before me. 76 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,920 But Jonah rose and fled, rose to flee to Tarshish from the 77 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:27,360 presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa. 78 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:30,600 We're going to see if that's the seaport in a moment, and found a 79 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:35,640 ship going to Tarshish. So we paid the fare and he went 80 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:40,760 down into it to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence 81 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:46,280 of the Lord now sets the stage for the entire book of Jonah 82 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:49,520 sets the stage for the entire series that we're about to walk 83 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:51,640 through. But I think before we go any 84 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:53,960 deeper, I think that it's really important that we have some 85 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:59,160 background info on who Jonah is and exactly what's going on. 86 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:03,720 Who is Jonah where and, and, and what is Nineveh and, and, and 87 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:05,360 what's the big deal with all of it? 88 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:09,880 Well first of all, Jonah was an Israelite prophet. 89 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:15,520 He was a prophet of Israel and he actually ministered in around 90 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:20,040 the 8th century BC, so 8 centuries before the birth of 91 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:22,760 Jesus. We first see Jonah appearing in 92 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:26,840 the pages of scripture in Second Kings chapter 14 to where he's 93 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:30,920 ministering up underneath Israel's King Jeroboam. 94 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:33,920 Jeroboam. Now what made Jonah different 95 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:37,680 from his contemporaries, especially Amos and Hosea? 96 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,400 Amos and Hosea had a way of prophesying, getting a word from 97 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:46,760 God and prophesying and criticizing the the royal 98 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:51,560 administration's stance of of injustice on its people and 99 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:55,080 unfaithfulness towards God. Jonah, on the other hand, were 100 00:05:55,080 --> 00:06:01,160 able to read in Second Kings 14. Jonah actually was a fan of 101 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,640 Jeroboam. King Jeroboam's aggressive 102 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,800 military policy that sought to expand the borders, expand the 103 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:11,200 power, and expand the influence of Israel. 104 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,840 That's one of the things that made Jonah unique from his 105 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:17,840 contemporaries. Another thing that we'll see 106 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:22,760 about Jonah throughout this book of the Old Testament is Jonah 107 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:28,320 struggled greatly with racism and nationalism, greatly with 108 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:31,960 racism and nationalism. A very unique thing about 109 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:36,000 Jonah's calling is God actually called Jonah not just to 110 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:41,040 prophecy against foreign kingdoms and foreign powers and 111 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:44,640 empires, the Assyrians in this case, he actually called him to 112 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:49,320 go to those, to those places that that was very, very rare. 113 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:52,480 Very few of any of the Old Testament prophets did God ever 114 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:57,200 call to go to a foreign land to prophecy against them. 115 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:01,400 Jonah was pretty much the only one that we're able to read 116 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:05,760 about in Scripture. Now, why did Jonah, when he got 117 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:11,120 the call from God to go to Nineveh, why did he go to 118 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:13,440 Tarshish? Why did he go the opposite 119 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:16,040 direction? Well, like I just said, he 120 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:18,000 struggled greatly. And we'll see this playing out 121 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,840 through the book of Jonah. It's only four chapters long, 122 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,720 but Jonah struggled greatly with racism and nationalism. 123 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:29,480 I think that was reason number one reason #2 is Jonah could not 124 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:34,920 fathom how God could ever pour his grace out on a people that 125 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:38,480 were so brutal. Now, us sitting here, 126 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:43,280 Gainesville, GA 2026, a lot of times we don't know about the 127 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:45,720 brutality of the Assyrian Empire. 128 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:49,320 Nineveh just so happened to be the capital city of the Assyrian 129 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:51,480 Empire. But let me kind of give you some 130 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:52,800 stats. So let me kind of give you a 131 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,800 depiction of what Jonah would have been facing here. 132 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,200 He struggled to go to the Assyrian Empire because they 133 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,760 were known as the cruelest, most violent empire on the face of 134 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,040 the planet. The Assyrian kings would often 135 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:10,680 tell stories or depict their victories in battles by 136 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:15,320 explaining planes, entire planes or fields of corpses and cities 137 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:19,240 burned all the way down. There was a famous Assyrian king 138 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:21,280 by the name of Shallow Mancer the Third. 139 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,440 Shallow Mancer the Third actually had artwork 140 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:29,400 commissioned and in which he depicted through stone large 141 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:33,919 stone tablets and released the decapitations of his of his 142 00:08:33,919 --> 00:08:37,600 enemies. The Assyrian army was very very 143 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,880 well known for after they conquered a people they would 144 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:44,000 gather all the people together. They would cut off their legs 145 00:08:44,159 --> 00:08:48,520 and cut off 1 arm just so that they could shake the hand of the 146 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,440 dying person as one last final insult to them. 147 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:57,960 They were very well known for for for forcing loved ones and 148 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,760 friends to carry the decapitated heads lifted up on poles and 149 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:05,960 parades throughout Nineveh. They were also very well known 150 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,640 in the city of Nineveh to take to take prisoners, to take 151 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:11,840 foreigners. They would stretch them out, 152 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:16,760 flay them alive, and hang their skins outside of the city walls. 153 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:20,160 We're talking about some bad, bad people here. 154 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:24,040 This is not who you would necessarily want to just go 155 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:26,760 straight into. So we're starting to get a 156 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:30,240 picture of what Jonah would flee in the opposite direction. 157 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:34,480 The the geopolitical background here is you have the Assyrian 158 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:39,520 Empire exacting a heavy, heavy tax on the Israelite country and 159 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:42,600 then even always threatening their very existence. 160 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:48,080 And you can read throughout history in, in, in around 744 161 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:53,920 BC, you have, you have an Assyrian king by the name of 162 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:58,480 Sennacherib who finally just goes and wipes out Samaria, the 163 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,320 the capital city of Israel and takes them away. 164 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:08,560 So again, we're starting to understand a little bit why when 165 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:18,320 God calls Jonah to walk 550 miles east, he hops, he goes 166 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:24,160 down to the near seaport, gets on a ship in Joppa heading 2500 167 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,600 miles West. You see Nineveh. 168 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:31,200 He called him to go to Nineveh, which is modern day Mosul, Iraq. 169 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:36,360 Instead, Jonah decide not I'm not going there, I'm going to 170 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:42,720 sail towards modern day Spain. And here we have here we have 171 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:50,200 the 1st example or exhibition of a lie that Jonah believed. 172 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:54,160 And it's so easy for you and I to believe. 173 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:57,280 It's so easy for you and I to believe. 174 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:01,160 But I think like after going through all of that, you may be 175 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:04,160 sitting here thinking, OK Ben, thank you so much for the 176 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,800 history lesson or not. I could have done without the 177 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,440 fillet alive and skins hung on the walls. 178 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:15,120 Thank you for that though. But man, it's good to know, but 179 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:17,800 I'm not a prophet. Glad I'm not a prophet. 180 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,840 Glad I'm not called by God. Well, yes and no. 181 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:25,960 No, you're not a prophet like Jonah. 182 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:31,720 None of us are. But yes, you and I are called by 183 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,520 God. Let me get you to do an exercise 184 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:35,920 with me. Take out the bullets in the note 185 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,000 sheet that you received on your way in. 186 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:43,000 At the top of that note sheet there's a TTCE that stands for 187 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:44,840 the Truth that Changes Everything. 188 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:48,800 Jot this down really quick. Every person has a God-given 189 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:54,120 call on their life. Every person has a God-given 190 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:58,600 call on their life. Look at the person next to you 191 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:00,640 and say you have a God-given call on your life. 192 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:06,080 Look at the person on the other side of you and say you too. 193 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,360 Every person has a God-given call on on on their life. 194 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:15,480 That God-given call is to know God to to grow in a relationship 195 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:20,000 with God and to be used by God. All of those things and and that 196 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,080 has to be put into practice daily. 197 00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:26,600 Now, we're not like Jonah in that Old Testament office of 198 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:30,840 prophet, but we still have a God-given call on our lives. 199 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:34,800 But just like Jonah, we do have the option to embrace that 200 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:37,760 God-given call or to reject that God-given call. 201 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:41,960 Here's what I would tell you if you and I were to take seriously 202 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:45,360 and to embrace this truth that changes everything. 203 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,400 Man, we'd set the world on fire to where instead of just getting 204 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:52,680 up and going through the motions and, and, and qualifying 205 00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:55,440 ourselves of hey, I'm just a blank. 206 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:59,440 I'm just a student, I'm just a store worker. 207 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:01,960 I'm just an employee. I'm just a mechanic. 208 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,320 I'm just a, a doctor. I'm just a lawyer. 209 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:08,800 I'm just a stay at home mom instead of qualifying ourselves 210 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,440 in those ways. And if we qualified ourselves as 211 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:16,960 hey, I have a God-given call, the day that each day that God 212 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:21,560 wakes me up is an opportunity for me to embrace and to run 213 00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:25,280 towards this God-given call that would change absolutely 214 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:27,520 everything. Now when we talk about this 215 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,200 God-given call, and maybe it's just me, I think our minds often 216 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:33,880 wonder to all the ways in which we've fallen short and all the 217 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:36,720 ways that we've blown it, say, well, Ben, you tell me I have a 218 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:39,280 God-given call, but you don't know my past. 219 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:44,760 You know, I've really blown it. Well, me too. 220 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:48,560 And this is where I want to introduce us to a main truth or 221 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:51,560 the big idea that's going to be running throughout this series. 222 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:53,200 Here it is if you're taking notes with us. 223 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:56,280 Main idea, big idea. God's mercy is greater than my 224 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,240 mess. God's mercy is greater than my 225 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:02,240 mess. Turn to the person next to you 226 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:04,440 and say, God's mercy is greater than your mess. 227 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:09,280 Turn to the person on the other side of you and say, and that's 228 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:14,200 a big mess. But then look at them and say 229 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:18,640 God's mercy is greater. God's mercy is greater than our 230 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:21,840 mess. There's no exception clauses to 231 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:24,520 that. It doesn't matter the longevity 232 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,000 of your mess. It doesn't matter the severity 233 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,120 of your mess. It doesn't matter the complexity 234 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:32,240 of your mess. God's mercy is greater than your 235 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:34,880 mess. God's mercy is always greater 236 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,880 than your mess. But what ends up happening is we 237 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:43,400 often accept a law and we don't live in the truth and the 238 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,720 freedom that is found in that principle that God's mercy is 239 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:49,720 greater than my mess. So what do we do? 240 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:53,080 We end up we just stay stuck in the mess, right? 241 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,960 So I want to show you something talking about how God's mercy is 242 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,080 greater than our mess. I want to go back and read these 243 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,520 first 3 verses of Jonah one again together, and then we're 244 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:06,880 going to talk about the lie that we so often believe. 245 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:09,600 Check this out again. Jonah 11 Now the word of the 246 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:12,240 Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amata, saying, arise, go to 247 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:15,160 Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their 248 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:18,480 evil has come up before me. But Jonah rose to flee to 249 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:21,040 Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 250 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:25,080 He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. 251 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:28,400 So we paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to 252 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:30,600 Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. 253 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,080 And right there we had the first example of the lie that we often 254 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:35,440 believe. Check this out if you're taking 255 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:37,240 notes with us. This is the lie that we often 256 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:38,960 believe. The various opportunities for me 257 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,480 to display or to disobey God are just random everyday 258 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:44,920 occurrences. The opportunities for me to 259 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:49,800 disobey God are just some sort of random everyday occurrences. 260 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:56,520 Think about what we just read in Jonah 11 through three word of 261 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:58,920 the Lord comes to Jonah. Jonah, I want you to go to 262 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,160 modern day Mosul, Iraq. Jonah's like, no, I think I'm 263 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:04,040 going to go to the local seaport, Joppa. 264 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:06,600 And hey, it must be my lucky day. 265 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:12,440 There is a ship waiting here in the harbor that just so happens 266 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:16,760 to be heading in the exact opposite direction that God's 267 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,320 called me to go. What are the odds? 268 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:23,600 And apparently it must have been an affordable rate for that 269 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:25,800 cruise. Jonah paid the rate. 270 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,200 He hopped on board, went down below decks, and then he 271 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:32,240 probably, like, tucked himself into bed and he took a nap. 272 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:36,560 And we'll see how Jonah's woken up next week in the midst of a 273 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,000 storm. But Jonah's probably sitting 274 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:40,520 there going, man, what are the odds? 275 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,640 Now, you and us sitting here in this room or joining us online, 276 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:47,720 we would sit there and go. I don't think that that was just 277 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:51,280 coincidental or, or, or, or just happenstance. 278 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,080 Well, you know, the same thing is true for for us. 279 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:59,080 Let me kind of unpack that. This lie that we believe, 280 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:02,000 listen, it's so easy to believe that the temptations that I 281 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,400 face, they're just coincidental, they're just casual or they're 282 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,079 just common. These lies that we face, they're 283 00:17:09,079 --> 00:17:12,599 just coincidental, casual are common. 284 00:17:13,319 --> 00:17:17,760 We think maybe the temptation that, that, that, that we face, 285 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:20,880 we think that they just appear out of nowhere. 286 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:22,960 They're just, they're just random. 287 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:26,839 We think the temptations that we face, they because they don't 288 00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:28,920 come at us in loud and obvious ways. 289 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,720 They seem small. Or the temptations that we face, 290 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:35,480 they, they just seems like everybody faces them. 291 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:38,080 They, they, they feel, they feel normal. 292 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,040 And because they feel random and because they feel small and 293 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:46,080 because they feel normal, there's another truth. 294 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:47,680 That's actually what makes them dangerous. 295 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:51,000 Because if you keep tracking with us, here's what we're going 296 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,680 to find out is the danger with sin giving into that temptation. 297 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:58,960 The danger with sin is how easily it feels harmless, how 298 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:02,040 easily it feels harmless. And it's really easy just to 299 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,760 give in to that, that sin or that temptation that feels 300 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:09,560 random or feels small or it just feels normal. 301 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,720 It's just so easy. But that's actually the danger 302 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:17,800 because it feels harmless. And I would tell you that it's 303 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:21,040 anything but harmless. I want to read to you. 304 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:24,200 There's a, there's a quote that I came across that really 305 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:27,720 explains the consequence of sin better than I've ever heard it 306 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:29,880 stated. It's a quote from Tim Keller. 307 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:32,880 This is what he wrote. He said the results of sin are 308 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:35,760 often more like the physical response you have to a 309 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:40,120 debilitating dose of radiation. You don't suddenly feel pain the 310 00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:42,920 moment that you're exposed. It isn't like a bullet or a 311 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:45,960 sword tearing into you. You actually feel quite normal. 312 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:50,320 Only later do you experience symptoms, but by then it is too 313 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:54,680 late. Sin is a suicidal action against 314 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:58,120 the will upon itself. It's like taking an addicting 315 00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:00,120 drug. At first it may feel wonderful, 316 00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:03,360 but every time it gets harder to not do it again. 317 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:07,320 Here's just one example when you indulge yourself in bitter 318 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:08,840 thoughts. I know that none of us ever do 319 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:12,640 that, right? All right, yeller, holier than 320 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:14,720 me. When you indulge yourself in 321 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:19,120 bitter thoughts, it feels so satisfying to to fantasize about 322 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:22,720 payback. Man, I am a great defense 323 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:26,560 attorney in the shower. I can argue a situation from two 324 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:28,920 years ago. I'm awesome. 325 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:31,200 Don't believe me? Ask me later, I'll tell you. 326 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:34,360 But you do that slowly and surely. 327 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:37,760 It will enlarge your capacity for self pity. 328 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,000 It's going to erode your ability to trust and enjoy 329 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:45,400 relationships, and generally drain the happiness out of your 330 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:48,680 daily life. Sin always hardens the 331 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,000 conscience, locks you in a prison of your own defensiveness 332 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,240 and rationalizations, and eats you up slowly from the inside. 333 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:58,600 Check this last statement out. All sin has a mighty storm 334 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:01,480 attached to it. Isn't that so true? 335 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:06,560 All the calls? A random thought just to indulge 336 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:09,440 in in in in bitterness. Just to entertain bitter 337 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:13,360 thoughts and fantasize about payback and just toss them 338 00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:15,200 around and turn them around in our heads. 339 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:19,240 Something that seems random, something that seems small, 340 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:21,640 something that seems very normal and ordinary. 341 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:27,440 It ends up going to have drastic and destructive consequences. 342 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:34,440 So how do we, if that's the lie that we believe that like these 343 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:38,320 opportunities to disobey God are random, what's the truth that 344 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:40,560 God wants us to see this morning? 345 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:44,040 Taking notes with us quickly. The opportunities to disobey 346 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,880 God, they're not random. They're strategically and 347 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:50,400 intentionally positioned to pull me away from God. 348 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,040 They're not random. The opportunities and the 349 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,880 temptations that I face, the opportunities to disobey God, 350 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:03,280 His word, His call on my life. Hey, God, instead of taking the 351 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:07,680 opportunity this day to know you, grow in you, and to be used 352 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,240 by you, I think I'm just going to do my own thing today. 353 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:14,440 Those opportunities, those thoughts, they're not random. 354 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,240 They're strategically and they're intentionally positioned 355 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:26,360 to pull me away from God. Instead of Jonah going man down 356 00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:28,560 here at the harbor, there's a there's a ship heading to 357 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:31,320 Tarshish. It's still in the harbor and 358 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:34,560 it's an affordable rate. It must be my lucky day. 359 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:40,480 We should look at that and go, of course there was, of course 360 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:42,360 there was. There's always going to be an 361 00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:46,920 opportunity, a very strategic, precise opportunity for you and 362 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:49,960 I to disobey God's call on our lives. 363 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:52,600 Let me get you to do an exercise really quick. 364 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,040 I want you to think about in the room online with us. 365 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,000 I want you to think about what is your greatest area of 366 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,520 temptation? What is your greatest area of 367 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:03,440 temptation? Where do you struggle the most 368 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,840 in temptation? It could be it could be anger, 369 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:11,520 it could be it could be lust, it could be materialism, it could 370 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,600 be, it could be anything. What? 371 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:19,640 What's your what's your greatest temptation like you knowing you 372 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,520 deep down, What's your weakest spot? 373 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:26,560 Now turn to the person next to you and tell them, I'm just 374 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:27,280 kidding. Don't do that. 375 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:29,920 Don't do that. That'll make it really weird. 376 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:35,400 But I wanted to get you to think about something. 377 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,840 Do you realize that not everybody had the same thoughts 378 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:43,240 when I said, hey, think of the greatest temptation, the 379 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,040 greatest struggle like your weakest part. 380 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:48,600 Do you realize that not everyone, the same thing came to 381 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:51,600 everyone, everyone's mind? Why is that? 382 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:54,880 Well, let's look a little bit deeper into it. 383 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:56,960 You see, when we're talking about strategic and 384 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:59,360 intentionally positioned, I believe the temptations that I 385 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:02,360 face and you face, they're specifically shaped for me based 386 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:04,720 on my story, my struggles, my surroundings and my season. 387 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:11,120 They're tailor made for you. They're tailor made for me. 388 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:15,880 That's why as a church, River Bend Church, we are committed. 389 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:20,560 We are not going to tier or to level temptations or struggles 390 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:23,960 like, hey, if you struggle with this, you're welcome. 391 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:26,360 If you're struggle when struggling with that, you need 392 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:28,200 to clean up your act. And then once you get your act 393 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,000 together now you can come and join us. 394 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:32,640 Listen, we're not going to tear or to level out different 395 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:36,600 struggles or temptations because they're all going to be unique 396 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,640 to the unique uniqueness that God created all of us in. 397 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:46,520 You see, here's the thing, my story, our enemy, our enemy will 398 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:50,720 actually leverage your past to derail your calling. 399 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:56,040 Our our enemy. He knows your struggles and he 400 00:23:56,040 --> 00:24:01,000 will exploit your weak spots to distract you from your calling 401 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:05,280 your, your surroundings like who, who you, who you're around 402 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:08,800 and and what is normalized in, in your in your sphere of 403 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:10,880 influence in your circle of life. 404 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:15,640 He will use those things to absolutely wreck your calling 405 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:20,320 the season that you're in. He will use that season as an 406 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:25,640 excuse to get you to try to tempt you and convince you that 407 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:27,920 you don't have to live out this calling. 408 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,280 And that's just simply not true. And here's the here's the thing. 409 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:37,320 This is where we have to be very, very self aware is as my 410 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:40,920 story changes, my struggles change, my surroundings change 411 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:44,280 and my seasons change, the temptations that come against me 412 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:47,120 will also change and they'll morph. 413 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,400 That's why I always have to be very self aware of the 414 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:53,720 temptations and the opportunities for me to disobey 415 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:58,600 God in my life. Listen, I cannot even begin to 416 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:01,960 tell you. I can't even begin to tell you 417 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:05,880 pop up that next statement force. 418 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:11,960 I can't even begin to tell you how important this truth is. 419 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,160 Write this down. What is pulling me away from God 420 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:17,520 is actually pushing me toward toward a wrecked life. 421 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,040 It's amazing how easy it is for us. 422 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,200 And I say us because I'm included in this. 423 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,920 It's amazing how easy it is for us to actually believe. 424 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:32,440 Listen, I may not be following God's will for my life, but 425 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:36,080 that's not the same as heading toward a wrecked life. 426 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:41,600 Again, that is a lie. Here's what I would tell you 427 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:46,040 looking at the life of Jonah. Jonah was not just running away 428 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:50,440 from the call of God. He was actively running toward a 429 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,280 consequence that he could never fathom. 430 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:58,560 He was actually running towards a storm that he had no idea was 431 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,600 on the horizon. Listen, I'm not saying that 432 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:05,240 every storm in life is the result of sin, but what I will 433 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,880 tell you, every sin has a storm attached to it. 434 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:12,840 You see, Jonah wasn't just running from God, He was running 435 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:17,520 toward a wrecked life. So there's no riding the fence 436 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:20,920 of I'm going to be halfway in, halfway out with God when it 437 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:23,680 comes to living out my daily calling and my daily mission to 438 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:27,200 know Him, to grow in Him, and to be used by Him. 439 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:31,680 If I'm not being pulled towards God, I'm being pulled away from 440 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:33,560 God. And if I'm pulled towards God, 441 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,440 I'm being pulled towards towards holiness and godliness. 442 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:39,520 And if I'm being pulled away from God, I'm being actually 443 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:43,480 pulled away from godliness and holiness and toward a wrecked 444 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:46,440 life again. I can't even begin to tell you 445 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:50,240 how many conversations I've had with people that they've slowly 446 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:53,160 but surely drifted away from God. 447 00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:57,120 And by the time I'm having a conversation with them, there's 448 00:26:57,120 --> 00:27:00,920 a lot of wreckage and baggage. Unnecessarily unnecessary 449 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:04,600 wreckage and baggage, all because of a drift away from God 450 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:09,080 and toward a wrecked life. Now there's grace in that mess. 451 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:12,960 God's mercy is greater than that mess, but it's also unnecessary. 452 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:18,960 So how do you and I, how do we avoid going down that same path? 453 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:22,720 In other words, how do we reject the law and embrace the truth? 454 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,960 Give you 3 things as we head towards the close this morning. 455 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:29,520 My daily purpose is to live out my God-given calling. 456 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:32,680 My daily purpose is to live out my God-given calling. 457 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:38,560 My daily purpose is to live out my God-given calling. 458 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,920 The number one question that I'm often asked has been how do I 459 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:47,120 start and what do I do to start if I really want to grow in my 460 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:49,840 relationship with God? Great question. 461 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:53,920 My favorite question ever. And I would tell you, I would 462 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,200 tell you the same thing that I tell every person that I ask the 463 00:27:56,200 --> 00:28:00,120 question number one, we've got to prioritize. 464 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,040 We've got to prioritize reading the Bible. 465 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,760 That's God's word to US. Prioritize reading the Bible, 466 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:11,920 and I understand that that seems pretty daunting to some of us. 467 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:16,720 Let me go ahead and kind of set you free for me in my life. 468 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:20,840 I've done it both ways. I've read long stretches of 469 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:23,680 passages. I've kind of had it in my brain 470 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:27,480 like, hey, no matter what, I have got to make it through 471 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:32,320 these 4 chapters of Hosea. I may not know what they mean, 472 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:34,760 but I'm going to make it through these 4 chapters of Hosea. 473 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:40,560 Hosea is a great book, by the way, but what does it benefit me 474 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:42,920 if I if my main goal is just to make it through? 475 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:47,240 One of the things that I've I've discovered that the way in which 476 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:52,200 God has helped me the most is not necessarily concentrating on 477 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:56,800 large passages, large stretches of Scripture, but actually more 478 00:28:56,800 --> 00:29:02,280 specific pointed passages or verses that speak directly to 479 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,160 where I am. And when I prioritize reading 480 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:10,200 those passages and, and, and, and meditating on those passages 481 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:15,160 or thinking through them, studying them, memorizing them, 482 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:18,880 quoting them, or praying those passages back to God. 483 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:23,520 God loves it when we pray his word back to him and even 484 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:26,440 writing those passages down to where I come across those 485 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:30,200 passages. And there's such life in that 486 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:34,120 I've got to prioritize. And if I'm going to reject the 487 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,120 law, embrace the truth, I've got to prioritize reading the Bible, 488 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:39,680 but I've also got to normalize prayer. 489 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:42,520 And prayer is just simply talking to God throughout the 490 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:45,200 day. Prayer is simply talking to God 491 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,960 throughout the day. I also think that it's very 492 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:51,400 important, it's very key for us to wake up in the morning with 493 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:55,680 just a short prayer to God and say, God, I want to give you 494 00:29:55,760 --> 00:29:57,800 this day everything that I'm about. 495 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:04,680 Got my main goal today is to know you to grow in you and to 496 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:08,720 be used by you God would you help me to walk in holiness and 497 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:14,920 righteousness today and then at the end of the day a pretty good 498 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:19,320 self diagnostic is maybe just applying and we've put verbiage 499 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:21,920 around this as our church's mission statement. 500 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:27,440 Just asking yourself, spending some time alone and with God in 501 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:32,480 prayer and asking God, God, would you show me like, did I 502 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:36,160 really bring myself to you today? 503 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:42,280 God, did I really did? Did did I, did I grow in you 504 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:45,400 today? What, what what have you taught 505 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:48,440 me about you and what have you taught me about me and how? 506 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:52,720 How have I slowly but surely let go of more myself and invited 507 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:57,680 more of you to take control? God, did I live sent for you. 508 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:03,040 Today as a church we talk about like, bring people to Jesus, 509 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:06,240 grow generations in Jesus, send disciples for Jesus. 510 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:09,440 It's not just a corporate church thing. 511 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:13,400 That's a personal thing. God, did I bring my full self to 512 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:14,840 you? God, did I grow in you? 513 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:18,600 God, did I live sent for you. In the ways in which I fall 514 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:22,400 short, say God, I know that your mercy is greater than my mess. 515 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:27,560 Would you help me to bring my full self to you tomorrow, to 516 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:30,640 grow in you tomorrow, to live scent for you tomorrow? 517 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:35,080 The first way that we reject the lie, embrace the truth is living 518 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:38,080 out that daily that God-given calling daily. 519 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:42,160 Second thing is understanding. I cannot walk in God's will 520 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:46,160 while running from God's word. I can't walk in God's will 521 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:49,520 without running from God's word. Let me go ahead and say this as 522 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:52,640 plainly as I know to say it. God will never bless our our 523 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:55,840 disobedience. He will never bless our 524 00:31:55,840 --> 00:32:00,040 disobedience. We've got to know His word. 525 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:04,160 A lot of times we want clarity. And then God, if you give me 526 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:08,760 clarity, I'll obey your word. Can I let you in on something? 527 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:14,080 God very rarely, if ever, gives clarity before obedience. 528 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:18,280 God most often, if not always, gives clarity through obedience. 529 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,160 And there's a big difference between the two. 530 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:25,440 Hey, God, you show me the five year plan for me and then I'll 531 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:28,160 be obedient to you. And God's like, no, no, no, you 532 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:33,200 be obedient to what I've already shown you and then I'll show you 533 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:37,480 the next steps. You see, it's not clarity before 534 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:40,880 obedience. It's clarity through obedience. 535 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:45,760 So what are we called to do? We're called to read the Word, 536 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:52,720 know the Word, study the Word, apply the Word, third thing, 537 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:54,120 third and final thing this morning. 538 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:56,000 How do we reject the lie and brace the truth? 539 00:32:56,560 --> 00:33:01,080 Discernment is realizing that not every open door is from God. 540 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,640 Discernment's realizing that not every open door is from God. 541 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:13,200 You and I, we need to be on the on the intentional, the active 542 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:18,000 lookout for the temptations that that want to pull us away from 543 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,560 God and want to push us toward a wrecked life. 544 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:25,520 You and I, we have a very real enemy that he will bring some 545 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:28,760 open doors or opportunities to destroy your life. 546 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:32,440 He'll bring some open doors or opportunities to distract you 547 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:36,440 from your calling. Let me let me tell you, if 548 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:41,480 nobody has ever told you this before, not all opportunities 549 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:44,680 are from God. Many times temp, many times 550 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:48,120 temptations come wrapped as opportunities. 551 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:52,960 Not all open doors are from God. And you say, well Ben, it's 552 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:56,880 funny that you should mention an open door because right now I'm 553 00:33:56,880 --> 00:33:59,360 facing an open door. I'm facing kind of a fork in the 554 00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:02,600 road or a crossroad in my life and I just don't know which way 555 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:04,920 to go. So what in the world should I 556 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:10,440 do? Well #1 you should know that if 557 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:15,600 that opportunity, if that open door, if it violates God's 558 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:17,199 words, you know that it's not from God. 559 00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:22,520 Then I have prayed for more financial freedom and I just got 560 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,360 this call from a Mexican drug cartel that wants me to be their 561 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:32,639 chaplain, not from God. Well, Ben, they need Jesus. 562 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:35,199 True, that open door is not from God. 563 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:38,760 Wouldn't it be? So? 564 00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:40,880 Wouldn't it be a lot easier if it was just like that? 565 00:34:41,679 --> 00:34:49,840 Hey, cartel's bad. Here's here's what's worked in 566 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:52,760 my life. I've shared this story a lot, 567 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:56,679 but for me, when it comes to open doors and just kind of a 568 00:34:56,679 --> 00:35:00,240 fork in the road, I typically pray that God opens up about 5 569 00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:03,160 or 6 of them and gives me the discernment which one to walk 570 00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:06,440 through. But God knows that I'm too 571 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:09,960 stupid, so he closes all of them, opens 1, and kicks me 572 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:15,440 through it. But in that process of opened 573 00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:19,000 and closed doors, you know what I've learned To pray for God. 574 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:23,680 Would you give me an an inescapable peace about this? 575 00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:28,880 Or maybe an inescapable lack of peace about this. 576 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:38,000 Over 7 years ago, Almost 7 1/2 years ago now, this was exactly 577 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,560 where where Julie and I were when we were praying about 578 00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:43,080 whether to come here to Riverbend. 579 00:35:44,240 --> 00:35:48,240 We weren't looking to leave where we were, but we began to 580 00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:51,120 pray. God, would you give us an 581 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:53,120 inescapable peace? God, when, when? 582 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:57,320 When I think about when I think about Riverbend, when I think 583 00:35:57,320 --> 00:35:59,920 about the Gainesville community, Hall County, when I think about 584 00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:03,720 it, Would you, would you overwhelm me by your peace or, 585 00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:06,520 or God? When I think about, when I think 586 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:08,880 about staying where we're at, where we're where we're 587 00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:13,200 comfortable, Would you overwhelm me by lack of peace? 588 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:18,000 And, and here's what I would tell you if you're facing a fork 589 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:20,880 in the road or, or big decision, an open door and you're trying 590 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:23,880 to discern if it's from God or not. 591 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:27,520 Don't just sit there like Jonah and go, hey, there's a ship 592 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:30,520 waiting in the harbor going in that direction at a fair that I 593 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:32,840 could pay. Because again, sometimes the 594 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,720 temptations are disguised as opportunities. 595 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:40,440 Pray God, would you don't jump straight into something, but 596 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:43,760 God, would you give me when I pray about this opportunity? 597 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:46,120 Would you give me? And by the way, if you're 598 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:49,960 married, pray this together, husband and wife, both of y'all, 599 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:55,920 God, would you give us an inescapable peace about whether 600 00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:57,920 or not we should step forward in this open door? 601 00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:00,760 Or would you give us an inescapable lack of peace? 602 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:03,520 There's, there's just a, there's just a check in your spirit that 603 00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:07,440 you just can't get past. Like I said at the very 604 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:12,240 beginning of this time, the book of Jonah is not about a fish. 605 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:14,640 The book of Jonah is about freedom. 606 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:16,800 The book of Jonah is about freedom. 607 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:21,680 And freedom only happens in the context of rejecting lies and 608 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:26,840 embracing truth. And as we as we close things out 609 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:31,280 this morning, I want to walk us through three key questions that 610 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:34,960 will hopefully guide your time and prayer with God this 611 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:36,680 morning. Here's the first one. 612 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:44,520 What is God calling me to do that I'm hesitant to do in the 613 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:48,000 room online? The youngest person in the room, 614 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,960 oldest person in the room, most experienced church member in the 615 00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:54,480 room, Very new. First time in a church online. 616 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:57,960 Same way. What is God calling me to do 617 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:02,720 that I'm hesitant to do? Is it a move? 618 00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:06,440 Is it a conversation? It is a is it a step forward? 619 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:09,720 Is it a step back? What is God calling me to do 620 00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:16,200 that I'm hesitant to do #2 Is there a Tarshish in my life? 621 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:19,920 In other words, what am I justifying now that I know deep 622 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:24,280 down as disobedience? Man, we are so good at 623 00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:26,320 justifying and rationalizing aren't we? 624 00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:31,080 What it what? What am I participating in right 625 00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:35,920 now in my life that deep down I know is disobedience? 626 00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:43,000 3rd question am I man this is a this is a game changer of a 627 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:47,080 question. Am I actually seeking God's will 628 00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:50,560 for my life or am I just asking Him to bless mine? 629 00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:58,040 Man, that's huge. Am I actually seeking God's will 630 00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:02,680 for my life or am I just asking him to bless my will for my 631 00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:06,240 life? Sprinkle it in a little God dust 632 00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:08,120 over here. Bless what I'm doing. 633 00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:11,080 And you know that that's not what he's calling you to do to 634 00:39:11,080 --> 00:39:14,240 begin with here. Here's what I want to do. 635 00:39:14,920 --> 00:39:17,680 I just want to invite us into a Tom with our, with our heads 636 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:19,840 bowed and, and with our eyes closed. 637 00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:23,400 And I want to, I want to just guide us and just kind of kind 638 00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:26,160 of prep the time of response that we're about to enter into. 639 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:29,760 So wherever you're at, let me kind of read those three 640 00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:32,360 questions over you. And if any of those questions 641 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:37,960 resonate with you or, or apply to you, I just want to invite 642 00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:43,160 the Holy Spirit of God to go into the deep places of us to, 643 00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:47,000 to, to expose and to, to rise to the surface, to bring to the 644 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:50,840 surface of our lives and to our minds so that we can bring them 645 00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:53,800 before him anything that he needs to. 646 00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:59,200 Let me ask you a question. What's God calling you to do 647 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:03,920 that you're hesitant to do? Is it taking that step of 648 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:06,120 obedience like we just celebrated with Parker? 649 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:11,080 You sit there and go, man, that's awesome, man. 650 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:13,200 He, he, he, he took that step of obedience. 651 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:14,840 And I know that that's something that I need to do. 652 00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:18,400 I'm just so hesitant. Listen, let go of that 653 00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:21,000 hesitancy. You be obedient to God. 654 00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:25,120 Is it finally letting go and surrendering your life over to 655 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:31,640 Jesus? Is it saying yes to that job 656 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:35,240 opportunity? Is it saying no to that offered 657 00:40:35,240 --> 00:40:38,640 promotion? What is God calling you to do 658 00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:44,920 that you're hesitant to do? What are you justifying that you 659 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:52,520 know, deep down it's actually disobedience, kind of bringing 660 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:58,080 our minds back to the to the Keller quote, Man, it's a slow, 661 00:40:58,080 --> 00:41:04,040 slow burn. Keep in mind, what we justify is 662 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:05,560 not just pulling us away from God. 663 00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:07,520 It's actually pushing us toward direct life. 664 00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:11,320 And I got great news for you. God desires so much more for you 665 00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:18,200 than that, but at some point in time, you've got to acknowledge 666 00:41:19,720 --> 00:41:22,680 what you're part of is disobedience to God's, God's 667 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:27,160 will, his ways and his word, and turn back to him. 668 00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:33,840 And then I think this is a great question, a great gut check 669 00:41:34,240 --> 00:41:38,080 question for all of us. God, would you show me, am I 670 00:41:38,080 --> 00:41:43,720 really seeking your will or am I just asking you to bless mine? 671 00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:49,000 In just a moment? We're going to, I'm going to 672 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,600 pray over us. And we have an opportunity to 673 00:41:51,600 --> 00:41:54,800 stand and worship God through song again, but also another 674 00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:56,760 opportunity for us to come and pray. 675 00:41:56,760 --> 00:42:00,160 And if there's anything that you need to bring before God, if 676 00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:04,400 there's anything that you want to pray over with somebody, 677 00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:09,240 bring somebody with you to pray. If you want to come and pray, I 678 00:42:09,240 --> 00:42:11,560 promise you won't. You won't have to pray alone. 679 00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:13,760 If you want to come and pray with a pastor, we'll have a 680 00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:16,320 pastor that's here to to pray with you and to talk with you as 681 00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:20,120 well. But our main aim this morning is 682 00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:24,600 to just allow the Holy Spirit to move in freedom and empower and 683 00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:27,800 for us to respond in obedience to his movement. 684 00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:30,400 God, we love you. We thank you for your word. 685 00:42:30,600 --> 00:42:32,400 God, we thank you for your presence. 686 00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:37,320 God with us in this place, in this space, in this moment. 687 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:42,080 God, we thank you. How your word that you give us. 688 00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:45,720 God is not just simply information, is an invitation. 689 00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:50,040 It is living, it is active. God, it exposes us. 690 00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:52,960 God, it gets to the deep down parts of us. 691 00:42:56,520 --> 00:42:58,920 God, for the man or the woman or the student. 692 00:43:02,240 --> 00:43:07,800 God that is so hesitant and is holding on to be faithful and 693 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:10,200 obedient to what they know that you've called them to do. 694 00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:12,600 God, I pray that you would provide freedom and release for 695 00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:14,680 them. God, that they would have a 696 00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:17,440 greater love for you than a fear of their peers. 697 00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:24,360 God, for those that may be struggling with justifying some 698 00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:26,160 type of disobedience in their life. 699 00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:31,800 God, I pray that you would allow them to let go and that you 700 00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:35,760 would set them free. God that they would turn back to 701 00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:39,920 you. God, for all of us. 702 00:43:39,920 --> 00:43:43,640 God, I pray that our combined prayer would simply be this. 703 00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:46,200 God, would you search me and know me? 704 00:43:47,720 --> 00:43:50,440 And God, would you answer this question about me? 705 00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:56,000 God, am I truly seeking your will for me or am I just simply 706 00:43:56,080 --> 00:44:01,440 asking you to bless mine? God, I pray that you would not 707 00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:05,240 allow any of us to walk off of this campus and out of this room 708 00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:11,080 the same way that we walked in God, that we would have been 709 00:44:11,240 --> 00:44:14,600 with you. God, I pray that we would be 710 00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:17,640 obedient to what you call us to do over the next several moments 711 00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:19,720 together. And it's in Jesus name that we 712 00:44:19,720 --> 00:44:21,000 pray. Amen. 713 00:44:24,360 --> 00:44:26,800 Thank you for listening to the Riverbend Church Podcast. 714 00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:29,760 Learn more about who we are as a church and how to connect. 715 00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:32,520 You can head over to our website, Riverbend Church dot 716 00:44:32,520 --> 00:44:32,760 Life.