1 00:00:03,900 --> 00:00:05,600 Well, good morning Crossing Church. 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:10,700 How are you doing today? It is so good to see all of you 3 00:00:10,700 --> 00:00:12,600 today. So I dress myself. 4 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:20,400 And when I, when I put this on this particular shirt, just 5 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:22,900 doesn't lay it's a long, it doesn't lay right. 6 00:00:22,900 --> 00:00:25,500 So I decided to tuck it in. I know I'm breaking a lot of 7 00:00:25,500 --> 00:00:27,700 rules, so I took it in. I thought, you know what? 8 00:00:27,700 --> 00:00:29,800 I'll do, I'll just wear a jacket over it. 9 00:00:30,900 --> 00:00:34,100 So I went down my to daughter-in-laws were down, 10 00:00:34,100 --> 00:00:35,500 there I go. So how do I look in? 11 00:00:35,500 --> 00:00:39,500 This should never ask that question to anybody but they 12 00:00:39,500 --> 00:00:42,100 went you look great that I think that works. 13 00:00:42,100 --> 00:00:46,700 Yeah that I think it's good. So Allison was in the driveway. 14 00:00:46,700 --> 00:00:51,400 So I walked out to the driveway and I go she goes take that off 15 00:00:52,300 --> 00:00:58,100 right now. So I took it off and put it back 16 00:00:58,100 --> 00:00:59,400 upstairs. I'm looking at myself in the 17 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,900 mirror and I went Welcome to Target. 18 00:01:03,900 --> 00:01:11,400 Can I help you find anything? And so I share this on Thursday 19 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,200 night. The camera people said, no your 20 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,800 Jake from State Farm. That's who you are. 21 00:01:20,300 --> 00:01:21,700 Yeah. What are you wearing khakis? 22 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:26,800 All right, so Just just saying, I want to welcome all of our 23 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:29,400 locations that are joining all over this region. 24 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,800 So thankful for each and every one of you and if you're inside 25 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,900 her online, we're thankful for you that we get to do life 26 00:01:35,900 --> 00:01:39,000 together and experience the presence of the Lord together is 27 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,100 nothing quite like it. You know, we all deal with 28 00:01:42,100 --> 00:01:47,700 self-esteem issues, all of us do at some level, like with what 29 00:01:47,700 --> 00:01:49,700 you're wearing. And I've noticed that there's a 30 00:01:49,708 --> 00:01:53,700 big difference in my generation and how I was raised and the 31 00:01:53,900 --> 00:01:57,400 Racing that's coming up. Now, I watch this with my kids 32 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:01,300 as they're raising my five grandchildren and I don't care 33 00:02:01,300 --> 00:02:05,100 what it is, that my grandchildren do, whether they 34 00:02:05,100 --> 00:02:09,100 make a poopy diaper or they turn off the light in the bathroom, 35 00:02:09,100 --> 00:02:12,700 or they pick something up that, they've dropped the two favorite 36 00:02:12,700 --> 00:02:16,300 words that all of my kids say is they're raising their kids are 37 00:02:16,300 --> 00:02:21,200 these two words could job. Everything is good job. 38 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,100 Good job, get. Do you do that? 39 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,600 Good job and it occurred to me. I looked, I thought back on my 40 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,500 life and my parents, and I can't remember a single time that my 41 00:02:32,500 --> 00:02:35,100 mother and, father, ever looked at me and said, good job. 42 00:02:35,900 --> 00:02:40,100 So if I really want to get out, get under Allison skin, she's 43 00:02:40,100 --> 00:02:44,000 doing something, I'll look at her, I'll go, good job and I 44 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,400 don't want to tell you what she does after that, but I'll just 45 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,000 tell you that that I do that and I think that It's kind of born 46 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,100 out of this desire to want to build self-esteem, to want to 47 00:02:54,100 --> 00:02:57,200 build, self-esteem in your children, and in your 48 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,800 grandchildren. And I think that's a good thing. 49 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,900 And we're in a series called weeds in my garden, and we're 50 00:03:02,900 --> 00:03:07,100 talking about different kinds of challenges mental illness 51 00:03:07,500 --> 00:03:10,400 issues, mental illnesses, that we might be dealing with. 52 00:03:10,700 --> 00:03:13,800 And I know this one might seem like, it's on the surface, but 53 00:03:13,900 --> 00:03:15,900 that's what I'm going to be talking about today. 54 00:03:16,100 --> 00:03:19,100 I'm going to be talking about self-esteem, particularly low 55 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,900 self-esteem. And how that can move into 56 00:03:21,900 --> 00:03:25,800 actual self-loathing and I'm going to start in a really 57 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:27,800 unlikely place because that's just kind of me. 58 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,000 And I want to see a show of hands here at our location, all 59 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,100 locations. How many of you either were 60 00:03:36,100 --> 00:03:41,300 raised up with, or have now a nickname or a shortened name? 61 00:03:41,300 --> 00:03:45,200 How many of you have that? Yeah, most of you and your 62 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,200 called that, right? And the people in from a 63 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,000 familiar way? They they call you that. 64 00:03:51,100 --> 00:03:53,700 Do you have have any idea where that came from? 65 00:03:53,700 --> 00:03:57,100 Have you ever asked? And most of you maybe have that 66 00:03:57,100 --> 00:04:01,100 maybe someone people in your family don't Know why you have 67 00:04:01,100 --> 00:04:03,900 that particular name? And I think that would be a 68 00:04:03,900 --> 00:04:06,800 great conversation starter after the service today? 69 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,700 If you're with family to say, so where did you get that name or 70 00:04:10,700 --> 00:04:14,000 why do I call you that? Well, my name is one of those. 71 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,500 It's an odd name. And I'm going to, I'm going to 72 00:04:17,500 --> 00:04:19,700 say something here. That you probably won't believe 73 00:04:19,700 --> 00:04:21,100 it first, but then you will later. 74 00:04:21,100 --> 00:04:26,200 And that, is that my name comes from a very strange, maybe even 75 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:36,400 completely unique origin from from any of you. so, when my mom 76 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:41,900 and dad were dating, They had pet names for each other. 77 00:04:43,100 --> 00:04:45,600 Do you have pet names for each other? 78 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:48,800 Those of you that are couples right pet names for each other 79 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,700 and they really needed them. I mean I'm like a lot of 80 00:04:51,700 --> 00:04:53,800 families. My parents really needed that 81 00:04:53,900 --> 00:04:56,700 because my dad's name is Arlo Ellsworth. 82 00:04:57,700 --> 00:05:00,400 And, you know, I just can't see my mom going. 83 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:05,100 Arlo, hey, Arlo. My mother's name was Bernice 84 00:05:05,100 --> 00:05:11,100 Lodge so they have some weird names right and my mother wanted 85 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:13,100 a familiar name to call my father. 86 00:05:13,100 --> 00:05:16,000 So instead of calling him Arlo he called him Larry. 87 00:05:17,300 --> 00:05:21,600 He just she just took the A and the L and kind of mixed it all 88 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:25,600 up and came up with Larry. So that was her pet name for my 89 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,000 dad. Well, my dad wanted to rhyme. 90 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,600 He wanted to have a name that rhymes with Larry, so he called 91 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:35,900 my mother Jerry, which has nothing to do with Bernice 92 00:05:35,900 --> 00:05:42,400 Lodge. so, when my brother was born, my older brother, they 93 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:50,000 named him Larry I think I'm the only person at the Crossing that 94 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:55,100 was named after my mother. I don't know if any of you are 95 00:05:55,100 --> 00:05:58,600 named after your mother but I was actually named after my 96 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:02,900 mother and and you know it wasn't a Bible name, it wasn't 97 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,800 something that that came from, you know, earlier person that 98 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:12,000 was named at in my family and as I reflect on it I really like 99 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:15,000 that name. I liked it because it was based 100 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:22,700 on my mom and dad's love for each other. so, you know, you 101 00:06:22,700 --> 00:06:24,400 all know that names mean things, right? 102 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:28,600 They they mean things to us and that's just as an ancient thing 103 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:30,800 is it is a contemporary thing, right? 104 00:06:31,300 --> 00:06:35,000 So like ancient Bible names, all have meanings. 105 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:39,400 Every one of them has a meeting we interpreted into English and 106 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:42,300 we go okay in English I think that's a really good message or 107 00:06:42,300 --> 00:06:45,100 I think that's a really good thing to say. 108 00:06:45,100 --> 00:06:48,300 And so I'm going to name my child this because it has this 109 00:06:48,300 --> 00:06:52,500 particular meeting might change the word of the The way it's 110 00:06:52,500 --> 00:06:54,900 spelled, we kind of like that meeting. 111 00:06:54,900 --> 00:06:58,600 And I'm sure that if you've used a Bible name, for one of your 112 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,300 children, when you named your children, you know what that 113 00:07:01,300 --> 00:07:06,200 name means? When I named my oldest Benjamin 114 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,000 David. I knew that that meant in Hebrew 115 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,200 it meant beloved Son of my right hand. 116 00:07:14,300 --> 00:07:18,200 And all my other children have meanings for their names as 117 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,800 well. Jesse means the Lord is real. 118 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:26,500 Joseph means the Lord will add and Abigail means a father's 119 00:07:26,500 --> 00:07:29,800 Joy. Now, I'm sure that even though 120 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:33,500 they have those names, they haven't always lived up or down 121 00:07:33,500 --> 00:07:35,200 to those names you. And, I mean, that they haven't 122 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:39,700 always felt like that, whatever their name was or the meaning of 123 00:07:39,700 --> 00:07:43,000 that name. That that was like a description 124 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,300 of their life. And I would imagine that goes 125 00:07:46,300 --> 00:07:48,800 for you too. That you may struggle with your 126 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:53,000 life and maybe you have one of those kinds of names, but it 127 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:58,900 just doesn't fit sometimes. And you know why that is It's 128 00:07:58,900 --> 00:08:06,100 because life just happens. Doesn't it either life runs into 129 00:08:06,100 --> 00:08:11,600 you or you run into life? But when that happens, there is 130 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,100 an impact. There's a collision, whether 131 00:08:14,100 --> 00:08:17,700 it's things that other people did or things that you did 132 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:21,800 choices that you made or choices that other people made for you. 133 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,700 Or it's just maybe just life in general when those things slam 134 00:08:25,700 --> 00:08:29,000 into one another and they can slam into one another, at a high 135 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,700 rate of speed. It can create enough impact that 136 00:08:32,700 --> 00:08:35,299 will leave fractures in your life. 137 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:41,600 You might have cracks in your life because of those 138 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,300 circumstances and those impacts that happen. 139 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,500 So I'm reflecting on this as I'm preparing to preach. 140 00:08:48,500 --> 00:08:53,100 And of course, first person that came to my mind was Naomi in the 141 00:08:53,100 --> 00:08:56,300 Old Testament. Yuri, you can read her story in 142 00:08:56,300 --> 00:09:00,300 the Book of Ruth. It's actually a very short Bible 143 00:09:00,300 --> 00:09:03,300 book in the Old Testament. You can read it in, probably 30, 144 00:09:03,300 --> 00:09:10,200 45 minutes but her name in Hebrew Naomi is the way you 145 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,200 would say. My sweetness or sweetie. 146 00:09:13,700 --> 00:09:18,200 That was her name. But her life, endured some 147 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,300 incredible impacts. They were hard impacts. 148 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,700 You see, she was married, she had two boys, they were living 149 00:09:25,700 --> 00:09:28,800 in Israel, and a famine. Came had nothing to do with her. 150 00:09:29,500 --> 00:09:31,300 Had nothing to do with anybody else's Choice. 151 00:09:31,300 --> 00:09:34,100 It just had to do with there wasn't enough rain, and there 152 00:09:34,100 --> 00:09:37,200 was a famine and people were starving, and they had to figure 153 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:39,900 out what to do. And so they decided to leave 154 00:09:39,900 --> 00:09:44,800 their home country and move down in the South to Moab where there 155 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:48,100 was food. And then had to be incredibly 156 00:09:48,100 --> 00:09:52,300 hard for her to leave family, and extended family, and 157 00:09:52,300 --> 00:09:55,800 culture, and language. And so many other things to go 158 00:09:55,800 --> 00:10:01,200 into this other Pagan country, a country, that worshipped idols. 159 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,900 That would have been a hard impact on her and after they had 160 00:10:05,900 --> 00:10:10,000 been there, some time and her two sons had gotten married her 161 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:16,500 husband dies leaves her a widow bam, that's another impact in 162 00:10:16,500 --> 00:10:20,800 her life. And no sooner does her husband 163 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,700 died that not one but both of her sons die. 164 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:29,900 Leaves her in a foreign country without a husband. 165 00:10:30,100 --> 00:10:35,000 Without either one of her son's she has two daughters in law and 166 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:39,000 it it just becomes more it fractured her. 167 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:43,500 It left cracks in her life so much. 168 00:10:43,500 --> 00:10:48,000 So that she said, I don't want anyone to call me Naomi anymore 169 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:51,000 from now on, I want you to call me Mara. 170 00:10:52,900 --> 00:10:57,000 Mara in Hebrew means my bitterness the exact opposite of 171 00:10:57,000 --> 00:10:59,900 the name. She was born with from my 172 00:10:59,900 --> 00:11:05,800 sweetness to my bitterness. She actually told her 173 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:10,100 daughters-in-law to leave her to her bitterness and to go back to 174 00:11:10,100 --> 00:11:13,300 their people and start life over again. 175 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:18,700 One of them refused to do it. Her name was Ruth and that's 176 00:11:18,700 --> 00:11:24,100 what the Book of Ruth is about. But understand this about Naomi, 177 00:11:24,300 --> 00:11:28,900 she was low. I mean that's low self-esteem 178 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,300 maybe to the point where we might call it self-hating or 179 00:11:32,300 --> 00:11:35,700 self-loathing and you know what, I think. 180 00:11:35,900 --> 00:11:38,400 I think that there are many of us that can relate to that. 181 00:11:39,300 --> 00:11:40,500 That there's something that's happened. 182 00:11:40,500 --> 00:11:43,200 In your life may be multiple things that have happened in 183 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:49,000 your life and they have fractured you in some way. and 184 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:52,500 when your life and your heart and your soul gets fractured, 185 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:56,000 There's something that can happen that can be very 186 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:01,100 destructive and it's referred to in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 15. 187 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,000 It says see to it. That no one falls short of the 188 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,700 grace of God, that no. This is it right here. 189 00:12:06,900 --> 00:12:10,700 No Bitter. Root grows up to cause trouble 190 00:12:10,700 --> 00:12:17,900 and to defile many. Low self-esteem is rooted in 191 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:23,400 bitterness a particular kind of bitterness self bitterness. 192 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:27,800 It's like bitterness throws off the seeds. 193 00:12:28,900 --> 00:12:32,400 And those seeds find their way into the fractures and the 194 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:36,100 cracks of your life. And that's where they germinate 195 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:38,600 and that's what the Hebrew writers talking about when he 196 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,400 says Bitterroot. It's like they get down inside 197 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,300 those cracks, they germinate and they start to grow and 198 00:12:44,300 --> 00:12:46,800 bitterness starts to grow out of that. 199 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:53,000 It can take over your whole life, it can Define your 200 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,900 personality, it can do all sorts of negative things. 201 00:12:55,900 --> 00:13:01,500 So if you are struggling with low self-esteem, I am struggling 202 00:13:01,700 --> 00:13:05,200 with low self-esteem. Maybe it's even going further 203 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:10,100 than that to self-hating or loathing or self-harm, what kind 204 00:13:10,100 --> 00:13:15,800 of Hope does the bible give us. What can we find in there that 205 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:19,600 we can pull out of that? And what do we do with it? 206 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,400 How do we incorporate that into our lives? 207 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:26,600 So that we won't be in this circumstance, that can lead us 208 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,900 to even worse circumstances. I was thinking about that and 209 00:13:30,900 --> 00:13:34,700 there are so many Bible characters that I could call 210 00:13:34,700 --> 00:13:38,100 your attention to today. But I want to share with you. 211 00:13:38,100 --> 00:13:41,100 It's kind of like me. I want to share with you the 212 00:13:41,108 --> 00:13:43,400 story of someone that many of you. 213 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:46,100 Most of you have never heard of before. 214 00:13:47,300 --> 00:13:51,200 Because he's an obscure character in The Bible, but I 215 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:55,800 think that even in the obscurity of his character, he could 216 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:59,700 really really help you today. His story could really help you 217 00:13:59,900 --> 00:14:03,600 today and his name is mephibosheth. 218 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:08,700 I want you to say that with me. It's mephibosheth. 219 00:14:08,700 --> 00:14:11,200 Ready? Mephibosheth? 220 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,500 Yeah. Mephibosheth was the son of 221 00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:16,700 Jonathan. You may have heard of Jonathan. 222 00:14:16,700 --> 00:14:21,900 He is a pretty famous character in The Bible because he was best 223 00:14:21,900 --> 00:14:25,500 friends with David. Who later became king. 224 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:31,900 He was also a prince because his father was King Saul, so he was 225 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:37,300 part of royalty. And mephibosheth was Jonathan's 226 00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:42,200 son. Only that wasn't his name when 227 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:46,400 he was born. When mephibosheth was born, he 228 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,500 was born to the highest privilege that anyone could have 229 00:14:50,500 --> 00:14:52,700 had. I mean, he was the son of a 230 00:14:52,700 --> 00:14:54,400 prince, who was the son of a king? 231 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:58,300 He was in the royal family, he would live in the Royal Palace, 232 00:14:58,300 --> 00:15:01,500 right? But his name at Birth wasn't 233 00:15:01,500 --> 00:15:03,800 mephibosheth. It was Mera. 234 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:07,700 Baal. Now, if you read that in your 235 00:15:07,700 --> 00:15:10,000 Bible, you might pronounce it Maribel. 236 00:15:11,100 --> 00:15:16,000 And you may hit remember the term bail in the Old Testament 237 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:18,600 because the bail was the name of an idol. 238 00:15:19,500 --> 00:15:23,600 His the name of this Idol was actually not pronounced bail, 239 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:30,100 it's pronounced but all And here this little boy, that is born to 240 00:15:30,100 --> 00:15:33,900 Jonathan and his wife, they named him Mirabal, which kind of 241 00:15:33,900 --> 00:15:36,800 at first goes, you're naming your kid after an idol. 242 00:15:37,900 --> 00:15:41,800 Actually, it means it's a great name and it means one who 243 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:46,700 opposes blah. So, you looked at his son, when 244 00:15:46,700 --> 00:15:51,700 he was born thinking of what to name him, and he saw him as a 245 00:15:51,700 --> 00:15:55,800 hero, who would pull down altars and Idols, so that people would 246 00:15:55,800 --> 00:16:00,800 worship the one true God instead of these false gods, these Idols 247 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:05,300 that were raised up, right? And that was an idol. 248 00:16:05,300 --> 00:16:07,700 That was worshipped at that time, it Israel. 249 00:16:07,700 --> 00:16:11,400 And I think to myself for his name to be meribah, all what a 250 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:14,600 great start. What a great start to life 251 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:19,200 Jonathan is his father's a great man, a mighty man in the Old 252 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:23,900 Testament and kind of like Uncle David you know kind of his his 253 00:16:23,900 --> 00:16:26,800 dad's best friend and then to live in the palace and all of 254 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:29,200 that. But you know what? 255 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:34,200 The fracture came. Like it comes to all of us. 256 00:16:35,500 --> 00:16:39,600 Whether life runs into you or you run into life, the impact 257 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:45,300 happens and fractures form and cracks begin to show themselves 258 00:16:45,300 --> 00:16:49,400 and it came to him little meribah all when he was 5 years 259 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:55,700 old. His grandfather Saul had 260 00:16:55,700 --> 00:17:02,500 betrayed God over and over again to the point that God said to 261 00:17:02,500 --> 00:17:06,500 him that he was going to lose control of the throne that the 262 00:17:06,500 --> 00:17:08,400 throne was going to be torn away from him. 263 00:17:08,700 --> 00:17:12,500 And then to the point where he continued to be this way to the 264 00:17:12,500 --> 00:17:15,700 point where he said, I'm not going to protect you, you're 265 00:17:15,700 --> 00:17:18,099 going to go out there and you're going to have to live with the 266 00:17:18,099 --> 00:17:22,400 consequences of those mistakes and one of those mistakes was Go 267 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:26,500 to battle. But he went to battle anyway. 268 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:32,300 And he died in that battle. And because Jonathan was a good 269 00:17:32,300 --> 00:17:34,700 son and stayed next to his father. 270 00:17:34,700 --> 00:17:38,100 Even though his father was doing things that were against God, he 271 00:17:38,100 --> 00:17:42,200 too died in that battle and they desecrated their bodies and they 272 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:47,000 hung them on the outside wall of their city, like a trophy. 273 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:53,500 And the word went out to all of Israel that the King was dead 274 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:58,400 and that his son was dead. And then, of course, you know, 275 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:02,400 it's going to be upheaval. Like who's going to get control 276 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,400 of the throne, who's going to get control of the country, 277 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,700 what's going to happen? And people kind of went berserk. 278 00:18:08,700 --> 00:18:12,300 And one of those people that went berserk was the nurse who 279 00:18:12,300 --> 00:18:15,100 was taking care of little meribah. 280 00:18:16,500 --> 00:18:21,300 She had him in her arms and she was running with him afraid that 281 00:18:21,300 --> 00:18:24,000 something bad would happen to him, wanting to protect him. 282 00:18:24,100 --> 00:18:27,300 And while she was running overwhelmed with grief holding 283 00:18:27,300 --> 00:18:32,400 him, and she hears this because she heard this news, she tripped 284 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:36,900 and fell. Meribah all was thrown out of 285 00:18:36,900 --> 00:18:41,100 her arms and fractured both of his feet in the fall. 286 00:18:42,500 --> 00:18:47,400 They were not able to be set correctly or heal properly and 287 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:52,700 for the rest of his life. Mephibosheth at that time known 288 00:18:52,700 --> 00:18:55,300 as Mera. Baal was unable to walk. 289 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,600 Five years old. You can't really blame him for 290 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:05,200 any of this, right? Had to do with some decisions, 291 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:08,700 his grandfather made it had to do with a battle, he was 292 00:19:08,700 --> 00:19:12,100 supposed to go into had to do with the decision that his dad 293 00:19:12,100 --> 00:19:15,600 made to honor, his father, had to do with, you know, a nurse 294 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,100 that wasn't doing what she was does. 295 00:19:18,300 --> 00:19:22,200 It doesn't really matter if it was him or somebody else or just 296 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,600 life in general the the reality of his life was that he lost 297 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:29,800 everything. Before I even knew what it meant 298 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:33,800 to have everything, he lost everything, he wasn't, he wasn't 299 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,100 the son of a prince and a palace anymore. 300 00:19:38,300 --> 00:19:42,800 And none of it was his fault. But it became his reality. 301 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:48,200 And after Saul died, eventually David became king. 302 00:19:49,300 --> 00:19:53,200 And David mourned, the death of Saul and he especially mourned, 303 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:55,000 the death of his best friend. Jonathan. 304 00:19:56,200 --> 00:20:00,900 And I want to pick that story up in second, Samuel chapter 9 305 00:20:00,900 --> 00:20:05,700 verses 1 through 8. David asked, is there anyone 306 00:20:05,700 --> 00:20:09,600 still left in the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for 307 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:13,700 Jonathan sake. Now, there was a servant of 308 00:20:13,700 --> 00:20:17,500 Saul's household name ziba, and they summoned him to appear 309 00:20:17,500 --> 00:20:21,600 before David and the King said to him, are you ziba at your 310 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,400 service? He replied the king asked. 311 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:28,600 Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can 312 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:32,200 show God's kindness Ziva answered the king. 313 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:38,000 There is still a son of Jonathan he is lame in both feet. 314 00:20:39,300 --> 00:20:42,700 Where is he? The king asked ziba answered. 315 00:20:42,700 --> 00:20:46,800 He is at the house of machir. Son of a meal in Lo debar. 316 00:20:47,500 --> 00:20:51,200 So King David had him brought from Lo debar, from the House of 317 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:55,200 machir, Son of a meal. When mephibosheth son of 318 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:58,300 Jonathan, the son of Saul came to David. 319 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:04,200 He bowed down and paid him honor, David said, mephibosheth 320 00:21:04,300 --> 00:21:08,300 At Your Service, he replied, Don't Be Afraid. 321 00:21:08,300 --> 00:21:12,300 Now he had a reason to be afraid because as the grandson of the 322 00:21:12,300 --> 00:21:16,700 previous king and the prince being dead, David could see him 323 00:21:16,700 --> 00:21:18,700 as a threat to the throne, right? 324 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:23,500 But this is not how David responded, that's why he said 325 00:21:23,500 --> 00:21:26,800 don't be afraid. David said to him for, I will 326 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:30,200 surely show you kindness for the sake of your father. 327 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:34,000 Jonathan, I will restore to you all the land that belonged to 328 00:21:34,008 --> 00:21:38,400 your grandfather, Saul and you will always eat at my table. 329 00:21:40,100 --> 00:21:42,100 This is the part. I really want you to see. 330 00:21:43,700 --> 00:21:50,200 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, what is your servant that 331 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:54,200 you should notice a dead dog like me? 332 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,000 I don't think that was hyperbole. 333 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:04,400 I think that's exactly how mephibosheth felt about himself. 334 00:22:05,700 --> 00:22:08,200 Because of what had happened in his life because of the 335 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:13,000 fractures in his faith, in his heart and his soul. 336 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,900 And I think you would agree with me, that that is showing some 337 00:22:16,900 --> 00:22:22,300 pretty low self-esteem, if that's how he views himself. 338 00:22:23,100 --> 00:22:25,800 And you know what, that's the problem with self-esteem. 339 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:33,000 It's based in self. You see a steam is what you and 340 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:36,200 I need but it's the self part of it. 341 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:41,000 That is the problem and I'll explain that you see a steam, 342 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:44,600 the definition of a steam means to have respect for or 343 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:49,400 admiration for but it's kind of hard to have that for yourself 344 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:53,900 to respect yourself or admire yourself when, you know what 345 00:22:53,900 --> 00:23:00,400 nobody else knows about you. And if they knew what you knew, 346 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:04,100 what you know about you, they might not have very much esteem 347 00:23:04,100 --> 00:23:06,100 for you. And so, what do we do? 348 00:23:06,100 --> 00:23:10,000 We put on these fronts, we put on these plastic Coatings. 349 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,800 We try to make everybody think that we're something that we're 350 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:16,000 not, you know what, we're good actors when it comes to this 351 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:18,900 kind of thing, or maybe we just the opposite, you know? 352 00:23:18,900 --> 00:23:21,900 We just want everybody to pity us for some reason we say, 353 00:23:21,900 --> 00:23:25,800 certain things like that, that that to get some of that energy 354 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,000 from I'm them, right? All of those things start to 355 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:34,400 happen because we're struggling with idea of respect or 356 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:41,100 admiration for self, you know, you Now, if you would go to a 357 00:23:41,100 --> 00:23:43,900 counselor, they can give you some great advice. 358 00:23:44,500 --> 00:23:47,300 And I think that this advice is all good. 359 00:23:47,900 --> 00:23:51,700 They would say things like overcome low, self-esteem by 360 00:23:51,700 --> 00:23:56,300 learning to accept compliments. That's a good thing, right? 361 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:58,500 Have you ever noticed that when you're struggling with low 362 00:23:58,500 --> 00:24:00,200 self-esteem? You want to prove everybody 363 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:05,800 wrong when they compliment you. How about give yourself a Break 364 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:10,100 by using positive? Self-talk, that's a good idea. 365 00:24:10,700 --> 00:24:15,600 How about love yourself Flaws and All not the idea of what you 366 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:18,900 want yourself to be, but who you are right now, love yourself, 367 00:24:18,900 --> 00:24:22,700 flossing. On value, the person that you 368 00:24:22,700 --> 00:24:27,800 are, that's good advice. Recognize that high self-esteem 369 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:31,600 is an important thing. That is good for you, that you 370 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:37,000 need to have a higher view of yourself seek support. 371 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,000 It, it's always good to have people around you to encourage 372 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,400 you to lift you up when you feel low, right? 373 00:24:42,500 --> 00:24:45,900 How about this started? Gratitude Journal, start writing 374 00:24:45,900 --> 00:24:49,000 things down, showing you the things that you can be grateful 375 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:52,200 for that God has done in your life or the other people have 376 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:56,000 done in your life. Try to squash - thinking they 377 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:00,900 might say, think of yourself as a friend, they Might say just 378 00:25:00,900 --> 00:25:04,100 keep working on it they might say. 379 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,800 And like I said, all of those things are really good good 380 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:13,300 mechanisms. They're all good ideas, but 381 00:25:13,300 --> 00:25:18,000 there is something missing. Something missing in those ideas 382 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:23,200 and it's the spiritual problem that we all have with ourselves. 383 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:30,300 Because I think that down deep We can all feel a lot like 384 00:25:30,300 --> 00:25:37,100 mephibosheth. Maybe not so deep, maybe it's 385 00:25:37,100 --> 00:25:41,400 right up to the surface where we say things like life hasn't been 386 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:45,200 fair to me. Like life is Left Me Broken. 387 00:25:45,700 --> 00:25:49,900 I am full of fear. I feel helpless and I even feel 388 00:25:49,900 --> 00:25:55,000 shame that you might like mephibosheth want to compare 389 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,600 yourself to like a dead dog. I feel like that. 390 00:25:59,900 --> 00:26:04,100 And I think we need something more than coping mechanisms. 391 00:26:05,500 --> 00:26:09,000 Something more. Than the names that we give 392 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,300 ourselves. You know, failure regret, defeat 393 00:26:13,300 --> 00:26:18,100 perfectionism, disappointment circumstances, being a victim 394 00:26:18,100 --> 00:26:19,800 going unnoticed, you know, the names. 395 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:24,200 You give yourself. And that's why I started the 396 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:28,000 sermon with this idea of names. The names. 397 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,800 Other people give us the names that we give ourselves. 398 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:36,300 Because they kind of signify how we feel or how someone felt 399 00:26:36,300 --> 00:26:39,600 about us. At the time, we need a new name. 400 00:26:41,500 --> 00:26:45,000 We need a new name. I think we need a new name that 401 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:49,900 signifies a new self. You know, who does that? 402 00:26:51,900 --> 00:26:57,700 God, does that? God gives us a new name and he 403 00:26:57,700 --> 00:27:00,600 gives us a new self. You can go back in the Old 404 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:04,400 Testament. You remember, Abraham his name 405 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:07,800 wasn't, he wasn't born Abraham, he was born Abram. 406 00:27:09,300 --> 00:27:11,600 But God changed his name to Abraham. 407 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:14,900 You know why? Because Abram means exalted, 408 00:27:14,900 --> 00:27:16,400 father. That's pretty good. 409 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,800 Right. But Abraham means, father of a 410 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:25,200 multitude. You see how God lifted him up? 411 00:27:25,700 --> 00:27:29,100 His wife's named? Sarah, that's not the name. 412 00:27:29,100 --> 00:27:32,000 She was born with, she was born with the name Suri. 413 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:37,500 I God changed it to Sarah Siri. I means my princess, that's 414 00:27:37,500 --> 00:27:40,600 pretty good. But Sarah means my queen. 415 00:27:43,700 --> 00:27:47,200 God changed Jacob's name to Israel. 416 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:53,400 Jacob was a twin, he and his brother were both born, breech 417 00:27:53,700 --> 00:27:57,600 his brother was born before him, and when he came out of his 418 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:00,900 mother's womb, his hand was holding onto the heel of his 419 00:28:00,900 --> 00:28:03,100 brother. The word. 420 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:06,000 Jacob means one who grasps the heel. 421 00:28:06,500 --> 00:28:10,800 It's also the term for usurper and if you read about Jacob's 422 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:15,800 life, that's exactly who he was. He did so many things taking 423 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,300 what did not belong to him, he was a usurper. 424 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:24,400 But when he wrestled with God, God changed his name to Israel. 425 00:28:25,100 --> 00:28:28,300 Which doesn't mean usurper. It means contender. 426 00:28:30,700 --> 00:28:34,800 And he elevated him. Jesus did it too. 427 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:40,400 One of his closest friends and closest disciples with Simon. 428 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:45,200 Simon son of John. Right. 429 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,200 And Simon's name means the listener. 430 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:53,300 That's good. But Jesus, taint changed his 431 00:28:53,300 --> 00:29:01,200 name to Peter which means Rock And you're all saying, well, 432 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,100 that's well and good for Bible, characters and Bible names. 433 00:29:05,500 --> 00:29:10,500 God gives you a new name. You have a new name. 434 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:13,700 When I was a kid, we used to sing out of the hymnal. 435 00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:20,300 And there was a song in there. And it went, there's a new name 436 00:29:20,300 --> 00:29:23,100 written down in glory and it's mine. 437 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:27,900 Oh yes, it's mine. Let me show you where he said 438 00:29:27,900 --> 00:29:32,300 that in Revelation 2:17, Whoever has ears. 439 00:29:32,500 --> 00:29:34,800 Let them hear what the spirit says, to the churches, to the 440 00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:38,300 one who is Victorious. God says, I will give some of 441 00:29:38,300 --> 00:29:40,800 the Hidden Manna. I will give that personal white 442 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:48,600 stone with a new name, written on it known only to the one who 443 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:52,200 receives it. He has a new name for you. 444 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:56,000 Every one of you that's in an intimate, personal relationship 445 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,800 with Jesus Christ. And it's not just a new name, 446 00:29:59,300 --> 00:30:03,000 it's not just a title. It's a new self that goes with 447 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:06,100 it. Paul writes about it in second 448 00:30:06,100 --> 00:30:09,900 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore, if anyone is in 449 00:30:09,900 --> 00:30:13,200 Christ, that means an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus 450 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:16,600 Christ. The new creation has come that 451 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:20,300 new self has come the old self, is gone. 452 00:30:20,900 --> 00:30:25,300 The newest here? He gives you a new self and a 453 00:30:25,300 --> 00:30:28,200 new name. That's pretty awesome 454 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:33,900 mephibosheth. Had his father's land restored 455 00:30:33,900 --> 00:30:37,500 to him. As David did that David invited 456 00:30:37,500 --> 00:30:40,800 him to sit at the Kings Table, not as a guest. 457 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:46,900 But as one of his own sons and he got a new name, you see, when 458 00:30:46,900 --> 00:30:52,300 this story is told, it's told in Reverse like all this has 459 00:30:52,300 --> 00:30:56,300 happened and then the person is writing about it from the future 460 00:30:56,300 --> 00:30:59,800 to the Past, right? Because in the future, his name 461 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:02,500 is mephibosheth. That's why begins this way even 462 00:31:02,500 --> 00:31:04,400 though his name actually, was mihrab. 463 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:11,600 Real first. You see mephibosheth got a new 464 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:16,500 name and you know what it means. No more shame. 465 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:26,700 You're not a dead dog anymore. Your something completely new. 466 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:33,300 We all have a self. You have one, I have one and you 467 00:31:33,300 --> 00:31:35,900 have the fear and the shame that goes with that. 468 00:31:35,900 --> 00:31:40,100 But God can give you something that you can never ever. 469 00:31:40,100 --> 00:31:45,100 Give yourself for all the coping mechanisms, only God has the 470 00:31:45,100 --> 00:31:48,600 ability to give you the victory and he does this by giving you a 471 00:31:48,608 --> 00:31:54,300 new self and a new name and that comes through a relationship 472 00:31:54,300 --> 00:31:58,000 with Jesus Christ. It's the only way God doesn't 473 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,600 want you to cope. He wants you to have victory in. 474 00:32:01,900 --> 00:32:03,700 And you can have that victory in life. 475 00:32:03,700 --> 00:32:08,000 Listen your land will be restored. 476 00:32:08,500 --> 00:32:14,400 You will sit at the Kings Table. You will because he's adopted 477 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:18,200 you into his family, you see? He didn't just give you a new 478 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:21,900 name, he gave you his name. Amen. 479 00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:26,700 Gave you his name, You Belong with him, you belong in his 480 00:32:26,700 --> 00:32:31,100 family with a new name, and a new purpose, and a new future. 481 00:32:31,100 --> 00:32:37,800 And that only comes That Victory only comes in a relationship 482 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:41,800 with Jesus Christ. We're moving to a time of 483 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:51,000 decision. So right now, some of you Have 484 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:52,800 never come into this relationship. 485 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:58,300 Some of you have never Stepped into a relationship with Jesus 486 00:32:58,300 --> 00:33:00,300 Christ. And I'm not talking about having 487 00:33:00,300 --> 00:33:03,500 religion, and I'm not talking about being a church member, and 488 00:33:03,500 --> 00:33:05,600 I'm not talking about having a religious family. 489 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:09,800 I'm talking about, you and Jesus having a relationship with each 490 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:12,600 other. That's what I'm talking about. 491 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:16,600 Were you understand him? You see. 492 00:33:19,300 --> 00:33:25,200 Self-esteem is kind of a lie. Right. 493 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:29,300 Because you know the truth you don't need to have a steam. 494 00:33:30,900 --> 00:33:35,300 From yourself. It's not how you view yourself. 495 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,300 It's how God views, you need to have goddess team. 496 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:44,200 See you and I we live down our identities, they're down in the 497 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:46,100 lower story. It's all in the Life 498 00:33:46,100 --> 00:33:49,200 circumstances that we have. We live down in this in this 499 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:52,100 kind of dark reality. Kind of a locked basement that 500 00:33:52,100 --> 00:33:56,100 we can't get out of right. That's where we are. 501 00:33:56,300 --> 00:33:59,600 But if you could just here for a minute, how God views you? 502 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:09,600 Not as a servant as a child. Now, someone who doesn't 503 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:14,000 deserve. But someone who does deserve. 504 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:19,300 not because of how you view yourself, but because of how he 505 00:34:19,300 --> 00:34:24,699 views you How in the world can a god, almighty God. 506 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:28,300 Look at someone like me and look at someone like you and go. 507 00:34:28,300 --> 00:34:34,000 I want you to sit at my table. I want you to be called by my 508 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:36,699 name. You are so valuable to me. 509 00:34:36,699 --> 00:34:41,199 As a matter of fact, your valuable enough that my only son 510 00:34:41,900 --> 00:34:46,600 would die for you. And pay your debt, so that I 511 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:48,199 could give you eternity in heaven. 512 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:52,500 This is how God views you, you know, what, why settle why 513 00:34:52,500 --> 00:34:56,199 settle for self-esteem when you can have goddess team because 514 00:34:56,300 --> 00:34:59,100 that's where it all changes, when it's not so much how you 515 00:34:59,100 --> 00:35:03,800 view yourself, but how you know, God views you, because when you 516 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:07,100 know that God views you that way, it changes how you view 517 00:35:07,100 --> 00:35:13,800 yourself. Some of you need to come into 518 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:16,200 that relationship. Today, there's going to be 519 00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:18,900 somebody right over there by that baptistry that would love 520 00:35:18,900 --> 00:35:23,400 nothing more than to talk to you about what it means to take 521 00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:26,600 those next steps may be. That next step is today, happens 522 00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:28,300 every week at the Crossing right. 523 00:35:29,300 --> 00:35:32,700 How many do we see today? You see the old self going down 524 00:35:32,700 --> 00:35:35,100 in the water? You see the new stuff coming up 525 00:35:35,100 --> 00:35:37,700 out of the water? Every anybody ever looked like 526 00:35:37,700 --> 00:35:40,500 really sad or like, that was a bad decision when they came up 527 00:35:40,500 --> 00:35:44,500 out of the water. Some of your go out of, I want 528 00:35:44,500 --> 00:35:49,200 to do that because I know me and I'm inconsistent and I'm 529 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:52,700 hypocritical and I'm gonna blow it, will sure you're gonna blow 530 00:35:52,700 --> 00:35:56,600 it? Do you realize the battle that I 531 00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:58,200 go through? Every time I get up on that 532 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:01,700 stage? What gives who do you suppose is 533 00:36:01,700 --> 00:36:04,500 talking to me saying, what gives you the right to tell other 534 00:36:04,500 --> 00:36:07,400 people how to live their lives when you're struggling with 535 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:12,500 yours? Some of you will go. 536 00:36:12,500 --> 00:36:14,400 That's your inner voice. Jerry some of you go, that's a 537 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:16,600 devil Jerry. I don't care what you call it, 538 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:20,200 it's not how God views me. The reason I get to stand up on 539 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:24,400 that stage and talk to you is because God says, son, get up on 540 00:36:24,408 --> 00:36:31,200 that stage and talk to people. Just that simple. 541 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:36,900 And then I don't have, I don't have to get down to that low 542 00:36:36,900 --> 00:36:39,500 place. I can live up in the upper story 543 00:36:39,500 --> 00:36:46,300 if I choose to and I invite you to today. some of you here 544 00:36:46,300 --> 00:36:50,600 today, you've made that decision, but don't Think, for a 545 00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:54,100 minute. You don't find yourself down in 546 00:36:54,100 --> 00:36:56,000 the shadows of that lower story, I do. 547 00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,800 And that's why we have steps at this stage where people can get 548 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:03,100 down on their knees and they can cry out to God whose their 549 00:37:03,100 --> 00:37:06,800 heavenly father who loves them beyond our even ability to 550 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:11,900 understand it. In the cry out to him and he 551 00:37:11,900 --> 00:37:15,700 hears our prayers. And he lifts us up. 552 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:19,200 And unlike mephibosheth nurse, he doesn't drop us. 553 00:37:20,100 --> 00:37:24,300 Ever. Maybe you just need that 554 00:37:24,300 --> 00:37:28,000 encouragement today. Spend some time with the Lord, 555 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:30,200 turn some stuff over to him. Some of you. 556 00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:33,300 It may not be about you at all. It may be about someone that you 557 00:37:33,300 --> 00:37:35,400 love, you're carrying their burden right now. 558 00:37:35,700 --> 00:37:39,200 You're hurting for them. You're trying to figure out a 559 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:41,200 way, you can fix them and you can't. 560 00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:48,400 But God can I invite you to bring them up and pray over them 561 00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:51,900 today. There's going to be plenty of 562 00:37:51,908 --> 00:37:53,600 people. This place is going to be full 563 00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:56,400 up here. But there's room. 564 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,200 Would you stand with me? Pray with me. 565 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:04,000 Heavenly Father and Jesus name, take this moment, your moment 566 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:07,900 like every moment and I pray, father, that you would break 567 00:38:07,900 --> 00:38:14,000 through where all the cracks are in our heart, all those routes 568 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:19,300 that have sprouted. Bitterness just another weed in 569 00:38:19,300 --> 00:38:23,400 the garden. I pray, father's, you pull those 570 00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:29,200 weeds men. Those cracks do that by the 571 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:32,400 love. That came from your son, Jesus 572 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:36,900 directly to us. In Jesus name, amen.