1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:03,360 Well, good morning, Crossing Church. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:08,560 How are you doing? Nine people are doing really 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:10,160 good. How are the rest of you doing? 4 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:19,400 So that song has some pretty profound lyrics. 5 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:24,440 I've tasted and I've seen the goodness of the Lord. 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,720 How many of you tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord? 7 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:31,800 Look at your neighbor and say someone needs to tell your face 8 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:39,360 that just because. Just because we've tasted and 9 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,080 we've seen the goodness of the Lord doesn't mean we live that 10 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:46,840 way. We're in for a little bit of a 11 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,080 ride today, so put your seat belt on. 12 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,440 Want to welcome all the campuses that are joining with us from 13 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:56,000 all across this region? If you're inside or online, 14 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,920 We're so thankful for each and every one of you. 15 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:07,760 And whoever came up with having me preach this sermon on 16 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:15,800 complaining does not know me. Like this is like you're going 17 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:21,880 to watch a total lesson in hypocrisy today because I 18 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,840 struggle with it. But I don't think I'm alone. 19 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:27,400 How many of you struggle with complaining? 20 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:29,560 Some of you go, I don't struggle with it at all. 21 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:31,680 I just do it. I just it's just natural. 22 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:34,640 I don't have. I don't have a problem. 23 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:37,440 Yeah. So maybe you should ask yourself 24 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,560 this question. If you were put on trial for 25 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,200 complaining, would there be plenty of evidence to find you 26 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,600 guilty? Probably. 27 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:50,120 I know there would be for me. I would. 28 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,080 I would go into some sort of plea bargaining right away. 29 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,800 And by the way, there's a lot of complaining in the Bible. 30 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:01,960 You know, there are a whole Bible books that are dedicated 31 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:04,440 to complaining. There really are, like, weird. 32 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:06,440 There's a book called Lamentations. 33 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:11,880 I mean, the whole book is not just about being sad, but it's a 34 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,320 lot of complaining. I mean, there are 150 chapters 35 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:19,280 in the book of Psalms, and about half of them are complaining. 36 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:23,560 So there's a lot of complaining in the Bible. 37 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:28,040 So does that mean that what those authors, those biblical 38 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:32,800 authors said was sinful? It's really a more complicated 39 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:37,120 question than that. Because see, sometimes when I 40 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:41,520 think people might, you know, put that title of complaining on 41 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,600 things, maybe we're mourning. Maybe we're grieving. 42 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:52,520 Maybe we're trying to understand the why behind something and 43 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,240 it's escaping us. And so we asked the question and 44 00:02:55,240 --> 00:03:00,040 maybe we say it, you know, in a, in kind of a strong imperative 45 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:02,760 way like God, Why? Why would this happen? 46 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:09,600 Is that really complaining? It might be labeled that, but I 47 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,080 don't know that that's sinful. But when it comes to fault 48 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:20,440 finding and murmuring and griping and gossip, and then 49 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:24,320 you've crossed the line. Why is that? 50 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,200 Well, there's something inherently wrong with 51 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:34,920 complaining because it's rooted in the most base sin there is, 52 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:39,920 and that is Pride. Pride says you had a better 53 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,840 idea. Pride says you had a better 54 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,320 solution. Pride says you would have 55 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:48,480 handled it right. When it comes to God and the 56 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:52,240 things that you and I can't control, complaining means that 57 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:59,960 you would have handled it better than God, or that you're better 58 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:04,680 than God, or that you'd be a better God. 59 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,480 You know what is that? When we do that well, it's a lot 60 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:14,520 of bad things. You're actually breaking the 61 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,279 three first 3 commandments at the same time. 62 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,079 You know that I'm the Lord thy God who brought you out of the 63 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:24,680 land of Egypt. You shall have no other gods 64 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:27,000 before me. But when you think you'd be a 65 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:29,720 better God, even though maybe you don't put it into those 66 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:34,520 words, you're putting yourself before God, breaking the first 67 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:36,040 commandment, second commandment, right? 68 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:38,960 Well, you're not supposed to make, you're not, you're not 69 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:41,520 supposed to make any graven images. 70 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,040 You're the you're the idol. You're not supposed to take the 71 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:48,200 name of your Lord, your God to any idol purpose. 72 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:52,240 You've taken him for the most idol purpose because you have 73 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:57,400 substituted him with yourself. Yeah, it's really bad. 74 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,160 So we're winding down a series called Decisions in the Desert, 75 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:07,080 trying to learn how to trust God and trial and triumph. 76 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:11,880 We're following Moses and the nation of Israel out of the land 77 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,400 of slavery and into the land of promise. 78 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,440 But if there was anything that the Israelites really did well, 79 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:23,560 it was grumbling and complaining. 80 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:31,320 So I'm going to take you on a complaining journey with them. 81 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:34,000 That doesn't sound like any fun at all. 82 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,040 And it really won't be. But you need to go on this 83 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:40,320 journey. You need to see yourself on this 84 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:42,360 journey. And the thing I really want to 85 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,040 preach to you is right at the tail end of it, OK? 86 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:49,320 So you're going to have to just hunker down and go through this 87 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:54,840 with me and see during this journey kind of what this whole 88 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,120 complaining and murmuring thing is, because there's a great 89 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:03,160 destination we're heading to. When Moses first went to Pharaoh 90 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:09,080 after the burning Bush, he told him to let God's people go, and 91 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:11,200 Pharaoh decided to teach him a lesson. 92 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:16,160 What he did was he doubled the workload of the Israelites, but 93 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:18,720 he didn't give them the raw materials that they needed to do 94 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:22,560 that doubled workload. And so they had to take whatever 95 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:27,400 margin time they had to go get the raw materials themselves to 96 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:32,800 do it. And, and so when Moses went back 97 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:36,720 and he told the nation what Pharaoh had said, guess what 98 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,000 they did? Grumbled and complained. 99 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:44,840 What they didn't see was that God was in the process of 100 00:06:44,840 --> 00:06:48,840 setting up a confrontation that would lead to their freedom from 101 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:52,720 slavery and it would lead to the judgement of the Egyptians. 102 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:59,120 Later, after the 10 plagues had decimated Egypt and the 103 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:02,800 Israelites were set free, Moses LED them to the Red Sea. 104 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,880 When the Egyptian army pursued them to kill them, what did the 105 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:13,480 Israelites do? Here they are in between the sea 106 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:15,520 and an army that wants to kill him. 107 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:21,240 And they grumbled and they complained, but God once again 108 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,440 was only setting up an incredible miracle of parting 109 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,680 the sea and destroying the enemy. 110 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:31,920 After they crossed the sea and they saw their enemy defeated, 111 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,840 Moses LED them to the base of Mount Sinai to receive the Law. 112 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:39,600 But the food in the water began to run out along the way. 113 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:41,560 And So what did the Israelites do? 114 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:45,640 They grumbled and they complained. 115 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,000 What did God do? He made bitter water sweet. 116 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:54,880 He made it rain manna from the sky six days a week and on 117 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:59,480 Friday it rains a double amount so they would have enough for 118 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,320 the Sabbath without having to work on the Sabbath. 119 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,600 He brought quail down from the sky for them just to land in 120 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:08,400 front of them so they can have meat to eat. 121 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:12,880 And even with all of that complaining, God knew that these 122 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:17,560 people hadn't developed trust or dependency on Him because all 123 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:21,160 they'd ever known for generations was slavery. 124 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,560 And I look at that and I think God is so patient and He is so 125 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:29,640 loving and He still provides all that they need in spite of their 126 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:37,919 non-stop complaining. Now, it took about two years for 127 00:08:37,919 --> 00:08:42,240 the nation of Israel to get to the promised land from Egypt, 128 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:45,480 but it was not because it was that far away. 129 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:51,000 It was because God was establishing his people in the 130 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,120 wilderness. He was establishing a culture. 131 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:57,320 He was a establishing their faith. 132 00:08:58,680 --> 00:09:01,200 You see, this is where they received the 10 commandments. 133 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:03,000 This is where they received the law. 134 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:05,240 This is where they built the Tabernacle. 135 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:07,600 This is where they installed the priest. 136 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:12,000 They instituted the sacrifices, they practice their feast days, 137 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:17,120 and they began to understand both who and whose they were as 138 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:22,960 God's chosen people. But finally, it was time to take 139 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:24,680 the land that God had promised them. 140 00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:28,800 And so they made a journey to a place called Kadesh Barnea. 141 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:33,040 It was the gateway to their ancestral home. 142 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,880 But once they got there, as we learned, the Tyler McKenzie, 143 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:41,400 incredible preacher, God's word, once they got there, they sent 144 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:45,440 these 12 spies out for 40 days to inspect the land. 145 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:51,040 And there was a great fear that came upon the 10 of them. 146 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:55,480 And their report reflected that. But there were two spies that 147 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:59,520 Tyler taught us about Joshua and Caleb, who were not shaken in 148 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:03,440 their faith. But their report did not prevail 149 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:07,200 with the people. It was the fearful report of the 150 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:15,880 10 and as that report from the 10 circulated, it inflated and 151 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:19,880 the description of the obstacles inflated till, you know, there 152 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:24,960 were there were fortified cities and then fortified cities became 153 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,320 this is a land that swallows up people. 154 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:32,920 And there were large strong warriors to We are nothing but 155 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,920 grasshoppers and they'll just squish us. 156 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:40,920 And then we read about it in numbers 14 one to four. 157 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:44,800 It says that night all the members of the community raised 158 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:48,440 their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled 159 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,480 against Moses and Aaron grumbled, good, well, what do 160 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,440 you know? And the whole assembly said to 161 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:58,960 them, if we had only died in Egypt or in this wilderness, Oh, 162 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:05,240 God heard that. Why did the Lord bring us to 163 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,640 this land only to let us fall by the sword? 164 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:14,200 They blamed God. Our wives and children will be 165 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:18,880 taken as plunder. You can't protect our families, 166 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:21,840 God. Wouldn't it be better for us to 167 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:25,520 go back to Egypt? This whole idea of freedom was a 168 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:29,880 really dumb idea, God. And they said to each other we 169 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:32,160 should choose a leader and go back to Egypt. 170 00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:35,240 Person you chose was the wrong person, God. 171 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:41,080 What it resulted in wasn't just complaining, it was a complete 172 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:47,080 breakdown in their faith. They insulted God and said He 173 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:49,640 couldn't protect their children for goodness sake. 174 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:55,480 They discussed executing Moses and appointing a new leader this 175 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:58,680 time. After all they had seen God do 176 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:02,960 and the people that God had shaped them into, it was time 177 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:05,520 for some discipline. It was some time for some 178 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:10,040 punishment. And when God shared that with 179 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:15,520 Moses, Moses begged God for mercy, begged him for mercy for 180 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:19,080 the people, and then God responded. 181 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,120 We read it in Numbers 1420 to 23. 182 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,960 The Lord replied, I have forgiven them as you asked. 183 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:30,240 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory 184 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:34,040 the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of those who saw my 185 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,760 glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, 186 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:41,240 but who disobeyed me and tested me 10 times. 187 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,960 Not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to 188 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:48,240 their ancestors. No one who has treated me with 189 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:53,560 contempt will ever see it. And this begins what will be 38 190 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:58,800 years of wandering in the wilderness until every male 20 191 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:06,760 years old and older has died, leaving only the children that 192 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,040 they said God couldn't protect to take the land. 193 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:14,760 Numbers 3210 to 13. The Lord's anger was aroused 194 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:18,240 that day and he swore this oath because they have not followed 195 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:21,440 me wholeheartedly. Not one of those who were 20 196 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:24,800 years old or more when they came up out of Egypt. 197 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:29,400 We'll see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and 198 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:33,000 Jacob. Not one except Caleb son of 199 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:36,920 Jephena the Kinesite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they 200 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:38,520 followed the Lord wholeheartedly. 201 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:43,320 The Lord's anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander 202 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:47,200 in the wilderness 40 years until the whole generation of those 203 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,840 who had done evil in His sight was gone. 204 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:55,440 Moses recounts it in his sermon in Deuteronomy 139. 205 00:13:55,800 --> 00:14:00,480 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, 206 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:04,400 your children who do not yet know good from bad, they will 207 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:06,960 enter the land. I will give it to them, and 208 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:12,080 they'll take possession of it. And from that moment to 38 years 209 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:13,800 later, the Bible goes pretty quiet. 210 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:18,760 There's only about 6 verses that describe it. 211 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:23,160 Four of those are in numbers 1432 to 35 it says. 212 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:26,280 But As for you, your bodies will fall in the wilderness. 213 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:30,720 Your children will be shepherds here for 40 years, suffering for 214 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:34,120 your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the 215 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:38,000 wilderness for 40 years, one year for each of the 40 days you 216 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,600 explored the land. You will suffer for your sins 217 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:44,760 and know what it's like to have me against you. 218 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,120 I the Lord have spoken, and I will surely do these things to 219 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:54,320 this whole wicked community which is banded together against 220 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,280 me. They will meet their end in the 221 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:58,720 wilderness. Here they will die. 222 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:04,480 And in Deuteronomy 214 and 1538 years past, from the time we 223 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,680 left Kadesh Barnea until we cross the Zerred Valley. 224 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:11,560 By then that entire generation of fighting men had perished 225 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,280 from the camp as the Lord had sworn to them. 226 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:18,840 The Lord's hand was against them until He had completely 227 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:26,360 eliminated them from the camp. Wow, that's pretty strong. 228 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:31,920 Finally, that generation was dead and buried. 229 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:35,960 The Israelites traveled back to the place of their 230 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:37,760 unfaithfulness and their disobedience. 231 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:44,000 Kadesh, Barnea and the children were ready to take the land, but 232 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,640 there were still some things that God wanted to wrap up. 233 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:50,120 There were some things that God wanted to do before they did 234 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:54,760 that. And so a new generation of 235 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:57,640 Israelites, you'll never guess what they did. 236 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:05,080 They began to grow impatient, and the complaining that they 237 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:11,960 inherited from their parents reared its ugly head again. 238 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:18,320 Wouldn't you think that these parents would have instructed 239 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:23,440 their kids, Look, there's a lot of things that you can be 240 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:30,160 unhappy about, but don't do this thing to the Lord. 241 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,640 The reason that we're staying in this wilderness. 242 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:37,160 The reason, and even though He's providing for us and giving us 243 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,280 water to drink and he's, he's given us mana to eat and he's 244 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:42,560 given us quail to eat and all this other stuff that he's doing 245 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:47,600 for us and He's here with us and He's protecting us still, it was 246 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:52,480 because of our unfaithfulness to him, because we wanted to be 247 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:54,360 God. We thought we were smarter than 248 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:56,000 God. Don't ever do that. 249 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:00,200 Be very careful not to do that. I don't think that lesson ever 250 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:06,400 made it through Numbers 21, four and five. 251 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:11,160 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea 252 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:17,280 to go around to Edom. But the people grew impatient on 253 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:22,880 the way. And they spoke against God and 254 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:29,760 against Moses and said, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt 255 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:35,760 to die in the wilderness? There's no bread, there's no 256 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:38,920 water, and we detest this miserable food. 257 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:46,880 Wait a minute, there's no bread and we detest this miserable 258 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:51,200 food. There's no water and we detest 259 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,680 this miserable food. There was plenty of food. 260 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:58,960 It just wasn't the food that they wanted. 261 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:03,200 They wanted the milk and honey of the promised land. 262 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:05,440 Now they wanted to go take the promised land. 263 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,200 They didn't want to wait on the Lord anymore. 264 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:11,320 They wanted to go get their inheritance right. 265 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:16,080 And you would think that 38 years of wandering would have 266 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:20,320 taught that lesson of not complaining and instead trusting 267 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:25,040 God. But no, here we are again with a 268 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:29,240 new generation, but the same old problems. 269 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:35,680 And isn't it easy right now for you and I to just lean into the 270 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:41,560 story and and just shake our heads and say those foolish 271 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:51,090 Israelites and I just hypocritically sang a song with 272 00:18:51,090 --> 00:19:00,610 you. I've tasted and I've seen the 273 00:19:00,610 --> 00:19:04,280 goodness of the Lord. So have you. 274 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,480 You testified to that fact. You raised your hand with me. 275 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:14,080 I've tasted and I've seen. Good God, you'll, you'll never 276 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:21,560 not be a good God. And I am just like these people. 277 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:29,120 And so are you talking in the green room a little while ago. 278 00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:32,280 And I'm like, you know what? I'll complain about something 279 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,680 and I'll murmur about something and then God will do something 280 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:38,040 amazing and he'll take that away from me. 281 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:39,840 And you know what I do right after that? 282 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:42,680 I just go find something else to murmur and complain about. 283 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,400 It's like I want to be a perpetual victim. 284 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:53,200 What is wrong with me and what is wrong with you? 285 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:58,520 We were having a communion meditation early this morning 286 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:02,840 when we were in rehearsals and a scripture was shared. 287 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,440 It was for freedom that Christ set us free. 288 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:07,760 Does that sound redundant to you? 289 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:11,040 It was for freedom that Christ set us free. 290 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:15,840 Actually, it's not redundant. Just because you are set free 291 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:17,440 doesn't mean you live in freedom. 292 00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:21,560 That right? If we've learned anything from 293 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:24,640 the people of Israel, they had been set free, but they weren't 294 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,760 living in that freedom, right? They were still living in 295 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:30,200 victimization. I wonder how many of us want to 296 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:32,320 continue to live in victimization. 297 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:35,120 And what we do is we want to complain about the things that 298 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:38,080 we don't like in our lives because we consider ourselves, 299 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:41,320 you know, underneath it, you know, there was a, there's a 300 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:45,480 common thing that we'll say to people when we're trying to 301 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:48,800 describe our lives. And, and, and a personal says 302 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,280 how you doing? And, and, and sometimes we just 303 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:55,120 lie and we say fine. And other times we'll say this. 304 00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:58,760 We'll say these 3 words to clarify what comes next. 305 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:00,080 Ready. How are you doing? 306 00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:05,680 Well, under the circumstances? Didn't you say that? 307 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:13,080 Which means, where are you living under the circumstances? 308 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:16,600 Do you think that God set you free to live under the 309 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:20,920 circumstances, or did he set you free to live over them? 310 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,040 The circumstances are the circumstances. 311 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:29,320 We all have to deal with the idea of the lower story, but we 312 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:33,760 don't have to live under them. We can live over them in the 313 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:37,880 upper story, but we can't do that when we're murmuring and 314 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:41,760 complaining. So I just can't have the luxury 315 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:46,920 of reading this and going, well, I'm so glad I'm not like that 316 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:59,800 now. Now what happens next is the OK, 317 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:00,960 you're here, you're here with me. 318 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:07,280 We all made it on the complaining journey because what 319 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,760 happens next is really going to be astounding. 320 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:15,760 It's an obscure story in the Old Testament, but it's critical to 321 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,120 everything. You and I believe it's in 322 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:23,360 Numbers 21 verses 6:00 to 9:00. I'm going to read it to you. 323 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:28,080 Then the Lord remember they're complaining. 324 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:33,720 We detest this miserable food. Then the Lord sent venomous 325 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:42,560 snakes among them, and they bit the people, and many Israelites 326 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:44,360 died. How many of you would be living 327 00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:52,280 in your worst nightmare? And the people came to Moses and 328 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:58,800 said, we sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against 329 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:01,360 you. Pray that the Lord will take the 330 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:04,840 snakes away from us. I'm going to stop right there. 331 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:08,800 That was the the prayer they wanted Moses to pray that that 332 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:12,720 God would take the snakes away. And you know what God said to 333 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:14,520 that prayer? No. 334 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:25,080 So Moses prayed for the people, and the Lord said to Moses, make 335 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:33,680 a snake and put it up on a pole. Anyone who is bitten can look at 336 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:41,640 it and live. So Moses made a bronze snake and 337 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:45,480 put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a 338 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:51,000 snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived. 339 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:55,840 Now can I get a witness? Isn't that the weirdest story 340 00:23:55,840 --> 00:24:02,880 you ever heard? That is one weird story and it 341 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:06,720 just doesn't seem to fit. It doesn't seem to fit in the 342 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,800 Bible. Right, so we just talked about 343 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,560 the first 3 commandments. One of those commandments was 344 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:19,080 what you shall not make to yourselves any graven image. 345 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,280 And what would a bronze snake on a pole be? 346 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:28,040 A graven image. So God is telling Moses to break 347 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:33,400 the commandment and put a bronze snake on a you know, and it's 348 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:40,800 not just any image, It's a snake that takes you all the way back 349 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:44,800 to the book of Genesis, right? Because there was a serpent in 350 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:47,280 the Garden of Eden. Now, the serpent is not a snake, 351 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:52,360 by the way. The serpent, we don't know what 352 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:55,280 kind of a creature that was, but it was a creature that that 353 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:59,800 didn't repel Eve. It actually, you know, pulled 354 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:02,960 her in. That serpent was cursed to 355 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:08,160 become a snake, to slither around on its belly and eat 356 00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:11,160 dust, right? The kind of snakes that we don't 357 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,240 like. That's not how it began. 358 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:19,480 So of all graven images, to make, the worst graven image you 359 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:22,560 could make would be something that was symbolic of evil and 360 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:24,640 symbolic of Satan himself, right? 361 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:28,040 Because snakes are associated with evil because of Satan in 362 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:30,680 the Garden of Eden. And only by looking at this 363 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:34,040 bronze snake on a pole will you be saved from the venom of 364 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:39,120 snakes biting you. Did you see that this doesn't 365 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:43,600 stop the snakes from biting you? The snakes don't go away. 366 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:46,400 They're still there and they still bite you. 367 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:50,840 They just can't have their poison kill you. 368 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:53,760 But only if you look at the bronze snake. 369 00:25:54,520 --> 00:26:00,800 That was over 3400 years ago, but the children of God still 370 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:08,040 haven't learned their lesson. But I'm here to tell you that 371 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:13,480 God has an answer for that, and we see it right here. 372 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,800 So before you say that's just the weirdest story ever heard, I 373 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:19,800 don't understand. It doesn't make sense to me. 374 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,280 It really doesn't fit. Sounds like a contradiction in 375 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,360 the Bible. Hold your horses. 376 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:30,160 See, the Bible is a collection of stories, but it is really 377 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,560 only a compilation of a single story. 378 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:40,240 And that story is the story of Jesus because Jesus is God's 379 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:44,760 solution for our sin. It's a story about God 380 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:48,240 procreating because we are his children. 381 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:54,520 And it's a story about how his children, because of their free 382 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:59,120 will, stepped away from fellowship with the Father and 383 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:03,880 they did that in sin. And then it's a story of how 384 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,440 God, and only God could redeem that relationship. 385 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:12,600 And the way he could do it was find us guilty of our sin, 386 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:19,440 pronounce judgement for penalty, and that penalty is death, and 387 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:23,080 then pay the price himself because that was his love. 388 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:30,160 And that's who Jesus is, God in human form, who came to earth to 389 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:35,040 pay our debt on the cross. And so by doing that set us 390 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:39,480 free. When God tells that story in the 391 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:43,080 Old Testament, he doesn't just say it in a narrative. 392 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,160 He also says it through prophecies. 393 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,760 He says it through illustrations of other people's lives. 394 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:52,680 And let me give you some examples of that. 395 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:58,160 It's the story of Melchizedek, priest of God, most high on 396 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:03,040 Mount Moriah, same mountaintop where Jesus was crucified later, 397 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:10,160 who brought out bread and wine to Abraham, the same symbols of 398 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:14,520 communion so many hundreds of years later, and blessed 399 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:19,280 Abraham. It's the story of Abraham's 400 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:23,640 third visitor, who when the other two visitors went down to 401 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:28,440 Sodom and pronounced judgement on Sodom, he stayed back and 402 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:31,040 said you're going to have a son and you're going to name him 403 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:36,160 Isaac. It was inside the story of 404 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:41,640 Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his own son because 405 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:48,960 God knew Abraham as a friend. I'm here to save your son, but a 406 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:53,880 day's going to come on the same mountain, Mount Moriah, where my 407 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:57,200 son is going to carry wood up this hill. 408 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:06,560 And instead of someone having a substitute for my son, he's 409 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:14,400 going to die alone for you and for Isaac and for all the people 410 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,560 of the earth. And I'm going to let it happen. 411 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:23,360 It's in the story of Joseph saving his family from a famine 412 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:26,600 even though he had been rejected by his own brothers. 413 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,160 It's in the story of Moses being the deliverer. 414 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:35,760 It's in the story of the blood that was applied to the 415 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:40,080 doorposts in the lentils of the Hebrew houses on Passover. 416 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:42,960 It's told over and over and over again. 417 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:47,360 And even in this obscure passage, it is told through a 418 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:53,560 bronze snake lifted up on a pole to counteract a deadly poison. 419 00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:55,560 I'm going to ask you, can you see it? 420 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:03,400 Why venomous snakes? Because it's symbolic of sin 421 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:06,800 itself. It's symbolic of Satan himself, 422 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:12,400 and that's what sin is like. It's around us all the time. 423 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:15,720 Like snakes at our feet, biting at our feet. 424 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:20,000 And we wish that that temptation, and we wish that 425 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,640 those desires that we've had, would we be able to control 426 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:24,920 them, would be able to stop them. 427 00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:27,360 But the snakes keep biting at us. 428 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:30,720 And if the bite is sin, the venom is death. 429 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:34,520 And we live in a world of sin and we're surrounded by it and 430 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:38,120 we're overcome by it. And it seems so hopeless. 431 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:44,720 But most of us have heard John 316 when John is teaching 432 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:50,480 Nicodemus right, and he says these words For God so love the 433 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:54,080 world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes 434 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:58,440 in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. 435 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:01,120 But let me ask you this question. 436 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:05,920 How many of you have studied the two verses before John 316? 437 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:12,520 Because this is what they say. This is what Jesus says. 438 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:19,480 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the 439 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:26,520 Son of Man must be lifted up that everyone who believes may 440 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:36,200 have eternal life in him. Jesus was the symbol of sin that 441 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:41,080 was set up on a pole. He who had no sin in himself. 442 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:49,800 Bible says God made him who knew no sin to become sin on our 443 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:53,760 behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God, right? 444 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:58,680 Do we know what happened? That God placed all the sins of 445 00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:02,200 the world, past, present, and future, on the shoulders of His 446 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:05,320 Son while He was nailed to that cross. 447 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:10,040 Those nails that suspended him from the wood of that cross 448 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:13,240 separated Him from earth and heaven. 449 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:23,520 He had been rejected by mankind just because He loved them. 450 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:29,800 He'd been rejected by God because of the sin that He 451 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:33,560 carried. God turns His face from His own 452 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,560 Son because of the sin that he carries. 453 00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:40,800 And then you hear the prophetic words coming from Jesus's mouth 454 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:44,320 that were also uttered in Psalm 22 a thousand years before. 455 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:48,240 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 456 00:32:53,120 --> 00:33:01,160 And the old hymn that says he could have called 10,000 angels 457 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:05,080 to destroy the world and set him free. 458 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:08,360 He could have called 10,000 angels, but he died. 459 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:23,080 How alone for you and me. He bore all of our sin. 460 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:28,440 And when we look at him, although the snakes keep biting 461 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:34,240 in our lives, their venom has been rendered powerless because 462 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:38,920 the blood of an overcomer has been applied. 463 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:46,400 Sin is the disease, death is the seeming inevitable result. 464 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:50,640 But the blood of Jesus Christ is the cure. 465 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:58,200 You and I, we live in this world, overcome by sin, and we 466 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:02,040 are all a part of it. A world where we blame others 467 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:06,360 and then complain about it. A world where we blame God and 468 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:09,760 then we complain about it. A world where our pride gets the 469 00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:14,239 best of us, where we exchange the one true God for golden 470 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:20,280 calves, Where we concentrate on hunger and thirst instead of 471 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:24,920 trust and obedience, and where we lose our faith all together 472 00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:33,440 and give into our fears. But it was into that world that 473 00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:39,719 Jesus came. This is where he looked beyond 474 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:44,120 their faults. This is where he looked beyond 475 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:52,520 my fault and saw my need, and then met my need by being lifted 476 00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:59,120 up. But then he rose from the dead, 477 00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:05,800 and he proved once and for all that he has the power to raise 478 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:09,240 you and me from the dead. Yeah, I struggle with 479 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:16,040 complaining and I struggle with murmuring, but someday God is 480 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:19,920 going to finish his work. He's going to finish his work in 481 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:23,000 me. He's going to finish his work in 482 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:34,040 you if you trusted in Jesus, if you trusted the one who was on 483 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:41,320 that pole, who died alone for you and for me. 484 00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:44,080 We're moving to a time of decision. 485 00:35:55,060 --> 00:36:01,240 So I know that there's people here today that you put on a 486 00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:09,960 good face for everybody else, but when it comes to whether or 487 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:19,760 not your faith in him is intimate and personal, you would 488 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:24,600 have a hard time saying yes. Maybe you do the religion thing, 489 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:28,640 maybe you kind of do the family thing, but when has it become 490 00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:31,360 yours? When does it become yours? 491 00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:38,040 When do you own it? When do you say I have an 492 00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:41,800 intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ? 493 00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:45,320 I'm not trying to get it by my relationships. 494 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:48,600 I'm not trying to receive it by osmosis. 495 00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:57,280 I I need to have that relationship, and you can't have 496 00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:05,240 it until you surrender. Just because Moses set up a 497 00:37:05,240 --> 00:37:09,960 snake on a pole didn't mean that the people were instantly 498 00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:12,520 healed. They had to look at it. 499 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:21,440 They had to lift up their eyes, lower stories all around them, 500 00:37:22,720 --> 00:37:28,640 snakes all around them, But God's saying their salvation and 501 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:42,680 looking up, not in looking down. And if you want hope, it is for 502 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:44,560 freedom that Christ set you free. 503 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:47,880 And the way you do it is you look up. 504 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:54,520 And the way he's taught us to do that is instead of trying to 505 00:37:54,920 --> 00:38:00,080 turn over new leaves, instead of running away from our sin which 506 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:09,800 surrounds us, we need to look at him, just him, Jesus, fix our 507 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:13,800 eyes on Jesus. I like the older translation 508 00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:18,000 where it says the author, the one where the story began. 509 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:27,480 Right, The author and the finisher of our faith, and he 510 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:30,560 will do what only he can do in your life. 511 00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:32,560 There's going to be somebody right over there by the 512 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:36,520 baptistry that would love nothing more than to talk to you 513 00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:38,480 about that relationship with Jesus Christ. 514 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:39,920 And you don't have to go another day. 515 00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:42,880 You don't have to go another hour without entering in that 516 00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:45,080 relationship. And there's nothing standing in 517 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:50,680 the way except you. And then there's a lot of us 518 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:52,400 here today that have made that decision. 519 00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:56,880 But even though we've made that decision, it doesn't mean that 520 00:38:56,880 --> 00:39:02,600 our lives are reflecting it, that we live lives of hypocrisy 521 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:05,480 and inconsistency. And I'm just like you. 522 00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:10,120 I'm just like you. Been hearing a lot of stories 523 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:13,960 this week, haven't we? From North Carolina, you know, 524 00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:17,880 in Boone, NC is in that was in that hurricane zone. 525 00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:23,320 And that's where the Billy Graham Library is. 526 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:27,040 And a number of years ago, wasn't that long ago, a few 527 00:39:27,040 --> 00:39:31,920 years ago, I was able to visit that library was really kind of 528 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:36,400 an amazing thing. And there's an area just a 529 00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:40,880 little ways from the barn where the library is, where there are 530 00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:48,760 Graves. And Ruth Bell Graham was buried 531 00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:52,920 there, and George Beverly Shea and his wife and Cliff Barrows 532 00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:56,360 and his wife, all the people that had worked with Billy 533 00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:59,320 Graham and his crusades. And Billy Graham had not yet 534 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:01,560 passed away when I was there. He's about a year from passing 535 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:04,160 away. But you can see where he was 536 00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:08,240 going to lie beside his wife, Ruth. 537 00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:12,080 Bill Graham was known for saying something that we've often 538 00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:15,920 repeated, and I'm sure you've heard it. 539 00:40:16,760 --> 00:40:25,720 Please be patient, God hasn't finished with me yet and on her 540 00:40:25,720 --> 00:40:31,160 tombstone it says God has finished with me. 541 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:38,320 Thank you for your patience. What a way to look into your 542 00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:45,080 future, to look in the future, not just with a A wish or a 543 00:40:45,080 --> 00:40:52,040 hope, but a calm assurance that he who began a good work in you 544 00:40:52,800 --> 00:41:01,120 will be faithful to complete it. Not you, not me, him. 545 00:41:03,040 --> 00:41:08,040 I wondered if some of you might be feeling that lower story 546 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:12,000 defeatedness right now, like you're just getting beaten or 547 00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:13,520 it's too easy for you to give in. 548 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:16,880 You're feeling your weakness. What if He came up here and you 549 00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:22,880 got down on your knees and you let God remind you that He loves 550 00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:28,240 you, that He chose you, that He knows you, that He hasn't 551 00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:34,040 rejected you, that He loves you, and that He's here for you right 552 00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:37,560 now? And I think when you come up off 553 00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:41,280 those knees, you're going to stand taller, you're going to 554 00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:46,120 walk lighter, you're going to smile brighter because you know 555 00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:51,720 the truth and the truth sets you free. 556 00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:57,800 Would you stand with me In Jesus name, Heavenly Father, we come 557 00:41:57,800 --> 00:42:03,440 before you and I ask that we just see us as we are. 558 00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:08,160 I know you do. Bunch of little kids, often 559 00:42:08,160 --> 00:42:16,640 times very spoiled, very selfish, But your kids and I 560 00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:21,400 pray Father, with all of our inadequacy and all of our 561 00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:28,400 immaturity that we would just look to you and your open arms 562 00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:37,600 and with confidence, like little sons and daughters, that we 563 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:44,960 would run into the very safe arms of our Heavenly Father and 564 00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:50,080 to feel the assurance of those arms around us. 565 00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:53,360 In Jesus name, Amen.