1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:07,480 Connecting I have some friends coming up to help me with the 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:11,240 scripture reading this morning so you guys can make your own 3 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:17,200 your way up here. Got 5 readers for our text yes 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:25,720 come on up Our text this morning is from Psalm one O 7. 5 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:31,880 It is a celebration, Psalm. It's a Thanksgiving celebration 6 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,960 Psalm. God has brought Israel back 7 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:40,040 together from the north, the South, the east and the West. 8 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:43,160 And so they are celebrating that. 9 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:50,160 In fact, in Psalm one O 6, the psalmist says with desperation, 10 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:57,360 save us, Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, that 11 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:03,600 we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. 12 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:10,200 And so the movement from Psalm one O 6 to one O 7 is that Psalm 13 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:17,600 One O 7 is the celebration of the answer, the answer to the 14 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,120 prayer. Because in Psalm one O 6, this 15 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,520 was the prayer recounting the fact that God had disciplined 16 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,680 the nation and let Nebuchadnezzar carry them off in 17 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:33,320 exile. He had conquered Judah, He had 18 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:37,360 conquered Jerusalem. And those who were left, who 19 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:42,480 were part of the upper leading class and merchants, they had 20 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:46,880 been all dragged off in chains to Babylon. 21 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:50,280 And there in Babylon, they suffered. 22 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:55,480 And do you know that the human mind really can't stand not 23 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:57,640 knowing how long you're going to suffer? 24 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:04,240 If you ever been on a hiking trip with a kid, the kids like, 25 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,760 when are we done? Have you ever been on a drive 26 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,640 with a kid? The kid asks, are we there yet? 27 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:16,880 Because it's painful. It's painful to not know how 28 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,160 long the suffering is getting. I remember the first time I 29 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:27,920 hiked the Grouse Grind, I was so happy when that 1/4 marker came 30 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:30,280 up. You're 1/4 of the way. 31 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:34,040 And I'm like, my heart feels like it's going to jump out into 32 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,200 my hands. I'm suffering too much here. 33 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:44,680 Wow, what a celebration. When I got to the 3/4 mark and I 34 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:51,600 was like I'm almost there. The human mind hates not knowing 35 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:53,640 how long our suffering is going to be. 36 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:57,800 We actually have to make a shift. 37 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:07,440 Gratitude is part of the shift. Anticipating gratitude is part 38 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:11,720 of the shift. Your gratitude story shapes your 39 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:17,440 future, and Israel knows it. That's why we're about to hear 40 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:22,680 from those in the north, the South, the east, and the West. 41 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:27,840 And we're going to hear the call to wisdom, the wisdom of 42 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:34,160 gratitude. Give thanks to the Lord, for He 43 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:36,240 is good. His love endures forever. 44 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,200 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story. 45 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:43,160 Those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered 46 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:47,040 from the lands, from east and West, from North and South. 47 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,040 Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a 48 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:55,360 city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, 49 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,840 and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord 50 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:00,760 in their trouble, and you deliver them from their 51 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:04,000 distress. He led them by a straight way to 52 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,560 a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord 53 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:12,200 for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for 54 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,200 He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good 55 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:20,440 things. Some sudden darkness and utter 56 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:22,720 darkness. Prisoners suffering in iron 57 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,120 chains because they rebelled against God's commands and 58 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:27,880 despised the plans of the Most High. 59 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:30,480 So he subjected them to bitter labour. 60 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:32,920 They stumbled and there was no one to help. 61 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,240 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them 62 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,880 from their distress. He brought them out of the 63 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,320 darkness, the outer darkness, and broke away their chains. 64 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,640 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unveiling love and His 65 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,760 wonderful deeds for mankind. For He breaks down gates of 66 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,200 bronze and cuts through bars of iron. 67 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:00,080 Some became some became fools through their rebellious ways 68 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,920 and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. 69 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,120 They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. 70 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,280 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them 71 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:12,400 from their distress. He sent out His word and healed 72 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,520 them. He rescued them from the grave. 73 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,440 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His 74 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:22,200 wonderful deeds for mankind. Let them sacrifice thank 75 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:26,040 offerings and tell of His works with songs of joy. 76 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:32,000 Some went out on the sea in ships. 77 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:34,560 They were merchants on the mighty waters. 78 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,600 They saw the works of the Lord, His wonderful deeds in the deep. 79 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:43,360 For he spoke and stirred up a Tempest that lifted high the 80 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:46,240 waves. They mounted up to the heavens 81 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:49,920 and went down to the depths. In their peril their courage 82 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,280 melted away. They reeled and staggered like 83 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:55,800 drunkards. They were at their wits end. 84 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,040 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought 85 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:04,360 them out of their distress. He stole the storm to a whisper. 86 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:06,360 The waves of the sea were hushed. 87 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,200 They were glad when it grew calm and He guided them to their 88 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:14,040 desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord 89 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:18,440 for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind. 90 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,200 Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people, and 91 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:24,440 praise Him in the counsel of the elders. 92 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:31,440 He turned rivers into desert, flowing springs into thirsty 93 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:35,400 ground, and fruitful land into a salt waste because of the 94 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:37,240 wickedness of those who lived there. 95 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:41,200 He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground 96 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,520 into flowing springs. There he brought the hungry to 97 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:48,640 live, and they founded a city where they could settle. 98 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,520 They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded A 99 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:54,960 fruitful harvest. He blessed them, and their 100 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,600 numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds 101 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,600 diminish. Then their numbers decreased, 102 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,400 and they were humbled by oppression, clamity, and sorrow. 103 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:12,000 He who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in the tackless 104 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:15,560 waist, But he lifted the needy out of the affliction out of 105 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,480 their affliction, and increased their families like flocks. 106 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:23,280 The upright sea and rejoice, and the wicked shut their mouths, 107 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:29,840 Let the one who. Wise need these things under the 108 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:39,410 loving deeds of the Lord. Let's read that last verse 109 00:07:39,410 --> 00:07:42,250 together. All together. 110 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:48,080 Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the 111 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:57,720 loving deeds of the Lord. It may seem strange, but your 112 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:04,880 troubles are an invitation to call on God. 113 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:11,240 Jesus had said you will have troubles in this world. 114 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:17,600 He never suggested that those who follow Jesus are somehow 115 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:21,800 protected and guarded from all the troubles. 116 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,280 In fact, Jesus did pray for his disciples. 117 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:31,440 Oh Father, protect them from the evil 1 he he didn't want. 118 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:37,120 He did want us to be protected from troubles, but God also 119 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:41,799 recognizes in His sovereignty something significant about our 120 00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:52,920 troubles, that our troubles can elicit A seeking for Him, that 121 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:59,280 our troubles can soften the proud heart to be open to Him, 122 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:06,960 that our troubles can press some of us to look for answers. 123 00:09:15,070 --> 00:09:20,990 And so for some reason, God has not yet removed us from all 124 00:09:20,990 --> 00:09:24,430 troubles or our troubles from all of us. 125 00:09:25,510 --> 00:09:28,230 Anybody here had trouble this year? 126 00:09:32,830 --> 00:09:35,350 We've all had troubles. I didn't say, oh, you're so 127 00:09:35,350 --> 00:09:42,320 blessed, but we've all had troubles this year, maybe last 128 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:46,120 year. I was really intrigued the first 129 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:52,600 time watching The Chosen. I had never really considered 130 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:58,840 what was the back story to the great miracle on the sea of the 131 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:02,520 great Ketcha fish. I had never considered that 132 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:07,040 there might be a back story why a great catch of fish was 133 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:10,040 needed. You all may know the story of 134 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:16,640 Jesus telling his the men who would become his disciples put 135 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:19,600 out into the deep water and let the Nets down. 136 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,360 Let's catch a lot of fish. And they were like, hey, we've 137 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,040 been fishing all night. Not your territory. 138 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:32,400 You're a Carpenter, right? And he says, put the Nets down 139 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:34,480 and you'll catch a great number of fish. 140 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:36,920 But we've been fishing all night. 141 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,680 But Peter says, because you said it, I'll do it. 142 00:10:42,680 --> 00:10:47,880 Until he dropped his Nets and caught such a large number of 143 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:55,720 fish, I'd never considered that maybe Peter had a debt and 144 00:10:55,720 --> 00:11:01,240 needed the fish to pay the debt. I'd never really considered that 145 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:07,520 Peter had a debt and needed that large catch of fish with the 146 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,120 possibility that, you know, debts tie you down. 147 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:19,920 And having that debt paid made him free to be able to say, if 148 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:24,960 Jesus says follow me, I'll follow him because he's free. 149 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:28,320 I mean, I know some of you have school loans and you're like, 150 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,840 won't Jesus come and pay my loan for me? 151 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:37,760 Yeah, Because, you know, there's a certain freedom that comes. 152 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:41,160 So I'd never considered. And I love that sort of 153 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:48,280 imagination in The Chosen to say, you know, maybe it there 154 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:50,800 was a purpose. How many of you have seen the 155 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:54,960 Chosen? If not, I didn't really give you 156 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:58,040 a spoiler that Jesus caught some fish. 157 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:07,000 It's in the Bible. But you know, Jesus said things 158 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,920 like blessed are those who hunger and thirst for 159 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,240 righteousness, for they shall be filled. 160 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:22,400 And hunger and thirst shows up in this, in this great Psalm, 161 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,440 great trouble shows up. In fact, there's four kinds of 162 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:30,640 people facing distress in this Psalm. 163 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:33,960 There's the Wanderers who are in the desert. 164 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:38,320 Maybe you caught that. They were Wanderers in a desert. 165 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:44,200 They had hunger and thirst. They could find no way. 166 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:49,440 They were sort of lost. And then they cry out to God in 167 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,600 their distress and he shows up. He led them. 168 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:56,440 He satisfies them. Then there's also the prisoners. 169 00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:02,240 The prisoners are in prison because of their wrongdoing or 170 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:10,600 perhaps the tyranny of the governor, and they found 171 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:15,440 themselves in darkness and wasting away suffering there 172 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:19,440 because of their rebellion against God's commands, the 173 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:22,800 commands that says that they despised. 174 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:28,640 They despised the plans of the Most High God, and so they ended 175 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:34,680 up imprisoned by that. These are all metaphors for 176 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:37,680 Israel. That Israel in a sense had 177 00:13:37,680 --> 00:13:42,360 wandered off and then were taken off into captivity. 178 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:47,440 That Israel had despised the way of God and so then they had been 179 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:51,280 taken off into the prisons of Nebuchadnezzar. 180 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:58,400 That Israel had become sick because of their sin and some of 181 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:02,600 them had become so sick that they sat at the gates of Sheol, 182 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:07,040 we might call it hell. That it was almost as if they 183 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:11,400 were at the edge of the grave ready to just fall off into 184 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:13,600 death. They were so sick. 185 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:18,400 The word here for the sick ones is fools. 186 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:22,400 We feel anxious about that word because Jesus said if you call 187 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,920 anyone a fool, you're in danger of she'll, you're in danger of 188 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:31,200 Hellfire and judgement. And so, I don't know, are you 189 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:33,280 reluctant to call each other a fool? 190 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:39,080 Good. But they use the term here to 191 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:43,640 speak of a fool as one who just keeps going on their way 192 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,920 headlong with no thought of the consequences. 193 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:52,640 Someone who's destroying by their own decisions, their 194 00:14:52,640 --> 00:15:00,560 health, their reputation, their household, even their own self, 195 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:04,280 they're a fool. It's almost as if they can't 196 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:10,840 help themselves. And yet here the fool cries out 197 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:19,920 to God, and God comes and helps. And so in this metaphor of 198 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:25,600 distress, the wanderer, the prisoner, the sick, we see 199 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:30,120 Israel being carried off into captivity. 200 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:33,880 And this is descriptive of their life and their experience. 201 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,280 And finally, there's the sailors. 202 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:40,120 This is an interesting one because Israel wasn't really 203 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:44,920 known for sailing. They tended to avoid the seas. 204 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:51,280 They had some superstition about the ocean and the seas, great 205 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:56,000 monsters in the sea. Job describes Leviathan as this 206 00:15:56,040 --> 00:16:00,280 great, unpredictable creature that only God could tame. 207 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:06,600 But these merchants were like business people, Business people 208 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,800 who are going about their way and trying to manage the life 209 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:14,480 and predict the stock market, predict how things were going to 210 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:19,280 be. Anybody in business, the 211 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:24,840 entrepreneur and you're like, I, I need this. 212 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:29,760 But you're cast on the waves of unpredictability. 213 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:35,080 It's like a storm. But also we experience storms. 214 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:39,880 We experience some of our troubles as if they are a storm. 215 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:45,760 And so those sailors, it says, reeled and staggered as if they 216 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:49,280 were drunkards. They were at their wit's end. 217 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:55,120 How many Odyssey adventures and Odyssey people do we have here? 218 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:59,000 Yeah, Wit's end. And this is where it comes from. 219 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:04,760 Right here. That moment where you're at your 220 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:10,960 wit's end and you are convinced that you don't have the 221 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:14,720 solution. You're convinced that you cannot 222 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:18,760 predict the future. You're convinced that you cannot 223 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:24,480 control your life. You are at your wit's end. 224 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:29,280 Would you ask your neighbor, have you been at your wit's end? 225 00:17:39,660 --> 00:17:44,700 And I love what it says there. He stilled the storm and calmed 226 00:17:44,700 --> 00:17:48,220 the waves. It's just what Jesus did. 227 00:17:49,380 --> 00:17:54,340 I believe Psalm one O 7 echoed in the lives of the disciples as 228 00:17:54,340 --> 00:17:59,960 thus sat on that boat and they were so scared in the storm that 229 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:03,680 they were going to drown and die and Jesus is sleeping. 230 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:07,360 Have you ever felt like God was sleeping? 231 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:13,520 That God somehow was unaccessible, uncaring, and not 232 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:18,840 present to you? The disciples were with Jesus in 233 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:23,160 the boat in a storm and they asked, do you not care? 234 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,840 And then the writers in the Gospel echo the words of the 235 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:34,960 Psalm to say he stilled the storms to a whisper. 236 00:18:44,860 --> 00:18:52,900 I called you answered. The thing that we really need to 237 00:18:52,900 --> 00:18:59,580 take from Psalm one O 7 is that God does indeed desire to hear 238 00:18:59,580 --> 00:19:03,960 our cry. He does indeed desire to hear 239 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:10,480 our call for help. I have friends who've served in 240 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:14,400 prisons and jails and they talk a lot about jailhouse religion 241 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:22,720 that they're in that prison. It it's that moment of I'm at my 242 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:25,200 wit's end. I don't know what to do. 243 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:31,440 Maybe I'll try God, and so I'll try God on for a while. 244 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:38,040 And in the storm, in the prison, in the sense of being close to 245 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:43,520 death, they cry out to God. Some make bargains with God. 246 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:46,080 If you do this, then I'll do that. 247 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:51,160 Others just cry out and surrender their life to God. 248 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,760 Others of us, though, are too proud. 249 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:03,720 We like to put together puzzles. Any puzzle people here? 250 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:08,880 Do you like puzzles? You know, I, I like puzzles too. 251 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:11,960 I grew up in a household that did a lot of puzzle making. 252 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:18,080 My dad would always show up to to do the puzzle and it was when 253 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:24,760 the last piece was ready. That was his extent of doing 254 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,480 puzzles. But one of one of the things 255 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:35,000 that's said about puzzle people, I'm sorry, is that we like 256 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:40,800 putting puzzles together because we like the control of a human 257 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:45,040 made problem. It's a human made problem. 258 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:51,080 It has borders, it has colors, it has evidence that surely it 259 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:56,280 came from the same sheet and was cut and all the pieces are 260 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:01,600 supposed to be here, and the mind finds some comfort in this 261 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:06,560 motion of looking. I know it goes here somewhere. 262 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:11,720 I know it's going to fit. Unless they played a cruel trick 263 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:18,040 on you. There is a comfort and a 264 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:22,400 soothing in the life of the pub puzzle people. 265 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:30,680 Maybe some of us need to put more puzzles together, but I 266 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:38,800 often find myself surprised and intrigued by the cries for mercy 267 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:42,960 that I find in common culture around us. 268 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:48,880 The cry out to God that comes from those who don't yet know 269 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:53,720 God and maybe are not keyed into the life of God. 270 00:21:54,560 --> 00:22:02,040 And yet in that moment, they realize this problem is bigger 271 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,760 than me. It's not just a puzzle. 272 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:10,280 It's my very life. Is there one who knows my life? 273 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:18,200 And I could cry out to them. Recently I was pointed towards 274 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:28,520 the last show in in the season of Invasion. 275 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:32,920 I don't know that you all have watched it, but many people in 276 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,680 Canada are watching the show Invasion. 277 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:42,320 It's a bit of a horror show in terms of alien invasion and what 278 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:46,040 that's going to look like. There's a character in there, 279 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:52,560 Mitzi, and throughout the whole first season, there is no 280 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:58,480 mention of God. There's no mention of religion. 281 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:03,960 There's no evidence of religion and religious places all about. 282 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:11,480 But in that last session, in the closing remarks, there's a 283 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:17,480 prayer. It's in Japanese with English 284 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:26,000 subtitles. And Mitzi says, God, I don't 285 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:31,600 know where you have been for these last few months. 286 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:40,760 I have known suffering for most of my life, and I've never asked 287 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:50,040 you for help. But I'm asking now, help us. 288 00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:55,760 We have not always deserved your grace. 289 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:04,360 We've not always deserved your world, but we are fighting for 290 00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:13,520 it now, all of us together, and we can't win this fight without 291 00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:20,480 you. Please deliver us this miracle. 292 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:35,680 Please. I wonder if in this show we're 293 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:43,640 actually hearing the cry of others in this world calling out 294 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:49,600 to the God that they have not known and hoping that God will 295 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:57,360 answer. God loves for His people, His 296 00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:01,840 children, His creation to call out to Him. 297 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:08,440 God is waiting for you to call out to Him. 298 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,600 In fact, there's a little message inside of this Psalm 299 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:23,720 that suggests that when you weren't caring for God, God was 300 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:29,800 caring for you. It's a little message inside of 301 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:33,280 this Psalm. When you were not caring for 302 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:42,800 God, God was caring for you. Now, dear Church, sometimes we 303 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:49,560 misinterpret the anxious moves of a world seeking God. 304 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,480 I've been following an author named Steve Coss. 305 00:25:55,480 --> 00:26:00,680 He was on an airplane and he says that on that that plane, 306 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:04,480 they came to the end of the flight and they all stood up. 307 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:10,000 They were getting ready to stand, stand up and and go out. 308 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:18,560 And a young girl came running down the aisle pushing past 309 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:24,000 everyone. And he says just instinctively, 310 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:36,600 he put his arm out like this and said none shall pass like 311 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:41,240 Gandalf. Yes, we're all trying to get off 312 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:44,840 this plane. Let's wait our turn. 313 00:26:51,470 --> 00:26:54,790 The family, who was trailing behind the girl as she ducked 314 00:26:54,790 --> 00:26:58,950 under his arm and went on, had words for him that he says 315 00:26:58,950 --> 00:27:04,200 cannot be shared. And off she went. 316 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,160 And he says internally he was fuming. 317 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:21,120 A flight attendant came to him and said this teenage girl has 318 00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:26,000 been experiencing a panic attack since midway in the flight and 319 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:30,360 desperately needed assistance. The family had been trying to 320 00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:33,120 help her. The family was not rude. 321 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:39,320 They were desperate. And so he says this. 322 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:44,400 How did IA former chaplain trained to notice physiological 323 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:48,480 signs of stress missed that this young lady needed help? 324 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:55,360 How did I let my core value of courtesy block my capacity to 325 00:27:55,360 --> 00:28:00,280 see what was really going on? I was operating out of an 326 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:03,960 assumption and was unable to see reality. 327 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:09,600 Rather than see that this young lady needed help getting off the 328 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:15,720 plane, all I could see was her rudeness and the rudeness of the 329 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,600 family skipping the line and I had to intervene. 330 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:32,000 You shall not pass. What's your motivation towards 331 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:42,000 the world crying for God? The good news is God sees and 332 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:46,960 God hears, and God acts and God delights to hear the cry. 333 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:51,880 Israel had experienced it when they were in Egypt. 334 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:55,840 It had been told to them over and over and over that God 335 00:28:55,840 --> 00:29:08,520 heard, God saw, and God came to be their Redeemer to restore 336 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:22,210 life to them. I believe that if we constantly 337 00:29:22,210 --> 00:29:32,570 live in gratitude, we can temper our assumptions towards the 338 00:29:32,570 --> 00:29:37,000 world. The gratitude itself moves us 339 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:42,280 towards a kind of humility To say I didn't get here just by 340 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:50,040 myself, someone else helped me. Humility with gratitude gives a 341 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:55,480 reasonable doubt to others. To say maybe the story I'm 342 00:29:55,480 --> 00:30:01,960 telling myself isn't the full story, that those who live in 343 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:07,080 gratitude actually shape a different future for themselves 344 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:15,920 and others. Gratitude actually generates 345 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:24,040 wisdom for life. The Thankful Church is a church 346 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:27,440 that actually blesses its community. 347 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,920 The Thankful Church is the church that's always seeking. 348 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:38,680 How can we also give? We've been given so much, and 349 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:52,110 I'm thankful now I can give to others because I remember that 350 00:30:52,110 --> 00:30:58,590 God is the one who has the power to deliver, the power to restore 351 00:30:58,870 --> 00:31:05,160 the power to redeem my life. Do you have a gratitude story? 352 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,480 Do you have a gratitude story about your family? 353 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:18,880 A gratitude story about friends that have been given to you? 354 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:23,920 A gratitude story about faith that has been given to you? 355 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:29,280 A gratitude story about health that has been given to you. 356 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:35,760 A gratitude story about a place that you occupy for a while, and 357 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:43,080 not forever, but a place, a land that has blessed your life. 358 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:47,800 Do you have a gratitude story about work, which means income? 359 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:52,440 Usually some kind of work that you're doing. 360 00:31:52,920 --> 00:32:00,480 What's your gratitude story of how God is provided for you? 361 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:05,160 Do you have one? One of the things I hope you 362 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:09,080 will do this week is that you will rehearse your gratitude 363 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:11,640 story. We do that a little bit with the 364 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:13,840 original moment. Look back in the week and 365 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:18,160 rehearse and remember and then rehearse how to tell that story. 366 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:25,320 Because you telling your gratitude story actually creates 367 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:29,920 hope for the journey. If you're a parent, it's your 368 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:34,160 gratitude story of walking uphill both directions to and 369 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:38,200 from school that actually gives hope to your children. 370 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:43,600 It's the kind of gratitude story that a grandmother told to her 371 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,360 granddaughter. Her granddaughter had 372 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:53,240 experienced a terrible failure at school and was crushed. 373 00:32:56,320 --> 00:33:00,520 And her grandmother said it's OK. 374 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:06,000 I want to tell you a story. Do you remember your 375 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:10,560 grandfather? My husband, He was an amazing 376 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:13,680 man. We had so many happy days 377 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:23,360 together and he was dying. In his dying breath, he motioned 378 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:29,040 for me to come close and I leaned my ear down to him. 379 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:37,040 And he says, oh Alice, when I die, God will still give you 380 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:47,240 many happy days afterwards. That's a gratitude story. 381 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:50,960 It generates hope for the journey. 382 00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:56,560 If you are not telling your gratitude stories to your 383 00:33:56,560 --> 00:34:01,880 friends who need hope, start telling them. 384 00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:05,720 If you're not telling your gratitude stories to your 385 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:10,440 children, start telling them. If you're not telling your 386 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:16,520 gratitude stories to your parents, it's goes better than 387 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:18,360 trying to preach to your parents. 388 00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:25,560 Tell your gratitude story of how God showed up in your life. 389 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:35,480 Tell your gratitude story, but it begins with remembering that 390 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:42,199 God showed up in your troubles. I have so many of them. 391 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:54,800 But the main gratitude story in my life is that as a lonely 9 392 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:59,640 year old I sat in a Sunday school class with Molly 393 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:06,000 McCracken and Molly McCracken said Jesus wants to be your 394 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:10,800 friend. And I remember thinking, I don't 395 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:13,080 have friends. I need a friend. 396 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:19,040 I want Jesus to be my friend and she said Jesus is taking care of 397 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:22,560 anything that would have kept you from being a friend of God. 398 00:35:23,720 --> 00:35:25,440 I was like, well that's good news. 399 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:30,960 I'm going to say yes. And then she read from John 15. 400 00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:35,720 I did not choose you, but you did not choose me, but I chose 401 00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:39,640 you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that would 402 00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:42,720 last. Then you may call on my heavenly 403 00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:47,320 Father, and He will give you anything that you ask. 404 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:54,920 So Operation 1516 is very personal to me in this season 405 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:59,840 because it always reminds me of these verses where Jesus says I 406 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:02,800 don't call you slaves, but I call you friends. 407 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:08,120 You didn't choose me, but I chose you. 408 00:36:15,720 --> 00:36:21,600 I was asking for friends, and he gave me the greatest friend in 409 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:26,680 the universe. In a moment, we're going to 410 00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:31,520 celebrate the Lord's Supper in which we remember the redemption 411 00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:36,360 of God, we remember the deliverance of God. 412 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:43,040 We remember that God has shown up when we called and even when 413 00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:47,840 we didn't call on him yet. Maybe for some of you, this is 414 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:53,200 just an introduction to the idea of even being thankful. 415 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:56,840 You might say thankfulness is really not part of my culture. 416 00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:01,720 I mean my mom. I grew up in a culture where the 417 00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:04,480 parents and adults around me would say you better be 418 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:09,120 thankful. But we're not saying that. 419 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:14,280 We're actually suggesting that in the life with God, in God's 420 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:20,960 economy, gratitude and humility actually generates wisdom for 421 00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:25,120 life. It's not about shame, it's not 422 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:27,560 about guilt, it's not about fear. 423 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:28,680 It's about.