1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:08,560 Please be seated. Happy fall, y'all. 2 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,120 How many of you are excited? That fall's almost here? 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:17,920 Technically it's not here until September 21st or something, but 4 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:20,920 the pumpkin spice lattes say otherwise. 5 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:28,600 But you cannot tell me that it could have happened any other 6 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:32,000 way. I will not believe you, no 7 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,800 matter what you might say. And there is no argument that 8 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,800 you can make that will budget me from this conviction. 9 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:47,840 Chick-fil-A is the Lord's chicken, the chicken that comes 10 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:52,400 out of the clouds, chicken that makes every other representation 11 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:54,520 of the bird on earth look like dog food. 12 00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:00,920 Popeyes should know better. Then they try to stand against 13 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:03,200 chicken that the Lord has ordained to be the best. 14 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:06,360 The Colonel knows when he's been beat. 15 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:14,360 Zaxby's is just one among a million others that tries but 16 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:22,080 cannot compete. But my dear Bojangles, if there 17 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:27,560 was ever another chicken that the Lord might have blessed, it 18 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,760 might be you. Yet you remain the Esau of 19 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:35,080 chicken. So my chicken recognition is 20 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:40,320 strong. My vision for it is straight and 21 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:43,720 true, like that of an arrow shot from a bow. 22 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:51,120 Because I, I, I've you see, Chick-fil-A has figured 23 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:55,560 something out. It's not just the perfectly 24 00:01:55,560 --> 00:02:00,080 crafted Polynesian sauce or hearing the words my pleasure 25 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:03,680 that actually causes you to be pleased. 26 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:06,080 Watch. You'll smile when they say it. 27 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:16,400 No, no, it's bigger than that. They know what priority they 28 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:22,000 need when it comes to having effort and faith. 29 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:27,840 And here's how I know I have never seen a disgruntled 30 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:33,320 Chick-fil-A worker, one that cannot operate the cash register 31 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:41,800 or take your change. And everywhere you turn, when 1 32 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:43,640 disappears, 2 more magically show up. 33 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:49,840 It's like they're a colony of ants, and they have this 34 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:52,400 structure and they work so beautifully together. 35 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:56,920 And you know what? They do this all in six days, 36 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:03,160 not 7. That was for you. 37 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:11,160 See, friends, this is the Lord's chicken, and Truitt has built 38 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:18,160 his house upon the rock. But do we have this figured out? 39 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,440 Do we have our priorities in line when it comes to effort and 40 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:27,760 faith? Do we do the things we know we 41 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,480 should do with excellence and pride, yet with the humility 42 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:36,080 necessary to cause those who come in contact with us to see 43 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:41,600 Jesus through us? And I would like to explore this 44 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:46,840 this morning, this difference between effort and faith, so 45 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,680 that when we are done here today, we will know that we have 46 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:54,560 been in His word and dwelt in it richly. 47 00:03:54,640 --> 00:04:01,240 Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your 48 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:09,440 chicken and the example that it can be for us, that there's a 49 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,880 big difference between doing things your way or the highway. 50 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:24,400 Help us to take away from this text this morning something that 51 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:29,560 will move us towards action. That's your name, we pray. 52 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:32,440 Amen. Go ahead and lift up your right 53 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:34,800 hand. Stretch it out forward. 54 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:42,200 Draw a circle. How many of you drew a small 55 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:49,040 circle like one of these? How many of you went Elvis? 56 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:56,520 Everyone was kind of like right here, right because you your arm 57 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:59,040 was out stretched. So there was you kind of did 58 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:04,280 what you could do. I want you to keep an idea of a 59 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:07,920 circle in your mind today is we're going to talk about two of 60 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:12,240 them. There's a circle of effort and a 61 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,240 circle of faith. But first. 62 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:23,320 Let's talk about the circle of effort. 63 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:29,120 Whether you know it or not, a lot of things in life happen in 64 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:34,560 circle cycles. The calendar moves in cycles. 65 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:38,240 The Pirates give me hope every January through April, only to 66 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:42,880 dash it come May. Charlie Brown always thinks he's 67 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:52,260 going to kick that football, good, bad or indifferent. 68 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:57,760 We know there are cycles, and I want to walk you through the 69 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:01,680 cycle of effort. And we're going to be traveling 70 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:05,280 clockwise, which is this way, which looks counterclockwise to 71 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:06,080 you. I get it. 72 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,400 But it's clockwise for me, for those of you who are very 73 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:14,480 concerned about that. But in this cycle of effort, 74 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:19,240 we're going to go this way. And so usually at the beginning 75 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:24,600 of the cycle of effort, you have something that happens, whether 76 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:30,880 it's an inspiration, whether it's a conviction, whether it's 77 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,120 a movement of some sort, maybe it's even guilt. 78 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:41,160 But you, you come to this resolution that hey, I have to 79 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:45,160 do something. And so here's what happens. 80 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:52,920 You have this inspiration slash guilt slash resolution and you 81 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:56,080 immediately start to act on it, right? 82 00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:01,760 I would call this the launch. So you have inspiration and then 83 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,800 you launch. A lot of people plan out what 84 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:08,200 they're going to do and they have this elaborate plan. 85 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:10,240 And then some people just jump right in. 86 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:11,920 How many of you are jump right in people? 87 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:17,000 Nobody. If you don't raise your hand, 88 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,960 I'm assuming you're you're not, I jump right in kind of a 89 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:21,480 person. So you all planners. 90 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:28,960 And so if you plan, what have you learned in life about plans? 91 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:36,920 They don't always go according to plan, yet we still put a lot 92 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:41,440 of effort into them. But there was something that 93 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:43,880 stirred you, something that propelled you, something that 94 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,440 moved you. And thus you are activated. 95 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:53,040 You are on the go now. One of the most common examples 96 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:59,480 of this is in January, when gyms are all of a sudden full for the 97 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,320 first two weeks. And then what happens? 98 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:08,080 Slowly but surely, the resolve wanes. 99 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,360 Or you don't get those immediate gains, like you're not bench 100 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,600 pressing 400 like you hoped after two weeks of running on 101 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:21,840 the treadmill. But you have these expectations 102 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,800 of success. And what ultimately almost 103 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,760 always happens is that you experience a set back. 104 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:33,600 It doesn't go how you think it's going to go, or you flat out 105 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:38,840 fail. So you have the inspiration, you 106 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:42,679 have the launch, and then you have adversity. 107 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:53,040 Now there is there's a lot of fireworks that happens in this 108 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:58,600 first quarter of the circle and you may go. 109 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,560 You know what I missed? I missed that workout today. 110 00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:02,800 I'm, I'm going to get there tomorrow. 111 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:04,640 Oh, I got a doctor's appointment. 112 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,840 I'm have to go Wednesday. I got to go to the grocery 113 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:12,840 store. Kids need picked up, got a lot, 114 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:16,120 got a lot of laundry to do. All of a sudden it's Friday and 115 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:23,560 you haven't been to the gym all week, and if you know where this 116 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:35,400 is going, you stack up that adversity and you come to a 117 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:42,280 place of discouragement. Now, in this place of 118 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:46,840 discouragement, you will be visited by three voices, the 119 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:52,080 voice of doubt, the voice of cynicism and the voice of fear. 120 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:55,760 It's like the three gross that visited Ebenezer Scrooge. 121 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:02,080 Doubt, Cynicism and fear. Doubt says, well, did you really 122 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:08,440 think that was going to work? Cynicism says, you know, doubts, 123 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:10,920 right? He's always right. 124 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:13,920 Yeah. How could you pull that off? 125 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:21,600 And ultimately, fear goes, maybe I don't have what it takes to 126 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:27,960 pull this off. And you know, if you have that 127 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:31,320 conversation enough times, guess where you end up? 128 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:40,520 You quit. And then if you're lucky, 129 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:45,760 another thing of inspiration comes, another thing of guilt 130 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:50,760 moves you or a bad blood test or something like that that propels 131 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:56,320 you back into that cycle again. And we just go through it over 132 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:04,920 and over and over again. This is also called living 133 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:10,320 Sunday to Sunday. What I'm about to say is going 134 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:16,200 to poke you a little bit. Sunday you make it to church, 135 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:25,200 you're inspired on Sunday you leave here ready to go, you go 136 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:29,920 tearing off into the world. Sunday afternoon you go. 137 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:35,240 Monday is coming. And then you get to Monday and 138 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:39,840 Monday goes gives you a swift kick to the to the shins. 139 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:46,800 And then Tuesday goes little elbow to the back hits you like 140 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:50,800 a ton of bricks. And then Wednesday goes, hey, 141 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:52,560 remember what happened on Monday and Tuesday? 142 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:05,520 Just going to be the same today. And then Thursday hits and you 143 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,200 go, well, that was a nice try. I'll get them next Sunday. 144 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:14,400 But it doesn't stop there. You get into Friday and maybe 145 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:17,960 you make some decisions that cause you to reflect even 146 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:19,960 further and further why you need Sunday. 147 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,840 And that's you come back to Sunday hoping that this Sunday 148 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:26,840 will be different than the last one. 149 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:33,640 But yet there's 52 of them. And sometimes we can find 150 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:42,560 ourselves in the wilderness because Sunday to Sunday can 151 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:45,840 sometimes become Sunday to someday. 152 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:59,480 And you do it enough times. You live through these cycles. 153 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:04,440 That's when bitterness can find its way in. 154 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:12,360 You start carrying this baggage that you've accumulated week 155 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:22,280 over week over week over week. Can you see that it is not hard 156 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:29,600 if people are just living Sunday to Sunday that it can very 157 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:33,840 quickly turn into Sunday to someday. 158 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:41,520 And if you haven't caught on, we just literally did this the 159 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:54,230 cycle in that explanation. And I bet at this point there 160 00:13:54,230 --> 00:13:57,670 might be some of you who have in your head and go, well, what's 161 00:13:57,670 --> 00:14:01,950 all this for then? Then how did we get here? 162 00:14:03,910 --> 00:14:08,790 You ever zone out on the highway and you come to and you like, 163 00:14:08,790 --> 00:14:11,270 you do not remember the last 100 miles? 164 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:17,480 Yeah, it happens. That's called living Sunday to 165 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:22,320 Sunday. That's called burnout, and it's 166 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:27,840 real. The Bible has 2 kings named Joe 167 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,360 Ash. We're not talking about the good 168 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:33,600 one today. We're talking about the one who 169 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:37,040 is not so good. We also have a character in this 170 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:42,440 particular story named Elisha. Now, Elisha was one of the the 171 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:46,440 best prophets in my opinion. Listen to some of the things 172 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:51,720 that he did. He healed a woman who was sick. 173 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:56,680 He healed a man with leprosy. He raised a boy from the dead. 174 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:02,320 He calls out a curse and a bear eats some teens after they make 175 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:07,160 fun of him for being bald. It's one of the best Christian 176 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:11,680 T-shirts I've ever seen. He actually at one point calls 177 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:17,400 down fire on a on an army and then he also, without fighting, 178 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:22,240 stops another army from attacking with a band of angels 179 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:27,120 who blind them. And they bring that army into 180 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,560 the middle of the camp. And then they become unblinded 181 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:31,160 and they realize they're surrounded and they give up. 182 00:15:36,420 --> 00:15:45,160 Elisha is incredible, so incredible that even when he's 183 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:52,000 dead, incredible stuff happens. Verse 20 So Elisha died and they 184 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:56,400 buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to 185 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:01,440 invade the land in the spring of the year, and as a man was being 186 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:07,680 buried, behold, A marauding band was seen and the man was thrown 187 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:12,560 into the grave of Elisha. So Elisha's dead bones at this 188 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:18,000 point, and they so this so they don't get robbed, they throw 189 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:26,080 their friend into his grave. And as soon as that man touched 190 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:32,680 Elisha's bones, he came back to life. 191 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,800 Even when he's dead, he's on point, right? 192 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:48,640 Elisha is incredible. Verse 20, or sorry, I already 193 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:57,240 said that, verse 14. Let's go back a couple verses. 194 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:01,240 Now when Elijah had fallen sick with the illness of which he he 195 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:05,920 was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before 196 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:09,720 him, crying, My father, my father, the Chariots of Israel, 197 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:13,760 and it's horsemen. And Elisha said to him, Take a 198 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:17,920 bow and arrows. So he took a bow and arrows. 199 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:23,000 And then he said to the king of Israel, draw the bow and he drew 200 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,880 it. And Elisha laid his hands on the 201 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:31,160 King's hands. And he said, Open the window 202 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:38,200 eastward and he opened it. Then Elisha said shoot, and he 203 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:42,160 shot. And then he said the Lord's 204 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:46,000 arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria. 205 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:50,520 For you shall fight the Syrians in AFEC until you have made an 206 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:55,280 end of them. So Elisha was in dire straits, 207 00:17:55,760 --> 00:18:00,160 sick unto death. And what happens here is like 208 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:01,920 the King's coming to pay his respects. 209 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:06,040 And when he says my father and my father, it's not his actual 210 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:09,400 dad, but when he's essentially get, he's paying his respects to 211 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:11,240 him. He's saying like, hey, you are 212 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:16,320 an important person to me. And then he talks about the 213 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:18,280 Chariots of Israel and its horsemen. 214 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:20,520 As you heard Jerry read a little bit earlier, there really 215 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:25,040 weren't that many of them. So he's super concerned that 216 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:27,560 Elijah, who had been a part of a lot of the victories up to that 217 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:29,360 point, was going to be gone. So how are they going to win? 218 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:33,120 And he goes the Chariots and the horsemen of Israel. 219 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:35,200 It's like saying, how are we going to do this without you? 220 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:45,800 And then it gets weird, this bow and arrow thing and and but as 221 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:48,320 we know, when Elijah says you're going to win, you're going to 222 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:57,320 win verse 18. He said, take the arrows and he 223 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:00,560 took them and he said to the king of Israel, strike the 224 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:03,360 ground with them. I need Chip. 225 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:07,400 Chip, run up here real fast. Come on, Chip, Chip, got to run. 226 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:14,160 Grab these arrows, Chip, I want you to take those arrows and I 227 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:18,200 want you to strike the ground. Just strike the ground a couple 228 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:22,440 times. Are you striking the ground? 229 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,200 Are you tapping the ground? Make the ground. 230 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:31,040 Feel it, Chip. All right, round of applause for 231 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:42,680 Chip. Now Chip is a fierce warrior, 232 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:49,080 but I can imagine that he took the arrows like this and went. 233 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:57,480 He only did it three times. There was no instruction about 234 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:05,320 how many times, but Joash said 123. 235 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:15,280 Here's what happens Then the man of God Elisha was angry at him 236 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:20,480 and said you should have struck 5 or 6 times. 237 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:25,560 Then you would have struck down Syria until you made an end of 238 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:28,320 it. But now you will strike down 239 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:36,040 Syria only three times. So there's victory, but it's not 240 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:44,000 a complete victory. Now, could this king have done 241 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,880 better? Could he? 242 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,720 Could Chip have gone crazy up here and slammed things? 243 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:54,920 Of course he could have. But I don't necessarily think 244 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:57,840 that this instance is a matter of effort. 245 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:07,720 I think this has way more to do with faith now. 246 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,520 Elisha had not given him a reason up to this point to doubt 247 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:17,000 him for any reason. And when he tells him to take 248 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,000 the bow and shoot the arrows, that's a clear instruction. 249 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:27,320 He shoots 11 and done. But when he tells him to strike 250 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:34,240 the ground, he doesn't do it more than three times. 251 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:41,440 And I often wonder, because I I've, I've studied this passage 252 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:49,200 for a long time, why 3 And I still don't know. 253 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:59,960 But perhaps if he had believed something different about it, 254 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,320 might he have done something different? 255 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:11,360 What he what if he had been operating in a different circle? 256 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:16,000 So go ahead and reach out your hand and make your circle again. 257 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:20,120 OK, Thanks, Brendan. That was a nice big Elvis 258 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:23,760 circle. So you had the circle of effort. 259 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:26,440 And now let's chat a little bit about the circle of faith. 260 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:31,480 It is very different. It is very different. 261 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:35,680 And here's where it's different. The big difference is where we 262 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:40,520 begin. It has everything to do with 263 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:47,160 your posture. The faith circle cycle begins 264 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,560 with listening as opposed to hearing. 265 00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:54,920 Parents, you say this to your kids all the time. 266 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:59,400 There's a difference between listening and hearing. 267 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:05,760 And I bet all of you can hear me this morning. 268 00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:15,120 Statistically, less than 10% of you are actually listening to 269 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:31,450 me. When we hear from God, usually 270 00:23:31,450 --> 00:23:34,530 those things go through the gymnastics of our mind. 271 00:23:36,170 --> 00:23:37,970 What is He? What is He trying to say? 272 00:23:40,170 --> 00:23:45,960 What are you trying to tell me? Well, I, I don't know if I want 273 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,240 to do that. Lord, we tried that before and 274 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:53,120 it didn't work. Or wow, that person's not going 275 00:23:53,120 --> 00:23:57,640 to be on board with that or, or finally, like, so you're 276 00:23:57,640 --> 00:23:59,840 actually actually, you're actually asking me to give up 277 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:07,480 something to, to do this. There's a huge difference 278 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:16,560 between listening and hearing. So you have this space in the 279 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:18,720 circle of effort. You have the hearing. 280 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,960 You heard something that made you convicted over here in the 281 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:26,440 circle of faith, though, however, you have a posture of 282 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:30,440 listening. Like, what are you trying to 283 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:37,080 actually tell me? I'm open to what you have to 284 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:44,800 say. And from there we hear like, you 285 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:47,440 know, you ever get excited about hearing something or like you 286 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:49,640 learn something, you want to share it with somebody else? 287 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:51,280 That's literally what happens next. 288 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:53,520 You go from listening to sharing. 289 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:59,520 If I hear a brand new song and I really like it, odds are even if 290 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,480 it's 10:30, I texted to Brendan whether he's awake or not, 291 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,160 right? I hear something and I 292 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:12,520 immediately want to share it. Because when you, when you 293 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:19,480 actually listen, you want to transfer value. 294 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:36,760 Now with sharing, how many of you feel uneasy about sharing 295 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:38,280 something unless you verified it? 296 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:45,120 I mean, I, I hope so, right? How many of you like to spread 297 00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:48,240 around falsehoods like nobody should raise their hands for 298 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:53,200 that? But yet, but yet, we move rumors 299 00:25:55,480 --> 00:26:00,400 like nobody's business. But when you go from listening 300 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:04,000 to sharing, ultimately the next place that you're moving into is 301 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:10,040 a place of trust. Like this is actually something 302 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,040 that you believe that you've heard. 303 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:23,720 And here's the hard part. You've got up the courage to 304 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:27,720 listen and share and to trust in something, but the reality is 305 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:31,960 you're still going to struggle. Success is not always 306 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:39,240 guaranteed, and even though there will be a struggle, 307 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,520 anything worth doing comes at a cost. 308 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:54,720 Your time, your energy and God often calls you into things and 309 00:26:54,720 --> 00:27:05,180 they are immediately training grounds like Jesus had to go 310 00:27:05,180 --> 00:27:10,660 into the wilderness. But is. 311 00:27:10,660 --> 00:27:17,020 In those times of struggle, some magical things happen. 312 00:27:20,860 --> 00:27:27,060 Usually it's in our struggle that we come face to face, as 313 00:27:27,060 --> 00:27:32,960 close as we possibly ever will be to experiencing what God's 314 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:48,360 grace really feels like. There's something beautifully 315 00:27:48,360 --> 00:28:02,190 brutal about struggle. We often learn more there than 316 00:28:02,190 --> 00:28:06,870 we do on an easy road. And not only that, you learn who 317 00:28:06,870 --> 00:28:11,190 your friends are. And you most certainly need 318 00:28:11,190 --> 00:28:12,710 friends who are down for the struggle. 319 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:24,800 When it comes to struggle, it's not a place that we want to be. 320 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:32,840 But you know what it does? It tests your trust. 321 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:42,200 It's as if God goes, let's see if you actually trust me. 322 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:53,720 And I think one of the reasons that is, is because if we are 323 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:58,200 able to get there on our own effort, it's very easy to write 324 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:03,760 God out of it. However, if God has to carry us 325 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:09,880 across the finish line, who gets the glory God does? 326 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:16,520 I've also noticed that it's an incredibly interesting place. 327 00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:21,400 Rock bottom, it's a place that people avoid. 328 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:24,440 It's a place that nobody wants to go. 329 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:35,520 But when you're at rock bottom, that's an incredible foundation 330 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:43,920 to build from. There's nowhere to go but up and 331 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:49,080 God does this time and time and time again. 332 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:52,680 Do you guys remember the story of Joseph? 333 00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:59,040 Where did Joseph end up? Imprisoned? 334 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:01,840 He was a slave. What did he become? 335 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:05,640 2nd in command? Right? 336 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:12,360 So there. So you have this listening, this 337 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:16,600 sharing, this trusting and this struggle. 338 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:19,680 And you know what comes out of struggle? 339 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:24,040 Weirdly enough? Confidence. 340 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:36,160 And this is a way better circle to hang out in rather than 341 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:42,880 hearing, going, failing, discouragement and quitting. 342 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:51,560 That's where effort leads. Faith is equally as hard, but 343 00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:53,400 the outcome is most certainly different. 344 00:30:59,330 --> 00:31:05,610 Imagine if Joash, this king, approached this situation 345 00:31:06,450 --> 00:31:10,210 through the lens of faith as opposed to the lens of effort. 346 00:31:11,930 --> 00:31:17,010 He may have hit those arrows off the ground so many times that 347 00:31:17,010 --> 00:31:27,360 they snapped. And this hits home for us 348 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:30,360 because we make choices like this every day. 349 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:41,720 God prompts you, and like I said, you know there's a big 350 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:45,720 difference between hearing Him and listening to Him. 351 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:47,520 There's one word that undergirds that. 352 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:55,120 It's called obedience. And this might be uncomfortable 353 00:31:55,120 --> 00:32:00,880 for you to think about. You might not be sure in a given 354 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:03,640 situation that you are actually able to hear God at all. 355 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:08,760 I mean, what does God's voice sound like? 356 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:14,920 Does it sound like this? Does it sound like this? 357 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:25,000 What does it sound like and when is the last time that you can 358 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:27,720 say that you thought He spoke to you? 359 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:38,520 Which cycle do you currently find yourself in 'cause you're 360 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:45,600 in one? You see, Chick-fil-A doesn't get 361 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:48,280 to be the Lord's chicken for any other reason than they listen. 362 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:56,080 They listen to their customers, they listen to their critics, 363 00:32:57,560 --> 00:33:00,640 they listen ultimately, to a biblically based business model, 364 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:04,480 and it seems to be going pretty well for them. 365 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:13,720 That's why you're waiting to wait 1/2 an hour in a line and 366 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:16,000 still smile when they say my pleasure. 367 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:25,200 There might be something there, this art of listening. 368 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:33,200 So as you have conversations this week, I want to challenge 369 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:44,880 you to actually listen. People know when you just hear 370 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:49,480 them. My kids say I hear you, Dad. 371 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:54,160 And I'm like, no, you don't, because if you did, I wouldn't 372 00:33:54,160 --> 00:34:05,360 have to say it three times. Actually try to listen to the 373 00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:10,840 person you're talking with with no agenda other than to listen. 374 00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:22,639 And I am convinced that if we do that enough times and we apply 375 00:34:22,639 --> 00:34:27,239 that same kind of energy and effort, this is a good kind of 376 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:30,159 effort. That kind of effort to listening 377 00:34:30,159 --> 00:34:34,159 to what God has to say through his word and through his people 378 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:45,199 that things might just happen to turn around for you. 379 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:52,440 Not saying you won't struggle, but that's one of the reasons 380 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:55,600 why we gathered together is because everybody here struggles 381 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,840 with things visible and things invisible. 382 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:03,400 And that is why it's so important, especially as growth 383 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:08,680 groups kick off this week, that you find yourself one and become 384 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:13,720 a part of it. It's why it's important to show 385 00:35:13,720 --> 00:35:18,720 up and be here with the people of God week in and week out. 386 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,800 That's why it's important to check in on one another. 387 00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:24,480 It's not the pastor's job to do that. 388 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:28,520 It's your job. You are the community. 389 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:38,870 You are the body. And I'm convinced that this is 390 00:35:38,870 --> 00:35:44,910 one of the key components, this listening to living a life and 391 00:35:44,910 --> 00:35:48,630 living it to the full. Let's pray. 392 00:36:00,810 --> 00:36:05,610 Lord, give us ears not only to hear, but to listen. 393 00:36:12,850 --> 00:36:21,370 Give us courage to strike out again, this time in a different 394 00:36:21,370 --> 00:36:26,370 posture, in a posture of faith as opposed to a posture of 395 00:36:26,370 --> 00:36:33,320 effort. Give us wisdom to remember that 396 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:36,560 you have brought us through before, and you will continue to 397 00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:40,920 do so again, so that when struggle comes, we understand 398 00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:51,300 that it's temporary, so that we may then be able to, with 399 00:36:51,300 --> 00:36:59,340 boldness and confidence, approach you and be your hands 400 00:36:59,340 --> 00:37:04,920 and feet, the working of your will in the world. 401 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:09,120 And it's your name we pray. Amen.