1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:02,880 Well, happy Mother's Day, real life. 2 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:05,200 Give a shout to all the moms who are here today. 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:09,160 It's such a special day. Yes, to get to celebrate and 4 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,040 sorry I'm a little bit I don't always get to be down 5 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:15,440 worshipping with everybody and I love it so much and that song. 6 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,120 It just gets me that last song. It's like man, God put his 7 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:21,320 breath in our. Lungs and we get to give it back 8 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:24,200 to him like what an awesome picture of God. 9 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,400 So I am so excited I am if I haven't met you. 10 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,760 My name is Diane I'm Shawn's wife and so excited to share 11 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:33,040 with you just something God has put on my heart this Mother's 12 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:35,040 Day. So I think we can all agree on 13 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:39,080 something today and it's that moms are incredible right that 14 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:40,840 kind of yes give them a hand again. 15 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,760 They don't get enough thanks for all of the work they do. 16 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:45,680 They are the reason that we're all here. 17 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:48,880 They are the reason that some of us are here and dressed 18 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:50,760 appropriately for the day, right? 19 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,960 They might be the reason some of us remembered to come to church 20 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:55,640 today. OK, Like there, there might be 21 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:57,560 some of that going on too. So do a quick poll. 22 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,440 How many do you would say that Mom ever fixed something that 23 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:04,480 you had messed up? I forgot something. 24 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:06,400 I failed at something. I fell down. 25 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:08,640 I hurt myself. Yes, I think that's pretty 26 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:11,560 consistent. Moms have this superpower where 27 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,480 the combination of like a Band-Aid and a cold paper towel 28 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:16,800 and a prayer can fix just about anything. 29 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,520 And we're not really sure which one of those things it was that 30 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,600 did it right. All right, one more who has who 31 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:27,080 has a mom who has a special dish that nobody else on earth can 32 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,040 make the same way. Well, now Sean's looking at his 33 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,560 mom because I don't think it's because it's really good. 34 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:34,040 I think it's actually gets really bad. 35 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,920 For some of us. I love my mother-in-law. 36 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:39,320 I really do. She's great. 37 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:42,800 She's so great. But I know now I'm going to go 38 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:44,120 buy her flowers. It's going to be a great 39 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:45,480 afternoon. We're going to have so much fun. 40 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:47,680 Yeah. Hey, we got you some flowers. 41 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,400 It's going to be great. So that dish, right. 42 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,640 Like you might have gotten even gotten the recipe for mom and it 43 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,000 doesn't matter. You can't make it the same way 44 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,000 that she made it. And moms just really carry 45 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,800 something that's irreplaceable. It's often. 46 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,160 Unseen and you can't. Put your finger on it. 47 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,520 But it's woven in the background of all of the ordinary 48 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,240 day-to-day things that we do. It's so special. 49 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,520 We can't explain it, but they make such a huge difference. 50 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:16,360 So we hope that you feel honored today. 51 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,080 We love the moms in the house. We want to celebrate all of the 52 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:22,200 ladies across this space for all that they do. 53 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:24,960 And so happy Mother's Day to all the awesome moms out there. 54 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:27,600 Yeah, one more hand. Let's give them a hand. 55 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:32,960 So today we are going to talk about a story about two moms. 56 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,000 But the story is really one for every person in the room. 57 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:40,040 Of course, moms, but maybe those waiting to be moms, maybe those 58 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:42,920 who have lost their mom, maybe those who are in a complicated 59 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:46,240 relationship with their mom or whose mom never quite showed up. 60 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,920 Or maybe just any one of us today who needs a reminder that 61 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:53,000 no matter what circumstances we're in, that God is here and 62 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,880 he wants to show up in those. And so this story today is not 63 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,800 really the Hallmark Channel version of Mother's Day. 64 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:02,240 It's real life. And real life, as you all know, 65 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,600 can be a little bit complicated. So this story is almost kind of 66 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,280 uncomfortably real. I like to say it's in the book 67 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:10,720 of Genesis. Barry mentioned it. 68 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:14,080 It's a story of two sisters named Leah and Rachel. 69 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:15,960 I've heard some people call her Leah. 70 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:19,160 I can't get that in my brain. So today she's Leah and Rachel. 71 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:21,760 So if I'm my Hebrew is not right, that's OK, I'm sorry. 72 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,120 But she's Leah and Rachel today. And I'm calling it the tale of 73 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,120 two mothers. And Sean thought it'd be really 74 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:29,800 funny if I said this story really does have the best of 75 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:32,720 sometimes and the worst of times because it does. 76 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,800 So I'm not as funny as Sean. So you'll get some some Sean 77 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:38,680 jokes on the backside. Yes, I am. 78 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:40,240 I know it's not my superpower. It's OK. 79 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,440 I have other superpowers. But it made me think about this 80 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,720 story, looking at this series that we had been in called 81 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:50,000 Theology for the Rest of Us. And I think this story is one of 82 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,360 those nods to the credibility of God's word. 83 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,440 Because if I was looking back at the lineage of my family and 84 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:59,760 trying to like line down all the lives and what God had done 85 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:03,280 through them to get me where I am today, this is like a cringe 86 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:06,640 worthy account that probably wouldn't have made it in my list 87 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,240 of like, let's honor Aunt Leah and Rachel who had this just 88 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:14,920 messy, yucky weirdness. But what I love about it is God 89 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:18,360 doesn't whitewash the lives of the people in his story. 90 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:21,880 His intention isn't to make these perfect people that we 91 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:23,880 never feel like we could attain to. 92 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:28,520 The people in this book are real people just like us, and they 93 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,520 screw up just like us. And I really believe that God 94 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,560 knew that we would need that reminder to see that how He 95 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:38,200 works through the lives of people matters so little on our 96 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,320 own ability and so much on our ability to trust that He's in 97 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:44,160 control and He can do it. So we're going to dive in. 98 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:46,640 Sorry if I talk fast. I have lots of Bible verses 99 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:48,600 today. Logan gave me an award for maybe 100 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,080 having almost the most Bible verses that we put in a message. 101 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:53,680 But I really want you to, I don't know if that's a good 102 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,320 award or a bad award. There's lots of it, but I really 103 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,520 want you to see this story. So the setup is this Jacob, like 104 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:02,480 Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Jacob has just gotten the 105 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,360 blessing from his dad, Isaac. He has promised to go find 106 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:08,040 himself a wife who is still connected to his family. 107 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:10,320 So not a Canaanite woman, somebody in their family he 108 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:11,880 knows about. His uncle lives in a far off 109 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,040 town, so he goes off off on the way for several chapters. 110 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:16,920 He has this dream about the stairway to heaven. 111 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:19,160 He's promised all these descendants, all these things. 112 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,920 So we're going to pick him up when he has made his way to town 113 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:25,640 and he has run into some shepherds at a well. 114 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:30,400 So we are in Genesis 29. We are going to start in verse 115 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:32,640 9, and we are going to make our way through most of this 116 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:34,560 chapter. So it says, while he was still 117 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,600 talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she 118 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,960 was a shepherd. And when Jacob saw Rachel, the 119 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:45,280 daughter of his uncle Laban and Laban sheep, he went over and 120 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:48,520 rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well, and watered 121 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,880 his uncle's sheep. And then Jacob kissed Rachel, 122 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:54,720 and he began to weep aloud, because he had told Rachel that 123 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:58,040 he was a relative of her father and the son of Rebecca. 124 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,800 So she ran and told her father, and as soon as Laban heard the 125 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:05,320 news about Jacob, his sister son, he hurried to meet him. 126 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:08,360 He embraced him, kissed him, and brought him to his home. 127 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,160 And there Jacob told him all these things. 128 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,760 Then Laban said to him, You are my own flesh and blood. 129 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,520 After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, Laban said to 130 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,240 him, Just because you're a relative of mine, should you 131 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:23,680 work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should 132 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,200 be. Now here's where we meet our 133 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:28,960 sisters. So in verse 16, Laban had two 134 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,680 daughters. The name of the older was Leah 135 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:33,560 and the name of the younger was Rachel. 136 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:38,200 It says Leah had weak eyes, which I will tell you does not 137 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:41,000 mean she didn't see well. It's actually a Hebrew idiom to 138 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,720 mean she wasn't much to look at. But it says Rachel had a lovely 139 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:47,840 figure and was beautiful. I know, right? 140 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:49,760 I want that to be MyHeritage like Diane. 141 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:52,720 Not much to look at like in Scripture for all of his. 142 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:54,280 No, just hypothetically speaking. 143 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,040 So Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. 144 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:01,600 So you can imagine these two sisters already had some sources 145 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,520 of contention living this life. So Jacob was in love with 146 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:07,760 Rachel. We're one month in, he loves her 147 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:11,400 and he says I will work for you for seven years in return for 148 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:16,000 your younger daughter Rachel. Now, men, I want you to let that 149 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,880 sink in for a little bit. Like most of you are like, let 150 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,880 me save up two months wages for an engagement ring, or how about 151 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,720 7 years worth of your salary just to pay the bride price, 152 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,080 right? Like that's pretty sorry. 153 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,440 That's pretty significant, love, you would say. 154 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,880 Actually, in this time frame, the wage of a shepherd would 155 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,560 have to work about three years for the average bride price. 156 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:40,800 So Jacob's got it bad. He's like, no, I will work for 157 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:42,400 seven years. I'll do whatever it takes. 158 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:47,320 I love this lady. But so 19, Laban said. 159 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:50,360 It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. 160 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:52,640 Classic father-in-law line, right? 161 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:55,040 Like I guess you'll do better than someone else. 162 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:58,520 Stay here with me. So Jacob served for seven years 163 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:02,280 to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him 164 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:06,680 because of his love for her. Yes, we can all say so. 165 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,120 Jacob arrives, meet Rachel. He's got it bad. 166 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:12,000 A month in, he agrees to work seven years to marry her. 167 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:14,480 And this is where the Hallmark Channel version. 168 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:16,400 Oh, thanks. Sean will say it's not going to 169 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:21,080 let me drink this, but it's vodka. 170 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:22,520 Watch out. And that's what Sean just told 171 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:23,240 me. It's OK. 172 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:27,560 For those in the back who couldn't hear, kind of like 173 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:29,680 people are like, are you nervous about speaking all these people? 174 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:31,720 Like, no, I'm nervous because Sean's right here and I can hear 175 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:33,200 what he's saying. So it's like. 176 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,960 Oh man, marriage is a blessing so. 177 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:43,400 This, and maybe this is where the Hallmark Channel version of 178 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:45,920 this story wraps up. He loves her, she loves him. 179 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:48,280 He worked seven years, but it was only just a few days because 180 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:51,560 he was so in love, right? It's almost been 19 years, but 181 00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:53,760 just felt like a few days. That's right. 182 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:57,160 So chapter 21. We're going to keep going. 183 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,920 Then Jacob said to Laden. Give me my wife. 184 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:03,080 My time is completed and I want to Make Love to her classic 185 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:06,840 son-in-law line. So Laban brought together all of 186 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:10,040 the people and gave a huge feast to celebrate this wedding. 187 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:16,400 But when evening came, he Laban took his daughter Leah and 188 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:22,040 brought her to Jacob. And Jacob made love to her, Yes. 189 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:26,840 And when the morning came, it says there was Leah, much to 190 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:30,600 Jacob's surprise. So Jacob is mad, rightly so. 191 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:33,040 Jacob said to Laban. What have you done to me? 192 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:34,800 I have served you for Rachel, didn't I? 193 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,560 Why have you deceived me? Now this is really interesting 194 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:40,760 because Jacob's name actually means deceiver. 195 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,680 And not too far before this, he had deceived his own dad and his 196 00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:46,920 own brother to weasel them out of his birthright. 197 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,200 So the deceivers getting deceived, it's very ironic. 198 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,480 And Laban's like, oh, it's not our custom here to give the 199 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,520 younger daughter in marriage before the older one. 200 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:59,360 Probably like really helpful information from 7 years ago, 201 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,160 right? So why don't you finish this 202 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:04,760 daughter's bridal week and then we will give you the younger one 203 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:08,800 also in return for another seven years of work. 204 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:12,160 And so Jacob did it. Man, he loved Rachel. 205 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,480 He finished his week with Leah and then Laban gave him his 206 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:17,040 daughter Rachel also to be his wife. 207 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:20,440 Laban gave his servant Bill Hot to his daughter Rachel as her 208 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:24,520 attendant and Jacob made love to Rachel also and his love for 209 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,360 Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. 210 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:30,760 And he worked for Laban another seven years. 211 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:35,240 Like this story is crazy. And Jacob does end up getting 212 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:38,920 Rachel for his wife, but not without some serious collateral 213 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:41,880 damage to the lives of both of these women. 214 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,040 But. My favorite, but there's several 215 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:48,080 but gods in here. But God doesn't wait for their 216 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,240 circumstances to get better or change to show up and to let 217 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:54,280 these two women know that He's their God and He is with them. 218 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:57,920 In verse 31 it says this. When the Lord saw that Leah was 219 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:02,960 not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained 220 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:07,680 childless. God saw Leah, He saw that she 221 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:10,240 had been rejected, He saw that she was in the middle of a 222 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:14,280 situation she never asked for. He saw her and he moved. 223 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:17,920 And I think so much of the pieces of this story of God 224 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,480 walking alongside people in their suffering and in their 225 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:23,760 circumstances is so we can also know and have that reassurance 226 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,800 that whatever you're walking through right now, God sees you 227 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,480 too. Wherever you are, whatever 228 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:32,280 season, as you're waiting for things that don't seem to be 229 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:35,840 coming together, he's here. And it doesn't matter if your 230 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:38,600 pain came from your own choices or choices that those that 231 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:43,160 people had done for to you, God sees it and I believe he wants 232 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:45,720 to create something beautiful from your pain. 233 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:50,600 So we're here, two sisters, same house, same husband, both living 234 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:53,120 with circumstances. They didn't choose what could go 235 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,720 wrong. So this is where our story goes 236 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,920 from bad to worse. Because instead of them focusing 237 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,920 in and saying OK I have this that God has given me, they 238 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,160 immediately start looking at each other. 239 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:07,400 So let's look at verse 32. It says that Leah became 240 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:11,560 pregnant and gave birth to a son she named him Reuben for she 241 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:14,680 said it is because the Lord has seen my misery. 242 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,960 Surely my husband will love me now who was like what should we 243 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,600 name the baby? How about my misery? 244 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:24,920 Like you know suffering is a really great name to name your 245 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:29,000 first born child. You can see the pain that is in 246 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,920 the situation because every child is named after what's 247 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:35,520 going on in verse 33 it says she conceived again when she gave 248 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,440 birth to a son. She said because the Lord heard 249 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,120 that I'm not loved, he gave me this one too. 250 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:45,360 So she named him Simeon. In 34 again she conceived, and 251 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:49,200 when she gave birth to a son, she said, now at last my husband 252 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:52,760 will become attached to me because I have borne him three 253 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:55,520 sons. So he was named Levi. 254 00:12:56,280 --> 00:13:00,040 And her pain is palpable here. Like she like, nobody wants to 255 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:02,440 name their child my suffering, you know, like, isn't that the 256 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,920 name of Hitler's manifesto, you know, like Mein Kampf, Like this 257 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,720 is literally these children, each one coming out. 258 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:11,520 And they don't just come out, you know, back-to-back to back. 259 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:16,040 This is a period of years that you can see that Leah is feeling 260 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,600 so unloved and so unworthy. But. 261 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,440 She's not the only one in pain. Let's look at Rachel in Genesis 262 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:28,240 30 verse one, it says when Rachel saw that she was not 263 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:32,080 bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. 264 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:36,000 So she said to Jacob, give me children or I'll die, which 265 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:39,960 might be a little bit dramatic, but it also shows just how 266 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:44,000 painful that daily reminder was of her struggle. 267 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,240 And Jacob actually becomes angry with her. 268 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,080 Am I in the place of God who has kept you from having children? 269 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,120 Like, hey, I'm sorry you're going through this, but I don't 270 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,920 have any control over the situation and you're mad about. 271 00:13:55,800 --> 00:14:00,240 So not only has it been bad, it's worse because nobody has 272 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:02,720 the life they wanted. They're joined together and they 273 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,000 have a permanent daily reminder of the pain and struggle they 274 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,640 have been through. Leah has married, but unloved 275 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:11,880 because Jacob loved Rachel more, it said. 276 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:15,960 And Rachel is loved but barren, which would be devastating in a 277 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:19,800 culture where the main place of honor for a woman is to be able 278 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:23,240 to provide heirs for a family. I mean, Jacob just got a word 279 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:25,440 from God that they're trying to build a nation, right? 280 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:27,920 She's like, I am totally failing at this. 281 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:30,840 And so can I be real for a second this morning? 282 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:33,720 I think that in a room. This size, there's got to be 283 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:37,320 some of us that are living in a life that we didn't choose. 284 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:42,440 Maybe your marriage is going harder than you expected that it 285 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:46,000 would, or maybe motherhood didn't bring you this peace and 286 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,480 joy that you thought this fulfillment was going to have 287 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:50,880 for you. You might be in a season of 288 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,760 waiting that just feels like it has gone on and on and on. 289 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:57,360 Or maybe you're carrying this quiet grief that nobody sees 290 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,880 because Leah had sons, real sons, who loved her, but she 291 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,440 couldn't stop looking at what she didn't have. 292 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:06,760 And Rachel had love and devotion and a husband who just 293 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:10,280 sacrificed so much for her, but she couldn't stop looking at 294 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:13,360 what she didn't have. Both of them were looking 295 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:16,120 sideways, and it was making them miserable. 296 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:20,520 And today, comparison doesn't just happen among siblings or 297 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:23,040 friends or people that we know in our workplace. 298 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:25,360 Comparison happens every time we open our phone. 299 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,600 You open a feed and see somebody who seems to have their life all 300 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,720 together went on another family vacation or upgraded their house 301 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:34,560 or their car or they meet you another milestone or an 302 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:38,480 achievement or any other life. And it's perfectly filtered, 303 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,960 framed, beautiful way just looks better than your life. 304 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:45,200 And suddenly then what you have, what God's given you, doesn't 305 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,160 feel like enough. What I'm building isn't enough. 306 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:52,280 And that turns into then who I am will never be enough. 307 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:57,280 And I truly believe that it's that comparison of my life to 308 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:00,920 someone else's life to something else I see that will make me 309 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:04,760 blind to the prayers that God has already answered in my own 310 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:07,240 life. Each of us has received so many 311 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,960 blessings from God, but comparison won't let us see it 312 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:14,560 that way. So I really wish that in this 313 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:18,040 story that they made it to happily ever after, but it 314 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:22,280 doesn't neatly resolve that way. The story is so raw and so real, 315 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:24,880 and I think that there's a real beauty in that. 316 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,600 But there's an undercurrent happening here about how God 317 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,360 continues to be present in the lives of these people through 318 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,160 their struggles and their circumstances. 319 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,120 Because for both of these women, in different ways in different 320 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:40,800 times, God continues to show up. So like I alluded to, in the 321 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,800 ancient world, names carried A tremendous meaning. 322 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,440 Every child Leah named was a window to her heart. 323 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:49,720 We talked about that in Genesis 2932. 324 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:52,920 She was pregnant, gave birth to a son, named him Reuben. 325 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:56,080 And she said it's because the Lord has seen my misery. 326 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:01,480 Her first son's name shows that she is reaching and she is 327 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:03,880 hoping, and she's still waiting to be chosen. 328 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:06,800 If only I can do these things, then I'll be loved. 329 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:10,880 Verse 33 same thing she conceived again her second son 330 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,880 named because the Lord heard I'm not loved. 331 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:17,599 Simeon means God heard that I'm not loved. 332 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:21,680 She's naming her pain out loud before God sharing her struggle 333 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:26,160 and her third son Levi. Now at last my husband will 334 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,800 become attached to me. Levi actually means attached and 335 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,720 she's still hoping and praying and waiting for this 336 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:39,360 circumstance to change. But it's between this point, 337 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:42,160 verse 34 and then 35, that something shifts. 338 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:45,080 And there's something really incredible in this passage 339 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,040 that's easy to miss if you kind of fly through it and gloss over 340 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:50,760 it. And I've missed it before, But 341 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:55,200 in verse 35, I don't want you to miss this, it says that she 342 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:59,160 conceived again, which is now her fourth child with Jacob. 343 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:05,240 And when she gave birth to a son, she said, this time I will 344 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:09,800 praise the Lord. So she named him Judah, Leah's 345 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,040 fourth son. Judah. 346 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:16,760 His name means this time I will praise the Lord. 347 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,640 We don't have any reason to think that between verse 34 and 348 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:22,920 35 that anything changed in Leah's life. 349 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:25,920 Jacob still loved. Rachel Moore Leah was still the 350 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,840 one who was never chosen. But somewhere between Levi and 351 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:31,640 Judah, something changed inside of Leah. 352 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,160 She stopped naming her children after her longing, and she 353 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:38,160 started naming them after her God. 354 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:43,200 She stopped waiting for her life to change and she's chose to 355 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:47,960 worship God inside the life that she had been given. 356 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:51,600 And I think for so many of us, like if that thing could be 357 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:56,080 tattooed on my arm to remember, to say I need to name my 358 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:59,880 struggle after my God instead of letting my struggle identify my 359 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:02,040 life. Leah stopped waiting. 360 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:04,160 She stopped longing and striving. 361 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:06,520 This life and these circumstances might not ever 362 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:10,840 change, but I am going to make a decision to choose praise. 363 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,280 I'm going to choose God inside of this life I have. 364 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:16,760 And I don't think that that's pretending that she wasn't in 365 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:18,920 pain. She'd already named her pain. 366 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:21,520 I think she just made a different choice. 367 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,120 No matter her circumstances, no matter her pain, no matter the 368 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:27,960 poor choices of her dad or anything else that led her to 369 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,680 this point, Leah decided to praise God. 370 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,440 And I think that's such a powerful example for us as we 371 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,880 look into what is God asking us to do today. 372 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,440 And her faith is so inspiring. But what about our other mom? 373 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,960 What's going on with Rachel because we're Leah chose to 374 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:48,760 praise Rachel's story is a little bit different path. 375 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:53,320 So in Genesis 30 verse one, we already saw these first 2 verses 376 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,000 1. So Rachel saw she wasn't bearing 377 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:56,920 children. She said, give me children or 378 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,240 I'll die. Jacob became angry with her and 379 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:01,520 said, am I in the place of God who's kept you from having 380 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:03,520 children? And then she said, here is 381 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:06,560 Bilhah my servant, sleep with her so that she can bear 382 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:08,920 children for me and I too can build a family. 383 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,680 Through her now to our world context. 384 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,520 This feels really strange. This was actually a common way 385 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:18,040 of building a family and building family wealth in these 386 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:20,280 days. Good, bad or ugly, this would 387 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,720 have been a common practice. So it's not so out there crazy, 388 00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:27,080 but it says that she gave him her servant Bill Ha as a wife 389 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:30,120 and Jacob slept with her and then she became pregnant and 390 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:32,240 bore him a son. So Rachel is now getting to 391 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:36,000 build her nation with Jacob in her own line. 392 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,240 And Rachel said God has vindicated me. 393 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,000 He's listened to my plea and given me a son. 394 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:44,560 Because of this she named him Dan. 395 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:48,600 Verse 7 Rachel's servant Bill Ha conceived again and bore Jacob a 396 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,600 second son. And Rachel said, I have had a 397 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:56,320 great struggle with my sister and I have one. 398 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:01,680 So she named him NAFTA Lee. See, Rachel had already started 399 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:03,880 with so much. She was beautiful, she was 400 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:08,600 desired, she was the one Jacob chose, and yet she spent even 401 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,480 this part of her life receiving the blessing from God, 402 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:15,000 Miserable. Because she couldn't stop naming 403 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:17,200 her pain. She couldn't stop looking at 404 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,640 what Leah had literally named her child. 405 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:21,280 Like ha ha, now I'm going to win. 406 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:23,120 I'm doing it better than my sister did. 407 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:27,920 Like she couldn't be happy. She ended up manipulating, 408 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:29,960 bargaining. She used her servants as 409 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:33,040 surrogates just to keep up, traded her husband's company for 410 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,120 mandrakes, which were like ancient fertility herbs, because 411 00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:38,560 she was so desperate to have what Leah had. 412 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:41,160 And I think you really see as you walk through this story 413 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:44,400 throughout Rachel's life that she was so consumed by what she 414 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,320 lacked and didn't have that she couldn't receive what she 415 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:50,680 already had. But this is my next. 416 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:54,360 But God, God is so good in this story because he saw her pain 417 00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:55,840 too. And he remembered her. 418 00:21:56,080 --> 00:22:00,080 In Genesis 30, verse 22, it says then God remembered Rachel. 419 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,360 He listened to her and enabled her to conceive and she became 420 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:05,080 pregnant and gave birth to a son. 421 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,360 And she said, God has taken away my disgrace. 422 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:12,640 And she named him Joseph and said, may the Lord add to me 423 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:15,760 another son like she's in like this is it. 424 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,400 This is her beautiful moment where the prayer of so many 425 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:22,360 years, probably he had gone by God answers these prayers gives 426 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:25,440 her the deepest desire of her heart to carry her own child 427 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,880 with Jacob. Yet her name for him wasn't 428 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,520 praise. Her name for him was like, man, 429 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:34,520 I need God to add me another one because I'm still trying to 430 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,600 catch up with what God is doing in Leah. 431 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:40,360 She's still striving. She is still in continued 432 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:44,280 competition with her sister. And then Rachel's last moment is 433 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,400 really heartbreaking because some years later Rachel gets 434 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:49,920 pregnant again. This is probably the course of 435 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:51,800 the story takes place over decades. 436 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,600 You know, we're reading it a few verses over, but she finally 437 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,000 gets pregnant again. God added her other son even 438 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:01,360 gave her granted her the wish of Joseph's name. 439 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:06,240 She gets her miracle. And so in Genesis 3517 and 18, 440 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,640 you can slip over there. It says Enda, she was having 441 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:14,360 great difficulty in childbirth. The midwife said to her, don't 442 00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:17,440 despair, for you have another son. 443 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:21,720 And as she breathed her last, for she was dying, she named her 444 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:25,400 son Ben Oni, but his father named him Benjamin. 445 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,400 Rachel was giving birth to her second son and she was dying. 446 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:30,880 She ended up dying in childbirth. 447 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,440 But in her final breath, she whispers out the boy's name is 448 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:37,320 Ben Oni. And what's so heartbreaking 449 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,600 about this story is that in Hebrew, been Oni almost 450 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:44,240 certainly means the son of my suffering or the son of my 451 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:48,160 sorrow. And so Rachel never got to her 452 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:51,040 Judah moment. She never made that turn from 453 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,400 longing to praise. And maybe her heart was broken 454 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:55,640 and suffering because she knew she was dying and she wasn't 455 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:58,880 going to get to live with this miracle that got it done. 456 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,000 But even at the very end of her life, in the middle of this 457 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,320 miracle that she is a huge part of creating this nation for God, 458 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,800 she was naming her suffering instead of naming her praise. 459 00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:14,080 In a culture where names were someone's destiny, she used her 460 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:18,920 dying breath to curse her son's name because of her pain and to 461 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,200 push that pain on to the next generation. 462 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,080 She truly did get what she prayed for. 463 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:27,680 Two sons to carry their family's legacy, to build a nation, to 464 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:29,840 carry on the line of her husband Jacob. 465 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,840 But it wasn't enough. So the contrast is impossible to 466 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:36,520 miss. Unloved, overlooked, but chose 467 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,640 to praise. Loved, beautiful, chosen, but 468 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:44,960 suffering and completely unable to receive the life she had. 469 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:50,120 And I really believe this. A life that is spent grasping 470 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:54,480 for what we don't have. We'll always miss the blessing 471 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:57,920 of what we do. When my eyes are always up 472 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:01,400 looking out on what could be and what is not and what could have 473 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:05,200 been and what I don't have, it's impossible for me to look and 474 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,520 see with gratitude what I have been given. 475 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,160 These two women have the same family, same husband, same 476 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,000 house, same God, but they chose to do something different with 477 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,560 it. And there was a season in my 478 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:19,960 life, too, where I needed a miracle. 479 00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:23,640 And like Rachel, I was begging God to take away pain. 480 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:29,480 So Sean and I had two teenage foster kids right out of, well, 481 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:30,880 really right out of getting married. 482 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,520 And after they had graduated from high school, we decided it 483 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:37,360 was time to start our family, to have our own kids. 484 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:40,920 And for about four years, we struggled through a season of 485 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,960 infertility. And if you've ever been in that 486 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:46,480 struggle, you know it's not just a physical struggle. 487 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:50,400 It's emotional, it's spiritual, and it touches every part of 488 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:52,720 your life. You have months and months of 489 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,880 trying and waiting and praying and then carrying that 490 00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:59,680 disappointment to know that you're completely helpless to do 491 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:03,760 anything but pray and just say, God, why is this happening? 492 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:07,040 We want so badly for you to give us a child. 493 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,080 And I honestly wondered for a lot of years, like, is this even 494 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:13,960 going to happen? I question God, you know, I work 495 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,280 in healthcare, in Pediatrics, and you see all of these 496 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:20,640 children who are barely wanted by their families to go, why 497 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:22,880 God? Like we want a child so badly 498 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:24,800 and we would love a child so well. 499 00:26:25,120 --> 00:26:28,920 Why is this happening? And it really, it feels like 500 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:32,800 like everything and everyone around you is moving forward, 501 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:35,960 but you're just standing still waiting. 502 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:38,200 Like I can't move to the next thing. 503 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,960 I can't go to the next season. I'm waiting for this to start. 504 00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:45,360 And you know, we we're still serving God and trusting his 505 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:47,960 plans for us and really ultimately just trying to find 506 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,360 gratitude for every person around us who is expecting 507 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:52,960 children and love on those who got it, called us to love and 508 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,200 care for. And I think we finally came to 509 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:58,040 this place of what I call this like open handed surrender. 510 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:01,320 Like God, maybe you were calling us to a life where we don't have 511 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,120 any more children because you have something bigger for us. 512 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:07,720 Like you have something that we need to carry for your ministry 513 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:11,720 or for your word to go out. That wouldn't work if we had 514 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:13,240 kids. And so we started praying 515 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,640 through this season of what I now call the fiery furnace 516 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:18,880 prayer. And that comes from Daniel 517 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:20,920 chapter 3. I'll read it. 518 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,040 But this is when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were 519 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:26,920 getting ready to be thrown into the fiery furnace because they 520 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:30,520 refused to bow down to idols. They only would worship their 521 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:32,480 God. And so it says Shadrach, Meshach 522 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:36,200 and Abednego replied to him. King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not 523 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:39,480 need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 524 00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:42,760 That they were unwilling to bow and worship the king. 525 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:48,120 But if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we 526 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:54,000 serve is what? Yeah, he's able. 527 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:58,920 He is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from 528 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:03,280 Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want 529 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,800 you to know, your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or 530 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,400 worship the image of gold that you've set up. 531 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,760 Like that prayer in that season was key for me because it's God. 532 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,560 You know the desire of my heart. You know that I want to have a 533 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:18,480 child. You know I want to carry a child 534 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:24,720 in my own womb with my husband. But even if you choose not to 535 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:26,800 answer that prayer, you're still good. 536 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:30,240 And you had to come to that place to say, even if he doesn't 537 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,000 is the prayer that it was. Even if he doesn't allow me to 538 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,920 have kids, even if he doesn't provide healing in this season, 539 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,920 even if my spouse never accepts Christ, even if my circumstances 540 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:44,120 never change, he is still good and I'm going to give him 541 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:46,600 praise. And in that season, we prayed 542 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:48,000 that. And we meant that. 543 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,800 There's actually a song from that season of life called by 544 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:55,520 Hillsong United called Desert Song, and the lyrics of it were 545 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:57,880 really a praise declaration for us. 546 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:03,120 It says all of my life, in every season, you are still God and I 547 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:06,720 have a reason to praise. I have a reason to worship. 548 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:10,840 So I will bring praise. And really it's Leah's prayer, 549 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:12,520 right? I will bring praise and there's 550 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,680 no weapon formed against me that shall remain. 551 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,680 I will rejoice and I will declare that God is my victory 552 00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:25,840 and He is here and now only by His grace, His miraculous hand. 553 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:30,200 I do have three awesome little kids and they are loud and they 554 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,920 are full of life and they are absolutely amazing kids. 555 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,640 And if I'm honest now, almost 10 years removed from that time 556 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,720 frame, there are moments in the middle of the chaos of that 557 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,440 where it's easy to forget that this noise and the mess and the 558 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:47,960 exhaustion is the thing that I spent years begging God to give 559 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:50,080 me. And I catch myself in that 560 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:52,640 moment, frustrated about the dishes and the laundry and the 561 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:56,040 never ending sibling argument that happens. 562 00:29:56,600 --> 00:29:59,680 I have to stop and remind myself, this is the life you 563 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:02,920 prayed for. Like see it, be in it. 564 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:05,680 Be in this real life that you have. 565 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,320 Take your Judah moment and give praises to God. 566 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:14,280 But I also know in a room like this that not every prayer gets 567 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:16,880 answered that way. And there have been plenty for 568 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:20,360 us that we've cried out to ask God and he didn't answer in that 569 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:22,920 same way. That means in a room like this, 570 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:25,240 there's joy, but there's also grief, and there's answered 571 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:29,360 prayers and there's waiting prayers, but God is present in 572 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:31,840 all of it. He was present with Leah in her 573 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:34,520 long, and he's present with Rachel in her grief, and he's 574 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:36,640 present with you right where you are today. 575 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:39,600 And so I want to end Leah's story with something that I 576 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,680 think will really stay with you. That's incredible to kind of sit 577 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:45,160 down and think about because Leah did probably feel 578 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:47,760 overlooked her entire life. She lived to be an old age. 579 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:50,080 She was buried with a family, She was unloved. 580 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:53,000 She was unchosen. She was always somehow 2nd. 581 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,440 And she never got the love story she wanted. 582 00:30:55,440 --> 00:31:00,440 But her fourth son was Judah. And I want you to look at the 583 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:05,040 blessing that Judah's father, Jacob, then Israel, bestowed 584 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:06,600 upon him as he was nearing his death. 585 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:09,760 So this is in Genesis 49, verse 8. 586 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:14,560 It says Judah, your brothers will praise you, your hand will 587 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:18,600 be on the neck of your enemies, your father's sons will bow down 588 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:21,760 to you. The scepter will not depart from 589 00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:25,560 Judah, nor the ruler staff from between his feet, until he to 590 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:30,000 whom it belongs shall come, and the obedience of the nation 591 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:35,160 shall be his. You see, Judah, Leah's fourth 592 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:39,280 son was to become the ruler over all of Jacob's sons and 593 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:42,640 ultimately over all of the tribes of Israel that would come 594 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:44,400 from their family and the descendants. 595 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:47,520 It wasn't Jacob's first born Reuben, who you would have 596 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:51,000 thought, and it wasn't Jacob's most beloved son Joseph. 597 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:53,680 It wasn't even Benjamin, the son of his right hand. 598 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:59,360 No, Jacob chose Judah. He chose Leah's praise and look 599 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:01,920 at what he chose him for. Go back to verse 10. 600 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:04,880 The scepter won't depart from Judah, nor the ruler staff from 601 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:10,760 between his feet until who, until he to whom it belongs 602 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:14,200 shall come, and the obedience of nations shall be his. 603 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:18,760 The he in that verse is for the future to come, because from 604 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:20,920 Judah's lion came the tribe of Judah. 605 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:24,640 From that tribe came King David, and from David's lion came the 606 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:30,600 lion of Judah. Jesus Christ perfectly come from 607 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:35,880 Leah's praise from the woman who felt unseen, unloved, unwanted. 608 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:41,280 Her life, her story, and her faith in God became a part of 609 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:46,280 the greatest story ever told. God used her pain to bring forth 610 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:50,480 healing and salvation for all of humanity and brought forth a 611 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:55,120 Messiah to save the world. And so there's a really good 612 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:58,320 chance that you may not get to see or understand what God is 613 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:02,000 doing through your pain, what he's building, what He's growing 614 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:03,880 for another generation, for people on and on. 615 00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:06,880 And maybe you'll never know why your circumstances are writing a 616 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:10,400 bigger story. But in God's story, your pain is 617 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:13,240 not ever wasted. He is doing more through the 618 00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:17,040 day-to-day of your ordinary life than you could ever think or 619 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:19,200 imagine. And the prayers you whisper when 620 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:21,520 nobody's watching, the patience you're holding when you're 621 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:24,400 running on empty. And the way you keep showing up 622 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:28,360 even when you feel unseen. God sees you and he loves you 623 00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:31,360 and his love for you is so great. 624 00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:34,880 And your faithfulness to say yes to Him, and your faithfulness to 625 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:37,360 give him the praise. Like we sing about, it's your 626 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:40,400 breath and our lungs. So we pour out our praise. 627 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:44,120 God's weaving that into something so much bigger than 628 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:46,960 you can imagine. So how do we choose praise 629 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:49,360 before we feel it? There's going to be days when 630 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:51,480 you don't feel like praising. I'm sure Leah had them. 631 00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:56,280 So we look to her. We praise God before the feeling 632 00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:59,040 comes. We give gratitude to God for all 633 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:01,160 He has done. Because joy isn't found in 634 00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:04,240 perfect circumstances. It's found in staying connected 635 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:06,400 to the One who can meet our every need. 636 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:10,040 It's not an easy recipe, but it's a simple one. 637 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:14,320 In First Thessalonians 516 through 18, it says this. 638 00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:20,040 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all 639 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:25,080 circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 640 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:28,159 Joy always turns our pain into praise. 641 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:33,639 Leah took her pain, her overlook, her not loved with an 642 00:34:33,639 --> 00:34:36,480 open hand. She brought it to God, She named 643 00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:40,360 it Judah. She used her quiet, faithful 644 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:43,639 pain form life to bring the Messiah into the world. 645 00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:46,960 And God's not wasting a single thing that you're walking 646 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:50,760 through in this season either. Not one tear, not one night, not 647 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:56,000 one moment of it is wasted. So whatever you're running or 648 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,400 whatever you're carrying from today, my encouragement for you 649 00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:01,320 is not to run from it. Don't numb it. 650 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:05,800 Don't let it turn you into Rachel grasping and striving and 651 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,720 naming your suffering out onto all the people around you. 652 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:14,080 Bring it to God because he wants to take your been only the son 653 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:17,080 of my suffering and he wants to turn it into now I'll praise the 654 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:21,160 Lord into Judah. God can transform pain into 655 00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:25,640 purpose, suffering into praise and he wants to use your story 656 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:28,400 for something far bigger than you can ever imagine. 657 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:32,560 And I believe today he wants every single one of us to choose 658 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:35,920 to praise walking through your pain. 659 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:40,120 Don't miss this. Walking through pain doesn't 660 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:43,360 just form you. Of course you're going to learn 661 00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:44,680 from it. You're going to grow from it. 662 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:47,560 It's going to impact your life. But when you walk through a 663 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:51,320 painful season, that becomes the very thing God is going to use 664 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:53,880 for you to bring healing to someone else. 665 00:35:55,240 --> 00:35:59,600 Your pain surrendered to God becomes your ministry, your 666 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:02,440 hardest season walked in. Faith becomes the language you 667 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:05,200 can use to speak to somebody else who is right where you used 668 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:07,480 to be. And I know this because I lived 669 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:09,640 it. Those years of infertility, of 670 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:12,640 waiting, of crying out to God. They gave me the ability to sit 671 00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:17,200 with someone in their grief and say I see your pain and God sees 672 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:21,040 it too and he's still good. God actually gave me the ability 673 00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:25,400 to name my turn my pain into praise and we named it in our 674 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:28,400 children that way. I have Jack Shepherd, his middle 675 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:31,360 name is because we believe that God's going to use him and his 676 00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:34,760 generation to shepherd people to draw them closer to himself. 677 00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:38,640 We have Emery Renee, her middle name literally means reborn 678 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:42,120 because there is salvation that this next generation needs to 679 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:47,040 bring in our Levi, not attached, but a Levite, the worshippers, 680 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:49,080 right? He can bring worship to his 681 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:51,880 generation. We named our children because we 682 00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:55,400 want to see God use their lives and because he gave them to us 683 00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:58,600 and we get to offer them back to him in a stewardship. 684 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:02,560 So you can just sit with people in that pain and say, I see you, 685 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:04,800 God sees you. And I don't know how many lives 686 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:08,920 are touched by sharing my story, but it's much less on a stage 687 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:12,440 than it is in a hallway or on a phone call or a text message or 688 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:14,920 sitting by somebody just in a cubicle at work. 689 00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:18,880 God uses your pain in your story when you share it and when you 690 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:22,320 let him in an open handed way, say, God, all I have is yours. 691 00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:25,960 I'm opening it to you. But I know you can use my pain 692 00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:30,960 to bring your good. So in this season, my challenge 693 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,240 for you is to give this season of your life a new name. 694 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:38,480 Maybe it is suffering, but maybe God wants to turn that suffering 695 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:41,520 into praise. And I wonder, like Judah, what 696 00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:46,920 story is being released into God's Kingdom by your choice to 697 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:50,440 praise him today? Because if you look at it, the 698 00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:55,120 story of God, the lineage of Jesus Christ our Savior was born 699 00:37:55,520 --> 00:38:01,360 out of Leah's choice to praise. Let's pray, God, we lift you up 700 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:04,760 in this place and just grateful for your word, God, for the 701 00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:09,560 lives of the people that you've shown us to live by. 702 00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:13,360 God, I pray today that as we lean in, that you would just 703 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:19,000 give us words of praise for our pain and that maybe there's a 704 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:20,880 group of people in here today who would say, you know what? 705 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:22,880 I need to turn my pain into praise. 706 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:26,320 No matter my circumstances, I need to make a decision to focus 707 00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:29,120 on what you've done and to give this season a new name. 708 00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:32,080 And if that's you today, you raise your hand, I'd love to 709 00:38:32,080 --> 00:38:35,400 pray for you to say, you know what, God, no matter what I'm 710 00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:39,840 going through, no matter what is going on in my day-to-day, God, 711 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:42,160 I choose to praise you. If you raise your hand, I'd love 712 00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:45,400 to pray for you. I see your hands, God. 713 00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:47,920 I lift up these people. I don't know what they're 714 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:50,600 walking through, but you do. God, you see them, you know 715 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:53,960 them, You feel your pain, their pain, God, because you have felt 716 00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:56,120 pain. You know what it's like to feel 717 00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:59,560 betrayed, God, and for circumstances to lead to a 718 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:01,320 horrible death that you died for us, God. 719 00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:04,680 And so I pray that you would give us words for our pain so 720 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:08,320 that we can offer it to praise to you, God, help us to decide 721 00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:13,280 today that you are enough and that we can praise you no matter 722 00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:16,400 what we're walking through. And maybe there's one other 723 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:18,000 group of people today who would say, you know what? 724 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:22,400 I've never been able to offer praise because I've never really 725 00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:26,800 experienced the healing from my pain that comes from Jesus, the 726 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:30,320 lion of Judah. But today I feel like he's 727 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:33,840 drawing me to himself. Today I feel this invitation is 728 00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:37,120 urging to say yes. I want to surrender my pain. 729 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:39,000 I want healing. I want wholeness. 730 00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:41,160 That's you today. And you'd say, you know, I've 731 00:39:41,160 --> 00:39:44,000 never accepted Christ as my Savior. 732 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,320 I've never made that decision to trust him. 733 00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:48,960 I've never made that decision to surrender my life and follow 734 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:50,000 him. That's you. 735 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:52,520 And you raise your hand. I'd also love to pray for you. 736 00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:56,120 I'm not going to call you out, but if you say today, I've never 737 00:39:56,240 --> 00:40:00,440 accepted Christ, I've never taken his sacrifice for my pain. 738 00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:02,680 And today I want that. I want to make a decision to 739 00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:04,960 follow him. If you raise your hand and pray 740 00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:08,200 for you as well, and not only pray for you, but this is an 741 00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:09,560 opportunity to say, you know what? 742 00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:14,520 You can also pray to God. You can reach out your hand and 743 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:17,880 say, Lord, I feel you drawing me to yourself, God. 744 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:19,920 And today I've been carrying a heavyweight. 745 00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:23,600 But I want you to lift that burden from me, God, I know you 746 00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:27,760 died on the cross for my sins. You to take that burden of pain 747 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:31,440 away from me. God, through your sacrifice you 748 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:34,400 can make me whole. And today I want to do that, 749 00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:37,040 God. Today I choose you, and I choose 750 00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:40,200 you to save me in Jesus name, Amen. 751 00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:43,160 Well, hey, let's give it up to those who made decisions today 752 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:48,720 to follow Christ, for those who are ready to open their hands to 753 00:40:48,720 --> 00:40:51,280 that burden of pain. And thank you guys so much for 754 00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:52,160 letting me share with you.