1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,280 God can be funny sometimes, right? 2 00:00:03,280 --> 00:00:07,120 God can be funny sometimes. That statement itself begs the 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,920 question, Oh no, is it? Oh, I just, you got to turn it 4 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:12,600 on. No matter how much you do in the 5 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:14,240 back, you still have to turn on the remote. 6 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:19,240 Funny, strange or funny ha ha, which is a legitimate question. 7 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:21,560 People can be funny, strange, they can be funny, ha ha, ha. 8 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:24,240 God is the same way. I'm going to answer this 9 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:29,240 question with a resounding yes. God can be funny, strange, and 10 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:33,320 God can be funny, ha ha. For example, funny, strange, 11 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:37,840 God's promise to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis chapter 18 was 12 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:41,840 funny strange. So Abraham's like 98 years old. 13 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:47,200 Sarah's like 84 years old. For 15 years, God has been 14 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,400 promising Abraham and Sarah that Sarah's going to have Abraham's 15 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,560 baby. And through that, that that line 16 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:57,480 of descent, the entire world will be blessed. 17 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:02,560 And that's a strange thing to promise someone who's 85 years 18 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:04,120 old, right? That she's going to have a baby 19 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:06,160 84 years old. And I'm not trying to be 20 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:11,160 insulting to anyone who might be in that age range, but 84 years 21 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:13,600 old is old. There's no getting around that. 22 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:16,920 And well past childbearing years. 23 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,440 And they've been getting that promise for like 1415 years now. 24 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:27,320 And, and when God came with a couple of angels and they 25 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:30,640 presented themselves in the form of humans to Abraham and Sarah 26 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:34,920 and, and God said this time next year, Sarah's going to be having 27 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:37,200 your baby. And Sarah just laughed. 28 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,800 Now she did it quietly to herself, but God knew. 29 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:44,160 And God said, hey, why are you laughing, Sarah? 30 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:45,320 And Sarah's like, I didn't laugh. 31 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:48,640 And God's like, you laughed. You laughed, I got you, I got 32 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,000 you, you laughed. But she had reason to laugh. 33 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:56,560 I mean, we have, we're reading the story from this side so we 34 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:59,880 can say, oh, well, Sarah should have just had faith that God 35 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,040 would do what God said. Well, let's play a little mental 36 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,640 game here. Imagine you have a good friend 37 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:09,759 that's 84 years old and your good friend comes to you and 38 00:02:09,759 --> 00:02:14,840 they say I had a dream last night and God promised me that 39 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,520 by this time next year I'm going to have a baby. 40 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:23,840 Your response would be, we think you need some extra care. 41 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,320 Perhaps you shouldn't be living alone anymore. 42 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:30,640 Let's get someone there with you. 43 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:34,640 Or better yet, there are a few wonderful facilities in the area 44 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:36,320 that will keep an eye on you. Right. 45 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:40,640 That's the response to an 84 year old woman who believes that 46 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:42,480 God told her she's going to have a baby. 47 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,040 Sarah was right in line with that. 48 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:51,520 She's like, how dumb do you think I am anyway? 49 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:56,520 I'm 85, I'm 84. I ain't senile, all right? 50 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,160 I know how biology works. I know I'm well past. 51 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,280 It's been a long time since I had kids. 52 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:04,720 This is what she said. When? 53 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:06,480 When that. Oh, is it really? 54 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:08,080 Oh, no, here we go. I just got to hit the button 55 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,360 harder. Abraham and Sarah were both very 56 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,760 old at this time by this time and Sarah was long past the age 57 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,400 of having children. So she laughed silently to 58 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:21,480 herself and I said, how could a worn out woman like me enjoy 59 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:27,240 such pleasure? Now I love this passage because 60 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,280 the Bible just gets real and lighthearted. 61 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,320 There's a lot of dark there. There's some real stuff and some 62 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:36,120 lighthearted stuff and how could a worn out woman like me enjoy 63 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:39,880 such pleasure? Let's be clear, she was not 64 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,280 talking about the pleasure of having a baby because that 65 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,800 hurts. I am told she was talking about 66 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,520 the pleasure of making a baby. How can I have such pleasure, 67 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:54,000 especially when my master, my husband, is also so old. 68 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,400 This ain't happening. We're not making a baby. 69 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:00,320 We're not having a baby. Not going to happen now. 70 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:04,880 I could have sworn in my in my brain somewhere along the way I 71 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:07,520 deleted the my master part there because I didn't want to get 72 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:09,800 into that today. And it's in the slides in all 73 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,360 three churches. I am not getting down the road 74 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,120 today of Sarah calling her husband her Master. 75 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,279 You can talk about that amongst yourselves after church 76 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,320 sometime. Not going there today, Different 77 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:27,840 times, different places. But Sarah, Sarah was justifiably 78 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,520 laughing because what God promised was laughable. 79 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:35,120 It was just strange. It was just what a weird, 80 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,440 strange promise to make to an 84 year old woman and a 98 year old 81 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:43,400 man. And she laughed, she laughed at 82 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:44,840 God, and she didn't get in trouble. 83 00:04:44,840 --> 00:04:48,160 God called her on it, you know, but she didn't get in trouble 84 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:50,480 for it. But God can also be funny, ha 85 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,080 ha, chapter 21, which John already read. 86 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,280 God's keeping his promise to Abraham and Sarah was funny, ha, 87 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:00,120 ha. Well, just take a look at a 88 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,520 couple verses there again, too. Now the Lord was gracious to 89 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:08,440 Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had 90 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:13,880 promised and Sarah said, God has brought me laughter and everyone 91 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:17,720 who hears about this will laugh with me. 92 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,240 This was not, this is a weird promise. 93 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:23,360 I can't do anything but roll my eyes and laugh. 94 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:31,240 This was a deep from the heart belly laugh of joy at an 85 year 95 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:36,160 old woman who was nursing her own baby at her own breast. 96 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:40,600 This is what's happening and she is filled with joy. 97 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,120 They were so filled with joy that they named their baby 98 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:46,560 laughter. That's the song we just sang. 99 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:51,960 Such a perfect song for today. The name Isaac means laughter. 100 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:55,080 Sarah laughed. Abraham laughed. 101 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,120 Everyone who heard about it laughed with joy. 102 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:02,200 For them, they named their baby laughter because God had made 103 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:04,600 this impossible promise come true. 104 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:08,040 Michael Carter says it's so much more poetically than I can. 105 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,280 But what does Sarah have to laugh about in all of this? 106 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:14,720 Really, a lot of things. First of all, Sarah had the joy 107 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:20,000 of being a mother, the joy of being a mother Now times change. 108 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:24,600 Culture changes and nothing I'm about to say should be construed 109 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:29,400 as in any way as as sliding any woman or any man that chooses 110 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:32,040 not to have children, people make that decision. 111 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:36,240 You can very faithfully and joyfully and happily follow God 112 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:38,440 making that decision. That's not what I'm talking 113 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:45,120 about in in Sarah's time in Sarah's culture, having children 114 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:49,520 with super high level value and it still is for many folks today 115 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,520 and having a baby can be one of the most joyful things anyone 116 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:56,840 could ever experience today in in Sarah's day and age. 117 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:02,800 This remember, this is this is before Moses, this is before the 118 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,080 law. This is hundreds of years before 119 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:12,720 Jesus and the only commandment, well, two commandments they've 120 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:17,880 been given by God at this point. The second one was when you eat 121 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:22,960 meat, don't consume the blood. The first one was be fruitful 122 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:27,200 and multiply. And now Sarah, Sarah's not only 123 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:32,200 she, she's, she's got the joy of being a mom, of having a baby 124 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:38,480 that she grew inside her body and now is providing nourishment 125 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:43,040 made by her body. And she's doing it in 126 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,800 fulfillment of the law, which God gave to be fruitful and 127 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,720 multiply. She's got a very human joy and 128 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:56,840 is part of a very divine plan. And she's overjoyed with this. 129 00:07:57,320 --> 00:07:59,880 What else? She had the joy of a lifelong 130 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:01,880 desire come true. Lifelong. 131 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:04,160 Maybe a little bit of an exaggeration. 132 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,520 I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing even at this day and 133 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:10,640 age, there was a point in life when little girls thought little 134 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,200 boys were yucky and didn't want to have anything to do with 135 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:15,800 them. But, you know, let's say it, 10 136 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:17,800 years old, because that makes the math easy. 137 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:22,320 Sarah finally thought, well, maybe boys aren't so yucky after 138 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:26,640 all. And she could see what moms were 139 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:30,440 and what moms did and, and the honour that moms had and, and 140 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:34,080 the maybe was, you know, helping care for a little brother, a 141 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:37,080 little sister, a little cousin and said, I want one of these 142 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:43,480 one of these days. And 75 years later, it took 75 143 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:48,360 years and now she's got one of her own, a little baby of her 144 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,840 own, a lifelong desire come true. 145 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:54,920 I don't know if you've ever had anything in your life that 146 00:08:54,920 --> 00:09:01,200 you're really like deep in your bones wanted, but it never 147 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,600 happened. And then after all, realistic 148 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:08,320 possibility of it happening, now it happens. 149 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:11,240 Now what happens? This is where Sarah was. 150 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:17,520 There was no reasonable expectation nine months earlier, 151 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:21,480 no reasonable expectation that she would ever have this desire 152 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,000 fulfilled. And now it's fulfilled the 153 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,960 lifelong desire come true. And Sarah now had the joy of 154 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:32,240 being honored by those around her instead of scorned. 155 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:38,280 Because again, in that culture, very, very high value for having 156 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:41,880 babies, being fruitful and multiplying and filling the 157 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,120 earth, carrying on family name and family legacy and family 158 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:51,560 tradition. And, and that was the one unique 159 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:56,480 thing that women could do that men couldn't do, having a baby. 160 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:01,280 And Sarah couldn't have one. Why? 161 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:06,160 Oh, I'm sure there was lots of talk about that, lots of talk 162 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:08,560 about that. What's wrong with Sarah that she 163 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:11,200 can't have a baby? Maybe for a while they thought 164 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:15,120 it was Abraham, and then at Sarah's suggestion, Abraham had 165 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:17,440 a baby with Hagar. So no, it's not Abraham. 166 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:20,360 What's wrong with Sarah? She's not. 167 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:22,400 Is there something wrong with her body? 168 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:25,080 She can't have kids. Is she defective? 169 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:28,960 She inadequate? Maybe there's something wrong 170 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:32,480 with her morally and God is punishing her by withholding 171 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:37,720 children from her. We don't know exactly what the 172 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:42,640 talk was, but there was talk. We don't know exactly what it 173 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,760 was said, but it was almost certainly Sarah's. 174 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:49,240 Not adequate. Something's wrong with Sarah. 175 00:10:49,560 --> 00:10:52,680 She can't have a child. The dishonor that she would have 176 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:59,840 experienced would have been a a double nail, a double pain to 177 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:02,720 the lack of having her dream fulfilled. 178 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:06,280 Not only did she have to deal with personal disappointment, 179 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:08,440 but with the scorn of the people around her. 180 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:14,200 And now Sarah's being honored. Now 85 years old, she's nursing 181 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:19,560 the baby she just delivered, and she's become not an object of 182 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:25,320 scorn, but clearly someone blessed and divinely blessed and 183 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:30,680 miraculously blessed by God. Because this is not possible. 184 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:33,240 This kind of thing just doesn't happen. 185 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:36,880 And Sarah went from being the person in the community, the 186 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:40,600 person in her family that was looked down upon, to now being 187 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:45,640 one of the most respected women in all of human history, one of 188 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,600 the most honored women in all of human history. 189 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:54,640 And that's calls for joy. That's calls for joy. 190 00:11:55,560 --> 00:12:02,400 Now we got to stop here though, because clarity and accuracy are 191 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,200 absolutely essential at this point in the story. 192 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:10,000 Because if we're not clear about what this story is telling us 193 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:16,200 and why God wanted this story in the Holy Scripture, then we're 194 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:21,840 we get way off track because it's easy at this point to stop 195 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:24,560 and see this story. And the message of this story 196 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:28,800 being that God will really, God loves us and will give us our 197 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:34,120 hearts desires if we're just faithful, if we pray bad 198 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:36,920 theology comes out of this. I've heard it phrased in a 199 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:39,000 couple of ways. Name it and claim it is 200 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:41,160 something I've heard in some churches and some. 201 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:44,920 So you know, just just name the thing that that your heart wants 202 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:48,400 and claim it in the name of Jesus and God will give it to 203 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,040 you. If you believe it, you can 204 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:54,160 achieve it. Just set your heart and your 205 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,880 mind on it and work for it and ask God and God will give it to 206 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:00,600 you. Hogwash. 207 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:05,440 That is not how God works. That is not how our relationship 208 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:07,960 with God works. Those are misreadings of 209 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:11,760 scriptures and taking scriptures out of context and making them 210 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:17,120 into wish fulfillment rather than divine plan. 211 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:22,680 The purpose of this story, and the main thing in this story is 212 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:27,560 not that Sarah's lifelong dream came true and ours can too. 213 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:32,120 That's a side effect, not the main thing. 214 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:37,160 The main thing here, the main thing, is the faithfulness and 215 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:41,080 power of God. Not the fulfillment of Sarah's 216 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:44,080 hopes and dreams, but the faithfulness and power of God. 217 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:52,200 God promised Abraham and Sarah a baby, and God gave Abraham and 218 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,560 Sarah a baby. It was an impossible promise. 219 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:58,680 Everyone with half a brain knew that. 220 00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:02,440 It was an impossible, absurd, ridiculous promise. 221 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,760 Crazy Abraham been talking to God again. 222 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:09,480 God's telling him. Crazy Sarah been listening to 223 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:11,760 God again. God's telling her she's going to 224 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:15,880 have a baby. 15 years now. God's been telling them they're 225 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,280 going to have a baby. It ain't going to happen. 226 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:25,640 And then it happened. The impossible became possible. 227 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:32,720 And the point is, the thrust of this is that God did what God 228 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:38,640 said he was going to do, even though by all human measure, it 229 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:44,440 was impossible for it to happen. If God promised it, God will do 230 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:48,200 it. That's why this story is here. 231 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:52,200 That's the thing that we need to hear, that when God makes a 232 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:57,960 promise, God keeps his promises. Period, end of story. 233 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:01,960 We can trust God to do what God has said he was going to do, 234 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:07,400 even when when God has said seems ridiculous and impossible. 235 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:15,720 Takeaways for us here and where I think this kind of moves into 236 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:19,120 our daily living and our, our, our, our ongoing faith 237 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,240 development is this is the importance of being open to the 238 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:27,000 impossible and trusting in God's promise even when it seems 239 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:31,440 impossible and way overdue. God has made some promises that 240 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:34,160 seem impossible and are way overdue. 241 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:39,960 When Jesus left and said be right back, that was 2000 years 242 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:43,640 ago and Jesus is still not right back. 243 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:51,240 When Jesus said I will never leave you or forsake you and I 244 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:54,360 know a lot of people that feel alone and forsaken. 245 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,120 That seems like an impossible promise. 246 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:05,800 And God's promise to wipe away every tear from every eye is a 247 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:10,200 promise that was made 2000 years ago and seems long overdue. 248 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,800 When God says to his people, come to me, all you who are 249 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:20,040 labor or who labor and are overburdened, come to me and I 250 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,920 will give you rest. Take my yoke upon me, you, and 251 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:25,920 learn from me. From my yoke is easy and my 252 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:28,440 burden is light. I know a lot of faithful people 253 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:33,880 who have toiled under heavy burdens for years and years and 254 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:38,360 years and years and seem to lay those burdens down only when 255 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:43,360 they died. A promise that is long overdue 256 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:48,120 and seems impossible. This is the thing, one of the 257 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:52,160 things that people that reject Christianity, whether atheist or 258 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:56,320 or or some other spiritual, have some other spirituality that 259 00:16:56,320 --> 00:17:00,720 they work in their life that they point out in Christianity 260 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:03,520 is one of the things that makes Christianity laughable and 261 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,280 ridiculous. Are these promises that that 262 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:10,280 people who follow Jesus claim they believe when there's no 263 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,079 evidence and no reason to believe him. 264 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:13,800 What do you mean Jesus is coming back? 265 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:20,200 Jesus lived and Jesus died and Jesus is not coming back. 266 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:23,880 What do you mean wipe away every tear? 267 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,560 God's not going to do that. If we want to make things right 268 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:29,640 in the world, we have to do that work ourselves. 269 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,800 And there's a lot of work to do to get there, and probably a lot 270 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,120 of killing that we need to do to get there too, before we can 271 00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:38,600 make everyone happy. God's not going to do that. 272 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:41,560 That's crazy. And if he was going to do it, 273 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,760 why hasn't he done it? If God is good, why is there so 274 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:47,000 much suffering in the world? Don't tell me that it's going to 275 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:52,400 end sometime in the future. Why doesn't it end now if 276 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:54,840 they're all this suffering in the world and either God is not 277 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:58,440 good or God is not powerful enough and his promises aren't 278 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:04,200 worth anything? They're laughable, they're 279 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:13,440 ridiculous, they're impossible. But we know about Sarah and we 280 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:18,120 know about Abraham, and we know that God's promises, even when 281 00:18:18,120 --> 00:18:22,240 they seem long overdue, that God can and God will keep his 282 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:27,920 promises. Cultivating and openness to the 283 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:29,720 impossible. There's tension in this 284 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:31,440 particular. We got a lot of kids here today, 285 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,600 which is awesome. And one of the things that we 286 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:38,200 have to continually teach our kids is to be realistic in their 287 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,320 expectations, right? I've spent a lot of time working 288 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:45,320 with kids for a lot of years. The number of kids I have met 289 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:48,880 that are going to be professional athletes and rock 290 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:53,720 stars is extraordinary. I have received no tickets so 291 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:55,600 far. None. 292 00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:01,320 I don't think they forgot, they just didn't reach those dreams. 293 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:07,640 We are constantly teaching our children to be realistic, to 294 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:11,920 temper their expectations, to be realistic, be realistic about 295 00:19:12,120 --> 00:19:13,800 now. I don't like stepping on 296 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,520 anybody's dreams. So when kids come to me and 297 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:19,600 they're going to play in the NBA or they're going to be in the 298 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:22,840 NFL, no one seems to want to play professional baseball 299 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:26,000 anymore or they're going to be a rock star. 300 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,400 I always say that is wonderful, that is great. 301 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:31,480 I hope that work, that's going to be a lot of work. 302 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:33,520 You got to have to work at it because a lot of people want 303 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:35,200 that job and there aren't a lot of those jobs. 304 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:39,160 You got to work really, really hard, and lot of things can 305 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:41,440 happen. Injuries, bad luck, all of these 306 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:45,800 kinds of things. You should have a Plan B Find 307 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:48,520 something you love to do that you can support yourself and 308 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:51,200 your family while you're waiting for that other dream to come 309 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,440 true. Have a good Plan B Be realistic. 310 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,320 That's what I'm trying to say to them without stepping on their 311 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:00,920 dreams, and that's a real thing we have to teach our kids. 312 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,520 And at the same time, we have to cultivate in ourselves and in 313 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:10,760 our kids and openness to doing the impossible and seeing God do 314 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:14,640 the impossible. Because sometimes God calls us 315 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:18,040 to do things and to be in a world in a certain way that 316 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:21,040 seems utterly and ridiculously impossible. 317 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:27,200 To go here, to do this ministry, to do that thing, to serve in 318 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:30,320 this way, to love in this way, to work in this way. 319 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,280 They got it. I don't have the money for that. 320 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:35,400 I don't have the skills for that. 321 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:36,920 I don't have the talent for that. 322 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:39,480 I don't have the influence that I don't have the power for that. 323 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:40,840 I don't have the prestige for that. 324 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:44,520 God said don't worry about the how. 325 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:51,160 The how was God's responsibility, just walking it 326 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:54,360 out. And we cultivate that. 327 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:57,920 We need to cultivate that. Otherwise it's so easy to miss 328 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:02,360 the call of God because often God calls us to do things that 329 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:08,160 we cannot do on our own power. In fact, in fact, if we can do 330 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,040 it on our own power, why do we need God anyway? 331 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,400 If God calls us to do something, it's almost always something we 332 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:22,960 can't do on our own. God says, trust me, walk it out. 333 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:26,960 Just take, do the thing today that you need to do to move in 334 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,200 that direction and we'll get there together. 335 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:34,400 Trust me with the how you just do, just do. 336 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:37,840 And we'll see it happen. We'll see. 337 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:40,720 We've got to cultivate that in ourselves and in our kids as 338 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:43,960 well, because if we don't cultivate an openness to the 339 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:47,000 impossible, then they'll miss God. 340 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:52,640 And we'll miss God because God often calls us to things that 341 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:55,040 are impossible. Like what? 342 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:57,800 Like there's some, this is an oxymoron. 343 00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:59,560 Here's some easy, impossible things. 344 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:03,000 Easy in the sense that we can say, oh, yeah, I can see how 345 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:07,440 that's impossible. We can be an igniter of joy in 346 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:10,200 others. This how Sarah ignited joy in 347 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:13,640 other people. You know Sarah and Abraham had 348 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,160 to do something for that promise to be fulfilled, right? 349 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,960 I can be discreet here, but we all know Sarah and Abraham had 350 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,480 to do something for that promise to be fulfilled. 351 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,480 And by doing that thing, they ignited joy in others. 352 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:30,200 Sarah said everyone who knows about this is going to laugh 353 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:32,080 too. They're going to have the same 354 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,560 joy for the same impossible promise that God made come true. 355 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:39,040 We can ignite joy in others by giving them the gift of 356 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,840 impossible things. There are people in this world 357 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:45,840 that are absolutely convinced that they are unlovable. 358 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:49,760 There's nothing in them that's worth anything. 359 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,520 And we can love them in Jesus name. 360 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:59,200 We can love them with the power and the love of God does no good 361 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,600 for us to go to them and say, hey God loves you, don't tell me 362 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:06,000 no one loves you, God loves you. We need to love them so that 363 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:08,120 they know that God will love them too. 364 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:12,880 Because if the people that say God loves you aren't loving you, 365 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,080 you have no reason to believe God loves you as well. 366 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:17,560 We go to those folks. We love those folks. 367 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:21,760 And sometimes it's hard to love people that think they're 368 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:26,240 unlovable, but we love them anyway. 369 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,920 We love them anyway. We get extended forgiveness to 370 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:32,400 people that are convinced they are unforgivable. 371 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:34,960 So you don't understand what I've done. 372 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,160 I don't care what you've done doesn't matter. 373 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:40,240 What matters. What you, what you do matters, 374 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:42,320 that matters. You're absolutely right, but it 375 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:46,480 does not affect my willingness and ability, God's willingness 376 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:48,320 and ability to forgive you for what you've done. 377 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:52,680 You don't understand the people I've hurt, the harm that I've 378 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,320 caused, all of that may be true. You don't understand. 379 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:57,480 I can never make it right. Probably you can't. 380 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:01,600 Probably you can't undo the harm that you've done because it 381 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,440 doesn't change the fact that I'm going to forgive you in Jesus 382 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,720 name. I'm going to forgive you and I'm 383 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,560 not going to hold those wrongs over your head and I'm not going 384 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:11,600 to beat you up with them. I'm not going to keep reminding 385 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,080 you of them and I'm not going to use them to to, to, to to 386 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:18,440 humiliate you or disgrace you or to drag you down. 387 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:23,080 I forgive you in Jesus name. I forgive you and God Forgives 388 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:27,720 you and those things will not be held against you. 389 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:34,000 We can go to folks that are convinced they are inadequate 390 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:39,480 for the life that's before them and help them to see and believe 391 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:43,400 the truth that by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, they 392 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:47,280 are adequate to whatever God puts in front of them, whatever 393 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:49,760 God has for them. You know, maybe you'll never be 394 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,680 on the I will. I'm not adequate to play in the 395 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,720 NFL. God has not called me to play in 396 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:59,680 the NFL. I'm not adequate to play the 397 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:02,960 piano on Sunday morning. You can all thank God that he 398 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:05,520 hasn't called me to play the piano on Sunday morning. 399 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:12,600 But whatever God has put in front of any person, God will 400 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:16,160 make them adequate for that, whatever it is. 401 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:21,920 And, and we are, I believe we're living in a time when inadequacy 402 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:26,680 has become epidemic, When younger folks especially look at 403 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,000 the state of the world. And they look at global warming 404 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:30,920 and they look at all of the social conflict. 405 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:33,000 And they look at all the political insanity. 406 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:34,400 And they look at all of the wars. 407 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,120 And they look at all of the awful things that seem to be 408 00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:39,440 just around the corner. And they say, there's nothing I 409 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:43,960 can do. Why even bother trying? 410 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:46,920 It's all too big. It's all too awful. 411 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,400 I'm probably going to die before I'm 40 anyway. 412 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:56,840 What's the point? Or, or or they say I'll never 413 00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,400 own a house. I'll never make enough money to 414 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,760 own a house. Why bother getting an education 415 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:03,400 or a job? I'll never be able to pay for an 416 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,080 education. I can't pay for healthcare. 417 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:08,480 Why bother? They're even trying. 418 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:12,360 I can't keep a job. I can't. 419 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:17,160 I can't, I can't, I can't. It's epidemic. 420 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:22,160 It's epidemic. And the sources are many and 421 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:29,520 varied, but the response, the response is in God himself and 422 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:36,080 through us as we understand. I'm not adequate either, but God 423 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:37,840 loves me and so I'm going to love you. 424 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:40,960 I'm not acting with either, but God has given me meaningful work 425 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:43,520 to do. So you there's meaningful work 426 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:50,400 you can do too. God makes us adequate. 427 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:56,120 God gives us everything that we need to do whatever God calls us 428 00:26:56,120 --> 00:27:00,240 to do See, I ended up being long again here too. 429 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,800 I apologize, but I got to do one more thing in this, which is 430 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,560 give us a living example, not living anymore. 431 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:13,400 But I think Nelson Mandela is is one of the most powerful lives. 432 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:16,880 His story is just incredible. And I don't know, Melissa 433 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:21,880 Mandela, our younger folks here might not know that he was a a 434 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:26,600 leader of South Africa as a black man who did the impossible 435 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:31,880 of becoming a leader of South Africa, even though at the time 436 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,400 when he was a young man, because he was black, he was not 437 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:37,160 legally. It was awful inside the 438 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:41,080 apartheid government that made the black large black majority 439 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:43,360 second class citizens in their own homeland. 440 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:48,560 And the small white minority had all of the power and ruthlessly 441 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:52,800 held on to that power. Nelson Mandela went to jail. 442 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:59,680 He went to prison 27 years. He was in prison 27 years for 443 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,320 most of that time. And I keep forgetting the name 444 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:06,240 of the prison, Robinette Island. Rob something on Robin SI, can't 445 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:10,520 remember what exactly, but it was an awful place where he was 446 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:15,320 treated awfully for years, kept in solitary and confinement for 447 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,640 long periods of time. He was cut off and isolated from 448 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:22,320 the outside world. He was allowed one guest and one 449 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:27,320 letter every six months. He was made to sleep in a small 450 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:31,120 cell on the stone floor, cold and damp, with the only bedding 451 00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:34,840 being a a thin straw mattress mat, not even a mattress. 452 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:39,320 He was put to hard labor, forced labor in a limestone quarry 453 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:42,280 where he worked without adequate protection, did permanent damage 454 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:48,360 to his eyes and lungs. He was treated with disrespect 455 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:55,080 and indignity and dishonor over and over and over again during 456 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,880 that time. But he had a vision. 457 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:04,400 He had a dream of a South Africa in which apartheid was 458 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:10,760 overthrown and democracy reigned and justice was done. 459 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:13,320 No matter the colour of your skin. 460 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:18,280 People were treated fairly and equally and justly, no matter 461 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:22,520 the color of their skin. He believed that when he went to 462 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:25,560 prison, he was fighting for it when he went to prison. 463 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:31,280 And he never lost that belief in spite of all. 464 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:33,400 And did you know he was a Christian? 465 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:35,840 Did you know he was a Methodist? That's kind of cool. 466 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:41,440 Nelson Mandela grew up in the Methodist Church where he 467 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:45,600 learned of the power of God and the impossible things that God 468 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:47,640 can do. He didn't. 469 00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:52,160 He did not talk explicitly a lot in public, at least. 470 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:54,800 I don't know what he did in private and public about his 471 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:57,160 faith. Not a lot, but he lived it. 472 00:29:57,280 --> 00:29:59,280 This is what he one of the things he wrote in his 473 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:01,760 autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. 474 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:06,040 I never lost hope that this great transformation would 475 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:09,600 occur, not only because of the great heroes I have already 476 00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:12,680 cited, but because of the courage of the ordinary men and 477 00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:15,960 women of my country. I always knew that deep down in 478 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,840 every human heart there is mercy and generosity. 479 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:22,880 No one is born hating another person because of the color of 480 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,080 his skin or his background or his religion. 481 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:31,800 People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they 482 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:35,920 can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the 483 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:41,240 human heart than its opposite. And so while he was in prison, 484 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:44,800 no matter how badly his guards treated him, he treated his 485 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,480 guards with dignity and respect and honor. 486 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:53,680 No matter how hopeless or despairing his fellow inmates 487 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:57,720 were, he treated them with hope and dignity and respect and 488 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:00,200 honor. He studied the law himself. 489 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:02,920 He taught law and social philosophy and social 490 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:06,840 responsibility and and and political theory to his fellow 491 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:11,000 inmates. He never, he had this impossible 492 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:13,800 dream. And I think if you look at his 493 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:17,120 life, it's difficult, would be very difficult to deny that a 494 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:23,720 God-given dream, that he had a vision, a promise, and he did 495 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:27,560 not give up on it. He believed in the possibility 496 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:34,240 of this impossible thing. And after 27 years in prison, he 497 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:37,080 saw it come true. It was said about him that he 498 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:42,920 went in to prison as an activist and he came out of prison as a 499 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:47,760 statesman, and prison was meant to break him. 500 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:52,600 But he never lost his hope. He never lost his faith. 501 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:57,240 And instead of it breaking him, he just grew and faith and love, 502 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:02,520 offering forgiveness and love and honor and reconciliation, 503 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,520 not just to his friends but also to his enemies that had done 504 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:10,200 awful things to him. And in and through him and 505 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:15,240 others, God did the impossible. And South Africa was 506 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:22,520 transformed. Our God can be funny. 507 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,320 He can be funny, strange. He can be funny, ha ha. 508 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:33,680 He can take an activist and put him in prison and transform him 509 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:37,200 into a statesman. He can take an 85 year old woman 510 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:43,360 and give her a baby and he can do whatever he's promised you 511 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:48,040 and whatever he's called you to do, he can make you adequate to 512 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:51,720 do it in Jesus name. Amen. 513 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:52,640 Amen.