SPEAKER_00: Good morning, good morning, good morning.
SPEAKER_00: So, my name is Jared Hodenstein.
SPEAKER_00: I'm an elder here at CBFC.
SPEAKER_00: It is my distinct privilege to be able to bring you the word.
SPEAKER_00: We are going to be in 1 Samuel chapter 10, verse 17 to 25.
SPEAKER_00: So if you want to open your Bibles up and get them ready, I'm calling this sermon, Finding Your Footing When Your Faith Falters.
SPEAKER_00: If you haven't picked that up, that's called alliteration.
SPEAKER_00: I have 26 years' experience being an elementary school teacher.
SPEAKER_00: It's how my brain is wired.
SPEAKER_00: So there's an alliteration spilling out.
SPEAKER_00: Finding your footing when your faith falters.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Samuel chapter 10.
SPEAKER_00: So last week, Daniel walked us through kind of a private anointing of King Saul.
SPEAKER_00: And this week the verses are going to showcase a public coronation of a king.
SPEAKER_00: A public coronation of a king.
SPEAKER_00: So if you're feeling up to it, please stand.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to honor the reading of God's word.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Samuel chapter 10, verse 19 to 25.
SPEAKER_00: Saul is proclaimed king.
SPEAKER_00: Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah, and he said to the people of Israel, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.
SPEAKER_00: But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and all your distresses, and you have said to him, Set a king over us.
SPEAKER_00: Now therefore present yourselves before before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.
SPEAKER_00: Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by Lot, and he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by Lot, and Saul the son of Kish, was taken by Lot.
SPEAKER_00: But when they sought him, he could not be found.
SPEAKER_00: So they inquired again of the Lord, Is there a man still to come?
SPEAKER_00: And the Lord said, Behold, he's hidden himself among the baggage.
SPEAKER_00: Then they ran, and they took him from there.
SPEAKER_00: And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people, from his shoulders upward.
SPEAKER_00: And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen?
SPEAKER_00: There is none like him among all the people.
SPEAKER_00: And all the people shouted, Long live the king.
SPEAKER_00: Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his own home.
SPEAKER_00: Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched.
SPEAKER_00: But some worthless fellows said, How can this man save us?
SPEAKER_00: And they despised him and brought him no present, but he held his peace.
SPEAKER_00: You can go ahead and be seated and let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Father God, we come before you right now.
SPEAKER_00: We set aside all distractions, anything we have going on after the service, Lord, and we just give you this time.
SPEAKER_00: We give you this moment, Lord God, and pray that you would speak to our hearts through your word.
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit, that you would have your way, that you would guide us into all truth.
SPEAKER_00: And just take control of this service, I pray.
SPEAKER_00: In the name of Jesus, amen and amen.
SPEAKER_00: So, my only background knowledge, as a teacher, I talk to kids a lot about schema.
SPEAKER_00: That's your background knowledge.
SPEAKER_00: So when I'm I'm hearing about Saul being proclaimed king, the only public coronation I'm familiar with is Lord of the Rings, return of the king.
SPEAKER_00: Does anybody out there a Lord of the Rings fan?
SPEAKER_00: Three people?
SPEAKER_00: So you're not gonna make this is not gonna make any sense to you.
SPEAKER_00: I want to kind of set the stage with what I'm expecting a public coronation to be.
SPEAKER_00: Here we go.
SPEAKER_00: This is Chat GBT, by the way.
SPEAKER_00: The coronation of Aragorn in Return of the King.
SPEAKER_00: The gleaming sun rises on the radiant city on the radiant white city of Minas Tirith, the dawning of a long-awaited morning.
SPEAKER_00: The black banners of war are gone, replaced by silver and sable standards that ripple in the high, clear air.
SPEAKER_00: Crowds fill every tier of the city, their cheers rising like birds, startled into flight as Aragorn, now crowned king, walks slowly through the courts in the gleaming chainmail and a mantle of deep green, singing.
SPEAKER_00: The velvet notes of his voice sing of victory through the elvish verbiage of vim and vigor.
SPEAKER_00: Before him stands the white tree, blooming again in fragile, hopeful white, its petals drifting softly over stone, worn by centuries of sorrow and strength.
SPEAKER_00: When the crown is placed upon his head, a hush falls thick and reverent.
SPEAKER_00: Before breaking into thunderous joy, trumpets ring from the walls, sunlight flashes against the polished armor, and even the stern faces of warriors are softened with tears.
SPEAKER_00: It is not merely the crowning of a king, but the healing of a kingdom, as the line of his Sildur is restored, and the age of shadow gives way to light.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, thank you.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't write it.
SPEAKER_00: I changed a couple lines to make it my own.
SPEAKER_00: That's what it was.
SPEAKER_00: And yet when we read this public proclamation, it's the exact opposite.
SPEAKER_00: You have the whole chapter 10, verses 17, starting with Samuel rebuking Israel like some father chiding his teenager for making the same mistake over and over and over again.
SPEAKER_00: And then they cast lots for this new king, which is how God showed his will back in those times.
SPEAKER_00: And they picked Saul and he's not there.
SPEAKER_00: And God has to tell them, oh, he's he's in the baggage.
SPEAKER_00: So think about all these tens of thousands, maybe millions of people coming from all around.
SPEAKER_00: They have these big supplies and baggage, and Saul is hiding behind the bags.
SPEAKER_00: This is their king.
SPEAKER_00: He's hiding.
SPEAKER_00: This is not Aragorn being crowned.
SPEAKER_00: He's hiding behind the bags.
SPEAKER_00: Man, you talk about a depressing way to start this new chapter.
SPEAKER_00: And I think when we go back and look at these, I think we're gonna find three distinct instances of faltering faith.
SPEAKER_00: Three distinct instances of faltering faith.
SPEAKER_00: That's why I called it finding your footing when your faith falters.
SPEAKER_00: So here we go, verses 17 to 19.
SPEAKER_00: My first point is that the fog of forgetfulness can make our faith falter.
SPEAKER_00: The fog of forgetfulness can make our faith falter.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm getting older.
SPEAKER_00: I'm forgetting words while I'm teaching.
SPEAKER_00: I literally can't think of a word as I'm speaking to 10 and 11-year-olds.
SPEAKER_00: It's a problem that I see coming on to me.
SPEAKER_00: My grandmother died when she was 94.
SPEAKER_00: She had horrible short-term memory.
SPEAKER_00: It was about five years ago.
SPEAKER_00: And we would go over to see her.
SPEAKER_00: I'd take, we had eight kids.
SPEAKER_00: Kim was pregnant with our knife.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what our conversation would go like.
SPEAKER_00: We'd sit down.
SPEAKER_00: Now we bought my grandma's house.
SPEAKER_00: So she had six kids.
SPEAKER_00: We now have ten.
SPEAKER_00: We bought her house.
SPEAKER_00: Hey grandma, how's it going?
SPEAKER_00: She'd look at all the kids and she'd go, Oh, how many kids do you have?
SPEAKER_00: I said, Grandma, we have nine kids.
SPEAKER_00: Nine kids?
SPEAKER_00: Where do you put them all?
SPEAKER_00: I said, I they're sharing rooms.
SPEAKER_00: And she said, Well, what we did, we put our boys in the attic.
SPEAKER_00: Do you have them in the attic?
SPEAKER_00: I said, No, Grandma, there's no insulation.
SPEAKER_00: She said, Well, a lot of times I'll tell you, my boys, they just peed out the window of the attic instead of coming down.
SPEAKER_00: And as soon as she said the words peed out the window, she'd look at my kids and go, How many kids do you have?
SPEAKER_00: And I'd say, Oh, we have nine kids.
SPEAKER_00: Nine kids! You can ask my children.
SPEAKER_00: And then I would start to embellish the story and how many kids do you have?
SPEAKER_00: We have 20 kids.
SPEAKER_00: 20 kids! Yeah, where do you keep them all?
SPEAKER_00: We keep them in the attic, and when they have to go, they pee out the window.
SPEAKER_00: She goes, That's exactly what my kids did.
SPEAKER_00: Forgetfulness is something that could be funny, but it can also be soul crushing.
SPEAKER_00: So I've been teaching for 26 years, and I have sometimes kids come back to see me and they're they're like adults, and I don't always remember them, but I used to have a great memory.
SPEAKER_00: And I had two sisters come back to visit me.
SPEAKER_00: Their mom brought them back, had the whole family, and I knew the older daughter.
SPEAKER_00: She was in college, and I'm like, Oh Hannah, how's it going?
SPEAKER_00: And she's like, Mr.
SPEAKER_00: H, you remembered me.
SPEAKER_00: Of course I remembered you.
SPEAKER_00: And then I looked at her sister and I said, Who did you have in fifth grade?
SPEAKER_00: And she goes, I had you.
SPEAKER_00: And I saw her soul crushed.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, No, the damage I've just done.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, and I think you've all heard the story of me forgetting our my child at church.
SPEAKER_00: Um if you I don't think everybody heard that story, but yes, we we did forget.
SPEAKER_00: I did.
SPEAKER_00: I forgot my son, Levi at church, was halfway home when somebody, my friend, called me to come pick him up, and I told my kids not to tell their mother, which they promptly did, and she made fun of me, and then fast forward, I don't know, months, years, we're going to church, we're all getting out of the van, and I go, Where's Levi?
SPEAKER_00: We actually forgot him at home a second time, and now my wife didn't feel so badly about that.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but can we agree that what these Israelites are forgetting is much more significant than even their child?
SPEAKER_00: You might say, Well, where's the forgetfulness in here?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah, and he's just kind of going back, look what the Lord had done.
SPEAKER_00: This is what you're rejecting.
SPEAKER_00: And I didn't get it at first either.
SPEAKER_00: I read it ten times before I saw Mizpah.
SPEAKER_00: Mizpah.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, that sounds familiar.
SPEAKER_00: Mizpah.
SPEAKER_00: Now, there's a bunch of Mizpahs in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: So if you were in Sunday school a few weeks ago, this is the plug for Sunday school, 9 o'clock in the fellowship hall, Sunday school, it's a party, it's good stuff, come out.
SPEAKER_00: But when Jacob and Laban kind of met together, Jacob was fleeing, they named this place Mizpah, kind of as like a watchtower where a boundary that they're not going to cross.
SPEAKER_00: This is a totally different Mizpah.
SPEAKER_00: To refresh your memory, 1 Samuel chapter 7.
SPEAKER_00: So if you flip back to chapter 7, go ahead, flip back 1 Samuel 7.
SPEAKER_00: This is the significance, and this is where the forgetting comes into play.
SPEAKER_00: And it's powerful when you see it.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Samuel chapter 7, verse 2, to give you context of what's happening back then.
SPEAKER_00: From that day that the ark was lodged, that Carethgirium, a long time past, some 20 years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: So remember, they they messed up in battle.
SPEAKER_00: Their enemies took the ark, God saves the ark, miraculously sends it back to them, and they're kind of repenting at that point.
SPEAKER_00: They're like, Okay, God, we messed up.
SPEAKER_00: They come back to him.
SPEAKER_00: Samuel said to all the house of Israel, if you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, put away the foreign gods and the ashtraugh from among you.
SPEAKER_00: Direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only.
SPEAKER_00: He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
SPEAKER_00: So the people of Israel put away their bales, their ashtraugh, and they serve the Lord only.
SPEAKER_00: And this is the key.
SPEAKER_00: Then Samuel said, Gather Israel at Mizpah.
SPEAKER_00: This is the scene.
SPEAKER_00: This is the coronation of the king.
SPEAKER_00: We're at Mizpah.
SPEAKER_00: So I want to give you the context of this coronation.
SPEAKER_00: Samuel had gathered all these people at Mizpah, and what does he say?
SPEAKER_00: He says, I will pray to the Lord for you.
SPEAKER_00: So they gathered where?
SPEAKER_00: Mizpah.
SPEAKER_00: And they drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day.
SPEAKER_00: And they said, There, we have sinned against the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Samuel judged the people at Mizpah.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel gather at Mizpah, they end up attacking.
SPEAKER_00: And God miraculously sends this thunderstorm to just shock the Philistines.
SPEAKER_00: And they win this huge monumental battle, right?
SPEAKER_00: And then what does Samuel do in verse 12?
SPEAKER_00: He takes a stone, he sets it up between Mizpah and Shen, and he called its name Ebenezer.
SPEAKER_00: There's a hymn I sang when I used to sing when I was a kid.
SPEAKER_00: Here I raise my Ebenezer.
SPEAKER_00: I can remember as a kid, I'm like, Ebenezer Scrooge?
SPEAKER_00: What is this song?
SPEAKER_00: What is this song talking about?
SPEAKER_00: And I didn't realize it's tied to this verse.
SPEAKER_00: When he's saying, Here I raise my Ebenezer, it's a stone of remembrance.
SPEAKER_00: It's a stone that you can look at and tell your kids what God has done.
SPEAKER_00: It's not just some pebble on a beach, it's probably this mammoth stone.
SPEAKER_00: This huge stone you could see from a distance.
SPEAKER_00: Do you get what's happening here?
SPEAKER_00: This is a monumental time, and they raise this Ebenezer, and they're saying, We're repenting.
SPEAKER_00: God is our only God.
SPEAKER_00: We're not going to forget that.
SPEAKER_00: And they put this stone there so they won't forget.
SPEAKER_00: And you fast forward to chapter 10.
SPEAKER_00: And they have forgotten.
SPEAKER_00: They've forgotten.
SPEAKER_00: If you kind of dig, it's roughly anywhere from 10 to 20 years.
SPEAKER_00: From chapter 7 over chapter 10.
SPEAKER_00: In 10 to 20 years, they forgot what God had done in their lives.
SPEAKER_00: I wish that were the only instance in the Bible where people have forgotten God.
SPEAKER_00: Deuteronomy 8, if you want to flip there.
SPEAKER_00: Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 2.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, I'm going to start with verse 19.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, I'm going to start with verse 11.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 11 says, Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today.
SPEAKER_00: Lest when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, when your herds and flocks multiply, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart will be lifted up and you will forget the Lord your God.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, Don't forget him, because when things start to go good, you're going to think that you're the reason of it.
SPEAKER_00: But he said, Don't forget God, because he's the one.
SPEAKER_00: He's the one.
SPEAKER_00: And we get the verse 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, My power and might, and my hand have given me this wealth.
SPEAKER_00: You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
SPEAKER_00: And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you will surely perish.
SPEAKER_00: It's a pattern of forgetting God.
SPEAKER_00: Judges 2, verse 10, when Joshua has died, maybe you remember the story.
SPEAKER_00: Joshua died, the whole older generation is gone, and then a very sobering verse is said.
SPEAKER_00: Joshua in the old Judges 2, 10, Joshua in the older generation dies, and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work he had done.
SPEAKER_00: What does that mean?
SPEAKER_00: It means that entire generation failed to tell their kids about the power of God.
SPEAKER_00: I wish this was just their problem, but when I look at it, it's a me problem.
SPEAKER_00: Because I'm just as guilty about forgetting what God has done in my life as they are.
SPEAKER_00: When I look at this, the fog of forgetfulness can make our faith falter.
SPEAKER_00: And then you might say, that's Old Testament.
SPEAKER_00: That's Old Testament, right?
SPEAKER_00: Well, look at the New Testament.
SPEAKER_00: Look at 1 Corinthians 11 24.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk about communion.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be taking the Lord's Supper.
SPEAKER_00: What did Jesus say as he implemented that?
SPEAKER_00: 1 Corinthians 11 24.
SPEAKER_00: And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body which is for you.
SPEAKER_00: Do this in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_00: In the same way he took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is a new covenant in my blood.
SPEAKER_00: Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_00: Why would Jesus institute something that would allow us to remember him every time we take it?
SPEAKER_00: Because he knows we forget.
SPEAKER_00: He knows we forget.
SPEAKER_00: That is a powerful, sobering thing.
SPEAKER_00: One of the things we do in my fifth grade class is we visit a nursing home, a 10-minute walk down the street.
SPEAKER_00: And the first year we went there, we had the idea to get the kids to interview some of these older people, like 80s and 90s.
SPEAKER_00: And we thought instead of doing a research report on somebody famous, let's have them interview these people and do a research report on them.
SPEAKER_00: Sounded great until we realized some of the people were forgetful.
SPEAKER_00: So took a group over and they're interviewing and it was going great.
SPEAKER_00: And I saw this two groups, this just one group of girls sitting there and Josie.
SPEAKER_00: I'll never forget her name.
SPEAKER_00: She was her name's Josie, and she's in a wheelchair.
SPEAKER_00: And they're asking her questions, and Josie was not making sense.
SPEAKER_00: Josie, what how many kids do you have?
SPEAKER_00: She goes, I like I love cats.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Josie, what's your favorite color?
SPEAKER_00: I love cats.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: I could see they were struggling, so I come over.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna help out, save the day.
SPEAKER_00: I said, Josie, that's an awesome bracelet.
SPEAKER_00: I said, which is your which is your favorite color on the bracelet?
SPEAKER_00: And she goes, the one that looks like a cat.
SPEAKER_00: Nothing looked like a cat.
SPEAKER_00: So in that split second, I prayed, God, you gotta help me here.
SPEAKER_00: I have no idea what I'm gonna do.
SPEAKER_00: And I saw this huge, giant diamond wedding ring.
SPEAKER_00: And I said, Josie, who gave you that ring?
SPEAKER_00: And it was like somebody threw a switch.
SPEAKER_00: All of a sudden she looked at me, made complete eye contact, and she goes, My husband gave me this ring.
SPEAKER_00: He passed away so many years ago.
SPEAKER_00: And I said, Josie, what was your favorite thing to do with your husband?
SPEAKER_00: And she would shut her eyes and she goes, Oh, he would take me dancing on the weekends, and she would start shuffling her feet.
SPEAKER_00: She started shuffling her feet in the wheelchair, and these tears are rolling down her screnched eyes, and I look down at the girls, and they have tears in their eyes, and I'm standing there biting my cheek.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I cannot cry in front of two 10-year-old girls in Josie.
SPEAKER_00: You see, this thing, this covenant, reminded Josie, even though she forgot the connection she had with her husband.
SPEAKER_00: And folks, we are the bride of Christ, and he didn't give us a ring, he gave us his life as a reminder.
SPEAKER_00: And when we take this communion, it's a reminder of what he has given for us.
SPEAKER_00: And dare we forget, man, we need to remember what God has done in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Don't let Mizpah be a place where we forget what God has done in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Of course, I would never forget the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I'd never go a day or a week without opening his word.
SPEAKER_00: Of course I do, right?
SPEAKER_00: How do we have those stones in our lives?
SPEAKER_00: What could be those Ebenezers?
SPEAKER_00: Am I suggesting you go home and get a boulder and plop it in your yard?
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: I think we can have Ebenezers in our lives like worship.
SPEAKER_00: Are we actively worshiping God?
SPEAKER_00: Are we participating in worship outside of this service?
SPEAKER_00: Do we pray?
SPEAKER_00: Are we in his word daily?
SPEAKER_00: Are we fellowshipping with other believers?
SPEAKER_00: Are we tithing and giving?
SPEAKER_00: Those are all Ebenezers we can put in our lives that remind us what God has done and is doing and is going to do.
SPEAKER_00: Those are all things our kids can see what God is doing in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: So don't let the fog of forgetfulness make your faith falter.
SPEAKER_00: Verses 20 to 24, we see something else happening.
SPEAKER_00: We realize that focusing on fear can also make our faith falter.
SPEAKER_00: Focusing on fear can make our faith falter.
SPEAKER_00: Verses 20 to 24.
SPEAKER_00: Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near.
SPEAKER_00: They're picking Saul.
SPEAKER_00: Verses 22, they inquired again of the Lord, is there a man still to come?
SPEAKER_00: And the Lord said, Behold, he's hidden himself among the baggage.
SPEAKER_00: Some Bible scholars think, oh, he was just humble.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't want the attention, King Saul.
SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you, there's a pattern of fear in the life of King Saul.
SPEAKER_00: There's a pattern of fear in the life of King Saul.
SPEAKER_00: Like what?
SPEAKER_00: Well, 1 Samuel 15.
SPEAKER_00: We're not going to flip to all these things, but you can if you'd like to.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Samuel 15, 24, Saul said that he feared the people.
SPEAKER_00: He used it as an excuse.
SPEAKER_00: I feared the people.
SPEAKER_00: Samuel basically told him you have to take everybody out, all the enemies kill everything.
SPEAKER_00: And he kind of kept the best for himself.
SPEAKER_00: And Samuel comes there and says, Hey, you're supposed to follow the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: Saul's like, I did.
SPEAKER_00: And then he's like, What is this bleating I hear in my ears?
SPEAKER_00: It's this creative way of saying you didn't.
SPEAKER_00: He called him out and he's like, Well, I feared the people.
SPEAKER_00: In 1 Samuel 17, 11, that's the Goliath chapter.
SPEAKER_00: It says, Saul and the whole army feared Goliath.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Samuel 18, verse 12.
SPEAKER_00: Man, this is a weird chapter.
SPEAKER_00: It says Saul was afraid of David.
SPEAKER_00: And then he ends up giving his daughter, Michael, to David, and gives him this crazy quest to go on.
SPEAKER_00: Good luck to anybody who preaches that chapter.
SPEAKER_00: And David goes on this quest, and if you know it's in the chapter, you know.
SPEAKER_00: Alright.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you are paging the what's in the chapter?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, we're getting we're gonna get to it.
SPEAKER_00: Um David comes back and is successful, and the Bible said that he feared David even more.
SPEAKER_00: He was even more afraid of David.
SPEAKER_00: And then we get to 1 Samuel 28, and it's just the most pathetic scene of his fear.
SPEAKER_00: He's literally on his face in fear before the Philistine army because God's spirit had left him, and he's literally face down on the floor, panicked with anxiety and fear crippling him.
SPEAKER_00: Focusing on fear can make.
SPEAKER_00: Our faith falters.
SPEAKER_00: But see, we get something hopeful in Matthew, chapter 14, verse 30.
SPEAKER_00: That's when Jesus is walking on the water.
SPEAKER_00: We get something hopeful.
SPEAKER_00: So it's the disciples are in this boat in their middle of the storm, and it says they're afraid.
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: They're afraid.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus comes walking on the water.
SPEAKER_00: Peter looks up and says, Lord, is it really you?
SPEAKER_00: If it's you, tell me to come to you.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is like, all right, hop on the boat.
SPEAKER_00: Come on, let's go, boy.
SPEAKER_00: And he jumps out, and the Bible's so awesome, right?
SPEAKER_00: Uh but when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid and he sank.
SPEAKER_00: Did you catch what happened there?
SPEAKER_00: Where did his focus change?
SPEAKER_00: He went from looking at Jesus to looking at the storm.
SPEAKER_00: And when our focus changes off of our Father to what we're going through, no matter how scary it is, your faith will falter.
SPEAKER_00: Your faith will falter.
SPEAKER_00: 2 Timothy 1.7 says, God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.
SPEAKER_00: Of course we never fear, right?
SPEAKER_00: I'd never focus on the overwhelming circumstances of life rather than focusing on my Father and my God.
SPEAKER_00: We all fear.
SPEAKER_00: Because life is scary.
SPEAKER_00: We're looking at physical health issues that are so overwhelming.
SPEAKER_00: But you know what?
SPEAKER_00: My God's bigger.
SPEAKER_00: Your God's bigger.
SPEAKER_00: I don't care what we're facing in life.
SPEAKER_00: If we look at that thing, our faith will falter.
SPEAKER_00: But if we keep our eyes fixed on God, we don't have to have a faltering faith.
SPEAKER_00: We can learn from King Saul and say, no matter what God has called us to go through, He is with us.
SPEAKER_00: Whether it be money problems, kids, house, school, future, young or old, God is a God who overcomes fear.
SPEAKER_00: Overcomes fear.
SPEAKER_00: So then we get to our third point.
SPEAKER_00: This is the deepest one.
SPEAKER_00: Failing to flush a fooie attitude can make our faith falter.
SPEAKER_00: I teach fifth grade.
SPEAKER_00: Failing to flush a fooie attitude can make our faith falter.
SPEAKER_00: Fooie is an expression of disdain or disbelief.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you know exactly where in this chapter it's talking about that fooie attitude?
SPEAKER_00: At the very end, at the very end, but some worthless fellows said, How can this guy save us?
SPEAKER_00: We see that attitude of fooiness.
SPEAKER_00: The beginning of my school year, I'm not going to read this book, alright?
SPEAKER_00: I just dropped the guitar pick, so good luck with that.
SPEAKER_00: I read this, but I'm not reading it now.
SPEAKER_00: If you want to read it after service comes up, I'll read it to you.
SPEAKER_00: It's called Fooie.
SPEAKER_00: And this kid has this terrible attitude, and he misses all the amazing stuff going on in his town because his attitude just prevents him from seeing the good stuff.
SPEAKER_00: And I do some really weird homework assignment.
SPEAKER_00: The first day of school, I give kids like six sections of toilet paper, and I say, write down all the things you hate about school.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to look at it, so be honest.
SPEAKER_00: And they write down everything they had about school, and their homework assignment is this take it home, go into their bathroom, light a candle, put on some background music, and make a statement of faith saying that on this day I am proclaiming to flush all my negative attitudes for the rest of the school year and make this the best year of my life.
SPEAKER_00: And they're supposed to flush it.
SPEAKER_00: Half of them throw it away.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they do it, sometimes they don't.
SPEAKER_00: But it's a powerful thing when you realize what a negative attitude can have on your faith.
SPEAKER_00: If you don't think that's true, ask Harry.
SPEAKER_00: He taught with me, so he knows.
SPEAKER_00: We see a fooie attitude at the end of this chapter.
SPEAKER_00: And I wish it were the only experience.
SPEAKER_00: I wish it were the only example in the Bible of a fooie attitude, but it's not.
SPEAKER_00: The whole book of Jonah.
SPEAKER_00: Have you read it?
SPEAKER_00: Turn to Jonah, we're gonna read the whole no, we're not gonna read the whole thing, right?
SPEAKER_00: The whole book of Jonah, Jonah's attitude is horrible.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know what the cool thing is?
SPEAKER_00: God still uses him.
SPEAKER_00: That blows my mind.
SPEAKER_00: God still uses him.
SPEAKER_00: His attitude is horrible.
SPEAKER_00: We see it with doubting Thomas.
SPEAKER_00: The crucifixion.
SPEAKER_00: Thomas is like, man, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: Unless I put my fingers in the nail hole, unless I put my hand in his side, I'm not believing.
SPEAKER_00: And God never showed up to Thomas, did he?
SPEAKER_00: Yes, he did.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus shows up and says, Thomas, here I am.
SPEAKER_00: He's there.
SPEAKER_00: Even the centurion at the cross, who was an unbeliever, after seeing the crucifixion, what does he look up and say?
SPEAKER_00: Surely this is the Son of God.
SPEAKER_00: See, Jesus has an amazing ability to take care of a fooie attitude.
SPEAKER_00: And I believe we see at the end here, with doubting Thomas and that centurion, I think we see the remedy for all three instances of our faltering faith.
SPEAKER_00: It's coming to the cross and Calvary.
SPEAKER_00: How do we find our footing when your faith falters?
SPEAKER_00: You come to the cross and crown Christ king.
SPEAKER_00: Don't make me say that five times, but I should.
SPEAKER_00: How do you find your footing when your faith falters?
SPEAKER_00: You come to the cross and crown Christ king.
SPEAKER_00: I'm reminded of the hymn, Lead Me to Calvary.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to these lyrics.
SPEAKER_00: It's like pinpointing to what we've just been talking about.
SPEAKER_00: Lead me to Calvary, King of my life, I crown thee now.
SPEAKER_00: Thine shall the glory be.
SPEAKER_00: Lest I forget thy crown, thy thorn-crowned brow, lead me to Calvary.
SPEAKER_00: Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony, lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary.
SPEAKER_00: May I be willing, Lord, to bear daily my cross for thee, even thy cup of grief to share.
SPEAKER_00: Thou hast borne all for me.
SPEAKER_00: Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony, lest I forget thy love for me.
SPEAKER_00: Lead me to Calvary.
SPEAKER_00: First Corinthians 11, 26, when Jesus gave us the Last Supper, the Lord's Supper.
SPEAKER_00: How does that end?
SPEAKER_00: He said, Do this in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes.
SPEAKER_00: Folks, I started with this grand theme from Lord of the Rings.
SPEAKER_00: Can I read for you the true coronation of our king?
SPEAKER_00: Man, this is amazing.
SPEAKER_00: Revelations 19 11.
SPEAKER_00: You want to hear a true coronation story?
SPEAKER_00: J.R.R.
SPEAKER_00: Tolkien doesn't have anything on my God.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to this.
SPEAKER_00: Revelations 19, 11 to 16.
SPEAKER_00: And then I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse.
SPEAKER_00: The one sitting on it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
SPEAKER_00: His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems.
SPEAKER_00: And he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
SPEAKER_00: He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God.
SPEAKER_00: And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
SPEAKER_00: From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.
SPEAKER_00: He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God of God the Almighty, on his robe and on his thigh.
SPEAKER_00: He is a name that was written King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
SPEAKER_00: And Philippians 2 10 says that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that he is the Lord, the glory of God the Father.
SPEAKER_00: That is our coming King.
SPEAKER_00: That's his coronation, ladies and gentlemen.
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
SPEAKER_00: That's the God we serve.
SPEAKER_00: We shouldn't forget God.
SPEAKER_00: In the face of fear, in the face of a fooie attitude, we come to the cross and crown Christ King.
SPEAKER_00: Every day, lest we forget that's what this life is about.
SPEAKER_00: It's about what God has done in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: And that's better than any Lord of the Rings movie.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Father God, we come before you, lest we forget what you've done for us, Lord God.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, remove the fog of forgetfulness.
SPEAKER_00: Help us not to focus on fear.
SPEAKER_00: I believe that there's so many people, Lord, that might be struggling with fear today, or maybe have forgotten you, or maybe wrestling with a negative attitude.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, let us come to the cross now.
SPEAKER_00: As we partake in the Lord's Supper, Lord, let us come to Calvary and let us lay it all down.
SPEAKER_00: Father God, we come to you because we know apart from you we can do nothing.
SPEAKER_00: You are God and we are not.
SPEAKER_00: This world is so much bigger than us, but it's not bigger than you, Lord God.
SPEAKER_00: So we come this morning and I pray that during communion, Lord God, that our hearts would be open, our cart, our hearts would be broken, and we would lay ourselves down at the altar, lay ourselves down at Calvary, Lord God, and let you do a work in our lives to strengthen our faith in 2026.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we pray this in the mighty name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Amen and amen.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna have Rob and Noah come up, who are going to guide us through the communion and use this time to reflect on everything we talked about.
SPEAKER_00: Everything we talked about.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.