WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.319 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:26.320 Last week we started a series called Shift to Change Directions Shift. 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:29.760 And I used this illustration to open up our time. 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:32.320 It was when I learned to drive a stick shift. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:34.799 That's the old school stick shift with the three pedals. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:37.920 Remember the clutch, the brake, and the gas. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:44.960 And the way I learned stick is my older brother tossed me the keys and said, go figure it out. 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:55.119 And it was a painful process of figuring it out, of stalling out, of grinding gears, of no other way to get out of first but to gun it. 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:57.600 As a 16-year-old, that was cool. 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:04.560 And yet I feel like we often kind of feel like life is this way. 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:07.920 That somehow we just got tossed the keys to life. 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:12.480 Especially navigating the last several years and figure it out. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:18.400 How are you gonna, you know, just make your way and trying things? 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:43.680 And maybe you walked in today feeling stalled out in life, maybe in your marriage, maybe in a key relationship, maybe at work, maybe you have a direction that you've been desiring to go down, and and you just feel like you're just kind of grinding gears, it's just never quite locked in, or your RPMs are just running way too high here in the Silicon Valley. 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:47.359 And here's what we asked last week. 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:52.319 How do we shift to the more we're made for? 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:56.319 Like, how do you shift in life to the more that you're made for? 00:01:56.480 --> 00:02:00.959 There's this sense and longing inside of all of us that we were made for more. 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:11.919 More than what we're currently experiencing and living and walking through and always striving, but rarely arriving there. 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:19.360 And to discuss this, here's the beautiful and wonderful part is God didn't just throw us the keys, right? 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:20.159 To life. 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:22.080 He didn't say, hey, good luck. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:23.439 Hope you figure it out. 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:25.120 He's not the older brother here. 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:36.719 He's your perfect heavenly father that loves you, that says, I want to go to great lengths to help you, to teach you, to guide you, to discover the more that you're made for. 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:40.319 And we're actually studying the ancient book of Jonah. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:49.120 He's this prodigal prophet that was called to preach to the archenemy of Israel, Nineveh. 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:51.439 That's the capital city of Assyria. 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:56.639 I mean, this was the worst assignment you could get in life for Jonah. 00:02:56.800 --> 00:03:02.479 And we're studying his life, and Jonah really is an anti-hero for us. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:08.159 And sometimes we need that, especially from the people we're kind of expecting to do everything right. 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:15.439 Isn't it nice to look at someone and go, okay, I'm gonna learn from what you did and what I'm not to do? 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:19.439 It's the Berenstein bear for any of those who are familiar with him. 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:26.080 You know, the that's the father bear that would always say to his young bear, This young bear is what you ought not to do. 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:40.159 And as we study the life of Jonah and we're discovering the more we're made for, we're looking consistently and seeing in his life the directions he's headed act as a warning sign to us because they're so often the directions we're headed in life. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:50.000 There's so often our responses of what uh is happening in the midst of different seasons of life, and it's like, hey, that is not the direction you're headed. 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:52.960 How do we experience the more we're made for? 00:03:53.120 --> 00:04:00.879 Well, last week he said this, and this is rather obvious, but when we run from God, we shift away from the more we're made for. 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:01.759 Makes sense. 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:13.360 You're created by him, you've been designed by him, intricately made, and when you run from him, you're shifting away from the more you're made for. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:40.160 In particular, Jonah receives this call to go preach to Nineveh, and it expands uh in Jonah's eyes, God's heart for the world, that God loves every single person on the planet, even Ninevehes, even this incredibly brutal, um, and I read a lot of detail about it last week, and go back and check it out about how bad and wicked and evil the Ninevites were. 00:04:40.639 --> 00:05:05.040 But when we run away from God, when we run particularly away from his heart for the world, which is one, his heart for you and every single person, and then when we run from the calling that he's placed on our life, the reality is it's not just prophets that have a calling, but every single follower of Jesus has a calling. 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:06.879 And here was the application. 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:08.480 I just want to remind us of this. 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:15.600 This is gonna be, I'm I'm gonna keep bringing this up because this is part of how we shift to the more we're made for. 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:17.839 Is I gave us the three by five challenge. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:18.639 Do you remember this? 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:21.439 This means yes, this means okay, some are you with me? 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:22.560 Good, good, good, good. 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:24.000 Three by five challenge. 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:28.000 You have the card if you missed it last week, or if you've already lost your three by five card. 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:29.120 That's fair enough. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:35.279 Uh and you can always replace it on your own, but we're gonna replace it for you if you need it too. 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:44.560 Um, here's what I'm asking that you would write down three people in your life who do not know Jesus and then pray for them every day. 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:54.240 Like if you want your heart to shift for the things that are on God's heart, you just begin to pray for people that are far from him because they're on his heart. 00:05:54.480 --> 00:06:00.240 And all of a sudden, you'll begin to start living in the more you are made for. 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:08.800 And I asked you to write down this prayer, Heavenly Father, would you give me an opportunity to share with someone in some way about you today? 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:29.040 And when you begin to write those names down, pray for them, and then you just start to look for opportunities to share in some way, big or small, a little moment of encouragement, asking for prayer, a way to just share, like, man, today was an amazing day, or church was great, or my small group, or in it. 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:32.319 We share about stuff that we're excited about, right? 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:47.439 And and so if you're excited about Jesus, it's the most natural thing to share about with your friends or families or coworkers, not because you're trying to, you know, do some sort of you know, Bible Olympics and figure out how to beat them. 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:48.959 No, it's like this is just life. 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.360 This is, I'm just so excited about this. 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:52.639 Three by five card. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:54.879 Would you do that with us? 00:06:55.600 --> 00:07:01.680 And so we left off Jonah running away from his calling, running away. 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:09.199 God calls him to Nineveh, he heads the opposite direction, heads down south to a port city called Joppa. 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:20.240 Uh, and in Joppa, he pays a fare, hops on a ship towards Tarshis, which is just basically the farthest away from uh he can get from Nineveh. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:23.519 And this is where we pick up the story. 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:27.439 And the title of the sermon today is Into the Storm. 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:28.639 Would you say that to your neighbor? 00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:29.600 Into the storm. 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:37.759 Jonah is running away from that's good over there, by the way. 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:42.560 Running away from God, and he runs directly into a storm. 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:49.839 We often think the storms of life are actually knocking us off course, don't we? 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:55.120 It's just kind of like, hey, that that's actually knocked me off course from the more that I'm made for. 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:58.959 And I want I want you to just maybe think about this. 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:00.399 What if? 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:06.959 What if God actually wants to use the storm in your life to redirect the course of your life? 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:19.199 What if it's the storm isn't so much to knock you off course, but God in his sovereignty wants to allow a storm perhaps in your life to redirect the course of your life? 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:22.800 We certainly find that here in the story of Jonah. 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:25.759 If you got it, would you open your Bibles to Jonah chapter one? 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:28.399 We pick it up in verse four. 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:44.240 It says, Then the Lord sent, or literally hurled, go ahead and say that word, hurled, hurled, because we're going to see it over and over in the text, hurled a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:49.279 All the sailors were afraid, and each cried out to their own God. 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:55.919 And they threw cargo, literally the word hurled, cargo, into the sea to lighten the ship. 00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:02.799 Jonah is headed in the wrong direction, and God sends a storm to redirect him. 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:07.440 And you know what's interesting is the storm hits, and what do the sailors do? 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:09.679 They cry out each to their own God. 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:10.080 Why? 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:14.960 Because when you have smooth sailing, you're not so much crying out or focused on God. 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:15.759 Isn't it true? 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:17.200 That's just our human condition. 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:27.120 But all of a sudden a storm hits, and they're like, okay, we gotta do whatever it takes to survive, and we're gonna each cry out to our own God. 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:33.440 No, everyone is doing their part to survive the storm. 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:38.000 Everyone's focused on how do we just get through this? 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:40.000 Except one person. 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:42.000 Jonah. 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:47.919 It says, the text says, but Jonah had gone below deck. 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:50.240 Can you imagine this moment? 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:53.360 Think about if you're the sailors, how you'd feel. 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:55.759 Everyone's crying out in desperation. 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:58.399 It's a life-threatening moment. 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:05.360 The ship is being beaten and battered on every side. 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:09.440 The wind is blowing, you cannot hold course. 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:15.679 But Jonah went below deck, like he's on a cruise, chilling. 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:22.000 But look, he went below deck where he laid down and fell into a deep sleep. 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:31.279 Because when you're running from God, you begin to go on a downward spiral and you start to only care about yourself. 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:35.039 The captain went to him and said, How can you sleep? 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:37.200 Get up and call on your God. 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:39.200 We're all doing our part, Jonah. 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:42.480 Maybe he'll take notice of us and we will not perish. 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:43.279 Notice we. 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:47.919 The captain's going like, hey, it's not just about you, it's all of us. 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:50.799 And Jonah doesn't want to call on his God. 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:53.919 He's running from his God. 00:10:54.399 --> 00:11:04.080 He's trying to flee from the presence of his God, and he's faced in a moment where even people who don't believe in his God are asking him to call on his God. 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:11.279 At some point, you just got to wonder at what point does it take for God to get a hold of your attention? 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:13.600 Like how much needs to come into your life? 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:23.279 What storm, what outside voice, what circumstance that you finally go, okay, God, I think I'm paying attention and noticing what you're doing here. 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:25.519 That was so amazing. 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:34.080 The sailors notice and see that, man, we need God in some way to respond. 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:38.559 And Jonah, this is what happens. 00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:41.679 This is what happens to us. 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:56.159 And what's even worse is he didn't even care about the sailor's life. 00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:00.080 And he just went below deck to sleep it off. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:02.799 Hard-hearted. 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:24.480 See, I think there's some that perhaps over the season and your relationship with God, and maybe you've been running from him or drifted from him, and you've allowed your heart to get hard, and what happens is we stop caring for people around us. 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:27.200 We become isolated. 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:30.480 We just care about ourselves. 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:34.480 We just begin to focus on me. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:39.279 I don't want to call out to my God. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:43.200 I'm just gonna go below the deck and sleep it off. 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:58.320 You know, I had a mentor once who's kind of explaining to me, Ryan, when you how to judge like the light on your dashboard of your heart when it's kind of going off to show you that maybe your heart isn't in the best place. 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:01.200 Because isn't it hard to know where your heart is? 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:03.759 Like we go down this path. 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:07.200 I don't think Jonah, Jonah's like, man, I'm running away. 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:18.159 And yet, so often I find myself in this same situation of just allowing my heart to get hard or callous or uncaring. 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:19.840 And my mentor said this. 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:31.679 He's like, I I notice that in my heart, when I care deeply about things I shouldn't care about, that there's something going on in my heart that's not right. 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:44.000 When I care deeply about my March Madness bracket being broken on the first day, second day, good grief, there's been a lot of upsets. 00:13:45.679 --> 00:14:12.559 When I if I really, really care about that, if I really, really care that somebody cut me off in traffic, when when I overreact to something, especially things, events, sporting events, when I get so consumed by that, there should be a light going off that something's not right in here. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:21.200 And then he said this when I don't care deeply about things I should care about. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:35.039 When when I don't care deeply about my relationship with God, when I don't care deeply about other people and how they're doing, when I'm don't care deeply about the major things of life. 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:48.320 And for some, maybe walking in this morning, you didn't have this realization until this moment that maybe there's some things in your heart and what you're going through and what God brought you here is just to have that heart check moment. 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:55.600 Oh, I'm headed down below deck and I don't want to go there. 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:04.559 I've been saying I'm sleeping it off, but I'm actually running from God, and I didn't realize it. 00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:15.919 Text goes on and says, Then the sailors said to each other, Come let us cast lots to find out who's responsible for this calamity. 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:23.200 Now, in the ancient day, uh everything natural was connected to the supernatural. 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:27.039 Everything physical was connected or had a spiritual cause. 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:35.039 And so when they saw this great storm, uh they attribute it to some deity that needs to be appeased. 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:42.240 And the way they would discern kind of how or who was responsible for it, they would just cast lots and let the gods decide. 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:44.159 It was a common way of deciding. 00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:47.840 So they cast these lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:54.320 So they asked him, tell us, who's responsible for making all this trouble? 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:56.720 What kind of work do you do? 00:15:57.360 --> 00:15:58.879 Where do you come from? 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:00.399 What is your country? 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:02.720 From what people are you? 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:11.120 And all these questions are designed to get around who is Jonah's God that has power over the sea? 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:14.879 And he answered them, I'm a Hebrew. 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:24.240 I worship the Lord or Yahweh, his covenant name, God Elohim, the creator and maker of the sea and the dry land. 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:27.200 Now, this terrified the sailors. 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:29.679 They asked, What have you done? 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:34.960 For they knew he was running away from the Lord, because he'd already told them. 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:40.480 Like, like, here, sailors recognize Jonah's heir, and he doesn't even get it. 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:46.240 He's like, wait a second, your God created the sea, and so you decided to take a cruise. 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:48.399 Doesn't make sense to us. 00:16:48.639 --> 00:17:01.840 You're running from him, and now we're in the middle of the sea, which, by the way, in the ancient day, the sea was the place of deep and utter fear, uncontrollable chaos. 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:12.000 And so there's this already built-in sense of fear that surrounding the uncontrollable waves and wind of the sea. 00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:17.759 And he's going, Yeah, my God, he created the land, he created the sea, he created all of that. 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:20.799 And they're going, What in the world have you done? 00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:25.519 And it's so interesting because Jonah actually had good theology right here. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:28.079 He knew who his God was. 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:31.920 He just practically lived it out poorly. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:36.319 And I think for many, sometimes we can get, well, we're theologically right. 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:41.599 We have all the right answers, but practically how we're living it out is wrong. 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:46.319 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:52.799 So they asked him, What should we do to you to make the scene calm down? 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:55.839 There's something that's gotta stop. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:57.279 We're gonna die. 00:17:57.519 --> 00:17:59.200 And then notice his response. 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:01.519 Pick me up. 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:04.079 Here's our hurl word again. 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:04.880 You can say that. 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:08.160 Hurl me into the sea, he replied. 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:09.519 And it'll become calm. 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:13.920 I know that it's my fault that this great storm has come upon you. 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:16.960 Now, notice Jonah's response. 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:20.960 How lame! I mean, think about it. 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:33.599 Gonna calm the sea, and and and he doesn't even care that he's put these sailors at great harm, and he's unwilling himself to do the right thing. 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:38.400 He could have said, option maybe number one, how do we calm this? 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:40.559 Um, turn back towards Joppa. 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:43.440 Let's turn the ship around. 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:48.799 Pretty confident, a heart that's repentant, turn around, headed back in the right direction. 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:51.119 I think God would have calmed the storm that way. 00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:53.359 He so didn't want to go that way. 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:56.480 Option one wasn't an option. 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:05.119 Option two, this would have been actually, I guess, a much kind of option. 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:09.759 I'll hurl myself off the boat. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:14.960 Can you imagine that he put the weight of his life in the sailors' hands? 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:19.599 They're like, wait a second, we don't want to be responsible for you. 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:22.480 He was so cowardly in this moment. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:27.039 He's like, if you hurl me, then this will happen. 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:30.640 But, you know, good luck for you. 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:36.960 And notice the sailors showed compassion for Jonah where he had none for them. 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:39.920 They hear this and they didn't go, okay. 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:42.880 I I I I think here's how I would have been. 00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:44.480 Let's be honest. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:49.279 Okay, so you serve the God of the sea and the land. 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:53.039 You're running from him, you put us all in harm's way. 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:57.839 You went below deck and you slept it off, like you had an anyways. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:04.160 Uh, and yeah, yeah, throwing you overboard sounds like a good idea. 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:07.759 Throwing you overboard sounds exactly like the right idea. 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:08.960 I don't even care. 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:12.079 You brought it on to your own head. 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:13.359 And notice the compassion. 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:17.279 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:23.759 Like they're they showed him compassion that he didn't even show them, but they could not. 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.640 For the sea grew even wilder than before. 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:32.799 Then he cried out to the Lord, please, Lord, don't let us die for taking this man's life. 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:42.000 Now they're no longer even concerned about the storm, but the consequences of what they are gonna have to do to Jonah. 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:47.920 Then they took Jonah and hurled him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:58.160 At this, the men greatly feared the Lord Yahweh, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:00.640 Isn't it amazing how God works? 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:06.400 You have these sailors that are caught in someone else's storm in the middle of it. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:18.720 They're not God fearing, they're not walking with the Yahweh, and yet through this storm, through Jonah's disobedience and his sovereignty, revival breaks out on the ship. 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:30.000 And the sailors come to know the one true God and how he orchestrates and how he works even in the midst of disasters and other people's mistakes. 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:46.880 And so the story concludes, the text concludes, it says, Now the Lord provided a huge fish, and this is where we most famously know Jonah and the whale, to swallow Jonah. 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:52.079 And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:55.920 And the Lord provided, the Lord sent. 00:21:56.720 --> 00:22:06.400 We talked a little bit about this last week, and um Sometimes I think we can easily dismiss the book of Jonah as like, well, could somebody really survive that? 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:15.519 And certainly there's been uh historical uh times where people have survived being swallowed by a fish or a well type deal. 00:22:15.599 --> 00:22:16.960 You can go look that up. 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:28.160 But even more than that, if all the miracles, and especially if Jesus rose from the dead, him surviving three days in the belly of a fish is not that big of a deal. 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:37.519 But what I think's interesting about this, like, who would have thought that would be God's like provision? 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:39.519 You know? 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:43.440 One, I think it's pretty funny of God, it's kind of hilarious. 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:50.160 Well, you're you're you're not gonna head the right direction, you're not even gonna ask the ship to go the other way. 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:55.359 Well, I'm gonna get you inside a big old fish, and he's gonna swim you in the right direction. 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:01.359 But here's what's incredible. 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:02.640 Think about this. 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:07.279 God's provision wasn't what Jonah expected. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:18.160 And I wonder for many of us how God's provision and how he's showing up in your life and how he's working isn't what you expected. 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:20.319 It isn't necessarily what you wanted. 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:27.279 It definitely is what you needed, but because he didn't show up in the way you wanted, you feel disillusioned by God. 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:41.119 You feel like God, I prayed for this and you showed up here, but I can't even get my eyes on this because I'm so focused on you showing up in the way that I want you to. 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:45.279 So, how do we shift to the more we're made for? 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.160 Well, especially in the midst of the storm. 00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:53.519 God uses storms in our life to shift us back to the more we're made for. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:55.440 God uses storms. 00:23:56.720 --> 00:23:59.599 Now, it doesn't mean that he causes storms. 00:23:59.920 --> 00:24:04.559 Certainly, we're going to talk about that because he hurled a storm onto Jonah and he did cause that. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:06.559 So we're gonna wrestle with that. 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:17.359 But he uses storms to shift us back to the more we're made for. 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:29.920 See, God is not often the source of our storm or our pain, and yet God will not waste your pain. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:46.960 In his sovereignty, he will say, in the midst of a broken, fallen, tragic world, still, I can turn and use that painful moment and bring about good results. 00:24:47.279 --> 00:25:04.079 You know, a passage that I think gets thrown around too quickly when people are going through deep pain and yet dismissed too quickly because we just we don't fully believe it. 00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:06.480 It's Romans 8.28. 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:19.920 For I know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose. 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:24.880 Now, do you know the context of Romans 8.28? 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:44.559 The context of Romans 8.28 is just before that, the apostle Paul is talking about that earth is eagerly and groaning as if in child pains and is suffering, awaiting for Jesus to restore and make all things right, that this world is not what it should be. 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:57.039 And then it also says that the saints are suffering and wrestling and hurting and awaiting for Christ to return and restore all things. 00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:06.000 And Paul would even say that this light and momentary affliction is nothing compared to the eternal glory awaiting us. 00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:20.559 And I know in all things that God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. 00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:45.359 Not that that moment was good, not that that act against you was good, not that that evil thing, that trial, that storm, that sickness, not that in any way that is good, but you have such a good God, he can take that evil and that harm, and he says, over the course, I will work it for good, I will take ashes and turn it into beauty, because I'm that kind of God. 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:49.279 Romans 8 ends this way. 00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:53.680 If God is for us, who can be against us? 00:26:55.920 --> 00:27:10.640 For I am convinced that neither life nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, height, depth, nothing in all created will ever separate us from the love of God. 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:18.319 That nothing that comes into your life can separate you from the love of God. 00:27:20.160 --> 00:27:26.799 See, God uses storms in our life to shift us back to the more we're made for. 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:37.599 I mean, did he he hurled this one? 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:44.960 And I think it's incredibly important that we are able to discern, okay, where are the storms, where are these coming from? 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:49.440 There's four, uh, this is really a theology of suffering. 00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:54.720 There's four primary areas where we experience the storms or suffering in our life. 00:27:54.880 --> 00:27:58.000 The first is the storm of a fallen world, Genesis 3. 00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:05.440 Uh we see the fall that God created, Genesis 1 and 2, the world and everything in it. 00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:08.319 And you know what he said at the end of each creative act? 00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:10.240 And it was, help me out, anybody? 00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:11.119 Good. 00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:13.759 It was good because he's good. 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:20.960 And then in Genesis 3, humanity decide to do our own thing, rebel against him. 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:22.559 Sin entered the world. 00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:39.279 It's like a cancer, not only of our soul and of humanity, but of the entire world, created fractures and frissions that have just so brought about a world that is not his heart or desire or his intents. 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:52.319 Much the way kind of rust is to metal or rot to a tree, sin has created this devastation on God's creation. 00:28:52.559 --> 00:29:05.440 And we live in a fallen, broken world where we have experienced natural disasters, where we have evil rulers, where uh we see all over things that happen. 00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:11.200 And first and foremost, this is not his design and his original intents. 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:29.119 1 Peter 5, 8 through 9 says, uh, but be alert, your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:45.039 Now, in the ancient day, like I said, everyone, um they immediately, every physical reality had a spiritual cause, every natural uh action had a supernatural cause behind it. 00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:48.079 In our day, we completely disconnect it altogether. 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:50.240 So we've gone the other way. 00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:56.799 There is no spiritual or supernatural anything, and we dismiss it completely. 00:29:57.599 --> 00:30:05.200 And yet there is a spiritual realm just as real as our earthly realm or physical or visible realm. 00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:12.240 And scriptures tells us, as followers of Jesus, we have an enemy that's prowling around like a roaring lion. 00:30:12.400 --> 00:30:14.240 He wants to devour you. 00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:18.799 He wants to take you out, he wants you to be ineffective. 00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:21.759 He does not want you to live into the more you're made for. 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:33.759 Did you ever wonder like what could be about? 00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:35.599 Right? 00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:40.480 You're like, what why did work ramp up so intense? 00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:41.680 What happened here? 00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:45.599 What all of sudden you're starting to make, you know what? 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:58.640 I I really want to honor God in my relationships, and then that sin that has been besetting you, it rises up so quickly, and you're like, oh my gosh, or or you have this attitude, heart thing that's going on. 00:30:58.799 --> 00:31:00.640 You're like, where did that come from? 00:31:02.400 --> 00:31:11.039 Maybe in your marriage you're really going, like, man, I I want to really work and have a godly marriage, and then all of a sudden you're finding you're in disagreement and argument. 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:16.079 You're like, wait a second, we're all we're gonna do is start praying together. 00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:20.480 The storm of spiritual opposition. 00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:27.680 And often we don't identify it until we look back and see, oh, there was more there. 00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:32.880 Whether there's disagreements or disunity, the enemy wants to provide distraction. 00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:39.519 I think one of the ways the enemy keeps us uh blinded in Silicon Valley is busyness. 00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:41.759 He just keeps us too busy. 00:31:44.480 --> 00:31:46.960 If the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy. 00:31:47.119 --> 00:31:48.720 It's an old saying. 00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:51.519 Or derail you in some sin. 00:31:51.920 --> 00:31:57.680 Storm of fallen worlds, storm of spiritual opposition, then the storm of bad decisions. 00:31:58.480 --> 00:32:02.720 Galatians 6 tells us that we reap what we sow. 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:06.559 The one who sows to please the flesh from the fresh reaps destruction. 00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:10.079 The one who sows to please the spirit from the spirit reaps life. 00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:13.279 So often we blame God. 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:15.440 God, how could you? 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:18.240 And yet it was our own bad decision. 00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:22.559 You were speeding, and that's why you got a ticket. 00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:24.079 Right? 00:32:26.799 --> 00:32:35.839 You're you're eating terrible, and that's why, okay, I won't go down too many, but we just make bad decisions. 00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:40.400 And we suffer the consequences. 00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:48.000 And in a fallen world, because it's a fallen world, we suffer the consequences of other people's bad decisions. 00:32:48.559 --> 00:32:51.039 Certainly was the sailors' experience. 00:32:54.079 --> 00:33:06.240 And for many, you've either experienced the consequences of your bad decisions, of a broken relationship, of a broken friendship, or the consequences of someone else's bad decisions. 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:09.839 And God says, I will not waste your pain. 00:33:11.119 --> 00:33:15.920 I want to bring healing and wholeness in you back to myself. 00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:22.960 And then the final, and the I think the hardest to discern is the storm of God's discipline. 00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:33.440 Hebrews 12 would tell us to do not um like oh, the word just went out of my mind. 00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:36.960 Despise the discipline of God. 00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:37.680 Why? 00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:43.599 Because God disciplines those he loves, because he's a good father. 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:57.279 In the same way, when my kids were little, if they were running out into the street, I would discipline them to cause momentary pain here to keep them from long-term, devastating pain and destruction. 00:33:57.440 --> 00:34:14.960 And you have a perfect heavenly father that when you're headed in the wrong direction, when you're making some of those bad decisions, he certainly will allow those consequences to come into your life to be a wake-up call so that you will turn to him and experience life because he loves you. 00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:19.039 In fact, it's the most loving thing he could do. 00:34:19.440 --> 00:34:22.320 See, God uses the storms in our life. 00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:33.119 In many of the cases, he doesn't cause them, but he works in them and through them to shift us back to the more we're made for. 00:34:33.760 --> 00:34:38.639 I think sometimes we're looking at the storm you're walking through and go, well, which one is it? 00:34:38.880 --> 00:34:41.039 Fallen world, spiritual opposition? 00:34:41.280 --> 00:34:42.719 Can it be a combination? 00:34:42.880 --> 00:34:43.519 Certainly. 00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:48.320 Certainly, there are times where almost all of these are at play, or a few of them. 00:34:48.960 --> 00:34:52.159 How important is it to know exactly which one? 00:34:52.719 --> 00:35:00.880 Well, I think the question that the sailors asked is so important that we should ask of God. 00:35:01.119 --> 00:35:02.880 You remember what they asked? 00:35:03.119 --> 00:35:04.559 What should we do? 00:35:04.960 --> 00:35:06.400 What should we do? 00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:09.440 God, I'm in the middle of the storm. 00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:16.159 I'm not exactly sure why, but I'm confident you won't waste this storm, and you're actively at work in my life. 00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:18.320 And so, what should I do right now? 00:35:19.119 --> 00:35:21.599 God, I'm in the middle of a storm. 00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:36.639 I'm not really sure why or what's going on, but but I'm confident that you will not waste the storm, that you're using it, and it's not gonna shipwreck me, and it's not gonna take me off course, but you actually want to shift me and on course to what you're doing. 00:35:36.719 --> 00:35:38.159 So, what should I do? 00:35:38.400 --> 00:35:44.079 And you just begin to lean into him and he will show you. 00:35:44.880 --> 00:35:48.159 God will use every painful event in our life. 00:35:48.719 --> 00:35:59.119 He does not cause every painful event, and yet he will use it for us to become more and more like his son. 00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:05.679 I think the question as we close is where is God in the middle of the storm? 00:36:08.719 --> 00:36:13.199 I don't know what you're walking through, what you're wrestling with, and how deep the pain and heartache. 00:36:14.400 --> 00:36:17.679 But I think that's what we really wrestle with is God, where are you? 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.400 In the Gospels, there's an account of Jesus in the middle of the storm. 00:36:25.760 --> 00:36:28.559 And it's uh fascinating the parallels. 00:36:29.519 --> 00:36:47.840 If Jonah gets to be the anti-hero, this young bear is what you ought not to do, then we see Jesus, the ultimate prophet, the son of God, and we look to him of this is who he is, and what he is doing and how he's working. 00:36:48.559 --> 00:36:55.519 In Mark chapter four, it begins this way, and we discover the God in the middle of the storm. 00:36:55.840 --> 00:37:01.039 Said that day when evening came, he said to the disciples, Let us go over to the other side. 00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:04.239 Hey, we're headed, we're gonna go to the other side. 00:37:04.559 --> 00:37:08.239 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along just as he was. 00:37:08.480 --> 00:37:13.199 He had spent a very long, exhausting day of ministry in the boat. 00:37:13.440 --> 00:37:15.360 There were also other boats with him. 00:37:15.599 --> 00:37:17.840 A furious squall came up. 00:37:18.159 --> 00:37:29.039 It wasn't hurled, but there was a furious squall on the Sea of Galilee, and waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 00:37:29.199 --> 00:37:31.039 Now, here's some of the parallels. 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:37.199 Jesus was in the stern sleeping on the cushion. 00:37:37.440 --> 00:37:44.079 And the disciples woke him up and said to him, Teacher, don't you care if we drown? 00:37:44.320 --> 00:37:46.320 And isn't that the question? 00:37:46.719 --> 00:37:57.679 In the middle of the storms of life, in the middle of the pain, in the middle of the heartache, in the middle of the diagnosis, teacher, Jesus, don't you care? 00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:14.639 Because Jonah went below deck, and his was a sleep of apathy, a sleep of indifference, a sleep of, I don't care about me, and I don't care about anything else, or particularly you. 00:38:15.599 --> 00:38:24.400 And that's what we interpret God, especially in the storm when he feels silent or distant. 00:38:26.079 --> 00:38:28.000 Disciples, don't you care? 00:38:28.800 --> 00:38:31.679 Like, how can you sleep in the middle of this? 00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:34.239 The storm is raging. 00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:39.039 Jesus was asleep for a different reason. 00:38:40.880 --> 00:38:42.559 It wasn't apathy. 00:38:45.360 --> 00:38:52.559 See, Jonah worshiped the God who made the land and the sea. 00:38:53.599 --> 00:39:00.000 Jesus is the God who made the land and the sea. 00:39:00.559 --> 00:39:05.599 Jonah needed to be hurled into the ocean to calm the sea. 00:39:06.159 --> 00:39:09.920 Jesus just speaks and is still. 00:39:16.960 --> 00:39:18.960 And immediately it's calm. 00:39:19.360 --> 00:39:25.280 And the disciples' response was the same even as the sailors, and they were terrified, going, Who is this? 00:39:25.519 --> 00:39:29.039 That even the wind and the waves obey him. 00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:35.039 See, Jesus' sleep wasn't a sleep of apathy, but it was ultimate peace. 00:39:35.199 --> 00:39:35.519 Why? 00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:39.519 Because he fundamentally has all authority. 00:39:39.679 --> 00:39:43.599 And he told his disciples on the front end, we're gonna go to the other side. 00:39:43.840 --> 00:39:48.159 And so he didn't say there's not gonna be storms along the way. 00:39:50.159 --> 00:39:56.880 But what he did say, we are going to the other side. 00:39:57.119 --> 00:40:16.719 And as long as I'm in the boat with you, regardless of the weather outside you, regardless of how big the waves get, regardless of how strong the wind blows, you are good because my presence is enough in the boats. 00:40:17.599 --> 00:40:18.800 I'm with you. 00:40:20.880 --> 00:40:26.559 See he was asleep of peace, not apathy. 00:40:27.440 --> 00:40:31.840 Because he was in full control, even though the outside felt uncontrollable. 00:40:31.920 --> 00:40:36.960 And what would it be if we began to take our cues from Jesus instead of the storm? 00:40:38.079 --> 00:40:46.400 If we began to look to him and how he's responding, realizing he can just utter a word, and it stills. 00:40:48.639 --> 00:40:59.519 God, if you're at peace, if you're not shaken, in the wind and the waves, I can be at peace and unshaken. 00:41:01.519 --> 00:41:03.360 Where is God in the middle of the storm? 00:41:03.519 --> 00:41:04.559 He's with you. 00:41:04.960 --> 00:41:05.920 He's in the boat. 00:41:06.159 --> 00:41:08.719 As a follower of Jesus, he's with you. 00:41:08.960 --> 00:41:11.440 He's not indifferent, he cares. 00:41:11.920 --> 00:41:13.440 He's just not shook. 00:41:18.559 --> 00:41:20.719 I'm gonna bring you through this. 00:41:22.639 --> 00:41:35.679 Nothing in all created things, nothing that comes into your life, physical or spiritual, will ever separate you from my love. 00:41:38.320 --> 00:41:40.320 And that's all that matters. 00:41:41.920 --> 00:41:43.440 And that's enough. 00:41:44.159 --> 00:41:51.199 No, it's more than enough in any storm of life. 00:41:51.679 --> 00:42:04.239 You know, as we close, I think one of the areas that has been a storm for many is the storm of doubt. 00:42:06.719 --> 00:42:20.639 Where you just wrestle with God, and you know, if you look at TikToks and there's a whole if you type in deconstruction, I don't even know if you should do this, but deconstructing Christianity, you'll just find a whole nother world. 00:42:20.880 --> 00:42:22.559 Many of you already know it. 00:42:25.760 --> 00:42:29.360 But you go, okay, where is God in the middle of my doubt? 00:42:30.480 --> 00:42:32.320 What do I do with that? 00:42:35.280 --> 00:42:49.039 When I was at Moody, studying to be a pastor, newly married, went through what some over Christian history would call like the dark night of the soul. 00:42:49.840 --> 00:42:53.039 Today we'd call it deconstructing your faith. 00:42:53.840 --> 00:42:57.760 Back then, I really didn't have a whole lot of language, it's just called doubt. 00:43:00.239 --> 00:43:08.559 Growing up in the church, and then having my life transformed by Jesus, my senior year of high school, like I shared last week. 00:43:08.880 --> 00:43:13.199 You would think, like, oh, Ryan's never struggled or doubted. 00:43:14.159 --> 00:43:18.400 And yet the waves of doubt hit my life so strongly. 00:43:18.639 --> 00:43:27.039 What I was studying, leading into higher critical thinking and higher criticism, biblical criticism, that just created all this swirling doubt. 00:43:27.199 --> 00:43:29.679 And I had this crisis of a faith. 00:43:29.840 --> 00:43:31.280 Now, here, think about this. 00:43:32.960 --> 00:43:37.440 I'm studying to be a pastor, and I don't even know if I believe in God anymore. 00:43:38.159 --> 00:43:44.239 And I'm asking all the existential questions and going like, oh my goodness. 00:43:44.400 --> 00:43:52.559 And I felt like if I was to utter my doubt, I would have betrayed my family and this brand new bride. 00:43:52.800 --> 00:43:54.960 So I kept it to myself. 00:43:56.480 --> 00:43:59.760 And I just wrestled and wrestled and wrestled. 00:44:00.639 --> 00:44:01.840 For months. 00:44:04.000 --> 00:44:10.719 And honestly, I was afraid to ask some of the questions because I was afraid I didn't have a God big enough for the questions. 00:44:10.880 --> 00:44:11.519 You there? 00:44:13.119 --> 00:44:20.320 There's some of those things that you maybe you grew up in church, and so you're like, yeah, I don't know if we have an answer. 00:44:23.119 --> 00:44:25.280 One day I got to the end. 00:44:26.239 --> 00:44:29.440 Because it meant a whole trajection and life change. 00:44:29.599 --> 00:44:34.239 It was like, okay, I God, if you're real, I need you to show up. 00:44:34.400 --> 00:44:36.320 And if you're not, I'm done. 00:44:36.960 --> 00:44:37.920 I'm out. 00:44:39.599 --> 00:44:45.199 I'm which meant I'm gonna find a different career. 00:44:46.480 --> 00:44:50.000 I'm gonna tell my wife that she didn't marry a man of God. 00:44:50.960 --> 00:44:52.000 Tell my family. 00:44:52.159 --> 00:44:57.519 It was like felt the heaviest of weights. 00:44:58.480 --> 00:45:07.679 I remember going to a coffee shop downtown Chicago, and I took the Bible, did the thing that you tell people not to do. 00:45:07.920 --> 00:45:10.400 I just said, God, if you're real, show me. 00:45:14.719 --> 00:45:16.320 And he showed up. 00:45:20.800 --> 00:45:32.000 He showed up, like I started reading, and it's in Isaiah, and it was like the words just left off the page, and God's like, no, no, no. 00:45:32.239 --> 00:45:40.000 Even in your darkness, even in your doubting, even in your wandering, I am real and I will show myself to you. 00:45:40.559 --> 00:45:44.000 If you search for me, you'll be found by me, says his word. 00:45:52.320 --> 00:45:54.320 It was such a journey back. 00:45:56.320 --> 00:46:02.159 I walked onto my campus at Moody and went to the president of the university. 00:46:02.320 --> 00:46:07.840 I had a friendship with him, and he was the first person that I shared my doubt with. 00:46:09.840 --> 00:46:12.079 An older wise mentor. 00:46:14.480 --> 00:46:15.920 It was amazing. 00:46:16.639 --> 00:46:24.320 As he began to counsel me, share his story, and all of a sudden I wasn't alone. 00:46:26.400 --> 00:46:32.320 And he was signing a book, one of his books, to send out to donors called The Trouble with Jesus. 00:46:33.119 --> 00:46:36.480 And I just took that book and I just ate it up, and I just was good. 00:46:36.880 --> 00:46:41.760 It was like I'm starting my relationship with Jesus all over again, starting from the ground up. 00:46:41.920 --> 00:46:56.320 And I and I just want to say for those who are here that are wrestling, that are doubting, that are deconstructing, you have a God big enough for every question. 00:46:59.440 --> 00:47:01.440 Don't suffer silently. 00:47:07.840 --> 00:47:11.440 He will be found by you as you search for him. 00:47:15.840 --> 00:47:18.320 God, I just pray for my friends. 00:47:21.840 --> 00:47:25.599 As the storms knock and rage around us. 00:47:28.719 --> 00:47:40.719 God, I pray for those that are just walking through just such painful, life-altering storms, that the trajectory of their life's gonna look different. 00:47:41.679 --> 00:47:44.800 That you're with them, would you meet them? 00:47:45.519 --> 00:47:47.920 That you're not shook by it. 00:47:48.320 --> 00:47:49.840 Would you walk closely with them? 00:47:49.920 --> 00:47:51.760 Would you encourage them? 00:47:53.920 --> 00:47:59.920 That you're with them and nothing will separate them from your love. 00:48:00.800 --> 00:48:05.199 God, I pray for those that are walking through the storms of their own making. 00:48:06.559 --> 00:48:13.599 This moment would be a moment of repentance, a moment of saying, God, I'm sorry, I'm turning to you, I'm stopping that. 00:48:13.920 --> 00:48:16.239 Just that like wake-up call. 00:48:16.480 --> 00:48:19.599 I've been blaming you, but it's really my fault. 00:48:22.239 --> 00:48:25.920 God, right now, I just pray for those that have been doubting. 00:48:29.440 --> 00:48:38.880 Those that felt like if they even spoke that they might fall completely away from you. 00:48:40.480 --> 00:48:50.239 Would you right now reveal yourself, speak to them, surround them, accept, meet them so personally. 00:48:52.079 --> 00:48:52.480 Thank you. 00:48:53.840 --> 00:49:03.440 That you do not waste, but you work in the midst of our pain. 00:49:04.480 --> 00:49:19.119 Now we're confident that you will take all things and turn them into good for the though for those who are called according to your purpose. 00:49:19.440 --> 00:49:21.039 In Jesus' name. 00:49:21.360 --> 00:49:22.000 Amen. 00:49:23.440 --> 00:49:25.679 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:49:25.840 --> 00:49:30.320 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:49:30.480 --> 00:49:32.559 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:49:32.719 --> 00:49:38.400 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.