WEBVTT 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:06.240 Well, good morning. 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:13.679 So I'd like to start this morning with a couple quick tips from me to you on how to tell a good lie. 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:18.320 I'm just trying to give like, you know, practical tips. 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:21.280 Trying to keep this something you can, you know, learn a life skill. 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:22.960 So, no, I'm kidding, obviously. 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:24.239 Please, no one lie. 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:27.839 I'm sure there's several Bible verses that discourage that kind of thing. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:31.039 But if you were gonna lie, here's how you should do it. 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:36.479 Um I'm not a particularly polished liar, but I have some practice in college. 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:51.920 Um as as background, I grew up in in lots of choirs uh as a musician, and probably from like second grade all the way through college and even uh a few years beyond that, I was always in some kind of choir that would rehearse at least uh once a week. 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:57.359 And so, you know, you'd practice all year and then you'd you'd go on tour for the summer. 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:04.079 So basically, um my childhood was like a big long episode of glee, you know, a TV show. 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:05.760 Actually, it wasn't at all like that. 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:06.480 That was a lie. 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:07.599 I'm sorry. 00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:12.319 Um come to think of it, maybe I'm actually a pretty good liar. 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:15.120 So uh you seem to buy right into that. 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:24.480 So you'd practice all year, and then for a week or two in the summer, you'd go on tour, get a tour bus, and go all around the nation, and you'd sing at a different church, different city each night. 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:36.159 So growing up in like the 80s or 90s, believe it or not, it was not uncommon that after you give a concert in the church, that people in the church would take a couple kids home and you could stay in the house. 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:42.719 And you'd come back the next day, would save you having to uh you know buy a hotel room for a hundred different people. 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:46.079 So it was kind of like a lottery, you never know what you were gonna get. 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:54.159 Some nights would be really fun, and you know, you got like fun people, professional chef with a game room and silk sheets. 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:58.959 And other nights it would be, you know, a little more uncomfortable, like culture shock. 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:03.519 You guys are weird, we're kind of tired, we're going right right to bed. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:25.840 So the tradition was the next morning when everybody comes back to uh the church and you get back on the tour bus and you're about ready to go to the next town, that you'd take turns, everybody would come to the front of the bus and you'd get on that like loudspeaker CB thing, and you'd tell everybody about the night that you had, your your adventure. 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:31.759 So not everybody would do this, but if you had a particularly you know adventurous night, you would want to share your story. 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:36.719 So, fast forward to my college years, I was good friends with this one guy. 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:43.199 Uh we would frequently be roommates, and we got tired of not having particularly good stories to tell. 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:46.800 So the simple solution to this uh was just to lie. 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:56.479 So we always confessed it at the end, and it was all in good fun, and uh they were Christians, they had to forgive us, no big deal. 00:02:56.879 --> 00:03:00.319 So here's what we learned. 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:03.840 If you want to tell a good lie, three good tips you gotta keep in mind. 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:07.599 Number one is you want to start with what's real, actually. 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:14.400 You want to start with uh some real details and you know, kind of pull them in and gain some trust that way. 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:23.360 And then when you make that pivot, you know, to that thing that's you know like untrue, then you actually want to go big with that. 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:24.960 It's not what you would think. 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:27.280 White lies make for boring stories. 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:29.199 So go big. 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:32.960 It's actually easier to sell a big lie than a small one. 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:37.840 And then finally, the third tip is uh don't do it alone. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:39.599 You know, best to have an accomplice. 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:52.560 So we would do this together and go to the and kind of reinforce one another, and I would start, and then he'd grab the microphone from me and embellish something else, and we kind of improv it and maybe only argue over really small things, and that helped to sell it. 00:03:52.960 --> 00:04:23.519 And so, you know, an example might be uh, you know, our evening started simple enough, you know, this guy in his late 40s, he threw our luggage into the back, you know, his trunk of his late model White Buick, and we're making small talk travel traveling down the road, and that part would be true, and then all of a sudden, this guy gets a call on this radio thing, and I'm sitting in the passenger seat, and he reaches into the glove box, pulls out this siren, slaps it on the hood, and we're in hot pursuit. 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:31.120 And everybody else on the bus would be like, clearly your evening was more exciting than mine, you know? 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:42.560 And so to summarize, you want to start with what's real, give some details, suck them in, and then when you make the turn and go for the lie, go big, and then finally don't do it alone. 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:44.399 You know, have an accomplice. 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:51.680 But it was all in good fun, you know, everybody enjoyed being tricked because it only lasted for a moment. 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:56.800 But this morning we're gonna look at a different kind of lie. 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:08.560 There are other lies that we experience in life that uh are not so funny, and the damage that these lies do, it lasts for decades. 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:12.079 And these lies can begin with some truth. 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:18.480 And so it's easy to be sucked in, but the actual lie is really big. 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:21.519 I mean, it's audacious, it's a big leap. 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:29.120 But even if a few people start to repeat that lie, then it's it's reinforced, it's difficult to challenge. 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:36.079 So the big lie that we're gonna look at this morning is that you've been abandoned by God. 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:43.040 Or if he hasn't abandoned you, he's the kind of guy that's just looking for an excuse to do that. 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:48.079 And if that's the way you feel this morning, then please know that's a lie. 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:55.680 And God the Father loves you, he's not scared away, and he's the one actually that is pursuing you. 00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:59.199 He's the one that's crying out, where are you? 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:11.199 And what we're gonna see this morning is that Jesus is a tremendous example for us of how we should cry out to God in those moments when we feel abandoned. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:16.800 So the message series is on famous questions by Jesus. 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:19.680 Um I've seen various lists here. 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:26.399 I think there's probably about 135 different questions that Jesus asked in the Gospels. 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:36.240 So, among all 135 questions, the one we're gonna look at this morning is probably the most emotionally charged question. 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:38.720 It's gut-wrenching. 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:51.199 And this is a question not that Jesus asked his followers, it's not a question that Jesus asked anybody in the crowd following him, it's not even a question that Jesus asked any of us. 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:57.519 This is a question that Jesus asked directly to his father while he's hanging on the cross. 00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:02.879 Jesus asked this question, and it's in a couple Gospels, it's in Matthew and Mark. 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:05.920 We're gonna look at it in uh in Matthew. 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:19.680 So to set the scene, Jesus is hanging on the cross, and it's so difficult for him to speak, and there's this jeering mob that surrounds him, and they're accusing him of being abandoned by God. 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:21.759 God doesn't love you anymore. 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:23.839 If he did, he would rescue you. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:26.800 And it's at this moment that Jesus speaks. 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:31.360 So let's start in Matthew 27, verse 41. 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:36.959 The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus. 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:41.120 He saved others, they scoffed, but he can't save himself. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:43.360 So he's the king of Israel, is he? 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:47.839 Well, let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him. 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:53.199 He trusted God, so let God rescue him now, if he wants him. 00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:56.079 For he said, I'm the Son of God. 00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:01.680 And even the revolutionaries who were crucified with him ridiculed him in the same way. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:06.879 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:20.319 At about three o'clock, Jesus called out in a loud voice, Eli Eli, Lima Sabak Thani, which means, My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? 00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:25.680 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling out for the prophet Elijah. 00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:31.600 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:37.279 But the rest said, Wait, let's see whether Elijah comes to save him. 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:40.080 So I know. 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:41.919 Fun topic, right? 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:42.879 Yay. 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:47.200 Just imagine how I felt when God said, This is a question you need to talk about. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:53.039 But please fight that urge just this morning to kind of emotionally check out. 00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:56.960 Because everything that Jesus says is a gift. 00:08:57.200 --> 00:09:01.279 Like we talked about a few weeks ago, every word is a decision. 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:03.840 So Jesus is hanging on the cross. 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:07.360 He is, his heart is literally about to burst. 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:13.360 His lungs are, it's hard for them to work, to breathe, much less find the energy to speak. 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:23.279 And this accusation of the crowd, but yet he musters some of the last ounces of his physical energy so he might say these words. 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:27.759 He only said seven sentences on the cross across all the gospels. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:33.039 So what's going on here with this really difficult question? 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:36.480 And I love that Jesus asks real questions. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:41.759 You know, Jesus is not just the guy that has all the answers, although he is. 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:45.840 Jesus is also the one that knows how to ask the right questions. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:50.960 So before I get into this too much detail, let me commend a good book for you. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:57.440 If you want to uh dig a little deeper, this is the uh Beyond an Angry God by Steve McVee. 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:03.440 Uh it's the same, or McVeigh, the same uh book from the conference that was held at his hands a few weeks ago. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:08.240 He actually has a chapter in the book uh dedicated to this sentence by Jesus. 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:12.720 And he says it so well, so much more detail than I can get into this morning. 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:28.000 But the logic, the way this normally goes, uh, you maybe have heard this, would be, okay, first of all, Jesus said this, so it must be true, which you can't argue with that, certainly. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:34.240 And then so God abandoned Jesus, question mark, and that's where we struggle. 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:38.639 And then, so then I guess maybe there's another verse in the Bible that might explain that. 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:47.840 And so it's at that point that sometimes I think we too quickly will go to a verse kind of like Habakkuk 113 is often given. 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:59.120 And in that verse, it starts like this uh Habakkuk is talking to God, and he says, Your eyes are too pure to look on evil. 00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:01.440 You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:09.840 So the kind of the simple version of this, like a lot, the logic a lot of people have, is that Jesus is taking the sin of the world on himself at the cross. 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:17.120 And at that moment, God the Father's eyes are too pure, and so he has to turn away, you know, in some mysterious fashion. 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:20.159 And that turning, Jesus feels. 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:23.440 And so that's why he makes this cry. 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:29.360 And so this morning it's not at all my intention to debate, you know, like theories of the atonement and all that stuff. 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:31.519 Uh as fun as that might be. 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:39.440 But but I only want to mention that one verse because I actually want to talk about Habakkuk as the opposite example. 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:46.879 And even if you read that one verse, the full verse, that's just the first half of the verse, then it almost says the exact opposite. 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:59.279 The full verse there in Habakkuk 113 says, Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, you cannot tolerate wrongdoing, but why then do you tolerate the treacherous? 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:05.519 Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:07.759 So there's more to the story. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:09.679 This is mystery and this is tricky. 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:12.080 Habakkuk is complaining before God. 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:13.919 He's saying, hold it. 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:15.840 This is not who you are, right? 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:17.120 You can't do this. 00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:18.960 Let me tell you what you can't do. 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:22.320 And why are you even allowing these people to exist? 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:24.799 In his case, it's the Babylonians. 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:26.399 And you need to act. 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:28.240 God, you need to show up. 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:34.559 The whole book of Habakkuk, it's a really short book, quick read, just a few chapters. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:41.919 And it's basically alternating stanzas between Habakkuk complains, God responds, Habakkuk complains, God responds. 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:45.919 And finally, in the end, Habakkuk is humbled before God. 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:49.279 And he says, I will wait for your salvation. 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:53.600 Because when God responds, he says, You've got to be patient. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:58.720 There is a plan, and I am at work, but it's not something that you can see right now. 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:02.080 And eventually that's where Habakkuk ends up. 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:05.200 And he says, I'm going to wait on the salvation of my God. 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:17.759 And at the very end of Habakkuk, kind of in parentheses for us in English, it says that this entire book is to be read and sung as a prayer, accompanied by string instruments. 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:25.120 So it kind of starts like a song of complaint, but in the end, it's revealed to actually be this beautiful song. 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:28.399 Even the complaining part is a beautiful song. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:30.159 And that's the mystery. 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:36.240 And the Bible's full of these songs of complaintslash hope and joy. 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:38.639 And Psalms is full of them too. 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:42.240 And maybe the most famous of these is what we're going to look at this morning. 00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:48.000 It's a psalm, Psalms 22, and it was written by King David. 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:51.360 And so in this psalm, it has the same kind of structure. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:54.480 King David is struggling before God. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:55.919 What are you doing? 00:13:56.159 --> 00:14:01.679 And he'll do that for a couple verses, but then on the other hand, he's remembering God's faithfulness. 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:06.080 And so it quickly becomes this song of hope in his affliction. 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:12.480 So you can see if we go to Psalm 22, let's see how this starts. 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:23.039 Now, understand also, in Jesus' day, they had not yet gone through like the Old Testament and divided it up into chapters and given each a number. 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:25.519 And, you know, and then divided the verses out. 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:32.879 So if you are quoting a psalm, what was common was you would quote the first verse of the psalm and treat it like a title. 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:36.320 And then everybody would know which one you were talking about. 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:41.360 And so notice how Psalm 22, first couple verses, begin. 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:57.840 Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief. 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:09.519 So I think, and this is just me, and I realize the whole rest of the message is premised on this, I think Jesus is quoting this verse exactly, because he does it exactly. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:18.399 It's the only time, actually, in any of the four Gospels that Jesus does not call his father father in a very personal, direct way. 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:20.639 He says, My God, my God. 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:23.600 I think because he's exactly quoting this verse. 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:25.360 It's difficult for him to speak. 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:30.799 This is maybe the only sentence he can muster to make a response to this accusation. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:36.080 And so he exactly quotes this to point us to the entire chapter. 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:39.519 He's saying, Yes, I do feel this. 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:42.080 I feel abandoned and I'm struggling. 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:45.200 I feel crushed, but I'm in good company. 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:50.559 And he's remembering this psalm, and it's an encouragement to him. 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:53.679 And that psalm, it's got this back and forth in it. 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:56.799 So if we're going to look at the psalm, you've got to look at both sides. 00:15:57.039 --> 00:16:06.240 And even the very next verse there in Psalm 22, already it moves to hearing God's faithfulness. 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:08.320 Starting in verse 3. 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:12.080 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:16.159 Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them. 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:18.399 So it's back and forth. 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:25.679 Psalms 22 is actually a cry for the presence of God, if you read it on as a whole. 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:31.519 It starts as a complaint, and then it's revealed to be actually a song of hope. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:35.039 And it was also originally written to be sung. 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:39.600 David says it's supposed to be sung to the tune of Doe of the Morning. 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:49.759 So musically, you have to imagine all these verses this morning sung to some song about a deer, you know, like bounding over the mountains, like Song of Solomon. 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:51.919 So this is a song of hope. 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:59.759 In verse 11, it says, Do not stay so far from me, for trouble is near, and no one else can help me. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:04.000 So this is the afflicted one, Jesus, crying out to God. 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:09.599 And then in verse 19, O Lord, do not stay far away. 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:11.279 You are my strength. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:14.079 Come quickly to my aid. 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:20.319 So Psalm 22, especially if you keep reading in that chapter, it's all about Jesus. 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:22.079 It is uncanny. 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:28.160 Which is amazing because that Psalm was written a thousand years before Jesus ever walked the earth. 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:38.319 And it was written a thousand years before Jesus, crucifixion was not even a normal method of execution, didn't even exist as far as we know historically. 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:49.839 But yet, look at some of the details given in the middle of Psalms 22, maybe to explain why Jesus would be remembering this psalm while he's on the cross. 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:51.759 Starting in verse 7. 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:54.319 Everyone who sees me mocks me. 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:59.119 They sneer and shake their heads, saying, Is this the one who relies on the Lord? 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:01.039 Then let the Lord save him. 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:06.960 So a thousand years even before, the psalm anticipated the accusation of the crowd. 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:14.880 And then starting in verse 16, My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs, an evil gang closes in on me. 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:17.359 They've pierced my hands and feet. 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:22.319 Think how strange that sounded for a thousand years until it exactly happened. 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:26.720 I can count all my bones, my enemies stare at me and gloat. 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:31.599 They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing. 00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:34.480 Which is exactly what happened at the cross. 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:36.720 So Jesus is remembering this. 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:39.920 And so we do this when we talk. 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:42.559 Sometimes we say several things all at once. 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:46.000 You ever had one of those emotionally charged conversations with your kids? 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:52.559 And they make some big accusation, and you just don't love me, and you care, and you're just trying to make me uh and you say, you know what? 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:54.160 I'm not really going to get into this. 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:56.559 I'm not in a frame of mind to do that right now. 00:18:57.039 --> 00:18:58.559 But I will say this. 00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:07.440 And you just maybe give them a sentence for if you really have ears to hear, maybe a while from now, you'll remember this. 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:10.960 So I hear this as like one of those statements by Jesus. 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:17.359 He's saying at the same time, yes, I feel abandoned and I feel crushed, and this is so difficult. 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:24.319 But I'm also remembering this psalm is taking place right now before your eyes. 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:25.680 And this is happening. 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:30.480 And I'm remembering by faith how good my God is. 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:33.119 And I serve a God who comes to the rescue. 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:35.279 So Jesus knows what he's doing. 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:44.480 This is the song that's on his mind while he takes the sin of the world on himself and puts it to death forever. 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:46.079 You are my God. 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:51.519 So the question is: what's the Father's response in all this? 00:19:51.839 --> 00:20:01.119 So if we look at it from the perspective of Psalm 22, as an interesting detail that's given in verse 23 in Psalm 22. 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:03.599 You who fear the Lord, praise him. 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:06.880 All you descendants of Jacob, honor him. 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:15.759 Revere him, all you descendants of Israel, for he, God, has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one. 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:21.200 He has not hidden his face from him, but has listened to his cry for help. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.039 So this is a mystery what's going on on the cross. 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:36.240 But the trick is, when you look at the cross, we can't forget Christmas and the incarnation while we look at the cross. 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:47.519 This is a mystery, and I don't want to try to act like I understand this better than I do, but yet, 2 Corinthians 5.19 says, in Christ, God was in Christ. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:53.519 The Father was in Christ at the cross, reconciling the world to himself. 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:55.920 So how does that work? 00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:07.440 God feels everything that Jesus is going through, and he feels crushed and abandoned, and he says, like King David, like this psalm. 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:18.960 And even in that, at that moment when the sins of the world are on Jesus and he's putting them to death forever, he has every reason in the world to not speak. 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:27.599 And he could have just stayed silent and still died for the sins of the world, but yet he says, I want to speak. 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:30.640 And he cries out and points us to this psalm. 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:33.119 My God, my God. 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:35.680 That's the cry of faith. 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:40.640 But that's not our default move, is it? 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:52.400 That's not our default move that when we feel absolutely crushed and abandoned, that we turn and cry out to God because you're my God in faith. 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:54.640 Our default move is the other way. 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:56.799 We want to run away from God. 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.759 We make the assumption that we've scared him away. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:03.119 And he doesn't want anything to do with me. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:11.039 But that's the move that we've been making from the beginning of time, all the way back from the fall in the garden. 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:15.839 If you go back to Genesis 3, this is right after the fall. 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:18.880 And let's look at Adam and Eve's response. 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:25.759 When the cooled evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:28.880 So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:33.440 And then the Lord God called to the man, Where are you? 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:36.160 So that's what we're familiar with. 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:37.920 We all know that move. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:43.119 Oh, what I've done, and we're the ones doing the hiding, not God. 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:50.160 God's the one, he knows what they've done, but yet he still is having that evening walk in the garden. 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:52.960 And Habakkuk's like, You can't do that. 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:54.720 You can't take your walk. 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:56.559 You don't know what they've done. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:23:03.839 But yet, God, he comes pursuing us, and he's the one calling out, Where are you? 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:06.079 But we want to hide. 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:20.000 Right before Jesus was crucified, he told his followers, he said in John 16, Jesus answered them, Do you finally believe? 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:25.519 In fact, you're about to make a run for it, saving your own skins and abandoning me. 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:27.519 But I'm not abandoned. 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:29.279 The Father is with me. 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:37.119 I've told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. 00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:43.119 In this godless world, you will continue to experience difficulties, but take heart. 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:45.440 I've conquered the world. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:55.920 So whatever's going on here in this statement, Jesus, I believe, is deeply assured that his Father is going to come to the rescue. 00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:03.839 Jesus knows he really has to die because the sin of the world is on him and it must be put to death forever. 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:06.079 My sin and your sin, not his. 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:07.519 He didn't have any. 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:12.400 And that, I'm sure, felt like the worst possible death. 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:24.240 But even in that, Jesus cries out by faith, even regardless of how I'm feeling right now, you are my God, my God. 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:29.359 And I trust you, you have to come to my rescue because I have no other hope. 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:42.240 The only thing Jesus complains about, he doesn't complain about being nailed to a tree, or almost all of his friends abandoning him, or the mocking crowd, he complains before God. 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:47.680 And he takes that turn and pivot and says, You're my only hope. 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:52.160 You come to my rescue because death is here. 00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:56.079 And we serve the God that shows up. 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:58.240 And Easter's the proof of that. 00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:03.440 Jesus says, You're my God, and he comes to the rescue. 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:14.960 It's ironic, I think, that those that are around the cross, they misunderstood what Jesus said as being a cry for Elijah. 00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:18.799 He says, Eli, Eli, Lama Sabak Thani. 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:20.880 I no idea if I'm saying that right. 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:27.599 But that first part, Eli, Eli, my God, my God, they thought, well, maybe he's crying out for Elijah. 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:30.799 And I think they're mocking him, actually. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:35.119 But Elijah, if you remember, he's the Old Testament prophet of fire. 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:45.200 He's the guy that in 2 Kings he assembles all the prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel, and he sets up two altars. 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:47.200 He says, Let's have a contest. 00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:58.319 You set up your altar, and I'll set up a second altar to my God, the God of Israel, and you guys pray all morning and have your God call down fire. 00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:01.519 And so they do that for hours, and they get nothing. 00:26:01.839 --> 00:26:07.359 And then Elijah prays, and this is what Elijah prays to his God. 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:11.680 This is uh, or 1 Kings 18, 37. 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:14.720 Says, O Lord, answer me. 00:26:15.119 --> 00:26:22.480 Answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have brought them back to yourself. 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:24.000 That's the move of God. 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:26.640 He brings us back to himself. 00:26:27.119 --> 00:26:31.519 And we're like Habakkuk, and we say, No, you're not authorized to do that. 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:32.960 You don't know what I've done. 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:34.720 And he says, There is a plan. 00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:36.079 You gotta wait. 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:39.359 Jesus is the plan and the cross. 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:48.240 So they misunderstand, they're mocking him because there's this expectation in Israel that Elijah is gonna come first and he's gonna announce the Messiah. 00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:49.759 That was in the Old Testament. 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:52.319 But they're looking for this prophet of fire. 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:55.759 You know, Elijah's the one that ascends into heaven in a chariot of fire. 00:26:56.000 --> 00:27:02.880 So they want Elijah to come back and call down fire on all their enemies and like burn up Rome and everybody else. 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:09.920 And since John the Baptist doesn't do that precisely, they missed that John the Baptist fulfills that in Elijah. 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:13.200 So they say, okay, well, this is this should be fun. 00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:14.960 I guess he's calling out to Elijah. 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:21.359 If Elijah comes and rescues him, then I guess we'll all probably get burned up, but you know, ha ha ha. 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:26.559 But they miss it because Jesus is not crying out for Elijah. 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:29.680 Jesus is crying out like Elijah. 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:32.400 He's crying out to the God of Elijah. 00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:34.720 God, you need to show up. 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:37.359 You need to show up on Easter. 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:41.039 You need to show up now in my hurt. 00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:46.160 Let the God who shows up, let him be God. 00:27:46.400 --> 00:27:49.920 That's what Elijah boldly cries out by faith. 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:51.920 And Jesus does the same. 00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:57.599 David says, I feel crushed and abandoned, and feels like you're a million miles away. 00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:03.440 But as king, this is my place to stand before you and know you are my God. 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:05.359 Do not be a stranger. 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:07.920 Let the God who shows up. 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:21.279 You know, some people I've read, they believe that as Jesus, as he shouts this first verse of the psalm, that he continued praying through it there on the cross. 00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:23.279 And we're totally guessing at that. 00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:24.799 Obviously, we don't know that. 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:27.519 But it would be in character for Jesus to do that. 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:32.319 And it was in character for him to use Scripture in the face of temptation. 00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:37.359 And right in the middle of Psalm 22, it talks about the afflicted one being thirsty. 00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:40.480 And that's one of the other seven things Jesus said on the cross. 00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:42.000 He said, I thirst. 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:44.880 So that's kind of right in script. 00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:50.079 But it's also, I think, most interesting how Psalm 22 ends. 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:56.799 The last few verses, it says, All the rich of the earth will feast and worship. 00:28:57.039 --> 00:29:00.720 All who go down to the dust will kneel before him. 00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:09.680 Those who cannot keep themselves alive, posterity will serve him, future generations will be told about the Lord. 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:16.799 They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn, He has done it. 00:29:18.160 --> 00:29:25.039 And that last phrase, He has done it, if I understand this right, in the Hebrew, that's actually just one word. 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:26.000 He has done it. 00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:28.400 And it can be translated a couple different ways. 00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:34.640 It can be either He has done it, God has done it, or it is finished. 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:41.359 And that happens to be the last thing that Jesus says right before he dies for the sin of the world. 00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:43.039 It is finished. 00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:44.640 He has done it. 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:47.839 This song has been completed. 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:50.400 And that's the loving God that we serve. 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:57.279 I know this is mystery, but it's that move that we want to honor this morning. 00:29:57.440 --> 00:30:08.000 That move of even when you feel crushed and abandoned and hope is lost, and I feel like at death's door, Jesus is the model for us. 00:30:08.160 --> 00:30:14.000 That we turn by faith and say, My God, my God, do not be a stranger. 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:20.559 And we pray, like in the spirit of Psalm 22, King David, you need to come to my rescue. 00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:26.880 That bold cry, like Elijah did, Jesus inspired that in the king and in the prophet. 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:30.960 Jesus says, God, come to my rescue. 00:30:31.279 --> 00:30:33.440 But that's not the move that we're used to. 00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:38.799 We're used to hiding in shame and thinking we're doing God a favor for that. 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:40.880 Because we know what we've done. 00:30:41.119 --> 00:30:42.319 But he already knows. 00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:46.160 And he says, I love you and I want you to come before me. 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:53.279 Jesus is our model on how to cry out boldly to God. 00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:56.799 Worship team, if you want to start coming back up. 00:30:57.440 --> 00:31:08.400 Jesus is our model on how to really boldly speak truth in the face of that serious accusation that you've been abandoned by God. 00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:14.400 Three quick tips I think Jesus would give us on how to speak truth boldly by faith. 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:19.920 The first one is, and these might sound familiar, is you need to plant yourself in what's real. 00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:23.759 What's real, I really do feel crushed, God. 00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:29.440 I feel abandoned and I feel the weight of this, and that's where you are. 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:30.480 It's okay. 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:33.680 God encourages us to talk to Him like that. 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:41.920 But then as you make that turn towards what's true, then by faith, you gotta go big. 00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:44.559 I mean, don't just speak it like Jesus. 00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:45.920 You shout it out. 00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:48.319 You are my God, my God. 00:31:48.880 --> 00:31:52.799 And you need to not be a stranger because you are my only hope. 00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:54.640 My hope is in you. 00:31:55.119 --> 00:31:59.519 And then finally, the third tip: don't do it alone. 00:31:59.759 --> 00:32:05.759 You find as many people as you can to sing to God and you cry out before Him. 00:32:06.079 --> 00:32:12.960 And don't run away from other people who feel like they're abandoned and they're struggling and are crushed. 00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:20.240 You love them in the same bold way that God has loved you and embraced you back to Himself. 00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:23.680 Stand up, we're gonna sing one more song. 00:32:23.759 --> 00:32:26.640 And I want to pray for us before we sing. 00:32:26.720 --> 00:32:36.000 And I want to pray us through the lyrics of this tune we're about to sing, because I think it summarizes really well the hope that we have in Him. 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:38.240 Let's pray. 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:42.720 Jesus, our hope is in you. 00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:46.319 Our every hope is in you. 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:51.119 You are because of you, we are steadfast and not moved. 00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:54.559 We are anchored and we are never shaken. 00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:57.279 You bring hope to the hopeless. 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:01.839 You share your home, God, with us, the orphans. 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:04.319 You are joy. 00:33:05.039 --> 00:33:08.720 Let hope arise this morning, God, because you rose. 00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:11.279 Let hope rise up in us. 00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:13.759 You're the God that shows up. 00:33:14.319 --> 00:33:15.680 In the name of Jesus. 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:16.640 Amen.