WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:01.360 Good morning. 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:06.240 It's great to be together and worshiping God together. 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:10.080 I think fall arrived this morning. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:12.080 That's uh awesome. 00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:13.599 It's my favorite time of year. 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:16.480 And uh we're gonna talk a little bit about God and nature. 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:25.920 Um and uh to me, boy, when the when the colors change and the air gets crisp and no pollen, it's a uh it's a wonderful time. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:38.880 It also feels like uh football season finally, not not so much yesterday, but uh but I say that because we're coming up on our Telgate party, which is Sunday, October 28th. 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:44.399 So I guess that's three weeks from today, and we'll get together and then we'll uh hang out afterwards. 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:59.520 We'll have a chili cook-off, and you know, some of us will set up tents and grill, we'll hang out, listen to tunes, and um and then the Falcons game, it's the Eagles again this year, uh, will be on the big screen here and we can uh watch that together. 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:01.119 And so uh a couple things. 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:07.439 One is if if the chili cook-off is always fantastic, and one of the highlights of the Telgate Party. 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:16.000 And so if you've uh got your secret recipe and want to compete, not just participate, but compete, um, you can sign up at the infodesk. 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:22.879 There's two categories there's traditional and out-of-the-box, and uh four words, there will be trophies. 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:31.120 Um we'll have food that you can buy if you don't want to if you don't want to grill, or you can just come and and uh we'll hang out. 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:32.879 So that's three weeks from today. 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:37.439 Um Baptism Sunday is the is the following uh week on November 4th. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:39.280 That's just such a uh a great day. 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:45.680 And if you haven't been baptized, it's such an important um really step in in following Jesus. 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:48.480 It's one of the things that we get to do exactly what he did. 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:55.920 You know, he was baptized and we get baptized, and it's just a statement of I'm all in and I'm with you. 00:01:56.159 --> 00:02:06.480 And it's also um an expression of dying to our old ways and all this stuff and being raised with Jesus to a whole new life. 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:12.319 And the Holy Spirit does something special when we get baptized, and it's just such a great uh great day. 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:18.000 You know, we we cheer each other on and just uh thank God for what he's doing in our lives. 00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:20.960 So I think we'll start signups for that next week. 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:22.479 So just be thinking about that. 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:32.879 If uh if you haven't been baptized, or if you're baptized a long time ago and you and you want to make kind of a new statement that I'm starting again with God, it's a good time to do that uh too. 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:34.719 So that'll be November 4th. 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:38.879 And believe it or not, it's almost Christmas time. 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:57.360 The uh and uh I say that because Christmas Angels is about to get cranken, and that is just uh such a wonderful thing that we get to do together, where we kind of adopt a couple schools and provide Christmas for the the ch the children that otherwise wouldn't be able to have a uh a Christmas. 00:02:57.520 --> 00:02:59.680 But it's a lot of work, it's well worth it. 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:04.800 Um Jan and Chase Chandler are heading that up again uh this year, so thank you for that. 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:08.240 That's a uh a big effort, and they do a fantastic job. 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:14.560 But this morning we're gonna have some signups for uh administrative help if you'd like to help with Christmas Angels this year. 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:27.199 And this isn't for the delivery, um, it's getting the stars organized, you know, with the kids and on the days that we get to choose the families that we'll be providing gifts for, and then on the days that the gifts get brought, helping out there. 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:32.879 So if you could help that way and would like to, uh please sign up at the info desk afterwards. 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:44.319 Mind you about giving, you know, it's uh it's easy to forget because we don't pass a plate, but it's also uh something to first encourage each other in, you know, to push each other and take a step of faith. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:49.599 Because when we do that, particularly with money, you know, it we get to see God in such a real way. 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:56.000 It's a difficult thing for anybody to do, to say, okay, God, I'm gonna trust you with something like money. 00:03:56.080 --> 00:04:02.240 Uh but when we do that, we get to see Him just work in our lives and it builds our faith and affects our whole lives. 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:04.240 And so thank you for that. 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:06.000 Hey, let's pray. 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:07.840 Well, Father God, we praise you. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:12.479 We thank you for bringing us together this morning as your family and your kids. 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:15.120 We thank you for adopting us as your children. 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:18.800 Holy Spirit, we just praise you and thank you for your role in our lives. 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:28.160 And I just ask you to give each of us what it is we need today, if it's comfort or peace or joy or faith or hope. 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:31.439 Uh, just please uh supernaturally give it that to us today. 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:38.079 And Jesus, we praise you for being our Savior and our friend and uh teaching us, and we ask you to teach us this morning. 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:40.480 We trust you with that, and it's in your name we pray. 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:41.360 Amen. 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:46.639 So we're looking together at an amazing promise Jesus made to us. 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:54.160 It's in Matthew 11, 28, it says, Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 00:04:54.560 --> 00:05:01.839 Take my yoke upon you, let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:06.480 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:08.720 So he said, Let me teach you. 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:09.759 And so that's what we're doing. 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:21.120 And I've talked about how this is just really an exciting topic for me, because this is something that uh I really struggle with, you know, kind of finding rest in God. 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:26.319 And I want you to know that really, because I want you to understand what church is too. 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:34.480 It's not, you know, uh someone, you know, uh he or she up here saying, hey, we got it all together, and if you're like us, you can have it all together true. 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:35.839 It's not like that at all. 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:37.199 It's just that we're all in process. 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:38.079 We all need God. 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:47.839 And so if we can encourage each other, then every day we can uh be more like Jesus and have the life that uh he wants um for each of us. 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:51.600 And so Jesus said, Let me teach you. 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:55.680 How did he carry so much responsibility? 00:05:55.920 --> 00:06:02.639 How did he do so many things, have so many people pulling on him all the time, and yet enjoy his life? 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:05.839 You'll live life with such joy. 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:11.519 In John 15, it says, I've told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:14.480 Yes, your joy will overflow. 00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:18.480 So the first two weeks we looked at a couple pretty specific things. 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:21.759 It was really the things that Jesus immediately taught. 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:27.360 You know, as he was saying this verse, he's really walking through a field with his disciples. 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:37.759 And he reaches down, and his disciples do, and pick some wheat, which broke the law of the Sabbath, not really God's law, but the law that man had developed over time. 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:40.480 But to them he had broken the Sabbath law. 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:47.279 And this was just one thing because the Pharisees and the religious people had just been on Jesus constantly, all the time. 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:51.360 I mean, he was going around and he was healing people and he was helping people. 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:55.040 And no matter what he did, some for some reason he wasn't doing it right. 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:58.959 You know, it was at the wrong time, it was the wrong place, it was the wrong person. 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:03.439 And the religious people were just constantly on Jesus' back. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:05.600 And Jesus says, you know what? 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:07.759 Forget that way of thinking. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:08.800 Forget that. 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:10.319 Just come to me. 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:14.480 Come to me, and I will give you rest. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:22.399 And this happened on the Sabbath immediately afterwards and heading to the synagogue and where he healed a man on the Sabbath. 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:25.680 And again, the people freaked out about that. 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:31.199 And so Jesus taught that the Sabbath was made for us, not us for the Sabbath. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:47.519 And how important it is that we have scheduled real rest in our lives, how God Himself rested, how He created earth and land to have rest, and how He created us with a need for real rest. 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:50.240 And those are kind of specific things. 00:07:50.319 --> 00:08:01.519 And today we're gonna take a step back and we're gonna look at a kind of a broader thing that Jesus teaches us, and not just by his words, but uh just also how he lived his everyday life. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:05.040 Jesus saw things different than I do. 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:11.920 So when Jesus saw sheep, for instance, he spoke of people and how God cares for them. 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:16.959 When he saw a shepherd, he spoke of how he feels about us. 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:23.759 When he saw bread, he spoke of how he wants to feed us and to give us life. 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:31.199 When he saw water, he spoke about the Holy Spirit and explains how he can quench our thirst. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:37.759 And when in a storm, he spoke about faith and how that gets us through the troubles in our life. 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:44.799 When he saw a mustard seed, he spoke about how quickly and powerfully his kingdom would grow. 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:53.039 When he saw a house being built, he spoke about how important it is for us to build on a foundation of God in our lives. 00:08:53.360 --> 00:09:00.559 Jesus saw wheat and weeds and yeast and trees, and he spoke about spiritual truths in the kingdom of God. 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:06.720 When he saw children, he spoke about how vulnerable they are and how valuable they are to God. 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:15.200 When he went to a wedding reception, he spoke about our relationship with him and how important it is to stay focused and to be prepared. 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:22.080 He saw filled with all different types of soil and he thought about how people respond differently to God. 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:28.399 When he saw a vineyard, he thought about how important it is that we stay connected to him. 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:37.200 And when he saw the vineyard owner pruning the delicate vines, he spoke about how God transforms us and prunes us. 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:41.840 And uh what's the word I'm looking for? 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:45.360 It's a vine word. 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:50.399 Um anyway, guides us. 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:52.879 I think that's what you do. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:59.039 Think about this because we got these vines in our backyard, and we got to weave them through this trellis, and they're so delicate, you don't want to break them. 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:01.200 And so, whatever that is, is what I'm thinking about. 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:08.240 But um, when Jesus saw that, he actually knew the word and uh and spoke of it. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:20.559 When Jesus saw birds and flowers, he thought and spoke of how God cares for the smallest things in the world, but especially how he cares for us. 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:25.360 Jesus talked about plants and rocks and fish and mountains. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:29.759 Jesus saw God everywhere. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:34.080 Jesus saw God all the time. 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:42.559 And most of us feel better and more at peace when we're here together on Sunday morning. 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:44.000 You know, I do. 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:46.320 You know, there's something special when we come together. 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:52.879 You know, us just combining our faith, combining our praise, encouraging each other, loving each other. 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:56.080 Something for me special happens during worship. 00:10:56.240 --> 00:11:00.960 You know, I honestly, just when I walk in the room, I like to take a deep breath. 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:08.879 And during worship, there's something in my spirit that is different than any other time of the week. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:10.159 And that's it, that's a great thing. 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:14.639 It's one of the reasons that that uh Jesus' plan is for us to get together. 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:25.679 In Hebrews 10, 25, it says, and let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:32.799 You know, and so there's something special happens when we're together with each other, with God. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:36.639 It's an important part of God's plan for us. 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:38.799 But there's more. 00:11:40.720 --> 00:11:44.639 Jesus experienced the same type of thing in the synagogue and with his disciples. 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:50.480 But mostly Jesus experienced God everywhere. 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:52.879 Everywhere. 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:55.840 There's the famous story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. 00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:06.080 The Samaritans believed God's home was uh one place on a particular mountain, and the Jewish people had uh God's home in the temple on a different mountain. 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:12.000 Um so he's talking to the Samaritan woman, and she says, Sir, you must be a prophet. 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:16.320 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship? 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:22.080 While we Samaritans claim it's here on Mount Jerizim and where our ancestors worshiped. 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:30.960 Jesus replied, Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:38.559 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:42.240 But the time is coming, indeed, it's here now. 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:49.919 When true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, the Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:54.960 That time is now, Jesus said. 00:12:55.200 --> 00:13:04.240 You know, we don't have to have or go to a building or a place to experience God and his presence. 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:11.039 It's a heart thing, Jesus says, a spirit thing, knowing the truth about God and his love and his will. 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:14.799 Worshiping anywhere, anytime. 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:17.360 There's an Old Testament story that you might know. 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:19.600 It's the story of Jacob and Esau. 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:22.879 Jacob tricked Esau out of his birthright. 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:25.279 It was one of the lowest things you could do. 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:30.960 In that culture, I mean what Jacob had to do to do that is unbelievable. 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:36.559 Um, he deceived his dad on his dad's deathbed. 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:39.360 He tricked him and deceived him. 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:46.720 And he stole something that wasn't just a verbal blessing, it was amounted to physical property and a big part of the will. 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:47.600 And it was his plan. 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:49.200 He goes in there and he steals it. 00:13:49.600 --> 00:14:01.279 And not only does he spend his last moments with his dad that way, but his dad finds out, and in his last moments, he spends an anguish over what Jacob did. 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:07.120 And so Esau finds out and he decides he's gonna kill him. 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:12.879 And Jacob hears of it, and so he takes off running. 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:16.399 It's in Genesis 28. 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:20.720 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:25.919 Jacob found a stone to rest his head again against and lay down to sleep. 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:33.519 And he as he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from earth up to heaven, and he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:41.039 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather, Abraham, and the God of your father Isaac. 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:43.200 The ground you're lying on belongs to you. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:45.919 I am giving it to you and your descendants. 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:48.799 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth. 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:56.799 They will spread out in all directions, to the west and the east, to the north and the south, and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:01.919 What's more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:04.240 One day I will bring you back to this land. 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:09.120 I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you. 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:16.960 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:20.480 But he was also afraid and said, What an awesome place this is. 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:24.720 It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:26.879 The next morning Jacob got up very early. 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:31.519 He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:33.840 Then he poured olive oil over it. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:39.519 He named that place Bethel, which means house of God, although it was previously called Luz. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:42.799 And so two things in the story. 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:48.399 One is uh really kind of an aside to what we're talking about this morning. 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:51.039 But Jacob had messed up bad. 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:56.799 I mean, in his culture, he had really done one of the worst things you could possibly do. 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:02.240 And it was in that situation that God reached out to him. 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:10.080 You know, and sometimes when we mess up, you know, we do something we're ashamed of. 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:11.519 You know, we make a mistake. 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:17.279 We put distance between ourselves and God because we think, you know, he's had to have it with us. 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:19.519 But certainly he's mad at us. 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:21.519 Certainly he's had enough. 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:24.159 Certainly he's about to punish us. 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:27.360 When the opposite is true. 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:40.320 So often when we make a big mistake, it opens up a small window for God to reach out and speak to us, to tell us the truth, how much he loves us, how much he cares for us, how it doesn't matter what you've done or what you just did. 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:44.559 I've got a plan for you, I've got a purpose for you, I love you. 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:47.519 I'm gonna be with you, I'll always be with you. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:52.240 I've got promises and blessings for you. 00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:57.759 You know, and even when we maybe don't mess up, we can still feel alone. 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:03.840 You know, we can feel alone in the midst of our families, in the midst of work, in the midst of school or friends. 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:07.200 Feel like no one really cares about us. 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:09.680 Everything's really on me. 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:14.319 That we're in this whole thing and we're in it alone. 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:19.599 That Jacob wasn't alone. 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:23.599 And God wasn't mad at Jacob. 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:26.480 It's true with us. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:32.079 But the thing I especially want to see is what Jacob said after his experience. 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:37.839 He said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:41.440 Then he said, What an awesome place this is. 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:43.519 It's none other than the house of God. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:57.359 And when Jacob said this, there wasn't a tabernacle, there wasn't a temple, and still Jacob was surprised that God can meet us anywhere, any place, anytime. 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:04.559 Jacob's just on a road, running from his brother, maybe a little bit running from God. 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:11.119 He sets up camp and he wakes up saying, What an awesome place this is. 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:13.519 None other than the house of God. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.759 This is the gateway to heaven. 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:24.079 Barbara Brown Taylor writes about Jacob's experience, and she says, Jacob's nowhere, which he knew nothing, turned out to be the house of God. 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:34.400 Even though his family had imploded, even though he had made his brother angry enough to kill him, even though he was a scoundrel from the word go, God decided to visit Jacob right where he was. 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:44.000 And he also gave Jacob vision so he could see the angels going about their business in the world God created. 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:46.720 And it can be the same for us. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:55.680 In our homes, in our cars, at our work, in a hotel room, any day of the week, every day of the week. 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:01.599 God is everywhere and in all his creation. 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:07.759 In Psalms 19, it says, The heavens proclaim the glory of God, the skies display his craftsmanship. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:11.920 Day after day they continue to speak, night after night they make him known. 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:19.680 They speak without a sound or word, their voice is never heard, yet their message is gone throughout the earth and their words to all the world. 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:38.480 Sometimes we can make such a distinction between what is spiritual and what is the world, what is secular and what is Christian, that we can miss God in everyday life, that we can miss God in all of the world. 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:41.440 You know, the world is used in different ways in the Bible. 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:48.880 You know, it's used in a negative sense, you know, where it kind of sums up a way of living that ignores or even opposes God. 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:55.359 But the world also is a summation of all that God created, especially people. 00:19:55.839 --> 00:19:59.119 You know, for God so loved the world. 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:08.400 The world in the sense of the earth and his creation and people, God loves it. 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:11.119 You know, the earth is our final home. 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:13.839 Heaven's not a place in the in the clouds. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:17.440 We talked about this, it's probably been a couple years ago now. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:28.160 But how the Bible clearly teaches that that heaven is a renewed earth, that it is the earth renewed to how God had always planned it, how God had always intended it. 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:35.279 And that's why Jesus said, God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:44.799 When Jesus saw the earth and the world around him, he saw his Abba Father everywhere. 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:58.799 And so we don't have to relegate God to church or to hear on Sunday morning, or to what we pre or what we perceive as spiritual. 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:02.880 Jesus saw God everywhere. 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:05.519 God is in a baby's laugh. 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:09.359 God is in a great mill, or for some a great wine. 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:19.200 You know, a U-2 or switchfoot song, or even a Bob Marley song might be as worshipful as a hymn. 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:24.079 Chariots of Fire or the Blind Side might be as encouraging as any church service. 00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:32.799 Chronicles of Narnia or the Shack or countless other books might express an element of God better than any sermon. 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:34.480 God's the same. 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:36.799 Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:41.359 He's always inspired people, and he still inspires people today. 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:44.000 We can see his inspiration wherever we look. 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:46.160 We can see his inspiration in architecture. 00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:48.160 We can see his inspiration in art. 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:49.440 We can see it in music. 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:50.559 We can see it in writing. 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:51.599 We can see it in business. 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:53.519 We can see it in our homes. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:58.480 Wherever we go, we can see God if we see like Jesus. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:07.279 We can see God in our Friends, in our spouse, in our children, you know, in nature, of course. 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:14.880 I probably just kind of instinctively praise God more in nature than anywhere. 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:18.480 We can see God at a wedding, we can see God at a funeral. 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:25.440 We can see God in a nation that's tried to depend on him, and he's blessed this country. 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:42.880 I had a business meeting last Thursday, and I had three guys that have flown in from out of town, and we're talking, and we get to talking about God and uh and just how he blesses his kids and being generous and all that kind of stuff. 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:46.480 And I felt the Holy Spirit as strong as I feel him here. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:56.880 You know, and it was so exciting to leave that meeting just seeing what God is doing in all different parts of the country and all different types of people. 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:08.160 God's spoken to Susan a lot of times in different ways, you know, and and one I was thinking about this morning is a couple times it was with part of his creation. 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:09.680 It was with a little bird. 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:15.119 One time it flew into a window, and God spoke to her through that. 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:28.160 Another time it flew into the house, and Susan was trying to help the bird, but it was scared, and God spoke to her about her relationship with God. 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:32.000 You know, I've had some life-altering experiences with God. 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:35.920 And, you know, I mean, we we have every day, I think, experiences with God. 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:40.240 If I look back, I'm like, okay, what are these kind of monumental things that have happened? 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:50.079 And one was in the woods, one was in a cabin, three were in church, two were on vacation, and one was in the rain on a beach in Oregon. 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:55.839 I have a friend who got saved listening to Bruce Springsteen in his car. 00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:10.319 And I forget the song, I don't think it was Pink Cadillac, but whatever it was, he pulled over and immediately just prayed and gave his life to Jesus. 00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:13.119 You know, on Sundays we can get really filled up. 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:17.279 That's part of the purpose, is to get really filled up, hopefully even topped off. 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:26.480 But we can see and experience our Father God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit anywhere. 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:28.720 In fact, everywhere. 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:32.799 In Jeremiah 23, it says, Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? 00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:37.039 Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and the earth, says the Lord? 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:47.680 I used to use a uh Franklin planner back in the old days, before iPhones, before bag phones, actually. 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:50.720 But um it kind of changed my life. 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:53.359 It was just a way of getting organized, and I struggle with that. 00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:59.680 And so in this planner, I'd keep to-do lists and goals and appointments and all that type of stuff. 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:01.440 And I also kept a prayer list. 00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:09.200 And so one time I'm cleaning up my office and I find this planner from three years ago, and I go to look up something, and I noticed the prayer list. 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:14.640 And so I start reading the prayer list that I had had three years before. 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:24.880 And I was stunned to see that God had answered every single prayer one way or another. 00:25:26.799 --> 00:25:29.359 And the thing is, I had actually forgotten. 00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:32.160 I had even prayed most of those prayers. 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:43.359 If I had thought to look, I would have seen God answer those prayers all through those years. 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:45.599 Remember Jacob's dream. 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:52.480 We call it Jacob's ladder, a ladder between heaven and earth, with angels going up and down. 00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:57.759 God was giving Jacob a glimpse of what is going on all the time. 00:25:58.319 --> 00:26:01.759 Jacob said, The Lord was here and I wasn't even aware of it. 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:06.960 Hebrews 13, 1 says, Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:09.839 Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers. 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:15.200 For some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it. 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:22.640 God is amongst us, he is doing things all the time, everywhere. 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:25.839 So living easy, living lightly. 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:36.559 You know, from time to time our normal struggles in life are so much heavier because we wonder about God. 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:40.079 At least I do sometimes, you know. 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:42.160 Is God really real? 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:44.559 Does he really care about me? 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:46.480 Does he really know me? 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:48.000 Has he forgotten? 00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:50.640 I'm here. 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:55.759 Those struggles are so much easier when we see like Jesus saw. 00:26:57.359 --> 00:27:03.680 He saw God and his love and his nature and his kingdom everywhere. 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:07.519 There's a cool interaction Jesus has. 00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:09.200 It's in John 1. 00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:13.279 It'll be kind of the red letters, I guess, that we finish with. 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:22.880 Philip went to look for Nathaniel and told him, We have found the very person Moses. 00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:27.200 We found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about. 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:30.400 His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth. 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:32.559 Nazareth, exclaimed Nathaniel. 00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:35.759 Can anything good come from Nazareth? 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:38.960 Come and see for yourself, Philip replied. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:44.799 As they approached, Jesus said, Now here is a genuine son of Israel, a man of complete integrity. 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:46.559 How do you know about me? 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:48.480 Nathaniel asked. 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:53.279 Jesus replied, I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you. 00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:59.279 Then Nathaniel exclaimed, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, the King of Israel. 00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:01.839 Jesus asked, Do you believe this? 00:28:01.920 --> 00:28:05.039 Just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? 00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:07.519 You'll see greater things than this. 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:10.559 And then he said, I tell you the truth. 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:22.079 You will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth. 00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:31.519 Jesus referring back to Jacob's dream, calls himself the stairway between heaven and earth. 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:34.799 He is the one that connects us with heaven. 00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:39.200 He is the one that connects heaven and all the earth. 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:40.960 Angels going up and down. 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:45.599 The spiritual, the supernatural. 00:28:46.400 --> 00:28:52.720 God's creation is all intertwined with the ladder between heaven and earth. 00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:56.160 You know, and the traffic on that ladder is pretty heavy. 00:28:57.039 --> 00:29:01.039 If we know where to look and how to look. 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:08.000 So Jacob has this vision, and God opens up his eyes to see what God's doing all around him. 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:15.279 And he'd gone to sleep on a st with his head on a stone, and when he wakes up, he takes that stone and he pours oil on it. 00:29:17.279 --> 00:29:21.519 And he he names that place Bethel, House of God. 00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:26.480 And he was right, because that was the house of God. 00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:30.480 Because the house of God is everywhere. 00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:46.640 And we see when we see the world that way, when we see it how Jesus saw it, see God, experience God all the time, everywhere, it definitely makes our lives much easier and much lighter. 00:29:46.880 --> 00:29:48.799 And so we'll stop there this morning. 00:29:49.119 --> 00:29:53.440 The worship team wants to come up, we'll sing one more song together. 00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:55.200 Praising God. 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:58.480 Let's stand, we'll get ready for that song. 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:05.839 So that verse, stairway, the Led Zeppelin verse, stairway to heaven. 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:19.359 I uh I wrote that down a few years ago because I'd always kind of wanted to share about it and kind of dig into it because it's such, to me, an interesting metaphor, and maybe sometime we'll do that. 00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:23.839 Just really look at that very cool verse. 00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:28.799 But one of the main thoughts in the verse is that it's Jesus that connects us. 00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:30.240 He is the stairway. 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:33.119 He's the one that connects us with our Abba Father. 00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:38.319 He's the one that connects us with all that is good in the world and in God's creation. 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:42.079 You know, it's so easy to get connected with God and with Jesus. 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:48.559 You know, it's it's it's in our own words, in our own way, saying, Jesus, I need you. 00:30:48.720 --> 00:30:54.880 Jesus, help me, Jesus, save me, Jesus, I want to follow you, Jesus, change my life. 00:30:55.440 --> 00:30:58.000 You know, we're created in God's image with the Spirit. 00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:03.119 And when we turn to Jesus that way, that Spirit comes alive and it connects with God's Spirit. 00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:06.960 And the process starts, just like he's doing now, teaching us. 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:13.119 You know, it starts, he teaches us, he changes us, he transforms us from the inside and eventually the outside. 00:31:13.279 --> 00:31:14.480 Our whole lives change. 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:19.440 So if you've never done that, today would be a great day to take that stairway. 00:31:20.079 --> 00:31:25.440 You know, one way Jesus had a big advantage over us, and that's just that he walked everywhere. 00:31:25.759 --> 00:31:34.640 You know, it it's easier to see God and everything everywhere if we slow down a little bit and take the time to really see. 00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:37.119 And so maybe that's what we can do together this week. 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:46.559 Maybe we can just try and slow down, look, and see God's fingerprints, see his creation, see his love all around us and everywhere. 00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:48.079 Let's pray. 00:31:48.400 --> 00:31:49.680 Father, we praise you. 00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:51.519 Thank you for being such a great God. 00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:54.400 And Jesus, we thank you for loving us and for teaching us. 00:31:54.559 --> 00:32:00.480 Help us, help us uh to see you and your Father and your Spirit everywhere around us. 00:32:00.640 --> 00:32:04.319 Help us, Jesus, to live lightly and easy with your joy. 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:05.359 We trust you with that. 00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:06.799 It's in your great name we pray. 00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:07.759 Amen.