WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:10.080 The promise of Christianity is not just forgiveness for everything you've ever done, but the promise is that you'll have the capacity and the opportunity to do things that you've never done before. 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:11.439 Let me say that again. 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:19.280 Because we got to be careful that we don't erode Christianity down to, well, the best thing about Christianity is you get forgiveness for everything. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:20.960 And is there forgiveness? 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:21.679 Absolutely. 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:23.440 But look at me, don't miss this. 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:31.440 The real thing that ought to keep you up at night is the promise of Christianity is that you now have this capacity to do things that you've never done before. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:39.119 This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:44.799 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit our website at Grandparkway.org. 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:50.399 Father Wea, take comfort in the fact that you still reach for us. 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:54.719 None of us has done so much that we're untouchable that you're like, hey, you're an embarrassment. 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:55.520 Get out of here. 00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:56.560 You're on your own. 00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:57.920 You're not a God that gives up. 00:00:58.079 --> 00:01:00.960 You're the God that comes looking for us, as we'll see in the text today. 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:05.280 People that were dwelling in deep darkness, just sitting in the dark, waiting to die. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:10.560 The Bible says that a light has shone on them, and that light is not an oncoming train. 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:12.560 It's this luminous Galilee. 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:18.319 It's Jesus Christ, the Son of God, coming to say, Hey, I know it's been hard, but I'm not done with you. 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:19.519 I forgot about you. 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:21.120 I won't stay angry forever. 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:22.480 I'm not a God like that. 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:28.000 You discipline us, Lord, so we'll turn our hearts back to you, but you don't stay mad forever. 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:32.239 So I pray for anyone in this room today that thinks God's mad at him and he doesn't want to talk to them. 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:33.280 That's not the truth. 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:36.959 You want to speak very loud and clearly from your word and by your spirit today. 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:40.719 And so we ask you to do that in Jesus' name and all God's people said. 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:41.760 Amen. 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:42.239 Amen. 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:43.040 You can have a seat. 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:46.480 If you got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open it up to Matthew chapter 4. 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:47.599 Matthew chapter 4. 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:49.200 If you don't have a Bible, don't sweat it. 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:53.599 Everything I say will come up on the screen back here behind me that we got at Jerry Jones' garage sale. 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:57.840 Anyway, if you're our guest today, we're no cowboy fans in the room? 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:00.239 Your season's already over. 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:03.280 Anyway, uh, it's not even started yet. 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:05.280 Enjoy the documentary on Netflix. 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:06.560 That's as good as it gets. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:09.439 Uh the glory years of the 90s, all right? 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:11.280 Uh we're preaching through the book of Matthew. 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:15.439 And if you're visiting, people always ask me, hey, do you really preach through the books of the Bible? 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:15.840 Yes. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:16.560 Here's why. 00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:21.120 Because we believe this is the way you nourish the faith of a congregation over the long haul. 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:33.120 And so the second graders that were up here earlier, uh, all the way to the people that are old like me, every time the Bible's taught, something happens in your head and in your heart, and it longs for expression in your hands, okay? 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:34.800 And so we're in Matthew chapter 4. 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:36.080 I'll start reading verse 12. 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:40.879 I want to talk to you this morning about God's timing, God's people, and God's power. 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:44.159 God's timing, God's people, and God's power. 00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:48.319 We're gonna read three little sections of scripture that get us to the Sermon on the Mount. 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:52.800 And I want you just to listen and just ask the Lord, hey, what had my name on it today? 00:02:52.879 --> 00:03:03.840 What's something that I want to talk with my wife about more at lunch, or I want to ask my husband about when we go on a walk this afternoon where it's 118 degrees and we're melting like candles, but enough about my future. 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:08.400 Anyway, Matthew chapter 4, verse 12, the Bible says this. 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:22.560 Uh, it says, Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee, and leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:31.520 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light. 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:36.240 And for those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, on them a light has dawned. 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:41.680 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:46.080 This is our first little section, and I want to talk to you out of this section about God's timing. 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:47.039 God's timing. 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:48.800 You say, What do you mean, God's timing? 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:50.800 In the Bible, there's two words for time. 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:51.840 There are two Greek words. 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:54.879 There's chronos, chronological, like we keep time. 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:56.800 Uh chronological, just kind of go. 00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:59.360 And then there's this other word called Kairos. 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:00.080 Kairos. 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:03.599 And in chronological time or chronos time, time runs out. 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:06.319 And in Kairos time, time fills up. 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:11.680 So you'll see in the Bible, you hear in the Bible, it says things like, in the fullness of time, this happened. 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:14.800 Because in God's way of keeping time, time fills up. 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:17.519 In our way of keeping time, time runs out. 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:23.839 And so you got to keep that in mind because, like when Jesus heard that his friend Lazarus had died, Jesus didn't go, or he was sick. 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:26.959 Jesus, all right, guys, come on, we got to drive, we gotta pull an all-nighter. 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:28.959 No, he stayed where he was two more days. 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:33.360 And when he got to where Lazarus was, Lazarus went from being sick to being dead. 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:38.879 But in the fullness of time, Jesus knew exactly what was gonna happen, so he didn't hurry over there. 00:04:39.040 --> 00:04:40.319 He knew what was gonna happen. 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:41.759 And so this is the difference. 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:46.959 When I talk about God's timing, everything Jesus does is on purpose for a purpose. 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:52.480 And so whenever he shows up, he arrives with holy momentum on his life. 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:58.480 All right, and there's this it it's not like 10 plus 10, it's like 10 to the second power. 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:00.319 There's much more that he brings. 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:07.839 And in the text this morning, one of the things that we see is that Jesus shows up as the fulfillment of every promise the Old Testament ever made. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:10.240 And one of them is listed right here in verse 14. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:15.360 It's this little phrase that says, so that what might be spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:16.560 Let me say that again. 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:20.000 So that what is spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:22.240 Now listen, look at me and listen very carefully. 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:29.279 If you're new to the whole church thing, you're exploring Christianity, or if you're like, I've been in church my whole life, but I've never really paid attention. 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:31.920 I want you to pay attention for the next 90 seconds, all right? 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:38.079 Because when the Bible talks about the Old Testament, and it says, so that what's spoken about the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:40.000 Isaiah was a prophet in the Old Testament. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:42.160 It was a book in the Old Testament, the book of Isaiah. 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:43.120 It's a great book. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:46.879 And so when you think about the Old Testament, think of it like this cup. 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:47.439 Okay? 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:51.360 When you think about the New Testament, think about the coffee that goes in the cup. 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:55.680 Now, when I go out there to the coffee bar and I say to Virginia, hey, I'm gonna get a cup of coffee. 00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:59.759 She doesn't hand me an empty cup and say, Well, just make the rest up yourself. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:03.920 No, I fill the cup with coffee, and the cup becomes a cup of coffee. 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:07.120 The New Testament feels full, the Old Testament. 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:08.560 Does that make sense? 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:18.720 This is why it uses this language, it says in verse 14, uh so that what might be spoken, but excuse me, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:22.240 The book of Isaiah was recorded 750 years earlier. 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:33.600 Now here's the thing if you want to intellectually disqualify Jesus and say, I'm an engineer, I can't believe in this stuff, all that has to happen is for one of the promises, one of the prophecies about Jesus to not become true. 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:36.240 And then the cup doesn't get filled with coffee, okay? 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:40.639 It's just a religious document full of a bunch of wives' tales. 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:44.480 But everything Jesus does is on purpose for purpose. 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:47.680 So he shows up with this holy momentum on his life. 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:53.759 And he comes because he comes to fulfill more than just himself, he comes to represent the promises of God. 00:06:53.920 --> 00:07:03.519 And when he says it right here, so what may be uh spoken of in Isaiah might be fulfilled, he's referring to what was written 750 years earlier in Isaiah chapter 9. 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:05.040 We read these words in verse 1. 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:08.160 He says, But there will be no gloom for her who is in anguish. 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:12.720 In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Napali. 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:18.720 But in the latter time, he made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:20.079 Let me just pause right there. 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:21.600 There's two things you should see in that past. 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:24.720 He says, In the former time, and now in the latter time. 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:31.759 If you get stuck in the in the former time, like in the past, you'll miss what God's doing in the latter time, like right now. 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:34.319 And you get stuck over here because we want pity. 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:37.279 You should live over here because you were created for presence. 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:43.279 But he says, in the latter time, this is before Isaiah, when God, and he says this weird kind of sounding phrase. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:47.839 It says he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:51.759 Now it is natural to hear that and go, I have no idea what you're talking about. 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:59.439 This is why you should find a church that teaches you the Bible, even the awkward parts that you just, when you're reading, you just skip over and go, all right, get to an interesting part. 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:00.959 Something magical happens. 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:05.279 When he's talking about the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, that's two of the tribes of Israel. 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:08.240 And they lived in the very northern part of Galilee. 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:09.680 Now, here's why that's important. 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:13.360 Way up there, they were exposed to they were also the first people that got invaded. 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:16.319 When Assyria invaded, they just wore these people out. 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:17.600 They took them captivity. 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:28.319 And so the people that lived in these two parts of the country, Zebulun and Naphtali, they were so used to being occupied and taken into captivity, they were just like, dude, it doesn't matter. 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:30.639 They would see dust coming on the horizon. 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:32.000 They were like, we don't know who it is. 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:33.519 Some army's coming to kill us. 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:35.200 It's gonna, okay, here we go. 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:37.519 We're gonna be slaves to a different superpower. 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:47.120 And so when Jesus comes along and says, I'm gonna launch my ministry, of all the places that he goes, he goes to this area of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:52.240 And he says this, he says, uh, that he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan. 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:54.720 Then he calls it Galilee of the Nations. 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:56.159 Galilee of the nations. 00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:02.480 In other words, so many different nationalities have come to this portion of Galilee that it is overrun. 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:10.399 And what's happened is all these different ethnic groups have turned, they've influenced the people of God, and they've turned their hearts away from God. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:15.039 It's why if your student started school, your kids have probably been in school, what, a week and a half? 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:16.720 And moms, you're you're doing this. 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:18.879 I've not been to your house and I know you're doing this. 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:22.240 You're listening with this radar for names you've never heard before. 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:27.360 Like if your daughter says Derek, and you're like, Derek, let me check, mmm, I ain't got no Derek in here. 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:29.440 And then the next day she mentions Derek's again. 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:31.759 And then you hear her talking in her room on her phone. 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:34.720 Not that you're listening with a stethoscope out in the hall. 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:40.080 And you hear her say to one of her girlfriends on the phone, Ooh, Derek is super cute. 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:43.600 You're like, I'm gonna have to get a DNA sample of this Derek guy. 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:44.399 And here's why. 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:46.559 I tried to explain to your students in the first service. 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:52.399 When your mom hears a name she's not familiar with, she thinks this knucklehead could turn my daughter's heart away from God. 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:54.480 I better plunge on Derek. 00:09:55.120 --> 00:10:02.720 And you you would say, Oh, you know, you've looked up his mom on Facebook, you've been on socials, you've checked it out, you've hired a private investigator. 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:04.559 Yes, yes. 00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:07.440 You're not crazy, you're just a good parent, right? 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:08.320 Yeah. 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:10.720 One lady over here is like, pretty much. 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:12.240 Yes, yes. 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:13.200 This is what happened. 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:15.279 They influenced the people and turned their hearts on God. 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:23.440 But hear this: the last part he says in Isaiah 9, and the last part of verse 2, he says, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:27.840 And those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:32.320 So these people walked in darkness, and by the way, whatever you walk in, you'll eventually dwell. 00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:34.799 They walked in darkness and now they're just dwelling. 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:35.600 They're just living it. 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:38.080 They're just like, it doesn't matter, man, whatever. 00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:42.240 I mean, we're so used to being violated, we're just so used to being taken advantage of. 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:46.159 We are so used to this, we just kind of acclimated to this. 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:48.000 This is a picture of hopelessness. 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:53.279 People sitting in the dark, waiting to die, and they see this great light that dawns on them. 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:55.279 They didn't go looking for it. 00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:57.519 The light came looking for them. 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:02.559 And so if you hear anything today, I want you to say that there's a God in this world, and you ain't got to go looking for him. 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:04.080 He's looking for you. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:05.679 And he knows what you feel like. 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:06.639 Some of you are just hopeless. 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:08.960 You're like, dude, I don't know how this is. 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:12.159 Oh, there's just, I'm kind of at my wit's end here. 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:17.759 I want you to take, uh be encouraged today that God's timing includes your situation. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:26.879 Now, what we can miss and fail to understand is that sometimes we have to look back in the past to get confidence to show up in the present. 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:28.320 Let me say this again. 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:36.559 Sometimes you have to look in your past and be reminded of how God's worked, what God's done, and how God's moved, and how God has provided. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:41.200 And to be reminded that, okay, I can I can step into this present moment and not be afraid. 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:43.039 Let me give you some examples from the Bible. 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:45.519 Probably the most accessible is David and Goliath. 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:48.240 If you've ever heard the story of David and Goliath, say amen. 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:51.039 Yes, and remember David went out to fight Goliath. 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:56.639 For those of you who didn't say amen, uh David was a little kid, probably about 13 years old, best we can tell. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:00.320 And he went out to take some bread and cheese to his brothers who were at war. 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:04.480 And his dad said, take them this lunch, a little snackable, and then bring back a report. 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:07.679 And he goes out there and there's a big giant out there insulting God's people. 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:11.440 And David's like, Will somebody go out there and put a beat down on this guy? 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:15.360 And his brothers are like, dude, he's nine feet six inches tall. 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:18.240 The tip of his spear weighs 125 pounds. 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:20.080 And he burps things bigger than you. 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:21.120 What are you doing? 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:23.919 And David is like, and David makes this statement. 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:28.960 Again, sometimes you gotta remember how God's moved in the past so you can show up in the present. 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:35.440 David said, When I was with my father's sheep, a lion and a bear came against the sheep, and I killed them with my own bare hands. 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:38.480 And this guy is gonna be just like a lion and the bear. 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:40.960 And they're like, Well, here, wear my armor. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:42.480 Yeah. 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:45.840 So, see, David looks back to be reminded. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:47.679 Here's another one, Judges chapter 5. 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:48.240 Don't turn there. 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:50.240 Judges is the book of the Old Testament. 00:12:50.320 --> 00:13:00.879 Uh, and after they defeat the Canaanite army, this man and woman, Deborah and Barack, they break into song, just singing about all that God has done and all the victories God secured for his people. 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:02.559 That's one of the things you'll see in the Old Testament. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:05.360 When God would do something, people just burst out singing. 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:10.720 If you want to freak your kids out, the next time you and your husband experience a breakthrough, just break out singing. 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:13.919 Your kids will be like, uh, really? 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:15.200 We're doing this. 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:17.679 That's what Miriam did when they crossed the Red Sea. 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:24.399 She's bursting the song, Who Among the Gods is like you, awesome in glory, majestic in holiness, working wonders. 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:25.919 Oh my gosh. 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:26.879 Yeah. 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:33.440 See, you gotta you you you gotta stir your kids' curiosity about God by celebrating God every chance that you get. 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:39.519 Here's a third one, uh, looking back in the past to remind remember and remind yourself what God's done. 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:41.360 It's called an omer of manna. 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:43.200 An omer of manna. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:44.320 Now I lost you on that one. 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:48.960 Now I can see you're like, I was with you on David and Goliath, but what the what do you what? 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:53.519 An omer is like a measurement in the Old Testament, like a quart or a pint. 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:59.279 And manna is what the food that God, remember, because not that we're this way, we're not this way at all. 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:06.879 But the people of Israel, when God got them out of Egypt and they're headed to the promised land, every time something would happen, they would be like, Oh, did you bring us out here to kill us? 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:08.240 We're starving, man. 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:11.279 I mean, there's oh come on, we're a long way from Rudy's. 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:14.159 How about some torches queso, please? 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:17.519 Now I know we're y'all going for lunch. 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:19.919 And so God got fed up one day. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:21.039 He said, You want food? 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:25.679 Boom! Manna just fell out of the sky right on the ground, right inside their camp. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:29.759 So much so that God said, Hey, remember this because they had a tendency to forget. 00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:33.600 He said, Remember this, but in Exodus chapter 16, verse 31, he says, This. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:37.440 Now the house of Israel called it its name because they were like, What is this stuff? 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:39.440 They called its name manna. 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:43.519 It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:46.159 Moses said, This is what the Lord has commanded. 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:56.240 Let an omer, a portion of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt. 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:57.440 Hear that again. 00:14:57.679 --> 00:15:07.440 Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt. 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:14.320 Do you have a mechanism in your life whereby which you and your family remember and remind yourself of God's faithfulness? 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:18.639 My girls would go to bed when they were little, they'd say, Dad, tell me your story about that time. 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:22.559 And I'd go, Oh yeah, yeah, God did this, and yeah, I think God did that. 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:25.679 And now they're 22 and 27. 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:30.720 And every once in a while they'll say, Hey, Dad, tell me the story about when God, oh, absolutely. 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:34.320 And I tell them that, hey, God's been good to your family for a long time. 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:36.559 Don't get out from under God's goodness. 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:40.000 Because when you get out from under God's goodness, what you're saying is, I got it from here. 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:42.080 And they're like, Oh no, I don't got it. 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:45.120 I go, I know, and now that you know, let's know together. 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:48.960 Here's a fourth example of what I'm talking about, the Apostle Paul. 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:55.360 Now, there's a lot of instances about, again, we're talking about sometimes you gotta look back because it's easy to forget God's timing. 00:15:55.519 --> 00:16:02.559 God doesn't always act and do what we want him to do when we want him to do it, but he's always on time, he's never late, okay? 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:04.559 Remember, for us, time runs out. 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:06.559 And for God, time fills up. 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:10.720 The Apostle Paul, I'll just read you from 2 Corinthians chapter 1, starting in verse 8. 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:11.679 It's a great example. 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:16.080 He says, We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experience in Asia. 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:20.639 For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:21.440 Hello. 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:27.759 Now, by the way, earlier in this chapter, he says to these people, hey, we are comforted. 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:31.440 We we comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:32.879 Now, why do I bring that up? 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:33.519 Look at me. 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:37.279 Because sometimes you're gonna go through something in your life and it's not gonna make any sense. 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:39.360 There's nothing you can point to that explains it. 00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:42.480 Like, okay, this is exactly why this is happening. 00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:51.440 But six months, nine months, two years down the road, you're talking to somebody at work and they open their mouth and they're going through the exact same thing you went through two years earlier. 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:55.279 And only in that moment does it make sense where you're like, oh man. 00:16:55.759 --> 00:17:00.799 And all of a sudden, you comfort this person with the comfort that you yourself receive from God. 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:04.880 Sometimes you go through other things just so you can receive from God. 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:05.839 Does that make sense? 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:06.720 Say amen. 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:20.480 And so here we are in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, and Paul's talking about comfort, and he says, Hey, uh, for we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia, for we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:23.519 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:28.000 But that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:35.119 Translation, we thought we'd received the sentence of death, but that was okay with us because God's capable of raising the dead. 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:37.839 I see that's lost on y'all. 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:38.960 Okay, I'll keep going. 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:40.240 Verse 10. 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:41.920 Here, listen, look at me. 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:44.319 Listen in verse 10 for the past, present, and future. 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:52.000 Verse 10, he delivered us from such a deadly peril, past, and he will deliver us, present. 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:57.279 On him, we have set our hope that he will deliver us again, future. 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:07.359 He has delivered, he delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us, and on him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:10.480 God's timing is always perfect. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:24.640 And sometimes you gotta look back and remind yourself and remember so you can calibrate your head and your heart and your expectations to what God is doing, even when you can't see what he's doing, how he's doing, or when it's gonna get done. 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:25.440 Amen? 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:28.720 Here's the second section of scripture I want us to look at this morning. 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:33.039 It picks up in verse 18 of Matthew 4, talking about God's people. 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:41.119 It says, While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who's called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:44.319 And he said to them, Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:46.640 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:56.000 And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee and John, his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:59.839 Immediately they left the boat and their father and they followed him. 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:01.680 Now, what do I mean, God's people? 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:06.799 Ah, well, it it's interesting the people that Jesus decided to start a movement with. 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:08.960 It wasn't a powerful politician. 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:10.799 It wasn't Elon Musk. 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:12.720 Hey, I need a money, man. 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:16.079 It's a rag tag group of scoundrels, fishermen. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:20.480 Some guys are actively fishing, other guys are done fishing, they're cleaning and mending their nets. 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:24.240 And I just want to say this to God's people who gathered in this room this morning. 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:33.839 The promise of Christianity is not just forgiveness for everything you've ever done, but the promise is that you'll have the capacity and the opportunity to do things that you've never done before. 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:35.279 Let me say that again. 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:43.039 Because we got to be careful that we don't erode Christianity down to, well, the best thing about Christianity is you get forgiveness for everything. 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:44.720 And is there forgiveness? 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:45.440 Absolutely. 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:47.200 But look at me, don't miss this. 00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:54.640 The real thing that ought to keep you up at night is the promise of Christianity is that you now have this capacity to do things that you've never done before. 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:57.119 It sounds like this follow me. 00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:04.000 Come after me, step towards me, you fishermen, and I'll make you fishers of men. 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:08.960 You got to ask yourself, how long do you think they stood there holding those nets, going, nah, we're good. 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:10.720 We'll do this the rest of our life. 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:14.640 See, Jesus didn't come to baptize the status, the status quo. 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:20.160 He came to invite you and I into a life that demonstrates a reality that never existed before. 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:25.519 That's why when John the Baptist gets arrested, it's not God's time and Jesus, like, ding, I gotta go to Galilee. 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:25.920 Why? 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:31.200 Because I gotta pick up the torch and start telling people, repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:34.559 And in the kingdom, the kingdom comes with capacity. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.319 When you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit of God came to live inside of you. 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:52.000 And it is not just to forgive you, but it is to empower you and I to live a life that requires explanation such that you have this sense of, you know what, I'm capable of things and I experience things that I never experienced before I came to faith. 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:59.759 We should all ask ourselves before you eat lunch, what is something you've done as a Christian that could not have been done before you came to faith? 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:02.480 What is something like this happened? 00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:10.480 Uh and this is uh this should have happened, but I was, I was, I wasn't disobedient, but in the end I ended up being disobedient. 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:11.920 Now, are you confused? 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:19.279 Uh Wednesday, we moved, because I talk to my kids a lot about, hey, always be sensitive about when God's using you to set the kingdom down. 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:29.440 And then now in our house, I taught my kids, I went out in the garage and got a hula hoop and put it down over one of them in the living room and said, the kingdom of God is the realm within which what God wants done gets done. 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:31.279 It is realm and it is rain. 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:33.759 God reigns over you, He rules over you. 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:39.039 And so when you do what you know you sense God wants done, you're expanding and extending the kingdom. 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:40.480 Like, we got it, Dad, we got it. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:44.160 Wednesday, our daughter moved to start grad school at Baylor. 00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:45.680 We moved her into her apartment. 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:48.480 And then I was like, hey, I want to put something together, you guys go. 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:50.960 And she's like, No, Dad, I want you to go to the store with us. 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:52.559 Why y'all want dad to go? 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:54.799 Because you don't question my purchases. 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:56.880 What? 00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:59.039 Well, well, mom's like, Do you need that? 00:21:59.279 --> 00:21:59.839 You gotta have that. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.920 I just get the cart and go get whatever you need. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:02.640 And here's why. 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:06.880 Because I was a kid, we were poor white trash, and my stepmom would make me hold on to the side of a cart. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:09.839 And if I looked at a box of cereal, she'd slap me in the back of the head. 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:11.519 Don't you even think about it. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:13.119 So I'm in rebellion. 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:14.160 I'm 61 years old. 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:16.240 I'm still rebelling against that woman. 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:21.279 So I get to the HCB at Valley Mills and Waco, and I get a card and say, get whatever you want, babe. 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:23.119 That was a mistake. 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:25.759 So we're going up and down the aisle. 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:28.160 I'll tell you what, you think I'm exaggerating. 00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:29.680 I'm gonna drop a number on you in a minute. 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:31.759 You women are gonna suck the paint off the wall. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:35.359 Because my wife did. 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:39.359 She was looking at me because she had to get a food scale and a plunger and all that. 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:40.480 I'm like, a food scale? 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:42.319 Who weighs their food? 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:42.960 Okay. 00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:45.200 But look at it, I don't care. 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:47.119 I'm like, get what you need, baby girl. 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:52.400 But while we're going down the aisles, and I'm starting to feel sorry for myself because the wheels on this thing are bulging out. 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:55.359 I'm like, do I need to get a team of pack mills and another car? 00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:57.599 No, I'm just about done looking at her phone. 00:22:57.759 --> 00:22:59.039 We passed this lady twice. 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:04.960 First time I got a little blip on the radar, like, ooh, Pastor again, she had a moo moo and a and a bonnet. 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:08.720 And she had her list on the back of the envelope, and she was counting. 00:23:08.880 --> 00:23:10.640 And it reminded me of my mom. 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:15.839 And I had that little, look, like a little squeeze, like, hey, buy her groceries. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:24.079 And I was like, uh, let me see what this comes to, and then I'll uh because I made people in the back sweeping this place out, and we're done. 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:28.799 And so we went about three more aisles, and the Holy Spirit turned up the volume and said, What did I tell you? 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:30.400 And I was like, Oh, that was you. 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:31.839 I looked at my wife and said, I'll be right back. 00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:33.680 And I went, look, I couldn't find her. 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:38.319 Went all the way to self-checkout, back down here, down the aisles everywhere. 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:41.599 And I went back for about five more minutes of push of the wagon train. 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:42.559 I said, I'll be right back. 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:44.319 And my wife's like, What are you doing? 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:47.279 I just missed it. 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:49.200 And I'm not bragging about missing it. 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:52.079 I want you to think that I always, I was just like, ugh. 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:54.319 But then I understand maybe I didn't miss it. 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:57.119 Maybe God was just protecting his little buckaroo kneel. 00:23:57.200 --> 00:23:58.720 Because they started scanning my kids going. 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:01.680 She's it was like we were in a rain. 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:14.880 And then my wife was just like, because my wife, as my kids can tell you from memory, went to Baylor in 1986 and lived on$200 a month. 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:18.160 And my kids were like, Dad, please make her stop telling us that story. 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:21.599 You should feel bad, kids. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:27.839 When they were done, my bill H E B was$587.62. 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:32.799 Yes, this lady over here, she gets it, she's got her face in her hands. 00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:34.880 Yes. 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:37.359