1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Good morning church. I 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,880 Am happy to be back here. I went to church here for 20 years and then 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,460 Move to Atlanta and join a church out there 4 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,240 But I'm happy to be here. I'm glad that I got the 5 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:21,020 Text from Anthony to ask me to preach because like my mother said I did always want to do this 6 00:00:21,020 --> 00:00:23,320 And so I'm happy to be still doing it 7 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:27,720 The title of my sermon today is giving up 8 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:30,440 Not because I'm telling you to give up 9 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:33,040 But sometimes we need to give up 10 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:38,640 Because there are times when we want to take things into our own hands and because we think we know best 11 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:43,040 And so there are times that we need to understand that God knows best and we need to give it up to him 12 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:50,280 So I'm going to open up with one more word of prayer just to ask the Lord's presence here, and then we'll get started 13 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,320 Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you again today Lord. I pray that you 14 00:00:54,840 --> 00:01:00,000 Bring your presence to this to this room Lord. I pray that you play put your hands over me Lord that these words be your 15 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:06,640 Words are not my words. I pray that we all listen myself included not only with our ears, but with our hearts Lord in Jesus name amen 16 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:14,000 So during the time of Jesus first advent the expectations of the Jewish leaders and consequently the people of Israel 17 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:17,120 Was that a Messiah would come defeat the Roman Empire 18 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:24,560 and make Israel a great nation unfortunately for the Jewish leaders and the Messiah came and when the Messiah came Jesus brought a whole new 19 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:30,960 And yet internal concept about the kingdom of God all that humans have learned about power and kingdoms was now upside down 20 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:38,400 Jesus teachings were clear that if we wanted to be part of his Kings we need to follow his rules that go against all human understanding 21 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,400 Paul describes things of God as foolish foolishness as he writes 22 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:47,440 I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction 23 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:53,680 But who are we who are being saved recognized the message as the very power of God 24 00:01:53,680 --> 00:02:01,440 And as the scriptures say I will assure human wisdom and discard the most brilliant ideas and that's found in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verses 18 and 19 25 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:09,000 Not only the message of God who became a man and died on the cross for sins is foolishness and some of the human's minds 26 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:14,160 But his teachings as well some of Jesus teachings were the opposite of human understanding 27 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:18,160 Listen to this written by Leonard Sweet in his book Jesus drives me crazy 28 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:24,160 The way first is last the way of success is service the way of attainment is relinquishment 29 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:30,160 The way of strength is weakness the way of security is vulnerability the way of life is death 30 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:34,160 The way of life is death the way of life is death 31 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:39,160 The way of security is vulnerability the way of life is death 32 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:45,160 So sometimes it seems like we have all the teachings that God came to the earth to teach 33 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:53,160 We know all of it it's right here in our Bibles but still even with all with these lists of guidelines we still think that we know best 34 00:02:53,160 --> 00:03:01,160 We still think that we wake up and you know I know how I'm going to map out my day every single day and this is exactly how I'm going to do it 35 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:11,160 But God gives us the guidelines and sometimes it seems when we read this book in my personal life it's like this doesn't apply to me today 36 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:19,160 But it could apply to you tomorrow or the next day or previously you could have been like I wish I had some way of helping me get through this moment 37 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:27,160 And it was right there in the Bible but we still in our minds as humans we all do it we all think that we know best 38 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:33,160 It seems that in the spite of his teachings we still struggle to let go of the cinch of our lives 39 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:38,160 The idea of being in power is a big part of our lives 40 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:44,160 We are we are human in many areas of our lives we always try harder to keep it all under control 41 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:50,160 Don't we all do that? We all love to say that I handled it myself I had no help in this 42 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:55,160 I woke up and I conquered the day myself with no help but did you have help? 43 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:59,160 If you really think about it did you have help? Who woke you up that day? 44 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:02,160 Who gave you the strength to get out of bed that day? 45 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:08,160 Who gave you the strength when things got hard to keep pushing on? It wasn't yourself 46 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:14,160 If we don't lie to ourselves we know who really gave us that strength to achieve all those things that day 47 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:19,160 We struggle for power in the workplace 48 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,160 We want so bad to keep moving up 49 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:25,160 We're like hey boss look what I did 50 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,160 It's something that I'm struggling with now in my workplace 51 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:32,160 It seems like I'm doing all the work and I want to be recognized for it 52 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:38,160 I want someone to look at me and be like you know what I appreciate you and all the things that you do 53 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:42,160 But is that what really matters? 54 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:47,160 Work achievements, work raises, now those things are lovely 55 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:51,160 I mean we all want more money at work right? 56 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:55,160 But in the end there's a bigger goal that we're striving for 57 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:59,160 And this is just the road to that goal 58 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:02,160 We struggle for power financially 59 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:04,160 Like I said we want more money 60 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:06,160 We're willing to do anything for money 61 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:10,160 We're willing to put ourselves above other people for more money 62 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:15,160 But like this says up here strength is in vulnerability 63 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:17,160 We struggle emotionally 64 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,160 We want to keep it all together 65 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,160 We want people to look at us and be like that person has it all together 66 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:24,160 That person has no problems 67 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:28,160 But behind closed doors you have all the problems in the world that you're facing 68 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:31,160 And same way when you look at somebody else 69 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:37,160 They have problems too that they're struggling and they're as big as your problems are to you 70 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:41,160 We struggle for power in church 71 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:46,160 We want so bad to come to church and say 72 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:49,160 I give the most in tithe 73 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:50,160 I dress the best 74 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,160 I'm at church every single week 75 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:54,160 I'm in Sabbath school every single week 76 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:57,160 Look at me, look at me 77 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,160 But who are we really supposed to be looking to? 78 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,160 Are we drawing people in the church to look at us? 79 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:11,160 Or are we supposed to draw people in the church to look to God? 80 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,160 Many times that grip comes in different forms of manifestations 81 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:19,160 Such as frustration, greed, disappointment, anger, harsh words and so on 82 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:24,160 I believe that one of the greatest struggles we Christians have to let as today 83 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,160 Is to let go of the facts of life 84 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:32,160 The fact of life is we are Christians 85 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:34,160 Everybody out there is not Christian 86 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,160 It's our goal to bring them to Christianity 87 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:41,160 But we can't go out there and expect everyone to act like us 88 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:43,160 Because some of them don't know 89 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:49,160 Some of them don't know even what goes on in front inside those doors out there 90 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,160 So who are we to be like, you know what, I'm doing my best 91 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,160 And that's all I was told to do 92 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:58,160 No, one of the last things that Jesus said on earth was to go and teach 93 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:01,160 And sometimes we don't know everything either 94 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:06,160 That's why he gives us this book to go back and reference to 95 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:10,160 Our script reading today is the greatest advice we can find in the Bible about this subject 96 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:15,160 As far as letting it go and understanding that God knows best 97 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:17,160 And Caleb read it perfectly, thank you Caleb 98 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:19,160 Be still and know that I am God 99 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,160 I will be exalted among the nations 100 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:24,160 I will be exalted on the earth 101 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:30,160 Think for a few seconds about a moment in your life where you took matters into your own hands 102 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:35,160 And made all that was possible to have it done your own way 103 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,160 Do you have moments like that? 104 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:42,160 Where you achieve something in your life and you're like, I did it my way 105 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,160 Nobody helped me, nobody gave me advice, nobody counseled me on it 106 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,160 But I did it my way and I succeeded 107 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:55,160 It's hard to think back at a time if you truly think about it and say that I did it myself 108 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:59,160 In my own life I have advised God, I have counseled God 109 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:04,160 I have given him instructions on how to work the things I need in my life 110 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:11,160 I have given him instructions on how to tell him how I want things to be done 111 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:19,160 When we moved to Atlanta we struggled to find a church 112 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:23,160 We've had previous things happen in the past where it was like 113 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:25,160 We were scared to join a new church just off the fly 114 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:29,160 And that's normal going from one setting personally for my life 115 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:33,160 Going from a church where you were around the same people for 20 years 116 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:35,160 To a whole different place you've never lived in 117 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:38,160 And trying to find a new church where you don't know anybody 118 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:40,160 It can be scary 119 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:43,160 And it was hard, it was hard to put yourself out there 120 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,160 Me, myself, I'm a very shy person 121 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:47,160 I'm a very introverted person 122 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:53,160 My wife on the other hand, if you know my wife you know she's not shy 123 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:55,160 But it was hard finding a church 124 00:08:55,160 --> 00:09:00,160 And so me and Angelica thought that you know what, we'll start our own thing 125 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:03,160 We'll make a church available for everyone 126 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:08,160 So we started an online church where she sang a couple songs 127 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:11,160 And then I gave a light word of something that we learned throughout the week 128 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:13,160 And it was a good idea 129 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:17,160 And we were like you know what, we're going to make church how we want church 130 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:19,160 And God had other plans 131 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:21,160 It didn't work out 132 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:23,160 It just became too much 133 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:27,160 It just became, there were those weeks where we didn't learn anything 134 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:29,160 Where we thought we didn't learn anything 135 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:30,160 It was just a hard week 136 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:34,160 And we're like now we have to go in front of these people, all these people who are watching 137 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,160 And be like I love everything 138 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,160 And that's not true 139 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:46,160 So we just, if I'm being honest we just stopped going to church 140 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:52,160 And it was probably the worst decision I've ever made in my entire life 141 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:54,160 To stop going to church 142 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:58,160 Because the church is the people 143 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:01,160 This building is just a building we can meet at 144 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:06,160 But you need the people of the church too when you're feeling down to encourage you to keep going 145 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,160 Or maybe you're called to a church to encourage somebody 146 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:11,160 And that's what church is about 147 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:15,160 Church isn't about being here at 9 o'clock to go to Sabbath school 148 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:22,160 It's not ending church service exactly at 12 o'clock because somebody's going to rip your head off because they're hungry 149 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:23,160 That's not what it's about 150 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:28,160 It's about coming here and understanding that we're all trying to achieve this goal as to get to heaven 151 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:30,160 Every single last one of us 152 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:38,160 And we're all equipping each other with the knowledge and these words to go out and to bring people along 153 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:45,160 And so when we stopped going to church it seems like everything just fell apart 154 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:47,160 Nothing was going right 155 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:51,160 We were struggling financially, emotionally, with power 156 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:54,160 We felt like nothing was in our control 157 00:10:54,160 --> 00:11:01,160 And so Angelica's TO was preaching at the Alpharetta church 158 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:06,160 And he told our family, you guys should come out, I'm preaching, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah 159 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:10,160 And so we went and it was a lovely church 160 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:15,160 Those people there are like, God is in that church for sure 161 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:20,160 And so when we went, we just went, had a good time, had potluck, which is always good 162 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:26,160 And so a few weeks later we didn't really go back to church 163 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:28,160 But we felt something moving 164 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:38,160 We felt something stir up inside of us like how amazing was that feeling to be in church surrounded by people who have the love of God in their heart 165 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:41,160 How amazing is that feeling? 166 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:46,160 And so we finally decided to go back and the moment we stepped in the doors 167 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:48,160 Now this was three weeks prior 168 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:52,160 We stepped in the doors and people remembered our first names 169 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:57,160 And I just took that as a sign from God, I'm supposed to be here 170 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,160 You're supposed to be here 171 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:04,160 And so as a lot of you know, we moved our membership over there 172 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:07,160 And it is amazing being back in church 173 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:12,160 Let me tell you, God knows exactly what he's doing 174 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:17,160 And the fact that some, and even myself, the fact that I can wake up some days and say 175 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:20,160 You know what, God, I got this one 176 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:25,160 The fact that I can wake up and say that for all the things that he's done in my life is crazy to me 177 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:31,160 It's crazy to me to think that I think any kind of thought that I know better than him 178 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:35,160 We take control of our lives and rely on our own understanding 179 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:42,160 But when we do that, we take away the sovereignty of God and having control over our lives 180 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:48,160 A quick look in the Bible as you can find out that God has always been in control over everything 181 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:52,160 The very first verse of Psalms 46 begins this 182 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:57,160 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble 183 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:03,160 Do you think that Moses was in despair when the people of Israel were cornered between the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army? 184 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:07,160 Do you think that Moses took time to advise God and tell him what to do? 185 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:09,160 Of course not 186 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:12,160 Moses stayed still for he knew God 187 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:18,160 When he asked God who he should say, when he asked God who he should send, God sent him 188 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:21,160 God told him, I am who I am 189 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:24,160 Another great example of staying still is found in the life of David 190 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:31,160 As Saul was persecuting him, David has Saul's life in his hands twice and both times he decided to spare the king 191 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,160 One time he said to Saul, may the Lord judge between you and me 192 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:39,160 and may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you 193 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:43,160 Be still and know that I am God 194 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:51,160 That was the attitude of Job also when the whole world came tumbling down on him and he lost everything 195 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,160 He even came down with a terrible disease 196 00:13:54,160 --> 00:14:00,160 This man went through everything you could possibly imagine, some things that we couldn't even imagine 197 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:07,160 However, one of his well known phrases at the book in Job chapter 19 verse 26 it says 198 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:15,160 And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God 199 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:17,160 How many of us can say that? 200 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,160 When we look at our lives and think of the worst time in our lives 201 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:25,160 How can we sit there in that moment when everything is going wrong and be like 202 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,160 I'm still looking to God 203 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:29,160 What is our mind going through? 204 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:31,160 This is it 205 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,160 I give up 206 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:34,160 It's too much 207 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:36,160 I can't take it anymore 208 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:40,160 Now we don't say I can't take it anymore, I give it to you God 209 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:43,160 We just say I'm giving up, I can't take it 210 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:46,160 And we just let everything go 211 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:52,160 But Job, he says, yet in my body I will see God 212 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,160 That is amazing 213 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:59,160 In retrospective I feel that God has never forsaken us 214 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:05,160 Just like the Red Sea, he waited at the last minute and he was still 215 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:09,160 Brothers and sisters, I don't know exactly what you're going through in your life 216 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:13,160 But I can tell you this, we serve a God who is mighty 217 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:18,160 A God who is able to deliver us though it may not be the way you expect 218 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:21,160 But it will be the best way you could ever desire 219 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:24,160 I encourage you to be still and let go of the control of your life 220 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:28,160 Even when things won't work out the way you want, remember the words of Paul 221 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:32,160 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good 222 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:36,160 For those who are called according to his purpose 223 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:43,160 There are things in life that I wish I could go back and change 224 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:48,160 That's my initial first thought when I think back on those things 225 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:53,160 But now I know that it was the journey that God put me through 226 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:58,160 I know that he allows us to go through moments of where we need to be taught 227 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:02,160 Because like I said we like to take control of our things 228 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:06,160 And God gives us free will doesn't he? 229 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,160 And so he's like, okay go ahead 230 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:14,160 He's like, go ahead, if you know best really truly take it 231 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,160 But he's always right there when we come back to him 232 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:21,160 When we know that we're wrong and we know that we messed up by thinking that we have it 233 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:26,160 He's like, come to me and I'll give you rest 234 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:33,160 That's another thing that I've been going through myself is giving it all to God 235 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:39,160 And that's why I wrote this because I had a moment two weeks ago 236 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:42,160 Where I was in my work truck and it was the end of my day 237 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:47,160 And I had pulled back into the warehouse and I was just sitting there 238 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:52,160 It's 97 degrees outside and I've been delivering packages in the heat all day 239 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:57,160 And my boss doesn't seem to think that the trucks need AC 240 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:02,160 And I'm sitting there just pouring sweat and I'm just like, is this really for me? 241 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:05,160 Is this really what I want to be doing in my life? 242 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:10,160 Is there something greater that I could be doing at this moment? 243 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:16,160 And I just remember thinking like this is the moment where I'm going to take my life into my own hands 244 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,160 And I'm going to do what I want to do 245 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:24,160 And I don't know if I told you this Angelica, probably not 246 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:30,160 But as I was walking out of the warehouse I was stopped by one of the 247 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:35,160 He's the guy who drives the cars to clean up all the boxes and stuff 248 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:41,160 And he stopped and looked at me and he was like, hey do you live around here? 249 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,160 And I was like, yeah I live in Marietta 250 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:49,160 I'm actually looking for a church, is there somewhere that you recommend? 251 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:53,160 And I remember telling him there's a Marietta and I told him that I was an Adventist 252 00:17:53,160 --> 00:18:00,160 And we got into a conversation about what that is, you know the whole rigmarole of that 253 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:05,160 And he was like, because initially he first came up to me and he was like, you know I'm really busy on Sundays 254 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:11,160 And I was like, well I got the place for you then 255 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:16,160 I remember telling him there's a church in Marietta, Marietta Seventh-day Adventist Church 256 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:19,160 I said, this is where the pastor of my church came from 257 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:23,160 But if you're willing to drive to Alpharetta, it's a little bit of a trek 258 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:25,160 But this is where I go to church 259 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:29,160 And I promise you, you will feel the love of God in this church 260 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:34,160 And in that moment as I was walking out to my car I started to cry 261 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:40,160 Because as my family knows, my mom knows, she raised me to be a very emotional person, as she is 262 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:48,160 And I started to cry and I was like, I'm exactly where I need to be 263 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,160 God put me in this place for a reason 264 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:56,160 He opened up the doors for this job so easily, how could I deny that that was him? 265 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:00,160 How could I deny that he isn't leading my path? 266 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,160 How could I deny that he isn't the light under my feet? 267 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:06,160 How could I? 268 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:11,160 A lot of times the reason we want to hold onto things ourselves is because of fear 269 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:19,160 Fear of things being different, fear of things not going the way that we want to, fear of things changing 270 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:26,160 But there's this famous song, it's called Fear Is Not My Future 271 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:34,160 And this song, every time I listen to this song, again I cry, let's all, you know 272 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:39,160 And these are the lyrics of this song, this is the chorus of the song that gets me every single time 273 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:45,160 And I want you to apply this to you, whatever you think that your future is right now 274 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:50,160 I want you to apply this to your life and think that this is not the end 275 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:54,160 It says, Fear Is Not My Future, you are 276 00:19:54,160 --> 00:20:02,160 Fear Is Not My Future, Sickness Is Not My Story, you are 277 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:06,160 Heartbreak Is Not My Home, you are 278 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:10,160 Death Is Not The End, you are 279 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:16,160 And as I listen to those words I think back of all the times that it felt like I couldn't go on 280 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:22,160 And I felt like I was doing everything wrong and I felt like this is going to be the end 281 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:28,160 This is where my life, I've done all that I can do 282 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:31,160 God says this is not the end 283 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:35,160 You have nothing to fear because I got you in my hand 284 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:40,160 And the Bible says when you're in His hand nothing can pluck you out of it 285 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:46,160 So as we leave today, I want all of us, even including me, to think back at the time 286 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:53,160 Or in the future times that we think that we have it, that we know what's best for us 287 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:58,160 We can think, I know someone who has it best 288 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:03,160 And we can share these words to other people because people out there, they don't know like we do 289 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:06,160 They don't know that we have someone that we can turn to no matter what 290 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:10,160 And He always knows what's best, they think that this is it for them 291 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:14,160 They think that this is their future 292 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:21,160 And so we have these amazing words to tell them that that fear is not their future 293 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:26,160 God is their future if they will allow Him to, God will help you in ways that you can't even imagine 294 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,160 In ways that you didn't even know that you had a problem 295 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:36,160 God will fix that problem before you even come to that problem 296 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:41,160 I was talking to a friend, I was actually talking to Sam the other day 297 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:46,160 And this friend of ours, he's kind of been hinting that he wants to get into church 298 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:49,160 Or kind of hinting that he wants to talk about God 299 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:56,160 But then when you talk to him about God, he makes it a joke 300 00:21:56,160 --> 00:22:03,160 But the other day I had a really good conversation with him, he was talking to me, he's like, you go through a lot 301 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:08,160 He's like, you wake up at 6.30 every single day, you have back pain and you work 302 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:12,160 And then you come in here still with a smile, he's like, how do you do it? 303 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:17,160 And I was like, if I'm being completely honest, it is not me putting a smile on his face 304 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:22,160 When I see people and I know that people need encouragement and people need love and people need happiness 305 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:25,160 God is the one who puts a smile on my face 306 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:28,160 Because you never know who's looking at you 307 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,160 You never know who's looking at you when you're down and you're somber 308 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:35,160 And you have this face on you that says, I can't do it anymore 309 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:39,160 There could be someone looking at you right now that's saying, I need encouragement 310 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:43,160 And if you allow God to put a smile on your face and give it to him 311 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:47,160 They're going to be like, I want what that person has 312 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:49,160 This person is going through a lot but I want what that person has 313 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:53,160 The strength to put a smile on their face and be happy and be joyous 314 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:58,160 Isn't that what we all want? We all want to be joyous and happy 315 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:00,160 Well, God is love 316 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:04,160 And love inherently makes us all happy, does it not? 317 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:08,160 Whether that's when people cook for you 318 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:10,160 Whether that's when people give you gifts 319 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:11,160 When people spend time with you 320 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,160 When people give you words of affirmation, whatever it is 321 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:18,160 Love inherently makes us happy 322 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:22,160 But worldly love makes us happy temporarily 323 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,160 Because then we're looking for the next way to feel that love 324 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:30,160 We're looking for the next way to feel that void of like, I need something 325 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:33,160 But God says, I have something way better for you 326 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:37,160 I have my love and that's eternal 327 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:44,160 So as I close, I want us to remember that God has it for you 328 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:49,160 And I'm sure you've probably seen it in like a hobby lobby or somewhere on Facebook 329 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,160 They say let go and let God, right? 330 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:56,160 But it's true, we need to let go 331 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,160 And that's why the title of my sermon is giving up 332 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,160 Because we need to give up 333 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:03,160 We need to give up on our own understanding 334 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:05,160 And lead into his own understanding 335 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:08,160 Amen? Let us pray 336 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,160 Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you again, Lord 337 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:13,160 We thank you for these words 338 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:15,160 We thank you to know that you are a God of love 339 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:20,160 And that you are a God of understanding what's best for every single person 340 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,160 Not just a wide span of like, this will help everybody 341 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:27,160 But you know us individually and what we all need individually, Lord 342 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:31,160 I thank you for this moment to come back and be with the people that I grew up with 343 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:34,160 And giving me these words and putting these words on my heart 344 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:39,160 Not only that it will help other people learn about the things that you've taught me, Lord 345 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:45,160 I hope that we can leave this church and understand that we give everything to you 346 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:49,160 And we understand that you will know what's best for us even when it's scary 347 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:54,160 You know that nothing will harm us and that you won't give us more than we can take, Lord 348 00:24:54,160 --> 00:25:05,160 Amen