WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.059 Good morning. Good morning to those of you on 00:00:04.059 --> 00:00:07.179 our online family. Paul, then that's you. Mike 00:00:07.179 --> 00:00:09.980 and Sue, we love you a bunch. We're so thankful 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:12.240 for what God is doing there in your home with 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:14.300 a whole bunch of people around you. Hopefully 00:00:14.300 --> 00:00:16.480 breakfast was included, but if not, just know 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:20.050 Mike and Sue, we love you a bunch. In Baghdad, 00:00:20.109 --> 00:00:22.329 we're so grateful for Randy and all that you're 00:00:22.329 --> 00:00:25.730 doing and how you continue to push things forward 00:00:25.730 --> 00:00:28.730 there alongside with Andrew and Jennifer. We're 00:00:28.730 --> 00:00:31.609 just grateful for our Baghdad family, grateful 00:00:31.609 --> 00:00:34.630 for our online family. Wherever you happen to 00:00:34.630 --> 00:00:36.590 be, somebody was driving back from California, 00:00:36.929 --> 00:00:40.070 be safe. But wherever you are, whatever you're 00:00:40.070 --> 00:00:42.310 doing, we're just thankful that we get to do 00:00:42.310 --> 00:00:44.390 life together. Life's better when we get to do 00:00:44.390 --> 00:00:48.210 it with somebody, right? Okay, a couple of you. 00:00:48.289 --> 00:00:52.890 That's cool. That's cool. You know, I get it. 00:00:52.890 --> 00:00:55.170 You don't like people. That's what we're going 00:00:55.170 --> 00:00:57.109 to take away from that. But no, seriously, it's 00:00:57.109 --> 00:01:00.630 good that we get to do stuff together. We get 00:01:00.630 --> 00:01:03.609 to laugh together. Maybe we get to cry together. 00:01:03.789 --> 00:01:07.329 We get to mourn together. Like our dear Bears 00:01:07.329 --> 00:01:12.109 friend over here is, I mean, you come down yet? 00:01:12.170 --> 00:01:18.939 You still floating? Packer fans. I noticed you 00:01:18.939 --> 00:01:21.159 don't have your jersey on, though. You know what 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:24.640 I'm saying? I noticed. I noticed. It's a painful 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:28.840 one. I get it. I get it. Sunday night was something. 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:34.040 Yeah. For those of you that don't know, I think 00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:35.939 I walked back and forth from my kitchen at least 00:01:35.939 --> 00:01:39.319 three times with my hands raised. And then in 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:41.760 between that, sitting on my couch going, babe, 00:01:41.819 --> 00:01:43.099 I just don't think we're going to do it. It's 00:01:43.099 --> 00:01:46.120 not going to turn out. Right? And as the game 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:48.040 progressed and we missed the field goal, I'm 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:49.780 like, Lamar's got way too much time. Some of 00:01:49.780 --> 00:01:51.120 you were like, who's Lamar? You'll figure it 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:53.599 out later. But Lamar's got way too much time. 00:01:53.659 --> 00:01:55.719 He's going to drive the field. Like, we're going 00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:58.120 to lose, babe. I just know it. And wouldn't you 00:01:58.120 --> 00:02:02.239 know it, right? A little back story. Did you 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:04.180 see the priest going with the holy water in the 00:02:04.180 --> 00:02:07.060 end zone before the game? True story on national 00:02:07.060 --> 00:02:10.180 news. That happened to be the end zone where 00:02:10.180 --> 00:02:13.879 the field goal was missed. That said, Dirty Bird's 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:17.919 lost because of, you know. So the Steelers live 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:20.080 for another day. The highs and lows, the emotions, 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:25.219 right? Like we ride the waves. We'll see if I'm 00:02:25.219 --> 00:02:29.319 here next week. We'll see what happens. And those 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:30.680 of you that are like, why are we talking about 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:32.919 football? We're a family. If you came to my house, 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:35.439 guess what we talk about? Football, right? Like 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:37.080 if I come to your house, we talk about something 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:40.710 else. And so just. Family, we do life together. 00:02:40.810 --> 00:02:43.370 We do normal life together. One of the beautiful 00:02:43.370 --> 00:02:45.469 parts that, I don't know if you felt this, but 00:02:45.469 --> 00:02:47.750 like during worship, that King of Kings song, 00:02:47.849 --> 00:02:49.770 which is the last song we sang, it's like the 00:02:49.770 --> 00:02:52.090 narrative of scripture, right? So it's the narrative 00:02:52.090 --> 00:02:54.849 of scripture in song. And I don't know if like 00:02:54.849 --> 00:02:57.229 when the church of Christ was born and the spirit 00:02:57.229 --> 00:02:59.189 lit the flame, I don't know if inside of you, 00:02:59.250 --> 00:03:03.530 it's like, oh, it just feels so good, right? 00:03:03.689 --> 00:03:07.469 Like it feels like the Steelers winning. But 00:03:07.469 --> 00:03:09.729 no, the idea of the spirit lighting the flame, 00:03:09.949 --> 00:03:12.710 that what we're doing here when we call this 00:03:12.710 --> 00:03:15.569 church, it's not the building, it's not the organization, 00:03:15.830 --> 00:03:18.169 it's not any of that. It's human beings that 00:03:18.169 --> 00:03:20.270 God has rescued and put his spirit inside of 00:03:20.270 --> 00:03:24.629 and lit a flame. And so on a cold morning, you 00:03:24.629 --> 00:03:28.610 should be alive because the spirit of God has 00:03:28.610 --> 00:03:32.270 lit a flame in his church that will not be put 00:03:32.270 --> 00:03:38.389 out. And that's you. That's me. That's this thing 00:03:38.389 --> 00:03:42.930 we call the family of God. And it's beautiful. 00:03:43.909 --> 00:03:48.150 And we get to do this together. And we get to 00:03:48.150 --> 00:03:50.289 remind ourselves, right, like of the gifts we've 00:03:50.289 --> 00:03:52.370 been given. Last week, if you were here, we started 00:03:52.370 --> 00:03:54.509 a new collection called Do Something Different. 00:03:54.610 --> 00:03:56.889 You're going to see me do this a lot, what this 00:03:56.889 --> 00:03:59.469 represents. There was a planner's box here. And 00:03:59.469 --> 00:04:01.469 inside of that planner's box is the things that 00:04:01.469 --> 00:04:05.310 God has always wanted for humanity and in Jesus 00:04:05.310 --> 00:04:08.069 has restored and redeemed. And what prayer does 00:04:08.069 --> 00:04:11.090 is waters those so that those things can grow 00:04:11.090 --> 00:04:13.629 and we become the people that God made us and 00:04:13.629 --> 00:04:18.540 intended us to be. Right? It's this beautiful 00:04:18.540 --> 00:04:21.500 gift of prayer. We talked about last week this 00:04:21.500 --> 00:04:25.399 gift that we get to water. And I don't know about 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:28.439 how you feel, but for me, the idea of do something 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:31.620 different is because I don't need more information. 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:33.660 I hit this wall of I don't need more information 00:04:33.660 --> 00:04:36.160 on prayer. I just need to do something different 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:38.360 because if I want a prayer life and I have all 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:40.920 this information, obviously information hasn't 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:45.959 equaled a healthy prayer life. And so I got to 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:50.240 do something different. I got to pray. If I want 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:52.759 a different outcome, I've got to change what 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:55.600 I'm doing. And so what we discovered is if that's 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:57.019 the case, then I got to change the way I think 00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:58.500 about prayer. I got to change the way I view 00:04:58.500 --> 00:05:01.579 prayer. I can't view prayer as this thing that 00:05:01.579 --> 00:05:04.139 is this religious activity that I do. Prayer 00:05:04.139 --> 00:05:05.699 has to be more than that. And that's when we 00:05:05.699 --> 00:05:07.959 got to last week going, prayer is this gift that 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:12.819 God gives that we water. And this week. And to 00:05:12.819 --> 00:05:14.540 get there, we're going to go to Canada. You ready? 00:05:15.379 --> 00:05:18.439 So my wife and I and our family, our two oldest 00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:21.180 daughters, we lived in Canada for about five 00:05:21.180 --> 00:05:23.160 and a half years. Now, when you think of Canada, 00:05:23.240 --> 00:05:25.879 you may go, oh, British Columbia. It's so pretty. 00:05:25.980 --> 00:05:29.040 We went up there in the summer. And it was so, 00:05:29.180 --> 00:05:31.199 yeah, you went up in the summer, didn't you? 00:05:31.300 --> 00:05:34.139 Right? But you may have British Columbia in mind, 00:05:34.180 --> 00:05:36.500 or maybe you have the East Coast in mind. But 00:05:36.500 --> 00:05:39.319 we were two and a half hours north of Toronto. 00:05:39.540 --> 00:05:43.879 Okay? So we were. I'm kind of not straight north, 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:47.399 a little west -ish to it. And what you need to 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:50.459 know about it is this, that we lived in the snow 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:54.980 belt. Okay, a couple of you kind of giggled because 00:05:54.980 --> 00:05:58.879 you've lived in a snow belt, right? Like by snow 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:03.439 belt, what that means is that the lake effect 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:07.120 brought massive amounts of snow to our house. 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:09.519 I don't know if it was anywhere else, but it 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:12.980 was our house. And I mean, we're talking so much 00:06:12.980 --> 00:06:16.220 snow that like you, my kids' memories are that 00:06:16.220 --> 00:06:19.319 we could create snow caves where they could actually 00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:21.860 have like beds that you could put in there and 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:26.220 tables and they could go in and play whatever. 00:06:26.379 --> 00:06:29.699 They were young at the time, right? Because we 00:06:29.699 --> 00:06:33.180 were in the snow belt. Now, what happened is 00:06:33.180 --> 00:06:37.209 about October. You would start to get news of 00:06:37.209 --> 00:06:40.430 the weather changing, right? Like fall is here, 00:06:40.610 --> 00:06:44.029 which winter was quickly behind it. And you would 00:06:44.029 --> 00:06:46.310 normally in October get the first snow. And the 00:06:46.310 --> 00:06:48.850 first snow is like, oh, it's so pretty. Let's 00:06:48.850 --> 00:06:51.889 go for a walk, right? And you would go out in 00:06:51.889 --> 00:06:55.509 the snow and enjoy it. Maybe go sledding. The 00:06:55.509 --> 00:06:57.250 kids were excited to go sledding in October, 00:06:57.370 --> 00:06:59.290 right? And then November hit and everybody's 00:06:59.290 --> 00:07:01.470 thankful for November because of, you know, just 00:07:01.470 --> 00:07:03.490 the time of the year it is. We give thanks and 00:07:03.490 --> 00:07:07.970 we enjoy. and it's still, the snow is good. And 00:07:07.970 --> 00:07:10.170 then you get to December and it's like, oh, we 00:07:10.170 --> 00:07:12.230 just need a white Christmas, right? Like a white 00:07:12.230 --> 00:07:14.449 Christmas just feels right. And then January 00:07:14.449 --> 00:07:16.329 hits, it's like it's a new year, the snow should 00:07:16.329 --> 00:07:20.730 be gone. The only problem is the snow was still 00:07:20.730 --> 00:07:26.629 there sometimes until April. And what would happen 00:07:26.629 --> 00:07:30.329 inevitably for my wife is right around February, 00:07:30.529 --> 00:07:34.550 she would start to get. this seasonal depression. 00:07:35.329 --> 00:07:38.389 Oh, it was bright out like it was white. Sometimes 00:07:38.389 --> 00:07:41.310 it would snow in October and it would be white 00:07:41.310 --> 00:07:45.449 on the ground until April. You talk about longing 00:07:45.449 --> 00:07:49.509 for spring, right? But the clouds would be gloomy 00:07:49.509 --> 00:07:52.050 and you wouldn't see the sun because of the cloud 00:07:52.050 --> 00:07:55.029 cover. And this could last days and days. And 00:07:55.029 --> 00:07:58.189 sometimes she would, in February, it was like, 00:07:58.250 --> 00:08:02.019 oh, when is this season ever going to end? When 00:08:02.019 --> 00:08:04.139 is winter going to be done? In fact, we have 00:08:04.139 --> 00:08:06.759 friends that would jettison around this time. 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:09.300 They would book flights and they would end up 00:08:09.300 --> 00:08:11.199 in places like Florida so they could experience 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:15.319 summer in the midst of winter. You ever notice 00:08:15.319 --> 00:08:18.899 that we aren't very good with winter? You ever 00:08:18.899 --> 00:08:22.120 notice that people are like, I just have to make 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:25.199 it through the winter, man. Pastor Todd, right? 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:28.720 Like this literally San Diego boy. He didn't 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:31.839 even know what winter is. But it's like, I just 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:35.120 gotta get through winter. It's so cold. But you 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:37.019 notice that nobody doesn't say that unless you 00:08:37.019 --> 00:08:40.139 live in Phoenix in the summer. Like the spring, 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:41.860 nobody's like, I just gotta get through spring. 00:08:42.539 --> 00:08:50.700 I just gotta endure. But what if, what if, what 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:54.500 if the circumstances and the seasons in your 00:08:54.500 --> 00:09:02.070 life are really intentional? and integral to 00:09:02.070 --> 00:09:08.590 your growth in your life? Like what if winter 00:09:08.590 --> 00:09:14.629 spiritually, and by that I mean like things that 00:09:14.629 --> 00:09:17.409 are painful, circumstances that I'm going through, 00:09:17.549 --> 00:09:20.289 things that are difficult, things that cause 00:09:20.289 --> 00:09:25.269 me stress and anxiety and grief and all the emotions 00:09:25.269 --> 00:09:28.379 in between. What if those things are in your 00:09:28.379 --> 00:09:33.000 life because God is taking you back and allowing 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:36.620 those moments to actually move you into experiencing 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:40.759 the gift of prayer that waters the things that 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:42.740 God actually wants to grow. And it's only through 00:09:42.740 --> 00:09:45.980 winter that those things can grow. I think somewhere 00:09:45.980 --> 00:09:48.580 along the way, we got confused that when you 00:09:48.580 --> 00:09:52.379 meet Jesus and you walk with Jesus and you become 00:09:52.379 --> 00:09:54.559 a follower of Jesus, that you don't have winter 00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:58.169 no more. But that's just not simply the case. 00:09:58.269 --> 00:10:03.809 And if you turn to Psalm chapter one and verse 00:10:03.809 --> 00:10:06.110 one, it says this, blessed is the one who does 00:10:06.110 --> 00:10:09.629 not walk in step with the wicked or stand in 00:10:09.629 --> 00:10:14.250 the way of sinners or stand in the way that sinners 00:10:14.250 --> 00:10:17.009 take, sorry, or sit in the company of mockers. 00:10:17.649 --> 00:10:20.269 So blessed is the one, God is on the side of 00:10:20.269 --> 00:10:23.909 the one who walks in step, doesn't walk in step 00:10:23.909 --> 00:10:25.769 with those that are sinful, right? So it takes 00:10:25.769 --> 00:10:27.889 a different path, the righteous path is what 00:10:27.889 --> 00:10:30.750 it's talking about. Verse two, but those, but 00:10:30.750 --> 00:10:32.929 whose delight, so those people whose delight 00:10:32.929 --> 00:10:36.570 is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on 00:10:36.570 --> 00:10:40.370 his law day and night. So it's talking about 00:10:40.370 --> 00:10:43.230 somebody who has right actions. They meditate 00:10:43.230 --> 00:10:46.259 on God's word. following after what God wants 00:10:46.259 --> 00:10:48.559 us. They're upright within their actions. And 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:50.940 then listen to this, verse three. That person 00:10:50.940 --> 00:10:55.919 is like a tree planted by streams of water, which 00:10:55.919 --> 00:11:03.580 yields its fruit in what? Season. And whose leaf 00:11:03.580 --> 00:11:06.779 does not wither, whatever they do, prospers. 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:10.360 So it talks about this person who is upright, 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:12.440 who is righteous, who is doing the right things, 00:11:12.500 --> 00:11:15.639 pursuing God, meditating on his law. But then 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:21.600 it says what? That there will be seasons of production. 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:27.559 Seasons of bearing fruit. It doesn't say that 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:30.860 they bear fruit all the time. It doesn't say 00:11:30.860 --> 00:11:32.980 that everything is good all the time. It says 00:11:32.980 --> 00:11:37.539 that in season. And that idea of season. It's 00:11:37.539 --> 00:11:40.340 something that I think when we slow down and 00:11:40.340 --> 00:11:42.720 grasp it, and when we slow down and let it be 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:45.159 what God intends it to be, that what actually 00:11:45.159 --> 00:11:48.899 happens is it takes us and it moves us into experiencing 00:11:48.899 --> 00:11:51.320 the gift of prayer that God always intended for 00:11:51.320 --> 00:11:54.519 it to be. That without that season, the growth 00:11:54.519 --> 00:11:56.620 wouldn't occur. Here's what I mean. Like if I 00:11:56.620 --> 00:11:58.940 had my way today, there would be a whole bunch, 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:02.179 a whole bunch of trees lining the stage today. 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:03.860 You wouldn't even be able to see the band. They'd 00:12:03.860 --> 00:12:06.789 be gone. Just a bunch of trees. but we're in 00:12:06.789 --> 00:12:09.929 winter, so those trees would look what? Bare, 00:12:10.049 --> 00:12:11.809 they'd look dead. They'd look just like sticks 00:12:11.809 --> 00:12:14.590 in a bucket. And then I realized that's really 00:12:14.590 --> 00:12:16.870 expensive to do the whole stage. So what then 00:12:16.870 --> 00:12:19.049 I thought was I'll just get one from home. And 00:12:19.049 --> 00:12:20.769 I'm like, that's not a good idea. It's not gonna 00:12:20.769 --> 00:12:27.950 be good for the tree, right? Why? Because what's 00:12:27.950 --> 00:12:31.129 interesting with a tree when it comes to winter 00:12:31.129 --> 00:12:36.799 is the tree begins to, acts intentionally because 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:40.080 of the circumstances that it's in. Oh, what do 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:42.120 I mean by that? Well, you see those things, those 00:12:42.120 --> 00:12:45.379 leaves that are beautiful, those leaves that 00:12:45.379 --> 00:12:49.620 are the new growth of the last year? When winter 00:12:49.620 --> 00:12:52.899 starts to come, the tree blocks off the energy 00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:57.519 supply, the food supply to the leaves. It begins 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:01.409 to cut off. The output of energy. Why? Because 00:13:01.409 --> 00:13:04.070 it knows in winter, I have to do something different. 00:13:04.169 --> 00:13:07.009 I have to store the energy different. And so 00:13:07.009 --> 00:13:08.730 then what you notice, like, I don't know where 00:13:08.730 --> 00:13:10.230 you live, but where I live, I got a neighbor's 00:13:10.230 --> 00:13:12.809 tree, and they got a big tree in their yard, 00:13:12.870 --> 00:13:15.429 and that tree turns red when the leaves start 00:13:15.429 --> 00:13:17.389 to get cut off. And then after red, it turns 00:13:17.389 --> 00:13:19.809 darker, and they're dead, and they fall to the 00:13:19.809 --> 00:13:22.330 ground, and then they blow into my yard. And 00:13:22.330 --> 00:13:24.029 then I just let them blow into the next person's 00:13:24.029 --> 00:13:26.590 yard. It's great. We just share. All fall on. 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:30.059 But the tree is doing something different because 00:13:30.059 --> 00:13:33.240 it knows what? It's in a different season. And 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:36.740 so as this is taking place, what's happening 00:13:36.740 --> 00:13:41.879 is scarcity. So scarcity of sun, scarcity of 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:45.360 water. scarcity of temperature is telling the 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:47.820 tree that it needs to do something different. 00:13:47.899 --> 00:13:50.740 So internally, what the tree begins to do is 00:13:50.740 --> 00:13:53.440 it takes its starches, changes it to sugar, and 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:56.120 then what that allows it to be, it becomes like 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:58.460 an antifreeze inside of the tree. Why? Because 00:13:58.460 --> 00:14:00.960 when freezing temperatures come, if there was 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:03.320 water inside, it would explode, essentially, 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:05.159 the cells inside the tree, and the tree would 00:14:05.159 --> 00:14:07.720 be damaged. So what is it doing? It knows that 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:11.019 it needs to change. Why? Because of the season 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:16.049 that it is in. The gift of the tree. And here's 00:14:16.049 --> 00:14:19.230 my favorite part. That although the stage would 00:14:19.230 --> 00:14:22.250 look dead, although the trees look dead, what's 00:14:22.250 --> 00:14:26.509 happening inside is the buds are growing inside 00:14:26.509 --> 00:14:29.809 of the branches and they stay inside of the branches 00:14:29.809 --> 00:14:32.190 and they develop inside of the branches until 00:14:32.190 --> 00:14:35.309 it's time for that new growth that you can't 00:14:35.309 --> 00:14:38.070 see right now, that winter produces. Winter produces 00:14:38.070 --> 00:14:41.009 this new growth that's inside that then grows 00:14:41.009 --> 00:14:46.580 outward. And what your season of winter is doing 00:14:46.580 --> 00:14:50.580 in your life is it's a gift that you would do 00:14:50.580 --> 00:14:54.419 something different, that you would pray intentionally 00:14:54.419 --> 00:14:56.899 and begin to water. Why? Because here's what 00:14:56.899 --> 00:15:01.899 we discover in winter. Prayer is less about the 00:15:01.899 --> 00:15:08.480 outcome and is more and is more about the character 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:13.330 being formed in you. Prayer is less about the 00:15:13.330 --> 00:15:15.710 outcome. This is what winter teaches us, right? 00:15:15.809 --> 00:15:19.250 Because winter pushes us to take this gift and 00:15:19.250 --> 00:15:21.629 use it. And what we discover is the outcome isn't 00:15:21.629 --> 00:15:23.769 what's actually in focus. What's happening is 00:15:23.769 --> 00:15:27.669 the circumstances and the desire for an outcome 00:15:27.669 --> 00:15:30.230 is pushing me forward into prayer. And as I get 00:15:30.230 --> 00:15:32.750 into prayer, what happens is God is forming my 00:15:32.750 --> 00:15:36.950 character. He is growing the things that he always 00:15:36.950 --> 00:15:40.940 wanted to grow inside of me. And winter is the 00:15:40.940 --> 00:15:42.980 catalyst to get me. Think about examples from 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:44.539 the Bible. You got Jesus in the garden, right? 00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:46.779 Jesus is perplexed. He's in the garden. He's 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:49.039 overwhelmed. And he wants a specific outcome. 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:52.139 Take this away. Is there any other way? And what 00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:54.539 happens is the outcome is denied. He still goes 00:15:54.539 --> 00:15:57.279 to the cross and he dies. The difference is the 00:15:57.279 --> 00:15:59.919 character being formed in him, he is now what? 00:16:00.179 --> 00:16:03.159 He is connected, aligned with the will of God. 00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:04.899 And because he's aligned with the will of God, 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:07.740 therefore he goes to the cross. You think about 00:16:07.740 --> 00:16:11.110 Paul for a second, right? Paul had a thorn, we're 00:16:11.110 --> 00:16:12.850 told. The thorn, we don't know what it was. It 00:16:12.850 --> 00:16:14.549 was an ailment of some sort. It was extremely 00:16:14.549 --> 00:16:17.230 painful, uncomfortable. He wanted it to go away. 00:16:17.269 --> 00:16:19.750 He didn't like it. And so he prayed that it would 00:16:19.750 --> 00:16:23.230 be removed. He steps in in a winter season. He 00:16:23.230 --> 00:16:26.190 asked God, and what happens is it's not removed. 00:16:26.350 --> 00:16:29.929 The outcome doesn't change. But what has changed 00:16:29.929 --> 00:16:32.610 is Paul discovers that your grace is sufficient, 00:16:32.870 --> 00:16:35.750 that God, your grace is sufficient even in my 00:16:35.750 --> 00:16:39.779 weakness. Right? This song we just sang, even 00:16:39.779 --> 00:16:43.200 in my weakness, you are still these things. That's 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:46.320 what Paul discovered because of the ailment in 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:49.039 his life, the winter season of the thorn. And 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:51.659 what's discovered is that you are actually strong 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:54.519 when I am weak. Your grace is sufficient even 00:16:54.519 --> 00:16:58.139 in this. Anybody thankful for a lesson that Paul 00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:00.279 learns that we don't have to learn, right? Like 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:03.440 we get to stand on the ground that he had. That 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:05.559 we get to sit here going, God's grace is going 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:07.019 to be sufficient. How do I know? Let me tell 00:17:07.019 --> 00:17:11.279 you about this. Zechariah and Elizabeth, we talked 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:13.759 about them at Christmas. In a season of barren, 00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:16.200 the outcome was we want a kid now. And God goes, 00:17:16.220 --> 00:17:18.920 no, it's going to be much longer. And what's 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:21.200 grown in them is a faithfulness to the journey, 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:24.059 even beyond the hope that they had. That they 00:17:24.059 --> 00:17:26.799 still were grown to a point that they go, we'll 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:28.940 still serve you. We'll still follow you, even 00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:32.059 though, even though. The outcome's not what we 00:17:32.059 --> 00:17:38.200 wanted. Prayer is less about outcome, and it's 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:40.019 more about the character that God's forming in 00:17:40.019 --> 00:17:44.299 you. It's interesting, Jesus, when he talks about 00:17:44.299 --> 00:17:51.480 prayer, in Matthew chapter seven, in verse seven, 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:53.500 it says this. So Jesus is teaching, it's the 00:17:53.500 --> 00:17:56.259 Sermon on the Mount. One of the first recorded 00:17:56.259 --> 00:17:59.359 messages we have from him, verse seven, ask and 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:02.960 it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:06.380 Knock and the door will be open to you. For everyone 00:18:06.380 --> 00:18:10.680 who asks receives, he who seeks finds. And to 00:18:10.680 --> 00:18:14.799 the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:18.200 And so what we get from Jesus is very clear. 00:18:18.420 --> 00:18:21.240 If you have a need, which what winter season 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:27.279 does in our life is it creates, And out of that 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:29.700 need, it says with that need, what you're to 00:18:29.700 --> 00:18:33.680 do is to ask, right? So you are to go in prayer 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:38.369 and you are to ask, you are to water. Tyler Stanton 00:18:38.369 --> 00:18:41.170 wrote a book on prayer, and inside of that, he 00:18:41.170 --> 00:18:43.230 did a phenomenal job at unpacking kind of this 00:18:43.230 --> 00:18:46.769 idea of what's being built within this framework 00:18:46.769 --> 00:18:48.670 that Jesus is giving when it comes to prayer. 00:18:48.829 --> 00:18:53.289 And what he said is the idea of the ask leads 00:18:53.289 --> 00:18:58.569 you to the seeking. Because when you ask, you're 00:18:58.569 --> 00:19:01.289 going to God himself, right? And so in going 00:19:01.289 --> 00:19:04.769 to God himself, you seek. So ask out of need, 00:19:04.950 --> 00:19:08.990 which leads you to... seeking and what you discover 00:19:08.990 --> 00:19:13.190 is a person who is with you in the mess. But 00:19:13.190 --> 00:19:16.049 then culturally, he says, there's this knock 00:19:16.049 --> 00:19:21.490 and it says that the door will be opened. And 00:19:21.490 --> 00:19:24.130 culturally, what this means visually of this 00:19:24.130 --> 00:19:28.009 is that when you go to God and you ask out of 00:19:28.009 --> 00:19:30.609 need and you seek and you discover that there's 00:19:30.609 --> 00:19:33.240 a person in the mess with you. then what the 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:35.980 knock actually becomes is the door is opened, 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:39.380 and it's not just, hey, come inside. It's, hey, 00:19:39.720 --> 00:19:44.980 come inside and take a seat at the table. And 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:50.359 you may go, okay, so what? When you go to God, 00:19:50.500 --> 00:19:55.769 you didn't start at the table. You were given 00:19:55.769 --> 00:19:58.329 the gift of prayer. You begin to water. You're 00:19:58.329 --> 00:20:00.789 asking because of the circumstances, because 00:20:00.789 --> 00:20:03.710 of the season that you're in. And what happens 00:20:03.710 --> 00:20:06.150 is you discover that there's a person in the 00:20:06.150 --> 00:20:08.710 mess with you. You seek him. And what happens 00:20:08.710 --> 00:20:12.690 is that person, that God goes, hey, come sit 00:20:12.690 --> 00:20:21.250 at the table. You see, you would only sit at 00:20:21.250 --> 00:20:27.819 the table with people. That you go, I'm on your 00:20:27.819 --> 00:20:31.940 side. It's an invitation by God, even in the 00:20:31.940 --> 00:20:36.700 winter, for you to know God is what? On my side. 00:20:38.180 --> 00:20:42.200 He hasn't abandoned me. It's an invitation to 00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:45.000 the table where you sit face to face with almighty 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:50.039 God. And being face to face, he's expressing 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:53.859 to you, I am happy to be here with you, even 00:20:53.859 --> 00:20:57.960 in the midst of your mess of winter. In fact, 00:20:57.960 --> 00:21:05.539 he's inviting your winter to the table. The God 00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:09.359 of the universe, the creator of you, the one 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:10.740 that knows, by the way, you ever notice that 00:21:10.740 --> 00:21:12.240 when people smile, they smile full of teeth? 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:17.160 You notice that? Like they're like, hi. You know 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:19.779 that God knows what's going on behind your teeth, 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:24.380 right? We smile and it's like fake, right? Like 00:21:24.380 --> 00:21:26.700 we get to fool people. We're in a winter season. 00:21:26.819 --> 00:21:29.660 It's not fun. It's hard, but I can smile and 00:21:29.660 --> 00:21:32.720 you think it's good. And God goes, I know what's 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:34.500 happening behind it. And so what happens is you're 00:21:34.500 --> 00:21:37.279 invited to the table. You're invited to the table 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:42.539 where you sit face to face. I'd love to share 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:48.660 with you. What a conversation at the table sounds 00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:57.019 like in a winter season. In Psalm 143, the context 00:21:57.019 --> 00:22:01.180 here is that David, we don't know from the life 00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:03.799 of David if this was written when he was being 00:22:03.799 --> 00:22:06.119 pursued by his enemies, right? Like, so he's 00:22:06.119 --> 00:22:07.599 living in caves. He doesn't know if he's going 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:09.980 to live till tomorrow. He knows he's been anointed 00:22:09.980 --> 00:22:11.900 king, but he doesn't see any outcome of that. 00:22:12.039 --> 00:22:15.400 And so he's like been. On the run, so to speak, 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:17.720 he's exhausted, and he doesn't know how it's 00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:19.259 going to turn out. There's so many unknowns, 00:22:19.500 --> 00:22:22.279 and it's just a long. And so we don't know if 00:22:22.279 --> 00:22:23.519 it was written out of that. We don't know if 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:26.160 it was written when his son was in rebellion, 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:27.799 and again, his life was on the line. We don't 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:32.240 know. But what we know is this is an honest conversation. 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:37.039 And the invitation, don't miss how you got here. 00:22:37.980 --> 00:22:41.019 You got here because in your life, something 00:22:41.019 --> 00:22:46.180 isn't as you want it to be. And so out of that, 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:52.220 what comes is you request, you ask, you through 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:55.220 the gift of prayer, water. And what God begins 00:22:55.220 --> 00:22:58.599 to grow is he grows that, hey, I'm in it with 00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:01.099 you. You begin to see him in the midst of it 00:23:01.099 --> 00:23:03.420 with you. He's still working, but he goes, hey, 00:23:03.460 --> 00:23:07.480 come sit down at the table with me. And what 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:11.240 it's an invitation to in the winter season is 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:15.019 to be honest. And David starts like this in verse 00:23:15.019 --> 00:23:20.339 one. He says, Lord, hear my prayer. Listen to 00:23:20.339 --> 00:23:23.880 my cry for mercy in your faithfulness and righteousness. 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:29.559 Come to my relief. I mean, right out of the gate, 00:23:29.619 --> 00:23:31.420 he comes with his ask, right? Like, Lord, you 00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:35.240 got to hear this. And if you get into the emotions 00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:39.960 of what he's feeling, he feels unheard by God. 00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:43.799 He feels unseen by God. He feels like there's 00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:47.039 silence with him and God. And so he approaches 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:50.480 the table. He approaches this intimate moment 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:55.920 of relational context. And what does he say? 00:23:56.019 --> 00:24:03.079 Hey, I feel like you don't hear me. Yet, in your 00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:05.799 faithfulness, because I see who you are. I see 00:24:05.799 --> 00:24:08.140 that you're God. I see that you've been faithful. 00:24:08.180 --> 00:24:11.579 In your faithfulness, And your righteousness, 00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:13.839 would you come to my relief? I need you to hear 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:19.019 me ask this, God. Verse two, do not bring your 00:24:19.019 --> 00:24:22.359 servant into judgment for no one living is righteous 00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:25.039 before you. I love that he's asking for mercy, 00:24:25.099 --> 00:24:27.359 right? Like he's recognizing, he's recognizing 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:29.480 in the honesty, he's going, I'm not everything 00:24:29.480 --> 00:24:34.000 I should be. I understand I don't deserve this. 00:24:34.140 --> 00:24:36.559 I understand that I need your mercy in this moment. 00:24:37.710 --> 00:24:39.869 He's being honest with God. I understand that 00:24:39.869 --> 00:24:43.309 there's sin in my life. There's confession that's 00:24:43.309 --> 00:24:45.930 happening. He's going, I deserve judgment, but 00:24:45.930 --> 00:24:51.309 don't give me judgment. Give me mercy. The enemy 00:24:51.309 --> 00:24:55.490 pursues me. He crushes me to the ground. He makes 00:24:55.490 --> 00:24:59.190 me dwell in the darkness like those long dead. 00:24:59.990 --> 00:25:04.900 That is what winter feels like. You ever been 00:25:04.900 --> 00:25:07.000 in a season of winter and you're just like, man, 00:25:07.059 --> 00:25:10.119 I am crushed. He's pursuing me. He's relentless. 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:18.579 It feels dark. It feels dead like those trees. 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:25.160 Verse four. So my spirit grows faint within me. 00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:30.039 My heart within me is dismayed. You talk about 00:25:30.039 --> 00:25:31.799 honesty before God. He goes, I don't know if 00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:36.259 I'm going to make it. I don't know. I feel like 00:25:36.259 --> 00:25:38.180 I'm fading. I feel like I'm going to fall. I 00:25:38.180 --> 00:25:40.200 feel like I can't. And he's sitting at the table 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:43.819 with God and he's telling God, I don't know if 00:25:43.819 --> 00:25:46.200 I can make it. You want to talk about being honest 00:25:46.200 --> 00:25:52.940 with God? We need to stop smiling with God and 00:25:52.940 --> 00:25:57.000 start being honest with God. God, I don't know 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:01.019 if I'm going to make it through today. God, I 00:26:01.019 --> 00:26:06.640 feel crushed by what's happened. God, I'm frustrated. 00:26:08.460 --> 00:26:16.019 And notice verse five. I remember the days of 00:26:16.019 --> 00:26:20.759 long ago. I meditate on all your works and consider 00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:24.319 what your hands have done. You know what winter 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:27.559 does? Winter gives you time. You ever notice 00:26:27.559 --> 00:26:31.140 that in winter things slow down? And in the midst 00:26:31.140 --> 00:26:34.519 of moving slower, what it gives you time to discover 00:26:34.519 --> 00:26:39.339 is your memory. You begin to reflect. You begin 00:26:39.339 --> 00:26:42.240 to see the handwork, the handiwork of God. In 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:44.779 this context, you're sitting at the table. Why? 00:26:44.900 --> 00:26:46.859 Because I had an ask and I went and I prayed. 00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:49.279 And out of that, I realized there's a relationship. 00:26:49.400 --> 00:26:51.900 I knocked and God goes, come on in, sit at the 00:26:51.900 --> 00:26:55.269 table. It's an invitation. Winter is an invitation 00:26:55.269 --> 00:26:58.210 to the table. You get to the table and as you're 00:26:58.210 --> 00:26:59.950 going all the ways, I don't know if I'm gonna 00:26:59.950 --> 00:27:02.769 make it, Jesus just slides a handout onto the 00:27:02.769 --> 00:27:08.849 table. And you look down and you go, there's 00:27:08.849 --> 00:27:16.329 a hole in it. And your mind goes to a cross where 00:27:16.329 --> 00:27:23.690 on the cross, God, provided everything you will 00:27:23.690 --> 00:27:26.670 ever need for this life and the one to come. 00:27:29.069 --> 00:27:31.670 In this moment, it's really hard. It's really 00:27:31.670 --> 00:27:34.210 hard face to face with God who wants to be here 00:27:34.210 --> 00:27:36.750 with you and to see what he has done. All of 00:27:36.750 --> 00:27:38.450 a sudden, your mind starts firing. You start 00:27:38.450 --> 00:27:40.789 to see all the ways that he's been faithful to 00:27:40.789 --> 00:27:43.089 you over your life. You start to see all the 00:27:43.089 --> 00:27:45.490 works as the psalmist says here. You go, man, 00:27:45.529 --> 00:27:49.130 there's so much at this table. And what you discover 00:27:49.130 --> 00:27:58.339 at the table is you discover that the table's 00:27:58.339 --> 00:28:07.680 not empty. You discover that all of the nourishment 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:20.420 you needed has been provided. You discover and 00:28:20.420 --> 00:28:24.849 you're reminded. Things like, he's my daily bread. 00:28:26.289 --> 00:28:30.269 He's all I need today. All of a sudden at the 00:28:30.269 --> 00:28:33.730 table, you realize it's not just the person, 00:28:33.809 --> 00:28:36.690 but it's everything he has given you to make 00:28:36.690 --> 00:28:39.930 it through today. It's everything that he has 00:28:39.930 --> 00:28:43.650 given you to make it through whatever it is you're 00:28:43.650 --> 00:28:45.950 facing, whatever it is you're struggling with. 00:28:46.449 --> 00:28:49.150 And it started in honesty. And what happens is, 00:28:49.170 --> 00:28:51.490 is in the midst of the honesty, in the midst 00:28:51.490 --> 00:28:54.890 of the, I need you to hear me. I am dying down 00:28:54.890 --> 00:28:57.009 here. I'm not gonna make it. In the midst of 00:28:57.009 --> 00:28:59.049 that, he goes, and then I caught a glimpse of 00:28:59.049 --> 00:29:01.349 who you are. And I caught a glimpse of what you've 00:29:01.349 --> 00:29:03.910 done. And I'm reminded because winter allows 00:29:03.910 --> 00:29:06.289 me to remember. And all of a sudden what's on 00:29:06.289 --> 00:29:09.410 the table is this nourishment that is all I will 00:29:09.410 --> 00:29:14.180 ever need. The psalmist continues, I spread out 00:29:14.180 --> 00:29:16.880 my hands to you. I thirst for you like a parched 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:18.700 land. All of a sudden, the psalmist realizes 00:29:18.700 --> 00:29:21.960 I need you. You're the answer to this. Answer 00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:24.160 me quickly, Lord. My spirit fails. Do not hide 00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:26.460 your face from me, or I will be like those who 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:30.500 go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me 00:29:30.500 --> 00:29:34.019 word of your unfailing love. What has he done 00:29:34.019 --> 00:29:35.880 in this moment, sitting at the table with God 00:29:35.880 --> 00:29:39.440 himself? He realizes, wait, your love has never 00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:42.619 failed. And so he goes, in the morning, Bring 00:29:42.619 --> 00:29:44.900 me word of your unfailing love, for I have put 00:29:44.900 --> 00:29:47.519 my trust. Remember, what did we say prayer was? 00:29:47.539 --> 00:29:49.680 Prayer is growing the things inside of you like 00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:52.480 trust and dependency, that you would see him 00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:54.799 as your provider. Those things are being built 00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:57.160 through prayer, but where? At the invitation 00:29:57.160 --> 00:30:02.920 to the table. Where I went from, I'm not going 00:30:02.920 --> 00:30:07.539 to make it to, I trust you. You have given me 00:30:07.539 --> 00:30:13.519 everything I need. Show me the way I should go, 00:30:13.660 --> 00:30:16.720 for to you I entrust my life. Rescue me from 00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:21.039 my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach 00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:26.039 me to do your will, for you are, you are. What 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:28.099 does the table do? It reminds me that you are 00:30:28.099 --> 00:30:33.720 my God. And what's crazy, you guys, he's happy 00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:40.700 to be at the table with you. The God of the universe. 00:30:44.020 --> 00:30:45.900 You're not even, some of you aren't even happy 00:30:45.900 --> 00:30:49.920 to be at the table with yourself because all 00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:52.019 you see is your failures and all you see is your 00:30:52.019 --> 00:30:53.940 guilt and your shame and all you see is your 00:30:53.940 --> 00:30:56.759 shortcomings. All you see is the ways that you 00:30:56.759 --> 00:30:59.740 don't measure up. That's the point is when I 00:30:59.740 --> 00:31:02.440 get to the table, I realize that I'm not enough, 00:31:02.460 --> 00:31:05.579 but he is enough and it allows me to go. So I'm 00:31:05.579 --> 00:31:08.980 going to trust you. You're my God. So in a winter 00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:11.500 month, When you don't think you're going to make 00:31:11.500 --> 00:31:13.920 it in a winter month where you're seeking an 00:31:13.920 --> 00:31:17.539 outcome, what you get is you get transformation. 00:31:20.619 --> 00:31:26.000 Where? Just like the tree. You go to my yard 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:29.819 right now, they look dead. But inside of them, 00:31:29.839 --> 00:31:35.519 what's happening? The new growth is coming. And 00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:39.440 in winter, maybe, just maybe. We need to do something 00:31:39.440 --> 00:31:44.539 different and take a seat at the table. How? 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:47.599 Through the gift of prayer. Prayer is a gift. 00:31:48.099 --> 00:31:50.119 Because when I pray, what I end up with is an 00:31:50.119 --> 00:31:52.859 invitation. And I end up with an invitation to 00:31:52.859 --> 00:31:56.099 sit. And like the psalmist, teach me your will 00:31:56.099 --> 00:31:59.279 for you are my God. May your good spirit lead 00:31:59.279 --> 00:32:01.480 me on level ground for your namesake, for your 00:32:01.480 --> 00:32:03.440 glory, not mine. It's not about me anymore. It's 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:06.839 about you because I see who you are. Preserve 00:32:06.839 --> 00:32:08.720 my life and your righteousness. Bring me out 00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:11.200 of trouble. You're in your unfailing love. Silence 00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:14.099 my enemies. Destroy all my foes for I am your 00:32:14.099 --> 00:32:17.799 servant. Wow. What a difference from how we started 00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:21.640 it. Where he goes, do you even hear me? It's 00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:23.200 in the end. He's like, I'm your servant. What 00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:28.640 do you need? Let's build your kingdom. He got 00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:33.619 here by winter. He got here by taking. circumstances 00:32:33.619 --> 00:32:36.119 that he didn't like by taking pain and suffering. 00:32:36.220 --> 00:32:38.900 And what happens is, is in that he ends up at 00:32:38.900 --> 00:32:44.859 a table with God himself, where God nourishes 00:32:44.859 --> 00:32:48.740 him and transforms him and grows what needs to 00:32:48.740 --> 00:32:51.740 grow in the next season of David's life. What 00:32:51.740 --> 00:32:55.299 is God growing in this season in your life through 00:32:55.299 --> 00:32:59.299 winter? Maybe it's stuff that you don't like 00:32:59.299 --> 00:33:01.059 about yourself. Maybe it's stuff that you don't 00:33:01.059 --> 00:33:02.759 like that's coming across your path. But what 00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:08.740 I do know is this. You are invited to a table. 00:33:13.099 --> 00:33:19.960 You're invited to sit. Can we just level the 00:33:19.960 --> 00:33:23.759 playing field? None of us deserve to sit at the 00:33:23.759 --> 00:33:26.220 table, okay? So if you're sitting here going, 00:33:26.319 --> 00:33:29.599 I don't know if I should be at the table with 00:33:29.599 --> 00:33:38.400 God, it might set on fire. Not only is there 00:33:38.400 --> 00:33:43.180 a table and a seat for you, but he is happy to 00:33:43.180 --> 00:33:46.980 be with you. He is the God through invitation 00:33:46.980 --> 00:33:53.400 of winter declares, I am on your side in this. 00:33:58.119 --> 00:34:04.980 That struggle that you have, that thing that 00:34:04.980 --> 00:34:08.820 feels like it just keeps jabbing you like a thorn 00:34:08.820 --> 00:34:15.639 is designed to take you to the table. The unknowns, 00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:18.079 the uncertainties, the I don't know how this 00:34:18.079 --> 00:34:21.920 works out, it's designed to take you to a table. 00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:27.510 How? Because I go in prayer and I ask. the God 00:34:27.510 --> 00:34:31.050 who can do anything. And what I'm reminded is 00:34:31.050 --> 00:34:34.550 that there is more than enough nourishment for 00:34:34.550 --> 00:34:36.650 everything I'll need. What you hold in your hand 00:34:36.650 --> 00:34:39.510 is a reminder that through the body and blood 00:34:39.510 --> 00:34:41.730 of Jesus, he provided everything you will ever 00:34:41.730 --> 00:34:46.710 need in this life. That he's restoring all things 00:34:46.710 --> 00:34:50.269 back to how he intended them to be. That wholeness, 00:34:50.389 --> 00:35:02.349 that healing. That eternity is secure. And it 00:35:02.349 --> 00:35:11.409 came through a table where he sat and he said, 00:35:11.449 --> 00:35:14.510 this is the representation of me that you are 00:35:14.510 --> 00:35:19.210 to carry forward as my people. So I'm curious. 00:35:19.949 --> 00:35:23.210 We heard the psalmist. We heard his conversation. 00:35:23.920 --> 00:35:26.400 What is the honest conversation you need to have 00:35:26.400 --> 00:35:30.559 with God at the table today? What do you need 00:35:30.559 --> 00:35:37.460 to tell him? What does he need to hear? Where 00:35:37.460 --> 00:35:39.119 do you need to be vulnerable? Where do you need 00:35:39.119 --> 00:35:41.960 to be honest? And where do you need to invite, 00:35:42.159 --> 00:35:46.940 answer the invitation to sit? And so as you sit 00:35:46.940 --> 00:35:50.400 at the table in these next moments, God is across 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:56.150 the table and he's happy to be. There. He is 00:35:56.150 --> 00:36:00.170 happy to sit with you. So what do you got to 00:36:00.170 --> 00:36:03.070 say to him? The next moments are yours and then 00:36:03.070 --> 00:37:36.019 we'll take it all together. Jesus sat at the 00:37:36.019 --> 00:37:44.119 table with his closest friends, also known as 00:37:44.119 --> 00:37:49.719 the disciples. And he took bread and he goes, 00:37:49.739 --> 00:37:55.980 this is my body. God in human form. This is my 00:37:55.980 --> 00:38:05.010 body. And it is given for you. He knew. He knew 00:38:05.010 --> 00:38:08.909 that at that table, one of those people would 00:38:08.909 --> 00:38:17.690 betray him. He knew you would sit at the table 00:38:17.690 --> 00:38:21.989 today with everything you carried to the table, 00:38:22.090 --> 00:38:27.650 with all of your best moments and all of your 00:38:27.650 --> 00:38:33.530 mistakes. And yet he's still happy to give his 00:38:33.530 --> 00:38:38.610 body. Knowing you are at the table today. He's 00:38:38.610 --> 00:38:44.710 happy to be at the table. Even, you guys, I'll 00:38:44.710 --> 00:38:48.170 go first. Even knowing the fight with my wife 00:38:48.170 --> 00:38:54.130 this week. True story. He's happy to sit at the 00:38:54.130 --> 00:39:02.389 table in my failures. In my struggles. In my 00:39:02.389 --> 00:39:06.239 not so great moments. And he's still happy to 00:39:06.239 --> 00:39:12.699 go, this is my body given for you. Don't forget, 00:39:12.820 --> 00:39:24.179 do this in remembrance of me. He took a cup of 00:39:24.179 --> 00:39:26.840 wine and he talked about how everything was going 00:39:26.840 --> 00:39:30.070 to be different. New covenant. And what makes 00:39:30.070 --> 00:39:32.489 this table so special is when we are nourished 00:39:32.489 --> 00:39:35.110 by it, what we understand is that because of 00:39:35.110 --> 00:39:37.710 the blood of Jesus, in Christ alone, you are 00:39:37.710 --> 00:39:41.170 free. In Christ alone, you are accepted. In the 00:39:41.170 --> 00:39:45.590 blood of Jesus, you are forgiven. Right? That's 00:39:45.590 --> 00:39:48.349 what we're given. And we come to this table and 00:39:48.349 --> 00:39:50.369 we're reminded of all those things. We're reminded 00:39:50.369 --> 00:39:53.469 that our future is secure. Why? Because it was 00:39:53.469 --> 00:39:56.130 purchased through the blood of Jesus, not by 00:39:56.130 --> 00:39:59.739 me. And so he took a cup of wine and he gave 00:39:59.739 --> 00:40:01.699 it to them. And he said, take, drink, do this 00:40:01.699 --> 00:40:07.739 in remembrance of me. God, we're just grateful 00:40:07.739 --> 00:40:10.619 people. We just say thank you this morning. Thank 00:40:10.619 --> 00:40:13.820 you for the gift of prayer. Thank you that in 00:40:13.820 --> 00:40:17.400 prayer, it's an invitation in the hardest seasons. 00:40:19.400 --> 00:40:22.119 That what the hardest seasons do, God, you use 00:40:22.119 --> 00:40:26.440 them to lead us to a table where you are sitting. 00:40:27.070 --> 00:40:32.889 And you are present. And you nourish us and remind 00:40:32.889 --> 00:40:36.570 us that in Christ alone, we have been given everything. 00:40:37.090 --> 00:40:39.110 And so we just say thank you. Thank you for grace 00:40:39.110 --> 00:40:41.949 and thank you for mercy. And everybody said, 00:40:42.110 --> 00:40:45.110 amen. Church, would you stand as we respond in 00:40:45.110 --> 00:40:45.289 song?