WEBVTT

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So growing up my my family heated our home with

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a wood -burning stove in fact they stayed with

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that until I went to college and my brother went

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to college and Ironically when we both went to

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college they put it in a furnace So I I think

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that there might be something to that but growing

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up that meant that we spent most of our Saturdays

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especially in the fall and early winter doing

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the same thing cut Carrie split, stack, repeat.

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But this Saturday was a little bit different

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because my grandfather was in town and he was

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ready to lend us a hand with our cut, carry,

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split, stack routine. And we had been kind of

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eyeballing this dead tree that was just a couple

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miles from our house and it was right in the

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middle of this deep, it was kind of in the middle

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in the heart of this stand of timber. So there

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was really only one direction that we could cause

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it to fall that would be the right one There

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was one shot one angle and we of course completely

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missed it So the tree ends up wedged in another

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tree high up in the top branches almost like

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it was trapped there Then my grandfather who

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was never one to be outdone by gravity Decided

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that it was time to tie a rope around his waist

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the other end of the rope around a chainsaw And

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he began to shimmy up the tree. No harness, no

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helmet, just raw grit and old school streak of

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recklessness and stupidity. So he ends up about

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30 feet up off the ground, and he starts lobbing

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branches off like a wild man. Just with something

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to watch. There's branches falling down around

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him. It's this chaotic storm. And even as a kid,

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I remember thinking to myself, this will not

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end well. So and then crack The sound of surrender

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the final limbs gave way and the tree Began to

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fall so my grandfather did the only thing that

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he could with the time that he had He took the

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chainsaw and chucked it away from him now mind

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you he's still tied to it But he chucks the chainsaw

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you can kind of see it jerk in his waist as it

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falls to the ground and he wraps his arms around

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the tree, and it was a large tree, but he wraps

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his arms and his legs around the tree and he

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rides it all the way to the ground like some

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wild lumberjack cowboy. It was loud, it was dramatic,

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it was unforgettable, and what struck me about

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that later was how that single fallen tree drew

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all the attention that day. The crash echoed,

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the chaos was forever burned into our memory.

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But all about that, there was something else

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that was still going on. Quietly, steadily, unnoticed,

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the rest of the forest was still growing. There's

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an old Italian proverb that says this, a tree

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that falls makes more noise than a forest that

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grows. So think about that for a little bit a

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tree that falls makes more noise Than a forest

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that grows that single line captures how? Many

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of us live when a tree falls. It's loud it crashes

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it breaks it demands attention We hear it we

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try to run as far away from that as we possibly

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can Hopefully it's in the right direction if

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you know what I mean because there again you

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might be running in the wrong direction, but

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we try to run away from it as fast as we can.

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We feel it. We not only feel it on the outside,

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but we feel it on the inside because our heart

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beats faster. And all the while something else

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is happening quietly, steadily, and invisibly.

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The forest is still growing. Roots stretch deep.

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Life spreads wide. The forest doesn't need to

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be loud to be alive. This proverb invites us

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to consider what we pay attention to. So I think

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the question for us today is this, do we only

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notice what's broken, what's fallen, or loud?

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Or do we see what's quietly, redemptively, and

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faithfully growing? I'll be the first to admit

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that this is often a challenging task. And it's

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easy for us to get sucked into all of the things

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that are loud and vie for our attention. Elijah

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knew something about these loud moments too.

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So it's one of those that I hope they have on

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Blu -ray when I get to heaven. So, I mean, you

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know the story well. He has this showdown on

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top of Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal.

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Fire falls from heaven. The entire nation's watching.

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The false prophets are defeated. You would think

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that victory would have left Elijah feeling very

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strong, but it didn't. Because there was this

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woman by the name of Jezebel and Jezebel was

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loud and Jezebel decided that she was going to

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threaten Elijah's life So just like a tree that

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would be falling Elijah does the exact same thing.

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He runs for his life He eventually finds a cave

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and he's gonna hide in it. He's afraid he's depleted.

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He's undone God shows up and says hey, I want

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you to come out from the cave I want you to stand

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on the side of the mountain because he's about

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to pass by So then the Bible tells us that there

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was a mighty rushing wind that tore through the

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rocks, but then the Bible says the Lord wasn't

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in the wind. Then there was an earthquake, and

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the Bible says still the Lord wasn't in the earthquake.

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And then there was a fire, and then the Bible

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says that he wasn't in the fire either. Finally,

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a still small voice, just a gentle whisper, God

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shows up, and that's how he speaks to Elijah.

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God was not in the loud things that were going

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on. He was in the quiet and in the hidden. Elijah

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didn't find God in the chaos or the noise but

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in the silence and maybe that's the lesson for

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us. Roots don't grow in the spotlight. Life takes

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hold underground. Often the process of growth

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is much slower than we'd all like it to be, right?

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So we would all like to grow and it just does

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not happen nearly as fast as we would like. The

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fallen tree represents those loud moments of

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loss and pain in crisis, the parts of life that

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seem to collapse around us without warning. And

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we all have them. Things like a sudden death,

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a diagnosis, a shattered relationship, a deep

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betrayal, a season of burnout or spiritual exhaustion.

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And if you can't think of one in your own life,

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You do understand that we don't have to look

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very far to find people who are experiencing

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that, because we live in a world surrounded by

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fallen trees. Job knew what it was like to be

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surrounded by fallen trees. If you have your

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Bible there with you, you can turn with me to

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a couple passages in Job. The first one is Job

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chapter 1 verses 13 through 19. I won't read

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it all to you, but this is what's going on in

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Job chapter 1 verses 13 through 19. So this is

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how the story really begins. Job the passage

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starts off and says that Job was a righteous

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man and there's this conversation between God

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and Satan and and Satan basically says this he's

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like hey Job's faithful to you because you're

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really good to him and if you were to take your

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hand off of him even just for a moment that that

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Job would curse you and He wouldn't follow you

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anymore and God's like yeah, that's just not

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job. So Satan's allowed to kind of do his number

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on job And so really it starts to unfold in verse

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13 and all these messengers start lining up and

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they're coming with all of these kinds of heartbreaking

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news. The first messenger shows up and he says,

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hey Joe Blitzen, all of your livestock, they're

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now dead. Like everything that you own as far

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as livestock, every one of them are dead. And

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before he can finish saying that, there's another

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servant... He's waiting to give another message

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to Job and the second one says hey Joe not only

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is that guy true He's telling you the truth,

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but all of your servants have been murdered And

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before he can get that out of his mouth The next

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servant is like hey I've got some message for

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him too and this message is that fire has fallen

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from heaven and Your children have all been lost

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fallen tree after fallen tree Each time before

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one even finishes speaking the other one has

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already arrived. The noise is deafening The trauma

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is layered. The fall is Relentless the Hebrew

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word that's used throughout Job's story to describe

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this kind of disaster is raw Say that you'll

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just feel smart raw. In fact, I think it's even

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up on the screen Maybe maybe not raw. So if we

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were to transliterate it into English, it would

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be RA AH, Ra 'ah. So the word Ra 'ah means several

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things. It's used as evil. So like this isn't

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just a bad day. There's something evil going

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on here. That's different than just having a

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bad day, right? So I mean when you think about

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evil, there's willful intent involved. So this

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isn't just that things are falling apart, but

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that somebody's doing this on purpose. It also

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means trouble or calamity. But here's the thing

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about the word Ra 'al as it's used throughout

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the Old Testament. It's more than just all of

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that. It points to moral and existential anguish.

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His pain wasn't just about those circumstances.

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It was a soul deep crushing kind of pain. Well,

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all doesn't just mean that it's bad news. It's

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the kind of trouble that makes you question your

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place in the world Have you had one of those

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things that happen to you? You're like what in

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the world am I doing here? This doesn't make

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any sense. That's what's going on with him and

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the same is true for us, too When our own trees

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fall, we don't just feel the loss we feel disoriented

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We feel unmoored and at times we even feel spiritually

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abandoned. The noise of suffering can drown out

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the quieter truths that we once believed. If

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only we were able to remind ourselves in those

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moments that a tree that falls makes more noise

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than a forest that grows. While we have to deal

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with the noise, it doesn't last forever. So here's

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the the revelation in all of that The fallen

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tree is not the end and sometimes The fallen

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tree is actually the beginning of deeper growth

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Now I don't want you to hear me say that and

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and think that and I in any way and minimizing

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the pain of the fallen tree Because I'm not I

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think that it would be irresponsible to do that.

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I'm not minimizing that at all, but the reality

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is that often in those fallen trees, because

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God's still faithful even in those moments, that

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it can be the beginning of something good, that

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God can cause growth to happen in us even in

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those moments. When a tree falls in the forest

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it isn't wasted, it becomes soil for the next

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generation of life. If that makes sense, go like

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this. So you've seen that played out. So it feeds

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other things that are about to take place. It

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clears the canopy of sunlight so that the sunlight

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can reach the ground in ways that it didn't before,

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and it makes room for new things to flourish.

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So have you ever watched as a tree fell in your

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life? In the moment it was incredibly painful.

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You question why, and sometime down the road

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God brings something new into your life that

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would not have been possible if the tree was

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still standing. Have you watched this happen?

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So I've been on the fence about this, about how

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much of this I want to share with you, but I

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directed or was a part of preteen camp at least

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on our district for 32 consecutive years. I didn't

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do it so that I could say I was a part of our

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camp for 32 years. That's not why I did it. I

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would say that I almost kind of called to camp,

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and I just believe in what happens at camp. I

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mean if you just look at it from a stats point

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of view. So if we had students who were in church

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every week of the year, which doesn't happen

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anymore by the way. So there was a time like

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if you said you were an average if you went if

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you were a regular church attender what you meant

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by that is that you attended church at least

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46 Sundays of the year. That's what you meant

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by that. And today when somebody says I'm a regular

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church attender it means that they attend about

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20 times a year. That's just what the stats are.

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So if you're above 20 times a year, I mean you're

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like exceptional, but 20 times a year. So if

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we had children here for 20 times a year and

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we had them for a full hour, which we don't,

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but if we did that would be 20 hours of time

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that we can invest in a child's life. So how

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many hours do we have them when they're at camp?

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Considering that they come on Monday, They're

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there the rest of the day Monday. They're there

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all day Tuesday all day Wednesday all day Thursday

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and half a day on Friday How many hours do we

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have to invest in them? How many of you think

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it's a lot more than 20 So here's the point So

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we're given an opportunity to invest far more

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time into a student's life Then we would have

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an entire year if they were at church And there's

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also just something about seeing that lived out

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in people's lives. I believe in camp. I always

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have. And I don't want to go into all the details

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with it, but through circumstances that were

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not my own choosing, that 32 -year time of being

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involved in children's camps came to an end.

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And it was a tree that fell. And it was painful.

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If you asked Anita about it, it was painful for

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her. It was painful for me. I think it was more

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painful for me, but we don't need to get into

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all of that. But I can't tell you that it was

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a little painful for her. It was painful for

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me. But here's the reality. If that tree hadn't

00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:02.960
fallen, I wouldn't have been able to direct teen

00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:07.519
camp this year. And when Jeremy, who was going

00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:09.240
to direct teen camp, when he would have called

00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:11.679
and said, hey Phil, is there any way that you

00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:13.460
could direct this camp this year? The answer

00:15:13.460 --> 00:15:18.309
would have been, Have you lost your mind? No,

00:15:18.509 --> 00:15:21.370
I can't direct that camp. I've got my own to

00:15:21.370 --> 00:15:23.730
direct I'm not gonna be able to help you direct

00:15:23.730 --> 00:15:25.809
yours. You're gonna have to come up with another

00:15:25.809 --> 00:15:28.549
option But here's the point that I want you to

00:15:28.549 --> 00:15:30.850
see in all of that So even though that that tree

00:15:30.850 --> 00:15:32.750
that fell was painful and it's not something

00:15:32.750 --> 00:15:35.330
that I would have chosen on my own Yet God was

00:15:35.330 --> 00:15:37.509
up to something good in the midst of it, right?

00:15:38.809 --> 00:15:42.370
And God was allowing something new to be done

00:15:42.370 --> 00:15:46.159
in a place that once I mean, it just looked like

00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:47.539
it was a fallen tree. It was just something that

00:15:47.539 --> 00:15:50.000
was gonna be painful. Does that make sense? And

00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:52.559
I think that God's up to that in our lives more

00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:54.919
often than we sometimes realize. That where it

00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:57.419
looks like it's just a fallen tree, it could

00:15:57.419 --> 00:15:59.919
be the beginning of something that God's doing

00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:03.679
that's new. So spiritually the same thing happens.

00:16:04.139 --> 00:16:07.139
Through Job's life, though it seemed to be destroyed,

00:16:07.779 --> 00:16:10.340
God was still working. His pain wasn't proof

00:16:10.340 --> 00:16:15.450
of God's absence, but it was proof that God was

00:16:15.450 --> 00:16:18.830
about to bring restoration into his life. Job

00:16:18.830 --> 00:16:22.889
chapter 42 verses 10 through 17. You can't turn

00:16:22.889 --> 00:16:24.470
there. I'm just going to give you one verse that's

00:16:24.470 --> 00:16:29.190
there. So this is Job chapter 42 verse 10 and

00:16:29.190 --> 00:16:31.350
this is the English standard version. This is

00:16:31.350 --> 00:16:35.029
what it says, and the Lord restored the fortunes

00:16:35.029 --> 00:16:38.470
of Job when he prayed for his friends and the

00:16:38.470 --> 00:16:40.929
Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

00:16:41.889 --> 00:16:45.340
Just one simple verse. Filled with profound truth,

00:16:45.340 --> 00:16:48.639
but here it is The Lord restored the fortunes

00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:50.600
of Job and here's the thing that I want you to

00:16:50.600 --> 00:16:54.320
notice first one when he prayed for his friends

00:16:54.320 --> 00:17:01.340
It's so important The Lord restored the fortune

00:17:01.340 --> 00:17:05.619
of Job When he prayed for his friends and the

00:17:05.619 --> 00:17:08.799
Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before

00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:12.240
So three observations that I want to point out

00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:17.099
about that simple First one is this. Restoration

00:17:17.099 --> 00:17:19.460
comes after intercession. In fact, that's easy

00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:23.160
enough. Say it with me. Restoration comes after

00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:27.380
intercession. So Job's turning point wasn't just

00:17:27.380 --> 00:17:30.880
after his suffering ended. It was after he prayed

00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:34.160
for others, even the ones who had misunderstood

00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:44.339
and mistreated him. There's deep power in forgiving

00:17:44.339 --> 00:17:48.920
and interceding for others Things didn't turn

00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:53.279
around for Job Until he started praying for other

00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:58.559
people The second one is this It's that phrase

00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:01.539
that says it was twice as much as he had before

00:18:01.539 --> 00:18:05.279
The Hebrew word for restored is the word shove

00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:08.220
Now don't do it to the person beside you, but

00:18:08.220 --> 00:18:11.960
it's that word shove Don't shove them. It's not

00:18:11.960 --> 00:18:15.480
nice. But the Hebrew word shove means to return,

00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:17.680
to bring back, to make whole again. It's more

00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:20.460
than just getting stuff back. It's a spiritual

00:18:20.460 --> 00:18:23.839
and relational restoration. Job wasn't just repaired.

00:18:24.099 --> 00:18:27.380
He was renewed. God didn't just return Job's

00:18:27.380 --> 00:18:30.519
life to normal. He doubled it. So a lot of times

00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:32.119
when we think about the painful things, when

00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:34.420
we think about the trees that fall in our life,

00:18:36.119 --> 00:18:40.359
what we want is to get back to normal. And the

00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:44.799
reality is, we don't ever get back to normal.

00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:49.240
So the reality is that we just have to find what

00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:53.059
the new normal is going to be. And the thing

00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:55.019
that's amazing about this passage is, and I get

00:18:55.019 --> 00:18:56.920
all of that, I talk about that all the time,

00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.680
especially in the context of trauma and crisis,

00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:02.839
I get that, I understand that, but Job's example

00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:05.559
is not just that he got back to normal, but that

00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:08.119
he had twice as much as he did before he went

00:19:08.119 --> 00:19:10.740
into this entire thing. If you read through the

00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:14.559
entire passage there in Job chapter 42, you'll

00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:16.519
read about that he had twice as many sons and

00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:18.380
daughters, he had twice the number of livestock,

00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:20.380
and it goes through and details all of those

00:19:20.380 --> 00:19:22.759
things. God literally gave him back twice what

00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:25.960
he had lost. Here's the third thing that I want

00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:30.299
you to see. It's the quiet truth behind the noise

00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:33.380
of suffering. While Job's story is filled with

00:19:33.380 --> 00:19:36.859
loud laments and debates and loss, The final

00:19:36.859 --> 00:19:39.559
act is quiet. It's restoration through humility,

00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:42.359
prayer, and grace. And here's the thing that

00:19:42.359 --> 00:19:44.440
I want you to catch in all of that. So if you

00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:46.380
read through the entire book, Job goes through

00:19:46.380 --> 00:19:50.039
a ton of stuff. I mean just a ton of stuff. But

00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:52.640
in the midst of it, God never once stopped working.

00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:55.940
God was faithful to keep working through the

00:19:55.940 --> 00:19:58.859
entire thing. We just didn't hear the forest

00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:00.980
growing over the sound of the fall of the tree.

00:20:03.150 --> 00:20:05.809
It's easy for us to do we hear all of that noise

00:20:05.809 --> 00:20:07.509
and it's easy for us just to get caught up in

00:20:07.509 --> 00:20:10.650
that So here's the good news the big fancy word

00:20:10.650 --> 00:20:13.569
that we would say is here's the gospel Which

00:20:13.569 --> 00:20:16.069
just means the good news So like when people

00:20:16.069 --> 00:20:18.049
when we share the gospel with people it should

00:20:18.049 --> 00:20:20.549
be good news because that's what it means So

00:20:20.549 --> 00:20:22.250
if we share the gospel with them, and it's nothing

00:20:22.250 --> 00:20:28.390
but bad news. That's not the gospel right Are

00:20:28.390 --> 00:20:31.710
you if you're with me go like this? The gospel

00:20:31.710 --> 00:20:34.609
means the good news and if it's not good news,

00:20:34.950 --> 00:20:38.970
it's not the gospel. So here's the good news

00:20:38.970 --> 00:20:44.230
Jesus entered our world of fallen trees He endured

00:20:44.230 --> 00:20:48.529
the greatest fall of all the cross and from it,

00:20:48.730 --> 00:20:52.869
but the greatest growth the resurrection Not

00:20:52.869 --> 00:21:00.450
just his but yours That's pretty incredible.

00:21:01.950 --> 00:21:05.950
When Jesus stood at Lazarus' tomb, he didn't

00:21:05.950 --> 00:21:11.130
ignore the pain. He didn't say things like, well,

00:21:11.910 --> 00:21:17.049
just focus on the good. This is one of my pet

00:21:17.049 --> 00:21:19.210
peeves, so this one's painful for me to even

00:21:19.210 --> 00:21:23.690
say. But he didn't say things like, well, I guess

00:21:23.690 --> 00:21:26.450
heaven needed another angel. Let me just stop

00:21:26.450 --> 00:21:29.299
here for a second. until you don't ever say that

00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:32.500
to someone, okay? Don't ever say that or anything

00:21:32.500 --> 00:21:35.079
like it. Don't ever say anything like that. If

00:21:35.079 --> 00:21:37.559
you don't know what to say, say nothing. Just

00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:40.660
stand there and say nothing. It's better to show

00:21:40.660 --> 00:21:43.140
up. Don't say silly things like that. That is

00:21:43.140 --> 00:21:46.119
terrible theology. And you make God out to be

00:21:46.119 --> 00:21:52.420
a monster. And God's not a monster. Don't say

00:21:52.420 --> 00:21:54.319
things like, heaven needed another angel. That's

00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:58.740
terrible theology. Terrible. God didn't need

00:21:58.740 --> 00:22:01.720
another angel. It doesn't work like that Okay,

00:22:02.339 --> 00:22:04.700
your loved one doesn't become an angel. That's

00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:07.619
a terrible theology. I'm sorry. Okay, I'm done.

00:22:07.619 --> 00:22:11.720
I'll feel better now He didn't say any of those

00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:18.579
silly things Do you know what he did do? He wept

00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:25.299
It's John 11 .35. It's the shortest verse in

00:22:25.299 --> 00:22:27.339
the Bible. So if you ever need to know a verse

00:22:27.339 --> 00:22:29.319
in the Bible, like if you need to quote a verse

00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:31.299
in the Bible, I would strongly encourage John

00:22:31.299 --> 00:22:34.579
11 .35. Jesus wept. I mean, there it is. Two

00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:37.440
words. And you're absolutely right. Shortest

00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:40.720
verse in the Bible. Jesus wept. So the word that's

00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:44.940
used there is decryo. D -A -K -R -O is how we

00:22:44.940 --> 00:22:49.019
would put it in English. Decryo. And decryo means

00:22:49.019 --> 00:22:52.720
to shed quiet personal tears. It's very different

00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:55.400
than loud public wailing. It's intimate, compassionate,

00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:57.400
real. Here's the thing that I want you to see

00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:01.019
in that. Jesus was fully present with the pain

00:23:01.019 --> 00:23:04.480
and yet fully confident in the resurrection to

00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:09.220
come. And he holds those two in tension. It's

00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:13.000
not that he didn't engage with the pain or that

00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:14.700
he's just like, you know, think on the positive.

00:23:15.740 --> 00:23:19.369
No, he fully embraced the pain. He fully has

00:23:19.369 --> 00:23:22.390
his brain and his heart around the pain and at

00:23:22.390 --> 00:23:24.589
the same time He balanced it with the fact that

00:23:24.589 --> 00:23:27.049
while I am fully gonna come in contact and grip

00:23:27.049 --> 00:23:29.789
with the pain I fully am going to embrace the

00:23:29.789 --> 00:23:32.650
fact that this isn't the end that the resurrection

00:23:32.650 --> 00:23:37.509
is going to happen in Romans 8 28 Paul reminds

00:23:37.509 --> 00:23:40.069
us and we know that in all things God works together

00:23:40.069 --> 00:23:42.509
for good for those who love him who have been

00:23:42.509 --> 00:23:44.470
called according to his purpose the Greek word

00:23:44.470 --> 00:23:48.099
there is synergy Oh It's where we get the word

00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:52.519
synergy. So the word works that synergy Oh So

00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:55.480
God works. What does that mean? That means he

00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:57.660
works in cooperation. He works together with

00:23:57.660 --> 00:24:01.960
he partners with us. It's Synergy, so that's

00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:04.000
what he does in the painful things of our life.

00:24:04.019 --> 00:24:07.359
He cooperates he works with them He rolls up

00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:09.920
his sleeves and gets involved. He doesn't just

00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:12.900
say you know what that really sucks I'm sorry

00:24:12.900 --> 00:24:14.700
that you're having a bad day. That's not the

00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:17.319
God that we serve He rolls up his sleeves and

00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:20.319
gets involved. He partners with us in our pain

00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:25.519
He's present with us in our pain He fully is

00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:28.400
he's in there in the pain with us and yet he

00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:31.059
holds intention the fact that it's not the end

00:24:31.059 --> 00:24:33.640
That even though it's painful and it's difficult.

00:24:33.640 --> 00:24:38.000
It's not the final word That he's up to something

00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:40.480
good even in the midst of it. God does not stand

00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:44.190
at a distance Sounds like a terrible song with

00:24:44.190 --> 00:24:46.849
terrible theology. From a distance, it's terrible

00:24:46.849 --> 00:24:49.869
theology. That's not the God that we serve. He's

00:24:49.869 --> 00:24:52.150
not passive at all. He's actively partnering

00:24:52.150 --> 00:24:55.049
with us in our pain to bring something beautiful

00:24:55.049 --> 00:25:00.130
from it. The cross, I think, demonstrates that

00:25:00.130 --> 00:25:04.049
most clearly. A tree fell, it was loud, but from

00:25:04.049 --> 00:25:06.769
that tree came life, salvation, resurrection,

00:25:07.049 --> 00:25:09.730
and eternal hope. So what do we do with all of

00:25:09.730 --> 00:25:15.039
this? a couple things, four of them. Here are

00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:16.799
the things that I think we need to do with this.

00:25:16.900 --> 00:25:23.259
First, we need to care for the fallen tree. What

00:25:23.259 --> 00:25:26.259
do I mean by that? We're not called to ignore

00:25:26.259 --> 00:25:31.440
suffering. Romans 12 -15 says this, mourn with

00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:36.839
those who mourn. Job cried, Jesus cried, we can

00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:41.309
cry too. I'm not talking about ignoring the pain.

00:25:41.869 --> 00:25:44.190
I'm not talking about putting a candy coating

00:25:44.190 --> 00:25:47.230
on it. It's okay for us to take care of the fallen

00:25:47.230 --> 00:25:50.009
tree. Being people of hope doesn't mean that

00:25:50.009 --> 00:25:52.210
we pretend everything's fine. It means that we

00:25:52.210 --> 00:25:54.950
hold grief and faith together, fully present

00:25:54.950 --> 00:25:57.309
in the pain and fully convinced of the resurrection.

00:25:57.609 --> 00:26:00.349
That's what it means to be people of faith. That

00:26:00.349 --> 00:26:02.829
we fully hold the pain, but we fully hold on

00:26:02.829 --> 00:26:06.210
to the fact that this isn't the final word. Number

00:26:06.210 --> 00:26:10.779
two, we focus on the growing forest. Don't let

00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:13.799
your crash be your whole story. You know, you've

00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:15.819
heard the expression, right? Don't miss the forest

00:26:15.819 --> 00:26:19.460
for the trees. And it's easy for us to do that,

00:26:19.539 --> 00:26:22.019
right? We miss the forest for the trees. So this

00:26:22.019 --> 00:26:24.000
one tree that's falling, we give all of our attention

00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:26.319
to that and we miss the fact that the rest of

00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:29.299
the forest is growing. So ask God to give us

00:26:29.299 --> 00:26:31.779
eyes that are open to the forest, the quiet places

00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:35.019
that He's working, places like renewing strength.

00:26:36.059 --> 00:26:38.920
renewing character and deepening compassion and

00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:43.440
causing spiritual growth. Paul says in 2 Corinthians

00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:47.059
chapter 4 verses 16 through 18 says this, though

00:26:47.059 --> 00:26:49.539
outwardly we're wasting away, inwardly we're

00:26:49.539 --> 00:26:52.579
being renewed day by day. So the Greek word used

00:26:52.579 --> 00:26:54.779
there, I'm a biblical language nerd but you already

00:26:54.779 --> 00:26:59.799
knew that, the Greek word that's used there is

00:26:59.799 --> 00:27:02.339
anacanu. If you want to feel smart you can say

00:27:02.339 --> 00:27:06.079
that, anacanu. word that's used there for, he's

00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:09.859
making, he's making things new. The word that

00:27:09.859 --> 00:27:13.720
is, that word anakenu means to make new again

00:27:13.720 --> 00:27:18.539
and again and again and again and again and again

00:27:18.539 --> 00:27:22.700
and again. Sometimes I often think that we think

00:27:22.700 --> 00:27:25.220
of it as like a one and done, like it's a quick

00:27:25.220 --> 00:27:27.279
one -time fix. That's not the word that's used

00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:30.660
there at all. That day by day he's... making

00:27:30.660 --> 00:27:33.299
it new. He's working. He's bringing about those

00:27:33.299 --> 00:27:36.240
things over and over again. It's an ongoing work.

00:27:36.660 --> 00:27:39.299
Number three, we need to trust in the quiet work

00:27:39.299 --> 00:27:42.400
of the Spirit. It's like the mustard seed in

00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:47.359
Mark 4. It's 30 through 32. The kingdom starts

00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:50.579
small and grows slowly. Here's that passage.

00:27:51.819 --> 00:27:54.359
With what can we compare the kingdom of God or

00:27:54.359 --> 00:27:57.059
what parable shall we use for it? It's like a

00:27:57.059 --> 00:27:59.630
grain of mustard seed. which when sown on the

00:27:59.630 --> 00:28:01.730
ground is the smallest of all the seeds of the

00:28:01.730 --> 00:28:04.589
earth, yet when it is sown it grows." That's

00:28:04.589 --> 00:28:07.269
the word I want you to notice, grows. It grows

00:28:07.269 --> 00:28:09.890
until it becomes larger than all the garden plants

00:28:09.890 --> 00:28:12.390
and puts out large branches so that the birds

00:28:12.390 --> 00:28:14.509
of the air can make their nest in it. The word

00:28:14.509 --> 00:28:17.950
grows in verse 32. The Greek word that's used

00:28:17.950 --> 00:28:21.769
there is a present tense verb, meaning that the

00:28:21.769 --> 00:28:24.029
growth is active, continual, and unstoppable.

00:28:24.829 --> 00:28:28.569
So like this, the seed gets sown, And once it

00:28:28.569 --> 00:28:32.410
gets sown, God's work continues on and on and

00:28:32.410 --> 00:28:34.829
on and on and on and on, and it's unstoppable.

00:28:35.230 --> 00:28:37.329
It doesn't matter what happens, the seed will

00:28:37.329 --> 00:28:39.089
continue to grow because God will be faithful

00:28:39.089 --> 00:28:42.910
to do that. God's doing something right now in

00:28:42.910 --> 00:28:45.130
your life, even if it's still beneath the surface.

00:28:45.990 --> 00:28:47.849
Even if you can't see it right now, God's up

00:28:47.849 --> 00:28:50.829
to something good in your life right now. The

00:28:50.829 --> 00:28:55.329
last one. Live with resurrection hope. Here's

00:28:55.329 --> 00:28:58.210
what I mean by that. Be someone who helps others

00:28:58.210 --> 00:29:03.130
see the forest. Speak life. Speak growth. Speak

00:29:03.130 --> 00:29:09.529
God's quiet work over loud pain. Those are the

00:29:09.529 --> 00:29:12.029
four things that I wanted to point out that we

00:29:12.029 --> 00:29:20.430
can do with the trees that fall. The old Italian

00:29:20.430 --> 00:29:22.849
proverb, a tree that falls makes more noise than

00:29:22.849 --> 00:29:28.190
a forest that grows. I think it's true, but noise

00:29:28.190 --> 00:29:31.869
isn't the same thing as truth. The fallen tree

00:29:31.869 --> 00:29:35.470
is real and painful, but it's not final. So here's

00:29:35.470 --> 00:29:37.569
what I want to encourage you to do with me today.

00:29:38.930 --> 00:29:44.609
Lift up your head, let your hope rise, and let

00:29:44.609 --> 00:29:48.420
your heart believe again. God's not just rebuilding

00:29:48.420 --> 00:29:50.900
what was lost. He's renewing you day by day.

00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:53.599
He's not just watching over the ruins He's partnering

00:29:53.599 --> 00:29:56.980
with you in your pain And even when you cannot

00:29:56.980 --> 00:30:00.740
see it You can trust that the forest is still

00:30:00.740 --> 00:30:06.339
growing So today we're gonna sing a song in just

00:30:06.339 --> 00:30:09.480
a second. I'm not sure which one that'll be but

00:30:09.480 --> 00:30:12.700
Anyways, we'll figure it out together But I do

00:30:12.700 --> 00:30:15.500
want to give an invitation to all who are here

00:30:16.170 --> 00:30:18.470
and to all who are watching online either right

00:30:18.470 --> 00:30:21.650
now or throughout the week. So today, here's

00:30:21.650 --> 00:30:25.690
the invitation. If you're standing in the aftermath

00:30:25.690 --> 00:30:28.890
of something that's fallen, it could be a relationship,

00:30:29.009 --> 00:30:31.890
a dream, a season of your life, I want you to

00:30:31.890 --> 00:30:37.170
know this, that you're not alone. If the noise

00:30:37.170 --> 00:30:39.769
of grief or fear has drowned out your hope, if

00:30:39.769 --> 00:30:42.269
you're wondering where God is in the silence,

00:30:42.690 --> 00:30:45.130
the invitation is for you. And here's the invitation.

00:30:47.040 --> 00:30:51.019
Come Come to the God who meets us not just in

00:30:51.019 --> 00:30:54.319
the fire and power but the still small voice

00:30:54.319 --> 00:30:57.119
Come to the one who brings beauty from ashes

00:30:57.119 --> 00:31:01.420
who takes was broken and plants new life Come

00:31:01.420 --> 00:31:03.539
and lay down the weight of what's fallen and

00:31:03.539 --> 00:31:05.519
open up your heart to what's quietly steadily

00:31:05.519 --> 00:31:09.559
and faithfully growing The forest is still growing

00:31:09.559 --> 00:31:13.119
Will you trust him with what you cannot see?

00:31:14.309 --> 00:31:17.329
We say yes to the whisper that still small voice

00:31:17.329 --> 00:31:20.769
We say yes to the mustard seed that once it gets

00:31:20.769 --> 00:31:24.710
sown into our life That it continues to grow

00:31:24.710 --> 00:31:27.210
and grow and grow and is unstoppable. Will you

00:31:27.210 --> 00:31:31.329
say yes to that? We say yes to the quiet unstoppable

00:31:31.329 --> 00:31:32.210
work of God