WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.279 Welcome to Pomoja Ministry. At the end of our 00:00:03.279 --> 00:00:06.679 last conversation, we discovered something powerful. 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:10.179 There are moments when God establishes a boundary 00:00:10.179 --> 00:00:15.080 and declares, this far and no farther. The waves 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:19.079 may rise, but there is a boundary. The fire may 00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:22.460 burn, but there is a boundary. The enemy may 00:00:22.460 --> 00:00:26.260 pursue, but there is a boundary. And when God 00:00:26.260 --> 00:00:30.750 says, no farther, The battle does not have unlimited 00:00:30.750 --> 00:00:34.969 authority, but today I want us to go deeper because 00:00:34.969 --> 00:00:38.369 sometimes God does more than stop what was coming 00:00:38.369 --> 00:00:44.210 against you. Sometimes he reverses it. Sometimes 00:00:44.210 --> 00:00:48.909 the story changes direction. Sometimes what was 00:00:48.909 --> 00:00:51.929 moving toward destruction begins moving toward 00:00:51.929 --> 00:00:55.600 deliverance. Sometimes the thing that appeared 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:59.719 to have the advantage suddenly loses it. Sometimes 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:02.359 the place that looked like the end becomes the 00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:06.079 place where God begins something new. And perhaps 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:09.040 this is another mystery of divine intervention. 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:12.959 God does not always remove you from the situation. 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:16.900 Sometimes he changes what the situation is producing. 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:20.959 The prison becomes preparation. The pursuit becomes 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:24.750 deliverance. The accusation becomes vindication, 00:01:25.209 --> 00:01:28.810 the grave becomes resurrection, the cross becomes 00:01:28.810 --> 00:01:32.189 salvation, and what appeared to be moving in 00:01:32.189 --> 00:01:37.129 one direction suddenly turns. Not because human 00:01:37.129 --> 00:01:40.650 strength became greater, not because circumstances 00:01:40.650 --> 00:01:45.670 became easier, but because God stepped into the 00:01:45.670 --> 00:01:49.409 story. There is something fascinating about divine 00:01:49.409 --> 00:01:53.209 intervention. We often imagine it as interruption. 00:01:53.430 --> 00:01:57.189 Something bad is happening. God stops it. And 00:01:57.189 --> 00:02:00.909 yes, sometimes that is exactly what happens. 00:02:01.469 --> 00:02:04.730 But scripture reveals another dimension. Sometimes 00:02:04.730 --> 00:02:07.969 God allows events to continue long enough that 00:02:07.969 --> 00:02:11.370 the enemy becomes convinced he understands the 00:02:11.370 --> 00:02:15.009 ending. Then God changes the direction of the 00:02:15.009 --> 00:02:19.479 story. Think about the Red Sea. Israel is moving 00:02:19.479 --> 00:02:23.300 forward. Pharaoh is behind them. The sea is before 00:02:23.300 --> 00:02:27.539 them. Everything appears to favor Egypt. Pharaoh 00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:32.699 has horses, chariots, weapons, military experience. 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:36.280 Israel has frightened families standing beside 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:39.259 water. From the natural perspective, there is 00:02:39.259 --> 00:02:43.000 no comparison. Egypt appears stronger. And then 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:46.909 God opens the sea. Israel walks through. But 00:02:46.909 --> 00:02:50.069 Pharaoh makes a fatal assumption. He assumes 00:02:50.069 --> 00:02:53.430 that because the road opened for Israel, the 00:02:53.430 --> 00:02:56.669 same road belongs to him. He enters the sea, 00:02:57.129 --> 00:02:59.750 and suddenly the place Pharaoh believed would 00:02:59.750 --> 00:03:03.590 give him access to Israel becomes the place where 00:03:03.590 --> 00:03:07.729 his pursuit ends. Do you see the reversal? The 00:03:07.729 --> 00:03:11.310 sea that looked like Israel's trap became Israel's 00:03:11.310 --> 00:03:14.590 road. And the road Pharaoh believed would lead 00:03:14.590 --> 00:03:17.629 him to victory became the end of his pursuit. 00:03:18.610 --> 00:03:23.009 Same sea, different outcome, because God was 00:03:23.009 --> 00:03:26.870 in the story. Sometimes the thing that looks 00:03:26.870 --> 00:03:30.490 like it is blocking you may become the very place 00:03:30.490 --> 00:03:33.449 through which God demonstrates his faithfulness. 00:03:34.330 --> 00:03:37.330 Sometimes what appears to be the end of the road 00:03:37.330 --> 00:03:41.159 becomes a road you did not know existed. And 00:03:41.159 --> 00:03:44.360 sometimes the enemy follows you into territory 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:48.900 where only God can sustain you. Then discovers 00:03:48.900 --> 00:03:52.419 what God opened for you was never permission 00:03:52.419 --> 00:03:58.460 for him. That is reversal. There is a frightening 00:03:58.460 --> 00:04:02.120 story in the book of Esther. A man named Haman 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:05.099 becomes consumed with hatred toward Mordecai. 00:04:05.719 --> 00:04:08.280 He does not simply want Mordecai embarrassed. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:12.129 He wants him dead. and eventually Haman builds 00:04:12.129 --> 00:04:15.870 gallows specifically for Mordecai. Think about 00:04:15.870 --> 00:04:19.889 that. The structure already exists. The intention 00:04:19.889 --> 00:04:24.769 already exists. The plan already exists. Haman 00:04:24.769 --> 00:04:28.250 goes to the king, expecting to secure Mordecai's 00:04:28.250 --> 00:04:31.509 destruction. But before Haman can present his 00:04:31.509 --> 00:04:35.589 request, the king asks him a question. What should 00:04:35.589 --> 00:04:38.490 be done for the man the king delights to honor? 00:04:39.050 --> 00:04:42.050 Haman assumes the king is talking about him. 00:04:42.569 --> 00:04:45.569 So Haman describes an elaborate public honor, 00:04:46.209 --> 00:04:50.129 royal robes, the king's horse, a public procession, 00:04:50.470 --> 00:04:53.329 a proclamation before the people, and then the 00:04:53.329 --> 00:04:57.629 king says something Haman never expected. Go 00:04:57.629 --> 00:05:01.930 and do exactly that for Mordecai. Imagine that 00:05:01.930 --> 00:05:04.949 moment, the man who came expecting permission 00:05:04.949 --> 00:05:08.569 to destroy Mordecai. is commanded to publicly 00:05:08.569 --> 00:05:12.009 honor him. But the reversal goes even farther. 00:05:12.490 --> 00:05:16.290 The gallows Haman built for Mordecai eventually 00:05:16.290 --> 00:05:20.189 becomes the place of Haman's own execution. The 00:05:20.189 --> 00:05:23.509 trap changed owners. And I want to be careful 00:05:23.509 --> 00:05:26.730 with this revelation. This is not permission 00:05:26.730 --> 00:05:29.490 for Christians to pray for people's destruction. 00:05:30.250 --> 00:05:33.370 Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray 00:05:33.370 --> 00:05:37.009 for those who persecute us. Our prayer is not, 00:05:37.370 --> 00:05:41.829 God destroy everyone who opposes me. No. Our 00:05:41.829 --> 00:05:46.350 prayer is, God let truth prevail. Let evil fail. 00:05:46.750 --> 00:05:50.089 Let your righteousness stand. Because sometimes 00:05:50.089 --> 00:05:52.970 divine reversal is not about destroying a person. 00:05:53.350 --> 00:05:56.050 It is about destroying the intention of evil. 00:05:56.370 --> 00:06:00.610 A lie can collapse. An accusation can lose credibility. 00:06:01.089 --> 00:06:05.009 A scheme can be exposed. A manipulation can fail. 00:06:05.149 --> 00:06:09.149 A door opened through dishonesty can close, and 00:06:09.149 --> 00:06:12.389 something designed to bury you can become evidence 00:06:12.389 --> 00:06:15.970 that God was preserving you. You do not need 00:06:15.970 --> 00:06:19.569 revenge when you trust the judge. You do not 00:06:19.569 --> 00:06:23.189 need to become like your enemy in order to survive 00:06:23.189 --> 00:06:26.949 your enemy. You do not need hatred to overcome 00:06:26.949 --> 00:06:30.889 hatred. Sometimes your responsibility is simply 00:06:30.889 --> 00:06:34.759 to remain faithful. while God handles what you 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:38.920 cannot. Joseph's story gives us another kind 00:06:38.920 --> 00:06:42.300 of reversal. His brothers remove his robe. They 00:06:42.300 --> 00:06:45.160 throw him into a pit. They sell him. He becomes 00:06:45.160 --> 00:06:48.319 a servant. He is falsely accused. He becomes 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:51.579 a prisoner. Everything moves downward. Dream. 00:06:52.220 --> 00:06:58.600 Pit. Pit. Slavery. Slavery. Accusation. Accusation. 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:02.240 Prison. If you stop Joseph's story there, You 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:05.800 could reasonably ask, where is God? Because everything 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:07.920 appears to be moving in the wrong direction. 00:07:08.579 --> 00:07:11.579 But then Pharaoh has a dream. The cup bearer 00:07:11.579 --> 00:07:15.939 remembers Joseph. Joseph is summoned. And suddenly, 00:07:16.660 --> 00:07:19.920 the direction changes. The prisoner becomes governor. 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:23.420 But there is something deeper here. Joseph's 00:07:23.420 --> 00:07:26.120 reversal did not begin the day he stood before 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:29.360 Pharaoh. God had been preparing him throughout 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:32.410 the downward chapters. The gift he needed in 00:07:32.410 --> 00:07:35.110 the palace was already operating in the prison. 00:07:35.910 --> 00:07:38.529 The administrative wisdom he would need over 00:07:38.529 --> 00:07:41.329 Egypt was being developed in places that did 00:07:41.329 --> 00:07:45.569 not look anything like destiny. That means reversal 00:07:45.569 --> 00:07:49.149 is not always God suddenly doing something unrelated 00:07:49.149 --> 00:07:52.569 to what came before. Sometimes he reveals that 00:07:52.569 --> 00:07:56.089 he had been redeeming the road all along. Joseph's 00:07:56.089 --> 00:07:59.790 prison was unjust, but prison could not prevent 00:07:59.790 --> 00:08:03.420 preparation. His brother's betrayal was evil, 00:08:04.019 --> 00:08:07.379 but betrayal could not cancel purpose. False 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:11.100 accusation damaged his circumstances, but it 00:08:11.100 --> 00:08:14.860 could not remove God's presence. And eventually, 00:08:15.060 --> 00:08:18.439 Joseph could look backward and say, you intended 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:22.660 to harm me, but God intended it for good. There 00:08:22.660 --> 00:08:26.220 are those words again, but God. Maybe that is 00:08:26.220 --> 00:08:28.860 the language of reversal. The enemy intended 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:32.769 one thing, but God. People decided one thing, 00:08:33.309 --> 00:08:37.730 but God. Circumstances predicted one thing, but 00:08:37.730 --> 00:08:42.730 God. The chapter looked finished, but God. Never 00:08:42.730 --> 00:08:45.149 underestimate what can happen after those two 00:08:45.149 --> 00:08:50.549 words. Psalm 126 begins with extraordinary language. 00:08:51.389 --> 00:08:54.149 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, 00:08:54.490 --> 00:08:58.529 we were like those who dreamed. Another translation 00:08:58.529 --> 00:09:02.370 says, when the Lord turned again the captivity 00:09:02.370 --> 00:09:07.570 of Zion. I love that language. Turned. There 00:09:07.570 --> 00:09:10.649 are seasons when you have been facing one direction 00:09:10.649 --> 00:09:14.669 for so long that another reality becomes difficult 00:09:14.669 --> 00:09:17.830 to imagine. You become accustomed to survival, 00:09:18.389 --> 00:09:21.549 accustomed to waiting, accustomed to disappointment, 00:09:22.090 --> 00:09:25.610 accustomed to praying about the same thing, accustomed 00:09:25.610 --> 00:09:29.879 to carrying the same burden. And then God turned 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:32.919 something. The psalm says the people were like 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:37.500 those who dreamed. Why? Because sometimes restoration 00:09:37.500 --> 00:09:40.480 feels unbelievable to people who have lived with 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:43.919 captivity for too long. Then their mouths were 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:47.379 filled with laughter, their tongues with songs 00:09:47.379 --> 00:09:51.500 of joy. And even the nations began saying, the 00:09:51.500 --> 00:09:55.159 Lord has done great things for them. Notice the 00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:58.740 transformation. Captivity becomes testimony. 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:03.220 Tears become songs. Waiting becomes laughter. 00:10:04.059 --> 00:10:07.539 And then comes another powerful line. Those who 00:10:07.539 --> 00:10:11.460 sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. That 00:10:11.460 --> 00:10:15.360 is reversal. The tears were real. Scripture does 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:19.000 not deny them. But tears were not the final harvest. 00:10:19.580 --> 00:10:23.769 You can sow crying and reap singing. You can 00:10:23.769 --> 00:10:27.350 enter one season carrying seed and sorrow and 00:10:27.350 --> 00:10:31.149 enter another carrying sheaves and joy. That 00:10:31.149 --> 00:10:34.370 does not mean every painful circumstance will 00:10:34.370 --> 00:10:38.509 reverse exactly the way we want. Biblical faith 00:10:38.509 --> 00:10:42.009 is not pretending we control outcomes, but it 00:10:42.009 --> 00:10:44.610 does mean that no present season is powerful 00:10:44.610 --> 00:10:47.509 enough to make God incapable of writing another 00:10:47.509 --> 00:10:51.940 chapter. If God decides to turn something, It 00:10:51.940 --> 00:10:57.320 can turn. Paul and Silas are beaten and imprisoned. 00:10:58.100 --> 00:11:02.379 Their feet are fastened in stocks. Humanly speaking, 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:05.940 everything about the situation communicates restriction. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:10.360 They cannot leave. They cannot control the gods. 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:14.480 They cannot change the legal system. They cannot 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:17.860 simply walk through the door. So at midnight, 00:11:18.580 --> 00:11:23.000 they pray. And they sing. I want you to notice 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:26.100 something. They worship before the circumstances 00:11:26.100 --> 00:11:29.080 change. They do not wait for the prison doors 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:32.919 to open before deciding God is worthy. They worship 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:37.080 while still confined. And then suddenly, there 00:11:37.080 --> 00:11:40.039 is an earthquake. The foundations of the prison 00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:44.080 shake. The doors open. The chains come loose. 00:11:44.940 --> 00:11:47.580 But here's where the reversal becomes beautiful. 00:11:48.330 --> 00:11:51.549 The greatest miracle that night may not have 00:11:51.549 --> 00:11:54.809 been the open prison. Because the jailer sees 00:11:54.809 --> 00:11:57.370 the doors open and assumes the prisoners have 00:11:57.370 --> 00:12:01.009 escaped, he prepares to take his own life and 00:12:01.009 --> 00:12:05.230 Paul cries out, don't harm yourself, we are all 00:12:05.230 --> 00:12:10.330 here. The jailer asks, what must I do to be saved? 00:12:11.269 --> 00:12:14.429 And before the night is over, the man responsible 00:12:14.429 --> 00:12:17.450 for guarding prisoners is washing their wounds. 00:12:17.820 --> 00:12:21.019 The same house connected to imprisonment becomes 00:12:21.019 --> 00:12:25.039 a place where the gospel enters a family. Look 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:29.259 at the reversal. Paul entered the prison as the 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:33.159 one being guarded. By the end of the night, he 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:36.820 is ministering to the guard. The environment 00:12:36.820 --> 00:12:40.159 that was supposed to silence him became another 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:43.419 place for the gospel. This is what I mean when 00:12:43.419 --> 00:12:46.659 I say, sometimes God does not simply bring you 00:12:46.659 --> 00:12:49.230 out. He changes what the place is producing. 00:12:50.129 --> 00:12:54.429 The prison says, I will silence you. God says, 00:12:54.970 --> 00:12:59.149 you will preach here too. The chains say, I will 00:12:59.149 --> 00:13:03.149 restrict you. God says, you will worship here 00:13:03.149 --> 00:13:08.529 too. Midnight says, this is darkness. God says, 00:13:09.230 --> 00:13:12.529 then worship me in the dark. And suddenly the 00:13:12.529 --> 00:13:15.429 prison discovers that it cannot imprison purpose. 00:13:16.649 --> 00:13:19.730 But if we are going to speak about divine reversal, 00:13:20.009 --> 00:13:22.730 we must eventually come to Calvary, because the 00:13:22.730 --> 00:13:25.129 cross is the greatest reversal in the Christian 00:13:25.129 --> 00:13:29.809 story. Jesus is betrayed, arrested, falsely accused, 00:13:30.190 --> 00:13:34.190 mocked, beaten, crucified, and buried. From the 00:13:34.190 --> 00:13:37.629 perspective of his enemies, it appears finished. 00:13:38.149 --> 00:13:41.330 The teacher is silent. The disciples are scattered. 00:13:41.929 --> 00:13:45.269 The body is inside a tomb. A stone is rolled 00:13:45.269 --> 00:13:49.110 into place. The grave appears to have won. And 00:13:49.110 --> 00:13:52.350 then comes the third day. The stone is rolled 00:13:52.350 --> 00:13:57.070 away. The tomb is empty. Jesus Christ is risen. 00:13:57.669 --> 00:14:00.210 And suddenly the instrument of shame becomes 00:14:00.210 --> 00:14:03.830 the symbol of salvation. The place of apparent 00:14:03.830 --> 00:14:07.129 defeat becomes the place where victory is revealed. 00:14:07.750 --> 00:14:11.570 Death itself encounters a boundary. The grave 00:14:11.570 --> 00:14:15.009 discovers that it cannot hold the author of life. 00:14:15.129 --> 00:14:18.269 And this is why Christianity does not merely 00:14:18.269 --> 00:14:22.330 teach us optimism. Our hope is rooted in resurrection. 00:14:22.789 --> 00:14:25.970 We follow a savior whose story passed through 00:14:25.970 --> 00:14:29.870 death and came out the other side. The cross 00:14:29.870 --> 00:14:32.950 teaches us never to judge God's final purpose 00:14:32.950 --> 00:14:38.429 by Friday. Friday says it is over. Saturday says 00:14:38.429 --> 00:14:42.450 nothing is happening. But Sunday reveals God 00:14:42.450 --> 00:14:45.580 was not finished. And perhaps somebody listening 00:14:45.580 --> 00:14:49.100 is living in a Friday season. Something has died. 00:14:49.379 --> 00:14:51.740 Something has ended. Something appears sealed. 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:54.940 Or maybe you are in Saturday. Nothing seems to 00:14:54.940 --> 00:14:58.600 be moving. Heaven seems quiet. You cannot see 00:14:58.600 --> 00:15:01.960 what God is doing. Be careful about writing the 00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:05.220 conclusion while God is still writing the story. 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:08.379 Because resurrection teaches us that sometimes 00:15:08.379 --> 00:15:11.240 what looks like the end is standing beside a 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:16.110 beginning you cannot see yet. And here we need 00:15:16.110 --> 00:15:19.549 wisdom. Because when we hear the word reversal, 00:15:20.129 --> 00:15:22.929 we may immediately imagine God returning everything 00:15:22.929 --> 00:15:26.769 exactly to how it used to be. But sometimes God's 00:15:26.769 --> 00:15:30.929 reversal is not restoration backward. It is transformation 00:15:30.929 --> 00:15:34.549 forward. Joseph did not return to the pit and 00:15:34.549 --> 00:15:37.309 pretend it never happened. He moved forward. 00:15:37.730 --> 00:15:40.330 Israel did not return to Egypt after crossing 00:15:40.330 --> 00:15:43.289 the sea. They moved forward. The resurrected 00:15:43.289 --> 00:15:46.509 Christ did not simply return to ordinary life 00:15:46.509 --> 00:15:49.610 as though calvary never occurred. Resurrection 00:15:49.610 --> 00:15:53.470 opened something entirely new. Sometimes we pray, 00:15:53.669 --> 00:15:57.330 God, give me back what I had. And sometimes God 00:15:57.330 --> 00:16:00.950 may restore, but sometimes he says, I am not 00:16:00.950 --> 00:16:03.750 taking you backward, I am bringing you forward. 00:16:04.169 --> 00:16:07.090 You may not get the old season back. You may 00:16:07.090 --> 00:16:10.169 receive grace for a new one. You may not return 00:16:10.169 --> 00:16:12.980 to who you were before the battle. You may become 00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:15.799 someone deeper because you walk through it. You 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:18.879 may not recover every opportunity exactly as 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:23.080 it appeared before. But God can create opportunities 00:16:23.080 --> 00:16:26.240 you could not have imagined then. Reversal is 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:30.299 not always, give me yesterday again. Sometimes 00:16:30.299 --> 00:16:34.620 reversal is, yesterday no longer controls tomorrow. 00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:39.159 That is freedom. There is another danger. When 00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:42.080 we become desperate for circumstances to change, 00:16:42.460 --> 00:16:45.259 we may attempt to manufacture what only God should 00:16:45.259 --> 00:16:50.019 orchestrate. We manipulate. We force doors. We 00:16:50.019 --> 00:16:53.759 retaliate. We send messages we should not send. 00:16:54.340 --> 00:16:57.700 We try to expose people. We defend ourselves 00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:00.659 compulsively. We become consumed with making 00:17:00.659 --> 00:17:03.799 people understand our side. We try to produce 00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:07.480 vindication with our own hands. But some battles 00:17:07.480 --> 00:17:10.519 become more complicated because we refuse to 00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:13.640 let God handle what belongs to Him. There is 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:16.779 a difference between responsible action and anxious 00:17:16.779 --> 00:17:19.880 control. There are times Scripture calls us to 00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:24.460 speak, times to act, times to appeal, times to 00:17:24.460 --> 00:17:28.519 confront injustice, times to make wise decisions. 00:17:28.900 --> 00:17:32.440 Faith is not passivity, but there are also moments 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:35.460 when after we have done what righteousness requires. 00:17:35.789 --> 00:17:39.710 We must stop trying to be God. You cannot control 00:17:39.710 --> 00:17:43.150 every opinion. You cannot correct every lie. 00:17:43.609 --> 00:17:46.309 You cannot force every person to understand. 00:17:46.630 --> 00:17:49.890 You cannot manufacture every outcome. Sometimes 00:17:49.890 --> 00:17:53.029 you have to say, Father, I have done what I can 00:17:53.029 --> 00:17:56.369 do faithfully. Now I trust you with what I cannot. 00:17:56.890 --> 00:17:59.769 And that is difficult, because waiting for God 00:17:59.769 --> 00:18:03.650 to turn something requires surrender. But sometimes 00:18:03.650 --> 00:18:06.309 the reversal begins when we stop fighting in 00:18:06.309 --> 00:18:10.849 ways God never instructed us to fight. So bring 00:18:10.849 --> 00:18:14.589 everything together. The sea. The trap. The prison. 00:18:14.890 --> 00:18:18.109 The captivity. The midnight worship. The cross. 00:18:18.390 --> 00:18:21.869 Different stories. One revelation. God can change 00:18:21.869 --> 00:18:24.650 the direction of a story. He can make a road 00:18:24.650 --> 00:18:27.630 where there was no road. He can expose what was 00:18:27.630 --> 00:18:31.150 hidden. He can redeem what was wounded. He can 00:18:31.150 --> 00:18:34.690 turn mourning into dancing. He can bring purpose 00:18:34.690 --> 00:18:38.089 out of confinement. He can turn captivity. He 00:18:38.089 --> 00:18:41.269 can bring resurrection out of what looked final. 00:18:41.569 --> 00:18:44.710 And perhaps today you are standing in a chapter 00:18:44.710 --> 00:18:48.009 that seems to be moving in the wrong direction. 00:18:48.890 --> 00:18:52.309 I cannot promise you exactly how God will resolve 00:18:52.309 --> 00:18:56.890 it. I cannot give you a date. I cannot tell you 00:18:56.890 --> 00:18:59.890 that every circumstance will end exactly the 00:18:59.890 --> 00:19:03.970 way you want. Faith does not require us to make 00:19:03.970 --> 00:19:07.269 promises God has not made. But I can tell you 00:19:07.269 --> 00:19:10.730 this. Your present circumstances are not sovereign. 00:19:11.509 --> 00:19:15.670 God is. And therefore, as long as God is still 00:19:15.670 --> 00:19:18.589 writing, you cannot assume you already know the 00:19:18.589 --> 00:19:23.509 ending. There may still be a, but God, coming 00:19:23.509 --> 00:19:26.599 somewhere in the story, There may still be a 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:30.339 road you cannot see. There may still be an answer 00:19:30.339 --> 00:19:34.420 you cannot imagine. There may still be redemption 00:19:34.420 --> 00:19:37.680 hidden inside a chapter you currently do not 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:40.759 understand. There may still be purpose beyond 00:19:40.759 --> 00:19:43.920 this pain. There may still be mourning after 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:47.359 this midnight. And there may still be resurrection 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:52.559 beyond what looks finished. Maybe those are the 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:55.579 words. I want to leave in your spirit today. 00:19:56.619 --> 00:19:59.559 But God, when everything appears to be moving 00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:04.140 in one direction, remember, but God, when the 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:07.940 door appears permanently closed, but God, when 00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:11.980 the situation appears impossible, but God, when 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:14.700 human intention has already decided the outcome, 00:20:15.619 --> 00:20:19.319 but God, when you have cried until you have no 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:23.339 more tears, but God. When you have reached the 00:20:23.339 --> 00:20:27.519 end of your own strength, but God. When Friday 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:32.160 looks final, but God. Because divine intervention 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:34.980 means the story does not belong exclusively to 00:20:34.980 --> 00:20:37.980 what is happening. It belongs to the God who 00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:41.559 remains sovereign over what is happening. So 00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:46.039 Father, I surrender the outcome to you. Where 00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:50.420 something needs to stop, stop it. Where something 00:20:50.420 --> 00:20:54.380 needs to move, Move it. Where something needs 00:20:54.380 --> 00:20:58.579 to be exposed, expose it. Where something needs 00:20:58.579 --> 00:21:02.839 to be redeemed, redeem it. Where something needs 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:06.059 to be restored, restore it according to your 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:10.480 will. Where something needs to end, give me grace 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:13.640 to release it. And where you are opening something 00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:18.160 new, give me courage to walk forward. I will 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:21.640 not manipulate the outcome. I will not become 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:25.579 consumed with revenge. I will not allow bitterness 00:21:25.579 --> 00:21:29.579 to become my response to opposition. I will not 00:21:29.579 --> 00:21:32.779 attempt to sit upon a throne that belongs only 00:21:32.779 --> 00:21:38.440 to you. You are God, and I trust you. I trust 00:21:38.440 --> 00:21:41.480 you when you stop the battle. I trust you when 00:21:41.480 --> 00:21:44.720 you carry me through the battle. I trust you 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:47.460 when you establish the boundary, and I trust 00:21:47.460 --> 00:21:50.839 you when you decide. to turn the battle around, 00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:54.660 because the enemy may have an intention, but 00:21:54.660 --> 00:22:00.099 God, people may have a plan, but God, circumstances 00:22:00.099 --> 00:22:03.859 may have a prediction, but God, the grave may 00:22:03.859 --> 00:22:08.180 have a stone, but God, and as long as God remains 00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:13.500 God, the story can still change. But this raises 00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:16.259 another question. perhaps one of the hardest 00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:20.000 questions in the entire mystery of divine intervention, 00:22:20.700 --> 00:22:24.519 if God can reverse the battle. Why doesn't He 00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:27.859 always do it immediately? Why did Israel have 00:22:27.859 --> 00:22:30.559 to reach the Red Sea before the waters opened? 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:34.059 Why did the disciples have to experience the 00:22:34.059 --> 00:22:37.839 storm before Jesus spoke to the wind? Why did 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:41.319 Lazarus remain in the tomb for four days before 00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:45.329 Jesus arrived? Why are there moments when God 00:22:45.329 --> 00:22:49.470 clearly has the power to intervene, and yet He 00:22:49.470 --> 00:22:53.309 appears to wait. Why does divine intervention 00:22:53.309 --> 00:22:56.809 sometimes arrive only after we have exhausted 00:22:56.809 --> 00:23:01.069 every other possibility? Why does God sometimes 00:23:01.069 --> 00:23:04.049 allow the situation to reach a place where human 00:23:04.049 --> 00:23:08.589 strength can do absolutely nothing? And perhaps 00:23:08.589 --> 00:23:11.410 the question beneath all those questions is the 00:23:11.410 --> 00:23:14.269 one many faithful believers have whispered in 00:23:14.269 --> 00:23:19.789 difficult seasons. God, why did you wait? Maybe 00:23:19.789 --> 00:23:22.750 waiting is not always evidence that God has forgotten. 00:23:23.809 --> 00:23:26.609 Maybe delay does not necessarily mean denial. 00:23:27.769 --> 00:23:31.309 Maybe what we call late, heaven sees differently. 00:23:31.769 --> 00:23:35.289 And maybe there are things God reveals only when 00:23:35.289 --> 00:23:39.670 human possibility has reached its end. That is 00:23:39.670 --> 00:23:44.609 where we are going next. Until then, stay rooted 00:23:44.609 --> 00:23:46.230 in Jesus Christ.