1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,000 Howdy. So I had a front of mind that at one point she apparently was having a really bad day. 2 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:16,000 And she started calling me some things like that. You know, today I just could not get up. 3 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:22,000 I just could not wake up. I was waiting for royalty. Just, I just could not shake the suit off of them. 4 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:28,000 And then, apparently, it's that getting upset with her kids and saying, 5 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:32,000 yeah, no matter what they did, I was just constantly upset at them. 6 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,000 And I just kept getting angry with them over and over again. 7 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:38,000 And then, apparently, there was some issue at work that was coming up. 8 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,000 And it's like, I just kept having conflict with my boss and everything else. 9 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:47,000 And then, finally, later on, it was just like, I just wasn't hungry, whatever was going on. 10 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:53,000 And then it was told that apparently, murdering was in retrograde. 11 00:00:53,000 --> 00:01:02,000 I had never heard about this before. But it supposedly is that whenever I normally see stars or planets, 12 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:07,000 they'll move this one path. And it must, sometimes based on our orders, 13 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,000 it looks like you're going the opposite way going a period of time. 14 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,000 Like maybe on the 1910 or 2080 or 20 of that. 15 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:18,000 They'll put the opposite way. And supposedly, that's whenever people are feeling like they're really, really off. 16 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:23,000 And so I was like, oh, well, that's interesting. I've never heard that before. 17 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,000 And then I went and I checked the calendar about this murdering and retrograde. 18 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:31,000 And apparently, it stopped being retrograde about 20 days earlier. 19 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:36,000 And I was just like, is it possible you're just being a durable human being? 20 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,000 Is that just a possibility altogether? 21 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,000 And it was certainly thereafter that we stopped being friends. 22 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:47,000 But what I think really struck me is that it was so easy 23 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,000 that all these things were happening. 24 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:54,000 And instead of pausing to say, hey, maybe I'm not being my best person, 25 00:01:54,000 --> 00:02:00,000 then instead it was something to blame on some star or planet way far away 26 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,000 because it decided to change direction for over a while. 27 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:08,000 And I know that there are discussions about the moon and different lunar cycles 28 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,000 and sometimes effects, you know, how a feeling or a mood of the day, 29 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,000 it's a little bit different, you know, with the gravitational pull of something 30 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,000 that's close enough that it can actually change your well-being. 31 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:26,000 But even the moon doesn't determine your destiny, your direction, the way that you're going. 32 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:33,000 And the thing about this is that this idea of whether or not stars can move in directions around a spectrum 33 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:39,000 ends up getting us a lot with our passage today about the last man. 34 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:44,000 See, the last men are people who are seeing that something is different in the sky. 35 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:52,000 Because of it, they were able to notice that something must be different in the world around them. 36 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,000 So it's just kind of like a little bit of a background with that. 37 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:03,000 So we had talked before about how this israel and june, it has slipped into two different kingdoms. 38 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:11,000 Now, the Israel had gotten pulled into exile back around 700 BC by a spirit. 39 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:17,000 But the thing is that when that happened, their story basically came to an end. 40 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:29,000 Now, the reason why Israel's story came to an end is that they really weren't all that distinct from anybody else when they got pulled into exile. 41 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:37,000 What do I mean? They were already worshipping as altars that were similar to the Assyrian type of altars. 42 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:42,000 They were already doing practices that were similar to the neighbor study act. 43 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:48,000 They were not preserving their marriages, they weren't caring for their kids, they were worshipping different gods. 44 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:56,000 The thing is that pulling the people out of Israel into another land, nobody really noticed this. 45 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:04,000 Because when they went into that other land, they acted just like everyone else. 46 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:08,000 Aren't there times where it feels like Christians do the same thing? 47 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:15,000 That sometimes we're in a world around us and we sometimes can't tell the difference between the Christians and everybody else. 48 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:19,000 But the thing about Judah, that Judah was a little bit different. 49 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:29,000 You see, later on in the line in the early 6th century BC, is that Judah, they were being pulled into exile by a different country, Babylon. 50 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:36,000 But when they did, they didn't forget who they were. Not the same way. 51 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:42,000 See, you have people like Daniel. Now, whenever you think about Daniel, what story are you thinking about? 52 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,000 Daniel, end of? 53 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:51,000 Lion's Den, absolutely. But it turns out that was actually one of the last things that was recorded about Daniel. 54 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:59,000 See, one of the first things about Daniel is that Daniel realized that humans were living in a country where they were eating things that they were not supposed to be eating. 55 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:04,000 The thing is that they did not have kosher food over there. You've had a lot. 56 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:11,000 So, of course, when you're not sure if you can eat something that's on the menu at the restaurant or at the restaurant, 57 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,000 what's the easiest thing to always do? I'll try to get this out. 58 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:22,000 And that's the thing, is that Daniel and several other people, what are they going to do? We're just going to eat salads. 59 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:28,000 Which, you know, kind of a little bit depressing, but okay, I don't even understand. 60 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:34,000 And at least we're not the salads that have pieces of steak on them. This isn't like the Denny's steak salad special. 61 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:46,000 Which, oh, 99. It's a little bit of a fuck. With it, though, is that Daniel ended up being not only stronger, wiser, and more playful, 62 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:53,000 but split out among everybody else. Because instead of just getting sucked into what everybody else was doing, 63 00:05:53,000 --> 00:06:01,000 he was willing to stop and say, I need to be different. Because God has called me to be different. 64 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:06,000 That was just one thing. You had Shack, R. P. Shack and Ben Mego, who were saying, 65 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,000 we're not going to worship this statue, instead he's thrown into a fiery furnace. 66 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:14,000 You have Daniel, they don't want to say, how many sheep worship you got, no matter what. 67 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:20,000 Even at this point, we're growing into a lion's den. And apparently they were not hungry, 68 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,000 that lions were also apparently not a solid diet that day. 69 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:31,000 Which, though, is that over and over again, by continuing to follow after God, 70 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:37,000 Daniel and the others were giving Priests to God's work. 71 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:42,000 So the thing is, is that who they were, how they were living, 72 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:49,000 ended up causing the people in Babylon to listen to the God that they followed. 73 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:56,000 That sometimes the tricky part is that when we're following after God and people see that, 74 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:03,000 that ends up leading more to them than many of the words that we have to say. 75 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:08,000 And more than that, is to ask the question, what about us? 76 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:16,000 If people are looking at our lives, do they see people who are following after God 77 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:21,000 and knowing that God is the one who's still in control? 78 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:25,000 You see, this is a difficult time. They had lost their home. 79 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,000 They were out in a country that they had never been before. 80 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:35,000 But what did they still believe? They still believed that God was at work, even then. 81 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,000 See, that's one of the things we talked a little bit about last week, 82 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:44,000 is that oftentimes we don't realize that God is speaking. 83 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:50,000 We have to listen, because we sometimes forget the idea that God is actually working in our lives here and now. 84 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:55,000 And that's the thing, is that when our lives are falling apart or struggling the most, 85 00:07:55,000 --> 00:08:00,000 that's why it's the hardest to actually believe that God has anything for us. 86 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,000 It's hard to say, I'm going to follow after God, 87 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:10,000 if you're not even sure that God is even their speak-e-tee of the person. 88 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,000 I'm sure I'm not the only one. 89 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:20,000 But there are times, I'm just like, you're sitting there saying, God messed everything up too bad. 90 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:26,000 And it's more than just the angle of the people of Judaism who mess up so much that people take it out of their home. 91 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:34,000 I mean, I'm like half the adults in North America that I'm divorced. 92 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:39,000 And the thing is, is that 12 years ago, there I am looking and saying, 93 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:45,000 I'm about to make a decision that it might just completely fail me off. 94 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:51,000 And to know that at that point in time, is that I'm trying to say, I'm supposed to follow after God, 95 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:57,000 and here I am doing something that doesn't feel very popular to me. 96 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:08,000 And it was a very long time, so I wonder if God still actually had a purpose in meeting for me. 97 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:12,000 Because I wasn't going the direction that I thought I was supposed to go. 98 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:17,000 This perfect path that I thought I was supposed to follow. 99 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,000 No longer existed. 100 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:27,000 And that's the thing that's hard part about this, is that oftentimes, whenever we are trying to pursue God, 101 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:33,000 is that we may spend a long time feeling like we're not sure we're wrong about that. 102 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:38,000 What would it be like for those wives and men? 103 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:42,000 Going after, what do you think is that? Is that two planets? 104 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,000 Right now you're starting to make a little Noah as a pen and a star. 105 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,000 I think that's the regular star. 106 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,000 Is that supposed to indicate the future coming of a prince? 107 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,000 We don't even know what to do today. 108 00:09:55,000 --> 00:10:01,000 At least that month, years continuing to follow. 109 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:10,000 Because they believed the message of some guy who had lived in their country over five centuries previous, 110 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:17,000 who told them about a God who loved them, and was sent the future through them. 111 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:22,000 How often do we feel like we're still waiting for God to say something? 112 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:27,000 And to tell us, yes, you're still following me. 113 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:36,000 That's hard. It is hard. But the thing about it is that even at those times, when we know that our lives are not going the direction 114 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:41,000 that we originally thought it was supposed to, is that God is still doing this work. 115 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:45,000 Because those people in exile had Babylon. 116 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:54,000 If Daniel and the rest of you had not had Babylon, the people of Babylon would have never heard about their God. 117 00:10:54,000 --> 00:11:02,000 If they had not been in that place at that time, the wise men would have never known to follow that star. 118 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:10,000 And the other thing about you and I is that we were all the time in some places on the path that we were not expecting. 119 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:14,000 But the path isn't some direction about where we're going to go. 120 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:22,000 The path is about following the same God who loves us in his inner life today. 121 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:30,000 And that reminds me of the gifts that the wise men brought, the gold and the frankincense and the murk. 122 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:39,000 Because here's the thing about it, is that when we look at Isaiah 60, especially in verses 6, and it points out the gold and frankincense, 123 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,000 there's no murk in there. 124 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:48,000 I have no idea why this, the wise men, decided to add murk to the gifts that they brought. 125 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:53,000 I don't know. But I do know that the wise men knew to follow. 126 00:11:53,000 --> 00:12:03,000 But by doing so, they ended up proclaiming that the king of the Jews was going to have to give his life. 127 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:07,000 Because murk was used for charity. 128 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,000 And I have to think about this. 129 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:15,000 Is that my following after God? It's not a question of did we always get it perfectly. 130 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:24,000 The thing is, is that as we're following, is that God is doing work, that we don't even realize he's doing because of where we are, 131 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,000 and what is happening that we never expected. 132 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,000 And that's the thing about this. 133 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:37,000 Is that by spending all that time following, is that they ended up proclaiming the next step? 134 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:41,000 And the part about the Messiah that people were not expecting. 135 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:51,000 See, that's the thing. Is that if we want to be within the story, the thing is that we're following the author. 136 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:56,000 Now right now, I'm not sure where it is that you're grinding for yourself. 137 00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:01,000 There might be some things that you know you're going to have to make some difficult decisions, 138 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:06,000 and you're not sure what that's going to mean when you do so. 139 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:15,000 You're not sure how it's going to play out. You're not sure where you're going to land and all of a sudden, nothing. 140 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:20,000 Or maybe the things that have happened before, maybe you see how they altered your life, 141 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,000 and you don't feel like you're that same person anymore. 142 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:28,000 And you're wondering how it is that God is supposed to continue to work in your life, 143 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:33,000 when you're no longer avoiding that path that you thought he was leading before. 144 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:39,000 Or other times where you're just saying, I feel like I haven't heard anything so long. 145 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:45,000 But whatever it might be, because God is still following you, 146 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:52,000 and God is still saying, I have a purpose for you. Follow me. 147 00:13:52,000 --> 00:14:00,000 So wherever you've been, wherever you find yourself, today I challenge you. 148 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:05,000 And I have just the list, but I'll set it to follow. 149 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:34,000 Thanks for your time.