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PPJ: I am not much in, uh,
the way of an art connoisseur.

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I, I wish I was.

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I, I often think to myself, man, I
wish I appreciated art more than I do.

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I don't understand a lot of
it, and especially modern art.

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And now there's this whole new genre,
which you're seeing depicted right

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here where people paint like this
and, and you're looking at these brush

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strokes as they're hitting the canvas
and you're just thinking to yourself.

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I don't, I don't see what he sees.

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I don't understand what he's doing.

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I don't know why he's
painting what he's painting.

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It doesn't at all make sense to me.

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And a lot of times we can
compare that to our own life.

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We can think, man, I,
I just, I don't get it.

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I don't see as the master artist who
is God himself is at work in our lives.

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I don't really see, I don't understand
God, what you're doing in my life.

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That is until the
painting is turned around.

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And we think about our own lives and we
think, man, it, it really is chaotic.

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I'm not a huge fan of
the rock, by the way.

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That's just the, the, the
shortest video that I could find

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there, uh, that made the point.

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But, uh, there's a lot of times
in our life that that life gets

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chaotic and it looks like those
chaotic brushstrokes on the canvas.

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And we're sitting there thinking
to ourselves, God, what are

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you doing right now in my life?

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Why am I going through this right now?

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Why am I going through this trial?

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Why am I suffering this way?

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Why didn't this come through for me?

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Why didn't that happen for me?

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Why, why God?

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And what we're gonna find in, in the
word this morning, in, in what we need

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to hold fast to in the midst of those
times is the reality that God truly is

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the master at work in our lives and, and
there will come a day when the painting

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of our life is fu and we do get to
see what he was doing the whole time.

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Uh, there will come that day as John
says, in one John, when we see Jesus

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and we will be like him because we
will see him and, and be with him.

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Until that day we find ourselves having
to trust the brushstrokes that hurt.

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Having to trust the master at work in the
lives, uh, when really a lot of times it

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just doesn't feel like it adds up to us.

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What do we do in the response of that?

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What do you do when you can't
really fully see the picture

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God's painting in your life?

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In those moments.

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I wanna encourage you this morning that
when walking through a trial trial like

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that, a childlike faith in God will
comfort your soul and give glory to him.

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A childlike faith in God will comfort
your soul and give glory to him.

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As we start a brand new series in
John 18, looking at the gathering

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storm, that's gonna lead us straight
up to the crucifixion on Good Friday.

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Uh, we find that we come to a
passage that honestly would be

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pretty easy to just preach through
Indicatives on this passage.

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Just statements of facts on this passage.

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Something like, you know what?

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God is at work in the details.

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God's always in control.

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God doesn't need your help.

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Alright, let's close and, and be done.

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I.

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Um, but I also want us to think about,
and this is why, and, and maybe if you're

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with us and you're newer to us and, and
this, you know, style of preaching as

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it were, you might wonder why are all
the, the points always imperatives?

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And, and, and usually they they are.

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And the reason being is because we
believe that God's word is meant to

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be taken and applied to our lives.

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And in the outline of a sermon 0.1,

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0.2,

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0.3,

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uh, we trust that those are the
three things at, at minimum that

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you'll remember from a, a given
sermon, hopefully, at least.

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And if those are the three things that
you're gonna take away, we'd like those

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three things to be calls to action.

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Yes.

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In keeping with God's word,
what we find in the text.

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But that's why we, we look at a narrative
text like what we're about to find.

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This is a story of what's happening
to Jesus historical, but it's a story.

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And we say, okay, what difference should
this story make to you on Monday morning?

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Why does it matter to you tomorrow
what we're about to study today?

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And if we don't ask that question,
then we're really not taking the

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word to its fullest point, to its
fullest purpose in our lives, which

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is to make us more like Jesus.

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And I admit freely that that is the
work of the spirit, not the work

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of a human being, but as we preach,
that's what we're after together.

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So take your Bibles to John 18
and let's begin in verse one.

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John 18 verse one.

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It says, when Jesus had spoken
these words, he went out with his

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disciples across the brook cron,
where there was a garden, which

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he and his disciples entered.

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So let's begin.

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When he spoke in these
words, what were these words?

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Well, that's John 13 all
the way through John 17.

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That's the upper room discourse that
ended last week as we looked together

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at the conclusion of the high priestly
prayer, when Jesus had finished the

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upper room discourse, when Jesus
had spoken all of these things and

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finished praying to the father.

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Here it says he went out with his
disciples across the brook karon.

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Now he went out, went out from where This
map may not be the the clearest for you.

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I apologize.

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Eventually we'll have a big LED screen.

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It's gonna be great.

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But once we have a, a building
and, and we can do all that and

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all of these will be much bigger.

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But for now, this will have to suffice.

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He went out not from the upper room
'cause he'd already left the upper room.

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What Jesus went out from, and you can
kind of see it with this red line on the

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screen, he went out from the city walls.

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So he left the city of Jerusalem 'cause
the garden of Gethsemane located away

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from outside of the city walls there.

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And he had to cross the brook ca drone.

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You'll see the ca drone valley
there right next to that red line.

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To get up to the Garden of Gethsemane.

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The Kidron Valley is called that
because you have Mount Zion on one

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side, which is Jerusalem, and you've
got the Mount of Olives on the other

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side, which is where Gethsemane is.

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In between, that valley is marked by
a brook called the Kidron brook, and

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that is why it's the Kidron Valley.

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So Jesus leaves, he goes out,
he goes across the brook drone

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where there was a garden.

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A garden.

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Now I want us to think about the gardens.

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That we come across in the Bible.

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There are actually three
significant gardens in the Bible.

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There's the Garden of Eden.

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Think back to Genesis.

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Genesis chapter two, the Garden of Eden.

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This is where, uh, mankind was
first placed by God in the Garden

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of Eden to work the garden.

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This was the place that God had
prepared for Adam and Eve to

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live and to be in his presence.

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And that was the design until Adam
and Eve fell into sin and they had

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to be kicked out of the garden.

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Uh, the next garden I want you to think
about is the garden that's still coming.

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The garden of the new Jerusalem,
the garden in Revelation 22,

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where the tree of life is back.

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Remember the Tree of life was guarded,
was, was part of what God didn't want

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Adam and Eve to eat from after they fell.

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And so the tree of life is gonna be
back in the garden in Revelation 22,

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and it's gonna be by the river of life.

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And we're gonna be able to eat
from the fruit of the tree of life.

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And the leaves are gonna be there
to give healing to the nations.

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And so that garden is yet future.

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And so to get to, from the, the
Garden of Eden to the Garden of the

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New Jerusalem, we have to go through
first the Garden of Gethsemane.

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And this is the garden
that we find in John 18.

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This is the garden that Jesus enters
into, and it's in this garden that

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Jesus is gonna do what Adam couldn't do.

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It's in this garden that Jesus
is gonna surrender himself

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fully to the will of the Father.

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It's in this garden that Jesus is going
to submit himself to, the father's will,

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even to the point of being arrested.

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And it led to his eventual
death on the cross.

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And so they go out, they go
across the brook ca drone, and

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they enter into the garden.

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It says, now, Judas, who betrayed
him, also knew the place.

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Verse two, for Jesus often
met there with his disciples.

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I dunno what comes to mind for you
when you think of a garden, but,

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uh, here's some images on the screen
here of this area, this region.

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The first one on your left as
you're looking at the screen, that's

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a view from the Mount of Olives
back into the city of Jerusalem.

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Taken this is 2019.

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When, when I was there.

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So this is looking back.

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In fact, you can see
the Golden dome there.

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That golden dome is the dome
of the rock is it's an Islamic

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shrine that is built upon the
place where the temple once stood.

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So this is from the Mount of Olives.

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This is looking back across
the Kidron Valley to Jerusalem.

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The middle picture, there is an olive
tree that is still there today that dates

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all the way back to the time of Christ.

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And so this olive tree goes all
the way back to first century

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ad and it's there in the garden.

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There's multiple this size that
are like this there, but this

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is the type of garden it was.

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It wasn't like rose bushes and
lilies and things like that.

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This is an olive garden, and this is where
the, the disciples would often go that.

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Third picture that looks like a corridor.

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And then there's a, an ominous door, uh,
that is the place that marks a cave that's

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still there today that you can go inside.

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Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures
inside this cave, but that is the cave

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that used to be an olive press there
in the Garden of Gethsemane, where they

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would bring the olives from the harvest.

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They would press the olives, take
the oil, and then go to market.

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With the oil that cave church tradition
holds is the place where Jesus would

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often go and meet with his disciples.

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And so if you go there today,
this sign is the sign that's

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right above the door to that cave.

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What does it say on the screen there?

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It says Gethsemane.

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And so when we think about the Garden of
Gethsemane, you may think about hanging

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out in a garden the way that we think
about a garden today, but it's likely

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that this is what was was going on here.

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And Jesus, it was often believed,
would, would go to this garden,

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to this cave, to this place, to
the, to the, the cave Gethsemane.

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And that's where he would even sometimes
spend the night with his disciples.

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If they did not go all the way back to
Bethany to be with Lazarus and to be with

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Mary and Martha there, sometimes they
would go to the, the Mount of Olives and

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they would, they would spend the night
in this cave called Gethsemane there.

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This is probably the place where even
though John's gospel doesn't record this

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part, the others do, where Jesus left
the disciples and went away with Peter,

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James and John to pray and say, father,
if it be will, let this cut pass from me.

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And so when they go there, that's why
the text says in verse two, Judas who

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betrayed him, by the way, John was, was
really impacted by this obviously, and

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we understand why, but almost every time
John references Judas, he says the one

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who betrayed him, even back in chapter
six, when he is first introducing us

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to Judas, the one who would betray him.

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And so here again, Judas, who betrayed
him, also knew the place for Jesus

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often met there with his disciples.

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Question for us this morning, if you
knew that somebody was about to betray

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you and, and somebody was going to come
and, and they were gonna arrest you,

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would you go to the very place that your
accuser, your betrayer, would know that

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you would be, would expect you to be?

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No, of course not.

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None of us are walking into betrayal
and yet when we look at the text,

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that's exactly what happens.

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'cause Judas knew the
place that he was gonna be.

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Was Jesus aware that Judas knew this?

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Yes.

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Was ju Jesus aware that
Judas was going there?

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Yes.

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Verse three.

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So Judas having procured a band of
soldiers and some officers from the chief

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priests and the Pharisees went there
with lanterns and torches and weapons.

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It says they're a band of soldiers.

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That band is the same word in the
Greek that refers to a cohort.

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A cohort with 600 soldiers.

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So did Judas go across with 600 soldiers?

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It's possible.

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We're not entirely sure the number isn't
directly given, but it's the same word

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that referred to a cohort of soldiers.

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A a 600 member band of soldiers going
together and notice it says not only

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them, but also the chief priests, the
officers from the chief priests and the

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Pharisees, and then they bring lanterns
and torches and weapons, all for Jesus at

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this point in time, Judas is a traitor.

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Judas is a mole.

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Judas is a double agent.

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He's a mercenary.

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Judas is at at heart a tool being
used by Satan to accomplish what Satan

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believed was his will in all of this.

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In fact, back in John 1327, it tells
us in the text that Satan entered into

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Judas when Judas left the upper room.

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But at the same time, Judas right
now is also an instrument in the

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hands of God to accomplish his will.

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Acts, chapter two, verse 23 says
this, that Jesus was delivered up

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to be crucified according to the
definite plan and foreknowledge of God.

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So that means all of these details,
that Jesus was going to the garden

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of Gethsemane, that Judas knew that
he would be there, that Judas went

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there to meet him on that night.

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All of this is taking place in perfect
accordance with the will of the Father.

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I notice it says he, they come with
these lanterns and these torches

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and these weapons, and you think,
man, that seems like overkill.

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600 men for just Jesus.

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00:12:04,455 --> 00:12:09,735
And yet I think that Judas
understood exactly who Jesus was.

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Remember, Judas watched
Jesus walk on water.

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Judas watched Jesus calm a storm.

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Judas watched Jesus raise
Lazarus from the dead.

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00:12:18,765 --> 00:12:21,555
Jesus, Judas watched
Jesus feed 5,000 people.

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Judas knew exactly who Jesus is.

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And so I think Judas is wise, at
least from a humanly perspective,

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to bring as many people as he
brings to come to arrest Jesus.

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But what I want us to see in
this first part here is the

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detail that God is at working.

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He's going to the garden.

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And John notes that Judas knew
exactly where he was gonna be.

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Why?

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Because he had been there many times
before, which means every time that

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Jesus went to the garden with his
disciples and Judas was with them.

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Jesus was establishing a pattern
that was gonna set up the betrayal

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that was about to take place.

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See, God was at work in the details.

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And when we walk through trials, when
we walk through difficulty, when we walk

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through seasons of life, when the master's
brush strokes don't make sense in our

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life, we need to remember just like he
was in this circumstance, he is for us.

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God is still at work in the details.

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So if we're gonna have a childlike
faith that comforts our soul and

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glorifies God, the first way we do
that, point number one is this trust

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that God is at work in these details.

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Trust that God is at work in the details.

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Wherever you're at this morning,
whatever suffering you have endured

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this morning, trust this morning that
they're not random and chaotic details.

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It may look like that, but what
we know to be true about God is

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that God is not a God of accident.

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God is not a God of chaos.

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00:13:42,900 --> 00:13:47,579
God is not a God of of anything that
is random, but God is a God of order.

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And orchestrates everything in
perfect accordance with his will.

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Question when you drove to work
this or to work this morning?

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I, I, that was me.

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00:13:54,599 --> 00:13:55,079
Um,

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00:13:57,300 --> 00:14:00,930
when you came to church this morning,
which cup holder did you use in your car?

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00:14:01,860 --> 00:14:05,699
Did you use the blinker on every turn
this morning when you walked in the

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00:14:05,699 --> 00:14:09,000
building, which door, which hand did you
grab the door handle with this morning?

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00:14:09,750 --> 00:14:11,670
Which door did you use when you came in?

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00:14:11,670 --> 00:14:14,520
Which step did you take when you
walked in the the door this morning?

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00:14:15,045 --> 00:14:16,875
Did you step with your right foot
or your left foot when you came

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00:14:16,875 --> 00:14:17,925
in the the door this morning?

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00:14:18,885 --> 00:14:20,985
How many rows back are you currently
sitting from the front row?

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00:14:21,285 --> 00:14:24,525
Some of you are very calculated on
that, and you know exactly how many

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00:14:24,525 --> 00:14:25,635
rows back you are from the front.

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00:14:26,835 --> 00:14:30,465
My guess is at least some of those
things you had no clue, right?

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00:14:31,005 --> 00:14:35,325
Because we do so much in our life, absent
mindedly, there are so many details about

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00:14:35,325 --> 00:14:36,585
our life that we just don't think about.

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00:14:36,585 --> 00:14:38,925
We just do them right.

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00:14:39,525 --> 00:14:41,535
God does nothing absent mindedly.

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00:14:42,945 --> 00:14:48,315
As God ordains and orchestrates our
lives, he does nothing absentmindedly.

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00:14:49,485 --> 00:14:51,405
Everything he does is on purpose.

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00:14:51,885 --> 00:14:54,945
From the time that Jesus first went
to the Garden of Gethsemane with his

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00:14:54,945 --> 00:14:58,245
disciples, he went there knowing that
this was gonna set up Judas Betrayal.

305
00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:02,400
When he left the upper room, just a
handful of hours pr prior to this,

306
00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:05,520
he knew that he was walking to the
garden that Judas expected him to

307
00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:07,080
be at, and he was gonna be there.

308
00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:10,500
And so were the, the cohort of
Roman soldiers and Judas was gonna

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00:15:10,500 --> 00:15:14,970
betray him, and yet he walked right
into it because he trusted that

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00:15:14,970 --> 00:15:16,170
God was working out the details.

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00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:19,080
And he's doing the same
thing in our lives.

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00:15:19,410 --> 00:15:21,750
I remember back at our sending church,
hearing a story of a man who had a

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00:15:21,750 --> 00:15:23,790
heart attack in the lobby of a hospital.

314
00:15:24,615 --> 00:15:25,935
He was there visiting somebody else.

315
00:15:25,935 --> 00:15:29,325
And on his way out, he has a heart
attack right there in the hospital lobby.

316
00:15:29,565 --> 00:15:31,845
They grab him, they rush him
into surgery, they save his life.

317
00:15:31,845 --> 00:15:34,665
And they said afterwards, man, if you
hadn't had that heart attack where

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00:15:34,665 --> 00:15:35,685
you did, you would've been gone.

319
00:15:37,125 --> 00:15:38,895
That's God at work in the details.

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00:15:40,875 --> 00:15:44,385
Or when I met my wife, I was on
my way back up from a, a school

321
00:15:44,385 --> 00:15:45,615
function that I didn't wanna be at.

322
00:15:45,615 --> 00:15:48,045
And a friend said to me, Hey pj, why
don't you come meet these people?

323
00:15:48,045 --> 00:15:51,555
And she happened to be one of the
people there That's not on accident.

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00:15:52,635 --> 00:15:53,955
God does nothing absent mindedly.

325
00:15:54,765 --> 00:15:58,185
And so when I was there and I got
to meet her, then I, I pursued her.

326
00:15:58,185 --> 00:15:59,805
And by God's grace, she married me.

327
00:16:01,605 --> 00:16:02,715
God does nothing on accident.

328
00:16:03,495 --> 00:16:06,345
He's at work in the details of your
life where you are this morning.

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00:16:07,035 --> 00:16:09,735
So some thoughts for what that means
for us right now is, number one,

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00:16:09,735 --> 00:16:11,295
there's nothing mundane in our life.

331
00:16:13,095 --> 00:16:15,975
If God is at work in everything, in all
of the details of our life, there's,

332
00:16:16,064 --> 00:16:17,895
there's nothing mundane in our life.

333
00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:20,730
Theologian, Stephen Schock wrote this.

334
00:16:20,730 --> 00:16:26,430
He said, we owe our being to his
power, our wellbeing to his care,

335
00:16:26,790 --> 00:16:32,460
our motion and the exercise of
every faculty to his merciful,

336
00:16:32,460 --> 00:16:35,310
providence and concurrence in him.

337
00:16:35,310 --> 00:16:38,370
We live and move and have, are being.

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00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:44,190
Paul says in Colossians one that
in Christ all things hold together.

339
00:16:46,785 --> 00:16:48,735
There's no such thing as
the mundane in our life.

340
00:16:50,115 --> 00:16:53,355
Second, what that tells us is this,
that your past should encourage

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00:16:53,355 --> 00:16:55,995
you in the present as your present
will encourage you in the future.

342
00:16:57,795 --> 00:16:58,665
They say 2020.

343
00:16:59,055 --> 00:17:00,285
Hindsight is, is 2020.

344
00:17:01,605 --> 00:17:03,285
The spiritual hindsight is also 2020.

345
00:17:04,365 --> 00:17:07,513
My guess is that for many of you in
this room, you can look back at your

346
00:17:07,513 --> 00:17:11,115
life and you can see ways that God cared
for you, ways that God was working in

347
00:17:11,115 --> 00:17:14,473
the details of your life spiritually,
to bring you to a place or to walk you

348
00:17:14,473 --> 00:17:18,135
through a trial, or to bring you to be
more like Jesus as a result of something.

349
00:17:18,733 --> 00:17:21,223
And you look back on that and you're
encouraged by that, though in the

350
00:17:21,223 --> 00:17:22,905
moment you couldn't fully understand it.

351
00:17:23,790 --> 00:17:27,300
I wanna encourage you this morning,
God's at work in your present in such

352
00:17:27,300 --> 00:17:29,490
a way that maybe you don't understand
what you're walking through right

353
00:17:29,490 --> 00:17:32,250
now, but I bet you in the future
you're gonna look back at right now

354
00:17:32,250 --> 00:17:34,830
in this season and be like, okay, I
see God what you were doing right now.

355
00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:37,110
God's at work in the details.

356
00:17:37,949 --> 00:17:41,639
Third, I I, I think this encourages us
to testify to the small things in life.

357
00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:46,530
Uh, a lot of times we hear about the big
things and how God responded and worked

358
00:17:46,530 --> 00:17:47,969
out the details of the big things in life.

359
00:17:47,969 --> 00:17:50,580
But how about the small things like
maybe you were late to church this

360
00:17:50,580 --> 00:17:52,500
morning and you could not find your keys.

361
00:17:53,310 --> 00:17:55,500
And you stopped and you said, God,
please help me find my keys so I

362
00:17:55,500 --> 00:17:56,550
can get to church this morning.

363
00:17:57,510 --> 00:18:01,409
And then you were able to find your
keys and give God glory for that with

364
00:18:01,409 --> 00:18:02,460
your brothers and sisters in Christ.

365
00:18:02,460 --> 00:18:05,760
Encourage them by testifying to the
small details that God does in our

366
00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:08,610
life to work out his plan for us.

367
00:18:10,710 --> 00:18:13,290
It's not just the small details in,
it's not just the good seasons either.

368
00:18:13,290 --> 00:18:15,629
In fact, what we're talking about this
morning is the difficult times, aren't we?

369
00:18:16,330 --> 00:18:19,485
And just like he's in the details, in
the small things, in the mundane, even

370
00:18:19,485 --> 00:18:21,254
though there is no mundane, 'cause
that was a point that I just made.

371
00:18:21,254 --> 00:18:23,175
And maybe the pastor shouldn't
undermine the point that he just

372
00:18:23,175 --> 00:18:27,254
made by undermining it, man.

373
00:18:27,915 --> 00:18:30,645
Anyways, even in the small things.

374
00:18:31,215 --> 00:18:33,585
But in the, in those, those times
of, of suffering and heartache

375
00:18:33,585 --> 00:18:36,585
and, and sorrow in your life, God's
at work there too in the details.

376
00:18:37,125 --> 00:18:39,254
In fact, let's talk about
a few of those things.

377
00:18:39,554 --> 00:18:40,725
How about Daniel chapter one?

378
00:18:42,450 --> 00:18:45,870
Uh, then the king commanded Ashkenaz,
his chief eunuch to bring some of the

379
00:18:45,870 --> 00:18:50,669
people of Israel, both of the royal
family, of the nobility youths without

380
00:18:50,669 --> 00:18:54,810
blemish of good appearance, skillful
in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge,

381
00:18:54,810 --> 00:18:58,470
understanding, learning, competent
to stand in the king's palace, right?

382
00:18:58,649 --> 00:19:03,000
Look at all of the details that Daniel
needed to measure up to in order to be

383
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,570
placed into the palace, into the role
that he was gonna be used by God in such

384
00:19:06,570 --> 00:19:08,159
a powerful way in the life of Israel.

385
00:19:09,585 --> 00:19:11,774
See, God was at work in the
details of Daniel's life far

386
00:19:11,774 --> 00:19:13,695
before Daniel chapter one.

387
00:19:13,695 --> 00:19:16,935
When Nebuchadnezzar came and laid
siege to Jerusalem, when Daniel was

388
00:19:16,935 --> 00:19:19,784
being brought up, even in Daniel's
physical appearance, God is at work

389
00:19:19,784 --> 00:19:22,815
in the details because he wanted
Daniel where he was gonna put Daniel.

390
00:19:23,055 --> 00:19:25,335
Did Daniel want to be taken to Babylon?

391
00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:30,375
No, he didn't wanna be taken away
from home, away from his people.

392
00:19:30,375 --> 00:19:31,605
He didn't want the temple.

393
00:19:31,905 --> 00:19:32,625
To be destroyed.

394
00:19:32,625 --> 00:19:34,965
He didn't want to be going
through all of those things.

395
00:19:34,965 --> 00:19:36,855
And yet God wanted him
where he wanted him.

396
00:19:36,855 --> 00:19:38,865
And so he worked out the
details to get him there.

397
00:19:39,615 --> 00:19:40,395
Or how about Jonah?

398
00:19:41,145 --> 00:19:44,355
God said to Jonah, go to go to,
uh, Nineveh and, and preach there.

399
00:19:44,355 --> 00:19:46,725
And Jonah said, no, I'm not
going and fled from the Lord.

400
00:19:46,725 --> 00:19:47,295
What did the Lord do?

401
00:19:47,295 --> 00:19:50,595
The Lord hurled a great
storm upon the sea.

402
00:19:50,625 --> 00:19:53,685
He was orchestrating the details
even of the weather and of the

403
00:19:53,685 --> 00:19:57,315
creation of the fish to get Jonah
exactly where Jonah needed to be.

404
00:19:57,315 --> 00:19:58,845
Did Jonah want to go there?

405
00:19:59,504 --> 00:20:00,705
No, he didn't want to go there.

406
00:20:01,544 --> 00:20:06,105
Or in one Samuel chapter 17, think of
David and Goliath, the details that God

407
00:20:06,105 --> 00:20:08,985
orchestrated to get David where he was.

408
00:20:08,985 --> 00:20:12,405
The fact that Jesse decided at that
moment that David needed to take food

409
00:20:12,405 --> 00:20:16,365
to his brothers on the front lines,
and that David happened to go to meet

410
00:20:16,365 --> 00:20:19,784
his brothers on the front lines at just
the time that the Goliath is coming

411
00:20:19,784 --> 00:20:23,655
out to challenge Israel and that David
happened to listen to Goliath's challenge

412
00:20:23,655 --> 00:20:26,145
and then happened to go to Saul, and
Saul happened to agree to send this.

413
00:20:26,489 --> 00:20:30,120
Tiny little shepherd boy out to
fight this gigantic human being.

414
00:20:30,419 --> 00:20:31,860
God was orchestrating the details.

415
00:20:32,039 --> 00:20:35,729
Did David want to battle a giant
when he woke up that that morning?

416
00:20:36,209 --> 00:20:40,769
No, he didn't know the story of
David and Goliath at that point.

417
00:20:40,979 --> 00:20:45,239
Yeah, but God wanted him there and so God
was working out the details in his life.

418
00:20:45,239 --> 00:20:48,299
Again, church trust that God is at
work in the details in your life.

419
00:20:48,299 --> 00:20:51,269
You've probably already gotten there,
I hope and I trust, but if that means

420
00:20:51,269 --> 00:20:54,179
that, that he's, he's worked out the
details to get them in situations where

421
00:20:54,179 --> 00:20:55,469
they didn't necessarily want to be.

422
00:20:55,739 --> 00:20:59,519
It means sometimes he also works out
the details to put you in situations you

423
00:20:59,519 --> 00:21:00,899
don't necessarily wanna be in either.

424
00:21:01,919 --> 00:21:03,299
And the answer is to trust in there.

425
00:21:03,899 --> 00:21:07,769
There's no random trial or
pointless pain in anyone's life.

426
00:21:08,955 --> 00:21:13,725
God may be using it in your life this
morning to draw you to himself, to show

427
00:21:13,725 --> 00:21:17,564
you that you can trust in him, and he's
the only constant in this world where

428
00:21:17,564 --> 00:21:19,245
everything else seems to be falling apart.

429
00:21:21,495 --> 00:21:23,415
Or if you're here this morning
as a believer, God may be using

430
00:21:23,415 --> 00:21:26,655
a trial in your life right now to
cause you to depend more upon him.

431
00:21:26,655 --> 00:21:31,995
God may be using a trial in your life
right now to kill an idol in your life.

432
00:21:32,235 --> 00:21:35,625
God may be using a trial in your life
right now to make you more like Jesus.

433
00:21:36,225 --> 00:21:39,885
God may be using a trial in your life
right now to to set you up, to be able

434
00:21:39,885 --> 00:21:42,915
to comfort somebody else who's gonna walk
through a similar trial later on, like

435
00:21:42,915 --> 00:21:46,815
Paul says in Second Corinthians chapter
one, God is at work in the details and

436
00:21:46,815 --> 00:21:51,645
none of it is on accident, and we can
trust them when we have that perspective.

437
00:21:51,645 --> 00:21:53,565
This verse takes on a different
meaning for us, doesn't it?

438
00:21:54,225 --> 00:21:59,264
We know that for those who love God, all
things work together for good, for those

439
00:21:59,625 --> 00:22:02,295
who are called according to his purpose.

440
00:22:03,780 --> 00:22:06,300
So those details that God's
working in your life right now,

441
00:22:06,899 --> 00:22:09,360
he's working those for your good.

442
00:22:09,899 --> 00:22:12,600
It's just sometimes that means he's
gonna work those and bring you into

443
00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,419
the valley, but you can trust him
in the midst of that valley with

444
00:22:15,419 --> 00:22:18,389
that childlike faith that comforts
your soul and glorifies the father.

445
00:22:18,690 --> 00:22:20,010
Look at verse four as we move on.

446
00:22:20,010 --> 00:22:24,330
It says, then Jesus, knowing all that
would happen to him, came forward

447
00:22:24,330 --> 00:22:28,020
and said to them, whom do you seek?

448
00:22:28,845 --> 00:22:32,445
And so here's Jesus demonstrating
his omniscience, right?

449
00:22:32,595 --> 00:22:38,085
So Jesus, in God in the flesh, Philippians
chapter two says He emptied himself.

450
00:22:38,085 --> 00:22:40,605
He veiled some of the
fullness of his deity.

451
00:22:41,054 --> 00:22:43,725
But it didn't mean that he
ceased to be God in any way.

452
00:22:43,725 --> 00:22:44,925
He's a hundred percent God.

453
00:22:44,925 --> 00:22:46,365
He's fully God, fully man.

454
00:22:46,605 --> 00:22:49,784
And here we see some of his deity
in the sense that he was omniscient.

455
00:22:49,845 --> 00:22:53,564
He knew all that was about to take
place, all that was about to happen

456
00:22:53,564 --> 00:22:57,885
to him, and instead of retreating
from that, Jesus steps into it.

457
00:22:57,915 --> 00:23:03,284
He comes forward and says
to them, whom do you seek?

458
00:23:03,824 --> 00:23:07,754
Now John doesn't record something that the
synoptic gospels, Matthew, mark, and Luke

459
00:23:07,754 --> 00:23:11,685
do record, and that is when, when Judas
came forward to betray him, when Judas

460
00:23:11,685 --> 00:23:15,195
came forward to betray Jesus with a kiss,
and Jesus looked at Judas and said, would

461
00:23:15,195 --> 00:23:16,935
you betray the son of man with a kiss?

462
00:23:17,294 --> 00:23:19,784
I think that took place right before this.

463
00:23:20,114 --> 00:23:23,414
I think that takes place and then
Jesus kind of sidesteps Judas

464
00:23:23,414 --> 00:23:25,364
at that point and steps forward.

465
00:23:25,364 --> 00:23:30,824
It says, and asks, whom do you seek?

466
00:23:31,590 --> 00:23:35,939
I think this is Jesus taking
the moment away from Judas.

467
00:23:36,509 --> 00:23:41,280
I think this is Jesus despising
the shame of the arrest by

468
00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:42,749
initiating the conversation.

469
00:23:44,429 --> 00:23:45,120
Think about the times.

470
00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:47,070
Maybe you've watched cops or
some show like that and you've

471
00:23:47,070 --> 00:23:48,509
seen an arrest warrant served.

472
00:23:49,620 --> 00:23:52,229
Usually it doesn't go like this.

473
00:23:53,129 --> 00:23:56,100
Usually the person being arrested,
they're running, aren't they?

474
00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:02,340
It's not a moment of of, of strength and
dignity and courage and bravado for them.

475
00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:06,419
That's not what we find here with Jesus.

476
00:24:06,419 --> 00:24:10,199
We find that it is a moment of strength
and courage and dignity and bravado.

477
00:24:10,949 --> 00:24:13,110
Jesus is controlling
the circumstances here.

478
00:24:13,739 --> 00:24:16,500
Jesus sidesteps, Juda steps
forward and looks at this band of

479
00:24:16,500 --> 00:24:18,479
soldiers and says, who are you?

480
00:24:18,479 --> 00:24:23,790
After they answered
him, Jesus of Nazareth.

481
00:24:24,915 --> 00:24:25,455
Verse five.

482
00:24:25,455 --> 00:24:27,344
Jesus said to them, I am he.

483
00:24:28,064 --> 00:24:29,445
And notice John again.

484
00:24:30,104 --> 00:24:32,415
John was not a big Judas fan.

485
00:24:33,524 --> 00:24:36,074
Judas who betrayed him
was standing with them.

486
00:24:37,425 --> 00:24:40,034
John wants us to make sure that
we know where Judas lies, where

487
00:24:40,034 --> 00:24:41,445
Ju Judas stands right now.

488
00:24:42,074 --> 00:24:43,604
Not just literally, but spiritually.

489
00:24:44,534 --> 00:24:45,465
He's not with Jesus.

490
00:24:45,465 --> 00:24:46,695
He's not with Jesus followers.

491
00:24:46,695 --> 00:24:47,655
He's on the other side.

492
00:24:48,989 --> 00:24:51,929
But they say, we want Jesus of
Nazareth, and Jesus answers them.

493
00:24:52,199 --> 00:24:54,389
I am he.

494
00:24:56,009 --> 00:25:01,259
This statement that Jesus makes
here, uh, resounds in our ears.

495
00:25:01,259 --> 00:25:04,620
If, if you know the Bible with some
things from the Old Testament, doesn't it?

496
00:25:05,580 --> 00:25:06,600
Exodus chapter three.

497
00:25:07,424 --> 00:25:10,604
Exodus chapter three,
verses 13 through 14.

498
00:25:10,874 --> 00:25:14,564
Uh, then Moses said to God, if I come
to the people of Israel and say to them,

499
00:25:14,834 --> 00:25:19,364
the God of your fathers has sent me to
you, and they ask me, what is his name?

500
00:25:19,424 --> 00:25:20,594
What should I say to them?

501
00:25:21,344 --> 00:25:26,294
God said to Moses, I am
who I am in the Hebrew.

502
00:25:26,294 --> 00:25:27,164
It's Yahweh.

503
00:25:28,905 --> 00:25:29,475
Before me.

504
00:25:29,475 --> 00:25:32,565
No, God was formed, or
sorry, that's Isaiah 43.

505
00:25:32,715 --> 00:25:36,975
And he said, say this to the people
of Israel I am has sent me to you.

506
00:25:37,815 --> 00:25:41,655
And so when Jesus says, I am he, in
fact, there is no He in the Greek.

507
00:25:41,655 --> 00:25:42,585
It's ego a me.

508
00:25:42,585 --> 00:25:47,715
I am in our minds and perhaps
for the, the, the Jewish audience

509
00:25:47,715 --> 00:25:52,695
in the moment, it echoed with
reverberations of Exodus chapter

510
00:25:52,695 --> 00:25:56,024
three, or Isaiah chapter 43, verse 10.

511
00:25:56,909 --> 00:25:59,070
Where it says that you may
know and believe and understand

512
00:25:59,070 --> 00:26:01,889
that I am he before me.

513
00:26:01,889 --> 00:26:04,679
There was no God nor shall
there be any after me.

514
00:26:05,669 --> 00:26:08,580
And we look at the response of
the crowd where it says they drew

515
00:26:08,580 --> 00:26:10,530
back and they fell to the ground.

516
00:26:10,530 --> 00:26:13,500
And we think to ourselves, well they
fell to the ground because surely they

517
00:26:13,500 --> 00:26:17,274
must have gone back to Exodus chapter
three or Isaiah 43 and understood

518
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:20,550
that Jesus was claiming to be on,
on par, on level ground with Yahweh.

519
00:26:22,350 --> 00:26:25,320
And I think for those of us that have
the rest of the story, we can see that.

520
00:26:26,595 --> 00:26:29,805
But if we put ourselves back in the
garden, I don't know that they're

521
00:26:29,805 --> 00:26:33,585
making that connection at this point,
especially not all of the Gentile

522
00:26:33,585 --> 00:26:34,905
soldiers that are gathered there.

523
00:26:35,370 --> 00:26:38,580
They wouldn't have known Exodus three,
they wouldn't have known Isaiah 43.

524
00:26:39,029 --> 00:26:40,229
So what in the world is happening?

525
00:26:40,590 --> 00:26:45,870
I think this is a moment wherein Jesus's
self-disclosure of who he is with the

526
00:26:45,870 --> 00:26:51,300
statement Aigo a me, is so incredibly
powerful in that moment that the those

527
00:26:51,300 --> 00:26:55,379
that are present can't help but fall down
on the ground in the presence of God.

528
00:26:56,774 --> 00:27:01,605
Again, the strength, the control
of the son of God in a situation

529
00:27:01,605 --> 00:27:08,625
where we would expect anything else
given where he's about to go, I am

530
00:27:08,685 --> 00:27:11,445
he, and they fall to the ground.

531
00:27:11,895 --> 00:27:16,485
Most of them having no idea why they just
fell over other than it was in response

532
00:27:16,485 --> 00:27:17,925
to the words that Jesus just spoke.

533
00:27:19,125 --> 00:27:22,334
And so the crowd, they, they get
back up again and they ask Jesus

534
00:27:22,334 --> 00:27:26,145
or Jesus steps forward and ask
them again, whom do you seek?

535
00:27:27,165 --> 00:27:29,685
And they said, probably
a lot more timidly.

536
00:27:30,675 --> 00:27:31,725
Jesus of Nazareth.

537
00:27:33,735 --> 00:27:36,495
And he says, again, I am he.

538
00:27:37,395 --> 00:27:40,155
So if you seek me, let these men go.

539
00:27:41,024 --> 00:27:42,044
Let these men go.

540
00:27:44,054 --> 00:27:47,654
Uh, John 18 nine says that that
was to fulfill the word that he had

541
00:27:47,654 --> 00:27:49,215
spoken of those whom you gave me.

542
00:27:49,215 --> 00:27:51,524
I have not lost one of them.

543
00:27:52,784 --> 00:27:55,634
Uh, hearkens back to the high
priestly prayer in John 17.

544
00:27:55,634 --> 00:28:00,194
Jesus said in verse 12, John 1712,
while I was with them, I kept them

545
00:28:00,194 --> 00:28:01,725
in your name, which you've given me.

546
00:28:01,904 --> 00:28:04,154
I have guarded them and not
one of them has been lost

547
00:28:04,154 --> 00:28:05,324
except the son of destruction.

548
00:28:05,324 --> 00:28:09,254
That's Judas, that the
scripture might be fulfilled.

549
00:28:10,049 --> 00:28:13,679
And so even here, Jesus is
protecting the disciples.

550
00:28:13,679 --> 00:28:18,149
In fact, I think we even see that
when he says he came forward, Jesus

551
00:28:18,149 --> 00:28:22,499
puts himself between this band
of marauders and his followers.

552
00:28:23,009 --> 00:28:27,689
He steps between the danger and them in
a foreshadowing of what he's about to

553
00:28:27,689 --> 00:28:31,919
do in a much greater sense on the cross,
where he's gonna step between the, the,

554
00:28:31,919 --> 00:28:36,899
the wrath of God and us, and he's gonna
take our place so that we can go free.

555
00:28:37,919 --> 00:28:40,499
And so he looks at the band of
soldiers, he looks at the Jews

556
00:28:40,559 --> 00:28:41,819
and he says, whom do you seek?

557
00:28:41,969 --> 00:28:42,809
You want me?

558
00:28:42,959 --> 00:28:43,289
Great.

559
00:28:43,289 --> 00:28:43,979
Here I am.

560
00:28:44,129 --> 00:28:44,999
Let them go.

561
00:28:46,259 --> 00:28:49,769
Jesus is protecting them, knowing that
if they were to be wrapped up in this,

562
00:28:49,769 --> 00:28:53,249
if they were to be caught up in this, if
they were to be arrested as well, perhaps

563
00:28:53,249 --> 00:28:56,879
even tried and executed, that their faith
is not fully baked, they're not ready

564
00:28:56,879 --> 00:28:59,939
yet for martyrdom, though eventually
many of them will meet that fate.

565
00:29:01,034 --> 00:29:03,374
But as it is right now, Jesus
continues to protect them.

566
00:29:03,374 --> 00:29:06,614
But what I want us to see here
in this middle section here is

567
00:29:06,614 --> 00:29:09,344
that Jesus is the one in control
of everything going on here.

568
00:29:10,664 --> 00:29:12,074
Jesus takes the initiative.

569
00:29:12,344 --> 00:29:14,114
Jesus asks the questions.

570
00:29:14,324 --> 00:29:17,054
Jesus demonstrates his power
and knocks them all down.

571
00:29:17,684 --> 00:29:20,834
Jesus orders them, let them go.

572
00:29:22,394 --> 00:29:24,944
This is Jesus in full control.

573
00:29:26,534 --> 00:29:27,914
Christian, when we walk through.

574
00:29:28,604 --> 00:29:31,574
The valley when we walk through the
trial, as we talked about in point

575
00:29:31,574 --> 00:29:34,215
number one, if God is orchestrating the
details, that would imply what we see

576
00:29:34,215 --> 00:29:37,814
here, that that God is in full control
of everything going on in our lives.

577
00:29:38,655 --> 00:29:41,955
And if in God is in control, then
we can have the freedom to do what

578
00:29:41,955 --> 00:29:45,284
Jesus does and submit ourselves
fully to the will of the Father and

579
00:29:45,284 --> 00:29:48,014
complete and perfect obedience to him.

580
00:29:48,975 --> 00:29:51,705
Second point this morning,
is this, be an obedient or be

581
00:29:51,705 --> 00:29:53,415
obedient knowing God is in control.

582
00:29:54,134 --> 00:29:57,284
Be obedient, knowing God is in control.

583
00:30:00,899 --> 00:30:03,360
Jesus is able to be perfectly
obedient to the Father's will because

584
00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,029
he knows that the father's will
is what is happening right now.

585
00:30:08,939 --> 00:30:11,729
The difference between us
is we're never in control

586
00:30:11,789 --> 00:30:13,049
ultimately of our circumstances.

587
00:30:13,049 --> 00:30:17,579
God is, Jesus was in control of her,
his circumstances because he is God.

588
00:30:18,449 --> 00:30:21,809
But we can learn from this and we can
say, okay, we can submit ourselves

589
00:30:21,809 --> 00:30:24,659
perfectly to the will of God wherever
we find ourselves, whatever's going on

590
00:30:24,659 --> 00:30:26,639
in our lives because God is in control.

591
00:30:27,975 --> 00:30:28,905
The ban of marauders.

592
00:30:28,905 --> 00:30:29,865
They weren't in control.

593
00:30:29,865 --> 00:30:30,945
Judas wasn't in control.

594
00:30:30,945 --> 00:30:32,175
The Jews, they weren't in control.

595
00:30:32,175 --> 00:30:34,004
God was in control the whole time.

596
00:30:35,595 --> 00:30:39,375
Recently, we took my son's car into
the mechanic because it wouldn't start.

597
00:30:40,125 --> 00:30:42,315
It's a good reason to take it to the
mechanic, especially when you're like

598
00:30:42,315 --> 00:30:45,254
me and you don't know anything about
cars except how to fill the tires

599
00:30:45,254 --> 00:30:47,625
with the air and put gas in the tank.

600
00:30:47,625 --> 00:30:49,665
Which by the way, apparently
there was no gas in the tank.

601
00:30:51,915 --> 00:30:55,245
The gauge said there was, I'm
not that, not that incompetent

602
00:30:55,245 --> 00:30:56,055
when it comes to cars.

603
00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:01,379
Um, but man, before we took it into
the mechanic, it was just a guessing

604
00:31:01,379 --> 00:31:05,909
game and I was helpless because
I sat there not knowing anything

605
00:31:05,909 --> 00:31:07,139
other than when I pushed the button.

606
00:31:07,139 --> 00:31:08,579
It doesn't go tick, tick, tick.

607
00:31:09,179 --> 00:31:11,129
It just went tick, tick, tick, tick,
tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick,

608
00:31:11,129 --> 00:31:13,949
tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick,
tick, tick, tick, and didn't turn over.

609
00:31:15,179 --> 00:31:17,039
I called the AAA guy out
there to check the battery.

610
00:31:17,039 --> 00:31:17,879
He listened to it.

611
00:31:17,879 --> 00:31:18,959
He was like, yeah, that's not the battery.

612
00:31:18,959 --> 00:31:21,870
I'm like, well, how am I supposed
to know that I went to seminary?

613
00:31:21,870 --> 00:31:23,729
They don't teach car
batteries in seminary.

614
00:31:25,260 --> 00:31:26,220
So he is like, that's not the battery.

615
00:31:26,220 --> 00:31:26,879
I was like, well, what is it?

616
00:31:26,879 --> 00:31:27,450
He's like, I don't know.

617
00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:28,560
You need a tow truck?

618
00:31:28,649 --> 00:31:29,190
Great, thanks.

619
00:31:29,190 --> 00:31:29,850
Can you do that note?

620
00:31:29,850 --> 00:31:30,780
You're gonna have to call somebody else.

621
00:31:30,780 --> 00:31:31,139
Great.

622
00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,020
Three hours later, tow truck
shows up, tows it to the mechanic.

623
00:31:34,649 --> 00:31:39,060
But even though I, I, I dread the
mechanic's bill, there's a sense

624
00:31:39,060 --> 00:31:41,820
of comfort knowing that the car's
with somebody who's in control of

625
00:31:41,820 --> 00:31:45,000
the situation, there's a sense of
comfort knowing the car is with

626
00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:46,800
somebody who knows what they're doing.

627
00:31:47,610 --> 00:31:50,550
If I open that engine and try to
do half the things the mechanic had

628
00:31:50,550 --> 00:31:53,340
to do on that car, that car's done.

629
00:31:54,225 --> 00:31:54,794
It's done.

630
00:31:55,455 --> 00:31:56,895
There's no way it's gonna happen.

631
00:31:57,854 --> 00:32:00,885
So there was a sense of peace for me,
knowing that I could, I could just

632
00:32:00,885 --> 00:32:04,844
say, okay, I'm gonna sit back and, and
I'm gonna let the mechanic do his job.

633
00:32:05,925 --> 00:32:06,225
Now,

634
00:32:08,264 --> 00:32:10,665
what I'm not suggesting for us as
Christians, and that's why I worded

635
00:32:10,665 --> 00:32:13,320
the point that I, I, the way I did be
obedient, knowing God's in control.

636
00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:16,665
I'm not suggesting that our job is
to sit back passively as Christians

637
00:32:16,665 --> 00:32:17,804
and just go, well, God's in control.

638
00:32:17,804 --> 00:32:18,584
I don't have to do anything.

639
00:32:20,235 --> 00:32:22,635
Rather, our job is to be obedient
to what he's called us to.

640
00:32:23,519 --> 00:32:26,370
And know that he's the one that's, that's
got the, the big picture in control.

641
00:32:26,429 --> 00:32:27,899
He's the one that knows what's going on.

642
00:32:29,159 --> 00:32:32,309
We can just do as he's calling us to do.

643
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:35,549
And you say, does, does
the Bible bear this out?

644
00:32:35,549 --> 00:32:37,379
Is, is this really, but
what about suffering?

645
00:32:37,379 --> 00:32:38,699
Is God in control of that?

646
00:32:38,699 --> 00:32:39,360
And I would say yes.

647
00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:40,409
How about job chapter one?

648
00:32:41,854 --> 00:32:44,100
In Job chapter one, Satan
comes before the Father.

649
00:32:44,100 --> 00:32:49,409
Satan comes before God, and, and he has
to ask permission from God to afflict job.

650
00:32:51,014 --> 00:32:52,754
Verse 11, but stretch out your hand.

651
00:32:52,754 --> 00:32:54,074
This is Satan talking to God.

652
00:32:54,254 --> 00:32:58,604
Stretch out your hand and touch all that
he has and he will curse you to your face.

653
00:32:59,384 --> 00:33:02,714
And the Lord said to Satan,
behold all that he has is in

654
00:33:02,714 --> 00:33:04,754
your hand only against him.

655
00:33:04,754 --> 00:33:06,284
Do not stretch out your hand.

656
00:33:06,434 --> 00:33:08,564
So Satan went out from
the presence of the Lord.

657
00:33:08,894 --> 00:33:09,735
Question Church.

658
00:33:09,824 --> 00:33:13,034
Who afflicted job, Satan or God?

659
00:33:13,724 --> 00:33:14,624
Yes.

660
00:33:16,350 --> 00:33:21,300
Yes, Satan did, but only in accordance
with the permissive will of God.

661
00:33:22,139 --> 00:33:26,489
In fact, so much so that when we get
later on and Job after all of this

662
00:33:26,489 --> 00:33:28,229
has come, notice what Job says here.

663
00:33:28,889 --> 00:33:32,969
After all of the suffering, he
says, naked, I came from my mother's

664
00:33:32,969 --> 00:33:34,830
womb and naked shall I return.

665
00:33:34,919 --> 00:33:37,499
I wish the Lord could do
something, but he's paralyzed.

666
00:33:38,699 --> 00:33:39,389
No, he says this.

667
00:33:39,389 --> 00:33:42,479
He says, the Lord gave and
the Lord has taken away.

668
00:33:43,935 --> 00:33:45,074
We sang that this morning.

669
00:33:45,824 --> 00:33:47,084
You give and take away.

670
00:33:47,235 --> 00:33:52,604
You give and take away,
but blessed be your name.

671
00:33:54,044 --> 00:33:56,864
Or later on, his wife says, Hey, why
don't you just curse God and die?

672
00:33:57,614 --> 00:33:58,725
And Job says this.

673
00:33:58,725 --> 00:34:00,794
He says, you speak as
one of the foolish women.

674
00:34:01,124 --> 00:34:07,004
Should we not receive good from
God and shall not we receive evil?

675
00:34:08,234 --> 00:34:10,514
And then it says He
didn't sin with his lips.

676
00:34:11,445 --> 00:34:18,645
So when Job said the Lord took away, he
wasn't sinning in that when Job said that

677
00:34:18,645 --> 00:34:24,764
the evil that has befallen us is from
the Lord, he's not sinning in that job

678
00:34:24,764 --> 00:34:28,935
is acknowledging God's sovereign control
over our life and, and y'all, I get it.

679
00:34:28,935 --> 00:34:30,675
This is such a hard concept for us.

680
00:34:31,484 --> 00:34:35,293
To understand and and to acknowledge
that God is the ultimate shock caller

681
00:34:35,594 --> 00:34:38,864
that Satan does nothing apart from
the permissive will of God, apart

682
00:34:38,864 --> 00:34:40,813
from God's ordained will in our life.

683
00:34:40,873 --> 00:34:44,504
But this is not just an Old Testament
concept in Ephesians one 11, and

684
00:34:44,504 --> 00:34:45,734
I think this is all encompassing.

685
00:34:45,734 --> 00:34:50,833
Paul says this, that God works all things
according to the counsel of his will.

686
00:34:51,974 --> 00:34:52,904
All things.

687
00:34:54,299 --> 00:34:56,129
So the suffering, the trial
that you're going through right

688
00:34:56,129 --> 00:34:58,109
now, God is in control of that.

689
00:34:58,319 --> 00:35:01,109
Whatever trial, whatever valley you
may be in right now, or whatever

690
00:35:01,109 --> 00:35:05,069
you've come out of, know that God
has led you into it and God is the

691
00:35:05,069 --> 00:35:06,779
one who will lead you out of it.

692
00:35:08,129 --> 00:35:10,740
And I just wanna suggest that that
should be a comforting thought to you

693
00:35:10,740 --> 00:35:14,129
this morning, because if it wasn't God
that led you in, then why would you

694
00:35:14,129 --> 00:35:15,600
believe that God could lead you out?

695
00:35:17,910 --> 00:35:20,370
The fact that he's the one
that is sovereign over our

696
00:35:20,370 --> 00:35:24,390
circumstances gives us hope in the
light at the end of the tunnel.

697
00:35:25,259 --> 00:35:28,649
If God was in heaven right now going,
I don't know how you got yourself

698
00:35:28,649 --> 00:35:32,759
into the situation you got yourself
into, then we would be in trouble.

699
00:35:34,140 --> 00:35:36,960
But rather we have a father in heaven
who is saying, I've led you into the

700
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:41,640
circumstance that you're in right now
because I love you, because I'm working

701
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:43,500
in your life together for your good.

702
00:35:45,419 --> 00:35:49,229
Because I'm sovereign, because I am in
control over what's going on in your life.

703
00:35:51,899 --> 00:35:56,250
Your theology church is crucially
important to your perspective

704
00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:58,919
in the midst of the trials and
suffering that you walk through.

705
00:36:00,270 --> 00:36:03,209
If you're gonna be obedient, knowing
God is in control, you're gonna have

706
00:36:03,209 --> 00:36:07,439
to know the word of God so well and
know him so well that it gives you

707
00:36:07,439 --> 00:36:10,830
confidence to, to do this because
you know you're not alone in this.

708
00:36:13,064 --> 00:36:16,694
Think about the situations that God
led his people into in scripture.

709
00:36:16,694 --> 00:36:19,575
The trials that God controlled and
led his people into in scripture,

710
00:36:19,575 --> 00:36:21,435
God led Noah into the flood.

711
00:36:23,805 --> 00:36:25,544
God led Moses to Midian.

712
00:36:26,759 --> 00:36:29,340
Where he would spend 40 years
in preparation as a shepherd

713
00:36:29,340 --> 00:36:30,300
in the middle of nowhere.

714
00:36:30,300 --> 00:36:34,650
When he had been the the son of Pharaoh
by adoption, he led him into Midian to

715
00:36:34,650 --> 00:36:36,000
prepare him for what he was going to do.

716
00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:40,290
God led David to and Getty where he
took shelter from Saul because Saul

717
00:36:40,290 --> 00:36:46,645
was on the the hunt to kill him and
to take his life, God led Shadrach,

718
00:36:46,650 --> 00:36:49,050
Meshach in Abednego into the furnace.

719
00:36:50,250 --> 00:36:52,650
God led Daniel into the lion's den.

720
00:36:54,330 --> 00:36:59,790
God led Steven and Peter, and Paul, and
Matthew and James, and many, many others

721
00:37:01,049 --> 00:37:03,810
to their death, for their faith in Christ.

722
00:37:07,439 --> 00:37:11,399
The more we know the God of the
Bible, the more we will be able to

723
00:37:11,399 --> 00:37:14,549
endure in the midst of the trial in
the valley that we're in with that

724
00:37:14,549 --> 00:37:17,160
childlike faith that's gonna comfort
your soul and give glory to the father.

725
00:37:18,210 --> 00:37:19,590
To know that he's in control.

726
00:37:20,070 --> 00:37:21,120
We read it this morning.

727
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:23,700
You may be wondering why in the world
did they read Genesis 50 this morning?

728
00:37:23,700 --> 00:37:24,840
That this is part of the reason.

729
00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:28,980
This is the main reason why,
because I wanted to remind us

730
00:37:29,100 --> 00:37:30,570
of the, the life of Joseph.

731
00:37:32,250 --> 00:37:34,530
Talk about somebody that
was led into a circumstance.

732
00:37:35,850 --> 00:37:37,440
And then in the end, what did Joseph say?

733
00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:41,250
He said, but Joseph said to them, do
not fear for am I in the place of God?

734
00:37:41,685 --> 00:37:46,605
As for you, you meant evil against
me, but God meant it for good.

735
00:37:46,665 --> 00:37:50,475
To bring it about that many people
should be kept alive as they are today.

736
00:37:50,745 --> 00:37:52,754
Who sold Joseph to the Midianites?

737
00:37:52,785 --> 00:37:56,355
His brothers are God Yes.

738
00:37:57,825 --> 00:38:03,225
Who betrayed Joseph to Potiphar,
Potiphar's wife or God?

739
00:38:04,305 --> 00:38:05,205
Yes.

740
00:38:06,045 --> 00:38:07,935
Who forgot Joseph for three years.

741
00:38:07,935 --> 00:38:11,295
Well, God didn't forget Joseph
in in prison for three years, but

742
00:38:11,295 --> 00:38:12,855
who ordained the circumstances?

743
00:38:12,855 --> 00:38:13,395
God did.

744
00:38:14,805 --> 00:38:17,775
God is at work in the midst of our
suffering, and that's not unique.

745
00:38:17,775 --> 00:38:20,145
If you're sitting out there today
going, man, that's not fair.

746
00:38:20,145 --> 00:38:20,955
Lemme just encourage you.

747
00:38:20,955 --> 00:38:22,005
You're in good company.

748
00:38:23,235 --> 00:38:25,395
You're not the only one that
God's put through a season.

749
00:38:26,669 --> 00:38:29,100
In fact, you can talk to anybody else
in the room this morning and they

750
00:38:29,100 --> 00:38:33,390
can tell you, myself included, here's
seasons that God has led me into of

751
00:38:33,390 --> 00:38:36,839
suffering and trials and pain, and
yet I know that he's in control.

752
00:38:36,839 --> 00:38:39,480
And that's what allowed
me to continue to endure.

753
00:38:42,450 --> 00:38:43,950
What does this mindset allow us to do?

754
00:38:43,950 --> 00:38:46,140
It allows us to do a handful of things.

755
00:38:46,890 --> 00:38:49,020
Number one, it allows us
to be all in where we are.

756
00:38:50,189 --> 00:38:53,069
Whatever suffering you may find
yourself in and this mindset saying,

757
00:38:53,069 --> 00:38:54,450
God, you are in full control.

758
00:38:54,885 --> 00:38:59,085
Allows you to be all in where you are
confident that this is where God has you.

759
00:39:01,275 --> 00:39:03,825
You don't have to be trying at every
turn to get out of where you are.

760
00:39:04,815 --> 00:39:06,615
You can trust that he will
do that in his timing.

761
00:39:08,055 --> 00:39:10,755
Along those lines, you can trust
that God has you where he wants you.

762
00:39:12,585 --> 00:39:15,015
You don't have to play the
what if or if only game,

763
00:39:17,295 --> 00:39:20,985
but you can say, okay Lord, this is where
you have me in accordance with your plan.

764
00:39:21,555 --> 00:39:22,935
What do you want me to do here?

765
00:39:25,245 --> 00:39:26,115
The answer to that question.

766
00:39:26,115 --> 00:39:29,895
Our third implication of this is that you
can work for the good of those around you.

767
00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:35,595
If, if you're confident in the control
of God, that God has you where you

768
00:39:35,595 --> 00:39:39,015
are because of his sovereign control
in your life, then that frees you

769
00:39:39,015 --> 00:39:42,135
up to be able to say, okay, then
I'm gonna be obedient to the Father.

770
00:39:42,135 --> 00:39:43,785
I'm gonna work for the
good of those around me.

771
00:39:44,325 --> 00:39:47,505
In fact, one Peter four 19 says
this, therefore, let those of us

772
00:39:47,505 --> 00:39:49,395
who suffer according to God's will.

773
00:39:50,130 --> 00:39:53,700
Entrust their souls to a faithful
creator while doing good.

774
00:39:55,230 --> 00:39:58,410
God says that while we suffer,
entrust your soul to the faithful

775
00:39:58,410 --> 00:40:02,280
creator to him because he's the
one in control while doing good.

776
00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:04,170
It allows you to work for
the good of those around you.

777
00:40:04,770 --> 00:40:07,740
And then finally, it allows you
to release your thirst for justice

778
00:40:07,740 --> 00:40:09,180
to a God who will see to it.

779
00:40:10,530 --> 00:40:14,400
If you're confident that God is in
control of all things, then that

780
00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:17,160
desire for justice, that desire
that the wrong should be righted.

781
00:40:18,684 --> 00:40:21,870
It doesn't mean that you have to
say, well, we absolve the, the

782
00:40:21,870 --> 00:40:24,329
people that hurt you, the people
that, that sinned against you.

783
00:40:25,109 --> 00:40:27,629
But you can trust and know
that if God's in control,

784
00:40:27,629 --> 00:40:29,009
he'll take care of the justice.

785
00:40:30,899 --> 00:40:32,430
I think this is Paul and Philippians one.

786
00:40:32,669 --> 00:40:35,519
I don't have time to go there
with us, but he's in jail.

787
00:40:35,519 --> 00:40:37,259
He's preaching the gospel
while he was in jail.

788
00:40:37,709 --> 00:40:39,779
He's like, Hey, it's, it's
known throughout all of Caesar's

789
00:40:39,839 --> 00:40:42,209
Navy seals that, that I'm
here for the cause of Christ.

790
00:40:43,950 --> 00:40:46,079
Paul just had this
mindset going, I'm here.

791
00:40:47,279 --> 00:40:51,209
'cause God has me here and God has
me here to be faithful to him, to be

792
00:40:51,209 --> 00:40:53,669
obedient to him wherever I happen to be.

793
00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:57,120
So when you're in a trial, confidence in
God's sovereign control of your situation,

794
00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:02,459
it frees you up to focus your energies
on obeying him a childlike faith that

795
00:41:02,459 --> 00:41:03,660
comforts your soul and glorifies God.

796
00:41:03,660 --> 00:41:06,779
Finally, verse 10 says, then
Simon Peter having a sword drew

797
00:41:06,779 --> 00:41:10,109
it, instruct the high priest's
servant and cut off his right ear.

798
00:41:10,470 --> 00:41:11,640
The servant's name was Malki.

799
00:41:13,035 --> 00:41:14,024
Peter has a sword.

800
00:41:14,355 --> 00:41:16,935
Well, back in, in the upper room,
John doesn't record this, but

801
00:41:16,935 --> 00:41:20,475
Luke does says, and they said,
look, Lord, here's two swords.

802
00:41:20,625 --> 00:41:22,634
And then he said to them, it's enough you.

803
00:41:22,634 --> 00:41:23,504
You've got these swords.

804
00:41:23,835 --> 00:41:24,645
I don't know who decided.

805
00:41:24,645 --> 00:41:26,504
Peter should be the guy with
a sword, but somebody did.

806
00:41:27,225 --> 00:41:28,785
Peter probably decided it himself.

807
00:41:29,055 --> 00:41:30,794
He's like, dibs, I got a sword.

808
00:41:31,634 --> 00:41:32,325
Puts it in a sheath.

809
00:41:32,325 --> 00:41:32,924
Goes out here.

810
00:41:33,855 --> 00:41:37,515
Listen, it is a mercy of God
that Peter was a horrible shot.

811
00:41:39,225 --> 00:41:40,605
Peter's not going for the ear.

812
00:41:40,665 --> 00:41:41,685
We get that right.

813
00:41:42,975 --> 00:41:46,694
Peter is thinking, this ain't going down
on my watch and this has already happened.

814
00:41:46,694 --> 00:41:48,495
Remember when he pulled Jesus
aside and he rebuked him?

815
00:41:48,495 --> 00:41:49,605
He said, what's all this death talk?

816
00:41:49,605 --> 00:41:50,025
Stop that.

817
00:41:50,025 --> 00:41:50,535
Jesus.

818
00:41:51,705 --> 00:41:55,634
So Peter's see sitting here looking at
maybe 600 guys going, we could do this.

819
00:41:56,984 --> 00:42:02,025
Draws his sword swings at Malki, gets his
ear, which is again, as I think a part

820
00:42:02,025 --> 00:42:03,315
of God's working in the details there.

821
00:42:03,345 --> 00:42:05,595
'cause if Peter kills Malki, it's go.

822
00:42:05,625 --> 00:42:07,995
It's over for everybody
else on that mountain.

823
00:42:10,515 --> 00:42:13,335
And Jesus intervenes and, and says,
Hey, we're not doing it this way.

824
00:42:14,234 --> 00:42:15,794
He says to Peter, put
your sword in your sheath.

825
00:42:15,794 --> 00:42:18,705
Shall I not drink the cup
the father has given me?

826
00:42:20,595 --> 00:42:22,274
Should I not drink the cup
the father has given me?

827
00:42:22,274 --> 00:42:27,555
This would've called back, uh, that
prayer of Jesus when he fell on his faith.

828
00:42:27,555 --> 00:42:30,944
Matthew records it for us and says,
my father in the same garden, if it'd

829
00:42:30,944 --> 00:42:32,595
be possible, let this cup pass for me.

830
00:42:32,595 --> 00:42:34,964
Nevertheless, not as I
will, but as you will.

831
00:42:38,955 --> 00:42:43,485
In attempting to help Jesus,
Peter found himself working

832
00:42:43,485 --> 00:42:46,905
against the father's will Church.

833
00:42:46,905 --> 00:42:50,385
There are times in the midst of our
suffering, in the midst of the difficult

834
00:42:50,385 --> 00:42:56,175
seasons of life that we find ourselves
in, where we try to help God and

835
00:42:56,175 --> 00:42:58,275
find ourselves working against God.

836
00:42:59,115 --> 00:43:01,155
Our third and final point this
morning, along those lines is this,

837
00:43:01,155 --> 00:43:03,045
beware of working against God's will

838
00:43:05,235 --> 00:43:06,855
beware of working against God's will.

839
00:43:07,815 --> 00:43:10,154
Contrast Jesus and Peter in this scene.

840
00:43:12,225 --> 00:43:15,315
Man, if, if Jesus wanted to, he could
have disintegrated everybody on the

841
00:43:15,315 --> 00:43:17,685
face of that mountain with a blink.

842
00:43:19,964 --> 00:43:22,785
But Jesus surrendered himself
completely to the will of the Father.

843
00:43:23,745 --> 00:43:27,194
And then you have Peter who's
armed himself instead in opposition

844
00:43:27,194 --> 00:43:28,875
to that will albeit unwittingly.

845
00:43:31,274 --> 00:43:33,404
So the question I want us to ponder,
and this final point this morning is

846
00:43:33,404 --> 00:43:35,714
this, how can we make sure we're not
being like Peter while we're walking

847
00:43:35,714 --> 00:43:36,884
through our own trials and suffering?

848
00:43:38,220 --> 00:43:40,560
How can we make sure that we're
not working against God's will

849
00:43:41,430 --> 00:43:44,339
in our own periods of suffering
and trials and heartache?

850
00:43:46,890 --> 00:43:49,680
First thing I wanna suggest to us this
morning is this, we need to be aware

851
00:43:49,740 --> 00:43:55,290
of manipulating our circumstances, be
aware of manipulating our circumstances.

852
00:43:55,350 --> 00:43:57,899
And what I mean by that is you're facing
a trial and, and you're sitting there

853
00:43:57,899 --> 00:44:03,029
going, okay, I think I could control this
and get myself out of this if, and maybe

854
00:44:03,029 --> 00:44:05,190
that's a forced conversation with someone.

855
00:44:06,270 --> 00:44:09,900
Uh, maybe that's making a, a hasty
decision, an impulse decision.

856
00:44:10,590 --> 00:44:13,890
Maybe it's seeking an alternate route
after the first route has, has failed

857
00:44:16,680 --> 00:44:16,920
men.

858
00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:21,420
I think we're especially prone to
this one, trying to force a resolution

859
00:44:21,420 --> 00:44:25,585
to our suffering rather than to be
patiently considerate of what God might

860
00:44:25,590 --> 00:44:27,270
be doing in the midst of our suffering.

861
00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:31,020
So we can try to manipulate our
circumstances, try to control

862
00:44:31,020 --> 00:44:33,720
things ourselves, take the reins
ourselves to get ourselves outta the

863
00:44:33,720 --> 00:44:34,980
suffering that God has led us into.

864
00:44:34,980 --> 00:44:37,500
Sometimes we can find that
we are working against God's

865
00:44:37,500 --> 00:44:39,600
will in a situation like that.

866
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:42,870
Second thing we need to to do is we
need to realize that good intentions

867
00:44:42,870 --> 00:44:44,460
don't always align with God's will.

868
00:44:46,470 --> 00:44:48,029
Peter had good intentions here.

869
00:44:48,390 --> 00:44:52,980
Murder aside, he wanted to defend Jesus.

870
00:44:53,790 --> 00:44:55,319
He thought Jesus is the Messiah.

871
00:44:55,980 --> 00:44:58,320
He thought Jesus needed
to reign on the throne.

872
00:44:59,220 --> 00:45:01,110
And so Peter's intentions
are good intentions.

873
00:45:01,110 --> 00:45:03,000
They're just not God's intentions.

874
00:45:03,870 --> 00:45:06,870
So in the midst of your suffering,
you may have good intentions for

875
00:45:06,870 --> 00:45:09,750
why you think you need to get out
of this suffering, and yet your good

876
00:45:09,750 --> 00:45:14,220
intentions may not align with God's
will, and we need to be okay with that.

877
00:45:16,770 --> 00:45:19,050
I remember as a young man, I,
I struggled with this even as

878
00:45:19,050 --> 00:45:20,190
a young man in, in ministry.

879
00:45:21,345 --> 00:45:23,925
I left a church in Missouri and took
a job in Arizona, and I, I, I think

880
00:45:23,925 --> 00:45:26,895
I had good intentions there, but I, I
think I made a hasty decision in doing

881
00:45:26,895 --> 00:45:28,755
that without fully seeking God's will.

882
00:45:30,495 --> 00:45:33,855
I think God was in control of that,
but I would still say, man, if I had

883
00:45:33,855 --> 00:45:38,205
to do that over and over again, I
don't know that I made the best and

884
00:45:38,205 --> 00:45:39,585
most wise decision in the moment.

885
00:45:41,175 --> 00:45:43,695
Third thing that we need to do is
we need to ensure that our passion

886
00:45:43,695 --> 00:45:45,015
is surrendered to God's will.

887
00:45:46,695 --> 00:45:50,055
Peter was passionate for the
defense of Jesus here, and he

888
00:45:50,055 --> 00:45:53,175
thought his passion meant zeal.

889
00:45:53,175 --> 00:45:57,285
That was righteous zeal, and yet
Peter's passion was anything but

890
00:45:57,285 --> 00:46:01,935
that it led to an outburst that ended
up being something that, that Jesus

891
00:46:01,935 --> 00:46:03,885
says, no, this is not okay with.

892
00:46:05,130 --> 00:46:07,635
So we need to make sure that our,
our passion for what we think is

893
00:46:07,635 --> 00:46:11,535
right is ultimately surrendered to
the will of God because what we think

894
00:46:11,535 --> 00:46:14,775
is right may not align with what
he deems is right in the moment.

895
00:46:17,430 --> 00:46:19,470
And then finally, we need to
submit our standard of justice to

896
00:46:19,470 --> 00:46:21,060
God's perfect standard of justice.

897
00:46:23,310 --> 00:46:27,240
We need to submit our standard of justice
to God's perfect standard of justice,

898
00:46:29,070 --> 00:46:32,370
rolling over the wrongs, committed
against you to the Lord as hard.

899
00:46:33,690 --> 00:46:37,980
But you also need to know God has
not asked you or tasked you with

900
00:46:37,980 --> 00:46:39,690
securing justice for yourself.

901
00:46:41,370 --> 00:46:42,840
Vengeance his mind says the Lord.

902
00:46:44,925 --> 00:46:47,415
So we need to make sure that in our
thirst for justice, we don't find

903
00:46:47,415 --> 00:46:49,485
ourselves working against God's will

904
00:46:52,335 --> 00:46:54,135
when we're in a trial
or season of suffering.

905
00:46:54,135 --> 00:46:56,985
We have to be careful that we're not
so focused on finding the way out,

906
00:46:56,985 --> 00:47:00,645
that we're working against what God is
trying to do while we're in the trial.

907
00:47:01,845 --> 00:47:06,915
We can't miss the purpose for the trial
because we're so focused on saying,

908
00:47:06,915 --> 00:47:08,475
God, how can I just make this stop?

909
00:47:12,045 --> 00:47:16,695
And we do that and we can get there that,
that mentality, 'cause that's super hard.

910
00:47:17,565 --> 00:47:22,155
None of us like to suffer, but we can get
there and we can be willing to suffer if

911
00:47:22,155 --> 00:47:26,925
we understand those first two points, that
God's in control of the details because

912
00:47:26,925 --> 00:47:28,575
he's in control of our entire lives.

913
00:47:29,565 --> 00:47:32,745
If we can get there, then we can be
patient with the Lord and we can have

914
00:47:32,745 --> 00:47:36,555
that childlike faith that will comfort
our souls and give glory to God.

915
00:47:38,010 --> 00:47:43,710
Listen, y'all, one day God will turn the
painting around in your life in eternity.

916
00:47:43,710 --> 00:47:48,150
Maybe, maybe before eternity in some
regards, but certainly in eternity.

917
00:47:48,780 --> 00:47:51,630
God's gonna turn the painting around
and you're gonna see how you look more

918
00:47:51,630 --> 00:47:54,450
like Jesus because of all the brush
strokes that hurt throughout your life

919
00:47:55,830 --> 00:47:58,650
because the way the master's been at
work and will continue to be at work from

920
00:47:58,650 --> 00:48:00,120
here until the time he calls you home.

921
00:48:00,165 --> 00:48:02,445
Will you stand with me as we pray?