It’s Your Time (Larry Brey)

0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:04.640 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:07.080 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:10.440 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:12.520 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.200 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:20.320 I want to welcome our Elevation family from all around 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:23.560 the world joining us today. My name is Larry bry 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:28.160 Some people call me Larry, some people call me Larry Charles. 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:29.840 I know him in trouble if I get that one. 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:32.919 Some people call me lb even if few folks call 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:36.120 me skinner. But I get the chance to preach God's 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:37.760 word with you today, and what a privilege it is 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:42.519 for me to open up God's word. And if I 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:45.199 haven't had the chance to meet you yet, chances are 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:49.080 you've probably heard me. The few folks we have inside 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:51.680 of our balance I location, they're laughing right now because 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:54.280 if you've watched any of the sermons at Elevation Church, 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:56.680 you might have heard like a voice in the background 0:00:56.720 --> 0:01:00.600 going like, MMMM, come on, preach it, pastor what other 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:05.679 stuff do I say? JJ, that's good. So that's me 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:08.720 true confession, Like I want to apologize all the sound engineers. 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:12.440 I make your job really hard. But sometimes I just 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:14.440 got to praise God. God's been too good for me 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:19.479 to remain silent. And I happen to believe that our 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:22.720 pastor is anointed for this generation. He is a Joshua 0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:24.959 to this season of our life right now, and he's 0:01:25.000 --> 0:01:28.319 speaking something over the landscape of our world that is needed, 0:01:28.319 --> 0:01:30.680 and it is in season. But I've been he's been 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:33.000 my pastor for eighteen years. I've been following him. I 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:35.000 remember the first sermon I ever heard him preach. God 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:37.839 is great, God is good. I don't remember what he said, 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:40.959 but I know what God spoke eighteen years ago. God spoke, 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:42.959 You're creative for more than what you've become. I know. 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:46.080 A pastor preached last week. He preached about thoughts the 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:49.200 last two weeks at Elevation Church. Whoo, I'm not what 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:51.760 I thought following up with thought Baba's Oh my gosh, 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:55.560 because I was sitting in that seat right there when 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:58.000 God spoke to my spirit through our pastor's words. He said, 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:03.000 you're addicted to your thoughts LB and he said, your 0:02:03.040 --> 0:02:06.880 anxiety becomes you're addicted to your thoughts. Because the anxiety 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:10.959 comes because you think everybody sees you the way you 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:15.520 see yourself, and so I project that you see me 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:17.919 the way I think about myself. And it's this gap 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:20.200 of anxiety. And the more I honor you, the greater 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:22.800 the gap becomes. But now I'm projecting all of my 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:25.799 dysfunction on you because I think you see and that's 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:28.920 my anxiety. I was sitting in that seat right there, 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:30.919 and so when God gave me that key to unlock 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:32.960 that door that had been holding me, I got to 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:36.080 praise him. I gotta say thank you, God, thank you 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:39.360 for what you've done. But it's not just my anxiety 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:42.080 that I'm addicted to. It's also I'm realizing my frustration 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:44.919 is coming because I'm addicted to my thoughts. Because I'm 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:47.520 not just here because I'm a staff member at Elevation Church. 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:50.079 I'm a member of Elevation Pastor. Stephen's my pastor, and 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:55.880 he's preaching words into my life. And when he preached 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:59.799 about your thoughts, I realize most of my frustration have 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:03.760 because I'm addicted to my thoughts, and my frustration is 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:07.840 you're not doing it like I think. And so when 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:09.720 I look back and I see where God has brought 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:12.440 me from. Oh, my soul, I just got to praise him. 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:15.560 So if I act a little undignified, I do not apologize. 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:17.720 I'm gonna stand up here and not gonna praise God. 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:20.519 And I'm gonna thank my pastor because he is preaching 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:22.480 the word of God. So let's take a second. Tell 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:25.440 me thank you past the seamen for that, My Lord, 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:30.960 thank you, thank you. Jesus. Hey, I'm gonna open up 0:03:31.520 --> 0:03:33.720 the Gospel of John today. I'm gonna be in chapter 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:36.600 two is where I'm gonna be, says this. This is 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:38.880 on the third day. A wedding took place in Cana 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:42.960 in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there and Jesus and his 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:46.160 disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:51.280 wine was gone, problem, jesus mother said to him, they 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:54.800 have no more wine. Woman, why do you involve me? 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:58.760 Jesus replied, my hour has not yet come. His mother 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:03.360 said to the servants, do whatever he tells you to do. 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:08.040 And here's the title for my message today. It's your time. 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:09.960 Come on. Type it in the comments, say it out 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:13.040 loud to say it's your time. Hey. For those of 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:15.480 you at Valentine, you could have a seat, but you're 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:18.120 probably sitting already at home, and if you are, hey, 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:19.800 I'm glad you're joining us today. And I'm going to 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.400 jump right into this text because this is a story 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:23.960 that comes out of the Gospel of John. I've been 0:04:23.960 --> 0:04:26.040 reading it for the last couple of months. Actually, I 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:28.279 was inspired to jump into it by a sermon that 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:32.240 Pastor Stephen preached. And I'm fascinated by this because you 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.599 see this scene and this is the first miracle that 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:38.919 Jesus performs. And Mary's at the wedding. She's obviously involved 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:43.240 somewhere in the wedding planning situation because the plans don't 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:45.680 work out and to run out of wine would be 0:04:45.760 --> 0:04:48.440 like this huge insult to all of the guests. And 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:52.039 she's like, oh snap, we've got a problem. As she 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:55.000 does what all of us good Christians should do whenever 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:58.320 you have a problem, take it to Jesus. And she's 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:02.000 looking at Jesus saying, Jesus, it's in short time. Come on, man, 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:05.920 you are creative for this. Do something about it. And 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:08.200 that's funny how she takes her problem to Jesus. We 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:10.799 would do well to follow that pattern. Because it sometimes 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:13.640 feels like Jesus, rather than being a first option, is 0:05:13.720 --> 0:05:16.360 way more of a last resort. It's so much easier 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:19.600 to go complain to everybody else, send it out on Facebook, 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:21.839 and then when it doesn't work out, we just bail 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:24.880 and we say Jesus, you're my last option. And she's 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:27.280 taking it to him. That's a good pattern to follow. 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:30.280 And I don't know if she knew that Jesus was 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:35.440 going to turn water into wine, because here's what happened. 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:40.280 Somewhere along the journey. Joseph, Mary's husband, had died, because 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:43.080 in the scriptures, Jesus goes from being Jesus the son 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:47.400 of the carpenter to being Jesus the carpenter. You see, 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:49.239 he was forced to grow up at an early age 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:52.839 because in that culture, when the father figure in the 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:56.000 house dies, the oldest son takes over. Jesus was the 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:58.680 oldest son. We don't know how long he's been living 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:01.479 in this pattern, but it would have been customary for 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.880 Mary to go to Jesus say, hey, the water pipe 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:06.880 is broke. Can you fix it? We need some new 0:06:06.880 --> 0:06:08.720 breaks on the car. Can you take care of it? 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:10.680 We got the bill over there, can you take care 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:12.520 of it. It would have been the pattern of her 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.040 life because she is used to taking all of her 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:19.760 problems to Jesus and she's dependent upon him. And it's 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.720 just it blows my mind when Jesus looks at her 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:25.520 and he's like woman, because you would almost kind of 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:29.320 be offended by his response to her. And it's funny 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:32.800 because she just kind of ignores it, and rather than 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:36.400 being offended, she just tells the servant to do whatever 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:40.360 he tells you to do. Because it's really hard to 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:42.960 be used by God when you're easy to be offended, 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:49.279 and Mary takes a posture that's really hard to be offended. 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:52.200 But we get in this pattern that we only go 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:56.400 to Jesus as a last option. Everything else didn't work, 0:06:56.720 --> 0:06:58.760 so I might as well take it to Jesus, And 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:02.000 now I just end up being here in case of emergency, 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:05.960 break glass, Jesus, Jesus, I got nothing else what you 0:07:06.040 --> 0:07:08.760 got for me. And if the only time you're calling 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:11.400 someone is to get something from them, there's not much 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:15.080 of a relationship. So, ladies, if some dude is only 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:17.120 calling you late at night to get something from you, 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:19.520 what do you call that guy? Actually, don't call him 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:23.080 put him on the do not call lists, and sometimes 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:26.240 we can do the same thing with Jesus. He just 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:28.560 doesn't want to do something for you, but he wants 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:32.280 a relationship with you. So when he looks at Mary 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:35.120 and he says woman, it's something a little more than 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:37.360 a correction and a little bit less than a rebuke. 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:39.880 And he's not correcting her language, but what he is 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:42.400 saying is I need to give you a new perspective. 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:45.239 That's what's happening in this moment. So when he says woman, 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:48.000 it kind of startles her because up until that point, 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:50.240 all she had seen was her son. What she needs 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:53.320 to start seeing him as is as her savior. She 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:55.760 comes to him as mother, but she's gonna walk away 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:58.440 as a follower. That's what Jesus is starting to do. 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:01.040 It's the very first public miracle he does on the 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:03.600 landscape at the Horizon, and it is a pivot point 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:05.760 in his life that says, now I'm going to show 0:08:05.800 --> 0:08:08.880 my glory and so that you would believe, and so 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:13.040 whoa Mary. The terms of this relationship are about to change. 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:17.400 And because Jesus says, my hour has not yet come, 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.360 Jesus hour was when he was going to go to 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:24.440 the cross and give up his life. That was his hour. 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:27.200 And he says, this isn't my hour. And he saying, 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:31.040 this isn't my time, but he gets up and he 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:34.320 does it anyway. That's where I'm fascinated by the text. 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:36.520 Pastor a couple of weeks ago preach a sermon I'm 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:39.520 tired on the inside, amazing sermon. Please go back and 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:42.280 watch it. But he says, we cannot manipulate God to 0:08:42.360 --> 0:08:45.040 fit our agenda. That's what made me go study this 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:47.280 whole passage, and it made me study the whole Book 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:49.760 of John. One word from my pastor causes me to 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:52.080 study this whole thing. And we've had a couple hundred 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:54.679 people every morning at seven am in our Matthew's community 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:57.280 doing a Bible study based upon one thought that Pastor 0:08:57.320 --> 0:08:59.719 Stephen preachs. Tell me, Pastor, what you do doesn't matter. 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:02.600 It making a difference around the world. Thank you, sir 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:07.520 for doing that. But Jesus said, my hour is not 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:09.439 yet come. But yet he gets up and he does it. 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:14.560 Why Jesus said, it's not my time, but it's yours. 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:17.679 It's your time, Mary, It's your time to start seeing 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:20.160 me as something different than you've always seen me. He said, 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:23.959 you need to start seeing me as Jehovah Shira, your protector. 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:27.040 You need to start seeing me as Jehovah Shabah, the 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:30.680 god who is your provider and protector. I am Jehovah Nissi, 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:33.800 the banner over your life. I am Elroy, the god 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:37.319 who sees you. And he's about to start revealing parts 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:41.400 of his character to her. But it will happen through relationship. 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:46.840 It says Jesus, It's not my time, but it is yours. 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:49.280 But what prompted the whole thing was a problem that 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:54.640 Mary had. It was the it. What's your it? Some 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:55.880 of you are like, I got a long list of 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:58.360 it's man. Some of you are like, I'm married to it. 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:03.960 I drive to it. I can't get away from it. 0:10:03.960 --> 0:10:06.520 It keeps following me. I thought I paid the bill 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:08.760 on it, but it keeps showing back up in the mail. 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:10.800 I don't know what you're it is, but I want 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:12.600 you to see it. And what I want to flip 0:10:12.640 --> 0:10:15.480 your perspective, like Jesus did with Mary, is that problem. 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:18.920 It becomes an opportunity to see a new perspective. Because 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:23.280 Jesus solves her problem. He does it, but he does 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:26.880 not do it for her reasons. He says, I'm not 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:28.920 doing it to solve your problem. I'm doing it to 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:33.319 give you a new perspective. Everybody is at this wedding, 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.400 hundreds of people. Not a COVID wedding where you have 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:38.200 four people and everybody else watching. It's not that kind 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:40.280 of wedding. It's a wedding where there's hundreds of people there. 0:10:40.800 --> 0:10:44.200 Everybody sees it, but only a couple people see it. 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:51.679 Everybody is there because the scripture says in verse chapter two, 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:54.760 verse eleven, it says what Jesus did here in cana 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:57.320 Galilee was the first of the signs through which he 0:10:57.440 --> 0:11:03.640 revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. The 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:06.360 problem was they ran out of wine. But the motive 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:08.640 for Jesus doing it is not for people to have wine. 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:10.600 It's so that people could see him at a deeper 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:13.719 level and just maybe, just maybe the problem that you're 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:16.720 facing is an opportunity to upgrade your perspective and see 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:22.000 a whole new aspect of Jesus. Because Mary's there and 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:24.599 the disciples of there, and Mary had a relationship with 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:29.680 Jesus for thirty years. But don't let familiarity be mistaken 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:33.560 as faith, because you can sometimes be close to something 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:38.120 you don't see it anymore. And you got Mary who's 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:39.760 been rolling with him for thirty years, but you got 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:41.840 the disciples who have just been following him for a 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:43.880 couple of days. And what I would submit to you 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:45.560 is maybe some of the you that are brand new 0:11:45.640 --> 0:11:47.679 Christians have it more figured out than some of us 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:49.520 that have been walking with him for a long season. 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:52.720 And so do not despise the day of small beginnings. 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:55.040 And the disciples has just been rolling with him for 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:56.600 a couple of days. So I want you to put 0:11:56.640 --> 0:11:58.240 a pause on chapter two, and I want to jump 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:00.800 back to chapter one because it's so that we see 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:06.120 the genesis of a relationship, because God reveals himself through relationship, 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:09.400 and God desires to reveal more of himself through you 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:13.200 to you through the problem that you're facing. But let's 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:16.440 look back and let's see the genesis of a relationship 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:20.000 because in chapter one, wait, so happening is two disciples 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:22.840 Andrew and John. Because when Jesus is at the wedding, 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:26.680 there's five disciples there, and the first two are Andrew 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.360 and John. And they're just hanging out and they see 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:32.480 Jesus walking by, like, hey, let's follow him. They don't 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:34.280 even know why. He's like the lamb of God, like, 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:36.599 let's follow you. And Jesus turns to them and he 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:39.200 says the most outlandist statement. He looks at them and 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:42.960 he says, what do you want? Because some would tell 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.840 you that God doesn't care what you want. That's not 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:48.360 the God that I know. The God that I know 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:50.839 cares deeply about what you want. And he's going to 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:53.320 start there and take you to a deeper revelation of him. 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:55.160 And they just look at him, says, we just want 0:12:55.160 --> 0:12:57.000 to be with you. He's like, cool, hang with me. 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:00.960 Let's go. So Andrew and John are follow in Jesus. 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:04.440 Then the next day that Andrew and gets his brother Peter. 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:07.320 He's like, Peter, come check this out. So now you 0:13:07.360 --> 0:13:10.320 got three disciples that are following Jesus. Peter and Andrew 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:13.600 are from a city in Galilee, and they now convinced 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:15.680 Jesus to go to Galilee, where they get this other 0:13:15.720 --> 0:13:21.440 guy named Philip. God reveals himself through relationship. What you 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:24.880 see a pattern with the early Disciples. It spread infectiously 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:28.720 through relationships. God gave you that relationship because His glory 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.400 wants to come through you. That's why you have that relationship. 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:33.960 H'it share right now, h'it share it right now. Share 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:36.960 this sermon because somebody needs to come into relationship with Jesus, 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:39.319 and God's going to use your relationship to bring them 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:42.920 into relationship. So Philip goes and gets his brother Nathaniel, 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:44.720 and I want to zoom in on Nathaniel for just 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:48.640 a second, because this is the embryo of a relationship. 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:52.640 In verse forty five, it says found Nathaniel and told 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:54.440 him we have found the one Moses wrote about in 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:57.320 the Law and about whom the prophets also wrote, Jesus 0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:02.520 of Nazareth, the son of Joseph Nazareth. Can anything good 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:06.760 come from there? You're going to evolution church? Can like 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:12.040 Nazareth talking about practice? Man? Nazareth, where you talking? Because 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:13.920 he had a box of what the Messiah would look 0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:17.840 like and God was about to boot pop that bubble. 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:20.400 He was about to just just erode all of that. 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:23.760 And in Nathaniel, rather than being offended by him, simply says, 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:28.480 just come and see man, just coming, like that's the 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:32.040 greatest invitation you could give somebody, just come and see man. 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.960 That's and here's the here's the crazy part about the story. 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:37.480 When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said to him, here, 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:41.280 truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. Really, 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:44.120 he's a human. He's got a lot of deceit. He's 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.840 just like you and me. But it's interesting what Jesus 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:49.440 calls him and and Nathaniel says, how do you know me? 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:52.800 Nathaniel answered, or asked. Jesus answered, I saw you while 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:59.400 you will still under the fig tree before Philip called you. Wow. 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:01.680 Then you declared, Rabbi, you are the son of God, 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:06.040 you are the King of Israel. Jesus said, you believe 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:08.240 because I told you that I saw you under a 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:11.960 fig tree. You will see even greater things than these. 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.600 It's a fascinating story that Jesus says, before you came, 0:15:15.680 --> 0:15:18.560 I saw you. Because Jesus sees the fullness of you. 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:20.920 He sees all of your good and all of your bad, 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:24.080 the good, the bad, and the ugly. He sees everything. 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:26.800 So when he says I saw you underneath the fig tree, 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:29.600 it makes me think about the fig leaf because In 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:31.760 the beginning, God created Adam and the If. They had 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:36.200 complete intimacy, an amazing relationship. There were no barriers, there 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:39.000 were no boundaries, nothing separating us and God. It was 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:42.880 perfect relationship. That is Genesis two twenty five. They were 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:45.960 both naked and they felt no shame. It's not a 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:50.040 verse about nudity, it's about intimacy. Seven verses later, they're eating, 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.400 their eyes are opened and sin is injected into the 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:55.840 human DNA, and it has echoed throughout the generation since 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:58.560 that moment. And so when it says he saw him 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:02.400 sitting underneath the fig tree, he says, Nathaniel, I saw 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:05.440 you sitting underneath all of that shame. I saw you 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:08.800 sitting all underneath all of those decisions you ever did. 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:12.600 And he said, I still called you, I still chose you. 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:17.080 You are mine. Come to me. And it's amazing what 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:20.200 Jesus says to him. He knows he's been living under 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:22.760 the shadow of shame. And some of you don't want 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:24.760 to come to Jesus because you don't feel worthy to 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:26.760 come into his presence. And I'm telling you that's the 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:29.440 very reason Jesus died is to take that shame from 0:16:29.480 --> 0:16:32.280 you and he sees you in full, but he loves 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:35.800 you fully. And what's amazing to me is what he 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:38.840 says to Nathaniel. He knows he's been sitting underneath that shame, 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:41.200 and he looks at him and says, here's a true 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:46.800 Israelite in whom there is no He does not identify 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:49.920 him by his lowest moments. He identifies him by his 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:53.000 highest potential. And that is the same thing that God 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:54.920 is doing to you. He is calling you into a 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:58.280 relationship with himself. And of course Nathaniel's gonna follow him, 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:01.480 and he invites him into relationship. And it begins by 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:05.000 seeing who Jesus is. And he had a box that 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:08.600 Jesus just popped and he blew his perspective of what 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:10.920 the Messiah should look like. And he says, I want 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:13.280 to follow you, and he says, you believe because I 0:17:13.320 --> 0:17:16.200 saw you. Dude, You're gonna see even greater things than these. 0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:18.280 And when you hear the word greater, I don't want 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:21.200 you to think like more square footage, a nicer car, 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:24.480 or a bigger paycheck. I want you to think deeper, 0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:28.080 because what it is is like, follow me into relationship 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:31.240 and it's gonna go deeper. Greater means deeper. You're gonna 0:17:31.240 --> 0:17:33.800 see new shades of me who I've always been and 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:36.560 what you see introduced into the text as a concept 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:41.440 of progressive revelation. Progressive revelation is this a fancy way 0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:45.520 of saying like evangelical term says you were saved, meaning 0:17:45.520 --> 0:17:47.479 you had a moment where you place your faith in Jesus. 0:17:47.680 --> 0:17:49.720 You will be saved meaning one day you will see 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:52.040 him face to face and you'll be made like him. 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:56.399 But in between your being saved, it's working out your salvation. Astley. 0:17:56.760 --> 0:17:58.720 Let me tell it to you this way. My wife 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:01.800 Janet is here in two of my four kids. Dalen 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:06.760 turns twelve on Wednesday. That's my girl. And then my 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:09.320 son Corbyn here, he's fourteen. Let me tell you this 0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:12.199 about progressive revelation. He's an amazing young man. I love him. 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:15.280 I remember taking him to school and he's five years old. 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:16.960 He wants to like, dad, hold my hand, let's go 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:20.280 to the classroom. He gots a little backfaft gone, He's like, Daddy, 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:23.639 I love you. I was like yeah, And then when 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:26.160 he's like in fifth grade, he's like dad, I love you. 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:29.720 Now He's like in ninth grade, he's like, Dad, man, 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:31.480 do I have to say it? Like? You better say 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:33.320 you love me? Boy, I'll embarrass you in front of all. 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:36.600 But he's like, he loves his dad. Then one day 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:40.159 he'll graduate high school and he'll say, Dad, I love you. 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:43.399 One day he'll get married and he'll say Dad, I 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:46.440 love you. And one day he'll hold his first born 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.080 and I look at me and say, Dad, I love you. 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:52.960 He's used the same word his whole life, but his 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:57.119 understanding has changed over time. That's progressive revelation. And some 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:59.840 of us are sitting in an outdated revelation of Jesus. 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:03.440 You're stuck in an old download. It's time you update 0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:05.439 what God has called you to see in this season. 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:07.440 And the way that he gives you a new revelation 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.360 is through the situation. Whether it's a struggle or a celebration, 0:19:10.480 --> 0:19:13.679 it's all design for you to see it. It is 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:15.760 not the problem being solved, It is the person of 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:17.960 Jesus in the problem with you. That's what he wants 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:21.399 you to see. But what I realized about relationship is 0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:23.959 it's progressive revelation Because when I was sitting in that 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:26.680 seat and Pastor Steven was preaching, he was talking about 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:30.239 carrying multiple roles. Look at Jesus carrying all of these 0:19:30.320 --> 0:19:33.040 multiple roles. All he has, all of it because when 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:35.280 you come to faith in Jesus, you get the fullness 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:37.560 of Christ, but you don't understand in full. That's the 0:19:37.600 --> 0:19:40.880 progressive revelation. You grow in his character over time. That's 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:44.280 he reveals it to you. And it's funny. When Pastor 0:19:44.320 --> 0:19:46.160 was preaching about roles, here's the other thing that God 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:50.200 so spoken to my spirit. Because Corbin, I'm his dad. 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:53.480 I've been his dad for fourteen years. It's one of 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:55.520 the greatest privilege of my life to be his dad. 0:19:56.080 --> 0:19:57.760 And I remember being his dad when he's five and 0:19:57.800 --> 0:19:59.919 we'd eat pizza and we'd wrestle and it was awesome. 0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:03.240 And then when he's nine, I had a bunch of 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:06.320 rules like, hey, clean your room, brush your teeth, go 0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:09.240 to bed. And what God spoke to me says, you're 0:20:09.280 --> 0:20:11.879 still living in a five year old definition of dad. 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:16.520 And the reason I'm having frustration in the relationship is 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:19.920 not because he doesn't get it. Because I was looking 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:21.359 at them. He just doesn't get it. He needs to 0:20:21.359 --> 0:20:24.840 respect his dad more. And what I realized it's about 0:20:24.880 --> 0:20:28.080 my perspective because I have not had a new revelation 0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:30.120 of what Dad is in five years, and I'm still 0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:32.879 treating him like an eight year old. And so we 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:34.879 had a good talk a couple of weeks ago and said, Corbin, 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:37.119 I want to apologize for that because I need to 0:20:37.160 --> 0:20:39.480 see you differently, because I need to be something different 0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:42.520 for you. It's a progressive revelation, and I would submit 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:46.160 to you that wherever you have frustration in a relationship. 0:20:46.480 --> 0:20:47.960 This is going to sound cheesy, but this is the 0:20:47.960 --> 0:20:50.720 way God gave it to me, that frustration is an 0:20:50.720 --> 0:20:55.399 opportunity for a revelation. I just gave somebody, Marri little advice. 0:20:56.440 --> 0:20:58.560 It's like the old couple that's been married fifty years 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:01.119 and they're talking to the young and the old man 0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:02.919 looks at the young buck, and the young buck says, man, 0:21:02.920 --> 0:21:04.960 how did you show you loved her every day? He goes, well, 0:21:05.240 --> 0:21:07.399 when we married fifty years ago, I told her I 0:21:07.440 --> 0:21:09.639 loved her, and I said if anything changed, I'd let 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:15.520 her know. Belief in Jesus is not a one time event. 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:20.440 It is an everyday occurrence. It is growing in your belief. 0:21:21.160 --> 0:21:23.080 And so when we jump back into the text. I 0:21:23.119 --> 0:21:25.320 want you to understand. You've got somebody who's been in 0:21:25.400 --> 0:21:28.159 relationship thirty years, and somebody three days, and all of 0:21:28.200 --> 0:21:30.840 them Jesus wants to reveal himself to them. I don't 0:21:30.840 --> 0:21:33.080 care where you're at on that continuum. I don't care 0:21:33.080 --> 0:21:35.000 if you're brand new at Jesus or you've been following 0:21:35.040 --> 0:21:37.800 him for a long time or year. Wherever Jesus wants 0:21:37.840 --> 0:21:44.280 to reveal himself to you. Verse six a chapter two. 0:21:45.640 --> 0:21:49.359 Nearby stood six six stone water jars, the kind of 0:21:49.400 --> 0:21:51.680 used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding me 0:21:51.760 --> 0:21:54.520 to twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, 0:21:54.520 --> 0:21:57.119 filled the jars with water. So they filled them to 0:21:57.160 --> 0:21:59.960 the brim. Then they told him, now draw some out 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:02.160 and take it to the master of the banquet. They 0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:04.199 did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the 0:22:04.240 --> 0:22:07.560 wine that water that had been turned into wine. He 0:22:07.640 --> 0:22:09.679 did not realize where it had come from, though the 0:22:09.760 --> 0:22:14.280 servants who had drawn the water new. Then he called 0:22:14.280 --> 0:22:18.320 the bridegroom aside and said, everyone brings out the choice wine, 0:22:19.040 --> 0:22:20.959 and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had 0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:24.080 too much to drink. But you've saved the best. Tell now, 0:22:24.080 --> 0:22:26.120 what Jesus did here in Kana Galilee was the first 0:22:26.119 --> 0:22:28.640 of the science to which he revealed his glory and 0:22:28.680 --> 0:22:34.119 his disciples believed in him. So the initiation of this 0:22:34.240 --> 0:22:38.960 miracle began with a mother just having a problem. And 0:22:39.040 --> 0:22:41.160 I want to tell you that your problem matters to God, 0:22:42.119 --> 0:22:45.040 and he sees it and he's drawn to it. But 0:22:45.119 --> 0:22:47.560 he's going to do something with it. It might look like, 0:22:47.720 --> 0:22:50.560 might not look like what you thought it would, but 0:22:50.600 --> 0:22:54.200 the opportunity exists for you to see Him in it. 0:22:54.240 --> 0:22:55.960 And some of the miracles you don't see until you 0:22:56.040 --> 0:22:59.119 look back on it. Because in this thing, there's an 0:22:59.119 --> 0:23:02.040 old Testament sacker official system where people had to earn 0:23:02.119 --> 0:23:04.400 the right to be cleaned before God is following these 0:23:04.480 --> 0:23:07.520 rules and doing these rituals, and it's so much easier 0:23:07.560 --> 0:23:09.600 to be a parent with rules rather than a father. 0:23:09.680 --> 0:23:13.439 In relationship, it's so much easier because I can live 0:23:13.480 --> 0:23:16.560 in rules that stay the same for generations and never change. 0:23:16.680 --> 0:23:20.280 But that's not relationship. Relationship is living in a way 0:23:20.320 --> 0:23:23.480 that sees the other person and adjusting with them over time. 0:23:24.480 --> 0:23:26.800 And so Jesus is going to kick over the old 0:23:26.840 --> 0:23:30.360 Testament sacrificial system, and from those ceremonial washing jars, He's 0:23:30.400 --> 0:23:32.440 going to bring forth a new sacrifice that will be 0:23:32.480 --> 0:23:34.479 a new atonement for the forgiveness of sins. They wouldn't 0:23:34.480 --> 0:23:38.520 see that until later, but everybody's at the wedding. Everybody 0:23:38.560 --> 0:23:43.199 sees it, but only a couple people see it. And 0:23:43.240 --> 0:23:45.080 I think there's three groups of people that are sitting 0:23:45.119 --> 0:23:48.120 at this wedding. And as I walk through these three 0:23:48.200 --> 0:23:51.320 layers of people, what I want you to understand this 0:23:51.480 --> 0:23:55.520 is taking it deeper. So when God told Nathaniels you'll 0:23:55.560 --> 0:23:58.480 see even greater things, he would now walk with him 0:23:58.480 --> 0:24:01.359 for three years, miracle after miracle after miracle. And the 0:24:01.400 --> 0:24:03.840 miracle wasn't the feeding of the five thousand. The miracle 0:24:03.920 --> 0:24:05.959 was seeing Jesus in the middle of it. That's what 0:24:06.000 --> 0:24:08.440 the miracle was. Not everybody saw that because some people 0:24:08.520 --> 0:24:10.200 only wanted to eat the food and fill their belly 0:24:10.200 --> 0:24:12.760 and the next day but they were hungry again. I 0:24:12.800 --> 0:24:14.520 got to decide where do I want to be. Do 0:24:14.600 --> 0:24:16.560 I want to be hungry tomorrow or do I want 0:24:16.600 --> 0:24:19.800 to be with Jesus today. That's what God brings us to. 0:24:20.080 --> 0:24:22.600 And so this top layer I think is at the 0:24:22.600 --> 0:24:26.919 wedding is a level of enjoy because Jesus brings out 0:24:26.920 --> 0:24:29.879 the choice wine. I mean, read the text. This isn't 0:24:30.680 --> 0:24:34.040 a pro or against alcohol. It's saying Jesus brought it 0:24:34.080 --> 0:24:36.719 and it was good stuff, and everybody at the wedding 0:24:36.840 --> 0:24:39.560 enjoyed it. And many people woke up with a little 0:24:39.600 --> 0:24:42.439 buzz the next day, but they went right back to 0:24:42.520 --> 0:24:48.080 life as normal and the miracles happening in the moment. 0:24:48.840 --> 0:24:52.359 But some people are only caught up with the wine. 0:24:53.600 --> 0:24:58.680 Maybe we would do well to inspect what is it? 0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:03.320 Do I just want him to solve it? Do I 0:25:03.400 --> 0:25:06.800 just want to enjoy it? But what I want to 0:25:06.800 --> 0:25:09.600 tell you is Jesus always starts with what you want 0:25:10.560 --> 0:25:13.520 to get you to see what you need. There would 0:25:13.560 --> 0:25:15.560 be some that would preach that Jesus doesn't care what 0:25:15.640 --> 0:25:17.919 you want. He doesn't want you happy, he wants you holy. 0:25:18.200 --> 0:25:21.920 Come on, man, he cares about your happiness, he absolutely does. 0:25:22.080 --> 0:25:24.680 But He's got something deeper in mind for you. It's 0:25:24.720 --> 0:25:27.640 the starting place. And I know you're so overwhelmed trying 0:25:27.640 --> 0:25:29.760 to figure out how to homeschool your kids, and you're 0:25:29.760 --> 0:25:32.040 so overwhelmed by looking at the images on our TV 0:25:32.160 --> 0:25:33.840 right now, and it makes us give up hope that 0:25:33.920 --> 0:25:36.280 he could ever change. And what Jesus is saying in 0:25:36.320 --> 0:25:38.600 the middle of all that problem, I am in it, 0:25:39.640 --> 0:25:42.880 and if you choose you can see me in it. 0:25:44.119 --> 0:25:47.400 I think there's a second layer, because in verse nine 0:25:48.520 --> 0:25:51.000 it says, and the master of the banquet tasted some 0:25:51.000 --> 0:25:52.480 of the water they've been turned into wine. He did 0:25:52.640 --> 0:25:55.640 not realize where it comes from, though the servants who 0:25:55.720 --> 0:26:01.240 drew the water knew. The second level is no is knowledge. 0:26:01.760 --> 0:26:04.960 It's to know something. So yet everybody enjoying the wine, 0:26:05.600 --> 0:26:10.760 some people knowing where it came from. And there's a 0:26:10.800 --> 0:26:14.119 guy in the Bible named Nicodemus in chapter three of 0:26:14.640 --> 0:26:17.399 John that he's one of the religious leaders. He's like, 0:26:17.440 --> 0:26:20.119 I'm the supreme Court of Israel. And he comes to 0:26:20.200 --> 0:26:24.000 Jesus at night and at night speaks of disbelief. And 0:26:24.080 --> 0:26:26.720 he's got a box of knowledge that he has created 0:26:26.760 --> 0:26:29.919 from all of this studies that comes into the presence 0:26:29.960 --> 0:26:33.400 of Jesus and says, who are you? And he says, 0:26:33.480 --> 0:26:35.720 I'm the Messiah, and he says, how could this be? 0:26:35.840 --> 0:26:37.719 That doesn't make sense because it does not fit in 0:26:37.760 --> 0:26:42.199 my box. And sometimes the very thing that keeps you 0:26:42.200 --> 0:26:45.240 from believing in Jesus is the knowledge you have. Wow. 0:26:45.520 --> 0:26:47.360 Because Jesus looks at him and says, this can only 0:26:47.400 --> 0:26:50.359 be revealed by the truth, by the spirit. He says, 0:26:50.359 --> 0:26:51.800 how can that be? He said, it won't make sense 0:26:51.840 --> 0:26:53.880 until you have the spirit. How can it be? It's 0:26:53.920 --> 0:26:55.680 because you have a paradigm of what you think God 0:26:55.720 --> 0:26:57.720 is supposed to look like and not look like, what 0:26:57.840 --> 0:27:00.159 you think God should do and should not do. And 0:27:00.320 --> 0:27:03.280 when God doesn't do something you don't think lines up 0:27:03.280 --> 0:27:05.239 with what he should do, you walk away from it. 0:27:05.600 --> 0:27:08.560 Don't forfeit what you believe about God based upon what 0:27:08.600 --> 0:27:12.760 you don't understand. Because every time you come to this 0:27:12.840 --> 0:27:15.080 paradigm to say I don't understand it, you can either 0:27:15.080 --> 0:27:17.119 walk away and reject it, or you will lean into it, 0:27:17.200 --> 0:27:19.240 say God, show me a new revelation of who you are. 0:27:19.520 --> 0:27:23.200 Nicodemus represents this knowledge base that says God should look 0:27:23.280 --> 0:27:28.520 like this. Thus saith the Lord, and he walks away 0:27:28.520 --> 0:27:30.639 from the conversation. But the beauty of our God is 0:27:30.760 --> 0:27:34.359 long suffering, willing that none should perish. So when you 0:27:34.400 --> 0:27:39.240 see Nicodemus later in John, while all the disciples have scattered. 0:27:39.240 --> 0:27:41.240 He's helping take it in Jesus' body off the cross. 0:27:41.400 --> 0:27:43.520 That's how much he loves you, even if your knowledge 0:27:43.520 --> 0:27:45.600 is a roadblock today. I believe that Jesus is going 0:27:45.640 --> 0:27:47.760 to be persistent. He's going to keep bringing things into 0:27:47.840 --> 0:27:49.800 your life. I believe that one day you will bend 0:27:49.800 --> 0:27:52.280 your knee, you will declare him as your Lord and savior. 0:27:52.720 --> 0:27:55.000 But some of us have a not lot of knowledge. 0:27:55.800 --> 0:28:00.960 But the third level is belief. That's what he spoke 0:28:01.720 --> 0:28:05.120 of in verse eleven, that God's glory would be revealed 0:28:05.119 --> 0:28:08.840 and that you would believe. It's fascinating to me that 0:28:08.880 --> 0:28:13.320 we would be included in a sentence with God's glory. 0:28:13.600 --> 0:28:18.520 That alone makes me go, like your glory and my 0:28:18.600 --> 0:28:24.639 belief line to believe, to believe, and I have to believe. 0:28:24.640 --> 0:28:27.840 At this point in the Miracle, Mary forgets about the 0:28:27.840 --> 0:28:30.439 original problem because she sees the person of Jesus and 0:28:30.520 --> 0:28:32.840 she's got an upgraded revelation of who he is. He 0:28:32.880 --> 0:28:35.080 has gone from son to savior. He's gone from just 0:28:35.400 --> 0:28:38.320 I am his mama to now I am his follower. 0:28:39.120 --> 0:28:45.200 It's absolutely amazing, and there's a difference between knowledge and belief. 0:28:45.600 --> 0:28:49.000 I used to teach college classes in sports medicine. So 0:28:49.040 --> 0:28:52.000 I teach college classes about sports nutrition, and I could 0:28:52.000 --> 0:28:55.239 teach you about macronutrients and micronutrients and the value of 0:28:55.680 --> 0:28:58.760 vegetables in your life. And I know a lot about vegetables. 0:28:59.400 --> 0:29:01.960 But do you know how vegetables I eat in a month? 0:29:03.160 --> 0:29:05.720 Probably about zero? Why? Because I don't believe in vegetables. 0:29:05.760 --> 0:29:12.280 Like I know about him, but I don't believe in them. 0:29:12.760 --> 0:29:14.840 Do you believe Jesus or do you just know about him? 0:29:15.720 --> 0:29:17.840 I'm not talking about a list of rules that you 0:29:17.920 --> 0:29:20.640 follow in order to earn his favor. I'm talking about 0:29:20.640 --> 0:29:23.960 a persistent, ongoing relationship that calls you into deeper, that 0:29:24.040 --> 0:29:26.240 calls you into deeper. He's saying, come off the shallow 0:29:26.320 --> 0:29:28.160 end of the pool. I am a deep well, and 0:29:28.200 --> 0:29:31.120 you'll never get to the bottom of it. And Jesus 0:29:31.160 --> 0:29:34.400 is biding you into a deeper relationship with him. And 0:29:34.440 --> 0:29:36.760 we've got to push past the knowledge into the land 0:29:36.760 --> 0:29:39.200 of unbelief. And some of these things are only revealed 0:29:39.600 --> 0:29:44.800 by spirit. And Jesus goes on to record. John records 0:29:44.840 --> 0:29:48.400 six other miracles that Jesus does in this Book of John. 0:29:48.880 --> 0:29:55.239 It is a book of belief, misunderstanding miracles. And what 0:29:55.320 --> 0:29:58.800 you start to see is the whole crowd enjoyed the wine. 0:29:59.280 --> 0:30:05.840 The whole crowd enjoyed the bread. Some people knew, but 0:30:06.000 --> 0:30:10.800 a few believed. It's not a one time event. It's 0:30:10.840 --> 0:30:16.160 a relationship. That's why Jesus did these miracles. But it's funny. 0:30:16.280 --> 0:30:20.000 Jesus did the miracles so that the disciples would believe. 0:30:21.440 --> 0:30:24.360 But did you know that when John wrote this, he 0:30:24.440 --> 0:30:28.720 was thinking of you. Jesus is the miracles for the disciples. 0:30:28.800 --> 0:30:32.560 John wrote this book for you. Let me show you. 0:30:32.560 --> 0:30:34.920 You never knew this, did you. I believe that in 0:30:34.960 --> 0:30:37.280 eternity past, when God thought of what would happen in 0:30:37.320 --> 0:30:40.320 the future, he had you in mind. And that's why 0:30:40.320 --> 0:30:43.240 he had John write this letter. He had him write 0:30:43.560 --> 0:30:45.760 this book. In John twenty, Verses thirty and thirty one, 0:30:46.520 --> 0:30:49.040 it says Jesus performed many other signs in the presence 0:30:49.040 --> 0:30:52.240 of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 0:30:52.960 --> 0:30:58.560 But they are. But these are written that you, who's 0:30:58.600 --> 0:31:04.280 the you, is your time. John is saying, so that 0:31:04.480 --> 0:31:08.720 you would believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, 0:31:08.760 --> 0:31:11.760 and that by believing in him that you'd have a 0:31:11.800 --> 0:31:14.040 moment that you believe, but you walk out a relationship 0:31:14.080 --> 0:31:17.120 that you progressively keep believing in him that you may 0:31:17.120 --> 0:31:22.240 have life in his name. And I know you're staring 0:31:22.280 --> 0:31:26.520 at some it's there's some big h's and there's some 0:31:26.560 --> 0:31:29.560 big problems, and Jesus saying, I want to meet you 0:31:29.720 --> 0:31:32.840 in it, but I want to show you me in it. 0:31:35.440 --> 0:31:37.480 And all the time he's saying, my hour is not 0:31:37.560 --> 0:31:40.400 yet come. My hour is not yet come. But as 0:31:40.440 --> 0:31:41.880 you get to the end of John, he looks at 0:31:41.880 --> 0:31:47.640 his disciples and he says, my hour has come. His 0:31:47.720 --> 0:31:50.880 assignment when he stepped out of glory, robed himself in 0:31:50.960 --> 0:31:53.480 flesh and made his dwelling amongst us, was to crawl 0:31:53.560 --> 0:31:56.360 upon a cross so that he would suffer a death, 0:31:56.680 --> 0:31:58.520 so that you and I could be forgiven of all 0:31:58.560 --> 0:32:03.480 of our sins. That was his hour. And as he's 0:32:03.520 --> 0:32:06.400 walking with his disciples, they wouldn't understand this until looking 0:32:06.440 --> 0:32:10.720 back on it. And Jesus has to go to the cross, 0:32:10.720 --> 0:32:16.280 and that's his assignment, that's his hour. And while they're 0:32:16.280 --> 0:32:20.160 at the cross, the disciples had dispersed, and here you've 0:32:20.160 --> 0:32:24.960 got Mary, his mother. John, the guy who wrote this book, 0:32:25.880 --> 0:32:28.640 and a few other women, and I just want to 0:32:28.640 --> 0:32:33.520 speak over the ladies you're working so hard, the mom 0:32:33.560 --> 0:32:36.640 who's trying to make it, the single woman who's just 0:32:36.680 --> 0:32:39.720 trying to get ahead, the single mom who doesn't feel 0:32:39.720 --> 0:32:41.920 like I have enough to give to everybody. I want 0:32:42.000 --> 0:32:45.960 to tell you that Jesus sees you, He sees you. 0:32:46.000 --> 0:32:48.440 It says that as Jesus is up on the cross. 0:32:49.680 --> 0:32:53.320 It says when Jesus saw his mother there and the 0:32:53.360 --> 0:32:57.960 disciple whom he loves standing nearby, he said to her woman, 0:32:59.720 --> 0:33:03.200 So pitcher Mary watching her son give up his life. 0:33:04.440 --> 0:33:07.560 She's looking at this situation of despair and she can't 0:33:07.560 --> 0:33:09.880 do anything about it. You want to talk about a 0:33:09.920 --> 0:33:13.880 pain that is deep. She's watching her firstborn, her child die, 0:33:13.960 --> 0:33:16.600 and she's looking up at her savior, and she's filled 0:33:16.640 --> 0:33:19.560 with grief. And picture the scene. The Roman soldiers have 0:33:19.720 --> 0:33:22.840 just cast lots and divided his clothes. The Jewish leaders 0:33:22.840 --> 0:33:25.760 have a righteous indignation, feeling like they have killed the 0:33:25.760 --> 0:33:27.720 one who will put us in power the rest of 0:33:27.720 --> 0:33:29.600 our days. And all of these other people, like we 0:33:29.600 --> 0:33:31.200 don't know what to make of it. But there's a 0:33:31.240 --> 0:33:33.920 couple people who are believing in that point. But yet 0:33:33.920 --> 0:33:37.080 their pain is so immense, and the excruciating pain that 0:33:37.200 --> 0:33:41.440 Jesus is under as he's watching all of this, and 0:33:41.480 --> 0:33:46.479 he looks down and he says, woman, I've heard that before. 0:33:49.160 --> 0:33:50.960 He says, you're looking up and you're seeing me as 0:33:51.000 --> 0:33:55.840 your savior. But he says, woman, here is your son, 0:33:55.880 --> 0:33:59.960 because I'm also your son. And then he looks at John. 0:34:00.000 --> 0:34:02.960 He says, take her home, because it's a son. I 0:34:02.960 --> 0:34:04.640 need to make sure my mom is taken care of. 0:34:06.960 --> 0:34:11.560 Imagine the pain in that moment. Mary's watching the pain 0:34:11.600 --> 0:34:20.439 of her son. And yet on the cross, he sees her, 0:34:21.080 --> 0:34:27.760 and he sees you. He sees the pain, he sees 0:34:27.800 --> 0:34:33.200 the anguish, He cares deeply about the sleepless nights. And 0:34:33.320 --> 0:34:37.080 even on the cross, Jesus is revealing his character to 0:34:37.120 --> 0:34:41.160 his mother because one of the names of God is Elroy. 0:34:42.680 --> 0:34:47.280 It's the God who sees and cares for me. Even 0:34:47.400 --> 0:34:51.960 in his hour. He says, I see you because he 0:34:52.000 --> 0:34:57.800 said my time is your time, My hour is your hour. 0:34:58.200 --> 0:35:03.960 The reason I came is for you. And he sees 0:35:04.000 --> 0:35:08.520 you in your pain, and he's leaning out of glory 0:35:08.640 --> 0:35:14.040 into humanity, and he meets with you and he's calling you. 0:35:15.480 --> 0:35:17.919 And imagine Mary as she hears the words uttered from 0:35:17.920 --> 0:35:24.719 her son. Woman, here is your son, and then she 0:35:25.600 --> 0:35:32.160 is taken care of whatever problem you're facing matters to Jesus. 0:35:33.360 --> 0:35:37.360 But he's using that problem to show you his person. 0:35:39.239 --> 0:35:41.520 And if you have never placed your faith in Jesus, 0:35:43.040 --> 0:35:46.200 this is the moment that God is calling you by name. Nathaniel, 0:35:46.280 --> 0:35:51.080 come here, Josephine, come here, James, come here, Sally come here. 0:35:51.200 --> 0:35:53.400 He's calling you by name. And you've been resisting your 0:35:53.400 --> 0:35:55.560 whole life. You've had a box of what God is 0:35:55.600 --> 0:35:57.960 supposed to do. But God has popped that box and 0:35:58.000 --> 0:36:00.960 you're seeing the person of Jesus. He sees you. He 0:36:01.080 --> 0:36:06.440 is elroyd to you. He's the God who cares, and 0:36:06.480 --> 0:36:09.520 he's calling you into relationship with him. And if you 0:36:09.600 --> 0:36:13.120 have never placed your faith in Jesus, if you've never 0:36:13.160 --> 0:36:15.680 been forgiven of your sins, this is your moment. This 0:36:15.800 --> 0:36:18.520 is your time. All around the world, we're going to 0:36:18.560 --> 0:36:21.600 say a prayer together right now for someone to begin 0:36:21.680 --> 0:36:26.000 that relationship with Jesus. There's a step that all of 0:36:26.080 --> 0:36:28.520 us need to take. Some of you have been staring 0:36:28.520 --> 0:36:30.720 at your problems, but you've not been seeing the person 0:36:30.760 --> 0:36:34.160 of Jesus in it. Some of you, this is the 0:36:34.280 --> 0:36:37.440 genesis of a relationship. Wherever you're at. If you could 0:36:37.480 --> 0:36:40.279 buy your heads, if you could close your eyes. I'm 0:36:40.320 --> 0:36:42.600 going to lead us in a prayer right now. And 0:36:42.640 --> 0:36:44.400 as you say these words with your mouth, if you 0:36:44.480 --> 0:36:47.960 believe them in your heart, the Bible says you will 0:36:48.680 --> 0:36:55.960 be saved. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son 0:36:56.000 --> 0:37:00.600 of God who died on the cross and rose from 0:37:00.600 --> 0:37:04.960 the grave to forgive me of all my sins. I 0:37:05.000 --> 0:37:08.640 give you my life, I give you my sin, I 0:37:08.680 --> 0:37:12.759 give you my shame. Forgive me, and I'll spend my 0:37:12.840 --> 0:37:17.400 life following you. Now, if you just prayed that prayer, 0:37:17.480 --> 0:37:19.600 if you just ask Christ into your life, what you 0:37:19.680 --> 0:37:21.799 need to know is that all of Heaven is rejoicing, 0:37:21.960 --> 0:37:24.520 and the few people we have at Balantine or rejoice 0:37:24.840 --> 0:37:27.239 with you. Come on, would you drop it in the 0:37:27.360 --> 0:37:30.040 comments and let us know if you just asked Jesus 0:37:30.040 --> 0:37:33.520 into your heart, greatest decision you'll ever make. Welcome to 0:37:33.560 --> 0:37:47.560 the Family of God. I'm so proud of you. Thank 0:37:47.560 --> 0:37:50.000 you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you 0:37:50.040 --> 0:37:53.120 who give generously to this ministry is because of you 0:37:53.160 --> 0:37:56.120 that this ministry is possible. You can click the link 0:37:56.160 --> 0:37:59.600 in the description to give now or visit Elevation Church 0:38:00.400 --> 0:38:04.080 Slash podcast for more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, 0:38:04.360 --> 0:38:07.080 you can subscribe. You can share it with your friends. 0:38:07.360 --> 0:38:09.680 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:38:09.719 --> 0:38:11.839 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:38:11.840 --> 0:38:19.440 Elevation Church. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.