Life Between Two Gardens (Lysa TerKeurst)

0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:04.600 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:07.040 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 --> 0:00:12.479 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:16.880 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.079 --> 0:00:20.000 It's been a great morning already, and we are so 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:25.840 excited about what we have in store. I was talking 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:28.760 to Pastor Stephen yesterday on the phone and he was 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:31.360 telling me he's really excited about about two things right now. 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:34.360 Number one is he can't wait to be on this 0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:38.519 stage preaching next weekend at his favorite place in the planet. 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:42.640 So when he's excited, spoilert you should be excited because 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.120 next weekend is going to be incredible. Are you excited 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:49.360 to have our pastor with us next weekend? And then 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:51.879 he was also telling me he was very excited that 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:54.360 we have Lisa Turkhurst in the house this weekend to 0:00:54.480 --> 0:01:01.280 preach to us. Lisa and Art have been Elevators part 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:03.640 of our church for close to a decade now, very 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:07.880 faithful and committed participants in our church. We love them, 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:11.600 their family, their dear friends of Pastor Stephen and Holly, 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:14.640 And if you didn't know this, Lisa is a New 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:18.760 York Times bestselling author many many many times over. In fact, 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:20.880 her new book is It's Not Supposed to Be This Way, 0:01:21.160 --> 0:01:24.280 It's out now. She's the president, she's the founder of 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:28.240 Proverbs thirty one Ministry. She preaches and teaches all over 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:33.040 the world, inspiring the church globally. And we are very 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:35.760 very blessed and honored that she is preaching at her 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:38.800 church home this weekend. So at every location, can you 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:41.800 please put your hands together and celebrate as we welcome 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:54.160 Lisa Turkhurst to the stage. Thank you so much. What 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:57.280 a joy and honor it is to be able to 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:00.640 be in my home church, and this is very exciting. 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:05.160 There's two things about elevation that I have seen across 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:08.880 the world as I'm out preaching and teaching in different 0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:14.519 environments and different facilities, and it's this Number one, elevation 0:02:14.720 --> 0:02:18.359 worship is in every church conference I go to. And 0:02:18.400 --> 0:02:21.280 what a gift it is that we get to hear 0:02:21.320 --> 0:02:23.240 it in our home church. Can we thank God for 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:31.919 elevation worship? And the second thing is when people find 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:34.640 out that I get to sit under the teaching of 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:38.520 Pastor Stephen Ferdick every single week. They kind of wish 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:40.639 they could move to Charlotte and do the very same thing. 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:50.400 Can we thank God for our pastor? Amazing Pastor. Stephen 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:53.280 and Holly are good friends, and so that gives me 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:57.000 a unique opportunity to be able to see something that 0:02:57.880 --> 0:03:03.720 I'm so blessed by is that you guys are incredible people. 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:07.079 Whether you're on the stage or behind the scenes, you're 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:10.000 good people. And I thank God for that. Can we 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:12.360 thank God for the gifts that we have in Castor 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:20.960 and Holly? Well, stay standing for the reading of God's Word. 0:03:21.120 --> 0:03:24.800 We're gonna read first off from Revelation. In case you 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:28.160 haven't been to the Revelation in a while, I'm gonna 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:31.639 unpack a little bit for you. But let's read God's 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:35.080 word and be encouraged by it this morning. Revelation chapter 0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:38.120 twenty one, starting in verse three, and I heard a 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:42.520 loud voice from the throne saying, Look, God's dwelling place 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:45.680 is now among the people, and He will dwell with them, 0:03:45.760 --> 0:03:48.600 and they will be his people, and God himself will 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:51.920 be with them and be their God. He will wipe 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:55.839 every tear from their eyes. There will be no more 0:03:56.000 --> 0:04:00.320 death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:03.960 order of things has passed away. Come on, somebody, we 0:04:04.040 --> 0:04:09.480 have a lot to look forward to. You right you 0:04:09.560 --> 0:04:11.720 can be seated. And for those of you who are 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:14.920 note takers, and I hope that means most of you, 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:18.080 you'll want the title of the sermon right away, and 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:21.440 that is Life between Two Gardens. And that may sound 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:23.520 like a strange title, but by the end of my message, 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:27.919 I promise you will understand life between two gardens. You know, 0:04:27.960 --> 0:04:31.440 as I read these verses in Revelation that gives me 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:35.080 great hope for one day. But I want to make 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:37.760 sure that I have great hope and great fate to 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:41.400 live out what I need to live out today, because 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:46.160 sometimes life can be hard. A couple weeks ago, Pastor 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:51.599 Preach an incredible message from a message entitled Invisible Prisons, 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:55.520 and he said something that really grabbed my heart. He said, 0:04:55.560 --> 0:05:01.039 what God uses to develop your fate is disappointment, and 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:05.240 what the devil uses to destroy your faith is disappointment. 0:05:06.279 --> 0:05:09.960 I want to dive into disappointment today because I think 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:12.320 it's something that we can all relate to. I want 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:15.960 to identify where does disappointment come from and what do 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.840 we do about it? And I'm also going to share 0:05:18.920 --> 0:05:26.000 from my heart some very personal, deep devastating disappointments that 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:29.599 my family and I have walked through the past three years. 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:33.400 And I think and I pray you'll be able to 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:37.919 relate to today's message. Here's the deal. We've all either 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:41.640 just been through some stuff, or we're in the middle 0:05:41.640 --> 0:05:45.479 of some stuff, or we're headed toward being in some stuff. 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:47.960 And you may say, well, Lisa, that's not very positive. No, 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:50.600 I'm positive we either been through some stuff, we in 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:52.960 some stuff, or we about to go through some stuff. Right, 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:56.120 And so I like to open up God's word and 0:05:56.200 --> 0:06:00.320 discover what do we do about the disappointments that we 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:05.040 all face every single day. But first let's discover where 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:07.120 disappointment comes from. And to do that, we're going to 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:10.039 turn over to Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:14.680 starting in chapter two, verse five. Now, no shrub had 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:17.920 yet appeared on the earth, and no plant had yet 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:21.080 sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent the 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:23.359 rain on the earth, and there was no one to 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:26.440 work the ground. But streams came up from the earth 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:28.560 and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then the 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:31.640 Lord God formed a man from the dust of the 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:36.000 ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:39.839 and the man became a living being. Now, the Lord 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:43.320 God verse eight planted a garden in the east in Eden, 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.000 and there he put the man he had formed. The 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:48.599 Lord God made all kinds of trees to grow out 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:52.400 of the ground, trees that were pleasing to the eye 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:56.880 and good for food. In the middle of the garden, 0:06:56.960 --> 0:07:00.359 where the tree of Life and the tree of the 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:02.920 Knowledge of good and evil. Skip down to verse fifteen, 0:07:03.920 --> 0:07:05.599 the Lord God took the man and put him in 0:07:05.600 --> 0:07:07.599 the garden of Eden to work it and take care 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:10.960 of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, you 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:16.320 are free to eat from any tree in the garden, 0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:20.040 but you must not eat from the tree of Knowledge 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:22.800 of good and evil, for when you eat from it, 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:27.000 you will certainly die. And I'm convinced at this point 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:30.119 that the man did not write the one rule down, 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:32.920 because the very next verse, the Lord says, Ah, it 0:07:32.960 --> 0:07:35.120 is not good for the man to be alone. I 0:07:35.200 --> 0:07:38.920 will make a helper suitable for him. And women have 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:41.720 been making lists for their men ever since. Come on, 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:46.080 somebody say, amen, nahha, you know it's true. You have 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:48.720 a woman in the house today, So you know, just 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:54.760 a special gift for you there. And after that, a 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:58.720 helper suitable for Adam has looked for. So Adam names 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:02.520 all the animals, but no helper was found amongst the animals. 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:05.360 And so then God causes a man to fall into 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:08.040 a deep sleep and he takes part of a rib, 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:12.800 and from that he fashions a woman. And then God 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:16.679 brings the woman to Adam. And listen to what he says. 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:20.800 It's so poetic. It's almost like rivaling any rap song 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:23.520 that you could hear today. This is now bone of 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:27.320 my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:32.560 called whoa man, for she was taken out of a man. 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:35.760 My friend Levi LESCo says that the original meeting of 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:39.559 that part of scripture right there is she had apple 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:44.839 bottom jeans and boots with the fur. I can't find 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.200 that in all my research, but that's what Levi says, 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:50.080 verse twenty four. This is why man leaves his father 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:52.640 and his mother and is united to his wife, and 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:55.520 they become one flesh. And then one of my favorite 0:08:55.600 --> 0:08:58.960 verses in all of the Bible, Genesis two twenty five, 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:01.920 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:06.640 no shame. They felt no shame though they were standing 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:11.559 there completely vulnerable before one another and before God himself. 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:15.199 But they could stand there feeling no shame and being 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:18.840 that vulnerable because they had no other opinion to contend 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:24.040 with but the absolute love of God himself. Can you imagine? 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:29.319 Perfection was everywhere? There was perfection in their relationship. There 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:32.920 was perfect communion with God. The atmosphere, the environment, all 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:38.960 of their surroundings were perfect. Everything was amazing. But then 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:44.880 we find Genesis three, verse one. Now the serpent was 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:47.400 more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:50.360 God had made. He said to the woman, did God 0:09:50.480 --> 0:09:52.840 really say? And don't you kind of wish that the 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:54.640 woman at this point would have said, if you're so 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:57.720 interested in what God had to say, go ask him yourself. Right, 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:00.400 God has saved all of us a whole lot of trouble, 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:04.400 wouldn't it, But that's not what happens. Did God really say? 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:08.640 And it Isn't it also interesting that the devil always 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:12.000 wants to make us question God's word. I mean, God 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:15.080 is the creator, but the enemy is the perverter. Not 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:17.440 only does he want to make us doubt God's word, 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:19.360 he wants to make us believe that God's word is 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:21.880 too difficult to understand and too hard to live out. 0:10:22.360 --> 0:10:24.079 The Thing about it, though, is that the God of 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:28.679 the universe hand fashioned our brain. I'm convinced with his 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:31.720 word and mind, we were made to be able to 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:33.840 not only get into God's word, but for God's word 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.440 to get into us. Come on, somebody, that's amazing, right. 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:41.679 But the enemy wants to pervert that. And then look 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:44.480 at what he does when he quotes back what God 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:47.560 said his first three words, the enemy's first three words 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:52.839 that he said God said was you must not now 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:56.920 what were God's actual first three words? God's actual first 0:10:57.000 --> 0:11:01.240 three words? Or you are free? We serve a God 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:04.640 of freedom. But the enemy wants us to believe that 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:08.040 we serve a God of restriction. The enemy wants us 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:10.600 to believe that we serve it. You must not God, 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:14.320 but that's not true. We serve a God of freedom. 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:17.240 He has woven the theme of freedom. He wants his 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:20.760 people free all the way through the Bible. Now he 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:25.599 does give us some restriction, but it's for our protection. 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:29.200 We serve a God of freedom. But look how the 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:32.040 enemy twists that. When he quotes God. He says, God 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:35.760 said you must not eat from any tree in the garden. 0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:38.120 The woman said to the serpent, we may eat from 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:41.480 the fruit from the trees in the garden. But God 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:43.920 did say you must not eat from the fruit of 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:45.880 the tree that is in the middle of the garden. 0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:48.240 You must not even touch it, or you will die. 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:50.720 Now that is not at all what God said. She 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:53.360 added that last little part. I think it's very dangerous 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:55.720 when we add our opinion on top of God's word. 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:59.320 I really, really do you know. So many times it's 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:01.800 like people will Lisa, what is your opinion about this 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:03.640 issue and that issue? And I said, why does my 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:06.560 opinion matter? When God's word is so very clear. We 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:08.840 got to get into God's word and let God's word 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:11.000 get into us. God will give us the answers that 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:13.240 we need. We don't need to be adding our opinion 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:16.120 to God's word. Verse four, you will certainly not die, 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:19.480 the serpent said to the woman, for God knows when 0:12:19.480 --> 0:12:21.640 you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and 0:12:21.679 --> 0:12:24.480 you will be like God, knowing good and evil. And 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:27.240 when the woman saw that the fruit of the tree 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:31.040 was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:38.600 also desirable for gaining wisdom. Wait just one minute, So 0:12:38.800 --> 0:12:41.480 I used to think as I was reading the story, 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:47.480 that's kind of challenging that God would put this tree 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:49.440 in the middle of the garden. The tree is the 0:12:49.480 --> 0:12:52.600 knowledge of good and evil and hang on it fruit 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:56.920 that was so pleasing to the eye and good for food. 0:12:56.960 --> 0:12:59.120 I mean, was this kind of like a super fruit 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:02.680 like brownie a mode fruit? How could she resist, right 0:13:03.520 --> 0:13:06.800 and like to put that there with that amazing fruit 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:09.920 and then say don't eat from it. That just seemed 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:14.160 kind of complicated to me until I kept it in 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:18.760 the context that it's really in. And if you remember 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:22.640 when I read Genesis too, there's a detail about all 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:26.040 the trees in the garden. All the trees in the 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:30.520 garden had fruit that was good for food and pleasing 0:13:30.640 --> 0:13:33.480 to the eye. They all had the Brownie ala mode 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:38.280 fruit hanging on it. Right, she was surrounded by God's provision, 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:41.520 but she stared at the one thing God said not 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:45.120 to have. And we will steer where we stare right, 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:48.440 same thing we want what we want, And when we 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:54.000 get fixated on something, even if God says no. We 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:59.440 try to say yes, because here's the thing. I think 0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:03.720 sometimes we do think God's withholding something from us. God's 0:14:03.760 --> 0:14:07.120 not withholding something from us. God is protecting us from 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:10.320 all that's contained in that fruit that we have no 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:15.680 idea that fruit was the knowledge of good and evil. 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:19.960 The human heart was never supposed to know the knowledge 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:23.800 of evil. It is too heavy of awake. God wasn't 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:26.480 withholding from us. He was protecting us. You know what 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:28.840 the knowledge of evil is. It's all those things we 0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:31.360 experience and we say, it's not supposed to be this way. 0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:41.280 A cancer diagnosis, infertility, struggle, betrayal, heartbreak, devastations that we 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:45.120 see on the nightly news. You're right, it's not supposed 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:48.560 to be this way. God never intended for us to 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:52.000 note the knowledge of evil. But Eve looked at the 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:55.280 one thing she wasn't supposed to take, and she took 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:59.360 some and she ate it, and she gave some to 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:02.760 her husband and who was with her, and he ate it. 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:06.280 Then suddenly the eyes of both of them were opened 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:09.600 and they realized that they were naked. I wonder what 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:11.960 that moment was like. Did they look down and go 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:14.840 all or did they look across and go, oh, no, bra, 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:16.880 you got to cover that up, like here you a 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:18.760 fig and a leaf. We got to do something about 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:23.440 all that. Right. I don't know. I wasn't there, but 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.240 here's what I do know. They weren't just physically naked. 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:29.640 They were also emotionally naked. They'd never felt the weight 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:32.600 of guilt before, but they do now. And they were 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:35.720 spiritually naked. They never felt the way of shame before, 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:40.760 but they do now. And think of all the things 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:44.080 now that God would have surely been justified in saying 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:48.160 to Adam and Eve. They didn't just unleash sin that day. 0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:53.440 We're still living out that reality to day. Think of 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:57.640 the weight of that. So well, Adam and Eve are hiding, 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:01.280 here comes God walking in the cool of the day, 0:16:01.400 --> 0:16:04.160 and I just imagine all he would have been justified 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:09.480 in saying. But he doesn't. He simply asked them two questions. 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:13.440 I'm stunned by this, and I think that maybe God 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:16.360 would like to ask us those same two questions today. 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:22.080 The first question, he says, where are you now? Their 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:25.800 physical location was not a mystery to God. He's God. 0:16:26.000 --> 0:16:28.880 He knew exactly where they were located. But Adam and 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:32.960 Eve are hiding and they are afraid. The sound that 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:35.680 used to be such a delight to them when everything 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:38.480 was perfect, the sound of God walking in the garden. 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:42.080 It used to be like Daddy's home. And I imagine 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:45.800 them running through the garden and being so excited. But 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:47.720 if you were a child and you ever had your 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:49.880 mama say this to you, you just wait till your 0:16:50.000 --> 0:16:52.840 daddy gets home, right, you know, the sound of Daddy 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:56.200 getting home on those days is not so nice, right. 0:16:57.280 --> 0:16:59.680 And I imagine now the very sound that used to 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:04.159 bring them such joy as making them so afraid. And 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:07.280 so I think God is saying where are you? Because 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:11.000 they've lost their spiritual orientation. They've forgotten where to go 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:15.399 to when they're afraid. I think God asked me that 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:17.800 question some mornings when I wake up and I'm in 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:20.159 a funk. Have you ever been in a funk? Like 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:22.920 you just wake up and it's like no particular reason. 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:24.840 You just feel like the weight of the world's on you, 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:26.760 and you're just kind of grumpy, you know, And you 0:17:26.840 --> 0:17:28.399 know you should listen to a praise song, you know, 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:31.320 should read the Bible, but instead you're like, no, let 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:33.399 me just hop on Facebook for a minute. Let me 0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:36.720 just hop on Instagram, and I'll hop on Instagram and 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:38.720 I'll start scrolling, and all of a sudden, it doesn't 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:42.160 make my funk better. It multiplies my funk because suddenly 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:45.440 everybody else's thighs look thinner than mine, their marriage looks 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:48.560 more romantic than mine, their kids are getting more words 0:17:48.640 --> 0:17:50.919 than mine. Their house is better decorated than mine. And 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:52.639 my two best friends got together and went out to 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:56.639 dinner last night. What they didn't even invite me? Right, 0:17:57.359 --> 0:17:59.800 and my funk is multiplied. I think God would like 0:17:59.800 --> 0:18:03.240 to say, Lisa, where are you? Where are you? Girl? 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:06.440 You need to get off of Facebook and get your 0:18:06.440 --> 0:18:09.920 face in my book because that is where hope can 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:14.840 be found. I know what you need. Right the second 0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:20.040 question that God asked them, who told you you were naked? 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:23.840 Remember that Adam and Eve and God are not the 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:26.240 only ones in the garden at this point. The enemy 0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:30.240 is also there. And I know from reading Revelation chapter twelve, 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:33.840 verses ten and eleven, the enemy is called the accuser 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:38.679 of the Brethren. He accuses us day and night, and 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:41.040 so I know the enemy is there, and I believe 0:18:41.080 --> 0:18:43.520 the enemy would love for Adam and eve to believe 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:45.240 and for you and I to believe that we haven't 0:18:45.320 --> 0:18:49.520 just done something wrong, that we are something wrong and 0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:52.160 he accuses us so we can try to lock us 0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:56.080 in chains of shame. Right just like Pastor was saying, 0:18:57.119 --> 0:18:59.919 the enemy would love for us to be in prison. 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:04.680 You know, just by all the stuff, I think God 0:19:04.880 --> 0:19:08.280 asking who told you you were naked is really saying 0:19:09.359 --> 0:19:12.720 who told you you were anything less than the amazing 0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:16.359 child of the almighty God who told you you were naked. 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:19.199 You see, I think some of us have words that 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:21.359 have been sitting on us for a long time, and 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:24.720 pain that we carry around with us that was from 0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:26.960 a long time ago. At some point in your life, 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:30.280 somebody spoke a line to you and it became a 0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:34.200 lie that you believed about yourself. And then that lie 0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:38.640 that you believed about yourself suddenly became a label that 0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:41.800 you put on yourself and your identity. And now that 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:47.040 label has become a liability in all your relationships of today. 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:50.760 And somebody will say something to you today and it'll 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:54.640 offend you. But you have a way out of proportion 0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:58.200 reaction to the offense at hand. Why, because you are 0:19:58.240 --> 0:20:02.080 still carrying the pain of that line that became a lie, 0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:04.640 that became a label, and now is a liability. And 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:07.840 you are holding this person accountable for things they hadn't 0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:11.960 even done. Who told you, who told you that you 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:16.240 were naked? We cannot let their words become the words 0:20:16.280 --> 0:20:19.399 of our story. We got to let God's words become 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:26.440 the words of the story of our lives. Amen. Amen. Well, 0:20:26.480 --> 0:20:32.000 after this, then God does have consequences for them, because 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:36.600 sin always comes as a package deal with consequences. There's 0:20:36.680 --> 0:20:40.440 no sin that you commit where there's not a package 0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:43.800 deal of consequences that come with it. And there were consequences. 0:20:44.480 --> 0:20:48.240 But sin also demands a sacrifice. Let's look at Genesis III, 0:20:48.520 --> 0:20:52.040 starting in verse twenty one. Then the Lord God made 0:20:52.040 --> 0:20:54.399 garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and he 0:20:54.520 --> 0:20:58.240 clothed them. And with apologies to the animal activists, blood 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:02.040 of an animal was shed here. The animals were harmed 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:06.199 in the making of this story. But this is appointing 0:21:06.359 --> 0:21:09.919 really to Jesus because this day was the blood of 0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:12.640 the animal that would be the sacrifice to cover their sin. 0:21:12.720 --> 0:21:15.560 And one day it would be the blood of God's 0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:18.760 own son, Jesus Christ that would be shed, that would 0:21:18.800 --> 0:21:21.639 drip from a cross to be the ultimate covering for 0:21:21.720 --> 0:21:24.639 the sin of the world. And the Lord God said 0:21:24.760 --> 0:21:27.080 verse twenty two, the man has now become like one 0:21:27.119 --> 0:21:30.560 of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be 0:21:30.600 --> 0:21:32.720 allowed to reach out his hand and take also from 0:21:32.760 --> 0:21:37.040 the tree of life and eat and live forever. So 0:21:37.119 --> 0:21:41.040 the Lord God banished him from the garden of Eden 0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:43.879 to work the ground from which he had been taken. 0:21:44.800 --> 0:21:46.600 And I'll be honest, if we were sitting at my 0:21:46.680 --> 0:21:52.639 kitchen table right now, I would admit to you that 0:21:52.640 --> 0:21:55.680 that's hard for me to hear that God banished them 0:21:55.720 --> 0:21:57.400 from the garden. If you ever read that, and kind 0:21:57.400 --> 0:22:01.600 of thought, oh, that sits heavy on you, right. And 0:22:01.640 --> 0:22:04.280 so I decided to do a little study, taking the 0:22:04.280 --> 0:22:07.120 word banished and going back to the Hebrew to see 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:10.040 what was the original intention of that word. And I 0:22:10.080 --> 0:22:14.160 found something so surprising. The root of that word actually 0:22:14.240 --> 0:22:20.000 means sent out, not banished. In other words, God sent 0:22:20.119 --> 0:22:22.520 them out, which tells me he was doing it for 0:22:22.800 --> 0:22:27.560 a purpose a reason. Interestingly enough, the Hebrew derivative of 0:22:27.640 --> 0:22:31.200 scent out is closely related to the New Testament Greek 0:22:31.240 --> 0:22:34.480 derivative from John three point sixteen, when God so loved 0:22:34.520 --> 0:22:37.679 the world that he gave or he sends in his 0:22:37.880 --> 0:22:41.239 son Jesus. Again, it's appointing to what Jesus will one 0:22:41.320 --> 0:22:43.280 day be able to do for us that we cannot 0:22:43.280 --> 0:22:46.440 do for ourselves. But why did God send them out 0:22:46.480 --> 0:22:49.400 of the garden? Why did they have to leave? Look 0:22:49.400 --> 0:22:53.080 at the text, it's very clear. Remember there's another tree 0:22:53.160 --> 0:22:55.800 in the garden, the Tree of life. They were allowed 0:22:55.800 --> 0:22:58.720 to eat from that when they were in perfection. To 0:22:58.800 --> 0:23:00.920 eat from the Tree of life meant that their lives 0:23:00.920 --> 0:23:03.840 would be perpetuated for eternity, and that was good when 0:23:03.880 --> 0:23:06.879 they were perfect. But now that sin has entered in 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:09.040 their body is in a state of decay and they 0:23:09.080 --> 0:23:12.440 are separated from God. If God would have left them 0:23:12.440 --> 0:23:14.879 and they would have eaten from the Tree of Life, 0:23:15.320 --> 0:23:17.760 then they would have been stuck in that state forever. 0:23:17.840 --> 0:23:20.639 And God loved them too much to do that. So 0:23:20.800 --> 0:23:23.479 he sends them out and gives them a gift that 0:23:23.520 --> 0:23:27.080 will feel nothing like a gift at all. He will 0:23:27.119 --> 0:23:29.800 allow their physical bodies to die so that they could 0:23:29.800 --> 0:23:32.879 trade that then for a spiritual body that, through the 0:23:33.280 --> 0:23:36.879 forgiveness of Jesus Christ, that could enter back into that 0:23:37.040 --> 0:23:41.639 perfect relationship with God. This was not an act of cruelty. 0:23:42.160 --> 0:23:53.360 It was an act of great mercy. Amen. Now let 0:23:53.359 --> 0:23:56.600 me just point out one more thing though. From all 0:23:56.600 --> 0:23:59.720 that we've read, I now know the human heart was 0:24:00.920 --> 0:24:04.359 in the context of the perfection of the garden of Eden. 0:24:05.760 --> 0:24:08.400 So when Adam and Eve were sent out, God did 0:24:08.440 --> 0:24:12.680 not strip from them that awareness of perfection. The awareness 0:24:12.720 --> 0:24:16.119 of perfection is etched into the very dna of our soul. 0:24:16.240 --> 0:24:20.359 We know perfection exists, but we can't find it. No 0:24:20.560 --> 0:24:25.240 wonder we are disappointed. This is where disappointment comes from. 0:24:26.200 --> 0:24:28.840 Have you ever been taking a picture with a group 0:24:28.880 --> 0:24:32.080 of friends and you all smile, take the picture, and 0:24:32.080 --> 0:24:35.520 then before they post it, you say, let me see it, 0:24:35.880 --> 0:24:37.920 and then you hold it and you do like this, 0:24:38.000 --> 0:24:43.320 who you looking at y'rself? Right? And if you happened 0:24:43.359 --> 0:24:45.200 to be in the middle and you had your butt 0:24:45.280 --> 0:24:47.840 out and your hips tucked behind the person beside you, 0:24:48.080 --> 0:24:50.600 and you look real good, you'll be like, oh, yeah, 0:24:50.600 --> 0:24:53.320 we got to post this one right away. It's good 0:24:53.320 --> 0:24:56.399 at everybody, uh huh. But if you were the sad 0:24:56.520 --> 0:24:59.600 fool that got stuck on the end this way and 0:24:59.640 --> 0:25:02.679 you I'm looking, oh you know what I'm saying, and 0:25:02.760 --> 0:25:11.080 your arms are just not good, and chen something something happening, 0:25:11.960 --> 0:25:16.199 you will hit the trash can on their phone. You 0:25:16.240 --> 0:25:20.720 will say it was blurry. Everybody's eyes were shut. Now, 0:25:20.800 --> 0:25:23.600 let me get up here in the middle. Let's take 0:25:23.640 --> 0:25:28.120 that picture now, right, we know perfection exists we keep 0:25:28.160 --> 0:25:30.400 looking for But even then, even if the picture's real, real, 0:25:30.440 --> 0:25:34.080 good of us, we still crop it and we edit it, right, 0:25:34.320 --> 0:25:36.919 we filter it, and that's not even good enough. Now 0:25:36.960 --> 0:25:38.600 we got to post it and make sure other people 0:25:38.600 --> 0:25:41.879 think it's perfect. Refresh, Refresh, refress. How many lights do 0:25:41.960 --> 0:25:46.160 I get? Right? We know perfection exists, and that's where 0:25:46.200 --> 0:25:50.720 disappointment comes from. So here's my question. Why didn't God 0:25:50.880 --> 0:25:56.040 strip the awareness of perfection out from our hearts? Because 0:25:57.720 --> 0:26:00.480 it's his way of drawing our heart to him, the 0:26:00.520 --> 0:26:04.960 one who is perfect, the only one who is perfect, 0:26:05.359 --> 0:26:09.880 the answer to every desire for perfection that we keep chasing. 0:26:10.119 --> 0:26:13.240 And if lesser loves ever satisfied us, we would think 0:26:13.280 --> 0:26:17.560 we had no need for God. So, my friends, that's 0:26:17.560 --> 0:26:22.119 where disappointment comes from. We hold everything up to this standard, 0:26:22.560 --> 0:26:27.800 this expectation of perfection, and then our experience hits right. Here, 0:26:28.200 --> 0:26:32.720 and the fertile ground between those two is disappointment. Now, 0:26:32.960 --> 0:26:35.480 if our disappointment, if the worst disappointment that we face 0:26:35.520 --> 0:26:38.560 today is that we go through the drive through coffee 0:26:38.600 --> 0:26:42.040 line and they frapay our latte and waylay our whole day, 0:26:42.040 --> 0:26:43.760 we're like, oh, I'm just gonna put a little Jesus 0:26:43.840 --> 0:26:45.520 on it and it's gonna be okay. We'll handle my 0:26:45.560 --> 0:26:50.800 disappointment right. And that's good. That's good. But a lot 0:26:50.800 --> 0:26:53.160 of us are going through disappointments that are pretty serious, 0:26:54.560 --> 0:27:00.240 heartbreaking actually, and it's not just disappointment, really, it's like 0:27:00.280 --> 0:27:10.639 a devastation, a disillusionment. What do we do about that? Well, 0:27:11.200 --> 0:27:16.080 we heard in Revelation that there will be a new day. 0:27:16.119 --> 0:27:18.280 So let's turn back to Revelation because I want to 0:27:18.320 --> 0:27:22.320 show you something else that I think is pretty profound. 0:27:22.400 --> 0:27:24.879 Let's go back to Revelation chapter twenty one, starting in 0:27:25.000 --> 0:27:26.840 verse three and read that part again, and then we'll 0:27:26.880 --> 0:27:29.320 keep going. And I heard a loud voice from the 0:27:29.320 --> 0:27:32.640 throne saying, Look, God's dwelling place is now among the people. 0:27:33.080 --> 0:27:35.119 He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, 0:27:35.119 --> 0:27:37.240 and God himself will be with them and be their God, 0:27:37.800 --> 0:27:39.960 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will 0:27:40.000 --> 0:27:42.200 be no more death or mourning, or crying or pain, 0:27:42.320 --> 0:27:45.280 for the old order of things has passed away. He 0:27:45.320 --> 0:27:49.360 who is seated on the throne said, I am making 0:27:49.640 --> 0:27:53.640 everything new. Then he said, write this down. I think 0:27:53.640 --> 0:27:56.080 because he's given the revelation to a man, he didn't 0:27:56.119 --> 0:27:59.119 want them to miss it this time. Write this down, 0:27:59.480 --> 0:28:03.760 for these words are trustsworthy and true. He said to me, 0:28:03.920 --> 0:28:07.439 it is done. I'm the Alpha and the Omega, the 0:28:07.480 --> 0:28:10.280 beginning and the end. And then look over at Revelation 0:28:10.440 --> 0:28:15.840 twenty two, verse three. No longer will there be any curse. 0:28:16.560 --> 0:28:19.200 You see. Let me give you a little spiritual orientation here. 0:28:19.920 --> 0:28:24.359 We start out in the perfection of Eden, but we 0:28:24.440 --> 0:28:27.760 don't live there anymore. So we live the anxiety of 0:28:27.840 --> 0:28:31.960 the first Eden. In Revelation chapter twenty two that we 0:28:32.119 --> 0:28:36.320 just read from my Bible says that's when Eden is restored. 0:28:36.880 --> 0:28:39.640 So we not only live from anxiety of the first 0:28:39.640 --> 0:28:43.560 garden of Eden, but we live in anticipation that the 0:28:43.560 --> 0:28:48.800 perfection of Eden will return. But right now we're simply 0:28:48.840 --> 0:28:53.560 doing life between two gardens. And I wonder if that 0:28:53.600 --> 0:28:58.680 could help make sense of some of the disappointments, and 0:28:58.720 --> 0:29:03.280 maybe we could stop expecting a perfection out of ourselves 0:29:03.360 --> 0:29:08.120 and others and our relationships that not even God expects. Like. 0:29:08.200 --> 0:29:10.600 I wonder if we could just give people a little 0:29:10.600 --> 0:29:16.320 more grace, right, Stop expecting our jobs to be so perfect, 0:29:16.240 --> 0:29:20.239 Stop expecting church to be so perfect. Stop expecting your 0:29:20.240 --> 0:29:22.560 neighbor to be so perfect, your spouse to be so perfect, 0:29:22.640 --> 0:29:24.120 your kids to be so perfect. I wonder if we 0:29:24.120 --> 0:29:27.560 could just step back a little bit and just acknowledge, yup, 0:29:28.680 --> 0:29:32.640 I'm doing life between two gardens right. It's not always 0:29:32.720 --> 0:29:38.080 going to be that way, but it is that way today. Now, 0:29:39.400 --> 0:29:40.960 what do we do about it? To do that, I 0:29:41.000 --> 0:29:44.880 want to turn to Mark chapter fourteen. There's a middle 0:29:44.920 --> 0:29:50.880 garden in this life between two gardens. In Mark chapter fourteen, 0:29:51.480 --> 0:29:55.000 Jesus has just had the last supper with his disciples, 0:29:56.200 --> 0:29:59.600 and they've walked across the Kidron Valley, and now they've 0:29:59.640 --> 0:30:02.560 gone to this place they would meet out often outside 0:30:02.600 --> 0:30:06.480 the city, called the garden of Gasemone. In this garden 0:30:06.520 --> 0:30:10.520 of Gsemone, Gisemone means the place of the pressing of 0:30:10.840 --> 0:30:15.680 the olive verse thirty two. This is what Jesus says, 0:30:16.120 --> 0:30:19.560 knowing full well that soldiers are on the way to 0:30:19.720 --> 0:30:23.960 arrest him and take him on the road to the cross. 0:30:25.040 --> 0:30:29.160 They Jesus and his disciples Verse thirty two, Mark chapter fourteen. 0:30:30.200 --> 0:30:32.600 They went to a place called Goodsemone, and Jesus said 0:30:32.640 --> 0:30:37.760 to his disciples, sit here while I pray. He took Peter, James, 0:30:37.760 --> 0:30:39.840 and John along with him, and he began to be 0:30:40.560 --> 0:30:49.480 deeply distressed and troubled. My soul, Jesus said, is overwhelmed 0:30:49.480 --> 0:30:55.360 with sorrow to the point of death. He said to 0:30:55.400 --> 0:30:59.800 them stay here and keep watch. I don't know about you, 0:31:00.480 --> 0:31:06.360 but as I read these words of Jesus, I find 0:31:06.440 --> 0:31:10.120 myself saying, there are no words of Jesus I can 0:31:10.160 --> 0:31:13.680 relate to more than this, because I know what it's 0:31:13.840 --> 0:31:18.400 like to walk through something and feel so overwhelmed with 0:31:18.560 --> 0:31:22.600 sorrow that I say, I think this just might kill me. 0:31:24.080 --> 0:31:27.800 Have you ever been there? That's where my family and 0:31:27.800 --> 0:31:31.320 I have been the past three years. I know what 0:31:31.360 --> 0:31:36.840 it feels like to come into church sit way back 0:31:36.880 --> 0:31:41.000 there because I feel like I'm walking in and I 0:31:41.000 --> 0:31:48.280 can barely breathe. That's another reason I'm so grateful to 0:31:48.320 --> 0:31:52.160 be sitting under teaching a Pastor Stephen, because when you're 0:31:52.160 --> 0:31:57.640 that overwhelmed, you can't remember whole messages. But sometimes it's 0:31:57.680 --> 0:32:02.160 sentences within messages that change people's lives because we can 0:32:02.240 --> 0:32:06.320 hold onto those sentences and we can preach back those sentences. 0:32:06.360 --> 0:32:09.680 And we have a pastor who cares so much about 0:32:09.680 --> 0:32:13.640 our hearts that he writes messages with sentences that we 0:32:13.680 --> 0:32:16.800 can remember and preach back to ourselves that are inspired 0:32:16.840 --> 0:32:19.240 by the Holy Spirit, where he spends time in the 0:32:19.320 --> 0:32:22.560 text and he unearthed these truths that sometimes we can't 0:32:22.600 --> 0:32:24.800 find for ourselves and for those of us are hanging 0:32:24.840 --> 0:32:27.720 on by a thread. Dear God, that's what we need. 0:32:28.840 --> 0:32:32.840 That's what I've needed. Some of you walked in church 0:32:32.960 --> 0:32:38.440 today and you're right there just hanging on by a thread. 0:32:38.520 --> 0:32:41.240 Can I tell to you I'm so proud of you 0:32:41.320 --> 0:32:44.840 forgetting to church today. This is exactly where you need 0:32:44.880 --> 0:32:52.440 to be. It's exactly where you need to be. And 0:32:52.480 --> 0:32:55.160 those of you joining onlines is the best way for 0:32:55.200 --> 0:32:57.320 you to spend your time. This is the best place 0:32:57.400 --> 0:33:00.000 that you could log on online. Of all the choices 0:33:00.000 --> 0:33:03.160 as you have, you chose Elevationchurch dot org and that 0:33:03.240 --> 0:33:07.160 was a great, great choice. You know, why Because sometimes 0:33:07.680 --> 0:33:10.760 when we can't find footing in our faith, we got 0:33:10.760 --> 0:33:13.560 to go stand on somebody else's faith. We got to 0:33:13.560 --> 0:33:15.920 go stand on Pastor Stephen's faith. We got to go 0:33:16.000 --> 0:33:19.280 stand beside somebody who's in a different season and they 0:33:19.280 --> 0:33:22.720 are proclaiming the faithfulness of God in a way that 0:33:22.800 --> 0:33:27.360 it shifts the atmosphere of our depression. It lives our anxiety. 0:33:27.560 --> 0:33:29.920 We got to get ourselves to church. We got to 0:33:29.960 --> 0:33:34.000 get in a place where we can be reminded that 0:33:34.120 --> 0:33:44.240 our God is good, Our God is very good. You 0:33:44.280 --> 0:33:47.240 see what my family and I have been walking through 0:33:49.120 --> 0:33:52.280 in the past several years is that in February of 0:33:52.280 --> 0:33:58.960 twenty sixteen, I found out my husband, my life partner 0:33:59.000 --> 0:34:05.320 for over two decades, was being unfaithful, and it about 0:34:05.360 --> 0:34:13.319 broke me into just break me. It shattered me. It 0:34:13.440 --> 0:34:17.080 was the hardest thing that we've ever walked through as 0:34:17.120 --> 0:34:23.600 a family. That's why I think Jesus says to disciples, 0:34:24.560 --> 0:34:28.680 stay here and keep watch. I used to think it 0:34:28.719 --> 0:34:31.000 was just because the soldiers were coming and he didn't 0:34:31.000 --> 0:34:32.840 want to get caught off guard by the soldiers. But 0:34:33.040 --> 0:34:38.000 Jesus is God. I mean, He's full divinity and absolute humanity. 0:34:38.000 --> 0:34:40.400 He knew where their soldiers were. Now, maybe he didn't 0:34:40.400 --> 0:34:42.799 want the disciples to get caught off guard. But I 0:34:42.840 --> 0:34:46.640 think there's another meaning. I think Jesus is saying, stay 0:34:46.719 --> 0:34:50.759 here and watch how I do this life between two gardens. 0:34:51.120 --> 0:34:53.759 Stay here and watch me, because you're gonna need this. 0:34:54.200 --> 0:34:56.960 You're gonna need this. You're gonna need this when you 0:34:57.120 --> 0:35:03.600 go through times of deep sorrow and deep heartbreak. Stay 0:35:03.640 --> 0:35:08.160 here and watch me. Keep your eyes on me. I 0:35:08.160 --> 0:35:10.399 want you to write down some verses that this week. 0:35:10.440 --> 0:35:12.080 I want you to take some time and go read 0:35:12.120 --> 0:35:17.360 for yourself. It's in Hebrews chapter two, verses fourteen through eighteen. 0:35:17.800 --> 0:35:21.759 In Hebrews Chapter two, verse fourteen says this, since the 0:35:21.840 --> 0:35:25.879 children have flesh and blood, he too, shared in their humanity, 0:35:26.239 --> 0:35:28.760 so that by his death he might break the power 0:35:28.800 --> 0:35:30.920 of him who holds the power of death, that is 0:35:31.000 --> 0:35:34.279 the devil next verse verse fifteen, and free those who 0:35:34.440 --> 0:35:38.120 all their lives were held in slavery by their fear 0:35:38.600 --> 0:35:42.400 of death next verse. For surely it's not the angels 0:35:42.400 --> 0:35:47.920 he helps, but Abraham's descendants next verse, verse seventeen. For 0:35:48.040 --> 0:35:53.560 this reason, he had to be made like them, fully human. 0:35:53.920 --> 0:35:58.320 In every way. Make no mistake, Jesus was absolute divinity 0:35:58.360 --> 0:36:02.080 and full humanity at the same time, without sin, but 0:36:02.280 --> 0:36:06.960 fully human. He knows what it feels like to be human. 0:36:07.000 --> 0:36:10.719 Now he hasn't experienced maybe the exact same circumstances as you, 0:36:11.080 --> 0:36:16.080 but the emotional turmoil that we experience. He knows what 0:36:16.120 --> 0:36:19.239 it feels like to be betrayed, He knows what it 0:36:19.280 --> 0:36:22.840 feels like to be heartbroken. He knows what it feels 0:36:22.920 --> 0:36:25.560 like to be so very human and the weight of 0:36:25.600 --> 0:36:29.480 all of that, and the reason God sent him was 0:36:29.560 --> 0:36:32.560 not just to make an atonement for our sins, but 0:36:32.880 --> 0:36:37.640 what a great gift that was, but also so that 0:36:37.800 --> 0:36:43.239 he could be a merciful and faithful high priest to us. 0:36:43.800 --> 0:36:49.120 We can trust his teaching because we can know he 0:36:49.280 --> 0:36:53.440 felt what we feel. We can't listen to Jesus's words 0:36:53.480 --> 0:36:56.359 and say, well, he didn't understand, because he's God after all, 0:36:56.560 --> 0:37:00.760 no fully human in every way, we can Trust's teaching 0:37:01.520 --> 0:37:05.319 even when we're experiencing the deepest heartbreak, especially when we're 0:37:05.360 --> 0:37:08.840 experiencing the deepest heartbreak going through the hardest stuff, because 0:37:08.960 --> 0:37:11.839 Jesus knew what it felt like. Look at the very 0:37:11.840 --> 0:37:15.839 next words that he says verse thirty six, Going just 0:37:15.880 --> 0:37:19.880 a little farther so they could still see him. He 0:37:20.000 --> 0:37:23.399 fell to the ground and prayed, if possible, the hour 0:37:23.480 --> 0:37:29.800 might pass from him. I'm a father, he said, everything 0:37:29.880 --> 0:37:38.080 is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Oh, 0:37:38.120 --> 0:37:40.640 dear God, I know, I know what this feels like 0:37:42.200 --> 0:37:49.400 to know that our God is possible and capable of 0:37:49.480 --> 0:37:53.560 doing everything. God, everything is possible for you. Change this 0:37:53.719 --> 0:37:57.040 circumstance in my life. After I see you changing it 0:37:57.040 --> 0:38:00.600 for other people. So, Dear God, change it or me? 0:38:00.760 --> 0:38:04.080 And isn't it at this exact moment where our fate 0:38:04.239 --> 0:38:08.400 comes in conflict with our feelings? And it's so hard, 0:38:08.520 --> 0:38:13.760 isn't it? But never forget. These aren't the last words 0:38:13.800 --> 0:38:17.960 that Jesus uttered after he says, take this cup for me, 0:38:18.200 --> 0:38:20.919 change this God, make a different plan. I don't want 0:38:20.960 --> 0:38:23.400 this to be my life. I've uttered those words, But 0:38:23.520 --> 0:38:27.200 now look at these nine earth shaking hells shattering, demon 0:38:27.280 --> 0:38:31.480 quaking words. He says. Yet, not what I will, but 0:38:32.000 --> 0:38:36.160 what you will. In other words, he had a marked 0:38:36.200 --> 0:38:42.320 moment before going to the cross where he exchanged his will. 0:38:42.640 --> 0:38:46.480 Take this cup from me for God's will, because he 0:38:46.560 --> 0:38:51.319 knew God's will was better. You see. Here's where I 0:38:51.400 --> 0:38:56.520 get in trouble sometimes with my faith. I know, even 0:38:56.520 --> 0:38:59.800 if God doesn't change my circumstances, I know my hope 0:38:59.840 --> 0:39:05.080 is that God will do or bring good from even this. 0:39:05.280 --> 0:39:08.239 I know that the scripture teaches us that. But here's 0:39:08.239 --> 0:39:11.000 where I get in trouble. I then like to run 0:39:11.040 --> 0:39:13.560 ahead of God and write the script of good that 0:39:13.600 --> 0:39:18.080 he should surely do right. And people will sometimes say, Lisa, 0:39:18.120 --> 0:39:20.160 have you prayed about this? Oh? You know I prayed 0:39:20.160 --> 0:39:22.759 about it, when in reality I have stressed about it. 0:39:22.800 --> 0:39:24.680 I have fretted about it, I have called my friends 0:39:24.680 --> 0:39:26.480 about it, I have cried in my bed about it. 0:39:26.800 --> 0:39:29.480 And then if I actually did pray about it, I 0:39:29.600 --> 0:39:32.080 was so busy making suggestions to God of all the 0:39:32.080 --> 0:39:34.840 ways he could fix it that I didn't really stop 0:39:34.960 --> 0:39:38.239 to listen to God revealing to me what he was 0:39:38.280 --> 0:39:42.719 actually doing. And I think it's so helpful for us 0:39:42.719 --> 0:39:46.120 to stop holding God accountable to a good that he 0:39:46.200 --> 0:39:50.040 never wrote. He will do good, but it will be 0:39:50.160 --> 0:39:52.440 his version of good, and his version of good is 0:39:52.640 --> 0:40:02.359 always better. Amen. Here's how I have marked moments where 0:40:02.360 --> 0:40:05.319 I trade my will for his will. I stand in 0:40:05.360 --> 0:40:07.799 the middle of my circumstance and I say, God, you 0:40:07.880 --> 0:40:11.640 are good. God, you are good to me. This doesn't 0:40:11.680 --> 0:40:14.319 feel good and it doesn't seem good, and I might 0:40:14.400 --> 0:40:16.680 not be able to even see any good that's going 0:40:16.719 --> 0:40:19.640 to come from this. But God, I know you are 0:40:19.680 --> 0:40:23.839 good and you are good to me. Other people might 0:40:23.880 --> 0:40:26.640 not be good to me, but you are good to me, 0:40:26.880 --> 0:40:31.440 and God, you are good at being God. So I'm 0:40:31.480 --> 0:40:34.600 going to lay down all my suggestions and I'm just 0:40:34.600 --> 0:40:38.040 gonna sit here and realize my job is to be 0:40:38.080 --> 0:40:42.160 obedient to God. God's job is taking care of everything else. 0:40:43.480 --> 0:40:50.200 Everything else marked moments of trading my will for Thy will. 0:40:50.800 --> 0:40:52.640 And can I tell you I had to do that 0:40:52.800 --> 0:40:57.200 the past three years, not just one time, not just sometimes. 0:40:57.880 --> 0:41:00.759 I had to do it every day, sometimes hour by hour. 0:41:02.640 --> 0:41:05.480 And God has absolutely worked a miracle in my family. 0:41:05.520 --> 0:41:08.200 But it wasn't that he ever listened to any suggestion 0:41:08.400 --> 0:41:12.200 I made. We serve a good God with good plans, 0:41:12.239 --> 0:41:15.400 and his plans are always better. And the miracle that 0:41:15.480 --> 0:41:18.239 God worked in my family was so much bigger and 0:41:18.280 --> 0:41:21.719 so much better. He wasn't just after changing behavior in 0:41:21.760 --> 0:41:24.840 my husband. He was after giving him a brand new heart. 0:41:25.120 --> 0:41:28.640 And can I just acknowledge today my husband is sitting 0:41:28.680 --> 0:41:32.520 on the front row and I thank God. I thank God, 0:41:34.560 --> 0:41:45.600 I thank God, I thank God for you. It is 0:41:45.680 --> 0:41:50.799 a miracle. It is a miracle. Some people say, LI, see, 0:41:50.800 --> 0:41:54.120 you're so courageous for sharing your story. I don't really 0:41:54.160 --> 0:41:57.920 think I'm the courageous one. I think you're the courageous one, 0:41:58.040 --> 0:42:02.120 art because you were man enough to humble yourself before 0:42:02.160 --> 0:42:04.880 the Lord, and in the face of so many people 0:42:04.960 --> 0:42:10.640 knowing you came home and you fought from my heart, 0:42:13.440 --> 0:42:17.560 I thank God for you. I think you're a shiny 0:42:17.600 --> 0:42:21.120 example to many, and I do thank God for you. 0:42:22.800 --> 0:42:25.880 I remember one time we were in counseling and I 0:42:25.920 --> 0:42:29.400 was supposed to write an impact letter talking about the 0:42:29.440 --> 0:42:31.359 impact that this had had on me. And at that 0:42:31.400 --> 0:42:35.520 point I was not very hopeful that things would work out, 0:42:36.880 --> 0:42:39.000 and so I remember writing this impact letter and I 0:42:39.000 --> 0:42:46.000 remember saying that sometimes when you walk through broken times, 0:42:46.800 --> 0:42:48.960 you look around and there's broken pieces, you golo them 0:42:48.960 --> 0:42:51.640 back together, and then God's light and love can shine 0:42:51.680 --> 0:42:54.800 through the cracks of that brokenness. We all love that story. 0:42:54.800 --> 0:42:59.759 We see Kumbai, yah and yay. Everything right in this 0:43:00.320 --> 0:43:03.239 letter I wrote, but that's not our story. Because I 0:43:03.280 --> 0:43:06.000 look around and I don't just see broken pieces. I 0:43:06.040 --> 0:43:10.719 see nothing but dust. And you can't glue dust. I 0:43:10.760 --> 0:43:15.080 put a period, I signed it, I folded it up, 0:43:16.360 --> 0:43:18.200 threw it on the counter, and intended to end it 0:43:18.400 --> 0:43:25.600 just that way. Here's the miracle, though, getting into God's 0:43:25.600 --> 0:43:29.760 word and letting God's word get into you. He'll chase 0:43:29.800 --> 0:43:33.080 you roualm. He'll remind you there's a different ending with him. 0:43:33.480 --> 0:43:36.799 And he reminded me from Genesis too. Of all the 0:43:37.000 --> 0:43:40.320 ingredients that God could have chosen to make his favorite creation, 0:43:40.480 --> 0:43:44.320 and he had access to it all, God chose dust, 0:43:44.800 --> 0:43:48.279 and he picked up that dust, and he breathed into it, 0:43:48.640 --> 0:43:55.600 and life came from that dust. Oh my friends, No 0:43:55.600 --> 0:44:00.240 matter where you are today, dust does not signify an end. 0:44:00.880 --> 0:44:04.280 Dust is often what must be present for the brand 0:44:04.400 --> 0:44:14.360 new to begin. Amen, Amen and amen. Thank you for 0:44:14.480 --> 0:44:17.040 joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give 0:44:17.120 --> 0:44:20.000 generously to this ministry. Is because of you that this 0:44:20.120 --> 0:44:22.920 ministry is possible. You can click the link in the 0:44:22.960 --> 0:44:27.360 description to give now, or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash 0:44:27.400 --> 0:44:30.680 podcast for more information, and if you enjoyed the podcast, 0:44:31.000 --> 0:44:33.680 you can subscribe you can share it with your friends. 0:44:34.000 --> 0:44:36.279 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:44:36.320 --> 0:44:38.439 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:44:38.440 --> 0:44:46.040 Elevation Church. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.