Pivotal Decisions

0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:04.080 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.320 --> 0:00:06.560 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:06.600 --> 0:00:09.920 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:11.959 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.000 --> 0:00:14.680 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message 0:00:17.560 --> 0:00:20.200 today I want to share with you in this part 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:26.320 two on the subject of pivotal decisions. Pivotal decisions, I'm 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:29.360 going to Judges thirteen. I don't know if I'll get 0:00:29.400 --> 0:00:32.599 there in the next few minutes. So if you don't 0:00:32.640 --> 0:00:35.239 know where Judge is in is in the Bible, you're 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:37.640 gonna have a good head start. If you prefer to 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:40.920 just look at the screen, that's okay too. But I wonder, 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:44.720 as I get started, how many of you right now 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:49.680 are in the middle of making a big decision for 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:52.320 your life. Would you raise your hand if you're in 0:00:52.360 --> 0:00:55.280 the middle of making a big decision for your life 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:59.320 and keep it up, keep it up. So what are 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:04.160 you gonna do? How are you gonna You're gonna do 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:08.800 like pros and cons or you're gonna like flip a 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:12.679 coin if it comes to that, you gotta plan for this. 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:15.120 You're gonna you're gonna do, like, ask a lot of 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:17.440 people till somebody tells you what you want to hear, like, 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:20.119 like we all do you know? Just keep asking people 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:21.760 till you get the answer that you wanted so they 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:23.639 can confirm the thing that you were gonna do all along. Anyway, 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:26.200 now you wasted everybody's time just asking them stuff that 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:28.600 you already knew what you were gonna do. We're you 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:33.600 gonna do? You're gonna like, uh, just stress, eat and 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:35.520 put it off to the last minute. That's always a 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:38.320 good plan. I like that. I like to just watch 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:41.959 Netflix instead personally, put it off to the last minute, 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:46.120 and then make the decision when the pressure's on. The 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:50.080 crazy thing is when I say that a big decision. 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:54.360 A lot of the decisions that you make, you don't 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:59.440 know if they're big or not when you're making them. 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:02.640 This is why I need God so much, because not 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:05.920 only can I not make the big decisions right without him, 0:02:06.360 --> 0:02:09.239 but I don't even know which ones are big unless 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:14.760 he tells me. Because you know, big decisions, we get 0:02:14.760 --> 0:02:19.360 caught up where we're gonna get married. That's me and 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:22.920 Holly spent so many weeks thinking about that, like the 0:02:22.919 --> 0:02:25.280 big decision of where we were going to have our wedding. 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:31.240 You know what, it didn't really matter as much as 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:34.320 some other things. What was important about our marriage was like, 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:37.919 how are we going to resolve conflict? Y'all don't want 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:40.600 to talk to me today. Y'all were singing so good, 0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:42.440 and then I started preaching and y'all went to sleep. 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:48.080 And the big decisions, you know, it's not always the 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:50.920 ones that you think are big. And that's why I 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:55.920 prefer the term pivotal decisions, because a big decision is 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:58.840 not necessarily what city you're going to live in. That's 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:01.600 a big one, I get it. But a bigger decision 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:04.400 for us was what church are we going to go to? 0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:07.560 Because out of the church that we attended, that's where 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:11.040 we made the relationships that were really instrumental, and the 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:13.239 will of God was accomplished in our life, not by 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:16.000 just what city we lived in. But and it's funny 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:18.799 how people will move for a job, or they'll move 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:21.919 for a school, but they'll put church at the bottom 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:24.000 of the list and then kind of find one. But 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:26.680 I think the pivotal things are sometimes not what we 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:32.320 consider to be the big things, and that's that's confusing pivotal, 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:35.640 you know what I mean? Like, I guess because it's 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:37.480 All Star weekend. I don't play basketball. I don't even 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:39.760 really like basketball. I was always terrible at it. I 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:43.840 wrestled a little bit, played a little baseball. But when 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:47.120 I watched basketball, I always see them pivot. I always 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:51.360 see that their ability to pass and you know, without traveling, 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:54.840 without getting called, it's all from this foot that they 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:57.000 pivot on. And I'm not going to demonstrate it for you, 0:03:57.040 --> 0:03:59.400 because again I'm not very athletic, but when I watch 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:03.680 them pivot, I notice like, well, that's pretty important. And 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:06.520 the only way that they can pivot is if they're planted. 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:10.200 Now I'm going to preach that in about twenty eight minutes, 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:14.360 but hang on, I'm coming to judges thirteen. And I 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:17.479 notice that, you know, pivoting is not only for athletes. 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:22.320 It's also for politicians. And I'll be honest with you. 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:24.920 As a preacher, I get it because sometimes you get 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:30.840 asked the weirdest questions, the weirdest, most unanswerable, most non 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:33.960 germane questions. I'll sometimes be doing a Q and A 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:36.520 or something and someone will ask me, you know what 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:39.240 kind of horse is Jesus coming back on? And there's 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:42.440 really no way to answer that without making them look 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:45.279 dumb or you know, because it is a dumb question. 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:49.240 But I love people and the sheep, and so I'm like, 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:53.320 I'm like, well, you know, that's a great question. And 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:56.120 regardless of what horse he comes on, I think what's 0:04:56.160 --> 0:04:58.360 important is that we have a sense of urgency. See 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:03.920 how I just and now you don't feel dumb, and 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:06.320 I don't have to answer your question, and so we 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:10.920 all win because I know how to pivot. Touch. Somebody say, 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:15.640 the power is in the pivot. Let's go to Judges thirteen. 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:18.679 Are you ready? Because you got some big decisions you're making, 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:20.960 and then you've got some decisions that you don't think 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:24.559 are very big, but they're pivotal, Like how you start 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:27.400 your day. That's not a big decision, but it's pivotal 0:05:28.480 --> 0:05:32.400 because how you start your day watch, it's a directional decision. 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:39.159 Watch watch me. It's directional. So I'm not watch watch, watch, 0:05:39.360 --> 0:05:43.480 I'm not moving much. It's not a big move. I'm 0:05:43.520 --> 0:05:47.080 still standing where I was. But I get a completely 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:55.560 different perspective when I pivot. The Lord has really been 0:05:55.560 --> 0:05:58.000 speaking to me. I can tell you want them to 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:02.520 speak to you too, And it means that sometimes it's 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:09.200 the small moves that set the direction, the small moves 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:13.919 that set the direction. And frankly, a lot of the 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:17.240 biggest things about your life will be decided outside of 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:21.719 your volition and will. Anyway, God is so much bigger 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:27.960 than your decisions. I know you're very successful in your business, 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:32.000 but you and I both know that the culmination of 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:33.920 everything that happened to you was bigger than you just 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:39.400 made good decisions. I mean, because honestly, you made some 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:42.240 really bad ones too, And even if you didn't, even 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:44.400 if you only made good decisions, you wouldn't have know, 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:46.599 You wouldn't even had the opportunity to make those decisions 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:51.120 if God didn't position you where He positioned you. God 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:54.920 is bigger than my bad decisions. You know. It's not 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:58.160 like God is just a synonym for good decisions. You know, 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:00.919 being in the will of God the will of God. 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:02.960 And I want to ask you this question, is your 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:06.640 view of the will of God big enough to accommodate 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:10.680 even your bad decisions? And that's what I wanted to 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:14.680 look at. Judges thirteen is a passage of Scripture that 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:18.080 you've never heard a single sermon on before. I polled 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:20.760 at least thirty people this week. None of them had 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:23.160 heard it, and all of them went to vacation Bible 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:25.560 School and grew up going to Wednesday night church. So 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:28.280 if they didn't hear it, you didn't either. But the 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:31.360 Bible says in Judges thirteen, verse one, remember in a 0:07:31.440 --> 0:07:35.120 pivotal time for the nation of Israel, A pivotal time 0:07:35.200 --> 0:07:40.120 because they were in a cycle of sin, judgment and deliverance, 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:45.120 a pivotal time because they didn't have a king, and 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:47.760 they didn't really want God to be their king, so 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:50.800 God would keep having to raise up different people to 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:53.600 lead them and deliver them from the hands of their enemies, 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:57.680 the Canaanites and Parasites, and Hittites, and the Philistines, the 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:00.560 Phoenician people who were good at metal working, so they 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:02.080 always had a lot of weapons, and they were moving 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:04.040 in on the coast, and they were ruling them, but 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:07.480 very loosely. Now this is the pivotal moment for the 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:10.960 nation of Israel, and the Bible says again, the Israelites 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:13.240 did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:18.240 Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines. Stop. 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:23.920 You always hear about God delivering us out of things, 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:30.120 But here your Bible says that God delivered them into 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:33.679 the hands of an enemy and used their enemy. I 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:35.920 don't know if your theology is about to break wide 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:37.880 open and something's going to fall out on the floor. 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:40.120 Let's get the ushers ready in case your brain just 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:42.840 melts right there. But God didn't deliver them out of 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:46.480 the hands of their enemies. But the same God who 0:08:46.520 --> 0:08:48.480 is able to deliver you out of the hands of 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:51.480 your enemies. The Bible says that at least the perspective 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:54.080 of the writer Samuel was, who we preached about last week, 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:58.040 that God delivered them into the hands of their enemies. 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:02.960 That's interesting to me. I don't have a category for that. 0:09:04.000 --> 0:09:07.560 But God is bigger than my categories. I'm learning that. 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:12.120 I'm learning that. So he did it for forty years, 0:09:12.120 --> 0:09:14.680 and a certain man of Zorah named Manoah from the 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:17.800 clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:24.640 unable to give birth. Remember that barrenness in antiquity was 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:28.240 a signal or a sign of the displeasure of God. 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:30.720 It didn't mean the displeasure of God, but they perceived 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:32.720 it to mean that, so it brought with it a 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:36.640 great stigma. A certain man of Zora named Manoah, from 0:09:36.640 --> 0:09:38.600 the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:42.040 unable to give birth. The Angel of the Lord appeared 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:47.280 to her and said, you are barren and childless, but 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:52.120 you are going to become pregnant and give birth to 0:09:52.200 --> 0:09:56.920 a son. Now see to it that you drink no 0:09:57.040 --> 0:10:00.000 wine or other fermented drink, and that you do not 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:02.840 eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:07.320 son whose head is never to be touched by a razor. 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:09.720 And my dad was a barber, so that verse offends 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:11.319 me because it would have taken money out of my 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:15.200 family's pocket. But anyway, because here's the reason. The boy 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:18.320 is to be a Nazarite. And the Nazarites don't cut 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:22.600 their hair, they don't drink alcohol, they don't touch anything dead, 0:10:23.640 --> 0:10:25.520 as the basics of being a Nazarite. In case you 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:28.240 were thinking about doing it, that's what you would do 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:31.760 if you were going to be a Nazarie. He is 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:36.320 to be dedicated to God from the womb. He will 0:10:36.320 --> 0:10:40.040 take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:42.839 the Philistines, which God delivered them into so that he 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:44.720 could deliver them from what was in them that caused 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:46.400 them to get in this cycle to begin with. And 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:49.320 he's going to use this child to deliver them out. 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:52.920 I love your word, Lord, thank you for thank you 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:55.280 for what you're showing me. Now, now this is where 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:58.600 it gets really, really, really good, because then everybody say, 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:03.280 then a woman whose name we don't know, who's talking 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:07.600 to a man whose name isn't given. These unnamed people 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:10.760 have a conversation, and the woman went to her husband 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:15.000 and told him a man of God came to me. 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:21.760 He looked like an angel of God. Very awesome. I'm 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:26.480 gonna be like, hold up, a man come and talking 0:11:26.520 --> 0:11:31.320 to my wife anyway, you know, because he didn't have 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:35.920 wings or heart how we think God shows up. She's like, 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:37.960 I think it was maybe like an angel. It was 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:39.719 kind of you know, because that's how it is when 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:41.760 you hear from God. It's kind of like, I think 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:44.319 this might be this maybe God. I don't know. I 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:45.880 mean it like it looked like I felt like it 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:47.360 was different. I don't know, it's just different. I don't know. 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:50.400 I'm not sure. And she's telling her husband because it's 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:54.559 always revealed in the context of relationship. I didn't ask 0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:57.400 him where he came from. He didn't tell me his name, 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:06.199 but he said to me, you will become pregnant. Uh huh. 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:11.079 So this awesome looking man came to my wife and said, 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:14.320 what I love the Bible. Though I love the Bible, 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:17.920 he said, you will be pregnant to have a son. Now, 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:20.440 then drink no wine or other firm men to drink, 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:22.560 and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:25.199 be a Nazarite of God from the womb until the 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:30.480 day of his death. Then Manoah name means resting place. 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:36.400 Prayed to the Lord. Pardon your servant, Lord. I don't 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:38.040 mean to bother you. I know you got a universe 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:42.160 to run and all that. I beg you. Let the 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:45.720 man of God you sent to us because I didn't 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:49.200 get to see him. Let him come again, if you 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:53.440 could just send him back for a few minutes. I 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:56.360 got a few questions I need to ask him. I 0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:59.600 need him to teach us how to bring up the 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:02.960 boy who is to be born. So I need you 0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:05.079 to speak to me, because you know how you need 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:07.920 God to speak to you and show you how I 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:10.280 want to talk about the plan. That's the first thing 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:13.960 I want to mention is the plan, because I understand 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:16.680 that God wants to use me, but I need to 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.319 know what that's going to look like. You understand. I 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:23.360 need some details. I need some specifics. I need some 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:27.800 marching orders. I need some dates some times, some instructions. 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:31.280 So please Lord, if it's not too much trouble, send 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:34.160 that guy back. And he said we were going to 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:36.000 have a son that was going to like change the 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:39.360 world and stuff. But I need to hear it for myself, 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:43.800 and I need to know the plan. Any planners in 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:48.120 the house, any planners, any planners, any planners, Thank God 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:51.800 for you, Thank God for you, because all the people 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:53.760 without their hand up, they always come late and make 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:55.839 the worship leaders lead to the first two rows and 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:58.199 is empty and they come crawling in the last minute. 0:13:58.240 --> 0:13:59.600 But I don't hate you in the back, but I'm 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:02.240 just saying, thank God for the planners. But it can 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:04.920 become a problem. And I'm gonna show you why. I'm 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:07.320 gonna sho you why. He said, we need to know 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:09.560 the plan if it's going to be this big thing. 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:12.240 You know, if you gave us this promise, I need 0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:14.880 to know the plan, because without a plan, the promise 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:18.840 is just abstract rhetoric. Without the plan, I can know 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:20.960 God has for me. He wants to use me. I'm 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:23.640 spread the gospel and all that sounds good, but just 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:26.360 send him back. If I could get five minutes with 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:30.480 this awesome looking man who was talking to my wife 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:34.280 and told her she was about to get pregnant, I 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:37.680 need to know the plan now. I love the next phrase, 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:44.200 God heard Manoah. God heard Manoah, and interesting that the 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.400 woman wasn't praying to get pregnant when the angel said 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:50.560 it was going to happen. I don't know if she 0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:52.040 gave up. I don't know if she did pray. I 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:53.440 don't know if she didn't pray. Bible doesn't say it 0:14:53.480 --> 0:14:57.280 doesn't matter. And then Manoah's begging God to show up 0:14:57.320 --> 0:15:00.000 and speak to him. You know, God initiates, we respond. 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:04.800 God initiates, we respond. But God heard Manoah. And when 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:10.040 when Manoah prayed, God didn't say figure it out yourself 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:15.840 and trust me. Instead, he obliged Manoah's need for more information. 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:20.360 Let the person next to you know something real quick. 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:23.320 And it might sound cocky, but tell him anyway, it's 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:30.600 truth say. He hears me. God hears me. He hears 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:34.840 me better than Siri and Alexa. He hears me. He 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:38.840 hears me, He knows my voice. He likes when I 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:42.200 call him, When I say help, he says yes before 0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:45.200 I can even get out my mouth. He hears me. 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:51.080 He hears my groans where words don't come. He hears me. 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:55.040 He hears my heart and the secret petitions of things 0:15:55.040 --> 0:15:58.360 that people don't know that I'm dealing with. He hears me. 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:01.840 He hears the unspoken. Did you go to youth group 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:04.360 and we used to say? I have an unspoken He 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:07.680 hears what I don't say, He hears what's behind what 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:11.440 I said that's really driving the behavior. He hears me. 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:15.320 He hears my secret frustration that I don't say around people, 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:17.760 because if I told him how frustrated I was, it 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:22.000 would scare him. But he hears me. He hears me 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:24.680 when I sing to him, when I tell him worthy 0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:27.760 is the Lamb of God, he hears me. I know 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:30.160 there's better singers than me, and I know I don't 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:33.360 always sing on key, but he hears me. When I 0:16:33.440 --> 0:16:37.040 sing thank you Jesus, he hears me. It blesses his 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:43.680 heart to hear me, and the angel of God came 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:46.320 again to the woman. Wait wait, wait, wait, wait to 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:51.360 the woman, Manoah asked for the visit, and this angel 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:55.120 is back out talking to his what because God is 0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:57.560 not going to do it like you want him to 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:04.840 do it. He's gonna want to see will you trust him? 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:06.680 So the angel God came again to the woman while 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:08.440 she was out in the field, but her husband, Manoah, 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:11.719 was not with her. No. Woman hurried to tell her husband, 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:16.720 he's here the man who appeared to me the other day. 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:20.840 Manoah got up and followed his wife, and when he 0:17:20.920 --> 0:17:23.440 came to the man, he said, are you the man 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:27.600 who talked to my wife? Hold on, let me change 0:17:27.600 --> 0:17:35.560 Manoah's accent. Are you the man who talked to my wife? 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:38.840 She said? An awesome looking man came and said that 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:43.520 she was gonna be pregnant? Was that you? Angel said? 0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:49.240 I am so, Manoah asked him. When your words are fulfilled, 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:52.760 I don't doubt you're going to do it. I just 0:17:52.800 --> 0:17:56.000 need to know the plan. What is to be the 0:17:56.080 --> 0:17:58.720 rule that governs the boy's life and work? How do 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:02.720 we do this? How do we do this. We're in 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:05.520 a meeting this week about the church, and I know 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:07.760 what I want to see, but I don't know the 0:18:07.800 --> 0:18:11.400 plan for it. And so a lot of times when 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:13.119 I get in that mode, I start trying to like 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:18.000 tweak stuff, and I start trying to manipulate stuff. I 0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:19.800 know you don't do this, but I'm a control freak, 0:18:20.200 --> 0:18:21.640 and so I'll be like, well, we could do this, 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:23.280 this and this, and it's all good. It's all good. 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:25.800 But I want you to watch what the Angel does 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:30.800 instead of giving Manoah the plan, which is what he 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:33.000 asked for, what do we do with this boy that 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:34.440 you said is going to be born that's going to 0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:36.240 do something great? What do I do with this calling? 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:38.119 What do I do in this situation? I need to 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:40.240 know the plan. I need to know the details. I 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:44.800 need to know the agenda. And the Bible says that 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:53.359 the Angel verse thirteen answered your wife. So now the 0:18:53.440 --> 0:19:02.280 Angel pivots from what Manoah asked to what he needed 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:07.680 to know right now. Now, sometimes when you pray to God, 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:12.080 he's going to pivot, and you're gonna be like, I 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:15.239 need the plan, but God will pivot. I mean, this 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:20.320 angel would have made a great politician or preacher or 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:22.720 basketball player. He could have been in the All Star 0:19:22.840 --> 0:19:25.520 Game because watch how quick he pivots. We need to 0:19:25.520 --> 0:19:26.880 know what to do when the boys moorn, what we're 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:30.919 gonna do? How many times? You know, Manoa's full of questions? 0:19:31.000 --> 0:19:32.520 Right of course he is. Do we need to put 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:33.919 him in a special school? Do we need to get 0:19:33.960 --> 0:19:35.480 him a tutor? Do we need to see some karate? 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:37.480 Do we need to see some jujitsu? You know? Should 0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:39.119 we be straight? Should we what do we do? How 0:19:39.200 --> 0:19:41.160 do me do it? And the angel says, just tell 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:43.480 your wife right now, don't drink anything or eat anything unclean. 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:45.080 That's all you need to know right now. The pivot 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:50.000 from what you think you need to know to what 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:54.480 you really need to know. And God, just watch his footwork. See, 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:56.680 we always want to see God's hand, but sometimes you 0:19:56.720 --> 0:19:59.920 gotta watch his feet because sometimes he wants to set 0:20:00.400 --> 0:20:03.280 a different direction to say, you're not even looking at 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:05.520 the right side of this. Watch the pivot, and when 0:20:05.520 --> 0:20:07.399 he pivots, you got to be quick to go with 0:20:07.520 --> 0:20:09.560 him and say, God, I don't want your hand, I 0:20:09.600 --> 0:20:11.920 want your face, I want to know you, I want 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:14.200 to seek you, I want to see you. I want 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:16.480 to feel you. I want to know you. I want 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:23.080 to have you. I want to I want to understand 0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:27.359 what you know I need to understand. And I wonder, 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:30.400 is God trying to pivot your prayer life? Is God 0:20:30.440 --> 0:20:33.719 trying to pivot? You're strategizing. Is God trying to pivot 0:20:33.960 --> 0:20:37.040 because you're always trying to look for him in logic, 0:20:37.400 --> 0:20:40.000 You're always trying to look for him in analysis and 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:43.280 in calculation. But God is spirit and you can't get 0:20:43.280 --> 0:20:46.480 the spirit through strategy. You've got to come to God 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:50.479 like this. You've got to come to God with open arms, 0:20:50.720 --> 0:21:02.240 open hands, and an open heart. Pivot it. It's funny 0:21:02.240 --> 0:21:06.000 thing about a pivot though it's a small move, but 0:21:06.080 --> 0:21:11.600 it sets a completely different direction. Ma, Noah, you can't 0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:17.359 handle the plan right now. You can't. My word is 0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:20.760 a lamp unto your feet, a light into your path. 0:21:21.560 --> 0:21:24.840 Funny thing about pivot. I've been doing this all week, 0:21:24.920 --> 0:21:28.320 just studying this sermon. It's trying to get God to 0:21:28.359 --> 0:21:31.280 show me different ways to see situations and to see 0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:32.840 his will. And what I think is this will. What 0:21:32.880 --> 0:21:34.800 I thought was his will, and I thought he was 0:21:34.840 --> 0:21:37.720 always doing this, But sometimes he's doing that and they 0:21:37.760 --> 0:21:41.159 get this promises this is from the Lord. You know, 0:21:42.160 --> 0:21:45.520 he didn't realize that at first, but he starts to sense. 0:21:47.119 --> 0:21:53.960 He starts to sense that this may be God. This 0:21:54.040 --> 0:21:57.359 may be God, because's too big to be anything I 0:21:57.400 --> 0:22:00.840 could do. I have a plan for it, I don't 0:22:00.840 --> 0:22:03.159 have a context for it. I don't know. This may 0:22:03.160 --> 0:22:09.919 be God. This is the Lord. This is from the Lord. 0:22:11.000 --> 0:22:15.240 This gift set that I have, this talent, this child 0:22:15.560 --> 0:22:19.560 that I'm raising, this is from the Lord. Somebody say 0:22:19.640 --> 0:22:24.200 this is from the Lord. And so since it's from 0:22:24.240 --> 0:22:28.040 the Lord, then I need him to show me how 0:22:28.040 --> 0:22:32.000 to do it. But sometimes he won't answer the question 0:22:32.600 --> 0:22:35.680 that I ask. Instead, he will give me the wisdom 0:22:35.800 --> 0:22:43.919 that I need because he knows a better question. My 0:22:43.960 --> 0:22:47.760 faith is not a formula, and I'm not good at 0:22:47.760 --> 0:22:51.359 pivoting with my feet. I don't do it a lot, 0:22:52.000 --> 0:22:54.000 so I had to practice it and I'm still not 0:22:54.119 --> 0:22:57.920 very good at it. But I want to get good 0:22:57.960 --> 0:23:02.639 at it with my faith. I want to learn to pivot. 0:23:03.920 --> 0:23:07.159 And this is where it happens for Manah and his wife. 0:23:08.080 --> 0:23:09.639 And you're gonna see it in the text. It's just 0:23:09.640 --> 0:23:11.600 gonna blow up when you see it. It's gonna help 0:23:11.640 --> 0:23:14.919 you understand why you've been trying to classify everything in 0:23:14.960 --> 0:23:17.120 your life. You know, this is good and this is bad, 0:23:17.119 --> 0:23:18.720 and this is God and this is the devil, and 0:23:18.760 --> 0:23:20.480 this is it and this is that, and you keep 0:23:20.480 --> 0:23:23.320 trying to do that, but it doesn't work. And here's why, 0:23:24.520 --> 0:23:28.480 he said. Manoah said to the angel, we would like 0:23:28.520 --> 0:23:30.920 you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you. 0:23:31.840 --> 0:23:35.159 We want to cook you a goat. I make a 0:23:35.200 --> 0:23:39.080 delicious goat kebab, and I'll like you to stay and 0:23:39.119 --> 0:23:42.000 eat it because this hospitality is appropriate and we appreciate 0:23:42.040 --> 0:23:44.120 you coming by to encourage us. So stay, We're gonna 0:23:44.119 --> 0:23:46.240 do it and appreciate the worst and the Angel of 0:23:46.280 --> 0:23:48.600 the Law replot. Even though you detain me, I will 0:23:48.640 --> 0:23:50.600 not eat any of your food. I'm not gonna do 0:23:50.600 --> 0:23:54.520 it your way. You're dealing with God now, so you're 0:23:54.560 --> 0:23:56.160 not gonna do it like you do it with humans. 0:23:56.160 --> 0:23:58.200 It's gonna be different. It's gonna be different, different terms. 0:23:58.240 --> 0:24:00.360 It's gonna be a whole different thing this time. It's 0:24:00.400 --> 0:24:01.639 not going to be all up here and what you 0:24:01.680 --> 0:24:03.159 think you should do. It's going to have to come 0:24:03.160 --> 0:24:05.920 from a different place. This is the pivot. This is 0:24:05.960 --> 0:24:10.240 the pivot. And he said, but if you prepare a 0:24:10.280 --> 0:24:12.439 burnt offering, offer it to the Lord. See the pivot. 0:24:13.080 --> 0:24:16.560 It's not about this. It's about this. And I wonder 0:24:16.560 --> 0:24:19.080 if we would start deflecting some of the stuff in 0:24:19.119 --> 0:24:21.480 our life and say, you know, this is from the Lord. 0:24:21.920 --> 0:24:24.720 This is not from me. So I need God to 0:24:24.800 --> 0:24:27.919 do it through me. I cannot do it by myself. 0:24:28.920 --> 0:24:31.800 This is from the Lord. Somebody shop, this is from 0:24:31.800 --> 0:24:34.639 the Lord. This is from the Lord. But if you 0:24:34.640 --> 0:24:36.560 prepare a burn offering, offer it to the Lord. I 0:24:36.600 --> 0:24:39.520 love this in parentheses. Manoah did not realize it was 0:24:39.560 --> 0:24:44.679 the Angel of the Lord. Maybe and maybe. And then 0:24:44.720 --> 0:24:47.080 Manoah inquired of the Angel of the Lord, what's your name? 0:24:47.119 --> 0:24:48.719 So we may honor your any word comes true? And 0:24:48.760 --> 0:24:51.439 he replied, this most annointed verse I've read in the 0:24:51.520 --> 0:24:55.760 last five years. Why do you ask my name? It 0:24:55.880 --> 0:25:03.720 is beyond understanding. That's the pivot. That's where you find God, 0:25:05.000 --> 0:25:10.720 beyond what you can understand. And so everything you can 0:25:10.800 --> 0:25:15.320 name that's not God. Everything you can explain that's not God. 0:25:16.359 --> 0:25:18.280 Everything you can figure out on your own, and you 0:25:18.320 --> 0:25:19.639 can make it work and you can do it. It 0:25:19.680 --> 0:25:23.160 worked for a little while. But everything you can't name, 0:25:23.280 --> 0:25:26.399 that's God. And we've been looking for a name for God. 0:25:26.440 --> 0:25:28.399 That's why we need so many And that's why he 0:25:28.440 --> 0:25:30.679 had to tell Moses in a very special way. I 0:25:30.720 --> 0:25:33.720 am because I need to leave room for you to 0:25:33.760 --> 0:25:36.760 know that when you get past the point of your 0:25:36.800 --> 0:25:41.160 ability to reconcile your situation, when you get beyond your 0:25:41.200 --> 0:25:44.720 ability to work it out, that's where I am. That's 0:25:44.760 --> 0:25:48.760 where I live. That's where I dwell, in the mystery, 0:25:49.000 --> 0:25:54.760 in the uncertainty, in the tension, beyond your understanding. And 0:25:54.840 --> 0:25:58.600 we keep trying to find God in our logic, but 0:25:58.680 --> 0:26:03.240 he is not found with logic. He is beyond your logic. 0:26:05.520 --> 0:26:08.119 The Manoah took a young goat and together with the 0:26:08.119 --> 0:26:11.320 grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. 0:26:11.920 --> 0:26:14.200 And since the word came from the Lord, I'm gonna 0:26:14.200 --> 0:26:17.119 make the offering to the Lord. And since my breath 0:26:17.200 --> 0:26:19.199 came from the Lord, I'm gonna offer it back to 0:26:19.240 --> 0:26:22.320 the Lord. And since this situation came from the Lord, 0:26:22.520 --> 0:26:25.040 I'm gonna need the Lord to deal with it. I 0:26:25.080 --> 0:26:28.480 can't do it on my own. And the Lord did 0:26:28.600 --> 0:26:32.159 something amazing. While Manoah and his wife watched as the 0:26:32.240 --> 0:26:34.600 flame blazed up from the altar toward the heaven, the 0:26:34.680 --> 0:26:37.119 Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. He was 0:26:37.200 --> 0:26:40.000 not found in the logic. He was found in the flame, 0:26:44.000 --> 0:26:47.320 not in figuring it out, but in the fire of 0:26:47.440 --> 0:26:50.720 sacrifice and needing God. That's where you're gonna find him. 0:26:50.840 --> 0:26:53.000 That's where you're gonna get it. That's where you're gonna 0:26:53.080 --> 0:26:59.080 unlock it. That's where it'll be unleashed. I wish I 0:26:59.080 --> 0:27:03.160 could preach about Jesus for thirty seconds right now, because see, 0:27:03.280 --> 0:27:07.240 all my hope is in his blood, all my faith 0:27:07.320 --> 0:27:13.200 is in his cross, all my righteousness is in his sacrifice. 0:27:14.359 --> 0:27:19.320 And when the flames went off, the revelation came through 0:27:21.040 --> 0:27:26.040 and he was like he was like Mineau was like, uh, 0:27:26.400 --> 0:27:31.840 I think we just saw God. Because when the Angel 0:27:31.840 --> 0:27:33.480 of the Lord did not show himself again verse twenty 0:27:33.480 --> 0:27:34.879 one to know and his wife, Manau realized that it 0:27:34.880 --> 0:27:37.280 was an Angel of the Lord. We're gonna die. He 0:27:37.320 --> 0:27:39.159 said to his wife, we've seen God. But his wife answered, 0:27:39.359 --> 0:27:43.040 if he meant to kill us, if God was out 0:27:43.080 --> 0:27:48.119 to get you, you'd be God. That's how I know 0:27:48.280 --> 0:27:51.680 he still has mercy for my mistakes, because I already 0:27:51.720 --> 0:27:54.959 made enough. If he was gonna squash me for screwing up, 0:27:55.359 --> 0:28:02.320 I'd be a bug on this stage. The Lord meant 0:28:02.359 --> 0:28:04.199 to kill us, he would have done it. He wouldn't 0:28:04.240 --> 0:28:06.679 accepted the offering. He would he would he would have 0:28:06.680 --> 0:28:10.040 wiped this out. He wouldn't have shown us all these things. 0:28:10.200 --> 0:28:11.959 He wouldn't have shown you all these things. He wouldn't 0:28:11.960 --> 0:28:13.760 have seen you through all these things. Look at all 0:28:13.800 --> 0:28:16.359 he's shown you. Look at how many times you were 0:28:16.400 --> 0:28:19.000 off the path and somehow he got you back. Look 0:28:19.000 --> 0:28:20.760 at all the times you were going this way, and 0:28:20.840 --> 0:28:23.640 something just you know, he just turned stuff around. I mean, 0:28:23.960 --> 0:28:26.160 just like you couldn't do it, and you were making 0:28:26.200 --> 0:28:28.680 all these plans for it. But it was the pivot 0:28:28.720 --> 0:28:35.280 that brought you back. And the woman gave birth twenty 0:28:35.280 --> 0:28:37.320 four to a boy. Oh, I forgot to tell you 0:28:37.400 --> 0:28:42.240 this and named him Samson. I forgot to tell you 0:28:43.680 --> 0:28:46.560 it got the haircut. You remember, because we always want 0:28:46.600 --> 0:28:53.840 to remember people by their worst decisions. But Samson, the 0:28:53.920 --> 0:28:56.720 strong one who was bench pressing three oh five and 0:28:56.800 --> 0:29:01.720 seventh grade Samson, this is how it started. And a 0:29:01.720 --> 0:29:03.480 lot of people didn't know that because all they ever 0:29:03.520 --> 0:29:07.280 saw was his head in Delilah's lap. But it was decisions. 0:29:07.280 --> 0:29:10.840 It was decisions. It was decisions. And you have a destiny, 0:29:10.920 --> 0:29:14.000 but you get to make decisions. And God is sovereign, 0:29:14.640 --> 0:29:19.960 but you're responsible. And so how you process your desires 0:29:19.960 --> 0:29:24.960 and your decisions right now is really critical. So she 0:29:25.680 --> 0:29:29.560 has a baby. She names him Samson, and the Lord 0:29:30.240 --> 0:29:38.720 blessed him. Grew biceps, triceps, laps and belts, and about 0:29:38.720 --> 0:29:42.320 all the names of the quadriceps, cap muscles. It's about 0:29:42.320 --> 0:29:46.200 all I know. And the Lord blessed them. In the 0:29:46.240 --> 0:29:49.200 spirit of the Lord began to stir him. While he 0:29:49.280 --> 0:29:52.480 was in man, I pronounced that wrong. He was in 0:29:52.520 --> 0:30:03.320 this place. Now he's growing up, going good, and God's 0:30:03.360 --> 0:30:10.040 hand is on this boy's life. He's a. He's a. 0:30:10.200 --> 0:30:14.720 He's a he's a star football player. He's uh. He 0:30:14.800 --> 0:30:18.000 learned to ride his bike at the age of three. 0:30:19.360 --> 0:30:26.240 Good things have happened. Then the pivot, then the pivot. 0:30:26.640 --> 0:30:30.280 Now if you just if you just watch my feet 0:30:30.360 --> 0:30:32.360 and don't think about it, you go like, well, what's 0:30:32.400 --> 0:30:35.600 the big deal about the pivot, We'll see you don't 0:30:35.640 --> 0:30:40.040 really know how big the move is until you walk 0:30:40.040 --> 0:30:43.680 it out. Because if I walk this way and if 0:30:43.720 --> 0:30:47.480 I kept walking that way, it would be a different 0:30:47.960 --> 0:30:51.440 completely if I but but if I if I walk 0:30:51.520 --> 0:30:57.760 this way and all I did was this, it's a 0:30:57.800 --> 0:31:02.760 small move, but it sets the direction. And that's what's 0:31:02.760 --> 0:31:05.200 happening in your life. When you decide, like how to 0:31:05.200 --> 0:31:07.840 speak to people, When you decide, like whether or not 0:31:07.880 --> 0:31:10.680 you're gonna whether you're gonna come back next weekend to church. 0:31:10.840 --> 0:31:15.360 It's a small decision, but it sets a direction. When 0:31:15.400 --> 0:31:17.880 you decide, am I gonna tie and put God first? Oh? Yeah, 0:31:17.920 --> 0:31:19.600 I'm gonna put tithe in in the sermons series. I'm 0:31:19.600 --> 0:31:21.520 gonna put it in because it's a decision. It is 0:31:21.560 --> 0:31:23.160 the will of God for you to put Him first. 0:31:23.360 --> 0:31:25.400 And when you decide like I'm gonna do that, it 0:31:25.520 --> 0:31:29.560 sets a direction to seek God first. When you decide, 0:31:29.600 --> 0:31:32.440 like you know what, I'm I'm gonna text my I'm 0:31:32.480 --> 0:31:35.040 gonna text my wife. I'm gonna text her and tell 0:31:35.040 --> 0:31:36.400 her I'm gonna be home at a certain time and 0:31:36.440 --> 0:31:38.200 I'm actually gonna be home at that time. It's a 0:31:38.200 --> 0:31:41.280 little decision, but it sets a direction. Because when you 0:31:41.320 --> 0:31:43.360 set a direction, you know I can count on you, 0:31:43.560 --> 0:31:45.360 and you're gonna do it. When you show up and 0:31:45.400 --> 0:31:47.880 eat with your family. That's not a big decision. We 0:31:47.920 --> 0:31:51.160 want big decisions, big things from God. No, No, it's 0:31:51.200 --> 0:31:54.600 the pivotal decisions. It's just it's the little things that 0:31:54.640 --> 0:31:57.840 you do that set the direction for your day and 0:31:58.000 --> 0:32:03.800 for your decade and even for generations to come. Now, 0:32:04.440 --> 0:32:09.200 it's all going good until one day. Chapter fourteen, verse 0:32:09.200 --> 0:32:15.280 one says that Samson pivoted and went down to Timna. 0:32:16.240 --> 0:32:20.400 Went down to Timnah, not very far from where he 0:32:20.520 --> 0:32:24.320 was living at the time. But when he got there, 0:32:25.320 --> 0:32:29.320 he saw a young Philistine woman who was he supposed 0:32:29.360 --> 0:32:33.720 to deliver his people from. So now he's in love 0:32:33.800 --> 0:32:40.680 with what he's called to defeat, and he has a desire. 0:32:41.600 --> 0:32:44.680 Have you got some desires that don't look anything like 0:32:44.720 --> 0:32:46.920 Bible verses? Just at least one or two I do. 0:32:49.880 --> 0:32:53.120 He saw this young woman. This is not Delilah. That's 0:32:53.160 --> 0:32:55.320 the only woman we ever talked about in Samson's life, 0:32:55.360 --> 0:32:58.959 you know, the combed his hair and set him up 0:32:59.000 --> 0:33:03.480 and got his eyes gouged out. That's in chapter sixteen. 0:33:03.480 --> 0:33:06.400 We're not even close to that yet. This is just 0:33:06.480 --> 0:33:10.000 his This is just his pivotal moment. Some of you 0:33:10.040 --> 0:33:13.400 are in a pivotal moment right now, deciding things. And 0:33:14.040 --> 0:33:17.520 he came back and said to his father and mother 0:33:17.600 --> 0:33:19.680 verse too, I have seen a philistine woman. Oh, by 0:33:19.720 --> 0:33:21.960 the way, The key verse in the Book of Judges 0:33:22.040 --> 0:33:25.000 says many many different times, I don't know how many, 0:33:25.200 --> 0:33:27.440 but it says at least three times they did what 0:33:27.640 --> 0:33:30.480 was right in their own eyes. And so Samson says, 0:33:30.680 --> 0:33:35.800 I saw with my senses. I saw my senses, my feelings, 0:33:35.800 --> 0:33:39.280 my emotions. I saw a philistine woman in Timda. Now 0:33:39.360 --> 0:33:43.560 dinner for me is my wife. And his father and 0:33:43.640 --> 0:33:47.480 mother replied, I think heartbreaking. This is he's on the path, 0:33:47.520 --> 0:33:50.080 he's growing, he's being blessed, spirit of the Lord stirring him. Oh, 0:33:50.160 --> 0:33:52.480 it's just like I thought it was gonna be. You know, 0:33:52.680 --> 0:33:55.360 I graduated college, I got the job, I did the thing, 0:33:55.440 --> 0:33:58.640 and then all of a sudden, life will just pivot 0:33:58.680 --> 0:34:04.000 on you. And the kid was so cute, so cute 0:34:05.560 --> 0:34:14.040 until they started saying words, so cute until they start 0:34:14.080 --> 0:34:17.399 saying mine. You know, not just with children, but things 0:34:17.400 --> 0:34:19.120 in our life that just all of a suddenly is 0:34:19.120 --> 0:34:21.279 headed this way, is headed this way. Just like I said, Oh, 0:34:21.360 --> 0:34:23.279 trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not 0:34:23.320 --> 0:34:26.080 on your own understanding. I hear you Proverbs three five 0:34:26.120 --> 0:34:28.880 and six. In all your ways, acknowledge him. And you know, 0:34:28.960 --> 0:34:31.640 I didn't drink the for a minute, drink like the 0:34:31.680 --> 0:34:33.880 angel said, and I didn't eat the unclean food and 0:34:33.920 --> 0:34:35.839 so and he's doing right. And all of a sudden, 0:34:35.880 --> 0:34:39.200 Samson said, I saw something in tim whoa come back. 0:34:39.640 --> 0:34:43.919 And now now watch this. The destiny of the nation 0:34:44.920 --> 0:34:50.840 is threatened by Sampson's bad decision. And the parents are like, please, 0:34:51.440 --> 0:34:55.040 please make a better decision. Please quit hanging out with 0:34:55.080 --> 0:34:58.919 those friends. Please. I'm telling you it's dangerous. I'm telling 0:34:58.920 --> 0:35:02.719 you it's wrong. Because the Philistines were known for child's sacrifice, 0:35:03.080 --> 0:35:06.759 the Philistines were known for worshiping other gods. The Philistines 0:35:06.800 --> 0:35:11.719 were known for very abusive practices that were contrary to 0:35:11.840 --> 0:35:14.400 the word of God. And his father and mother replied, 0:35:14.760 --> 0:35:18.120 isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among 0:35:18.200 --> 0:35:22.920 all our people. Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines 0:35:22.960 --> 0:35:29.640 to get a wife. Bus Sampson had already made his decision, 0:35:32.560 --> 0:35:36.000 and now this child, I'm just thinking as a parent 0:35:36.400 --> 0:35:42.960 who had so much promise, so much potential, needs a haircut. 0:35:43.000 --> 0:35:50.440 But even that's intentional. Now he's making the dumbest decision 0:35:50.480 --> 0:35:54.600 he could possibly make, to run too what he's supposed 0:35:54.640 --> 0:35:59.600 to be delivering the people from and they can't convince him. Now, 0:36:00.360 --> 0:36:02.319 this is where it gets tricky, because it's hard enough 0:36:02.320 --> 0:36:07.320 to make your own good decisions, but then you start, 0:36:07.640 --> 0:36:10.719 you start throwing in the decisions that other people make 0:36:12.040 --> 0:36:15.640 that you can't affect or control no matter how hard 0:36:15.680 --> 0:36:20.759 you try. And everybody who writes parenting books, I want 0:36:20.760 --> 0:36:22.440 to give them just one bad kid and see what 0:36:22.520 --> 0:36:24.840 they still write it the same way, because all this 0:36:25.040 --> 0:36:27.719 seven ways to raise your kid with the you know 0:36:27.760 --> 0:36:30.160 from the Book of Ruth whatever, I'll give you one 0:36:30.239 --> 0:36:33.120 demon child with a strong will, and you will burn 0:36:33.200 --> 0:36:35.480 your own book. Get out of my face, because some 0:36:35.520 --> 0:36:44.320 stuff you can't control. Hello, he was determined, he was determined, 0:36:44.400 --> 0:36:48.359 he was already he was already gone. So they went 0:36:48.400 --> 0:36:50.640 with him. 0:36:50.760 --> 0:36:54.440 And this is the pivotal moment of my message. This 0:36:54.680 --> 0:36:58.000 is this is the part God showed me that got 0:36:58.040 --> 0:37:02.680 me so excited, because everyone in here knows what it 0:37:02.800 --> 0:37:05.600 is to have the plan that you made right in 0:37:05.640 --> 0:37:08.320 your head, the model that you had that doesn't match 0:37:08.360 --> 0:37:10.920 the life that you're living. And now, all of a sudden, 0:37:11.280 --> 0:37:16.440 Samson whose name means son, Samson who's radiant, Samson who's blessed, 0:37:16.760 --> 0:37:20.480 Samson who's strong, Samson who carries the expectation of the 0:37:20.520 --> 0:37:23.440 deliverance of the nation on his shoulders. 0:37:23.080 --> 0:37:25.279 Is making a dumb decision. And it doesn't have to 0:37:25.320 --> 0:37:27.440 be a kid, and it doesn't have to be a spouse, 0:37:27.640 --> 0:37:29.640 it doesn't have to be a relationship at all. You 0:37:29.719 --> 0:37:33.160 are going to go into some situations in your life 0:37:33.280 --> 0:37:36.480 that you will pray about, plead about, and plan about, 0:37:36.719 --> 0:37:38.600 and none of it will work, and you will be 0:37:38.680 --> 0:37:41.719 faced with the question, now what do I do? I 0:37:41.760 --> 0:37:47.040 want to suggest that when this happens, that you consider 0:37:48.200 --> 0:37:54.759 the parentheses. There's a little thing that Samuel will put 0:37:54.800 --> 0:38:00.440 into the record. And he was writing this record long 0:38:00.600 --> 0:38:05.760 after the events had happened, and all Sampson's parents knew 0:38:05.840 --> 0:38:09.400 us this is trouble. If he marries her, it's going 0:38:09.480 --> 0:38:12.239 to lead to all kinds of clashing values if he 0:38:12.360 --> 0:38:14.520 goes through with this, because that's all we know when 0:38:14.560 --> 0:38:19.279 we're in it is our plan. But watch how the 0:38:19.680 --> 0:38:23.919 text pivots with a parenthetical insert. Have you studied any 0:38:23.920 --> 0:38:27.320 grammar books lately? The parentheses is when you want to 0:38:27.360 --> 0:38:30.760 put something in the sentence, but the sentence makes sense 0:38:30.800 --> 0:38:34.040 without it, but you add it in to give additional 0:38:34.080 --> 0:38:37.279 information that might be helpful to the person reading it, 0:38:37.600 --> 0:38:41.200 but the sentence would make sense without it, but the parentheses. 0:38:42.160 --> 0:38:45.959 In Judges, chapter fourteen, verse four, says his parents did 0:38:46.040 --> 0:38:52.960 not know that this was from the Lord. They knew 0:38:53.080 --> 0:38:57.799 Sampson was from the Lord because the Angel spoke it 0:38:58.400 --> 0:39:01.560 and her wound was barren, So the only way it 0:39:01.600 --> 0:39:04.520 could have happened was that it was from the Lord. 0:39:05.080 --> 0:39:08.200 But now they've got to look at a disappointment. Look, 0:39:08.320 --> 0:39:10.800 it's no problem to look at your gifts, your blessings, 0:39:10.800 --> 0:39:13.000 and your strengths and say, this is from the Lord. 0:39:13.200 --> 0:39:16.080 I praise you for another day, how great and mighty 0:39:16.160 --> 0:39:18.880 you are, and I lift your name on high. But 0:39:19.160 --> 0:39:23.480 this this, have you ever had to walk through a 0:39:23.520 --> 0:39:27.680 situation where you thought, really, God, this like I didn't 0:39:27.719 --> 0:39:30.640 drink any wine and I didn't eat any unclean foods, 0:39:30.640 --> 0:39:33.439 and I did everything the Angel told me, And now 0:39:33.520 --> 0:39:36.320 this You're really gonna let this break out of my life? 0:39:36.440 --> 0:39:39.760 And the author said, yeah, this was from the Lord 0:39:40.560 --> 0:39:44.800 because he was seeking an occasion. The Hebrew really means 0:39:44.920 --> 0:39:47.600 he was picking a fight. God wanted to set his 0:39:47.719 --> 0:39:51.080 people free from the Phoenicians, from the Philistines, and he 0:39:51.200 --> 0:39:53.239 was gonna do it. But he wanted to do it 0:39:53.480 --> 0:39:56.240 not through a good decision, but through a bad decision. 0:39:56.480 --> 0:39:59.759 So watch what he does. Because he's sovereign and almighty, 0:40:00.040 --> 0:40:03.160 and the Lord is his name, and he is beyond understanding, 0:40:03.360 --> 0:40:06.160 and his ways no man can fathom. Watch what he does. 0:40:06.440 --> 0:40:11.839 He uses Samson's dumb decision to deliver a nation. Now, 0:40:11.920 --> 0:40:14.560 if he did that for Samson. 0:40:14.760 --> 0:40:27.560 Won't he do it for you? Won't he use this too? 0:40:28.600 --> 0:40:31.080 The more things that I can look at my life 0:40:31.680 --> 0:40:36.360 and say, this is from the Lord. Look he didn't 0:40:36.400 --> 0:40:38.640 give me my verse again, verse four. It's so good, 0:40:38.840 --> 0:40:41.359 and it's in parentheses because the sentence will make sense 0:40:41.400 --> 0:40:43.279 without it, but your life will not make sense without this. 0:40:45.600 --> 0:40:48.359 Trying to make sense of it, you need to put 0:40:48.360 --> 0:40:52.279 a parenthesis on it and be like, there's something that 0:40:52.320 --> 0:40:57.759 the author knows that I don't know of yet. And 0:40:57.800 --> 0:41:02.680 he who began I'm looking for, whoever God gave me 0:41:02.760 --> 0:41:04.840 this sermon? For because it couldn't have just been me. 0:41:06.280 --> 0:41:09.600 Touch somebody say, put a purpose on it. Put a 0:41:09.640 --> 0:41:14.759 purpose on it, because when you find yourself beyond your understanding, 0:41:15.080 --> 0:41:17.880 you gotta pivot to the purpose. God. I don't like 0:41:17.960 --> 0:41:20.759 this right now. I don't get this right now. I 0:41:20.800 --> 0:41:24.440 can't explain this right now. I can't rationalize it right now. 0:41:24.800 --> 0:41:27.719 But if you've started it, you'll finish it. There is 0:41:27.880 --> 0:41:31.560 power in the pivot, there is power in praise, and 0:41:31.600 --> 0:41:37.520 there is a purpose in your situation. There's a purpose 0:41:37.560 --> 0:41:41.480 in it. There's a purpose in it. God's trying to 0:41:41.520 --> 0:41:43.799 pick a fight with the devil, and he wants to 0:41:43.840 --> 0:41:47.200 break some things free and shut some things down and 0:41:47.320 --> 0:41:50.319 get some things through. And he's gonna use this to 0:41:50.880 --> 0:41:56.120 This is from the Lord. I'm making a decision right now, 0:41:56.239 --> 0:41:59.640 a pivotal decision. I'm gonna turn from facing this and 0:41:59.719 --> 0:42:03.600 I'm I'm gonna turn from what I don't understand to 0:42:03.719 --> 0:42:07.000 the God who, according to the mystery of his will, 0:42:07.200 --> 0:42:11.000 has predestined, according to his good pleasure, that all things 0:42:11.040 --> 0:42:14.879 work together for his purpose. I'm serving the God who 0:42:14.880 --> 0:42:17.680 could take an instrument of death called a Roman cross, 0:42:18.000 --> 0:42:20.160 hang on it and then get down in the ground 0:42:20.360 --> 0:42:24.080 and come forward talking about I am resurrection power and 0:42:24.160 --> 0:42:26.680 I have the keys of death, hell and the grave. 0:42:31.960 --> 0:42:34.760 I hear the spirit of God saying, put a purpose 0:42:34.800 --> 0:42:37.279 on it. I know you're going through some pain, and 0:42:37.320 --> 0:42:39.480 I know your past was kind of rough and you 0:42:39.640 --> 0:42:45.799 made a lot of mistakes. But put a purpose on it. God, 0:42:46.760 --> 0:42:51.080 would you use even the dumb stuff that I did 0:42:52.719 --> 0:42:58.120 to deliver your purpose. This is bigger than me. This 0:42:58.200 --> 0:43:00.480 is bigger than what I feel right now. This is 0:43:00.480 --> 0:43:03.320 bigger than what my mind can fathom. This is bigger 0:43:03.320 --> 0:43:06.759 than what my heart can know. This is bigger than 0:43:06.760 --> 0:43:09.760 my senses. This is bigger than my This is bigger 0:43:09.800 --> 0:43:12.640 than this setback. This is this is bigger, This is bigger. 0:43:12.640 --> 0:43:15.640 This is bigger. He called me, he chose me, and 0:43:15.680 --> 0:43:20.680 I'm going to trust him that this is from the Lord. 0:43:22.239 --> 0:43:25.719 With a parenthetical insert, the NIV Translation Committee decided to 0:43:25.800 --> 0:43:29.160 let us know that there are some things that don't 0:43:29.200 --> 0:43:34.600 make sense in your life, but the parentheses, that's where 0:43:34.680 --> 0:43:37.600 you see the purpose. You just got to pivot and 0:43:37.640 --> 0:43:39.400 trust that is there even when you can't fill it 0:43:39.440 --> 0:43:44.319 in yet. I don't have to explain why people in 0:43:44.360 --> 0:43:48.319 this room had children die husbands that left them addictions 0:43:48.320 --> 0:43:50.200 that were passed on to them. I'm not talking about 0:43:50.200 --> 0:43:52.440 whether God did that or not. We know that humans 0:43:52.480 --> 0:43:57.960 make decisions, but God is a bigger god then you've 0:43:57.960 --> 0:44:00.800 given him credit for. And he's above every human decision. 0:44:00.840 --> 0:44:08.879 God is bigger than human decisions. And if Samson didn't 0:44:08.920 --> 0:44:13.839 marry that woman, the one that he wasn't supposed to marry, yeah, 0:44:13.840 --> 0:44:15.799 I know it's crazy because we teach like, if you 0:44:15.840 --> 0:44:18.440 make good choices, God can use your life. I'm saying 0:44:19.120 --> 0:44:23.760 this too us from the Lord. He was looking for something. 0:44:25.200 --> 0:44:28.719 He's looking for something that he can work through, and 0:44:28.760 --> 0:44:33.480 he'll even use the dumb stuff. Because if he didn't 0:44:33.520 --> 0:44:36.880 marry this woman right when he was going down to 0:44:37.120 --> 0:44:39.719 get her and to pay the dowry for her with 0:44:39.840 --> 0:44:42.880 his parents and killed the lion and ripped the lion apart, 0:44:43.160 --> 0:44:45.600 and then came back by after he came back for 0:44:45.680 --> 0:44:48.120 the wedding and saw honey in the lion's carcass and 0:44:48.160 --> 0:44:49.879 gave the honey, which he wasn't supposed to do because 0:44:49.880 --> 0:44:51.840 he wasn't supposed touch anything dead, and gave it to 0:44:51.880 --> 0:44:54.120 his parents, licked some, and then went to the wedding 0:44:54.200 --> 0:44:56.359 and sat around the table with thirty boys talking about 0:44:56.400 --> 0:44:57.680 I got a riddle for you. Out of the strong 0:44:57.880 --> 0:44:59.319 came something to eat, and out of the eater came 0:44:59.360 --> 0:45:00.920 something to eating. Out of came something swee. If you 0:45:00.920 --> 0:45:03.440 can solve my riddle, I'll give you thirty sets of 0:45:03.480 --> 0:45:05.799 Linden clothing. But if you can't solve it, you're gonna 0:45:05.840 --> 0:45:07.560 get me thirty sets of clothing. And the boys got 0:45:07.600 --> 0:45:09.319 to his wife and they were like, tell us the riddle, 0:45:09.400 --> 0:45:11.040 or we're gonna kill your whole family. And then she 0:45:11.160 --> 0:45:13.000 was like, tell me the riddle, Sampson, tell me the riddle. 0:45:13.040 --> 0:45:14.239 And then he said, oh, okay, well I'll tell it 0:45:14.320 --> 0:45:15.440 to you, but don't tell it to them. But then 0:45:15.480 --> 0:45:16.839 she told it to them, and then they solved the riddle, 0:45:16.880 --> 0:45:18.360 and then he had to he had to go to 0:45:18.360 --> 0:45:20.440 Ashaakt to kill thirty men and beat him up and 0:45:20.480 --> 0:45:21.960 kill him to take their clothes to bring them back 0:45:22.040 --> 0:45:24.120 because of his dumb decision. But that's what set him 0:45:24.120 --> 0:45:25.920 on a course to be able to be able to 0:45:25.920 --> 0:45:28.040 have an opportunity to then go back home. And after 0:45:28.040 --> 0:45:29.360 the wedding, he went back home and he was so 0:45:29.440 --> 0:45:31.359 mad at his wife for betraying him that he went 0:45:31.400 --> 0:45:32.759 back home and didn't even stay with her, and by 0:45:32.800 --> 0:45:34.400 the time he got back, she had been married to 0:45:34.440 --> 0:45:37.120 another man because his father in law betrayed him, because 0:45:37.120 --> 0:45:38.520 he figured, you never want to marry her now after 0:45:38.560 --> 0:45:39.840 what she did to you. But he came back and 0:45:39.880 --> 0:45:41.680 got so mad that he took three hundred foxes and 0:45:41.680 --> 0:45:43.640 tied their tails together in pairs, lit them on fire, 0:45:43.680 --> 0:45:45.520 sent them loose in the Philistine fields, and when they 0:45:45.560 --> 0:45:47.640 tore up the fields, the Philistines were mad. But Samson 0:45:47.719 --> 0:45:49.799 killed them because he was strong. Now, he never would 0:45:49.800 --> 0:45:51.759 have killed them if they hadn't hurt him, and he 0:45:51.800 --> 0:45:53.719 never would have been hurt by them if he hadn't 0:45:53.719 --> 0:45:56.640 made the wrong decision. And so it goes to show 0:45:56.840 --> 0:45:59.080 that God is using everything. If he never would have 0:45:59.080 --> 0:46:00.600 set the foxes loose, I never want to come to 0:46:00.640 --> 0:46:02.480 Judah and tied him up and tried to deliver them 0:46:02.560 --> 0:46:04.080 so we can break them free and kill a thousand 0:46:04.080 --> 0:46:05.839 of them with the job one of a donkey. If 0:46:05.880 --> 0:46:07.440 it never would have happened the way it happened, it 0:46:07.440 --> 0:46:10.440 couldn't be what it is. So stop looking at what 0:46:10.600 --> 0:46:13.720 it was and ask God what he wants it to be. 0:46:14.040 --> 0:46:18.960 God wants to use the dumb stuff too. You can't 0:46:18.960 --> 0:46:25.200 control it anyway. The spirit of the Lord is on you. 0:46:26.120 --> 0:46:28.840 The spirit of the Lord is on you. If the 0:46:28.880 --> 0:46:31.799 lion comes to attack you, he will give you the 0:46:31.880 --> 0:46:34.319 ability to rip it open because the spirit of the 0:46:34.320 --> 0:46:41.040 Lord is on And it's a pivotal decision that you 0:46:41.160 --> 0:46:47.759 make when you find yourself in these disappointing situations where 0:46:47.760 --> 0:46:51.360 it seems like you can't win. Whether I'm going to 0:46:51.400 --> 0:46:54.640 believe that there is a bigger picture, or if I'm 0:46:54.680 --> 0:46:57.120 going to minimize God's presence to the level of my 0:46:57.239 --> 0:47:06.080 understanding right here, right now, Let's turn it around. Let's 0:47:06.160 --> 0:47:09.840 turn it around, and instead of trying to tell God 0:47:09.880 --> 0:47:13.080 what's best for us, and instead of trying to do 0:47:13.160 --> 0:47:16.719 what's right in our own eyes, let's turn it around. 0:47:17.880 --> 0:47:20.319 Instead of groveling in the guilt of things that are 0:47:20.360 --> 0:47:25.160 already over, I'm telling you God uses the weirdest things 0:47:25.239 --> 0:47:32.440 about you. God uses that big nose that you hate 0:47:32.640 --> 0:47:36.040 and that little habit that you have. He uses that 0:47:37.000 --> 0:47:39.040 because when he delivers you from it, you could be 0:47:39.080 --> 0:47:41.719 a testimony and He's going to use that too. This 0:47:42.200 --> 0:47:47.000 is from the Lord. How I don't know. I don't 0:47:47.040 --> 0:47:51.200 know a plan. But when I don't know the plan, 0:47:51.239 --> 0:47:55.759 I pivot to the purpose. And he's working it all in. 0:47:57.320 --> 0:47:59.959 He's working it all in. God, help me make better 0:48:00.040 --> 0:48:03.919 decisions in the future. But use the dumb stuff too. 0:48:05.719 --> 0:48:08.160 That's maybe the best prayer I ever pray. God, use 0:48:08.239 --> 0:48:13.160 the dumb stuff too. Father, I bless and honor your 0:48:13.160 --> 0:48:18.799 great name today, as together your people offer you the 0:48:18.840 --> 0:48:25.080 reverence of our attention and our affection. I don't know 0:48:25.080 --> 0:48:28.120 what they did. I don't know what was done to them. 0:48:28.880 --> 0:48:30.960 I don't know what they can't control. That's going down 0:48:31.000 --> 0:48:34.920 to Timna today to make a dumb decision. I declare 0:48:34.960 --> 0:48:38.640 over their life that this is from the Lord. Even 0:48:38.680 --> 0:48:43.120 if you didn't cause it, there is nothing you can't 0:48:43.200 --> 0:48:52.560 use with everyone standing, no one moving. You can pivot 0:48:52.560 --> 0:49:00.239 when you're planted. You can pivot when you're planted. When 0:49:00.280 --> 0:49:06.400 you know that he spoke it, you could be assured 0:49:06.400 --> 0:49:10.560 he will perform it. God's trying to turn your attention 0:49:12.719 --> 0:49:21.880 to something greater than your pain, greater than your insecurity. 0:49:22.040 --> 0:49:24.160 This is from the Lord. It's easy to say that 0:49:24.200 --> 0:49:29.399 when you're holding Samson, harder to say when you can't 0:49:29.440 --> 0:49:33.799 control him. But Samuel will put it in parentheses to 0:49:33.880 --> 0:49:37.280 let us know this is what makes life make sense, 0:49:37.360 --> 0:49:41.680 that this is from the Lord. There's something bigger. I 0:49:41.760 --> 0:49:44.359 can't tell you what it is right now, but his 0:49:44.480 --> 0:49:51.520 name is beyond understanding. Father, Thank you for your sweet 0:49:51.520 --> 0:49:55.279 holy spirit that gently reminds us of your love and 0:49:55.320 --> 0:50:00.920 compassion and concern for us. Now that in this moment 0:50:00.960 --> 0:50:05.319 you would administer the gifts of healing, the portion of 0:50:05.400 --> 0:50:12.239 joy that belongs to your children but has often been robbed. Well, 0:50:12.239 --> 0:50:15.839 come against the thief now who has come to cause 0:50:15.880 --> 0:50:18.640 them to face in the wrong direction. We turn our 0:50:18.640 --> 0:50:23.319 eyes on you. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks 0:50:23.320 --> 0:50:25.920 to those of you who give generously to this ministry. 0:50:26.239 --> 0:50:29.200 Is because of you that this ministry is possible. You 0:50:29.200 --> 0:50:31.680 can click the link in the description to give now, 0:50:32.200 --> 0:50:36.040 or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more information 0:50:36.600 --> 0:50:39.719 and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You 0:50:39.760 --> 0:50:41.799 can share it with your friends. You can click the 0:50:41.840 --> 0:50:44.120 share button, take a screenshot and share it on your 0:50:44.120 --> 0:50:47.120 social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks again 0:50:47.160 --> 0:50:53.279 for listening. God bless you