WEBVTT 0 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:07.910 Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons podcast. This is 1 00:00:07.942 --> 00:00:10.550 where you can find audio from Sunday morning, messages and 2 00:00:10.582 --> 00:00:13.414 more. Make sure you're subscribed so that you don't miss 3 00:00:13.454 --> 00:00:15.914 future episodes. And thanks for listening. 4 00:00:21.454 --> 00:00:23.034 Well, happy mother's day. 5 00:00:24.294 --> 00:00:27.182 You're welcome. You're welcome. I kind of paused like you were 6 00:00:27.198 --> 00:00:30.110 gonna say that back, you know, and that would have been weird. So I'm glad 7 00:00:30.142 --> 00:00:33.118 that you didn't. All right, if you have your bibles, and I hope you do, please 8 00:00:33.166 --> 00:00:36.070 join me in Genesis, chapter 28 as 9 00:00:36.102 --> 00:00:38.976 you turn there. I've been the pastor. father's Day will be eleven 10 00:00:39.048 --> 00:00:41.968 years here, and I believe I've said the same thing for 11 00:00:42.024 --> 00:00:45.014 every mother's, day that, God has blessed me 12 00:00:45.030 --> 00:00:47.902 with the opportunity to be here. Today is a 13 00:00:47.934 --> 00:00:50.222 wonderful day as we will celebrate 14 00:00:50.294 --> 00:00:53.030 moms. my mother in law is here with us 15 00:00:53.046 --> 00:00:55.870 today. Afterwards, we're gonna go out to dinner, to 16 00:00:55.894 --> 00:00:58.864 celebrate her, to celebrate Erin, to, celebrate my sister 17 00:00:58.936 --> 00:01:01.824 in law and her mom. They're all going to be there together 18 00:01:01.896 --> 00:01:04.792 with us. Yesterday, Grayson, had a 19 00:01:04.808 --> 00:01:07.400 track meet in Somerville, so we were down there. My 20 00:01:07.432 --> 00:01:10.208 mom came and was a part of that and took her out 21 00:01:10.336 --> 00:01:13.056 and celebrated her and just a wonderful time 22 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:15.944 of celebration of what that looks like on this 23 00:01:15.984 --> 00:01:18.490 day, as moms are so valuable, 24 00:01:19.054 --> 00:01:22.006 and precious to us. And so, on behalf of all of 25 00:01:22.030 --> 00:01:24.900 us, just thank you, moms, for all that you do, for how you 26 00:01:24.932 --> 00:01:27.604 serve, for how you care, for how you love. 27 00:01:28.054 --> 00:01:30.640 we greatly appreciate it, and you are truly a, ah, 28 00:01:30.774 --> 00:01:32.270 blessing from the Lord. 29 00:01:32.342 --> 00:01:35.162 All right. so I wanna say that. But I also wanna say this. I 30 00:01:35.178 --> 00:01:38.170 also wanna recognize that today, while it is a wonderful 31 00:01:38.202 --> 00:01:41.162 day to celebrate moms, sometimes today is a 32 00:01:41.178 --> 00:01:43.932 difficult day as well. All right. I grew up in a 33 00:01:43.948 --> 00:01:46.724 home. I've shared this story many times. My mom's 34 00:01:46.764 --> 00:01:49.514 mom, she passed away when my mom was 15. 35 00:01:50.164 --> 00:01:53.084 my mom came home from school one day and she found her mom 36 00:01:53.124 --> 00:01:55.584 there had passed away from a massive heart attack. 37 00:01:56.564 --> 00:01:59.438 My wife and I, Aaron struggled with 38 00:01:59.486 --> 00:02:02.214 miscarriage and infertility, and 39 00:02:02.254 --> 00:02:05.030 Mother's Day was a hard day for her as 40 00:02:05.062 --> 00:02:07.788 well. and so I grew up and have known, 41 00:02:07.880 --> 00:02:10.442 mother's day to be a, day of great 42 00:02:10.498 --> 00:02:13.404 joy, but also a day of mixed 43 00:02:13.444 --> 00:02:16.338 emotions and grieving and processing. but also in 44 00:02:16.346 --> 00:02:19.214 the almost eleven years that I've been here, I've 45 00:02:19.262 --> 00:02:22.254 had the honor to serve some of our families 46 00:02:22.302 --> 00:02:24.774 on some of the saddest days and weeks of their 47 00:02:24.822 --> 00:02:27.502 life. as they've, moms and 48 00:02:27.534 --> 00:02:29.864 dads have had to bury, their children. 49 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:32.580 So, today I come, with 50 00:02:32.636 --> 00:02:35.150 two greetings, one, of 51 00:02:35.198 --> 00:02:38.060 appreciation and blessing that moms are, but 52 00:02:38.108 --> 00:02:41.084 also, if today is a heavy day for you 53 00:02:41.260 --> 00:02:44.092 because of many different reasons, some, 54 00:02:44.046 --> 00:02:46.788 that I just listed. please know that 55 00:02:46.852 --> 00:02:49.580 our heart is for you. And I do 56 00:02:49.628 --> 00:02:52.460 hope, that maybe today, God can use his 57 00:02:52.508 --> 00:02:55.236 word to speak a word of encouragement to you. 58 00:02:55.356 --> 00:02:58.010 If today is a little bit more difficult day, than 59 00:02:58.058 --> 00:03:00.608 normal for you, before we go dive into the 60 00:03:00.632 --> 00:03:03.144 Lord's word this morning, let's, go to the Lord in 61 00:03:03.160 --> 00:03:06.024 prayer. God, I come to you today, Lord, and 62 00:03:06.040 --> 00:03:08.646 I thank you, for today. It is such a 63 00:03:08.686 --> 00:03:11.342 blessing and wonderful honor to be here, 64 00:03:11.374 --> 00:03:13.544 Lord, to worship you, to sing 65 00:03:13.600 --> 00:03:16.272 songs, to you, to sing songs about 66 00:03:16.344 --> 00:03:18.960 you, or to open your word to gather 67 00:03:19.088 --> 00:03:21.960 with our church family, Lord, what a wonderful 68 00:03:22.008 --> 00:03:24.860 day it is, Lord. Lord, I thank you for the moms 69 00:03:24.948 --> 00:03:27.490 that we have, moms that raised 70 00:03:27.578 --> 00:03:30.096 us, moms that loved us, moms 71 00:03:30.136 --> 00:03:33.000 that discipled us, moms that 72 00:03:33.048 --> 00:03:36.048 cared for us. Lord, what a wonderful blessing 73 00:03:36.112 --> 00:03:39.048 and picture of the gospel of them as they 74 00:03:39.072 --> 00:03:41.936 came alongside and just did so many things 75 00:03:41.976 --> 00:03:44.944 to point us to the truth of the gospel. Lord, I thank you for 76 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:47.800 the mom that you blessed with. I thank you for her 77 00:03:47.848 --> 00:03:50.776 love, for you. I thank you for her love 78 00:03:50.824 --> 00:03:53.648 for me. I thank you for her love for my dad, 79 00:03:53.708 --> 00:03:56.446 and what that has looked like and how that has molded, 80 00:03:56.518 --> 00:03:59.094 and shaped me to be the husband, father, 81 00:03:59.238 --> 00:04:02.158 pastor, friend, follower of Christ that I am. 82 00:04:02.270 --> 00:04:05.144 Lord, I thank you for my mother in law, for who she is, 83 00:04:05.168 --> 00:04:08.064 how she invests. Lord, I thank you for my wife. I 84 00:04:08.088 --> 00:04:10.672 thank you for her place in our 85 00:04:10.712 --> 00:04:13.704 family, her leadership, her guidance, her love. 86 00:04:13.808 --> 00:04:16.638 Lord, and I thank you for all the mothers that we. That we 87 00:04:16.670 --> 00:04:19.526 have here in the room. God, I also lift up those 88 00:04:19.574 --> 00:04:22.454 that today is a day of struggle. Today is a 89 00:04:22.478 --> 00:04:24.750 day of tears, Lord. Today 90 00:04:24.846 --> 00:04:27.456 cannot, replace what they are 91 00:04:27.496 --> 00:04:30.288 missing. But, Lord, I pray that in their sorrow, 92 00:04:30.352 --> 00:04:33.306 they will find comfort, in Christ and in Christ 93 00:04:33.386 --> 00:04:36.170 alone. And so, God, as we open your word this 94 00:04:36.218 --> 00:04:39.138 morning, as we gather together as a church family, or 95 00:04:39.162 --> 00:04:41.928 may the truth of your word, not simply just 96 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:44.880 ring true as it does, but may it penetrate to 97 00:04:44.896 --> 00:04:47.712 the deep areas of our heart, transforming 98 00:04:47.752 --> 00:04:50.736 us for the work of the gospel. And may we live for your 99 00:04:50.784 --> 00:04:53.520 glory in your name. And it's in Jesus name we 100 00:04:53.536 --> 00:04:54.812 pray. Amen. 101 00:04:55.432 --> 00:04:57.680 Well, as we continue on in 102 00:04:57.736 --> 00:05:00.690 Genesis, we looked at last week. And you'll 103 00:05:00.714 --> 00:05:03.466 see this is kind of a common theme as we look through the 104 00:05:03.482 --> 00:05:06.462 Bible. it would be really, okay if we always 105 00:05:06.510 --> 00:05:08.822 opened scripture and found really 106 00:05:08.950 --> 00:05:11.934 functional, operating, well put together 107 00:05:12.006 --> 00:05:14.962 families. But oftentimes what we find is we find 108 00:05:15.070 --> 00:05:18.026 the dysfunction of a lot of the families that we see. 109 00:05:18.162 --> 00:05:20.642 And I hope that brings you a little bit comfort. 110 00:05:20.690 --> 00:05:23.578 Right? When you look at your family, when you look at where you came 111 00:05:23.618 --> 00:05:26.514 from and your reality of what you deal with. And that's 112 00:05:26.546 --> 00:05:29.458 what we saw last week. We see this family 113 00:05:29.538 --> 00:05:31.740 chosen by God, but living in 114 00:05:31.804 --> 00:05:34.788 dysfunction. And their dysfunction comes out 115 00:05:34.828 --> 00:05:37.796 of the deception that is created and 116 00:05:37.812 --> 00:05:40.684 that is fostered and that is nurtured and that is 117 00:05:40.716 --> 00:05:43.204 continued on in their family. We see Isaac and 118 00:05:43.236 --> 00:05:45.284 Esau plotting. We see Rebekah, 119 00:05:46.220 --> 00:05:48.924 and Jacob plotting, and their plots become 120 00:05:48.996 --> 00:05:51.830 exposed. We see parents grieve. and then 121 00:05:51.854 --> 00:05:54.782 it ended with one brother pledging 122 00:05:54.870 --> 00:05:57.782 to kill another. And so what we were able 123 00:05:57.790 --> 00:06:00.550 to draw from what we look and see is we 124 00:06:00.614 --> 00:06:03.486 see from scripture what we see bad guys, 125 00:06:03.542 --> 00:06:06.422 but a good God. And this good God gives grace 126 00:06:06.470 --> 00:06:09.452 and gives mercy, and his plan holds true. 127 00:06:09.510 --> 00:06:11.832 True. And in spite of all that is 128 00:06:11.880 --> 00:06:14.744 attempting to unfold, we see the 129 00:06:14.776 --> 00:06:17.720 triumphal victory of God continually 130 00:06:17.824 --> 00:06:20.784 all throughout. Like, when we look at the Bible and we see the narrative 131 00:06:20.816 --> 00:06:23.704 of scripture, right, the victory of God just isn't found 132 00:06:23.776 --> 00:06:26.544 in revelation, even though we see the victory of God 133 00:06:26.576 --> 00:06:29.448 there. But the victory of God is all the way through. God 134 00:06:29.488 --> 00:06:32.408 says, this is what I'm gonna do. God's gonna do it. He's gonna bring glory 135 00:06:32.448 --> 00:06:35.304 and honor to his name, right? In Christ, we stand in 136 00:06:35.336 --> 00:06:38.210 victory. This is who we are in him. 137 00:06:38.274 --> 00:06:41.074 And so this is what we see. The victory of. God's not 138 00:06:41.106 --> 00:06:44.066 dependent on bad guys trying to do enough good 139 00:06:44.122 --> 00:06:46.970 things, but the victory of God is dependent on the goodness of 140 00:06:46.994 --> 00:06:49.890 God and who he is. And the grace of God is that he 141 00:06:49.914 --> 00:06:52.858 takes bad people, he makes them good. He uses them 142 00:06:52.938 --> 00:06:55.522 in spite of their shortcomings, in spite of their sins, 143 00:06:55.690 --> 00:06:58.554 in spite of their failures, for his name, for his glory, for 144 00:06:58.586 --> 00:07:01.274 his power. And we stand in the good grace of 145 00:07:01.306 --> 00:07:04.286 that, which is why we're here. None of us deserve the grace of 146 00:07:04.302 --> 00:07:06.838 God, but God gives us to us, and. Yes, and amen. 147 00:07:06.918 --> 00:07:09.782 He uses us for his name 148 00:07:09.870 --> 00:07:12.854 and for his glory. And so we continue on 149 00:07:13.046 --> 00:07:15.818 with this story of this family 150 00:07:16.318 --> 00:07:18.942 and this family, while we can look at it on this 151 00:07:18.990 --> 00:07:21.902 side and see the victory that's there. They're 152 00:07:21.950 --> 00:07:24.846 living in the difficulty of the reality 153 00:07:24.902 --> 00:07:27.862 of the events of this deceit that's 154 00:07:27.910 --> 00:07:29.294 unfolded before them. 155 00:07:29.366 --> 00:07:31.986 So let's continue on. We're gonna read, the first nine verses 156 00:07:32.112 --> 00:07:34.774 of Genesis 28. It says, then 157 00:07:34.806 --> 00:07:37.374 Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed 158 00:07:37.406 --> 00:07:40.150 him, you must not take a wife from the 159 00:07:40.174 --> 00:07:43.174 canaanite women. Arise and go to 160 00:07:43.206 --> 00:07:45.926 Padnanim Aram, to the house of Bethel, your 161 00:07:45.982 --> 00:07:48.862 mother's father, and take as your wife from 162 00:07:48.910 --> 00:07:51.638 there one of the daughters of Laban, your 163 00:07:51.678 --> 00:07:54.646 mother's brother. God almighty bless 164 00:07:54.702 --> 00:07:57.078 you and make you fruitful and 165 00:07:57.118 --> 00:08:00.112 multiply you. That you may become a company 166 00:08:00.270 --> 00:08:03.062 of peoples. And he give, may 167 00:08:03.110 --> 00:08:06.070 he give the blessing of Abraham to you and 168 00:08:06.094 --> 00:08:08.702 to your offspring with you. That you may take 169 00:08:08.750 --> 00:08:11.454 possession of the land of your sojournings 170 00:08:11.526 --> 00:08:14.502 that God gave to Abraham. Thus, Isaac 171 00:08:14.550 --> 00:08:17.126 sent Jacob away, and he went to Padna Maram, to 172 00:08:17.142 --> 00:08:19.918 Laban, the son of Bethel, to Aramean, the 173 00:08:19.958 --> 00:08:22.654 brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's 174 00:08:22.686 --> 00:08:25.638 mother. Now, Esau saw that Isaac 175 00:08:25.678 --> 00:08:28.382 had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padna 176 00:08:28.390 --> 00:08:31.252 Maram to take a wife from there. And that 177 00:08:31.300 --> 00:08:34.100 as he blessed him, he directed him, you must not take a 178 00:08:34.124 --> 00:08:36.996 wife from the canaanite women. And that Jacob had 179 00:08:37.012 --> 00:08:39.676 obeyed his father and his mother and God to Padna 180 00:08:39.692 --> 00:08:42.180 Aram. So when Esau saw that the 181 00:08:42.204 --> 00:08:44.914 canaanite women did not please, Isaac, his 182 00:08:44.946 --> 00:08:47.946 father, Esau went to Ishmael. That name 183 00:08:48.002 --> 00:08:50.474 has now come back and took as his 184 00:08:50.546 --> 00:08:52.994 wife. Besides the wives, he 185 00:08:53.066 --> 00:08:55.554 had Mehletha, daughter of 186 00:08:55.626 --> 00:08:58.566 Ishmael, Abraham's son, the 187 00:08:58.622 --> 00:09:01.358 sister of Nebiath. So what 188 00:09:01.398 --> 00:09:04.358 we see here is lies and 189 00:09:04.398 --> 00:09:06.738 deceit have hit this family. 190 00:09:07.478 --> 00:09:10.190 And what we see in these first nine 191 00:09:10.254 --> 00:09:12.734 verses is not the great 192 00:09:12.806 --> 00:09:15.638 happiness of what a mother and father hope 193 00:09:15.678 --> 00:09:18.102 to. In this, we 194 00:09:18.190 --> 00:09:21.142 see, Esau wants to kill Jacob. 195 00:09:21.230 --> 00:09:24.028 Jacob sent away. Esau lives, chooses 196 00:09:24.068 --> 00:09:26.812 to live in rebellion against his family, 197 00:09:26.940 --> 00:09:28.968 against God of all that's there. 198 00:09:29.708 --> 00:09:31.928 A family, the family of promise, 199 00:09:32.628 --> 00:09:35.328 the family of this is what God is going to do, 200 00:09:36.028 --> 00:09:38.888 is choosing to live in the midst of their sin 201 00:09:39.268 --> 00:09:42.068 and in their deceit. And we see that 202 00:09:42.108 --> 00:09:45.068 tragedy is here, the 203 00:09:45.108 --> 00:09:48.022 rebellion that we find. But, what 204 00:09:48.070 --> 00:09:50.942 we find in scripture of what 205 00:09:50.990 --> 00:09:53.902 God does, of how God works and what God is doing 206 00:09:53.950 --> 00:09:56.422 is God doesn't just look at tragedy and leave 207 00:09:56.510 --> 00:09:59.342 tragedy there for tragedy's sake. What God works and does 208 00:09:59.390 --> 00:10:01.982 is God turns tragedy into 209 00:10:02.030 --> 00:10:04.982 triumph. God takes what is 210 00:10:05.030 --> 00:10:07.870 the Mess and says, watch how I'm going to 211 00:10:07.894 --> 00:10:10.502 work and watch what I'm going to do. God 212 00:10:10.550 --> 00:10:13.542 takes the deepest, darkest days of your 213 00:10:13.630 --> 00:10:16.534 life and of your reality and says, I'm not going to 214 00:10:16.566 --> 00:10:19.522 waste that. I'm going to take this and I'm going to work, 215 00:10:19.570 --> 00:10:22.378 and I'm going to move, and this is what I'm going to do. This is what 216 00:10:22.418 --> 00:10:25.010 you've created, but this is what I'm going to 217 00:10:25.114 --> 00:10:28.002 allow. This is what I'm going to cause to become for my 218 00:10:28.050 --> 00:10:30.930 name and for my glory. And the Bible is filled with 219 00:10:30.954 --> 00:10:33.874 this, not just found in Genesis, but the Bible is filled 220 00:10:33.906 --> 00:10:36.770 with God taking what looks like defeat 221 00:10:36.914 --> 00:10:39.258 and turning the defeat into 222 00:10:39.338 --> 00:10:42.026 victory, but victory for his 223 00:10:42.082 --> 00:10:44.738 name and for his name's sake. Right? The 224 00:10:44.778 --> 00:10:47.738 overall story, the sin of David with 225 00:10:47.778 --> 00:10:50.562 BAthSHeba, and what comes from that 226 00:10:50.650 --> 00:10:53.642 in that moment of everything that's there, 227 00:10:53.730 --> 00:10:56.714 of the death, of the lies, of the destruction of what's 228 00:10:56.746 --> 00:10:59.714 there. But on this side, what we can look and see is some 229 00:10:59.746 --> 00:11:02.698 of the most heart heavy passages that we 230 00:11:02.738 --> 00:11:05.482 find in scripture about forgiveness 231 00:11:05.570 --> 00:11:08.450 and grace are found as a result of David 232 00:11:08.514 --> 00:11:11.350 walking through this. And then God and his goodness and his 233 00:11:11.374 --> 00:11:14.150 kindness and his grace and his mercy, drawing 234 00:11:14.214 --> 00:11:17.190 David to repentance, bringing David into 235 00:11:17.214 --> 00:11:20.176 the relationship of, forgiveness. What we see 236 00:11:20.232 --> 00:11:23.016 in the New Testament, we see Saul, who would become the 237 00:11:23.032 --> 00:11:26.032 apostle Paul, but as Saul, the mastermind, 238 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:28.752 more knowledge of the Old Testament, staunch 239 00:11:28.800 --> 00:11:31.736 jewish leader who was persecuting christians 240 00:11:31.832 --> 00:11:34.536 imprisonment and in death. And what God 241 00:11:34.592 --> 00:11:37.320 does is he says, let me take this tragedy 242 00:11:37.384 --> 00:11:40.034 of what's. And I'm gonna take Saul, and I'm gonna make him 243 00:11:40.066 --> 00:11:43.066 Paul. And what Paul becomes in the power and 244 00:11:43.082 --> 00:11:46.026 the goodness of Christ is two things. The greatest church 245 00:11:46.082 --> 00:11:48.658 planner the world has ever known, to see the 246 00:11:48.698 --> 00:11:51.410 gospel spread all over the known 247 00:11:51.474 --> 00:11:54.066 world in these moments, and arguably the 248 00:11:54.122 --> 00:11:57.058 greatest theologian that we could hold 249 00:11:57.098 --> 00:12:00.074 to the power and the work of God, of what God is 250 00:12:00.106 --> 00:12:02.954 doing. Saul didn't earn this. Saul 251 00:12:02.986 --> 00:12:05.946 didn't earn becoming Paul. God said, I'm gonna take you, and I'm gonna turn you from 252 00:12:05.962 --> 00:12:08.028 Saul to Paul, and this is what I'm gonna do. 253 00:12:09.368 --> 00:12:11.708 We see Jesus with the woman at the well, 254 00:12:12.608 --> 00:12:15.416 the samaritan woman, the sinful 255 00:12:15.472 --> 00:12:18.360 woman, the woman who no one 256 00:12:18.384 --> 00:12:21.368 would want to talk to, the woman who no one would want to be a part of. And then 257 00:12:21.408 --> 00:12:22.828 she meets Christ, 258 00:12:24.208 --> 00:12:27.144 and they have a conversation. And 259 00:12:27.176 --> 00:12:29.488 he takes the person who was 260 00:12:29.528 --> 00:12:32.422 afraid to speak to anyone, 261 00:12:32.560 --> 00:12:35.538 hiding herself during the heat of the 262 00:12:35.578 --> 00:12:38.442 day, and he turns her into an evangelist 263 00:12:38.490 --> 00:12:41.378 for his city. See the work of 264 00:12:41.418 --> 00:12:44.298 what God does. We see Jesus 265 00:12:44.378 --> 00:12:47.250 friend Lazarus dead for four 266 00:12:47.314 --> 00:12:49.938 days. The Bible says that he had begun to 267 00:12:49.978 --> 00:12:52.514 stink, and Jesus 268 00:12:52.666 --> 00:12:55.498 raises him from dead. We see the 269 00:12:55.538 --> 00:12:58.178 IsRaelites led from captivity into freedom. 270 00:12:58.218 --> 00:13:00.978 Pharaoh's army pursues them. When the army 271 00:13:01.018 --> 00:13:03.638 reaches them, there's nowhere for them to turn. 272 00:13:04.578 --> 00:13:07.524 Blocks them. The army, of 273 00:13:07.556 --> 00:13:10.388 the Egyptians, is on the other side. We see 274 00:13:10.428 --> 00:13:13.372 what is going to happen, what is going to take place. And so God 275 00:13:13.420 --> 00:13:16.228 steps into the moment, and he parts the seas, and 276 00:13:16.268 --> 00:13:19.248 they walk, and God leads them to freedom. 277 00:13:20.188 --> 00:13:23.168 The Bible is not a story 278 00:13:23.588 --> 00:13:26.268 of tragedy. Your 279 00:13:26.348 --> 00:13:28.908 life and my life are not 280 00:13:28.988 --> 00:13:31.872 stories of tragedy. When 281 00:13:31.920 --> 00:13:34.168 we are found in 282 00:13:34.328 --> 00:13:37.208 Christ, when the tragedy 283 00:13:37.248 --> 00:13:39.988 is there, it's done and it's over with. 284 00:13:40.448 --> 00:13:43.408 But when there's Christ, there's 285 00:13:43.448 --> 00:13:45.968 victory. And it's hard for us to see 286 00:13:46.008 --> 00:13:48.928 that. My father in law is 287 00:13:48.968 --> 00:13:51.588 here with my mother in law this morning. 288 00:13:51.824 --> 00:13:54.558 my wife told me years ago, and y'all know this, that I had to get clearance 289 00:13:54.598 --> 00:13:57.508 to tell stories about her and my 290 00:13:57.548 --> 00:14:00.356 kids, and so I get permission for that. My 291 00:14:00.372 --> 00:14:03.332 father in law has never said that to me. So I would like 292 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:06.242 to tell a story of my father in law, that 293 00:14:06.378 --> 00:14:08.834 he's got that grin like, boy, I can still take 294 00:14:08.874 --> 00:14:11.642 you. And I think he can. All 295 00:14:11.658 --> 00:14:14.082 right. but, Aaron and I, when we met in 296 00:14:14.122 --> 00:14:16.204 college, my father in law, retired 297 00:14:16.276 --> 00:14:18.994 pastor, and retired from the military, 298 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:21.968 and when we met, my father in law was not 299 00:14:22.016 --> 00:14:24.334 long for being deployed, to 300 00:14:24.374 --> 00:14:27.276 Iraq, during the war that was 301 00:14:27.308 --> 00:14:30.032 there. And so, actually, we dated for 302 00:14:30.064 --> 00:14:32.568 several months, and then we got engaged. And my father in law was 303 00:14:32.592 --> 00:14:35.392 deployed, and was gone for 304 00:14:35.432 --> 00:14:38.344 almost all of our engagement. He came back about a month 305 00:14:38.528 --> 00:14:41.024 before we got married to officiate the 306 00:14:41.048 --> 00:14:43.382 wedding. and my father in law, 307 00:14:43.752 --> 00:14:46.652 I like to, like, graciously describe 308 00:14:46.692 --> 00:14:47.872 him as, like, 309 00:14:49.452 --> 00:14:50.952 redneck MacGyver, 310 00:14:52.252 --> 00:14:54.596 right? He can take 311 00:14:54.684 --> 00:14:57.308 anything and fix it. 312 00:14:57.500 --> 00:15:00.484 Like, he has been that for me 313 00:15:00.588 --> 00:15:03.500 so often, in our marriage, especially 314 00:15:03.604 --> 00:15:06.148 early on. But still to this day, he can take 315 00:15:06.228 --> 00:15:09.084 anything and fix it. And it might not be the 316 00:15:09.116 --> 00:15:11.940 way that the factory would fix it, but it's the way that 317 00:15:11.964 --> 00:15:14.660 Mark Reiser fixes it, you know? And 318 00:15:14.684 --> 00:15:17.332 so he gets it, and he gets it done, and he gets the job 319 00:15:17.380 --> 00:15:20.204 there over and over and over again. He has been 320 00:15:20.236 --> 00:15:22.980 that guy to. When the emergency, when the 321 00:15:23.004 --> 00:15:25.820 break happens, I can call him, he's there, he takes care of it, he 322 00:15:25.844 --> 00:15:28.260 fixes it. He's driven to numerous times, to 323 00:15:28.284 --> 00:15:30.708 Sumter, to Irmo, to Lexington 324 00:15:30.796 --> 00:15:33.756 faithful, over and over and over again. But, like, the longer 325 00:15:33.780 --> 00:15:36.756 I've been married, the longer, like, I'm like. But I want 326 00:15:36.780 --> 00:15:39.662 to fix it. I 327 00:15:39.678 --> 00:15:42.566 want to learn. Like, I love my father 328 00:15:42.630 --> 00:15:45.526 in law, but he won't always be around. And I need 329 00:15:45.550 --> 00:15:48.414 to know how to do some things, too. And so 330 00:15:48.454 --> 00:15:51.278 I remember we were living in Aiken, and I had a weed eater 331 00:15:51.326 --> 00:15:54.310 that was broke, and I'd seen my father in law fix 332 00:15:54.342 --> 00:15:57.326 things like this all the time. And I thought, I can fix 333 00:15:57.390 --> 00:16:00.354 this. And so I started 334 00:16:01.494 --> 00:16:03.314 trying to assess the problem. 335 00:16:04.834 --> 00:16:07.174 So I went and got my tools, screwdrivers, 336 00:16:07.634 --> 00:16:10.546 wrenches, and I start taking the weed 337 00:16:10.570 --> 00:16:13.410 eater apart. I got the 338 00:16:13.442 --> 00:16:15.818 weed eater completely taken 339 00:16:15.866 --> 00:16:18.538 apart. All the screws were laid 340 00:16:18.586 --> 00:16:21.266 out. All the parts are spread out 341 00:16:21.330 --> 00:16:24.054 all over the garage floor. 342 00:16:25.354 --> 00:16:28.134 And I looked at it and I thought, 343 00:16:29.014 --> 00:16:31.734 I have no clue what is 344 00:16:31.774 --> 00:16:34.034 wrong with this weed eater. 345 00:16:34.934 --> 00:16:36.754 But here's what I did know. 346 00:16:38.294 --> 00:16:40.834 I knew that my father in law could fix it, 347 00:16:41.734 --> 00:16:44.630 but here was the problem. I didn't 348 00:16:44.662 --> 00:16:47.314 know how to put it back together again, right? 349 00:16:47.934 --> 00:16:50.094 So Aaron knew that I was attempting to fix the weed eater. 350 00:16:50.134 --> 00:16:53.070 She came out like, two days later, I'm still out 351 00:16:53.102 --> 00:16:55.742 there looking at the weed eater, and she says, what are we going to 352 00:16:55.758 --> 00:16:58.390 do? And I said, we're going to Lowe's. 353 00:16:59.850 --> 00:17:02.818 So they have a part. I was like, yeah, they have a part. They have 354 00:17:02.834 --> 00:17:05.110 a whole brand new weed eater, right? 355 00:17:05.730 --> 00:17:08.522 And that's what we're going to do. We're going to take this mess 356 00:17:08.586 --> 00:17:10.750 that I've created and throw it away. 357 00:17:11.370 --> 00:17:14.338 We're not going to talk about it. We're not going to tell your dad what I 358 00:17:14.354 --> 00:17:17.306 tried to do. We're going to trash it, and 359 00:17:17.338 --> 00:17:20.082 we're going to go buy me another weed 360 00:17:20.106 --> 00:17:23.068 eater. And she looked at me with a smile on her face. 361 00:17:23.234 --> 00:17:25.616 Yes, honey, let's go, let's go, let's go. 362 00:17:25.688 --> 00:17:28.648 Right? That's kind of how we work sometimes. At least that's how 363 00:17:28.664 --> 00:17:31.552 I work. That's probably not how a lot of you work, but that's how I work. We 364 00:17:31.576 --> 00:17:34.472 take our mess sometimes and we just throw it away because we can 365 00:17:34.496 --> 00:17:37.208 start over. And I think 366 00:17:37.384 --> 00:17:39.540 what's interesting about the story of God 367 00:17:40.320 --> 00:17:42.940 is God takes the mess that we've created, 368 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:45.940 the tragedy that sits at our feet. 369 00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:49.666 And when we're found in Christ, who we are and what 370 00:17:49.698 --> 00:17:52.346 God does, God says, watch what I 371 00:17:52.378 --> 00:17:54.830 do as I take your mess 372 00:17:55.730 --> 00:17:58.730 and I use it for my victory. I take 373 00:17:58.770 --> 00:18:01.434 your mess and I use it 374 00:18:01.562 --> 00:18:04.410 for my triumph. So 375 00:18:04.530 --> 00:18:07.362 how does God do this? How does God 376 00:18:07.426 --> 00:18:10.082 turn tragedy into triumph? Like what we see 377 00:18:10.226 --> 00:18:12.554 here in Genesis 378 00:18:12.602 --> 00:18:15.512 28, here's what we see. God will 379 00:18:15.536 --> 00:18:18.300 reveal himself, you see, 380 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:21.408 turning your mass into the 381 00:18:21.424 --> 00:18:24.104 victory of God is not about 382 00:18:24.272 --> 00:18:27.100 you. It's not about me. 383 00:18:27.600 --> 00:18:29.740 It's about him and who he is. 384 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:33.440 In John 14, we 385 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:36.264 see what everyone other than 386 00:18:36.312 --> 00:18:39.224 Christ sees as 387 00:18:39.272 --> 00:18:41.680 tragedy. The 388 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:44.260 crucifixion of Christ 389 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:47.480 is imminent. Those 390 00:18:47.560 --> 00:18:49.620 around Christ know this. 391 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:53.224 And I want you to. I'm gonna read these words in John 392 00:18:53.272 --> 00:18:56.048 14, four through nine, and I want you to look at 393 00:18:56.144 --> 00:18:58.952 the impending tragedy of what's there, but what 394 00:18:58.976 --> 00:19:01.888 begins to happen and take place. Jesus shares them. He 395 00:19:01.904 --> 00:19:04.872 shares, I'm gonna leave. And he says, and 396 00:19:04.896 --> 00:19:07.702 you know the way in verse four to where 397 00:19:07.726 --> 00:19:10.422 I'm going. Thomas said to 398 00:19:10.446 --> 00:19:13.254 him, lord, we do not 399 00:19:13.302 --> 00:19:15.942 know where you are going. How can we know the 400 00:19:15.966 --> 00:19:18.382 way? Jesus said to 401 00:19:18.406 --> 00:19:21.190 him, I am the way and the 402 00:19:21.230 --> 00:19:24.206 truth and the life. No one comes to the father 403 00:19:24.318 --> 00:19:27.310 except through me. If you had known me, 404 00:19:27.350 --> 00:19:29.990 you would have known my father also. From 405 00:19:30.070 --> 00:19:32.764 now on, you do know him and have 406 00:19:32.862 --> 00:19:35.640 seen him. Philip said to him, lord, show 407 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:38.504 us the Father, and it is enough for us. 408 00:19:38.592 --> 00:19:41.328 And Jesus said to him, I have been with you so 409 00:19:41.384 --> 00:19:44.128 long, and you still do not know me. Philip, 410 00:19:44.304 --> 00:19:47.088 whoever has seen me has 411 00:19:47.144 --> 00:19:49.864 seen the father. How can you say, 412 00:19:49.992 --> 00:19:51.220 show us the father? 413 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:55.576 What Thomas and Philip see is 414 00:19:55.608 --> 00:19:58.336 the mess. What Thomas and 415 00:19:58.368 --> 00:20:00.638 Philip see is the 416 00:20:00.694 --> 00:20:03.622 tragedy. But jesus 417 00:20:03.686 --> 00:20:06.596 says, I'm, leaving. So Thomas was like, 418 00:20:06.652 --> 00:20:08.888 hey, help us 419 00:20:09.988 --> 00:20:12.728 know what we need to do 420 00:20:13.948 --> 00:20:16.732 in order so we can do 421 00:20:16.780 --> 00:20:19.636 for ourselves what needs to happen 422 00:20:19.772 --> 00:20:21.608 so that we can be 423 00:20:22.628 --> 00:20:23.808 where you are. 424 00:20:26.048 --> 00:20:28.828 Philip says, 425 00:20:29.768 --> 00:20:31.188 show us God. 426 00:20:33.408 --> 00:20:35.508 And in both instances, 427 00:20:37.208 --> 00:20:40.108 the will and the way 428 00:20:41.128 --> 00:20:43.960 are, found in the person 429 00:20:44.540 --> 00:20:47.436 of Christ. Jesus is 430 00:20:47.468 --> 00:20:48.040 like, 431 00:20:50.760 --> 00:20:53.580 you want to know where I'm going? 432 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:57.500 And stop trying to figure out what you need to do 433 00:20:57.960 --> 00:20:59.780 and understand who I am. 434 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:04.336 Jesus says to Philip, you 435 00:21:04.368 --> 00:21:07.368 want to know who God is? You 436 00:21:07.384 --> 00:21:10.260 want me to show you who he is. Philip. 437 00:21:11.320 --> 00:21:13.992 Philip, look at me. Look at 438 00:21:14.016 --> 00:21:16.720 me. And in this moment, 439 00:21:18.020 --> 00:21:19.988 Jesus is 440 00:21:20.044 --> 00:21:22.600 revealing himself. 441 00:21:24.020 --> 00:21:25.760 When tragedy, huh? Hits. 442 00:21:26.740 --> 00:21:29.220 And I don't care if it's 443 00:21:29.340 --> 00:21:32.280 self inflicted tragedy 444 00:21:33.140 --> 00:21:35.160 or bystander tragedy, 445 00:21:36.340 --> 00:21:39.228 whether you did it to yourself or whether someone else 446 00:21:39.284 --> 00:21:40.600 did it to you. 447 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:43.700 Where. What. 448 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:46.820 Who do you run to? 449 00:21:48.280 --> 00:21:50.856 When we had our miscarriage and the 450 00:21:50.888 --> 00:21:53.300 battles and everything that we faced 451 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:57.712 for a couple years, Aaron and 452 00:21:57.736 --> 00:21:58.300 I 453 00:22:00.600 --> 00:22:02.500 went down a difficult road. 454 00:22:03.360 --> 00:22:06.208 A difficult road spiritually in our walk with 455 00:22:06.224 --> 00:22:08.810 the Lord, difficult 456 00:22:08.890 --> 00:22:11.746 road in the health of our 457 00:22:11.778 --> 00:22:14.194 marriage. And what we both 458 00:22:14.242 --> 00:22:16.866 thought was that on. 459 00:22:16.978 --> 00:22:19.482 On that day, in that miscarriage, there was a 460 00:22:19.506 --> 00:22:22.002 void, and that a 461 00:22:22.026 --> 00:22:24.802 baby. A baby would fill that 462 00:22:24.826 --> 00:22:27.522 void. A baby would fill that 463 00:22:27.546 --> 00:22:30.130 void. And I want to tell you a couple 464 00:22:30.170 --> 00:22:32.950 things that. That's. 465 00:22:33.910 --> 00:22:36.838 That's a tragic. That's 466 00:22:36.854 --> 00:22:38.970 a tragic place to find yourself, 467 00:22:39.830 --> 00:22:42.410 and it's a tragic conclusion to come to 468 00:22:43.470 --> 00:22:46.118 for a couple reasons. Number 469 00:22:46.174 --> 00:22:48.462 one, Emma and 470 00:22:48.486 --> 00:22:51.410 Grayson and your children 471 00:22:51.710 --> 00:22:54.566 and your spouse and everyone else 472 00:22:54.758 --> 00:22:57.486 that you have in your life were 473 00:22:57.518 --> 00:23:00.238 never intended or created to be void 474 00:23:00.294 --> 00:23:01.610 filler in your heart. 475 00:23:03.710 --> 00:23:06.524 But, Jesus is. Jesus 476 00:23:06.572 --> 00:23:08.924 is. Only 477 00:23:09.092 --> 00:23:11.800 Jesus can fill us. 478 00:23:12.300 --> 00:23:15.060 Only Jesus can take what is broken 479 00:23:15.140 --> 00:23:18.108 and make it whole. Only Jesus can take 480 00:23:18.164 --> 00:23:20.988 every bit of suffering, every bit of tragedy, every bit 481 00:23:21.004 --> 00:23:23.812 of pain, every bit of suffering that 482 00:23:23.836 --> 00:23:26.722 you've endured in this cruel, cruel world that pours 483 00:23:26.746 --> 00:23:29.162 it out over and over and over again and fill 484 00:23:29.186 --> 00:23:32.058 that. So, in this 485 00:23:32.114 --> 00:23:34.770 moment, how does God. 486 00:23:34.890 --> 00:23:37.694 Back to, Genesis 28. How does 487 00:23:37.726 --> 00:23:40.646 God reveal himself in this strategy? How 488 00:23:40.662 --> 00:23:43.298 does God. In this tragic moment of what we see, 489 00:23:44.038 --> 00:23:46.558 what does God do? How does God 490 00:23:46.718 --> 00:23:49.310 show up? So let's read. We're gonna read 491 00:23:49.414 --> 00:23:52.098 verse ten down through verse 22. 492 00:23:52.898 --> 00:23:54.558 And so Jacob left 493 00:23:54.898 --> 00:23:57.290 Beersheba and went toward 494 00:23:57.314 --> 00:24:00.106 Haran. And he came to a certain 495 00:24:00.162 --> 00:24:03.114 place and stayed there that night because the sun 496 00:24:03.146 --> 00:24:06.058 had set. Taking one of the stones 497 00:24:06.138 --> 00:24:08.858 of the place, he put it under his head and lay 498 00:24:08.898 --> 00:24:11.548 down, in that place to sleep. 499 00:24:11.968 --> 00:24:14.968 And he dreamed. And behold, 500 00:24:15.048 --> 00:24:17.348 there was a ladder set up on the earth, 501 00:24:18.028 --> 00:24:20.408 and the top of it reached heaven. 502 00:24:21.228 --> 00:24:23.500 And behold, the angels of 503 00:24:23.564 --> 00:24:26.308 God were ascending and 504 00:24:26.348 --> 00:24:28.828 descending on it. And 505 00:24:28.868 --> 00:24:31.524 behold, the Lord stood 506 00:24:31.596 --> 00:24:33.808 above it and said, 507 00:24:34.468 --> 00:24:36.988 I am the Lord, the God of 508 00:24:37.028 --> 00:24:39.688 Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac. 509 00:24:40.108 --> 00:24:42.958 The land on which you lie, I will give to you in 510 00:24:42.982 --> 00:24:45.802 your offspring. Your offspring shall be like 511 00:24:45.834 --> 00:24:48.754 the dust of the earth. And you shall spread abroad to 512 00:24:48.770 --> 00:24:51.714 the west and to the east and to the north and to 513 00:24:51.730 --> 00:24:54.690 the south. And in you and your offspring, 514 00:24:54.738 --> 00:24:56.922 shall all the families of the earth be 515 00:24:56.954 --> 00:24:59.842 blessed. Behold, I am with you and will 516 00:24:59.874 --> 00:25:02.722 keep you wherever you go and will bring you 517 00:25:02.754 --> 00:25:05.666 back to this land, for I will not leave you until 518 00:25:05.706 --> 00:25:08.090 I have done all that I have promised 519 00:25:08.138 --> 00:25:10.994 you. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and 520 00:25:11.010 --> 00:25:13.938 said, surely the Lord is in this place, and I did 521 00:25:13.962 --> 00:25:16.728 not know it. And he was afraid and 522 00:25:16.752 --> 00:25:19.656 said, how awesome is this place? There 523 00:25:19.696 --> 00:25:22.544 is none other than the house of God. 524 00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:25.536 And this is the gate of heaven. So 525 00:25:25.576 --> 00:25:28.552 early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had 526 00:25:28.584 --> 00:25:31.448 put under his head and set it up for a 527 00:25:31.472 --> 00:25:34.288 pillar and poured oil on top of 528 00:25:34.312 --> 00:25:36.800 it. And he called the name of the place 529 00:25:36.888 --> 00:25:39.592 Bethel, but the name of the city was 530 00:25:39.624 --> 00:25:42.296 Luz at the first. Then 531 00:25:42.336 --> 00:25:45.304 Jacob made a vow, saying, if God 532 00:25:45.360 --> 00:25:48.208 will be with me and will keep me in this way that 533 00:25:48.232 --> 00:25:50.952 I go. And will give me bread to eat and 534 00:25:50.984 --> 00:25:53.712 clothing to wear. So that I come again to my father's 535 00:25:53.784 --> 00:25:56.480 house in peace. And m the Lord shall be my 536 00:25:56.528 --> 00:25:59.352 God. And this stone which I have 537 00:25:59.384 --> 00:26:02.288 set up for a pillar shall be God's 538 00:26:02.312 --> 00:26:05.208 house. And of all that I give and all 539 00:26:05.232 --> 00:26:07.758 that you give me, I will give a full 540 00:26:07.822 --> 00:26:10.558 10th to you. I think it's 541 00:26:10.582 --> 00:26:12.906 interesting that when God speaks to Jacob 542 00:26:13.406 --> 00:26:16.374 in the midst of all that has happened, in the midst of all that 543 00:26:16.390 --> 00:26:18.586 has been there, in the midst of all that is going on, 544 00:26:19.166 --> 00:26:22.092 he doesn't rebuke him, he, doesn't scold 545 00:26:22.140 --> 00:26:22.728 him. 546 00:26:24.748 --> 00:26:27.596 There's Christ. And this is who we believe 547 00:26:27.652 --> 00:26:29.288 he's interacting with here, 548 00:26:30.588 --> 00:26:31.928 reveals himself, 549 00:26:33.268 --> 00:26:35.924 speaks to Jacob. He 550 00:26:35.956 --> 00:26:38.740 reminds him of the promise and the 551 00:26:38.764 --> 00:26:41.660 assurance, the promise and the 552 00:26:41.684 --> 00:26:44.088 assurance of who God is 553 00:26:44.628 --> 00:26:47.044 and what God has promised to 554 00:26:47.076 --> 00:26:50.068 do. Just as God revealed himself to Abraham 555 00:26:50.108 --> 00:26:52.828 in a vision, God revealed himself to Jacob in a dream. 556 00:26:52.988 --> 00:26:55.908 And in this dream, God promises Jacob the three things 557 00:26:55.948 --> 00:26:58.732 he promised Abraham. The gift of land, great 558 00:26:58.780 --> 00:27:01.608 prosperity, and a blessing to all nations. 559 00:27:02.468 --> 00:27:05.324 The goodness of God. The promises of God did 560 00:27:05.356 --> 00:27:08.340 not fail in the tent where the lies were created. But 561 00:27:08.364 --> 00:27:11.124 the promises of God continue on 562 00:27:11.236 --> 00:27:13.492 as the God of promises turns the 563 00:27:13.540 --> 00:27:16.420 tragedy into the triumph of who 564 00:27:16.444 --> 00:27:17.168 he is. 565 00:27:19.188 --> 00:27:21.768 In the days of Jacob, if someone left 566 00:27:22.188 --> 00:27:24.664 their home as he 567 00:27:24.696 --> 00:27:27.384 had, that person 568 00:27:27.456 --> 00:27:30.440 also left their God behind. It's 569 00:27:30.464 --> 00:27:33.248 time to find new. It's time to start over. It was time to 570 00:27:33.288 --> 00:27:35.948 create for themselves what they would create. 571 00:27:36.728 --> 00:27:38.988 But God promised Jacob 572 00:27:39.448 --> 00:27:42.296 that he would remain ever present with Jacob, that he 573 00:27:42.312 --> 00:27:45.248 would protect Jacob. And that one day 574 00:27:45.368 --> 00:27:48.228 Jacob would return to his home. 575 00:27:48.808 --> 00:27:51.696 And God made this promise, not out of Jacob's goodness, but 576 00:27:51.712 --> 00:27:54.484 out of God's, in 577 00:27:54.516 --> 00:27:57.492 Christ. Regardless of the mess 578 00:27:57.540 --> 00:28:00.452 that we find ourselves in, regardless 579 00:28:00.500 --> 00:28:03.088 of the situation where we find ourselves, 580 00:28:03.748 --> 00:28:06.608 we can guarantee that God is with us, 581 00:28:07.228 --> 00:28:10.220 that God is holding us, and that God has 582 00:28:10.244 --> 00:28:13.100 a home for us. And 583 00:28:13.124 --> 00:28:15.768 that I love within this 584 00:28:17.388 --> 00:28:19.928 is that there's this moment that happens. 585 00:28:21.028 --> 00:28:23.088 There's this moment that takes place 586 00:28:24.108 --> 00:28:26.008 as the goodness of God 587 00:28:27.188 --> 00:28:29.908 is revealed. And 588 00:28:29.948 --> 00:28:32.908 sinful man, with his 589 00:28:32.948 --> 00:28:34.888 failures and his shortcomings, 590 00:28:35.588 --> 00:28:37.448 responds to that holy God. 591 00:28:39.268 --> 00:28:42.260 It says that Jacob woke up 592 00:28:42.284 --> 00:28:45.044 in fear that when God 593 00:28:45.116 --> 00:28:46.688 had revealed himself 594 00:28:47.938 --> 00:28:50.298 to Jacob, that 595 00:28:50.338 --> 00:28:52.318 Jacob's response 596 00:28:53.418 --> 00:28:56.242 was to respond in the 597 00:28:56.290 --> 00:28:58.878 reverence, in the awe of God, 598 00:29:00.098 --> 00:29:02.410 in the beauty, in the 599 00:29:02.474 --> 00:29:05.426 majesty and a little bit 600 00:29:05.442 --> 00:29:08.170 of the mystery of what always 601 00:29:08.234 --> 00:29:11.154 there. He responded in 602 00:29:11.186 --> 00:29:13.862 reverence to God. As 603 00:29:13.910 --> 00:29:16.630 God revealed himself to 604 00:29:16.654 --> 00:29:19.138 Jacob. He made a marker 605 00:29:19.438 --> 00:29:22.138 which is not something that we do often, 606 00:29:22.958 --> 00:29:25.458 especially in our context, 607 00:29:25.918 --> 00:29:28.654 but we've definitely seen this in Genesis so 608 00:29:28.686 --> 00:29:31.486 far, and we'll continue. So what is he doing? What is he doing with 609 00:29:31.502 --> 00:29:34.398 this stone and this oil and a 610 00:29:34.438 --> 00:29:37.254 pillar? He's setting a place 611 00:29:37.286 --> 00:29:40.098 of worship, and he's worshiping 612 00:29:40.138 --> 00:29:43.130 God. So in the revealing of 613 00:29:43.194 --> 00:29:45.874 God, he is 614 00:29:46.026 --> 00:29:48.518 reverently worshiping him. 615 00:29:49.218 --> 00:29:52.130 And he makes a vow. He makes a 616 00:29:52.154 --> 00:29:54.450 vow. He dedicates 617 00:29:54.514 --> 00:29:57.394 himself to God. The 618 00:29:57.426 --> 00:30:00.274 past is the past, and this 619 00:30:00.306 --> 00:30:02.914 is who I am in you as I go 620 00:30:02.946 --> 00:30:05.878 forward. And he pledged 621 00:30:05.918 --> 00:30:08.390 to give a 10th of all that he 622 00:30:08.414 --> 00:30:10.934 had. He made a 623 00:30:10.966 --> 00:30:13.510 sacrifice. He presented an 624 00:30:13.534 --> 00:30:13.984 offering. 625 00:30:13.984 --> 00:30:16.678 M when we take all of 626 00:30:16.718 --> 00:30:19.598 these things, in 627 00:30:19.638 --> 00:30:22.382 Jacob's response to this 628 00:30:22.430 --> 00:30:23.578 holy God, 629 00:30:25.158 --> 00:30:27.938 in spite of his shortcomings and his failures, 630 00:30:28.638 --> 00:30:31.378 in spite of his sin and all that he had created, 631 00:30:32.218 --> 00:30:33.318 what did he do? 632 00:30:35.018 --> 00:30:37.866 He had church. He 633 00:30:37.882 --> 00:30:38.798 had church. 634 00:30:40.938 --> 00:30:43.798 We come to worship 635 00:30:44.858 --> 00:30:47.038 for a lot of different reasons. 636 00:30:48.618 --> 00:30:51.570 But the beauty when we 637 00:30:51.634 --> 00:30:54.418 come in the midst of our 638 00:30:54.458 --> 00:30:57.458 tragedy, Lord, this is who we 639 00:30:57.498 --> 00:31:00.464 are, and this is what we've created. And 640 00:31:00.496 --> 00:31:03.304 I do not deserve anything but 641 00:31:03.336 --> 00:31:06.088 the mess that is there and the wrath 642 00:31:06.248 --> 00:31:09.184 that you have given, that you could give. But, 643 00:31:09.256 --> 00:31:12.208 o Lord, in the reverence of 644 00:31:12.288 --> 00:31:15.208 who you are and in your power and your 645 00:31:15.248 --> 00:31:18.016 mercy, the reverence before a 646 00:31:18.032 --> 00:31:20.944 holy God, the willingness to 647 00:31:20.976 --> 00:31:23.272 come and not worship 648 00:31:23.320 --> 00:31:25.948 ourselves, but to worship him 649 00:31:26.498 --> 00:31:29.122 about who he is, about what he has done, 650 00:31:29.210 --> 00:31:32.074 about his goodness, about his mercy, about his 651 00:31:32.106 --> 00:31:35.066 grace. And we sing and we pray and we speak 652 00:31:35.122 --> 00:31:38.066 and we profess all those things of who he is 653 00:31:38.242 --> 00:31:41.034 that we come. And in the midst of this, we 654 00:31:41.106 --> 00:31:44.010 recognize that I'm going to dedicate myself to you, 655 00:31:44.074 --> 00:31:46.914 that this day moving forward, Lord, as more 656 00:31:46.946 --> 00:31:49.898 and more of you is revealed to me, more and more as you extend 657 00:31:49.938 --> 00:31:52.928 me your grace and your truth, or that these are the steps of 658 00:31:52.968 --> 00:31:55.600 obedience that I'm committing you, that I'm gonna take on this day 659 00:31:55.624 --> 00:31:58.560 forward, and the beauty of our 660 00:31:58.584 --> 00:32:01.468 sacrifice, of our time, 661 00:32:02.048 --> 00:32:04.908 of our talent, of our money, 662 00:32:05.248 --> 00:32:07.148 of all of who we are, 663 00:32:08.288 --> 00:32:11.144 all of these things, not because we're 664 00:32:11.176 --> 00:32:13.840 good, not because we figured it 665 00:32:13.864 --> 00:32:16.280 out, not because of what we made of 666 00:32:16.304 --> 00:32:18.728 ourselves, but of 667 00:32:19.348 --> 00:32:20.448 who he is. 668 00:32:21.948 --> 00:32:24.820 Maybe today is a 669 00:32:24.844 --> 00:32:27.772 difficult day for you. Today 670 00:32:27.860 --> 00:32:30.608 is a day where you feel 671 00:32:30.948 --> 00:32:33.828 the continual reminder of who you 672 00:32:33.868 --> 00:32:36.236 are is surrounded by the 673 00:32:36.292 --> 00:32:38.728 tragedy that you find yourself in. 674 00:32:40.548 --> 00:32:43.148 Today is the day that we 675 00:32:43.188 --> 00:32:45.548 worship a holy, 676 00:32:46.128 --> 00:32:48.348 loving good 677 00:32:48.688 --> 00:32:51.088 God who takes your 678 00:32:51.128 --> 00:32:53.328 tragedy and turns it into 679 00:32:53.368 --> 00:32:55.808 triumph, who turns it into 680 00:32:55.848 --> 00:32:56.588 victory, 681 00:32:58.328 --> 00:33:00.668 even death. 682 00:33:02.528 --> 00:33:05.416 It's hard for us when 683 00:33:05.432 --> 00:33:07.840 we attend a 684 00:33:07.864 --> 00:33:10.588 funeral, when we have 685 00:33:10.628 --> 00:33:12.448 someone close to us die. 686 00:33:13.508 --> 00:33:15.488 It's a very difficult day. 687 00:33:16.508 --> 00:33:19.404 It's a very difficult day, even if you're a follower of 688 00:33:19.436 --> 00:33:21.892 Jesus, because you're 689 00:33:21.940 --> 00:33:24.876 processing your feelings, your love, 690 00:33:24.932 --> 00:33:27.288 your affection, of all that you have. 691 00:33:28.108 --> 00:33:30.988 But in these, what we must remember, what 692 00:33:31.028 --> 00:33:33.740 we cling to, is that every 693 00:33:33.804 --> 00:33:36.780 bit of the sting of the pain of what 694 00:33:36.804 --> 00:33:39.572 the world feels, is the finality of 695 00:33:39.660 --> 00:33:42.148 death in 696 00:33:42.188 --> 00:33:44.728 Christ. In Christ. 697 00:33:45.548 --> 00:33:48.444 That service is not 698 00:33:48.476 --> 00:33:51.220 about the tragedy. That 699 00:33:51.284 --> 00:33:53.968 service is about the triumph 700 00:33:54.388 --> 00:33:56.808 that's found in Christ 701 00:33:57.108 --> 00:33:59.828 and in Christ alone. That he 702 00:33:59.868 --> 00:34:02.764 takes all the tragedy, 703 00:34:02.916 --> 00:34:05.664 all the impossible, all of the 704 00:34:05.696 --> 00:34:08.588 finality of what the world sees 705 00:34:08.928 --> 00:34:11.864 and says. I'm going to use it to make you 706 00:34:11.896 --> 00:34:14.224 whole, to bring you into my 707 00:34:14.256 --> 00:34:17.024 presence, and to take every 708 00:34:17.136 --> 00:34:20.080 bit of suffering and remove it from you no 709 00:34:20.104 --> 00:34:20.668 more. 710 00:34:22.768 --> 00:34:25.456 That's the God we worship. Would you pray with 711 00:34:25.472 --> 00:34:26.028 me? 712 00:34:30.988 --> 00:34:32.568 Jesus, I thank you for today. 713 00:34:34.388 --> 00:34:36.608 I thank you that, Lord. So many times 714 00:34:37.468 --> 00:34:40.332 we find ourselves in moments 715 00:34:40.380 --> 00:34:41.648 like this in scripture. 716 00:34:44.468 --> 00:34:46.328 The situation changes, 717 00:34:48.548 --> 00:34:51.332 the tragedy looks 718 00:34:51.380 --> 00:34:54.076 different, but it's the 719 00:34:54.132 --> 00:34:56.776 mess that, ah, we've 720 00:34:56.832 --> 00:34:57.708 created. 721 00:34:59.488 --> 00:35:02.264 It's the mess that the world 722 00:35:02.336 --> 00:35:04.028 has laid out before us. 723 00:35:05.008 --> 00:35:07.468 It's the tragedy of this life. 724 00:35:08.728 --> 00:35:11.228 But, God, you take that. 725 00:35:13.808 --> 00:35:15.628 You take all that's there, 726 00:35:17.488 --> 00:35:20.176 all of what we find. You 727 00:35:20.192 --> 00:35:22.108 say, I'm going to use this. 728 00:35:24.538 --> 00:35:27.386 Use this for my name and 729 00:35:27.402 --> 00:35:28.398 for my glory. 730 00:35:30.658 --> 00:35:33.618 God, if we search 731 00:35:33.658 --> 00:35:34.638 for victory 732 00:35:36.098 --> 00:35:38.698 anywhere, in 733 00:35:38.738 --> 00:35:40.818 anything or 734 00:35:40.858 --> 00:35:43.418 anyone other than 735 00:35:43.458 --> 00:35:45.922 Jesus, it 736 00:35:46.090 --> 00:35:47.678 will fail. 737 00:35:49.038 --> 00:35:51.982 It will end. It will come 738 00:35:52.030 --> 00:35:54.870 to ruin. And so, God, 739 00:35:54.974 --> 00:35:57.598 I pray that all of us 740 00:35:57.638 --> 00:36:00.582 here, regardless of 741 00:36:00.630 --> 00:36:02.258 where we find ourselves, 742 00:36:03.518 --> 00:36:05.018 would take our eyes 743 00:36:06.358 --> 00:36:07.978 off of the tragedy 744 00:36:09.318 --> 00:36:10.978 and put it on the victor. 745 00:36:12.118 --> 00:36:14.218 The one who brings triumphs, 746 00:36:15.428 --> 00:36:17.408 the one who's all powerful, 747 00:36:18.428 --> 00:36:20.648 the one whose word is ever true. 748 00:36:22.428 --> 00:36:25.060 Jesus, you are the 749 00:36:25.084 --> 00:36:27.488 way, the truth, 750 00:36:27.868 --> 00:36:30.836 and the life. And it's 751 00:36:30.852 --> 00:36:33.288 in your name we pray. Amen. 752 00:36:38.108 --> 00:36:40.816 Thanks again for listening, and be sure to check back 753 00:36:40.872 --> 00:36:43.688 next week for another episode. In the meantime, 754 00:36:43.808 --> 00:36:46.728 you can visit us@willowridgechurch.org or 755 00:36:46.768 --> 00:36:49.152 by searching for Willow Ridge Church on Facebook, 756 00:36:49.280 --> 00:36:50.328 Instagram and Twitter.