WEBVTT - Freedom God Sends 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:03.600 Well, good morning and welcome. We are continuing to talk 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:07.840 about freedom and how God provides freedom in our lives, 0:00:07.880 --> 0:00:10.960 and maybe you're asking the question, what does freedom have 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:14.000 to do with our overall well being? Well, I think 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:16.880 the founding Father said it pretty clearly. We hold these 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:20.360 truths to be self evident, that all people are created 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:24.800 equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:27.639 like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And so 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:31.080 in this country we have seen freedom as a God 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:34.440 given gift. It's not something we get from the government. 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:38.360 It's not something we get from royalty, our kings and queens. 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:42.400 But God gives each person freedom and with freedom comes choice, 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:49.000 the opportunity to pursue life, liberty, and fulfillment, a meaningful 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:52.159 kind of lives. So freedom plays a big role in that. 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:55.040 And we've been talking about the attributes of God. God 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:57.960 hears us, God heals trauma in our story and in 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:00.319 our lives. And today we're thinking about the fact that 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:04.560 God sends and so when you begin to analyze that 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:09.280 and think about that, God has a pattern of sending 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:13.600 people Exodus three ten. So now go I'm sending you 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:17.679 to Pharuoh to bring my people, the Israelites out of Egypt. 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:23.320 So we kind of seen these concepts. The covenant, which 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:27.479 is the relationship the Biblical model tells us, is the 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:30.000 nature of the relationship we have with God. We're in 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:33.560 a covenant relationship, and that just means that God has 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:36.520 a part, certainly the majority part, but we have a 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:40.560 part too. That God gives us grace and forgiveness and love, 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:44.920 and we, in response to that grace and love and forgiveness, 0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:51.200 we follow. We have a responsibility to listen and obey 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:55.480 and become a disciple. And so this idea of covenant 0:01:55.480 --> 0:01:59.200 then is built around an idea of sending. You can 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:02.880 go all the way back to Abraham and the original Covenant, 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:06.840 and God is sending Abraham away from his home to 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:10.720 the land of Canaan to the Promised Land. And that 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:14.359 process goes on throughout the scriptures. A pattern starts to develop. 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:19.160 It's very vivid in Isaiah six. Maybe you've heard these words. 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:21.320 In the year that King Uziah died, I saw the 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:25.680 Lord high and exalted, seated on the throne. The train 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:28.560 of his robe filled the temple above him, where the 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:31.320 seraphim each had six wings, with two they covered their 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:33.480 faces with two they covered their feet with who they 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:37.320 were flying, and they were calling to one another. Holy, Holy, Holy, 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:40.000 is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:41.960 of his glory. And at the sound of their voices, 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:44.680 of the doorposts and threshold shook, and the temple was 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:48.440 filled with smoke. Whoe to me, I cried, I'm ruined, 0:02:48.919 --> 0:02:50.680 for I'm a man of unclean lips, and I live 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:53.080 among a people of unclean lips. In my eyes of 0:02:53.160 --> 0:02:55.880 seeing the King, the Lord Almighty. And then one of 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:57.880 the seraphims flew to me with a live coal in 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:00.200 his hand. He had taken with tongs from the alter, 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:02.959 and with it he touched my mouth and said, see 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:05.560 this has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away, 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:08.239 your sin is atoned for. And then I heard the 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:10.640 voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:12.480 who will go for us? And I said, here, am 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:16.040 I send me. That's a very powerful image of the 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:20.360 calling of Isaiah. And notice how quickly and closely his 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:24.680 deliverance from what he calls unclean lips and unclean people 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:29.480 goes from being forgiven to being sent. Sometimes we think 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:32.639 the journey from our brokenness to the place where we're 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:36.160 sin is some long, long journey, but in this story 0:03:36.200 --> 0:03:40.520 it's very closely related. And I think for a lot 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:43.640 of us, it's a question that we could ask, who 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:45.440 will go for me? Who will I send? In what 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:48.760 way am I being sent? And to whom? And where 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:51.880 am I being sent? Am I being sent? It is 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:54.680 a part of the conversation that has to do with freedom, 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:58.280 real freedom, real purpose in life, real meaning, and that 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:02.400 fits into the pattern Jesus in the Great Commission sends 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:06.440 us to make disciples in Jerusalem and Judaea, Samaria and 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:10.160 then to the ends of the earth. That's worth stopping 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:13.000 and thinking about. It's not just a random phrase, it's 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:17.039 not just poetry. You'll be my disciples, and I want 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:20.480 you to go and make disciples, first in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:23.400 and then to the ends of the earth Jerusalem home 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:26.320 right where you live, right in the places that you're 0:04:26.320 --> 0:04:32.359 already occupying, Judea, the surrounding community, Samaria close by, but 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:36.279 very different people, very different belief systems, and then to 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:38.720 the ends of the earth. I want us to keep 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:43.039 that in mind as we chat today. John twenty twenty one. 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:46.359 Jesus sums it up. Peace be with you. As the 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:50.279 Father has sent me, I am sending you. Maybe the 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:52.960 most famous verse in the Bible, John three sixteen. God 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:57.240 so loved the world that he sent his son, the sending. 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:01.200 Part of this story, of this legacy, of this covenant 0:05:01.320 --> 0:05:03.760 is that God has sent Jesus, and just as God 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:08.560 sent him, now he's sending us. Where are you being sent? 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:11.560 Do you think about that much? Is that a question 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:16.320 that occupies any of your consciousness? Calling the sending is 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:20.560 pretty important. Otherwise it's just a job. Otherwise it's just 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:24.839 a function of logistics. I just need to make money 0:05:24.880 --> 0:05:28.839 and spend money, and there's not a ton of fulfillment 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:33.680 in just living logistically. Paul gets into the conversation in 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:36.560 Romans ten, and this is what he writes in verses 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:39.719 twelve through fifteen. For there's no difference between jew and gentile. 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:42.800 The same Lord as Lord of all, and richly blesses 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:45.680 all who call on him. For everyone calls on the 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:48.160 name of the Lord will be saved. How then, can 0:05:48.200 --> 0:05:50.359 they call on the one that they have not believed in? 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:52.440 And how can they believe in the one whom they 0:05:52.440 --> 0:05:55.120 have not heard? And how can they hear without someone 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:57.960 preaching to them, And how can anyone preach unless they 0:05:57.960 --> 0:06:00.960 are sent? As it is written? And how beautiful are 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:04.080 the few of those who bring good news? What an 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:07.359 amazing thought that you and I are being sent to 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:11.000 bring good news? What does that look like in this 0:06:11.160 --> 0:06:14.799 culture and in this world, into a world where people 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:19.400 are angry and afraid and constantly upset and highly divided 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:23.560 along party lines and political lines and cultural lines and 0:06:24.000 --> 0:06:28.680 concepts of social constructs that we're four are against, that 0:06:28.920 --> 0:06:33.680 generally need way more conversation than four are against. Part 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:36.600 of what gets into the conversation is this, most of 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:39.839 us don't feel like we're qualified that if you and 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:42.080 I are being sent to make the world a better place. 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:45.520 In fact, what Jesus says is to bring the Kingdom 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:48.320 of God alive on earth, so that what's being done 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:51.320 on earth is the same as what's being done in heaven. 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:54.520 That's a pretty big order, And most of us would go, yeah, 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:56.919 I don't. I think you have the wrong person. I 0:06:56.920 --> 0:06:59.720 don't have much to offer. I'm way too messed up 0:06:59.720 --> 0:07:02.240 for that. I have way too much of a story. 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.560 I don't want to It doesn't sound like fun to me. 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:09.039 I'm not sure what I would say, and I think 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:11.800 most of us feel that we would like to make 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:14.080 a difference. We'd like to make a difference in our home. 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:17.160 We'd like to make a difference in our family, our community. 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:20.160 We'd like to be significant in some way in the 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:23.000 places where we work and live and serve. And for 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:26.239 those that attend church, certainly like to make a difference there. 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:31.000 But our insecurities get in the conversation. I don't think 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:33.600 i'm enough. I don't think I have any special gifts 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:36.440 or talents. I think we're in a pretty good company. 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:40.600 I think in Mark nine, there's this phrase that I 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:43.720 think is so powerful. The story goes like this. There's 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:46.040 a man who has a child, and the child is 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:50.800 believed to be possessed by a demon, and the father says, 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:52.960 it's often thrown him into the fire or the water 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:55.360 to kill him. And then the father says, but if 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:58.280 you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:02.160 If you can, Jesus, everything is possible for the one 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:04.960 who believes. And immediately the boy's father said, I do 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:09.240 believe helped me overcome my unbelief. I think that's symptomatic 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:12.240 of all of us. We believe a little, but there's 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:15.360 a whole lot of unbelief that would have to be overcome. 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:19.880 I think it's worth thinking about. I think it's worth considering. 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:24.160 So the story then of Moses's sending, as we continue 0:08:24.200 --> 0:08:27.360 this story of Exodus, is he's lived forty years in 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:31.440 Egypt that ends abruptly when he kills a guard, and 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:34.680 then when it's discovered, when he knows that people know 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:38.000 about it, he flees for his life and he flees 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:41.800 to the land of Midian and there he meets a family, 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:46.600 and he is given a wife in marriage. And now 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:50.080 for the next forty years he tends his father in 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:53.439 law's flocks. He doesn't even go into business for himself. 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:56.880 He just takes care of his father in law's sheep. 0:08:57.520 --> 0:09:01.040 Pretty content, he's moved on. There's a lot in that 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:04.120 that doesn't make a lot of sense, leaving behind family 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:07.640 and friends and responsibilities and just fleeing, just running and 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:11.080 starting a brand new life. And after he's been tending 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:14.600 sheep for forty years, he notices one day as he 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:18.920 is walking around that there is a bush that's caught 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:22.960 on fire and it's not being consumed. And that's a 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:25.520 weird thing, and he says, I'll just go over and 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:29.120 see what it's like, what it's happening. And he goes 0:09:29.160 --> 0:09:31.000 to check it out, and when he gets there, he 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:35.400 hears the voice of God saying, Moses, take off your shoes, 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:39.840 this is holy ground, and so Moses does. He obeys, 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:43.959 takes off his shoes and says, what's going on? What 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:46.520 is this about? And God begins to say to him, Listen, 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:49.120 I had a plan, and the plan was to give 0:09:49.240 --> 0:09:53.319 the children of Israel the land of Canaan and to 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:57.000 make them a great nation. And I haven't forgotten my promises. 0:09:57.440 --> 0:10:01.640 And the time has come for you to confront Pharaoh 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:04.760 and for the story to continue. And so I want 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:07.720 you to go and talk to Pharaoh. I'm sending you 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:11.480 to Pharaoh, and Moses is like, I think he may 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:14.480 be messed up. We'll continue the story right after this. 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:19.839 Welcome back. You're listening to Healing Conversations on KABC seven 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:23.480 ninety M Dave Roberts. We're talking about being sent. This 0:10:23.559 --> 0:10:27.439 is the God who sends. Moses says at Mount Horab, 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:31.640 he's noticed in the fortieth years of tending his father 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:34.320 in law, sheep a bush that's on fire but not 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:37.480 being consumed and winning approaches. He hears the voice of God. 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.160 Here I am Moses, don't come any closer. This is 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:44.280 holy ground. Take off your sandals. He does. God begins 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:46.960 to teach him and talk to him about it's you. 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:50.520 I'm sending you to go to Pharaoh to let my 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:55.040 people go, And immediately Moses says, well, who am I 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.640 I'm inadequate, i am not the person to speak to God. 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:01.240 But God says, I'll be with you. I'll go with you, 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:06.240 and the conversation continues to unfold. I'll go and I'll 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:08.360 say to them you need to do this. And they're 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:12.600 going to ask me who sent me? What is your name? 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:17.640 Moses asked, and God says, I am who I am. 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:20.200 And that doesn't mean a lot to us. But what 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:22.000 it meant to Moses and what it would mean to 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:25.280 the people, is I am the I am. I am 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:28.360 the beginning in the end. I am the source of life. 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:32.079 I am the source of creation. You tell them that 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:36.840 the prime mover, the first cause, the very beginning, is 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:39.120 the one who sent you, the one who has built 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:43.840 everything and is continuing to lead in this process. And 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.720 so the conversation continues, and God reiterates, now, this is 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:50.560 a generational promise, and I want you to go and 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:53.320 get all of the elders of Israel together and tell 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:56.679 them that the promise is not forgotten, that I'm going 0:11:56.760 --> 0:12:01.240 to fulfill my commitment to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:03.480 tel Fay wrote that you want to go into the 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:08.560 wilderness for three days to sacrifice to your God. And 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:11.160 so that's the plan. And then Moses says, but what 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:13.880 if they don't believe me? And now God gives Moses 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:17.440 three miraculous signs. The first thing he says, is what's 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:20.000 in your hand? And he says a staff. Throw it 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:22.680 on the ground. It becomes a serpent. Moses picks it 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:26.480 up and it becomes a staff again. And then he says, 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:33.400 slip your hand into your cloak, and Moses did, and 0:12:33.600 --> 0:12:36.640 when he took it out, it was covered in leprosy. 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:39.000 And then he said, put it back in your cloak, 0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:40.840 and Moses did, and when he took it out it 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:44.320 was restored and healthy. He said, then, what if they 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:48.000 still do not believe me? And God said, take a 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:49.880 cup of water and pour it on the ground, and 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:52.439 he did. And when it hit the ground, it became blood. 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:56.280 So now they will believe you. Here are three signs. 0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:59.679 And then Moses has more objections, still not wanting to 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:02.720 be the person who's being not feeling qualified, not wanting 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:05.160 to do it. And so now he says, but I'm 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:07.560 not very eloquent. I don't speak well. I'm a little 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:12.239 slow in my speech. And God says, but I created 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:16.079 the human mouth. That's not any problem for me to overcome. 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:20.079 And then Moses finally says, I just don't want to 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:23.840 just send someone else. I just don't want to. And 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:30.720 so God becomes angry and demands that Moses go, that 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:33.960 he be sent, and Moses goes. He goes and tells 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:36.360 his father in law what he's about to do, and 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:39.360 he says, go and do well at it, and off 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:41.679 they go, and he comes to the elders and he 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:45.319 explains everything to them and they believe him, and he 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:49.080 offers the signs so that the people understand that God 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:53.240 is with him, and off they go then to visit 0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:57.720 Pharaoh and demand that the children of Israel be released. 0:13:58.480 --> 0:14:02.520 This very elaborate call and sending of Moses, this long story, 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:07.120 the objections, the sense of not being qualified. Several things 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:11.160 come out of that that God is assending. God, as 0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:14.440 the Father has sent the Son, we are also being sent. 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:18.880 Where are you being sent? And why are you being sent? 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:22.760 That's a personal question worth asking. We have purpose in 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:25.640 our life. At one point the New Testament it says 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:28.720 that God has prepared good works in advance for us 0:14:28.760 --> 0:14:30.400 to do. We don't have to go figure it all out. 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:32.360 We just have to find it. You have to be 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:35.280 open to it, we have to be listening for it. 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:37.960 So here's a couple of things to keep in mind 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:41.280 as you think about being sent. Number One, God sends 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:46.240 in response to needs. God cares about people, and he 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:49.400 cares about all people, those who've lived and died, and 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:51.720 those who lived now and those who live in the future. 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:55.560 God sends real people with real skin to real people 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:59.440 who are in need. And when Jesus is asked the 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:02.000 greatest in the law, he said, it's to love the 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:05.000 Lord your God, and to love your neighbor as yourself. 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:07.880 And the person who asked the question said, but who's 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:10.640 my neighbor? And he tells the story of the Good Samaritan, 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:12.880 about a man who falls among thieves and a priest 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:15.720 comes by and refuses to help, And a levite comes 0:15:15.760 --> 0:15:19.760 by and refuses to help. A priest would be of 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:23.360 obviously priestly descent from Erin. A levite would also be 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:26.080 of priestly descent from Eron, but it would be a 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:30.160 part of the administrative structure, won the pastoral role, the 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:34.800 intercessor one, the administrator in the temple. But the levite 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:38.680 also passed by. And then finally a Samaritan came, and 0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:41.240 the samaritan took the person and put him on his 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:44.320 own donkey and took him to an inn and dressed 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:47.120 his wounds and paid for the care, and told the 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:51.160 innkeeper if anything else was needed, he would return and pay. 0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:53.720 And Jesus then asked the crowd who was a neighbor 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:57.240 to the man who fell among thieves? And they respond, 0:15:57.640 --> 0:16:01.440 the one who showed him mercy, Oh, and do likewise. 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:04.400 There are people in your world, in Jerusalem, where you 0:16:04.480 --> 0:16:08.280 already live, in your home family, who are in need. 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:10.560 What's your response to that? There are people in the 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:14.320 surrounding community in need. There are people who are different 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:16.960 from us in our own city and world, And then 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:21.400 there are needs around the world. God sins and response 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:25.720 to need. Are we attentive enough to sense the need, 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:29.280 to recognize it, to see it. Number two, God sins 0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:33.040 with intent to deliver. God's still in the business of deliverance. 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:36.160 We pray a part of it in the Lord's prayer. 0:16:36.200 --> 0:16:40.240 Deliver us from evil, deliver our world. Deliver me from 0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:44.560 the physical limitations and failings of my body. Deliver me 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:48.800 from sadness. Deliver me from depression, Deliver me from addiction, 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:57.520 from brokenness, from financial distress, from bondage, dysfunction and justice, prejudice, pain, grief. 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:01.720 The message of the Gospel still deliverance. It's still about 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:04.480 making the world a better place. It's still about improving 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:08.320 the lives of people. God responds to need, and he 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:11.920 does so with the intent to deliver. We are being 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:16.320 sent to help to make a difference. That's the ultimate promise, 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:19.439 that the whole world is on a path towards deliverance. 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:23.280 That's the biblical story. One day there'll be no more sorrow, 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:25.920 There'll be no more sadness, than'll be no more death 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:31.359 or sickness. Are parting. This path is towards deliverance, and 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:35.840 we're being sent in this. Are you listening, are you noticing? 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:38.720 Are you looking and longing to be a part of 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:41.800 the solution in the world. A part of helping can't 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:45.680 fix everything, but what if each of us did our part, 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:50.600 just paid attention. Number three. God sends with a master plan. 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:54.840 God's working for the good. He has a master plan 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:56.840 to prosper us and not to harm us, to give 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.360 us a hope in a future. It doesn't always seem 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:02.720 like a good plan, and there's always roundabout ways. And 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:06.000 even that verse I quoted from Jeremiah as Jeremiah speaking 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:08.879 to the people in exile, and the message is settled down. 0:18:09.119 --> 0:18:10.919 You're going to be in exile for a while, but 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:14.920 I know the plans I have for you. That sometimes 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:17.439 our lives are in a tough spot, that it's not 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:21.240 going well. It's so important. Children of Israel have been 0:18:21.280 --> 0:18:24.760 in captivity and they must have thought many times that 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:27.159 God doesn't care. But God has a master plan and 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:31.280 he's working on the plan. He's bringing the broken circumstances 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:34.960 to a place of healing. And that master plan promises 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:38.280 that we'll be together again, that our morning will turn 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:41.919 to dancing, that we're in a big picture and we 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:48.359 have the ultimate hope. Number four. God sends with providence 0:18:48.400 --> 0:18:51.280 and power, and that simply means that God sends us, 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:54.040 but he also provides what we need and gives us 0:18:54.119 --> 0:18:57.800 the strength that we need to accomplish what we're doing. 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:01.359 He shows Moses simple things, the staff in your hand, 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:05.840 your own physical body, simple water. These things can be 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:09.480 used by me in a powerful way to demonstrate. And 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:13.000 God gives power to the weak and strength to the weary. 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:15.639 And so when we're sin we don't know that we 0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:17.920 have the strength we need, or the wisdom we need, 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:21.720 or any of that stuff. But God comes beside us 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:25.600 in that. And then number five, God sends with mercy 0:19:25.720 --> 0:19:30.480 for our weakness. Moses has a million excuses, has a 0:19:30.480 --> 0:19:35.000 million excuses, and God very patiently listens to each one 0:19:35.480 --> 0:19:40.600 and reassures Moses that he'll be present with him. In fact, 0:19:41.400 --> 0:19:44.680 it seems like that it's Moses's weaknesses that make him 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:47.679 so aware of his needs for God's presence. That's pretty 0:19:47.880 --> 0:19:51.760 consistent with the story of Scripture that Paul learns that 0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:54.960 it's in his weaknesses that he's strong, because when he 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:58.560 realizes his weaknesses and becomes dependent on God, that's when 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:02.880 things really change. That's when progress is really made, that's 0:20:02.920 --> 0:20:07.600 when good things really happen. So we're being sent. We're 0:20:07.640 --> 0:20:10.440 being sent? Do you think about that? Do you linger 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:16.879 over that possibility? And where might you be sent? Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:19.480 the ends of the earth. What would that look like 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:22.840 in your story. We're going to unpack that right after 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:26.919 this break. Welcome back. You're listening to Healing Conversations on 0:20:27.080 --> 0:20:31.480 KABC seven ninety. I'm Dave Roberts. I'm welcoming into the studio. 0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:33.000 Eric mclinahan. Welcome Eric. 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:35.920 Good morning, Dave. How are you doing pretty good? How 0:20:35.960 --> 0:20:37.840 are you on this fine Sunday morning? 0:20:37.920 --> 0:20:40.359 Think I'm doing okay. I still fighting a little cold, 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:43.560 so I'm pleased that we've been through two segments without 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:47.800 a coughing fit. Well, you made the mistake of going 0:20:47.840 --> 0:20:48.440 on vacation. 0:20:48.840 --> 0:20:51.040 I know that you are go, go, go, and then 0:20:51.080 --> 0:20:53.480 sometimes when you slow down and go on vacation, your 0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:55.880 body's like, well I'm going to catch up and get. 0:20:55.800 --> 0:20:57.359 Oh yeah, you don't have to go to work today, 0:20:57.440 --> 0:21:00.399 you know what I'm saving this forum. That is how 0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:01.080 it feels. 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:06.199 Yeah. I feel like every year I get sick on 0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:11.399 like December eighteenth, Yeah, and I get healthy enough, just 0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:14.600 enough to where I can do Christmas Eve, but my 0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:16.000 voice feels bad doing it. 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:19.840 I feel like every year that happens. Well, and that's 0:21:19.880 --> 0:21:21.880 because you finished the musical. That's true. 0:21:21.960 --> 0:21:24.120 You did the musical, and I'm around all those little 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:26.440 kids and they give me some kind of cold and. 0:21:26.359 --> 0:21:28.919 Then well and then you're the same thing. You know, 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:31.920 your body takes a breath after all that. Yeah, you 0:21:32.480 --> 0:21:33.560 reach the finish line. 0:21:33.920 --> 0:21:36.879 Yeah, that's true, and then I just I don't think 0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:39.600 I've like felt full voice at a Christmas even a 0:21:39.640 --> 0:21:40.120 long time. 0:21:40.560 --> 0:21:41.080 Yeah. 0:21:41.119 --> 0:21:44.120 This story is interesting to me because my first gut 0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:50.000 reaction I feel this way reading a lot of especially 0:21:50.000 --> 0:21:54.040 Old Testament stories right where I'm like, well, that's not fair. 0:21:54.080 --> 0:21:57.600 He got a burning bush, right I God spoke to 0:21:57.680 --> 0:22:01.120 him directly. That would be nice. I would love if 0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:04.119 God would just come down in the form of a 0:22:04.119 --> 0:22:06.000 burning bush and be like, Eric. 0:22:06.119 --> 0:22:07.479 I want you to do exactly this. 0:22:07.560 --> 0:22:09.240 I feel like that would like clear up a lot 0:22:09.280 --> 0:22:13.359 of confusion in my life. But I think if I 0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:16.040 get anything out of this story, I get that a 0:22:16.080 --> 0:22:20.840 burning bush doesn't even cure all of your doubts and insecurities. 0:22:20.920 --> 0:22:24.080 And I think it's wild that God like pretty directly 0:22:24.480 --> 0:22:26.160 said this is what I want you to do. 0:22:26.520 --> 0:22:30.280 I'm real, I'm here, I'm with you and that, and 0:22:30.320 --> 0:22:33.800 it's not even insecurities and even and when everything kind 0:22:33.800 --> 0:22:37.560 of goes poorly, it doesn't even reassure him that it's 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:39.919 he's still on the right track. You know, you're going 0:22:40.000 --> 0:22:42.560 to hear a lot of lament in the next few chapters, 0:22:42.600 --> 0:22:44.480 you know, of you know, why is it like this? 0:22:44.640 --> 0:22:46.520 Why is it so hard? If this is what you wanted, 0:22:46.560 --> 0:22:50.280