WEBVTT - Wind vs. Word (Trusting God's Timing) 0:00:02.080 --> 0:00:04.600 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:07.120 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:10.480 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:12.520 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:16.760 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:19.439 I'm going to share one verse and then I'm gonna 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:22.680 let you be seated. And the verse is actually an 0:00:22.680 --> 0:00:27.200 Ecclesiasties eleven. I have unintentionally been working my way backwards 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:30.680 through this passenger of scripture, and I haven't started a 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:34.960 series lately, but I've unintentionally just been using these thoughts 0:00:34.960 --> 0:00:38.560 from Solomon, who has us enrolled in the school of wisdom, 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:40.919 and he has the right to do it because some 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:44.159 people called him the wisest man who ever lived. He 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:49.080 was like Elon Musk of the Old Testament. But the 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:53.120 only difference between Solomon and Elon Musk is he wrote 0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:56.600 his treatise to help us see that if you succeed 0:00:57.240 --> 0:01:00.400 but you're not fulfilled, or if you succeed but you 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:04.400 don't have peace, or if you succeed but you're succeeding 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:07.080 at things that don't have real meaning, you will come 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:09.840 up empty in the end, and so he helps us 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:12.800 with that with a few principles from the Word of God. 0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:15.160 And this one today I want to share is very, 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:18.960 very simple from the school of Solomon. Ecclesiastes, Chapter eleven, 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:24.160 verse four says this, whoever watches the wind will not plant, 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:31.320 whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. So I 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:33.560 know I told you it's going to preach today, but 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:38.560 really this is more like an announcement of a fight. Okay, 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:41.920 So really we came to watch a fight today. And 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:48.480 the title of this message is called wind versus Word. 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:56.560 In this corner is the wind and his opponent is 0:01:56.600 --> 0:01:59.600 the Word. And I believe this message is for someone 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:04.640 today who is conflicted between the wind and the Word 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:07.680 of God. And I believe today God is going to 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:12.919 speak to your heart. Do it Lord in Jesus' name, Amen, 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:18.120 touch somebody, say ding, ding, Amen, you may be seated. 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:28.280 One thing that is interesting to me, and the verse 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:33.680 really suggests the same reality, is how when your spirit 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:37.560 makes a decision to do something, your mind will find 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:44.640 reasons not to do it. Now, now, if you decide 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:49.120 to do something like go on a diet, your mind 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:53.240 will immediately start calculating why it's not a good idea 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:55.840 to go on a diet. Now, some of y'all are 0:02:55.880 --> 0:02:58.280 already doing the math. Well, you know, Christmas is right 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:02.640 around the corner. It's like months till Christmas, but you 0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:06.120 already got the countdown timer, because it's easy to find 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:09.760 a reason. And really, the way that our human minds 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:13.840 work sometimes is in opposition to our spirit, which is divine. 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:16.680 And that's why you could find yourself even with the 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:19.920 apostle Paul, who lamented one time, what I want to do, 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:23.360 I don't do. What I don't want to do, I do, 0:03:24.200 --> 0:03:28.239 because often your mind will contradict your spirit. And it's 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:31.840 actually deeper than that, because the way this works in 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:36.960 daily life is that your heart reaches a verdict and 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:41.320 then gives evidence to support the verdict, whether or not 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:44.520 the verdict was true. In a court of law, this 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:47.960 would be a mistrial, but in our lives this is 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:52.560 often just standard operating procedure. Is that we come to 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:56.200 a conclusion, and then once we've come to that conclusion, 0:03:56.920 --> 0:04:01.160 our mind is brilliant, like some kind of you know, 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:05.440 four hundred dollars an hour attorney to find evidence to 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:08.840 support the conclusion, and in so many areas of our 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.560 lives we find a reason. I mean, you can find 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:14.280 a reason. And this is what Solomon is saying. If 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:18.000 you look for a reason not to sew, or if 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:20.240 you look for a reason not to reap, you will 0:04:20.240 --> 0:04:24.640 find one every time. It's very true, because right now, 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:27.880 I promise you you can find a reason. Your mind 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:31.840 can find a reason to complain, even though your spirit 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:35.159 knows that God has been good to me. How many 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:36.960 of you, in your spirit you know that God has 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:41.479 been good to you and better than you deserve, And 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:45.000 yet you could find a reason, couldn't you. I'll give 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:46.800 you one. You want one. If you just need a 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:48.760 reason to complain, I'll give you a reason right now 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:51.159 to complain. For some of y'all, it is too cold 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:55.719 in the auditorium. If you just need a reason to complain, 0:04:55.960 --> 0:05:00.640 if the praise songs of the Most High God didn't 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:03.200 give you enough reason to praise, let's find something for 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:05.400 you to complain about. Some of y'all, This sermon is 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:07.400 going to be too long for you. Some of you, 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:09.520 it's going to be too short for you. Some of 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:12.080 you don't like a preacher in type briches, and some 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:14.880 of you, you know you can find one if you 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:17.520 need one, And it's really not that hard to find 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:19.960 a reason to complain. In fact, if we want to 0:05:20.000 --> 0:05:21.919 go even deeper than that. And I don't mean to 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:24.160 take a dark turn early in the sermon, because it's 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:25.840 really good atmosphere in here, and I don't want to 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:28.000 mess it up. But if you wanted to, you could 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:31.000 find a reason to go into a whole depression. If 0:05:31.000 --> 0:05:33.080 you wanted to think about a certain problem in your 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:37.120 life right now, you could distract yourself with a problem 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:39.400 that is not in this room, to the point that 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:41.720 you don't hear another word. I say this whole sermon 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:46.240 because your your mind will collect evidence for a verdict 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:49.440 that you've already decided on. And that's why when you 0:05:49.480 --> 0:05:51.440 wake up some mornings like I do and say is 0:05:51.480 --> 0:05:54.119 just going to be one of those days, you will 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:57.719 find every reason why it's one of those days, because 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:00.120 your heart reached a verdict, and now you sent your 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:04.280 mind in investigative search of the support. Y'all know I'm 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:09.360 preaching in my introduction. I'm rested for this message. And see, 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:11.159 even if you want to try to be tired, you 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:13.400 can try to be tired. If you want a reason 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:14.960 to be tired, you can have a reason to be 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:17.279 tired right now. I mean if you want to find 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:19.760 a real if you just need a reason, you can 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.920 find a reason when you need a reason. And that's 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:27.279 why it's a bad idea. Watch the sharp turn to 0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:34.880 sit around watching the weather. My least favorite thing about 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:41.000 being a pastor is when inclement weather. And by inclement weather, 0:06:41.120 --> 0:06:44.760 here's what I mean. For church people. I'm about to 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:50.279 have some group therapy. Inclement weather means it could mean 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:54.880 that is so beautiful outside that we can't possibly go 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:56.960 to church. We need to take this time to go 0:06:57.040 --> 0:07:00.280 be outside. I'm not talking to y'all talking to the 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:02.359 people who skip church. Let me look at the camera, 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:05.440 because y'all are safe. Y'all are here right now. Inclement weather. 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:08.640 It's not too cold. We don't have to go out 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:10.960 in the rain. It's not too perfect. We're not missing 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:14.480 anything outside. It is perfect church weather. We actually have 0:07:14.520 --> 0:07:17.480 a little joke on our staff when it's just it's 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:19.640 just a little too cold for you to be outside. 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:21.960 But it's not too cold where you have to, you know, 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:24.680 suffer for five seconds before your seat warmers kick in. 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:28.440 Is perfect church weather, and it's really hard to be 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:34.120 a pastor, especially when they are forecasting, you know, torrential 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:37.240 weather that may or may not even hit our state. 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:41.680 And what's really difficult about it, and I promise you 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:45.440 this is in the text, is that sometimes all the 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:49.960 milk and all the bread will be off of the 0:07:50.040 --> 0:07:54.800 grocery store shelves and there will be no snow on 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:59.280 the ground. But it was the it was the threat, 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.600 or I could say like this, it was the forecast 0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:08.400 that created fear of something that was never even in 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:13.320 our future. Now you went to Sam's and Costco bought 0:08:13.320 --> 0:08:16.360 out all the batteries, and the sun was out and 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:20.000 it was seventy seven degrees. Now. One thing that I 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:23.680 love about our church is when a real tragedy happens, 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:27.480 we've already got supplies on the ground in the Bahamas 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:31.119 because of your giving. We've already got supplies moving toward 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:38.720 people when there's an emergency. And that's not the part 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:41.040 that I struggle with as a pastor. The hard part 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:47.280 is knowing that so many people see my dad used 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:50.560 to wake up every morning and watch the news and 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:53.040 he would always I thought this was so weird. Growing up, 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:59.439 he would always cuss out the weathermen. And I need 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:00.760 to give you full the closure because this is a 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:05.280 very complicated part of my personal psychology. I did not 0:09:05.440 --> 0:09:07.680 want to be a preacher when I was a little boy. 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:12.400 I wanted to be a weatherman. I think it was 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:17.560 a form of rebellion because I would stand with my 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:20.080 sesame street globe and an antenna that I broke off 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:22.560 my TV so I could point at the globe and 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:25.160 I would forecast the weather. This is like six years old, 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:27.840 seven years old, and I would forecast the weather in 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:30.679 places in the world that I couldn't pronounce. I liked it. 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:35.520 I liked the ability to predict the future. But then 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:38.960 my dad he would cuss out the weatherman, and I 0:09:39.040 --> 0:09:47.600 was conflicted. And what made him so mad about the 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:52.359 weatherman was that he understood that even though I respect meteorologists, 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:54.000 remember I could have been one. If it had just 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:56.760 gone a little bit different, just a little different path, 0:09:56.760 --> 0:09:58.680 I could have been one. But the thing that my 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:02.600 dad couldn't stand about it was to watch how people 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:06.080 would go into a frenzy over something that was in 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:08.720 a forecast. And now my dad is no longer living, 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:10.800 but I just want to say to him, if he's 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:14.600 watching this on a heavenly celestial livestream broadcast channel, that 0:10:14.679 --> 0:10:19.640 I get it now, because it's frustrating when you're trying 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:24.440 to plan church and people don't come, not because it's snowing, 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:31.400 not because it's raining, but because it might You know 0:10:31.440 --> 0:10:34.880 how many things that the devil has kept you from 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:38.280 doing in your life that God called you to do 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:44.760 because of what might happen if you did. And a 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:48.000 lot of us, the enemy doesn't even have to fight 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:53.880 us with real events or circumstances. Just even the suggestion 0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:56.760 of a disaster is enough to send some of us 0:10:56.760 --> 0:11:00.760 into retreat. And so just even the thought that what 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:02.760 if they don't like you is enough to keep you 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:05.760 in the house, or just even a thought if what 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:07.960 if they break my heart is enough to keep you 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:11.560 from extending yourself in relationship, or just even a thought. 0:11:11.640 --> 0:11:14.079 You know, many of you are reluctant to get involved 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:17.199 in this church because you had a previous bad church experience. 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:20.520 And I understand that because once you have been through 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:23.559 a storm. I lived through Hurricane Hugo. I was eight 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:26.520 years old when Hurricane Hugo hit Charleston, South Carolina. It 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:29.839 terrified me. I didn't want to spend the night away 0:11:29.840 --> 0:11:33.160 from home for two years after that as a little boy, 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:36.880 because one thing. After you have survived a storm, after 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:40.680 you have survived bad weather, after you have survived abuse, 0:11:41.000 --> 0:11:43.440 what people don't tell you about is that even after 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:47.080 the storm is over, it still rages on on the 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:50.520 inside of you. And the saddest thing in the world 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:53.839 is to see a Christian who has been set free 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:56.880 by the love of Christ, to know that neither height, 0:11:57.320 --> 0:12:02.760 nor depth, nor anything else in all, neither death nor life, 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:06.960 neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:09.840 nor any other power shall be able to separate me 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:12.800 from the love of God that is in Christ. Jesus, 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:15.880 my Lord. What I'm trying to say, some of us 0:12:16.000 --> 0:12:18.880 need to fire the devil as our weather man. We 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:21.880 have been consulting the wrong source to find out what 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:25.239 our future looks like. And so now we stay indoors, 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:31.640 and we stay in fear, and we stay in paranoia, 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:37.280 and we never plant, and we never reap. Solomon said, 0:12:37.320 --> 0:12:42.440 because we watch the wind, what a weird image. You 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.600 really can't see the wind, You can only see the 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:49.320 effects of it. And he says, when you watch the wind, 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:55.640 you know, like, is this a good time? I'll give 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:57.679 you one. This one looks like to watch the wind. 0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:00.680 Causing about that phrase watch the wind, and I was like, 0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:02.480 this is not a literal message. I'm not using it 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:04.880 to talk about physical storms. I'm using it to talk 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:08.280 about when the sewer goes to sew, he wants the 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:11.320 wind to work with him, and when the wind is 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:14.400 blowing the opposite direction, all your seed smacks you in 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:17.040 your face. But you never feel like everything you so 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:19.839 just you ever feel like stuff just backfires on you. 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:22.680 You're trying to be nice to somebody. That's the last 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:24.520 one of those I'm doing. I got appreciate this twice 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:28.000 tomorrow any my brain cells. But you ever just been 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:30.520 smacked by your own seat, Because that's what he's saying. 0:13:30.640 --> 0:13:34.000 When the wind is blowing against you. Some of you 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:36.960 have had the wind against you your whole life. You 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:39.400 didn't have the right shoes, your parents didn't make a 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:41.360 lot of money. You had to learn to fit in. 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:43.120 You had to learn how to be tough, you had 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:44.960 to learn how to be hard, and you learned how 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:46.960 to survive a storm. But the problem with that, the 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:50.120 only problem with that is sometimes the wind isn't even 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:54.360 against you, but you still feel like it is because 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:57.480 your mind is collecting evidence in support of a verdict 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:04.120 that is no longer accurate. See watch the wind, try 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:13.360 to find out what's popular, it's not popular. I'm apprecious 0:14:13.360 --> 0:14:16.080 to our students. They've got Rhythm Night coming up next 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:18.720 next Sunday night. And I want you to talk about 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:23.600 this in some form. Tim is that watching the wind 0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:29.160 is like trying to determine what's going to gain you clout, 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:37.800 and then you let clout overrule character. And watching the 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:40.040 wind is trying to be like, oh, do they like me? 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:42.480 Do they like me? Is this what I need to be? 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:45.640 To be like that? That's watching the wind? Can I 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:49.240 give you another one that's watching the wind. Is needing 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:52.200 to be in a good mood to keep your commitments. 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:58.760 That's watching the wind. Because some of my weather systems 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:02.720 are internal, and I found out a long time ago 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:06.600 that usually the mood that you're in when you make 0:15:06.640 --> 0:15:10.440 a commitment will not match the mood that you're in 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:15.520 when it's time to keep the commitment. And so to 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:18.640 watch the wind is for those of us who sometimes 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:23.960 need to feel it in order to fulfill it. And 0:15:24.080 --> 0:15:30.040 Solomon says, the wisest man, the richest man, the man 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:34.520 who said that to do things for Vanity's sake is 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:38.440 like chasing after the wind. He uses this metaphor lot 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:43.840 in his book Ecclesiastes the Collected Teachings, which are like proverbs, 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:46.520 but it's written in such a way as to convince 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:50.160 the knowledge of the universe and the futility of vanity. 0:15:50.560 --> 0:15:53.960 He uses this image of the wind. Why because it 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:57.440 is an invisible force. And he says, if you are 0:15:57.520 --> 0:16:02.360 always checking with and con insulting how you feel, you 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:10.880 will always find a reason to contradict your responsibility. So 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:14.600 there will always be a reason watch this that you 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:18.960 don't feel like forgiving people. But if you want to 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:23.840 be free, you might have to go against your feelings. 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:28.520 In order to live in freedom. I'm saying you might 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:32.960 have to walk against the wind. You might have to 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:38.800 forgive against the wind, especially in marriage. I love Holly 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:42.680 so much because she decided a long time ago that 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:46.280 I was the man for her. She reached the verdict 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:54.200 on verdict before she ever took my name as her own. 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:57.520 And because she reached the verdict that she loves me 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:01.440 and I'm a good man in our marriage. She works 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:05.080 to collect evidence to support that I'm the man for her. 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:09.440 She could just as easily do the opposite. She could 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:13.000 find fifteen reasons. Well, he's only five foot nine, he's 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:16.400 bigger on screen, you know. She could find fifteen reasons 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:18.960 I'm usually moody three and a half days out of seven. 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:23.200 She could find fifteen reasons not to feel that way 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:33.040 about me. But sometimes commitment means facing resistance with resolve 0:17:33.160 --> 0:17:37.200 in your heart. You can find a reason to leave 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:41.840 this church in the next three days if you want one. 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:46.160 Matter of fact, the law of average says that there's 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:50.360 somebody on your row right now who if you get 0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:53.320 to know them, they will give you a reason to 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:57.520 leave this church in the next three days because they 0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:01.280 will disappoint you with their lack of Christian character. But 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:03.920 if you move one person over on the same row, 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:08.240 I bet you there's somebody on that row that loves Jesus. 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:12.080 There's somebody on that row who is honest. There is 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:18.840 somebody on that row that is sincere. But you'll never sew. 0:18:20.160 --> 0:18:22.480 We'll see. I'm gonna get my I'm gonna do I'm 0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:24.720 gonna get my I'm gonna do the tithing thing, but 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:27.160 I'm gonna do it after I get my thing, because 0:18:27.160 --> 0:18:29.760 the thing after the thing is gonna do the thing. 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:32.840 And then this thing happened. There was the thing, but 0:18:32.920 --> 0:18:36.520 the economy, but the presidential election. You see how we 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:40.639 do it consulting the forecast instead of consulting our faith. 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:45.160 He who regards the wind or observes the wind will 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:48.280 never sow, and he who looks at the clouds will 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:52.840 never reap because it always looks like it could rain anytime, 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:56.000 and you can't get the harvest in when it's wet. 0:18:57.400 --> 0:19:03.840 And Solomon didn't have a weather channel. And Solomon didn't 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:07.400 have a weather channel. He's dealing with people who would 0:19:07.440 --> 0:19:14.280 consult the conditions before keeping their commitments watching the wind. 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:18.679 How many people have not started what God told them 0:19:18.720 --> 0:19:25.160 to start because they've been watching the wind, been waiting 0:19:25.240 --> 0:19:31.000 for more spare time. I'm gonna write a book one day. 0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:35.080 You don't even keep a journal right now. I'm gonna 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:38.359 write a book one day where you're gonna write it. Well, 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:40.400 I'm gonna build a cottage in Maine. It's the thing 0:19:40.400 --> 0:19:43.040 I'm gonna do one day. You got some family landmope. 0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:50.119 It's an imaginary scenario that keeps you from an actual opportunity. 0:19:50.400 --> 0:19:55.800 Do you see it? Watching the wind is wishing that 0:19:55.880 --> 0:19:59.000 you had a different wife instead of loving the one 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:06.879 that you've got, Like Christ loves the church. This is 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:10.000 getting good. This message is going to be better than 0:20:10.040 --> 0:20:12.240 your beard by the time I finished with it, my brother, 0:20:12.880 --> 0:20:17.720 And that's saying a lot. But you know, Peter knew 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:21.840 something about watching the wind though, didn't he? Peter the 0:20:22.520 --> 0:20:28.320 apostle who was always wanting to do something impulsive. Sometimes 0:20:28.320 --> 0:20:32.240 it worked for him, sometimes it worked against him. But 0:20:32.320 --> 0:20:34.040 one thing that you got to love about him, he 0:20:34.040 --> 0:20:37.840 did not wait for perfect circumstances to say. He didn't 0:20:37.840 --> 0:20:41.960 wait until he had knowledge to give his opinion. You 0:20:42.000 --> 0:20:45.000 ever lived with somebody like that, it's terrible. And I 0:20:45.119 --> 0:20:46.879 noticed something about God, and I wanted to give this 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:49.200 to you because they have these things in church. They say, well, 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:53.120 God is an on time god. Yes he is. He's 0:20:53.160 --> 0:20:57.840 an on time god. He's seldom early, but he's never late. 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:01.080 Ask Lazarus if he was ever late, Laszar, he is 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:04.760 about four days late. Decomposing body worms working their way 0:21:04.800 --> 0:21:07.840 into the eye socket by the time Jesus got there 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:10.520 and Mary and Martha had set their watch by it. 0:21:11.000 --> 0:21:17.879 Ask Peter if Jesus was ever late, Ask him, Ask 0:21:17.960 --> 0:21:22.080 him if one time they did not get sent out 0:21:22.400 --> 0:21:27.879 into a storm by the instruction that Jesus gave to 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:31.120 go to the other side. Now, this has been really 0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:34.440 exciting to me as I've studied it this week, because 0:21:35.080 --> 0:21:39.840 the real thing of faith is do you trust God's timing? 0:21:41.200 --> 0:21:44.520 You know that, right? And that was the test for 0:21:44.640 --> 0:21:47.080 Mary and Martha. Jes said, I am the resurrection and 0:21:47.119 --> 0:21:49.600 the life. And she said, well, you know, I am 0:21:49.640 --> 0:21:51.800 the resurrection. And she said, well, I know my brother's 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:53.320 going to rise again at the last day. He said, no, 0:21:53.400 --> 0:21:57.800 I am the resurrection. It wasn't that she didn't trust 0:21:57.800 --> 0:22:00.840 what he was able to do. It was are you 0:22:00.960 --> 0:22:03.600 able to trust when God is going to do it? 0:22:06.160 --> 0:22:10.679 You can trust somebody's intention, but not trust their timing. 0:22:12.600 --> 0:22:15.320 And since I already talked good about hollyod the sermon, 0:22:15.960 --> 0:22:21.040 let me just say I trust her with my life. 0:22:21.119 --> 0:22:25.879 I trust her to be faithful to our marriage vows. 0:22:26.880 --> 0:22:29.720 I trust her if she cooks for me or orders 0:22:29.720 --> 0:22:31.760 for me off of a menu, I trust she knows 0:22:31.760 --> 0:22:33.840 what I want to eat more than I want to eat. 0:22:33.880 --> 0:22:37.199 She knows me like that. I trust this woman with 0:22:37.400 --> 0:22:44.439 everything but time. When she says it's going to be 0:22:44.520 --> 0:22:49.520 thirty minutes, I allot three hours because she taught me 0:22:50.320 --> 0:22:56.000 that her concept of time is different than mine. One 0:22:56.240 --> 0:23:01.600 is correct, one is delusional. And I trust her, I 0:23:01.680 --> 0:23:04.520 really do. I trust her. I put her in a 0:23:04.600 --> 0:23:08.720 room full of supermodels, men calendar men and trust her 0:23:08.760 --> 0:23:10.760 in there. But if she said we're going to leave 0:23:10.800 --> 0:23:13.600 in an hour, I would set three alarms because I 0:23:13.800 --> 0:23:19.720 trust her with everything but time. Some of us trust 0:23:19.920 --> 0:23:22.080 that God is going to get us to heaven one day. 0:23:22.680 --> 0:23:25.240 Some of us trust that he died on the cross 0:23:25.280 --> 0:23:29.440 for our sin. We trust him with everything, but let 0:23:29.520 --> 0:23:32.040 him not do something at the moment that we want 0:23:32.119 --> 0:23:34.600 him to do it. Let him leave us in the 0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:39.359 fiery furnace. Four seconds too long and we'll be screaming, God, 0:23:39.400 --> 0:23:42.200 get me out of this. But God said, the real 0:23:42.359 --> 0:23:48.560 test for a mature Christian is do you trust me 0:23:49.640 --> 0:23:55.359 with my timing? Trusting him in the meantime is where 0:23:55.440 --> 0:24:03.160 maturity is developed. And Jesus was always doing stuff at 0:24:03.160 --> 0:24:09.680 a bad time. He was always going to Jerusalem at 0:24:09.720 --> 0:24:12.040 the time when they all wanted to kill him. That's 0:24:12.040 --> 0:24:15.320 a bad time to show up. When they're looking for 0:24:15.400 --> 0:24:20.359 you to execute you. It's a bad time. Five thousand men, 0:24:20.680 --> 0:24:23.679 women and children show up on the other side. Now, 0:24:23.720 --> 0:24:25.600 this is right after John the Baptist. I just want 0:24:25.640 --> 0:24:28.280 you to know how often God does things in our 0:24:28.320 --> 0:24:32.040 life at a bad time, because some of y'all are like, 0:24:32.280 --> 0:24:34.359 right now in your life, like, well, this is a 0:24:34.359 --> 0:24:36.719 bad time for me. God. And I used to have 0:24:36.760 --> 0:24:38.440 this friend. Every time he called me on the phone, 0:24:38.480 --> 0:24:40.800 he was so respectful. He would say good time or 0:24:40.800 --> 0:24:43.000 a bad time. Always wanted to know that before he 0:24:43.040 --> 0:24:45.359 said anything else. And I believe the Holy Spirit is 0:24:45.359 --> 0:24:47.680 say him to somebody today, good time or a bad time, 0:24:47.800 --> 0:24:49.679 and you're like, this is a bad time. I'm too 0:24:49.720 --> 0:24:51.680 old to be doing this now, I'm too young to 0:24:51.720 --> 0:24:53.600 be doing this now, I'm too busy to be doing 0:24:53.600 --> 0:24:55.320 this now. I used to have a better job, I 0:24:55.400 --> 0:24:57.400 used to have more money. It's a bad time. But 0:24:57.440 --> 0:25:02.399 God likes to bless people at a bad time. He 0:25:02.680 --> 0:25:07.240 likes to raise people. On the Fourth Day. And when 0:25:07.480 --> 0:25:10.520 Jesus had heard that John the Baptist had his head 0:25:10.560 --> 0:25:13.919 cut off by heard it was a bad time, and 0:25:13.960 --> 0:25:16.000