WEBVTT - Comfort Food 0:00:02.120 --> 0:00:04.680 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:07.160 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:10.520 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:12.559 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:17.639 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. Well, 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:19.840 would you look at somebody next to you. Please do 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:23.200 not touch them. They might not be comfortable with that, 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:25.840 but just look at them and say, I am so 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:29.440 looking forward to experiencing God's word with you today. Would 0:00:29.480 --> 0:00:31.600 you do that right where you are and say it 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:33.720 even in the chat, say I've been looking forward to 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:37.239 this all week. I'm looking forward to being strengthened by 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:40.400 the word of God. We've worshiped him, We've turned our 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:44.960 hearts to help. Now let's set aside every distraction. Don't 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:49.080 be like Martha busy in the kitchen. Take these next 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:52.200 few minutes and just get in position to hear from 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:54.760 the Lord. And I promise you He's going to speak 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:57.960 to you today all over the world. Let me know 0:00:58.040 --> 0:00:59.959 right now in the comments or the chat where you're 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:02.440 watching from. I don't like to call it watching where 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:05.640 you're worshiping from. Hey, man, watching is something you do 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:10.919 for like Yellowstone or the Game of Thrones or something 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:12.959 like that. But this ain't the game. This is the 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:18.080 real throne, all right. So we came to worship. Y'all 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:19.920 shouldn't have given me a few weeks off. I'm in 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:25.480 bad shape today. Pray for me, e fham. Now the 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:27.360 scripture for today that I want to read to you 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:30.600 is from Numbers, chapter eleven. You'll quit being funky and 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:35.360 pad me with something spiritual, some church chords. All right, 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:44.480 praise the Lord Numbers, chapter eleven, verse four through six. 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:50.440 You ready? Are you ready? Readier than you just sounded? 0:01:50.920 --> 0:01:52.680 I hope y'all are readier in your room than they 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:56.840 are in this room, all right, Lake Norman? Yes, okay. 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:01.639 The rabble with them begin to crave other food, and 0:02:01.720 --> 0:02:07.200 again the Israelites started wailing and said, if only we 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:14.200 had meat to eat, We remember the fish we ate 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:22.440 in Egypt at no cost, Also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, 0:02:23.000 --> 0:02:29.760 and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite. We 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:37.760 never see anything but this manner. If only we had 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:43.320 meat to eat, We remember the fish we ate in 0:02:43.440 --> 0:02:47.480 Egypt at no cost. I thought i'd talked to you 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:50.360 today on the first sermon that I preached from the 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:57.600 New Year about comfort food. Comfort food, Lord feed us 0:02:57.600 --> 0:02:59.960 the bread of Heaven today because we need it in Jesus. 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:05.000 Say amen. You may be seated right now. I want 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:07.520 you to say in the chat, or maybe look at 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:10.000 somebody if you're in a room with more than one person, 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:14.240 and tell them your favorite comfort food. Put it in 0:03:14.280 --> 0:03:17.320 the chat right now. Or if you're sitting next to somebody, 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:19.679 what's the food that makes you feel better? Well, it 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:22.480 makes you feel temporarily better, because that's the definition of 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:25.480 comfort food, right, the food that will make you feel 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:31.280 better for five minutes. Right? Your favorite Our research this 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:36.440 week the Bible and I researched on Google and the 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:40.680 favorite comfort food is still pizza for fifteen percent of Americans. 0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:43.760 So I don't know other parts. So we'll put it 0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:47.480 into chat. And do not take this moment to show 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:54.920 off how healthy you are. You know, but kombucha is 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:57.560 my comfort food. Shut up, go away, let is go 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:01.320 to another church. All right, I'm talking about I'm talking 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:05.280 about something it's not good for you, but it tastes 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:10.680 good to you. Put it in the chat. I'm not 0:04:10.720 --> 0:04:14.280 going to tell you mine yet I'll tell you, Hollies, 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:18.080 if you ever want to make her feel better, French 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:20.880 rice and her French rice, and I thank God for 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:25.040 that because they're cheap and they're predictable. It's a lot 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:28.720 cheaper than jewelry. Right, So if I see her down 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:31.200 and it's not just food, I hope you're putting these 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:33.000 in the chat, by the way, because I'm really interested 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:35.800 to see how many of you will be honest about it. 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:38.920 And I know this is really bad because you've got 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:40.600 all these goals for the new year that you're not 0:04:40.640 --> 0:04:42.279 going to eat it anymore. Here I am bringing it up. 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:44.320 And you turned on the church to try to get 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:46.880 away from this stuff, and here I am talking about it. 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:49.760 But I think we should talk about it. I think 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:53.160 we should talk about comfort food today. And I think 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:55.200 we should talk about it beyond just physical food. But 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:57.960 I want to use physical food to get there, because 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:01.240 there's something that we can feel, you know, something we 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:06.160 could we could feel when we went to Singapore a 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:11.599 couple of years ago. Holly's laughing because we kind of 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:15.159 had a fight. We had a disagreement our host. I 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:18.440 was there to preach and our hosts were so amazing 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:21.120 the church that we were at, and they took us 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:23.360 to really nice restaurants. I thought they were all really 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:26.560 nice restaurants because they were all restaurants that I knew 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:30.400 the name of, and I liked it that way. Holly, 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.080 on the other hand, was so disappointed that they were 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:37.840 taking us to the same restaurants. Do you remember they 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:39.680 took us. I remember one night they took us to 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:44.000 Ruth Chris, which is like my favorite. That's that's like 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:46.839 one of the first nice dates. I saved up eighteen 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:49.239 months and took Holly to Ruth christ And I'm serious 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:54.040 when we went to came to Charlotte, and and and 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:56.280 so I was happy to be at Ruth Chris. And 0:05:56.320 --> 0:06:00.479 she's kind of disappointed. And she told me afterwards, she said, 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:05.080 I could have ate all that in Charlotte. Come and 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:07.720 apparently she had just read a book. I don't remember 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:11.320 the name of the book. She read a book Crazy 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:14.000 Rich Asians, where they put a bunch of stuff about 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:18.479 food markets and stuff. So she's reading this book right 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:21.560 and we're going to Singapore and she's thinking about all 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:24.560 this new food she's gonna try when we get there. 0:06:24.880 --> 0:06:27.680 And then they take us to TGI Fridays in the mall, 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:32.320 and I was happy. I like TGI Fridays. There's nothing 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:36.440 wrong with TGI Fridays anywhere in the world. Any day. 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:39.200 It doesn't have to be Friday. I'm making a Friday 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:42.600 on Thursday. I eat chicken tenders any day of the week. 0:06:42.880 --> 0:06:46.320 Makes me feel good. It makes me feel something familiar 0:06:46.560 --> 0:07:04.040 in my soul. I like it. I like chains, chain restaurant. Chain. Oh, 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:11.920 I like chains. That's what they call it, a chain restaurant. 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:19.720 It's the same anywhere you go. I like them. It's 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:23.440 comfortable to me. Don't even have to look at the menu. 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:27.520 Don't have to acquire a taste. Who has time for that, 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:35.760 especially in an unfamiliar place. If the place is unfamiliar, 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:42.880 at least give me a taste. I can recognize numbers. 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:48.960 Chapter eleven. The Israelites are in a strange place. They 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:53.880 left a strange place that they came to to escape 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:58.320 of famine that they did not cause. But it's been 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:01.440 four hundred and thirty years since they first entered Egypt. 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:04.760 How many know that four hundred and thirty years is 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:10.840 enough time to adjust your taste? Butts, they were not 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:13.800 slaves for four hundred and thirty years. They were only 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:17.880 slaves for four hundred. The reason I point that out 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:22.000 is for the first thirty Egypt was the place that 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:26.760 fed them what they needed to survive. Can I show 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:30.720 you this? I would love to show you this in Genesis. 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:34.000 I have so many scriptures today we might just chop 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:37.360 this up and show it for the next for the 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:42.640 rest of the year. But in Genesis forty one, and 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:44.840 I've been waiting to share this with you for a 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:48.040 while now, so just forgive my excitement about it. But 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:51.240 it talks about how the people of God got to Egypt, 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:55.439 where God took care of them. And I've mentioned before 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:59.280 from this pulpit how the place that you escape to 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:03.000 in one sea can become the place that you are 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:08.240 enslaved by in the next, you know, And this really 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:11.320 really shows this in a way that I think you 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:15.360 can get it. In Genesis forty one, verse fifty three, 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:17.680 I can't give you the whole story, but let me 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:20.200 just try to give you a little taste of it. 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:22.960 It says the seven years of abundance in Egypt came 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:25.480 to an end and the seven years of famine. Everybody 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:29.239 say famine. Put it in the chat, say famine, famine, 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:33.840 the seven years of Famine began, just as Joseph had said. 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:37.200 There was famine in all the other lands, but in 0:09:37.240 --> 0:09:44.400 the whole land of Egypt there was food. They came 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:47.440 to Egypt, not out of rebellion, but out of survival. 0:09:49.200 --> 0:09:51.079 They came to Egypt. And one day I'm going to 0:09:51.120 --> 0:09:53.160 preach this message. I've been promising it for a while. 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:58.199 I'm going to talk about sins with benefits. You've heard 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:00.000 the other phrase, but that's not the one that I meet. 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.840 And I'm talking about things that you do that meet 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:07.600 a certain need in your life, but the way that 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:11.640 they meet the need creates a greater need, throwing you 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:16.640 into a spiral sometimes of what ends up feeling like slavery. 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:20.360 So listen to this phrase. This got my attention. It 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:23.760 said in verse fifty five, when all Egypt began to 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:27.960 feel the famine. That's the phrase that I want you 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:30.360 to underline there, Okay, or write it down or put 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:34.000 it in the chat. Feel the famine. I believe I'm 0:10:34.040 --> 0:10:39.080 preaching to somebody today who feels the famine. It could 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:42.880 be a famine of encouragement in your life, like nobody 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:45.560 has told you you're doing a good job in a while, 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:48.120 and nobody has told you in a while that you matter, 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:50.320 or if they are telling you, you you don't really believe 0:10:50.360 --> 0:10:52.000 their motives because they're just trying to use it. They 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:53.600 get you to do something to manipulate you to do 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:55.200 something they want you to do. So now you're so 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:57.280 jaded that you can't even receive the nutrition of other 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:00.560 people's encouragement because you experienced it in a manipulat format. 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.360 And so now you're really reluctant to receive anything anyone 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:06.080 says to you that's positive because you are more trained 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:12.640 in your taste buds to something that is negative. But 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:16.520 you feel the famine, and watch this. The Bible says, 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:20.240 when all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:27.400 cried to Pharaoh for food. So right beside famine put Pharaoh. 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:31.560 Pharaoh was, of course the ruler of Egypt. Right he 0:11:31.640 --> 0:11:34.040 ended up putting Joseph in charge of the food supply. 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:37.240 And if you don't know all this backstory, you'll still 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:38.960 get the message. Okay, it's all right, And plus i'll 0:11:38.960 --> 0:11:41.080 give you something to study this week, so you can 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:45.000 look all this up this week and realize that there 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:49.240 was a famine that brought the people of God. Joseph, 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:53.800 who was an Israelite, it brought his whole family to Egypt. Now, now, 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:58.640 God will use famine in your life to get you 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:04.080 into a place or position of his purpose, over and 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:07.280 over again in the scripture. So when we say we 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:09.480 want God to move in our lives, how many would 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:11.160 say that I want God to move in my life 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:13.840 in twenty twenty one? Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:18.360 So for God to move in your life, he will 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:25.199 often remove something from your life. So when you pray that, 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:27.160 you have to think of those at the same time, 0:12:28.480 --> 0:12:31.080 move and remove. If God's gonna move, if he's gonna 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:33.920 do something, if he's going to change things. And we 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:37.040 say we want change, and we shout about change and 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:39.559 we pray about change. What we really want is we 0:12:39.600 --> 0:12:43.080 want change that we choose and that we can control. 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:47.400 Talk to me, Church of the Living God, come on, 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:49.160 get Pentecostal for a minute and talk to me. Talk 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:50.880 to me and talk to me. Talk to me. That's 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:53.800 all I mean. And we say we want change. So 0:12:53.840 --> 0:12:56.640 when they felt the famine, they came to Egypt, and 0:12:56.720 --> 0:13:00.079 of course Verse fifty seven says all the world came 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:03.000 to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:06.160 was severe everywhere. And this is where my compassion kicks in. 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:08.480 When I hear a preacher yelling at somebody for being 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:10.839 an alcoholic, or yelling at somebody because they have a 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:13.400 sexual addiction, or yelling at somebody because they go over 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:15.600 here and do this and that and the other. I 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:17.480 feel kind of like the person on the other end 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:20.240 needs to be able to say in their own defense, 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:26.280 it needs a need, and then we can help you, 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:30.560 once we're honest about that, find a better way to 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:37.360 meet that need through God. That's what salvation is. That's 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:41.480 what transformation has. Not that God tells you to starve 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:44.760 and swallow your spit and like it, but to get 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:49.600 joy from a place that won't create chains just to 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:56.440 make you comfortable. Now the text that we're in, Remember 0:13:56.600 --> 0:14:00.800 it's been over four hundred years and the people of 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:04.160 God have come out of Egypt. But as we've learned, 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:08.600 it's a lot easier to come out of Egypt than 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:13.080 to get Egypt out of you. And that's why no 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:18.360 amount of new cities that you moved to can free 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:25.560 you from internal struggles that you carry, I should do this. 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:33.840 No amount of churches that you can hop to you 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:37.160 want another one, No amount of hair colors. I've had 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:39.000 a lot of hair colors. I'm telling you what I know. 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:44.480 But what's in us in your now? When they felt 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:46.800 the famine, they went to Egypt. And that wasn't a 0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:49.360 bad thing. It wasn't a bad thing. It wasn't a 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:51.760 sinful thing. It wasn't like they went to Egypt to 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:53.400 run away from God. It wasn't like you know, in 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:55.880 the Bobby of Jonah running from God going to Nineveh 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:58.120 instead of going to Tarsish forg government. Wasn't that kind 0:14:58.120 --> 0:15:04.400 of situation. It was a survivor instinct, and that's been 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:08.840 you for a little while. It was either go to 0:15:08.880 --> 0:15:15.160 Egypt and survive or starve to death. You self medicated 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:19.000 a lot of pain. You used anger as a defense 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:22.720 mechanism so that you wouldn't be abused in the areas 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:26.680 where you feel most vulnerable. That's how they got to Egypt. 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:31.360 And if we could start there with a little bit 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:35.640 of compassion to understand what the Israelites, you know, the 0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:38.520 passage I read it sounded kind of rough, right. They 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:41.720 started complaining in the verses just before it says that 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:44.880 they complained about their hardships and the presence of the Lord, 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:47.400 and the outskirts of the camp started to burn and 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:51.880 be consumed with fire when they were complaining. I'm like, dang, 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:57.160 that's rough, because I guess one thing to criticize their 0:15:57.280 --> 0:16:04.080 attachment to Egypt. Don't even understand their abuse to put 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:09.320 them in that position to begin with. So I'm reading 0:16:09.320 --> 0:16:13.760 it and I'm thinking about Graham. A while back, Holly 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:17.560 asked him when you're out there wrestling, because he's a 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:21.080 pretty good little wrestler. She said, do you listen to 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:24.040 the coaches? Can you hear them when they're screaming at 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:25.640 you what to do all this stuff? Because she doesn't 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:29.640 know much about wrestling, But we're over there yelling cross face, sprawl, 0:16:29.800 --> 0:16:32.560 you know, all these things to do. He said, Well, 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:35.840 I can hear them, but I don't listen because they 0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:40.880 don't know what I'm going through. They don't know they 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:43.680 don't know what I'm what I'm feeling. I said, son, 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:46.560 that's the benefit they have is that they can see it. 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:50.840 They're trying to get you to see what you need 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:54.720 to do, because when what you feel I start preaching 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:56.560 to him about it. I start preaching to him about it. 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:58.840 I start preaching to him about it. I said, because 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:02.600 they have the they have the benefit of being outside 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:06.160 of the situation to see what you need to do. 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:10.760 You are so deep in the struggle. That's the children 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:13.919 of Israel in numbers eleven. We look at this and 0:17:13.920 --> 0:17:17.920 we're like, oh, how stupid could you be. We want 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:20.439 to go back to Egypt. Yeah, they want to go 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:24.520 back to Egypt, just like you want to go back 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:33.400 to Let me see your phone, and I can find 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:38.000 your pharaoh. Let me see your phone. I can find 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:39.359 your fear. I'm not gonna do it to you, but 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:43.280 I could. Oh, I could do it. I could do it. 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:45.359 I could find it because I know how it is. 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:48.359 We're sitting are precident, We're preching it. It's been centuries 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:55.040 since this was written, right, Sir, I don't have a pharaoh. 0:17:55.480 --> 0:18:00.199 Then why do I see you ignoring your kids, not 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:05.919 living your real life and watch this filling yourself with 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:11.720 stuff that makes you feel worse in the end. What's 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:22.560 that about. I'll find your pharaoh, you can find mine. Yeah, 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:25.560 Because you were thinking I don't need this sermon comfort foods. 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:27.719 I'm doing pretty good with my eating. I'm on a 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:35.040 gluten free drink only almond milk and wheat grass shots 0:18:35.080 --> 0:18:37.760 and things of this nature that are good for my 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:41.479 digestive system and really kick the enzymes and overdrive. So 0:18:41.840 --> 0:18:46.520 you can give this to someone else. Okay, so you 0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:48.560 don't have comfort foods, you don't like cracker barrel, I 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:50.440 get it. You're not saying you're not going to heaven, 0:18:50.600 --> 0:19:00.399 but that's all right. Do you have comfort friends? And 0:19:00.440 --> 0:19:05.120 I'm using the term friend loosely because we all need 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:07.000 people that can sit with us and be with us, 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:08.640 and we know they're there. I mean, I have several 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:11.800 people in this room that would I wouldn't have made 0:19:11.800 --> 0:19:14.280 it this far without them. It's not what I'm talking about. 0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:20.439 I'm talking about they make you feel better for five minutes. 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:26.679 Like I'm not saying you can avoid them or cut 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:28.440 them off because you got to show love like Jesus. 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:31.239 But I just want you to identify this because I 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:36.399 think some of us are drawn to relationships that keep 0:19:36.480 --> 0:19:42.040 us in chains, and we like the chains because they're comfortable, 0:19:44.160 --> 0:19:46.800 and when we meet somebody who would really challenge us 0:19:46.800 --> 0:19:55.399 to change, we push them away I like chains. It 0:19:55.440 --> 0:20:03.439 feels comfortable, but it's not safe. It's not safe. You know, 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:09.080 there's a difference, right. It's kind of interesting to me 0:20:09.600 --> 0:20:14.080 that we not only have comfort foods and sometimes comfort friends, 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:22.240 comfort phrases, things that we say to make ourselves feel better, 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:25.760 like excuses we make or we blame comfort phrases. Not 0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:32.600 just comfort foods, comfort phrases. We feed ourselves these lines. Oh, well, 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:34.760 that's why I'm like that, and I never do that, 0:20:34.920 --> 0:20:36.600 and well they can only do that because of this 0:20:36.680 --> 0:20:39.359 and that, and well, nobody really loves me. That's just 0:20:39.520 --> 0:20:44.280 all a way to keep us in the comfort of 0:20:44.320 --> 0:20:49.960 our dysfunctional life. And you see it in the Israelites. 0:20:50.000 --> 0:20:52.640 But you got to feel for them because they've been 0:20:52.680 --> 0:20:58.280 in the wilderness for a year now, one year, one year, 0:20:58.720 --> 0:21:05.680 and they've been eating the same menu item called mana, 0:21:05.800 --> 0:21:08.520 the manna. It's kind of difficult to describe to you. 0:21:08.600 --> 0:21:10.720 One is, because we don't have the same version of 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:12.680 that now. I can't bring it up here passing around 0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:15.199 to do communion with it. You're not getting this at 0:21:15.240 --> 0:21:18.160 Whole Foods. And I don't know that it was very delicious, 0:21:18.160 --> 0:21:20.000 but it got the job done. And some seasons, God 0:21:20.000 --> 0:21:25.520 will provide for you with something it's not necessarily like savory, 0:21:26.520 --> 0:21:30.159 but it'll help you survive. And some seasons in our 0:21:30.200 --> 0:21:33.480 life are like that. When they saw it manna literally 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:37.240 means what is it? It was brand new to them, 0:21:38.080 --> 0:21:42.720 didn't taste like anything they've tasted before. But you gotta imagine, like, 0:21:42.720 --> 0:21:45.800 the way it would work is when the dew would appear, 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:48.240 the mana would come and they could get enough for 0:21:48.400 --> 0:21:51.680 that day. Right, give us this day our daily bread. 0:21:51.800 --> 0:21:54.160 That's how God provides for you enough for right now, 0:21:54.400 --> 0:21:56.320 enough for right now, and there will be more for 0:21:56.359 --> 0:21:58.679 the next day. But you cannot reach into tomorrow and 0:21:58.720 --> 0:22:01.159 pull in today's peace or some ply or joy or 0:22:01.200 --> 0:22:04.000 anything like that. That's where you get stressed. That's where 0:22:04.040 --> 0:22:06.000 you start wanting to go back to Egypt, start thinking 0:22:06.040 --> 0:22:09.520 about the future or the past. All these things are dangerous. 0:22:09.680 --> 0:22:12.080 But what was it like the first day they saw 0:22:12.080 --> 0:22:18.920 the mana? Wow? What is it? I'm curious. Wow, there's 0:22:18.960 --> 0:22:22.280 this strange sweet food on the ground. It's like honey 0:22:22.280 --> 0:22:26.280 covered way first, it's a strange taste, but at least 0:22:26.320 --> 0:22:29.520 we're eating. Remember, God wanted to bring them into the 0:22:29.560 --> 0:22:35.080 Promised land. They tasted the grapes of Canaan, but they 0:22:35.160 --> 0:22:37.720 forfeited their right to the fruit of that land because 0:22:37.760 --> 0:22:40.720 of their lack of faith. So this put them in 0:22:40.760 --> 0:22:43.280 a position of circling in the wilderness. And they've been 0:22:43.280 --> 0:22:49.880 there for one year now, and the Mana has gotten monotonous. 0:22:52.240 --> 0:23:02.359 The miracle has gotten monotonous, all of us complaining, ungrateful people, 0:23:02.400 --> 0:23:06.920 get ready because I'm coming for us. The miracle got 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:12.000 monotonous to you. I thought that's how it said it 0:23:12.080 --> 0:23:15.280 in the verse. Put numbers eleven six up there against 0:23:15.280 --> 0:23:16.879 so Jenna can see it. She needs to see this. 0:23:18.760 --> 0:23:23.640 We've lost our appetite. We never see anything but this manna. 0:23:24.400 --> 0:23:26.640 Like how you felt in quarantine looking at John sal 0:23:26.800 --> 0:23:29.960 every day, looking at that same guy every day. You 0:23:29.960 --> 0:23:32.600 remember you used to see him up on stage praising God. 0:23:32.640 --> 0:23:34.960 Awe if I could just be with that man of 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:38.760 God with his annointed vocal course. And then about month 0:23:39.000 --> 0:23:42.520 month three of quarantine, month for you're looking at him like, 0:23:42.560 --> 0:23:46.080 what is it? You know, it's changed from a statement 0:23:47.080 --> 0:23:51.800 of possibility to predictability. And now I'm bored with this. 0:23:53.800 --> 0:23:56.639 Used to watch elevation online all the way across the world. 0:23:56.800 --> 0:24:04.840 Now six am rehearsals. What is it? That's what amazes 0:24:04.920 --> 0:24:07.680 me about how you stay excited. I love that because 0:24:07.720 --> 0:24:13.000 to eat the same thing every day. So I thought, 0:24:13.400 --> 0:24:15.880 what got them in trouble? I thought, what got them 0:24:15.880 --> 0:24:19.520 in trouble is that is that they had the same 0:24:19.600 --> 0:24:22.680 thing every day. And so they started complaining, all we 0:24:22.720 --> 0:24:27.360 want the fish of Egypt, the fish of Pharaoh. Oh 0:24:27.600 --> 0:24:30.680 so good. I'm sick of this man. I'm so tired 0:24:30.720 --> 0:24:33.000 of this man. I'm so tired of this man. I'm 0:24:33.040 --> 0:24:35.240 so tired of this woman. I'm so tired of this life. 0:24:35.440 --> 0:24:39.880 I'm so tired of this thing. It's the same every day. 0:24:40.960 --> 0:24:43.960 But I had to keep studying it for the context, 0:24:45.080 --> 0:24:48.159 because that's where the key was to me, understanding what 0:24:48.320 --> 0:24:52.240 really happened here, What made them want to go back 0:24:52.280 --> 0:24:55.920 to a place where they were slaves, What made them 0:24:55.960 --> 0:25:01.800 want to give up their right to freedom, to go 0:25:01.880 --> 0:25:07.480 back into their role as slaves. See, on one hand, 0:25:07.520 --> 0:25:11.119 the Manna was the same every day, never changed flavors. 0:25:11.359 --> 0:25:14.040 It's like God put a HelloFresh in the wilderness, but 0:25:14.160 --> 0:25:16.480 it was the same. It's like it got locked on 0:25:16.560 --> 0:25:22.000 the same all right, the same meal every time, and 0:25:22.080 --> 0:25:25.440 you keep waiting on it change and it doesn't. At 0:25:25.440 --> 0:25:30.000 the same time, while everything was the same every day, 0:25:30.160 --> 0:25:37.280 same wilderness, same food, same diet, same same same same same, 0:25:38.080 --> 0:25:43.960 same old crap, same old patterns, same old me. I 0:25:44.000 --> 0:25:46.000 asked the Lord, when year could I just have somebody 0:25:46.040 --> 0:25:49.560 else's dysfunctions, just to try them on and see if 0:25:49.560 --> 0:25:51.880 I liked them better? You get tired of your own 0:25:53.480 --> 0:25:57.639 At the same time that everything was the same and 0:25:57.680 --> 0:26:05.480 they were sick of it. Everything had changed. At the 0:26:05.480 --> 0:26:07.719 same time that they were eating the same food every day. 0:26:07.720 --> 0:26:08.960 I want to see if you can relate to this. 0:26:09.240 --> 0:26:11.080