WEBVTT - It’s Your Time (Larry Brey) 0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:04.640 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:07.080 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:10.440 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:12.520 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.200 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:20.320 I want to welcome our Elevation family from all around 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:23.560 the world joining us today. My name is Larry bry 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:28.160 Some people call me Larry, some people call me Larry Charles. 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:29.840 I know him in trouble if I get that one. 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:32.919 Some people call me lb even if few folks call 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:36.120 me skinner. But I get the chance to preach God's 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:37.760 word with you today, and what a privilege it is 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:42.519 for me to open up God's word. And if I 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:45.199 haven't had the chance to meet you yet, chances are 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:49.080 you've probably heard me. The few folks we have inside 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:51.680 of our balance I location, they're laughing right now because 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:54.280 if you've watched any of the sermons at Elevation Church, 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:56.680 you might have heard like a voice in the background 0:00:56.720 --> 0:01:00.600 going like, MMMM, come on, preach it, pastor what other 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:05.679 stuff do I say? JJ, that's good. So that's me 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:08.720 true confession, Like I want to apologize all the sound engineers. 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:12.440 I make your job really hard. But sometimes I just 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:14.440 got to praise God. God's been too good for me 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:19.479 to remain silent. And I happen to believe that our 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:22.720 pastor is anointed for this generation. He is a Joshua 0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:24.959 to this season of our life right now, and he's 0:01:25.000 --> 0:01:28.319 speaking something over the landscape of our world that is needed, 0:01:28.319 --> 0:01:30.680 and it is in season. But I've been he's been 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:33.000 my pastor for eighteen years. I've been following him. I 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:35.000 remember the first sermon I ever heard him preach. God 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:37.839 is great, God is good. I don't remember what he said, 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:40.959 but I know what God spoke eighteen years ago. God spoke, 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:42.959 You're creative for more than what you've become. I know. 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:46.080 A pastor preached last week. He preached about thoughts the 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:49.200 last two weeks at Elevation Church. Whoo, I'm not what 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:51.760 I thought following up with thought Baba's Oh my gosh, 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:55.560 because I was sitting in that seat right there when 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:58.000 God spoke to my spirit through our pastor's words. He said, 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:03.000 you're addicted to your thoughts LB and he said, your 0:02:03.040 --> 0:02:06.880 anxiety becomes you're addicted to your thoughts. Because the anxiety 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:10.959 comes because you think everybody sees you the way you 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:15.520 see yourself, and so I project that you see me 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:17.919 the way I think about myself. And it's this gap 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:20.200 of anxiety. And the more I honor you, the greater 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:22.800 the gap becomes. But now I'm projecting all of my 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:25.799 dysfunction on you because I think you see and that's 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:28.920 my anxiety. I was sitting in that seat right there, 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:30.919 and so when God gave me that key to unlock 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:32.960 that door that had been holding me, I got to 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:36.080 praise him. I gotta say thank you, God, thank you 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:39.360 for what you've done. But it's not just my anxiety 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:42.080 that I'm addicted to. It's also I'm realizing my frustration 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:44.919 is coming because I'm addicted to my thoughts. Because I'm 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:47.520 not just here because I'm a staff member at Elevation Church. 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:50.079 I'm a member of Elevation Pastor. Stephen's my pastor, and 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:55.880 he's preaching words into my life. And when he preached 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:59.799 about your thoughts, I realize most of my frustration have 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:03.760 because I'm addicted to my thoughts, and my frustration is 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:07.840 you're not doing it like I think. And so when 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:09.720 I look back and I see where God has brought 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:12.440 me from. Oh, my soul, I just got to praise him. 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:15.560 So if I act a little undignified, I do not apologize. 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:17.720 I'm gonna stand up here and not gonna praise God. 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:20.519 And I'm gonna thank my pastor because he is preaching 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:22.480 the word of God. So let's take a second. Tell 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:25.440 me thank you past the seamen for that, My Lord, 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:30.960 thank you, thank you. Jesus. Hey, I'm gonna open up 0:03:31.520 --> 0:03:33.720 the Gospel of John today. I'm gonna be in chapter 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:36.600 two is where I'm gonna be, says this. This is 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:38.880 on the third day. A wedding took place in Cana 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:42.960 in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there and Jesus and his 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:46.160 disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:51.280 wine was gone, problem, jesus mother said to him, they 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:54.800 have no more wine. Woman, why do you involve me? 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:58.760 Jesus replied, my hour has not yet come. His mother 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:03.360 said to the servants, do whatever he tells you to do. 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:08.040 And here's the title for my message today. It's your time. 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:09.960 Come on. Type it in the comments, say it out 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:13.040 loud to say it's your time. Hey. For those of 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:15.480 you at Valentine, you could have a seat, but you're 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:18.120 probably sitting already at home, and if you are, hey, 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:19.800 I'm glad you're joining us today. And I'm going to 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.400 jump right into this text because this is a story 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:23.960 that comes out of the Gospel of John. I've been 0:04:23.960 --> 0:04:26.040 reading it for the last couple of months. Actually, I 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:28.279 was inspired to jump into it by a sermon that 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:32.240 Pastor Stephen preached. And I'm fascinated by this because you 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.599 see this scene and this is the first miracle that 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:38.919 Jesus performs. And Mary's at the wedding. She's obviously involved 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:43.240 somewhere in the wedding planning situation because the plans don't 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:45.680 work out and to run out of wine would be 0:04:45.760 --> 0:04:48.440 like this huge insult to all of the guests. And 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:52.039 she's like, oh snap, we've got a problem. As she 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:55.000 does what all of us good Christians should do whenever 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:58.320 you have a problem, take it to Jesus. And she's 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:02.000 looking at Jesus saying, Jesus, it's in short time. Come on, man, 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:05.920 you are creative for this. Do something about it. And 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:08.200 that's funny how she takes her problem to Jesus. We 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:10.799 would do well to follow that pattern. Because it sometimes 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:13.640 feels like Jesus, rather than being a first option, is 0:05:13.720 --> 0:05:16.360 way more of a last resort. It's so much easier 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:19.600 to go complain to everybody else, send it out on Facebook, 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:21.839 and then when it doesn't work out, we just bail 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:24.880 and we say Jesus, you're my last option. And she's 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:27.280 taking it to him. That's a good pattern to follow. 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:30.280 And I don't know if she knew that Jesus was 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:35.440 going to turn water into wine, because here's what happened. 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:40.280 Somewhere along the journey. Joseph, Mary's husband, had died, because 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:43.080 in the scriptures, Jesus goes from being Jesus the son 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:47.400 of the carpenter to being Jesus the carpenter. You see, 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:49.239 he was forced to grow up at an early age 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:52.839 because in that culture, when the father figure in the 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:56.000 house dies, the oldest son takes over. Jesus was the 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:58.680 oldest son. We don't know how long he's been living 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:01.479 in this pattern, but it would have been customary for 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.880 Mary to go to Jesus say, hey, the water pipe 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:06.880 is broke. Can you fix it? We need some new 0:06:06.880 --> 0:06:08.720 breaks on the car. Can you take care of it? 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:10.680 We got the bill over there, can you take care 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:12.520 of it. It would have been the pattern of her 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.040 life because she is used to taking all of her 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:19.760 problems to Jesus and she's dependent upon him. And it's 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.720 just it blows my mind when Jesus looks at her 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:25.520 and he's like woman, because you would almost kind of 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:29.320 be offended by his response to her. And it's funny 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:32.800 because she just kind of ignores it, and rather than 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:36.400 being offended, she just tells the servant to do whatever 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:40.360 he tells you to do. Because it's really hard to 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:42.960 be used by God when you're easy to be offended, 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:49.279 and Mary takes a posture that's really hard to be offended. 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:52.200 But we get in this pattern that we only go 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:56.400 to Jesus as a last option. Everything else didn't work, 0:06:56.720 --> 0:06:58.760 so I might as well take it to Jesus, And 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:02.000 now I just end up being here in case of emergency, 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:05.960 break glass, Jesus, Jesus, I got nothing else what you 0:07:06.040 --> 0:07:08.760 got for me. And if the only time you're calling 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:11.400 someone is to get something from them, there's not much 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:15.080 of a relationship. So, ladies, if some dude is only 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:17.120 calling you late at night to get something from you, 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:19.520 what do you call that guy? Actually, don't call him 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:23.080 put him on the do not call lists, and sometimes 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:26.240 we can do the same thing with Jesus. He just 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:28.560 doesn't want to do something for you, but he wants 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:32.280 a relationship with you. So when he looks at Mary 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:35.120 and he says woman, it's something a little more than 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:37.360 a correction and a little bit less than a rebuke. 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:39.880 And he's not correcting her language, but what he is 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:42.400 saying is I need to give you a new perspective. 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:45.239 That's what's happening in this moment. So when he says woman, 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:48.000 it kind of startles her because up until that point, 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:50.240 all she had seen was her son. What she needs 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:53.320 to start seeing him as is as her savior. She 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:55.760 comes to him as mother, but she's gonna walk away 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:58.440 as a follower. That's what Jesus is starting to do. 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:01.040 It's the very first public miracle he does on the 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:03.600 landscape at the Horizon, and it is a pivot point 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:05.760 in his life that says, now I'm going to show 0:08:05.800 --> 0:08:08.880 my glory and so that you would believe, and so 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:13.040 whoa Mary. The terms of this relationship are about to change. 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:17.400 And because Jesus says, my hour has not yet come, 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.360 Jesus hour was when he was going to go to 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:24.440 the cross and give up his life. That was his hour. 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:27.200 And he says, this isn't my hour. And he saying, 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:31.040 this isn't my time, but he gets up and he 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:34.320 does it anyway. That's where I'm fascinated by the text. 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:36.520 Pastor a couple of weeks ago preach a sermon I'm 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:39.520 tired on the inside, amazing sermon. Please go back and 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:42.280 watch it. But he says, we cannot manipulate God to 0:08:42.360 --> 0:08:45.040 fit our agenda. That's what made me go study this 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:47.280 whole passage, and it made me study the whole Book 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:49.760 of John. One word from my pastor causes me to 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:52.080 study this whole thing. And we've had a couple hundred 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:54.679 people every morning at seven am in our Matthew's community 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:57.280 doing a Bible study based upon one thought that Pastor 0:08:57.320 --> 0:08:59.719 Stephen preachs. Tell me, Pastor, what you do doesn't matter. 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:02.600 It making a difference around the world. Thank you, sir 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:07.520 for doing that. But Jesus said, my hour is not 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:09.439 yet come. But yet he gets up and he does it. 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:14.560 Why Jesus said, it's not my time, but it's yours. 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:17.679 It's your time, Mary, It's your time to start seeing 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:20.160 me as something different than you've always seen me. He said, 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:23.959 you need to start seeing me as Jehovah Shira, your protector. 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:27.040 You need to start seeing me as Jehovah Shabah, the 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:30.680 god who is your provider and protector. I am Jehovah Nissi, 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:33.800 the banner over your life. I am Elroy, the god 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:37.319 who sees you. And he's about to start revealing parts 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:41.400 of his character to her. But it will happen through relationship. 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:46.840 It says Jesus, It's not my time, but it is yours. 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:49.280 But what prompted the whole thing was a problem that 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:54.640 Mary had. It was the it. What's your it? Some 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:55.880 of you are like, I got a long list of 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:58.360 it's man. Some of you are like, I'm married to it. 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:03.960 I drive to it. I can't get away from it. 0:10:03.960 --> 0:10:06.520 It keeps following me. I thought I paid the bill 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:08.760 on it, but it keeps showing back up in the mail. 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:10.800 I don't know what you're it is, but I want 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:12.600 you to see it. And what I want to flip 0:10:12.640 --> 0:10:15.480 your perspective, like Jesus did with Mary, is that problem. 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:18.920 It becomes an opportunity to see a new perspective. Because 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:23.280 Jesus solves her problem. He does it, but he does 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:26.880 not do it for her reasons. He says, I'm not 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:28.920 doing it to solve your problem. I'm doing it to 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:33.319 give you a new perspective. Everybody is at this wedding, 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.400 hundreds of people. Not a COVID wedding where you have 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:38.200 four people and everybody else watching. It's not that kind 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:40.280 of wedding. It's a wedding where there's hundreds of people there. 0:10:40.800 --> 0:10:44.200 Everybody sees it, but only a couple people see it. 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:51.679 Everybody is there because the scripture says in verse chapter two, 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:54.760 verse eleven, it says what Jesus did here in cana 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:57.320 Galilee was the first of the signs through which he 0:10:57.440 --> 0:11:03.640 revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. The 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:06.360 problem was they ran out of wine. But the motive 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:08.640 for Jesus doing it is not for people to have wine. 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:10.600 It's so that people could see him at a deeper 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:13.719 level and just maybe, just maybe the problem that you're 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:16.720 facing is an opportunity to upgrade your perspective and see 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:22.000 a whole new aspect of Jesus. Because Mary's there and 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:24.599 the disciples of there, and Mary had a relationship with 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:29.680 Jesus for thirty years. But don't let familiarity be mistaken 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:33.560 as faith, because you can sometimes be close to something 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:38.120 you don't see it anymore. And you got Mary who's 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:39.760 been rolling with him for thirty years, but you got 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:41.840 the disciples who have just been following him for a 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:43.880 couple of days. And what I would submit to you 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:45.560 is maybe some of the you that are brand new 0:11:45.640 --> 0:11:47.679 Christians have it more figured out than some of us 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:49.520 that have been walking with him for a long season. 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:52.720 And so do not despise the day of small beginnings. 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:55.040 And the disciples has just been rolling with him for 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:56.600 a couple of days. So I want you to put 0:11:56.640 --> 0:11:58.240 a pause on chapter two, and I want to jump 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:00.800 back to chapter one because it's so that we see 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:06.120 the genesis of a relationship, because God reveals himself through relationship, 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:09.400 and God desires to reveal more of himself through you 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:13.200 to you through the problem that you're facing. But let's 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:16.440 look back and let's see the genesis of a relationship 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:20.000 because in chapter one, wait, so happening is two disciples 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:22.840 Andrew and John. Because when Jesus is at the wedding, 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:26.680 there's five disciples there, and the first two are Andrew 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.360 and John. And they're just hanging out and they see 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:32.480 Jesus walking by, like, hey, let's follow him. They don't 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:34.280 even know why. He's like the lamb of God, like, 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:36.599 let's follow you. And Jesus turns to them and he 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:39.200 says the most outlandist statement. He looks at them and 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:42.960 he says, what do you want? Because some would tell 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.840 you that God doesn't care what you want. That's not 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:48.360 the God that I know. The God that I know 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:50.839 cares deeply about what you want. And he's going to 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:53.320 start there and take you to a deeper revelation of him. 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:55.160 And they just look at him, says, we just want 0:12:55.160 --> 0:12:57.000 to be with you. He's like, cool, hang with me. 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:00.960 Let's go. So Andrew and John are follow in Jesus. 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:04.440 Then the next day that Andrew and gets his brother Peter. 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:07.320 He's like, Peter, come check this out. So now you 0:13:07.360 --> 0:13:10.320 got three disciples that are following Jesus. Peter and Andrew 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:13.600 are from a city in Galilee, and they now convinced 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:15.680 Jesus to go to Galilee, where they get this other 0:13:15.720 --> 0:13:21.440 guy named Philip. God reveals himself through relationship. What you 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:24.880 see a pattern with the early Disciples. It spread infectiously 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:28.720 through relationships. God gave you that relationship because His glory 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.400 wants to come through you. That's why you have that relationship. 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:33.960 H'it share right now, h'it share it right now. Share 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:36.960 this sermon because somebody needs to come into relationship with Jesus, 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:39.319 and God's going to use your relationship to bring them 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:42.920 into relationship. So Philip goes and gets his brother Nathaniel, 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:44.720 and I want to zoom in on Nathaniel for just 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:48.640 a second, because this is the embryo of a relationship. 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:52.640 In verse forty five, it says found Nathaniel and told 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:54.440 him we have found the one Moses wrote about in 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:57.320 the Law and about whom the prophets also wrote, Jesus 0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:02.520 of Nazareth, the son of Joseph Nazareth. Can anything good 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:06.760 come from there? You're going to evolution church? Can like 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:12.040 Nazareth talking about practice? Man? Nazareth, where you talking? Because 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:13.920 he had a box of what the Messiah would look 0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:17.840 like and God was about to boot pop that bubble. 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:20.400 He was about to just just erode all of that. 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:23.760 And in Nathaniel, rather than being offended by him, simply says, 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:28.480 just come and see man, just coming, like that's the 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:32.040 greatest invitation you could give somebody, just come and see man. 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.960 That's and here's the here's the crazy part about the story. 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:37.480 When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said to him, here, 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:41.280 truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. Really, 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:44.120 he's a human. He's got a lot of deceit. He's 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.840 just like you and me. But it's interesting what Jesus 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:49.440 calls him and and Nathaniel says, how do you know me? 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:52.800 Nathaniel answered, or asked. Jesus answered, I saw you while 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:59.400 you will still under the fig tree before Philip called you. Wow. 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:01.680 Then you declared, Rabbi, you are the son of God, 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:06.040 you are the King of Israel. Jesus said, you believe 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:08.240 because I told you that I saw you under a 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:11.960 fig tree. You will see even greater things than these. 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.600 It's a fascinating story that Jesus says, before you came, 0:15:15.680 --> 0:15:18.560 I saw you. Because Jesus sees the fullness of you. 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:20.920 He sees all of your good and all of your bad, 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:24.080 the good, the bad, and the ugly. He sees everything. 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:26.800 So when he says I saw you underneath the fig tree, 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:29.600 it makes me think about the fig leaf because In 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:31.760 the beginning, God created Adam and the If. They had 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:36.200 complete intimacy, an amazing relationship. There were no barriers, there 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:39.000 were no boundaries, nothing separating us and God. It was 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:42.880 perfect relationship. That is Genesis two twenty five. They were 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:45.960 both naked and they felt no shame. It's not a 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:50.040 verse about nudity, it's about intimacy. Seven verses later, they're eating, 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.400 their eyes are opened and sin is injected into the 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:55.840 human DNA, and it has echoed throughout the generation since 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:58.560 that moment. And so when it says he saw him 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:02.400 sitting underneath the fig tree, he says, Nathaniel, I saw 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:05.440 you sitting underneath all of that shame. I saw you 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:08.800 sitting all underneath all of those decisions you ever did. 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:12.600 And he said, I still called you, I still chose you. 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:17.080 You are mine. Come to me. And it's amazing what 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:20.200 Jesus says to him. He knows he's been living under 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:22.760 the shadow of shame. And some of you don't want 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:24.760 to come to Jesus because you don't feel worthy to 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:26.760 come into his presence. And I'm telling you that's the 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:29.440 very reason Jesus died is to take that shame from 0:16:29.480 --> 0:16:32.280 you and he sees you in full, but he loves 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:35.800 you fully. And what's amazing to me is what he 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:38.840 says to Nathaniel. He knows he's been sitting underneath that shame, 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:41.200 and he looks at him and says, here's a true 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:46.800 Israelite in whom there is no He does not identify 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:49.920 him by his lowest moments. He identifies him by his 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:53.000 highest potential. And that is the same thing that God 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:54.920 is doing to you. He is calling you into a 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:58.280 relationship with himself. And of course Nathaniel's gonna follow him, 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:01.480 and he invites him into relationship. And it begins by 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:05.000 seeing who Jesus is. And he had a box that 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:08.600 Jesus just popped and he blew his perspective of what 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:10.920 the Messiah should look like. And he says, I want 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:13.280 to follow you, and he says, you believe because I 0:17:13.320 --> 0:17:16.200 saw you. Dude, You're gonna see even greater things than these. 0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:18.280 And when you hear the word greater, I don't want 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:21.200 you to think like more square footage, a nicer car, 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:24.480 or a bigger paycheck. I want you to think deeper, 0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:28.080 because what it is is like, follow me into relationship 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:31.240 and it's gonna go deeper. Greater means deeper. You're gonna 0:17:31.240 --> 0:17:33.800 see new shades of me who I've always been and 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:36.560 what you see introduced into the text as a concept 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:41.440 of progressive revelation. Progressive revelation is this a fancy way 0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:45.520 of saying like evangelical term says you were saved, meaning 0:17:45.520 --> 0:17:47.479 you had a moment where you place your faith in Jesus. 0:17:47.680 --> 0:17:49.720 You will be saved meaning one day you will see 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:52.040 him face to face and you'll be made like him. 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:56.399 But in between your being saved, it's working out your salvation. Astley. 0:17:56.760 --> 0:17:58.720 Let me tell it to you this way. My wife 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:01.800 Janet is here in two of my four kids. Dalen 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:06.760 turns twelve on Wednesday. That's my girl. And then my 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:09.320 son Corbyn here, he's fourteen. Let me tell you this 0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:12.199 about progressive revelation. He's an amazing young man. I love him. 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:15.280 I remember taking him to school and he's five years old. 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:16.960 He wants to like, dad, hold my hand, let's go 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:20.280 to the classroom. He gots a little backfaft gone, He's like, Daddy, 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:23.639 I love you. I was like yeah, And then when 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:26.160 he's like in fifth grade, he's like dad, I love you. 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:29.720 Now He's like in ninth grade, he's like, Dad, man, 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:31.480 do I have to say it? Like? You better say 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:33.320 you love me? Boy, I'll embarrass you in front of all. 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:36.600 But he's like, he loves his dad. Then one day 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:40.159 he'll graduate high school and he'll say, Dad, I love you. 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:43.399 One day he'll get married and he'll say Dad, I 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:46.440 love you. And one day he'll hold his first born 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.080 and I look at me and say, Dad, I love you. 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:52.960 He's used the same word his whole life, but his 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:57.119 understanding has changed over time. That's progressive revelation. And some 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:59.840 of us are sitting in an outdated revelation of Jesus. 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:03.440 You're stuck in an old download. It's time you update 0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:05.439 what God has called you to see in this season. 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:07.440 And the way that he gives you a new revelation 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.360 is through the situation. Whether it's a struggle or a celebration, 0:19:10.480 --> 0:19:13.679 it's all design for you to see it. It is 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:15.760 not the problem being solved, It is the person of 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:17.960 Jesus in the problem with you. That's what he wants 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:21.399 you to see. But what I realized about relationship is 0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:23.959 it's progressive revelation Because when I was sitting in that 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:26.680 seat and Pastor Steven was preaching, he was talking about 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:30.239 carrying multiple roles. Look at Jesus carrying all of these 0:19:30.320 --> 0:19:33.040 multiple roles. All he has, all of it because when 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:35.280 you come to faith in Jesus, you get the fullness 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:37.560 of Christ, but you don't understand in full. That's the 0:19:37.600 --> 0:19:40.880 progressive revelation. You grow in his character over time. That's 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:44.280 he reveals it to you. And it's funny. When Pastor 0:19:44.320 --> 0:19:46.160 was preaching about roles, here's the other thing that God 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:50.200 so spoken to my spirit. Because Corbin, I'm his dad. 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:53.480 I've been his dad for fourteen years. It's one of 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:55.520 the greatest privilege of my life to be his dad. 0:19:56.080 --> 0:19:57.760 And I remember being his dad when he's five and 0:19:57.800 --> 0:19:59.919 we'd eat pizza and we'd wrestle and it was awesome. 0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:03.240 And then when he's nine, I had a bunch of 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:06.320 rules like, hey, clean your room, brush your teeth, go 0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:09.240 to bed. And what God spoke to me says, you're 0:20:09.280 --> 0:20:11.879 still living in a five year old definition of dad. 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:16.520 And the reason I'm having frustration in the relationship is 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:19.920 not because he doesn't get it. Because I was looking 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:21.359 at them. He just doesn't get it. He needs to 0:20:21.359 --> 0:20:24.840 respect his dad more. And what I realized it's about 0:20:24.880 --> 0:20:28.080 my perspective because I have not had a new revelation 0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:30.120 of what Dad is in five years, and I'm still 0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:32.879 treating him like an eight year old. And so we 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:34.879 had a good talk a couple of weeks ago and said, Corbin, 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:37.119 I want to apologize for that because I need to 0:20:37.160 --> 0:20:39.480