WEBVTT - The Whispers Of War 0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:08.280 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:11.040 this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:13.560 gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:19.319 Enjoy the message. I do want to say, welcome to 0:00:19.360 --> 0:00:20.560 our worldwide church family. 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.520 Let's welcome our e fam one time, come on Elevation 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:24.239 in Valentine. 0:00:24.560 --> 0:00:28.880 Let's thank God for all of those who are joining 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:30.440 us online. 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:33.600 Also since his Veterans Day weekend, I want to thank 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:35.880 all of you who have served our country. 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:40.400 In any branch of the service. Thank you so much. 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:43.000 We can do better than that. 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:45.959 I know you're holding your Bible, but kind of get 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:54.320 those hands free. I thank the Lord for each and 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:57.120 every one of you. I'm excited about. 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:58.960 What he will speak today. 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:05.120 John seven, verse one through sixteen. The Bible says after this, 0:01:05.360 --> 0:01:08.319 Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:11.160 go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were 0:01:11.200 --> 0:01:14.480 looking for a way to kill him. But when the 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:19.600 Jewish festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus's brothers said to 0:01:19.680 --> 0:01:24.240 him leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:28.640 disciples there may see the works you do. No one 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:31.720 who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:36.920 Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world. 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:41.080 For even his own brothers did not believe in him 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:46.720 wow verse six. Therefore Jesus told them, my time is 0:01:46.760 --> 0:01:48.600 not yet here for you. 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:52.680 Any time will do. The world cannot hate you, but 0:01:52.720 --> 0:01:55.440 it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. 0:01:56.400 --> 0:01:57.720 You go to the festival. 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:02.000 I am not going up to this because my time 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:06.960 has not yet fully come. It's a good thing to 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:09.040 know that you're right where God wants you to be, 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:12.120 and it's a good thing when you know that not 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:14.760 to move, no matter what anybody says to you about it. 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:19.600 He said, my time has not yet fully come. After 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:24.280 he said this, he stayed in Galilee. However, after his 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:28.320 brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:34.359 publicly but in secret. Now at the festival, the Jewish 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:37.000 leaders were watching for Jesus and asking where is he. 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:45.519 Among the crowds, there was widespread whispering about him. Some 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:51.680 said he's a good man, others replied, no, he deceives 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:55.680 the people, but no one would say anything publicly about 0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:58.240 him for fear of the leaders. 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:00.080 Not until halfway through. 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:02.560 The festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:06.840 and begin to teach. The Jews there were amazed and asked, 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:13.240 how did this man get such learning without having been taught? Well, 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:18.000 that's an ironic question. The one who is wisdom is 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:21.520 being questioned as to where he got it. But verse 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:26.040 sixteen is where we're gonna begin our sermonic journey today. 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:30.079 Jesus answered, my teaching is not my own, It comes 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:33.760 from the one who sent me. I want to give 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:37.400 you one more scripture from Isaiah, chapter fifty four, verse seventeen. 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:40.000 In the New King James, no weapon formed against you 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:44.240 shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:48.800 judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:52.720 servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from me, 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:56.720 says the Lord. I want to talk to you today 0:03:56.760 --> 0:04:01.920 about the war of whispers, the war. 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:06.280 Of whispers, Father, I thank you for what you spoke. 0:04:07.040 --> 0:04:08.839 Help me to give it to them like you gave 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:12.120 it to me, not watered down, not weakened, but just 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:14.200 like you gave it to me, and I know that 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:16.840 it will bless them because you blessed me with it. 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:20.000 If there is someone today who needs this word online, 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:23.200 block out all distractions. I pray that their kid would 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:25.080 just fall down and take a nap right now so 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:27.920 they can focus on this word in the name of Jesus. 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:30.800 If there's somebody who's focused on something else that's going 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:33.960 to happen tomorrow, we block it out right now. The 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:36.760 Lord is in this place. We ask you to speak 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:41.359 a word. We are listening in Jesus's name. Amen, you 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:46.040 may be seated. 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:46.160 The war of whispers. 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.279 I want to talk to you from four dynamics from 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:55.039 this Bible story that represent four different pressures that Jesus 0:04:55.120 --> 0:04:58.359 was under in his life. We will definitely get to 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:01.120 the first three and the fourth is a ma depending 0:05:01.120 --> 0:05:03.560 on time. I'm going to give them all to you 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:06.520 right now, so you can fill in the blanks as 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:10.719 we go along. In this passage, there are four pressures 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:14.599 that Jesus is under. Jesus, the Son of God, was 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:18.760 under tremendous pressure as he fulfilled his purpose. 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:21.680 In the earth, and I think he serves. 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:23.159 For us as a model of what to do for 0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:27.039 the pressure that we feel in our life. And so 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:30.160 I'm going to give you all four things, all four pressures, 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:31.599 as we begin our sermon. 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:34.400 They all start with the letter A. They will be 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:35.400 easy to remember. 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:52.679 Number one amazement, amazement, Number two abandonment, abandonment, Number three 0:05:53.160 --> 0:06:02.839 arrival arrival, and number four if we get there agreement, 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:11.080 these four pressures and more. I mean Jesus, the Son 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:14.240 of God, who took on the weakness of sinful flesh, 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:18.279 not because he was sin, but he became sin so 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:21.400 that we might become the righteousness of God, who had 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:25.000 then only three years to fulfill the mission of his ministry, 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:27.400 which would lead him ultimately to the cross, where he 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:30.520 would die and pay for the penalty of our sin, 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:35.120 experienced tremendous pressure, not only on the cross, where the 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:38.960 pressure was so great that it actually caused his lungs 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:41.719 to collapse from physical exertion, but even before that, in 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:45.440 the garden of Gethsemane, as he prayed such a heavy 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:46.279 prayer that. 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:51.360 His sweat became like drops of blood. That's pressure. 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:55.040 And I know you're going through a lot too, But 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:58.800 your capillaries haven't burst like blood yet, have they? And 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:02.520 so it helps us in times of our humanity, when 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:05.560 our weakness is great to know that we have a 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:10.000 high priest named Jesus who is not unable to be 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:12.040 touched with the feelings of our infirmity, but one who 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:14.720 is tempted in all points, just like we are, yet 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:15.320 without sin. 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:18.440 Now that's the difference between me and Jesus. 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:22.240 He was under pressure and I'm under pressure, but he 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:26.320 always stays focused on purpose, and I don't. I get 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:30.720 distracted when I'm under pressure. I start reacting rather than responding. 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:34.760 When I'm under pressure, I start eating things that I 0:07:34.800 --> 0:07:41.080 said I wouldn't eat under pressure, speaking things that I 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:46.360 said I wouldn't speak under pressure, texting people that anyway, 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:52.840 in my pressure state, I am often vulnerable. And so 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:56.200 this moment in the life of Jesus is very interesting, 0:07:56.600 --> 0:07:59.800 isn't it. The Bible says he went to Jerusalem for 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:03.160 one of the feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, and when. 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:05.760 He got there, they were amazed at the way he taught. 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:07.480 They were amazed. I don't know if you noticed that. 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:11.080 In verse number eighteen, it says the Jews there, excuse me, 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:14.840 verse number fifteen. They were amazed, and they asked, how 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:20.840 did this man get such learning without being taught. They 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:23.400 didn't teach him, so they couldn't understand how he could 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:26.000 have learned so much outside of their system. 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:28.360 I told you this a few weeks ago. 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:31.920 But my son Graham, who wrestled for three years in 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:34.680 high school with say Dad, when I look back on 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.760 when I used to start wrestling, I'm amazed how much 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:40.359 you taught me with how little you knew. 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:42.440 Which is a compliment kind of. 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:45.200 He means, it's not like you were some kind of 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:48.880 great wrestler, but somehow you were always coaching me. And 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:50.599 when you were coaching me in the early days, I 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:52.480 thought you knew so much more than you did. 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:53.680 But you were. 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:56.120 Basically just yelling the same three things over and over again, 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:59.040 weren't you. And I thought to myself, yes, and that 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:03.000 is my parenting as well, just to keep saying the same. 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:04.280 Three things over and over again. 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:08.839 And there's something about this moment in your life that, 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:12.480 if you're honest about it, even though there are some 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:15.240 pressures that you're under in some problems that you're facing, 0:09:15.360 --> 0:09:18.240 it's amazing that you're doing as well as you are 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:20.640 considering where you've come from. 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:24.120 How many of you would say Pastor. 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:27.360 Stephen, you would be shocked how loud I sang today 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:30.600 if you knew how hard my week has been. 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:36.079 Wave at me, Well, look at you, just feeling sorry 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:38.640 for yourself. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I baited you for that. 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:42.000 The fact of the matter is, in Jesus's case, he 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:44.600 came from heaven, and so he had the knowledge that 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:46.840 came from being at the right hand of God. Eternally, 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:48.880 he was the word of God. He didn't just speak 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:51.360 the word of God, and so the knowledge that he 0:09:51.440 --> 0:09:54.240 had reflected the place that he came from. Yet the 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:57.880 Jewish leaders were very amazed. Keep that word in your mind, 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:01.880 that he could no so much when he had been 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:06.000 exposed to so little of their system. It's ironic, I know, 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:08.400 because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:10.839 was with God, and the Word was God, and all 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:13.079 things were made by Him and threw him in fore him. 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:14.040 We're talking about. 0:10:13.880 --> 0:10:16.960 Jesus, and when they see him, they're amazed at him, 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:19.480 and they are amazed about the things that they are 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:22.680 hearing that he is doing. Jesus, at this point in 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:26.200 his ministry, has been doing amazing ministry. 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:27.240 In the region of Galilee. 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:31.400 He has been turning water into wine at weddings when 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:34.120 his mom told him to do it. Yeah, that's John 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:37.240 chapter two. When they ran out of wine, he would 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:39.000 just somehow make it flow. 0:10:39.160 --> 0:10:39.960 That's amazing. 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:44.040 Anytime you have somebody who can create overflow where there 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:46.199 was one scarcity, it's amazing. 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:48.200 Everybody say it's amazing. 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:53.200 One time a centurion needed a healing for his little boy, 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:56.679 and Jesus was busy, so he didn't go to his house. 0:10:56.720 --> 0:10:59.280 He just sent his word and healed him. 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:01.880 He didn't even go to his house, he just sent 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:05.600 his word and heal him. Maybe the word of God 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:08.240 is going to beat you home today too and deal 0:11:08.280 --> 0:11:11.120 with some things that you've been going through because of 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:13.400 the word that you heard while you were here. You 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:16.160 always make a wise decision when you come to church, 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:20.280 because God can speak something in one whisper that can 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.400 do more than all of your human wisdom. You could 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:26.520 spend the next five years trying to figure out something 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:28.920 God could fix in five minutes if you could hear 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:29.400 from him. 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:32.000 That's why I value the word of God. 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:34.720 That's why when I come to church, I'm not checking 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:37.079 to see who just buzzed me in my back pocket. 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:39.840 They can buzz me all they want to buzz me, 0:11:40.200 --> 0:11:42.520 But while I'm in here, the Bible is buzzing me. 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:45.800 God is speaking to me. I've got a text message 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:48.560 alert from Heaven. There may be something God wants to 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:51.520 say to me about why I'm stressed out. God might 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:53.280 want to speak to me about the root of my 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:55.520 bitterness so I can let this thing go and move 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:58.360 on in my life. God might actually want to give 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:00.520 me a strategy to break through to me my wife 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:03.200 because maybe we've been going through a difficult time and 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:05.160 maybe He's going to show me something that I haven't 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:07.360 been thinking about how I can reach out and bring 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:08.120 the love back. 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:09.760 God might give me a date night. 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:12.760 Idea while Pastor Stephen's preaching. God might show me the 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:15.480 song to play that's gonna make the silent treatment stop 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:16.640 when I get home. 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:18.800 I'm trying to say that God can. 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:22.120 Speak something in a whisper that is greater than all 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:23.720 of the human wisdom combined. 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:26.280 So stop trying to figure everything. 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:28.920 Out on your own, because Jesus can do something so 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:32.800 amazing and he doesn't even have to raise his voice. 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:37.840 He can do it in a whisper. It's interesting because 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:41.760 I almost had to have somebody else preach this message. 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:46.120 This weekend around Friday, I woke up and I had 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:51.520 no voice. I could only speak with a whisper. And 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.040 the Lord said, well, if a whisper is. 0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:58.040 What you've got, then a whisper is what you'll give. 0:12:59.880 --> 0:13:01.800 I took some medicine and my voice feels all right 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:05.680 right now, and I might not be able to speak 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:08.120 like I normally speak today. I feel like I'm doing 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:10.559 pretty good so far, but I am trying to use 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:14.040 wisdom for this. But sometimes the Holy Spirit and the 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:16.560 adrenaline kicks in and I forget all my wisdom and 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:18.880 I just start screaming. But I told the Lord, well, 0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:20.880 maybe I shouldn't preach, and the Lord said, no, maybe 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:22.600 you should teach them. 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:23.440 About the whisper. 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:29.400 The whisper because some of them are making decisions in 0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:32.680 their life right now, and it's so noisy with what 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:34.280 everybody else thinks they should do. 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:37.400 But I want to give them a whisper. 0:13:38.520 --> 0:13:40.320 You know, the Lord can give you a whisper and 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:44.880 save you seven years of a bad relationship. The Lord 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:47.000 can give you a whisper and show you a new 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:50.280 way to see the situation that turns the regret into 0:13:50.360 --> 0:13:50.840 a lesson. 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:54.120 I've had it happen before. I was feeling so bad. 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:57.200 About something, so down about something, and the Lord just 0:13:57.240 --> 0:13:59.800 whispered a different way to see it, and that little 0:13:59.840 --> 0:14:02.800 whisper that he gave me completely reframe the situation. 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:06.000 And you know what's crazy. The situation didn't change the. 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:08.400 Way I saw it did and the whisper God gave 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:14.520 me reframed the situation, and I went from worry to worship. 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:18.720 Jesus is going to the festival. 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:22.960 He's going to the festival and he's going to amaze 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:24.000 the people. 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:25.240 With his teaching. 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:31.160 But his brothers are pressuring him to do something at 0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:34.840 this time that is not appropriate to his assignment. I 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:37.320 want to say to you today that not everything that 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:40.960 God has given you to do needs to be run 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:47.280 by a committee. Not everything that God has given you 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:49.840 to do will align with what everybody else is doing. 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:53.960 Not everything that God has called you to be will 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:57.720 align with what you see reflected in the environment around you. 0:14:58.400 --> 0:14:59.800 They were amazed by. 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.800 His team teaching because he didn't come from their synagogue. 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:06.320 They were amazed by his teaching because he did not 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:07.520 teach like they taught. 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:11.520 He taught with authority. When he spoke, storms listened. 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:16.280 Jesus's voice was so powerful he could sleep through a storm, 0:15:16.640 --> 0:15:20.280 and when he woke up, he could tell the storm. 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:23.920 He didn't even have to say a word, just and 0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:27.440 the storm would say, uh oh, Jesus is talking. The 0:15:27.520 --> 0:15:30.560 word just spoke. Peter could holler every cuss word he 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:33.800 wanted to holler. The storm didn't stop. Cuss Peter cussed. 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:38.880 The storm stopped because Jesus said, if I could give 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:41.160 this sermon a subtitle, it would be called. 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:45.320 So just turn to your neighbor, don't breathe on him 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:53.320 too much, and say, when Jesus says, the storm shuts down. 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:58.120 When Jesus says, the wind and the waves died down. 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:03.280 When Jesus says, everybody else sits down and listen. 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:06.760 Because he teaches with authority. And it's amazing. 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:11.160 Somebody say it's amazing. It's amazing. I look at some 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:13.280 of your lives, and I think about the fact that 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:15.960 you were in rehab this time last year and you're 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.920 still doing good and you're here today, and I think 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:22.240 that's amazing. I mean, you didn't even see a path 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:25.000 for this life. You didn't have this model for you 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:27.880 I know people sometimes come to church and they're so 0:16:28.000 --> 0:16:30.520 beat down by what they need to change, But can 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:35.080 we take five seconds and at least be thankful that 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:38.400 it makes no sense that we're even doing as good 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:48.680 as we're doing when you consider where we came from. 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:53.000 Remember when they said that Jesus was from Nazareth, and 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:55.760 they were surprised, because they said, can anything good come 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:59.720 from Nazareth? They were surprised that something so powerful came 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:03.200 from somewhere so small. They were surprised that something so 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:06.919 wise came from somewhere so remote. They were surprised that 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:09.560 something so wonderful and so amazing. 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:10.880 And I think we need. 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:15.000 To stay surprised and stay amazed, because if you actually 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:17.879 look at your life, it makes no sense that you 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:21.240 should be married today. If you actually look at your life, 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:23.399 it makes no sense you should be in a mental 0:17:23.440 --> 0:17:27.120 institution today. All the weapons that were formed against you. 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:30.240 It is a wonder that you're paying your bills. It's 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:34.280 a wonder you're living indoors. It's a wonder your standing upright. 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:37.840 It's a wonder you're saying. It's a wonder you're here. 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:40.840 It's a wonder you're praising some of you had a 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:42.880 health issue and you didn't even know if you'd be. 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:46.480 Alive to see the end of twenty twenty five. But 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:47.600 it's amazing. 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:52.679 Hot five three people say it's amazing. It's amazing. It 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:55.879 might not mean much to you, but it's amazing to me. 0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:58.399 It might be little to you, but it's a big 0:17:58.440 --> 0:17:58.960 thing to me. 0:17:59.560 --> 0:18:01.520 I pray God for my smile. 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.479 I'm praising God with the teeth that are still in 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:08.080 my mouth. I'm praising God that I had food to digest. 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:09.880 I'm praising God. 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:13.560 Just amazing. 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:18.760 Now, the fact that it's amazing doesn't mean that everything 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:23.840 is going great. Jesus is going to a festival, but 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:24.800 he's in the middle. 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:25.120 Of a fight. 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:29.560 It's a festival and a fight. 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:33.359 In the same passage, I told him I was gonna whisper. 0:18:34.119 --> 0:18:38.359 Look what a hypocrite I am. 0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:40.640 And not only is he going to a festival where 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:42.639 his brothers are trying to pressure him, but he is 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:47.159 in a vulnerable moment himself. Pop quiz what comes before 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:48.959 John chapter seven in the Bible? 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:54.359 Yeah, John chapter six. So see how amazing that is? 0:18:54.480 --> 0:18:56.760 Look that. Look at that Bible knowledge you stored up. 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:04.800 And you think John chapter six is a happy chapter. 0:19:04.880 --> 0:19:05.960 And do not even make. 0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:07.439 A six to seven joke right now. I don't even 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:08.080 want to hear one. 0:19:08.720 --> 0:19:10.960 You will not slow down the momentum of my message 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:19.680 with that silliness. But he he feed the five thousand 0:19:20.640 --> 0:19:24.280 with a little bit of food in John chapter six. Remember, 0:19:24.640 --> 0:19:31.280 Jesus has been doing miracles, and that's why they're persecuting him. 0:19:31.720 --> 0:19:35.359 Jesus has been working, and that's why they are forming 0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:41.320 the weapon against him. Write this down. No work, no weapon. 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:48.480 If Jesus doesn't do anything, they don't do anything. If 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:52.359 Jesus doesn't threaten the establishment, there will be no reaction 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:58.480 from the establishment. If Jesus is not moving, there will 0:19:58.520 --> 0:20:02.679 be no resistance to his movement. The devil does not 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:05.879 attack you when you're doing nothing for God. 0:20:06.760 --> 0:20:11.960 The devil attacks you when you're advancing. And so Jesus 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:12.960 is doing amazing things. 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:15.800 Not only turning water into wine, not only healing a 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:20.160 royal official son. He actually healed Peter's mother in law. 0:20:20.200 --> 0:20:22.840 Many scholars believe that's why Peter denied. 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:33.840 Him doing amazing things. But the big one that's in 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:35.920 all four of the Gospels that everybody likes talk about. 0:20:35.920 --> 0:20:39.640 He turned a little boy's lunch into enough to feed 0:20:39.680 --> 0:20:42.160 a multitude, and he did that. 0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:45.320 That's amazing. How could he do so much with so little. 0:20:45.480 --> 0:20:46.200 It's amazing. 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:48.760 How could he know so much when he was exposed 0:20:48.760 --> 0:20:51.720 to so little religious tradition. It's amazing. That's how God 0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:54.119 gets glory out of your life, when he does so 0:20:54.240 --> 0:20:56.359 much with so little. When he takes a little bit 0:20:56.400 --> 0:20:59.240 of oil and fills every jar you bring him, when 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:01.560 he takes a little stone and knocks down a big giant, 0:21:01.680 --> 0:21:04.120 when he takes a little staff and splits a big seat. 0:21:04.359 --> 0:21:06.080 When God takes the little bit that you do know, 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:08.000 the little bit of clarity that you do have, the 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:09.640 little bit of strength that you do have, the little 0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:11.159 bit of time that you do have, the little bit 0:21:11.200 --> 0:21:12.480 of wisdom that you do have, the little bit of 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:15.840 experience that you do have. When He takes a faith 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:18.920 the size of a mustard seed and moves a mountain. 0:21:18.640 --> 0:21:20.960 With it, and people say, that's amazing. 0:21:22.200 --> 0:21:24.080 And when he takes a little boy's lunch and breaks 0:21:24.119 --> 0:21:25.879 it and blesses it and gives it to the people, 0:21:26.200 --> 0:21:29.200 and they all go home with leftuilvers, and the disciples 0:21:29.200 --> 0:21:32.800 are like, wow, that's amazing. You know. The Bible says 0:21:32.800 --> 0:21:35.879 in John chapter six that the crowds followed him the 0:21:35.880 --> 0:21:39.280 next day, expecting him to do it again, and he 0:21:39.359 --> 0:21:43.399 didn't because the pressure of being amazing is that you 0:21:43.520 --> 0:21:47.919 have to sustain it. And we all know what it 0:21:47.960 --> 0:21:52.520 feels like to feel like that what we do is 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:58.639 taken for granted. Yeah, I mean, I don't want to 0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:00.600 call her out, but I think about Holly all the time. 0:22:02.480 --> 0:22:04.720 I think about how amazing it is, just stuff that 0:22:04.760 --> 0:22:08.120 she does naturally for our family. It's absolutely incredible. 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:10.760 I'm trying to convince her to not cook for us 0:22:10.760 --> 0:22:14.280 for a month just to make us appreciate how amazing 0:22:14.320 --> 0:22:14.879 her food is. 0:22:15.760 --> 0:22:18.040 I'm like, just put us on a fast. Just put 0:22:18.119 --> 0:22:21.280 us on a thirty day fast. We are not grateful enough, 0:22:22.000 --> 0:22:22.159