2018-1-6-CCCC

Yes, ma'am. Absolutely.

Awesome. Will thank you. Thank you very much as he she is she's doing the Lord's work and speaking of we have an opportunity to give a benevolence offering today at the close of our service. And also we have our better come up with a better name for a potluck. We don't believe in we don't believe in luck or or the other.

Norwood ricotta pot blessing

Call it a alosian and Fishes meal. I remember as a child growing up. We would have covered dish it is historically that's its proper title, but I would have these covered dish lunches after church and and I'll get so stressed that it would it would run out of some of my favorites like the weird green and orange salad that I think it's main ingredients for whipped cream and marshmallows and pineapple in heavy syrup. I don't so I would strategically just wait at the front of the line Little Tommy Shelton would wait at the front of the line and just kind of mail about and then Carmel live and go to check Tommy. Would you like to get in line with me? Certainly Miss Carmel, I would so shady What was awesome though? It is that like everyone just brought something. And then everyone has their fill. And they're still leftover. Like I mean, it's just a reenactment of God's miraculous provision. So that's next week play with me.

Ford may we never Forget to Faithfully ask that you would fill your sanctuaries with worshippers that you would fill your pulpits with faith for preachers. faith comes through hearing

So we're going to hear you have to open ears and if there's something worst hearing you're going to have to speak. So it's just you are asking that you would be who you are and that you would do what only you can do. I pray that over our time this morning. It's heavy. It's not like but that's who you are. So they were here and maybe spoken in your name Allman.

2nd Corinthians chapter 5 starting in verse 1

for we know that if the tent that is our Earthly home is destroyed. We have a building from God a house not made with hands Eternal in the heavens. Put in this tent we groan longing to put on our Heavenly dwelling if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked for all we are still in this tent We Grown being burdened not that we would be unclothed. But that would we we would be further closed so that what is Mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God who has given us the spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body. We are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

Forgive me if today I looked down and I read a great deal on the Lord has just pressed upon me things that I want to make sure are spoken.

As Thomas Moyer and I stood in the hospital room yesterday. With Patricia and her family. I read that Passage.

And as the tears of Patricia's family and Tom and myself flowed. looking at Patricia's Earthly tent wasting away

what became very clear to me crystal clear to me in that moment.

It is that we don't have a god. Who separates Joy from pain? We have a savior that transcends them both. And so they were both present in and out at the very same time.

Joy and pain in the same moment. It's not as though we had moments of joy and then moments of pain. Jesus was the Lord of both. At the same time Trend sending them both and being the Lord of both and I stood there and I watched her family weep.

I saw a daughter. Cuddling her mother saying I don't want to let her go but don't want to let her go. I don't want to let her come. Pictures of faithful woman is a woman who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as a woman, who knows where her mother is about to be with Jesus. And yes, you still saying? I don't want to let her go. And I felt no need to take away that grief from her. No need I didn't feel the need to say something either profound or clever.

Kicker from that moment.

Because God has a purpose. For that joy in that pain to be so intermingled that you can't even tell the difference between the two.

Jeremy already said it that we are not to be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed.

The Church of Jesus Christ. The body of Christ is to stand in stark contrast to the world. But here's an area where the church in the world are in absolute lock-step.

Pain and difficulty is the enemy discomfort is the enemy. Not welcome in the world and it's not welcome in the church we have decided that discomfort is our enemy. We welcome nothing that causes us discomfort. We welcome nothing that causes us to to leave. Are snuggled up cozy position. Anything that causes difficulty anything that causes strain or sweat. Anything that takes us?

away Absolutely. He's that's the enemy.

my daughter Eliza

She does not like hunger. She doesn't but oddly enough. She never wants to sit down for a meal.

This is odd. It doesn't does that strike you as odd that someone could.

Could be so intolerant of hunger.

But also so intolerant of sitting down for a meal she wants a a constant steady drip of food.

No effort. No discomfort.

And what my wife tells her all the time Eliza. It's okay to be hungry. It's okay to be hungry. And maybe Nara it's okay to be thirsty from time to time as well. She always has water with her I should learn from her. I'm like my kidneys in pain or my body's way of telling me I should drink some water, honey.

Hunger and thirst are designed by God.

What type of hunger-n-thirst we would experience zero satisfaction? and being fed

and being supplied what we need. And so in the church and in our culture having made discomfort the enemy that we fight at every cost. We have found discomfort guilty and it shall be executed. Unless of course, you know going through all that. It's difficult and uncomfortable then I don't know where stock.

But we don't allow ourselves to feel pain or grief.

Or even a whole black of Absolute Comfort and ease. in other words we've decided that happy is Jesus sad is the devil and our Salvation is he's

There's nothing easy about watching and 82 year old mother. grandmother

sister and Saint struggle to breathe and die

How's the Church of Jesus Christ we have to stand and we have to Proclaim something different. We have to Proclaim something. That's true. We have to Proclaim something of real substance. That might not make any of us comfortable in a moment.

We don't have a god. I'm just a moment.

We have a god of an eternity.

and he is working and he is moving and he has a purpose and he has a plan for all things but

as the church We can preach to ourselves and we can preach to the world one of three things.

To the one who's grieving to the one who is feeling crushed to the one who's feeling weighed down by the circumstances of life. We can tell them and tell ourselves one of three things. We can in whatever words we choose whatever scriptures we choose to charity pick out and reassemble, whatever platitudes or story or coffee mugs. We want to offer it can be one of these three things. God has nothing to do with this moment.

or we can Proclaim that God was powerless to stop it. But he's with you and he's going to try his best to make it better. or God is Not only with you. But has purposed this for you and has already determined that it's for his glory and your joy.

Ecclesiastes 3

starting in verse 1 for everything

Everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted A Time to Kill and a time to heal a time to break down and a time to build up a time to weep and a time to laugh a time to mourn and a time to dance a time to Cast Away stones and a time to gather Stones together a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing a time to seek and a time to lose a time to keep and a time to Cast Away a time to tear and a time to sow what time to keep silence and a time to speak a time to love and a time to hate a time for war and a Time For Peace. What game has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart. Yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them. Then to be joyful and do good as long as they live. Also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil. This is God's gift to man. I perceived that whatever God does and doors forever. Nothing can be added to it nor anything taken away from it. God has done it so that people fear before him that which is already has been that which is to be already has been and God seeks what has been driven away. Do you like bottom line? Do you like bottom lines of complex things I do? Sometimes there just God's gift to us because we have such a small minds. That's what Solomon is saying. We have small lines small minds, but he bottom line is it for us? And here it is in it in my words. God is either Sovereign or he is not

God is either Sovereign of all things or he is not He either has a purpose and plan for all things or he is just a fairly powerful Creator deity who is doing his level best chasing us around trying to hold together everything we break and make the best of our bad situation. Powerless to stop us from harming ourselves, but reasonably able and sometimes even willing to kiss are boo-boos.

dark Caesar with us in season 2 difficulty in pain or or what? We blasphemously call unfortunate.

He's either with us. in those times

Olympic juice, let me rephrase it.

God is no only with us in those times. But here's the here's the difficult reality. He puts us in those times.

What's Us in those times?

It takes no pleasure.

in the difficulty in the pain

But he has a purpose for it.

And we have to trust it's the only thing left for us in those times and there's the grace.

The most powerful prayer ever prayed over me. And over my best friend Joey at the time. He actually still is my best friend. We were 17 we went to camp together then we had a counselor, Matt Pritchard. and dumb our first midday Bible study that we had. He said guys. Let me just ask you a question. Okay, because you want to know what I get up before the sun rises and pray over each of you by name. Would you like to know what I pray for you? Yeah, sure because I pray. That you would be miserable if that's what it requires for you to know that you need Jesus.

My best friend my brother.

He later told me.

Those are the words and that's the truth.

Did the Holy Spirit used to get into his heart and resurrect him? Because he said to that prayer. Answered I'm miserable.

I need you Jesus.

Sometimes as parents we feel that it's our job to keep our children from misery or sadness or even moderate discomfort.

That is not our God.

We have a God that not only.

States with us in those times but places Us in them Romans 8:28. We know that for those who love God all things work together for good. For those who are called according to his purpose all things. We either believe that or we don't Church.

Some is not given to us. We cannot believe that some things.

God has ordained.

for Christmas I was given this this this leather.

Found some Journal Herald Journal inside of it in this leather-covered. It was given to me and then I thought when I started it at Crystal Cove, I I I already started this journal and The weirdest kind of switch it out, but then I thought I saw that I could take out the other journal and I I put in this one. and I Last Saturday night not yesterday but a week ago before I went to bed. I was like, oh cool. I mean don't put my to see if my preaching journal fit in that leather-covered took a little doing but it got in there in like those really cool. I like that. Look at that for a man. That is really awesome. I should be wearing flannel and have a beer to me smell it.

This is that guy's this is all I can do.

40 years. This is my

and I went to the donut shop. Columbus notes King here preach the word. I was leaving to go home and I got out to my fan. I might head my duct tape Bible journaling and realize I left my keys inside so place to turn on the Bible on the roof of the van and came back in and grab my keys and went back out and drove to meet my wife at the grocery store. And when I got out of the car, I saw my Bible just dangling like it's very blonde the luggage rack of the van and instantly I remembered what I had done and I And I got to tell you I mean like sex so many things race through my mind. It's like all the sermons that I've preached all the notes are there in there in that journal on. It's just a thing, you know, it's just paper and pencil, but it was more than that. So. praying and I asked all of my Facebook friends to pray as a trace back down to retracing my steps and prayed in there at a stoplight. I post it on Facebook for people to pray with me. That's nothing.

And I I turned left. trouble at a hundred yards and then Hair It Is laying in the road. And yeah, it's like all scuffed up and everything, but honestly, doesn't it look cool or not.

And I'm I'm praising God. I'm praising God like God.

He ordained that I would be given a leather cover for my journal. So that wouldn't flew off the top of the car and get driven over and be okay.

right

some might say

why didn't your God just ordained that the phone should ring?

Why wouldn't wouldn't it be it wouldn't have been easier for your God to just keep you from putting your body your journal on the roof of the van. My response no one has ever gotten anywhere and said guys, praise God. I didn't leave my journal on top of the van. How good is God I didn't leave my journal on the van. Can I get an amen?

God Made Me

leave my journal on the van. He did it.

He calls the wind to blow. Sweat flies off and lands in the middle of the street. He cause cars to drive over it. He caused me to feel that hunger. I don't want to lose it. I know it's just a thing, but it's it's more than just a thing.

Knots as I agree here it is kept safe for you. We have a guy that gave me hunger gave me Annie's gave me discomfort gave me anxiety so that I could feel the satisfaction of him. providing and soothing and restoring

what about what about things that really matter?

You know like depression.

Sorel

But we sometimes referred to as freak accidents.

God wooden ordained Woody

then Jesus was lead. Up by the spirit Into the Wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert to hunger and thirst and be tempted and tried.

Simon dear Simon behold Satan demanded to have you that he might shift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you. And when you have turned against strengthen your brother sleep 22.

Or what about Jobe? back to Jobe chapter one starting in verse 8

and the Lord said to Satan have you considered my servant job that there is none like him on the earth at blameless and upright man who fears God and turns Away From Evil than Satan answered the Lord and said does job fear God for no reason have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has on every side you have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions of increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has and he will curse you to your face. And the Lord said to Satan behold all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Yeah, but you know. Satan harming job God was harming. Jogos, Satan Satan was Armijo. Who started the conversation?

Let out a little more leash for Satan.

Rancho proclaims

chapter 13 verse 15 though. He slay me.

I will hope in him. Though he slay me I will hope in him.

In a moment or a season of pain if the keepers of the Gospel attempt to save God's kind and loving reputation by saying God had nothing to do with this is this wasn't God's will. what we would be proclaiming is that God is like a biological father Who made you? Loves you. he wants the best for you, but he's like not fair

If you really want to you can you can see come out and try to find him?

Or in that same moment of trial and struggle and pain the church proclaims that dumb. Well, you know God was powerless to stop this. But he's with you and he'll do his best to make it better.

What is proclaimed in is that God is nothing but a well-meaning coach. Doing his best to call the right plays from the sidelines. If we follow the plays. Then things will go better for us. But you know if we go our own way things won't go as well, but don't blame the coach.

It's like telling a drowning person wants your fault. You jumped in the water and you fail to learn how to swim my room.

who are we faithful to God's character and give ourselves and give others something upon which to stand.

the only thing left for us

Is what job says? the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

I want a gospel. That says to everyone your pain is not meaningless.

There's a point to it. purpose to it

2nd Corinthians 4:17 through 18

For this light and momentary Affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of Glory. Beyond all comparison as we look not to the things that are seen But to the things that are unseen for the things that are seen are transient.

But the things that are unseen are eternal.

We do not have a Heavenly Father cruel enough.

To never let us hurt.

My oldest son was a baby. I'm home from the hospital.

Right my boy. I just called him boy for most of his life just called me boy. I'm so happy to have them. started to fussy start to be yellow.

shy around with fever took him back in and jaundice

It's not knew she had babies jaundice in his cases is is pretty bad. So we had to go back in the hospital. And we were warned that at at what needs to happen. It's going to be a bit uncomfortable for him and for Mom and for Dad. Ivy's had to be

PlayStation news going to be rough in so my wife asked me could you could you just do this? Yes if I can. So I took him back there and he's already crying. He's already fussing and in the nurses they said Dad. You're going to have to hold him down.

anime the prettiest feet

sarms finally his head to put the IV through his head. He was crying. I mean wailing crying thrashing around and I had to with all of my strength and with all of my we'll had to hold him down.

Set at the ivy could be inserted in and then he had to stay held down and zipped up in this like bad of light. So that that light in that hydration wood would wood would burn out. boys killing him

He didn't enjoy a moment of it.

And yeah, there was a nurse's present and there were needles and I'm the one who did it. I held him down.

Through the tears through the pain so that he could have life.

Our heavenly father did the same to his only son.

The father's will held him to the cross.

as cried out

God did it. Wasn't the Romans it wasn't even our sin. He could have just left us to our own sin. It was the father's will that held the Sun to the cross? So that he could be exalted above all things and that we could be exalted with him. So that we could have life. We don't have a father who is cruel enough to save us from that pain.

We have a father who's loving enough to bring us through it.

This meal that we celebrate. is exactly that It is to the commingling of sorrow and joy. pain and life

I mean, we're drinking that cup that represents spilled blood.

That satisfies a thirst. We eat a piece of bread. That's a mere symbol of the flesh. That was broken. In the midst of pain for us to have life. Jesus said you have to eat my flesh and you have to drink my blood.

And then you have life.

Pain in life. It's

would you let God do the work.

Jesus don't don't save us from the pain.

Don't save us from the pain use it to save us.

Makeup hungry make us thirsty.

Break us. if you have to

May we be miserable if that's what it requires for us to know. That we need you. And may that be the most of the loving thing. You could have her do.

I beg you father hold me down.

Give me the thirst and give me the hunger that only this meal could satisfy Jesus.

your body in your blood

shed for us to not allow us to take this lightly.

We are you're such a light pissy cozy people.

Allow us to feel the weight of it.

That way to paternity that you are preparing. for us allow us to feel that now.

And your name? We pray I'm in.