All right now, Luke Chapter 7. Turn your Bibles, open your Bibles. I hope you’re bringing your Bible to church. Okay, if you don’t, don’t feel bad. But I’d like it if you brought your Bible so you could read along with me, you can make notes in your Bible where you can think about things, things that you want to talk about later. Luke Chapter 7. Here’s the title of the talk this morning: Disappointed in Jesus, Disappointed in Jesus. Now, I know that sounds like something that shouldn’t be said in church but I think it’s- if we were, if we’re going to be at church that we can talk about what’s going on in our lives. If we were all honest, there’s been many times in most of our lives where we’ve been disappointed in God. Disappointed in the way things turn out. I mean disappointed in- in what’s happening around us. Maybe some of you are walking through a- a season of disappointment right now just not really, not really agreeing with that God’s doing in your life.
Now I want you to think about this story today, John the Baptist, we’ve talked about him already in this- in this series in Luke. John the Baptist is in prison as we open up Luke Chapter 7. And he’s- he’s sitting in prison and John- John was kind of a big deal. John was the- the young prophet, John was a- John was the young prophet that everyone came out to see. John was the one that people literally would walk miles, walk many, many miles out into the wilderness. If you read the story of John the Baptist, he didn’t really preach in town. He was out in the wilderness and people would walk miles out there to see John the Baptist, to listen to John the Baptist to marvel at this young fiery prophet.
But John the Baptist got himself in trouble because Herod, the evil ruler of their province, Herod had married his brother’s wife and John the Baptist pointed out to Herod that he was a sinner, that he needed to repent, that his lifestyle was not pleasing the God. And so John the Baptist, because of his boldness in confronting this evil leader was thrown into prison by Herod himself. And I want you to think about this for a moment, can you imagine how awful his treatment was in prison. Can you imagine for a minute if Herod, Herod said “Go to prison.” Can you imagine Herod probably pulled the guards aside and said “Look, I want you to make sure that this guy gets special treatment.”
I mean, Herod was furious at this young man. Furious that he would point out some kind of sin. So John the Baptist was not just in prison. I believe John the Baptist was in the worst part of the prison getting the worst possible treatment, the worst possible food. He was in a cold, smelly, awful prison cell. Meanwhile, his cousin Jesus was all the buzz around town. He’s in prison, and Jesus is now the one getting all the big crowds. Jesus is the one now who everyone is talking about. And I believe that most people they- well they remember John the Baptist were not talking about John the Baptist the way that they once did.
John the Baptist was not the big deal anymore. John the Baptist was in some forgotten prison cell and I believe that John the Baptist knew his fate. John the Baptist knew that he was about to be John the Beheaded. Seriously, he knew what happened to people who got thrown into prison. He knew what happened to people who had the audacity to confront Herod: their lives suddenly ended with a- with a- axe across the neck. And he knew that- that most likely, that was his existence; that was his future. Jesus though was travelling around, crowds of people following him. And I believe John was struggling with some great disappointment.
Let’s read here in Luke Chapter 7 verse 18. Notice the language here, it says “John’s disciples” so these were men and women who were followers of John. They were probably believers in Jesus, but they were followers of John. It says “John’s disciples told him about all these things, calling two of them. So John’s disciples come back to the prison and say, “Hey, man, Jesus is, he’s kind of a big deal out there right now. You wouldn’t believe the miracles that’s happening.” In fact, I believe probably what happened was they said, “You know what? His crowds are bigger than your crowds, John. His miracles are more profound than your miracles.”
Good friends like that always pointing out how everyone else is better than you. Alright, so those are really good friends to have. Alright he says calling to them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who was to come? Listen to this question, “Are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else?” John the Baptist and Jesus knew each other. They- they- it’s not like they had not met. They were cousins. Do you remember the story of John the Baptist when Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist. She was probably six or seven months pregnant and- and then Mary became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Mary shows up at Elizabeth’s house. What happened when Mary walked into Elizabeth’s house while Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist. What happened? She- he leapt in the- the scripture says that he leapt inside of his mother’s womb. He was aware of God’s presence even when he was in the womb of his mother. They grew up together. They knew each other. And remember, an angel came to Elizabeth and gave her some tremendous promises about the child that she was carrying in her womb. Remember that? The- the promises that the angel gave to Elizabeth? And then, of course, the angel appears to both Joseph and Mary, angelic visitation and says, “The child that you’re carrying in your womb…” gave them all of these promises, I- I can assume, we can assume this morning that they had multiple conversations about those angelic visits.
Growing up, that was probably the topic of every family get-together. Tell me again now, tell me again mom what did that angel say to you about me? And then, and then Elizabeth would say back to John the Baptist, “this is what the angel said that you would be.” And then, and then I bet Mary was sitting over there and Jesus was lifting, you know, large appliances with one hand, showing off again, and, and then he said, and now, now, let me tell you what the angel Gabriel said to me about this young boy Jesus. And they would have these conversations growing up. So why in the world with John the Baptist suddenly begin to doubt?
Why would John the Baptist now … give you another one, John the Baptist baptized Jesus. John the Baptist was standing at the Jordan River, here comes Jesus walking toward him and what did, what happened? The Bible says that a voice from Heaven, an audible voice from Heaven said this, as Jesus was coming out the water, John the Baptist, Baptist doing the baptism--that’s hard to say, John the Baptist doing the baptizing. So he’s bringing Jesus out of the water, and it says a voice from Heaven, an audible voice from Heaven that was heard by the entire crowd said “This is my son.” Who was talking? God audibly in front of John the Baptist says, “This is my son in whom I am well pleased.”
Alright so, I don’t know how much more evidence you want, but an audible voice from Heaven saying “This is my son, this is the Messiah” should have been proof enough. Said John the Baptist is wrestling, he’s wrestling, he’s disappointed, he’s wrestling. And here is a whisper about John the Baptist. You see in the, in the Jewish tradition, the Hebrew tradition, they knew according to the Hebrew prophecies that someone like Elijah, someone like Elijah would come before the return of the Messiah and be kind of a forerunner, to be someone who would come before Jesus, right?
And the whispers around Jerusalem, around Israel were that John the Baptist was this promised Elijah. And I know that most likely John the Baptist, his followers would come to John the Baptist and say, “Hey, you know what they are calling you? You know what they are saying about you? They’re saying that you’re like Elijah. That you’re, you’re the promised Elijah, the promised foreteller, the one who is going to come before Jesus.” John the Baptist, well we don’t, we don’t see any arrogance in John the Baptist. We see this man; he’s a very humble man, a very broken man. We don’t ever see any arrogance in him but if, if, but I do believe this, it seems like there’s someone may have, he may have started believing some of his own headlines.
I am Elijah, like Elijah. Well, how did Elijah die? Remember the story in the Old Testament? How did Elijah leave the Earth? A chariot comes out of Heaven, sweeps down, picks up Elijah and with like, I can imagine a big ball of fire behind the chariot, he goes up into Heaven, and his protégé Elijah is watching. Elijah is rescued by the chariot, never taste a physical death, taken up into Heaven with a chariot. That’s the way to go. By the way, that is the way to go. And I’m hoping, I’m about, that I’m going to be about 84 and all of you are watching, out, we’re going to go out, gather out in the parking lot, that’s what my prayer, okay, and a big chariot is going to come down and just scoop me up. And I’m just going to wave to you all like this, I’m going to give a kingly wave, see you later, and there’s a big ball of fire.
That’s the way I want to go, and I want you all to be there to look and watch. Alright, here’s the deal. I think, I think John the Baptist wanted the chariot experience, but he was getting the prison experience. Well where’s my chariot? Where’s my glorious exit? Instead, early one morning or late one night, some guard’s going to come knock on my door, drag me out behind the prison, make me kneel down and they’re going to take my head from me. Why did, why am I getting this experience when Elijah, who everyone compares me to, why is he getting that experience?
May I ask you, may I ask you a question? Alright let’s just put this on a personal level, would you be disappointed if you did everything God ask you to do? We don’t, we don’t see one act of disobedience from John the Baptist. He did everything God told him to do. He obeyed God, he was, he was a follower of Jesus. He, when God told him to do something, he did it. When God told him to say something, he said it. When God told him to go somewhere, he went. If you were that kind of person, if you were a committed Christ follower who always immediately obeyed God--you went to the prayer meetings, you witnessed to people, your heart was pure, you said “yes” to God every time he ask you to do something, you were an obedient man or a woman-- would you be disappointed if you ended up in prison after living a life like that?
Because according to our western American tradition, if you obey God you should end up successful. If you obey God and do all the right stuff, we should all end up wealthy, healthy and successful, right? That’s what we’ve been told. It’s just not in the Bible. It’s not in scripture. That’s not the promise Jesus gives to any of us. That if we do all the right stuff, then we’ll end up wealthy, healthy and successful. Will some of us end up wealthy? Yes. Will some of us end up healthy? Yes. Will some of us end up successful? Yes. And those things aren’t evil. Those things are not necessarily evil.
It’s not just the promise for all of us. It’s not what God said. It’s not what following Jesus really means. And so this morning, I’ve decided I’m not going to just be a fan or an admirer of Jesus. I’ve decided I’m going to get serious about following him. If you follow Jesus, it’s going to cost you everything. If you’re just a fan, it will cost you nothing. Let me say that one more time, if you just going to be a fan, an admirer of Jesus, it won’t cost you anything. Low commitment: low cost, if any cost. It might cost you a Sunday morning here and there sitting in a big building listening to somebody talk. That’s, that’s all, really that’s all it’s going to cost you. But once you say I’m going to follow him, I’m going to be a learner of him, from him. Once you say I’m going to walk after Jesus it’s going to cost us everything.
And it may not end up in a way we imagined. God will not be made into our American ideology. God is not an American. We cannot shape God into our image; we must be shaped into his image. We must become like him and stop trying to make God like us. This is what God’s calling us to this morning. Okay, so here we are, sitting in the big building with a big mega church up north. We can talk about these comfortable things or we can be challenged to be followers. And this is what John is wrestling with. You see, let me back up one more step here--because there were really two dominant trains of thought in the Jewish culture at that time about who the Messiah would be.
A big group of Jewish people, scholars, religious leaders of the day knew that Jesus would be primarily a spiritual messiah, that he would come and that a spiritual revival would happen among the people. That was a prevailing thought and that’s who Jesus ended up being, for sure, right? That’s who he was. However there was a big group of people that believed that the messiah who would come would be more of a political messiah, a messiah that would radically change the political, geo-political structure and make up a vis-. He would come and liberate them from Roman rule and set up this kingdom of Heaven on the Earth that would be ruled almost like a theocracy directly by God.
They had that in their mind that’s who this messiah would be. I suspect John the Baptist had bought into this ideology, that Jesus would be the political, revolutionary who would free them from Roman captivity. And I suspect that John the Baptist felt that at this point in his life, he will be probably be a provincial governor by now instead of sitting in a prison. I felt John the Baptist probably felt like he would have some kind of political ambition or political influence, instead he didn’t. He was in a prison cell. It just didn’t work out the way he thought. He’s disappointed in Jesus. So let’s keep reading here.
He says, so verse 20: when the many came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else?” Look at verse 21: at that very time, it’s like Jesus didn’t even immediately address the issue. It says at that very time, Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits and gave sight to many who were blind. So Jesus instead of saying something, does something. Now notice that it’s very important to notice this, this is not, they should not go past our ten-, listen to this. Then, then listen to what Jesus says, so he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard.”
I don’t want you just to go back and repeat back to him what I’m about to say to you. I want you; I want to show you something. The gospel is something that must be seen and heard. So he, he heals the sick, he cures the blind, those with leprosy, those who are sick. He does it right in front of them. He says, “Now go back and tell him what you have seen and what you have heard.” Most people that I know only hear about the gospel, very few people ever see the gospel at work. I want to be a people who talk about the gospel, who proclaim the gospel but also see the kingdom of Heaven come to the Earth, to see the breaking in of the kingdom of Heaven, the breaking in from Heaven to the Earth.
I want to see it and hear about it. I certainly want to be taught about it. I certainly want to hear the stories, but I want to see it. I am so hungry to see the kingdom of Heaven break in, influence, come to the Earth among us. The gospel must be seen and heard. So listen to what he says, says the blind receives sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is preached to the poor. Now, where is it, where is he quoting from there, Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 61 and some other places. But primarily what you just read Jesus say, what you heard Jesus say was from Isaiah 61.
Do you know that passage? It was the passage that Jesus used to announce that his ministry was starting. The spirit of the Lord is upon me, he’s anointed me to preach. You know, that passage of Isaiah 61. You know what something that he omitted? There’s a huge phrase that Jesus failed to mention as he’s quoting Isaiah 61. Can you remember what is it out of Isaiah 61 that Jesus did not include in that quote, and it was probably the most important thing that John the Baptist was listening for. He was listening for one thing, instead he didn’t hear it. The release of captivity, the release of the prisoners from captivity.
That’s the promise in Isaiah 61. Jesus said, “When I come, I will be the man, I will be the person who releases the prisoners from captivity. However, Jesus omitted that when he gave them the message to take back to John the Baptist. The one thing that John the Baptist really wanted to hear, “Well I thought you were here to release me from prison. Wasn’t that part of the promise in Isaiah 61? Yet, Jesus purposely does not mention it. I wonder why? Why do you suppose that Jesus: the most important thing that John the Baptist wanted to hear, he omits? I am glad people are getting healed, I’m glad the lame are walking, I’m glad the blind are seeing, I’m glad that the dead are being raised, that’s kind of a big deal.
I’m glad all that’s happening. Hey, but what about me? Hey God, hey God over here. Why don’t you release me from prison? Here’s what Jesus is saying, “I’m not always going to do what you think I’m going to do. I have much greater plans than you can imagine.” I--and listen to this it’s very important--God will not always answer our prayers. I know it’s huge, right? I mean, we, we we’re told that God answers all our prayers, and yet that’s not true. That’s not even in the scriptures. God doesn’t answer all our prayers. And let me tell you this, I for one am so thankful that God does not answer all of my prayers.
How many of you are thankful? There’s those boneheaded prayers we prayed in the past? Well, it was a good discipline to pray. It’s a good discipline; it was just a bad theology or a bad request all together. I was thinking this week Pam and I we moved from Shreveport, northwest Louisiana where we’d grown up our, our hometown, all our family and friends were there. This is back like in the 90s before most of you all were born--so back in the 90s before 2001, alright so anyway, so we’re there. And we’re a young married couple and we moved from north Louisiana to Amarillo, Texas and the end of the Earth is three miles outside of Amarillo Texas, right there.
And we were so alone. I mean, we knew, we knew one family there. And we were just lonely. And after about a year, we began to pray, “God, we really want to move back to our hometown. We, we just miss our family, we miss our parents, we miss our, all our, all our friends were there. God, would you open up a door for us to move back to north Louisiana?” And literally, out of the blue, after a random meeting with someone, I met this guy, I met this guy who offered me a job back in my hometown, near my hometown running a television station. I was like 28 years old, 29 years old and he offers me this amazing job.
I remember Pam and I, when I got the call from him, we were in our little house that we used to own there in Amarillo on Bell Street or somewhere there, no Avondale, Avondale, somewhere over there. Anyway, so we’re, I remember sitting around on a little kitchen counter, I had a pad of paper out, I had the phone on my ear and this guy is telling me the salary, which is more than I ever made in my life. He was giving me unbelievably, he just giving me the barn. He was just giving me this huge offer. He’s going to pay for my moving, pay for an apartment to rent. And I’m writing it all down for Pam because she’s interested obviously in what he’s telling me on the phone and Pam’s going “Wow, wow.” You know, “awesome.”
And I hung up the phone and said, “We’re getting to go home. We’re going to go back to Louisiana, yeah, awesome.” But before I hung up I said something to this guy. I said, “Now I’m a Christ follower, and this is an amazing offer and most people would say “yes” to this right away and move and be, be happy with it. But however, I’m a Christ follower so I’m going to need 24 hours to pray about this. I’ll call you back tomorrow after my wife and I have prayed about this offer.” So I hung up the phone and said, “Pam, this is God answering our prayer. We’re going to get to go home, yeah.”
And Pam goes, “Yeah, this is awesome.” I said I’m going to go for a walk. I’m going to go pray about this. I’m going to go for a walk. Alright I, I do have the potential to embellish stories but I am not embellishing what I’m about, I’m going to tell exactly--yeah, this is, most pastors have this, most pastors, this is a model for most pastors, don’t let the facts stand in the way of a good story. Alright however this is not true about this today, this is a good story and it’s truthful alright? So I, I walk out of the house so excited about his opportunity to go back home, go back to our hometown. Huge job opportunity. I go down the steps and I put one foot on the sidewalk, I’m about to go for a walk and this is how, what God said to me, “No.”
I’m serious. He yelled at me. God yelled at me. God will yell especially if you’re boneheaded and thickheaded like me. He went “No.” Oh God, I haven’t even asked yet. “No.” I know the question and the answer is “no.” I said, “God, did you not hear that offer? Can you let me repeat it back to you? Did, did you not hear our prayers for the last year to move back home? And God this is your, this is you …” “No, it’s not.” Talking about being disappointed in God: this was, this was what we had asked for. So I, I go back in I said Pam, I mean, I was back in like 3 minutes, 5 minutes. I went, “Pam, I prayed about it and God said no.” She goes, “What?” I said, “God said no.”
She said well if that’s what God said, we’re not going. Just like that. Immediate obedience. I mean, Pam is just, she hears God as well as, better than me. In fact God’s voice sounds like Pam’s voice 98% of the time. I’m serious. That’s true. And so God said “no” and so I didn’t call him right back because that’d been kind of moronic to call him right back, you know? So I waited until the next day although I knew the answer so I called him back and I said, “Look, this is a great offer. It’s an amazing offer. But I prayed about it. And I know this is not going to make any sense but we can’t, I can’t accept it.”
And we, Pam and I were so aggravated with God, frustrated, disappointed. God, what are you up to? Well, it wasn’t but a few months later that a, a woman walked up to us who we really didn’t know that well, we knew her somewhat, we didn’t know that well. She’s very pregnant, and she said to us, we, “I’ve been praying and this baby, I can’t raise this baby. Would you take this baby?” And that’s 12 years ago. We got a little guy named Abram who’s at our house, he’s my son that I may have not ever had a chance to raise if I’ve said “yes” to an offer.
And this, I’m, I’m sobered by that so often when I think about that story in our life, our journey that Pam and I have been on. I’m sobered by that because God has rescued me more times than I can imagine from bad prayers. You know, they wasn’t necessarily bad, it wasn’t a bad thing to want to move home. I wasn’t asking for anything evil or even selfish. I was just lonely and I was just lonely and I wanted to go home. I wanted to be back close to my family, my friends, and yet God’s ways are better than our ways. God’s thoughts are better than our thoughts. And while you may be disappointed right now, you may not have had the Abram ending to your disappointment. I had an Abram ending to a disappointing experience with God and you may be sitting here today and you’re still disappointed.
Where’s God? He’s working in the invisible realms on our behalf. And you, it is okay to be disappointed. I want to, I want to give you permission this morning to be disappointed. It’s okay, but don’t let it become bitterness, don’t let it become something that, that robs you of joy and peace. Wrestle with God, have conversations with God, but at some point you’re going to have to make this statement, “God,” this is what you’re going to have to, not only say it but you’re going to have to believe it and you have to live it. This is it, you need to write this down, “God,” it’s very simple yet very complex.
“God, I trust you. I really do. And while I can’t see everything that you’re doing, while I don’t know what you’re doing, Father, you’re good. I’m your son. I am the sheep of your pasture, you’re the shepherd of my soul, you will guide me in the path of righteousness for your name’s sake. I believe that. And so Lord I’m disappointed, I’ve prayed the prayer that I thought was right to pray and yet it is not working out the way I thought it would. But God in the end, even if I end up in a prison when I did everything right. God, even in the end if I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to do and I’m never considered successful, or wealthy, or prosperous, even if I’m never seen that way, even if I’m never considered that.
If I get to the end of my life and I can look back and I was primarily obedient, I didn’t say perfect and I said that on purpose. I want to be primarily obedient, in other words, I want the default answer to be “yes” to God, obedient. If I get to the end of my life and I’ve lived this obedient life and I’ve done everything you asked me to do, if it ends up in a prison or if I get the chariot experience. What, however it ends, Lord, this was for you, for your kingdom, for your glory, for who You are. In this book, I was reading through this book, it’s an old book by a guy named Gene Edwards and I really recommend him. I wouldn’t recommend authors to you that are, you know, that get you off on theology but he’s a profound writer. He’s a novelist, he’s, writes fiction but it’s, it’s very compelling and eye opening to me when I read it.
And you may not like it, you may, you might, but he wrote this book called The Prisoner in the Third Cell. The Prisoner in the Third Cell. Let me, let me read, before I read this quote to you, let me read the last part of this, of this passage here in verse 23. Listen to this, Luke 7 verse 23: Jesus says something that’s shocking. Verse 23: he says blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of Me. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of Me. He says that, to be, he wants them to repeat that back to John. This is the message that he’s sending back to John the Baptist who’s in prison.
That John, blessed is the man who loves me, worships me, embraces me, even when I don’t do everything you’ve asked me to do. Even when God is disappointing, even when it’s not working out as I imagined, blessed is the man, blessed is the woman who does not fall away when that happens. Because here’s what happens, you’re going to look back and go, “You know, I didn’t get the house that I thought I would get, I didn’t drive the car that my other friends drive, I didn’t get this thing, but what I do feel is this: I’m a blessed man. I’m a blessed woman.” So what’s your motive today? What’s, I mean, what’s the end goal?
To get stuff? To accumulate stuff? To be seen as successful or to get to the end of your life and look back and say, “I obeyed God and I am blessed. I’m blessed. I feel blessed. God’s been with me every step of the way. I feel blessed, I’m blessed. I’m not wealthy, I’m not famous, I haven’t done the big thing that I thought I would do, but I’m blessed.” For John the Baptist, sure enough a young girl asked for his head on a plate at a party one night. And just as John the Baptist had suspected a knock came at his prison door and it was time. They take him out to the back of the prison, most likely outside normally or into some kind of a courtyard in the middle of the prison.
And he realizes, I’m minutes away right now from dying. It was here, time had arrived. The moment he feared the most was here awaiting him. And then Gene Edwards as he writes his story talks about those last few moments, those last few thoughts that John the Baptist may have had. And I think this thing is brilliant so I want to read this paragraph to you as we end this morning, alright? John the Baptist says but today, today you have met a God you do not understand. Such is the mystery of my sovereignty. Such are my ways in every generation. No man has ever understood me, not fully, and no man ever will.
I will be something other than what men expect me to be. I will work out my will in ways different from what men foresee. And listen to this last sobering, chilling sentence: Die my brother John in the presence of a God who did not live up to your expectations.” Wow. Alright, this whole story about John the Baptist has been sobering to me all week long. You know, there are scriptures that are encouraging. And I, when I’m discouraged, the first place I turn is the word because the word is very encouraging, it’s full of life. And I read it all the time and just come back full of life. And then there are times when I read the scriptures through the eyes of a follower, not the eyes of a fan.
If you read it to the eyes of the fan, you’ll dismiss stories like this. You’ll get, in fact you will just kind of push those away. But if you read the scriptures to the eyes of someone who wants to follow Him, stories like this are sobering. They make me stop and say, “Have I really counted the cost.” I mean, John the Baptist said things like this, John said in John, in John, the book of John, and so another guy named John wrote it, said, “He must become, I must become less; he must become greater.” At the time when he baptized Jesus, he made that statement. I must become less, he must become greater.
You know what I think he was saying? I’m okay with being 1B. I’ll let him be 1A, but I’ll be 1B. I don’t think he ever really imagined that he would end up in prison and life would end the way it did. But I believe if John the Baptist could echo out of Heaven to us today he’d go, “But I am a blessed man. Life did not happen the way I imagined. But one thing is clear new life, I am a blessed man. I don’t want to ever repeat the journey, but I’m thankful for what I learned about God along the way. That’s what John the Baptist, if he were standing beside me today, I’d say, “John the Baptist, do you regret your life?” Nope, no regrets. Do you want to repeat it? Nope.
I don’t want to, I don’t want to go round and round that mountain again. Do you feel blessed, John? Yup. Was it worth it, John? Yup, no doubt. Are you grateful for what you learned about God and about yourself and about your friends along the way? Absolutely.” Can we all say that at the end of our lives? Thankful: blessed is the man, blessed is the woman who does not fall away on account of me. So you close your eyes and focus on the Lord this morning. And let me ask you, I want to say something to your, as your thinking this morning to add to your thoughts, I’m not here on Sunday mornings to answer all of your questions about the scriptures, I can’t.
And I don’t know all the answers. I don’t. My role, my role on Sunday morning is just to point you toward topics and conversations that I want you to have away from me or with me. But I want to, the, the gospel is not just meant to be proclaimed, it’s meant to be discussed, talked about. Until these sermons, until these scriptures get embedded into the listening ear and a talking tongue, it won’t become life to you. And so this morning my, my, I will talk more about this next week but, I want, I want you to begin to write a few things down, if, if you’re good at note taking. If you’re not, would you at least bring up a few things today in conversation with someone about what you’ve heard today because it’s in that moment where the, the scriptures become embedded in a listening ear and a talking tongue that you’ll begin to see fruit from these sermons.
If not, you know the studies show that if you’ll, if you don’t write it down or talk about it or both, you’ll forget everything in three days. And I, I know that’s going to happen but I’m, I’m asking God to use these scriptures to build something in us. So I want to encourage you today, don’t just walk out and dismiss what you’ve said, talk about it. Even if you, even if the conversation was, I don’t agree with him. I don’t agree with anything he said. That’s fine. At least have that conversation. Bring it up, But I suspect the Holy Spirit will use these scriptures and these stories to start a conversation that could change all of us.
It’s changed me just from listening to it and talking about it. So this morning, I want to ask you a question, Are you disappointed right now? Have, have things not worked out the way you thought? Are you in the, the moment of time from asking God something, to seeing, not seeing the answer and you’re in this chasm of time where Abram, the Abram story has not arrived. How are you handling that right now? Are you being honest about your disappointment? You should. You need to be honest. I’m disappointed. And then you’re, the Holy Spirit is going to wrestle with you until you come to the place where you say, “God, I don’t understand. I don’t, but I trust you. I believe your promises are true, and I trust them.
I trust that you’re good. I trust that I’m a son and a daughter, I trust you. So maybe today is just one step toward that for you today. Maybe that’s what’s happening right now that God is just moving you one step towards saying that and believing that, living that. You’re going to be called blessed one day. Even if you don’t feel blessed now, you will, you will know one day that you’re blessed. Despite what you’re walking through right now, you are a blessed person. I want to pray for you, okay? Let’s pray together. Father, thank you so much for being the shepherd of our souls. Lord, thank you for guiding us and leading us, for pouring in to us today the truth of your word, the truth of your scriptures.
And Father today I pray in Jesus name, I pray that we would not be just admirers of you, fans of Jesus, Father I pray today that we’d make this commitment in our life, in our church, in our families to be followers. To follow after the teachings of Jesus. Lord, let us read the scriptures through the lens of being a follower and not just a fan, an admirer. Father, shape us, form us, build something in us today. And let, I pray that every person in this room would arrive at the conclusion that You’re good, that You are with us, that You’re for us and Lord we’re blessed. I pray we’d understand just how blessed we are. In Jesus name, amen.
Would you stand this morning? I want those of you who prayed out front—now, let me just say this, last week, we prayed for hundreds of people. I don’t know how long they were here after the 11 because I was in Guest Central praying for people. We were here for a long time praying for people and we got reports all this week of people being healed. I mean, just tremendous answers to prayers and I’m thankful for that, alright? I’m really thankful. And so just like we heard in the story where the kingdom of Heaven is breaking in, breaking in to our world. Today, if you’re sick, I just think it would be super important if you’re going through anything, any place in your life where you need the kingdom of Heaven to break in, don’t leave church without being prayed for.
Well we’re here together. This is the gathering of the called out ones. The ecclesia of the church so this is a place where you should get prayed for, right? So let us pray for you. Come down and let us pray. If you, anything in your life at all that you need God to intervene, the kingdom of Heaven breaking in, alright? I’m going to go to Guest Central and I’m happy to pray for you there and meet, introduce myself, talk. If you need prayer, come out right now. You’re not bothering me by walking down the aisle. Just come out right now if you need prayer for anything. Alright?
Let’s pray together one more time. Just keep praying for the thorn in the crown. They start their journey around the United States next week I think, and they’ll be here the week before Easter. So make sure you get your tickets because the, the show will sell out. Because we’re only having like six performances here, right? So make sure that you buy your tickets. Start praying about who you’re going to invite. Let’s, alright, let’s pray one more time. Father, thank you for the Holy Spirit. Thank you for what you’re doing. We welcome it and receive it in Jesus name, amen. God bless. If you need prayer, let us pray. Have a great Sunday.
