Been There: Week 3

Welcome to the Church of the Crossing. One of the things, if you've

been around here lately, you've heard this several times that we're a church that

exists to be the hands of feet of Christ. And we're not looking at

our community and saying, hey, you need to fix this problem. We're

not looking at officials or other churches to fix problems around us. We look

around ourselves and we say, all right, if there's a need, we're

going to meet it. And let me tell you just this, just this

weekend, all the ministry that's already happened, just even since Friday night.

Friday night we had a trunk or treat. Who and here got to go

to trunk or treat That was a blast. Let me tell you, I

got to wear my overalls, have my doggie out there, and we had

a good time. And there's so many families we got to bless in minister

too. And then comes Saturday morning we had the neighborhood market that served and

provided food for a whole bunch of families. And then right after that we've

been working on this ministry Race Grace, where ladies who decided to keep their

child instead of having an abortion. We committed to take them through a twelve

week Bible study and throw them a shower. So yesterday we have three baby

showers. And let me tell you the generosity of this church just blew my

mind. Each one of the ladies got car ce Say God, what's those

things called when you put a kid in it and you feed them food.

They all got high chairs. I have eighty zeros been a while, guys.

They all got strollers and just a ton like everything they needed. And

just really bless those ladies. And then also our Spanish ministry decided that they

were going to go around to all the areas that have a concentration of Spanish

speaking people and they're going to bring flyers and invite them to be a part

of the launch team that started the Spanish ministry. And so not only did

they spread out all over the city, but two Spanish church from Ohio drove

over here to help with that work. And so we were spreading the gospel

all throughout Indianapolis yesterday, and and and on top of all that, last

weekend and all of our services, at least one or two people came to

Christ in every service last weekend. Can we get the Lord a hand.

God is faithful, He is good, and around here, we're gonna be

a people of grant. We're gonna be people who get her hands dirty.

We're gonna be a people who sit there and say, all right, listen,

it's not about me, but it's about what we can do for God's

kingdom, how we can be a blessing, how we can honor God.

And so thank you for the disciples that you're becoming. Again. We're not

trying to be the cool church. You're not gonna see the fall, You're

not gonna see those things. We're gonna be a church. You're just focus

on learning the Word, being in fellowship with each other, discipling each other,

and going out and be in the hands and the feet of Christ.

Can we pray as we jump into this week's message? All right, God,

I know that this week's message is gonna hit a lot of us because

a lot of us struggle with the topic that we're gonna talk about today.

Speak to us, teach us, and God, may we experience more of

your love and more of your grace and more of your power today in Jesus

name. Amen, you know what I hate to do. I hate to

wait. Does anyone else in here hate to wait. I'm not a great

waiter. I don't wait. Well, there's been I can't tell you how

many times I've walked into a store had my hands full of things that I

want to buy. I'll get in line. I'll look at the line say

this is a pretty long line. I'm just gonna go put everything back.

And then I will go put everything back and I'll come back at a later

time. Or this has happened multiple times where I'm driving around, I'm starving,

and I go buy my favorite fast food places, but there's a line.

So I'll go to a place I don't even like and be like,

can you give me some crawd patty cruddy sandwich? I don't care, I

just like it. You don't have a line. I don't like waiting,

And right now I am being tested a big time. I'm in the middle

of a big weight season. See last year, I'm in twenty twenty two.

I got this awesome buck, and so I brought this buck to the

Taxa Dermis and we're making it into an incredible piece of art, something that

those of you who live in houses, I don't know, six seven thousand

square foot it would probably be the centerpiece of your house. And this buck

we're transforming it into something called the packout mount, so it's to look like

I packed it out from the west, even though I didn't. So you

have this big mount and then you got the deer on it. And then

I went and bought all kinds of antiques trinkets to go around it. So

I went and found these old hunting license from the sixties which used to be

made in metal, and I found the old tin cans you know that you

drink coffee like you're hunting back in the day. I found old antique knives,

and I bought all this stuff, and now I just have this amazing

display. So I COVID, I bring it to them and they say it's

gonna be done in August. So August, first guess who called? I

did, and they said I'll be done in September. September, first guess

who called? I did. And then they said I'll be done in October

and I so I called in October and they were like, well, it's

just a little bit longer. And then just last week I was in a

meeting and they called. I excused myself from the meeting because obviously I have

priorities. And I'm walking out. I'm into staff annex and I don't know,

why have you ever done this? When you're by yourself, You're like

and aus dancing to myself and I go yeah, and they're like hey,

because that's how they talked. They're like, hey, the mounts we got

in the backpack mounts, they're not the ones we want. I don't like

it. We can give it to it, but it won't look good,

or you can wait a few more months. When I was like, I'll

wait a few more months, and I hung up the phone and I said,

God, why me? What did I do? I mean, what

must I sacrifice? And I am heartbroken? Right now, Right now,

I am waiting on this treasured piece of art to go in my living room.

But anyways, I don't like waiting. I don't think a lot of

us like waiting, and a lot of us really don't like waiting, especially

when it comes to waiting on a prayer to be answered. You know what

I'm talking about. You've been praying for something, you've been believing for something,

and you've been asking God to help you in your manners, but it's

not helping. You've been asking God to help you depression. You're still depressed,

and you wonder like, is God even listening? Does even care?

Is God even there? And here's what I want to tell you when you

are realizing that God is taking too long, I want you to know something

Jesus understands. Today. Our topic simply is this, Why is God so

slow? I've been waiting on God for a while. And let me tell

you, Jesus has been there too. And I want to show you how

Jesus waited on God. Now, I can't get into Jesus' mind, but

you gotta understand that even from a young child, Jesus understood that he was

a messiah. He was a king of kings, he was God's son,

he was divine. He knew what his mission was. He was gonna come

seek and say that which was lost. He was going to give his life

as a ransom on the cross. He was going to resurrect three days later.

He understood all this. He also knew that he was going to teach

the secrets of the Kingdom of God. He also knew that he's going to

heal people and perform miracles. He knew all of this was ahead of him.

But guess how long he had to wait until he started ministry. Y'all

know, thirty years. Who here has been working on a prairie quest for

thirty years. It's a long time, thirty years. Let me tell you

something. I have a hard time handling when my TV buffers, my Internet

buffers. I can't handle it. We were watching Schindler's List last Sunday night,

Kayla and I and we're watching Schindler's List and it started a buffer,

and then it buffered again, and then it buffered again, and I'm okay

the first three times at buffers, but the fourth time at buffers, I

do something that's not really kind of my personality. I take my hand and

I smack it against the side of the couch like ough. And then it

buffered again, and so to help it not buffer again, I hit it

with both hands and then I kept going, come on, come on.

My daughter was looking at me, like, you know, it's the Internet,

So I was like, come on. And here's the thing. I

realized, I'm watching a movie about people who are suffering in horrific ways,

and I am pouting like a little three year old. We get spoiled,

don't we We don't like the wait. We don't like to wait. Let

me tell you, Jesus buffered on his mission for thirty years. So Jesus

understands what it means to wait before he got the green light. So here's

what we're gonna do. We're gonna jump to John chapter two. We're gonna

walk through the moment that Jesus finally got the green light. Let's look at

this together. John chapter two says on the third day, a wedding took

place at Cana and Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, which probably means that

she was helping out with the wedding. And it says that Jesus and his

disciples had also been invited to the wedding. Now here's what you need to

understand. First century Judaism, first century Palestine, where this actually took place.

There was nothing bigger in the social calendar than a wedding. Everybody took

time off for it was the major event. These weddings would last five days.

Okay. Now, the thing it was a little bit different back then

is that instead of the bride's family paying for the wedding, the groom would

actually pay for the wedding. Here's what would happen. Usually, on a

Wednesday night, the groom would get his grooms men together and they would all

walk over to the bride's house and they would gather the bride and the bride'smaids,

and then they would take them all the way back to the groom's house

where the party started. And this party would go on for five days most

of the time, and it was at the end of this celebration that the

actual wedding would happen. So we're in the middle of this, okay.

So we're in the middle of that scenario. And it says verse three,

when the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, they have no

more wine. So the wine running out, by the way, major crisis.

Okay. It was going to be such an embarrassing faux pas that it

actually would have stigmatized the family. Here's what we have to understand. Back

then, they ran on an honor shame system. Okay, So that meant

that in the honor shame system, there is a finite amount of honor in

a community. So anytime you lose honor, you can't gain it back.

It's lost. Okay. So this would have stigmatized the family. It would

have embarrassed the family, and they would have lost social status, and it

would have stuck with them through the rest of their life. It was such

a big deal that the bride's family could actually bring a lawsuit against the groom's

family for embarrassing them. That way, the bride's family could gain back some

of their status by separating themselves from what the groom did. So this was

a huge, huge deal. And then this next part's really funny. Me

Jesus' mom almost him says they have no more wine. They have no more

wine. Now, I'm gonna pause here just for fun. And I know

that when Jesus' mom said they have no more wine, it sounds like a

statement. What I'm telling you is it was not a statement. It was

an assignment. Do you know why I know this because I am a married

man. And when I am sitting watching television and in the middle of my

show and my wife says, honey, the trash can is full, I

do not say thanks for the update. I want to, but I dare

not. What is my wife really saying, get up, change the trash.

And so Jesus' mom I was saying, hey, Jesus, do something

about this. So we look at verse four, Jesus responses a woman,

why do you involve me? And Jesus said, hey, my hour is

not come. I've been waiting thirty years. And Jesus had not started his

public ministry yet. And he knew that his mom knew this, and his

mom knew that he was the son of God. And he is basically saying,

Mom, you know that if I do this miracle, my journey to

the cross begins. But at this point, God, my father hasn't given

me the go for it signed yet. My time hasn't come. And it's

not it's about God's timing. I gotta wait, and waiting's hard. Jesus

understudent, especially at this moment. In verse five, what does it say

here his mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. See,

there's my proof it was a command. Mama looked at the servants and

says, do whatever he tells you. Now here's what the scripture does not

tell us. There must have been a conversation between Jesus and God, because

here's what Jesus says repeatedly to a New Testament one. He doesn't do anything

unless his father tells him to do it. Then number two, he only

does what his father shows him. So Jesus did not act on his own.

There must have been a conversation where the god of the universe looked upon

this family of compassion and said, go for it. So now here's what

happens. Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews

for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons, and Jesus said

to his servants, fill the jars with water. So they filled them to

the brim. Now this was a huge amount, one hundred and twenty to

one hundred and eighty gallons. I think you can have a good way week

right on. One hundred and eighty gallons of wine. Okay. And not

only was that gonna last the rest of the celebration, but it makes for

an amazing wedding gift by Jesus for this bride and groom. So I'm just

gonna read the rest of the story to you. Okay, let's fall on

with me. It says. Then he told them, now draw some out

and take it to the master of the banquet. This is like the MC

the person in charge, and they did so. And the master of the

banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine, and he did not

realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water

new. Then he called the bridegroom aside, and he said, hey,

everyone brings out the choice wine first, and then the cheaper wine after the

guests have had too much to drink. But you say the best till now

verse eleven. What Jesus did here in canob Galley was the first of the

signs through which he revealed his glory and his disciples bleed in him. Jesus

waited thirty years for this moment, waiting for God to release him, to

show his divinity, to start his mission. But Jesus knew that God was

in control. God's timing was better that God had perfect timing. The waiting

was long, but great was the purpose. And so that brings us to

our big point today. Okay again we've said this. Sorry, it's hard

waiting on God. And we know that God can change our situation. He's

the king of the universe, he's the creator. God can just go boom

your situation changes. We all know that God is powerful. But here's what

we want to know, God, why don't you just do something? And

if we're just to get past the Sunday School answer, we would say stuff

like, where is God? Why isn't he doing anything about this? Where's

God while I'm waiting? And here's what I want to do today. I

want to try to answer this from the Bible and scripture collectively. So the

question is what is God doing while you're waiting? It's a good question,

right, You've put your praier request out there, You've been seeking to the

Lord. But what is God doing while you're waiting? The good news is

this, while you're waiting, God is working. While you were waiting,

God is working, and he's active in ways you might not even know that.

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah said this, for since the world began,

no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you who works.

Listen to this, who works for those who wait for him? While

you were waiting, God is working? What's he doing? And I'm gonna

try to answer this question according to God's work. Okay, here's what's going

on. You're waiting. God's working, But what's he actually doing? What's

he working on what's he doing while I'm waiting? Well, I believe it's

two answers. Number one. He's working on it, but it's not ready

yet. The plan's not ready. The situation hasn't come together, everything hasn't

worked out. So God's working on it, but it's not ready yet.

You can think about this, God's working on the right job and it's just

not open yet, or the great partner for marriage, or the right home,

or the right business opportunity, or in the right mystory, God working

on it the plan for your life, but it's just not ready yet.

One pastor shared that before he came to Christ, he just went out every

Saturday night and he just went through women like crazy. And then he came

to Christ and he decided that he couldn't get married. He needed to learn

how to become a man of God. He didn't even know how to treat

women. So every Saturday night for a couple of years, he would have

a date with God, where basically on Saturday night he was studying what it

means to be a man of God or how to treat women. And so

he did this study every Saturday night, and then he was started writing letters

to his future wife. Didn't have a name. He just wrote love letters

to her. And here's what I'm going to treat you. Here's what I

want to dedicate to you. Now, he was preparing himself for God's blessing

it, but it wasn't ready yet, And so he goes on to say

this. He goes, I was praying. I'm praying. I had no

idea that God was actually waiting and working. I was waiting, I was

praying, and all the time, even though I didn't know my future wife,

there's a young lady who grew up a Christian. She went off to

college, and like a lot of college students, she dripped away from God.

And while I'm praying for my spouse and I was here waiting on the

one God was at work behind the scenes. God grabbed a hold of a

young man's heart and saved him. And then this young man went to my

wife's storm room and shared the gospel with my future wife and the roommate,

and both of these women decided to make a radical decision to follow Christ.

He says. All this time, I have no idea who these people are.

He says, while I was simply praying, and while I was waiting.

God was working and getting her ready to bless me and getting me ready

to bless her. Why does God take so long? Well, sometimes it's

not ready. You know, You're like, hey, well, why isn't

my husband still nice? Why am I still startgling with depression? Why can't

I get that job, that house, that spouse? Why is God taking

so long? Well, sometimes it's just not ready yet. But God's working

on the plan. Another big one number two reason why it might not be

happening for you know that God is working, but he's working on it.

But maybe you are not ready yet. Maybe you are not ready for his

blessing or his provision yet. And I found a lot of times you know,

said God, why aren't you just giving me what I want? I

want it now? And we're like, God, can you just give it

to me? And God's like, you can't handle it. You've been praying

for a financial blessing. You've been praying for a financial breakthrough. You've been

praying to get out of debt. You've been praying for this and this and

this. But here's the thing. You can't even handle the money you have

right now. You're not even on a budget you're not cutting things down,

You're not being time with your money. So why would I give you all

this money? Why would I get you out of debt when you can't even

handle what I've already giving you. Why don't you handle what I've given you?

Take care of things here and then I can bless you. See,

sometimes God's waiting on us to get our stuff together. You know, I

used to pray all the time for God to give you more influence in the

Kingdom. I wanted to reach more people for Christ. But God was always

telling me, I gotta mature you more. I gotta mature you more.

And here's what I found is this is sometimes God does something in you before

he does something through you. You need to understand that here tonight, that

sometimes God does something in you before he does something through you. In other

words, God is gonna change your character before he's gonna give you more opportunities

to reach more people of Christ. Sometimes God wants to take care of the

sin in your life before you could go and help them take care of other

people's sin in their lives. See, God wants to do a work in

you before he can give you more influence in the Kingdom. World. Let

me give you a great example of this. We've all heard of Saul,

Saul who later became Paul. And Saul was a man. He was He

was a fervent follower of God, and he was passionate about the Old Testament

law, so passionate that when Christianity came about, he actually persecuted them,

he would kill them. He was totally against the Christian man. Then one

day, while he's out, he's blinded by this light and that Jesus speaks

to him, and he has an encounter with Jesus. And after this encounter

with Jesus, he's changed. So what does Paul do after he's changed man?

He wants to go tell everybody. He's like, I've been changed by

Jesus. I've seen the resurrect of Christ. I know that he is true.

I know that this whole Christian thing is for real. Let me go

tell everybody to Jesus. Let me go tell everybody God God released me.

And guess what God did to Paul. The Bible says that for three years

he was sent to the Arabian desert. Paul God sent away for three years

and there it says that the spirit of Christ taught him everything he needed to

know. So for three years he studied the Bible. For three years,

he learned to pray. For three years he learned how the Old Testament prophetyeses

were fulfilled in Christ. For three whole years he sat with Jesus Christ.

So what do you think happened after that three years? After three years,

I don't know about you, but you would think that he would just get

released into misery. But if you go to look at the commentators, it's

either ten years or eleven years. It was actually either in his tenth or

eleventh year after following Christ. Before Paul, the greatest Christian Edward got his

first assignment when he got hooked up with Barnavis to go out on a mission

to start churches. This guy who was blinded by Christ, had a moment

of Christ, spent three years with Christ in the desert. He had to

wait for ten years before he went on assignment. Now what did he do

for those ten years? Paul built tents while God built his character. Paul

was hammered down with a hammer on a Now why God was hammered down on

his soul? For ten years? He built tens while God built his character

and did something in him before he released Paul to go do something into the

world. So sometimes God, yeah he's at work, but he's doing a

work an you. Let's not forget. Isaiah sixty four says this, from

the beginning of time, no eye has seen, no ear has heard all

that God does. How he's working for those who are waiting. All right,

So here's a big question. Now, okay, we talked a little

bit about, you know, what is God doing while we're waiting? But

what do we do while we're waiting on God? All right? What do

we do while we are in the waiting? Let me tell you this right

now, one big thing. Don't waste the waiting. Don't waste the waiting.

A waiting season is a wasted season if you continue to just go on

and just live your normal life. No, a waiting season is a timer.

You seek and you push into God. And I know my heart goes

out to so many of you because you're like, Hey, I've been crying

out to God. I've been asking for miracles in my marriage, a supernatural

touch from God. And I would just say this, don't wait passively.

What does a waiter do in a restaurant they serve. So let's be growing

while we're waiting. Let's not wait passively, Let's wait actively. When Gene

and I we start going out in eighth grade. By ninth grade we were

in a full blown sexual relationship. And we were in this relationship until about

halfway through my senior year when we came to Christ and then I felt a

calling in to ministry not long after that. Now I have several pastors and

order people in the church recommend to us that we should get married as soon

as we turned eighteen. Now that might sound super weird now, but twenty

five years ago, it was just weird. Okay, we used to get

married younger. Remember back in the how many'all got married before like twenty two

twenty three, Back in the year a lot of us did. Yeah,

back in the day, eighteen wasn't like crazy. But they said, hey,

I think you guys should get married as soon as you graduate. Multiple

pastors tell me this because they just could not see us holding off. But

man, God was speaking deep into my heart and he was like, I

gotta mature you, I gotta grow you. You don't even know how to

treat a woman. You don't know how to be a man of God.

You don't know how to be a husband. You don't know how to be

humble or how to be christ Like. And so during this time, for

three and a half, by the way, extremely long years, God did

a work in our souls as we waited mature. And let me tell you

something, by the time we finally did get married, I thank God because

by the time we got married, I was in full time ministry at this

point. And we didn't know this, but as soon as we got married,

all of a sudden, a lot of young adults would come to us

for advice, counsel, and guidance. And if we had not waited on

God to mature us, we would have made a lot of mistakes and given

a lot of bad advice. But here's the whole point. Don't be passive

in your waiting during this time of waiting. Be passionate, be persistent in

your pursuit of God. And it's never gonna be easy, but just don't

wait passively. I want to share something with you that I think is gonna

build all your faith in God's timing. Okay, and I believe this,

This is gonna be so encouraging to you think about this for a moment.

From the time we had the Garden of Eden until the Birth of Christ,

the whole world was waiting on what the Messiah. From the Garden of Beating

to the birth of the Christ, they kept saying, the Messiah is coming,

the Messiah is coming, the Messiah is coming. And generation after generation

wouldn wonder when is the missing Why is God taking so long? And here's

what they didn't know. They just didn't know that the world wasn't ready yet.

And let me give you a little bit of history from the time that

we call the Intertestamental period. Now this was about a four hundred to four

hundred and twenty year period from the ministry of Malachi to the ministry of John

the Baptist. Now, during this four hundred year period we go basically from

the Old Testament to the New Testament. No prophet spoke on behalf of God.

So we have a prophet speaking, a prophet speaking, a prophet speaking,

and every so often, hey, don't worry, God hasn't forgot about

you. The Missign's coming. And then all of a sudden, four hundred

years silence, and they felt like God was just done. God's gone silent.

There's nothing there. You know how we are, man, We're like

a week into prayer and we're like, God, give me a sign,

give me a Bible verse. God, give me a song from Kay Love,

just so I know that you are with me. They waited four hundred

years. I want to remind you of this right now. Just because God

feels silent doesn't mean that he's absent. Just because God feels silent doesn't mean

he's absent while you're waiting. He's still working, he's still the God of

the universe. And here's the thing I want to remind you today, this

beautiful passage that gives the answer to this question. Why was God silent for

four hundred years? The Galatians four says this, but when it was the

right time, when the right time came, God sent his son. As

we look back, God knew the exact time. And I'm gonna give you

three things that I'm going to show you what happened during this period. During

this four hundred year period. Number One, the world went from a didactic

teaching, which is A plus B equal C. It went from hey,

here's the truth, deal with it. That's the way it is to Socratic

method of teaching, which is where you ask questions, who is God?

Why does God exist? Why do I exist? Is there in heaven?

Is there an afterlife? And so the whole method of teaching changed during this

four hundred period year period. Number Two, the Old Testament was actually translated

into Greek during his four hundred year period. Throughout all of history, the

Old Testament was always written in Hebrews until about two hundred and eighty years before

Christ. The third thing happened was this world altering event called Alexander the Great.

He conquered the world. And what happens when you get to call yourself

the great? You get to make everybody speak your language. So now the

world has a common language. Everyone can speak a little Greek. And during

the same time, the Jews were forced out of Jerusalem and they had to

spread all throughout the world. And Rome was developing these roads in these highways

all throughout the empire. So therefore, during his four hundred year period,

while everyone was waiting, I think of God was silent. God was at

work, and so for the first time in the history we see three things.

Number One, people were encouraged to ask questions, and then God said

the answer. He said, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the

Life. He is the Answer. He is the Messiah, he is the

God, he is the One. He is the answer. Number two,

everyone had access to the Bible in their own language. Number three, For

the first time in history, the good news could spread through a common language,

through the Jewish people all over the entire world. Why everyone was waiting,

God was working, setting up things to spread. The godspel at just

the right time, not too early, not too late, but in the

perfect time. God sent his son. So if you're struggling today, I

get it. You're asking God to answer your prayer. You're like God,

when's my child gonna come to Christ? When am I going to get this

job of benefits? When are you gonna do something in my marriage? Where

am I going to get that house? When am I going to get a

car that runs? You've been waiting, man, I get it. We

had a baptism service here a few weeks ago. It was so beautiful.

We had baptisms on Thursday and to both services Sunday. One of the services,

I was standing there in the back and a father baptized his young daughter.

And while that was happening. Man, my heart was filled with so

much joy and I was like, Man, this is one of the most

beautiful things I've ever seen in my life and gave my heart great joy.

And in that same moment, back there in the bag, I had this

thought, God, when are you going to save my daughter? I've been

praying every single day, I have cried out. I have said on the

patio, God, I don't think i can have any more crying sessions where

I'm begging you to change her heart and bring her to you. And I

even told God back there in the back of the room, as I'm not

ready to break down, I was like, God, literally, I will

give anything, anything on this earth. I would give anything to baptize my

own daughter. So yeah, I know what it means to wait on God.

I know what it means to see kid and beg him and not see

movement. But all I know is this man. I trust him. I've

seen him answer enough questions. I know he's got my family's hand in his

life. But here's the thing. Before we close out today, we need

to have theological integrity because here at the Church of the Crossing, we don't

teach just parts of the Bible. But we teach the whole Bible as a

whole. And so here's what I want you to understand. That some of

you have prayer request out there that God might not answer, that God might

actually say no, okay, because here's what you're got unerstand. It's not

about our preferences. It's about His glory. See Isaiah fifty five says this,

For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are my ways your ways,

declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth. So

are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

And let me tell you something. I learned this. So I went to

go play in a church. It didn't happen. I was crushed ministry,

and my whole life did not go my way. But God has been faithful,

and he used everything I was doing to prepare for that that waiting and

grow it to bring him glory and honor. And see it gotten to the

point where now I just trust in his ways. I just trust. But

here's the thing you need to know. Maybe, just maybe God's gonna say

no, because here's what we all need to understand. He's not a genie.

God does not exist to serve our wishes. Do you understand that we

have to remember that we're called to serve God. Jesus learned it, he

lived it. He said, my time is not already, is not here

yet. But then God said, now it is your time. But when

God said it is your time, and then it was time to suffer.

Let's look at John twelve. This is when Jesus said, all right,

my time has come. He says, the hours come for to son a

man to be glorified, in other words, be crucified. How did Jesus

actually feel about this verse twenty seven, just a couple verses down, he

says, now my soul is troubled. Oh, part of God's answer to

jesus prayer, part of God's will and purpose for jesus life. Troubled his

soul. Then Jesus says, what do I say, Father saved me from

this hour? No, listen for this very reason I came to this hour,

Father, glorifi your and he see. Jesu understood that our calling in

our life, our existence, is to bring glory to God. We are

not on this planet looking around for God to serve us, to answer all

of our whims. And our wishes. No, we have been called to

serve a God to bring glory God. You know why we can serve this

God and bring him glory because we know, at the end of the day,

our life is in his hand. He will take care of us.

He loves us, he has a future for us. He's prepared a place

for us in heaven. Because we know that He holds our future in hands.

That no matter what happens here on this earth, God's got our back.

God's got something better for us. Because of that, we can simply

say yes to his will. And his will is always to bring him glory

to the way we live. Our lives might not be the answer you want,

remember or his thoughts are not our thoughts, and his ways or not

our ways. So what are we do in the meantime? You trust him,

You trust him, and you trust him. I told you about a

prairie quest that God hasn't answered yet. But I can also tell you about

a thousand prairie quest He has answered that only He and I knew about.

And God is done. So here's what I'm going to tell you as a

close today. Right now, everything in me I believe that all things are

possible for God. I believe the name of Jesus is bigger than depression.

The name of Jesus is bigger than cancer. The name of Jesus is bigger

than any brokenness. The name of Jesus is bigger than any pornography addiction.

The name of Jesus is bigger than they alcohol addiction. The name of Jesus

is bigger than any pill addiction. The name of Jesus is bigger than any

sexual addiction. The name of Jesus can heal. The name of Jesus can

heal broken relationships. The name of Jesus can do all. And he hears

the Christ of our hearts. He wants to set us free. And even

though we don't see what he is doing, God is at work on behalf

of his children. So here's the question today. Do you trust that your

Lord is good? Do you trust that He is good? Here's what we're

gonna do today. As we close, We're gonna take some time to come

before Him and be anointed. And this is a time where maybe you're gonna

pray on someone else's behalf. Maybe you're gonna bring that prayer that you've been

waiting for God to answer for a long time. Maybe someone you know you're

close to it has an illness, and maybe you're ill. Whatever it is,

what we do is we come together as God's children and we say we

know you were good, we trust that you are working. And again we

just bring ourselves before you and say, as your children, will you move.

So here's what we're gonna do. Let us all stand and I'm gonna

ask you. As the band comes out, I'm gonna ask you. We're

gonna have some people who's gonna come down, prayer partners who will love to

pray with you and annoin you. We're going to ask to you come out

from your ale and then come down to this middle aisle and then we will

sign you and whatever is on your heart today, whatever you need God's help

with today, we just want you to experience more of God's love today.

God, we come to you right now and this is a holy moment where

your children are going to come before you with open hands, and we trust

that you will hear our prayers and we trust that you were working