SUMMER TOGETHER | Part 1| Higher Ways, Not Lower Thoughts

Okay.

Oh yeah.

Okay.

Oh minute.

Hallelujah. Grace Summit Church, how we

feeling today?

You guys ready to spend summer together,

man?

The music's still playing. That's cool.

Hey, if you're a first- time guest with

us, my name is Ben. I have the

opportunity to serve as lead pastor. Uh,

are you guys ready for the word of God?

>> All right, about 60% of you are you guys

ready for the word of God?

>> Hallelujah.

Pray with me. Father, we thank you,

Lord, for a fresh stirring, a fresh

revival, a fresh awakening on the inside

of us. Father, we didn't come to hear

from men, but Lord, we came to hear from

you. And so, Father, I thank you for

your Holy Spirit bringing revelation,

impartation of grace and mercy into our

lives. Father, our heart is to be more

like Jesus. God, I pray that you would

speak to us today in such a way, Father,

as to change us from the inside out.

And so, Lord, your will be accomplished.

I thank you for the anointing upon the

preaching of your word in Jesus name.

Amen. I want to open with a question

today.

uh serving God. Uh many of us have been

serving God for a little length of time.

You ever been in that place where you're

serving God and what you know God is

doing or has done or the answer to

prayer makes zero sense to you? You guys

ever been there where it's like, man, I

I know that I prayed for this thing and

then, you know, I was kind of had this

expectation on how God was going to do

it that when I prayed it and then God

shows up in a huge way and it's

completely different than what I thought

and completely better than what I

thought. Amen.

His plan

sometimes can look or feel like the

wrong plan

until we get to the other side. Here's

what I've learned serving God. God is

not confused.

God is not behind.

It's funny serving God, what I've

learned is that God is he's never

improvising.

He's never adjusting as he goes. Like,

man, this caught me off guard. Right?

And so, we're learning to submit to God.

And today I want to give you a framework

for living in the tension between what

you see or feel and what God is actually

doing. If you have a Bible, you can turn

with me to Isaiah chapter 55 and kind of

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

want to lay the platform for the

conversation today. Isaiah chapter 55

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

in verse 8, God says this. He says, "For

my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares

the Lord. For as the heavens are higher

than the earth, so are my ways higher

than your ways, and my thoughts than

your thoughts."

The title of the message today is higher

ways, not lower thoughts.

The goal I think for us as believers is

to continually uh put self aside. That's

the lower thoughts. Because too often

I'm serving God from the things that

make sense, right? I can see it. I can

feel it. Man, this makes sense. And I

pray in such a way and then God, I want

you to do it this way. And we we put in

our little orders with God and then God

does it a different way, right? So, it's

higher ways versus lower thoughts.

Here's the question I ask myself

regularly.

Are God's higher ways and higher

thoughts directing my path, or are my

lower thoughts

directing my path?

I've had to reconcile that with God that

my thoughts are lower thoughts. Amen.

Isn't that humbling?

We like to think about ourselves. I

mean, that that was a good idea. I came

came up with that and man, I made some

good choices in college and I made this

good choice getting this job and I made

this good choice marrying so and so and

so do all these things. I start to you

start to think that you no

God does what God does, right? My

thoughts are lower thoughts.

A lot of times we

spend time and energy trying to manage

in our thought life what God already has

all figured out.

I'll say this. God has been intentional

in your life all of your life.

Even the parts that didn't feel

intentional to you. I want to give you

some higher ways

of God today. Number one in your notes

is that God exposes the need before he

fills it.

God exposes the need

before he fills it. Many of us are

familiar with the creation account. It's

an awesome read how all things were

created by him. And in Genesis chapter

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

2, we see uh God creates Adam and puts

Adam in the garden. And God gives him uh

provision. God gives him purpose. God

gives him dominion. Tells him to take

dominion over all the living things. And

then God says something and if you read

it, uh it'll kind of stop you in your

tracks for a minute.

Genesis 2:1 18, God said this. He said,

Genesis 2:1

"It is not good." Say not good.

>> Not good.

>> It is not good for man to be alone.

I want to pause right there for a

minute. So God, the creator of all

things, the good God, right, creates all

these things, all the animals and all

the stuff and creates Adam and puts him

in it. And then he stands there and

looks at his creation and pauses long

enough to say, "This is not good for man

to be alone." Do you think it was some

type of accident? felt like God was

improvising here going, "Oh, oops, man.

Adam, you're all alone here, buddy."

Or was there purpose

to the pause?

Amen. Say purpose.

>> God says it's not good.

You can write this down.

God engineered the emptiness

before he engineered the answer.

God gives Adam this task of naming the

animals. And and I picture Adam there in

this paradise. Sin is yet to enter the

world, right? And and he's naming the

animals and he's seeing the buck has a

dough, right? He's seeing all these

animals that have that have these

partners. And I can just imagine what

he's feeling being the only human on the

planet.

God engineered the emptiness

before he engineered the answer.

He was building something in Adam that

could only be built in the waiting. Say

waiting.

>> It's a lot of animals to name. Wonder

how long it took him.

Sometimes I read the Bible, I have more

questions than answers. I'm like, how

how long did that actually take?

scholars uh estimate thousands upon

thousands of different animals uh going

through that process

and none of them corresponded to him,

Adam.

None of them were a match.

God sometimes makes you walk through

what won't work so you recognize what

will.

Adam didn't just receive Eve

as a convenience.

He received her as a remedy.

Amen. To a heartache, to being the only

think we joke about being stranded on an

island. You know what's the one thing

you'd want? I'd want my wife. That's the

one thing I'd want. Sheesh. Her and I

have been through hell and back. We

figure out anything. I'm from the

country. girl, make us a bonfire,

go find me some food, right?

But man, of all the things you could

have, can you imagine being there alone?

What Adam must have been feeling and

going through? And when God put Adam to

sleep and made Eve, can you imagine the

emotional solution that happened?

But he wouldn't have known that he

needed her unless God allowed him to

spend some time without her. Say

without.

>> God exposes the need

before he fills it because God wants you

to recognize the gift when it comes.

Now I want you to jump to John 11 with

me. Uh this is powerful story. This is

where Lazarus is sick.

and his sisters send word to Jesus.

And I want you to think about what Jesus

does here. So there's this urgency.

Lazarus isn't feeling well. They send

word. They know Jesus. Jesus is a friend

of Lazarus. Jesus is the only one that

can bring the solution.

And what Jesus does when he hears the

news is stay there two more days on

purpose before he goes.

For those of you that don't know, I have

a uh 1969 Ford Galaxy 500.

It's really cool. I've owned it for 20

years and it's got a cam in it. It's got

the motor build. I got the Hurst 4 on

the floor with the PY rear end. I mean,

this thing, this thing will giddy up and

go, right? And uh a long time ago, we

were living in Michigan and uh I got a

phone call that my mother had a heart

attack. And I don't know what switched

in me, but I peeled out of my driveway.

I got in that car and it was like, man,

I was on a drag strip just flying

through the gear. I I am Ambulance

hadn't even showed up yet when I got

there because I just felt this urgency

uh to be there with her going through

this this thing. And I want you to think

about Jesus getting news that that my

friend is dying. And Jesus knows he has

the solution. Jesus knows he has the

ability. And he pauses and stays two

more days.

John 11:4

John 11:4

Jesus says, "This illness does not lead

to death. It is for the glory of God."

What do we do when we're praying and

we're in that place of urgency and and

man, we we know that God's the only one

that can bring the solution and we're

praying and God says, "Not yet."

Do we trust that it's for the glory of

God

or are we upset with God?

And Jesus already knows the ending. He's

not panicking.

He's not scrambling. He delays on

purpose.

And I think about what Jesus

must have been going through on the

inside.

He's not just healing a sick man.

He's setting up for the resurrection of

Lazarus.

Amen. That's higher ways. You can write

this in your notes. Delay isn't denial.

It's deeper setup.

Delay isn't denial.

It's deeper setup.

I believe this. I believe God gave me

this message for you today.

And my sense is that some of you are in

a waiting season.

Amen. You've been praying. You've been

trusting. You've been believing. You've

been fasting

and searching. You know that he's the

only one with the solution.

Sometimes in that waiting season,

it doesn't feel like a deeper setup.

It feels like denial.

It feels like silence.

It feels like God, why have you forsaken

me?

I'm not turning to the things of the

world. I'm praying. I'm trusting. I'm

believing. I'm waiting. And sometimes we

get in our lower thoughts. God, God,

will you ever show up? God, do you even

care about me?

I'm preaching to the choir this morning.

I know you guys have been there, right?

We get in that lower thought place when

serving God and we start blaming God

when God has a bigger plan, a bigger

purpose and he's saying, "Just pause for

a minute because I'm establishing

something in you in the waiting that you

can't get in the getting." Amen. I'm

doing something in this season, in this

period, that if I just gave you what you

know I can give you, you're going to

miss out on a whole lot.

Oh, but those feelings, those emotions

feels like a shutdown, doesn't it?

Yeah. Sometimes we got to wait a little

bit. Hey, you know what I've been doing

lately is fishing.

We got any fishermen in the house?

Yeah. You ever notice, parents, uh, when

your kids get into something, you get

into it a little bit more because you

want to spend time with them. Lincoln's

been really big into fishing lately. And

Maya, uh, started joining us. But, man,

we're just We got fishing gear. We got

all the stuff and we've been going out

fishing. We got some I got some

pictures. You guys want to see pictures?

>> Check this out.

Oh my goodness. Look at that beast.

>> Yeah. I call them fat bass. Oh my

goodness. Get me a nice

Yeah. Got some bluegills here. Uh, you

know, teaching kids how to fish, it's

one thing to catch a bluegill, right?

It's another thing when you get a big

bass on. Uh, the tendency, uh, and even

I have it sometimes is, man, I got a big

one and you want to you want to just

crank that thing in, get him in the

boat. Right. You can't do that.

Sometimes it's wisdom to let him run.

Say, let him run.

Yeah, you got to got to wear them out.

Feed them a little line. Let that drag

loose a little bit. And then and then

the big old fat bass. Say fat bass.

>> Yeah. This is so much fun up here.

You guys should preach sometimes. You

can make anyone say anything.

You got to wear them out. Hey, see they

start to get tired. And then finally,

because if I yank, what am I gonna do?

I'm gonna yank that hook right out or

I'm gonna break my line.

There's wisdom in the waiting.

There's wisdom in the waiting. We can

learn it in the natural, but will we

live under it in the spiritual? There's

wisdom in the waiting. Sometimes God's

letting me run just to wear my own flesh

out so I can actually step into the

spiritual realm.

Yeah.

Let him run.

I believe what God is speaking

over your life today

for those of you that are in waiting is

that God is doing something in the

waiting that he cannot do in the

getting.

Yeah. Look at your neighbor and say,

"Not yet."

Isn't that the human condition, though?

Give me the answer now. I want it my way

right away.

Yeah.

I can't take the tension anymore. Had

several seasons in my own spiritual life

where I wave my little white flag.

Had enough. I'm done. I'm out. God says,

"You can handle a little bit more. Here

you go."

And I'm like, "Wait, did didn't you see

the white flag?"

I thought we were thought we were cool,

man. What's

Yeah.

And then my second round of white flag.

Okay. No, for real. Like, I cannot

handle any more. And then God will go,

"Yeah, you can." And put another third

round. And I'm going, "Uh, whoa."

What's the Bible say? We put it on

bumper stickers and t-shirts and all

this stuff. Um, oh, here it is. Isaiah

Isaiah 40:31

40:31.

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew

their strength.

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew

their strength. But why does our flesh

get in the way and we refuse to wait?

God says, "I'll keep you waiting a

little bit longer so I can increase my

strength in you a little bit more.

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew

their strength."

And I want to say this, waiting isn't

passive.

It's not sitting around and zoning out

until God acts or does something.

Spiritual waiting is tuning in until he

speaks.

It's in that position of prayer going,

God, I don't know why there's a delay. I

know it's not a denial, but God, what

are you doing in me in this season while

I wait? What is it that you want me to

receive? What is it that you're

stretching or ripping? What is it that

you're getting out of me? Or what is it

that you're putting in me, God, in this

waiting season? It's active pursuit of

God in the waiting.

Most believers,

or I'll say a lot of believers,

know the sound of their own emotions,

their own doubts, their own denials

more than they know the voice of their

shepherd.

We hear the voice of our anxiety louder

than we hear the voice of God.

Yeah, I was thinking about Jesus

in the wilderness. He's hungry. He's

been fasting for 40 days. The Bible says

he's hungry. Yeah. Famished is maybe a

little bit better of a word. He's

hungry. So, he has this he has this

physical need, right? Uh that needs to

be met. And uh the devil knows it.

And the devil is really good at showing

up with his little script.

to tempt not only Jesus but us. He says,

"Jesus, you're starving to death, man.

Just turn those stones into bread. You

have the power to do that. Take control.

You got a need. It's an obvious need.

You fasted long enough, don't you

think?"

And in our waiting, we can get in that

place of flesh where the enemy will come

with the substitute and say, "You know,

you've been running a pretty good race.

You know, don't you think you deserve a

little

No,

I don't want to take that path.

Jesus doesn't argue with Satan.

Jesus just quotes the scripture.

It is written, "Man shall not live on

bread alone, but every word that

proceedth out of the mouth of God."

That's the same script that the devil's

running on you.

God's holding out on you.

You just need to take matter into your

own hands. You've tried the prayer

thing, but you just now it's time for

you to step up.

You don't fight the devil with your

opinions. Those are lower thoughts.

You fight the devil and win when we

submit oursel to God's higher ways.

Amen. Say, "Take the highway."

>> Man, that's good. I should have I should

have titled it that. Take the highway.

One of the things I've learned in my own

life is what you repeat becomes your

reality.

Sometimes we memorize our misery so long

that we forget God's promises.

I was thinking about Numbers 13.

This is when the spies uh go in towards

the promised land. They see the giants

and the spies come back uh declaring

defeat, right? And then Caleb goes and

looks at the same spies, the same giants

and declares victory.

How is it that two people can look at

the same opposition? One declares

defeat. There's no way I'm not going in

there. They're too big for us. And Caleb

walks up with this measure of faith

knowing that God's on the throne and

says, "Nah, don't not a big deal. We got

we got the victory in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Same situation, different perspective.

Catch this. Different destiny,

different future. Your perspective can

change everything.

Perspective can change your life. Number

two in your notes is that God's higher

ways have an end before you start.

God's higher ways have an end before you

start.

God's not trying to figure things out as

he goes. Before we even woke up this

morning, God knew how today was going to

go. Amen.

Before you ventured down that road with

that job or that relationship or

whatever it is, before you made the the

foolish investment that had no return,

whatever it is, before you even started,

God knew the end.

Before Lazarus got sick, Jesus had the

resurrection already in mind. God sees

the end from the beginning. And I

believe that he wants us to live from

that vantage point.

Let me help you out a little bit. NBA

finals are done now, but uh my

schedule's too busy. Sometimes I wasn't

able to sit down and watch the game live

and so I get to watch the replay of the

game. And uh the problem is is my phone

tells me the scores and so it pops up

and then I'm like, "Oh, dude, I was

going to watch that tonight, but I saw

who won already." Have you ever watched

a replay of a game that you already know

who won?

Yeah. And then when your team wins, when

you already know the final score and

you're watching the replay, I mean, it's

cool, right? But when the when the

turnover happens and the other team gets

it or the other team's running up to

score, you feel completely different

because I already know the end. Say, I

already know.

>> I already know the who won this thing. I

already read the end of the book. Amen.

I already know that God has my best

interest at hand. And so right now, I'm

just living my faith like I'm watching

the replay. First time I'm watching it.

But God already has the victory.

Yeah,

the fumble happens.

You drop it, you mess up,

you already know who wins the game. It

changes the way that you serve God.

Back to John 11. Jesus finally shows up.

Lazarus has been dead for four days.

Martha comes out running to him

and says in John 11:21

John 11:21

says,"Lord, if you had been here, my

brother would not have died."

She's in the if only mindset, the if

only loop, right? God, if you'd have

just done what I asked when I when I

asked you to do it. God, if you'd have

just showed up when I I needed this. I

sent word two days ago and you and and

you waited.

If only it's the loop of regret or the

loop of disappointment.

I want you to watch what happens next.

Something shifts in Martha and easily

she could have stayed in the if only

loop. But she makes a choice.

She says what I think is the most

powerful phrase in the chapter. Verse

22.

She says, "But even now,

but even now I know that whatever you

ask, God, God will give you."

She moved from

he should have been here to even now,

Lord,

even now. And then Jesus says in verse

23, "Your brother will rise again."

Your brother will rise again.

the if only. That lower thought place.

There I've had seasons of my life that

being stuck in the if only loop almost

took me out.

If only I would have done this. If only

this would have happened. If only God

would have answered my prayers, showed

up here. If only. If only. If only. If

only.

Can I tell you that something miraculous

happens when we leave the ifonies behind

and we say, "God, you're at the helm.

You're above all things."

And even now, the miracle can happen.

Even now,

when I've shifted from the ifonies to

the even nows,

something shifts, breaks open, not just

in my circumstances, but inside of me.

My perspective changes.

And a lot of people

live in that loop permanently.

And it'll drain your faith to live in

the ifonies.

Yeah, you might not have the

breakthrough yet, but even now, he's

working.

Might not have the healing now. Been

praying for years, been trusting and

believing, but even now, God has your

healing. Amen.

Even now. Philippians 3 says this in

verse 13 and 14. forgetting what lies

behind,

straining towards what forward to what

lies ahead. He says, I press towards the

goal,

forgetting those things that lie behind.

Right? We we could go back and recap all

the things that we that that we messed

up on the ifonies. We could we could go

back and recap all the prayers that we

thought God should have answered when we

thought he should have. We we could we

could get stuck in that. But but Paul

says, "Forgetting those things that are

behind and man, I'm I'm pressing

forward. I'm tr straining towards the

goal, the high prize of Christ Jesus."

When you see the ending at the

beginning,

the waiting loses the power to paralyze.

Amen.

Number three in your notes.

God's higher ways might feel too simple.

Ethan, could I get a water?

My throat's a little dry. Talk amongst

yourselves.

We're recording and everything.

That feels better.

God's higher ways might feel too simple.

Second Kings chapter 5 is where we meet

2 Kings 5 · chapter mention

Non. And uh Non is an interesting

character. He's a commander of the Sy uh

Syrian army. This guy's a decorated

veteran. Amen. He's uh feared. He's

respected. Uh he's the kind of man that

walks into the room and gets attention.

Amen. Uh that people uh fear and step

away from. Uh and it's interesting with

all of the power and the uh everything

that he carries, the decorated uh

accolades underneath all of that armor,

he had leprosy.

That'll preach right there.

We can look pretty impressive on the

outside and be dying on the inside.

So non in desperation, he recognizes

this need. It's going to kill him.

People are going to start to notice,

right?

This disease of leprosy. So he decides

to make the trip to go find the prophet

Elisha. He knows that Elisha is

connected to the one true God. He knows

that Elisha is really the only resource

that he knows of that he has to receive

this healing. And so I picture non

showing up at Elisha's house. A bit of a

journey to get there. And he has horses

and chariots and and servants and all of

this stuff. And so a servant goes up and

to summon Elisha. And catch this. Elisha

doesn't even come to the door. Elisha

doesn't even come out to meet non.

This is a

lethal disease. This is a huge need. I

assume that in his arrogance, he waited

too long to even go visit Elisha.

It's progressing.

Looking for his miracle. The prophet

doesn't even come to the door. He sends

a servant out to the door with a

message.

to non

to go wash in the Jordan seven times and

you'll be clean. And I just got to

picture non going, "Man, I got cleaner

rivers back home. Why did I drive all

this way?

And does he even know who I am that I'm

a commander of the Syrian army? That

does he even get it?"

And uh and and non is offended

and begins to leave. I'm not going to do

that.

M how many times have we almost walked

away from our miracle because it didn't

look like what we thought it should look

like?

He expected Elisha to come out, hands

waving, summon the one true God,

miracle, celebration,

all of this grandio stuff. He had this

kind of idea in his mind of a powerful

encounter.

He wanted, I would assume, his

experience to match his reputation.

Anyone in here ever been baptized in the

Jordan?

Seen the Jordan? It's not a very

attractive river. It's really muddy and

mucky. And you go over there, you know,

everyone wants to get baptized in the

Jordan. That's where Jesus got baptized.

And it's all muddy and and gross. And 65

people just got baptized coming out of

the, you know what I mean? Like Like we

don't take baths before we get there.

This is kind of gross. Then I just

picture naming going, "Man,

what? What in the world?"

Go down and clean myself seven times.

And then I picture

non going down

feeling awkward

about it.

2 Kings 5:13.

2 Kings 5:13

This is interesting because as non is

leaving Elisha

saying no I don't want to do what you've

said

one of his servants stops stops non and

says sir if the prophet had told you to

do something very difficult wouldn't you

have done it so you should certainly

obey him when he says simply go wash and

be pure

sometimes we will do something difficult

ult before we do something simple,

especially when simple requires

humility.

So non humbles down,

goes to the muddy river.

He has picture this the command. I doubt

he went in in his armor. I can picture

him with his servants and his chariots

and horsemen and all the stuff.

And he's taken off all of his armor to

be obedient after he already was

prideful and said, "I'm leaving. Now he

now he's coming back. All right, I'll do

this whatever this thing is.

He goes down and dips in the river once.

Comes back up and nothing,

twice,

three times,

four times.

For some reason, I picture the fifth him

going, "This is stupid. Quit looking at

me, guys. I'm just I'm done.

This is weird.

Wouldn't that be weird?

He chooses to stay and goes down the

sixth time

and goes down the seventh time and he

comes up absolutely healed

of leprosy cured.

Can I tell you there is no substitute

for simple obedience of what God's

spoken to you

higher ways.

God has told me to do some things that

made zero sense to me.

felt awkward, felt weird. Had an

audience of other people counseling me

otherwise. That's that's too much. That

doesn't make sense.

Sometimes

we have a type of spiritual arrogance

that we want God to show up in this huge

fashion.

And God says, "I told you to read your

Bible every morning.

I told you to keep going back to that

weird church called Grace Summit."

Simple obedience.

When we least expect it,

the breakthrough happens.

Say, "Even now."

Even now, your healing is waiting for

you. Even now, your breakthrough is

coming. Amen.

Even now, I'll ask the worship team to

join me up here.

Non could have quit.

My encouragement to you is to don't quit

in the middle of your obedience.

Don't listen to the enemy

coming. And in your waiting, know that

there's purpose in the waiting. In your

lack, just like Adam,

recognize what God is doing in you.

Amen. Because God will expose the need

before he reveals the answer.

Oh, I thought I knew what I needed so

many times.

didn't have a clue.

Don't let your pride

talk you out of

what simple obedience can walk you into.

Don't walk away from your Jordan.

Let's stand to our feet all over this

house.

God says, "My thoughts are not your

thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,

declares the Lord. For as the heavens

are higher than the earth, so are my

ways higher than yours,

and my thoughts than your thoughts."

And I just speak this over you. God is

not confused

about your circumstance. God is not

running behind with the answer.

He's right on time. He has your best

interest at hand.

And if we're willing to submit, I

believe

I know that we'll get the breakthrough.

Father, we thank you, Lord, that you're

a good God.

Father, we ask forgiveness for the times

that we assumed that you weren't.

Father, we repent of the times that we

blamed you,

accused you of not coming through on

time.

Lord, we submit ourselves not to the

lower thoughts, but God, we submit

ourselves to your ways, to your

thoughts. And Father, we choose to walk

by faith and not by sight. God, to not

get caught up when the enemy is

whispering in our ear. Father, we choose

to be led by the spirit of the living

God,

Father, to walk in obedience to you in

all things

to submit ourselves to your lordship.

So, Father, I pray over every soul in

this room, God. Those that have been in

waiting,

those that have been hungry and seeking

for more, God, I trust that you'll come

through in that perfect moment.

But God, while we're waiting, let us be

active.

Let us be seeking and chasing you in the

waiting to know what it is you're doing

in us in this season.

And Father, when the breakthrough comes,

when Lazarus rises out of the grave,

Father, let us give glory and honor to

you for you doing what only you can do

in our lives.

So, Father, I release blessing over

every soul in Jesus name.

And God's people said,

>> "Amen.