Matthew 11:7-15

As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes

concerning John, Yes, I say to you, and more

than a prophet, for this is he of whom it is

written, Behold, I send my messenger before your

face, who will prepare your way before you. Assuredly,

I say to you, among those born of women, there's

not risen one greater than John the Baptist,

but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven

is greater than he. And from the days of John

the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven

suffers violence. And the violent take it by

force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied

until John. And if you're willing to receive

it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears

to hear, let him hear. Let's pray. Father, Lord,

would you give us ears to hear this morning.

Father, we pray for the blessing and the help

of your Holy Spirit. Open the truth of your word.

May the truth penetrate into our hearts. God,

may you bring glory to your son through what

we hear this morning. We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen. Here we are. It's hard to believe we're

in the middle of November. Actually, in two weeks,

the Advent season begins and we'll begin to celebrate

the birth of our Savior and Lord. We like that

time of year. I think all of us do. We think

of Jesus in that manger lying there meek and

mild. We love the angelic proclamation of peace

on earth and goodwill toward men. We love to

celebrate that light has come into our darkness

and joy has invaded our sadness. But if we're

not careful, and this is the danger here, we

can begin to sanitize the gospel narrative. In

fact, we can begin to sanitize the entire scriptures.

For example, The story of Jesus' birth is often

viewed more in terms of like a Norman Rockwell

painting or perhaps a Charles Dickens novel.

But the Bible presents the truth in much more

stark terms. It doesn't try to sugarcoat. It

doesn't try to whitewash or hide anything. Jesus'

birth, that same time when the angels are proclaiming

peace on earth and goodwill toward men, shortly

thereafter, his birth was followed by the murder,

of all the boys in Bethlehem from two years old

and under. So that angelic proclamation, which

we love, was then followed by the loud cries

and lamentation of mothers weeping over the senseless

murder of their children. That is scripture.

The days in which Jesus lived were a very violent

time, but it's always been violent. In fact,

Jesus says in the text this morning, the kingdom

of heaven suffers violence and the violent take

it by force. With these words, what is Jesus

doing? He's waking us up. He's using strong language

to confront us with the reality that God works

in ways that we least expect and certainly under

conditions that we would not expect. I mean,

think, for example, that we're speaking this

morning of John the Baptist, the great prophet,

Jesus' very cousin. But he's sitting in a prison

cell waiting to have his head chopped off. That's

scripture. And as John was sitting in that prison

cell, he began to question and wonder, is Jesus

really the Messiah? Because things aren't turning

out exactly like I thought they would. He had

a preconceived notion. He sends two of his disciples

to Jesus and they ask him point blank, are you

the one who is to come or should we look for

another? But Jesus was not angry with John. He

was not upset with John at all. In fact, in our

text today, Jesus pays tribute to him. But there's

a whole lot more going on than just paying tribute.

In fact, Jesus, now there's crowds surrounding

him as there normally were. Jesus is inviting

the crowds that had come to him to consider what

God was doing in their midst. See, so many people

in Israel at that time, they missed the significance

of John's ministry because they expected God

to work in more predictable ways. That's why

Jesus asked the crowds, well, what did you go

out in the wilderness to see? I mean, they all

went out to John in that Galilean desert. What

did they expect to see out there? Were they looking

for the work of God? Or were they looking for

their preconceived notions of how God should

work? Because if you think about the ministry

of John the Baptist, it's surprising. It's surprising

that he was calling Israel to repent and be baptized.

Now what's surprising about that is there had

always been converts or proselytes from the Gentile

nations into Judaism, into the Jewish faith.

Well, how did these pagans, these Gentiles, show

their repentance? They were baptized as a sign

of cleansing and entrance into the Jewish community.

For those Gentiles being baptized, that showed,

first of all, that they were cleansed from their

filth of sin, but it also showed that there was

an abandonment to their former way of life. They

were leaving it behind and they were beginning

again. So then John the Baptist comes on the

scene. And everyone's familiar with Jewish washings.

They're familiar with proselyte baptisms. But

John comes on the scene and he begins to preach

a message about repentance. He's calling people

to repent and to be baptized. Nothing shocking

there at all. But he wasn't talking to Gentiles.

He was talking, rather, preaching to Israel.

looked at Israel, the Jewish people, and he said,

you need to repent. You need to be cleansed in

preparation for the arrival of the Messiah. Now

that's absolutely shocking. He was calling for

Israel, the covenant people, the chosen nation,

to get ready for their Messiah. So if you look

at John and his ministry, he stands as a bridge,

standing at the close of the old covenant and

the inauguration of the new. And in the text

today, as we're going to look at this, you and

I are confronted with some of the same questions.

Are we blinded by our own preconceived notions

or expectations? Or are we prepared to receive

God's ways even when they come in unexpected

ways? God doesn't normally work the way we would

expect him to work. And our Lord closes this

text with that familiar refrain, he who has ears

to hear, let him hear. This is the call for us.

Listen up. Don't miss what God is doing. So we

do well to open our ears this morning. Now let's

look at verses 7 through 9 again. I just read

them. I don't want to take the time to read them

again. But suffice it to say, great crowds following

Jesus. And you remember those two disciples that

John sent, they were there in the midst of the

great crowd. So the crowds would have overheard

their question. That question that John sent

them to ask. Are you the one who is to come,

or should we look for another? And I imagine

that the people, these crowds, because they're

still enamored by Jesus, they were wondering,

had John lost his way? Had he fallen away? Was

he so beaten down by his imprisonment that he

was now reneging on what he had earlier proclaimed

about Jesus? Because keep in mind... earlier,

John had emphatically and triumphantly declared

Jesus to be the Lamb of God, which takes away

the sin of the world, and he emphatically declared

him to be the Christ of God. And the crowds knew

that. That was John. He had told everyone about

Jesus. And now he's wondering if he's the one

to come? What's happened? Had this stint in prison

caused him to change his mind? And if so, what

did Jesus now think of John? Well, we can see

Jesus very clearly let them know what he thought

of John. But before he did so, he asked the crowd

a few questions. Because they had also gone out

to John. Many of them probably had been baptized

by John. What did you go out in the wilderness

to see? Just a reed shaken by the wind? See,

before Jesus, John had been wildly popular. He

had also garnered large crowds that had come

to him, not just in Galilee, but from all over

Israel, from Judea, Jerusalem, Galilee. People

from all over the nation were flocking to John

out in the desert. Now the King James, the New

King James says wilderness, but it's a desert

wilderness. And he's baptizing people there.

But what drew such large crowds? Jesus said,

did you go out there to see a reed shaken by

the wind? Reed grass was very common in that

area around the Jordan River where John was baptizing.

Rabbis would often use reed grass as a metaphor

for preachers or speakers who simply told the

crowds what they wanted to hear. So Jesus is

asking the crowds, do you think John was just

another man who tailored his message to make

it more palatable to the crowds? We think of

this with politicians. Rarely do you get a frank,

direct answer. They are always speaking out of

both sides of their mouth. Is that what you expected

of John? Absolutely not. John, John the Baptist,

he's a man of uncompromising integrity. In fact,

he was in prison because he would not soften

his message. He spoke truth to power. He spoke

truth to Herod Antipas. That's why he was sitting

in a prison in the first place. Jesus continues,

well, what did you go out to see then? A man

clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear

soft clothing are found in king's houses. He

says, let me ask you this question. Did you go

out to the desert wilderness to see a sophisticated,

refined dignitary? A man in royal apparel? That's

soft clothing there. He said, if that's the reason

you went, you went to the wrong place to see

the wrong man, because John the Baptist was known

for his ruggedness. His asceticism was widely

known. Do you remember how John was dressed?

John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather

belt around his waist. And what did John eat?

He didn't eat king's food. He ate wild locusts

and honey. That was his diet. And what about

his message? John was not known for exactly soft

peddling the truth. He was a bold, fiery preacher.

So John the Baptist was not some upper crust,

soft dignitary, nor was he a yes man for the

king. So Jesus then asked a third question. Well,

what, did you go out to see a prophet? Is that

what you went out there to see? He says, I say

to you, yes, he was a prophet. but more than

a prophet. In fact, this is the one that was

prophesied that he would go and be the messenger

before the Messiah. So now the people consider

John a great prophet. The Lord Jesus agreed with

their assessment. Absolutely. John is a prophet

sent from God with a message from God, but he

said there's more than a prophet in John. In

fact, he served a unique role in redemptive history.

John the Baptist was personally chosen by God

as the one who would introduce his son, the Messiah,

to Israel. Now Jesus quoted Malachi here, Malachi

3 .1. Behold, I send my messenger and he will

prepare the way before me. This is John. He's

the messenger. John is going to serve as a herald

to introduce the king to Israel. It's a pivotal

role in salvation history here. His ministry,

that of John the Baptist, it marked the end of

the old covenant as he introduced Jesus, the

one who would inaugurate the new covenant in

his blood. Verse 11, he says, Now friends, that's

an unbelievable statement. Was Jesus just using

hyperbole here? Was Jesus really saying that

John the Baptist was greater than Abraham, the

father of Israel? Was he greater than Moses,

the great lawgiver? Was he greater than the Jacob,

the patriarch who had the 12 sons of Israel?

Was he greater than King David? Was he greater

than King Solomon? I mean, think of the history

of Israel. It is filled with names of illustrious

men who did great things. And Jesus, was he really

saying that John the Baptist was greater than

any and all of them? Yes. That is exactly what

he said. He said, among those born of women,

that pretty much encompasses everyone. That's

every human being until the time of John the

Baptist. He said, there's not one that was born

that is greater than he. That's a strong statement.

Why was John so great? We don't normally associate

such greatness with John the Baptist. Isaiah,

the great Christ preacher, yeah, we get that.

David, the great psalmist of Israel, we get that.

John the Baptist? Yeah, but his greatness did

not simply lie in his person, but in his position.

His greatness was tied to the kingdom that he

was preaching of. What did John do? He's a forerunner,

right? So he came and he preached the arrival

of the kingdom. That is a privilege that no other

prophet in the entire Old Testament ever had.

They weren't given that. John uniquely preached

the arrival of the kingdom. But there's something

even more surprising in Jesus' words. That's

pretty shocking. No one's greater than he, except,

Jesus said, anyone who's least in the kingdom

of God is greater than he. What? You're saying

that John is greater than anyone who had ever

lived up to that time. And now you're saying

the very one who's least in the kingdom of God

is greater than John. What is going on here?

Well, Jesus is clearly contrasting two different

redemption errors. First of all, there's the

error of preparation. Proclaiming, all the prophets

proclaiming what is to come. Think of Isaiah.

Isaiah 7, the virgin will conceive. Isaiah 9,

his name will be called Wonderful Counselor,

the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace. That's Isaiah.

But he's proclaiming what is going to come. And

the entire Old Testament's like that. But now

you have the era of fulfillment. John and Jesus

proclaiming what has come. And that's what the

entire New Testament is going to be based upon.

And Jesus said the very least man or woman in

the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. How?

By privilege. Because he or she is in the kingdom,

actually in the kingdom, under the new covenant.

But John was the last in the old covenant. With

John, the entire Old Testament era came to an

end. R .T. France, in his commentary, he says,

The issue here is not John's personal salvation.

We're not doubting whether John was saved, but

his place in the scheme of salvation history.

For all his crucial role as herald of the kingdom

of heaven, because that's what he did. He heralded,

behold, the kingdom of heaven's at hand. John

essentially belongs to the old era, not the new.

Now, do you see what Jesus is doing here? I mean,

these are shocking words. And let me just say

to you, church, this morning, do you see the

incredible power privilege that God has bestowed

upon you, allowing you to be born under this

new covenant. You have a greater privilege than

even John the Baptist had because you live under

this new covenant inaugurated in the bloody death

of Jesus Christ our Lord. Under the old covenant,

sacrifices were repeated endlessly. Never could

they remove sin. They could only cover sin. But

under the new covenant, Christ's Once for all

sacrifice of himself actually took away sin.

Hebrews 10. For it is not possible that the blood

of bulls and goats could take away sins. You

could offer them all. You could take every bull,

every goat from here until the end of time and

they would not take away your sin. Verse 14.

For by one offering he that is Jesus Christ has

forever perfected those for being sanctified.

Took one lamb. The lamb of God. That's new covenant.

The old. Had a mediator. Mediated by Moses. Moses

was a faithful servant in the house. The new

also has a mediator. But it's the eternal son.

Hebrews 7. By so much more, Jesus has become

a surety, a promise of a better covenant. 9 .15.

For this reason, he is the mediator of the new

covenant. Go back to the old covenant. The law

was written on stone. It commended righteousness,

but it could never produce it. It couldn't create

it. But under the new, the Spirit writes the

law on our hearts, and the Spirit, the Holy Spirit

of God, empowers our obedience. Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 8:10

8, verse 10. For this, and he's quoting Jeremiah

here, this is the covenant that I will make with

the house of Israel after those days, says the

Lord. I will put my laws in their mind. and write

them on their hearts, and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people. And the old, you

had a high priest, and yes, he could enter into

God's presence, yes, but only one time a year.

In the new, and I think this is probably the

greatest privilege that you and I have that we

often neglect, every believer has open, continual

access to the throne of grace. Hebrews 10, therefore,

brethren, having boldness. You never had boldness

in the Old Testament. They were afraid. Are we

going to be struck dead in the presence of God?

We have boldness to enter the holiest. That is

the holy of holies. How in the world do you have

boldness to go in there? By the blood of Jesus

Christ. Under the Old, the Holy Spirit, yeah,

he was present. He came, he empowered selectively,

temporarily, anointed kings and priests and prophets.

But in the New Covenant, The Holy Spirit indwells,

takes up residence within all believers permanently.

Remember on the day of Pentecost, Peter preaching,

he's quoting Joel, but he says this, but this

is what was spoken by the prophet Joel, and it

shall come to pass in the last days, that the

last days are the days after Christ's death and

resurrection, says God that I will pour out my

spirit on all flesh, young men, young women,

old men, old women, everyone who has come to

faith in Christ. The old covenant centered on

ethnic Israel. The new covenant creates one new

humanity in Christ. Galatians chapter 3 verse

Galatians 3:28

28. There's neither Jew nor Greek. Jew nor Gentile.

They don't exist in the church. There's neither

slave nor free. There's neither male nor female.

For you're all one in Christ Jesus. And Jesus

is looking at that crowd. He says, it's for these

reasons that the very least person in the kingdom

of God is greater than John the Baptist. Yeah,

you're greater because you have a greater covenantal

privilege than John ever had. It's the privilege

of the new covenant. John, he preached the arrival

of the kingdom of God. But you live in the inaugurated

kingdom that John preached. He said, it's here.

You take up residence within it. You have a greater

privilege. Verse 12. And from the days of John

the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven

suffers violence. And the violent take it by

force. The kingdom John preached about and the

kingdom Jesus preached about, both, same kingdom,

was not without opposition. And friends, there

has always been opposition to the people of God,

to the work of God, from the earliest times,

from the earliest days until now. It began with

Cain killing his righteous brother Abel. That's

the first murder we see. But then you go into

the prophets. It doesn't matter. Take any prophet.

The prophets were often treated contemptuously.

Many of them were killed. You can read back that

time that wicked Ahab and even more wicked his

wife Jezebel, they slew a lot of the righteous

prophets. Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet,

spends considerable time in a dungeon for preaching

what God had sent him to preach. Isaiah, just

the greatest prophet, I think, of the Old Covenant.

He was ultimately, literally, sawn in two for

faithfulness to God. As I said earlier, when

Jesus was born, shortly thereafter, Herod, the

Tetrarch, he had all the babies in Bethlehem

murdered. John, where is he right now as Jesus

is speaking? He's in a prison waiting to be executed.

And the Lord Jesus would eventually inaugurate

his kingdom how? Through his bloody death. The

kingdom of heaven suffers violence. Why? There's

satanic opposition. Satanic opposition, demonic

opposition. They hate Christ, they hate the gospel,

and they hate the church that proclaims it. And

that's the way it's always been. And so God's

kingdom is often violently attacked by unbelievers

who oppose the kingdom. We see that in direct

places like Nigeria, Sudan, North Korea. We see

that. But it's always been a violent opposition,

and it always will be until the time when Christ

returns. But this goes against the grain of what

we normally would imagine. Our preconceived idea

says, well, the kingdom of God, it's going to

go and conquer all its foes. And it does. But

there is some warfare taking place. It's going

to be opposed. Yes, God is building his church,

and there's not a thing Satan can do about it.

The gates of hell will not prevail. They won't

stop the church of God. It cannot defeat the

church of God. But Satan still tries to stop

her, often through violent means. And we shouldn't

be surprised by that. Jesus and the violent take

it by force. Think about Jesus. They killed our

king. They killed the king. But they did not

realize that he would rise from death and kill

them. He would ensure their defeat. See, today,

even today, as we sit here in this lovely building

where we gather each Lord's Day, even today,

the forces of darkness still seek to violently

take the kingdom by force. They still do. And

we're not, now we, again, where we are, we live

in a moment of reprieve, if you will. A moment

of relative ease, peace, prosperity. But that's

unique. It's our experience, but it's not the

experience of most Christians. What do we do

when the violent seek to violently overthrow

us? Revelation chapter 12 verse 10. Then I heard

Revelation 12:10

a loud voice in heaven saying, Now salvation

and strength and the kingdom of our God and the

power of his Christ have come. For the accuser

of our brother who accused him before our God

day and night has been cast down. And they, that

is the saints, they overcame him, that is Satan,

by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their

testimony. And they did not love their lives

to the death. It's interesting. How did they

overcome? The blood of the lamb, that is, by

the word of their testimony, and they didn't

love their lives. So by the blood of the lamb,

they trusted in Christ. They trusted in what

Christ had done. They trusted in his sacrifice.

And they boldly, the word of their testimony,

they boldly proclaimed their allegiance to him,

even amidst the threat of death. We're going

to kill you if you keep preaching in that name.

They kept preaching in that name and they killed

them. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of

the church. I mean, there's a bloody history

throughout church history. But the kingdom of

God stands firm even in the face of violent opposition

and death. Verse 13, Jesus said, for all the

prophets and the law prophesied until John. So

there's a stopping point. And if you're willing

to receive it, He, John, is Elijah who is to

come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

So the prophets, who? All the old covenant. They

prophesied that the kingdom of God was going

to come. As much as they had revelation. They

couldn't understand it all. Go back and read

Daniel. Daniel has great interpretation, great

insight. He says there's going to be a kingdom

that's going to be made without hands. It's going

to come and destroy all the kingdoms. And he's

preaching about the kingdom of God. So there's

this kingdom coming. And they're all preaching

about it. And then John the Baptist comes and

he says, the kingdom has come. It's at hand.

So he's not simply another prophet. He's the

final Old Testament prophet. With him, that time

of anticipation ends and the time of fulfillment

begins. So John's like the hinge on which redemptive

history swings. All Old Testament prophecy terminated

with him. And the era of fulfillment began. In

fact, Jesus said John was the fulfillment of

Malachi's prophecy about Elijah going to come.

Now Malachi 4 .5. He says, Behold, I will send

you Elijah, the prophet, before the coming of

the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Capital

L, capital O, capital R, capital D. That is Yahweh.

Before God comes. Now the Jews knew this prophecy.

They knew the coming of the day would be a day

ushered in by the Lord's Messiah. So they were

always looking for Elijah to come first because

they knew he would come first and prepare the

way. So when they would celebrate Passover, there's

an empty chair for Elijah. With the hope that

he would come that night. In fact, the Jews still

do that. As they celebrate Passover, they have

an empty seat for Elijah because they're convinced

that Elijah, nor the Messiah, has yet come. But

Jesus said, no, he's come. John the Baptist was

Elijah. Now, was Jesus saying that John the Baptist

was Elijah reincarnate? No, not at all. In fact,

John, John the Baptist, when he's directly asked,

are you Elijah? He said, no. In John chapter

John 1:19

1, verse 19. Now this is the testimony of John,

John the Baptist, when the Jews sent priests

and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are

you? Now why are they asking that question? Because

he's gathering all these crowds. People are flocking

to him. And he says, he confessed, he did not

deny, but he confessed, I'm not the Christ. I'm

not the Messiah. And they asked him, well then,

are you Elijah? Now why are they asking about

Elijah? Because they knew Elijah must first come,

Malachi 4 .5. And he said, I am not. Are you

the prophet? That's what Moses prophesied about.

There will be a prophet arise like me, him you

should listen to. And he answered, no. So why

did Jesus say that John was Elijah and John said,

no, I'm not? Well, John the Baptist was not the

reincarnate Elijah. Of course he wasn't. But

he did come in the spiritual role and power of

Elijah, preparing the people to receive their

Messiah. Now, do you remember when John the Baptist

was conceived? His conception was also miraculous.

His father, Zechariah, and his wife, they did

not conceive. They were now past childbearing

ages, and she conceived. Elizabeth conceives.

And then the angel goes to Zechariah, John's

dad, and what did he say? Luke 1. But the angel

said to him, Do not be afraid, Zechariah, that's

John the Baptist's father, for your prayer is

heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you

a son, and you shall call his name John. and

you will have joy and gladness, and many will

rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in

the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink neither

wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled

with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's

womb, and he will turn many of the children of

Israel to the Lord their God. That's what Malachi

4, 6 said, by the way. He will also go before

him. Now notice the angel telling Zechariah the

priest, he will go before him, that is Christ,

in the spirit and power of Elijah. John's ministry

was reminiscent of Elijah's ministry. He even

dressed like Elijah. Remember I told you John

wore the rugged clothing, a camel's hair garment

with a leather belt. That's exactly how Elijah

was dressed. Where did John minister? Out in

the desert. Where did Elijah minister? Out in

the desert. And so John is fulfilling the prophecy

given by Malachi that Elijah will first come,

but here's where the rub. The people missed it.

They couldn't understand it. Which is why Jesus

in verse 15, he says this, he who has ears to

hear, let him hear. Many people in Jesus' day

did not understand, but they lacked the ears

to hear what Jesus was saying. They didn't have

a heart of belief. Their eyes were blinded, their

ears were deaf. The people missed the ministry

of John the Baptist because they expected something

else. They were expecting Elijah in the person.

But they didn't just miss John the Baptist. That's

bad, but it's terrible what they missed next.

They also missed Jesus the Messiah because of

their false preconceived notions of what the

Messiah should be and do. Did you know that?

They wanted a political military deliverer. They

got Jesus. They wanted the Messiah to ride down

a war horse. Jesus rides in on the donkey. They

didn't have a category for him. He did not fit

their expectations. And that's a danger for us

today. Do you know how many people will say,

I don't think God would fill in the blank. My

God would never. They have this preconceived

idea of how God should work. But God's ways,

God's ways often don't fit into neat categories

of how we think life should work. That's true

for all of us. I mean, have any of you ever been

surprised by the way God has worked in your life

or the route he took? Of course you have. So

we have these preconceived notions that we think,

well, this is what God would do. And when that

doesn't align with what's taking place in our

life, and it has in my life, I've told you many

times, if I were writing the script of my life,

if I held the pen, I would not have written it

the way God did. I've often been surprised by

his ways. Think of little girls growing up, dreaming

of their wedding day. Does that mean that they

will grow up and have that wedding they've always

dreamed of? No. Not everyone gets married, even

if they want to. And you're saying, but that

doesn't, no, yeah, most do, but not everyone.

Think of young couples. You get married, you

dream of having kids. Does that mean every couple

does? No. I think of people who eat right, take

care of their body, discipline themselves. They

exercise. And they get a diagnosis that's life

-threatening or terminal. And that doesn't make

sense. Well, we all know the person who has smoked

all their lives and ate pizza and never exercised

a day in their life and they're like 95 and great.

That doesn't line with our neat categories, does

it? But what's the purpose? If you have ears

to hear, listen to what the Spirit's saying.

God's ways are not our ways. For his ways and

his thoughts are higher. How high? As high as

a heaven is above the earth, so are his ways

and his thoughts above our own. So high you can't

understand them. So what is the Spirit saying?

If you have ears, hear. Hear what? He's saying,

listen up. Pay attention. The kingdom of God

came through a very unexpected way, through a

very unexpected king. And the bottom line is

that, yes, God does not work in the ways that

we think he should at those times. We lean into

the scriptures. At those times, we trust God

even when we cannot understand him. Again, it

doesn't make sense to me how some of his choicest

servants were brutally beaten and martyred. If

I'm God, I'm like, no, I'll destroy your oppressor.

And he says, no, he allows them to be destroyed.

He allows them to suffer. He allows them to be

overcome through death. See, our reality doesn't

fit into what we thought should have happened.

Because Jesus said, hey, I'm making all things

new. You're looking for the eschatological fulfillment

of the kingdom. You're looking for the kingdom

in its final form where death is erased and sorrow

is no more and tears will never be shed. That

day has not yet come. Pastor Kyle read right

before that final song, be of good cheer. In

the world you will have tribulation. You're going

to. Jesus told the twelve and by extension told

his church, that is us, in the world you will

have tribulation, but be of good cheer, meaning

take heart, Why? I've overcome the world. You're

going to have a tribulation. But this is not

the end. The story has not yet had an amen given

to it. There's more chapters to come. So what

do we do? We recognize a couple things. The king,

our king, he has come. The kingdom is here. It's

within us. Jesus said the kingdom was within.

It's in our hearts right now. It's in seed form.

It will come in final form. So what is the marching

orders? What is it that Jesus would have us to

do in light of this passage? Follow him without

distraction. Follow him without being tripped

up over his ways. And friends, that is so much

easier said than that. That's why we need each

other. Because I was thinking about this morning.

We were singing and I was looking around and

I looked over here. I'll be honest. I looked

over there and I was thinking of Jay and I was

thinking of Doris. And I'm thinking, man, in

January, this section is pretty full. We're in

November. It's not. Who can predict what a year

we'll bring forth? What's 2026 going to do? I

don't know. I have no clue. God's ways will not

be our ways. We'll be surprised at some point,

won't we? But what do we do? Where else do you

go? You lean into him, church. You've got to

trust him. It was this time last year that Brother

Larry got his diagnosis. It's a year later, he's

not with us, but he's in heaven. The story's

not yet done. And this is what God said, don't

be surprised. And I know that's easier said.

I want to drill that down. Don't be surprised

in the circuitous route that God may take you.

Because he is weaving a beautiful story. And

one day, all the seed blocks of suffering will

be revealed with glory. And then it's worth it.

And for all eternity, we will be sitting around

praising God, thinking his way was perfect. Wow,

God, that's amazing. I'm astounded how you worked

that out for your glory. But he does. He's the

great chess master. He always calls checkmate.

He never loses. So what do we do? We trust him.

We trust him. We trust him. We cling to him.

We cling to him. We rally around each other.

We hold our hands and we keep having, hey, guys,

you're going through a difficult time. I'm praying

for you. I will be there for you. That's why

we have to be together as a church. We need each

other in this game of life so that our faith

is not falling and we continue on trusting our

king even when it doesn't make sense. Let's pray.

Father, thank you this morning.