Sainst & Scoundrels Recap

What's going on? Port City family and friends,

Isaac here with Pastor Tanner. And today we're going to be

talking about the current sermon series that we're wrapping up,

Saints and Scoundrels, looking at the life of Jacob.

Before we jump into that, Tanner, how you doing man?

Doing good, bro, I'm not gonna lie.

As we're filming, this is about 100° in Northwest and it's too

hot. Too hot in May.

Norfolk's crazy, man. It was like 2 weeks ago I had

the heat on, you know, it was like a 40° weekend and now we're

like 100° weekend. But doing good, you know,

staying in my deck. Shout out the summer projects or

late spring summer projects. So I'm doing good, man.

Happy to be here with you. That's what's up.

And So what are you most excited for about this summer?

Do you have anything? Any big plans, any big projects?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I gotta get this deck done, man.

I sound like an old guy, but I gotta dominate this deck, man.

Now, I definitely got some projects like that.

The fam we're hitting Disney this summer.

They already know. So excited about that.

No, man, I'm just excited for more family time, more time with

with just kind of downtime around the city, hitting the

beach and, you know, getting ready for for when the fall

hits. Life just speeds up.

You know, that's so trying to soak up the long summer days,

you know, where it's like you want to get outside before 10 AM

and after 7:00 PM. Yep.

And in between you're like. Inside, that's right.

Yep, AC up. What about you though man?

Summer, what you looking forward to?

City life. Yes, got.

Some college students someone be disciples.

Ever city life, bro, Big deal. Yeah, I got the stickers in a

couple of days ago and that's when it hit.

It was like, man, this is. This is legit thing.

Yeah, this is a thing. Praise God, man.

Well, hey, let's go ahead and jump in talking about Saints and

scoundrels. Yeah.

So how about you catch us up on what's been going on in the

narrative? Where are we at in the Bible?

What are some of the big themes? Yep, hopefully for those of

y'all who've been listening and and for our church family, this

is getting more and more rhythmic of where we're at.

But this is season 3 of Saints and Scoundrels.

So we start with Abraham, then Isaac and Jacob.

The things got their worst at. I'm letting this pause happen so

you can think about it. Genesis Chapter 11, Tower of

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

Babel. OK, God calls Abraham, he's

going to answer the problem at Babel through the call of

Abraham. And you go Abraham down to Isaac

learning a lot of lessons about who this Yahweh is.

This God is what these promises are and that just because he

makes a promise, it doesn't happen overnight, you know?

And so a lot of those things continue with Jacob.

I think what's unique with Jacob is that the compounding nature

of sin and time and the dysfunction of his family in the

past is like seeping into things more and more.

So the favoritism of Isaac for Esau is a big thing.

The favoritism of Rebecca for Jacob plays into the the stolen

blessing and the birthright, all that stuff that Jacob does.

So Jacob comes out of the womb. He is literally the grasper, the

he grabs his brother's heel. And there was this promise that

the older Esau will serve the younger.

And we talked about that. And so Jacob is just this

perfect St. Scoundrel combo where it's like,

what are you doing? And why is this God's person?

And it's like he's God's person because God said so and God

chose it that way. So God is not prescribing all

that Jacob does. And some of it is like a little

bit of faithfulness, a lot of scheming, and then he ends up

kicked out. There's sort of an exile theme

that continues. So he's kicked out of the land,

out of the house with nothing and then he's going to go take

on this Laban snake like character is victorious

eventually, even though there's some scoundrel on how he's

victorious. And then he comes back with

loot. You know, he leaves the land

with nothing comes back with everything sort of the the

exodus theme that we see over and over in Genesis.

And there's all kinds of goodies along the way, like the the the

ladder, Jacob's ladder, so good. Just so many things, man Go.

Listen to that sermon if you haven't.

Yeah, just some dope themes along the way.

But all of it just comes down to this God who is using mess to

build a masterpiece. It's just crazy, man.

It's crazy. And that kind of flows into the

next question, which is what are some of the big things we've

learned about God throughout the series?

Yeah, I must say a big word in the theology world.

And when I say this word, I don't mean like a concept.

I mean God is this. As a person, God is sovereign.

Yeah. And what that means, you can go

back and listen to the first one in this series.

It does have like that word can take on philosophical

theological stuff really quick. Or what does that mean about

this and this and this and the what abouts?

But when you're reading Genesis, all it means is that God does

what he wants. He has a purpose.

When he says he's going to do something, he's going to do it

right. And when it seems crazy or like

he couldn't do it, he's still going to.

And like, just because you don't get it doesn't mean God ain't in

it. And so God is free.

That's part of what sovereign means is like, he's not bound by

us. He's not bound by his creation,

but he has committed himself covenantally to us.

You know what I mean, through Abraham.

And so, yeah, this guy is just, he's uncontainable.

You know, he is explosively kind and generous and powerful and so

many things in the the historical word to describe this

guy who does what he wants, doesn't have to explain himself,

but makes promises, and we'll wait 25 years to make it happen.

But then it went exactly. I always said it would happen.

It's sovereign. So does that make sense?

How? It's not like, yeah, there's all

kinds of historical debates around the extent of what that

means for every scenario. Yeah.

But at Port City, when we use that term, we're not ashamed of

or scared of some of the connotations that come with

that. But let's be clear that it comes

from the way the narrative presents God, not the way we

want God to be. Does that make sense?

Yeah, so that's so good. That's first and foremost.

And 2nd is that God is Redeemer. So he's a sovereign Redeemer.

Yeah. So he wants everybody to know

him. You know, like he wants all of

creation to be like Eden. He wants all things made new for

the whole, all the families on earth to be blessed.

That's what he told Abraham. Now if that was my plan or your

plan, I would microwave that thing and make it happen real

quick, you know? But God, he tells Abraham that

and it's 25 years before he even has one kid, right?

That's not how we would do it. But God is redeeming.

And so just the perfect example of Abraham and and Sarah was

like, they go and they do the Hagar thing, then they have

Ishmael and God is going to somehow use that.

But he's still going to go forward with his promise and his

plan. And it's similar with the Jacob

stuff where Jacob is a schemer. God is not endorsing scheming,

but he is some kind of way using it, you know?

And like the stuff with Laban, that story is just insane.

You know where they find he finally bounces from Laban, he's

leaving, leaves without telling him, gets a three day head

start. Then God has to intervene with

Laban, give Laban a dream that says don't touch him because

Laban would have come and like thrown the smack down on Jacob

for leaving without telling him. And then Jacob's talking some

trash. Like, that's right.

The Lord rebuked you and you thought we stole your household

gods. Meanwhile, his wife did one of

his two wives, 'cause he's polygamous, did steal Laban's

household gods. It's just he doesn't look it.

So it's just crazy. It's crazy.

So God is sovereign and God is Redeemer.

You could say he's a sovereign Redeemer.

That's right. Somebody that's good, that's

good. And so as we're kind of

summarizing the series you've been in, have there been any

themes or truths that you found especially important or

applicable right now? Yes.

So couple things. Let's start with God, then we'll

go to like what that means for us.

Like God is working right. He is so like in our felt

experience on a page where it says that, you know, in Isaac

story, his wife was barren. Rebecca was and it says that he

prayed to the Lord for her, her deliverance and it was 20 years

before before she ends up having chicken visa.

That's just one sentence in a narrative, you know, in a story.

But like, does that mean God was absent all until the next step

in the narrative? Does that make sense?

Like God is always working. He's always working in the

narrative and I think we just have to believe that.

Like we'll talked about that a lot in his sermon of like when

mess is going on, we just think like, can God use this?

And I think Genesis is screaming to the people of God.

Look at who your God is. You don't have to take matters

into your own hands. Use the God appointed means to

go about the God appointed things and just trust that God

appointed stuff is going to happen even when you can't

connect all the dots. Because I think we live in a

world that is extremely linear and efficiency like crazed, you

know, like and dude, all the asterisks.

OK, I read atomic habits frequently.

Like, I think that stuff is good.

Like control what you control your environment and goals, all

of it, man, let's do it. And like God is working in a way

that doesn't fit that, you know, he's a farmer.

He is a like God is the ultimate artist and creative and like he,

he just, it's not that he's anti linear.

I'm just saying it doesn't fit our paradigms for efficiency and

we just have to trust that God is working in our lives as the

church and he's fulfilling the Great Commission.

We play a role in that. We need to pray.

We need to seek the good of Norfolk and just trust that God

is working when we're doing what he said to do.

Just trust him. You know, like if this story

screams anything on year 24, Abraham and Sarah think nothing

is going to happen, you know, so just trust the Lord, which leads

me to like from a fell experience, it's going to feel

like waiting. You know, like that was one of

the first sermons was like, do I trust God enough to wait?

And like, we see Esau is a forsaker and we see Jacob is a

schemer and neither makes sense in light of who this God is.

You know, we can wait on him. We can turn to him, we can trust

him, we can go to him. And in that there's this theme

over and over that obedience matters and their foolishness is

not prescribing you go do what you want because God is

sovereign and Redeemer. Do your thing.

You know, it's kind of the like all that Pauline theology of

your obedience mattering from Roman six.

You just feel as you're reading, like Jacob.

Oh, so because he's an idiot. Can I go be a polygamist?

No, you know what I mean? Like you should not do that.

Yes. So I think obedience matters.

Waiting is hard, but good God is working and the ends never

justify the means. Like we don't, we don't leverage

the fact that God will clean it up to make a mess.

But know that even as you're trying, you're making a mess and

God is going to use it. You know what I'm saying?

But they're different hearts. One of them is like, let me take

advantage of. The other is like, let me not

act like this is all on me, but let me take some steps.

That's so good. So as we're kind of nearing the

end and wrapping things up, we always talk about port City

where we want to read. We want us to see Christ in the

Old Testament and see how the Bible is a big story pointing to

and fulfilling in Jesus. So how have we seen Christ in

the story of story of Jacob? So.

Far, yes, so many ways y'all hear a lot at Port City.

The phrase truer and greater, it means that these characters,

every character, every image, every story points to how Jesus

fulfills it in a greater way. So like that breadcrumb kind of

leads you to Jesus. So the perfect example is the

the latter, you know, Jacob's ladder in Genesis 28.

And immediately we think back to the tower of Babel.

Man tried to connect heaven and earth.

OK, well, God gives Jacob this dream where heaven and earth are

connected. And then in John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

Jesus basically says I, it doesn't basically say he says I

am the latter, you'll see angels ascending and descending on the

Son of Man, which makes you think, OK, so the cross becomes

the means by which Jesus connected heaven and earth.

And it's like, yes, so the latter is that way, but also the

role of Jacob. You know, the blessing will come

to all through you. And we talked a little bit about

how he's the true and greater Jacob and Esau.

So like Esau is the first born through whom the family

blessings should flow. We're kind of the outsider

wanting to be a part of the family.

Yep. But it's supposed to go through

Esau In the story, Esau only lost his role in his place

because he got schemed out of it and because he was hungry for

some food and just forsook it. Well, Jesus is like the truer

and greater older brother who wants us in the family.

And instead of having to be schemed out of it as his

inheritance, he's like, you know, I want them to have.

Yes, He blesses us. Yes.

So I'll give you my status in the family.

You can't earn that. It's a gift and he's the true

and greater Jacob who becomes the chosen one, but not because

he schemed his older brother out of it, but because he served,

you know, like he was the ultimate servant who lays his

life down for the schemers. So there's all kinds of.

And one more I was thinking of as we were prepping this.

We're about to preach this sermon probably next weekend,

but with Laban. Laban's a deceiver too, right?

So it's the first time where Jacob's met his match a little

bit like. You're getting the irony.

Yeah, it is. But I have John, Pastor John, in

my head, something John talks about a lot.

I remember who he heard it from originally.

But it's this idea that Jesus is the one who can undo things

without becoming the thing that he's undoing, right?

So he can undo oppression without becoming an oppressor.

In the case of Jesus, it's like he is the one who defeats Laban

without becoming Laban. You know, I'm saying like he

doesn't out scheme schemers. He just, he just like is kind

and perfect and good and then like lays his life down for

schemers, you know. And so there's that theme as

well where like there is an adversary, there is an enemy,

and like Jesus defeated him by being conquered by death, you

know? And so yeah, Jesus is the the

ultimate hero of all of these things point to for sure.

So. Good.

Alright, final question. As we're wrapping up here, what

can people be looking forward to for the rest of this?

Well Dang, not the rest of the series 'cause this is gonna be a

recap, but. That's OK.

Keep her rolling, man. That's authentic.

Yeah. Poor city is.

True. This is true.

Let me refrain the question. Where are we going next?

Where are we going next? Man, I know that every, every

time I preach, I'm like, this is my most excited passage of all

time or most exciting series of all time.

I feel that way a lot about this one we're about to do.

It's on second Timothy. That's one of those books that's

just. Gonna be a banger, it's gonna

be. So good Second Timothy has been

in me for years. One of the first epistles I ever

read. I mean, it's Paul's last letter.

Yeah. Like it's just like, dude, it is

just so golden. Let me let me read off the

titles of the sermon series. If this doesn't snitch, you

fired up. You need to check your pulse.

OK. The series is called Guard the

Gospel. Here are the 8 sermon titles,

Gospel courage, Gospel unashamed, Gospel work, Gospel

workers, Gospel opposition, Gospel foundation, Gospel

ministry, and Gospel people in the gospel.

It's a lot of gospel. And if that don't get you gospel

fired up, you need to check your gospel pulse one time because

Paul is just laying his heart out there for his young God,

Timothy and man, I'm just one of the great joys of my life to get

to walk through Second Timothy with Port City.

It's gonna be awesome. Man, so pumped for that.

Yeah, when will you be get getting rolling with that?

It's dates. Second week in June.

June 14th. This summer, bringing the sun to

look forward to a. Great summer