The Tension of Time with Pastor Tony Albano

Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast.

My name's Clayton.

I'm the pastor here at Medichurch.

And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life, that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you.

I hope that you enjoy today's message.

What's going on?

If you're new with us, my name is Tony.

I'm our Holotus venue pastor.

And like Pastor Clayton said, if you are on the other side of this camera, my people, my Helotus people, y'all are still my people.

I'm just so excited you guys are blessed to have our pastor there.

And uh I'm excited to be finishing up our series today.

We uh Pastor Clayton has been walking through the Christmas Carol.

If you haven't been here, he walked through the Christmas past, Christmas present, and he landed the plane with Christmas future last Sunday.

And uh, if you weren't here, I just want to catch you up.

So, a couple weeks ago, what we did was we looked at the time leading up to the first Christmas.

This was a 400-year period of silence, of God's people awaiting the coming Messiah.

This good news that one day his people will be redeemed.

And what happens was we learned that no matter what's going on around us, no matter if it feels like you're waiting, 400 years is a long time.

God always keeps his promises.

And the following week, we slowed down to get into the present moment of what that first Christmas really felt like.

Like sometimes we read the story and we know the ending, and it's hard for us to imagine, but we slowed down to realize like this was a series of chaotic events for a young couple, newlyweds, to be hit with a curveball in life that they would give birth, that Mary would give birth to the coming Messiah, and this was not Joseph's baby.

A big curveball in this newly med newlyweds uh story.

And we learned as when God shows up, expect the unexpected.

And then last Sunday we looked at what Christmas brings, what it actually means that Jesus came down into earth, and what it means that one day he will come back.

And Pastor Clayton challenged us with the value that we know here at Meta, which is we live with a pilgrim's perspective.

Meaning we know that life here is fleeting.

We know that this is not our home, and our soul awaits one day for Jesus coming back in all of his glory.

And as I was thinking about what to talk about this Christmas series, Christmas season, I was really just hitting on like the idea of time because we were talking about past, present, future, and today what I want us to do talk about, and it's gonna be short, we got families in here, we got families in Hilotus.

I don't want to bore them, I don't want things to get crazy.

I know we all got a lot to do today, but I really want us to sit in what I'm calling the tension of time.

Would y'all pray with me?

Father, we're just thankful for your son Jesus, we're thankful for this gathering, and I pray that you would speak to us.

Holy Spirit, I pray that you would give us a perspective that we did not have when we walked in.

You'd give us an understanding, and we would walk away with hope.

And all of God's people said, Amen.

You know, it's not shocking if I were to tell you that in our cultural moment we have safeguarded tension in many ways.

So, like, for example, you need to buy something, it's last minute.

What do you do?

You jump on Amazon and I can have something shift to my porch between 4 and 8 a.m.

the next day.

Some of y'all right now are relying pretty heavily on that.

You got a last minute gift, and I'm not gonna call anyone out, I'm not gonna name any names, but my sister-in-law, Amanda, did this in my house last night.

And guess what?

It showed up at my porch at 4 a.m.

I saw it on my ring camera, this dude running through, dropping this thing in front of my door, tension solved.

Easy.

Now, what about like if we have a question to life's deepest thoughts or questions that we want to wrestle with?

What do we do?

We jump on AI or we have a simple Google search, and within seconds, we have a resolve for a problem.

We don't need to sit and ponder in deep thought.

We don't need to read a peer-reviewed study.

No, what technology has done is it's made it very convenient for us.

But there's also still tension there because if you and I were honest, the things that are lingering in our lives, the things that technology can't seem to solve, the things that you and I are dealing with, that we're holding in, that we're waiting for God to do something, there's tension.

And naturally, our skin, what we want is for this to be solved quickly and as easy as possible.

And you see, you go online, you see social, you want to catch up with a friend or something, and everyone, you probably know they put everything of their life out there to see, and you and I are left wondering, why in the world do I feel stuck?

Do I feel stagnant in my life?

Or maybe the tension of year after year going by, we're like, this is gonna be a year, year, I'm gonna wrap around, I'm gonna get right on my health, and you seem to fall back in cycles, in thought patterns.

Because we all want quick ways to solve these tensions.

We want the magic pill, we want the magic answer.

And part of our society has made it hard for us to really come to the conclusion that, like, hey, I actually have to sit in some of this stuff.

And some of those are real issues, and every Christmas comes around, or a new heartbreak, or a new challenge comes around, and it's tension, tension, tension.

See, y'all are gonna go home to that tension and start cooking.

And y'all got families in town, people visiting, and if you're anything like my family, we got drama, there's tension happening.

All throughout time, generation after generation, what's happened with people is that there has been tension.

You cannot avoid tension.

And all we're doing is looking for easy ways out of this tension.

You see, the hard realization about that is that there is a God who created you.

There's a God who created me.

And what he has been doing is revealing himself throughout time, and what you learn about him is that his ways are not our ways, his thoughts are not our thoughts, and he has a different sense of timing.

We want instant gratification, and yet God is patient.

We want to be in control, and yet we're not the ones in control.

It's God who's in control.

And some of the really, real issues that bring up the most tension in our life, we have to wrestle and really try and understand if we trust God with these things.

One of the things about Christmas season that I love that we find in the book of Luke is that it says in the word, when Jesus came down, when the angels appeared, it says, This is gonna be good news that's gonna bring great joy for all people.

And for some of us, this is the hardest season to live through.

For some of us, maybe this is the first time you're single in Christmas.

This is the first time maybe you're sharing custody between your children.

And we're waiting on tension to be resolved in our life.

And we gotta understand is God's timing is often different than our timing.

His ways are often different than our ways.

And we learned just a couple weeks ago when God shows up, he comes out in unexpected ways.

And what I want us to do today, real quick, is to look at two phrases we find in the New Testament that'll really help us understand God and timing.

That's what we're wrestling with.

It's the tension of time.

Either a quick resolve or stuck in the waiting period.

The first one we're looking at, I want to focus on, is found in the book of Galatians.

Found in the book of Galatians, verse 4, chapter 4, it says, But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons.

What Paul is describing here as the fullness of time, you can easily just say, This is the time of completion.

This was the perfect time for Jesus to come into the world.

And for us, that sounds amazing.

A child was born that brings good news, that brings great joy for all people.

But remember the first Christmas, they were waiting over 400 years.

Silence, a people, generation after generation, who had word from God, who had direct access to God at some points, who had clear direction, who knew that God called them to be set apart, who knew that one day the coming Messiah would come and he would redeem his people.

But what we see, if you have a physical Bible and you were to open it up and you go from Malachi, which is an Old Testament prophet, and you would then fast forward and turn the page, it's one page over, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which is the gospel, the life of Jesus, that is a 400-year period of silence.

No word from God, no prophets proclaiming the word of God.

They all had died off, and they're waiting.

And they're stuck in the tension, they're stuck in the unknown.

And what Paul describes here is the perfect time.

And for you and I, remember, God's thoughts are not our thoughts, his ways are not our ways.

And what we could actually like comprehend, you know, there's scholars who write uh commentary on scripture and they analyze this data in this time, and what they've concluded is like the Roman Empire was in charge this time, which they provided relative peace, even though they were an opposition of the Israelites.

But there was relative peace.

People could travel, the infrastructure was there, the Roman roads was there, people could spread the good news of this coming Messiah, and because of this empire, there was also a common language, the language of Greek, so people can talk to one another, they can travel and share this good news.

For us, that seems like logical.

Yeah, that seems like a really good time.

But what about the 400 years of silence saying this was the good time?

We were waiting on the coming of Messiah, it didn't matter to them.

But we learn in Galatians that this was God's perfect timing.

God's timing is perfect.

You and I have to trust that and believe that.

We have to wrestle through that.

And we as humans, we often grow impatient and we struggle to follow this eternal schedule that God lives on and we're wrestling with our things, our needs, this Christmas season.

Fix this, and we feel like we're in the silence.

We feel like we're in the tension.

So, what do we do?

What do we do when God feels silent?

When we feel like we're in the tension of time and we're waiting on breakthrough, we're waiting on God to do something, we're waiting to feel this great joy, this good news for all people.

What do you and I do?

You know, there's a phrase that Jesus used often.

This is our second phrase that Jesus used often that um, I'm not gonna lie, it's not gonna make you feel better.

It's not.

Jesus used this throughout the Gospel of John.

People would ask him about different scenarios, and he would use this little phrase.

And what I want to do is pick up in a story.

This is the night before Jesus dies, and he's talking to his closest followers.

And right in there it says in verse 16, in a little while, you won't see me anymore.

But in a little while after that, you'll see me again.

And some of the disciples they ask each other, what does he mean when he says, In a little while, you won't see me, but then you will see me.

And then he says things like, I'm going to the Father.

And what does he mean by a little while?

We don't understand.

You see, what they didn't realize that we know is that Jesus was talking about his death.

These men were following Jesus, this person they were waiting for for 400 years to finally reign up and as a king and save his people.

And he's telling them, in a little while, I'm gonna die.

But in a little while, I'm gonna come back.

You and I know, if you know anything about the story, that that little while was three days.

He didn't tell them.

Now imagine living this out.

He didn't tell them, hey, I'm going to die, and when I do, I will be back in three days.

No, he told his closest followers that I am going to leave in a little while.

And then I'll be back.

And then imagine this person you've been following for three years becomes executed by the Roman Empire.

The people who've been oppressing your people.

And now you're scared for your own life.

Because they tried him as a rebellious king, someone who's gonna overthrow this opposition power, and now they're scared for their life, and they don't know what a little while means.

They don't know what we know is that on the third day, Jesus rose again.

And then Jesus decides to use this same phrase when he talks about his second coming.

So in a little while, Jesus is coming back.

And Jesus used this for short periods of time, like three days, and then he used a little while for a time of about 2,000 years.

I don't know about you, but that stresses me out.

That is not a little while.

And his followers were very confused.

They didn't know what to do about this to the point where Jesus could tell that they were stressing out.

And if you pick up in the story in John 16, it says that Jesus realizes, realized they wanted to ask him about it.

And so he said, Are you asking yourselves what I meant?

I said, in a little while, while you don't see me, but a little while after that, you'll see me again.

Thanks for the clarification, Jesus.

I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what's going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice.

See, the thing about God, the thing about Jesus is that he's outside of time and he sees the end from the beginning, and Jesus here, when he's talking to them, he has the end in mind.

He realizes that they're going to be scared, they're going to hurt, they're going to grieve.

But in a little while, that will turn into great joy.

Jesus knew that there's tension in the waiting.

See, when he when he died and he overcame the grave, he knew that he overcame the world.

Seriously talking to us.

Until the little while was over.

When he'd come back one day in all of his glory.

And he continues to talk in uh verse 20.

It says, You'll grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.

It'll be like a woman suffering the pains of labor.

When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she's brought a new baby into the world.

So you will have sorrow now, but we will see you, I will see you again, and then you'll rejoice, and no one can rob you of this joy.

Remember the two phrases in a little while, the tension of time, the waiting, the suffering.

But then there's the fullness of time.

This is the resolve.

This is God's holy, redemptive, perfect plan.

And it was revealed to us in the person of Jesus.

And in the waiting, Jesus compares it to labor.

I've never given birth.

Shocking.

But I have been in the room, and it's rough.

Now, Tori, our first child, that was a quick delivery.

We're waiting on our second.

But I do remember it being very rough.

There was a lot going on.

But you know what's going on as well?

There's great anticipation of new life.

You overcome what's actually happening to you because of the great anticipation and faith that God is producing something out of it.

That is what eternal glory is.

Our suffering, our waiting, the tension of time.

God is producing something in it, and that is why He gives us the example of labor pains.

In your suffering, in the waiting, there will be tension.

It will be tough.

But it's producing something for us.

And there is great anticipation for you and I when we fixate our eyes on the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and the one that who left and said that he would one day return.

In a little while.

And we're here waiting in the tension.

So what is Jesus saying?

He acknowledges that you and I will grieve, there will be tension, but he expects his people to manage tension through faith in what God is producing in his perfect timing.

I don't know what you walked in with today, I don't know what tension you're dealing with, but you and I have the option today to trust him with it.

That his timing is perfect, and that regardless, there will be something that you and I deal with.

But just like labor pains, just like the agony, he describes it as as soon as the mother is handed over her child, great joy.

Because we're waiting and anticipating for new life.

Would y'all do me a favor?

Would y'all just stand real quick as we close?

I want us to read a passage found in Romans 8.

It says in verse 18, Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right until the present time.

And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit with us as a foretaste of future glory.

For we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering, and we too wait with eager hope for the day when God will come, uh come for and give us our bodies' rights and as adopted children, including the new bodies He has promised us.

There is great anticipation to come, great glory to come, and yet the world is groaning and waiting.

But the difference between you and I and the world, we have the hope of Jesus.

People are out there.

People are in here, suffering, in agony.

Awaiting at the deepest part of who they are.

For God to fill that gap.

You guys would do me a favor and just bow your heads and close your eyes.

It's nothing weird just to create some space.

Because there are people here today.

Invited, maybe this first time here.

You're awaiting attention.

Just like anyone else.

What you have the opportunity today is to put your faith in the one true God, the creator of the universe, who knows you on a deep level.

He knows every tension you've ever dealt with and are dealing with right now.

And he's awaiting you.

And today I want to give you the opportunity to put your faith in Jesus.

And Jesus is the one who came down, he left perfection, he became into the world, he lived a perfect life.

He was tried as a criminal, even though he was blameless in every way.

And he was hung on a cross.

He was beaten into inches of his life.

And up there, he struggled to breathe every single breath for you and for me.

Up there, he was thinking of you.

The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.

He stepped into our brokenness, into our sin, into our tension, so that he may bring life.

And today, if you've never had the opportunity and time to put your faith in Jesus, I want to present that offer to you today.

With no one looking around, no one's eyes up.

If that's you today, would you just raise your hand?

Praise God.

Praise God.

God sees you and He acknowledges your faith today, and you are forever secure in the Father.

There is nothing you could do or anyone could do to ever strip you away from that.

And what we want us to do, all the believers in the room and all those who raised their hands across our room, across our venues, is to just repeat this prayer out loud.

Jesus, today I choose to put my faith in you.

I believe you were God, that you came to earth and you died for my sins.

I believe you rose again.

Thank you for loving me and for forgiving my sins.

Thanks so much for listening to the message today.

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Man, I love you guys, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.