You Need this Season | John Challinor

The Bible is so relevant to today. And in fact,

today's section, it could not be more ordinary.

It's going to talk about ordinary life with an

amazing complexity. But before we get there,

I was reminded of a story this week. And it's

about a Brazilian fisherman. And the Brazilian

fisherman goes out to fish in the morning. He

catches a couple of large fish. He puts them

in the boat. He's coming back. He pulls his boat

up on shore. And his plan is this. He's going

to sell those fish. and take some home and sell

the other ones. But his day is done and it's

mid -morning. Well, as he's pulling his boat

up on shore, there's a businessman there. And

the businessman looks at him and is curious why

he's stopped fishing. So he goes over to him

and he goes, hey, what are you doing? He goes,

well, my day is done. I've caught everything

I need to. I'm just enjoying the boat and the

sun right now. He goes, and then what? He goes,

well, I'll go home from here. He goes, I'll swing

by the market on the way home and I'll drop off

and sell some fish and I'll go home and we'll

have lunch. And I'll play with my kids and maybe

take a nap with my wife at some point and hang

in the hammock. And he goes, we'll play some

music maybe together, maybe later around dinner.

We'll just spend some family time. And he goes,

and then later I might actually go hang out with

the boys tonight. And the businessman goes, well,

why didn't you stay out fishing? He goes, you

could have caught more fish. He goes, then what?

He goes, well, you could sell them and get more

money. He goes, then you could buy another boat.

He goes, so now you would have like a fleet of

boats. He goes, and once you got those boats

and those, you could hire some people. He goes,

you may get to the point where you don't even

have to go fishing. They go fishing for you.

And he goes, well, then what? He goes, well,

once you've built, you know, kind of your fishing

fleet empire, so to speak. He goes, then you

can maybe move out of this area. Maybe you move

to like one of the cities like Rio. Maybe get

yourself like that apartment. Maybe even buy

an apartment complex, depending on how good your

fishing is going. And he goes, you know what?

You could probably can the fish and then you

can reach a whole new market. And he goes, well,

that all sounds good, but then what? He goes,

well, then you could, maybe if your company gets

big enough, you just publicly trade it. He goes,

and so now you'll make so much money off of that,

you don't have to do any of the work. You can

actually hire managers to oversee your business.

And so now you've got more money. You're a king,

essentially. You don't know what to do. And he

goes, well, then what? He goes, well, then you

could buy the house you've always wanted in the

village, and you could spend your day on the

boat. And he goes, isn't that what I'm doing?

I think it summarizes Ecclesiastes for us. Ecclesiastes

is where we've been in the collection on Step

Into the Ring. But in Ecclesiastes, it's the

richest man, the most famous man. It's the guy

that's got the houses. He's got everything that

you go. That's what you should be attaining for.

He's got all of those. And what he says is this.

Then what? Then what? What does it matter? Let

me ask it this way. If you had every success

you ever wanted in the field that you're going

into, if you have your dream scenario, let me

ask you, then what? If you become the best in

your field, if you become the athlete you always

wanted to be, if you become the most recognized

person in that area, if you got the house you

wanted, let me ask you, then what? Because here's

the problem. It was never designed to carry the

meaning that your soul is looking for. Right?

Like we are in a fight for meaning. If you are

human, you are in a fight for meaning. You are

always trying to define meaning. You are always

trying to gain more from something than it was

ever meant to give you. And that's the whole

point of what he's been getting at. And then

he hits chapter 3 and he says this. There is

a time for everything and a season for every

activity under the heavens. A time to be born

and a time to die. A time to plant and a time

to uproot. Anybody have a song in their head

right now? To everything? Turn, turn, turn, right?

We just had to get that out of the way. Otherwise,

you're going to think about that the whole time.

So now we've done that, we're past it, okay?

Verse one again. There is a time for everything,

a season. What is he connected? Time and season.

There is a time and there is a season. for everything

and every activity under the heavens. You, you,

another way to say that is, you are a physical

body bound in time and seasons. You are a physical

body bound in time and seasons. You are here

in this time, in this place, and you are bound

to it. And in Genesis chapter 1, listen to the

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

rhythms, the seasons that are built in. Genesis

Genesis 1:5

chapter 1, verse 5, and there was... and there

was morning the first day. So in creation, in

the created order, there's this rhythm to it.

Verse 8, and there was evening and there was

morning the second day. Verse 13, and there was

evening and there was morning the third day.

Verse 19, and there was evening and there was

morning the fourth day. And there was evening,

verse 23, and there was evening and there was

morning the fifth day. Verse 31. God saw all

that he had made and it was very good. And there

was evening and there was morning, the sixth

day. Guess what happened on the sixth day? God

took humans that he had created and he put them

inside of the perfect environment. And inside

of that perfect environment, there were rhythms

and there were seasons and there was time. You

and me and humanity were planted. We are bound

by times and seasons. You are a human being that

was always intended to live in a place where

the sun came up and the sun went down. And you

have no control over the sun coming up and the

sun going down. And every single day you have

a reminder. of the sun coming up and the sun

going down. And what it's screaming at you is

you are not in control. Why? Because I'm bound

to a place that has time and it has seasons,

it has rhythm and it has movement, but I'm bound

to it, right? Which is why he says in the next

one, he begins to give examples of this. There's

activity and there's everything under the heavens.

He goes, there's a time to be born and a time

to die. You didn't choose, I didn't choose where

I was born, when I was born, right? None of that.

The family I was born into, you didn't choose

any of that. Isn't it amazing that's how we start

and all of a sudden we think we're in control?

Like all of a sudden I think I got decisions,

right? And God goes, I had a friend who grew

up, he was in a missionary family, and he often

talked about that his house was here and a hundred

feet away. was a tribal hut where his best friend

from the village lived. And he talked about the

struggle that happened internally because he

would hear the things, he would understand the

depravity and the pain and the suffering that

his friend had been born into. And he goes, I

was born literally 100 feet away into... everything

that was different about life, where I had everything

at my disposal. And he goes, I didn't choose

any of it. I didn't choose to be born here and

he didn't choose to be born there. Why? Because

you don't choose where you were born. It's right

out the gate. He's going, there's an activity.

You're bound by time and seasons. And guess what?

You didn't even choose the season you're born.

Guess what? You won't choose the season you die.

You have no choice. Death is coming. Isn't it

amazing? Like you've been to a memorial and you

sit in a memorial and there's the montage. You

know what I mean? And the total side note, I

wasn't planning on going here. The more pictures

you take, you ever notice we take pictures like

like lots of pictures now. Good luck when I die

going through my pictures. Right. Like like how

you're going to pick whatever. Right. And so

if you notice, you used to go to a memorial and

it was like two and a half minutes to a song

that would make you cry. Now it's like 15 minutes

because there's so many pictures. Okay, my soapbox

is over. Make shorter montages, people. But here's

the reality. Let's say it's eight minutes, two

songs. That's an entire life in eight minutes.

I was chatting with somebody this week. It was

actually Caleb, one of our worship leaders. He's

our worship pastor here at the church. And he

was talking about a young man that had passed

away. And he goes, the photo's on Instagram.

He goes. within seconds you can go back to his

birth. Why? Because we understand we're bound

into a season where our birth and our death,

right? Like if you were here for just camping,

we know this life, we're not, like, what are

we doing? We're not staying. No matter how hard

you try. And so there's a season that we're born

into. That verse continues on. It says a time

to plant and a time to uproot, a time to plant.

And obviously you bring naturally goes to like

plants in the ground and and it becomes. It's

not bearing fruit anymore. So you remove it,

you uproot it, right? So you're planting with

the hopes of something and you're uprooting.

I would put it into life this way. If you've

ever had a kid that's gone to college or if you

ever had a sibling that's gone to college or

anybody you've known, they have a whole life

that they've planted in this space and then they

uproot it and move it here. And then they will

uproot it and move somewhere else. If you are

a person that's moved to this neighborhood, so

to speak, this part of the world, and you're

here and you're going, man, I had such good community

back there and I just can't find my people here.

Be patient. You uprooted. And some of you, it

was a lifetime. Some of you, it was 10 years

of friendships. And you got here and you're like,

I can't find anybody. And you go, how long has

it been? Like a month. It takes time because

you're putting down roots, you're planting. He

goes, there's a season for this, a time to kill.

Verse three, a time to kill and a time to heal.

That word kill is violently kill. And probably

my favorite context to put that in for us is

that there are sins in your life that you need

to violently kill. There are things that are

hurting you, hurting your relationships, hurting

the people around you. You've become a user of

people and you need to violently kill the sin

that is in your life. It is not good for you

and it is not good for them. That's the wording

that's used here. There is a time to violently

kill, but there's also a time to heal. Some of

you are in a season where you have been deeply

wounded and you just need to heal. You just need

to take time and realize I'm in a season where

the best thing I can do is go through. And that

healing is a complete healing. It's a redeemable

healing. A time to tear down and a time to build.

The tear down has to do with breaching a wall.

If you were alive during the Berlin Wall coming

down, they breached the wall. It came down and

they tore it apart. That's the idea here. What

context that this fits into is relationships.

You know what we do in relationships? We build

walls, right? Like you hurt me, that offense,

I take a brick, I put it down, slap some mortar

on it. The next time you hurt me, I put it down

and I'm building a wall between us, right? You

ever meet somebody that's been married a little

while and you're like, if you could go back to

when they first met, they're like, I'm marrying

my best friend, right? 10 years later, I hate

you. Well, they built a wall. It didn't happen

overnight. They built a wall between them. This

tear down has ripped the wall. It's a physical

activity to take it brick by brick apart. I would

say this, that if you have relationships where

you go, you know what? It feels like something's

off. It feels like it's distant. Then maybe just

breach the wall. Maybe you've built a wall and

you've got to tear it down. Another side of that,

though, is that there's time to build up. There

is a time to use boundaries. There is a time

that's appropriate in relationships to have healthy

boundaries where that person is not allowed to

continue to harm. Verse 4, a time to weep. And

a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time

to dance. I love that a lot of these have to

do relationally. It requires other people in

it with you. There is a time to laugh and there's

a time to cry. That's what it's getting at. But

you do that with people. There's a time to mourn.

If you're in mourning, the worst thing you can

do is isolate yourself. The idea is that you

mourn with people. And there's a time to dance.

Dancing is a whole lot more fun if you're with

people. It's a whole lot more comfortable by

yourself. A time to scatter stones and a time

to gather them. This one has to do with resources.

So the original context, they believe, was a

field. And when somebody was coming in to occupy,

like an enemy was going to take over your area,

you would go and scatter stones into the field

to ruin the field for them. So when they occupied,

the field was no good to them. Essentially, you

were hurting them. subverting the empire, so

to speak. But then the other side of that is

a time to gather them. That if you've got a project,

gathering stones helps you build that project.

And so the idea of resources, what are you doing

with your resources? It's a time to scatter and

there's a time to gather. A time to embrace and

a time to reframe from embracing. If you're going

to date my kid, you ain't embracing. Just saying.

So stupid. Don't laugh at that. Verse six, a

time to search and a time to give up. A time

to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear

and a time to mend. A time, gentlemen, a time

to be silent and a time to speak. Husbands in

the room, there's a time to just shut up. How

do I know? I'm the king. Amen. There we go. Notice

the guy wasn't saying amen. There's just a time

to shut up. There's just a time when your words

are not going to help. There's a time when specifically

if somebody is in grief, I would just encourage

you, your words, your words don't mean nearly

as much as your presence. And a lot of times

we're uncomfortable when somebody's going through

grief. So guess what we do? We just verbally

vomit, right? Like we just keep talking to fill

the space. They don't need you to fill the space.

They need you to just feel what they feel. They

need you to just sit with them. There will be

a time. As some of us, when you get into grief,

you can have all kinds of thoughts about God

and what he's doing. And that's okay. That's

okay. It's part of life. It's one of the seasons.

You may hear questions from somebody that you're

like, I didn't know you could ask this question.

I got to fix this right now because you're asking

something about God. You're asking if he's even

there. And so we panic and we go, I got to fix

this. I got to make sure their doctrine's okay.

That is not the time to fix their doctrine. That

is not the time to tell them all the theology

of God and what you think. That is the time to

go, man, I feel that. I can understand how you

feel that way. And then shut up. There's a time

to be silent. But you know what? There is a time

to speak. I would say when you come across injustice,

the church, church, church, church, people of

God, you better have a voice when it comes to

injustice. Why? Because our God has a voice when

it comes to injustice. When you find people marginalized,

when you find them oppressed, guess what? It

is a time to speak up. That is our role in the

world. Why? Because Jesus stepped up and he spoke

up for us when there was injustice and marginalizing

and when we were oppressed. A time to love and

a time to hate. I hate my fantasy football team.

They are 0 -2 and they have lost really, really

poorly. I hated football last weekend entirely

because the Steelers also got destroyed. There's

a time to love and there's a time to hate. There's

an appropriate action. You know what it says

in the Bible? Hate what is evil. Right? Cling

to what is good. Cling to God. Hate what's opposite

of God. Right? There's a time for it. When you

find things that are opposite of God, like cell

phones in church. I'm just kidding. Just kidding.

You were all faking it. I just said it. But there's

a time, there's a time, time to love and there's

a time to hate. There's a time for war and a

time for peace. That word peace is shalom when

everything will be put back together as it should

be. Here's what's crazy. You've got eight verses,

and in eight verses, you've got ordinary life.

Those are things every single person, if you

are human, you, because you are bound to space

and time, you are bound to time and seasons,

you are going to go through these things if you

haven't already. You cannot avoid them. Why?

Because they are part of this life. They are

part of the rhythms, right? And that's what he's

getting at. This is ordinary life coming at you.

So then he goes in verse nine, he says, what

do workers gain from their toil? He's all the

way back to chapter one, verse three, where he's

going, so what profit is there in any of this?

So the seasons that you go through, you may be

going, what's the profit? What do I gain? Verse

10, he says this, I have seen the burden God

has laid on the human race. I have seen the burden.

I think the wisest man that ever lived, the man

who had everything you could ever want, he had

all the experiences, everything, right? And what

does he say? Man, I see how hard this life is.

I see how hard these seasons are. Remember, we

live in a Genesis 3 world. We talked about this

last week, right? Like Genesis 1 and 2, God creates

everything perfect. Sin enters, it breaks it,

it shatters it. We live in a broken form of what

is. And he's just recognizing that in the broken

form, where we are still time -bound bodies in

time and seasons, right? Like we're still physically

bound, right? Like you're in a body. He goes,

you're going to go through this, and it's okay

for it to be hard and difficult and be a burden.

He goes, it's not easy. So then in verse 11,

he says this. He has also set eternity in the

human heart. He has also set eternity in the

human heart. That makes you an extremely complex

being. On the days where you're like, somebody

asks you how you feel, I don't know how I feel.

It's okay to be complex. You just take them to

this verse. Right? Because he just got done with

ordinary life and he goes, you're physically

bound in time and seasons. But then he goes,

but inside of you, and he uses this word, we

translate it heart, but it's really like mind,

soul, will. Right? Like it's everything that

makes up the internal you. We would call that

the soul. Your soul is bound by eternity. So

while you're physically bound by time and seasons,

the sun up, sun down, your soul is bound by eternity.

What that means is, old men, we don't get it.

You know why? You ever meet an old man that looks

at his kid, maybe this one, looks at his kid

and goes, I can beat you in a race. And you set

off on the race and 10 yards in, you're like,

oh, that's the hammy. Why? Because internally,

Internally, we don't feel old. Right? It's not

until you look in the mirror that you're like,

whoa, we got gray. Right? It's not internally.

We're still like, we can still do that. We can

still carry that. And you go to pick it up and

your back goes, no, you can't. Internally, eternity

is in our souls. I don't think your soul ages.

I don't think your soul is like this thing that

is in the same decay as your body. You know how

I know? I was here. You guys see that. I know

you guys did because I saw some of you out there

with your cameras. You see the sunset Wednesday

night? Yeah, it's pretty wild. I think we have

a picture maybe of the sunset. That's pretty

crazy, huh? Simon took that. So just in case

you're curious, we'll give cred. Man, I saw that

sunset, and in my soul, I'm like, it's so good.

It's so rich. I got to my life group, and my

life group is sitting outside. Guess what they're

staring at? The sunset, because internally, we're

like, God is painting, and when God paints, there's

something right. You have moments in your life

where you go, I just want this moment to stay

forever. It's so beautiful. It's so good. That's

eternity inside your heart, right? You were made

for forever, but you're physically bound in time

and seasons. That's the complexity that he's

getting at here. And then he says in that same

verse, he says he hasn't made everything beautiful

in its time. He has said eternity. He has said

eternity in the human heart. He has made everything

beautiful in its what? Time. Wait, eternity is

in your heart. You recognize the eternal, right?

Like my soul knows it. My body is trapped in

time. But he goes, he has made everything beautiful

in its time. That word time is the same word

that's above. He's making it beautiful in the

complexity of I'm trapped in time. But eternally,

I know my soul knows it's for more. He goes right

here in this season. Right here in this season,

I'm making it beautiful. That word beautiful

is I am fitting it together. I am fitting it

together. That's what that word beautiful means,

that God, God is the agent. And what is God doing?

God is putting your season that you are in. He

is fitting it in its time perfectly, knowing

that your soul, knowing that your soul is geared

on eternity and you're physically trapped in

space and time and season. He goes, I'm working

this moment right here. It's interesting. The

graphic for this collection, the idea of you're

in a fight for meaning, right? So it's the boxing

ring. But there's a tree stump. And you might

go, that's weird. Why do we put it on a tree

stump? Well, we talked about, right? The rings

are the time and place. But you know what those

rings do? When the tree is in a season where

it's got everything it needs. Right, like everything

is there for the tree to flourish. There's no

resistance, meaning there's plenty of rain, plenty

of sun, plenty of long days. Everything is as

it should be. Guess what the tree does? It grows

really fast. And if you were to cut the tree

open, what you would see in that moment of growing

really fast is the ring on the tree is marked

by a light color. And what it's telling you,

it's marking the season, that this season was

a season where it was. healthy and resistant

free. And I was able to grow a lot is what the

tree is telling you. But that same tree, when

in drought, creates a different ring. That same

tree, when it doesn't have as much sun, that

same tree, when it has a lot of storms, that

same tree that has a lot of resistance will produce

a dark ring next. And here's what's fascinating.

The dark ring is actually where Through the resistance,

the hardwood comes. And so if you've ever been

to the tropics and you look at the canopy of

the jungle, right? And the trees are tall and

the canopy is large. Guess what happens when

the hurricane comes? Those trees snap first.

You know why? They grew without resistance. They

grew without seasons. The trees that stand when

the hurricane comes are the ones that go through

seasons. They've developed the dark rings. They've

developed the ability. So here's what's fascinating.

The trees that are shorter, that don't have as

large canopies, when the hurricane comes, they're

the ones that stay standing. But they have to

go through the seasons. What this is saying is

that God fits the seasons. And in Romans chapter

Romans 8:28

8, verse 28, it says this, and we know, and we

know. Who's we? We the church. We God's people.

We know that in all things. How many things?

Every season you will face. Everything you're

going through. Everything in your ordinary life.

Everything that you're bound to in this life.

It says that we know in all things God works.

God works. That word work is where we get the

word synergy. So between your all things and

God, that creates the synergy. For what comes

next? That he works all things for good of those

who love him and who have been called according

to his purpose. For those God foreknew, he also

predestined to be conformed to the image of his

son. What is God doing in your season? God is

taking all things, including the season you prefer

not to be in, and God is taking that. And because

that is in the same conversation with God who

fits all things together, the synergy that's

created is good in your life. Even though the

season is hard, he's creating good in your life

today. And what is the good? That you would look

like Jesus. The good is that you are going to

be transformed. The good is that the season,

you need this season. Without the season, you

will not be shaped into the person of Jesus Christ.

So while you're down here, you can clap. Go ahead,

I'll let you. We'll have a clap break. But while

you're down here and you're frustrated with the

season, while you're down here and it's hard

because you're trapped and you're bound, in eternity

you're going, I just want to be gone. Well, you're

here. You just need to know that there's a God

who loves you and he's working all things. He's

using it. And if you remove the all things or

you remove God, you don't get the synergy to

transform you into Jesus. Back in Ecclesiastes.

Yet no one can fathom. So he has made everything

beautiful in its time. He has set eternity in

the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God

has done from beginning to end. You know what

that means? It means you're in a scene of a movie.

And your scene is not the whole movie. My kids

made me watch a three -hour movie recently. Yeah,

it's a fun time. Especially when it's a movie

you've already seen. Right? But can you imagine

that three hour movie or maybe a better context

is I know some people that are listening to like

a 35 hour audio book. That's ridiculous. That's

a long time. But can you imagine if I pop into

your audio book that's 35 hours long and I pop

in and I listen to five minutes and I'm like,

I don't get it. I don't get the plot. I don't

get the, that's your life. Your life is a scene

in the story of God. And we're down here in the

scene going, no, no, no, no. I want to control

it and I want to make sure it makes sense. And

so you grab the pen and you try and write the

end of the story. The problem is you don't know

the story because you're in a scene. And you've

got to accept I'm in a scene. I took my kid,

my 15 -year -old, driving last Sunday for the

first time. She did great. She did great. What

was interesting was she gets into the car and

it's the first time she's ever been behind a

wheel. And she puts it in drive. And what happens

when you take your foot off the brake and it's

in drive? It moves forward. She goes, oh, I don't

like that. And she did great. She drove where

I told her to drive and did the things she needed

to do. But here's what's interesting. She's a

hold of the wheel. And she's in that moment.

And what she can see is where. right in front

of her. What's my next step? What do I do? What

am I doing? I'm aware of everything else. Every

car, every person, where she's going next, what

she needs to do, if she's going to become a driver

on the road that's a benefit to society, right?

She's going to need this moment. She's going

to need this. But how ridiculous of her if she

goes, no, I don't like where I am. I'm going

to take control and do what I want to do and

go where I want to go. She would end up in a

what? A wreck. Some of you are trying to take

the steering wheel of your life instead of accepting

what God has got for you in the season that you're

in. So what do we do with all this? Listen to

what he tells us to do. I know that there is

nothing better. There's nothing better. So the

guy who had everything, nothing better. The guy

who did everything, nothing better. For people

then to be happy. Be happy. You know what that

means in the original? Choose joy. It's activate

joy. But John, you don't understand. I don't

need to understand what you're going through.

What I know is you are maybe not in control of

anything else, but what you can control in this

moment is you will choose joy. You know why?

Because God is still in control. God has still

got it. He's still got the whole story, which

means that I can go in this moment when even

though things aren't, I can't see them. I don't

know what they look like. I can only see the

scene. I can choose joy right here, right now.

He goes, be happy. What's the next thing he says?

Do good. You know what do good is? Do righteousness.

What is righteousness? What is the right action

required of me according to God? Just do that.

Maybe another way to say it, if you remember

from last week, the idea of see good is to see

God. So to do good is to do God. What would God

do right here, right now? Well, God would be

kind to the person next to you because he's been

kind. You know that. He's been kind to you. What

would God do? And then just do it. Do good while

you live. That each of them may eat, drink, and

find satisfaction in their toil. This is the

gift of God. Out of everything we talked about,

all of the seasons, all of the ordinary life,

what does he say that you should do today? Leave

here and get something to eat and get something

to drink. And find satisfaction. What does not

find satisfaction? If you were here last week,

you know that that phrase means to see good.

And if you see good, you see God. And if you

see God, you see Jesus. Why? Because God is good.

So eat. Drink and see God. I think, man, man,

when God put this thing together, there's some

Jedi mind tricks in it, let me tell you. Because

when Jesus is with his followers and he's about

to leave and they're about to head into a season

that's unknown, what does he tell them to do?

Eat, drink. And what? Remember me, see me. Hold

up. It's that easy? Yeah. Because you know what

happens? If you're in grief today, it's a hard

season. It's painful. No one would choose it.

We weren't meant to live with it, by the way.

Genesis 3 world has death. God's created order

did not have death. You know why we don't know

how to handle death? It's because we were never

meant to live with death. It was never meant

to be a part of our world. That's why we don't

know what to do with it. That's why it doesn't

fit. That's why it feels so weird. That's why

grief tripping us up five years later is so awkward.

But if you're in one of the worst moments of

life, guess what the best thing you can do is?

Eat, drink. Why? Well, when I go from here, or

you go from here, and you put a plate of food

in front of you, where'd it come from? Did it

come from you? It came from God. He provided

today. So when I eat, what am I actually reminding

myself of? Divine provision from God. So when

I eat, I'm reminded, you gave this to me, and

if you're in control of the very food I eat,

you're more than in control of the season that

I'm in. And I know in my season, you're working

all things for good, right? Wait, wait, when

I take a drink of water, you realize how blessed

we are to have faucets that you can drink the

water out of? My gosh, talk about spoil. You

know how many people in the world have to walk

just to get a glass of water? Spend their whole

day, day after day, collecting water. Why? So

my family can drink. And what do you do? You

go over to the faucet and leave it running. Because

we're that blessed. I'm glad you laughed. I thought

it was funny. With that blessed, that's what

it's supposed to remind you when you get a glass

of water, right? Like we go to a restaurant,

it's like the lowest thing offered. You want

some water? And water is screaming how blessed

you are. And it reminds me that if God can provide

water today, he can provide that today. When

you eat and when you drink, see God. When you

take the bread. It is impossible to eat the bread

in this setting and not remember a God who died

for you and his name was Jesus. Eat the bread

and remember Jesus. Eat the bread, see Jesus.

Drink the wine, see Jesus. So the next moments

are yours. You're gonna eat, you're gonna drink.

What do you need to see of God? What do you need

to be reminded of of God? And then we'll take

it all together. Jesus told his disciples, take,

eat, and do this in remembrance of me. He took

a glass of wine, and he talked about a new covenant,

a covenant of grace, that in the shedding of

his blood, His blood would pay for your sin,

your shame, your guilt, and you would be forgiven

and whole. To see the cup of juice is to see

the blood of Jesus. God is that good to us. And

so he said, take drink, do this in remembrance

of me. That idea of to choose joy. It's active.

It's choice. It's in the moment that even in

the season I'm in, I get to choose joy. To do

good. What is good in this moment? It's to recognize

that everything I've been given by God. That

you have a voice. That you have a mind that allows

you to put words into shape and form that you

can honor God with. And so when I sit and you

see the story and you see what God's doing, that

even in this moment while I'm time bound and

my soul is made for eternity, in this moment

I can do and ascribe value and worship that they

are ascribing in eternity today. That he's worthy

of it all. That everything you have to offer,

he's worthy of. And no one else in your life

that's true of. because he's worthy of every

part of you. So would you stand where you are?

We're going to worship together.