Detours

This week was supposed to be a really big week. It was supposed to be the week where we shared the crazy amazing news That we were gonna get a building that we passed the city council review that we got to you know The purchase agreement got signed with this China life insurance company. We got our Chinese life insurance company We got this was supposed to be the week where we were gonna say hey, it's all hands-on deck We're rallying together. We need to raise eight million dollars.

That's going you know and and that was gonna be the total cost 4 million for the purchase 4 million for the renovation. I was like, hey, let's rally This is our time. We're going for it right and and instead this week I'm preaching on I'm preaching on the topic of disappointment and dead ends right and and Katie and I man we If you're not on the email list then you probably don't know this yet, but we were we've been on this journey as a community finding a space We found a space in our intills pretty close to here and we found this property and it was listed at 4.2 We negotiated to 4 million, but it's owned by this offshore Chinese company in Beijing and long story short There's a miscommunication between the asset manager for this company That's on the state side and then their company and they originally bought it for eight million And then we had agreed on this price that their attorney had written the purchase agreement And it got delivered to the decision makers within this company and it got caught in bureaucracy and it finally got to the decision makers And and they said oh no, we're not we're not gonna take anything below eight and we had just agreed on four and That's not gonna work, you know, and so It's been at this journey and if you've been around here for long enough You know that we've been on this journey for three years of finding a space and and as I look at this We're still Katie and I we're still kind of reeling in that mode of maybe maybe they're gonna change their mind Right, you know those circumstances really like maybe something's gonna happen Maybe there's this miracle story of all the sudden hey, it's not this one, but this property is gonna just pop up You know I remember Katie and I back in the day we gave away our minivan and we didn't have any other cars It was just like we gave away our one car and we had two kids and We remember having this like faith in our hearts like well We just gave that away, but we know we're gonna escalate in our driveway like next week You know what I'm saying? You know where you're like hey, we gave that away But the Lord's gonna come in and bring us the Escalade for sure like I don't know where it's coming from who hasn't escalated But it's gonna be a brand new escalate They probably don't even have it but it's gonna show up in our driveway and then the Escalade never showed up You know and but we did get a hunt a Hyundai yeah, that's how you say Hyundai Elantra that was falling apart That I what didn't feel comfortable with having her drive on the freeway with our children in You know and so That's not encouraging to any of you or to me right now.

I realize that I realize that that's very discouraging, okay But you know you think hey This this moment here It's just it's gonna create this this miraculous moment of the building lands And this was just something that was a distraction and then it's like the miracle happens And then you search on the market and you realize there's not even leases that were like oh, yeah That's it let alone purchases over the last two weeks since everything's happened And so you kind of sit in this tension of where do we go from here and you feel that? We have to start at square one. I don't know if you've ever felt that way before I think some of us maybe as I look at the stories of this community I look at a lot of your faces and I know there's stories that that are in your lives of dead ends I know that within this room as I look at this community of people I see a collective group of people that have a bunch of dead ends in your stories And I just think about all the the families that have been struggling with infertility I think about all the families that have just miscarried in the last couple years and you you're so excited And then you have to pick up the pieces and you start at square one I think of the relationship that the marriage that failed and ended in divorce and you have to you have to pause and you go Where do I go from here? And you're trying to get that job and you're on this job journey and you're searching for a job and you do all of the work And you fill out the application and you get to the third interview and then for no rational reason they go with the other guy You just got out of debt and your car breaks down and you're back in the hole, right?

You just you've been on Christian mingle for God knows how long and it's another it's another guy where you're like Nope, you know like it's just like he he got out of the car and you're like do I get out of the car? I just like not show you know what I'm saying? That's not what his picture look like, right? So there's Another dead end right?

Maybe you've been experiencing backstabbing in the workplace Maybe you're because of your gender you're not getting promoted even though you're more than qualified and you're outperforming your coworkers But because you're a woman in the business field you're making less and you're you're not getting promoted Maybe you've been anticipating racial equity in your company and it's always one step forward and two steps back And it feels like dead end after dead end and I think as a community We have this collective story of this building But it's really just an opportunity for us to talk about this is how we respond when dead ends happen What all of our lives we experience this and the question is how does a kingdom people respond to dead ends? How does how does the people of God approach these moments so turn your Bible to Psalm 13? This has been a journey and you're gonna hear a lot of things that maybe you've heard before if you've been around for what if you have perfect Attendance then you might remember some of the things that I'm saying tonight We're all my perfect attendance people. You know it's like nobody raise their hands.

We're in 2021 Josh all right Psalm 13 Man, I just I Got to be honest even with this building thing. I'm thinking that this is it How many you know have you you've been there and you're like this is this is it This is ours like all the signs are pointing to like this is our building. This is gonna be great And then you're you're just a week away, you know and you hit the wall. I think that there's so many of us that have been there before and And as I look at this passage with David, he's so honest so real and so raw and we've learned this lesson as a community This is what we do when crap hits the fan when we hit up against the wall The first thing that we do is we don't stuff it you can you can fall into that ditch of like hey, we're good I'm blessed.

I'm gonna white knuck lit. I'm gonna speak in faith. How many of you grew up word of faith? It's like hey, you just ignore it and we're just gonna stuff that and we're just gonna speak life I'm gonna if I don't speak life, then I'm not in faith and God has actually invite us going hey in the pain in the dead end That's where you get more connection in the pain in the difficulty.

That's where we connect and you get real and wrong That's what David did. He threw up everywhere You know what I'm saying? Have you ever heard me say this? You know that moment where you start having nausea and you know there's no going back, right?

But you're in your room in the bathrooms it there, but you're in your bedroom and you're pacing you're like I'm not gonna do it I'm not Nope And you're like am I ready? No, I'm not ever going to throw up I hate throwing up and I'm not gonna do it and then when you actually throw up you feel so much better, right? You feel so much better But that our tendency is when we hit these dead ends and we feel that pain and we feel that discouragement Do you know what most of the time we do we find a friend and we throw up on them That's usually what happens. That's so nasty, right?

If you picture that but that's what oftentimes we do in the pain is we start throwing up on people rather than actually coming to the Lord And being honest because he gets it and he isn't afraid of the mess Right and so as if you've ever been a parent and your child is throwing up Do you know what you feel in your heart you feel so much compassion and you're like holding their hair back and you're like it's okay I love you, you know God is actually the one that can handle the mess It's David is a man after God's own heart and what he does is he goes into throwing up mode all the time All of the Psalms are it's full of lament and what that is his moments of honesty and vulnerability and him just giving the Lord full access Look at the language here in Psalm 13. How long O Lord will you forgive me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul?

Have sorrow in my heart all the day. How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me O Lord my God light up my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death That's my enemy say I've prevailed over him. That's my foes rejoice because I'm shaken David finds a way to go.

I'm not just gonna go into complaining mode all over my friends But I'm actually gonna step into honest real grit with the Lord and most the time our religious way is We have it all together with him because we don't want to offend God and the Lord's going I will not be offended I want connection at your deepest darkest moment. I want that's the time where we go. Okay, let's process let it all out He's the safe one for you in that moment and then what you do so you throw up and we've talked about this before you throw up And then what do you do you chin up you lift your chin? I'm not talking about chin ups I'm not don't worry.

It's okay I'm talking about lifting your chin up to him and as you lift your chin up what you realize you lift your chin off of the Circumstance, that's what's important you lift your chin out of the circumstance and you look at him and you realize He's a manual. He's with me in it The Lord is not some distant far off God that spun the world and then has left and is detached from your life No, he's actually in the trenches. He's in the junk Do you know what you need most of all when you hit the dead end? Someone with you that gets it Someone with you that actually already experienced all the sin done against you the one that's experienced all the disappointment Do you know that he carried in himself on the cross all of your future pain and suffering on the cross?

So you're going no you don't get it Jesus and he's going no I actually already lived your life of pain on the cross and I fully get it I fully understand every single thing that you're feeling I fully felt it in my body and in my spirit and in my emotions on the cross I felt it all I experienced it all in my infinite ability that you don't get I actually fully understand what you're going through and as we lift our eyes off of our problem and into realizing he's with me that's the that's the Massive anchor some massive anchor somebody's with me in my pain because what the enemy is trying to do divide and conquer if I isolate them In their pain destruction follows every time I will conquer that's how the enemy conquers you isolation I'm gonna isolate them and that's where I can really start whispering all the lies That's where I can really start bringing accusation against him. That's where I can did he really say that's what that's when I start saying the enemy I'm talking to enemy starts really saying did he really say that is that who he really is? I don't think he's with you. I think he doesn't have your best in mind I actually think that he's just trying to teach you a lesson because you're a mess and all of that pain and all of that suffering gets magnified and You start going yeah, who the heck is this who who would do this to me?

What kind of God would do this to me and you start railing against God, but it's not actually invulnerability. It's just an accusation the Lord saying hey My shoulders are broad enough, but I want you to know I'm saying on the same side of the table with you I'm a manual with you in it so we vomit we throw up then we chin up and the biggest thing that we get out of chinning up is someone's with me he's with me and Then we get up so throw up chin up and then you get up and you stand to your feet Because you weren't destined to just stay in the valley. How many of you know every vision goes through a valley? Some of us think that we get the vision.

It's like Joseph. He gets the vision. He gets the dream, right? He gets the vision and he's like tomorrow.

I'm gonna be leading my brothers and they're gonna be bowing their knees and Then all of a sudden he gets sold into slavery and then from slavery then he gets betrayed and he goes into a royal prison And he thinks now's my big break the cup bear. He's gonna testify to the king and I'm gonna get set free and it's it's here It's here. I'm gonna get that breakthrough and guess what happens a wall a dead end This is the storyline of so many of our lives, but Joseph He doesn't just believe oh the vision is dead He comes out leaning on the Lord through the valley and that's the fruit of connection when you lift your chin You come out of the wilderness leaning on your beloved and I believe that that that's what we get to have as a people of God We get to actually come up leaning on him going that that that pruning that took place It's actually to prepare me for the promotion that I'm gonna actually walk into When I look at when I look at the heroes of the faith It's just mind-boggling The thing that didn't define Hebrews 11 heroes was their perfect track record of faith The thing that didn't define the heroes of the faith was their perfect track record of righteousness Do you know the common thread of the heroes of the faith of the one common denominator is this They got back up when they got knocked down. There is a bounce back in their spirit They hit the wall and they consider the dead end a detour listen Those dead ends in your life if you have the perspective that he's with you in the driver's seat How many of you ever had a detour on the road and then your kids are like are we there yet?

How long is it gonna be and it's the it's the complaining? It's like the Israelites in the wilderness, right? But for 16 hours are we there yet as like I already told you we're seven hours away are we there yet? And those detours they're detours and less to you it's a dead end But the dead ends become detours when you realize that he's in the driver's seat and you start realizing if I get up And I bounce back and I remember these two truths He's good and that he's working for my good those dead ends turn into detours He's with me.

He's good and he's working for my good because I love him Those are the foundation that you stand on it's honestly It's caveman faith you just go back to like I need to anchor myself on these specific truths These are the things I don't know what I should put my faith in but I know these things for sure caveman faith You're with me you're a manual you're never gonna leave you're good and you're working for my good because I love you and you're gonna turn it I just I believe that's a word for some of you. He's gonna turn it He's gonna turn it for your good even I don't care if what you're going through is so hellish and not of God He's not the one behind it, but I tell you this he's gonna turn it. He's that good He's that type of a leader that it is it Do you know what I'm so shocked by in the circumstance that we're going through and it's it's nothing compared to what many of you guys are going through Is that it rationally doesn't make any sense? That doesn't make any sense when circumstances happen and they don't make sense.

That's the worst It's like well I see how I did that and I see that this is really just because I made a mistake blah blah blah blah But when you start looking at it, you start going through the storyline You're going I did everything that I could of with the circumstances that were dealt to me I did everything that I could have done and it's still what I'm going through is unjust It's still destroying so many things in my life Rationally just doesn't make sense and how do you make sense of a broken world and broken and brokenness and pain and hurt things that last Last a lifetime that's part of your story that I can't believe it actually happened And you kind of wake up miss certain mornings and you're like did that really happen? Did that really happen to me? Did that really happen to my family and the Lord is calling us in The pain to come back into it's okay to throw it up. I want you to remember I want you to lift your chin I'm here.

Do you know that you need that when you're throwing up the thing that we're used to is when we're a mess that we get abandoned But when you lift your chin and in all of your mess. He's still there. There's something that unlocks But if you don't acknowledge that he's there you get hard in your heart and the Lord is going hey lift your chin And as you lift your chin take your eyes off of yourself because I want you to remember that you didn't sign up for happiness You didn't sign up to have your dream life Your whole life is about me. I don't exist son or daughter for you You exist fully for me and we have to have that land.

I am the created I am created. He's the creator My life isn't about me. I actually surrendered control of it being about me and my dreams in my destiny So when the Lord looks at the dream of the base, it's like really means a lot to us Do you know what that he's not that concerned about the destination? He loves the dream he put it in our hearts He loves the dream of you wanting to have a family.

He loves the dream of you wanting to have your own business He loves the dream of you getting a promotion. He loves the dream of you getting married. He loves all those dreams But oftentimes we make it about the destination and the Lord is going the destination is stealing the joy on our ride And it's meant to be a joy ride and that detour. Do you know what it's meant to bring more connection for us?

But the complaining is getting in the way and the self pity is getting in the way Because once you get to the destination, oh man, there's just gonna be more problems All there is is just bigger problems for you waiting on the other side of the car ride and you're gonna hop in another car And you're gonna be headed towards another destination and you're thinking man once I arrive then And it's this hamster wheel of trying to get to a destination and then you start realizing Oh, I need to lift up my chin and see who's with me and he's actually the joy that I've been seeking and I'm thinking joys at the destination and a joys in the car with me and in my pain I don't need the destination the Destination the baby the job the breakthrough financially all of the dead the building the house because you made 14 offers on 14 different houses And you're thinking that it's gonna be the destination the Lord's going. It's actually me that you're seeking It's me that you're longing for it's me that you want And so we get up and as we get up. It's just like the kid. It's like the for bony boys That's just like how it is.

I just see these guys and I'm like it's like the for bony boys Just trucking hitting the wall Bouncing off the wall falling looking up at dad and mom and they're like hey, you're good and they're like yep I'm good and they just keep on running. That's like for bony boy strength. Okay, just name the message for bony boy Strength I don't know Look at what David does in verse 5 he says But I've trusted in your steadfast love in my heart shall rejoice in your salvation look at him He says I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me He moves right into I'm gonna lift my chin and I'm gonna step right into trust because I know you're good and I know that you're working all things for my good because I love you He's going I'm gonna trust you because you're because of your steadfast love and I'm gonna get back up and now I'm gonna have that bounce back in my spirit. I don't know how many of you know you're not promised good circumstances I'm not promised good circumstances.

You're not promised good circumstances But we're following in the footsteps of heroes and heroes just bounce back every time Heroes don't have their lives and the trajectory of their life decided by dead ends Heroes of the faith look at the dead end and go. This is a detour for us Let's go a different path. It's okay. I'm disappointed though, and then you start processing the disappointment Do you know what we're doing?

We're processing disappointment with the Lord. Yeah, I thought there's gonna be a break And most of the disappointment has nothing to do with me. That's what's interesting when you start Oh, okay Do you remember the cards that we handed out? I don't know if any of you guys have the card seek his kingdom first Oh, man, I think the question for many of us that are hitting dead ends is Have you been seeking his kingdom first in the tension of your faith?

So you might be going let's say an example of you're wanting to get pregnant as a couple It's like yeah, I'm seeking his kingdom because that's what God wants He wants us to have children that's like a dream that he put in our hearts I'm seeking his kingdom first, but I want to ask you the question have you asked him What does it look like for us to seek your kingdom first in this journey? Have you actually asked him the question? Collectively, that's what we did That's why we handed out cards that said seek his kingdom first because what happens when you seek his kingdom first is that nothing gets wasted In the journey because the worst thing is when you're on this journey and you're believing for a destination And then the destination doesn't happen and you go this all was wasted all six months all three years It was just a waste of a journey But if you're seeking his kingdom first in the middle of the journey guess what? There's people at three two one Grove Street They're pulling in just a park on the property and they're encountering Jesus in the parking lot because in that detour We were already found praying not that we would get the property in St.

Paul But that there would be people whether it's a parking garage or a church that people are encountering Jesus How many of you know we've been praying for the city council members not that we would get the building But that they would encounter the Lord How many of you know that we've been praying for the insurance company in Beijing China and that there would be Dads of two and and there's I mean like words of knowledge like hey I saw a dad that has guilt because of the one child rule in China that's aborted so many children that doesn't feel like God would ever love them And he's meeting Jesus and I believe in faith He's actually meeting Jesus in this insurance company and he's actually going to be a leader of a Chinese underground church I believe that in this process There was nothing wasted because I was about my father's business because we were driving together in the car And I was thinking about the King and him and his worthiness. Yeah, he's worthy of us having a building like that But man, he's worthy of us seeking his kingdom. No matter the circumstance God is saying take your journey of faith and seek his kingdom first in the middle of it There's something there's something there for so many of us you're in that tension. That's the question That's the question because sometimes you haven't hit a dead end And I'm giving you this word as a word of grace to go hey before you hit the dead end because it probably is coming Oh shoot, I don't want to speak that over you, right?

It's like all of you were to faith people like get off of me in the name of Jesus. I rebuke that right? But let's say the dead end might come I want to be found doing his business Partnering with his heart and that that's how we that's how we go on our faith journeys as a people and when we respond to the dead ends So we just we throw up on him we chin up and then we get up and as we get up we stand He's good. We stand on he's good and he's working for my good even though I can't see it Do you know what faith is faith rationally the dead end rationally doesn't make sense sometimes right?

It's like this doesn't make any sense, but I believe kingdom people their response to dead ends Doesn't rationally make sense I'm gonna respond in the same spirit of that stupid doesn't make sense that you respond like that That's how I'm gonna respond because I'm working with a different perspective That's not just looking at what's in front of me But I'm of a different kingdom that has a different perspective that goes I know that I know that he's working for my good So there's he's gonna turn it He's gonna turn it I just found out $14,000. Oh to the IRS and I'm not shaking he's gonna turn it I just found out that the date that I had tonight. Oh, no, they're not the guy, right? Lord turn it I don't know why there's a dead end over and over and over again But you're gonna turn it for my good And I know right now what I get is more connection even if my only good that I get is intimacy with you in the waiting It's working for my good.

Do you see we got to change our perspective? Our perspective is not on our circumstances making us happy our perspective is it's a joy ride with him And we start looking to the left and we start realizing the destination was never the destination He was always the destination. That was just a thing as a thing that might be something that adds something to my life But he's everything I want to I want to commission us out. I want to pray.

Let's all stand Scott you can come up and play something that we have as part of our story as a church is this whole concept of mustard seed faith and This whole concept of mustard seed faith. It's not based on how big is your faith or how powerful is your faith? The mustard seed in Israel. It's it's a weed that grows in Israel And it's a tenacious weed that actually pushes over boulders because it's so strong and tenacious and it doesn't it's like it's resilient And it just keeps on when he says move mate mountains He's actually paying this picture that all his disciples know that he's talking about the weed of mustard seeds that actually pushes rocks over Throughout Israel because it's such a powerful insidious plant and he's going that's what faith is like it just gets back up It's just that persistent it just gets back up again and firmly plants its feet in your good and you're working for my good And I don't get it and I don't see it right now, but I'm standing in faith and some of you guys are going But I have faith for this circumstance or I have faith for this breakthrough and I'm going praise the Lord But if the dead end happens and the breakthrough doesn't happen if you have prophetic insight to go like I'm still gonna stand Faith for this breakthrough to happen.

That's amazing But if you're like us and this red fox were probably done having prophetic swirl or anything like that We're going this feels like a dead end in that dead end. You know that you're planting yourself firmly This is just how we carry ourselves. We plan ourselves in these two three truths. He's with us He's good and he's always working for my good And I'm just gonna bounce back into that and I'm gonna sit back up again and I'm gonna stand up straighter I just believe some some of us have been like this and we've been in self-pity mode And we've been looking at our own circumstances and our shoulders look like this and we feel we can say and I see us Standing up straight again having our shoulders back and going I know who I am I'm not deterred and I'm not changed by just my circumstances not working out That's not what dictates my joy I have a joy ride with him and I'm standing up straight because that's who I am in the Lord Lord, I thank you for this people It's a bounce back people.

It's a people that have been called to the scenic route with you, Jesus Lord, we thank you that we get to teary with you. We get to wait with you and that all of the waiting means more praying I just declare that over this praying church all of the waiting all of the tension all of the detours They're not dead ends. They're just detours with our Lord They're just detours on the scenic route of the destination being Jesus and we just declare that over ourselves We plant ourselves firmly as a house as individuals as couples as families as households as groups of friends We stand on the foundation of faith that my God will never leave me. My God will not forsake me My God is good all the time all the time He is good and he's always working for my good.

I serve a God that turns it all the time I serve a God that flips it with an enemy meant for evil what the hellish thing that I'm going through I he's just turning it Every single time he's turning it for my good. It's always for my good. No nothing that the enemy can do can deter me from my stance in his Goodness. I'm they're like concrete.

I'm like a mustard seed man. I'm a mustard seed woman You can't determine the mountain always moves because I'm persistent in faith. Lord. We thank you that this is who we are In the tension will be found leaning in the valley on the other side of it when we see the vision go through the valley We thank you that we are found leaning humble You've been pruning and we appreciate your pruning Holy Spirit We appreciate it and we thank you that that humbling is preparing me to have a grace to steward your promotion Thank you, Jesus.

You're the best leader. I'm the follower Lord. We trust you as our leader in Jesus name amen amen Hey, we love you guys and I just believe that this word is through so many of us as a family And I just want you to just decide in your hearts even as families going I'm gonna steadfastly be firm in these beliefs. Okay, so we love you guys.

We'll see you on Wednesday