I remember so many moments throughout the years where Katie and I would just hear rumblings about Stephen being in his basement and it's like an unfinished basement and just staying at the piano and pouring out his heart before the Lord. And man, I play the piano as well. I don't know if any of you know that. I would never play in front of another human, but I do know a couple chords.
I don't know what chords they are, so don't ask me what. Don't even ask me the key, but I can play a couple. And you know, it's funny Katie and I have this joke around my voice memos app because I have so many voice memos of me singing songs to the Lord thinking like, wow, this is a really good one. She's like, why don't you just put a name on them?
It's just like voice memo 420, you know? And anyways, I have this voice memo. This is vulnerable. I have this voice memo that I keep on going back to where I was just in the front room of our house.
It's kind of like the room where I spent time with the Lord's where we have a piano. And I remember just sitting at the piano in a time where I felt like it was dead in after dead end, you know? And it felt like dead ends and not detours. And I remember sitting at the piano and just singing to the Lord, you know just what I need.
You know just what I need. And that he was a good shepherd. And I was singing around that and honestly I just keep on going back to that five minute voice memo. And this message was actually birthed out of that season and I want to share it with you.
Not the song, please. I'm not going to share that with you. But I think that what I was singing out was actually a declaration over my soul that was the truth that I needed to know. And I think that what I want to provide to you is what I think many of you need to know.
During your season that you might be feeling like you're in a wilderness time like Stephen was singing about or you're feeling like, man, how long is this thinking of last? You know? This season or this stage of my life was still going to be going. I thought it was going to be a little bit shorter.
I thought that I was going to be farther along. I'm speaking to somebody. I thought I was going to not be left behind. I thought I was going to be where all of my peers are, whatever it be.
What your plans were and what you thought your life was going. So many of us in the room are going, man, I didn't know who was going to look like this. You look back and you go, what the heck happened? Where did all the time go?
I thought that my story was going to be different than this. I thought the mountaintops were going to be higher. I thought they were going to last longer. And now I have to kind of pick up the pieces.
And some of us are in the tension. You're going, I want whatever I'm going through right now, when is it going to end? And you're going, okay? If you would just tell me how to finish this leg of the race, then it'll be great.
You know? Some of us are just, you're starting to realize in your everyday life you're more frustrated than you thought. Or you're a little bit more quick to anger than you remember being. And you're going, I'm not, I don't struggle with worry or fear.
That's not a problem for me. But really if you looked under the hood, you're going, man, why am I just so quick to being annoyed or frustrated? Really what's feeding that frustration is worry. There's something that's prodding you along in everyday life.
And you're kind of going, or maybe you're getting a little bit more angry than you used to. And what's actually feeding that anger is fear of something. Fear of an opinion, fear of a deadline, fear of, is this going to continue on? And whatever it is, it's like a deadline is coming.
The deadline is the baby that's going to wake up again. And they're going to cry again. And they're going to be my alarm clock again, way too early again. Or the credit card interest just keeps on growing.
It gets bigger and bigger and bigger and the elderly parent is needing care. And what do I do with all of my time? Because I'm retired and I'm an empty nester. I wish every day would just end.
But then I have to wake up again and I don't know how to fill my time. The car payment just keeps on hitting at the wrong time. And why the heck is synthetic oil so much more expensive? Some of you are like, this is my year.
It's the T-wolves. They're going to not just go to the playoffs, but they're going to go through. And the finals are coming and you're like, man, is JJ going to get re-signed with the Vikings or not? And you're really carrying a lot of weight during the season.
I'm scared. But you're going to, man, some of us are, it's one deal to the next. If I don't get this one, if I don't hit this one out of the park and you go from one thing that's causing you anxiety to the next and you're on this hamster wheel of what Jesus talks about when he says you can't serve both God and money in Matthew 6. And you start realizing the thing that's actually prodding you forward in everyday life and driving you is actually the desire for comfort.
It's the desire for the American dream. It's the desire for convenience. It's the desire for happiness that can be found in all of the other places and strategies other than him. And you start realizing that self is God.
And Jesus is like, hey, if you want to follow me, you kind of have to dethrone money. You got to dethrone self and you got to give me the throne. Because in Matthew 6 he starts talking about this is what feeds anxiety. What feeds anxiety is this like you bad-eye good-eye, which means are you free of money?
Are you free of the American dream really? And then he says you can't add an hour to your life. Or like, man, I feel like I don't have enough time. How many of you have said that?
So it's like there's not enough time in the day. Yeah? And you're like, my to-do list gets longer. At the end of my work day, I just worked nine hours.
And now it's a longer to-do list. How is that possible? How is that possible? So I speak to my coworkers.
We want this season to be over. And we feel like there's so many dead ends. And what I do is I put my head down in plow. Some of you are like me and you're like, I'm going to achieve this thing.
Man, I get knocked down. I'm going to get back up again. I'm going to fix it. Some of you are the planners.
And you are the ones that are like expectations people. Expectations people. Yeah. And you don't want the party to be a surprise.
You want to know when it's going to happen? Right? Don't surprise me. Just tell me what's coming.
And you want to know the plan? And if there's a problem, you're going to fix it. And you're going to find the solution. And if you don't find the solution, you will work till there's no more, like, you will white knuckle the thing.
And you might be trying to solve the problem for years. And you don't get tired. You're really tired, but you just don't let yourself get tired. You stuff that tiredness down and you buck up, right?
And when there's decisions that need to get made, you go to God and you go, Lord, give me the marching orders. I'm just ready. I'm going to make all these decisions. I'm going to make them quick.
I'm going to make this happen, right? And then there's some of you that are just roll with it, people. Just roll with the punches, bro. You know?
Or you're just like, hey, I like the surprise of it all. You know? I just like the surprise. And the decisions that need to get made, you kind of go like, yeah, somebody's working to make the decisions.
And what you really mean by working to make the decision is somebody else is going to make the decision. And you're like, you approach problems and you're like, this is a problem. You name the obvious and you go, there's solutions for this problem. Every problem has a solution.
You know? And you kind of, instead of fixing it, you wish that the problem would get fixed. And you're really wishing. Yeah.
That hits you. That hits somebody. And the planner, how many of you are planners, expectations, people? Raise your hand.
Planner's expectation, people. It's like, do not surprise me with a party. All right. And how many of you are like, do not tell me what you got for Christmas.
Surprise, people, right? Different worlds. Yeah. Honestly, we should probably have them raise their hand in all you singles that are like planners.
You get to marry the surprise people. And then you get to live a life of conflict. Now I'm just kidding. Okay.
And refinement. I'm just playing. Okay. Okay.
But the planners and expectations, people, most of you are those plowers that you're like, okay, I'm feeling anxiety and worry. And it comes out in frustration and anger. And then all of the people that are like surprise people and you're going, man, I, you know, I'm not going to fight to fix it. I'm just going to let it happen.
And usually it works out. And those are the people that when it doesn't work out, you start entering into hopelessness and discouragement and feeling helpless and depressed. And I'm putting these into two camps and I know that it's not like a black and white thing at all. And you're like, I'm both.
And that's normal. But what I want to name is that when both hit that, it's not working. Why am I still here? Why is there not a solution?
Why have I not moved on? Why am I still in this? And why is this still broken? And why am I left behind?
And why am I not seeing the breakthrough? And why can't I catch a break? What happens is as followers of Jesus, we kind of hit our breaking point and then we decide, I've tried to do the pros and cons list so many times. And none of it's working for me.
And now, I guess I'm going to go to the Lord. Right? I guess I'm going to go to Him. And you go to the Lord and you're like, all right, Lord, tell me what to do.
And you go left or right. Right? And then the Lord's, you feel, you thought that He said left. You know, because you're like, give me out of the wilderness.
I want to be done with this season. I want to be done with this. And I want to get into a new season because I'm tired of the pain. I'm tired of the discouragement.
And I just want to be done with it. So move me along. Do I go left or right to get out of my misery? Right?
And then you're like, I think He said left. But then you've done so many pros and cons lists about left versus right. They're like, did He say left? I don't really like left.
Have any of you tried to ask the Lord questions? And then you thought He said something but now you're second guessing? Or you ask Him a question and it's just crickets. You got all this traffic in your head.
God, please bring me out of this place. And He's not saying anything. So then you kind of like change it up. You know, you're like, Lord, Father, Father, Father, You are worthy of so much praise and honor.
You are the guide. Holy Spirit, thank You for being the guide. Right? You change your voice, get a little bit more spiritual.
He's going to guide me now. He's going to tell me which way to go. It's going to be so clear. Probably be in an open vision with an angel.
Some angel that I haven't even heard of. It's not even going to be Gabriel. It's going to be a higher angel. And then I know that's so absurd.
None of us think that. But you're in this mode and you think you're going to change it up. And then what does He do? And so many of us are like, He's done this to me before.
I hate it when He does. And what He does is He says something that doesn't answer your question at all. And oftentimes, I don't know if you've experienced, I don't know how many times He's done this to me. I'll ask Him a very clear question.
It is very black and white. It's a direct question. God, should we sell our house and should we move or should we not move? You know, whatever the question is.
And He comes in with this back door. Joshua, I love you. The worst. Isn't that the worst?
I'm just going, Lord, give me the answer. And He goes, son, I love you. It's very frustrating, right? And what I've found is oftentimes the Lord, when we want directives, you know, it's like God, in your heavenly conference room, give me the action item, right?
And we say, Lord, in your heavenly throne room, give me the next steps. Give me the marching orders and I will go to the left or to the right and I will know exactly how to get out of this peril. And then He speaks as a sage and He asks us a question instead of answering the question that we asked Him. And He gives us some proverb or parable or story or just starts speaking as affection over us.
And it's frustrating because most of us are consumed with having our lives get better. And we just want it, the inconveniences and the difficulty to stop and the pain to go away and we just want to move on with it. And He knows just what we need. I want us to turn to John 13.
And I want you to know that you're not unique, that God usually answers your questions, not by answering you. John 13, verse 36, we're going to follow a couple of disciples. What's happening in this passage is this is like intense pressure moment, okay? Jesus is letting His disciples know I'm going to go.
And there's this transition that they're feeling and they feel it in the air. Things aren't right. And now they have a lot of questions because Jesus just said He's going somewhere and what good disciples do is they follow their rabbi. Okay?
So what a disciple would do is they would follow their teacher and they'd always stick by them side and that's what they're supposed to do. And so Jesus just said He's going somewhere. Look at John 13, verse 36. Simon Peter says, Lord, this is a very clear question.
Lord, where are you going? And Jesus answered Him and said, where I'm going, you cannot follow me now. But you will follow me afterward. All these cryptic things, you know?
You're going to follow me someday. Yeah, okay. And Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.
And Jesus answered, will you lay down your life for me? He asked him a question. Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times. Lord, where are you going?
He's not getting an answer. And the Lord is just kind of telling him something that's going to happen. But he's not getting what he wants. Look at John 14, 5.
Here's another friend, Thomas. Thomas says to the Lord, we do not know where you're going. How can we know the way? Again, they're so caught on this.
Tell us where you're going. So we can, like, are you going to 10th Street? Are you going to Samaria? Are you going to Capernaum?
What does he say? He says, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also from now on.
You do know him and have seen him. Now we got another friend, Philip. So Peter, now Thomas, now Philip's like, I'm going to take a stab at it, guys. I'll get it, figure it out.
Philip says, okay, I'm getting it. Hey, Jesus, show us the Father. So he's trying to, like, follow Jesus' chain of thought, you know, you're being a good disciple. And then if you just show us the Father, that will be enough for us, right?
So you're not going to tell us where you're going, fine. So you're going to tell us the Father. And then Jesus says to him, have I been with you so long and you still do not know me, Philip? And Philip's like, I thought I knew you.
You know, and he's kind of like on the ropes a little bit. And Jesus begins to unpack that him and the Father are one and they just start dialoguing together and isn't that how it goes? We're going, man, Lord, just don't you realize I'm in a really, I live in a really intense time. It's 2024.
So much. Don't you know that I need to know if I should quit my job or keep my job? It's not just things, Lord. And it seems like Jesus isn't as consumed with all of the answers in the plans.
But we are very consumed with the plans. Our planning, we've got many planners, many schedules. I was asking my girls, my 13-year-old girls, I don't know if some of you have kids, when they turn about like nine, they start wanting to know the plan. My goodness.
And how many of you know as parents, you're like, I don't even know the plan. Stop asking me what the plan is. What are we going to do tonight? Probably nothing.
Okay. Right? I've never even had my kids ask me that question and that doesn't come from personal experience. And I was asking my girls because they're always asking to know the plan.
And they want to know what we're going to eat and what we're going to do and what they should wear. You know? And I'm asking the girls, like, why do you always want to know the plan? Sweetheart?
No one's giving. And it's because they're thinking about how they can actually prepare their minds and their minds for what's coming. Right? And we want to do that in our everyday life.
I want to have my heart not get its hopes up too much because my circumstances might let me down and then I'll be discouraged and disappointed. And that will be not fun. I want to avoid the pain. So tell me what's going to happen.
And then Jesus comes through and he's like, hey, my word is going to be a light to your feet and a lamp to your path. And we're like, oh no, I want a big spotlight. I want a big spotlight. I want to know the next five to ten years.
And he's going, there's another. Enough trouble for today. Matthew 6, there's enough trouble. Your shoulders aren't broad enough to know what's coming in the next five years.
Are you crazy? All of this next year's troubles are going to break you and break your back. If you know what was going to, how many of you know if you look back at your life and you're going, if God would have told me ahead of time what was going to happen in my life, I would have quit before it started. Because you know how difficult the journey has been and you're going, man, I'm glad you didn't tell me because I would have wanted to go.
I wouldn't have wanted to wake up. There's enough trouble for today and the Lord is going, I'm going to give you the grace to move forward through today because there's plenty of trouble today. And I have the answers for you for today and it's going to look like I'm the way, the truth in the life. In this passage, I'm just so struck with how he knows what his disciples need and then he moves into John 15.
And I want us to look at John 15 really quick. So we are just in John 13 and John 14. They've got a bunch of questions. And how many of you have heard John 15?
He's the vine and we're the branches. You guys have heard that before. And it's all to us to read this because I think this is Jesus basically speaking to all of us in that place of going, Lord, deliver me out of this season. I'm in transition or I want to be in transition and he's going, I know what you need.
And I want us to tune into what he's saying in verse 8, John 15 verse 8. By this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit. So God wants us to experience fruitfulness and you're going to prove to be my disciples. Because the father has loved me so I have loved you, abide in my love.
That's like those moments when we're going Lord, left or right. And he's like, I love you. You're like, no, you're not getting it. And he's like, no, you're not getting it.
I'm trying to hit you in between the eyes with my love, right? John 15 verse 9, as the father's loved me, so if I loved you, abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, oh no, I have to obey you. You will abide in my love.
And some of you achievers are like, yes, I will keep your commandments. Yes, sir, I will obey you. And that's good. And then at the same time, you try to do it in your own strength and white knuckle and you try to go, yes, obedience is knowing which decision to make.
And I will obey you when you tell me what I want to hear. And what I want to hear from you, Lord, is that I should break up with my girlfriend. So then I don't have to accept responsibility for what I already want to do anyways. And then I can blame God for breaking up with her and tell her that God told me to break up with you.
Stop that. How many times have I heard stories of people blaming God for a decision that they actually want to make? Because they're not willing to accept responsibility for what they're choosing. Yeah, I just got told me to quit my job.
Did he? Hmm. Where are you so under the fear of man that you can't actually face accepting responsibility for the decisions that you want to make? I don't even know why I'm talking about this, but some of us need to hear it.
And some of you got broken up with and somebody used the God card and I just want to break you for this. They didn't even hear the Lord. But you've been playing it in your mind. Man, God, why did you tell them to break up with me?
I'm just, what if they didn't? Probably didn't. So don't be blaming God for all of the pain. They probably just weren't strong enough in their identity to make the decision that they wanted to make.
I don't know why I'm saying that. But it's some of you need to hear that and you need to stop it. Because your boss that you said, I need to quit my job, now him having to figure out how he's going to fill the gap is actually on God rather than you just making the decision to go, I think I'm supposed to move on. Okay?
Just be aware that you represent him everywhere you go in your relationships and in your work and all those things. Just like Josh move on. It's like, okay, you didn't even need to know that. Alright, John 15, or Sten, if you keep my commandments, you'll abide in my love.
Just as I've kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I've spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy, do you know that God wants your joy to be full in the waiting? Some of you are waiting on your circumstances to change and you think your circumstance is going to make you happy once it changes and the Lord's going, I've got fullness of joy for you right now. You don't have to wait until that breakthrough.
Some of you are going to get hit with problems this week and your mind is going to change and instead of the problem being the thing that dictates how your day is going, that problem is actually going to become an invitation for you to go, man, God, this is going to be good. This is a big problem. And now we get to go after this thing together. I get fullness of joy with this problem.
This problem is a big problem. How are you going to bring a breakthrough on this one? How are you going to help me to be thankful in every circumstance this time? How are you going to show yourself to me in a new way when I have to face this problem?
This is going to be a good journey. Man, I need that right now. Some of us need that right now to go, oh, I got to flip this thing on its head. You got fullness of joy for me in every season.
You got thankfulness for me in every season and that's your will for me. So John 15, here he is, he's going, hey, it's love, it's abiding. This last month, Katie and I have been reading this book by John Mark Comer and it's called Practicing the Way. It's amazing.
Go buy it and read it. One of the things he talks about is abiding in the book from John 15. I've probably preached multiple messages on abiding but the secrets out sometimes I'm just confused. What does this even mean?
Have you ever felt that? Yeah, I want to abide. You just don't get it but you're going to try. I've felt that way before.
Trying to find language for what this actually means because it seems very important. As he was talking about abiding, I was reminded of getting a relationship when we first started dating. How I understood dating, boyfriend, girlfriend, was we'd see each other at the ministry meeting, we were leading in ministry together, prayer movement stuff and I'd see you there. Then we'd go out on a date.
We'd go out on a date once a week and it'd be like Thursday or Wednesday and be like, hey, can I take you out? We'd go out on a Friday and it was awesome. I thought things were going great. I thought we were good.
Then we had this conversation and it wasn't good. She was wanting to be closer, wanting more than just going out once a week and then seeing each other at ministry meetings. I was like, well, that's what dating is. We go on a date.
After that conversation, the ceiling got ripped off of our relationship and it accelerated in a new way because all of a sudden our lives started to get integrated with one another. When I left class, I would call her. Then when I, not in bed for the night, I would be texting her. Then when I woke up in the morning, I would text her.
Then it just seemed like there was a dozen touches calling her, texting her, saying, what are you doing after this? Could we meet up and hang out? What are you doing for dinner? There's all of these little touches and our lives began to overlap with one another.
An affection towards her grew and grew and grew. What I think is happening in most of our lives is we have a once a week moment with the Lord. Big group date. Yeah?
God's. I don't know. Then we connect with them and then it's like, man, I'm miserable now because this breketer isn't happening. We go into the war room with God and we're like, all right, tell me what to do.
All right, master, just tell me what to do and I'll be the servant and all obey and just as long as you get me out of what I'm in. What Jesus is casting vision for is more than you just having a touch with God once a week or once in a while. The Lord is going, I want you to learn to abide. Abiding looks like you getting out of a business meeting, getting out of a class, you waking up in the morning and there's these little touches.
Hey, Lord, you get out of the business meeting. What's happening? Most of us in our lives, after the meeting is over, this is our home. Where do you go after it's over?
After when you're in transition in your day and you're going from one thing to the next. What's home for you? What's home in everyday life? 95% of us.
This is your home. This is what you pick up when you're in transition in your day. This has become our home. This has become where we go.
This has become our little touches throughout the day. We find it here. And the Lord is going, do you really want to abide there? Because I've got fullness of joy.
You think you're so miserable and it's because you are. You are miserable. Maybe your circumstances are a little miserable, but it's because you're abiding into something that always leaves you wanting more, always makes you feel dry, always feels like it just never satisfies or maybe adds even more stress because you're looking at the news. And now you've got the whole world's problems on your shoulders to add to the problems that you already have that you just left.
Your to do is got longer and now you're taking in all the problems of the entire earth. Why am I so miserable? You're abiding in the problems. You're abiding in just escaping and the Lord's going.
What if there's little touches and there's a hundred touches this week? What if every single moment where I went from meeting to meeting, I actually lifted up my eyes and found home and home was him? What if we just lived bouncing from it? Because most of us are like, I'm in a business meeting and I didn't think about God once.
That's the reality. And some of us are feeling guilty that you didn't think about God when you were trying to strategize around how to solve a business problem. And I'm just, hey, that's okay, that's normal. But what is the slingshop moment for you?
Where do you go when you're coming off of the high or the low? And God is inviting us into, I'm intentionally not giving you the answer like the Lord does of left to right. And I'm talking to you about a way. Do you see that?
We want answers. And Jesus says there's a way. When I think about, listen, my problems or my journey, I realize these are like not big problems. But there's pressure that I carried for many years around us trying to find a building.
Many of you know that. I don't know how many industrial buildings I trespass on their property. Katie was in a complist. She'd be in the driver's seat.
And I just open that door and run up to the building. And I'd just like be peeking into the garage doors of industrial buildings all around our city. Right? And I, for years, you know, it's like sweaty in here.
The power goes off. We need to find a new space. And I remember all those dead ends and those detours. And I could list them all.
And if you've been around for a long time, you'd remember some of them. Some of them were very public, like a newspaper article around like we're going to buy this building and then some company in China owns the building and then they back out of the deal and it's all public and it's like wow, wow. I think it was going to be like this. You know?
I remember feeling like when is this ever going to end? Some of you guys feel that way now. When is this ever going to end? But there was little touches that I had with the Lord of vulnerability throughout those years of going to him and abiding in him.
And listen, I was for sure the like, I'm going to fix it. I'm going to solve the problem. And most of the time, do you know what I feel? Is that he's just keeping me busy because he's working on something over here.
And he knows I can't sit still. So he's like, yeah, three to one growth street. I was going to keep you busy for a couple months. It's going to keep you praying, you know?
Too close. Yeah. He's like, oh, not that one. Not that.
Not the first one. Red Fox, you know, it's like, oh, no. No, no, no, no. But some of you need to know that.
You're spinning your wheels and you're like, why am I not getting breakthrough? But he's working all things for the good of those who would love him, right? And then you feel like, wow, the breakthrough is here. You pull up on this property and it's all the vision of what you saw 15 years ago right in front of your eyes and you're like, this is it.
And you turn to the Lord and there's affection in your heart for him and you cry and laugh. And then that becomes a dead end. And that becomes a closed door. What the heck?
In all of those moments and we find the base and it's amazing and it's great and we're so thankful. And I know that that property is just getting taken care of for us because there's a day we're going to move in there. But I've found throughout those, this five, six-year journey that I was Martha most of the time. But there's little moments of Mary where I sat at his feet and those moments can never be taken from me.
And I know that as I'm in this season, there's been so many decisions that we have to make. And they're big decisions. And there's a lot of problems and a lot of things that need to get fixed and a lot of dead ends and detours and we need to see the breakthrough and I don't see the answers and I don't have clarity and I should have clarity because that's what good leaders do is they have clarity and they have to turn it and they should know how to lead in these moments. That's what we tell ourselves.
But there's a way. There's a way that the Lord is inviting us into. And I know that when we get into that new building, it's not going to stop all of the problems and all the decisions that need to be made. All the detours and the stuff is still going to be there.
There's only going to be one thing that's going to be consistent. It's going to be me looking at him and it's going to be me having little touches where I whisper with him in an empty room and in my car. And when it doesn't make sense and when it feels like the mountaintop, I'm going to put it connect with him and it will never be taken away from me. And I want to call all of us.
I don't care what your circumstances are. I don't care what you're navigating. I don't care how much money is in your bank account. I don't care how single you are and how long that's going to take.
There's one thing that can never be taken from you. And it's you having those little touches, those little moments of I'm home. I'm with you. You might not know left or right.
And it might not be super clear. But you're going to get him. And there's going to be a fullness of joy that's not going to be anchored on the breakthrough or the valley or the mountaintop. And you are going to be like little sheep that know his voice and that through the valley, you said, I'm going to sit myself at this table.
And in the presence of my enemies, I'm going to let you set tables for me. I want to stand. He knows just what we need. Romans 828 says, in all things, God works for the good of those who love him.
2 Peter 1, verse 3 says that he's provided everything that we need to live a godly life through knowing him. Philippians 4, I'm going to turn there. Philippians 4 says, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, talk to him. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
And then Paul says, I'm speaking about being someone that is content in every circumstance. I know how to be brought low. I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger and abundance and need all of the American dream people, grown because he just said, facing plenty and hunger and abundance and need.
But he says, I can do all things through abiding with him because he strengthens me. Some of you feel like you're so weak that you don't know how you're going to continue. Some of you feel like I don't have the answers. Why is this taking so long?
And the Lord is inviting you and he's beckoning you into not seeking him for the answers, but being with him no matter what the landscape looks like. And some of you are going, that's what I'm doing and I want you to take this message as a confirmation that you're on the right track. You're doing it. You're abiding and you're going, but I don't feel the fullness of joy.
Just keep on going. Just keep on showing up. Keep on having those little touches. Keep on vulnerable-y venting.
You don't need to vent on people. You can go to him. Lord, I thank you that you love us so well and you know just what we need. I think we know what we need, but you actually are the one that knows what we need.
Lord, I thank you for uprooting wants that we think our needs and anchoring us in constant connection with you and abiding in you. I think there's a great death to our circumstances calling the shots on how we're doing. And some of us, I'm just feeling this in this moment. Some of us need to face our current circumstances and you need to make a decision if I had to live in this season and what I, the circumstances that I'm in right now and this is actually my lot for the rest of my life in my circumstances.
You need to make a decision today to go, am I going to be okay? Some of your stories right now, what your story looks like. I know the heart has grown sick for many of you and you're sitting in the tension. You're going, how long is this going to take?
How long is it going to be this way? When is this going to end? And I think there's a great death that we need to die to our circumstances being on the throne because that's been the thing that we're trying to escape. We're trying to escape that actually being our reality for a long time and it's too painful to face.
And because it's too painful to face, then we try, are trying to just escape that out of our subconscious and we're just, we can't face the reality that this could be this way for five more years, two more years, ten more years, thirty more years. And I feel that the Lord is inviting many of us to face that head on. And decide no matter if this is the way that it's going to be for the next forty years. No matter if this is what it's going to be like till the day that he returns, I'm going to choose a way and it's going to be him.
I feel like there needs to be a little bit of a moment. We didn't go here the three so I'm just going to follow in the leadership of the Holy Spirit on this one. All throughout the Old Testament there's these altars that God set up and he invited his children to make sacrifices that cost them something on the altars. And I feel just an invitation that there's many of us in the room where there's actually an offering of love to go, I'm yours no matter the circumstance.
And you are my home and you're the thing that I really want. You're what I really want. You know just what I need and I think I need this. But you're the one that really knows what I need and I'm going to die the death of the breakthrough not happening.
And I'm going to die to those circumstances and that thing moving, being the thing that's going to make me okay. And I know it feels almost like hopeless to say that but I feel like there's an alignment in this. And so this is what I think the Lord is inviting us to do. I think that he's inviting us to just spread out throughout the room and go somewhere in the room.
Many of us the Lord is just like working on you and you just need to like kneel and lay it. All you can do is just go, it's yours. I don't know what to do with it but I give myself fully to you no matter how long it takes, no matter if I see the breakthrough or not, no matter if my circumstances changes, I'm all yours and there's this altar moment. And so what I'm going to do is I'm going to pray and I'm going to just invite you the whole room to find a spot in the room.
And if that's you, I want you, after I'm done praying, I want you to go to your knees as if you're like offering yourself. Maybe you're like, you need to lay down before the Lord. Maybe you need to go down to your knees but you're basically laying yourself on the altar, your future on the altar. So Lord here we are.
You're my great reward. This is a, when I'm done praying, I want everybody that feels like I need to be here and respond and you'll respond and if you're going, hey, I actually have to head out that this will be kind of the commissioning prayer, okay? Lord, thank you that we're not what we do, that we're not what people say about us, that we're the beloved of God and that's just who we are. Nobody can take it from us.
Lord, I thank you that I don't have to be in a hurry anymore and I don't have to be in a constant state of subconscious worry but I can trust you, Holy Spirit. Lord, we give you ourselves and we lay ourselves on the altar and we say, you're the one that we want and we love you. All throughout the room you can just go find a spot and kneel before the Lord. If you want to come to the altar and that feels most natural, you can just come and kneel before the Lord.
And this is just, I'm not going to guide you. This is the time where you can just give yourself to the Lord.