WEBVTT 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:09.660 Okay. How you guys doing? I haven't done that in a while. No response whatsoever. 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:15.400 How quickly people forget. I don't know what's going on here. How you guys doing? 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:22.240 Good, good, good, good. I want to welcome you. If this is your first time here to Watermark, 00:00:22.379 --> 00:00:28.420 I just want to welcome you. My name is Tobin. I'm one of the pastors here. And we are the 00:00:28.420 --> 00:00:35.800 Fertile Church, I think. This last two weeks, I think I've visited five or six newborn babies. 00:00:36.439 --> 00:00:42.620 So people are coming here to produce or reproduce or I don't know what it is. I just tell them 00:00:42.620 --> 00:00:47.680 there's stuff we put into food afterwards, those little cakes and candy and things like that that 00:00:47.680 --> 00:00:53.660 are producing. I don't know. But it's just, it's amazing to see God working in our lives and to see 00:00:53.659 --> 00:01:01.379 Him multiplying this church. So we have been starting this sermon series. It's called Start 00:01:01.379 --> 00:01:07.819 Over or Do Over or Begin Again or however you want to say it. These last two weeks, and we're going to 00:01:07.819 --> 00:01:14.299 finish it off this third week. And our hope is that you would be encouraged. Our hope is that you'd be 00:01:14.299 --> 00:01:19.439 challenged. You know, it's okay to be challenged in church, right? I mean, sometimes we just want to 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:24.420 come and just relax and not. But God's Word should be challenging to us. And so we should be 00:01:24.420 --> 00:01:30.079 challenged by that. So we hope that you've been encouraged and challenged and blessed by the 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:35.719 sermons that you've heard as we look into this new year. Two weeks ago, we did a sermon on gratitude. 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:40.159 And we said as we go into this new year, that gratitude is going to be one of those things that 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:44.939 we need to be aware of, that we're going to have this battle, this tension between being grumbling 00:01:44.939 --> 00:01:50.359 and being gracious and thankful for what God has done. We looked at the passage in Matthew 20 about 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:55.239 the landowner who has all this land and he needs people to cultivate it. And so he goes out and he 00:01:55.239 --> 00:02:02.019 hires the people. And at the end of the day, we see that he is very gracious. He does these things at 00:02:02.019 --> 00:02:08.259 great personal cost to himself. He's very generous. He's not very efficient by Hong Kong standards 00:02:08.259 --> 00:02:14.879 whatsoever. And in the passage, we were challenged just by God's grace and His love for us. 00:02:14.939 --> 00:02:20.199 And the question was, how do we respond to what God is doing in our life? Are we thankful for what 00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:27.079 He's done or are we grumbling? As we head into this new year, we talked about this focus of what 00:02:27.079 --> 00:02:32.379 is our focus towards God. Last week, we looked at, as Jeremy talked about, we looked at ASAP. He was 00:02:32.379 --> 00:02:40.500 one of the three worship leaders for King David. He led worship at the covenant where the tent of the 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:44.919 meeting where the Ark of the Covenant was inside of it. And in Psalm 73, he has this struggle, 00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:49.280 struggle. And the struggle is things that he learned and knew about God and the things that 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:53.979 he saw were very different. And it caused him to have doubts in his life. And we learned that 00:02:53.979 --> 00:02:59.139 each one of us has a different theology. We learned that some of us are cats and some of us are dogs. 00:02:59.960 --> 00:03:04.579 And I'm very thankful that no one dropped any kittens off at my door this week. So thank you so 00:03:04.579 --> 00:03:09.740 much. If you want to drop a chocolate lab at the door, you can do that. My wife and I will have a fight 00:03:09.740 --> 00:03:16.120 over that. But, you know, so we talked about it. And so a dog theology is this. You love me, you feed me, 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:23.000 you take care of me, you pet me. You must be God. Whereas cats think, you love me, you feed me, 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:31.120 you take care of me, you pet me. I must be God. So cats use terminology and pronouns that are me and 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:39.340 mine and me. And dogs use terminology that is you and God and us. We learned that as he, 00:03:39.659 --> 00:03:43.680 ASAP brought these doubts before God, that it was okay to have doubts. I think we live in a church 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:47.780 that no one wants to talk about doubts. No one wants to talk about fears. No one wants to be 00:03:47.780 --> 00:03:54.120 angry with God. And we see in the Psalms that it's okay to bring these things. And we saw that when 00:03:54.120 --> 00:04:00.040 ASAP came into the sanctuary of the Lord, that he laid out these things before God. And God met him and 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:06.819 changed his heart. We learned that focus, the main focus of what we're supposed to be doing is 00:04:06.819 --> 00:04:13.139 worshiping God. We learned it in Hebrew that the idea of worship means to bow the knee before the 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:19.420 Lord. It means to give to God what he deserves because of who he is and what he's done. 00:04:21.099 --> 00:04:26.740 Worship means to bow before the Lord and give to him what he deserves because of who he is and what 00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:31.800 he's done. And we talked about that with our time and with our tithe and with our gifts and with our 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:37.480 money. And we were challenged because we said that everybody worships something. So everybody in here 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:41.400 is bowing their knee before something. Everybody in here is giving to something what they think it 00:04:41.400 --> 00:04:46.360 deserves for what it's done to them and what they've gotten out of it. And the question is, what are we 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:53.120 doing and who are we worshiping? And we were challenged as Christians to say this new year, as we go into the 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:58.280 new year, if we're worshiping before the Lord and no one's, you know, we don't know, but people are 00:04:58.280 --> 00:05:04.480 watching us. And it happens because people around you are watching you. And your people in your work 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:10.800 are watching you. I mean, your kids are watching you. It's amazing how often our kids watch everything 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:16.959 that we do and they learn from us. And so we were challenged if someone is watching us and they're 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:21.100 watching us worship. They're watching us worship with our time and they're watching us worship with our 00:05:21.100 --> 00:05:25.980 words. They're watching us worship with our money and our gifts and our talents. If they're watching 00:05:25.980 --> 00:05:33.500 us do that, what would they think about our God? Would they think, oh, his God is awesome. He's huge. 00:05:33.580 --> 00:05:38.939 He's powerful. He's the most important thing. Or would they think, oh, his God is small. His God is 00:05:38.939 --> 00:05:45.640 insignificant. His God doesn't really mean much to him. And we were challenged by this idea that we often 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:52.120 lose our focus. And God is always there to bring us back and to love us and to take care of us. And so 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:57.979 I wanted to end this sermon series on one of my favorite passages. It's Deuteronomy 8. It's this 00:05:57.979 --> 00:06:06.319 passage of change. It's a passage of transition. It's this passage of looking back. And sometimes I 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:10.099 don't think we look back as much as we should because we're always in Hong Kong looking forward. 00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:14.399 We're planning the new year. We're looking at what things are going to be doing and what we need to do and 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:20.359 what we want things to look like. But here you see Moses is talking to the people of God. And it's 00:06:20.359 --> 00:06:26.319 probably his last sermon that he's going to give to them. He's teaching them on the plains of Moab. 00:06:26.379 --> 00:06:31.219 And they're about to look into this land. And he's calling them. He's calling us to remember. 00:06:32.019 --> 00:06:37.699 He's calling us to remember what God has done. Now remember God's people in Genesis, the end of 00:06:37.699 --> 00:06:43.039 Genesis, they come down to Egypt. There's this huge famine across the land. And we're told that they just 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:47.300 multiply. And they multiply and they multiply. And the Egyptians get afraid of them. And so they put 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:54.500 them into bondage. And they, for 400 years, are enslaved. And they're in bondage. And then God sends 00:06:54.500 --> 00:06:59.620 this man named Moses to come and he frees them. And through this series of like 10 miracles, they leave 00:06:59.620 --> 00:07:04.400 the bondage of Egypt. And they go out into the wilderness. And they go to Mount Sinai. And on Mount 00:07:04.400 --> 00:07:10.379 Sinai, they meet God. And God gives them the law. And they learn what God is like. And they learn more 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:17.240 importantly, what he's not like. And what they should be like. And then they head off towards 00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:20.719 the promised land. And as they head off towards the promised land, what you see throughout scripture 00:07:20.719 --> 00:07:25.819 is that they just continually make mistakes. They just continually grumble. They just continually 00:07:25.819 --> 00:07:30.319 want something different. They just continually think that maybe it's better to go back into 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:35.779 bondage than it is to follow God. And they get right to the border of the promised land. 00:07:36.339 --> 00:07:40.300 They get right to this land. I have some pictures of it. I think so. We have these 00:07:40.300 --> 00:07:44.520 two pictures here. So this is the wilderness. This is the desert. This is where they wandered. 00:07:45.400 --> 00:07:49.400 If you go next year when we go to Israel, you can join us. Dr. Hannah is coming next week 00:07:49.400 --> 00:07:54.439 for six weeks. And we're going to take a tour there next year. And it's barren. There's nothing 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:58.780 there. Nothing can live there. What's another picture? So here's two of the pilgrims right 00:07:58.780 --> 00:08:02.540 there. So you can join us there next year and take a picture down in that. But this is the 00:08:02.540 --> 00:08:07.840 wilderness. But forget that one. Go to the last one. Next one. Good. And so this is where 00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:11.259 they go. And so they're in this wilderness. And they hit this river called the Jordan 00:08:11.259 --> 00:08:15.119 River. And when they look across the Jordan River, they see this amazing oasis, which is 00:08:15.119 --> 00:08:19.819 Jericho, the oldest city in the world. And so they said, okay, we're going to go in. We're 00:08:19.819 --> 00:08:24.459 going to take this promised land. And so they send out 12 spies. And these 12 spies go out 00:08:24.459 --> 00:08:28.799 for 40 days. And they look around. And they bring back amazing fruit and the plenty of the 00:08:28.799 --> 00:08:32.059 land. But when they come back and they say, hey, should we go in and take over the land? 00:08:32.100 --> 00:08:35.620 Because God says we're going to go in there. It's ours. Let's do it. Ten of them say no. 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:41.080 They say it's impossible. They say there's giants in the land. There's these huge, these 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:45.000 sons of Anak. They're huge. And there's no way we're going to be able to do that. And 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:51.220 what we see is that the people of God listen to the majority. I mean, they complain. And 00:08:51.220 --> 00:08:56.360 they tell God and Moses no way. They actually grumble against God. Can you imagine they grumble 00:08:56.360 --> 00:08:59.860 against God who brought them out of captivity and he brings them into this amazing land. 00:09:00.299 --> 00:09:03.620 And they grumble. And they actually said they want to go back to Egypt. They want to go back 00:09:03.620 --> 00:09:09.580 into bondage. They want to go back to where things were not that good. And so we're told 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:14.860 in the passages that God disciplines them. And he says, okay, you don't want to go? Then 00:09:14.860 --> 00:09:20.159 you don't have to go. So we're going to discipline you. And he takes them on this journey. And for 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:25.840 40 years in this desert, they just wander around. I mean, they're just making these circles back 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:29.259 and forth, back and forth. And the amazing thing is they could look over to their left and 00:09:29.259 --> 00:09:33.279 they could see the promised land. They could see where they should have been if they had trusted 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:38.600 God and were obedient. Now, how hard would that be? And so they're wandering around for 40 years 00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:46.039 because God has something amazing to teach them. He has this deep spiritual problem in their heart 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:52.819 that he wants to talk to them about. And then we get to this passage today and it's basically 40 years 00:09:52.820 --> 00:09:58.960 later, but they're back at the same place where they had the choice to obey God. They're looking 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:03.800 over the river Jordan. And it's amazing because it's in this valley and you see Jericho and it's just 00:10:03.800 --> 00:10:07.680 all these palm trees. So in the middle of this desert, all of a sudden all these palm trees and it's this 00:10:07.680 --> 00:10:17.480 place called Jericho. And Moses calls them to remember. Now they're about to go do something amazing, 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:21.140 something that's never been met in before. And Moses doesn't lay out this game plan. Okay, 00:10:21.139 --> 00:10:25.000 first do this, first do that, first do this, first do this. But he says, I want you to remember. 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:33.840 Now in Hebrew, the word is very special. It actually means re-member. And you're thinking, 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:38.980 well, of course. But it means re-member. It means to bring all the parts together. 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:44.620 It means to assemble the picture. It means to bring all the stories together and make them into one 00:10:44.620 --> 00:10:50.779 big story. It means to bring the truth together and complete it. It means to just make it 00:10:50.779 --> 00:10:58.079 whole. Now the opposite of remember is not forget. The opposite of remember is dismember, 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:04.360 which is what we do sometimes. We make less of God. We make less of his faithfulness. We make 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:13.240 less of who he is. Christmas has been an amazing time in our house. We have people come in and go, 00:11:13.319 --> 00:11:17.279 people come in and go. I think I'm losing my voice. My kids have gotten presents. And one of my kids, 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:22.459 so this is, so when you came in, you signed this non-disclosure act, right? Everybody signed this 00:11:22.459 --> 00:11:26.559 non-disclosure act? Because I'm going to share stuff with you today that is non-disclosure. So 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:31.419 you can share, but then we're going to have to kill you. So one of our kids is just really, 00:11:31.579 --> 00:11:35.600 Kip is really into puzzles, and he loves puzzles. And it's just, and you can see his mind working. 00:11:35.699 --> 00:11:40.539 So he's gotten all these puzzles, and he's been remembering the puzzles. He's been bringing the 00:11:40.539 --> 00:11:45.179 pieces together. It's what it means, remember. He's been remembering the puzzles. And we have puzzles 00:11:45.179 --> 00:11:49.919 remembered all over our house. I mean, we have like eight puzzles on the floors and everywhere 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:54.099 else. I mean, they're just everywhere. Just two nights ago, I told him, hey, you have to dismember 00:11:54.099 --> 00:12:00.039 a couple of your puzzles, because I can't walk anywhere without stepping on puzzles. And he's 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:05.759 just gotten so good with this idea of doing puzzles, and he's become kind of prideful. I mean, 00:12:05.779 --> 00:12:09.719 I can do anything. It doesn't matter to me. And so what I did, so you can't tell him this, 00:12:09.779 --> 00:12:13.699 but what I did is I got him this really cool puzzle. It's kind of hard. It's like 2,000 pieces. 00:12:13.700 --> 00:12:19.320 And he opened it up, and he started working on it. And then when he left, I went in, and I grabbed 00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:28.600 two hands full of puzzle pieces, and I took them away. And I hit him. And he started working on his 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:32.660 puzzle, and then he started losing interest. And he goes, oh, I want something that's even harder. 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:36.360 And so I went out, and we bought this puzzle, which I'd never seen before, but it's just basically 00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:41.300 all one color. It's just silver. It's just a silver puzzle. 00:12:42.139 --> 00:12:45.519 And I took away the top, so he has no idea what the picture looks like. 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:52.539 And what I realized is that as he's doing this thing, that those two puzzles, those two puzzles, 00:12:52.680 --> 00:12:56.440 the silver puzzle and the puzzle that has the handful of pieces taken away, 00:12:56.779 --> 00:12:59.360 those puzzles have never been completed. 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:02.100 He gave up on them. 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:05.820 I mean, they were just too hard. 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:09.180 He couldn't see the full picture. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't know 00:13:09.180 --> 00:13:12.480 what he was going to do with these things. I mean, I went into his room last night, 00:13:12.539 --> 00:13:17.340 and they're still in boxes because he just gave up because he doesn't see a big picture. 00:13:18.300 --> 00:13:20.440 And I think that's what this passage is about today. 00:13:20.620 --> 00:13:22.740 This passage today is about that. 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:25.600 It's about God sending us on this journey, 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:29.620 and he wants us to see all these pieces of the puzzle, 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:31.460 all these pieces of the picture. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:33.720 And they're about to move forward. 00:13:34.180 --> 00:13:37.399 And Moses in Deuteronomy 8, he warns them of about three things, 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:40.080 really about ten things, but I want to look at three things today. 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:45.080 He warns them of three things that they're going to have a tendency to dismember in their journey. 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:49.480 They're going to have three pictures or pieces of the puzzle 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:51.560 they're going to want to skip. 00:13:51.820 --> 00:13:53.019 They're not going to want to deal with. 00:13:53.040 --> 00:13:54.180 They're not going to want to fix it. 00:13:54.179 --> 00:13:57.399 And I think these things that Moses reminds them of 00:13:57.399 --> 00:13:59.959 are things that we need to be reminded of today. 00:14:01.259 --> 00:14:04.459 The things are that they're going to want to take away the picture of God 00:14:04.459 --> 00:14:06.539 in his hand in their journey. 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:10.199 They're going to want to take away the picture and the pieces of this passage 00:14:10.199 --> 00:14:14.500 that talk about their heart and their need for mercy and grace. 00:14:15.359 --> 00:14:18.459 And they're going to want to take away these pictures in this journey, 00:14:18.620 --> 00:14:20.959 these pieces of this puzzle of just the big picture. 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:26.200 So they're going to take away pictures of who God is and his sufficiency and taking care of them. 00:14:26.540 --> 00:14:30.080 They're going to take away the pieces that talk about who they really are and their heart 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:31.700 and their need for mercy and grace. 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:34.920 And they're going to take away these pieces of the big journey. 00:14:35.060 --> 00:14:35.720 Does that make sense? 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:37.200 So that's kind of what we're going to go about. 00:14:37.740 --> 00:14:40.259 So I want to look at this passage really briefly. 00:14:40.259 --> 00:14:47.039 And I want to challenge us as a church because it's been incredibly challenging to me. 00:14:47.720 --> 00:14:52.360 The first pieces of this puzzle that Moses warns us not to forget 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:57.939 is this picture of God in his hand in our life. 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:00.899 You see it in the passages right in front of you. 00:15:01.259 --> 00:15:02.379 Verses 2 through 4. 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:04.500 Remember, remember, remember. 00:15:04.899 --> 00:15:07.399 Verses 16 and verses 18. 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:12.279 Moses is calling God's people to remember everything that God has done 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:14.740 to bring them to this place. 00:15:15.799 --> 00:15:19.139 He's warning them not to dismember God and his faithfulness. 00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:21.639 He reminds them that God brought them out of bondage. 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:27.459 He reminds them that God broke the largest and most powerful nation in the world at that time 00:15:27.459 --> 00:15:29.659 to free his people, that he brought them out of bondage, 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:32.000 and he brings them into this wilderness. 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:36.500 And even when they disobey, God continues to provide for them. 00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:39.480 God provides for them this thing called manna. 00:15:39.579 --> 00:15:41.559 It actually in Hebrew means, what is it? 00:15:41.579 --> 00:15:45.259 You can see an abbot and costello thing, you know, that it falls on the ground every morning. 00:15:45.319 --> 00:15:47.819 And you go out and you kind of scrape it up and you put it into a ball. 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:50.240 And they're talking and the guy goes, what is it? 00:15:50.259 --> 00:15:50.879 He goes, yes. 00:15:51.860 --> 00:15:52.579 No, what is it? 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:53.120 Right. 00:15:54.079 --> 00:15:54.819 That's what it means. 00:15:54.860 --> 00:15:55.519 It means manna. 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:56.000 What is it? 00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:57.079 And this is how they ate. 00:15:57.159 --> 00:15:58.120 And it was this food. 00:15:58.220 --> 00:15:58.939 It's kind of this wafer. 00:15:59.379 --> 00:16:00.659 God provided water. 00:16:00.779 --> 00:16:04.220 Water came out of rocks, out of nowhere in these places in this desert. 00:16:04.220 --> 00:16:05.860 And he just fed them. 00:16:06.160 --> 00:16:07.720 God gave them clothes. 00:16:08.460 --> 00:16:09.680 Now, guys, you're going to love this. 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:11.720 Guys, women will hate this. 00:16:11.940 --> 00:16:14.120 But they gave him clothes that never wore out. 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:19.060 I mean, for 40 years, you get to wear the same clothes. 00:16:20.019 --> 00:16:22.840 You get to wear the same underwear, socks. 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:24.639 It's like a guy's dream, right? 00:16:24.820 --> 00:16:25.620 Hey, look at these. 00:16:25.680 --> 00:16:26.899 I've been wearing them for 30 years. 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:29.660 They're like as best as they've ever been, right? 00:16:30.420 --> 00:16:31.320 I mean, that's what he did. 00:16:31.320 --> 00:16:33.140 And there's amazing miracles in here. 00:16:33.220 --> 00:16:35.960 I know women, it's a woman's worst nightmare. 00:16:36.540 --> 00:16:37.520 Clothes that never wear out. 00:16:37.740 --> 00:16:41.140 But for guys, it's like, wow, it's your best pair of socks and shoes. 00:16:41.280 --> 00:16:43.140 And they're with you for 40 years. 00:16:43.520 --> 00:16:48.400 And God reminds them, Moses reminds them that he's doing all these miracles. 00:16:49.780 --> 00:16:54.500 He gives them everything they need in probably the most hostile environment in the world. 00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:57.600 I mean, if you tried to live there today, no one lives there today. 00:16:57.620 --> 00:16:59.640 Because if you live there today, you die. 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:03.419 And the passage says that God gives and he gives and he gives. 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:05.900 And the people continue to complain. 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:09.139 They continue to complain. 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:10.559 They want other things. 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:12.639 They want other things that were back in Egypt. 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:15.680 They want things that they feel like are going to satisfy them better. 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:18.619 They wanted to go back into slavery. 00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:22.200 They wanted to go back into bondage. 00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:26.720 They would rather just take those pieces out of their puzzle and throw them aside. 00:17:26.900 --> 00:17:30.960 Because they didn't think it was important that God had brought them there and made these big pictures. 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:33.400 They wanted to do it on their own. 00:17:34.220 --> 00:17:35.720 They wanted to do it their way. 00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:36.440 Then we want other things that didn't do it for us. 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:37.039 They wanted to do it, right? 00:17:37.360 --> 00:17:38.039 But what about us? 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:39.140 How about us? 00:17:42.059 --> 00:17:42.579 Amen. 00:17:42.579 --> 00:17:45.600 When we think about God working in our life. 00:17:46.860 --> 00:17:50.660 And we think about God providing for us. 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:53.940 When we think about God taking care of us. 00:17:53.960 --> 00:17:56.539 And we think about God promising to do all these things. 00:17:56.539 --> 00:18:04.519 the scripture says that he promises to take care of our food and our clothing and our jobs 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:09.539 and our relationships. He promises to take care of everything in our life. You know, 00:18:09.579 --> 00:18:13.579 when you read the New Testament, the New Testament, especially in Hebrew, says that this story right 00:18:13.579 --> 00:18:19.720 here is our story today. And just like the people of God went through the wilderness, 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:31.720 if you're a Christian in here right now, you're in a wilderness because this world is not made for you. 00:18:33.620 --> 00:18:39.860 This world has been corrupted. This world is hard. This world is a spiritually hostile and desolate 00:18:39.860 --> 00:18:47.360 place, just like the wilderness and the desert was for God's people. And you and I are walking 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:57.419 through this desert spiritually every day. And God promises to provide for us and to take care of us. 00:18:59.740 --> 00:19:11.000 And the question is, do we accept his care? Or do we complain? Do we grumble? Do we want to manage 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:16.819 our own lives? And Moses reminds them and he encourages them and he says, be careful 00:19:16.819 --> 00:19:21.240 because on this journey, you're going to want to take these pieces of God's faithfulness out of 00:19:21.240 --> 00:19:25.119 the way. You're going to forget these things. The minute something really hard happens in your life, 00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:28.899 you're going to forget where God has brought you from and how he's brought you there and how he takes 00:19:28.899 --> 00:19:32.980 care of you every moment. And you're just going to focus on the here and the now, and you're going to 00:19:32.980 --> 00:19:39.119 lose those pieces of your puzzle. I love the passage. I stuck it up there in the beginning of your 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:44.200 bulletin. It's the Ecclesiastes passage. It was spoken from the wisest man in the world, 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:51.200 Solomon. And it says this idea that God has put eternity in our hearts. It means that you and I 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:57.799 were made for another world. And that we're going to feel this struggle, and we're going to feel this 00:19:57.799 --> 00:20:02.140 tension, and we're going to feel this battle. And if we don't forget this, especially when we go into 00:20:02.140 --> 00:20:07.000 the hostile times and into the deserts, the passage says we're not going to survive. 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:18.359 It says we're going to fail. That every one of us is going to be tempted today and tomorrow and this year. 00:20:19.619 --> 00:20:24.160 We're going to be tempted to forget God's faithfulness and his goodness in our life. 00:20:25.259 --> 00:20:31.599 The next thing that Moses warns the people of God about and that he warns us about is that we're going 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:37.899 to take these pieces that are called Tobin and my heart and my need for God's grace, and we're not going to 00:20:37.899 --> 00:20:48.579 want to put those in this puzzle. Because those pieces are difficult sometimes. Those pieces are hard 00:20:48.579 --> 00:20:58.299 sometimes. And the passage says here in verses 2 and in verses 5 and in verses 16 that when we're on this 00:20:58.299 --> 00:21:03.000 journey, God's taken us to these places, these difficult places, because he wants to show us our hearts. 00:21:05.460 --> 00:21:12.779 He wants to show us our need for him. He's going to take us into these incredibly difficult places because he 00:21:12.779 --> 00:21:17.639 knows that if he doesn't do that, he knows that if he doesn't do that and he just gives us everything we want, 00:21:17.639 --> 00:21:26.779 the passage says that our hearts become prideful. Our hearts become self-sufficient. Our hearts become forgetful. 00:21:26.779 --> 00:21:34.279 We start to boast. We start to complain. And Moses is reminding them of these pieces to the puzzle like 00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:42.920 he's reminding us. And what God does when that happens is the passage says in verses 2 and 3 and 5 and 16 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:51.980 that God brings discipline into our life. God disciplines his children. Did you know that? 00:21:51.980 --> 00:21:57.380 I mean, I think it's one of these things that we don't like to talk about a lot in a church because 00:21:57.380 --> 00:22:01.000 often when we think of discipline, we think of punishment. Okay, stick your hands out. Cane me. 00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:06.180 Whap, whap, whap. I mean, or we think if we go through the test to get into school and we just think 00:22:06.180 --> 00:22:10.960 there's this massive test and they're going to basically test me on pass or fail. I'm going to weed out. 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:16.819 But that's not what the Bible talks about. The Bible says that he loves us so much, 00:22:17.160 --> 00:22:21.360 his children, that God disciplines us. And this discipline is about correcting our hearts. 00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:29.799 It's about correcting our attitudes. It's about correcting our vision for who God is. Now, punishment is 00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:35.039 always about past deeds. Punishment is always retribution. Punishment always involves fear. 00:22:35.420 --> 00:22:41.360 Punishment always involves separation. It's kind of like many of us grew up in our homes 00:22:41.360 --> 00:22:50.700 with our parents. You know, I walked out of my house. I didn't really know much about parenting. 00:22:51.980 --> 00:22:57.799 But one thing I did know, I don't want to be as that hard on my kids. 00:22:57.799 --> 00:23:18.740 Punishment is you fail. You're unworthy. Get out of here. I don't want to see you. 00:23:18.740 --> 00:23:23.079 You're unworthy of me. You're unworthy of this family. You're unworthy of this name. You're unworthy 00:23:23.079 --> 00:23:32.019 of Harvard. But the passage says that God disciplines us because he wants to change us. 00:23:32.019 --> 00:23:40.160 The passage says that God's doing it. He's with us all the time. I read this passage over and over 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:49.480 again, and I'm so, so thankful that God doesn't treat me like I treat my kids. 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:57.880 I can remember in China after exams and I'd walk out onto the street and there'd be 10 or 15 little 00:23:57.880 --> 00:24:03.400 kids on the street with big boards around their neck talking about how they failed their test 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:09.099 and how they were a failure and a disgrace to their family. 00:24:09.099 --> 00:24:21.779 And the Bible says that God never treats his children like that. That he never punishes us. 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:29.819 He never says, I'm done with you. Get out of here. But he changes us. And he takes us to places that 00:24:29.819 --> 00:24:36.959 you and I can see our hearts and that we can be changed. I mean, I think this is a very intense thing. 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:42.039 I think it's important. We don't like to talk about it, but the passage says that God's going to 00:24:42.039 --> 00:24:48.779 take us to places that are difficult because he wants to do something amazing in our hearts. 00:24:50.600 --> 00:24:54.480 God's going to take you to a desert this year probably because he loves you. 00:24:55.700 --> 00:25:00.380 Because the passage says he takes all of his children to these places. And what he does in 00:25:00.380 --> 00:25:05.180 these places is he opens up our hearts and he shows us things that we love more than him. 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:11.519 And what he usually does is he takes those things away. 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:15.620 And when he takes those things away, 00:25:16.380 --> 00:25:17.660 our job, 00:25:18.340 --> 00:25:19.579 our health, 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:21.480 our finances, 00:25:22.100 --> 00:25:23.360 our reputation, 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:28.039 we have a choice. We have a choice. What are we going to fill that hole up with? 00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:31.380 In the passage, it says that God is always there. 00:25:31.660 --> 00:25:34.819 He's always providing and he wants us to fill that emptiness. 00:25:34.819 --> 00:25:37.919 With him. 00:25:40.279 --> 00:25:42.779 With a deeper relationship with him. 00:25:45.159 --> 00:25:48.679 I can remember the day God opened my eyes and I came to Christ. 00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:52.519 You know, I don't remember much about my childhood. 00:25:53.500 --> 00:25:56.799 I remember that my childhood was filled with a lot of fear 00:25:56.799 --> 00:25:59.159 and a lot of shame 00:25:59.159 --> 00:26:00.799 and a lot of doubt. 00:26:01.960 --> 00:26:03.740 And when I look back at how my parents were raised, 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:06.440 I'm like, wow, God was really gracious to me 00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:09.079 because my parents actually did really good 00:26:09.079 --> 00:26:10.779 with what they had. 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:14.139 And when I came to Christ and allowed, 00:26:14.879 --> 00:26:16.579 I invited Christ into my life 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:17.700 and Christ came into my heart 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:19.099 and he changed me, 00:26:19.099 --> 00:26:22.339 I wish I could say that all these fears disappeared. 00:26:24.659 --> 00:26:26.179 I wish I could say that 00:26:26.179 --> 00:26:29.500 I got a handle on being a control freak 00:26:29.500 --> 00:26:30.959 and handling on to things 00:26:30.959 --> 00:26:32.980 and making sure that I did things perfectly right. 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:34.919 That they all disappeared, 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:36.339 but they didn't. 00:26:38.399 --> 00:26:40.240 And the passage says that we deceive ourselves 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:41.119 when we think that. 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:48.899 And what we see is that God takes you and me 00:26:48.899 --> 00:26:50.359 into places 00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:52.759 because he wants this deep, passionate, 00:26:53.119 --> 00:26:54.679 love relationship with you. 00:26:54.819 --> 00:26:56.699 And there's nothing else that he wants you to love. 00:26:56.859 --> 00:26:58.619 He just wants you to love him. 00:27:00.399 --> 00:27:03.399 And we struggle with loving other things 00:27:03.399 --> 00:27:05.219 and caring for other things. 00:27:05.219 --> 00:27:08.039 And he just gently opens our hearts 00:27:08.039 --> 00:27:10.659 and he allows things to come in like sickness, 00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:12.819 and loss, 00:27:13.899 --> 00:27:15.299 and divorce, 00:27:16.199 --> 00:27:17.599 and failure, 00:27:18.859 --> 00:27:20.279 and separation, 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:22.559 and loneliness. 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:24.839 And in these desert times 00:27:24.839 --> 00:27:26.000 when we're walking with the Lord, 00:27:26.199 --> 00:27:28.259 he's there and he shows those things 00:27:28.259 --> 00:27:30.579 and those things take away a part 00:27:30.579 --> 00:27:32.299 of what we clung to more than him. 00:27:33.879 --> 00:27:34.979 And we're just sitting there going, 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:35.539 okay God, 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:37.939 what are you gonna do now? 00:27:37.940 --> 00:27:41.900 now all I have is you. 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:45.799 And God says, 00:27:46.400 --> 00:27:47.320 great. 00:27:49.559 --> 00:27:50.620 Because I'm enough. 00:27:54.440 --> 00:27:55.299 I'm enough. 00:27:57.680 --> 00:28:00.519 The passage says that as we go through life 00:28:00.519 --> 00:28:02.980 this year and throughout our whole lives, 00:28:02.980 --> 00:28:06.700 you and I are gonna want to take away the pieces 00:28:06.700 --> 00:28:08.980 to deal with who we really are. 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:12.920 The idols in our life. 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:14.940 Because we don't want people to see those things. 00:28:16.120 --> 00:28:17.440 We just want them to see, 00:28:18.059 --> 00:28:18.579 well I'm Tobin, 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:19.500 I have my life together. 00:28:19.500 --> 00:28:20.099 Huh. 00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:24.000 But Moses says, 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:25.400 God loves us so much, 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:27.660 he's gonna take us into places 00:28:27.660 --> 00:28:29.339 where we can take those things out. 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:31.119 Does that make sense? 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:33.599 I mean in some ways that's scary. 00:28:34.579 --> 00:28:35.500 I mean if you're like me, 00:28:35.819 --> 00:28:39.359 I just feared my people I loved 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:40.700 saying get out of here. 00:28:40.779 --> 00:28:42.359 I don't want you around me anymore. 00:28:43.140 --> 00:28:44.660 So a lot of times we walked in fear 00:28:44.660 --> 00:28:46.519 and when I came to know the Lord, 00:28:46.519 --> 00:28:48.339 I walked in fear. 00:28:50.379 --> 00:28:53.119 That's why these passages are so powerful to me. 00:28:55.019 --> 00:28:56.480 Because they show us that God 00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:58.200 is not a God of fear. 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:01.299 And that he's a God of love 00:29:01.299 --> 00:29:02.559 and compassion and grace. 00:29:02.859 --> 00:29:04.240 But he does discipline us 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:06.500 because he wants to do something amazing in our lives. 00:29:06.779 --> 00:29:08.099 He loves you so much 00:29:08.099 --> 00:29:10.259 that he doesn't want you to cling to your MPF 00:29:10.259 --> 00:29:11.440 or your job or your title 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:12.900 or the people in your life 00:29:12.900 --> 00:29:14.779 that fill your life more up than he does. 00:29:16.879 --> 00:29:18.079 Because he knows those things 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:20.000 are gonna eventually fail us. 00:29:21.139 --> 00:29:22.839 And if we cling to him our whole life, 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:23.900 at the end of our life, 00:29:23.960 --> 00:29:24.819 we're gonna end up empty 00:29:24.819 --> 00:29:26.019 and disappointed 00:29:26.019 --> 00:29:27.740 and lost. 00:29:30.980 --> 00:29:32.180 And he knows that the only thing 00:29:32.180 --> 00:29:33.180 that's not gonna fail us, 00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:34.460 the only thing that's not gonna leave us empty, 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:35.799 the only thing that's not gonna disappoint us, 00:29:35.819 --> 00:29:37.279 the only thing that's not gonna make us lost 00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:38.019 forever 00:29:38.019 --> 00:29:40.879 is Jesus. 00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:45.100 And so he keeps putting that into our life 00:29:45.100 --> 00:29:46.740 and we go on this journey in this desert 00:29:46.740 --> 00:29:48.720 and he shares these things with us 00:29:48.720 --> 00:29:49.120 and we go, 00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:49.640 yeah, you know, 00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:50.120 I don't know, 00:29:50.220 --> 00:29:50.820 I don't like that, 00:29:51.100 --> 00:29:52.460 I think I'd rather have this instead. 00:29:52.520 --> 00:29:52.960 And God says, 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:53.420 that's okay. 00:29:56.160 --> 00:29:57.520 I have a desert I wanna take you to. 00:30:00.080 --> 00:30:01.200 You don't wanna give up control, 00:30:01.320 --> 00:30:01.960 you don't wanna give up fear, 00:30:02.020 --> 00:30:02.480 that's okay. 00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:05.720 What if you have a heart attack? 00:30:05.720 --> 00:30:10.059 Now you're four weeks in a bed 00:30:10.059 --> 00:30:10.900 with no control. 00:30:13.140 --> 00:30:14.200 What are you gonna do with that? 00:30:17.339 --> 00:30:18.900 The passage says on this journey 00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:21.519 as we produce and make this puzzle of our lives 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:23.000 that there are gonna be certain things 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:24.140 we're not gonna wanna look at 00:30:24.140 --> 00:30:25.279 because we're afraid of them, 00:30:25.579 --> 00:30:26.839 we don't wanna look at them, 00:30:26.900 --> 00:30:27.940 we don't want other people to see them, 00:30:28.299 --> 00:30:29.660 but Moses says, 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:30.319 remember. 00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:35.360 Because in those most difficult times, 00:30:35.720 --> 00:30:38.240 God is with you. 00:30:43.120 --> 00:30:45.180 In those most difficult times, 00:30:46.360 --> 00:30:49.819 God is with you. 00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:56.360 The last thing the passage says to me, 00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:57.940 and it's this whole story, 00:30:58.019 --> 00:31:00.360 but it's usually just found in verse 16, 00:31:00.460 --> 00:31:01.220 and he says this, 00:31:02.140 --> 00:31:03.539 in the wilderness he fed you, 00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:04.660 he fed you manna, 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:05.180 what is it? 00:31:05.180 --> 00:31:06.340 That your fathers did not know, 00:31:06.420 --> 00:31:07.620 that he might humble you, 00:31:09.220 --> 00:31:09.519 you, 00:31:09.600 --> 00:31:10.560 that he might test you, 00:31:11.460 --> 00:31:13.100 that he might do it for your good 00:31:13.100 --> 00:31:15.080 to the end. 00:31:16.960 --> 00:31:17.500 And in Hebrew, 00:31:17.700 --> 00:31:18.900 it means that when God 00:31:18.900 --> 00:31:21.000 builds the picture of our life, 00:31:21.060 --> 00:31:22.640 when God is putting the puzzles together, 00:31:23.060 --> 00:31:24.360 his puzzles and his pictures 00:31:24.360 --> 00:31:26.220 are not just about here and now, 00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:28.320 but his puzzle and his picture of our life 00:31:28.320 --> 00:31:29.279 is about eternity. 00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:34.259 And I think there's so many of us in here, 00:31:34.440 --> 00:31:35.660 we're building our lives 00:31:35.660 --> 00:31:36.940 and we're putting these pieces together 00:31:36.940 --> 00:31:39.139 and we're holding on to four pieces of this puzzle 00:31:39.139 --> 00:31:39.460 and we say, 00:31:39.539 --> 00:31:39.960 this is me, 00:31:40.639 --> 00:31:41.599 this is my life. 00:31:43.319 --> 00:31:44.160 And God says, 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:44.440 no, 00:31:44.839 --> 00:31:47.119 your life is where I brought you from, 00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:47.779 what I've done, 00:31:47.839 --> 00:31:48.799 what I've done to bring you here, 00:31:49.099 --> 00:31:49.579 your troubles, 00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:50.180 your darkness, 00:31:50.359 --> 00:31:51.720 these things I'm healing in your life, 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:53.440 what you're doing now in eternity. 00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:57.259 And the passage says 00:31:57.259 --> 00:31:58.380 that if we forget that, 00:31:58.460 --> 00:32:00.080 if we forget what God has done, 00:32:00.140 --> 00:32:01.460 if we forget his hand in our life, 00:32:01.660 --> 00:32:02.740 if we forget his provision, 00:32:03.080 --> 00:32:04.340 if we forget where he's brought us, 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:06.080 if we forget all these things 00:32:06.080 --> 00:32:06.900 and we live our life 00:32:06.900 --> 00:32:08.140 just like these four pieces 00:32:08.140 --> 00:32:10.240 of 50 or 60 or 70 years, 00:32:10.500 --> 00:32:11.279 if we live our life 00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:12.600 like this is all of our life, 00:32:14.120 --> 00:32:17.740 the passage says we're lost. 00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:21.680 Because a life without God 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:22.720 and the pieces of his life 00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:23.299 in your life 00:32:23.299 --> 00:32:24.319 and doing things in your life 00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:25.900 and a life without what you've known 00:32:25.900 --> 00:32:26.440 and your sin 00:32:26.440 --> 00:32:27.079 and your brokenness 00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:27.980 and your need to come to him 00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:28.960 and the need for grace 00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:30.100 to fill up in our lives, 00:32:30.819 --> 00:32:32.839 if those pieces aren't in the puzzle, 00:32:33.140 --> 00:32:34.120 then the picture says 00:32:34.120 --> 00:32:36.740 that we perish. 00:32:41.480 --> 00:32:42.380 That we perish. 00:32:45.220 --> 00:32:46.200 So this year, 00:32:46.299 --> 00:32:47.319 we're going to go on a journey 00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:50.079 and Moses says, 00:32:50.279 --> 00:32:51.240 before you enter into this journey, 00:32:51.319 --> 00:32:52.400 I want you to do three things. 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:53.440 I want you to look back 00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:54.920 and to realize that God 00:32:54.920 --> 00:32:55.920 has been with you the whole time. 00:32:59.480 --> 00:33:00.340 God's been feeding you. 00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:01.280 He's been taking care of you. 00:33:01.340 --> 00:33:01.920 He's brought you through 00:33:01.920 --> 00:33:02.340 all these things. 00:33:02.580 --> 00:33:03.519 You think your ability 00:33:03.519 --> 00:33:04.140 and your intellect 00:33:04.140 --> 00:33:05.019 and all these things 00:33:05.019 --> 00:33:06.140 got you to where you're at. 00:33:06.220 --> 00:33:06.380 You know, 00:33:06.600 --> 00:33:07.600 who gave you the intellect? 00:33:09.500 --> 00:33:10.540 Who gave you the health? 00:33:12.300 --> 00:33:13.360 Who allowed you to be born 00:33:13.360 --> 00:33:14.420 in Hong Kong this year? 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:15.460 Why weren't you born in India 00:33:15.460 --> 00:33:17.080 500 years later or earlier? 00:33:17.079 --> 00:33:21.000 When you go on this journey, 00:33:21.119 --> 00:33:22.379 realize that God has brought you. 00:33:23.379 --> 00:33:24.319 God is in control. 00:33:25.099 --> 00:33:26.099 He's taking care of you. 00:33:26.839 --> 00:33:27.720 When you go on this journey, 00:33:27.819 --> 00:33:28.759 realize that he's going to take you 00:33:28.759 --> 00:33:30.220 to places that are going to show you 00:33:30.220 --> 00:33:30.919 your need for him 00:33:30.919 --> 00:33:33.359 in deep, hard, and painful ways. 00:33:33.599 --> 00:33:34.579 He's going to break you. 00:33:34.639 --> 00:33:35.859 He's going to take you to deserts. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:37.099 And in the midst of these deserts, 00:33:37.099 --> 00:33:38.159 he's always going to be there. 00:33:38.399 --> 00:33:39.599 He's always going to be beside you. 00:33:39.639 --> 00:33:40.939 He's never going to reject you. 00:33:41.159 --> 00:33:42.079 And the goal is 00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:43.079 that you would fall more 00:33:43.079 --> 00:33:44.079 in love with him 00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:47.259 because he's the only thing 00:33:47.259 --> 00:33:50.079 that will take you through to the end. 00:33:52.079 --> 00:33:53.279 And when you build this puzzle 00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:53.980 of your life, 00:33:54.779 --> 00:33:56.079 remember that it's to the end. 00:33:57.519 --> 00:33:58.539 It's to eternity. 00:33:59.219 --> 00:33:59.839 I mean, think about it. 00:33:59.839 --> 00:34:01.279 Most of us build our lives 00:34:01.279 --> 00:34:03.679 and our lives consist of 00:34:03.679 --> 00:34:05.639 10,000-piece puzzle 00:34:05.639 --> 00:34:08.739 and eternity is like two pieces. 00:34:09.599 --> 00:34:11.199 If we included it at all. 00:34:12.199 --> 00:34:13.920 But the way God builds our lives 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:16.619 is that here and now 00:34:16.619 --> 00:34:18.799 is like four or five pieces. 00:34:20.579 --> 00:34:21.940 And what he did before 00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:23.920 and what he did to bring us 00:34:23.920 --> 00:34:24.559 to his place 00:34:24.559 --> 00:34:26.159 and what he's going to do 00:34:26.159 --> 00:34:26.880 with us in eternity 00:34:26.880 --> 00:34:29.259 is massive. 00:34:31.559 --> 00:34:32.860 When you came in, 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:34.679 you got a red band. 00:34:36.139 --> 00:34:37.599 Some people were very suspicious. 00:34:37.599 --> 00:34:40.279 Amy Farrell, man, 00:34:40.339 --> 00:34:40.860 she looked at me. 00:34:40.980 --> 00:34:41.380 I guess it's, 00:34:41.480 --> 00:34:41.920 I don't know what it is 00:34:41.920 --> 00:34:42.539 about the Brits. 00:34:43.179 --> 00:34:43.719 It's, you know, 00:34:43.860 --> 00:34:44.920 they're asking me, 00:34:44.960 --> 00:34:45.440 is this rubbish? 00:34:45.900 --> 00:34:46.199 You know, 00:34:46.239 --> 00:34:47.279 and they were very suspicious. 00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:49.679 And, you know, 00:34:49.719 --> 00:34:50.460 I said, well, you know, 00:34:50.920 --> 00:34:52.099 what it means is 00:34:52.099 --> 00:34:53.579 that you're an honorary Texan now. 00:34:55.159 --> 00:34:56.420 So anybody who has a band on, 00:34:56.480 --> 00:34:57.380 you're honorary Texan, 00:34:57.920 --> 00:34:58.539 you're in heaven. 00:34:58.880 --> 00:34:59.880 Now, what it means is this. 00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:04.960 Today, 00:35:06.140 --> 00:35:07.880 this week, 00:35:08.640 --> 00:35:10.800 as you go on your journey, 00:35:10.880 --> 00:35:11.640 you're going to have doubts. 00:35:13.900 --> 00:35:14.619 You're going to wonder 00:35:14.619 --> 00:35:15.519 if God is for you. 00:35:15.579 --> 00:35:16.019 You're going to wonder 00:35:16.019 --> 00:35:17.099 if God is in your life. 00:35:17.160 --> 00:35:17.539 You're going to wonder 00:35:17.539 --> 00:35:18.960 if God cares about your tests 00:35:18.960 --> 00:35:19.599 and your professors 00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:20.820 and your scores 00:35:20.820 --> 00:35:21.860 and what you're going to do next 00:35:21.860 --> 00:35:22.680 and your bonus. 00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:23.960 You're going to worry 00:35:23.960 --> 00:35:25.240 about all these things. 00:35:26.420 --> 00:35:27.320 And I want you to look 00:35:27.320 --> 00:35:27.940 at this red band 00:35:27.940 --> 00:35:29.179 and to realize that God 00:35:29.179 --> 00:35:31.079 is with you. 00:35:33.079 --> 00:35:34.860 He brought you from the past. 00:35:35.420 --> 00:35:36.440 He's been taking care of you 00:35:36.440 --> 00:35:37.200 all this time. 00:35:37.639 --> 00:35:38.579 He's been feeding you. 00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:39.340 He's been clothing you. 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:40.200 He's there. 00:35:40.460 --> 00:35:41.059 He's good. 00:35:42.559 --> 00:35:43.159 He's there. 00:35:44.900 --> 00:35:45.440 This year, 00:35:45.500 --> 00:35:46.480 you're going to walk through life 00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:47.720 and something is going to happen. 00:35:47.780 --> 00:35:48.280 I had a good friend 00:35:48.280 --> 00:35:50.280 and they were just fired this week. 00:35:52.159 --> 00:35:52.880 And they wondered 00:35:52.880 --> 00:35:53.960 what's going to come 00:35:53.960 --> 00:35:54.679 of these things. 00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:55.980 Some of us are going to get sick. 00:35:56.059 --> 00:35:56.920 Some of us are going to lose 00:35:56.920 --> 00:35:57.619 people we love. 00:35:57.619 --> 00:36:00.000 Some of us are going to have things 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:01.380 we don't even want to talk about. 00:36:02.359 --> 00:36:03.279 And we're going to wonder 00:36:03.279 --> 00:36:04.579 is God with us? 00:36:04.619 --> 00:36:05.559 Is he using these things? 00:36:05.659 --> 00:36:07.000 Why are these things happening here? 00:36:07.019 --> 00:36:08.099 And I want you to look at this band 00:36:08.099 --> 00:36:10.679 and to realize that he cares. 00:36:11.819 --> 00:36:12.659 And he's doing something 00:36:12.659 --> 00:36:13.239 in your life 00:36:13.239 --> 00:36:13.980 and in your heart 00:36:13.980 --> 00:36:15.239 that is amazing. 00:36:16.559 --> 00:36:17.319 And the question is 00:36:17.319 --> 00:36:18.059 are you going to let him? 00:36:19.519 --> 00:36:20.980 Or do you want to go back to Egypt 00:36:20.980 --> 00:36:23.339 and get trapped up 00:36:23.339 --> 00:36:23.920 by those things 00:36:23.920 --> 00:36:25.079 that have been grabbing you 00:36:25.079 --> 00:36:26.059 and closing you 00:36:26.059 --> 00:36:27.440 and capturing your heart 00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:28.340 and your affections? 00:36:31.440 --> 00:36:32.380 As you go on this journey 00:36:32.380 --> 00:36:32.980 this year 00:36:32.980 --> 00:36:34.039 you're going to be thinking 00:36:34.039 --> 00:36:35.539 about just here and now. 00:36:35.639 --> 00:36:36.820 I got to get this week done. 00:36:36.920 --> 00:36:38.019 I got to get these things going on. 00:36:38.259 --> 00:36:38.820 I don't have time 00:36:38.820 --> 00:36:39.599 to think about these other things. 00:36:39.659 --> 00:36:40.719 This is just a special time. 00:36:41.079 --> 00:36:42.119 These are all I'm going to worry about. 00:36:42.440 --> 00:36:44.059 And every time in Hong Kong 00:36:44.059 --> 00:36:44.719 what I've learned is 00:36:44.719 --> 00:36:46.299 every time is a special time 00:36:46.300 --> 00:36:48.160 and we don't ever think about 00:36:48.160 --> 00:36:49.039 what's next 00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:52.620 I want you to look at the band 00:36:52.620 --> 00:36:55.300 because the passage says 00:36:55.300 --> 00:36:56.920 that God thinks about what's next. 00:36:58.680 --> 00:36:59.580 And he loves you. 00:37:01.080 --> 00:37:02.280 And he's pursuing you. 00:37:03.740 --> 00:37:04.900 And he's going to take care of you. 00:37:06.400 --> 00:37:08.220 Now you don't have to wear it all week. 00:37:09.080 --> 00:37:10.580 You don't have to wear it all month. 00:37:11.120 --> 00:37:13.080 You realize I like to give out visual things 00:37:13.079 --> 00:37:14.179 because they help me remember. 00:37:15.319 --> 00:37:16.139 But I'd like to give you 00:37:16.139 --> 00:37:16.840 just to wear it today. 00:37:18.500 --> 00:37:19.259 And after today 00:37:19.259 --> 00:37:20.119 you can take it off 00:37:20.119 --> 00:37:20.900 just put it someplace 00:37:20.900 --> 00:37:22.819 that you can see. 00:37:24.119 --> 00:37:25.480 Because if you're like me 00:37:25.480 --> 00:37:27.679 sometime in the next week 00:37:27.679 --> 00:37:29.380 next month 00:37:29.380 --> 00:37:31.119 this year 00:37:31.119 --> 00:37:33.880 something's going to happen 00:37:33.880 --> 00:37:34.579 in your life. 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:37.059 And you're going to wonder 00:37:37.059 --> 00:37:38.880 is God real? 00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:41.199 Does he care? 00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:43.319 Is he there? 00:37:45.079 --> 00:37:46.379 And the passage says 00:37:46.379 --> 00:37:46.980 that God 00:37:46.980 --> 00:37:48.859 does all of those things 00:37:48.859 --> 00:37:51.460 and so much more. 00:37:52.980 --> 00:37:53.859 And the question is 00:37:53.859 --> 00:37:54.579 will you trust him? 00:37:58.059 --> 00:37:58.980 Will you trust him? 00:38:00.980 --> 00:38:02.319 Father we thank you for this day. 00:38:02.559 --> 00:38:03.579 We thank you for your goodness 00:38:03.579 --> 00:38:05.519 and your faithfulness 00:38:05.519 --> 00:38:06.179 in our life. 00:38:07.099 --> 00:38:08.799 We thank you for this passage 00:38:08.799 --> 00:38:10.339 in Deuteronomy. 00:38:10.340 --> 00:38:12.120 as Moses 00:38:12.120 --> 00:38:12.960 who doesn't enter 00:38:12.960 --> 00:38:13.940 into the promised land 00:38:13.940 --> 00:38:14.980 because he was 00:38:14.980 --> 00:38:16.300 disobedient. 00:38:17.720 --> 00:38:18.740 And I know we don't like 00:38:18.740 --> 00:38:19.360 to talk about 00:38:19.360 --> 00:38:20.600 obedience and disobedience 00:38:20.600 --> 00:38:22.820 because it's a scary thing. 00:38:24.340 --> 00:38:25.400 Especially Christians 00:38:25.400 --> 00:38:26.320 in the church today 00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:27.440 we don't like to talk about it 00:38:27.440 --> 00:38:28.860 we just want to talk about grace. 00:38:30.200 --> 00:38:31.140 But your word says 00:38:31.140 --> 00:38:31.680 that obedience 00:38:31.680 --> 00:38:34.039 is important. 00:38:35.780 --> 00:38:36.900 And that you've called us 00:38:36.900 --> 00:38:37.400 to obey 00:38:37.400 --> 00:38:38.780 because as we trust you 00:38:38.780 --> 00:38:40.240 we experience 00:38:40.240 --> 00:38:40.900 your goodness 00:38:40.900 --> 00:38:41.600 and your fullness 00:38:41.600 --> 00:38:42.600 in our life. 00:38:43.660 --> 00:38:44.900 And if we don't trust you 00:38:44.900 --> 00:38:46.480 we're lost. 00:38:49.200 --> 00:38:50.720 Father I pray for some of us 00:38:50.720 --> 00:38:51.540 in here right now 00:38:51.540 --> 00:38:52.620 who are building 00:38:52.620 --> 00:38:53.260 our own puzzles 00:38:53.260 --> 00:38:53.940 of our life. 00:38:55.320 --> 00:38:56.640 We're trying to put together 00:38:56.640 --> 00:38:57.140 the pieces 00:38:57.140 --> 00:38:58.000 of just here 00:38:58.000 --> 00:38:58.660 and now 00:38:58.660 --> 00:38:59.240 and me 00:38:59.240 --> 00:39:00.560 and mine. 00:39:01.519 --> 00:39:02.780 And we don't include God. 00:39:02.880 --> 00:39:03.880 We don't include a future. 00:39:04.080 --> 00:39:04.720 We don't include 00:39:04.720 --> 00:39:05.900 this struggle 00:39:05.900 --> 00:39:06.580 that we have 00:39:06.580 --> 00:39:07.360 inside of us. 00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:08.500 we don't realize 00:39:08.500 --> 00:39:08.920 that God 00:39:08.920 --> 00:39:10.079 is pursuing us. 00:39:11.640 --> 00:39:12.620 My prayer for them 00:39:12.620 --> 00:39:13.400 here today Lord 00:39:13.400 --> 00:39:13.900 is that you would 00:39:13.900 --> 00:39:14.579 open their eyes 00:39:14.579 --> 00:39:15.360 to your son Jesus 00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:17.640 because that's the only way 00:39:17.640 --> 00:39:18.160 it's going to happen. 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:19.920 It's not going to happen 00:39:19.920 --> 00:39:20.780 because they're good enough. 00:39:20.880 --> 00:39:21.539 It's not going to happen 00:39:21.539 --> 00:39:22.280 because they were 00:39:22.280 --> 00:39:23.500 righteous enough. 00:39:23.599 --> 00:39:24.280 It's not going to happen 00:39:24.280 --> 00:39:25.000 because they didn't do 00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:25.500 bad things. 00:39:25.559 --> 00:39:26.059 It's going to happen 00:39:26.059 --> 00:39:27.800 because you loved them. 00:39:29.340 --> 00:39:30.039 You allowed your son 00:39:30.039 --> 00:39:30.800 to die for them. 00:39:33.220 --> 00:39:33.840 Father I pray 00:39:33.840 --> 00:39:34.320 that they would 00:39:34.320 --> 00:39:35.539 realize that. 00:39:35.539 --> 00:39:37.519 they would ask 00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:37.820 the people 00:39:37.820 --> 00:39:38.380 who brought them 00:39:38.380 --> 00:39:39.079 what this means 00:39:39.079 --> 00:39:39.599 and they would 00:39:39.599 --> 00:39:40.460 come into your family 00:39:40.460 --> 00:39:41.039 this week. 00:39:43.179 --> 00:39:43.840 Father if I pray 00:39:43.840 --> 00:39:44.539 for the rest of us 00:39:44.539 --> 00:39:45.519 who are on this journey 00:39:45.519 --> 00:39:48.099 and if 00:39:48.099 --> 00:39:50.119 they're like me 00:39:50.119 --> 00:39:50.940 they fail 00:39:50.940 --> 00:39:52.059 probably often. 00:39:53.960 --> 00:39:54.559 They don't want 00:39:54.559 --> 00:39:55.000 to look at 00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:55.719 the past. 00:39:55.820 --> 00:39:56.119 They don't want 00:39:56.119 --> 00:39:56.340 to look at 00:39:56.340 --> 00:39:56.779 your fullness 00:39:56.779 --> 00:39:57.420 and your grace 00:39:57.420 --> 00:39:57.980 and your mercy. 00:39:58.139 --> 00:39:58.480 They don't. 00:39:58.659 --> 00:39:59.980 We don't want 00:39:59.980 --> 00:40:00.320 to look at 00:40:00.320 --> 00:40:01.179 our brokenness. 00:40:02.460 --> 00:40:03.099 But all along 00:40:03.099 --> 00:40:04.019 you're there 00:40:04.019 --> 00:40:06.079 and you're working 00:40:06.079 --> 00:40:06.880 and you're dealing 00:40:06.880 --> 00:40:10.299 you sent your son 00:40:10.299 --> 00:40:10.980 through the wilderness 00:40:10.980 --> 00:40:14.099 and he came out 00:40:14.099 --> 00:40:14.900 successful 00:40:14.900 --> 00:40:17.319 where we often 00:40:17.319 --> 00:40:17.779 fail 00:40:17.779 --> 00:40:20.239 and you pointed 00:40:20.239 --> 00:40:20.839 us to him 00:40:20.839 --> 00:40:21.279 and you said 00:40:21.279 --> 00:40:21.799 now you can 00:40:21.799 --> 00:40:22.360 trust him. 00:40:22.460 --> 00:40:23.179 Will you trust him? 00:40:23.259 --> 00:40:23.880 Will you allow him 00:40:23.880 --> 00:40:24.259 to give you 00:40:24.259 --> 00:40:24.880 the strength? 00:40:26.679 --> 00:40:27.159 Lord I pray 00:40:27.159 --> 00:40:27.759 for us 00:40:27.759 --> 00:40:29.880 those of us 00:40:29.880 --> 00:40:30.500 who are on this 00:40:30.500 --> 00:40:31.099 journey as your 00:40:31.099 --> 00:40:31.460 children. 00:40:32.980 --> 00:40:33.679 That we would 00:40:33.679 --> 00:40:34.199 allow you 00:40:34.199 --> 00:40:34.719 once again 00:40:34.719 --> 00:40:35.259 to capture 00:40:35.259 --> 00:40:35.960 our hearts. 00:40:37.719 --> 00:40:38.360 That we would 00:40:38.360 --> 00:40:38.759 allow you 00:40:38.759 --> 00:40:39.159 once again 00:40:39.159 --> 00:40:39.579 to be 00:40:39.579 --> 00:40:41.000 our God. 00:40:42.920 --> 00:40:43.639 Father I pray 00:40:43.639 --> 00:40:44.500 for this church 00:40:44.500 --> 00:40:45.279 as we build 00:40:45.279 --> 00:40:45.839 this puzzle 00:40:45.839 --> 00:40:46.400 what it means 00:40:46.400 --> 00:40:47.039 to be in 00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:47.659 Watermark. 00:40:48.380 --> 00:40:49.019 Help us 00:40:49.019 --> 00:40:49.659 never to leave 00:40:49.659 --> 00:40:50.360 those components 00:40:50.360 --> 00:40:50.980 out of 00:40:50.980 --> 00:40:52.259 God's faithfulness 00:40:52.259 --> 00:40:53.619 in his goodness 00:40:53.619 --> 00:40:54.880 in his provision 00:40:54.880 --> 00:40:56.699 in his mercy 00:40:56.699 --> 00:40:57.619 in his grace. 00:40:58.759 --> 00:40:59.319 Help us 00:40:59.319 --> 00:40:59.920 never to 00:40:59.920 --> 00:41:01.119 expect people 00:41:01.119 --> 00:41:01.680 to be so 00:41:01.680 --> 00:41:02.200 perfect 00:41:02.200 --> 00:41:03.119 when they 00:41:03.119 --> 00:41:03.440 come through 00:41:03.440 --> 00:41:04.000 the doors 00:41:04.000 --> 00:41:04.460 and not 00:41:04.460 --> 00:41:04.840 broken 00:41:04.840 --> 00:41:05.400 and not 00:41:05.400 --> 00:41:05.920 hurting 00:41:05.920 --> 00:41:07.180 and not 00:41:07.180 --> 00:41:07.680 doubting 00:41:07.680 --> 00:41:08.099 and not 00:41:08.099 --> 00:41:08.659 fearing. 00:41:09.700 --> 00:41:10.380 Help us 00:41:10.380 --> 00:41:10.720 to realize 00:41:10.720 --> 00:41:11.320 that's part 00:41:11.320 --> 00:41:11.619 of your 00:41:11.619 --> 00:41:12.159 plan 00:41:12.159 --> 00:41:12.659 and that's 00:41:12.659 --> 00:41:13.119 how you 00:41:13.119 --> 00:41:13.420 work. 00:41:13.539 --> 00:41:13.980 You meet 00:41:13.980 --> 00:41:15.500 almost all 00:41:15.500 --> 00:41:15.980 of us 00:41:15.980 --> 00:41:17.700 in the desert 00:41:17.700 --> 00:41:19.420 and you 00:41:19.420 --> 00:41:20.119 change 00:41:20.119 --> 00:41:21.220 almost all 00:41:21.220 --> 00:41:21.559 of us 00:41:21.559 --> 00:41:22.280 significantly 00:41:22.280 --> 00:41:24.180 in desert 00:41:24.180 --> 00:41:24.760 times. 00:41:25.920 --> 00:41:26.680 May we be 00:41:26.680 --> 00:41:27.119 a church 00:41:27.119 --> 00:41:27.159 church 00:41:27.159 --> 00:41:27.559 that 00:41:27.559 --> 00:41:29.159 greets 00:41:29.159 --> 00:41:29.559 people 00:41:29.559 --> 00:41:30.319 in the 00:41:30.319 --> 00:41:30.599 desert 00:41:30.599 --> 00:41:32.699 and helps 00:41:32.699 --> 00:41:33.079 them to 00:41:33.079 --> 00:41:33.420 see your 00:41:33.420 --> 00:41:33.779 son 00:41:33.779 --> 00:41:35.339 and to 00:41:35.339 --> 00:41:35.599 walk 00:41:35.599 --> 00:41:36.039 through it 00:41:36.039 --> 00:41:36.559 with them 00:41:36.559 --> 00:41:37.179 together. 00:41:38.519 --> 00:41:38.859 So Lord 00:41:38.859 --> 00:41:39.179 we come 00:41:39.179 --> 00:41:39.380 to you 00:41:39.380 --> 00:41:39.659 today 00:41:39.659 --> 00:41:39.920 and we 00:41:39.920 --> 00:41:40.099 just 00:41:40.099 --> 00:41:40.380 worship 00:41:40.380 --> 00:41:40.719 you. 00:41:41.940 --> 00:41:42.199 As we 00:41:42.199 --> 00:41:42.500 enter into 00:41:42.500 --> 00:41:42.799 this new 00:41:42.799 --> 00:41:43.059 year 00:41:43.059 --> 00:41:43.579 we trust 00:41:43.579 --> 00:41:43.859 you 00:41:43.859 --> 00:41:45.559 we need 00:41:45.559 --> 00:41:45.839 you. 00:41:47.119 --> 00:41:47.559 We pray 00:41:47.559 --> 00:41:47.880 all these 00:41:47.880 --> 00:41:48.179 things in 00:41:48.179 --> 00:41:48.440 your son 00:41:48.440 --> 00:41:49.000 Jesus Christ 00:41:49.000 --> 00:41:49.559 holy name. 00:41:50.699 --> 00:41:50.980 Amen.