WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.860 So last week I had shared how God used the quote, before God can heal a broken heart, He has to have all the pieces. 00:00:07.860 --> 00:00:13.500 How He used that quote in my life to really begin to teach me about the brokenness in my own life. 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:18.620 And so this week I thought, well, you know, I'd like to look at some more quotes. 00:00:18.900 --> 00:00:20.480 I'm up for some quotes. 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:25.719 And then I thought, well, I'm really interested in what people are putting on Christian t-shirts these days. 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:29.979 I'm not sure if this is a good idea or a bad idea, but that's what I did. 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:36.759 So some of them make me laugh because they're the things that most Christians think but will never admit. 00:00:37.140 --> 00:00:37.320 Right? 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:40.820 And then some of them make me go, amen. 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:42.599 Like, yes, absolutely. 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:43.140 I agree. 00:00:43.539 --> 00:00:46.859 And then others make me just go, hmm, and I want to ponder. 00:00:47.239 --> 00:00:48.299 So here we go. 00:00:48.879 --> 00:00:49.560 Self-care. 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:50.780 Read the Bible. 00:00:52.019 --> 00:00:53.000 Hmm, right? 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:55.579 Walking with the Lord is my cardio. 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:01.340 I love God, but some of His children get on my nerves. 00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:07.659 Jesus loves you, but I'm His favorite. 00:01:08.099 --> 00:01:09.659 Now, my friends accuse me of believing that. 00:01:09.740 --> 00:01:11.180 I'm like, and you see a problem with this. 00:01:11.260 --> 00:01:11.460 Why? 00:01:12.780 --> 00:01:13.980 Jesus loves you. 00:01:14.819 --> 00:01:15.840 You should be His favorite. 00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:18.060 I'm going to let God fix it. 00:01:18.099 --> 00:01:19.460 If I fix it, I'm going to jail. 00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:24.719 Walking by faith, tripping constantly. 00:01:26.139 --> 00:01:28.239 That's the amen one for me, right? 00:01:29.479 --> 00:01:32.299 Don't sit at tables that Jesus would have flipped. 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:35.579 See, it's a mmm one, right? 00:01:38.119 --> 00:01:42.039 If you bring up my past, you should know Jesus dropped the charges. 00:01:43.019 --> 00:01:43.239 All right? 00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:45.639 Spoiler alert. 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:46.839 God wins. 00:01:47.119 --> 00:01:48.439 You probably have seen that one before. 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:53.140 My problem is, I want to follow Jesus and slap people, too. 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:02.439 I can do all things through a verse that is taken out of context. 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:03.640 Philippians 4.13. 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:05.019 I thought that was funny. 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:08.219 All my role models went to prison. 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:12.560 Joseph, Paul, Peter, John, Daniel, Jesus, Jeremiah. 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:13.620 It's like, amen. 00:02:13.819 --> 00:02:14.120 They did. 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:18.060 Walk into the room like God sent you. 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:20.639 That's another good one. 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:26.199 And then lastly, changing your story, revealing God's glory. 00:02:27.300 --> 00:02:28.460 I love that one. 00:02:29.060 --> 00:02:33.240 So tonight, we want to talk about how God rewrites our stories. 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:40.640 And as we've seen over the last two weeks, God's rewriting of our stories begin with release. 00:02:40.640 --> 00:02:44.520 It's when God releases us through the redemption of Jesus Christ. 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:48.520 And he restores us as we walk by faith with him. 00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:53.939 And rewriting our story, as we're going to see tonight, it happens within the context of his bigger story. 00:02:54.860 --> 00:03:00.480 So rewritten, by definition, means to write again so as to alter or to improve. 00:03:00.939 --> 00:03:06.300 And God rewrites our stories by divinely intervening in the story, right? 00:03:06.300 --> 00:03:14.320 And he reveals not just our story, but he reveals this greater story that gives us context for ours. 00:03:14.320 --> 00:03:19.320 Because it's his story that forms who we are and that informs who we are, how we live, and how we love. 00:03:19.860 --> 00:03:23.140 Now, there's a writer for the Gospel Coalition named Andrew Shanks. 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:25.000 And Andrew writes this, 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:36.919 I love that. That is such a good quote. 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:44.500 When God enters the story, he takes up the central role, and suddenly it becomes apparent that his role was central all along. 00:03:44.920 --> 00:03:47.139 He goes on in that same article, and he says, 00:03:47.139 --> 00:03:56.719 In the appearance of God within his own story, all of the other minor roles foreshadow and echo his critical one, the incarnation. 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:01.539 In which all other lives suddenly take on a whole new meaning and importance. 00:04:01.819 --> 00:04:06.079 In addition to their contribution to the story within their own plot lines, 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:12.419 each individual life becomes a living echo of the story's main character, Jesus Christ. 00:04:12.419 --> 00:04:19.120 So when we think about our stories and how God is working, they are actually echoing Jesus Christ. 00:04:19.339 --> 00:04:21.000 And I always say, God speaks in echoes. 00:04:21.379 --> 00:04:24.399 I mean, you hear something one time, another time, and another time, and another time. 00:04:24.939 --> 00:04:28.699 And so through us as Christ followers, he is speaking in echoes through our story. 00:04:29.500 --> 00:04:40.539 So, the question becomes, how does God rewrite our story? 00:04:40.540 --> 00:04:48.560 Now, on your table, there are some discussion questions, but at the top of the discussion questions, there's a list. 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:50.120 This is not an exhaustive list. 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:53.680 This is a list of some of the ways that God rewrites our stories. 00:04:53.960 --> 00:04:55.560 But it's a good place for us to start. 00:04:56.080 --> 00:04:58.680 So, first of all, this is not new information for us. 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:02.860 But we know that when God rewrites our story, he gives us new identity, right? 00:05:02.860 --> 00:05:09.199 If you remember, the Bible teaches us that before we are in Christ, we are enemies of God. 00:05:09.660 --> 00:05:11.160 And we are hostile to him. 00:05:11.660 --> 00:05:18.740 And when God saves us through Jesus, all of a sudden we move from that storyline to a completely different storyline. 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:23.639 And their storyline then, the identity that we have is we're loved. 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:24.660 We're forgiven. 00:05:25.020 --> 00:05:25.800 We're adopted. 00:05:26.280 --> 00:05:27.480 We are called. 00:05:27.819 --> 00:05:29.400 We are co-heirs with Christ. 00:05:29.740 --> 00:05:31.160 We are God's beloved daughters. 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:33.939 So, he gives us a new identity. 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:39.280 The other thing that God does to rewrite our story is he actually gives us a new story. 00:05:41.380 --> 00:05:48.060 And by that, what I mean is he gives us new ways to think about God, ourselves, and other people. 00:05:48.820 --> 00:05:51.200 So, think about the apostle Paul. 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:55.540 When we are first introduced to him in scripture, he is known as Saul. 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:57.940 He's a Pharisee and he's a persecutor. 00:05:57.939 --> 00:06:02.000 However, Christ saves him and then he becomes Paul, the apostle. 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:06.719 Paul's story from the very beginning was to be Paul, the apostle, not Saul, the Pharisee. 00:06:07.459 --> 00:06:14.060 But if Saul had continued on in his story that he was writing, he would have stayed there. 00:06:14.060 --> 00:06:19.660 And so, when we see that happening in Saul's life, that should encourage us to say, wait a second. 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:31.840 If the Lord can take somebody like Saul, who is a persecutor of the church, and equip him and call him and enable him to be the apostle, 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:34.000 what can he do with our lives? 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:39.079 We don't need to be a Paul, but we do need to be who God has called us to be. 00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:45.300 Another way that God rewrites our story is that he repurposes our past. 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:47.740 He repurposes our past. 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:50.560 So, he uses the things like brokenness. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:55.800 He uses things that not only are broken in our lives, but things that break us. 00:06:56.379 --> 00:06:57.360 All of those things. 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:00.020 And he promises, I'm going to create beauty for ashes, right? 00:07:01.060 --> 00:07:06.540 And perhaps one of the best examples of this in scripture would be the woman at the well. 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:11.060 If you remember her story, she had been married how many times? 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:12.819 Five times. 00:07:12.900 --> 00:07:14.020 And she was living with a man. 00:07:14.540 --> 00:07:20.720 She was so embarrassed by her storyline that she would not even associate with the people in the town because she felt humiliated and shamed. 00:07:21.420 --> 00:07:24.280 And so, she would go to the well in the middle of the day when it was super hot. 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:27.180 That's what they said back in the day, super hot. 00:07:28.100 --> 00:07:29.340 When it was so hot. 00:07:29.740 --> 00:07:31.040 And she would go to the well. 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:38.360 And there, thinking that she was going to get water, she encounters a man who tells her everything she's ever done. 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:41.220 And he completely changes her life. 00:07:42.180 --> 00:07:45.480 And then, she leaves behind her water pots. 00:07:45.980 --> 00:07:52.000 And she goes into the town to the very people that she doesn't want to see. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:57.600 And says to them, you've got to come and meet this man who told me everything that I've ever done. 00:07:59.019 --> 00:08:04.180 And if you've seen the series, The Chosen, the episode of the woman at the well. 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:09.819 It's one of my favorite episodes because Jesus in that scene is at the well. 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:11.079 And he's talking to his disciples. 00:08:11.079 --> 00:08:14.519 And they're confused because he's actually been talking to the Samaritan woman. 00:08:15.060 --> 00:08:16.300 And they're having this conversation. 00:08:16.300 --> 00:08:19.220 And Jesus is saying, you know, I have food to eat that you don't even know about. 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:21.699 And they all look up. 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:25.680 And here comes this horde of people going to Jesus. 00:08:25.840 --> 00:08:28.920 And at the front of that line was the woman at the well. 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:33.420 So, what we see is God repurposes our past. 00:08:34.580 --> 00:08:35.379 I mean, it's so beautiful. 00:08:36.220 --> 00:08:39.440 He also transforms our sorrows and our grief into purpose. 00:08:40.340 --> 00:08:45.399 As the author, this is good news, God always gets the last word. 00:08:46.560 --> 00:08:46.740 Right? 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:48.039 Your life. 00:08:48.379 --> 00:08:49.480 God gets the last word. 00:08:49.940 --> 00:08:51.000 You don't get the last word. 00:08:51.100 --> 00:08:52.100 I don't get the last word. 00:08:52.180 --> 00:08:53.759 Somebody else doesn't get the last word. 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:55.379 It is God who gets the last word. 00:08:55.379 --> 00:09:00.559 And God's rewriting of our story, it doesn't erase our past. 00:09:00.779 --> 00:09:02.019 He doesn't need to erase it. 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:03.179 He needs to redeem it. 00:09:03.740 --> 00:09:03.919 Right? 00:09:04.740 --> 00:09:06.159 And so, he redeems it. 00:09:06.220 --> 00:09:12.559 And he makes every single chapter of our lives a testimony to his power and his glory. 00:09:13.220 --> 00:09:18.460 Those places and those things that we think are absolutely the worst things that could have ever happened to us 00:09:18.460 --> 00:09:22.980 in his hands will become the most powerful thing that he will use. 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:24.480 I've seen it. 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:25.360 I know it firsthand. 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:31.340 When he rewrites our story, he calls us to follow and not to lead. 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:34.940 Oh, we love to lead. 00:09:36.100 --> 00:09:41.240 God, will you please do this for me and do it this way and do it in this time and do it this, you know, this, this, this. 00:09:41.300 --> 00:09:42.340 We love to lead. 00:09:42.340 --> 00:09:50.519 But he gives us a spirit to indwell us and he gives us his word to guide us because he's teaching us how to follow. 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:58.580 If you remember when Jesus approached Peter and Andrew and James and John and Matthew, he said the same thing to them. 00:09:58.899 --> 00:09:59.460 Follow me. 00:10:00.540 --> 00:10:01.080 Follow me. 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:03.700 He didn't say, follow me and then I'll let you be the leader. 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:05.560 He said, follow me. 00:10:06.280 --> 00:10:09.680 And so we see that, especially in the story of Peter. 00:10:10.220 --> 00:10:11.320 I mean, poor Peter. 00:10:11.560 --> 00:10:18.720 He gets such a bad rap because he's so human and he's so real and he's constantly doing something that makes him look bad. 00:10:18.759 --> 00:10:19.000 Right. 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:22.799 So he rewrites Jesus when Jesus says that he's going to die. 00:10:23.659 --> 00:10:25.179 And Jesus says, get behind me, Satan. 00:10:26.700 --> 00:10:32.000 He wants to build three tents for Jesus and Moses and Elijah when they're on the Mount of Transfiguration. 00:10:32.860 --> 00:10:35.259 And God says, listen to my beloved son. 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:39.179 He refuses to let Jesus wash his feet. 00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:40.600 And Jesus says, I don't wash your feet. 00:10:40.659 --> 00:10:41.200 You have no part. 00:10:41.259 --> 00:10:43.519 I have no part of you or you have no part of me. 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:46.460 And then he goes, well, give me a bath. 00:10:46.460 --> 00:10:49.080 And Jesus says, you don't need a bath. 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:51.000 I just need you to wash your feet. 00:10:53.019 --> 00:10:55.360 And then, of course, he boasts. 00:10:55.660 --> 00:11:00.280 And he says, God, even if everybody else leaves you, I will die for you. 00:11:01.700 --> 00:11:08.960 But underneath all of those things is this thing that we also have in us, a desire to lead, not to follow. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:16.660 Jesus is not offended by Peter's impulsive, ambitious, self-assertive personality. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:20.180 What he does is he rewrites his story. 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:27.680 The Peter that you read in 1 and 2 Peter is very different than the Peter that you meet in the Gospels and even in Acts. 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:33.859 So, Peter's story reminds us that following Jesus always works. 00:11:34.319 --> 00:11:35.659 Trying to lead him never does. 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:37.419 He just doesn't. 00:11:39.219 --> 00:11:46.099 Another way that God rewrites our story is he transforms our character through faith and surrender. 00:11:48.079 --> 00:11:49.019 We know this. 00:11:49.099 --> 00:11:50.079 We're familiar with this. 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:54.579 As we go along with God, God reveals the things that can no longer be part of our story. 00:11:54.580 --> 00:12:01.820 And I am pretty sure that if you look at your story, look back on it five years ago, you see those things that God has been taking out. 00:12:02.940 --> 00:12:15.240 But, he says, anything that's going to sabotage our relationship, anything that is going to hinder others, those are the things he will take from our lives. 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:38.320 Things like sinful behaviors, self-protection, unhealthy relationships, unhealthy boundaries, self-reliance, self-righteousness, a savior complex, false beliefs, addictive behaviors that show we love something more than him. 00:12:38.820 --> 00:12:40.720 And he doesn't beat us over the head with it. 00:12:40.740 --> 00:12:43.080 He just says those things can't be part of your story. 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:43.320 Sorry. 00:12:50.139 --> 00:12:58.560 But the good news is, in exchange for those things that he takes out, he gives us a lot of really beautiful, wonderful things. 00:12:59.020 --> 00:13:07.020 He gives us his righteousness, his compassion, his kindness, you know, his gentleness, his patience, his love, his forgiveness and thankfulness. 00:13:07.160 --> 00:13:08.340 He gives us a new attitude. 00:13:08.520 --> 00:13:10.000 We begin to think differently, right? 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:14.620 He gives us new actions and new behaviors. 00:13:14.860 --> 00:13:16.360 All of a sudden, our work looks different. 00:13:16.500 --> 00:13:19.519 All of a sudden, we're sharing with people who are in need. 00:13:19.659 --> 00:13:23.679 All of a sudden, self-control doesn't have as much control on us as it did. 00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:27.360 We learn how to be slow to anger. 00:13:28.100 --> 00:13:29.779 We learn how to be quick to listen. 00:13:29.779 --> 00:13:32.939 We learn how to enter in with one another. 00:13:33.659 --> 00:13:37.120 And that's because he's transforming our character through faith and surrender. 00:13:37.259 --> 00:13:43.539 Every time he requires us to change, it means that he's going to use us to impact somebody else. 00:13:44.699 --> 00:13:49.459 The last way that I would say, and again, this is not an exhaustive list, but just for tonight. 00:13:49.460 --> 00:13:56.440 The last way that I would say that he rewrites our story is that he promises to finish the story. 00:13:58.180 --> 00:14:03.680 And as I was thinking about this, I actually was thinking about my oldest brother. 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:11.299 And my brother, when he was little, went to church, made some type of profession of faith. 00:14:11.739 --> 00:14:13.359 After he got older, he walked away. 00:14:14.319 --> 00:14:19.899 And he is probably about three or four years ago, he and I were talking. 00:14:20.859 --> 00:14:23.479 He just wanted to live his life how he wanted to live his life. 00:14:23.559 --> 00:14:24.639 He wanted to have fun. 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:26.159 He wanted to enjoy things. 00:14:26.239 --> 00:14:27.919 He wanted to be able to drink. 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:29.740 He wanted whatever it was that he wanted to do. 00:14:29.740 --> 00:14:34.000 He wanted to be able to do it in his mind, God was going to say no to all those things. 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:39.039 And then about three or four years ago, God began to do this work in his life. 00:14:39.419 --> 00:14:41.259 Years of prayer have gone into this. 00:14:41.899 --> 00:14:45.680 And all of a sudden, he begins to be interested in the things of God. 00:14:46.100 --> 00:14:46.940 And that is mercy. 00:14:47.980 --> 00:14:50.060 Because sometimes, we're like my brother. 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:54.860 We think that God writes the first chapter of our story, and we think he writes the last. 00:14:55.700 --> 00:14:58.080 But the truth is, he writes everything in the middle, too. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:02.300 Every chapter, he is the author. 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:11.320 You know, Proverbs 19.21 says that many are the plans of a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. 00:15:12.800 --> 00:15:17.740 Ephesians 1.11 says that he works all things according to the counsel of his will. 00:15:18.300 --> 00:15:21.060 And then my personal favorite is Jeremiah 29.11. 00:15:21.180 --> 00:15:22.020 It's my life verse. 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:28.319 For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:35.059 And each of these verses encourage us to seek him as the author of our story, right? 00:15:35.500 --> 00:15:36.659 Not just the editor. 00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:42.079 And sometimes we seek him to be the editor, but really, we need to learn to seek him as the author. 00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:43.399 You're the one writing the story. 00:15:43.500 --> 00:15:44.439 What do you want to tell? 00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:50.180 God rewrites our stories according to the counsel of his will. 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:56.020 And I was thinking about his will, because what does Paul say about his will in Romans? 00:15:56.400 --> 00:15:59.760 That it is good, that it is pleasing, and that it is perfect. 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:06.220 And I think, you know, we can train ourselves as we are trying our best to submit to God. 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:13.679 When we are feeling like we are being pulled in two different directions, we think we know what God wants for us, yet we want to do something else. 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:16.600 And in that moment, that's when we tell ourselves, wait a second. 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:19.000 God's will is good. 00:16:20.279 --> 00:16:21.980 God's will is pleasing. 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:24.179 God's will is perfect. 00:16:24.179 --> 00:16:30.919 And then we have to answer the question, do I want his will or do I want my will? 00:16:31.259 --> 00:16:33.620 Is my will good, pleasing, and perfect? 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:34.759 And a lot of times it's not. 00:16:34.839 --> 00:16:35.839 It's just what I want. 00:16:37.179 --> 00:16:41.279 So, now there are some things that hinder the rewriting of our story. 00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:44.219 So, God, we're not robots. 00:16:44.719 --> 00:16:48.139 And God is the author of our story, but we also have to cooperate with him, right? 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:50.620 So, just three things. 00:16:50.620 --> 00:16:52.699 There are, again, more than this. 00:16:52.700 --> 00:16:55.500 But three things that hinder the rewriting of our story. 00:16:55.940 --> 00:16:57.060 One is pride. 00:16:58.180 --> 00:17:04.380 And I don't know if you've ever thought about it from this perspective, but the reason pride is such an issue is it creates an identity crisis. 00:17:05.580 --> 00:17:12.200 We lose sight of our true identity and who we are in Christ, and we become self-focused rather than God-focused. 00:17:12.360 --> 00:17:16.799 We become self-reliant rather than God-dependent. 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:23.279 And so, we're in this identity crisis trying to figure out how to live and what to do. 00:17:23.859 --> 00:17:28.339 We want wisdom, and we seek guidance, and we'll go, okay, well, what does God think about it? 00:17:28.339 --> 00:17:30.220 And then we'll go, well, what does Google think about it? 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:31.559 What does my friends think about it? 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:33.200 What does social media think about it? 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:38.240 And then we place all of those four options right there, and we go, which one am I going to choose? 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:46.200 Well, as the author of the story, these get to fall to the side, and this is the one that obviously we should choose. 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:56.559 But when we're in an identity crisis, we find ourselves in a battle between what we are telling ourselves and what God is telling us through His Word. 00:17:56.559 --> 00:18:04.500 The second thing I think that hinders God's rewriting of our story is bitterness, and we saw that last week with Naomi. 00:18:05.059 --> 00:18:12.539 When she was embittered in her heart and in her spirit, she was putting her hand up to God and saying, 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:17.619 you know, it's okay for you to be in Bethlehem, but you are not coming here. 00:18:18.359 --> 00:18:19.519 You can't come in here. 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:28.440 And I'm telling you, I have seen it over and over and over in my own life that any time I try to strong arm Him, He's bigger than me. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:34.339 And in His grace and mercy, He starts doing this to eventually where I put my arm down. 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:38.139 But, you know, it's bitterness that will cause us to do that. 00:18:38.460 --> 00:18:43.099 And we have to be careful that we don't look at the way that God has already written a story and say, 00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:47.799 because you did that, this is how I'm going to treat you. 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:49.359 I can't trust you. 00:18:50.420 --> 00:18:56.039 And God would say, because that happened to you, we need to move your hand back. 00:18:57.019 --> 00:19:00.480 Because there's something I can do with that, and I'm going to rewrite that story. 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:07.519 The third thing that hinders God rewriting our story is unbelief. 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:10.359 We simply refuse to believe what He says. 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:14.359 I think it's one of the reasons that we have the story of the Israelites, 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:20.000 because if you look at their story throughout the Old Testament, what is always the issue with them? 00:19:21.139 --> 00:19:23.359 It doesn't matter how many miracles God does. 00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:25.979 It doesn't matter how He provides for them. 00:19:26.379 --> 00:19:27.719 They simply don't believe. 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:33.440 And so God says to them, listen, you will never enter into my rest, and you do not believe me. 00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:39.200 So unbelief hinders God rewriting our story. 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:44.000 We turn away from God rather than to Him, and our hearts become hardened because of that. 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:45.140 And we focus. 00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:46.220 This is it. 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:51.900 We focus on our circumstances rather than His promises, because we just don't believe Him. 00:19:53.660 --> 00:19:57.980 Now, if we're being honest, each of these sins, let's call them what they are, 00:19:59.100 --> 00:20:00.759 they're frenemies to most of us. 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:03.720 They're things that we're familiar with. 00:20:03.819 --> 00:20:04.860 They're familiar struggles. 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:07.039 They're hindrances in our relationship with God. 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:12.659 And that's why God tells us, it is absolutely essential that you guard your heart, 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:14.980 for it is the wellspring of your life. 00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:19.519 I like to think of it this way. 00:20:20.220 --> 00:20:24.740 When we find ourselves in that place, or when we sense that we're even going that way, 00:20:26.019 --> 00:20:31.599 the prayer should be, God, bring me to my senses so I can head home. 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:33.940 This is sounding familiar. 00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:39.480 The prodigal son, he came to his senses, he went home, but as he was going home, 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:43.019 the father sees him from a long way off, and he runs to him. 00:20:43.660 --> 00:20:45.559 And that's how God is with us. 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:52.160 And when He is rewriting our story, He's not surprised that we end up over here in the pigsty. 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:55.100 He is just waiting for us to come home. 00:20:56.200 --> 00:21:00.240 And I know some of you may be thinking, but Pamela, you don't know my story. 00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:03.120 You don't know what I've walked through. 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:06.879 It's hard to trust someone when you feel like that you've been abandoned, 00:21:07.559 --> 00:21:12.619 or that you've been rejected, or that you haven't been protected. 00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:17.879 And I can say, honestly, I do know your story. 00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:20.279 I know your story so well. 00:21:21.199 --> 00:21:25.539 There was a season a few years ago when it felt like that God completely disappeared from my life. 00:21:25.539 --> 00:21:29.019 And I'd like to say it was just a month or so. 00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:30.440 It was three years. 00:21:31.740 --> 00:21:39.399 Three years of me praying and begging and crying and bargaining and ranting and raving, 00:21:39.539 --> 00:21:45.539 and you can keep going and fill in the blanks of what all I was doing to try to have some type of connection with Him. 00:21:45.539 --> 00:21:49.539 And as I did all of that, God remained deadly silent. 00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:52.879 And I was like, what is going on? 00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:53.920 Where did you go? 00:21:54.059 --> 00:21:55.019 What did I do? 00:21:55.079 --> 00:21:57.539 If I've done something, please just tell me. 00:21:57.539 --> 00:22:01.659 And yet, God remained quiet. 00:22:03.220 --> 00:22:09.079 And as weird as it may sound, in that season, I felt like I went through a divorce. 00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:13.240 Not from a husband, but from the God who loved me. 00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:17.319 I mean, I didn't know if I would ever come back. 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:18.940 But of course, I did. 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:22.500 Because I was never alone in that season. 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:27.799 And what I learned through that situation was that silence does not mean abandonment. 00:22:28.920 --> 00:22:30.980 That quietness does not mean rejection. 00:22:31.819 --> 00:22:37.480 And even in our darkest season, God is still writing your story. 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:43.779 I mean, maybe that chapter of my life was, have you ever seen a woman so mad? 00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:46.620 Have you ever seen a woman so broken? 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:47.860 I don't know. 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:50.480 But those were the things that God would have seen. 00:22:51.420 --> 00:22:53.759 Sharon James, who's an author and a speaker, wrote, 00:22:54.299 --> 00:23:01.460 Don't get stuck in the difficult life chapters, but keep moving to the flow of the author's pen. 00:23:02.339 --> 00:23:05.000 God is still writing your story. 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:13.259 So how do we respond to this author of our story, the one who writes it, rewrites it, and rewrites it, and rewrites it for us? 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:17.839 Well, we engage God in prayer as we work through our story. 00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:22.619 We learn that understanding our story is not the goal. 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:30.400 But working through the relevant parts of our story means knowing and experiencing God more intimately in them. 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:34.859 And we trust that God is not calling us to face our story alone. 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:38.140 We face Him, and we face it together. 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:44.259 And, and this is so important, and I did not understand this for a long time, 00:23:44.839 --> 00:23:49.259 but we learn that God is not calling us to address everything in our past. 00:23:50.279 --> 00:23:52.660 I am extremely detailed oriented. 00:23:53.359 --> 00:23:56.420 I want to dot the I's three times and cross the T's twice. 00:23:56.420 --> 00:24:04.259 And so my thinking about how God was going to work in my life is He was going to make me walk through every single thing. 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:06.320 But you know, He doesn't do that. 00:24:06.700 --> 00:24:15.200 He calls us to trust Him because in His own time, He reveals those experiences that He wants to redeem. 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:18.200 And some of the things just fall away on their own. 00:24:19.340 --> 00:24:20.559 We don't need to worry about them. 00:24:22.080 --> 00:24:26.460 Someone has said that one encounter with God will change the story you tell. 00:24:27.340 --> 00:24:28.539 And I believe that's true. 00:24:28.539 --> 00:24:34.420 One time when God does something for you, it changes the way that we view Him and the way that we think about Him. 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:38.899 I think that's why John Newton was able to write Amazing Grace. 00:24:39.319 --> 00:24:39.500 Right? 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:40.819 Yeah. 00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:45.819 Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. 00:24:46.399 --> 00:24:48.419 I once was lost, but now am found. 00:24:48.759 --> 00:24:50.200 Was blind, but now am free. 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:51.359 Now I see. 00:24:52.279 --> 00:24:55.099 To His grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved. 00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:59.279 How precious did that grace appear that hour I first believed. 00:24:59.980 --> 00:25:01.579 The Lord has promised good to me. 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:03.259 His word my hope secures. 00:25:04.159 --> 00:25:08.000 He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:13.720 The reason John Newton could write that song was John Newton's story. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:25.059 And God had rewritten it in such a way that he knew a grace that would enable him to write a song, a hymn that has been sung. 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:28.400 Year after year after year. 00:25:28.539 --> 00:25:31.099 I feel we'll sing it one day when we are with the Lord. 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:34.240 Paul Tripp writes, 00:25:34.339 --> 00:25:37.000 Thankfully I am not the author of my personal story. 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:39.359 Your story isn't an autobiography either. 00:25:40.019 --> 00:25:42.839 Your story is a biography of wisdom and grace. 00:25:43.799 --> 00:25:44.900 Written by another. 00:25:45.660 --> 00:25:48.059 Every turn he writes in your story is right. 00:25:49.299 --> 00:25:51.980 Every twist of the plot is for the best. 00:25:52.859 --> 00:25:57.759 Every new character or unexpected event is a tool of his grace. 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:02.059 Each new chapter advances his purposes. 00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:07.019 So God is faithfully rewriting our stories. 00:26:07.159 --> 00:26:07.940 We don't always see it. 00:26:07.980 --> 00:26:09.019 We don't always understand it. 00:26:09.079 --> 00:26:10.119 We don't always believe it. 00:26:10.159 --> 00:26:11.099 But he is doing it. 00:26:11.879 --> 00:26:16.000 And think about the impact that a story has on us. 00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:18.159 Did you know that, 00:26:18.859 --> 00:26:21.619 and I'm speaking this as someone who's teaching, 00:26:21.619 --> 00:26:25.279 for a message like this or a sermon, 00:26:25.979 --> 00:26:29.119 most people remember between 5 to 20 percent. 00:26:29.639 --> 00:26:32.579 And the 20 percent would be the people who are taking notes. 00:26:32.579 --> 00:26:41.659 But all that has to happen is someone stands up and tells a testimony, 00:26:42.179 --> 00:26:44.039 and you remember it. 00:26:45.399 --> 00:26:47.379 You may not remember every detail, 00:26:47.899 --> 00:26:49.859 but you remember that story. 00:26:50.220 --> 00:26:51.339 That's the power of story. 00:26:52.359 --> 00:26:53.059 And our stories, 00:26:53.220 --> 00:26:56.439 they often offer to people a redemptive narrative. 00:26:56.440 --> 00:26:57.240 Right? 00:26:57.840 --> 00:26:58.820 It's where God, 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:00.180 this divine author, 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:02.880 turns this crazy life, 00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:04.299 tragic plots, 00:27:04.620 --> 00:27:08.059 into masterpieces of deliverance and eternal hope. 00:27:09.120 --> 00:27:14.779 So the gospel is a story of good news. 00:27:16.059 --> 00:27:18.480 God sent his son to save us 00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:20.340 because we could not save ourselves. 00:27:21.360 --> 00:27:24.860 Jesus gave his life to release us from sin and death, 00:27:24.859 --> 00:27:27.839 to restore us to a right relationship with the Father, 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:30.059 and to rewrite our stories, 00:27:30.219 --> 00:27:31.519 demonstrating his glory, 00:27:32.339 --> 00:27:33.000 his goodness, 00:27:33.299 --> 00:27:33.899 and his grace. 00:27:35.099 --> 00:27:37.059 So where are we now in the story? 00:27:38.879 --> 00:27:39.879 Only God knows, 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:40.319 right? 00:27:41.159 --> 00:27:42.199 But we know this, 00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:44.099 all our days are written in his book 00:27:44.099 --> 00:27:45.359 before a single one comes to be, 00:27:45.419 --> 00:27:46.119 is why he tells us. 00:27:46.579 --> 00:27:48.539 We know that he knows the end of our story 00:27:48.539 --> 00:27:49.939 from the beginning of our story. 00:27:49.940 --> 00:27:54.960 We know that scripture shows us 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:56.320 through revelation 00:27:56.320 --> 00:27:58.019 that God gets the last word 00:27:58.019 --> 00:27:59.740 in the kingdom 00:27:59.740 --> 00:28:01.180 and in our individual lives. 00:28:01.620 --> 00:28:03.740 And we know that he is the author 00:28:03.740 --> 00:28:04.799 and the finisher 00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:06.440 of our faith. 00:28:07.220 --> 00:28:08.440 He's the one who gives us 00:28:08.440 --> 00:28:09.740 this new identity 00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:11.100 and this new story. 00:28:11.220 --> 00:28:13.039 He's the one who repurposes our past. 00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:15.559 He's the one who transforms our grief 00:28:15.559 --> 00:28:16.920 and sorrows into purpose. 00:28:16.920 --> 00:28:18.340 He's the one who calls us 00:28:18.340 --> 00:28:20.640 not to lead but to follow. 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:23.360 He's the one who transforms our character 00:28:23.360 --> 00:28:25.039 through faith and through surrender. 00:28:25.360 --> 00:28:26.560 And he's the one who promises 00:28:26.560 --> 00:28:27.700 to finish the story. 00:28:29.220 --> 00:28:30.220 And I forgot 00:28:30.220 --> 00:28:33.080 one more quote 00:28:33.080 --> 00:28:33.980 from a t-shirt. 00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:37.539 I saved the best for last, actually. 00:28:38.860 --> 00:28:41.519 God is still rewriting your story. 00:28:42.600 --> 00:28:44.620 Quit trying to steal the pen. 00:28:46.920 --> 00:28:49.080 Trust the author with your story. 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:50.600 He's writing a masterpiece. 00:28:51.360 --> 00:28:52.680 I don't mean to be crass 00:28:52.680 --> 00:28:53.340 when I say this 00:28:53.340 --> 00:28:54.400 but God does not write 00:28:54.400 --> 00:28:55.380 cheap, trashy novels. 00:28:57.960 --> 00:28:59.180 He writes a masterpiece. 00:29:00.279 --> 00:29:01.840 And it is a story for the ages. 00:29:02.600 --> 00:29:03.759 And it's his story 00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:05.519 that our story fits into. 00:29:06.200 --> 00:29:06.960 And one day 00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:08.560 we will more fully understand 00:29:08.560 --> 00:29:10.120 this amazing story 00:29:10.120 --> 00:29:13.680 of what he actually has done. 00:29:13.680 --> 00:29:16.180 even when it doesn't seem like it. 00:29:16.940 --> 00:29:18.140 You have an author 00:29:18.140 --> 00:29:19.759 who is writing your story 00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:21.100 or rewriting the parts 00:29:21.100 --> 00:29:22.019 that have broken you. 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:23.360 And you have an author 00:29:23.360 --> 00:29:24.259 who's writing a story 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:25.080 that will be better 00:29:25.080 --> 00:29:25.960 than you could ever write 00:29:25.960 --> 00:29:26.480 for yourself. 00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:27.480 Amen? 00:29:28.039 --> 00:29:28.380 Amen. 00:29:28.700 --> 00:29:29.220 All right.