Jonah
Series: The sovereignty of God
Speaker: Sam Low
Date: 5th January 2013
Passage: Jonah 1:1-17
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 If you could keep the Jonah passage open in front of you, that would be fantastic.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:08 Let me add my Happy New Year to those who I haven't had the chance to see in the last
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 five or six days or whatever it's been.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:18 Hopefully you have started well and hopefully this year will be a year in which you grow
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 in your love of God and your knowledge of Him.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 And we're going to try and do that together tonight by beginning a series in Jonah.
00:00:25 --> 00:00:29 And I did challenge you last week, I understand if you forgot, but I did challenge you that
00:00:29 --> 00:00:32 we're actually going to look at Jonah, kind of all of it, every week.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:37 So even though we read Jonah 1 just then and we're going to read Jonah 3 next week and Jonah
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 4 the week after, we're going to look at all of it.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:43 So it would be a good idea to at some point in the next three weeks sit down and have a
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 crack at reading all of Jonah.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:49 It's not a big ask and it will bless you as we work our way through the passage.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:54 I'm going to pray and then we will start having a look at what it is God wants to teach us
00:00:54 --> 00:00:55 from this.
00:00:55 --> 00:01:00 Father God, we thank you for the chance to gather this evening.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 We thank you for your word and the power that it has to shape us and to change us.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:10 And we ask that tonight as we sit and as we reflect on the story of Jonah, that you would
00:01:10 --> 00:01:16 give us a bigger vision of you, that the result of tonight would not be that we know more things,
00:01:16 --> 00:01:17 but that we are different people.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 We ask that your spirit would make us more and more like Jesus so that you get the glory.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:22 Amen.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:22 Amen.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:30 When you truly believe something, it has to actually affect the way that you live or your
00:01:30 --> 00:01:30 actions.
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 It's not enough to just say, I believe something.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:38 You can always tell when the rubber hits the road whether or not this is something you have
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 a genuine conviction about.
00:01:40 --> 00:01:46 I remember it's nearly 10 years ago now, for my 21st birthday, I was given a round the world
00:01:46 --> 00:01:46 ticket.
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 And I was sitting on the plane struggling to sleep.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:54 And one of the movies that I decided to watch in that plane was a movie called Super Size
00:01:54 --> 00:01:54 Me.
00:01:54 --> 00:02:00 I don't know if you remember this movie, but the basic premise is a guy called Morgan Spurlock,
00:02:01 --> 00:02:06 cracker of a name, decided that it would be a good idea for a month to eat only McDonald's,
00:02:06 --> 00:02:07 breakfast, lunch and dinner.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:13 And the rules were, whenever a McDonald's employee suggested that he upsize his meal or would he
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 like fries or he had to say yes.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:19 And he had to eat all of whatever came to him over the course of the month.
00:02:19 --> 00:02:24 And so, you know, obviously there were people around him, his girlfriend, his friends that
00:02:24 --> 00:02:28 were concerned about what might happen over the course of this experiment.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 And the experiment went roughly like you would expect.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 There's lots of him vomiting in it.
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 By the end of the month, he's fatter.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:35 He's got a worse heart.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:37 Everything's going bad for him.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:39 And you can watch a movie like that.
00:02:39 --> 00:02:44 And even I can watch a movie like that and say, McDonald's is bad for you.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 McDonald's is going to do you damage.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:51 But for some reason, the first thing I did when I got off that plane was go get a Big Mac.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:56 I'd spent 45 minutes watching him eat and throw up and eat and throw up.
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 But all it did was make me want to eat McDonald's.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 And so I could articulate that I believe McDonald's was bad.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:06 But what I was doing actually betrayed that I believed something different.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 I believed that this guy was an idiot and it wouldn't happen to me.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:14 When you truly believe something, it changes your actions.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:15 It changes what you do as well.
00:03:16 --> 00:03:21 And so what about some of the things that we believe as Christians, as followers of God?
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 We believe that God is sovereign.
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 We believe that God is in control.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:28 The Bible says it.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 We claim it.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:31 We encourage one another with it.
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 But do we live like God is in control?
00:03:34 --> 00:03:39 Would people look at our lifestyle and the decisions we make and the priorities we have
00:03:39 --> 00:03:43 and would they conclude from us that we believe God is in control?
00:03:43 --> 00:03:49 When you hear about things like the earthquake in Haiti or the various tsunamis that have happened,
00:03:49 --> 00:03:53 the global financial crisis, children dying of starvation,
00:03:54 --> 00:03:58 can you still, when you hear that, say with confidence, God is in control?
00:03:58 --> 00:04:03 Or do you feel a little bit embarrassed when your neighbours ask you, where's your God in that?
00:04:03 --> 00:04:08 When your school friends or maybe even your family ask you, where's your God with all this stuff going on,
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 can you still confidently say he's in control?
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 Or do you start to feel a bit apologetic?
00:04:14 --> 00:04:15 What about in your own life?
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 When difficult times come, do you feel like God is losing his grip?
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 As you wrestle with the stress of paying bills,
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 as you deal with the death of someone close to you,
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 as you wrestle with the loneliness of being the only single person
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 when all your friends have husbands or wives or boyfriends or girlfriends,
00:04:32 --> 00:04:37 in those moments, do you still act like God is in control?
00:04:37 --> 00:04:42 Or do you start to wonder whether or not he's actually powerful enough
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 to be in control of everything that's happening in the world?
00:04:46 --> 00:04:47 Or what about in the good times?
00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 You get a promotion, you get a pay rise,
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 you celebrate the birth of a child, an anniversary,
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 you're feeling healthy, you're secure financially.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:59 At that point, do you stop and thank God for what he's given you?
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 Or do you reflect on how hard you've worked
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 and how wise you've been with your finances
00:05:04 --> 00:05:05 and how much exercise you've done
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 and how you've looked after yourself health-wise?
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 Yeah, we believe God is in control, we say it,
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 but what about our actions?
00:05:14 --> 00:05:18 Do our lives actually speak that we believe that truth?
00:05:18 --> 00:05:21 Or is it just a trite theory that we throw out there occasionally
00:05:21 --> 00:05:23 because that's what we're supposed to believe as Christians?
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 If there is a difference between what we say we believe
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 and how we're living,
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 then we need to ask God to show us what is really true.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:36 And we need to ask him to show it to us in such a way
00:05:36 --> 00:05:40 that our life matches up with what we claim to believe
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 so that our words and our actions become one.
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 And so tonight, maybe for you,
00:05:45 --> 00:05:46 you need to humbly come before God
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 and ask him to shape how you live
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 in light of the truth that he wants to show you tonight.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 I want to ask two questions as we wrestle with Jonah.
00:05:55 --> 00:06:00 Basically, can God and will God?
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 Open up to Jonah chapter 1.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 Is God really in control?
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 Jonah is a man in a privileged position when it comes to God.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 So, bit of background, Jonah's a prophet,
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 which means God speaks to Jonah
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 and then, like, personally speaks to Jonah
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 and then Jonah goes and passes that message on to other people.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 So, out of all the people,
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 you would expect Jonah to have a level of confidence
00:06:24 --> 00:06:28 in God's sovereignty and power more than anyone else.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:32 He's got the direct line to God who created everything.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:33 He knows stuff.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 Jonah would speak to God's people.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 He knows that God is in control and he believes it.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:40 It's part of being a Hebrew.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:41 He would have memorized the Scriptures.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 He would have learned big chunks of the Old Testament
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 so that he could have confidently quoted Scripture to you.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:52 But does his life actually match his so-called belief
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 in God's control and God's sovereignty?
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 Look at verse 1 with me.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 because its wickedness has come up before me.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 He went down to Joppa where he found a ship bound for that port.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:15 After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 to flee from the Lord.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 Jonah knows that God is in control.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:24 That would have been one of the messages
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 that he was told to keep proclaiming to the people
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 and yet, given a specific instruction from God,
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 he thinks he can run away.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 God sends him on a very specific mission.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 There's no possibility that he just got the city wrong
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 and accidentally went in the wrong direction.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 God says, go to this city with this message
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 and Jonah says, actually, no, I don't want to do that
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 and I'm going to run away.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 It's kind of ridiculous.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 God, who created the whole earth,
00:07:53 --> 00:07:54 has given Jonah a job
00:07:54 --> 00:07:55 and he thinks by going to a city
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 other than the one that God sent him to
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 that he'll be able to get away from the God
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 who created the whole earth,
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 including the city that he's trying to run away to.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 It's kind of like when little kids play hide and seek
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 and the way they hide is they cover their eyes
00:08:07 --> 00:08:08 and say, you can't see me.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:10 It doesn't actually work like that.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 I can still see you.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 I don't have the same limitation that you have.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 And Jonah is basically doing that to God.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 It's like covering his eyes and going,
00:08:18 --> 00:08:19 you can't find me.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:20 I've gone somewhere else.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 God knows exactly where he is.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:24 God is not limited like us.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 He is everywhere all the time.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:28 He is all-knowing.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:29 He knows Jonah's plans
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 before he even decides to run away.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 And it is ridiculous
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 that Jonah thinks he can run away
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 from the God who has been speaking to him
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 and giving him messages his life.
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 But as ridiculous as it sounds,
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 you and I do the same sort of thing.
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 We get to the point in our life
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 where we think we're more powerful than God.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 When we face struggles,
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 when we face decisions,
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 it is amazing how self-absorbed we can be
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 to think that we will be better
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 looking after ourselves.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:05 I mean, it doesn't take a lot of comparison
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 to understand that we are fairly unimpressive
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 when we stand next to God.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 Yet somehow we just block that out of our mind
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 and act like I can handle this better than you, God.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 I'm struggling to pay rent,
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 but I'm pretty sure I can somehow come up with it.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 And God is sitting there going,
00:09:21 --> 00:09:22 I made money.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:23 I made everything.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:25 I own everything.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 Yet we choose to trust ourselves.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 It doesn't take much looking at yourself
00:09:31 --> 00:09:34 to realise you're actually not in control of anything.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 One of the things that reminds me of this regularly
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 is our inability to control the weather.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:41 Not that long ago,
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 a fair few of us went to an engagement party
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 for our resident meteorologist.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 It rained and we had to move the party to a house.
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 You are not in control no matter how much you want to be.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 You are not in control of how many cars will be on the road
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 when you're trying to get somewhere in a hurry.
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 You are not even in control of your own health.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 You can try and do things like exercise and eat well
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 that you think will make all the difference,
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 but the reality is you're still not in control.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 I remember the day quite distinctly,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 several years ago,
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 when after a series of tests and a whole bunch of issues,
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 I was told that I had a disease
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 and I would have it for the rest of my life.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 Now despite what some people would like to say,
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 it's not the result of my lifestyle.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 It has nothing to do with what I have or haven't eaten.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:29 I just have a disease because that's the way God decided for my life to go.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 I am not in control and neither are you.
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 No matter how hard I try, no matter how hard you try,
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 no matter how fantastic you think you are,
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 God alone is in control.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 He created heaven.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 He created earth.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 He did it just by speaking.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 God can make people sick.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 He sends plagues on Egypt.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:48 He can heal people.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 We see it over and over again in the gospel.
00:10:50 --> 00:10:54 He can part the Red Sea and people walk across as if it's dry land
00:10:54 --> 00:10:59 and he defeats even death in his son when he raises him.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:06 God can forgive sin and we are reminded over and over in scripture from Job 42.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 I know you can do all things.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 No plan of yours can be thwarted.
00:11:11 --> 00:11:11 Psalm 135.
00:11:11 --> 00:11:15 I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 The Lord does whatever pleases him.
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 There is nothing and no one that can stand between the creator God
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 and his design and his desire.
00:11:25 --> 00:11:29 And yet, when we get faced with situations,
00:11:29 --> 00:11:33 we still think that we are more trustworthy than God
00:11:33 --> 00:11:37 when it comes to handling what is happening in our lives.
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 Listen to how God achieves his purpose in Jonah.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 Look at verse 4.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 Jonah is running away and it says, verse 4,
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 the Lord sent a great wind on the sea and such a violent storm arose
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 that the ship threatened to break up.
00:11:49 --> 00:11:53 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own God
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 and they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
00:11:55 --> 00:11:59 But Jonah had gone below deck where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:05 Jonah is running away and God could have sent somebody else to go get Jonah.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:08 He could have forgotten about Jonah and sent somebody else to go to Nineveh.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:16 But God is so in control of every aspect of creation that he can just make a storm happen in such a way
00:12:16 --> 00:12:22 that sailors who spend their lives on the sea are so fearful for their life that they know this is not normal.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 They know somebody has made this storm happen.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:28 And straight away they start to ask questions.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:39 God can create a storm.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 God can provide a fish to swallow Jonah.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 It could have been judgment.
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 It could have been him saving him.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 It's probably a bit of both.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:51 But what really matters is that it's God who provides the fish.
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 It's there explicitly.
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 Verse 17.
00:12:55 --> 00:12:58 The Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 It's God's mighty hand that guides these events.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 It's not an accident.
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 It's not chance.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 It's not unlucky.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 It's God.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:18 Because God has a plan and that is for Nineveh to hear that they are living in a way that angers God
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 and he has a plan to use Jonah to tell them
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 and so he will do whatever he needs to do
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 to make sure that Jonah gets to where he's supposed to be.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:34 When we grab even the smallest amount of how much greater God is than us,
00:13:34 --> 00:13:38 how much more powerful, how infinitely sovereign he is,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:43 suddenly our attempts to look after our own lives seem kind of stupid.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 The Bible describes our life as being like a mist
00:13:47 --> 00:13:51 that appears in the morning for a moment and then is burned up by the sun.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 Our God is eternal.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 We are less than a drop of water and he is more than an ocean.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 There is no comparison between our God and us.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 He is indescribably powerful.
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 Powerful beyond our comprehension.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:12 There is absolutely nothing that is too big for God.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:17 There is no situation you will face that he is not powerful to change.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:22 So why is it that we still presume in our lives
00:14:22 --> 00:14:26 to think we can control things better than he can?
00:14:27 --> 00:14:31 Why is it that we hold on to things till the absolute last minute
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 until we've been proved powerless before we give them to him?
00:14:35 --> 00:14:39 Why is it that we are so fearful of possibility and circumstance
00:14:39 --> 00:14:43 when God has shown himself time and time again
00:14:43 --> 00:14:47 to be all-powerful, to be in control?
00:14:47 --> 00:14:52 But maybe your issue isn't whether or not God can control things.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 Maybe your question, maybe the doubt in your life is,
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 will God control things in my life?
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 Will he control things in a way that is good for me?
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 Maybe you can acknowledge God is powerful
00:15:04 --> 00:15:07 and his big plan of sending Jesus and saving people.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:07 Yep, I get that.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 He's in control.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 But whether or not I get picked on at school,
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 whether or not I can afford to pay my rent,
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 those are just kind of minor details
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 and God doesn't have time for those.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:21 Maybe you're not confident that God cares enough
00:15:21 --> 00:15:25 to work into your specific day-to-day moments.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 I remember just after Sal and I got married,
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 we moved into a fairly small house in Newtown.
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 When we got there, there wasn't any furniture
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 and being an old house, there wasn't any storage either.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:41 So I survived what most young married men fear,
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 an afternoon trawling the aisles of Ikea.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 The only incentive to get me over the line
00:15:47 --> 00:15:50 was the $2 hot dog and Pepsi that was waiting at the end.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 And it's been incentive to get me back a few times as well.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:56 But somehow I survived our journey to Ikea
00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 and we managed to buy a cupboard that would house my clothes.
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 And once we got home,
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 people who know me know that I'm not particularly handy.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 I'm also not a details person.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 So I saw the picture on the front cover of the instructions
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 and put that to the side and set to work
00:16:10 --> 00:16:13 putting together this flat pack cupboard.
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 Now, I got to the end feeling pretty proud of myself
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 with a handful of screws and nails left over.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 That is never a good sign.
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 I also decided that putting the back on the cupboard
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 was going to be a waste of effort
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 because there was a lot of nails that had to go around that.
00:16:26 --> 00:16:28 And it already had sides in the top and bottom.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 So I put it up against the wall
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 and it was kind of a little bit slanted.
00:16:32 --> 00:16:34 I could push it back straight
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 and then I tried to hold it, but I gave up.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 So I had a slanted cupboard for a few years.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 But it held clothes.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 So that's what a cupboard's supposed to do.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 So I was content.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 It didn't look great.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 It was kind of broken really,
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 but it was holding clothes and that was enough.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 Is that how you think God looks at you?
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 Do you think he is only interested in you
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 so long as you're breathing and a person
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 and then from his perspective, he's ticked the box?
00:16:59 --> 00:17:03 Do you think that his interest in you finishes
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 so long as you're alive?
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 Do you think God doesn't care about the details of your life,
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 that he's got bigger things to worry about?
00:17:13 --> 00:17:17 You need to understand that God is a master craftsman.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:22 God lovingly and carefully moulded you and shaped you.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:26 Before you were even born, before the earth existed,
00:17:26 --> 00:17:31 he planned every minute of every day that he would give you.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:34 The psalmist reminds us that God knits us together
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 in our mother's womb.
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 And as your heavenly father,
00:17:39 --> 00:17:43 God is intimately involved in every second of your life.
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 God, as your heavenly father,
00:17:46 --> 00:17:50 is heavily invested in every second of your life.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:53 Parents don't give birth to their children
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 and then shrug their shoulders and say,
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 good luck, it's up to you now.
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 Parents feed their children.
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 They bathe their children.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 They clothe their children.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 They help them when they fall.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 They laugh with them.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 They cry with them.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 Even when children move out,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 parents continue to ride the bumps
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 that go with kids having their own kids
00:18:11 --> 00:18:13 and all the other joys.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:16 God is our heavenly father
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 and he cares so much more
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 than any human parent.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:26 He can't and he won't leave us alone.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:32 Even when it seems like the details of your life
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 are mundane and unimportant,
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 God, as your heavenly father,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 cares so much for you
00:18:37 --> 00:18:41 that he cares so much about those details.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 Look at the way God manipulates
00:18:43 --> 00:18:46 and directs and guides minor details
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 in Jonah's story
00:18:47 --> 00:18:49 so that he gets where he's supposed to get to.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 Verse 7.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 Then the sailors said to each other,
00:18:52 --> 00:18:54 come, let us cast lots
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 to find out who is responsible
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 for this calamity.
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 So they asked him,
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 tell us who is responsible
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 for making all this trouble for us.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 What do you do?
00:19:05 --> 00:19:05 Where do you come from?
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 What's your country?
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 From what people are you?
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 He answered, I am a Hebrew
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 and I worship the Lord,
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 the God of heaven
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 who made the sea and the land.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 This terrified them
00:19:15 --> 00:19:15 and they asked,
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 what have you done?
00:19:17 --> 00:19:19 They knew he was running away from the Lord
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 because he had already told them so.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 The sea was getting rougher and rougher
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22 so they asked him,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 what should we do to you
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 to make the sea calm down for us?
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 Pick me up
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 and throw me into the sea,
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 he replied,
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 and it will become calm.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 I know that it is my fault
00:19:32 --> 00:19:35 this great storm has come upon you.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 God makes sure
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 that the lot falls with Jonah.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 It's not chance,
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 it's not accident,
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 it's not fluke.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 God makes sure
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 that the lot falls with Jonah.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 God even guides Jonah's words
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 and his conversation
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 so that while Jonah
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 is in the middle
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 of running away
00:19:54 --> 00:19:56 from God's plan for his life,
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 God can use him
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 to proclaim to a boat
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 full of scared sailors
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 that the God in heaven
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 is the one
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 who controls the wind
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 and the waves.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:07 In chapter 4,
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 we see God grow a small tree
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 to give Jonah shade.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 In 1 Samuel,
00:20:12 --> 00:20:12 we see God hear
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 the individual prayers
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 of a barren woman
00:20:14 --> 00:20:16 and he gives her a son.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19 God has painstakingly
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 planned out all of creation
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 from day dot in the garden
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 until it comes
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 to its rightful conclusion
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 and not one day,
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 not one minute,
00:20:27 --> 00:20:27 not one second
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 has been left to chance
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 in God's plan.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:33 There is no maybe
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 in God's design.
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 Such is his infinite wisdom
00:20:38 --> 00:20:38 and power
00:20:38 --> 00:20:41 and such is his love
00:20:41 --> 00:20:41 and care
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 that he is perfectly
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 in control.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 There is nothing
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 that can stop God
00:20:47 --> 00:20:51 but he is so loving
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 that even the unimportant
00:20:52 --> 00:20:54 or mundane details
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 to us
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 matter to him.
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 Now I need to warn you
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 before we move on
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 just because God can
00:21:01 --> 00:21:04 and just because God loves you
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 doesn't mean
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 he will always do
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 what you want.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 It could be that
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 you don't think
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 or you question
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 God's sovereignty
00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 because you have
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 prayed for something
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 and you didn't get it
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 because you have prayed
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 to avoid something
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 and you did get it.
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 God doesn't always promise
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 to do it our way.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 What he does promise
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 is that he is
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 infinitely powerful,
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 there is nothing
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29 that can stand in his way
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 and that he loves us.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 That's what he promises.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 He does promise
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 that he will always
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 work for our good
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 but he never promises
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 that our good
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 will always line up
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 with what we think
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 it should be.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 God is powerful
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 beyond our comprehension
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 and he cares more
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 than we will ever
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 begin to understand
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 in this life.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 life.
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 If you question
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 whether or not God
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 can work in your situation,
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 the answer is found
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 in Jesus.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 If you question
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 whether or not God
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 wants to work
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 in your situation,
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 the answer is found
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 in Jesus.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 When we get to Jesus,
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 we face
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 the most formidable foe
00:22:13 --> 00:22:15 that this life knows,
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 death.
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 And in Jesus'
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 death and resurrection,
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 God proves that there is
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 nothing more powerful
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 than him.
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 He proves to you
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 that there is nothing
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 you will face
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 in your life
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 that he is not
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 sovereign over.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 And in giving us Jesus,
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 he proves that there is
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 nothing that he will
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 hold back.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 Let me read to you
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 a verse from Romans
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 chapter 8.
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 He who did not
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 spare his own son
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 but gave him up
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 for us all,
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 how will he not
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 also along with him
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 graciously give us
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 all things?
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 In the moments
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 where you doubt
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 God's love for you
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 and his willingness
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 to pay whatever it costs
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 to ensure
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 that you are cared for,
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 that your life
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 is for your good
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 and his glory,
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 remember Jesus.
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 God has already
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 given you the most
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 valuable thing
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 he could give you.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 He's already paid
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 the highest cost
00:23:05 --> 00:23:05 he could pay.
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 And it is ridiculous
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 to think that
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 having sacrificed
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 his son,
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 he would then
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 hold back
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 on something else,
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 something small.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 The answer
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 to our doubt
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 is Jesus.
00:23:20 --> 00:23:20 The answer
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 to our fear
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 is Jesus.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 But the question
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 remains,
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 what will it look like
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 for us to not
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 simply believe
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 that God is sovereign,
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 what will it look like
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 for us to live
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 that conviction?
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 What will it look like
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 to show others
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 that we are confident
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 in that?
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 Let me suggest
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 two things.
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 Firstly,
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 if you really believe
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 that God is in control
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 of every part
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 of your life
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 and all of this creation,
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 then you will pray more.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 Now that sounds
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 counterintuitive
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 because we think
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 if God's sovereign
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 and he's in control,
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 then God's going to do
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 what God's going to do
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 and there's no point
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 to pray.
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 But if you believe
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 that God is powerful,
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 if you believe
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 that God loves you,
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 then when you are in need,
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 you will fall on your knees
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 and cry out
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 to the one person
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08 who has the power
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 to redeem you,
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 to save you,
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 to provide for you.
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 The one person
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 who has the power
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14 to work in every situation.
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 In good times,
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 you will stop
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 thanking yourself
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 because you will recognize
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 that it is God
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 who has given you
00:24:20 --> 00:24:20 the blessings.
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 You will pray
00:24:22 --> 00:24:22 to thank him
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 for your life,
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 for your home,
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 for oxygen,
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 for beautiful weather,
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 for friends,
00:24:27 --> 00:24:27 for family,
00:24:28 --> 00:24:28 for the countless
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 good things
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 he has given you.
00:24:30 --> 00:24:32 When you believe
00:24:32 --> 00:24:34 that God is sovereign
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 and in control,
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 then like Job,
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 you will be able
00:24:37 --> 00:24:37 to proclaim,
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 naked I came
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 from my mother's womb,
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 naked I will depart,
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 the Lord gave
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 and the Lord has taken away,
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 may the name
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 of the Lord be praised.
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 In darkness
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 and suffering,
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 you will still
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 be confident
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 because your God
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 is powerful
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 and your God
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 loves you.
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 Second thing,
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 knowing that God
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 is in control
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 means peace.
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 Doesn't mean
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 that your life
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 will be easy,
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 doesn't mean
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 that it will be
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 event free
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 or pain free,
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 but a life
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 that is confident
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 in a powerful
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 loving God,
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 a life that is confident
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 in his unbreakable
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17 promise to always,
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 in all things,
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 work for the good
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 of those who love him.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 That means,
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 good or bad,
00:25:24 --> 00:25:24 whether you can see
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 how God's working
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 or not,
00:25:27 --> 00:25:27 if you know
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 your powerful
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 loving God,
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 you can be confident
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 that his plan
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 is still being
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 accomplished.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 That even as you
00:25:34 --> 00:25:36 suffer and struggle,
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 that God is loving
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 you in that moment,
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 that he is there
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 with you
00:25:40 --> 00:25:42 and that he is
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 working for your
00:25:43 --> 00:25:45 good and his glory.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 We have the great
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 promise of scripture,
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 Jesus' own words
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 in John chapter 10,
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 I give them
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 eternal life
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 and they shall
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 never perish,
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 no one can snatch
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 them out of my hand.
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 God's plan
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 for your life
00:26:00 --> 00:26:02 finishes in heaven
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 with him.
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 And Jesus promises
00:26:04 --> 00:26:06 here that nothing
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 can change that.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 Once you have
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 trusted him,
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 no circumstance,
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 no doubt,
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 no suffering,
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 no pain,
00:26:14 --> 00:26:16 nothing can snatch
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 you out of his hand.
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 And so whatever
00:26:19 --> 00:26:21 you face in your life,
00:26:21 --> 00:26:23 you can rejoice
00:26:23 --> 00:26:25 confidently in your
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 God who is
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 infinitely powerful
00:26:26 --> 00:26:29 and infinitely loving.
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 With your eternity
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 secure,
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 it is so much easier
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 to live in the
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 temporary difficulties
00:26:34 --> 00:26:36 that we face now
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 because nothing
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 can snatch us
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 out of his hand.
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 God's sovereignty
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 will lead us
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 to prayer
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 and peace
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 just like it did
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 for Jonah.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 In chapter 2,
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 just after what
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 Gus read,
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 from the belly
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 of the fish,
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 Jonah finally
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 realizes he
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 can't run
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 from God.
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 God's plan
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 will not be
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 stopped.
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 And so how
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 does he respond?
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 He prays.
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 He prays
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 because in that
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 helpless moment
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 he recognizes
00:27:04 --> 00:27:06 again and afresh
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 God is powerful
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 but God is loving.
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 God sent that fish
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 to make sure
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 Jonah couldn't
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 get away
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 but also to save
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 him
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16 and to give him
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 a second chance
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 to fulfill the purpose
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 that God
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 had given him.
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 Jonah still
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 stuffs up,
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 he still questions
00:27:22 --> 00:27:22 God,
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 he still makes
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 mistakes even
00:27:24 --> 00:27:24 through the rest
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 of this book
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 but as he is
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 confronted with
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 his powerful
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 loving God
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 he prays
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 and he stops
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 running
00:27:31 --> 00:27:33 and he trusts.
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 Just as we finish
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 I want to give you
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 two challenges.
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 We're beginning
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 a new year.
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 We're a week in
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 and maybe you
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 didn't make
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 a new year's
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 resolution,
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 maybe you did,
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 it doesn't really
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 matter.
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 Forget about
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 new year
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 and just see
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 today as an
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 opportunity to
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 start.
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 I want to suggest
00:27:51 --> 00:27:51 two things
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 that I think
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 will help you
00:27:53 --> 00:27:55 this year begin
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 to believe
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 that God is in
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 control.
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 Not to just say
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 it, not just to
00:28:00 --> 00:28:00 be able to
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 articulate it
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 but to truly
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 believe.
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 Firstly,
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 get to know
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 what God has
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 promised you.
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 I think that
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 one of the basic
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 things that leads
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 us to doubt
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 God's goodness
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 is that we
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 actually don't
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 know what it
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 is that he's
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 promised us.
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 And so in our
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 moment of suffering
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 or our moment
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 of need,
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 we doubt God
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 because he's not
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 giving us what
00:28:21 --> 00:28:23 we want and we
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 think that he
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 should.
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 But it might be
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 that he hasn't
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 promised that.
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 My disease will
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 continue in my
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 body for as long
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 as God leaves it
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 there or until
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 Jesus comes back.
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 I have a deep
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 desire that he
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 would take it
00:28:36 --> 00:28:36 away, it would
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 make my life
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 easier.
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 But God has
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 not promised
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 anywhere that he
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 will do that.
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 When Jesus
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 comes back, I
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 know then,
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 finally, my
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 body will be
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 cleansed and
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 all sickness
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 and death
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 will be removed,
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 but until then
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 there is no
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 promise that
00:28:51 --> 00:28:51 that sickness
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 will get healed.
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 But God
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 does promise
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 me that in
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 all things he
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 is working
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 for my
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 good.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 If we don't
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 know the
00:29:02 --> 00:29:02 promises of
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 God in our
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 dark times and
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 in our doubt
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 and in our
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 good times,
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 we will be
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 distracted, we
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 will doubt, we
00:29:09 --> 00:29:09 will question,
00:29:09 --> 00:29:12 but when we
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 grab hold of
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 what God has
00:29:13 --> 00:29:15 guaranteed in
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 his son Jesus,
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 we will know
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 the peace and
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 the confidence
00:29:18 --> 00:29:20 of dearly loved
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 children.
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 Lastly,
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 sorry, just
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 before I move
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 on, let me
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 re-endorse what
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 Janet talked about
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 before, the
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 Bible reading
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 plan.
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 If you're already
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 reading the Bible
00:29:32 --> 00:29:32 another way, that's
00:29:32 --> 00:29:34 fantastic, but if
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 you're like me, I've
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 been a Christian for a
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 long time and
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 still every year I
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 struggle to be
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 committed in the
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 way I spend time
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 in the Word.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 This would be a
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 great thing for us
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 to do because we
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 would all be
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 reading it together
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 or even a whole
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 bunch of us reading
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 it together and
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 encouraging one
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 another with what
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 God is teaching
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 us and praying for
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 one another in line
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 with what God is
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 teaching us.
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 If you struggle and
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 you need structure,
00:29:55 --> 00:29:57 please get that
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 Bible reading plan.
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 It's not perfect,
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 but it's designed to
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 help you get to know
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 the promises of God
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 so that you can
00:30:03 --> 00:30:05 believe that God is
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 powerful and that
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 God loves you.
00:30:07 --> 00:30:09 And lastly, pray.
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 Ask for God to
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 help you to trust
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 him.
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 No amount of
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 trying really hard
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 to trust God will
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 actually achieve it.
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 No amount of
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 gritting your teeth
00:30:19 --> 00:30:21 will actually make
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 the difference.
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 For us to trust
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 God, we need to
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 see him in all his
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 power and glory.
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 We need to see his
00:30:29 --> 00:30:31 love in Jesus on
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 the cross and we
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 need God's Holy
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 Spirit to do that
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 in us.
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 We need him to
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 transform our hearts
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 so that what we can
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 say and what we
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 think becomes what we
00:30:40 --> 00:30:42 believe and how we
00:30:42 --> 00:30:42 live.
00:30:43 --> 00:30:43 So pray.
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 And not just for
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 yourself.
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 Pray for your
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 brothers and sisters
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 around you.
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 Pray that we would
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 be a people marked by
00:30:50 --> 00:30:52 confidence in our
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 sovereign God.
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 Pray that people,
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 when they meet us,
00:30:54 --> 00:30:56 before we even say
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 the words, God is in
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 control, they would
00:30:58 --> 00:31:00 see a peace in us
00:31:00 --> 00:31:02 that can't be explained
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 any other way.
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 Pray that we would
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 be a community that
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 declares the majesty
00:31:09 --> 00:31:11 and glory of our
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 mighty, sovereign,
00:31:12 --> 00:31:14 powerful and loving
00:31:14 --> 00:31:16 creator for his
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 sake.
00:31:16 --> 00:31:27 Give you a
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 â.