I Don’t Know Either // Judah Smith

hey if I didn't tell you already I'm sorry my name is Judah married to Chelsea we've been married now for almost almost 20 years and well thank you thank you say thank you Nima thank you for the clapping but it really is our privilege to to be a part here of church home alright I'm really excited tonight I've never really done a collection of talks like this in my whole life I'd like to take the next 7 weeks so wherever you're going to be that's cool I'm gonna be here at the Saban for the next 7 weeks and I want to talk from a subject what I wish more preachers would say what I wish more preachers would say I'm 40 now so I'm just gonna tell you the truth this entire we're gonna do seven different weeks of what I wish more preachers would say and it is gonna be an amazing time hopefully hopefully I don't offend you oh man it's gonna be great all right that was awesome I didn't know you were back there thanks Bert thanks for playing it just played for a couple of minutes it'll help it'll feel good I'm wearing a double-breasted suit this is serious tonight this is a serious business we're go to Genesis chapter 1 the beginning of the whole Bible and here is my phrase tonight what I wish more preachers would say is this I don't know either I actually don't know either I think the days of preachers being know-it-alls feel like they got the answer to everything is just not real there are plenty of times that each and every one of us have to be willing to admit I don't know I don't know either and so I want to talk to out about embracing the mystery turn to your neighbor and say I don't know either something like but I do know but I do know Genesis chapter 1 we're gonna read a larger portion of Scripture tonight and I want to again what do you do when you don't know what do you do when feeling like you don't know turns into an extended season of mystery what do you do when you don't know Genesis chapter 1 let's start at the very beginning it says this first this God created the heavens in the earth all you see all you don't see earth was a soup of nothingness a bottomless emptiness an inky blackness God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss God spoke light and light appeared God saw the light was good and separated light from dark and God named the light day and he named the dark night it was evening it was morning day 1 this reads like poetry it's so beautiful God spoke sky in the middle of the water separated water from water God made sky he separated the water under sky from the water above sky and there was he named sky the heavens it was evening it was morning day 2 God spoke separate water beneath heaven gather into one place land appeared and there it was God named the land earth he named the pooled water ocean I like this statement God saw that it was good he thought to himself I'm good I'm really good God spoke earth Greenup grow all varieties of seed bearing plants every sort of fruit bearing tree and there was earth produced green seed bearing plants all varieties and fruit bearing trees of all sorts God saw that it was good it was evening it was morning day 3 God spoke lights come out shine in heaven skies separated day from night mark seasons and days and years lights in heaven sky to give light to earth and there it was God made two big lights the larger to take charge of day the small to take charge of night and he made the stars God placed them in the heavenly sky to light up earth and oversee day and two separate light and dark God saw that it was good it was evening it was morning day for God spoke swarm ocean with fish and all sea life birds fly through the sky over earth God created the huge whales and all the swarm of life and the waters and every kind and every kind of species of flying birds God saw that it was good God blessed and prosperous fill ocean birds reproduce on earth it was evening it was morning day five God spoke earth to generate life every sort and kind Catalan reptiles and wild animals all kinds and there was wild animals of every kind cattle of all kinds every sort of reptile and bug God saw that it was good other way he saw that he was good God spoke let us make human beings in our own image notice the language changes making them reflecting our nature Father Son and spirit so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea the birds in the air the cattle and yes earth itself and every animal that moves on the face of the earth God created human beings he created them God like reflecting God's nature he created them male and female God blessed them and he said to human beings prosper reproduce fill earth take charge be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air for every living thing that moves on the face of the earth and God said I've given you every sort of seed bearing plants on earth and every kind of fruit bearing tree giving them to you for food to all animals and all birds everything that moves and breathes I give whatever grows out of the ground for food and there it was God looked over everything he had made everything he had made it was so good so very good it was evening it was morning day sex will stop there if you didn't get your Bible reason and recently you just did if you run into anybody that's real radical you know they're like do you read your Bible you can tell I read a whole chapter today say something again I want us to lean in to this style I don't know either and I just want to say is the leader of this community that a lot of the time I don't know either I just want you to hear a preacher say that for once I don't know either you're always in good company when you run into somebody who is willing to admit when they don't know something I don't know and I would like to suggest that the mystery makes plenty of room for God and and what and what he does will you join me in prayer Jesus thank you for the moments that we share we love you you are extraordinary you are amazing help us to maximize the few moments that we have speak to us encounter us though what we don't need is a talk what we don't need is tradition what we don't need is to go through the motions what we do need is you the Living God to meet us right where we are at we thank you for that thank you for the offseason moves the Seahawks are making give us wisdom in the draft to put the right players around Russ in Jesus name Amen amen amen what does that go who talks yes thank you thank you um I'll never forget the first time I went to the ocean I was born in Portland Oregon if you don't know our story Chelse and I our moms were best friends that were pregnant together at the same time something like not this again dear God Judah they were best friends I said let's have a point of girl and get try to get him married and it literally worked out so I'm a product of arranged marriages all right so but I don't know if it was the first time I went to the Oregon coast but it is the first time I can remember we went with my grandma Dorothy we were staying in an RV and we arrived at the coast at night I'm so bad with timelines I'm gonna say I was approximately six or seven years old maybe five now at that point I had been stuttering my whole life I was a stutterer and part of his I just especially when I got excited I would just stutter and so we arrived at the org coasts and I will never forget what I felt in my little chest it's as if I could feel the ocean in my chest as we got closer to this massive powerful force known as the ocean I could hear if you know anything about the Oregon coast it's windy the waves can get big and I could hear the crashing of the waves as we pulled the RV into our little parking spot little bit I know in the morning I would wake up and the ocean would be only but like 20 yards from the RV and I remember it and I was a scaredy cat like what well I steal him a little bit of a scaredy cat but we hear a noise in the house on my chest you you need to go check that out girl she's not afraid of anything that's the truth so I laid there and my dad went to sleep I tried to wake him up I said I said dad whoa whoa what he said son go to bed so I went to my grandmother grandma Dorothy and I said grandma grandma you got to wake up everybody was asleep by this time and I said whoa what is that and she said sweetie baby that's that's the ocean oh why does it sound like that well that's the waves I said it sounds angry I remember feeling the roar I remember hearing the rumble and it just one after another I probably slept an hour too that night excitement and also fear because the sound just kept booming against the RV and I never forget waking up 6 7 years old I walk out for the first time and I see one of the most powerful forces in the universe and suddenly and I was already skinny and small I felt small I'm looking at this ocean and the wind is howling the Oregon Coast you don't ever need to go but it is ridiculous you know you're like gee we'll go to Laguna well said but it's just like it's just wind sideways and so it intensifies the sound and all of my five senses are just overwhelmed this little skinny kid from Portland Oregon and I'm staring at the ocean and I'm thinking to myself God made this now if you're like me every time I see an ocean like flying over ocean I'm always like I wonder how many sharks are in where I'm looking right now that's the first thing that comes to mind and even back then I was like wouldn't it be cool if God could just pull out all the sharks for me just to see him real quick and then put him right back down I've always loved sharks but I remember thinking to this day I've had a healthy fear a lotion just man it's it's it's powerful I love to swim and growing up I'd get in the ocean but had a few scares and you realize how powerful the ocean is my brothers and sisters we just read that God made that body of water by speaking he made that body of water by talking it did not exist he said that it should so it did he said ocean and it said that's us he does this by speaking and so what I'm saying is this we are so uncomfortable at times with mystery and yet for those of us either considering Jesus and his ways considering the lifestyle of Jesus we must recognize that this most holy book begins with nothing but mystery like here's the first few words in the whole Bible narrative in the beginning God explained that I can't he was before the beginning he began the beginning he always was and always will be right like try to digest that for a moment try to really internalize that there's something inside our finite limited being that just goes what life is mystery but I think sometimes those preachers we we want to explain everything and we can't we can't explain everything I got a friend right now who it seems like all in one season he's lost everything but a few months ago everything was great job family situation circumstances 3-4 months later all the sudden people are dying he's losing his job and he says man what's going on and my response was I don't know I don't know and if I've learned anything don't live on what you don't know just live on what you do know just live on what you do know I don't know but what I do know is that prayer can make a difference what I do know is if we'll get together and just talk it out that'll help - what I do know is God takes what the enemy means for evil and he works it together for our good and what I do know is life is long and we're playing the long game and so don't get caught up in a season and so what I'd like to do is to use these next few moments to speak to people who are right now in one of those seasons if you're like me your hope and mystery is a moment but oftentimes it turns into a season God why God why why is this happening here's the problem we believe that mystery is an opponent we believe that mystery is a problem I would like to suggest that the mystery is good the mystery is good and I want to kind of demonstrate for you in a couple of scenarios two very mysterious scenes where Jesus is with his followers and I'd like to just extrapolate just a few thoughts and concepts because there are people in here you are trying to shake the mystery you're trying to cover the mystery you're trying to ignore the mystery you're trying to pretend the mysteries not there but the mystery is there for a reason please hear me the mystery is there for a reason I want to raise babies I'm raised in a 14 12 and 10 year old but I want to raise them not to avoid mystery but to lean into mystery it's in the mystery that you can learn so much about God and if I could say so much about you Isaiah 55 says God says I'm gonna have to put it up on the screen but he says I don't think like you think my ways are higher than your ways my thoughts are higher than your thoughts can I say this when is the last time you got to the end of your comprehension you like Julie you talking about blind faith no I'm talking about universal realities I understand we are so academic as we should be and I'm grateful and all the learning that we're doing but we have to admit the mystery of the universe like gravity why do we all stay on the ground right like I mean we got people who try to explain it but why did that happen we just read a whole passage that reads like poetry it is poetry of total mystery god this is like that's the moon and that's the Sun we read that we're like yeah it's the moon it's the Sun but you said it came from nothing he just was like that's the moon that's the Sun that'll be for the night it'll be romantic that'll be for the Sun you know he just said it innit we we're not here tonight on the premise of mere intellectual ascension it's just with us this is this is a place that is embraced mystery two scenes I want to share with you I'm not gonna I'm not gonna preach long tonight I told a friend then I'm gonna preach in 35 minutes or less that friend didn't believe me but that's my goal how many of you believe me four of you taking my chair and going home and ridiculous we say one last thing as we move into these two scenes God is the orchestrator of mystery if if there's mystery in the universe God is not the author of calamity God is not the author of confusion but he is the author of mystery now we confuse confusion is not to be welcomed in our life but mystery and confusion are different now oftentimes mystery can get us confused or it can lead us to trust but I want to speak to the mystery boy if you got some situations in your life where you're like I just don't understand congratulations you have an opportunity right now in the unknown to experience spiritual dynamo and growth and progress unlike any other season mystery so our first thing let's go to two scenes we'll just do the gospel Luke and we'll end here but I'm hoping that we'll all leave tonight with a little bit of a skip in our step and a twinkle in our eye looking each other going you know what I don't know either Luke Luke chapter 8 Luke chapter 8 it reads like this one day he got into a boat with his disciples Jesus and said let's cross over to the other side of the lake alright so this is pretty is pretty basic scene he's like getting a boat the reason we're going get in the boat is to get to the other side pretty basic and so they set out the Bible says and as they sell Jesus fell asleep it's an interesting detail right it's like we don't really need to know Jesus nap schedule it's cool like you know he fell asleep and a windstorm came down on the lake and they were filling with water and were in danger wait a second the God who created wind and lakes with words is napping and the wind and the lake seem to be winning and what any preacher who tells you he totally understands this passage is being ridiculous why and folks it's filling with water and Jesus is still sleeping now by the way that's some good sleep Jesus can sleep right like this is amazing it says and they were in danger and it goes on it says so so they win and woke him up Jesus is sleeping in a windstorm and the boats filling with water and he is still sleeping by the way it should be noted if Jesus is still sleeping you're gonna be alright right like if you're with somebody who and you're in an environment where they're an expert in it and they get frazzled you should get frazzled - right like today it was funny we were flying him from Boston and in the flight that we had a lot of turbulence and I always enjoyed turbulence a little bit like you know Disneyland in the sky and I always I'm waiting for the flight which is bad to say I shouldn't say there's something you don't like flying but I'm waiting I've never had them at every flight worth where the pilot kind of loses his nerve ladies and gentlemen get in your seat in the name of Jesus right like that's what you know it's bad but every time I've been flying since I was a baby every time it's like ladies and gentlemen it looks like we're gonna be running into some turbulence here if you could all please return to your seats and you know make sure those belts are pretty tight around you like they don't that's weird that was creepy yeah that's like in 12 a girl I see you know I wish that happened I see you girl in that exit row that's ridiculous so like if Jesus the wind creator and the water maker like it he's still sleeping but it says master master listen this is so ironic they said we're dying we're dying here's the first observation I want to make about mystery you know what's amazing about mystery in mystery you will face your weakness and we think that's bad that's the problem we're like I will keep ourselves busy all day long recently a friend of mine told me about the these inmates who were on death row and they were taught to meditate and they were teaching them about meditation and just getting their thoughts and these are rough-and-tumble men on death row and they had them meditating for approximately an hour every single one of the criminals broke down and started weeping because for the first time they faced what they had actually done in the mystery it is amazing how suddenly you are faced with your humanity and we think that's bad no for when I am weak then I am strong and the power of Christ rests upon me one of the best things that could happen to you is for you to face your weakness well you know we often times where in churches where you can't tell somebody I'm scared you can't tell somebody I don't I don't I feel alone you can't tell somebody I feel like it's not going to work out I've been in church long enough people start talking like that man you better speak faith brother ah but I feel alone well you're gonna keep feeling alone if you keep telling people you feel alone you need you need to start telling people that you're alive Master we're gonna die Wow I don't know did God create the storm he certainly set the seasons in motion by the way things just happen in the universe because God set things in motion and then we are subject to futility because of sin and so it has affected the planet and it's weather patterns Jesus did not intend for this storm to hurt his guys but boy he's using it while he sleeps they start to wonder are we gonna die and then watch what happens well a mystery can be a great opportunity for you to realize I can't do this I can't do this anymore I've been trying to make this thing huh I've been trying to get to the other side on my own so I can't do this anymore I can't I I'm gonna die and he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves I love this is this read so just easy he woke up rebuked the wind in the raging waves and they ceased and there was a calm don't that's pretty radical I mean I don't know we don't know how it happened you got up and just like peace everything just goes how the 12 guys guys this is moments ago you ever you ever been like listen to loud music and you'll see you're talking loud and then it gets turned off you know these guys like we're gonna die Jesus sees Jesus and I love this part because this is so true about mystery it says in the next verse it says he said to them hey where's your faith where's your faith and they're so good they didn't respond to that they didn't need to it was more of a statement than a question and it says I loved us they were afraid and they marveled they were afraid and they marveled see mystery will produce that in your life oh you'll be afraid but you'll also marvel do you know that you can be afraid and marvel at the same time you can be like I have no idea what's happening but I'm gonna tell you right now I'm pretty sure God's in control I still don't feel great but I feel amazed in the mystery you'll experience wonder whatever happened to wonder you gotta leave that to kids kids don't need wonder as much as we need wonder I need some wonderfulness in my life I need moments where I see God in places and spaces do things I never thought he could do and that oftentimes happens when I met my weakest god I'm gonna die God does something so wonderful I didn't know I mean these guys it says and they said to one another who is this what do you mean who is this you've been with him for a while guys yeah but but we didn't we didn't know he had it like that that's crazy they said he he talks to air and water and it obeys him well we get so busy I'm gonna figure out how to get to the other side I'm gonna work this out I'm I this this this storm is a direct correlation to when I started dating him or her and so the key is and and then it's my stop reading the Bible that's what it was and then what I saw I stopped making my fake declarations and so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna get to the other side because you know sometimes storms just happen right we think storms are always a result of us I don't know if were that powerful storms just happen but in the storm here comes the mystery like god why and he's like silent because he's taking a nap he was back then he doesn't nap anymore good news but and all of a sudden you're faced with your weakness but in weakness you're primed for wonder Wow God you did that yeah oh come on man Jesus did that with a smile they will come up he's like hey guys I mean Jesus is probably wet from all the you know they're like what do you sleeping in a pool of water and he gets up he's like peace I think he said like this I think you turn around he's like hey guys where's your faith like what don't pretend mister he's not there let's not play pretend let's embrace it there's some people in here you you feel like God told you to go to other side and you're on your way to the side God told you to go - and your boat or your life is filling with water and it is wind out of control and you're starting to go every time I go out the direction God wants me to go mystery kicks up I feel weak I'll feel weary yeah but keep your head up and look around because I believe he's about to do something wonderful he's gonna surprise you he's gonna surprise you our last scene I'm actually on schedule by the way the last scene I want to look at is actually just a few pages later it's in Luke chapter 9 Luke chapter 9 and Jesus has just quoted as saying set it's basically his thesis to his disciples if you desire to come after me deny yourself follow me take up your cross every single day and it jumps now to verse 28 in chapter 9 and it says now about eight days after these sayings he took up with him Peter John and James and went up on the mountain to pray listen to this mystery they're just they're just gonna do some praying like they've done some praying before but watch what happens in this prayer meeting as he was praying the appearance of Jesus face was altered I am glad I was not at this prayer meeting I'm still right now because I did not have the Constitution for these kinds of prayer meetings okay his face was altered his clothing became dazzling white and behold two men were talking with him what Moses and Elijah have just been transported some five thousand years and now they're standing in the prayer-meeting talking to Jesus and says this who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure and what he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem I love that he was like Moses Elijah I'm about to do it I'm about to do it now Moses represents the law Elijah represents the prophets and the scripture declared that he would fulfill the law and the prophets Jesus the conversation was something like this Jesus said Moses what you couldn't do I'm about to do I lied to what she only talked about I'm actually gonna perform and Moses and Elijah were like you're the mahan this you write thanks for letting us be here this is crazy and I think something one of those guys must have been like what are we gonna do when the guys wake up because it says now Peter and those are with him were heavy and sleep but when they become fully awake I love that they became blue they saw his glory and they saw Moses and Elijah who stood with him I love this part this is classic Peter Peter does has most of the lines in in the Gospels and as the men were partying from him so Elijah Moses were like the guys are up we're gonna leave you guys okay Jesus you're the man love you and Peter jumps up before they leave like master it is good that we are here I love this it is so good that we're here let me make let us me mostly me make three tents one for you Moses don't you believe in one for you Elijah you get back your buddy and one for you he probably looked back at James and John like you wish you guys nailed that line you want talk about mistreat look at the next verse this actually happened as he was saying these things can you imagine if you could do this to people who were like saying things that were kind of making them look silly a cloud came and overshadowed Peter smock fog he just was like what did I say yeah I love this and they were afraid as they entered the cloud yeah folks this is a prayer meeting gone ridiculously wild right they were just like they wake up to guys who were 5,000 years old talking with Jesus Peter like wants to join in he's like I'll just make three tents for he's gonna be amazing and the cloud uses like basically going no and I love this part and a voice came out of the cloud that would be God the Father they love this this is my son my chosen one listen to him that is the nicest way God could tell Peter to shut up it's exactly what that is he's like this is a cloud this is me staining to stop I mean how mysterious is all this why did why was I invited to the prayer meeting if you were going to cloud me and it says I'll have this end it's like yeah this is kind of an obvious end but it says I can read it out of this one if we don't have it up on the screen and it says and then when the voices spoken Jesus was found alone and I love this less and and they kept silent and they didn't really tell anyone the days of anything what they had seen well I bet they did and Peter's like don't shoot guys dear tell nobody what happened here the mystery couple observations as we conclude I think oftentimes we run away from mystery we avoid it we cover it we pretend it's not there were afraid of it again we're establishing tonight that I don't know he's a good thing oftentimes in the mystery we learn and sometimes in difficult ways how to listen Peter did the normal human thing when something mysterious happens something unknown something wild something beyond your comprehension Peter just goes it's good that I'm here it's like oh because it's so mysterious and beyond your understanding and beyond your comprehension you just keep talking and what you should do is listen in it crazy when mystery kicks we just run our mouth well I'm gonna you know well it's been it's been the worst seats if it's so difficult but I'm gonna figure it out you know give any suggestions you think in any podcast any things because I am honestly something it's just kind of and we fill our life with answers and we go to seminars we go to meetings and all those things are wonderful and great because often times we think that's gonna be the key to get through the season to get through this mountaintop moment that is beyond me are those guys Moses and Elijah what I'm gonna build you tents and this is what we do in mystery we find something to do I'm gonna find something to do I'm not gonna sit here I'm not gonna listen I will make this prayer meeting happen Moses don't you leave you come back here you command in five thousand-year-old people come back from the dead what to do because it's it's this Peter once again he's the human condition on full display and God just makes it real clear he puts him in further mystery he's in a cloud and God says Peter I need you to listen I need you to listen I need you to listen how much listening have you been doing lately now that's not semi challenging you don't live in 2019 but for the rest of us listening can be hard because we we can we we actually hear so much we often don't take time to listen do you what I'm saying work we hear music we hear podcasts we hear things we here we here we here we here we here but are we listening listening oftentimes requires a quietness when's the last time you got quiet inside and out and just listened and you know what's crazy um after God says to Peter listen nothing else is said because we're like oh I'm gonna listen there we go I'm oh I'm gonna listen but I better hear the Lord what if what if just the act of listening is the way you're gonna learn okay guy I can't tell you who it was but there was three family members once in my life and I didn't get permission to tell this it's not my kids some other family members and their mom sat him down on the bed she said y'all are gonna hear from God today and so all three boys closed their eyes as tight as they could and they listened for God a few minutes later mom came back my aunt to be exact she came back she said boys what you hear in the oldest he said God said this and the youngest said God said this and the middle son he said he opens I said man I didn't hear nothing he's the one named after me but it's not always about hearing sometimes it's just about listening be still and know that I am God and you are not you are not the God on this mountain you're not the God in this boat you're not the captain of your ship you are not the director of your destiny that's God that's God and lastly I in with this and I'm coming to a close at approximately 36 minutes welcome spring in summer this is amazing but it says after the cloud the voice of God in and Jesus was found alone can I can i play with these words Jesus I want you see Jesus was found alone can you see it Jesus was found alone Jesus was found alone wait a second what if the mysteries here so that Jesus was found alone that the only thing you found was Jesus do you see what I'm saying Jesus was found alone he alone was found he alone was the result of this mysterious encounter not Elijah now Moses no we're not building tents for Moses and Elijah just Jesus Moses I should say Peter comes out of the cloud and who does he see Jesus alone what we fail to recognize it's in the mystery when we come to the end of ourselves and realize oh I need is Jesus that's what I need that's why Jesus said I'm the way I'm also the truth and I'm also the life and when the storms kick up and the winds build and the waves surge and the clouds move in and cover our understanding it's in those moments you might experience the zenith moment of the human existence which is when it dawns on you Jesus is enough I was on an emergency chartered flight to Las Vegas you know the story those of you who've been a part of church in my dad they were keeping him alive so I could say goodbye to him and I'm on that plane just my family there's a wonderful businessman charted a plane for us so that we could get there in time before my dad passed so I'm on a plane and it's just my family it's so just my family I want to talk to God like nobody else is around I said really God really with all the people who aren't good you're gonna take one of the good ones you want to talk about mystery my dad was my hero one of the kindest men who've ever lived if you ran into my dad he would feel like he was your dad he was a hugger he was an encourage he was a celebrator of life and people and humanity and cancer takes him at sixty and I'm on that plane I'm letting God know how I feel I'm in the clouds I'm in the storm and I'm going what what and all I heard was this and I didn't hear it audibly but I heard it in my heart and here's what I got am I not enough and I don't know why and I'm not saying this happens for everybody but in that moment I instantly got gratefulness for having a dad like my dad for 30 years and I instantly read cognize the opportunity I would now have for the rest of my life to recognize that God was my true father I can't explain the storm I don't know either I can't explain the fog and the clouds I don't know either we could we could lean into these stories more and go why the cloud why the mystery I don't know but what I do know is Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever here's what I and I'm in then I promise I'm promises it's right at 40 minutes that was my goal wasn't it look look look look I'm klutzy look I'm done I'm done I wish I could tell you oh how many times I've talked with some of you text message phone calls voicemails emails coffee meetings pastor what do you think what do you think is wrong and I didn't start saying this as a young pastor I say well I think maybe it's this and I think the reason God told you to go the other side and the storm happened is because then and then the reason you got called to the prayer meeting with God but in the fog settled and you you know I think in in now I usually just look at them may I don't know I know I love you I know God loves you but but here's what we do know mystery can do things for you that nothing else can nothing else game nothing else can my friend and I were talking about this the other day you meet somebody who's really gone through pain translation mystery something about people like that they've been through some mystery and they're still walking and they're still talking and they're still encouraging there are people in this room I want you to know if you could hear this from me God's proud of you he knows you're weak he knows it's difficult he's not mad at you you're trying to go to the other side like you told you and then all of a sudden here's all this resistance here's all these storms here's all these challenges here's allsey difficulties God what are you saying I don't know the Holy do know is Jesus is good and He is God and I got a sense that you're gonna make it through the fog you're gonna make it through the storm will it hurt Judah a lot of times it does will God take the hurt away sometimes not all the time now what I wish more preachers would say will it always hurt sometimes yeah my mom and I talk all the time mom is it still hard yeah it'll always be hard wake up every day thinking I'm gonna see your father in my bed why I don't know but again Church home we're gonna live on what we do know and what we do know is in these conundrums of life we see how weakness we learn to listen we see is wonder and we cop behind they come to that all-important place and I know it's these are not popular phrases well we come to that place where all I really need is Jesus can't live without him and man if you're a parent in here what more would you want your children to grow up with but a profound internal personal intimate sense that if I need anything and anyone it's Jesus it's Jesus let's pray let's pray Jesus thank you so much for the moments that we share and god I feel the sensitivity in the room for so many people who are in the middle of the mystery so many people here right now so many watching on the app so many watching online they're literally sitting in the middle of a mysterious season that is beyond their understanding and I am asking that you would do what only you can do in the mystery even if you don't take the mystery away even if the storm doesn't clear the clouds don't clear in a moment in the middle of the storm and the middle of the clouds show us who we are and show us who you are we want true life when we don't we don't want to play pretend anymore we want to walk with you even in the storms and cloudy mountaintops we trust you Jesus we trust you Jesus if you're here tonight you say Judah I would like to receive the free gift of forgiveness that only Jesus offers I want to pray for you I want to pray for you and even if you're watching right now on the app or online I want to pray for you he said you know I want to receive the free gift of forgiveness all it takes is a moment of receptivity you open up the gift of forgiveness and relationship with God it comes by what Jesus has done not by what you have done there is zero pressure zero expectation please don't feel any obligation but if you know that God is real and he's speaking to you right now and you want to accept the free gift of forgiveness and become a follower of Jesus on the count of three on the app in this room in the balcony wherever you are he said Judah I receive I want to become a follower of Jesus and a recipient of his forgiveness on the count of three I'm gonna ask you to lift up your hand and put it right back down I ask you to raise your hand because I believe when you respond on the outside to what's happening on the inside it becomes all the more real to you you know who you are one God loves you too you'll never be the same three if that's you shoot your hand up all over the room receive the free gift of forgiveness on the app you just even if you're in a living room you're in a cafe just look your hand real quick it becomes all the more real - you've got to thank you for every hand raised most importantly for every heart and soul it represents and I thank you that forgiveness flows freely here at Church home we love you Jesus we love you Jesus and secondly and I don't always do this but I'm gonna ask a second response if you're here and you're in the middle of mystery you're in the middle of a mysterious season you're in the middle of a season or a moment that is beyond your understanding you've even find yourself asking why and you felt like I don't know anymore and you say man Judah I want to embrace the mystery I want to embrace the mystery in this all I'm gonna see Jesus like I've never seen them before I want to experience wonder that you're talking about if I'm talking to you would you shoot your hand up and say that's me that's right what's right where I'm at so god we're right in the middle of it we're right in the middle we feel Laura like we're in the storm we're in the clouds but we just want to say Lord what we don't know we don't know but what we do know is that you are good and you are faithful and what you've started in us you'll be faithful to complete you are the same yesterday today and forever you are God and beside you there is no other I asked for 42 I asked for faith I asked for strength I asked for grace upon every man woman boy and girl under the sound of my voice who find themselves in the unknown who find themselves in a space where it seems like nothing makes sense and nothing's coming together God and all that work in wonderful ways do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask think or even imagine possible this is our prayer and this is our declaration in Jesus name in Jesus hey everybody thank you so much for watching our YouTube channel to be honest it really means a lot it's kind of overwhelming to consider that you take time out of your life to listen to us tell the story of Jesus if you haven't already you can subscribe right here to the channel and get more of God's incredible love for you and his story of grace again I can't say it enough thank you so much for watching and hopefully we can do this again so

Channel: Churchome

Views: 29,415

Rating: 4.9325461 out of 5

Keywords: Churchome, Judah, Judah smith, church, message, anxiety, depression, how to, elevation, Steven, Hillsong, oceans, sermon, the city church, church home, Chelsea smith, bobby Houston, td jakes, pastor, pastor preaching, carl lentz, Jesus, conference, guest speaker, sermon jam, worship, Justin Bieber, la Hillsong, Selena, preaching, Judah message, performance

Id: gnlxjPko74k

Length: 49min 53sec (2993 seconds)

Published: Sun May 05 2019