Let Me Limp // Judah Smith

I'm gonna go to Genesis and chapter 32 and I'd like to go to this mysterious encounter we talked a bit about it last week this mysterious encounter that this man by the name of Jacob has with what we believe to be an appearance of God in fact most theologians agree we believe this to be an early appearance of Jesus a christophany in the book of Genesis can you believe it and I'd like to start there and talk today about how you and I relate to our weaknesses how you and I relate to our weaknesses so I'm gonna begin reading in Genesis chapter 32 starting in verse 22 are you ready you good feel good sit next to somebody that you like if you're not razor I'm just kidding I'm just kidding it says the same night Jacob arose and took his two wives there's two female servants and his eleven children we can just have a little praise break right there lord I thank you I have one wife and three children not 2 and 11 I know thank you and cross the forward of the Jabbok and he took them and sent them across the stream and everything else he had and Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day when the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob he touched his hip socket Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him then he said let me go for the day has broken but Jacob said I will not let you go unless you bless me and he said then what is your name and he said my name is Jacob which of course means liar or manipulator which if you don't think about Jacobs history that's how he got things that he wanted in his life he manipulated and he lied and he cheated if you will he said well your name shall no longer be called Jacob but Israel which of course is a portrait of a nature change Israel meaning Prince how many know when you meet Jesus your nature begins to change yeah for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed then Jacob said to him please tell me your name and he said well why do you ask me what my name is and there he blessed him so Jacob called the name of the place Peniel saying for seen the God face-to-face and yet my life has been delivered and noticed verse 31 the scripture wants us specifically to know that Jacob walks differently now he has encountered God and the result of his encounter is that he he apparently physically literally visibly limps the Sun rose upon him as he passed pen nail limping because of his hip therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh anytime we run into mysterious passages like this in the Bible I think the key to interpretation and understanding is to always look for Jesus and as we look for Jesus things begin to fall into place and make sense in our own life this book is completely and entirely ultimately about Jesus Jesus is the point Jesus is the answer Jesus is King Jesus is God Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever so let that be something you just used as a tool in your life when you go to the scripture look for Jesus of course here it becomes apparent that God in the form of a man which would be Jesus has appeared to Jacob and I believe this passage is very significant because I think it shows us it's a portrait a picture of what happens in our life when we encounter Jesus we talked about this it also speaks to the idea that we no longer have to wrestle Jesus who knew no sin became sin so that you and I might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and you receive the blessing of God you receive a new nature you receive a new walk you receive a new life by simply receiving and believing in Jesus not by earning or deserving or wrestling and we talked about that this passage speaks to the fact that when we encounter G we will receive a blessing a new nature and lastly a new walk now if you're here today and you say Judah I don't believe in Jesus today is an incredible opportunity for you to look into what would be afforded to you and made available to you if in fact you did believe in Jesus and receive the forgiveness that only he offers so wherever you are in the spiritual spectrum today I believe this message can serve you well and hopefully encourage you and build you up but I want to again draw your attention before we pray I want to draw your attention to the fact that Jacob apparently does not limp before his encounter with God but clearly does limp after his encounter with God and I want to make a very important setup statement and that is after experiencing Jesus after receiving Jesus it is apparent to me that we are to walk differently we are to walk in this life differently and I am led to believe that we are to walk with a limp so I want to title this message let me limp let me limp will you pray with me Jesus thank you so much for your grace thank you so much for your sufficiency Lord we realize that right now in this moment we have an opportunity to engage and and and and experience you or just go through the motions help us to engage now help us to activate our faith and experience you in a real genuine and authentic way thank you for our Seattle Seahawks protect them keep them watch over them and and help Tom Brady retire in Jesus name and bless him in his next career in Jesus name and everybody said amen amen amen I'm not proud of what I'm about to tell you but we are talking about weakness today so let me begin I lied this week thank you that's an interesting response that's what's wrong with this church so I'm good and I mean no lying is not a weakness lying is like it's like it's actually a sin so it's it's different than a limp it's like your legs broken okay so but but it speaks to my weakness and and you might think this is arbitrary but it's real life okay one of the things that I'm working on is keeping my composure on the golf course okay and and and I there trust me I have other more significant issues in my life but this is one that I will share publicly because others you would would really be ashamed of me so I'm trying to keep my cool on the golf course right so several weeks ago a buddy of mine invited me to his golf club and it was there that I threw my putter in a sand bunker and I threw my putter in the sand bunker because I was very very frustrated and I have a selfish heart and I'm dealing with anger and that's just the reality of it now when I threw my putter my friend said unfortunately Judah we frown upon that here at this Golf Club that's not acceptable kind of confronted me and I I did humble myself some and I'm so sorry so that same friend invites me out to the same Golf Club I was like okay this time I'm gonna be on my best behavior right like I am I am gonna be a model citizen right I will show no emotion no personality whatsoever I'm shutting it down today right so we get to the 14th hole and I've had enough of the no personality and the cool calm collected me which doesn't even feel authentic you know that's how I justify my anger and my body hits a drive straight down the middle fairway it was a bomb and I'm competing with him and I feel the pressure so I'm like I got a really hammer this Drive like I'm gonna crush this one but of course I spray it into the trees and on my follow-through instead of like throwing my club I thought the next best thing would just be to let my driver go on the follow-through that's like a thing that golfers do there's like golfers here like no jus that's not a thing we do that's the thing people with heart problems like yourself rage anger selfishness so I released the golf club it tumbles back kind of kind of almost towards the people were playing and a meat leg all sorry guys and then this is where this is where the the lack of truth begin to unfold my friend who invited me to the club I think was trying to cover for me so he says wow did that club just slip out of your hands and I had a moment like I got like I could I could I could say no actually I'm just I have a problem with anger and I have a weakness and I almost hurt you guys because I released my club in total frustration because if I lose to my friend again I can't face my wife so so I didn't want to say that so instead I said yeah and I looked at my glove I even I I doubled down on the lies like yeah man it is really humid out here my glove is just really sweaty I'm humid you know so we're walking down the fairway and my other buddies like really bro really that slipped out here and I was like just I might have said like shut up to him but weren't shirts so we don't do that so I said I said be quiet and I still haven't told my friend that I lied the other one but isn't it funny when it comes to our weaknesses when it innit course in this case lying isn't a weakness it's actually a sin but but I think a weakness is a propensity to sin and isn't it funny when it comes to you know did that club slip out of your hand I should have said no it slipped out of my heart which obviously has rage and anger and selfishness in it like but I would rather lie I would rather cover up my air cover up my weakness in this area then own it I mean how how simple would it be for me is a grown man a man who teaches Scripture how would it is it not just easy for me to go no I'm sorry guys I'm a little frustrated but instead instead this week this very week I would rather tell a lie and in your mind says a little lie a lie is alive but looking into my own life that's a very normal relationship I often have with my weaknesses I would rather you not see them I would rather make up a story to lead you to believe that that it's humid outside and my golf glove is sweaty and that's how the club came flying at you potentially harming you that's how that happened I would rather have that relationship and and of course I don't mean to project my shortcomings on you but oftentimes that's how a lot of us relate to our weaknesses we would rather cover them we would rather pretend they're not there we would rather not admit that we have a propensity in this area or we we struggle with the temptation in this other area I'd rather show up on Sunday and when somebody asked me how I'm doing I'd rather answer oh I am so blessed praise God hallelujah man best week of my life how's your marriage oh my gosh never been better how's your kids perfect which is never true about our kids but we would just rather do that I don't mean to to to to generalize but but but globally Christians are not known for handling weakness really well I don't know if you know this like we're not known around the world like Christians very kind with people who are weak Christians very honest about their shortcomings Christians very open honest welcoming inviting everyone belongs at church but we know that narratives not out there because when's the last time you invited someone to church and what was their response me I can't come to church why oh man I don't belong in church what you mean you don't belong in church oh no man you I mean I was in Vegas last weekend we told me I can't go to church but if you'll give me a little lead time I'll put together a few really good solid moral weeks and then I'll roll up in there for sure but I can't go this weekend I got plans you know to go away for the weekend again and yeah if I go in your church place will burn down you know way I live so even even the general public are telling us about us that when it comes to Christians we don't really know how to relate to our weaknesses the way that God has set us free to relate to our weaknesses it's called your Sunday best for a reason Sunday best is not just your clothes Sunday best is your presentation Sunday best is how we amen praise God hallelujah God's good shut I'm gonna see you - god bless okay yeah let's get together praying for you right and we do this whole thing and I'm not saying everybody who says praise God hallelujah Amen is putting on a charade that's not my intention I'm simply making a point and that is as Christians often we don't do well with our weaknesses and other people's weaknesses we we have replaced the idea of progress and journey with perfection and we are trying to portray to one another that we are perfect and that's why I've titled this message today let me limp and I wonder if we could endeavor together to be the kind of community where we actually let people limp they don't have to pretend like they don't because we all have a limp and in our story today is so interesting because Jacob didn't have a limp before his encounter with Jesus but he has a limp after his encounter with Jesus now I thought growing up that if you accept Jesus and encounter Jesus he will take all your limps away the Bible says he takes all our sins away but our weaknesses are our pro cart impatiens are our challenges our difficulties think about it Jacob goes from no limp after his wrestling match with Jesus having no it was not a real wrestling match Jesus was not like wow you're really strong Jacob no it was like when I was a baby wrestling with my dad right and I we know this because God touches his hip and it's like okay so who has the power here God but God gives him a limp which leads me to believe that before Jesus we played the cover up game but after Jesus we're supposed to say oh oh oh yeah haha I am just as broken as anybody else I am just like you but Jesus save me and forgave me and he still sustains me no I didn't need Jesus one time at an altar call I need him today more than I have ever needed him before I need you to let me limp and you need me to let you limp you ever you ever gone to a small group I love the pastor once I heard say he says I love small groups they help the church I just don't want to be in one that's my favorite line they ever been to a small group and it turns into kind of a moment where people are like sharing what's going on in their life and it's like it's really like an old-fashioned Western standoff it almost always is because everyone's wondering are we really gonna talk about our limp or are we gonna talk about the one that's not really a limp anymore that the Lord saved us from well you know in 1982 I really struggled in this area this is what Christians are comfortable with no one can say last week no one can say last night but boy you drop 1982 everyone goes oh this is good it's a powerful testimony 1982 I was hooked on dot dot dot Wow tell us more it was bad every night I was on it whoa but fast foot make that real-time last night I was doing drugs I was oh oh and watch a bunch of Christian scramble Oh last oh my gosh what last night does your wife know not at all oh my gosh I have to go you know like we we don't know what to do with that so we do we do some all groups you said you should try one they're really fun if nothing else you're gonna have great stories and I've seen this happen so many times I've been to so many small groups more than you've been to Starbucks I mean I you know this is I'm a pastor's kid seventh generation this is what I do right so so many small groups mark and I had a small group it didn't grow I took off and it started to grow you know it is true I got so many stories so you know and and guys are classic right and no disrespect guys but we have the the most tough time like talking about our limb ladies are just amazing humans and by the way who knows where Christianity be without ladies by the way who are just a lot more like Jesus so sitting around talking to guys you know one guy I'll go but yeah man I just you know I just been going through some stuff you guys could pray and I love guys cuz no one asks a follow-up question no one does like what bro like no so God all right man cool work work all right my favorite though my favorite this is always the game-changer is the guy who doesn't know Christian culture yet so he doesn't know like he's just heard that Jesus loves forgives and he's like yeah man I look at porn all the time and all the other guys like oh my god like bro you haven't you haven't got the memo no one's emailed you yet that we don't actually tell everything that's going on in our life bro but if he'll get around Church long enough he'll learn that you don't just my favorite there was this small group and and there's a new guy and I don't know how he heard that this is this happens but we're just all hanging and he's like and everyone's just kind of hanging and talking he's like hey I'll go first and we're like gopher you know like okay and he's like I'm hooked on porn and we're all like having like finger foods and like drinking coffee and were like go huh all right like didn't really know if that was the format but and again you look at this guy you like man what's wrong you like baby maybe nothing's wrong with him maybe something's wrong with us we've gotten so good at not limping so much you know I mean like and we've all done it where we shared the thing that's not really the thing in our life but it's one of the things cuz I want to look like I'm honest so I'm gonna share the thing but not the thing in my life and I wonder if we need to learn how to relate to our weaknesses relate to our weaknesses why why would God make Jacob limp after an encounter with him maybe it's a picture of how you and I are to relate to our weaknesses here is the most powerful place you can find yourself in your entire human experience the single most powerful place it's a place I call the end of me it's the place I call the end of me can I explain Matthew chapter 5 records for us the most famous sermon in human history I think that's not even debatable it's the Sermon on the mountain top it's the Sermon on the Mount it's the Beatitudes and beyond do you know how chapter 5 of the book of Matthew ends Matthew chapter 5 and verse 48 how many know it's not verse 49 God wouldn't put the 49ers in the Bible Matthew 5 you know I mean Matthew 5:48 this is this is in I love you guys so much this is in thank you for laughing like that like it's so encouraging to be your pastor Matthew 5:48 this this is Jesus now this is the climactic conclusion to the most famous sermon of all time he says you therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect ah Judah I think you inferred a few minutes ago that the idea is more progress as it's been said over perfection does Jesus not mean what he's saying here no he does well then isn't the standard perfection it is so we are to be perfect yes now ask yourself how do you feel when I say that ah maybe if you were honest you'd say stuff like a little overwhelmed a little out mand a little outmatched incapable not sufficient don't measure up okay we're getting somewhere we are yeah look at look at look at the Sermon on the Mount and I think you'll end up running into one of the primary objectives of Jesus entire preaching and I truly believe that one of the primary objectives of all of Jesus teaching is to bring man to the most powerful posture in position he can find himself in and that is the end of me the end of himself I mean Jesus he touches every social challenge and issue of the day let's just just just for fun Matthew chapter 5 we're just gonna it starts with blessed are the poor blessed are those who mourn blessed are the meek lesser those who hunger thirst blessed are the merciful you start picking up the theme blessed are the pure in heart peacemakers blessed are the persecuted bless our people when people revile you if you're picking up the the total sermon gee this is already saying those who are hurting those who have broken those who are small those who are like Jesus these don't sound like powerful people blessed are you when you're reviled people don't like you and then he says you're like salt you're like a lamp those aren't big things you're like right this isn't like a big nice floor lamp that you can get now in modern culture he's talking about a little wax candle like great and then he says he changes everything I came to fulfill the law verse 20 I unless your righteousness exceeds the scribes and the Pharisees you'll never you'll never you'll never you'll never you'll never enter the kingdom of God do you understand who he's talking to he's talking to people who don't even have 1% of the religious pomp and performance of the Pharisees I mean this idea the Pharisees are the ultimate example they know the first five books of the Bible by heart they pray they do all these noble Janene yes they're hypocrites but their life exceeds everybody on that mountainside by a longshot and Jesus says unless your good deeds righteousness and lifestyle exceeds the Pharisees all of us go well I'm better than a Pharisee I'm not a hip I'm not a hypocrite no no no this was discouraging material and he gets worse he's like anger anger you know if you act out you're angry but I say but I say but I say everyone who's angry with this brother will be liable of judgment oneself some it'll be louder the counselor says you fool be liable of Hellfire Hellfire the most encouraging sermon of all time he says you were talking about lust the law says if you actually do the deed but I say if you look at a woman and think about the Act it's done it gets gooder divorce you get divorced for any of the reason of sexual immorality you commit adultery you are condemned judge came over you know how people were divorcing in these days you know how much lust and incest he gets worse he says oh s--- you're making all these promises and you don't keep them you're liable to be judged people were making those retaliation retaliation he says people do something bad to you and you retaliate you're done you're out how about love your enemies you know how much prejudice and racism was in Jesus day and he says you know those people who overlook you and marginalize you and say that you're less than human he says I want you to bless those people I want you to love your enemies and pray for those who blog about you okay and then he says be perfect what is the point of this sermon and we have misappropriated Matthew chapter 5 for a long long time in church and we have put people up under a standard they can never fulfill we take this passengers say that's the standard for divorce that's the standard for lust that's the standard for anger that's sustainer for retaliation that's the standard for so and it is but have you picked up on the point the point is everyone on that mountainside and everyone on this Rose Hill see how I kind of connected him are supposed to go impossible I can't do that really yeah I mean says this someone on the mountains of razor and say Jesus can are you serious and he would say yes sir I'm very serious well I can't what do you mean I I there's no part of this sermon that I can fulfill it is so out there your standards are so high and then you cap it off with perfection I can't I'm literally just trying to get my kids to soccer practice on time by the time we get there we forget the fruit punch pouches and they're screaming and I lose my faith right there right I mean then Jesus is like got the standard everybody on this mountainside had a normal life just like you with pressures and challenges and Jesus is like here's the standard here's the standard here's the standard and in case you missed it it's perfection what's the point I can't do that right what are you gonna do I have no option really I either give up or I find a hero I find a savior because I'm so far from that I can't even fulfill the law and you just update I'm lost I know and right and so what do I do and I think Jesus would say I know a guy who might be able to help and so so so all the sudden even Matthew five is starting to tell us how we're supposed to relate to our weaknesses we have been exhausting ourselves covering them up only to recognize and realize that this limp I'm not talking about sin Jesus forgives all sin but the propensity to sin the weakness to sin right God covers all your sins take away all judgment all your sins so please I'm not I'm not saying God leaves sin in your life no no no no no but a weakness towards it a desire for it right and that's why I last we're talking about Paul says take this weakness and God says no no no no no my grace is enough my grace is complete and old Paul now you know you need it every day yes sir every day oh do not miss the powerful posture of desperation in your life there are people in this room you feel desperate and you feel that's weak oh desperation is not weakness desperation is a posture of power know that that person who wakes up every morning and says oh Jesus I need you so much today I can't take another step without your grace and your goodness oh you are strong for when you are weak then you are and the power of Christ rests upon you self-sufficiency is a lie you keep telling yourself you don't limp and the problem with us lying to each other is we start to believe our own life and we start to tell ourselves I don't need Jesus as much as I did in the 90s I don't need Jesus as much as I did when I was younger because I have matured oh no maturity is the opposite direction with God the more mature you become the more desperate you become for him it's a sure sign of maturity the more you're growing in God the more you wake up with an awesome awareness of the apparent weakness in your own life and you realize oh god I'm so weak but you make me so strong by your grace what humility sets in on a very profound level because you understand you are weak but that's what makes you strong and I wonder if you won't talk about somebody self-sufficient Jacob I mean Jacob Jacob just figured stuff out on his own Jacob didn't even need God Jacob just dress up in costumes and clothes and figure out and get what he wanted from God without even accessing God or talking to God he just he was the captain of his own ship he's the master of his own purpose and plan and vision Jacob was just going to handle his stuff and God says you gonna wrestle with me you're gonna walk different after this and you're gonna walk with a limp it's gonna be so apparent people gonna ask you are you okay you all right and Jacob couldn't say no no I'm yeah I got a limp but we don't know how to do that I got a I got a limp and as a result one of one of the pitfalls of this is we have lost our distinction in the world because somewhere along the line we were so to lie that what will make us a distinct and stand out from the world those of us that identify with Jesus and follow Jesus and worship Jesus we have been led to believe that our distinction will be our excellent orals nope nope it's actually what has caused us to lose our saltiness our lightness and our distinction because what gives you distinction is when somebody in your world goes wait you are just like me correct and God forgave you I mean if you're a preacher I can go to church at least yeah and that's where the distinction is the whole world will stand back with being confounded with the idea that you are just as broken you are just as hurting you go through dark seasons as much as I do but God still found it in his heart to forgive you and love you and transform you and put you on a journey what will wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute now that is worth noting that I will look into but somebody who's better than me somebody who's just born morally excellent you I got no time for that I can't relate to you you act like you're the LeBron James of the church I can't you're freaking nature you're always kind you're always users born that way nice to everybody I appreciate that but you're what we like to call an anomaly for the rest of us hi without Jesus I you wouldn't believe where I'd be what I'd be doing and who I'd be doing it with if it wasn't for Jesus I I limp just like you and you limp just like me but where's the church where we let each other do that because see were famous for your limp and brother okay well listen if you will go through this discipleship class for the next six weeks you won't limp any more and brother if you still limp after that class it's because you didn't apply yourself and about now six months in we're gonna expect that that limp goes away and if it doesn't you you you know oh I'm sorry you're always welcome here I've never questioned that unless you're saying maybe well it's called fruits of repentance and eventually and we don't even mean this we take scriptures out of context and throw them at people that don't even understand them we don't understand them and it leads people to condemnation and shame and we wonder why we haven't seen our friend around lately because when they first came in we're like look at him limp man God's gonna do a work boy if you just got to church you're allowed to limp if you've been here any length of time you've that limp and don't you dare come up on the stage with weaknesses is what a man of God stands this where the pre ministers you know we we can't we can't be have any weaknesses and so so you better not do that so you won't let me limp and I won't let you limp and we perpetuate the problem we perpetuate the problem people people in the church talk about leadership well you know I you know how loud I think Judah and Chelsea go dancing so that's something for us to talk about and think about and the silliest things start to move in on the true freedom the gospel of grace where we now relate to our weaknesses as as I said last week and we say God thank you I would rather boast in my weakness so that your power may be not but when I'm talking about boasting about sin we're talking about boasting about my dependence and need for him for without him I'm lost and broken bound and addicted we need to be a church where we let each other limp but I didn't say what's gonna let each other sin we're gonna help each other no matter what but we let each other say this is my weak spot I don't do well in this area I'm gonna need you to call me sometimes I'm gonna need you to check in with me and if you don't hear from me and I'm here or I'm there or I'm talking like this those are some of the signs that it's not going well in that area of my weakness would you help me would you not talk about me to other people in the church but instead use that same energy to help me and be there with me could we be one of those churches and I'm coming to a close but I want to take you to one other scripture and then and then I'll be done and and again my whole passion and I think assignment today is to help you and I relate to our weaknesses the way Jesus has set us free to do so Oh before Jesus I didn't have a limp I didn't have a limp but with after Jesus now I can say oh yeah I'm weak here I'm gonna need some help here and we're supposed to rush to each other side to say I know what that's like I'm a preach the whole message on this but people all over the world Christians pray Oh God show me what you want me to do with your life I have learned a little secret do you know who you're called to I could tell you you're called to you're called to people who limp like you I'm telling you it works every time hey did I see is this yeah that's not an easy area about me neither maybe we should start a group a real group well we can talk about what's really going on you know who am i called to God you're caught two people who limp just like you where we get together and say come on you can do this i'ma do it we're gonna do it I'm a guy on the phone this morning 7:15 a.m. with a friend and we were just praying together that's praying together because I need strength to live out this day for Jesus this isn't we're not playing charades we're trying to be a family up in here and it says this about the family of God it says there's a distinction when it comes to God's kids there's a distinction Romans 8:14 says here's how you'll know who God's kids are here's how you'll know who are his sons and his daughters there is a family and this will be one of the significant distinctions on their life they will be led for all who are led by the Spirit of God or the spirit of Jesus those you shall know those are my kids those are my kids somewhere along the line being led became something you attained to through spiritual maturity and information I don't know where we took this word lead and made it something like a badge we can wear well brother I'm just being led by the spirit do you know the word lead in furs the posture of a child I was 16 years old at Bellevue square going to Bellevue Christian then Issaquah later and my mom be like hold my hand I'm like mom please I don't want to hold your hand not at Bell Square my friends are gonna be here the basketball team guys they go see me hold my head and if you know my mom you would hold her hand too so I'm walking around Bell Square bro 16 years old several inches taller than my mom hold in my mom's hand and sure enough Judah hey hey and why am i embarrassed because holding your mom's hand is a posture of a child it infers I'm being led because when I was a kid mom would say Judah yes mom dad would say Judah you know that's how dad's lead I'm justifying some of my actions right now but that's not important it's not a port it's not what let's keep our eye on the ball lead is a childlike way of living but somewhere along the line lead became I'm just beat now brother you need to be led by the spirit pray about it and God will lead you he's led me and so and so and so we put people in this spiritual friends in there like I need to I need to be later I gotta try harder to be led everybody who's led is really spiritual and really godly and really amazing and excellent and and they dress well and so I need to be I need to be oh god oh god leave me leave me leave me leave me leave me now I know how to be led there ain't nothing better in the world for me than somebody who's driving and I'm not it's my favorite thing cuz they literally they just start driving and I don't you have to think about it I love it I'm so bad with GPS I'm not a good driver you need to fear me when I'm on the road Church I'm easily just but may I just Chelsey starts driving and she's great with directions this one of the reasons I married it that's not true but and I just I know how to be led do you do you know one of the meanings of this word lead it means carried now where does that work in our belief about how God intervenes in our life nobody wants to talk about this my concern I'm just gonna be honest my concern is that Jesus followers at the end of their career at the end of their lives seem to have the same story to tell as those who don't even know Jesus well we built a business because what happened was I work and then and we and so what happened and all in the end thank you God where does somebody go stand up and say there's like this whole section of my journey I don't really recall all I know is that I was so broken I was so hurting I don't know how I made any progress in that time I don't know how I'm still here other than the fact I think I was led here I think I got lead here I don't recall I might have fell asleep a few times on the trip but I woke up and God had saved my mare woke up and God had helped me build I woke up and God and I'm not minimizing hard work but even Paul said when I worked he dawned on me it wasn't me working it was the grace of God working through me giving me the passion to do the work my life is defined by him and the other night and I'm done I'm done I promise I'm done the other night we were driving to the house and it was later and my little girl my nine-year-old grace and she's like in the 30th percentile for size she's little Pina and I love her that way this cutest little thing right and and she's in the back of the car the boys asked me to carry him inside I'm like absolutely not you're humongous right but Gracie's falling asleep in the car went out to the house said she's just daddy when we get to the house can you carry me can you carry me and maybe she didn't understand the question but I do it means number one are you capable and I think we know the answer to that number two here so good number stop stop we're supposed to be really serious right now number two is are you willing so if you're capable are you willing oh how many believers today have convinced themselves I know God can carry me but I don't think he's willing because I think the way this works is God stands over me like a drill sergeant and says you better get up you better wake up you better pray you better memorize you better focus you better speak it you better declare it you better see it you better and if you don't I can't bless you when in reality the grace of God works much more like my little baby girl in the back of our car saying daddy I'm tired can you carry me and if you're a dad you know what I'm talking about I'm picking that little girl up at the backseat and I'm walking down the hall and I feel like Dwayne Johnson I feel like the rock all the sudden right and I'm walking down the hallway and I'm like yeah it's my girl I'm her dad I haven't done yoga in so long but I still got the strength to get and then I put her in bed and I put the covers right up to her chin I kiss her ass I love you baby grow so much and I stand there for a minute and I revel in the privilege and the honor and the thrill that it is to beat this little baby girls dads how much more your heavenly father takes joy when you are weak then you are strong the power of Christ picks you up and carries you I want to know where's the believer who will finally step up to the microphone and say that truth is he carried me in the 80s and then he carried me again in the late 90s I was a wreck I was a mess what I had done what I had been through but I remember crying out God can you carry me and his answer was not only am i capable but o son I'm willing and it gives me such pleasure to carry my children when they are weak and when they are broken so so if you're here and you feel like you can't get up and you feel like I'm so tired I'm so weak what we have failed to remind each other in church as you are in a place of extraordinary power and God is about to do for you what he's done for so many and all who ask and receive he will he will carry you he'll carry you and I don't know when you'll finally discover that you're being carried it's usually after that season you get to the end in your life I don't know how I got here but I didn't just get here I got here in my right mind I didn't just get here I got here and I feel like I can keep going now I got here and I am so in love with Jesus and I don't remember doing my daily verses but I just my passion and love for him is I don't know oh that's what happened to you and I'm done I don't need to stop I have to stop I have to stop I just missed you I have to stop those carried seasons become I'm just gonna be honest with you they become like trophies in your soul where you go I'm gonna put it right here and have come from remember and commemorate because oh God when I was so weak you picked me up and I'll never forget who you are and I just want you to that year 2012 2018 when I had lost a loved one I had lost a friend I didn't know I remember late at night you were there I can feel you were carrying me years later you'll look back and go he's so good and I know he'll do it again Oh church we gotta leave moments like this thinking way more about Jesus than ourselves that's where the power is and so every time I limp it leads me right back to that posture and place of saying Oh God I have never needed you more than I need you today will you pray with me Jesus we thank you so much for the powerful life you offer to us the life of dependence which leads us to so much progress and so much power I declare today there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus there is no shame there is no room for shame in this room there is no space for shame in your life shame will do you no good God didn't give you that shame God didn't give you that spirit of fear but a spirit of power love and a sound mind there are people in this room you've been so fearful that you're gonna fall in your area of weakness you have been playing it out in your mind you've been telling yourself I'm gonna be just like my grandfather I'm gonna be just like my dad it's just bound to happen it's just going to happen it's just what happens to my family I'm telling you you have been transformed you've been putting a brand new family you got a new nature the blessing of God is on your life and if you'll admit that weakness and welcome the dependence of Jesus in your life you're gonna find strength that you never thought you had you're gonna find strength to change the legacy of your family to change the trajectory of your family's story you are not gonna be another statistic you want not gonna go the way of your entire family God is doing something new and fresh in you whoo and what God started in you he'll be faithful to complete it God did not bring you out this far to take you back again we have not come this far in the message of Jesus and the gospel of grace to go back to the law to go back to self-sufficiency to go back to depending on ourselves now all of our hope is in him all of our rivers and streams are in him Jesus you are more than enough your grace is sufficient your grace is complete your grace is enough and we declare it today boldly we are who you say we are we are who we are by the grace of God and we thank you for that today we thank you and declare it in Jesus name Jesus name if you're here just with every eye closed you're here and you say Judah I want to follow Jesus I want to be a follower of Jesus the Bible says God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life if you want the forgiveness that only Jesus offers and you want that everlasting life that only Jesus offers and you realize you cannot do for yourself what needs to be done but Jesus will do for you what you cannot do for yourself and you want to receive as forgiveness his love his relationship and spend eternity with him on the count of three I'm gonna ask you to shoot up your hand all over the auditorium I believe when you respond on the outside to what's happening on the inside it just makes it more real to you you know who you are one God loves you - you'll never be the same three if that's you would you shoot your hand up all over the auditorium and say I receive I receive I received thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you God you see these hands and you see these hearts and you see these Souls and once again the greatest miracle of all you forgive you cover you make new you transform you save and you deliver we love you Jesus and we've never needed you more than we need you right now we're so desperate for more of you we can't wait to follow you for the rest of stay in the next one in honor and what a privilege to be a part of your family if you're physically able and willing would you stand with us and let's join the band and let's sing out our thankfulness and gratitude to our God come on church 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 real soon

Channel: Churchome

Views: 50,847

Rating: 4.8790321 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: azSEnAuJx5E

Length: 54min 43sec (3283 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 20 2018