Seconds vs. Seasons // Judah Smith

turn with me to John chapter 13 John chapter 13 and hello to Seattle from the Sabon we are live here at the sivan and we love you today happy Sunday to everybody in Seattle who are watching this John chapter 13 and we're going to begin reading in verse 36 if you don't have a Bible it's no big deal we've got a sky Bible right behind me so that you know I'm not making it up okay you ready John John 13 and verse 36 Simon Peter says to Jesus Lord where where are you going keep in mind this is now the Last Supper we just entered into the most famous dinner in human history Judas has just left he's prepared his betrayal of Jesus we now have 11 disciples sitting around a table and there again partaking in the most famous dinner in human history it is here that Jesus is reiterating to his 11 hand-picked guys that I have come not just to live I have come to die and he literally says to the disciples where I'm going you can't come Peter says Lord where where are you going Jesus says where I'm going you cannot follow me now but you will follow after Peter said to him Lord why can I not follow you now I will lay down my life for you right here's Peter the fighter Jesus answers will you will you lay down your life for me truly truly Jesus says now in the original text we don't believe that Jesus actually said two words truly truly but because of the original word and it's in fatik nature in the transliteration in the English we add two words to emphasize how emphatic Jesus is essentially saying I am about to bottom-line this for you listen up truly truly I say to you Peter the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times now that kind of shuts Peter down and we do not hear from Peter again until John chapter 18 so Peter kind of takes that to heart like out you know like actually Peter you're gonna lay down your life for me not really tonight in the next few hours you're gonna die me three times one of them will be in front of a very young girl at a bonfire so it's gonna get bad before it gets better would you join me in prayer Jesus thank you for the moments that we share we thank you for your reality I'm I'm asking that you would take this average and ordinary evening and you would make it extraordinary by your grace and by your presence by your reality thank you that each and every person under the sound of my voice whether here in LA there there in Seattle are of infinite value to you you love them and you made them for profound purpose help us to remember that today thank you Lord that you're preparing the Seattle Seahawks to continue to win win win in Jesus name and everybody said amen oh yeah I love being home are you a homebody how many your home body's loud and proud it's a large contingency you guys ever get out I mean I word no wonder you're single but um come on relax it's a joke it's not real I'm a homebody and I love being home with the family and the last few days we've been home quite a bit it's been awesome and one of my favorite parts about being home is our wood-burning fireplace right and and wood-burning fireplaces almost went extinct but they have survived ok the gas fireplace movement many of you were not born when that started but but we are in a house that has a wood-burning fireplace and I am very proud in particular about my wood-burning fireplace ok and I go i stacked the wood or I go to Safeway and get the saran wrap would but I stack it in the garage in fact we found recently an Ace Hardware like I'm like throwing out names they sponsored us tonight and they have handles around the saran wrap the wood it's so like it's gotten easier and easier for me just to just to go get firewood so I stack up the firewood and I like honestly I could get the fire going at like 10 a.m. and I want to keep it going all the way till 10 p.m. but it's been a bit of a challenge we we've had this wood-burning fireplace for about a year and almost from the beginning chelsea has has been in fatik she's my dear dear wife she has been emphatic about me getting this this thing called a great and if you don't know what a great is a great is like something you put in the fireplace that apparently lifts the wood off kind of the the ground of the fireplace for some particular reason I'm unaware of and Chelsey kept telling me you need to go get a great for the fireplace now I have a screen you know so that when it crackles it hits the screen doesn't hit your children like I'm a grown man I'm not an idiot don't look at me like that right but she kept saying this great and I'm like I'm fine I'm fine for a year we enjoyed robust fires I don't mess around I'm not I mean it's not little fires I want fires that make people sweat when they're in the living room okay so I would I would feed the fire I mean I would feed the fire about and Chelsea will back me about every 15 to 20 minutes I needed a new piece of firewood and Chelsea would tell me over the course of the last almost year that's not normal you're burning through too much firewood you don't need to you need a great and I'm like you need to submit game relax come on guys tough crowd I'm like I don't need it great like I'm fine right and I enjoy the fire I like to interact with it if you're really into fire you kinda I kind of sit there and we'll be watching sports but I'm just kind of look at the fire and if it's a really good moment for the fire I'm like man I'm pretty good at this you know like I should have stuck with the Cub Scouts I quit after four days I lost it in a little Derby that you know you drop the car down I lost I'm like mom we're out I lost I'm pretty good at fire and then I'll like stoke it you know I love doing that when it kind of calls out I'm like get it going again it's it's great but Chelsea kept singing over and over if you'll get a great it'll burn better it'll burn better it'll burn better babe seriously relax so over the course of the last several months I've started think maybe she's right like it is kind of weird and and like I would go get firewood and I would tell friends hey how fast do you burnt like I'm burning through stacks of wood man like is that normal they're like what do you mean and the conversation would kind of dwindle because it wasn't that interesting and we would move hon you're gonna mean like there's certain conversations you start you're like you don't even want to finish it like I mean how much firewood never mind you know so Monday Chelsea comes home with a great right she takes things into her own hands welcome to my life and she's like I got you a grape and some more firewood you know I could have done that it's fine all right well thank you very much okay so I get up early one morning which is not totally the norm but I got up early like 6:00 a.m. and I had the thought I'm gonna go get the grape and I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna try this out with no one around all the kids are asleep Chelsea's fast asleep I'm up as a man of the house the provider up early taking care of the homestead like these are real thoughts that I have to like I'm not making this up I actually think I'm a great person because I'm up at 6:00 a.m. like that's weird bro grow up okay but I'm like 6 a.m. I'm such a provider and a protector so it's true I really think that so I go get the great and I put it in there and I I get two pieces of wood in a little fire starter like I'm not like I'm not like that sophisticated like you just light both ends of this little fire starter and it it gets the the other firewood going and I'm I'm watching it and and I like I read my Bible app not a ton of verses relax so read my Bible app I go through my prayer list it's not that long but it you know I mean I prayed through it for hours and I'm kidding I'm kidding remember preachers who tell us how much they prayed everyone just feels it's like aha read the New Testament last week oh yes oh it's never encouraging so I promised myself I'd never be that preacher so you know I read a verse a day but some I'm reading my Bible app and and then and then I I turn on I actually listen to Pastor Steven Furtick he was on TV and a good friend of mine and then I and I turned it to ESPN and watch first take and was listen to Steven Naismith and I I looked over the fire it had been nipping quite some time and those two pieces of wood were still burning and I'm like it can't be right the Lord has multiplied not only the loaves and the fishes but he's multiplied the log so I'm like this is not true story Chelsea comes down at like the crack of noon and kidding I'm kidding it's like 8:30 whatever it's like hours after the provider protector was up and she comes downstairs and I go you would not believe this you would not believe this I got up at 6:00 a.m. now what's it like 6:00 a.m. when I lit the fire but it's like 6:30 ish and I'm like babe I swear it's like I haven't even added to the fire so can you serious I'm like this is extraordinary and I'm like that great is amazing and she looked at me with only look that your wife can look at you after 18 years and the look actually says what she doesn't even need to say anymore it's called efficiency in marriage and the look just says it it's like I told you so right again right that's harder to think back what took me so long to get a great like let's do the math do you know how far the store is from my living room if I get up from my couch I grab my key I get into my car I'd go to the local Safeway I bet it takes me 11 minutes all right I timed it I'll ever make like I'm like who guesses 11 all right a time to leave me alone 11 minutes 11 minutes and for an entire year year I used my wood-burning fireplace for do you know how many times I would get up to get more firewood for one year do you know how much money I spent getting more stacks of firewood and 11 minutes of effort would have made my fire apparently four times this efficient what's my problem I'll tell you exactly my problem it's not complicated it's very basic I would sit on my couch it would dawn on me oh wow I want to make a fire so I'd get it from the couch and then I would go wait will this be the time I get in the car and get it great nope right it was like fire now go get great fire later fire now right and instead of making an 11 minute drive this overachiever this provider this protector chose to take ten steps to his garage and light an inefficient fire for a year I think that fire is still going right now those two little logs I tell you what I'm so proud of them aren't we funny creatures we're funny we are so prone to the now we're so I can't spare 11 minutes I would rather have a whole year of inefficiency then take 11 minutes that might rob me from the instant gratification of a fire right now right are you like me do you shop on Amazon I don't get anything unless it's fun it's not even an option I'll be like oh wow oh it's not prime not for sale it is actually yeah but it won't come tonight right oh my word I am addicted right it's so exhilarating to just turn on the prime button you just slide it over and all that shows up is prime can be here in 12 minutes purchase now it's so exhilarating right it's it is my dad used to make jokes it's the microwave generation now it's the Amazon Prime generation we like things now and if we're honest oftentimes we will forfeit far much better for right now right I just I just need it now 11 minutes I just but I could have it now or I could have way better for 11 minutes now I'll take it now now we can all sit here today and go oh that's so true we're so bad we're so oh my gosh we're so now we're so immediate we just need to slow down and we can all feel bad for about 15 minutes and then just go back to our regularly scheduled program like let's be honest like is anyone gonna go home and be like you know what I'm gonna consider non-prime items just to practice patience like no that's dumb why would you do that when the prime is right there yeah so then what is our recourse what is our response are we maximizing our human experience by living in this desire for immediate and and and now I like Peter I can relate to Peter in a lot of ways and tonight is one of those nights Peter is a now kind of guy I could prove it to you in our passage tonight something very interesting happens it happens in only one other passage and we'll land there in a little bit but in John chapter 13 Jesus uses Jesus says now and Peter says now but they're two different now Jesus says to Peter in verse 36 believe it's verse 36 he says you where I'm going you cannot follow me now Peter responds Lord why can I not follow you now they could not be any more different now they sound the same you think they they're the same and I think they're the same but when you look up these ancient Greek words John wrote in 2 different Greek words Jesus now means a period of time or a season right so in other words if you were at a party and you're there with your boyfriend of your girlfriend of your spouse and all of a sudden they start arguing with you at your friend's party in front of everyone oh my gosh you would say to your girlfriend boyfriend or spouse you would say not now and that doesn't mean five minutes later they start up the fight again at the same party it means not at the party in fact probably not tonight we're gonna table this till the morning right not now Jesus says you can't come with me now he doesn't mean seconds he means a season Peter responds why can't I come with you right this very second Peter goes look I'm strong I'm handsome conditions are perfect why can't I come with you right now Jesus says you can't come now Peter says why not now and there now's on completely different pages Jesus says you can't come with me in this season and Peter says why can't I come with you this second and Peter is prone to exactly what you and I are prone to to live by seconds when God calls us to live by seasons now this is gonna be really helpful if you're going through a tough time because if you're going through troubling times and just a few moments later Jesus will look at the remaining 11 disciples and he will say let not your heart be troubled let me let me let you in on a little hint one of the ways you cannot get shook and troubled and shaken to the core is not living by seconds but choosing to live your life through seasons and I'm gonna try to explain this to you God works through seasons how do you how do you how do you know God sees life in seasons look at the universe look at the universe look at the Sun whoo whoo look at the moon look at look at look at trees look at their leaves look at the tide tides in tides out watch the waves look at the rhythm listen to hip-hop it looks like judo come on man look at the soil look at seeds look at the four seasons now I know la is confused right now this is a really tough explanation but it's the result of hairspray you know that right it's the ozone it's like I don't know what that means but the Bible says for everything there is a season it's a it's a season dad used to say life comes in waves that's just a metaphorical way of saying life comes in seasons but the problem is and the complexity and the wrinkle is that we see life often times in seconds and when you see life in seconds and yet you're designed by a God who designed them in seasons you are prone to make some really dumb decisions because all you can see is this second now about this time if you're a thinking person and you like philosophy you're thinking to yourself yeah but Judah what about living in the now that is true because the Bible does say hey tomorrow will take care of itself today's got enough worries just focus on today and live out today but the Bible always assumes that your ability to enjoy the second is because you understand it is connected to God and his control and his seasons and his grand plan see the reason I could enjoy my second is because I know it's connected to a bigger story and God is in control of that story and every season has a purpose but I can't get tunnel vision and start living life by the second who lives life by the second usually people oftentimes going through troubling times one of the reasons we live by seconds is man we are so overwhelmed we are so frustrated we're so stretched life is so full I can't see past the next second to make sense of this season so I Jesus sees seasons but all Peter can see is seconds Peters gonna learn though Peters gonna learn you know what's so beautiful about understanding the season is you can start the word your words have power you can start speaking right even in the midst of seconds that baffle you see that's the secret if I can understand my seconds are connected to a bigger season and my god controls winter and he controls fall I prefer autumn falling is just a bad term so he controls winter and autumn and spring and summer that's that's my god he works in a rhythm he works with sustainable seasons he does not give me more than I can bear that in the moment that I'm feeling overwhelmed this second I can declare hey this is just a season and people will think you're in denial no I'm not in denial I know the God who controls the tide of every ocean and as sure as the tires the tide is high and the tide is low seasons come and seasons go and you think I'm losing my mind but I'm telling you right now I'm fighting something in my body or I'm fighting something relationally or I've lost my money financially but I'm here to say it's just a season that's all that's all it's just a season it's just a season you don't have to trip it's just a season when's the last time somebody said trip you don't have to trip someone's like what does that mean it's from the early 2000s you don't have to trip it's just a season but but but but how many no and there's other seasons that your statement is this is my season sometimes you gotta be this is just who is baby's gonna be on it's just a season and then there's other times you feel like this is this is my season this is our season you know what I found is sometimes both can happen at the same time have you have you been through this have I am literally right now as we're speaking personally I'm going through a this is just a season but with you as a community and a church leader I'm going through this is our season isn't it crazy how many times in your spiritual journey with God you'll go through the dichotomy of both at the same time it'll be like professionally this is my season relationally this is just a season but in it crazy you can get them confused and then you get confused and you get out frustrated then you got friends who think they're doing you a service by being negative and speaking ugly and talking mean about people like that's gonna produce any progress in your life and help you make any steps towards the right direction well I think what to be honest I think yeah I think you're fine but I was that helping me this is just a season can you and I learn to live sometimes in one season that has a little bit of both because what I have found is when oftentimes it is your season there is resistance personally that requires you to exercise your faith and say this is just alright don't ask me how I'm doing just give me a minute this is just a season you ever give it driven somewhere and you'd have to stay in your car till the song got done and you're in here in a party like oh I'd be like walking by and you like just stop [Applause] I'm a beatified I didn't ask well I am it's just the season it'll it'll pass it'll pass it's it's just a season I know right now these seconds don't make sense and if I've learned anything about God is when you when you try to zero in sometimes on the seconds um they're never gonna make sense I got second sin in my life a whole collection of them that I'm like Lord what was up with these seconds and I get nothing well you take those seconds and you put them back in there season and you put them back in perspective and the older I get and the more I follow Jesus I'm not saying it all makes sense Who am I fooling but I look back and go what I'm starting to get the hint I think maybe he's faithful he's true it all amounts to him this is okay so you were Wow I did not see that in 2008 at all but now that I'm over here in 2017 I can oh okay okay yeah yeah it was just season it was just a Caesar's crazy talk to your kids when they're really young and you're like now now now he'll dog or die or grace where we're gonna go Disneyland next month and when they were really little they would say they would say they would say is that today and you would say I said a mutt that's what that's what you tell him a good dad we take a month to spell it out em Oh auntie you know like no but that brains trying to figure out timelines and that little brain is like is that is that today you'd be like this summer we're gonna go Disney World he's head today daddy what part of next summer do you not you know it I love that about God you know guys like I'm gonna do something great with your life is that is that today God what part of I'm gonna do something with your life do you not understand sorry my bad no he says if you think your earthly fathers are good Matthew 7:11 how much more your heavenly father will give good gifts to those who ask when he says I'm gonna use you I'm gonna I'm gonna deliver you I'm gonna heal you imma set you free we're naturally go is that today dark and he's like well that's not really how next month works but I think you're so cute for asking god works in Seasons we're paint we're gonna get to tourney someday and go oh like that for dramatic emphasis that wait you know I promise you God's gonna be standing next it's like right no oh man right it'll make this economy it does man you crazy I mean you're good hurry this is this is just a season this is just a season I think what's happening in in my life personally and tonight is not you know Judah's night to share about his personal life but if you would devote if you would indulge divulge if you would indulge me just for a moment I think what's happening to my life might be happening to a lot of people in our community that that that dichotomy that irony that personally Chelse and I even physically like what we're doing and we're gonna be fine and all as well but there's been so much difficulty personally and Chelsea will tell you this that together we've been just keeping set a it's just a season that's all it's just a season and there's no progress oftentimes without resistance it's just a season but simultaneously I am trying to tell you as a part of this community this is our season God is setting things in motion giving us opportunity to tell the story of Jesus we've run out of room at one of our locations in Seattle it's on the east side actually really close to the original Costco and that's noteworthy come on relax Kirkland Signature have you heard of that are our locations in Kirkland someone just went get seated Church Kirkland that's how we should all amen now good work oh my word the best thing I've seen in church we've run out of parking and people are watching us right now at our Kirkland location and they're like yeah and on average about a hundred people circle our parking lot and leave right now every Sunday there's just no place to park and so God has opened up the door for us to go 9 minutes up the highway and a facility that has been prepared it's gonna be in a city called Bothell and it's a new Bothell location and it can see potentially someday as many as 1,500 people and it's a beautiful facility and God's opened up the door and we believe it's we prayed about it a lot with our team and board and elders and but it's a step of faith and it's gonna take us hundreds of thousands of dollars to sign the lease and give it a bit of a facelift but but but I'm just I'm just I'm just saying this is our time and I don't I don't really care about buildings only to the degree that people use them to meet with God and if God can use a building to do that I'm willing to do whatever it takes for that to happen but this is this is our time and something's happening and God's given us opportunity to tell the story of Jesus and we're gonna get to eternity someday and realize that ultimately is all that matters I want to encourage you and I'm just being very vulnerable and honest with you and Sheldon I've been leading this community now for eight years and never had the opportunity to ask people to generously participate in pooling our resources together to continue to expand and grow but I'm asking you to pray about it and just think about it if you would give and I promise you that I would ever ask for what Chelse and i ourselves are not already doing that you would consider praying about giving and you know why we're givers because God is you know you know why we're generous cuz because God is for God so loved the world he he gave he's a giver and so I want to remind you that the giving is not just about pulling resources to leased facilities to make more room for people to hear the story of Jesus but generosity is a way of life it's a way of speaking it's a way of thinking it's a way of tipping don't tell anybody go to church home if you don't you think I'm teasing you know they do to what happened to the good sermon it's still good but this something's happening and together if we will trust one another and trust Jesus we can do some things that can make a difference in people's lives Peter I'm grateful for Peter someday I'm gonna get to heaven and I'm gonna be like thanks man I know sometimes you like had some really bad scenes recorded but you made me feel really good on my low days really good on my good days to actually write Peter Peter kind of has his moments this particular moment we've read tonight Peter is well frankly he's kind of rebuked isn't he and he kind of goes quiet I think he kind of goes gets a little sheepish like wow that was a little harsh Jesus is really will you lay down your life now you won't in the next few hours you'll deny me three times so how do you like them apples I'm Peters like okay time out there's a second place where Peter actually Jesus and Peter say the same word but it's not the same word do you know where that is it's in John 21 it's there peter has gone back to his old job he used to be a fisherman and John 21 the Bible says he and a few disciples said we're gonna go fishing they were discouraged they were distraught they were confused they were frustrated they were troubled Jesus is gone he said he would come back I thought we were going to stay a new government a new Kingdom what's going on and the Bible records that Jesus went out of his way to appear to Peter and some of the guys Jesus is there on the shore and Peter and the guys fished all night and Jesus they don't know it's him yet he says hey if you catch anything they said no he says cashing it on the other side they catch 159 fish and also the dawns on them wait we've heard this felt this seen this before oh my word it's Jesus Peter jumps in the water swims to shore no one says anything by the way Peter says no words yet no words he's everyone's just quiet and they're looking at Jesus and they're probably checking for scars and they're like looking and sure enough the Bible says no one said a thing but they knew it was him and Jesus says you got any fish I'll cook it for you it's a pretty good setup Jesus the resurrected Jesus is cooking you breakfast it's gluten-free sugar-free and Jesus looks at Peter and he says he says do you love me Peter Peter's not the same Peter he wasn't John thirteen is he he's a little he's a little timid he he said I love you it's funny he's not the Peter goes I'm gonna die for you now he's he's soaking wet by the way he's sitting in the sand eat yeah no I I love you Peter yeah do you love me yeah no I I love you Peter what do you love me Lord you know the Bible says he's grieve you know that I love you every single time Jesus says love it's agape which by definition is unconditional it's love that is towards you that needs no reciprocation every time Peter says love its fillo or filos which is friendly brotherly love which is why people get married right do are you gonna be committed to me then I'll commit to you okay then I'll commit to you okay that's called a deal right nobody marries someone who's like ah no I do it's kind of like the premise of love right and Peter every time says Jesus I conditionally love you Jesus says do you unconditionally love me John seems to be he likes to use this approach he's telling us that in John 13 they're not on the same page they don't understand it's not the same now and now they're telling us John's telling us the writer John the Beloved they don't understand the same kind of love crazy that God's understanding of now and love is so different than our understanding of now and love can you imagine if we thought about now in seasons and love unconditionally think about the earthly experience but what do we do we think about love conditionally and now immediate and that's our life weight you hurt me my word if I so broke him oh my god right and that's and life just kind of has these moments and Jesus like Jesus came to show a completely different way of existing and he uses Peter to prove it Peter says I I do love you and I think Jesus saying I know I just want you to know that you do love me because I put the love you have for me in you I gave it to you oh and then Jesus says the meanest thing this seriously this is what he says he says surely surely that's weird he said truly truly in John 14 after they totally had different meanings for the same words it's like there could truly truly I say to you when you're young you used to dress yourself walk wherever you wanted and when you're old you'll stretch out your hands and other will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go oh that is great conclusion to our breakfast when you were young you had it great yet it fun was great and you're old people have to put your clothes on for you you're gonna be so old and they're gonna take you places and you're gonna beg not to go but you're in a wheel chair like what like Jesus but the next verse says and he said this to show what kind of death he would die to glorify God wait a second what did Peter say in John 13 again I will die for you Jesus response at that moment was what William William yeah I will I'll do it in John 14 Peter wants to die for Jesus but he can't he's not capable he was weak in John 21 Peter wants to follow Jesus he's not just sure if he can but what he doesn't know is now by the grace of Jesus he's actually going to finish the way he wanted to finish and I want to tell you what I believe Jesus is saying I believe when you take John 13 and you take John 21 and you put them side-by-side Jesus is telling a message not just for beter but for all of us he's saying this and I want to read it exactly the way I wrote it Peter you will finish well because in every season my love will sustain you and if I could encourage you with any message right now whether you are Peter and John 13 or you're Peter and John 21 whether you think you're capable and you're able and God is telling you in this season you're not and you're like what or you're a John 21 and you've been through enough pain and enough loss and enough life that now you're starting to wonder I don't even know if I can do this either way the message remains the same you can't die for me but you can because I will sustain you in John 13 Peter thought he had the goods oh no Peter you're just as fragile and weak has any other man you are prone to seconds kind of but I'm gonna take you through some stuff young man and I'm gonna meet you on that beach and when I meet you there I am going to show you that I will sustain you through every season through my love my passion for this community is that we're still gonna be around give us another decade give us two more decades I think it's overrated I think it's overrated we're talking about well we should grow we should do this I'm telling you I just want to last I want to finish well I want to be a better man I want to keep loving Jesus I want to keep honoring this woman I want to love my three children I want to love and I want to serve you the results let God take care of the HOS but let's let God's love eat every season sustain us we're not going anywhere I'm not going anywhere how can you be so sure because he loves me man and his love never stops it never stops he just keeps loving me and he keeps loving me and he keeps loving me I think Peter didn't even understand when Jesus says this is what's gonna happen to you it sounded so dramatic and Peter said what about John the Beloved Jesus Peter Jesus like Peter don't worry about John I think Peter missed that God was giving him what he desired he says Peter you're going to die for me what you're gonna finish well because my love is going to sustain me wherever you are right now remember his love will sustain you this too shall pass this is either just a season or this is my season but whatever it is don't you dare when seasons are going great think that it's you sustaining you it's still his love sustain you when you're up or when you're down when you feel like you're in the spotlight or you feel like you're in the dungeons it's all still his sustaining love seeing you through and I promise I'm preaching to myself and it feels good we're gonna keep going that's what we're gonna do we're gonna keep doing I'm not saying we're gonna be the fastest in the right in the quickest and the most gifted in the motown but we're gonna stay the course little by little we're gonna get you hey yeah yeah you okay yeah it's just a season Wow God is just doing great things in your life it's it's my season but it just the season I just it's it's all him oh man I got on that plane today I feel encouraged I'm like Jesus I needed this I have no people in here under the sound of my voice I know people I'm just to meet you speaking to right now in Seattle you are my friends and I know what you're going through and I felt like God told me to tell you this is just a season don't overreact don't don't let it get bigger than it is it's just a season the tide is up but the tide will go out and His mercies are new every morning we're gonna be all right we're gonna be all right would you pray with me Jesus we thank you so much for your grace and for your sufficiency in every season and in all seasons we love you and we trust you help us to remember Lord that you think in terms of seasons and your love is unconditional we love you Jesus and the only reason we can love you is because you love us so much we're here today you say Judah I'd like to follow Jesus I want to be a Jesus follower that's what I want I want to know Jesus I want to follow Jesus the Bible says for 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 would like to believe in this Jesus to believe is to freely receive the forgiveness that only he offers if you'd like to do that I want to pray for you right now in this moment right now in fact on the count of three if you say Judah I believe in Jesus I received the forgiveness that only he offers I want to follow him I want his love to define my life to sustain my life at all seasons and all challenges and all difficulties I would like to identify with Jesus if that's you on the count of three I'm gonna ask you to lift up your hand and then put it right back down and I ask you to respond physically externally because I believe it makes what's happening internally all the more real to you so you know who you are God loves you so much on the count of three one God loves you too I'm telling you I believe with all of my heart Jesus can change our existence three if that's you all over the room today all over the room just lift up your hand and you can slip it right back down Lord I think you see these hands you see these hearts you see these souls and you love you love each and every person here endlessly and relentlessly and I thank you that forgiveness front flows freely from you by simply believing in receiving I think you will never be the same again never be the same again I'd like to specifically ask to pray for one more group of people you're here and you say Judah oh man I've been going through it I've been going through it and I just I just got to I just got to walk out of here believing this is just a season whatever it is that you're going through and you need that courage you need that faith and that fortitude to walk out of here actually believing that the times and seasons are in his hand they come and they go and you're going to make it through if you need that would you raise your hand all over the auditorium's I mean I just got to remember this is just a season this is just a season this is just a season so Lord we're gonna go ahead and remind ourselves tonight even as we begin to sing we're gonna remind ourselves that you control the Sun the Moon the Stars the universe the tide the trees the soil the seeds the cells the molecules they're all under your command and they're our rhythms and there are seasons and we thank you this is just a season and you will see us through the night will break will give way to more and the Sun will rise again and there will be new seasons and there will be new days and there will be new eras and no matter what our season no matter what our place no matter what our circumstances we will remember that your love sustains us through it all so lord I pray that faith would arise in our hearts I pray for a joy for a new day a joy for tomorrow would grow I pray you'd give us courage to put one foot in front of the other to have an expectation of good to have a faith that you are in control and you are God and you are able and what you started you will not leave unfinished but you will complete it in our lives we declare that in spite of whatever we're facing and whatever we're going through you are good and you only do good and you are great and you are God and beside you there is no other we declare that if you're able and willing would you stand with us and come on with all of your heart with all of your passion let's sing out what we believe about our great God come on church so do you love our YouTube channel does it remind you of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air I knew it right ok maybe not totally but if you love it you could subscribe right here and we could just keep hanging out and we're gonna have new content like every week so subscribe right here if you love it press it click it now subscribe I miss you we won't hang out more

Channel: Churchome

Views: 80,117

Rating: 4.9061031 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: jfYuaBaLT5M

Length: 48min 41sec (2921 seconds)

Published: Thu May 24 2018