Facing Disappointment | Jabin Chavez | City Light Church

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: City Light Church Las Vegas
Episode: Facing Disappointment | Jabin Chavez | City Light Church
Host: Pastor Jabin Chavez (with Co-Teaching Contributions, possibly John Ponder)
Date: August 31, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this deeply honest and encouraging episode, Pastor Jabin Chavez and a co-teaching pastor (possibly John Ponder) explore the topic of facing disappointment through the lens of Psalm 42 and other key biblical texts. The speakers focus on the realities of disappointment—how small hurts accumulate, the temptations of comparison, and the importance of bringing our deepest pains and unmet expectations to God. Rather than offering clichéd solutions, the message is about living authentically with God through seasons of hurt and uncertainty, and trusting Him to transform our honest tears into new hope and joy.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Honest Struggle with Disappointment (00:00–06:17)

• Psalm 42 as Foundation:
  The episode opens with Psalm 42, emphasizing the raw language of a heart in pain and longing for God.
  • Notable reading:
    • "Why am I so discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God." (00:50–01:19)
• "Death by Paper Cuts":
  Pastor Jabin recounts advice from an elder mentor warning about "death by paper cuts"—the little emotional hurts that add up if ignored.
  • "You'll have one after another before you know it, you have no more life, you have no more strength, and you've bled out." (02:24–02:57)
• Comparison as a Killer:
  Comparing our pain to others—whether to diminish our feelings or feel superior—undermines true healing.
  • "Comparison is always a killer... there's no scenario where comparison helps you." (04:04–04:13)

2. Facing, Not Just Dealing With, Disappointment (05:02–07:09)

• The Importance of Facing It:
  The focus shifts from "dealing with disappointment" to "facing" it, acknowledging that not all pain can be solved or explained.
• Bringing Unanswered Questions to God:
  Psalm 42 never yields a pat answer; the point is to bring our "I don't knows" to a God who does.
  • "Sometimes it doesn't end with a bow—sometimes it's just, 'Why am I discouraged?'" (06:17–06:36)

3. The Weirdness and Layers of Change (07:24–09:31)

• Even positive change brings discomfort and a sense of loss.
  • "All change is weird... everything about my life has changed." (07:42–08:06)
• It's natural to feel "weird" or unsettled even when obeying God and being in a new season.

4. The Process: What To Do With Disappointment

A. See It as a Season, Not a Sentence (11:14–12:12; 20:44–21:14)

• Disappointment passes:
  • "See your disappointment as a season, not as a life sentence." (11:28–11:45)
• Don’t Make Permanent Decisions Based on Temporary Emotions:
  • Caution against impulsive decisions at moments of emotional pain.
  • "Don't make decisions that are going to damage tomorrow based on how you feel now." (11:58–12:12)

B. Sow It as a Seed (22:34–28:54)

• Give Your Tears to God:
  • Leaning on Psalm 126’s promise—tears offered to God will result in joy, even when tears are all you can give.
  • "Those who sow in tears reap in joy... even if all you can give God is a tear..." (24:05–25:09)
• The Seed Never Looks Like the Harvest:
  • Disappointment is like a seed; while it appears small, bitter, and insignificant, in God’s hands it can produce multiplication and fruitfulness.
  • "The seed never looks like the harvest." (25:52–26:00)
• Give What You Have, No Matter How Insufficient:
  • Drawing from John 2, Jesus turns water into wine—not beginning with perfect ingredients, but with what’s on hand.
  • "All he needs is availability... and if all you've got left is a tear, give it to him." (31:33–31:54)

C. Share It as Your Story (32:32–43:34)

• Psalm 42’s Lament Was a Song for the Whole Congregation:
  • Even pain and disappointment become powerful testimonies in community.
  • "That's a song they would have sang in the temple. I just want you to think about that. That's a downer. Unless you’re going through hell." (32:40–33:08)
• Stories as Ministry:
  • Real-life stories—from correctional baptisms to survivors of trauma—demonstrate that God uses brokenness, not perfection.
  • "Maybe God doesn’t just use perfect people. Maybe he could use somebody like him." (33:12–33:20)
• Jesus and the Woman at the Well:
  • Jesus offers living water (real relationship) instead of judgment, showing that being real and honest with God is what transforms and heals.
  • "He knows me fully, and yet he loves me deeply." (40:17–40:31)
• Even Pastors Need to Keep Facing Their Own Disappointments:
  • Vulnerable account from Pastor Jabin about wrestling with old hurts even into his 40s.
  • "I don't have any new emotional issues. I'm just shocked that at 41, I still have them." (43:34–43:57)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Paper Cuts and Honesty:
  "What will happen is you'll get cut, you'll feel the cut, and then you'll feel bad for even feeling the cut. And then you even feel bad for feeling bad, because it could be worse. And the cycle continues..." (03:17–04:02)
• On Facing, Not Escaping:
  "If I'm gonna be disappointed, Jesus, I'm gonna be disappointed in relationship with you, not outside of relationship with you. So let's go on a journey together." (10:48–11:05)
• On the Night Not Lasting Forever:
  "Now is real, but now is not forever. Night doesn't last forever. Darkness doesn't last forever. Please don't give up now because there is a better future coming for you." (13:01–13:16)
• On “Unrelenting Disappointment”:
  "Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but if you can persevere past the unrelenting attack, somehow, some way, a sudden good break comes." (14:37–15:31)
• On God’s Use of Our Honest Offerings:
  "Even if all you can give God is a tear... God said, I will take those tears and I will break them and transform them... and I will let you reap joy." (24:27–25:09)
• On the Power of Story:
  "If you knew me fully, you wouldn't love me deeply... But there is one who knows us fully. There is one who knows the discouragement of our heart, the source of our shame. He knows me inside and out. And he loves me." (40:36–41:22)

---

Important Timestamps & Segments

• [00:00–01:19] Psalm 42 reading – establishing theme of longing and disappointment
• [02:11–02:59] The "death by paper cuts" analogy
• [04:04–04:13] The destructiveness of comparison
• [05:02–06:17] Facing disappointment versus solving it
• [08:38–09:31] Why even 'good' change can feel odd and bring loss
• [11:14–12:12] Advice: see this pain as a season, not forever—avoid impulsive choices
• [13:01–13:16] Night seasons don’t last—keep looking for joy
• [14:37–16:19] “Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can come”
• [20:44–21:33] Jeremiah 29: God’s promise in exile and disappointment
• [22:34–28:54] Sowing disappointment as a seed—how sorrow can become joy
• [30:25–31:58] John 2: Jesus works with what we have, not with perfect conditions
• [32:32–33:08] Sharing sadness and struggle as communal worship
• [35:36–41:44] The Samaritan woman's shame, honesty, and encounter with grace
• [43:05–44:08] Even experienced leaders continue to navigate old hurts

---

Conclusion

Tone & Message:
Pastor Jabin and his co-teacher bring warmth, honesty, and humor, creating space for listeners to admit their pain without shame or spiritual pretense. The message is not about finding quick fixes for disappointment but about bringing real emotions to God—trusting that He can transform even our most bitter tears into lasting joy. The episode ends with a reminder that every person's story, even in its brokenness, matters and can be used by God.

Actionable Encouragement:

• See your present pain as just a season.
• Offer whatever you have, however “small,” to God.
• Let God transform your pain into not just healing for you, but into hope for others through your story.
• Keep showing up, keep trusting, and remember: the seed never looks like the harvest.

Final Quote:
"Now I'm discouraged… but now is not forever. What could God do with you? If he could do it for her, he could do it for you… Even if all you can give God is a tear, give it to Him and watch Him turn it into joy.”
(41:59–44:08)

---

Transcript

[Pastor Jabin]

Psalm42.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

As the deer longs for the streams.

[Pastor Jabin]

Of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before Him? Day and night? I only have tears for food. While my enemies continually taunt me, saying, where is this God of yours? My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

That little phrase right there is man.

[Pastor Jabin]

There's a lot. I love the Bible. I walked among the crowds of worshipers leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of great celebration.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Look at verse five.

[Pastor Jabin]

Why am I so discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? Watch the choice now.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Here's what he's saying in verse five. I don't have a. I don't have.

[Pastor Jabin]

An answer for every emotion I'm feeling. But I have a choice where to put my hope. I will put my hope in God. That's the number one.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Number two. I will praise him again.

[Pastor Jabin]

My Savior and my God. Now, right. Right now, I'm deeply discouraged, but I will remember you. Now I'm discouraged, but I will remember you.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And I want to talk today about facing disappointment.

[Pastor Jabin]

Facing disappointment. And I believe there's healing in the house today.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I believe a lot of people are.

[Pastor Jabin]

Going to get helped.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I believe you're right here, right on time. And God is going to meet with.

[Pastor Jabin]

You in Jesus name, if you believe it.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Come on. Can you say Amen? Pray this prayer with me. Say, my heart's open.

[Pastor Jabin]

Speak to me, Lord, in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

When I was starting out of ministry.

[Pastor Jabin]

I had a older preacher, a mentor. Tell me, Jabin, you're going to have to be careful in ministry and in life of death by paper cuts.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

He was not speaking about literal paper cuts. But what he was telling me is that I was going to have to be careful of the small little cuts and nicks that can happen. That they hurt and you really don't know why they hurt. And you really don't know how it happened. But if you don't address them, and if you don't. If you don't get them healed. He said, what will happen in ministry is you'll have one after another after another after another. Before you know it, you have no more life, you have no more strength.

[Pastor Jabin]

And you've bled out.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Has anyone ever had a paper cut? Does anybody remember paper? Anybody remember paper? Paper cuts are ridiculous because it's paper.

[Pastor Jabin]

It's not a knife. You weren't cutting food for the family.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

You weren't cutting A sandwich. You weren't cutting a vegetable.

[Pastor Jabin]

It's a piece of paper.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And out of nowhere, seemingly, ow. Out of nowhere, blood is flowing out of nowhere. And it kind of feels foolish. You kind of feel dumb. You're wondering how something like that could cut you. But he said, that's what you have to be careful of, because what will happen is you'll get cut, you'll feel the cut, and then you'll feel bad for even feeling the cut. And then you even feel bad for feeling bad, because it could be worse. And the cycle continues. And he said, what happens is you have cut after cut after cut after cutting after cut. I feel bad for feeling bad because I know that others have it so.

[Pastor Jabin]

Much worse than me.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

By the way, comparison is always a killer. Like in any area of your life.

[Pastor Jabin]

Comparison is a killer.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

So whether it's God, I feel bad for feeling bad because they have it so much worse, that will still destroy you. Like, there. There is no scenario where comparison helps you. So whether you're the person going, at least I'm not as bad as them, or you're the person going, oh, man, I wish I was as good as them. It doesn't matter where you're at in comparison, comparison's always a destroyer. And what can happen is, is you can get cut by life. And then you feel bad for bleeding because you're going, but, but I don't have it as bad as them. But either way, you're not looking at God. You're looking at yourself and you're looking at them, but you're not looking at the only one that can actually bring healing.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Jesus.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Disappointment is so interesting. And this is why I called it facing disappointment, not dealing with disappointment.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Because.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

We'Re trying to deal with it.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

And sometimes you can't deal with it. Sometimes you just have to look at it. Sometimes you just have to bring it.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

To God and let him deal with it.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Sometimes you don't have answers.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I don't know if you noticed that in Psalm 42, verse 5, Man, I love the Bible. Why am I discouraged? Let me just read the rest of the chapter. He never gets the answer. There isn't an answer for everything. I know things people are going through in this church. No answer. No answer. And we are not the cute, perfect church that can tie everything up in a bow and hand it to you and tell you why you feel the way you feel or went through what you went through. Sometimes it's, why am I discouraged? Why is my heart sad? And that's actually where it ends. Sometimes it's bringing your I don't know. Watch this. To a God who knows everything.

[Pastor Jabin]

And.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Who doesn't tell you everything. Now see how y' all wanted to.

[Pastor Jabin]

Say amen and then you couldn't.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Oh, because we know church, right?

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Bring your I don't know to a God that knows. Hallelujah. That's great.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

The problem is sometimes it just ends with that I don't know, you know, and for some reason you ain't talking to me about it.

[Pastor Jabin]

Sometimes I actually have to live in that.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Sometimes I won't get the answer to everything. Sometimes I don't. I don't have a cute answer for why that happened or why I feel what I feel or why I went through what I went through. And so I just. I have to face disappointment with God. Disappointment, the emotion you feel because of.

[Pastor Jabin]

The non fulfillment of one's hopes and expectations. It just hurts. And I don't know why it hurts.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Sometimes it doesn't even hurt.

[Pastor Jabin]

Sometimes it's just weird.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I met a couple today. They've been coming for a month. They love it. They feel like God's brought them here. They feel like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[Pastor Jabin]

And they go, yeah. But he goes, yeah, I'm still just.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Kind of dealing with like leaving our last church.

[Pastor Jabin]

I said, isn't that weird? He goes, it's weird.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I said, you're in the will of God. Feel like you obeyed the Holy Spirit.

[Pastor Jabin]

You'Re where God wants you to be.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And you still feel weird because all change is weird. Y' all stuck up this morning or what? What's up with you just staring at me being all mean? All change is weird. You know how much my life has changed, specifically in the last two years? Everything about my life has changed in.

[Pastor Jabin]

The last two years.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

From the outside looking in, you would.

[Pastor Jabin]

Go, wow, it's all good.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

So I feel weird for feeling weird about good, but it's just weird. Every relationship in my, in my, in this church has changed in the last few years because it's just changed. Because it's just different now because my life's different and relationships change. None of it's bad. It's just change. And then you feel the disappointment of why do I even feel. Why is my heart discouraged? It's all good.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Man.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I feel like we did the right thing. But my heart feels a little weird, man. I feel like. And so it just. When life just doesn't end up how you thought life was going to end up, there's this thing, this feeling, this emotion called Disappointment. So maybe you're disappointed with yourself. Anybody else think you're going to get your life together this year? Praise the Lord.

[Pastor Jabin]

2025, and here you are, it's September tomorrow.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

You're like, dang, 2026. You know, it's like, maybe. Maybe you're disappointed with a relationship, with a person. Hey, maybe you're disappointed with God, and you wouldn't know how to tell God that. So maybe you just got to go to God with all your little paper.

[Pastor Jabin]

Cuts and go, can you help me? And he will.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Oh, my God.

[Pastor Jabin]

I said he will.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

One of the things that.

[Pastor Jabin]

I've done and I've just learned to start communicating with my wife is I'll say, here's how I feel.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

You didn't make me feel this way because I'm grown, so you can't make me feel away. And I don't even know if my feelings are right. But I'm just telling you how I feel. And there's something about that going to.

[Pastor Jabin]

God with, this is how I feel.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And I don't want to tell my wife that because I'm a grown man, so I don't want to talk about my feelings.

[Pastor Jabin]

Amen.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Only thing worse than that is telling a dude how I feel. Only thing worse than that is telling.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

All y' all how I feel.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

But sometimes it's just exposing it and going, this is how I feel. You didn't make me feel this way. And I'm not even sure if these emotions are healthy or right. I'm just telling you how I feel. And what we do in Christianity is we try to shove down our feelings. We try to sanctify our feelings. We try to anoint our feelings. We try to Christianese our feelings. And sometimes you can't. Sometimes you just have to go to God and go, my heart's sick, and.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

I don't know why my heart's sick.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

But here I am, and I don't even know if you're gonna give me.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

The answers, but if I'm gonna be disappointed, Jesus, I'm gonna be disappointed in relationship with you, not outside of relationship with you. So let's go on a journey together.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Oh, and God loves to be invited in, not just to your good days, but into your bad days.

[Pastor Jabin]

So here's what I'm working on in me. And I'm letting you all in on my own Holy Ghost counseling sessions that I'm having right now.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Is this okay if it's too real?

[Pastor Jabin]

Sorry. See it as a season. See your disappointment as a season. Not as a life sentence. Look what he said in verse six.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

So powerful.

[Pastor Jabin]

Now I'm deeply discouraged now. Maybe I wasn't a month ago, maybe I won't be in six months, but.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I know what I'm feeling right now.

[Pastor Jabin]

And by the way, don't make decisions that are going to damage tomorrow based on how you feel now.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Be careful, ladies, not to respond to that text at 2am what you doing?

[Pastor Jabin]

Don't.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Don't respond to that guy because you might feel something now that you're. You're gonna. You're gonna hate looking in the mirror in the morning.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

You.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

You want to go.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

You.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

It might be 11pm on a Saturday night and you got nothing else to do, so you want to go hit the club.

[Pastor Jabin]

But you. And.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And so now you know what you feel, but you may not feel that in a week. Don't make. Don't. Don't just fire off that email. Don't just yell at that person. Don't just give in to that temptation just because you feel it now. See, I. Now is real, but now is not forever. So I have to live in the tension of now. But I. But I. But I still can't make decisions just based off of how I feel now.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

If I give in to every now.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I'm going to sabotage my life. So now I feel deeply discouraged. But now is not forever. Night doesn't last forever.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Darkness doesn't last forever. Please don't give up now because there is a better future coming for you. He says. Now I'm discouraged, but I put my hope in God. I got to keep my eyes on tomorrow.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Even while I'm dealing with the disappointment of today.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Weeping may endure for the night. Can I preach a little bit? Because I brought out the. I brought out the kjv. I brought out the King James. If I had an organ player, I'd tell them to play right now, but I ain't got one because they're all Mexican. They don't know how to play the organ.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

You're a black organ player in this church. I need you in my church.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

But Joy.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Can we talk a little?

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

King James? But joy cometh in the morning. I'm in a night season, but I see the sun rising. I'm in a dark season. But I know that the world is turning and I know the sun will rise again. So I can't give up in the night.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Because joy is coming. And if I can endure the night, I can see the sun shine again.

[Pastor Jabin]

Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't give up.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And I know what it is to live in. Proverbs 13:12.

[Pastor Jabin]

Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick. But if you and I've been on both sides, watch me. If you can persevere past the unrelenting attack, somehow, some way, a sudden good break comes. So I've lived on that side of the comma, and I've lived on that side of the comma. And I'm so grateful that the writer didn't say, unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick. Period. It's over. Deal with it. Toughen up. No, no, no.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Don't put a period there.

[Pastor Jabin]

God's not done.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Don't finish the sentence yet. God's not done writing the rest of that statement.

[Pastor Jabin]

Oh, man.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I know what it feels like to have unrelenting disappointment, but I also know how to not give up on it and not put a period where God put a comma. Because on the other side of it is a sudden good break. And I'm telling you, I've been on both sides of that little verse right there. And if you won't give up in the unrelenting disappointment, you get to walk in a sudden good break. And it comes out of nowhere. And it comes right on time. And sometimes it comes from a person. Sometimes it comes from a word from the Lord, Sometimes it comes from a change of circumstance. I've had many different sudden good breaks that look in different ways, but I know when they come. And I declare, in the name of.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Jesus, some sudden good breaks for the.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

People of God and for the people of this church.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

If that's for you, let your amen be the loudest. If that's for you, put a praise on it. Oh, I believe it can happen.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

This week, in the name of Jesus. Israel was in a tough season. Israel was in a tough moment. Jeremiah 29. This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those carried in exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. They're under Babylonian captivity. They're literally slaves to Babylon. They're in a tough moment, in a tough season. They're in a situation they don't want to be in. They're in a disappointment. And here's what God says to do in the challenge. Build a house. Settle down. Just settle down. Just settle down. Just settle. Plant gardens and eat what they produce. You know, buying a home is as much psychological as it is financial. Having a garden in your backyard is as much psychological as it is physical. You having some tomato plants isn't just about you having some tomatoes. Am I talking to anybody? Is this helping you? Because it's not just you. Having that lemon tree in your backyard is not just about having lemons.

[Pastor Jabin]

It's about settling you.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Oh, I'm helping some.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I feel like Coach Chavez today. I just feel like I'm helping. There's just a settling that happens. Look what he goes on to say. Get married, have sons and have daughters. Find wives for your sons and daughters. Have kids and have grandkids. Increase the number. Do not decrease. Do not let Babylon make you smaller. Do not let the disappointment make you smaller. Do not let the setback make you smaller. Do not let the tough season shrink you. Also seek the prosperity of the city to which you live that I've carried you in exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because as it prospers, you too will prosper. Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty God of Israel says. Don't listen to these YouTube prophets. Don't listen to these TikTok conspiracy theorists that say they're prophets talking about when the world's going to end and when Jesus is going to come back and when the rapture is going to happen. They don't know.

[Pastor Jabin]

They don't.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

It's new to you because you're new to faith. I've seen this for decades. Every generation thought they were the last generation. Every generation's been wrong.

[Pastor Jabin]

And you're not exempt.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Don't listen to any spirituality that steals your faith for the life God is trying to build in your future and in your legacy. Anything that says, well, I guess it's over. That's not from God. They're prophesying lies to you in my name. By the way, go back to verse eight real quick and look how we crave it that you encourage them to have.

[Pastor Jabin]

We love bad news.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Paul would say we heap up teachers to ourselves. We find people.

[Pastor Jabin]

To.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

That don't help us. We find people that just heap on more of what we already know about ourselves. Because I feel like crap and I'm.

[Pastor Jabin]

Looking for a preacher to make me.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Feel like crap so that we're on the same page about a God that.

[Pastor Jabin]

Probably thinks I'm crap, that we and we love it. And he said, they're prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them, declares the Lord. This is what the Lord says. You're going to be here for 70 years.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

But this is.

[Pastor Jabin]

This is not a life sentence. Look at this.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

There's something happening right now.

[Pastor Jabin]

This is a season, not a sentence.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

This is a season, not a life sentence. This is a moment, but it's not your life last. This is a chapter, but it's not your last chapter. This is a moment, but it's not your final moment. I'm going to come to you. I'm going to fulfill my good. Like, my promise is going to come to pass in your life. I'm going to bring you back to Israel. Okay, all that's really good. And now y' all going to love verse 11, because a lot of you know verse 11. A lot of you have verse 11 saved on your phone. But a lot of you didn't know how good verse 11 was. It's even gooder than you thought. Because after all of that's happening, here's the crescendo of God's promise. I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, Plans to prosper you. Plans not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

I know you're in a tough season, but I'm working all this out for you. I know you're in Babylon, but I'm working all this out for you. I know you're disappointed right now, but I'm working all this out for you. Come on. Can I get about 500 people to jump up on their feet and thank God that He knows? Yes, I know that God knows.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I'm.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

In a season, but it ain't a life sentence. God's working something out right now for me.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

So I. So I got to see it as a season two.

[Pastor Jabin]

I got to sow it as a seed. I got to sow this moment. I must give this moment to guide, because there's hope for me and hope in me that still believes. There's a better day for me, so I gotta sow it. Those who sow in tears reap in joy.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Those who sow.

[Pastor Jabin]

Those who sow tears reap joy. Those who sow tears reap joy. Those who sow tears reap joy. I just gotta be honest with you.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I have a problem with the text.

[Pastor Jabin]

This is messing me up. It's messing up my theology.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

It's messing me up because we got to go to Genesis 1:11 real quick. Everything produces.

[Pastor Jabin]

Look at the bottom.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Produces after its own kind. So a lemon tree can't produce an.

[Pastor Jabin]

Apple, and an apple tree can't produce a pear. And a pear tree can't produce an alligator.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

An alligator can't produce.

[Pastor Jabin]

An elephant.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

An elephant can't produce a dolphin. A dolphin can't produce a human, and a human can't produce a cat. And it can't Produce. Produce a dog bite. Because we produce after our own kind.

[Pastor Jabin]

You reproduce what you are. Okay, okay, so I got a problem. Because Psalm 126 says, I can sow.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Tears and reap joy. Not sow a praise and reap joy. Not sow a smile and reap joy. Not get a good attitude and reap joy. Not.

[Pastor Jabin]

Not deal with your disappointment and reap joy.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

God is so gracious, God is so kind. God is so patient, and God is so merciful that like David said in Psalm 42, if all you've got is.

[Pastor Jabin]

Tears for food, if you.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Even if all you can give God is a tear, if you can't sing him a song yet, if you cannot crack a smile yet, if you want to have a good attitude, but you can't have a good attitude yet, if you could just give him your tears, if you could just give him what you do have, if you could give him that disappointment, if you could give him the tears that you've been crying in the middle of the night, God said, I will take those tears and I will break them and transform them and mold them, and I will turn them into a new creation, and I will baptize them in my power and in my love. And I will let you reap joy. That even if you can't smile yet, even if you can't sing yet, even if you can't shout yet, God says.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Even if you can just give me a tear, give me your brokenness, give me your disappointment, and watch how I will transform it into something good for you. Sow a tear. Reap joy. I speak to every discouraged soul every day in this house right now. Joy is coming. Joy. If you would give God whatever you got, give it to him and watch him turn it into something.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Can I remind you, I've got an apple seed here?

[Pastor Jabin]

And I've got an apple here.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Never forget this.

[Pastor Jabin]

Never forget this. The seed.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Never looks.

[Pastor Jabin]

Like the harvest.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

If you're new to church, that's when you go, mmm, you can let out a little grunt. It's okay. All my white friends in the house, Amen. Just let out a oomph. Praise the Lord. This never looks like this.

[Pastor Jabin]

And this never looks like this. And a lot of people miss out on this because they're looking for. They're looking at this going, this can't produce this.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

This.

[Pastor Jabin]

And we miss out on reaping because.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

We never knew how to sow this. So what? So we see this, and it's hard.

[Pastor Jabin]

And we see this, and it's bitter and we see this, and it'll make us sick.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And we see this and there's. There. There seems to be no value in this. And if I throw this in the trash, I get nothing from it.

[Pastor Jabin]

And if I eat it, I just get a stomachache. But if I would give this to God.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

If I would sow this into the hand of God, if I would plant this into the soil of the kingdom of God, here's what's awesome. I don't just get this. I get a tree that produces a.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Lot of this, that produces millions of these.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

That turns into my life.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

And some of the people, man, I.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Feel the Holy Ghost right now.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

So many people. You're in a season of disappointment. You're going, what could God do with this? What could God do with our marriage? What could God do with our family? What could God do with this business? How could God transform this? You have to give him whatever you have. And you're going, but this would never. This could never turn into this. You're not God. So in your mind, of course, this.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Could never turn into this. But God in his power and imagination and creativity can take your worst.

[Pastor Jabin]

And make it a seed.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

So I give God every part of me.

[Pastor Jabin]

So what do you have? Give that to God.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

No matter what that is, and watch.

[Pastor Jabin]

Him turn it into a miracle. Whatever you do have, give that to God. I thought I'd be married by now. Give that to God. I thought we'd have kids by now. Give that to God. I thought this kid was going to make me happier. Give that to God.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Oh, still believing for my financial breakthrough.

[Pastor Jabin]

Give that to God.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I got more money than I count.

[Pastor Jabin]

And I'm still broken. Give that to God. Just give that to God. Because if anybody can handle it, it's God.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

You might be ashamed of it.

[Pastor Jabin]

You would be embarrassed. You would be embarrassed to tell somebody that. Paper cut. How do you look at your friends that are believing to pay their bills and go, God, I got millions of dollars and I still kind of empty. You can't tell that to your friend making $40,000 a year. They want to kill you. You can't look at your friend who's single and believing to get married. And you're married. It's hard to look at them and go, you're going to need more than that because of your own disappointment. But you're going to have to talk to somebody about it. So I got to sow it as a seed. Whew. I got to sow it as a seed. I'm looking at the clock. And I'm looking at my notes, and I'm in trouble.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

John, Chapter two. Real quick. John, Chapter two.

[Pastor Jabin]

Jesus shows up at a wedding and they run out of wine. And Mother Mary comes to Jesus and. And says, we're out of wine.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Fix it. They weren't just out of wine. Watch.

[Pastor Jabin]

They didn't have any of the ingredients for wine. Maybe you feel like that.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I don't just have the thing I need. I don't feel like I have any of the raw ingredients.

[Pastor Jabin]

You know what's amazing?

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Jesus did not say, give me some grapes. Jesus did not say, give me some oak barrels. Jesus did not say, give me seven years. Mama.

[Pastor Jabin]

He didn't eat anything. We need to make wine. He said, what do you got? We got water. I'll take it. Because you don't need what he needs, and he don't need what you need.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

All he needs is availability. You need time. You need grapes, you need barrels. You need to learn how to make wine. You need to go to school to learn how to make wine. You need a lot. He don't need any of that. All he needs is a. Yes.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

And if all you've got left is.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

A tear, give it to him.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

And if all you have left is a. I'm going to put my hope in God.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Give it to him.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

And if all you got left is a. Here you go, God. Give that to him and watch him turn your water into wine.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Lastly, Team Come. I like this sermon too much. I got to stop preaching. I think it's these cowboy boots. Huh? Wearing cowboy boots today, I feel weird. Felt like I had to address it. My own internal battles.

[Pastor Jabin]

See it as a season, sow it as a seed. Lastly, share it as your story.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

You know, what's the trip about? Psalm 42.

[Pastor Jabin]

It's a trip. That's a song they would have sang in the temple.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I just want you to think about that.

[Pastor Jabin]

That's a downer.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

You got to church. You dealt with parking. You had to get on a shuttle. You were parking out in the dirt. It took everything in you and your family to get to church.

[Pastor Jabin]

And you walk in and here comes JR My tears are food. My heart is sick.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

You're like, what the.

[Pastor Jabin]

I did not come to church to.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Hear JR Have a mental breakdown in the house of the Lord. And you know, what's the trip is that.

[Pastor Jabin]

That would be weird.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Watch.

[Pastor Jabin]

Unless you're going through hell. Because maybe in David writing his story, it lets somebody know. Maybe God could use my story. Maybe God doesn't just use Perfect people. Maybe he could use somebody like him. Somebody like John Ponder going in to the correctional facilities. And not just John, we're all going in together with him because we support him. We're going to go baptize hundreds of.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

People in September in the correctional facility. It's our storm story. It's the story of a man named Chris who. I gave him my Bible last night.

[Pastor Jabin]

Maybe you saw it on my Instagram story. He's just driving home one day, somebody hits him. He wakes up without an arm. I don't have an answer. I don't have a Bible verse, verse. I don't have a cute little chapter and verse, but I have presence.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And he has a story.

[Pastor Jabin]

Do you see it? Do you see it? This is real, people. This is real life. This is real. And faith is real. God is real.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And do you see that?

[Pastor Jabin]

Do you see the tension of David going, I'm discouraged. And my enemies are saying, where is your God? But I got to tell my story. So Jesus shows up in Samaria in John chapter four, and it's noon, the Bible says. The Bible says it's noon time.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And.

[Pastor Jabin]

He meets a woman gathering water from the well.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Now that's not scandalous to us in 2025, but that's scandalous 2000 years ago.

[Pastor Jabin]

When you're reading John chapter 4 and.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

The Bible says a woman came at noon because everybody knew that women gathered.

[Pastor Jabin]

Water early in the morning because they.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Wanted to beat the heat. And it was a social gathering. Five in the morning, all the women gathering together, grabbing their water.

[Pastor Jabin]

How's Billy doing? How's Sarah doing?

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

How was the first week of school? How's Quiet. And everybody's talking, everybody's gossiping, everybody's having their fun.

[Pastor Jabin]

Everybody's chopping it up. And this woman, the Bible says, has been married five times. She's given up on marriage now. Now she's just living with her boyfriend, her sixth man. She's done with the gossip and she's done with the chit chat. She's done with having to explain her life to these people.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

So she waits till noontime, when it's.

[Pastor Jabin]

Hot in that Middle Eastern sun and.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Everybody else is inside.

[Pastor Jabin]

She goes out because she can't deal with the rejection anymore, the disappointment anymore. Nobody plans five divorces, nobody plans six failed relationships.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Nobody plans this life. So she walks up to the well.

[Pastor Jabin]

And it's a trip because the whale is sitting on top of a well.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

He goes, give me some water. And she goes, you're a Jew, I'm a Samaritan. You're a male, I'm a female. We don't talk. And he goes, if you knew who you were talking to, you would be asking me for water, sis. And in her.

[Pastor Jabin]

Oh, my God, in her deflection, she gets religious. Religious people are a trip because they'll.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Talk Bible before they'll talk about their heart, and they'll talk Bible before they'll get real. So she goes, well, you worship on that mountain. We worship on this mountain. We ain't supposed to talk. And, you know, you do your thing, we do our thing. And I praise God, Hallelujah. I'm a Samaritan. Praise God, hallelujah. Jesus goes, it's not about where you worship. It's not about what mountain you worship on.

[Pastor Jabin]

It's not about do's and don'ts and rules and regulation. It's not about the fact that you're a mess right now. You need living water.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

You need to worship. He says, this God is a spirit. We must worship in spirit and truth. This is about something so much deeper. Let me say it like this. Jesus speaks about water and worship, not sex and sin. He never tells her, you know, you.

[Pastor Jabin]

Need to marry that guy.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

You know, you can't be living with a guy. It's called fornication. And it is.

[Pastor Jabin]

It is.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Yeah. I don't encourage anybody to sleep with someone that they're not married to.

[Pastor Jabin]

But he knows that is so much deeper. He knows she's thirsty in her soul, and he knows she doesn't feel like she can worship God because of her. Her sin. So he says, I'm not.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

He never tells her break up with the boyfriend.

[Pastor Jabin]

He never tells her how God hates divorce. He never tells her about her issues. He never even goes there, he says, would you drink of this living water? And she feels so loved and seen that he didn't judge her paper cuts.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And without being told to be an.

[Pastor Jabin]

Evangelist, she becomes an evangelist.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And she runs into the city that she's been hiding from to her friends, that she's been avoiding into the village that knows her as the pariah, as the outcast, as that person. She runs back to them and says, please come and see a man who knew all the things I did.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Who.

[Pastor Jabin]

He knows me inside and out. Come see him. Here's what she's saying. She's saying, he knows me fully.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

And.

[Pastor Jabin]

Yet he loves me deeply.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Because if you knew me fully, you.

[Pastor Jabin]

Wouldn'T love me deeply.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

If I let everyone in on every one of my cuts, you would not look at me the same. Oh, and don't worry, I'm not judging you. I'd do the same thing to you if I knew your jacked up thought life, I'd be like, oh, dang. Have you thought about counseling? But there is one who knows us fully. There is one who knows the discouragement of our heart, the source of our shame.

[Pastor Jabin]

He knows me inside and out. And he loves me, and he loves you. And I'm going to face disappointment with him. We're going to go on a journey together, and I'm going to bring every.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Cut.

[Pastor Jabin]

To the nail scarred hands of my savior that I'm going to let him put me back together.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

And I won't be in a hurry.

[Pastor Jabin]

It's going to take time, and it might take some counseling, and it might take. And it might take years, and it might take. But I'm on this with him, and I will praise him again and I will put my hope in him. Because now I'm discouraged, Agent. But now it's not forever. What could God do with you?

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

If he could do it with her.

[Pastor Jabin]

He could do it for you. I'll just say the thing that y'.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

All don't believe, but I'll say it anyway.

[Pastor Jabin]

If he could do it for me, he could do it for you. Oh, y' all don't believe that because you only know me as Pastor Jabin.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

So you assume when I walk on this stage, he's got it figured out. Oh, I mean, I believe the Bible. I don't have any weird sins. I'm not, like, doing anything illegal.

[Pastor Jabin]

But I'm still having to bring all my little paper cuts that I'm ashamed of. I was so mad at myself on Wednesday night. I was so mad at myself as.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

I was talking to one of my.

[Pastor Jabin]

Mentors, Jacob Baranzi, 70 years old. And we're sitting at dinner, and I'm crying at dinner. And I'm mad at him for making me cry. And I was mad that I'm still crying.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

Here's what I mean by that. I don't have any new emotional issues. I'm just shocked that at 41, I still have them. Right. I just thought, like, you turn 40 and you just become a super Christian. And here I am at dinner. We're at the window. Eat my steak.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Yeah.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

God's.

[Worship Leader or Guest Speaker]

Yeah. Dang it.

[Co-Pastor or Teaching Pastor (possibly John Ponder)]

But I'm bringing every cut to him.

[Pastor Jabin]

And he's stitching every one of them back up little by little. And I'm getting better, and I'm not dealing with it because I can't fix it, but I'm facing it.