← Life.Church with Craig Groeschel
Life.Church with Craig Groeschel
When Your Life Feels Like a Dead End | Jesus Always: Part 4
00:34:49
“If God is with me, where is He?" It's an honest question. You're trying to do what He's asked, but you wonder if He sees you. The relationship, the job, the habit—something isn't moving. Let’s talk about what to do when life feels stuck.
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So do you ever feel stuck? Like maybe you're just a little bit unsure of what to do, or maybe you're trying but you just don't seem to be getting anywhere. Do you ever feel a little bit stuck? Add to that, if you're a follower of Jesus, you throw God into the mix and you're not exactly sure what it is that God wants you to do. You wanted to do it, but you're not sure what that is. Twelve years ago, my family moved into the house we live in. Currently it's in Kansas. Every house in Kansas has a basement. Only problem, the stairs to our basement has a 90 degree turn. I thought, you know what would be cool is if our sectional went to the family room in the basement. My wife said, do you think that you can get the couch to the basement? I took that as a challenge to my manhood. I said, I can get that couch to the basement. She said, do you need a tape measure? I said, woman, I'm a man. I'm a walk in tape measure. I don't need a tape measure. That couch is going in that basement. I need a little participation today. Do you think I got that couch to the basement? Oh, you of little faith. The photo says, no, I didn't get that couch to the basement. Two things to notice in that photo. Number one is my wife's face. That is the face that says, I told you this couch won't get to the basement. The other thing to note is that couch was stuck. There's a hole in the wall. It can't go forward, it can't go back. That couch spent the night right there. Sometimes in life we feel a little bit like that couch. I'm stuck. I don't know what to do. Well, the good news is, if you ever feel stuck, this message today is for you. So if you have your copy of God's Word, we're actually going to be in the Book of Judges in the Old Testament in the last week of our message series. Jesus always. And there we see God's people who are stuck. They're actually stuck in a cycle that happens seven times in the Book of Judges. For a little bit of context, here is that cycle. Every time it starts with the same thing. It starts with seven. In this case in Judges, chapter six is that the Israelite people, God's people worshiped another God. So after sin comes consequence. God says, if you want to act like another people, then you'll get the experience of another people. The Midianites from next door come in and Conquer the Israelites. Then there's repentance. Seven years later, the people of God remember their God. They cry out. God hears their prayers. And he sends deliverance always through a person. And then the people of God experience the peace of God as they were supposed to. Well, until the cycle starts again. And every time I read the Book of Judges, I think the same thing. Silly Israelites, right? Like, can they not get it? But we all do the same thing. Maybe it's the cycle of a broken relationship that always seems to end up in the back or in the same place. Maybe it's that addiction that you just can't seem to get over. Maybe you're trying to get healthy and you take one step forward and then you take one step back. But we find ourselves like the Israelites stuck. The Israelites who are oppressed, starving. Cause the Midianites have stolen their food and killed their livestock and they're hiding out of fear is where we pick up. And in Judges chapter 6, beginning in verse 11, where it says this, it says, the angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak. And Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the Abbas, right? Where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. So we're introduced to somebody. In Judges chapter six, we're introduced to Gideon. Who's where? He's in a wine press. What's he making in the wine press? Not wine. He's making wheat. Why? Because he's afraid that if the Midianites hear that he has food, they're going to steal it. So he's trying to keep the sandwich for himself. And we're introduced to the angel of the Lord. Not an angel of the Lord, the angel of the Lord. Malech Yahweh in Hebrew. Malech Yahweh, Malech, meaning messenger. The word that's translated as angel. Messenger shows up over 200 times in the Old Testament. If you're thinking of a angel with a wings, angels in the Bible don't exactly have wings. I know, I know, I know, I know. Your Nativity set. That angel has wings. Angels in the Bible don't have wings. Some of you are like, no, they do. They have like six wings and eyeballs. Seraphim. Something a little bit different. There's heavenly beings with wings. Angels just aren't one of them. They look a little bit more like you and me. If you want to argue about it. I love a good biblical argument. You can email me at tim. Angelsdonthavewings.com and I'd love to respond to you. Not an angel. The angel of Yahweh, the most personal name for God in the Old Testament and here's what you need to know about the angel of the Lord is that he shows up over 50 times in the Old Testament. And this specific angel has a really unique characteristic. And it's that he speaks. He speaks in two different ways in the same passage. Time after time. He speaks in two different ways. The first way is what you would expect. He speaks as one who is distinct from Yahweh, third person. The Lord says, the Lord wants you to. The Lord says, go. We would expect that the second way, in the same passage, he will speak as God. That's confusing. As God first person saying things that only God says, giving blessings that only God gives, doing things that only God does. Exodus chapter 23. Yahweh says to his people, and Melech Yahweh will lead you something that only God does. And he says, for my name, my name is in him. And so people have said, maybe this Malek Yahweh is an archangel, like so close to. To God. Could be. Maybe it's a theophany, a visible appearance of God to his people. Could be. Maybe it's a christophany, a visible appearance of Jesus before his birth in the Old Testament. Could be. Which one? Not really sure. But what I am sure is this is that Malach Yahweh, when he shows up, is preparing us for and pointing us to one who is God but is distinct from the Father. Does that sound familiar? It's Jesus who is always even in Judges chapter six. And even when we're stuck, the angel of the Lord appears to Gideon who's hiding in the winepress. And here's what he says to him. When the angel of the lord in verse 12 appeared to Gideon, he said, the Lord is with you, mighty warrior. The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. One who's hiding in the wine press. Mighty warrior, verse 13. But pardon me, my Lord. Gideon says, but pardon me. I can picture him raising his hand like, with all Due respect, my 17 year old Jack is with me today and he is one of the coolest kids ever. Little while back he was in this phrase where or this phase where he loved to say, with all due respect, one day my wife, his mom asked him, hey, will you show me how to do like some strength training for my workout? He loves to work out, super disciplined. He was like, absolutely. They go to the gym, he's showing her how to do like barbell squats. But he's super dialed in his technique and she wasn't super nailing it. And so at one point he puts his hand on his mother's shoulder in the middle of the gym and says, mom, with all due respect, some people just aren't built for squats. So that night at home, I put my hand on Jack's shoulder and I said, jack, with all due respect, take a seat. We're about to have a conversation. Little life lesson. I said, buddy, whenever somebody uses the phrase with all due respect, 99% of the time, whatever comes out of their mouth next is not full of respect. Respect, Mr. Melech Yahweh, Gideon says, with all due respect. And then he says this as verse 13 continues, but if the Lord is with us, then why has all this happened to us? Where are all the wonders our ancestors told us about when they said, did the Lord not bring us up out of Egypt, but now the Lord has abandoned us and give us into the hand of Midian? Gideon says, with all due respect, if the Lord is with me, then why does the world look like this? With all due respect, if the Lord is with me, then where is he? Because we're oppressed, we're starving, and we're hiding. Not the craziest question in that context. Not the biggest stretch for us to find ourselves asking the same questions. The Lord is week two of Jesus always incredible message. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego the Lord is with me. But then I open up my news and I see multiple global conflicts going on at the same time. Like, really? You scroll a little bit further, the Lord is with me. And you see people who are starving or who don't have clean drinking water. Really, like, this is what it looks like. The Lord is with me. We scroll a little bit further and we see people groups who are being oppressed or being abused and they're hiding. Like, really, the Lord is with me. But some of us, we don't even have to open up the news. All we have to do is walk down the stairs of our own house in the morning. The Lord is with me. But my marriage ended seven years ago. My house is empty, but my heart's full of bitterness. Like, really, the Lord is with me. And I'm fighting, trying to get myself out of debt. And it seems like every time I'm making a little bit of progress, I go to the mailbox and I'm met by another unexpected bill. Really, the Lord is with me. And I open up God's word. Cause I want to know what he wants me to do, but I'm just not sure where that. What that is really. The Lord is with me. And please hear. One of the things I love about our God is that he welcomes our questions. And if God is God, there is no question that is too big for him. And Gideon brings a big and a tough question. But sometimes when we bring tough questions, we get tough answers. And if you got a seatbelt, it's time to buckle it up a little bit, Gideon, because you're gonna get a big answer to a big question. The Lord is with me. Really? Then where is he? And the Lord speaks. Yahweh says this. And the Lord looked at him and said, then go. Go. Go in the strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you? He says, the Lord is with you, really? So get up and go do something about the very thing that you're complaining about. The Lord is with you. Really, so go. Have I not sent you? With all due respect, Mr. Yahweh, have I not sent you to geek out a little bit? Some of you are like, you've been geeking out. Geek out a little bit. Two Hebrew words that's present perfect tense. If you can't remember high school English, I couldn't either. I googled it. Present perfect tense. It's a completed action in the past that still applies in the present. Have I not sent you? But this is Gideon's first time to show up in the Bible. Has he sent him? But God's character and his commitment to his people has not changed. Genesis, chapter one. God created Adam and Eve, and he told them, look over the creation. He said, I'm looking for partners. I'm not looking for passengers. I want somebody who's willing to rule and to reign with me. Genesis chapter 12. God called Abram and he said, I want you to get up. I want you to go. Because I want to establish my people and I want to bless you so that the world may be blessed through you. Exodus, chapter three. God said to Moses, I hear the cry of my people. I want you to get up. I want you to go and get them, and I want you to deliver them from their oppression. Joshua, Chapter one. God said to Joshua, I want you to take my people. I want you to cross the river to the land that I have promised you, and I want you to take hold of it. The four judges that come before Gideon, Otheniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah. I hear the cry of my People, I want you to get up, to go get them and. And to rescue them from the oppression that they're facing. God's character and his commitments have not changed. What God said to Gideon is this. Instead of complaining about it in the wine press, how about you be the person I created you to be, that I've called you to be and that I've sent you to be? The Lord is with me. So where is He? And God says to Gideon, the Lord is with you. So where are you growing up? Playing sports. My coaches would have said it this way. Go get it, big dog. Right? Like, go get it, big dog. I'll meet you there. Because when God wants to do something, he sends someone. When God wants to do something, throughout His Word, he sends someone. It's who he is. He's ascending God. That's the good news of Jesus Christ, right? Jesus always in Judges 6, but also Jesus always in Jesus. The good news is what? We were stuck in our cycle of sin. So God sent someone to do something that we could not do for ourselves. John 3:16 says this. It says, for God so loved the world that he what he gave, he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, to complain about the world, to criticize the world, but to save the world through Him. God the Father sent. God the Son. God the Father sent Jesus. Why? Because when God wants to do something, he sends someone. And yet God wasn't done sending after Jesus. Because make no mistake about it, if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, God has sent you. Jesus says this in John, chapter 20, verse 21. Peace be with you to his followers. As the Father has what? As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. Jesus said, I am sending you to do God's work in his world for his people. But what does he want us to do? That's probably the number one question I get as a pastor, is how do I know what God wants me to do? And I love that question. Cause it shows me somebody who wants to do what God wants them to do. They're just a little bit unsure of what that is. Because it's complicated. Like, the world's big and it's complex and it's complicated. Or is it? A few weeks ago, it was Easter weekend, and Katie and I were going to bed on Friday night, and she said, my stomach hurts a little bit. She woke up Saturday morning and she said, my stomach still Hurts a little bit. She got dressed for work. She's an ICU nurse. And she was walking out the door and it was like she was just saying, the weather's nice. She just said, could be my appendix. I said, I'm not a doctor, but that's never stopped me from having an opinion. Maybe you should, like, get that checked out. She texts me a little later. She's like, hey, they're looking at it. I just went down to the er. No big deal. Just stay with the kids. Day progresses a little bit. It's Easter weekend. We have Easter services at church. So I'm like, I guess I'm going to go to church. So I get dressed and we have a rehearsal or a run through. And so I get there in time for that. It's time for me to do my part of the run through. So I'm literally standing on the stage and my phone rings and it's Katie, and I have a microphone in one hand and a phone in the other. And I'm talking to her and she said, hey, the surgeon just came by and this is the second one and it is my appendix and it needs to come out. And I said, okay. And she said, it's not a big deal. It's going to be hours before they get to it. You have Easter services. Stay there. Your mom just got here. It's fine. It's routine. It's not a big deal. Just stay there, do church, and then come on. So I hang up and it's like literally my turn to do the stage run through. And I miss every cue I'm supposed to hit, and I don't hit one piece of content. I'm supposed to say, cause my mind is spinning. And I walk off the stage and I'm like, my boss said I should go, but Katie said I should stay. And it's Easter services and people are bringing their friends and their family and nobody else is prepared to do this. And she said, I should just come afterwards. And I get to the back of the auditorium and there's somebody I know well sitting there. And they said, you doing okay? And I just blurted out what I was thinking. I said, I don't know what to do. But as soon as I said it, I was like, yeah, I do. And I said, I need to leave. And I text my wife as I'm walking out the door and said, hey, I'll be there in a few minutes. And she's like, no, stay, it's fine. Just come after service. And I said, babe, somebody else can Lead this church today. I'm the only person who can be your husband today. And she said, okay. It's so complicated up here sometimes, isn't it? But it's so simple. And the longer I follow Jesus, the more I begin to put trust that it's simple. Here's the tdv, the Tim Dareemus version. Love God with every part of you. Hold nothing back from him. Love God. Love others. Put them and their needs in front of your own. Love God. Love others. Make disciples as you're going. Do what Jesus did. Make disciples and bring heaven with you every single day, every place that you go. That's it. Love God. Love people. Make disciples. Bring heaven with you every single day. It's simple, but it's not easy, is it? It's simple, but it's not easy. Gideon's like, with all due respect, Mr. Malik Yahweh, I think you got the wrong guy. Like, I think you got the wrong guy. You said, go in your strength, but I'm the weakest. I'm from the smallest tribe and the smallest clan and the smallest family. With all due respect, I think you've got the wrong person. We get that, don't we? Like God. I think you got the wrong person. I don't know enough about the Bible. I don't have enough time. I don't have enough money. Surely there's somebody better than me. And God says, no, no, no, no, Gideon, I think you misunderstood me when I said, go in your strength. Your strength is not your strength. It's that the Lord is with you. The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. It's God's power. It's our participation. So Gideon did it. He got up and God rescued his people from the hand of the Midianites with 300 people, some clay pots and some torches, so nobody could get it twisted. Whose strength it was, was that delivered God's people and they lived happily ever after. It's not exactly how the story goes, because I think sometimes when we read a story in the Bible, we think it's got to be a good story. But Gideon's story is not a good story. It's a sad story. It's a sad story because the story ends with Gideon getting a little bit confused on who the main character of the story is. He thinks itself. And he collects gold from the Israelite people, and he makes his own idol, a golden ephod. And the story ends with the people of God bowing down to worship the idol that Gideon fashioned. Remind me where the story started with the Israelite people bowing down and worshiping a God other than Yahweh, the one true God. They're where they're stuck. They're right back where they started. Because Gideon's story is a sad story, because he missed it. He missed being the person that God had called him to be. He missed living the life that God had called him to live because he was afraid. He was afraid of what might happen to him. Gideon missed it. But Gideon's story points to and prepares us for someone else's story. Because Gideon was called to rescue God's people, but he tried to save himself. Jesus Christ was called to rescue God's people, but he willingly gave his life. It's the paradox of God's kingdom, which is talked about in Matthew chapter 16, where Jesus said this. He said, if you try to save your life, you lose it. But whoever loses their life for me will find it. Jesus says this. There's a fundamentally better way to live life. I have friends whose names are Hannah and Kevin. They're a Part of Life Church in Derby, Kansas, which is in the Witchita metro area. Kevin is actually, as you can see in the photo, is our youth pastor at the Derby location. Kevin has an unbelievable story. He grew up stuck in a cycle of drug addiction in his family, and yet when God wants to do something, he sends someone. And God sent Jesus into Kevin's story and delivered him from that cycle. About a year ago, Kevin's phone rang, and he answered it, and it was his mom. Kevin's mom is 60 years old, and the whole time that Kevin's ever known his mom, she's been stuck in her own drug addiction and all of the things that come with it. So he answered the phone, and she said, hey, Kevin, I hope you don't mind, but I actually gave your phone number to somebody, which Kevin probably thought, mom, with all due respect, she said, it's your niece. Kiara. Kierra is 16 years old, but Kevin has not seen Kiara since she was 2. Kiara is Kevin's sister's daughter, Kevin's sister, who has spent almost her whole life stuck in drug addiction and all the things that come with it. So Kiara never lived with her mom. She lived with her dad, her dad, who was stuck in drug addiction and all the things that come with it. And so what was normal for Kiara growing up should not be normal for any child growing up. Eventually, authorities heard what was happening in her home, and so they removed Kierra and they placed her with her grandmother on her dad's side, who lived Two doors down from her dad. So where did she end up most days? Stuck right back where she was before she was placed with a third family member who was stuck in drug addiction and all the things that come with it. So the 16 year old girl started thinking and she decided to call the side of the family that she had never had contact with, her mom's side, because she had two questions. Question number one, who am I? Like who am I as a person? Question number two, is this what my life's supposed to look like? So Kiara called her grandmother on her mom's side and she said, you need to talk to your Uncle Kevin. Cause there's something different about Kevin. So they set up a time for this phone call and Kiara called and it was Kevin and he had it on speakerphone and his wife Hannah, and they were just catching up just what's been going on in life. She was asking questions about his side of the family and Kiera began to share a little bit about her life. And Kevin said that he and Hannah just had tears rolling down their cheeks as they hear what's normal to Kiara but shouldn't be normal to anybody. They finished the conversation and Kevin hung up the phone and he said, tim, I was afraid to tell my wife Hannah what I was thinking because I was afraid of how she might respond. And he said, but she beat me to it. She looked at Kevin and she said, what if Kira came to live with us? Let me rephrase that for you. Have we not been sent? Have we not been sent? So they set up a time to go get Kira just for a weekend, like just come hang out. So they drove a few hours and they picked up Kira and they brought her and they just did normal things. They went out to eat, they went to church, they were driving her back home and they were going down the interstate. And Kevin said. This 16 year old voice spoke up from the backseat and here's what it said. It said, hey, Kevin and Hannah, thank you for having me this weekend. And she said, I really like your life. And she said, I wish my life looked a little bit more like your life. And Kevin said, you know Kira, we would like that too, but that's complicated. Like I don't, I don't know if that can work. So they dropped Kira off and they got to work. Because almost anything worthwhile takes work. They got to work. And so eight weeks later they went to pick up Kira. But this time not for a weekend. This time, as the court appointed foster parents for Kiera, they drove her back to Derby, Kansas, where there were a group of girls waiting in the driveway with signs from Switch, their youth ministry, and say, welcome home, Kira. Derby's better with you. We love you. Because are those girls not sent to. Are those girls not sent to Kiera, too? So she enrolled in school and she started attending church regularly, hearing about a God who loves her and actually sent someone to do something in her life, she begins to fall in love with Jesus and who he is and what it looks like in her life. She joined the basketball team at her school. She got baptized by Kevin and Hannah. She got a job, she's getting her driver's license. A few weeks ago, I was at their life church location and Kevin was the one talking on stage right before the message. And I look to my left and like five feet over, Kiara's standing there and she has a phone and she's recording Kevin doing his stage times that he can watch it back. But she has the biggest smile on her face. And when I look over and I see her, it hits me. The smile on her face is not because she's recording Kevin's stage time, it's because that's her dad up there. Because a few weeks before, Kevin and Hannah went to the courthouse with Kiara and they legally adopted her to be their daughter. A few weeks later, they went back to the courthouse again because they legally changed her last name to be their last name. As Kevin's telling me the story of what God's doing in Kira's life, tears are flooding down my face and I said, kevin, did you ever experience a functional home growing up? And he said, I did not. And I said, so you're providing for her what you never experienced for yourself. That's the work of God in somebody's life. Here's what I said. The first time I heard that Kevin and Hannah were taking in Kierra as a parent of teenagers, I said, that's a lot. Because that's a lot. And I said, are you sure that's a good idea? But fortunately, Kevin and Kara were not listening to the same voices I was listening to. They were listening to the voice of God, who says, when I want to do something, I'm sending someone. And have you not been sent for? The Lord is with you, mighty father. The Lord is with you, mighty mother. Kiara. The Lord is with you, mighty daughter. Make no mistake, when you wake up tomorrow, follower of Jesus Christ, you wake up as one who is sent by God to do the work of God. But the good news is you do not go alone for The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. So I guess I came all this way to say, go get it, big dog. Because when the Lord wants to do something, he sends somebody. If you'll bow your heads and close your eyes in a spirit and attitude of prayer. If you're a follower of Jesus. Here's the question for you. You have been sent by God. The question is, are you willing to live as one who's sent by God? If you're a follower of Jesus and you're here today and you say, you know what? I'm willing to do one tangible thing this week. Maybe it's just answering the phone like Kevin did when his mom called. Maybe it's giving to one day and putting my financial trust in God and letting him use me to meet the needs of others. But you're saying, I'm willing to do one tangible thing this week. I. I'm gonna ask that you raise your hand right now saying, that's me. I'll do something. I'm somebody. God's sending me my hands up, too. Let me pray for us. God, remind us that we're not alone, that you are with us, and that with you, we are mighty warriors. Help us to have the courage to be the people you have called us to be, created us to be and sent us to be this week as we are your people, as we continue in an attitude and a spirit of prayer. Maybe you're here today and as you hear me talking about, the Lord is with you. You go, Tim. I don't know that the Lord is with me. Well, good news is that God wanted to do something in your life and my life. And so he sent someone to do what we could not do on our own. Because God has seen each and every one of us stuck in our cycle of sin, our own bad decisions that have separated us from a good and a loving and a just God. And yet God wanted to do something, and so he sent himself. God the Father, sent God the Son, Jesus, to die on the cross as a payment for your sin and for my sin and to be raised from the grave so that you can experience new life and I can experience new life as well, and that we can be with God as his people for all of eternity. But starting today, if you're here and you're saying, I don't have a relationship with Jesus, but I'm ready today to trust God, to trust that his way is better, to trust that Jesus died on the cross for me, I'm ready to receive his grace and his forgiveness. I'M ready to make the decision to follow him if that's you you're ready to make that decision raise your hand right now saying I'm ready to make the decision to put my trust in Jesus Christ if that's you over here my right somebody saying yes I'm ready to put my trust in God who else I'm ready to make the decision to be a part of God's people life church I'm going to ask that you pray aloud with me. Pray Heavenly Father I'm ready to put my faith and my trust in Jesus because I know that you love me enough to send Jesus to die on the cross and be raised from the grave so that I can be saved. So thank you Lord for your grace, your forgiveness and this new life as I follow you and it's in Jesus name that everybody said amen and amen hey why don't we celebrate big celebrate those who made that decision.