1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:01,780 Now will you turn with me please 2 00:00:01,780 –> 00:00:04,480 to Deuteronomy in chapter 29? 3 00:00:04,480 –> 00:00:06,760 We’re looking at just one verse today, 4 00:00:06,760 –> 00:00:10,500 Deuteronomy chapter 29, verse 29. 5 00:00:10,500 –> 00:00:12,800 If you don’t know this verse already, 6 00:00:12,800 –> 00:00:14,640 I hope that today will be a means 7 00:00:14,640 –> 00:00:18,980 of God sealing it into your heart and into your mind. 8 00:00:18,980 –> 00:00:21,540 Deuteronomy 29, 29. 9 00:00:21,540 –> 00:00:26,280 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, 10 00:00:26,320 –> 00:00:29,740 but the things revealed belong to us 11 00:00:29,740 –> 00:00:32,779 and to our children forever, 12 00:00:32,779 –> 00:00:37,779 that we may follow all the words of this law. 13 00:00:38,680 –> 00:00:40,599 Now if you have been with us during the series, 14 00:00:40,599 –> 00:00:43,160 you will have a sense of what’s happening in Deuteronomy. 15 00:00:43,160 –> 00:00:46,439 God’s people are on the verge of the promised land. 16 00:00:46,439 –> 00:00:49,540 And Moses is speaking to them for the last time. 17 00:00:49,540 –> 00:00:51,520 Here we are now coming towards the end 18 00:00:51,520 –> 00:00:53,400 of the book of Deuteronomy. 19 00:00:53,400 –> 00:00:56,520 And the book is really a series of sermons. 20 00:00:56,520 –> 00:00:58,759 And this is the last of the sermons. 21 00:00:58,759 –> 00:01:00,119 It’s not the last in our series, 22 00:01:00,119 –> 00:01:04,720 but it really is the last time Moses speaks to the people. 23 00:01:04,720 –> 00:01:06,440 And so, if you think about speaking 24 00:01:06,440 –> 00:01:07,680 to those you really love, 25 00:01:07,680 –> 00:01:12,320 those in whom you’ve invested your life all these years, 26 00:01:12,320 –> 00:01:14,720 and you’re speaking to them for the very last time, 27 00:01:14,720 –> 00:01:16,599 what would you say? 28 00:01:16,599 –> 00:01:17,480 What really matters? 29 00:01:17,480 –> 00:01:22,260 What is of greatest significance and of importance? 30 00:01:22,300 –> 00:01:24,500 And I think as we look at this last part 31 00:01:24,500 –> 00:01:26,820 of what Moses says to God’s people, 32 00:01:26,820 –> 00:01:29,540 a good title for the last sermon Moses preached 33 00:01:29,540 –> 00:01:31,739 would be 2 Ways to Live. 34 00:01:31,739 –> 00:01:33,500 Because really, his last message is this. 35 00:01:33,500 –> 00:01:36,139 You’re about to enter the Promised Land. 36 00:01:36,139 –> 00:01:38,059 He, of course, is not going to be with them. 37 00:01:38,059 –> 00:01:41,860 Moses is going to go and be at home with the Lord. 38 00:01:41,860 –> 00:01:45,019 But he’s saying when you enter the Promised Land, 39 00:01:45,019 –> 00:01:47,440 remember there are two ways to live. 40 00:01:47,440 –> 00:01:49,900 And if you glance back to chapter 28, 41 00:01:49,900 –> 00:01:51,620 you’ll see that this is really the main theme 42 00:01:51,760 –> 00:01:53,139 of his last sermon. 43 00:01:53,139 –> 00:01:55,239 From verse one he lists blessings 44 00:01:55,239 –> 00:01:57,239 that will follow obedience. 45 00:01:57,239 –> 00:02:00,540 Verse one, if you fully obey the Lord your God, 46 00:02:00,540 –> 00:02:01,959 you will be blessed in the city. 47 00:02:01,959 –> 00:02:03,860 You will be blessed in the country. 48 00:02:03,860 –> 00:02:06,059 You will be blessed in the fruit of your womb 49 00:02:06,059 –> 00:02:09,199 and so forth and so on, a long list of blessings. 50 00:02:09,199 –> 00:02:12,139 He’s talking about the national future here. 51 00:02:12,139 –> 00:02:15,199 And then if you take it up at verse 15 of chapter 28, 52 00:02:15,199 –> 00:02:19,039 Moses then lists curses that follow disobedience. 53 00:02:19,039 –> 00:02:22,360 Verse 15, however, if you do not obey the Lord your God, 54 00:02:22,360 –> 00:02:23,720 you will be cursed in the city. 55 00:02:23,720 –> 00:02:25,080 You will be cursed in the country. 56 00:02:25,080 –> 00:02:26,520 The basket and the kneading trough 57 00:02:26,520 –> 00:02:28,559 will be cursed and so forth and so on. 58 00:02:28,559 –> 00:02:29,479 So this is the theme 59 00:02:29,479 –> 00:02:31,759 and it’s developed over several chapters. 60 00:02:31,759 –> 00:02:34,639 Moses is saying, you’re going into a wonderful new land. 61 00:02:34,639 –> 00:02:36,199 There are two ways to live. 62 00:02:36,199 –> 00:02:39,399 There are two radically different consequences 63 00:02:39,399 –> 00:02:40,779 that come to the nation 64 00:02:40,779 –> 00:02:44,220 according to whether people follow God’s righteous path 65 00:02:44,220 –> 00:02:46,419 or rebel against it. 66 00:02:46,419 –> 00:02:48,479 There’s a path on which you’ll be blessed 67 00:02:48,479 –> 00:02:53,479 and there is a path on which you will experience judgment. 68 00:02:53,720 –> 00:02:55,479 Now picture yourself standing there 69 00:02:55,479 –> 00:02:57,899 listening to Moses’ last sermon 70 00:02:57,899 –> 00:03:01,320 and here you are on the verge of the promised land. 71 00:03:01,320 –> 00:03:03,160 And Moses says, now, when you go in, 72 00:03:03,160 –> 00:03:04,460 there’s two ways to live 73 00:03:04,460 –> 00:03:07,240 and two radically different experiences of life 74 00:03:07,240 –> 00:03:09,419 that come as a consequence. 75 00:03:09,419 –> 00:03:10,899 What would the question be in your mind? 76 00:03:10,899 –> 00:03:12,460 I know what I’d be asking. 77 00:03:12,460 –> 00:03:16,039 Moses, which one is it going to be? 78 00:03:16,039 –> 00:03:18,619 What’s the future for us? 79 00:03:18,619 –> 00:03:20,119 What’s the future for our children? 80 00:03:20,119 –> 00:03:23,740 What is the future for our grandchildren? 81 00:03:23,740 –> 00:03:26,399 What kind of world are they going to inherit? 82 00:03:26,399 –> 00:03:28,899 What’s it gonna be like in the next 10 years? 83 00:03:28,899 –> 00:03:31,860 Moses, tell us what is going to happen 84 00:03:31,860 –> 00:03:36,720 and here’s Moses’ answer in Deuteronomy 29 verse 29 he says, 85 00:03:36,720 –> 00:03:41,720 the secret things belong to the Lord our God, 86 00:03:42,139 –> 00:03:44,479 but the things revealed belong to us 87 00:03:44,539 –> 00:03:47,360 and to our children forever that we may follow 88 00:03:47,360 –> 00:03:50,520 all the words of this law. 89 00:03:51,899 –> 00:03:55,860 Now, I’ve chosen to focus on this single verse today 90 00:03:55,860 –> 00:03:59,039 because it has been so significant in my own life. 91 00:03:59,039 –> 00:04:01,539 Many of you will have found this scripture already. 92 00:04:01,539 –> 00:04:04,740 If you haven’t, I know that you will find it helpful 93 00:04:04,740 –> 00:04:09,740 for years to come if God earths it into your heart today. 94 00:04:10,220 –> 00:04:12,460 It is an easy verse to remember. 95 00:04:12,460 –> 00:04:16,220 Even the reference, Deuteronomy 29.29. 96 00:04:16,220 –> 00:04:19,799 Say it with me, Deuteronomy 29.29, okay? 97 00:04:19,799 –> 00:04:20,959 It sticks. 98 00:04:20,959 –> 00:04:22,000 It’s easy to remember. 99 00:04:22,000 –> 00:04:23,640 You’ll find it sticks with you. 100 00:04:23,640 –> 00:04:25,959 Deuteronomy 29.29. 101 00:04:25,959 –> 00:04:30,959 And the truth that it states is so simple, just two things. 102 00:04:30,980 –> 00:04:33,220 The secret things belong to the Lord. 103 00:04:34,079 –> 00:04:38,459 The things that are revealed belong to us. 104 00:04:38,459 –> 00:04:40,679 And if you think about it, the whole of life 105 00:04:40,700 –> 00:04:42,619 is really divided into two parts. 106 00:04:42,619 –> 00:04:44,679 There are things that God has kept secret 107 00:04:44,679 –> 00:04:47,100 that you do not know and you do not understand, 108 00:04:47,100 –> 00:04:49,160 and there are things that God has revealed 109 00:04:49,160 –> 00:04:52,260 and he has given them and trusted them to you. 110 00:04:53,640 –> 00:04:55,440 Now I want simply for us to ponder 111 00:04:55,440 –> 00:04:58,660 and then for most of the message to apply 112 00:04:58,660 –> 00:05:03,660 this very simple but powerfully liberating truth. 113 00:05:05,420 –> 00:05:09,959 God keeps some things secret. 114 00:05:11,239 –> 00:05:13,220 Now what that means is that as a Christian 115 00:05:13,220 –> 00:05:15,720 you should expect to face questions 116 00:05:15,720 –> 00:05:17,500 to which you have no answer. 117 00:05:18,440 –> 00:05:21,820 Don’t be afraid as a Christian to say I don’t know. 118 00:05:22,760 –> 00:05:25,519 It is not part of faith to pretend 119 00:05:25,519 –> 00:05:28,079 that you have an answer for every question, 120 00:05:29,160 –> 00:05:32,679 and faith bows before the mystery 121 00:05:32,679 –> 00:05:34,160 of what God has kept hidden. 122 00:05:34,160 –> 00:05:35,720 That’s part of what faith does. 123 00:05:35,720 –> 00:05:37,459 That’s why it’s faith and not sight. 124 00:05:37,500 –> 00:05:40,839 It bows before the mystery of what God has kept hidden. 125 00:05:41,799 –> 00:05:44,100 I’ve heard Christians on a number of occasions, 126 00:05:44,100 –> 00:05:45,980 both in the UK and here, 127 00:05:45,980 –> 00:05:50,660 talk about having a Deuteronomy 29, 29 file. 128 00:05:50,660 –> 00:05:52,059 Have you heard this phrase? 129 00:05:52,059 –> 00:05:53,260 It’s actually rather helpful. 130 00:05:53,260 –> 00:05:54,600 I’ve heard someone say 131 00:05:54,600 –> 00:05:57,059 when something that they can’t make any sense of 132 00:05:57,059 –> 00:05:59,140 happens in life they say well I’m going to put that 133 00:05:59,140 –> 00:06:02,959 in my Deuteronomy 29, 29 file. 134 00:06:02,959 –> 00:06:05,000 So I don’t know if they actually have a folder 135 00:06:05,000 –> 00:06:06,179 with these things written down, 136 00:06:06,200 –> 00:06:08,019 but that’s a great way to think of it. 137 00:06:08,019 –> 00:06:10,559 Because you are going to experience things in life, 138 00:06:10,559 –> 00:06:13,679 as I do, that we do not understand. 139 00:06:13,679 –> 00:06:16,019 And we’re not gonna understand them this side of heaven, 140 00:06:16,019 –> 00:06:17,079 so what do you do with them? 141 00:06:17,079 –> 00:06:21,859 You put them in your Deuteronomy 29, 29 file. 142 00:06:21,859 –> 00:06:25,399 The secret things belong to the Lord. 143 00:06:25,399 –> 00:06:28,679 Living by faith, this is very important to understand, 144 00:06:28,679 –> 00:06:32,820 living by faith means accepting the limits of revelation 145 00:06:32,899 –> 00:06:36,540 as well as affirming the reality of revelation. 146 00:06:36,540 –> 00:06:38,640 And normally, we put the emphasis on faith 147 00:06:38,640 –> 00:06:41,320 involves affirming what God has revealed 148 00:06:41,320 –> 00:06:43,019 and what He has made clear. 149 00:06:43,019 –> 00:06:46,019 But faith equally involves accepting 150 00:06:46,019 –> 00:06:49,820 the limits of revelation as well as affirming its reality. 151 00:06:49,820 –> 00:06:52,019 That is why we are walking by faith, 152 00:06:52,019 –> 00:06:54,339 Paul says, and not by sight. 153 00:06:55,140 –> 00:06:56,859 Now, notice what Moses says next. 154 00:06:56,859 –> 00:07:01,859 He says, the secret things belong to the Lord. 155 00:07:03,100 –> 00:07:04,160 This is wonderful. 156 00:07:05,540 –> 00:07:07,579 There will be things in your life 157 00:07:07,579 –> 00:07:10,100 that will make absolutely no sense to you. 158 00:07:10,980 –> 00:07:12,140 They will baffle you. 159 00:07:12,140 –> 00:07:14,059 You cannot work them out. 160 00:07:15,059 –> 00:07:17,700 And you might feel at that point 161 00:07:17,700 –> 00:07:20,920 like a kind of tendency to despair. 162 00:07:21,859 –> 00:07:24,000 You might feel like throwing up your hands 163 00:07:24,000 –> 00:07:25,739 and saying, life makes no sense, 164 00:07:25,739 –> 00:07:26,920 it is completely absurd. 165 00:07:26,920 –> 00:07:27,739 What’s the point? 166 00:07:27,739 –> 00:07:28,579 I give up. 167 00:07:28,579 –> 00:07:30,480 But that is not where Moses goes. 168 00:07:31,440 –> 00:07:33,760 He doesn’t say the secret things are there 169 00:07:33,760 –> 00:07:37,179 to frustrate you and lead you to despair. 170 00:07:37,179 –> 00:07:41,179 He says the secret things belong to the Lord. 171 00:07:42,079 –> 00:07:43,640 So there will be times in your life 172 00:07:43,640 –> 00:07:44,480 where you say, 173 00:07:44,480 –> 00:07:47,640 I can make absolutely no sense of this, 174 00:07:47,640 –> 00:07:49,480 but God knows, 175 00:07:49,480 –> 00:07:51,239 God knows. 176 00:07:51,239 –> 00:07:54,079 And the secret things belong to the Lord, 177 00:07:54,079 –> 00:07:56,440 and the Lord to whom they belong 178 00:07:56,440 –> 00:08:00,380 is my loving heavenly Father. 179 00:08:01,440 –> 00:08:03,420 The secret things belong to the Lord. 180 00:08:03,420 –> 00:08:06,200 Faith lives with unanswered questions. 181 00:08:07,279 –> 00:08:10,519 Grasp that, it will settle you 182 00:08:10,519 –> 00:08:13,380 in the unsettling things of life. 183 00:08:14,480 –> 00:08:16,119 But then Moses says something else here, 184 00:08:16,119 –> 00:08:17,779 he says the things revealed 185 00:08:17,779 –> 00:08:19,839 belong to us and to our children forever 186 00:08:19,839 –> 00:08:23,160 that we may follow the words of this law. 187 00:08:23,160 –> 00:08:24,000 So see what he’s saying? 188 00:08:24,000 –> 00:08:25,559 God keeps something secret 189 00:08:25,559 –> 00:08:26,920 and they belong to him 190 00:08:26,920 –> 00:08:28,279 but not everything is secret 191 00:08:28,660 –> 00:08:30,700 because God has revealed some things 192 00:08:30,700 –> 00:08:33,739 and they belong to us. 193 00:08:33,739 –> 00:08:35,840 So while it is true that faith bows 194 00:08:35,840 –> 00:08:38,960 before the mystery of what God has kept hidden 195 00:08:38,960 –> 00:08:40,599 we need to put alongside that 196 00:08:40,599 –> 00:08:43,039 that faith stands on the promise 197 00:08:43,039 –> 00:08:44,940 that Christ has revealed. 198 00:08:44,940 –> 00:08:47,520 These are really the two dimensions of faith, 199 00:08:47,520 –> 00:08:49,380 it bows before the mystery 200 00:08:49,380 –> 00:08:51,200 of what God has kept hidden 201 00:08:51,200 –> 00:08:53,419 and it stands on the promise 202 00:08:53,419 –> 00:08:55,900 of what God has revealed. 203 00:08:55,900 –> 00:08:57,239 And Moses says now, 204 00:08:57,340 –> 00:08:58,380 understand this, 205 00:08:58,380 –> 00:09:00,859 the revealed things they are given to you 206 00:09:00,859 –> 00:09:03,099 so that you’ll be able to follow the Lord 207 00:09:03,099 –> 00:09:05,539 even when you find yourself perplexed 208 00:09:05,539 –> 00:09:07,859 by the things you don’t understand. 209 00:09:07,859 –> 00:09:09,739 These revealed things, 210 00:09:09,739 –> 00:09:11,080 they belong to us 211 00:09:11,940 –> 00:09:14,000 and they belong to our children 212 00:09:14,000 –> 00:09:15,520 and they are given to you 213 00:09:15,520 –> 00:09:18,760 so that in this life where many things will perplex you, 214 00:09:18,760 –> 00:09:21,020 you will be able to stand firm 215 00:09:21,020 –> 00:09:24,359 even in the tough circumstances of life. 216 00:09:25,359 –> 00:09:28,219 So, this is a great verse of scripture 217 00:09:28,219 –> 00:09:29,760 that goes to the very foundation 218 00:09:29,760 –> 00:09:33,799 of what it means to live by faith in this world. 219 00:09:33,799 –> 00:09:35,440 It’s easy to find. 220 00:09:35,440 –> 00:09:37,979 It is easy to remember. 221 00:09:37,979 –> 00:09:40,719 It is profoundly helpful to apply. 222 00:09:42,200 –> 00:09:45,039 We live by faith and not by sight. 223 00:09:47,159 –> 00:09:48,820 There will be a day, folks, 224 00:09:48,820 –> 00:09:51,880 when our faith is turned to sight. 225 00:09:51,880 –> 00:09:54,320 There will be a day when you know 226 00:09:54,780 –> 00:09:57,700 even as now you are known. 227 00:09:57,700 –> 00:10:00,559 But that day is not yet. 228 00:10:00,559 –> 00:10:02,960 And until that day, what faith does 229 00:10:02,960 –> 00:10:04,900 is it bows before the mystery of what God 230 00:10:04,900 –> 00:10:08,119 has kept hidden and stands on the promise 231 00:10:08,119 –> 00:10:11,419 that God has revealed. 232 00:10:11,419 –> 00:10:14,359 Now, that’s the teaching. 233 00:10:14,359 –> 00:10:16,320 Let’s get to the application. 234 00:10:16,320 –> 00:10:19,419 12 minutes into the sermon and we’re on the application. 235 00:10:19,419 –> 00:10:20,460 You know why? 236 00:10:20,460 –> 00:10:23,940 I want to give you seven applications 237 00:10:24,700 –> 00:10:27,440 of this powerful truth that I think 238 00:10:27,440 –> 00:10:30,479 all of us will touch at some point 239 00:10:30,479 –> 00:10:34,260 in our life and in our experience. 240 00:10:34,260 –> 00:10:37,299 Seven secrets that belong to the Lord 241 00:10:37,299 –> 00:10:42,299 and then seven promises that are given to us. 242 00:10:42,400 –> 00:10:43,239 Well, here we go. 243 00:10:44,719 –> 00:10:49,719 Secret number one, the future of your children. 244 00:10:49,780 –> 00:10:54,679 Now, is there any parents who hasn’t wondered about this? 245 00:10:57,380 –> 00:10:59,000 What will happen to your children? 246 00:11:00,520 –> 00:11:01,520 Will they marry? 247 00:11:02,840 –> 00:11:05,159 What about your grandchildren? 248 00:11:05,159 –> 00:11:07,140 Will they be happy? 249 00:11:07,140 –> 00:11:08,299 Will they prosper? 250 00:11:09,760 –> 00:11:12,979 You ask that question, what kind of world 251 00:11:12,979 –> 00:11:15,640 will my grandchildren inherit? 252 00:11:15,640 –> 00:11:17,520 You ask that question. 253 00:11:18,359 –> 00:11:19,900 This was surely in the minds of those 254 00:11:19,900 –> 00:11:22,239 who were standing beside Moses when he’s telling them 255 00:11:22,239 –> 00:11:24,599 that there are two very different futures 256 00:11:24,599 –> 00:11:27,219 that may happen in the land. 257 00:11:28,500 –> 00:11:31,599 What’s the future for our children, your children? 258 00:11:32,799 –> 00:11:36,719 The secret things belong to the Lord. 259 00:11:39,260 –> 00:11:44,260 Secret number two, the reason for your suffering. 260 00:11:45,080 –> 00:11:50,080 All of us at some time in life will ask the question, why? 261 00:11:50,099 –> 00:11:53,659 You will come to some painful experience 262 00:11:53,659 –> 00:11:56,679 and for some of us, this is so acute, 263 00:11:57,679 –> 00:12:01,000 and you’re locked into this question. 264 00:12:01,000 –> 00:12:05,099 Why was I born into that family? 265 00:12:06,979 –> 00:12:10,059 Why did this illness come to me? 266 00:12:11,059 –> 00:12:17,559 Why did that awful event happen to my son or my daughter. 267 00:12:17,559 –> 00:12:21,640 And you ask the question and you ask it for years 268 00:12:21,640 –> 00:12:23,640 and you still have no answer. 269 00:12:23,640 –> 00:12:30,520 The secret things belong to the Lord. 270 00:12:31,840 –> 00:12:37,099 Secret number three, the manner of your death. 271 00:12:38,000 –> 00:12:41,640 Now I don’t know if you think about this once in a while, 272 00:12:41,640 –> 00:12:46,059 I promise you as you get older once in a while you will, 273 00:12:46,059 –> 00:12:47,640 how long will you live? 274 00:12:47,640 –> 00:12:53,719 Will you reach old age or will God take you 275 00:12:53,719 –> 00:12:55,219 while you are young? 276 00:12:55,219 –> 00:13:00,500 Will you die through an illness or will you die 277 00:13:00,500 –> 00:13:02,260 through an accident? 278 00:13:02,400 –> 00:13:06,359 Will you die with a sound mind? 279 00:13:06,359 –> 00:13:09,239 Some of us think about that perhaps quite a lot. 280 00:13:09,239 –> 00:13:12,559 And perhaps you ask the question, 281 00:13:12,559 –> 00:13:15,200 will I experience pain? 282 00:13:16,960 –> 00:13:21,320 The secret things belong to the Lord. 283 00:13:21,320 –> 00:13:23,700 Number four. 284 00:13:23,700 –> 00:13:27,440 The salvation of your loved ones. 285 00:13:27,440 –> 00:13:30,580 I’m thinking here about unbelieving neighbors, 286 00:13:30,580 –> 00:13:33,020 friends, or family members 287 00:13:33,020 –> 00:13:35,239 who do not yet know or love Christ 288 00:13:35,239 –> 00:13:37,780 and you pray for them and you love them 289 00:13:37,780 –> 00:13:40,940 and you share the gospel with them. 290 00:13:40,940 –> 00:13:43,380 I’m thinking today about someone 291 00:13:43,380 –> 00:13:47,419 that I have been praying for for over 20 years. 292 00:13:47,419 –> 00:13:50,059 He has no interest in God. 293 00:13:50,059 –> 00:13:52,020 He has no love for Christ. 294 00:13:53,200 –> 00:13:55,059 Will he be converted? 295 00:13:56,099 –> 00:13:57,659 I do not know. 296 00:13:57,659 –> 00:13:58,500 I don’t know. 297 00:13:59,320 –> 00:14:02,440 The secret things belong to the Lord. 298 00:14:04,739 –> 00:14:09,020 Number five, the events of tomorrow. 299 00:14:10,859 –> 00:14:15,859 Karan and I plan to fly to England tonight 300 00:14:16,419 –> 00:14:19,919 to arrive in Glasgow with a second flight tomorrow 301 00:14:19,919 –> 00:14:22,599 and then to get on a bus that will take us from Glasgow 302 00:14:22,599 –> 00:14:24,419 to the North of Scotland in Inverness 303 00:14:24,419 –> 00:14:26,099 where we get some days with my parents 304 00:14:26,380 –> 00:14:27,679 and then visiting hers. 305 00:14:28,659 –> 00:14:31,580 We got it all worked out, it’s about 14, 15 hours 306 00:14:31,580 –> 00:14:33,919 all together with the three legs of the journey. 307 00:14:33,919 –> 00:14:35,820 We’d done it many, many times before 308 00:14:35,820 –> 00:14:38,460 and we’re planned and ready to go. 309 00:14:40,539 –> 00:14:42,400 And every time I travel, 310 00:14:43,780 –> 00:14:47,299 I think about the words of James, 311 00:14:47,299 –> 00:14:51,299 listen, you who say today or tomorrow 312 00:14:51,299 –> 00:14:54,200 we will go to this or that city, 313 00:14:54,359 –> 00:14:58,200 you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. 314 00:14:59,340 –> 00:15:00,659 Or you don’t know what’s gonna happen 315 00:15:00,659 –> 00:15:04,820 for you tomorrow either, whatever you’ve got planned. 316 00:15:05,820 –> 00:15:08,659 The secret things belong to the Lord. 317 00:15:08,659 –> 00:15:12,400 Folks, this is life, this is reality. 318 00:15:12,400 –> 00:15:15,820 Number six, the outcome of your ministry. 319 00:15:17,979 –> 00:15:19,500 Now as you serve the Lord, 320 00:15:19,500 –> 00:15:22,700 as so many of us are engaged in ministry, 321 00:15:22,979 –> 00:15:25,260 you will have discovered, you don’t need me to tell you, 322 00:15:25,260 –> 00:15:27,419 that there are times when you find yourself 323 00:15:27,419 –> 00:15:28,900 asking this question. 324 00:15:28,900 –> 00:15:31,979 Am I doing anything of lasting value? 325 00:15:33,239 –> 00:15:35,099 You are praying, and you say, 326 00:15:35,099 –> 00:15:37,200 now, is this making any difference? 327 00:15:37,200 –> 00:15:40,400 Is there any Christian who hasn’t been there? 328 00:15:40,400 –> 00:15:43,020 You make sacrifices, and you wonder, 329 00:15:43,020 –> 00:15:45,599 well, does anybody even notice? 330 00:15:46,880 –> 00:15:49,260 It’s fascinating to me in Matthew, Chapter 25, 331 00:15:49,260 –> 00:15:51,940 when the Lord’s people are brought before him 332 00:15:52,020 –> 00:15:55,940 on the Day of Judgement, and they are surprised. 333 00:15:56,940 –> 00:15:59,580 They’re surprised by the outcome of their ministry. 334 00:15:59,580 –> 00:16:00,900 Remember, Jesus says to them, 335 00:16:00,900 –> 00:16:02,340 now, I was hungry, and you fed me, 336 00:16:02,340 –> 00:16:05,059 and I was in prison, and you visited me, 337 00:16:05,059 –> 00:16:07,780 and they’re saying when was that? 338 00:16:07,780 –> 00:16:09,000 When did we do these things? 339 00:16:09,000 –> 00:16:10,840 And Jesus says, well, as much as you did it 340 00:16:10,840 –> 00:16:12,320 to the least of these my brothers, 341 00:16:12,320 –> 00:16:14,419 you did it to me. 342 00:16:14,419 –> 00:16:16,400 The truth is 343 00:16:16,400 –> 00:16:19,640 that the last day will hold so many wonderful surprises 344 00:16:19,719 –> 00:16:23,799 because you don’t know the outcome of your own ministry. 345 00:16:23,799 –> 00:16:24,619 You don’t. 346 00:16:26,039 –> 00:16:29,200 The secret things belong to the Lord. 347 00:16:31,340 –> 00:16:32,960 Here’s number seven. 348 00:16:32,960 –> 00:16:35,940 The progress of your Christian life. 349 00:16:38,000 –> 00:16:39,960 If you are a Christian today, 350 00:16:39,960 –> 00:16:42,619 you will know what it is 351 00:16:42,619 –> 00:16:45,380 to be alarmed 352 00:16:45,380 –> 00:16:49,059 by your own lack of progress as a Christian. 353 00:16:50,140 –> 00:16:52,140 God, of course, is conforming you 354 00:16:52,140 –> 00:16:54,799 to the likeness of Jesus Christ. 355 00:16:56,099 –> 00:16:58,719 There is progress in sanctification, 356 00:16:58,719 –> 00:17:02,080 but the truth is that it’s not always obvious. 357 00:17:02,080 –> 00:17:04,339 If it is seen, and where it is seen, 358 00:17:04,339 –> 00:17:06,439 it’s more likely to be seen by other people 359 00:17:06,439 –> 00:17:08,520 before it is seen by you. 360 00:17:10,400 –> 00:17:14,560 The reality is that sin lies so deep within the best of us 361 00:17:15,540 –> 00:17:18,640 that we often find ourselves alarmed, and astonished, 362 00:17:18,699 –> 00:17:22,859 and even confounded when it breaks out in unexpected ways. 363 00:17:24,979 –> 00:17:26,000 You’ve experienced this. 364 00:17:26,000 –> 00:17:29,000 The sudden word, the cynical thought, 365 00:17:29,000 –> 00:17:33,160 the overwhelming impulse, and the unexpected failure. 366 00:17:34,140 –> 00:17:36,760 You say, where in the world did that come from? 367 00:17:36,760 –> 00:17:38,760 It came from within you. 368 00:17:40,219 –> 00:17:44,140 Peter says to Jesus, I’m ready to die with you, 369 00:17:45,979 –> 00:17:47,420 and you remember a few hours later 370 00:17:47,439 –> 00:17:49,380 Jesus is calling down curses, he’s blaspheming. 371 00:17:49,380 –> 00:17:51,959 He said, I never even knew the man. 372 00:17:51,959 –> 00:17:53,339 Where did that come from? 373 00:17:53,339 –> 00:17:54,579 Inside of him. 374 00:17:56,640 –> 00:18:00,520 You thought you were making progress, 375 00:18:00,520 –> 00:18:04,359 that you had left those things behind, 376 00:18:04,359 –> 00:18:07,160 but now the sin that you thought you had conquered, 377 00:18:07,160 –> 00:18:09,660 it’s back again and it’s staring you in the face. 378 00:18:09,660 –> 00:18:11,619 It’s almost as if it’s laughing at you, 379 00:18:11,619 –> 00:18:15,500 and you say, well now, have I made no progress? 380 00:18:15,520 –> 00:18:19,699 Will I ever be the person that God is calling me to be? 381 00:18:20,680 –> 00:18:23,420 If you are a Christian, you will know what it is 382 00:18:23,420 –> 00:18:26,920 to stare into the mystery of your own sin. 383 00:18:29,739 –> 00:18:32,260 The secret things belong to the Lord. 384 00:18:32,260 –> 00:18:33,819 That’s why it says in Psalm 19, 385 00:18:33,819 –> 00:18:36,979 who can understand his own errors? 386 00:18:36,979 –> 00:18:39,099 Isn’t that a great question? 387 00:18:39,099 –> 00:18:43,060 Is there anyone who really understands his own errors? 388 00:18:43,060 –> 00:18:45,359 Of course, you don’t. 389 00:18:45,520 –> 00:18:49,020 Secret things belong to the Lord. 390 00:18:51,280 –> 00:18:53,479 Now, folks, this is humbling truth today, isn’t it? 391 00:18:53,479 –> 00:18:56,560 There is a stillness among us as there ought to be. 392 00:18:56,560 –> 00:18:58,420 Because you start looking at life, 393 00:18:58,420 –> 00:19:01,800 what you see is that however powerful sometimes we may feel, 394 00:19:01,800 –> 00:19:04,640 the truth is that the vastness 395 00:19:04,640 –> 00:19:07,420 is of that which we do not know. 396 00:19:07,420 –> 00:19:10,140 The things God has kept secret. 397 00:19:10,140 –> 00:19:12,380 You don’t know the future of your children, 398 00:19:12,380 –> 00:19:14,040 or the reason for your suffering, 399 00:19:14,500 –> 00:19:15,359 or the manner of your death, 400 00:19:15,359 –> 00:19:17,619 or the salvation of your loved ones, 401 00:19:17,619 –> 00:19:20,040 or the events of tomorrow. 402 00:19:20,040 –> 00:19:22,500 You don’t know the outcome of your ministry. 403 00:19:22,500 –> 00:19:26,760 You don’t have a sure read on your own progress 404 00:19:26,760 –> 00:19:28,180 in the Christian life. 405 00:19:28,180 –> 00:19:30,979 And you say, well, now, with all this that I don’t know, 406 00:19:30,979 –> 00:19:32,180 how can I live? 407 00:19:33,979 –> 00:19:36,800 How can you navigate your way through a world 408 00:19:36,800 –> 00:19:39,300 where God has kept so much secret, 409 00:19:39,300 –> 00:19:41,359 where so many of the big things that you think, 410 00:19:41,359 –> 00:19:43,079 I really need to know these things, 411 00:19:43,079 –> 00:19:46,520 and yet God has said, I’m not going to tell them to you, 412 00:19:46,520 –> 00:19:47,599 they belong to me. 413 00:19:49,780 –> 00:19:51,939 Well, here’s the principle that’s right at the heart 414 00:19:51,939 –> 00:19:53,800 of this single verse that I’m trying 415 00:19:53,800 –> 00:19:55,199 to work into our hearts, 416 00:19:55,199 –> 00:19:58,560 and asking that God will seal in our minds. 417 00:19:59,739 –> 00:20:03,439 You live with what God has kept secret 418 00:20:04,780 –> 00:20:08,920 by trusting what God has revealed, that’s the principle. 419 00:20:10,400 –> 00:20:12,959 The reality is that whatever you turn in life, 420 00:20:12,959 –> 00:20:15,920 we’re surrounded by what we do not know 421 00:20:15,920 –> 00:20:17,300 and what we do not control. 422 00:20:18,560 –> 00:20:20,040 And you live 423 00:20:20,979 –> 00:20:24,199 with what God has kept secret 424 00:20:24,199 –> 00:20:27,400 by trusting what God has revealed, 425 00:20:27,400 –> 00:20:30,640 the secret things belong to the Lord. 426 00:20:30,640 –> 00:20:32,060 You’re not going to get them. 427 00:20:33,660 –> 00:20:36,400 But the things that are revealed belong to us 428 00:20:36,400 –> 00:20:38,040 so that we may be able to walk according 429 00:20:38,040 –> 00:20:40,140 to all of his laws, that’s the principle. 430 00:20:40,719 –> 00:20:43,119 So as we’ve been humbled 431 00:20:44,660 –> 00:20:47,339 by seven secrets that 432 00:20:48,239 –> 00:20:49,699 belong to the Lord, 433 00:20:50,920 –> 00:20:52,939 let me try and encourage you 434 00:20:53,979 –> 00:20:56,140 with seven promises that belong to us 435 00:20:56,140 –> 00:20:59,219 because the revealed things belong to us. 436 00:20:59,219 –> 00:21:01,280 Let’s think about how they tie together. 437 00:21:02,520 –> 00:21:05,579 What about the future of your children? 438 00:21:07,140 –> 00:21:09,380 I don’t know what the future 439 00:21:09,760 –> 00:21:13,380 will be for my children but I know this. 440 00:21:14,239 –> 00:21:18,939 God is faithful and as he has been faithful to me 441 00:21:18,939 –> 00:21:20,380 he will be faithful to them. 442 00:21:21,459 –> 00:21:23,859 Acts chapter two in verse 39, 443 00:21:23,859 –> 00:21:28,300 the promise is for you and for your children 444 00:21:28,300 –> 00:21:31,219 and for all whom the Lord our God will call. 445 00:21:31,219 –> 00:21:35,180 God is faithful and the same God who is faithful to you 446 00:21:35,180 –> 00:21:37,199 will be faithful to them. 447 00:21:38,160 –> 00:21:41,239 What about the reason for your suffering? 448 00:21:42,599 –> 00:21:45,520 I don’t know why some of the painful things 449 00:21:45,520 –> 00:21:47,560 that have happened in my life occurred 450 00:21:49,119 –> 00:21:53,739 but I know this that our present suffering 451 00:21:53,739 –> 00:21:57,459 is not worth comparing with the glory 452 00:21:57,459 –> 00:21:58,839 that will be revealed in us, 453 00:21:58,839 –> 00:22:01,000 that’s Romans chapter eight in verse 18 454 00:22:01,000 –> 00:22:03,359 and Paul says even more than that he says 455 00:22:03,359 –> 00:22:05,939 in fact our troubles are achieving for us 456 00:22:06,020 –> 00:22:09,660 an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all 457 00:22:09,660 –> 00:22:10,959 far outweighs them all. 458 00:22:12,300 –> 00:22:14,380 So I live with what God has kept secret 459 00:22:14,380 –> 00:22:17,640 by trusting what he has revealed. 460 00:22:19,260 –> 00:22:21,859 What about this business of the manner of your death? 461 00:22:22,979 –> 00:22:26,619 I don’t know how I will die 462 00:22:28,140 –> 00:22:32,699 but I know this to be away from the body 463 00:22:32,699 –> 00:22:35,339 is to be at home with the Lord. 464 00:22:35,339 –> 00:22:37,380 That’s worth an amen by the way, isn’t it? 465 00:22:37,380 –> 00:22:38,739 You believe that? 466 00:22:38,739 –> 00:22:41,060 And to be with the Lord I know this 467 00:22:41,060 –> 00:22:43,199 and believe this because he has revealed it 468 00:22:43,199 –> 00:22:45,939 is better by far. 469 00:22:45,939 –> 00:22:47,500 That’s Philippians chapter one, 470 00:22:48,339 –> 00:22:49,760 which is why Paul says 471 00:22:49,760 –> 00:22:54,760 for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 472 00:22:55,420 –> 00:22:56,260 Really is. 473 00:22:57,839 –> 00:23:00,979 So there are so many things in life that I want to do 474 00:23:01,479 –> 00:23:05,660 but I’m not going to live in a craven fear of death 475 00:23:06,780 –> 00:23:08,739 because I stand on a promise. 476 00:23:10,300 –> 00:23:13,939 Number four, the salvation of our loved ones. 477 00:23:13,939 –> 00:23:15,939 Your unbelieving loved ones. 478 00:23:15,939 –> 00:23:18,140 How do you stand on the promise there? 479 00:23:20,099 –> 00:23:24,339 I don’t know if my unbelieving friends 480 00:23:24,339 –> 00:23:26,459 or loved ones will be saved 481 00:23:27,420 –> 00:23:28,819 but I know this, 482 00:23:30,020 –> 00:23:35,020 God saves people who are not looking to be saved. 483 00:23:35,260 –> 00:23:36,979 That’s my only hope. 484 00:23:36,979 –> 00:23:38,660 And let me give you the promise for that. 485 00:23:38,660 –> 00:23:41,500 It’s Isaiah chapter 65 in verse one, 486 00:23:41,500 –> 00:23:44,420 it has been a foundation of my prayers 487 00:23:44,420 –> 00:23:47,819 for unconverted loved ones for many many years. 488 00:23:47,819 –> 00:23:52,819 God says, I revealed myself to those who did not ask me 489 00:23:53,140 –> 00:23:56,420 and I was found by those who did not seek me. 490 00:23:56,579 –> 00:23:59,359 Are you praying for someone who is not seeking God? 491 00:24:00,239 –> 00:24:03,239 Are you burdened for someone who’s not asking of God, 492 00:24:03,239 –> 00:24:05,199 doesn’t pray at all, and you say, 493 00:24:05,199 –> 00:24:08,560 how will they be found if they’re never seeking God? 494 00:24:08,560 –> 00:24:11,599 Here’s the answer, they’ll be found by him seeking them. 495 00:24:11,599 –> 00:24:13,780 It is not the sheep that seek the shepherd, 496 00:24:13,780 –> 00:24:15,920 it is the shepherd who seeks the sheep. 497 00:24:15,920 –> 00:24:19,319 That’s the basis of hope, that’s the foundation of prayer, 498 00:24:19,319 –> 00:24:21,660 that’s the promise to hold on to. 499 00:24:22,800 –> 00:24:25,479 So when I pray for unbelieving friends and loved ones, 500 00:24:25,479 –> 00:24:28,660 I say to the Lord, you don’t need their permission 501 00:24:28,660 –> 00:24:30,939 to intercept their lives! 502 00:24:30,939 –> 00:24:32,660 They’ll never find their way to you, 503 00:24:32,660 –> 00:24:37,479 so Lord, please, in Your mercy, find your way to them! 504 00:24:39,180 –> 00:24:41,180 The secret things belong to the Lord 505 00:24:41,180 –> 00:24:45,099 but that revelation gives me a basis for hope 506 00:24:46,020 –> 00:24:49,979 and a sustenance for prayer. 507 00:24:51,520 –> 00:24:53,719 Number five, what about tomorrow? 508 00:24:53,719 –> 00:24:54,739 How do you live when you don’t know 509 00:24:54,800 –> 00:24:56,239 what’s gonna happen tomorrow? 510 00:24:57,920 –> 00:25:00,439 I don’t know what tomorrow holds 511 00:25:01,640 –> 00:25:04,359 but I do know who holds tomorrow 512 00:25:04,359 –> 00:25:06,780 and so do you if you’re in Jesus Christ. 513 00:25:07,699 –> 00:25:09,800 The future lies in the hands of God 514 00:25:09,800 –> 00:25:12,780 and he is my loving Heavenly Father. 515 00:25:12,780 –> 00:25:14,719 Do you remember how our Lord Jesus speaks 516 00:25:14,719 –> 00:25:16,479 about this in the Sermon on the Mount? 517 00:25:16,479 –> 00:25:19,680 He says, do not worry about your life 518 00:25:20,699 –> 00:25:22,239 and then He explains why. 519 00:25:22,239 –> 00:25:25,040 Why are you not to go through worrying about your life, 520 00:25:25,040 –> 00:25:26,959 worrying about tomorrow? 521 00:25:26,959 –> 00:25:27,780 And He says this. 522 00:25:27,780 –> 00:25:29,239 Look at the birds of the air. 523 00:25:30,160 –> 00:25:32,099 Your Heavenly Father feeds them. 524 00:25:32,099 –> 00:25:34,959 Now are you not much more valuable than they? 525 00:25:35,959 –> 00:25:38,520 So he says and here’s the conclusion, 526 00:25:38,520 –> 00:25:40,180 instead of worrying about tomorrow, 527 00:25:40,180 –> 00:25:42,260 He says here’s what you do. 528 00:25:42,260 –> 00:25:44,920 You seek first the kingdom of God 529 00:25:44,920 –> 00:25:47,520 and His righteousness 530 00:25:47,520 –> 00:25:49,400 and all these things will be added to you. 531 00:25:49,400 –> 00:25:51,680 Your Father knows what you need. 532 00:25:52,719 –> 00:25:54,479 So you see what our Lord Jesus is saying. 533 00:25:54,479 –> 00:25:57,400 Don’t live a life that is consumed by worry 534 00:25:58,680 –> 00:26:00,599 about things you cannot change, 535 00:26:00,599 –> 00:26:01,920 things you don’t control. 536 00:26:01,920 –> 00:26:03,400 Here’s what you should do. 537 00:26:03,400 –> 00:26:06,199 Live flat out for the kingdom of God. 538 00:26:06,199 –> 00:26:08,239 Go for righteousness today, 539 00:26:08,239 –> 00:26:11,400 pursue it every day of your life. 540 00:26:11,400 –> 00:26:13,680 And remember that tomorrow is in the hands of God 541 00:26:13,680 –> 00:26:16,760 who is your loving Heavenly Father. 542 00:26:18,760 –> 00:26:20,439 Number six. 543 00:26:20,599 –> 00:26:22,959 You see how this is applying to the whole of life? 544 00:26:22,959 –> 00:26:24,719 I mean, it goes everywhere. 545 00:26:24,719 –> 00:26:27,619 It’s one principle, it’s a principle to live by. 546 00:26:28,640 –> 00:26:32,439 What about this issue of the outcome of your ministry? 547 00:26:32,439 –> 00:26:33,540 You think about this. 548 00:26:34,640 –> 00:26:36,920 What is God going to do through our ministry? 549 00:26:38,260 –> 00:26:39,099 I don’t know. 550 00:26:40,060 –> 00:26:40,900 I don’t know. 551 00:26:42,939 –> 00:26:44,300 But I know this. 552 00:26:46,160 –> 00:26:48,459 God has said, let nothing move you, 553 00:26:49,459 –> 00:26:52,280 always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord 554 00:26:52,280 –> 00:26:54,640 because youknow that your labor in the Lord 555 00:26:54,640 –> 00:26:55,979 is not in vain. 556 00:26:55,979 –> 00:26:57,880 Not in vain. 557 00:27:00,060 –> 00:27:01,739 You know, in the presence of Jesus, 558 00:27:01,739 –> 00:27:03,819 you are going to learn about prayers 559 00:27:03,819 –> 00:27:06,359 you never knew had been answered. 560 00:27:07,699 –> 00:27:10,260 You are going to discover in the presence of Jesus 561 00:27:10,260 –> 00:27:13,800 deeds that you never knew had mattered. 562 00:27:14,859 –> 00:27:17,619 You’re going discover ways that God has used you 563 00:27:17,619 –> 00:27:20,319 that you had absolutely no awareness about 564 00:27:20,319 –> 00:27:22,479 during your entire lifetime. 565 00:27:23,939 –> 00:27:25,400 The outcome of your ministry. 566 00:27:26,420 –> 00:27:29,599 You stay strong in all the many questions 567 00:27:29,599 –> 00:27:33,859 that you have in the cut and thrust of ministry 568 00:27:33,859 –> 00:27:36,540 and you hold to this revealed promise 569 00:27:36,540 –> 00:27:41,079 that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 570 00:27:42,520 –> 00:27:43,619 And then here’s the last one, 571 00:27:43,619 –> 00:27:47,260 your progress in the Christian life. 572 00:27:48,140 –> 00:27:52,760 How are you to live in this reality 573 00:27:52,760 –> 00:27:54,939 where sometimes you see things in yourself 574 00:27:54,939 –> 00:27:57,739 that are so discouraging and you say, 575 00:27:57,739 –> 00:27:59,819 oh, is that still there? 576 00:28:03,660 –> 00:28:05,819 I know that I’m not what I used to be 577 00:28:07,540 –> 00:28:10,020 and I also know I’m not yet what I hope to be. 578 00:28:10,020 –> 00:28:12,439 Do you feel that too about your Christian life? 579 00:28:14,579 –> 00:28:16,819 Right now the work of the Holy Spirit 580 00:28:16,819 –> 00:28:21,119 it’s woven into all our battles with the flesh 581 00:28:22,520 –> 00:28:25,459 but here’s the promise that’s revealed to hold on to 582 00:28:25,459 –> 00:28:26,780 in all that we don’t know. 583 00:28:28,500 –> 00:28:33,500 Christ has said when he appears, we shall be like him. 584 00:28:34,300 –> 00:28:36,060 Feed your soul on that. 585 00:28:36,060 –> 00:28:38,119 In the middle of all your struggle with sin, 586 00:28:38,119 –> 00:28:42,319 in the middle of all your battles with temptation, 587 00:28:42,359 –> 00:28:47,099 when he appears we shall be like him. 588 00:28:48,260 –> 00:28:50,920 Seven secrets that belong to the Lord. 589 00:28:51,819 –> 00:28:54,880 Seven promises that belong to us. 590 00:28:55,739 –> 00:29:00,619 Faith bows before the mystery of what God has kept secret 591 00:29:00,619 –> 00:29:05,619 and faith stands in the strength of what God has revealed. 592 00:29:06,280 –> 00:29:11,000 You see that even in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 593 00:29:13,479 –> 00:29:18,380 What’s happening when on the cross he says my God, 594 00:29:19,839 –> 00:29:23,359 my God why have you forsaken me? 595 00:29:25,280 –> 00:29:30,280 He’s staring into the mystery of what God has kept secret 596 00:29:30,640 –> 00:29:32,920 of what God has kept secret. 597 00:29:35,079 –> 00:29:37,959 And what’s he doing when he says on the cross 598 00:29:37,959 –> 00:29:42,760 father into your hands I commit my spirit. 599 00:29:42,760 –> 00:29:47,760 He’s trusting in the promise that the Father has revealed. 600 00:29:51,459 –> 00:29:53,160 That’s what he’s calling us to do. 601 00:29:54,119 –> 00:29:56,520 He’s going to walk with us in it. 602 00:29:56,540 –> 00:30:01,540 He’s saying the secret things belong to the Lord. 603 00:30:03,000 –> 00:30:06,839 So trust Him in what he has kept hidden, 604 00:30:08,680 –> 00:30:11,079 and the revealed things, they belong to you. 605 00:30:11,079 –> 00:30:13,719 They’re yours to enable you to stand today, 606 00:30:13,719 –> 00:30:17,880 this week and to follow after him 607 00:30:19,239 –> 00:30:20,800 in all that he calls you to do. 608 00:30:21,900 –> 00:30:24,199 And my very last word is simply this. 609 00:30:24,199 –> 00:30:25,979 It’s, it’s on my heart that there may 610 00:30:26,800 –> 00:30:31,459 be someone here today and you just come into the church 611 00:30:31,459 –> 00:30:34,199 and you’re just plain confused. 612 00:30:35,660 –> 00:30:38,079 And you’ve seen that life is empty. 613 00:30:39,199 –> 00:30:42,579 You don’t know God, God seems to be distant from you. 614 00:30:44,359 –> 00:30:47,219 You’d like to find him, but you don’t know where to look. 615 00:30:48,500 –> 00:30:51,099 You’d like to have faith, like other people around you 616 00:30:51,099 –> 00:30:53,780 seem to have faith, but you don’t know where to begin. 617 00:30:56,359 –> 00:30:59,060 Listen to these words of Jesus in this last moment. 618 00:30:59,959 –> 00:31:02,239 He said this, Matthew 11. 619 00:31:03,420 –> 00:31:08,420 “‘No one knows the father except the son 620 00:31:10,079 –> 00:31:14,859 and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’ 621 00:31:14,859 –> 00:31:16,020 That’s what Jesus said. 622 00:31:17,020 –> 00:31:19,160 So here you are and you say, well, I don’t know God, 623 00:31:19,160 –> 00:31:21,040 I don’t know where to find him, where do I begin? 624 00:31:21,040 –> 00:31:23,699 Jesus says, well, you’re not unusual, 625 00:31:23,699 –> 00:31:27,420 no one knows the father, you can’t find the father. 626 00:31:29,239 –> 00:31:31,400 But Jesus says, there’s only one who knows the father. 627 00:31:31,400 –> 00:31:35,900 He says, I know the father and I can reveal the father 628 00:31:37,640 –> 00:31:40,060 to those to whom I choose to reveal him, 629 00:31:40,060 –> 00:31:41,699 that’s hope for you there. 630 00:31:42,900 –> 00:31:44,719 You see, that is why Jesus says, 631 00:31:44,719 –> 00:31:47,479 I am the way and the truth and the life. 632 00:31:47,479 –> 00:31:50,859 No one comes to the father except by me. 633 00:31:51,380 –> 00:31:55,140 And so in the very next verse, he says in Matthew, 634 00:31:55,140 –> 00:31:57,060 come to me, come to me. 635 00:31:57,060 –> 00:31:59,020 Jesus says this. 636 00:31:59,020 –> 00:32:01,420 You should hear Jesus who’s risen from the dead 637 00:32:01,420 –> 00:32:04,079 saying this to you today. 638 00:32:04,079 –> 00:32:05,579 You don’t know God by yourself, 639 00:32:05,579 –> 00:32:07,560 you can’t know God by yourself, 640 00:32:07,560 –> 00:32:10,819 but Jesus is saying, I do, the son of God knows the father 641 00:32:10,819 –> 00:32:13,300 and he says, now you come to me. 642 00:32:13,300 –> 00:32:15,099 You come to me all you who are weary 643 00:32:15,099 –> 00:32:16,939 and all you who are heavy laden. 644 00:32:16,939 –> 00:32:21,760 You come with all your unanswered questions to Jesus Christ, 645 00:32:21,760 –> 00:32:24,560 the son of God who died and rose again. 646 00:32:25,380 –> 00:32:27,619 And you come with all your unanswered questions 647 00:32:27,619 –> 00:32:30,020 all that’s the secret to you, 648 00:32:30,020 –> 00:32:33,119 all that you do not understand. 649 00:32:34,459 –> 00:32:37,660 And you believe the promise that he has revealed right here. 650 00:32:39,459 –> 00:32:44,459 He says to you, come to me and I will give you rest. 651 00:32:47,420 –> 00:32:50,420 Rest for your soul. 652 00:32:50,420 –> 00:32:52,099 Jesus Christ says that to you. 653 00:32:53,319 –> 00:32:55,420 And in everything that you do not know 654 00:32:56,500 –> 00:33:00,579 that is a promise that today you can believe. 655 00:33:00,579 –> 00:33:02,099 Let’s pray together, shall we? 656 00:33:03,819 –> 00:33:07,140 Dear father in heaven, we come to you right now 657 00:33:07,140 –> 00:33:09,520 through your son, Jesus Christ. 658 00:33:11,260 –> 00:33:15,780 And we thank you that through him, we may come to you. 659 00:33:17,000 –> 00:33:19,199 In everything that we don’t know 660 00:33:19,199 –> 00:33:21,060 and in all that we don’t understand 661 00:33:21,060 –> 00:33:23,780 and among us right now, that’s massive. 662 00:33:25,060 –> 00:33:27,380 We come on the basis of your promise 663 00:33:29,079 –> 00:33:31,780 and we come on the basis of your invitation. 664 00:33:33,819 –> 00:33:36,560 And we draw near to you with a faith 665 00:33:36,560 –> 00:33:39,660 that bows before the mystery of what you have kept secret 666 00:33:41,420 –> 00:33:46,420 and stands on the promise that you have revealed. 667 00:33:46,660 –> 00:33:49,739 So help us, oh God, in Jesus’ name, 668 00:33:49,739 –> 00:33:51,979 and everyone said, amen.