WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.120 Today we are going to take a posture of peace by choosing our source. 2 00:00:06.560 --> 00:00:11.280 Posture is a short audible fist bump to remind you God is with you in everything. 3 00:00:11.840 --> 00:00:16.079 Together we're going to be emboldened to take a daily posture of perfect peace. 4 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:22.080 In John chapter 6 verse 28 the crowd said to Jesus, 5 00:00:22.080 --> 00:00:31.040 what must we do to be doing the works of God? And Jesus said to them, this is the work of God, 6 00:00:31.040 --> 00:00:35.920 that you believe in him who he has sent. Jesus is talking about himself here. 7 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:43.920 So they said to Jesus, then what sign do you do that we may see and believe? What work do you 8 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:50.640 perform? This is a very interesting conversation that Jesus has with the crowd. Some quick context, 9 00:00:51.440 --> 00:00:55.760 a quick summary, if you will, of the chapter. In the beginning of chapter 6 Jesus feeds the 10 00:00:55.760 --> 00:01:03.120 5,000 miraculously and the crowd doesn't just see, witness the miracle with their eyes, 11 00:01:03.120 --> 00:01:07.680 but they partake of the miracle. They get to eat the bread that Jesus miraculously provided 12 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:13.360 and be satisfied. Their natural hunger was satisfied by the miracle. Jesus moves to the 13 00:01:13.360 --> 00:01:18.640 other side of the sea, walks on water along the way, freaks the disciples out. Another story for 14 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:23.440 another day, but the crowd follows Jesus to the other side and when they find Jesus again, 15 00:01:23.440 --> 00:01:31.600 they ask him this question, Jesus, what do we have to do to do what you just did? And Jesus says to 16 00:01:31.600 --> 00:01:42.640 them, the work of God is to believe in me. And the crowd says this to Jesus, okay, then do something 17 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:51.520 that makes you believable. Prove that you are worthy of our belief. And they even cite some 18 00:01:51.520 --> 00:01:57.120 experience that they've had with God in the past, not what Jesus just did by feeding them miraculously, 19 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:01.280 but what God did with their ancestors in the wilderness with Moses and they talk about manna 20 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:06.800 falling from heaven. So Jesus answers them by saying this in verse 32, he says, truly, truly, 21 00:02:06.800 --> 00:02:12.960 I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the manna from heaven, but my father gives the true 22 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:21.040 bread from heaven for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 23 00:02:21.040 --> 00:02:28.560 Again, Jesus is talking about himself and they said to Jesus, sir, give us this bread always. 24 00:02:29.200 --> 00:02:38.880 And Jesus replies, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger. And whoever believes 25 00:02:38.880 --> 00:02:47.200 in me shall never thirst. Jesus is not holding out on the crowd of people by not performing 26 00:02:47.200 --> 00:02:52.240 the miracle that they're asking for the sign that they're asking for. Instead, he is holding out to 27 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:58.560 them something so much greater than what they're asking for. He is holding out to them himself. 28 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:06.400 Now, often when I share about our relationship with God or identity in Christ, I get a question, 29 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:12.800 it comes up a lot. And that is, can you please tell me what this practically looks like? What 30 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:19.760 do I need to do to access this kingdom reality? What steps do I need to take to experience this 31 00:03:19.760 --> 00:03:24.720 in my daily life? And I totally understand that question. You know, what must I do? 32 00:03:24.720 --> 00:03:29.120 It's not a silly question. I've asked that question many times before. We hear the truth. 33 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:34.480 We want to embrace it. We want it to be our everyday experience, but we are in the process 34 00:03:34.480 --> 00:03:39.600 of unlearning worldly ways of doing things. And we're practicing every day living in these kingdom 35 00:03:39.600 --> 00:03:46.800 realities. So sometimes those two things, those two ways of thinking overlap and we try to access 36 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:54.160 kingdom truth through worldly ways of doing things. So we think of things in terms of earning 37 00:03:54.160 --> 00:03:59.360 and gaining, like passing a test, earning a wage, following a formula, taking the steps, 38 00:03:59.920 --> 00:04:08.480 and we apply that to kingdom truth. So for example, the love of God, some of us live in a way 39 00:04:08.480 --> 00:04:15.120 thinking we have to earn God's love for us, or we think we have to do certain steps or follow 40 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:21.120 certain formulas in order to maintain his love for us. Like we have the ability to keep up what 41 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:28.080 he's given us. So we think, you know, his love can be depleted by our bad behavior or increased by our 42 00:04:28.080 --> 00:04:36.480 success in life. Because in this world, we are so used to doing things to get things. We're so used 43 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:43.920 to having to do stuff to keep stuff. Remember Romans 12, two says, do not be conformed to this 44 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:49.520 world. Don't copy the way of the world, the way the world's way of doing things instead be 45 00:04:49.520 --> 00:04:56.320 transformed by the renewal of your mind. So we need to take on a new mind about everything. 46 00:04:57.840 --> 00:04:59.920 If we try to experience kingdom reality, 47 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.800 through the world's way of doing things, we will be double-minded. And being 48 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:10.320 double-minded, the Bible says, makes you unstable in everything because you're 49 00:05:10.320 --> 00:05:13.160 tossed around by everything. You're bouncing between two realms, you're 50 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:17.520 bouncing between two realities, and you're trying to be satisfied by two 51 00:05:17.520 --> 00:05:24.960 different sources. And living that way makes you utterly confused. And confused 52 00:05:24.960 --> 00:05:29.760 people are doubt-filled people. Understandably so, they're confused. They 53 00:05:29.760 --> 00:05:36.280 don't know what to believe, so often they believe only what they can see. And all 54 00:05:36.280 --> 00:05:40.800 that to say, what is practical in the world may not be practical in the 55 00:05:40.800 --> 00:05:47.360 kingdom. So kingdom truths, like receiving and believing, they don't always feel 56 00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:53.520 very tangible or practical in this world. They're not always practical because they 57 00:05:53.520 --> 00:06:00.400 are relational. We are in relationship with the creator of the universe. And 58 00:06:00.400 --> 00:06:07.280 believing and receiving just seem a little bit too simplistic in accessing 59 00:06:07.280 --> 00:06:12.760 that wonderful relationship. Because again, we're comparing them to what we 60 00:06:12.760 --> 00:06:16.400 have to do, all the things we have to do to pull off things in this world. And 61 00:06:16.400 --> 00:06:20.100 those things that we pull off in the world, that we achieve in the world, seem 62 00:06:20.100 --> 00:06:24.020 very low in comparison to this majestic relationship we have with God. So you 63 00:06:24.020 --> 00:06:27.580 might be thinking, man, the blood, sweat, and tears that I had to sow to get that 64 00:06:27.580 --> 00:06:31.460 promotion, or to get my health back on track, or to find a worthy soulmate, I 65 00:06:31.460 --> 00:06:36.620 had to do all that work for that. So it's definitely got to be harder to access 66 00:06:36.620 --> 00:06:41.380 the promises of the kingdom because they're so much greater. So if we think 67 00:06:41.380 --> 00:06:45.660 that way, we make believing, and we make receiving, and we make our relationship 68 00:06:45.660 --> 00:06:51.700 with God complicated in order for it to feel tangible, in order for it to feel 69 00:06:51.700 --> 00:06:57.740 practical. So we reach for the 27 steps to a better you program, and we attend 70 00:06:57.740 --> 00:07:00.860 every conference we can thinking the next one's gonna change our lives, and we 71 00:07:00.860 --> 00:07:03.900 pray that, you know, the five prayers that we must pray for our marriage, and for 72 00:07:03.900 --> 00:07:08.420 our children, and for our health, and none of these things are evil in and of 73 00:07:08.420 --> 00:07:12.340 themselves. Most of them are helpful tools. We have to recognize that's all 74 00:07:12.340 --> 00:07:16.780 they are. They're tools that we can use, and they can be helpful, but we are not 75 00:07:16.780 --> 00:07:22.220 subject to them. They don't dictate our freedom, they don't determine our destiny, 76 00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:30.140 they are not our Savior, and they are not our source. In the kingdom, it's not about 77 00:07:30.140 --> 00:07:37.100 what you see, or what you don't see, it's about what God said. His word, his nature, 78 00:07:37.100 --> 00:07:43.460 him. He is the one who sustains you and me. He is the one who satisfies not the 79 00:07:43.460 --> 00:07:47.540 miracle, not the sign, not the wonder, not the promise being made manifest in a 80 00:07:47.540 --> 00:07:51.820 particular way. As wonderful as those things are, I have come to realize that 81 00:07:51.820 --> 00:07:58.900 they are not my source. He is my source. And I've stopped chasing the 82 00:07:58.900 --> 00:08:02.820 instantaneous and the quick fixes because I've realized I'm on a 83 00:08:02.900 --> 00:08:08.020 relational journey, and it is a journey. It's not some destination, it's not some 84 00:08:08.020 --> 00:08:14.420 achievement, it's not some level. It's a relationship, and it's a journey. And 85 00:08:14.420 --> 00:08:19.100 because I'm in relationship with the answer, I don't have to chase down a 86 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:25.740 quick fix. Instead, I can enjoy, I can receive the relationship that he 87 00:08:25.740 --> 00:08:31.820 initiated, not the one that I did. So you might be thinking, okay great, I just have 88 00:08:31.820 --> 00:08:35.419 to believe. How do I believe? You know, again, we want to make it practical. I'm 89 00:08:35.419 --> 00:08:43.940 going to try to help you by telling you this. You believe by making a choice, by 90 00:08:43.940 --> 00:08:50.180 choosing your source. In the overcoming, and we're all overcoming something, right? 91 00:08:50.180 --> 00:08:55.460 Because we're overcomers, it's what we do. In the overcoming, in different areas, I 92 00:08:55.460 --> 00:09:01.540 have to decide and make a decision. I am not choosing what I see or don't see. 93 00:09:01.540 --> 00:09:08.460 I'm choosing what you said, Lord. I'm choosing you. And in that choice, let me 94 00:09:08.460 --> 00:09:13.260 tell you, there's often no tangible difference at first, but in the 95 00:09:13.260 --> 00:09:17.740 choosing, in the choosing him, in the choosing what he said, there is a knowing 96 00:09:17.740 --> 00:09:23.460 that is deepening and informing all that is tangible. My emotions, my thoughts, my 97 00:09:23.460 --> 00:09:28.420 bodies, they're gonna get the memo. They will catch up as I make the choice 98 00:09:28.420 --> 00:09:34.500 and experience that joy and peace and believing that Romans 15 12 talks about. 99 00:09:34.500 --> 00:09:41.380 Here's what's happening. Instead of just experiencing a healing, I'm experiencing 100 00:09:41.380 --> 00:09:50.700 the healer. Instead of just experiencing a provision, I'm experiencing the provider. 101 00:09:50.780 --> 00:09:58.580 Instead of experiencing just peace, I'm experiencing life in relationship with 102 00:09:58.580 --> 00:10:01.380 the Prince of Peace. 103 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:07.680 I'm choosing my source. Today I want to encourage you to choose your source. 104 00:10:07.680 --> 00:10:13.560 It's Him alone. You don't have to chase down a quick fix. You don't have to chase 105 00:10:13.560 --> 00:10:19.200 down an instant solution. Instead you can take step by step each and every day 106 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:23.040 and enjoy this relationship, this relational journey that you're on with 107 00:10:23.040 --> 00:10:28.280 the Lord. You're in relationship with Him. Not a sign, not a wonder. You don't need 108 00:10:28.280 --> 00:10:33.920 to see it to believe it because you're a son, a daughter of the Most High King and 109 00:10:33.920 --> 00:10:40.440 you are experiencing His presence in your life every day.